Laurel Leaf Winter 2016 by Roland Park Country School

An Education Above

Laurel Leaf Winter 2016

The Teenage Brain RPCS

About the

Crane Lecture Through the generosity of the late Charles Crane, a Baltimore businessman and philanthropist, an endowment was established at Roland Park Country School in 1993. This fund was created in loving memory of Mr. Crane’s mother, Sarah Crane Cohen, a warm and compassionate woman who possessed a genuine fondness for all people. The endowment, the Sarah Crane Cohen Visiting Scholar in the Humanities, brings a distinguished educator to campus each year.

was honored to have Dr. Frances Jensen on campus as the Sarah Crane Cohen Visiting Scholar in the Humanities in October. Dr. Jensen held an Upper School assembly, a faculty workshop and an evening talk for parents which opened the repurposed Faissler Library Learning Commons. Dr. Jensen, Professor of Neurology and Chair of the Department of Neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, is the product of an all girls’ education at Greenwich Academy and later Smith College where she graduated cum laude with a degree in neuropsychology. A neuroscientist and the mother of two boys who are now in their 20s, Dr. Jensen wrote The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults, to explore the science of how the brain grows—and why teenagers can be especially “impulsive, moody and not very good at responsible decision-making.” Connecting summary and analysis of research data with anecdotes gained from her years as a parent, clinician and public speaker, Dr. Jensen explores adolescent brain functioning and development in the contexts of learning and multitasking, stress and memory, sleep, addiction, and decision-making. Dr. Jensen provided students, parents and educators with practical advice for raising and understanding teens. Dr. Jensen addressed the effects of “screen time” on the brain and Dr. Frances Jensen and Jean Waller Brune recommended no more than an hour a day for teens. She told our students to get more sleep and told parents to let their teens sleep. And, when asked “why is my teenager so self-absorbed,” she calmly replied, “Give her time. Empathy comes with age.” RPCS is deeply grateful to Mr. Crane for establishing the endowment that brought the thoughtful and empathetic Dr. Jensen to our campus.

What Kind of Online Community Are We?

annual Robinson Health Colloquium

he 7th annual Robinson Health Colloquium brought Dr. Catherine SteinerAdair to RPCS in October for the second time. The idea for these Health Colloquia came from James G. Robinson, former Trustee and parent of alumna Beth Robinson deVilliers, 1996, who believes that parents must be fully engaged in the lives of their daughters. We have been holding these annually since their inception in the fall of 2009. These Colloquia, involving assemblies for students, Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair with RPCS students evening meetings for parents and specialized information for faculty, have focused on a variety of important health issues for girls and young women, ranging from drug and alcohol information to body image and healthy eating to social media. Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair is an internationally recognized clinical psychologist, consultant and author specializing in education, who spoke about her latest research and book The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in a Digital Age. In her book, Dr. Steiner-Adair examines ways in which technology and media change how children learn and grow,

and shows parents how to balance the benefits of technology while reducing the risks it poses at every stage of development. Dr. Steiner-Adair posed a simple, yet thoughtful question, to the students. “What kind of Roland Park Country School online community are you?” She asked students to consider whether they were guilty of creating a “Fakebook” on their Facebook page? “It takes a lot of time and energy to create an online profile and maintain it.” Was this time taken away from personal relationships and conversations? Texting is often the vehicle for meanness online. The key to strong relationships is hearing the tone of voice and reading social cues when you hold conversations. With texting, we cannot see the person we are communicating with and we may become emotionally disconnected. Being unable to empathize makes us even less reflective when we are angry with our friends. Dr. Steiner-Adair’s asked us to “be our best and most thoughtful self when connecting in any way online.” She also urged: “outsmart your smart phone,” which became the rallying cry for this colloquia. RPCS is deeply grateful to the Robinson family for bringing such inspiring speakers to campus each year.

Roland Park Country School

❧ news ❧ RPCS held its annual Blood Drive in November. Seventy-eight people donated, and The American Red Cross left with sixty-two pints of blood. Each pint can save three people’s lives, which means RPCS helped save 186 lives! Thank you to Toby Rivkin, Upper School French/Ceramics, for organizing another successful Blood Drive.

❧ In December RPCS was awarded a 2015 Top Workplaces honor by The Baltimore Sun Media Group for the fourth consecutive year. The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement.

❧ The RPCS Lower School participated in an exhibit of AIMS Lower School Artwork, which was held at the Walters Art Museum in December. Congratulations to the following artists: Pre-First: Kate Sanders; Kindergarten: Nadiya McCarthy; 1st Grade: Phoebe King, Makayla Pratt, Gretchen Kunhardt, Olivia Cooper; 2nd Grade: Tylah Nance, Lucy Haerian, Paige Johnson, Niya Cockrell, Hannah Brown, Bryn Sutcliffe, Sage Edwards; 3rd Grade: May McMahon, Callie Lawrence, Sumter Carroll, Blythe Gemmill, Riley Vasile; 4th Grade: Lucy Sunderland, Maria Zaporozhski, Violet Smith; 5th Grade: Makenzie Pridgen, Josie Kalbfleisch, Erin Hoskins and Katie Currie.

❧ In late February the following Middle School students attended the AIMS Leadership Summit at Calvert School: Eight Graders Keating Drake, Sadé Johnson, Keeley McNemar, Mehek Singh; Seventh Graders Isabella Choi, Wynne Moffet and Seva Nistazos. The focus of the summit was communication, leadership and improving or creating a community service project in the Middle School. Elisha James, MS Dean of Students, and Sally Harrison, LS/ MS Counselor, accompanied the students.

“There is a King in You” Her commitment to her husband and the movement brought the changes we have today.

RPCS was honored to welcome Rev. Dr. Barbara A. Reynolds to campus in January as the Martin Luther King, Jr. All School Convocation speaker. Dr. Reynolds is an award-winning journalist and author with more than 30 years of experience with some of the major media institutions in this country such as Ebony, Essence, and The Chicago Tribune. Dr. Reynolds is also a professor of journalism and has preached in many churches and for many denominations across the United States. In 1976 she became one of the first African-American women to receive a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University where she studied constitutional law. Dr. Reynolds has recently completed the memoirs of Coretta Scott King which will be published in 2017. Her address focused on her mentor Coretta Scott King, whom she knew very well, and her contributions to the “most important successful social justice movement of our times.” Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King, Jr. were partners and she was equally as important as an historical figure. An accomplished opera singer, Coretta was a delegate to the United Nations and travelled the world speaking about non-violence. “It was her leadership and hard work that ensured her husband’s legacy would not be forgotten. Her commitment to her husband and the movement brought the changes we have today.” She went on to tell our students, “There is a King in you…by that I mean there is also greatness in you. And if you dream big enough you, too, can do great things for your family, your school, city and yes, the nation and the world.” Dr. Reynolds reminded us to “have the strength to love and appreciate other people who may look different than you do” as well as the strength to “dream and think big and know the world is a better place because you showed up in it.” The RPCS community is deeply grateful that the Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds shared Coretta Scott King’s life story with us.

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Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the vision, ingenuity, and talent of our nation’s youth, and provided opportunities for creative teens to be celebrated. Northeast Region-at-Large Scholastic Art Award recipients were announced in February and many RPCS students were Denira by Annabel Keelty, 2016 honored! Congratulations to: Annabel Keelty, 2016 Gold Key for two paintings, Denira and Figure Cast and for two of her digital art pieces, Tarot Cards: Donatella, Miley and Dita and Why. Annabel was also named a merit award winner in the National YoungArts Foundation competition. Only six students from Baltimore were recognized and all but Annabel attended Balloon Boy by Anna Connors, 2017 an arts focused institution. Scholastic Art & Writing Awards also went to Anna Connors, 2017 Honorable Mention for her photo Balloon Boy, Hannah Freund, 2017 Gold Key Award for her photo Bound and Pink Laces, Asha Holmes, 2016 Silver Key Award for her photo Bad Bound by Hannah Freund, 2017 Religion, Sydney Haywood, 2016 Gold Key Award for her photo Nostalgia, Linda Nalumansi, 2017 Honorable Mention for her photo The Evolution of Charlotte Kim, Alanna Sereboff, 2017 Silver Key Award for her photo Mirror, Mirror, Olivia Sullivan, 2016 Honorable Mention for her photo Papillae.

Bad Religion by Asha Holmes, 2016

[continued on next page]

(L–R): Jewell Booker, US Math, Elisha James, MS Dean of Students, Jean Brune, Head of School, Barbara Reynolds, Tynia Canada, Reynold’s goddaughter, and Marlo McNeil, Director of Diveristy

Geography and Spelling Bees

n January, RPCS held its first Middle School Geography Bee. Eighth Graders Morgan Alexander and Maddy Wilson; Seventh Graders Annie Fairall and Jazmine Obasogie; and Sixth Graders Jordan Brown, Sasha Lifchez and Sam Rochlin participated. Maddy Wilson was the School champion and Jordan Brown was the runner-up. Maddy then took a written test to qualify for the state competition to be held April 1. The winner of the state competition will compete in the National Championship to be held May 22–25, in Washington, D.C. Each year thousands of schools in the United States participate in the National Geographic Bee using materials prepared by the National Geographic Society. The contest is designed to inspire students to be curious about the world. Schools with students in Grades four through eight are eligible for this entertaining and challenging competition.

In February, Sixth Graders Katie Connors, Riya Jari, Lucy Levinson, Sasha Lifchez; Seventh Graders Scarlett Bonner, Kirsten Powell, Christina Suarez, Wheatley Thayer; and Eighth Graders Elizabeth Currie, Camille Holley, Francesca Shek and Maddy Wilson participated in the Middle School Annual Spelling Bee. Elizabeth Currie was the School champion and Sasha Lifchez was the runner up. Elizabeth and Sasha will go on to compete in the Baltimore Spelling Bee which RPCS will host for the second consecutive year on March 19. The winner of the Baltimore Bee will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 25–26 in Fort Washington, MD. Also of note, Maddy Wilson has participated in the MS Spelling Bee for the past three years and Elizabeth Currie the last two. Congratulations and good luck Maddy, Elizabeth and Sasha! Top: Jordan Brown and Maddy Wilson Bottom: Sasha Lifchez and Elizabeth Currie

winter

sports wrap•up Squash: Coach Pat Wong

Other Season Honors

Varsity Squash was undefeated during the regular season in dual matches with local girls’ teams from Maryland and Virginia. Playing in Division II at the U.S. High School National Team Championships in Philadelphia, RPCS beat first round opponent Sacred Heart from Connecticut to put RPCS among the Top 25 squash teams in the country. Key wins in that match came from Annabel Keelty, Sally Askew, Julia Potter and Casey Wong. RPCS competed against the Taft School (CT), Choate Rosemary Hall (CT), and Lawrenceville (NJ) for an 8th place in Division II and 24th place nationally. Also playing for RPCS at Nationals was Julia Garber, Alex Rubin and Emily Washburn.

• Congratulations to the following Field Hockey players named to the 2015 NFHCA Keith Waldman–Optimal Performance Associates High School National Academic Squad: Seniors Nora Feinberg, Mollie Keyser, Molly O’Hern, Emily Roebuk; Juniors Kelly Fennessy and Lexi Orlinsky. The National Academic Squad program recognizes those high school seniors and juniors who have achieved a minimum cumulative, unweighted GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0 or the equivalent through the first quarter of the 2015–2016 school year.

Swimming: Coaches Sean Donmoyer and Amy Popp

notes Nostalgia by Sydney Haywood, 2016

• Congratulations to Anna Hauser, 2016 who was named Student Athlete of the Week at ABC 2 News in December. • Congratulations to Jaia Alexander, 2016 who is the 6th player in RPCS history to reach 1000 points in Varsity Basketball. Jaia finished her career with 1131 points, ranking 5th all-time.

The Varsity Swim team finished the 2015–2016 season with a 3-2 overall record. Boasting the largest roster in team history, and with a strong presence of juniors and seniors, the REDS achieved a 2nd place team finish at the IAAM Championship meet for the 3rd consecutive year. Key performances from the championship meet included; 1st place in the 200 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle by junior Julia Ball, 1st place in the 50 freestyle by junior Marsie Salvatori, 2nd place in the 100 Freestyle by junior Abby Rapuano, and 2nd place in the 200 Individual Medley and 100 Breastroke by freshman Jensen Friedman.

The Evolution of Charlotte Kim by Linda Nalumansi, 2017

Mirror, Mirror by Alanna Sereboff, 2017

❧ Congratulations to Blaire Miran, 2016 who was Maryland equestrian champion in the 3'3" junior hunter class for 2015.

Indoor Track: Coach Lisa Winebrenner

❧ Congratulations to Eva Frankel, 2016

The Indoor Track season culminated at the IAAM Championships in January. Although the overall team results were not our strongest, we are very proud of the individual efforts and personal bests of our athletes. Senior Najah Soudan placed 8th out of 19 in the 55 meters dash open and 3rd out of 9 in the 55m hurdles open. Senior Emily Roebuck placed 4th out of 20 in the 500 meters open. Junior, Sydney Siegmeister placed 3rd out of 14 in the 1600 meter. Each of the athletes earned her personal best at the championships. All three runners are returning to the spring track and field season and we are looking forward to their success!

who was selected as a candidate for the United States Presidential Scholars Program in January. The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school Blaire Miran, 2016 seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.

Jaia Alexander, 2016 with Coach Scott Buckley

Basketball: Coaches Scott Buckley, Marlo McNeil, and Tyler Hale Varsity Basketball faced adversity this season but had some key players step up to help overcome it. Anna Hauser gained great confidence and passed it along to her teammates. Although Ryan Holder could not finish the season with us on the court, she became one of the coaches on the bench offering amazing advice and direction to her teammates. Senior Meghan Quinn, our 6th player off the bench, did everything asked of her. Junior Jeydah Johnson, one of the best 3-point shooters in the country stepped up in a major way by not only shooting 3’s but also showing us that she has a dribble drive game, defensive game, and rebounding game. Junior Liz Schlerf earned more deflections on defense than any player. Sophomore Aniyah Carpenter’s offensive confidence grew immensely throughout the season. Two freshmen Ja’Niah Henson and Christyn Robinson started and played big minutes this year.

❧ Congratulations to Toni-Ann Williams, 2014 who will be going to the Olympic Test Event in April as the first gymnast ever to represent Jamaica in international competition. If she makes it past the Test Event, she will be the first gymnast to sport Jamaican colors in the Olympics. Good luck Toni-Ann.

❧ Congratulations to Betsy Angel, 2012 who was honored in February as the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week.

❧ Congratulations to Carla Bailey Murphy, 1993 who was included on The Daily Record’s 2015 List of Leading Women.

❧ Congratulations to Reagan Raneri Koffel, 1997 who was inducted into U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame in January.

❧ Congratulations to Regina Boone, 1988, a photographer for the Detroit Free Press, whose photo of the Flint, MI water crisis was selected for the cover of Time Magazine.

Indoor Soccer: Coaches Kelly Pierce and Fitz Hardcastle The Varsity Indoor Soccer team had a successful season. With new coaches and only four returning players, the team had to learn to grow and progress together. They did a fantastic job and finished the regular season at 5th in the conference. Unfortunately, they lost a close playoff game to NDP with a score of 2-0. Since they did not graduate any seniors, the Varsity Indoor Soccer team has a bright future with an extremely young and talented group.

IAAM All-Conference Winners Basketball~Jeydah Johnson, 2017 Indoor Soccer~Caitlin Fahr, 2017 Swimming~Julia Ball, 2017 & Marsie Salvatori, 2017

Casey Wong, 2016 and Julia Potter, 2016

• Seniors Casey Wong and Julia Potter travelled to England over the Winter Break as members of Team USA to compete in the British Junior Squash Open (BJO). This is the most prestigious junior squash tournament in the world. The BJO only accepts five players from each age group from each country. Casey and Julia are two of the five girls in the GU19 category from the United States. Casey placed 10th and was the only unseeded player in the tournament to reach the round of 16. Julia placed 38th in her first major international competition.

The Laurel Leaf is published throughout the school year for the Roland Park Country School community. ✦ Head of School: Jean Waller Brune ✦ Assistant Head of School for External Relations: Nancy Mugele ✦ Associate Director of Communication/Photography: Sarah Cody ✦ Design: Brushwood Graphics Design Group ✦ Printing: Mount Royal Printing ✦ RPCS news is welcomed and should be sent to codys@rpcs.org.

❧ Congratulations to Jean Waller Brune, Head of School, Kristin Ranum Franceschi, 1978, Raquel Whiting Gilmer, 1989 and Monica Butler Mitchell, 1998 who were all named to Maryland’s Top 100 Women list by The Daily Record.

❧ Congratulations to Tricia Dabrowski, Upper School Physical Education, who will be inducted to the Loyola University Athletic Hall of Fame in April. ❧ Congratulations to Janine Vreatt, Sinex Theater Technical Director, who was awarded the 2015 Best Lighting Design Award from DC Metro Theater Arts for her work in Bat Boy: The Musical at Stillpointe Theatre Initiative.

❧ Congratulations to all who took the RPCS Vivofit Step Challenge and especially to Team XC (Bill Souser, Rod Tiplady & Janet Weller) who won! They averaged 125,534 steps over the course of six weeks! We had 23 teams and over 100 participants. Adding all teams’ weekly averages for the six week challenge, the RPCS Employees walked 8,845,152 steps! That is 4,188 miles, or walking from Baltimore to Berlin! Go REDS!

collection

student art

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The Classes of 1936–1965 are invited to the

The Dushane Luncheon Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 12:00 pm in the Trustee Seminar Room of the RPCS Athletic Complex Nana Duke Dushane was Headmistress of RPCS from 1912 to 1922. This seated luncheon honors our alumnae who have celebrated a 50th reunion or greater. Invitations will be mailed in April to alumnae in these classes. Please contact the Alumnae Office for more information at mackm@rpcs.org

Ellery McMahon, 2028

“

My creature makes peace. To do this, my creature bursts happiness out of its peacock tail. It eats weapons. It is made up of a peacock (tail), dove (body), and swan (neck). My creature will one day make world peace.

”

Kenna Mitchell, 2022

Laurel Leaf

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6th Annual 5K Run and Family Fun Walk Sunday, April 17 at 8:30 am

Winter 2016

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www.rpcs.org

Anna Quindlen Bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and social critic believes firmly in the joys of reading and writing.

Join us at the Anne Healy Lecture on Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30 pm Sinex Theater Anna will address How Reading and Writing Will Ensure Democracy. In her own words: It’s no accident that Hitler ordered book burnings. Reading and writing break down the walls between people, and bring down the big lies of demagoguery. That’s why a literate United States is a more tolerant and more democratic United States, and why a thirst for words may be the greatest legacy we hand down to our kids. The event is free and open to the public.

About the

Anne Healy Lecture

The Anne Healy endowment was created to honor Miss Healy who served as the Head of School for twenty-five years, from 1950–1975. A special day is set aside each year and a distinguished person in the field of letters is invited to meet and work with groups of students during the school day and to present an evening program for students, faculty and members of the larger school community.

With Lasting Gratitude Please join us for a Wine and Cheese Reception as we honor and thank

Jean Waller Brune for twenty-four extraordinary years as Head of Roland Park Country School Friday, May 13, 2016 5:00–7:00 pm The Faissler Library Space is limited. Please rsvp by May 1st to celebratejean@rpcs.org or to Kate Sunderland at 410-323-5500, ext. 3081. The School is gratefully accepting contributions to the Jean Waller Brune Scholarship Endowment and to The Fund for Roland Park Country School in Jean’s honor. For more information, please contact Evelyn Zink, Director of Advancement at zinke@rpcs.org or at 410-323-5500, ext. 3041.