Isl and Ne w s
SHIFTING CONCUSSION CULTURE
DEBATE EXCELLENCE
Loomis Chaffee winter sports teams participated in a campaign to change the wider sports culture surrounding concussions through a program with the Headway Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes sports safety and concussion awareness. Over the course of 10 days, Headway worked with Loomis athletes, coaches, and members of the Athletics Department to share proper ways to prevent, report, and spot concussions as well as resources that athletes can use to help cope with and recover from head injuries. The effort was part of Headway’s “New Tough” campaign, which challenges athletes to report concussion symptoms as soon as they are experienced, provide help and support to other brain-injured teammates, and play the game within the rules in order to prevent injuries.
The Loomis Chaffee Debate Society continued to enjoy success at area competitions during the winter term, extending a trend that the debaters began in the fall. Both experienced and novice Pelican debaters earned awards at a variety of tournaments. With strong showings at November and December tournaments, seniors Maral Asik, Eleanor Peters, and Clara Chen; and juniors Victoria Cha and Aiden Gillies earned berths in the state debate finals, originally scheduled for late March but postponed because of COVID-19 concerns. The Debate Society also hosted its 38th annual Loomis Chaffee Debate Tournament in January, attracting 180 debaters from 14 schools from around the Northeast. Students debated both sides of the resolution: “Resolved, that the United States should adopt a program of reparations to redress the harms caused by historic, systemic racist policies, including slavery.”
To see what Loomis athletes had to say about helping to shift concussion culture, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.
PORTRAIT OF NANCY TONEY
CLIMATE RALLY Pelican climate activists rallied at the Connecticut state capitol in December 2019, the second Hartford rally at which a cadre of Loomis students mustered this school year. Twenty-five Loomis Chaffee students and two faculty members participated in the December rally along with hundreds of other young people, demanding a meeting with Governor Ned Lamont, a seat for youth on the Governor’s Council on Climate Change, a ban on new fossil fuel plant construction in the state, efficient and transparent management of the state’s energy efficiency fund, and mandatory climate education in Connecticut’s public schools. While at the capitol, the Loomis cohort also met with Paul Mounds ’03, who served at the time as the governor’s chief operating officer and later was named the governor’s chief of staff. They discussed the planned Killingly Gas Plant and other issues of concern to Loomis’ student-led Climate Activism Club.
Members of the school community gathered in February for “Nancy Toney: A Portrait of Strength, a Portal into the Past,” an examination of the life of Ms. Toney, a 19th-century African American woman who lived in Windsor and whose personal history is connected with Loomis Chaffee’s Founders. History teacher and school archivist Karen Parsons led the presentation, which considered a portrait of Ms. Toney painted by Founder Osbert Loomis. Karen’s presentation was a collaboration by the Archives and Loomis’ Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in honor of Black History Month. For more information and for a podcast on the topic, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.
Browse a gallery of photos from the event at www.loomischaffee.org/ magazine.
FACULTY & STAF F NEWS Science teachers Erica Gerace and David Samuels welcomed daughter Evelyn Sloan Samuels on January 30. She joins big sister Emilia. Admission associate and head boys basketball coach Rock Battistoni reunited with his college teammate Greg Collucci this winter when Mr. Collucci spoke at Loomis
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Chaffee about basketball and global politics. Mr. Collucci, who played basketball with Rock at George Washington University, is senior manager for global basketball development for the National Basketball Association. Nine faculty members attended the 2019 People of Color Conference in Seattle, Washington, in December. The conference,
organized by the National Association of Independent Schools, featured speakers, workshops, and activities focused on leadership, professional development, and networking for people of color and allies of all backgrounds in independent schools. Six Loomis Chaffee students also participated in the conference, which included a portion designed specifically for students.
