Review — Spring 2022

SPRING 2022

The Science of SEL

Weaving Social and Emotional Learning Throughout Oak Knoll's Curriculum

CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE

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FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

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SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING The Tools Students Need to Thrive in School and in Life

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THE MENTAL SIDE OF ATHLETICS Students Learn to Self-Advocate, Take Risks and Grow from Failure in Sports

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THE SCIENCE OF SEL Weaving Social and Emotional Learning Throughout Oak Knoll’s Curriculum

FEATURES

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ONE LAP AT A TIME Oak Knoll Swimmer Perseveres Despite Physical Obstacles

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UNCONDITIONAL AFFECTION Mary Margaret Schroeder ’20 Sees God’s Undying Love for Us in Others

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CHEMISTRY WITH INTENTION Lauren Babb ’14 Combines Activism with Love of Science

REVIEW is published twice per year by the Marketing & Communications Department for alumnae/i, parents and friends of Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child.

Head of School Jennifer G. Landis EDITOR Meghan Hodgin Director of Marketing & Communications

ASSOCIATE EDITOR James McEvoy Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications ASSISTANT EDITOR Laura Perillo Marketing Content Strategist EDITORIAL STAFF Cynthia Prewitt Director of Institutional Advancement

Elizabeth O’Mara ’86 Associate Director of Institutional Advancement

Gabe Rhodes Natalia Rivera Christina Yen

Barbara Lindner Assistant Director of Institutional Advancement

DESIGN Abbie Moore Design

PHOTOGRAPHY Michael Branscom Cornell University Highpoint Pictures James McEvoy Princeton University Travis Prior

PRINTING Action Graphics Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child 44 Blackburn Road Summit, NJ 07901 908-522-8109 www.oakknoll.org

Message from the Head of School “At the beginning of each action, place yourself in the presence of God and offer it to Him with a pure intention.”

- Cornelia Connelly, founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus Dear Oak Knoll School Community, Who do you want your child to be when they grow up?

Consider that question for a moment. So often, with pure intention, we hyper focus on what our children will become that we forget to consider who they will grow to be as people.

You may want them to become a doctor, a lawyer, a computer programmer, or the next great author. Perhaps a forensic scientist, a game designer, or engineer. Maybe they will be the first to land on Mars. No matter what they end up doing professionally, I can guarantee that all of us ultimately want the same thing for our children — to be happy, healthy, and fulfilled.

At Oak Knoll, we strive for excellence in all that we do, and that is evidenced by the incredible success of our alumnae/i. Consider Lauren Babb ’14 who is graduating with her master’s degree from the University of Maine this spring, who recently penned a paper for the Journal of Chemical Education about a Chemistry and Racism course she co-taught at Barnard College. There is also Brittany Ferrara ’13, who works with autistic children to help them develop social and behavioral skills so they can flourish. Emily Jones ’12 is a licensed social worker who advocates for justice reform. Our students have the tools they need to thrive in school and in life because they foster the skills necessary at Oak Knoll, and they do so with pure intention and purpose.

In the pages that follow, you will read all about our PK-12 social and emotional curriculum that touches on 10 different character traits essential to student balance, development, and success. Follow along as each story in the magazine touches on at least one of the 10 traits.

At Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, everything we do is centered on our students experiencing the joy of learning so that they become compassionate leaders who influence the world instead of being influenced by it.

Sincerely,

Jennifer G. Landis Head of School

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THE TOOLS STUDENTS NEED TO

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING While it’s important that children earn good grades in school, parents and educators know it’s equally as important that children develop healthy identities, manage their emotions, show empathy for others, and grow into adults who make responsible and caring decisions.

OUR SEL PROGRAM LOWER SCHOOL

In the Lower School, social and emotional lessons are reinforced throughout the entire curriculum, including in technology, where responsible use of digital tools is taught through digital citizenship courses in all grade levels; drama class, where SEL topics are woven through puppetry lessons and skits for younger students;and through Religion classes and a variety of service projects, where SEL is fostered and taught, including the Christmas Food Drive, Share a Sweater, Easter Baskets for the Homeless, Toy Drives, and more.

The core components of our Lower School SEL program include:

CHARACTER STRONG:

LEADERSHIP:

ANTI-BIAS BUILDING BLOCKS:

ADVISORY:

Kindergarten students learn to develop a sense of identity, appreciation for diversity, an understanding of justice, and tools to be an up-stander.

All students in grades 5 and 6 participate in Advisory groups. Each Advisory group is led by a teacher, and groups meet after lunch once a month to enjoy conversation together and to discuss various topics on the minds of middle school students.

The Character Strong curriculum, which has deep roots in social-emotional learning, rolled out in Oak Knoll’s Lower School for PK–6 students during the fall of 2020.

The program is aimed at reinforcing specific character traits like empathy, compassion, and kindness from an early age. Read more on page 4.

CONNECT4LEARNING: Includes weekly SEL lessons for pre-K students, including identifying feelings and being a good friend.

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SEL skills can help inform leadership decisions. The Lower School offers many leadership opportunities, including Student Council, Peer Leadership, and Liturgical Ministries.

Students in grades 5 and 6 also participate in leadership retreats, mini lessons throughout the school day, Advisory lunches, and hallway huddles.

STUDENTS ARE SUPPORTED DAILY BY: • Division Head • Assistant Division Head • Full-Time Counselor • Teachers

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL LEARNING AT OKS SPRING 2022

THRIVE IN SCHOOL AND IN LIFE In the early 1990s, a new concept began to circulate among the educational community. A group of leading school-based youth-development experts listed and released a framework for incorporating social and emotional learning in schools.

The group listed skills necessary for emotional competence, including identifying and labeling feelings, managing feelings, controlling impulses, and reducing stress.

Today, social-emotional learning (SEL) is a methodology that helps students of all ages to better comprehend their emotions, feel those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others. These learned behaviors are then used to help students make positive, responsible decisions; create

LOWER UPPER SCHOOL

frameworks to achieve their goals; and build positive relationships with others.

Social-emotional learning continues to prove beneficial to every child’s growth when incorporated into a school’s curriculum.

At Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, social-emotional learning remains a central theme throughout the Upper and Lower schools, and aids in the development of the whole child.

Oak Knoll engages children in contemporary and challenging academic classes, while at the same time equips them with the many benefits of SEL as they grow into adulthood.

In addition to the core components of the Upper School SEL program, the school will be adopting the Character Strong program in the guidance curriculum and establishing for the 2022-23 school year a new ninth-grade course focused on SEL. A Project Adventure program, kicking off this school year, will be available for each grade level during exam week. Themes of building community, empathy, and teamwork are also reinforced through grade-level retreats such as Camp Bernie and Reflection Days.

The core components of our Upper School SEL program include:

ADVISORY:

Small grade-level Advisory groups classes meet for 30 minutes two times within an eight-day class cycle. Advisors also meet with their advisees for individual one-onone conversations at least once per month. This year, the main themes of the Advisory program focus on relationship building, wellness/personal growth, and cultivating a faith-filled response to the world. Read more on page 11.

EMPOWHER:

Oak Knoll’s signature EmpowHER program teaches seventhand eighth-grade students to push their boundaries, step out of their comfort zones, take risks, and boost confidence, especially through the process of risk, failure and recovery.

Before academic classes begin in the fall, students in grades 7 and 8 participate in programmatic workshops led by teachers and advisors that incorporate a variety of class bonding and self-discovery activities. Read more on page 6.

LIFELINES:

This year OKS introduced Lifelines, a comprehensive suicide awareness and responsiveness program for students in grades 5-12. Lifelines provides students, faculty, administrators, and parents with necessary tools needed to identify potential warning signs and intervene, but also to combat at the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

LEADERSHIP:

Oak Knoll develops tomorrow’s leaders. We motivate our students to answer the “call to service” and encourage them to “step forward.” Through a variety of programs, including the five Student Councils; Peer Leaders; StudentAthlete Leadership Evaluation and Development Program; and the Emerging Leaders of a Globalized World, Oak Knoll offers comprehensive leadership training and goal-setting for students.

WELLNESS:

Academic and emotional support and advisement is provided to all grades throughout the year via guidance, physical education, and health classes that integrate physical, emotional, mental, communal, and social wellness.

Topics such as stress, anxiety, nutrition, mindfulness, and goal setting are explored.

The Wellness Roundtable provides a safe place for students to engage in conversations relating to wellness topics. Through these conversations, students gain an understanding of specific wellness topics, build relationships with each other, develop their sense of self, and extend their support system here at OKS. Students are supported daily by: • Division Head • Deans • Director of Student Support • Senior Peer Leaders • College Counseling • Full-time Counselor and Part-Time Psychologist • Teachers

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WE ARE

CHARACTER STRONG HONESTY

KINDNESS

The quality of being fair and truthful

The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate

GRATITUDE

The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness

RESPONSIBILITY

The act or fact of being accountable for something, to act independently and make decisions without authorization

COURAGE

Oak Knoll has adopted the

CHARACTER STRONG PROGRAM, a social-emotional learning curriculum that focuses on character building through

COOPERATION

PERSEVERENCE

10 core traits.

The process of working together to the same end

CREATIVITY

The use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work

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The ability to do something that frightens one; strength in the face of pain or grief

Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success

RESPECT

EMPATHY

The ability to understand and share the feelings of another

A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL LEARNING AT OKS SPRING 2022

•RESPECT •EMPATHY

EMBRACING DIFFERENCES Melissa Miller Joins Oak Knoll As Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice A central mission of Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child is to recognize the dignity of every person and to sustain a diverse, inclusive school community.

In addition to upholding academic excellence and the school’s Holy Child Goals, Oak Knoll School’s socialemotional learning platform educates today’s students to show kindness and respect toward every person and to understand one another’s uniqueness.

At the same time, it teaches children to respect each other’s cultural, socioeconomic, racial, and religious differences.

Oak Knoll welcomed Melissa Miller in the summer of 2021 as the school’s new Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice. Miller joined Oak Knoll in an expanded role from the school’s previous Diversity Coordinator position and works closely with all members of the school community, analyzing existing strategies, initiatives, and suggestions from the entire school community.

Miller brings deep experience in DEIJ, admissions, special events, and donor relations from Newark Academy, where she most recently served as the school’s Assistant Director of Admissions. She is a founding member of Level, a multiracial network of women taking action for racial equity, and a consultant and facilitator for Hyphens and Spaces, a DEI company for organizations dedicated to furthering social causes. She also served as a leadership coach at Rutgers University through a partnership with Braven, an organization that partners with educational institutions to offer rigorous and relevant career readiness courses that empower college students from underrepresented backgrounds on their path to college graduation and beyond.

“In my first year at Oak Knoll it has been my priority to establish relationships and trust among different constituents of the OKS community,” said Miller. “Furthermore, it has been essential to observe, collect data points, and assess where we are as a community in our DEIJ journey to allow me to strategically plan for our future at a pace that aligns with our community. It is challenging to identify an action plan if you

don’t properly understand your starting point. One of my priorities before the close of the school year is to design and roll out the expansion of the Office of DEIJ and establish leadership opportunities for students around DEIJ initiatives.”

During her first year at Oak Knoll, Miller has led DEIJ-focused trainings for faculty and staff, supported student school assemblies around DEIJ topics, moderated DEIJ clubs, aided faculty and staff around their DEIJ goals, and led some student sessions in wellness and guidance classes. Additionally, Miller has identified professional development opportunities, conferences, and workshops for faculty, staff, and students to ensure the OKS community is staying abreast of best practices and to continue dialogue around DEIJ initiatives at the local and national levels.

Oak Knoll’s diversity work is ever evolving, reviewed, and revised to meet and exceed the educational needs of all students who are involved in several clubs promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Some include the Asian and Pacific Islander Society, Culture Club, SHADES Club, Sister for Sister, Society of Black Scholars, Unity Club, Lower School Success Skills program, and other various diversity and inclusion workshops.

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•COURAGE •PERSEVERENCE •COOPERATION

BUILDING CONFIDENCE BY FOSTERING STUDENT TALENTS Oak Knoll launches signature EmpowHER program for girls in grades 7 and 8

By Jennifer G. Landis, Head of School Research from Columbia University’s Teachers College supports that girls’ schools provide an “institutional and classroom climate in which female students can express themselves freely and frequently and develop higher order thinking skills.” Girls’ schools also provide inspirational environments where girls feel comfortable taking risks.

In light of this data, this fall we launched a new program at Oak Knoll for our middle school girls. The program, called EmpowHer, is based on the content of the book called The Confidence Code, by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay. The first four days of school, instead of following their typical schedule and going to their academic classes, the girls engaged in a series of team-building exercises, in addition to specially designed classes that were focused on taking risks, experiencing failure, recovering from that failure, and taking another risk. The girls also learned conflict resolution skills and how to practice effective communication.

Early on in my teaching career, I remember being frustrated by a disengaged, somewhat recalcitrant student. I was talking to a few colleagues about my frustration, and the art teacher said: “Come with me.” She brought me to the art room and showed me the extraordinary work that the student was doing in her class. I was amazed. It occurred to me that the student was clearly gifted as an artist and probably not so interested in my class. The art teacher told me that this girl was a leader in her class. I began to reflect on how I viewed that student and changed my approach with her and other students with whom I struggled. I found ways to leverage their strengths instead of trying to get them to conform to my narrow view of success. What a difference that made—to them and to me.

They gained much more confidence in my class because of my new perspective. That one brief trip to the art room changed me as a teacher.

Whenever a teacher is struggling with a student in a class, I always encourage them to find out where that student excels.

It might be in the art room, on the stage, on the ball field, or on the debate team. It is so important for us to recognize the breadth of opportunities for girls to demonstrate leadership.

Sometimes we can get too confined in our thinking about what leadership “is” and we look for it in too few places. Once we find that area of strength, we can capitalize on it and make room for a student’s self-concept and confidence to really grow.

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Most importantly, however, the girls got to see one another excelling in whatever area of strength they had. For some it was in a classroom setting, for others it was during a performance, and for others it was during a problem-solving activity. They learned to respect their differences, recognizing that no one person is going to be the leader in all situations, and that we must rely on one another’s strengths for the greatest overall success of the group. The girls gained confidence in stepping up when they knew they could be a leader, and they became comfortable with not always having all the answers.

When in doubt, as an educator and a parent, I’ve found it helpful to remember this quote if I feel like I am not getting through to my child or to a student: “Everyone is a genius.

But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” As educators, it’s our job to encourage learning in a variety of different ways and to see each girl as an individual with her own special talents.

Sometimes the first step in shifting that perspective is as simple as taking a walk to the art room.

Note: This piece was originally published on October 7, 2021, in the National Coalition of Girls' Schools' Raising Girls' Voices Blog.

Source: Salomone, R. C. Columbia University’s Teacher College Record. Women Graduates of Single-Sex and Coeducational High Schools: Differences in their Characteristics and the Transition to College.

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL LEARNING AT OKS SPRING 2022

BONUS CONTENT! Listen now to our podcast featuring Upper School Division Head Kathryn McGroarty as she discusses the confidence gap in middle school girls and how Oak Knoll empowers its young students.

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•COOPERATION •COURAGE •RESPECT •RESPONSIBILITY •GRATITUDE

THE

MENTAL SIDE OF ATHLETICS

By Athletic Director Kelly Childs, Ph.D., and Assistant Athletic Director Melissa Maskery, Ed.D. Winning is certainly not everything, especially when it comes to middle and high school sports. Although children play to win to rally school spirit, there are invaluable social and emotional lessons to be learned through losing. When it comes to sports, a student-athlete’s mental game is just as important as their physical game.

There are several important aspects to consider on the mental side of athletics during the middle and high school years.

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF MANAGING SUCCESS AND FAILURE AS A STUDENT ATHLETE Failure allows for growth and reassessment. Success can follow hard work, preparation, and determination, but it can also come from failure. Failures teach us to reevaluate our tactics and how to change direction and then move forward. Failure is also a valuable way to learn what you need to do next time to be successful. Managing success is a lot easier to deal with than managing failure; however, student-athletes need to be aware of managing successes in a humble manner.

IDENTIFY AND NAVIGATE OBSTACLES Practices are such an important part of a student-athlete’s experience because it is in practice that they learn to become comfortable taking risks and building the confidence to use new skills in competition. It’s important for a studentathlete to recognize that everything they try will not always work perfectly, and that while they may make a mistake the first time, the second time that risk may pay off. It’s equally as important for school athletic departments to create spaces where student-athletes feel empowered to take risks, have confidence, deal with confrontation and comparisons, and feel supported throughout the sometimes uncomfortable process.

It's also important to remind students to be aware of their thoughts in the moment of taking a risk—this is essential for success. If a student-athlete can stay present and stay on task with what they are doing, they are more likely to be successful.

If an athlete is struggling in a practice situation and they keep thinking about the same mistake, they’re more likely to make that mistake again and again. We like to train athletes to pause the constant thinking and to go right into the action of doing whatever the skill may be. Follow-up afterward—checking in to see how it felt, how it went, etc.—is then so important for evaluation and growth.

It’s easy in a team setting to compare yourself to a teammate who may play the same position as you, gaining more playing time on the field or scoring more goals than you. Studentathletes need to recognize that while this is normal, it is not helpful to one’s overall development as a player. You do not know what that person is doing behind the scenes to work on their skills, how long they have played, or what their end goals are. Each athlete is different, and we need to accept that and appreciate it. Focusing on what you can control: your effort, your attention to skill development, and the joy you feel while working hard and competing is the most important part of the process. Greatness is achieved over time, and each person has their own level of greatness to work toward.

COMMUNICATION/SELF-ADVOCACY WITH COACHES AND OTHER PLAYERS We encourage athletes to try to accept feedback from coaches from a place of “they want to see me succeed/they want me to do better,” instead of from a place of “they are just yelling at me because they do not like me.” Just this small shift in mindset makes coaches more approachable to a young student-athlete. Communication is a key component of the student-coach relationship, and making sure the channels are open and honest from the start is essential. Student-athletes

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may not always like what their coaches have to say, but understanding what is being told to them in a coaching style that will make a player improve is perhaps the greatest skill set to develop. We want to see athletes who are coachable because that is how our athletes grow and improve.

Self-advocacy is a lifelong skill. Students need to advocate for themselves at school, at jobs, and for their families in the future. Learning to express themselves and being able to name their feelings and emotions helps student-athletes learn how to validate their feelings, and also helps them figure out solutions to overcome obstacles and sets them up for life after athletics. Having tough conversations gets easier the more you have them.

As coaches, we try to cultivate environments where our students are empowered to speak up for themselves and then continue these practices in the future. Oak Knoll’s L.E.A.D. Program, for example, communicates the importance of self-respect and self-advocacy, understanding that we cannot be effective leaders of others if we are not taking care of ourselves first.

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SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL LEARNING AT OKS SPRING 2022

•HONESTY •KINDNESS •EMPATHY •RESPECT

A SAFE SPACE TO SHARE An Inside Look at the Redesigned Upper School Advisory Program With students teetering between in-person and virtual school during the past few years, administrators across the country remain challenged as to how to better serve their needs.

Advisory programs—regularly scheduled periods of time during the school day when teachers meet with small student groups—remain an important way for schools to regularly check in on their students' social-emotional needs and build their social-emotional skills.

A staple of the Oak Knoll Upper School curriculum, the Advisory program was redesigned in the summer of 2021.

“Our intentional Advisory redesign fosters a stronger student-advisor relationship and offers an opportunity for students to practice social and emotional skills in small-group settings outside the classroom,” said Stephanie Almozara, Theology Department Chair. “Since we know that students have not had as many opportunities over the past few years to practice these skills, these advisory conversations and activities are essential.”

Almozara and Michele Van Kalsbeck, also a member of Oak Knoll’s Theology Department and Campus Ministry team, revised Oak Knoll’s Advisory program while keeping in mind the profile of their Upper School graduates. The revision was done in connection with Independent School Management, an organization that looks at industry-leading theory, research, and independent school practices to help the school design an advisory program that would thrive at Oak Knoll.

They established that Oak Knoll graduates achieve harmony and balance in their life, communicate confidently and articulately, believe and acknowledge God’s presence in themselves and in others, trust and revere the dignity and uniqueness of each person, and engage with the challenges of the world to meet the wants of the age.

Keeping these traits in mind, 38 Upper School teachers now lead the new and improved Advisory groups. Each Advisory group of 8–10 students meets two times per an eight-day cycle for 30 minutes. Students also meet one-on-one with their advisors for 10 minutes once per month during the school year.

Almozara said that Advisory is an opportunity for students to get to know an adult in the community outside of the classroom.

“Studies have shown that adolescents benefit from the support of an adult who is not their parent, and an advisor has the potential to fill this role,” said Almozara. “Through our Advisory program our students have safe spaces to share their concerns and get the support they need, whether from a trusted adult or from their peers.”

Each year, Oak Knoll School plans to review data collected from surveys sent out to students and teachers about the school’s ever-evolving Advisory program to make adjustments that better meet the wants and the needs of today’s students.

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SEL THE SCIENCE OF

Making Space for Social and Emotional Learning in Science Education

Social emotional learning has its roots planted firmly in the sciences across the board in both the Lower and Upper Schools.

Lower School Oak Knoll’s curious and exploratory scientists on campus are active with many different hands-on science and STEM projects during the school year.

In the Lower School, science classes focus on student group communication, collaboration, and experimentation, where students learn to respect and actively listen to their science partners and groups.

“Here, they're learning to work together and they learn to appreciate one another strengths,” said Regina Cherill, a science teacher for grades 4–6.

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At Oak Knoll School, students practice science with thoughtful intention, exploration and through a mix of hands-on collaboration and independent work.

Engineering design processes come to life as students experience what it’s like to work together with different views and opinions and to learn from their mistakes, which bolsters their resiliency.

Thanks to the school’s commitment to social-emotional learning, budding scientists on campus learn by doing as they work together as a team, build confidence and leadership skills by working solo and show empathy for local and global scientific issues.

“My class STEM challenges and lab experiences really give students a chance to practice their social and emotional skills,” Cherill said. “I really think that developing a positive attitude about science and math is so important and it's tied to their classroom experience.”

•RESPECT •EMPATHY •CREATIVITY •COURAGE •RESPONSIBILITY •PERSEVERENCE Cherill helps her students work on positive I-statements and dialogue about how to retest hypotheses and learn from mistakes. Science students also pause to recognize and show respect and empathy for the specimens they work with that were once living, breathing creatures.

where we talk about issues in the environment and ways in which we can manage those,” said Frizzell. “SEL is woven into the fabric of all the things we do here.”

Lastly, following Oak Knoll founder Cornelia Connelly’s mantra, “Actions, not words,” science students this year found ways to help others through their science lessons. One example was a fifth-grade field trip where students served people in need via America’s Grow a Row. Here, students collected and gleaned nearly 2,000 pounds of apples from an apple orchard in Blairstown, NJ, which served local area food banks.

Upper School Oak Knoll Upper School students practice science through a healthy combination of independent, collaborative, and problem-solving work that supports social and emotional learning.

“Group work and collaboration helps our students to be open-minded and to hear different perspectives,” said Kristen Frizzell, Chair of Oak Knoll’s Science Department.

“When students go out into the real world they will have to collaborate frequently and this is good practice and ideally teaches them leadership skills.”

There are many Upper School science projects that bolster SEL in the sciences such as creating poster reports about a human condition such as multiple sclerosis or color blindness. Here, students discuss and research symptoms, treatments, preventions, and include scientific articles to support their work.

In physics, students work on projects where they are hypothetically allocated $3.77 billion to spend on renewable energy. They are then tasked to research and compose a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, stating their case as to why funds should be allocated to their research.

BONUS CONTENT! Scan the code below to hear more about the Science of SEL. In a recent episode of the Happy Kid Project podcast, science teacher Regina Cherill explains how she integrates social-emotional learning into classes for grades 4–6.

Other critical thinking projects include discussions about vaccine initiatives, over-fishing and the importance of clean drinking water.

While, for example, the Biology, Life and Environmental Science, and AP Environmental Science courses teach facts about harmful parasites that can live in water, they also dive deeper to discuss why places around the globe do not have access to clean water and how that impacts their communities.

Upper School science classes also incorporate experiential learning through field trips such as Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, where students learn about ocean pollutants and analyze different species in the area.

“Our Upper School science classes – and our science clubs on campus – have always tried to take a civics-based approach

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ONE LAP AT A TIME

Oak Knoll Swimmer Perseveres Despite Physical Obstacles Seventeen-year-old Sarah Maher ’23 has been swimming since she was seven years old, but she still can’t get over how cold the water is each time she jumps in the pool. Yet, despite the obstacle, Maher perseveres and starts swimming.

One of her most notable achievements—despite a month-long training setback due to an illness in September— was a personal best in the 400-meter freestyle. It was a solid 34 seconds faster than her seed time.

“I tell myself to just get to the wall—to reach further and pull harder and just hope that all of my training kicks in,” said Maher, a competitive swimmer on both able-bodied and para swim clubs.

Maher has been swimming for as long as she can remember.

But cold water is far from the biggest challenge Maher has faced in her swimming career. Maher was born with spina bifida, a birth defect in which there is an incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. Because of her disability, she has limited mobility of her lower limbs. But that has never stood in her way of swimming.

“When I’m in the water I just keep going, hoping to get a better time, not necessarily to win,” said Maher, who competed this winter in the three-day Paralympic National Championship in Greensboro, NC. At the National Championship, Maher swam the 50-, 100-, 200-, and 400-meter freestyle; the 50and 100-meter backstroke, the 50-meter butterfly, and a relay swim race.

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“My parents wanted me to learn independence and how to live with my disability, so I got involved and tried several different sports when I was younger,” said Maher.

This included joining the para track team at Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside, NJ, when she was just five. Later, Maher joined the hospital’s swim team when she was seven.

“When you’re younger and you excel at something it feels good, so you keep going,” she said.

Maher kept swimming, this time with Robert Wood Johnson’s able-bodied club swim team when she was nine years old.

After a few years, Maher still longed to improve her sport with more intense swim training. She then tried out for the Westfield YMCA swim team in her hometown, where she still swims today along with the Children’s Specialized Hospital para team and the Oak Knoll School swim team.

Friend and Royals swim teammate Iman Ali ’23 said Maher is a great teammate, even attending meets when she is not swimming and always volunteers to help.

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL LEARNING AT OKS SPRING 2022

•PERSEVERENCE •COURAGE •EMPATHY •HONESTY “One of Sarah’s best events is the 500-yard, or 400-meter, freestyle,” said Ali. “It takes a lot of perseverance to be able to race 20 lengths of the pool, let alone to do it well. She has a lot of endurance. For some swimmers, high school dual meets are not very important, but Sarah always gives it 100 percent.

It seems like, somehow, every meet, she comes really close to or beats her best times, which is amazing.”

Maher is an accomplished swimmer in both the para and able-bodied world, but it’s not winning that drives her to compete.

“I lose every single able-bodied team race, but that’s OK,” she said. “While failing when I was younger was more difficult, I now know that I don’t have four working limbs. Now it’s about getting the best time that I can for myself, and this is what I focus on.”

Oak Knoll Athletic Director Kelly Childs said Maher embodies a quiet toughness that she hopes to see more student-athletes emulate.

“Her dedication to swimming and her intensity to perform at her very best every time she steps onto the pool deck speaks to the competitive athlete that she is,” Childs said.

“It’s awesome to see the success that Sarah is having both in the pool as an Oak Knoll swimmer and in her paralympic competitions. In getting to know Sarah over the years, I’ve learned how fearless she is. Not only in the pool, but she’s a tremendous athlete who takes risks to compete at an elite level in multiple sports. I know she spends time skiing using a monoski and has competed on the national level in track & field, with an emphasis on wheelchair racing. She’s a humble athlete with a determined work ethic, and we are so lucky to call her a Royal.”

Maher views the para swim world as a level playing field, however she said people tend to view the Paralympics as more inspirational than competitive.

“Most people don’t think about the Paralympics in the same way as the Olympics,” said Maher, who trains six days a week and sometimes swims double sessions before school. “The word ‘inspiring’ is thrown out a lot when it comes to disabled people; however, training for the Paralympics takes just as much work—hard work—to do well there.”

Following her Paralympics National Championship competition this past winter, Maher has her sights now set on April’s World Para Swimming World Series.

She isn’t sure what college she will attend or where swimming will take her in the future. But she is certain that while swimming in general has forged unique friendships in her life, swimming in the para world has trained her to be an advocate for herself and other disabled athletes.

“Not many people understand the para world,” said Maher, who helps educate her coaches at the club level about the different time classifications. “This has made me a better person today and I now know how to ask for help.”

Oak Knoll’s Head Swim Coach Maria Corall agreed and said Maher is a wonderful advocate for her teammates.

“Sarah sets an example for her teammates of open communication,” said Corall.

“Since freshman year, she has always been proactive about addressing concerns or needs. Having Sarah on the team has given the girls new perspective and has improved their sportsmanship. Sarah shows her commitment to the team by attending more practices than required of club swimmers and by always putting in maximum effort in any events she swims. She compliments every swimmer after their swim and occasionally even offers some feedback, which the girls are very receptive to,” Corall said.

Maher urges others not to make assumptions about what a disabled person might need, such as holding the door for them. Instead, she prefers that others ask her questions about what she might need and listen before acting.

“Making friends in the para world is a unique bonding experience and I’ve been able to form unique friendships,” said Maher. “More importantly, because of my disability, I’ve learned how to advocate for myself as well as for other disabled people, and this is such an important skill that we all need in life.”

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DAY

A

IN THE LIFE WITH

MELISSA NELSON

Follow Along with Oak Knoll's Lower School Counselor As She Reinforces SEL Lessons with Students PK-6 16

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL LEARNING AT OKS SPRING 2022

1 2 3 4 5

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

SEL IN THE CLASSROOMS Each month, Mrs. Nelson visits various Lower School classrooms, where she talks about one of the 10 character traits from the Character Strong program (see page 4). Nelson’s goal is to offer at-home projects, discussion topics, and books to read surrounding each monthly theme to help continue the conversations and grow them beyond school walls.

SUNSHINE CLUB The Sunshine Club in the Lower School meets one time per week during recess, when students are encouraged to spread sunshine around the school by making birthday cards, grief cards, and cards full of kind messages for anyone who might need a little lift. The Sunshine Club is an optional activity and open to all students in grades 3–5.

STUDENT SUPPORT GROUPS Nelson runs various student support groups throughout the school year. Students can enter support groups any time during the school year, especially when they need an extra boost with skills such as identifying and coping with feelings, support with executive functioning skills, anxiety, social skills, anti-bullying, cyber-bullying, and more.

1:1 COUNSELING During the academic school year, Nelson holds individual check-ins with all Lower School students in grades 1-6 on a rolling basis. Nelson schedules 1:1 talks with each student to better assess that their academic, mental, and social state of mind is appropriately on track for their grade level and development. During the counseling sessions, Nelson will also assess whether or not a child needs extra support in a specific area.

SCHOOLWIDE MONTHLY THEMES All Lower School students take part in monthly programmatic themes, including how to identify and cope with feelings, how to embrace and respect one another’s differences, how to persevere and show kindness, mental health awareness, and exposure to different careers.

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THE BIGGER PICTURE Bridget Murphy ’20 Perseveres Despite Field Hockey Injuries

As a child, Summit native Bridget Murphy ’20 wanted to be a doctor focusing on sports injuries. Little did she know she would have to spend many years as the patient on the way toward fulfilling her dream.

Murphy, whose many family members graduated from Oak Knoll — including her mother, brothers and aunts — is a sophomore psychology major at Princeton University. She plans to work in the sports psychology field, is also a field hockey player. Among the many injuries she has suffered was one incurred in the first few seconds of Princeton’s opening home game this past fall. On a shot off her left foot, Murphy heard a pop, which she thought was a break, but actually she tore a muscle that connects her ankle to her shin and partially dislocated her fibula.

It’s a devastating injury for most people, and doctors predicted she would be out for at least six to eight weeks. But Murphy is not most people. Incredibly, she returned to play after just three weeks.

“After going down I remember my coach running over to me, and the first thing I said was, ‘I just want to play,’ and this set the groundwork for my mindset,” said Murphy, who led Oak Knoll to two Tournament of Champions titles in field hockey 18

as a sophomore and senior. The next morning, Murphy was in her trainer’s office on crutches ready to start rehab right away.

“Oak Knoll School taught me that in order to get better at something it has to come from within myself first,” said Murphy, whose family is packed with athletes. She grew up playing ice hockey with her three brothers, and her parents both played lacrosse at the University of Pennsylvania.

“I knew that I needed to put the work in to heal my injury, to persevere, and get back out there. So, I drew upon my support system as helpful resources.”

While in recovery, Murphy thought about what her Oak Knoll field hockey coaches, first Mimi Hartnett and then Ali Good ’95 and Christina Sumas ’98, said to her in support of her athletic career at Oak Knoll.

“My coaches always told us to take a step back and realize what it was that we were playing for,” said Murphy. “We were not just at Oak Knoll to play sports, but also to learn valuable life lessons, such as how to be a good sport and how to handle the hand that life deals you.”

During Murphy’s senior year in high school, life dealt the whole world a bad hand of COVID-19. Knowing she would

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•COURAGE •GRATITUDE •PERSEVERENCE •COOPERATION

be denied the opportunity to have a normal first semester of college, she and her Princeton field hockey teammates took a leap of faith and moved to England. There, she and her teammates attended school virtually and trained as best as they could, all while away from the comforts of home.

Her most recent injury—and display of perseverance— involved broken toes and stitches sustained during the Penn State game in October. But even that has not deterred her from playing the sport she loves most. “I just keep perspective,” said Murphy.

“It’s easy to get lost in the little details of things, but focusing on a bigger picture is more manageable. have relied on my community and have leaned on the friends that I made in college and at Oak Knoll who are now more like my family. Oak Knoll taught me so much inside and outside of the classroom, but most importantly to keep up my drive and never settle for anything less than that.”

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FOLLOWING HER PASSION Love of Interior Design Propels Christine Schweickart Keane ’84 to Open Her Own Business Entrepreneur Christine Schweickart Keane ’84 has always had a passion for anything vintage and everything creative.

And that’s what she has poured into the business she opened in New Canaan, CT, in 2016. Called Found, it was voted “Best Antique/Vintage Store” by New Canaan Darien Magazine in both 2017 and 2018 and has become a popular New England destination for one-of-a-kind new and vintage collections, including furniture, art, mirrors, lighting, decorative accessories, jewelry, and gifts. A visit to the store, or even a quick browse of the website (foundanddesign.com), gives a sense of its owner as a brilliant curator of beautiful objects.

Keane’s journey to opening her own store was a long time coming, one fueled by confidence, mentors, and courage.

After graduating with a marketing degree from Providence College, Keane knew that to follow her dream of opening her own home goods store, she needed to first gain as much experience as she could in the industry.

Fashion had always appealed to Keane’s creative side, and she began her career in the sales dress division of Liz Claiborne in New York City. But she wasn’t quite where she wanted to be.

“I realized back then that I’m not a salesperson, so I asked to transfer into their fashion department, which was more about going out into the stores and doing fashion shows and teaching their sales associates about the product and the fabrics and what’s trending,” said Keane.

Keane spent five years with Liz Claiborne but was still searching for more creativity before becoming a buyer for Talbots’ catalog and a designer for the retailer’s fashion accessories and intimate apparel. She stayed with Talbots for 16 years.

“I loved what I did and the people that I worked with and was incredibly lucky to have traveled with the company to places like Paris, London, and Florence,” said Keane. “There was never a reason to leave.”

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That is, until Talbots was bought and the new owners changed the direction of the company, laying off most of the staff, including Keane.

Pivoting a bit, Keane next took a position as Design Director for Juliska, a table-top company that makes dinnerware and glassware. Responsible for product development, Keane tapped into her love for interior design and love of collecting vintage plates, napkins, and glasses.

Some of her favorite projects included setting up the company’s showroom and booths at large-venue gift shows, including at the Javits Center in New York City and in Atlanta.

“Then one day I realized I was doing everything that I love, but I was doing it for someone else and thought that maybe it was time to do it on my own,” said Keane. “By that time, I had built up enough confidence in my field, as I was staging homes or working on interior design projects on the side.”

She finally had the courage and experience she needed to open Found as a small home goods shop. Its success meant she could move to a larger retail space down the street this past fall.

“Opening a store was truly a reflection of who I was, so it’s such a vulnerable process of putting yourself out there,” said Keane. “Showing others what I love is exposing oneself and hoping that others will enjoy it as much as I do, and this made me incredibly nervous.”

While the grand opening of Found challenged Keane’s vulnerability, she credits Oak Knoll School for setting her up for success.

“Oak Knoll somehow planted the seed for me to be more confident in myself and [the sense] that I actually could do what I set my mind to,” said Keane. “I left Oak Knoll with a wonderful education and friends, but more importantly I grew in my own confidence, with the courage to decide what to do in life.”

Doing work she loves, Keane’s has also enjoyed making many unexpected connections.

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•CREATIVITY •COURAGE •RESPONSIBILITY

“The people of New Canaan are so kind, bubbly, and caring,” said Keane. “I know about their families, and it’s very community driven here. Sometimes people just come in, not to buy something, but walk in because the space/my store makes them happy. It’s a wonderful and gratifying experience to have someone tell you that.”

Keane’s path, she said, was all about gaining experience, building confidence in herself, and loving what she does.

“I always tell people: If you have a passion for something, you will be able to triumph in anything that you do,” she said.

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•GRATITUDE •KINDNESS •EMPATHY

UNCONDITIONAL

AFFECTION

By Mary Margaret Schroeder ’20

“It’s Margaret! She right here! She came home!”

Excited squeals, jumps in the air, a smile ear to ear: all classic characteristics of a Blue greeting (which, despite the name, is far from a somber interaction). After six weeks away at college, I am back home in New Jersey, surprising Blue, a five-year-old boy with 17q12 microduplication syndrome in the school pick-up line. Although six weeks may sound relatively short, it felt like a lifetime after spending nearly every day at Blue’s side as his nanny during my spring semester at home—a spring semester seemingly doomed by the effects of the pandemic, redeemed by the joy of Blue.

My favorite memories from being home during my first year in college consist of long walks pushing a stroller and carrying a box fan, singing the clean-up song until my throat was sore, and cuddling on the couch while watching Paw Patrol. This was definitely different from what I had in mind when daydreaming about college as a high schooler, but I wouldn’t change it for anything, because Blue showed me God’s love clearer than I had ever seen it before.

Blue’s genetic difference gives him a unique ability to love fully without bias, judgment, or selfishness. Walking down the street as we bring the fan (Blue’s favorite “toy”) to “ma house,” or to watch the trains leave the station, it is not uncommon for Blue to yell “Hi!” at any or all passersby.

When the shout of zeal reaches their ears, they can’t help but allow some of that happiness into their hearts and reflect his smile. I was blessed enough to become one of the people Blue “loves on,” an honor that continues to mirror God’s presence in my life.

thrilled to see my friends and attend in-person classes, I knew very well that I was leaving a big part of my heart in New Jersey. The only consoling aspect of the day was Blue telling me he understood what was happening: “Margaret go to school, but Margaret come back,” whispered, with tears in his eyes. Blue knew other things were calling me, but I would be back. “Margaret always comes back.”

Several FaceTime calls, cards, and “I miss you’s” later, here I am, about to pick up Blue from school. I’m shocked the surprise hasn’t been spoiled, because Blue listens to every word spoken around him. I look up and see him walk out of the building with his aide, and I can see the smile forming from underneath his mask. That’s when he exclaims with such genuine joy: “It’s Margaret! She right here! She came home!”

Our tight embrace says more than words ever could. My smile matches Blue’s, and I inhale immense gratitude. In this moment of such profound love, I can’t help but be reminded of God’s unconditional affection for each of us.

No matter how far we stray from God’s gaze, he is waiting for us with wide open arms, just like Blue. Whether we are gone for 10 seconds or 10 years, he is jumping up and down with shouts of joy when we turn back to him. God is still there when we leave; he knows the ways we are being pulled, and he knows we will come back.

If you are experiencing desolation right now, no matter where you may find yourself, take heart, friend, knowing that God is waiting for you. He welcomes you exactly as you are— not as you were or as you could be or as someone else is. His love transcends every label and wound and wall around your heart. Go to your Father, let him embrace you and delight in you, his beloved child.

It’s you. You are right here. You came home.

— Mary Margaret Schroeder ’20 attended Oak Knoll from Kindergarten to grade 12. She is currently a student at Yale University in New Haven, CT, and a co-leader of the Undergraduate Council at Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel & Center at Yale. This piece was originally published on November 15, 2021, in TODAY’S AMERICAN CATHOLIC.

My heart broke into a million pieces the day I left for college this fall and had to say goodbye to Blue. Even though I was 22

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•COURAGE •RESPONSIBILITY •CREATIVITY •PERSEVERENCE •RESPECT

CHEMISTRY WITH

INTENTION Lauren Babb ’14 Combines Activism with Love of Science

Lauren Babb ’14 was thousands of miles away from her home of Watchung, NJ, when she began an intense physics doctorate program at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium.

Yet one month into the highly competitive program taught entirely in French, Babb’s career plan and trajectory changed, and she was back in New Jersey mapping out her next move.

“I didn’t know it then, but I know now, that it’s OK to change your mind if you’re not happy with something,” said Babb.

“Sometimes you have to make the decision that scares you in order to be happier on the other end.”

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Since she was a young girl, Babb has always been fascinated with science. However, her passion for chemistry was discovered at Oak Knoll.

As an Oak Knoll student, Babb said one day during Mrs. Asselin’s 10th grade chemistry class she literally saw the white board differently and from this day forward math and science clicked for her.

“I quickly learned how to help teach my friends who were struggling in the class because now something that once seemed so challenging to me was suddenly so doable,” said Babb. “Mrs. Asselin was the person who shifted the trajectory

ALUMNAE/I NEWS SPRING 2022

of my life to follow the field of chemistry. She showed me you could be a smart and fabulous woman.”

Babb, who comes from an Indo-Caribbean family, was the first Black woman to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemical physics from Barnard College at Columbia University. Science runs deep in Babb’s family – her father is an ophthalmologist, who studied biology in college, while her mother studied psychology. Her grandfather was also a mathematician who worked for British Airways in the 1950s.

“When you grow up in a small town, many times you can get grandiose ideas of how your life should look,” said Babb.

“I was suffering while in Belgium because nothing there was familiar to me. I had to regroup from the mental anguish of feeling like I had failed. I essentially came home, started over and began to chase a new passion.”

Babb took some time and then followed her intuition about what would come next for her — something she said that Oak Knoll School was always good about nurturing.

She reconnected with Rachel Narehood Austin – her undergraduate thesis advisor at Barnard. The research they did together led to Babb’s second chemistry co-authored publication. The paper bolstered Babb’s work about the fundamental kinetic study of benzyl alcohol oxidation over a gold catalyst, which helped her develop her laboratory techniques and analytical skills as a chemist. Babb worked on a previous research paper about surface chemistry and characterization of titania and its influence as a catalyst for carbon-oxygen bond cleavage.

“Getting back into the lab at Barnard gave me the confidence that I didn’t feel in Belgium because the lab felt familiar and

was where I felt most confident,” said Babb. “I was taking the next step into research exploration and owning my own abilities, while at the same time working with a team, and in a leadership position.”

During this time, Babb began to develop rapport with collaborators from the University of Maine, applied to their graduate school program and began her graduate studies there in the fall of 2019.

“I really did my homework this time when researching graduate programs and visited every school I applied to,” said Babb.

“The University of Maine called to me because I had established rapport with them and I knew exactly what kind of hands-on research I would conduct once there, and the school wasn’t too far from home.”

There, Babb honed in on research involving Green Chemistry – the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous substances. Now, she’s involved in the field of sustainable chemistry to help preserve the planet while also healing the damage that already exists.

“I let my morals guide my scientific interests,” said Babb.

At the University of Maine, where she is set to graduate this spring with a master’s in chemistry, Babb has been involved in research promoting green and sustainable chemistry. The research topics she has been involved in span topics of creating renewable fuel from biomass, using a more environmentally friendly chemical pathway to create a statin precursor drug, and study the capture of fluorinated contaminants in water.

Babb’s current work brings her into marginalized communities, where she partners with local Indigenous community members to study freshwater quality and other environmental issues.

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“The lessons I’ve learned from the local Penobscot Nation community members, about past decades of poor industrial waste management and their trickle-down effects, re-shaped my perspective of what the role of a scientist is and could be,” said Babb.

Babb’s research goals and interests are now directly influenced by community needs and community health disparities.

Currently, she is working on fundamental dehalogenation chemistry in hopes of capturing harmful chemical toxins that are persistent in the environment in predominantly Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities.

In addition to her scientific work with marginalized communities, Babb was deeply affected following the death of George Floyd and almost immediately began exploring how to marry her scientific work with activism.

The Journal of Chemical Education recently published a paper Babb authored detailing a Chemistry and Racism course she co-taught at her alma mater, Barnard College in the Fall of 2020. The course addressed the dual challenges of teaching chemistry online during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to acknowledge the value and importance of Black people. She also co-created and co-instructed a course in the fall of 2021 called Black Feminist Theory and Expression at the University of Maine.

Babb is already contemplating a few job offers working with water quality after her graduation this Spring. Whichever job she chooses, Babb hopes to continue to work on defluorination chemistry studying a class of synthetic chemicals that cannot easily be broken down called polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS which, for example, can be found in the coating on non-stick pans.

Ultimately, this work contributes to figuring out how to efficiently capture and remove fluorine from the environment,” said Babb. “This is very difficult, but really amazing and exciting chemistry,” she said.

Today, Babb also encourages high school educators to integrate data and findings from modern scientific publications into assessments. Babb noted that Sean Melican, Oak Knoll AP Chemistry teacher, has already been doing this for his AP students.

“Exposure to scientific publications is not only beneficial preparation for AP exams, but it also gives students perspective on current scientific techniques and explorations,” Babb said.

Babb now has gained perspective on her career path and while changing the course of her professional career was intimidating, she learned that it is OK to change your mind and the course of your life.

“Oak Knoll has always stood by me and been a pillar for me,” said Babb. “There, I first learned how to begin to follow my inner voice, intuition and faith. Whenever I have done this thereafter, blessings have always followed me.”

Babb said her four years at Oak Knoll put her on the path of success.

“Even when I stumble, the foundation of integrity, faith, excellence, and community service Oak Knoll instilled in me is solid,” Babb said.

“I work on minimizing the strength of the carbon-fluorine bond – the strongest bond in the compound - using a catalyst.

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•EMPATHY •COURAGE •PERSEVERENCE •KINDNESS

THE UNCOMMON THREAD

Brittany Ferrara ’13 Works to Integrate Autistic Children into the Community A favorite memory for Brittany Ferrara ’13 took place while waiting in a line at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, when a young, autistic girl thanked her for being her friend. A task like making friends, which may seem commonplace to most, can be challenging and overwhelming for some autistic children. Since the girl was struggling with it, the moment was particularly poignant for Ferrara, a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst at The Uncommon Thread, a Stirling nonprofit committed to advancing the lives of children with autism spectrum disorders.

Every day, Ferrara helps autistic children develop a variety of social and behavioral skills that enable them to function and flourish in community settings such as restaurants, grocery stores, museums, and doctors’ offices. Integrating children with autism into the community involves supporting the whole family.

she said. “As a young student at OKS, I remember helping someone when they fell at recess time or inviting others to play house with us on the hill in front of the dining hall.

These small moments were the starting points of empathy.

They don’t come naturally; they’re taught to you along the way.”

Making an impact on children’s lives is gratifying work.

One of the most rewarding experiences is the thanks Ferrara receives—often nonverbal gestures—from the children she helps. “I feel their happiness in their hugs, which say a lot to me. It’s in their actions since some cannot speak, but at the end of the day they know I’m there for them,” said Ferrara.

“This is truly the best feeling.”

“I work with parents and provide them guidance, structure, and interventions for their children,” said Ferrara.

It was while working as a summer camp counselor at Oak Knoll School that Ferrara first felt a calling to work with children. She went on to earn an undergraduate degree in psychology from Drew University. She then received a master’s degree in special education with a focus on applied behavior analysis therapy from Arizona State University, while working as a full-time, in-home Registered Behavior Technician in New York City.

“It’s so important to me that in my job I know that I’m helping someone,” said Ferrara, whose mother, Tracy Cicalese Ferrara ’84 and brother Brandon ’10 (LS) graduated from Oak Knoll. “If I can help the children that I work with in just the slightest bit to make a difference in their lives, then that to me is so rewarding.”

It’s fulfilling, but it isn’t easy. On any given day, the children she is trying to help might be crying, throwing tantrums, or even acting aggressively toward her. Ferrara, however, is undeterred. Her innate empathy for others drives her to help struggling children succeed. “I work hard at putting myself in the shoes of the children,” she said. “Autism is a broad spectrum.”

Ferrara said she learned how to be empathic toward others as a student in grades K–12 at Oak Knoll School.

“It was the passive teaching, leaving it up to us on how we wanted to act toward others while remembering the phrase ‘Actions, not words,’ that stayed with me through adulthood,”

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

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IN YOUR WORDS

This poster, which hangs in Oak Knoll’s Alumnae/i Office, was created by Bea Fagan Metzger ’85, President of the Alumnae/i Board, and the Board members several years ago.

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•KINDNESS •RESPONSIBILITY •RESPECT •EMPATHY

THE PATH FORWARD

Emily Jones ’12 Advocates for Justice Reform A licensed social worker, Emily Jones ’12 works at the Brooklyn office of the Center for Court Innovation, an award-winning nonprofit that is dedicated to justice reform.

Her focus at the organization is making a difference in the lives of people who need to get back on track after being arrested. She assists some 45 clients who, instead of spending time in jail after being arrested, are diverted to her supportive program, which helps them navigate the court process while returning to their lives and continuing their jobs.

“Instead of setting bail for them, we intervene and help them via a non-monetary release,” said Jones. Clients understand they must return for their next court date, and in the meantime they begin receiving support services related to housing, substance abuse, employment, and mental health.

Jones helps people who need a second chance and a way to move on after their encounter with the criminal justice system, and she starts each workday with passion, purpose, and a deep sense of responsibility to make real and positive changes in their lives.

This deep, meaningful work is about 180 degrees away from the career trajectory that Jones started on. When she was young, her dream was a career in the entertainment industry.

She looked up to anyone working in Hollywood and loved everything pop culture—from movies and television to People magazine.

At Fordham University, she majored in communications and landed coveted internships with The Tonight Show and NBC. Her first full-time job after graduation was with a major talent agency, ICM Partners. But what seemed like a glamorous dream job left her overworked, underpaid, and unfulfilled.

“I had romanticized the entertainment talent industry for so long, but I found myself not wanting to go to work and deeply unhappy,” Jones said. “It wasn’t as glamorous as it seemed.”

Jones walked away from her job seeking to enact some sort of change and make a positive impact in the lives of others.

Her next step was a one-year stint at a now-defunct New York City start-up company called Girlboss, which helped women start their own businesses. Wanting to do still more, Jones felt yet a stronger responsibility to work directly with people, and she enrolled in a social work master’s degree program at Columbia University. A turning point came when she undertook an internship with Getting Out and Staying Out, a NYC-based

program that provides support services to young men who become involved with the justice system.

“My eyes are completely opened since earning my master’s degree,” said Jones, who completed her program in the spring of 2021. “I learned so much about contemporary social problems by writing papers, reading articles, and talking with my peers,” she said. “This led me to become passionate about helping others who need it, and with all of the new information I learned also came a responsibility and a realization that this was my time to implement change.”

Now Jones has a great deal of direct experience with, and first-hand knowledge of, the ways the U.S. criminal justice system is discriminatory and does not treat all people the same.

“There are so many parts of the system that target certain communities—consisting of Black and Brown individuals,” said Jones.

“The system can be dehumanizing,” she said. “These are just human beings. You really can’t read a rap sheet or a criminal complaint before hearing the context behind it. Many of the people I work with have dealt with so much trauma, and many people just see what they do but don’t see why they do it.

“These individuals deserve to have people advocating for them, listening to the experiences and systemic issues that have led them to this point, and seeing that they are absolutely worthy of a path forward,” she said.

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CLASS NOTES Lower School

Stay in Touch If you would like to keep your fellow classmates and the rest of the Oak Knoll community updated on your personal and professional

Pictured, from left, are Nora Burd Wolf ’11, Sonja (Podesta) Wosnitzer ’11, Maggie Burd ’16, Michelle Crawley, Nicholas Burd ’08 (LS), Caroline Coffey Burd ’81, Bonnie Flinn Hurley ’81, and Allison Adams ’81

milestones, feel

’08

free to email Cynthia Prewitt, Director of Institutional Advancement, at cynthia.prewitt@

Nicholas Burd ’08 married Michelle Crawley on October 23, 2021, at the chapel at Marist College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2018.

’81

Upper School

’75 & ’82

Joan Brennan, former Director of College Counseling at Oak Knoll, enjoyed a fall reunion with sisters Mary Fran Ward Boglioli ’82 (left) and Christy Ward ’75.

oakknoll.org

Pictured, from left, are Allison Adams ’81, Caroline Coffey Burd ’81 and Bonnie Flinn Hurley ’81

Nicholas Burd’s wedding also was an opportunity for an Oak Knoll prom reunion, as Allison Adams ’81, Caroline Coffey Burd ’81, and Bonnie Flinn Hurley ’81 were in attendance with their prom dates, now husbands.

or by visiting www.oakknoll.org/ alumnaei.

Pictured, from left, are Mary Fran Ward Boglioli ’82, Joan Brennan, and Christy Ward ’75

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CLASS NOTES SUMMER 2022

it is also fun engaging with some new populations.

’02

Noelle Kadar ’02, who is making a name for herself in the fashion world, was featured in the September 2021 edition of Elle magazine.

’09

Catherine Verdic ’09 married her

’91

Terri Trespicio ’91 appeared on

the Today show on January 4, 2022, to discuss her new book, Unfollow Your Passion: How to Create a Life that Matters to You. A few weeks later, she visited her alma mater to discuss the book further. See page 33 for more.

high school sweetheart (and Oak Knoll prom date), Michael Beninati, on May 8, 2021, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Scotch Plains.

The nuptials included an Oak Knoll reunion, as Michelle Russoniello ’09, Emily Rossi ’09, Elizabeth Miniet ’09, and Carolyn Price ’09 were also in attendance.

’96

Erin Strong ’96 was recently named the Director of Dance at Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s School of the Arts. In this role, Strong creates programming for students as young as three years old all the way through to adults. She maintains that her love remains in teaching K–12 students but admits

’12

Holly McLean ’12 married

Daniel Lim on September 25, 2021, in Bluffton, SC. The nuptials became a mini reunion of the Class of 2012, as joining McLean were Kelly Coleman ’12, Amanda Russoniello ’12, Alessandra Moore ’12, Kelly McManus ’12, and Amanda Fritz ’12.

’13

Kimberly Carroll ’13 was sworn in to the New Jersey Bar in December 2021 after passing the bar examination in July. Joining Carroll on this special day was fellow alumna Jackie Romano ’13.

This wonderful achievement came on the heels of Carroll graduating from the Seton Hall School of Law in May 2021.

Pictured, from left, are Kimberly Carroll ’13 and Jackie Romano ’13

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

31

’14

Lauren Babb ’14, who is currently

pursuing a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Maine, co-authored an August 2021 piece in The Journal of Chemical Education that detailed a chemistry and racism course she co-taught at Barnard College, her alma mater.

See page 24 for the full story!

ROYAL THROWBACK

ROYAL THROWBACK

2016

Elle Schlageter ’16 married Jack Haley on September 26, 2021, in Santa

Barbara, CA. The couple met during the bride’s sailing semester at sea that we wrote about in the Summer 2018 edition of Review. The couple continue to sail and reside in California.

2015

First Lieutenant Kelsea Krauss ’15, the U.S. Army’s first Maneuver Short Range Air Defense Stryker platoon leader, recieved a Coin of Excellence from General Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Latvia. This recognition followed Lt. Krauss’ participation in training exercises in the Baltics. She is currently assigned to the Alpha Battery of the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. Lt. Krauss, Oak Knoll Class of 2015, was featured in the Summer 2016 edition of Review in which she reflected on her first year at West Point.

’19

Caroline Ramsey ’19, a junior at

Cornell University, was selected to the U.S. Women's Field Hockey national team and will compete in the 2022 Women's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup in South Africa.

Ramsey’s selection came off the heels of a 2021 season in which she set school records in goals (18) and points (40). She was also named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Mideast Region first team, according to the university.

’20

Allison Fabrizio ’20, who is a part of the dance company at Washington University in St. Louis, recently performed in her first in-person dance since 2020. She also enjoyed recently traveling to Apatingan, Michoacán, a very small remote town in Mexico.

’21

Emma Gamboa ’21, a first-year cadet at West Point, was named to the 2021–22 All National Intercollegiate Rugby Association Division I First XV team.

Mary Margaret Schroeder ’19 was

published in November 2021 in Today’s American Catholic. Her essay tells of the beautiful connection she made with the five-year-old boy with a genetic disorder for whom she has been a nanny. (See page 22 for the full story!)

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CLASS NOTES SUMMER 2022

Summer in February The Alumnae/i Association hosted a Summer in February event at the Elks Club in Summit for alumnae in the area.

It was a great evening of conversation, good food, and drinks with old friends.

Head of School Jennifer Landis attended and caught up with many alums. Thanks to Juliet Eck ’87 and Katie Cummings Siegfried ’03 who organized this event.

Homecoming 2021 Fall Homecoming brought many alums back to the Chatham Fields campus for a field hockey game vs. Camden Catholic. The morning offered fun for the whole family, including a petting zoo, balloon and temporary tattoo artists, and an ice cream truck. A light breakfast was served to all. The highlight of the day was the induction of Ali Sumas Good ’95 and Christina Sumas ’98 into The Gerald P. Butler Athletic Hall of Fame. Ali Hubschmann ’07 gave heartfelt remarks on what Ali and Christina have meant to their players through the years. She highlighted their consistent coaching and kindness that extends far beyond the field hockey field.

Authors in Conversation

Classmates and Oak Knoll alumnae Terri Trespicio ’91 and Elisabeth Egan ’91 returned to Oak Knoll in February 2022 to celebrate the publishing of Terri’s book, Unfollow Your Passion: How to Create a Life that Matters to You published by Atria Simon and Schuster. Alumnae, current parents, past faculty and staff, including Joan Brennan and Helen D’Alessio, enjoyed reminiscing with the alums in attendance. This event was sponsored by the Hickman Family Speaker Series. Terri also spent the morning working with the juniors and seniors in writing workshops which were well-received by the students. Thank you to Terri and Liz!

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