Foote Prints Fall 2019
The Foote School On the cover Student members of the Environmental Action Group on a beach cleanup at Long Wharf Preserve in New Haven last spring On this page Plastic waste collected by students on the beach of New Haven Harbor illustrates the scope of the environmental challenge facing communities, and the ways that Foote students can be part of the solution.
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From the Head of School Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine United We Learn On Unite Through Understanding Day, students experience something eye-opening—and often profound. Liftoff STEM has launched in a big way at Foote’s summer enrichment program. Today the Classroom, Tomorrow the Planet Foote student environmentalists are turning learning into action—and taking charge of their futures.
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Enter Mak A brief history of Foote’s most famous play News at Foote Connecting the Dots Graduation 2019 Eighth Grade Celebration Faculty Farewells New Board Members Report of Giving
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Reunion Day Class Notes Why I Teach
Foote Prints Fall 2019 82
Fall 2019 | Vol. 46 No. 2
The Foote School
50 Loomis Place, New Haven, CT 06511 (203) 777-3464 • www.footeschool.org Foote Prints is published twice a year for alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty and friends. Editor Andy Bromage Class Notes Editor Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 Design AHdesign, Angie Hurlbut Thea A. Moritz Photography Stephanie Anestis, Andy Bromage, Joe Charles, Judy Sirota Rosenthal Copy Editor Anne Sommer Contributors Jody Abzug, Amy Caplan ’88, Joe Charles, Jennifer Friedman, Muffie Clement Green ’61, Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 Board of Directors J. Richard Lee, President George Atwood Kavitha Bindra Elon Boms Wick Chambers ’62 Constance ‘Cecie’ Clement ’62, Vice President Mona Gohara Rebecca Good Francie Irvine George Joseph, Vice President Nadine Koobatian, Secretary Michael Krauss Melissa Matthes Jennifer Milikowsky ’02 Stephen Murphy, Treasurer Annie Paul Jason Price Geert Rouwenhorst Alexandra Shor Kiran Zaman Ex-Officio Richard Bershtein, Immediate Past President Carol Maoz, Head of School
challenges students to choose a personal hero, write a persuasive essay about that person and then create a realistic portrait of him or her using craypas on cardboard. Created by Art Chair Karla Matheny and the Humanities faculty more than 10 years ago, the interdisciplinary project asks students to reflect on their developing value system to make meaning of the personal journeys of figures they admire. “They are still at an age where they believe in heroes,” says Humanities co-chair Sheila Lavey, “and that’s a wonderful thing.” Portrait of Malala Yousafzai by seventh grader Sophia Pandya. THE S E VE NTH - GR A D E HE R O E S PR OJE C T
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The Foote School does not discriminate in the administration of its admissions or educational policies or other school-administered programs, and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or non-job-related physical disability.
From the Head of School
Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine has a plastic waste problem and Foote students and teachers have taken up the cause—in their classrooms and communities—with a sense of joy and purpose. At every grade level, students are leading efforts to reduce the amount of trash and recycling we produce as a school and to educate our community about the harm caused by plastic waste and how we can produce less of it. O U R PL ANE T
In first grade, students figured out that by replacing their classroom trash cans with repurposed Animal Crackers containers they could avoid using 30 plastic trash can liners every week—more than 1,000 plastic bags over the course of a school year! This homegrown project not only empowered students to make a positive change in their community, it provided an authentic math problem to develop higherorder thinking.
When students work together to solve real-world problems, they become empowered to make lasting change. In Middle School, after learning about ways that plastic damages watersheds, a group of students worked with their science teachers during study halls and after school to design solutions as part of a nationwide contest sponsored by National Geographic. Their ideas won these Foote students the chance to present their innovations at a regional conference in Massachusetts. Environmentalism at Foote is not new, of course. The spring 1990 issue of Foote Prints tells about Earth Day/Week activities that included students planting trees, experimenting with worm composting, writing letters and petitions to state lawmakers, and performing an environmentally themed “Wheel of Fortune” skit at an all-school assembly. Environmental Action Group, the student club formed in the late 1980s, is as active as ever, organizing beach cleanups, environment-themed movie screenings and more. What is new, perhaps, is the sense of urgency, specifically around plastic waste. Almost daily we read stories about its impacts on marine life, ecosystems and human health. According to the nonprofit Plastic Oceans, the world
Head of School Carol Maoz and an eighth grader facilitating composting, one of Foote’s new sustainability initiatives, at graduation in June
currently produces almost 300 million tons of plastic every year—fully half of which is for single use. And with foreign markets for recycled plastics drying up, there is a growing impetus to produce and use less plastic overall. By embracing this challenge, we are empowering Foote students to take charge of their learning and their futures. Solving problems as vexing as this will require a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as creativity, empathy and cross-cultural understanding. Above all, perhaps, it will take a mindset that views big challenges as something to embrace rather than fear. That is our mission at Foote School. It always has been and remains so today. Enjoy this issue and keep in touch. Sincerely,
Carol Maoz, Head of School Fall 2019 | 03
Foote News in Brief
Athletics Director Brad McGuire reveals the “winning” Field Day teams’ flags.
And the Field Day Winner is… it’s become a rite of spring at Foote: the last assembly of the school year ends with everyone pouring out into the courtyard to find out who won Field Day four weeks earlier. Falco, the school’s mascot, does the honors, reaching into the gold cup to reveal which team’s flag—Grey or Maroon—is inside. And then cheers, hugs, tears, fist pumps and the victorious team’s flag is hoisted up the flagpole, where it flies for the duration of the following school year. Only this year, something unusual happened. Half the crowd saw a maroon flag, and half saw grey. Smiles turned to puzzled faces, then to slack-jawed IN R E CE NT YE AR S ,
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confusion, as Athletics Director Brad McGuire revealed two flags—one maroon, one grey—held together with zip ties. He took the microphone to explain. For the first time in 50 years of recordkeeping, Foote Field Day ended in an actual tie: 1,430 points each. What are the odds?! Well, we don’t know. But it sure is a great puzzler for Foote students to ponder in math class this year! In the meantime, Loomis Place can bask in the glory of Maroon and Grey living in perfect harmony as co-winners. At least until next Field Day.
A Journey of Strength and Song Foote parent and South African singer Thabisa Rich shared her life story with the Foote community through words and song. In the Sandine Theater, Thabisa told a rapt audience of parents, faculty (past and present), alumni and friends how she persevered through hardship growing up in South Africa to find her voice as an artist. Born in Kwazakhele, Thabisa’s big break came when she competed in Idols South Africa and finished in the top 18. She has since released two albums to critical acclaim and has become a favorite performer in her adopted hometown of New Haven. A mother of two children, including a Foote sixth grader, Thabisa showed pictures, discussed the history of South Africa and performed a range of songs from her inspired career. The talk was sponsored by Foote’s multicultural committee, MOSAIC (Multicultural, Open-Minded, Supportive, Accepting, Inclusive Community). O N APR IL 3 ,
Thabisa Rich performing in the Sandine Theater
Teachers Stage One-Acts to Benefit Financial Aid in May, the grown-ups took over the Sandine Theater for a night of faculty one-act plays. Directed by Cassie Spadory, the associate teacher for Grades 4 and 5, the plays had the kind of heartfelt acting and high-quality production for which Foote theater has long been known. An open casting call was put out to the entire faculty and staff, and many eagerly took up the challenge. Both shows were full—parents raved about seeing their children’s teachers on stage in hilarious and challenging roles—and raised $1,600 to support financial aid at Foote through the Orten L. Pengue Scholarship Fund. Read more about the plays in the Faculty News section on page 79. FO R T WO NI GHT S
From left, Mike McCabe, Cassie Spadory, Wenyan Witkowsky and Jake Burt in Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite: Visitor from Forest Hills
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Foote News in Brief
Raising a Glass —and Funds— for Foote FO OTE PAR E NT S , FACU LT Y AND
enjoyed a beautiful spring evening on Long Island Sound on May 11 for the PTC’s annual fundraising auction. The event, dubbed Foote on the Water, was held at the Guests at Foote on the Water, this year’s PTC fundraising auction newly opened Canal Dock Boathouse on Long Wharf, which was beautifully decorated in a nautical theme by parent Caribbean resort package, a bike tour for 15 people with Elm volunteers. Guests enjoyed food and specialty cocktails City Party Bike and the always-coveted reserved parking spot donated by 116 Crown and beverages underwritten by on Loomis Place! As the evening wore on, the auction floor Eder Brothers while taking in sweeping views of New became a dance floor, as partygoers grooved to the Top 40 Haven Harbor. Live and silent auctions gave guests a sounds of local artist Joe LaDore and his band. chance to bid on donated prizes like an all-inclusive FR IE ND S
Middle Schoolers Win Language Contest Honors to the 14 middle school students who received medals at this year’s COLT Poetry Recitation contest. Foote students traveled to Rockville High School in Vernon on April 3 to compete with peers from around the state, reciting poems in Chinese, French, Latin and Spanish, along with heritage speakers in Chinese, French and Italian. Foote took home four first-place medals (in Latin, Chinese and Heritage French); five second-place medals (in French, Spanish, Chinese and Heritage French); and five third-place medals (in Latin, French, Spanish and Heritage Italian)—a fine reflection on the school’s Modern Language and Latin departments! CO NGR AT U L ATI O N S
Medal recipients from this year’s COLT Poetry Recitation contest.
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Books We Love Recommendations from the Middle School Humanities faculty NOWHE R E B OY
CO P P E R S UN
BY K ATHE R INE MAR S H
BY S HAR O N M . D R AP E R
One of my favorite middle school books that I read this summer was Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh. The novel revolves around two young boys: Ahmed is a refugee from Aleppo and Max is an American living in Brussels. The two form a friendship when 14-year-old Ahmed hides in the basement of Max’s townhouse, and the two work together to keep Ahmed hidden. Max struggles to adjust to his new life and his desire to understand the crisis facing political refugees. The novel mixes fact and fiction well and is both realistic and relevant to the changing times.
Copper Sun is a young adult novel that tells the searing and difficult story of a young woman who is captured by slave traders. Her life, once nearly perfect, becomes a story of survival. She is taken to the Carolinas and purchased as a birthday gift for the son of a plantation owner. While the story unflinchingly lays bare the horrors and exploitation of enslaved people, Amari, the main character, works not only to survive but also to keep hope alive. Her resilience in the face of terror reminds us all of the promise life might have for us. A difficult read for sure, but really worth it.
—Trevor Rosenthal
NO SAFE T Y IN NUMB E R S
—Sheila Lavey
BY DAYNA LO R E NT Z CO P P E R HE AD BY ALE XI Z E NTNE R
Jessup grows up attending the Blessed Church of the White America, never questioning his family’s creed. In his senior year of high school, however, a racially motivated incident forces him to think and act for himself. This novel wears its lessons lightly, grounding them in an engrossing plot and compelling narrative voice. —Michael Milburn
In this suspenseful dystopian novel, a biologicalweapon threat traps teens and their families in a popular mall for days. Average kids begin to split into groups, stake out headquarters in Abercrombie & Fitch and chafe against their civility, and their elders. A diabetic is missing her medicine, a flu is spreading and friendship is measured by whether one shares hand sanitizer. The first of a trilogy, it’s a quick read and light enough to not be too terrifying. —Alison Moncrief Bromage
Digital Foote Prints that Foote now has a podcast? It features interviews with students about their work and ideas, as well as conversations with faculty members about teaching, curriculum and their passions. Find a sampling of episodes below and a link to subscribe at www.footeschool.org/podcasts. D ID YO U KN OW
FE S TIVAL O F THE WO R LD
Hear interviews with sixth graders and snippets of songs from the Festival of the World performance. CHINA TR IP
Three ninth graders talk with Head of Middle School John Turner about their twoweek trip to China. FO R CE D MI GR ATI O N
The fourth-grade faculty discuss why they added a unit on slavery to their long-standing study of migration. R A I S ING CHILD R E N TO HAVE A HE ALTHY R ACIAL - E THNI C ID E NTIT Y
Dr. Sandra Chapman of the Little Red Schoolhouse in New York City visited Foote to share her expertise with faculty and to lead a workshop with parents.
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Connecting the Dots
What Chickens Can Teach
“ For younger students, a great way to learn about life cycles is to watch new life emerge and grow.” —Susan Keegan, Kindergarten teacher
Beginning next spring, students will be raising a small flock of chickens to enhance Foote’s project-based learning curriculum. For years, Kindergartners have hatched chicks in a classroom incubator, a project that lets them observe, gather data and learn how to handle chicks. Now those chicks will remain on campus—in a coop designed and built by students—and be folded into the science, math and social studies curricula across the school. Assistant Head of School Beth Mello says the hens will provide avenues for developing academic skills as students observe and record information to answer questions such as “How do living organisms adapt to their environment?” The hens will also help children develop noncognitive skills such as responsibility and self-regulation as they feed and water the hens and collect eggs from the coop, Beth explains. Those eggs could be used in service learning (selling eggs and donating the proceeds) and math (counting, budgeting and planning how best to use them). The possibilities for eggs-ploration are practically endless! S O M E T HI N G N EW I S H ATCHING AT FOOTE.
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Kindergartners hatch chicks in a classroom incubator while considering the essential question, “How do we grow and change?”
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Baby chicks enhance Kindergartners’ study of life cycles, part of the science curriculum.
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Students built a beautiful cedar chicken coop during an after-school minicourse taught by parent Harold Ellis and maintenance staffer Mike Milazzo ’08.
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7 Teacher Margy Lamere has first and second graders pile books on top of eggshells to see how much weight they will hold, making predictions and testing variables along the way.
The new coop, in progress
First and second graders use eggs to learn about organisms and life cycles.
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Picture books enhance the chickhatching unit by teaching about the life cycle through stories.
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The baby chicks give Kindergartners a chance to practice observational sketching with live subjects. Fall 2019 | 09
Feature
United We Learn On Unite Through Understanding Day, students experience something eye-opening—and often profound. B LIND NE S S . A D O P TI O N . Huipiles murals. Greek dancing.
Body image. Life as a refugee. The origins of rap. Brazilian birthday parties. For a single day in April, the whole school set aside its regular schedule and took a deep dive into those and other topics during Unite Through Understanding Day. Students in every grade participated in hands-on workshops and discussions (which they chose) to learn about different cultures, experiences and ideas. A committee of faculty, staff and parents put together an astounding 50 separate workshops. Leading the sessions were a host of Foote parents, teachers and New Haven community members who generously shared their time and talents to help 10 | Foote Prints
broaden students’ perspectives and give them a window into experiences and traditions from around the world. Reflecting on the day, one fifth grader wrote, “I learned that we all have differences, and that’s good. Our differences don’t make us who we are, it’s our similarities that bring us together.” Wrote a seventh grader, “Today was an inspiring and thoughtprovoking experience that will stay with me for a long time. One important thing we learned is there is never a simple answer.” (above) A sixth grader learns to make Ma’amoul cookies with Chef Nouri of New Haven’s Sanctuary Kitchen.
A first grader decorates her brigadeiros (Brazilian chocolate truffles) as part of the “Brazilian Birthday Party” workshop with Ângela Giannella.
Sixth graders hold posters they made in the workshop “The Art of Protest” with guest artist Luciana McClure.
Math Specialist Heather Zetterberg teaches a Kindergartner to make Easter branches, or Påskris, a traditional Swedish craft made to beckon the arrival of spring.
Students participate in a Chinese Tea Ceremony workshop with Linda Hu. (below) Artist Faustin Adeniran speaks to students about using recycled and found materials to create works of art that reflect his Nigerian heritage and the impact of neocolonialism in Africa.
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Horizons at Foote
Liftoff
STEM has launched in a big way at Foote’s summer enrichment program. Blasting off “bottle rockets” built by fourth graders in Horizons at Foote, part of their STEM curriculum
BY K E LO NDA MAU LL , E XE CU TIVE D IR E C TO R
the world marked the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, students in the Horizons at Foote summer program gathered outside to participate in a launch of their own. T WO WE E K S AF TE R
Their launch pad: the Middle School recess field. The vessel: handmade rockets built by fourth graders using recycled soda bottles. The mission: launch the rockets into the sky to learn about air pressure, force and aerodynamics. Horizons at Foote just completed its fifth summer and now serves 112 New Haven public school students in grades K–6. Participating students receive full scholarships and return to the six-week program every summer for eight years, participating in an enriching program of literacy, math, art, music, yoga, swimming, field trips and more. 12 | Foote Prints
A fifth grader designing a plastic straw bridge during STEM class
And like the rockets launched by fourth graders, STEM has lifted off in a big way at Horizons. This past summer, every grade participated in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities. Spearheading the STEM curriculum was Mona Gohara (a Foote parent, Board member and dermatologist) and Foote math specialist Heather Zetterberg. Mei Han, a senior at Hopkins School, along with young alumni from Foote and volunteers from the Hopkins Robotics Department, facilitated the projects. Horizons at Foote made curricular changes to the program this year to make it more structured and intentional. The main goal was to increase exposure to STEM, build skills, make it fun and ensure that every student learned about STEM fields and careers. Beginning in Kindergarten, students participated in handson activities such as creating slime, exploring plant growth, building Legos (Mr. Learnie) and lava lamps, making UV bracelets, creating bubbles, using Geoboards, exploring basic robotics and more.
In second and third grades, students learned basic engineering by using various materials to build simple devices and exploring mechanics and mathematics. Projects explored gears and Lego simple machines. Students built popsicle-stick helicopters and rubber-band guitars. In fourth and fifth grades, STEM classes focused on technology by exploring applications of engineering and other sciences in the world, as well as electricity and Scratch coding. Sixth grade practiced the scientific method and experimentation by proposing hypotheses, testing and making observations and modifications, and interpreting results from experiments. Projects included building race cars, circuits, bridges and towers; modeling lungs; and more. To supplement classroom projects, students took STEMthemed field trips to the Connecticut Science Center, The Luckey Climber Company, Unilever, Tuff Girl Fitness and Choate Rosemary Hall’s Kohler Environmental Center. We are grateful for all of our volunteers and the opportunity to ensure that all Horizons students are learning through STEM.
A fourth grader tinkering with Scratch coding
A race car built by a sixth grader
A fourth-grade final project: pencil marshmallow catapult
A third grader tests her rubber-band-powered car.
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Cover Story
Today the Classroom, Tomorrow the Planet Foote student environmentalists are turning learning into action— and taking charge of their futures.
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“ We teach children to take action, to address problems, and we’ve got a real problem right now.”
hen the history of Foote School’s second century is written, 2019 may go down as the year the school’s efforts to become more sustainable reached critical mass.
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waterways and impacts of climate change on the weather, ecosystems and human health. Children, even young ones, are brought face-to-face with an uncertain, potentially scary future.
Like atoms colliding, teachers and students are bursting with energy, setting off a chain reaction of ideas for reducing waste and educating one another about ways to turn learning into action.
And yet the present burst of environmental activism at Foote is being driven primarily by hope—not fear—as students seek out opportunities to make change in their classrooms and communities.
Spend a few days at Foote and you’ll see first graders graphing and analyzing the number of paper towels they’ve saved by using dishtowels instead; fifth graders building a chicken coop to house the chicks being hatched from eggs in Kindergarten classrooms; sixth graders growing vegetables to donate to St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen; eighth graders designing a spinning water wheel to remove plastic waste from rivers before it reaches the ocean.
“For students, taking action is a hopeful act,” says Science Department co-chair John Cunningham, who has advised the student-led Environmental Action Group since founding it in the late 1980s. “It empowers them to shape their own future and help bring about a healthier planet.”
Faculty and staff are equally enthusiastic. A large committee of faculty and staff convened a “sustainability committee” last school year, with the goal of making Foote a better citizen of the Earth. The group met monthly to strategize ways to use less energy, produce less waste and fold ideas about sustainability into the curriculum in student-centered ways. Those efforts have already led to some visible changes. Last spring, the school partnered with Peels & Wheels, a local bicycle-based composting business, to provide and compost biodegradable dishware and cutlery for large events such as graduation—vastly reducing the amount of singleuse plastic being sent to the landfill.
Foote students see the problem clearly—and they also see their own power to do something about it. The more they learn, the better they teach others—and that’s a renewable energy that just might save the planet.
Assistant Head of School Beth Mello says the school’s sustainability efforts are a perfect match for Foote’s projectbased approach to learning. “You take a real-world problem that’s affecting us every day and you apply math, science and critical thinking in ways that make it relevant for children,” she says. “It’s a perfect marriage of things Foote does really well. We teach children to take action, to be good citizens, to address problems. And we’ve got a real problem right now.” Indeed, you can’t read the news without seeing doom-andgloom headlines about melting ice sheets, plastic-choked (opposite) Students worked in buddy pairs to plant native perennials on Earth Day.
First graders saved 18,000 paper towels by bringing dishtowels from home.
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Taking Charge of Their Futures First-grade teachers wanted to reduce the amount of waste being generated from single-serve Goldfish bags and yogurt cups the school was providing. IT ALL S TAR TE D W ITH S NACK .
They could have just swapped single-serve yogurts for bulk yogurt tubs and called it a day. But they didn’t. Instead, they did what Foote teachers do best: they involved their students and made solving the snack-waste problem a fun and collaborative learning experience. The students surveyed peers in Grades K–3 to find out which snacks were most popular. Each first-grade class designated a student to collect the results, and then together the children graphed and analyzed their findings. Finally, the teachers found bulk sources for the top-choice snacks. That success, in turn, led to further classroom conversations, and first graders came up with more ideas for ways to reduce waste. They brought in dishtowels from home to use in place of paper towels. They repurposed Animal Crackers tubs as classroom trash cans so they wouldn’t waste the plastic bags that line traditional trash cans, and so they would be more conscious of how much waste they produce as a class. And each student received a food-grade stainless steel cup for snacks and drinks— eliminating the need for disposable cups. The results were astounding and created an ideal opportunity to develop math skills using real-world problem-solving. Over 20 weeks, the first grade saved approximately 18,000 paper towels (assuming each child
Plastic cups—and later stainless-steel ones—replaced disposable paper cups.
uses four per day) and 600 plastic trash can liners (two trash cans in each classroom) from the landfill by not using them. “That got the kids thinking about their lunches,” explains Grades 1 & 2 associate teacher Susie Grimes ’75. “We looked at the yogurt containers the kids were bringing in and asked how can we eliminate that?” So the first graders made charts to graph how much singleuse trash they were producing from lunches (22 to 29 pieces of trash every lunch!). They started bringing their waste home to spark conversations about sustainability with their families. “Some kids who had the most trash are now proud to be trash-free,” says Grades 1 & 2 teacher Cara Hames. “At the same time, we are careful not to shame them. We let them know it’s okay to have some trash in their lunch, but we ask them to be mindful about it.” The sustainability efforts didn’t stop at lunch, though. The teachers saw an opportunity for authentic connections to the curriculum, specifically the first grade’s study of Eastern woodland Native American tribes. “The students studied deer and examined how Native Americans used every part of the animal,” says Susie. In class, the children made ‘antler bead’ necklaces out of clay. They examined a ‘bin of bones’ to guess which part of the deer’s body each came from and what it was used for.
First graders hold a repurposed Animal Crackers tub that now serves as their classroom trash can.
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“If we can get them thinking about this as first graders,” says Cara, “then Earth may have a chance.”
2,985 in³ x 25 Classrooms = Too Much Waste does The Foote School produce in a single day? It’s a knowable figure and last spring, a fifth grade student combined his passion for the environment with a spirit of mathematical discovery to find out. H OW MU CH WA S TE
“ Just think how much you could change things.”
Fifth grader Dwyer Illick asked Lower School Math Chair Heather Zetterberg to assist him in calculating how much waste the school creates in a given day. His goal was to find ways to reduce the amount of trash Foote generates—and to inspire others to take up the cause. It’s just the kind of authentic learning that Foote is known for: a student-led project that combines curiosity, academic pursuit and a passion to make positive change in the community. During four days last February, Dwyer and Heather collected garbage from the two second-grade classrooms. They sorted it into recycling, trash and food and measured the volume of each. In April, Dwyer presented the findings from this independent math project to the second graders, along with his four recommendations for generating less waste. On a long table, Dwyer laid out cardboard boxes that represented the volume of waste collected. Each box was labeled with a different symbol: a recycling bin to represent anything that could be recycled; a garbage truck for plastic trash can liners and paper towels; and a food symbol for compostable things and single-use food containers, such as squeezable yogurts, chip bags and fruit cups. His first observation was that the trash contained a fair amount of recyclable and compostable material. “The first thing we could change is simply to recycle the recyclables. That would take care of this box,” Dwyer told the second graders, as he tossed the box with the blue bin sticker onto the floor. He and Heather also noticed an enormous amount of paper towels and plastic bags in the garbage, and Dwyer suggested switching to hand towels and trash containers without plastic liners, as the first graders have done. And by composting food waste instead of throwing it out, Dwyer estimated, Foote would reduce its food waste by more than half. With those four fixes, Dwyer calculated, the second grade could reduce its waste by 88 percent—from 2,985 cubic inches to just 358 cubic inches of garbage. Extrapolating to the whole school, Dwyer figured that weekly waste from all classrooms and common spaces could be cut from 73,000 cubic inches to just 8,700 cubic inches! “Just think about how much you could change things,” Dwyer said, “if, for every week until you are in ninth grade, you all did these fixes to reduce waste!”
Fifth grader Dwyer Illick showing second graders boxes representing the quantity of waste produced by the school in a single week
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Real Rivers, Real Needs, Real Learning look like in 2019? At Foote, it looks like four sixth graders spending a chilly Saturday morning combing the banks of the Housatonic River for plastic waste. The “Plastic Punchers,” as these student environmentalists called themselves, spent part of a weekend collecting data on—and developing solutions to—the plastic waste problem that is fast becoming a global crisis. W HAT D O E S “AU THE NTI C LE AR NING”
The Plastic Punchers were one of three Foote teams that participated in this year’s National Geographic GeoChallenge, which invites students in Grades 5–8 to develop creative solutions to real-world problems. This year’s theme, “Tackling Plastics,” drew entries from 9,000 teams across the country. “I think we’ll find in 10 years that plastic waste is as big a concern as climate change,” says science teacher Kim BirgeLiberman, who advised the students in the GeoChallenge. The GeoChallenge invited teams to consider the problem of plastics from source to sea, and students could choose to focus on any river in the world. Kim and fellow science teacher John Cunningham were pleased the student teams chose three local rivers: the Mill River, the West River and the Housatonic. Following the GeoChallenge’s four stages—engage, think, act, impact—the students visited the rivers on sometimes frigid December days, collecting and classifying trash and beginning to develop ideas about how to fix what they were seeing. Back in classrooms, they debated and developed their solutions. Next they translated their ideas into models, maps and videos.
Students worked at home and after school to participate in the National Geographic GeoChallenge.
So what did the students come up with? The eighth-grade West River team designed (and built a model of) a spinning water wheel that would skim plastics from the river’s surface, complete with a catch basin to collect debris. The sixth-grade Housatonic River team (the Plastic Punchers) observed the need for better storm drains to keep plastics out of rivers in the first place. They used computer modeling and a 3-D printer to present their idea for a new drain with secondary filters to catch the waste. The Mill River team decided to tackle the problem even closer to the source: at the school lunch table. These poised and passionate students created an educational slideshow about the harm caused by single-use plastics and ways to reduce waste in lunches, and they took their show on the road. They presented to a faculty and staff meeting, a Parent Teacher Council meeting and to fellow students at morning meetings. In August, they emailed Foote parents with a list of reusable, eco-friendly lunch containers to reduce the need for disposable ones. National Geographic selected two of Foote’s teams to present their solutions at a regional competition in the spring—two of only 250 teams selected nationwide. These dedicated students completed this work on their own time, with little fanfare and no promise of grades or credit. They did it simply because they wanted to be part of the solution.
The “Plastic Punchers,” a team of sixth graders, cleaned up trash from the banks of the Housatonic River.
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“The appeal of it for me is that it is entirely authentic,” says Kim, “The topic felt a little scary at times, but that just made everyone passionate about trying to find something we can do about it.”
Planting for Birds, Bees and Buddies of Environmental Action Group (EAG) dreamed up a bold idea: they wanted to purchase 500 native-species perennials for Foote’s campus— enough for every student in the school to plant one. IN 2 017, S T U D E NT ME MB E R S
For Earth Day, the entire school came together to plant 500 native-species perennials.
The idea was inspired and ambitious, but the students lacked the necessary funds (around $4,000). So over the next two years, the students saved proceeds from their fundraising efforts—selling reusable water bottles and concessions at environment-themed movie events—until they had half of the necessary amount. With matching funds generously donated by the Foote Parent Teacher Council, the students finally had enough to purchase the perennials and undertake their project. Before planting, however, came planning. The students researched plant species that are bird- and pollinatorfriendly; took soil samples to be tested at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station; identified suitable locations on campus for each species; and created a schedule for planting—no easy task when you’re coordinating 475 students and their teachers! In April, under the guidance of faculty advisors John Cunningham, Kim Birge-Liberman and Kelly Small, students planted the native species in buddy pairs: Kindergartners with ninth graders, first and seventh graders, etc. Students planted all over campus—from the Sacred Woods to the athletic fields and everywhere in between—beautifying the campus with allium, echinacea,
Science teacher John Cunningham and students ready to plant near the community garden on Highland Street
lemon-drop azalea, sugar maples and red maples, blue flag iris, witch hazel, spice bush, marsh marigold, bleeding heart and dozens of other species. Kim heaps praise on John Cunningham, who spearheaded the planting project and knows more than anyone about the plant species on Foote’s campus. “John is a really amazing biologist,” Kim says. “The students made a list of native species they thought would be good and John went through and looked for ones we didn’t already have. The focus was on native, pollinator and bird-friendly species.” Environmentalism starts with exposure to—and appreciation of—the natural world, and the planting project achieved both, says Kelly, who co-advises EAG. “I noticed on the afternoon after we planted, that kids would walk by at pick-up and say, ‘That’s the plant I planted, Mom.’ There was a lot of pride in this planting project.”
Kindergartners planting with their ninth grade buddy in the Sacred Woods
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Around Campus
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Fall 2019 | 21
Graduation 2019
ME MB E R S O F THE CL A S S O F 2 019
and their families celebrated a joyous graduation on June 12, bidding farewell to 26 graduates whose years on Loomis Place helped shape them into bright, compassionate and inclusive individuals. Science teacher Leslie Long, who retired after 21 years at Foote, offered a heartfelt reflection, drawing from the words of biologist Rachel Carson and poet Mary Oliver. In announcing the class correspondents, ninth-grade parent Claire Priest ’86 shared a personal story about loss to illustrate the impact that Foote friendships have had on her life. “This
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community is so powerful, and you never know when you might need a community” to help you through hard times, she said. Head of School Carol Maoz spoke about each graduate individually and the contributions each made to the Foote community. “Today as you soak in the love in this room and appreciate this beautiful community, let us remember that with privilege comes responsibility. Use your gifts as a force for good in the world. You are our future and you have the education and values to work toward a more just and more peaceful world.”
Graduation speaker Joan Bigwood Osborn ’75, an author, playwright and activist, spoke about the importance of finding and following one’s own path in life (see speech on page 24). Before proud parents and teachers in the Hosley Gym, graduates were awarded diplomas and academic and athletic prizes; performed on hand bells, steel pans and world drums; and shared a photo slideshow of their unforgettable years at Foote.
> Find more photos on our website at www.footeschool.org/graduation2019.
Accolades & Gifts Foote School Prize Josie Cancro, Jude Meares-Garcia, Malachai York Margaret B. Hitchcock Prize Noelia Garcia, Ella Hopfner Outstanding Academic Achievement Award Ella Hopfner, Malachai York Jean B. Shepler Fine Arts Prize Matteo Romero Athletic Achievement Award Josie Cancro, Jude Meares-Garcia, Rohan Shivakumar Class Correspondents Josie Cancro, Malachai York Hannah Lee ’08 Diploma Former Head Librarian Lynda Johnson Class Gift $3,750 for the Foote Fund $500 for Horizons Ninth-Grade Parents Farewell Gift $4,525 for Financial Aid $1,850 for Financial Aid for the China Program 100 percent parent participation
Graduates Will Attend Branford High School Canterbury School Cheshire Academy Choate Rosemary Hall Dana Hall School Deerfield Academy Dublin School Guilford High School Hamden Hall Country Day School Hamden High School Hopkins School Hotchkiss School Loomis Chaffee School Milton Academy North Haven High School Phillips Academy Andover Proctor Academy Wilbur Cross High School (top) Former Head Librarian Lynda Johnson receives the Hannah Lee ’08 Diploma. (second row, left) Graduation speaker Joan Bigwood Osborn ’75 (center) with siblings Jim Bigwood ’68 and Kate Bigwood Atkinson ’70. (second row, right) Graduates perform as part of the Ninth Grade Handbell Ensemble. (third row) A ninth grade graduate with his family. (above) The ninth-grade World Drumming Ensemble performs an original composition.
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Graduation 2019
‘ Be whatever great looks like to you.’
The following is an excerpt from the graduation address by Joan Bigwood Osborn ’75, an author and activist whose most recent work, a play titled Or Current Resident, was staged at New York’s Theater for the New City in 2018.
THANK YO U S O MU CH
for that warm Foote welcome. I gotta say, I feel at home already. I want to confide in you something I would usually reserve for close friends and family: I admit to having something of a Foote fetish. In this regard, I am not alone. I hope I leave you with a feeling of community even stronger than the one you brought to this life event.
Why do you think Mrs. Foote wanted lots of music, dance, drama and art at her school? Think about how the Lower School classrooms were designed in the 1950s to be flooded with light and surrounded by trees, connected by walkways that required us to go outside in between activities to give us fresh air and a change of scene. Foote is very intentional in the way it educates. So why do you think creativity got top billing?
The first time I stood up on a Foote stage to perform in front of my peers was at the 1966 Fun Song Assembly, performing the Belgian pop song “Pipot” as part of what could loosely be described as a benefit band—you know, a band assembled for one performance. It featured me and my three older siblings: Jim on keyboard, Peter on drums, Kate on recorder. I was a little first grader with nothing more than a tambourine and a dream.
You know the expression ‘thinking outside the box?’ It implies thinking creatively and it never goes out of fashion. I feel like the maypole dance, the sword dance, sculpting and firing clay, publishing poetry and singing our hearts out in harmony are all activities that lend themselves to exploring outside the box. When we give our brains permission to go in new directions, we can expect interesting results every time. As you grow to trust your creative self, I believe you can harness it for ever-more complex challenges. I look at my older siblings, all highly creative. Jim is a film producer and a recipient of a Foote Alumni Achievement Award for his contribution to the industry. Kate runs a large church in Concord, New Hampshire, and you see her creative touch in everything from sermons to fundraisers. Peter has been playing in a real-life benefit band while running businesses most of his adult life; he raises money for his local education foundation from ticket sales and gets to perform in the same venue as many of his favorite touring acts. A DIY rock star.
We had learned of Kiki the Belgian pop star on our family’s year abroad. Our British father had grown up in Brussels and he wanted his kids to have the unique benefit of living abroad and attending his version of Foote School, which was Decroly. That private school was particularly known for developing in its students excellent observational skills. What about Foote? What did Martha Babcock Foote envision for her students? Her curriculum would emphasize “creativity and the growth of the mind and the spirit.” 24 | Foote Prints
“ As you grow to trust your creative self, I believe you can harness it for ever-more complex challenges.” —Joan Bigwood Osborn ’75, graduation address
All three of them wonder what their baby sister is doing up here with the microphone. Creativity in the classroom feels so right that I started a charity in 2010 in California, which brings volunteer art teachers into underserved after-school programs. Artistic self-expression releases endorphins and dopamine and that helps to create a deeply rewarding state of flow. When you apply yourself to an activity of your own making and you completely lose track of time (first-person shooter games don’t count), that’s flow. Once you know how to access flow, you can tap into it whenever you have time on your hands. Foote got me started early on the creative path and I have never stepped off. I co-wrote my first musical comedy in fifth grade—a 1950s adaptation of the Cinderella story we called “Heaterella.” When I contacted my co-author and class scribe about that project recently, she sent me a scanned copy of the original script. I told you I wasn’t the only member of the Class of ’75 with a Foote fetish! Heaterella’s fairy godmother sings “At the Hop, you’ll be on top of Cool Cat’s Lovers List.” I am not sure what exactly we meant by a ‘lovers list’ but I do know the thrill of a good internal rhyme. I was hooked from that day forward and have been writing lyrics ever since. When I wasn’t getting enough interest in my early commercial attempts at musical theater, I founded rhymingtributes.com and started rhyming for people’s celebratory gatherings. I took a similar approach to my first novel. I wanted it on the shelves before our mother succumbed to her terminal cancer so I ended up publishing it myself. My first stage play was produced Off-OffBroadway because I handed the script to a director I met by chance through Foote friends. The more I think about it, the more I realize that my entire career as a writer has been a series of DIY projects. I have progressed enough in my field to realize that I could use some qualifications, and so in the new year I will start a Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Gladly will I learn and hopefully teach because I do love teaching. Many Footies do. I think that’s because Foote modeled excellent community-building skills that we still emulate. I was with my seventh-grade softball team over the holidays last year—everyone but the pitcher. That same team was
at my wedding and at our parents’ joint memorial service in Hamden. On another occasion, more than 10 years ago, they got together when I was living on the West Coast and wrote me a group card when I needed extra support. We have been making plays together for going on 50 years. We have supplanted our parents in many cases, and we serve more and more as the memory keepers for each others’ childhoods. You can read all about the love affair that is the Class of ’75 in the spring 2019 issue of Foote Prints. Which reminds me. As newly minted alumni of The Foote School you are going to be getting a semiannual alumni magazine in the mail. There isn’t a percentage point small enough to represent how many Americans you will meet in your life who also receive an alumni magazine from their elementary and middle schools. What this says to me, my friends, is that you have been endowed with one of life’s greatest privileges. Your first alma mater—it means ‘nurturing mother’ in Latin, but you knew that—is an alma mater to love all your days. A place to believe in. A way for you to get behind social justice by supporting the school’s financial aid program. I think of the kids in our class whose families could never have afforded this education but whose child perfectly rounded out our madcap little clan. Foote becomes a place where you can retreat, reune and refresh. Foote becomes your extended family. Right now I have more in common with you ninth graders than I have with most of your parents and grandparents, because we are fellow alums now. However, our parents—who spent 15 years cheering on Maroon and Grey, just like your peeps—get the real props for having gifted us Foote in the first place. Even though I will not be paying your Foote tuitions, as some graduation speakers do these days, I do consider you my adopted class. As such, I will be reading your class column with great interest; so don’t forget to write to your mater. And don’t just wiggle those little Foote tootsies out there in the surf of life. Get wet all over. Eat sand and get up again. Go forth and be whatever great looks like to you. And if the world won’t tell you you’re great, you go right ahead and show the world that you are. I will be cheering you on every Foote step of the way. > Find more photos on our website at www.footeschool.org/graduation2019.
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Eighth Grade Celebration
FO OTE CE LE B R ATE D eighth graders
on June 11 in the Hosley Gym. Surrounded by their teachers, families and friends, 38 departing students received certificates while 15 were introduced as the ninth-grade Class of 2020. Activity club leaders recapped student accomplishments for the year—collecting 14 pints of blood during a Red Cross blood drive; winning two golden gavels at a regional Model Congress summit; learning about the topic of implicit bias with F-STAND (Foote Students Together Against Negativity and Discrimination)—and handed the reins
to their successors. Eighth graders were also honored for outstanding achievements in academics and sports.
Departing Eighth Graders Will Attend
As he addressed the class, Head of Middle School John Turner encouraged students to consider the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., when in 1967 he asked a group of middle school students in Philadelphia, “What is your life’s blueprint?”
Branford High School Choate Rosemary Hall Guilford High School Hamden High School Hopkins School Lincoln School Notre Dame Academy Overseas Family School in Singapore Pomfret School Sacred Heart Academy Wilbur Cross High School / Educational Center for the Arts
“All these years later, it is hard to consider a better foundation for one’s life: Know who you are and know your worth. Walk boldly on the path you choose. And be guided by your important values.”
> Find more photos on our website at www.footeschool.org/celebration2019.
The Foote School Chorus performing “A Million Dreams”
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Leadership Roles for the 2019–2020 School Year Ninth-Grade President Elias Theodore Community Council (formerly Student Council) Kurt Boone, Jackie Ruggieri Amnesty International Zainab Khokha, Anya Mobarak, Sofia Pandya China Ambassadors Lucy Fritzinger, Geffen Waterman Chorus Kwasi Adae, Lauriann Burt, Hayden Earnshaw Club of Applied Science John Freeman, Florence Polak Environmental Action Group Conor Gore-Grimes, Grayson Neuman F-STAND Anya Mobarak, Elias Theodore Falco (Foote mascot) Zainab Khokha
Accolades & Gifts Outstanding Academic Achievement Award Maddie Merkle-Ward, Amy Metrick Honorable mention Lucy Fritzinger, Kyle Holler, Abigail Kruger, Abigail Murphy, Julia Murphy, Ryan Yang The Barbara Riley History Writing Prize Kyle Holler Athletic Award Lucy Fritzinger, Maddie Merkle-Ward Maroon & Grey Award (Field Day Winner) Grey Team co-captains: Josie Cancro, Colin Gore-Grimes, Taylor Morris, Matteo Romero Maroon Team co-captains: Gabby Dellacroce, Charlie Ferguson, Aden Goldblum, Ella Hopfner Parents Farewell Gift $1,800 for Financial Aid $5,725 for Professional Development Community Council Gift $2,950 split among the Santa Barbara Humane Society, Autism Services & Resources Connecticut, breast cancer research, Horizons at Foote and St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen
Footenotes (literary magazine) Florence Polak, Beyla Ridky Foote Steps (yearbook) Zander Anestis, Miia Brooks, Lucy Fritzinger, Jackie Ruggieri Jazz Rock Ensemble Elia Ahmadi, Lauriann Burt
SPI (student newspaper) Lauren Sonnenfeld, Teddy Witt
Grade 8: Team placed first place in the New Haven/Fairfield region, and fourth out of 68 teams in New England. Amy Metrick finished first in New England and first in the region. Ryan Yang finished fourth in New England and second place regionally. Other team members were David Garsten, Kyle Holler and Maya Salvana. Grade 7: Team placed third in the region, and 18th out of 72 schools in New England. Team members were Garretson Curtis, Isak Hopfner, Shunji Lewandowski, Florence Polak and Teddy Witt.
MathCounts Shunji Lewandowski, Florence Polak Model Congress Lucy Fritzinger, Yohan Lake, Jackie Ruggieri, Ehsaan Sabooh, Elias Theodore, Tristan Ward
New England Mathematics League Each year, students in grades 6 through 8 compete with peers from around New England in the Math League contest, answering multiple-choice questions covering advanced arithmetic, algebra and geometry. The mission of Math League is to build student interest and confidence in math through solving problems.
The “passing of the feather” to the new Falco mascot
Grade 6: Team placed first in the region and 14th in New England. Ray Ellis came in third place regionally. Krish Agarwal, Sara Blank and Milo Chen tied for fourth place in the region. Helena Chaine was also a team member. National Latin Exam About 139,000 students from every state and 20 foreign countries—from elementary school to college level—took the 2019 National Latin Exam, answering questions on grammar and syntax; Latin sayings; and Roman history, religion and culture. Awards were given to students who scored above the national average. Thirty-seven Foote students received awards. Congratulations to all!
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Faculty Farewells to three longtime members of the faculty and staff who together devoted more than 70 incredible years to the school’s children and families. FO OTE S AID GO O D BYE
Leslie Long
Dave McGaffin
LE S LIE LO N G was an admired teacher,
DAVE M CG AFFIN has been taking care of
advisor and mentor over her 21 years at Foote. As a science teacher and department co-chair, she made science accessible and exciting for a generation of students while setting the bar high for what they could achieve. She quietly set an example for academic excellence. Few Foote teachers have done more to prepare students for future science careers, and Leslie imparted to her students a deep understanding of inquiry and the scientific method. Her yearend “sludge test”—a challenging project that required students to identify the component parts of a mystery substance—was a rite of passage for so many Footies. As department co-chair, Leslie oversaw development of the Lower School science curriculum, bringing new materials and methods that enhanced inquiry into those grades. As an eighth-grade advisor, she earned the trust of students and helped organize the annual Halloween Parade and Fair to benefit Columbus House shelters. She also served as faculty advisor to the student chapter of Amnesty International. As a Foote parent (her son, Dillon, graduated in 2004), Leslie shared her talents generously with the school community, sewing the first costume for the school mascot, Falco—one more feather in the cap of a teacher who will be greatly missed.
Foote’s buildings and grounds since he was a teenager, when his father, Bill McGaffin, was Foote’s head of maintenance. When the Blizzard of 1978 dropped two feet of snow, Dave and his brothers grabbed shovels and helped their father with the monumental task of digging out the campus. After Bill retired, Dave came to work at Foote in 1990 and became head of maintenance a few years later. Dave brought to the job a tireless work ethic, a can-do attitude and a heart of gold. There isn’t an inch of Foote’s campus that Dave did not know all about or fix and improve over the years. For decades, Dave was the first one on campus every day, making coffee and making sure everything worked smoothly for the school day. He was a creative problem solver who was equally at home fixing boilers and stringing lights for a PTC fundraising gala. He provided valuable input to the process of designing the Jonathan Milikowsky Science and Technology Building based on his knowledge of maintaining the campus. In ways big and small, Dave was Foote’s maintenance Superman.
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Tim Blauvelt OVE R 2 0 IN S P IR E D YE AR S at Foote,
Tim Blauvelt was an encouraging teacher and a wise mentor for so many students. He was a fifth-grade teacher from 1996 to 2003 and introduced the overnight trip to Deer Lake Scout reservation in Killingworth, a formative experience for a generation of Footies. Tim’s science classrooms were a creative jumble of robotics, circuits, wind turbines and rockets. His students blasted off model rockets to learn about concepts like propulsion and drag and tinkered with wind turbines to maximize their power output. He made advanced math classes fun and challenging, providing encouragement that made students feel confident and capable, and he was a dedicated seventh-grade advisor. A true Renaissance man, Tim is also a gifted mechanic and carpenter, and he put those talents to work for his students. He built inventions to demonstrate scientific principles, such as a spinning plywood disc that students would ride to better understand the Coriolis effect. Along with science and math, his students learned about good character and frequently sought out Tim for advice, which he always shared with genuine caring.
Faculty Honors were celebrated for a major milestone: 15 years at Foote. At a faculty luncheon in the Hosley Gym, colleagues paid tribute to the honorees, sharing poems and videos made by students and speaking movingly about the difference they have made in the lives of students and families. THI S S P R IN G , S IX FACU LT Y ME MB E R S
Jim Adams, Grade 5
John Climie, Grade 4
Denise Quinn, Grade 4
Trevor Rosenthal, Middle School Humanities
Donna Santomasso, Kindergarten
Heather Zetterberg, Lower School Math
New Faculty and Staff 2019–2020 FO OTE W E LCO ME D 14 new faculty and staff members this year
with a diverse range of teaching and professional experiences. First row, from left: Alison Moncrief Bromage, 8th Grade English teacher; Stephanie Dillon, receptionist/administrative assistant; Dana Kephart, music teacher; Emily Alderman, art associate; Jessica Payne, Lower School head teacher; Felicia McKee, Lower School associate Second row, from left: Chrissy Khachane, Head of Lower School; Chris Zachau, Middle School science teacher; Rob Withers, teacher intern and math teacher; Mary Beth Claflin, gift coordinator; Andrew Zielinski, Lower School science teacher; Rupert Chinatamani, facilities manager Not Pictured: Emily Istas, coordinator of After School and Vacation programs; Zhao Yu (Vincent), Chinese guest teacher Fall 2019 | 29
From the Board President
Blazing a Path to Foote’s Future into a new school year, and as I enter my second full year as Board President, I want to update you on two exciting and important opportunities for our community. A S WE S E T TLE
First, the Centennial Campaign, Secure Foote’s Future. I am very pleased to share that, thanks to the generosity of our parents, alumni and friends, we are more than halfway toward our ambitious goal of raising $10 million. We set forth on this important mission just 36 months ago and have already raised more than $5.2 million! The primary goal of the campaign is not just to increase the school’s endowment but to double it. To put that in perspective, it took us the better part of our first century to reach $10 million, and in only three years we have added more than 50 percent to it. While there is still much work to be done, we should all be proud of this impressive accomplishment. A strong endowment is important to Foote for several reasons. More than 80 percent of our revenue to operate the school is derived from tuition. Without a strong endowment, tuition increases will have a negative impact on our mission and ability to attract a diverse student population. Along with diversity, the campaign also supports our commitment to hiring and retaining the best teachers. To accomplish this goal, we must offer teachers 30 | Foote Prints
salaries that are commensurate with their talent. A robust endowment will allow us to do that. Second is our search for a new Head of School. As of this writing, our Search Committee has selected RG175, a leading independent school search firm, as our partner in this process. Foote’s stellar reputation, according to our consultants, assures us a deep and talented candidate pool. We also welcome input from the entire Foote community and I invite you to reach out to me personally at rlee@orlcommercial.com. Our goal is to notify the Foote community of the new head by early 2020. We will have many opportunities to celebrate our departing Head of School, Carol Maoz, over the next 12 months. For now I want to simply thank Carol for her dedication and for the deep and lasting contributions she has made to Foote School and its families over the past 10 years. Foote’s singular goal has always been, and forever will be, to nurture a lifelong love of learning. I want to assure you, as the Board President, that our commitment to finding a new Head of School who embodies that mission is our highest priority. I am confident that our next head will progressively lead Foote toward a bright and sustainable future.
J. Richard Lee President, The Foote School Association
Board of Directors
Meet Foote’s New Board Members
Kavitha Bindra P’25, ’29
Geert Rouwenhorst P’26
Alexandra Shor P’22, ’25
Kavitha Bindra is the Assistant Dean for Alumni Relations at Yale School of Management (SOM). A summa cum laude graduate of Wellesley College with an M.B.A. from Yale SOM, Kavitha worked at Deloitte Consulting and Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center in New York City before returning to the New Haven area. In 2012, she joined the Yale SOM Admissions office, serving as the Director of Admissions Operations. She serves on the boards of Calvin Hill Day Care Center and the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, which is dedicated to enhancing inclusion of underrepresented minorities in management schools and careers. Kavitha spent her early childhood in New Zealand and the United Kingdom before moving to Burlington, Vermont, where she completed secondary school. She lives in the Westville section of New Haven with her two daughters, Sasha (Grade 4) and Sukhi (Kindergartner).
Geert Rouwenhorst is a professor of finance at the Yale School of Management and deputy director of the International Center of Finance. Born in The Netherlands, Geert graduated from Erasmus University in Rotterdam with degrees in economics and law. He joined Yale in 1990 and held intermittent visiting positions at MIT and Singapore Management University. At Yale, Geert has taught in the general areas of investments and corporate finance and served as a Deputy Dean of the School of Management. His co-edited book, The Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations that Created Modern Capital Markets, was named a book of the year by Barron’s and The Economist. Geert is a founding partner of SummerHaven, an investment management company that serves endowments, foundations and pension funds. He is a past treasurer of both the New Haven Preservation Trust and Children’s Preschool and currently serves on the investment committee at Foote. He lives in East Rock with his wife, Bernadette Huang, and their daughter, Alexandra (Grade 3).
Alexandra Shor graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in comparative religion. She received an M.D. from Boston University School of Medicine and went on to an obstetrics and gynecology residency at Boston Medical Center. While in the medical field, Alexandra was particularly interested in family planning and care delivery in underserved populations. After having children, Alexandra made the decision to be home with them full-time. She now lives in East Rock with her husband, Ted Cohen, a professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, and their two children, Jack (Grade 7) and Poppy (Grade 4). She is involved in many projects in greater New Haven that focus on education, health and opportunity disparities. She currently serves on the boards of Village Health Works, a nonprofit organization working to bring health care, sustainable agriculture and education to Burundi; and NXTHVN, a New Haven project at the intersection of social justice and creative arts.
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Board of Directors
Departing from the Board Kim Bohen P’11, ’14, ’16 brought an amazing breadth and depth of knowledge in education to her long tenure on the Board. After serving eight years, Kim leaves the Board to become the Executive Director at Leila Day Nurseries, ensuring that her strong connection with Foote will continue. Kim has been a member of the Education, Governance and Nominations committees and was the Horizons at Foote liaison. Kim was also board treasurer for Horizons at Foote. With an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management and previous work as director of education initiatives at the United Way of Greater New Haven, where she oversaw all education-related community investments and partnerships, Kim was very knowledgeable about the state of K–9 education nationally as well as locally and has been a tremendous asset to the Board. Kim began her affiliation with Foote as a parent in 2001 and by 2006 all three of her children were enrolled: Jack ’11, Lily ’14 and Grady ’16. During those years, Kim was also an active member of the PTC.
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After eight outstanding years on the Board, we bid farewell to George Knight P’11, ’13, ’14, ’16, ’21. Happily his youngest son, Finn, is an eighth grader, and so George and wife Meg will still be actively involved in the daily life of Foote. George served as chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, and his experience and expertise as an architect and principal at Knight Architecture were invaluable during construction of the Jonathan Milikowsky Science and Technology Building. George has recently been leading the effort to bring air conditioning to all Lower School classrooms and he has been deeply involved with Foote’s recent energy audit. We are very fortunate that George will continue to serve on the Buildings and Grounds Committee. George’s four other children are all Foote alumni: George ’11, Healy ’13, Logan ’14 and Grace ’16.
Danielle Ginnetti P’24 Danielle served as Parent Teacher Council co-president for two years and oversaw a number of programs and events both new and old, including vision and hearing screening; School Photo Day; the fall and spring book fairs; Fall Family Fun Day; Parents’ Night Out; Square One Art; Foote on Ice; Foote at the Movies; a food truck festival following May Day; and this year’s wonderfully successful Foote on the Water fundraising auction, to which the restaurant she co-owns, 116 Crown, generously donated all of the food. Additionally, under Danielle’s leadership the Foote School store officially launched online. The Foote community is grateful for Danielle’s combination of hard work and good humor while leading the PTC.
Parent Teacher Council
A Marvelous Year for Foote’s PTC THE FO OTE S CH O O L P TC works
to build community and raise funds to support important school initiatives. We had an exciting year filled with many new fundraisers and social events. Fundraising: The PTC organized several fundraising events throughout the year, including School Photo Day, multiple shopping promotions, fall and summer book fairs and our second May Day food truck festival. With the help of parent volunteers we partnered with Campus Customs to create the Foote School online store, which has been a big success. Our Foote on the Water fundraising auction was held at the Canal Dock Boathouse on New Haven Harbor, bringing together parents, faculty and friends to enjoy food, music and community on a gorgeous spring evening. We would like to thank the entire Foote community for its incredibly generous support.
Funds raised by PTC events went directly to important Foote programs, including class field trips, emergency financial aid, the summer reading books for all Foote students, campus beautification and educational enrichment for each grade and department. Social Events: This year we hosted a number of social events including Fall Family Fun Day, Parents’ Night and Fall Dinner, Movie Night and Foote on Ice (our ice skating social). School Events: Our wonderful volunteers were essential in helping School Photo Day and vision and hearing screenings run smoothly for our students. They also were a great help at Grandparents Day and throughout the year running the school store. Parent volunteers coordinated refreshments for faculty meetings and
also organized the Faculty Appreciation Breakfast and the After-School Teacher Appreciation Dinner. Our Book Swap was very successful and the extra books were donated to Horizons at Foote and New Haven Reads. Volunteers help in so many different ways and we’d like to thank them for their generous gifts of time and effort. We look forward to another terrific year. Please reach out to us any time in person or at ptc@footeschool.org. Danielle Ginnetti and Bonnie Moskowitz PTC Co-Presidents, 2018–2019
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Report of Giving
Gaining a Foote-hold S O ME THING O LD, S O ME THING NE W, something borrowed, something
blue—traditionally what all brides possess on their wedding day and an appropriate description of giving during my first year as Director of Development and Alumni Programs. Something old, yet continuously strong and tremendously important to Foote, the Foote Fund had another exceptional year with $736,000 raised from 868 donors. Parent participation remained high at 85 percent. Something new: Crossing the halfway point in our Centennial Campaign. The campaign, Secure Foote’s Future: The Centennial Campaign, has secured gifts and pledges totalling more than $5.2 million! Year three was a banner year for the campaign, which aims to double Foote’s endowment to support four key priorities: sustain socioeconomic diversity; increase faculty of color; ensure robust enrollment; and attract and retain the best teachers. With two years and $4.8 million to go, we need the Foote community to rally now more than ever. If you have questions or are interested in having a confidential conversation about supporting the campaign, I invite you to contact me or one of the Campaign Co-Chairs, Cindy Leffell and Rich Bershstein. Something borrowed: Foote’s first annual Giving Day, an idea borrowed from higher education and with amazing success. On
“ Now more than ever, we need our community to secure Foote’s future.”
34 | Foote Prints
February 19, 2019, we devoted the day to thinking about, speaking about and supporting Foote. In all, 325 donors put their best foot forward, contributing more than $45,000 in just 24 hours. A third of those donors were alumni and another third were current parents. The remainder was made up of past parents, grandparents, faculty/ staff and friends. On campus, the day was devoted to school spirit, with students decked out in maroon and grey and teachers and staff going head-to-head in a tug-o-war cheered on by the kids. And finally, something blue. No disrespect to Picasso, but Foote’s blue period is all about setting the sky as our limit for donating and volunteering. Flip through the pages of our Report of Giving and you’ll see how many parents and alumni have supported Foote in the 2018–2019 fiscal year. Alumni supporters ranged from the Class of 1938 to the Class of 2018. Meaningful contributions were made to the Foote Fund and the Centennial Campaign, and for the second consecutive year the parents of the ninth-grade class had 100 percent participation in their Ninth-Grade Farewell Gift. None of this would be possible without all of you—and like the blue to the color palette, you are primary to Foote. Thank you,
Jody Abzug Director of Development and Alumni Programs
Foote Giving Day O N FE B R UARY 19 , we saw a vivid display of what Foote alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty and friends can
accomplish in a single day. Foote’s first Giving Day was a resounding success, raising critical funds to support Foote’s mission to provide child-centered, experiential learning within a diverse and inclusive community. A huge thank you to every donor for your belief in, and generosity to, The Foote School! Stay tuned for information about our second annual Giving Day on February 20, 2020!
24
325
92
Hours
Individual Donors
Gifts from Alumni
118
41
Gifts from Current Parents
Gifts from Current Faculty and Staff
$45,000 Raised for the Foote Fund
Fall 2019 | 35
Parent Participation
Class of 2020
Class of 2021
Foote School parents maintained a very high level of participation in the Foote Fund in 2018–2019, with 85 percent of parents contributing. Congratulations to parents of ninth graders (Class of 2019), who reached 100 percent participation!
96%
77%
Joellen Adae f Stephanie & Mark Anestis f Lisa Brody Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen & Turner Brooks f Renée Perroncel & Neal DeLaurentis f Tracy & Brian Earnshaw f Dawn & Daniel Farricielli Chris Freeman f Francine Freeman f Jacqueline & Stephen Fritzinger Carolyn Kuzmeski & Saul Fussiner Anna & Bryan Garsten Dan Goren Rebecca Gratz f Avery Grauer ’87 f Elise & David Hergan Carolyn & Jonathan Johnson Nooriya & Mustafa Khokha f Susannah Bernheim & Caleb Kleppner Camille & Jon Koff f Gail & Joseph Labadia f Mislal Andom-Lake & Michael Lake f Michele & Jesse McCray Emily Melnick & Matt McDermott Renee & Sumit Mehra f Annie & Susan Merkle-Ward Susan & Andrew Metrick f Mary Zihal & Dena Miller Anna McGaw-Mobarak & Ahmed Mobarak Victoria & Stephen Murphy f Emily & Ryan Oakes Juliana Wilson & Thomas Ruggieri Dr. Nita Ahuja & Rajesh Saggi Krystn Wagner & José Salvana f Abha Gupta & Stephen Scholand f Heide Lang & Mark Siegel f Kelly & Ben Small f Lisa & Lindsay Suter f Molleen Theodore & Andrew Leonard f Elisa & John Turner f Hester van de Rhoer & Pieter van Dokkum Kerri Kelshall-Ward & John Ward Thea Buxbaum & Gar Waterman Samantha & Daniel Wong Susan Chan & Gideon Yaffe f Yanbin Liu & Yang Yang Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar f Yaira Matyakubova & Andrius Zlabys Lori & Robert Zyskowski f
Roya Hakakian & Ramin Ahmadi f Heba Abbas & Amaar Al-Hayder f Mary Lui & Vincent Balbarin Chay & Richard Bershtein f Andrew Boone & Sarah Netter Boone ’89 f Elizabeth Gill & Jacob Burt f Amy Caplan ’88 f Deborah & David Carroll f Ann Pingoud & Marc Chung f Nancy Clayton & Brad Collins f Sarah & Hugh Corley f JoAnn Hong-Curtis & Jeptha Curtis f Jennifer & Lance Dellacroce Amanda & Ray Diffley f Janice & Alex Dreier Elizabeth & Niall Ferguson f Nicolas Gangloff Kathy Park & Scott Gettinger f Judy & Simon Gore-Grimes f Tina Hansen & Adam Hopfner f Janet & Tain-Yen Hsia Sarah Eder Infantino Simina & Costin Ionescu f Özler & Ege Kayaarasi f Sumiya Khan f Meghan & George Knight f Tina Tyson & Paul Kumpf Deborah & David Laliberte f Amy & Rich Lee f Katie & George Levesque Kim Yap & Andrew Lewandowski f Mona Gohara & Kiran Makam f Kim Morris f Cathy & Christophe Pamelard f Stefanie Markovits & Benjamin Polak f Naomi Senzer & Brad Ridky f Clarky & Jeff Sonnenfeld f Kelly Streeter f Susan & Jeffrey White John Witt Dolores Vojvoda & Zoran Zimolo
Class of 2019 100% Joellen Adae f Alison & Adam Cady Jennifer & Lance Dellacroce Elizabeth & Niall Ferguson f Candace & Burvée Franz f Lynne Banta & Javier Garcia f Paul Garcia Laura Goldblum f Judy & Simon Gore-Grimes f Liz & Chris Hansen ’86 f Tina Hansen & Adam Hopfner f Sarah Eder Infantino Nina Scherago & George Jones f Katie & George Levesque Tracey L. Meares Kim Morris f Duffy & Eric Mudry f Rebecca Paugh f Claire Priest ’86 f Mary & Stephen Rinaldi f Trish Abbenante & Camilo Romero Allyx Schiavone ’85 f Jennifer Milano & Michael Sessine f Andrea & Brian Sorrells f Annie Wareck ’85 f Iain York Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar f
36 | Foote Prints
*Deceased
**Matching Gift Program Participant
f
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
Class of 2022
Class of 2023
Class of 2024
82%
87%
85%
Mamta & Yash Agarwal f Julie Zimmerman & Paul Anastas Almudena Villanueva & David Bach f Michelle & Kossouth Bradford ’87 f Lisa Brown Lena & Carmine Capasso Larysa & Matthew Cassella Xiaoling Yuan & William Chaine f Christine Won & Hyung Chun f Alexandra Shor & Theodore Cohen Jennifer & Lance Dellacroce Tracy & Brian Earnshaw f Candace & Burvée Franz f Chris Freeman f Francine Freeman f Maria Lara-Tejero & Jorge Galán f Nicole Musayeva & Khanlar Gasimov f Valentina Greco & Antonio Giraldez f Avery Grauer ’87 f Cara & Robert Hames f Leslie DiMella & Marc Hammarlund Elise & David Hergan Caitlin Simon & Gregory Huber Jessica & John Illuzzi f Carolyn & Jonathan Johnson Preethi Varghese-Joseph & George Joseph f Camille & Jon Koff f Lissa Sugeng & Michael Krauss f Katina Varzos & Jonathan Lowe Briah & Spencer Luckey ’85 Melinda Papowitz & Gary Markowski Melissa & Timothy McCormack f Liz Donius & Ken McGill f Tara & Jamie McPartland f Rachel Ebling & Edward Moran f Bonnie & Toby Moskowitz Duffy & Eric Mudry f Walker Holmes & Justin Neuman Laurel & Keith Pisani Mary & Steve Rinaldi f Annette & Kurt Roberts f Amy Marx & Robert Schonberger f Jennifer Milano & Michael Sessine f Shipra & Vinod Srihari f Cristin Siebert & Eduardo Urios-Aparisi f Christine Ko & Peter Whang f Lan Lin & Wu Yan f
Annie & Jim Adams f Mamta & Yash Agarwal f Carrie & Bill Bergantino f Adriana Blanco & Richard Bernstein Hilary & David Buxbaum Kimberly Johung & Francis Chan f Alison & Liam Considine Sarah & Hugh Corley f Denise Quinn Dobratz & Erik Dobratz f Emily & Chris Fasano f Madeleine & Arpad Fejos f Christine & Alan Forman Dan Goren Jennifer Griffiths f Alison & Christopher Illick f Nooriya & Mustafa Khokha f Angelica & Kevin Kim Sandra Dias & Frank Kowalonek f Stephen Randazzo & Laura Lovejoy ’84 Mona Gohara & Kiran Makam f Katherine Campbell & Matthew Maleska** f Melissa & Timothy McCormack f Alexandra & Carlos Mena f Lu Wu & Lingzhong Meng Anna McGaw-Mobarak & Ahmed Mobarak Bonnie & Toby Moskowitz Cheryl & Geoffrey Nadzam f Emily & Ryan Oakes Anoli Borad & Abhijit Patel Jennifer & Jeffrey Possick f Christina & Jason Price f Thabisa & Charles Rich Naomi Senzer & Brad Ridky f Patricia Abbenante & Camilo Romero Abha Gupta & Stephen Scholand f Amy & Colin Sheehan f Julie Paquette & Derek Steinbacher Kelly Streeter f Jeffrey Sudmyer & Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 f Molleen Theodore & Andrew Leonard f Annie Wareck ’85 f Erica & Gordon Weiss f Susan & Jeffrey White Iain York Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar f Yaira Matyakubova & Andrius Zlabys
Heba Abbas & Amaar Al-Hayder f Suzanne & Jason Alderman Stephanie & Mark Anestis f Almudena Villanueva & David Bach f Elif Kongar & Mert Bahtiyar f Adriana Blanco & Richard Bernstein Chay & Richard Bershtein f Andrew & Sarah Netter Boone ’89 f Jamie & Benjamin Bruce f Lena & Carmine Capasso Larysa & Matthew Cassella Engin & Zeynep Deniz f Denise Quinn Dobratz & Erik Dobratz f Anna & Bryan Garsten Judy & Simon Gore-Grimes f Asia & Jason Goubourn Katerina Politi & Mark Graham f Avery Grauer ’87 f Janie Merkel & Jonathan Grauer ’85 f Kate Brown & Larry Greenberg Liz & Chris Hansen ’86 f Caitlin Simon & Gregory Huber Sarah Eder Infantino Simina & Costin Ionescu f Mary Barnett & David Jenkins April Adams-Johnson & Dirk Johnson Michelle & Todd Kennedy f Sumiya Khan f Gina Lombardi f Tara & Jamie McPartland f Christine & John Pakutka f Jaime Perri f Laurel & Keith Pisani Judith Chevalier & Steven Podos f Christina & Jason Price f Rebecca Good & Manuel Rivera f Annette & Kurt Roberts f Brooke & Lee Scharfstein Samantha Whitney & Wilhelm Schlag Brenda Carter & Adam Solomon f Shilarna Stokes & Kevin van Bladel Marisa Ferraro & Steffen Wilhelm John Witt Samantha & Daniel Wong Lejun Ding & Zhao Zhao
Fall 2019 | 37
Class of 2025
Class of 2026
Class of 2027
82%
93%
82%
Shyoko Honiden & Aryeh Abeles Kyeen & Richard Andersson Carrie & Bill Bergantino f Chay & Richard Bershtein f Kavitha Nair Bindra Ranjit Bindra Andrew Boone & Sarah Netter Boone ’89 f Emily & Dean Brenner Lisa Brown Rachelle & Derek Byron f Lena & Carmine Capasso Christine Won & Hyung Chun f Alexandra Shor & Theodore Cohen Emily Wang & Daniel Colón-Ramos JoAnn Hong-Curtis & Jeptha Curtis f Meredith & Ethan Eden Nadia & Andrew Fisher Betsy Angeletti & John Freidah Neha Agrawal & Manish Garg Danielle Ginnetti Valentina Greco & Antonio Giraldez f Shelley Goodstine & Jose Gomez Khadija Gurnah & Amin Gonzalez Avery Grauer ’87 f Janie Merkel & Jonathan Grauer ’85 f Vanessa Stuart & Britney Hardy Preethi Varghese-Joseph & George Joseph f Naomi Libby Megan Craig & Nicholas Lloyd Portia & Roderick MacDougall Michelle & Charles Matouk Liz Donius & Ken McGill f Bonnie & Toby Moskowitz Colleen & Michael Murphy Eliza & Minor Myers Harsha Panyadahundi & Roopashree Narasimhaiah Mary Tomayko & Kumar Navaratnam Walker Holmes & Justin Neuman Monique Heller & John Parnoff Lauren & Timothy Pavlis Josie & Richard Queen Caron Querker Tyra & Jeffrey Rabel Amy Marx & Robert Schonberger f Sarah & Jamison Scott Charlotte-Louise & Kameron Shahid Brice Shipley Shipra & Vinod Srihari f Laurie & Andrew Sweet f Christine Ko & Peter Whang f
Stephanie & Elon Boms Jamie & Benjamin Bruce f Maria Casasnovas & Lorenzo Caliendo Amanda & Stewart DeCew Marta Janosi & Chris Dinescu Tracy & Brian Earnshaw f Asia & Jason Goubourn Mariana Torrens Arias & Eben Graves Dorothea & Robert Harper-Mangels f Rebekah Sturges & Jack Harris Özler & Ege Kayaarasi f Hayley & Bryan Kelly Deadra Hart & Frederick Kennedy Michelle & Todd Kennedy f Shannon & Edrik Lopez Michelle & Charles Matouk Erin & John Morley Theresa & Jon Nast f Bernadette Huang & Geert Rouwenhorst Amy & Colin Sheehan f Seunghee Ko & Jiwoong Shin f Sara Jamison & Pedro Soto Alva Hanson Jr. & Alayna Stone Susan & Jeffrey White Wenyan & Derek Witkowsky Alyssa Greenwald & Edward Wittenstein Li Lin & Jidong Zhou Amanda & Richard Zubek
Treeny & Tariq Ahmad Kyeen & Richard Andersson Alison Moncrief Bromage & Andy Bromage f Nahid Siamdoust & Andrew Butters Rachelle & Derek Byron f Lauren & Michael Caplan Kimberly Johung & Francis Chan f Engin & Zeynep Deniz f Emily & Chris Fasano f Ayelet & Alon Fishbach Nadia & Andrew Fisher Khadija Gurnah & Amin Gonzalez Asia & Jason Goubourn Seth Greenstein & Annie Berman-Greenstein ’96 Jessica Cardin & Michael Higley April Adams-Johnson & Dirk Johnson Lynn Leong & Yiming King Shannon & Edrik Lopez Becky & Brad McGuire Lori Bruce & Noah Messing Colleen & Michael Murphy Eliza & Minor Myers Christine & John Pakutka f Andrea & Michael Peed Sonah & Edward Perry Stefanie Markovits & Benjamin Polak f McKinne Dunn & Todd Schlachter Sarah & Jamison Scott Mariah Sage Seymour & Bruce Seymour Charlotte-Louise & Kameron Shahid Jeffrey Sudmyer & Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 f Jesenia Knipping & Che Tiernan Rebekah & Alexander Westphal Marisa Ferraro & Steffen Wilhelm Louisa Lombard & Graeme Wood Iris & Barry Wu
38 | Foote Prints
*Deceased
**Matching Gift Program Participant
f
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
Class of 2028 94%
Understanding the Terms
Shyoko Honiden & Aryeh Abeles Annie & Jim Adams f Stephanie & Elon Boms Michelle & Kossouth Bradford ’87 f Jamie & Benjamin Bruce f Maria Casasnovas & Lorenzo Caliendo Anne Marie Boustani & Marcus Conti Paola Bertucci & Ivano Dal Prete Paul & Deborah Di Capua Sophia Elissa Altin & Ryan Fahey Elizabeth & Niall Ferguson f Hayley & Bryan Kelly Deadra Hart & Frederick Kennedy Elinor & Matthew Kotchen Christine Kim & Douglas Kysar Megan Craig & Nicholas Lloyd Michelle & Charles Matouk Michele & Jesse McCray Theresa & Jon Nast f Maria Ospina & Simon Parra Lauren & Timothy Pavlis Tyra & Jeffrey Rabel Margaret Andrews & Jason Schwartz Joanne Sciulli Laurie & Andrew Sweet f Mark & Katherine Swift Melissa Barak Weiss & Brett Weiss Alyssa Greenwald & Edward Wittenstein Alexandra & Mark Wittner
The annual Foote Fund supplements tuition income. Foote Fund dollars support academic and extracurricular programs, faculty salaries, financial assistance—virtually every part of the school’s operating budget. Without the Foote Fund, Foote’s budget wouldn’t balance, and we would have to reduce offerings to our students, increase enrollment or raise tuition to make up the difference. The Foote Fund is an annual effort, beginning in September and ending on June 30 each year. Parent volunteers reach out to encourage all parents to contribute. Foundation and corporate grant applications are strengthened when we can report high participation figures from our parent body. A capital campaign is a fundraising effort over several years to raise money to improve campus facilities or strengthen endowment. Contributions are often multiyear pledges. A capital campaign enables the school to undertake significant improvements that could not be funded by the operating budget or the Foote Fund. Endowment is critical to a healthy school. Endowed funds are invested with the goal of providing a stable, sustainable source of annual income. Interest from endowed funds supports critical goals in perpetuity. Foote’s current endowment of $12.4 million provided more than $421,000 last year to support student scholarships, faculty professional development and other priorities. The National Association of Independent Schools recommends that an independent school maintain an endowment equal to its operating budget, which in 2018–2019 was $11.5 million. Alumni is a plural noun referring either to a group of male graduates or to a group of both male and female graduates. The singular alumnus refers to one male graduate. Alumna refers to one female graduate, and the plural alumnae refers to a group of female graduates.
windows on foote Foote is a campus of windows—looking out onto woods, playgrounds and paths and looking in on children singing, reading, painting, writing poetry, learning languages, playing, experimenting in science labs and so much more. We asked longtime Foote photographers Stephanie Anestis and Judy Sirota Rosenthal to roam campus with their lenses and document what they saw through windows—from without and from within. Their photographs appear throughout this year’s annual report.
Fall 2019 | 39
Donors
margaret ballou hitchcock associates
The individuals listed have made a contribution to the annual Foote Fund, an endowed fund, the capital campaign or Centennial Campaign between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019. We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this list. Please contact the Development Office if you notice errors or omissions. The symbol f indicates those individuals who have contributed to the Foote Fund every year for the past five years. The symbol C indicates individuals who have informed the school that they have made a planned gift.
($2,500 to $4,999)
the head’s circle
h. everton hosley jr. associates
($50,000 & above) Anonymous (2) Marshall Bartlett* & Margaret Wilmer Bartlett ’58 The Foote School Parent Teacher Council f Alexandra Shor & Theodore Cohen The Seedlings Foundation
martha babcock foote associates ($25,000 to $49,999) Anonymous (1) Chay & Richard Bershtein f Elizabeth & Niall Ferguson f Lillian Garcia & Bruce Mandell f Susan & Andrew Metrick f
winifred sturley associates ($10,000 to $24,999) Laura & Victor Altshul f Anne & Gordon Armour Kim Bohen & Doug James f Stephanie & Elon Boms Constance Clement ’62 f Eileen & Andrew Eder f Sharon Oster & Ray Fair Betsy & Len Grauer C Sarah Eder Infantino f Meghan & George Knight f Lissa Sugeng & Michael Krauss f Amy S. & J. Richard Lee f Cindy & David Leffell f Roslyn & Jerome Meyer Bonnie & Toby Moskowitz Esra & Ziad Naamani Judith Chevalier & Steven Podos f Jennifer & Andrew Rapkin Stacey & Cutter Smith f Wendy Sharp & Dean Takahashi**
40 | Foote Prints
*Deceased
($5,000 to $9,999) Anonymous (2) 116 Crown Edward Bailey ’96 Joanne & Paul Bailey f Grace & Jay Bright Ginny & David Butters Susan S. Ellis Stephen Fair ’97 Danielle Ginnetti John Ginnetti Melanie Ginter f Dr. Amira Gohara Mona Gohara & Kiran Makam f Avlin & Suguru Imaeda Sheila Hayre & Pericles Lewis Jennifer Milikowsky ’02 f Victoria & Stephen Murphy C f Emily & Ryan Oakes Emily Oster ’95 Christina & Jason Price Bernadette Huang & Geert Rouwenhorst Mary Sanders & Mark Shifman f John Wareck ’84 f
**Matching Gift Program Participant
f
Anonymous (2) George Atwood C f Almudena Villanueva & David Bach f Jay Cha & Jim Bigwood ’68 Corinna & William Clendenen James D. English ’46 The Foote School Class of 2019 Anna & Bryan Garsten Girl Scout Troop 61196 Wendy & Richard Hokin Nina Scherago & George Jones f Preethi Varghese-Joseph & George Joseph f Susana Smetana & Peter Kagan ’83 Camille & Jon Koff f Deborah & David Laliberte f Duffy & Eric Mudry f Tyra & Jeffrey Rabel Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar f
fr ank perrine associates ($1,000 to $2,499) Anonymous (2) Suzanne & Jason Alderman f Jay Angeletti Jessica Drury Bieler ’75 Kavitha Nair Bindra Morley Bland Andrew Boone & Sarah Netter Boone ’89 f Anne Marie Boustani & Marcus Conti Anne Tyler Calabresi ’48 & Guido Calabresi ’46 f Christine Won & Hyung Chun f Annie Clark f Barbara & Samuel P. Clement ’65 f
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
William Clendenen ’80 Eugenie Tyler Copp ’40 Ted Crosby ’59 JoAnn Hong-Curtis & Jeptha Curtis f Catherine Smith Cuthell ’68 f Janice & Alex Dreier EMCOR Services New England Mechanical, Inc. Eleanor Warren Faller ’62 Polly & Andy Fiddler Daniel K. Fleschner ’94 f The Foote School Drama Program The Freeman Family Jennifer & Alan Friedman Kathy Park & Scott Gettinger f Laura Goldblum f Maxine Goldblum Margaret Clement Green ’61 Kate Brown & Larry Greenberg John T.R. Holder ’76 C f Alison & Christopher Illick Francie Irvine & Andrew McLaren C Holly Johnson ’81 Ann & Mike Johnson f Hayley & Bryan Kelly Todd Kelley ’81 Angelica & Kevin Kim Lynn Leong & Yiming King Gretchen Kingsley Diana E.E. & Fred S. Kleiner f Gail & Joseph Labadia f Hannah & James Leckman Austin Mixsell & Katharine Lorimer ’97 Linda Lorimer & Charles Ellis Lizzie Reinhard & Peter Lorimer ’01 Katherine Campbell & Matthew Maleska** f Carol & Michael Maoz** f Melissa Matthes & Daniel Theriault C f Sharon & Daniel Milikowsky Isaiah Miller ’16 Leah Miller ’17 Lila Miller ’19 Lisa & Philip Miller f Erin & John Morley Eliza & Minor Myers Greta S. Nettleton ’72 Marv Neuman f John Oster ’00 The Patwa Family f Anne Martin & John Pescatore Laurel & Keith Pisani Stefanie Markovits & Benjamin Polak f Claire Priest ’86 f Kathy & George Priest f The Rinaldi Family f The Roberts Family f Diane & Harvey Ruben
Naomi & Shin Sakurabayashi Yuri Sakurabayashi ’06 Catherine & Robert Sbriglio Peter Setlow ’57 f Seunghee Ko & Jiwoong Shin f Musa Speranza & Joseph Shin Margaret J. Smith ’77 Clarky & Jeff Sonnenfeld f Laura Davis & David Soper Julie Paquette & Derek Steinbacher Susan Swords Stevens ’62 f Tom Sturgess ’62 Laura & Leland Torrence ’68 Cary Twichell ’76 f André Warner ’98** Denie & Frank Weil Michael White Lori & Robert Zyskowski f
susan o. bishop associates ($500 to $999) Anonymous (6) Shyoko Honiden & Aryeh Abeles The Adae Family Nick Appleby & Bethany Schowalter Appleby ’82 Katharine Arnstein ’63 Tony Astmann ’73 Asefeh Heiat & Masoud Azodi f Christine Wilmer Barkus ’69 f Stephen Binder ’78 Carolyn & Robert Blackwell Courtney Broadus ’84 Alison & Adam Cady Lauren & Michael Caplan Meg Bluhm Carey ’59 f Larysa & Matthew Cassella Nancy Clayton & Brad Collins f Kate McKenzie & Craig Crews Gerrit Crosby ’66 Mr. & Mrs. Douglas J. Crowley f The DeLaurentis Family f Engin & Zeynep Deniz** f Deborah & Paul Di Capua Elizabeth Daley Draghi ’77** f Anne & Stewart Dunn The Eden Family Emily & Chris Fasano f Edie & Steve Flagg f Barbara Pearce & Norman Fleming The Foote School Summer Theater Program Christine & Alan Forman Candace & Burvée Franz f Freeman Chiropractic Francine Freeman f Nicole Musayeva & Khanlar Gasimov f Kevin C. Geenty ’57
Judy & Simon Gore-Grimes f Anne Brooks Gwaltney ’72 f Jennye Hansen Dorothea & Robert Harper-Mangels f Bonnie & Randy Harrison f Kent A. Healy ’46 Barbara Hill Jack Hill ’95 Eugenia Whitney Hotchkiss ’35 f Caitlin Simon & Gregory Huber The Ionescu Family f Dr. & Mrs. Dirk Johnson Barbara Kinder & Joseph Adams Christine Kim & Douglas Kysar Deborah Freedman & Ben Ledbetter Shirley & Bill Lehman Amy & Jonathan Levin ’87** Briah & Spencer Luckey ’85 Janet Madigan, M.D. Michelle & Charles Matouk Aditya Mehta ’99 Divita Mehta ’97** Lu Wu & Lingzhong Meng Annie & Susan Merkle-Ward Lori Bruce & Noah Messing Deborah & David Moore f Jennie Bailey Nally ’88 Harsha Panyadahundi & Roopashree Narasimhaiah Joan & Michael Nast Walker Holmes & Justin Neuman Angie Hurlbut & Andrew Nyhart f Joan & Erik Pingoud f Liz & Greg Platts The Possick Family f Juliana Wilson & Thomas Ruggieri Anne Sa’adah ’69 Brooke & Lee Scharfstein Samantha & Wilhelm Schlag Belinda Chan & Peter Schott Claire Shubik-Richards ’88 f Anjali Tandon ’18 Kerri Kelshall-Ward & John Ward Marjorie Weinstein-Kowal f Bonnie Welch ’79 Christine Ko & Peter Whang f Susan & Jeffrey White John Witt Loli Wu ’82** f Li Lin & Jidong Zhou James W. Zirkle f
Fall 2019 | 41
foote friends ($250 to $499) Anonymous (5) Carmela A. Abbenante Jody Abzug & Jim Irzyk Melinda Agsten f Lucy Ambach f Jennifer Brown & Ian Ayres Donna & Bill Batsford f Raina Sotsky & Morris Bell Adriana Blanco & Richard Bernstein Betsy Bradburn-Assoian ’69 f Emily & Dean Brenner Alison Moncrief Bromage & Andy Bromage Lena & Carmine Capasso Amy Caplan ’88 f Francine & Robert Caplan Mary Ann Bickford Casey ’52 f Kimberly Johung & Francis Chan f Sue & Dean Chang Emily Wang & Daniel Colón-Ramos Dody & Jay Cox f Jennifer & Lance Dellacroce Amanda & Ray Diffley f Evan M. Drutman ’79 f Lee Dunham ’55 f Maelissa Watson Elmer & Frank Elmer Laura & James Erlacher Maria & Jerry Ferraro Edie & Steve Flagg Pamela Fortin Patricia Freeman Maria Lara-Tejero & Jorge Galán f
42 | Foote Prints
*Deceased
Silvia & Rich Gee f Barbara Gibson f Maria & Charles Granquist f Avery Grauer ’87 f Janie Merkel & Jonathan Grauer ’85 Jennifer Griffiths f Liz & Chris Hansen ’86 f Elise & David Hergan Gail & George Holler Hayden & Jeremy Holt Stephen Holt ’82 Janet & Tain-Yen Hsia Erin King ’15 Amy Justice & Joseph King Alexandra Daum & Alexander Kleiner ’00 f Thomas Kligerman ’72 Nadine & Greg Koobatian f Sandra Dias & Frank Kowalonek** f Emma Ledbetter ’03 f Katie & George Levesque Maria Markham & Andrew Putnam Duby McDowell ’75 The McPartland Family f Tracey L. Meares Benjamin Barnes & Aleagia Mercer-Falkoff ’95 Karen Orzack-Moore & Daniel C. Moore Rachel Ebling & Edward Moran f Kim Morris f Marsha & Ira Moses The Nadzam Family f New Haven Road Race Elizabeth Reigeluth Parker ’60 f
**Matching Gift Program Participant
f
Rebecca Paugh f Libby & Trevor Peard Ann Baker Pepe & Greg Pepe f Laura & Frank Perrine f Carol & Wesley H. Poling Carroll & Stanley Possick f Elizabeth M. Possidente Michele Brantle Rogat ’75 Dr. Nita Ahuja & Rajesh Saggi** Krystn Wagner & José Salvana f Allyx Schiavone ’85 f The Schneider Family Barbara & Frank Sciulli Jennifer Milano & Michael Sessine f Charlotte-Louise & Kameron Shahid Amy & Colin Sheehan f Clifford Slayman f Linda & Charles Sommerfield Lisa & Lindsay Suter f David Totman & Lisa Farrel Totman ’56 f Cristin Siebert & Eduardo Urios-Aparisi f Shilarna Stokes & Kevin van Bladel Caleb Wertenbaker ’88 f Elizabeth & Steven Wilkinson f Vicki & Andrew Wittenstein Alyssa Greenwald & Edward Wittenstein Drs. Iris & Barry Wu Caroline Hendel & John Wysolmerski f Michael Wysolmerski ’05** Sylvia Thayer & Philip Zaeder f Pat & John Zandy Amanda & Richard Zubek
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
maroon & grey ($1 to $249) Anonymous (45) Sheila Abzug The Adae Family f Edna Travis & Barney Adams Annie & Jim Adams f Justus Addiss ’73 f Anne & Nicholas Afragola Sarah Afragola ’01 f Treeny & Tariq Ahmad Roya Hakakian & Ramin Ahmadi f Heba Abbas & Amaar Al-Hayder f Mary Ann Alberino Myles Alderman ’75 Akbar & Faiz Ali Kyeen & Richard Andersson The Anestis Family f Betsy Angeletti Kate & Jeremy Angoff ’92 Charlotte Armour ’09 Caroline Atherton Kate Bigwood Atkinson ’70 Pat & Bill Bakke Mary Lui & Vincent Balbarin Emily M. Barclay ’61 f John Barclay ’64 Lee Vorderer & Bob Bass Emily & Walden Bass Nancy & Elliot Bauer Ruth Beitel Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Berenbroick f Nancy & Michael Berman Margaret J. Berthold Joan Bigwood ’75 Ranjit Bindra Christopher Blackwood ’09 Izabela Blackwood Elizabeth Bohlen ’58 Marcia Tucker Boogaard ’50 Thomas Sodano & Gregory Boroff Irma & Reggie Bradford Michelle & Kossouth Bradford ’87 f Jennifer Jackson Breitling ’91** Frances & Jonathan Brent f Lisa Brody Ginny Bromage Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen & Turner Brooks f Lisa Brown Jamie & Benjamin Bruce f Mary Bundy ’09 Shiv Bunjun Maximilian Burbank ’11 Samuel Burbank ’12 Christine & James Butler Evan Butler ’99 Jonathan Butler ’98 Lucas Butler ’03
Nahid Siamdoust & Andrew Butters Hilary & David Buxbaum Rachelle & Derek Byron f Maria Casasnovas & Lorenzo Caliendo Ann Waters Calkins f Jill Campbell Susan Carney & Lincoln Caplan Marc Caputo John Carpenter & Deborah Fong Carpenter ’82 f Linda Hamilton Carr ’42 f The Carroll Family f Rives Fowlkes Carroll ’57 f Linsley Craig Carruth ’85** f Carolyn & Richard Cavallaro Xiaoling Yuan & William Chaine f Patricia S. Chamberlain Patricia Palmer & Julian Chang ’75 Jaimie & Joe Charles Isabel Chenoweth Beverly & Richard Chevalier f Dorothy & David Ching Linda & Luis Chu Ann Pingoud & Marc Chung f Sarah Clark & Gus Spohn f Fran & Ed Clayton f Edward Coady ’05 f Elise Cobb ’14 Leslie Virostek & John Cobb f Elizabeth Cohen ’01 Martha Daniels Cohen Jill Lacy & David Coleman Ronald Coleman Jr. ’04 Merrill Barden Collins ’85 Becky Conekin
Kelly & Jonathan Connellan f Alison & Liam Considine James Nicoll Cooper ’48 Virginia & Walter Corbière f Sarah & Hugh Corley f D. Brooks Corzine Samuel Craft ’07 Thomas Craft ’14 Alex Crowley ’83 Phyllis & Joseph Crowley Judy & Hugh Cuthbertson f Paola Bertucci & Ivano Dal Prete Nina Glickson & Worth David Tessa Stanwood Davis ’57 Dominic De Renzi Amanda & Stewart DeCew Caroline Stoddard Delgado ’47 John Deming ’66 Jane & Bill Dennett William C. DeVane ’84 f Karen Miller Dibblee ’68 Olivia Caroline Dickey ’08 Andrea Silber Dickey & Phil Silber Jonathan DiMaio ’02 f Sheree & David DiMario Chris Dinescu Susan & Ken Dobuler Mary Alice & James Donius The Douglas Family Ann S. Earley f Tracy & Brian Earnshaw f Edith B. Jackson Child Care Program Inc. Elizabeth DeVane Edminster ’47 f Brinley Ford Ehlers ’83 Elizabeth Jonas & Tom Eisen Fall 2019 | 43
Mary Bush C. Estabrook Eleanor Evins Sophia Elissa Altin & Ryan Fahey Kristen Fairey Marcy Stovall & Jim Farnam ’65 Caitlin Farrell ’12 Dylan Farrell ’11 Garrett Farrell ’09 Susan & Stephen Farrell Tagan Farrell ’17 Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Farricielli The Fejos Family f Ray Ferguson Mary Hallock Fields ’58 Nadia & Andrew Fisher Ashley Fitton ’91 Hope Fleming ’02 Stephen Fontana ’78 f Thomas Fontana ’82 f Joy & Brin Ford The Fox Family William Friday Linda & Gary Friedlaender Jacqueline & Stephen Fritzinger Jamie Fuller Carolyn Kuzmeski & Saul Fussiner Lynn & Richard Gabbard Josepha & Frank Gabriele Beverly Gage f Lee Gaillard ’52 f Tristram Gaillard ’57 Nicolas Gangloff Paul Garcia Ayesha Ramachandran & Giuseppe Gazzola Andrew Gee ’16 Tristen Giovanelli f The Giraldez Greco Family f Jenny Chan & Jonathan Goldstein f Justin Goodyear ’88 Rachel Lampert & Rick Goodwin The Goubourn Family Rebecca Gratz f Mariana Torrens Arias & Eben Graves Seth Greenstein & Annie Berman-Greenstein ’96 Tim Grimes & Susie Campbell Grimes ’75 f Georgia Fiedler Ford Griscom ’75 Nicole & Jaime Grutzendler f Maggie & William Guerrero Katie Hackenburg Shannon Callaway & Phil Haile f Kimiko Ishiguro & Bret Halpern Cara & Robert Hames f Leslie DiMella & Marc Hammarlund Myra & Andrew Harris Rebekah Sturges & Jack Harris Debra & James Healy* f Saylor Heidmann 44 | Foote Prints
*Deceased
Linda Keul Henley William Henning ’60 Brook Hersey ’74 f Drs. Jessica Cardin & Michael Higley Frederick Hilles ’52 Anne Rose Hilliard ’35 David I. Hitchcock ’42 Jodi Hodge Richard Hooker III ’60 f Sally Hopfner f Carla & Robert Horwitz Evan Andrew Horwitz ’08 f Sandy Allison & Jim Horwitz Nancy & John Hotchkiss Art Howe III ’68 Jeremy Irzyk ’14 Jordana Irzyk ’14 Carol B. Isaacs Herrick Jackson ’54 f Louise Bluhm Jeanne ’54 f Margaret Bozyan Jefferys ’49 Mary Barnett & David Jenkins Carolyn & Jonathan Johnson Edward R. Johnson ’54 f Faith Sargent Lewis Johnson ’57 f Kathy Johnson f Loretta & John Johung Lenore Jones-Peretto ’84 Asher Joseph ’22 Elias Joseph ’25 Nancy Ely Kales ’55 f Susan Sawyer & Michael Kaplan f Özler & Ege Kayaarasi f Susan Keegan Mary & Hugh Keenan Suzanne Kelley Herman Kenna Michelle & Todd Kennedy f Mr. Sherman T. Kent ’56 Christine & Anil Khachane ’93 Sumiya Khan f The Khokha Family f Kevin Kilcullen & Rachel Frank Kilcullen ’90 Sangpil Kim Elisabeth Sacco Klock ’98 f Emile Krauss ’22 Nate Krauss ’17 Tina Tyson & Paul Kumpf Yune Kunes Mislal Andom-Lake & Michael Lake f Campbell Langdon ’76 f Natalie Lapides ’08** f Lucie F. Ledbetter ’08 f Soo & S.K. Lee Nick Lehmann ’90 Mary & David Lesser Beverly Hodgson & John Leventhal Yuko Lewandowski **Matching Gift Program Participant
f
Naomi Libby Georgia Crowley Lieber ’88 & Matt Lieber ’85 Nikki & Sam Lindberg Cynthia Albert Link & Lawrence Link f Audrey Lynn Logan Gina Lombardi f Stephen Randazzo & Laura Lovejoy ’84 Portia E. & Roderick W. MacDougall Marla MacKenzie Deborah & Patrick Madden Elizabeth Madden ’94 Gwendolyn Fischer Magnan ’82 Nancy & Hugh Manke f Elizabeth Manwell Samantha Maoz ’11 Gaelen Markese ’07 Julian Markese ’13 Lucca Markese ’07 Kristin Hawkins & Tony Markese Kelonda Maull Ginger Stevens May ’96 Donna Rehm-McCabe & Michael McCabe f Nicolas McCabe ’12 Amy Sherman & John McCarthy Michele & Jesse McCray Emily Melnick & Matt McDermott John McDougal ’54 Rita A. McDougald-Campbell Lavinia Meeks ’54 Renee & Sumit Mehra f Nawrie Meigs-Brown ’55 Alexandra & Carlos Mena f Heidi & Matthew Meyers Anita & Joe Milano Nicole Eldredge & Matthew Milikowsky ’95 Prudence Loeb Miller ’37 York Miller ’64 Anna McGaw-Mobarak & Ahmed Mobarak Julie & Bill Moore f Sarah Morse Cristina Baiocco & Giuseppe Moscarini Melanie Crowley Mullan ’84 f Colleen & Michael Murphy Grayson Murphy ’95 Mary P. Murphy ’92 The Nast Family f Amy & Sidhartha Nathan ’00 Manu G. Nathan ’97 The Navaratnam-Tomayko Family Pete Neuman ’80 Celestine LaFarge Nicolas ’53 Barbara & Bill Nordhaus Jeffrey S. Nordhaus ’82 Monica Nordhaus ’84 Jane Whittlesey North ’45 f Caleb Nyhart ’18
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
Noah Nyhart ’14 Patricia Fiorito Oakes ’60 Jared K. O’Hare ’15 f Judy & Kevin O’Hare Tina & Walt Oko f Landon Osborn ’04 Drs. Catherine Tesluk & Richard Ownbey Christine & John Pakutka f Deborah Johnson & Joseph Paolillo f Ms. Monique Heller & Dr. John Parnoff The Pavlis Family Andrea & Michael Peed Emily Peel Jaime Perri f Anne Roche Perrine ’84 & Bill Perrine ’80 Sonah & Edward Perry John W. Persse ’73 f Cathy Petraiuolo ’83 Elizabeth Petrelli ’96** f Richard L. Petrelli ’57 Courtney Freeman Phillips ’87 Jane McCall Politi Elizabeth Prelinger ’68 f Callie Quarrier ’62 Josie & Richard Queen Carol & John Querker Caron Querker Teddy Rabel
Andrea & Klaus Radebold Carol Miller Rand ’57 f Anli G. Raymond ’15 Gemma Raymond ’14 Dorleen & James Reidy Joe Reiser Thabisa & Charles Rich Mr. & Mrs. William P. Rich Naomi Senzer & Brad Ridky f Robert Ridky Barbara Riley Andrew Rivera ’06 Rebecca Good & Manuel Rivera f Marcus Rivera The Romero Family Donald O. Ross ’62 f Taylor Rossini ’12 Fred Rossomando Nicholas Rostow ’64 Carolyn Kone & Allan Rubenstein Tracey & Eddie Ruotolo Susan & Joseph Saccio Robert Sandine C Dr. & Mrs. Clarence T. Sasaki f John Sasaki ’87 Maxwell Sbriglio ’12 Timothy Scarlett & Sarah Fayen Scarlett ’91 Eva & Hal Scharfstein McKinne Dunn & Todd Schlachter Ethan Schoenherr Abha Gupta & Stephen Scholand f Amy Marx & Robert Schonberger f The Mark Schpero Family Madeline Schreiber ’84 Margaret Andrews & Jason Schwartz Joanne Sciulli Sarah & Jamison Scott Drs. Meltem & Emre Seli Mariah Sage Seymour & Bruce Seymour Hilary Shank-Kuhl ’68 f Gilbert Shaw Susan C. Shaw f Jane K. Shedlin ’47 Sheridan Interiors The Siegel-Lang Family f Will Silva ’66 C f Diane & David Sklar Meg McDowell Smith ’69 f Roger K. Smith ’75 Ms. Deanna & Dr. Mitchell Smooke Penny Snow Sandra & Henry Snow Adam Solomon f Andrea & Sam Solomon Caroline Soper ’13 Andrea & Brian Sorrells f Sara Jamison & Pedro Soto Lucy & Wayne Spaar f
Clive Spencer Joyce G. & James A. Spencer f Shipra & Vinod Srihari f Karen & Dennis Stephens Marcus Stern ’75 Gayle & Tim Stevens Alva Hanson Jr. & Alayna Stone Katherine & Kenneth Stone Barry Stratton ’58 Kelly Streeter f Betsy Leavy Stroman ’55 Leila Wood Stuhr ’82 Mr. & Mrs. James M. Sturgeon Jeffrey Sudmyer & Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 f Erin A. Sweeney ’02 f Shannon Sweeney ’00 Katharine M. Swibold ’75 f Ania Drejer Teel & Randy Teel Molleen Theodore & Andrew Leonard f Sharon & Andrew Tievsky Ann Hunt Tritz ’45 f Rusty Tunnard ’63 Chase Twichell ’64 Rev. P.L. Urban ’38 Hester van de Rhoer & Pieter van Dokkum Mrs. Josiah G. Venter f Dawn & Scott Walsh Annie Wareck ’85 f Bryan Warner ’00 Sheila & Lawrence Wartel f Thea Buxbaum & Gar Waterman Ning Wei f Erica & Gordon Weiss f Toby Welch ’73 Thomas Wellington ’76 Rebekah & Alexander Westphal Betty & Jim Whitney f Elizabeth Wiedersheim Marisa Ferraro & Steffen Wilhelm Marie Wilkinson ’79 Virginia & John Wilkinson Lois & Ted Willis f Robert F. Wing ’53 C f James Wrenn & Harriet Calhoun Wrenn ’43 f Zhirong Jiang & Zhiqun Xi f Lan Lin & Wu Yan f Iain York Zev York ’15 Jennifer & Mark Youngblood f Anika Zetterberg ’13 Emily H. Zetterberg ’15 Lejun Ding & Zhao Zhao Dolores Vojvoda & Zoran Zimolo Yaira Matyakubova & Andrius Zlabys
Fall 2019 | 45
facult y & staff
Ângela Giannella f Tristen Giovanelli f Susan Grimes ’75 f Katie Hackenburg Cara Hames f Tina Hansen f Deadra Hart John Hay Jodi Hodge Michael Kane f Özler Kayaarasi f Susan Keegan Margy Lamere f Sheila Lavey f Leslie Long f Anne Lu Carol Maoz f Karla Matheny f Kelonda Maull Mike McCabe f Melissa McCormack f Dave McGaffin Brad McGuire f Cara McNelly f Michael Milburn f Colleen Murphy f Susan Neitlich f Sally Nunnally f
81% participation Jody Abzug Jim Adams f Lara Anderson f Lynne Banta f Carrie Bergantino f Tim Blauvelt f Kossouth Bradford ’87 f Andrew Bromage f Jacob Burt f Rachelle Byron f Mary Beth Calderoni f Amy Caplan ’88 f Deborah Fong Carpenter ’82 f Joseph Charles Kelly Connellan f Liam Considine John Cunningham f Tina Cunningham f Amanda Diffley f Eleanor Evins Dawn Farricielli f Pam Fortin Jennifer Friedman f Jackie Fritzinger Josepha Gabriele Silvia Gee f
46 | Foote Prints
*Deceased
**Matching Gift Program Participant
Cathy Pamelard f Hilary Pearson f Denise Quinn f Cindy Raymond Joseph Reiser Tracey Ruotolo Julian Schlusberg f Ashley Schnabel f Ethan Schoenherr Susan Shaw f David Sklar Kelly Small f Adam Solomon f Anna Stover Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 f Andrew Sweet f John Turner f Erika Villa f Dawn Walsh f Toby Welch ’73 Megan Williams Wenyan Witkowsky Alexandra Wittner Kim Yap f Jennifer Youngblood f Heather Zetterberg f
f
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
giving day 2019 Anonymous (48) Jody Abzug & Jim Irzyk Sheila Abzug The Adae Family Treeny & Tariq Ahmad Heba Abbas & Amaar Al-Hayder Myles Alderman ’75 Suzanne & Jason Alderman Lara C. Anderson The Anestis Family Betsy Angeletti Jay Angeletti Anne & Gordon Armour Charlotte Armour ’09 Katharine Arnstein ’63 George Atwood Cristina Baiocco & Giuseppe Moscarini The Banta Garcia Family John Barclay ’64 Christine Wilmer Barkus ’69 Carrie & Bill Bergantino Chay & Richard Bershtein Joan Bigwood ’75 Kim Bohen & Doug James Elizabeth Bohlen ’58 Betsy Bradburn-Assoian ’69 Irma & Reggie Bradford Michelle & Kossouth Bradford ’87 Jennifer Jackson Breitling ’91 Emily & Dean Brenner Alison Moncrief Bromage & Andy Bromage Ginny Bromage Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen & Turner Brooks Jamie & Benjamin Bruce Mary Bundy ’09 Maximilian Burbank ’11 Samuel Burbank ’12 Elizabeth Gill & Jacob Burt Nahid Siamdoust & Andrew Butters Rachelle & Derek Byron Alison & Adam Cady Mary Beth & Andy Calderoni Maria Casasnovas & Lorenzo Caliendo Lena & Carmine Capasso Amy Caplan ’88 Francine & Robert Caplan Michael & Lauren Caplan Marc Caputo Meg Bluhm Carey ’59 John Carpenter & Deborah Fong Carpenter ’82 Larysa & Matthew Cassella Xiaoling Yuan & William Chaine Wick R. Chambers ’62 Jaimie & Joe Charles Isabel Chenoweth Christine Won & Hyung Chun
Barbara & Samuel P. Clement ’65 Constance Clement ’62 Elise Cobb ’14 Elizabeth Cohen ’01 Martha Daniels Cohen Merrill Barden Collins ’85 Becky Conekin Kelly & Jonathan Connellan Sarah & Hugh Corley Ted Crosby ’59 Mr. & Mrs. Douglas J. Crowley ’55 Tina & John Cunningham Tessa Stanwood Davis ’57 Amanda & Stewart DeCew The DeLaurentis Family Jennifer & Lance Dellacroce Deborah & Paul Di Capua Olivia Caroline Dickey ’08 Andrea Silber Dickey & Phil Dickey Amanda & Ray Diffley Denise Quinn Dobratz & Erik Dobratz Susan & Ken Dobuler The Douglas Family Elizabeth Daley Draghi ’77 Janice & Alex Dreier Brinley Ford Ehlers ’83 Marcy Stovall & Jim Farnam ’65 Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Farricielli Emily & Chris Fasano Mary Hallock Fields ’58 Nadia & Andrew Fisher Ashley Fitton ’91 Hope Fleming ’02 Thomas Fontana ’82 Joy & Brin Ford Pamela Fortin Anna & Bryan Garsten Nicole Musayeva & Khanlar Gasimov Silvia & Rich Gee Angela & Fernando Giannella Danielle Ginnetti
The Goubourn Family Rebecca Gratz Avery Grauer ’87 Janie Merkel & Jonathan Grauer ’85 Margaret Clement Green ’61 Kate Brown & Larry Greenberg Seth Greenstein & Annie Berman-Greenstein ’96 Tim Grimes & Susie Campbell Grimes ’75 Georgia Fiedler Ford Griscom ’75 Anne Brooks Gwaltney ’72 Shannon Callaway & Phil Haile Leslie DiMella & Marc Hammarlund Jennye Hansen Dorothea & Robert Harper-Mangels Myra & Andrew Harris Rebekah Sturges & Jack Harris Debra & James Healy William Henning ’60 Elise & David Hergan Drs. Jessica Cardin & Michael Higley Stephen Holt ’82 Shyoko Honiden & Aryeh Abeles Evan Andrew Horwitz ’08 Caitlin Simon & Gregory Huber Alison & Christopher Illick Francie Irvine & Andrew McLaren Jeremy Irzyk ’14 Jordana Irzyk ’14 Louise Bluhm Jeanne ’54 Mary Barnett & David Jenkins Carolyn & Jonathan Johnson Dr. & Mrs. Dirk Johnson Edward R. Johnson ’54 Faith Sargent Lewis Johnson ’57 Lenore Jones-Peretto ’84 Preethi Varghese-Joseph & George Joseph Hayley & Brian Kelly Michelle & Todd Kennedy Mr. Sherman T. Kent ’56 Linda Keul Henley Fall 2019 | 47
Christine & Anil Khachane ’93 Kevin Kilcullen & Rachel Frank Kilcullen ’90 Lynn Leong & Yiming King Alexandra Daum & Alexander Kleiner ’00 Diana E.E. & Fred S. Kleiner Elisabeth Sacco Klock ’98 Camille & Jon Koff Nadine & Greg Koobatian Lissa Sugeng & Michael Krauss Nate Krauss ’17 Tina Tyson & Paul Kumpf Gail & Joseph Labadia Deborah & David Laliberte Margy & Rich Lamere Sheila Lavey Hannah & James Leckman Amy S. & J. Richard Lee Soo & S.K. Lee Cindy & David Leffell Beverly Hodgson & John Leventhal Naomi Libby Audrey Lynn Logan ’06 Leslie & Marshall Long Stephen Randazzo & Laura Lovejoy ’84 Portia E. & Roderick W. MacDougall Elizabeth Madden ’94 Gwendolyn Fischer Magnan ’82 Mona Gohara & Kiran Makam Katherine Campbell & Matthew Maleska Carol & Michael Maoz Samantha Maoz ’11 Kristin Hawkins & Tony Markese Michelle & Charles Matouk Kelonda Maull Ginger Stevens May ’96 Donna Rehm-McCabe & Michael McCabe Nicolas McCabe ’12 Michele & Jesse McCray Becky & Brad McGuire The McPartland Family Nawrie Meigs-Brown ’55 Lori Bruce & Noah Messing Nicole Eldredge & Matthew Milikowsky ’95 Rachel Ebling & Edward Moran Erin & John Morley Bonnie & Toby Moskowitz Duffy & Eric Mudry Colleen & Michael Murphy Victoria & Stephen Murphy Eliza & Minor Myers The Nast Family Amy & Sidhartha Nathan ’00 Manu G. Nathan ’97 Celestine LaFarge Nicolas ’53 Monica Nordhaus ’84 Sally Nunnally Angie Hurlbut & Andrew Nyhart Caleb Nyhart ’18 48 | Foote Prints
*Deceased
Noah Nyhart ’14 Jared K. O’Hare ’15 Landon Osborn ’04 The Patwa Family Jaime Perri Anne Martin & John Pescatore Courtney Freeman Phillips ’87 Judith Chevalier & Steven Podos Carol & Wesley H. Poling Claire Priest ’86 Maria Markham & Andrew Putnam Caron Querker Tyra & Jeffrey Rabel Andrea & Klaus Radebold Thabisa & Charles Rich Naomi Senzer & Brad Ridky The Rinaldi Family Rebecca Good & Manuel Rivera The Roberts Family Michele Brantle Rogat ’75 The Romero Family Juliana Wilson & Thomas Ruggieri Susan & Joseph Saccio Mariah Sage Seymour & Bruce Seymour Robert Sandine John Sasaki ’87 Timothy Scarlett & Sarah Fayen Scarlett ’91 Brooke & Lee Scharfstein Madeline Schreiber ’84 Margaret Andrews & Jason Schwartz Jennifer Milano & Michael Sessine Gilbert Shaw Amy & Colin Sheehan Will Silva ’66 Kelly Small Roger K. Smith ’75 Adam Solomon Linda & Charles Sommerfield Caroline Soper ’13 Laura Davis & David Soper Sarah Clark & Gus Spohn Karen & Dennis Stephens **Matching Gift Program Participant
f
Marcus Stern ’75 Susan Swords Stevens ’62 Barry Stratton ’58 Leila Wood Stuhr ’82 Jeffrey Sudmyer & Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 Erin A. Sweeney ’02 Shannon Sweeney ’00 Andrew Sweet Katharine M. Swibold ’75 Rusty Tunnard ’63 Chase Twichell ’64 Rev. P.L. Urban ’38 Erika Villa Dawn & Scott Walsh Kerri Kelshall-Ward & John Ward Annie Wareck ’85 Bryan Warner ’00 Ning Wei Erica & Gordon Weiss Gary Peck & Bonnie Welch ’79 Rebekah & Alexander Westphal Susan & Jeffrey White Elizabeth Wiedersheim Marisa Ferraro & Steffen Wilhelm Elizabeth & Steven Wilkinson Marie Wilkinson ’79 Virginia & John Wilkinson Megan Williams The Wittner Family Drs. Iris & Barry Wu Zev York ’15 Jennifer & Mark Youngblood Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar Anika Zetterberg ’13 Emily H. Zetterberg ’15 Lejun Ding & Zhao Zhao Li Lin & Jidong Zhou James W. Zirkle Yaira Matyakubova & Andrius Zlabys Lori & Robert Zyskowski
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
8th gr ade farewell gif t
9th gr ade farewell gif t
honor ary gif ts
Parents of departing eighth graders contributed to Financial Aid and Professional Development. Lisa Brody Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Farricielli Anna & Bryan Garsten Rebecca Gratz Avery Grauer ’87 Elise & David Hergan Rosa & George Holler Camille & Jon Koff Gail & Joseph Labadia Emily Melnick & Matt McDermott Renee & Sumit Mehra Susan & Andrew Metrick Anna McGaw-Mobarak & Ahmed Mobarak Victoria & Stephen Murphy Emily & Ryan Oakes Krystn Wagner & José Salvana Abha Gupta & Stephen Scholand Kelly & Ben Small Elisa & John Turner Hester van de Rhoer & Pieter van Dokkum Samantha & Daniel Wong Susan Chan & Gideon Yaffe Lori & Robert Zyskowski
100 percent of parents of graduating ninth graders supported the Financial Aid program as well as financial aid for the China Program. Joellen Adae Alison & Adam Cady Jennifer & Lance Dellacroce Elizabeth & Niall Ferguson Candace & Burvée Franz Lynne Banta & Javier Garcia Paul Garcia Laura Goldblum Judy & Simon Gore-Grimes Liz & Chris Hansen ’86 Tina Hansen & Adam Hopfner Sarah Eder Infantino Nina Scherago & George Jones Katie & George Levesque Tracey Meares Kim Morris Duffy & Eric Mudry Rebecca Paugh Claire Priest ’86 Mary & Steve Rinaldi Trish Abbenante & Carmelo Romero Allyx Schiavone ’85 Jennifer Milano & Michael Sessine Andrea & Brian Sorrells Annie Wareck ’85 Iain York Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar
In Honor of Tim Blauvelt Andrea & Brian Sorrells David Totman & Lisa Farrel Totman ’56 In Honor of Jake Burt Yaira Matyakubova & Andrius Zlabys In Honor of Marion Candido Elizabeth Manwell In Honor of Amy Caplan ’88 & Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 Jody Abzug & Jim Irzyk In Honor of Liam Considine Kate McKenzie & Craig Crews In Honor of Sue Delaney Jody Abzug & Jim Irzyk In Honor of Phillip Dickey, M.D. Barbara Pearce & Norman Fleming In Honor of Sonja Dudley Jody Abzug & Jim Irzyk In Honor of Tagan Farrell ’17, Caitlin Farrell ’12, Dylan Farrell ’11, Garrett Farrell ’09 Emily Peel
Fall 2019 | 49
In Honor of The Foote School Faculty & Staff Jody Abzug & Jim Irzyk The Adae Family Rebecca Paugh In Honor of The Foote School Middle School Teachers Hester van de Rhoer & Pieter van Dokkum In Honor of Saylor Heidmann Carol & Wesley H. Poling In Honor of Frank & Kim Kenna Herman Kenna
In Honor of Gretchen & Richard Swibold Katharine M. Swibold ’75
In Honor of Ann Baker Pepe Marla MacKenzie The Nadzam Family Rebecca Paugh Catherine & Robert Sbriglio
In Honor of Leland R. Torrence ’68 Nikki & Sam Lindberg
In Honor of Frank Perrine Anne Brooks Gwaltney ’72 Lenore Jones-Peretto ’84
In Honor of Ellen Velardi Rebecca Paugh
In Honor of Lisa Farrel Totman ’56 Drs. Catherine Tesluk & Richard Ownbey
In Honor of Debra Riding Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar
In Honor of Hannah Leckman Elizabeth Manwell
In Honor of Dave McGaffin The Nadzam Family
In Honor of Robert Sandine Saylor Heidmann Anne Sa’adah ’69
memorial gif ts In Memory of Bernard Beitel Ruth Beitel
In Honor of Julian Schlusberg Krystn Wagner & José Salvana
In Honor of Sarveshwari Mehta Aditya Mehta ’99 Divita Mehta ’97
In Memory of Jill & Guy Bigwood Kate Bigwood Atkinson ’70
In Honor of Adam Solomon Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar Karen Orzack-Moore & Daniel C. Moore *Deceased
**Matching Gift Program Participant
In Honor of Dawn Walsh David Totman & Lisa Farrel Totman ’56 In Honor of Ted Willis Elizabeth Daley Draghi ’77** Marie Wilkinson ’79
In Honor of Carol Ross Stephen Holt ’82
In Honor of Leslie Long David Totman & Lisa Farrel Totman ’56
50 | Foote Prints
In Honor of Hilary Pearson Krystn Wagner & José Salvana
f
In Memory of Margaret Brooks Margaret J. Berthold
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
In Memory of Shirlee Ching-McGrath Elliot & Nancy Bauer Thomas Sodano & Gregory Boroff Dorothy & David Ching Linda & Luis Chu Yune Kunes Carolyn Kone & Allan Rubenstein Ethan Schoenherr Sheridan Interiors Clive Spencer Michael White
In Memory of Gary Lowe Anonymous (1)
In Memory of Sumner & William Crosby ’53 Frederick “Ted” Crosby ’59
In Memory of Jean Shepler Patricia Palmer & Julian Chang ’75 Elizabeth Prelinger ’68
In Memory of Arnold Messing Lori Bruce & Noah Messing In Memory of Lola Salowitz Laura & Frank Perrine In Memory of Evan Schechner ’15 Zev York ’15
In Memory of Anna Deming ’35 Gerrit Crosby ’66 Nicholas Rostow ’64
In Memory of Julie & Martin Shubik Claire Shubik-Richards ’88
In Memory of Hunt Deming ’64 & the deceased members of The Class of 1964 Nicholas Rostow ’64
In Memory of Capt. Ben Sklaver ’92 Kevin C. Geenty ’57 Will Silva ’66 C
In Memory of Margaret Hitchcock Celestine LaFarge Nicolas ’53
In Memory of Winifred Sturley Lee Gaillard ’52
In Memory of Arthur Howe Jr. & Peggy Howe Art Howe III ’68
In Memory of Edward Torrence ’08 EMCOR Services New England Mechanical Inc. Melanie A. Ginter Lucie F. Ledbetter ’08
In Memory of David Lindsay ’53 Tristram Gaillard ’57
centennial societ y The Centennial Society recognizes the generosity of those who have chosen to remember The Foote School in their wills or through a charitable trust, gift annuity or life insurance plan. Anonymous (2) George Atwood Carole & Arthur Broadus Caren & Tom Carpenter Suzanne Jackson Cartier ’52 Mary Beth & Robert Congdon Carol Gordon ’53 Betsy & Len Grauer John T.R. Holder ’76 Francie Irvine & Andrew McLaren Sharon Lynn Kagan Curly & Sandy Lieber Melissa Matthes & Daniel Theriault Victoria & Stephen Murphy Robert Sandine Will Silva ’66 Robert F. Wing ’53
gif ts to endowed funds Ann Baker Pepe Endowed Fund for Financial Aid Jay Angeletti Jennifer Brown & Ian Ayres Barbara Pearce & Norman Fleming Melanie Ginter Maria & Charles Granquist Marla MacKenzie Jennifer Milikowsky ’02 The Patwa Family Erika Villa Betsy Welch Scholarship Fund Gary Peck & Bonnie Welch ’79 Centennial Endowment Anonymous (3) Suzanne & Jason Alderman The Angeletti Group, LLC Nick Appleby & Bethany Schowalter Appleby ’82 Tony Astmann ’73 George Atwood Edward Bailey ’96 Joanne & Paul Bailey Peter Bailey ’91 Chay & Richard Bershtein Kavitha Nair Bindra Stephanie & Elon Boms Wick R. Chambers ’62 Alexandra Shor & Theodore Cohen Anne Marie Boustani & Marcus Conti Fall 2019 | 51
Janice & Alex Dreier Eileen & Andrew Eder Elizabeth & Niall Ferguson Jennifer & Alan Friedman Anna & Bryan Garsten Dr. Amira Gohara Avlin & Suguru Imaeda Sarah Eder Infantino Meghan & George Knight Cindy & David Leffell Sheila Hayre & Pericles Lewis Mona Gohara & Kiran Makam Lillian Garcia & Bruce Mandell Susan & Andrew Metrick Roslyn & Jerome Meyer Nicole Eldredge & Matthew Milikowsky ’95 Sharon & Daniel Milikowsky Erin & John Morley Ryan Nally & Jennie Bailey Nally ’88 Emily & Ryan Oakes The Patwa Family Libby & Trevor Peard Judith Chevalier & Steven Podos Jennifer & Andrew Rapkin Diane & Harvey Ruben Anne Sa’adah ’69 Mary Sanders & Mark Shifman Musa Speranza & Joseph Shin Stacey & Cutter Smith Jeffrey Sudmyer & Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar Rosamund Zander & Hansjoerg Wyss
Class of 1972 Scholarship Fund Anonymous (1) Anne Brooks Gwaltney ’72 Greta S. Nettleton ’72
Jay Cox Endowment for Financial Aid Anonymous (1) Anne & Gordon Armour Libby & Trevor Peard Catherine & Robert Sbriglio
Class of 1975 Scholarship Fund Myles Alderman ’75 Joan Bigwood ’75 Michele Brantle Rogat ’75
Jay Cox Endowment for PPRRSM Anne & Gordon Armour Melanie Ginter Meghan & George Knight Laura & Leland Torrence ’68
Endowed Fund for Theater Benjamin Barnes & Aleagia Mercer-Falkoff ’95
Jean G. Lamont Scholarship Fund Rita A. McDougald-Campbell
Fair-Oster Family Scholarship Fund Stephen Fair ’97 Emily Oster ’95 John Oster ’00 Sharon Oster & Ray Fair Falco School Spirit Fund Catherine & Robert Sbriglio Maxwell Sbriglio ’12 Gene J. Takahashi Scholarship Fund Wendy Sharp & Dean Takahashi** Hannah Lee Memorial Fund Jennifer & Alan Friedman Melanie Ginter Amy S. & J. Richard Lee Amy Sherman & John McCarthy
Jean Shepler Miller Endowed Fund Margaret J. Smith ’77 Jonathan Milikowsky Scholarship Fund Jennifer Milikowsky ’02 André Warner ’98** Jonathan Milikowsky Technology Fund Melanie Ginter Janet Madigan, M.D. Jennifer Milikowsky ’02 Levin Endowed Fund for Library Materials Anonymous (1) Ruth Beitel Elizabeth Manwell Grayson Murphy Mary P. Murphy ’92 Marshall Bartlett & Margaret Wilmer Bartlett ’58 Family Foundation Endowed Technology Fund Marshall Bartlett* & Margaret Wilmer Bartlett ’58 Milos Saccio Fund Mary & David Lesser Cathy Petraiuolo ’83 Susan & Joseph Saccio Penny Snow Orten L. Pengue Jr. Scholarship Fund Mary Ann Alberino Sheree & David DiMario The Foote School Drama Program The Foote School Summer Theater Program Herman Kenna Fred Rossomando Catherine & Robert Sbriglio Maxwell Sbriglio ’12 Julian Schlusberg
52 | Foote Prints
*Deceased
**Matching Gift Program Participant
f
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
Phyllis Brown Sandine Memorial Scholarship Fund Anonymous (1) John Deming ’66 Saylor Heidmann Anne Sa’adah ’69 Robert Sandine Polly Fiddler Art Fund John Sasaki ’87 Catherine & Robert Sbriglio Maxwell Sbriglio ’12 The Bohen-James Endowed Fund for Financial Aid Kim Bohen & Doug James The Class of 1968 50th Reunion Endowed Fund Jay Cha & Jim Bigwood ’68 Timothy & Mary P. Doukas Endowed Fund Pat & John Zandy
matching gif ts AARP Bank of America Foundation GE Foundation Hearst Corporation IBM Medtronic Foundation New York Life Foundation Pitney Bowes Prudential Salesforce Travelers UBS T. Rowe Price Associates Foundation
stars (schools together for arts resources) Laura & Victor Altshul Stephen Altshul Foundation The Foote School Parent Teacher Council New Haven Road Race
gif ts for special purposes 116 Crown Marshall Bartlett* & Margaret Wilmer Bartlett ’58 Chay & Richard Bershtein Alexandra Shor & Theodore Cohen The Foote School Parent Teacher Council Bonnie & Tobias Moskowitz The Seedlings Foundation
horizons Anonymous (13) Jody Abzug & Jim Irzyk Barbara Kinder & Joseph Adams Melinda Agsten Myles Alderman & Nancy Osterweis Alderman ’52 Morel & Jeffrey Alexander Laura & Victor Altshul Marie & Warren Andiman Nick Appleby & Bethany Schowalter Appleby ’82 Diane & Walter Ariker Joanne & Paul Bailey Alice & Richard Baxter The Reverend & Mrs. Richard E. Beattie Robert Beer Chay & Richard Bershtein
Julia & Sidney Bogardus Kim Bohen & Doug James Mary Ann & Geofrey Bonenberger William Wells Bouton Michelle & Kossouth Bradford ’87 Emily & Dean Brenner Brenner, Saltzman & Wallman, LLP Hillary Bridges Grace & Jay Bright Carole & Arthur Broadus Alison Moncrief Bromage & Andy Bromage Lynn Brotman Mary Jane Burt Jeannette Q. Byers ’65 Maria Canales Penny & Chris Canny Amy Caplan ’88 John Carpenter & Deborah Fong Carpenter ’82 Fall 2019 | 53
Mary & Tony Carroll Marilyn & David Cataldo Brenda Cavanaugh Annie Clark Jean & David Clark Paula Clark Constance Clement ’62 Roxanne & Kevin Coady Nancy Clayton & Brad Collins Maria Mojica & Edgar Colon Debra Cook Alix & Joshua Copel Linda Corradi Dale Coudert Dody & Jay Cox Kate McKenzie & Craig Crews Mr. & Mrs. Douglas J. Crowley Judy & Hugh Cuthbertson Jennifer Davies The DeLaurentis Family Lisa DeLima Gladys Deutsch Amanda & Ray Diffley Rebecca Martin & John Donoghue Audrey Downey Eileen & Andy Eder Adele Edgerton Elizabeth Jonas & Tom Eisen Lane English Kai & Jo Erikson Caty James Everett ’91 Deborah & Julian Ferholt Michele Curry & Eugene Ferrer Edie & Steve Flagg Terry Flagg The Foote School Class of 2019 The Foote School Parent Teacher Council Pamela Fortin Ellen Cohen & Steven Fraade Raffaella Zanuttini & Bob Frank Caroline Friedman ’07 Deborah & William Friedman Lynn & Richard Gabbard Anna & Bryan Garsten Michele & Charles Gay Zandra & Willis Gay Mary-Kate Gill Melanie Ginter Cindy & Joe Goldberg Connie Alexander & Matthew Gosselin Sara Gottesman Maria & Charles Granquist Jean & William Graustein Ellen Kannatt & Frederick Groen Saylor Heidmann Ross Higgins Parul Hinzen Lauren Hokin 54 | Foote Prints
*Deceased
Wendy & Richard Hokin Stephen Holt ’82 Julia & James Hood Horizons National Student Enrichment Program Inc. Briane & Stephen Horner Roger Ibbotson Alison & Christopher Illick Sarah Eder Infantino Francie Irvine & Andrew McLaren Cindy Kissin & John Jacobson Nancy & Joseph Juliano Kiki & Ted Kennedy Lilian King The Knight Family Mary Hu & Jon Knisely Irene C. Kuo ’84 Jean Lamont Jennifer Heath & Peter Lamothe The Ethel & Abe Lapides Foundation Hannah & James Leckman Deborah Freedman & Ben Ledbetter Amy S. & J. Richard Lee Cindy & David Leffell Patricia Weaver & Robert Leighton Molly LeVan Beverly Hodgson & John Leventhal Alexandra Hokin & Glenn Levin Kirsten & Jim Levinsohn Edna Logan Yollanda London Deborah & Patrick Madden Kaye & James Maggart Mona Gohara & Kiran Makam Lillian Garcia & Bruce Mandell Isabella Mandell ’18 Cynthia Mann Margaret & Marc Mann Carol & Michael Maoz
**Matching Gift Program Participant
f
Lynn Street & Donald Margulies Kristin Hawkins & Tony Markese Melissa Matthes & Daniel Theriault Kelonda Maull Donna Rehm-McCabe & Michael McCabe The McCurdy Family Sally Schwartz McDermott & Bruce McDermott Duby McDowell ’75 Patricia Melton Mary Messenger Susan & Andrew Metrick Roslyn & Jerome Meyer Heidi & Matthew Meyers Sharon & Daniel Milikowsky Lisa & Philip Miller Gail Mirza Sally & Henry Mixsell Elizabeth & David Monz Rick Moranis Marcia & James Morley Victoria & Stephen Murphy The Nadzam Family Karen Nangle The NewAlliance Foundation New Haven Road Race Melorie & Charles Noble David Nowak Angie Hurlbut & Andrew Nyhart Karen & Jack O’Donnell Sara Ohly Sharon Oster & Ray Fair Frances G. Padilla Tim Parrish The Patwa Family Libby & Trevor Peard Ann Baker Pepe & Greg Pepe Jaime Perri Laura & Frank Perrine
Donor to the Foote Fund for five consecutive years
C Centennial Society
Judith Chevalier & Steven Podos Carol & Wesley H. Poling Christina & Jason Price Wendy & Dan Price Claire Priest ’86 D. Ellen Shuman & Douglas Rae Susan Reel Paula Resch Joan & Barry Richter Susan Forster & Bill Riley Rebecca Rosenbaum Rebecca Royston Robert Sandine Lewis G. Schaeneman Jr. Debra & Ted Schaffer Allyx Schiavone ’85 Harriet & Len Schleifer Jodi & Marc Schneider The Seedlings Foundation Barbara & Jimmy Segaloff John Shaw Megan Shea Amy & Colin Sheehan Pam Goodman & Michael Shwartz Diane & David Sklar Halcyone Bohen & Gerald Slater Smart Family Foundation Inc. Stacey & Cutter Smith Margie & Alan Starensier Stephen Altshul Foundation Barbara & Leonard Stern The Styron Family Timothy Swensen ’09 Wendy Sharp & Dean Takahashi The Leonard-Theodore Family Barbara & Gordon Thomson David Totman & Lisa Farrel Totman ’56 William Tuttle Michael Van Leesten Patricia Vancil Cathy & Frank Vellaccio Paul A. Virostek Dinny & Charles Wakerley Dawn & Scott Walsh Kerri Kelshall-Ward & John Ward Barbara Wareck Harry Welch ’42 Sandy & Dick Whelan Betty & Jim Whitney Virginia & John Wilkinson Nancy Close & Gene Winter Tracy Wittreich Stephen Wizner Anne Love Woodhull Caroline Hendel & John Wysolmerski Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar Pat & John Zandy
Matching Companies Pfizer Inc.
In Honor of Hilary Pearson Amy & Colin Sheehan
In Honor of Laura Altshul Irene C. Kuo ’84 Beverly Hodgson & John Leventhal Margaret & Marc Mann Roslyn & Jerome Meyer Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar Barbara & Gordon Thomson
In Honor of Jaime Perri Laura & Victor Altshul Kiran Zaman & Sabooh Mubbashar
In Honor of Kim Bohen Jody Abzug & Jim Irzyk Barbara & Gordon Thomson
In Honor of Adam Solomon Amy & Colin Sheehan
In Honor of Cecie Clement ’62 Grace G. Bright
In Honor of Susan Shaw Jaime Perri Amy & Colin Sheehan
In Honor of Heather Zetterberg Amy & Colin Sheehan
In Honor of Dody Cox Jay Cox
In Memory of Joseph Chiarelli Nancy & Joseph Juliano
In Honor of Olivia English Lane English
In Memory of Carol Perroncel & Phyllis DeLaurentis Renee Perroncel & Neal DeLaurentis
In Honor of Juliet Friedman ’14 Alix & Joshua Copel
In Memory of Colette Lane Emily & Dean Brenner
In Honor of Ali Hokin Anonymous Lisa & Phillip Miller
In Memory of Hannah Miller Lee ‘08 Margie & Alan Starensier
In Honor of Meg Knight Ann Baker Pepe & Greg Pepe
In Memory of Edward Torrence ’08 Caroline Hendel & John Wysolmerski
In Honor of Jean Lamont Lilian King
In Memory of Carol Virostek Paul A. Virostek
In Honor of Kelonda Maull Jody Abzug & Jim Irzyk Laura & Victor Altshul
In Memory of Sam Vellaccio Cathy & Frank Vellaccio
Fall 2019 | 55
Endowed Funds
endowment for curriculum enrichment
endowment for facult y professional development
In the early 1980s, the Board’s Finance Committee recommended the purchase of zero coupon bonds as a strategy to create the school’s endowment. It was an important decision for the school—when the last of the zero coupon bonds matured in 2003, the initial investment of $310,000 had returned $1.6 million. Over the years Foote’s endowment has continued to grow, and it now stands at $12.4 million. A distribution is made annually from interest earned on invested funds.
Friends of Foote Theater Endowment— established in 2002 by David and Deborah Moore to fund costs associated with the outstanding drama program.
Joya Marks Endowment for Professional Development—created in 2001, and in 2007 named in honor of Joya Marks, Lower School Head (1993–2007), to provide support for professional development opportunities to enrich the lives and work of Foote School teachers.
New funds are listed in shaded boxes.
unrestric ted endowment Bob and Mary Beth Congdon Centennial Endowment Fund—established in 2017 in honor of Foote’s Centennial. Proceeds are used at the discretion of the school’s Board of Directors. Class of 1968 50th Reunion Endowed Fund— established in 2018 by the Class of 1968 in honor of their 50th reunion. Proceeds are used at the discretion of the school’s Board of Directors, to support the school’s mission. S. Prescott Bush Clement Endowed Fund— established in 2007 in honor of S. Prescott Bush Clement ’35. The proceeds are used at the discretion of the school’s Board of Directors.
endowment for c ampus & facilities Jay Cox Endowment for PPRRSM— established in 2017 to recognize Jay Cox’s dedication to maintaining and developing The Foote School campus and facilities during his three decades as Business Manager.
Jean Shepler Miller Music Fund— established in 2009 by alumni who studied music with Mrs. Shepler during her long career at Foote (1953–1991), to provide support for the school’s Music Department. Jonathan Milikowsky Memorial Technology Fund—created by classmates, family and friends in memory of Jonathan Milikowsky ’98 to provide annual support to the Technology Department, particularly for new technology and innovative uses of technology. Kindergarten and Mixed Age Group Programs Fund—established by the parents of Foote students Aya and Hadi Abu-Alfa in 2010 to support and enrich the Kindergarten and Mixed Age Group programs. Levin Fund—established by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Levin to fund the purchase of books and materials to enrich and extend the collection of the Frank M. Perrine Library. Library Endowment—gifts to endowment for support of the Frank M. Perrine Library. Margaret Brooks Endowed Fund—established in 2010 in memory of Madame Brooks, French teacher at Foote and parent of Preston ’79, Kate ’82 and Nat ’87. The fund supports the school’s Modern Language Department. Marian W. Spiro Fund for Science Enrichment —established in honor of Marian Spiro, science teacher at Foote (1970–1989), to enrich and enhance the school’s science programs. Marshall and Margaret Wilmer Bartlett ’58 Family Foundation Endowed Technology Fund—established in 2017 with gifts to provide ongoing annual support for technology needs. Martha Brochin Endowed Fund for Library Books—established in 2004 in memory of Martha Brochin, a Foote School parent and much-loved pediatrician. Polly Fiddler Art Fund—established by parents and former students in recognition of Polly Fiddler’s outstanding work as an art teacher at Foote for more than three decades (1978–2009). The fund supports the school’s studio art program.
56 | Foote Prints
Violet Talbot Endowed Fund—established by parents and faculty in honor of Kindergarten teacher Violet Talbot at the time of her retirement in 2001 to provide support for teacher training and for financial aid for children of color.
endowment for financial aid Anne Schroeder Vroman Scholarship Fund —created in 2006 by Barent Vroman in memory of his wife, a member of the class of 1946. Benevento Family Scholarship—established in 1987 by the Benevento Family. Bohen-James Endowed Fund for Financial Aid—established by Foote parents Kim Bohen and Doug James, who served on the Foote Board for a decade. Carolyn Foundation Endowment— established by generous gifts from The Carolyn Foundation in 1989 and 1998, this fund has grown to over a quarter-million dollars, providing significant annual funding for financial aid for children of color from New Haven. Celentano Scholarship Fund—created to recognize the many contributions of Freddie Celentano, who worked at Foote as a member of the maintenance staff (1963–1977). Class of 1972 Scholarship Fund— established in 2015 in memory of John Hare ’72 (1958–2015). Class of 1975 Scholarship Fund— established in 2016 by members of the Class of 1975 to mark Foote’s centennial year. Fair-Oster Family Scholarship Fund— established in 2018 by Foote parents Ray Fair and Sharon Oster and their three children—Stephen Fair ’97, Emily Oster ’95 and John Oster ’00—in gratitude for their rewarding and meaningful experiences at the school.
The Mandell Family Summer Sabbatical Program—established in 2017 in honor of Madison ’15 and Isabella ’18 to support summer sabbatical for Foote’s outstanding teachers.
Frank M. Perrine Scholarship Fund— established in 1991 in recognition of Frank Perrine’s many contributions to Foote as Headmaster (1967–1992). Frederick L. Holborn Scholarship Fund— established in 2018 by Hanna Holborn Gary ’43 in memory of her brother, Frederick L. Holborn ’41, a professor of American foreign policy.
The Stephen Binder ’78 Scholarship Fund— established in 2017 with a specific focus on support for students from the city of New Haven. Timothy and Mary P. Doukas Fund— established in 1997 by Mr. and Mrs. John Zandy in memory of Mrs. Zandy’s parents.
Gene J. Takahashi Scholarship Fund— created in 2010 by Dean Takahashi and Wendy Sharp, Kerry Takahashi ’07 and Kai Takahashi ’09 in honor of Dean’s father.
Vlock Family Endowed Fund—established in 2018 by alum Ted Vlock ’13 in honor of his family.
Hannah Lee Memorial Endowed Fund— established in memory of Hannah Lee ’08 (1993–2004), this fund provides annual support for the school’s financial aid program. Janis Cooley-Jacobs Scholarship Fund— established in 1999 after the death of Foote parent and pediatrician Janis Cooley-Jacobs. Jay Cox Endowment for Financial Aid— established in 2017 in recognition of Jay Cox’s 35-year service to The Foote School as Business Manager and teacher and his dedication and leadership in building a strong financial aid program. Jean and Edward Kirby Endowed Fund— established in 2013 by their son, John T. Kirby ’69, in recognition of their love of the school and the central role it played for three generations of the Kirby family. Jean G. Lamont Endowed Scholarship Fund —established in 2004 in recognition of Jean Lamont’s commitment to diversity and a strong financial aid program during her tenure as Head of School (1992–2004). Jonathan Milikowsky Scholarship Fund— established in 2007 in memory of Jonathan Milikowsky ’98 by his parents, Sharon and Daniel Milikowsky, brother Matthew ’95 and sister Jennifer ’02, the fund provides financial aid for a student in grades 6–9 who demonstrates intellectual curiosity, cheerful engagement with classmates and teachers, kindness, optimism and appreciation and respect for others. LaViola Family Scholarship Fund— established by Philomena and John LaViola in honor of their grandchildren, Alexandra LaViola ’06 and John LaViola ’09. Margaret Hitchcock Fund—established in memory of Margaret Ballou Hitchcock, Foote English teacher and head of the Upper School (1931–1957).
endowment for learning support Martha Babcock Foote Fund—established in memory of the founder and first Headmistress (1916–1935). Orten L. Pengue Jr. Scholarship Fund— created in 2008 by parents and students in honor of Ort Pengue’s many contributions to Foote’s theater program. Pasi-Sachdev Family Fund—created in 2005 by the Pasi-Sachdev family to reflect their deep appreciation of the Foote School community. Phyllis Brown Sandine Memorial Scholarship Fund—established in 2002 by ISIS (InnerCity Scholarships for Independent Schools) in honor of Mrs. Sandine, a Foote parent and longtime friend of the school and an advocate for early childhood education. The fund provides financial aid specifically for New Haven children enrolled at Foote. Simone Brown Fund—established in memory of Simone Brown, Class of 1981, following her death in 1983. The Ann Baker Pepe Endowed Fund for Financial Aid—established in 2018 to honor Ann Baker Pepe’s dedication to The Foote School community over 20 years as Director of Development and Alumni Programs and her steadfast commitment to increasing diversity and strengthening the school’s financial aid program. The Betsy Welch Endowed Scholarship Fund—established in 2015 to honor Betsy Welch’s commitment as Director of Admissions (1976–1993) to enrolling students from a broad range of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Milos Saccio Fund—established in memory of Milos Saccio ’83 (1967–1979), who was a sixth grader at Foote at the time of his death, this fund provides annual learning support with the intention of helping children reach their full potential.
restric ted funds The school also appreciates and relies upon the support provided by Restricted Funds. These funds are not endowed—the principal is spent as needed over the years. Current Restricted Funds include: Classical Book Fund—established in 1996 to honor Latin teacher Carol Ross and used annually to provide library and classroom resources to enrich the study of classical Greece and Rome. Falco School Spirit Fund—established in 2009 to fund campus activities and build a sense of community. Friends of Foote Theater Fund—established in 2002, this fund provides support for expanded opportunities in educational theater made possible by the construction of the Robert D. Sandine black box theater. Fund for Community Outreach— established in 2012 to provide funding for meaningful community outreach programs offered at Foote in support of the greater New Haven community.
Fall 2019 | 57
Around Campus
58 | Foote Prints
Fall 2019 | 59
Reunion Day
‘ At Foote, I found my voice.’ Reunion Day 2019 rekindled friendships and appreciation for Foote. was a joyous celebration at which alumni reconnected and joined in activities that reflect the school motto: Gladly will I learn and gladly teach. Alumni caught up over coffee and enjoyed a guided nature walk around campus led by Science Department co-chair John Cunningham. R E UNI O N DAY 2 019
The gathering on May 4 drew 100 alumni and guests to campus—most from classes ending in 4 and 9, including seven members of the Class of 1984 celebrating their 35th reunion, who reunited to watch classmate Bun Lai ’84 receive the Alumni Achievement Award. Bun, who is the chef/owner of Miya’s Sushi in New Haven, was honored for his efforts as a longtime champion for the environment and sustainable seafood. “I was an immigrant. My parents didn’t speak fluent English. I definitely had a sense of feeling different growing up here in the United States. But at Foote I just came alive and started blossoming and finding my own voice,” Bun said in his acceptance speech. “Maybe too much so, so that I ended up getting kicked out of a lot of classes!” Also receiving the 2019 Alumni Achievement Award was Ai-jen Poo ’89, who as executive director of the National 60 | Foote Prints
(top) Bun Lai ’84 accepts the 2019 Alumni Achievement Award. (above) Ai-jen Poo ’89, a co-winner of the 2019 Alumni Achievement Award, sent her thanks via a video message.
“ At Foote I was introduced to so many profound ideas that have truly shaped who I am today.” —Ai-jen Poo ’89, co-winner of the 2019 Alumni Achievement Award
Members of the Class of 2018. From left, Ramey Harper-Mangels, Ali Collins, Anjali Tandon, Mia Sloan, Nelly Polak
Domestic Workers Alliance has helped win significant new legal protections for millions of women working as nannies, house cleaners and caregivers. Ai-jen was unable to attend reunion but sent a heartfelt video message that was played at the reunion luncheon. “At Foote I was introduced to so many profound ideas that have truly shaped who I am today,” Ai-jen said in the video. “I wrote my very first letter as a member of Amnesty International at Foote School. There were so many ways that the faculty and community encouraged me, supported me, and my friendships with all of you helped me grow so much.”
Alumni enjoyed catching up over lunch. Sam Cunningham Chase ’04 and his wife, Tulsi, who run a yoga and wellness business in New York, led a well-attended yoga class for alumni in the Sandine Theater. The day ended with an open meeting of the Alumni Council, led by new co-chairs Jen LaVin ’81 and Elizabeth Daley Draghi ’77. The celebrations continued into the night at individual class gatherings around the New Haven area, where old friendships were rekindled and new ones were forged. > Find more photos at www.footeschool.org/reunion2019
Head of School Carol Maoz welcomes alumni in the Hosley Gym.
Fall 2019 | 61
Science teacher John Cunningham led a campus nature walk to observe birds and tree species.
Members of the Class of 1969 reminisce over old photos. From left, Christine Wilmer Barkus, Jeb Byers and Anne Cheney
Co-chairs of the Foote Alumni Council Jen LaVin ’81 (left) and Elizabeth Daley Draghi ’77
Former faculty member Jenny Byers ’65 introduces alumni award winner Ai-jen Poo ’89.
Mai Wu ’84 and John Wareck ’84 catch up in the Jonathan Milikowsky Science and Technology Building.
62 | Foote Prints
Emily Mendillo Wood ’51 speaks with Head of School Carol Maoz.
Sam Cunningham Chase ’04 and wife Tulsi Chase led a yoga class for alumni in the Sandine Theater. From left, Sam, Scout Sanders Kemper ’04, Alex Wiske ’04, Robin Woerner ’04, Tulsi, Ron Coleman ’04, Samantha Mashaw ’04
A Mile-High Reunion A LIVE LY GR O U P of Colorado alumni joined former faculty members and Head of School Carol Maoz for an alumni
gathering at a downtown Denver hotel and bar on April 30. Alumni spanning class years 1964 to 1995 joined former teachers Lynne Valentine and Anna Casey to connect with each other and hear about the latest happenings at Foote. Regardless of when they were here, Foote alumni share common experiences thanks to many longtime traditions and a mutual love for their special school. Look for news of alumni events in your area in Foote Prints and on our website. If you’d like to help plan a gathering in your area, please contact Amy Caplan ’88 in the Alumni Programs Office at alum@footeschool.org.
From left, Chris Grantham ’95, former faculty member Lynne Valentine, former faculty member Anna Casey, Don Draper ’82, Wende Valentine ’89, Head of School Carol Maoz, Lisa Sandine Schuba ’83, Amy Caplan ’88, York Miller ’64, Ralph Valentine
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Class Notes 1936
“ The impetus behind our move was to be closer to family. But clearly it was also to be able to attend more Foote reunions!” —Georgia Crowley Lieber ’88
Eugenia Lovett West, at 96, is still creating and publishing. Sarah’s War, a historical novel written by Eugenia, came out in April 2019 and Firewall, the third Emma Street mystery, will be released on November 5, 2019. Eugenia notes that she had wonderful teachers at Foote!
1939 Class Correspondent: Anne Campbell Clement shclement@comcast.net
1940 80th Reunion, May 9, 2020 We are sad to report that Sandol Stoddard passed away on January 4, 2018. Sandol authored 26 books, including the bestselling children’s classic I Like You. Excerpts from the text are often read at weddings, reflecting the many kinds of love that unite us. In a 2016 interview about the craft of writing, she explained the inner voice that drove her to write: “I have a very distinct memory of my joy and excitement at the age of 4 when I discovered that I could save the words that were circulating in my brain. That is what writing was about: you could capture these insights. … I saw then that if you could do this strange thing called writing, you could make this memory of beauty endure, that these words and feelings and poetry could last forever.” We extend our sympathy to Edward Calhoun, whose brother, Robert Calhoun ’42, passed away in February 2019.
We’d love to hear from you! Please contact your class correspondent or Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 at asudmyer@footeschool.org to share news about you and your classmates, or visit www.footeschool.org/alumni.
64 | Foote Prints
1942 Class Correspondent: David Hitchcock Jr. hitchdl@aol.com We are sad to report that Robert Calhoun passed away in February 2019. Robert was a writer, philosopher, poet, landscape painter, home furniture maker, Volkswagen car mechanic and classical guitar and piano player. He built his own house and was a man of many talents. Of Foote School he once wrote, “I attended many
Sandol Stoddard ’40 passed away on January 4, 2018. schools, teaching at several public and private establishments. At Foote School, people knew me, cared about me, taught me carefully the real and important things I wanted to know. Teachers there were graceful, interested, wise and kind.” Linda Carr is enjoying old age in a retirement place with her husband of almost 62 years. She had a “bang up” 90th birthday party in April. Linda has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
1943 We extend our sympathy to Harriet Calhoun, whose brother, Robert Calhoun ’42, passed away in February 2019.
1945 75th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: John Gardner jhgardner@earthlink.net We are sad to report that Lewis Perry Curtis passed away on April 9, 2019.
1946
1951
Class Correspondent: Kent Healy kenthealymv@gmail.com
Class Correspondent: Emily Mendillo Wood birdofmilford@gmail.com
Jennifer Hillhouse Griswold suffered a concussion in December. She reports that her children and grandchildren are “mostly well.”
1952
1947
1953
Class Correspondent: Gladys Bozyan Lavine gblavine@gmail.com
Class Correspondent: Robert Wing wing.1@osu.edu
We are sad to report that Stephen Waters passed away on April 5, 2019. Jane Karlsruher Shedlin sent in a poem to help remember the names of the presidents from Lincoln through Truman, which her class divised in eighth-grade English with Mrs. Hitchcock. It reads, “Little Johnny goes haywire. Grabbing a club he crushes my rooster. Throwing waterbomb, he carefully hits rooster’s tomb.” Gladys Bozyan Lavine writes, “All pretty well here. My children are thriving and grandchildren are growing too fast. I have plenty of solitary time in the winter and lots of company in the summer, so I am well balanced for now.”
Jordan Mott is a retired yacht charter broker/ owner/operator. Jordy is now widowed and has five children and eight grandchildren. He recently visited with Sarah Willard Penegar in Knoxville, Tennessee.
1948 The Class of 1948 needs a class correspondent. If you are willing to help collect news from your classmates, please contact Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 in the Alumni Programs Office at asudmyer@footeschool.org.
Class Correspondent: Harald Hille harald.hille@gmail.com
1954 The Class of 1954 needs a class correspondent. If you are willing to help collect news from your classmates, please contact Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 in the Alumni Programs Office at asudmyer@footeschool.org. Last spring Ed Johnson and his wife, Kim, were awarded the Anna R. Award by the Noank Historical Society. This award is given in recognition of extraordinary service volunteered to the Noank (Connecticut)
1955 65th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondents: Lee Dunham wlhdunham@gmail.com Nawrie Meigs-Brown nawrie@comcast.net
1956 Class Correspondent: Will Amatruda willtam88@hotmail.com
1957 Class Correspondent: Kevin Geenty kevin@geentygroup.com
1949
Tim Gaillard writes, “My MUCH older brother Lee Gaillard ’52 visited us from Oregon to celebrate July 4th and our annual cannon firing. Our reminiscing included a visit to our childhood farm in North Branford. Lee said that the house and its trees looked smaller. I said that was because he got bigger.”
The Class of 1949 needs a class correspondent. If you are willing to help collect news from your classmates, please contact Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 in the Alumni Programs Office at asudmyer@footeschool.org.
1950
1958
70th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: Mary Pigott Johnsen jlmpjohnsen@west-point.org We extend our sympathy to Nancy Curtis, whose brother Lewis Perry Curtis ’45 passed away on April 9, 2019.
community. Ed and Kim have volunteered through the Noank Baptist Church’s community outreach program and at church bazaars and fundraisers and have been members of the church choir. Ed also served as secretary of the board for Mystic River Homes Congregate. Kim has served on many boards and committees and she and Ed have contributed in countless ways to the Noank Historical Society. For many years, Ed has written a newsletter, Emails from Noank Jail, to keep the community informed of local news. (The Johnsons’ house was a jail in the early 20th century.) Through the newsletter, Ed encourages awareness of and involvement in local government. Interestingly, this award was presented to the Johnsons by Debbie Wood Bates ’64, who is president of the Noank Historical Society.
Class Correspondent: Barry Stratton barrystratton@yahoo.com Ed Johnson ’54 and his wife, Kim, were awarded the Anna R. Award by the Noank Historical Society.
Mary Hallock Fields attended Foote for Kindergarten, first grade and half of second grade. She has kept in touch with New Haven friends and classmates. Fall 2019 | 65
She remembers well learning French in Kindergarten, having Miss Campbell as her teacher and playing a cow in the Christmas pageant. Mary has lived in the Chicago area for more than 50 years; has a teaching degree; and has spent her life since leaving the classroom in the volunteer sector, organizing and managing groups. Mary also is an accomplished curler and just gave up the sport three years ago after curling for 45 years. As a spectator, Mary traveled the world to attend curling events, including two Olympic Games and multiple world championships.
1959 The Class of 1959 needs a class correspondent. If you are willing to help collect news from your classmates, please contact Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 in the Alumni Programs Office at asudmyer@footeschool.org.
1960 60th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: Happy Clement Spongberg happyspongberg@earthlink.net Elizabeth Reigeluth Parker writes, “I had a great surprise seeing Bill Henning and his wife, Sandy, at my brother’s birthday in June. Bill’s brother was there as well. Bill and I talked about our 60th (reunion) in May and plan to be there.” Happy Clement Spongberg and her husband, Steve, will leave Martha’s Vineyard after 21 years and move to a retirement community in Westwood, Massachusetts, this fall. Happy planned to meet with Margie Howe Emmons in New Hampshire in September. Pat Fiorito Oakes has two grandsons: Jonah Oakes, who is the son of Pat’s son Ryan; and Calder, who is the son of Pat’s daughter Lauren. Lauren has established herself in the ecology/conservation/climate change adaptation field and recently published her first book, In Search of the Canary Tree, about climate change adaptation.
1961 Class Correspondent: Muffie Clement Green m_c_green@sbcglobal.net Muffie Clement Green went with Emily Barclay and her husband, John Hawes, 66 | Foote Prints
Pat Fiorito Oakes ’60 and family. Photo includes Pat’s son Ryan Oakes and his son, Jonah Oakes, and Pat’s daughter Lauren Oakes and her son, Calder Craven. to see a play called Come From Away last spring, about the planes that had to land in Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001. Emily’s mother was on one of those planes.
1962 Class Correspondent: Donald O. Ross doross48@gmail.com
mellowing classmates. So much so that we now are hoping for an even better turnout for our 60th in 2024. Take good care of yourselves so that we all can meet again in New Haven less than five years from now.” Debbie Wood Bates serves as president of the Noank Historical Society and this spring presented the society’s Anna R. Award in recognition of extraordinary volunteer
1963 Class Correspondent: Susan Stratton susanstratton4@gmail.com Judith Hull will be back to work teaching Renaissance Art this fall while continuing as the master gardener liaison for the University of New Hampshire, Grafton County.
1964 Class Correspondent: Verdi DiSesa verdi.disesa@gmail.com Verdi DiSesa writes, “A stalwart group of members of the Class of 1964 (Cathy Barclay, Jessie Brinkley, Cam Henning, Pauline Lord, Sally Nettleton, Philip Ross, Nicholas Rostow, Philip Stevens and Russell White) gathered to celebrate our 55th reunion. That evening a smaller subset enjoyed dinner with Pauline at her family’s White Gate Farm in Old Lyme. It was wonderful to catch up with our now
Pauline Lord ’64
service to Ed Johnson ’54 and his wife, Kim, for their dedication to the greater Noank community. Pauline Lord writes, “The Inn at White Gate Farm is now open for lodgers, private dinners, corporate retreats, family reunions and other celebrations. We continue to raise delicious organic produce, eggs and poultry, plus we are selling prepared foods and pastries made by our farm chefs in our farm stand. It’s best to check our website, whitegatefarm.net, for hours.”
1965 55th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: Eric Triffin eric_triffin@aya.yale.edu Jim Farnam writes, “Four members of the Class of 1965— Cam Henning, Jon Hooker, Steve Taylor and Jim Farnam — came together to celebrate our 50th reunion at Andover this June. We missed Arthur Adelberg who was also there with us but could not make it. We forgot to take a picture!” Sam Clement writes, “Hello Foote and days of my youth! I well remember
both schools: Saint Ronan with ‘the shetter’ and Loomis. We carried our chairs up the Canner Street hill during fourth grade. I had hernia surgery in March and total hip replacement in June. I feel I’ve slipped into old age through the back door!”
1966 Class Correspondent: John N. Deming Jr. jndjr@yahoo.com Grace Hammond Boss spent summer 2019 taking courses at Colby-Sawyer College. In September she attended the New Hampshire Highland Games and Festival at Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, New Hampshire. Grace loves living in New Hampshire!
1967 The Class of 1967 needs a class correspondent. If you are willing to help collect news from your classmates, please contact Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 in the Alumni Programs Office at asudmyer@footeschool.org.
Cameron Henning ’65 and Fred Alford ’66 at a funeral for a friend
CLASS OF 1964 — 55TH REUNION From left, Russell White, Jessie Brinkley, Philip Stevens, Sally Nettleton, Verdi DiSesa, Pauline Lord, Nicholas Rostow, Catharine Barclay Fender, Philip Ross Fall 2019 | 67
Sara Miller Mauch and her husband, Duana, retired on her birthday. In celebration they went to Hawaii for two weeks in May. They stayed with friends and had a great time. They didn’t see the volcano.
Jim Bigwood ’68
1968 Class Correspondents: Leland Torrence lelandtorrence@optonline.net Rob Clark rclark@perrigo-inc.com Jim Bigwood (left) with civil rights pioneer C.T. Vivian on the set of The Quad
The Producer
Hours and dozens of other films and TV episodes.
has advice for anyone dreaming of making it big in Hollywood: become an accountant.
Years later, HBO hired Jim for another project—the period drama The Gathering Storm, starring Albert Finney as Winston Churchill. Jim had replaced the original producer on that film, and HBO explained that neither would get a producer credit—a decision with which Jim agreed, but that would later prove fateful.
JIM B I G WO O D
Bookkeeping was Jim’s unlikely ticket to becoming a sought-after film and television producer for HBO, BET and major film studios. He learned accounting while working for his father’s import business after graduating from University of Wisconsin with a degree in communications arts. He continued looking for jobs in TV and film by scanning the end credits for a job he could conceivably do, when he spotted one called “production auditor,” aka production accountant. After a friend connected him with someone who had that job in New York, Jim landed his first film gig: assistant production accountant on the 1984 Francis Ford Coppola film The Cotton Club. “It was an absolute mess,” he recalls. “It was budgeted for $13 million and ended up costing $50 million. It was baptism by fire and I learned a lot about how not to make a movie.” That film led to other film credits. In 1985, he was associate producer on the HBO movie Finnegan Begin Again and two years later the CBS television drama A Gathering of Old Men. In the years that followed, he earned producer credits on Waiting to Exhale, The Road to Wellville, New Jack City, Juice, The 68 | Foote Prints
“That movie won the Emmy, and had I gotten the producer credit I would have gotten an Emmy. I didn’t deserve the Emmy but I would have taken it!” Six years ago, Jim moved from New York to Atlanta, where he is producing season two of American Soul, a BET series about the television show Soul Train. “It’s always fun and a little bit out of the ordinary trying to recreate another time,” he says. Over the years, Jim has landed small acting parts—scratching the childhood itch that first got him interested in film. He played the bus driver who kicks Rosa Parks off the bus in the HBO movie Boycott, as well as “people who die very quickly” in various other films. Looking toward retirement, Jim has secured an acting agent and has started auditioning for roles. “Every time I finish a show I plan to retire, but it’s like that Michael Corleone line: every time I get out they pull me back in again!”
We extend our sympathy to Doug Davie, whose father, James Davie, passed away on May 24, 2019. Martha Vietor Glass reports that “2019 has been exciting!” She travelled to London where her son lives and saw many sights. Her first grandchild was born on May 18, 2019. The baby is an adorable little girl named Anna after Martha’s mother. Martha spent the summer in Edgartown, Massachusetts. Jim Bigwood is starting pre-production on the second season of American Soul for BET. He writes, “Six more episodes dramatizing the story behind Don Cornelius and Soul Train. Airs starting in January 2020. Look for it!” (See profile this page.)
1969 Class Correspondent: Meg McDowell Smith megsmithvt@gmavt.net
1970 50th Reunion, May 9, 2020 The Class of 1970 needs a class correspondent. If you are willing to help collect news from your classmates, please contact Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 in the Alumni Programs Office at asudmyer@footeschool.org. Bob O’Connor is now board president of Thistle and Bee, a nonprofit aimed at helping women escape prostitution and human trafficking. Yolanda Ezekiel Woods shares, “My daughter, Mallory C. Woods, received a doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) from Columbia University in May 2019. We are so proud of her accomplishment.”
CLASS OF 1969 — 50TH REUNION From left, Christine Wilmer Barkus, Riley Brewster, Patricia Chao, Jeb Byers, Anne Cheney, Grier Torrence
1972 Class Correspondents: Amy Estabrook heyamo@snet.net Cathy Hosley Vouwie chv79@hotmail.com Tom Kligerman writes, “We recently sold our house in New Jersey and are now full-time residents of New York City. We bought an apartment in Murray Hill and are about to embark on a total renovation. Given that I see construction up close on a daily basis, I am filled with excitement tempered by a good dose of trepidation. Our youngest daughter, Magdalen, is starting her second year at The American University of Paris. Katherine, our middle daughter, is entering her final year at the University of Texas School of Architecture. Our eldest, Rebecca, lives in Brooklyn and does PR for various companies in New York City. As I write this I am sitting in a Shingle-style cottage in the seaside town of Weekapaug, Rhode Island. We take this house from June 1 through the end of August every year. It is the perfect antidote to Manhattan. I have been coming here since I was 10 years old and have friends here that go way back, more than half a century. Some of you from Foote may have
visited me here decades ago. Work at Ike Kligerman Barkley Architects is very busy. I feel incredibly lucky to have great clients who want houses in an array of beautiful places. Currently we have projects underway in Martha’s Vineyard, South Carolina, Canada, California, the Hamptons, New York City and other places. A lot of travel but a lot of great experiences! I hope everyone is OK and I would love to see anyone who is coming through New York City or Rhode Island!”
in the Alumni Programs Office at asudmyer@footeschool.org.
1973
1976
Class Correspondents: Peter Hicks phicks@websterbank.com
Class Correspondent: John Holder johnholder@comporium.net
John Persse johnpersse@bhhsne.com
1977
Ellen Sherk Walsh is back from a nine-month cruise with her husband on their 34-foot sloop, Far and Away. They traveled down the East Coast from Maine and spent the winter in the Bahamas before returning to Maine.
1974 The Class of 1974 needs a class correspondent. If you are willing to help collect news from your classmates, please contact Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89
1975 45th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: Jessica Drury sjsaz@optonline.net Sarah Blake’s latest novel, The Guest Book, was released in May to much critical acclaim.
Class Correspondent: Elizabeth Daley Draghi gdraghi@sbcglobal.net We extend our sympathy to Marisol Planchart, whose father, Alejandro Planchart, passed away on April 28, 2019.
1978 Class Correspondent: Stephen Fontana stevef1701@aol.com Fall 2019 | 69
1982 Class Correspondent: Bethany Schowalter Appleby bethany.appleby@gmail.com
1983 Class Correspondent: Brinley Ford Ehlers brinleysf@aol.com
1984 Class Correspondent: Ann Pschirrer Brandt annie.brandt@rocketmail.com CLASS OF 1979 — 40TH REUNION From left, Yeng-Tse Wu, Chris Sandine, Ellen Davie Hirs, former faculty and current Board member Francie Irvine
1979
1981
Class Correspondent: Bonnie Welch bonniewelch@taftschool.org
Class Correspondents: Jennifer LaVin jen2766@gmail.com
We extend our sympathy to Ellen Davie Hirs, whose father, James Davie, passed away on May 24, 2019. Caroline Loewald Farnham writes that she still lives in West Hartford, Connecticut, with her family. Her daughter, Belle, is 18 and will return to college this fall after a year off. Her son, Thomas, is finishing his freshman year in high school. Her husband, Chris, still teaches music and Caroline is still a clinical social worker and therapist. She recently visited with Mary Talbot, Liz Holt and Yeng-Tse Wu.
Nicolas Crowley nyjcrowley@hotmail.com We extend our sympathy to Katherine Scully, whose mother, Marian LaFollette, passed away on April 23, 2019.
Annie Walton-Teter’s new children’s book Annabel on the Ground, will be released soon by Austin Macauley publishers. Annie’s pen name is “Ann Myra” and a percentage of sales from the book will be donated to Foote.
1985 35th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: Carter LaPrade Serxner lapserx@gmail.com Matt Lieber writes, “Georgia (Crowley Lieber ’88) and I have moved back to the New Haven area after a decade in Wisconsin. It’s exciting and a bit strange to start this new chapter of life at 49. Feeling quite blessed,
1980 40th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: Liz Geller Brennan gelbren@aol.com Elicia Pegues Spearman writes, “I had the pleasure of travelling with my classmate and best friend Traci Turner Fairfax to see her daughter Amirh, who is my goddaughter, graduate magna cum laude from Howard University. There was a whole Connecticut family contingent that went to cheer her on!”
Elicia Pegues Spearman ’80 (second row, third from right) and Traci Turner Fairfax ’80 (first row, third from left) at the graduation of Traci’s daughter, Amirh, at Howard University 70 | Foote Prints
Former faculty and current Board member Francie Irvine, Pat Clendenen ’81 and former faculty member Bob Osborne catch up at reunion. I look forward to reconnecting with Foote people— and to our 35th reunion in 2020!”
1986 Class Correspondent: Jody Esselstyn jesselstyn@gmail.com Jody Esselstyn has been living in Charlottesville, Virginia, for 19 years. She spent her sixth summer season at an overnight camp on Lake Michigan, where she works as a camp nurse and her two
Former faculty member Bob Osborne and Alexandra Preziosi Lerner ’84, who had not seen each other in 35 years, catch up at Miya’s Sushi during reunion festivities.
younger kids are campers. During the school year Jody works as an elementary school nurse half-time and also enjoys being a docent at the University of Virginia’s Fralin Museum of Art. She also uses art as a teaching tool in medical humanities with undergraduate nursing students at the museum in Richmond.
1987 Class Correspondent: Jonathan Levin jdlevin@stanford.edu
1988 The Class of 1988 needs a class correspondent. If you are willing to help collect news from your classmates, please contact Amy Stephens Sudmyer ’89 in the Alumni Programs Office at asudmyer@footeschool.org. Georgia Crowley Lieber writes “Matt (Lieber ’85) and I have moved back from Wisconsin to the New Haven area. The impetus behind our move was to be closer to both our families. But clearly it was also
CLASS OF 1984— 35TH REUNION From left, John Wareck, former faculty member Bob Osborne, Heb Ryan, Miguel Garcia, Mai Wu, Anne Roche Perrine, Zeke Fiddler, and Bun Lai stand in front of the tree planted in memory of classmate Andrew Littell.
Members of the Class of 1984 celebrate their 35th reunion at Miya’s Sushi in May 2019. Fall 2019 | 71
to be able to attend more Foote reunions! We are looking forward to reconnecting with classmates in the area.”
1989 Class Correspondent: Toya Hill Clark trose7@hotmail.com In May, Ari Friedlaender was featured tagging humpback whales in Antarctica on a piece on Nightline on ABC News. The piece was headlined “Researchers Brave Brutal Conditions To Research Climate Change In Antarctica.”
1990 30th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: Amy Cohn Crawford amycohncrawford@mac.com
1991 Class Correspondent: Bo Bradstreet ebradstr@gmail.com
1992 Class Correspondent: Katie Madden Kavanagh katieblee@hotmail.com Andrew Koning lives in San Diego and started a law firm, Koning Zollar LLP, which is a litigation boutique.
1993 Class Correspondent: Jenny Keul jennykeul@gmail.com
1994 Class Correspondent: Arna Berke-Schlessel Zohlman arna.zohlman@gmail.com
1995 25th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: Jack Hill seaburyhill@aol.com Geneviève Corbière just published her second novel, Mimi and Ky: Escape the Past. Emily Oster’s latest book, Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool, was released in April. The book was an instant New York Times bestseller.
1996 Class Correspondents: Brett Nowak nowak.brett@gmail.com Katy Zandy Atlas katy91@gmail.com Laura Holliday Abbott and her husband welcomed a son, Eamonn Carter Abbott Miner, on November 25, 2018. Laura is an Ob-Gyn and works and lives in Oakland,
From left, Lisa Sandine Schuba ’83; Audrey Downey P’95; Mie Lai ’91; Jenny Byers ’65; Yoshiko Lai P’84,’87,’91; Jeb Byers ’69 at reunion in May 72 | Foote Prints
Geneviève Corbière’s second novel, Mimi and Ky: Escape the Past California. Brett Nowak writes, “My wife and I live in a small town called Ross, California, with our three boys: Tyler, 6; Blake, 4; and Austin, 2. Tyler just finished Kindergarten at the town’s small grade school, which reminds me very much of Foote, which is not by accident. For work I run my own company, Liquid and Grit, a research and data service company for mobile gaming companies. Luckily, our headquarters is right in town so I am fortunate to spend lots of time with my boys. Matt Wu, Pat Kane and I keep in touch regularly and look forward to bringing our respective families together soon, now that we are all
Brett Nowak ’96 and his wife with their sons: Tyler, Blake and Austin
out of baby stage. I hope everyone is well!” Rebecca Stern welcomed a baby daughter, Madeline, on January 24, 2019, weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Rebecca writes, “We are all happy, healthy and thrilled that she is here.”
1997 Class Correspondent: Eliza Sayward elizasayward@yahoo.com
1998 Class Correspondents: Andrew Lebov aklebov@gmail.com Elisabeth Sacco Klock saccopotatoes@gmail.com
Laura Holliday Abbott ’96 and her husband welcomed a son, Eamonn Carter Abbott Miner, on November 25, 2018.
Rebecca Stern ’96 welcomed a daughter, Madeline, on January 24, 2019.
1999 Class Correspondent: Jeremy Zuidema jmzuidema@gmail.com
2000 20th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondents: Alex Kleiner alex.m.kleiner@gmail.com Shannon Sweeney smsweeney07@gmail.com Caitlin Babiarz Kobelski and husband Bryan welcomed their second daughter,
Georgia Tate, on January 30, 2019, joining big sister Lulu. The family gathered in Madison, Connecticut, with Shannon Sweeney, husband Tyson Seely and daughter Etta (who moved to Concord, Massachusetts, earlier this year) for their annual Independence Day celebrations. Fun was had by all! Andrea Miller and her dance company, Gallim, made their way to Jacob’s Pillow in the Berkshires for their debut at the Ted Shawn Theatre in August. They presented the world premiere of True, very, which was commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow and captures the intoxicating ecstasy of dancing. The piece weaves together excerpts from Miller’s
Caitlin Babiarz Kobelski ’00 and Shannon Sweeney ’00 with their families in Madison, Connecticut, on July 4. From left, Tyson holding Etta, Shannon, Cait, Lulu, Bryan holding Georgia
most powerful work from over the past 10 years, including I Can See Myself in Your Pupil, Miller’s first piece for the company, and her most recent work, To Create a World, inspired by her time as an artist-inresidence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition, Gallim performed Boat, a work dedicated to finding hope in the wake of oppression.
2001 Class Correspondents: Cassie Pagnam cassie.pagnam@gmail.com
A dancer from Andrea Miller ’00’s dance company, Gallim Fall 2019 | 73
2002
Mara Redlich Revkin ’02
Class Correspondent: Hope Fleming hope.fleming@gmail.com
2003 Class Correspondent: Adam Shapiro adamshapiro1488@gmail.com
2004
Mara Redlich Revkin meeting with Iraqi and UN officials in 2017
Understanding Iraq is a leading expert on the Islamic State and has spent years in the Middle East researching legal systems in war-torn countries. MAR A R E D LI CH R E V K IN
A fellow at Yale Law School’s Center for Global Legal Challenges, Mara is currently based in Erbil, where she’s leading a groundbreaking study of Iraqi community policing that aims to improve trust between civilians and state institutions in 13 communities, some of which were captured by the Islamic State. Mara says no single moment set her on this path, but she clearly remembers watching the 9/11 attacks with classmates on her second day of high school orientation and the emotions that followed. “It wasn’t just sadness and fear but also recognition of how privileged and sheltered my life had been. Suddenly we were at war in two different countries and I found myself wanting to understand how all of this violence started and what could be done to end it.” At Swarthmore College, Mara studied Arabic and had opportunities to study in Egypt, then in Jordan and Oman as a Fulbright Fellow. She earned a J.D. and a Ph.D. in political science, both from Yale. Her dissertation on the Islamic State’s system of governance took her to Turkey and Iraq to interview and survey 74 | Foote Prints
more than 1,500 Syrians and Iraqis about their experiences living under the Islamic State’s rule. While there, she collected primary-source data that included documents issued by ISIS itself. She moved to Iraq in January 2019 to start a new research project in partnership with the International Organization for Migration that is evaluating the effects of the new community policing program. While many researchers have studied elite thinkers and propagandists of groups like ISIS, Mara is more interested in understanding the experiences of average Iraqis and Syrians who face the difficult choice of fleeing or staying and cooperating with armed groups. “Cooperating often has less to do with ideology and more to do with basic needs for physical and economic survival,” she notes. Mara will return to the U.S. in January 2020 to become a National Security Fellow at the Georgetown University Law Center and is already thinking about her next project. “Some of the same questions I study in Iraq could be asked in the American context. Why do so many Americans feel they need to own weapons to protect themselves? I’m increasingly concerned about violence in my own country and am eager to start applying what I’ve learned abroad to study problems closer to home.”
Class Correspondents: Dillon Long know33@gmail.com Dana Schwartz danaschwartz5@gmail.com The Class of 2004 had a wonderful 15th reunion weekend, attended by Sam Cunningham Chase and his wife, Tulsi; Gregory Clifford and his girlfriend, Tanya; Ronald Coleman and his girlfriend, Lanae (also business partners!); Jason Halpern; Ross Hicks and his girlfriend, Christine; Samantha Mashaw; Maggie Nicholson; John Peck; Scout Sanders Kemper; Alex Wiske; and Robin Woerner. We enjoyed a festive night out at Partners bar in New Haven for Drag Night on Friday to kick off the weekend. Saturday was full of activity, starting with an early morning bird walk on the Eli Whitney Museum trails, where we experienced peak warbler migration. The trails were packed with enthusiastic birders and the shrubs and treetops were flickering with many bird species, including some rare seasonal visitors. We enjoyed campus tours, learning all about the new nature trail through the beloved woods on campus. After the awards luncheon, Sam and Tulsi led a formal yoga class to share some practices learned during their lengthy stay studying with the famous Sadhguru at one of his ashrams in India. On Saturday evening we had a great dinner out at Barcelona in New Haven followed by fireside chats at Ordinary pub. Although our Sunday skydiving plans were foiled due to some low cloud cover, the weekend was rounded out wonderfully with a gathering with the Woerner family in Guilford. We shared lovely live cello, piano and guitar music, including some of Samantha’s original writing. Getting together with classmates for reunion day was a great pleasure. It was inspiring to
spend time with everyone and we look forward to continued gathering and shared connection with our amazing Foote 2004 cohort for years to come. Zach Bell writes, “Just finished our fourth summer at Camp Common Ground— an overnight summer camp that brings middle schoolers from different racial and economic backgrounds together to build empathy and leadership skills. I was also the union rep at my small bilingual middle school this year during the Oakland teacher strike, in which we won a better contract for us, our families and our kids!” Samantha Mashaw is teaching at Cold Spring School in New Haven. Scout Sanders Kemper and her husband, Billy, are living in Los Angeles, California, after graduating from business school in Chicago. Robin Woerner, who also lives in Los Angeles, is certified in Marie Kondo’s method and loves working with people to spark joy with their more organized and tidier homes. Elizabeth Calderoni and husband Neil welcomed a daughter, Georgina Rose Whiteside, on April 24, 2019. Georgina measured 21.5 inches and weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces. Georgina is named after her greatgrandmothers Georgine Rhoads and Rose Calderoni. Sam Cunningham Chase and his wife, Tulsi Chase, are yoga teachers and practitioners who are now sharing their talents broadly. Their business is called Soma and can be found at www.somayogalife.com. Sam and Tulsi offered a yoga class for Foote alumni as part of reunion festivities in May (see page 63).
Landon Osborn ’04
Landon Osborn with Foote eighth graders in June
Turning the Page helps incarcerated parents and their children strengthen bonds through the power of shared reading. L AND O N O S B O R N
Landon is program manager for CLICC (Connecting through Literacy: Incarcerated parents, their Children and Caregivers), a nonprofit that is rapidly expanding within Connecticut’s prisons. Here’s how it works: Children with a parent in prison choose books from a Scholastic catalog, and then CLICC orders three copies of each—one for the incarcerated parent, one for the child and one for the child’s mentor. The child meets with a CLICC mentor once a week for a year to read the books and write letters to Mom or Dad. Incarcerated parents meet with separate CLICC mentors while in prison and for an additional six months post-release. As Landon explains, books serve as a point of connection for letters and phone calls while the parent is in prison, and ice breakers for conversations after the parent is released, when relating can be difficult.
Elizabeth Calderoni and husband Neil welcomed a daughter, Georgina Rose Whiteside, on April 24, 2019.
“Strengthened bonds with immediate family members, especially children, reduces the chance of adults re-offending and helps them re-integrate into their communities,” says Landon. “For the children, we are hoping our program reduces the shame and stigma they feel about having an incarcerated parent.”
In only four years, CLICC has expanded from serving just seven families to more than 50 with parents in eight state prisons. The nonprofit works with families in Bridgeport and Greater New Haven, and recently expanded to Hartford. As a New Haven native, Landon was keenly aware of the mass incarceration problem from an early age. “This affects a lot of people from my community— a lot of people who look like me.” He earned a master’s in social work from University of Connecticut and had planned to work on prison reform policy. Upon graduation, though, Landon was offered the job with CLICC and saw an opportunity to put his skills to use in a different way. His CLICC work has led to other leadership roles. Landon now runs a group called “Father Engagement (F.A.C.T.O.R.)” two nights a week through the Community Action Agency of New Haven to support families and encourage fathers to play a more nurturing role in their children’s lives. Landon is also educating the next generation about mass incarceration. Last spring, he visited Foote to speak about his work with eighth graders, who had raised funds to purchase books for CLICC as part of their study of civil rights—a powerful example of the Foote learning experience coming full circle. Fall 2019 | 75
2007 Class Correspondents: Kenny Kregling kregke01@comcast.net Symphony Spell symphony.spell@gmail.com
2008 Class Correspondents: Michael Milazzo michael.milazzo12@gmail.com Kate Reilly Yurkovsky kate.yurkovsky@gmail.com
2009 Class Correspondents: Chris Blackwood christopher.blackwood@tufts.edu
CLASS OF 2004 — 15TH REUNION From left, Maggie Nicholson, Sam Cunningham Chase, Scout Sanders Kemper, Samantha Mashaw, Robin Woerner, Ross Hicks
Eva Kerman edk2123@barnard.edu
2005
2006
2010
15th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondent: Gabriella Rhodeen gabriella.rhodeen@gmail.com
Class Correspondents: Adam Gabbard adamdgabbard@yahoo.com
10th Reunion, May 9, 2020 Class Correspondents: Brandi Fullwood brandi.n.fullwood@gmail.com
Audrey Logan logan.audrey@gmail.com
Clay Pepe cppepe@rollins.edu
Members of the Class of 2004 and friends at Barcelona in New Haven. From left, Samantha Mashaw; Christina Biasiucci; Maggie Nicholson, Scout Sanders Kemper, Ross Hicks, Robin Woerner, Ronald Coleman, Alex Wiske, Lanae Drachslin, Sam Cunningham Chase.
76 | Foote Prints
Maya Harlan ’12 graduated from Wesleyan University in May 2019.
2011 Class Correspondents: Nate Barton natebarton95@gmail.com Britney Dumas bdumas13@gmail.com Robert Williamson has been working in theater as a costume designer. Work includes Into The Woods, Sweeney Todd and Grease (Cirillo Summer Theatre); My Fair Lady (Theatre Guild of Hampden); The Addams Family and In The Heights (New Britain High School). He has worked at Little Theatre of Manchester as assistant designer for Dreamgirls and designer of The Game’s Afoot, for which he won the 2019 Onstage Award for outstanding costumes.
2012 Class Correspondents: Harrison Lapides yalehockey20@comcast.net Cassidy McCarns cmccarns@bates.edu After playing for Georgetown University, Caitlin Farrell is playing professional soccer with the National Women’s Soccer League on the Orlando Pride. Caitlin was named
a Big East Institutional Scholar Athlete Scholarship winner. Each of the 10 schools in the Big East conference choose two athletes to recognize in this way, and this year Caitlin was one of them. The recipients are awarded $2,000 to put toward graduate school study. Maya Harlan graduated from Wesleyan University this past spring with a double major in economics and psychology, minoring in data analytics. She is in the International Honor Society in Psychology, Psi Chi, and the International Honor Society for Economics, Omicron Delta Epsilon. Maya was also awarded departmental honors in economics. Maya was furthered honored at Wesleyan’s Spring Prize Reception on May 8 and received the Plukas Teaching Apprentice Award. This prize is awarded for excellent service to the Economics Department as a teaching apprentice. During the summer of 2018 Maya interned with the investments division of AIG in Wilton and New York. She was offered a return position and will be working for the office in New York City.
2013 Class Correspondents: Lawson Buhl lbuhl@umich.edu Anika Zetterberg azetterb@skidmore.edu Lilli Gibson finished her junior year at the University of Virginia, where she is majoring in anthropology with a minor in history. This May, Anika Zetterberg was selected by the Skidmore College art faculty to have two pieces exhibited in the annual junior art show at the college’s Schick Art Gallery.
2014 Class Correspondents: Robinson Armour rarmour22@amherst.edu Sophia Matthes Theriault sophiamtheriault@gmail.com
Andrew Gee ’16 graduated from Oxford High School this past spring.
2015 Class Correspondents: Anli Raymond anliraymond15@gmail.com Will Wildridge william@wildridge.org Maya Karlan finished her first year at Bryn Mawr College. She spent the summer in Washington D.C. as an intern at the United States Holocaust Museum.
2016 Class Correspondents: Omid Azodi omid.azodi@gmail.com Evelyn Pearson evie.pearson11@gmail.com We extend our sympathy to Colleena Healy, whose father, James Healy, passed away on June 4, 2019. Andrew Gee graduated from Oxford High School and is attending the Central Connecticut State University School of Business. Before attending Springfield College to study Health Science, Elena Miko will be taking a gap year and will begin EMT training. Bruno Moscarini has been selected as a member of the United Soccer Coaches High School Scholar All-America
Fall 2019 | 77
From left, Sabrina Carlier ’18, Hilal Zoberi ’17, Jake Nadzam ’17, Fenn Suter ’17 and Liam Podos ’16 on a six-day NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) backpacking course in the Wind River Range in Wyoming
Team. Bruno is invited to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Ceremony on January 18, 2020, which recognizes AllAmericans and Scholar All-Americans at the youth, high school and collegiate levels. Edie Conekin-Tooze started as a student at Columbia University in August. Edie spent the summer as a finance intern for the Andrew Yang presidential campaign at their New York headquarters.
2017 Class Correspondents: Graley Turner graleyturner@gmail.com Hilal Zoberi hzoberi20@choate.edu In mid-June, Hilal Zoberi took a NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) backpacking course in the Wind River Range in Wyoming along with Liam Podos ’16, Jake Nadzam, Fenn Suter and Sabrina Carlier ’18. For the rest of the summer, Hilal worked in a science research lab at the Yale Center of Gynecology as part of the Discovery to Cure internship program. Hilal aided research for ovarian and cervical cancers by incubating cancer cells and treating them with drugs. 78 | Foote Prints
2018
2019
Class Correspondents: Alexandra Collins alexandrabcollins03@gmail.com
Class Correspondents: Josie Cancro josie.cancro@gmail.com
Pablo Rollán pabloo.rollan@gmail.com
Malachai York malachai@yorkfamily.net
Gabi Karlan spent her fourth and final summer at the Duke Talent Identification Program. She took a class called Ethics and the Little White Lie. Sabrina Carlier writes, “In early June, I traveled with a group of Choate students, including some of my fellow Foote alumni, to the Wind River Range in Wyoming to complete a backpacking trip.”
Stella Wareck attends Wilbur Cross High School and Educational Center for the Arts (ECA), where she studies music and vocals. Stella reports that music is her main passion and that she still keeps in touch with her Foote friends.
From left, Mike McCabe, Cassie Spadory, Wenyan Witkowsky and Jake Burt in Plaza Suite: Visitor from Forest Hills
Faculty News Grades 4 & 5 associate teacher Cassie Spadory directed a series of one-act plays that were performed for parents, students and fellow faculty members in May to raise money for Financial Aid. The three plays—Best Lei’d Plans by Kelly Younger, God in the Goat by Suzanne Bradbeer and Plaza Suite: Visitor from Forest Hills by Neil Simon—featured an all-star cast of Foote faculty members. The players were Jake Burt, Cara Hames, Mike McCabe, Cathy Pamelard, Sue Shaw, Cassie Spadory, Megan Sutherland and Wenyan Witkowsky. Fifthgrade teacher Jake Burt’s book Greetings from Witness Protection! is a 2020 Nutmeg Book Award nominee. Jointly sponsored by the Connecticut Library Association and the Connecticut Association of School Librarians, the Nutmeg Committee is comprised of children’s librarians and school library media specialists. The Nutmeg Book Award encourages children in grades 2–12 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of 10 nominated titles. Eleven other states have also nominated Greetings from Witness Protection! for an award. Reporting on his summer, fourth-grade teacher Toby Welch ’73 writes, “The weather looked good in late June and the calendar was open. Time to do some maintenance work on the bike and head out on a solo circumnavigation of Lake Champlain. The first day’s ride was a sweet mix of dirt road and pavement, which became the daily pattern. I had cut out the appropriate pages of the Vermont Gazetteer and used those maps to ride the back, back roads. The first night in Button Bay State Park brought heavy rain and a good
Jake Burt and Cara Hames in God in the Goat
dose of lightning, but thankfully, I stayed dry in my tent. Over the course of the sixday ride, I took daily swims, pedaled many hills and met many curious cows. Along the way, I visited two museums dedicated to abolitionists who had provided shelter along the Underground Railroad. I picked up valuable resources that will support portions of the fourth-grade social studies curriculum that are focused on forced migration as part of our yearlong study of immigration.”
Former Faculty News We are sad to report that Lola Salowitz passed away on March 29, 2019. (See remembrance on next page.)
Sue Shaw and Cathy Pamelard in Best Lei’d Plans
Toby Welch ’73 rode around Lake Champlain. Fall 2019 | 79
In Memoriam
Remembered
Sandol Stoddard ’40 January 4, 2018 Robert Calhoun ’42 February 2019 Lewis Perry Curtis ’45 April 9, 2019 Stephen Waters ’47 April 5, 2019 Lola Salowitz, Former Faculty March 29, 2019
Lola Salowitz
Math Department Chair, Teacher of Math & U.S. History 1925–2019 I am a math teacher to 6th and 7th graders. Every year I tell them about my teacher when I was in middle school, Mrs. Salowitz, and how she taught me in a way that truly resonated with me. I was a terribly insecure student and did not speak in class at all. One day in Mrs. Salowitz’s class, I actually raised my hand to share that I had figured out the rule for subtracting integers. This was a tremendous move for me as I was a very passive student then. Mrs. Salowitz was so happy for me that she handed out candies to the whole class because the “rule” had been discovered. It changed me and gave me great confidence—and I use that as an example to my students every single year. She had a profound influence on me. She was so strict but a true teddy bear at heart. I am so grateful for her. —Charlotte Perrine ’78 There is a green hexagonal table in my classroom and quite often people remark that it is the perfect table for a math teacher to have. It is perfect, not only because it is a hexagon, but also because it can accommodate up to six people with enough space to work on math! More importantly, though, I inherited the table from Lola Salowitz. I never worked with Lola, though I had the opportunity to meet her on a couple of occasions, and I understand that she routinely met with students at the hexagonal table. I’ve been told that Mrs. Salowitz required her students to do “corrections on corrections on corrections.” It was also clear, though, that Mrs. Salowitz spent time with her students, helping them with corrections, re-explaining concepts, encouraging skill practice and urging them toward mastery of the material—the ultimate goal. I’m honored and proud to be able to continue this tradition. I sit at her green hexagonal table during study hall, working with my students, guiding them through corrections, answering questions, helping them practice skills and nudging them ever closer to mastery. —Cindy Raymond, Middle School Math
80 | Foote Prints
We’re Halfway There! The Centennial Campaign: Secure Foote’s Future has raised more than $5 million—over halfway to our goal of doubling Foote School’s endowment! This critical campaign aims to make a long-term investment in Foote’s human resources by accomplishing four goals: sustain socioeconomic diversity; increase faculty of color; ensure robust enrollment; and attract and retain the best teachers.
Will you join us in creating a secure future for Foote School?
Call Director of Development Jody Abzug to have a confidential conversation about making a gift, and visit www.footeschool.org/join-us.
Save the Date!
Foote Alumni Day Saturday, May 9, 2020 Reunion Day has been renamed “Alumni Day” to emphasize that Foote alumni from every class are invited and encouraged to attend every year! Come back to Loomis Place to reminisce and reconnect with your old friends and teachers. Look for details in the mail and on www.footeschool.org/AlumniDay
Looking Back
Enter Mak A brief history of Foote’s most famous play BY MU FFIE CLE ME NT GR E E N ’61
is cold, and I am ill-wrapped. I am near-hand dead, so long have I napped. My legs they fold, my fingers are chapped. It is not as I would, for I am all lapped In sorrow. In storms and tempest Now in the east, now in the west Woe is him has never rest Midday or morrow.” “ LO R D, B U T THI S W E ATHE R
These memorable words, spoken by the character Coll, are the opening lines from The Second Shepherds’ Play (Secundus Pastorum). Foote School students performed the Mak play, as it was known, every Christmas for almost half a century, and generations of Footies can still recite their lines. 82 | Foote Prints
The Mak play was first performed by Foote students in 1922 at the Charles Morris house on Prospect Street, one of the school’s early locations. When the school moved—first to the converted stable and carriage house at 315 St. Ronan Street, and later up the hill to Loomis Place—“Mak” went along too. The idea to stage a Christmas play came from an early Foote teacher who had written a play based on the Bible. It was Mrs. Foote, using this first play as a model and “recalling a Bryn Mawr tradition from her student days, who suggested the medieval miracle play—so long the centerpiece of the holiday season,” according to Reverdy Whitlock’s The History of The Foote School.
(top) A production of the Mak play in 1949
The Christmas play in 1955
When Mrs. Foote retired in 1935, Winifred Sturley took over leadership of the school and happily carried on the tradition of the Mak play. Upon her retirement in 1955 and the arrival of Foote’s first male head, Kendall Pennypacker, it became clear that big changes were in order at the school. While Mr. Pennypacker instituted a great number of those changes, in a 1957 report to the Board he expressed the wish that “traditional events in the life of the school (the Christmas Program and May Day) could be preserved in as much sameness of spirit as had endeared them to innumerable graduates.” The next two school heads, Elizabeth Churchill and Frank Perrine, both inherited and embraced the Mak play.
Mak is Back! O N O C TO B E R 19 , former drama director Bob Sandine will
direct an adaptation of the Mak play at Trinity Parish House in New Haven. The production will star two Foote alumni—Jeff Klaus ’76 as Mak and Pat Clendenen ’81 as Daw—as well as Rich Lamere (husband of current faculty member Margy Lamere) as Gib. Showtime is 6 p.m. Play and dinner are $20. More information and tickets at www.trinitynewhaven.org.
The Second Shepherds’ Play was actually one of four plays performed every Christmastime for Foote’s first halfcentury. The opening act was a “preface play” that set a joyful holiday tone with a grand procession, warm welcomes to all from the Lord and Lady of the Manor, carol singing, the Jester’s pranks and acrobats’ antics. There was also the Pharaoh Play, the Noah Play, the King’s Play and the St. George Play. The order of the plays might change—and not every play was performed each year—but the Mak play was a staple—and the hands-down audience favorite. Considered by some to be the great pre-Shakespeare play in the English language, The Second Shepherds’ Play was a famous medieval mystery play that got its name because it was part of a dramatic cycle in which it immediately followed another nativity play. It’s a raucous comedy that has practical jokes, sheep stealing and blanket tossing before settling into
From left, Jeff Klaus ’76, Bob Sandine, Rich Lamere and Pat Clendenen ’81 Fall 2019 | 83
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The entire school was thrilled to be working together to get ready for the big day.
The 1965 production of the Mak play
A program from the Christmas play in 1965
a nativity story. The play begins prior to the angel’s visitation to the shepherds in the field. Mak is a good-for-nothing thief who steals a sheep from two shepherds and, with the help of wife Gyl, attempts to hide the animal by swaddling it and placing it in a cradle in their cottage.
are a lot of fun. We escape a good deal of homework. When the anticipated day comes a nervous fear is apt to envelope the leading characters, but it is an enjoyable fear and not to be missed for anything.”
Excitement regarding the Mak play would start as early as October. The play marked the end of classes, so the students had that to look forward to as well. What everyone wanted to know was, “Who would play Mak?” and “Who would play Gyl?” The entire school was involved in preparations for the Christmas festivities; everyone was thrilled to be working together to get ready for the big day. A student account from a 1931 edition of Foote Notes reads, “Rehearsals
The Christmas plays were performed for the last time at Foote in 1970, five years after longtime drama director Bob Sandine joined the faculty. With Foote’s student body becoming more diverse, Bob says, it didn’t seem right to have the only play be a Christian one. “Some people have never forgiven me,” Bob recalls jokingly. But discontinuing the Mak play made room for students to take on a wider range of dramatic works. “We got to do some other great plays!”he says.
(opposite) The madonna and angels in the 1962 production; from left, Kendy Alford ’63 as the Angel Michael, Judy Hull ’63 as the Madonna and Ann Miller ’63 as the Angel Gabriel
Muffie Clement Green ’61 is Foote’s volunteer archivist. She performed as Lady of the Manor in Foote School’s 1960 production of the Mak play. Fall 2019 | 85
Around Campus
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Greek plays have been a part of the Foote School experience since the school’s earliest days. In 1917, when the school was still housed in a garage attic on Huntington Street, Mrs. Foote’s students would dress up and re-enact the great Greek myths. Today, fifth graders perform plays written by their teachers each spring as part of their study of ancient Greece. Pictured from left, fifth graders Wendy Cai, Sam Forman and Julian Theodore perform an adaptation of Pandora’s Box written by teacher Jake Burt.
Fall 2019 | 87
Why I Teach
Books help us make connections to our lives, each other and the world around us.
BY JE NNIFE R FR IE D MAN
in a book. It makes the author feel human to me. With only a word or two, maybe a name or even just initials, the author becomes a parent, a child or a partner. The author becomes connected to someone and someplace. If you were an English major, you no doubt recall the dedication page in Howards End. Even if you remember little else, the words “only connect” have likely stayed with you. In a classroom of library students in 2019 this dedication—this instruction or bit of advice—resonates for me in a powerful way. I ALWAYS R E A D THE D E D I C ATI O N PAGE
When a classroom of Kindergarten students or sixth graders take their seats in the library, I hold up a book. It may be a work of fiction or nonfiction. It may be a classic tale retold or a brand new story they have never heard before. Together we look at the pictures and listen to the words and something almost magical happens: we listen to one another, we develop an understanding of the plot, we watch one another react emotionally to the story and we make connections to our lives and the world around us. In short, we connect. Every year I read a story called Borka to the Kindergartners in the library. Borka is a story about a goose born without feathers whose mother knits him a coat to keep him warm. But without feathers Borka cannot fly, and when his family heads south for the winter, he is left behind. Don’t worry; Borka finds love and a place to call home. Kindergarten students inevitably ask me, “Is this a true story?” The students know geese can’t knit sweaters, but they also know what it feels like to care for someone. They truly feel for Borka. The emotions they feel are, of course, real, even when the story is clearly fiction. Connections are made and the door is open for conversations about friendship and 88 | Foote Prints
family and kindness—some of my favorite topics to discuss with Kindergartners. Shortly after a Kindergarten class leaves we may have a class of Middle School students. We quickly change gears, reposition our famous blue chairs and begin again. With the sixth graders this past year I read Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney. This is an important, beautiful and moving book that reads like poetry. It tells of the four students who took seats at the Woolworth’s counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960. First we look at the images and then the words begin to flow. As the events in the story unfold, an uncomfortable reality sets in. The sixth graders too often ask, “Is this a true story?” The indignity, outrage and respect our students feel for the Greensboro four are real. Now, more than in recent years, our students are able to relate their indignation about events in a picture book to their own lives. “What can we do? Can we make a difference in the world? Can protests lead to change?” They are thinking about gun control, about police brutality and about gender equality. They are making connections. I teach because books and words and images undoubtedly help us connect. We arrange our seats in the library so that we can see each other. We share stories from American Indian culture, China, India, Japan, Germany and beyond. We learn about people who planted trees and marched for freedom in the United States and around the world. We disconnect from everything except each other and the book we are sharing, and we connect. Jennifer Friedman is Head Librarian at Foote. She started at Foote in 2009 and is the mother of Tess ’15 and Dylan ’21.
Giving Day 02.20.2020 Put your best Foote forward
Mark your calendars and join us on February 20, 2020 Watch for details at www.footeschool.org/GivingDay
The Foote School 50 Loomis Place New Haven, CT 06511 www.footeschool.org (203) 777-3464
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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Notice: Postal regulations require the school to pay 75 cents for every copy not deliverable as addressed. Please help us contain costs by notifying us of any change of address, giving both the old and new addresses.
Mark Your Calendars
Nov
Young Alums Day
May
Alumni (Reunion) Day
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 Graduates and students from the classes of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 are invited back to Foote to see classmates and former teachers. Register online at www.footeschool.org/YAD.
Saturday, May 9, 2020 Foote alumni are invited to gather at Foote for lunch, activities and class dinners. Class years ending in 0 and 5 will celebrate special reunions, but all alumni are welcome. Watch for details in the mail and at www.footeschool.org/ AlumniDay.
Foote Prints Vol 46.2