Groton School Quarterly, Spring 2016

Groton School The Quarterly • Spring 2016

INSIDE T HE

GARDNER ROOM The Quirks and Treasures of Mr. Gardner's Collection PLUS: Cryptic Messages and the Teacher who Cracked the Code

Christorpher Temerson

Groton School Spring 2016 • Volume LXXVII, No. 2

The Quarterly

Goodbye Katherine Reflections on the impact of Assistant Head Katherine Bradley, who leaves to head Dana Hall School after fifteen years on the Circle page 1425

Inside the Gardner Room A treasure hunt through William Amory Gardner’s book collection page 2025

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Message from the Headmaster

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Letters

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Circiter / Around the Circle

12 Personae / Profiles 32 Voces / Chapel Talks 40 De Libris / New Releases 42 Grotoniana / Athletics 50 Grotoniana / Arts 56 In Memoriam 57 Form Notes

Amani Jiu ’17 and Marie Wesson ’15, at the 2015 Spring Fling

Cover photo by Ellen Harasimowicz

Annie Card

Message from the Headmaster THE PILLARS of Service, Spirituality, Scholarship, and

Globalism are as relevant today as they were when Groton School was founded in 1884.

When Endicott Peabody invited Booker T. Washington to come and speak in 1899 and again in 1904; when the second headmaster, Jack Crocker, invited Martin Luther King Jr. to visit Groton for two days in 1963; when the sixth headmaster, Bill Polk, invited Archbishop Desmond Tutu to be our Prize Day speaker in 2001—it was to cement these pillars in the malleable minds of Groton students.

I often stress to students and alumni how these pillars depend upon one another. While Groton’s motto, cui servire est regnare, is timeless and embraced by many, the service to which it refers is fragile without a foundation of scholarship.

Similarly, spirituality can be fleeting if not rooted in scholarship. Groton prioritizes serious scholarship—for example, its requirement that students take both a classical and a modern language—and in so doing inculcates a global perspective that, in turn, supports the ethos of service.

The pillars of Service, Spirituality, Scholarship, and Globalism have always stood beneath Groton’s belief in inclusion, and continue to do so. On a visit to Yale this winter, a recent Groton graduate who was initially skeptical about inclusion declared in front of a group of distinguished parents and alumni who spanned seven decades of scholarship at Groton: “Inclusion is unimpeachable.” He then expanded on how his spiritual searching and intellectual pursuit at Groton led to this revelation.

Editor Gail Friedman Design Irene Chu

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Contributing Editors Kimberly A. Gerighty Elizabeth Z. Ginsberg P’16 Jessica Hart Elizabeth Wray Lawrence ‘82 Allison S. MacBride John D. MacEachern P’10, ‘14, ’16 Kathleen M. Machan Amily Dunlap Moore Amy Sim

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Would this have been possible if the student had attended another school? Probably. What struck me was how often he had questioned my goals and vision for Groton when he was on the Circle. He would come to my office in the Schoolhouse or see me in the Headmaster’s House during Parlor to espouse his ideas, which were not always consistent with mine. I invited his views as long as they were not debates based on oratory but arguments based on evidence and scholarship. His scholarship under the tutelage of great Groton teachers no doubt helped lead him to his place of conviction; in his case, scholarship undergirded both service and spirituality.

I witnessed something similar at a Stanford meeting, when three students spoke with passion about their Groton experience. One young man related my own story to his understanding of the American Dream and his faith in it. As he spoke, I was taken aback by how much he valued the spirit of inclusion, and I was heartened to know that our alumni are carrying the message and the ethos onto campuses around the world.

These were recent graduates, but I also saw the outsized effect that our current students had when they stepped to the mic at recent gatherings in Seoul, Beijing, Hong Kong, and London. The impact the school has had on the larger Groton family is palpable at such receptions. However, the presence and eloquence of our students make the strongest impression.

Eager to help us see their cultures through their eyes, they welcome us and are ready to speak about Groton whenever I ask them to do so. The evidence of Groton scholarship shows most clearly when I ask them to speak extemporaneously about their experience.

Service rooted in scholarship is an authentic form of leadership. When I see such leadership in our students and youngest alumni, I am reminded that Groton’s lessons take root on the Circle, but travel far beyond.

Temba Maqubela Headmaster

Photography/Editorial Assistant Christopher Temerson Editorial Offices The Schoolhouse Groton School Groton, MA 01450 978 - 448 -7506 quarterly@groton.org

Other School Offices Alumni Office: 978 - 448 -7520 Admission Office: 978 - 448 -7510 Groton School publishes the Groton School Quarterly three times a year, in late summer, winter, and spring, and the Annual Report once a year, in the fall.

SAVE THE DATE

FALL 2016 COMMEMORATES THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF TEMBA AND VUYELWA MAQUBELA’S ARRIVAL TO AMERICA. The headmaster’s first job in the USA was at the American Museum of Natural History. In honor of this special occasion, Groton will host its fall New York City reception at the museum on Tuesday, September 27, 2016. We look forward to seeing you there.

LETTERS

The popular photo of faculty and their dogs, featured on the back cover of the Spring 2014 Quarterly, continues to generate reaction—in this letter, a correction to the caption.

While doing some online research on family ancestry, I came upon the Groton Quarterly for Spring 2014 . . . [and] a historical picture of some of the Groton faculty and their dogs.

The photo caption lists Harvey Sargisson (my great uncle) as third from the left in the picture.

Actually he is fourth from the left.

Just thought you would like to know this.

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roton School congratulates its next assistant head of school, Andy Anderson.

Mr. Anderson — currently a Spanish teacher, crew coach, Groton’s director of financial aid, and head of the Discipline Committee — will replace Assistant Head Katherine Bradley on July 1. Ms. Bradley is leaving Groton to head Dana Hall School.

Since he joined Groton School in the spring of 1980, Mr. Anderson has taught Spanish and English, led one of the nation’s most competitive high school crew programs, and administered the school’s $6 million-plus financial aid budget.

Besides heading the Discipline Committee, composed of students and faculty, he also has served on numerous administrative committees, among them the benefits, landscape, curriculum, internal budget, and evaluation committees.

Headmaster Temba Maqubela praised Mr. Anderson’s talent in these varied roles, as well as his attention to detail and his practical and empathetic leadership style. “I am thrilled to welcome Andy as assistant head,” he said. “I believe he will handle the challenges of the position with calm, compassion, and competence.”

Mr. Anderson is the parent of a Groton alumnus and two current students; his wife Cola, an architect, coaches JV girls crew.

The incoming assistant head said that he is excited to work with all the people who set Groton apart. “The first time I set foot on campus, I was tremendously impressed with the motivated and talented students, the dedicated and interesting teachers, the caring staff, the passionate and supportive alumni, and the involved parents,” he said. “I look forward to working with all these groups, and with the headmaster, to continue making Groton what I believe is the best school in the country.”

Mark Rasmussen Director, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Professor, Department of Animal Science Iowa State University

Annie Card

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Groton Names Next Assistant Head

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roton School Headmaster Temba Maqubela delivered a keynote address at the Carney Sandoe Diversity Forum on January 30 in Philadelphia, inspiring an audience of educators to stand up for children by standing up — and speaking up — to those who deliver messages of hate, prejudice, and ignorance.

Characterizing diversity as a precursor to inclusion, Mr. Maqubela said that “being even more inclusive will counteract the culture of fear and defeat that grips our country, thus marginalizing whole communities.”

The keynote address traveled from the headmaster’s native village in South Africa to Groton School to the national political stage. Through his personal experiences of anti-apartheid activism, and his arrest and exile, he emphasized the power of education to restore a person’s dignity. He shared stories of family members who shaped him with their brave battles for justice — such as Jacob Bokwe, his great-great-grandfather and the first black person in South Africa to take a white person to court, demanding an apology and compensation for being called a “gross liar.”

“Even though he lost the case in the white court,” said Mr. Maqubela, “he had made a point for future generations to always strive to advocate for dignity, inclusion, and empowerment at all cost.”

The audience learned about Mr. Maqubela’s grandfather, who proposed and helped draft the Freedom Charter, which became the foundation for South Africa’s current constitution. They also heard the story of Mr. Maqubela’s arrest, in the classroom where his own mother taught.

“Chalk in hand in her eight o’clock biology class, Mother witnessed the arrest of her son, who was led away saying, ‘Goodbye Mama.’ . . . Neither she nor I knew if we would see each other again.” His mother was no stranger to such arrests: her other sons also had been arrested for fighting apartheid, and she had seen her father arrested in 1956, alongside Nelson Mandela.

Moving from personal experience to political climate, Mr. Maqubela called some candidates’ divisive and hateful language “a form of neo-apartheid that should be called out.” An educator

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Groton Headmaster Urges Educators: Be Impatient for Inclusion

Headmaster Temba Maqubela, keynote speaker in Philadelphia

speaking to educators, the message never strayed from the children. “[We should] not allow people to hide behind free political expression when such hateful rhetoric psychologically harms children and brings up scars of exclusion for people who are deserving of their dignity as much as anyone else.”

Calling the audience to action, he asked: “Who is going to stand up for children if educators are not impatient for inclusion?”

Using a Groton story for illustration, Mr. Maqubela also decimated often-heard allegations that students of color don’t fully earn their admission to selective colleges. He described a particular student, raised by a single mother, who had signed up for a challenging organic chemistry course, taught by Mr. Maqubela.

Classmates warned the student how difficult the class would be.

Now studying at an Ivy League university, the student outperformed every student in that class — by a significant margin.

“I’m sure every one of you here,” Mr. Maqubela said, “has a similar story of empowerment.”

Mock Court Tangles with Case Before U.S. Supreme Court

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n late February, two of history teacher John Lyons’ Court and the Constitution classes presented a mock Supreme Court hearing of the case known as Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. Groton’s Constitutional history classes haves conducted an annual mock court for twenty-one consecutive years, but this one was particularly exciting because arguments in the case opened two days later in the actual U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Lyons called the case “the most significant abortion rights case before

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the Supreme Court in a generation.” The student mock court consisted of twelve justices and eight lawyers, with four on each side of the argument. The lawyers read the lower court opinions and several briefs in the case as they prepared their own, submitting them to the student “court” before oral arguments.

About seventy students and faculty witnessed the arguments, which were thought-provoking and occasionally funny.

Proceedings ran smoothly as each side presented well-crafted arguments while

the justices peppered them with questions.

Deliberations on the case continued in class throughout the week.

Students have been waiting with great anticipation to see how the decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court compares with the Groton mock court decision, which narrowly ruled in favor of Whole Woman’s Health, finding that a Texas law placing new requirements on abortion providers unduly burdened women seeking access to abortion.

— Suzy Kuczynski ‘16

From top right: Candilla Park ‘18 clinched the title at Groton’s 33rd spelling bee; spelling bee leaders (and comedians) John Conner and Andy Anderson setting the playful tone; Yan Davidoff ‘18 competing, with other spellers behind him awaiting their turns

Bzzzz Fun and Wit at 33rd Spelling Bee

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he thirty-third Groton School spelling bee, April 9, drew a large crowd to the Sackett Forum in the Schoolhouse. They came for the serious competition as well as the not-so-serious antics of the event’s faculty leaders.

The bee’s theme was inspired by the presidential campaign, and Señor John Conner and Señor Andy Anderson played presidential candidates at the event and in the Roll Call announcements preceding it.

Sr. Conner, Spanish teacher and dean of faculty, and Sr. Anderson, Spanish teacher and director of financial aid, generated buzz about the bee by sharing their platforms: increased spelling education throughout the country and tax credits for families who invest in books related to spelling.

The tagline on posters throughout the Schoolhouse: “Make America Spell Again.”

Representatives from each dormitory showed their skills after a dramatic entrance from the balcony to music from the movie Rocky. One by one, they stepped to the lectern to spell words such as “somersault,” “quandary,” and “turquoise.” Contestants were slowly eliminated, having misspelled a word, often by a single letter.

It all came down to the final two contestants: Candilla Park ’18 and Teddy Carlin ‘20. When Teddy stumbled on “aardvark” and Candilla spelled it correctly, a new champion was crowned.

“This event is one of Groton’s great treasures,” said Sr. Conner. “Not only did Groton students help to ‘Make America Spell Again,’ they also showed that, in the year 2016, old-fashioned competition of the mind still draws a huge crowd.” The entire Groton community looks forward to the thirtyfourth bee in the spring of 2017.

Photos by Ibante Smallwood ‘16

www.groton.org

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Angus Warren ’16

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Carnegie Hall on the Circle

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n mid-December, internationally celebrated harpsichordist Jory Vinikour performed a concert of Bach, Bull, Couperin, Rameau, and Scarlatti to a sold-out house at Carnegie Hall. The New York Times praised the performance, which ended with a standing ovation and two encores, as “virtuosic” and “soulfully rendered.”

Groton School had the good fortune to have its own private performance of Mr. Vinikour’s Carnegie Hall program right here on the Circle just a few days earlier.

In preparation for his New York concert, he came to Groton to practice, contemplate, work with Groton students on their music, and grace the school with a prelude concert that packed the Gammons Recital Hall to standing room only.

“We were so lucky to have him here,” said Mary Ann Lanier, director of instrumental music and Arts Department head. “He brought a form of music that was new to many, and he attracted visitors from outside Groton School to enjoy our Gammons Concert Series.”

The masterful performance of JeanPhilippe Rameau’s gavotte with doubles (one of the more technically challenging pieces in the baroque repertoire) literally

Triggering Discussion on Gun Control aul M. Barrett, author of the New York Times bestseller Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun, led a discussion in mid-January on the use and control of guns in America.

The event, hosted by Groton’s Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs, came at a pivotal time, soon after President Obama unveiled executive orders tightening background checks.

Barrett last visited the Circle in 2013, when he delivered

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dropped jaws in the audience as they watched his hands cross over each other on the double manual harpsichord.

Mr. Vinikour appears regularly as harpsichordist at renowned venues inlcuding the Paris Opera, Netherlands Opera, Salzburg Festival, Teatro Real de Madrid, BadenBaden, and Glyndebourne; his recordings have twice been nominated for a Grammy Award. He came to public attention after winning first prizes in the International Harpsichord Competitions of Warsaw (1993) and the Prague Spring Festival (1994).

a lecture about gun control following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.

The writer, an assistant managing editor and senior writer at Bloomberg Businessweek, explained that he prefers to approach the topic from a commercial, rather than legal, perspective. Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun explores the nowstandard pistol and includes background on the Glock’s invention, its rise to prominence, and its place in American culture.

“I look at the gun issue through the prism of the companies and the people who manufacture firearms,” Barrett said. “I ask, ‘How does the

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Jory Vinikour’s Groton concert preceded his performance at Carnegie Hall.

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The Groton School concert debuted a new instrument, recently completed (for the author of this article) by renowned harpsichord builder Peter Fisk, who came from his workshop in Vermont to hear the concert. Based on the celebrated instruments of Pascal Taskin (1723 – 93), harpsichord builder to the court of Louis XVI, the instrument’s case is a dark blue lacquer with gold leaf bands and the soundboard is painted with fanciful pond life — koi, frogs, tadpoles, and lilypads.

— Charlotte Pontifell ‘19

operation of the business affect the larger debate?’”

Responding to students’ questions, Barrett provided facts, statistics, and insights intended to help listeners draw their own conclusions about gun control.

Luke Holey ’16 asked whether it makes sense to compare gun legislation of other countries to that of the United States, citing the example of Australia, where the government enacted a massive buyback of firearms. In his response, Barrett said that countries like Australia lack anything similar to the Second Amendment and that gun ownership is much lower than in the U.S. He suggested

that bold moves to take guns out of citizens’ hands in the U.S. would not be feasible. “Gun ownership has been symbolically more important in this country than it has been in other countries,” he said.

Other questions covered the effect of stricter gun control on hunters and whether new technology in guns, such as fingerprint scanners, might reduce misuse. Throughout his answers, Barrett frequently referred to the gun industry, the place of guns in American culture, and the symbolism of the gun in America.

— Jack McLaughlin ’17

New York Alumni Reflect on Diversity, Inclusion

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Photos by Gail Friedman

he Groton School Alumni Association (GSAA) hosted a February panel discussion in New York City about the latest efforts of the school’s diversity and inclusion initiative. In a questionand-answer period following the panel, alumni who graduated in years ranging from 1952 to 2015 shared their experiences.

The event was part of an effort to “show alumni what Groton is like today,” said Director of Recent Graduate Relations Allison MacBride, noting that alumni may not realize the important diversity and inclusion efforts occurring within the Groton community.

The panel included Director of Diversity Sravani Sen-Das, Classics teacher Kate Dennison, Senior Associate Director of Admission Cort Pomeroy, and one recent graduate, Hugh Cecil ’15; all have been involved in diversity or affinity groups on campus. Andrea Picott ’90, president of the Groton School Alumni Association and trustee, moderated.

Ms. Sen-Das began the discussion by sharing the Diversity and Inclusion Group’s history and its most recent community gatherings and speakers. She emphasized the importance of student involvement, from brainstorming ideas to leading small group discussions.

Next, Ms. Dennison, the faculty advisor to the Groton Girls’ Alliance, spoke about the girls in the Form of 2015 who created the GGA because they wanted a place to talk about sexism. Mr. Pomeroy then described the impact of affinity groups like the GGA and general diversity and inclusion efforts on Groton’s Admission Office.

Last to speak was Hugh Cecil ’15, who shared a student’s perspective of diversity and inclusion. He was in Ms. Sen-Das’ class at the committee’s inception and often discussed his desire to help build an inclusive school community. Hugh formally joined the initiative during his Sixth Form year, when student positions in the Diversity and Inclusion Group were created.

The highlight of the night was the Q&A session that followed the panel. Alumni from the early 1970s to the early 2000s, in particular women, stood up to share their frustrations as well as praise for the school’s efforts to improve.

According to Ms. Dennison, hearing past students of color talk about their experience at a time when Groton was first being integrated was “interesting and emotional.”

The GSAA hopes to share this important work with other groups of alumni, parents, and friends of Groton and involve more alumni.

—Hadley Callaway ’17

Getting their hands dirty: Third Formers Milita Rojas, Julien Alam, Montanna Riggs, Chip Pontifell, and Kochoe Nikoi

Artist-in-Residence Teaches by the Books

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uring the first two weeks of winter term, students created their own handmade books and learned about the book as both a work of art and an object that preserves ideas, all thanks to artist-in-residence Luke Ives Pontifell P’19, this year’s Mudge Fellow.

The Mudge Fellowship was established by the Mudge Foundation in 1992 to enhance Groton students’ exposure to the arts.

The founder of Thornwillow Press, Mr. Pontifell taught hands-on workshops in which students set type, sewed pages, and made paste-paper covers. He shared examples of the work of his press as well as books from his collection, ranging from the 15th century to the present day.

His unbounded enthusiasm for this art was obvious from the first bookmaking session— a Sunday afternoon when art prefects and members of school publications, such as the Grotonian and the Circle Voice, learned the basics of making paste-paper, the material that has decorated the covers and endpages of handmade books for centuries.

Slathering colorful paints and water onto paper, they listened to Mr. Pontifell explain the intricacies of the books of poetry that Virginia Woolf made in the basement of the Hogarth Press. Students also learned about the ideal thickness of the pigment they were applying, as well as the direction in which to fold a sheet of paper so as not to go against the grain. Conversation turned to the ideal technique for binding the delicate spines of the soon-to-be books, and the students returned the following Sunday to assemble

them. Throughout the week, Mr. Pontifell taught bookmaking workshops for Second and Third Form Visual Studies classes. An expert on all things book-related, he also spent considerable time with interested students studying the book collection of William Amory Gardner (see page 20).

In an age, as he put it, in which “we delete our correspondence and can turn books on and off with a switch,” Mr. Pontifell gave students insight into the idea that “a beautiful book is a personal object that will carry the ideas on its pages to readers yet unborn.”

— Suzy Kuczynski ’16

Hadley Callaway ‘17, Eleonor Wolf ’17, and Ella Anderson ’17 creating books with Luke Pontifell P’19

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Music Triggers Memories

in Local Nursing Home

Photos by Jonathan Freeman-Coppadge

Nico Davidoff ’17 was sitting with Mary at RiverCourt Residences, a senior living facility in West Groton.

They talked—not in English, but in French, a language Mary said she had not conversed in for decades before she met Nico. The Groton student then took out his phone. “I plowed through a list of songs I picked for Mary,” he says. One of those songs had prompted Mary to remember her French. that will both be enjoyable and help In another corner of the room, a trigger memories.

Groton student, trying to engage a Studies have shown that music different resident of the facil­ can tap memories in those with ity’s memory unit, asked, “What’s your Alzheimer’s and dementia, as the brain favorite song?” Hesitantly, the woman is programmed to connect past experi­ shared a song title, and the student ences with the music from that point plugged it into Spotify, which generated in time. Founder Dan Cohen “first had a playlist from that song’s era. Across the idea for Music & Memory when he the room, a resident who hardly speaks wondered how he could still enjoy his began singing along when a student favorite ’60s music if he ended up in a played a song from her past. nursing home,” according to the Music On Monday, Tuesday, and Thurs­ & Memory website. He then began to day afternoons during winter term, connect residents of nursing homes eleven Groton students traveled to with the music of their pasts.

RiverCourt to participate in a program In one striking exchange at River­ known as Music & Memory. Each Court, a Groton student asked a student worked with an individual resident, “Do you recognize this song?” resident, participating in activities and Her memory triggered, she replied, listening to music from his or her past, “This is the song I sang at my daughter’s with a goal to create a playlist of music wedding.”

Groton students may choose ser­ vice options, including the Music & Memory program, as their required afternoon activity. Yanni Cho ’16 was drawn to the program after previous exposure to musical therapy. “I have seen the wonders that music can do to those suffering brain injuries,” she says. “For example, while an aphasic patient may not be able to speak words

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as simple as ‘apple’ or ‘pear,’ he may be able to recite nursery rhymes when you play him music.”

Essential to the program is the bonding between student and resi­ dent. “Every day my resident and I exchange stories,” says Ibante Small­ wood ’16. “She tells me of her travels and her family, and through music I get to know more of her personality and tastes. I’ve found that we actually share many things in common, such as our sense of humor, our love for traveling, our need to have everything organized,

and sometimes our taste in music.”

The program is filled with joyful and powerful moments. Yanni says her favorite memory was “when, on the second day I worked with Ann, she hugged me as I left to head back to Groton. I couldn’t quite understand what she wanted to do at first, but when I realized she wanted to hug me, I thought it was really sweet.”

—George Klein ’16

Clockwise from bottom left: Ryan Carr ’18, Carly Bowman ’17, and Yanni Cho ’16 with members of the Music & Memory program

Sports Experts Warn of Specialization, Overuse

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hree sports medicine experts — Dr. Elizaas to degenerative conditions, beth Matzkin, Dr. Cheri Blauwet, and such as osteoarthritis, later in life.

Dr. Luke Oh—warned of overuse injuries, The topic turned to suppleDr. Elizabeth Dr. Cheri Dr. Luke dangerous supplements, and other risks ments when Dr. Blauwet, a Matzkin Blauwet Oh faced by young athletes who “overspecialize” rehabilitation and sports medicine during a January all-school lecture. expert, took the mic. She warned Dr. Matzkin, an orthopedic surgeon at that products labeled “all natural” someDr. Oh concluded the presentation.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, times have hidden stimulants or steroidAn orthopedic surgeon and physician for opened the lecture, questioning the popular based ingredients, and that because they are the New England Patriots and New England notion that 10,000 hours of practice are necunregulated, their labels can say anything.

Revolution, he drove home the risks of essary for proficiency in a field. She described “When you take that pill or use that powder,” overuse with tales of increasingly common overuse injuries in both professional athletes said Dr. Blauwet, herself a former paralympic “Tommy John” surgery in teenagers. The and children, warning that half of high athlete and decorated wheelchair racer, “you surgery reconstructs an elbow ligament school and middle school athletic injuries are really don’t know what you’re taking.” using a tendon from elsewhere in the body. due to overuse and, therefore, are largely She distinguished between energy drinks He explained that young pitchers are preventable. “Changing sports is good for and sports drinks; the former may contain experiencing injuries once limited to the body,” she told Groton students. untested ingredients and as much as six seasoned pros. Little League has limited the The physician for teams including the times the caffeine in a cup of coffee, while number of pitches a player can throw, he U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, Dr. sports drinks are made to stricter standards said, but softball has not yet imposed similar Matzkin noted that less than 1 percent of and help athletes stay hydrated. She rules. One of Dr. Oh’s impressive photos young athletes reach an elite status, and recommended chocolate milk, a “perfect showed twenty-five chunks of cartilage fewer still play professionally. Early injuries blend of carbohydrates, protein, and fat,” pulled from the elbow of a professional make athletes prone to more injuries as well for recovery after a tough workout. pitcher.

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ne of only twelve four-star generals in the U.S. Army visited Groton School in mid- February, sharing his inspirational life story as well as tips for success and insights into world affairs.

Groton’s headmaster met General Dennis L. Via last year and encouraged him to visit campus. The commander of the Army’s Materiel Command, which coordinates all types of military supplies, spent the morning with two Groton history classes — American History, taught by Tom Lamont, and The Cold War: The Soviet Union and the World, taught by Ryan Spring.

Stressing the power of education, the general told students about the unexpected twists and turns in his own life. A student at Virginia’s first integrated high school, he didn’t consider college until a teacher encouraged him; though he was a strong student, he nevertheless harbored doubts. “He had to convince me that I could make it through college,” General Via said of the teacher.

At the ceremony promoting Via to a four-star general in 2012, that teacher was an honored guest. “He saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. That’s what teachers do,” the general said, adding, “Don’t forget people who help you along the way.”

General Via joined the Army — partly lured by the chance to take his first plane ride — and soon found himself responsible for forty men and women from all over the U.S. “I had to learn about leadership at twenty-two years old,” he said. “That’s pretty daunting.” He now leads about 65,000 people, not including up to 80,000 contract personnel.

Success, he told students, is a combination of preparation and opportunity. He encouraged students to pursue something they feel

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Four-Star Army General Visits Groton Classes

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passionate about, and touched on a variety of other topics, including the perils of social media and the many job applicants who were denied security clearance (and jobs) because of something they posted online.

After his presentation, General Via answered questions from students that touched on cyberwarfare, how well branches of the military work together, the need to regain America’s technological advantage, and Russia aggression in Ukraine.

“General Via’s visit affirmed the importance of acquiring knowledge and mastering complexity,” said Headmaster Temba Maqubela, who attended the Cold War class. “He came to Groton and inspired all those with whom he interacted — adults and children alike.”

Ultimately, the overriding theme of the visit was about service.

The general concluded Mr. Spring’s class by telling students, “Put a lot of thought into what you are going to do to make a difference in the world. What are you going to do for others — not just for yourself, for others?” www.groton.org

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1 The Groton Women’s Network continues to draw alumni to a range of events. At the Groton Women’s Network “On the Rise” event in Boston: Jen Kelly, Susan Cheever P’18, Alexis Ladd P’11, ’15, Connie Yepez ’91, Kerri McKie ’09, Lisa Bruni P’15, ’19, Theo Higginson Hanna ’05, and Mary Murphy ’95

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2 GWN members and friends serving lunch at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco 3 At One Eight Distilling in Washington, DC: Benjamin Flatgard ’03, Alejandro Moreno ’97, Ben Powell ’88, Katherine Trainor ’99, Kathryn Burggaf ’07, Adrienne Boone ’01, Yvette Ross ’93 (and guest), Michael Matthews ’97, Stephen Corrigan ’00 (who led the tour), and Stephanie Midon ’03

“Do Something About It!”

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Wes Moore

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est-selling author Wes Moore gave an impassioned lecture at Groton on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, channeling Dr. King’s belief in the power of action, rather than just conviction.

“That thing that does make your heart beat a little bit faster — do something about it,” he urged students.

The author of The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates told audience members not to focus on the questions they will hear endlessly in years ahead — what’s your major, what are you studying? — but instead to ask themselves whom they are choosing to fight for, especially when it isn’t easy.

Moore stressed the importance of standing up for the

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“other,” those who may not have a voice — echoing a message also delivered by preacher Elizabeth Siwo-Okundi in that morning’s chapel talk.

The Other Wes Moore chronicles the similarities of Moore’s life with that of another man in his native Baltimore also named Wes Moore, who is now serving a life sentence for murder. The “other” Wes Moore could have taken a path valued by society, just as the speaker might have gone astray. The speaker indeed did lose his way for a time, but a difficult stint in military school and people who cared about him ultimately steered him away from trouble.

When the writer Wes Moore first reached out to the man who shared his name, he was

surprised to receive a well-written, articulate letter from prison, driving home the failed potential of the “other” Wes Moore and piquing curiosity about what had derailed his life.

The speaker took issue with the often cited dictum that people are a product of their environments, instead saying, as the “other” Wes Moore once told him, that they are the product of expectations. “I’m a firm believer that the potential in this country is universal,” the speaker said. “Opportunity is not.”

He remains in touch with the “other” Wes Moore; to those who criticize him for relating to a murderer, he says, “Even our worst decisions don’t separate us from the circle of humanity.”

Total Government Immersion at Harvard Model Congress

Ten Students Participate in Yale Model UN

I

I

n mid-February, eleven Groton students participated in the Harvard Model Congress, each assigned the role of a current U.S. Senator or House Representative. On every Sunday morning for a month prior to the conference, the Groton students extensively researched their roles as well as issues chosen by the conference organizers.

During the event, participants engaged in lively debate, and in the process learned how to craft legislation and negotiate the passage of bills. Saleh Hamdan ‘17 gave several spirited speeches as Frank Lucas, the Republican Congressman from Oklahoma, while Macy Lipkin ‘18 wrote the preamble to one successful bill while brilliantly portraying Texas Senator Ted Cruz (despite being personally at odds with most of Cruz’s beliefs).

Conference organizers awarded honorable mention certificates to Jarvis Bereday ‘17 and Sophie Park ‘19 for impressive work on their committees.

— Tom Lamont P’09, ‘12, ‘15, History teacher and Model Congress advisor

Tom Lamont P’09, ’12, ’15

The book, Moore said, is about people “straddling this line of greatness and they don’t even know it.”

Students, clearly moved, delivered a standing ovation after Moore’s speech and again after his question-and-answer session.

Moore frequently referred to Dr. King during his talk, and urged students to read the reverend’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” — and to read it often. He pushed students to find the issues they care about, and as Dr. King did, to stand up for them.

“A certain degree is not required to make an impact.

There is no age limit. There is no income level,” Moore said.

“It’s just a matter of you saying, ‘There’s work to be done.’”

Jack Wilmerding ’19 (back, in red tie) represented Sierra Leone at the Yale Model UN.

n late January, a ten-student delegation from Groton School’s Model United Nations Club journeyed to Yale University to participated in Yale’s Model United Nations conference, one of the nation’s largest and most highly regarded.

Led by Sixth Formers Albert Zhu, William Zhang, Nancy Xue, and Yanni Cho, the students prepared for the conference by spending two hours every Sunday after Thanksgiving researching their topics and writing position papers.

During four days in New Haven, including a blizzard that curtailed some of the program, the Groton students, along with roughly 1,500 other high school students from all over the world, perfected their skills at debating, negotiating, and delivering speeches, all as part of a complex simulation of the United Nations.

Most of the Groton students were new to Model UN and represented Lithuania on various committees that make up the UN’s General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Council (UNESCO). Albert Zhu was a judge on a special committee that investigated charges of war crimes against Muammar Gaddafi, the late dictator of Libya. At the conclusion of the conference, Third Former Jack Wilmerding was voted best delegate in his committee, for which he represented Sierra Leone at a meeting of the African Union.

In addition to bringing together students who share a passion for global issues, the conference afforded Groton students the opportunity to explore Yale’s campus and to meet with Yale faculty and students, including Katie Choi ’14, who was the Under-Secretary General for International Students at the conference.

— Tom Lamont P’09, ‘12, ‘15, Model UN advisor

www.groton.org

11

Mikel Durham ’81

personae

A Delicious Career IT WAS the middle of the night in London, and Mikel Durham ’81, jet­lagged from her latest leg of global travel,

Mikel in the test kitchen at CSM Bakery Solutions

was wide awake. Ruminating in her quiet townhouse in Holland Park, she decided—as an organized corporate executive might—to weigh her accomplishments against her goals and figure out what should come next.

“I think people see me as a successful business person,” Mikel says, understating a career in which she has turned around several faltering companies. “My story has a lot more to do with the fact that I was at the peak of my career and hit forty and said, ‘You know what? There’s something missing here.’ I realized I was developing only one muscle. I wanted a family and didn’t want to wait for it to happen in a traditional way.”

Mikel resigned from her position as president of the global supply chain for Cadbury Schweppes and moved from bustling London to rural Virginia, where her parents could help with the two infants she would adopt: Burkit, now 12, from Kazakhstan, and Arden, now 11, from China.

No longer would her career choices reflect only her needs. From then on, she would seek opportunities that satisfied her thirst for challenge and “a fast learning curve,” but that also allowed for precious family time.

Over the years, Mikel has developed a reputation as an executive to call when a company needs a shake­up, yet she says she landed in business by chance, when a professor at Smith recommended her to the consulting firm Bain & Company. Bain provided a crash course in business and ultimately paid her tuition at Harvard Business School.

Mikel worked in Bain’s London and Australia offices and co­managed the Moscow branch immediately after the Soviet Union collapsed. “Imagine a country the size of Russia bankrupt. Every hairdresser, every restaurant, every

in the world, and there were » “Women buy most of the food so few women leading in the food business.”

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her children usually include hikes in remote areas. “For me, it’s all about making sure we have enough trees, enough biodiversity, and that we leave the planet in better shape. Sometimes business is in conflict with that, which is something I look forward to grappling with.”

Mikel also has served on the board of Good360, which connects donated goods from corporations with charities who need them. Large amounts of donated goods end up in landfills, Mikel says, in many cases because of poor timing. Good360 streamlines the logistics to avoid this waste: if Procter & Gamble wants to donate toothbrushes for a disaster zone, for example, the goods aren’t sent immediately if storage space is critically needed for water and medical provisions. “P&G can announce the donation, but it can be held until it’s needed,” she explains.

For her many interests and talents, Mikel remains committed to balancing work and family. She continues to travel extensively, in one fifteen­month period logging more than a million air miles for CSM. It’s a pace she finds more energizing than exhausting.

It may be that traveling is simply second nature. An “Army brat,” Mikel

already had lived in Germany, Japan, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, and the Marshall Islands before settling at Groton in Third Form. While she was on the Circle, her father left the military and moved to Greece and then Iran, around the time of the Iran hostage crisis. Going home during a Groton vacation meant anti­American threats scrawled on walls, fear, and chaos—far from the “little, perfect world of Groton. Groton for me was a real point of stability,” Mikel says.

She hasn’t sought much stability since. Mikel tends to swoop into companies, leave a substantial imprint, and move on. She has averaged about two years in most of her positions (with the exception of seven years at Bain), which is how she likes it. “Early in my career,” she says, “if they were promoting me every two years, I was bored.”

Successful on her own terms, Mikel realizes her career trajectory is atypical for many business executives, who tend to stay at least five years in each job and opt to work at blue­chip companies. But an atypical life suits her just fine. “I’m a nonconformist,” she says. “It’s uncomfortable for me to look at something that’s comfortable with itself and not try to shake it up.”

Mikel with Arden and Burkit

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personae

gas station was owned by the state, and they couldn’t pay any salaries,” she says.

“Most of our work was privatization.”

After living through two coup attempts and occasional gunfire aimed at the Russian White House, not far from her home, Mikel accepted an offer from PepsiCo and moved, with her two Russian cats, to Purchase, New York. Pepsi introduced Mikel to the field of consumer products, where she would stay. Among her duties for Pepsi was turning around Pizza Hut and KFC in southern Spain, Portugal, and northern Africa. She did this by closing poorly located restaurants, retraining workers, hiring new leaders, and marketing the difference between Pizza Hut and its main competitor, a popular local take­out pizzeria. She also made the company “more Spanish,” in part by hiring actor Javier Bardem for an ad “before he was famous.”

Next Mikel moved to Diageo as president of Burger King North America and managing director of Guinness. Guinness didn’t need a savior—far from it. But even a hugely successful beer company wants continued growth. “My job was to create a crisis,” she says, meaning that she tightened strategic focus (in part by eliminating a superfluous lager product) and pushed a company that might have rested on its success.

Most recently, Mikel has been chief commercial officer at CSM Bakery Solutions, a $3.5 billion provider of baked goods, where she helped build a more efficient and profitable global model. In addition, about a year ago, she joined the board of Tyson Foods.

It’s no coincidence that most of Mikel’s jobs have revolved around food.

“It’s a real interest of mine,” she says.

“Women buy most of the food in the world, and there were so few women leading in the food business.”

Another theme throughout her career has been environmentalism.

At Pepsi’s Naked beverage company, she oversaw the move to 100 percent recycled bottles. At Cadbury, she was chief environmental officer. “I’m a tree hugger,” she admits. Travels with

Katherine Bradley, faculty

personae

Goodbye Katherine!

Assistant Head Katherine Bradley leaves the Circle on June 30 to become the head of Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

In fifteen years, she has left a deep imprint on the Groton community — as Latin teacher, caring dorm head and advisor, able administrator, and, to many, a friend and confidante. The following reflections and anecdotes explain why we will miss Katherine so much.

Looking back on a long career in schools, Katherine is on my short list of the colleagues I respect the most and regard most fondly. When I passed off the Classics Department leadership to her, I knew the department would be in the best possible hands, and when she went from there to become the assis­ tant head, with its wide range of duties, she surprised none of us by showing that much more range to her abilities.

It has been a while since she has emphasized the classroom in her work, so perhaps some people have forgotten this, but she was always the quintes­ sential teacher’s teacher. Her rapport with students was superb, but it was her ability to see down layers into the structuring of a day’s class, or a course, 14

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or a series of courses, and to articulate its goals in terms of the structures she created that especially won the respect of her colleagues. She was a stimulating academic leader, not for any rhetorical statements she made but for the clarity of her vision and the absolute integrity of the values underlying it. She never promoted herself in any conspicuous way, but every position she took was marked distinctively by her grasp of the larger issue at stake and her warm sensitivity to its impact on the students immediately involved.

She and I worked together on the Curriculum Committee for the last two years I was at Groton. In the broader issues of that work, I was not surprised but very gratified to see those same

perspectives at work together again: the striking clarity to her administrative grasp of an issue, along with an uncom­ promisingly loyal commitment to the students concerned. Though I was not at school while she was assistant head, I know that she carried out that multi­ faceted job with that same quality of insight and understanding.

There was never any flash or flour­ ish to the way Katharine carried out her leadership positions, but when I think back from a few years removed on the colleagues that stirred me with the most admiration, there she is.

—John Tulp, former Classics Department head >

Annie Card

“

When I think back from a few years removed on the colleagues that stirred me with the most admiration, there she is.

I hate to admit that I can’t really remember how I first got to know Ms. Bradley. I feel certain she was never my teacher; she may have been a field hockey coach, but I definitely remem­ ber her when I started writing for the Circle Voice in Fifth Form.

I know she was tough—tough in that no­nonsense, almost intimidatingly intelligent, and highly motivating way.

She never devalued our work as “just” a school paper, but instead expected professionalism and self­respect for our words and our efforts.

It probably wasn’t until Sixth Form, when I became editor of the Circle Voice and she was the advisor, that our rela­ tionship moved from supervisor­staff to a solid mentorship. She was the first

to teach me the true permanence of the written word—whatever went down in print, you’d better want to say it, and you’d better mean it. And while her editorial advice was invaluable, it was the way she coached me through typical times of indecision and discomfort, and continued to be a friend and mentor as I moved into college and beyond, that left a mark.

Ms. Bradley is an exceptional leader.

I always admired the way she tackled problems, made decisions, and offered advice that was concrete but caring. I’m thrilled that she will be moving to Dana Hall as head, where many students will benefit from her strength and kindness.

—Henna Garrison ’04

www.groton.org

15

> One Saturday morning in Fifth Form, I was awoken by the sound of furious knocking on my door at 7:15 in the morning. I jolted out of bed, nearly banging my head on the bedpost.

Opening the door, half­asleep, I saw Ms. Bradley standing there, patient yet mildly passive­aggressive as ever.

“Dr. Kelly told me you’ve slept through the past two Saturday classes.

I’m not going to let you miss the third.”

Although disoriented by her surprise appearance, I groggily thanked her and made it to Chemistry around 8:01. I can’t imagine any advisors going that distance just to get their students to go to class. Then again, I was notoriously absent­minded during my tenure at Groton.

Then again, Ms. Bradley wasn’t just an advisor to me; she had previously taught me Latin during my Fourth Form, and was my dorm head in Third Form. She’d come to understand me as a person—and although at first I’m sure she must have scratched her head at my improbable existence in such an insti­ tution as Groton, I think that by the time Ms. Bradley became my advisor in Fifth Form she saw me as more of a son to her than an advisee to worry about.

Is that too presumptuous to assume?

At least I saw her almost as a second

Former Headmaster Bill Polk with his new hire, Katherine Bradley, in 2003

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mother. I’m sure if you asked her how much she had to parent me during Fifth and Sixth Forms, she’d likely sigh in an exasperated manner, chuckle sardoni­ cally, and agree.

Ms. Bradley, I’m much more in control of things now at Bard, I prom­ ise, but saying thank you isn’t saying enough for dealing with my scatter­ brained antics throughout my time on the Circle. I’m so sad to see you leave Groton, but I wish you the best of luck at Dana Hall!

—Danny Castellanos ’13 > Katherine was one of the very first people I met at Groton School when I arrived here on the Circle over thirteen years ago, and ever since then I have had the greatest respect and apprecia­ tion for her as a colleague, mentor, and friend. I will remember Katherine first and foremost as an exemplary teacher.

Working closely with her through the years, it was always apparent to me how deeply she cares about her subject, her students, and her craft.

Indeed, Katherine’s extraordinary work in the classroom always served as a model and guide for me in my own pursuit of excellence as a teacher. As a colleague and mentor, Katherine was generous with her time, sensitive to the ideas and opinions of others and always sincere and compassionate in her handling of matters large and small.

From time to time through the years, Katherine wrote little notes of gratitude for whatever contributions I made in the classroom, on the fields, and in the dorm, but I was especially touched by her expressions of kindness and sup­ port for me and my family in difficult and trying times. Her sensitivity and warmth at these moments meant so much to me and revealed how much Katherine cared, not merely about my professional well­being but also about the overall health and happiness of my family and me.

Katherine possesses so many of the qualities which are desirable and admired in a place like Groton School, and I will miss her expertise, profes­ sionalism, honesty, good humor, and

kindness, just to name a few. Indeed, she has been an extraordinary colleague and good friend to me through the years. It will be a big adjustment for me not to have Katherine around to seek her advice, guidance, and feedback whenever I have questions, and I will certainly miss the great warmth and friendship she has offered me and my family through the years. I am glad that Katherine will not be moving too far away from Groton, and I hope to see her from time to time up in Maine over summer vacations.

—Scott Giampetruzzi, Classics Department head

> Ms. Bradley provided me a kind of guidance that I haven’t had again since I left Groton. I have been lucky enough, at Groton and since, to find a few teachers who pushed me to new levels of thinking. Ms. Bradley certainly did that. Whenever she asked me what I was working on, whether in school or for the Circle Voice, I always remem­ ber taking a second to get my mind in order: she was not a person with whom I thought I could get away with lazy thinking. I am sure that four years of these kinds of experiences aggregated positively for me.

But as I said, I’ve been lucky enough now to attend two great schools and find a handful of mentors who pushed me like this. What makes Ms. Bradley different in my mind is that over the course of four years, two of which I spent in her dormi­ tory, she helped me grow up. She did so not by always challenging me—this would have been a hard way to spend an entire high school career—but by being kind enough that I always knew she cared about me. This is the kind of relationship bred both in the dormito­ ries and classroom that Groton is sup­ posed to foster, but that doesn’t mean it happens automatically. Ms. Bradley made a real effort with me and so many other students, and I’ll always appreci­ ate that.

I remember when Ms. Bradley told me one day at lunch my Fifth Form year that she was planning on

taking her sabbatical the next year. I was devastated at the thought of losing her ahead of schedule. And then I, and the rest of Groton, got very lucky: she became assistant head, remained my advisor, and saw me graduate. Now, Groton is losing a standard bearer, and it’s Dana Hall’s turn to be lucky.

—Matt Clarida ’12

as assistant head have been positive, even when we didn’t agree on an issue.

She has always offered gratitude for any of the many thankless jobs we do around here without expecting the reciprocation of appreciation. I feel she has always been my advocate in any sit­ uation I have faced as a faculty member.

—Sandra Kelly, science teacher

>

>

One of Katherine’s very great strengths as a teacher, department head, and assistant head at Groton has been her unwavering commitment to the aca­ demic program. Individual department heads were loathe to chair the depart­ ment head committee until Katherine took it on a year or two before she became assistant head. She was orga­ nized, thorough, didn’t waste people’s time in meetings, and kept the group on track as they focused on common inter­ ests and concerns.

When she became the assistant head, letting go of that academic oversight and leaving it to others was difficult for her, since it is one of her first loves in teaching. Groton is very lucky to have had an assistant head who poured so much interest, effort, and attention into the academic side of what we do, whether in terms of hiring, visiting classes, thinking about curriculum, or teaching—whether the AP Latin syllabus or the entire Second Form.

—Kathy Leggat, academic dean > Katherine has been an invaluable friend and colleague since she arrived on campus. Our common Midwest upbringing and mutual friends among the faculty allowed for instant bonding.

I am amazed by how she shouldered so many of life’s challenges with a smile on her face and without burdening others with her problems. As I have faced the challenges of my life, she has always lis­ tened with compassion and been a true friend. I have loved raising our children together and will miss the impromptu play dates and social time that resulted.

All my interactions with Katherine

When our incoming Third Former was assigned to be Katherine Bradley’s advisee, it was an opportunity to get to know a faculty member with whom we had never had the opportunity to interact. How very grateful we are for all she has done for our son—and by extension, for our family.

These are a few of the things mem­ bers of the Groton community have said about “KBrad,” according to our son, Charlie: • She is always willing to talk.

• She brings ‘broad shoulders’ to any problem.

• She is thoughtful, competent, caring, open, and observant.

• She is always the most talkative member of our advisory group.

• She is the stabilizing influence we all count on to keep an even keel in an anxious sea.

High school is inevitably a series of ups and downs for all students—and they take their parents on that roller coaster with them. Katherine’s steadfast guid­ ance of our carnival ride has kept his twists and turns to a minimum.

One can never say thank you too often. Thank you, Katherine, from the bottom of our hearts.

—Betsy Wright Hawkings ’81 and David Hawkings P’17 > One thing Katherine brings to any school is her commitment to the kids. I know that at least one of her advisees has a standing lunch appointment with her every Tuesday, and she pretty much won’t let anything stand in the way of it, no matter what her assistant head responsibilities are. I know how close

“

Over the course of four years, two of which I spent in her dormitory, she helped me grow up. She did so not by always challenging me, but by being kind enough that I always knew she cared about me.

she is to that advisee, and how much he depends on her, respects her, and will miss her. The kids in her class love her, too. It is rare to have an administrator who hasn’t lost track of the trees for the forest­view of school management.

—Jennifer Wallace, history teacher > Katherine and I met long ago grading AP Latin exams. We bonded over ideas concerning pedagogy, grammar, and Vergil. I was so excited when I joined Groton’s Classics Department, where our conversations continued for six years. I will miss Katherine and our grammar talks, and I hope she comes back to the Circle often.

—Amy Martin-Nelson, Classics teacher > Katherine has always struck me as a smart, bold, and supportive colleague. I most admire Katherine’s courage and dedication. Prior to being appointed assistant head of school, she was often the first, and sometimes the only, faculty member who during faculty meetings openly challenged the school administration on policy. Her decision www.groton.org

17

Bob Krist

The consummate teacher: Ms. Bradley with Hannah Conner ’14

as assistant head to reside with her family in a dormitory reflects her strong dedication to boarding school life.

Always poised and discreet, Katherine has been a critical part of the Groton School community.

—Tom Lamont P’09, ’12, ’15, History Department head > Katherine is a first­rate academic who could certainly have chosen a bookish life as a professor at some prestigious university, but she loves the work of secondary schools—shaping curricu­ lum and culture, leading teachers and students, helping school communities to honor the grand promises we make.

As assistant head, Katherine was a tre­ mendous partner. Whenever I returned from being away, I did not find a pile of problems on my desk; instead I found 18

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things in better order than I could have managed myself.

As a leader, she is unafraid to do what is right, even if it won’t be popu­ lar. She is demanding of the faculty she leads, but they cannot miss how deeply she cares about them. She is a great writer of the unexpected thank you note, acknowledging the hard work of someone outside the limelight who thinks nobody noticed.

—Rick Commons, former headmaster > I would like to thank Katherine for the time she took to send Officer Greg Smith and me handwritten thank you letters for working hard during the ter­ rible snowy winter last year. It meant a lot to us to be personally acknowledged for our work. Best wishes at Dana Hall.

—Mitch Breen, Buildings & Grounds

> After my first year at Groton, I was still having a difficult time adjusting to life on the Groton campus. I struggled in my classes and felt truly out of place.

Ms. Bradley saw that I was struggling and went out of her way to tutor me in Latin, one of the areas I was strug­ gling in, offering her valuable summer time to do so. Throughout my time at Groton, she never stopped checking up to make sure that I was happy. I can’t thank her enough for making a young Latino boy from Lawrence feel at home on the Groton School campus and showing that she really cared about my well­being. Groton School is losing not just an amazing teacher but an amazing person!

—Peter Laboy ’12

>

assume administrative duties, for she is an able and inspiring teacher. I grew, however, profoundly grateful for the efficacy and humility with which she triaged the myriad issues, formidable and trivial, that flowed through or were dumped in her office. Katherine never ignores the small stuff, but she main­ tains a discerning perspective, weighing individual autonomy against institu­ tional goals and striking the proper bal­ ance with extraordinary frequency.

My family has enjoyed Katherine’s friendship since, well, before we were a family, and the notion of her head­ ing a school did not occur to me for decades, but it now feels both natural and obvious. I will miss Katherine both personally and professionally, and am heartened by Dana Hall’s proximity to Groton.

—Stephen Belsky P’12, ’12, ’15, Science Department head

Ever since I’ve known Katherine as a fellow student at Michigan and as a col­ league here, I’ve always been impressed with the care, time, seriousness, and energy which she puts into her work.

She’s always been one of those teachers who thinks long and hard about how best and how uniquely to present the material at hand. How can she make her charges understand the grammar of beginning Latin more clearly? How can she make it more fun and interesting?

How can she make her students under­ stand the writings of Cicero or Vergil with more depth, clarity, and joy?

Katherine has worked relentlessly to answer these questions. As a fellow teacher in the Classics Department and a former department head, Katherine has always been an inspiration. She’s shared many an idea from which we’ve all benefited. She pays very close atten­ > tion to the individual student and how best to reach each one. As an assistant At Groton, Katherine Bradley was a head, Katherine’s workaholic tenden­ cies have been extremely useful, consid­ kind, smart, and strong leader. As aMs. Bradley’s Latin III student, Third Form ering all that she has had to undertake.

She looks directly into a task at hand, listens carefully, learns fully, and reacts with care and compassion. We’re so pleased for Katherine, and for Dana Hall, as she takes this next step, this next challenge. We will miss her, Matt, Degefe, and Ajaje terribly, but we know that this will be an exciting move in their life together as a family.

—Kate Dennison P’12, ’12, ’15, Classics teacher

dorm member, and advisee during Fifth and Sixth Forms, I’ll always be grate­ ful for her dedication in the classroom, common room, and every week at the lunch table.

Even with the busiest job in the school, she still made time to sit down with each and every one of her advisees and talk to us as a friend, helping us to overcome our various woes. She showed genuine concern when I told her early in Fifth Form that I wanted to speak more in English class, but found it dif­ ficult to get a word in among my more eloquent counterparts. She continued to ask me about this difficulty through­ out the year, encouraging me not to give up. This was in her nature, as she believed in the importance of listening to even the quiet voices.

Another one of her valuable pieces of advice to me was that I could be a serious student and simultaneously maintain a love for my work. I will continue to keep that in mind as a student of the world. Katherine Bradley and her wonderful family will be missed dearly.

—Jared Belsky ’15

> While I have worked with any number of impressive colleagues, Katherine stands out as one who periodically makes me feel like a slob, although she would never intend to do so. Others are as sharp or empathetic or witty. Many are keenly focused on the intellectual and personal growth of young people.

Few, however, are as quietly indefati­ gable in their commitment to both the big­ticket items and the loose change of a high school community.

I was disappointed when Katherine reduced her time in the classroom to

A recent family vacation in Italy

www.groton.org

19

Christopher Temerson

INSIDE THE

GARDNER ROOM 20

The Quirks and Treasures of Mr. Gardner’s Collection 21

22

Christopher Temerson

Tiny and portable, this early Bible came from Elzevier, one of the world’s first major printers.

BY GAIL FRIEDMAN

W

HEN William Amory Gardner died in 1930, Groton School honored its founding master by acquiring his books and turning his classroom into a library.

The Gardner Room has long been one of the Schoolhouse’s stateliest spaces, a treasure in itself. Its dark wooden shelving envelops the room, and its high ceiling liberates it. A bay window, added in 1937, faces west and casts the room with moody rays of late­ afternoon sunlight.

The antique books inside provide perspective on both the man and the era. The Gardner Room is like the Schoolhouse’s own time capsule, buried in plain view.

What books reside in this weathered assortment?

Mr. Gardner collected books the way others collect coins or works of art. Some he bought at auctions and book shops; others have inscriptions indicating they were gifts.

The Groton master taught Classics, and, unsurpris­ ingly, many tomes in the collection reflect that. A 1596 edition of a work by Heliodorus, with side­by­side col­ umns of Greek and Latin text, sits remarkably intact in its original binding. A tiny, seventeenth­century New Testament, published in classic Greek, is notable in part because it was printed by Elzevier, one of the world’s first major publishers.

Mr. Gardner no doubt acquired many of the books because they were simply beautiful to behold. One case in point: a four­volume, leather­bound Don Quixote from 1738 with lavish ink drawings.

The room overflows with the great books. An entire shelf is dedicated to Dante. Female writers are represented in volumes by Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Edith Wharton, and Willa Cather. Then there are what seem to be whimsical oddities. A seventeenth­century book on how to identify witches. A detailed guide, with drawings, about taxidermy. Alice’s Adventures in Cambridge (Mr. Gardner worked on the Lampoon while at Harvard).

The collection might have collected dust indefinitely if not for the fortunate visit of Luke Pontifell P ’19 as Groton’s Mudge Fellow in the fall (see page 7). A pub­ lisher of custom books, he arrived on the Circle to teach students about bookmaking, but couldn’t ignore the plaintive call of the aging Gardner collection. A happen­ stance conversation with English teacher John Capen and faculty spouse Cola Parker revealed a common hope to clean and organize the books, and John enlisted several students to help. Carefully wiping down volumes one afternoon after school were Mr. Pontifell and Mr. Capen, along with Ella Capen ’17, Ella Anderson ’17, Hadley Callaway ’17, Julien Lee Heberling ’19, Char­ lotte Pontifell ’19, and Cal Wilson ’19. But it was Angus Warren ’16 who settled in for the long haul, embracing the library with bibliophilic fervor.

“We spend so much time thinking about traditions of the school, but so rarely do we interact with them,” Angus says, adding with enthusiasm, “I was firsthand touching Mr. Gardner’s stuff.”

What most awed him was the genealogy of the Greek gods (pictured on the cover and on page 29),

23

Christopher Temerson

presumably hand­drawn on the inside cover of an 1854 edition of Apollodorus by the Classics teacher himself.

Historical snapshots came from what Mr. Pontifell and Angus came to call “detritus”: a grocery list within the pages of one book, the Italian train ticket of longtime teacher Rogers Scudder in another.

Perusing the collection was thrilling for Mr. Pon­ tifell, who founded his company, Thornwillow Press, when he was not much older than Angus. “It’s about touching a special edition that’s beautifully printed and that touches a certain point in history,” he says, explain­ ing the library’s lure.

The thorough assessment, cleaning, and cataloguing of the Gardner Room began in the fall, but will continue. The books have been cleaned and reorganized, and the most fragile shuttered away for preservation. All the volumes seem to stand more proudly on the shelves now, as if they appreciate all the attention.

Julien Lee Heberling ‘19, helping bibliophile Luke Pontifell P’19 clean books in the Gardner Room

Ellen Harasimowicz

The subject of Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court appears to have given the book to Mr. Gardner, her nephew.

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Christopher Temerson

This 1596 edition of a work by Heliodorus is in its original limp vellum binding, a rare example of lighter weight bindings that eventually led to paperbacks.

Photos by Ellen Harasimowicz

A multi-volume tour of the world through costumes features lavish drawings by French engraver Bernard Picart.

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Ellen Harasimowicz

This “stereographic library” is an early viewfinder, displaying photographs of the world in 3D.

Christopher Temerson

Christopher Temerson

Mr. Gardner appears to have seen this Wagner opera in Munich in 1884 and noted its cast members, then noted the casts again when he saw it in Boston and New York.

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Ellen Harasimowicz

It’s easy to imagine that Mr. Gardner, a Classics teacher, was intrigued by the techniques promoted in this 1711 edition, edited by James Upton, of a Roger Ascham

Christopher Temerson

Franklin Roosevelt 1900 was known to be an avid taxidermist; we do not know if his teacher, Mr. Gardner, influenced him or shared this book.

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Photos by Christopher Temerson

Signs of the times, these books reflect the New England culture in the era of the Salem Witch Trials, 1692–93. The Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying, published in 1670, explains how one can die without bringing bad spirits to the afterlife. Evidence Concerning Witches and Apparitions, published in 1700, contained two sections: “The First Treating of their Possibility, The Second of their Real Existence.”

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Photos by Christopher Temerson

A sense of humor comes through in the very mathematical inscription in this trigonometry book, as well as the poem written to scare off book thieves.

Ellen Harasimowicz

Mr. Gardner appears to have detailed the genealogy of the Greek gods inside the cover of Apollodorus.

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Photos by Christopher Temerson

Ellen Harasimowicz

It’s clear that Mr. Gardner received this children’s book from Mrs. Roosevelt, but which Mrs. Roosevelt? Was it Edith, wife of President Theodore Roosevelt and mother of Archibald, who attended Groton? Or was it Eleanor Roosevelt, whose first name is Anna? The A. Roosevelt signature could be an early signature of either Anna’s or Archie’s.

Unfortunately, we do not know for sure.

This first edition, from 1919, is a sample of the works of female writers in the collection.

A publication of the Harvard Lampoon, of which Mr. Gardner was a member

Cleaning and organizing the collection unearthed various tidbits, such as Rogers Scudder’s Italian train ticket.

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The collection of caricaturish cartoons was a staple in the “gentleman’s library” of the Edwardian period.

Photos by Christopher Temerson

CRACKING THE CODE In addition to the treasured book collection housed within the Gardner Room, Groton holds within its archives one of William Amory Gardner’s diaries. Entries in the 1904 diary cover fairly mundane daily events, from visits with friends and books read to walks and squash games.

Less mundane are the puzzling compilations of numbers, symbols, and Greek letters scattered within the diary. At seemingly random intervals, Mr. Gardner cloaked his writing in this secret language. Groton’s founding master wrote in code.

School archivist and shop teacher Doug Brown ’57 had been curious about the code since he first noticed it in the early 1980s, but he didn’t know how to decipher it. After reading about a bookseller in Brookline, Massachusetts, who had cracked a code in the diary of Franklin D. Roosevelt 1900, Doug carried the Gardner diary into the Boston suburb, but the FDR codecracker was clueless. Doug took out library books on code-breaking and even reached out to the American Cryptogram Association.

Zero progress.

At the time, Doug had no idea that help would turn up right on Groton’s Circle. In 2014, at lunch in the Dining Hall, math teacher Nishad Das casually mentioned that he planned to teach encryption to his Advanced Math Topics class. Doug perked up.

Would Nishad take on the Gardner code? He didn’t hesitate, and he was determined. “Like any math problem, once you set your mind to it, it’s difficult to let go,” Nishad says.

Doug had analyzed the frequency of the letters used in the code, suspecting that Mr. Gardner had used “monoalphabetical substitution,” in which one letter or symbol is substituted for another. “This is impossible to crack by trial and error as there are 400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 possible substitution algorithms,” says Nishad, who wrote a computer

program to analyze the code. He took it one step further and analyzed the frequency of letters used in the normal text as well, then compared the two.

It helped that the word “river” appeared frequently in both.

“Since there weren’t that many five-letter words in both sets of writings, I was able to compare them, and ‘river’ was the word that allowed me to get a foot in the door,” Nishad says.

In just two or three hours of work over two days, the code gradually unraveled: a slash meant a double letter; a 6 was an R; a 3 was an E. Doug then took the deciphered code from Nishad and translated all the diary entries. (He also thanked Nishad in a letter written in the Gardner code.)

So what did Mr. Gardner say in code in his Groton diary?

Many sentences offer praise and prayer to God. Some announce mundane facts of the day or walks with “RR”— Rosalind Richards, the sister of teacher and 1894 alumnus Henry Richards. Some announce gifts to the school, and a few lament anxiety or discomfort from a minor medical condition. Several note his high regard and care for the Groton boys.

These are typical examples of sentences written in code in Mr. Gardner’s diary:

E.B. has something near pneumonia.

All unworthy we received Christ.

God be with my boys.

God bless my dear freshmen and keep them as today.

Gave $750 to Sailors Home, Charleston.

President R. arrived.

Bless my beloved school as its years increase.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y 8 ) Ʌ 9 3 \ Φ 4 - Ψ Δ 7 N ( 2 5 6 0 + 1 X n !

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A C H A P E L TA L K

by Luke Holey ’16 October 30, 2015

The Right Mistakes Tom Kates

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ne time, I punched a baby in the face.

Okay, the context for that is really, really important. Now, everybody has had their subpar moments, their iffy moments, and the occasional really, really iffy moments. I do. You do. Everybody does. But that was one of the events in my life that sounds really, really bad out of context. Like shockingly bad. But remember, context is everything.

I was four years old. I was walking casually around my old house on Riversville Road. I was pretty good as far as four­year­olds went. I knew what was up, I listened to my parents, ate my snack, was on track to graduate at the top of my pre­K class. I had it all figured out. Despite all I had going for me, I still had the patience of a four­ year­old. Anyway, I was walking around my house one morning, soaking in the sights and sounds of whatever my four­year­old self would have seen and heard. There I was, enjoying yet another beautiful day on earth, unperturbed by any possible distraction. And then the onslaught began.

My cocky nuisance of a brother, Will, a mere two­year­old, suddenly appeared. At that time I liked my two­month­ old sister, Blair, more anyway. Regardless, Will began to punch me repeatedly in the back.

I did not like this.

But I told myself, “Self, don’t worry about it; he has the emotional maturity of a two­year­old and the right hook of a nine­month­old.” So I dismissed this issue and allowed Will’s adorable attempt to injure me continue.

This carried on for what seemed like twenty minutes. Will continued to follow me around the house, never ceasing his barrage of unwarranted lightweight punches. Eventu­ ally this became tiresome, and I walked up to my dad and gestured to the Caucasian baby incarnation of Manny Pacquiao who was still standing behind me, firing punches

“

Right, Luke in the fall 2015 production of The Laramie Project Below, young scofflaws: Luke and his little brother, Will

Mike Sperling

have impaled my right eye, but I escaped with only a teta­ nus shot, a scratched cornea, and perhaps an irreparably crippled sense of self­worth. The eye­patch era lasted only a few days, the eye drops treatment a few months, and the mental scarring only about twenty years. The only upside to this ordeal is that it was the closest I would ever get to being Fetty Wap. I remember looking at the burn on my hand while I was in the ER. It hurt, but the fallout from the eye injury made it seem so insignificant. My parents, siblings, and several doctors were hovering overhead, inces­ santly checking on the state of my eye, so that they forgot the initial injury. I wanted nothing more than the imperfec­ tion on my hand to be my biggest concern, but it was far from it.

Hopefully, now that you have some context, you have learned that I am in fact not a baby­punching, eye­stabbing monster. As I said, context is everything. The stories of injuring myself and assaulting a toddler only ring true when you shade in the background with the necessary circumstance.

In each of these stories, somebody made two mistakes.

My brother made two poor choices. First, he picked on forty pounds of pure American muscle. The initial reper­ cussion for this was small. The second mistake is what cost him. Even after he had been told to stop, he resumed his assault. The historic, nay, infamous sacrificial pre­algebra bonfire incident of ’08 was identically highlighted by two mistakes. The first was my admittedly poor decision to stab a scalding steel spear through a trigonometry function worksheet. The second was just my impulse reaction to the first mistake. My initial screw­up may have set the ball roll­ ing, but my next move sealed the deal.

As it turns out, the bonfire is only my second most trau­ matic math­related experience.

My Fourth Form fall was an adventure. I was taking six classes, and on top of that, I was overwhelmed by a play that at times I felt I had no business being in. I had not just bitten off more than I could chew, I had bitten off too much, stuffed my mouth to the brim, and crammed in three www.groton.org

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as furiously as ever. My dad, ever the hero, told Will to stop and dragged him away.

Satisfied that the issue had been resolved, I went back to doing toddler stuff. This did not last. As soon as I was out of my dad’s sight, Will’s tireless attack resumed. But not thirty seconds later, my dad walked into the living room and saw mini Pacquiao going at it once more. This time, when I gave him a pleading shrug, my dad gestured a quick nod.

And without saying anything, he told me what I had to do.

Swing first.

I turned around and straight­punched that baby in the face. This became the first and last time I ever punched someone. I remember my brother looking up from the floor like he had just been triple KO’d. He mourned in his defeat to his older, stronger, and more attractive toddler counterpart.

Another time, I stabbed myself in the eye with a metal skewer. And again, remember, context is everything.

After my second week of middle school, my friend Chad invited me to a sleepover at his house. Chad and I spent the night reminiscing about our elementary school days. At one point that night we decided to roast Chad’s math home­ work like s’mores over an outdoor flame. I guess that was the form our tween angst had taken. I stood there around the fire pit, with my metal marshmallow stick toiling marshmallow­less in the flames, before Chad presented the sacrificial homework offering. I leaned in to put the home­ work on the rod and was somehow temporarily oblivious to the fact that I had just removed the stick from the fire. I proceeded to burn my hand on the hot metal skewer that I had just pulled out of a fire. This hurt, but it was actually not the killer blow. In a twisted and inexplicable gut reaction, I pulled my hand up to my head quickly. Ow my hand! In hindsight, this was among the poorer impulses I have ever had. Because as I did this, the metal stick remained very hot, very sharp, and still very much in my hand.

I spent four seemingly eternal hours waiting and then being treated in the ER that night. I am grateful that the injury was not as bad as it could have easily been. I could

I had bitten off too much, stuffed my mouth to the brim, and crammed in three spoonfuls after the fact.

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spoonfuls after the fact. I really pushed my limits for the first time. As the performance for the play inevitably drew closer, the time I usually dedicated to homework became time I spent learning lines. When exam week came, the late nights spent at dress rehearsals had destroyed my ability to focus in class. And in some of the classes, where I felt I could fake my way through, I had stopped working entirely.

This was my first mistake.

In math specifically, I struggled to learn any new mate­ rial, and I committed the fatal error of convincing myself that I could play catch­up later on. I paid for it. When I walked out of my math exam on a brisk November Tuesday, I had hope. I prayed that I had scraped out a 75; I thought I might have had a chance at it. A week later, having returned from Thanksgiving break, I walked into my advisor’s apart­ ment to review my grades with him.

I did not get a 75. I didn’t get an 80. I didn’t get an 85.

I didn’t get a 90. I didn’t get a 95. That’s right . . . I got a 43. (For those of you who were too nice to laugh at that, I appreciate it, but go ahead.) What killed me was not the 43; what killed me was my abysmal response, my second mis­ take. The first mistake barks, but the second mistake bites. I made the poor decision of electing to not drop down a math level. This was arrogance; I had convinced myself that the exam was a fluke, and I continued to go about my class and homework in the same nonchalant manner. This malignant attitude spread to some of my other subjects, and the year turned into an onslaught of lackadaisical effort and results in which I took no pride. The exam faded away, but my new mentality did not. At the end of the year I was left wishing that I was just worried about a burn on my hand. I could live with my first mistake, but not my second.

Pushing your limits is incredibly important. But the unfortunate reality of the process is that you can’t find your limit and stop just short of the unforeseen consequences. In order to really find the point where you can go no further, you need to take the fall. I can’t stop on a dime right as I’m about to step over the edge, tell myself I’ve pushed myself as much as I could, and walk back safely in some faux, newly discovered conscientious state. It’s as impractical as it is illogical.

Always, always, always make the first mistake. Life is what happens when we make the right first mistakes. Be too ambitious; try something new that you’re terrible at—God knows I’ve done both. The first mistake is where I found theater, possibly the greatest mistake of my life; the first mistake is where I’ve learned. Never make the second mis­ take. First mistakes are born of ignorance; second mistakes are born of arrogance. The impulse decisions, like lying, that we use to cover our initial mistakes always worsen the matter. To put it in simpler terms, just because you stabbed yourself in the hand doesn’t mean you need to stab yourself in the eye.

Hemingway once said, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior 34

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to your former self.” Success is not dependent on anyone else; success is success. What you have achieved is incompa­ rable to that of any of your peers. Whenever you feel that you are not enough, remind yourself that context is every­ thing. The person who is outrunning you, who is outscoring you, who is barely passing the tests you are acing, who is cut from the team that you just made. That person should not be a benchmark. You don’t know their context. You don’t know the coaching they have had or the parents that raised them. Defining yourself by someone else’s standards is the first step on the road to inevitable disappointment. Find your limits, because context is everything. The only person you can ever be better than is your former self. And whenever you feel inadequate, go make a mistake and know that you are none the less for it. Take pride in your journey and not in your destination because when you put it in perspective, we all start somewhere different. Don’t look at the imper­ fections on other people’s hands to motivate yourself. Look at your own hands. Look at where they’ve been and how they’ve been burned. Wear the burns like badges, and don’t burn your eyes, too.

I make no claim to the moral high ground. I am just someone who knows what it’s like to live in the first mistake.

Who knows what it’s like to stay up late watching baseball games you shouldn’t be, who knows what it’s like to get involved in theater productions that are way beyond your ability, who knows what it’s like to try out for the team you didn’t think you wanted to make, who knows what it’s like to make the right mistakes.

My sun is setting at Groton and, as it does, my time for involvement shifts ever so slowly into time for reflection. I don’t look at the ways I’ve been torn down. I’ve lost track of them. I think about how I have picked up and how I have been held in my time here. If I see further than others, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants. My family and my friends have caught me after every first mistake, after every second mistake, and after mistakes three through one ahundred. It took me years, but I realize that not everyone, even at Groton, has these same giants that I am blessed with—the giants who are sitting in my fan section and the giants who drove four hours to be here for me today. I head out into the scary real world knowing that I’m leaving my giants behind. As I do this, I take solace in my most extreme of comforts, The Office on NBC: “I wish there was a way to know you are in the good ’ol days before you’ve actually left them.” I know how blessed I am to be where I am, to have the friends I do and the family I do, to be able to make the harmless first mistake, and the dangerous second mistake, and to know that my giants will pick me up and put me on their shoulders so that I can see further once more. These are my good ’ol days. And to not appreciate them is one mis­ take that I refuse to make.

Thank you and remember, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man.” I am not trying to be holier than thou; I am just trying to be Holey.

A C H A P E L TA L K

by Diana Ferguson ’81, Trustee February 5, 2016

Action Words D

espite the valiant efforts of my Second Form English teacher, Mrs. Crow, I never quite grasped the parts of speech in English grammar. I was rock­solid on nouns and verbs. But as I stand here today, I confess: I still get confused over the whole concept of adverbs and adjectives. Despite this, I want to talk about action words—not in the grammatical sense, but about words that compel action.

It was an extraordinary thing when my chance to enroll at Groton surfaced. I didn’t come from a privileged background. My mother, who was born into poverty in the

Trustee Diana Ferguson ’81

Deep South and never attended college, was raising me as a young widow. While I was a student at the Lab School back in Chicago, I had shown some promise in math and other subjects. My sixth­grade teacher there, Ms. Williams, wanted my mother to know I could excel with the right opportunity, so they had a conversation and agreed boarding school could be good for me.

My mother went to the Chicago Public Library to research schools. It’s hard to imagine, but this was 1975—a world before the Internet. Lacking a Google search engine, she resorted to books. She pored over volumes, reading up on various prep­school options. When she discovered Groton, she admired what it stood for, and she entrusted me to the school.

I ponder what my mother must have thought, sending me half a country away at the age of thirteen, into an environment and set of experiences very foreign to her, and I marvel at her courage. It was an extraordinary act of love. In that decision, along with many others she made throughout my life, my mother taught me that love is more than something you merely say or write on a Valentine’s Day card.

Love is something you do. Love is an action word.

Other action words that come to mind are trust, justice, and inclusion. It’s not difficult to internalize the actions required to really “do” these words. It means far more than just tossing them around in casual conversation or a catchy slogan.

What does this look like in real life? Consider the following example: It’s December, and you’re with a group of friends on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, the city’s shopping mecca, lined with incredible stores in the heart of downtown. It’s cold. Christmas music and traffic sounds fill the air. The

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sidewalks bustle with shoppers. It’s a mix of festive and frantic.

Instead of dashing into the next store for another gift, though, you and your friends stop and simply lie down.

That’s right: each of you stretches out, fully prone, on the cold, hard concrete of the busy sidewalk. In Chicago. In the middle of December.

Sounds crazy? Maybe it is. People trying to get by ask, “What are you doing?”

Right. “What are you doing?”

And that’s the key, isn’t it? DO­ing?

This was a real encounter I had on Michigan Avenue.

It made national news, so you might’ve heard about it.

Young people, most of them black or brown, lay down in the streets of Chicago, in protest. Why? The facts are hard. In October 2014, Laquan McDonald, a young black man, was shot sixteen times and killed. Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, who happens to be white, shot him from ten feet away in what I can most charitably describe as questionable circumstances.

A dashboard camera on an officer’s vehicle captured the event, but the tape wasn’t publicly released for over a year. It was made available just before the holiday shopping season.

Tremendous fallout has followed the alleged video cover­up. The police chief lost his job, there are calls for the mayor and state attorney to step down, Van Dyke was eventually charged with first­degree murder, and protesters took to the streets.

The young people lying in the street forced the entire community to grapple with tough questions that bring to mind the action words I mentioned earlier: Whom can we trust to protect us?

What does justice look like in this situation?

The racial component also is hard to ignore, so we ask, “How do we include all people as equals?”

People still argue about the conditions that led to this— police culture, neighborhood dynamics, poverty, racism.

The list goes on and on. Laquan McDonald’s death has made people choose sides, passionately. His tragic death is no longer referred to as a legal matter, but as a political and social one.

My point here isn’t to argue a position about the issue.

It’s to react positively, and marvel at the young people doing something about the values they hold dear. This was free speech in action. They cared enough to be out in the cold, instead of doing something comfortable.

I wasn’t one of the people protesting. I was one of the Chicagoans dashing into and out of stores, trying to finish 36

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my shopping. I’m embarrassed to admit that, at first, I was irritated about my path being obstructed. I’m not proud of this. But here’s my second confession of the day: I was wrong.

What comes to mind is a quote from the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” He wrote, “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.”

I was one of the people of good will, but with shallow understanding. Being stopped in my tracks forced my attention on these young people acting on their beliefs about justice and inclusion. They couldn’t go back and fix what was broken to change the course of events that led to a man’s terrible death. But they could help change the future.

I’m hopeful that the actions of these young people have sparked a moral awakening. I’m encouraged by the speed with which individual action can ignite a collective change. The civil rights era involved marches borne out of door­to­door appeals and meetings in the night.

Coordinating the marches took weeks to months. Today, it takes one post on social media and you can spark a movement. Be aware of the power of your action.

Laquan McDonald, unfortunately, won’t be the only symbol of injustice as the years move forward. We don’t live in a perfect world. But here’s one of the great things about Groton: It helps educate students to think critically about challenging subjects and bring positive solutions to the world. That’s why great teachers here are presenting challenging subjects. The best a school can give, though, are the tools. The teachers, coaches, and staff model the behavior, but the decision rests with each student. Your character will determine what you do.

Think about the culture of inclusion here at Groton.

Now take a moment to think of just one thing you could do to better live out that value. By thinking of it as an action word we take responsibility, and we’re fully accountable for the outcomes. Like love, inclusion is not just something you say, but something you do.

It’s a great gift to have an opportunity to practice here in a small, supportive campus environment. Beyond the Circle, the challenges will continue and the stakes will get higher, as they did in Chicago recently. When I think about the young protesters, I’m enormously proud they took action. For that, they have my respect.

Love. Trust. Justice. Inclusion. These are action words for me. They might be for you, too. If you’re unsure what you’re that passionate about, keep asking yourself: what are my action words? They should include things you care about deeply enough to take action—even things for which you’d lie down in the street.

Will it be easy? Certainly not. But it’ll be worth it.

A C H A P E L TA L K

Yiyang “Echo” Zhuge ’16 February 23, 2016

Eye Spy I

’ve been spying on my own dreams for some years now. Do you ever do that? Because your brain takes so much control of you during the day: it monitors every thought, filters everything your gut has to say, and forces you to swallow down the honest opinion about the ugly shirt your roommate decided to wear to Chapel this morning. It’s a complete tyranny.

Only in my dreams am I able to reclaim part of myself that is not my brain, and there I observe, I listen, I try to understand what it has to say.

“What language do you speak when you’re thinking to yourself?” In real life, that’s the kind of question that people always ask when you’re not born speaking English. And I make up an answer every time depending on how fast I want to finish eating my lunch.

But in my sleep there is no one asking. Dreams are thought to be such a safe haven that nobody questions them.

As a result of my espionage, I’ve come to notice that I don’t speak Chinese in my sleep, nor do I speak English. It’s a language I never learned, with syllables I do not know how to pronounce, grammar I fail to grasp, word combinations that do not make logical sense, yet I understand the language perfectly well.

In these dreams, I am a complete foreigner, lurking somewhere, peeking at my own movements. Curiously, it brings a familiar feeling I thought I’d lost many years ago.

In the first ten years of my life, I lived right off the coast of the East China Sea. My grandfather—my mother’s father—had a middle­age revelation and quit his job as an aerospace engineer. He settled his family in Hangzhou, where my mother and I were born, and opened a seafood factory. After he passed away, my mother sold the factory but kept one part, a sea cucumber farm.

If you haven’t had the luck in your life to know what a

sea cucumber is (which probably means that you need to re­evaluate your life priorities), it’s an animal that looks like a soft, brown spiky cucumber. It’s edible, has the taste of rubber—that is, when it’s undercooked. If cooked well, sea cucumber can have a delicious taste of a leather shoe sole.

I have spent a considerate amount of my childhood vacations on a fishing boat with my parents, floating on the sea area outside our sea cucumber farm. The ocean there was not friendly. There was no balmy water, gentle waves, or glimmering gold­colored beaches. It’s always cloudy, shrouding the distant coast with a layer of ominous fog. The fog thickened as I grew older, as the pollution encroached on coastal cities.

To a kid, this was what represented the ultimate world of the unknown. I was terrified of the ocean and somehow at the time addicted to the same terror. I liked to stand on the bow and look down into the black water, as big, glassy waves broke in toward one direction and rocked against our boat. In that saltwater there is seaweed, giant kelp, electric eels, slime from fish skin, and a myriad of other creeping sea creatures. There is warm and cold earth, golden sea rocks touched by a light breeze, unlit underwater plains, quietly decomposing debris, and nurturing sea cucumbers. There are dead and undead lives coexisting in the same, enormous substance.

The enormity of the ocean mutes, fragments, and enfolds all emotions. In that seawater, I was nameless and I did not matter. I was a stranger. My body would become so insignificantly small that I did not exist.

I looked down into the deep, black water and I felt fear. As a ten­year­old, it was a profound feeling, not the kind of fear that made you scream and cry and get under a blanket into mommy’s arms, but a quiet thrill, a

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Beth van Gelder

Clockwise from below: Echo, bottom right, during a dorm competition; at the home of art teacher Beth van Gelder, who accompanied her on travels to Bali; in Bali

Alexandra Conner ’16

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“

Many years later, I would also realize that in that fear, there was calm and delight.

strangeness, the kind that scary movies like to exaggerate and advertise. Many years later, I would learn the word ecstasy, and how in Greek, ex means outside, στάση means stand. Thus it describes a feeling, often used in a religious context, of standing outside of yourself, a temporary detachment from your physical being. Many years later, I would also realize that in that fear, there was calm and delight. Those are the things they don’t teach a ten­year­old.

I kept this quiet, private feeling of ecstasy a secret and believed that perhaps it was a sensation unique to nature, where human power becomes futile and we become vulnerable—until I found it again in the summertime of the city.

Our brain is the most energy­consuming organ in our body, something we generally stop using as soon as vacations start. In the summer, I don’t know about you, but I try to perform the minimal amount of thinking that I possibly can. I think a little bit here and there when 38

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I am taking an online personality test, or trying to find out a cute guy’s number through stalking his neighbor’s Facebook, or letting my mind wander into a deep philosophy zone when I am churning butter.

As a result of my brain’s inactivity, I came to discover, a few summers ago, that I had too much leftover energy to sleep at the end of the day. I tried counting my breaths. I lay with my eyes closed, then open. I blinked once every five minutes. I watched the sky turn half­crystalline then into a misty gray­blue as I listened to the chirpings of my neighbor’s singing birds.

Then finally I came to accept that I did not need eight hours of sleep anymore. Since then, I’ve established a routine that every summer I don’t sleep every night. I go to bed once every two nights.

Have you ever enjoyed the luxury of not sleeping?

The beauty of wakefulness, of having all the sleep your body needs so that you can take a step back and begin to appreciate it.

On the nights that I did not sleep, I lavishly spent them doing nothing. I put number labels on all my clothes.

I tried to teach myself to cook a seven­hour French onion soup that turned into mush. I read through my grandfather’s fifty years’ of diary. Then as soon as the day broke, I would sneak out of my house.

The dewy four o’clock air draped on my shoulders like damp velvet. Daylight was dim and had not yet filled the city with the fat, greasy opulence of summer. Occasionally, one or two trucks would rush by. No one would be on the streets. I usually had been alone for way too long at that point of the day that my brain would become a little confused. But in the meantime everything was crystal clear.

I coursed through all the streets where I grew up. They looked unfamiliar: no lights were on, no neon signs were up, no one was in business. I had to reintroduce myself to them, to the streets. There was a veiled shyness of these commercial streets.

I felt like I was in a play. I imagined seeing myself from very high above, walking through streets I knew by heart but heading toward an unknown direction. I was walking and living in a private moment, away from the reality from which my summer insomnia had liberated me. I was in a big secret that only I had the keys to open. An ecstasy, in its most literal sense. It was a refreshing but calming thrill.

Last summer, when I was in Bali, I stayed in Ubud, a town filled with twenty­first­century hippies. Every Friday night, I went to the Ecstatic Dance. It took place in a giant barn, with a ship skeleton hanging overhead from the roof. The guideline for the Ecstatic Dance was to wear comfortable clothes and no shoes, and to be completely sober. Sobriety was the whole point, no drinking or drugs.

In that barn, lit dimly by candlelight and the moon, people raved for two hours, during which you were not supposed to talk or pay attention to others. You were immersed completely, most delightfully, in your own world, and soon everything else became irrelevant. You might see someone resting in a child pose on the ground, someone doing a headstand, someone jumping and twirling and shaking, someone sunk into a deep meditation zone, some old couple dancing a slow waltz, a pregnant woman moving and stretching her body—all happening under the same roof, with the same music.

But what the others were doing didn’t matter. Soon enough what you were doing didn’t matter either. Your ego ceased to exist. There was no I. But it’s not like you disappeared into the ocean like a drop of water. The boundaries between you and the rest of world simply

blurred a little. And it felt as though you could move in and out of your body.

I remember my first Ecstatic Dance. Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. The last song was the opening music from The Lion King with a didgeridoo blowing in the background; after the music stopped, everyone dropped dead on the ground. I was exhausted but not tired, out of breath but there was no buzzing; the world was peaceful around me.

It felt as if I were on the water, surrounded completely by the ocean; eels and barracudas were swimming right next to me in the deep, unknown black seawater. Or maybe I was on the streets; walking alone in my most comfortable place, I was breathing, I was living like a newborn child.

The world was a big secret. Everyday life was filled with excitement to be discovered.

It felt as if I were spying on my own dreams.

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new releases

1

2

4

3

5

► Please send information about your new releases to quarterly@groton.org.

1 Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice Curtis Sittenfeld ’93

Eligible both honors and updates Austen’s beloved tale. This version of the Bennet family—and Mr. Darcy— is one that you have and haven’t met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help—and discover that the sprawling 40

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Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray.

Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs.

Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master’s degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday night outings she won’t discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane’s fortieth birthday fast approaches.

Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new­in­town doctor who recently appeared on the juggernaut reality TV dating show, Eligible. At a Fourth

Spring 2016

of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip’s friend, neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy, reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming . . . and yet, first impressions can be deceiving.

2 Bodies of Work — Contemporary Figurative Painting Lauren Pheeney Della Monica ’91

Figurative artists use the human form as a tool to express varied messages, feelings, and sentiments.

The paintings in Bodies of Work convey our sense of belonging to a larger community in the contemporary world while capturing the impulses presented by today’s contemporary artists. Portraitist Marlene Dumas’ figures are gritty and unsentimental, while Kerry James Marshall’s employ recent historical reviews to document social challenges in the lives of African Americans in the twentieth century. British artist Jenny Saville paints the figure in massive scale, with never­ ending interest in the pure rendering of human flesh. Hope Gangloff ’s figures are characters, intimate friends and acquaintances narrating a drama from the canvas. The author, who specializes in helping private clients build collections of fine art, has created an important resource for those interested in contemporary figurative painting.

3 Conversations with a Masked Man John L. Hadden Jr. ’71

4 Younger Next Year, The Exercise Program: Use the Power of Exercise to Reverse Aging and Stay Strong, Fit, and Sexy Chris Crowley and Henry “Harry” Lodge ’76

Younger Next Year: The Exercise Program combines information from the New York Times bestselling Younger Next Year with cutting­edge knowledge and workouts from Thinner This Year. On the pages are a ten­minute warm­up (critical for maintaining ankle, shoulder, and hip mobility), the importance of whole­body strength training and “rebooting” the core, amazing things aerobic exercise will do for your body, and how to find the method that works for you.

This exercise volume of the Younger series also features twenty­five “sacred exercises” that can provide a foundation for a lifelong strength­ training routine.

meets a pack of wild dogs who visit her desert's­edge settlement and the feral boy who runs with them.

She loves him and, finding herself pregnant, must go to the nearest city and then to a mountain village to bear her child. There she meets another outsider, a man who never mastered human speech but can insert his singing into the songs of birds, a sort of interspecies antiphon.

Each of Yalayl's adventures moves her further and further away from traditional village life as she gropes forward through different social mazes and tries to figure out how she is maznoona (majnuna, enchanted by the spirits we call jinn), which ones have her in their power, and how she is to get free.

de libris

For forty years, John Hadden Jr. ’71 and his father, John Hadden ’41, fought at the dinner table over politics, art, and vari­ ous issues concerning America. One was haunted by what he had witnessed during his long CIA career, from Berlin to Tel Aviv; the other retreated to the Vermont woods and directed Shakespeare plays— and finally confronted his father at the table one last time with a tape recorder.

Conversations with a Masked Man is a series of conversations the younger Hadden had with his father about his thirty years in the CIA and how American policy affected their family and the world.

Father and son talk about John Sr.’s early life as a kid in Manhattan; his train­ ing at West Point; the stench of bodies in Dresden after the war; Berlin and Vienna in the late forties and fifties, at the height of the Cold War; the follies of the Cuban missile crisis; how he disobeyed orders to bomb Cairo while he was station chief in Israel during the Six Day War; the Israeli nuclear arsenal; and treacherous office politics in Washington. The story unfolds in dialogue, interspersing the writer’s own memories and reflections. What emerges is darkly hilarious, unexpectedly candid,

and deeply personal.

Combining insider accounts of the world of the CIA with intimate conversations between a father and son, Conversations with a Masked Man is written for the political junkie, the psychologist, the art lover, or any­ body who wonders who their father really is.

5 Maznoona Tom La Farge ’65

Maznoona, the second volume in the three­part The Enchantments, stays in the same world as The Broken House, but in a more remote part of it. It tells the story of Yalayl, a girl growing up in a traditional village, who reaches puberty and sees her fate as a woman spelled out in the lives of all the women she knows. Escape begins with a story, a version of the classic Bedouin tale of Layla and Majnun; shortly after hearing this story, Yalayl

Book summaries were provided by the authors and/or publishers.

Bach Suites Hopkinson Smith ’65 In two CDs, Hoppy Smith has recorded Bach’s Suites 1–6 on lute. An esteemed performer in the field of early music, the internationally recognized lutenist is the only musician who has recorded all of the Bach works that can be performed on lute.

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Photographs by Jon Chase

Winter SPORTS

Maddy Forbess ’16 Opposite page, Jay Montima ’18

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Boys Squash 8–5 This very solid Groton team did themselves proud, even in a year with an unprecedented number of strong opponents in the Independent School League and elsewhere in New England. Despite having four Sixth Formers in the heart of the line-up, the team was shaky in early matches and dropped a close one to Exeter and three other competitive matches to very strong teams on the way to an 0–4 start to the season.

With great determination and growing confidence, the Groton players continued to practice well and set out to prove that they were the best 0– 4 team in the country.

Their breakthrough came with a decisive 7–0 win over Andover, followed by an incredibly

close, hard-earned win at St. Paul’s, where all three of the first-round matches went five games and finished within ten minutes of each other, with Groton prevailing in all three: 11– 9 for Will Bienstock ’16, 13–11 for Simon Park ’17, and 12–10 for Zahin Das ’16. The players carried that momentum through the ensuing weeks, improving at a rapid rate and finally bringing the team record up to .500 in early February before spending Long Weekend in Philadelphia, where four close matches brought a fourthplace finish in Division 2 (of seven) at the High School Team Nationals.

When the dust finally settled at the end of the season, this Groton squad had pushed very strong teams from St. George’s

and Brooks, beaten very strong ones from St. Paul’s and Nobles, and earned an overall record of 8 –5, which was good enough for a fourth-place tie in the ISL. At the seasonending New England Championships, held at Deerfield, Groton ended up a respectable tenth in the A Division. This June’s Prize Day will take the heart from this team as we lose Will Bienstock, Zahin Das, Luke Holey, and Michael You, but with strong returners in All-League player Terrence Wang ’17, Jay Montima ’18, Roan Guinan ’17, and Charlie Vrattos ’18, and others ready to rise from this year’s undefeated JV team, the Groton squash program should still be well positioned for next year.

— Coach Dave Prockop P’15, ’17

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Girls Squash 9–6 Girls varsity squash had another successful season, despite a difficult start. After the first month, things looked bleak with a 0–5 record, but turned dramatically with a wonderful streak of seven wins, including a 5–2 win against St. Paul’s and a 6–1 win against Andover. With a 9–6 season record, we secured the third position in the Independent School League, losing only to Milton Academy and Nobles.

At the U.S. High School Team Championships during Winter Long Weekend in Philadephia, we participated in Girls Division 2, where we had a close 3–4 loss in our first round against Hopkins School. We won the rest of our matches to make it to the

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consolation finals, but lost there to finish tenth in the division.

The season ended at the New Englands, where our team won the Sportsmanship Award for the second year in a row. We finished thirteenth out of the sixteen Division A teams, one of our lowest finishes. While this does reflect a lean year for us, it also speaks to the relative strength of the league; close to 50 percent of this Division A group belonged to national Division 1 teams. This Groton team is one of the most athletic and hard-working that I have coached, and it was a testament to their hard work that during the New England tournament many of them beat opponents to whom they had previously lost during the regular season.

We say farewell to five Sixth Formers from the top nine of our ladder, but our program has much depth, and I am confident that our junior varsity team will provide players to ably fill these positions.

— Coach Nishad Das P’16, ’19

Girls Hockey 12–14 The girls hockey team had an unprecedented season driven by visceral energy, commitment, and a cohesive determination to achieve team goals. The Zebras ended the season 12–14, making a solid run for the small school (Division 2) play-offs in the final, two-week stretch of games, but narrowly missing an eighth-seed berth. This

Opposite page, Halle Livermore ’19 on the ice; Noah Aaron ’18 taking a shot This page, clockwise from below right: Mary Sabatelle ’18, Liza Greenhill ’17, and Mark Gallant ’19

record reinforces an upward trend since 2014, when the team went 1–17–3, followed by an 8–14–3 season in 2015.

Highlights of the season include, but are not limited to:

• A valiant effort against a talented Lawrence Academy squad, where two empty-net goals determined the threegoal deficit. We held them to 1–0 with less than a minute remaining in the game.

• Opening the season with an overtime win against Berwick Academy, who made it to the semifinals of the NEPSAC Division 2 tournament last year

• The Middlesex/Governor’s week, when the team netted nine goals in two ISL games. The Governor’s game was particularly memorable because it was a perfect storm of raw emotion, sheer work ethic, and group mentality, ultimately resulting in the most brilliant display of team cohesion that I have ever seen in my five years coaching at Groton. And they did this in what is arguably the hardest part of winter, just prior to Long Weekend.

• Going three for three in our Christmas tournament with wins over Kingswood Oxford, Kimball Union, and Middlesex • A mid-January, high-energy win over Milton with about 20 percent of our roster injured or sick. Milton ended up earning a playoff bid as the seventh seed in the division.

The Zebras had excellent leadership this year, not only from their three Sixth Form captains, but also from a broad spectrum of team members, new and returning. The team is poised for future success if they continue this trend of improvement next year, in the 2016–17 winter season.

— Coach Randi Dumont

Boys Hockey 10–14–3 The boys varsity hockey team finished the year 10–14–3 and competed in what would widely be considered the best high school hockey league in the country. Ten ISL schools made the playoffs this year, the most in New England prep hockey history. Nine of our

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fourteen losses were by one goal, not including the empty-net goals.

Needless to say, we were “in” fully at almost every game and competed with the best of players. In fact, many of the schools we faced this year were “TUC” or “Teams Under Consideration” for the play-offs, proving our schedule to be one of the toughest we’ve ever had.

While our effort and determination were not quite enough during some key games, the boys played notably well down the stretch by winning four of the last six contests. We finished the year with an overtime loss against the eventual New England champions, St. Mark’s. One of the highlights this season came in mid-December

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when tthe Zebras took on Phillips Andover and earned a 5–2 victory, the first in school history against the Big Blue.

Overall, we lacked consistency but improved as the season rolled along. We competed, and we learned a lot about each other, the game of hockey, and the game of life. To put others before yourself is the ultimate goal for our guys; our team philosophy: to support one another and look out for the guy sitting next to you.

We hope our players carry that message long after they leave the rink. With many key players returning next year, we are poised to make a much larger impact in a competitive league. See you at the rinks.

— Coach Bill Riley

Girls Basketball 8–14 Groton girls basketball took a huge step in the right direction this season, finishing strong with an 8–14 record, rebounding from a disappointing 1–18 season last year.

Even more impressive than the increase in wins was the competiveness of this team, which lost seven games by less than ten points.

Leading the team was point guard Alyna Baharozian ’18, who dominated in almost every offensive and defensive category, including a career-high twenty-seven points in a win over Dana Hall. The continued hard work and progress of returning varsity players Mary Sabatelle ’18, Nailah Pierce ’18, and Kai Volcy ’17 helped improve the overall

This page, clockwise from left: Tim Bukowski ‘17; Anwar Mapp ’16 and Patrick Ryan ’19; and Terrence Wang ’17 Opposite page: Basketball players Nailah Pierce ’18 and John Cecil ’17 (with Caleb Coleman ‘20, Johnny Stankard ‘19, Patrick Ryan ‘19, Matt O’Donnell ‘17, and Jack Fitzpatrick ‘16 looking on); Min Shin ’18 at the goal

talent, while the addition of newcomers Lyndsey Toce ’19 and Angelika Hillios ’19 contributed greatly to the team’s success as they quickly adapted to the much tougher high school level of play.

Team highlights included three-point losses to top NEPSAC teams Pomfret and Kimball Union: both games went down to the last second as three-point shots by Groton forced overtime. A thrilling 63–60 overtime win over a talented Holderness team was a complete team effort. The biggest highlight of the season was against archrival St. Mark’s, when a buzzer-beating shot by Alyna gave the Zebras a 47–46 win.

The shot generated great buzz around the Groton community and also made national

TV, appearing among the popular ESPN Top 10 Plays of the Week, coming in at Play #7 (see page 49)!

This year’s team was full of heart, pride, and determination, and the future looks bright as we welcome back all but one player next year.

— Coach Joe Crail

Boys Basketball 3–18 The 2015–16 basketball season was one of perseverance for the team. We began with high aspirations and an impressive win over the Dublin School. However, we soon realized that we were not quite ready to make the jump into the next level of competition

within the ISL. Though we had many close games, we could not get over the hump and close out games for the win.

The team did show tremendous growth throughout the year. Our practices were energetic, and we grew stronger as a team and a family. In the later part of the season, we began to play some of our best basketball, which culminated in an extremely exciting game against St. Mark’s.

Thanks go to our departing Sixth Formers, who set a great example for the entire team and who will be missed. I am excited to continue working with these young men next season; I believe we are on the verge of creating something special.

— Coach Harold Francis

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Clockwise from left: Matt Mullen ‘17, goalie Matt Efros ‘16, and Kei Nawa ‘17; Kate Belanger ‘17 and Kai Volcy ‘16; Will Robbins ‘16

BOYS VARSITY HOCKEY

GIRLS VARSITY HOCKEY

BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL

GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL

BOYS VARSITY SQUASH

GIRLS VARSITY SQUASH

Most Valuable Players Mike Brown ’16 Matt Efros ’16

Most Improved Player Min Shin ’18

Most Valuable Players Noah Aaron ’18 Joe Collins ’18

Most Valuable Player Alyna Baharozian ’18

All-ISL Terrence Wang ’17

All-ISL Anna Nicholson ’16

Defensive Player Award Lyndsey Toce ’19

Coaches’ Award Will Bienstock ’16 Zahin Das ’16 Luke Holey ’16 Michael You ’16

All-ISL Honorable Mention Maddy Forbess ’16

Most Improved Player Will Norton ’17 Coaches’ Award Matt Winter ’16

Coaches’ Award Sammy Johnson ’16 Anna Thorndike ’16 Sophie Wilder ’16

Coaches’ Award Jack Fitzpatrick ’16 All-ISL Joe Collins ’18

All-ISL Sammy Johnson ’16

All-ISL Mike Brown ’16 Matt Efros ’16

All-ISL Honorable Mention Angelina Joyce ’18

All-ISL Honorable Mention Santeri Hartikainen ’18 Will Norton ’17 Tristan Smith ’17 Matt Winter ’16

Captains-Elect Piper Higgins ’17 Cha Cha McLean ’17

All-ISL Honorable Mention Noah Aaron ’18 John Cecil ’17 ISL Sportsmanship Award Jack Fitzpatrick ’16 Captains-Elect Noah Aaron ’18 John Cecil ’17

Captains-Elect Matt Mullen ’17 Kei Nawa ’17 Tristan Smith ’17

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Coaches’ Award Mary Sabatelle ’18 All-ISL Alyna Baharozian ’18 All-ISL Honorable Mention Kai Volcy ’17 Captains-Elect Alyna Baharozian ’18 Kai Volcy ’17

Captain-Elect Terrence Wang ’17

Most Improved Player Caroline Johnston ’17 Coaches’ Award Maddy Forbess ’16 Anna Nicholson ’16 Captains-Elect Liza Greenhill ’17 Elle Santry ’17

GROTON

BUZZER-BEATER MAKES ESPN TOP 10

GROTON’S GIRLS varsity basketball team clinched a one­point victory over longtime rival St. Mark’s in late February with a floating long shot that entered the hoop just as the buzzer sounded. ESPN Sports Center named the play #7 of its Top Ten Plays of the Week.

The team was down by one point as Alyna Baharozian ’18 heard her teammates counting the final seconds: Seven, six, five, four, three . . .

Instinct and skill took over as Alyna launched the ball. “I knew that there was only one second left because my teammates on the bench were counting down, and I had to get the shot off, so I took a high floater from the baseline,” said the point guard. “I thought that it was going in as I ran past the base­ line, but it was still so shock­ ing and exciting when the ball went through the hoop.”

The crowd erupted as the girls varsity basketball team bested St. Mark’s, which had been leading by seven points

at the half and, with three minutes left, had maintained that lead. But Groton went on a rampage, landing the team within a single point with eighteen seconds left. When a St. Mark’s turnover gave Groton the ball, Alyna took the pass and sprinted toward the basket, two defenders at the chase.

“Her momentum took her past the backboard,” said Coach Joe Crail, “but she somehow twisted her body in midair and got a floater off at the buzzer.”

Exhilaration ripped through the team as the 47–46 win became real. “As soon as the buzzer sounded, I ran up to my teammates and we all just started jumping and screaming,” said Alyna.

“Beating St. Mark’s is always a main goal of the season and super exciting. The fact that we hadn’t beaten them in six years made the last­second win even more thrilling for our team.

“It was a great way to end the season!”

Interest continues to grow in Groton’s swimming program, a club sport that fulfills the winter after-school activity requirement.

This year, twenty students competed, including Sophie Conroy ’19 (left).

Follow Groton Athletics on Twitter:

@GrotonZebras www.groton.org

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Christopher Carey Brodigan Gallery SPRING EXHIBIT

“Under, Above, Everywhere: Celebrating Materiality”

The Brodigan Gallery, located on the Dining Hall’s ground level, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays (except school holidays). It is free and open to the public.

Paintings by Deborah Barlow Photography by Kay Canavino Ceramic sculpture by Ramah Commanday April 5 – May 22, 2016

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“Limantour”

T

he digital and the virtual have penetrated contemporary culture and consciousness, often resulting in a breezy disregard for the materiality that is so fundamental to life.

The primary elements — earth, fire, air, and water, so essential to our sense of ourselves and the reality we share — are easily overlooked in the rush toward what is new, cerebral, entertaining, and ephemeral. And yet an awareness and respect for materiality is the very counterpoint needed to bring a sense of balance to lives increasingly lived in artificial realities.

“Under, Above, Everywhere” explores the many ways anyone can experience, express, and respond to the natural world. Three artists — a painter, a photographer, and a ceramicist — have

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comingled their individual methods and media to create a multidimensional celebration of materiality. Deborah Barlow uses paint to explore astral landscapes and patterns. Kay Canavino submerges her camera into the murky underworld of ponds to uncover the phantasms below the surface. Ramah Commanday crafts three-dimensional forms that echo the geologic processes that carve into the topology of the earth.

Seen together, these works invite viewers to engage with what is part of our everyday world but can frequently be hidden from view. This unabashed embrace of materiality — of the physical world as well as of each work of art — offers a rich reminder of what is essential and meaningful.

de Menil Gallery SPRING EXHIBIT

“Every Border Can Be Crossed” Ellen LeBow March 30 – June 5, 2016

C

rowded with characters, Ellen LeBow’s works draw on influences that range from Asian images of the deities to Haitan Vodou symbols to the Irish Book of Kells. “My focus has been on the pure life and sensitivity of the drawn line unhindered by color, tonal changes, or surface texture,” she says.

Large­scale black­and­white compositions cover hard boards with smooth coatings of kaolin clay.

On the boards, LeBow paints broad areas of black ink, then with a small knife draws through the black to the white clay beneath. The artist finds the knife, like a brush or a pen, a responsive tool that enables spon­ taneous, expressive lines—crude or smooth, slashing or studied. With this technique, white lines become luminous and layered figures transparent.

LeBow has described her works as “spiritual diagrams, teeming with the almost uncontainable and infinite rhythms of things entwined, going at each other, all caught up in a greater, bolder design.”

“Ascension” detail; full work above

The de Menil Gallery, in the Dillon Art Center at Groton School, is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays (except Wednesdays) and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends (except school holidays).

The gallery is free and open to the public.

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Amanda Stevenson and Lee Duveneck, members of the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company, spent a week in late February at Groton, teaching participants in the afternoon dance program and members of the JV girls basketball team. The dancers also visited an AP Music Theory class, where they discussed phrasing in music and dance, Stravinsky’s rhythmic “The Rite of Spring,” and what life is like as an artist. Their positive energy was infectious.

In one workshop, the dancers led students through contractions, gestures, and leaps,

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challenging them to make bold and technical movements. In another, dancers began by rolling down to touch their toes, plié, and stand up again. Then, slowly but surely, the instructors added little complexities: a twist in the spine, a swing of the arm, a drop of the pelvis.

Next, they taught students original choreography from a Paul Taylor piece titled “Runes.“ The dance was counted in sevens, combining slow, creeping movements with sharp and sudden ones. The dancers-inresidence not only described the quality of

Spring 2016

the movement, but also asked the dancers to channel the emotion of the music.

Near the end of the lesson, Amanda and Lee taught an exercise called “birding.”

Small groups of students flocked in patterns, running across the floor while maintaining the same distance between all the dancers.

This was a practice in spatial awareness, they explained as they demonstrated with ease.

Dancers fumbled and laughed, but eventually found their rhythm together. That newfound harmony lasted throughout the workshop.

—Abby Kong ’17

Photos by Christopher Temerson

Paul Taylor Dancers-in-Residence Share Movement, Emotion

10TH ANNIVERSARY FOR GROTON AT RYLES The Groton School Jazz Ensemble and several small student jazz combos performed at Ryles, the oldest jazz club in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in late January. It was the tenth annual Ryles performance by Groton students.

Twenty-five students, representing every form, performed to a packed house that included alumni, locals, parents, faculty, and students, as well as Headmaster Temba Maqubela and former Headmaster Bill Polk ’58.

“Our yearly outing to Ryles gives students the opportunity to perform in an actual jazz club, inspiring them to give their best and beyond and to prepare with vigor and enthusiasm,” says Mary Ann Lanier, Arts Department head and director of instrumental music. “It’s a lot of fun, and the ensembles always improve tremendously through their careful preparation.”

The larger jazz ensemble, called Soul Sauce, includes Sixth Formers Zahin Das on piano, Steven Anton on drum set, and Drew Bassilakis on guitar, along with Fourth Former Jonathan Lamson on guitar and Third Former Andrew Lei on electric and upright bass. Christine Bernard ’17 leads the saxophones and also plays flute, while Michael You ’16 and Eddie Uong ’17 play tenor sax.

The lower school jazz combo, called Soy Sauce, features Second Former Joshua Guo on piano and Third Formers Gloria Hui on drum set, Brian Xiao on alto sax, and Andrew Lei on bass. In two numbers, “Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham and “I’ll Remember April” by Gene da Paul, Soy Sauce wowed the crowd with their energy and tight ensemble.

Other highlights of the evening included the Riverside Combo’s rendition of Erroll Garner’s ballad, “Misty,” sung exquisitely by Anson Jones ‘17, and the Blues Combo’s grooving with Grover Washington’s “Mister Magic,” featuring Angus Warren ‘16 on bass.

The evening concluded with the audience crowding the dance floor as Soul Sauce played their own version of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “September.”

Photos by Kenji Kikuchi

Top, a crowd for Groton jazz at Ryles; center, Anson Jones ’17 and Paul Malone ’18; bottom, Zahin Das ’16

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Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz

The Wiz, Broadway’s version of The Wizard of Oz, brought Dorothy (and even Toto) onto Groton’s main stage in February. The Wiz shakes up the beloved and familiar tale with a mix of rock, gospel, and soul music.

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THE

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WIZ

Clockwise from top left: Adia Fielder ’17; Julien Alam ’19; Langa Chinyoka ’17; Julien, Christian Carson ’18, and Malcolm Akinje ’16 ; Elyssa Wolf ‘17, Lily Cratsley ‘19, and Karla Sanford ‘19; Lily, Malcolm, and Julien. Opposite page: Charlie Hawkings ’17, Malik Gaye ’18, and the full cast and crew of The Wiz

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Roscoe C. Lewis III ’56 February 9, 1939 – December 12, 2015

by James Boyd White ’56

P F

ROM THE time he arrived at Groton, Roscoe

in memoriam

was surely one of the best­liked boys in our form, and for very good reasons: he was warm, cheer­ ful, mostly nonjudgmental, eager both in his sports—varsity teams in football and basketball—and in his studies. He was a thoughtful person, always ready with ideas—about the universe, about life, about the structure of our cities, about the best way to play defense in football, about mathematical puzzles. He was always kind. He was amusing. He seemed to have no natural limits—he was just one of the brightest and best­spirited people I knew.

At Groton, he was one of my closest friends. We were study mates in our Sixth Form year, and then at Amherst we roomed together. He was like a brother to me.

I like old things—old languages, old cities, old paintings. Roscoe paid attention to the now, to what is happening, what will happen. It is not surprising that he saw the importance of computing for the State Department before others did. He spent a year at MIT, brought what he learned there to the Foreign Service, and later won a major award for his contribution.

He had a rare intelligence, at once com­ prehensive—he thought about everything—and analytic.

In a full sense of the term, he was one of the most intelli­ gent people I knew. He also had heart, both in the sense of courage and in the sense of humanity. I never saw him say or do anything mean. He was simply present as the person he was, ready to respond with his goodwill and high intelli­ gence, subject as we all are to changes of mood and feeling, but never blaming others.

After college, he worked briefly as a reporter for the Washington Post, then went into the Foreign Service where he was posted, among other places, to Guyana and Thai­ land. Somehow, despite all this, he found the time and energy to serve on Groton’s Board of Trustees.

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Spring 2016

He married Anne Ekstrom shortly after leaving college.

They had a son, Daniel, but some years later they divorced.

After some time Roscoe—by then called by his preference “Turk”—married Virginia, who had two children whom Roscoe made his own by adoption. At an appropriate moment, he retired from the Foreign Service, first to New Mexico, then at the end of his life to Florida, where his brother Buzz, also a Grotonian, was living. Roscoe died of complications from diabetes.

I have not mentioned what for some people would be the first thing to say about Roscoe, which is that he was the first black student at Groton. The decision to admit him was disconcerting to some graduates of the school, one of whom wrote a disgraceful and hostile letter to all the Groton graduates, anonymously but on school stationery, pretending to inform the graduates that the school had made a deci­ sion to become 40 percent black. This was, of course, meant to produce a racist outrage, but it failed when Jack Crocker stood up firmly and without any doubt for what we had done.

What was it like to be the first black student at Groton? I, of course, do not know.

I never heard a formmate say a word against him on the grounds of his race (or anything else for that matter). So far as I could see, he was completely accepted, or, better, there was no question of his being accepted or not. But there may well have been things I missed, subtle or not so subtle. Close friends though we were, I have no real idea what it cost him to be at Groton, or what he left behind to come here.

Actually, I do know a little about the last point for I came to know his parents, whom I want to remember here.

Both were schoolteachers in Washington and remarkable people, warm­hearted, full of laughter, enormously appeal­ ing, and courageous, to say the least. Just like their son.

Form notes

R Form Notes are now password-protected.

Members of the Groton community may read them online by signing in at www.groton.org/myGroton.

THE GROTON FUND

A Family Tradition LIEUTENANT COLONEL Bartlett “Terry” Harwood ’81 and his wife Meredith have been generous and loyal donors to the Groton Fund, and their three sons—Gus ’07, Hugh ’09, and Bo ’12—have followed in their footsteps.

It’s no surprise: Terry’s mother explained to him the importance of giving back, and he and Meredith have passed on the lesson.

Terry began giving to Groton immediately after his graduation, through his years at the U.S. Naval Academy, the Marine Corps, and his current position at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Harwoods’ sons each began giving to Groton right after their graduations, too.

The Groton Fund is a family tradition.

Terry explains why he and Meredith have taught their sons the importance of giving back:

Why was Groton an important choice for your sons?

My teachers were often my dorm heads and coaches as well. After I left Groton, I realized the impact it had my education, and it was something I wanted my sons to experience.

Why do you and Meredith give back to Groton?

Given the close relationships with teachers and coaches, as well as the life-long friendships formed, we feel a responsibility to give back. When I was at Groton, my mother gave to the Annual Fund. She explained that I would be expected to contribute to it as well.

So I did.

I had the same talk with the boys. My wife, Meredith, was involved with the Parent Fund while they were at Groton. Our commitment was part of our life as a family.

It means a great deal to me that my sons share with me the unparalleled education and experience of spending five formative years at Groton. Groton instills the importance of service and giving back.

The Harwoods: Bo ‘12, Gus ‘07, Meredith, Terry ‘81, and Hugh ‘09 Above: Bo, Gus, and Terry on the ice

The Groton Fund contributes about 10 percent to Groton’s annual budget, supports virtually every part of the school, and allows Groton to continue to offer its students extraordinary opportunities.

Please make your Groton Fund gift by June 30 at www.groton.org/giving, by sending a check in the enclosed envelope, or by calling 800-396-6866. Thank you.

Groton School

P.O. Box 991 Groton, Massachusetts 01450-0991

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Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage

Within Groton’s archives is this important historic relic, which reads: This flag accompanied Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd, USN., on his flight to the North Pole, May 9th, 1926.

The first airplane flight to the pole.

Archivist Doug Brown ’57 says the archives hold no explanation about how this flag came to Groton School. Do you have a clue? Please let us know at quarterly@groton.org.

FOLLOW GROTON:

Christopher Temerson

It is signed by Rear Admiral Byrd as well as by pilot Floyd Bennett and mechanic T.H. Kinkade.