Greens Farms Academy Magazine Summer 2009

Greens Farms Academy Magazine 43 Summer 2009

Research @ GFA: A Hands-on Experience Inside:

“I wanted to re-matriculate…”

An Alum Returns to High School for a Day—see page 24

Peter Baker Studio

College Matriculation CLASS of 2009 Congratulations to the GFA Class of ’09 who will be attending the following colleges and universities: Barnard College

Cornell University (2)

Tulane University

Bates College

Dartmouth College

Trinity College (2)

Berklee College of Music

Elon University

Tufts University (2)

Boston College (2)

Emerson College

Union College

Boston University (2)

Georgetown University (3)

University of Pennsylvania

Bowdoin College (2)

Gettysburg College (2)

University of Redlands

Brandeis University

Lynchburg College

University of Salamanca—Spain (2)

Brown University (3)

Massachusetts College of Art

University of St. Andrews—Scotland (4)

Bucknell University

New York Film Academy

University of Vermont (2)

Carleton College

Northeastern University

University of Virginia

Carnegie Mellon University (2)

Northwestern University

Washington University in St. Louis

College of William & Mary

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Wellesley College

Colorado College

Santa Clara University (2)

Yale University

Columbia University (4)

Skidmore College

Connecticut College (2)

St. George’s University of London

editorial

Greens Farms

Academy

Greens Farms Academy Summer 2009 Volume 18 The GFA Magazine is published twice a year for parents, alumni and friends of the school by the GFA Development Office.

Editor Alison Freeland

Associate Editor Natalie Heller

Editorial Assistant Nancy Fishkin Features Taking a Gap Year

Alumni Editors Susan Ball ’71 Rachel D’Agostino ’03

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Research at GFA

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Going Back to High School

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Design © Plaza Design www.plazadesign.com

Photo Contributors

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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Commencement 2009

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Athletics at GFA

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Arts at GFA

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Alumni/ae Profiles

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Alumni/ae Events

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Class Notes

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Milestones

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Covers & Masthead: Naru Photography Natalie Heller Mark Hintsa Matt Hintsa ’06 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 Ave. 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.

Cover: Lessons in the marsh

editor

A Letter from the Editor

© Naru Photography

Dear Readers, I would like to recognize a man who first came to the school in the 1980s when his daughters enrolled in kindergarten. He liked what GFA was doing for his children and soon began to help raise funds for annual giving. Eventually he became a trustee and served under Jim Coyle, Peter Esty and Janet Hartwell. He reappeared on the board three different times when needed, including as chair. One colleague says of him, “He believes strongly in service and always set the bar really high when it came to educating our students, development issues, the Horizons program, enrollment standards and anything else he touched.”

Maybe you sat next to him at an athletic event, concert or evening program and didn’t even know who he was or how much he has contributed to the fabric of GFA. This year as Henry Von Kohorn officially retires from the board, we would like to thank him for his years of service behind the scenes and for setting the bar so high.

Countless parents, alumni and friends give their time and energy to GFA. From the woman who quietly weeds the Cookman Garden every spring to the trustees who bear fiduciary responsibility for the school, a substantial web of volunteers support GFA. We couldn’t do what we do without you.

For this issue of the Alumni Magazine, we invited an alum from the class of ’97 to spend a day at GFA and to tell us what he experienced. Max Rosenberg arrived one spring morning and slid into a chair in Mr. Campbell’s history class. Without skipping a beat, Mr. Campbell asked, “Do you have a pass?” Max confessed that he didn’t, much to the bewilderment of the students around the Harkness table. The rest is for Max to describe. Enjoy….(see page 24)

Alison Freeland Director of Communications

Going Back to High School For some people, high school was the worst time of their life. You are smaller, weaker, lacking in style, still finding your voice; maybe you still have braces or don’t have contact lenses yet. If college is the time to bloom, then high school is the time to suffer. So why would a thirty-year-old moderately successful lawyer with a beautiful wife and two wonderful sons jump out of bed with a ridiculous smile on his face the morning he knew he would be returning to high school? When I was offered the opportunity, I didn’t just jump, I leaped.

It’s not that I don’t love my life today, it’s that I haven’t forgotten that I owe so much of it to my time at Greens Farms Academy.

See page 24

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head

From the Head of School Welcoming faculty back to school after a summer of recharging and renewing intellectual batteries is always fun, but last September’s welcome back was especially exciting. I was able to announce to faculty that thanks to the generosity of a current family and their foundation, GFA received a gift dedicated to faculty summer travel. Furthering the mission of GFA Global, the gift will allow teachers to travel over the summer, providing a deeper understanding of countries and cultures, enriching and broadening the scope of their subjects and enhancing the whole teaching experience for students and faculty. We stipulated that the travel should be linked to, but not confined by, the curriculum, and be of such a nature that it can be brought back to the classroom.

Our Summer Travel Committee read proposals, and was able to award seven travel grants for summer ’09. They included retracing the Odyssey in Greece and examining recent scholarship suggesting that Ithaca was in fact a different island; following the path of the early explorers on the Silk Route, staying in yurts and trekking on camels to Ulan Bator; visiting London for theater and a Shakespeare conference in Stratford; studying language and culture in France; studying the painting of Monet in Paris and Giverny, and surveying selections of art in Italy and Germany.

Š Naru Photography

Dear Friends,

Knowing how important these real life curricular connections are and what extraordinary opportunities for professional development they represent, we applied to the Edward E. Ford Foundation for a matching grant for faculty travel. I am delighted to announce to returning faculty this September that GFA was awarded a matching grant of $50,000. It is especially rewarding in this current economic climate as the E.E. Ford Foundation had fewer dollars to award and a greater number of schools applying for them. Our faculty is truly our greatest resource, and this matching grant allows us to extend the life of GFA Faculty Travel, benefiting both students and teachers.

I am grateful to all who so thoughtfully and generously support the educational experience at GFA, and hope you will take the opportunity to visit this year and see the exciting work being done in the classrooms here.

Kind regards,

Janet M. Hartwell Head of School

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GFA news

GFA’s Challenge Team ’09 was the Connecticut State champion this year in the televised

educational game show. Competing against much bigger high schools, the team showed its command of subjects from physics to mythology and its skill at “hitting the buzzer”.

The team and its fan club (including the dragon) traveled to New York City several times for the show’s taping.

A July highlight was a visit from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, gathering footage for its “Making a Difference” segment. The program aired on July 23rd, featuring all scenes from GFA’s Horizons program.

This summer marks the 10th anniversary of Horizons at GFA. The first summer served 26 students in kindergarten and first grade from two Bridgeport schools. The program reached a milestone in 2007, graduating the first class of Horizons 8th graders. Horizons at GFA is now operating at full enrollment in grades K-8 with 148 students from over 20 Bridgeport public schools. It helps many students find alternatives to Bridgeport schools to best meet their individual needs, and graduated its third 8th grade class in August.

Embraced by the GFA community, Horizons is also an opportunity for GFA students to get involved. Nearly 50 students volunteered at the Horizons Saturday Academy sessions during the past school year. This summer, eight of the nine teaching interns were GFA graduates: Matt Flynn ’09, Andrew Fried ’08, P.J. Hoffman ’08, Will McCalpin ’08, Mike Pavlis ’08, Anthony Patterson ’07, Alex Perry ’06, and Dennis Shea ’09. In addition, 11 current GFA students and one alum volunteered as classroom assistants, working with the Horizons students alongside the teachers and interns.

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Faculty Farewell Best-selling author Lorene Cary spent a day with Middle School students who had just finished reading her memoir Black Ice. As part of the Visiting Writer program, Cary attended English classes and allowed students to see the book come to life before their eyes.

Faculty News

The spring Visiting Coyle Scholar was futurist Andrew Zolli. A dynamic speaker accustomed to addressing business crowds, Zolli talked to students about trends in demographics, health and science that will define the world they will enter upon graduation. Zolli also presented to a standing-room-only crowd in the evening and contributed material and ideas for the GFA Global curriculum.

This year GFA said good-bye to a few faculty members who are moving on to work in other cities. We also honored Jack Doherty, who retired after teaching Middle School English for 17 years. In the words of a colleague, “Jack was a soft spoken man who adored teaching and had a passion for the English language. He embraced the middle school students like no one I’ve seen. At the beginning of a school year, students were sometimes afraid of him, but quickly learned to love and respect him for who he was and what he stood for. Graduates always came back to visit Jack.” We wish him the best in his new life.

GFA Spanish teacher Veronica Lima was able to travel to El Salvador this spring to attend the inauguration of president Mauricio Funes. “This photo with Hillary Clinton was taken on June 1st in San Salvador,” Lima says. “Funes is the first left-wing president the country has had in years and was a friend and colleague of my grandfather who passed away in December, thus my family was invited to the inauguration. My grandfather was a well known lawyer in El Salvador and was also vice president of the country in the

’60s. Several of my family members were involved in the campaign and the organization of the ceremonies so I was invited down to the main floor to meet Hillary.

There were many other leaders there— Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain, Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, Felipe Calderón of México, Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, Lula Da Silva of Brazil and Rigoberta Menchú to name a few.”

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GFA news Diversity Conference: GFA hosted the 2009 Student Diversity

Leadership Conference in April, bringing hundreds of students and teachers from Connecticut independent schools to campus for workshops, performances and speakers.

World Religions Symposium: Representatives of the Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist and Muslim faiths interacted with students during a daylong symposium in April, exploring matters of belief and practice.

In March, GFA hosted Marcus Eriksen PhD, Director of Education for the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. For three days he worked with Lower School students, talking about the impact of plastic waste on the marine environment, dissecting seabird gut contents to search for plastics, and designing and fabricating a plastic bottle boat. The final product was dubbed the Fish Wish, made from 300 plastic bottles! Students carried the boat to Burying Hill Beach and launched it into the Sound, paddled by Eriksen and GFA Biology teacher Mike Rowinsky. The purpose of the adventure was to bring local awareness to plastic trash polluting our watersheds and marine environment. Erikson’s experience building seaworthy plastic bottle boats includes a 15,000-bottle-raft, which drifted from Los Angeles to Hawaii, 2,600 miles in 88 days, last summer.

GFA on Stage: The 2009 New York International Fringe Festival featured almost

200 productions for two weeks in August in New York City. GFA was included this year, producing a work entitled Ones by Two: Fallujah and The Invention of Zero

by Becky McCarthy and Deepali Gupta, both from the class of ’08. The students involved did all of the tech work, marketing and acting, rehearsing for three weeks over the summer in GFA’s Black Box Theatre. Kevin Tyler ’09 and Sophia Babun ’11 (pictured left) were two of the GFA student actors.

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taking a gap year A word about the “Gap Year” from the College Office A growing practice among high school seniors who have been accepted to college is to defer that acceptance for a year and engage in some kind of service learning.

Dubbed the “Gap Year,” it can give a student life skills, perspective and adventure, not to mention maturity, and deliver them to college the following fall with a better idea of what they want to study.

“It’s a perfect time in life to embark on this kind of experience,” says Patience Fanella, Director of College Guidance. “It has full support from college deans, who find that students who have taken a gap year are more mature both emotionally and intellectually than many incoming freshmen. They know what they want and can hit the ground running.”

At a recent Gap Year Fair, over twenty organizations presented their programs including opportunities to develop leadership skills, global understanding and independence in communities in Africa, China, Spain, South America and India, and opportunities for outdoor living and learning in the United States.

“Some parents fear that if their child takes a year away from school they might get off track and not finish their education,” Fanella says. “But the statistics show otherwise. These students have a chance to overcome challenges away from their familiar environment and most often come back with self-confidence and renewed drive.”

Several GFA students have taken gap years and are willing to talk about their experiences. For more information, contact the College Guidance office at GFA.

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graduation

Valedictorian Peter Conroy

Commencement 2009

On June 4, 2009, 67 members of the senior class graduated into the wider world in good weather and in good spirits. Valedictorian Peter Conroy (Columbia University), known for his quiet demeanor, wondered if having to speak in front of the large crowd was part of a plot by his teachers to get him to speak in public. Dr. Chris Henderson, co-director of the Motor Neuron Center at Columbia University exhorted the class to be as adaptable as stem cells, and Elizabeth Cleary, head of the English department, saluted the crowd after receiving the Charles Dietrich Teaching Award.

Janet Hartwell

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Dr. Chris Henderson

Salutatorian Matt Demartini

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athletics

Three Varsity Teams make New England Tournaments Tennis

Mariana Ciocca Named FAA Scholar Athlete At the 26th Annual FAA All-League & Honorable Mention dinner on May 20th, senior Mariana Ciocca was named an FAA Scholar Athlete. As a talented soccer, tennis and basketball player, Ciocca has received multiple team and FAA honors in addition to receiving the Class Athletic Prize all four years of high school. She was a co-recipient of this year’s Barbara Hellwig Rose Award for outstanding athleticism. Ciocca will be attending Georgetown University.

The Boys Varsity Tennis team finished the season with a 7-2 record, beating the #2 seed in New Englands before losing in the semi-finals to Hopkins due to injuries in the top two singles players. Nick Newhouse, #3, had an exceptional season getting to the finals of the FAA singles tournament. Marc Powers and John Palmeri (#1 and #2) have been remarkable leaders while at GFA. Powers won the FAA singles championship twice and the New Englands singles championship once. He is the 13th ranked singles player in the nation and still is the best player his age in New England. Both Powers and Palmeri have been selected to the FAA All-League team all four years. This is the first time GFA has had two players of such caliber playing at the same time. Coach Paul Groves says, “John and Marc have maintained a standard of excellence in play at GFA. It was a pleasure to coach two players who approach tennis with such passion.” Both players will be exciting to watch at the college level—Powers at Yale University and Palmeri at Cornell.

Baseball The Varsity Baseball team had an 8-7 regular season record and beat #1 seed South Kent in the 1st round of the New England Tournament before falling to Hamden Hall in the semi-finals. The team went 3-1 against the top two teams in the FAA—Rye and Hopkins. In his first season as head coach, Todd Mathewson was impressed with the players’ “collective team work, drastic improvement and leadership.” Co-captains Oliver Van Zant and Matt Flynn were remarkable players and role models. According to Mathewson, Van Zant “always led by example and gave 100%, whether we were up by 10, down by 10 or tied.” Awarded MVP at the end of the season as a talented short stop and base runner, Van Zant is headed to play baseball at Bowdoin College. Mathewson relied on Flynn’s “selfless and vocal leadership” as he “put the team on his back on the mound and at the plate.” Flynn (headed to Boston College) pitched and played shortstop, centerfield, third base, first base and caught one inning. Van Zant and Flynn leave their mark on GFA baseball and point to talented upcoming leaders including Francis Herman, Henry Van Zant, Rex Tavello, Spencer Traver and Nick Yergey.

Lacrosse Completing the regular season at 9-5, the Boys Varsity Lacrosse team made the New England Tournament, but lost to the Pingree School in the first round. The Dragons had strong wins against King and Hamden Hall winning 10-8 and 6-5 (OT). An impressive number of end of season awards went to Jake Becker (MVP), Ted Moran (Offensive MVP), Jeb Waters (Defensive MVP), Kyle Webb (Most Improved), Peter Conroy (Coach’s Award), Evan Bieder (Coach’s Award), and Jay Cronin (Coach’s Award).

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Top: Marc Powers; John Palmeri Left: Oliver Van Zant; Jake Becker

Spring Sports Honors Sailing The team qualified for the O’Day New England Championships in Portland, Maine.

Varsity Softball FAA All-League: Idalia Friedson ’11, Alexa Sullivan ’11 (HM) NEPSAC All-Star: Idalia Friedson ’11 Girls Varsity Tennis FAA All-League: Maggie Harwood ’11, Elizabeth Kjorlien ’10, Mireille Gaynor ’09 (HM) Girls Varsity Lacrosse FAA All-League: Jenna Pittleman ’11, Jamie Hodge ’09 (HM) NEPSWLA All-Star: Jamie Hodge ’09, Madison Leonard ’13 Boys Varsity Lacrosse FAA All-League: Peter Conroy ’09, Jeb Waters ’09, Jake Becker ’10 (HM) & Kyle Webb ’10 (HM) D2 New England All-League: Jeb Waters ’09, Ted Moran ’09, Peter Conroy ’09 (HM), Jake Becker ’11 (HM) & Kyle Webb ’11 (HM) Varsity Baseball FAA All-League: Matt Flynn ’09, Oliver Van Zant ’09, Francis Herman ’10 (HM), Rex Tavello ’11 (HM) & Henry Van Zant ’11 (HM) Boys Varsity Tennis FAA All-League: Nick Newhouse ’10, John Palmeri ’09 & Marc Powers ’09 Girls Varsity Golf FAA All-League: Galen Haas ’10

Class Day Awards

Class Athletic Prize Grade 9: Wills Rooney & Bridget Foster Grade 10: Evan Bieder, Jake Becker, Jenna Pittleman & Alexa Sullivan Grade 11: Tommy Ross, Francis Herman, Emily Blum

Edward J. Denes, Jr. Outstanding Athlete Award

Marijane Beltz Sportsmanship Award

Matt Flynn & Ted Moran

Emily Lee

Barbara Hellwig Rose Outstanding Athlete Award

David Perry Sportsmanship Award

Mariana Ciocca & Tessie Mernick

Marc Powers

Above clockwise : I.G. Schottlaender & Sam Fitzgerald; Maggie Harwood; Matt Flynn; Idalia Friedson; Grace Bowman

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arts

What’s Your Message?

Art in the Middle School The Middle School art teachers each remember the moment that drew them into the art world as children, capturing their attention and passion. Coincidentally, each was eight years old when it happened. Denise Minnerly grew up in New Jersey and was always a creative child. One day, her neighbor who owned a printmaking company gave her a big box of paper and invited her over to learn how to draw. Years later, earning a BS in art education and BA in studio art, Minnerly found herself practically living in the college art department, making huge oil paintings and immersing herself in the world of museums and exhibitions.

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As a mother, she began an afterschool art program in Rowayton, and later still authored three children’s art books, which she calls “another way to teach.” Most recently, in addition to overseeing the Middle School art program at GFA, Minnerly visited Rome and fell in love with frescoes. “The surfaces allow the viewer to experience the history of events,” she says, “and I’ve been experimenting with the form ever since I returned.”

The two teachers love the Middle School years and enjoy team teaching with each other as well. They constantly look for projects that are appropriate and inspiring for the Middle School age group. “The kids love the freedom and self-investigation during art class,” says Levi. “The key to reaching this age group is finding the balance between freedom and structure, and offering experience with both realistic and expressive art.”

Jen Levi ’03 says she took an adult art class “by accident” when she was eight, and can remember loving the technical aspects of the craft. At GFA, she took studio art and studied photography with John Hafey. “That’s where I began to develop my confidence,” she says. “Mr. Hafey always encouraged us to show our work, and eventually I did.” Jen also has a masters in visual arts education and has come back to teach at GFA.

“I find projects for them that incorporate a series of events they have to follow,” says Minnerly. “It helps teach them organization as they progress toward an end product.” Projects have included the construction of masks and the writing of graffiti. “I ask them, ‘what’s your message?’ It’s amazing what they show me in response.”

Opposite: Tree Haus by Denise Minnerly; Maya Ebbesen at work Above clockwise: Lithograph by Jen Levi; pastel by Michael Leone; collage by Caroline Vanacore; pastel by Rolf Locher

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A Snapshot of Research @ GFA feature

Hands-on learning

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Lower School: A first-grader in Miss Sellers’s class takes a turn

Middle School: “With the enormous amount of information

working with Mr. Burker, the “computer guy.” He sets up a desk outside because it’s a beautiful spring day, and folds himself into a pint-size Lower School chair facing the young student.

Between them is an open laptop computer. Slowly the first grader explains what she has learned about a specific rain forest animal. She describes what it eats, where it lives and how it protects itself from enemies. Mr. Burker pushes a button and saves a file. He has recorded her voice into the laptop, and they will put it together with the pictures she has drawn and a map of the Amazon. She is well on her way to producing her first digital research project, later to be shared with family and friends on the Internet. In art class she builds a diorama and positions a model of her rain forest creature into its own habitat. Later on she will stand in front of the class and present her findings with visuals to back up her story. For her it is a beginning of learning research skills which will grow over her years at GFA until she will be able, if she chooses, to embark on an independent science inquiry in her junior or senior year and even present her findings at a regional competition.

available to our students, it is critical to give them tools to distinguish the quality of the sources they are presented with,” says Drew Meyer, head of the Middle School. “We take a systematic approach to teaching research skills through core academic classes, a research seminar, opportunities for science research and finally the eighth grade Capstone Program where each student conducts a yearlong research project. What they choose to explore is not as important as having them learn how to approach their topic. Whether studying Twyla Tharp’s choreography or left-wing Latin American dictators, they need to know how to recognize solid sources, employ the scientific method, set up a thesis, prove their point, write a good topic sentence and footnote properly.”

One Middle School student spent months gathering data on birds in her own backyard and made observations about the protein content of their food. Another tested pond water in his neighborhood and monitored the change in salinity. For the Capstone program, one young scholar spent the year researching the flu epidemic of 1918, while another studied roller coasters.

Having learned how to synthesize vast amounts of material, make footnotes, and compare sources, the eighth graders are ready to progress to freshman year.

Upper School: Dr. Huck Laughner and Dr. Mat Freeman sit in

a small office surrounded by notes, graphs and books. They are finalizing a new course for September called Research & Experimentation. Juniors and seniors will be required to take the semester-long course before embarking on an independent study in scientific research during the second semester.

Laughner and Freeman talk about “time and thoroughness,” and the need for students to learn the scientific process. The class will launch with 9 seniors working with Dr. Laughner, each of whom proposed to study a particular scientific problem and was accepted into the class.

“The class itself will focus on three basic areas,” says Laughner, who has also taught the material at the graduate level. “We’ll look at Scientific Inquiry—the process of learning; Scientific Numeracy—how to record and interpret data; and Scientific Literacy—how to record, write and present the information.”

During the second semester, Dr. Freeman will mentor the students in their individual research. “I’m also interested in preparing them for science competitions,” Freeman says. “It puts students in a place to see their data come alive and to see how their work measures up to what else is going on in the region.”

Freeman is looking forward to overseeing research in biology, physics, chemistry and electronics. “Nine research projects,” he says, pointing to different stacks of paper on his desk. “We introduced the idea and were amazed by the response. These students are ready and able to take on authentic research. We’re on our way.”

A sampling of this year’s studies: Examining the plastics that get caught in fish intestines, the factors that go into the physics of bowling, an analysis of the electronics used in emergency equipment, a weather study, a chemistry project and a study of super conductors.

A gift from an alumnus, made in honor of past science teacher Roger True, is helping to fund student research.

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alumni/ae

Alumni Profiles Willy Franzen ’02 used his own circuitous route to finding job satisfaction to help others in their job search. As the founder and host of onedayonejob.com, he publishes daily research on companies looking to hire and the jobs they offer.

“I had internships during college, including one that let me live my dream fly-fishing with Orvis,” he says. “Then I graduated a semester early from Cornell and took a contract job in human resources. I realized HR wasn’t the right fit and started looking for other work. In May 2007, I finally decided to start my own company.”

The result is an online resource that helps to give the young job seeker the right information. “Job postings are usually poor documents,” Franzen says. “They don’t say what problem they’re trying to solve or give enough information to help the applicant know if he or she is right for the job. On my site, I write it all. Every day I post a story about why a company is interesting, who they are and what they do. Then I research the jobs and what needs they want to fill. I give links to deeper information about the company.

It’s a way of introducing people to the company and then they can make the decision.”

Franzen is also collaborating on an online course for young job seekers, which teaches principles of communication, attitude, mental preparedness, creative thinking, research and selling skills. “People blame the economy when they can’t find a job,” he says. “It’s not a good excuse. People are getting hired, so why aren’t you that person? My company helps you answer that question.”

Alex Perry ’06 is a senior at the University of Rochester with a long history in a cappella singing. As far back as age four, he can remember “all those old guys” coming to rehearse at his house with his dad (Dave Perry) who was the leader and founder of GFA’s Beachside Express group. Now Perry sings bass at the University of Rochester with the Midnight Ramblers, who recently landed the a cappella dream job.

“Last fall the singer Ben Folds put a message on his website that he was going to record an a cappella CD of his greatest hits,” Perry says. “For whatever reason, his music gets covered a lot by a cappella groups and he wanted to find singers to backup his recording.

We auditioned by video, singing the song Army.”

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Out of four hundred submissions, Folds picked twelve, including the Midnight Ramblers. They got the call that Folds would be coming to Rochester to record. “We’re basically a bunch of goofy kids,” Perry says. “But Folds liked the way we have fun. When he came, he bounced into the room like a kid himself. There was a sound engineer and a bunch of mics. We recorded in a student lounge and it only took about two hours.”

This summer Perry and fellow members of the class of 2006, Nick Wagenseller, Berna Jamison and Anni Satinover got together a quartet. They all sang a cappella at GFA and continue to sing at their own colleges. Perry says the whole experience with Ben Folds was a real confidence booster that showed him his singing was on the right track.

Tom Sachs ’85 The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum recently offered a snapshot of Tom Sachs’s ’85 work that focuses exclusively on cameras.

For many years, a small but significant part of Sachs’s production has dealt with cameras. The Aldrich exhibition brings together twelve works, from 1972 to the present, that not only explore the camera as both a sculptural and functional object, but, perhaps more importantly, chart the course that photography and the globalization of precision manufacturing has taken over the past century.

The exhibition includes the earliest existing work by the artist, a clay replica of a Nikon SLR camera that Sachs made when he was eight years old as a gift to his father. This contrasts with his recent elegy to the now-defunct Polaroid Corporation: a fully functional “instant” camera that has been cobbled together out of (among other things) a Canon digital camera, a tiny HP inkjet printer, and a battery from a Makita cordless drill. Sachs’s cameras turn the tables on the usual artistic photographic process, where the image made with the camera is the “art” and the camera itself is merely a tool.

Sachs created a work for the spring GFA Community Art Show which supported the Edward J. Denes Scholarship Fund. Tom’s piece sold for $7500, all of which the artist generously donated to the Fund.

Above Left to Right: Alex Perry and The Midnight Ramblers record with Ben Folds; Willy Franzen fly-fishing; Tom Sachs “Scanner/Printer”, 2009 synthetic polymer paint on plywood, photographic developing chemicals, leather sleeve, close-focus binoculars, 8x10 camera lens 51 x 48 x 22.5 inches; Tom Sachs, GFA Art Show: “Class of 1985”, 2009

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Career Day

Doug Aaron ’95 and Patrick Kanehann ’85 answer students’ questions.

On Tuesday April 7th, GFA hosted the annual Alumni Career Day. Patrick Kanehann ’85 and Doug Aaron ’95 spoke to the Upper School about their careers and the lessons they learned from attending GFA. Patrick is a producer and actor in Los Angeles. He’s received more than a dozen awards for his commercials and can be found in front of the camera performing in national TV ads for such companies as Comcast and Yellowpages.com. He recently completed three years of study at the Groundlings School and often performs stand-up comedy at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Patrick returned to school that evening to rehearse with the GFA improvisational group, Bloopers.

Doug advises organizations on clean energy. After graduating from college Doug managed investments for nonprofit organizations.

He later went on to receive his Masters at Harvard, where his work focused on clean energy in developed and emerging countries.

Doug spoke to students about career opportunities in the clean energy field.

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1. Brad Posner ’04, Vivienne Pustell ’04, David Capodilupo ’79, Marie-Laure Couet ’02 and Sarah Satinover ’04

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2. Hilary Archer ’01, Susan Ball ’71 and Justin Miyashiro ’05

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3. David Goldenheim ’99 and Ed Denes (former faculty)

Boston Event Boston Alumni gathered at the Hampshire House on Thursday evening, April 23rd to reconnect with friends and network for the future. The Alumni Relations Office looks forward to making this an annual event!

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NYC Event 10

This year’s annual New York City alumni gathering was held at PS 450, owned by GFA’s own Matt Wagman ’84. The event was a great success with more than 60 alumni, faculty and staff in attendance. The evening was hosted by the GFA Alumni Relations Office and the GFA Alumni Outreach Scholarship Committee. This committee’s goal is to help fellow alumni understand how GFA is becoming more diverse and accessible through initiatives like The Horizons Scholarship Fund. The committee did an excellent job of educating fellow alumni without sacrificing the good time that was had by all. Thank you to those who attended this event!

1. Susan Ball ’71, Prash Akkapeddi ’92, Natalie Heller and Kathy Hodge 2. Andrew Ogletree ’02, Matt Kunkes ’02, Richard Del Bello ’02, Lynne Laukhuf (faculty) and D Callahan ’02 3. Class of 2003: Marshall Wheeler, Chris Innes, Wilson Handler and Ryan Wegner 4. Rose Ann Martinez (faculty) and Jane Minehan ’03 5. Charlie Schilling ’96, Karima Hassan ’92, Allie Beck ’01 and Michelle Cole ’01

6. Janet Hartwell (Head of School), John Gauld ’95, Kyle Reiter ’97 and Josh Tarasoff ’97 7. Adrienne Rudkin ’06, Ed Denes (former faculty) and Katie (Rudkin) McMullan ’97 8. Adam Lippman ’90 and Ed Denes (former faculty) 9. Rachel D’Agostino ’03, D Callahan ’02 and Meghan Hasenauer ’03 10. OJ Burns (faculty), Allie Beck ’01, Lisa McEnery ’02, Andrew Ogletree ’02, North Shutsharawan ’01 and Meghan Hasenauer ’03

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Distinguished Alumni Award alumni/ae

Prasanth (Prash) Akkapeddi ’92 was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award at Reunion 2009 for his many contributions as a former trustee and as co-chair of the Alumni Outreach Scholarship Committee. Nikhil Ramchandani ’95 nominated Prash for the award for his “dedication, leadership, hard work and tireless efforts on behalf of his school.” Prash’s moving acceptance speech is below.

Most of my best friends in the world are the gawky kids I went to middle school and high school with here. I was probably the gawkiest of all. We grew up together and learned what friendship means together. We have taken pleasure ever since in celebrating each other’s accomplishments, boosting each other up when necessary, and enjoying each other’s company and support.

But GFA was also an insular place when I was here. It was inward looking.

It was sheltered and somewhat aloof from the rest of the real world. It was hard to escape the air of privilege and, dare I say the word, elitism.

Many of us alums left GFA thankful for the gifts we received here but ready to be in a world that was larger, less sheltered, and more diverse–socially, politically and economically. We started thinking of GFA as part of our past and, perhaps, with a tinge of guilt that we were so fortunate to come from such a place when there are so many tougher circumstances out in the world.

I certainly felt this way.

But something brought me back to the school recently. I sensed a change–a recognition from within GFA that the school couldn’t divorce itself from the rest of the world.

There’s plenty of physical change to the school as we can all see. But there also seems to be a philosophical change. There’s a shift in thinking that seems to say that GFA should do what it can–consistent with its high standards of education–to use its resources to reach out to its community, both local and global.

It took a little while for this new information to sink in. Usually our contact with the school is through this alumni magazine which we skim through to see what fellow alums have been up to, as opposed to carefully reading about new programs at the school. But I slowly started to get it.

I’ve enjoyed hearing Janet Hartwell speak about two recent initiatives: GFA Global, which brings an international perspective to the life of the school, and the Green Team which stresses environmental awareness and activism. Both programs emphasize the concept of stewardship and encourage community service both at home and abroad.

I also became curious about the Horizons at GFA program. Horizons is a national not-for-profit umbrella program that GFA became a part of about 10 years ago which partners public schools from underserved

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neighborhoods with private schools and their facilities for after school and summer school programs for kids in grades K-8.

More recently, GFA committed itself to funding an endowed scholarship so that qualified eighth grade students out of the Horizons at GFA program can attend the Upper School tuition free. Right now the fund is endowed at a level to allow one Horizons student to attend GFA. The immediate goal is to increase the funding level to admit two students. A group of alumni in New York recently helped the school organize the first of what I hope will be many events to raise awareness and funding for this scholarship program.

These two great programs helped turn me on to GFA in a new way. They got me thinking that GFA doesn’t just care for its own and recognizes that it has a responsibility to a larger community.

For example, I recently learned that juniors at GFA participate in a program organized through a non-profit organization called the Youth Service Opportunities Project.

They take the Metro North train into the city on a Friday evening and spend the night at the Quaker Friends Seminary in Lower Manhattan which houses a homeless shelter. They then get up the next morning and spend the day volunteering at different homeless shelters in New York. How cool is that? A few of us alums in New York have talked with GFA staff about getting New York alumni who are interested involved in the Saturday volunteer activities. I know I’m always interested in doing more community service, but often find I don’t have the time to figure out the logistics. I know we would appreciate it and jump at the chance if GFA helped us out with that.

All this is to say that, while maintaining its core principals, GFA has changed and is continuing to change into a less insulated, more global and more community-oriented place. I would love to see the alumni body rediscover the school and become involved in these efforts. If you are interested, please keep your eye out for news in the alumni magazine and be sure to read the emails that will be coming your way about these various opportunities. Or just take a moment to reach out to the Development Office at GFA through the website (www. gfacademy.org). I hope to see you all at an event soon.

Again, thank you so much for this award.

Prash Akkapeddi ’92

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This year, preparations for Reunion began months in advance with an invitation to all alumni, faculty and former faculty to submit their work to the Alumni Art Show. As pieces came from far and wide, the Alumni Council decided to share the fun and opened the show to parents, students and past parents, establishing a true GFA Community Art Show. More than 200 items were exhibited, ranging from paintings, photographs and sculpture to CDs, books, jewelry and clothing--all made by our creative community.

Volunteers worked alongside staff members receiving artwork on Thursday May 14, and on May 15 Olivia Munroe ’71 led the team to hang what turned into a really magnificent show. 20% of all sales went to the Edward J. Denes Scholarship Fund. World renowned artist Tom Sachs ’85 created a work for the show which sold for $7500, all of which Tom donated to the Fund.

1. Ed Denes (former faculty) exhibited a 1940 Philco console which he refurbished twelve years ago 2. Lily Angotti ’02 and Caroline Saxe ’01 pose behind Lily’s two sculptures Alice and Water Chevrotain 3,4 & 5. Members of the community attend the GFA Art Show

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Zombie Jam The Zombie Jam 2009 was a wonderful celebration full of a cappella, skits, dance and laughter. This annual concert is the culmination of a year of hard work by the Greens Farms Academy a cappella groups, the Harbor Blues (celebrating their 20th anniversary) and Beachside Express. Over 50 Beachers and Blues alumni came to GFA to support the groups and join them onstage at the end of the evening for a few classic songs.

1. Kiersten Wakeman ’07, Jill Greiner ’05 and Christian Wakeman ’03 2. Grace Hawkins ’09 serenades Beachers alum James Kelly ’08 3. Brett Aresco ’05, Gordon Verrill ’06, Alex Perry ’06, Stephen Tyler ’05 and Kevin Tyler ’09

4. Anna Birinyi ’09, Natalie Birinyi ’06, Anni Satinover ’06 and Shantelle Wright ’02 5. Anni Satinover ’06, Sasha Mack ’09 and Betsy Bergeron (faculty) 6. The Harbor Blues gather with Blues alumni before the Jam to celebrate their 20-year anniversary

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1. Charlie Dietrich (faculty), Kurt Wayne ’87 and daughter Anna 2. Barbara (Hellwig) Rose ’51 with daughter Deering Rose ’83 and grandson John Loring Threshie, III 3. David Lipton ’86, Tilney Wickersham ’84, Chris Wayne ’84, Sandra Jamshidi (wife of Darius), Darius Jamshidi ’84 4. Morgan Peterkin ’08, Lynne Laukhuf (faculty) and Julia Greene ’08 5. Class of 1974: Allen Hardon, Lydia (Halper) Chiappetti and EJ Butner, III

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6. Lynne Laukhuf, Prash Akkapeddi ’92, Sirisha Akkapeddi ’00, Andrew Grosso ’92, friend and Rose Ann Martinez (faculty) 7. Class of 1984 with family: Timmy Sullivan, son of Dr. Gioia Riccio, Chris Wayne, Sarah Bowen Shea, Phoebe Kearney, older daughter of Sarah, Francesca Sullivan, daughter of Dr. Gioia Riccio 8. Bunny (Emerson) McMahon ’50, Jane (Luke) Wick ’46 and Barbara (Hellwig) Rose ’51 9. David Sullivan (husband of Gioia Riccio ’84), Oliver Pursche ’89 and Virgina Pursche

10. Kelly (McArthur) Adams ’84, Stu McArthur ’89, Abby (Kracov) Sesselberg ’82, Graham Sesselberg, Tracy (Wheeler) Lennon ’82 and Kendall Crolius ’71 11. Class of 2004 (l to r): Back row: Christina Ducruet, Jon Ocana, Lauren Weeks, Brad Posner, David Cole, Tariq Ali, Christina Swan, Elizabeth Hawkins. Front row: Megan Miller, Sarah Satinover and Michael Thomas 12. The Biggers Family: Kelsey ’73, Lucy ’08 and Sissy (Cargill) ’75

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Reunion Weekend On Saturday May 16th the traditional Reunion Barbecue took place on the front lawn from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Although the cool weather may have kept a few of the less hardy away, an enthusiastic crowd of about 100 people came to eat Scott Santoro’s good food, catch up, get to know one another’s families, and visit the Art Show over in the Lower School Assembly Room while younger children enjoyed games with student volunteers. Alumni Council President Roz (Koether) Stephanak ’82 presented this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award to Prasanth (Prash) Akkapeddi ’92 who was nominated by Nik Ramchandani ’95 (see page 20 for Prash’s acceptance speech).

That evening, alumni gathered again in the tented Lower School courtyard for wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres as they listened to both the Beachers and Blues sing as well as great live jazz from Rex Cadwallader and his trio. The Big Green Pizza Truck served a dinner of gourmet pizzas followed by outstanding gelato.

13. Aimee (MacManus) Farrell ’84, Kathie (Murren) Koether ’84 and Jimmy Bebon ’83 14. Nick D’Addario ’04, Jamie Kendall ’04, Cassie Herman ’05, Carlos Guzman ’04 and Richard Del Bello ’02 15. Brian Stephanak, Roz (Koether) Stephanak ’82, Roger Clements (former faculty), Chris Farrell (husband of Sally), Alex Smith ’81, Sally (Engleby) Farrell ’82 16. Janice (Plotkin) Flynn ’66 and husband Ed Flynn 17. Susan (Powel) Parks ’76, Chris Saxe ’74 and Gary Shelton 18. Rex Cadwallader’s jazz trio plays for alumni at the Reunion Cocktail Party 19. Class of 1984: Lisa Rintoul, Michael Rintoul, Gioia Riccio, Jackie (Reiss) Bebon, Tilney Wickersham and Sarah Bowen Shea 20. Class of 2008: Will McCalpin, Lauren Rouatt, Lucy Biggers, Deepali Gupta and Adelaide Mandeville 21. Class of 1984: Tilney Wickersham, Alison (Tainter) Gilbert, Kathie (Murren) Koether, George Koether and Gioia Riccio 22. Class of 1979 (l to r): Front row: Amy (Wallbrunn) Depalma, Cathy Coster, Stuart McArthur, Tanya (Giacco) Deke, Liz Shanley, Anne Blanchard, Kim Stevens. Back Row: Kevin Noschese, Peter Denholtz, John Rosenau ’78, Craig Heatley, Jim Stein, Juliana (Reiss) Smith, Wendy Weaver 23. Class of 1989 (l to r): Back row: Craig Lieberman, Sean Driscoll, Lauren (Seideman) Kantor, Oliver Pursche, Mike Shugrue, Matt Grosso, Jana Byron, Susie Burian Front row: Darcy McAlister, Abigail (VanSlyck) Salvati, Meghan M. Biro, Noelle (Simpson) Slifka and Lloyd Lee 24. Class of 1989: Lauren (Seideman) Kantor, Mike Shugrue, Susie Burian, Craig Lieberman, Lloyd Lee and Jana Byron 25. The Class of 1974 (l to r): Sitting: Vicki (Ryan) Bida, Allen Hardon, Lydia (Halper) Chiapetti, Randy Stone and Maggie Smith. Standing: Chris Saxe, Nina Riccio and EJ Butner 26. Class of 1999: Meghan Capozzi, Jenny (Witkin) McCollum, Debby Hoffman, Karissa Burns-Gaddy, Leigh-Ann Todd-Enyame

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alumni

Going Back to High School Max Rosenberg ’97 For some people, high school was the worst time of their life. You are smaller, weaker, lacking in style, still finding your voice; maybe you still have braces or don’t have contact lenses yet. If college is the time to bloom, then high school is the time to suffer.

So why would a thirty-year-old moderately successful lawyer with a beautiful wife and two wonderful sons jump out of bed with a ridiculous smile on his face the morning he knew he would be returning to high school? When I was offered the opportunity, I didn’t just jump, I leaped. It’s not that I don’t love my life today, it’s that I haven’t forgotten that I owe so much of it to my time at Greens Farms Academy.

Hundreds of thoughts passed through my mind as I got ready for school. Could I pass myself off as a new transfer? Would this be anything like 21 Jumpstreet or would it be more like Never Been Kissed? Would I be recognized? Would I recognize GFA? Driving down Beachside I was flooded with memories. From the outside, not too much had changed. I entered through the “seniors/ faculty” entrance, wondering if the entrance was still reserved for seniority. My first class was junior year English with OJ Burns. As I listened to student-driven debates about the elements of a short story by D.H. Lawrence, I might have just stepped out of Dandelion Wine. It was pure time travel. It was like watching a memory firsthand from a different perspective. The students were discussing passion, love, and sexual tension, and while they exhibited academic brilliance, I knew they were unable to grasp a certain element that is revealed only with age and experience. Two things occurred to me: it was ridiculous for me to think I looked young enough to pass as a student, and I was unbearably old.

Innocence is something we don’t see a lot of in our society. It’s a quality that seems to hearken back to another time in America. At Greens Farms, I rediscovered it that day, not in myself, but in the students—intelligent, ambitious, but innocent.

I followed a student to calculus in the new wing. I almost got lost in the new hallways, but then came face to face with an oil painting of a familiar friend, Ed Denes. I was in the Denes Wing...my trip down memory lane was officially surreal. “D” was gone from Greens Farms in retirement, but it seemed as though the memory of his presence had physically transformed into a part of Greens Farms.

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I snapped out of my daze and realized my guide was trying to usher me through the crowded hall into Spanish class. I shook my head and ducked into another classroom, where I found myself in freshman history with Ian Campbell, the same class I sat in when Mr. Campbell began his career at GFA.

alumni calendar of events

Was I ever this young? Now, surrounded by fresh young faces and being introduced as a student from sixteen years ago, I was officially ancient. I stayed long enough to listen to a discussion of mercantile currency and then left for the library to find sanctuary in the pits. Only, there are no pits—nothing to fill with popcorn on senior prank day, no place to fall asleep, nowhere to cuddle with a book, pillow or special somebody.

I was saddened, but not for long. The library has undergone the same transformative experience as the rest of GFA. The old, original room has new lighting and is used for conferences instead of old tomes. Rows of computers sit in another room, and a very competent, very friendly, very tall and attractive librarian was running the entire professional affair. Rowwr!

Boston Alumni Gathering

I decided it was time to go. Joe Roll and Heraclitus were right. You can never step in the same stream twice. As I looked for a way out, I found what can only be described as the performing arts wing. I was floored—a real orchestra, real facilities to house real talent, a theatre instructor, a real director. I wanted to re-matriculate. I wanted back in. Ok, maybe I look a little different than the average high school student…I will make it work for me. Then I learned they had already cast the spring play, and there was a height requirement and age requirement. Typecasting! Ugh! I left GFA from the front entrance. It was a misty, rainy day by the water. I felt young, hopeful and rebellious. Two thoughts stayed with me as I got in the car: 1) I can’t wait to send my kids here. 2) I am totally turning right out of this driveway.

october Thursday, October 15th

Saturday, October 24th

GFA Homecoming Fall Fair November Thursday, November 5th

Washington, D.C. Event Zola Saturday, November 21st

Youth Service Opportunities Project Work with current students volunteering at different homeless shelters in New York City Friday, November 27th

Holiday Party at SBC APRIL Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Java Jam For the most up-to-date schedule of events, please go to www. gfacademy.org and click on “Alumni,” or call the Alumni Relations Office at (203) 256-7523.

Alumni Giving This past fiscal year, alumni gave more than $100,000 to funds at GFA, including Annual Giving, the Edward J. Denes Scholarship Fund and the Horizons Scholarship Fund.

Overall alumni participation percentage reached 13% as we move closer to our goal of 20% of alumni giving to the school.

Classes to be commended are: 1951 at 100%; 1952 at 50%; 1992 at 31%; 1972 at 27%; 1954 at 25%; 1961 at 25%; 1971 at 22%; 2001 at 22%; 1974 at 21% and 1975 at 21%.

Reunion year winners were the classes of 1954 and 1974.

Congratulations and thank you to all!

Calling All Authors!

The GFA library is establishing a special section of books by alumni and current and past faculty. If you have a book in print, please send us either a copy or the full title and publisher information so that we can order it. Thanks so much!

Susan Ball, sball@gfacademy.org.

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after the bell

The GFA dragon over the years

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1. Waiting for the 4:27 2. Going eye-to-eye with Charlie Dietrich 3. Making friends in the Lower School

4. Stepping out in Manhattan 5. Basking in the glory of the CT State Champion Challenge Team

6. Dining on the terrace

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