HAVERFORD SCHOOL Today
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HAVERFORD SCHOOLToday
HAVERFORD SCHOOL TODAY
board of trustees,
2018-19
Jennifer Paradis Behle P’20 Oray B. Boston Jr. P’17 Caroline R. De Marco P’20 ’22 Randall T. Drain Jr. ’01 Thaddeus J. Fortin ’77, P’09 Maurice D. Glavin ’83, P’14 ’16 ’20 William C. Hambleton William T. Harrington P’24 ’24 John F. Hollway P’18 Jason W. Ingle P’22 Barbara Klock P’23 ’23 Jeffrey F. Lee ’95 George B. Lemmon Jr. ’79, P’12 ’19, Treasurer Joshua R. Levine ’94 Michael S. Lewis ’99
John J. Lynch P’10 ’12 Christopher J. Maguire P’16 ’19 Wade L. McDevitt P’28 ’30 Sharon S. Merhige P’16 ’18, Secretary H. Laddie Montague ’56 Jonathan R. Morgan ’03 John A. Nagl, Headmaster Jennifer N. Pechet P’15 ’17 Amy T. Petersen P’15, Vice Chair Ravindra Reddy ’90 Peter A. Rohr P’12 ’13 ’15 G. Bart Smith ’95, P’28 ’30 Dorothy S. Walker P’22 ’24 ’27 John C. Wilkins Jr. ’95 William C. Yoh ’89, P’18 ’24, Chairman
The brotherhood doesn’t end at Commencement.
Mr. and Mrs. R. David Harrison ’63 should have been listed in the following sections of the 2017-18 Annual Report: Maroon & Gold Society – Headmaster’s Club (total giving $10,000 to $24,999) and Endowed Scholarships – The Donald Brownlow Memorial Scholarship Fund. corrections
Mr. E. David Harrison ’50 was mistakenly listed with the Class of 1950 and The Donald Brownlow Memorial Scholarship Fund.
May 3-4
Corrected giving totals and participation for Class of 1963 are as follows: The Haverford Fund: $14,134 – 34%; Total Giving: $22,256 – 34%. Corrected giving totals and participation for Class of 1950 are as follows: The Haverford Fund: $7,911 – 47%; Total Giving: $47,911 – 47%. John A. Nagl, D.Phil. • assistant headmaster Mark Thorburn chief David S. Gold • managing editor Jessica Welsh editors Emily Chahar, Sarah Garling, Jessica Welsh • class notes editors Andrew Bailey ’02, Emily Chahar, Sheryl Kaufmann, Jessica Welsh layout/design Emma E. Hitchcock • printer Intellicor, LLC., Lancaster, Pa. • photographers Andrew Bailey ’02 , Emily Chahar, Sarah Garling, Jordan Hayman, Emma E. Hitchcock, Megan Lenahan, Brian Long, Mike Nance, Matt Nierenberg, Nate Pankratz, Deb Putter, Jim Roese, George Scarino, Jessica Welsh, George Wood ’75 , Dragonfly Pictures Inc., Piasecki Aircraft Corporation headmaster
financial officer
Jessica Welsh, Director of Marketing and Communications; 484-417-2764; jwelsh@haverford.org address changes Please send address changes to Disty Lengel at dlengel@haverford.org. about Haverford School Today magazine is published for alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of The Haverford School. Nonprofit postage paid at Southeastern, Pa., and additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2019 The Haverford School (all rights reserved). contact
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this publication. Special thanks to: Andrea Drinkwine, Jack Goldenberg ’05, Brendon Jobs, Dr. Stuart E. Liebman ’66, George Lanchoney, Brian Long, Toby Ma, Brian Martin, Nate Pankratz, Fred Piasecki ’82, John Piasecki ’85, and Mike Piasecki ’85. special thanks
FEATURES 20 Flying high: Piasecki family forges
new frontiers in aviation
with Fred Piasecki ’82, John Piaseck ’85, and Mike Piasecki ’85
25 Being better about “belonging”
by Brendon Jobs, Director of Diversity and Inclusion
28 Fueling innovation
by Andrea Drinkwine, Director of Information and Instructional Technology
HIGHLIGHTS
A notable salute Front: A student removes polylactic acid supports from his 3D printed Led by choral director and Upper School music teacher Mark Hightower, The Haverford School architectural model in Foundations, an Upper School art course. Back: Form I boys dove Notables grace center at the 130th– Commencement ceremony into their roles in their in-class reading ofstage “The Outsiders” complete with greased hairin June to lead the School community in the traditional singing of the alma mater: and leather jackets. O Haverford, dear Haverford / Thou guide of tender days, / To thee within these honored walls / We lift our hymn of praise / Here on the threshold of our years / With all the future free, / Our youthful hearts and powers we bring / And dedicate to thee.
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covers
HAVERFORD SCHOOL Today
2019
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In the classroom: Circles of
Responsibility Enrichment
In the classroom: The Timothy
School
16 Coach’s Corner: Brian Martin,
football and lacrosse
haverford.org/alumniweekend
Middle School students are getting the chance to design their own experiments in science class, following the approach of called argument-driven inquiry, or ADI. See more on page 5.
From the Headmaster 2
Character at Our Core
Around the Quad Teacher tributes: Dan Keefe & Jamison Maley People of Color Conference Board of Trustees Maroon & Gold Society In the classroom Gameday Crew National Merit Scholars Thanksgiving food drives Lectures Dr. Michael Baime Dr. Howard Stevenson 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 7 10
Arts 11 12 12 13 13
Middle School Cabaret “An Enemy of the People” Musical instrument prototyping Industrial approach to art and design Duct tape shoes
Athletics 14 16 17
Fall sports wrap-ups Coach’s Corner: Brian Martin Haverford/EA Day
Parents 18 18 19
Fall Festival Perfect Present Let’s Hear It for the Boys: Party & Auction
Alumni Alumni Spotlights Stuart Liebman ’66, film scholar Jack Goldenberg ’05, Urban Roots Farm 35 2018-19 Alumni Executive Council 35 Alumni winter sports 36 Alumni regional receptions 37 Notables Reunion Concert 37 Thanksgiving Day Breakfast and Sports 38 Class Notes 32
Reflection 60
The kingdom of Cambodia
FROM THE HEADMASTER
Character at Our Core: The Campaign for the Haverford School By John A. Nagl, D.Phil.
Dear Fords Nation, In our 135th year, The Haverford School remains dedicated to giving our boys an academic understanding of the principles and forces that are shaping the world in which they live, but it’s also committed to building men whom others will respect and admire and follow. Character at Our Core: The Campaign for The Haverford School (haverford.org/characteratourcore), will build on our strengths as a school: academic rigor, expertise in the art and science of educating boys, facilities designed to meet the needs of our boys and our curriculum, a diverse and inclusive community, and financial stability. At the close of 2018, commitments from the Board of Trustees and other early donors to Character at Our Core was more than $37 million strong. With the support of our community during the now-public phase of the campaign, we hope to achieve significant impact across our four pillars: • Invest in extraordinary educators for our boys • Realize inspiring spaces for every boy • Open doors for remarkable boys • Forge a community of difference-makers In my five years as headmaster, The Haverford School’s gross endowment has increased five-fold to $70 million, and for the first time, net endowment has surpassed $50 million. Growing our endowment is a direct investment in our most impactful assets – our faculty and our boys – and serves to preserve the School’s excellence in academics, arts, and athletics. Gifts to the endowment enable us to support faculty who devote their lives to the education and welfare of our young men, to ensure a school community rich in perspectives and talents, and to develop future-ready programs that will empower our graduates to succeed, to contribute, and to be good men. I have previously written to you of the fall Board retreat at my alma mater, West Point, where the Board unanimously endorsed the good work of Maurice Glavin ’83 and his committee in preparing plans for a new Middle School. Gifts from our Haverford community, along with funds budgeted for depreciation over the past decade, will support the construction of the new Middle School, anticipated to open at the start of the 2020-21 school year. That plan – and our ability to attract and retain the best educators, to increase access to a Haverford School education, and to develop our young men as leaders and engaged citizens – depends on your support of Character at Our Core. Our fundraising goal of $50 million is achievable – but only with your help. We are asking you to please give as generously as you can, including through multi-year pledges, to support our operating 2
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costs and Middle School, as well as to continue to grow our endowment. You will be hearing more about opportunities to join this visionary campaign in the coming months, and to be a part of this historic effort to sustain the legacy of Haverford. As we envision the future of The Haverford School, we are engaged in important thinking to ensure that we will continue to be able to prepare boys for life for many generations to come. We have therefore begun work on a new Strategic Plan that will guide the direction of our beloved institution. We have already asked many of you for help in this effort, and will continue to reach out for your advice and your encouragement. Just as the Middle School cannot come to fruition and the Character at Our Core campaign cannot succeed without your support, the new Strategic Plan requires the best efforts of each of us – and of all of us, together – to create an even better Haverford School for our boys’ future. Thanks to each of you for all you have done, and continue to do. Go Fords! John A. Nagl, D.Phil. Ninth Headmaster
Upper School faculty honored by young alumni Two Upper School faculty members, English teacher Dan Keefe and science teacher Jamison Maley, received recognition from the University of Chicago and Stanford University, respectively. Keefe received the University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award following a nomination by Matthew Baumholtz ’18. The university wrote in a letter, “Each year, we invite entering first-year students to nominate an educator who has influenced them, challenged them, or helped them along the path toward intellectual growth.” Maley received a Stanford University Teacher Tribute following a nomination
by Nico Tellez ’18. Tellez wrote in his nomination: “He had the unique ability to change the minds of young men in a positive way. He has shown me that life can be beautiful when you thoroughly explore your passion and treat all life with compassion.” Keefe is in his seventh year of teaching English at The Haverford School and is head varsity soccer coach. He has a B.A. from Wake Forest University and an M.A. from New York University. Maley has been teaching at The Haverford School since 2005 and holds an M.S. from Wesleyan University.
Middle School teacher presents at People of Color Conference Middle School Spanish teacher Kerry Kettering-Goens, along with Gabmara Alvarez-Spychalski, who teaches Spanish at The Baldwin School, presented at the 31st annual National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference (PoCC) in November. Each year, more than 5,000 educators and students attend PoCC and the related Student Diversity Leadership Conference, which is designed for Upper School students around the country. The PoCC theme this year was “Equitable Schools and Inclusive Communities: Harmony, Discord, and the Notes in Between.” Kettering-Goens and Alvarez-Spychalski led a one-hour workshop titled “Colorism in the Latinx Community.” Their proposal was selected from more than 400 submissions. According to Kettering-Goens, colorism is prejudice against individuals with darker skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. The workshop was designed to help participants “look at case studies and walk away with strategies for
addressing colorism when they witness it, in order to create a more equitable and inclusive environment,” she said. “We wanted to share our personal experiences to help people better understand this cultural practice,” said Kettering-Goens. “Students and educators have a responsibility to be informed about cultures and traditions that are different from their own so they can help make other people feel truly a part of their school communities.” According to the NAIS website, PoCC “equips educators at every level, from teachers to trustees, with knowledge, skills, and experiences to improve and enhance the interracial, interethnic, and intercultural climate in their schools.” Haverford has sent a group of faculty and students to the conferences every year for the past decade, led by Director of Community Donta Evans or Director of Diversity and Inclusion Brendon Jobs. This year, nine faculty members attended, along with six students.
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AROUND THE QUAD
Board of Trustees 2018-19 The Haverford School’s Board of Trustees gathered at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in October to launch strategic planning discussions, beginning to envision The Haverford School’s future for 2020 and beyond. (Front row, from left): Barbara Klock P’23 ’23; Dorothy Walker P’22 ’24 ’27; Sharon S. Merhige P’16 ’18, Secretary; Caroline R. De Marco P’20 ’22; John J. Lynch P’10 ’12; Amy T. Petersen P’15, Vice Chair; Jennifer N. Pechet P’15 ’17; Jennifer Paradis Behle P’20; Maurice D. Glavin ’83 P’14 ’16 ’20; (middle row) Peter Rohr P’12 ’13 ’15; Michael S. Lewis ’99; Jonathan R. Morgan ’03; John A. Nagl, Headmaster; G. Bart Smith ’95, P’28 ’30; Oray B. Boston Jr. P’17; William C. Hambleton; Christopher J. Maguire P’16 ’19; (back row) Joshua R. Levine ’94, Thaddeus J. Fortin ’77 P’09, Randall T. Drain Jr. ’01, John C. Wilkins Jr. ’95, Ravindra Reddy ’90, Wade L. McDevitt P’28 ’30; William C. Yoh ’89, P’18 ’24, Chairman; William T. Harrington P’24 ’24; John F. Hollway P’18; George B. Lemmon Jr. ’79, P’12 ’19, Treasurer.
Maroon & Gold Society The Haverford School honored leadership donors at its Maroon & Gold Society party on Oct. 10 in the School’s Durham Community Room. The Maroon & Gold Society was established in 1997 to provide special recognition for leadership gifts. These gifts provide essential support for operations, capital projects, endowed funds, and tuition assistance.
(clockwise from top right) Associate Headmaster for External Affairs Brian McBride ’82, wife Lisa, and mother Joie with Sandi and Max Paul; Kimberly and Don Chase; Gerry Farley, Anthony Merhige, and Maurice Glavin ’83.
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AROUND THE QUAD
in the classroom
Circles of Responsibility
M
Y
MY SELF
REL
MY
AT I O N S H
IP
CORE
Launched in fall 2018, CORE (Circles of Responsibility Enrichment) is led by a cadre of Upper School teachers with the aim of supporting the School’s Character and Citizenship framework, as outlined in the School’s Strategic Vision: 2010-2020 Update. In this Third Form seminar, students explore the topics of digital citizenship (Director of Information and Instructional Technology Andrea Drinkwine); equity and inclusion, and gender and sexuality (Director of Diversity and Inclusion Brendon Jobs); global studies (Director of Global Studies Andrew Poolman); leadership (Upper School Dean of Students Mark Fifer), learner profiles (Learning Specialist Steve Cloran); and yoga and mindfulness (Associate Director of College Counseling Heather Stinson). Sessions are student-driven and project-based. “CORE is one way that we are being intentional about how the concepts of character and citizenship are woven into Haverford’s curriculum,” said Fifer. “We feel that CORE encourages our students to understand what it means to be a productive citizen and a man of character.” The seminar allows students time outside a traditional classroom to gain experiences and perspectives on a range of topics. From being in control of one’s digital “life,” to articulating one’s personal narrative and definition of “belonging,” to engaging “glocally,” to being a contributor to the life of the Upper School, to identifying one’s learning style, to managing stress and improving mental flexibility, CORE is putting Haverford’s mantra of preparing boys for life into action. “Through our program’s essential and guiding questions based on Haverford’s Character and Citizenship initiative – Who Am I?, Who Are We?, How Are We Connected? – we are eager to lead Third Formers down engaging and challenging paths of new realizations, life lessons, and personal growth,” said Cloran.
S
C O M M U NI TY
M Y COU NTRY M Y WO R L D
in the classroom
Argument-driven inquiry Middle School students are getting the chance to design their own experiments in science class, following the approach of argument-driven inquiry, or ADI. The approach was implemented in Upper School science classes last year. The ADI method leads students through the process of answering a “guiding question” by designing and executing an investigation of a scientific phenomenon. In small groups, students decide what data they need to collect to answer the guiding question; design and run their own experiment to collect that data; and develop a written argument justifying their conclusion. Then they must share and critique their arguments with other groups and write individual investigative reports that are peer-reviewed. “Doing ADI labs gives students exposure to the way that real science is done,” said Middle School science teacher
Ann Bunn. “You don’t always have the answers when you’re first starting an experiment. You have to figure out what kind of data you need, how it will be measured or collected, and how it will be analyzed to justify your claim.” Form II students’ first ADI project explored potential energy with the guiding question: “How can you make an action figure jump higher?” Sixth-graders completed an ADI lab in December on magnetic force, answering the question: “How is the strength of an electromagnetic affected by the number of turns of wire in a coil?” “ADI’s emphasis is placed on not just what we know, but how do we know that?” said sixth-grade science teacher Marion Jacob. “This type of lesson allows students to have a comfortable place to fail, redo their experiment, retest their data, and ultimately, gain a much better understanding of scientific concepts.”
Sixth graders in Mrs. Jacobs’ class designed their own science experiment on electromagnetism. They were trying to answer the question “How is the strength of an electromagnet affected by the number of turns in a coil?”
haverford.org
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AROUND THE QUAD
Gameday Crew by V Former Toby Ma
A small group of students, known as the Gameday Crew, work on the sidelines of sporting events to ensure that the games run smoothly all season. The roles they play are simple: setting up and tidying up before and after the game, and assisting referees and players during the game. Athletics Director Michael Murphy, who wanted to give students a chance to get involved with school sports without participating as a player, first conceived the idea. “I saw it as a win-win: it was really good for our teams, really good for our programs, and also a good way to have guys involved with athletics, but not actually be on the team,” Murphy said.
in the classroom
The Timothy School
The Timothy School, located in Berwyn, has partnered with The Haverford School for more than 15 years. The school serves children with autism, many of whom have developed close bonds with our community. The students exchange letters throughout the year as
Gameday Crew has been met with positive reception from both coaches and players alike. “We are always trying to come up with ways to expand Gameday Crew and help make coaches’ and players’ lives easier,” said Upper School Spanish teacher and Gameday Crew adviser Brooke Kenna. “I would love to see it turn into something that is student-run, where guys plan out the schedule and self-manage.” “I think Gameday Crew should strive to provide a collegiate or professional experience for our coaches and student-athletes,” said Associate Director of Athletics Brendan Dawson. “Our goal as Gameday Crew should be to be invisible. If everything is running smoothly and no one notices we are there, it means we’re doing our job well.” “The Unsung Heroes of Gameday Crew” originally ran in The Index. You can read the full article at havindex.com.
pen pals and also participate in a one-day school exchange. This fall, students from The Timothy School visited Haverford to participate in an art project, visit a music class, play on the sports fields, and participate in classroom projects. Haverford students will visit The Timothy School in the spring. “This is the best lesson I teach my boys all year – to be accepting of people, to make a friend, and to be a friend,” said Kate Thorburn, third-grade teacher. Third-grader Vaughn said, “I learned that no matter who it is, no matter how uncomfortable it might be at first, no matter how different somebody is from you … that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great time with each other.” “When we visit and write to each other, the Haverford boys learn that our students are individuals with many skills, and that Timothy School students can be a lot of fun,” said Christine Moran of The Timothy School. “Our students learn that they can interact with typically-developing kids, and that those kids can be very caring and very kind.”
in the classroom
New class schedules allow deeper thinking New for the 2018-19 school year, Haverford’s Middle and Upper Schools are following a daily schedule that features longer class periods, more teacher-student interaction, and more flexibility for the boys. The new Middle School schedule features hour-long class periods, which meet four times every seven days. Previously, classes met six times a week for 40 minutes. There are scheduled breaks, including daily community time and homeroom, as well as opportunities for boys to meet teachers outside of classes during the school day. “The approach to learning has shifted,” said Head of Middle School Jay Greytok ’83. “The most important thing is for our teachers to build relationships with the boys, and with this new schedule, teachers can connect with all the boys better, as well as monitor and
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reach out to the ones who need help.” The new Upper School schedule includes five class periods a day instead of six. Classes meet for either three 40-minute blocks and two 80-minute blocks, or for one 40-minute block and three-80 minute blocks. Similar to the Middle School schedule, there is daily community programming for students, such as advisory, assembly, or clubs, as well as a 30-minute “flex” block built into every cycle. “Overall, the new schedules address the research and data that we’ve been studying for two years,” said Greytok. “There is now time for boys to stop, think, relax, and reflect. Students who engage in critical and reflective thinking during class are much better equipped to process their experience and outcomes. They learn better, think deeper, and absorb the material in a meaningful way.”
AROUND THE QUAD
in the classroom
Schulmerich Bells Fourth- and fifth-graders are studying chimes in music class with a new set of five-octave handbells from Schulmerich Bells LLC, the world’s largest manufacturer of musical handbells. Jonathan and Julia Goldstein, parents of a Haverford School third-grader and owners of Schulmerich, donated the set to the Lower School. “Our son is having a wonderful first year at Haverford, and we wanted to help make music an even more magical experience for all of the students,” they said.
Twenty percent of graduating class earns National Merit Scholarship Program recognition Twenty Haverford School seniors, representing 20 percent of the Class of 2019, were recognized by the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program. Nine students – Nik Chakraborty, Intel Chen, Michael Fairorth, Jared Hoefner, Aram LaVan, Logan McAllister, Neetish Sharma, William Vauclain, and Griffin Wada – were named Semifinalists and will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million. Scholarship winners will be announced in the spring.
Eleven students were recognized as Commended Scholars, placing them among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2019 competition by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. This year’s Commended Scholars are: Nick Chimicles, Andrew D’Arcangelo, Samuel Gavula, Benjamin Gerber, Jesse Goldman, Nelson Liu, Henry Sun, Connor Tracy, Winslow Wanglee, Jake Weinstein, and John Williams.
in the community
Thanksgiving food drives CANS DONATED
3,746
to Old Pine Community Church’s Saturday for Seniors program
1,849
7,035
to St. Barnabas Mission for Homeless Mothers & Children
1,440
TURKEYS DONATED
100+
to Project HOME
20+
turkeys and boxes of food for local families
to Life Centers of Delaware County
haverford.org
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in the spirit Out of the primordial mists, the Haverford School orchestra arises to celebrate the holidays with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24.”
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THE BIG PICTURE
haverford.org
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AROUND THE QUAD
Best for Boys Speaker Series
Mindfulness with Dr. Michael Baime On Oct. 25, The Haverford School welcomed Dr. Michael Baime, one of the country’s foremost experts on mindfulness, as its Best for Boys Speaker Series presenter. “All kinds of critically important ways that we function are impaired by levels of stress that we experience regularly,” Dr. Baime said, such as the ability to establish restorative sleep, to regulate caloric intake, and to contain inappropriate behavior. “Mindfulness is a structured mental process that steadies and deepens awareness by bringing it to rest on a stable focus,” said Baime. “By allowing awareness to remain in the present, we are less
Upcoming lectures
distracted and less distressed. When our attention comes into the present moment, the body takes care of itself.” Baime discussed his research on mindfulness and how regular practice can strengthen one’s attention and ultimately, change the structure of one’s brain. “Research shows that the part of the brain that helps you stay focused and balanced becomes bigger and more active when you practice mindfulness,” he said. Baime then led a mindfulness exercise to more fully engage attendees in the present moment. Dr. Michael Baime is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and founder and
director of the Penn Program for Mindfulness. He is the recipient of the Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania and the 2016 Award for Distinguished Contributions in Behavioral Medicine from the American College of Physicians.
April 10
April 23
May 8
29th annual Davis R. Parker Memorial History Lecture: Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar
21st annual Edward R. Hallowell Literary Lecture: Dr. W.D. Ehrhart
Best for Boys Speaker Series: Dr. Michael Reichert
Ball Auditorium 7:30 p.m.
Ball Auditorium 7:30 p.m.
Ball Auditorium 7 p.m.
haverford.org/speakers
Faculty In-Service
Racial Literacy with Dr. Howard Stevenson “The Lion’s Story Will Never Be Known as Long as the Hunter is the One to Tell It.” - African Proverb Dr. Howard Stevenson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, visited The Haverford School on Nov. 12 to discuss his racial literacy work with faculty and staff. He also participated in a session with the Faculty Inclusion Committee, and spoke at a parent education event held at Haverford in collaboration with The Agnes Irwin School. “Racial encounters matter,” said Dr. Stevenson. “The ideas that we have are important, the values that we have are important, but I’m not sure we’ve gotten lessons about how we translate those ideas and values to decisions. Believing in justice is not the same as doing justice.” Stevenson led faculty through several exercises to move from “fitting in” to “belonging.” “Belonging begins with embracing,” he said. “What is my story? Fitting in is about shape-shifting: how do I shape-shift myself so other people aren’t uncomfortable and do not get upset by my differences or my identity?”
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Faculty and staff left the session enlightened about their own stories, the stories of their colleagues, and effective ways to facilitate racial literacy in the classroom. Dr. Howard Stevenson is the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education, Professor of Africana Studies, in the Human Development & Quantitative Methods Division of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Executive Director of the Racial Empowerment Collaborative.
ARTS
Middle School Cabaret raises $600 for Puerto Rico service project On Oct. 19 and 20, Middle School students had an opportunity to shine on stage in the fifth annual Middle School Cabaret, a fundraiser for the Form II service trip to Puerto Rico. The event raised $600. Haverford boys and girls from The Baldwin School and The Agnes Irwin School performed songs and dances from Broadway musicals, comedic scenes, monologues, and original works in Centennial Hall. The theme this year was “When I Grow Up,” named after a song from the Broadway show “Matilda.” The
song served as a full cast performance at the conclusion of the program. “I love the chance to feature so many of the boys in the spotlight during the Cabaret,” said Middle School theater teacher Jenn Hallman. “Our spring musical has a limited amount of lead parts, but this event gives many more boys a chance to take ownership of what they would like to perform on their own and show off their skills to the School community.” Since 2010, Middle School faculty and eighth grade boys have traveled to Puerto Rico for four days in the spring, touring
cities and engaging in community service projects at local schools or orphanages. The money raised at the Cabaret will go directly to funding the service projects, which include painting murals, gardening, organizing books, and helping students learn English. “It is truly amazing to watch the boys put so much into the show and then be able to see firsthand what their efforts are doing for others,” Hallman said. “Our boys are giving through art.”
Upcoming arts events March 8 & 9, | 7:30 p.m.; March 10, | 2 p.m.
Upper School musical: “Sweeney Todd” March 13 | 7 p.m.
Michael Stairs Memorial Concert: David Kim April 3 | 7:30 p.m.
Inter A Capella Concert
April 7 | 2 p.m.
May 3
Conservatory Recital
Arts Festival opening reception
April 26 | 7 p.m. April 27 | 2 p.m.
May 13 | 7 p.m.
Middle School play “Newsies”
Middle School Spring Concert
April 30 | 7:30 p.m.
Upper School Spring Concert
May 20 | 7 p.m.
Lower School Spring Concert haverford.org
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ARTS
“An Enemy of the People” For the fall play, Theater Department Chair Darren Hengst and Haverford’s thespians took on “An Enemy of the People” by Henrik Isben, adapted by Arthur Miller. Henrik Ibsen wrote the play in 1882 as a response to the outrage that his play, “Ghosts,” had received. “Ghosts” flaunted societal norms and dealt with taboo subjects. In 1950, legendary playwright Arthur Miller adapted Ibsen’s work to expose a contemporary persecution of the time – Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare. In talking about his choice for the show, Hengst explained, “Presently, the truth is being argued in every corner of our world, and this, I believe, is what has made this production so relatable for the cast, and perhaps easier for them to understand Dr. Stockmann’s plight.” The situation gave students the opportunity to explore how far they themselves would go to speak their truth.
Musical instrument prototyping In music class, fourth-graders studied the four main types of instruments: idiophones, chordophones, membranophones, and aerophones. Using the design thinking framework, students created their own musical instruments from alternative materials. They experimented with their prototypes, playing different tunes and making various sounds. Each boy presented his instrument to his classmates, demonstrating his understanding of the LAUNCH cycle: L: Look, Listen, Learn; A: Ask Tons of Questions; U: Understanding the Process or Problem; N: Navigate Ideas; C: Create a Prototype; and H: Highlight and Fix. “Design thinking empowers the boys to learn by doing,” said Megan Lenahan, fourth-grade teacher. “The LAUNCH cycle provides the students with a framework through which to make connections to their background knowledge, investigate areas in which they are curious, think creatively about a solution to a problem, and receive critical feedback in order to continue to grow and improve. It is a joy to see the boys become lifelong learners through this process.” 12
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ARTS
Industrial approach to art and design Students in Portfolio I Honors, co-taught by Mr. Raeder and Mr. Ressler, completed a three-week project that introduced new artistic techniques and processes. First, students learned how to mix and cast plaster into square molds. They then cut and cleaned the plaster box into random smaller sizes that are used to “build” a new
mold for slip casting ceramics, a process similar to how sinks, toilets, and mugs are made on an industrial level. “Our students are using the blocks to make idiosyncratic structures that only reveal themselves after the clay has dried and the mold removed,” explains Raeder. “This process is used by designers and
The Form I duct tape shoe art lesson extends beyond the studio to include topics in history, economics, science, and math. The objective is to construct a wearable shoe made entirely out of duct tape. The boys start by looking at the history and science of duct tape, which was originally developed from petroleumbased materials as a way to waterproof equipment during World War II. We examine what makes the tape strong and waterproof. Next, we proceed under the assumption that our class is full of small business owners rich with an unrefined resource of duct tape. Our first task is developing an efficient system to “refine” this sticky substance into usable material, while minimizing waste and keeping cost in mind. This parallels the Form I boys’ study of Pittsburgh’s
early steel industry and the Industrial Revolution, as well as lessons on Henry Ford’s model for mass production using the assembly line. As we evaluate material costs, the students learn that a bulk roll of standard gray tape is much more cost effective than specialty tapes. The boys then dig through my tape receipts, finding the cost ratio of the gray and color/printed tapes. Finally, the students develop and refine prototypes for their unique shoe designs out of paper before their “more expensive” tape construction business venture is green lit. The boys also need to consider what variables make a product desirable. What catches our eye, and why? Is there a science to what colors grab our attention or look great when placed together? The result is a wearable work of art.
artists to make random yet repeatable forms either as a way to sketch ideas or as finished pieces in their own right. Through this project, we are introducing a more industrial, anonymous, factory-based way of thinking about art and design.”
Duct tape shoes By Nate Pankratz, Middle School art teacher
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ATHLETICS
Fall sports wrap-ups Cross-country Head coach: Tim Lengel ’07 League record: 2-3 League finish: 5th place Team captains: Khalil Bland, Vincent Scauzzo Individual accomplishments: All-Inter-Ac Second Team – A.J. Sanford, Mickey Fairorth • Defeated SCHA with a perfect score • Secured the first win of Haverford/EA Day by two points
Football Head coach: Michael Murphy Overall record: 3-6 League record: 1-4 League finish: 6th place Individual accomplishments: All-Inter-Ac First Team – Asim Richards All-Inter-Ac Second Team – Daiyaan Hawkins, Sean Clark • • • •
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Defeated Northeast High School, ranked no. 12 in the state week one Defeated Chester High School, scoring 69 points Defeated GA for the only league win of the season Asim Richards, OT, committed to play college football for the University of North Carolina
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ATHLETICS
Golf
Soccer
Head coach: Gui Costin ’85 Overall record: 35-0 League record: 30-0 League finish: 1st place Team captains: Mac Costin, Peter Garno, A.J. Aivazoglou, Sam Walker, David Hurly Individual accomplishments: All-Inter-Ac First Team – Mac Costin, Peter Garno, A.J. Aivazoglou, Sam Walker, David Hurly, Charlie Baker All-Inter-Ac Second Team – Jake Maddaloni, Zak Summy All-State – Sam Walker, A.J. Aivazoglou, Charlie Baker
Head coach: Daniel Keefe Overall record: 13-4-2 League record: 6-3-1 League finish: 1st place Team captains: Will Micheletti, Griffin Wada, Nick Pippis Individual accomplishments: Inter-Ac MVP – Griffin Wada All-Inter-Ac First Team – Griffin Wada, Will Micheletti All-Inter-Ac Second Team – Nick Pippis, Mitchell Hark, Luke Macaione All-Inter-Ac Honorable Mention – Will Boyes
• Team State Champions • Winner of Haverford/EA Day by one stroke • All eight players on varsity had stroke averages below 40
• Three seniors will play soccer in college • Team was ranked as high as no.12 nationally and no.1 in Pennsylvania • Claimed the Inter-Ac title with a 4-1 win over Episcopal Academy on Haverford/EA Day • Played Shipley at Talen Energy Stadium and won 2-0 • Defeated both the Hill School (2-0) and Springside Chestnut Hill (2-1), who competed for the PIASAA state championship • Defeated Conestoga and Bishop Curley, who were both nationally ranked when the teams met • Goals (42) were scored by 12 different players, and every member of the varsity team (27 athletes) played in multiple games
Keep up with the latest in Haverford sports on Twitter @GoFords
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ATHLETICS
Water polo Head coach: Kevin Van Such Overall record: 24-4 League record: 8-0 League finish: 1st place Team captains: Nick Biddle, J.R. Leitz, Matej Sekulic Individual accomplishments: Inter-Ac MVP: Matej Sekulic All-Inter-Ac First Team – Ryan LaRocca, Matej Sekulic, Dave Gobora All-Inter-Ac Second Team – J.R. Leitz Easterns All-Tournament First Team: Ryan LaRocca, Matej Sekulic Easterns All-Tournament Second Team: Dave Gobora • • • • • •
Won first water polo championship since 2009 First time in School history the team went 8-0 in the Inter-Ac Highest finish at Eastern Prep Water Polo Tournament (2nd) First time Fords finished 3-0 at Philmore Tournament Finished Beast of the East Tournament as Flight II runner-up Clinched the sweater for Haverford on EA day with a 12-5 win
Coach’s Corner: Brian Martin, football & lacrosse Brian Martin came to Haverford in 2001 as an assistant JV lacrosse coach. In 2004, he began working with the Health and Wellness program as a physical education teacher. Since then, he has been a part of many boys’ lives as they grow on the athletic fields and in the classroom. Whether coaching, leading winter fitness, or teaching in the classroom, he cherishes the rapport with his students and players. Martin has been the defensive coordinator for Haverford’s varsity football team since 2006, during which time the program has won five Inter-Ac championships. Under his guidance, numerous student-athletes have competed
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at the collegiate level or returned to Haverford to join the staff as assistant coach. Martin enjoys the challenges that each season brings and tries to put his players in the best position for them to be successful. He adds to the level of success of the program by scouting opposing teams, recruiting players, and working as a director for Mike Murphy Football Camp. His efforts have made the Fords a perennial contender in the tough Inter-Ac League. Martin also mentors young athletes by teaching in the Lower School and coaching Middle School sports. He believes that Middle School is a place where players
can compete and have fun while learning about themselves as athletes. Having coached Middle School lacrosse since 2006, he feels fortunate to watch boys develop as they progress through one of the top lacrosse programs in the country. After attending St. James High School in Chester, where he played football and baseball and ran track and field, Martin continued his football career at Wesley College and won an Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship. He loves sports and the teamwork that goes into building competitive teams.
ATHLETICS
Haverford/EA Day 2018 Golf Haverford wins, 177-178 Cross-country Haverford wins, 27-29 Water polo Haverford wins, 12-5 Soccer Haverford wins, 4-1 Football EA wins, 28-14
F O R D S (clockwise from top right) Students face off with faculty in tug-of-war during spirit week; The golf team braves cold temperatures and rain to pull out a win for the Fords; Alumni gather in Nostrant Pavillion for the Haverford/ EA Day kick-off party; The soccer team celebrates a goal, moving the Fords closer to victory; Form I parents serve up pancakes and bacon as fans get ready to cheer on the Fords.
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PARENTS
Fall Festival
The Haverford School Parents’ Association hosted its annual Fall Festival on Oct. 18. An inflatable slide, games, treats, and raffles were enjoyed by Lower School students who visited the Fall Festival along with their parents or special friends. The event was chaired by Rachel McCurdy, Wendy McDevitt, Kiah Johnson, and Kayla Brochu.
Perfect Present
A Lower School holiday tradition, Perfect Present gives boys an opportunity to purchase gifts for their loved ones. The event was co-chaired by Jennifer Garzia and Jonelle McDaniel.
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THE BIG PICTURE
HSPA PARTY & AUCTION The Haverford School Parents’ Association Patrons’ Party was held on Oct. 19 and hosted by Marlo Pagano-Kelleher and David Kelleher, parents of fourthgrader Sam. The gathering is held in advance of Haverford’s signature annual fundraising event to honor lead supporters and corporate sponsors. This year’s Party & Auction was held on Nov. 3 with the theme “Let’s Hear It for the Boys.” The Field House was transformed into a hip lounge for more than 400 guests who, along with sponsors and supporters, helped raise more than $200,000 for the boys and young men of The Haverford School.
Marlo Pagano-Kelleher (Patrons’ Party host), Leigh Ross and Melissa Stamps (Party & Auction cochairs), and David Kelleher (Patrons’ Party host).
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FLYING HIGH PIASECKI FAMILY FORGES NEW FRONTIERS IN AVIATION BY JESSICA WELSH
Located in Essington, Pa., on the banks of the Delaware River in a re-purposed industrial facility, the Piasecki family is advancing the boundaries of aviation. Piasecki Aircraft Corporation (PiAC), founded by aviation pioneer Frank Piasecki in 1955, and now run by John Piasecki ’85 and Fred Piasecki ’82, develops and flight-tests advanced technologies for rotorcraft and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the Department of Defense (DoD) and commercial markets. In 1992, brother Michael Piasecki ’85 left his work in the film industry in New York and co-located his company, Dragonfly Pictures Inc (DPI), in Essington to pioneer development of small helicopter UAS for the emerging commercial and military aerial imaging market. While the Piaseckis have been at the forefront of vertical lift technology for decades, some of their most significant innovations are now coming to fruition as a result of rapid advances in enabling technology and an emerging transformation in military and civilian operations, training, emergency response, and on-demand transport and logistics. The Piasecki brothers’ collective passion for aviation was stoked by their father. As one of the original inventors of the helicopter, Frank Piasecki is considered a pioneer of aviation and one of the principal founders of the American helicopter industry. Frank attended Overbrook High School, enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated from New York University with an aeronautical degree in 1940. “At that time, Philadelphia was a great center of industrial innovation,” says John, President and CEO of PiAC. “The Franklin Institute had a proactive role in promoting rotary wing aircraft development, and Harold Pitcairn had brought over the autogyro technology (the rotary wing predecessor to the helicopter) from England in 1929, making Philadelphia the cradle of the rotorcraft industry. My father grew up in a very fertile environment.” It was in these ripe surroundings that Frank and his Penn classmates, by hook and by crook, gathered materials to design, build, and fly the second successful helicopter in the United States: the PV-2, a conventional single rotor design and the first to demonstrate a dynamically balanced rotor system. It was quickly followed by the twin rotor tandem design, where the torques of each rotor cancel each other out, so all the power is dedicated to lift. “These two innovations, a dynamically balanced rotor coupled with the counter-rotating tandem rotor system, opened the door to
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scale up the helicopter to a larger and much more useful platform that we know today,” says John. “For example, in 1947, the first tandem rotor HRP-1 flew with three times the lifting capacity of any helicopter at the time and was the first to be capable of carrying an 1,800-pound torpedo, a critical Navy requirement. This helicopter was also used by the Marine Corps in 1949 to demonstrate for the first time in history the concept of Vertical Envelopment, where helicopters were used to transport troops, rather than having them come over the beach, avoiding the massive carnage experienced by the Marines across the Pacific during WWII.” A later variant of Piasecki’s tandem helicopter, the H-21 Shawnee, was used by the U.S. Army as its primary troop transport to develop air assault tactics in Vietnam. The Air Force also used the H-21 for rescuing pilots. During the Vietnam War, the tandem rotor configuration was fully embraced by the military, leading to the development and production of the H-46 Sea Knight for the Marine Corps and Navy and the CH-47 Chinook for the Army. These have served as the military’s primary troop transport and cargo helicopters for more than 60 years. Success with the U.S. military was the gateway to multiple international customers, including allies such as the Germans and French; Piasecki Helicopters became the largest helicopter company in the world. After selling this company to Boeing, Frank founded PiAC, where he continued his development of advanced vertical lift aircraft, including drones, flying cars, high speed compound helicopters, and super heavy lift hybrid aircraft. Many of these high-risk, experimental aircrafts were before their time, but proved the realm of possibility and laid a foundation upon which much of the vertical lift industry continues to build. In recognition of his extensive achievements, Frank was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Reagan in 1986 and the Smithsonian National Air & Space Lifetime Achievement award in 2005.
Aviation pioneer Frank Piasecki receiving the National Medal of Technology from President Reagan in 1986.
Mike Piasecki ’85 collaborated with Garrett Brown, who invented camera stabilization technology, to mount a gimbal on a vibrating helicopter and get a steady shot.
Frank was hopeful that his five sons’ Haverford School educations would include engineering basics, but that wasn’t the case. “My father wanted us to learn mechanical drawing: dimensions, tolerances, concentricity,” says Mike, founder of DPI. “He wanted us to be fluent in the mechanical language that is needed to produce things in a repeatable way, in which you’re assured efficiencies. At the time, as Headmaster Davis Parker told my father, Haverford was not a trade school but rather was in the business of graduating doctors and lawyers. Today, the path to success and wealth is much more varied. What we need to be focused on is the everlasting value system that makes us upstanding citizens – hard workers, flexible, innovative, armed with tools to confront change and to adapt.” These kinds of values were reinforced at Haverford by teachers and coaches alike. “I vividly remember a Neil Buckley wrestling poster located in the weight room that stated, ‘Luck is when preparation meets opportunity,’” says Mike. “I think Haverford prepared me well not only to dream, but to execute.” Mike was fascinated by the intersection of photography and aviation from a young age. He was particularly interested in unmanned helicopters, which were more suitable for carrying cameras. He worked in New York City in the film industry after graduating from college, but soon returned to Philadelphia to launch DPI. “Garrett Brown, a Philadelphian, invented the camera stabilization technology that enabled some of the most iconic shots in film history, including ‘Rocky’ in 1976,” says Mike. “We both had businesses in Essington and ran into each other from time to time. I had a challenge for him: mount a gimbal on a vibrating helicopter and get a steady shot.” Today, Mike is working with the tandem helicopter his father made, but in miniaturized form. “The marketplace demands the
A work station at Dragonfly Pictures
most efficient, smallest, cheapest aircraft,” he says. “Clients want a turnkey system: they want to have a vehicle that they can maintain, that is simple to operate, and that can be relied upon for the duration of its mission.” DPI focuses on smaller aircraft (55-1,500 pounds) that can maintain a stable hover in difficult conditions, or in complex terrain. Mike sees great opportunity for both military and civilian application in the company’s newest innovation: the unmanned multirotor aerial relay, a tethered UAV. In 2006, DPI created one of the world’s first electric helicopters. It was 25 pounds – and so was its battery, which lasted only 15 minutes. “We created a tether to expedite the thousands of hours of testing that are required; manually changing a battery several times an hour wasn’t practical,” says Mike. “I then realized that if we could convert the heavy tether into a light one, and insert
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fiber optics, we could have a sophisticated communication and camera system. This is a classic example of how an unanticipated outcome can provide insight to create an industry-changing innovation.” One of the current applications of the tether system is the U.S. Navy’s work to identify and destruct undersea mines. “Sailors need to be at a significant stand-off range to ensure their safety, but they must also maintain a line of sight to control these unmanned destroy vessels,” says Mike. “We developed an all-electric unmanned helicopter, powered by the boat through a high-voltage tether, that acts as a modern-day crow’s nest. It has four times the existing range of capabilities, and indefinite endurance. Even in large waves or other environmental disruptions, the tether management system allows the helicopter to fly its pre-programmed course.” DPI’s first contract with the military was with the U.S. Army in 2004 for the Future Combat System Class III Unmanned Aerial System, and the company recently developed signals intelligence to operate from an unmanned ground vehicle during NATO exercises in Poland, Romania, and Germany. Mike is currently traveling to domestic U.S. military bases with a prototype of the DP-14 Field Hawk, a tandem helicopter designed to move medical equipment to the front lines and bring casualties back for treatment. “The DP-14 Field Hawk allows us to push medical equipment forward to stabilize soldiers in austere environments,” he says. The company has also worked in the civilian airspace, most notably with the Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension, affiliated with Rutgers University. Rutgers provides many of the varieties of cranberries used by Ocean Spray®; their aim is to minimize the use of pesticides on cranberries, while still producing a sizable crop that is free from the “rust” fungus that attacks the berries. The DP-12 Rhino is a UAV that offers precision agricultural spraying. It limits weeds and pests that disseminate crops, but in an automated and efficient manner, while also negating the need for such a large amount of potentially harmful chemicals. “Manned crop dusters carry up to 800 gallons of pesticides, and some crops require spraying five times annually,” says Mike. “Agriculture has doubled its output four times in history. We to need double it again if we’re going to feed a growing population, and sustainable farming practices are part of that equation.”
Like Mike, John had a plethora of interests during his Haverford days and felt supported – whether playing violin, working on the Student Council, or competing in football, wrestling, and lacrosse. “I feel I had a dynamic, multifaceted experience across many different aspects of school life, but there just wasn’t enough time,” says John. “I remember loving theater in Middle School, but I had to give it up when I started playing varsity sports. Haverford was demanding academically and prepared me well in the fundamentals of math, science, and language. The English department, in particular, was a great group of teachers dedicated to molding boys into thoughtful and decent young men. They took the time to engage the students and introduce them to the world of ideas. I ultimately majored in philosophy as a result. Haverford’s values were simpatico with what my parents taught me: that each of us has a responsibility and duty to make the most of what we have and contribute something positive to the world.” John’s foray into aviation began when he returned home after graduating from Yale University to help his father, who was recovering from an automobile accident. “It was only supposed
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Dragonfly Pictures created one of the world’s first electric helicopters in 2006. While experimenting with how to efficiently test the aircraft for market, the company developed an industry-changing communication and camera system.
Dragonfly Pictures’ DP-14 Field Hawk is designed to move medical equipment to the front lines of military conflict, and bring back wounded soldiers for treatment.
Dragonfly Pictures’ DP-12 Rhino provides precision agricultural spraying and is currently engaged in work with the Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension, affiliated with Rutgers University.
In 2008, PiAC successfully flew the X-49A Compound Technology Demonstrator, a derivative of the H-60 helicopter, demonstrating up to a 40 percent increase in speed and 50 percent reduction in vibration and fatigue loads.
The world’s first autonomous flight of a man-rated helicopter. PiAC, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, developed and flight-demonstrated its KlearPath autonomous navigation/sensor system on a Boeing helicopter. This technology enables an unmanned aircraft to fly at low altitude while avoiding obstacles and safely landing in unmapped terrain.
to be a temporary job, before I went off to law or business school, but I was inspired by the entrepreneurialism and innovation,” says John. “Working with my dad and my brother Fred, I began to see that there were so many technologies and capabilities that were available, but for one reason or another couldn’t get through the ‘valley of death’ from development to a useful application. Promising technology may be 20 percent of what’s necessary for a successful program; it also takes business strategy, financial acumen, legal framework, intellectual property protection, industrial relationships, and a thorough understanding of how our government customer and Congress work in order to shepherd technology through the byzantine pathway to success.” John and his brother Fred, PiAC’s Chief Technology Officer, have applied that process, and all of its nuances, to generate tremendous innovation. In 2008, they successfully flew the next generation of compound helicopter technology on the X-49A, demonstrating a 40 percent increase in speed and 50 percent reduction in vibration and fatigue loads. In 2006, the company flew the world’s first autonomous autogyro and in 2010 flew the world’s first man-rated helicopter with fully autonomous flight capability from take-off, en route navigation, and obstacle avoidance, to landing zone selection and landing. Working with Carnegie Mellon, PiAC integrated its KlearPath autonomous guidance, navigation, and control system on an H-6 helicopter. The system uses a laser radar sensor to scan the surrounding area to create a threedimensional image of the terrain, and control algorithms to enable the helicopter to autonomously execute a mission in a near-earth, complex environment without a pilot. In 2010, the sensor package was about 70 pounds. Today, the same mission can be executed with a cell phone camera. John refers to PiAC as an “ideas company,” always eager to take on a hard-technical challenge. They are currently developing the Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) ducted fan vehicle with Lockheed Martin for the Marine Corps and Army, who need a way to autonomously deliver cargo from ships to troops in austere mountainous or densely populated urban areas. They are applying similar technology to appeal to civilian consumers, too. “There is a major thrust going on in terms of combining autonomous flight capabilities with advanced rotorcraft configurations in the civil sector,” says John. “We are combining our experience with electric propulsion and autonomy to develop the PA890, an eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft that offers the potential to reduce operating costs by as much as 50 percent from today’s helicopters. We’re developing this aircraft to not only support future markets like on-demand personal transport, but also existing markets like emergency medical services.” John believes that PiAC can offer an intermediary service that will allow for consolidation of warehousing and a much more responsive distribution system to localized sites. “Expanding vertical lift services for on-demand mobility, like that being proposed by Uber, requires economies of scale that are well beyond what current helicopters provide. There are new Federal Aviation Administration certification standards and public acceptance elements that need to be addressed, including noise and safety, as well as traffic deconfliction issues that will require a revolution in our air traffic management system. The challenge is: how do you get from today to that point?” John shares that in the past year, about $1 billion has been invested in eVTOL – and he expects that to continue. Large corporations and small start-ups alike are entering the game, but he believes PiAC is uniquely positioned for success. “We don’t suffer from the large company mentality, we’re known for our
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Fred Piasecki ’82 and John Piasecki ’85 host a U.S. government customer from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) inspecting the company’s innovative Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES), a 7,000-pound ducted fan UAV.
innovation, and we’re experts in rapid prototyping and integration of autonomous systems,” he says. “Our society is on the threshold of a huge transformation as a result of the merging of complex mechanical systems with digitally enabled technologies,” John continues. “Ever since the helicopter was invented, there has always a promise of every person having a flying car in their garage. With the advent of electric propulsion, the prohibitive cost of turbine engines can be avoided, and autonomy will ultimately eliminate the time and cost of getting a pilot license. These technologies open the prospect of on-demand mobility for the public at an unprecedented level. If you can turn a two-hour automobile commute into a 30-minute air taxi ride at an affordable price, you are going to see a fundamental shift in the time-space continuum of how we live and work.” Michael W. Piasecki ’85, Founder, Dragonfly Pictures Inc. Mike Piasecki founded Dragonfly Pictures Inc. (DPI) in 1992. With a background in both helicopters and camera stabilization techniques, Mike focused DPI on designing and building small, cost-effective, autonomous vertical take-off and landing unmanned aircraft system that extends command and control links and delivers unique payloads with precision to austere locations. Mike was a Lifer at The Haverford School and earned a B.A. from Tufts University. He was a member of Haverford’s boys’ choir, played football, was captain of the wrestling team, and was a member of the 1985 state championship lacrosse team, which was inducted into the Haverford School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. He is the parent of a Haverford fourth-grader. John W. Piasecki ’85, President and CEO, Piasecki Aircraft Corporation John Piasecki joined Piasecki Aircraft in 1989. He is currently Vice Chairman of the Vertical Lift Consortium, a Director of the Rock Island Company, a Trustee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute,
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and former Public Policy Chair of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is an active member of the American Helicopter Society, National Defense Industrial Association, Yale Alumni Schools Committee, and is a former Director of the Opera Company of Philadelphia. John was a Lifer at The Haverford School, earned a B.A. from Yale University, and served on the School’s advisory board. While a student, he was a member of Student Council, captain of the football team, a wrestler, and a member of the 1985 state championship lacrosse team, which was inducted into the Haverford School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. He also played violin and was active in the theater program. Frederick W. Piasecki ’82, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, Piasecki Aircraft Corporation Fred Piasecki’s career path has focused on the development of innovative engineering solutions to unique or unexplored areas of VTOL, UAVs, alternative energy, and transportation systems for the DoD and commercial operators. Fred was named Vice President of Technology in 1991 and in 2008 he became Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Technology Officer. He has published more than 100 papers on rotorcraft design and holds three patents in VTOL technology. Fred was a Lifer at The Haverford School and earned his B.S. in aerospace engineering from Boston University. He was an avid photographer, played viola, and played football, wresting, and lacrosse while at Haverford.
Being better about “belonging” By Brendon Jobs Director of Diversity and Inclusion
In September, Headmaster John Nagl announced “friendship” as the 2018-19 school year’s guiding core virtue – one of 24 that are etched in stone on our campus. As Director of Diversity and Inclusion, I find that this virtue is ideal for deepening the quality of our relationships and summoning the bravery to build bridges across lines of difference that can often preclude new friendships. Within this virtue exists a challenge to break old, comfortable patterns of creating social bonds and to expand our notions of the forms that social connections can take.
At times, we move through the world without really seeing each other. I call this the “blur;” whether due to an absence of awareness; to habit or lack of interest; to overstimulation or fear, disconnectedness is a societal norm. The hurt and harm it can generate are often overlooked or suppressed, but can be manifested in school communities as explicit conflict, implicit bias, or subtle identity erasure. The natural response in these situations is to manage what has gone wrong in-themoment, but we can be more effective if we educate ourselves and our students how to identify conflict and disconnectedness. The newly formed pre-k-12 Diversity and Inclusion Program is working to create space for Haverford’s community to consider the meaning of identity in ways that raise awareness around both what unites us and also what generates conflict. The long view of human history suggests a
pattern that supports the assumption that we are a communal species; we all strive to belong. Traditionally, school communities respond to the flare-ups of social conflict in ways that react to the symptoms of hurt and harm without also determining the root causes that drive a boom-and-bust cycle of social connection. Inclusion is the work of building a community that intentionally faces the difficult questions about how identity shows up as a part of the Haverford experience. From that knowledge, we endeavor to cultivate space for managing not only the conflict – but the promise – of how diversity and inclusion can strengthen our culture of excellence. Inclusion work is healing work. This new role has placed me in a position to function as a connector and communicator between the different levers of the community, particularly in
terms of building and shaping a space that promotes healing and connections – real friendships – across lines of difference. This work is more art than science and requires total community effort and openness. This past summer, Haverford School faculty and staff read Blindspot: the Hidden Biases of Good People. Following a training session, Chris Dial of Harvard’s Implicit Bias Lab challenged Haverford’s community by sharing the truism: “You can’t challenge your biases unless you admit you have them. The most culturally competent people don’t lack bias, they know or are familiar with their biases.” In this way, the work of diversity and inclusion is not only to acknowledge the existence of implicit bias, but to take the difficult step of confronting the role it plays in perpetuating social conflict and disconnection. This takes intentional practice in shifting culture away from
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Racial literacy expert and University of Pennsylvania professor Dr. Howard Stevenson engages in discussion with The Haverford School’s Faculty Inclusion Committee, comprised of teachers from the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. Director of Diversity and Inclusion Brendon Jobs meets with Head of Upper School Patrick Andrén and Headmaster John Nagl following the People of Color Conference in Nashville, Tenn.
the natural shame, fear, guilt, and other responses this awareness can produce in the interest of creating a more supportive environment toward growth and healing. Implicit bias is natural and unconscious, yet carries real social consequences that can inhibit the cultivation of deep, meaningful, and authentic friendship across lines of difference. Inclusion lessens the pressure for competing interests, experiences, or realities to battle for dominance. More than a celebration of the kinds of difference represented in our community, inclusivity demands that we cultivate community in collaboration with each other in the interest of sculpting a school environment that represents us all. Preparing boys for life requires that we actively practice such methods of social empowerment and engagement. We all play critical roles in framing and implementing Haverford’s vision for diversity and inclusion. The vision has many moving parts that, like an engine, work in tandem to forge a deep sense of connection and belonging. In the program’s inaugural year, our three overarching goals are: Sustainable Environment, Inclusive Spaces, and Leadership Engagement and Commitment. The first goal supports the creation of an inclusive campus environment that empowers students, parents, teachers, and staff to engage in brave ways across lines of difference. It includes the creation of affinity spaces and moments for co-curricular cross-cultural dialogues between community members.
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The second goal increases faculty diversity and supports capacity building measures designed to strengthen our ability to engage students in culturally competent ways that model what it means to be a “person of virtue” as defined by Haverford’s Honor Code. The third goal focuses on our school leadership adopting a shared vision of and commitment to diversity and inclusion. This active engagement and commitment serve as the strategic foundation that weaves diversity and inclusion into the operational fabric of the School. As the community works to develop Haverford’s next Strategic Plan, we are exploring our collective commitment to strategic diversity and inclusion initiatives. Two key leaders in developing and executing our Diversity and Inclusion Program are the cross-divisional Faculty Inclusion Committee, which meets to share experiences and reflect on teaching practices; and the Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) participants,
a group of faculty and parents who engage in personal identity development work both on campus and through external training opportunities. For instance, in November, Haverford partnered with The Agnes Irwin School to host a faculty in-service day with Dr. Howard Stevenson of the University of Pennsylvania’s Racial Empowerment Collaborative. This was followed by an evening event for families that introduced the theory and practice of racial literacy as a stress reduction method for managing “in-the-moment” conflict. While the Diversity and Inclusion Program is a new initiative at Haverford, it is important to note that the work of building character, citizenship, and compassion has been a focus of the School for many years, most recently reaffirmed in the Strategic Vision 2010-2020 Update, published in 2015. Age-appropriate conversations in the Lower School include participation in the Brotherhood Project, designed by the Upper School Diversity Alliance to build
relationships across the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. In a recent project, Lower Schoolers taught their older “brothers” about the social-emotional work they have been practicing with Kimochis characters like “Lovely Dove” and “Huggtopus.” I’m Not Kidding (Middle School Diversity Alliance) participated in the Young Men of Color Symposium and (Re) Defining Power Conference in November. The conference features opportunities for both young men of color and young white men to explore their racial and gender identities while learning the skills needed for building community. Annually, Haverford hosts the Middle School Diversity Conference, one of the region’s largest, which attracts 400 students. The theme for this year is “Kinship and Friendship: Making Connections Across Lines of Difference.” In the Upper School, the Black Student Union has cultivated a membership that has planned a viewing of “The Hate U Give” and a poetry slam. The Pan-Asian Student Association has started to nurture a stable membership driven on
group dialogues about perspective and experience. Also, a number of Upper School students participate in the Human Relationships Seminar with fellow students from The Baldwin School and The Agnes Irwin School. The course covers topics of love, family, friendship, racial literacy/implicit bias, gender, feminism, masculinity, and mindfulness. The Upper School Diversity Alliance sends a delegation of faculty and students to the annual People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference; hosts annual retreats that bring 80-100 students from across the Delaware Valley region; and organizes weekly lunches that create space for inclusive dialogues. Through all of these programs, and others like them, our students are demonstrating inclusion: the practice of cultivating meaningful friendship bonds that value differences in experience and perspective. The Diversity and Inclusion Program has been structured to empower people with stress reduction strategies, spaces for practicing the navigation of difference and sameness, and the freedom to make
mistakes. It includes direct training for faculty, staff, and parents, school-based student leadership development, and ongoing practice with regional and national partners. Over the past 50 years, since the graduation of George L. “Porgie” Smith ’67 as Haverford’s first black graduate, the School has built an increasingly diverse community. The challenge in our 135th year is to develop a community that intentionally includes the variety of voices and perspectives that define who we are today. Creating new partnerships, possibilities, and frameworks for friendship is the work of diversity and inclusion. The work of getting better about belonging will help prepare our boys for life by engaging them as community leaders today. Brendon Jobs is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at The Haverford School, where he teaches Modern World History and Modern Black Lives in the Upper School. Jobs also teaches history methods at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (GSE) in the Independent School Residency Program. His development as an educator has been shaped by experiences as a James Madison Fellow, Lehrman Fellow, a National Constitution Center Annenberg Fellow, an Education Pioneer with the SEED Foundation in Washington, D.C., and an active member of Philadelphia’s teacher leader community via work with Teacher Action Group. Jobs holds a B.A. from Columbia University and M.S.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Students from Haverford, Baldwin, and Agnes Irwin participate in a Human Relationships seminar, covering topics of love, family, friendship, race, gender, and more. Notes by Brendan Jobs, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, from a faculty Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) meeting.
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in novation By Andrea Drinkwine, Director of Information and Instructional Technology
Walk into a classroom on Haverford’s campus and you may see a group of young boys using an online graphing tool to represent and interpret data, an online game platform to create a competition for first-graders to demonstrate their knowledge of a historical figure, or a digital brainstorming tool to organize their research in a visual way. Older boys might be writing a reflective blog post for online publication, creating a podcast as a
film critique, or using Skype or iMovie to connect with classrooms around the globe. You may even see small groups of young men thoroughly engaged in a Spanish lesson that has them excitedly traveling across campus scanning QR codes to follow a map, answer questions, or watch a video in the ultimate quest to find “Arturo,” the missing mascot of the Spanish team. Haverford has evolved from the days when students sat quietly in rows and
absorbed all of their information from an adult at the front of the classroom. Students are now more actively engaged in their learning and producing more thought-provoking demonstrations of their understanding. Technology has played a large role in this transition. There is little doubt that technology has reshaped and revolutionized almost every aspect of human life, creating new means of communication and collaboration, generating new economic models, and stimulating innovation that disrupts the current status quo. We know that exponential technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will bring additional changes that will increasingly connect our physical and digital worlds. Technology has also spread to nearly every corner of the educational process. Classroom technology, even in its earliest form, has always been a catalyst for more flexible and varied approaches to
Ms. Kenna’s Spanish class dashed around campus as part of a QR code-based scavenger hunt. Working in teams, the boys solved language brain games to find Arturo, the Spanish team’s missing mascot.
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instruction. Take for instance the slide rule, filmstrip projector, television, and handheld calculators. Today’s technology helps promote student and teacher engagement while providing opportunities for collaborative learning, broadening human connections, creativity, and innovation. Our student population has also changed. Current Haverford students are members of what has been labeled “Generation Z.” More tech-savvy than millennials, this generation has never known a world without smartphones and social media, and often does not need to wait more than a minute to find the answer to anything. Members of Generation Z think, behave, and learn differently because they grew up in a society where technology is ubiquitous and rapidly expanding. At professional development conferences, we consistently hear from employers from every field that creativity, grit, determination, complex problem
“Haverford’s commitment to upgrading and maintaining a robust technology infrastructure, and to providing current and research-based technology resources in both hardware and software to its faculty and students, has allowed us to explore new types of engagement that allow our boys to create, design, and explore.” solving, and collaboration are among the top skills they seek when hiring. They are looking for lifelong learners, as workers will continually need to learn new skills as they navigate a changing economy. George Couros, author of the book The Innovator’s Mindset, states, “empowering
students to succeed in school and life – means that we pay attention to the skills companies are seeking.” While we do not have the ability to predict the future our boys will face upon graduation, it is safe to say that they will have to tackle complex problems. They will not only need to possess essential knowledge and skills, they must also be adept with technology and prepared for the demands of the innovation era. All of these realities reasonably lead us to consider technology’s central role in educational design and delivery – the way we educate our boys to thrive in a world of innovative thinkers, creative problem solvers, and entrepreneurial spirits. We need to educate our boys not only to be effective users of technology, but also to develop the skills that move them from technology consumers to creators and contributors. Infusing technology into the learning experience allows students to gain access to additional support for their learning, tools for creative expression,
An Upper School classroom in 1967.
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Director of Information and Instructional Technology Andrea Drinkwine coaches faculty on designing lessons that incorporate digital literacy. Zoë Blatt assists a student in developing a visual way to communicate data.
experience within an increasingly digital society, and access to outside communities. In a presentation to faculty on “Demystifying EdTech,” I spoke about three essential areas that bring about successful innovative teaching and learning: IT infrastructure and support, instructional technology, and professional growth. Haverford’s commitment to upgrading and maintaining a robust technology infrastructure, and to providing current and research-based technology resources in both hardware and software to its faculty and students, has allowed us to explore new types of engagement that allow our boys to create, design, and explore. In the words of George Couros, “It is about the learning, but it is also about the technology and the opportunities that it provides us. They are no longer separate.” The way we use technology, in society and in education, will determine if its impacts are positive. Tony Wagner states in his book Most Likely to Succeed, “with well-designed pedagogy, we can empower kids with critical skills and help them turn passions into decisive life advantages. The role of education 30
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is no longer to teach content, but to help our children learn in a world that rewards the innovative and punishes the formulaic.” As an Instructional Technology Specialist and Director of Information and Instructional Technology, I am committed to helping our learners understand the transformational power of technology in education. Yet, for technology integration to have a tangible effect on learning there must first be clear learning objectives, outcomes and assessment, and instructional strategies that take into account student readiness and expected student achievement. With this in mind, instructional technology specialists analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate processes and tools that enhance learning. Tech Coach Julie Adams and I collaborate with faculty on designing lessons that weave the digital literacy skills our boys should know and be able to do in order to learn the content of the curriculum and become technologically literate citizens. Together, we consider the curriculum and learning goals, and then weave in appropriate technology to build skills, engagement, emotion, and deeper understandings for improved
learning outcomes. We curate education technologies that recognize the bond between human emotion and learning, promote higher-level thinking and authenticity, and provide students with a sense of agency in their learning. Most importantly, we strive to support our boys in developing healthy, functional relationships with technology by finding balance between technology and human experiences. To guide these efforts, we employ research-based technology integration frameworks, best practices, resources, coaching and training. Ultimately, we want our boys to understand how to use technology as an instructional tool for research, critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making and innovation. To this end, I am working with Upper School multimedia teacher Zoë Blatt to develop and co-teach Visual Communication in a Digital World. One goal of the course is to bridge the gap between traditional liberal arts education, art and design, and maker education. This is a project-based course that incorporates traditional and cutting-edge digital technologies into the classroom, giving students all the benefits of their liberal arts
education, while preparing them for the modern workplace. Digital literacy is the future of communication, and learning experiences like this truly engage students while also developing their capacity for
“Projects are interdisciplinary, collaborative, require researchon-demand, and are often related to work students are doing in other academic classes. We offer students the opportunity to explore multiple ways of visually communicating ideas and information to different audiences, as well as helping them become more critical viewers of the content they consume every day.” -Zoë Blatt critical thinking, creativity, imagination, and innovation. Students are reflecting on their progress and growth, working collaboratively and independently, modeling ethical online behavior, and
creating for authentic audiences. “Visual Communication in a Digital World introduces students to various forms of digital communication media, including graphic design, web design, data visualization, 3D printing, laser cutting, animation, and video,” says Blatt. “Projects are interdisciplinary, collaborative, require research-on-demand, and are often related to work students are doing in other academic classes. We offer students the opportunity to explore multiple ways of visually communicating ideas and information to different audiences, as well as helping them become more critical viewers of the content they consume every day. Over the course of the year, students build both visual and digital literacy skills as they come to understand how virtual images (still and moving) are powerful forms of communication, teaching and learning, personal expression, and persuasion.” A recent unit focused on the use of infographics to convey a story. The idea behind an infographic is to improve understanding using graphics to enhance the reader’s ability to see patterns and trends. We collaborated with Tom Stambaugh, Upper School English teacher and faculty advisor for The Index, to have
our boys design the infographics for the EA Day edition of the newspaper. Through this authentic learning experience, students gained skills and knowledge in using Photoshop, applying appropriate graphic design principles, and designing for a specific audience. Haverford’s rigorous academic preparation, combined with its commitment to preparing young men to thrive in a technologically pervasive world, is a winning combination. It is providing our boys with the capacity to use contemporary technologies in a safe, responsible and ethical way to reveal their knowledge, skills, character, and abilities – preparing them for success in a new information and innovation era. Andrea Drinkwine is the Director of Information and Instructional Technology at The Haverford School. She has spent her career in education in various positions as teacher, school director, technical specialist, data manager, and education technology integrator. Drinkwine holds a B.S. in business and education and received an M.S. in instructional technology from St. Joseph’s University.
Up-to-date technology is a must for schools catering to Gen-Z. With the goal of preparing young men to live and work in a dynamic global society, Haverford uses and provides state-of-the-art resources and effective and efficient technology solutions for all instructional and administrative technology needs.
4 IIT staff supporting 1,194 end users on 1,360 devices
198 PC laptops 89 Macbooks 181 iPads 747 Chromebooks
115 wireless access points 910 average daily wireless clients 710 GB daily wireless data usage
118 desktop PCs 22 iMacs 20 servers
Windows 10, MAC OS X, Canvas LMS, Senior Systems SMS & 23 additional software systems haverford.org
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ALUMNI
What was your research area of focus during graduate school?
ALUMNUS SPOTLIGHT
After receiving my M.A. in art history, I embarked on my master’s degree in Cinema Studies at New York University. I learned German at Haverford, but began to learn French in order to tackle the incredible body of texts that was available. These texts spoke to how filmmakers thought of themselves as modern artists; how they thought of their medium as working in tandem with other experiments in the visual arts; and how they, like other modernist artists, began to explore the medium itself to stress the independence and integrity of cinema as its own art form. I did my research in Paris and eventually finished my dissertation about Jean Epstein, a Franco-Polish filmmaker and preeminent film theorist who was virtually unknown at the time. Translating and publishing some of his key essays in English was my way of paying tribute to him and his generation of cinematic pioneers.
Dr. Stuart Liebman ’66 Film scholar
Stuart Liebman ’66 retired as a professor at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center in 2011. He has published widely on early French cinema, American avant-garde cinema, Soviet cinema, films about the Holocaust, and post-World War II German cinema. His awards include a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship and the Association of American Publishers prize for the best single issue of a scholarly journal for “Berlin 1945: War and Rape.” In 2006 Liebman was named an Academy Film Scholar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. He earned a B.A. from Brandeis University, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. from New York University. He currently serves on The Haverford School’s Leadership Council.
How did you come to be interested in the intersection of cinema and modernism? As a junior in college, I took some art history classes and began to be engaged with the question of how political issues were represented in the arts. I participated in very influential seminars on modern art and on contemporary art, and also took my first class in film studies, which was a completely new field at the time. As I became familiar with the traditions of innovation in 20th century art – Cubism and Expressionism and so on – I also began to be introduced to different trends in movies. I realized there were analogs of modern experiments in the other visual arts: in cinema. I was beginning to understand that film was an art form – it wasn’t just about storytelling, it was also about chopping up the world in terms of individual shots and recomposing those shots.
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Recount a particularly unique experience during your career. In 1996, the Lincoln Center Film Society was showing a series about Polish cinema. I lived nearby and attended, watching a 1948 film called The Last Stage by Wanda Jakubowska, who filmed in Auschwitz after having been a prisoner there. This early film strikingly dramatized the plight of the Jews (as well as the Communist political prisoners), something that I, the son of a Jewish immigrant from Poland, knew nothing about growing up. Nor was what we now call the Holocaust discussed at all at Haverford. I immediately knew that I needed to find Jakubowska
“I was beginning to understand that film was an art form – it wasn’t just about storytelling, it was also about chopping up the world in terms of individual shots and recomposing those shots.” and hear her story. I went off to Warsaw in 1997 – and I found her. She was 89 years old. I published the first interview with her in the U.S., which inspired my further study of this period and the many Czech, Polish, and Russian films that were made. What have you loved most about your career? The great thing about joining the teaching and research cadre in this discipline that had only emerged in the late 1960s is that there was so much to be discovered. There were hundreds of articles by interesting intellectuals who spoke about cinema in Europe in the 1910s and 1920s. Only a fraction were available in English. Being able to research that and advocate for it helped fuel my teaching; teaching helped me formulate ideas that I wanted to articulate in writing; and then I wrote on a variety of topics. I had been a music critic in Boston, a photography critic for SoHo Weekly News, but publishing translations and writing articles on film topics I felt were important became the focus of my scholarly life. The process of researching and writing about the movies is a pleasure I still enjoy to this day.
ALUMNI
What inspired you to start Urban Roots Farm?
How are you impacting your community through farming? I got into farming because I like using my hands, being outside, and growing food. I also wanted to help people make good decisions about the food they feed their families and their customers. But you can’t be successful in business unless you’re solving a problem, which led me to take stock of what works and what doesn’t on the farm – what are we trying to solve with this?
“You can’t be successful in business unless you’re solving a problem, which led me to take stock of what works and what doesn’t on the farm – what are we trying to solve with this?” Shopping for fresh produce at the local grocery store can be expensive and uninspiring, and we’ve spent time examining why this is. Usually it comes down to a couple of things: certain produce requires expensive and intensive hand labor – there is no strawberry-picking machine, no cherry tomato-picking machine. Other items, like fresh herbs or salad, are relatively cheap to produce and can be mechanized, but perish very rapidly. The high cost of each bunch of basil you buy is a result of a commercial market for which produce is grown in remote locations and then trucked into urban areas. Most varietals of the foods you buy are selected for their ability to work in such an efficient system; food has to be standardized, disease- and pest damage-resistant, and easy to process. Urban Roots Farm can provide fresh herbs and salad greens at a reasonable price because we have them locally available the day after harvest.
Jack Goldenberg ’05 Urban Roots Farm
Jack Goldenberg ’05 studied philosophy at Kenyon College. He manages Urban Roots Farm, which he started in 2015. Urban Roots Farm sells its produce on Saturdays at the Bryn Mawr Farmer’s Market.
fluctuations in supply and demand, and I think the answer is establishing lasting customer relationships. I hope that over time, our customers will ask “what’s coming up next from the fields?” We offer good, interesting, healthy produce that was harvested the day before and grown using sustainable methods.
ALUMNUS SPOTLIGHT
While I was working as a chef, I started tending my roommate’s side garden after he moved out to start a brewery. I was mostly interested in growing food to cook with. I got really invested in the garden and started calling friends and acquaintances in the restaurant business about my produce. Soon I was doing sales, and people were supportive and intrigued. I took over an unused garden lot in Kensington, then rented space at the Schuylkill Center in Roxborough, and moved to a few other spots before settling in my current location at Garrett Williamson in Newtown Square. From the beginning, I had the opportunity to be on both sides of the transaction: cooking food I grew myself while working in a restaurant. That gave me an invaluable perspective, and an opportunity that most farmers don’t have – to try and fail repeatedly while still building support.
What is your favorite food you’re growing right now? We’re growing ají dulce peppers, a Puerto Rican heirloom that looks and smells like a Habanero, but doesn’t have the heat. It’s in a family called seasoning peppers, valued for their complex taste and aroma, and traditionally used to make sofrito. There was a large Puerto Rican population in Kensington where I was gardening and people would have chest freezers full of this sauce. Urban Roots Farm planted about 2,000 aji dulce plants in early June, and this fall we harvested about 2,000 pounds of peppers. Our next challenge is processing most of that into hot sauce and other preserves.
What are some challenges you face? Not only do I drive the tractor and do the sales, but I also spend a lot of mental energy on the decisions we make to meet the bottom line, grow the best crops, and maintain quality soil. That’s a lot of equipment purchases, learning new techniques, and figuring out how we can do more with less so both the team and the soil don’t have to work as hard. I also focus on how to smooth out haverford.org
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THE CLASSH-ROOM Haverford School faculty and students faced off for a taping of The ClassH-Room on Fox 29, which aired on Jan. 14.
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The 2018-19 Alumni Executive Council (Front row, from left) Alumni Association President Josh Levine ’94, Alumni Association Secretary Peter Hennessey ’95, Greg Murray ’03, Rick Garrity ’01, Headmaster John Nagl, Jonesy Lerch ’89, Sam Barnett ’65, and Alumni Association Vice President Jack Kirkpatrick ’88; (back row) Andrew Bailey ’02, George Wood ’75, Neil Rankin ’89, Brant Henderson ’74, Nafis Smith ’99, Henry Faragalli ’86, Thomas Lindberg ’07, John Silverthorne ’68, Michael Braunstein ’99, Eric Stetson ’87, Chris Aitken ’07, Dy Cameron ’96, Austin Hepburn ’75, Lathrop Nelson ’93, and Mike Reese ’98.
Alumni winter sports Haverford and EA alumni gathered Dec. 22 at IceWorks for winter fun. Squash alumni gathered with current JV and varsity players.
ALUMNI
Alumni regional receptions Across the country and spanning generations, Fords reconnected at alumni receptions, sports outings, and musical performances. Alumni regional receptions included events in Denver, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
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ALUMNI
Notables Reunion Concert Past and present Notables attended the Notables Reunion Concert, including favorites “Longest Time” (Billy Joel), “Down on the Corner” (Creedence Clearwater Revival), “Spasyeniye” (Chesnokov), and “Ain’ A-That Good News!” (arr. William Dawson) on Nov. 21.
Thanksgiving Day Break fast and Sports A high of 28 degrees couldn’t keep alumni from gathering on Thanksgiving for football, soccer, and cross-country.
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PHILANTHROPY MATTERS.
Your gifts provide more than $6 million annually to benefit the myriad of programs and people at Haverford. The Haverford Fund
Gifts to The Haverford Fund provide more than $3 million annually to operate the school for the boys. Make a gift at haverford.org/ givenow or find us on Venmo @haverfordschool. Contact Cindy Shaw cshaw@haverford.org.
PA Tax Credit Programs
You can direct your PA tax dollars to Haverford instead of Harrisburg if you pay certain PA business or individual income taxes. Contact Matt Nierenberg at mnierenberg@ haverford.org.
Volunteer
Your volunteer efforts and support help the HSPA provide $200,000 each year
in critical funding. Contact Lisa Martin at lmartin@haverford.org.
Contact Jill Miller at jmiller@haverford.org.
Endowment
Your gifts to capital projects make classroom, field, and campus improvements possible. Are you interested in seeing plans for our envisioned Middle School or exploring other capital projects? Contact Jeff Day at jday@haverford.org.
Thanks to expert fiscal stewardship and ongoing contributions from alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends, Haverford’s gross endowment is $77 million - the highest in School history. Do you have a favorite fund or teacher you want to support?
Capital Gifts
REFLECTIONS
The kingdom of Cambodia By Brian Long, Upper School history and finance
When I was a high school student, I traveled to China and Tibet, sharing in an experience with my peers that helped shape my future studies and perspectives on the world around me. It is now a mission of mine to open similar doors for the young men at Haverford. Last year, I proposed a trip to Southeast Asia and, more specifically, to the kingdom of Cambodia, as a place that offers a unique balance of ancient and modern historical significance, spiritual immersion, and views on the challenges of a developing economy. After weeks of anticipation (and 30 hours of travel), our eight young men shared in an unforgettable experience that blended trekking through jungles, quiet reflections in Buddhist temples, contemplation on humanity’s darkest moments, and much more. Here, student George Lanchoney writes about his travels to Cambodia.
Salt of the earth By George Lanchoney, IV Form
This past summer, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Cambodia with a group of eight Haverford students and two teachers. I had many questions going into a country that seemed so different and dangerous, but at the same time, I knew everyone else on the trip was feeling the same. I remember thinking of how I would change and what I would see, but I mostly thought of who I would meet and what I would discover. The humidity, motorbikes, language, and markets were all so shocking at first, but I adjusted rather quickly and soon became accustomed to this new place. This trip was definitely a highlight of my Haverford career because of how much I learned about humanity and how we, as Haverford brothers, interacted as peers. We formed a strong bond, and can now better appreciate the incredible opportunities we have at Haverford. Upon arrival in Cambodia, I remember seeing people who had little more than nothing physically, yet they were so grateful, polite, and kind. We put aside our dreams of being the next Jeff Bezos, and instead focused on what true success looks like. I believe everyone has a purpose in life and that no individual purpose is more important than another. The Cambodian people truly embody that principle. Material goods don’t have great worth to these people, because their self-value is based on their deep connections to others. This was a pivotal lesson and will forever influence the way that I interact with others. As the trip progressed, we studied Buddhist ideologies and met local Buddhist leaders. While in Battambang, in northwestern Cambodia, the leader of the local Buddhist university presented on what it is like to be Buddhist, and what struck me was his passion for living without desire. I had heard about this belief before in history class, but I never truly understood the power of living without this burden until I talked to someone who truly believed it. He mentioned that the Buddha taught that life was suffering, which is caused by desire. He also taught that this desire can be eliminated by a person of any faith. As a Christian, I took those words of living with simplicity to heart, and seeing the warmth of the Cambodian spirit displayed each day helped solidify this idea. That statement has been my guiding light since, and it has shifted my mindset for the better. For me, the real purpose of this trip was not just seeing all the exciting things in Cambodia, it was discovering the similarities all humans share regardless of the situation. I could not be more grateful to have experienced such an amazing culture with my best friends, and I know that we will all remember the feelings and experiences we shared in Cambodia. 60
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Want to hear more from our extraordinary educators?
The Big Room Blog haverford.org/blog
board of trustees,
2018-19
Jennifer Paradis Behle P’20 Oray B. Boston Jr. P’17 Caroline R. De Marco P’20 ’22 Randall T. Drain Jr. ’01 Thaddeus J. Fortin ’77, P’09 Maurice D. Glavin ’83, P’14 ’16 ’20 William C. Hambleton William T. Harrington P’24 ’24 John F. Hollway P’18 Jason W. Ingle P’22 Barbara Klock P’23 ’23 Jeffrey F. Lee ’95 George B. Lemmon Jr. ’79, P’12 ’19, Treasurer Joshua R. Levine ’94 Michael S. Lewis ’99
John J. Lynch P’10 ’12 Christopher J. Maguire P’16 ’19 Wade L. McDevitt P’28 ’30 Sharon S. Merhige P’16 ’18, Secretary H. Laddie Montague ’56 Jonathan R. Morgan ’03 John A. Nagl, Headmaster Jennifer N. Pechet P’15 ’17 Amy T. Petersen P’15, Vice Chair Ravindra Reddy ’90 Peter A. Rohr P’12 ’13 ’15 G. Bart Smith ’95, P’28 ’30 Dorothy S. Walker P’22 ’24 ’27 John C. Wilkins Jr. ’95 William C. Yoh ’89, P’18 ’24, Chairman
The brotherhood doesn’t end at Commencement.
Mr. and Mrs. R. David Harrison ’63 should have been listed in the following sections of the 2017-18 Annual Report: Maroon & Gold Society – Headmaster’s Club (total giving $10,000 to $24,999) and Endowed Scholarships – The Donald Brownlow Memorial Scholarship Fund. corrections
Mr. E. David Harrison ’50 was mistakenly listed with the Class of 1950 and The Donald Brownlow Memorial Scholarship Fund.
May 3-4
Corrected giving totals and participation for Class of 1963 are as follows: The Haverford Fund: $14,134 – 34%; Total Giving: $22,256 – 34%. Corrected giving totals and participation for Class of 1950 are as follows: The Haverford Fund: $7,911 – 47%; Total Giving: $47,911 – 47%. John A. Nagl, D.Phil. • assistant headmaster Mark Thorburn chief David S. Gold • managing editor Jessica Welsh editors Emily Chahar, Sarah Garling, Jessica Welsh • class notes editors Andrew Bailey ’02, Emily Chahar, Sheryl Kaufmann, Jessica Welsh layout/design Emma E. Hitchcock • printer Intellicor, LLC., Lancaster, Pa. • photographers Andrew Bailey ’02 , Emily Chahar, Sarah Garling, Jordan Hayman, Emma E. Hitchcock, Megan Lenahan, Brian Long, Mike Nance, Matt Nierenberg, Nate Pankratz, Deb Putter, Jim Roese, George Scarino, Jessica Welsh, George Wood ’75 , Dragonfly Pictures Inc., Piasecki Aircraft Corporation headmaster
financial officer
Jessica Welsh, Director of Marketing and Communications; 484-417-2764; jwelsh@haverford.org address changes Please send address changes to Disty Lengel at dlengel@haverford.org. about Haverford School Today magazine is published for alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of The Haverford School. Nonprofit postage paid at Southeastern, Pa., and additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2019 The Haverford School (all rights reserved). contact
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this publication. Special thanks to: Andrea Drinkwine, Jack Goldenberg ’05, Brendon Jobs, Dr. Stuart E. Liebman ’66, George Lanchoney, Brian Long, Toby Ma, Brian Martin, Nate Pankratz, Fred Piasecki ’82, John Piasecki ’85, and Mike Piasecki ’85. special thanks
FEATURES 20 Flying high: Piasecki family forges
new frontiers in aviation
with Fred Piasecki ’82, John Piaseck ’85, and Mike Piasecki ’85
25 Being better about “belonging”
by Brendon Jobs, Director of Diversity and Inclusion
28 Fueling innovation
by Andrea Drinkwine, Director of Information and Instructional Technology
HIGHLIGHTS
A notable salute Front: A student removes polylactic acid supports from his 3D printed Led by choral director and Upper School music teacher Mark Hightower, The Haverford School architectural model in Foundations, an Upper School art course. Back: Form I boys dove Notables grace center at the 130th– Commencement ceremony into their roles in their in-class reading ofstage “The Outsiders” complete with greased hairin June to lead the School community in the traditional singing of the alma mater: and leather jackets. O Haverford, dear Haverford / Thou guide of tender days, / To thee within these honored walls / We lift our hymn of praise / Here on the threshold of our years / With all the future free, / Our youthful hearts and powers we bring / And dedicate to thee.
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In the classroom: Circles of
Responsibility Enrichment
In the classroom: The Timothy
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16 Coach’s Corner: Brian Martin,
football and lacrosse
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