HAVERFORD SCHOOL
board of trustees, 2023–24
John A. Bartholdson ’88, P’24 ’25
Kenneth M. Bate ’69
Amy C. Briddell P’23 ’30 ’33
William T. Caddell Jr. ’91
Tyler Casertano P’34, Head of School
Hans R. Davies ’95
Caroline R. De Marco P’20 ’22, Secretary
Iris H. DiBernardo P’28
Randall T. Drain Jr. ’01
Thaddeus J. Fortin ’77, P’09
Maurice D. Glavin ’83, P’14 ’16 ’20, Chair
Samuel M.V. Hamilton III ’04, P’36
Peter W. Hennessey ’95, P’31 ’33
George B. Lemmon Jr. ’79, P’12 ’19, Vice Chair, Treasurer
Quincy B. McCoy P’24
Wade L. McDevitt P’28 ’30
Jonathan R. Morgan ’03, P’34 ’37
Alana M. Murphy P’31 ’33
Martha Ortiz P’21
Michael J. Purcell ’75, P’12
G. Bart Smith ’95, P’28 ’30
Nafis Smith ‘99
Fitz Daniel T. Tepper ’12
Edward M. Trusty Jr.
G. Nash Waterman ’98
McCartney K. Wilkins
Roland Yang ’10
corrections: Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. McIlwain ’65 were mistakenly left off from The Haverford Fund donor list for the Class of 1965.
head of school Tyler Casertano assistant head of school Mark Thorburn assistant head of school for advancement Bobby Cpin chief financial officer Peter Maas managing editor Sarah Garling editors Keith Czarny and Alexis Hope layout/design Emma E. Hitchcock printer Intellicor LLC., Lancaster, Pa. • photographers Active Image Media, Andrew Bailey ’02, Keith Czarny, Brendan Dawson, Mary-Kate Doherty, Antonio Fink, Sarah Garling, Jenn Hallman, Alexis Hope, Leave it to Me Photography, James McCloskey, Dr. Mike Nance, Wide Eyed Studios, George C. Wood ’75, and Julia Tkac
contact Sarah Garling, Director of Marketing and Communications; 484-4172764; sgarling@haverford.org
address changes Please send address changes to Palmer House at palmerhouse@haverford.org
about Haverford School Today magazine is published for alumni, families, grandparents, and friends of The Haverford School. Nonprofit postage paid at Southeastern, Pa., and additional mailing offices.
Copyright © 2024 The Haverford School (all rights reserved).
special thanks Thank you to all who contributed to this publication, especially Sam Shaw ’16, Jeremy Branch, Jeff Swarr ’73, John Middleton ’73, Jim Nesbitt ’73, Jenn Hallman, Render Ford, and George Wood ’75.
front cover: Upper School boys walk through campus this fall. back cover: With the help of librarian Marla Wilson, third graders donned white gloves to explore Haverford School artifacts in Severinghaus Library.
HAVERFORD SCHOOL
Upper School students in science teacher Alexandra Surdel’s class measure the caloric density of various foods this fall.
Letter from the Head of School
by Tyler Casertano
Dear Fords,
The days leading up to EA Day are some of my favorites of the year. This is not so much because of the competition against our rival. Yes, those games, races, and matches are electric, but what makes that stretch so memorable and meaningful is the way it unites us. For a week, alumni, families, faculty, and students come together to celebrate Haverford. We have concerts, pancake breakfasts, door decorating contests, Form competitions, evening gatherings, and pep rallies. We sing, dance, eat, cheer, and compete, and most importantly, we do those things together.
That togetherness allows our athletes to compete harder, to dig deeper, and to believe in themselves. As I told the Upper School before we boarded the buses to cheer on the golf team, during my first two years, the competition against EA has come down to inches. A clutch putt that fell. A goal-line stand that held. The difference between those inches, between victory and defeat, is not simply the talent and ability of our student-athletes, but the belief, courage, energy, and support they receive from the community. This is why that togetherness matters most, and why each and every member of the community has a role to play in helping us keep the Sweater.
This was certainly the case this year. Despite cold rain and wind, hundreds of Haverford students, faculty, families, and alumni came out to the golf course to support the team, providing them with the energy and encouragement they needed to fight for those inches and grind out a 1-stroke victory.
Our community's ability to inspire and empower us to become our best selves is what I love most about Haverford. While it might be most evident in the run up to EA Day, it is the work that our dedicated faculty and staff do each and every moment of every day; building the relationships that allow our boys to go beyond their limits and in doing so, to become a version of themselves that they didn’t know they could be.
We see it on the stage, where boys who previously didn’t know they could act, sing, and dance perform brilliantly to the roar of those in the audience. We see it at the podium, where students and faculty deliver powerful, authentic, vulnerable Reflections filled with wisdom and character, and in turn receive standing
ovations. We see it in the classrooms, where boys feel comfortable extending themselves, taking risks, exploring unfamiliar and uncomfortable topics, always pushing themselves and their classmates to grow.
Relationships, community, transformation. That is the fundamental recipe at Haverford, and we are constantly working to strengthen those ingredients to create a more transformative experience for our students. This has been our principal effort in executing our current Strategic Plan Lifelong Learning and Leading, which ends in 2025. That recipe also underpins the philosophy that the Board of Trustees and the School’s Leadership Team are taking as we begin our next strategic planning process.
We have recently begun looking ahead to the process that will create the vision for the next stage of Haverford’s long and storied life. We will have much more to say in the coming months about that process, but we enter it with an awareness that it will only be a transformational effort if we ground it on the relationships and sense of community that define Haverford.
Which is all to say, we need you. We need your voice. We need your engagement. We need your support. Community powers our boys to become their best selves. And so too will it power our institution to become its best self. Just as on EA Day, every person from the four-year-old pre-kindergarten student to the 84-year-old alumnus, to the faculty and staff to the parents in every division, has a role to play in driving us to new heights.
We look forward to sharing more about the ways in which you can join that effort, and to partnering together to help our students and our community transform themselves and reach their full potential.
Go Fords, Tyler Casertano
Teacher support for student benefit
Stepping into the role of instructional specialist this year, Meghan Lenahan—alongside her colleagues in the Enrichment & Learning Center (ELC)—is expanding Haverford’s teacher coaching options.
Largely inspired by consultant and author Diane Sweeney’s “student-centered coaching,” the framework prioritizes student needs and teacher buy-in.
“That approach felt like the most appropriate for the School, aligning with our mission to prepare boys for life with coaching that is driven by the students' needs,” Lenahan explains. “We focus on what the students need to know, understand, and do, and what practices our teachers can use to get them there.”
Extensive experience informs Lenahan’s approach. She earned her master’s degree from Saint Joseph's University’s Teacher Scholar Program, in a working learners program inspired by medical residency. While in graduate school, Lenahan taught at the Academy in Manayunk (AIM), a school for children with learning differences. In the summers, she worked at Haverford’s reading and writing camp, where she fell in love with the community.
A few years later, she joined The Haverford School faculty as a fourth grade teacher, finding joy working with the curriculum. She created continuity in the social studies and English language arts courses, bringing the two together using Haverford’s “Circles of Responsibility,” which reminds the boys to consider themselves, their relationships, their community, their country, and their world.
Within the ELC, Lenahan spends much of her time working with students who benefit from curriculum-aligned support and enrichment. Students who receive support work on skills that allow them to more fully access the grade level curriculum. Meanwhile, students receiving enrichment test their understanding of course concepts with “low floor, high ceiling” projects. Accessible tasks allow students to explore as far as they want to go.
Lenahan provides instruction in small group settings—an environment she admits missing in her years teaching fourth grade—and in the classroom, supporting students through co-teaching, group work, and observational data tracking.
Meanwhile, she provides voluntary teacher coaching that centers on student needs. She collaborates with grade-level teams, addressing concerns and trends in student learning. “We track baseline data, set goals, and work collaboratively to achieve them,” she explains. The student-centered coaching model requires teacher buy-in, unlike teacher-centered approaches that can be more evaluative than supportive. Encouraged by a positive response from the faculty, Lenahan looks forward to her first year of offering this type of support at Haverford.
Fourth graders explore the
Franklin Institute
Fourth grade boys had an exciting visit to the Franklin Institute, where they explored science and technology exhibits. From aeronautical activities to the laws of motion, the boys built, discovered, and investigated scientific topics related to those they learn about in the classroom.
At the different exhibits, boys worked together to consider elements of the brain and heart, how machines work, energy topics, the body’s athletic ability, and more. Their visit included two presentations given by Franklin Institute employees, including Live Science: Combustion, and Planetarium: Worlds Beyond Earth.
Middle School boys learn from singer/
songwriter Chuck Brodsky ’78
The Middle School students got a treat when Chuck Brodsky ’78 performed for them during their Community Time in late November.
Brodsky’s performance mixed singing and storytelling, often sharing the life experience that inspires his music, and answered questions from the boys about his songwriting process. He also shared that he started writing songs for his senior project at Haverford, and made it into a career after he left the School.
During the session in Ball Auditorium, Brodsky spoke about the importance and prevalence of empathy in his artwork. Middle School boys learn to write their own songs and learn guitar with Middle School music teacher John Stroud, who organized Brodsky’s visit with Middle School Spanish teacher Kerry Kettering-Goens.
Prior to the assembly, boys in Stroud’s class had a special session with Brodsky. He also shared his talents with the Upper School during a performance in Severinghaus Library and visited with an Upper School music class in Centennial Hall.
Brodsky is a renowned singer/songwriter who sings about the world around him, often focusing on social justice issues. He is also noted for his music related to baseball.
In 2017, he was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and he’s performed at the National Baseball Hall of Fame several times and had many of his songs included in the Hall of Fame’s recording library.
While he was raised in Philadelphia, he now lives in North Carolina. He has performed for audiences around the world during his almost three-decade career.
Five Haverford School seniors named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
Sixteen Haverford School seniors were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program, including five who were named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists.
The five semifinalists include Justin Fan, Render Ford, Nolan McCloskey, Adiyan Nayak, and Reilly Pryma. The annual National Merit Scholarships—7,140 awards totaling nearly $28 million—will be awarded in the spring.
The Haverford School students are among 16,000 candidates to be placed on the semifinalist list, whittled down from more than 1.3 million nationwide applicants. The boys represent some of the highest Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) Selection Index scores in Pennsylvania.
Eleven Haverford School boys were recognized as Commended Students which, according to the program, is for "exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test." These students are Arsh Aggarwal, Dawson Baker, Andrew Bradley, Luke Fesnak, Andrew Glaser, Ethan Lee, Sean Ngo, Christopher Schwarting, David Stewart, Casey Williams, and Max Zhang.
“We are so pleased to celebrate this tremendous accomplishment by so many of our Upper School students,” said Head of Upper School Mark Fifer. “The boys recognized have contributed greatly to our School, so it is fitting that their intellectual agility and vibrancy is acknowledged by the National Merit Scholarship Program.”
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join nearly 375,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
SPARKING A CAREER AT THE CAMPFIRE
A sleepaway camp in New Hampshire seems like an odd place for a child of Connecticut to develop the dream of working in education at The Haverford School, but that’s just what happened to Jonathan Price.
“It was a literal campfire conversation,” laughs Price, Lower School Dean of Students. Sitting across the campfire that night was Haverford science faculty member Rob Waters, asking Price about his plans for the future. In that conversation, Waters recognized Price’s passion for coaching. He suggested that education might be a fit, and Price soon realized he was right.
Price found in Waters a lifelong mentor. “He was my first counselor at camp,” remembers Price. “He taught me to play lacrosse. I worked with him as part of the Blue-Gray Fund for campers, where he instilled in me so many of the values I still hold.”
Working with Waters at Haverford is—as Price describes with a smile—“a little surreal.” “It’s fun to see him in a professional light,” Price says. “He’s been a dean of students before, so it’s nice to have that wisdom down the hall.”
Beyond Waters, other connections at Camp Tecumseh kept drawing Price to The Haverford School. Second grade teacher Hunter Gillin and learning specialist Stephen Cloran both met Price at Camp Tecumseh. Price’s best friend, Kharon Randolph ’18, was yet another Camp Tecumseh connection.
When he moved to Philadelphia, he remembers telling his wife, “I want to work at one of the best boys schools in the country.” The tradition, history, consistency, and vision were all features of the School that he admired from his first impression.
He joins the Haverford community this year, ready to contribute his knowledge and experience to furthering our mission. Price holds two master’s degrees: one in education from Drexel University and another in administration from Wilmington University. He has been a dean of students, academic dean, and assistant principal in previous roles, while, of course, treasuring his ten years coaching basketball at Camp Tecumseh.
At Haverford, his goal is to build relationships with students and their families, much like the formative relationships that brought him here.
“It’s hard being a little kid,” he recognizes, “facing social pressure and balancing academic pressure. I’m here to support our students and families through their challenging times.”
Middle School boys work through global issues on STEPs Day
In Middle School, boys are given the tools to consider their place in their communities, their country, and their world. Those considerations include ways their communities help solve problems big and small.
Each year the boys take part in STEPs Day, or a day devoted to “Solving the Earth’s Problems.” The day is staged using the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Every boy considers ways a given problem impacts him, his community, and the broader world. A part of the Middle School’s signature Fords Focus Days program, the day is meant to foster creative thinking about solutions with hands-on activities, research, and thought.
Boys spent time considering problems through the lens of their various courses. Plastic pollution, for example, was discussed during drama as they created theater props from trash and recyclables. Other boys discussed sustainable living, and confronted elements like fast fashion, lifestyle changes that impact the earth, and societies that are creating the biggest and smallest ecological footprint.
Identifying credible sources using lateral reading
In this modern era of information overload, it is critical to teach students effective ways to identify facts versus disinformation. Upper School librarian Lisa Snyder, Middle School librarian Josh Newman, and Library Resources Coordinator Marla Wilson have spent this school year introducing the strategy of lateral reading to the Third Form. Lateral reading is a skill used to efficiently evaluate the credibility of a source. Rather than confining an assessment to the current webpage, lateral reading prompts individuals to exit the site and consult other online sources in order to establish the credibility of the original source.
“If you don’t have all the information to buy a car and you buy it because it looks nice, there’s a chance you could purchase a broken-down vehicle,” explained Snyder to a Form III class. “You should have multiple tabs open on your web browser in an effort to verify the information you find.”
Snyder, Newman, and Wilson gave the students three questions that all lateral readers should consider when researching information:
Who’s behind the information?
What’s the evidence?
What do other sources say?
Lateral readers improve the quality of the information they are consuming, which helps them improve the quality of their decisions, a core skill as the boys move through their Upper School years and beyond.
Associate Director of College Counseling Jeremy Branch addresses colleagues at the 2023 NACAC Conference in Baltimore, Md.
COLLEGE COUNSELING: BOLSTERING RELATIONSHIPS FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
The College Counseling Department, located on the second floor of Wilson Hall, welcomed some new faces this past fall. Damian Long was named Director of College Counseling this summer, following Neal Cousins’ retirement in the spring of 2023. Long, a graduate of Villanova University, where he was an Admissions Assistant and a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Counseling and Education, joined Haverford after working as the Director of College Counseling at Moorestown Friends School.
Long was joined this fall by Jeremy Branch, who was named Associate Director of College Counseling. The two join Karen Ley and Jarrett Tate to round out the College Counseling Department.
The team of four allows the department to operate on a 30 to 1 senior to college counselor ratio, allowing them to build strong relationships with their students. The national average for student to college counselor is 350 to 1. These relationships are invaluable as the counselors have time to understand their students’ passions and help place them in an educational institution that best fits their wants and needs.
Another perk of the four-team department is that it allows each counselor more time to engage in professional development. In this post-pandemic era, high school college counselors are finally reconnecting with college admission officers and forging those relationships that help place high school seniors in the best spot for them.
Recently, Branch and Ley attended the NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) Conference in Baltimore, Md. They were two of 7,200 people to attend the conference. Branch, as part of his responsibility on the NACAC Board of Directors, had the privilege of spending time with United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and even had the opportunity to deliver a speech before introducing special guest Jay Shetty, an awardwinning storyteller and podcaster on the topic of health and wellness. Both Branch and Ley used the conference to establish relationships with colleagues in their fields and create new partnerships with college admissions officers.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT JOSH WILLIAMS, V FORM
V Former Josh Williams has a lot on his plate: he’s Class President, a key cog on the Fords football team, and is dedicated to doing well in the classroom. So, naturally, when Grace and Mahlon Buck Chair in Performing Arts and Upper School theater teacher Darren Hengst stopped Williams after class and asked him if he’d be interested in auditioning for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," he said yes.
“I talked with my family about it. I knew it would be a lot to keep my grades up, stay dedicated to being Class President, and it being right in the middle of football season,” said Williams. “I’ve found that acting is a new hobby of mine. It is so fun.”
It was a foray into a world that was very different from what he knew as a highly sought after college football recruit (as of the fall, he has 14 offers from top Division I programs). He portrayed Chief Bromden, a principle role, and was an instant success, with friends and faculty members recognizing his tremendous work on the stage weeks after the show concluded.
“Chief Bromden is different from who I am as a person, so hearing that I played him well meant a lot,” said Williams. “I’m a lineman on the football team, and it’s not a position that you get recognized for often, unless you mess up. This was something that I was celebrated for by my peers and my teachers, which felt good.”
His performance — both on the stage and on the gridiron — also earned him a nomination for the Black Student Union’s Excellence Tie. The tie is given to a member of the club each week to recognize a student’s contribution to the School or his community; it is a visual acknowledgement of outstanding work.
“The tie represents Black excellence, so every week they nominate boys who have been outstanding for one reason or another,” said Rhonda Brown, the club’s advisor and Director
of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “It recognizes the greatness amongst them, and I think Josh receiving it is well deserved for all he does for the community.”
Williams has stepped into various leadership roles as a fifth former. He credits older boys who once took time to mentor him and cultivate his leadership skills.
“When I was a third former on the football team, Isaiah Boyd ’22 helped me see how I could also be a leader and contribute to the team,” said Williams. “He made me feel like an important member of the team, even though I was young. I try to do that with the younger guys on our team, and even with kids I’ve met that aren’t on the football team.”
Whatever Williams turns his attention to, whether on the stage, on the field, or in the classroom, he seems to excel. His humble confidence and generous leadership flow from him, making him an excellent mentor for younger students looking to try something new, hone a craft, or dedicate themselves to a cause.
From shot putting for the Fords track and field team to sharing his charisma on the stage, V Former Josh Williams is a man of many talents. Read more about his part in the Upper School performance of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" on page 16.
THEWORLD AS A CLASSROOM
This year, Upper School boys are traveling domestically and internationally as part of the Global Studies Program. Students could select from various programs designed to augment their classroom experiences, while also providing an opportunity to connect with different people and cultures.
“We offer these travel-study opportunities for students to immerse themselves in a new type of learning, to appreciate different cultures, and connect with humanity around the world,” said Andrew Poolman, Director of Global Studies and Upper School Spanish teacher. “While two of this year’s programs
focus on language learning, all student participants will be challenged to step out of their comfort zones in many ways.”
Several trips will set off during spring break in March. A group will travel to Taiwan to explore the country’s rich history and tradition and to practice their Chinese language skills, while two groups will head to Central America. Boys will adventure to Guatemala to experience different elements of the country and its culture. One cohort will hone their Spanish language learning and examine identity and social justice in Guatemala. The other group will consist of boys enrolled in the Global Perspectives class in
Upper School boys tackle advanced research at area labs
In the summer going into their Sixth Form year, students in Haverford’s Advanced Biology Research Program complete internships at research labs in the greater Philadelphia area, tackling real-world problems.
The boys, who are led by Upper School science teacher Kara Cleffi, work alongside scientists, graduate fellows, and others in STEM careers. At the end of their internship, they present their research findings to the community.
In November, Ryan Brewington, Ethan Lee, Chase Schatzman, and Nolan McCloskey took to the stage in Ball Auditorium to discuss their research projects. Alumni, families, and fellow students listened intently as the students presented their college-level work to the community.
Brewington worked in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. His field of study was related to the response of stem cells to various controlled extracellular matrices, or ECMs.
Lee also conducted research at UPenn’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, where he studied knot-based
the spring semester. The boys will consider topics related to their classwork, including citizenship, environmental justice, and immigration topics in the country.
Later in the spring, boys will head out to destinations near and far. In mid-May, a group of Upper School students will consider how geography intersects with history in Harpers Ferry, W.V. The program also encourages the boys to practice selfreflection and connect with nature while in the Shenandoah Valley. In June, students will spend 10 days exploring written and visual language in Morocco. They will have a specific focus on street photography, travel writing, and Islamic art.
actuators, their physical properties, and methods to create them. Schatzman took his research to Temple University’s Adaptive Memory Lab this year. During his time there, he studied the relationship between human craving and memory after periods of abstinence from things like food or addictive substances.
McCloskey worked at Villanova University’s CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment. His work created an immersive virtual tour of Mars, with the ability to be displayed using 3D virtual reality tools. His work created a tour of Mars using Virtual Reality technology.
By Jenn Hallman, Middle School theater teacher and director
REFLECTIONS OF A TEACHING ARTIST
ByJennHallman, Middle School theater teacher and director
Driving myself home from my show in the city, I realized that the time stuck in traffic on 95 offered great space for reflection about being a teaching artist.
REFLECTIONS OF A TEACHING ARTIST
“Teaching Artist,” I say aloud, as if speaking the title will somehow let me visualize it in front of me. I’m practicing the tactics I know best, approaching the term as a performer would a script.
I repeat it, this time in my best high society London dialect a’la Julie Andrews, “Teaching Artist.” Now I’ve moved into Ted Lasso territory, trying on Jamie Tartt’s Mancunian accent: “Oy! Teachin’ AHtist, bruv! Teachin’ TARTTist, bruv, ats roight, Jamie Tartt do doo doo doo do doo.” I’m on a roll.
I’m performing for myself in my car. It’s been a busy day— directing students, supervising a field day, and then taking the stage in Philadelphia. Just as I relax my contorted face (I can’t speak like Jamie Tartt without smushing up my lips), traffic starts to move, and a spider drops from the ceiling of my car onto my lap.
I freak out. I grab the closest object, my script, and start swiping at this spider the same way my toddler swipes vegetables off his plate: fast and screaming. I’ve lost it, both my mind and the spider.
I imagine the spider sitting in its web, that she’s somehow put together in the three seconds I’ve lost her. She’s delicately spinning the term “Some Teaching Artist” in her silk, as if she is the Charlotte to my Wilbur. I decide finding her is a lost cause and I focus on what other words she’d include in the web before taking over my car with 1000 spider babies. Another performance tactic: Visualize, Hallman, visualize.
I imagine Charlotte weaving phrases like “dedicated to their craft,” "cultivating collaboration,” and “exploring the human experience.” I agree with the spider: These are the terms I’d use to describe what my performing and fine arts colleagues and I do on a daily basis.
Teachers are artists in their own right, and to be labeled a Teaching Artist is some type of hybrid position that earns you a seat at many a table. The title is tossed around frequently, but
rarely following it is an explanation of what it means to be one.
Berklee College of Music helpfully shares the following definition on their website: “teaching artists are practicing, professional artists who have dual careers as educators. They come from every artistic field—music, dance, theater, visual arts, writing—and work in many settings.”
Dual. Deux. Dos. This makes sense. I often feel like I’m doing “all the things” simultaneously in my classroom and on the stage. As an artist, I want to entertain and share perspectives with my audiences through meaningful songs and dialogue. As a teacher of my craft, I want to foster my students’ empathy, encourage them to use kindness as a tool, and help them find their respective voices.
I am a better teacher when I practice my craft, and I am a better artist when I am teaching. I’m a better person when I get to do both because I’m constantly meeting new people, and learning from my colleagues and students in both areas. These roles work in tandem for me and so many others that hold this title I am proud to share.
In my 13 years at Haverford, I have seen so many of our colleagues exercising their artistry in and out of the classroom. Darren Hengst, the Grace and Mahlon Buck Chair in Performing Arts and Upper School theater director, played Guiseppe Zangara in The Arden Theater’s production of "Assassins" this fall, where he grew as an actor and brought back even more magic to the Upper School theater program.
I had the privilege of bringing his classes to see him in a performance, and watching the boys swell with pride when he made his first appearance on stage was one of the highlights of my year. They got to see him in his element. They knew how hard he worked during rehearsals, they recognized the commitment he made to his character and cast mates, and they saw him shine. The eruption of applause from the Fords student section at the end of the show was unmatched. They finally understood what it’s like for Darren to watch them shine when they’re on stage in Centennial Hall.
We have so many incredible artists among us: Lower School
art teacher Antonio Fink is putting on another art show this year in Washington, D.C., and Middle School art teacher Nate Pankratz continues to commission pieces following his show in Philadelphia last year.
Middle School music teacher John Stroud balances teaching and conducting the Haverford Boys Choir, while also serving as the Associate Director of the Philadelphia Boys Choir and conducting an adult choir. Many maintain their own studios, or are resident artists at studios in the area, including Upper School 3D art and design teachers Stephanie Kantor and Jacob Raeder, and Fine Arts Department Chair Chris Fox. I, too, am among these ranks: I recently performed in a Philadelphia premiere at Theatre Exile this summer and just closed another show with SHARP Dance Co,. as a featured vocalist. The list goes on, as there are many colleagues I haven’t mentioned by name, but who expertly exacts his or her discipline while also teaching that discipline.
All of us, as teaching artists, are enriching our lives and practicing our respective crafts, joyfully doing so while growing as educators and human beings. Our students are major benefactors, as we take what we do in these creative spaces and bring it back to our classrooms seamlessly, almost as an extension of our studios and stages.
For me, working with different directors gives me the opportunity to see how other folks approach script analysis and production design, directly influencing how boys learns about managing a show.
Seeing other directors’ visions of what a show should look like and how they foster collaboration in a cast helps me grow as director and teacher. Watching someone else’s production process is eye opening, and I get to reflect on my own process, implement what I’ve learned, and help my program thrive here at Haverford.
Beyond that, it shows the boys that it is imperative to keep learning, keep growing, and keep creating, a lesson that sticks with them beyond the stage or the studio and weaves its way into their other classes, too.
Being in a show is the best professional development I could ask for as a theatre teacher. It’s more impactful to get your hands dirty, collaborate with other creatives, and figure out how to nurture the growth of my own classroom teaching and directing practice. We are changed by our experiences within our art, and when we walk onto campus after these personal artistic moments, we have the opportunity to share it all with our students, guiding them in creating their own paths.
I remember the spider in my car and her woven words. What are we, teaching artists? Maybe Aristotle, not the spider, wrote it best: “Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.” Put that in your web, Charlotte.
Top: The author, Middle School theater teacher Jenn Hallman, performs in a show in Philadelphia this year.
Center: Lower School art teacher Antonio Fink’s work, Woman with camera Bottom: Upper School theater director Darren Hengst, front, poses with students after performing in "Assassins" this fall."
TURN RIGHT, LINE SWITCH LEFT, DO A ZIGZAG: Students code using Ozobots
Boys in Michelle Burns’ library class can always expect to be using an exciting tool or robot during their coding lessons. Fifth graders were excited to work with Ozobots, small robots that can be coded using special markers, called Color Code Markers, that teach coding fundamentals.
Using a combination of colors made by Color Code Markers, the Ozobot moved along the desks in the Tabas Library depending on the student’s decisions. The markers—coming in blue, red, green, and black—indicate different actions to the Ozobot. Various patterns tell the robot to go faster or slower, change direction, spin in circles, or go in a zigzag pattern.
While the boys have coding lessons that are screen-based, the Color Code Ozobots allow the boys to build upon coding principles that do not include a screen at all.
“The coolest part about using Ozobots is that we can apply it to any curricular unit in the Lower School,” said Burns. “Boys can program the Ozobot to mimic a spacecraft and go on a mission; younger boys practice coding and number knowledge by programming the bot to move to the number on bingo cards.”
The Ozobots are used by the older students, who have built a strong foundation in their coding classes over the years. Younger students aren’t left out; the youngest learners at Haverford use Bee-Bots to learn coding basics related to sequencing, programming, and cause and effect.
RICHARD REEVES: Solving the Crisis of Boys and Men
In October, lecturer, researcher, and author Richard Reeves visited The Haverford School to present “Solving the Crisis of Boys and Men.” Author of the School’s faculty and staff summer reading book Of Boys and Men, Reeves serves as President of the American Institute for Boys and Men, the only national non-partisan research organization focusing on the issues impacting boys and men.
his lecture,
expanded on the evidence showing that boys are struggling with both their mental health and with their studies. Reeves pointed out that men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women, and that those rates are increasing for young men aged 15 to 24. In the classroom, a 14-percentage point gap exists related to school readiness between boys and girls at age 5.
These statistics are concerning, but Reeves posited that there are solutions if we work toward them as a country. He suggests that boys could take an extra year before entering school, otherwise known as “redshirting,” until they are developmentally on-par with their female peers, a topic that was widely discussed after he published an article in The Atlantic last year.
Reeves also discussed how men can be supported beyond the classroom, underscoring the importance of male role models, opportunities at technical schools and/or apprenticeships, and encouraging more male teachers at all levels of education. Further, he suggested having Men’s Resource Centers at colleges and universities to help address the mental health struggles faced by young men.
Further, Reeves expanded upon his idea of increased programs in HEAL fields—or careers related to health, education, administration, and literacy. He also underscored the importance of equal paid leave for fathers, emphasizing his point regarding the importance of male role models to showcase healthy masculinity and development.
Upper School boys heard a rousing lecture from Dr. Jonathan Paras ’14 in Centennial Hall. The lecture, which focused on Dr. Paras’ experience at Haverford, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in labs across the country, was part of the endowed William Edward Gwinn ’86 Memorial Science Lecture series.
Paras underscored the important nature of metallurgy work, making sure the boys understood how metals are incorporated into almost everything they use. He also discussed common metals and the environmental and geo-political implications of each.
Paras also took time to ensure the boys thought about the advantage they have as students at Haverford, reminding them to do the hard work that will allow them to continue to grow and contribute to society in meaningful ways.
After Paras’ lecture, he dined with students who are interested in STEM careers and spent time sharing the experiences that helped him get from Haverford to accomplishing his career goals.
Paras is a scientist at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., where he is the Harry S. Truman fellow. He is currently leading several projects on the study of metal melting and slag science in partnership with the government and various industries.
He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning his bachelor’s degree in Materials Science with an emphasis on metallurgy and completing his PhD. Paras’ thesis focused on the electronic contribution to the entropy of mixing in high-temperature solid solution alloy, intermetallic, and oxide materials.
Watch the full lecture here
The William Edward Gwinn ’86 Memorial Science Lecture DR. JONATHAN PARAS ’14
During
Reeves
Form I students create prototypes of the environmental cleanup tools they designed during STEPs Day. Read more about the Middle School’s annual STEPs Day activities on page 6.
One flew east, one flew west
This fall, the Haverford School Performing Arts Department depicted the struggle between the individual and the institution in three performances of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest." In the play, psychiatric patient Randle McMurphy (VI Former Sebastian Golderer) enters the ward run by Nurse Ratched (Jillian Schweky) with all the confidence of a man there by his own volition. Although he provides a voice for the other patients— literally in the case of Chief Bromden (V Former Josh Williams)— McMurphy soon learns that Nurse Ratched will stop at nothing to exert control.
HARMONY IN LEARNING
Before and after school, one can find the sweet sounds of music filling the third floor of the Lower School. These sounds are coming from the beginner musicians participating in the fourth grade band instrument program. The boys supply their own instruments, but the School covers the cost of the lessons.
“Any fourth graders who are interested get a free year of group lessons to learn a concert band instrument,” explained Lower School music teacher Valerie Case. “The program has grown so much that we now have a Lower School band called the First Fords.”
The program currently has 22 students participating in woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. There are five meeting times available throughout the week for students. Monday mornings are reserved for baritone, followed by the percussion in the afternoon. Clarinet enthusiasts practice on Tuesday afternoon, while Wednesday afternoons are filled with the sounds of the French Horn. Saxophone lessons round out the program on Thursday mornings.
DON
HOLDREN: Elevating musical excellence
Don Holdren joined The Haverford School this year as Upper School music teacher and Director of the Notables and Glee Club, and he quickly understood that the excellence of these groups is well established.
“This group of students inspires me to be my best at every rehearsal,” said Holdren. “What I am most impressed by, though, is their support of each other and helping everyone feel valued.”
Holdren knows from experience offering support can change the trajectory of someone’s school and life experience. His aim is to provide the same benefit to his students.
“Every moment in a classroom, in a rehearsal, or in a performance setting is an opportunity to build relationships. It is an incredible gift and a huge responsibility,” said Holdren.
STORIES IN STONE
When Upper School art teacher Kristin Brown's Digital Art and Design students began to show comfort with their cameras, she challenged them with a photography field trip to Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
History faculty member Bhelly Bagbonon visited the class before the trip, building the students’ research skills to help make the trip more meaningful. At the cemetery, Brown challenged students to first photograph the graves and then learn more about the deceased by researching their gravesites using an online archive. She also asked them to consider how that background information about the deceased person’s life changes their interaction with their grave site.
“Photography is invasive; I had to be aware and respectful,” responded IV Former Sean Allen.
The students shared stories from their research, from survivors of German occupation creating new lives in Philadelphia to seeing Harry Kalas’ microphone-shaped headstone. “There’s so much to look at,” said V Former Nicholas Lu, “and everyone has a story to tell.
The Middle School musical ensemble previously known as The Celebrantes has changed their name to The Haverford Boys Choir. The ensemble was known by this name in the 1970s–80s and alludes to the excellence of the Haverford School music program. The Haverford Boys Choir is led by Middle School music teacher John Stroud and performs in and around the greater Philadelphia area.
Upper School boys in Kristin Brown’s Digital Art and Design class photographed Laurel Hill Cemetery. Clockwise from top are photographs by IV Former Nicholas Zafiriou, IV Former Peter McConnell, V Former Luke Ganley, and IV Former Jack Koutcher.
BEYOND THE PAINT BRUSH
Middle School art teacher MaryKate Doherty hopes the lessons she teaches her students reach beyond the paintbrush.
As the boys create still life paintings—the cumulative project of Form I 2D art class— Doherty challenges them to practice patience and create with confidence. Yes, they must show their understanding of value and composition, but Doherty’s class is curated for Middle School boys. Creating art develops much-needed skills to help boys cope with a sometimes-challenging time in their development.
“I'm hoping that they develop confidence and joy in the art room,” says Doherty. “I don't want them to feel stressed out or like their mistakes are horrifying. If they make mistakes here, they can fix them. Paint over them!”
Doherty’s lessons about light and drawing from life contain pieces of wisdom for the boys to carry with them as they grow.
“Everything is ever-changing in the art room,” Doherty says to her students. “Take that blank piece of paper and those three boring objects and create a work of art!”
FALL SPORTS WRAP-UP
The fall sports seasons wrapped up in November for The Haverford School with an impressive performance by the Fords. The programs came away with three Inter-Ac championships and two Haverford athletes came away as league MVPs
Coach Keith Cappo and Fords SOCCER won its second straight Inter-Ac championship. The team ended the season with a 14–4–2 record, capping off the season with a big win over EA on EA/Haverford weekend. Connor Cresswell was named 2023 Inter-Ac most valuable player and he made first team All-Inter-Ac for the second year in a row. Thomas Kaplan and Sebastian Perez-Gasiba were also named to the first team All-Inter-Ac team. William Burfield and McKai Hoillet were named to the second team All-Inter-Ac.
The WATER POLO team won their fifth consecutive Inter-Ac title under coach Kevin Van Such. The team also won the Easterns Prep Championship after finishing second the last four years at the tournament. Their 2023 record was 21–3, and the Fords have been 44–1 in league play over the past six seasons, with an overall record of 112–16. Ben McDade was named league MVP and was accompanied on the first team All-Inter-Ac by Alec DeLuca, Henry Pennington, and Luke Putter. Zach Dixon earned second team All-Inter-Ac honors.
In his first year as Director of GOLF Program Steve Cloran and his Fords team won the Inter-Ac with a 32–4–2 record. Four athletes were named first team All-Inter-Ac and three were named to the second team. Representing the Fords on the All-InterAc’s first team were Harrison Brown, Sean Curran, JP Hoban, and Gregor Weissenberger. On the second team were Liam McFadden, Alex Nemo, and Nicky Nemo.
CROSS-COUNTRY showed promise this fall with a winning record of 6–5. They finished third place as a team at the PAISAA championships. Alex Dardarian and Will Suter were named to first team All-Inter-Ac and Finn Kelly was named to second team.
This season, Fords FOOTBALL played some of the best teams in the Philadelphia area. Under Coach Brian Martin, the team finished with a 5–5 record. The Fords had four athletes named to first team All-Inter-Ac and three named to second team. On first team were Noah Andrewson, Michael Barnes-Pace, Matt Brosko, and Kellen Gardner. On second team for the Fords were Sean Brodnik, Ben McCarthy, and Josh Williams. The team has some talented athletes returning next season and plan to compete for another Inter-Ac championship.
16 student-athletes announce intent to continue athletic careers at the collegiate level
As part of the early signing period for Division I athletes, 16 sixth formers announced their decisions to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level.
"We take great pride in the achievements of these young men in their respective sports and commend them for their commitment to these outstanding educational institutions," expressed Michael Murphy, Director of Athletics. "These boys truly embody the student-athlete model, and I have full
Chris Clark ’20 goes to the Los Angeles Angels in the MLB Draft
Chris Clark ’20 was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball Draft on July 10, 2023. He spent the summer as a member of the Inland Empire 66ers, the Angels minor league affiliate, starting six games and striking out 22 batters.
Clark, a multisport athlete for the Fords, had an impressive academic and athletic career at Harvard University. During his final collegiate season in the spring of 2023, Clark led the Ivy League in strikeouts and posted a whopping 12.75 strikeouts per nine innings. Clark is the first Haverford alum selected in the MLB Draft since 1999.
confidence that they will uphold this standard throughout their college careers.”
Ten students signed National Letters of Intent, including Ben McCarthy (Duke University, lacrosse), Brody Murphy (University of Richmond, lacrosse), Jack Long (University of Michigan, lacrosse), Connor Nolen (Duke University, lacrosse), Ian White (East Carolina University, baseball), Connor Scanlan (Fairfield University, baseball), Finn Lawrence (Boston University, lacrosse), Andrew Lyon (University of Massachusetts, lacrosse), AJ Rosenberger (Boston College, diving), and Max Marr (Boston College, swimming).
Aydan DiRocco (U.S. Naval Academy, lacrosse), Kevin Reavey (Army-West Point, baseball), Brady O’Kane (Brown University, lacrosse), Will Burfeind (Cornell University, lacrosse), Kyle Morris (U.S. Air Force, lacrosse), and Drew Glaser (Princeton University, squash) announced their commitment to the admissions process at their respective schools.
There are currently 55 Haverford alumni student-athletes competing in various sports at Division I schools. Overall, 116 student-athletes from Haverford are currently participating in collegiate athletics (Division I, II, and III).
More pictures from the Signing Day are available at haverfordschool.smugmug.com.
Former National Champion Fords compete for the PLL title
In the spring of 2015, Grant Ament ’15 and Chris Sabia ’15 propelled the Fords lacrosse team to a perfect 26–0 record and a number one ranking nationally. The pair then went on to have stellar careers at Penn State University, helping the Nittany Lions to their first ever Big Ten title in 2019. On Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, their paths crossed again. However, this time they were on opposing sidelines competing for the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) championship.
Ament’s club, the Archers, entered the game as the number one seed, while Sabia’s team, the Waterdogs, were the defending champions. The two squads split their two previous meetings with the Archers winning at the Dallas Shootout 19–18 and the Waterdogs triumphing in Salt Lake City 14–13. Prior to the championship match, Ament, a midfielder, played in eight games with the Archers, earning 13 points on four goals and nine assists. Meanwhile, Sabia, a long stick midfielder, participated in five games for the Waterdogs, registering 12 ground balls and five caused turnovers.
The championship game took place at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa., home of the Philadelphia Union, in front of a raucous crowd. Ament and the Archers jumped out to a 5–2 lead after the first quarter. The scoring included a goal by Ament with 1:15 remaining in the period. Ament would tack on another goal in the second frame giving the Archers a 10–7 lead at the half.
Sabia’s Waterdogs would storm back in the third period, outsourcing the Archers 4–2, setting up for some intense moments in the final session. With the score tied 14–14 and under two minutes to go, Archers midfielder Tom Schreiber picked up a ground ball, evaded the Waterdogs defense and scored the goahead goal with 1:37 remaining. Ament finished the game with three points on two goals and one assist. Sabia led a strong second half defensive push for the Waterdogs including two caused turnovers and holding the Archers to only five goals.
Both Sabia and Ament now own PLL Championships and they look to help build the league’s popularity during the 2024 season. Due to the new setup in the PLL, Ament’s Archers will now call Utah home. Meanwhile, Sabia will not have too far to travel. His Waterdogs recently announced that Philadelphia will be their home site. The 2024 PLL Season will kick off in February.
New athletic Program Directors named in 2023–24
Three athletic teams, including golf, wrestling, and tennis, welcome new Program Directors this academic year at The Haverford School.
Steve Cloran, a well-known teacher and coach at Haverford, has added Director of Golf Program to his duties. Cloran assumed responsibility from coach Cole Berman ’14, who stepped down after the 2022 season.
Cloran has been a teacher and coach at The Haverford School for 20 years; he currently serves as Upper School Learning Specialist. In his first season in charge of Fords Golf, the team won the Inter-Ac and defeated EA to start out EA/Haverford weekend.
Earlier this year, Upper School English teacher Anthony Pariano was named the interim Director of Wrestling Program. Pariano most recently coached as an assistant for the Fords 2022–23 team that placed 15th at the National Preps tournament. He has collegiate level coaching experience, serving as an assistant wrestling coach at John Carroll University, working with teams that found success at the NCAA Division III National Championships.
In addition to his coaching experience, Pariano had a distinguished wrestling career both in college at Northwestern University and in high school.
The 2024 spring season will be the first season at Haverford for the new Director of Tennis Program Tracy Tooke. Tooke will take over a Fords tennis program with a long history of success, including an 11-year winning streak of the Inter-Ac title.
No stranger to successful teams and players, Tooke has coached state champions in both singles and doubles, and last year led the Masterman High School boys’ team to a PIAA 2A State Championship. For almost 20 years, Tooke has been a USPTA elite professional and has previously coached at the Division I collegiate level.
Tooke played Division I tennis at Auburn University before coaching at George Washington University and Temple University. Tooke is also the Director of Tennis at the Mill Dam Club, a role she has held since 2004, and will serve as Baldwin School’s Varsity Tennis Coach during the fall.
“We are thrilled that these three coaches have joined us as Program Directors,” said Director of Athletics Michael Murphy. “Not only are these coaches excellent coaches with impressive careers of their own, but they are mentors to our boys as they continue to grow on and off the links, mat, and courts.”
Character: A cause for cross-divisional collaboration
This past fall, the water polo team saw many successes in the pool. From a perfect 8–0 record in Inter-Ac play to capturing the prestigious Easterns Prep Championship, the boys were resilient and selfless competitors throughout the season. However, their greatest accomplishment may have been capturing the attention of their second grade peers for an entire class period.
In October, Sixth Form leaders from the varsity water polo team took time out of their Upper School schedule to share their experiences and knowledge with their Lower School contemporaries. Second grade teacher Hunter Gillin, an assistant coach with the varsity water polo team, organized the event and asked his older players to talk to his students about the Lower School’s October virtue of the month, Character.
Together, the students crafted a 'Recipe for Success,' blending positive traits to define good character. They reflected on their own character journeys, embracing opportunities for growth and celebrating moments of pride. The older students also shared their favorite facts about Haverford, giving the second graders lots to look forward to in their Haverford experience.
Fords Swimming partners with the Service Board to collect turkeys for Thanksgiving
by Sixth Formers Max Marr, Luke Putter, Zach Dixon, and Eddie Kohn, the Fords swim team and Service Board hosted their annual Turkey Drive in the Wilson Hall parking lot during morning drop off.
The boys arrived bright and early to campus to begin preparing for the collection. Originally, the boys planned to fill one van with frozen turkeys, however due to the overwhelming support of the Haverford School community, the boys filled up two trunk loads, collecting 85 frozen turkeys.
The Turkey Drive supports an initiative by Project HOME, which provides comprehensive and effective services to persons who experience chronic homelessness. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the mission of Project HOME is to empower adults, children, and families to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, to alleviate the underlying causes of poverty, and to enable all of us to attain our fullest potential as individuals and as members of the broader society.
Led
FORDS SECURE THE SWEATER FOR ANOTHER YEAR AT HAVERFORD/EA DAY!
Following a week of school spirit activities— including trivia, dodgeball, karaoke, banner painting, and field games (the Class of 2024 won the Form competition overall)—the Fords fall varsity teams defeated Episcopal Academy three events to two on Haverford/ EA Day. The Fords triumphed in golf, water polo, and soccer to retain the sweater for a third straight year. Haverford has now won the sweater 21 times to EA’s 16.
GOLF
141–142, Haverford
CROSS–COUNTRY
18–43, EA
WATER POLO 24–7, Haverford
SOCCER 3–1, Haverford
FOOTBALL 9–28, EA
Photos from top: Upper School students pose with the Sweater after EA Day. Sebastian Perez-Gasiba takes a corner kick during the Fords win over EA. The golf team teed off the weekend with a one-stroke win at Gulph Mills Golf Club. Luke Putter takes aim at the goal during the day's water polo match-up.
HAVERFORD SCHOOL PARENTS' ASSOCIATION
Family Events Book
Pancake Breakfast
Family Fest
Club
Event Expo
HSPA EXPO EVENT: On Friday, Sept. 15 the HSPA hosted breakfast and their annual event expo on Eagle Field. Families were invited to learn more about the year’s upcoming events and how they can volunteer to support these outings. FORDS FAMILY FEST: Co-chaired by Jamie Solomon P’34, Shaina Hamilton P’35, Sarah MacColl P’32 ’34, and Raena Khorram P’29 ’35, the HSPA celebrated the inaugural Fords Family Fest on Sept. 30. The all-School event embraced the spirit of fall and gave families the opportunity to cheer for the Fords football and soccer teams. The fun day included activities for all ages, from an assortment of bounce houses to carnival games, to food trucks and raffle baskets. HSPA BOOK CLUB: The HSPA Book Club meets monthly in Nostrant Pavilion to discuss books, reconnect with fellow parents/guardians, and create new connections. Led by Colleen Scharpf P’27, the club meets every second Friday of the month over coffee and breakfast to converse about their monthly book and current events. HAVERFORD/EA PANCAKE BREAKFAST: On the morning of Haverford/EA Day, the HSPA hosted their annual Pancake Breakfast. Chaired by Urszula Pollard P’29 ’32, members of the Haverford community gathered in the Dining Hall to fuel up before the big competitions. No doubt the hard work of the volunteers helped the boys secure the sweater for a third straight year! PERFECT PRESENT: Chairs Poulimenos P’36 and Keri Aikey P’36 assembled the annual HSPA Perfect Present on Dec. 6, 7, and 8. A Lower School holiday tradition, Perfect Present allows the boys to be part of the giving side of the holidays.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT KATHERINE GORD P’25
DR. RAENA KHORRAM P’29 ’35 &
What is your first memory of volunteering at Haverford?
Katherine Gord P’25: My friend and I were class parents for the fourth grade and we were in charge of the Class Masterpiece, which is a craft made by the boys in each Lower School grade each year and sold at the Party for a Purpose. It was so much fun to be able to come onto campus to get the boys' participation and to see inside the Lower School.
Dr. Raena Khorram P’29 ’35: My first memory of volunteering at Haverford was for the book fair when my son was in the third grade. I remember being so impressed by the enthusiasm and execution of the event by the class mom, Stacy Press. What stood out to me was that we had many more volunteers than needed and it showed me how eager parents were to make these events extra special for their boys.
You co-chaired the 2023 Party for a Purpose together. What was your favorite part of organizing the event?
KG: Raena and I were blown away by the energy from all of the parent volunteers. We loved seeing people taking charge of different aspects of the party, which truly couldn't be done by just one set of co-chairs. It made the evening so much more special to know it came from such a great community effort.
RK: My favorite part of co-chairing the event was being able to spend time with my dear friend, Kat Gord, and having the opportunity to meet and develop close relationships with the brilliant, motivated, and dedicated parents of the HSPA. I did not appreciate until I got involved with the auction all the incredible things the HSPA does for the School.
Did someone encourage you to get involved? If so, what did they share with you that made you want to join the HSPA?
KG: We are lucky as a school to have Dorothy Walker P'22 '24 '27 as the Director of Parent Programs. Her creativity and energy make so many people want to be involved, and the results are always terrific.
RK: When Kat asked me to co-chair the event, I was nervous about the time commitment as my work schedule can be inflexible at times. Kat definitely took on the majority of work but she made me feel like I had something to contribute and regularly reminded me that it was a team effort.
What advice would you give to other parents/guardians that are considering volunteering for HSPA events?
KG: Volunteering for the HSPA gives you an insider view of what makes this wonderful community so cohesive. Working together, volunteers can help support the teachers and staff who make the experience so special for our lucky boys.
RK: No matter what your schedule and commitments look like, there is an opportunity to volunteer and be involved with the HSPA. You will be blown away by the leadership, generosity, and enthusiasm of the parents in our community!
Interested in getting involved with the HSPA?
Contact Dorothy Walker P’22 ’24 ’27 at dwalker@haverford.org to learn more!
ONE KIND GESTURE
A look at the Class of 1973’s run to a $1 million 50th Reunion gift benefitting mental health and well-being
In 1969, 14-year-old Jim Nesbitt ’73, a star athlete and varsity football player, cornered standout scholar Mark Ling ’73 at his desk.
“I can only imagine what was going through his mind,” remembers Nesbitt. “Little did he know,” Nesbitt adds, “I was the one that was scared and intimidated.”
Nesbitt was—as he wrote in his 50th reunion Haligoluk entry—“on my way to failing biology” and desperately needing help.
Despite quickly forming friendships with his older teammates, Nesbitt felt like an outsider in his class, struggling to feel accepted and known. Ling changed that for him, getting him through both biology and the new social situation.
“I am forever grateful to Mark and to Haverford,” Nesbitt writes. “I tell this story because I believe it exemplifies the ‘Brotherhood’ that Haverford strives to create.”
When the reunion planning committee discussed the Class of 1973’s 50th Reunion gift, Nesbitt voiced an idea that resonated with his classmates: dedicate the fund to mental health and well-being initiatives. Given the class’ experiences, his suggestion was “an instant winner; unanimous,” recalls Class Agent Jeff Swarr ’73.
One year later, the Class of 1973 had more than doubled all previous reunion
A needed response
Nesbitt’s idea paid forward Ling’s kindness and connected with current initiatives at the School, where high expectations necessitate a focus on mental health and well-being. “We can't expect our boys to meet the high bars that we set for them if they don't feel a deep sense of belonging, trust, and support while they're here,” explained Head of School Tyler Casertano.
There also exists a crisis in men’s mental, relational, and emotional health, both nationally and worldwide. Award-winning author and President of the American Institute for Boys and Men Richard Reeves recently visited The Haverford School to discuss alarming trends of increased deaths of despair and decreased meaningful friendships among men and boys.
“Reeves named, through research and data, what I have always sensed anecdotally through my almost two decades working at boys' schools, and through my experience as a boy,” said Casertano. “While I found his data sobering, I also found it, as the head of a boys' school, motivating and empowering. When we are at our best, we are a place that teaches boys those very skills, habits, and dispositions that so often boys lack, and that they need to be prepared for life.”
Casertano sees removing the context of gender as an opportunity to better develop skills like compassion, empathy, and healthy decision-making.
“All-girls' schools talk about giving girls access to the topics boys have historically crowded them out of in co-ed settings, but it goes the opposite way, too,” he said. “When boys fail to develop the skills and habits that are seen as effeminate in co-ed settings, they’re held back in life. They need to be prepared for a life of connection.”
Focusing on mental health and wellness will, as Casertano explains, “allow boys to get more out of each other, out of this place, and, hopefully, out of the lives that await them.” The broader community understands the need for this initiative. During the 2022–23 school year, boys from fifth grade to Sixth Form, along with Haverford families, faculty, and staff completed surveys to inform the School’s strategic planning.
The results showed that the community recognizes the strides in mental health and well-being the School has already made; they also indicated a desire for a continued focus here, with the goal of doing it even better. Survey responses reported a desire for deepened programmatic efforts in the areas of healthy decision making, coping with peer pressure, managing social media, and developing leadership skills.
Haverford is uniquely poised to take on the challenge of mental health and wellness for boys and men. “As a pre-k through 12 school for boys, we have an opportunity to be proactive about mental health and wellness, starting with our youngest learners,” said Casertano. Skills and habits introduced in the Lower School, bolstered in the Middle School, and applied in the Upper School form resilient men who are prepared for life.
A class’s commitment
For the Class of 1973, gathering support for their reunion gift initiative meant reconnecting with classmates from fifty years before.
“I don't want to ask people to open their checkbooks,” Swarr admits. “I'm more about, ‘Hey, let's get together and make the effort to rekindle old friendships.’”
Swarr organized a 10-man reunion committe—Class of 1973 members Alec Arader, Tom Christie, Brad Fretz, Arlin Green, Mark Ling, John Middleton, Jim Nesbitt, Bob Roche, Jeff Swarr, and Mike Whelan—that held virtual meetings every other week for six months to discuss reunion weekend plans, Haligoluk entries, and hopes for Haverford’s future.
“We just started having so much fun with it,” Swarr reminisced. “Step by step, we gathered huge momentum.”
The prospect of viewing a Phillies game from the owner’s suite, generously provided by Leigh and John Middleton, multiplied 50th Reunion attendance and participation.
“Guys who had been contemplating coming now knew that the reunion was not something to miss,” recalled Swarr. Key Man Arlin Green and Paula Yudenfriend Green promised to host a memorable gathering, in addition to the other events on the School’s reunion agenda.
Classmate Bob Roche presided over the Service of Remembrance, a memorial gathering held at Haverford every
“If we could do something to help future classes not have the experiences we had, that would be something worthwhile to come out of our 50th Reunion class gift.”
Jeff Swarr ’73
reunion weekend, giving space for alumni to remember lost classmates. Class of 1973 attendees remembered the ten classmates lost since their Haverford days. Included in that number were three tragically lost to deaths of despair as young men.
Memories from the friends of these men echoed the importance of a focus on men’s mental health. Without the tools to process those early losses, the Class of 1973 spoke of their struggles to feel confidence in their place in the Haverford Brotherhood. “When you're growing up, there's a lot of things you don't understand,” Swarr reflected. “We could never quite shake that feeling that we weren’t living up to the very high expectations of those who came before us.”
Reconnecting fifty years later gave the men the chance to process the tragedies they experienced when they were young. They began to recognize moments of strength in themselves that were before obscured by grief.
“Jim Nesbitt's entry in our 50th Reunion Haligoluk; it made me cry,” Swarr said. “We didn’t even know that Jim was having a hard time with his friendships while he was at Haverford, and here was Mark Ling, who had reached out to him to help him pass a course. It was really a heartwarming story that shows how a kid can feel really isolated and how a kind gesture of support from another classmate can be life changing.” The fund will provide more of these opportunities for what could be lifesaving connections.
“If we could do something to help future classes not have the experiences we had, that would be something worthwhile to come out of our 50th Reunion class gift,” Swarr said.
A boost in confidence
The success of the initiative requires commitment and resources. In researching opportunities, Swarr learned about the benefits of an endowed gift, which retains the principal while generating
annual operating income for the dedicated cause in perpetuity. That inspired the committee’s first fundraising goal: $100,000. Knowing now where they ended, the goal seems modest. “We didn’t know what we had,” laughed Swarr.
Middleton is no stranger to the benefits of competition, so he offered a challenge to his classmates: meet him at $300,000 to receive a dollar-for-dollar match. He called up fellow classmate Matthew Hamilton, grandfather to a current Haverford student and leader of The Hamilton Family Charitable Trust, asking if he might contribute. “Lo and behold,” Swarr said, “Matt’s organization and family matched John’s match.
The rest of the class responded to the Middleton-Hamilton challenge by blowing past the $100,000 goal to ultimately reach the $300,000, that became $600,000, that became $900,000. “It was just so far beyond our wildest dreams,” said Swarr.
Unwilling to see the fund stop short of $1 million, Middleton provided the final $100,000.
“Somehow, by getting back together every two weeks, gathering momentum, and feeling like kids at Haverford once again, somehow in there, we found our footing again,” reflects Swarr.
“We felt so good about what we were doing that, as we gathered for our 50th Reunion, we started to feel the best about ourselves that we ever had,” he said. “It was really quite a chance for us to stop feeling like we weren't measuring up to guys that were older than us and feeling more like, ‘hey, we’re a pretty good class after all.’”
“And, by God,” he laughed, “look at the bar we just set for future generations of Haverford classes! We couldn’t help but go home feeling proud of our alma mater.”
ALUMNUS SPOTLIGHT SAM SHAW ’16
ROBOTICIST, BOSTON DYNAMICS
What most excites you about the future of robotics? I’m excited for interactions between people and robots to become commonplace. The more people are exposed to robots, especially at a young age, the more they’re captivated by them and eager to learn about and work in robotics. Robotics is now attracting people with diverse skill sets. Today, excellent product managers, marketers, and user experience specialists play a critical role in advancing the field. As a roboticist, collaborating with these experts provides me with a clear customer focus; this keeps me grounded and ensures that I’m developing the right technology to solve the right problems. Together, we’re helping robots make their way out of the lab and into the real world!
What teachers and/or classes most impacted you at Haverford?
As a roboticist, I rely on my technical abilities in subjects like math, physics, and programming each and every day. They’re essential in building great technology. And yet, in the moments that have been most pivotal in my robotics journey, I’ve turned to the communication skills I developed at Haverford. English teachers like Becca Davis elevated my writing, and art teachers like Chris Fox broadened my ability to express myself visually. These communication skills have enabled me to showcase my technical abilities at crucial moments—such as in academic papers and job interview presentations—helping me land the next opportunity to further demonstrate and develop my technical skills.
If you were giving advice to a current Haverford student who wanted to enter your field, what would you tell them?
Just get started! The field is evolving rapidly, and new techniques are emerging every day. Fortunately, robotics is more accessible than ever: YouTube has a growing community of robot tinkerers and endless hours of university lectures, and Amazon can deliver a myriad of robot parts directly to your door. I’ve leaned on technologies like these for hands-on, continuous learning—and that’s been my secret to success in robotics. So, start by trying to build a robot, and trying to program it to do something, and let the questions that arise through doing guide your learning.
You showed “No One” at last year’s Arts Festival, an example of AI and art blending. What was your process and what inspired you to create that piece?
I wanted to deepen my understanding of what it means to paint—specifically, how to effectively represent complex subjects as a collection of brushstrokes, and how the canvas, brush, and paint physically interact. I naturally gravitated to the idea of programming a robot to paint. That required me to understand the process of painting—at least, in one style—well enough to describe it as an algorithm with a series of precise, mathematically defined steps. When creating “No One” —an AI-generated portrait painted by a robot—I wanted to challenge people’s expectations of what a physical painting might depict or about how it was crafted.
Sam Shaw ’16 showed the AI-generated and robot-painted “No One” at the School’s Art Festival in 2023.
INTRODUCING BOBBY CPIN
ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR ADVANCEMENT
Bobby Cpin joined The Haverford School in 2023 as its first Assistant Head of School for Advancement. In his role, he assumes leadership of the advancement team at Palmer House and works closely alongside other School departments with the goal of securing resources needed to execute the School’s strategic goals and vision. Among other major projects, he will lead the development of the next strategic plan and work on initiatives related to the School’s South Roberts Road campus.
Cpin joins Haverford from St. Albans School, where he built strong ties with their community members over the course of his ten years there. He previously has also held roles at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Cpin earned his bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College and holds graduate degrees from Syracuse University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Alumni Regional Receptions
New York City (top left): Head of School Tyler Casertano gathered with more than 40 alumni at the Racquet and Tennis Club in New York City on Thursday, Oct. 19. Boston (top right): Alumni reunited and shared some laughs at Clery’s in Back Bay, Boston on Thursday, Sept. 28 as part of Haverford’s seasonal visits to the area. Washington, D.C. (bottom): On Wednesday, Oct. 25, Washington, D.C., area alumni and members of the Haverford staff caught up at the Lincoln.
MAROON & GOLD SOCIETY PARTY
The Haverford School honored leadership donors at its annual Maroon & Gold Society Party on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Sixth former Render Ford wowed the attendees with the story of his Haverford experience. The Maroon & Gold Society, established in 1997, is made up of alumni, parents/guardians, faculty, and friends of the School who exemplify leadership by contributing $2,500 or more annually.
34TH ANNUAL “DOC” THOMAS GOLF CLASSIC
The 34th annual “Doc” Thomas Golf Classic was held on Monday, Sept. 18 at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pa. Paul Barnes ’06, Sean Halloran ’05, Chris Ryan ’07, and Kyle Wharton ’07 won the “Doc” Thomas Trophy for lowest gross score. Michael Airey, William Cowden, Peter Gergo, and Glenn Kelley earned the Pat Laughlin ’86 Memorial Trophy for lowest net score.
EA DAY ALUMNI RECEPTION
Alumni and friends gathered in Wilson Hall’s Durham Community Room on Friday, Nov. 10 for the 2023 EA Day Alumni Reception. The crowd spent the evening catching up with friends and connecting ahead of the EA Day competitions the following day. Athletic Director Michael Murphy gave an update on the state of Haverford athletics. There was also a special presentation for Alumni Award winners. Chris Maxey ’80 was given the Distinguished Alumnus Award and Garth Hoyt ’89 earned the Alumni Service Award.
THE NOTABLES REUNION CONCERT
On Wednesday Nov. 22, Thanksgiving Eve, alumni and current members of the Notables gathered for the Notables Reunion Concert. The group held a special rehearsal in the music classrooms and then performed on stage in Centennial Hall for family and friends. Current Notables experienced how the group was in years past, creating a sense of shared history.
THANKSGIVING SPORTS
Alumni and their families gathered on campus on Thanksgiving morning for breakfast and games. After eating in the Dining Hall, former Fords athletes took the soccer field, football field, and track for the annual Thanksgiving Day Sports Competitions.
DOUG BRUNT ’89 VISITS HAVERFORD TO DISCUSS HIS NEW NONFICTION NOVEL
Doug Brunt ’89 and Haverford faculty member Dr. Gerhard Reich hosted a conversation with Haverford alumni and family members regarding Brunt’s new true crime mystery novel The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel.
Brunt, a New York Times best-selling author, explained the plot of the story that focuses on the life of Rudolf Diesel, one of the world’s greatest inventors. Dr. Reich, a Middle School language teacher, translated much of the archive materials from German to English to aid in the book’s research.
Following the conversation, Brunt returned to campus the next day to present at an Upper School assembly. He explained to the boys that Diesel was one of the most famous men in the world at the time and that his new internal combustion engine was on the verge of revolutionizing global industry. Diesel, a man who disrupted the status quo, was aboard a steamship that was halfway between Belgium and England when he vanished during the night and was never heard from or seen again. At the time, it was ruled a suicide, however Brunt uncovers many facts that lead the reader to believe foul play was involved.
Brunt then answered questions and shared with the boys that his experience at Haverford taught him how to think, organize, and communicate his thoughts. He also reminded the boys that the skills they are learning now will set them up for success in the years to come.
Five Coils and a Pinch Pot
Equipped with just two foundational techniques, Lower School students create colorful clay reptiles. Kindergarten students first craft snakes using their new coil-making skills. When they learn to create pinch pots, they have all the knowledge they need to create turtles. In fourth grade, they try the project again, demonstrating their increased dexterity. "It's interesting to see how their abilities evolve over those years," reflects Lower School art teacher Antonio Fink. A mix of underglaze and glazing adds matte and shining colors to the student work.
My Definition of Courage
By Render Ford, VI Form
Finding my definition of courage has been a necessary part of my time at Haverford. Courage is a complex virtue that needs to be practiced daily to be fully realized within a person. I would not have understood what courage meant to me without experiences at Haverford, and I have a few short stories to prove it.
When I was in Lower School, every student in the second grade had to join the chorus. Throughout the year, most of the kids in my grade began to lose interest in the chorus, but I found it fun and engaging. After second grade was over, I continued singing. Then, in third grade, an opportunity presented itself when we were learning African Drumming. All of the third graders get to put on a performance after about two weeks of learning different drumming patterns and dancing techniques. On the first day of practice, the instructors informed us that there was also going to be one singer along with the performance, who would be placed center stage in front of the entire student body, from Lower to Upper School. Everyone around me shied away, but I decided that I could do it. I slowly and courageously raised my hand to volunteer. Two weeks later, I recited a melodic version of the ABCs in front of the School. I am still proud of my younger self today.
Going into Middle School, I invested more time into the performing arts, while also keeping up with my squash career through the School team. I was making new friends and trying to move up in the social ranks, as many middle schoolers do. As time progressed and First Form rolled around, I found myself surrounded by a group of boys who I wasn’t sure I really belonged with. I had originally started talking to them because they were part of a “cooler” crowd than the people in my extracurriculars. Hanging out with them, however, just consisted of them making fun of me all the time. I slowly realized that I didn’t enjoy it, and I finally decided to bring it up to my mother. “Render,” she said, “those don’t sound like friends at all.” I agreed. The next day, I brought my lunch to a different table. I knew the boys who sat there from Lower School and they were kind, funny, and honest. Those guys are still my best friends to this day, and I am eternally glad that I had the courage to stand up for myself.
In Upper School, I spent more time than ever with the choir and the squash team. This year I became a leader in both organizations: a president of the Notables and a captain of the squash team. The culture of the squash program is something that has been the focus of captains over the past few years. Previously, there was a competitiveness within the team that made it feel not like a team at all. Challenge matches became more important than matches against other schools. Going through the Upper School, I have seen this change because of great leadership, and now that I am a captain, I knew that I had to continue that legacy. During our first meeting with our coach for the year, he told us that one thing that all of the previous captains had in common was their courage to stick to what they believed. They did not let disrespectful words or unsportsmanlike conduct slide, but they were not harsh themselves. They led by example to make the people around them better. I admire their tremendous amounts of courage and I can see the effects of their work on our current team. Because of them, I can have the courage needed to win my matches because I know that I have a team full of supportive people behind me.
As Maya Angelou said, “Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” Haverford is more than a School, it is a place where I have developed into a virtuous man, and courage is the quality that allows me to live out those virtues.
To all those who have contributed to The Haverford School so far this year,
We thank you!
We appreciate your continued financial support, time spent, and talents shared.
