School News

Opening Weeks 2020

All That Jazz

“I really do enjoy it, just being embraced in the music,” Cyrus ’21 said, holding his saxophone in his hands. This winter, Cyrus made the All-State Jazz Band for the second time. One year earlier, while in his sophomore year at Landon, the Director of the All-State Jazz Band announced that Cyrus was the youngest student to receive the honor.

“It’s sort of like any great sporting event, it is the highest level that you can achieve in the state,” explained Joseph Cunliffe, adjunct music faculty at Landon.

“Landon has really taught me how to be a student as well as, I would say, has taught me to be a musician. And when I am working on music it is a totally separate thing than when I’m in the classroom. I regard them really highly but treat them both separately,” Cyrus said.

National Merit Honor

Congratulations to Drew Curran (top photo) and Alec Mearns (bottom photo), members of the Class of ’20 named National Merit Semifinalists. Both students scored in the top 1% of the 1.6 million students who took the PSAT in the fall of 2018.

The National Merit program honors students who display the potential for excellence in their college studies. Drew continued in the process and was awarded a National Merit Scholarship which is based upon standardized test scores, academic and extracurricular activities, a letter of recommendation, and a personal essay. He was one of 7500 students recognized nationwide for the distinction.

Drew is attending Princeton University, and Alec is at University College, London.

Three Win Congressional Art Awards

Three Landon Upper School students were honored by U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-8th) as part of the annual Congressional Art Competition. Peter Qiu ’21 earned second place for his pastel drawing, “Two Wolves,” which will be displayed in the representative’s Rockville office for a year. The school also received two honorable mentions: Jeff Duong ’22 entered and won with a painting titled, “Audrey Fools” and Ethan Fang ’21 earned honors for his pastel drawing titled “Boost.”

The coronavirus and stay-at-home orders forced the competition to move online for the first time. The paintings had to be submitted and judged virtually, but Landon Studio Arts Department Chair Ricky Sears ’99 said the boys rose to the challenge and their work merited recognition. “Each of the boy’s art is an original composition, and they stand out for their craftsmanship,” added Sears. Klingelhofer wins Coach of Year Award Congratulations to Marty Klingelhofer ’77, who won a state coach of the year award from the National High School Coaches Association for his achievements in and passion for the field of strength and conditioning.

25 THINGS

All Bears Should Know

From building for Habitat for Humanity or interning at the National Institutes of Health to hiking the Appalachian Trail, alumni of Landon will say their independent senior projects might have been one of the most defining parts of their school experience.

While Landon had already planned to make changes to senior projects this year to bring the class together in service to others, distance learning changed that direction again because of the coronavirus. Seniors participated in virtual sessions designed to send them off to college with skills that will be useful in their day-to-day lives.

It’s called “25 things all Bears should know,” and these learning sessions were led by faculty, staff, and alumni over the course of two weeks following seniors’ last day of classes in May.

“This new program embraces a set of skills that are often not taught within a high school academic curriculum but are essential life lessons nonetheless,” said Athletics Director Bill Brady, formerly of the Haverford School, who pitched the idea to Upper School leaders after running a similar, successful program at the Pennsylvania all-boys private school.

“Whether they are learning how to do taxes, change a tire, or craft a résumé, the program will give the boys hands-on training to prepare them for some of those things we all wish we had known when we left home for college,” he added.

The virtual sessions included (top to bottom): car maintenance with Information Technology Manager Neil Magsino, cooking with Upper School Administrative Assistant Grace Morelli and landscaping with Head Jim Neill.

Prinkey nominated for Educator of Year

World Languages Department Chair Troy Prinkey was nominated by a member of the Landon community for GLSEN’s Educator of the Year. The award is designated for an educator who is recognized for making a difference in the lives of students, including those who identify as LGBTQ. GLSEN (formerly the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) seeks to ensure that every member of a school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

“At an all-boys school, an opposite-sex sexual preference and being cisgendered might be taken for granted. The school has allowed for space for these assumptions to be challenged in a way that represents the spirit of inquiry and understanding that are at Landon’s core,” said Prinkey.

Prinkey has worked at Landon since 2015 as a Spanish teacher in both the Middle and Upper Schools and now serves as department chair for world languages. Amitay is a Bethesda Magazine Extraordinary Teen Congratulations to Matt Amitay ’20 who was chosen as an “extraordinary teen” by Bethesda Magazine. Matt told the magazine, “I view making tough decisions for the good of others part of my responsibility to the other students. It has been a vehicle for character growth for me.”

MS History Curriculum Change Landon’s Middle School now features a new history curriculum. The changes will reflect a complete reassessment of the scope and sequencing of learning for grades 6-8.

“We want to ensure we’re offering the right courses in the right grade, that students are receiving the strongest narrative, our Grade 6 course is the right progression from the Lower School, and our Form II students are properly prepared for Upper School history,” said Thomas Pipoli, History Department Chair.

The new curriculum shifts and expands on current classes. Sixth graders will study ancient civilizations around the world, not just Greek and Roman as the course has traditionally covered. “We want to globalize all of our curriculum,” said Pipoli.

Form I will continue with world geography while content will be more aligned and unified among all class sections. Form II will study U.S. history and civics. “We want content to be relevant for our students and to send them into the community to understand voting, community service, and civic engagement,” explains Pipoli. The course will fit into the larger narrative students will continue to explore in Upper School through higher-level American History in Grades 10 and 12.

Bordley elected to Hall of Fame

Rob Bordley ’66, was elected to the 2020 class of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, recognizing his exceptional service to his players, the school, and the sport. US Lacrosse, which runs the Hall of Fame and oversees the selection process, called him “one of the most successful boys’ high school coaches ever.”

“This honor is really a tribute to all of the great players and coaches that I have had the privilege of working with over the last forty plus years,” said Bordley, who retired from teaching and coaching in 2018 and currently works in Landon’s Development Office—more than 50 years of service to the school.

“Rob’s election to the Lacrosse Hall of Fame is a fitting and well-deserved honor,” said Sherman “Tiger” Joyce ’78, a former chair of Landon’s Board of Trustees. “As a former player who helped out as a coach over the years, I believe Rob’s greatest accomplishment was carrying out the school’s mission of character education as the ultimate teacher-coach-mentor.”

Kapelina and Kalish are Academic All-Americans USA Water Polo chose water polo student-athletes Alex Kapelina ’20 and Logan Kalish ’21 as Academic All-Americans award winners.

12 Seniors to Play College Sports

Twelve members of the Class of 2020 have committed to play college athletics. More than 170 Landon alumni have participated at the next level over the past decade, including 76 in the last four years.

BASEBALL Jack Cope Lafayette College

FOOTBALL Tejon Ford Shenandoah University Gerney Johnson Stevenson University Tommy Kenary Middlebury College* Tyler Smith Georgetown University

LACROSSE Ryan Giles University of Denver Joey Graham Harvard University Cooper Johnson Ohio Wesleyan University Gavin Seasholes Dickinson College James Thomas United States Naval Academy Prep School

SWIMMING Jacob Rosner Northwestern University

WATER POLO Ford Bruggen George Washington University

*Kenary will also play rugby.

(top to bottom) Cope, Giles, Rosner