Acorn - Fall/Winter 2018 by North Shore Country Day

North Shore Country Day School

Â· Fall/Winter 2018

Congratulations to the State Champion Girls Tennis Team!

Caroline Lommer ’19, Claudia Miller ’21, Cara Savin ’18 and Alex Arenson ’19

in this issue

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

features 4 A Legacy of Scholarship 8 Profiles: Scholarships Touch Many Lives

depa r t men t s 2

FA L L / W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 The Acorn is published by the Marketing and Communications Department of North Shore Country Day School three times a year for alumni, parents, grandparents and friends. Its goal is to connect our School community, celebrate recent accomplishments and capture the essence of life and learning at North Shore.

North Shore Country Day School 310 Green Bay Road Winnetka, Illinois 60093 847.446.0674 Tom Flemma

Head of School

Tura Cottingham Director of Marketing & Communications, Co-Editor tcottingham@ nscds.org Christine Wachter Communications Associate, Co-Editor cwachter@nscds.org Jay Young

Communications Associate jyoung@nscds.org Molly Ingram McDowell ’80

Director of Development mmcdowell@ nscds.org Nancy Green Whiteman ’71 Director of Alumni Relations nwhiteman@ nscds.org

HEAD’S LETTER

ACADEMICS

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS

EVENTS

FA C U LT Y

LIVE AND SERVE

VISUAL ARTS

PERFORMING ARTS

AT H L E T I C S

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

H O M E C O M I N G / D AY O F S E R V I C E

P H O T O S F R O M O U R PA S T

CLASS NOTES

ALUMNI REFLECTION

Photographers Tura Cottingham Vivian Dang George Pfoertner Christine Wachter Jay Young

On the front cover Academics, athletics, arts and service are key components to the full North Shore Country Day School experience. On the back cover If you have information about this photo, contact Director of Alumni Relations Nancy Green Whiteman ’71, 847.881.8848, or nwhiteman@nscds.org

Margaret Ringia Hart Design, www.mermadeart.com Graphic Arts Studio Printing, www.gasink.net

Scan the Q R codes in this issue with your smart phone to access expanded content, or use your keyboard to type in the website address provided.

http://goo.gl/ktK kW1

h e a d’s l e t t e r

From the very beginning, North Shore has been committed to drawing a “cross section of the community” regardless of a family’s financial situation

HONORING OUR HISTORY AND BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE When North Shore Country Day School was founded in 1919, Headmaster Perry Dunlap Smith only agreed to take his new position if the Board of Trustees agreed to “do all that it could do to take into the School all pupils whose families believed in its principles and wanted to work in it for its success and the furtherance of the ideals it stood for.” To Smith and the families who opened the School, that meant any deserving student, regardless of their financial means, should have the opportunity to attend North Shore. It was one of the major principles the School was founded upon. He knew the benefits of such an approach would accrue to all members of the School community, not just those students and families who received financial assistance. North Shore Country Day School would only reach its full potential and live up to its mission if its students represented a “cross section of the community.” The way to achieve this goal, Smith knew, would be for the School to take positive steps “to prevent its pupils from coming too generally from any one financial, social or other group.” Accordingly, since the day our doors opened, North Shore has provided scholarship

assistance to those students and families who could not otherwise afford a North Shore education. Generations of parents, trustees and alumni have ensured that this commitment was perpetually renewed. Our current 2017-2022 Strategic Plan reaffirms this long-standing community commitment, honoring our history and continuing to provide access to a North Shore education as we approach our second century. This issue of the Acorn highlights the importance of scholarships to our School. You will find a feature story about the different scholarships North Shore provides and hear from some of the students who received them. We also profile one parent and two alumni whose families benefitted from scholarships. Scholarship provides greater access to the breadth of the North Shore experience. On the cover, you see representations of that experience—the academics, athletics, arts and service that have always been the pillars of a North Shore education. I’d also like to give a cheer for the Benefit Board. Every year, they have hosted an event to support a School program or project. In recent years, this has taken the form of an auction. This year’s event will be a different format—a dinner dedicated

entirely to raising funds for scholarships. By now you may have heard about the first Scholarship Dinner, O’er The Fields We’ll Go!, to be held on February 24. We will gather at Michigan Shores Club in Wilmette for a lovely dinner, paddle raise and a live auction. These things, plus support from our Host Committee, individuals, couples and corporations, will help us raise significant funds for this worthy cause. The Benefit Board, led by Sarah Geist Rosen ’86 (parent of Gabriel ’24 and Samuel ’26), has been working tirelessly to ensure that our Scholarship Dinner, chaired by Susan Canmann (parent of Jack ’22 and Michael ’20) and Nina Yoo (parent of Ethan ’28 and Emily ’22) will be a huge success. Please mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday, February 24, and plan to join us. We anticipate a wonderful night. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit nscds.org/ ScholarshipDinner. Perry Dunlap Smith wrote years ago that North Shore would always seek out students of “exceptional purpose, promise, and ability.” Together we will fulfill this promise into the 21st Century. —Tom Flemma, Head of School

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

cl a ss notes

A STRONG COMMITMENT TO SCHOLARSHIP HAS BEEN PART OF NORTH SHOR E COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL’S CORE VALUES SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1919 UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF HEADMASTER PERRY DUNLAP SMITH.

“Your gift has given students like me the opportunity to go to North Shore and receive the greater education it provides.” SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

feature

A Legacy of

SCHOLARSHIP A

strong commitment to scholarship has been part of North Shore Country Day School’s core values since its founding in 1919 under the leadership of Headmaster Perry Dunlap Smith. For decades, operating and endowed funds have supported this important priority, vital to the dynamic texture of the School community. North Shore currently dedicates approximately 11%, just over $2,000,000 of its annual operating expense to financial aid and scholarship. Funds are derived from a combination of tuition revenue, Annual Giving, auxiliary revenue and endowment distribution. Over the years, there have been additional fundraising initiatives to supplement scholarship resources through Campaign initiatives and Benefit Board appropriations. Every Capital Campaign has had an endowment component that includes support for scholarship. In 2016, the Doar Fund was established, in part, to provide funding for scholarships. And, most recently, the Benefit Board has created funds to support supplemental scholarship needs.

THE DOAR FUND

ADMISSIONS PARTNERSHIPS

The Doar Fund was created upon Tom Doar’s retirement as Head of School to address two key initiatives: The Doar Scholarship Fund that annually supports a student; and the establishment of the Immediate Impact Fund to provide for the immediate needs of students, teachers and programs as determined by the Head of School.

In addition, Director of Admissions Jason Giffen partners with leading charter schools and placement organizations like A Better Chance, The Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund and High Jump, to identify highly qualified and motivated scholarship students. Students enrolled at NSCDS through these organizations are impressive—not only do they receive the benefit of a North Shore education, but they contribute a perspective and diversity of experience that enriches their peers’ education as well.

NAMED SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS Within the School’s endowment, there are 16 Named Scholarship Funds, established by donors to fund up to 20 students with full, partial and general scholarships. These funds were established by donors in their name or in the name of an honoree, including alumni, parents, faculty, former Heads of School, parents of alumni, foundations and corporations. The legacy of these named funds lives on in perpetuity while supporting current qualified and deserving students. This year, there are 20 named scholars at North Shore who reflect the promise and diversity of the Chicagoland area. While all of the recipients are currently in high school, seven have been attending North Shore with aid since Middle School; the others enrolled in 9th grade.

STRATEGIC PLAN The work of the recently developed 20172022 Strategic Plan identifies scholarship and financial-aid support as a top priority. Within that context and as the School prepares for its Centennial in 2019-2020, there will be targeted fundraising to further endow scholarship support for future generations of North Shore students. Strong scholarship funding provides access to a high-quality educational experience.

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

“Thank you again for allowing me to be one step closer to my dreams. Hopefully, one day, I will be able to help students as you helped me.” SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

BENEFIT BOARD RE-COMMITS TO SCHOLARSHIP For more than 36 years, North Shore’s Benefit Board has supported the School through an annual fundraising event. In total, the Benefit Board has raised more than $5 million to fund areas not covered by the annual operating budget, such as curriculum and teaching fund grants, student scholarships and faculty enrichment grants. They have also helped fund major capital projects including the renovation of the Lower School, construction of the Conant Science Center, and renovation of the Auditorium and Arts Center. This year, the Benefit Board has aligned with the School’s Strategic Plan and turned its focus to creating a special evening dedicated to raising funds for student scholarships and supplemental support—food, fun and fundraising—all for a great cause. The entire North Shore community is invited to attend the inaugural Scholarship Dinner on February 24, 2018, at Michigan Shores Club in Wilmette. The evening will feature cocktails, a festive sit-down dinner with performances by the Upper School jazz ensemble and chorus, and a speaker who was a scholarship recipient. A live auction and a paddle raise will direct all proceeds from the evening to scholarships at North Shore Country Day. This incredible commitment from the Benefit Board amplifies the School’s historic commitment to student financial aid. For more information, visit nscds.org/ScholarshipDinner.

“Coming to NSCDS gave me an interest in music, art and theater. It also instilled the will to include others and make them feel welcome in any environment.” SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

“I would like to thank you again for the financial support you provide me. Without it, I would not be able to experience such a different yet wonderful life here at North Shore.” SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

feature

Scholarships Touch Many Lives teachers were amazing.” Leigh continued through senior kindergarten and then 1st grade. “Each teacher took her seriously and they were so warm and welcoming.” Then the tuition jumped by nearly $5,000. Mary Pat was supporting the family on her salary because Charles was disabled and confined to a wheelchair and later became a quadriplegic. Sadly, North Shore just wasn’t an option. But 2nd Grade Teacher Jenny Pliska took action. She wrote a letter to the School on behalf of the Cross family, signed by many Lower School teachers and school faculty explaining why Leigh needed to stay at North Shore. The School not only provided partial financial aid for Leigh, but also for Ashleigh who would “IT WAS THE BEST be entering junior kindergarten in the fall. E D U C AT I O N . I T W A S N ’ T Mary Pat and Charles became advoJUST THE TEACHERS cates for bringing more diversity into the B U T T H E PA R E N T S A N D School, including speakers and guest THE STUDENTS. IT WAS writers. They had meetings with faculty, A R E A L FA M I LY.” staff and administrators to discuss ideas on how to expand the School’s diversity. M A R Y PAT C R O S S “You see the result of that today. It’s really important for people to be exposed to different people and cultures. We are the MARY PAT CROSS same but there are big differences.” Mother of Ashley ’05 and Leigh ’01 Mary Pat got involved volunteering as the chair of the diversity committee When Mary Pat Cross and her husband and service committee in Lower School, as Charles moved from California to the a room parent and however she could help. Chicago area, they settled in Evanston. “It was the best education,” she said. As parents of biracial daughters, Charles “It wasn’t just the teachers but the parents felt strongly that the diversity of Evanston and the students. It was a real family. schools and the community would make It didn’t matter who you were, there is a them feel comfortable. But when they warmth there. One of the best things registered their eldest child Leigh for about the School is ‘Live and Serve.’ school they were informed she could North Shore definitely believes in and not attend her neighborhood school. follows that motto.” “My sister told me about a school on The School also provided supplemental Green Bay Road,” Mary Pat reminisced. funds for scholarship students to get the “It was North Shore Country Day. My full experience. Leigh was able to go on husband thought it was too white and a trip to Africa because of that. the only diversity was in the facilities Both Leigh and Ashleigh graduated maintenance department.” from North Shore as Lifers (Leigh Cross Even though Mary Pat shared her ’01 and Ashleigh Cross St. Peters ’05) and husband’s concern about the lack of went on to graduate from the University diversity, she convinced him they of Notre Dame. “North Shore gave our would only enroll Leigh for a year. children the opportunity of a lifetime,” “We immediately fell in love with the said Mary Pat. “I’m so grateful.” teachers—the junior kindergarten

“NORTH SHORE CHANGED MY LIFE. THEY CARED ABOUT ME, SHAPED ME A C A D E M I C A L LY A N D P R E PA R E D M E T O S U C C E E D I N C O L L E G E A N D I N L I F E .” RASHID GHAZI ’85

RASHID GHAZI ’85 Father of Haniya ’18, Jibraan ’22, Razaan ’25 and Shahaan ’31

For Rashid Ghazi ’85, North Shore was more than a good school for him academically, it was a place that was accepting of his culture and faith, and for one year, it was his home. “My mom was always a big believer in private school education,” he said. “And when we moved to Skokie, my sister Seemi ’83 enrolled at North Shore while I spent my freshman year at Niles West.” Their experiences couldn’t have been more different. Rashid had a difficult time at Niles West. He was lost in the big school environment, performing poorly in academics, and his religion made him a target of racism.

“My mom realized I was struggling and was really impressed with the excellent academics my sister was receiving at North Shore. She wanted to provide me with a smaller, more accepting environment—one where I would connect with students and teachers, and focus more on learning how to learn.” His parents were college professors who ran an educational foundation, and didn’t have the financial means to support five children and fully pay for private education. In order to help send him to North Shore, his mother taught extra classes on the weekends, and the scholarship he received bridged the gap, making it possible for him to get the full North Shore experience. While in school, Rashid discovered interests and areas where he could excel, including student council, community service and football. In return, North Shore added a Muslim student to its student body with a different culture and perspective, who was actively engaged in class. “Everyone was extremely accepting of my culture and faith and that was unusual at the time,” he recalled. During his junior year, Rashid’s parents moved to Saudi Arabia and North Shore became his home—literally. His senior year, he lived on campus in Leicester Hall with Anthropology and Psychology Teacher Nancy Geyer Christopher as his guardian. In addition, some classmates, their parents and Athletic Director Mac McCarty became his surrogate family. “North Shore changed my life,” said Rashid. “They cared about me, shaped me academically and prepared me to succeed in college and in life. I came as a belowaverage student, and it took me three years at North Shore and two years of college to really learn how to succeed academically. North Shore taught me the art of studying, how to prepare for a test, how to put a paper together, how to effectively communicate in a classroom…basically provided a tool box for the skills I was lacking.” Rashid went on to graduate from the University of Redlands in Southern California where he served as Student Body President and was named Outstanding Senior in the Class of ’89. He received an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business at

“NORTH SHORE WAS SO SUPPORTIVE OF THE DECISION— EACH TEACHER WAS INVESTED IN MY GROWTH, W H E T H E R T H AT WAS INSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM O R O U T.” XANDER MITCHELL ’15

Xander wouldn’t have been able to attend North Shore without a scholarship. “It was absolutely fundamental to me attending. I’m so grateful the School identified my potential and provided the need-based financial aid for me to attend. The process was stress-free for both my mom and me.” Once on campus, he wasn’t shy about getting involved and being open with his classmates about being a scholarship recipient. He believes his candor and energy really contributed to his peers’ experience, too. He participated in a wide XANDER MITCHELL ’15 range of activities: was president of the Yale University Junior community service club, involved in Model United Nations and led prospective The summer before his 8th grade year, student tours. Xander Mitchell ’15 took a law class at A highlight of his North Shore experithe Northwestern University Center for ence was spending a semester during his Talent Development taught by Kevin junior year at the School for Ethics and Randolph, a North Shore Upper School Global Leadership in Washington D.C. history teacher. He suggested Xander “North Shore was so supportive of the look into North Shore for high school. decision—each teacher was invested in my “I wasn’t really interested in leaving my friends and changing schools, but my growth, whether that was inside of the classroom or out.” mom asked me to do the application,” Xander recognizes how pivotal attendXander explained. “After being accepted, ing North Shore was for smoothing out his I was still on the fence. I shadowed for a day and was impressed with how friendly transition to Yale. “North Shore Country everyone was—students struck up conver- Day exposed me to all kinds of people, allowing me to excel in a diverse college sations with me immediately, and everybody was eager to show off the best of the environment. I felt academically prepared, and I felt like the support system didn’t school. I remember sitting in on end with high school.” Ms. Gallaga’s class, and she was joking with me right off the bat. It was the best introduction I could have had. I was an overly ambitious 8th grader who knew North Shore to be more rigorous than the public schools, and the community was a fantastic bonus.”

Northwestern University and has been an entrepreneur in the advertising, marketing and media space over the past 27 years. In addition to Rashid and Seemi, brothers Suhaib ’90 and Usama ’90 attended North Shore their junior and senior years. Today, all his children— Haniya ’18, Jibraan ’22, Razaan ’25 and Shahaan ’31 along with his niece Junnah ’23 and nephew Faaz ’31 attend NSCDS. Rashid also serves on the School’s Board of Trustees.

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

ac a demics

Alessandro Colzi Risaliti ’19 and the Rebuilding Together Interim group

Carissa Schultz ’24 and Ella Capozzi ’23

Interim Week: Rebuilding Together A group of Upper School students embodied the School’s “Live and Serve” motto during the 2017 Interim Week as they assisted the North Suburban Chicago chapter of Rebuilding Together to renovate the home of an elderly Wilmette man who cares for several family members. On the outside of the home, a group of students raked leaves and weeded gardens, making room for new spring bulbs to be planted. Another group of students explored the basement, assisting the homeowner in cleaning and sorting through decades’ worth of possessions. Upstairs, the student workers cleaned rooms and painted walls that were desperate for attention. A final group of students turned their efforts to the kitchen, where the majority of the renovation work would occur. “What we’re doing right now is taking all of the wallpaper off,” explained Packy Murdock ’19. “We actually took out a pantry and we’re going to move the refrigerator and then we’re going to add new cabinets and new appliances.” Through their hard work, the dozen Upper School students learned how good it feels to give back to the community. The students also saw firsthand that economic hardships can strike anyone, anywhere—even in their own backyard. “This man had been waiting for this for over two years,” Packy said. “I’m really happy we finally got a group out here to do the work. It just feels good to help him. He’s a really nice man and he had been waiting for this and he really needed this.” Each fall, Upper School students participate in an Interim Week where they 10

experience learning outside of the traditional classroom. This year, students had 19 local and three travel-based Interims to choose from—one domestic and two international. About half of the local choices are rooted in a service activity. All students must complete at least one service Interim before graduating. “We have one week dedicated in the fall to doing some sort of cool learning experience whether it’s a service project or a trip somewhere,” Packy said. “There are all sorts of different things you can do. The point of it is you have the opportunity to do any service you want.” Sometimes those “cool learning experiences” are more meaningful than expected. Standing atop a small stepladder, Rob Pierre ’20 painstakingly scraped decades old wallpaper off the kitchen walls. While out to dinner with his grandparents the previous night, Rob learned he was connected to the history of the house. “I was telling them about my project and short story,” Rob explained. “It turned out to be the house that my grandma’s grandparents lived in and built. I find it to be a huge coincidence that this Interim would work in this place and I signed up for it.” Rob said he felt good renovating the piece of family history because he was helping to make it better. All in all, the students enjoyed hanging out together and making new friends during the week, despite all of the manual labor. “I have some friends in this Interim which is always fun,” Packy said,

“but I’ve also talked with a lot of people. There are a lot of sophomores that I’ve never really talked to in this Interim and I’ve gotten to know them pretty well.” Rob agreed, “It’s been a lot of fun and a nice experience. I enjoyed hanging around with my classmates, talking about stuff and working together.”

Middle School Service Week November 2017 marked the sixth year that the Middle School has organized a service-intensive program for students. Last year, the program shifted to service days throughout the year but this year the schedule allowed them to return to the weeklong format. The goal of service week is to incorporate the School’s “Live and Serve” motto in a way that is developmentally designed for Middle School students. The hope is that it will plant the seed for them to care about being involved with service throughout the year and instill the desire to perform service throughout their lives. “It was really eye opening,” said Connor Gray ’24. “I’d never done service like that before and it helped me learn about people and their needs in the world.” Middle School teachers Dana Specht, Grace Wood and Christine Ritchey planned and organized the weeklong program to introduce students to different types of service. They much prefer the continuous format because it’s more of an immersive, intensive experience. Students divide up in advisories. That time together also has the added benefit of really strengthening the connection among the advisory group.

Gabriel Rosen ’24 and Computer Science Teacher Arturo Garcia

“The way North Shore does service is great because you get out of your local community and learn how you can affect the world,” said Anna Ristic ’22. In addition to scheduling three days of hands-on, off-campus visits to local service agencies, the teachers also incorporated a two-day speaker series. Outside guests came from a wide array of local organizations including The Volunteer Center, Amnesty International, Open Books, The Peace Corps, Honor Flights, Traffic Free Chicago, Refugee One, Generation to Generation and the Evanston Food Pantry. Students enthusiastically embraced Service Week 2017. “It felt really good at the end of the day to know you helped feed 61 kids for a year at Feed My Starving Children,” said Hadley Ake ’23.

sequencing, conditions, loops and functions, explained Academic Integrator Jeff Shaw, who teaches computer science to Lower School students. Students learn by playing games, exploring programming environments, and building and programming robots. In Middle School, students take a trimester of robotics in 7th grade, taught by Science and Mathematics Teacher Lee Block, in addition to Arturo’s classes, where they primarily learn programming and coding. The curriculum for the Middle and Upper School courses will continue to evolve, and Arturo says he does his best to tailor it to the interests and experience level of students coming into the class. “What I’m really trying to do is spark the interest in what computer science could be for them,” Arturo said. “Even if you don’t do computer science as a profession, the skills you learn in class can apply to Computer Science other aspects of your life.” North Shore’s computer science program Since students come in at all different continues to expand this year with the levels, assessment can be tricky. Students addition of a full-time Middle and Upper are not graded merely on their coding School computer science teacher. Arturo skills but rather on the approach they take Garcia, known to his students as Mr. to learning the material and problemTurtle, came on board in the fall and solving. Arturo created a website where teaches the required 6th and 8th grade students can log in at the end of each day courses, as well as the elective and indeand journal about their progress and pendent study computer science classes struggles. Then they rate themselves on a offered in Upper School. While a number scale of 1 to 3 in four areas: tenacity, indeof other teachers have taught computer pendence, collaboration and dedication. science in recent years, this is the first Arturo compares the students’ selftime there has been a dedicated faculty assessment to his own scores and looks position for this subject in the Middle and for patterns and differences. “If the numUpper Schools, explained Assistant Head bers are the same or similar, then we’re of School and Academic Dean Chris Boyle. all good,” he explains. “But if our numbers Exposure to computer science begins are not the same, then we have a conversaearly at North Shore. Starting in 1st tion. In the end, it really forces them to grade, students learn basic concepts like

reflect on their approach to the class and discover what their ability to code is.” Oftentimes, students walk into the class thinking they are not interested in coding, or that they’re not good at it. But over the course of the term, they discover a hidden talent. Even Arturo said he did not start off passionate about the subject he now teaches. “Computer science was initially really hard for me,” he said. “Technology and public speaking were both things I feared until college. It wasn’t until I was able to immerse myself in it and push myself past those fears that I realized I really liked it. In the same way, students don’t even realize what they’re capable of until they’re really pushed to whatever their limit is.” When people think about computer science, what comes to mind is usually coding. And the students do learn how to do that—from creating simple games like tic tac toe to more advanced, adaptable games that the Lower School Spanish classes can use to reinforce content, help track student progress and offer instant feedback. But it’s so much more than just writing programs. Logic, sequential thinking, collaboration and precision are skills that can touch any subject. Chris says he anticipates the program will continue to expand. “The reality is that it’s going to continue to grow,” he said. “In part, because we’re feeding [the interest] with an increasingly full, dynamic Lower and Middle School program. We’re already planning an even bigger footprint in the Upper School. Computer science is one of those great connectors for cross-disciplinary work.”

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

dis t inguished gues t s

Joel speaking to Upper School theater students

Joel de la Fuente ’87 and Molly Shotwell Oelerich ’87

Joel talking to Lower School students

Joel and Linda Kiracibasi

JOEL DE LA FUENTE ’87 RECEIVES STANTON AWARD “‘What a time it was, it was a time of “In part, North Shore’s mission stateinnocence, a time of confidence.’ That ment says our students will ‘become Simon and Garfunkel quote was on Joel’s confident, ethical citizens of the world yearbook senior page. Looking back 30 who embody our motto, ‘Live and Serve.’ years later, the quote strikes me as truth Joel that is you. telling in so many ways,” said Molly “It is my honor to read the official citaShotwell Oelerich ’74 as she introduced tion for the 2017 Francis R. Stanton ’27 her classmate Joel de la Fuente ’87, Alumni Recognition Award recipient, Joel recipient of the 2017 Francis R. de la Fuente class of 1987.” Stanton ’27 Alumni Recognition. C I TAT I O N E X C E R P T S Molly continued by acknowledging After graduation from North Shore that “Joel, while now well known for the Country Day in 1987, Joel attended Brown craft of acting, made the most of his University and the Graduate Acting North Shore experience.” She mentioned Program at New York University. As a very his experience on the football team, accomplished actor, he is currently on two editor of the Mirror yearbook, and Emmy Award-winning original series: as certainly, on stage and backstage. Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido in Amazon “Clearly, Joel mastered many things Studio’s The Man in the High Castle and in at North Shore—really everything he did. Hemlock Grove, as Dr. Johann Pryce. While all admirable, it was—and is— Joel’s New York theatrical credits Joel’s kind-heartedness and compassion include: Hold These Truths a New York that surpass his talents. Joel was friends premiere in which he received a Drama with everyone because he made you feel Desk Nomination for Best Solo comfortable. Joel was—and still is— Performance; Ivanov in Ivanov, The that guy. I truly believe it is his wise and Downtown Plays part of the Tribeca ‘heartful’ soul that has allowed him to be Theater Festival; Claudio in Beatrice and so successful in his career. He has worked Benedict with the New York Philharmonic; hard at his craft while respecting those to name a few. He has appeared in producon the same path. Joel’s genuineness tions with the National Asian American transcends all of his successes. Theater Company and in 2005 served as its Artistic Associate, appearing in the 12

World Premiere of Cowboy v. Samurai and in the title role of the critically acclaimed production of Chekhov’s Ivanov, and in the Caryl Churchill play, a number, alongside Obie-award winner James Saito. An ardent supporter of new voices and original work, Joel has worked often with the Lark Play Development Center and New Dramatists, served on its Playwright Selection Committee and received their Charles Bowden Award, which recognizes “actors who have contributed substantially to the creation of new works.” In television, Joel was featured as TARU technician Ruben Morales in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He was a series regular on Fox TV’s, Space: Above and Beyond playing Lt. Paul Wang and had recurring roles on various series, including E.R. and Steven Spielberg’s High Incident, and appearances on Blue Bloods, Limitless, Game of Silence, Bull and as the controversial, but fictional, President of the Philippines in Madam Secretary. His film credits are many and include Brief Reunion, that garnered the Audience Choice Award for the Gotham International Film Festival and Best Narrative Film Award from the University Film and Video Association; Personal Velocity, a Sundance Grand Jury Winner; and The Adjustment Bureau. Next year,

Members of the Class of ’87: Lisa McClung Ristic, Pat Strong, Ari Kogut, Joel de la Fuente, Ned Wolpert Molly Shotwell Oelerich, Larry Williams and Fiona McDonagh Farrell

he will appear in the film Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence. As a writer, Joel’s essay on his experiences as an Asian-American actor is published in Pyong Gap Min’s Struggle for Ethnic Identity, and he is a co-writer of Life Document 2: Identity with Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akthar, which won the Columbia Students award for Best Film in 2002. His impressive career and passion for the performing arts as an actor, writer, mentor, advocate and promoter of new and emerging artists, exemplifies the School motto of “Live and Serve.”

lesson plan in how to do something that felt just outside my grasp. “To me, that’s a big part of what North Shore is. It’s a place that can show you how to be bigger than you were, to show you that maybe your own definition of yourself was narrower than it could be, that the possibilities in this world were more myriad and diverse than it may have initially seemed. “Actors often joke about what we will be stealing for our performance. It’s an acknowledgement that our work, while often demanding a singular focus, is completely reliant upon others: There is no word or gesture that we could use that J O E L’ S R E M A R K S we haven’t learned from someone else, “Standing here in the Auditorium, this is no want or need exclusive to ourselves. where I fell in love with the theater,” he In order to create our character, our said. “This is where the direction of my performance, we put together pieces we life was formed. This is where I have some have collected from those around us. of my earliest memories of feeling truly We ‘steal’ the ingredients to make our inspired: seeing upperclassmen like own special sauce. Seemi Ghazi ’83 and Drew Barr ’83 in the “And on the flip side, we love being annual Gilbert & Sullivan or Liz stolen from. Like the adage ‘imitation Wainwright ’84 playing Scapin in the fall is the sincerest form of flattery,’ having play. They were students at North Shore others use some of our work to infuse just like me, but when they stepped up on their own can be a great feeling. Having that stage, they became a part of someother actors talk about something I did thing bigger, something magical. Their in a performance and say, ‘I’m gonna talents felt like acts of generosity; their use that!’ is a tremendous compliment. [bravery in sharing them] a road map, a In instances like that, to be stolen from

feels like a gift from the thief: what I have taken from others in service of my life’s work has now been taken by someone else in service of theirs, to be used in any way they see fit. It’s a circle of sorts, a completed circuit, and it is a very gratifying feeling. “And that’s North Shore. Perhaps I shouldn’t use the word ‘stealing’ in this case—maybe ‘borrowing’ is better. But it seems to me that North Shore is a community that says, ‘Let’s make a deal. Let’s challenge ourselves. Let’s expect a lot from each other.’ “And to get there, we’ll ‘lend each other everything we’ve got.’ And so, I borrowed. I borrowed from Seemi and Drew. I borrowed from my class. I borrowed from my teachers. And it is my hope that perhaps others may borrow from me. It’s the only real way to create your best work as an actor; and it’s the way North Shore works at its best: It’s a collaboration. “I am deeply honored to receive the Francis Stanton Recognition. I am so very grateful to the School and all the people I have shared my time with here. Thank you for all that you’ve lent me. And I would like to specially thank my Mom and Dad, Elena and Domingo de la Fuente, who sent me here and taught me more than anyone the meaning of ‘Live and Serve.’”

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

dis t inguished gues t s

Chip and Dan Heath

Eli Finkel

Jo Boaler

Chuck Meyer, Jamie Meyer, Lucy Meyer, Andy Meyer ’00 and Tom Flemma

Gary Hill

Karen Malkin

Lucy Meyer: Special Olympics/UNICEF Partnership Lucy Meyer started swimming when she was 8 years old. “The first time I got out of the pool, I told my parents I wanted to swim every day for the rest of my life,” she told a packed gymnasium at North Shore Country Day School on September 15. And that’s what she’s been doing for the past decade. The 18-year-old swims for about an hour every day, and her hard work has led to five gold medals in the Special Olympics. Lucy has cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects movement, balance and muscle tone and is caused by damage to a developing brain, most often before or during birth. When Lucy was born, she was deprived of oxygen for about five minutes. The doctors told her parents that she probably would never sit up on her own or be able to swallow. But they underestimated her tenacity. Lucy’s cerebral palsy affects her eyes and her speech a little. Her right hand doesn’t work as well as her left, and her

right heel doesn’t always touch the ground. But she hasn’t let her disability stop her from doing the things she loves: bike riding, go-karting, playing basketball and tennis, kayaking and, of course, swimming. “I love my life!” Lucy told her audience. “It’s hard for me to think of my cerebral palsy as a bad thing. I don’t feel any different than you guys.” Like any typical teenager, Lucy enjoys listening to music, texting and spending time with her friends. She attends public school in Los Angeles and her favorite class is pottery. But unlike most teenagers, she has also spent a great deal of time meeting with U.S. senators, representatives and even former President Barack Obama as the national spokesperson for the Special Olympics and UNICEF USA partnership. UNICEF and Special Olympics joined forces in 2008 to advance the rights of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities while helping communities

worldwide learn and benefit from inclusion and acceptance of differences. As the spokesperson, Lucy travels all over the world raising awareness and funding for programs for children living with disabilities in Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Jamaica and beyond. She also speaks to a lot of school groups about the importance of accepting and including people with disabilities. Coming to North Shore was really special for her, because both her brothers were students here—Jeff Meyer ’97 and Andy Meyer ’00—but this was her first time on campus. After speaking at Morning Ex, Lucy met with 5th grade students and answered their questions, then she had lunch with a group of Middle School students. “I had such a blast speaking and spending time at North Shore Country Day School,” Lucy posted on Facebook the day after the event. “I loved it so much! The kids are amazing and I had such a good time with them!”

Judy S. Freedman, Easing the Teasing

Jo Boaler, Mindset

Professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and the co-founder Licensed clinical social worker, author of youcubed, Jo Boaler, Ph.D., delivered and bullying prevention specialist, her FAN presentation, “Bringing Judy S. Freedman, shared her groundMindset, Brain Science and Creativity to breaking program that empowers kids Mathematics Teaching and Learning,” with essential skills and strategies to to a packed audience in the Auditorium. handle teasing incidents with Lower Her Ph.D. won the national award for School parents at this Parents’ Association educational research in the UK and her Parent Ed event on October 25. book, Experiencing School Mathematics The author of Easing the Teasing, won the Outstanding Book of the Year focused primarily on how lower school award for education in Britain. children can manage and overcome She is the recipient of a National these painful teasing incidents. Drawing Science Foundation Early Career Award from more than 20 years of experience and the author of nine books and numeras a social worker in suburban Chicago ous research articles. In this presentation, schools, Judy has created a groundbreakJo considered how students’ mathematics ing program to teach children and parents pathways can change dramatically, leading how to deal effectively with teasing and to higher achievement and enjoyment. develop life-long coping skills. New science of the brain is revealing critical information for mathematics Chip and Dan Heath, teachers, learners and parents, and Jo considers ways it may help The Power of Moments to promote equity in mathematics A large crowd of North Shore parents, classrooms and homes. faculty and visiting guests gathered in the Auditorium for a Family Action Network Gary Hill, Managing (FAN) program on October 24. Chip Heath, a professor of organizational behav- Middle School Anxiety ior in the Graduate School of Business at On October 6, Gary Hill, Psy.D., spoke Stanford University, and Dan Heath, a with Middle School parents about senior fellow at Duke University’s CASE Managing Middle School Anxiety: center and co-founder of Thinkwell, disPerfectionism, Friendship & Social Media. cussed their new book, The Power of His Parent Ed presentation addressed Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have the signs and symptoms of anxiety, presExtraordinary Impact. Their presentation ent common factors that may contribute explored why certain brief experiences can to anxiety and provide strategies for jolt and change us—and how we can learn managing those influences. to create such extraordinary moments in Gary’s presentation spanned brain our life and work. The Heaths identified development of girls vs. boys; executive four key principles that underlie meaningfunctioning issues; the benefits of secure ful, memorable moments that can be used emotional attachments; parents’ use of by parents and teachers, entrepreneurs rules, limits, consequences and rewards; and executives, service workers and careparenting tips and techniques; and givers. They are also co-authors of three alcohol and drug use. He is a licensed New York Times bestsellers: Decisive, clinical psychologist, a licensed marital Switch and Made to Stick. and family therapist and a certified addictions counselor. He previously was director of clinical services at the Family Institute at Northwestern University.

Eli Finkel, The All or Nothing Marriage People from all over Chicago’s North Shore flocked to the NSCDS Auditorium to hear Dr. Eli Finkel discuss his new book The All or Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work. In this book he reveals the fascinating way in which marriage has evolved over the centuries and the things we can all do to help this all-important relationship flourish. Eli is a professor at Northwestern University where he has appointments in the psychology department and the Kellogg School of Management. He is Director of Northwestern’s Relationship and Motivation Lab and has published 130+ scientific articles and is a regular contributor to the op-ed page of the New York Times. The event was held on October 28 was was sponsored by FAN, of which North Shore is a member and was a program sponsor.

Karen Malkin, Mind-Body Nutrition Nutrition being integral to health and wellness is an evolving science, and no area has received more focus than the mind-body connection and the power of food for overall wellness. On October 23, Karen Malkin, a certified integrative health coach and lifestyle practitioner in Chicago, discussed the ways that mental and physical health are interconnected and how we all can improve the way we feel through food and lifestyle choices. Karen began her Parent Ed presentation by inviting the audience to join her in a breathing exercise, helpful for relaxing and reducing stress. She talked about good and bad fats, the different types of sugars, the importance of mindful eating—without distractions, and the long-term benefits of healthy eating for energy and mental clarity. She even brought samples of delicious and nutritious treats and shared the recipes through her website.

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

events

Bert Getz ’55, Sandy Getz, Bert Getz Jr. and Susie Getz

Tom Flemma and Bert Getz Jr.

Heather Martin, Lisa Paul Renaud ’85 and Bela Lopes

BERT GETZ & THE GETZ FAMILY RECEIVE FOSTER HANNAFORD RECOGNITION When Board Chair Molly Shotwell Oelerich ’87 addressed those gathered at the Hannaford Recognition event on November 1 to honor Bert Getz Jr. and the Getz family she said, “I cannot think of a better board member. You were laser-focused on our mission but always challenged the [Board] to push harder and do better. You viewed issues with the lens of ‘what is best for North Shore today’ and ‘what will be the best for North Shore in 50 years.’” The recognition is named in honor of Foster Hannaford who served as a member of the Board of Trustees for 48 years and as a Trustee of the School Foundation for 35 years. It was initiated in 1985 and is conferred annually upon a person or persons who demonstrate distinguished service to North Shore Country Day School. Head of School Tom Flemma read and presented the following to Bert:

“The Getz Family has been associated with North Shore Country Day School since Bert Sr. was a member of the Class of 1955. Years later, when Bert’s grandchildren enrolled, the Getz family once again immersed themselves in North Shore, serving the School in countless ways. Lindsay ’16, Bert ’18 and Lachlan ’20 attended North Shore much the same way as their grandfather did—by investing themselves fully in academics, arts, service and athletics. “Bert Jr. was a long-standing Trustee who served North Shore on many Board committees during his tenure, including the Executive Committee, Committee on Trustees, Finance, Development and Buildings & Grounds, where he also served as Chair. His wife Susie gave countless hours to both the Parents’ Association and Benefit Board, serving as Auction Co-Chair, leading by example and encouraging fellow parents to volunteer and serve the School in an effort to support students and teachers.

“Bert Jr. joined Globe Corporation as an officer in 1991. He is Chairman of the Investment Committee for Globe Financial Corporation, President of Globe Development Company, and an officer of Globe Management Company. Bert’s professional activities include serving as a Director of Wintrust Financial Corporation and as a Director of IMS Companies LLC. Bert is also active in the Chicago Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization. Bert’s civic involvement includes serving as Director of the Globe Foundation, the National Historical Fire Foundation, Trustee of the Brookfield Zoo, and Trustee of The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Bert holds a B.B.A. from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan Business School. “Bert Jr.’s devotion to service comes from the example his parents, Bert and

Kathy Deveny and Diana Flemma

Previous Hannaford recipients welcome the Getz family. Front Row: Mary Ann Finlay, Susan Bondurant, Jane Deuble, Howard Jessen, Sandy and Bert Getz ’55; Back Row: Rory Finlay, Jay Bach, Bert Getz Jr., Susie Getz and Gwen Jessen ’76

Sandy, set and that devotion was always apparent while Bert served on North Shore’s Board. He had an unrelenting dedication to excellence for our facilities, our faculty and our students. The entire Getz family is committed to independent school education, with North Shore Country Day School and The Lawrenceville School among their priorities. The Getz family has led the way as generous contributors in every fundraising initiative North Shore has embarked upon from Annual Giving to Capital Campaigns to The Doar Fund. One of those critical efforts was in facilitating the transformation of The Goodrich House—gifted to the School by the Goodrich Family, one of the School’s founding families, and supported by a lead gift and commitment from the Getz family—all in an effort to create and secure a home for current and future Heads of School and their families. “In words written to Bert from former Head Tom Doar: ‘As we consider those

individuals and families who have been the stalwarts of the last 97 years, it is clear that the Getz family has truly made its mark on North Shore Country Day School.’” After accepting the recognition, Bert spoke about what the School has meant to his family and the strength of the School today. “Our years at North Shore Country Day have been, perhaps, the most rewarding years in Susie’s and my life. Attending North Shore was a great experience for our children; they grew, they learned, they laughed and made great friends. It was for them, and remains today, a fantastic community. “I want to speak about the incredible community that is North Shore Country Day School. In a fast-paced, changing and dynamic world, I believe North Shore has, at its core, a fundamental value, an undying element not found on the periodic table; and that is Love. Love is a tricky concept and a word often overused. But when

Jim Gray, Scott Bondurant and Jack Chandler

you see it, or feel it, you know what it is— think of Dorothy Biel who greets our kids every morning and says goodbye at the end of the day. The culture and community at North Shore is about Love—it is kind, thoughtful, welcoming, caring, engaging and, yes, it’s fun. “North Shore has come a long way since we first became part of this community. The people—both faculty and administration, in my opinion, are as strong as they have ever been. Tom and Mouse Doar have left a legacy of transformation. Tom Flemma, while early in his tenure, has been an exceptional quick study of the School and its environment, and is preparing the institution for significant centennial activities. The School is at its capacity and the positive vibe on campus palpable. “It has truly been my privilege to ‘Live and Serve.’”

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

events

Honoring 2016 Football Players: Coach Erik Cooper, Cain Humphrey ’20, Luke Atia ’20, Thomas McDowell ’18, Owen Hiland ’18, Jack Mangel ’18, Joey Buterbaugh ’18, Jason Giffen and Coach Jim Deuble ’76.

Homecoming: Evan Rao ’19

Homecoming: Raider Fans

Homecoming— Friendship, Fun and Food About 300 alumni and many more students, parents, faculty, friends and neighbors returned to campus Sept. 22-23 for a packed Homecoming weekend. Featuring a full schedule of athletic games, family activities and special programming for returning alumni, the weekend provided a little something for everyone. New this year, the Parents’ Association and Athletic Council organized a Family Fun Fest on Friday evening, featuring games, inflatables and a very special appearance by the Jesse White Tumblers. Food trucks and booths from PorkChop, Tomate Fresh Kitchen, Graeter’s Ice Cream, Grateful Bites, the Fat Shallot and Rock House Coffee did brisk business feeding the crowds. PA President Charlene Kittredge credits Head of School Tom Flemma for “reimagining” Homecoming this year. “He wanted to shake up traditional Homecoming events, build community and generate excitement among Lower School and Middle School students,” she said.

Alumni from Maine to Los Angeles and everywhere in between returned to campus with their friends and families to reconnect with former classmates, faculty and staff. Nancy Brown Jones ’33 was the oldest alumna in attendance. There was also one alumna from the class of 1937, Alice Graff Childs, celebrating her 80th reunion, and two from the class of 1942, Liz Price Hunt and Marge Otter Street, celebrating their 75th. Various formal and informal reunion class dinners and gatherings were held off campus, and alumni, their guests, faculty and staff and former faculty and staff were invited to a Friday evening reception on campus in the Hall Library. On Saturday, Tom gave a State of the School address in the Auditorium, followed by a faculty presentation on the School’s college counseling program and the Francis R. Stanton Alumni Recognition. The Stanton recognition is given each year to an alum whose life work exemplified the School’s motto, “Live and Serve.” This year’s recipient was actor Joel

de la Fuente ’87. The Saturday program concluded with the traditional sing-along, where alumni belted out “Wake the Echoes,” and “O’er the Fields,” as well as a selection of Gilbert and Sullivan songs, a tradition since the School’s founding in 1919, and some familiar folk songs. As in past years, the field hockey teams held a Little Raiders hockey clinic, where boys and girls of all ages can learn the basics of the game. Little Raiders as young as 2 years old picked up sticks and practiced passing and other drills. Then alumnae took to the field for the annual alumnae versus student field hockey game. This year, the alums beat the students 3-0. North Shore won eight of its 10 varsity, junior varsity and middle school home games over the weekend. The varsity field hockey team defeated Glenbrook South High School (5-0); the varsity boys soccer team defeated Schaumburg Christian School (2-1) and Lisle Senior High School (2-1); and the varsity girls volleyball team defeated Alden-Hebron High School (25-23, 25-17).

Lunch in the Loop: Melissa Jesser ’09, Caroline McCarthy ’09, Blair Hunt ’09 and Lisa Doi ’09

Lunch in the Loop: Bela Lopes, Heather Martin, Hilary O’Bryan and Amy Ellis

Lunch in the Loop: Tony Kramer’58 and Tom Flemma

Lunch in the Loop: Darla Hovden, Maude Comeau, Virginia Caspari Gerst ’60, Ludovic Comeau

Honoring Football Players and Iron Raider Athletes On Homecoming weekend during halftime of the varsity field hockey game, Director of Athletics Patrick McHugh honored student football players from the 2016 team and alumni football players. The student players were given their football jerseys and Patrick announced their jersey numbers were retired in recognition of the last North Shore football team. He also acknowledged Jim Deuble ’76 as a player and coach who played a significant role in the rich tradition of football. “Coach Jim Deuble, class of 1976, served the Raider football program for an incredible 27 years. He served as Head Coach of the team from 1990 to 2013, went to the state playoffs nine times and won the conference in 2001. We recognize Coach Jim Deuble’s incredible contribution to generations of Raider football players and families.” In addition, those alumni who are members of the Jay Bach Iron Raider Society were recognized and welcomed

back to campus. Iron Raiders are North Shore Country Day School Alumni who participated in 12 full seasons of Upper School athletics at any level. It can be a combination of sports and levels but must represent a full season of sports for every season of a four-year high school experience at North Shore Country Day School.

and a lot of change that’s happening. And at the same time, the values that have always been our bedrock continue to this day. To me, that means we should be a school that is very proud of its past and very excited about its future.” Instead of going through a long list of everything that has been happening at school, Tom recognized the “wonderfully successful athletics season” this fall, not Lunch in the Loop only because Parents, alumni, parents of alumni and of several teams’ winning records, but also friends of the School gathered at the because of the high participation. Then he Union League Club in Chicago on switched gears and spent some time talkNovember 16 for the biannual Lunch in ing about the future. the Loop. This year’s speakers were Head “What we’ve been doing with strategic of School Tom Flemma and Assistant planning is geared toward the next five, 10, Head of School and Academic Dean Chris 20 years of life at North Shore,” Tom said. Boyle, who gave an overview of North “To do that, we have to be thinking about Shore’s 2017-2022 Strategic Plan that will education and the future of education. It’s guide planning for the School’s next era. safe to say, right now, that education is “The School is just a wonderful place to undergoing an absolute revolution in so be. It’s diverse, it’s interesting, it’s exciting, many ways. Schools look, or at least should it’s creative—in so many different ways,” look, very different from the way we all Tom said. “There’s always a lot going on went to school.”

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

events

Rita Crocker Obelleiro & Montserrat Alsina

Almquist Gallery: “Collaborative Codices”

winter celebrations

Almquist Gallery: “There is A Field, I’ll Meet You There”

Gerry Lang

“Collaborative Codices” North Shore Art Teachers Rita Crocker Obelleiro and Montserrat Alsina presented “Collaborative Codices” that opened in the Almquist Gallery Homecoming Weekend. A codex, which comes from the Latin caudex for “trunk of a tree” or “block of wood,” is a book constructed of handwritten contents. The codex was brought to Latin America during the colonial period and was seen as a hybrid text: Indigenous communities adopted the format and included imagery that was distinctly local. The teachers each reflected on their connection with the Latino community and ways that art and performance empower Chicago-area youth. The gallery was set up in the format of a codex, with the edges of the walls representing book bindings painted in transitional colors that ranged from synthetic fuchsia to earthy raw umber. Rita displayed excerpts from her thesis action research titled “Sites of Inexclusion: Co-creating Visual Narratives about

Cultural Belonging/Exclusion with Elementary School Students,” published by the Department of Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the spring of 2016 with the assistance of Jerry Stefl, Andrea Siegler, Nicole Marroquin and Sara Ross. Montserrat used her walls as pages, showcasing her extensive experience working with Chicago youth. Alongside documentation of murals and other community-based art projects, were images and research materials drawn from her Aztec dance tradition. Her own work informs the work of her students as both student and artist-teacher connect through material explorations.

“There is a Field: I’ll Meet You There” The second exhibit on campus this school year featured the work of Gerry Lang, a Chicago-based visual artist, educator, curator and project manager. He received his master’s degree in ceramics and

sculpture from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Arts in fine and applied art from Hampton University in Virginia. He currently teaches ceramics at Triton College and resides in Chicago, where he is an active member of the Pilsen arts community. He is of Algonquin/Meherrin ancestry and is a member of the Chowanoke Nation of North Carolina. Since being visited in “dream time” by his great grandmother while living in Paris in 1981, Gerry’s studio work has focused on retrieving something of himself that had been lost or misplaced— his American Indian heritage. As this journey has deepened, he has sought an accord between American Indian spirituality and Western aesthetics, while contemplating how colonialism and questions of identity have impacted every day of his life. This work is ongoing and is being expressed in active containers, dream bowls, prayer bowls and mixed media. A closing reception was held on December 14.

Winter Celebration: Thomas McDowell '18, Nina Valenti '18, and Haniya Ghazi '18,

Connectathon: Naomi Hattori ’02

Carol Smeja-Gailen and Bob Gailen

Fall Connectathon

Shahaan Ghazi '31, Carlo Castellanos ’18

Winter Celebration Although it’s gone by several different names over the years, the Winter Celebration is one of North Shore Country Day School’s oldest traditions, dating back to its founding in 1919. This year’s program on December 22 began with a welcome by Head of School Tom Flemma. Next, the entire community joined to sing Jingle Bells and emcee Haniya Ghazi ’18 read aloud the timeless children’s classic Frosty the Snowman. She and the other Lifers, Thomas McDowell ’18 and Nina Valenti ’18, then led the proceedings, announcing the traditional buddy dances. Different grades paired up for a variety of dances, highlighting Jewish, German, Mexican, South African and Irish traditions, and even the faculty and staff joined in the fun with a special dance. The program closed with the traditional alumni, faculty and staff sing-along Winter Wonderland.

Thanks to parent, alumni, faculty and staff volunteers who made over 500 connections with the North Shore Community in November through phone calls, notes, emails and texts. Their outreach on and off campus helped keep alumni, parents and friends informed and connected. Alumnae Naomi Hattori ’02, who celebrated her 15-year reunion this fall, attended the Connectathon and said she likes volunteering at North Shore because it allows her to stay connected to a place that had an important part in her upbringing. “During alumni events, I enjoy meeting people from various classes who share their fun NSCDS stories.” The generous support from all who pledged or made a gift is greatly appreciated. Your gift impacts every student and teacher including academics, arts, athletics and service. Thank you to over 60 dedicated volunteers: Annie Aggens ’88 Betsy Perkins Hill ’70 Gretchen and Bill Ake ’88 Elizabeth Ingram ’82 Lisa Altenbernd Mervat Kalil Kelsey Andersen ’06 Charlene Kittredge Karen and Steve Arenson Janie Koster Jay Bach Suki Lipman ’70 Cathy Bell Bartholomay ’79 Danny Lowinger ’08 Phyllis Beattie ’72 Amanda and Tom Macejko Bruce Blair ’69 Chesly Manly ’89 Benjy Blenner ’02 Suzanne Folds McCullagh ’69 Karen Block ’09 Ciara McDonagh ’90 Karen Buckner Melissa Mizel Chris Charnas ’83 Eileen Packy Sarah Cody ’04 Craig Niemann Ranell Conine Ted Notz ’53 Jackie Cotter Scott Olson ’79 Lisa Doi ’09 Georgia Pappas Cece Ewen Durbin ’67 Sarah Geist Rosen ’86 Bob Elisha ’77 Maggie Scheyer Dolores Farhat Hilary Bishop Scott ’96 Tim Flannery Jeannie Lea Scully ’63 Tom Flickinger Todd Searle ’05 Jeff Foreman ’80 Jennifer Shreve Katie Freiburger Alex Silets ’87 Carol Smeja-Gailen Erik Sosa-Kibby ’93 and Bob Gailen Katie Todd ’96 Ginny George Susanna Ver Eecke Tom Geraghty ’62 Larry Williams ’87 Steve Haislet Alice Pirie Wirtz ’49 Naomi Hattori ’02 Janelle and Andrew Wood ’90 Hall Healy ’59 Nina Yoo Pete Henderson ’47

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

facult y Professional Development Lower School Visual Art Teacher Montserrat Alsina and Middle School Visual Art Teacher Keith Sklar jointly and separately presented at the Independent Schools of the Central States’ Annual Conference. Montserrat presented a session entitled, “Activism: The Upstanding Print.” Keith presented a session entitled, “Shifting Borders: Art Lessons Across Subject & Discipline.” Together they presented “Up in the Air: Planned, Scaffolded & In the Moment.” In addition to Montserrat and Keith, the Conference was also attended by Assistant Head of School and Academic Dean Chris Boyle, Science Department Head and Lower School Science Teacher Annie Collins, Director of Marketing and Communications Tura Cottingham, Senior Kindergarten Teacher Alyssa Dudzik, 5th Grade Assistant Teacher Josh Fidler, Head of School Tom Flemma, 2nd Grade Teacher Marcy Giesler, Lower School Spanish Teacher Winder Holeman, 1st and 2nd Grade Assistant Teacher Jake Kann, Junior Kindergarten Teacher Janet Lord, Director of Development Molly McDowell, 3rd and 4th Grade Assistant Teacher Sara Pyne and Junior and Senior Kindergarten Assistant Teacher and Early Childhood Spanish Teacher Rebecca Reategui. First Grade Teacher Cristy Athas, 4th Grade Teacher Claire Birkhauser, Assistant Head of School and Academic Dean Chris Boyle, Upper School Mathematics Teacher Vinny Cousineau, Director of Communications Tura Cottingham, Director of Operations Cindy Hooper, Performing Arts Department Head and Upper School Drama Teacher Julia Macholl, Director of Development Molly McDowell and Middle School Learning Specialist Christine Ritchey attended the 10th annual Cusp Conference at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. Claire Birkhauser, 4th grade teacher, took part in the SLANT Advanced Seminar Series at Oakton Community College. Fourth Grade Teacher Claire Birkhauser, Middle School Mathematics, Science and Computer Science Teacher Lee Block, Mathematics Department Head and Upper School Mathematics Teacher Brian Frederick, Upper School Mathematics Teacher Brian Posner, 22

5th Grade Teacher Ellen Rasmussen, Middle School Learning Specialist Christine Ritchey, Learning and Reading Resources Department Head and Upper School Learning Specialist Ceil Scanlan, Senior Kindergarten Teacher Amy Shuldiner and Middle School Mathematics Teacher Grace Wood attended The Mindset Revolution: Teaching Mathematics for the Growth Mindset Workshop sponsored by Northwestern University’s School for Education and Social Policy. Assistant Head of School and Academic Dean Chris Boyle attended the Rubicon Atlas Leadership Conference in Portland, OR. Upper School Dean of Students and History Teacher Erik Cooper, Middle School Counselor Jen Goldstein, Head of Upper School Dave Potter, Counseling Department Head and Upper School Counselor Terri Webb and Lower School Counselor Debbie Youderian attended a workshop entitled Beyond Calming Down: Strategies for Handling Anxiety in Schools sponsored by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States. Upper School Visual Art Teacher Rita Crocker was admitted into and participated in the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art’s Teacher Institute for the 2017/18 Academic Year. Described by the museum as its “most immersive and collaborative professional development program,” the Institute helps teachers to develop “innovative, contemporary curriculum.” Additionally, she attended the Illinois Art Education Association Conference in St. Charles where she presented on Introducing Social Justice Visual Art Curriculum in Communities of Privilege. Upper School Social Studies Teacher Tim Curren attended Facing History and Ourselves’ Holocaust and Human Behavior workshop in Chicago. Physical Education Teachers Jim Deuble, Jordan Holod and Rebekah Kauffman, and Physical Education Department Head and Teacher Kyle Jones attended the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Annual Convention. Head of School Tom Flemma attended the National Association of Independent School’s 2017 Leadership Through Partnership Workshop in Chicago along with Board of Trustees Chair Molly Shotwell Oelerich ’87.

Upper School English Teacher and Service Coordinator Drea Gallaga and 1st Grade Teacher Anya Leist participated in the National Youth Leadership Council’s Service Learning by Design online course. Director of Admissions Jason Giffen recently published an article entitled The Enrollment Manager as Lead Institutional Researcher through The Enrollment Management Association. Upper and Middle School Choral Director and Music Teacher Will Hester, Lower School Music Teacher Linda Kiracibasi and Accompanist Cody Bradley attended a roundtable workshop of Chicago area choral directors/chorus teachers sponsored by Chorus America. Early Childhood Director Kathy Irvin, Associate Junior Kindergarten Teacher Janet Lord, Assistant Junior and Senior Kindergarten Teacher and Early Childhood Spanish Teacher Rebecca Reategui and Senior Kindergarten Teacher Amy Shuldiner attended The Alliance’s Annual Networking Dinner to hear Roberta Michnick Golinkoff speak on Becoming Brilliant: Re-Imagining Education for Our Time. Physical Education Teacher Rebekah Kauffman attended the National Athletics Director Association Conference in Phoenix, AZ. Middle School Humanities Teacher Elizabeth Kindig and Upper School Social Studies Teacher Ship Safford attended workshops as a part of the Newberry Library Teacher’s Consortium. Lower School Music Teacher Linda Kiracibasi attended the 2017 American Orff -Schulwerk Association Conference in Fort Worth, TX. Lower School Reading Specialist Sharon Lieberman, Upper School Learning Specialist Tom Saleh and Learning and Reading Resource Department Head and Upper School Learning Specialist Ceil Scanlan attended the Rush NeuroBehavioral Center Executive Function Workshop in Chicago. Caitlin McLennan, 4th grade teacher, attended the Introduction to Responsive Classroom Workshop in Chicago. Head Librarian Jenna Nemec-Loise attended the American Association of School Librarians 18th National Conference in Phoenix, AZ. Upper School Physics Teacher Jerry Rietveld attended the College Board AP Physics Workshop at College of Lake County.

5th Grade Teacher Ellen Rasmussen teaches a class of Chinese students

Professional Development Conference in Hangzhou, China

North Shore Educators Present at Chinese Conference It isn’t every day that North Shore Country Day School is invited to present at a teachers’ professional development conference in Hangzhou, China. But that is exactly what happened when Head of School Tom Flemma, Head of Lower School Tim Sheehan, and 5th Grade Teachers Libby Ester and Ellen Rasmussen were flown all-expenses paid to China in November. In fact, this was the first time any United States school was ever invited to this annual meeting for master teachers from all over China. “Through various professional teacher networks, North Shore was identified as a school that exemplified many of the elements of American teaching that the organizers were eager to share with Chinese teachers,” Tom explained. “The goal of the summit was for teachers to learn about best practices and new ways of approaching the classroom.”

Tom and Tim gave participants a broader view of the School’s mission and pedagogy while Libby and Ellen each demonstrated by teaching a lesson to a class of Chinese students. For Libby, that class focused on reading fantasy literature. “That genre accommodates diverse learning styles by providing information in visual, auditory and kinesthetic forms,” she said. Not only did she encourage her Chinese students to read for understanding, but to collaborate and develop opinions on why the author wrote the story they way they did. Ellen’s lesson was about math, helping students discover pi. “Because I didn’t know the level of their math skills or how the language barrier would interfere with my teaching, I had to pre-assess what the students already knew about the topic and their division skills. Once that was addressed, we moved into our topic of discovering pi using a variety of teaching methods.”

Upper School Biology Teacher and Scientist-in-Residence Jen Pfannerstill was selected to serve as a member of the Teacher Advisory Board with Equal Ed. In that role, Jen will provide insight on STEM education tools and content being built for teachers. Additionally, she gave three presentations at the National Association of Biology Teachers Conference in St. Louis. They were entitled, Student Misconceptions and Challenge Areas: What Does the AP Exam Tell Us?, Un“covering” AP Biology: A Community Conversation about Content and Skills, and Common Competencies and Science Practices in K-18 Biology Education. Finally, she became an item writer and reviewer

for the College Board of SAT items and of The Lower, Middle and Upper School faculty their Pre-AP Biology curriculum. as well as members of the Administrative Director of Counseling and Upper Team participated in an Adult Allies: School Counselor Terri Webb attended the Supporting LGBT+ Youth by staff from Illinois Association of School Social Angles in Northfield. Workers Annual Conference. Director of Operations and Summer Lower School Counselor Debbie Programs Cindy Hooper attended the Youderian attended the Young Adult Brainstorm User Conference by CampBrain Anxiety Disorders Conference through and the Summer Programs and Auxiliary Rogers Behavioral Hospital in Skokie. Revenue Conference. Additionally, she participated in two workDirector of Finance Susan Downing shops through the North Suburban attended the Midwest Business Managers Special Education District entitled What is meeting and the National Business Officers Happening in the Moment? And Association annual meeting. What Can We Do? And Clinical and Personal Applications for Mindfulness with Children and Adolescents.

Both lessons were collaborative, engaging, fun and student centered, just as students are taught at North Shore. And both illustrated the value of learning by taking risks. “We embrace and almost celebrate those moments in the classroom,” Ellen added. “What really surprised me was how much people appreciated and valued what we taught,” reflected Libby. Tim added that “They couldn’t have been more respectful of us as educators. Being a teacher in China is a big deal.” All were grateful for the experience and being pushed outside their comfort zones, not knowing exactly what to expect making presentations via interpreters in front of an audience of 400-500 teachers. “We experienced what we encourage our students to experience—to believe in ourselves, learn by doing and by broadening our perspective,” Tom said.

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

facult y

On the Camino de Los Faros, Costa da Morte, Galicia, Spain

Béatrice McKenna in 1976, Corsica, France

Béatrice and her children Nina, Miles and Joe, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Caminando: A Sabbatical Reflection by Béatrice McKenna How do past experiences connect us to our current selves? As educators, we spend a good amount of time exploring that question with our students. In our private lives, there are times when doing so becomes more urgent than others, and in the last few years—after 10 years at North Shore and as my three children have been starting, slowly but surely, to fly on their own—that very question was relentlessly gnawing at me. What had carried and shaped me so far? Were these pillars eroding and would they be strong enough to carry me to the next chapter? What would make me go forward as an educator and a parent? These were the questions I needed time and space to explore during my sabbatical in the spring of 2017. Intuitively, I knew that this was not just going to be an intellectual endeavor, and that I had to be emotionally and physically involved in looking for answers—or at least on a search path, “caminando” as they say in Spanish. I used walking and backpacking as a conduit to these explorations, and it turned out to be, in all of its simplicity, a beautifully relevant one. Walking is something I used to do with my family as a child, so the act of walking itself reconnected me instantly to my past. But walking also took me back, very literally, to places and events that had been meaningful in my childhood. Going back to these places and taking the time to share what they meant to me with my husband and kids was another powerful experience, like stitching together what felt like many lives—childhood, student life,

married life, life as a mother and as a teacher—into a patchwork of pieces that, until then, had appeared to have little to do with each other and that actually started meshing together in an intricate and all-of-a-sudden coherent piece. I started with day walks and progressed to week-long backpacking trips with family members—a week with my brother in Corsica for example, to reach a remote beach where, 40 years ago, our family camped for a whole month; and finally with my husband and kids in Spain, along a less travelled stretch of the Camino de Santiago in Galicia (the Camino de Los Faros), for an epic backpacking experience that took us from Coruña to Fisterra, often walking close to seven hours a day. In this sometimes desolate, rugged coastal region, we shared a bonding experience, not just with each other but also with the breathtaking, unspoiled nature and ocean around us—much like I had done with my family as a child. These experiences helped me tie the past to the present in more ways than I anticipated. And with each of these walks, the relevance of my modest involvement with The Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center, where I had started to volunteer over the winter, was strengthened. The Kovler Center provides a wide range of support for refugees who are survivors of torture, from medical services to securing legal services for asylum applications. During my sabbatical, I was able to be a little more involved—translating legal documents, interpreting during medical examinations and asylum hearings, or working with clients on their ESL skills.

Doing this allowed me to “get proximate” with survivors and the issues they face, to borrow the words of one of our past FAN speakers, Bryan Stevenson, which so resonated with me. And it turned out to be, most definitely, one of the most meaningful ways I used my sabbatical. Not surprisingly, walking with the background of the news outlining the plight of refugees around the world also connected me with the Kovler Center’s mission and helped me put my own concerns into perspective. Backpacking, in particular, connected me with the clients of Kovler, but only in the sense that it brought to light how lucky I was to be walking alongside family members, safely, with food and shelter awaiting. I walked as a choice because I could, not because I had to. And that helped bring to the forefront my responsibility toward those for whom walking is an act of survival in a much clearer way. I came back to North Shore clearer about my path, and more resolute to continue this endeavor and to help tie it with the work that we do here. I was excited to partner with our friends at the Kovler Center on an Upper School Human Rights Experience Interim this year, and to continue to “Live and Serve” with our students along the way, caminando. Upper School French Teacher Beatrice McKenna was awarded a Vera D. Wavering Sabbatical. The sabbatical was established to renew the spirit, invigorate teaching and enhance the School community.

Summer Reading Over the summer, faculty and staff were asked to choose one of six books for summer reading, which dove deeply into issues of learning, equity, inclusion and the student experience—all key elements of the 2017-2022 Strategic Plan. • Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald explore how our perceptions of social groups can unknowingly shape our likes, dislikes and judgments about a person’s character, abilities and potential. • Despite the Best Intentions: How Racial Inequality Thrives in Good Schools Amanda Lewis and John Diamond look at possible causes for the racial achievement gap in a diverse suburban school. • NeuroTeach: Brain Science and the Future of Education Glenn Whitman and Ian Kelleher draw on cognitive psychology and neuroscience to give teachers—who are the ultimate brain-changers—the best practices to help children learn. • The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals and The Transgender Teen: A Handbook for Parents and Professionals Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Teens Stephanie Brill, Rachel Pepper and Lisa Kenney cover gender variance from birth through college and give parents and educators guidance on how to advocate for children and bridge the generational divide in their understanding of gender.

• Weaponized Lies: How to Think Critically in the Post-Truth Era Daniel Levitin helps readers sift through “fringe theories, fake news and pseudo-facts” and evaluate the constant barrage of data to determine what is actually true.

mistakes. She also highlighted the importance of giving quality homework with a clear purpose, rather than just busywork. Upper School English teacher David Grossman read Despite the Best Intentions, which explored the unintended structures and biases that exist within schools and When the group met together for contribute to an achievement gap between the first 2017-2018 all-school meeting in white students and students of color, even August, faculty and staff broke into small in areas where there is a professed interest groups to talk about their selection and in diversity and progressive values. how it applied to and informed their work. “People in our group thought it was Upper School Mandarin teacher Di Li really eye-opening,” David said. “And even read NeuroTeach and said that out of all the though it profiled a public school that was summer reading books she’s read in her quite different from North Shore, it was 14 years at North Shore, this was her still relevant in terms of the need to think favorite. “In the past, summer reading about what we’re doing consciously and would be one book,” she explained. unconsciously, and how we might create “Everybody would read the same thing. a more inclusive environment.” But this time, we had choices. And since David said he would highly recommend this was the book I chose for myself, I the book for anyone interested in issues read it carefully, took notes and we had of diversity, equity and inclusion. “Even a good discussion.” though we might have really thoughtful Di turned her notes into a PowerPoint ideas and want to do everything we can presentation, which she shared with the to make sure our school community is Suburban Chinese Teachers Alliance and one that is inclusive and welcoming, and the Midwest Chinese Teachers Alliance. designed to support every student, there She said the book armed her with research might be things we’re doing without even to back up many of the practices she tries knowing it—or we might not be doing to incorporate into her classroom. Things things that we should or could be doing like using the first 10 to 15 minutes of class that would provide the support for every time, when students are most engaged, to student so they feel like they belong in the teach the bulk of the new material instead same way any other student belongs.” of wasting that critical period going over homework and reviewing previous lessons. Or giving students the opportunity to redo assignments and correct their own

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

facult y Faculty Profile: Lee Block M I D D L E S C H O O L C O M P U T E R S C I E N C E , M AT H E M AT I C S A N D S C I E N C E T E A C H E R ; S C I E N C E O LY M P I A D C O A C H , M I D D L E S C H O O L B A S E B A L L C O A C H

day Tuesday I was just like, “What is going on here?” That whole week gave me enough information so I could spend the rest of my summer studying what they had taught me and applying it. I learned a lot and failed a lot. But you know, science is learning by failing. Q. So when you’re not teaching yourself new subjects over the summer, you also moonlight as a Wrigley Field security guard. How did you get that gig? A. I was born and raised eight blocks from Wrigley Field so I’ve always been a huge, huge Cubs fan. But it didn’t occur to me to actually work at Wrigley until my kids got I was pursuing my communications Q . This is your 24th year at North Shore. older. After four years of applying, I finally degree one summer, I wanted to give What’s kept you here all these years? got the interview. I thought what I wanted back to the community, so I volunteered A. A lot of things. I absolutely love private to do was to be an usher and just show to coach inner-city youth baseball. I fell in schools in general and the autonomy you people where to sit so I could just sit and love with teaching kids baseball, and the have within the classroom. But North watch the game and not be bothered. So only way you can coach is through schools. Shore has been absolutely wonderful to me I went through the interview process and So I changed my major to math, because and my family. In many ways, it’s the type they said to me, “Well, you’re not a college that’s what I was best at. I got my Bachelor of education I wish I had when I was going student, you’re not a senior citizen, you of Science in education and, later, a masthrough school. And so, as a parent, you were in the Marine Corps and you’re a ter’s degree in administrative leadership. hope that you do better for your kids than middle school teacher. We view you more Q. You did your student teaching at what was done for you. I feel like North as security.” And you can’t say no. So long Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Shore has given me that opportunity. story short, I ended up getting a job workwhich was where you went to school as a ing security for the Cubs three years ago Q . What makes a North Shore education child. How did you end up back there? and now I’m the section chief in the right so special? field bleachers. My job is to basically look A. You got to pick and choose places A. You know it takes a village to raise for trouble. I know all the season ticket where you wanted to do your student kids. The teachers are phenomenal. But holders out there and joke with them. teaching. The match was there and so I the students themselves are also wonderThe best part of the job is the customer went. They partnered me with the science ful to work with, as are the parents. When service and giving everybody the best teacher who is now my wife. When I finyou put all those components together, experience possible at Wrigley. And if ished my student teaching, the principal we’re all working toward a common goal other people get in the way of that, you of the school, who was my 8th grade of getting the most out of each kid— have to remove that situation. basketball coach, offered me a job and regardless of their ability. Not everybody I stayed there for eight years. Q. In addition to teaching three different is an athlete or an actor or a great student, subjects, you are the head coach for Science Q. So your background is in math and but kids can reach their full potential Olympiad and a middle school baseball science. How did you make the jump to in many areas, go outside of their coach, and then outside of school you work teaching robotics? comfort zone and do things they for the Cubs. Why do you do so many wouldn’t ordinarily do. A. Two years ago, the School administradifferent things? tion was revamping the computer science Q . Had you always wanted to be a teacher? curriculum and asked if I would be able to A. A really good independent school A. When I graduated high school, my person needs to see kids in other venues teach a robotics class. They sent me to a family didn’t have money for college. So besides the classroom—not only see them, weeklong workshop at Carnegie Mellon I joined the Marine Corps so I could go to but understand who they are as a person. University in Pittsburgh. After day one, college on the G.I. Bill. Because I couldn’t Kids need to see their teachers in other my head was spinning with all this inforplay baseball as my career—I found kinds of environments as well, to see that mation about things I didn’t know. And that out in high school after I got cut— we’re real humans and we grocery shop then I went back to my hotel room that I wanted to be a sports announcer. In the and we have other interests and can bring night and studied it and thought, “OK, Marines, I was an air traffic controller and other things to the table, coaching or whatnow I’m somewhat up to speed with what I when I got out, I went to college. While ever the case may be. Everybody should learned that day.” And by the end of the do something that is a little different. 26

live and serve

Play for the Cure: Girls Volleyball Team

Lunges4Lungs: Tom Flemma

Trevor Yamada ’18, Quigg Veach ’18, Owen Hiland ’18 and Haniya Ghazi ’18

Play For The Cure Each year, the field hockey team raises funds for breast cancer awareness through Play for the Cure. This year, the team raised $588 through t-shirt and bake sales. The volleyball and girls tennis teams also sported pink to promote awareness. “While Play for the Cure has been a field hockey thing in the past, I’m glad it’s starting to move over to other fall sports teams,” said Field Hockey Coach Alyssa Dudzik. “Maybe soon we can get everyone involved in some way.” When selecting an organization to raise funds for, Head Volleyball Coach Jen Pfannerstill said she wanted to find an organization that kept the money relatively local and focused primarily on young women. “Bright Pink was it,” she said. “They educate young girls to empower young women to know more about breast cancer and catch it earlier.”

There was also a connection to one of Mallory was diagnosed with cystic the field hockey players—Abby Kaplan ’21. fibrosis at the age of 3 and started Her stepmother Lindsay Avner is the Lunges4Lungs when she was awaiting founder and board chair for Bright Pink. a double lung transplant. People choose how many lunges they want to complete and how much they’re willing to donate Lunges4Lungs per lunge. They can complete the chalOn a sunny morning in late October, the lenge anywhere, alone or in a group like entire Upper School community gathered the students at North Shore. The money on the Quad in front of the Mac Gym and raised through the campaign goes directly completed a set of lunges—but not for a toward transplant research through the gym class or as part of some kind of athCystic Fibrosis Foundation’s new transletic warmup. The students were raising plant initiative, which is working to money and awareness for cystic fibrosis improve the care and long-term outcomes research through a campaign called of individuals with cystic fibrosis and Lunges4Lungs. other advanced lung disease. Mallory Students and faculty alike enthusiasti- received two new lungs in September, cally participated in the challenge. and after a bout with pneumonia, passed Everyone completed 10 lunges in unison, away on November 15 at the age of 25. clapping in between sets. For more information or to make a Kate McKown ’21 brought the idea to donation, visit lunges4lungs.org. North Shore’s Community Service Club in honor of her cousin Mallory Smith.

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

live and serve

Hurricane Relief: Makena Shelley ’29

PA “Live and Serve”: Misericordia

Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief First Grade Teacher Anya Leist and Lower School Spanish Teacher Winder Holeman spent time during two Kaleidoscope lessons to educate students about Hurricane Maria that hit the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico on October 30. Kaleidoscope is a Lower School equity, inclusion and diversity program integrated into the classroom and structured around five words: integrity, kindness, compassion, inclusion and respect. Through the curriculum, students learn about upstanders from the past and present, and consider ways the entire Lower School can be upstanders in the present and future. Students saw examples of everyday people like them who are finding ways to contribute to relief efforts. After learning about the ongoing needs of those who have suffered from the hurricanes, the students had ideas for how the School community could help. Their suggestions included donating items to fill different needs (food, water, shelter), and others included advocacy and helping to voice the concerns of those who do not have the opportunity to do so themselves. The students’ interest and enthusiasm prompted Winder and Anya to connect with Grace and Peace Community Church in Chicago to arrange a drive and potentially an ongoing relationship between North Shore and the organization. Students dove into the effort. Junior and senior kindergarteners helped decorate collection boxes. Students in 1st, 2nd and 5th grades created posters and flyers

a family event at Northwestern Settlement House, as well as another parent project at Misericordia in Chicago, which provides services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Volunteers helped in the bakery, preparing, packaging and displaying baked goods. And in January, there was another family event at Hilda’s Place, a homeless shelter in Evanston. At least two more events are planned for the spring in Chicago—Cradles to Crayons and the Ronald McDonald House near Lurie Children’s Hospital. The “Live and Serve” Committee was created four years ago to give parents opportunities to model the type of service the School requires of its students. Many of the organizations the PA partners with are also organizations the School has strong relationships with. This gives Parents Get Involved parents the chance to have a shared Students are not the only ones embracing experience with their children. the School’s “Live and Serve” motto. It’s also a great opportunity for parents Parents participated in a number of to get to know each other. Last year, the service projects organized by the Parents’ committee expanded to include family Association during the fall and winter. events. The first time they experimented They kicked off the new school year with a family service project, the event with a family activity with the Backyard filled up almost instantly and there was Nature Center. Parents and their children a waiting list. spent a Saturday morning in September Katie Devereux and Diane Gavin, the picking up trash around the Skokie “Live and Serve” committee co-chairs, said Lagoons in Winnetka. In October and the events are a great way for entire famiNovember, there were two parent-only lies to get involved, kids and spouses alike. projects at Northwestern Settlement And it shows smalI children they can House in Chicago. Volunteers worked make a difference in the lives of other chilone-on-one or in small groups with predren. “It’s never too early to start volunschool students. In December, there was teering,” Katie said.

to display around the School and distribute to families, while 3rd and 4th graders focused on advocacy and wrote letters to government representatives to encourage them to contribute to ongoing relief efforts. The goal was to collect four boxes filled with donations, and thanks to the entire North Shore community, they collected more than double that amount. The final tally included two paper shopping bags of toiletries, two bags of toothbrushes and toothpaste, more than 65 bags of dry rice and beans, more than 40 packages of baby wipes, 15 packages of baby formula and more than 100 diapers. One Lower School family donated 75 boxes of toothpaste with each box containing 50 tubes.

Holiday Drive: Eun Hae Lillig ’21, Rachel Olatunji ’21 and Zinzi Steele ’21

Book Fair: Jack Shreve ’25

Holiday Gift Drives Every year, the Upper School Community Service Club organizes a holiday drive for Northwestern Settlement House in Chicago. Students, faculty and staff adopt families for the holidays, providing muchneeded clothing, toys, household items and grocery store gift cards to folks who are having a hard time making ends meet. Each advisory is assigned to a family, but students can choose which wish they want to fulfill. “We’re given information about the family and the situation they’re in,” explained Anna Roszak ’19, one of the junior leaders of the club. “It builds more of a connection and makes it more personal. It’s nice to know that the person you’re buying these presents for wants and needs what you’re giving them.” After school on December 13, all of the items were brought out to the Upper School V for a big packing party. Presents were sorted, boxed up, loaded into a van and delivered to Northwestern Settlement. While this is a purely optional activity, most students jump at the chance to help others in such a tangible way. This year, North Shore students, faculty and staff were able to provide a happy holiday season for more than 50 individuals from 12 different families. “One thing that’s really special about North Shore’s Community Service Club is that we focus on hands-on service,” said Livvy Whitmore ’19. “In this season, when a lot of the focus can be on yourself or your very close friends and family, being able to spend just a little money to contribute to such an awesome cause that really helps families is a great way to give back.”

Northwestern Settlement became one of the primary beneficiaries of the North Shore’s holiday drive efforts about 25 years ago, but the idea of giving back to the community—especially around the holidays—goes back to the School’s earliest days. Just before winter break in 1920, North Shore’s Founding Headmaster received a telegram from Santa asking if students would be willing to repair toys which would then be distributed to needy families “so that every boy and girl in Chicago may have at least one toy at Christmas time.” The students spent the next two weeks volunteering in the toy shop, making old toys like new and helping to bring cheer to less fortunate children. That tradition went on for more than 40 years. “The fact that we are a more privileged school on the North Shore, being able to use our resources and still give back and acknowledge the differences in our community is really important,” explained Paige Forester ’19. Upper School students were not the only ones spreading holiday cheer to the less fortunate. This year, the Middle School Student Council organized a toy drive through U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program. Students collected unwrapped toys, which were then distributed to nonprofits who gave them out to needy families. The Middle School Student Council typically organizes two fundraisers for various charities each year. This year, they’re hoping to pull off three, explained president James Andren ’22. Earlier this

fall, students raised more than $1,000 for the American Red Cross, and they set a goal to collect 500 toys for this event. “We really love the holidays and we wanted to share that love with kids that might not be as fortunate as us,” James said.

Book Fair/Book Drive The Parents’ Association held its annual schoolwide Book Fair, October 23-26. The event raised nearly $5,000, and more than 85% of junior kindergarten through 8th grade students bought books. School Librarian Jenna Nemec-Loise, earmarked the funds to help teachers purchase new books for their classrooms. In addition, about 150 books were purchased and donated to JK-8th grade classrooms. The Book Fair is a large volunteer undertaking requiring 45 volunteers over a four-day period. From transforming the Hall Library into a beautiful book store to just as quickly putting it back together again at the end of the week; from gently encouraging kindergartners to expand their reading repertoire beyond Paw Patrol to guiding middle schoolers towards old classics, the volunteers are to be commended for all their efforts. And, of course, the PA is grateful to all who donated used books to the Bernie’s Book Bank collection. An astounding 650 books flowed in over the two-week drive that will go directly into the hands of children in need.

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

v isua l a rt s

Meredith McCabe ’19

Makena Shelley ’29

Josephine O’Brien ’27

Andrew Xing ’22

Jacob Sherman ’21

Evan Fortier ’23

Julia Terhaerdt ’19

Isabella Carlino ’22 and Lilianna Green ’22

Eloise Richardson ’20

Ryder Paulson ’22 Cara Savin ’18

Jack Larsen ’26 Cooper Jackson ’27

Emily Ver Eecke ’27

perfor ming a rt s Fall Play: Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook The Upper School fall play on October 20-21 brought the beloved storybook character Junie B. Jones to life in a hilarious and heartfelt tale based on the best-selling series by Barbara Park. The students relished their roles as young elementary students and characters from the book. The plot revolved around the mysterious disappearance of Junie B’s new furry mittens. So when she finds a wonderful pen of many colors, she thinks she should be allowed to keep it—because finders keepers, losers weepers. And guess what? There’s a new boy in kindergarten and he is the handsomest. The only thing is Junie B’s best friends Grace and Lucille both want him to be their boyfriend. Maybe he will love Junie B. when he sees her wonderful pen! It is okay to keep it, right? “The Junie B. Jones cast and crew exemplified the definition of ensemble,” reflected Julia Macholl, performing Arts department head, and Upper and Middle School theatre teacher. “They listened, problem-solved and supported one another from start to finish making a truly positive and memorable experience for all. I was inspired and energized as a director throughout the process and could not be more proud.”

Fall Play: Grace Scullion ’18

Winter Choral Concert Students from all three divisions showcased their hard work and love of music at the annual winter choral concert held the evening of December 14 in the Auditorium. The evening’s selections represented a variety of styles, from classical to jazz to contemporary, with a few holiday tunes thrown in for good measure. The Lower, Middle and Upper School choruses each performed a set, and then they all came together for the grand finale: Let There Be Peace on Earth, a familiar song written in 1955 that has become a staple of interfaith and community celebrations. “What’s great about these choruses is that they’re not auditioned groups,” explained Middle and Upper School Choral Director and Music Teacher Will Hester. “Anybody can come and sing. So while there are students at different levels of ability, everybody joins and contributes equally.”

Lower School Holiday Program This year’s Lower School Holiday Program was inspired by the children’s book Only One You by Linda Kranz, a charming story about passing on wisdom from one generation to the next. As is tradition, the 5th graders took a leading role, telling the story in between numbers and introducing each grade. Each class performed a song or dance inspired by the text of the story. The Lower School chorus and Singing Raiders also joined together for one number—a song called There is Peace. To close out the program, the entire Lower School took the stage to sing an updated arrangement of What a Wonderful World. The Lower School Holiday Program is a long-standing tradition at North Shore, explained Lower School Music Teacher Linda Kiracibasi. And while it has evolved over the years to become more inclusive and representative of the School community, the themes of love and kindness are universal. “It’s very special,” she said.

Winter Choral Concert: Richard Austin ’18, Clayton Durning ’18, Chip Heller ’18 and Zach Barker ’19 Lower School Holiday Program: Parker Sheffler ’31, Finley Todd ’31 and Preston Ver Eecke ’31

Samantha Jaffe ’19, Andrea Gomez ’19, Morgan Small ’19 and Claudette Kankindi ’20

Camilla Sheftel ’27, Madeline Mooney ’27 and Nikash Bawa ’27 Ava Farhat ’26 and Thomas Carlino ’26

Grace Scullion ’18, Ava Prezant ’21, Emily Weil ’19 and Zach Barker ’19

Lower, Middle and Upper School Choruses

Katie Sheehan ’28

at hle t ics Fall 2017 Sports Season Wrap-up

Cross Country

This was a historic fall for NSCDS athletics with one state title (tennis), two conference championships (field hockey and golf), three coaching staffs recognized as ISL Coaching Staff of the Year (field hockey, tennis and volleyball) and four students named ISL Player of the Year (Xas Morgan ’20, Peter Miles ’18, Claudia Miller ’21 and Kali Pfannerstill ’20). There were 29 athletes given All-Conference honors and eight players named All-State.

The cross country team competed in 11 meets this season and finished fifth in the conference. With a young team, it was a year of individual growth and breaking personal records. The season highlight came during the Independent School League Conference meet, when the team achieved eight personal bests. Caroline Hagerty ’21 finished seventh. Individually, Ben Berghammer ’19 and Anna Brennan ’18 both advanced to sectionals, and at that meet, Anna recorded an 11-second personal record.

“I have always believed that improvement in our program would happen exponentially,” explained Athletic Director Patrick McHugh. “But no one could have predicted how well our field hockey team would play in their semi-final state game, how much improved our volleyball team was this year, and how our tennis team could win state. I am very optimistic for the future of North Shore teams. We have spent a lot of time getting to this point. We now have kids who are not just talented but work hard and we have dedicated coaches. So I cannot predict which team will make the next breakthrough. All I can tell you is it will happen.”

Fall All-Conference and All-State 2017 C R O S S C O U N T R Y Caroline Hagerty ’21 F I E L D H O C K E Y Xas Morgan ’20, Julia Fortier ’20, Abby Renaud ’19, Allie Charnas ’20, Julia Doyle ’18 and Margaret Chandler ’18; ISL Player of the Year Xas Morgan; All-State Xas Morgan, Jessica Hourihane ’18, Abby Renaud and Julia Fortier B OY S G O L F Peter Miles ’18, Eli Sherman ’21, Ward Madigan ’19 and Henry Echt ’20; ISL Player of the Year Peter Miles G I R L S G O L F Caroline Gray ’21 S O C C E R Brad O’Connor ’18, Vincent Luglio ’21, Aidan Zavala ’19, Cam Rizai ’18 T E N N I S Claudia Miller ’21, Cara Savin ’18, Gabbie Kaplinsky ’20,

Rachel Schapiro ’18, Alex Arenson ’19, Edith Edwards-Mizel ’20, Caroline Lommer ’19 and Claudia Hayward ’18; ISL Player of the Year Claudia Miller; All-State Claudia Miller, Alex Arenson, Caroline Lommer and Cara Savin V O L L E Y B A L L Kali Pfannerstill ’20, Zoe Bogan ’20, Caroline Rice ’19, Anna Roszak ’19 and Kelley Deveny ’20; ISL Co-Player of the Year Kali Pfannerstill; Pioneer Press All-Region Honorable Mention Kali Pfannerstill and Zoe Bogan

ISL Coaching Staff of the Year F I E L D H O C K E Y Alyssa Dudzik, Michaela Bowler, Rachel Cahan ’04, Mullery Doar ’06 and Mark Medhurst T E N N I S Glenn Golden, Alex Barker ’12, Nazlie Green and Ty Scaletta V O L L E Y B A L L Jen Pfannerstill, Kirstine Jensen, Froy Reyes and Jordan Holod

C O R R E C T I O N In the Summer 2017 Acorn, Lauren Kaplinsky ’17 should

have been included in the All-Conference recognition. Lauren was a 12-season Upper School participant in sports at North Shore Country Day, making her a member of the Jay Bach Iron Raider Society. Of those 12 seasons, she was recognized 10 times by ISL coaches in the postseason. Her senior year, Lauren was ISL Co-Player of the Year for girls soccer. Only one other Raider—Andrea Strauss ’10—has held that honor.

Field Hockey The girls field hockey team had a record-smashing season, thanks in part to the tremendous leadership of nine seniors who contributed to the success of the team on and off the field. Head Coach Alyssa Dudzik said that teamwork was a major focus this season. “It wasn’t just one girl on our team doing all the work to score the goal. It was very much a team effort,” she said. With a final record of 19-3, the girls were ISL conference champions and finished second in the state. This was the first time a North Shore field hockey team had ever made it to the state finals. Early in the season, the team beat New Trier for the first time in any sport in School history, then beat them again in double overtime in the Final Four. The girls also had another huge win against Glenbard West High School, which ended in shootouts after a double overtime.

Golf North Shore fielded a girls golf team for the first time this year and in its inaugural season, the program found both team and individual success. Led by Captain Haniyah Ghazi ’18, the team finished with a dual match record of 2-3, earning victories against Chicago Lab School and Regina Dominican. In the postseason ISL conference tournament, Caroline Gray ’21 finished fourth. The following week, the team competed in its first IHSA Regional event and earned an impressive fourth place finish out of the 10 teams competing. While this was just shy of the third place finish required to advance as a team, Haniya and Caroline advanced as individuals. While neither golfer made it to the state tournament, the season was a successful one by all measures. The boys golf team was the largest it’s ever been with 29 boys competing this fall. The varsity team won the School’s 11th straight Independent School League Conference Championship and advanced to the IHSA sectionals. The varsity team missed going downstate by 5 shots, but Will Dart ’18 qualified to play in the

IHSA State Championship as an individual and finished tied for 27th place after two solid rounds. Will’s qualification for IHSA State Championship continued the NSCDS Golf Team’s streak of 11 straight years of having at least one golfer compete in the state championship. Even though the team is graduating four seniors, the increased number of players in the program and skill of the younger players shows great potential for another strong golf season next year. Cross Country: Caroline Hagerty ’21

Field Hockey: Paige Forester ’19

Volleyball: Kelley Deveney ’20

Soccer: Tyler Doornweerd ’20

Soccer The North Shore boys soccer team had a successful fall. The young Raiders team faced some strong opposition on a schedule that included three games against previous state champions and two 3A schools. The team finished with a record of 8-8-4 that included big wins over Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Lisle High School and Schaumburg Christian Academy. The season ended in double overtime at the Regional Finals against a strong Sullivan High School team. Vincent Luglio ’21 led the ISL in goals and points for the season.

Tennis The girls tennis team was the first girls team in School history to win a state championship. The team’s main focus during the season was to be a little bit better each day. Within that framework, they aspired to be relentless, aggressive, smart and opportunistic. The girls finished 12-1 in dual meets and tied for first place in the ISL. North Shore hosted the ISL Conference Championship for the first time and finished second overall. Every player in the Raiders’ ISL lineup earned either All-Conference or Honorable Mention in that tournament. Claudia Miller ’21 was the undefeated conference champion. The team took second place in the Vernon Hills Sectional, qualifying two singles players and one doubles team for the State Finals. Thanks to a strong showing at that tournament, the team was able to gain enough points to win first place.

Girls Golf Coach Jason Giffen with Haniya Ghazi ’18, Caroline Gray ’21, Anita Rao ’21, Ella Ristic ’21, Mia Askew ’19 and Sophie Berghammer ’21

Volleyball With a 19-6 record, the girls volleyball team won more games than any other team before them. The girls finished second in the ISL (6-1), falling only to Latin School of Chicago early in the season. The team also beat Woodlands Academy at Woodlands for the first time in more than a quarter century. The girls wrapped up an incredible season after falling to Schaumburg Christian in the IHSA regional tournament, which North Shore hosted this year.

State Champion Girls Tennis Team

a lumni connec t ions Events Bring Alumni Together Young alumni from the classes of 2001-2014 gathered on August 10 at the Derby Bar & Grill in Lincoln Park. Organized by the Young Alumni Committee, some 30 attended and helped keep Raider connections going strong. The majority of those attending participated in the Annual Giving effort that evening, organized by the Committee. Committee members who planned the event include Kelsey Andersen ’06, Benjy Blenner ’02, Karen Block ’09, Sarah Cody ’04, Mullery Doar ’06, Lisa Doi ’09, Jake Kann ’12, Genevieve Nielsen ’10, Morgan Peters ’11, Julia Price ’10, Meredith Price ’07, Ashleigh Cross St. Peters ’05 and Madeline Tank ’11. Homecoming followed on September 22-23, attracting hundreds of alums to campus. Those classes celebrating a special class reunion (class years ending in 2 and 7) joined other alumni attending sports games, informational programs and alumni gatherings on and off campus. North Shore held a Boston regional event on October 5, giving alumni and friends of the School the opportunity to hear from Head of School Tom Flemma about the current school year and the 2017-2022 Strategic Plan, as well as visit and make fun connections. More regional events are in the works for 2018, including an alumni and friends gathering with Tom in Los Angeles in January, hosted by alumnus Bob Kopple ’61.

Carol Marshall Allen ’74, Joan Carroll Cronin ’72

The year-end gatherings included two events on December 22. College-age alumni returned to campus for a breakfast to connect with each other, faculty and current students, then joined the entire school for the Winter Celebration in the Mac Gym. Along with faculty and staff, the alums closed out the celebration with the traditional Winter Wonderland sing-along. Later that evening, young alumni from the classes of 2001-2014 met up at the Firehouse Grill in Evanston. For more information on events or to get involved, please contact Nancy Green Whiteman ’71 in the Alumni Office. C L A S S O F 1 9 4 2 . Marge Otter Street and Liz Price Hunt

C L A S S O F 1 9 5 2 . Sue Baskin Bernhard, Sue Mack Blecker, Joe Blecker,

Lynsey Wollin-Casey and Becky Hofstein Grady ’07

Ruth Hurka Westfall, Pat Collins Horne

C L A S S O F 1 9 7 7 . Front Row: Jane Alexander Beck, Bob Elisha, Lucy Yee, Anita Thompson,

Pam Gibson, Anne Hines Young, Michael Lipman; Back Row: Dan Deuble, Mark Sargis, Charlie Colbert, Bill Thompson, Joel Feinstein, David Sahlin, Lauren Stone.

Former Faculty Drama Teacher Carol Radloff and Joel de la Fuente ’87

Phyllis Beattie ’72 and Ellen Harwich Mautner ’72

C L A S S O F 2 0 0 7 . Front Row: Scott Nicholson, Kathy McHugh, Idalia Gabrielow,

Becky Hofstein Grady; Back Row: John Elam, Michael McGee, Bert Jarchow, Bill Reitz

C L A S S 1 9 6 7 . Jim Darrow, Eliza Howe Earle, Susie Cranage Staebell, Steve Cook, Marty Jack, Tom Ross, Wick Loomis Blasi, Steve Barber, Cece Ewen Durbin, Ann Gougler Boyd, Charlie Schweppe, Tom Stibolt, Amelia Milliken Small, Fred Croft

Ron Cahan ’62, Eleanor Wagner Cornog ’62. Gary Cornog

Peggy Smith Coffee ’90 and Tracy Bach Vogel ’85

Michaela Murphy ’92 and Ches Manly ’89

C L A S S 1 9 8 2 . John Whitlock, Elizabeth Ingram, Bob Vieregg and Heather Whitlock

C L A S S 1 9 8 7 . Back Row: Joel Jacobson, Bill Bach, David Hoffheimer, Larry Williams, Joel de la Fuente; Middle Row: Fiona McDonagh Farrell, Cindy Brennan Anabali, Heather Utzinger Michellotti, Ari Kogut, Ned Wolpert, Caren Jeskey, Patrick Strong; Front Row: Molly Shotwell Oelerich, Lisa McClung Ristic, Chris Avery, Dimitria Cook, 38 Marcy Stern Howell, Lauri Reagan Harris, Dan Bloedorn

Cathy Askow Thompson ’69 and Tom Flemma

Alumnae and Student Field Hockey Players

Jim Darrow ’67, Anne Darrow McCausland ’62 and John Darrow ’65

Young Alumni from the Classes of 2001-2014

Rachel Mabie ’12, Aleda Deuble ’12, Jeannie Peters ’12

Susie Brew Schreiber ’58, Jean Long Thompson ’57, John Thompson, Ted Notz ’53, Sandra Notz, Ken Gaile and Margie Sinek Gaile ’50

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

a lumni connec t ions Children and Grandchildren of Alumni North Shore is proud of our alumni connections, especially those current students, pictured here, whose parents and grandparents attended the school.

R O W 1 Payne Wood (Andrew Wood ’90), Greyson Gent (Jennifer Gonzalez-Gent ’98), Shahaan Ghazi (Rashid Ghazi ’85) R O W 2 Camilla Sheftel (Gordon Hall ’40), Margot Ake (Bill Ake ’88), Lottie Ake (Bill Ake ’88), Razaan Ghazi (Rashid Ghazi ’85), Dixie Oelerich (Cy ’89 and Molly Shotwell Oelerich ’87), Samuel Rosen (Sarah Geist Rosen ’86), Thomas Scott (Hilary Bishop Scott ’96), Devin Todd (Katie Todd ’96) R O W 3 Bronwyn Wood (Andrew Wood ’90), Jibraan Ghazi (Rashid Ghazi ’85), Cece Norton (Christine Griffin Norton ’87), Hadley Ake (Bill Ake ’88), Anna Ristic (Lisa McClung Ristic ’87), Gabriel Rosen (Sarah Geist Rosen ’86) R O W 4 Haniya Ghazi (Rashid Ghazi ’85), Allie Charnas (Chris Charnas ’83), Buckley Oelerich (Cy ’89 and Molly Shotwell Oelerich ’87), Ella Ristic (Lisa McClung Ristic ’87), Margie Blair (Bruce Blair ’69), Charley Bell (Cathy Bell Bartholomay ’79), Tori Blair (Bruce Blair ’69), Abby Renaud (Lisa Paul Renaud ’85) R O W 5 Trevor Yamada (Virginia Miller Read ’29), Colin Norton (Christine Griffin Norton ’87), Will Karmin (Peter Karmin ’83), Andrew Karmin (Philip Karmin ’80), Thomas McDowell (Molly Ingram McDowell ’80) I N S E T Julia Doyle (Neil Flanagin ’48), Daisy Stone (Jennifer Stone ’82), Finley Todd (Katie Todd ’96) N O T P I C T U R E D Dusty Karmin (Peter Karmin ’83) and Will Hough (Betsy Schroeder Hough ’85)

HOMECOMING & REUNION WEEKEND Save the Date! September 28-29, 2018

Reunion Classes: 1938, 1943, 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

Please join us for NSCDS “Live and Serve” Work Day. Saturday, May 12, 2018 No matter where you are, you can be a part of this day of service. More details to follow from the Alumni Office.

pho t os from our pa s t “A picture is worth a thousand words” and tells an important and interesting story. If you can identify any of these photos or tell us a story about them, please contact Director of Alumni Relations Nancy Green Whiteman ’71, 310 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, IL 60093, nwhiteman@nscds.org or call her at 847.881.8848.

cl a ss notes

1940s Center in New York City, where she was a professor at The Gallatin School at New York University until her retirement in 2003. Adored by her students, Lorie brought passion and humor to the classroom, bequeathing her love of literature to the next generation. Henry Robbins Odell ’42 died on October In retirement, Lorie was an avid reader 30, 2017, at his home in Seattle. Born in and an excellent cook of memorable feasts. Chicago, he was a successful businessman She was also an amateur musician; as a and university professor. After serving as young woman she studied voice and piano an ensign in WWII, Henry helped found and, until recently, sang in choirs in and Regal Beloit Corporation (Regal) in Beloit, around New York City. She was dedicated WI, in 1955. He later pursued a second to her family, spending hours on the career as a professor at the McIntyre phone each day with her children. School of Commerce at the University Lorie is survived by her husband, of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. Henry Gregory Sullivan; her daughters, Kabi was wise, generous, even-keeled and fair. and Tanya Hartman from her first marOver his long life, he enjoyed chess, golf, riage to Jan Hartman, her sons-in-law, reading, sailing, crossword puzzles, birdStephen Cooper and Eric Graham, her ing, canoeing and traditional jazz. He valgranddaughter, Eva Hartman-Cooper, ued education and helped his family and and her stepchildren, Deborah Sullivan, others to achieve their educational goals Jennifer von Rohr and Jeffrey Sullivan. while also promoting good teaching. He was an innovator, embracing many technologies before they became popular. Henry is survived by his wife of 60 years, Anne Coulter Tobey ’63 recently returned Evelyn, his sister Audrey, five of his from a road trip to Nashville where they children, eight grandchildren, a great went to the Grand Ole Opry and saw a grandson, and 12 nieces and nephews. Sheryl Crow concert. Marion Kimball Purdy ’47 was not able to Paul Fairbank ’67 reports, “After 20 years attend her reunion but sent greetings to in the powerboat business, both retail those who attended. She wrote, “I am and manufacturing, it was time to leave doing well, living in a ground-floor oneChicagoland. I’ve moved to Oriental, NC, bedroom apartment with a garden, part population 985, in Pamlico County, popuof a continuing-care retirement commulation nearly 13,000. We’ve got two stopnity named White Horse Village in lights, one recent, and 3,000 boats, mostly Newtown Square, PA.” sail. Oriental is the ‘sailboat capital of North Carolina.’ Oriental is about 60 miles east, as the crow flies/fish swims, of Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks. Our Rufus Jeffris ’53 “spent Thanksgiving area is referred to as the Inner Banks. with my three sons, [their] wives and six “I own a small marina with guest house grandchildren at Stinson Beach, CA.” on Broad Creek called The Boonedocks. Lorie Selz Hartman Sullivan ’56, cherished I live with my new wife Kip in her house on the Neuse River in town. What joy! wife, mother and grandmother, passed That’s right, two and a half houses both away on September 3, 2017, at Hospice on the water. Hers subject to occasional and Community Care in Mt. Joy, PA, of flooding, mine 11 feet off the ground, complications from Parkinson’s Disease. 15 feet above the water. She had recently moved to Woodcrest “After moving here, I quickly discovered Villas in Lancaster, and was formerly of that full retirement was too much of a Wyckoff, NJ, and New York City. snore and took a part time job at the local Following North Shore Country Day hardware store. Over time, I’ve become the School and Wellesley College, she received manager of Oriental’s finest hardware her Ph.D. in English from the Graduate Louise Konsberg Noll ’40 reports that her grandson Dan was married to Suzanna Robinson in North Dakota in August, and her daughter Megan was married to Nick Johns of Lake Placid in October. Louise turned 95 at the end of November.

1960s

1950s

store, Village Hardware. I am also the town’s Parade Master, running our Spirit of Christmas Parade and the Croaker Festival Parade on the 4th of July. Ten years now, I’ve tried to be replaced, but no luck. I may have to die to quit. If you are ever in the area stop by and say hey!” Susan Restin St. John ’68 is “living in Olympia, WA, close to my son, and volunteering for an immigrant education and support center—as well as teaching part time in the schools.”

1970s Cathy Bell Bartholomay ’79 and her family were recently honored for a communityservice recognition award from the Kenilworth Board of Education. During the 2011-2012 school year, Cathy helped research, raise funds for and launch an Outdoor Classroom for the school. An underutilized area behind the school was transformed into an Illinois prairie-style garden and curriculum-based learning arena. Every year since, as the garden has grown, she has continued to volunteer in this wonderful green space. Additionally, her boys, Joey (17) and Charley ’21 (14) have worked side-by-side with Cathy and her husband Bill each summer as caretakers of the garden. Cathy stated, “We water, weed, pick-up trash and harvest fruits and vegetables. My husband Bill and I are delighted to support the garden with annual gifts to help it grow. Our family feels privileged to be a part of this ongoing project that gives so much to both the school and the extended community. Without question, this, and the other volunteer roles I have had over the years at various nonprofit and civic organizations, embody exactly the kind of service that was inspired by my days at NSCDS where I learned the value and satisfaction of giving back to my community, as part of North Shore’s motto, ‘Live and Serve.’”

1980s Jeff Foreman ’80 participated in the Health

and Organization at Your Doorstep seminar on October 19 as one of the presenters held at the Northview Bank and Trust in Northfield, IL. It was the third “Senior

John Barkhausen ’05 and Caroline Rex-Waller ’05

2000s John Barkhausen ’05 and Caroline RexWaller ’05 were married on September 9. North Shore faculty members who attended included Frank Dachille, Drea Gallaga and Lynsey Wollin-Casey as well as alumni Peter Callahan ’09, Kit Callahan ’06 (and their parents Rick Callahan and Bic Wirtz), Dan Killian ’05 (who officiated the wedding), Katie Butler Wakana ’05, Jessie Regunberg ’05, Emma Harper ’05, Laura Uhlir ’05, Owen Zinaman ’05, Robert Rex-Waller ’01, Scott Knowlton ’77, Drew Knowlton Schaeffer ’75 and Tom Geraghty ’62.

Glass artist Ben Tullman ’06 was featured in a recent Chicago Tribune article about his artwork. He started Ignite Glass Studios in the West Loop in 2012. His glass creations were displayed by Murano Bill Bartholomay, Joey Bell, Cathy Bell Bartholomay ’79 and Charley Bell ’21 Midwest at SOFA Chicago (Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design Fair), November 2-5, 2017, at Navy Pier. When Rebecca Andreou Sabri ’86 shared that Services in Your Backyard” seminar the asked who inspired him Ben replied, her daughter Isabella is at UC Berkeley banks have hosted. Jeff is a “concierge “My ceramics teacher at North Shore doctor” offering patients 24/7 availability and her sons are in the process of applying Country Day, Jackie Melissas. She had a to college. They will be empty nesters and personal attention, additionally servfriend who was a hobby jewelry maker and soon. She sends her best wishes to all ing as “quarterback” when specialists glassblower. One day, she brought in five her fellow classmates. and hospitalization become necessary. or six small torches for the kids to try their hand at making beads. I was bit by the An announcement of Queen Elizabeth’s Katie O’Malley McCulloch ’85 writes, glass bug.” Honors and Awards was published in the “My final bird has flown the nest. George London Gazette on September 21, 2017. graduated from Madison High School George Whiteman ’06 is living and workThe Queen, as Sovereign Head of the Most ing in Nashville as a physical therapist at in New Jersey in June and has joined his Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John Results Physiotherapy. Results has over sister Gracie at Georgia Southern of Jerusalem, directed the appointment University. Lucy is working and contem130 locations in nine states in which their plating a move to Georgia. Work continues of Lisa McClung Ristic ’87 to be a clinics offer hands-on physical therapy to be adventurous and the nonprofit world serving Sister of said order. to all ages for more than 100 conditions. never gets boring.”

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

cl a ss notes Meredith Price ’07 accepted a new position in September 2017 as project manager, business operations at Victoria’s Secret in Columbus, OH.

North Shore friends gathered for Blair Hunt ’09’s engagement party.

2010s Hayley Formolo ’10 currently handles all of the PR and marketing for a local nonprofit named Aspire, which provides supportive services for people with developmental disabilities. Their mission is to support the successes of children and adults with disabilities, strengthen their families and build embracing communities. She writes, “We’re all about inclusion—very similar to NSCDS! Aspire is always in need of awesome volunteers.”

Blair Hunt ’09’s engagement party with her 2009 classmates (Back Row: Blair Hunt, Emily Gavin, Kenna Sullivan, Hannah Walchak; Front Row: Lisa Doi, Caroline McCarthy, Alex Kaplan Keefe, Melissa Jesser and Karen Block)

Alex Kaplan Keefe ’09’s wedding (Back Row: Allison McDonough ’09, Emily Gavin ’09, Lisa Doi ’09, David Thomas ’09, Matt Thomas ’09; Front Row: Blair Hunt ’09, James Keefe, Alex Kaplan Keefe ’09, Karen Block ’09, Sophie Hiland ’18, faculty member Cassandra Hiland)

Jessica Qiao ’14 reported in May, “I just

finished my year-long study abroad program in Lyon, France and have been traveling around Europe since then. As a third-year student at the University of Virginia who double majored in English Literature and French Language, I decided at the end of my second year of college to study abroad at Université Lumière Lyon for two semesters, from August 2016 to May 2017. The main purpose was to further hone my French language skill and to immerse myself in European cultures. I can see myself coming back to France in the very near future. “Three years at North Shore helped me find my passion for language and literature. At the University of Virginia, I am a writer for my school newspaper, the Cavalier Daily. I never doubt I will follow the literary path in the years ahead and have interned at some news companies. Last summer, I interned with Bloomberg Businessweek in Beijing where most of my responsibilities were translation. This summer, I will intern at Center for China and Globalization, a think tank headquartered in Beijing that focuses on ChinaUnited States relations. “As I am graduating pretty soon, later this year, I will start preparing for graduate school in France, the United States or the United Kingdom. Who knows where I will be next year? I have been traveling around different countries over the past three years. Yet doubtlessly, my story all started at North Shore.”

Emi Neithercut ’04 and Parker Brook

William Lockhart Curry-Edwards with brothers Jack and Luke

Jane Canter and Nora Philbin ’11

Lydia Sanchez-Andersen with sister Marissa

While Jessica was in Paris, she met with Alex Theodosakis ’14, who was studying at the University of Chicago center in Paris. She also met with Sara Fuchs ’14 in Berlin. Sara just finished her second year of her seven-year law studies at The Humboldt University of Berlin.

Marriages

Connor Watrous ’17, who is a freshman at

the University of Chicago, wrote that he “joined an acapella group called Ransom Notes that is one of the more selective on campus. We compete nationally and spend a ton of time together.”

Bart Berndtson ’54 to Diane Hackett

August 17, 2017 Alex Moffat ’00 to Caroline Rau August 19, 2017 Katy Costello ’03 to James Sloan

September 9, 2017 Caroline Rex-Waller ’05 to John Barkhausen ’05

Naomi Hattori ’02 to Jun-Jun Vichaikul

Nora Philbin ’11 to Jane Canter

October 1, 2017 Sydney Almquist ’81 to Robert Isabell

October 27, 2017

Births lydia sanchez-andersen August 23, 2017 Kelsey Andersen ’06 and Miguel Sanchez

September 9, 2017

charles leslie vreede

Alexandra Kaplan ’09 to James Keefe

September 11, 2017 Andrew and Molly Whiteman Vreede ’03

September 9, 2017

Engagements

Charles Leslie Vreede

Todd Searle ’05 to Joan Holtgreive

September 9, 2017 Emi Neithercut ’04 to Parker Brook September 23, 2017

william lockhart curry-edwards October 19, 2017 Matthew and Rebecca Lockhart Curry-Edwards ’04

a c o r n · Fall/Winter 2018

cl a ss notes

Hannah Esther de Jager

Greyson Jane Wirtz and Griffin Arthur Wirtz

Shay Virginia Doar with parents Anita and Charlie Doar ’03 and big brother Mac

hannah esther de jager

terry r. ostrom ’61

benjamin (benji) thomas

November 9, 2017 Pieter and Abby Smith de Jager ’03

September 8, 2017 Brother of Patricia Ostrom Kohnen ’60 Son of the late Gerald Ostrom (Former Faculty)

Former Faculty (Middle School) November 14, 2017

griffin arthur wirtz and greyson jane wirtz November 21, 2017 Hillary Wirtz ’97 and Erin Quaglia

shay virginia doar November 25, 2017 Anita and Charlie Doar ’03

In Memoriam elizabeth kimball wanders ’44

tison keel ’67 September 17, 2017 Brother of Patricia Keel ’65

shirley mellor petry September 19, 2017 Mother of the late

Miriam Feinstein Lupien ’80

October 29, 2017 Mother of Susan Stetson ’72 Grandmother of Alexander Vertrees ’07 and Peter Vertrees ’11

henry robbins odell ’42

at the Maine Jewish Museum in their current Menorah show.....challenging fun work for me! Still traveling—Bermuda and Berlin trips this fall along with the usual NYC visits with sister and my kids.”

Send in Your News!

October 30, 2017

THE DEADLINE FOR THE SPRING

lorie selz hartman sullivan ’56

Email nwhiteman @ nscds.org or call Nancy at 847.881.8848 .

September 3, 2017

frances mecklenburger lehman November 15, 2017 Grandmother of Amy Lehman ’91, Peter Lehman ’94, Jonathan Lehman ’99, Michael Lehman ’02 and Elizabeth Lehman ’04

December 2, 2017

Jackie Melissas “was invited to show

gayle lillian mcdowell stetson

July 19, 2017 Mother of the late Seth Feinstein ’76, Joel Feinstein ’77, Divah Feinstein Greenberg ’78 and

guy b. mercer, jr. ’62

ann lounsbury brundage

katharine (“kay”) bingham hull ’48

barbara feinstein

Laura Uhlir ’05

Former Faculty

September 1, 2016

Morton Hull ’45

November 22, 2017 Father of Lydia Uhlir ’02 and

Barbara Haight Lutton ’67

August 30, 2017 Mother of John Brundage ’78

June 25, 2017 Sister of Eunice Hull Drewsen ’52, the late Lyman Hull ’46 and the late

edward uhlir

ACORN IS MARCH 12, 2018.

a lumni r efl ec t ion dana michelle brown davenport ’96

I T WA S O N T H E F I E L D, COURT AND T R U LY O N T H E T R A C K T H AT I LEARNED H OW TO B E A T E A M P L AY E R .

irst, congratulations to the 2017 varsity field hockey team for coming in second place at this year’s State championship— you will always be first in my book. It was so nostalgic to hear the news! During my senior year (22 years ago in 1995), I served as co-captain along with Devon Levy Siegel ’96 and Susan Pope ’96, and we also went to State as Independent School League Champions for the third time in a row. We placed fourth against the only public schools that had a field hockey program. I appreciate how the sport has grown in Illinois and I’m so proud of this accomplishment for North Shore. It was on the field, court and truly on the track that I learned how to be a team player. I maintain that you can easily tell adults who played sports growing up, especially women. North Shore, and my highly involved experience there, has shaped the woman I am today. A native of Highland Park and Deerfield, I spent 10 years as a Raider, and our school’s motto, “Live and Serve,” resonates with me in both conscious and subconscious ways. At North Shore, I felt empowered to be heavily involved in the School. Playing field hockey, basketball and running track taught me how to be a team player, while challenging me physically to achieve more than I had ever imagined. Singing in chorus and performing in the musicals nurtured my lifetime love of entertainment and the arts. However,

some of my fondest memories are from Work Day. The unselfish act of showing kindness and compassion to strangers through service is the essence of who I am. And it is the very thing this world needs more of, now more than ever. North Shore taught me that. My teachers at North Shore made an indelible mark on my life, some of whom I remain in contact with to this day—namely, Kevin Randolph, Lisa Hilbink and Kathy McHugh. I also make a point to check in on Michael Querio, Linda Kiracibasi and Cindy Hooper; that’s typically unheard of, yet it’s so normal to me. I am forever grateful for how these and other teachers (like Adrienne Weisse) who influenced me and not only taught me subject matter, but how to love life and be a good citizen of the world. I went on to Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, where I was an ambassador of the college in the NYU Domestic Exchange Program; a member of Student Government; a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.; and I served as both a formal and informal mentor to other young women. At the University of Chicago Law School, I was stretched in ways academically that I never thought possible. Most of all, my representation of the underserved in the Juvenile Justice Clinic was some of my most challenging and rewarding work since I graduated from North Shore. I went on to work as an associate at DLA Piper (with my classmate

John Whittlesey ’96) before eventually moving in-house with Accenture. Living and serving takes on a whole new meaning when you become a parent. In 2007, I got married and had two beautiful kids, Trey (8) and Lena (6), and they have been such a blessing in my life. It is my honor to accompany them as they explore this world and what it has to offer. I want to teach them so many things I have learned over the years, many of which came from my time at North Shore. We reside in Naperville, IL, and although the public schools there are phenomenal and the environment is diverse and friendly, it’s nothing like North Shore. My latest forms of service have been writing for SCENE Chicago Magazine and my new internet talk radio show, Dana Being Dana, which is all about the human connection and giving back. I was interviewed about my divorce, healing and living your best life on another show, and the feedback I received from that transparency encouraged me to start my own. What fuels me is my ability to help others with my story and my passion for love and life. I’ve realized that I’ve grown to be a connector, an influencer, an entertainer and an example of love, compassion, thoughtfulness and tolerance for others. And I credit North Shore for giving me such an awesome foundation. It’s truly the people that make the School what it is. I am forever grateful.