From The Head of School JONATHAN W.R. LAMB
Dear Storm King Family, First and foremost, I hope that of you are safe and healthy wherever you may be. What a difference a few months makes! Since I wrote the introduction to our last issue of On the Mountain last fall, our world has been turned upside down by the Coronavirus pandemic. Over the past several months, our faculty and staff did a wonderful job of helping our students transition to online learning to successfully finish the school year. Faculty and students alike produced virtual versions of important spring events including our 4th Annual Poetry Festival, our Arts Weekend events including dance and music recitals, our student art show, and finally, selections from this year’s musical: Chicago: High School Edition. In May, the Alumni Council held a virtual get-together to welcome the senior class into the SKS Alumni Association soon followed by the School’s first virtual graduation where all of our traditional end of the year events– the Academic and Athletic Awards Ceremonies, Senior Service, and our 152nd Commencement–were pre-recorded and shared with the Storm King community. Seniors who live nearby were also given the chance to come to campus and pick up their diplomas, caps and gowns, and lawn posters with their photographs the afternoon after the graduation video was shared. Since then, our faculty and staff have been putting policies and protocols in place that will allow us to safely reopen the campus in the fall for in-person
instruction. Although we remain in crisis mode, we are confident we can start the school year and manage the challenges ahead. Despite the emergence of the pandemic in the spring, we had a tremendous school year on many levels. In this edition of On the Mountain we feature some wonderful stories about our alumni and the School today. Kerryane Monahan ’92, our 152nd commencement speaker and new board member, is the focus of our alumni feature. Other stories include a mini-feature about alumna and entrepreneur Michele DeSimone ’00 and profiles of our new Alumni Council members. Other stories about our fall and winter athletic seasons, the international trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, online learning, our wonderful fall theater drama The Diary of Anne Frank, the phenomenal college acceptance record of the senior class, and an interview with faculty member Lindsey Brown reflect just some of the great things that happened this year. The new school year will be yet another test for all of us, but I know that Storm King and all of you will rise to meet the challenge. Please stay safe and stay connected! Jonathan W.R. Lamb
2 / FROM MOUNTAIN THE HEAD ROADOF SCHOOL
