122868 Cover
4/23/12
1:03 PM
Page 1
outreach N E WA R K A C A D E M Y
S P R I N G
June Term: Embracing the Joy of Learning
2 0 1 2
122868 Cover
4/23/12
1:03 PM
Page 2
ART HISTORY
C
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:05 AM
Page 1
CONTENTS SPRING 2012 1
18
28
37 FEATURES
ALUMNI PROFILE
6 A Living Legacy
52 Scheherazade Tillet ’96:
Estate Gift from Arona Green Strengthens Scholarship Endowment
Power Supply Visual and Performing Arts with the Power to Heal
28 Ever Green Newark Academy Continues to Promote Sustainability
32 Happy Endings New June Term Embraces the Joy of Learning
37 The National Issue of Bullying Prevention Explored by NA Experts
32 Front and back covers: One June Term course, “Nature Writing,” will give students the opportunity to engage with the natural world through both peaceful reflection and physical interaction.
DEPARTMENTS
3 NA News Perspectives Sports Report
42 From the Archives 45 Alumni News 54 Class Notes
Faculty Focus Advancement
16
48
Check out the latest Academy, arts, athletics and alumni news! www.newarka.edu
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:05 AM
Page 2
outreach SPRING 2012 Donald M. Austin Head of School Lisa E. Grider Director of Institutional Advancement EDITORS Debra W. Marr Director of Communications Stacey Kaplan-Layton Communications Associate CONTRIBUTORS Blackie Parlin David Griffin Joseph Ball Jessica Lubow Elaine Brodie Alexandra Mahoney Pegeen Galvin Nancy McGaughan Matthew Gertler ’90 Carissa Szlosek ’12 Kristin Walpole BOARD OF TRUSTEES Jonathan D. Olesky ’74, Chairman Executive Board Nancy Baird Harwood ’75 Joseph P. McGrath Jr. ’81 Bobby Jett David McGraw ’77 Wayne D. Kent ’85 Jeffrey J. Silverman ’82 Jane Wilf Trustees Donald M. Austin Tosan Livingstone Betsy Dollinger Bernstein ’86 Sandy Peinado William Bloom Richard R. Redmond ’77 Patricia Budziak Ajay Sawhney Jeffrey Cohen ’81 Eric Sumner ’73 Alice Coscia Evangeline Tross Laura White Dillon Joshua Weinreich Leo M. Gordon ’69 Larry S. Wieseneck Kim Hirsh ’80 Eric S. Williams III ’75 Jeffrey Kaplan Suzanne Willian Emeriti Louis V. Aronson II ’41 K. Kelly Marx ’51 Paul Busse ’38 John L. McGraw ’49 Robert Del Tufo ’51 Robert S. Puder ’38 William D. Hardin ’44 Gary Rose William T. Wachenfeld ’44 A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N B O A R D O F G O V E R N O R S Leo M. Gordon ’69 President Van Stevens ’65 1st Vice President
Amanda Rubinstein Black ’97 2nd Vice President
John Bess ’69 3rd Vice President Neal Buchalter ’84 Kathy Loesberg ’95 Michael Carniol ’98 Ben Purkert ’03 Patrick Ciccone ’62 David Rattner ’03 Stuart Flaum ’73 Adam Rosen ’99 Jacqueline Lipsius Fleysher ’93 Jed Rosenthal ’93 Noah Franzblau ’86 Lara Samet ’01 Kimberly Griffinger Wachtel ’85 Matthew Gertler ’90 John Gregory ’99 Glenn Waldorf ’90 Thomas Hennigan ’77 Arthur Williams IV ’81 Lauren Jacobs-Lazer ’98 Arthur Wynne ’79 Brian Zucker ’84 Emeriti J. Richard Beltram ’41 William C.H. Stroh III ’48 Richard M. Watson ’50 Newark Academy Office of Institutional Advancement 91 South Orange Avenue • Livingston, New Jersey 07039 Telephone: 973.992.7000, Fax: 973.992.8962 E-mail: dmarr@newarka.edu • Website: www.newarka.edu
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:05 AM
Page 3
NA NEWS PERSPECTIVES by Donald M. Austin, Head of School
3
Focus on the Future NEWARK ACADEMY BEGINS PROCESS TO CREATE THE NEXT STRATEGIC PLAN Writing a successful strategic plan is one of the great challenges for a school’s Board of Trustees and Head of School. When done well, a strategic plan strengthens a school by enhancing the institution’s distinctive qualities. It inspires teachers and administrators A successful strategic plan establishes broad directional goals that are aspirational, attainable and consistent with the mission of the school.
both to build on what they already do well and to develop new priorities that advance the school’s mission.
T
he current plan, which was written in 2007, has provided a framework for many of the initiatives undertaken over the last five years. The immersion program, a deeper commitment to the International Baccalaureate, steady increases in our financial aid budget, a comprehensive campus master plan, and funding for faculty travel grants and housing were all inspired by the broad goals established in the current plan. Certain programs were innovative and groundbreaking, such as the immersion program, while others sought to address needs for updated classrooms or to enhance longstanding priorities, such as faculty development and our commitment to a diverse student body. As we near the completion of this five-year plan and look ahead to 2012-2017, we are taking stock of what we have accomplished and identifying areas for institutional focus in the future. Throughout this academic year, our strategic planning committee has been laying the groundwork for the next strategic plan. We have conducted research that compares our programs to best practices at other leading independent schools. We have solicited input from faculty, students, alumni, parents, and former parents. Many of you participated in the online jam in February that engaged hundreds of participants in a conversation about the current strengths and future opportunities at Newark Academy. The committee is carefully balancing continued support for what is already under way with any new priorities that may require additional human and financial resources. A successful strategic plan establishes broad directional goals that are aspirational, attainable and consistent with the mission of the school. Although it is too early to predict the key goals of the new plan, its bedrock will continue to be the pursuit of excellence in a dynamic community of learners distinguished by the unique relationship between our faculty and our students. Our next strategic plan promises to open another exciting chapter in the history of Newark Academy.
OUTREACH spring 2012
NA NEWS
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:05 AM
Page 4
PERSPECTIVES
4
CLASS ROOM
Making Space for Socioeconomic Dialogue By Pegeen Galvin, Dean of Students
(reprinted from NA’s Parent eNews Bulletin, February 2012)
It would be easy to fill this column with celebratory news because Newark Academy students continue to impress: winning teams from mock trial to varsity girls basketball, from robotics and engineering to chess club. Then there are the individual accomplishments — the “high-five” for a “B+” on an assessment in that challenging course or the first-ever stand-up comedy routine or folk solo or duet at Coffeehouse. There are many, many accomplishments to celebrate.
I
n the interest of thoughtful discourse, however, I’d like to suggest a topic that the community, in all our groups, needs to address more systematically and deeply: that is, socioeconomic diversity. We need to do this for the good of our community and of our nation. As you are undoubtedly aware, there are many strong opinions on this complex topic. There are some who believe it is best left unmentioned – including many of the electorate. I was compelled, however, quite recently, to believe otherwise. Full disclosure before I elaborate: When I was growing up in Massachusetts, my family did not use the 11-syllable phrase – socioeconomic diversity; instead, we referred to “class,” but only at the privacy of our own dinner table and often in conjunction with some kind of implicit judgment: lower or low class, middle class or bourgeois, upper class or elitist. My uncles and aunts were definitively workingclass: plumbers, milkmen (remember glass bottles of milk delivered to the back door?), street cleaners, chocolate factory workers. My mother was a lunch lady; my father was a self-taught accountant at Electrolux so he was teased for wearing a “white collar.” I was the first member of my immediate, adoptive family to attend college, and only the second of my 52 older Irish cousins. This explains why I accidentally stayed a full week when I went on my only college visit; my friends joke that the “overnight visit” phrase was coined because of me. I did always want to go to a private high school, but felt that it was
NEWARK ACADEMY
out of my reach. I’ve been in a private school for 31 years now; it’s sweet how things work out. Along the way, however, I have been intensely aware of attitudes and actions as they are influenced by socioeconomic background. Some people wear the mantle of “class” lightly; others more heavily. This past
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:05 AM
Page 5
socioeconomic literacy: the ability to discuss and understand how our complex backgrounds can influence how we think about many topics, from food to money, from race to education.
December I attended the “People of Color” Conference in Philadelphia, an annual National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) event where teachers and administrators from schools all over the nation come together to learn more about the complicated, myriad issues of diversity in education. It is an amazing, exciting conference with students and teachers, in tandem, attending workshops designed to enlighten and inspire. One such workshop put into words what I have been thinking about for many years. The workshop leader, Steven Jones, talked about the necessity of socioeconomic literacy: the ability to discuss and understand how our complex backgrounds can influence how we think about many topics, from food to money, from race to education. The program was not just about how people of color, or underrepresented minorities, or even those at either end of the socioeconomic spectrum, think; it was about how every person thinks. With refreshing humor and keen insight, Jones presented his conclusions after significant research by his team. Food, for example, is generally thought of as a universal; who doesn’t love food? It is, however, more complicated than that. Quantity is often the primary concern of those with more need; quality of that food of those with more resources; “presentation” of those with even more. Money is also a more complicated topic than expected. Those in the middle class generally are interested in what the money, when available, can buy more of, immediately. Holiday time is often a pressured time to “prove” that one can provide by the amount and specificity of presents. Upper class families, when interviewed, talked more about the investment potential of money. Relationships and the expectations of those relationships also provided some fruitful discussion based on class differences and inclinations. For many people at the conference, these individual notions were not particularly novel – but the more systematic investigation was very helpful in thinking about how students experience these differences and
}
how understanding them can improve the inclusiveness of a community. I was reminded of a discussion with seniors (now graduated) of senior projects and business contacts. These seniors were criticizing (albeit gently) an enthusiastic graduate who was using school contacts to develop a business. I interrupted the conversation to ask (still gently) how the students had secured senior projects for themselves. Two of the three had asked parents who then asked colleagues to sponsor their child, one of the more frequent ways of finding a project, though there are numerous other ways. I asked how these seniors would advise other students: “just ask your parents” was the answer. I wondered aloud how a student who did not have parents with these kinds of contacts might approach getting a project. They were stumped and began to recognize that what seemed “natural” to them was not necessarily the same for others, that the relationships in their worlds were set up for mutual assistance, but that not all relationships worked in the same way for everyone. At the time, I did not have the language to talk about these issues; now I am learning. I hope that we can bring Steven Jones to talk with the community. Rather than the backbiting and political posturing reported in the media, I’d like to see members of our small community model a more constructive approach, with discussion and exploration, so that the “unspoken” within our walls can be discussed in an enlightened way. There are potential opportunities to do so: parent coffees and meetings, advisor groups, student clubs, the “JAM with NA,” and most importantly, the ongoing individual, classroom, and family conversations that take place all the time. I believe that we can be a better community as a result: a community which encourages true inclusion of everyone, no matter where they are on the socioeconomic spectrum. With an effort toward that kind of community, our graduates would have the kind of “socioeconomic literacy” that would make them more empathetic, more enlightened, and more effective “citizens of the world.” NA
OUTREACH spring 2012
5
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:05 AM
Page 6
6
A Living Legacy Estate Gift from Arona Green Strengthens Scholarship Endowment When Will Green ’69 came to Newark Academy in 1962, he wasn’t sure he was going to like it. His parents, on the other hand, had no doubt. His father, Herman, and his mother, Arona, were determined to provide their only son with a challenging education and a strong work ethic. And from the very beginning, they wanted to help other students have that same opportunity that they were giving Will. One of the final acts of Mrs. Green’s life was to ensure those opportunities existed forever by designating a $250,000 bequest from her estate to Newark Academy.
Will ’69 and Barbara Green
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:05 AM
“
Page 7
Arona Green believed that education, for her son and for others, is transformative. By including Newark Academy in her will, Mrs. Green
7
”
gave a final demonstration of that belief.
A
ccording to Will Green, who served as chair of the Newark Academy Board of Trustees from 1999 through 2010, his parents were role models for him. “My mom and dad long ago taught me by both their words and their example, the importance of giving back – both with volunteer time and philanthropy. They told me that when I got involved in supporting something I should make sure that I left it a little better off than when I found it. With this gift, Mom has certainly done that.” Mrs. Green’s bequest goes to the Green Family (endowed) Scholarship Fund, which Will and his wife, Barbara, created in 1993 to honor his parents. The fund was originally named in honor of Will’s father, Herman, who died in 2002. Since that time Will and Barbara Green, Will’s sister Janet Wiener and friends of the Green family have continued to contribute to the fund, often through gifts honoring birthdays, anniversaries and bar/bat mitzvahs. The name of the fund was officially changed to the Green Family Scholarship Fund in 2010. The third generation of the Green Family – Andrew Wiener ’91 and David Green ’99 – are continuing the family tradition with recent gifts to the fund and commitments to continue their support in the future. In December 2011, the fund received its largest commitment to date – a gift of $250,000 – from Will and Barbara Green as part of an ongoing effort to strengthen Newark Academy’s financial aid endowment. The gift from Mrs. Green’s estate brings the scholarship fund’s total to $600,000, which is the amount needed to endow one full scholarship each academic year.
According to Lisa Grider, Director of Institutional Advancement, the gift from Mrs. Green’s estate is a wonderful example of how a donor can continue to affirm their values and priorities long after they pass away. “Arona Green believed that education, for her son and for others, is transformative,” Grider said. “By including Newark Academy in her will, Mrs. Green gave a final demonstration of that belief. Through her generosity and that of her family she has made it possible to share that transformational gift with generations of NA students to come. Such gifts are, as the television commercial says, priceless.” Every bequest, and all other forms of deferred giving (such as trusts, life insurance policies and charitable gift annuities) are directed to some aspect of the Newark Academy endowment. Endowed funds at NA support students through financial aid and faculty through funds supporting professional development, housing and travel programs. Almost any alum, parent or friend of Newark Academy can be a “major donor” through a bequest because this type of gift allows the donor to retain full control of their assets throughout their lifetime. All donors who inform Newark Academy of their intention to make a bequest or other planned gift become members of NA’s 1774 Society. To add your contribution to the Green Family Scholarship Fund or to learn more about how you can make your own planned gift to Newark Academy, contact Lisa Grider, Director of Institutional Advancement at (973) 992-7000, ext. 320 or via e-mail at lgrider@newarka.edu. NA
4/23/12
8:05 AM
Page 8
NA NEWS
122868 Text
8
JAM-tastic Results Garnering support and gathering ideas and perspectives from widespread constituencies for strategic planning purposes is standard practice. Using an “online jam” to bring everyone together is not!
air Ch s e iti an um H or, iko Vin
r, he isc s F h ie ara nit ▲ S uma H
This year, as members of Newark Academy’s strategic planning committee considered how to engage the broader NA community in generating useful insight, they chose to adopt a new approach rather than execute a conventional survey. The entire community (including parents, alumni, faculty, staff and current
▲
12 y’ rth u M ica on M ▲
ff Je
junior and senior students) was invited to participate in NA’s first online jam on February 15, 2012. Through the innovative use of technology, a powerful online collaboration took place between the hours of 2:00-10:00 p.m. The moderated online discussion was structured around key topics such as:
▲
• What Do We Value in a Newark Academy Education?
▲
• Community Engagement
▲
• Citizens of the World
▲
• Tomorrow’s Teaching and Learning
▲
• Institutional Stability
▲
Derek Kanarek, Mathematics Chair
▲
NEWARK ACADEMY
Participants were able to join any (or all) conversations for any length of time from any location. Many chose to “jam” from NA’s Eberstadt Room turned ”cyber café.” The energy generated from the spirited conversations was palpable and the first online jam was deemed a resounding success!
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 9
9
The Jam yielded hundreds of thoughtful comments and ideas – more than 900 posts to seven discussion threads over eight hours! Three
{
▲
13 o’ int P an sti hri C ▲
’13 ith m S len Ja d an
o d s NA: , e i t ut od es , mb t abo hon erse ges e n f s v l n e i i e e d hall he its t is b gage om ft c o t r m a f n n d a . h oe rta goo elf eJ fw ion t Th ch o ess rsat impo the A its n e mu illing onv bout r for l as N c e l a w s a u es geth s we v o i i t o r a gy se spec ork t ity olo n hn r c u w e Te p o of mm dt tor an er co c e Dir d tt, wi co
im eK ste u r ▲T
S is rqu a M
hundred students, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees and parents either joined the conversation or completed the pre-Jam survey. Ideas and opinions generated from the Jam conversation will inform Newark Academy’s new strategic plan, which will guide and serve the school for the next five years. The Jam itself embodied so much of what is best about NA: a willingness to engage in honest, serious
▲
conversation from diverse perspectives about
er rid d isa G n a L lon nt Dil ceme a n ur La dva tee r of A s Tru ecto Dir
observed from the virtual wings; more than 450
important challenges, and to work together for the good of the wider community as well as NA for learning, a standard of excellence, and a generosity of spirit.”
▲
air Ch h s i l ng ty , E cul rra of Fa en e c ag u S an Lo d De llenh o an n R Vo
itself. There was ample evidence of “a passion
▲
The firm facilitating the jam, Knowledge in the Public Interest (KPI), provided the platform and an analysis of the discussion. Founded a decade ago, Knowledge in the Public Interest designs conversations that transform education. Through the innovative use of social media, KPI fosters powerful online collaborations in educational practice. The company helps to bring together those concerned with education in Jams — asynchronous, moderated online discussions that spread knowledge and frame issues, and in eCommunities — structured virtual working groups that achieve specific outcomes over set timeframes. ▲
Trustee Nancy Baird Harwood ’75 and Head of School Don Austin
OUTREACH spring 2012
’80 sh Hir
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 10
NA NEWS
122868 Text
10
IB EXPERTISE A team from Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts, recently spent the day at Newark Academy, investigating the International Baccalaureate Program. Thayer Academy’s team spoke with administrators, visited IB classes, and interviewed current IB students. The visit, led by Thayer History Department Chair Matthew Dunn, and hosted by IB Coordinator Benson Hawk, was extremely positive for both Thayer and Newark Academy, with the result that both schools gained important insights about the program. Hopefully Newark Academy will soon have a sister IB school in Massachusetts!
ALL THAT JAZZ! NA Jazz Musicians Shine in National Competitions According to Jazz Director Julius Tolentino, “Playing in a big band is not about one person, it’s about 17 musicians swinging together and this year we are closer to that than we have ever been. This is the year the jazz program took the national stage for the first time as finalists in the Mingus Competition and in the Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival run by Jazz at Lincoln Center.” The annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival is one of the most innovative
NEWARK ACADEMY
jazz education events in the world. Newark Academy placed among the 15 finalist bands from across North America selected to compete at Jazz at Lincoln Center in May. The three-day festival concluded with an evening Concert and Awards Ceremony at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, featuring a performance by the top three placing bands with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and internationally acclaimed musician Wynton Marsalis! Visit the Newark Academy website (www.newarka.edu) to find out how NA placed in the competition.
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 11
11
THE BEAT GOES ON Coleman Hughes ’14 Played at Grammy Awards Week in Los Angeles
Coleman Hughes ’14 (left) with fellow musicians at the Grammy Awards
Trombonist Coleman Hughes ’14 auditioned and was accepted to the Grammy Jazz Band. Seventeen top high school jazz musicians from across the nation were selected to form a big band that was a part of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Awards (better known as the Grammys) week in February. Coleman spent 10 all-expense-paid days in Los Angeles performing with Grammy winners and nominees, at jazz venues and Grammy week events, including the official Post-Grammy Celebration. He also had the opportunity to record an album at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood and, of course, attend the Grammys! COLEMAN’S MUSICAL NOTES
official Grammy Post-Awards Celebration. At Spaghettini’s, legendary saxophonist Joe Lovano sat in with us as a guest artist!
“The first days of my stay in LA were spent in rehearsal where I got to know the other performers in the band. I was in awe of the enormous amount of talent of both the instrumentalists and the singers. This was followed by a college day where we met representatives from various colleges and music conservatories.
At the Grammy Nominee Reception we had a chance to meet some of the Grammy nominees. The Grammy Post-Party was probably the highlight of the trip. I got to walk on the Red Carpet and rub elbows with celebrities like Ryan Seacrest, Tyra Banks and Carrie Underwood! At the performance that night, multiple Grammy Award winner Chick Corea played with us.
The jazz band played in numerous performances, with a few of my favorites being Spaghettini’s Italian Grill and Lounge, the Grammy Nominee Reception, and the
The celebrity sightings were great, but mostly I’m so glad I was able to meet people my age who are as into jazz music as I am. This was an amazing experience.”
LIVE IN THE EBERSTADT ROOM: A TELECONFERENCE WITH SENATOR GEORGE MITCHELL NA students enjoyed a private conversation with Senator George Mitchell via Skype last February. Mitchell, who served as the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East from 2009-2011, led a Congressional investigation into the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball. Students posed questions on a range of topics — from the Middle East peace process, to the status of baseball, to the challenges facing American youth. The event was arranged through the generosity of Peter Feinberg ’78 and faculty member Amy Schottland. The students in attendance included Jake Okinow ’12, Chris Matturri ’12, Nate Feinberg ’13, Christian Pinto ’13 and Grace Alofe ’14.
OUTREACH spring 2012
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 12
NA NEWS
122868 Text
12
NA EMBRACES DIVERSITY INSIDE AND OUT Across this country, at many schools, students and faculty celebrated February’s Black History Month. Rather than provide the NA community with the typical presentation on the history of famous black Americans, a group of students and faculty explored diversity within the black community at Newark Academy through a series of presentations. The culmination of the Black History Month celebration, and NA’s signature Global Speaker Series, provided the opportunity to explore diversity in a broader context by welcoming awardwinning environmental and urban revitalization strategist Dr. Majora Carter to the Newark Academy campus.
Faculty member Elana Snow, Dr. Majora Carter and Marquis Scott, Director of Techno logy
As a child growing up in the South Bronx, Dr. Carter experienced the rapid degradation of her community and described her personal journey to restore the garbage-strewn river behind her home to a beautiful parkland area. In 2001 she founded Sustainable South Bronx, a nonprofit organization committed to the creation of green collar training, new jobs and infrastructure to reduce poverty while helping the environment. Dr. Carter has effected major changes through linking her passion for environmental awareness to racial and socioeconomic issues in the United States. She urged the NA community to look outward to diversity flourishing beyond the school’s walls and to discover local solutions to bigger issues.
YOUNG ACTOR GETS HIS BIG BREAK Seventh grade student Jared Gilman recently finished filming his first major motion picture, “Moonrise Kingdom,” directed by Wes Anderson. Co-stars include big-time actors Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, Moonrise Kingdom follows a young boy (Jared ’17) and a young girl falling in love. When they decide to run away together, various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down – which might not be such a bad thing! Jared gave a fascinating Morning Meeting presentation describing his experiences on the set and what it’s like to keep up with your studies while you work. There is word of a summer 2012 release for the movie; check for updates on our website, Facebook and Twitter.
NEWARK ACADEMY
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 13
13
SUMMER IMMERSION EXCURSIONS Student immersion experiences are growing and expanding. Upcoming faculty-led immersion programs include: • Lille, France with faculty member Kareen Obydol, May 24-June 9. • Guatemala (From Houses to Homes Service Project) with faculty member Alexandra Mahoney, former Athletic Director Steve Griggs and Elise Javetski ’09, May 27-June 11. • Vermont (Four Springs Farm) with faculty members Arlene Jachim, Maria Teresa McNeilly-Anta ’93 and Pegeen Galvin, May 29-June 9. • Pontevedra, Spain with faculty member Maria Teresa McNeilly-Anta ’93 and former faculty member Lenora Mahler, June 10-July 1. • Vermont and Maine (White Mountains) with faculty member Jeffrey Vinikoor, August 2-11.
PRISMS: IN PRINT AND OUT LOUD Hear, Hear! The fall issue of Prisms, Newark Academy’s awardwinning literary magazine, added a new dimension to student poetry, prose and artwork. Three pieces included QR codes which, when
▼ Vermont May 29-June 9
scanned with a QR code reader app on a smart phone or tablet, take the reader to an audiorecording of the author reading her own work. “This issue demonstrates what is possible when creativity and technology merge,” said faculty advisor Lou Scerra. Scan this code to hear the poem called “Read these words in rhythm,” written and read
▼
aloud by Alyssa McPherson ’13.
Pontevedra, Spain June 10-July 1
OUTREACH spring 2012
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 14
Ted Gilbreath: Playing By Heart NEW ATHLETIC DIRECTOR STRESSES COMPOSURE AND CHARACTER NA humanities faculty member and boys lacrosse coach Ted Gilbreath will become the new Athletic Director at Newark Academy on July 1, 2012. Ted’s appointment marks the conclusion of a thorough and inclusive national search led by a committee chaired by Von Rollenhagen, Dean of Faculty. The committee reviewed more than 100 applications, interviewed seven semi-finalists, and invited three finalists to participate in extensive meetings with groups of students, coaches, administrators, parents and trustees.
T
ed has been a teacher and a coach for more than 10 years. He began his athletic career as a young lacrosse player, ultimately becoming the captain for his high school lacrosse team who were the perennial Maine State Champions in the ’80s and ’90s. As a high school athlete, Ted was an enthusiastic follower of NCAA Division I lacrosse teams, annually traveling with his friends and family to the playoffs each Memorial Day weekend. When it was time for Ted to consider his own college prospects, he found himself with several wonderful opportunities at small colleges with competitive Division III lacrosse programs. But he chose instead to try to walk on to a Division I team. After receiving his acceptance letter to Hofstra University, Ted began training for the school’s nationally ranked program. After a great deal of hard work, and what he describes as “almost obsessive preparation,” he earned a walk-on spot on Hofstra’s lacrosse team. “It was probably the proudest moment of my young life,” he said, and the Hofstra Flying Dutchmen finished the season ranked in the top 20 in the country. Unfortunately for Ted,
his Division 1 athletic experience came to a quick conclusion as a result of a knee injury. Understanding that his college lacrosse career was no longer viable, Ted transfered to a school that he thought was a better fit and there he found another coaching role model – this time from afar – in Joe Paterno. After graduating from Penn State with an undergraduate degree in painting and drawing, Ted moved to Portland, Maine, where he married his college sweetheart Kristin Walpole. There he began his coaching career at Yarmouth High School in its inaugural lacrosse season, while pursuing a master’s degree in education. He spent three years at Yarmouth, taking the brand new team to post-season play by his second year. When offered a teaching and coaching position at the Hyde School, a boarding school 30 miles up the coast, he accepted with enthusiasm. There he taught AP U.S. history and art history, attended Columbia University’s Klingenstein Summer Fellowship Program for Independent School Leadership and won three league championships. He also
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 15
15
played in the New England Small Schools Championship twice, and became the 2003 NEPSAC Champions. In 2005, Ted joined the humanities department at Newark Academy and took over at the helm of NA’s lacrosse team. He has also been an advisor and peer leader, served on the honor council, had a stint as a Middle School football coach and, his proudest moment, welcomed his son Owen – future Mintueman lacrosse goalie – into the world. Ted has made Newark Academy a family affair. His wife, Kristin, joined the advancement staff in 2009 as director of development and parent relations, and son Owen enjoys homecoming, backto-school barbecues, NAPA’s international dinner and playing the drums with “Mr. T.” “I was drawn to Newark Academy because I was looking for a challenging academic environment that valued experiences outside of the classroom as well. NA’s arts and athletics program and its interest in global and cultural awareness were really intriguing to me,” Ted said. “Accepting the position here has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. I love my job, but I’m also excited to have the opportunity to continue to further NA’s mission as the new director of athletics.” NA
Ted has been a coach for 13 years and during this time a personal coaching philosophy that is more than Xs and Os or wins and losses, has taken shape. His approach to coaching will heavily influence his leadership as an athletic director.
“
“My coaching philosophy flows from the fact that I consider participation in interscholastic athletics to be an invaluable opportunity for students. I believe that athletic competition contains inherent teaching moments and that great schools count on exceptional coaches to take advantage of those opportunities in order to complement the academic curriculum. I also believe that in order to ensure that no teachable moment goes untapped and no student unreached, coaches need to be teachers first and foremost and that commitment needs to extend beyond the playing field.”
” OUTREACH spring 2012
NA NEWS
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 16
SPORTS REPORT
16
GO MINUTEMEN! With a lot of hustle and grit, NA’s athletic teams ended the winter season with numerous victories in basketball, fencing, swimming and wrestling!
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 17
17
SENIOR SCORES
1,000 POINTS! Zaire Williams, a Newark Academy senior, on his way to scoring 11 points against McNair Academic High School in Jersey City, reached the 1,000 point plateau on January 10. Zaire joins 11 other former Minutemen basketball players who scored at least 1,000 points in their careers. He ended the season at 1,265 points! Congratulations, Zaire!
The Minutemen have embraced the spring season with the same spirit, and their athletic efforts in golf, lacrosse, baseball, softball and tennis are in full swing!
GET THE FULL RUNDOWN OF CURRENT SCORES AND ATHLETIC NEWS AT WWW.NEWARKA.EDU/ATHLETICS.
OUTREACH spring 2012
NA NEWS
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 18
FACULTY FOCUS
18
Goodbye NOTES
Lee Abbey
Jeff Kacur
Arlene Jachim
Norm Schafler
Link Keur
Bidding farewell to faculty is never an easy prospect. The retirements we honor at the end of this school year, however, are exponentially bittersweet, as we say a collective goodbye to 162 years of teaching innovation, dedication and excellence at Newark Academy. It is with a heavy heart and hearty well wishes that the NA community will say so long to longtime and beloved friends, teachers, mentors, colleagues and coaches. These talented teachers have touched the hearts and minds of thousands of NA alumni and parents and hundreds of faculty members, past and present: LEE ABBEY, who started teaching at Newark Academy in 1970 and served in the Humanities Department for 41 YEARS. JEFF KACUR, who started teaching at Newark Academy in 1974 and served in the Physical Education Department for 37 YEARS. ARLENE JACHIM, who started teaching at Newark Academy in 1980 and served in the Physical Education Department for 31 YEARS. NORM (DOC) SCHAFLER, who started teaching at Newark Academy in 1982 and served in the Language Department for 29 YEARS.
farewell
LINK KEUR, who started teaching at Newark Academy in 1987 and served in the Mathematics Department for 24 YEARS.
NEWARK ACADEMY
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 19
19
41 years LEE ABBEY
by Joseph Ball, Humanities Faculty
Lee Abbey is undoubtedly the funniest teacher at Newark Academy. The greatest humorists always possess brilliance and quick-wittedness along with a touch of irony. This is certainly the case with Lee. I never laughed as much as during the years in the early 1980s when I shared an office with Lee. At various times, Lee and I were co-teachers of 8th grade World Cultures, 9th grade Ancient World, and 10th grade Western Heritage. No matter the topic, Lee stood out as a master at creative lesson plans. On every grade level Lee could find innovative and effective ways of incorporating art, architecture, movie clips and current events into the curriculum. Looking for a way to enhance a unit on Japanese culture? How about a YouTube video of an American punk rocker learning Japanese etiquette?
“Known for his kindness, wisdom and sense of humor, he is considered and referred to not only as our teacher… but also a mentor and a friend.” Whether a student or fellow faculty member, we all know him as a mentor and a friend. So Lee, I thank you for all the laughs and all the learning. It has been an honor working with you!
In addition to team teaching with Lee, I benefitted from his leadership when he was Middle School principal as well as humanities department chair; but I will always be most indebted to Lee as the father of one of his students. According to my son, James Ball ’02, Mr. Abbey is one of the finest teachers he ever had in his life. No doubt Lee has inspired thousands of students during the course of his career. We will never know exactly how many students went on to careers in history, art, architecture, philosophy, political science and many other disciplines as a result Lee’s influence. We do know, however, what the students wrote about him when they dedicated the Polymnian yearbook to him in 2008:
The greatest humorists always possess brilliance and quick-wittedness along with a touch of irony. This is certainly the case with Lee.
}
NA NEWS
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 20
FACULTY FOCUS
20
29 years
by Nancy McGaughan
NORM (DOC) SCHAFLER
and
37 years JEFF KACUR
When I received news earlier this year that Doc Schafler and Jeff Kacur were retiring, I couldn’t help but think about all the years my family has known them and the impact they have had on our lives. For 20 years, beginning when my husband Fred McGaughan first joined the faculty at Newark Academy in 1991, continuing through the years when they taught our three children, and stretching into my stint as director of alumni relations, Norm and Jeff have been trusted friends and a big part of what makes NA such a special place. Over those many years I came to respect, value and depend on both of them, and it is hard for me to think of Newark Academy without picturing Doc holding court in the classroom and hallways or Coach Kacur presiding over gym classes and driver’s ed. As a parent of three NA alums (Sean ’99, Brian ’01 and Molly ’05), I can offer great testimony to their ability to coax the best out of kids. You only have to look at the success of Doc’s AP Spanish students to know that he is a great classroom teacher; but it is Doc’s special brand of humor and concern that makes every student he teaches,
NEWARK ACADEMY
advises or travels with feel cared for and understood. He is one of the chosen few educators who can joke with kids while never losing their respect. My kids knew, as did the hundreds of others whom he taught, that he cared about them as individuals and that he wanted them to excel. Many times as a parent I marveled at Norm’s patience, whether it was organizing and decorating for the junior prom (a task which would clearly have driven me to commit homicide), or being able to shepherd high school students through Spain without international incident. Jeff Kacur has his own brand of connecting with students and building community. He coaches kids today with the same passion he has always had, and with the same belief in teamwork and fairness. My husband Fred (who at one point was the girls soccer coach) will always remember “Kakes” sidling up to him after a particularly horrible loss. While some players and many parents were railing against the referees about how the other team ran up the score and how unfair it all was, Jeff simply said with a smile, “You’ll play them again; every dog has his day.”
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 21
21
Whether it is a team of Middle School students, or a spirited floor hockey game in the gym, Coach Kacur always brings the same energy, and his legendary calm and collected approach teaches important lessons about winning, losing and always trying your best. On a personal note, I can never thank Jeff enough for teaching our kids to drive. Watching him pull out of the NA parking lot one early Sunday morning with Molly and her classmate Liz Pfeffer ’05 for their first time behind the wheel was enough to make me believe that he was the bravest man on earth.
players love to come back to see him and play for him year after year. Watching him corral the likes of Ben Bressler ’80 and Andy Mulvihill ’81, as well as the rest of that unruly ’80s bunch, makes you realize how much respect they still have for their old coach. Many of them have told me that his mantra of “you’ll get the next one” is a philosophy they have relied on throughout their lives and careers. He was also my source for NA athletic history, and I went to him constantly to learn, to verify or to correct information about Newark Academy’s athletic past. I cannot begin to adequately thank either of them for all the help they gave me, and for their genuine interest in NA alumni. I know they will be missed. Every great school has its legends – faculty
members who transcend classroom teaching and become an indelible part of the lives ... of the young people they have mentored.
Jeff and Norm were invaluable to me in my role as alumni director because they are adored by legions of graduates. I knew I could always count on Doc to attend alumni functions even if they were in New York City bars where he could barely hear a thing. At those parties I would always find him surrounded by alumni, all of whom he knew by name, straining to hear about their lives since they left NA. If I advertised an event and mentioned that Doc would be there, I could always count on good attendance, and so he was often pressed into service even if it came at the end of a tough week or it was inconvenient for him. He never complained and he never let me down. Jeff Kacur also made my job easier because his many years as a coach made him beloved by so many classes in the ’80s and ’90s. It is safe to say that alumni soccer would not be the same without him, because his old
}
Every great school has its legends – faculty members who transcend classroom teaching and become an indelible part of the lives, of the character, of the young people they have mentored. Norm Schafler and Jeff Kacur are legends who have made a difference in the lives of those they have touched and, now, they join the short list of beloved faculty members who will always be associated with the very best of NA. I will miss them both not only for the help they gave me, or for the care they showed my children – I will also miss them because I consider them both to be my very good friends. They are men of integrity, humor and compassion, and I feel lucky to know them. My only hope is that they will find their way down to Florida to visit Fred and me. Maybe they can scoop up my kids and drive here. Jeff can install a special passenger side brake and guide the drivers, and Norm can sift through one thousand jokes to keep everyone awake and laughing. The McGaughans would be happy to buy them both dinner. We owe them.
OUTREACH spring 2012
NA NEWS
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 22
FACULTY FOCUS
22
31 years
ARLENE JACHIM by Elaine Brodie, Chair, Arts Department
After years of friendship and collegial support, I was saddened to hear of Arlene Jachim’s retirement. She has “had my back” on many occasions during my career at Newark Academy. Just days before the opening of my first school year at NA in 1982, I was invited to the Head of School’s office and was informed that I needed to coach Middle School field hockey. I politely informed Dr. Strand that I had never played the sport before, but this didn’t seem to disqualify me from the position. Somehow, I had to learn the game and come to the field just a few days later with knowledge and an air of confidence and leadership. I was panic-stricken. I had no need to worry; Arlene Jachim came to the rescue. As the coach of the varsity team, Arlene knew a little something about field hockey, to say the least. She graciously offered to mentor me. On any given day, one could have found Elaine and Arlene huddled together during lunch with bits of the salad bar spread out on the table. Broccoli crowns and carrots were moved hither and yon as Arlene spelled out the best way to drill the girls that day during practice. Arlene stood by me that entire season and several to follow, never revealing to the girls that I was dismally ill-equipped to coach them and that she was my silent partner. But field hockey was not the only thing that Arlene and I had in common. I soon learned that Arlene was a skilled potter and I welcomed her into the clay studio. She was a prolific artist, making beautifully crafted pieces that my students found inspiring. Soon, our friendship broadened to the golf course where Arlene’s athletic strengths were realized in long drives and expertly placed chip shots. She often gently made suggestions that improved my game substantially as we chatted and laughed our way through 18 holes.
NEWARK ACADEMY
Tennis was my game, and so we often banged the ball around on the NA courts. Even with my years of coaching and playing, Arlene always gave me a run for my money, making our games great fun. In recent years, Arlene has continued to provide support. She has been a great resource for new lesson plans. I often find in my e-mail inbox a picture or a link to great art projects that can be realized in clay. Last year, for example, she suggested “ceramic tree faces,” which made for a perfect Middle School ceramic lesson. Not only did Arlene make these fun features out of clay, but she also attached them to trees on the NA nature trail so that I could take my seventh grade art students out on a little scavenger hunt to look for them. A few days later, Arlene visited my seventh grade art class to demonstrate how to make them. Gardening is yet another of Arlene’s talents, and last spring, I opened the door to my office to find on my desk a flat of tiny sprouts ready for planting. I knew my friend Arlene had been thinking of me. It is time for Arlene to hit the golf course full time. She has invested years of her time, energy and talents to Newark Academy, and has always had my back. I hope we’ll meet again on the back nine. I will truly miss her.
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 23
23
24 years LINK KEUR
By Matt Gertler ’90, Health Faculty
I am fortunate to be in the unique position to know Link Keur as my teacher, coach, colleague and friend. There is a monument to my time as a student at Newark Academy erected at the bottom of his driveway in the small town of Augusta in Sussex County. It isn’t much; just a basketball net I installed some 20 years ago while still a student at NA. But it has survived the test of time (as well as seen Link’s two sons through their basketball careers). I am not exactly sure what drew me to Coach Keur (I still address him as Coach, something more than an old habit), or him to me, for that matter. Certainly it had something to do with our mutual love for the game of baseball, but in a larger sense I choose to believe there was something more. On the bus, traveling to games, he would quiz me on the rules of the game and more often than not, I would answer correctly. We would discuss players and their various feats with such zeal and gusto that others would look at me bewildered, as if to question my purpose in life. Whatever the reason, my relationship with Coach only grew closer over the years. First it was coach, then friend, then ultimately colleague fulfilling a dream I had since the day I decided to become a teacher.
Since that time, there was no point in my life when I was not solidly connected to Coach and his family. As I migrated from New Jersey to Rochester, then to San Francisco and finally back home, the Keur clan was always on the list of folks to visit.
His impact on me has been profound. There is nothing like that person, that teacher, that mentor who saw something in you that you had yet to realize.
}
Link Keur is one of my best friends in the world. That should be reason enough to celebrate his 24 years of service to Newark Academy. But his departure means so much more to me than the retirement of a friend. His impact on me has been profound. There is nothing like that person, that teacher, that mentor who saw something in you that you had yet to realize. Do you remember that individual who believed in your ability long before you believed in yourself? For me, that person was Link Keur. Though I never had him as a math teacher, I have come to appreciate his skill and dedication in my role as an advisor. Students, past and present, describe him universally as tough but fair and always willing to provide assistance to any student who asks for it. Those same students all say their instruction was exemplary and they were more than prepared for the next level. In many ways, my life has been a living monument to him. Not exactly a basketball net, but a monument nonetheless. The first time I saw him after my graduation he asked me to call him Link instead of “Coach.” Needless to say, it didn’t take. My days of playing baseball for him have long since past, but he will always be Coach to me. NA
OUTREACH spring 2012
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 24
NA NEWS
122868 Text
24
THE WIZARD OF OZ Winter Musical Munchkins, singing Ozettes, flying monkeys, kind and mean witches and all the beloved characters in the classic musical, “The Wizard of Oz,” played to enthusiastic audiences in the Rose Auditorium last March. With a cast and crew of nearly 100, the production was big, joyous and truly memorable. Director Scott M. Jacoby commented, “What makes the yearly musical so exciting is the energy supplied by so many different members of this community toward a common goal.” Innovations in the production included the integration of video, SteamPunk costume design, and specially arranged musical numbers. To quote Dorothy (and Mr. Jacoby), “There’s no place like home!”
NEWARK ACADEMY
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 25
ADVANCEMENT 25
How Donors’ Gifts Impact the Life of the School HOLD EVERYTHING! Storage Solutions for the Arts Studio Members of the Newark Academy Arts Department knew they were “in store” for some wonderful and practical improvements when they received a gift from a current NA family to construct custom storage and drying racks for the painting and drawing rooms. Jay Torson, who has taught art at NA for 12 years, explained the need for such a gift: “Until the storage project was completed, only advanced IB students had their own storage space. The majority of students who used the room had to stack their work or use folders to store it. This can damage the art
“We are so grateful to this family for their support of the arts at NA,” said Elaine Brodie, chair of the arts department. “The addition of these facilities will help us to keep our inventory of art supplies well organized, allowing students to access what they need easily, and when it is time to clean up, everything now has its own place including their artwork. Furthermore, the rooms look tidy and uncluttered. We have a new sense of pride in our art studios.”
“ ” The addition of these facilities will help us to keep our inventory of art supplies well organized, allowing students to access what they need easily. . .
and it also compromises the aesthetics of the room because we have to use a good percentage of the room as standing storage, which looks cluttered and wastes space.”
So when the parents of two enthusiastic arts students offered to resolve the storage problem, the gift was accepted with much gratitude and Jay went to work with NA’s Director of Operations Brian Stephenson and his talented team to design and build a custom solution to the art rooms’ storage problem. The result was the addition of new shelving, cabinets, drying racks and work table.
OUTREACH spring 2012
NA NEWS
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 26
How Donors’ Gifts Impact the Life of the School
26
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER Outdoor Upgrades Promise Sweet Seasons Ahead Learning to compete, to play as a team, to respond positively to adversity and to follow rules are just a few of the valuable lessons that students learn from participating in interscholastic athletics. Throughout its history Newark Academy has extended learning beyond the classrooms to the athletic fields and floors, enabling student-athletes of every generation to experience the satisfaction of being a part of a winning tradition. One component of an excellent experience for NA student-athletes involves providing up-to-date play and practice facilities. The completion of the Simon Family Field House, including the Kirby Gymnasium in Fall 2001, provided Newark Academy with state-of-the art indoor athletic facilities. This facility, along with the 10-court Simon Tennis Complex and a newly renovated (2011) baseball field, serve as very visible expressions of the Academy’s commitment to athletic excellence. As impressive as these investments are, NA has lagged behind its peer schools in the quality of its outdoor playing facilities for football, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and track. “In order to strengthen all of our athletic programs, our current students and prospective students visiting our campus need to see outdoor facilities that suggest we are committed to giving our students a complete experience – including excellence in sports,” said incoming Director of Athletics Ted Gilbreath. Acknowledging this need during the master planning process in 2007, members of the Board of Trustees established “improvements to the outdoor athletic facilities” as one of four priorities to be addressed within the next five years. Specifically, the needs to be addressed include: • The installation of artificial turf and lighting on two existing athletic fields (Coursen Field and the varsity soccer field) • The resurfacing of the existing track that encircles Coursen Field • The renovation of the stadium bleachers at Coursen Field • The construction of a restroom/concession building • Related fencing and site work
These improvements, totaling approximately $4 million, are scheduled to begin in May 2012. According to Trustee Joe McGrath, Sr. ’81, who chairs NA’s Finance Committee, the outdoor athletic improvements are occurring without impact to the Academy’s operating budget. “We are committed to making this and other campus improvements without saddling NA with long-term debt. We can only do this through generous support from our alumni, parents and friends of the Academy. To date, we’ve received nearly $1.5 million in gifts for this effort. Our plan is to begin with the installation of a turf field, but we absolutely must have additional support if we are to complete the entire project within the year.” Nearly one-third of Newark Academy’s 565 students participate in one, or more, of the athletic teams – football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls track, and field hockey – that will directly benefit from the facilities improvements. Additionally, upgrades will provide the opportunity for Newark Academy to increase income from facilities rentals. Currently NA’s outdoor playing fields are not rented during spring and fall athletic seasons due to the damage that occurs from over-use of natural grass playing surfaces. Further, groups interested in renting have noted the lack of outdoor restroom facilities and field lighting for evening competition. Head of School Don Austin notes that while the athletic improvements will certainly enhance the appearance and utilization of the campus for years to come, the real impact may be less tangible. “Providing an excellent, memorable and successful athletic experience is essential,” Austin said, “not only for our current students and for the recruitment of future students but for creating the lifelong connections that we seek with our alumni. In short, this is a “win” for all of us.”
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 27
27
EN GARDE! Fencing’s First Family Supports its Sport For nearly 60 years the Cetrulo name has been synonymous with fencing at Newark Academy. A recent gift of $50,000 by Larry Cetrulo ’67 demonstrates his intentions to keep it that way. The Cetrulo family helped found the program when brothers Gerald ’59 and Curtis ’63 enrolled in the sixth and fifth grades, respectively, at Newark Academy’s First Street campus in 1953. The brothers were joined by their cousins, Paul Tortorella, Mike Loprete ’59 and Bobby Caprio ’53, who was captain of both the Minuteman football and basketball teams. The Cetrulo brothers’ father, Dr. Gerald I. Cetrulo, was the coach for NA’s newly formed fencing club. Olympic bronze medalist Dean Cetrulo coached the NA team from 1957 to 1968 and no less than seven members of the Cetrulo family have starred on Minuteman teams throughout the years. In 1997, the family assured its role in the fencing program’s future by making a $100,000 gift to create the Cetrulo Family Fencing Facility at Newark Academy. At the time, that gift was among the largest capital improvement gifts NA athletics had ever received. Thanks to its outstanding facility and long-standing commitment to the sport of fencing, Newark Academy’s program continues to be one of the most successful fencing programs in the state. Earlier this year, the NA boys squad won the Prep State Championship. The girls team finished a respectable fourth in the Prep tournament. Larry Cetrulo’s gift is providing needed upgrades to NA’s fencing facility through the purchase of two aluminum fencing strips and two new electronic scoring devices. The aluminum strips are “state-of-the-art”
according to NA Director of Athletics Ed Manigan. “These strips are used in all state tournament competitions because they provide much more accurate evaluation of touches. It is great that we can have these in our own facility because our fencers will be accustomed to competing on them all the time instead of having to adjust when they get to state-level competition.”
“ ” This gift makes a significant difference to our program and it ensures that we will continue to be considered one of the most powerful fencing squads in New Jersey.
Additionally, Larry’s gift will outfit the teams with customized pants for competitions, featuring the NA Minuteman logo.
“We are so grateful to Larry for his support,” Manigan said. “This gift makes a significant difference to our program and it ensures that we will continue to be considered one of the most powerful fencing squads in New Jersey.” Larry Cetrulo was a three-sport athlete at NA (fencing, football and baseball) and is a member of the Newark Academy Athletic Hall of Fame. He served as captain for both the fencing and football teams as a senior before going to Harvard where he continued all three sports, captained the Crimson fencing team and was named three times to the fencing All-America teams. In 1966 Larry was only the third fencer inducted into the Harvard Athletic Hall of Fame. Today Larry is a founding partner of the Boston law firm Cetrulo & Capone LLP and is Chair of the firm’s Toxic Tort Practice Group.
OUTREACH spring 2012
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 28
NA NEWS
122868 Text
28
Ever Green NEWARK ACADEMY CONTINUES TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY Newark Academy’s eco-friendly initiatives continued to grow throughout the school year with a number of green-themed projects. From pursuing LEED certification to creating an organic garden in the arts courtyard, seeds of change sprouted up across the school community.
GREEN BEAMS Newark Academy Pursues LEED Certification
N
ewark Academy is addressing its environmental responsibility by pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the design, construction and operation of the new Upper School Academic Center. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is an internationally recognized, leadingedge system for certifying the greenest performing buildings in the world. The certification process for new construction for schools is based on a checklist that tallies possible points for environmental stewardship in the areas of site planning, water management, energy, material use and indoor environmental quality. Each line item on the checklist is worth a certain number of points that are obtained when a requirement has been met. For an academic institution to earn its certification, it must “check off” line items
NEWARK ACADEMY
totaling 40 to 49 points on an online scorecard. While still in the certification process, Newark Academy, for example, can check “protect or restore habitat” in the site planning category and “water use reduction” in the water efficiency category. The intricate application and submission process is managed by Newark Academy’s architectural firm, NK Architects, a company with more than 40 percent of its technical staff and 60 percent of its licensed architectural staff designated LEED-accredited professionals. According to Marlene Borruso, Newark Academy’s project architect, the new addition was designed using an efficient building envelope and mechanical heating and cooling to help lower energy cost and conserve resources; all bathroom fixtures and landscape vegetation were selected to reduce potable water consumption; all installed wood will be
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 29
...the choice to pursue LEED certification was the result of active participation and collaboration among Newark Academy’s board, administration and community.
}
sustainably grown and harvested; and all interior finishes were selected to create a building free of harmful chemicals. In each classroom, explicit attention was paid to daylight and acoustical design to create high performing learning environments. “As a leader among educational institutions, Newark Academy seized the opportunity to promote sustainability and minimize the school’s impact to its surrounding environment by choosing to certify the new Upper School Academic Center under the LEED for Schools rating system. Newark Academy understands that green schools are more than just buildings, they are healthy learning environments which demonstrate to students the importance and benefits of acting as responsible stewards of their communities and the natural world,” Borruso said.
29
While NK Architects is monitoring the LEED registration and documentation for the project, the choice to pursue LEED certification was the result of active participation and collaboration among Newark Academy’s board, administration and community. “More than just a trend, green construction is imperative when you consider that buildings consume approximately 37 percent of the energy and 69 percent of the electricity produced in the United States,” said Head of School Don Austin. “There was a shared sense among the project team that LEED certification was just the right thing to do.” “The value of green academic facilities at Newark Academy could affect all aspects of school life,” added Director of Business and Finance Sam Goldfischer. “Potential benefits include lower operating costs and increased productivity. Improved comfort and safety and reduced illness and absenteeism can also be linked to green building.”
GARDEN PARTY Laying the Groundwork for an Organic Vegetable Garden
C
onnecting students with the experience of growing food and bringing the farmto-table concept to Newark Academy’s dining hall in the form of fresh produce is just one of the many goals of NA’s newly established organic courtyard garden. According to faculty advisor Elana Snow, “Organic gardening is designed to work with the ecological systems and to minimally disturb the earth’s natural balance.” She continued, “Engaging in organic gardening will help our community to become more cognizant of our impact on the world around us, and ultimately will help us to take steps to minimize our usage and maximize our self-sustaining efforts.” The Green Committee’s efforts will soon be enhanced by the generous gift of an anaerobic digester (made possible through proceeds from NAPA’s “Red & Black Goes Green” event). The digester is a quick and easy way to turn food waste into compost (using microbes to digest the food and turn it into soil) which will then be used on campus grounds and in the gardens. Snow added, “Food that is not consumed in the dining hall will no longer go to waste: instead it will become fuel for our vegetables and, even better, fuel for our minds.”
OUTREACH spring 2012
4/23/12
8:06 AM
NA NEWS
122868 Text
Page 30
Ever Green
30
BUSY BEES Campus is Buzzing with Parent Volunteers
N
APA’s Garden Committee members certainly aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty. Chaired by parents Marcia Zwieg and Kiki Ide, the committee spends many hours during the fall and spring planting tulip and daffodil bulbs and other varieties of flowers that bloom throughout the year. They are responsible for transforming the courtyard near the Eberstadt Room into a lovely outdoor sanctuary where students and faculty read and study. Committee members also decorate for Homecoming with gourds and mums at the school’s front entrance, and always have colorful flowers blooming at graduation. Additionally, NAPA’s Garden Committee was instrumental in initiating the organic vegetable garden that sprouted up this spring in the courtyard outside the arts wing. Members spent time last fall preparing the beds and planted early spring vegetables and herbs that can be harvested by June and used in the NA kitchen! The goal is for this project to be a “community garden” in which NA faculty, staff, students and NAPA will work together.
... the committee spends many hours during the fall and spring planting tulip and daffodil bulbs and other varieties of flowers that bloom throughout the year.
RED & BLACK WENT GREEN NAPA Paid Tribute to the Planet
T
he Newark Academy Parents Association celebrated the planet and supported the school at the “Red & Black Goes Green” gala event on February 11, 2012. Nearly 350 parents, faculty, alumni and friends attended the event held at the Park Avenue Club in Florham Park. The elegant affair featured a menu of local, organic foods and decorations that truly complemented the green theme. Months before the event, NAPA sent a “Save the Date” card, which was the only hard copy mailing and was printed on recycled paper. To remind families about the upcoming event and announce the e-mail invitation, free samples of
NEWARK ACADEMY
green dishwashing tablets were handed out to parents at drop off. Ticket purchases were managed online, avoiding the need for mailing the invitation, as well as the need for a response form or card, and eliminating mailed checks; all transactions were performed online via the secure website interface. This year, guests tried their hand at something new as the “go green” theme included a paperless bidding system, Bidpal. Gone are the days of paper and pencils as these Smartphone devices enabled guests to bid on their favorite items without ever leaving the conversation, providing them with details of each auction item,
}
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 31
31
notifying them when they were outbid, and allowing them to purchase raffle tickets. Raffle proceeds benefitted the Green Club and its efforts to reduce Newark Academy’s carbon footprint and simplify the composting process at school. Through the raffle, wish list donations and a private donation that made up the cost difference, the event was able to completely fund the purchase of a new digester to help the club reach these goals!
GREENHOUSE EFFECT NA Grows Food for Thought in Room 26
T
his marks the third year the Four Springs Farm (FSF) immersion students and leaders began their farm experience with planting seeds in the NA greenhouse. In January, Arlene Jachim, faculty member and trip leader, began ordering seeds, flats, potting medium, and more to start the process. All FSF students, present and past, gathered in early April in Room 26 – NA’s “greenhouse room.” With seed packages in hand and a flat of potting soil, they began the propagation process, mirroring the work of Jinny Cleland, owner and operator of Four Springs Farm, in her own greenhouse in Vermont. Plants are closely monitored and cared for each day until they are ready to be distributed to the Newark Academy community in late May and early June. Flowers and vegetables of many varieties are grown: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, basil, parsley, marigolds, coleus, sunflowers, cantaloupe, broccoli and romaine. Faculty, students, staff, dining room and maintenance staff are all offered seedlings and encouraged to grow their own vegetables. Some participants are uncertain they can grow anything, but are gently guided through the process. The students learn where the vegetables come from, the hours of manual labor involved, and the wonderful feeling of accomplishment you get from growing your own food. There’s no better taste than a fresh tomato on homegrown lettuce, or fresh basil and parsley in your own pesto and pasta dish! NA
OUTREACH spring 2012
NA NEWS
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 32
ACADEMIC SPOTLIGHT
32
Happy Endings NEW JUNE TERM EMBRACES THE JOY OF LEARNING Students will soon engage in a new way of learning during Newark Academy’s inaugural “June Term.” June Term is a two-week period devoted to intensive, experiential learning immediately following the spring semester. During this time, seniors are off-campus working on individual Senior Projects, Middle School students begin to work on Capstone experiences, and Upper School students in grades 9-11 either attend an NA-sponsored immersion trip or enroll in a June Term course. June Term courses for the Upper School are intensive learning experiences created by NA faculty members on topics designed to focus students’ energies, engage their passions and expand their interests. During the June Term, students are actively involved in their own learning and in the creation of an ongoing product. After a careful and comprehensive evaluation, committees for both the Upper School and Middle School have prepared and outlined the parameters for the best use of the final days of the school year and look forward to the successful launch Newark Academy’s first June Term this year!
A TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE Diving Head First into the June Term by David Griffin, English Faculty
I
n my sophomore year at Harvard University, I looked at the course guide and saw that Lawrence Summers – American economist, past Secretary of the Treasury and current Harvard President – would be offering a course called Globalization. I signed up. After all, globalization was a hot topic in 2004 and the course was to be co-taught by Michael Sandel, a faculty celebrity on campus, with a series of guest lectures from Thomas Friedman of the New York Times
as he was publishing The World is Flat. For me, it was a star-studded experience. But the course probably required that star power to hold students’ attention because the learning was almost entirely passive. I went to class for a few hours of lecture a week, kept up with an extensive reading list, and wrote some papers for a teaching fellow to grade. I learned a great deal in that course, and I would take it again in a heartbeat; I have no desire to eliminate
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 33
A June Course Up Close: 21ST CENTURY LEADERSHIP What makes an effective leader? When we talk about collaboration becoming an increasingly important skill in education or in business, what do we mean, exactly? Brainstorming has long been a favorite collaborative
such forms of instruction. I do, however, wonder what Summers today would think of the course Summers of seven years ago offered.
effort in schools and businesses, however, journalist Jonah Lehrer recently attempted to explode the brainstorming myth in his article “Groupthink” in “The New Yorker.” Collaboration is hugely important,
Summers more recently published an article in the New York Times Magazine concerning the future of education titled “What You (Really) Need to Know.” Many of the ideas in his article circulated in various forms throughout the NA Jam, and I am glad that they have become part of our community discussion. Among those ideas was the notion that collaboration and “dynamic learning” will become increasingly important in the coming years. As I read the article, I could not help thinking about my college course with Summers – an educational experience which could not have differed more significantly from the learning environment he describes – and the June Term courses we will be introducing this year with their concomitant opportunities for the experiential, collaborative, “dynamic learning” he now champions.
but brainstorming as it is traditionally practiced is
NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING
kinds of learning and activities in the class than with
After Memorial Day, 260 freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will shift gears to focus on a single course for two weeks in Newark Academy’s inaugural June Term. All of the courses – from Page to Stage with Mr. Jacoby and Mr. Scerra, in which students will “read, analyze, write, rewrite, and perform one-act plays,” to Food and the American Identity with Mrs. Schottland and Mr. Vinikoor, in which students will study the history, production, and cultural context of food as they prepare various dishes themselves – will emphasize experiential learning. Rather than merely debate theoretically
ineffective, he contends. Is he right? During June Term, David Griffin and Derek Kanarek will offer a course exploring and developing skills in collaboration and leadership called “Leadership in the 21st Century.” They hope participants will emerge from the course with clearer ideas about such questions. Certainly they will emerge with more questions — and that is the sign of a real learning experience. “Part of the appeal of June Term for me lies in the opportunity to develop professionally by working with another teacher I admire in a course that lies outside of any traditional department or discipline,” Griffin said. “When the two of us began brainstorming course ideas, we found ourselves concerned much more with the the subject matter itself. It dawned on us that the skills in collaboration and group leadership we wanted to impart could actually become the subject matter itself. We could teach leadership and collaboration both explicitly and implicitly in the course.” The faculty duo devised activities to build the skills they considered foundational to successful leadership and collaboration; they collected a list of readings that would expose students to various theories about leaders and collaboration; they considered possible field trips to see projects requiring extensive collaboration and delicate leadership in action; and they designed the final group project that would require students to synthesize and apply all those skills learned throughout the course. Griffin concluded, “The planning was fun and helpful, but what makes this course particularly exciting is that there is really no way to know what will happen. There is not a concrete end goal; this course is about process, not product.”
NA NEWS
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 34
Happy Endings
34
how to deal with poverty, students will have the opportunity to learn How the Other Half Lives in a course with Mr. Morelli and Ms. Saraceno, and then to respond in community service projects that relate to their studies. June Term promises to give students the chance to slow down and explore a topic in depth, from multiple angles, and it offers faculty the chance to collaborate in the team-teaching model that most courses have embraced. In short, June Term offers opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and practical application of often-abstract ideas. I, for one, am excited by the possibility and, frankly, the uncertainty of June Term.
of intensive, experiential learning that cannot fit into the school year no matter how hard we try to be adaptable. In that spirit, the committee crafted a mission statement for the June Term courses that grew out of the school’s mission statement. We imagined the courses would “provide opportunities for students to pursue their passions and discover new interests through offerings that combine intellectual rigor with the ingenuity of focused, experiential learning.”
STRUCTURING THE COURSES
Two years ago, I became part of a committee tasked with determining what the still-nebulous June Term (née Mini Term) would look like. It immediately became clear that a two-week period would allow for the kinds
The courses, we suggested, should be pass/fail in order to encourage the kinds of intellectual risk-taking that might be discouraged by grades. I became excited by the opportunity, in creating a brand new course, to take
2012 JUNE TERM COURSES Digital Photography, Animation and Video
From Page to Stage: The One-Act Play
Exploring Opera
Wild New Jersey: A Field Study of Local Wildlife
The Art of Ceramic Raku Firing How the Other Half Lives: An Experiential Study in the Sociology of Poverty
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword: An Examination of Political Cartooning Techniques of Trial Practice
Sabermetrics: The Mathematics of Baseball Modern International Affairs
Breakthroughs in Chemistry: Molecules and Concepts that Changed the World Engaging with Chinese Culture
Musical Composition as Self-Expression
Leadership in the 21st Century
Food and the American Identity Constructing Outdoor Environmental Sculpture A Modern Dictator: Identity and Justice in Argentina
Nature Writing Addressing a Local Environmental Problem The 1960s: Film and Music in a Decade of Upheaval 3-D Printing, Technical Drawing and Modeling
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 35
35
June Term promises to give students the chance to slow down and explore a topic in depth, from multiple angles, and it offers faculty the chance to collaborate in the team-teaching model that most courses have embraced.
the same kind of risk that we would be asking students to take. I have since served on the committee tasked with approving appropriate courses for the June Term session and with guiding some courses to fit the parameters that had been set. In committee meetings, the most frequent regret of students and teachers alike was that we would be limited to a single offering come June; we all wanted to participate in multiple courses.
With 22 course offerings in a diverse range of disciplines (and non-disciplines), June Term is sure to offer great energy and creativity with plenty of mess and mistakes. With full school days dedicated to a single class, though, there is time for those mistakes to be worked out and for that mess to be cleaned up. Thus the students in 3-D Printing, Technical Drawing and Modeling (yes, you read that correctly – 3-D printing!) will be able to make a complete mess en route to developing a final product;
}
the students in Constructing Outdoor Environmental Structure will have the chance to turn mistakes into art; students in The Pen is Mightier than the Sword will have time to turn messy sketches into polished political cartoons. After a school year necessarily and productively packed with competing pulls on our time – from balancing multiple courses at once to running club meetings to participating in athletics or a dance concert – I look forward to slowing down this June and diving deeply into a single course, making a mess, and emerging from the process with newfound clarity.
CAPPING IT OFF Middle School’s Year-End Trips Integrate Classroom and Real-World Learning
NA’s
Middle School will spend the inaugural June Term delving into an expanded version of its signature Capstone trips, experiences designed to build on skills acquired earlier in the school year and emphasizing situations and challenges that exist in the real world. These trips nurture a young adolescent’s growing sense of independence. In addition to the obvious goal of having fun, the Middle School’s other primary objective is to foster a greater sense of unity in each grade as a group.
help our students to develop a keener sense of themselves as social beings and teach the importance of relating to other people in positive ways,” said Middle School Principal Tom Ashburn.
“We believe the experiences we share on Capstone trips
Plans for this year’s trips are as unique as each grade in itself. The Class of 2018 will spend the first week of the
The newly developed June Term, which designates the final nine days of the school year as uninterrupted time for intensive learning experiences, allows the Middle School extra freedom to travel for three nights and four days. Each grade experience reinforces the curricular lessons communicated throughout the year and strives to teach students the life skills necessary to travel with others outside of their immediate family.
OUTREACH spring 2012
NA NEWS
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 36
Happy Endings
36
June Term studying the ecosystem of the retention pond by the football field on NA’s campus. This activity will be led by the entire team of sixth grade teachers, and will focus on practicing good “habits of mind.” The sixth grade will then travel to Massachusetts and will stay on a working farm run by Heifer International, a non-profit, world hunger organization. This activity will build on skills students have been learning in Global Awareness classes. The Class of 2017 will spend the first week of the June Term focused on a joint project involving the historical, social and scientific issues surrounding the Sterling Hill Mine, a former iron and zinc mine in Ogdensburg, New Jersey. The group will then travel to Boston and stay at Shore Country Day School for three nights while they explore Boston and the North Shore. Trip activities will relate to their coursework in Science 7, American Studies and English 7. Finally, the Class of 2016 will complete portfolios that examine the critical skills they studied in Middle School. Each student will lead a conference with his or her parents and a faculty member, highlighting the culmination of Middle School experiences. Eighth grade students will then journey to Washington, D.C. and visit locations related to their World Cultures and Science 8 coursework. “Capstone experiences serve as the ‘crowning point’ of a student’s education in the Middle School,” Ashburn concluded. “Now with the June Term, we have more time to provide students with the opportunity to integrate the principles, theories and methods learned during the school year in an applied context.” NA
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 37
Navigating the New Social Terrain of Pre-teen and Early Teenage Years By Jessica Lubow
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:06 AM
Page 38
38
Bullying refers to an ongoing and purposeful pattern of behavior designed to invoke deep discomfort and fear in another person. It is also, without question, an explosive and alarming word in our culture today.
M
ost likely this alarm has nothing to do with images of kids being shoved into lockers or hit with paper airplanes. Bullying today has moved largely out of the physical realm and into the equally hurtful and potentially more dangerous arena of technology. The news media often highlights the worst case scenarios, but nevertheless, too many teens throughout the country suffer from the taunts of their peers, whether in person or through e-mails, text messages, or social media websites. As a result of bullying, cyber and otherwise, young people can suffer from significant feelings of despair, isolation and loneliness. Parents, teachers, school administrators and lawmakers are now more motivated than ever to do something to stop their pain. The social terrain of pre-teen and early teenage years is rocky at best. During this time, young people can be especially vulnerable to bullying as they seek to define their own identity and to understand their place in the all-important peer group. In recent years, school bullying has come to the forefront of the American conversation about education. Both schools and lawmakers are more concerned than
ever with providing a learning environment that is safe for all children, both physically and emotionally. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Analysis of State Bullying Laws, released in December 2011, more than 120 bills aimed at curbing bullying and related behaviors in schools were enacted by state legislatures around the country during the years 1999-2010. New Jersey’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, enacted in September 2011, is regarded as the most strict in the nation. The law requires training for public school teachers and administrators to teach them how to identify bullying. It requires public schools to establish teams of faculty and staff to conduct a review of all reported incidents of bullying. In addition to allowing for strict punishment for any student found guilty of bullying, under the new law teachers and administrators will also be disciplined for failure to report or pursue any suspected bullying behavior on or off school grounds. Although the law applies only to the state’s public schools, it has inspired independent schools, too, to examine their current practices regarding bullying, and in many cases has led them to craft tighter and more explicit policies. A March 2010 post from The Economist magazine’s “Democracy in America” blog asks, “Kids have always bullied each other, so why is this issue gaining so much attention now?” The author of the post speculates that there
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 39
39
are three main factors at play. First, schoolbased anti-bullying programs have actually proven quite effective, therefore their momentum has only increased in recent years. Second, the proliferation of technology has allowed school bullying to spread into the formerly “safe” territory of the home. Through texting, e-mail and social networking, kids can taunt each other in particularly insidious ways, often anonymously, or at least empowered by the lack of face-to-face contact with their victims. Finally, parents’ expectations have evolved to the point where they not only expect schools to be aware of kids who are ostracized, marginalized or taunted by their peers – they expect something to be done about it.
Both schools and lawmakers are more concerned than ever with providing a learning environment that is safe for all children, both physically and emotionally. Carole Everett, Executive Director of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS) explains that while NJAIS member schools are concerned about the heightened requirements of the state’s new anti-bullying legislation, “Independent schools have always paid attention to individual students. Adults in these communities are aware when kids are struggling socially, making it much less likely that a student who is being targeted by peers would ever slip through the cracks.” All NJAIS member schools have anti-bullying and harassment policies. Everett notes that New Jersey’s new law is motivating many schools to update their policies but, she notes, “Most NJAIS schools already have mechanisms in place to identify bullying and to follow
through with educational and disciplinary processes that work.” Newark Academy’s Director of Counseling Carol Spooner explains, “NA’s approach to bullying is based first and foremost in education, as opposed to the criminalization of certain behaviors.” She continues, “There’s a lot that can be done to help kids identify potentially harmful social dynamics and ‘stop them upstream’ before conflicts escalate out of their control. It’s also very important for both students and parents to make a distinction between unkindness and normal peer-to-peer conflict, as opposed to true bullying.” Incidents of bullying are quite rare in the NA community, but nationwide 160,000 school children stay home each day in order to avoid being bullied at school according to DoSomething.org, a youth-based advocacy group with a mission to inspire young people to make positive social changes. “Kids in grades seven to nine seem to be most susceptible to bullying,” explains Spooner. “During these years, kids are incredibly focused on their peer group and are searching for a sense of self.” In part because of their vulnerability during this time, Spooner believes that it is counterproductive to label kids as “bullies.” “Instead,” she explains, “we focus on the specific behavior, and help our students understand how their unkind words or actions affect others.” As NA’s Middle School Principal, Tom Ashburn, explains, the approach to a “bullying” incident
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 40
40
starts with supporting the victim, and moves on to partnering with the parents of the aggressor to make sure the behavior stops. “We believe that the most effective way to stop bullying is to prevent it from happening in the first place,” says Ashburn. Toward this end, the Middle School at NA offers creative, even genderspecific opportunities to convey messages of tolerance and acceptance to its students. “Girls and boys tend to act out very differently,” says Ashburn. “Boys often use name-calling to express their feelings, whereas girls might take a more indirect approach such as quietly excluding another from a lunch table or other social gathering.” Both forms of behavior can be hurtful, no doubt, but addressing these gender-specific modes of unkindness has proven to be very effective at Newark Academy. Freedom, says Ashburn, is key to creating a healthy social environment at NA. “The kids here know that the adults in the community have their finger on the pulse of the social climate, so by giving them unstructured time in which to socialize, they actually learn how to behave responsibly even when they are not directly supervised by a teacher.” Ashburn believes that by maintaining an open culture where kids are not afraid to bring inappropriate behavior to the attention of their teachers, kids actually do an excellent job of “policing” themselves. “Students at NA often help each other rein it in when someone has gone too far,” he says. Carol Spooner points out that it’s not necessarily “bullying” to call a classmate a name or tell her she can’t sit with you at lunch. “Most of what
we see here stops well-short of bullying, but it is still a very valuable lesson for kids to understand that short-term actions can sometimes have unforeseen and long-term consequences,” she says. Spooner also points to the relatively fluid nature of NA’s social structure as a bullying minimizer. “There are so many different types of kids here, with so many different backgrounds and talents. There’s not just one dominant culture that demands that students fall into a certain pattern of behavior.” One universal truth among those who work with adolescents regards the power of technology, for good and for evil. Dr. Paul Schottland ’70 is a Florham Park-based child psychologist. He is an NA alumnus, a past NA parent, and is married to NA faculty member Amy Schottland. “The devices kids have today are too powerful for them to control,” he says. “The breadth of kids’ social problems has expanded in every direction. They simply can’t control their impulses when it comes to technology, and the access they have allows their social interactions, both positive and negative, to continue for many hours beyond the end of the school day.”
One universal truth among those who work with adolescents regards the power of technology, for good and for evil. Spooner agrees and says the school’s policy regarding technology seeks to define Newark Academy as “a place of people, not gadgets.” Kids are able to use their cell phones in designated areas and for very limited use during the school day, and rarely, if ever, do they abuse this privilege. When it comes to helping students understand how to use technology responsibly
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 41
41
when they are off campus, the school takes a proactive approach. Spooner recently hosted an event for parents, with a counterpart for students, about the pitfalls of electronic communication. “Technology often empowers people to say things they wouldn’t say in person,” says Spooner. “A simple ‘just kidding’ after a hurtful exchange doesn’t change the impact on the person being targeted.” Spooner believes that the school, in partnership with parents, can help students learn to navigate their way through relationships in a healthy way, a skill that has always been a part of growing up, long before technology became a factor. Dr. Schottland notes that the effects of bullying on kids can be every bit as harmful as a poor family environment. “In an ideal world,” says Schottland, “all schools would teach kids about emotional health, including stress management, conflict resolution skills and resiliency training. Newark Academy has always been committed to teaching kids far more than just academics. All schools should be as vigilant about the emotional health of its students. True bullying is so deeply damaging to a child that it should never be overlooked or allowed to continue without consequences to the aggressor.” Tom Ashburn explains that by nature, Middle School is a time of egocentric behavior. “Sometimes kids struggle to understand how their actions are perceived by others, which is why an educational approach to discipline is so important. Students at NA are held accountable to their community of peers and teachers, and also to their parents, whom we quickly bring into the loop if appropriate.” Newark Academy has updated its own Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) policy in recent years, and there are scenarios in which in-school or even
At Newark Academy students learn and grow in a supportive environment where differences are celebrated rather than feared. out-of-school suspensions are recommended. Most often, though, the school is able to work with students to solve their social problems before their actions get out of hand. Tragically, victims of school bullying and their families sometimes suffer silent wounds that they may carry with them for years. Far more common are the times when, with a little help from concerned parents and teachers, kids can regain perspective and see that a bully’s actions are rooted in fear, self-loathing, immaturity, or all of the above. At Newark Academy students learn and grow in a supportive environment where differences are celebrated rather than feared. The adults in this community are committed to helping the adolescents in their care grow into responsible and resilient young people who will harness the power of their words for good. NA For more information, the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools recommends the following websites: www.stopbullying.gov and www.njbullying.org.
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 42
from the
42
Archives by Blackie Parlin
The Joy of Creative Expression and Physical Challenge I have decided that I am old enough to pontificate. (And, incidentally, so old that I don’t need to listen to anybody else’s pontifications.) Anyway, this column will pontificate about the sources of my happiness. I have lived an undeservedly happy life, which I attribute to four blessings.
F
amily and vocation are very central. I mention them here only to make certain that nobody thinks I’m omitting them. I have been blessed with shared love of parents, wife, children, children’s spouses and grandchildren. And, while I started teaching uncertain whether teaching or journalism should be my profession, by the end of my first semester I knew I would be a teacher. Family and vocation acknowledged, I want to pontificate about two components of my life which have been immeasurable sources of pleasure and satisfaction. My little jottings here, which my editor might reject as outrageously autobiographical egocentrism, eventually lead to a point about education and my regret that our culture too often has too limited an understanding of the sources of human fulfillment. I believe that each person has a creative impulse which is often overlooked or ignored. When I think of the people I know who are the happiest, invariably a creative activity is very central – art, woodworking, restoring old cars, weaving, writing – I don’t have a narrow definition of creativity. I myself am totally devoid of artistic talent, as my fourth grade teacher, Miss Dewitt, perceptively noted when she failed me in art. But I was “saved” by
the presentation of a camera on Christmas at the age of nine. The camera has allowed me to self-delude that I am an artist. I feel creative. The truly great photographer Dorothea Lange said that “the camera is a device which teaches us how to see.” The camera has taught me to see or look and how to see. I am proud that our school recognizes that art is an inherent component of education. I believe, though, that parents must oversee the development of creativity in their children and help a young person to find the artistry which is most personally fulfilling and life-long. The creative impulse is too important to be completed in high school. I also believe that every person finds fulfillment in physical challenge. Too many young people play on youthful teams and later vegetate. The aim should be a lifetime of physical challenge, again, not a short experience in school. I am fanatical about bicycling. During two periods of my life I regrettably gave up bicycling but then repented and resumed the bicycling path. I got into long-distance bicycling because my eighth grade beloved Louise lived 30 miles away, and our romance depended on my bicycling to her side. Soon bicycling became an inherent joy,
Blackie, triumphant at the end of a 33-day, 3,266-mile ride across America in 1974
NEWARK ACADEMY
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 43
43
not merely a means to joy. In ninth grade I presented my parents with a plan to ride 250 miles to our summer home in the Adirondacks. “Mom and Dad,” I said, “here is my map. I’ll ride 50 miles a day, stay in Newburg, Kingston, Albany, Saratoga – and I’ll be there.” Once underway I was staggered by an unanticipated problem. I did not think I could take my bicycle into a motel room, and I dared not leave it outside where some fiend could seize it. So, I “rode like hell” for two days, slept one night with my bicycle in a field where I got eaten by condor-sized mosquitoes and in two days reached my 250-mile destination. I was exhausted, exhausted, but had such a sense of joy and reward that I would have to list this as one of the central formative influences in my life. I experienced challenge and conquest. I was a hero. I was a man. I was thrilled to realize I’d done something neither of my parents had done.
I have personally experienced exhaustion in two ways. First, in long distance bicycling, as I’ve mentioned. Then, when I was a young man I did summer farm work which included pitching 50-pound hay bales for 12 to 14 hours a day. The case can be made for putting oneself on a path to exhaustion, because one’s selfconfidence and self-esteem are enhanced. I know what I can do in extremis and that is reassuring.
...our culture too often has too limited an understanding of the sources of human fulfillment.
On the point of the “strenuous life,” I believe our school falls short. Yes, we have competitive athletics; yes, we have teachers who have taken kids on outdoor trips. But we’ve not whispered in the young ears, “Why don’t you hike the length of the Appalachian Trail or bicycle across the country, or climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, or follow Teddy Roosevelt down the Amazon River?” NA
The person who has best articulated what I believe philosophically about all this is Teddy Roosevelt, a writer and an outdoorsman. Roosevelt overcame physical weakness of childhood by rigorous training, then had many experiences which were physically demanding. He recommended to the nation the “strenuous life.” Yes, he enjoyed war too much, and his racist-imperialistic views are embarrassing, but I think he was right to believe that the strenuous life contributed to one’s physical and psychological health as well as to the strength of the nation. In his recent book, Coming Apart, Charles Murray says, “If you’ve never had a job where something hurts at the end of the day, you don’t know what work is. You certainly don’t know what work is like for the large proportion of the American population who do hold jobs that cause something to hurt at the end of the day.” Many young people will not have the valuable learning experience of a physically exhausting job, but they can have this experience through the strenuous life.
AN ADIRONDACK MOMENT Capturing an image like this requires a great deal of fortitude. Blackie recounts being tossed about in a rowboat on rocky waters, withstanding external temperatures nearing single digits and warming the camera shutter with his body heat. The end result: a hauntingly beautiful Adirondack moment captured in time for all to enjoy. Thank you, Mr. Parlin!
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 44
44
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
A Mighty Wind NA’s 2012 Artist-in-Residence Featured Tracy Jacobson ’06 in Woodwind Quintet Newark Academy hosted WindSync, a fresh and energetic woodwind quintet, as the 2012 Artist-in-Residence in April. The ensemble, led by Tracy Jacobson ’06 on the bassoon, also included Garrett Hudson on the flute, Kerry Hughes on the oboe, Ben Haeuser on the clarinet and Anni Hochhalter on the French horn.
A
fter graduating from Newark Academy, Jacobson moved to Texas to pursue a degree in orchestral performance, but later found that she was more interested in chamber music and started WindSync, a small woodwind group. Now completing their third season together, WindSync has evolved from a part-time student project to a full-time internationally touring ensemble. They found their niche in “interactive music,” combining genres of art and
enticing their audiences to be involved in the creative, collaborative process of musical imagination and expression. While at Newark Academy, WindSync’s residency focused on academic applications for collaboration, creativity, teamwork and other essential musical skills. They held lunchtime discussions about entrepreneurship, talking about the business of making a musical ensemble work and pursuing a dream. They worked with NA’s musical ensembles and performed with them in the annual instrumental concert. “Ever since finishing 8th grade English with Dr. Blackburn, it’s been a dream of mine to be a teacher at Newark Academy,” Jacobson said. “Since then, of course, my life has led me in a very different direction – professionally and geographically! However, thanks to a fantastic collaboration with Arts Department Chair Elaine Brodie and faculty member Amy Emelianoff, I’m thrilled I was able to bring my art back to my alma mater.” Thanks to the Artist-in-Residence Endowment Fund, this program provides students with the opportunity to explore creativity and artistic expression through extended interaction with a professional in the visual or performing arts. Selected artists not only teach classes and share their craft in workshop settings, but also enrich the school community at large through their participation. NA
NEWARK ACADEMY
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 45
ALUMNI NEWS 45
Newark Academy Alumni
MESSAGE FROM LEO M. GORDON ’69 President, Alumni Board of Governors It has been a privilege to serve a second term as President of the Alumni Association’s Board of Governors. The mission of the governors has been to connect alumni to students, to other alumni, and to Newark Academy. I am proud that we have created events and programs geared to each segment of the alumni body – including Reunion, Networking Night, the mentoring program, book clubs, small business networking, and the Minuteman Golf & Tennis Invitational. The response to these efforts is a vibrancy and buzz about Newark Academy that resonates among all its alumni. For nearly 30 years as a volunteer for Newark Academy, I have had the pleasure of meeting many students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff and administrators. The common thread among all of them is an appreciation of what the Academy is and the special role it plays in enabling young people to grow intellectually, personally, socially, athletically, culturally and artistically. To have somehow played a small role in that process through the Board of Governors is humbling. While it is work to serve in a leadership capacity in any volunteer organization, the work for the Board of Governors and the Academy has been great fun. I have had the opportunity to work with two very thoughtful Chairmen of the Board of Trustees, three caring, bright and responsive Heads of School, and fabulously energetic and creative Directors of Alumni Relations and Directors of Advancement. The support and encouragement of these men and women have enabled the Board of Governors to thrive and to be a key voice for alumni. Finally, there are many dedicated fellow alums who, since 1982, have served with me on the Board of Governors. Their commitment of time and effort, and their willingness to engage in discussions to grow and to make the Board of Governors flourish, is immeasurable. I always will be grateful to them for their confidence in asking me to lead the governors, not once but twice. To all, simply let me say thank you. It has been a great ride. I would not trade the experience and the friendships for anything. To my good friend and classmate, John Bess, I wish you much success as the next President of the Board of Governors.
farewell
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS THE OLD GUARD RECEPTION AT COMMENCEMENT 2012 Sunday, June 10 Honoring NA graduates of 50 years or more.
HOMECOMING & REUNION Saturday, October 13
A full day of festivities for NA alumni and their families: • Class Representative Breakfast • Women of NA Luncheon • Schoolwide Tailgate Party • Alumni Awards Reception • Reunion 2012
Celebrate!
&
2’s
7’s
Check for details on these and more great activities at alumni.newarka.edu. OUTREACH spring 2012
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 46
ALUMNI NEWS
122868 Text
46
MY OLD SCHOOL Alumni Relations Welcomes One of Its Own Newark Academy’s new Director of Alumni Relations is an alumnus himself. Please join us in welcoming current faculty member Matthew Gertler ’90 to his new role at NA. Matt has been teaching for 15 years, the last five of which he has spent at his alma mater as a health teacher, coach and advisor. Matt has been very involved in alumni activities, serving as a volunteer on the Board of Governors for the past four years. He brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to his new position. “I have a true appreciation for the history of NA,” Matt said with a smile. “My friends often rib me that NA trivia is my favorite subject.” Matt has a genuine interest in alumni and what they are doing and, more importantly, he says, what the alumni office is doing for them. “As the Director of Alumni Relations, I will be dedicated to helping alumni become active and involved in the life of the school. On the flip side of that, I plan for my activities to be service-oriented,
offering more programs like Networking Night. To me, this is the quintessential event that embodies how NA can use its strengths to make a very distinct difference in the life of an alum.” Matt doesn’t discount the “fun-loving” aspect of his new role either. “I absolutely love Homecoming. This event has evolved into such a great all-inclusive, family-friendly day that has something special for everyone. I love the sheer joy of this event and truly hope to see as many alums as I can at Homecoming this October.” While NA is Matt’s favorite subject, his family is his favorite pastime. He lives in Ridgewood with his wife, Tracey, and future Minutemen Ryan (6) and Eric (3).
NETWORKING NIGHT The Penn Club of New York, January 5, 2012 NA alumni from various professions had an opportunity to share their experiences and learn from the experts as they gathered in New York for a panel discussion and cocktail reception. Many thanks to the panelists: • Peter Feinberg ’78, Managing Director, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. • Susan Goldberg ’79, Founder and Principal, Susan Goldberg Executive Search Consulting
➟
• Amy Einhorn ’85, Vice President and Publisher, Amy Einhorn Books (Publisher of the #1 “New York Times” bestseller “The Help”) • Sean McGaughan ’99, Producer, Deep Focus
• Amy Schwartz Protess ’01, Associate, Criminal Defense Department, Gibbons P.C. • Ben Purkert ’03, Senior Freelance Creative Writer, Siegel + Gale
Check the website at alumni.newarka.edu for the full schedule of upcoming networking events and opportunities. NEWARK ACADEMY
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 47
NETWORKING NIGHT 2012
➟
47
OUTREACH spring 2012
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 48
ALUMNI NEWS
122868 Text
48
HALL OF FAME
NEWARK ACADEMY
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 49
49
Peter Hutchinson ’86 2011 ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE Established in 1980, the Newark Academy Athletic Hall of Fame Award is presented annually to one who has brought honor, merit and recognition to Newark Academy through excellence in the field of athletics.
A three-sport athlete during his years at Newark Academy, Pete lettered in football, basketball and baseball, and was voted most athletic in his class. In his senior year he was voted “most valuable player” for both his football and basketball teams. He won the Scholar Athlete Football Award for Essex County and was named first team All-Prep at both defensive end and offensive tackle. He was also the captain of the basketball team his senior year and was named to first team All-Prep. He held the NA all-time record for triples recorded in one baseball season and was named first team All-Prep as a lefty pitcher with a 5-0 record. He earned the Udell Stallings Award, which is given to students who exemplify the ideal Newark Academy athlete, and was recruited by Lafayette College to play both baseball and football.
Congratulations!
OUTREACH spring 2012
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 50
ALUMNI NEWS
122868 Text
50
THE INDUCTION CEREMONY TOOK PLACE DURING HALFTIME of the boys varsity basketball game against Montclair Kimberley Academy on February 24, 2012. Friends and family gathered in the stands and in the the Great Hall above to honor Pete and to enjoy the high energy and spirited game which produced an
▲
exciting victory over MKA.
Back row: Neal Buchalter ’84, Anthony D’Amore ’86, James Schachtel ’86, Pete Hutchinson ’86, Jeff Kacur, Rubin Sinins ’87, Jeffrey Snyder ’89 Front row: Robert Staub ’86, Darren Burns ’86, Wayne Kent ’85, Matt Gertler ’90
NEWARK ACADEMY
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 51
HALL OF FAME RECIPIENTS
1980
Anthony “Skip” Minisi ’44 Russell S. Monica Udell H. Stallings
1981
Ridgely “Chip” Harrison ’70 Ernest N. Scarpa ’50
1982
E. Elmer Ikas Eric Williams ’75
1983
Daniel R. Connors ’67 Augustus P. Stager ’43
1984
Robert J. Hendrickson, Sr.
1985
Christina “Tina” Steck ’76 Paul K. Steck ’74
1986
Curtis L. Cetrulo ’61
1987
Van S. Stevens ’65 & 1904-1906 Varsity Football Team
1988
Julia L. Mulvihill ’78 Robert I. Perina ’39
1989
Christopher C. Jacobs ’83
1990
John C. Galbraith ’75 & 1974 Varsity Tennis Team
1991
Thomas Allen ’41 (posthumously) William F. Brown III ’51 John “Jed” Hughes, Jr. ’66
1992
Lawrence G. Cetrulo ’67
1993
John C. Kimmel ’72
1994
Peter J. Behrle ’69 Edward C. DeFabio ’69 Bruce R. Goddin
1995
1931 Varsity Football Team
1996
Robert R. Krumm ’39
1997
Howard C. Lincoln & All-American Coaches, Swimmers and Divers
1998
Jacob J. Cecere ’78
1999
Mark A. Melillo ’74
2000 Captains of Founding Women’s Athletic Teams 2001
David Chae ’81
2002 Brenda Baldanzi ’92 2003 Shana Advani ’93 2004 Lane Jaffe ’94 2005 Justin Gimelstob ’95 2006 1975 Boys Soccer Team 2007 Pat Ciccone ’62 2008 Rahman Smiley ’98 Jamal Parker ’98 2009 Heather Poole ’99 Royal Davis ’46 2010
Lauren Jackson ’85
201 1
Peter Hutchinson ’86
51
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 52
ALUMNI NEWS
122868 Text
52
Alumni Profile: Scheherazade Tillet ’96
Power Supply VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS WITH THE POWER TO HEAL By Alexandra Mahoney, English Faculty
A woman of vitality and vision, Scheherazade Tillet is an artist, activist and innovative leader in the fields of art therapy and sexual violence prevention. Her story is one in which she has turned the suffering of a loved one into empowerment for many. Sher’s success is intimately intertwined with her relationship with her sister, Salamishah Tillet ’92, also an NA alumna and currently a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
W
ith a jazz singer for a mother and a father from Trinidad, Scheherazade Tillet was raised in a family that valued the arts. Although her parents rarely attended their daughters’ soccer games, youthful artistic endeavors, like a piece of pottery made in ceramics class, were displayed prominently on the mantle. Trinidad, where Sher grew up and then spent much time after moving to New Jersey, is a place where art is woven into daily life, and events like Carnival double as performance art in addition to cultural celebration. Ingrained in her upbringing was the fundamental affirmation that art, in addition to being a dynamic form of individual self-expression, brought people together. As she grew older, however, Sher began to see art in a different way: as a powerful tool that could help heal people’s suffering and promote social justice. Scheherazade’s conviction that art could indeed be used to help others fueled her passion to turn a college art project into a national multi-media theatrical performance presented at colleges around the country and a non-profit organization for which she is the Executive Director. A Long Walk Home (ALWH) is an organization which uses art therapy and visual and performing arts to end violence
NEWARK ACADEMY
against girls and women. Its flagship program, called “Story of a Rape Survivor” (SOARS), has been performed at 150 colleges throughout the United States. Sher credits Newark Academy with providing opportunities for artistic self-expression and the social activism that shaped her professional ambitions. At NA, she wrote her first poems and read her work in Morning Meeting and at the fledgling Coffeehouse night. She took her first photography course in the new McGraw Arts Center, an experience that directly informed her career in its initial stages as a social documentary photographer. Lastly, Sher’s senior project work brought her to a domestic violence shelter in Newark. Her volunteer hours there took the form of teaching art to the children at the center, and this experience changed her life, as she both witnessed the damaging affects of sexual violence against women and their families and also the healing role that art could take in navigating such a weighty and complex issue. As an undergraduate at Tufts studying child psychology and visual arts, Sher used an assignment in her photography class to address a difficult and highly personal subject: her sister Salamishah’s recovery from a rape during her college years. Sher’s photography teacher, Steve Hart, saw such
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 53
53
potential in the richness of her work that he encouraged potential for leadership in high school and beyond. her to pursue the project on a larger scale. Ultimately, Most recently, the girls published a book of their artwork Sher took a year off from Tufts in order to live closer to and are promoting it in various community venues as a Salamishah and photograph the various stages of her way to educate and entertain, in the tradition of SOARS. healing process in an intimate way. Sher is passionate When Sher returned about reaching As she grew older, however, Sher began to to Tufts, she sought underserved see art in a different way: as a funding through a populations. When powerful tool that could help heal grant available to she worked as people’s suffering and promote social justice. the Women’s Center, the rape crisis and in 2000, two counselor at YWCA years after her first of Metropolitan photographs of Salamishah, she directed the staging of Chicago, she saw that the population most in need of “Story of a Rape Survivor,” which featured Salamishah’s support – young women, ages 16-24 – were not using poetry and Sher’s photography in addition to music and the hotline as a resource. One crucial goal of SOARS – dance. Today, a cast of professional artists tours colleges overwhelmed potentially by the dynamism of its and high schools in the U.S., performing SOARS to message – is that as a work of performance art, it reaches large audiences. Though gritty and raw, the performance a wide audience and thus becomes a gateway to further is ultimately celebratory, attesting to the ability to heal support networks for young women in need. from sexual assault. What is truly amazing about the trajectory of this project is that both Sher and Salamishah “It’s a Movement!” Sher says, as she triumphs in one are in attendance at every SOARS performance (despite of her Girl/Friend’s graduates who has moved into a the extensive professional obligations of both women) and leadership role in her college. Sher is committed to they address the audience afterward, discussing both the helping other young women tell their stories, while her process and the challenging subject matter of SOARS. story is one that affirms the power of collaboration and resourceful networking, growing her idealistic vision The growth and success of SOARS made it apparent to into a practical reality in the neighborhoods of Westside Sher that this powerful convergence of art and activism Chicago and beyond. NA held great potential as an educational tool. Looking to address the issue of sexual violence against women at a grassroots level, Sher’s efforts today focus on growing ALWH’s Girl/Friends Institute, a mentoring and leadership program that trains high school girls in high-risk populations to educate their communities on the subject. The innovative training for the girls involves art projects and community service stints as well as field trips to professional plays and even yoga. Currently, at Chicago’s North Lawndale College Preparatory Charter High School, the girls advocated to have their training continue in the form of an academic course, and so Sher is in the classroom teaching there and at other sites during the school day as well as welcoming the girls into her home on Sundays to further deepen their
“
”
Sher Tillet '96 with Alexandra Mahoney at the Women of NA luncheon in October. Sher was honored as a 2011 “Woman of Distinction.”
OUTREACH spring 2012
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 54
CLASS NOTES 54
1940 Jerome Bess writes, “I read with great interest in Outreach the story of the Academy and the Second World War. Sorry I could not contribute, so here it is as a P.S. to the original: “I played three years of varsity basketball in 1940 and made 1st Team All-State in the prep school division. As a sophomore at Indiana University, I enlisted in the Army Air Force. At the time Hitler was marching across Europe, the U.S. was not yet officially in the war. I was called up my junior year. I did pilot training in Texas, earned my wings and was off to Italy flying a C-47 in the 12th Air Force Paratroop Command. I had
From the Class of 1952: Bill Wescott, Bruce Van Vliet and Bill Van Winkle enjoying lunch at the Seabright Beach Club. Can you spot them in the prom photo below?
21 missions while in Italy. Our airbase was in Naples at the foot of Vesuvius. We flew supplies and gasoline to the U.S. and British troops moving north forcing the Germans out of Italy. In January 1946, I became a civilian again. I returned to school, graduated, and started a 42-year career in television and advertising in New York. In 1988, I retired and we moved to Arizona.”
1946 Stephen Boyle has retired from practicing law in New Jersey and currently resides in Florida.
1947 65th Reunion Marvin Rothman mrothman1@aol.com
Senior Prom, Class of 1952, at the Hotel Astor in New York City on June 6, 1952
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 55
55
Nancy and Doug Slade ’59 in a Mitchell B-25
1952 60th Reunion William Van Winkle billvw7334@aol.com
1959 Last May, Bob Soare celebrated his 70th birthday. His former graduate
Bob Soare ’59 (center) with colleagues
students and colleagues arranged a mathematical conference for this milestone birthday. Additionally, in June 2011 he received the Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching during the convocation ceremony at the University of Chicago. Bob is now in England through July, celebrating the Alan Turing Centennial. Alan Turing was one of the most important figures in mathematics and computer science in the last 100 years.
1957 55th Reunion Matt Gertler ’90 mgertler@newarka.edu
1961 Albert Del Negro wrote that he is “nearing retirement” but is still working and teaching in the practice of cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology in Fairfax, Virginia. He is also the medical director of a master’s program in cardiovascular sciences at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Roger Flax has been in the executive development and consulting business since 1970. He also wrote and produced a film entitled,“Follow Your Heart.” The lead role was performed by Gary Carter, Hall of Fame baseball star for the Mets and Expos who recently died of brain cancer. The film is being re-released and Roger is donating a percentage of the profits to the Gary Carter
Foundation, brain cancer research and autism. Roger said he is indebted to Mrs. Lynham, who taught him how to write. He affectionately added, “If we didn’t do it her way, we were all in trouble.”
1962 50th Reunion Bernard J. D’Avella bdavella@comcast.net
Tom Keith retired two years ago as the district attorney of Forsyth County in Winston Salem, North Carolina, after five elections. Ten years ago, Steve Sotkin retired from his own firm that represented some major corporations, including Walmart. They reconnected at Steve’s summer mountain house where they enjoyed trout fishing together. Though they had not seen each other in nearly 40 years, both agreed neither one had changed much. Their fondest memories of NA were of their senior year in a special math class that was made up of four guys who needed to pass algebra II in order to graduate. Tom made a D and Steve wasn’t far ahead. As bad as they were in algebra class, both were able to make “A’s” in the business of life. Ralph Rosamilia is executive director of Chatham Wealth Management. He lives in Morristown with his wife, Eileen. His daughter, Leslie, lives in Madison with her husband, Scott, and his two grandsons, Scott, Jr. and
CLASS NOTES
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 56
We Fondly Remember
56
Howard Dimond ’33 January 8, 2012 Norman J. Hilton ’37 October 31, 2011 Hulet Hornbeck ’38 January 7, 2012 William Burger ’50 March 26, 2012 Thomas Lynch ’53 January 9, 2012 Richard Sherman ’54 November 26, 2011 Gurpaul (Paul) Narula ’02 March 16, 2012 E. Standish Bradford Former Headmaster November 10, 2011
Mr. Bradford served as Headmaster of Newark Academy from 1967-1977. During his tenure, he advocated for the reintroduction of coeducation and was instrumental to Newark Academy admitting female students beginning in September of 1971. Coeducation was quickly deemed a philosophical and financial success, and a rise in applications (from boys!) was attributed to its introduction. Mr. Bradford was an inspiration to generations of students and faculty, and his legacy will forever be a part of Newark Academy.
Tom Keith ’62 and Steve Sotkin ’62 at Steve’s summer mountain house in North Carolina
Ralph James. This is the 50th Reunion for the Class of ’62 and Ralph hopes to see many of you in October!
1964 Mark Belnick writes, “Our daughter, Cory, finished her chief pediatric residency at Cornell/New York Presbyterian Hospital last year and also presented us with twin girls – whom I objectively believe are ready right now, at 20 months, for admission to NA. Our daughter, Kelly, graduated with honors last May from Pace University Law School, where she was editor of the Environmental Law Journal and is now working as an associate attorney in New York City’s highly-respected Office of the Corporation Counsel; she has passed the bar in both New York and New Jersey. Our son, Jake, is working his way up the ladder as a music supervisor for films and television in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, last May, my wife completed her fourth master’s degree, an MPH from Johns Hopkins University. As for me, well, I shrink in such company – in fact, it is said by my tribe that our twin granddaughters are at a higher level of maturity than their actor/ producer (i.e., dreamer) grandfather. When I remember my lines, I shall respond. In the meantime, nothing remains as glorious in my mind as my years at NA, my family’s daunting achievements notwithstanding.”
Michael Yogg and his wife, Joan, celebrated his retirement with a climb to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and a photo-safari through the National Parks of northern Tanzania. Michael had worked in the investment management business for 34 years and was with Putnam for the last 15 years.
1967 45th Reunion Matthew Leone mleone@colgate.edu
Larry Cetrulo is looking forward to the 45th Reunion of the Class of 1967 in October and hopes the class will be well represented. He writes: “The Cetrulo Family will end a 110-year run in Newark this spring with the sale of my boyhood home on Clifton Avenue. My grandfather, Gerardo, emigrated from Caposele, Avellino Province, near Naples, in 1901. My mother, Fran, now 97 years old, has moved to an independent living facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and I have spent six weekends in Newark since July boxing up a century of Cetrulo memories to ready the house for sale. My daughter, Lara (42), works for a law firm in Atlanta, and has two children with a third due in the summer. Daughter Lauren (35) works in New York City for the Haiti Medical Education Project and is a candidate for a master’s degree in international relations at The New School. Nick Cetrulo is awaiting his match results for a residency in general surgery. He has recently become engaged to Kayla Wishall, a classmate at Tufts Medical School, from which they will both graduate in May. Kate Cetrulo is an assistant editor at Simon & Schuster in New York where she edits commercial
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 57
57
fiction. Her two most prominent authors are Jodi Picoult and Vince Flynn. Lynn continues in her psychoanalytic practice and I am playing to a 10 and working way too hard. Classmates Wayne Russell, Matt Leone, Tom Kilmurray and Richie Bauer are frequent correspondents. Bob Wisenfeld, Dan Connors, Frank Silverman, Bill Geockler, and Stu Fischer have been in touch over the years, and I sincerely hope that the occasion of our 45th Reunion will increase our number. Looking forward to Livingston in October!”
A third “hole-in-one” for Will Green ’69!
Last summer, Bill Kaplan completed studies for a professional degree in engineering management from George Washington University.
1972 Robert Good is publishing two books this spring: a science book titled The Science of Reincarnation which supports his sci-fi trilogy, and the second book in his sci-fi trilogy titled The Reincarnation Strategy. The first book in the trilogy, Currently Dead, was published in 2007 and is available on amazon.com and other sites. The final book of the trilogy, Flight of the Monarch, will be published next spring. Robert learned the mechanics of how to write at NA and sends a special thank you for that to Mr. Abbey. Robert’s books may be found online at www.thescienceofreincarnation.com. Michael Lytwyn still works for Bayer Healthcare as a senior global clinical auditor; however, this year he moved to a home office in Scarborough, Maine. He is enjoying the new scenery (and the lobster), as prior to this his entire working career was spent in New Jersey.
1969 Will Green scored his third “holein-one” last October. With a six iron, he hit 186 yards on the 15th hole on the Beresford Creek course on Daniel Island, South Carolina.
40th Reunion Daniel Cronheim dan@cronheim.com
Kent Leonhardt is the Republican candidate for West Virginia’s Commissioner of Agriculture. He will appear on the ballot in the November 2012 general election.
1976 Francey Kanengiser Burke was recently honored by the Rotary Club of Mid Jersey Cape. She was the 2011 recipient of the District 7640 Vocational Service Award and is currently serving her third term as president of the Rotary Club. Since becoming a member, Francey has been able to use her leadership skills to create fundraisers and inspire her colleagues. She also works with husband Dave, a dedicated Rotarian himself, since 1982. Through the establishment of the Burke Motor Group Golf Classic and The Golfless Gala, Francey has raised more than $450,000 for the Rotary Club, designated for scholarships and other important projects. Francey was also recognized by the New Jersey State Assembly for outstanding contributions in community service.
Francey Burke ’76 at the New Jersey State Rotary Vocational Assembly
Louise Klebanoff had a wonderful time catching up with classmates at the 2011 Reunion and was touched to see so many of her friends at the Women of NA Luncheon. She continues to enjoy her job as associate chair of the department of neurology at Beth Israel Medical Center and is happy living in Manhattan with her son (15). Louise tries to take advantage of what the city has to offer and is enjoying being single again.
1977 35th Reunion Matt Gertler ’90 mgertler@newarka.edu
1980 John Chae, MD, professor and vice chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation and professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University, was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
1981 Donald (Mac) Harris has joined Gene Mulvihill ’76 in the wine scanner business at Crystal Springs. Their machine is located in the 80,000-bottle wine cellar at Crystal Springs Resort and is able to scan rare wine to validate its authenticity, as well as to ensure its quality.
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 58
ART HISTORY
ART HISTORY CORNER From Pegeen Galvin, Dean of Students
I recently wrote to as many AP Art History alumni as I had e-mail addresses, hoping to encourage participation in the recent NA online JAM, but more important, to hear news
1982
of art history life (and life in general) outside of
30th Reunion
NA. I warned that interesting news would make it into
Kristen Martin kbcolefamily@comcast.net
this magazine, and since it was all fascinating, here it is. Many e-mails bounced back, so if you don’t see your name here, please drop your old art history (or English) teacher (or dean) a line: pgalvin@newarka.edu. I sent some fun art history links which I’d love to keep sharing! It’s always great to hear from you — please keep the news coming! JOELLE TUTELA ’90 Joelle writes that she “stayed close to art history” and wrote a doctoral dissertation on the history and development of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. It is entitled “Becoming American: A Case Study of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.” She was invited by the International Standing Conference for History of Education to present her work in the summer of 2009 in Utrect. When she started teaching, she used art “as a tool to tell America’s past,” and now, as the director of teacher education, she has incorporated art into the Rutgers-Newark Teacher Education program. JAMIE HARRIS ’93 Jamie continues working as a studio artist and teaching glassblowing in Rhode Island. His work is online at www.jamieharris.com. Mixing art and parenting, Jamie adds, “We think of you often — my son Sam (3) still loves “Mouse Paint,” the book you sent us a while back — and I thought fondly of our art history trips to the Met during a recent visit.” SHILPA MANKIKAR ’94 Shilpa writes of her life in the arts beginning with majoring in art history at Oberlin and working at galleries and museums in New York during breaks. She then began her career in film, working on film sets and taking film classes at NYU after junior year of college. She describes the experience: “It was a great synthesis of the things I learned in art history, like perspective lines, the importance of cultural expression, and participating in cultural movements in our own time. I also acted in Mr. Jacoby’s school plays and worked on the literary magazine, “Prisms,” at NA, so all these skills came into use in writing, producing and directing film scripts.” After graduating, working in film production for Spike Lee and Jim Jarmusch, and then in film distribution for Universal Pictures and the Center for Asian American Media, she enrolled at the MFA film school at Columbia. Her thesis films won an award at Sundance 2007 as well as a National Board of Review (Film Critics) Award. She is now making a new film about a relative who was an Indian POW at Buchenwald during World War II. He was a painter whose art was rejected in India because he was too Modern/Expressionist and who went to Europe to create modern art and was arrested during the war. He survived Buchenwald. In 2003, he passed away and left behind 200 paintings. According to Shilpa, “I have spent several years researching the art historical trail in India and Europe to understand his life, and I am making a film about his story.”
CORNER
continued on page 59
1983 Stacey Kent’s new album, Dreamer in Concert, will be released in June (and is available now on Blue Note Records). It will be Stacey’s first live album, recorded in Paris at La Cigale in May 2011. Stacey will return to New York, June 12-16, to perform for a week at Birdland. Visit her on facebook: www.facebook.com/staceykent
1986 David Markstein currently resides in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Stephanie, and two daughters, Arielle (13) and Mackenzie (10). He is the senior merchant for jewelry at QVC television shopping channel, where he has been buying gold jewelry for the past 18 years. In addition to his buying responsibilities, he is a regular on-air guest for the jewelry that he buys. David has been touted by the World Gold Council as the largest gold buyer in the United States. He also added that he enjoys traveling all over the world on buying trips to jewelry fairs and jewelry factories.
1987 25th Reunion Matt Gertler ’90 mgertler@newarka.edu
Eric Walker and his wife, Celeste, have continued building their event production companies, www.qnrproductions.com. They have traveled from Maine to Pennsylvania providing DJ services to NA friends
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 59
ART HISTORY
ART HISTORY CORNER
A new album by Stacey Kent ’83
Oliver Jonah, son of Lauren Erlichman Gottlieb ‘94
Loren Weiss Selig in New Hampshire and Lynn Halliwell Bloom ’86.
Candace Polow ’94 has an office in the same building. Jaime and Candace look forward to working together as a team.
Lesli Ligorner has joined the Shanghai office of the award-winning employment practice of Simmons & Simmons, a UK-based law firm. She has also been named as a Band One lawyer for employment and compliance by Chambers Asia 2012.
1990 Stephan Felix is living in Tokyo. He climbed Mt. Fuji once and will be returning again in the summer. He is also enjoying spending time with his sons, Ken (6) and Noa (3), and is still rooting for the New York Rangers. Last May, Chuck Gault received a master’s degree in engineering technology from the University of Memphis.
1992 20th Reunion Matt Gertler ’90 mgertler@newarka.edu
1993 The Livingston Educational Center founded by Jaime Lehrhoff is expanding to a second location in Short Hills. The new space will include tutoring, small group programs for young children and occupational therapy. Fellow alum and speech-language pathologist
Suzanne Paragano was married last September to Jimmi Kane, a professional drummer.
1994
Rebecca Moll Freed currently serves as counsel at Genova, Burns & Giantomasi where she advises for-profit and nonprofit entities on the legal aspects of their political activities. Rebecca was recognized as one of the New Jersey Law Journal’s “Forty Under 40” in 2008 and one of the NJBIZ “Forty Under 40” in 2010. She is a member of the Democratic Task Force and Board Counsel to the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey. Most recently, Rebecca joined the Board of Trustees for Partners of Women and Justice. Lauren Erlichman Gottlieb and husband Steven welcomed their son, Oliver Jonah, on January 30, 2012. He joins big sister Sophie (3). Amanda Schultz Lonergan and her husband, Sam, welcomed their third child, Avery Rose, on January 26, 2012. Avery joins big brother Caden and sister Scarlett.
CHLOE MILLER ’94 Chloe writes that she is currently teaching online (FDU and two community colleges) privately and at a great local, independent bookstore in Washington, D.C., Politics and Prose. The online schedule is flexible enough that she still has time to write poetry. She and her husband, Hans, who is at Georgetown, spent three weeks in China traveling around (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Xi’an) and visiting friends living in Xiamen. As for art history, she adds that the “Terracotta Warriors were worth the whole trip... so was the Great Wall... and the noodles... and everything else. It was really a trip of a lifetime.” JILLIAN NORTHRUP ’95 Jillian writes from California where she and her husband run an architecture and design company in Oakland. They design and build super creative spaces for residential and commercial clients out of their warehouse studio. Their company is called “Because We Can.” www.becausewecan.org JADE-ADDON HALL ’98 Jade-Addon writes from L.A. where he works in entertainment in TV development for Generate (www.generatela.com). Jade minored in art history at Syracuse and used his knowledge in graduate school for film, learning about director of photography work. As for art history now, Jade-Addon writes, “Still love it and still purchase the odd art history book when I get a chance.” NICOLE WARE SLAVITT ’99 Nicole lives in North Caldwell with her family and writes about how she’s “having a lot of fun” with her two daughters, Brooke (2) and Resse (8 months). She noted that she missed the JAM session, but was at a Knicks game to see “what Jeremy Lin is all about.” She writes that she “hopes to reconnect with the world of art.” MAREN ORD CALLOWAY ’00 Maren writes, “I loved art history so much that I ended up choosing it as my major at George Washington University and graduated in 2003 with a BA in art history. I did a few gallery internships and worked for the Perry Rubenstein Gallery in Chelsea a few
CORNER continued on page 61
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 60
CLASS NOTES
122868 Text
60
Wyatt Samuel, son of Lauren Arkoff Fisher ’95
Mia Annabelle, daughter of Melissa Harrison Boyd ‘96
Elizabeth Friedrich Nachtome ‘97 with Lilah Rose
1995
roles, Chip serves Ohio-based Classic Motorcar Auctions, LLC as executive director of sales and marketing and is assisting in the organization of four collector automobile and antiquities auctions in the coming year.
research. The couple resides in Philadelphia.
Lauren Arkoff Fisher is delighted to announce the birth of her son, Wyatt Samuel, last May. Lauren and husband Jonathan live in Newton, Massachussetts, where she is an anesthesiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
1997 15th Reunion
Alona and Scott Schwarz are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Julia Elizabeth, on December 7, 2011. Julia was welcomed home by big sister Sara (3). They recently moved from New York to Sparta and are enjoying suburban life again.
1996 Melissa Harrison Boyd and her husband, Aaron, were thrilled to welcome Mia Annabelle on September 21, 2011. Her sister, Ella (3), loves singing to Mia and rocking her in the swing (though sometimes a bit too vigorously). Melissa enjoys staying home with her two daughters in Bend, Oregon.
Matt Gertler ’90 mgertler@newarka.edu
Elizabeth Friedrich Nachtome and her husband, Michael, are proud to announce the birth of their baby girl, Lilah Rose. She was born in October 2011 in Livingston, New Jersey.
1999 After stints at fashion companies Betsey Johnson and Kenneth Cole Productions, Allegra Baldwin writes that she is the founder and brand director for the innovative New York City jewelry startup Chloe & Isabel, named by Business Insider as one of the Top 20 startups of 2010. “We are reinventing the direct sales model online through empowering young women as merchandiser entrepreneurs through social selling,” Allegra explained. Check it out at chloeandisabel.com.
1998 Kara Chenitz married Dr. Todd Jozsa on September 10, 2011. She is currently a second year fellow in nephrology at the University of Pennsylvania where she is pursuing a master’s degree in health policy
Sean McGaughan and his wife, Susie, are proud to announce the birth of their son, Eli Matthew, on October 13, 2011. Eli is the first grandchild of Nancy and Fred McGaughan.
In January, Chip Lamb traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, to attend the nine-day Missouri Auction School, the oldest continually-operating school to train auctioneers in the United States. Chip is now a licensed auctioneer in Virginia, allowing him to hold sales in all reciprocal states (as well as those that do not require an auctioneer’s license, like New Jersey). In addition to his many Eli Matthew, son of Sean McGaughan ‘99
Nicole Ware Slavitt ’99 with baby Reese
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 61
ART HISTORY
ART HISTORY CORNER
years back. However, my career has led me on different paths and I’m now very happy working in human resources for a restaurant group in New York, and art has become more of a weekend hobby. But, I do make a very good tour guide to my husband when we travel and visit museums.”
Misa Dikengil Lindberg ’01 contributed to this book
Last August Doug McNamara changed careers and is now teaching high school math in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He is also proud to announce the birth of his first child, Ella, on September 15, 2011. Nicole Ware Slavitt, husband Josh, and big sister Brooke welcomed baby Reese Presley on June 17, 2011.
2000 Elissa Rome was married to David Laurence Emden on June 11, 2011. She is the conference center coordinator at The New York Academy of Medicine, a nonprofit organization in Manhattan that addresses health challenges facing the world’s urban populations. The couple resides in Manhattan. Ankur Modi married Disha Magdalia at the Parsippany Hilton last May in front of 700 family members and friends. They met at a mutual family friend’s wedding in 2008. Part of the wedding party included his friends from NA: Jon Sandler, Seth Altman, Bradley Levitt, Maria Villafranca, and Maren Ord. Several other NA friends were also in attendance Rachel Zief, Hooman Ahmadi, Julie Balzano, Alissa Mendhelson, Michael Clyne and Diane Pinder. Ankur works as a clinical research scientist at Novartis Oncology and Disha is a pre-school teacher.
Marni Greenbaum Weinberg ‘01 and family
2001 After finishing a three-and-a-halfyear program in American Sign Language Interpreting, Wendi Kane passed the written portion of her national certification exam and looks forward to completing the performance portion of her national certification in the next year. She plans to work as a freelance interpreter in New Jersey. Wendi is also thrilled to announce her engagement to Will Millard.
Misa Dikengil Lindberg’s translation of a short story by Japanese author Kenji Miyazawa was published in the book Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories (Stone Bridge Press, 2012). She is very excited, as this is her first book publication. All proceeds from the book are being donated to Japanese teens affected by the March 2011 tsunami. Check out an interview with Misa on the book’s blog: http://tomoanthology.blogspot.com/2 012/01/interview-with-tomo-contributor-misa.html Marni Greenbaum Weinberg and husband Mitchell welcomed their son, Brody Robert, on November 12, 2011. Big sister Julie Abigail is thrilled to have a little brother. They are currently living in Boston for the year, but look forward to moving back to New Jersey in June. Marni continues to work at Jumping Jax, her private practice providing
She remembers specifically the 1999-2000 class trip to “Sensation exhibit at BAM” and being introduced to so many artists who have become such major players in the art world today. Speaking of 20th century art (and mixing art and parenting), Maren has an 8-month old daughter whose nursery is decorated with some Warhol flower prints so she can be introduced to art at a young age. JESSICA LIAN PACE ’01 Jessica writes that she has been “quite focused on art history ever since AP art history class.” She majored in art history and visual arts at Barnard, and is now finishing her graduate studies in art history and art conservation at NYU. She has been interning at the Met’s objects conservation lab since last fall, and has managed to work at some excavations over the past few summers. She describes her studies as “a lot of work but also a lot of fun.” LARA SAMET ’01 Lara is at the law firm of Davis, Polk & Wardwell in New York with fellow Newark Academy graduates Sheila Lopez ’00 and Rich Cooper ’97. She adds that her art history learning is pretty informal — museums in New York (especially with Rachel Klinghoffer, who pushes Lara out of her comfort zone) and trips abroad. Lara recently traveled to Russia, Estonia, Finland and China, and was able to see some extraordinary art, architecture and design in each of those places. ELISABETH SHERMAN ’02 Elisabeth is employed at the Whitney Museum as a curatorial assistant and is currently working on the 2012 Whitney Biennial, which opened in March. She writes, “I have certainly stuck with the field and often think fondly of our days 10 (gasp) years ago.” Thanks for the student tour offer — we may descend on you for a 20th century review right before the exam!
CORNER continued on page 63
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 62
CLASS NOTES
122868 Text
62
speech, physical, and occupational therapy to children in New York.
2002 10th Reunion Alexander Senchak alex.senchak@gmail.com
2003 Jeb Banegas recently became an assistant editor at Leftfield Pictures. He is also editing a comedic web series about group therapy (called “Group”) that he shot last fall. David Rattner married Lisa Faith Helschien last December. He is currently the assistant director of major gifts for George Washington University, College of Arts and Sciences in Washington, D.C.
2004 Alyssa Clemente earned a juris doctor from Seton Hall University
Torrie Pagos, Kristin Van Heertum 04, Katie Pagos 04, Danielle Grunebaum 04, Janine Cowell 04, Liz Parlin 04, and faculty member Kareen Obydol
School of Law last May. She was also awarded both the Student Service Leader Award as well as the Outstanding Clinical Practitioner Award for the Family Law Clinic. Alyssa has been admitted to both the New Jersey State Bar and the New York State Bar and is currently working for the Honorable Richard M. Freid, Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Passaic Vicinage and Family Part. Danielle Grunebaum married Dr. Cilian White last October in Rhode Island at the Salve Regina Chapel. NA friends and classmates included her maid of honor Janine Cowell,
bridesmaids Liz Parlin and Kristin Van Hertum, along with Katie Pagos and faculty member Kareen Obydol-Alexandre. The reception was held at the Ocean Cliff in Newport.
2005 Last fall, Jason Cali, Christine Werner and Brett Finkelstein trained to run their first Tough Mudder in Raceway Park, New Jersey. The race covered more than 12.5 miles and incorporated 31 obstacles including ice baths, mud pits, rope ladders and live electric wires. All involved had an amazing
THE GAME PLAN Kabir Sawhney ’09 by Carissa Szlosek ’12 Kabir Sawhney has pursued interests at college that were fostered at Newark Academy. At NA, he was actively involved with the Minuteman newspaper during his Upper School years, eventually becoming editor-and-chief. Currently a junior at Stanford University, Kabir has continued to hone his journalistic skills. He initially wrote for the student-run newspaper, “The Stanford Daily,” and in his sophomore year was offered a position to write for TheBootleg.com, a sports blog published by Scout.com. Owned by Fox Interactive Media, Scout.com covers college, high school, NFL and MLB stories from around the world. TheBootleg.com specifically syndicates stories about Stanford sports. As a writer for the Bootleg.com, Kabir attends every football home game and one road game per season. Compared to his experience at Newark Academy, Kabir explained that writing for TheBootleg.com has been a bit more challenging because of the deadline pressure. Articles are generally posted two hours after the game; unlike the Minuteman, whose editors allot a few days to produce an article. Most of the writers for TheBootleg.com are Stanford alumni. Although Kabir spends a lot of time writing outside of the classroom, he is majoring in finance engineering, with a focus in math, economics and finance. He hopes to pursue a career in the finance industry as he searches for an internship on Wall Street this summer. He plans, however, to continue to write for the online sports blog as a second job.
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 63
ART HISTORY
ART HISTORY CORNER
SIRISHA JONNALAGADDA ’03 Sirisha will soon graduate from medical school. She writes, “As for art history, I have had limited time to enjoy it, but when I was living in New York last year I did go to a beautiful Matisse exhibit at the MOMA. Two years ago, I went to Egypt with my family and got to see the pyramid sand and, of course, the Sphinx. It was amazing! Since I have more free time these days, I want to do more art history exploring.”
“Mudders” from the Class of 2005
time and they have rallied Molly McGaughan, Julien Cobert and Cassie Coggeshall to join them for another Mudder Race in May. Daniel Deraney is in his second year at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. He is currently pursuing a juris doctorate with a focus on criminal law. He is also an office and research assistant to criminal defense attorney Harvey A. Silverglate. Daniel has been assisting with editing and research for Silverglate’s recent articles, which can be found on the following website, www.harveysilverglate.com, in the section “Silverglatest.” Doug Vollmayer and Christina Capatides are engaged! Their wedding is planned for October 2012.
2006 As a graduate of Duke University, Ben Cohen has been influenced by the great success of Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who recently passed Bobby Knight as the most winning coach in college basketball history. Ben’s new book, The Art of Winning, was published last November as a Kindle Single e-book. Ben is also writing for the Wall Street Journal and has contributed pieces to the New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated and Grantland.com.
2007 5th Reunion David Doobin doobind@gmail.com Catherine Pfeffer Catherine.pfeffer@gmail.com Emily Simon simone@lafayette.edu Andrew Somberg asomberg@gmail.com
Last November, faculty member Scott Jacoby and his wife, Julie, had the opportunity to attend Charlotte Alter’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors” which she directed at the Loeb Center in Boston. Other NA alums in attendance were Gillian Javetski, Molly Dinnerstein, and Joe Longthorne ’08. During the same month, Charlotte published an article in the New York Times called “Romance’s New Format.” Justin Chan has started a film/video company called BINX Films. He creates short films and debuts them every Monday at 5:00 p.m. via YouTube. You can also view Justin’s films at www.binxfilms.com.
Annie Georgia Greenberg graduated from Barnard last year with a major in English and a concentration in creative writing for poetry. Annie worked at Lucky Magazine on the creative services team and left in early September. She has since been working as the New York editor of Refinery29, which is the largest
AJA NISENSON ’03 Aja recently returned from a trip to Italy where she saw many of the pieces studied in her art history class. Last summer she had a solo show entitled “DAJA VU” at the Bowery Poetry Club as part of the 15th annual New York International Fringe Festival. She describes New York City life as “crazy” and is working and performing whenever possible! JESSICA KASWINER ’04 Jessica is a program manager at an arts advocacy agency, Arts Alliance Illinois, based in Chicago. The group raises awareness and funds for the arts with the Illinois Arts Council and the Illinois State Board of Education. Jessica supervises the Arts and Education Exchange (where Illinois educators and arts providers meet to collaborate) which she describes as a “match.com” for arts education, linking artists and teachers in amazing ways. These collaborative efforts are particularly exciting since Chicago Mayor Emanuel has launched a new cultural plan for the city of Chicago. Her website is www.artseducationexchange.org. ABIGAIL KRUMHOLZ ’04 Abby writes that there is “sadly, not enough art” in her life, but things are going well as she is currently in her second semester of grad school in New York, pursuing a master’s degree in public health. CHRISTINE WERNER ’05 Christine has a new job (which she “loves”) teaching 7th and 8th grade literacy language arts at Robert Treat Academy in Newark. She describes the program: “We team teach so it has been a wonderful learning experience to see how other teachers interact with students and to study their methods of
CORNER continued on page 64
122868 Text
4/23/12
8:07 AM
Page 64
ART HISTORY
ART HISTORY CORNER
teaching. I have tried to incorporate artwork into my literacy classes. For example, the 7th grade is reading “Night” by Elie Wiesel. We have been looking at artwork by children whose parents survived the Holocaust and have been discussing the importance of storytelling and the use of art to do that.” Christine also connected with Brett Finkelstein, Molly McGaughan, and Cassie Coggeshall on a Washington, D.C. road trip to the engagement party of Doug Vollmayer and Christina Capatides. KATHERINE KIRKINIS ’06 Katie is currently in a master’s program for counseling psychology, but adds reassuringly, “I still love art history! I even get to be around it all of the time because I work for David Rockefeller, Sr. in the family office in Rockefeller Center — and he has a ton of beautiful art around the office and in his homes. It has been so great to be around so much art and have an understanding of art history.” She adds proudly that Whitney Dardik received her master’s degree in art history at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London where she is currently living, and is interning at Sotheby’s where she specializes in antique furniture. KATIA SETZER ’06 Katia wrote excitedly that she is at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in her first year of the MFA program. She adds that the school is a great fit. It is more traditional and figurative, but still contemporary and, at least in the MFA program, there is a wide range of styles from traditional to conceptual. At the moment, she is trying to find time to work in her studio and paint as much as possible. Check out her work on her website www.katiasetzer.com. GABRIELA BERNAL ’09 Currently studying abroad in Paris, Gabby writes: “There is so much art history everywhere around me. I saw the Mona Lisa just yesterday and it was, as most people told me before, surprisingly much smaller than expected but still amazing to finally see. My French program hosted a trip to the beautiful castle Fontainebleau, and I have, of course, visited Notre Dame. I am here for
CORNER continued on page 65
Molly Dinnerstein ‘07, Gillian Javetski ‘07, Charlotte Alter ’07, Scott Jacoby (arts faculty), Joe Longthorne ’08, Julie Jacoby
independent fashion editorial website in the world. It also covers local news, culture, food, gossip and more. Annie recently finished work on her second Fashion Week, which is quite demanding, but also a lot of fun.
set up to help students move in and out of their dormitories at the end of each semester. All College Storage services six colleges in New England. Check out their website at www.allcollegestorage.com.
2008
Jesse Dashefsky and Austin Mahler ’10 were reunited at Hertford College, Oxford, during the spring. The two traveled over spring break, hearkening back to their adventures on Doc Schafler’s Spain trip in 2009.
A recent story in the Times-News (Burlington, North Carolina) named Ryan Keur as the new assistant general manager of the Burlington Royals minor league baseball team. He will be involved in most aspects of the team’s off-field business, including corporate sponsorships, season and group tickets, the promotional calendar and stadium operations. Ryan had previously interned with the team while a student at Elon University. Alex Stein was chosen to receive the Tufts University Alumni Association Senior Award. The award is given to a senior who demonstrates significant academic achievement and exceptional leadership in student and community activities.
2009 Antonio Argibay has joined several of his college friends and classmates at All College Storage, a company
Will Gyory is spending the spring semester of his junior year of college in China.
2010 Adam Nassani recently performed a concert at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Drexel University Concert Band. He sat second chair as a sophomore French hornist. Alex Ratner, who attends Yale University, performs with the all-male a cappella group The Duke’s Men. They performed at Grace Church in Madison last January. The Duke’s Men of Yale are truly incredible performers.
Go to alumni.newarka.edu and log in to the vibrant alumni community — share your news and photos, register for events, and network with fellow alums!
122868 Cover
4/23/12
1:03 PM
Page 3
ART HISTORY
ART HISTORY CORNER
a semester and hope to see many more fascinating sights, some of which remind me of our art history class!” ELIZA BERTRAND ’09 This spring Eliza is assistant-directing “Hamlet” at college, but last fall she was able to study in Florence. She described the experience: “Studying Early Renaissance art while actually in Florence is basically the coolest thing ever. I was living about three blocks from the Duomo, so I got to walk by it pretty much every day. And, to top it all off, the classes I was taking had trips almost every weekend to other Italian cities — Ravenna, Rome, Assisi, Pisa, etc. And I got to spend a week in Paris. It was art history nerd heaven.” ANDREW DENNIS DILLON ’09 Dennis is in his last term of teaching at Oxford and starting to prepare for final exams in between politics tutorials. He hopes to either take a research position with a professional services firm in New York or go on to earn a master’s degree in development economics or international relations. He describes the art he’s been able to enjoy: “A bit of art history here and there; a couple of good museums in Oxford, and I went to a talk recently on the erotic in contemporary art, which was exceedingly pretentious and irritating. I had fun recounting the tale of our experience [on a class trip] with Bosch’s Garden as a dance performance at dinner the other day — gained much artistic street cred.”
Newark Academy Alumni
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS THE OLD GUARD RECEPTION AT COMMENCEMENT 2012 Sunday, June 10 Honoring NA graduates of 50 years or more.
HOMECOMING & REUNION Saturday, October 13
NATALIE MCKEON ’09 Natalie has declared a biology major at the University of North Carolina. In a first year seminar entitled Art, War & Revolution, she actually “got to look at some second edition Goya prints, which was pretty cool, and write a synopsis about a piece of art for the school’s museum (the Ackland Art Museum) which was printed in the pamphlet for the exhibit.” She currently does research in one of the biology labs, known as the Peifer Lab (www.peiferlab.web.unc.edu), researching the protein Abl. Natalie writes, “It’s pretty cool work and I get to use cutting edge technology!” LISA FISCHER ’10 Lisa is currently a sophomore at George Washington University in D.C. where she is majoring in art history. Last spring, she became a finalist in an essay contest for a research paper on Dutch artist Pieter de Hooch. This summer she hopes to be working at the graphic design firm led by Jenna Smith Schwerdt ’98. JULIA SHUBE ’10 Julia is a sophomore at Brown, majoring in cognitive science. She recently took an art history course, Visual Culture of the Netherlands: Rubens and Rembrandt in the 17th Century. This semester she is taking the visual arts introduction course, where the professor has taken the class on a few journeys through the history of still lives and figure drawing. She is also taking a cognitive science course called Perception and Mind, and participating in a Group Independent Study Project (GISP) called Science and Art: Seeking Consilience. She will be helping lead a discussion on neuroaesthetics. Julia adds, “between those three classes, I have been making some really interesting connections between science and art.” Outside of class, she is the design editor of the “Brown Daily Herald,” and takes part in Brown Arts Mentoring, where she teaches an after-school art class to elementary school students in Providence. The IB connection is strong as Julia writes, “I had a really interesting moment at the Colloquium, where I was talking to a Brown student who grew up in Saudi Arabia and England, and we realized that we both completed the IB Program, and we both took IB Visual Art, and she showed me some pictures of the art that she did in high school on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.”
CORNER
A full day of festivities for NA alumni and their families: • Class Representative Breakfast • Women of NA Luncheon • Schoolwide Tailgate Party • Alumni Awards Reception • Reunion 2012
Celebrate!
&
2’s
7’s
Check for details on these and more great activities at alumni.newarka.edu.
122868 Cover
4/23/12
1:03 PM
Page 4
Newark Academy 91 South Orange Avenue Livingston, NJ 07039 Phone: 973.992.7000 Fax: 973.992.8962 www.newarka.edu E-mail: outreach@newarka.edu Return service requested
Parents of alumni: If this publication is addressed to your child and he or she no longer maintains a permanent residence at your home, please notify the alumni office, 973.992.7000, or send an e-mail to alumni@newarka.edu. This publication has been printed on recycled papers certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. In doing so, Newark Academy is supporting environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests.
NON-PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE
PAID
PITTSBURGH, PA PERMIT #5450