Holland Hall alumnae and current students featured in a new dance photography book
Dance! Invitation to
— College Admission: A Changing Process
— TECHNOLOGY VISIONARIES: Alumnus Dan Wilk ’88, Creating Adobe After Effects
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Alumnus Peter Edwards ’77, Starting Acorn Media
Holland Hall Board of Trustees Mark D. Desjardins, Ph.D. Headmaster
Mr. Robert L. Hughes ’84 Building & Grounds
Mr. Philip B. Allen ’73 President
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Edward J. Konieczny Diocesan Bishop
Mrs. Cara Shimkus Hall ’84 Vice President
Mr. Frederick P. Koontz ’81 Audit & Strategic Plan
Mr. Phil Frohlich Treasurer & Finance
Mr. Charles K. Lamson
Mr. David Keglovits Secretary Mrs. Susannah Hocutt Adelson ’85 Mrs. Britani T. Bowman Mrs. Rhonda E. Chastang Parents’ Association President
Dr. Holbrook C. Lawson ’82 Institutional Advancement Mrs. Tammie L. Maloney Advisory & Trustees/Governance Ms. Virginia Miller ’71 Alumni Association President Ms. Elizabeth R. Muratet
Mr. Roger B. Collins By-Laws Review
Mrs. Gail Newman Ms. Elizabeth Peterson
Mr. Keith C. Goddard ’87 Investment Mrs. Melanie M. Hill
Mr. Harold W. Salisbury The Rev. Shelby H. Scott Education
ADMINISTRATION Mark D. Desjardins, Ph.D. Headmaster Liz Anderson Director of Communication
Steve Heldebrand Athletic Director Kathy Housh Director of College Counseling
Joel Bicknell Head of Middle School Dennis Calkins Head of Upper School Steve Dyer Director of the Walter Arts Center & Fine Arts Henry Finch Director of Technology
Leslie Kelly Chief Financial Officer Lauri Lenora Director of Wellness Brad Shelley Director of Institutional Advancement Jo-An Vargo Head of Primary School
Richard Hart Director of Admission & Financial Aid
Holland Hall Magazine is a biannual publication. Holland Hall is an independent coeducational college preparatory school affiliated with the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma serving students from 3-year-olds through 12th grade. Holland Hall, in compliance with all applicable Federal and State laws and regulations, does not discriminate against qualified individuals on the basis of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or physical handicap in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admission, financial aid, and educational services.
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Content 4
From the Headmaster
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Holland Hall Happenings
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Holland Hall Celebrates Renovated and Expanded Mary K. Chapman Primary School
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Invitation to Dance!
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College Admission: A Changing Process
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Development News
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Community Service in the Upper School
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For the Love of Latin
FALL / WINTER
2009
OLLAND HALL MAGAZINE CONNECTING ALUMNI & FRIENDS
Cover photo courtesy of Andrew Zaller.
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Creating After Effects
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Starting Acorn Media
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Holland Hall Magazine welcomes letters to the editor on subjects raised within the pages of the magazine. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Please include a name, address and daytime telephone number with all correspondence.
Focus on Arts
Address changes, corrections or omissions and material for publication are also welcome.
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Alumni News
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Alumni Reunion Weekend 2009
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Athletic Hall of Fame
Holland Hall Magazine Institutional Advancement 5666 East 81st Street Tulsa, Oklahoma 74137-2099 Phone: (918) 481-1111 Fax: (918) 879-4793
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Athletics in Action
Alumnus Dan Wilk ’88
Alumnus Peter Edwards ’71
o n th e c o v e r Alumna Alex Vasquez ’07 is featured along with other alumnae and current Holland Hall students in “Invitation to Dance,” a dance photography book by Andrew Zaller.
Questions concerning the magazine, please contact Liz Anderson, Director of Communication at landerson@hollandhall.org. Questions concerning alumni, please contact Judy Warren, Director of Alumni Relations at jwarren@hollandhall.org. For more information about Holland Hall and the Office of Institutional Advancement, visit www.hollandhall.org.
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From the Headmaster Mark Desjardins, Ph.D.
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n the fall of 1987 I finished the final draft of my undergraduate history thesis by banging on the keys of an old Royal electric typewriter. Ten years later, as I completed the last chapter of my doctoral dissertation, I went to Kinko’s to have them download and print my work off a floppy disk. Fastforward to November of 2009. As Holland Hall Director of Technology Henry Finch ’76 and I walked through the campus of Abilene Christian University, we explored their new iPhone and iPod touch initiatives and I quickly realized that the digital world had infiltrated every aspect of student life. From their dorm rooms, cafeteria, playing fields and classrooms, ACU has turned their entire institution into a Learning Commons. While I have always remained a skeptic of how laptops might change education, both Henry and I came away from our two-day visit believing that over the next few years, personal mobile devices will have a much larger pedagogical impact than anyone might have imagined a decade ago. This edition of Holland Hall Magazine highlights in two interviews the potential for technology to change how we interact with the larger world. And yet, it is also important to note that a Holland Hall education continues to emphasize creativity through the arts and the ideals of service to others. From showcasing dance through the medium of photography to building a house for Habitat for Humanity, you will see many examples inside this edition of how a Holland Hall education helps to shape the needed virtues of today’s student. The “best” schools have a sense of mission and purpose that focuses on providing students with those lifetime skills and values that will enhance the quality of their lives and inspire them into a life of reflection and action. For me, a school’s mission is fulfilled when a student walks across the stage to receive their diploma and along with that document, they depart with a strong work ethic, a lasting intellectual curiosity and an active interest and intent to use their gifts in the service of others. I hope that as you read through this edition of the magazine you will come to see that the Holland Hall family continues to live out that mission on a daily basis.
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Holland Hall Happenings
Trustee Tammie Maloney and Andie Doyle ’97 celebrate the ribbon cutting ceremony of the renovated Mary K. Chapman Primary School on August 19.
Micaela Atkinson ’22 and Jonathan Atkinson ’20 enjoy the All School Welcome Picnic October 9.
Caroline Kane ’19 and Elizabeth Finkelstein ’19 enjoy Holland Hall’s 2009 Field Day. The annual carnivallike event featured the music of Keyless Entry and a variety of games and activities.
Chair of ARTworks 2009 Leigh Ann Moss, Headmaster Mark Desjardins and featured artist Laurel Lukaszewski at the Patron Dinner Sunday, October 25.
Robert Ragland ’19 , Ava Robinowitz ’19, Kate O’Brian ’19 and their third grade class packed 2,900 pounds of canned goods at the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma in Tulsa.
Anson Pohl (PreS) shares his classroom on Grandparents and Special Friends Days November 23 and 24.
Caroline Cambern (PreS) works on a project with her grandmother during Grandparents and Special Friends Days.
Sadie Lollar ’21 helped raise money for the American Heart Association of Tulsa’s Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart 2009.
Family friend Lynnie Tolk, grandmother Mary Brett and Holland Hall mom Maricarolyn Swab cheer on Jay Michael Swab ’10 and the football team.
If you have any photos you would like to submit, contact Liz Anderson, Director of Communication at (918) 481-1111. Email photos to landerson@hollandhall.org or mail to 5666 E. 81st St., Tulsa, Okla., 74137.
From left, Hayley Holmes ’14, Julia Hart ’14, Claire Reaves ’14, Darby Campbell ’14, Emily Barton ’14 and Mexico Exchange Student Cecilia Gamez Saldaña plant trees presented to them by Green Tree of Tulsa, an environmental group formed by Holland Hall students. To learn more, visit the Green Tree of Tulsa blog at www.polarbearsinternational.org/project-polar-bear-main/92/ HOLLAND HALL MAGAZINE
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Holland Hall Celebrates Renovated and Expanded
Mary K. Chapman Primary School
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olland Hall students, parents, trustees, donors, faculty and staff celebrated the completion of the renovated Mary K. Chapman Primary School Wednesday, August 19, the first day of school. The new gymnasium played host to the ribbon cutting, where the generosity of donors, the hard work of the Construction Committee and the dedication of the Primary School teachers were recognized. Work began on extensive improvements to the Primary School in Fall 2008. Nearly 20,000 square feet were added and 30,000 square feet remodeled.
2003 – Representatives from PSA Dewberry met with Primary School faculty to identify needs. F&K reviewed the condition of the existing building and determined renovation was the best option.
“The completion of this project marks yet another outstanding and historic chapter in the 87 year history of Holland Hall,” said Headmaster Mark Desjardins. “Once again alumni, parents and friends of the school came together to support our mission and generously gave to make this new Primary School a reality. This school continues to be blessed with first class resources, facilities and with individuals who are deeply committed to ensuring Holland Hall aspires for excellence in every facet of our operations.” Additions include a new practice gymnasium and new permanent PreSchool wing with extended day area. In addition, there has been a significant library expansion, a completely remodeled art room in a new location; and a kitchen has been added to the multipurpose room, which can now be used as a cafeteria. The remodel included flooring replacement, classroom overhauls and numerous modifications which improve the efficiency of heating and air conditioning systems.
November 2007 – School contracts with PSA Dewberry for architectural services and Flintco for construction. The Construction Oversight Committee is formed.
June 2007 – PSA Dewberry hired to update the conceptual design of Primary School.
April – December 2007 PS Faculty meet to finalize design details.
January 2008 – Meetings with Primary School faculty to discuss program needs and detail design elements.
February – March 2008 Design and construction plans are finalized.
December 2007 – The Construction Committee meets to discuss the construction schedule, design, and safety issues.
March and April 2009 – Move is made out of the old art room. Mechanical, electrical, millwork and drywall in classrooms and gymnasium is completed.
October 2008 Classroom and gymnasium footings are poured.
August 2008 – Site work including waterline, sewer and earthwork begins.
July 2008 Construction begins.
November and December 2008 The slabs are poured and the steel framing goes up in the classrooms and gymnasium. The library addition begins. August 9, 2009 – Faculty moves back into classrooms. The Final painting, carpet and flooring is installed. Playground work is completed.
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June – July 2009 – The renovation of the interior of all classrooms and offices is completed and the sprinkler system throughout the building is installed. Carpet and tile is laid in the new classrooms and the floor and bleachers are installed in the gymnasium.
August 19, 2009 The Start of School and Primary School Ribbon Cutting.
May 2009 Painting and drywall work begins in the kitchen and library.
From the Bishop of Oklahoma
Chaplain’s Corner The Rev. Arthur Scrutchins Upper School Chaplain
Lessons of Advent For 50 years the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma and Holland Hall have been affiliated with the goal of providing the best educational opportunity possible in Tulsa. One of the hallmarks of The Episcopal Church is the emphasis placed on education. As a PreK – 12 College Preparatory School, Holland Hall focuses on the total formation of our students in “Mind, Body, and Spirit”. Grounded in our Judeo-Christian roots we seek to create an environment where every student can develop a strong moral foundation that will serve as a compass throughout their lives. Through weekly chapel and religious studies, students have the opportunity to explore the relationship of “self ” to the larger world as they grow not only in their knowledge, but in establishing the values and beliefs that are so important to their future chosen vocations. As the Bishop of Oklahoma I am proud of Holland Hall; and want to thank all our parents, faculty and staff for the excellence they bring in their commitment to the formation of our students. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Edward J. Konieczny Bishop of Oklahoma
A good friend of mine is expecting her first child. My wife is beginning the process of decorating our home for the holidays. Children are making wish lists. People are making holiday card mailing lists. Malls are becoming crowded with shoppers. Everywhere people are preparing; people are making room. And in all the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season, there are lessons to be learned. First, there is the lesson to be learned from my friend and my wife’s activities. It is this: In your home or in your heart, there is always room for what is of ultimate importance to you, for what you love. The house that seemed full of furniture miraculously makes space for a nursery. That room, which was usually dark and unused as a guest room, transforms into a bright room filled with color and decorations to embrace a newborn. My living room that was “coffeetable centered” becomes a stage for the ultimate family gathering around a Christmas tree. The tree is not just decorated with lights and breakables, but also with memories and love. The season of Advent teaches us that we can encounter transforming hope, memories and love, if we make room in our hearts. Next, we can learn a spiritual lesson from the practice of holiday “list making”. Not just during Advent, but also in other times of our lives we make lists. Many of us routinely make grocery lists or make “to do” lists for our work and social lives. What about our spiritual life? What a blessing and opportunity for spiritual growth there is in taking time to list, either mentally or on paper, all of our blessings and things for which we are thankful. The last Mother’s Day gift I gave my mother was a journal, she was gravely ill. She decided to make it a journal of her thanksgivings. Before she became too weak to write in it anymore, everyday she would take time to list things for which she was grateful. Here is one entry written towards the end of her life: “I’m thankful for being able to walk the small path around the cabin, and for the ladybug on a leaf that splashed the woods with color. I thank you God for today.” As my mom struggled with her illness and mortality she could have easily made daily lists of regrets and unfulfilled dreams ... but she chose to make daily lists of blessings and give them to God. And in doing so, she gave quite a gift to her husband, children and grandchildren.
Holland Hall Seniors Semifinalists in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program Six Holland Hall seniors, Rahul Vasireddy, Seth Bourdeau, Ian Campbell, Ami Dave, Jordanne Morrow and Wendy Voss, have been named Semifinalists in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Making room and making lists are common, practical activities during this Advent season. They can become powerful spiritual experiences as well. May God bless you all during this Holiday Season! The Rev. Arthur Scrutchins Upper School Chaplain
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Alumna Allie Harjo ‘08
Dance! Invitation to
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Alumna Alex Vasquez ’07
Alumna Allie Harjo ’08
D HH Student Haley Baker ’12
ancers, mysterious and alluring, have long been the muses of sculptors, painters and authors. This season, local artist Andrew Zaller has published his second book of dance photographs, Invitation to Dance, celebrating Oklahoma dancers of all ages and styles, from student to professional, and including several members of the Holland Hall Modern Dance Ensemble. HH Students Susan Nichols ’12 and Haley Baker ’12
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Featured in this new take on a classic subject are Holland Hall dance alumnae Alex Vasquez ’07, currently majoring in modern dance at the University of South Florida, and Allie Harjo ’08, a Princeton freshman student in dance composition. They were joined by current Holland Hall dancers Stephania Dulowski ’10, Haley Baker ’12 and Susan Nichols ’12. Zaller, a long-time art teacher at Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School, currently serves as an AP Art portfolio reviewer for the College Board, evaluating as many as 400 student submissions every spring. Originally a painter, Zaller was drawn to photography because he “ ... wanted to capture a moment in time. Photography is a means to an end since I often change or alter the effects of the photographic images in order to achieve certain effects.” As for choosing dancers as his subjects, Zaller says “Dancers epitomize the arts. Their movements, whether in a dance studio or in performance are visually stimulating and contain the elements and principles of art. The daily movements of all people also contain elements of dance even when they aren't aware of it.” The beautiful spring gardens of Gilcrease Museum provided the backdrop for the shoot on a misty Saturday morning. So, with some warm coffee, a few towels, and many trips in and out of the museum lobby to change outfits, the dancers explored the grounds of the museum, striking poses and performing movement sequences under the watchful eye of Holland Hall dance teacher Sarah Joyce-Dyer. “My part in the session was to be sure the dancers presented their best body lines, and that their poses complemented the landscapes of the gardens,” said Joyce-Dyer. The reputation of Holland Hall’s dance department played a major role in Zaller’s decision to highlight the school’s dancers. “The Holland Hall Fine Arts Department has richly deserved a reputation of excellence, and as I was looking for subjects for my Invitation to Dance book, I was eager to include students from Sarah’s dance classes,” he said. “They were excellent subjects and we enjoyed our collaboration.” Several of the original photographs from the outing are currently hanging in the Newman Theatre lobby, in the northeast corner of the Walter Arts Center, just outside of the dance studio. What is next for this Tulsa artist? “I'll always be interested in dance and although my future artistic endeavors may not include another book featuring dancers,” said Zaller, “I'll probably often return to my favorite subject. I published a book entitled Z-Scapes which features interpretive landscapes based on my travels. I will continue to produce landscape images. As far as other art works, I have also produced many non-representative abstract images that simply emphasize the elements and principles of art. So you can see, I have an eclectic body of work.” For a peek at some of Zaller’s images, you can visit www.andyzoo.com. Questions regarding Invitation to Dance can be directed to Sarah Joyce-Dyer at sjoyce@hollandhall.org.
Above, Holland Hall Students Susan Nichols ’12 and Stephania Dulowski ’10. Left, Alumnae Allie Harjo ’08 and Alex Vasquez ’07.
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College Admission: A Changing Process Holland Hall’s College Counseling Office Stays Proactive If Director of College Counseling, Kathy Housh, had a nickel for every parent who made the following statement, “Getting into college sure has changed since I went.” she would be, if not fabulously wealthy, at least headed out on a shopping spree. College Counseling certainly has changed in the last 20 to 30 years and keeping up with the trends, according to Housh, is the only way to maintain Holland Hall’s success rate in college admissions. Ever since the GI Bill sent returning soldiers to the college campus in the 1940’s the changes in admissions practices have been pronounced. The continued increase in college-bound high school seniors will reportedly last through 2016. Of the multitude of students who applied to college in the 08-09 school year 71 percent submitted three or more applications while 19 percent sent seven or more. This larger volume of applications also increased because of the ease of online submission. Of course, increased submissions means a more competitive process and keeping Holland Hall students competitive is job one. Dealing with electronic submission of applications begins in Junior Seminar where
students are required to turn in a completed Common Application. This insures that juniors are aware of what information will be required to set them apart well before their senior year. College Counseling’s first ever summer College Boot Camp in July gave rising seniors a great advantage in filling out the Common Application and developing their college essays before the start of their senior year. This year’s seniors have found it to be a wonderfully proactive approach. New trends in college admission testing have led the College Counseling Office to offer the PLAN, a practice ACT designed for sophomores. ACT sub scores are increasingly accepted in lieu of SAT Subject Tests and have, therefore, increased the popularity of the ACT versus the SAT nationwide. The increased number of test-optional colleges is another welcome development. Our student to counselor ratio of less than 30 to 1 allows for the maximum opportunity to work one on one with each student in order to ascertain the most advantageous combination of information submitted with each application. Another important proactive aspect of Holland Hall’s
College Counseling program is the continued relationships nurtured with visiting college representatives and with the Deans of Admission invited to the annual Deans’ Night programs. Universities continue to assert that they give every application the attention necessary to make an informed admission decision. Most institutions have not, however, hired more staff to read the greatly increased number of applications. Knowing our representatives and deans on a first name basis allows us to pick up the phone and “lobby” for our candidates. It is true that college admission has changed. On the downside, colleges encourage students to apply only to deny them in the interest of rankings, colleges now use wait lists to mold an incoming freshman class, and colleges sometimes say that test scores are not important to them when they clearly are. On the upside, Holland Hall’s College Counseling Department embraces change and helps our students meet them head on. So while they may not be able to predict the “next big thing” in college admissions; they can predict that Holland Hall students will weather the changes well.
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developmentnews SCHUREMAN CIRCLE GIVING SOCIETY KICKS OFF ANNUAL FUND CAMPAIGN The 2009-10 Annual Fund campaign kicked off on August 24, when a group of dedicated parents, former parents and Trustees met to begin soliciting members for the Schureman Circle Giving Society, named after Holland Hall’s first headmistress, Miss Winnifred Schureman. The Schureman Circle supporters of the Annual Fund are those dedicated parents, alumni, grandparents, faculty, staff and friends who give $1,000 or more in a fiscal year to the Holland Hall Annual Fund. They give generously so that our students continue to receive the highest quality education available anywhere. There is a Schureman Circle recognition event held each year to honor society members. The efforts of the Schureman Circle committee are paying off for Holland Hall and for the Annual Fund. To date there are more than 140 members of the Giving Society. For more information or to become a member of Schureman Circle, please contact Beth Lieser Goddard ’86, Director of Annual Giving, at (918) 879-4766 or bgoddard@hollandhall.org.
Annual Fund Grade Challenge Parent support of Annual Fund started strong and continues to build. A phone-a-thon was held in early November with parent callers reaching out to solicit donations from other parents in their children’s classes. The overall parent participation goal for the 2009-2010 Annual Fund campaign is 75 percent. Giving levels by grade as of November 20, 2009:
PreSchool................................................... 37% Junior Kindergarten/Kindergarten................ 47% First Grade................................................. 45% Second Grade............................................. 38% Third Grade................................................. 52% Fourth Grade.............................................. 44% Fifth Grade................................................. 72% Sixth Grade................................................. 49% Seventh Grade............................................ 48% Eighth Grade............................................... 52% Ninth Grade................................................ 45% Tenth Grade................................................ 34% Eleventh Grade........................................... 40% Twelfth Grade............................................. 32% Overall Parent Giving Percentage.................. 42%
Why I Give M
ore than half of Kristen Mills Ragland’s ’91 life was spent as a parent or student at Holland Hall; a life cut short after a courageous fight with cancer, but a legacy that will continue. “By setting up an endowment, it becomes a legacy that lasts hopefully forever or well into the foreseeable future,” said David Ragland, Kristen’s husband, who along with her mother Marian established the Kristen Mills Ragland ’91 Memorial Financial Aid Fund. The third grade pod in the newly renovated Primary School is also named after Kristin. David’s hope is that “her children Katie ’20 and Robert ’19 would always know how she felt about Holland Hall, in all their years of growing up they would have a reminder of her.” David also cites the importance of Kristen’s time at Holland Hall as a student herself.
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By setting up an endowment, it becomes a legacy that lasts hopefully forever ...
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“Kristen was a student here from the time she was in the three-yearold program all the way to graduation and she loved being a part of Holland Hall. She loved her education here,” he said. “Of all the experiences in her life that she held on to, it was being at Holland Hall. And when it came time for her kids to be enrolled in school, there was no choice, she wanted them to be here and she wanted them to experience everything that she had experienced and she believed it was best and she wanted the best for her children.”
“It really feels easy to do, it’s easy to give to the school that she felt strongly about ... it just feels right to honor her here. That’s one thing as a surviving spouse, you want to honor her however you can and this just feels like the right place to honor her.”
With this in mind, David said it was the “right thing to do” to establish an endowment in her memory.
Contributions to the Kristen Mills Ragland ’91 Memorial Financial Aid Fund can be made by calling Brad Shelley at (918) 879-4750.
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developmentnews Believe in Holland Hall. Support Annual Fund. The Annual Fund is the school’s primary fundraising campaign. Donations to Annual Fund make programs and services possible such as arts and athletics activities, field trips, college counseling, professional development and financial aid. The leadership of the 2009-2010 Annual Fund campaign recently presented a mid-year progress report to the Board of Trustees, announcing that more than $700,000 has been raised to date. Parent co-chairs Jennifer Sharpe (Primary School), Martha Dickman (Middle School) and Lisa Cameron (Upper School) also announced that one main goal for this year’s fund drive, increasing parent participation over last year’s 50 percent rate, has seen early success. Nearly 40 percent of current parents have already donated or pledged a gift to Annual Fund in just the first three months of the campaign.
WHY DONATE? Annual Giving is an integral part of Holland Hall. It helps provide the essential tools to maintain an exemplary educational environment. Each year, Holland Hall conducts a fundraising drive between June 1 and May 31 to raise unrestricted funds in support of the annual budget. The $855,000 raised in this campaign is combined with tuition, fees and endowment earnings to balance the school’s budget (tuition pays only 85 percent of the annual budget).
Annual Fund Parent Co-Chairs — From left, Jennifer Sharpe, Lisa Cameron and Martha Dickman.
This year’s Annual Fund theme, Believe in Holland Hall, reminds parents, grandparents, faculty and staff, alumni and friends that Annual Fund is critical to providing the nurturing, enriching and challenging education our students enjoy at Holland Hall. A new video, entitled “I Believe,” was produced for the campaign and can be viewed by visiting www.hollandhall.org and clicking on the YouTube link on the main page.
Party Honoring Former Faculty and Staff Benefits Financial Aid On October 31, 2009, Holland Hall faculty and staff from 1974 to 1984 gathered at St. John’s Episcopal Church to renew friendships, honor deceased colleagues and raise money for Financial Aid. John Bird, Holland Hall headmaster from 1974-1984, and his wife, Mary Alice, visited with dozens of former and current faculty as well as many former students. The event was organized by Carlos Tuttle, former Holland Hall history teacher, and raised more than $600 for Holland Hall Financial Aid.
Schureman Circle
Every gift – large or small – supports Holland Hall students on their journey to become the leaders of tomorrow. The giving levels listed below recognize donors for their contributions. Donors of $1,000 or more are included in Holland Hall’s Schureman Circle and will be invited to recognition events during the year.
$25,000 & above
Visionaries
$10,000 - $24,999
Stewardship Society
$5,000 - $9,999
Hallmark Society
$2,500 - $4,999
1922 Founders Society
$1,500 - $2,499
Leadership Circle
$1,000 - $1,499
Headmaster Circle
$500 - $999
Partnership Circle
$250 - $499
Benefactor
$100 - $249
Affiliate
Up to $99
Supporter
If you would like to make a donation to the Annual Fund, please visit www.hollandhall.org and click on the “Giving” link or contact Beth Lieser Goddard ’86, Director of Annual Giving, at (918) 879-4766 or bgoddard@hollandhall.org.
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Community service in the upper school DENNIS CALKINS Head of Upper School
The beginning weeks of the 2009-10 school year have provided many opportunities for students in the Upper School to volunteer their time and effort in a variety of community service activities. Some of the opportunities to serve are new to the students in our school. The majority of the service activities, however, are ones that involve organizations with a long-standing relationship to Holland Hall and for which there has been a renewed sense of enthusiasm and an increase in participation among our students in the Upper School. Early in the year, the Student Council organized an activity in connection with Blue Star Moms to help provide personal items to our men and women in the armed forces overseas. Currently, Upper School advisor groups are filling Christmas stockings to donate to a girl’s orphanage in Tanzania – the orphanage that Holland Hall graduate Chris Gates ’05 established. Our recent X-Day on Wednesday, October 14 provided students in grades nine, eleven and twelve the opportunity to sign up for a half-day of service activities at several agencies. Other students spent their time on X-Day helping with projects on the Holland Hall campus by taking part in clean-up activities in the Walter Arts Center, helping to clean and organize gear from the Freshman Orientation trips, and by assisting teachers in the Middle School. 14
For the Love of Latin sarah kranau ’10 Holland Hall Student
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Perhaps the proudest achievement of the students in the Upper School in the area of community service was the recent completion and dedication of the Habitat for Humanity house on Saturday, November 14. This year marked the 13th consecutive year that Holland Hall students have participated in the construction of a Habitat house. Community service coordinator, Nancy Baumann, bused a group of students to the construction site on nine consecutive Saturdays during September, October and November. More than 30 different students contributed a total of over 500 hours of their time and effort in completing the house. Never before has the contribution of the Holland Hall community in this construction project been so great.
X - DA Y LO C A T I ONS
It was only a few years ago that participation in community service activities was removed as a requirement for graduation from Holland Hall. Since that time, community service requirements have been replaced with community service opportunities. It is gratifying to witness our student body in the Upper School take advantage of these opportunities to serve others and give back to their community.
Tulsa Community Food Bank
Habitat Restore
Happy Hands
Make-a-Wish Foundation
Margaret Hudson Program (Tulsa and Broken Arrow Campuses)
Tulsa Zoo
Neighbors Along the Line Emergency Infant Services
Little Light House Family & Children’s Services
t all began with my “Latin Family.” The group I’m of course referring to is a special set of friends who began Latin IA by my side back in seventh grade, and remained with me in my Latin classes until the final day of “Seminar in Advanced Latin” last spring. After five years of Latin, I have certainly developed quite a strong bond with these three (Ami Dave, Ian Campbell and Nicholas Foster) and I wanted to be able to share that experience with other Latin students. That’s why when it came time for me to begin my Girl Scout Gold Award project at KIPP Tulsa, I knew I had chosen the right project; creating a Latin class. My Girl Scout Gold Award project began last spring as I wracked my brain for project ideas. I had completed the rigorous background work needed to begin planning my project, and now all I needed was a brilliant idea. The Gold Award is the highest honor in Girl Scouting (similar to the rank of Eagle Scout in Boy Scouting), and therefore is a massive undertaking. This project would require countless hours of dedicated work, so I wanted to be careful to choose something I truly loved that wouldn’t become just another chore. I could certainly think of many projects that needed doing (the standard building something, planting something, collecting something, etc), but nothing really felt quite right. At a loss for ideas, I talked to my mom about the issue, and she suggested doing a project that involved Latin. Considering my imminent completion of five years of Latin at Holland Hall, this seemed like a viable idea. My next question was who would benefit from my project. Knowing Holland Hall’s ties to KIPP Tulsa College Preparatory, I looked into their programming and, upon realizing they did not have a Latin program, decided that it would be the perfect setting for my project. With the help of Dr. Desjardins, I got in touch with KIPP and presented my project idea, to which they agreed. They arranged for me to teach an Introduction to Latin class to two sections of eighth grade students during Saturday school, which is a required day of classes held on alternate Saturdays. After finalizing these plans, I was so excited to begin work on planning my classes. Before I could officially begin planning my classes, however, I had to find a project advisor and submit my proposal to my Girl Scout council for approval. I only had to
look as far as my Latin teacher of three years, the amazing Mr. Palma, for a willing advisor, and soon my proposal was in. My project was quickly approved and I was officially ready to begin planning my classes. I set out designing my program, which I named “Pro Amore Latinitatis (For the Love of Latin): An Introductory Program at the KIPP Academy.” In designing my program, my goal was to create a fun and engaging introduction to the Latin language and the culture of Ancient Rome. I plan each class to include a lesson as well as an interactive activity, and to cover vocabulary from the Latin language as well as different aspects of Ancient Roman culture. We have already created our own bullas (ancient Roman good luck charms) and domi (models of Roman homes), not to mention our toga folding contest with special guest judge Ian Campbell. Although waking up at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning isn’t terribly fun, it’s worth it once I’m at KIPP teaching my classes. I absolutely love my students; they’re so excited to learn and they never cease to make me laugh during every class. Although I’ve already spent 67 hours working on my project (enough to earn my award), I plan on continuing my classes through the remainder of my senior year. My project has been a significant time commitment, especially when combined with an avalanche of college applications and an intense course load, but I’ve enjoyed being able to share the Latin language with my students. My hope is that my classes have introduced them to the Latin language so that they will be motivated to seize the opportunity to take Latin as they move on to high school and eventually college. My project began with my Latin family, and I hope that it ends with each of my students becoming a part of their own Latin families. HOLLAND HALL MAGAZINE
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creating after effects Dan W i l k ’ 8 8
Developer of Adobe After Effects: The Software for Video Motion Graphics and Visual Effects Looking Back Q: What were some of the most important things you learned during your time at Holland Hall? A: There’s something to that crazy modular schedule. I think the relatively large amount of unstructured time at Holland Hall encourages you to learn how to work independently and without much direct supervision. Q: Where was your favorite spot on the Holland Hall campus? A: My favorite spot was sitting at the grand piano in the chapel. Kris Umezawa, a friend since Kindergarten, was also a pianist and we would spend countless hours goofing around on the piano in this beautifully reverberant space. Or you might find have found me plopped in front of periodicals in the library. 16
Q: How did your time at Holland Hall prepare you for Brown University and your career? When did you decide to do what you do for a career? A: Brown has no core curriculum and so requires its students to take an active role in designing their education. Having a challenging course load at Holland Hall definitely gave me the confidence to pick up similarly challenging courses. I was pretty sure going into Brown that I would pursue a career in something science-y, but it took a while to settle. By the end of my second year I had decided on Math/Computer Science but maintained a strong interest in geology and planetary science. By my senior year I was on the verge of entering a Ph.D. program in geological sciences upon graduation. I recall vividly the a-ha moment when I decided on computer
graphics: working on an independent study project visualizing planetary impact dynamics, I found myself spending way more time on the CG visualization part than the scientificmodeling part. Q: What were some of your most memorable times at Holland Hall? A: Probably the most memorable experience was an extended practical joke my friend Scott Phillips and I played on Father Taylor in the fifth grade. The assignment was to build a Shakespearian house and we had talked up for days how great our submission was. We then proceeded to turn in a Native American longhouse Scott had built in the third grade, which was entirely inappropriate for the assignment. Father Taylor was very polite and faintly praised our efforts but was clearly disappointed.
Within hours another student recognized the longhouse as something Scott had done years ago. I vividly recall being yanked out of math class to be lectured by a very angry Father Taylor. I was ready to confess but Scott kept his cool and promised we would start a new house immediately. The next morning we turned in the actual project, which we clearly could not have built in the intervening time. Father Taylor realized he’d been had, and years later that Shakespeare house was prominently displayed in his classroom. Q: Who were the individuals who made the greatest impression on you during your time here? Do you still keep in touch with friends from Holland Hall? A: There were so many brilliant teachers during my time at Holland Hall that I feel bad
alumni feature: technology visionaries
singling any out. But two in particular seemed particularly invested personally in our class — Michael Laubacher taught various math courses for three of the four years and really challenged us — ours was the first year Holland Hall offered the BC calculus course. Sharon Irvine taught English my Freshman and Junior years and I have very fond memories of her classes being funny and lively, and that she seemed personally interested in everything that was going on in our lives. I keep in touch regularly with a handful of my Holland Hall friends, and reconnected with many many others at my recent reunion. Today Q: What is Adobe After Effects? A: Adobe After Effects is a software application for motion graphics and visual effects. It allows a user to combine and animate multiple layers of video, images, graphics, and text into a seamless composite image. It is widely used in the broadcast and film industries for animated graphics such as title sequences. If you’ve seen a commercial with text flying around, it prob-
ably used After Effects. Perhaps a more colorful description is that After Effects is like Photoshop on rollerskates. Q: Can you tell us a little about the start of CoSA and how you and a group of guys created the code that eventually became After Effects?
A: CoSA (The Company of Science and Art) was founded by Brown graduates in Providence, Rhode Island, 1990. Several of the founding members were Teaching Assistants in the introductory computer science course and I had become friends with them at that time. CoSA initially set out to be a Hypermedia publishing company (hence the science and art bit) but found that the tools for creating multimedia content were sorely lacking. This led to a detour into software development for digital video playback on personal computers, which was pretty groundbreaking back in 1990. Soon afterward the CoSA principals learned that Apple and Microsoft were both developing similar technology, and decided that a tiny company was not going to effectively compete with the operating system vendors. Time for plan C — video special effects software codenamed Egg, begun in May 1992. I was graduating in 1992 and came on board as the first paid employee — a summer intern. After Effects 1.0 was developed starting that summer with a team of 4-5 programmers. When the summer was over, I headed to California and a couple of quarters at Stanford pursuing a Masters in Computer Science. After Effects 1.0 shipped at the end of 1992 to widespread acclaim. Eventually the phone calls from “The Daves” (CoSA is famous for being 50 percent Dave-based at its peak) became persuasive enough that I returned to Providence to work fulltime on After Effects. A few months later, CoSA was bought by Seattlebased Aldus Corporation to form the basis of their video business, with the bulk of the company moving en masse to Seattle in 1994. In 1996 I began co-managing the engineering team. Q: What’s your typical day at work like at Adobe Systems Incorporated? A: Honestly it would strike most as a little boring, or maybe not that different from most people
who work in offices. I spend a good amount of time answering email and acting as a technical resource for newer team members, and maybe half of my time doing software development. When I’m not at a whiteboard with a colleague, it looks a lot like answering email. Q: What’s the most rewarding aspect of your career? Challenges? A: I most enjoy visiting customers in person and seeing the work done with our tools. We try to get all of our team members in front of customers at least once a year and to experience how the products are used in the real world. It’s especially rewarding to see how our tools have enabled people to have their own businesses, or to have someone tell you that they were able to buy their house because of your product. The most challenging aspects are those involved with being part of a big company — there’s a tremendous difference in feeling between a 10-person company and a 7000-person company. Q: I understand you live in Seattle, how does that compare to Tulsa? Do you have a favorite spot in Seattle? A: I think it took me about 3 minutes to feel at home here in Seattle. After living in Providence for six years, the rain doesn’t really bother me at all. The biggest difference between Seattle and Tulsa is the variety of landscape -- from my front porch I can see two mountain ranges, the ship canal, and Puget Sound. My favorite spots in Seattle are probably Gasworks Park and Golden Gardens for views, and Cafe Vivace for coffee. I’m required by law to mention coffee and rain whenever talking about Seattle. Looking Ahead Q: What are your plans moving forward? What are your next goals? A: One of the benefits of my role at Adobe is that I’m free to consider work that doesn’t necessarily fit into a single product cycle. My colleagues and I are winding down a two-year
research project which will appear in the next generation of Adobe’s video tools. We’re already arguing about what the next such project should be.
Q: How has the motion graphics industry changed since you began and where do you see it going? A: The biggest change is the democratization of the tools. In 1992, when we began work on After Effects, motion graphics was something practiced on million-dollar machines by a very small number of people. Now all that you need is an an inexpensive laptop and software like After Effects to produce work of the highest quality. We’re starting to see amazing things happen with still images and what’s called Computational Photography, where the tremendous computational power of modern hardware is used to overcome limitations of traditional optical systems. In many ways, the analogous video problem is easier because there is so much information encoded in a video. Image and video understanding is another area of tremendous interest right now – for example, you’re already starting to see commercial implementations of facial and speech recognition. Q: What would you tell a current Holland Hall student interested in computer graphics? A: Take all the math courses you can. It sounds like a cliché, but I actually use that stuff almost every day, especially geometry and linear algebra.
HOLLAND HALL MAGAZINE
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alumni feature: technology visionaries
Starting
acorn media p e t e r e dwa r ds ’ 7 1
Founder of Acorn Media: Boutique Publisher and Distributor of Collectible Home Videos, Specializing in British dramas and comedies Looking Back Q: What were some of your most memorable times at Holland Hall? A: Football camp. This sounds really corny but it's true: At many of the challenging times of my life, I've actually thought, ‘Hey, this is nowhere near as bad as Charlie Brown’s football camp. I can deal with this.’ And I usually do. Q: What faculty made the greatest impression on you during your time here? A: Without question, Ray Bizjack. He taught Logic and Philosophy to Juniors. Can you believe that? What a privilege. Ray (which he insisted on being called) trained to be a Jesuit priest but eventually resigned.
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He relished prodding us to think. I don't recall that anything was out of bounds. Most students don't get the kind of experience he provided when they are in college, and we got it as high school juniors. He was irreverent, very bright, and exceptionally big-hearted.
they didn’t have to be (Maria Shriver, Connie Chung, John Chancellor; Katie Couric was a chipper local reporter who was liked by everyone). But live television is not for me. I don’t like being in small rooms when a lot of people are yelling (especially if they happen to be yelling at me), no matter how momentous the occasion.
Q: Where was your favorite spot on the Holland Hall campus? A: The little parking lot behind It is amazing to work so close the gym at the old campus. to history though. In January (I'm just being honest.) 1986, NBC News was providing the "pool coverage" (our Q: Can you tell us a little about your basic "feed" would be shared career at NBC’s Nightly News? by all the networks, with each A: A great learning experience, adding their own graphics and though not always a fun one. commentary) for President Worked around some famous Reagan's State of the Union people, some of whom were address. We'd worked hard jerks, and some of whom were at the Capitol for a couple of extraordinarily gracious when days prior to set up to go live
nationwide. When I showed up for work on the actual broadcast outside the House of Representatives early on January 28th, it was over. Already, the networks were playing that single strip of footage — the Shuttle rolling and then bursting into flames — over and over again. I think of that and the news folks at work every time we have another wrenching national moment — 9/11, Katrina. Q: What would you tell a current Holland Hall student interested in producing a documentary? Or starting their own business? A: Do NOT produce documentaries; unfortunately, it's a fading form. There are so many other great opportuni-
ties all over the media landscape. Find a starting place, and start. You never know where it will lead.
Q: Acorn Media started in 1984 in the basement of your home - what made you start your own business? A: I’ve had to explain this many times to my Eastern friends and DO start your own business. If neighbors. I’m from Oklahoma, it doesn't work, start another. the southwest. Where I’m from, Or declare victory and have a the local heroes aren't intellectugreat career working with other als or lawyers or artists: they're folks, knowing that you lived entrepreneurs. Having your own your dream. business is the natural way of Today Q: What is Acorn Media? A: Acorn, our oldest brand, is mostly British television programming (we’re the largest distributor of British television programming on DVD to consumers in North America, after the BBC) — lots of PBS/Mystery! Titles such as Foyle’s War, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Midsomer Murders; classics like Brideshead Revisited and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Acacia is Acorn’s health and wellness division — yoga, exercise; Athena is our lifelong learning division (Bill Moyers, Shakespeare). We are in the DVD distribution business in North America, the UK and Australia; in the US, our DVDs are in lots of national outlets (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Target, etc). In North America, we have proprietary consumer catalogs (Acorn and Acacia) and associated web marketing efforts that reach several tens of millions of targeted consumers every year
times, but it sure beats working for a living.
appeal of the products we sell now — quality products for discerning adults — isn't inconsistent with what I imagined all those years ago and put down in some really, really bad business plans.
Q: What are some of the unique collectible home videos that customers can purchase through Acorn? A: Our brands appeal to discerning adults; we're highly differentiated. We explicitly target Now we're involved most heavdefined market segments. If ily with DVD and Blu-ray disyou don't get it, you don't get it. tribution and direct marketing, but we also sell "downloads," syndicate our content widely on the internet, do a little broadcast distribution of our original content, license programming internationally, do a huge amount of various kinds of internet marketing, and more.
“ ”
Find a starting place, and start. You never know where it will lead.
things, the good life. I realized a while ago that I never really had any other choice.
If you do, we're best friends.
Q: What’s your typical day at work like now? Q: What is the process like to produce A: I now try to stay out of day to and distribute your own documentary? day operations, a goal our CEO A: It's very challenging — at very much agrees with. I try to least as hard as football camp. work from my home office as I caught a window that doesn't much as possible, though I love exist now. Today the opportuni- being around the action. Now ties are different. I am convinced enjoying the rare combination that in any media environment, of time and the perspective that there are slivers of opportunity years of experience provides, I where a clever, relentless person devote a lot of energy to thinkcan leverage creative ideas into a ing about the next iteration — great living. Obviously, it's been about how we smartly work our happening now on the internet way into the world to come. for a while, and that will continue. And in a still-unformed Q: How has Acorn Media evolved way, the evolution of the inter- and grown since you began and where net is making possible the eco- do you see it going? nomically worthwhile creation A: I started what was then called and distribu- Atlas Video to produce and distion of new tribute travel documentaries to and different appeal to worldly consumers in media forms. the then-emerging home video (VHS) industry. (In the midThe media 1980's, this industry didn't exist; world is great. by the early to mid 1990's, the Anyone head- home video market was the biging out into gest profit center in Hollywood, a new career which it still is.) While I soon should look got out of the production side hard at it. It's of things (it's very hard to make brutal and a sustainable living) and moved grueling at into distribution, the essential
Q: What’s the most rewarding aspect of your career? Challenges? A: Starting your own business is incredibly rewarding — and I suspect I'd say the same thing if it hadn't worked out. (It truly is much better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.) I started a business in my basement, and now it's a small but prosperous international media company. That's hard to feel bad about. Challenges? They're all opportunities. Looking Ahead Q: What are your plans moving forward? What are your next goals? A: I'm working on that. I think it will likely involved being involved with development projects in emerging countries, like my company's effort with CARE to plant 300,000 trees in rural Kenya over three years. (We're at the end of year 2, and having just visited our sites, I think we're going to make it.) I'm heading into another chapter, where I'm going to have to re-invent myself.
HOLLAND HALL MAGAZINE
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focus on arts
ARTworks 2009 LAUREL LUKASZEWSKI C eramic S culptor
Arts Faculty Accomplishments Sarah Joyce-Dyer Holland Hall dance teacher Sarah Joyce-Dyer was inducted as a Certified Teacher of Bill Evans Modern Dance Technique this past July. The four-year certification program is based in Laban-Bartinieff movement analysis and was held at SUNY College at Brockport in New York. “This Technique is used for analyzing how a person moves and what dynamic affinities already exist in their body,” explained Joyce-Dyer. “For dancers, it offers a precise vocabulary for defining what is happening both inside and outside the body, and then specifically describing how those movements are occurring in relation to the performance space. Dale Barnett
“
The opportunity to work with the students as a professional artist has been a fabulous experience. I’ve been impressed with the students’ interaction with the art and their unique perspectives. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Tulsa and so grateful to Holland Hall for hosting this amazing program, ARTworks! — Laurel Lukaszewski
”
The Children’s Hour
This past October the Upper School Thespians produced the Pulitzer nominated play “The Children’s Hour” by Lillian Hellman. The play is set in a New England country schoolhouse in the 1930’s and pivots around a young girl’s lie that dramatically affects the lives of all around her. Directed by Gary Dean Sweeney, the cast and crew included Kelsey Birkes, Elise Phillips, Brenna Caldwell, Rebecca Crockett, Ellen Humphreys, Mattie Lippe, Sarah Rind, Megan Rankin, Molly Tomecek, Emma Steele, Julia Boese, Joe Jenen, Erin Phillips, Ian Campbell, Savannah Montgomery, Nathan Stewart, Sam Gray, Travis Coulson, and Travis Frizell. Technical support was provided by Jody Ely, costumes by Kimm Abercrombie, and set design by Scott Spicer. From left, Emma Steele as Karen Wright and Julia Boese as Martha Dobie.
Middle School Students Audition for National Honor Choir Six Middle School students, Annie Wise ’17, Anna Lind ’17, MacLeod Lawson ’18, John Connor ’18, Claire Harbaugh ’18 and Jack Grossman ’18 auditioned for the National Honor Choir as part of the annual American Kodaly Educators (OAKE) conference. Five of the six students were accepted to sing with the 100+ member children's chorus in Dallas on March 20. 20
This past summer, Holland Hall Band Director, Dale Barnett, was initiated into the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame. Since being founded in 1966, the OBA Hall of Fame has only inducted 112 members. To be considered for inclusion in this prestigious organization, a band director must contribute significantly to the growth and achievement of excellence in instrumental music over the course of his career. Mr. Barnett is currently in his 3rd year as Band Director at Holland Hall.
Senior Studies in Two Prestigious Summer Programs Fearless. That is how one would describe senior Stephania Dulowski when it comes her passion for the arts — photography in particular. For the past two summers, Stephania refused to be frightened by the risk of submitting her work for serious critique by college professors and professional artists and, as a result, was accepted into two highly prestigious summer visual arts programs. In 2008, it was an opportunity to study at MICA, the Maryland Institute College of Art, where approximately 125 students from across the country spent four weeks learning more about their craft. While there, Stephania studied darkroom photography techniques as well as graphic design and art history, and was awarded college credit as a direct result of the high caliber of her work. In 2009, she applied and was one of 72 students accepted into the School of Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. This time, her photographic studies were digital and video, along with classes in drawing, painting, print making, and sculpture. “For me, the hardest class was definitely painting,” said Dulowski. “I had never painted before and the teacher would give an assignment and just turn us loose to experiment. I had to figure out what brushes gave what textures and which paints to use.”
S p o t l i gh t
Laurie Spencer, Holland Hall Art Teacher Holland Hall art teacher Laurie Spencer has a passion for clay and working with students. So when this busy mom of Holland Hall third grader Geovy isn’t teaching, she finds time for outside projects that allow her to combine the two. Back in 1997, she worked with Holland Hall students to create the “Calyx Dome”, an 18 foot tall clay dome structure on the Holland Hall campus. It is currently located by the fire pit and tennis courts. While she has created many dome structures since then, most recently she oversaw the design and creation of “Urban Cairn” at the University of Toledo Center for Sculptural Studies. “I was invited to design a sculpture to be a permanent piece for the University of Toledo’s Center for Sculptural Studies,” said Spencer. “They were interested in something along the line of my previous ceramic domes or cairns.” Spencer displayed images of her work, along with ideas and models for the project at the university during a three-day visit in September. Students then drew their own options for the projects, which Spencer combined with hers to develop a new model for the project. “Usually when I make these sculptures, I create it from start to finish but for this project, they wanted to build it themselves according to my plans,” said Spencer. “The students helped finalize the design. I got them started on the construction and how to build it. The cairn was built with large coils of clay on site. They completed it on their own with assistance from their sculpture and ceramics professors, Tom and Karen Lingeman. In mid October, it was ready for the firing. I designed a kiln to fit around the cairn. Using light weight ceramic fiber blanket, we attached it to fencing and wrapped the dome. It was fired with wood in a three day non-stop firing until we reached 2000°. After two days cooling, we unwrapped it to find the cairn beautifully transformed by fire.” Spencer was chosen for the project by faculty and students of UT because of her skill in working with students and the positive impression she made 20 years earlier when fabricating “Phoenix Cairn” at the Toledo Botanical Garden. “I was thrilled to be the one chosen for their first permanent sculpture,” said Spencer. “It gave me an opportunity to create another large piece. These structures are very labor intensive and I haven’t had the opportunity to build one in quite some time. It was enjoyable on many levels. Since I did a sculpture in Toledo many years ago at the Botanical Garden, I was able to reconnect with friends from long ago. Mostly, it was invigorating to work with a group of college students who are actively involved in art in a dedicated manner.” Urban Cairn can now be seen behind UT’s Center for Sculptural Studies in Toledo, Ohio. Images from the project can be seen at http://utoledo.edu/as/art/index.html
HOLLAND HALL MAGAZINE
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Alumni Board Association Ashley C. Parrish ’93 Past President
From the President of the Alumni Association Board Dear Fellow Alumni,
Virginia Miller ’71 President
The first semester of the ’09 -’10 school year has been full of activity for the Alumni Association. With our goals to grow the membership of the Alumni Board and to engage more and more alumni with the school, it has been a fun and busy fall. I want to welcome new Alumni Board members Andy Allen ’77, Farryl Stokes ’59, Jane Pritchard Matulis ’97, Brett Baker ’89 and Cynthia Staab ’83. We look forward to the benefits of their contributions to the Alumni Association and to Holland Hall.
Sanford J. Roberds ’93 Vice President Clint E. Brumble ’93 Secretary Sandra J. Alexander Andy Allen Brett Baker Kenneth D. Busby Paul N. Henry Jane Pritchard Matulis Sarah Regan McKinney Cynthia Staab Farryl Stokes
’69 ’77 ’89 ’85 ’81 ’97 ’01 ’83 ’59
The Alumni Reunion weekend on October 23-24 attracted over 300 alumni on campus. The weekend kicked off with the Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony followed by the Alumni Reception in the Black Box. Both events allowed local and out-of-town alumni to gather to catch up on their lives and to reminisce about their days at Holland Hall. As part of the reception the first and very meaningful Young Alumni Faculty Award was presented to the family of Tim S. O’Halloran. What a touching example of what the faculty/student relationships mean to those in the Holland Hall family. The award will now be known as the Tim S. O’Halloran Award. Class of 2000, it is never too early to start thinking about who you will award next year! Virginia Miller ’71
A highlight of Reunion Weekend was certainly the Class of 1959’s attendance at the Alumni Brunch on Saturday, the 24th. In attendance were 11 of the 13 members of that class. It was delightful to watch the excitement, laughter and hugs exchanged by these ladies. It just goes to show that no matter how many years or which campus one attended, the bond of the Holland Hall family is life-long. Class of 1960, can you top that attendance percentage next year? Moving forward, our next big event is the Alumni Holiday Party on Saturday, December 19, from 7 to 10 p.m. You can enjoy drinks and appetizers in the Upper School Commons while catching up with other alumni. We hope that you will be able to join us on what promises to be a festive and fun evening. Please RSVP to Judy Warren at jwarren@hollandhall.org or (918) 879-4745 or on the Holland Hall Alumni Association Facebook page. Please mark your calendars for the Annual Holland Hall Trivia Night on Saturday, January 23, 2010. We need some alumni volunteers to help us put together an evening that tops last year’s very successful event. Please contact me at vmiller@cctulsa.com or (918) 704-3322 if you would like to be on the committee. In closing, an update on the Holland Hall Annual Fund: We continue to encourage alumni to evaluate what role Holland Hall has had in their life and what it means to be a Holland Hall graduate. Our focus is on increasing the percentage of alumni who participate in the Annual Fund. Every donation is meaningful and greatly appreciated. You can go to www.hollandhall.org and with a few clicks of the mouse, you can make a difference. My wishes to each of you for Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year in 2010! Sincerely,
The Alumni Association Board meets each month at 8 a.m. in the Alumni Center on the Holland Hall campus. For more information on alumni events, visit http://alumni.hollandhall.org.
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A lumni E vents
Virginia Miller ’71 President, Holland Hall Alumni Association Alumni Soccer Games (Boys & Girls) Holland Hall Soccer Field Saturday, December 19, 2009 10:00 a.m. Alumni Basketball Game (Boys) Holland Hall Upper School Gym Saturday, December 19, 2009 10:00 a.m. Alumni Holiday Party Holland Hall Upper School Commons Saturday, December 19, 2009 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. University Update Dinner Holland Hall SMT Commons Wednesday, January 6, 2010 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Alumni Networking Breakfast: Guest Speaker — Chuck Lamson, Tulsa Drillers Alumni Center, Middle School Friday, January 15, 2010 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Trivia Night Holland Hall Upper School Commons Saturday, January 23, 2010 7:00 p.m. An Evening at the Brasserie Restaurant & Bar: Featured Bartender, Coach Charlie Brown 3509 S. Peoria Avenue, Tulsa, OK Sunday, January 31, 2010, Time: TBD Upcoming Alumni Receptions Thursday, February 11, 2010 – Houston, TX Wednesday, February 24, 2010 – San Francisco, CA Thursday, April 29, 2010 – Ft. Worth, TX
1964 Class Correspondent: If you would like to be the class correspondent for the class of ’64, please contact Judy Warren at jwarren@hollandhall.org
Gay Lyn Parrish ’64 - 988 Searns Dr. #2 Los Angeles, CA 90048 Retired from non-profit administration. Enjoys sailing and participating on non-profit boards.
1979 Class Correspondent: Carol Bush 2829 E. 35th Street Tulsa, Oklahoma 74105 918-747-7687 or cbush@crimecomok.org
Tim Hammond ’79 -
Tim Hammond graduated from Columbia College in Missouri. After working with his brother in the tank construction business, he and his wife, Kathi, moved to Macon, Georgia to start a new division for that same company. In 1992 he moved to Carmel, Indiana where he started his own technical/construction company which grew into an environmental equipment company which designs and manufactures Vapor Recovery Systems for the petroleum terminaling industry. He has two sons, Ed (16) and Tim (11).
Amy Bechtel Gau ’79 -
Amy Bechtel Gau went to Grinnell College in Iowa and then finished with a degree in industrial engineering from Iowa State University. She worked for Sperry/Unisys for a few years where she met her husband of 20 years. They soon moved to Minnesota where she went to work at IBM. She is active in dog showing and enjoys traveling.
Kyle Bethel ’79 -
Kyle Bethel graduated from Oklahoma State University with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering. Upon graduation he spent nine years in Europe working and then relocated to Houston in the 90’s working with high explosives in the oilfield. He has two sons now 20 and 15 years old. He started his own company about four years ago. Check out the website at www.smart-pipe.com.
Pam Vrooman ’79 -
Pam Vrooman spent time in Europe after leaving Holland Hall. Eight years ago she earned a doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Texas. After graduating she worked at a residential treatment center for co-occuring disorders for women with children, then worked with the Drug Court
and TANF programs at Resonance Center for Women. Last June she took a deep breath and launched her own practice in Tulsa. She does psychological testing of adults and adolescents, and also therapy and consulting. Her son Ben is graduating from TU law school this spring and her daughter Hannah attends Booker T. Washington.
Russell Hill ’79 -
Russell Hill attended a six year college/ medical school program at the University of Michigan. He completed his residency at OU Tulsa and moved in 1990 to northwest New Mexico. In 2004 he and his wife moved to Durango, Colorado where he staffs the ER in a specialty surgical hospital. He spends his free time in the mountains and enjoys skiing.
Laurie Bates ’79 -
Laurie Bates left the modern conveniences of Tulsa and went to tiny Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. She graduated, along with 14 classmates in her field of study, with a degree in accounting and became a CPA. She moved back to Tulsa and took a job as an internal auditor for MAPCO. She moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to work with Arthur Andersen. Currently she is the Director Internal Audit and Chief Audit Executive for Standard Register in Dayton, Ohio.
Wendy Wear Mitchell ’79 -
Wendy Wear Mitchell married soon after graduation from Jenks High School and studied to be a lay midwife and became an EMT. She has five children – Majesta (28), Sterling (26), Kira (24), Aurora (21) and Ricky (18). She went back to school and got an associate degree in criminal justice. For the last 10 years she has worked for Davita Dialysis.
Jeff Harrison ’79 -
Jeff Harrison graduated from OU and has worked in the restaurant/hospitality industry for 33 years! He has been actively involved with the National Restaurant Association and his jobs have always been front line of building concept for several chains including Fuddruckers, Bay Street, Corner Bakery, Chipotle and Noodles and Company. Needless to say he moves around a lot – 19 different cities total. Currently he is in Denver working with Noodles and Company.
program has parents follow a modular schedule for the evening to attend all of your child’s classes, so I found myself once again sitting in Mr. Palma’s Latin class. And they are still reading Ecce Romani about the adventures of Cornelia, Flavia and Sextus! It was fun, this time.”
Julie Johnson Richmond ’82 -
Julie Johnson Richmond and her husband Bard keep quite busy raising their three boys (8-year-old twins and a 6-year-old) in Seattle. They travel quite a bit, and spend summers in Hood River, Oregon.
Melissa Chastain Parkey ’82 -
Melissa Chastain Parkey lives and works on the Rocky Boys Chippewa Cree Indian Reservation. “I have worked in the Medical Laboratory field for the past 15 years. My husband is retiring in October after almost 40 years with the USPS. My daughters are both grown and doing very well. Emily is an Actuary living in Indianapolis with her husband. Molly is in graduate school working on her MSW. Luke is diligently plugging away at high school. My nest is destined to be empty sooner then I realize. I consider myself quite blessed and happy with my family and my life.”
1991 Class Correspondent: If you would like to be the class correspondent for the class of ’91, please contact Judy Warren at jwarren@hollandhall.org
Drew Rushton ’91 -
Drew Rushton is a physician in anesthesia practicing in Eugene, Oregon. He married Stephanie Ward on Sept. 28, 2007 and they have twin boys, Coen and Luca, born Nov. 12, 2008.
1982 Class Correspondent: Wendy Wilk 10803 Whiterim Drive Potomac, MD 20854 301-983-1447 or wawilk@aol.com
Jane Breckinridge ’82 -
Jane Breckinridge reports back to us from Back-to-School night at Holland Hall: “The HOLLAND HALL MAGAZINE
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1996 Class Correspondent: Sarah (Lemons) Bradbury 6728 Chevy Chase Avenue Dallas, Texas 75225 214-499-2168 (cell) sarahebradbury@yahoo.com (personal) sbradbury@gardere.com (work)
Amanda Bishop ’96 -
Amanda Bishop is currently living in Seattle, Washington where she works as Senior Product Manager for Whitepages.com. She moved to Seattle in 2008 after earning her M.B.A. from Stanford University.
Sarah Lemons Bradbury ’96 -
Sarah Lemons Bradbury currently lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, Judd. She is a labor and employment attorney with Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in Dallas, Texas where her practice primarily consists of employment litigation, drafting employment agreements, and counseling corporate clients on employeerelated issues.
Randy Brown ’96 -
Randy Brown and his wife, Candice, announce the birth of their son, Nathan Charles Brown. He was born on April 1, 2009, weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 21 inches long. He is the grandson of Athletic Director Emeritus, Charles H. Brown. He is a happy and growing baby boy.
Campbell Kerr ’96 -
Campbell Kerr and his wife Katie celebrated the birth of their first child, Kinley Nicole, on June 12, 2009. Campbell and Katie are loving parenthood now that Kinley is sleeping through the night! In other news, Campbell recently signed his first contract in Tulsa which expands his Dallas-based business, Zodiac Valet Trash into the Tulsa market. Zodiac offers door-to-door trash and recycling collection for apartment residents. www.zodiacvalettrash.com Updated email address: campbellkerr@ hotmail.com.
Rogers McSpadden ’96 -
Rogers McSpadden ’96 resides in Phoenix, Arizona where he is a teacher at an intercity high school. Updated email address: cobrakai2011@ yahoo.com.
2000 Class Correspondent: Margaret Rosene 4733 South Harvard Avenue, #46 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135 918-640-0735 or alieze@aol.com Join Facebook Group - Holland Hall Class of 2000!
Luke Coffelt ’00 -
Luke Coffelt married Erica on July 11, 2009 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Luke and Erica met in Sinai while they were both on their way to Jordan. They have been living in Cairo for approximately four years. Luke and Erica are both teachers. Luke says he loves being married!
Brooke Hobbs ’00 -
On November 7, 2009, Brooke Hobbs ’00 married Jonathan Duckett in Charleston, South Carolina. Their wedding day festivities were held at Lowndes Grove Plantation, which overlooks the Ashley River. Brooke and Jonathan reside in Atlanta, Georgia.
Hilary Kneale ’00 -
In May, Hilary Kneale ’00 graduated from OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is currently doing her residency in Neurology in Michigan.
2002 Class Correspondent: Bryan Lieber 146 Ivy Drive, Apt. 12 Charlottesville, VA 22903 Bryan.lieber@gmail.com
Jessica (Litchfield) Cermak ’02 Mark Abernathy ’00 -
Mark Abernathy recently moved back to Tulsa where he is working in the Marketing Department of sister companies Peak UpTime and Pacer Energy.
Jessica (Litchfield) Cermak gave birth to her first child, Lucy Olivia Cermak, on December 17, 2008. She and her husband Kyle are expecting their second little girl in January 2010.
Nicole Bhow ’00 -
Sarah Emel ’02 -
Nicole Bhow received her Master of Arts degree in interior design from Suffolk University in September 2008. She recently began working as the design assistant for the new interior design show Destination Design
Sarah Emel recently received her MS in Biology from the University of Tulsa. She is moving to Pullman, Washington to start her PhD in Biology at Washington State University.
Will Thomas ’02 -
Will Thomas ’02 married fellow former New Yorker Megan Furman on May 16. Both families celebrated the wedding in Manhattan; in attendance were Holland Hall alumni Tyler Coyle ’01, Kevin Flaherty ’02, Bryan Lieber ’02 and John Sturdivant ’02. Following a month of progressing celebrations that stretched through Tulsa, Minneapolis and Lansing, Megan and Will have settled down in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Mariah Danielson Fairben ’96 -
Mariah Danielson Fairben and her husband Brian are now proud parents. They welcomed their baby girl, Cecilia Ruth, into the world on April 15, 2009. Mariah and Brian also celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary on September 4, 2009. 24
with Taniya Nayak. Destination Design will be shooting 13 full episodes this fall that are scheduled to air on HGTV in the spring or summer.
Ashley Allen Tulp ’02 -
Ashley Allen Tulp married fellow Colorado College graduate Christopher Tulp on September 5. Both families celebrated
the wedding at Sanborn Western Camps in Colorado; in attendance were Holland Hall alumni Samantha Allen ’04, Shannon Green ’02, Aimee Serio ’02, Laura Neely ’02, Libby Yandell ’02, Casidy Boyd ’02, Rachel Dolinsky ’02, Jeff Moore ’00 and Eric Richards ’00. Ashley and Chris are now settled in Denver, Colorado where they recently purchased a house.
Brian Green ’02 -
Marriages Julie Nicole Andra and Nicholas Solomon Bunting ’03 — May 16, 2009 Leslie Spencer ’04 and Ben Haughey — June 6, 2009 Carrie McFall and Lt. Ryan Charles Higgins ’01 — October 3, 2009
Brian Green and his wife Amanda are living in Chicago and attending graduate school at DePaul University. Brian is pursuing a master’s degree in Information Systems and Amanda is pursuing a master’s degree in New Media Studies.
Maureen Elizabeth Beasley and Richard John Thomas ’02 — July 11, 2009
John Sturdivant ’02 -
Births
John Sturdivant ’02 has relocated from Phoenix to New York City to pursue an MBA at the Columbia Graduate School of Business.
Libby Yandell ’02 -
Libby Yandell ’02 has relocated from New York City to Dallas to start a new job with Headington Oil Company.
Leigh Ainsley Smith ’89 and John David Fankhanel — June 6, 2009.
Candice and Randy Brown ’96 — Nathan Charles born April 1, 2009
Mariah Danielson Fairben ’96 and Brian Fairben — Cecilia Ruth April 15, 2009
Ashley Babb Studdard ’01 and Jon Studdard — Max Daniel and Chandler Ray born August 3, 2009
Katie and Campbell Kerr ’96 —
Kinley Nicole born June 12, 2009
In Loving Memory
Alice Lindsay Price (former US English teacher) July 29, 2009 Edward W. Hooker (former Chair & Biology teacher) August 7, 2009 Don Paige (former History teacher & Dept. Chair) August, 2009 Cynthia Lewis Jenkinson Yandell (Instrumental in the school’s 1971 move from the original Birmingham Place campus to the current 81st Street location) October 2, 2009
Beverly Holmes Lindsay ’61 November 24,
2009
WANTED Class Correspondents
Alumni Dallas Reception During Fall SPC, Holland Hall alumni along with faculty and staff gathered in the home of Emily Watson Hillsman ’78. In attendance were Amy Brechin ’74, Gina Gunn ’77, Mark Condry ’78, Greg Meyer ’77, Rod Reppe ’80, Brian Wilson ’79, Charlie Brown, Steve Heldebrand, Brad Shelley and Judy Warren. Upcoming receptions: • February 11 – Houston, TX • February 24 – San Francisco, CA • April 29 – Ft. Worth, TX
We still need class correspondents for the following: 1940-45, 1945-49, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The class notes of the Holland Hall Magazine is a popular section; therefore, please consider being a class correspondent for your class. HOLLAND HALL MAGAZINE
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2009 Alumni Reunion Weekend Over 300 alumni were on campus during the 2009 Alumni Reunion Weekend. Many registered and received a Holland Hall t-shirt for the Friday evening Alumni Reception. The Saturday Alumni Brunch was attended by 50 alumni with special recognition of the class of ’59. Eleven of the 13 ladies were in attendance. Many stories and memories were shared.
Holland Hall’s First Annual Tim S. O’Halloran Award The first annual Tim S. O’Halloran Award was presented to Tim S. O’Halloran’s family the evening of the Alumni Reception. The award is presented to a current or retired faculty member for excellence in teaching. Recipient is selected by the class celebrating its 10-year reunion and will be presented each year during Alumni Reunion Weekend. 26
Memories from the
E
Class of ’59
’59 Memories
E
A Poem from the Class of ’59
“To the rear” we “forward march” Back through graduation’s arch, Back 50 years to work and play, Holland Hall of yesterday. Pleated skirt of navy blue, Middy blouse and saddle shoe, Back flips on the jungle gym, Merry-go-round’s thrilling spin. Courtesy, with a Capital C Watchword of Eliza B., Playing sports and loyal to Sakawas-white, Wanatas-blue.
“Please no running through the halls” Mrs. Kiker’s popcorn balls, Be, Am. Are, Is. Was. Were. Been, Being. Super silly tiptoeing.
How has Holland Hall changed since your time here? Although we’re not involved with the daily activities and classes of the school, we do see huge changes in its size (campus and student body) and scope. There are so many more programs, buildings, kinds of equipment, etc. In 1959’s chemistry class of probably about 12, we thought nothing of sharing the few available bunsen burners. We had one little library, one lumpy playing field, one art and one music room and an auditorium that was used for lunch, chapel, assemblies, plays, you name it. And still we were offered a tremendous education.
What has remained the same? Certainly the fact that the student body is largely made up of young people whose parents can afford to send them to a very expensive private school. We would also imagine that the school's goals in general are more or less the same.
Is there any person(s) who made a significant impact on you while a student here? Mrs. Kiker, our fifth and sixth grade teacher, and Miss Beckington, the senior English teacher. Both were sticklers for clear, concise writing and grammar. Miss Beattie, the art teacher, Mrs. Rinker, first grade teacher, Mrs. Cole, the librarian, Miss Sharp in math, Mrs. Kaboth,
P.E., are some of the dedicated teachers whose influence we’ve never forgotten. All were brilliant, some were quieter and gentler than others, some hilarious, but each one obviously loved her profession and had a contagious enthusiasm for learning.
Sweet Miss Beattie’s potting wheel, Swinging hockey sticks with zeal, Learning to dissect a frog, Mrs. Kaboth’s Newsboy Clog.
How did HH prepare you for what you have done in life?
Dear Mrs. Cole in Library, Chic Miss Sharp’s Geometry, Singing grace before our lunch, Grilled cheese sandwiches to munch.
HH did prepare us well for college, graduate school and teaching at the university level. Study and writing habits taught at HH and a love of books and learning we discovered there have lasted throughout our lives.
Downy Natchez feather beds, Mrs. Goodnough’s homemade breads, Lulu B.’s good friend MacBeth, Mr. Murphy’s dragon breath.
What does HH mean to you now? Happy memories. It's the only preschool, elementary, grade and high school many of us ever attended and we loved every day of our years there.
Do you still have friends who you made while a student at HH? Yes. Of our senior class, some live in Tulsa, we’ve known each other for over 65 years and seven came from out of town for our reunion.
What was your favorite thing about HH while you were here? The egg salad sandwiches at Friday lunch. As students, we asked the kitchen for the recipe and still make them the same way today.
Sesame and Lilies, oh so dry, Great Expections made us cry, Adeste Fideles. Trois Grand Rois, Totor, Tristan, Je ne sais pas, “Think tall girls!” (We’re seniors now) Town Hall, bowling outings, Wow! Senior sweater, senior room, Privileges that made us swoon. Winding Maypoles, Ribbons bright, Christmas carols, candlelight, Like the swings that soared so high, How those special days flew by. Fondly we remember when, Looking back at what was then, Happy years of work and play, Our Holland Hall of yesterday.
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Athletes Carrie McDaniel Canter ’82
Carrie McDaniel was not only the finest female athlete of her time, but her athletic talent was matched by a vivacious personality and beauty. She was selected as the Margaret W. Kaboth Award recipient, earned 12 varsity letters in field hockey, basketball and softball while serving as captain of all three sport teams. She earned All Conference and MVP honors in field hockey and basketball. The local sports television media selected her as student/athlete of the week and month for her field hockey accomplishments, along with an All City basketball selection. She declined a field hockey scholarship at Purdue University to attend the University of Oklahoma and went on to earn a law degree. As outstanding as she was as an athlete, her accomplishments in recent years are even more impressive. After a short time in private law practice, she became the Enforcement Attorney with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, then served as a Compliance Officer and Head Securities Trader for a money management firm in Dallas, followed by establishing her own consulting firm dealing with trading compliance issues. Today she resides in Southlake, Texas where she sells residential real estate and is highly involved in the local schools, having served as both a School Board Treasurer and PTO President. She has also found time to coach youth soccer and basketball, as well as volunteer for the National Charity League, a mother/daughter organization.
Amalie Ami Chitwood ’84
Ami Chitwood’s demeanor, style and energy generated an enthusiastic, winning spirit throughout the school during her years at Holland Hall. Regardless of the task, whether it was serving as President of the Pep Club, working on the yearbook staff or competing in an athletic contest, her exuberance, quickness and ever-present smile were apparent. She not only earned twelve letters as a varsity player in three sports as an Upper School student, she was a starter on eleven field hockey, soccer and softball teams. She was elected captain of all three of these sports as a senior. Needless to say, she was named the Margaret W. Kaboth award recipient at commencement. In the summer following her junior year, her ability as a field hockey player became evident to college coaches. Ami tried out for the Olympic Development Camps as part of the national selection process for the U.S. Womens Field Hockey Team. She advanced through three stages and qualified for the “A” Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. During her senior year she was widely recruited by college field hockey coaches. During her four years at Stanford, Ami earned multiple letters, was named to the All PAC-10 team. Her crowning achievement as a field hockey player was being named to 1st Team All American her senior year, thus becoming the first Holland Hall athlete to be selected to an All American team. Today Ami lives in Cupertino, California where she continues to enjoy running and hiking. She works as a physical therapist while attending nursing school with a goal of joining a trauma team.
Barry Lunnon ’84
Barry Lunnon was a man among boys as a full bearded high school baseball pitcher. He earned letters in football, soccer and baseball. As a soccer player he was a very intimidating defensive player, but as a high school baseball pitcher, he was absolutely terrifying. Here are a few of his high school accomplishments: Barry led his team to two SPC championships, was named Most Valuable Player, selected All Conference and All City three times. He was selected to the Oklahoma All State team twice, represented the state in the Oklahoma/California All Star Series, led the state twice in ERA, innings pitched, batting average allowed and strike outs, once defeated a 5A State Champion, Memorial HS team and continues to hold the state record of 202 strikeouts in 100 innings pitched. He received a baseball scholarship from Wichita State University where he led his team to two Hawaii Tournament Championships and one NCAA Regional Tournament victory. After graduating from WSU Barry moved to South Australia where he worked and played professional baseball. He was named the MVP eight times, batting champion six times, led the league in ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched five times and in 2008 was inducted into the South Australia Baseball Hall of Fame. Today he resides in Woodcroft, South Australia where he works as a Quality Control Manager for Major Development Projects-Welding Engineer. His real love is coaching, training and assisting with fund raising for the Aussie Rules football, soccer and baseball clubs where his three sons participate. His love of baseball has led him to train and assist local players to receive scholarships to American colleges and universities.
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Dan Meyer ’69
Dan Meyer enrolled in Holland Hall as a sophomore in the fall of 1966. He was introduced to the school by an icon of AAU and Tulsa Junior Athletic Association sports named “Speedy Clark.” Dan not only earned three letters in football, basketball and baseball, he led these teams by example. He was twice named the MVP, elected captain of both the football and baseball teams. As a football player, Dan excelled as an offensive and defensive lineman. His coach was asked, “If Dan played at Holland Hall today, could he compete with the players of today?” The answer was, “If he played today, he would dominate his teammates and opponents. Dan was a physically tough, mischievous young man with a definite mean streak when it came time to compete. Holland Hall has had very few linemen in the past 40 years who could match his toughness and tenacity.” His senior season the team lost only one game and recorded impressive victories over Cascia Hall and an outstanding Casady team. He was also the starting center on the basketball team. As a baseball player, he was the ace pitcher, first baseman and power hitter, who led the Dutchmen to the school’s first SPC Championship in any sport in 1968. Dan chose not to pursue college sports, but attended Oklahoma State University, where he earned a Business Degree in 1973. After earning a Masters Degree, he helped establish a box and packaging company, known as Tech Pack, located in Edmond. He was one of three owner/operators. He later sold his interest in the company and the company’s name was changed to Supply One. Today he is the Sales Manager of Supply One and resides in Edmond with his wife, Susie.
Coach Frank Ward - Coach
Frank Ward began his association with Holland Hall in January 1960. For the next 24 years he served as a middle school history teacher along with numerous assignments in the athletic department. During his first four years he was the school’s athletic director, head varsity boys basketball coach, assistant varsity football coach, as well as head middle school tennis coach. For 30 years, starting in 1964, he operated the school’s bus service with a “be on time, sit down and be quiet” policy very few riders misunderstood. His athletic accomplishments are best recalled during his years as a basketball and tennis coach where he was known for his demanding work ethic and no nonsense attitude. He spent four years developing a strong upper school basketball program with players like Lance Ellis. He then turned his attention to the middle school program where his 7th and 8th grade teams had a combined record of 390 wins and 170 losses. Starting with his 17 years as middle school tennis coach, where his teams were perennial state champions, his name became synonymous with Tulsa tennis. Whether it was one his summer camps, one of the many city, Missouri Valley, or high school metro tournaments he directed; or today’s senior league, it is highly unlikely that any person who has played tennis in Tulsa during the past 45 years does not know the name Frank Ward.
Service Award Bruce Gardner 2009 Service Award
Bruce Gardner’s association with Holland Hall began when he enrolled his son, Brent ’98, for his freshmen year in 1994. Later, his daughters, Sarah, ’00 and Jennifer, ’04 enrolled. All three children were outstanding athletes and made significant contributions to the life of the school in both academics and athletics. Bruce’s background as a college football player, construction engineer, businessman and parent of three children gave him a unique prospective regarding the benefits of a Holland Hall education. As the owner and manager of Gardner Construction Company, his years of experience in residential home building and commercial construction proved to be a valuable asset to the school. Bruce is being honored for his many contributions while serving as President of the Dutch Club, a volunteer organization established to assist the school’s athletic program. His list of accomplishments is both remarkable and unprecedented. No other volunteer has generated as much money through the organization’s allowed fund raising projects. His leadership and knowledge of the construction industry allowed him to envision, create and construct whatever was needed. The list of additions to the school’s athletic facilities, such as a weight room building, scoreboards, bell towers, homemade charcoal pits, is simply too numerous to mention here. Holland Hall wishes to thank Bruce for his dedication and generosity.
Team 1982 Baseball team
The ’82 Dutchmen baseball team is without a doubt the school’s finest. The number of individuals on this team who went on to play college and professional baseball is unprecedented. Tim Clark: Shortstop/Missouri University/Cincinnati Reds Organization Barry Lunnon: Pitcher, 1-B/Wichita State/Australian League “Hall of Fame” Steve Sparks: Pitcher, 3-B/Sam Houston State/Tigers, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Angels Mike Patrick: Catcher/Texas University/Texas Rangers Organization Three other team members played in college: Greg Wolfe-Stanford, Alan Robison-Conners and Jimmy Meehan-West Point. Other lettermen on the team include: Greg Cuenod, Alan Robison, James Fuquay, Arden Roberts, Mike Swarzendruber and Byron Wolfe. The team had a record of 21 wins and 7 losses competing against the toughest competition in the area, playing Hale, Memorial, Owasso, Sand Springs, Kelley and Broken Arrow. Highlights included placing 4th in the sixteen team All Metro Tournament, and closing out the season winning the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championship with a 6-1 record. Mike Patrick led the team in homeruns with thirteen, while three pitchers, Greg Cuenod, Steve Sparks, who pitched no-hitters and Barry Lunnon combined to win twenty-one games. Barry Lunnon was named the MVP by Head Coach Larry Caroon. HOLLAND HALL MAGAZINE
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Hall of Fame Class of 2009
The following athletes were inducted to the Athletic Hall of Fame: Carrie McDaniel Canter ’82, Amalie Ami Chitwood ’84, Barry Lunnon ’84 and Dan Meyer ’69. Coach: Frank B. Ward Special Award: Bruce Gardner Team: 1982 Baseball Team During the week, Frank B. Ward, Greg Wolfe ’83 and Byron Wolfe ’85 spoke to Holland Hall students. Greg and Byron shared memories and the importance of a Holland Hall experience.
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Holland Hall Fall Athletics Wrap Up STEVE HELDEBRAND Athletic Director
Football — After a 1-3 start to the season, the Dutch football team won their last four
out of five games. Though the six-year streak of playing for a SPC title ended, the Dutch did retain the coveted John Woolsey Trophy for the sixth consecutive year with a season ending victory against rival Cassidy 35-14. The Dutch were led by junior running back Kwame Sexton who rushed for 1,251 yards and 17 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Jay Michael Swab passed for 1,288 yards and 11 touchdowns. Seniors Jay Michael Swab, Nick White, Chandler Hicks, David Helmerich, Cal Ross, Luke Johnson, Grant Clary, Jake Freudenrich and Hunter Holmes led the team. All-SPC performers for Dutch football included seniors David Helemrich, Chandler Hicks, Jay Michael Swab and junior Kwame Sexton.
Field Hockey — The field hockey team experienced both the highs and low of
competing in athletics. The team opened the season participating in the top division at the Gateway Classic in St. Louis and competed very well. It prepared them for the Hockaday festival the following weekend, as they won three games and tied one. They got off to a strong start in SPC winning the first three of four games, but the tough North Zone schedule took its toll as the Dutch lost three very well contested games in OT. Their aspirations of attaining Division I fell short, but they played well at SPC in the Division II bracket, losing in the final to Hockaday 2-1 in strokes. The girls worked extremely hard and were led by a strong group of seniors: Maggie Brady, Amanda Adwon, Lauren Hauge, Natalie Hood, Natalie Powers, Layne Miller, and Meredith Hawkins. Lauren Hauge was All SPC. Maggie Brady and Layne Miller were All North Zone.
Volleyball — Over the past four years, the volleyball team has achieved new landmarks
for the program. Last year it was attaining 20 wins for the first time in school history and this year it was a sixth place finish in Division I at SPC. The team showed its strength early at the Cascia Hall Invitational by finishing runner-up to Bishop Kelley. A very difficult non-conference schedule against some of the states toughest teams prepared these girls for the grueling SPC schedule. They finished 5-2 in the North Zone. At SPC, the girls lost their first match in the morning to Greenhill, but battled back to win the afternoon contest against Austin St. Stephens in five games. The season ended with a loss to St. Mary’s Hall, but it did not take away the great accomplishments achieved by this team. Seniors Savana Dale, Becca Hart, and Beth Nelson led the girl’s volleyball team. All SPC performers were junior Christina Bayliss and senior Beth Nelson. All North Zone performers were junior Christina Bayliss and sophomore Ashlyn Terrell.
Cross Country — The cross-country team consistently competes against the best in
the state and region, whether it is at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Chili Pepper in Fayetteville, AR or at the Holland Hall Invitational. These athletes line up each week and challenge themselves to run their best. Senior captain Brittany White and senior Jordanne Morrow helped push these girls to achieve many personal bests each week as the season progressed. The highlight for the girls’ team was achieving a fourth place finish at SPC North Zone race in mid-October. Sophomore Cindy Saliba led girls with a second place finish at North Zone and a tenth place finish at SPC to receive an All Conference medal. The boys’ team ran their best race at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater finishing third place in their division. Junior Taylor Moult finished in the top three at six out of eight races. At SPC, he finished fifth place with a 16:50 in the three mile attaining an All conference medal. Seniors Joey LoVoi, Seth Bourdeau, Jake Nonweiler, and Ben Jones led the cross-country team.
Cheer — The 2009 National Championship squad repeated with a great performance at the American Spirit Cheer regional competition. The squad achieved another invitation to the ASC National competition in January to defend their title. Over the past several years this squad continues to raise the bar in their undying support for our athletic teams in the fall and winter and preparing for their own competition. Seniors Lana Laughlin, Priscilla Paoli, Joya Rutland, Ryane Williamson, Kelsey Meike and Victoria Tabio continue to lead this outstanding program. HOLLAND HALL MAGAZINE
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HOLLAND
HALL VS. CASADY OCTOBER 30, 2009
(Above) Football team after winning the game. (Right) Head Football Coach Tag Gross ’87 shakes hands with former Holland Hall Headmaster John Bird.
The Right Reverend Dr. Edward Konieczny, Bishop of Oklahoma, presented the Woolsey Cup to the Holland Hall Football team following the annual contest between Casady and Holland Hall on October 30, 2009.
Holland Hall won the contest 35-12.