GFA Spring Magazine 2013

Greens Farms Academy Magazine 43Spring 2013

Robots Ready for Battle at the Beach Inside:

Echoes of Emerson in the Classroom p.16

Green & WHITE

FOR the

Concert to benefit Sandy Hook Elementary School—see article page 4

editorial

Greens Farms

Academy

Greens Farms Academy Spring 2013 Volume 25 The GFA Magazine is published twice a year for parents, alumni and friends of the school by the GFA Office of Advancement.

Editor Alison Freeland

Associate Editor Natalie Gagnon

Editorial Assistants Features

Nancy Fishkin Sara Glidden

Robots Ready for Battle at the Beach 14

Alumni Editor Matt Hintsa ’06

Echoes of Emerson in the Classroom 16

Design © Plaza Design www.plazadesign.com

Departments Editor’s Letter

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Head’s Letter

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GFA News and Events

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Faculty News

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Athletics at GFA

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Arts at GFA

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Von Kohorn Address & Speeches

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Alumni Events

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Alumni In the News & Profiles

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Class Notes

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Milestones

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Summer Programs

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Photo Contributors Alison Freeland Lindsay Furman Natalie Gagnon Matt Hintsa ’06 GFA photo students In an effort to streamline our mailing list, we are sending one magazine per household. If you would like extra copies, please email afreeland@gfacademy.org.

Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor are welcome and may be edited for clarity and space. Please send all correspondence to Alison Freeland (afreeland@gfacademy.org).

Alumni News We welcome news from alumni, parents and friends of GFA. Please send your news and labeled photographs to Alumni News at GFA, or email them to alumni@gfacademy.org.

The following minimum digital file size is required to produce a high-quality image 2.5" x 3.5" • # pixels 375 x 525 pixels • 550KB/ .tif • 100KB/ .jpeg

printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks

Greens Farms Academy 35 Beachside Avenue PO Box 998 Greens Farms, CT 06838-0998 (203) 256-0717 www.gfacademy.org Greens Farms Academy is dedicated to guiding students through a rigorous course of study encompassing academics, arts and athletics.

editor

Letter from the Editor Dear Readers, This has been a year of adapting, mostly to the outside environment. I think we saw much of what the atmosphere had to offer, starting with waves breaking on Burying Hill Beach from Hurricane Sandy in October, moving through an array of wind storms, power outages, snow drifts, rain and flooding that left the marsh looking like a reservoir. We lost school days during all these events, and we lost our collective heart as the events in Newtown unfolded so nearby in December. To add to the strangeness, in February, a man drove a stolen car onto school grounds and disappeared, causing a lockdown while over thirty police fanned out in pursuit.

Only later did we learn that the man had stolen a different car from the parking lot and escaped.

Alison Freeland

One faculty member, looking back over the staccato schedule of three-and-four-day weeks said he felt we were all living a firefighter’s schedule—two days on, one day off, and so on. It makes it difficult for both faculty and students to get momentum and complete work, but it also has been a great lesson in adaptability.

As you can read on Page 4, students responded to the Newtown tragedy by organizing a fundraiser in a little over five days. Faculty quietly collected several thousand dollars to help the person who had his car stolen from the parking lot, and our maintenance crew simply bought more weather gear and worked on weekends.

Schools talk a lot these days about teaching 21st century skills such as creativity, real-world problem solving, and communications. I would like to add another— adaptability, and after the past six months, I would give our community an “A.”

Alison Freeland Director of Communications

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head

From the Head of School Dear GFA Community, After tumultuous weather events this year, spring is certainly welcome, and with spring come several GFA events that speak to our innovative program, creative faculty and very talented students. In April we are looking forward to our third annual World Perspectives Symposium, with seniors presenting their global theses and science research.

On May 21, we are hosting TEDxGreensFarmsAcademy. TED stands for technology, entertainment and design. The conference at GFA, created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading” is our first independently organized conference, in which a group of remarkable students, teachers, and alumni will reflect on the “aesthetic moments” that helped them discover what they love to do, who they really are and how they want to make an impact in the world around them.

The idea for the theme came from the message that two of our speakers delivered this year. Fred Newman, our fall Coyle Visiting Scholar, and Peter Nachtrieb, visiting playwright in the Upper School, each talked about finding your inner voice (although Fred referred to it as his “inner weird”), and following your passion in life.

Our title for the TED conference, Aesthetic moments: Reflections on how to discover who we really are, also grew out of Sir Ken Robinson’s words: “An aesthetic experience is one in which your senses are operating at their peak. When you are present in the current moment. When you are resonating with excitement of this thing that you are experiencing. When you are fully alive.”

With the Peace Games in the Lower School, Capstone Projects in the Middle School and the Upper School presentations, Greens Farms Academy is indeed fully alive this spring.

Kind regards,

Janet M. Hartwell Head of School

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GFA news Concert for the Green & White to benefit Sandy Hook Elementary School, January 11, 2013 planned and produced by the senior class Right after the winter break the senior class went into full planning mode for a benefit concert on Friday evening, five days hence. Has an event ever come together more quickly? The magic words were “Paul Simon and Edie Brickell,” who agreed to come and play two songs.

Whatever the GFA community “is”, allowed the night to happen. The seniors were poised, organized and enthused. Faculty, staff and parents helped, but behind the scenes. It was the students’ night. Several pulled together a silent auction. Chad Stokes, cousin of a GFA student and lead singer of Dispatch, agreed to perform, and Mike Greenberg of ESPN agreed to be the Emcee. David Morgan ’11, came back for two days to help set up the sound. The lighting came from a local company that will also light our spring musical. On Friday morning, tickets went on sale in the school for $10 apiece. The fire marshal gave the go-ahead to have 1,000 people in the Coyle Gym. Within six hours tickets sold out, and word went out that the event was closed. All that was needed was for the ten acts to show up at the right place at the right time.

It all came together at 7pm, and several student groups performed. In the finale, Chad Stokes had the audience on its feet, and then Paul Simon and Edie Brickell gave the crowd a duet of the song, All I Have to Do is Dream. In a pre-arranged move, Paul and Edie called 6th grader William Shabecoff to the stage with his fiddle to accompany them on Jambalaya. Similarly, they invited music teacher Betsy Bergeron with her mandolin.

By that time even the police officers, who were there for crowd control, were taking pictures with their phones.

The purpose of the concert was to raise money, and it succeeded. Maybe, the students thought, they could raise $10,000, but in the end it was almost $40,000. The evening benefitted the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, and the money went to the United Way of Western CT and the Newtown Savings Bank. Many who experienced the evening will never look at the Coyle Gym quite the same way again.

Senior Julia Lennon, one of the concert organizers, said, “That evening was one of the most powerful events I have ever participated in at GFA. The energy in the room reflected the desire of students and adults alike to help the Newtown community, and I hope that Newtown was able to feel the immense amount of love and support that this event generated.”

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Green & WHITE

FOR the

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GFA news TEDx GreensFarmsAcademy, May 21, 2013: A group of GFA students, faculty, staff and alumni will reflect in short talks on the “aesthetic moments” that helped them discover what they love to do, who they really are, and how they want to make an impact in the world. See more on GFA’s Website.

The Challenge Team: GFA’s 2012-2013 Challenge Team had one of its most successful years ever, finishing as runners-up in both the CT region of the year-long competition and in the entire tri-state region (out of nearly 200 teams). “The Challenge” is an academic competition hosted by Cablevision and msgvarsity.com, in which teams compete in categories including history, literature, mathematics, science, arts, current events and pop culture, among others.

This year’s Challenge Team consisted of Graham Bacher ’13 (capt.), Clay Garner ’13, Frankie Garofalo ’14, Mark Whittaker ’14, Adam Petno ’15 and Ethan Petno ’15. The coach of the Challenge Team is Jonathan Matte of the GFA Mathematics Department.

This was the fifth consecutive year that GFA reached the Final Four of the CT region and the second time in four years that the team reached the tri-state finals.

Congratulations on another successful year. Episodes of “The Challenge” can be seen nightly on Cablevision Channel 12.

Bleachers: GFA is becoming a “BLEACHERS” School. BLEACHERS is a video subscription service that allows family members to watch athletic games in HD video live and on demand. Families can watch on computers, tablets or smartphones when they can’t be at a game in person, or later, on demand —24/7.

Visit www.gobleachers.com/join or call 855.GOBLEACHERS (855.462.5322) for more information.

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A Grand Gift: Mary Gemignani has played the piano since she was six years old. “The discipline of practicing and then playing in front of others has helped me in different areas of my life,” Mary says. “I think music education teaches many important skills to children.” When she and her husband moved to New Jersey, she fell in love with a vintage 1904 Chickering grand piano, and her husband Gary gave it to her as a birthday present. She loved playing it, and often her young son Christopher would sit on the bench and listen. When the family moved to Connecticut, however, there wasn’t room for the piano in the house. This year the Gemignanis gave the vintage grand to GFA, and it sits in the band room for students to learn on and play, including, of course, first grader Christopher.

Spring 2013

Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character. The Parents’ Association brings in Mr. Tough as part of the “Eyes Wide Open” series to talk about “the surprising ways in which parents do—and do not—prepare their children for adulthood.”

Speakers

Lorayne Carbon and Sarah Mathews from Sarah Lawrence College speaking on The Importance of Play. This is the first in the Martha Russell Early Childhood Speaker Series. Mrs. Russell was a long-time GFA Kindergarten teacher, who retired in 2012.

Coyle Scholar Jeremy Barlow comes from Nashville where he has had two successful restaurants. His book Chefs Can Save the World talks about how to green restaurants and why they are the key to renewing the food system. Local chef and leader in the sustainable food movement, Michel Nischan, will join Jeremy for the evening presentation.

iPhone…Blackberry…Droid? No Problem The GFA website goes mobile!

Visit the GFA website on your mobile device. The mobile website features easy navigation and many mobilefriendly options.

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The Parents’ Association party, “Winter White Out”, was a huge success.

The Silvermine Arts Center in New Canaan was transformed into a silvery, snowy wonderland, where parents enjoyed cocktails and a an abundant array of delicious food.

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Joan Panariello, George Panariello, Meredith Hutchison*, Emily McDermott* Talley Ackerman*, Beth Forfang**, Judy Fisher** Outstanding Décor (Silvermine Arts Center Sparkled) Vanessa Bruder*, Patrick Swearingen, Julie Swearingen* Kate Honarvar, Houdin Honarvar Anita Parry, Bill Parry Amanda Kelly, Howard Courtemanche Andy Frank, Gary Cohen, Maryellen Frank, Carolyn Cohen Nancy Bottger, Brad Bottger

10. Alex Wiberg, Manu Bettegowda, Eric Wiberg, Neena Singh, Rajander Singh 11. Vani Bettegowda, Larry Shiff, Susan Shiff, Peggy Twitchell 12. John Dionne, Jackie Dionne* 13. Kristen McDonald, Patrick McDonald 14. Joe D’Agostino, Lisa Shepard, Kitty D’Agostino, Daron Shepard 15. Nasri TouFoung, Pam LaFontaine 16. Jenny San Jose, Don San Jose, Cathleen Morgan

*Committee Member ** Co-Chair Committee members not pictured: Kim Rummelsburg Lisa Rintoul Alexa Wheeler (PA Treasurer) Heather Luth Kristen Nimr

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Faculty & Staff News

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from Director of Advancement, Melissa Hoglund When I tell people that I work in “Advancement”, I sometimes get the reaction, “what in the world is that?”

I tell them with pride that, “I fundraise to advance the mission of the school. And I absolutely love my job.”

Since joining GFA in July 2012 and becoming acquainted with my colleagues on the faculty and staff, my respect for the people who work at the school has grown to nearly religious levels. These teachers and administrators bring such energy, intelligence and dedication to GFA. They set the bar at a high standard of excellence.

Above all, I have the opportunity to work with a community of parents, trustees, volunteers and alums who give so much of their time, their expertise, their moral support, and yes, their financial support to GFA, that I feel thankful and so very lucky to be on their team.

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Coming Soon!

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There is one more thing about my job. My office is on the second floor above the Kindergarten classrooms.

Sometimes when I am working quietly alone at my desk, I hear singing. Little tiny voices waft up to fill my space with all their enthusiasm and earnest effort; it fills my heart right up with pure joy. These Kindergartners are the Class of 2025, the centennial class at GFA. Our job in the Advancement Office is to inspire people to support GFA. We do it for the students. It’s all about the students.

Gail Greiner, Upper School English teacher, has a new children’s book coming out in September 2013 called Patchwork Helps a Friend. The imprint is pow! Books for Kids (an imprint of powerHouse Books).

Dr. Kurt Mederer, Head of the Math Department, presents this month at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Presenting “How Do We Know What We Think We Know?”

Dr. Mederer is the lead speaker in his presentation group.

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athletics Athletic Spotlight With FAA and New England championship teams, packed stands and award-winning coaches, GFA sports have had a banner year.

The Girls Volleyball team (8-6) earned its second New England title in four years with a 3-1 victory over King this past fall. The team also finished 4th in the FAA. Seniors Sarah Young ’13, Victoria Engh ’13 and Rachel Schwimmer ’13 were selected as New England All-Stars with Young also earning FAA All-League and Schwimmer FAA Honorable Mention.

The Boys Soccer team had a historic 13-1 record this past fall, finishing undefeated in the FAA and ranked #1 in WNEPSSA (Class C). FAA All-League: Spencer Hartig ’13, Munir Qaddourah ’13, Brendan Bieder ’14, Ryan Friend ’13 and Clay Garner ’13.

FAA Honorable Mention: Van Barnet ’13, Griffen Garner ’15; WNEPSSA All-Star & Select Team, New England All-Star and CT All-State: Hartig, Qaddourah, Bieder; WNEPSSA Select Honorable Mention: Friend. Chris Mira was selected as CT Soccer Prep School Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.

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The Girls Soccer team (11-3-2) finished its season 4th in the FAA, 2nd in WNEPSSA (Class C) and New England Class C Semi-finalists. Earning FAA All-League honors were Blair Pelley ’13 and Phebe Wong ’13 with Honorable Mention going to Caroline Kruk ’14. Wong also earned Connecticut All-State honors. Tauni Butterfield was honored as CT Soccer Prep School Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.

With only three returning starters, one senior and no juniors, the Wrestling team finished the regular season with a notable league record of 15-4, setting a new record for dual meet wins.

Impressive wins included victories over Salisbury, Pomfret and Canterbury. At the FAA tournament Brandon Velez ’13 and Cristian Rivera ’16 earned FAA Honorable Mention. Riley Grady ’15 repeated and became a two-time FAA champion.

As a team, GFA placed 2nd in the FAA for the second year in a row and sent six wrestlers to the New England Tournament.

GFA’s newly formed Fencing team finished its first competitive season and looks forward to building upon its success next fall.

Boys Basketball Makes School History In 2011, the Boys Varsity Basketball team gained strength with the arrival of talented players Sean Obi ’13 from Anambra, Nigeria and Brian Comey ’12 from Northern VA. They joined Dan Chase ’11 and Hunter Eggers ’13 under new coach, Doug Scott, and began to build a championship team. The next year brought Matt Tate ’14 from Greenwich, Pat Ryan ’13 from Darien and Zack Baines ’15 from Stamford.

the game. This marked the first time in GFA history that the team won the FAA Regular Season, FAA Tournament and New England Tournament in the same season. Multiple players received New England postseason honors: Obi (First Team and Most Valuable Player), Eggers (Second Team) and Baines (Honorable Mention). Third year coach, Doug Scott was named New England Coach of the Year.

In the 2012-2013 season, the Dragons finished 16-1 as FAA Regular Season Champions and FAA Tournament Champions defeating Brunswick 67-42. The excitement of the season was best captured when GFA, rallied by student chants of “GFA, GFA, GFA,” dispatched long-time rival Brunswick in the league tournament game. As the game ended, the students rushed the floor in celebration. The players, coaches and administrators stayed after and ceremonially cut down the nets in the Coyle Gym. Obi, Eggers, Ryan and Tate were selected to the FAA All-Star team.

During the season, Obi and Eggers both reached 1,000 points, joining four other alumni in the record books: Dan Chase ’11, Jasmine Williams ’08, Dan Tower ’88 and Lee Isenstein ’87.

Ranked No. 1 in New England (Class C), the Dragons continued their success with a New England Tournament Championship in March defeating Pingree 55-50. Baines was named MVP of

Having either coached or watched as a fan practically every great basketball player in GFA’s history, former faculty member Ed Denes had the following to say about this year’s team: “I am putting my choice of the 2013 Boys Varsity Team as GFA’s best over the past 40+ years. I saw all six FAA playoffs and New England games; the boys played consistently good basketball, and when they made a turnover or missed a shot invariably a strong defensive play on their part allowed them to get back into the game. The pieces all fit together this year.”

College-Bound Athletes Phebe Wong Bucknell University

Lacrosse

Hunter Eggers Franklin & Marshall College Basketball Sean Obi Rice University Caitlin Rummelsburg Franklin & Marshall College Sarah Young Skidmore College Matt Alexander Pomona College

Basketball

Tennis

Volleyball

Water polo

Dragons

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arts

GFAB

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S S E H C Spring Musicals

Winter Theatre Showcase

Right before spring break, the fifth grade performed The Little Mermaid. As Mrs. Ennis said, “This was a sophisticated show, and the fifth graders performed with amazing grace, beautiful singing voices, and an impressive degree of composure.�

The Upper School Winter Theatre Showcase is a unique way for all students to participate in a student-generated theatre production. In January there were a number of original pieces; the one pictured is by 9th grader Kate Koster.

The Middle School put on a rousing performance of Bye Bye Birdie on the legendary stage of the Westport Country Playhouse on March 1 and 2.

The Upper School spring musical will be Chess, performed on the weekend of May 17 and 18. This rock opera calls for a full chorus, so Mr. Stout has invited faculty, parents and alums to join in to support the cast.

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CT Scholastic Writing Awards

CT Scholastic Art Awards

Peter LaBerge ’13 Gold Key—Writing Portfolio ($1,000 Crosswicks Foundation

Scholarship Award for Best Portfolio) Gold Key—Poetry (Georgia’s Eve, Winter Barn, Genealogy) Gold Key—Poetry (Summer Slices) Gold Key—Poetry (Variations on a Pear) Silver Key—Short Story (Submerged) Silver Key—Short Story (Kicking Underwater) Silver Key—Persuasive Writing (Teachers From America:

The “Hansel and Gretel” of the Twenty-First Century) Silver Key—Flash Fiction (Carlisle Blue) Honorable Mention—Dramatic Script (Coffee and Claire) Honorable Mention—Flash Fiction (Teatime) Honorable Mention—Poetry (Poems for Tom Bridegroom)

Kyja Kutnick ’13

—Photography, Gold Key

Kate Mohr ’13

—Photography, Gold Key

Frankie Garofalo ’14

—Photography, Silver Key

Vasco Sousa ’16

—Film & Animation, Gold Key

Sam Hodge ’14

—Film & Animation, Silver Key

Eliza Moley ’14

—Film & Animation, Silver Key

Saurav Acharya ’13

—Digital Art, Gold Key (Blick Award)

Mike Shepard ’13

—Drawing, Silver Key

Sophie Briand ’13

—Drawing, Honorable Mention

Hayes Marcus ’15

—Drawing, Honorable Mention

Hayley Holzinger ’14

—Mixed Media, Honorable Mention

Eliza Moley ’14 Honorable Mention—Poetry (Teacups, (S)wings)

Maggie Sherin ’14

—Printmaking, Silver Key

Joanna Moley ’14 Gold Key—Flash Fiction (Friday) Honorable Mention—Poetry (Right of Way) Honorable Mention—Poetry (Futures)

National Scholastic Writing Winners Peter LaBerge ’13 and Eliza Moley ’13

Adam Petno ’14 Honorable Mention—Personal Essay/Memoir (Without a Trace) Ethan Petno ’14 Honorable Mention—Flash Fiction (Ngorongoro) Katie Carlson ’15 Honorable Mention—Poetry

(Lakeshore Wolf, Little Bird, Dreamcatcher, Hands) Honorable Mention—Poetry

(Inner Light, A Forgotten Mother, Chaos in Cohesion) Julia McGonagle ’15 Silver Key—Poetry (Ancestral Photograph) Silver Key—Poetry (A Civil Rights Leader’s Biggest Fight)

Pequot Library Exhibition Jake Berman ’15 Hugh O’Connor ’16 Ian Bell ’15 Frankie Garofalo ’14 Trent Turner ’15 Westport/Fairfield Magazine Nicole Litt ’15 Frankie Garofalo ’14 Kate Mohr ’13 Kiki Kauffman ’13 Sam Furlong ’16 Graham Manning ’16 Olivia Taylor ’14 Ian Bell ’15 Les Gilman ’15 Ingrid Backe ’16

National High School Photography Exhibition at Drexel University Ingrid Backe ’16 Harry Berman ’15 Jake Berman ’15 Celia Bottger ’16 Emily Fontana ’13 Frankie Garofalo ’14 Kiki Kauffman ’13 Kyja Kutnick ’13 Eliza Nixon ’16 Gabby Sanchez ’16 Stamford Art Association Exhibition Lily Canaan ’15 Blair Pelley ’13 Harrison Potter ’14 Kiki Kauffman ’13

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feature

ROBOTS READY FOR BATTLE AT THE BEACH A visitor to GFA’s Coyle Gym on February 16 could be forgiven for thinking an athletic championship was in progress. Rowdy bands of teenagers in coordinated T-shirts jumped up and down in the bleachers chanting, “Play defense!” “Touchdown!” and “Let’s go!” A public address announcement told teams to report to the “pit” and the “competition field.” Spectators carrying snacks lined up to support their teams.

The competition that day was in fact a battle of tiny metal parts, video game controllers, wires and complex computer programs. Robots controlled by their drivers went into combat around a three-dimensional tic-tac-toe structure. The goal was for the robotic arms to pick up plastic rings and hook them on elevated PVC pipes in a game they called “Ring It Up.” Winning required strategy, defense, good driving hands and a bit of luck. Preparation for the big “Battle at the Beach,” however, required months and months of teamwork by students in grades 7-12 and lots of “immediate problem solving,” in the words of a GFA father who helped the home team prepare.

“It takes many personalities working on one goal,” says Van Barnet ’13, captain of the GFA Dragonoids. “You have planners, designers and builders all working together to solve problems. We also learn how to document our processes in engineering notebooks and how to recalibrate when something goes wrong.”

Those skills are precisely what the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization is trying to instill in young people in America. The competition at GFA was the FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship, and it attracted twenty-eight teams (280 students), their support staff (aka parents) and an opening address by Governor Dannel P. Malloy and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. The State is taking the need for students to excel in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) seriously, and participation in the FIRST challenges is one way to make it happen.

The GFA Dragonoids not only built and programmed their own robot, they played host to the State championship. “They’re learning real-time collaboration,” said one father. “And that’s exactly where the world is going.”

The Dragonoid team this year did the best that it has in its three years in existence. “Every year we go up a place or two and continue to work on our design and building processes,” says Van Barnet. “For a first year team it is considered a huge success to actually have a working robot on the competition field. As a third year team, that we placed higher and had one of the highest scores in the competition makes us proud. We still need to improve, but we are headed in the right direction.”

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echoes of emerson in the classroom feature

“Emerson reminds us that reading is an aid, but not a substitute for living, and that living is the best way to learn.�

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by Andrew Jones, US English Teacher As readers, we sometimes like to pigeonhole our literary forebears as relics of their times. Thoreau, for example, is safest when we confine him to the woods as an antisocial crank; it is comforting to imagine Hawthorne as a repressed post-Puritan with an overdeveloped sense of hereditary guilt. And in this imaginary hall of literary caricatures, Ralph Waldo Emerson is best committed to the transcendentalist ward, where he can ramble on about the universe, seasoning his impenetrable prose with the occasional greeting card caption. However, when we confine writers to a distant past, we allow ourselves to imagine that we have moved beyond: in addition to having better teeth and hygiene, we have fewer of our predecessors’ cultural and political hangups.

The juniors at GFA would like to convince you otherwise.

In 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson addressed the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard. In his speech, “The American Scholar,” he argued that American culture had reached the point at which it ought to bear a distinctive intellectual fruit; he prophesied the end of “our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands,” and hoped that “the sluggard intellect of this continent” would rise beyond “the exertions of mechanical skill.”

Intellectually speaking, our juniors are in exactly the same stage of development as the United States were for Emerson. They have been serving a long academic apprenticeship, learning the structures of grammar and practicing the rudiments of literary analysis. Now, they are ready to declare intellectual independence.

This readiness made Emerson a natural fit as we designed the curriculum for a new American Literature course at the junior level. We are reading the texts of the past closely, but also following up on Emerson’s insistence that we apply our best energies to understanding ourselves and the world around us. Junior Kyle Wolfe puts it nicely: “Emerson reminds us that reading is an aid, but not a substitute for living, and that living is the best way to learn.”

Emerson encourages us to “speak our own minds” rather than parrot back others’ ideas, but my students are quick to note a paradox here. How are we supposed to be original scholars if we are following a path Emerson mapped out nearly two centuries ago?

Recommended reading: “The American Scholar”,

by Ralph Waldo Emerson Walden,

by Henry David Thoreau The Scarlet Letter,

by Nathaniel Hawthorne (though really, didn’t everyone read this in 11th grade?)

There is an intellectual and poetic dimension to this paradox, of course, but the juniors, who often arrive in my classroom fresh off a dose of American History, constantly remind me that there is always a political dimension as well. For example, they have shown me that despite the wildly different contexts of The Scarlet Letter (1851) and Beloved (1988), both Hawthorne and Toni Morrison are preoccupied with exploring tensions between characters’ need to fit into society and their desire to forge their own way. Student Liza Rebold notes that in this context, both novels show that “there is no simple way to go about freedom in America.”

Liza, Kyle and their classmates are engaging Emerson’s ideas, but going beyond them to live and think their way through the paradoxes inherent in American life—freedom vs. community, originality vs. tradition, equality vs. opportunity—in a way that is relevant for us all today. I have to imagine Emerson would be gratified.

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

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speeches

Von Kohorn Address Lynne Laukhuf pictured: Henry Von Kohorn, honorary trustee, Lynne Laukhuf, Meredith Von Kohorn

Lynne Laukhuf, Assistant Head of School, delivered the Von Kohorn address this year. Many know Lynne as a calm, behind-the-scenes organizer. The following excerpt from her talk reveals a different side— Adventure Girl: Every summer growing up from the time I was 6 until I was 16, my sister and I went for an extended visit with my grandparents.

They lived in a large brown house with very formal rules. No drinking glass was ever used on the table without a saucer underneath it and cloth napkins were present at every meal.

Late every afternoon, my sister and I had to take a bath and change into dresses with matching hair ribbons so we would be ready for my grandfather to come home for dinner. After dinner, we had to primly sit on the swing on the wide front porch as my grandparents greeted their passing neighbors out for an evening stroll. It was very Victorian.

But every morning I jumped on my bike and escaped down the street to 59 Morrison Ave. There in a big white house with bikes and bats in the front yard lived my adored aunt and uncle and my three boy cousins all around my age. It was a noisy, boisterous house with doors slamming, kids running in and out, and a huge black lumbering dog named Pepper splayed out on the kitchen floor happily flapping his tail. My aunt told jokes and funny stories as she packed us baloney sandwiches for picnic

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lunches or made gingerbread cowboys and cowgirls complete with multicolored frosting including frosted fringes on their vests and boots.

Initially, my cousins teased me about my Connecticut accent and my polite manners, but eventually I became one of the gang.

Every summer for over 10 years, like a character in a Narnia book I left Fairfield County and entered a different world. My cousins and I raced bikes; we caught frogs; we set off firecrackers. We spent days building huge forts in the woods and played a real life Call of Duty war with all of their friends. We swam and dunked each other in the town pool, and even though I thought I would drown, I met their dare and jumped off the high, high diving board. We hid in the bushes and peeked in the windows of old one-legged Harry’s house—hoping we could see what his stump looked like under the denim overalls he wore each day. Once we snuck into an abandoned house that even my grandparents thought was haunted and ran out shrieking when we heard the floorboards creaking upstairs. Another time we hiked into the deep woods and were startled to come across a diamondbacked rattlesnake. When Pepper started barking and the snake began to coil, we frantically threw rocks pounding it over and over until we were sure it was dead. Exhausted, but flush with our victory, we lifted it on a broken branch and triumphantly carried it home. It hung in a tree for weeks to dry; then we cut off its rattles as a trophy. “

RECOGNITION

ACADEMIC

Following are excerpts from three senior speeches at the Academic Recognition Assembly in February.

The seniors reflected on their academic journey through GFA: Margot Bruder ’13 My most significant discovery was finding the common truth that once again, all of my learning is interconnected. Now, my experiences in different areas of study speak to one another and will ultimately converge in the way I choose to engage with the world as my perspective, actions, and contributions will reflect the interconnections of my learning today. It is in the overlap of my learning that I discovered what is important to me and what I am passionate about. Life is not divided into different disciplines, the way our schedules divide our time at school. In life each moment is a merging of the many things we learn.

Allie Anderson ’13 Throughout the course of my time here at GFA, I have learned that in order to effect sustainable improvements in developing communities, those involved need to have the ability to work within the context of a foreign community and apply a wide range of knowledge to a foreign situation. My nerdiness and my love of learning, which I previously thought relevant only within a classroom, are what sparked my desire to use my education in an adventure in another country. I encourage all of you to start embracing your inner nerd, because I guarantee – it will take you places.

Charlie Salmans ’13 The academic discomfort that we experience should not be wondering if an A- will drop to a B+, or a B- to a C+, because honestly, the alphabet stopped being the primary thing we learned in school a long time ago. Instead of viewing tests and essays as distractions along a path to college, we should try to get something out of those essays and tests, even if they are frustrating. We should chase after the moments when we are most self-conscious of our ignorance, because it is in those moments that we grow.

Experiencing education like this is difficult. It may feel like entering a maze, and the thing about a maze is, it is easiest to give up right after you have started.

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alumni/ae Alumni Holiday Gathering

Andrew Foster ’08, Jake Sherin ’08, Deepali Gupta ’08, Rose Ann Martinez and Martha Stout ’09

Katherine Dolan ’05 and Lacey Berrien ’06

Justin O’Neill ’07, Eric DeFeo ’07 and Charlie Proctor ’10

Lynne Laukhuf and Sefra Levin ’03

Alumni and friends caught up over drinks and appetizers at Southport Brewing Company on Friday, November 23, 2012 for the annual Alumni Holiday Gathering.

Katherine Dolan ’05, Alex Nordenson, Katie Flynn ’05 and Joe Weitzer ’05

Jon Glendinning ’06 and Ed Denes (former faculty)

Denes Classic Young alumni in town for Thanksgiving gathered for a reunion on the basketball court on Friday, November 23, 2012.

The Denes Classic moved from its early January time slot, allowing more college-aged alumni to participate in the annual basketball game.

Above left: Back row (L to R): Brett Aresco ’05, Andrew Foster ’08, Gordon Thompson ’08, Jeff Thompson ’06, Ed Denes, Dan Chase ’11, Chris Morency ’11, Stephanie Garofoli ’11.

Front row (L to R): John Collins ’02, Jay Cronin ’09, Miguel Silvestri ’09, Alexa Sullivan ’11, Jon Matte, CJ Smith ’11, Tommy Ross ’10.

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Jeff Thompson ’06 and Gordon Thompson ’08

Martha Stout ’09, Charlie Proctor ’10, Chris Levinson ’09 and Andrew Foster ’08

Class of 2010: Dorothy Vickery, Ariana Scianna and Rebecca Stock

Jay Cronin ’09, Miguel Silvestri ’09, Tommy Ross ’10 and Marion Mapstone (former faculty)

Jill Greiner ’05, Corey Freeland ’09, Christian Wakeman ’03 and Matt Flynn ’09

Alan Weitzer ’02, Willy Franzen ’02, Amy Gordon, John Collins ’02 and Laurie Riester

Judy Chapman Proctor ’70, Nikhil Ramchandani ’95, John Hartwell and Janet Hartwell

Class of 2009: Corey Freeland, Matt Flynn, Jay Cronin, Miguel Silvestri, Martha Stout and Anna Birinyi

Living on One Screening Over 150 members of the community filled the Bedford Gym on Sunday, October 21, 2012 as GFA hosted the Connecticut premiere of Into Poverty: Living on One Dollar, a documentary film co-produced by Chris Temple ’07 that follows Temple and several college classmates as they live on a dollar a day during a summer in rural Guatemala.

Young Alumni Panel Five recent graduates returned to campus on Tuesday, January 7 to speak to the Upper School about college life. The group included (L to R) CJ Smith ’11, Sophia Babun ’11, Matt Parsons ’09, Caroline Kelley ’12 and Ashton Whitcomb ’09. They agreed that having time on their hands in college, compared to the full schedule of high school life, was one of the biggest surprises. They also agreed that GFA had prepared them well academically, especially to be able to write papers and to have the confidence to participate in class discussions and approach their professors.

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Chris Mayle ’85, Neal Burns ’85 and Tim Kipp ’86

Jimmy Bebon ’83, Carlos Guzman ’04 and Rusty Cappadona ’83

Carlos Guzman ’04 and Tomas Botero ’09

Ed Denes, Martha Gates Lord ’74 and Matt Hintsa ’06

Class of 2012: Thatcher Gleason, Kishan Patel & Ben Shack Sackler

Tracy Wheeler Lennon ’82 and Steven Stout

Homecoming Over thirty alumni returned to campus on Saturday, October 20, 2012 to reconnect with friends, play in the alumni soccer game, enjoy the barbecue lunch and cheer on the Dragons to victory over King.

Ginny Balser, Sandra Pons ’10 and Jon Matte

Alumni in the News

Chris Temple ’07

Idalia Friedson ’11

Wills Rooney ’12

Susan Hood Kueffner ’72

Egan Frantz ’05

Katherine Dolan ’05

Having crafted a film about their experience living on a dollar a day for two months in rural Guatemala, Chris Temple ’07 and his Living on One co-producers took their film on the road for a national tour in the latter half of 2012. Watch a December 2012 CBS This Morning segment featuring Temple and co-producer Zach Ingrasci: http://bit.ly/ChrisTemple

The New York Times reviews The Tooth Mouse, a children’s book by Susan Hood Kueffner ’72. http://bit.ly/SusanHood

In two short years, Idalia Friedson ’11 will have taken her softball talents from the Fairchester League to the world stage. Friedson, a softball player at Amherst College, will play for the United States at this summer’s Maccabiah Games in Israel. http://bit.ly/IdaliaFriedson

In an October 2012 Interview magazine profile, Egan Frantz ’05 describes his solo show, Room Temperature at Roberts & Tilton gallery in Los Angeles. http://bit.ly/EganFrantz

QR codes can be scanned by a variety of free apps for mobile devices.

One such app is Google Goggles, for iOS and Android (www.google.com/mobile/goggles).

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Back row (L to R): Carlos Guzman ’04, Chris Mayle ’85, Jimmy Bebon ’83, Tim Kipp ’86, Jill Rackett Pengue ’83, Rusty Cappadona ’83 and Neal Burns ’85. Front row alumni (L to R): Deering Rose ’83, Roz Koether Stephanak ’82 and Sandra Pons ’10.

A standout cross country runner at GFA, Wills Rooney ’12 of Duke University earned the honor of ACC Cross Country Performer of the Week in November after he “led all affiliated runners with a 15:21 clocking on the 5K course at NC State’s annual Three Stripe Invitational.” It was only his third collegiate cross country race. http://bit.ly/WillsRooney

When Katherine Dolan ’05 and a couple of friends tried to volunteer at a shelter in the wake of Hurricane Sandy’s landfall in New York, they were turned away because the shelter had nothing for them to do. Seeking a way to make a positive impact, Dolan and her friends helped coordinate a novel approach to disaster relief: an Amazon.com wedding registry.

Read more from ABC News: http://bit.ly/KatherineDolan

profile

Alumni

Lindsay Lohan, Beverly Hills, California 2010

OJ Simpson, Las Vegas, Nevada 2007

Christopher Dawson ’90 Christopher (Topher) Dawson’s current photography project, Coverage, explores the back-drop to our 24-hour news cycle, capturing the frenzy of media outlets as they scramble to cover today’s pop-culture news.

Christopher knew he wanted to be an artist as early as fourth grade, even though he had no idea what that meant. His Lower School art teacher, Mrs. Yablonsky (Ellen Ford) and the art room at GFA remain vivid memories. He became interested in photography in high school and studied it in college where his thesis was an exhibition.

Pursuing his career was a daunting task. Without much equipment, he found himself developing film and making contact prints in a bathroom. Christopher had a series of jobs in the field, including the director of a gallery, where he was actively promoting the work of others. It was then he realized “if I don’t stop doing that and focus on my own career, it’s not going to happen.” He credits some of his success to this experience and advises others to learn about the business side, and understand how, as artists, they fit into the market.

In the summer of 2004, Christopher went down to the courthouse in New York City where Martha Stewart was being

sentenced. There was an enormous media presence and the trial was receiving vast attention. At the same time, the situation in Iraq was disintegrating, “I couldn’t reconcile those two things,” noted Christopher. This was the beginning of Coverage.

Christopher photographs using a 4x5 wooden camera and while capturing the paparazzi outside of the Britney Spears custody trial in 2008, he was called “19th century paparazzi.” His equipment is in deep contrast to how dramatically the field has changed. A prominent blog recently posted one of his photos, bringing international attention to his website, an opportunity not conceived of when he graduated from college.

Coverage was awarded the New York Photo Award, selected for the 2011 Critical Mass Top 50 and can be seen at http://christopherdawson.net/coverage/. Christopher plans to photograph the coverage of the upcoming Kim Kardashian divorce trial in May as the next chapter in the project.

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profile

Alumni

Alexandra Dawson ’91 In 2008, Alexandra Dawson’s husband and business partner, Greg Gricus saw an ad for the Mustang Heritage Foundation’s “Extreme Mustang Makeover” and knew this was their film. Alex was seven and a half months pregnant with their first child—the timing wasn’t right. They put the ad on the refrigerator and when their daughter was five months old Alex called the Mustang Heritage Foundation.

No one had ever done a film about the contest; the project was theirs.

Alex and Greg first met while working together on a travel series for PBS. They continued to collaborate and their careers took them from New York to Chicago and then to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a change in lifestyle. It was there that they formed their own production company. Alex has found her professional partnership with her husband “challenging, but incredibly rewarding.”

The couple began filming “Wild Horse, Wild Ride” in June 2009.

They followed a handful of trainers over the course of 100 days as they trained and prepared wild mustangs for adoption.

Alex and Greg always talked about doing a film about the relationship between man and horse. The couple, with their nine-month old daughter in tow, spent the summer filming.

“Having kids makes you want to pursue your dreams all the more,” noted Alex.

The film premiered at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 2011, went on to win numerous awards and was released nationwide in 60 cities during the summer of 2012. The film’s success exceeded Alex and Greg’s wildest dreams.

Alex credits much of her success to GFA, especially her English teachers, who she says, “challenged, encouraged and ultimately inspired me to hone and explore so many of the skills that I use in my profession today.” Alex’s oldest daughter is now four and a half and she thinks “how am I going to create a situation where she has the kind of educational opportunity that I had.”

Wild Horse, Wild Ride is available on iTunes and Amazon.

Above: Alexandra Dawson ’91 (known as Sas in high school)

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above: spanish shawl

Nick Fash ’96

Watch Nick’s Subaru commercial by scanning the QR code on the left with your phone or by visiting http://bit.ly/NickFash

Nick Fash ’96 admits that he is not good at sitting still. If you need proof, just watch the TV spot for Subaru that he starred in last year.

Over the course of a mere thirty seconds, Nick can be seen scuba diving, kayaking, kissing a small shark, and perhaps most impressively, maintaining the attention of elementary school students at a beach.

After twelve years at GFA, Nick started out studying urban planning at Cornell University. As much as he enjoyed the field, he felt restless being stuck at a studio desk. A friend pointed him in the direction of Cornell’s natural resources major, and on that suggestion, Nick started on the path that led him to where he is today.

For his first few years out of college, Nick set up camp—quite literally—in remote field research locations north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska where he conducted studies on salmon and whitefish population dynamics.

Even when a serious skiing injury abruptly sent him south to Los Angeles for surgery and recovery, Nick could not sit still.

He started working as an intern at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. With the aquarium short an educator one day, Nick was asked to teach some visiting students. Reflecting on that experience, he says, “I found an instant connection.”

Once fully recovered, Nick finished up his research in Alaska and returned to Los Angeles as soon as he could. He accepted a full-time position as an Education Specialist with Heal the Bay, which owns the aquarium. Nick recalls telling himself that he would try the job for a year, and that was ten years ago.

His motivation, he explains, comes from the ability to create change. “I get to impact 15,000 people a year,” in a city where many residents who live so close to the coast know next to nothing about the ocean in their backyard.

In addition to his job at the aquarium, Nick teaches scuba diving and is an underwater photographer. He also coordinates programs that promote careers in the sciences for area students because “when you’re younger, you have a stereotypical notion of what a career looks like.”

But as Nick has learned first-hand, stereotypes are meant to be broken.

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alumni/ae

Lisa Robbins Cissel ’75 Lisa, 55, passed away on December 13, 2012 surrounded by her family in her childhood home in Fairfield after a valiant fight against multiple myeloma.

Lisa taught at GFA for thirteen years, where her husband John also worked, and all three of their children, Ellie ’03, Katherine ’05 and Margaret ’08, attended. She will be remembered for her passion for nature and for introducing young students to the natural world.

In the words of GFA first grade teacher, Anne Hoover, “Lisa always made teaching look easy. She was filled with awesome ideas and hands-on activities for the kids. Watching her in action was like watching a well-oiled machine—every part working in sync, no squeaks nor snags, just a perfectly orchestrated classroom. Lisa did everything with such ease and composure and always made it fun. The best thing was she always had her students figure things out on their own. They walked away from her class knowing that they could succeed no matter how many times it took them to get it right.”

To honor this beloved teacher and her long-time connection with GFA, the Lower School Environmental Education and Professional Development Fund has been generously established by the Hennessy Family (Kathleen ’75, James ’76, Kevin ’77 and Peter ’78) in memory of Lisa Robbins Cissel ’75. The fund will assist Lower School Faculty in teaching their students about the natural environment beyond the classroom.

Additional donations toward this special fund are welcome. If making a gift online, please select Annual Giving and note in the comments section that your gift is to be designated toward the LS Environmental Science Fund.

In addition, a bench has been donated in Lisa’s memory to sit beyond the fifth grade classrooms, where the Lower School tends to herbs and vegetables. A plaque reads, “This garden is dedicated to our friend, alumna, teacher and colleague, Lisa Cissel, whose passion for the natural world was an inspiration to all.”

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summer programs camp gfa

Summer academy

Summer Sports

June 10 — July 12, 2013 Students Entering Grades K–5

June — August 2013 Students Entering Grades 4–12

June — August 2013 Grades K–12

Weeklong sessions available for full day or mornings only

One, Two, Three, Four or Six-Week Courses

Grouped according to age

Arts & Crafts, Nature Explorations, Games, Sports, Swimming and more

Courses for Credit & Non-Credit See online For Full Listing

Contact Maureen Fracassini 203-349-7129

Contact Gail Gibb or Sarah Ostermueller 203-349-7130

Tennis, Baseball, Surf Fishing and more Contact Gail Gibb 203-349-7111

For Catalog & Registration: www.gfacademy.org Click on “Summer Programs”

Greens Farms Academy

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

35 Beachside Avenue, PO Box 998 Greens Farms, CT 06838-0998

PAID

T. 203.256.0717 F. 203.256.7501

BRIDGEPORT, CT PERMIT #347

Email. alumni@gfacademy.org

www.gfacademy.org

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Connect with us on the web gfacademy.org/Connect

Please contact Greens Farms Academy to notify us of any change in address or if this issue is addressed to your son or daughter and they no longer maintain a permanent residence in your home.

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