The Magazine of William Penn Charter School
Spring 2017
Secrets of the Clock Tower
Revealed
The STRATEGIC VISION for Penn Charter’s future is organized around six goals, each with a set of strategies.
Advancements in Language Program
Goal 1: Quakerism
Penn Charter’s modern language faculty are advancing curriculum and teaching methods to focus on students’ ability to use the language in meaningful ways rather that just to analyze grammar.
Advance our educational program to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a complex and changing world.
“With this approach, students regularly interact with each other to research and discuss current topics, which ultimately results in improved confidence and greater communication skills. It is no longer about the language concepts they know, but rather what they can do with the language they have acquired,” said David Brightbill, academic dean for curriculum and professional development.
Goal 2: PROGRAM
Goal 3: Teaching Goal 4: Time Goal 5: Space Goal 6: Financial Sustainability Educating Students to Live Lives that Make a Difference A Strategic Vision for the Future of William Penn Charter School
In an immersion-like experience, teachers develop theme-based units and students take part in small-group activities where Chinese, French or Spanish are the primary languages used. Students engage with authentic resources – articles or videos written or produced for native speakers, rather than materials created by textbook companies. During Hispanic Heritage Month, for example, students read food blogs and recipes written in Spanish, and selected favorite dishes. In teams of two, students discussed their preferences and developed a pitch in order to convince fictional cafeteria staff – their classmates – to develop a culturally appropriate menu. Chair of the Foreign Language department Sarah Aguilar-Francis reports that these modern approaches provide the flexibility for teachers to adjust the curriculum to incorporate students’ interests, current events and other cultures, resulting in higher levels of student engagement and improved proficiency. The new method will be used in Lower School beginning next year.
Contents Spring 2017
26
Features
8
The Goldbergs Reunion
14
Science and Engineering
OPCs and teachers on the set of the hit sitcom
Interns researching and inventing
16 Old Wisdom, New Ways Quaker thinkers inform new teaching
20 Breaking Barriers
Blind adventurer and author inspires students
26 Clock Tower Mysteries
16
Revealed
A look inside a forbidden space Departments Opening Comments
From the Head of School. ..................................................................................... 2 Around Campus
Campus Currents...................................................................................................... 3
7
Great Day to Be a Quaker...................................................................................... 7 Athletics. ................................................................................................................... 22 Alumni
PC Profiles Monica Butler OPC ’09 and Emma Cataldi OPC ’12............................. 11 James Smartt OPC ’91. ......................................................................................12 Matt Ryan OPC ’03................................................................................................ 22 Downtown Reception 2017...............................................................................36 Class Notes...............................................................................................................39 “A School We Both Love”. .................................................................................. 52
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On the Cover The Magazine of WilliaM penn CharTer SChool
Spring 2017
Photo Credit: Getty Images SecretS of the clock tower
revealed
The hidden spaces inside the iconic Clock Tower are revealed in a photo essay by photographer Michael Branscom and PC visual arts and architecture teacher Randy Granger Hon. 1689.
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The Magazine of William Penn Charter School
Darryl J. Ford Head of School Elizabeth A. Glascott Hon. 1689 Assistant Head of School Jeffrey A. Reinhold Clerk, Overseers John T. Rogers Hon. 1689 Chief Development Officer Brian Cash OPC ’00 Alumni Society President
Opening Comments
From the Head of School
Magazine Staff Sharon Sexton Editor Rebecca Luzi Associate Editor
Today at Meeting for Worship, Liz Crockett Jones, an Upper School English teacher, offered vocal ministry as she sang a heartfelt rendition of a self-composed ode longing for spring break, which is just around the corner. A gifted songstress who was raised in the church, Liz buoyed those students and faculty who were deep into term-paper preparations, project deadlines and eager anticipation of college decisions. For a moment, the community joined in clapping hands to the beat of the song, all longing for the thaw of a recent March blizzard and the respite of spring.
Julia Judson-Rea Assistant Editor
Before Liz’s message, I sat on the facing bench thinking how I was awaiting spring break both for the school community and for myself. The confluence between that feeling and Liz’s song compelled me to stand and offer my own vocal ministry, which, as often happens at Meeting, aligned so well with that which I had just heard.
William Penn Charter School 3000 West School House Lane Philadelphia, PA 19144
Just as Liz sensed the need of the community and uplifted us in song, I often try to take the pulse of our students, faculty and parents. I have been heartened by what I experience across all of the grades of the school. Student performers in The Laramie Project and Godspell explored critical societal issues and showcased student talent. Our rookie Ethics Team inspires us, the service work of our Middle and Lower School students gives us hope. Just this week, we experienced Great Day to Be a Quaker, an all-school celebration that garnered stories from current families and OPCs about the ways PC has made a difference in their lives. This interactive day of giving raised record resources from more than 449 donors to the school. Soon, for spring break experiences, Latin scholars will travel to Greece and Italy; the baseball team to Florida; the softball team to Mystic Beach; and boys lacrosse to Virginia and Maryland. The Upper School Band, celebrating its 25th year, will perform at Disney World. These examples are but a few of the ways that our students are blessed to experience the fullness of a Penn Charter education. Engaging academics, artistic and athletic opportunities in addition to classroom experiences, and wrestling with today’s real-life issues from a Quaker vantage point – this is Penn Charter. So, even as we long for spring and the respite of break, I am thankful for the richness of opportunities our students experience each and every day at school.
Michael Branscom Feature Photography Proof Design Studios Design
215.844.3460
www.penncharter.com Penn Charter is the magazine of William Penn Charter School. It is published by the Marketing Communications Office and distributed to alumni, parents and friends of the school. In addition to providing alumni updates about classmates, reunions and events, the magazine focuses on the people, the programs and the ideas that energize our school community.
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arryl J. Ford D Head of School
Please Recycle this Magazine
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Campus Currents Faculty News
Lower School Leadership Transition A national search to select a new director of Lower School concluded in February with the appointment of Kathryn E. McCallum, an experienced independent and public school educator. She will begin her work at Penn Charter in July. “Kate’s experience, knowledge and interpersonal skills impressed us all,” Head of School Darryl J. Ford said in announcing the selection. Kathryn McCallum has McCallum has served as head of middle school been appointed to lead the at Woodlynde School; as gifted teacher and Lower School. coordinator of gifted programs in the Springfield School District; and she has taught fourth and fifth grades in the Radnor, Colonial and Rose Tree Media school districts. She holds a doctorate and two master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and, from Villanova University, a BA in political science and an honors BA in interdisciplinary liberal arts. “Kate’s focus on children, strength in collaborating with parents, and track record of leading teachers make her uniquely qualified to help lead our Lower School into the future,” Ford said. McCallum comes to Penn Charter after much positive growth and development of our Lower School under the leadership of David Kern, who this fall announced his plans to retire after seven years as director of Lower School. Under Kern’s leadership, Ford said, teachers have enhanced their teaching of reading and writing (utilizing the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University); overseen with colleagues the implementation of the Math in Focus Director of Lower School curriculum; worked to make certain that specials David Kern will retire after classes and teachers are better integrated into the seven years at Penn Charter educational program; and focused the work of and 23 years at Quaker schools. the three-member Learning Support team to best meet students’ individual needs. “His hard and steadfast work with our talented faculty has positively positioned our Lower School, and we are fully enrolled and poised for more exciting collaborations and innovations in curriculum. For this, I am thankful,” Ford said.
PC Band Turns 25! The evolution of Penn Charter band from two humble music stands in 1992 to an accomplished group of musicians with a big sound is a wonder to behold. And even better listening. In 2017 the band program celebrates 25 years of music making, an anniversary the school has observed with a short video featuring Donna Cooper, the first band director, plus several of her successors. The Upper School Band also was featured as the opening “act” of the Downtown Reception with Grammy-winner Ray Benson OPC ’69.
Donna Cooper started the band program 25 years ago with just two music stands.
On Thursday, May 18, the Upper School band will perform in PC’s traditional Spring Band & Choral Concert and all Penn Charter friends are invited. “It is a celebration for anyone who was ever involved with PC band,” explained Brad Ford, the current band director. Showtime on May 18 is 7:30 p.m. in the David L. Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts, the breathtaking performance space built so that students would have a space equal to their talents. Join us and see how far PC band has come.
Watch the band video at penncharter.com/band and read more about the Downtown Reception on page 36.
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Campus Currents
On Stage Godspell
The Laramie Project
Penn Charter’s production of Godspell, the Broadway hit that explores themes of kindness, tolerance and love, has it all musically – pop, folk, gospel – and the PC cast and crew, under the direction of Eva Kay Noone, gave it their all. The February Upper School musical was memorable for the singing, dancing and acting achievements of the players and also for the sevenpiece band that, instead of playing from the Kurtz Center orchestra pit, was seated on a corner of the stage evoking a garage band.
For this year’s Upper School fall play, Penn Charter presented The Laramie Project, about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, the victim of a hate crime who was kidnapped, beaten and left to die tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo. Jessica Bender, director of the Penn Charter production, said she finds one quote in the play to be particularly poignant: “Go home, give your kids a hug, and don’t let a day go by without telling them you love them.” Following the Saturday matinee, the cast, crew and audience participated in a talk-back session with original cast member and Laramie head writer, Leigh Fondakowski.
View photos of the production at www.flickr.com/penncharter/sets and turn to page 38 to see “Then and Now,” featuring the juxtaposition of the Godspell production with PC’s 1976 production of The Wizard of Oz.
Parents Learning, Connecting The Parent Community has launched Parent to Parent: Connecting Our Community, a teach-and-learn workshop program in which Penn Charter parents share expertise and common interests. “We have something to teach and so much to learn!” Parent Community cochairs Laura Sibson and Jennifer Fiss wrote in announcing the new program. The program, inspired by PC’s innovative Teaching & Learning Center where teachers share their knowledge and expertise with other teachers, this spring included sessions on: mindfulness meditation; unleashing creative thinking; visits to two museums; and, in the last session in the series, advice from personal coach and PC parent Lynn Seth about managing the demands of a busy life. The first session, shown here, brought together parents who wanted to learn from Fiss how to bake and decorate her extremely artful and popular cake pops.
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Campus Currents
Why Interfaith Dialogue Matters Three Philadelphia religious leaders spoke to Upper School students about the value of interfaith dialogue, discussing how they engage in dialogue and make connections with people of different faiths, and why they feel doing so is important.
MLK Day Service On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, more than 200 students, parents and teachers in all three divisions honored the work and legacy of the civil rights activist by serving nearby communities and organizations.
Claire Scribner, grade dean for 9th and 10th grades, organized the event with students from the Religious Life Committee, inviting representatives of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, all of which are represented in the PC community. “Interfaith conversations are already happening in the school on an informal basis, and students expressed interest in having these discussions,” Scribner said. “By the end of the assembly, students were lined up to ask questions of the panelists.” Rabbi Josh Bolton described interfaith dialogue as “an opportunity to drive and inspire the work of peace, justice and equality.” Imam Malik Mubashshir told students that dialogue is actually not the first step in interfaith dialogue. The first step, he said, “is listening. Understanding new perspectives. Learning about others.” Pastor Amy Yoder McGloughlin answered a student’s question about having conversations within one’s own religion: “There can be tremendous misunderstanding and mistrust of each other that makes it tough to be at the table together,” she said. “I find that interfaith dialogue often is easier than dialogue within my religion.”
Middle and Lower School students, teachers and parents volunteered to clean, sort, organize and paint at Mifflin School in East Falls, and to package food for families at SHARE with Mayor Jim Kenney.
Panelists Imam Malik Mubashshir, Pastor Amy Yoder McGloughlin and Rabbi Josh Bolton modeled interfaith dialogue.
Sharon Ahram, assistant director of PC’s Center for Public Purpose, said many of the service projects focused on the East Falls and Germantown communities, “so that they recognize that Penn Charter is an ally and a supporter and so that we can build a community with them.” At SHARE Food Program’s cavernous warehouse, for example, Middle School students, teachers and parents boxed nonperishable groceries for families alongside Philadelphia firefighters and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. Some students remained on campus, including Lower School students who worked with their parents to sort scores of bags of clothes, linens and stuffed animals donated by the PC community for delivery to the Narenj Tree Foundation, which sends clothing and supplies to Syrian refugees. “This project was important so that students could became aware of what’s going on in the world and know that we can be thousands of miles away and still make a difference,” Ahram said.
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Campus Currents
Ethically Speaking
Feeling Chuffed
A rookie team of Upper School students competed impressively in the regional Ethics Bowl, advancing to the quarterfinals of the competition among students from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Penn Charter went 2-1 in the morning competition, losing to Radnor but victorious over Wilmington Friends and Camden Catholic High School. Those two wins put PC in the quarterfinals, and Penn Charter finished seventh overall of 18 teams. A great job for the first time out! Upper School social studies teacher Ed Marks is the faculty advisor and coach of the team, and he also was a first-timer at the Ethics Bowl. “We were the only rookie team,” Marks said. “I felt a bit unprepared. Fortunately, the Penn Charter kids took ownership of the day and totally distinguished themselves.” The National High School Ethics Bowl promotes respectful, supportive and rigorous discussion of ethics among high school students nationwide. The competition focuses on 16 case studies, released to students in September, which they research and consider. However, they are not permitted to have any notes during the actual competition and they don’t know in advance which case will come into play in any particular round. One of the case studies tapped for PC dealt with virtual and augmented reality.
The Harry Potter All-School Book Fair brought together students and parents from all three divisions to enjoy books and benefit Penn Charter libraries. The experience left all concerned feeling quite chuffed (Harry Potter term meaning “pleased, happy”). The fair raised $4,114.46, which the libraries used to purchase a new science database for Lower and Middle School students, plus new equipment and furniture for both libraries.
PC’s rookie Ethics Team. Top: Zach Jokelson, Maddie Whitehead. Front: Kelsey White, Ella Goldman, Mitch Sibson, Evan Wilson, Jeremy Weiss.
Alumni Gatherings
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OPCs in NYC Reception Alumni in and around New York City enjoyed connecting with each other and hearing from Head of School Darryl J. Ford and the alumni office in midtown Manhattan in December at one of Penn Charter’s on-the-road receptions. 1. Emma Cataldi OPC ’12 and Sarah L. Butler OPC ’12 2. Elizabeth J. Bak OPC ’07 and Tucker Heath 3. Stephanie Ball, Golda and Barry J. Markman OPC ’90 4. Graham E. Michener OPC ’89, William L. Kissick OPC ’76, Robert C. Shields OPC ’75
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2. 4.
Strategic Vision
Goal 6
Financial Sustainability
Another
Once again, March 15 was an exceptionally Great Day to Be a Penn Charter Quaker! More than 449 donors raised an incredible $322,607 for the Annual Fund, which supports every student, every teacher, every day. The celebratory atmosphere online and on campus made for a wonderful day. We were excited by the memories and messages from OPCs and parents about their love of the school. Students attended classes, shared thoughts on why PC is great, giggled in the photo booth, sported their blue and yellow, and enjoyed cake to match! “In so many ways, Penn Charter is strengthened, uplifted, by our incredible community,” said Head of School Darryl J. Ford. “The relationships formed here enrich us now, and as our OPCs noted on Great Day, throughout our lives.” Gifts from our OPCs, parents, friends and faculty and staff won us a $100,000 match from a generous donor and, together, pushed us over $200,000 before 3 pm. Gifts from faculty and staff quickly exceeded the $10,000 match from the Alumni Society. And an anonymous $20,000 challenge spiked participation by young OPCs. Members of our community connected online and on campus to share what they love and remember about Penn Charter. After being neck-and-neck all day, Blue eeked out a win over Yellow in the Blue-Yellow Midnight Challenge by just 20 donors! Top Right: The Great Day fun on campus included a photobooth with iconic PC backdrops. Head of School Darryl J. Ford with senior Abigail “Penn” Cohen. John Skinner, OPC ‘67, pictured with his wife, Colleen, fondly recalled one of his favorite teachers, Ralph “Bugsy” Evans. Young OPCs visited campus for lunch on Great Day. Crystal Lucas, parent of seventh grader Isaiah, sent a heartfelt message of what she loves about Penn Charter. Roger Gordon OPC ’69 with Alumni Director Chris Rahill OPC ’99. Pre-K made their own photobooth fun on Great Day.
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Alumni News
The Goldbergs OPC Reunion
by Rebecca Luzi
On a typically perfect 72-degree day in sunny California,
his school.
At this West Coast reception on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, about 60 alumni enjoyed Philadelphia- and Goldbergsinspired menu items (Bev’s famous shrimp parm, anyone?) in a typical high school gym branded “William Penn Academy,” the name Goldberg gave his school in the series. Then they wandered next door to watch cast and crew, including Sean Giambrone (Adam), Troy Gentile (Barry) and Hayley Orrantia (Erica) shoot a scene in the Goldbergs’ house, a treasure trove of ’80s nostalgia, from the Castle Grayskull in Adam’s bedroom to vintage Tastykake boxes in Bev’s pantry. Most of the OPCs were West Coast transplants, but former head of school Earl J. Ball; longtime physical education teacher and baseball coach Rick Mellor; and Charlie Brown, Goldberg’s favorite teacher, traveled from Philadelphia for the event.
Rick Mellor OPC ’69, pictured with Adam Golberg OPC ’94, is a recurring character on The Goldbergs known for his gym shorts, whistle and tough love. “The truth is I’m only hard on you ’cause I’m rooting for you,” his character told young Adam in a season-two episode.
Before the alumni reception, David Sirota OPC ’94 (right) and Sam Kindseth, who plays young David Sirota on The Goldbergs, were interviewed on the set by Sony.
Penn Charter alumni got to walk through the halls of their alma mater as reimagined showbiz-style by Adam Goldberg OPC ’94. Goldberg welcomed OPCs and a few former teachers to the set of The Goldbergs, the hit ABC sitcom he created about his family, his friends and
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Rick Mellor OPC ’69, a teacher at PC since 1976 who has probably taught as many PC alumni as anybody, knew most OPCs in the room. “I either taught them or they went to school with me,” he said, citing Smitty OPC ’69 (AKA Robert Smith). “It was fun talking about Penn Charter and the things that alumni remember about phys ed class, like pickle ball and dodge ball.” The latter made it into a Goldbergs episode.
Stephen Tobolowsky (left) met the real Principal Ball, former head of school Earl J. Ball Hon. 1689. “When you have a small school, the relationships with the teachers end up being tremendously important for students,” Ball said during their joint Sony interview. “So the fact that Adam has some relationships with people that he really cares for doesn’t surprise me at all.”
Rick Mellor met the actors who play the Goldberg kids: Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile and Hayley Orrantia. “It was kind of fun,” he said, “because they were just as interested in seeing who I was as I was interested in meeting them.”
That afternoon on the set, before the reception, Penn Charter’s teachers were interviewed by Sony for future promotional videos. Earl Ball met the actor who plays him in the series, Stephen Tobolowsky, and the two compared notes during the interview. continued on next page
“You were the funniest teacher,” Goldberg told Charlie Brown Hon. 1689, introducing him to Mark Firek (bottom, far right), writer of the upcoming Goldbergs spinoff.
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Alumni News continued from previous page
“I think he’s more creative than I am,” Ball said. “I loved the [episode] in which he decided discipline questions by playing cards and eating with the students. It’s a pleasure to watch. He caved a couple of times to Beverly [Adam’s mother] when I’m not sure I would have.” “Is it true or false that Beverly Goldberg interfered with or affected your romantic life?” Tobolowsky teased Ball, recalling a favorite Goldbergs storyline. “I’m happy to say that Beverly Goldberg had nothing to do with my romantic life,” Ball replied. “And that may be one of the reasons I’ve been married happily for so long.” Not every storyline is factual, of course. The most far-fetched storylines are Coach Mellor’s, Goldberg said, including the episode in which Beverly gets Coach fired. That was somebody else’s true story, though – a writer on the show who apparently has his own “smother.” “We have to think of an idea, which is the hardest thing at this point because we’ve done everything,” Goldberg said of the writing process. The show, in its fourth season, has filmed almost 100 episodes.
The fact that it is real – that’s what people have come to love about the show. Goldberg told the gathered alumni about his new series, as yet untitled, which centers on the lives of teachers rather than Goldberg and his family. “I’m really excited to show the world the teachers that we went to school with,” he said. “They’re heroes. They were raising me because my dad was walking around in his underwear and my mom was smothering me.” And what about the person he has referred to as his favorite teacher? “Charlie Brown is a character on the new show,” Goldberg reported. Brown’s character will be a hip science teacher. In reality, Brown, when he was 26, taught Goldberg sixth grade math, which produced a few visits from Beverly Goldberg. “And then in eighth grade,” Brown recalled, “I had him in English, and he was phenomenal, and I realized that people have strengths – and creativity and writing were his strengths.” In Goldberg’s senior year he organized a performing arts extravaganza: eight plays, five of which were written by Adam, Brown said. “I was in one of them, and I will never
forget, it was just the most fun. And it was real comedy written by some kid – it’s hard to imagine. So when I found out he was doing something special, well, it just didn’t surprise me that much.” Penn Charter presented Adam Goldberg with a gift at the reception. “What could we get him that he couldn’t get himself?’ Stephanie Ball, director of major gifts had wondered. Goldberg accepted an encased wooden floor block from the halls of his alma mater, created when the school was built in East Falls in the 1920s. Describing what the show meant to him, Goldberg said, “It’s wish fulfillment for me. These are the happiest days when I was a kid. … The fact that it is real – that’s what people have come to love about the show. I’m surprised that I’m being thanked here … I wanted to thank the school because I believe I don’t have a show without the school.” PC See more photos on the set of The Goldbergs at www.flickr.com/photos/penncharter/albums.
From left: Leonard Schwarz OPC ‘61, Gail Smith and Smitty OPC ’69, and Earl J. Ball Hon. 1689.
Even the caterers got in on the fun – headbands and whistles optional – as they served up Goldbergs-inspired delicacies like JTP mini hoagies and Dave Kim’s mom’s spring rolls.
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Tyler Robinson OPC ’10, Jason Harrow OPC ’02, Charlie Brown Hon. 1689, Eric Binswanger OPC ’08, Peter Binswanger OPC ’06 and David Schuck reconnected at the alumni reception.
PC P RO F ILE S
No Secret: Use Your Network Monica Butler OPC ’09 and Emma Cataldi OPC ’12 by Julia Judson-Rea
With 327 years of history and (almost) as many classes of graduates heading out into the world, the Penn Charter network is as deep as it is broad. But it is still tight-knit. Over all those years, no doubt there have been many instances of OPCs providing advice, informal mentoring and even offering a hand to help another OPC break into the workforce. Hard work, dedication, a great education and the ability to generate ideas carries one through, but a connection can help jumpstart a career. Monica Butler OPC ’09 and Emma Cataldi OPC ’12 illustrate the OPC network – and education – in action. Butler and Cataldi both work for Victoria’s Secret (VS) in New York City, Cataldi starting out as an intern in Butler’s department last year. “I was good friends with Monica’s younger sister, Sarah Butler OPC ’12. Before I moved to New York City, I reached out and asked Monica if she knew of any openings at Victoria’s Secret, or who I could talk to,” said Cataldi, who graduated from Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media, Arts and Design. “Monica told me that they had an opening for an intern on her team, so I applied.” At the time, Butler was working on the VS international beauty team in merchandising. “We hired Emma to a three-month internship, and she did a great job,” Butler said. “When the internship ended, there wasn’t anything in the international side at the time, but she was great, so we connected her to the brand development side of merchandising.” The PC connection helped Cataldi break in, but her skills and hard work set her apart for a full-time position. In a great twist to their story, and a testament to both the company’s desire to nurture and support internal candidates and Butler’s own swath of talents, she too has switched to the brand merchant team, responsible for
product development and sales for U.S. stores and digital “I have been at VS for four years. I worked exclusively for e-commerce beauty, and then international beauty, and now I am in a new role with product and U.S. stores’ arm of the merchandising team,” Butler said. “So when I moved over, Emma had already taken a role in accessories. I moved into the desk next to her. We don’t work hand-in-hand regularly and have different businesses to manage and drive, but we are in similar meetings.” Butler, connected to VS by a fellow graduate of Connecticut College, has hired three cycles of interns during her tenure at VS. “I don’t look specifically for Penn Charter graduates,” she explained. “I look for people with the skills learned from liberal arts experiences, which I think are really foundational. Emma had both the traditional education in liberal arts and specific skills in design and merchandising that fit with the many VS employees coming from Parsons School of Design or FIT [Fashion Institute of Technology].” Butler’s experience at Connecticut College and at Penn Charter has influenced her career, she said. “In smaller-scale educational settings, you gain intimate connections and people look out for you,” she said. “And it is fantastic to be able to draw from the PC experience, to be able to transfer those communication skills you learn in small classes into the everyday environment. In our corporate atmosphere, there is level of respect and political conversations you have to have in order to get the work done. The PC experience taught us how to work with peers and those different from us. That has translated to strong trajectory for my career and for Emma, too.” “You’re constantly bouncing ideas off each other in this industry,” Cataldi said. “You take ideas and run with them.
Monica Butler OPC ’09 and Emma Cataldi OPC ’12
“My parents are always saying that people from PC have a way to talk to people above them, older than them, and to adapt,” she said of her ability to speak persuasively and to lend respect in meetings with superiors and others with more experience. What might the future bring for the duo? “VS is growing and has a lot to offer,” Cataldi said about her career plans. “I can see myself happy here for a while. I see Monica’s experience with the brands, so I can see myself moving up, growing.” “The most important part [of work] is feeling valued in your role,” Butler said. “No matter your compensation or title, people want to feel like they are valued when they walk in the door at work. That has kept me at VS, too. We talk at the office about how ‘you own your own development.’ If you know what you are looking for, speak up for it. Penn Charter taught us to speak up for our needs and interests, and I have gone far being able to do that. I talk about what drives me, and the company has been responsive to that.” For both women, their network opened a door to a career. And their skills, abilities, experience, voice and hard work, bolstered by their Penn Charter education, meant they could walk through that door – and through the next door, one they made themselves. PC
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PC P RO F ILE S
Art & Science of Plastic Surgery James Smartt OPC ’91 by Mark F. Bernstein OPC ’79
Before he picks up a scalpel, James Smartt OPC ’91 often picks up a pencil and a sketchpad. Smartt, a pediatric plastic surgeon at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and an assistant professor of plastic surgery at University of Texas Southwestern, performs highly complicated operations, most of them on children. He can repair genetic deformities, affect reconstructions after a traumatic injury or reverse damage caused by cancer. Those operations can take all day, and any time spent under anesthesia is risky. Prep work, such as the kind he does with pencil and paper, helps Smartt anticipate what he is going to see before he alters it in the operating room. Each case is different, of course, but he uses one to illustrate the sort of work he does. In 2012, a young girl came to him after being successfully
treated for cancer. But the cancer had eaten away her orbit, the set of bones that make up the eye socket, causing one of her eyes to sag centimeters below the other. She needed a graft to rebuild her face and manipulate several pieces of bone into new positions. Like all plastic surgery, this required a delicate mix of art and artifice, but this was nothing like a nose job or tummy tuck. The stakes couldn’t have been higher: a successful outcome could give this girl a chance at a normal life. Working from photographs and in appointments with the patient herself, Smartt got out his sketchpad, observing the structure of her face and imagining how it ought to look. He also ordered a detailed CT scan, which produced a three-dimensional image of the girl’s skull that Smartt could examine and manipulate on his
computer. With the use of a special 3D printer in his office, he then produced an exact replica of the patient’s skull in plaster of Paris, which he marked up to note areas where he would need to lengthen, shorten or realign bone. Only now was he ready for surgery. 3D printing is a technology that did not exist even a decade ago, but it has made a tremendous difference in his work. “It’s crazy,” Smartt marveled. “Once you get the patient open and you can look at the bone, it is literally exactly what you have printed out.” In fact, the 3D model is so accurate that Smartt often keeps it next to him in the operating room, so he can check it as needed. One of the most remarkable aspects of Smartt’s practice is the degree to which it marries an artist’s eye with a surgeon’s technical skill. These surgeries require Smartt to cut the skull in several places and then move the pieces around, sometimes filling in holes with bone grafts. He moves slowly, gingerly, taking care not to damage the eyeball and optic nerve. He holds his bone grafts in place with tiny plates and screws that dissolve after about a year.
Jim Smartt (right) operated on this child when she was three years old to restore the bone around her eye socket, which was damaged by cancer.
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PC P RO F ILE S
A CT scan (right) provides Smartt with a 3D image of the skull that he can both manipulate on his computer and use with a 3D printer to make an exact duplicate out of plaster of Paris (left).
All that advance work, particularly the 3D modeling, is critically important. By helping Smartt understand what he is going to find, it can also significantly shorten the operation. Rebuilding this girl’s eye socket took about 10 hours, and it could have taken as much as three or four hours more without the model. “It has saved me hours in the operating room,” Smartt said. The path from Penn Charter to the operating theater was not a straight one for Smartt and included time honing his powers of observation in several photography classes he took with longtime PC art teacher Randy Granger. “Spending time with Randy made me a much more astute observer of the visual world,” Smartt said. “His class was all about visual assessment and criticism, so it all still resonates with me.” That is certainly gratifying for Granger, who called developing their powers of observation
“one of the most important things kids learn.” It is also one that yields benefits both in school and afterwards, as Smartt himself illustrates. “I think Jim could have gone in a number of different directions and made a contribution,” Granger said. He nearly did. After PC, Smartt attended the University of Chicago, where he majored in political science. He was not sure what he wanted to do, but ultimately went to medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. He specialized in plastic surgery because he was drawn to that unique mix of art and artifice. “That was the appeal the first time I saw somebody do this,” he explained. “This is quality of life surgery, it’s transformative. It’s not like taking out appendixes.” After completing his residency at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a fellowship in craniofacial surgery at the Seattle Children’s
Hospital, Smartt moved to Dallas and his current post in 2012. He keeps a busy schedule, performing two to five complex surgeries a week on a variety of conditions, including craniofacial anamolies and cleft palate or lip. That doesn’t leave much time for recreation, but Smartt manages to indulge his love of electronic dance music. “I’m consumed by it,” he laughed. He even has a disco ball hanging in his operating room. The young woman in this case recuperated, her face restored to its normal alignment thanks to Smartt’s keen eye and technical skill. It is not too much to say that he has given her back her future. “We hope so,” Smartt said.
PC
Read more about Penn Charter’s OPCs in Class Notes on page 39.
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Strategic Vision
Goal 2
PROGRAM Advance our educational program to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a complex and changing world.
At the Forefront PC Interns Researching in Science and Engineering by Sharon Sexton When students all around the country were completing and filing their college applications, senior Jack Roseman was completing his applications to the University of Pennsylvania – and to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Penn accepted Jack early decision. His patent is pending, and the government recently published online the 17-page patent application for his invention, an anesthesia mask designed to be worn by a mouse or rat so that a researcher can safely and efficiently anesthetize the animal and then capture a high-quality image of the animal’s brain.
in research at the forefront of science and/or engineering. Five students have benefitted from the program since Hassman established it in 2014. Last summer, Jack interned in the neurosurgery department of Penn’s medical school, working with a team of researchers looking for new therapies to treat deadly brain tumors.
Jack soon learned that scientists doing brain research on mice and rats routinely fit a small, plastic nose cone over the animal’s head to deliver anesthesia gas – and then depend on the cone to keep the head in position while they capture a high-quality MRI of the brain. But the mask isn’t a perfect tool: The anesthesia gas isn’t contained and can escape
“This is very exciting, and I’m overjoyed to be part of it,” Jack said graciously. Jack invented the anesthesia mask last summer in a life-changing internship program that PC science teacher Timothy Lynch established at research laboratories at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The internships are funded by the Hassman Family Fund for Science Research Innovation, making it possible to pay students a small stipend, and reflect the commitment of David Hassman OPC ’83 to provide students with hands-on experience
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PC senior Jack Roseman’s invention is “patent pending.” Jack has filed a patent application for a small-animal anesthesia mask he invented last summer when he was a Hassman intern at Penn’s medical school.
The internships are funded by the Hassman Family Fund for Science Research Innovation, making it possible to pay students a small stipend, and reflect the commitment of David Hassman OPC ’83 to provide students with hands-on experience in research at the forefront of science and/or engineering. into the lab air. And the animal’s head often falls out of the ill-fitting nose cone, requiring the scientist to begin the process anew. Senior research investigator Zev Binder knew the problem from years of personal experience, and Binder also recognized that Jack, the new intern he was mentoring, had a passion for using engineering to solve problems. So he paired Jack with the problem. Over the course of several weeks, Jack was given MRI scans of mice heads and worked to design an anesthesia mask, a contoured cavity that could safely deliver anesthesia – and contain the potentially dangerous gases – as well as keep the animal’s head and body in position for the MRI. An early adopter of 3D printing, Jack designed the mask so that it could be manufactured for pennies on a 3D printer. “My biggest problem was taking the MRI image and making a 3D model. I had no idea how to do that previously,” Jack said. But he found and learned the software that could help him, and then he designed the new mask.
Engineers at Penn set up the 3D print and flipped the switch – and it took four hours to print the tiny, intricate mask. Holding in his hands the mask, a first-generation effort that will require refinement, Jack pointed out the details, the contours, the tiny holes for the anesthesia and the features designed to provide equal coverage of the anesthesia
gas around the nose and mouth, “because some mice are nose breathers and some are mouth breathers.” PC William Penn Charter School
T h a n k Yo u r e p o r t o f g i f t s 2015–2016
Some material in this article first appeared in this fall’s Report of Gifts.
Real-World Opportunities In 2013-2014, PC science teacher Timothy Lynch used his sabbatical to search for a cure for glioblastoma multiforme, a deadly brain cancer that he has survived. At the same time, Lynch worked to establish relationships with world-class scientists that have yielded real-world research opportunities for Penn Charter students. Two current students – Jack Roseman, whose invention is described on these pages and who will attend Penn in the fall, and Jennie Reisman, who will attend Vanderbilt – this year wowed audiences of faculty, students and prospective parents with presentations that displayed their mastery of the research. For all of the students, the work at Penn has been life-changing. Ally Stern OPC ’15, now enrolled at Penn, researched pediatric brain tumors in the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) during the summer of 2015. The internship, Ally said, “has literally had an effect on my future in that I found something I thought I was passionate about and, once I got to experience it, I am 100 percent certain that my future will pertain in some way to oncology/neurology. I will always be grateful.” Lynch is shown here on the Penn campus last summer, with, left to right, Amanda Fleming OPC ’12 and seniors Jack Roseman and Jennie Reisman. With Lynch’s help, Amanda interned in the CHOP lab to fulfill her internship requirement at Haverford College. After graduation, she accepted a full-time position in the lab.
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Strategic Vision
Goal 1,2,3
Quakerism, Program, Teaching
Old Wisdom,
New Ways by Michael Moulton
There is a call for bold, new approaches to education to help students successfully navigate the accelerated pace of change they will see in their lives. At Penn Charter, our Strategic Vision puts many cutting-edge approaches into sight as we prepare students to be able to thrive in a complex world. Along with the new, I hear the note of eternity in our school plans, the sounds of early Quakers applying to the important work of education their discoveries about human nature and that of the divine they found in each person.
Quaker Voices from the past inspire our conversation about the future.
“And this I knew experimentally.” – George Fox (1647, recounted later in The Journal of George Fox, first published in 1694)
Reflecting on the moment in 1647 that led him to found a movement that grew into what we now call Quakerism, George Fox wrote in his Journal about coming to know life’s most important things from direct experience. Our shift from textbook and lecture-centered learning to discovery by engaging in authentic, real-world projects puts the power of Fox’s epiphany to work for students. Fox’s voice adds to research from programs like Harvard’s Project Zero and the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Literacy Network in advocating for this shift in the way we teach. More to the point and exciting about the growth of this kind of learning is how it matches the way so many of us come to know the facts, abilities and approaches that we most treasure and count on to navigate life.
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It takes rewording to be understood properly in today’s classrooms, but the question “What canst thou say?” – recounted from Fox’s earliest 17th century public speaking – continues to ask students to move from retrieving facts from others into searching for their own personal understanding of truth.
“I give myself this advice: Do not fear truth, let it be ever so contrary to inclination and feeling. Never give up the search after it; and let me take courage, and try from the bottom of my heart to do that which I believe truth dictates, if it lead me to be a Quaker or not…” – Elizabeth Fry (1799) Elizabeth Fry expands Fox’s insight about pursuing truth in ways that are found in our educational designs. She asks that, after looking to understand things by our own reckoning and experimentation, we not be afraid of the truths we find, and that we act in ways that follow those truths. Although describing herself as timid, Fry found prison conditions intolerably dark in the light of truth, and she took action. She became a powerful reformer of the English prison system, so persuasive that she drew the support of the reigning monarch.
Quaker educators from very different times give the best explanation why old wisdom can be heard in the new ways of our Quaker school plans. George Fox (1624-1691) was the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, known as the Quakers. He traveled throughout Britain in the latter 1600s expanding Quakerism by attracting new followers, including William Penn.
Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) was deeply moved at the age of 18 by the horrendous treatment of prisoners in her day. She became known as the “angel of prisons” by championing changes to make the treatment of prisoners more humane.
Lucretia Mott (1793-1880) used her extraordinary insight and speaking abilities to make large advances in the abolitionist and feminist causes. She traveled extensively as a minister and, when home, extended hospitality to fugitive slaves.
Rufus Jones (1863-1948) younger cousin to Penn Charter’s Head of School Richard Mott Jones, was a Quaker historian, theologian and philosopher. He was a professor at Haverford College and started the group that became the peace and social justice-oriented American Friends Service Committee.
Anthony Benezet (1713-1784) was a Penn Charter teacher who went on to create the first public girls school in America and a school serving Philadelphia’s free black community. Benezet also founded the first American antislavery society, starting efforts that led the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery to petition Congress, in 1790, to ban slavery. Expanding faculty professional development, creating wide learning networks, adding a full-time director of diversity and inclusion, growing the school’s global initiatives, and continuing our history of access to enrollment for all socioeconomic levels are strategic ways to ensure students have access to multiple perspectives at Penn Charter. Surveying the classroom, bringing out quiet voices, respectfully exploring thought from the divergent to the conflicting are examples of classroom practices that continually ask students to compare their thoughts with others, strengthening their ability to listen, wrestle and converse.
Challenging our inclinations, as Fry counsels, allows us to be more informed and, possibly, transformed, moving from one singular understanding to a collective, deeper understanding of truth. This is challenging and requires teachers, students and families to pull from the kind of courage Fry advised to achieve the sure-footing needed to move from thought into right action.
continued on next page
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Old Wisdom, New Ways continued from previous page
“Those who go forth ministering to the wants and necessities of their fellow beings experience a rich return, their souls being as a watered garden, and a spring that faileth not …” – Lucretia Mott (1850) To Elizabeth Fry’s hope that we could follow from truth into action, famed abolitionist and women’s activist Lucretia Mott added that we could be sustained by actions we take in service to others. Penn Charter’s answering this call shows in praise from the recent Friends Council on Education’s visiting team. After their time at Penn Charter, the team wrote in their final report that the school manifests Quaker tenets beyond its walls to help the larger community and noted that we have increased our investment in service learning and social justice with the creation of the Center for Public Purpose.
“Each age must find fresh and living ways of solving its problems and doing its work, and not go on using static and mechanized customs, merely because they have the sanction of years behind them. We ought to get rid of our dead wood and have fresh groves and pastures new.” – Rufus Jones (1941) Rufus Jones, founder of what became the American Friends Service Committee, adds his own rich nature metaphor to Mott’s in this excerpt from a speech to young adult Quakers. Jones also adds that new, innovative ways are needed for each generation to do the important work of pursuing truth that leads to action.
The visiting team also shared kudos for Penn Charter promotion of environmentalism through the appointment of an interim environmental stewardship director, as well as a number of initiatives to reduce waste. Being in service to others and the Earth offers students the chance to partner in a process where complex issues are explored, understandings are formed, and beliefs are put into action. The actions that follow let students’ lives speak and make a difference in the lives of others.
“If there is a Quaker philosophy of education, it is eclectic, experimental, willing to live with the tensions between tradition and change, the needs of the community and those of the individual.” – Paul Lacey Quaker educator
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Our talk of engaging, creative, new ways of working with students to spark their curiosity and imagination sounds like Jones and recognizes that the pedagogical approaches that worked for us as teachers and parents may not work well for today’s students preparing for a rapidly changing world. In the same address, Jones encourages us to dig in and “...get over being afraid of newness, and be ready to venture and to experiment, with what St. Paul called a constant renewing of the mind.”
New research on learning and motivation shows that design thinking and inquiry lead to more important educational gains than rote memorization. Sounding the most fun of the lot of Quaker educators, and a bit like a modern makerspace maven, our founder
William Penn foreshadowed these new discoveries when he wrote in Fruits of Solitude (1693), “Children had rather be making of Tools and Instruments of Play; Shaping, Drawing, Framing, and Building, &c. than getting some Rules of Propriety of Speech by Heart.” Jones and Penn spoke of important reasons that interactive tools, technologyrich and inspiring learning spaces, interdisciplinary classes full of inquiry, exploration, creativity, conversation and discovery are what our students need. To give an 18th century Penn Charter teacher the last word, Anthony Benezet highlighted a harmonious combination of old and new when he described the goal of Quaker education as “educating and training up of the youth both with relation to time and eternity.” Listening closely, old wisdom is heard in our new ways. PC
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Distinguished Speakers Series
Breaking Barriers by Sharon Sexton Erik Weihenmayer, adventurer, athlete, author, stood dramatically on the stage, the tip of his cane for the blind resting on the very edge, and delivered his message to more than 500 students, many of whom leaned forward attentively to receive it. Weihenmayer, the first and only blind person to summit Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, described the drama of that perilous journey in 2001 and recounted how he followed it up with six years of training for an even more terrifying challenge: solo kayaking down the roaring whitewater of the Grand Canyon. “You hope to emerge at the end of a journey having changed, having grown, maybe having been transformed,” Weihenmayer told the students in response
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to a question about adventure and fear. “Putting myself in the middle of these rapids was a way to experience life, the natural wonders of the world, [the strength of] teams. And you’re not doing it because of the fear. Fear is the thing you have to minimize and maybe pass through, like a gauntlet.”
He vividly described the reward of his persistence in the face of fear and doubt on the whitewater. “There were moments, moments when we were out of sync, smashing into each other, rolling and flipping – but a few times we were in sync, just riding this line between a giant rock wall with waves crashing on one side, and on the other side a roiling hole like a washing machine that wants to drag you down – and you’re not thinking any more. It goes beyond thought, you’re going straight to reacting, and living, and feeling. It’s a beautiful feeling. It taps into the light that we have inside and brings it out into the world.” Weihenmayer’s dramatic description grabbed the attention of his young audience. “Literally you train for six years, overcoming lots of fear, lots of doubt, lots of struggle for literally minutes of flow, of connection to the world. It’s worth it.”
Distinguished Speakers Series
For the students in grades 8 through 12 in the packed audience in the Ball Theater, Weihenmayer compared that sensation of flow to something one might experience in athletics. He also told the story of his escalating blindness in a way teenagers could understand. Born with a rare disease, juvenile retinoschisis, he began losing sight as a toddler until, as a freshman in high school, he arrived on the first day of school unable to see. He recounted that first day, comparing himself to a broken egg on the floor of a school hallway, a spill everyone had to walk around and ignore. In the recently published No Barriers, he wrote: “I was led into the building by my teacher’s aide – not the ideal way to begin freshman year in a sighted school. She guided me from class to class and even to the bathroom. At lunchtime, she led me into the cafeteria, where I sat at a table alone, thinking about everything I had lost. … Blindness descended upon me with such force that I thought it would swallow me.” Weihenmayer recounted his effort to discover the light that burned inside him, a light that could free him from darkness. With his family’s encouragement, he became a wrestler – in his senior year he represented the state of Connecticut
in national competition – and at age 16 he discovered rock climbing. “When I successfully made it up a difficult climb,” he wrote in No Barriers, “I was overwhelmed by the wonderful sensation of being in the mountains: the wind at my back, the brilliant textures in the rock, the intermittent patterns of coolness and heat under my touch. My senses awakened. Every sound, smell and touch was so vivid, so brilliant, it was almost painful. … One hundred feet above the tree line with the sun in my face and the wind and elements all around me, I felt an intoxicating freedom and the possibility that the adventure of my life was just beginning.” Weihenmayer told students that, years later, the moment he descended Everest in 2001, his expedition leader turned to him and said: “Don’t make Everest the greatest thing you ever do.” Weihenmayer went on to complete his conquest of all Seven Summits in 2002, and added to his resume as an adventurer and athlete the roles of activist and humanitarian. In 2004, Weihenmayer cofounded No Barriers, a nonprofit based in Colorado, where he now lives, that organizes life-changing outdoor adventures for youth, people with disabilities, and especially wounded veterans. The No Barriers philosophy seeks to “empower people to break through barriers,
Assistant Head of School Beth Glascott Hon. 1689 orchestrated Weihenmayer’s visit and presentation to students. The Glascott and Weihenmayer families have a long-standing association from summers at Camp Tecumseh in New Hampshire.
find their inner purpose and contribute their very best to the world.” Weihenmayer plans to travel to Europe this fall or next year to train for 20 days in the Alps, climbing huge north faces of rock and ice, but he feels that growing the No Barriers organization may be more important. “I want to make ‘no barriers’ a household name and get people thinking about what it means. A lot of fear has crept into the country, we’re almost consumed by fear, and that’s not who we are.” PC Weihenmayer’s visit was part of the Distinguished Speakers Series for students and faculty. Read more at penncharter.com/speakers.
To my father
Erik Weihenmayer dedicated his latest book to his dad, Edwin A. Weihenmayer III OPC ’58: “To my father, Ed, who embodied No Barriers before it had a name.” “Ed’s a headstrong guy who taught me how to butt my head through things,” Erik said after the PC presentation. “He’s a Marine, he played football here and at Princeton. He’s a guy who walks his talk. And that’s so great. It’s hard living the things we believe in. What he believes, he lives for and he stands for and he doesn’t make any excuses or apologies for it. That’s cool.” “No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon” is Erik Weihenmayer’s third book. The other two, both bestsellers, are Touch the Top of the World and The Adversity Advantage.
Two years after Erik became totally blind, his mother died, a loss he said surpassed blindness.
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Athletics
Photo Credit: The Associated Press
A Season of
Superlatives Matt Ryan OPC ’03 capped a superlative season during which he was named MVP of the National Football League and led his Atlanta Falcon teammates to the Super Bowl with a trip to Atlantic City in March to accept the Maxwell Club 2016 Player of the Year award. “It’s amazing to look around and see some of the quarterbacks who are here, people like Roger Staubach, Ron Jaworski and Steve Spurrier,” Ryan said. “And then when you read the names of all the great ones that the Maxwell Club has given awards to, it’s really pretty humbling.” Ryan threw for 4,944 yards, completed 69.9 percent of his passes and finished the season with a quarterback rating of 117.1. In a story about the Maxwell event in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Frank Fitzpatrick wrote, “the statistically spectacular season has finally pushed Ryan ... into the top tier of NFL quarterbacks.”
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Ryan’s road to the Super Bowl put him in the national spotlight, and, in a way, he brought Penn Charter along for the trip. On the Monday after Ryan led the Falcons to the NFC championship, a five-member team from Sports Illustrated walked through PC’s red doors wanting to know all about “Matty Ice.” There was a parade of national and local press in the days that followed. First of all, reporters wanted to know, how did he get that cool nickname? ESPN wrote a term paper on that one. However, the search to identify and understand Ryan’s quiet confidence and his cool under
ATHLETICS
pressure, the very qualities that earned him the nickname, provoked the most curiosity. The narrative that emerged in the press was about a teenager shaped by a strong, level-headed family and a Quaker school that teaches values, respect and community. In his New York Times story titled “Falcons’ Matt Ryan Stays Under the Radar Even as He Flies High,” writer Bill Pennington quoted the seminal advice of Ryan’s late grandfather, Sam Loughery: “Games are played with a bat, glove or ball, but never your mouth.” The Inquirer tracked down OPCs and reported “Matt Ryan Was Always Team-First, Penn Charter Mates Say.” The Wall Street Journal weighed in with “Revenge of the Quarterback Nerd.” Pennington, having reported on the influence of his tight-knit family, visited Penn Charter for a day to probe how Quaker values might have influenced Ryan. The result was the headline “Before Ryan’s Ascent, a Quiet Grounding in the Quaker Way.” In what must be a first for a Quaker school, the story ran on the front of the Times Sports section with a first paragraph describing Meeting for Worship and, left to right across the top of the page, a photo of students quietly studying in the sunlit Meeting Room.
ONE SEASON, THREE INTER-AC TITLES The Penn Charter Quakers ended the fall season with three Inter-Ac championships. Girls tennis, girls soccer and boys soccer all topped the league. In some years, teams share the title with another school, but not this year. All three championships are Penn Charter’s alone.
GIRLS TENNIS finished the season undefeated.
This year’s Inter-Ac title was the third in four seasons for GIRLS SOCCER. Every television station in town showed up on the Friday before the Super Bowl when students and teachers packed into Dooney Field House for a raucous Matt Ryan OPC ’03 pep rally. From kindergarten to grade 12, students lined the bleachers, waving their yellow and blue rally towels, and proudly cheering “Matty Ice, Matty Ice.” PC
The exceptional news coverage about Ryan and Penn Charter is archived at penncharter.com/ryan. Brian McCloskey OPC ’82, Ryan’s PC football coach, was a popular interview.
The BOYS SOCCER champs went on to play for the state title, losing that game after a nail-biting 28 penalty kicks. Not a typo!
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Athletics
National Champ Sophomore Elisabeth Ross entered the Junior National Squash Championships as the #1 seed in the Girls U17 bracket and she came home with the national title. According to PC Director of Squash Damon LeedaleBrown, Ross “displayed great maturity, skill and determination to come through five rounds of play against the very best in the country.” The nationals, played this year in Boston, bring together the top 32 players in the country in each age group to compete for the national title. “This is a fantastic achievement from a student and athlete whose drive to improve can be seen every time she steps on the squash court, and an individual who is so humble with her success,” Leedale-Brown said.
Accolades
PC/GA Day Heartbreaker
The 130th PC/GA football game went down to the wire – or to be exact, the final 2.4 seconds. Germantown Academy scored a 22-yard field goal with 2.4 on the clock, and GA student fans stormed their home field. PC still owns an outrageous lead in the series, 83-36-11. Senior quarterback Neeko Hnatkowsky passed 15-for-25 for 215 yards, finalizing his career total at 6,172. Senior Chris Tucker made a 74-yard reception to set up a 1-yard scoring run by soph Edward Saydee (shown here), and Saydee notched the other TD on a 68-yard, broken-play, pass-and-run connection from Hnatkowsky.
College Players
During a ceremony in Gummere Library in late November, Penn Charter athletes in baseball and lacrosse committed to play their sport in college.
Golf
Golfer Brian Isztwan, a junior, was ranked Inter-Ac’s #1 individual performer during the regular season. The team was a strong contender for a league title and finished second at the state championships.
Football
Quakers football quarterback Mike “Neeko” Hnatkowsky won honors as the Inter-Academic Career Leader in three categories: passing yards (6,172), completions (394), touchdowns (60). Hnatkowsky will play for Muhlenberg College next year.
Tennis Girls tennis was named overall champions at the Inter-Ac Tennis Championships tournament, which is separate from the league title. In singles tennis play, Leila Sor lost only one match all season, and Schuyler La Barge and Brinlea La Barge dropped zero.
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During a ceremony in late November in Gummere Library, pictured left to right are: (top) James Gabor, Georgetown, baseball; Matt Gorman, Harford Community College, baseball; Alex Cohen, undecided, baseball; Joseph Lancellotti, UNC, baseball; Brendan Cellucci, Tulane, baseball; (front): Dominic Toso, Bucknell, baseball; Macaul Mellor, Colorado, lacrosse; Adam Holland, Rutgers, baseball; Alex Malitas, Marquette, lacrosse.
Athletics
In February, two members of Penn Charter’s Inter-Ac Championship boys soccer team signed National Letters of Intent to play their sport in college in September. Centerback Conrad Williams (left) committed to University of Rhode Island and goalie Jay Jennings committed to LaSalle University.
Giovanna DeMarco, a junior midfielder whose stellar season earned her All State honors, has made a verbal commitment to play college soccer at Wake Forest University. DeMarco finished the season as MVP of the Inter-Ac with 23 goals and 6 assists, bringing her four-year Penn Charter record to 58 goals and 39 assists.
Zooooooooom! Reece Whitley continues to thrill the swim world and make Penn Charter proud. At the Eastern Invitational Swimming Championships in late February, Penn Charter’s amazing junior broke the national high school record in the 100 breaststroke twice in one day. First, in the morning preliminaries, he lowered the national independent high school record from 52.65 to a new record of 52.35. Then, during the nighttime finals — zoom! This time Whitley clocked an astonishing 51.84 to crunch his own record by roughly half a second. Interviewed afterward by the Delaware County Daily Times, Whitley called the event “the most emotional swim I’ve ever had.” He’d been thinking about breaking a national mark, he added, since his freshman year. Whitley won his third straight Easterns male swimmer of the meet award.
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Clock Tower
Mysteries 26
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Revealed by Randy Granger Hon. 1689
For thousands of students who have been touched by William Penn Charter School since its doors opened on School House Lane on Sept. 23, 1925, the Clock Tower has possessed an allure and a character that give luster to its presence as both a powerful icon and a forbidden destination. Photography by Michael Branscom
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Clock Tower Mysteries Revealed continued from page 27
Penn Charter alumni perceive the Clock Tower as a powerful and dramatic symbol of our school and its legacy. Others, in conversations over five decades, indicate it symbolizes heightened aspirations and a fundamental simplicity and order implicit in the school’s Quaker values. Aiming skyward, a bronze lightning rod atop the 146-foot tower pierces the vastness of the heavens, commanding our attention and engaging one’s spirit, imagination, wonder and sense of mystery. Notes left behind by Overseers and Richard Mott Gummere, headmaster
from 1917 to 1934, reveal a sensitivity to symbolism and an intent to guide the school’s architects with essential design considerations. Gummere was perhaps referring to the tower metaphorically when he told architects in 1922 that Penn Charter “aims to pull men upward to higher planes rather than to level them off by an overdone process of commonplace. The whole school shall be given an atmosphere of poise and strength, of doing more than it announces, of taste without show.” The current placement of today’s Clock Tower went through several different
iterations, the final one just months before construction of the main building in 1925. The gymnasium (now called the Old Gym) was completed the previous year and was initially intended to connect to the new, main building via an underground passageway. However, the pressing intention by school leaders to build an indoor swimming pool near the track and football field, plus a surge in enrollment that created need for classrooms, altered that plan. An aboveground connecting wing between the two buildings was quickly envisioned and was continued on page 30
Penn Charter, looking east. Construction progress as of May 15, 1925.
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Revealed Architectural consultant Warren P. Laird of the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Architecture had ongoing discussions with the Overseers in 1922 and, as a result, was inspired to characterize the design criteria of the building and tower in this way: In point of architectural quality, they should present a character of the utmost simplicity, it being the belief of the Trustees that this yet permits the fundamentals of beauty in respect to good proportion and color, appropriate ornament and a total effect of dignity and good taste.
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Clock Tower Mysteries Revealed continued from page 28
redrawn at the same time the main building was under construction. The pool was not built at that time due to financial constraints, but additional science classrooms on the second floor were, and the Science Department has remained there ever since. The proposed pool was finally constructed in 1966 and remains today as a part of the Graham Athletics Center. The proposed Clock Tower location, size and appearance changed from the original
1922 plan. In that plan it was to be smaller in size than the present Clock Tower, located atop the roof of what is now the Meeting Room, and designed to look more like the tower on Independence Hall. A second, smaller tower was envisioned atop the roof ridge of the gymnasium building. The Clock Tower placement that we all now know stands at the physical intersecting point of the arms of the iconic stone school building. Symbolically, it may also stand for an essential linkage point in
life and learning, the connective development of mind, body and spirit essential to all learning, growth and development. Although Penn Charter’s Clock Tower was structurally completed in September 1925 at a total cost of $10,650, the bell, clock engine, bronze numerals and clock hands were not installed until 1928. Completion of the bell and clock installation came as a direct result of several years of generous donations made by alumni and friends of the school. continued on page 35
Revealed An 8-inch brass clock is mounted to the 350-pound cast iron clock engine, shown here. They harmoniously live together in their own glass-doored house on the clock level inside the tower. As each second ticks by on the clock, the gearing on the engine slowly turns a vertical rod, thereby rotating the dial arms that connect with the rear of the bronze clock hands that are visible from School House Lane.
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Revealed Along with nearly 100 years of student graffiti, the rear of each of the four clock faces supports a geared mechanism that attaches to the 3-foot hour and 4-foot minute hands on the outside and the 9-foot iron dial arm on the inside, which is visible in the upper left. The four dial arms intersect at 90-degree angles in the center of the Tower’s clock level and are joined laterally via a suspended universal joint. The universal joint is fixed to the upper end of a solid bronze rod that connects down to the gears of the clock engine below. In former times the clock was kept running by a 10-foot long iron pendulum weighing 95 pounds. It swung 40 times a minute and hung 50 feet below the great bell. Today the clock is fully computerized and electrified. The swinging pendulum has been removed, and its whereabouts remain a mystery.
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Revealed Over the years, the inner tower acquired an allure that has only grown with time. Access to the tower is monitored, but throughout the 20th century students plotted and planned to breach, enter and, once there, scratch their monikers on walls, joists and ladders. The earliest known printed reference to the tower as a forbidden destination appears in an article by Duncan F. Francis, a student in Prima I (grade 12), in Penn Charter Magazine of November 1928. The curious schoolboy, of late, after winding his way through the dim unknown attic regions, found himself in the tower where the new clock is being installed. The installers kindly answering his queries, he learned many interesting facts…His appetite un-satiated by these disclosures, the inquisitive one ascended more rickety ladders, pried off a trap door and stood on the Bell platform. Crouching for fear of discovery, he examined the three-foot-diameter bell, which bore the legend Corn Exchange Bank. And then, as he descended, he thought of the famous watch made by a Parisian jeweler for Marie Antoinette, which measured one third of an inch across.”
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Revealed The attic, gateway to the wonder and mystery of the Clock Tower! This is the view from the top of the second floor attic stairway in the main building. It possesses the aura of a spacecraft or industrial shipyard. The small, wooden ladder leads from the attic to the first level inside the tower. PC stage crew students from the mid 1970s, who set the lights in the auditorium from this level, referred to the space as “Deck Zero� a clear reference to Star Trek. This is the view that has inspired and impelled many Penn Charter students over the years to venture forward toward discovery. Some OPCs attest that this forbidden view inspired them to become future space architects, scientists, filmmakers, overseers, preservationists, artists, engineers, doctors, teachers, lawyers, and dreamers of all kinds.
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Revealed The 2,500-pound bronze bell in the tower belfry carries the name Corn Exchange Bank, yet the actual bank site from which the bell came remains a mystery. Research in multiple archives indicates a high likelihood that the bell came from the Corn Exchange Bank building located on the southeastern corner of Second and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia. Building records for that bank indicate that its tower was renovated in 1928 and its bell removed permanently. Nowhere in Penn Charter’s files or minutes is there any indication of acquiring the bell for installation in the tower. However, the removal dates for the bank’s bell and the installation date for our tower bell certainly coincide.
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Clock Tower Mysteries Revealed continued from page 30
Workers were still onsite, finishing construction and landscaping, when faculty and students arrived in September 1925. The campus was familiar to many because boys had been traveling from Penn Charter’s academic building at 12th and Market streets for years, riding the train to the Queen Lane train station and walking the few blocks to use the athletic fields and (after 1924) the gymnasium building on the 22-acre property. At least one student who made that move from 12th Street understood the design intentions of Gummere, Overseers and Philadelphia architect M. B. Medary of the
firm Zantzinger, Borie & Medary. Writing with pride and gratitude in the November 1925 issue of Penn Charter Magazine, the student editor said: “There is one foremost thought that comes to our mind when contemplating the future longevity of the William Penn charter school; nothing that we who are now connected with the school could have done to provide a fitting memorial for those who have gone before us, those who have given their all for the school, those who have lived, have worked, have died, for the service of mankind after having had the Spirit of Penn Charter instilled in them; to those could we dedicate
nothing more appropriate than this splendid edifice whose tower pierces the air, searching for a service to the world such as Penn Charter has accorded to America since 1689.” PC Add your Clock Tower story to school history by emailing Sharon Sexton, director of marketing communications, at ssexton@penncharter.com.
Revealed Overseers’ minutes of April 24, 1928, verify that Walter Coggeshall Janney OPC 1894 gave the gift of the clock for the tower and that it was, “accepted, with gratitude.”
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Downtown Reception
Returns
Ray Benson OPC ’69
Ray Benson OPC ’69, frontman and founder of the world-renowned Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, ambled into Lower School with a borrowed guitar and played a tune or two for second graders learning country line dancing. An imposing 6’7” with an imposing resumé – he has overseen the release of more than 25 albums and won 10 Grammy Awards – Benson’s relaxed, easy-going style put even the littlest students at ease. He was a hit with the Middle School students he played for and the Upper School musicians who played for him. “Now that was a delight,” he said, “to just sit back and listen.” Of course he had some solid music tips for them, too. That same evening, Benson was the headliner at the 2017 Downtown Reception, a celebration of music that also featured the Upper School Jazz Band warming up the crowd, in celebration of the 25th year of band at PC. The Alumni Society’s annual Downtown Reception, held this year at Vie on N. Broad Street, attracts not only OPCs and teachers but parents, too. The crowd gathered in front of a small stage that made the event feel personal and informal, and Benson played a little and talked a little. Wearing his trademark cowboy hat and boots – he’s 7 feet tall with those – he recalled learning to play guitar with his sister’s baritone ukelele. And how did a Jewish boy from Philadelphia get interested in Texas swing? Credit singing cowboy Gene Autry and Sally Starr, the local children’s TV host who dressed like a cowgirl and rode a palomino.
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Benson remembered Penn Charter as a place with small classes, attentive teachers and great friends. Lifelong friends, in Benson’s case. Benson said he “loved” Quaker Meeting for Worship and community service. His spiritual journey began at PC, and many of the lessons he learned guide him still. “One of the joys of being a mini-celebrity is that you can help people,” he said. A member of many boards, he is particularly active on behalf of dental, mental and health care for musicians. PC
Choral Director Joseph Fitzmartin and James Grace OPC ’09
Jacob Markovitz OPC ’05 and his father, Michael Markovitz OPC ’67, with Head of School Darryl J. Ford.
First grade parents Darcy Krause, Sara Evans, Paul Evans and Jonathan Krause.
James Harbison OPC ’69, Jonathan Sprogell OPC ’70, Ray Benson OPC ’69, Thomas Lee OPC ’69 and William Carr OPC ’69.
PC music teacher Robert Wilson, Shawn David OPC ’09 and Kendra Murphy OPC ’09.
Philip Balderston OPC ’02 and his uncle Bruce Balderston OPC ’72.
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William Penn Charter School
Then & Now
1976
The Lower School staged The Wizard of Oz on the Meeting Room stage in the spring of 1976.
2016
The Upper School musical Godspell took the stage of the Kurtz Center in the winter of 2017.
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Alumni
Class Notes
Class Notes Penn Charter magazine wants to hear from you, and your classmates do, too! Submit your news and photos at penncharter.com/classnote. Digital photos should be 300 dpi JPEGs.
1689 In January, Dana Toedtman attended the national conference of the NativityMiguel Coalition at Imago Dei Middle School in Tucson, Ariz. “The conference was wonderful,” she writes. “I had the pleasure of presenting ‘The Bridge to High School and Beyond: Success Skills,’ a session on a pilot course we developed last year to help transition students to high school. Who knew I would find such meaningful volunteering after PC while I’m in Tucson for three months?! These schools are so special, educating the whole child and breaking cycles of poverty.” Pictured: Dana Toedtman Hon. 1689 (right), with the team from Philadelphia’s St. James School, which also attended the conference.
1939 Donald G. Barnhouse Jr. had a new book, The Fix, published in January 2017.
1947 Charles S. Ganoe still has an office near his home in Princeton for pro bono work, but his consulting business is now dormant. His travel in the past several years has included Cuba, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, Tibet and North Korea.
William F. Matlack is living at Sherwood Oaks (a retirement community in Cranberry Township, north of Pittsburgh) with his third wife, Leslie Crawford. At 88, he is suffering from Parkinson’s disease and the election. He would enjoy hearing from any of his 30 or so surviving 1947 classmates at wfm@zoominternet.net. Allan T. Willoughby Sr. writes, “After 26-plus years at IBM, I retired in 1991 to start another 26-plus string of years — in retirement. Did some volunteer work as administrator and accountant for a charitable organization (Eighteenth Street
Development Corp.) in South Philadelphia. Now wife Bobbie and I are enjoying living at Dunwoody Village, a great retirement residence in Newtown Square, Pa. “I’ve been been singing in the Sanctuary Choir at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church since 1988, (egads, another long string of years, this time 28-plus). Charles T. Maclary OPC ’21 once was organist, and Harry A. Yutzler also sang there. I am one of several who play the 49-bell tower carillon on Sundays (a bit tough on the legs climbing 85 steps to get there). “I’ve enjoyed periodic luncheon gettogethers with Edward C. Driscoll Sr., Charles S. Ganoe, Dwight J. Hartzell, H. Randolph Schofield, George S. Stewart III, Robert B. Parsons, Frederick W. Larson and others no longer with us. “We have two sons, two granddaughters and one grandson. One family is in Boston, and the other lives in Portland, Ore., so we don’t see them very often. We are basically in good health, alive and kicking and looking forward to our 70th.”
1949 Peter A. Benoliel’s surgery complications allow him a few minutes at the class’s next “organ recital,” an occasional feature of the group’s quarterly luncheons, reports George C. Fuller who adds, “Twenty-two of our original class of 65 are still extant.” Peter J. Meehan is taking art and writing classes at Naples Senior Center. Richard F. Neff has moved to Cincinnati to be closer to family.
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Alumni
Class Notes J. C. M. (Jack) Ogelsby, who retired from a distinguished career in Canadian higher education, “just got in from snowshoeing, after trailing a moose unsuccessfully.” Harry E. Richter reports, “In retirement I am still involved with the right whale recovery efforts in Florida, and again this year we had a mother/calf pair swim into the Indian River Lagoon through Sebastian Inlet on the east coast of Florida. That’s two years in a row that a mother right whale and her new calf have swam into Sebastian Inlet, which is incredible. During the first incident, in 2016, the whales stayed for two days, which gave us a unique opportunity to study them closely before they went back out into the Atlantic Ocean. During the last incident in January 2017, they stayed for only seven hours, which was too short a time span to mount a major research study. “Involvement in these marine mammal studies over the years keeps our brains stimulated, even if our aging bodies have more difficulty getting around to view the whales and directly assist with these breakthrough research efforts.” Edwin A. Snape III and his wife, Pam, enjoyed a fall Mississippi riverboat cruise and a snowless family Christmas at their North Carolina mountaintop cabin. Lowell S. (Tim) Thomas Jr. and his wife, Judy, are living in a retirement community in Blue Hill, Maine.
1951 Allen M. Barstow writes, “I swore never to go on a cruise – those big, ugly blimps, yuck! But for Jo’s 80th we went on the largest sailing ship in the world, the Royal Clipper, and what a blast it was. From Barbados to the Windward Islands – Grenadines, Tobago, Saint Vincent, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Martinique. Fantastic! Every time we spotted a sailboat, I was
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sure it was Robert D. Barnes and Nonnie, or Donald L. Greene and Gail. And, oh, the five-masted clipper ship, what a beauty, and only 275 passengers. It was a fabulous getaway. Naturally, shortly after our return to Connecticut, we had 10 inches of snow, then two days later another 10 inches, but that’s why we love New England. And now we have put out the taps for maple season. If anyone wants to earn pure maple syrup free, come help us boil, and bring your grandchildren. They will love it.”
grandchildren … and six planes. We spend all summer and fall on Squam Lake, N.H. (near Winnipesaukee). I’m in very good basic health and survived a vicious sepsis attack. Still doing okay on the court but quit golf at 60 (bored!). Life has been very good to me. I’m exceedingly grateful. Sat down at the library last summer, and sitting right beside me was George C. (Skip) Corson! Long, fun talk.”
1952
Evan W. Michener III says, “It is hard to believe that it’s been over three-quarters of a century since I walked up the driveway at the “new campus“ at Pinehurst. During that period I graduated (small miracle) and have had the pleasure to watch my two sons graduate (Evan W. Michener IV OPC ’83 and John S. Michener OPC ’89). I have two grandsons, Colin in seventh grade and Gavin in fifth grade. They love their experience, as we all did. And granddaughter Mallory is ready to invade kindergarten in the fall — unimaginable in my day! There are no words sufficient to describe the positive effect Penn Charter has had on all our lives and the great memories that live on and are shared with many of the classmates with whom I still have contact.”
Arthur U. Ayres Jr. writes, “Last year we spent a week in Cuba with a Johns Hopkins group led by a Peabody professor of Latin music. Got to go to the local music venues as well as lectures and sightseeing. Attended the Oregon Shakespeare Festival to see six plays in five days — chased from the outdoor theater after the first act by smoke from a forest fire in California. Spent a week in Sun Valley, Idaho, where our older daughter lives. Younger daughter was there as well. Got the family together for the week before Christmas in San Francisco for food, art and old trolleys. I am still working part time. We are well and are sorry to miss our 65th.” Michael N. Wood writes, “After I got my PC diploma, I did a post-grad year at Phillips Andover (I was just 16 at PC). After two years at the University of Virginia, I left to begin five years as a pilot for the Navy. I went back to Penn to finish up, then moved to Boston and began a 30-year flying career with Northeast, which merged with Delta. “I married at 30, settled into the great North Shore area and had three kids, four
1954
1955 Donald P. Gutekunst writes, “Noticed a recent Inquirer item announcing that Frisbees just had their 50th anniversary. Not so. Back in the late ’40s at recess, we used large metal container lids, cutting our hands when they got nicked. Already we were calling our tin lids ‘Frisbees.’ Jeffrey A. Heebner, Drew C. Smith, David H. Rosenbaum, Edward B. (Ted) Fiske, myself and others were out there flinging the Frisbee.”
Alumni
Class Notes
1956 Henry R. (Harry) Waddington says, “I had a surprise visitor this week: Anthony T. Vincent and his bride, Ashley. We had a great time at Crane’s Tavern on Hilton Head Island. It’s owned and operated by the Crane family of Germantown. They used to operate a great place on Queen Lane. What I never knew was that Mr. Crane went to GA. I presented his daughter with a framed photograph of Penn Charter, which now hangs in the restaurant!”
1958 Bradford M. (Buck) Gearinger says, “I have many great memories of my 12 years as a student at Penn Charter. Two memories involve Penn Charter after my graduation. At the end of my first semester at Sewanee, Dr. Gummere received a copy of my first semester grades and sent me the following note: Dear Bucky, I note 4 Cs and a D. Not good: Then again not bad. “In the fewest words Dr. Gummere nailed my academic ceiling. “My second memory began 18 months ago, when I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Since the word got out, at least 15 classmates have called me on a continuing basis, and I don’t mean once in awhile but often, to wish me well, lift my spirits and indicate to me the spirit of true friendship. My classmates of 70 years have offered me far more than I can ever reciprocate. I was so fortunate to attend Penn Charter.” William A. Graham IV writes, “In June 2017, I will be celebrating 55 years of working at the Graham Company, an insurance brokerage and consultant firm located in downtown Philadelphia. I have been happily married to
my wife, Fran, for almost 40 years, and just adore my daughter, Laura, granddaughter Macy, son Quint, daughter-in-law Jessica, and granddaughters Elizabeth and Caroline. At 75 years old, I still manage a full schedule at work and enjoy giving back to the people and places that have made an impact in my life. It is important for me to play a part in helping future generations develop. The teachers, coaches and programs at PC have helped me grow, develop and mature into the person I am today.” Editor’s note: Bill Graham was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer in March for setting up an employee stock-ownership plan rather than selling his company for an estimated $230 million, as he prepares to hand over the day-to-day operation. Why not accept a more lucrative offer? “You can’t make every decision based on how much money you are going to make,” Graham said.
1959 Kenneth J. (Chip) Stuart reports, “I retired two years ago after setting an auction record for American Art at Sotheby’s. Bought an old house on the Marco River in Marco Island, Fla., where I live six months a year with my second wife of 16 years, Debbie, and my dogs, Pepper and Maddie. Don’t know why I’m here since I don’t golf, boat, fish or drink much and am not in the lawn care or bug control business. I’m also not in the business of telling people what to do with their extra money or how to deal with their health problems. Probably for tax reasons and because my wife doesn’t like cold weather. Having the time of my life reading, writing, playing the piano and eating fish like triple tail and amberjack that we can’t get up North.”
Edwin A. Weihenmayer and his fellow OPCs from the tight-knit Class of 1958 visited Penn Charter to hear a presentation by Ed’s son, Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Erik spoke to students about overcoming fear and boundaries. (See page 20.) Ed and his classmates rounded out the day with lunch and a tour of campus. Pictured: Ed Weihenmayer, Robert M. Harting, Rodger C. Wichterman, Robert D. Morrow, Stephen J. Ruckman, Ross R. Hibbert, William M. Graff, Courtnay H. Pitt, John E. F. Corson.
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Alumni
Class Notes
Tirtha Baski (Kolkata)
Thanasis Germanos (Thessalonika)
David A. Scott writes, “In just six months, my new Facebook group, Portraits from the Streets of the World, has attracted an amazing 4,200 photographer members who hail from 144 countries and post more than 100 images a day in 92 languages. I comment on each image posted – in English, as well as in the native language of the member posting the image. Our images provide a virtual trip around the world every day.”
1961
1963
David L. Geyer says, “After a wonderful Christmas visit with our youngest son in Tribeca and a fun stay with our oldest in Santa Barbara in January, we spent February and March on Kiawah Island, S.C. Family gatherings are scheduled for June in Pennsylvania and August in Colorado, after which I’ll run the Philadelphia half marathon in September.”
Robert E. Brickley, who lives in Atlanta, reports that he took the Falcons Super Bowl loss hard. “Other than that, life is wonderful. Life coaching at age 72. Helping 20 professionals navigate this crazy world we are living in today.”
1962 Lindley C. Scarlett, an “old retired guy living in Morristown, N.J.,” is heading to Jackson Hole, Wyo., this summer with his six grandchildren for a family reunion.
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1965 Jonathan L. Fiechter writes, “Most of us have left the Philadelphia area and are now spread around the world — hence, maintaining contact and keeping up with classmates is much more difficult. But it was great catching up with former classmates at our 50th reunion, and so, in that spirit, here is my contribution: “Most of my career has been devoted to helping improve the quality of financial-sector supervision. After 40-plus years working in Washington for various government agencies (what my nongovernment friends refer to as the employer of last resort), I shifted to part-time work at the end of 2012. Having taken few family vacations during my career, I am now catching up and taking a couple of formal
vacations every year (biking and cruising to interesting spots) with my wife of 46 years. I serve on a couple of nonprofit boards and continue to try and help governments improve their banking supervision – recent projects have been with central banks and supervisors in the U.S. and in China, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Australia, the British Virgin Islands and Thailand. On my wish list is learning how to play a respectable game of golf, identifying a local opportunity to promote financial literacy (for folks of all ages), and finding the time to keep up with family and friends.” Robin Jong Australia/Malaysia)
1960
Geoffrey R. McConnell reports, “After graduating from PC and Haverford College, I spent several years in Army intelligence, learning Russian compliments of Uncle Sam. Upon release from active duty, I returned to Philadelphia for an MBA from Wharton, then started a career in international banking in New York (with later transfers to London and Frankfurt). It was serendipity that started me on what was to consume the remaining 30-plus years of my career: managing corporate financial restructurings (in the U.S., Asia and Latin America), on behalf of individual lenders, creditor groups or active investors. I retired from Bank of Montreal in 2014, and two years ago my wife and I moved from our home of 26 years in suburban Chicago to the New Hampshire seacoast to be closer to our daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren (ages 0 to 7).” Harry E. Nothacker writes, “My son Keith’s company, BACTrack, announced the world’s first wearable alcohol monitor for real-time data tracking, including a model made as a strap for Apple Watch. This took place at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It’s supported through a grant from the National Institutes of Health and is expected to be on the market this summer. He’s doing his part to make the roads safer. I have continued to enjoy swimming, biking, running and some coaching.”
Alumni
Class Notes
1966
Allen F. Steere OPC ’66 reports that he and classmates James Q. Stevens, Robert W. Ulmer, John T. Ort and Stephen A. Bonnie met for breakfast in Chestnut Hill on Jan. 18. Jim, Bob and Allen all worked in the insurance industry. John practices law as an estate, trust and tax attorney. Jim works as a caregiver several days a week for an organization that serves veterans. Allen volunteers time for the Ivy Hill Foundation, which runs a nonprofit therapeutic equestrian program. Allen reports, “Penn Charter legend and Alumni Award-winner Steve Bonnie, now in his fifth decade at Penn Charter, does just about everything for PC.”
W. Tonner Hayes OPC ’66 writes, “Kitty and I still doing our community stuff, keeping on top of our apartments, seeing the kids and grands when we can and planning to do some fixing up of our home - our rock house in the 10-acre forest on the Pacific Rim, oh yeah. Life is good even when hectic.” Tonner shared a photo of Miss Chapman’s fourth grade classroom in 1958. “I think I had just learned to raise one eyebrow,” he said. “Silly stuff. J. Gregory Luckman OPC ’66 might like to see this for his quest to remember classmates from the early years who didn’t make the full PC journey.”
Donald A. Noveau writes, “This past
fit and staving off old age by walking a lot
year I began a three-day-per-week semi-
and going to the gym almost daily. Recent
retirement. It’s okay, but the full deal will
travels include a 2,500-mile road trip
be better! My wife of 44 years, Barbara, and
through the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida
I are waiting for our younger daughter to
to visit friends and see some of those tourist
finish her medical residency and move back
destinations (Charleston, not Disney) that
to Maryland. Meanwhile, we are staying
many people fly over.”
Stephen B. Russell, Steven P. Distefano and Martin J. Harrity drop in on William J. (Billy) Jones, all OPC ’66, in California. Their friendship began more than 50 years ago at PC.
1967 Charles S. (Chick) Goodman Jr. writes, “I must have paid special attention that day in Mr. Schug’s English class when reading Horace Greeley, who said, “Go West, young man.” After graduating from Penn I was fortunate to work as a stage manager at the Tower Theater for events with many of the top musical acts of the early ’70s. I then headed west with the idea to work my way around the country and then around the world. By the time I was 30, I had been in 46 states and 29 countries. I ended up in Santa Cruz, a magical town on the California central coast. My first gig was on a commercial fishing boat, and I eventually got into the organic produce industry and have been a national sales manager or VP of sales and marketing for young high-growth companies like Harmony Foods, Galaxy Foods, Silk Soymilk, Herb Thyme Farms and Coosemans Worldwide. I live with my beautiful wife above the village of Soquel, surrounded by redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We have two children, two grandchildren, a dog, a cat and woods full of critters.”
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Alumni
Class Notes
1968 Samuel M. Wilson is still an active surgeon in northern South Carolina. He and wife Dot enjoy living on a quiet lake in the beautiful Upstate region and regularly go to the nearby North Carolina mountains. In May 2016, they attended the NCAA Division I Women’s Rowing Championships in Gold River, Calif., where their daughter Mary rowed in the first Varsity 4 boat for Duke University. She was “stroke,” and her boat came in 13th in the nation. Their other daughter, Liz, a Carleton graduate, is doing conservation work. Sam enjoys reading Quaker writings, including those of Rufus M. Jones, cousin of former PC headmaster Richard Mott Jones. He looks forward to the 50th reunion in 2018!
Michael J. Yaros says, “I am in private practice in ophthalmology in southern New Jersey. My passion is tennis. I have an extensive library of books, movies and vinyl. I graduated from Penn, went to Temple Medical School and did my residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital. I am a past president of the West Jersey Medical Society. I currently live in Bala Cynwyd and have two children, who attend Drexel. My daughter is majoring in entertainment and arts management, aspiring to produce and act in movies. She’s on the honor roll and is vice president of her arts society. My son is majoring in computer science with a minor in architecture. His hobby is designing space colonies, habitats and ships.”
1971 Robert A. Picardo (left) visited the set of The Goldbergs with classmates John R. Harbison (middle), Kevin E. Smith and many OPCs during a PC alumni reception. “Glad to meet Adam F. Goldberg OPC ’94 and thank him for immortalizing our alma mater (and to eat some good old Philly heart attack sandwiches).” See story and more photos on p. 8.
1973 Robert J. Marquess has a message for the class. “Believe it or not, our 45th reunion is around the corner! Please save the dates now: May 4-6, 2018. Our class party will be Saturday, May 5, at a site TBD. At this time, we are hoping to get volunteers for the class reunion committee so we can make this reunion another memorable one! Please call or write to me or Chris Rahill (crahill@penncharter.com) with your interest.” Daniel B. (Bernie) Taylor III and PC overseer Mark D. Hecker OPC ’99 met up at Reach Incorporated’s end-of-summer event. “I’m celebrating my fifth year on the board of Mark’s great organization,” writes Daniel. “Living in Reston, Va., with Sharie, my wife of 26 years. My son, Paul, graduated from Williams College and is working in Washington, D.C.”
1970 George J. (Chip) Hauptfuhrer III says, “I continue to live in Atlanta and work in the investment profession (38 years for both). I’m in my 11th year as a consultant with Prime Buchholz, a New Hampshire-based firm that serves primarily endowment and foundation clients. Daughter Barbara moved with her husband and their two little girls to Reading, Pa., last fall. Son Tuck got married last June and lives in San Francisco. Son Lawson lives in Baltimore and will be married in May. Wife Sally spins five days a week and is a community volunteer. We are blessed with good health and have taken some very enjoyable trips in recent years. Please look me up if you get to Atlanta.” gjhiii@hotmail.com. (404) 313-4145
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1974 Blake M. Christoph says, “I have recently had a career change and now own and operate a window treatment franchise, Budget Blinds of Lafayette Hill. Next month I’ll be sailing with classmate Walter G. Delevich and our wives in the British Virgin Islands for a week.” Frederick W. Dohrmann writes, “I speak once in awhile with J. Peter Davis but miss all PC events because I’m always traveling or involved with softball at Widener
Alumni
Class Notes University. Getting ready for season 37 at Widener. What a wonderful experience to have been a part of fantastic growth in the university and in softball. Will expect to reach win 600 early on with my group of highly athletic, intelligent and fun players. ‘Let’s play two!’”
David C. Hahn is a Seattle-based composer. He’s married with two daughters: Zora (19), who attends Cornell, and Neva (17), a junior at Lakeside School. “While having attended (at the time) an all-boys school, I am now surrounded by women!” he writes. “I recently Ten Chippewa Songs completed Ten Chippewa Songs for voice and guitar. This is a song cycle that sets Native American poetry. The piece is 12 minutes long and is dedicated to the North Dakota Water Protectors. To hear my latest, up-to-theminute work, go to my SoundCloud page: https://soundcloud.com/davidhahn. Please drop a line to say hello or let me know if you’d like more details on the music.” for high voice & guitar by David Hahn
William H. (Bill) Lesser III had a wonderful visit from M. Reid Bush during the Christmas holiday in Manassas, Va. He reports that “Reid is looking fit as a fiddle and is as witty as ever.“ They were excited to attend a spectacular Christmas Eve service in nearby Warrenton with Clifton C. Stroud II on organ. Bill’s daughter had a baby boy on Jan. 17, and his daughter-in law had a baby boy on Jan. 21. He continues to work with the National Flood Insurance Program’s community rating system. With three grandchildren nearby, community volunteer commitments and an active professional schedule, he reports that learning to balance the busy Penn Charter routine of commute, studies, sports and a weekend job was good preparation for real life! Peter W. O’Rourke writes, “Edgar H. Lobley Jr. and I, along with our Franklin and Marshall pals, held our third “annual” get-together in Lancaster. Edgar and his wife, Annette, have celebrated significant marriage milestones. Their two sons are doing great. Edgar is celebrating a stellar career with a firm in the Lancaster area. He looks the same, and any of his PC buddies would easily recognize him even after all these years. It is my pleasure to be able to call Edgar and his wife, Annette, my close friends for over 42 years!”
Dedicated to the Protectors of Native Sacred Lands in North Dakota
www.davidhahnonline.com
1975 James C. Garvey III was named vice president of Holy Family University in Philadelphia in February 2017. For the previous five years, Jim had served as the associate dean of Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law. Stephen R. Mazda writes, “My documentary film 401k Magic, which won seven film festival awards five years
ago when it was first released, was picked up by Kanopy Streaming, a worldwide educational, non-theatrical, streaming platform. Life lessons and stories in the film illustrate how average students can accomplish great things if they do lots of little things right and don’t waste time, a student’s most valuable asset. There are more ways for us to give back to society than just giving money. I am thrilled to know that my life lessons are being shared with students around the globe.”
1976 Brent Sherwood writes, “One of my mission proposals at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) was selected by NASA. In 2022 we will launch an electric-propulsion mission to the asteroid Psyche, the largest known piece of metal, which is thought to be the stripped core of a planet. A major voyage of discovery for the mid-2020s!”
1978 Dag-Daniel Dittert, who lives in Germany, writes, “My connection to PC is not as intense as it should be, but I am still involved in student exchange to the U.S. I function as a representative of AMICUS, which is a branch of Young Life (Christian mission project), where American families who are living their faith open theirs homes to foreign high schoolers for 10 months just to live with them and experience the American way of life. Paul Bernard’s family – back then – invited me to do just that, and I enjoyed it tremendously. Fritz Kempner Hon. 1689 organized the exchange at that time, which ran about 25 years. “Nine years ago, we moved from Dresden (East) to Cologne (West) to become partners in a private institute for surgical pathology. Newest stuff would be
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Class Notes that we have become grandparents. And we followed Paul’s footsteps in making a visit to India (pictured).”
Royals and Los Angeles Angels. From the day I graduated from PC, I’ve been involved one way or another with MLB. Thank you, PC, for guiding me on this path. It never would have happened without your help and support.”
and I’m VP of business development for Traversa Solutions. Any OPCs making their way to Texas should reach out.”
1982 Robert L. Rosania, Brian W. McCloskey and Edward Malandro Jr. OPC ’83 recently attended the Super Bowl to support Matthew T. Ryan OPC ’03. (See page 22.)
1985
John Balbus participated in the Climate Ride Pacific Northwest in August 2016. “I just finished a six-day ride to raise money for climate change and sustainable transportation organizations,“ he writes. “It was a mix of one of my lifelong loves, bicycle touring, and my life’s passion: work.”
1979 Erik Greenberg Anjou checked in from New York City. “I am still barnstorming with my Deli Man documentary (recent screenings include L.A. and a benefit for Holocaust survivors in London), finishing up work on a new screenplay, and teaching several film production classes at School of Visual Arts and St. John's University. I enjoy following the exploits of Mark Bernstein, Mike Chaple, et al., on Facebook." Deli Man is the third work in Erik’s trilogy about Jewish culture.
1981 Mark S. Gubicza writes, “I celebrated my 30th wedding anniversary with Lisa on Nov. 7, 2016. We have three children: Nicolette, Chad and Ashley. Nicolette is getting married this October. I will be starting my 11th year as the Angels’ color analyst on Fox Sports West and my 17th year working for Fox. Longer now than my playing career with the Kansas City
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1984 Andrew Meyers has been living in Houston for the past 19 years with wife Julia and daughters Lily (10th grade) and Samantha (8th grade). “The only thing I knew about Texas growing up in Philly was watching the Eagles v. Cowboys, thinking who are those fans with cowboy hats on?” he writes. “Well, my daughters are born and raised Texans. They do share Dad’s love for the game of basketball, which I discovered at PC playing on the 8-foot baskets in the “pit.” The best news is they have more talent than their father ever did. I have been in technology for 17 years,
Seth R. Duncan writes, “I’m about to have my 50th birthday (wild) and am living in a townhouse in Newtown Square, Pa., with my wonderful wife of almost 20 years, Linda, and two beautiful, amazing and very active girls: Catherine (16) and Sarah (12). I work at Bryn Mawr Hospital as an occupational therapist, as I have for the past 19 years. I still work out a little, play a little indoor soccer, and dabble with basketball and hiking with my daughters. I am a member and deacon at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Devon. I maintain membership in St. John’s Masonic Lodge #115, the Society of the Cincinnati, the Saint Andrew’s Society and various volunteer activities with my daughters’ schools (Marple Newtown High and Middle schools). I am an alumnus (1989) of Gettysburg College with a BA in psychology, and Thomas Jefferson University (1997) with a BS and master’s degree in physical medicine and occupational therapy. Best wishes to all my old friends, schoolmates and faculty. I am a call away at 610-3550518 or LSCSDuncan@verizon.net.”
1992 John L. Trager is working at NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) on the Mars
Alumni
Class Notes 2020 mission. He recently returned from Argentina, where several of his martial art students received their second-degree black belts. (John is pictured, center.)
Megan Donohue Preuss says, “I’m enjoying life in San Francisco with my husband and our three daughters! My fourth novel, Every Wild Heart, was published by HarperCollins on March 14, 2017, and I’m writing my fifth novel, to be published in 2018. I loved seeing everyone who made it to the reunion in Philly!”
1997 1996 Peter P. Liebert V has been appointed chief information security officer and director of the Office of Information Security at the California Department of Technology.
Kathleen C. Cunningham graduated from Drexel University with an MS in physician assistant studies on Dec. 9, 2016. She’s pictured here with sister Pamela Cunningham OPC ’95.
Kathleen N. (Katie) Miller McCoy works for AECOM as a project manager, contracted by the U.S. General Services Administration to manage and support design and construction projects of federal buildings. She and her husband, Brian, have two daughters, Ryann (5) and Hannah (3). “The girls are very active, loving the beach, swimming, gymnastics, soccer and basically anything that keeps them moving,” she writes. Allison R. MacCullough O’Neill reports, “I am enjoying life in New York City with my husband and two daughters. I recently started a new role at Faherty Brand, a men’s and women’s clothing company started by twin surfers from the Jersey Shore. Please check it out at fahertybrand.com! I would also love to get reconnected with more classmates; please email me at allisononeill88@gmail.com. Hope to see you all at the reunion on May 6!”
2000 Amy E. Gardner and Tara T. Donnelly reunited on Election Day. Tara reports that she was home to vote and wandered over to the Gardner compound in Roxborough to visit her old friend and classmate, Amy. They reminisced about the good old days (softball, cross country and the art room) and discussed the new days to come. Tara lives in Brooklyn, and Amy resides in Philadelphia. Amy and her husband, Francesco, celebrated their son’s second birthday in March 2017.
2001 Catherine B. Pappas and her husband, Will, have traveled far and wide on a boat named Paradox, a motorcycle with a sidecar, and a friend’s sailboat. They blog about their adventures on mondaynever.com.
Emily M. Ballengee Renwick and her husband, Matt, recently moved back to the Philadelphia area from New York. They welcomed a baby girl, Alice (pictured), in August 2016.
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Class Notes Vicki C. Scarpato Welborne is a drilling and production engineer for Conoco Phillips in Houston. She is on a three-year assignment on the North Slope and is living in Anchorage, Alaska, with her husband, Joe Welborne.
Aaron F. Jaroff and his wife, Amanda, welcomed son Lucas in June 2016, and he’s looking forward to his first PC/GA Day!
Caroline K. Shuman was back on campus during PC/GA Day weekend with her three boys. Her oldest, Christopher, is a freshman at Penn Charter, Liam is 2, and Owen was born on July 25, 2016. Andrew Stein has been named national on-premise key accounts manager at Bell’s Brewery. He had been the brewery’s Pennsylvania state manager.
2002 Aaron M. Greenfield writes, “I can’t believe my youngest (Alex, short for Alexandra) is turning 3 in April, and my oldest (Rose) is 5 and a half. My wife, Allison, and I are coming up on our eighth anniversary, and I recently was promoted to VP of business development at the Judge Group, a global professional services firm that specializes in IT consulting, training and staffing. I am also looking forward to running my 10th Broad Street Run in May (100 miles on Broad!)”
After spending more than a decade as a news producer in New York City, Rachel D. Goldman Trobman and her husband launched a digital health company called Ouchie. The app helps pain patients and care providers through tracking, connection, improved adherence and rewards. Ouchie has partnered with NovaCare Rehabilitation and the Weill Cornell Pain Medicine Center and is currently raising a seed round of funding. Daughter Maisie just turned 3.
Natalie L. Hogan writes, “In November 2016, I was elected chair of the board at AS220, a Rhode Island unjuried and uncensored arts community nonprofit (as220.org). I have been working at Hasbro, Inc., for the past five years, most recently focused on board game innovation and starting Hasbro Gaming Lab.
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Susan Brennan started a new position this fall as assistant director of individual giving at Swarthmore College. David A. Layne, Peter W. O’Keefe, Matthew Sutherland, Joshua K. Sperling and Eric S. Feinschil, along with Andrew J. Layne OPC ’05, got together last Thanksgiving week for their annual Black Friday golf outing at JC Melrose Golf Club. Everyone left the course a winner. Later, the gang descended on Philly along with fellow ’04 grads Anastasia (Stacy) Petro, Megan E. and Laura S. Kaesshaefer, Catherine Clair, Vincent L. Johnson, Dominique (Nikki) Negron, David McEnerney, Benjamin (Biff) Gottehrer, Erin Hozack and others. At South Street establishment Ten Stone, the team took over the jukebox with ’80s hair band classics, as is the custom, and a great time was had by all. Biff Gottehrer has taken his cooking talents to the suburbs, where he is now concocting dishes using local ingredients at Stove and Tap in Lansdale. Come see Biff and enjoy delicious, rustic American cuisine! Victor W. (Bill) Scarpato III is a legal associate at Skadden Arps’ Wilmington, Del., office. He joined Skadden after completing a federal clerkship and passing the Delaware bar. He lives in East Falls with his wife, Sarah Jenkins Scarpato.
2003
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2004
Julia E. Soffa moved to London in March 2016 and was visited by Anna Leigh Jamison and Holly K. Alderman. The three then traveled to Croatia, reconvening a month later in Philadelphia at Anna’s wedding (at which Adam J. Shelley, Alison B. Kessler and Emmalyn Yue were also present). Emmalyn (living in Holland) and Julia later traveled to Finland and Estonia, and reunited in Paris with Stacy Petro. Alison traveled to the United Kingdom and Germany in September to continue the OPC ’04 travel fest. Scott Yorko reached his goal of becoming an editor at a national magazine, inspired by
Alumni
Class Notes PC English teacher Cheryl Irving Hon. 1689, Now, he is leaving his post at Backpacker Magazine to pursue freelance writing and adventure. First stops? Montana, Alaska, Norway, the Alps and beyond. Follow along @scottbuckyorko.
2005 Jeffrey Leath is pursuing a career in aerospace engineering at GE Aviation. He lives in Cincinnati, where he met his future wife, Shamaiah Samples.
Jonathan “Jaji” Hulting-Cohen OPC ’07, music professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, brought a member of his saxophone sextet, the Moanin’ Frogs, to PC in the fall to work with student musicians. Students and faculty were singing and dancing when Jaji played for Lower and Middle School assemblies.
2006 Justin (J.D.) Dillard’s debut film, which was selected for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT category, devoted to “ pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forwardthinking approach to storytelling,” will be released nationally on April 28, 2017.
Emily Bartlett Walker and her husband, Justin, moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., at the start of 2017. They are building their home and community while pursuing their vocations through art, education, ministry and farming.
Brian Kotloff and Stephanie Yuhasz are engaged and living together in Jersey City, N.J.
2008 Rebecca Foley and Spencer Williams are planning a July 2018 wedding. “I also took a new job, and we will be moving to D.C./ northern Virginia!” she writes. “Can’t wait to be back East.”
2009 Samantha R. Jarmul writes, “G’day from Australia! I have relocated to Sydney, Australia, with my company, Unilever. I am not sure if there are any OPCs Down Under, but it would be great to connect if so!”
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Class Notes
2011
2015
Joseph S. Sankey and fellow Penn Charter lacrosse coach Colleen Magarity traveled to Japan in February 2017. Sachiyo Yamada, owner of Cross Crosse, organized the trip with the goal of having some of the best lacrosse players from the U.S. teach the university players in Japan. At the Lacrosse Sunflower Cup in Okayama, 1,200 Japanese college players trained with the American coaches and then played a tournament. The top three teams then played against the American coaches and other players from the Japanese national team. The Americans also traveled to Kyoto, where they persuaded the mayor to open the city’s playing fields for future lacrosse clinics and games. Then it was on to Tokyo for a training session at the main soccer stadium.
Peter Ciarrocchi, a sophomore at Boston College, met up with Matt Ryan OPC ’03 prior to Matt’s BC jersey retirement ceremony on Oct. 22, 2016.
DEATHS 1937 Rosslyn A. Lyell on Nov. 30, 2015.
1939 L. George Scott on Feb. 13, 2017.
Class of 2011 5th Reunion
1944 George E. Davidson on March 5, 2017. (Photo not available.)
1946
Max Welborn on Oct. 7, 2016.
1947 Paul M. Pilling on Dec. 18, 2016.
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Class Notes 2006 David F. Sykes on Dec. 31, 2016.
1952 Bruce W. McMullen on Feb. 8, 2017.
Julia Bateman married Todd Tewksbury on a beautiful Saturday in December 2016. “We were married at St. Bridget Church in East Falls, where I grew up, and held our reception downtown at Top of the Tower,” she writes. “It was a wonderful celebration! I had five bridesmaids from Penn Charter: Julie A. Bown, Lauren Ingersoll, Margie Israelite Goldstein, Kiera Murasko-Blank OPC ’07 and Nicole A. Weitz OPC ’13. Also in attendance were Alexis (Lexi) Armstrong, Blair Braun Weber, Rob Kolansky, Stephanie Ragg, Anne McKenna OPC ’07 and Shane Weitz OPC ’17.
John C. Simon on March 10, 2017.
1953
Sadie Catherine, to Tracy and Christopher J. Rodgers, on Nov. 10, 2016.
1999 John William, to Michael and Stephanie A. (Straup) Saint Germain, on Jan. 28, 2017.
2000 Thomas Edward (Teddy) Simpson, to Sarah and R. Todd Simpson, in January 2017.
2002 Wallace Frederick, to Lindsey and Andrew Richards, on Sept. 27, 2016.
B. Graeme Frazier on March 18, 2017.
1956 BIRTHS Robert J. Brobyn on Feb. 3, 2017.
Teagan Lynette, to Jill and Gerard M. Sasse, on Nov. 9, 2016.
1990 Vienna, to Gabriel B. Ledger and Helen Kao, on Dec. 1, 2016.
MARRIAGES 1968 Keenan Davis to Robin Reinking, on March 25, 2017.
2003 1997 Talia, to Kristen and Alan H. Rappeport, on Sept. 18, 2016.
Shea Joyce, to Ali and Anthony E. McDevitt, on Feb. 5, 2017.
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Strategic Vision
Goals 1 & 6
Quakerism and Financial Sustainability
“A School We Both Love” In 2015, Steven Koltes OPC ’74 made a $1 million lead gift to establish the FullAccess Financial Aid Fund. “I wanted to do something that would ensure the school could continue to attract and retain the best need-based students in the Philadelphia area,” Koltes explained.
He also offered to match, up to $500,000, gifts to the fund by OPCs who received financial aid from Penn Charter.
“This is an appeal to all OPCs who would like to ensure we are competitively positioned to attract the best needbased students.” For more information on the fund, contact Chief Development Officer Jack Rogers Hon. 1689 at 215-844-3460 ext. 111 or jarogers@penncharter.com.
Rich Redeker OPC ’61 credits his achievements in life to his mother and to Penn Charter, and he is deeply grateful for the years he attended the school with tuition assistance. As an expression of that gratitude, Redeker, long a loyal financial supporter of the school, closed out 2016 with a $15,000 gift to Penn Charter. “I attribute everything I am and have achieved to my mother and Penn Charter,” explained Redeker, who had a distinguished career in the financial services industry. “My values, work ethic, winning while playing within the rules, and respect were all formed by the faculty and my coaches at Penn Charter.” Redeker made his gift to the new FullAccess Financial Aid Fund, which Steven Koltes OPC ’74 has established to make it possible for Penn Charter to increase financial aid to talented students whose families cannot pay the difference between a PC financial aid grant and the cost of tuition. Koltes began the fund with a lead gift of $1 million and, to motivate other OPCs to join him in support of full access, Koltes promised $500,000 more to match gifts to the fund by any alumni who received financial aid themselves. With the Koltes match, Redeker’s gift doubles to $30,000. Redeker entered in kindergarten in 1948, but after his parents divorced he needed financial aid to continue past fifth grade. The school quietly supplied that tuition assistance. As a boy and adult, he was never certain about the source of that assistance, although he had an inkling. Redeker played on the Little Quakers youth football team, and that’s where he first met Robert Levy OPC ’48, the founder of the Little Quakers. Redeker spent his teenage summers working for Levy and his wife, Cissie, first as a pool boy and gardener from ages 14-16, and, from 16-20, as a valet parker at Levy’s Atlantic City Race Track and, later, his Philadelphia waterfront terminal. Redeker and his mother long suspected that Levy paid for his schooling, but Penn Charter refused to identify the donor. In a letter to Koltes in January, Redeker recounted playing golf about 10 years ago with his wife, Carol, and Bob and Cissie Levy. Carol told the Levys that she and her husband believed that they were the unsung benefactors. “As the four of us had tears streaming down our faces, they finally acknowledged what they had done. I only hope I have validated their love and support with what I have accomplished as a husband, father and in my career,” Redeker wrote to Koltes. Redeker told Koltes that he made his gift in honor of Bob and Cissie Levy to acknowledge their life-changing support. And he thanked Steve Koltes for his “incredible generosity for a school we both love.”
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PC
The Insight Initiative Understanding and Uplifting Our Annual Fund
What is in sight because of the Penn Charter Annual Fund?
E v e ry t h i n g .
What is possible because of the Annual Fund?
E x ce l l e n ce .
With generous support from our community, Penn Charter educates and supports students as they develop the blueprint for their lives after graduation. Read about our OPCs in Class Notes and stories throughout this issue, and about the history of the Clock Tower on page 26.
Support Penn Charter. Make a gift today. How can I give?
Questions?
• In our traditional yellow envelope, Contact Director of Leadership by check or credit card and Annual Giving Tiffani Harris: • Online at penncharter.com/give tharris@penncharter.com • Monthly recurring gifts 215-844-3460 ext. 276 • Gifts of securities
Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage
PAID Philadelphia, PA Permit No. 6118 3000 West School House Lane Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19144
Save the Date May 18
June 10
Upper School Band & Choral Concert A Celebration of 25 Years of PC Band 7:30 p.m.
Commencement 10:30 a.m.
May 26
131st PC/GA Day (at PC)
Color Day 1 p.m.
November 11
Latin students on a spring break trip to Greece and Italy stand in front of the Odeum of Herodes Atticus, a theater built in the second century.