GFA
Spring 2015
summer
GREENS FARMS ACADEMY
on the sound
Summer Programs for Grades K–12
CAMP GFA
SUMMER ACADEMY
SUMMER SPORTS
June 8—July 10, 2015 Students Entering Grades K–5
June 22—July 31, 2015 Students Entering Grades 4–12
June—August 2015 Students Entering Grades K–12
Week-long sessions full day or mornings
One-, Two-, and Three-Week Workshops
All Skill Levels
Arts & Crafts, Nature Explorations, Games, Sports, Swimming
Four- and Six-Week Credit Courses
Tennis, Baseball, Basketball, Surf Fishing, Force 5 Lacrosse
(203) 349-7175 or summerprograms@gfacademy.org
www.gfacademy.org/summer 35 BEACHSIDE AVENUE • WESTPORT, CT
editorial
Greens Farms
Academy Features A Reputation for Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Greens Farms Academy Spring 2015 Volume 28
Departments Editor’s Letter
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Alison Freeland
Head’s Letter
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Associate Editor
GFA News
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Athletics at GFA
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Sara Glidden
Arts at GFA
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Alumni Editor
Serach on Science
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Alumni Events
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GFA Community
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Milestones
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Editor
Frances Moore
Editorial Assistant
Mary Warner McGrade
Photo Contributors Donna Beeman Frances Moore Naru Photography Lindsay Russo 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.
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
Board of Trustees
Shelley Goldsmith Co-Chair/Co-President Tricia Vanacore Co-Chair/Co-President Michael Berman Co-Vice Chair/ Co-Vice President Stephen Lawrence Co-Vice Chair/ Co-Vice President Zac Zeitlin, Treasurer Kara Bohnsack, Secretary Henry A. Backe, Jr., M.D. Carolyn Cohen Roger Ferris Michael Greenberg Janet Hartwell, Ex officio Richard Holzinger Arlene Howard Martha Gates Lord, Ed.D. ’74 Molly McGrath David Murphy Jeff Nixon Michael Rintoul ’84 Josh Samuelson Nancy Soule Peter Tauck Jim Wolfe
Advisory Council
Michael Berman, Tri-Chair Michael Greenberg, Tri-Chair Jim Wolfe, Tri-Chair Shelley Goldsmith Board Co-Chair Tricia Vanacore Board Co-Chair Janet Hartwell, Head of School Scott Balkan Vani Bettegowda Claire Foerster Stephanie Foster David C. Friezo Ward Horton Meredith Hutchison Thomas J. Murphy Victor Nesi Clarence L. Nunn Kim Keller Raveis (’88) Dan Tishman
GFAMAGAZINE SPRING2015 | 1
editor
Letter from the Editor Dear Readers,
© Naru Photography
I’ve been thinking about the class of 2015 — which started kindergarten in the fall of 2002 — and the world they enter after graduation. It seems the only certainty they face is change. Fortunate, then, that GFA has a long history of adapting to a shifting world. In the beginning of the 1970s, GFA’s Head of School Nancy Lauber talked about the decision to change the name of the school and open its doors to boys: “More and more of our graduates will attend coeducational colleges and will all live in a coeducational world,” she told the parents. Janet Hartwell now talks about living in a global society and needing to collaborate around real world problems. In the 13 years since these seniors started school, GFA has transformed its facilities and curriculum. Instead of places to escape, the marsh and the beach have become outdoor classrooms. Students plant and harvest in the organic garden and eat the produce at lunchtime. They can take an International Relations class taught in Spanish or a computer science course taught by a teacher across the country. They can live sustainably at the Island School in Eleuthera or speak about economics at a Model UN Conference in Germany. Graduation in June will see students in traditional dress on the front lawn of the Vanderbilt mansion, in the sunshine (we hope). As you’ll see in the pages of this magazine, GFA students value tradition, and they know how to write. But they also use Augmented Reality to enhance their science research. They will need to stay nimble as they leave the gates on that bright June day.
Alison Freeland Director of Communications
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head
From the Head of School
Every day now we see progress with the new construction at GFA. On the one hand, it makes me think about the programs and activities that will be possible once the building opens, and on the other hand it reminds me of the excitement and curricular innovation that took place when we completed construction on the Middle and Upper School wings in 2007. Leading up to those new classroom wings, we had GFA faculty teaching in every nook and cranny of the school, some in “classrooms” that now serve as an office space. A familiar sight was a teacher wheeling a cart of books down the hall because she taught in four different classrooms in one day, or giving extra help on the stairs because he had nowhere else to meet. Once the new spaces were ready, with updated technology, science equipment, and room for Harkness Tables, the faculty were able to expand their programs and fill each classroom with electives, new courses, ideas, and projects they hadn’t been able to try before. As we know, new spaces are only as good as the programs and teachers that fill them. As we look ahead, I am excited to see what our Performing Arts Center and new Global Studies classrooms will afford our students and teachers. How will our Lower School concerts and Middle School capstone projects sound from a real stage? What will it do for our Upper School students to make announcements in a real auditorium? What will this dedicated space do for our Middle School musicals and Upper School plays? Will Visiting Writers, Coyle Scholars, and other speakers sound different from this new venue? I look forward to the design and innovation that will come from the new STEAM space, and the set designs that will emerge from the new scene shop. Our students have done so well projecting their voices in the Bedford “Gymatorium,” what voices will we hear when the facilities finally match our program?
Kind regards,
Janet M. Hartwell Head of School
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© Naru Photography
Dear GFA Community,
GFA news
This spring the Upper School theater students will be showcasing their talents in The 25 Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Even if you miss the show, you can check out our Flickr page for photos: flickr.com/greensfarmsacademy.
Battle at the Beach In what has become an annual event, robotics teams from all over Connecticut came to Greens Farms Academy March 7 for the Connecticut FIRST Challenge State Championships, also known as “Battle at the Beach.” In a field of 24 teams, the GFA Dragonoids made it to the semi-finals. The competition pits two teams against each other on a 12'x12' field, where they guide their robots and score points by completing various challenges.
Students, Seniors, and Songbirds As part of their winter science unit, third graders participated in a local songbird study, where each student was assigned a local songbird and researched the identification and life history of their bird. Part of the unit included a February trip to the Fairfield Senior Center, where seniors there volunteered to help the students create and paint to-scale wooden models of the birds. A few weeks later, the seniors were able to visit GFA, where they helped place the birds in the front garden. To accompany their bird replicas, the students also created a short movie documenting their bird’s behavior and song. When a smartphone is aimed at the birds, they will come to life through an augmented reality app called Aurasma.
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Annual Giving… On April 2, 2015, Janet Hartwell joined Trustees and generous donors in a Topping-Off Ceremony. In a timehonored tradition, guests signed the last structural steel beam, and watched as it was positioned on the new Performing Arts Center and Global Studies Center. The entire GFA community eagerly awaits the opening of the new building this fall!
It All Starts Here! To all who have given… Thank you! To those who haven’t… Please do! Special thanks to our team: Co-Chairs Michael Greenberg and
Coyle Visiting Scholar “The War on Journalism” The spring 2015 Coyle Visiting Scholar is Charles Sennott, Founder and Executive Director of the GoundTruth Project and Co-founder of GlobalPost. Sennott is an award-winning foreign correspondent with 30 years of journalism experience including in Jerusalem, Afghanistan, Iraq, and most recently Cairo. His new project is dedicated to training the next generation of international journalists for the digital age. Tuesday, April 28, 2015, 7:30PM, Choral Room.
Stacy Steponate Greenberg
Leadership Co-Chairs Elizabeth Koldyke Boolbol and Robert Boolbol Stephanie and Brian Foster
New Parent Co-Chairs Lynne and Lloyd Byrne Julie and Tom Gentile And of course, our Class Captains who go above and beyond to support GFA.
Please Give. It’s up to each family to support Annual Giving to the extent you can. Questions? Call Christy Ball in the Advancement Office (203) 256-7552.
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athletics Athletic spotlight The 2014-15 school year has proved to be a successful year for many of the varsity teams, with FAA and New England tournament play, along with incredible individual achievements in many sports. The GFA varsity cross country teams finished their seasons strong on Nov. 9 at the Division 3 NEPSTA Championships at Vermont Academy. The boys placed 2nd and the girls 5th out of 26 schools. Six GFA athletes were recognized as All-New England and All-FAA: Danny Ross ’15, Alex McCall ’16, Maggie Boudreau ’16, Madi McCreesh ’19 (FAA Honorable Mention), Maddy Abrahamson ’18, Carmen Martin ’16. Charlie Courtemanche ’18 also received FAA Honorable Mention.
semi-finalists and FAA Tournament finalists. WNEPSSA All-Star honors went to Griffin Garner ’15, Dugald Shannon ’15, Ben Strait ’16, Charlie Mounts ’16, and Head Coach Chris Mira; New England Senior All-Star honors went to Garner and Shannon. New England Junior All-Star honors went to Strait; FAA All-League honors went to Garner, Shannon, Henry Soule ’15, Strait, Mounts, and Mike Medvedev ’17; and FAA Honorable Mention went to Stephen Gallagher ’16.
GFA boys varsity soccer finished the regular season as Western New England Prep School Class C champions and were undefeated FAA League champions with an overall record of 11-3-1 (4-0-1 in FAA). They were also New England Class C
The girls varsity volleyball team finished its season with a 11-9 record, and reached the semifinals for both the FAA and NEPSAC tournaments.
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Individual team awards include: MVPs: Claire Comey ’15 and Allie Carey ’16; most improved players: Abby Comey ’18 and Rory Shinnick ’16; Coach’s Award: Hayes Marcus ’15. Claire Comey and Carey were named as NEPSAC All-Stars; FAA All League honors went to Comey; and FAA Honorable Mention honors went to Carey. The girls varsity squash team finished the season with a 9-9 record, winning the New England Class C Championships. Charlotte Kreitler ’15 played in the No. 1 spot, and Mia Krishnamurthy ’18 was named team MVP. The boys varsity squash team finished the season with an 8-9 record, placing third in the U.S. High School Nationals, Division V. No. 1 player Scott Brown ’15 was named MVP for the team. The boys varsity basketball season (13-11) had many team and individual highlights, most notably winning the 2015 New England Championship Tournament. During the season, Zach Baines ’15 scored his 1,000th point and broke the school record for field goal percentage (71%). All-FAA and All-New England First Team selections, Baines will head to Middlebury College to play basketball next year. Jim Djema ’15 (All FAA Honorable Mention, All New England First Team) broke the school 3-point record and Sunday Okeke ’17 was named All New England Second Team. GFAMAGAZINE SPRING2015 | 7
athletics 8 | GFAMAGAZINE SPRING2015
Pack the House The GFA community came out in full force Jan. 30 to Pack the House. Fans turned out in droves to watch the basketball and wrestling teams compete at home, while helping to raise more than $7,000 for the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven.
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athletics Fencing Teams Forge Ahead In just two years (and with just 17 members) GFA’s fencing team has made a name for itself as one of the strongest programs in the area. But the team’s regular season record doesn’t tell the whole story — a combination of individual achievements and overcoming a shortage of athletes has made this young team stronger than ever. Becoming a varsity sport in 2014, fencing is still so new to GFA that it had no seniors this year, and many of the athletes were first-time fencers. As a result, finding strength in leadership was a challenge early on, according to Head Coach Bridget Greeley. “For them, everything is brand new. No one has more experience than another person,” she explained. “For me, the highlight has been seeing the leadership and drive to become better.” Fencing involves competition among three weapons: foil, epee, and sabre. Because of the team’s small numbers, individuals had to compete with weapons that they did not know as well, and in some cases were not able to complete a full team in a particular weapon, and despite individual wins, sometimes had to forfeit. But with a 9-5 foil record and a 9-4 epee (regular season), the boys team can definitely consider the season a resounding success. Junior Matthew Lichtenberg had 11 sabre wins and 18 epee wins throughout the season, and sophomore Luke Duffy finished the season with five foil wins and 29 epee wins. The girls epee went 8-5 (regular season) and finished fifth in the state. Junior co-captain Taiylor Nunn’s was the state champion in epee, finishing with a near-perfect 29-1 regular season record. She was named First Team All State. Freshman Audrey Brennan finished 7th in the state in foil, earning her a Second Team All State designation, and junior Erica Im had 23 foil wins throughout the season. Returning all of their athletes next year will give the team a big boost, and Greeley hopes the team’s success this year will continue to attract new athletes. “I know that next year we’re going to be one of the top teams,” she said.
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The Secret to Wrestling’s Success The momentum of GFA wrestling continues to build as the team this year had the most successful season in its history, finishing with a record of 16-3 and the school’s highest placing at both the State Tournament and New England Tournament. The team had four FAA individual champions with sophomore Hans Forland and senior Jad Qaddourah earning State Championships. They, along with senior Trent Turner, junior Seth Henriquez, and senior Ben Holcomb, placed as individuals at the New England Championships and earned entrance into the National tournament in Bethlehem, Pa. Senior Riley Grady also became only the second wrestler in school history to earn 100 wins in his career. But none of this surprised head coach Jack Conroy, who knew they’d do at least this well. “We had a bunch of guys exceed other people’s expectations, but we expected them to be where they ended up,” he said. “It wasn’t a pipe dream — we knew what they’d done and what was out there.” The secret to building on their success, Conroy said, is training and instilling confidence in the athletes. “As long as they are bought in to what we’re doing, as long as they’re doing the work that we ask of them, they’re going to do better than they did in the past,” said Conroy, who also coaches Connecticut’s National team. Another secret to their success is Assistant Coach Pat Lennon. “He works with all of our first-year wrestlers for the first month of the season,” Conroy explained. “He totally complements everything I coach. He’s good in areas where I’m not, and he’s been a huge part of the success that we’ve had.” Despite losing four strong seniors after this year, Conroy expects the wrestling program to continue its success, providing he can get more kids interested at an earlier age. “This team cemented a legacy that the GFA Wrestling team will carry into the future,” he said. “We expect that our younger guys are going to step up and fill holes and we expect to be in the same place next year.”
arts
On Feb. 22, GFA hosted its 25th annual Harmony for the Homeless. The event, which raises money for area charities, featured music that had been performed at the event in years past.
Middle School Coffeehouse
Upper School Winter Showcase GFAMAGAZINE SPRING2015 | 11
RECOGNITION
STUDENT
Katie Buonanno ’15
Sam McGoldrick ’15
Rory Shinnick ’16
CT Scholastic Art Awards
CT Scholastic Writing Awards
Miles Feuer ’17
— Photography, Honorable Mention
Nicholas Attai ’18
Allie Carey ’16
— Photography, Gold Key
Maggie Boudreau ’16 — Poetry, Honorable Mention
Graham Manning ’16
— Photography, Honorable Mention
Alida Deutsch ’19
— Flash Fiction, Gold Key
Jessica Cramer ’20
— Drawing and Illustration, Silver Key
Alida Deutsch ’19
— Poetry, Gold Key
Katie Buonanno ’15
— Drawing and Illustration, Silver Key
Saloni Jain ’19
— Poetry, Gold Key
Sam McGoldrick ’15
— Painting, Silver Key
Julia McGonagle ’16
— Poetry, Silver Key
Ashley Rintoul ’15
— Painting, Honorable Mention
Flynn Murtaugh ’20
— Poetry, Gold Key
Rory Shinnick ’16 — Drawing and Illustration, Honorable Mention
Flynn Murtaugh ’20
— Poetry, Gold Key
Laila Pina ’20
— Poetry, Honorable Mention
Jack Pacilio ’16
— Film, Silver Key
Kaitlin Reed ’20
— Poetry, Silver Key
Jack Sondag ’17
— Film, Honorable Mention
Lauren Telesz ’16
— Poetry, Honorable Mention
Lauren Telesz ’16
— Poetry, Silver Key
— Poetry, Silver Key
Three GFA science research and engineering projects were submitted to the Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (CTJSHS), and were granted “Finalist” status. Lily McGonagle, Matthew Lichtenberg, and Kourosh Saghri represented GFA at the competition at UCONN in March. McGonagle and Lichtenberg were both selected as finalists in the Oral Presentation competition, which is the most prestigious category of the three that they offer: only 14 finalists in the entire state were selected for this category. McGonagle’s project, “The Effect of Cold Stress on the Frequency of CD8+ T Cells in Mice,” and Lichtenberg’s “Photoelectrochemical Etching of GaN to Minimize Reflectivity for Solar Energy Applications” were selected out of 140 state projects. The top five of the 14 projects will earn National Finalist status and the students traveled to that competition, which took place after press time. The third award went to Saghri in the Competitive Poster category. His engineering project involves the design and assembly and testing of a cooling vest made with thermoelectric devices and electrical components that are affixed with epoxy to a vest for both military and medical applications. The top poster in this category also gets National Finalist status. 12 | GFAMAGAZINE SPRING2015
A Reputation for Writing feature
So many of our alumni tell us that the writing instruction they received at GFA helped them develop what they consider to be the most valuable skills they needed to succeed later in life — as scientists, engineers, artists, and of course professional writers. Here we take a look at how GFA continues to uphold its reputation for producing top-notch writers. It all starts in the Lower School, where teachers participate in the Columbia University Reading & Writing Project. There they learn new techniques to inspire young writers. As students move into Middle School, they get support from faculty and peers in the new Writing Center. English courses and creative writing electives in the Upper School round out the necessary skillset students will need after graduation.
Aspiring Journalists The walls of Fran Nixon’s fifth grade classroom reflect the curriculum. There is the Book Buzz Wall, Valuable Vocabulary Wall, Word Study Wall, and Wall of Writing. Closer to the floor are shelves of picture books, library books, and book boxes — one for each student. While her colleague Rose Ann Martinez teaches math and social studies, Nixon is responsible for fifth grade writing and reading. Her classroom is a place of word choice, topic sentences, and characters marching toward conflict and resolution. Nixon loves teaching these students, who are in a time of great developmental change. “They make inferences,” she says, “and can read between the lines to grasp life lessons from the stories. They see themes, characters, and motivation. When it comes to writing, they don’t just summarize, they analyze the text with evidence.” In the fall, Nixon decided to do journalism as a nonfiction unit. Frances Moore, who works in GFA Communications Department, comes from the world of magazines and newspapers, so was a natural choice as the guest expert. They collaborated on a three-week unit, during which the students interviewed people, wrote, and edited their own newspaper. “I was so impressed with the focus and creativity the students brought to the unit,” Moore says. “They asked great questions and came up with fantastic story ideas.” Interviewing some of the adults at the school made a real impression on the students. “It was fun to set up meetings with teachers to interview them,” says Santy Mejia. “For once you’re the mature one instead of just a kid. And the grown-ups talk to you seriously.”
Nixon enjoyed watching her students exercise independence and responsibility. She says one student wanted a piece of information from Mrs. Hartwell for the story she was writing. Nixon looked at her and said, “Well, I guess you’ll have to make an appointment with her, and you’ll have to plan each question ahead of time.” The student did. Students experienced both the ups and downs that journalists face every day. Some lost their notes or accidentally deleted them and had to reconstruct their stories. Others had good material, but didn’t know how to organize it. Many found it difficult to pull their stories together on deadline. But, they had the ultimate satisfaction of seeing their words in print. “I got to write about what I get in trouble for at home,” Anya Bettagowda said with a smile. “Giving my opinion!” GFAMAGAZINE SPRING2015 | 13
The Writing Center: A STUDENT’S SECRET WEAPON Two years ago, the Middle School faculty recognized a need to increase support for student writers. From that discussion came the creation of the GFA Writing Center, with faculty and Upper School students on hand to provide feedback and support for less experienced writers. Not a requirement but rather an added resource, the Writing Center has become a place for sixth through ninth graders of all writing abilities to be able to get assistance and one-on-one feedback to make their writing as strong as possible. There is no prerequisite for participation, just a desire to become a better writer. Faculty and peer tutors will work with students on basically anything — from grammar help to paragraph unity to speeches or even science lab reports. The center has become an amazing example of collaboration between Upper and Middle School divisions. Campbell Goldsmith, a senior, is one of the 20 upperclassmen who, since the start of the school year, has been volunteering as a peer tutor.
Katherine said she would highly recommend that all students take advantage of the opportunity.
“I just think it’s a good way for the kids to learn — coming from their peers and friends and not just being lectured at,” she said. “I think it’s a really good tool that we have now.”
“The first time out I was kind of worried that they’d think that my paper was really bad but there’s not really a bad paper, it’s just it might need some help,” she said.
Middle School English Department Liaison Robbi Hartt is also the Director of the Writing Center. She agreed that the involvement of the Upper School students has been a key part of its success.
Had the Writing Center been in place when she was younger Goldsmith said she would have loved it. But helping others this year has been beneficial for her, too.
“What they bring is a different comfort level (working peer-to-peer and coming for advice rather than to be critiqued); a sense of perspective (guiding students though writing assignments they may have found difficult, too, and sharing insights they gained); and a built-in sense of admiration,” she said.
She explained, “I think it’s developed my own writing as well — having to give my advice about other people’s writing makes me look at my writing in a different way: What would someone reading this think?”
Sixth grader Katherine really values the grammar help the Writing Center provided, and particularly appreciated the insights Upper Schoolers offered. “They have lots of experience and also they’ve been in sixth grade so they know what all the teachers like,” she said. “I feel like it’s always open so you always can go, and there’s always someone there to help you.” One of the challenges at the center so far has been getting students to actually give it a try, particularly freshmen, who Hartt said may view it as a weakness or who may not want to give up a study hall. “Right now we are encouraging more than requiring students to visit in order to avoid creating any negative associations; my hope is that we will see a ripple effect in the number of students who visit each year,” she said.
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Though still too early to quantify real results, Hartt said she has gotten a lot of positive feedback from faculty, parents, and the students themselves, who seem grateful for the resource. “Seeing them in action confirms all of the traits we are trying to develop in our students — leadership, compassion, collaboration, expertise, insight,” Hartt said. Hartt is always looking for ways to strengthen the program. For National Poetry Month this April, the peer tutors used the Aurasma app to create video clips to highlight specific writing tools and literary techniques. In addition, the center offers drop-in grammar and writing sessions on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:00AM. “Going forward, we want to keep engaging more students and increasing our impact through target activities (like the outlining exercise for Capstone) and presentations,” she said. “We are also exploring ways of promoting more writing outside the classroom next year through guest writer interviews and workshops.”
‘Write Something Genuine’ Gail Greiner remembers exactly where she was when she got a great idea for a writing prompt. “I was driving to work past the meadow at Nyala Farms, and Lou Reed’s, ‘Her Life was Saved by Rock and Roll,’ came on the radio. “That morning in class I played my students the live version, then told them to write for five minutes about what saved their life,” she says. The result was memorable and turned into a short essay. “They wrote from an honest place,” she says. “One explained how his passion for cars had saved his life, others wrote about a summer job, a brother, dance, basketball, singing, and one told how a friend of his father’s had literally saved him from drowning.” They took their essays to the AP Photography class, which was studying portraiture at the time, and a collaboration was born, with the photo students illustrating the essays. “The prompt worked,” Greiner says, “because it took them to a place where they were outside themselves, looking back at their lives with clarity. We talk about how that moment is like a ‘smack to the head,’ and it makes for good writing.” Gail Greiner
Greiner teaches English 9, English 11, and electives in creative nonfiction and creative fiction. She says seniors in the electives are thirsty to write creatively after practicing analytical writing in other classes. Greiner says analytical writing teaches them how to pick apart a text, and sets the stage for what they do in class.
“I got an MFA in creative writing from Columbia,” she says. “The best thing I took away from it was from the books we read. That’s how I teach my electives. They are literature-based. We examine the masters to learn what tools they use, and then students try out those tools in their own writing.” Greiner came to teaching from the editing and publishing world. “One day I was sitting at my desk,” she remembers, “and I was struck by how the quality of the books we were publishing was going downhill. It was demoralizing. I asked myself what I could do that would be meaningful. What wouldn’t disillusion me? The words ‘teaching high school English’ popped into my head and that was it. I knew I would never be disillusioned by literature. I became an adjunct at a college, and eventually made my way to GFA.” What happens in the GFA writing classroom is a call to write something genuine. Greiner plays her students a scene from the movie Walk the Line when the record producer Sam Phillips challenges a young Johnny Cash to sing something real. “He says something like, ‘If you were hit by a truck and had time to sing one song. One song that people would remember before you’re dirt. Something real. Something you felt. What would it be?’” Greiner looks at her students then, and says, “What’s your song?”
Reading Inspires Writing
by CHRISTINE FECTEAU
“Do you have that book about the states that change places?” “I want to check out a silly story — do you know of any?” “I’m interested in learning about [insert any topic that can pop into the mind of a lower school student]. Do you have any books about it?” In the Lower School Library, my days are filled with a never-ending quest to find the perfect book for an engaged reader. Even with a myriad of questions sent my way, it is a rare day in which a student does not leave loaded down with a stack of books that pique his/her interest and fulfill his/her need for new information. Their bright eyes and eager minds ensure my days never stay the same. In the Lower School we often tell our students to “write about what you know.” The lessons we teach, the stories we share, and the books we read provide our students with a foundation of knowledge that inspires the writer within. A silly Fractured Fairy Tale may stimulate a fourth grader to spin their own tale; a picture book can depict a story woven together by many minds; a biography can motivate a second grader to tell their own story, their own history, and their own life. A multitude of words waiting to be read and shared can all be found in the Lower School Library. I’m often asked of the importance of children’s literature. In all of its varieties, it provides a foundation in building the cognitive skills necessary to succeed in school. It creates empathetic community members and it is a natural gateway to learning and embracing one’s own culture, as well as the cultures of others. Children’s literature can ignite the imagination of a young reader and the stories found within the pages of each story often leave the reader mesmerized, inspired, and filled with laughter and joy. “The Owl and the Moon” Medium: Gouache, acrylic, watercolor pencil. By Hilary Archer ’01 see page 16
Christine Fecteau is the Lower School Head Librarian.
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Photo: Linda Troeller Kelsey Osgood
Edwin Thomas
Lauren Frayer
WHETHER THEY ARE ESSAYISTS, NOVELISTS, OR JOURNALISTS, many Dragons have crafted careers as writers. Here are few names you might recognize: Kelsey Osgood ’02 Kelsey Osgood has contributed pieces to publications including New York, The New Yorker’s “Culture Desk” blog, Time, The Huffington Post, and Salon. Her first book, How to Disappear Completely: On Modern Anorexia, was chosen for the Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” program. “GFA is essentially responsible for the fact that I know how to write an essay at all. I can still remember a paper I wrote in either 8th or 11th grade — I think it was on MacBeth? — in which I presented this incredibly convoluted and, I thought, gorgeous argument, but then Mr. Burns returned it to me marked to shreds. In his margin notes, he wrote something like, ‘First present the idea, then say reasons why, then move on to the next point.’ It was what we had been learning for a while but it clicked into place at that moment. When I’m having trouble getting my point across, I still make myself break it down into the simplest logic. ‘I believe this. Why? Because this. Therefore, this.’ That’s all there is to it.” Take a look at the work Kelsey’s been doing at www.kelseyosgood.com.
Edwin Thomas ’94 Edwin Thomas writes naval historical novels about the Napoleonic wars, centered around the character of Lt. Martin Jerrold. His series is written under the pseudonym Tom Harper. This past October, he was invited to speak at the Alumni Brunch during GFA’s Alumni and Homecoming weekend. “I don’t know how it is now, but in 1988, English at GFA wasn’t just English.
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Mrs. Pytte had teamed up with Mr. Walker, our history teacher, to teach English and US History virtually as a joint subject. … In seventh grade, history lived, breathed, and talked back at you. Those were the classes I looked forward to every day, the ones that — at a time when I was still struggling to fit in — made me want to come to school. I don’t think it’s entirely a coincidence that of my dozen books, 11 of them are partly or entirely historical novels.” You can learn more about Thomas and his publications at Edwin-thomas.com.
Hilary Archer ’01 “Picking a favorite children’s book is about as difficult for me as picking a favorite movie or song. There are simply too many to choose from. When I think about the books that inspired me to become an illustrator, though, I vividly remember Bill Peet’s animal characters from The Whingdingdilly, Chester the Worldly Pig, No Such Things and Kermit the Hermit. My parents would also read longer books to us like Treasure Island, James and the Giant Peach, and The Phantom Tollbooth while we languished over the wide-eyed sketchy renderings of Jules Feiffer and Quentin Blake or marvelled at N.C. Wyeth’s painterly pirates. Beyond words and images, there was an entire set of experiences that went with picture books. As an illustrator, I try to keep these memories close at hand when creating my own artwork, whether I’m using watercolors and acrylics or digital media. While there are new and exciting ways to reach young readers through ebooks, games,
and children’s book apps, everything starts with a tradition. New ideas, characters, and stories are built on those from previous generations, and in many ways the essence of what makes children’s literature great — humor, creativity, dreams, and important lessons about life — will continue to shape and inspire us more than we even realize. I feel lucky to be a part of such an imaginative and engaging field.” Hilary is an author, children’s illustrator, and animal lover. She has self-published two children’s ebooks, and is on the path to books in printed form. Her work for children of all ages can be seen at www.hilaryarcher.com.
Lauren Frayer ’95 In January, Lauren Frayer covered the hostage situation in France for National Public Radio (NPR), with her reports offering a clear perspective to the English-speaking world. Based in Madrid, Frayer is the Spain and Portugal correspondent for NPR; her radio documentaries and commentary air on 975 radio stations across the USA, reaching some 30 million listeners weekly. She has also contributed to the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and the BBC. To read her report on January’s hostage situation in France, visit www.npr.org.
Becky McCarthy ’08 Brooklyn-based writer Becky McCarthy provides a unique, objective reflection on the psychology of animal hoarders in her piece “The Rabbit Woman of Gowanus.” To read her lyrical account, go to http://www. theawl.com/2015/02/the-rabbit-woman-ofgowanus.
THANK YOU, Mrs. Stiegler! Looking out the windows of her Greens Farms, Conn., home, Mary Lee Stiegler has a unique perspective on local history. She can see across the low tidal pools of Long Island Sound to the deeper water and remember when Hurricane Sandy covered her lawn with saltwater and deposited fish in her cottage basement. She can also see the nearby rise in the landscape that marks Interstate
Mrs. Stiegler gave her time, as so many generations of GFA parents
95, which hadn’t been built yet when she and her husband first moved
have done, volunteering in the classrooms, on the PA, and helping
in. In the 1950s, they agreed to sell part of their land for the construc-
with school events. “A difference now is the expanded demographics
tion of the highway.
of the school,” she says. “The kids used to come from Fairfield and
She can point to the part of her house that burned down when a nearby worker sparked a fire, and to Sherwood Island State Park,
Westport and a few outlying towns, now the school reaches down to Greenwich and even into New York.”
whose Art Deco pavilion was constructed shortly after she moved
Another aspect of the school Mrs. Stiegler praises is the community
to Westport.
service. “I hear about it from my grandchildren who have worked
Over the past 44 years Mrs. Stiegler has not only watched the town grow and change, but also nearby GFA, where she sent a daughter, Shelly Stiegler Garner ’83, and five grandchildren. Mrs. Stiegler has
in homeless shelters, done beach clean-up, and helped with the Horizons Program. This is equally as important as the classroom work in my mind.”
supported the school for close to half a century now, and will see
Mrs. Stiegler’s spacious home has hosted countless GFA students
her final grandchild graduate this spring.
and sports teams. “I’ve been privy to endless stories about everyday
“I’ve always believed that education provides young people with the vehicle that can truly change their lives,” she says. “It’s amazing to hear my daughter and grandchildren speak so highly of GFA and its influence on their lives. It certainly occurred because of the small classroom setting and dedicated teachers.”
life as a GFA student. I know the school has prepared my family well for life in college and beyond. I’m going to miss the kids being here, so I guess my secret hope is for great-grandchildren to get started with a GFA education.” Thank you to Mrs. Stiegler for almost 50 years of support for Greens Farms Academy.
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Relevance is All Around Us Jim Serach’s lifelong love of science led to a particular fascination with tropical biology. When he gets in the field, his curiosity ignites, especially about species of bats. “Here in New England we have seven species,” he says. “But in the tropics there are hundreds of species.” Besides having contracted malaria four times and been bitten by 40 different kinds of bats, Serach is still excited by the richness of the rainforest. After exploring it for the last 30 years, he still has questions and seeks out the new and unexplained.
kids how scientific knowledge works, that uncertainty is involved (but we do know what we don’t know) and finally, how to use evidence. I work with the students to explore the big questions and see what evidence there is concerning them.”
“I love to bring students to the tropics and to watch them be amazed. On one eight-day trip into the Peruvian Amazon, we collected 182 kinds of fish, about half a dozen of which were unknown.”
Environmental Science is Serach’s favorite course to teach — the one he says where kids consistently report that they learn something important from the material. The topics are always current and lend themselves to other disciplines as well, such as economics and politics.
The idea of the unknown also factors heavily into his teaching. Serach has taught science for 31 years, and has been an AP Environmental Science reader since 1998. “I focus on teaching 18 | GFAMAGAZINE SPRING2015
“The kids connect personally with the material,” he says, “and they see the relevance all around them. I can see them learning.”
The Anthropocene: Human Impact on the Environment — as viewed at: http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/poster-anthropocene-human-impact-environment Used with permission from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, © (2014). All rights reserved. www.BioInteractive.org.
Serach’s students have linked videos to this poster as part of an Augmented Reality project.
Serach thinks a lot about how students learn. In the fall, he was invited to join a select group of educators at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for a conference on “Biodiversity in the Age of Humans.” Four environmental science teachers were among 16 educators who attended the lectures and then generated curricular and supporting materials for the talks. Serach says the experience was incredibly valuable and interesting. “It was fabulous to work closely with smart, dedicated teachers who overflowed with ideas. I came back eager to try out some of the ideas and create new things on my own.” This winter he did just that when he collaborated with GFA’s tech coordinator, Jesse Robinson, to use Augmented Reality technology. They used it to enhance an HHMI poster on human impacts on the environment. His students made their own
movies, which can be viewed on a cell phone with the Aurasma Augmented Reality app. Excited with the results, Serach sent it back to HHMI, who in turn asked him to present his project at the National Science Teachers Association STEM conference in May. The augmented poster will thus travel from the science wing at GFA to the conference in Minneapolis, and be made available to educators around the world. Leading up to the implementation of GFA’s STEAM Program (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) in 2015-2016, the collaboration with HHMI helps put GFA on the national stage with respect to environmental and science education.
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alumni/ae An Evening with OJ Burns and a Book
Kelsey Osgood ’06, OJ Burns, Melissa Barnes ’02
The Brooklyn Book Club with hosts Andrew Grosso ’92 and wife Becky at the left
Prash Akkapeddi ’92 and Andrew Grosso ’92 consider a point
OJ Burns reads from a well-examined text
Alums gathered at the Brooklyn home of Andrew Grosso ’92 for a discussion led by former faculty member OJ Burns on James Joyce’s The Dead.
Reunion Dock Party As part of GFA’s Alumni Weekend and Homecoming celebration in October, alumni met up with classmates at the Reunion Dock Party at Saugatuck Rowing Club.
Hewitt Gaynor ’10 and Mireille Gaynor ’09
Amy St. John ’10 and Emily Blum ’10
Gary Anderson ’97 catches up with North Shutsharawan ’01, and his fiancé Jillian.
Bobby Corroon ’09, Dylan Haas ’09 and guest, Reunion Captain Matt Flynn ’09, Owen Traynor ’09
Miquel Silvestri ’09 and Angad Singh ’09
Reunion Captain Debby Hoffman ’99 is flanked by classmates Mary Fawcett Benko and Samantha Ahearn.
Oliver Pursche ’89 and David Sullivan, husband of Gioia Riccio ’84
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Alumni Pub Night In keeping with tradition, the Thanksgiving Alumni Pub Night was once again at the Southport Brewing Co. Weather forced the event to be rescheduled for the weekend after Thanksgiving, but that didn’t stop GFA’s dedicated alumni from turning out in droves.
Tess Rebold ’17 and Liza Rebold ’14
Cocoa & Cookies
Jaime Lane ’08, Rose Ann Martinez, and Alex Leonard ’08
Jenna Pittleman ’11, Fred Mezidor ’11, and Brooke McGrath ’11
Nick Pavlis ’10, Doug Brown ’08, Stephen Swett ’08, Web Leslie ’08, Mike Pavlis ’08, Andrew Fried ’08
John Doelp ’10 and a friend
Wyatt Cook ’14, Wills Rooney ’12, and his brother Austin Rooney ’16
Julia Shack Sackler ’14, Jennie Ball ’14, Charlotte Frank ’14
Liza Rebold ’14, Kaitlin Ball ’14, Cole Vanacore ’14, Drew Martin ’14, and Caroline Frank ’14
Rose Ann Martinez and Mark Whittaker ’14
David Mack ’01 and Alex Fash Tugurian ’94
Nick Wagenseller ’06 and Emily Blum ’10
Chris Sammons ’05 and Lelia Symington ’10
Evie Symington ’06, Lelia Symington ’10, Alex Perry ’06
Alumni and faculty got together around the holiday for GFA’s first-ever “Cocoa & Cookies” alumni event, which was held in the renovated cafeteria.
Los Angeles Alumni Networking Reception L.A. area alums mingled with alumni from St. Luke’s and King at the Wilshire Restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb 12.
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Homecoming
Great weather, games, and BBQ brought alums back to campus for Homecoming, where they had the chance to test their form in the alumni soccer game. Earlier in the day current and former faculty gathered for an Alumni Brunch hosted by OJ Burns, featuring speaker Edwin Thomas ’94.
Faculty member Ian Campbell, Reunion Captain Tariq Ali ’04, and Head of School Janet Hartwell
Ronald Nair ’80 and Kurt Wayne ’87
Former faculty Pat Pytte chats with Alumni Speaker Edwin Thomas ’94 and former faculty Lynne Laukhuf
Former faculty member Ed Denes is flanked by Allen Hardon ’74 and Deborah Foote Kouzoukian ’68
Dan Tower ’88, Jeremy Bozentko ’88, and Jennifer Ganim Lawton ’88
Torrie Larson ’82 and Roz Koether Stephanak ’84
Neal Seideman ’87, former faculty Ed Denes, and Lee Isenstein ’87
Faculty member Jeff Morrison with Alumni Speakers, Edwin Thomas ’94 and Iona Thomas ’97
Josh Fishkin ’92 protects the goal for the alumni soccer game
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Former faculty: David Walker, Lynne Laukhuf, OJ Burns, Pat Pytte
Reunion Captain Tariq Ali ’04 and Director of Marketing and Communications Alison Freeland
Alumna and past parent Barbara Rose ’51
Janet Hartwell listens to Andrew Chase ’14
Former faculty OJ Burns and registrar Justine Fellows
Peter Karlan, athletics, and Farid Sakayev, maintenance
Rusty Cappadona ’83
Gary Anderson ’97 and Mark Valkenburgh ’97 sport collectible GFA Alumni T-shirts
GFA Alumni Soccer team 2014
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Milestones Arrivals Jimmy Macauley ’01 Rodney Oliver Macauley • May 13, 2014 Laura Israel Sinrod ’00 Charlotte Isabel Sinrod • November 4, 2014
Oliver Macauley, with his godfather Ben Craw ’01 and father Jimmy Macauley ’01.
Charlotte Isabel Sinrod, daughter of Laura Israel Sinrod ’00
Alex Neury ’01 Leeloo Minai Neury • December 5, 2014
Weddings
Leeloo Minai Neury, daughter of Alex Neury ’01
Olivia Newhouse ’06 • Tyler Stone • September 6, 2014 Kimmie Keefe ’01 • Roy Smith • September 13, 2014
Andrew Wagenseller ’00 • Carolyn Yates • September 20, 2014 Becky Yu ’88 • James Cleveland • December 13, 2014
The bridal party of Olivia Newhouse ’06 included three other GFA alumnae: Lacey Berrien ’06, Cristin McDermott ’03, Lexie Tilghman ’06.
The bridal party of Kimmie Keefe ’01: Michelle Cole ’01, Amanda Glendinning ’01, CeCe Keefe ’03, Kimmie Keefe Smith, Hilary Archer ’01, Christina Doe ’01.
Nicholas Wagenseller ’06, Carolyn Yates, Andrew Wagenseller ’00, Amy Wagenseller Andersen ’97
Kate and Ben Craw ’01 at their wedding, with Blayne and Jimmy Macauley ’01
Passings
Janet “Janny” McCabe Newman ‘52 • August 27, 2014 Edith “Dede” U. Smith ‘70 • February 25, 2015 Jennifer Skemp O’Grady ‘61 • March 22, 2015
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Natalie Parker Sixth grader Natalie Parker has been a gymnast since age 2, and has been competing since age 6. One of the state’s best gymnasts, she has been to Nationals twice, and recently placed first in Level 5 at the 2015 Connecticut State Gymnastics Championships — for the second year in a row. Known as a “power gymnast,” Natalie will move up to the Level 7 state competition, and if she qualifies she’ll move on to Nationals. Age: 11 • Grade: 6 Home gym: Arena Gymnastics Proudest moment: Traveling as far away as Georgia and Wisconsin to compete in Nationals. Most recent accomplishment: Winning the Level 5 Connecticut State Gymnastics Championships. Best event: Beam • Favorite event(s): Bars and floor The hardest part about being a gymnast: “It’s really hard to explain how much effort you have to put into it and how hard you have to try and how much practice you have to do to get to the highest levels. It’s scary also. To do flips on the beam, sometimes it’s really scary!”
Most days Natalie travels from Westport to Stamford to practice for four hours, learning to master bars, beam, vault, and floor. When she gets home at 9:00PM, she finally gets a chance to start her homework. She admits that it’s tiring sometimes, but for her, it’s totally worth it. “Once you really get into it, it’s really fun,” she says. Natalie hopes her hard work will pay off and lead to a college scholarship, but for now, she’s happy doing what she loves — which includes making new friends. “My friends in gymnastics are basically like having another family. No matter how old they are, you just automatically become really close with them,” she says.
Clare Foley Seventh grader, Clare Foley, is getting a lot of practice being interviewed these days as she plays a key role in the new Fox TV series, Gotham. She gets to play the tough, mysterious and feisty Ivy Pepper (the young Poison Ivy), who enjoys tending to her plants. Clare’s acting career started when she was 5 years old and was cast in a Cheerios commercial. “I was so young, I didn’t think a lot about it. I just did it.” After that came more auditions and her first TV role on an episode of Law and Order. Since then she has played the young Piper Chapman in Orange is the New Black, among many other roles. Age: 13 • Grade: 7 First big role: The lawyer’s daughter in Win Win Siblings: Four brothers Favorite actor she has worked with: Dakota Fanning (“so nice”) Favorite director: Tom McCarthy in Win Win (“He was good with kids while getting the job done.”) Favorite sports: Soccer, squash, and tennis Favorite subject: History
Clare has been at GFA since kindergarten and has managed to stay current with her academics, play sports, and be with friends in spite of her busy work life. “I get tutored on the set a lot,” she says. “And my tutor keeps in touch with my teachers. Sometimes, if I miss a test, the teacher will fax it to my tutor and I’ll take it on the set. I do the best I can to communicate with everyone so I don’t get behind.” Acting seems to have come naturally to Clare, and she is undaunted by memorizing lines, working with established and famous actors, and developing her characters. Looking ahead, she thinks it would be fun to do stunts. “Maybe I could be a spy,” she says. “That would be fun.”
William Shabecoff
For William Shabecoff (or “Shabby,” as he is affectionately known), music has always been a passion. He began playing violin at age 3, piano at age 7, and for the last three years he has been learning to compose his own music. But it wasn’t until recently that he began to think that this is something he’ll do when he grows up.
Age: 14 • Grade: 8 Future training grounds: He will be applying to Julliard this spring. Proudest moment: Getting to the finals of the Osaka International Music Competition in Japan. “And one time at GFA I got to play violin with Paul Simon, and that was really cool.” Favorite way to unwind: Watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (His pick to take over for Jon Stewart: John Oliver) Future career: “I might want to write music for movies.”
A sailor, a wrestler, (a singer — but he only sings at school, he said) and an academic all-star, Shabby still manages to prioritize his interest in music. School work, practicing a couple hours each day after school, completing his weekly music composition assignments, and devoting his weekends to working with teachers in New York City (composition on Saturdays and violin on Sundays) leaves him with little free time, he admits. “[Balancing school work and extracurricular work] is pretty difficult but you just gotta do it,” he says. But the more time he devotes to his music, the more time he wants to devote to his music. “As I grow older I’ve been doing more and more — practicing more, writing more.” He thinks he’s probably slightly better at violin than piano, but music composition is what he loves best. “When you’re a pianist or violinist, or just a performer in general, you’re sort of just carrying out someone else’s ideas. But when you’re a composer you create your own,” he explains.
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