POMFRET Magazine SPRING 2017
Inside:
Cover: Oscar Winner Caroline Waterlow ’91
Classroom: Learning the Pomfret Way
Student Life: The Pomfret Experience
Profile: Bashed CEO Peyton Ladt ’03
CORDIA E R A U YO
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017 2 , 8 2 y a Sunday, M n 2:00iaPl CM hapel Law mor Clark Me
Please contact Assistant to the Head of School Diana Brennan if you have questions concerning this special event 860.963.6113 | dbrennan@pomfretschool.org
Contents 4
FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
38
After the Fire
6 26
HILLTOP News about the School
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CHAPEL TALK
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Lisa Liao ’17
Pomfret School 398 Pomfret Street • PO Box 128 Pomfret, CT 06258-0128 860.963.6100 www.pomfretschool.org Editor Melissa Perkins Bellanceau mbellanceau@pomfretschool.org Head Writer Garry Dow
CLASS NOTES
Gatherings, Turning 65
IN MEMORIAM
Remembering Chick Cole
ICONOGRAPHY
Olmsted Observatory
Class Notes & Gatherings Editor Deb Thurston dthurston@pomfretschool.org Contributing Photographers Deb Thurston Jamie Davis Jamey McSweeney Jim Coleman Jim Gipe (Pivot Media) Lindsay Lehmann Pomfret Magazine is published by Pomfret’s Communications Office © 2017
Designer Jordan Kempain Contributing Writers Jamie Feild Baker Tim Richards P ’15 Khia Beeles ’17 MK Song ’17 Lisa Liao ’17 Bill Martin Tim Baldyga Melissa Wyse Katie Watkins
We welcome letters from readers on subjects related to the School. We also welcome letters to the editor and suggestions for future articles. Submissions may be edited or shortened for publication. Please email submissions to: mbellanceau@pomfretschool.org. Our Mission: Pomfret School cultivates a healthy interdependence of mind, body, and spirit in its students as it prepares them for college and to lead and learn in a diverse and increasingly interconnected society. Pomfret School does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, handicap, gender, sexual orientation, age, or national origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid, or other programs administered by the School.
We Want to Hear from You Really, we do. These are your stories and this is your magazine. If we’ve inspired or challenged you, please tell us about it.
— Submit To —
Melissa Perkins Bellanceau | Editor | mbellanceau@pomfretschool.org
Features
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30
Plan a Bash with Peyton Ladt ’03
Learning the Pomfret Way
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The Pomfret Experience
Caroline Waterlow ’91 Wins the Oscar
FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
After the f ire By Tim Richards P ’15
The new Head of School house, next door to Eastover
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
“A lightning bolt had struck — first literally, and then figuratively — and with it came the prospect of new possibilities. ”
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n a pristine Sunday afternoon this past August, Anne and I hiked out to High Cliff Cove on Digby Neck in Nova Scotia. For the entire two-hour trek, we didn’t see another living soul. The blue skies and calm breeze that defined the afternoon, however, were in stark contrast to the ferocious thunderstorm that had roared through Pomfret, 450 miles to the southwest, twelve hours earlier. As we approached our car after the hike, my phone rang, a remarkable event given the isolation of our location. History teacher, assistant dean, volunteer firefighter, emergency responder, and state representative-elect Pat Boyd was on the other end of the line. He hurriedly explained that Eastover, the head of school house on campus, was in flames. A lightning strike had started a chain reaction, ultimately leading to a blaze that required several local fire departments to extinguish. The fire was eventually contained, but not before a great many of our personal belongings were destroyed or damaged, including most of our books (pretty rough for two lifelong readers and educators), furniture, photos, some artwork, and about half of our clothing. Our hearts sank in that moment. The days, weeks, and months that followed were unusual for us. We moved into a rental house three miles from campus: the first time in my professional life that I had to commute to work. We replaced lost items as we needed them, and tried to patiently bide our time as we wondered when we might be able to rejoin the community. Eventually we settled into new routines, living largely out of bags and boxes on the floor of our rental home. While dismissing pity parties, we felt the pain and sadness of loss: of valued personal property, of routine, and of our sense of continuity and certainty. Once settled, we began to take stock of what had happened and set our minds on the future. A lightning bolt had struck — first literally, and then figuratively — and with it came the prospect of new possibilities.
Eastover had been a fantastic home for us, and we had been incredibly happy there. But the house is enormous: at nearly 8,000 square feet, it has far more space than two people could ever need, and we quickly realized that Eastover had the potential to make a great new dorm. The downside of turning Eastover into a dorm, of course, was that Anne and I would need a new place to live. As luck would have it, we found the perfect place less than a hundred yards away, right next door to Eastover. Our neighbor was ready to sell, and by late December, Anne and I had moved in. The new house comes with wonderful spaces for entertaining students, colleagues, parents, trustees, and visitors. Even fire has a silver lining! At the same time, rising like a phoenix from the ashes, Eastover Dorm has begun to take shape. It promises to offer a great home for sixteen lucky students. Sometimes change is linear and predictable, safe and comfortable. Other times it is thrust upon us like a bolt of lightning. Alas, we do not always get to choose the disruptions we are facing, but we do get to choose how we respond to them. In January, Schwartz Visiting Fellow Alec Ross, author of the New York Times bestseller Industries of the Future, reminded the entire Pomfret community that we will need a flexible skin and an iron core to survive in the 21st century. In the moment, losing our home and the accompanying stuff was a big deal. In hindsight, it’s hard to look at that lightning strike as anything other than serendipitous. As American playwright and journalist Katori Hall once said, “serendipity rewards the prepared.” Preparedness left us ready to stare confidently into the face of the fire, to stand unbowed by Mother Nature’s power, and to emerge battle-scarred but strengthened, ready for everything that would come after.
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Hilltop | On Campus
CAMPUS Refresh L
ocated on the second floor of the du Pont Library, the Collaborative Learning Center takes full advantage of its integrated concept design, utilizing advanced technology and offering private rooms for one-on-one tutoring.
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Director of Learning Support Erin Fisher P ’17 works with students
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his year, the dining hall got a major upgrade. The centerpiece of this renovation is a beautiful stone hearth and pizza oven that stretches from floor to ceiling. In addition, the servery was reconfigured and enlarged, new floors and millwork were added, and the main wall between the dining room and the common area was removed.
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n the fall, dorms all over campus received a makeover. This common room in Clement got new walls and floors, leather furniture, and a large flat screen television.
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Hilltop | On Campus
Chaos or Community?
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r. Omekongo Dibinga reprised his role as keynote speaker for this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration. “Since we last met, have you been working toward chaos or community?” he asked the standing-room-only crowd in Hard Auditorium. Dibinga was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic. The son of Congolese immigrants, he was bullied and beaten. Going to school was like going to war, Dibinga remembered. “I grew up in a hostile environment; I never felt like I belonged.” Drugs, violence, poverty, abuse, racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia — they tore at the fabric of Dibinga’s Boston community, leaving him vulnerable and depressed. It got so bad Dibinga seriously contemplated suicide, but he eventually realized that “suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” During this year’s speech, Dibinga challenged students to live up to the promises they made last year and he encouraged everyone in the room to confront chaos wherever they find it. “Why settle for outstanding,” he repeated to the Pomfret crowd, echoing his mantra from last year, “when you can be Upstanding?”
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rofessional and amateur hockey teams from around the country joined in the NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone campaign this winter to promote a safe, positive, and inclusive environment for players and their families. Along with Choate, Westminster, Kent, and Winchendon, Pomfret’s hockey teams wrapped their sticks in rainbow-colored tape during several games in support of the LGBTQ community. “The tape represents our effort to champion open minds and open hearts,” said GSA Faculty Advisor Katie Wells. “It’s a visual symbol that anyone in the LGBTQ community is welcome, has a right to be themselves, and is capable of playing!”
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
FACULTY & STAFF NEWS Head of School Tim Richards and Chief Academic Officer Jamie Feild Baker delivered a well-received presentation on school transformation at The Association of Boarding Schools’ (TABS) annual conference in Washington D.C. “Leading change is difficult and scary,” they told the crowd, “and yet paramount to our schools’ continued success and sustainability.”
In January, Library Director David Ring portrayed Cohen at the Bradley Playhouse in an over-the-top farce called The Underpants. Written by Carl Sternheim and adapted by Steve Martin, the play opened on January 20 and ran for three weekends.
Substitute English Teacher Melissa Wyse is gearing up for the Idlewild Arts Writers Retreat at Auberge at Feather Hill in Pomfret this fall. Wyse founded Idlewild Arts as a way to connect people with arts, literature, and culture. In addition to the retreat, her organization offers a range of workshops and classes, and is about to launch a podcast.
In March, Theater Director Chip Lamb appeared in Once Upon a Time at AS220 in Providence. The play was written by a fourth grader as part of the Manton Avenue Project, which brings children from Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood together with local theater professionals to create original plays.
Over the winter, Melissa Perkins Bellanceau, the director of advancement and communications, presented a workshop on how to run a capital campaign at the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District 1 Conference in Boston. “When it all comes together,” she said, “a campaign can be enormously valuable for a community.”
History Teacher Doug MacLeod and his wife Sarah welcomed a new baby girl, Finleigh Susan MacLeod, into the world on September 20, joining big brother Will.
Assistant Dean of Students Pat Boyd, who also teaches history and government, won the state representative seat for Connecticut’s 50th Assembly District on November 8.
Former faculty member and boys lacrosse coach Rod Eaton, who worked in college counseling and taught history between 1998 and 2015, was inducted into the inaugural class of the Rhode Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame on November 5. In addition to coaching countless students at Pomfret, Rod also coached the 50+ division of the Fort Lauderdale Grandmasters lacrosse team for several years, competing in tournaments around the U.S. and the world.
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Hilltop | On Campus
Family Weekend OCTOBER 20-22, 2016
(l-r): Friends Rachel Lambert and Maeve Stevenson with KC O’Hara ’15, Dylan O’Hara ’13, Dena Cocozza O’Hara P ’13, ’15, ’16, ’18, ’20, and Kathleen Stevenson
Wade Atkinson ’19 (center) with his parents
Christine Giovannoli ’18 (center) with her parents
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Crystal Obuobi-Donkor ’20 (right) with family
Nicholas Ng ’19 (center) with his parents
Emporia Meng ’17 (left) and Denny Lane ’18 (right) with his family
Maria Tews ’19 (second from left) with her family
Brandon Mitchell ’17 (center) with his family
Jahneh Haylett ’19 (right) with her family
Gordie Croce ’20 ( second from left) with his family
Kat Lefebre ’17 (center) with her family
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Hilltop | On Campus
Q&A with Interview by Khia Beeles ’17 and MK Song ’17
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lec Ross is one of America’s leading experts on innovation. He served as a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state and is currently a distinguished visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins University. In January, Ross visited the Hilltop as the 2017 Schwartz Visiting Fellow to talk about his book The Industries of the Future, which focuses on the importance of innovation in an age of intense globalization. In a world
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
encompassed by technology, Ross strongly recommends today’s students learn computer coding. He also stresses that classes need to be interdisciplinary to prepare them for complex problem solving. During his two-day visit, Ross delivered several lectures, participated in a panel discussion, and had dinner with the Pomfret community. As students, it was great to have a chance to ask him a few questions.
Your book, The Industries of the Future, focuses on digitization and globalization. What are the implications of this for high school students today?
You graduated from college in 1994 when technology was not such a big deal. How have you gained your tech skills and what would you say are the base-level skills needed for digital literacy?
Today, the world has about sixteen billion networked devices. This is the sum of our smartphones, laptops, sensors in supply chains, and everything else that sends or receives an internet signal. When today’s high school students graduate from college that number will have grown from sixteen billion to more than forty billion, and it’s not because we’re putting more mobile phones in more pockets. It’s because we are animating more “things” with computer code that previously weren’t connected devices — everything from our homes to our cars to the electronics in our house. The “internet of things” is a driving force not to be ignored. In a world where computer code is interjected more and more into our lives, it means that today’s students need to be interdisciplinary learners. They need to understand the code and algorithms that are growing more powerful, but they also need to develop their most “human” skills, those which will never be replaced with zeroes and ones.
I fall well short of being an engineer. Those aren’t my skills. I’m more interested in how technology shapes our economy or our society than I am in how the little transistors and discs work within it. Having said that, it’s good for people to have the basics down. Computer code is the alphabet that much of the future will be written in. If I were in high school now, in addition to studying the economic and social aspects of technology, I’d take a few computer coding courses. Even if one does not grow up to become a computer scientist, it still gives him or her an understanding of frameworks that will be important, and it teaches people how to solve problems within an interesting logical framework.
What did you study in high school that prepared you to be a diplomat and successful author? My studies — or at least my enthusiasms — were in the humanities. This included foreign languages, history, and other social sciences. It was through studying history that I came to understand how powerful and important science and technology were in setting the course of history. Did you know in college what you wanted to do? How would you recommend a college student today figure out their path in life? I knew that I wanted my thinking and doing to shape the world in some positive, consequential way, but I did not know how to really go about it. Joining Teach for America turned out to be the perfect solution. It gave me important work to do, but also gave me a two-year period outside of the ivory tower to map my academic interests into real world employment. For today’s college students, I would counsel being focused on skills. What you have memorized is less important than the skills you have developed that allow you to apply critical thinking to solve interesting problems.
If you were going to align high school graduation requirements with the industries of the future, what would they be? To start with, everybody needs to learn languages: foreign languages, computer languages, genetic code. I’d also do the maximum possible to break down the traditional academic silos that predominate American education. Classes and learning need to be interdisciplinary. The rote memorization that I see in many if not most academic silos does very little to prepare people for the future. Other states and societies have been quicker than ours to adapt and they are reaping the benefits. I think, for example, about Singapore’s mathematics curriculum and how vastly better it is than most of the instruction in America’s high schools. We need to pivot, moving away from the heavy emphasis on educational content. We need to quickly abandon frameworks developed for the industrial economy and embrace the knowledge-based economy frameworks. What advantages might a boarding school have in preparing students for an ever-changing world? As learning communities, boarding schools ought not be bureaucratic and rigid. While maintaining a strong academic core, a boarding school ought to be flexible enough to reimagine its academic offerings to include courses that support the industries of the future. Public schools are weighed down by the demands and inefficiencies of government. In addition, because boarding schools are residential communities, they have the opportunity to reimagine the use of time in service of teaching and learning. A boarding school has no excuse for not being agile and creative in preparing its students for jobs that don’t exist yet, but are visible on our horizon. There is nothing that stands in their way except their traditional mindsets and self-perpetuating inertia.
The Schwartz Visiting Fellow Program Since 1989, world-renowned experts in their fields have visited Pomfret School under the auspices of The Schwartz Visiting Fellow Program. This extraordinary speaker series is the result of the vision and generosity of Michael ’66 and Eric ’69 Schwartz. The aim of this program is to invite a distinguished guest to Pomfret to share his or her work with students, faculty, and the broader community. Alec Ross joins many notable authors, artist, scientists, community activists, and public figures who have spent extended time at Pomfret.
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Hilltop | On Campus
Sister Act
Windows on Faith
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Sister Act
The winter theater production was Sister Act, a musical based on the popular film starring Whoopi Goldberg, with original music by Alan Menken. Directed by Arts Department Chair Chip Lamb, this raucous comedy tells the story of a 1970s nightclub singer who is placed in a witness protection program in a convent and transforms her protectors through the power of music.
Windows on Faith
Empty Bowls
This exhibit featured large paintings from the Master’s Painting and Drawing class. Eight student-artists worked in collaboration with the Rev. Thomas Crumb, pastor of the First Congregational Church of Pomfret, to create a series of artworks that reflect the influence and role of the Church in our community and the greater world.
Empty Bowls
The Empty Bowls Annual Supper served up a variety of soups in handmade bowls crafted by students who shaped, glazed, and fired each piece by hand. Pomfret donated proceeds nearing $1,200 to local food banks.
Fall Dance Showcase Fall Dance Company: Saeed Aldhaheri ’17 Polina Lipskaya ’17 Ella Hutchinson ’19 Crystal Obuobi-Donkor ’20 Directed by: Nina Joly
Musical Guest: Joel Skavdahl Photos by Jim Coleman
Fall Dance Showcase 15
Hilltop | Real Learning
Learning by Building By Bill Martin, Science Teacher
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n November 2017, students will help complete installation of the utility systems inside of an 850-square-foot aquaponic greenhouse located behind du Pont Library. The greenhouse is a commercial grade, durable, and insulated structure that can withstand any snow or wind load. Completing construction will propel the project into its next stage of installing aquaponics systems and organic grow beds. The Helios Project is a unique hands-on learning endeavor run by science teachers Bill Martin and Brian Geyer, yet powered by Pomfret students. In contrast to outdoor learning gardens, a greenhouse creates a living classroom that can be used year-round, providing an evolving curriculum for science, math, and engineering courses, as well as an opportunity to create connections to the local community. The greenhouse will operate on passive solar energy, as much as possible, to keep the greenhouse warm enough to grow year-round. Standard greenhouses, in contrast, have a high heating and cooling load that can be a cost burden. For additional heating, the Pomfret greenhouse will make use of heated water from the School’s “green initiative” cogeneration plant. It will also have a ground-to-air heat transfer system (GAHT) that allows the greenhouse to store solar energy in the soil underground and deliver either heating or cooling as needed. All together, the three means of climate control allow the greenhouse to operate at a fraction of the cost of conventional HVAC, adding to sustainability initiatives that set Pomfret apart as a greenminded institution.
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Helios has been an exemplar of co-learning between teacher and student, which marks a significant change in teaching and learning at Pomfret. With a big idea and well-defined outcomes, students have been guided through the steps of research, analysis, discovery, and developing concrete plans for designing, construction, and installation of the aquaponics and grow beds. Challenge and learning are built into the authentic tasks at hand. Students identified potential sites on campus and created sun-shadow maps, taking utility and logistical factors into account for ideal placement of the greenhouse. They studied construction materials and techniques for storing heat and created scale models of the greenhouse designs, comparing the benefits and drawbacks of each. Students developed the logo, website, promotional video, photographic archives, and marketing plan to attract donors, as well as keep interested parties informed of progress. By extending the construction of the greenhouse and the aquaponic systems over multiple terms and a variety of courses, many classes of students have been able to participate in the project. By the time the greenhouse is fully constructed this spring, the Engineering a Controlled Environment III classes will have mapped out the footprint of the three systems in the greenhouse space to have both a grow bed and a deep water culture portion to each system. To plan properly, the students will first work to understand the demands to be placed on the greenhouse by the Pomfret community, then learn about aquaponic system components and operation, and finally, design and build the three
systems over two terms. With the goal of being fully operational by 2018, the greenhouse will be maintained by biology and environmental science classes and the School’s community service team. The plan is to shut down the greenhouse in May each year with a giant fish fry and reestablish the aquaponic systems starting in late August for the next school year. In subsequent years, flowing from the greenhouse design theme of “planned imperfection,” the greenhouse’s uses will include student-driven research and engineering opportunities focused on enhancing the greenhouse’s function. A biology class will be designed around understanding the aquaponics and organic soil systems. Art students will create murals to cover the exterior of the north wall, and the community service team will help manage the lettuce production and delivery to a local food bank. While planning and leading this type of extensive and protracted project is time consuming and complex, the results are incredible for students, their teachers, and the community at large. The whole project is a testament to the student-centered, relevant, and meaningful learning that has taken root at Pomfret. For more information visit: helios.pomfretschool.org
Going
Developing a Culture of Collaboration
By Tim Baldyga, Associate Director of Data Technology
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orld-renowned futurist and theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku researches how technology will change our lives in the near future. One point of particular interest for Pomfret is Kaku’s unequivocal position that internet technology will make memorization completely unnecessary and obsolete as a teaching strategy. Powerful search engines and vast, accessible stores of information are literally at our fingertips. Information alone, however, is not useful. It is knowing how to make meaning and how to use information that is of great value. One might expect Kaku to further discuss the revolutionary effects of online courses, digital teachers, or virtual reality, but he does not emphasize any one of these things. Rather, he dwells on exceptional educators, who know how to incorporate technology to engage and inspire students, as being the leading edge of the technology revolution. Head of School Tim Richards echoed this idea in the Spring 2015 issue of Pomfret Magazine: “I remain confident that although technology will be an increasingly powerful tool in education, the best learning happens in the presence of an exceptional teacher.” Like Kaku, Pomfret’s belief is that the exceptional and unique educator who uses technology as a tool in mentoring students will have the greatest impact. Providing the best technology tools and experience for teaching and learning is a top priority for the Pomfret Technology Department. Continuously reviewing our current tools in light of technological improvements and innovations is a vital aspect of our work. Over the course of 2015, we reviewed our existing technology platform. We concluded that our cobbled-together, disintegrated collection of software and platforms was inefficient and unsound for
enhancing communication and collaboration in the school culture. During the summer of 2016, as a result of our analysis, we decided to move our systems to Google Apps for Education, a cloud-based assortment of tools provided at no cost to educational institutions. Google Apps was launched in 2006 and was renamed G Suite in late 2016. Google has been positioning itself to attract the next generation of students for some time now. Their platform
Since migrating to G Suite: users have shared
86 Thousand files
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sent and recieved
2.5 Million Emails has been widely applauded and adopted by numerous private and public academic institutions around the world. It is estimated that the number of teachers and students using G Suite will reach 110 million users by 2020. It is clear that much of this generation will be accustomed to using collaboration tools in the classroom and throughout their careers. The Google platform is designed to support learning by promoting productivity, collaboration, and networked communication. Pomfret teachers now have unlimited access to the G Suite tools for real-time collaborative
documents, curated research through Google Scholar, intuitive mobile apps, and digital classrooms — all of which better engage and motivate the current generation of learners. Cloud-based collaboration also enhances the ability of the teacher in monitoring and supporting the learning process in order to help students while producing work. This real time intervention and collaboration between teacher and student results in more efficient teaching and learning, as well as a higher quality end product. Research shows that the integration of technology increases engagement and active learning in the classroom. With our new G Suite tools, students have more resources for research, are challenged to verify and validate the abundance of information, and must make a myriad of decisions and choices in synthesizing their findings into coherent conclusions. Technology makes collaboration easier, which, because of the social component, draws in more learners. Information is readily available in diverse formats like video and images, which help students grasp complex concepts. Language barriers are decreased with sophisticated and effective translation software. Overall communication spans a variety of media from text, drawings, podcasts, infographics, and video seamlessly. It is highly likely that during our students’ early career years after college, autonomous vehicles, bio-genetic engineering, and quantum computing will be commonplace. None of these technologies are being developed by a single person. They are being realized through the collaborative efforts of thousands of people over the course of many years. While we cannot predict with certainty the exact careers of our future graduates, we can give our students the practice and experience they will need to thrive in a culture of collaboration.
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Hilltop | Real Learning
By Jamie Feild Baker, Chief Academic Officer and Director of the Grauer Institute
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n April 21, Pomfret will host its first TEDx conference. TEDx are events hosted by organizations who have been through TED’s approval and licensing process which specifies the TED principles and philosophy that must be followed. The goal of a TEDx event is to create conversation, connection, and community around TED’s signature mission to share ideas worth spreading. Pomfret students generated theme ideas and ultimately chose “This is Progress” as the theme of TEDxPomfretSchool. About 30 students have volunteered to help organize this conference, including some who volunteered to give TED-like talks. Leading the organization of TEDxPomfretSchool are students Aren Craft ’18 and Gordie Croce ’20. In the fall, Gordie and Aren met with Head of School Tim Richards and me to discuss the possibilities of the school hosting a TEDx conference. Gordie, who organized a TEDx conference at his previous school, and Aren had done their research and laid out all of the details involved in obtaining a site license, developing a conference development team, selecting a theme, securing speakers, and organizing the workshops that take place between speaking sessions. What they needed from us was permission to proceed, some help with rearranging the school schedule on the day of the conference, seed funding, and an adult sponsor. It was an easy decision to follow their enthusiasm, diligence, and thorough pre-meeting preparation to greenlight the TEDx conference. Conscious of the authentic platform for learning that
taking on a comprehensive, long-term project is for the leaders as well as everyone involved, I was happy to serve as their sponsor and welcome TEDx into the fold of Grauer Institute initiatives. Authentic learning is an important targeted outcome of the innovation and transformation that we are engaging in at Pomfret. According to Audrey Rule of the State University of New York (SUNY) in a 2006 article in the Journal of Authentic Learning, the four markers of authentic learning are: •
• • •
an activity that involves a realworld problem and that mimics the work of professionals, including interaction with audiences beyond the classroom use of higher levels of thinking, metacognition, and open-ended inquiry groups of students working together to solve a problem collaboratively students working from a personal investment in the project and directing their own learning in a discovery-based way.
It is easy to see how organizing a conference of live performances and workshops for over 350 people in the audience and thousands of viewers online when the TEDx speaker videos join the TEDx database qualifies as authentic learning.
Authentic learning is assessed with a performance task. A performance task asks students to perform by demonstrating their knowledge, understanding, and proficiency, often in a real-world setting. Performance tasks yield a tangible product or performance that serves as evidence of learning. Performing is a much higher-stakes form of assessment than recall or recognition which are traditional formats of many traditional assessments. In a performance task, there is no single, correct answer, but instead a spectrum of quality and proficiency. For each student, their performance will be unique and the feedback customized to the areas in which they can continue to grow and improve, much like the dynamic between a student and their coach or director. One of the most significant aspects of performance tasks is that multiple skills, learner mindsets, and a host of knowledge are being performed at once just like in the real world where problems are not presented and solved in the discrete silos of individual disciplines (e.g. math, history, English, science, etc.). Authentic learning, thereby, is rich and meaningful because it is integrated, challenging, and very dependent upon the intentional focus and effort of the learner. For those involved with TEDxPomfretSchool, their assessment will be the public performance of the conference on April 21. We invite you to check out their progress and learn more about speakers and workshops at bit.ly/TEDxPomfretSchool.
TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Writing Like the Bard By Melissa Wyse, Substitute English Teacher
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alking about the English floor in Centennial, one could hear students reading aloud in dramatic personas and accents, or reciting poems backwards, word-by-word, or line-by-line. This approach, called textrendering, is a learning strategy that helps students build their understanding of a text by focusing on the language and the ways words are used. Or, one might see students quietly writing in journals, getting down on paper their response to a written work using a learning strategy called dialectical notebooks. This strategy helps students open up the texts they read and invites them to engage in conversation with the ideas they encounter in the text. By responding to the text, the students’ writing becomes an extension of and impetus for their thinking. These approaches are from a collection of strategies Pomfret English faculty are learning in a yearlong series of workshops with the Bard College Institute of Writing and Thinking. The Bard College Institute has long been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to teaching writing as a means of developing high-level critical thinking, advanced writing skills, and deep understanding. Pomfret has partnered with the institute to bring custom professional development workshops to our faculty. The impact of the Bard College Institute strategies in Pomfret English classes has been immediate and extensive. One of the outcomes targeted in the Pomfret Vision of the Graduate is for students to leave as effective communicators who can convey the
essence of a situation with purpose, clarity, and poise. An essential component of effective communication is a strong writing ability. To write well, one must have something purposeful and clear to express. The premise of the Bard approach is that writing is a means of thinking, and thinking develops one’s understanding which, in turn, is the foundation of clear and impactful writing. My students found these experiences to be quite striking. Our first workshop with the institute concluded on a Friday afternoon in October, and on Monday morning, my students were using textrendering techniques to unpack complex ideas about the nature of learning. That first day, students stayed after class to talk about how exciting they found it to engage with our class text, and with each other, in these new ways. When we reconvened with the institute for another workshop in January, other English faculty came with similar stories: students illuminating new ideas, connecting with texts in deeper and more personal ways, and finding their own voices in their writing. In Pomfret English classrooms, now more than ever, writing and thinking are inextricably linked: writing becomes a means of thinking, and critical thinking propels our students to bring their writing to dynamic new levels. It is thrilling to think of today’s students reaping the long-term benefits of our newly learned approaches. Students will leave Pomfret with strategies to use to discover what they think, and to develop deep and coherent ideas. They will leave with strong thinking and writing skills, the hallmark of effective communicators.
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Hilltop | Real Learning
By Katie Watkins, History Teacher and Project: Pomfret Coordinator
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n August 2016, twelve Pomfret faculty attended a day-long workshop students to work with them, and navigating each step of the design about design thinking. We were challenged with solving real school- thinking process as they led their group toward solutions. Students pitched based problems that have no easily-ascertained correct answer. The ideas for projects to their peers and teachers in school meetings. Projects workshop was challenging and inspiring. In discussions on the drive ranged from those focusing specifically on our Pomfret community like home, the idea of bringing design thinking to the Pomfret community designing spaces for meditation and building mindfulness programming, to took on both excitement and urgency. What if, we thought, we designed building confidence among Pomfret males and females, to those that aspired the next iteration of Project: Pomfret around design thinking? Could to solve problems beyond campus. These projects included investigating Pomfret students use design thinking to solve problems they chose because reusable energy modules, connecting Pomfret students to children suffering they care about them? Could we use design from cancer, increasing awareness of autism, thinking to give students more responsibility increasing appreciation for food from other in and ownership of their learning experience? cultures, and understanding the causes and We saw great possibility in sharing design solutions for homelessness. Faculty “In order to put Pomfret students possible thinking with the Pomfret community. were tasked with the dual roles of co-learner With these ideas in mind, planning for and mentor. Teachers offered ideas and helped front and center in their own Project: Pomfret 2016 began with a careful refine student projects while they supported learning, we charged them with review of student and faculty feedback from students in leading the projects and design the three previous iterations. The feedback identifying problems they wanted learning for their group. Both students and clearly indicated that students found learning teachers found their new roles challenging. to solve, recruiting students to more meaningful and enjoyable when they Project: Pomfret 2016 included the second had as much choice as possible in both their iteration of the culminating exhibition we work with them, and navigating Project: Pomfret topic and in the peers with call Project: Pomfret Palooza. Students each step of the design thinking whom they worked. The overall goal of the were asked to demonstrate their progress two-week project period remained to provide and growth in utilizing empathy, ideation, process as they led their group a transformative learning experience through prototyping, reflection, and feedback, and towards solutions.� the deep exploration of topics outside the to share the possible solutions their groups traditional curriculum and classroom setting. generated and prototyped. As Palooza Design thinking is a human-centered, concluded, students and faculty reflected collaborative problem-solving process that on their experience, offering suggestions for combines critical and creative thinking skills. Designers empathize with growth and improvement while affirming the value of the design thinking their intended users, brainstorm ideas without judgement or censorship, process, as well as student ownership of the inquiry and learning outcomes. prototype possibilities, and iterate prototypes based on user feedback. Using design thinking to plan and execute projects required our Faculty and students were guided in the use of design thinking by Don students to be more active and more accountable than ever before Buckley, an innovative educator with global experience, who introduced in Project: Pomfret. Their ownership included the original impetus and modeled each step of the process for our community. Buckley for their project and the formation of their group. They learned the facilitated the workshop a group of Pomfret teachers attended in August. responsibilities of leadership firsthand as they worked with their peers Throughout the two-week project period, Buckley was on campus working throughout the two weeks. As our community begins thinking about with individual project groups and supporting their efforts to navigate the and preparing for our next Project: Pomfret, we will build on the design thinking process. successes of this year’s experience and strengthen the areas of growth In order to put Pomfret students front and center in their own learning, that we identify. we charged them with identifying problems they wanted to solve, recruiting
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
THE FIVE STEPS OF
DESIGN THINKING
1 EMPATHY Gather information. Keep an open mind. Listen. TEST Share your prototypes. Solicit feedback. Make changes.
DEFINE Describe the problem you want to solve.
5
PROTOTYPE Bring your best ideas to life. Keep it simple.
2
4
IDEATE Brainstorm. No idea is too improbable to write down.
3
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Hilltop | Griffin Sports
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Deja Ross is headed to Xavier next year
The Griffin Pride
For Deja Ross, basketball begins and ends with family.
D
eja Ross ’17 wore a blue cap with a white X, marking the spot where she will spend her next four years. During a formal gathering in Parsons Lodge in the fall, the North Providence native signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division I basketball at Xavier University, a member of the Big East Conference. “The Big East is a very competitive league,” she said, “and I want to play against the best in the country.” More than fifty family members, friends, coaches, and teammates turned out for the signing. Front and center, beaming from ear to ear, was her mom. “My mother is hands down the most influential person in my life,” Ross said. “She motivates me to be my best self. This woman has been my best friend since the day I was born. How lucky is that, to be born with a best friend?” Now in her third year, the versatile 6-foot guard averaged seventeen points per game, making her one of the great Griffin hoops players to wear the jersey. In addition to her standout basketball career, Ross is a member of the Pomfret volleyball team, which won the NEPSAC Class B Championship last year. “Deja has an internal drive that sustains and pushes her, and a moral compass that guides her,” said her coach, Rebecca Brooks. “She is a rare
kid who doesn’t derive self-confidence from all the typical teenager stuff. She knows what she likes and what she’s good at.” Before landing on the Hilltop, Ross spent two years at the Lincoln School in Providence. She’s also spent time playing for Team Providence and the Boston Showstoppers, both members of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), a nonprofit sports organization dedicated to the promotion and development of amateur sports in the U.S. At Xavier, Ross plans to study international business, and cites the campus location as a big reason for choosing the school. “Cincinnati is a business city. It’s a great place for me to explore and get internships.” In a press release on the Xavier website, women’s basketball coach Brian Neal announced the addition of Ross to his roster during the NCAA’s early signing period. “We are pleased to welcome six outstanding young women into our program,” Neal said, which included Ross. “Our coaching staff did a great job of identifying players who are talented and have strong character traits. They will be valuable additions to the Xavier family.” Of course, Ross wouldn’t want it any other way. “Over the past ten years, my teammates have taught me what it means to be a family,” Ross said. “I feel blessed beyond measure for the opportunity to compete and to play for the person next to me.”
Holy Cross Hooks Fisher with NLI Signing
T
his winter, Sydney Fisher ’17 signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division I soccer at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. In addition, Fisher was selected to play for the 2016 AllRegion team, one of just fifteen players in Connecticut to be recognized and just the second soccer player from Pomfret to be named.
Sydney Fisher (left) with Olivia Ferrara ’18
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CHAMPS Hilltop | Griffin Sports
BOYS VARSITY HOCKEY WINS NEPSAC SMALL SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL NEPSAC CLASS “B” FINALIST
GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER NEPSAC CLASS “B” SEMI-FINALIST
GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL NEPSAC CLASS “B” SEMI-FINALIST
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CHAPEL TALK
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
CHAPEL TALK
On the Quiet Side By Lisa Liao ’17
Onions, Carrots and Tomatoes do not believe in the existence of pumpkins, They think it is just an imagination. The pumpkins kept their mouths shut, and grew up quietly.
T
his is an excerpt from a children’s book called When the World Was New by a Swiss psychiatrist, a book that I used to read every day before bed. What is so interesting about these lines is that I could see myself being one of the pumpkins. Yes, I have been a quiet child since I was young, and I still am. I tried to go against my nature in middle school, forcing myself to talk whenever possible, even when it was not necessary. But it didn’t work out so well. I was tired of talking about things I was not interested in and I was tired of pretending to be someone I was not. So I stopped and returned to my normal, quiet self. Part of the reason I am quiet is that I enjoy silence. Two years ago I went to France during the summer with Studio Art Teacher Jean-Paul Jacquet for his painting program. A couple of times we wandered into the small town to make some sketches. A tree or a building, a bird resting on the window sill, or tiny yellow flowers that stuck their heads out of the cracks on roadsides; we could draw in our sketchbooks anything we saw. Because it was a small town, there was only the occasional couple walking to the post office. But that was about it. The street was empty of people, but full of silence. And through the silence, every other sensation was magnified. I smelled the sweetness of the unknown, bright pink flowers twirling up a white wooden fence, and I saw packs of sparrows with spotted feathers resting on the brick red roof in front of me. And of course there were houses, standing quietly in rows, forming tortuous pathways in and out of this small town; the trees were there too, waving their branches with the breeze and humbly listening to stories brought by birds, cats, and dogs. I sat down on the curbside where the roads met. And again, listened. This time, the world was even free from the voices of man-made machines; there was only nature, and more silence. I sketched in this silence, putting the simplest everyday objects onto paper without thinking of anything else. This silence allowed me to clear my mind, and
essentially reset myself from my packed daily to-do list. After this brief leisure, I strolled back to our chateau and found myself treating everyone and everything with patience and energy, which I did not possess when I was drowned in my busy life. I have always been a person on the quiet side. Of course that does not mean I want to be left alone all the time. I love the company of my friends, because they are so different from who I am, and those differences intrigue me to get to know them more. But occasionally I am willing to spend time alone with myself rather than hanging out with friends too. These periods of silence served me well and have helped me learn a lot about how I think and who I am. I guess my reality resides in silence because the feelings and thoughts I have concerning the world were born in my quietest moments. When life was not all that easy, I would curl into a ball in my bed and just listen: listen to the birds chirping outside my window or to the sound of cars passing or to the rhythm of my own heartbeat. I would repeatedly tell myself everything is going to be okay and listen to these sounds. I would feel alive again. I would feel fortunate to be alive. Since the trip to France, I would sometimes take breaks for myself when I had time, as I found the silence very rewarding. There are always some times in our lives when we may be beaten down and not wish to talk to anyone. Instead we desire solitude. Some may listen to music, or watch their favorite show on Netflix just for relaxation. These are moments of silence. Not the kind of silence in the traditional sense, without any sound. As I mentioned earlier, I would listen to a lot of things in those silent moments of mine, whether it is natural or artificial, as long as there is no thinking or talking required, it is a moment of silence for the mind. With the multitude of tasks we need to accomplish each day, it is easy to tangle ourselves in a giant ball of stress and negative emotions. We lose sensitivity to our surroundings and we get too used to our own routines. At least for me, silence helps me regain this sensitivity and innate curiosity. So turn yourself off and let your mind merge into silence, try to be the pumpkin when you get a chance, it may help you have a better day.
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FEATURE
Peyton Ladt wants to change the way you plan your next party. By Garry Dow, Associate Director of Communications
Book your next bash at bashed.co
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
“Pomfret has without a doubt impacted and influenced who I am today,” she says. “I was shy when I first arrived, but the supportive and encouraging environment created a safe space for me to step outside of my shell.”
W
hen her “ah-ha” moment finally arrived, Peyton Ladt ’03 was ready for it. In 2015, she was a 30-year-old transplant living in New York City. Seven years earlier, she had moved to the Big Apple from Sun Valley, Idaho. In New York, Ladt found a professional home at Forbes, then Bloomberg, and eventually Jetsetter, a luxury travel site. At Jetsetter, she was regularly tasked with finding places to bring clients: a quiet brasserie for lunch, a chic bar for drinks after work, a tony steakhouse for dinner. It got her thinking. “I have always been the unofficial party planner in my social group,” Ladt says. “So finding the underground secret bar with the jalapeño cocktail or the veggie burger that (almost) tastes like the real thing became a hobby of mine. After planning several group events over the course of a busy month, I had this epiphany: the process was broken.” In 2015, Ladt left her stable job at Jetsetter for the uncertainty of entrepreneurship. “You have to follow your gut,” she says. “When you see an opportunity that no one else can see, you have to go for it.” Within months, she co-founded Bashed with Brandon Feldman, a former Jetsetter colleague. Today Bashed is the only place online where you can customize and instantly reserve venues in New York City for private dinners and group events. “It takes the guesswork and hassle out of the booking process,” Ladt says. “Bashed puts all of the information you need right up front — menus, photos, pricing, directions — so you can search, discover, and reserve the perfect spot in a matter of minutes.” Companies like Hearst, JP Morgan, and Forbes are all early adopters. So are well-known venues like Craft, The Meatball Shop, and Landmarc. Because Bashed works on commission, the site is free for consumers. Ladt didn’t set out to become the face of her company, but over the last two years, that’s exactly what she has become. “People want to see and know the person behind the company,” she says. “The market almost demands that you tell your story.”
“A southerner at heart, but I love NY”
Ladt’s story begins in the small town of Paducah, Kentucky, the fourth of five children. Her father, a serial entrepreneur, passed away unexpectedly when she was four years old, leaving her mother to run the family business. “I remember realizing at an early age that without my father’s business we would have been in a very tough spot. That certainly stuck with me through the years and inspired me to start my own company.”
At Pomfret, Ladt’s leadership qualities quickly blossomed. She was captain of the soccer and tennis teams, class president, and founder of the Women’s Action Coalition. “Pomfret has without a doubt impacted and influenced who I am today,” she says. “I was shy when I first arrived, but the supportive and encouraging environment created a safe space for me to step outside of my shell.” When it came time for college, Ladt headed west to The University of Denver to study business and communications. “I wanted to live somewhere I had never lived before.” She graduated from college having no idea what to do next, and after a brief stint working in Sun Valley, Idaho, Ladt arrived in New York City. As a current member of Pomfret’s Alumni Association Executive Council (AAEC), Ladt continues to maintain a close relationship with her classmates and her school. “I feel forever indebted to Pomfret for all that it did for me, and I want to and will continue to give back in any way I can. The only downside is that I get extremely jealous of the current students because Pomfret keeps getting better and better!”
But can I can bring my dog?
Bashed gets compared to Open Table with some regularity, but there are a couple key differences. For starters, Bashed is built exclusively for groups. “We handle all the inventory Open Table does not,” Ladt says. Second, Ladt and her team hand-pick every venue listed on the site. “There are a myriad of venues to choose from in this city, but the place where you’ll take your clients to lunch is likely different from the venue you’d choose to celebrate your birthday party,” she says. After plugging in the date, time, dollar amount, and group size, Bashed allows you to refine your search — by neighborhood, by seating type, by cuisine, by occasion, by décor — all the way down to the smallest detail. Case in point: Let’s say you’re in the mood for a boys’ night out at a Belgian-style restaurant in Midtown Manhattan with long tables, a casual dress code, and a server who doesn’t mind if you bring your dog. No problem. Bashed suggests a restaurant called BXL Zoute. It even gives you the option to reserve the room, pay the bill, and leave the tip, all before you ever step foot inside the venue. “At the end of the meal, you just get up and leave,” Ladt say. “It’s a very cool way to end it.”
Peyton’s Top 6 NYC Venues • • • • • •
White Street for entertaining clients Harding’s for getting together with friends DBGB for celebrity chef food with a downtown vibe The James Hotel for their dynamic use of space Public for something elegant Shelter for when I want to feel like I’m après-skiing out west
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FEATURE
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
EYE OF THE HURRICANE
Learning the Pomfret Way By Jamie Feild Baker, Chief Academic Officer and Director of the Grauer Institute
P
omfret is fast becoming the place for modern learning and student agency among independent boarding schools. Word has spread about the significant changes that Pomfret has recently made regarding its daily schedule, teaching approaches, learning design, and teacher development. Almost every week I receive a phone call or email from someone at a peer school asking permission to visit in order to understand learning “The Pomfret Way.” People are interested in just how Pomfret is rethinking and reconsidering long-held boarding school practices. People want to see our bright, clean, and modern classrooms with mobile, writable furnishings. Many are envious of the meeting blocks, office hours, advisory periods, and professional learning time built into our academic day to honor all of the work that a teacher is responsible for outside of the classroom hours. Teachers at other schools can’t imagine stepping off the long, deadening slog through content that Advanced Placement courses require, while Pomfret teachers are discovering their own creativity in designing advanced and rigorous courses that offer students the ability to slow down and follow topics of interest. As we push
toward even more curricular advances, our students are increasingly engaging in real work for real audiences. Given more opportunity to own their learning and engage in open inquiry and discovery, Pomfret students will develop sophisticated understandings of leadership, collaboration, and teaming, as well as the important and varied strategic roles necessary in project work. By focusing on student-centered, relevant, and meaningful learning, Pomfret is creating learning that will prepare our students to change the world, not learning that prepares students to test well by mimicking answers teachers provide them. Founded as an outgrowth of the forward-focused strategic plan adopted by the Pomfret Board of Trustees in 2013, the Grauer Institute is charged with leading school innovation and transformation. As a result, over the last three years, we have been surfacing and examining the entrenched elements of a successful, traditional boarding school. We have been diligently asking questions to which we must create answers that address the priorities of the school’s strategic plan. Fundamental growth and mindset change occur as we ask questions together, engaging in learning-oriented conversations instead of stale
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FEATURE
Sine
debates protecting historical status quo understandings. Our ultimate goal is to develop through practice — doing, learning, and iterating — the culture and skills of the whole school so that we can confront complex problems and render apt solutions, one after another, with harmony and ease. And to do this ultimately, I would add, with joy and excitement. Pomfret is, without a doubt, on the move. We are acting quickly and purposefully. Unless one has been on another planet for the last decade, the realities of how the world has changed and continues to change are evident. My 90-year-old father-in-law owns an iPhone and “ubers” (yes, now a verb) to the grocery store. Books can be printed on demand and delivered in physical form on the same day, or they can be delivered wirelessly in under two minutes — all in a frictionless, online transaction. Experts are turning to citizen-journalists, citizen-scientists, and citizen-doctors to amplify the breadth, accuracy, and speed of their work. New ideas come to market, become established, and change within hours instead of weeks or years. In his new book, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, columnist Thomas Friedman describes these shorter and shorter innovation cycles as “the difference between a constant state of destabilization versus occasional destabilization” because of the increasingly limited time we have to learn and adapt. As a society, we are not only coping, he says, with unprecedented and radical change, but we are increasingly reeling and emotionally dislocated by the exponentially accelerating rate of change. Friedman describes this relentless accelerating velocity of change as being “asked to dance in a hurricane.” He suggests that some want to wall themselves off from “the hurricane” of change. Many in education often feel this way. Friedman advises that this head-in-the-sand approach is a fool’s errand. “There is only one way to thrive now,” he says, “and it’s by finding and creating your own eye. The eye of a hurricane moves, along with the storm. It draws energy from it, while creating a sanctuary of stability inside it. It is both dynamic and stable — and so must we be. We can’t escape these accelerations. We have to dive into them, take advantage of their energy and flows where possible, move with them, use them to learn faster, design smarter, and collaborate deeper — all so we can build our own eyes to anchor and propel ourselves and our families confidently forward.”
k’s Golden Circle
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Pomfret is creating, without hesitation, its own eye in the hurricane. In his 2009 book, Start with Why, author Simon Sinek draws inspiration from the golden ratio found in mathematics and recurring often in the natural world to offer a framework to create profound understanding. Sinek suggests the concept of a Golden Circle, where one builds meaning from the inside out, starts with why. Why is Pomfret engaging in such difficult, all-encompassing work? Our “why” is excellence. In 1894, Pomfret founder William Peck left another boarding school for the freedom to pursue newer ideas in education. Excellence for Pomfret has always meant evolving to be become more innovative and more modern. Relevant, futurealigned outcomes for students today are substantially different from the ageold outcomes for which our schools’ spaces, curricula, and teaching methods were designed. Pomfret cannot count on its success in years past to automatically translate into excellence and future greatness as if it were an inherent fact. Pomfret’s excellence has been and will continue to be grounded in its agility in adapting and responding strategically to a faster and faster changing world. In a word, Pomfret’s “how” is boldly. We are boldly questioning the 19th century factory model education which was a depersonalized, batchedby-age approach designed to foster a minimally literate and compliant workforce. We are boldly questioning the traditional uniformity of pace, progress, practice, and outcomes. We are boldly defining and embracing the understandings, aptitudes, dispositions, values, 21st century competencies needed to deal with the challenges and global dilemmas of modern times. Our “what” are the strategic changes that we are making, studying, and evolving that educators from other schools call and ask to see when they visit. The courage and commitment it takes to keep excellence as the goal and to engage in bold questioning is learning the Pomfret way. We, as the adults in school, are modeling the curiosity, drive, discomfort, inquiry, dynamism, and dedication we want from our students in their individual bold-striving toward excellence. Learning the Pomfret way anchors and propels each of us, and our School, confidently forward in this age of exponential acceleration, growth, and change.
21st Century Competencies 1. Analytical and Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving • Identify, manage, and address complex problems • Detect bias, and distinguish between reliable and unsound information • Control information overload • Formulate meaningful questions • Analyze and create and ideas and knowledge • Use trial and error; devise and test solutions to problems • Imagine alternatives • Develop cross-disciplinary knowledge and perspectives • Engage in sustained reasoning • Synthesize and adapt • Solve new problems that don’t have rule-based solutions • Use knowledge and creativity to solve complex “real-world” problems 2. Complex Communication—Oral and Written • Understand and express ideas in two or more languages • Communicate clearly to diverse audiences • Listen attentively • Speak effectively • Write clearly and concisely—for a variety of audiences • Explain information and compellingly persuade others of its implications 3. Leadership and Teamwork • Initiate new ideas • Lead through influence • Build trust, resolve conflicts, and provide support for others • Facilitate group discussions, forge consensus, and negotiate outcomes • Teach, coach and counsel others • Enlist help • Collaborate sensitively and productively with people of varied backgrounds • Coordinate tasks, manage groups, and delegate responsibilities • Implement decisions and meet goals • Share the credit 4. Digital and Quantitative Literacy • Understand, use, and apply digital technologies • Create digital knowledge and media • Use multimedia resources to communicate ideas effectively in a variety of formats • Master and use higher-level mathematics • Understand traditional and emerging topics in math, science, and technology— environmental sciences, robotics, fractals, cellular automata, nanotechnology, and biotechnology
5. Global Perspective • Develop open-mindedness, particularly regarding the values, traditions of others • Study and understand non-western history, politics, religion, and culture • Develop facility with one or more international languages • Use technology to connect with people and events globally • Develop social and intellectual skills to navigate effectively across cultures • Use 21st century skills to understand and address global issues • Learn from, and work collaboratively with, individuals from diverse cultures, • religions, and lifestyles in a spirit of mutual respect and open dialogue • Leverage social and cultural differences to create new ideas and achieve success 6. Adaptability, Initiative, and Risk-Taking • Develop flexibility, agility, and adaptability • Bring a sense of courage to unfamiliar situations • Explore and experiment • Work effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities • View failure as an opportunity to learn, and acknowledge that innovation involves small successes and frequent mistakes • Cultivate an independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas, and strategies • Develop entrepreneurial literacy • Use creativity and innovation to produce things that are unique and that have value and meaning 7. Integrity and Ethical Decision-Making • Sustain an empathetic and compassionate outlook • Foster integrity, honesty, fairness, and respect • Exhibit moral courage in confronting unjust situations • Act responsibly, with the interests and well-being of the larger community in mind • Develop a fundamental understanding of emerging ethical issues and dilemmas regarding new media and technologies • Make reasoned and ethical decisions in response to complex problems
Source: www.carrollton.org NAIS Commission on Accreditation. School of the Future Committee
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FEATURE
By Garry Dow, Associate Director of Communications
“
In this occasional series of articles, The Pomfret Experience will explore student life at Pomfret — and how those seminal experiences combine to awaken not only the minds, but the hearts and the souls of the students entrusted in our care.
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B
oarding students have two homes. Advisory helps bridge the gap between those two worlds,” says Assistant Head of School Rich Dempsey, who has been advising students for nearly two decades. “And for me, it’s the best part of the job. No question.” Since the beginning, the advisory program has been a staple of the Pomfret Experience. The earliest known reference dates back to the first part of the twentieth century, when small groups of students and faculty would come together for occasional meals in the comfort of a faculty residence. Over the years, what started as an irregular occurrence of informal gatherings grew to become the backbone of Pomfret’s student life curriculum. “We have very strong connections in my advisory group,” says junior Anastasia Kozitskaia, who hails from Russia. “Every time we get together, it feels like a family reunion. Our advisory group is the best support system I could ever ask for.” At the heart of each group is the faculty advisor: a surrogate parent who is always available to offer advice or lend a hand, through the good times and the bad. “Last winter I had to track down an advisee to share some difficult family news,” says Quinn Brueggemann, who teaches history and coaches lacrosse. “I found her at the rink. As we talked through the situation, we ate Ben and Jerry’s in my car. It was pouring rain outside, and in that moment I realized… this girl was my family.” Of course, no two advisor-advisee relationships are ever the same. Reflecting on his own experience, Director of Studies Don Gibbs says, “One of my advisees is a fan of the jelly beans I keep in my office. She pops in all the time, and our relationship has been built around a series of small-scale encounters that signal her need to connect with adults in this place. But the way she infuses our conversations with humor and light reminds me to do the same for all of my advisees. I look forward to that daily dose of sunshine.” Every group is different, but they all have one thing in common: they need to eat. On Monday evenings in the fall and spring, students gather around kitchen tables all over campus to partake in this Pomfret tradition. “Organized chaos is how I would describe it,” says English Teacher Waddy Rowe, half in jest.
“Even when I don’t have a particular problem to discuss, I cherish the opportunity to talk for a few minutes. It feels good to have a person who really cares about me.” — Anastasia Kozitskaia ’18
Sometimes the groups go out, but typically they stay in. Baked macaroni and cheese in one house. Chicken soup with salad in another. Pad Thai down the street. And while the smell of home-cooked deliciousness hangs in the air, the groups sit and they talk. “My advisees are my extended family,” says Sheridan Zimmer, who teaches English. “They come over for dinner every week and we cook together. I love having them sit at our big kitchen table. I love hearing them erupt into laughter over the silliest thing. After dinner, they usually all collapse into the couches in our living room. Sometimes it is impossible to get them out in time for study hall! They know that our house is always open to them.” Waddy Rowe, who teaches English and coaches boys soccer and girls hockey, touches base with his advisees at least once a week. “They say I am a stalker because I hunt them down in the dorm or at lunch or after chapel… but dealing with issues face-to-face is very important to me. I need to be able to see them, to read them. They need to know that I am listening.”
Advisory block is another chance for advisors and advisees to connect, but rarely does it end there. Anastasia Kozitskaia says she chats with her advisor, Rich Dempsey, on a daily basis. “Even when I don’t have a particular problem to discuss, I cherish the opportunity to talk for a few minutes. It feels good to have a person who really cares about me.” And then there are the moments when actions speak louder than words. This year junior Julia Gengras has been struggling with a knee injury. “My advisor, Mr. Rowe, is honestly one of my best friends, and he has made everything ten times easier. He even had my classes moved so I didn’t have to walk up the stairs. I didn’t even have to ask him for help, it’s just an instinct he has, and it never fails.” That instinct is what makes the Pomfret Experience so special, and it extends well beyond the advisor-advisee relationship. As the primary lifeline for parents, advisors make formal reports at the close of each term, but it is the unexpected email or the perfectly timed phone call that makes all the difference. “I have always viewed my role as an ombudsman of sorts,” says Don Gibbs. “My job as an advisor is to help parents solve problems. I am their eyes and ears on the ground.”
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FEATURE
This Really
BIG Thing
PRODUCER CAROLINE WATERLOW OPENS UP ABOUT HER OSCAR-WINNING FILM
By Garry Dow, Associate Director of Communications
C
aroline Waterlow ’91 rose from her seat inside Dolby Theatre and stood almost motionless in the aisle. As applause rained down from the balcony, she gave a slight shrug of the shoulders, hugged the people around her, and began moving toward the movie world’s biggest stage. When O.J.: Made in America won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature this year, it ended months of speculation about whether or not this atypical movie could actually garner enough votes to win. Co-produced with Ezra Edelman for ESPN’s acclaimed 30 for 30 series, the film is by far the longest documentary to ever take home the award, clocking in at almost eight hours. “It started out as a five-hour thing, and then we cut an eight-hour rough cut,” Waterlow said in an interview with the trade association PromaxBDA. “It was clear it was going to be hard to live without a huge chunk of it. ESPN, thank goodness, said, ‘let’s just go for it, and make it this really big thing.’” Further complicating matters, the film entered the awards season with something of an identity crisis. Broadcast as both a five-part television miniseries and a two-part theatrical release, members of the media openly questioned whether it was a movie at all. And then there was the wornout, oft-ridiculed subject. What was there left to say about O.J. Simpson? “There are benefits to revisiting stories with the passage of time,” Waterlow told Women and Hollywood, “which is why retelling stories for different generations is an important thing. Now we can see the context and all the connections and repeated patterns; maybe it was all too close in 1995.” In his acceptance speech, Edelman, who also directed the film, acknowledged the controversy surrounding its length and format. “First of all, I want to thank Caroline Waterlow for going on this journey with me. I also want to thank the Academy for acknowledging this untraditional film. I want to thank ESPN for allowing us the canvas and the time to tell this story. This is the only way it could be told.” When Made in America premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, it immediately struck a nerve with critics, garnering Oscar buzz wherever it went. Writing in the New York Times, film critic A.O. Scott called the documentary a feat of tireless research, dogged interviewing, and skillful editing. “Some of the images have an uncanny familiarity,” he wrote, “while others land with almost revelatory force.”
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Part character study, part social history, Made in America follows Simpson from his early days as a star running back in the NFL, into the tawdry, media-obsessed trial that captured the country’s attention in the 1990s, before finally turning to the Nevada prison where he is currently serving a thirty-year sentence for robbery and kidnapping. Spanning a half century, the film also explores the racial tension, civil unrest, fractured media landscape, and fraught celebrity culture that continues to define the American experience more than twenty years after the original verdict was handed down — one that signaled a deep and growing divide between white and black communities. “The social issues haven’t changed that much,” Waterlow said. “Talking about it in the context of O.J. is a way to talk about it, because these are difficult things to grapple with.” A Montreal native, Waterlow graduated from Pomfret in 1991. During her time on the Hilltop, she earned a reputation as a distinguished thespian who took home the drama award in her senior year. In 2008, she returned to Pomfret for Career Day, telling students, “Knowing what you don’t want to do is as important as knowing what you do.” Since graduating, Waterlow has served as a class secretary and is a current member of the Alumni Association Executive Council. In 2011, the Pomfret Alumni Association gave her the Achievement Medal, one of the highest honors the School can bestow upon a member of the alumni body. After leaving the Hilltop, Waterlow deferred college for a year to attend the British American Drama Academy in London. She graduated from Emory University in 1996, and eventually settled in New York City. Her first big break came in 1997 when she was hired by Kunhardt Productions to work on The American President, a ten-hour series for PBS, chronicling the history of the American presidency, which premiered at the White House in 2000. In addition to O.J.:Made in America, Waterlow’s film credits include Cutie and the Boxer; Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon; and Brooklyn Dodgers: The Ghosts of Flatbush, which earned her an Emmy award in 2008. “I am grateful for the path I have taken and the amazing people I have worked with who have believed in me,” she said in June. “You can do it. You just have to have the confidence that you will have the sense to figure things out. You can take on a lot more than you thought.”
Ezra Edelman (left) with Caroline Waterlow at the Oscars
37
Spring
CLASS NOTES
1935-2016
1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Reunion Years
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
’49 ’50
1949
Several members of the Class of 1949 have celebrated their birthdays in the past few months: George Blagden and Win Carrick in October and Bruce Lee in December; Steve Davenport celebrated in January; and Stuart Bracken, Ed Lowry, and Sonny Staniford passed another year in February. Best wishes to all of you! Tony LaPalme is looking for a new phone number for Roger Chappelka – please contact him or the Advancement Office at Pomfret. George Blagden announced, “In October 2016 Josephine and I moved from Massachusetts to New Hampshire to a CCRC called The Huntington at Nashua. It was time to make the move. Our new telephone is 603-417-5100, email: mime32@comcast. net. It is a different life, but we really enjoy the new home.” We were saddened to learn that Win Cady passed away on February 6, 2017 after a long illness. Sue Cady, wife of Win, contacted Pomfret to let us know this news and wrote, “I had the nurses put his Pomfret T-shirt on him for a reason I only know now. He passed away watching KU playing KState. His happiest moments were with his classmates at Pomfret, and the reunions were the trips he looked forward to the most. Although well-traveled, it was being with you all that brought him his greatest joy.”
’53
’50 Joan Strong Buell wrote, “This ridiculously glittery picture was taken on a ‘gala’ night aboard Holland America MS Rotterdam, somewhere in the Mediterranean, probably near my 84th birthday on November 11, 2016. Tom and I had spent the day ashore in Barcelona in company with our son, Dexter K.S. Buell, who just happened to be there in connection with his teaching in the FS Arts High School in Queens. To find out more, you’ll just have to go to joanstrongbuellblog.wordpress.com. You may not want to read it all at once, but I hope it will give you pleasure. We have begun traveling by train and ship rather than by plane. Recommend it.”
1953 Hunter Temple became a national champion for his age group in the aquabike event at the Miami Man championship race in Florida in November 2016. The aquabike is a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile bike. By winning his age group, he qualified for Team USA at the world championship next summer in Canada. By the way, if any members of the class of 1953 are visiting Santa Fe, Hunter would love to see them.
CLASS NOTES FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE WERE RECEIVED PRIOR TO FEBRUARY 17, 2017. NOTES RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE FALL 2017 ISSUE. CLASS NOTES ARE APPRECIATED AND MAY BE SUBMITTED VIA YOUR CLASS AGENT, THE POMFRET SCHOOL WEBSITE, OR BY E-MAIL TO: DEBBY THURSTON, CLASS NOTES EDITOR, AT DTHURSTON@POMFRETSCHOOL.ORG. WE ENCOURAGE AND WELCOME APPROPRIATE NEWS ITEMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM ALL ALUMNI AND FRIENDS. PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL SUBMISSIONS ARE GUARANTEED TO APPEAR BASED UPON SUBJECT MATTER, PHOTO REPRODUCTION QUALITY, AND SPACE AVAILABILITY. ALSO, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT FOR CONSISTENCY AND STYLE BUT WE WILL GIVE EVERY CONSIDERATION TO EACH AUTHOR’S INDIVIDUAL WRITING STYLE.
39
CLASS NOTES
TURNING 65 Class of 1969
Carl Rohde wrote, “Hey Classmates – 47 years have come and gone since we graduated from Pomfret! That’s a LONG time. [I’ve had] five children, two marriages, and I’m engaged to wed the wonderful Nora Kalil Osta. I am in good health and living in Litchfield & Stamford (CT). I remain a lover of Mother Nature, always up for a good walk, I read extensively (mostly non-fiction with the occasional nightcap of fiction), and striving to perfect some new inventions. I am dedicated to working with Haiti Works!™, a Bridgeport, CT non-profit, and enjoying my endeavors with Legacy Lighthouse Productions™, interviewing a variety of fascinating individuals. I’m absorbed with photography, and still open to the extraordinary bounty and goodness of the Universe!”
Bill Fenley heard from Jon LeVeen about his and wife Mary’s summer at their new second home in Nova Scotia. Mary is a McPherson, and they were there with their two dogs. Jon wrote, “Summer was wonderful. It’s not just that the area is gorgeous; so are the people. We have strengthened our ties to our previous friends, and added some new ones. One early highlight was [our dog] Rosie’s instant success as a canine role model. Antigonish (the Highland Heart of Nova
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Peter Barnet wrote, “I will soon become curator emeritus at the Metropolitan Museum while I continue working on a few research projects. I look forward to discovering the pleasures of retirement that I have been hearing so much about. My best wishes to all.”
Scotia) takes its Scottish/Celtic roots seriously. They hold a big Highland Games festival in July, attracting thousands for the Scottish games and the Celtic music. The town gets into the act with a bunch of ancillary events. One was ‘The Most Scottish Dog’ contest. Mary found some material and made Rosie a tam (using a ‘McPherson Tartan’ of course). She was similarly attired. She had tried to get Rosie to dance with her in rehearsals (put her paws up and let you swing them around while she grins) — but no go. But, on stage, she came alive with the grin, the paws … enough to win her second prize. And Rosie made it into the weekly newspaper (The Antigonish
Casket). It is a really lovely community. They have taken in three Syrian families (not bad for a town of 5,000), and each time have created welcomes that were over the top. We volunteered to paint an apartment for an incoming family (Mary went — I stayed home to wait for the satellite internet guy — gotta have internet when you’re out in the boonies). Nova Scotia is on track to take in 1,000 Syrians this year … NOVA SCOTIA, population a million and change. Contrast that with the US — where we’re wringing hands over bringing in 10,000 across a huge country with 330 million people. Canada is wonderful.”
’55 1955 Will Stewart wrote, “Guy Nicolson invited and me and my wife, Liz, to The Hurlingham Club in London for dinner [in December 2016]. We shared marvelous Pomfret memories. Guy and his wife were off to the Azores the next day. Pomfret grads of ’55 should give him a call next time they are in London. He would love to see you again.”
’55 (l-r): Guy Nicolson and his wife Eileen with Liz and Will Stewart.
1958
’58
Dave Allan and his firm, Chesterfield Associates, just finished the rehabilitation of the Wood Island Life Saving Station in Portsmouth, NH. In October 2016, he signed a $3M contract with the Lake Champlain Ferry Company to upgrade and rebuild their marine railway system in Shelburne, VT that is used to haul out ferry boats weighing 1000 tons. Engineering drawings and submittals began in February 2017, and work at the site begins in early June. They expect to be done before the ice chases them away. Dave’s wife, Nancy, continues to make unique pottery in their Maine Island studio, with sales occurring at numerous craft events throughout the summer and fall. Dick Gildersleeve reported he co-hosted a great Pomfret gathering in his home town of Stonington, CT last summer. It was organized by his cousin, Kassy White P ’07, ’10 and Louisa Jones from Pomfret, and hosted by several other Pomfret alumni. There was quite a large turnout, but Dick says he can’t recall the exact number, which he attributes to the advancing age of the Class of 1958 members! Andre Daniel-Dreyfus reported, “Australia continues to agree with us. We are still living in the beachside community of Altona. In recent years I’ve taken up croquet, which I now play very competitively. It is my goal to qualify for the Victorian State team, where I would be playing at the national level. There are several versions of the game, I play ‘golf croquet’ which requires both skill and strategy. When I started playing, I joined the Williamstown Croquet Club and after four years found myself elected President of the club. Between our two granddaughters, croquet and a few other community activities, I’m pretty busy. Most of the time I don’t feel retired at all, which I suppose is a good thing. Best to all.”
1963
’63
John Griswold reported, “I retired from Commonfund at the end of the year after 24+ years. It was a good run and I enjoyed the challenge of helping trustees and financial staff of nonprofits to better manage their financial resources. I plan to continue working part time as a financial and governance consultant and will continue to serve on a few nonprofit and corporate boards. With three grown sons and two grandchildren, I look forward to having more time to spend with family and to visiting friends as we travel more. My very best wishes to all of my classmates!”
’65 ’65 Justin Klein (left) and Dean Moss on a bike tour of Italy in October 2016.
41
CLASS NOTES
’66
1966
Bob Off has created a coffee table book entitled Miniature Rooms. It contains over 120 pages of photographs of his room boxes with text describing his inspirations for creating many of them, as well as a section showing images of several works in-progress. It is available for purchase on blurb.com and on Amazon. You can preview the book on blurb by going to www.blurb.com/books/7376839-miniature-rooms.
’67
1967
Jack Viertel wrote, “My book, The Secret Life of the American Musical, which was published last March (2016), comes out in paperback in March 2017, which will be a nice re-launch, though I gather paperbacks are not what they once were — especially in this era of eReaders, etc. Our kids are great; Anna is now the co-owner and operator of Pizza Moto in Brooklyn, NY (got a star and a critics’ pick in the NY Times) — stop in if you’re one of those Brooklyn folks, or even if you are not. Our son Josh is starting a 160 acre land-based learning center in Wingdale, NY. Apparently we raised a couple of entrepreneurs. I’m continuing at Jujamcyn Theaters and NY City Center Encores! with retirement nowhere in sight. More life!”
’69
1970
’70
Char Miller announced the release of his new book, Not So Golden State: Sustainability vs. the California Dream, published in September 2016 by Trinity University Press. According to the publisher, “the book looks below the surface of California’s ecological history to expose some of its less glittering conundrums. [Char] details policy steps and missteps in public land management, examines recreation’s impact on national forests, parks, and refuges, and assesses efforts to restore wildland habitat, riparian ecosystems, and endangered species.”
1971
’71
Ridley Pearson published his latest adventure novel, Lock & Key: The Initiation, in the fall of 2016. It takes place in Baskerville Academy, a fictional Pomfret.
1973
’73
Ilse Bailey wrote, “My husband, Al Graham, and I are stationed at Aviano Air Force Base in Aviano, Italy, until the summer of 2018. It’s only an hour from Venice and the adjacent islands of Murano and Burano. Living in Europe has been exciting and an adventure so far. Follow my blog – ilsebailey.wordpress.com!”
’69 Eric Schwartz says aloha to Gerrit and Marnie Keator in Hawaii.
’73 Ilse Bailey touring on the island of Burano, Italy in 2016.
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
TURNING
65 Peter Welsh wrote, “It was great to see so many classmates at our 40th reunion back in 2009. I counted 25 or so over the course of the weekend. Following Pomfret, I attended the University of Hartford and graduated in 1973 with a BA in English. My professors were uniformly great and my love of music expanded far beyond Motown and the wonderful R&B product of the era, thanks to the Hartt College of Music where my appreciation of classical music, especially opera, grew considerably. During my early years, I had many career interests including record promoter (no surprise here!), but the lasting motivation was transportation, especially railroads. I established my own unofficial but focused job search, and immediately following graduation, landed an entry level management position with Amtrak, which was then only two years old. I had a challenging and – most of the time – highly rewarding series of six career experiences, each with substantial increases in responsibility. Over these 22 years, I moved five times. During my eight-year stint in Boston
as Regional Director of Passenger Services, I met Martha Bernard and married her in 1987. Our first daughter Madeline was born in 1988. Shortly after Madeline’s birth I was promoted back to corporate headquarters as Director of On Board and Catering Programs for the entire Amtrak system, my favorite position. During this time Martha gave birth to our twin daughters, Julia and Katherine, at seven pounds each! At middle age, I grew weary of Amtrak’s continuing struggle for a lasting source of capital, much less reasonable support for operating expenses, and decided to reinvent myself. Our goal was a relocation back to New England and in time we moved to Sudbury, MA. I entered the Senior Living field starting as Executive Director of Sunrise Assisted Living in Norwood, MA, then to Regional Director of Operations for Benchmark Senior Living and then, for 13 years, Executive Director of New Pond Village, a large continuing care retirement community in Walpole, MA. It
Jeff Purvin with his wife, Francesca, and their dog, Nappy, on-set, between takes, shooting fashion design lessons for their business, University of Fashion.
offered everything I loved: positive resident care, property management, hospitality and (usually) the joy of staff management. I retired from NPV at 65 in 2015 with a goal of other, but less consuming, work ventures for the next several years. After six weeks off, my former company asked me to return as Interim Executive Director of Evergreen Woods, their largest community in North Branford, CT. I agreed and in mid-November 2016 completed a 10-month stint. And that is it for heavy duty operations management! Martha, my wife of almost 30 years, is a successful agent for New York Life. Daughters Madeline and Katherine are enjoying their careers in communications and live in Brooklyn, NY. My daughter Julia recently moved to Portland, ME and is a teacher with a side goal of being a comedy performer. Over the years I have valued staying in regular touch with many classmates, especially Bill Gallery and Rick Levin. I miss those of us who have passed. I look forward to getting together with as many of our class as possible in 2019!”
Jeff submitted this photo of his Pomfret band, Your Mother, featuring (from left to right): Jon LeVeen, Eddie Griswold, the late, great Willie Parquette ’68, Jeff Purvin, and Gary Tharler. He noted, “We took this picture the night before we recorded our first (and only) record.”
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CLASS NOTES
TURNING
65 Paul Jay wrote, “I’ve been trying to save the world. The biggest problem is climate change, so that’s what I’m working on. I built an index of solutions to the causes and consequences of atmospheric carbon, and looking at the different things that can be done with this list of wild new technologies. Turning it into an exchange-traded fund that invests in the future is the best idea I’ve come up with so far, so I’m approaching finance people about that. Also, I’ve been a songwriter for 40 years, and perform in local clubs and vineyards. I’ve written books on history: The Founders; a screenplay: The Separatist; a musical: Dr. Bockerknick’s Santology; a book on walking: Walking, A Step by Step Approach to Saving the Planet and Ourselves; and many essays and plays and so on. I also do art and live in Manhattan and on Setauket Harbor near Port Jefferson. I have two children, one of whom is pregnant.”
Jim Edwards wrote, “I retired five years ago after a 31-year career as a minister in the United Church of Christ. I moved from Michigan back to the Cleveland area, where I had spent some of my happiest years in the ministry. Since retiring, my life has gone in very satisfying new directions. My wife, Deb, and I spend the summers sailing on Lake Erie. I joined two singing groups: the choir at the UCC church where I’m a member, and the glee club in the community where we live. I teach regularly in our church’s adult education program. For the past two years, I’ve taught courses on understanding Islam. It has been a rewarding experience, especially since half my students are Muslims. My son, Lanse, runs a very successful welding business in Fort Worth, Texas.”
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Rick Levin wrote, “I think the biggest reality about turning 65 is reflecting on the past and realizing that it is now time to plan for the future. My wife Ronna, whom I met in college in 1971, has been the best partner imaginable. We have lived in Harvard, MA for 38 years and plan to move within the next five years to a coastal location similar to her native Cape Cod. It has taken me a long time to understand how much I enjoy the air near the ocean although I am not a beachgoer! We have one daughter, Dana, who is now living in Philadelphia. She was my date for many years at the Pomfret Holiday Reception in Boston prior to attending grad school in Philadelphia. If there is one key realization that comes with reaching the ‘senior’ status, it would be coming to grips with the body telling the brain that sometimes we have limitations. I continue to ski, bike, work in the yard, and do house projects. Senior discounts at the movies are also a treat. Pomfret was a major part of my life and as the Class Agent, I enjoy the time spent reconnecting with the members of the class. Let’s hope we can have a large turnout for the 50th.”
REUNION WEEKEND
M ay 1 2 - 1 4 , 2 0 1 7 CLASSES ENDING IN 2 AND 7: FOR THE T0P 5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD COME BACK, VISIT POMFRETSCHOOL.ORG/REUNION.
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Archives 50th Reunion — 1967
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
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CLASS NOTES
1976
’76
Cindy Bailey Grayson wrote, “I’m living on family property in East Texas, with my two sons on the other end of the property, and being there for my Mom who is living at an assisted living facility about 10 minutes from my house. I’m making a living playing my guitar and singing, working at a tourist gift gallery, and doing commission pen and pencil realistic art work and carving gourds. I live with my two German shepherds and in my spare time I work in my yard. It keeps me really busy, but I like it this way. I love keeping in touch with classmates on Facebook since travel is limited as long as Mom is still with us. My brother, Clyde, is in Arkansas and my sister, Ilse, is in Italy; my Dad passed away in 2014. Anyway, I’m doing well and hope everyone else is doing well too.”
’80
1980
Bill Curtis wrote, “I continue to hear fantastic reports from so many about Pomfret. I have three boys currently at The Fessenden School – Billy ’18, Sam ’19, and Jack ’19 – I was class of ’77. This fall at the Eaglebrook Soccer Tournament I ran into Pomfret soccer coach Patrick Burke scouting Fessenden players at the event – 40 years later you never know what can happen! I was sorry to miss the Alumni Hockey game in January but three boys keep you busy playing multiple sports on weekends! I was looking forward to visiting the Curtis Family penalty box at Jahn Rink; coach Hastings thought it would be an appropriate gift and give back to Pomfret!”
1981
’81
Congratulations to Eric Coleman, who won the state senate seat for Connecticut’s 2nd district on November 8, 2016. He has held the senate role in this district since 1995.
1987
’87
Kay Cowperthwait wrote, “I caught up with Laura Church Wilmerding in Florida over Christmas. Our parents live in the same town in the winter, so it’s great to see Laura and her family when we’re there. I’m still living in Northampton, Massachusetts and I’m a pilates instructor at a local studio. I also teach spin classes and continue to play ice hockey! Our daughter, Sophie, is almost 16 (yikes!) and is a sophomore at Williston Northampton School. She is a great dancer, and Ann and I are a new breed of dance moms! Our son, Tate, is 9 and loves basketball and soccer. We love watching his games and are trying to stay sane in the world of youth sports. I’m so looking forward to our 30th reunion in May. Hope to see a lot of 87ers there!”
’80 The family of Bill Curtis at Fessenden School – (l-r): Betsy, Billy, Jack, Sam and Bill Curtis
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
TURNING
65 John Adams reflected, “Bob Shasha wanted to know if we had any wisdom to offer after all these years on the planet. So, not much. It feels a little pretentious to think of oneself as wise, and maybe close to arrogant to proclaim it. I started out as a newspaper man after college before becoming a lawyer, specializing in international telecoms and trade. What have I learned? Take pleasure in the ordinary. Commit to your profession and be sustained by it, or, if you can’t do that, find another. Having a pastime in addition to one’s work, and work at it, for the satisfaction of the doing, whether or not you succeed. It used to be fiction (twice published, dozens rejected) and photography (sold five, and the rest are mediocre) for me. Now it’s primarily golf, which I picked up late at 50, and
which I love no matter that I’m quite average. Regarding money, as Maugham says, ‘It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent.’ Also, and this is key, there is no telling how much fun you can have if you don’t care and don’t think about how stupid you might look. So get up and dance. On marriage, sometimes it’s going to feel really uncomfortable but you’ve got to ‘keep your feet in the room,’ so to speak, no matter what. As you change, so is your partner changing, you can’t stop it, so don’t try, but that person is just as endlessly interesting as she was 20 or 30 years ago if you stop to look and listen. The rewards are in moments, quiet, peaceful moments, when there is no time and you get a hint of the infinite. Stay curious. I’ve travelled in nearly 50 countries for work since the late
80s (not South America for no particular reason). Mostly what sticks with me way more than the exotic sights I’ve seen – although those have been stupendous – are the random and meaningful encounters and conversations I’ve had with people from all stations and walks of life. Yuck it up, laugh as much as you can, and don’t take yourself too seriously. People really like funny stories where you’re the butt of the joke, but they hate bragging. Indeed, stay away from braggarts. And also, don’t be so hard on yourself. Whatever you are feeling right now – good or bad – will pass, and you’ll be feeling something else soon enough. World without end, amen, but not us. I forget all this regularly, several times a day. So my final thought – written on a card stuck in my bathroom mirror – is to remember to remember.”
Lenny Klein wrote, “Here is a quick synopsis of my life after Pomfret. I spent eight years in Cleveland at Case Western Reserve earning my undergraduate degree along with my DDS degree. I practiced dentistry for the Public Health Service for two years in a small rural community (population 450) before moving to California for six months to get a California dental license and set up to live there. I got an offer to take over a nice practice in Detroit, where I lived for several months before relocating to New York City. I have been working there ever since, specifically in the northeast Bronx, and living about 10 miles north of there in Westchester County. I was married for 23 years, had two sons who are now done with college and working (one as a professional drummer based out of
NYC and the other as an employment ‘head hunter’ working and living in Chicago). I was divorced 10 years ago and recently re-married in November 2016. I just started my 37th year of practicing dentistry in the Bronx and I plan to retire or semi-retire over the next few years (my new wife agreed to marry me for better or worse, but not for lunch). Some of the highlights of my life: I spent 20 years as an avid power boater and was able to travel from NYC to faraway destinations such as Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, and I coached my sons in Little League for six years. My younger son’s high school baseball team won the New York state Championship in his junior and senior years. In his junior year he had the highest batting average in New York State. He attended Hamilton College where he was the captain of the baseball team in his
senior year, and set several batting records while playing there. My older son’s band tours extensively and plays shows as far south as Miami, Florida and as far west as Chicago. I learned to scuba dive at Pomfret and continue to dive regularly, averaging around 20-30 dives a year, and diving only in tropical waters throughout the world. Robert Shasha lives close by and we are in contact on a regular basis. I also speak with Gary Tharler weekly. Jeff Stone (who is also a dentist) and I also speak and text on a regular basis, and I have been in touch with Jeff Purvin and Andy Goldmark from time to time. I am planning to attend our 50th class reunion where I am hoping to see as many of you geriatrics as possible.”
49
CLASS NOTES
TURNING
65 Bob Rubenstein wrote, “I have been living in Fair Lawn, NJ for the past 35 years. I married my college sweetheart and have three children – two lawyers and one doctor. I am a CPA and have my own accounting practice. I recently went on Medicare like most of you and my insurance premiums dropped for the first time in 10 years! I have been in touch with Robert Shasha for many years and we still talk about dough balls. I look forward to seeing everyone at the 50th reunion.”
Bill Fenley (right) wrote, “I think it’s safe to say that I’m getting more sentimental over the years, and I hope most of us will be back for our 50th.”
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
Shuzaburo Eto reported, “I was an American Field Service Exchange Student from Japan that year at Pomfret [1968-1969]. Here is my story after that year and at present: I graduated from the University of Tokyo and London Business School, then worked at a Japanese commercial bank (Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ) for 28 years at places such as Tokyo, London, New York, and Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia. I subsequently joined a Japanese geological research company called OYO for 13 years, frequently visiting Pasadena, California. I retired from my business career last year, but I am still engaged in such educational activities as Senior Managing Director at a kindergarten in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, a visiting lecturer at Hosei University Graduate School in Tokyo, and an adviser at a NPO called ‘Second Step - Committee for Children’ in Tokyo, which has its headquarters in Seattle, WA. That year at Pomfret was certainly a memorable year, which affected my subsequent career significantly. I believe in the ‘people and events’ leading to open ways for new challenges and a meaningful life, whatever they may be, when and where they may be.”
Eric Schwartz wrote, “As one of the younger members of the class, I didn’t get to experience 65 firsthand until the middle of January. I’m practicing by spending more and more time at our new home in Hawaii near the Mauna Kea Hotel. The only hitch is five of our grandchildren are in the NY area and the sixth is in Chicago. So more travel but much less for work. Also spending time in two organizations trying to make a difference in K-8 educational choices. My new mantra: QTR.... maximize your Quality Time Remaining.”
1993
’93
’95
Jack Howard-Potter announced, “I have redesigned and relaunched my website, steelstatue.com. Please spend some time looking through the new gallery and video page. I am also thrilled to announce that my sculpture, Descending Night, has been purchased by the city of Roanoke, Virginia and will be permanently displayed on the Art Walk in Elmwood Park. Please go see it if you are in the area or passing through.”
1994
’94
Amanda Barnes Zampiello announced, “Emma Taylor Zampiello arrived December 5, 2016. Big sister Morgan, age 3, is thrilled! We live in Norwalk, CT and Peru, VT and would love to catch up with anyone in the area! Hope everyone is doing well!”
’95 Dave Castagnetti (left) and Nick Mettler spent the day together in Los Angeles with their boys, Spence and Brooks Mettler (center), and Leo Castagnetti.
1998
’98
Congratulations go to Sarah Herklots, who was married to Courtney DeGeorge on October 15, 2016 at the Fitchburg Art Museum in Fitchburg, MA.
’94 Baby Emma Taylor Zampiello
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CLASS NOTES
’02 Baby Sebastian Saxe-Cobaugh
’98 Ligeia Donis announced, “Matthew Brody and I were married in Washington, DC on November 12, 2016. Conor O’Malley celebrated with us. We live in DC.”
2003
’03
Bill Army announced, “It gives me joy to report to the Pomfret community that my wife Jessica and I were very blessed on January 8, 2017 to welcome our daughter, Stella Rose Army, to the world.”
2002
’02
Chris Pike and his wife Meagan were happy to announce the birth of their first child, Christalia Edviges Pike. She was born on November 29, 2016 at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester, MA.
Ben Stapleton and his wife, Maureen, were proud to announce the arrival of their second child, Luke Collins Stapleton, who was born on October 24, 2016. He joins big sister Ella, who is two years old. Congratulations to Brook and Caroline SaxeCobaugh on the birth of their baby son, Sebastian A. Saxe-Cobaugh, on October 25, 2016. He’s on track to be a future member of Pomfret class of 2034!
’03 Chris & Meagan Pike with baby Christalia
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
’04 2004 Josh Wildes wrote, “My wife, Amber, and I had our second child, Zoe Olivia Wildes, on November 29, 2016. She was 6 pounds 15 ounces. She is healthy and doing her best to keep us from sleeping at night. Her brother, Wes Parker Wildes, loves her lots and was happy for the new addition to our family – even if she wasn’t always happy with him, haha.” Breanna Dobbe Chan announced, “My husband and I recently celebrated our one year wedding anniversary and are expecting our first child, a baby boy, in June 2017.”
2007
’04 Wes and Zoe Olivia Wildes, children of Amber and Josh Wildes
’07
Pete D’Agostino was married to Rebecca Daube on September 10, 2016 in Nantucket. The ceremony took place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church with a reception at the Nantucket Yacht Club. Ben Pepe ’06 was a groomsman. Bates Parsons ’06, Young-Hoon Hahn ’06, Bobby Sullivan, Matt Scanlan, Vikram Saini ’08, Henry Buck ’08, Mark Pepe ’08, and Alexandra D’Agostino ’08 were also in attendance. Pete is channel marketing manager at EGR International, a digital marketing firm in downtown Manhattan. Pete and Becka live in New York.
’07 Pete D’Agostino and his wife Rebecca
53
CLASS NOTES
’09
’09 Becky Smith was married to John Sosik on October 29, 2016 at Watkins Glen State Park, NY. Celebrating the occasion with them were Pomfret friends and family (l-r) former faculty Brad and Deb Davis P ’99, faculty member Josh Lake with Elizabeth, Isaac and James Lake, Laura Alves Tota ’10, Becky and John, sister Amy Smith Hernández Gamboa ’06, and parents Paul and Judy Smith.
’15 2015 Makenna Newkirk, sophomore forward on the Boston College women’s hockey team, was named the Hockey East Warrior Co-Player of the Month for January 2017. She was also recognized by Hockey East on February 6th as Warrior Player of the Week. Makenna posted 12 points on six goals and six assists in January, and then collected three points (one goal, two assists) in BC’s final regular season game, helping the team to claim the 2016-17 Hockey East title and the Beanpot Championship.
54
POMFRET SPRING 2017
2016
’16
Michelle Kim wrote, “After graduating Pomfret, I had a big journey waiting for me on July 21, 2016. As a student in the ‘NU.in’ program of Northeastern University, I had an opportunity to study in Melbourne, Australia during the freshman fall term. As a student who started an independent lifestyle at a young age, I was able to learn and enjoy Australia to the fullest. Not only I have made other NU.in friends, but I have also met kind Australians who attended the same university in Melbourne. During weekends, my friends and I toured around Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. We walked on the Great Ocean Road, saw the Sydney Opera House and cheered on AFL Grand Final Day. Although I am now enjoying my spring term at Northeastern University, I will never forget the unique first-year experience, fun moments and friends in Australia.”
’16
’16 Michelle Kim (front center) and her NU.in friends cheering AFL Grand Final Day in Australia.
TURNING
Gary Tharler wrote, “Still pursuing my art dreams, particularly since making left field for the Sox, being an astronaut, or becoming a movie star all seem doubtful. My dream certainly was nurtured by the now late Chick Cole. I spent a nice couple of days with Lenny Klein recently. He is newly married to a very sweet and lovely woman. And I had some nice exchanges, regarding art, with Peter Borgemeister.”
65 Stephen Cole wrote, “I don’t have any big news about my life. I haven’t started a new company, retired from the company that I started, had grandchildren, traveled around the world, won any awards, or written any books. I do try to fully live every minute of my life whether it’s good or bad, and be sure to make time for things and people that I enjoy and love, and for that I am grateful. If what you’re doing in your life now is not making you happy and fulfilled, I hope you find that happiness soon. For those of you who are doing well, fantastic. Fully savor and live every minute. We only have a short time on this planet. Make it a good time and don’t waste it on BS. Peace and best wishes to all.”
55
CLASS NOTES
CLASS AGENTS & SECRETARIES Classes not listed do not have a class agent at present. If interested in volunteering, contact Beth Dow, Associate Director of the Pomfret Fund, at 860.963.5993 or bdow@pomfretschool.org.
1937
1959
1973
1984
Seth B. French, Jr.
Jeb N. Embree
David A. Rosen
Jeffrey P. Curran Alexis Rosenthal Proceller Nathaniel S. Reeder
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
1941
1960
1974
Francis O. Lathrop, Jr.
Benjamin A. Fairbank
David D. Dixon
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
1985
CLASS AGENT:
1949
1961
1975
Heather Julian
Stuart J. Bracken
George M. Walker
Andre B. Burgess Timothy S. Matthews
1986
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS SECRETARY:
Tony LaPalme
CLASS AGENT:
1962
CLASS AGENT:
1950
I. Howell Mallory
William O. Sumner
1976
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
Jeffrey H. Connor
1987
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS SECRETARY:
Toby Condliffe
Richard S. Cody Michael R. Nelson
1951
1963
1977
1988
Rolfe Floyd III
Charles W. Fleischmann Anthony C. Lame
John B. Leeming II Elwood E. Leonard III
Elizabeth Tilt Weiner
CLASS SECRETARY:
1978
CLASS AGENT:
1952
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
Charles V. Henry III
Charles W. Fleischmann
1953
1964
CLASS AGENT:
Frederick K. Gaston III Edward K. McCagg
CLASS AGENT:
Peter W. Clement Charles W. Findlay III Paul D. Fowler
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
Katharine B. Cowperthwait CLASS AGENT:
1989
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
Mark S. Breen
Nathaniel M. Peirce Catherine Moriarty Whittier
1979
1990
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS SECRETARY:
Bradley R. Painter
Marcus W. Acheson Rachel Baime Laura H. Cowperthwait Jonathan G. Gengras
Michael S. Petty
1980
CLASS AGENT:
1991
1968
Linnea Corwin Elrington CLASS SECRETARY:
John J. Huss, William A.W. Stewart III
Gregory W. Melville Robert R. Rich
Martha K. Murphy
Laurence N. Hale Abigail Gardiner Silk
CLASS SECRETARY:
1969
CLASS AGENT:
1954
CLASS AGENT:
Chester K. Lasell, William H. O’Brien III
1955
CLASS AGENT:
E. Brooks Robbins
1956
CLASS AGENT:
Anthony S. Hoyt
1957
CLASS AGENT:
Danforth P. Fales Horace H. Work
1958
CLASS AGENT:
Galen N. Griffin
56
CLASS AGENT:
POMFRET SPRING 2017
1967
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
Richard G. Levin
1970
CLASS AGENT:
Richard A. Bensen
1971
CLASS AGENT:
Jacques P. Bailhé
1972
CLASS AGENT:
James M. Bergantz Milton L. Butts, Jr.
Robert K. Mullarkey
1981
Eric L. Foster
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS SECRETARY:
Caroline E. Waterlow
1992
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS SECRETARY:
Sarah Armstrong Scheide
Diana Heide Fredericks David Wyatt Wartels
1982
1993
Luis Cruz Johanna M. Moffitt
Michael G. Farina Sarah M. Flournoy
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
1983
1994
Wendy Reeder Enelow Timothy T. Robinson
Karrie M. Amsler Daniel B. Levin Edward W. Wartels Timothy L. Whipple
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
1995
2002
2008
2013
Carson T. Baker Whitney A. Cook Nicholas D. Mettler Allison Glasmann Reiner Robert E. Thebault Daniel J. Thompson
Christina Galanti Dickson Jo Anna Galanti Fellon Michael J. Krents John P. Lindsey William E. Walker II Christopher J. Watkins William R. Wentworth
Alexandra D’Agostino Joanna A. Gaube Steven A. Harkey Georgina L. Heasman Emily F. Johnson Nicole A. Shirley Charles H. Sullivan Sophia G. Welch
Alexandra R. Adams Lindsay M. Barber Roxane J. Barbera Alyson J. Chase Hayden M. Clarkin Jordan P. Ginsberg Alexis Gulino Daniel D. Kellaway Maximillian P. King William F. Mackie Dylan G. O’Hara Izabel M. Tropnasse
CLASS AGENT:
1996
CLASS AGENT:
M. Anderson Bottomy Hillary Lewis Fryer Michael A. Newton Rebecca Holt Squires
1997
CLASS AGENT:
Miriam Jamron Baskies Joanna Kontoudakis Lindsay R. Larsen Hadley Weiss Rosen
CLASS AGENT:
2003
CLASS AGENT:
Muhammed-Saleem R. Ahmed Chelsea Weiss Baum Peyton A. Ladt Laura Keeler Pierce Christopher G. Pike MacLean Pilsbury Spadaccini Suparatch Watchara-Amphaiwan
2004
CLASS AGENT:
Wheeler Simmons Griffith Maurice P. Kane Kyle V. Ritchie
Sung Min Choo Christian T. Ford Robert M. Saunders Etienne J. Vazquez
1998
2005
CLASS SECRETARY:
CLASS AGENT:
CLASS AGENT:
John E. Evans III Olutoyin D. Moses Stacy Durbin Nieuwoudt Livia Skelly-Dorn Roustan Sarah L. Welch Thayer P. Whipple
Davinia G. Buckley Timothy J. Deary Laura F. Dunn Alysia LaBonte-Campbell Joshua W. Rich Hyun-Yi Yoo
1999
2006
CLASS AGENT:
Lindsey Boardman Duerr Timothy A. Patrick Alysa Hill Paul Katrin I. Urban Kelly L. Wentworth
2000
CLASS AGENT:
Hilary Gerson Axtmayer Susannah Miragliuolo
2001
CLASS AGENT:
Caitlin Rogers Connelly Wendell Smith Scarisbrick
CLASS AGENT:
Michelle Gilmore Castiglione Hillary Ross Charalambous Caroline McLoughlin Davis Olivia T. Gray Young Hoon Hahn Maryam A. Hayatu-Deen Gregory E. Jones Katherine Winogradow Munno Caitlin M. Neiduski Kathryn S. Nelson James E. Pinkham Erin A. Wolchesky
2007
CLASS AGENT:
Emily H. Detmer Julia D. Field Meredith E. Gagnon Christopher P. Golden Holly A. Lorms Shawn P. McCloud Nathaniel H. Proctor Else S. Ross Darren A. Small Melissa A. Stuart
CLASS AGENT:
2009
CLASS AGENT:
Thomas M. Atwood Molly K. Downey Zachary J. Golden Kathryn M. Kramer Haley A. Mitchell Edward T. Ross Rebecca Sosik Smith Samantha L. St. Lawrence
2010
CLASS AGENT:
Gabriella W. Bucci Mackenzie C. Deary Maura J. Hall Ryan C. Johnson Kathryn G. Sheehan Samantha A. Slotnick Ryan C. Wainwright
2011
CLASS AGENT:
Muhammed-Jamil R. Ahmed Matthew D. Bourdeau Carlos H. Ferre Lilah T. Fones Czarina N. Hutchins Hannah P. Leo Aidan P. McGloine Hamilton G. Morley Daniel R. Palumbo Margaret H. Thompson Raymond R. Zeek III
CLASS AGENT:
2014
CLASS AGENT:
Bridget D. Bohan Gabriella M. Criscuolo Isaiah Henderson Ryan S. Jackson Hallie L. Leo Meghan J. MacArthur Annie J. E. Zalon Elise M. Zender
2015
CLASS AGENT:
Kailey A. Cox Nickolas F. Fulchino Rachel K. Godfrey Keith C. O’Hara Thomas D. Wheatley
2016
CLASS AGENT:
Madison A. Dean Abigail H. McThomas Thomas Meggs Sofia Melian-Morse Chloe Saad David W. Samberg Grace A. Sandercox Samual F. Skinner
2012
CLASS AGENT:
Elizabeth A. Bohan Ian J. Crouse Helen E. Day Sean P. Fitzpatrick Caroline N. Hayssen Margaret Juna Kim Moira M. MacArthur Jack W. Nicholson Georgia W. Paige Sagar A. Patel Sorrel M. Perka Biying Zhang
57
CLASS NOTES
Gatherings
STAY CONNECTED Don’t miss the next gathering near you! Look for our Upcoming Events newsletter.
Maryland Silver Spring OCTOBER 23, 2016 (Front row, l-r): Brooke Toni ’86, Ginny Eaton P ’91 and former faculty member Marshall Eaton ’70; (back row, l-r): Dacque Tirado ’92, Graham Wiggins, trustee Bill Wiggins ’89, Michael Dennis, and his father Jeffrey Dennis ’82.
Connecticut Connecticut College, New London OCTOBER 24, 2016 Faculty member Louisa Jones P ’04 stopped by Connecticut College to visit with Pomfret alumni. (l-r): Max King ’13, Ashley Anctil ’13, Jeffrey Iyalekhue ’14, Louisa Jones, Mike Rodriguez ’16, John Cunningham ’13, Phoebe Pliakas-Smith ’16, Ethan Ufland ’13
Paddle Tennis at New Canaan Field Club NOVEMBER 11, 2016
(l-r): Winnie Goodrich ’05, Pete D’Agostino ’07, Dave Lefferts ’85, Paul Fowler ’64, Joey Moffitt ’82, Greg Still P ’05, Kenyon Clark ’67, David Still ’05
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
New York Career Networking Event, New York, NY NOVEMBER 3, 2016 (Front row, l-r): Jenny Rodriguez ’94, Robbie Banker ’86, P ’20, Christina Galanti Dickson ’02, Jo Anna Galanti Fellon ’02, Maria Dantos ’96; (back row, l-r): Chris Boak ’75, Associate Director of Advancement Vassar Pierce, Tim Dickson, Brian Fellon, Christian Ford ’04, Michael Galanti, Anila Mahadeo ’05, Andy Ramirez ’91, Adam Foulke ’88, David Still ’05, Sunil Bangali ’99, Ray Chung ’90
1
2
3
4
5
6 1.
Holiday Reception, New York, NY DECEMBER 6, 2016
2. 3.
(l-r): Meg Hecker ’10, Zach Baraf ’09, faculty member Pat Boyd, Ray Zeek ’11, Jay Williams ’10 (l-r): Wendy Nacht P ’19, John Moltusky P ’19, Randy Barron, Robin Gordon P ’18 Class of 1998 mates (l-r): Buzz Evans, Brad Yankus, Bruce Beese, Sam Stuart, Brendan Mims
4. 5. 6.
(l-r): Pete Buck P ’08, Henry Buck ’08, Steve Harkey ’08, Trustee Nancy Buck P ’08 Robbie Banker ’86, P ’20 and faculty member Anne Richards P ’15 Class of 2005 classmates (l-r): Alison Moe, Katherine Persichetti, Davinia Buckley, Anila Mahadeo, Sarah Sweet
59
CLASS NOTES
Massachusetts Boston Parent Reception OCTOBER 13, 2016 (Front row, l-r): Amy Sahler, George Baldwin P ’18, Jody Phillips-Clark P ’17, Laura Keeler Pierce ’03, Rick Levin ’69, Andrea Clagett P ’17 (seated), Liette Fales P ’20, Danielle Hatfield P ’13, ’15, ’17, Maureen Soutter P ’17, Anne Richards P ’15; (back row, l-r): Ginny Soutter GP ’17, Lisa Winick P ’18, Cat and Will Dunning P ’19, Gordon Clagett P ’17, Renny Clark P ’17, Head of School Tim Richards P ’15, Stephen Fales P ’20, Associate Director of Advancement Vassar Pierce, Scott Hatfield P ’13, ’15, ’17
Head of the Charles Regatta, Boston OCTOBER 23, 2016 (l-r): Mae Hanson ’14, Kim Carlson Benner ’80 with son James Benner and their French guest, Alex Piednoel, Laura Dunn ’05 with fiancé Louis Cona, Louisa Jones P ’04, and Christian Ford ’04
BU Hockey Game NOVEMBER 5, 2016 (l-r): Liette Fales P ’20, host Kenn Elmore ’81, Stephen Fales P ’20, Louisa Jones P ’04, Danny Palumbo ’11, Craig Sanders P ’03, Keegan Fales ’20, Connor Quinn ’11, Corrinne Fales, Craig Sanders ’03, Delilah Sanders P ’03
60
POMFRET SPRING 2017
Paddle Tennis at Myopia Hunt Club, South Hamilton NOVEMBER 4, 2016 (l-r): Louisa Jones P ’04, Kate Galusza P ’15, ’18, Gen Richardson ’99, Linda Fates, Jim Van Alen ’85, Elise Wolcott P ’18, Samantha Goodman Sutro ’86, Associate Director of Advancement Vassar Pierce, Dick Fates ’63, Rob Galusza P ’15, ’18, Laura Keeler Pierce ’03, Chad Cooper ’96, Mike Newton ’96, Cooper Hastings ’01
Boston Holiday Reception 1
2
DECEMBER 8, 2016 1. 2. 3. 4.
3
(l-r): Dana Halsey ’10, Kayla Sheehan ’10, Steve Cargill ’08, Alexandra D’Agostino ’08, Sarah Evans ’08 (l-r): Pat Pahucki P ’04, Stephen Ford P ’04, Damien Rudzinski, Elizabeth Chartier Rudzinski ’96 Head of School Tim Richards P ’15 welcomes the guests (l-r): Forbes Barber ’02, Robert Saunders ’04, former faculty Jeremiah Jones P ’04
4
61
CLASS NOTES
Asia In November 2016, Head of School Tim Richards and Anne Richards P ’15, with Director of Advancement Melissa Perkins Bellanceau, traveled to Asia to meet and gather with parents in South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China, and Vietnam.
1
2 1. Shanghai: Head of School Tim Richards, Anne Richards P ’15, and Director of Advancement Melissa Perkins Bellanceau gathered with trustees Jimmy Chan P ’17 and Lulin Lu P ’14, Sherry Pan P ’17, Yang Bai P ’16, Christine Ren P ’18, Chen Kan P ’15, Zhiwei Wang P ’18, Jenny Zhang P ’19, Zhili Chen P ’20, Linjuan Ji P ’20, Liangping Wu P ’17, Guandong Liu P ’20, Mon Sha P ’18, Yan Ge Chau P ’19, Yu Du P ’18, Lifeng Cheng P ’19, Li Xie P ’19, Yingyi Han P ’18, Raymond Zhi P ’19, Lei Liang P ’19, Jeffrey Wang P ’18 and friends.
62
POMFRET SPRING 2017
3 2. Seoul: (l-r): Sungeun Jung P ’17, Jessica Jeon ’18, Head of School Tim Richards, Louisa Park ’17, Anne Richards P ’15, and Sun Hee Roh P ’18 sample local food in Seoul. 3. Seoul: (l-r):Kevin Kim P ’20, Lauren Kim, Eun Ju Kang P ’20, Anne Richards P ’15, Director of Advancement Melissa Bellanceau, Head of School Tim Richards, and Robin Kim ’20
4
5 4. Seoul: (Front row, l-r): Hyeyoung Yoon P ’18, SeungUn Ham ’05, Anne Richards P ’15, Head of School Tim Richards, Gino Cho ’81, P ’19, Director of Advancement Melissa Bellanceau; (back row, l-r): Hyunwoo Kim and Young Jin Lee P ’17, Sungeun Jung P ’17 & daughter, Bong Hyun Kim & Hyang Whan Choi P ’19, trustee Shelly Hwang and Hasong Song P ’17, Young Ju Hwang P ’15, Mi Hyang Park P ’19, Boyoung Ko P ’19, Young Hae Son P ’16, Myungwon Kim P ’16, Eun Young Yeo P ’16, Kyung Hee Choi P ’18, Sun Hee Roh P ’18
6 5. Bangkok: (l-r): Van Toan Do P ’20, Ngoc Tran P ’20, Duy Diep, Hoa Tran P ’20 and son, Anne Richards P ’15 and Head of School Tim Richards, Thi Bich Thuy Nguyen and Quoc Minh Vo P ’19, Nat Hoang P ’14, Associate Director of Admissions Joe Kremer P ’14, ’17, and Director of Advancement Melissa Bellanceau 6. Shanghai: Trustees Jimmy Chan P’17 and Lin Lu P’14 meet with Tim and Anne Richards in Shanghai
63
In Memoriam IN MEMORIAM
Visit our website at pomfretschool.org/obituaries for full detail alumni obituaries. To request a printed copy, call the Advancement Office at 860.963.6129.
64
’37
’39
’41
’44
Charles E. Huntington ’37 January 2, 2017
William P. Rowland ’39 January 2, 2017
Paul F. Perkins ’41 November 6, 2016
Charles H. Storrow ’44 January 3, 2017
’47
’49
’49
’52
Sydney P. Clark, Jr. ’47 December 24, 2016
Winslow M. Cady ’49 February 6, 2017
Lawrence C. Phipps III ’51 September 2, 2016
Rodman T. Davis ’52 August 15, 2016
’54
’68
’70
’74
David L. Seymour ’54 February 20, 2017
Bryan Kirkpatrick ’68 September 15, 2016
James L. Hard ’70 September 21, 2016
Gordon Wasley Austin ’74 November 28, 2016
POMFRET SPRING 2017
Chick Cole | 1924 - 2016 A true Pomfret icon, he passed away in October.
C
harles D. “Chick” Cole, who died in October at the age of 92, was a gifted teacher, an exceptional human being, and a true Pomfret icon. Chick served on the Pomfret faculty for forty-seven years and lived next door for another eighteen. He rightfully deserves a place on the Mount Rushmore of legendary Pomfret community members. He leaves behind his wife Cici; his children Susan ’71, Lindsey ’72, Charlie ’75, and Billy ’81; and his grandaughter Izzie ’04. Long after his retirement, Chick remained a fixture of his beloved School — a constant presence on the sidelines, in meetings, during sit-down meals, and at events. He always looked forward to Lessons & Carols and you never knew when he would pop up to quiz students with trivia questions. When he retired from Pomfret in 1998, his friend and colleague, Hagop Merjian, wrote: “He enjoined me, he entreated me, he urged me with a true and striking compassion… this manner of instant human empathy is what makes Chick leap, in my mind, into the pantheon of special human beings.” And what a special human being he was. Born in 1924 and raised in Manhattan, Chick was the second of four children. It was a time and place of social turmoil. “We’re talking the stock market crash, the Depression, prohibition,” Chick later recalled. “And a little later, Roosevelt and the New Deal and the Charleston.” As a young teen, Chick captained the “submidget” football team at Friends Academy on Long Island where he earned the nickname that would follow him for the rest of his life. After graduating from Woodberry Forest School in Virginia at the age of 16, Chick arrived at Princeton in 1941. Three months later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and he
THE CHICK AND CICI COLE SCHOLARSHIP FUND If you would like to honor Chick, the Cole family is working to establish a fund at Pomfret. For questions, call the Advancement Office at 860.963.6127.
left to join the Navy. When he finally got back to campus in 1946, he switched majors, from architecture to art history, and started rowing lightweight crew. In 1947, he met the love of his life, Cici, at a cocktail party in New York. After what Chick described as a “brutally long engagement of three years,” they were married. For a brief spell, he worked in a meat packing plant on the lower East Side, and eventually landed a job in the framing department of a Manhattan art gallery. By the spring of 1951, Chick was ready for something new. As fate would have it, so was Pomfret. “I wanted to raise my family in the country, and I felt the summers and vacations would give me a chance to paint,” he once said. “Little did I realize how much the advising, teaching, and coaching would mean in my life.” For the next 47 years, Chick carved out a life on the Hilltop. By the time he retired in 1998, he had worked for seven different headmasters, become an honorary member of two different classes, and impacted countless generations of Pomfret students. Before his death in October, some of his work appeared alongside that of his sons, Charlie ’75 and Billy ’81, in their Father & Sons exhibit, at the P.S. Art Gallery in Putnam. Following his death, the School held a Celebration of Life in Clark Memorial Chapel, and hosted a retrospective of his work in the Main House on campus. In the final chapel talk of his storied career, Chick distilled everything he had learned into one essential truth: “There is no more important challenge in life than being a good husband or wife, a good father or mother, and a good friend to those in need. Nothing else comes close.” Chick was all of those things and more. Much more.
65
ICONOGRAPHY
Olmsted Observatory Carpe Noctem The Olmsted Observatory was not the first observatory to scan the evening sky at Pomfret. The first campus observatory was taken down in 1968 to make room for the du Pont Library, and a second was dismantled in 1995 to make way for new playing fields. The current observatory was dedicated on a crisp, clear night in October 2001, beneath a canopy of stars.
The observatory even knows when it’s raining. Thanks to a digital weather station that funnels data back to the dome, the observatory automatically opens up when the sky is clear and closes down when the weather turns.
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POMFRET SPRING 2017
The current observatory was made possible through a generous contribution by Bob Olmsted ’59, his sister Nancy Olmsted Kaehr, and The Furtherance Fund, their family foundation. To say thank you, the Science Department gave the family a star. Literally. The Olmsted Star resides in the Northern sky, in the constellation of Ursa Major, also known as the Big Dipper.
Anyone who has studied astronomy knows that everything is always moving. Thanks to a precision tracking mount supporting the telescope, coupled with automation motors on the rotator and main shutter, the observatory can robotically follow the motion of any object in the night sky.
On a good night, you can see 380 million stars through the telescope’s primary lens, a Celestron 14. A small but perfectly engineered refracting telescope, the Takahashi, sits just above it. And thanks to a supercooled CCD camera, the observatory is able to take photographs that would make even Carl Sagan jealous.
The Olmsted telescope can be controlled from across campus or across the world. A few years back, a crystal-clear image of the Horsehead Nebula was taken using an iPhone while the operator was watching a movie in Massachusetts, 45 minutes away.
67
PARTING SHOT Chick Cole and Sarah Hunter Lange ’89
398 Pomfret Street PO Box 128 Pomfret CT 06258- 0128 www.pomfretschool.org
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