Sacramento Country Day 50th Anniversary History Book by Sacramento Country Day School

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In writing this history, I used as sources minutes from the meetings of the board of trustees, file copies of documents, past issues of Octagons, Medallions, and SCDS and Parents’ Association newsletters, and personal interviews. I am also grateful to those friends and faculty of the school who wrote historical pieces of their choosing to provide various “voices” to this commemorative book. Describing 50 years in less than 150 pages is a challenge, and omissions of some events and people are likely. New ventures often ask participants for wide-ranging undertakings. There were many heroes during the school’s formative years who stepped up to save the school. Faculty members worked year to year without the comfort of knowing if their jobs were secure. Parents were asked to trust the venture would succeed, without a proven history. Members of the Parents’ Association were called upon to organize a number of fundraisers and to step in to staff the library and the music and art programs. The tasks undertaken by members of the board of trustees ranged from mortgaging their homes to meeting at local banks to plead for 90-day extensions to keep the school operating, from negotiating a 20-year loan to pounding nails and cutting grass, from financial crisis to financial crisis. John Wheaton remembers meeting with a bank president armed with figures and charts, but fundamentally telling the bank that the loan would be paid back “by magic.” When John Burr left the board in November 1974 after a dozen years, he cited the many years of “SCDS crisis servitude.” Country Day was fortunate to benefit from forward-thinking trustees, supportive parents, loyal employees, and the luck to employ the team of Francie and Pat Tidey, along with Frank Pignata, during its formative years. Without the long-time consistency of these constituents, it is unlikely SCDS would have survived the early years.

2 Reading decades of material offered me perspective perhaps unavailable to most. Since institutional memory is only as old as the longest serving board member or headmaster, perhaps this history will serve as resource.

Julie Nelson

Text: Julie Nelson Proofreading: Patricia Fels, Steve Repsher, Wendy Ross Layout design: Tom Wroten ’99 Photographs: Julie Nelson, Tom Wroten, Briana Fortenbach, Wendy Ross, Tim Grieve, Christina Kaufman, Ben Lehman, Elena Bennett, Medallion and Octagon staff members, John Swentowsky Photography, Country Day Archives

September 2015 Sacramento Country Day School • 2636 Latham Drive • Sacramento, CA 95865 • www.saccds.org

TABLE OF CONTENTS THIS WE REMEMBER

THE FIRST YEAR, 1964-1965

Memories of the First Few Years, by Jay Johnson ’77

THE SCHOOL SAVED BY KOOL-AID, MOVING THE SCHOOL

Memories of an Infant High School, by Richard Mancina ’73

IT’S ABOUT THE MONEY, HEADMASTER LEADERSHIP

Building a School, A Tidey Reflection, by Quincey Tidey Grieve ’86

TIDEY LEADS EXPANSION OF FACILITY, FACULTY, AND ENROLLMENT

THE HIGH SCHOOL BUILT BY THE SUTTONS

A Class Trip to Ferndale, 1976, by Dave Hechler

A Pioneering Vision, by Barbara MacAulay Ore

FRANCIE TIDEY, 1969-1986, FRANK & BRENDA SUE PIGNATA

LAND ACQUISITION, THE BUILDING BOOM, 1974-1982

Bumps and Berms, by John Wheaton

CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP

The 25th Anniversary Celebration, by Sally Nichols

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

Summerbridge, the Summer of 1994, by Dan White

Summerbridge Becomes Breakthrough, by Adolfo Mercado

RAISING FUNDS FOR BREAKTHROUGH

Classics, The Store, by Gail Graham, The Classics Rummage Sale, by Julie Nelson

THE DUAL CAMPUS VISION

HEADMASTER SELDEN EDWARDS, 1998-2003, BARBARA ORE RETIRES, 2006

NEW HEADMASTER STEPHEN REPSHER, CAPITAL FUNDRAISING, 2003

LIBRARIES, LIBRARIANS, AND BOOKS

BEYOND BUILDINGS THE ARTS AT COUNTRY DAY, DRAMA, MUSIC & ART

Lower School Music, by Barbara Lazar

JOURNALISM

The Medallion, 1964-present, by Susan Gorton Nellis, The Octagon, by Patricia Fels

PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND ATHLETICS

Soccer Starts at SCDS, by Daniel I. Neukom

100

LOGO HISTORY

104

CAMPUS LIFE, 1964-2015 1964 THE PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION, 1965 THE EARLY LUNCH PROGRAM

108

1973 ANCIL HOFFMAN PICNIC

109

1974 BROWN AND GOLD DAY, 1976 FRIENDS OF COUNTRY DAY

110

1978 COUNTRY DAY AUCTION HISTORY

112

1986 To Kill a Mockingbird Redux, by Lauren LaMay

114

1991 Sutter’s Fort - Char Neff Wins the Lottery, by Char Neff

115

Country Day Graduations: As Individual as the School, by Patricia Fels

116

1995 LIFERS, 2006

118

COUNTRY DAY PARTNERS WITH THE RULINDO SCHOOLS IN RWANDA, 2007

120

THE SCDS GARDEN

122

A SAMPLING OF TODAY’S TRADITIONS

123

FRANCIE TIDEY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

124

Country Day in the 21st Century, by Stephen Repsher

125

CELEBRATING FIFTY YEARS

126

ALUMNI IN MEMORIAM, THIS IS OUR SONG

128

Headmasters, Board Presidents, Trustees, Parents’ Association Presidents,

129

LISTS Auction Chairs, Cum Laude Members, Graduates, Capital Donors, SB/BSAC Directors, Building Timeline, Medallion Editors and Advisors, Octagon Editors, Employees, Enrollment Figures

FROM BAXTER GEETING, APRIL 2, 1996 It is with great appreciation and a deep sense of honor that I accept the board of trustees’ appointment as Trustee Emeritus. . . As founding president of the board of trustees and one who has maintained an active interest in the school for more than thirty years, I understand the very difficult decisions the trustees have had to make in building and maintaining the school’s outstanding reputation. I commend you highly for your efforts and, as always, am pleased to assist in whatever humble way I am able. Sacramento Country Day School was begun with firm commitments to the fundamental elements that produce high student achievement and well-rounded citizens: small class sizes; dedicated, enthusiastic, professionally trained faculty; solid administrative leadership; a nurturing and rigorous academic environment; the inclusion of arts and humanities; and the whole-hearted involvement of parents in governance and student support activities. By maintaining and building upon these important philosophical underpinnings, we (of the past) and you (of the present) have together provided the Sacramento community with a vital educational alternative. It is my fervent hope that . . . Sacramento Country Day School will continue to flourish and serve many generations to come. Thank you again for the honor you have bestowed upon me; I am indeed touched and proud. I leave you now to ponder the myriad of issues you confront in operating this fine school, the stature and tradition of which you have done much to enhance. In so doing, I recall the famous words of President John F. Kennedy, whose tragic assassination occurred not

long before the school’s founding, “A child miseducated is a child lost.” From time to time, you and your colleagues may wrestle with a particularly burdensome decision in a fitful sleep; it is my prayer that Kennedy’s thought will renew your faith in what Sacramento Country Day School is all about and become the bright ray of dawn by which you awake. Sincerely,

Baxter M. Geeting Trustee Emeritus Sacramento Country Day School Excerpt from Baxter Geeting’s letter of April 2, 1996, to board president Jamie Nelson on the occasion of Dr. Geeting’s appointment as Trustee Emeritus.

Baxter Geeting (1911-1997) passed away on May 23, 1997. His wife Corinne pre-deceased him, passing away in February 1994, just days before the couple’s 60th wedding anniversary. They are survived by three sons, David, Daniel, and Greg ’69. Greg was the first student to complete the eighth grade at SCDS. A memorial service for Dr. Geeting was held on the Sacramento Country Day School campus on August 23, 1997.

THE FIRST YEAR, 1964-1965 Many of the notes from the first year are handwritten,

the parking lot of the Unitarian Church on Sierra Boulevard,

and the opening day of Sacramento Country Day School

just a few blocks from the present campus. The trailer was

isn’t even clear. September 10, September 12, and

60 feet long and divided into four or five rooms. The story

September 14 are all mentioned as start dates. Perhaps

of the first headmaster, Herbert Matthews, working out of

hiring teachers, locating a suitable place to hold classes,

the trunk of his car, using a cardboard box as a briefcase,

and welcoming the first students were more important

is part of our history.

than the day of the week. Since September 14, 1964, was a Monday, that is the day we long ago decided to commemorate as “Day 1.”

HERB’S SCHOOL Herbert Matthews, a public and private school teacher and administrator, was 74 years old and thinking of

Day 1 found 12 students, two full-time and several part-

retirement, when he was convinced by educator Baxter

time teachers, and one school secretary—Norma Ricketts,

Geeting and his wife Corinne to start what was to become

the mother of three of the students—in a rented trailer in

Sacramento Country Day School. Red tape wasn’t as

(clockwise from upper left) Speech and physical education teacher David Denzer exits the trailer at the Unitarian Church. Margaret Webb’s Lower Form class with John Ricketts, Jay Johnson, and Liz Gano. Boys test their climbing skills at the tree hide-out at the Unitarian site. A ‘60s VW shares the parking lot with other vintage autos, with the church building in the background.

lengthy as it is today—a memorandum of intent to start a school was sent to the State Department of Education, and attorney friend Paul Berg prepared the papers for tax-exempt status. The educational philosophy stated in an early offering would be one “grounded in the academic disciplines, proficient in reading, speaking, writing, listening, and mathematics, and with a development of perceptual awareness and creative talent through music, art, and writing.” Mr. Matthews was the first headmaster, Dr. Geeting became the first president of the board, and Greg Geeting and classmate (and current SCDS parent) Jay Johnson, were two of the first students.

ENROLLMENT September 14, 1964

February 1, 1965

June 11, 1965

LOCATION Unitarian Church 2425 Sierra Boulevard Sacramento, California

TUITION Kindergarten, $500 per year Grades 1-9, $600 per year

IT’S OFFICIAL!

FACULTY, 1964-65

On December 21 & 23, Articles of Incorporation were filed

Margaret Preston

Debbie Watson

1st

Laura Canavan

2nd

Lois Lichliter

3rd/4th

Margaret Webb

4th/ 5th

Janice Forbes

5th/6th

Mr. Yonker

6th/7th

Frank Pignata

David Denzer

7th/8th

Catherine Doxsee

Laurelmae Dempster

8th, 9th, 10th

Arthur Clanin

Spanish

Jane Bailey

Latin

Herbert Matthews

Music

Corinne Geeting

Art

Barbara Herberholz, William Yeats

Speech & P.E.

David Denzer

with the Secretary of State and with Sacramento County, and on Monday, December 28, 1964, the first meeting of the board of trustees was held “for the purposes of adopting by-laws, electing officers, establishing a bank account . . .” with seven of the nine board members present (Paul Berg, Louis Carlson, Jay Colburn, Lowell Gano, Baxter Geeting, Monte Ricketts, and Dr. William Welch. Absent were Dr. Peter Poirier and Judge Charles Johnson). Also present was headmaster Herbert Matthews. Officers were elected: Baxter Geeting, President; Lowell Gano, Vice President; Monte Ricketts, Secretary; and Louis Carlson, Treasurer. A month later mothers met at the Geeting home and organized the Parents’ Association with parent Mrs. Lowell Gano (Mary) as president. The stated goal: To assist the faculty, staff, and board of trustees in providing a rich environment for the growth of the students of SCDS.

JUNE 11, 1965 By the end of the school year, there were 33 enrolled and the first “graduate,” Susan Ricketts, received her ninth

I wish for Mr. Matthews the best, and happiness

grade diploma at a ceremony at the Unitarian Church.

galore, for he is my teacher in nineteen sixty-four.

Since there was no upper school at the time, Susan left SCDS after ninth grade to attend and graduate from El Camino High School three years later.

Greg Geeting, 7th grader, 1964-65

THE FIRST YEAR, 1964-1965 THE FIRST 12 STUDENTS The first 12 students were Mark Berg, Grant Carlson, Holly Colburn, Gregory Geeting, Michael Godfrey, Robert Ricketts, Susan Ricketts, Jon Sugiyama, and Kimberly Welch in the Upper Form, which was taught by Herbert Matthews, and Jay Johnson, John Ricketts, and Richard Seivertson in the Lower Form, which was taught by Margaret Webb. Jane Bailey taught Spanish, Barbara Herberholz and William Yeats taught art, and David Denzer taught speech and physical education. Corinne Geeting, wife of the co-founder, was an unofficial member of the faculty, teaching music, organizing field trips, and hosting lunches for the students.

Throughout the year, more students joined the school: Michelle Poirier, Timothy Dean, Donald Kramer, Steven Schenck, Michael Schenck, Paul Dobak, Elizabeth Gano, Brad Constantine, Miles Krier, Galen Perkins, Frank Cole, Janine Beach, David Barney, David Burr, Rebecca Granata, Corby Jean, Leslie Lenert, Marison Mull, Gary Bailor, and Jeffrey Kanner. Midway through the first year, as younger children joined the program, a kindergarten class was started, taught by Margaret Preston.

FROM THE 64-65 MEDALLION “We took our chairs and drawing materials outside and sat in the field to study and draw weeds. We went to an art gallery and saw a one-man exhibition of work in tin, paper, paints, wire and steel. We read as many good books as possible.” The sports page describes racing in a shopping cart, sliding down a hill in boxes, swinging on a rope, and playing baseball. Students listened to music and attended concerts, read poetry aloud, produced a holiday play in Spanish and prepared programs on Abraham Lincoln (Robert Ricketts and Greg Geeting), the 90th birthday of Robert Frost (Greg Geeting and Grant Carlson), and the Civil War (Susan Ricketts). They went on field trips to the art gallery and library at Sacramento State, KVIE TV station, American River College, and Coloma.

SUSAN RICKETTS GRADUATES FROM NINTH GRADE, JUNE 11, 1965 Mr. Matthews included his congratulations letter to Susan Ricketts in the 1964-65 yearbook. Susan Ricketts was graduated from the Sacramento Country Day School on June 11, 1965. She will enter high school as a sophomore in the fall. Susan has been most helpful throughout the school year, as well as being a good student. She has doubled as baby-sitter, secretary (answering the phone), nurse (helping Jay and his mother when Jay was injured), and other tasks that needed to be done this first year. We will all miss her next year, but wish for her a continuation of the fine year she has had here at SCDS. Since she is our first graduate, we will be watching her future progress. And so, good-bye and good luck, Sue – we’ll be expecting great things from you. Herbert H. Matthews

One news clipping from the archives, dated April 4, 1964, announces plans for Sacramento Country Day School to open “just south of the Arden Hills Swimming and Tennis Club in a one-story, ten-classroom building.” The enrollment fee would include a junior membership in the club. Unfortunately this plan never came to pass, and students today do not have the advantage of a club membership as part of their tuition.

M emo r i es o f t h e F ir s t F e w Y e a r s By Jay Johnson ’77 Country Day’s first year was full of excitement about creating a new school. The first year we were at the Unitarian Church on Sierra Blvd. My teacher was Mrs. Webb, and, as I recall, we had about seven or eight students in first, second, and third grade. We were all in one classroom, which had a “Little House on the Prairie” feel with older students sometimes helping younger students as Mrs. Webb went around the classroom instructing us individually. I remember the yellow-tinted, hexagon-shaped windows, which reminded me of honeycombs. Our PE coach was Mr. Denzer, and because we had no gym or sports equipment, we ended up doing a lot of calisthenics. Recesses were spent climbing trees, running around, and watching the older kids skateboard, which was very popular. The second year we moved to the current Latham location, and then the school really started to take off in enrollment.

As the school grew, lots of things were added to the structure and curriculum—new teachers, organized sports teams, more music, field trips, art, and plays. I remember Mr. Pignata as one of the most incredible math teachers. He was always positive, and I will never forget his smile. He built a radio-controlled airplane, and on the first flight it crashed into the street in hundreds of pieces. He had spent countless hours building it, but didn’t get upset when it crashed. Also, Georgia Rust, our librarian, used to joke about the books smelling like hot dogs because the trailer was the library, the music room, and the hot dog lunch room. I also remember shooting hoops with our principal, Mr. Tidey—he could never walk past the basketball court without taking a couple of shots. He loved to shoot hoops with the kids.

The Johnson Family Jay’s father, Judge Charles W. Johnson, was one of the original board of trustee members, and Jay was a member of the first kindergarten class, attending Country Day from 1964 to 1973, when he left to attend Jesuit High School. A neighbor told his mother about this "new" school that was opening, and Mrs. Johnson brought him over and enrolled him. Jay returned to Country Day when he and his wife Sue enrolled their daughter Jamie in Mari-Lu Marcus’s kindergarten in 1997, followed by Charlie and Heidi joining pre-kindergarten in 2000 and 2005. The three Johnson children are Lifers: Jamie graduated in 2010, Charlie graduated in 2014, and Heidi is a member of the class of 2019.

THE SCHOOL SAVED BY KOOL-AID The Bank of Sacramento was asking for immediate repayment of a short-term $15,000 loan and dragging its feet over extending another larger loan for $90,000— this one secured by board members’ personal securities. Another loan from Crocker-Citizens Bank was due. There were bills to pay, taxes looming, and a school to run, all You may have seen the plaque on the outside wall near the former fourth grade classroom and what is now, in 2015, the lower school art room. It’s a shiny new plaque replacing the original plaque, which was a bit tattered; after all, the original was affixed to the building almost 40 years ago. The O’Neil family was very much a part of the early history of the school. Although not one of the nine founding families, James O’Neil was elected to the board of trustees in 1969, five years after the first day of school. His wife, Nancy, was a member of the Perkins family, who made

their fortune when her father, Edwin Perkins, invented Kool-Aid in 1927. Kool-Aid, incidentally, is the official soft drink of Nebraska, where Edwin married his childhood sweetheart, Kitty. Kitty Perkins spent her life in Nebraska and Illinois, but her name came west to Sacramento Country Day School when her daughter Nancy married James O’Neil and enrolled their three children in 1968. The school was in serious financial trouble.

on the $128,000 tuition from 127 students, with operating expenses of $153,000 and capital payments of $90,000. In 1969, the school received a $90,000 donation from the Perkins Foundation—the foundation that built KoolAid. It was a remarkable amount of money, and when it was partially matched (as required by the Foundation) by parent donations, the total was enough to pay off one loan, reduce significantly the balance on another, make the annual payments to the building manufacturer, and help with operating costs. The support from the Perkins Foundation with other donations over a 10-year period allowed the school to survive several financial difficulties, and, in 1976, the multi-purpose room was named in honor of Kitty Perkins and the former fourth/fifth grade building in honor of her daughter, Nancy O’Neil. How did this group—the board of trustees, who were just parents, after all—ever get into the position of offering their homes and securities as collateral for loans for SCDS? Go back a few years to 1965.

The future site of Country Day is circled. This aerial view was taken prior to the building of the Howe Avenue Bridge and shows the very early building of what was to be the Campus Commons development. The H Street Bridge is on the left continuing to Fair Oaks Boulevard.

MOVING THE SCHOOL

Trucks, loaded with portable buildings, arrive on the dirt road of Latham Drive. (Photo courtesy of Norma Ricketts.)

The church arrangement from year one was less than ideal.

of acres under hop cultivation in the world, and the

Classes were moved often to make way for church activities

school’s property, as well as what would become Campus

and office space, and storage areas were non-existent. The

Commons, was part of the acreage.

search for a school site took many months. Early board minutes show that many sites were investigated, all of them in the general area around Fair Oaks Boulevard. Some of the sites mentioned are three acres from Grace Presbyterian Church near Fair Oaks Boulevard and Eastern Avenue, three acres of the Floyd Shupe property located on Fair Oaks Boulevard east of Watt Avenue for $75,000, the Brand property, Haas Ranch, Donovan Corners, and the Horst property.

LAND PURCHASE

SUMMER 1965—CONSTRUCTION BEGINS The wide open fields of the property had no water or sewer lines, which had to be installed by SCDS. Modulux, a company out of Alameda County that made portable buildings, quoted $177,000 to bring four prefabricated buildings to Sacramento. On August 30, loaded semi-trucks arrived and, according to a September 8 Sacramento Bee article, “the buildings were assembled within eight hours into 10 classrooms and an administration building.” The

In 1965, the Horst and Haas ranches lying north of the

administration building was home to a library, storage

American River and south of Fair Oaks Boulevard were

rooms, teachers’ room, reception area, and headmaster’s

wide open, for sale, and ready for development. Howe

office, and the classrooms for the 120 kindergarten-ninth

Avenue ended at Fair Oaks Boulevard, and it would be

grade students opened on Monday, September 13, 1965.

two more years before it was extended south across the American River to Folsom Boulevard. A suitable piece of

For over 40 years, until the construction of the lower

land was available off Munroe fronting an unpaved Latham

school building in 2008, these same structures made up

Drive—two usable acres, at $20,000 per acre, and three

the classrooms for kindergarten, first, second and, for a

unbuildable acres under the wires for a total of $60,000.

time, third grades.

Emil Clemens Horst had, at one time, the largest number

(top) This first group of high school students stands tall on the dirt mounds behind the school on Latham Drive. (middle) Looking north from the pond towards the original second/third grade building. (bottom) Playing football on the back field, students could see all the way to the American River levee in the background.

One of the first portable buildings delivered to 2636 Latham in September of 1965. This one served as the reception area, office, and faculty lounge.

M emo r i es o f a n In f a nt Hig h S c ho o l By Richard Mancina ’73 A major concern for the earliest high school students

One benefit of a small student body, however, was that

and families was the question of whether a Country Day

the high school had a spare office, which became our

education would allow one to be accepted to a decent

cherished student lounge. Because we did not have AP

college. The question of how colleges would value Country

classes, teachers could offer more unusual classes. Greg

Day’s transcripts and letters of recommendation was yet

Nobles tutored me in sociology, and Jim McEntee, an

to be answered.

inveterate political science junkie and Faustian archetype, taught his course about the philosophy and practice of

Country Day had virtually no record of college placement

communism.

achievement. The students and families simply had to be confident enough to take a chance and trust that the

The high school was growing. A large portion of my

school’s promise of a quality education would translate

graduating class entered in the next two semesters. There

into good results with college acceptances.

were no Lifers; everyone in the high school was a transfer student at that time, almost all us transferring from public

The original feel of the campus was different than today.

schools. Two students, one male and one female, arrived

The school buildings were trucked in and placed in a large

in the spring of 1971 only to leave a few weeks later. It

fallow field. No other buildings were present on that side

was announced in class that they had decided to hitchhike

of Latham Drive. You could see all the way to the levee. In

across the country to join the May Day protests of the

winter, there were no trees to soften the onslaught of rain,

Vietnam War in Washington, D.C. We were rather amazed

and winter winds would whip the field grasses in waves.

by the news of their bold action.

I arrived for school in the middle of my sophomore year,

There was a Texas/Northeastern United States academic

the same week Apollo 14 left for Fra Mauro with Alan

connection to the school at that time. Francie Tidey was

Shepard. My first class was high school English with

from Dallas. She graduated from Wellesley College and

Francie Tidey. The seven high school students were in the

met Pat Tidey, who graduated from Lafayette College.

middle of reading Thomas Hardy’s “Return of the Native.”

They moved to Dallas where she taught at the Hockaday

I was handed a copy of Mortimer Adler’s “How to Read

School while he taught at St. Mark’s School of Texas.

a Book,” a standard text for all Country Day high-school

There, Pat had a student, Greg Nobles, who matriculated

students of that era. I would read this three times. How

at Princeton University. A few years later, Pat and Francie

strange it was to walk into a small room and meet the

moved west, where Pat accepted the headmaster position

entire high school, grades 10th through 12th, all at once.

at the Urban School in San Francisco. When they came to

(The four ninth grade students were considered to be in

Country Day in 1969, Mr. Tidey recruited Greg to come to

the “lower high school.” Thus I was the eighth student in

Sacramento with his wife and fellow Princetonian, Ann.

the high school that year.) They, along with Frank Pignata and others, formed the Due to the small size of the high school student body,

initial nucleus of the high school, and, since they came

American history was offered only every other year,

from small-to-medium sized liberal arts colleges, the

alternating with world history. Geometry was not offered

academic program formed at SCDS was particularly

at all the year I entered, but I was halfway through the

geared to prepare students for scholarship at that genre

course at my previous school, so Frank Pignata provided

of college, as were the colleges recommended by college

individual instruction to me for the rest of the year. There

counselor Francie Tidey for most of Country Day’s first

was no lunchroom, no music or physical education class,

graduates.

no Latin, no APs, and no gym.

Although the school’s program remained soundly based

and decided we should go to all the classes anyway. We

on academic fundamentals, it was regularly augmented

were not at a stage of development where we could fully

and brought to life by the experiential. This included

carry through all the decision-making that optional classes

leaving campus to learn in the community and bringing

require.

the outside world onto the campus. For example, students were assigned to journal in solitude at sunrise on the

By the spring of 1973, my class had finished our

American River in Ancil Hoffman Park, while in class we

applications. On a sunny Saturday in April, I reached into

read Thoreau’s “Walden.” A radio personality known as

our mailbox and felt the thick envelope that mattered,

Captain Carrot came to talk to us about nutritional myths

and I was ready to leave Country Day. I was on my way to

and facts. Published writers and poets joined us at school

Brown University! Along with my classmates and the other

and on the Mendocino trip to read their work.

graduates in the early high school years, the question of college acceptances was starting to be answered, and the

My favorite educational experiment was the institution

answers were outstanding.

of what was called “Optional Classes.” The idea hatched out of a faculty concern about how to best prepare us

Looking back, I realize that thanks to my parents and their

for college. Since class attendance is frequently optional

willingness to try something new, I was fortunate to land

at college and since it is important to learn how to use

at Country Day, which gave me a transformative high

one’s limited study time wisely, they decided that for two

school experience.

weeks as a trial in the high school they would make class attendance optional at Country Day. This meant that during the trial period students did not have to go to class

unless they decided to go, requiring us to reflect on the pros and cons of going to class rather than just accepting lectures as a de facto requirement of school. As with many educational experiments of the era, this one was considered a failure. Yet, it may have succeeded in other ways not fully appreciated at the time. It was really quite exceptional just knowing you were at a high school where you knew you were in class only because you decided to go. Plus, it was heartening to realize that your school was so flexible that its faculty would actually try such a radical idea. The truth is most of us were insecure

The 13 members of the Class of 1973 attended Brown, Stanford, Pepperdine, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Lewis & Clark, University of California campuses, Willamette, and the San Francisco Institute of Art.

Richard Mancina ’73 Joining Country Day’s inaugural four-year high school class in January 1971, Richard Mancina graduated in 1973 and matriculated at Brown University. Obtaining his M.D. at Los Angeles County/U.S.C. Medical Center, he subspecialized in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. After returning to Sacramento with his wife, Nina, an educational grant writer, they enrolled their children at Country Day. Peter ’07 is Country Day’s first “Chip” (child of an SCDS alumnus) to graduate, and studied electric and classical bass at Lawrence University. With a master’s degree in chemistry from UCSD, Peter now teaches and tutors in his fields of study at SCDS and performs in the regional music scene. Daughter Sarah ’11 just graduated from the University of Chicago and is pursuing Ph.D. programs in experimental high-energy physics. Richard Mancina’s involvement with SCDS continues: After serving on the board of trustees from 2006-2011, Richard took on the task of chairing the 50th anniversary committee.

MEDALLION, 1972-73

IT’S ABOUT THE MONEY The minutes of the board meetings of 1965, 1966, and 1967

By 1969, financial troubles had multiplied: the Bank of

are taken up with discussions of loans due, late payments,

Sacramento was expressing reluctance to renew the

and fundraising, against the backdrop of construction of

$90,000 loan and a $30,000 loan from Crocker-Citizens

sprinkler systems, street paving, the purchase of audio-

Bank was being called. Parents were approached for

visual equipment and library books, and insurance

support and many offered pledges amounting to $45,000,

coverage for employees. Notes from the minutes of the

including David Rust, husband of librarian Georgia Rust,

March 9, 1967, board meeting: “the shelving is being

who, “hoped the balance would somehow appear by

installed in the library trailer and the grass was ‘bladed’ in

Thursday so the bank wouldn’t foreclose.” Miraculously, on

the outdoor theater area and the football field.”

Wednesday night, Kitty Perkins, a concerned grandmother and heir to the Kool-Aid fortune, heard of the plight and

In order to spread out the payments, the $177,000

donated $90,000 toward the loans due at Crocker-Citizens

purchase price for the prefabricated buildings was

and the Bank of Sacramento.

renegotiated into a lease-purchase agreement of annual payments of $12,000 a year. To finance the land purchase, improvement costs, and the annual payments to Modulux for the buildings, it was determined that two loans would be necessary—one real estate loan and the other a personal loan signed by the trustees.

In June 1965, the Bank of America at Fair Oaks and Arden and the United California Bank were approached for loans, but both refused. Finally, the Bank of Sacramento offered $90,000, with signed notes from the members of the board to guarantee the amount. Additionally, a loan from Dr. William Welch for $15,000 was accepted for payment of immediate bills. In the spring of 1967, the Bank of Sacramento asked for immediate repayment of a $15,000 loan and offered a six-month’s extension for the $90,000 loan at 8%. The estimated budget for the 1967-68 school year projected a deficit of over $45,000, not including an overdue payment to Modulux for the temporary buildings. At an

Headmaster Herbert Matthews greets students in the morning car line.

emergency meeting of the board on November 13, 1967, board member John Burr presented a bleak picture of the financial realities of the school, and it was decided that for the first time, the board go beyond their own pockets to a select group of parents in order to secure financial support. Dear Mr. Matthews: This is a wonderful school you are running. John Ricketts, first grader, 1964-65

HEADMASTER LEADERSHIP SCDS HEADMASTERS, 1964-1983 Herbert Matthews November 1964-December 1965 Arthur Clanin (Interim) December 1965-November 1966 Richard O’Connell November 1966-February 1968 The school’s first headmaster Herbert Matthews by the original SCDS sign on Latham Drive.

Dr. Henry Magnuson March 1968-December 1968

Running the school, teaching, raising money, and managing budgets and personnel was a heavy load for a man in his mid-70s, and, in December 1965, Herbert

Clayton Tidey January 1969-August 1983

Matthews stepped down as headmaster to assume the

position of honorary headmaster with the responsibility of recruiting and testing prospective students. Assistant head of school Arthur Clanin was appointed interim headmaster until a permanent head could be hired. In November, the board minutes note the hiring of Leonard Baxter, to start November 1, 1966, but there is no further mention of Mr. Baxter. Later in the month, the board hired Richard O’Connell, who had been the principal at the River School, a public elementary school in Carmel, and Mr. Clanin returned to his assistant headmaster and teaching responsibilities. Given

the

precarious

budget

situation,

finding

Arthur Clanin

Richard O’Connell

headmaster to inspire and oversee the new Country Day academic community proved difficult and, in just over a year, Mr. O’Connell was replaced by Dr. Henry Magnuson. Even though it was Dr. Magnuson’s first experience with a private school, he was a fine administrator, having recently retired as chief of the Bureau of Educational Research of the State Department of Education. Despite his skills, however, it wasn’t long until the school started another search.

Dr. Henry Magnuson

THE BOY HEADMASTER—CLAYTON J. TIDEY, 1969-1983 On January 1, 1969, at the age of 33, Clayton Tidey, known as Pat, became headmaster of Country Day. A native of Princeton, New Jersey, Mr. Tidey graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, PA, and started moving west for jobs in teaching and administration at private schools in Dallas, Albuquerque, and San Francisco. Enticed to Sacramento by board president Michael Simpson and board member Lowell Gano, Pat Tidey and his wife Francie met board members at a reception at the Simpsons’ pear ranch in Hood. The following is taken from the May 1983 Octagon, written by Mr. Tidey’s daughter Ashley ’83, when she was a senior: “Although no one may have realized it at the time, the Simpsons’ ranch reception in December 1969 was a landmark in Country Day Clayton “Pat” Tidey

history. The reception allowed the Tideys to size up Country Day and Country Day to size up the Tideys. Both sides were pleased. Mrs. Tidey remembers hitting it off

with board member John Burr because they each shared an East Coast college experience—Mrs. Tidey had attended Wellesley College and Mr. Burr had attended Williams College—both in Massachusetts. In February, Mrs. Tidey and her two toddlers—Ashley, 3, and Quincey, 1—joined Mr. Tidey in Sacramento.

“On Tidey’s first full day on the job, he realized more clearly the school’s financial problems. At the time, the school had proposed to the banks their plan of refinancing. This process would allow the school to combine all of the notes (a total of $135,000) and spread out the payments over a longer period of time, rather than paying in two or three large sums of money. On Thursday, January 5, 1969, Tidey’s fifth day on the job, the bank turned down the school’s request.”

T h e B ur r F a m il y David ’77, Phil ’80, and Eleanor ’82 (Ellie) Burr are Country Day’s first Lifers, having spent all their education through high school at SCDS. In February 1965, David started kindergarten, Phil enrolled in September 1966, and Ellie in 1969. John Burr was a trustee from 1967-1979, served as board president from 1970-1972, and returned to the board as the representative of the Friends of Country Day in 1992. Dornie was the president of the Parents’ Association for the 1967-68 year. (The following is from the May 1983 Octagon article by Ashley Tidey) “While Dornie Burr was president of the Parents’ Association, she recalled that to raise funds, the group bought packaged fudge mix, then made it, wrapped it, and sold it at the Country Club shopping center.” And John Burr remembers the Country Day work parties, when board members would build fences, install sprinkler systems, pound nails, and paint buildings. David went on to attend Williams, his father’s alma mater, Phil attended Carleton, and Ellie went to Scripps. Dornie passed away in 1997 and John in 2000.

Trustees Lowell Gano, John Burr, and Paul Berg put in a day’s work building a fence.

B uild i n g a S ch o o l , A T id e y R e f l e c t io n by Quincey Tidey Grieve ’86 My parents were East Coast intellectuals and West Coast

But graduations and field trips were my mom’s most

hippies. Out of that, a school was born.

enduring mark. The first song-and-dance graduation ceremony was dreamt up around our dinner table by

The seat-of-the-pants-ness of Country Day’s early days

several teachers—not one of them could have been over

really can’t be overstated. Need a drama program? My

the age of 25—with a whole lot of beer and wine, and even

mom and the entire high school staged “Our Town” in the

more creativity. I can still hear the howling of laughter as

current art room, the dead souls sitting in chairs on the

they penned the line, “She can hack it, with a racquet” for

supply cabinets—possibly the same cabinets that are still

board chair Tom Smail’s daughter, Tierney, who was off to

there? Need to schedule the students in classes—today,

UVA to play college tennis. The gold cups, the esteemed

the work of computer programs and months of work?

awards given out for decades, were named after my

My dad lay in bed on the porch at our summer cabin, his

grandparents and created (by Ashley and me) out of gold

yellow legal pad and pencil in hand, and did it himself.

spray-painted strawberry baskets and plastic thrift-store coffee mugs, an art project in our backyard.

It was California in the ‘70s, and they were wild times. Lore

has it that at one of the first auctions a pretty penny was

The creation of the field trips is mind-blowing, as I think

made off the spontaneous auctioning off of the madras

about it from my adult perspective. The insanity of the

sports coat my dad was wearing! And for a faculty going

time and energy—the risk and the craziness. There were

away party—a progressive dinner that ended at our

no travel companies or tour guides. Or precedents. It was

house—my mom concocted a life-sized, tinfoil-wrapped,

just my mom and the faculty, making it up every step of

cardboard rocket ship, the “Sheck Blast Off,” and launched

the way. Off to Death Valley for the week—my mom would

Dave “Sheck” Hechler into his future.

head to the Whole Sale Cash and Carry and come home

Quincey Tidey ’86 Since graduating from Country Day in 1986 and the University of California, Berkeley, in 1990, Quincey Tidey Grieve has carried on the Tidey-family tradition, working in independent schools across the country—including at Sacramento Country Day School where, from 2003-2008, she taught English and served as the head of the middle school. Quincey earned an M.A. in English from Georgetown University and is currently the Associate Director of Middle School at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, VA. She is married to Tim Grieve, ’82, who serves as Editor-in-Chief of The National Journal. Tim and Quincey live in Washington, D.C., with their three children (and SCDS Lifers-at-heart) Pete, Jack, and Meg.

Ashley Tidey ’83 After graduating from Country Day in 1983, Ashley Tidey earned a B.A. in English from Williams College (1987) and a Ph.D. in English from Indiana University (1995). She has been teaching academic writing skills and English literature at the college, high school, and middle school levels for 28 years and, since 2004, has worked as an English teacher at Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara. She carries on her parents’ dedication to learning outside the classroom in her new role as K-12 Experiential Learning Coordinator, which allows her to create and oversee service-learning projects and local, national (NYC), and international (London) field trips that are interdisciplinary, cross-grade level, and curriculumbased. She is married to her college classmate, Tom Carlson, who is a professor of philosophy and religious studies at UC Santa Barbara. They live in Santa Barbara with their two girls, Aura (14) and Frances (11), and their seven chickens.

with brisket for 90 and two-gallon barrels of mustard and

than 125 students to 430 students; he built what came to

mayonnaise. A week-long trip to the Northern California

be known as the sixth grade building, the multi-purpose

town of Ferndale where every student had a job for the

building, the fourth grade building, the fifth/sixth grade

week—my mom and Dave Hechler headed up to Ferndale

“L,” and the library/science lab. And his final act, the gym.

to do the advance work, befriending every soul in town,

“You can’t have a school without a gym,” he used to say.

paving the way to double the size of the town for the

You can’t have a gym without the funds. And we almost

week, as a little high school from Sacramento descended

didn’t. But he made it happen, and the gym was finished

upon them. My mom loved Shakespeare. Thus Ashland.

in his last year as headmaster.

My mom loved the river. Thus Ancil Hoffman. None of this, however, comes close to his most enduring Buildings and teachers were my dad’s most enduring mark.

mark: the dedication to hiring the very finest faculty, from

His job was to raise the money to build the buildings, to

the finest schools. This is where the East Coast intellectual

attract the students, to make it a “real” school. And he did.

comes in. The exterior trappings of the school could all be

Between 1969 and 1983, he grew the school from fewer

wrapped up in the mockery of traditions and institutions. But not academics. And not teachers. Barbara Ore told me that at her job interview to teach pre-kindergarten in 1972, she asked my dad, “Mr. Tidey, what is your philosophy of education?” He famously responded, “The best and the most beautiful.” How did this funky little school, a few shacks in a field, pulled together on a dime and a prayer, attract some of

Sacramento’s most educated families, not to mention a few “A-listers”—the Reagans and the Deavers, the Matsuis and the Hankses? They did it with soul and love. They did it with a magical combination of wackiness and academic excellence. They did with their East Coast pedigree and their West Coast adventurousness. They did it because they were sending kids off to the best colleges in the country. They did it with an eye for the best and the most beautiful: Sue Nellis, Lauren LaMay, Bill Stainbrook, Barbara Fackenthall, Patty Fels, Dan Neukom, and others (Barbara

Shortly after this photo was taken, headmaster Pat Tidey auctioned his madras sports coat to the high bidder at the 1982 auction. (Photo by Tim Grieve ‘82)

Ore, Kay Schweizer) who have recently retired. On that, they built a school.

I was a student in the eighth grade during the first year, 1964-65. Mr. Matthews was such a good teacher that I excelled in math because of him. I am a CPA today largely because of his teaching. Brad Constantine ’69

T h e Go ld C up s o f G r a d ua t io n Because the school had no real awards for the graduates, the Tideys and the faculty invented some for the first high-school graduation in 1972. The cups, which were awarded for almost 20 years, included the Hobart D. Turman Attendance Cup (awarded for “presence of both mind and body”), the Miriam W. Farr Congeniality Award (the “Mimi” rewarded the student who had done the most to bring “warmth and cheer to classmates”), and the Virgil C. Hitchcock Sportsmanship Trophy (known as the “Chick” and presented for leadership). Turman was Mrs. Tidey’s father; Miriam Farr was Mr. Tidey’s mother; and Virgil Hitchcock was the uncle of Greg Nobles, one of the first high school teachers. The cups were awarded tongue-in-cheek, and their appearance reinforced this attitude. They were made from cheap plastic coffee cups, perched on top of the baskets strawberries are sold in at supermarkets.

Head of high school Francie Tidey presents the “Mimi” and the “Chick” awards at the 1983 graduation. (SCDS Newsletter, July 1983)

The contraptions were sprayed gold. The fourth cup, known as the “H.E. or S.H.E. Camethrough Award,” was donated in 1973 (by the legendary Herbert Everett and Shirley Camethrough) to honor students who had been at the high school for four years.

PERKINS FAMILY GIFTS CONTINUE In January 1969, headmaster Pat Tidey was able to announce the receipt of the $90,000 grant from the Perkins Foundation of Chicago. The first payment of the Perkins gift was distributed to Modulux ($22,000), Crocker-Citizens ($9,500), and ($13,000) to the school for operating expenses. Ultimately, the Crocker-Citizens loan was paid off, and the Bank of Sacramento loan was paid down to $50,000. The generosity of the Perkins and O’Neil families continued over the years. In January 1970, they donated 300 shares of the General Foods Company with the suggestion that this money form the start of an endowment fund. Unfortunately, several loans were due and the shares were sold to make the annual Modulux payment. Additional General Foods shares were donated, as well as $50,000 in November 1971 for the land for the gymnasium, $10,000 in September 1972 for the kindergarten classroom, and $25,000 in September 1974 for capital improvements.

The O’Neil children, Michael ’74, Tommy ’77, and Catherine ’80, attended SCDS for five years, from 1968-1973, until the family moved from Sacramento.

TIDEY LEADS EXPANSION OF FACILITY, FACULTY, AND ENROLLMENT During Pat Tidey’s leadership, from 1969-1983, Country Day grew from an enrollment of 125 to 430, from four portable buildings to eight permanent structures, and from five acres to 11. He had a knack for hiring talented and committed teachers, many of whom are still at SCDS today, including Daniel Neukom, Patty Fels, Barbara Fackenthall, Bill Stainbrook, Sue Nellis, and Lauren LaMay, as well as longtime faculty members who have since left: Frank Pignata, Barbara Ore, Nancy Remington, Kay Schweizer, Dave Hechler, Steve Houk, Greg Nobles, Barbara Lazar, Mari-Lu Marcus, and many others. Describing the faculty in a 1980 publication, Pat Tidey writes, “a tough, fair, funny, hard-working, self-effacing, enthusiastic group who like their students and like teaching.” During his tenure, Mr. Tidey worked alongside 10 board presidents: Michael Simpson, John Burr, Richard Keating, John McComish, John Dowdell, Robert Gallaway, John Wheaton, Morgan Stoltz, Mary Jane Sligar, and Richard Rader.

A Page From the 1976-77 Medallion (Top row) Joan Nelson French & Spanish Sharon Shempp, Spanish Dean Sexton, Science Daniel Neukom, History

(Bottom Row) Cyndi Wolfe Second Grade Rod Geier History, Mathematics Heidi Armstrong, Fourth Grade Judy Welte, French

Today’ s t each ers r e c o l l e c t t h e ir h ir ing i n t er vi e w wit h m r . T id e y In a small office at the Stanford employment center, Patricia Fels first met Pat Tidey. She remembers that he leaned so far back in his chair, she thought he would fall over. A few weeks later, she drove to Sacramento to meet with head of high school Francie Tidey. Ms. Fels was nervous about her upcoming interview and skipped breakfast, thinking she would have lunch at the Country Day cafeteria when she arrived. Of course, she found out there was no cafeteria at SCDS. When Sue Nellis interviewed for a history position, Mr. Tidey called Daniel Neukom, who walked over in his running shorts from his rental across the street from the school. Lauren LaMay was hired by Tidey over the phone, as she sat in her dorm room at Harvard. Barbara Fackenthall and Bill Stainbrook both remember being hired soon after their first meeting with Mr. Tidey. Despite the relaxed attitude of Mr. Tidey’s hiring, his instincts were excellent: Fackenthall, Fels, LaMay, Nellis, Neukom, and Stainbrook are still working at Country Day and their years of teaching add up to a combined 220 years.

THE HIGH SCHOOL BUILT BY MR. SUTTON, 1970 In May 1969, the board agreed to add a high school to the program since there was no other private secondary school in the area. Trustee Bill Sutton (1969-73), father of three SCDS students (Richard ’82, Chonnie ’80, and Holly ’75), offered to put up an L-shaped complex of buildings (approximately 3,300 square feet), at a cost of $54,000, $20,000 of which he lent to the school without interest for a period of three years. The Sutton Building was finished in March of 1970, and was home to the high school until 1992 when high school students moved to the eastern end of the campus, leaving the classrooms for middle school students. A fire in 1974 destroyed parts of the building, but fortunately insurance paid for repair and the building was back in use by February 1975. A music room, funded in part by a donation from the Parents’ Association, was added in 1980. Today, the “Sutton Building” accommodates the art room, middle school classrooms, faculty room, and office, and, around the corner, the music room. The Sutton Building and the recently completed Middle School Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology, along with Hansen Plaza, anchor the middle school quad.

1970

2015

A Class F i eld T r ip t o F e r nd a l e , 1 9 7 6 by Dave Hechler 26

The Ferndale field trip wouldn’t have happened if I had

As I was trying to imagine a trip that would take our

never met Joe Keene (Class of 1978). Joe was a high

students “out of their comfort zones,” I was thinking

school student whose father was a representative in the

about my experience as a kid from the New York City area

California Assembly, and his district included Humboldt

who had gone to Grinnell College, in the middle of Iowa

County. Joe had worked on his father’s campaigns, and I

farm country. And Joe Keene told me about this quaint

believe that’s how he first bumped into Ferndale (12 miles

village of beautiful Victorian houses surrounded by dairy

south of Eureka). I was a new teacher at SCDS, and I didn’t

farms. Its main street even featured an art gallery and an

yet have a full teaching load. For that reason, I was sent

old-time ice cream parlor.

out on just about every upper and middle school field trip there was, and even some elementary school trips. And I

The educational component? We wanted to visit this

loved them all.

place for a week, but not as mere tourists. We wanted to insinuate ourselves into the community somehow. But

Francie Tidey, the head of the upper school, was equally

how? We had one thing to offer: free labor.

enthusiastic about field trips—in fact, it was largely her enthusiasm that had made these remarkable excursions

I imagined that many of our students wouldn’t have jobs

a part of the school’s curriculum and identity. And she

until after they’d finished college or possibly even grad

was always open to new ideas. I think that’s why I started

school. And I thought they could learn a lot, even in a short

trying to invent one. Looking back, it was a pretty crazy

time, if they worked in a job they otherwise would never

thing to do. If I’d been more seasoned or more mature,

have. So I drove up to Ferndale and introduced myself to

I would have realized that it’s not the sort of thing a new

the woman who ran the Chamber of Commerce. I told

teacher ought to be doing.

her about this nutty idea, and, lo and behold, she didn’t throw me out. She smiled. She was pretty young herself, and her eyes lit up.

On the second trip to Ferndale in 1985, Country Day students and teachers get together with their bosses at the Guadalajara, a Mexican restaurant in Ferndale, for a farewell dinner. (Photo by David Farley ’87)

She liked the thought of having these city kids from a

as we set up the extra tables and chairs to accommodate

well-off private school trek all the way up to Ferndale to

all of our guests.

spend a week shoveling manure. (Yes, that was one of the jobs.) And she knew everybody. She was also happy

I don’t want you to think it was all work. We went out to

to help us solve problems. I can’t remember who had the

get ice cream one night at the parlor. Another night we

brilliant idea that our entire group could stay right there

visited the art gallery, which was run by a charismatic artist

at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds, sleeping on cots in

named Hobart Brown, who lived upstairs. His building

the big building and cooking in its giant kitchen. Or who

was one of the most beautiful of all the Victorians, and it

exactly helped make that happen. Was it Joe’s father,

had all kinds of secret passages. At least that’s what we’d

Barry Keene? The Chamber of Commerce? Or was it just

heard. When everyone else had gone home that night,

so outlandish that there was no one available to say no?

Hobart put up the closed sign and then took us through each and every one of them.

On my first visit, I met some of our future employers. I drove out to some farms and asked if they could use free

What made that trip so much fun, though, wasn’t any

labor. And I got a feel for the place. But then I had to go

single event. It was the whole package. We had created

back and talk to Francie. She’d liked the idea, but now it

our own mini Ferndale—a community within the

was time to get serious. Planning a trip like this was not

community. We had a great time just sitting around the

something the school took lightly. Francie and I spent a

fairgrounds, listening to stories about work over dinner.

lot of time talking, and then we went to Ferndale together.

We lined up jobs on farms, in a sculptor’s workshop, in

It wasn’t perfect. The cots weren’t very comfortable. Two

the art gallery, in a judge’s office, in the ice cream parlor,

great teachers—Barbara Rosenberg and Dean Sexton—

and more. Some of the kids could walk to work from

got stuck doing all the cooking and most of the kitchen

the fairgrounds; others were shuttled back and forth in

cleaning, and they weren’t thrilled (as they later let me

Francie’s blue Volvo station wagon.

know, since I had thoughtlessly given them permanent KP duty). I think Richard Bankowsky ’79 felt he’d done

Students had work assignments from their bosses, and

a lifetime’s worth of manure shoveling by about Day 3.

writing assignments as homework from their teachers.

But when a field trip works, you can feel it. And you can

One assignment I remember was something like: Write

usually confirm it in the students’ journals.

a profile of your boss. Fill it with details from your experience. In their journals, the students painted us a

I had a lot to learn about field trips and life back in 1976,

portrait gallery of Ferndale personalities.

but that was one hell of a trip.

At the end of the week, we invited all the bosses to a big spaghetti dinner in our place. We had some sort of music player to entertain us, and the album that I associate with that trip was “The Harder They Come.” I can hear it playing

Dave Hechler, Former Faculty Dave Hechler taught English at SCDS from 1974 to 1980. He taught one more year at a now-defunct school in Santa Cruz before he started freelancing for local newspapers there. He eventually got a master’s at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He is now the Executive Editor of Corporate Counsel magazine in New York. He lives with his wife Diana in Larchmont, NY, and their two sons are recent college graduates.

Dave Hechler (above left), Shelby Jones ’87 refinishes furniture (above right), and Julissa Neely ’87 takes orders at Vern’s Blue Room in Ferndale (below). (Medallion, 1984-85)

F e r nd a l e J o u r na l 1 9 76 28

Feeding cows, washing cows, herding cows, milking cows, cleaning up after cows, impregnating cows . . . why don’t cows believe that God helps cows who help themselves?

Robert Boggs ’77

Molasses ginger cookies, on a beat-up, dirty sheet, into the ancient oven I put them, but their burnt bottoms aren’t too neat.

Roberta Mancina ’76

We did all the work our boss Joe Regli gave us without complaining and we didn’t hesitate when we had to shovel manure. When we unloaded an entire trailer of lumber, he realized we could do the work.

Richard Bankowsky ’79

My boss is one of those women who can call to make a doctor’s appointment and end up copying down the nurse’s favorite chicken recipe.

Diane Mark ’76

I really enjoyed the chance to learn to work metal and fire from a true artisan in Ferndale. Sean Scott ’85

THE SEVENTIES

Adam Braver (Medallion, 1977-78)

Ninth graders Amy Favero, Lori Bluemel, Torie Clark, and Kristi Kettle. (Medallion, 1978-79)

(above) Homecoming Queen and King, Heidi McIntosh ’78 and George Frioux ’78. (Medallion, 1976-77) (right) Nicki Lampert (Medallion, 1977-78)

1966-67 Faculty & Staff

(front row) Dorothea Arrelano, Margaret Webb, Debbie Watson, Margaret Preston, Laura Canavan, Carole Johnson, and Janice Forbes. (back row) Marcella Lyon, Darlene Prestegard, Mary Gano, Dorothy Langwick, Catherine Snyder, Richard O’Connell, Arthur Clanin, Frank Pignata, and David Denzer.

1966-67 Board of Trustees

(left to right) Lowell Gano, Aaron Levin, Herbert Matthews, Monte Ricketts, Louis Carlson, Michael Simpson, Lois Shellhammer, Peter Poirier, John Marton, Paul Berg (president), Ron Wilcox, William Welch, and John Burr.

A P i o n e e r ing Vis io n by Barbara MacAulay Ore The flat riverbed, cleared of the dark green hop fields that

the temporary trailers on the mud flat, he, too, was

had covered the land with abundant produce for decades,

caught by the vision and excitement of the founders,

lay shorn and empty. A few poles were left standing here

and with determination for transforming this upstart

and there. Their strings, void of the heavy vines they once

pre-kindergarten through ninth grade private school

securely held, hung loosely, drifting in the light breezes.

into a recognized, credible independent school, he and

Debris from the clearing lay scattered about the fields,

his young wife Francie made the move to Sacramento.

felled atop the rich soil of land following alongside the

Francie would also become an integral part of the

winding American River. The area had flooded seasonally,

school’s development.

and levees now shored up the banks, preventing overflow onto the land that had been enriched for thousands of

Soon after he arrived, “Pat,” as he was called, approached

years by the overflowing waters, now making it possible

the board of trustees and convinced them Sacramento

for people to live on the land. It was into this deep, rich

needed a rigorously academic independent high school.

soil that Sacramento Country Day School put down its

Because of their belief in the importance of a school

roots.

dedicated to excellence in academics, they agreed, and put their support behind the venture. The upper school

In 1965, an inauspicious section of the field was cleared

opened its doors in 1969, with one student, under the

for the placement of four portable buildings, the first

guidance of the newly appointed head of high school

classrooms in the new K-9 school. A small square box

and English teacher, Francie Tidey.

stood between for administration and faculty. The barren land and bland structures belied the visionary idea of the

Francie was inspirational, becoming a legend in her

school that would soon enrich the lives of young people

own time. Her warmth and competence, her dedication

in the community of Sacramento.

to excellent teaching to provide the richest learning environment for students were unparalleled. Her grace

What was the impetus, what were the ideas and energy

radiated quietly through the campus, and her genuine

that created the concept for this independent school?

belief to hold in respect each student’s individuality,

It began with a family seeking a superior education for

while challenging that student to the discipline of

their son. Baxter and Corinne Geeting, both parents on

growth, girded the foundation of learning with unique

the faculty at Sacramento State College, turned to their

strength. With a spirit unlike anyone I had ever known,

good friend, educator Herbert Matthews. A retired, highly

she was equally respectful of all students. She was

regarded McClatchy High School teacher of mathematics,

never sarcastic, and told me that I, or any teacher, must

Mr. Matthews and his wife, Alice, enthusiastically

never use sarcasm with students of any age. Sarcasm,

embraced the challenge of building a school with the

she would tell the faculty, comes from a Greek word

priority of excellence in academic learning, giving equal

meaning to “tear the flesh.” I was greatly moved by this

emphasis to the creative arts. Together, the Geetings

knowledge, knowing how easily clever little thoughtless

and the Matthewses brought their bold plans to life. The

comments roll off the human tongue. To support the

school opened in 1964 in the Unitarian Church on Sierra

best learning in a child, one must care infinitely in his/

Boulevard, moving to its permanent campus on Latham

her essence, to never shame the child and do everything

Drive in 1965.

one can to support the learning experience. With great intelligence and depth of soul, Francie had a powerful

By the time I joined the faculty in 1972, Clayton Tidey had

effect on the tenor of the campus as it slowly began to

been hired from the Urban School in San Francisco to be

grow and gain recognition for excellence.

headmaster of Sacramento Country Day. After visiting

Pat Tidey was a man who relished ideas, who read deeply.

for the lower school that accompanied the weekly art

He enjoyed spirited conversation, which he dotted with

training. The program would be given once a month and

a wry, intelligent sense of humor. He understood the

would feature one artist a month. Van Gogh’s “Starry

importance of creating an independent school ethos

Night” was produced by using warming trays to melt the

that stood out for the strength of its intellectual rigor.

wax crayons so the children could “paint” in the thickness

To support this vision, he sought to hire well-educated

of the Van Gogh style.

teachers who had training and teaching experience in independent schools from around the country. He

Frank Pignata, head of the middle school (grades 5-8)

encouraged and supported professional development

when I first arrived, was gracious good cheer and vitality

through independent school associations, the California

personified, as he enveloped his students deeply into the

Association of Independent Schools and the National

study of mathematics. Morning meetings of the middle

Association of Independent Schools. Each year SCDS

school were held daily on the blacktop outside the

closed for one day for every faculty member to attend

classrooms and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by

the yearly CAIS workshops, for cutting-edge training

all. I was thrilled to be a part of this energy and was hired

and collaboration connecting the school with the larger

by Mr. Tidey for my first position as an assistant in the

independent school community. On the intimate campus,

pre-kindergarten for respected PK teacher, Jan Mellon.

everyone knew each other; fresh ideas, experiences and

opportunities were shared and implemented. During

The pioneer goes forth into the new, preparing for the

these early pioneering days, the new school created a

experience that has not yet happened, with an attitude

lively, rigorous curriculum. The teachers were dedicated

of curiosity and vigor. He/she adjusts and discards and

to their subjects and knew how to teach their discipline

reinvents, building upon knowledge and experience

so that students would embrace their learning eagerly

gained. We gathered as faculty working together to

and with a strong sense of discipline and personal

seek and implement the best, and worked late into the

responsibility. I was thrilled. This was the education I

night on many occasions to develop and prepare our

had wished for as a child, and now it was possible for my

plans. The children were engaged in doing, observing,

children.

writing, illustrating, performing. The idea was always to create something unique and memorable while staying

Mr. Tidey once observed there was not a formal philosophy

grounded in the tradition of training the young mind to

at Country Day, but to always strive for “the best and the

build a strong work ethic and love of learning.

most beautiful.” Every classroom must reflect the beauty of the program. Every teacher contributed from his or her

Soon there were new buildings, new classes, and a

strength. Dorothy Langwick, the first lower school head,

growing faculty. It was the best of times—and the most

brought her strong background in education to developing

beautiful—honoring students by asking them to work

the program in the LS. Her classrooms reflected her

hard to learn, in a setting with teachers who were bright,

devotion to a curriculum that was equally strong in

dedicated, knowledgeable, respectful. The old hop fields

learning and in the arts. Kindergarten teacher Nancy

began to yield a new fruit. And, now, 50 years later, some

Remington’s effervescent ideas were a springboard for

3,500 students have been touched by the profound

the development of a formal art program. She introduced

heritage of the early Sacramento Country Day School

to Mr. Tidey the extraordinary art teacher, Kay Schweizer.

vision and pioneers.

Kay worked with every grade in the school, PK-12. With no dedicated art room in the Lower School, she would travel from room to room for her classes, accompanied by all the tools of the trade. We talked about possibilities—the art of seeing, thinking, making a decision and acting. Out of our conversations developed an art history program

Third-grade pals Rita Gallaway, Susan Smith, and Brandi Alexander (Medallion 1977-78)

33 I loved that our teachers got to know us as people, rather than students. I don't think I will ever forget any of them and am forever thankful for how they've shaped me into being. Allison Rude ‘98

Headmaster Pat Tidey awards daughter Quincey her kindergarten diploma. (1973)

Eighth graders (Class of 1980) about to embark on their class trip to Squaw Valley. (Medallion 1975-76)

FRANCIE TIDEY, 1969-1986 Perhaps Pat Tidey’s greatest hire was his wife, Francie. After the family’s move from the Bay Area, Francie stayed home with their young girls until the expansion of the high school in 1969 necessitated the hiring of an English teacher. Initially, the job was part-time; Francie taught English to the seven high-school students from 8:30 to 9:10 each morning. Fortunately, Mrs. Tidey was multi-talented; as her part-time position extended to full time, she taught drama, music, and journalism, as well as college counseling for her students. From Ashley Tidey’s May 1983 Octagon article: “The years 1978-79, when the high-school enrollment reached 60, were a period of transition for Mrs. Tidey and the high school. Mr. Hechler took over in the drama department, while Mrs. Tidey gave up several English classes to concentrate on her administrative responsibilities as head of the upper school.” Although Mrs. Tidey was apprehensive about the increasing size of the upper school, she said, “I have confidence that we will always maintain the tone of the school—creative, warm, spontaneous.” She continues, “The craziness of the early days existed because I was the only one teaching and doing everything I could think of to give the students the full experience of Country Day.” In 1984, when headmaster James Achterberg decided to take on head-of-high-school responsibilities along with his headmaster job, Francie stayed at SCDS just one more year before leaving to start the successful College Horizons, a non-profit business to assist high-achieving, low-income minority students in the college application process. She didn’t leave SCDS behind completely, though.

She was instrumental in facilitating the County Office of Education CAL/SOAP grant, which supported Summerbridge/ Breakthrough Sacramento for many years. An Octagon editorial from the September 3, 1986, issue: “After blessing Country Day for 17 years as a teacher, college counselor, administrator, and all-purpose mother, Frances Tidey has finally left SCDS. With her many talents, her dedication, and her leadership, she played a unique role in the life of the school. No one can replace her. It is comforting to know that Mrs. Tidey is moving on to the admirable job of getting underprivileged students into college—a difficult task for the greatest of souls, but nothing compared to nearly single-handedly running SCDS for 17 years. We wish her well.”

Fifth graders Nick Domich, Jack Crawford, Derk Symons, and Peter Wisham. (Medallion, 1977-78)

Sixth graders Richard Rader, Curtis Popp, Lance Yuen, and John Tsakopoulos. (Medallion, 1983-84)

MEDALLION AD, 1983-1984

In the 1984 Medallion, the graduating class wishes good cheer to Mrs. Tidey. 1984 graduates: Jenifer Beach, Sharmila Chatterjee, Sally Hahn, Victoria Hartwell, Lynn Keating (Smith), Craig LaBare, Beth Ramsdell, Curt Richardson, Aaron Schock, Troy Stafford, Elizabeth Stroup (Messina), Kelley Taber, Sascha Gibson (Vogt), and Amila Yang.

I was but five years old when my mom dropped me off in Mrs. Remington’s kindergarten room. All I remember is a very tall woman who looked down at me and said in true Mrs. Remington form, “Well, hello, Eleanor.” Andy Hahn ’87 learns to drive a tractor on the second Ferndale trip. (Medallion, 1984-85)

Ellie Burr ’82

FRANK PIGNATA, 1965-1986 Given that the headmaster is the head of the body, Frank Pignata was the backbone of Country Day. With headmasters coming and going, buildings being funded and constructed, and finances shaky, Frank Pignata was a constant. Assistant head of school, business manager, math, science, and computer teacher, summer school director, coach, yearbook advisor, short-order cook and best griller, sprinkler installer . . . the list goes on. The Medallion dedicated their annual to him several times. He is most often the one teacher mentioned when alumni look back at their years at SCDS. In “My Life or Yours? An Autobiography,” published by Frank Pignata in August 2012, he devotes Chapter 13 to his life at Country Day School. Much of the following is taken from that book. “Unknown to me at the time, Herb and Alice Matthews had started a private school while I was working toward a college degree and a teaching credential. In 1965, Herb called to see if I would consider teaching two math classes in the upper school. I accepted the job and worked at Sacramento Country Day School for the next 21 years before retiring in December of 1986.”

In addition to teaching mathematics and, for a year, teaching four science classes while Mr. Matthews looked for a new science teacher, Mr. Pignata began an outdoor education class, where students first dug a pond and then a ditch to allow water into the pond. “Parents donated trees and other plants for our study area. Jeff Barnhardt’s parents invited us to his property in Georgetown, where we spent part of a Saturday digging up trees to transplant and the rest of the day fishing in their large pond that was stocked with trout. Students later named the pond ‘Pignata’s Pond’ and the stream ‘Denzer’s Ditch.’ (David Denzer was the physical education teacher.)” “Needing a salary in the summer, I suggested we start a summer school program, and was later named director of summer school, which was the way things worked in the early days at SCDS—if one could dream it, plan it, and get it approved, then it was theirs to run. The first summer, I started a class called Explorations Unlimited, which was a fourweek program of field trips, guest speakers, and classroom activities based on our outings. One of our topics of study concerned Dr. Hildebrand, who had received the Nobel Prize for his work in chemistry and had a building named for him on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. Thinking he had died before the building had been built, I had asked my students what questions they would ask Dr. Hildebrand if he were still alive. Imagine my shock and the students’ surprise when Dr. Hildebrand appeared to greet us before we toured his building. He complimented my students on their knowledgeable questions and praised them for being so interested in science.” In 1968, Mr. Pignata was appointed assistant headmaster under Dr. Henry W. Magnuson, who was given the title director. Dr. Magnuson had retired from the California Department of Education and would work at SCDS in the mornings, and Mr. Pignata would take on the leadership role in the afternoons, giving Dr. Magnuson daily “state of the school” reports. Although Frank Pignata was offered the headmaster position on several occasions, he loved teaching and interacting with students so much that he declined the offers. He remembers well his time visiting and reading to the young kindergartners. He tells us, “Toward the end of one school year, close to Cinco de Mayo, their teacher explained that they were going to hang up a piñata and hit it with a stick, but some of the children cried. They thought I was going to be hung up and they were supposed to hit me with a stick. I loved my little buddies for their loyalty.”

There are well-documented reasons why Mr. Pignata was such a loved teacher. One day, at the beginning of class, he exposed the true identify of Spiderman, using a transparency on the overhead projector, but instead of Spiderman’s face, it was Mr. Pignata’s. Another time, he started peeling off his clothes during morning meeting and under his dress shirt, he was wearing a Dodger jersey and announced the beginning of baseball season. In his book, Mr. Pignata says, “I believe that teaching should include a bit of showmanship to put a point across or just loosen up the students. If they are excited about coming to class, then learning is more fun and often easier.” In 1969, young Ronald Reagan Jr. (Class of 1976), son of the soon-to-be-governor Ronald Reagan, enrolled. “Ronnie Jr. was in my sixth grade class, and a very bright student, . . . quite witty and loved to play pranks. In a Christmas play that year, Ronnie played the part of ‘The Naughty Elf,’ and in show business I believe they call it type casting. He was a natural for the part.” Ronnie’s classmates benefitted from his dad’s job while on their field trip to the State Capitol to see the space capsule on display. They were invited to the governor’s office and enjoyed some jelly beans from the giant jar on the governor’s desk, while Mr. Pignata was “shown photos and mementos, including a football given to the governor from Notre Dame after he made a movie about their football team.”

Frank Pignata with eighth grade outdoor education students Jim Nichelmann, John Z’Berg, and Kim Knopp. (Medallion, 1966-67)

Computers arrived at Country Day, thanks to the efforts of Mr. Pignata, and four Tandy TRS-80s were paid for by the Parents’ Association. Frank signed up for computer courses at the University of California at Davis and “eventually taught a class there on Karel the Robot, which was a precursor to the Pascal computer language.” “The first computer classroom was a converted storage room off the multipurpose room, and students came during their free time and worked on the computers. Toran Brown (Class of 1982) was one of the first to be really interested, and he spent all of his free time in that small space. … In later years he computerized the operation of his family’s business (Rytina Cleaners), so I guess his computer puttering has served him well. As more students became interested and funds became available, we kept buying more The computer lab (Medallion 1983-84)

computers, and I taught computer language and other uses for the computer as one of the enrichment classes. During the CAIS (California Association of Independent Schools)

accreditation process in 1977, we were but a handful of private schools that offered classes in the use of computers, and that helped us receive our five-year accreditation.” SCDS sold the Tandy system to Sacramento City College and used the money to buy eight Apples and a printer. The proceeds from a Jog-for-Apples fundraiser purchased four more, and soon a computer lab was furnished.

38 Brenda Sue and Frank Pignata Mr. Pignata had lived quite a life before his 21 years at Country Day. He was born in Italy, was a merchant marine in WWII and a member of the Air Force during the Korean War, returned to Travis after the war, and attended night school for his teaching credential. Frank completed his Air Force Reserve duty and, as one of his last assignments, worked with the California Office of Emergency Services. It was during the floods of 1986, and Mr. Pignata’s timely reactions while serving in the command center led to his receiving the Meritorious Service Medal. Appreciation from the SCDS community over the years was plentiful. Frank was the guest of honor for the Frank Pignata Appreciation Day on October 24, 1978, chaired by Alice Matthews. In a press release announcing the event, Matthews wrote, “He has touched and influenced so many students, associates, and friends of Country Day School, his list of admirers must run into the hundreds.” Another surprise was when former student and eighth grade graduate Chip Van Rooyan (Class of 1987) turned in Frank’s name at his new school as the teacher who had inspired him the most. Brenda Sue and Frank were honored at the 1992 auction for their significant contributions to the school, and Frank was the recipient of the Francie Tidey Award for Excellence in 2004. Mr. Pignata was retired when he was featured on the national news in 2002 when Jane Clayson ’85, co-host of “The Early Show” on CBS, saluted Frank as “the teacher who changed my life” in a Ladies Home Journal special back-to-school issue. “My seventh grade geometry and computer teacher was a taskmaster, but he did it with love and a real commitment to growing children into responsible adults. I just got the feeling there wasn’t a day that passed that he wasn’t happy with what he was doing,” wrote Ms. Clayson. Frank and Brenda Sue visited campus in 2014 and saw the beginnings of the construction of the new Middle School Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology and were happy to see that many of the trees Frank planted during his “arboretum” class were still healthy, including the cedars near the multi-purpose building and the willow behind the maintenance building.

Though the computer lab was for middle and upper school students, there were lower-school students who stopped by. One remembered by Pignata was first grader Jeff Odom (Class of 1993), who learned to load and run programs and set up systems. Odom went on to attend Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Oxford and later wrote to SCDS, “I will always be grateful to Mr. Pignata for allowing me as a first grader (and continuing on) free use of the computer room. His encouragement has shaped my goals in life.” Frank’s wife, Brenda Sue, also worked at Country Day, starting work in 1986 creating a math and science resource center for the lower school students. Brenda Sue is an author, as well, and in her book “Slices of Life,” which she published in December 2012, she writes, “Teacher and student enthusiasm grew, students ran over to the lab at recess and lunch to check things, teachers asked more detailed questions, and parents wanted me to teach them what they had missed. I became known as ‘Mrs. P, Lover of Math.’ ” Mrs. Pignata was ultimately appointed chair of the mathematics department K-12, until her retirement in 1988, when she left to start “Brenda Sue’s Mathematics Tutoring and Consulting” business. An interesting chapter from Brenda Sue’s book is the description of the trip she and Frank took to Washington, D.C., for Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in January 1981. They were surprised to receive an invitation, but very excited to go. “Tuesday, January 20, 1981, was clear, but cold. Extra layers kept us warm until the sun could work its magic and warm the air. . . . The Oath of Office was administered to President Ronald Reagan by Warren Burger, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, while Mrs. Reagan (dressed in black leather gloves, long red coat, and a red hat) held the bible.” There were 10 inaugural balls going on, and the Pignatas attended the “California Ball” in the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel. President and Mrs. Reagan made an appearance, announcing the release of the hostages held in Iran for over a year. “We found ourselves dancing next to Moses himself—better known as actor Charlton Heston. After the

President and his entourage had left the building, it was time to enjoy the evening. Frank and I danced until the band stopped playing, then caught a few winks until time to catch our flight on Wednesday morning back to Sacramento and school on Thursday morning.”

Country Day was ahead of its time in terms of creating a progressive experiential education. Faculty believed that education is as much about what you do outside the classroom as what you do in the classroom. On the senior trip to San Francisco, we didn’t stay in a hotel or motel; we stayed in the international youth hostel. We didn’t stroll through Union Square; we went on a night walk with the “Night Minister” through the Tenderloin. We didn’t just walk by the Glide Memorial Church; we worked in the food bank line serving food. And Ashland—to experience and understand Shakespeare, you drive six hours on a bus to attend plays in Ashland—and you do so with Fels, who is going to point out Weed, where Lennie and George began their journey in “Of Mice and Men.”

Ashley Tidey ’83

LAND ACQUISITION Although the board minutes of early 1971 are often filled with concern about borrowing and repaying loans, board members were cognizant of the need to acquire more property for expansion. Other sites looked at seriously for moving at least some of the grades were Wyda Way in 1974 and El Dorado Elementary School on J Street in 1976. Several times the school had the opportunity to purchase the empty land to the west of the school toward Munroe, first in March 1969 for $70,000 and again two years later for $80,000. The school was unable to meet the price, but instead purchased for $45,000 an L-shaped portion 100 feet east of the existing property and a 200-foot-wide strip under the power lines (Parcel 1, below). The land to the west was eventually developed with the homes and duplexes that now face Latham. In late 1971, using funds from a stock donation from Nancy O’Neil, the school purchased a piece of property (approximately an acre) to the east owned by the Catholic Diocese for $45,000 to secure land for a gymnasium, library and office, but delayed construction for 10 years awaiting financing. In April 1973, five acres under the wires to the west of the school were purchased from a Mr. Hurst for $10,000 to provide additional play areas and an exit onto Munroe should it ever become necessary. The three parcels now total the 11-acre campus that supports the community of Country Day School.

CITY OF SACRAMENTO ASSESSOR’S MAP 40

BUILDING THE ‘SIXTH GRADE’ BUILDING, 1974 Before SCDS could move forward with additional building, approval from the City was necessary. The red tape absent at the beginning was evident 10 years later when, in 1974, Country Day applied for a building permit to build what came to be known as the sixth grade building, the first in a planned expansion. The Planning Commission sent the school back to the drawing board with a request that a Master Plan for development of its mostly vacant site be submitted. Returning six months later with a three-phase expansion plan, neighbors present at the hearing expressed concern over parking, traffic, and an increased student body. The issue was continued for several weeks to allow SCDS to alter the Master Plan. The Planning Commission ultimately denied the permit, but the City Council granted the appeal in December 1975. According to the Council’s finding of fact, Country Day’s location “in a residential area is a sound principle of land use planning as it provides a service to the community. With the limitation of a 600-person student enrollment and based upon the conditions attached to the special permit, the expansion of the school as proposed by the applicant is compatible with the surrounding residential area.”

SACRAMENTO BEE, APRIL 10, 1974

THE BUILDING BOOM, 1974-1982 Phase I of the three-phase Master Plan articulated that in the lower school, the four original portables would serve as classrooms for the kindergarten-third grades and a library, and be joined by a fourth grade building, and a fifth/sixth grade building, forming a lower-school quad. In the middle and high school area, along with the Sutton Building, would be an additional classroom (what was known as the sixth grade—demolished in 2014), and a library/science building (current middle school labs and classrooms, admission office, and Breakthrough office), and between the lower school and the middle/high schools, a multi-purpose building would be built. Phase II plans included a gymnasium, music room, middle/ high classroom, a new middle/high library, and an administration building. Phase III was a performing arts building. Under Pat Tidey’s leadership, all of Phase I was achieved, as well as most of Phase II. In 1974, the sixth grade building was finished; in 1976 and 1977, the multi-purpose building and the middle/high school science and library building were completed; and in 1979, lower school classrooms for third, fourth, fifth, and sixth were ready for students. In the spring of 1981, the foundation was laid for the long-awaited gymnasium, and the facility was dedicated on March 26, 1982, to Joseph Benvenuti, who was instrumental in securing financing and donations.

The Octagon, August 8, 1984

42 During the mid-‘70s, in conjunction with the board, Pat developed a long-range plan for building up the school. We asked him to be the promoter, the entrepreneur, but also to keep the strings on the budget in a period of great growth. By 1982, with Pat at the head, the school was in great shape. A lot of people want to build something that they can turn to and say, “I built that.” That’s what Pat has done. He’s made Country Day into a lasting institution in Sacramento.

John Wheaton, President of the Board of Trustees, 1976-78

MASTER PLAN SCHEMATIC, 1976-1980 PRE-PHASE I BUILDINGS (1964-75)

PHASE II PROGRAM (1979-80)

Lower School Buildings

Gymnasium/Athletic Center

Middle and Upper School Buildings

Music Room

English and History Building

PHASE I ADDITIONS (1976-1978)

Middle and Upper School Library

Fourth Grade Building

Administration Building

Fifth-Sixth Grade Building

Perkins Multi-Purpose Building

PHASE III PROGRAM (MID 1980S)

Science Labs and Matthews Library

Outdoor Courts

Music/Drama Building

THE SNACK SHACK, 1979-1991

The Snack Shack, aka “Neukom Hall,” opened in 1979 at the eastern end of the L-shaped Sutton Building and, for a dozen years, middle and high school students purchased snacks and beverages from its roll-up window. When the high school students 44 moved to the new “east campus” in 1991, the snacks moved with them. With the roll-up window closed for good, the space was converted to an office, then used as storage, and now serves as the Parents’ Association’s supply room. (Medallion 1978-79)

A financial dispute over Snack Shack proceeds erupted in January of 1982. The upper school (as the high school was called at the time) allocated the profits for a Halloween party and a field trip scholarship fund, both for the upper school. Because middle and upper school students patronized the Snack Shack, middle schoolers maintained that they should have a say in the distribution of the profits. The middle school newspaper, The Pentagon Paper, followed the story with an editorial written by Hunter Gallaway ’86: “Does Martin Hoshino, president of the upper school student council, and the council have the power to control the profits? Why wasn’t the middle school informed of the decision? Where was our money going?” Doug Sackman, middle school student council president, presented two options to the upper school: give the middle school 30-50% of the profits or a say in the use of the money. Following an unproductive lunchtime meeting of the upper and middle school student councils, The “Snack Shack” money bag is still used by SCDS controller Carol Wessels for petty cash.

both sides agreed to meet again. Results unknown.

Bu mp s a nd B e r m s by John Wheaton In 1977 things were tight, but the school was squeaking

How about the bumps? For safety’s sake, the school

by. We were balancing a lot of balls in the air, but we were

needed the bumps in the parking lot to slow down

not balancing the budget. We tried to conserve wherever

speeding drivers. But how were we going to pay for

we could, as the requests to appear at Union Bank

them? That was when the “L & K Construction Company”

became more frequent and more earnest.

appeared on the scene, whose two principals were board members Terry Lindeman and Dick Keating. The

It was at this time that the City Planning Department’s

company’s bid for the bump installation was zero dollars.

notification arrived. “Before any more construction can

It was the only job that this particular company ever

take place,” the city planners proclaimed, “the school

undertook. Terry and Dick were its only employees. As I

must put in berms and bumps.” I could not believe it!

remember, they chose one of the hottest days of the year

Berms would be nice, but Frank McGovern’s bank needed

to lay those asphalt bumps, but the job was completed.

to be paid, we had buildings under construction with

The City Planning Department was placated, and Country

contracts to pay, and teachers’ salaries needed a boost.

Day could move on to new heights—berms and bumps

Berms it was. I do not remember where we found the

in place.

money. Today, I can’t imagine the school without the berms—a pretty, green belt sloping between Latham and the school. I do remember, however, that “berm” was a key word in my vocabulary back in 1977.

2015

John Wheaton, Former Board President John joined the board in 1975 when the school was beginning its second decade. He served as president of the board from 1976-78 and retired the first time in 1986. Since that time he has returned to the board twice as the Friends of Country Day representative, first in 1990-91 and recently from 2003-05. Mr. Wheaton was one of the few trustees invited to join the school’s Cum Laude Society, and he and wife Jane have an auction history: Jane co-chaired the 1982 event with Pam Gallaway and John and Jane were honored at the 1989 auction, along with Dornie and John Burr and Pam and Rob Gallaway. The Wheaton children attended SCDS for their lower and middle school education before leaving to attend boarding school for high school. Calbraith ’88 and wife Aimee live in Maryland, and Mele ’91, spouse Ryan Goebel, and new baby Cora Jane (born March 2015) reside in Santa Cruz.

BUILDING THE GYMNASIUM, 1982

Students and faculty break ground for the gymnasium.

After presenting a flag to the headmaster, former SCDS parent Senator Robert Matsui and several students prepare to put basketballs through the hoops at the opening ceremony for the gym.

Dressed for the 2006 Fall Family Festival, young Meg Grieve meets up with the headmaster and her mother, alumna Quincey Tidey Grieve, who wears her “I Jogged for the Gym” t-shirt from the 1982 gym fundraiser.

A SERENDIPITY IN THE FORM OF A BANK BUILDING

BUILDINGS AND DEDICATIONS, 1985-2000

It was good fortune in 1982, when SCDS, through

Construction on the middle and high school library was

the generosity of George and Drosoula Tsakopoulos,

complete by August 1985, and on Grandparents Day, May

acquired a branch of the Bank of America by a flip of the

8, 1987, a bronze plaque for the library wall was presented

coin. There were two Tsakopoulos children (Katherine

to Alice Matthews by board president, Jack Cornelius,

’86 and Angelo ’90) at Country Day, but Mr. Tsakopoulos

and the library dedicated as the Matthews Library. Dr.

also had ties to Christian Brothers. SCDS won the coin

and Mrs. Baxter Geeting attended the ceremony. Mrs.

toss, and the 40’ X 60’ modular building was moved to

Matthews passed away just three months later.

SCDS by Acme House Movers and covered with plastic tarps until it was renovated for classrooms in 1983. From

The administration building was built at the same time

the February 19, 1982, Octagon article by Tim Grieve

as the Matthews Library, and across campus work was

’82: “Headmaster Tidey joked about the significance of

progressing on the lower school library.

the new addition, ‘It is a sign of the change and growing strength of SCDS. We’re taking over Bank of America!’”

In May 1992, the administration building was dedicated as

The approval of the building meant one of the planned

Geeting Hall to honor the other two cofounders, Corinne

buildings on the Master Plan was unnecessary, saving

and Baxter Geeting.

the school in the neighborhood of $150,000. On October

20, 1983, the building was officially named Tsakopoulos

In 1996, Dr. Geeting, as founding trustee of the school,

Hall. And for over 20 years, the building housed middle

was awarded the title of Trustee Emeritus.

school classrooms and the middle school office until the building was demolished to make way for the Frank

The lower school library was dedicated to Georgia Rust

Science Center in 2005.

upon her retirement in 2000.

Cutting the Ribbon

Matthews Library Dedication

Sophomore Kathy Tsakopoulos ’86, and her sixth grade brother Angelo ’90, clip the ribbon in front of Tsakopoulos Hall at the building’s dedication ceremony, October 20, 1983, as father George supervises. (Octagon, November 4, 1983)

Board president Jack Cornelius presents the plaque to Alice Matthews dedicating the new library as the Matthews Library.

CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP When Pat Tidey went on sabbatical, the board turned to

the faculty into solely either middle or high school

former head of lower school Barbara MacAulay Ore to

teachers, and in March 1985, he replaced himself as the

act as interim head for the 1983-84 school year. Mrs. Ore

head of high school and hired Don Robinson-Boonstra

had retired just a year earlier after 10 years at SCDS, “to

from St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. It was just

pursue other interests,” including real estate and writing.

three years later, however, that Mr. Achterberg tendered

During that year, Mr. Tidey decided not to return to SCDS,

his resignation. And soon after Robinson-Boonstra

and the board began the task of searching for a new

returned to Washington, D.C., because of a family illness.

headmaster. Hiring the headmaster is one of the major

responsibilities of a board of trustees, and the board

The search was easier this time; the board had just gone

turned to a consultant to help them with the process. In

through the process and knew the route. Doug Crone, an

March 1984, the consultant “compliments the board and

educator since 1953 and headmaster of Francis Parker

the search committee on their fine work” and the board

School in San Diego since 1969, was the choice of the

voted to offer James Achterberg, from the Abington

board after visiting Francis Parker and meeting with

Friends School in Pennsylvania, the headmaster position.

Dr. Crone’s colleagues. As for Crone, he said that, “after

It was thought to be a good choice, as the Abington School

18 years at Francis Parker, he had achieved the goals

was similar in size and age to SCDS. The decision to move

he intended to accomplish there, such as construction

west wasn’t an easy one; Achterberg had spent most of

and increased enrollment,” and was ready to move on.

his working life on the East Coast, serving as director of

Crone brought with him his wife Patty, who worked in

admission and college guidance at the George School in

admissions at Francis Parker and assumed the same role

Pennsylvania and principal of Moses Brown Elementary

at Country Day, and, a year later, development director

School in Providence, Rhode Island, before moving to

Wendy Ross, also from Francis Parker. Dr. Crone took

the Abington School. But he and his wife had ties on the

on the responsibility for college counseling and made

West Coast—they had both attended the University of the

changes to the high school curriculum and the graduation

Pacific in Stockton—and so they moved.

requirements to make SCDS the college preparatory school he felt it should be. A short year and a half later,

Mr. Achterberg, taking on the responsibilities of both the

Dr. Crone requested to be released from his contract, the

headmaster and head of the high school, felt that the

board agreed, and Patty went as well. An administrative

middle school needed some separation from the high

team oversaw operations until a new headmaster could

school, both in space and administration. He separated

be hired.

SCDS HEADMASTERS, 1983-2015 Barbara MacAulay Ore (Interim)

Administrative Team (Interim)

Selden S. Edwards

August 1983-June 1984

September 1988-June 1989

July 1999-June 2003

James Achterberg

Daniel E. White

Stephen T. Repsher

July 1984-June 1987

July 1989-June 1998

July 2003-present

Douglas Crone

Selden S. Edwards (Interim)

July 1987-August 1988

July 1998-June 1999

COUNTRY DAY’S CUM LAUDE CHAPTER Through the guidance of Doug Crone, SCDS was awarded a chapter in Cum Laude in 1988. When the Cum Laude Society was formed in 1906, its founders envisioned a group, modeled on Phi Beta Kappa, which would encourage and recognize true scholarship in secondary schools. From the seven schools granted chapters in the first few years, the Society has grown to 382 chapters, approximately two dozen in public schools and the rest in independent schools. At SCDS, 10% of the junior class is inducted at the end of their junior year and the next 10% is inducted at the end of their senior year. Since the Country Day chapter was founded in 1988, 186 students and faculty have been inducted and honored at a celebratory dinner. Cum Laude inductees and faculty, May 1998

Some early literature notes a 15-acre campus, which included several acres adjacent to the gymnasium land, also owned by the Catholic Diocese, but rented to the school for $1 per year. SCDS improved the property with a sprinkler system, grading, seeding, and postholes for a baseball backstop and had use of the land for more than 15 years. In the summer of 1987, the school learned that the Catholic Diocese was interested in selling the parcel for $800,000, a prohibitive number with other financial commitments weighing heavily. Although a local builder had applied for a permit to build 10 single-family homes, a matching offer on behalf of the school was accepted as a back-up, but the developer proceeded to close escrow. By August of 1988, the school was removing the sprinkler system, taking down the baseball backstops, and taking steps to insure the safety of the school community near the construction site.

HEADMASTER DANIEL WHITE, 1989-1998 With four leadership changes in as many years, the stability accompanying Dan White was critical. On July 1, 1989, Dr. White began his new job. (The following is reprinted from James Chapman’s Octagon article of March 16, 1989): “Dr. Daniel White, currently headmaster of the Webb School of California in Claremont, has been selected by the Headmaster Search Committee as the new headmaster, and will begin July 1, 1989.” “I have an innate sense of optimism about Country Day,” said White. “It sort of seems that everything (in my career) has been pointing to the situation at SCDS.” White feels that his best asset is his leadership. “The schools at which I’ve worked needed stability in their leadership position. I tend to be that stability. In 10 years, I want to look back and say, ‘We really did a good number there.’ There’s room in Sacramento for a different kind of high school, for a smaller, more personal high school. SCDS gives the kids a chance to discover things they might not be able to experience elsewhere.” Dr. White arrived as the new head of school just in time to preside over the 25th anniversary committee, chaired by parent Sally Nichols.

1995. Parents’ Association president Deborah Roden presents the year’s proceeds to headmaster Dan White.

1996. The first Scrip Program sales force: Parents Susan Knapp, Kaye Yuen, and Susan Contreras sell scrip to librarian Sheila Hefty. Started in 1996, the Scrip Program has netted the school over $200,000.

1994. Nancy Remington started her Country Day career in the kindergarten classroom in 1969 and served as head of lower school from 1982 to 1997. With Nancy is Joe Braun, athletic director from 1992 to 1995.

THE HABIT OF HELPING The Habit of Helping, the term employed by Dan White in 1989 for the 25th anniversary, turned out to be more than a one-year emphasis, and the motto and inclination is still one practiced by the SCDS community today. Lower school head Christy Vail describes the “Habit of Helping” as what we, as a community, do to help others, from picking up trash on our own campus to constructing a concrete floor in faraway Rulindo. During the last several decades, the SCDS community has volunteered and/or raised funds for an ever-changing, though sometimes constant, group of charities, including Coats for Kids, Christmas Promise, American River Parkway cleanup, and supplies for Kosovo. Why do projects come and go? Faculty member Elena Bennett writes that “service projects often start when a member of the community—student, parent, staff member—is interested in an issue or cause, starts working for it, and convinces other people to help. If the project gains enough supporters and has strong leadership, it may become a tradition.” The annual Turkey Drive started in 2011 because a group of fifth grade students had the idea, created a flyer asking for donations of frozen turkeys, and, in one day, with a goal of 43 (the number of students in their class), collected 101 turkeys for the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. The Turkey Drive continues with the number of donated turkeys increasing each year: 278 in 2014. Who will spearhead the drive after those fifth graders, now almost high schoolers, head off to college?

A parent with a concern for foster youth started a toy drive, which is in its third year. Ten years ago, the high school student council befriended students at the Dyer-Kelly elementary school and set up an annual breakfast and/or outing, as well as additional contacts throughout the school year. The school’s participation in the Run to Feed the Hungry, also benefitting the Sacramento Food Bank, was championed by just a few enthusiasts 10 years ago, and Sacramento Country Day has been the top fundraising team for the last nine years. Country Day’s affiliation with the Rulindo Schools in Rwanda was introduced by just one person, French teacher Gerlinde Klauser, and her lower school French students, starting with a pen-pal correspondence in 2006.

The 2013 Run to Feed the Hungry team shows off their team shirts prior to the start of the event.

The 25t h A n n i ver sa r y C e l e b r a t io n, 1 9 8 9 -1990 by Sally Nichols

The celebration for the school’s 25th anniversary was an

newsprint paper. The early photos show temporary

ambitious year-long affair. Founder Baxter Geeting and

buildings arriving on flatbed trucks, faculty in bellbottoms

his son Greg presided at the back-to-school coffee and flag

and beehive hairdos with cat’s eye glasses, and a school

raising ceremony on September 14, 1989, as the year of

community growing, literally and figuratively. The “extra,

celebratory events began. School kicked off that year with

extra, read all about it” newspaper was distributed at the

410 students parading around the campus in beautiful

all-school barbecue on May 25, 1990.

25th anniversary T-shirts. Dan White introduced the “theme” for the year—The Habit of Helping—and invited

The theme for the annual auction was “Happy Birthday,

students, faculty, and parents to incorporate it into their

Country Day.” There was a big effort made to draw past

daily lives. Lower school students painted a large logo on

parents, and especially past auction chairs, back to the

the playground blacktop reflecting the theme, and a huge

event, and there were several tables of loyal participants

tower of donated canned foods rose on the spot before

whose children had long since graduated.

being delivered to Sacramento charities. The anniversary project had a very modest budget, but

Greg Geeting’s remarks at the 25th celebration: “It was

somehow the lack of dollars spurred the creativity of

Monday, September 14, 1964. It was fair and quite warm

everyone involved. The campus was decorated with

in Sacramento, reaching a high of 87 degrees and a low

banners made out of checked plastic tablecloths and

of 57. It was not a particularly unusual day in Sacramento;

giant birthday candles everywhere. When it was time

the city was eagerly anticipating the arrival of President

to plan the May barbecue, little money remained. All

Lyndon Johnson on Thursday, and the 111th State Fair

hands on deck! Bernice Hagen set volunteers up in her

closed out its run with a final day’s attendance of 29,005.

commercial kitchen, and a small group made 900 black-

Many in the community were mourning the fact that

bottomed cupcakes to supplement the barbecue lunch

the day before both the Oakland Raiders and the San

prepared by Hickory Hank (and it was “Hankering Good”).

Francisco 49ers lost. However, for a group of 12 children,

Country Day’s birthday party had over 750 attendees

this was a very special day. At 8:30 a.m., they began to

singing “Happy Birthday.”

realize and to live the dream their parents and a number of concerned and interested individuals had had for more than a year. It was at that moment that the Sacramento Country Day School began instruction for the first time. I was among those 12 children (soon joined by a number of others).” After the kick-off, the anniversary committee planned to publish a photo-journal history of the 25 years, but there was not a budget for a professional production. They gathered photos and articles from archived Octagon issues and printed a multi-page handout on donated

Parents, students, and employees listen as headmaster Dan White and board president Bob Earl introduce Country Day founder Baxter Geeting.

The canned food drive brought in hundreds of cans, which were donated to charity.

Anniversary events included a nod to Earth Day and featured environmental speakers, a performance by the Banana Slug Band (“Earth Made my Lunch”), and the planting of seedlings and trees. Entomologist parent Mouse Endicott talked about “Good Bugs, Bad Bugs,” and parent Chris Nagano from the Department of Fish and Wildlife presented “The Spotted Owl vs. The Loggers.” Sacramento Tree Foundation board member Judy Reynen arranged for the donation and delivery of a number of 15-foot Deodar cedar trees. The cedars, today nearing 75 feet tall, were planted along Latham Drive and dedicated as “Grandparents Grove.”

The Nichols Family Sally and Grove Nichols, along with daughters Annie ’98, Charlotte ’00, and Allie ’02, moved to Sacramento during the 1985-86 school year and enrolled Annie in the SCDS kindergarten, followed two years later by Charlotte, and then Allie. Grove served as a trustee from 1987-1994, as board president from 1991-94, and again as trustee from 2010 to the present. Sally was president of the Parents’ Association for the 1988-89 year and a member of the board of trustees from 1996-99 and again from 2001-06. Sally also chaired the 1988 auction, the 1990 25th anniversary committee, and the 2003 search committee. After graduating from Country Day as Lifers, Annie went on to her father’s alma mater Middlebury, Charlotte to Georgetown, and Allie to Colgate.

55 Headmaster Dan White and wife Judy, Greg Geeting, president of the board of trustees Bob Earl, and Baxter Geeting pose following the 25th anniversary celebration.

Former head of high school Francie Tidey returns to campus to celebrate the 25th birthday with administrator Barbara Ore and headmaster Dan White.

Anniversary chair Sally Nichols and daughter Annie ’98.

A MOVE FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL, 1990

56 The photographer climbed to the roof of the gymnasium’s weight room to snap this picture of the opening day celebration. The commitment to a larger high school was reinforced when headmaster Dan White promoted the “if you build it, they will come” theory. More portables were delivered to school, funded, in part, by a gift from the Lesher family, to create seven high school classrooms, an office, and a room for student publications, and are now situated around a high school quad. On April 22, 1991, the “east campus” was dedicated in a ceremony attended by 400 students, parents, and faculty, including Francie Tidey, former high school faculty member from 1969 to 1986. Dr. White’s theory worked: high school enrollment nearly doubled during his tenure, from 64 when he started in 1989 to 114 when he left in 1998. Dr. White’s almost 10year tenure will be remembered for his advocacy of the school’s responsibility to serve others, for his leadership and commitment to Summerbridge/Breakthrough (one of the school’s proudest achievements), and for his honest rapport with employees, parents and trustees.

Groundskeeper Derek Haberman and parent Gail Graham plant a tree in the new high school quad.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE Strong long-range planning has allowed SCDS to

which, once printed, reaffirmed the strengths of SCDS

anticipate and keep pace with enrollment fluctuations

and evaluated what the future could be. Goal no. 1 was

and external conditions. Despite the school’s fluctuating

the commitment to an independent non-denominational,

financial and enrollment history, one constant has been

co-educational, college preparatory, K-12 school with

the meeting of minds to hash out long-range strategic

a maximum enrollment of 600. The current mission

plans, usually every five to 10 years, to evaluate the

statement reiterates those same goals. Additional goals

present, and examine and anticipate what’s around

addressed the need to seek a greater socio-economic and

the corner. Committees, even now, are made up of all

ethnic diversity, evaluated the grouping of kindergarten-

constituencies—parents, faculty, students, and alumni.

sixth grades in the lower school and seventh and eighth

Opinions

necessary

in the middle school (ultimately SCDS moved the sixth

to produce a document approved by all committee

grade up to middle school), and recommended that a

members. In the early years, long-range planning took a

pre-kindergarten be opened.

are

varied

and

compromises

backseat to day-to-day checkbook balancing, but once it appeared that Country Day had a future, trustees started

The Agenda for the ‘90s

to plan beyond the next bank payment.

The process of strategic planning is ongoing, and five years after the “1986 Long Range Plan” was adopted,

The First Master Plan, 1975

another committee, this one chaired by Bob Earl, met to

In 1972, the board asked architect Dick Lewis to prepare a

write “The Agenda for the 90s, A Strategic Plan.” This plan

master plan, which was ultimately filed with the Planning

included specific strategies to implement the objectives,

Commission, but withdrawn a short time later, when the

e.g., place 20 computer stations for educational use,

portable classroom for kindergarten was approved with

add more music to the arts offerings, and broaden

the stipulation that there be no more temporary buildings

opportunities for experiential learning through travel

placed on the property until a plan for development of

and educational exchanges. Next up, heeding one of the

permanent structures was submitted. Two years later, in

goals of the Agenda for the ‘90s, the headmaster and

April 1974, SCDS applied for a permit to build what would

board moved to enhance the facility to complement the

be the sixth grade building, but was asked by the Planning

academic environment and turned to the firm of Williams

Commission to prepare a more complete master plan. Six

+ Paddon to design the campus upgrade and expansion.

months later, board president Rob Gallaway presented the school’s plan outlining phased development over

The Blueprint for the Future, 1993-94

10 years. The Planning Commission recommended

The proposal by Williams + Paddon was specific:

denial of the building permit in Phase I of the Plan, but

accommodate a student enrollment of 600, increase

in December 1975, the Sacramento City Council rejected

classroom space, build a fine arts and technology

the recommendation of the Planning Commission and

building, accommodate a college campus model with

approved the school’s 10-Year Master Plan with a target

three schools—lower, middle, and high—maintain the

enrollment of 600 students—350 students in grades 7-12

11:1 student/faculty ratio, and minimize the impact on the

and 250 in grades K-5.

neighborhood both with traffic and location of buildings. An ambitious plan, it called for an increase in total building

The 1986 Long Range Plan

area from 47,500 square feet to around 75,000 square

Ten years later, during James Achterberg’s tenure, the

feet. Based on reactions from neighbors and the Planning

“1986 Long Range Plan” was adopted. Chaired by trustee

Commission to earlier proposed additions, it was not a

Jonathan Brown, the committee spent almost a year

total surprise that the plan met with some pushback.

debating and discussing the contents of their report,

“Dear Dan, All is Not Smooth”

was less than 500. The restrictions also addressed school

When looking at the plan, one component seemed to

traffic backing up on Latham and street and double

make sense. Since there was neighborhood concern over

parking on neighborhood streets. Today, as the size of

the traffic on Latham Drive, why not move the entrance

the student body and faculty increases, violations of

and exit to Munroe, already a traffic-collector street? The

the traffic restrictions could lead to a revocation of the

plan proposed moving the majority of parking around to

Conditional Use Permit that allows SCDS to operate with

the back of campus and to access the parking lot from

a 544 enrollment cap. No parent from this era who was

Munroe. The berm along Latham would be planted

a front-row activist in the grueling political process would

with trees, offering neighborhood residents a green

ever park in front of a neighbor’s driveway or block traffic

and pleasing view. As SCDS headed to the Planning

on Latham. The threatened consequence of turning away

Commission in November 1994 with the new master

qualified students is still in their memory.

plan, the headmaster received a letter from the school’s attorney, “Dear Dan, All is not smooth.” Although the

Incidental to the campaign being conducted with the

neighbors on the Latham side thought moving campus

Planning Department and the organized group of

access to Munroe was a great idea, the residents of East

neighbors, the headmaster and the board president

Ranch, with a driveway directly across the street from the

were sued by one of the neighbors not affiliated with the

school’s proposed driveway, were opposed. The school

organized neighbor group. The lawsuit addressed garbage

found itself in the proverbial “rock and a hard place”

pick-up times, landscaping, the use of power equipment

position.

on the campus before 8 a.m., limiting enrollment to 422, and street parking. The lawsuit was settled, and any

The situation actually got worse before it got better.

agreement was null and void when the neighbor moved

Country Day’s plans once again reiterated its enrollment

from the area.

goal of 600 students; at the time, enrollment was at an all-time high of 517. During the planning department’s

A Compromise

investigative phase, it was found that enrollment was

In a letter from board president Jamie Nelson, dated June

authorized by the City at only 422. It seems that during the

21, 1996, “By a 9-0 vote, the Sacramento City Council

application process for the new high school buildings in

approved Sacramento Country Day School’s revised

1990, that year’s current enrollment of 422 was indicated

Master Plan, which reflects compromise between the

on the form as the maximum enrollment and the

school and its neighbors. The long struggle in the political

planning department chose to enforce what essentially

process has ended. In summary, the school is authorized

was a typographical error and held the school to the 422

to enroll up to 544 students, and is obligated to produce

figure. Elaborate building plans were ditched as SCDS

an effect on traffic in the neighborhood as though we

lawyers argued for the 600-student cap, but enrollment

are a school of around 430 students, which means that

was frozen, potential students were turned away, and the

we must manage our traffic. We will be working with

possibility of having to send home almost 100 enrolled

neighbors on a Mitigation Monitoring Committee in order

students placed SCDS in a disadvantageous position.

to minimize the chance that future conflicts between neighbors and the school will arise. In compromise, one

City Council Approves Master Plan, 1996

never obtains everything one wants, and certainly, we

Finally, after five public hearings, the Planning Commission

began by asking for other things. What has been enacted

approved a much less aggressive Master Plan and,

is an agreement with which we can operate effectively

despite an appeal by a group of neighbors, the plan was

and resume the process of planning and growing. And,

approved by the City Council in June 1996, with some

we can be proud of the dignity with which our community

significant requirements. The most noteworthy condition

conducted the negotiating process and represented the

related to traffic in and around the neighborhood, with

school in public, under sometimes trying circumstances,

the school required to maintain traffic volume at the same

and met the challenge we faced in 1995-96.”

level as measured by the City in 1996, when enrollment

Architect Stuart Buck shows trustee Fred Katz the plans for the Bradshaw property.

Board president Jamie Nelson works the morning carpool line.

Annual Fund chairs Bud and Sally Tollette “dial for dollars” during the annual phonathon.

James “Jamie” Nelson, Former Board President Jamie and Julie Nelson and twin daughters Amy and Beth joined the SCDS family in the spring of 1986, when the Nelsons moved to Sacramento and the girls entered kindergarten. Jamie served on the board of trustees from 1989 to 1999, as board president from 1994-97, and as the friends of the board representative in 2000-01 and again from 2006-08. Jamie has several distinctions: he has a winning coaching record with the high school girls’ soccer team, having coached them once to a win when longtime coach George Champayne was serving a one-game, red-card suspension, and he is the only board chair to serve under a court-ordered injunction, along with the headmaster, resulting from the neighborhood dispute in 1997. Lifers Amy and Beth graduated in 1998 and went on to become “Cal Bears.” The Nelsons are now SCDS grandparents: Amy’s daughter Sophia is a student in the class of 2028.

Su mmer b r i d g e , t he Su m m e r o f 1 9 9 4 by Dan White One day in 1992, Gail Graham, trustee and SCDS parent,

the key being enrollment in algebra and geometry in high

came into my office with her trademark energy and

school.

enthusiasm. "Let's start a Summerbridge program at SCDS," she said (or words to that effect; after all, that was

So Gail and I went to San Francisco, the home of

over 20 years ago!)

Summerbridge. From that visit, we got the information needed by schools interested in hosting Summerbridge,

Headmasters are always wise to pay attention when

made ourselves known to Summerbridge National and

trustees bound into their offices with ideas, especially

Lois, and, after some fortunate turns of events, secured

when the trustee is the one who, as chairperson of the

the services of Heather Hughes as the first director of

board, hired you. Most especially when the trustee is as

Summerbridge Sacramento.

respectful of the divisions of responsibility between board and head as was Gail. Some ideas are worth remaining as

Heather had worked in a school-based program and at

ideas. Hers were generally worth exploring.

National, and she knew the how-to of starting a program. She also knew key people in the national office, crucial

I don't think that she knew a couple of things about my

because the first couple of years of funding for the

background. First, I had helped to start a program at UC

program were undergirded by grants from the national

Riverside that focused on encouraging middle school

office.

students from trying circumstances and second, I had met Lois Loofbourrow, the founder and national director

Backed by the support of the board of trustees and

of Summerbridge in San Francisco. I was already a fan

employing Gail's enthusiasm and contacts wherever

of the idea central to Summerbridge: enlisting the talent

possible, Heather set out to meet the staff in area public

and energy of college and high-school-age students as

schools who would be critical in recruiting students.

teachers in a summer program with a clear purpose. That

The "sell" to a middle school student was simple: attend

purpose was to insure that program participants got into

school every day for six weeks during summer vacation

a college-bound track at their middle and high schools,

and expect a couple of hours of homework every night to boot. There was, of course, genius in that "sell." Any student signing on had already self-identified as motivated, interested in opportunity, and not frightened by the prospect of hard work. Families of students were interviewed as well. They would provide important support for the students at home each night. Next, Heather needed to recruit talented college and high-school-age students to teach the classes. In the early years, most were college students, but as the program took hold, high school students, most of them

Summerbridge co-founders Gail Graham and Dan White, with first director Heather Hughes (center).

from SCDS, stepped up to accept the low pay for long hours the Summerbridge teaching job offered. Heather also found several SCDS full-time teachers to serve as

mentors. They served their young colleagues well, to the benefit of the middle school students who were being inspired by people close to them in age to strive for college prep classes and college beyond. The orientation meeting for families and students, hosted by Heather and the initial faculty in 1993, was a memorable event in the history of SCDS because of the range of ethnicities and variety of languages represented by the families. Most probably had not known about SCDS before their children had taken an interest in participating in Summerbridge. No one present that evening could reasonably claim that SCDS was only a haven for rich kids.

Summerbridge advisory board member Jerry Knapp with director Nancy Nagramada.

We were a place for all of Sacramento's kids and families.

As the years passed, the program grew. Heather was

Those original Summerbridge students would be in their

followed as director by Nancy Nagramada, another high-

30s now. Some of them are doctors, professors, teachers,

energy person with a passion for kids and an abiding

and administrators, having been accepted and educated

commitment to equal access to educational opportunity,

at some of the most prestigious college in the country,

like Heather and Gail. Former students returned to teach

including John Hopkins, Stanford, Georgetown, and

in the program, always an important endorsement of the

Harvard. Some of their young teachers are approaching

value of any program.

40, and many have chosen teaching as their profession. I can't help but think that their lives and the lives of those

Funding was forever tenuous. More than once, we worried

that followed them as students, teachers, and mentors,

about going out of business until some significant and

all were affected in a positive and lasting way by the idea

lasting benefactors stepped forward, and ties with the

Gail Graham brought to my office that blossomed into

County Office of Education, through former SCDS head of

Breakthrough.

high school, Francie Tidey, were secured. Summerbridge morphed into the Breakthrough Collaborative, the present name of the program.

Daniel E. White, Former Headmaster In Dan’s first year as headmaster, SCDS celebrated its 25th anniversary. During his 10-year tenure, several fundamental programs were inaugurated: Summerbridge/Breakthrough, Classics (the SCDS store), and the Master Plan of 1996. Judy White taught history for several years and volunteered at Classics. Dr. White served as SCDS headmaster until 1998, when he and Judy followed a dream and moved to Hawaii, where Dan served as headmaster at Seabury Hall for five years and then worked as a consultant advising independent schools. In 2003, Dan and Judy co-founded Island Pacific Academy, a PK-12 school of 500 students on Oahu. They retired in 2013 and remain active in volunteer work in the west Oahu area. Dan also continues to teach graduate courses in Private School Leadership at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Su mmer b r i d g e B e c o m e s B r e a k t h r o ug h by Adolfo Mercado After much of the excitement that surrounded the

the director of Breakthrough sit on the governing

introduction of a Summerbridge program onto the SCDS

board for Sacramento Cal-SOAP. For almost a decade,

campus waned, funding challenges began as founding

this partnership provided exposure, partnerships, and

funders changed their scope of giving and the program

funding.

became more reliant on the school. When Nancy Nagramada, the second director, decided to return to

With the program's funding stabilized, there was

graduate school, the school's trustees were forced to

leadership transition, and Laura Steele Monahan was

make a critical decision—continue to host the program

selected to be the program's fourth director in 2002, when

or cancel it. Just as there was an explosion of new sites

Laura Noyes moved back east to be closer to her family.

when Sacramento was started, now many of these sites

Under Ms. Monahan’s directorship, partnerships with

were being defunded—Portland, Oregon, and Louisville,

public schools were strengthened and student selection

Kentucky, for example.

became more and more selective, while the teacher training component of the teaching fellows’ experience

The trustees at SCDS demonstrated their support of

became more rigorous. Since Laura Steele Monahan

Breakthrough and its vision of service to the larger

was an SCDS teacher prior to her service as director,

urban community when they committed to preserve the

the program saw more SCDS students volunteering and

program under a new partnership with the Sacramento

families supporting the program by hosting summer

County Office of Education. The program director, Nancy

teaching fellows or donating to the program with their

Nagramada, left to pursue her graduate studies, and

time, talent, or treasure. With even stronger programmatic

Laura Noyes was hired as the third director. As an alumna

footing, Laura discerned that her passion was teaching

of The Derryfield School in Manchester, NH, Laura taught

and not administration and returned to the classroom,

at that school's Breakthrough program and was very

and the school's leadership hired me as the program's

familiar with the program's mission and model.

fifth director in 2005.

Under Laura's directorship, the program expanded.

As a native Sacramentan, I continued to build upon the

Partnerships with supporters were solidified and the

work of my predecessors and capitalized on the doors

program gained more recognition from the SCDS

opened for increased presence in the city through the

community. The County Office of Education, through the

partnership with Cal-SOAP. Breakthrough saw more and

Cal-SOAP (Student Opportunity and Access Programs)

more high schoolers wanting to volunteer, and selection

Consortium provided critical support, and Breakthrough

for both students and teaching fellow participants became

was catapulted into playing a bigger role in the education

more selective, nearing 25% selection. The advisory board

landscape in the city. This partnership stipulated that

held a retreat and drafted a plan to grow the program to

Adolfo Mercado, Director of Breakthrough Sacramento Adolfo was born into what used to be a traditional Mexican and devoutly Catholic family in Sacramento. One of his earliest memories is playing on the tomato tractors in the fields of Woodland, CA, while the family worked. Adolfo attended parochial schools, graduating from Christian Brothers in 1992, and leaving sunny California for college at Boston University. Culture shock led him to transfer to the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology. Since 2005 he has been the director of Breakthrough Sacramento at Sacramento Country Day School.

serve over 100 students each summer, nearly a doubling

competent in whatever career they choose. Now that

of the program's original size at inception. At this retreat,

the program's earliest student alumni are completing

the board also decided to follow the recommendation of

graduate school or the teaching fellows are working as

the national Breakthrough Collaborative and change the

professionals, the next decade is filled with promise in

program's name from Summerbridge to Breakthrough. In

hope that the alumni will remember the start or push they

July 2007, Summerbridge Sacramento officially changed

were given at Breakthrough and return to support this

its name to Breakthrough Sacramento (BSAC).

program. Dan White refers to the seeds he saw planted as blossoming and, to continue that metaphor, those

All of the work done at the retreat came to a screeching

blossoms are beginning to bear fruit. Without the support

halt when Governor Schwarzenegger decided to privatize

of the community, Breakthrough Sacramento would have

EdFund, the source of funds for Cal-SOAP, and the County

had multiple "disappearances," but the indomitable spirit

Office of Education had to cancel the partnership with

of the Breakthrough learning community is still present

Breakthrough. In 2009, headmaster Stephen Repsher

and growing. The tenacity of program participants is

and I went to a meeting at the County Office of Education

the vision program staff uses to fuel its work! In 2012

and the Associate Superintendent shared the bad news

Breakthrough Sacramento reached a new milestone

that the partnership would be severed. As much as the

when alumna Ying Lo-Khang joined the team-of-two as

County was proud of this partnership, funds from the

program coordinator. Having been a student, teaching

state were being reduced for Cal-SOAP.

fellow, and dean for Breakthrough, she is a testament to

the work done and service offered to the entire city out of In its 20+ years, Breakthrough Sacramento has enabled

the office in Hansen Plaza at SCDS.

over 1000 younger students to be successful in college and trained over 500 high school and college students to be teachers or empowered them with skills to be highly

DIRECTORS SUMMERBRIDGE/BREAKTHROUGH Heather Hughes

Laura Noyes Zahn

1993-1996

1998-2002

Nancy Nagramada

Laura Steele Monahan

1996-1998

2002-2005 Adolfo Mercado 2005-present

Adolfo Mercado with former and current BSAC program coordinators Marianne Ceballos and Ying Lo-Khang.

RAISING FUNDS FOR BREAKTHROUGH THE CYCLING MUSICIANS In July 2007, three SCDS teachers embarked on a 500mile bicycle trip from Oregon to Idaho to raise money for Breakthrough. Their route took them from sea level at Newport, Oregon, over five mountain passes (one over 5,000 feet), and down into Boise, Idaho. As the group planned their trip, there was always the question of whether this tuneful trio could make the move from behind a music stand to the seat of a bicycle, from the blackboard to the asphalt, and from soothing melodies to grueling roadwork. The Players

Brooke Wells, Dan Ahlstrom, and Bob Ratcliff start their ride at the Oregon coast. o l

High school teacher Brooke Wells: Plays guitar; training

regime focused on lawn games, chess and grading finals.

Music teacher Dan Ahlstrom: Plays bass; trained for the trip with sit-ups and by chasing after his four children. Music teacher Bob Ratcliff: Plays sax; logged hundreds of

miles on the bike trainer in his hallway pre-trip. Departure date: July 2, 2007 Biking time: 10 days • Money raised: $12,125

j 100

200

300 Distance (miles)

400

500

1. Newport, OR - 0 ft. 2. Tombstone Summit - 4,236 ft. 3. Santiam Pass - 4,817 ft. 4. Ochoco Pass - 4,722 ft. 5. Keyes Creek Summit - 4,382 ft. 6. Dixie Pass - 5,279 ft. 7. Boise, ID - 2,700 ft.

THE LAST CAVALIER STANDING With Breakthrough funding precarious, Auction 2009 chairs Christy Procida and Lindsey Sackheim proposed a “game” to raise funds for BSAC, “The Last Cavalier Standing.” The game asks attendees to stand if they are willing to donate to Breakthrough at the opening amount. As the donation level rises, donors sit down when the amount reaches their level of support. The last person standing is “The Last Cavalier Standing.” Special thanks to Cynthia Edwards who has been The Last Cavalier Standing since that first year, joined this year by the Owaidat family. Now, other schools are replicating this game at their school’s auction to support their local Breakthrough program. The SCDS community, again, proves itself a leader for innovation on a national level. Total funds raised from seven years of “Last Cavalier Standing” are over $300,000.

Last Cavalier Standing Cynthia Edwards and Breakthrough and Country Day graduate Gerardo Vergara ’13 at the 2013 Auction, where Gerardo was the guest speaker.

‘ON BROADWAY AT SCDS’ Breakthrough students were treated to numerous live theater performances thanks to high school student Lara Kong ’15. Lara had loved going to performances since she was a young girl, and she wanted to introduce live theater to those less fortunate. In partnership with the California Musical Theater, she started her “On Broadway at SCDS” project in her freshman year, with the goal of raising funds to purchase tickets for Breakthrough students. More funds were raised than anticipated, and the project expanded to include young students from other community organizations. In the four years that Lara devoted to the project, she raised over $80,000, allowing hundreds of students from throughout Sacramento to attend Music Circus and Broadway Series performances. In 2013, Lara received the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award at the Association of Fundraising Professional lunch.

Lara Kong receives a plaque from California Musical Theater volunteer Dennis Mangers at the CMT Spring Gala.

Breakthrough faculty and students in the SCDS middle school quad. (2010)

Classi cs, T h e S t o r e , 1 9 9 1 -1 9 9 4 by Gail Graham

Graphic designer Gwen Amos helped hone our concept and created our snazzy logo and signage, while Margie Amott took on the huge task of bookkeeping. Classics was staffed completely by SCDS parents: Sally Nichols organized the volunteer support system; Julie Nelson and Sally Tollette coordinated a means of securing donations from the SCDS community; and Suzanne Hunt, Terry Lovell, and Judy White were indefatigable with their hard work and constant enthusiasm. With development director Wendy Ross as head cheerleader, we all marveled at how Joan Nelson and Jeanne Johnston wove the visuals The

desire

support

scholarship

funding

for

Summerbridge (now known as Breakthrough) students attending SCDS brought together a team of dedicated and talented parents, enthusiastic encouragement of head of school Dan White, and a board of trustees willing to take

a chance on a new project by providing seed-funding. Tweaking the concept of a second-hand retail store run for years by the Branson School (an independent school located in Marin County), Classics opened to the public in 1991, combining gift items with gently used clothing, toys and furnishings. After securing a space in the Arden Shopping Center at Fair Oaks and Watt Avenue, the collaboration and work began in earnest. Many people helped with the transformation—designing layout, building walls and displays, scrubbing floors and windows, and prepping us for retail business.

together with their fabulous sense of style, making the store a destination for shoppers looking for unique, wellpriced, high-quality items. Timeless, well made and full of playfulness, Classics brought SCDS a new means of community exposure. Realizing we were all volunteers and that the proceeds went to scholarships, we frequently received inquiries about the school and donations from the broader community as well. One of the most memorable was dozens of cloth dolls hand stitched from old clothing remnants, with hair of yarn and expressive embroidered faces. The woman who brought them in explained that her elderly mother had made them and wanted to donate them to the store to help kids with limited opportunity to get a good education. This validation brought full circle the significance and success of our mission.

Gail Graham, Former Board President Gail Graham was on the board of trustees from 1984-1994, serving as board president from 1987-1989. Her dedication to service to others was the genesis of both Summerbridge and Classics. Her artistic talent lent itself to not only Classics, but to every auction, where, year after year from 1987 to 1993, she transformed the gym into a Monopoly game, a birthday party, an opera house, and a rock ‘n’ roll party, among others. As a master gardener, she lent her expertise to designing much of the landscaping on campus. The three Graham children attended SCDS—Carter ’94, Curtis ’97, and Taylor ’98 (who attended Rio Americano for high school). Carter went on to graduate from Brown and Curtis and Taylor from Stanford.

CLASSICS COMMITTEE MINUTES, OCTOBER 1993

67 Happy Birthday to Classics. Two years of experience, $50,000 to date contributed to the SCDS Scholarship Fund, thousands of items distributed to those in need in our community, and 108 volunteers strong!

Joan Nelson and Terry Lovell prepare the store for its grand opening.

Sally NIchols and Gail Graham determine the sales price of a donated quilt.

Store volunteer Judy White and Baxter Geeting enjoy the refreshments at the grand opening of Classics.

T h e Class ic s R um m a g e Sa l e , 1 9 9 4 -2 0 0 4 by Julie Nelson After four years, the Arden Town Center management

The pre-sale party—with substantial food and wine most

offered a new lease at an increased rent, and it was

often hosted by Andrea and Tim Murphrey, and all prices

costly. Finding another location was difficult, as was

doubled for the evening—was open to SCDS families and

continuing to staff the store six days a week. The decision

friends and became so popular that the proceeds often

to close the store was not easily made. A solution was

approached the amount raised during the two-day sale

proposed—direct volunteer resources to an annual

that followed. High school student council members

weekend rummage sale. Items were collected and stored,

ran the third day of the sale—the $5-a-bag sale. Most

a location was found, and a group of volunteers sorted,

customers returned on Sunday and were given 13-gallon

folded, and priced for a month prior to the sale. On

plastic bags at the door. They could over-fill as many as

sale day, the doors opened to long lines of buyers who

they could carry, bring them to the counter, and the price

returned year after year.

was $5 per bag. The student council earned money and community service hours, customers were able to outfit

Finding a location each year was always a challenge, and

their families with much-needed clothing, the store was

the sale moved several times; sites included Eastern

completely cleaned out in a few hours, and the hangers,

Avenue and Arden, Bradshaw and 50, Fair Oaks and El

clothing racks, and display pieces were stored until the

Camino, a site on Exposition Blvd, and more. Over a 10-

next year.

year period, the volunteers remained fairly consistent— Liz Dain, Lou Ann Fischer, Anita Marmaduke, Sally Nichols,

Like the store, the rummage sale met the same goals—

and Sally Tollette ran the “Classics Corner,” where “finer”

raising funds for scholarship and providing a service to

merchandise was set aside and priced higher, and on-

a community other than our own. It succeeded for 10

site volunteer coordinators Anita Clevenger and Nadine

years, raising a total of over $120,000, but that stalwart

Cribbins organized the bags and boxes of merchandise

group of parent volunteers was graduating along with

ably assisted by a loyal group of sorters, folders, and

their students, and I wanted to step down as chair. The

pricers. Marlene Gidaro lent her design expertise

distinctive plastic black hangers—first used in the Classics

throughout the “store” and provided treats to the group,

store, then in the Classics section of the rummage sale—

and I chaired the event for 10 years.

were sent home with the volunteers and can be found in many closets of alumni parents today.

Julie Nelson, Former Parents’ Association President Julie Nelson, spouse Jamie, and twin daughters Amy and Beth joined the SCDS family in the spring of 1986, when the Nelsons left the East Coast to return to Julie’s home state of California and enrolled the girls in kindergarten. Julie was Parents’ Association president (1989-90), co-chaired the auction twice (1988 and 1990), and chaired the Classics Rummage Sale for 10 years. She started work in the development office in 1996 and was appointed director of communications in 1999. Lifers Amy and Beth graduated in 1998 and went on to become “Cal Bears.” The Nelsons are now SCDS grandparents: Amy’s daughter Sophia is a student in the class of 2028.

In the 13 years of Classics (the store) and the Classics rummage sale, almost $200,000 was raised for scholarships.

Rummage sale volunteers Sally Tollette and Anita Marmaduke try on some merchandise.

Tim Murphrey and daughter Morgan ’10 take a break in one of the sale offerings.

THE DUAL CAMPUS VISION

Trustees Vince Jacobs, Nancy Reid, Fred Katz, Tim Ryan, and Toran Brown consider various sites for a second campus. 70 (1998)

Headmaster Selden Edwards and board president Tim Ryan visit a potential site in West Sacramento. (1999)

The Strategic Plan adopted by the board of trustees in

In June 2001, the school was the recipient of a gift from

January 1997 reaffirmed the dual goals of building a

the GenCorp Foundation of 80 acres of undeveloped land

new high school campus and refurbishing the Latham

located 18 miles east of the present campus, south of

campus. Energy focused on an extensive land search

Highway 50, off White Rock Road. The idea that Country

from West Sacramento to El Dorado County. What began

Day could have a PK-12 campus on this property, while

as an exploration for a high school location at times

maintaining a PK-8 campus at its present site was exciting.

mutated into a search for the relocation of the entire

This Dual Campus Vision was articulated in a publication

pre-k through grade 12 configuration. Led by trustee Fred

adopted September 17, 2001. Unfortunately, after over

Katz and spanning several headmasters and five board

ten years of due diligence, the White Rock site proved

presidents, the investigation included dozens of sites,

untenable for the school. In mid-2009 an opportunity

each one stymied by one obstacle or another, including

arose to lease/purchase the unoccupied Newton Booth

vernal pools and fairy shrimp, the fire department and

School at 26th and V Streets for the high school. With

fuel tanks, access to water, excessive noise, unsuitable

a $2.5 million dollar goal set by the board of trustees,

locations, and even an airplane crash too close to a

enthusiastic fundraising began. Due in large part to the

considered site. In the midst of the land search for a

economic downturn, the goal was not achieved and

second campus, incoming interim headmaster Selden

plans for Newton Booth were put on hold. Bumping up

Edwards arrived in 1998 from his most recent position as

against multiple obstacles, the Dual Campus Vision was

headmaster of the Elgin School.

temporarily set aside in favor of the more pressing need to upgrade the Latham campus.

HEADMASTER SELDEN EDWARDS, 1998-2003 Selden Edwards and the board of trustees determined that it was time for faculty compensation to be more in line with typical independent school salaries and, in October 1999, moved to increase teacher salaries by $10,000 over a three-year period. Even with increased tuition, successful fundraising (particularly the Annual Fund) became vital. The parents rose to the task: Annual Fund dollars increased 50% over a four-year period, breaking the $200,000 barrier for the first time. Five years later, when Mr. Edwards retired to finish the book he had started as an English teacher several decades earlier, there was a good-bye party to rival some of the best. (The following is from the Spring 2003 issue of the SCDS Newsletter): “Imagine 1,400 people, young and old, wearing colorful, cardboard bow ties and round, plastic spectacles. It was quite a sight! And, there were several hundred students wearing khaki pants and blue

Selden Edwards and Barbara Ore display the quilt, created for Edwards and hand-crafted by parents Karen Edson and Julie Ramos. The commemorative quilt is presented to Edwards by seventh graders Masey Ramos and Anna Ellison.

button-down shirts. It was ‘dress like Mr. Edwards Day’

and the Country Day community’s way of saying goodbye to Selden Edwards. Held concurrently with Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day, the day-long music festival highlighted the sounds of well-known jazz pianist Willie Pickens, often accompanied by Country Day musicians. Selden has the good fortune to know Mr. Pickens quite well—they share grand-parenting duties for granddaughter Olivia Pickens. The bow ties were the creation of Grandparents’ Day chair Greta Mehta (at that time, the mother of kindergartner Caroline ’15 and 3rd grader Grace ’12) and an artistic group of volunteers. Why bow ties? Because Selden wears a bow tie every Friday. But, Friday, May 2, was a special

Celebrating with headmaster Edwards at the 1999 auction are the Very Reverend Don Brown, former trustee Carol Anne Brown, former trustee Jim Craig, and Susan Craig.

day for Selden—he would be speaking to an audience of grandparents and special friends, so he decided to dress up. He wore a necktie, a real necktie, while everyone else on campus, almost 1,400 of us, wore bow ties in his honor.” Selden’s enthusiasm for the life of the school was so clear,” said board president Toran Brown ’82. “Each day, as he welcomed families in the carpool line, visited classrooms or attended student meetings, his genuine interest in the

students was evident. His accomplishments during the last five years have been significant—leading the effort to raise faculty salaries, initiating the Latham campus redevelopment effort, and following through on the vision of securing the 80-acre gift of California heartland that could some day be the White Rock campus. We are grateful for Selden’s contributions—he will be greatly missed.”

THE SEIPP GIFT In 2000, SCDS grandparents Anne and Edwin Seipp (Emily ‘04 & Tommy ‘06 Marmaduke) donated funds for two buildings to be located behind the gym and able to support four classrooms. A portico between these buildings and Tsakopoulos Hall provided middle school students a locker area and gathering space away from the high school crowd. Today, the rooms are high school classrooms.

Emily Marmaduke and Anita Seipp Marmaduke on campus to see the building moved to its new location.

HEADMASTERS IN THE BOOK BUSINESS They followed each other as headmasters and they’ve shadowed each other as writers. Not many independent schools can boast having headmasters who publish once, much less twice. Dan White’s first book, “... so help me, God,” goes back many years, when he and his wife Judy wondered how newly elected Presidents decided on which page to open the Bible during their inauguration. After researching the question, Dr. White found that some selected a specific verse and some just flipped open the good book to the middle. The research quickly expanded to include chapters describing unique aspects of inaugurations from George Washington to Bill Clinton. A book followed in 1996, and the then Country Day headmaster was on several local news shows. In 2012, Dr. White produced an updated version, with chapters up through the inauguration of Barack Obama. “The Lost Prince,” the second book by former headmaster Selden Edwards, was published in 2012. This followed his New York Times bestselling “The Little Book,” published in 2007. While teaching English, attending Stanford graduate school, raising three children with English teacher wife Gaby, and serving as headmaster at independent schools in California and Illinois, Edwards wrote his first book over a nearly 35-year period. His second novel was completed within a more concrete timeline.

BARBARA ORE RETIRES, 2006 When Barbara Ore first retired in 1982 after 10 years at SCDS, the faculty chipped in and bought her a goat. “Mr. Tumnus (from the character in the Chronicles of Narnia) lived in the backyard for many years, eating my good plants and leaving the weeds behind,” said Mrs. Ore. The goat was put out to pasture in the Ores’ yard and, after a short year of retirement, Barbara Ore was persuaded to return to SCDS as interim headmaster in 1983. Upon Mrs. Ore’s second retirement in June 2006, it was her preference to quietly slip away with no fanfare or farewell tribute. While trying to be respectful of her request, the board of trustees decided they could not let her remarkable service and departure go unnoted. At the headmaster’s dinner May 2007, Steve Repsher announced the board’s naming of The Barbara MacAulay Ore Faculty Professional Development Endowment Fund

Barbara Ore and Mr. Tumnus

and described Barbara “as a model lifelong learner, who

“Teaching one’s own children has its challenges,” said

shared her knowledge with others.” In Barbara’s office,

Mrs. Ore, adding that she tried very hard to prevent the

there were stacks of books on her desk and bookshelves,

impression of favoring her own child, until one student,

many with markers in them for colleagues or parents.

Doug Press, pointed out that she was stricter with Mary

During her years at SCDS, she cultivated and encouraged

than the rest of the children.

the continual pursuit of knowledge. She was passionate about continuing education for her faculty and parents

“I loved teaching in the classroom with the opportunity

and continually sought funding to these ends.

to create a learning environment for a group of children. As I moved into administration and my responsibilities

In a conversation with one of her colleagues, Barbara

broadened, I found it energizing in a different way—to

Ore said that she came to the school for a year just to

be able to impact the learning environment for a larger

have a little something to do and stayed a lifetime. In

group—for all the lower and middle school grades, for

her 34 years at Country Day, Mrs. Ore worked as a pre-

instance. Each job held its own unique challenges and

kindergarten assistant, sixth grade teacher, counselor,

opportunities.” Students at all levels responded to Mrs.

director of admissions and development, interim head

Ore. In 1981, Medallion staffers dedicated the yearbook

of school, head of the lower and middle schools, and

to her, saying, “She inspires art, creativity and thought.

associate head of school.

Although she is very busy as head of the lower school, she manages to find time to help anyone in need of it.” In June

Mrs. Ore’s introduction to teaching was to a class of 16

2005, Mrs. Ore was the recipient of the alumni award, the

pre-kindergartners, including Barbara and husband Ron’s

Francie Tidey Award for Excellence in Education.

son, Philip. “I have warm memories of lively, imaginative four-year-olds, and now they are adults in their late

A new title for Mrs. Ore is Country Day grandmother;

thirties,” she said. Daughter Mary Ore was a student in

granddaughter Hannah is a student in the 2014-15

her mother’s sixth grade class and remembers raising

kindergarten, and Barbara has invited other grandparents

her hand to announce that she knew why Mrs. Ore’s hair

to join her in the newly formed association, Grandparents

was red: “Your brain is rusty,” she broadcast to the class.

and Friends at SCDS.

NEW HEADMASTER STEPHEN REPSHER, 2003 The current headmaster, Stephen T. Repsher, started work on July 1, 2003, having spent the prior 17 years in Southern California, most recently as the headmaster of the kindergarten through 12th grade Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara for six years and, prior to that, 11 years with the Viewpoint School near Los Angeles, first as the head of the upper school and then as associate headmaster. Steve and his wife Paula and their two children moved north, and the children started the fall term—Emily in seventh grade and Dylan in fifth grade. Country Day’s enrollment and faculty were stable; it was time to concentrate on bricks and mortar. For the next 10 years, Mr. Repsher’s focus was raising funds for capital improvements, and he was fortunate to have as his board presidents two people with a unique perspective: 1982 graduate Toran Brown, who had attended Country

The Repsher family: Steve, Paula, Emily ’09 and Dylan ‘11. (2003)

Day from kindergarten to 12th grade, followed by Anita Seipp Marmaduke, whose family has a long history of supporting independent education.

August 25, 2008: Anita Seipp Marmaduke, Stephen Repsher, and Christy Vail cut the ribbon and open the doors to the new lower school building.

CAPITAL FUNDRAISING, 2003 After 40 years of students and faculty wearing holes in the floors and carpets of those first classrooms in the buildings from the ‘60s and ‘70s, it was time to rebuild and update. Based on findings from an independent consulting group, Lester Consulting, in 2003 the board approved a fundraising campaign goal of $5 million to build a new middle and high school science center, renovate many classrooms, upgrade the campus infrastructure, reconfigure the parking lot, and build a new lower school building for grades K-5, including a library. The first building in the ambitious upgrade was the Frank Science Center, which opened in the spring of 2005. High school biology, environmental science, physics, and chemistry students, middle school and Breakthrough students, and teachers were eager to work with the new state-of-theart equipment, including interactive Smart Boards from the GenCorp Foundation. The dedication a few months later, on Sunday afternoon, September 18, 2005, offered donors and guests a first look at the new facility. At the

headmaster’s dinner, Mr. Repsher applauded Cindy and Paul Frank for their generosity and Paul’s leadership of

Cindy and Paul Frank, Beau ‘12 and Olivia ’20, and Paul’s mother Janet Frank at the opening of the Frank Science Center.

Phase I of the Capital Campaign.

(left) The Repsher family visits the Frank Science Center construction site. (right) GenCorp representatives Linda Cutler and Juanita Garcia present the GenCorp donation to campaign chair Paul Frank, board president Toran Brown ’82, and headmaster Stephen Repsher.

LOWER SCHOOL BUILDING The next phase of development began on June 11, 2007,

Congresswoman Doris Matsui’s office read a proclamation

with the demolition of the portable buildings that had

and presented a flag to the school.

accommodated pre-kindergarten to second grades since 1965. During the summer of 2007, the Nancy J. O’Neil

Second grader Heidi Johnson led the assembled in “The

building, which housed fourth and fifth grades, was rebuilt

Star-Spangled Banner” and Lifer Miles Bennett-Smith

from studs and ceilings to windows and doors, to create a

’09 spoke on behalf of the students. Jay Johnson ’77 and

modern, airy space for pre-kindergarten and a temporary

the Johnson Family Jazz Band entertained with father

home for kindergarten while construction continued on

Jay on piano and children Jamie ’10 on alto saxophone,

the lower school building. The adjoining play yard was

Charlie ’10 on drums and saxophone, and Heidi ’19 on

transformed into a safe, imaginative place to enjoy the

drums, rhythm, and vocals. Jay was one of the original 12

outdoors. Lower school students were moved throughout

students when Country Day opened in 1964.

the campus during the year of construction, the upper grades met in some of the middle school classrooms, and

With the assistance of Mrs. Marmaduke and Mrs. Vail,

portables were brought into the middle school quad area.

Mr. Repsher snipped the ribbon, and the children rushed into the building for a first visit to their classrooms. After

From the Capital Campaign Newsletter, January 2009:

touring, everyone was invited to a picnic lunch hosted by

Monday, August 25, 2008 – “On a sunny morning in August,

the Parents’ Association.

just prior to the first day of school, trustees, parents,

students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests gathered in

The following day, August 26, kindergarten through fifth

the Edwards Plaza for the dedication of the new lower

grade students enjoyed their first day of school in the

school. After remarks from the board president, Anita

new building. Also open for business was the new lower

Seipp Marmaduke, headmaster Stephen Repsher, and

school music room (in the old Rust Library). The vacated

head of lower school Christy Vail, a representative from

kindergarten rooms were renovated and refurbished for permanent classrooms for art and world language.”

Donors and friends gather on the Cynthia and Steve Edwards Plaza for a thank-you dinner.

On dedication day, lower school students head up to to see their classrooms for the first time.

The Procida Fountain, donated by Christy and John Procida, is a refreshing addition to the lower school entrance.

Irene Welch Ramseth—a member of one of the school’s founding families—joins former board president Bob Earl at the donor dinner in August 2008.

MORE RENOVATIONS AND THE NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL CENTER In 2010, portable classrooms were removed from the

classrooms with large windows and doors, added a

middle school area to create the Deborah and Chuck

shade-providing portico, and reconfigured the quad area.

Hansen Plaza, a landscaped quad for students to gather

During the summer of 2013, the middle and high school

for lunch, meetings, and outdoor classes. The high school

Matthews Library was remodeled with floor-to-ceiling

refurbishment during the summer of 2012 opened up

windows and doors, an eye-catching wooden ceiling, new carpet, and a redesigned office and quiet/resource room (named for Andrew Cochrane ’97). Efforts then turned to the most recent new structure on campus, the Middle School Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. The sixth grade building from 1974 came down during the summer of 2014, and the Middle School Center was finished in December of the same year. The four-classroom building (two science laboratories and two mathematics classrooms) opened for students in January 2015, on time and under budget. The completion of the building in this, the 50th year, is a fitting tribute to the founders and early parents who entrusted Country Day to today’s parents.

78 Middle school students relax on one of the arch seats in the new Middle School Center.

The Hansen Plaza fronts on the newest building on campus—the Middle School Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology.

79 The pre-kindergarten play area and classroom are the backdrop for an outdoor reading group with Kristi Mathisen and her first grade class.

(left) A walkway is constructed in 2012, offering shade to high school classrooms. (right) Middle and high school students and faculty explore the remodeled Matthews Library after the ribbon cutting on August 26, 2013.

LIBRARIES, LIBRARIANS, AND BOOKS each child share his or her birthday with the school by presenting a book of his/her choice—the birth of the Birthday Book program offered today. One of the early donations was from Janine Beach who gave “Patty Reed’s Doll,” a book on the Country Day reading list for ensuing decades. Other books were donated by Michelle Poirier, “Picasso for Children”; John Mahoney, “Make Way for Ducklings”; Jay Johnson, “George Washington Carver”; Steven Schenck, “Swiss Family Robinson”; and John Ricketts, “Huckleberry Finn” and “Tom Sawyer.” Volunteer librarian Mrs. Gibson, sets up the card catalog in the first library trailer. (Medallion, 1967-68)

GEORGIA RUST The school’s budget didn’t have money to spare to hire a librarian, but fortunately parent Georgia Rust volunteered. She said, “It was either the library or hot

LIBRARY, 1966 Our early founders recognized the need for a library, but a location eluded them. For the first year or two on Latham Drive, books and shelving were moved from

trailer to trailer searching for a permanent location. In 1965-66, books shared space with the teachers’ lounge, the headmaster’s office, and the reception area. The first bookshelves were filled with donations from students, parents, and faculty. Young Greg Geeting cleaned out his home bookshelves and donated his whole collection. Parent Dorothee Mull suggested that We try to read as many good books as possible. We know that reading stimulates our creative lives and gives us many new impressions and ideas. Our goal is to read one book a week and write a book report on it. 1964-65 Yearbook

dogs and I wasn’t about to work in hot dogs!” Georgia and her husband David had enrolled their daughters in SCDS after inquiring about admission and receiving a “house call” from Alice and Herbert Matthews. (From the SCDS Newsletter, Spring 1992): “Georgia explained that a small portion of the trailer was the kitchen, from which the hot dog lunches were served. There was a partition and on the other side of that partition was the library, resulting in books that often smelled like hot dogs.” In 1970, a new trailer was found in Marysville and purchased with $5,000 in funds from the Parents’ Association. It was delivered to campus, where shelving and skirting were added over the next year or so. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews planted trees in front of the trailer in honor of Norma Ricketts, the first school secretary, and the library trailer was dedicated as the Kitty M. Perkins Library in 1971. Because of overflowing classrooms, the library was closed at noon to allow the space to be used for music in the afternoons.

This library trailer from 1970 was purchased by the Parents’ Association.

Creating a library from scratch fell to Georgia and, starting with the donation of young Greg Geeting’s favorite books, the library inventory grew with more donations from parents, teachers, and students and, finally, a budget allowing Georgia to purchase books and to be added to the payroll in 1973. Supplementing the budget was the Birthday Book Program, initiated by Mrs. Mull and expanded by Mrs. Rust, where children celebrated their birthday by selecting a book to purchase for the library and, in turn, a bookplate was pasted in the front of the book listing the student donor. The books stayed on the shelves for years to be read over and over by generations of students. When Georgia retired in 2000, the lower school library housed an outstanding collection of 7,000 books. May 26, 2000, was declared Georgia Rust Day, the Georgia Rust Scholarship Fund was created, and the library where she had spent almost 35 years was named in her honor.

Georgia Rust

Sweet Georgia Rust Adapted in May 2000 in honor of Georgia’s retirement by music teacher Barbara Lazar. Auction items, meetings, daycare, new fall supplies, all find their way into her space, but she simply sighs, ‘Cause she’s endured the little trailer, hot dogs, and dust. She really is “top drawer,” she’s really the “upper crust,” Sweet Georgia Rust. Book sales, authors, illustrators, geography, she’s done it all and don’t forget our in-room T.V.! Knowing Georgia is a “must,” she’s a friend that you can trust. Now she says, “retire or bust,” our Sweet Georgia Rust.

GEORGIA RUST, 1926-2007 It is with great sadness that I write to you of the passing of the school’s first librarian, Georgia Rust, on August 8, 2007. . . . From the beginning, Georgia actively participated as a volunteer with the Parents’ Association, where she held the position of one of its first presidents, from 1968-1970. Georgia began her career as the lower school librarian in 1973, in an old trailer that also served as the lunchroom. . . . In addition to sharing her love of literature with children, she developed and implemented a geography program that she taught to fourth, fifth and sixth graders. We are thankful . . . for the strong foundation she built in the growing young school, and for the joy and enthusiasm for reading and learning she provided for several decades of young children.“

(From headmaster Stephen Repsher’s letter to the community)

THE MATTHEWS LIBRARY Georgia was not alone in her librarian responsibilities—a second librarian was hired in 1976. Addie Gold (19222014) and Georgia were a team very much involved in the planning for the middle and high school library to be known as the Matthews Library. This is not the Matthews Library we know today, but one carved out of the side of the science building built in 1978. This space (currently the area where today’s admissions office is located, as well as middle school rooms 20 and 21) housed books and librarians until the current Matthews Library was built in 1985 and officially dedicated on Grandparents’ Day, May 8, 1987.

Addie Gold and Sheila Hefty.

With a last name like “Gold,” it wasn’t long before Addie Gold was recruited as an integral part of the school’s

Brown & Gold Day, with high school senior Toran Brown

them on alternating shelves so that it looked like we had

serving as the “Brown” contingent. The two would act

more books than we did.” In 1992, the library added to

as team captains for the brown and gold competition,

its collection the impressive library of Baxter and Corinne

which occurred during the high school’s annual excursion

Geeting when the Geetings moved to Southern California.

to Paradise Beach. Except for the year she spent on sabbatical in London, when Dorothy Wheeler took over,

When Sheila retired after 21 years, she left the library in

Addie served as the librarian for the Matthews Library for

excellent shape with nearly 14,000 books and up-to-the

six years, before moving to Washington.

minute technology. From Stephen Repsher’s remarks upon Mrs. Hefty’s retirement in June 2007, “Sheila

When Sheila Hefty was hired in January 1986, the library

engaged pioneer ingenuity in bringing the Matthews

had been without a librarian for a few months, and the

Library into the 21st century and has worked doggedly

students were treating the library like a student lounge

throughout the years as an advocate for what is the

with books—and not so many books, at that. Sheila tells

school’s cradle of learning.”

us, “There were around 3,000 books and I used to arrange

LIBRARY RUMORS Five things that may or may not have happened in the Matthews Library: 1. Wildlife in the Library—Rumor has it there was a raccoon in the library during the 2008 Open House. He poked around a little bit, but apparently didn’t find the book he was looking for because he took off fairly quickly. 2. Baseball with Paper Bats—We’re sure it never happened. There are alums who will testify that it never happened. 3. Library Jenga—One morning the librarians came in to see that the library had been turned into a Jenga game with all the tables and chairs stacked up to the ceiling. 4. Reading Forts—For the 2014 Read Across America Day celebration, the library was filled with blanket forts. You would think there would be no injuries on a reading day—except maybe paper cuts—but in fact, a student found a way while scaling the shelves for a book. 5. The Now Infamous Party in the Library is believed to have occurred sometime in 1982.

The making of a library reflects society’s changing technology, and Sheila, and assistant librarian Joanne Melinson, hired in 1994, were up to the task, bringing in the following innovations (list compiled by librarians Sheila Hefty and Joanne Melinson): 1987 1992/1993 Winter 1994

Library card catalog automated with Follett Catalog Plus Software Computer network providing access to several databases and the library catalog

Fall 1995

Library acquires XChange, a cable-to-computer information service

Fall 1995

Library office connected to Internet; students have limited use of Internet

Fall 1998

Library moves to Follett Catalog Plus for Windows

Fall 2000

eBooks introduced into the library collection

Fall 2001

First Multimedia Projectors used on campus

Spring 2002 2006

NewsBank – the first database

Library Webpage introduced on the School’s Website Wireless Internet available in Matthews Library

Fall 2008

Students receive Country Day email accounts and access to Google Apps for Education

July 2010

Library moves to Follett Destiny Online Catalog

Spring 2011

Library Webpage, Books & Bytes, introduced

Spring 2012

Noodle Tools citation software introduced to classes

Spring 2013

LibGuides software first used with classes

THE ANDREW COCHRANE ’97 READING ROOM The Andrew Cochrane ’97 Fund, established in 2004 in memory of Andrew (1978-2004), provides funds for enriching the school’s libraries, such as hosting visiting authors, upgrading and adding resources and technology, and purchasing sets of books. On June 1, 2007, the reference room in the Matthews Library was renamed the Andrew Cochrane ’97 Reference Room and dedicated to Andrew’s memory. At the dedication, librarian Sheila Hefty said, “It seemed fitting and appropriate as Andrew loved learning and he loved books. He was a gifted, multitalented young man with many diverse interests. He was a leader, a Summerbridge teacher, and student body president. He was extremely creative and participated in countless drama productions. He was an accomplished pianist and loved history and art—the makings of a Renaissance man.” During the renovation of the library in the summer of 2013, the reference room was incorporated into the remodel and designed to be versatile, much like Andrew. The room serves as a place for quiet study, a classroom, workshop space, art gallery, dining area for special lunches—a multi-use space—and compels a new designation to reflect its assorted uses. Plans are to more appropriately name the space the “Room of Requirement.” The reference is from “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”: “It is a room that a person can only enter when they have real need of it. But when it appears, it is always equipped for the seeker’s needs.”

COUNTRY DAY LIBRARIES ARE MORE THAN BOOK DEPOSITORIES AND QUIET ROOMS When Cary Kelly, long-time SCDS sixth grade teacher and credentialed librarian, assumed Georgia’s lower school library duties in 2000, (from SCDS Annual Report 201112) “she brought with her costumed characters who would appear on campus throughout the year—upperclass Brit Lady Beatrice Teaselpaw, Mrs. Farthing (wife of the town crier), and Scarecrow Clod Strawbottom. Always graceful, as only a former professional ballet dancer can be, Mrs. Kelly moved effortlessly from dusting shelves on her knees to leaping on desks as ‘The Cat in the Hat.’ She brought literature to life dressed as Emily Dickinson. Like Mary Poppins, who unfortunately never visited the SCDS campus, Mrs. Kelly once said, ‘I get up every morning clicking my heels about going to work.’ She was no stranger to fundraising, either. Book Bonanza, usedbook exchanges, the Birthday Book program, Howard the Lizard’s sleepover, and Librarian for a Day raised money for the school, as well as restocked the library shelves.

When the popular Librarian for a Day auction item, hosted by the school’s librarians, was going for $2,000, Mrs. Kelly stepped up to offer it to the three top bidders, netting an amazing $6,000.” The Cat in the Hat retired in 2012.

Cary Kelly—The Cat in the Hat—welcomes children to the Winters Library on Read Across America Day. (February 2011)

No slouch when it came to special events, Sheila Hefty

famous brownies and hot apple cider were served,

introduced a number of non-traditional events to the

greatly increasing attendance. Since 2002, the library

Matthews Library. The high school Book Club, begun in

has celebrated Read Across America Day on Dr. Seuss’s

the fall of 1997, was different from a conventional book

birthday with an all-school read for 15 minutes. The 100th

club—instead of all reading the same book, participants

birthday of Dr. Seuss in 2004 included a skit by faculty

could show up to talk about what they were currently

members Bruce Baird and Corrine Cleary, performing

reading or get some good ideas from others. Mrs. Hefty’s

“Green Eggs and Hamlet.”

SCDS LIBRARIANS, 1964-2015 LOWER SCHOOL

MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL

Mrs. Dorothee Mull, volunteer

Addie Gold 1976-1981, 1982-85

Mrs. Oliver Boyer, volunteer

Dorothy Wheeler (interim), 1981-82

Mrs. Gibbons, volunteer

Sheila Hefty, 1986-2007

Mrs. Davis, volunteer

Joanne Melinson, 2007-present

Georgia Rust, 1973-2000 Cary (Ellis) Kelly, 2000-2012 Sue Ryan, 2012-present

THE WINTERS LIBRARY In 2008, as part of the new lower school building, a

new

library

facility

with 12,000 volumes, a computer center, and a cozy reading nook was made possible through the generosity of parents John and Debra Winters (Kayla ‘09, Ryan ‘05, and Justin ‘02). The Rust Library Kayla Winters ’09 places the first book in the new library, her favorite “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie.”

was converted into the lower school music room. Following

Cary

Kelly’s

retirement in 2012, Sue Ryan, after spending over

20 years in the classroom, moved her passion for books and reading to her new position as Winters’s librarian. Since traditions are what they are, Howard the Lizard still

holds court in the library.

Everyone took part in the all-day “book parade,” to move thousands of books from the Rust Library to the Winters Library.

The Winters Library, 2008.

BEYOND BUILDINGS

(top) Lower school students find plenty of space to play on the Big Toy (2011). (below) The girls’ soccer team celebrates a victory (2007); Andrew Burr ’26 creates art in PK (2011); Seventh graders Olivia Popp and Blake Lincoln—the Queen and King—welcome guests to the annual Renaissance Faire (2013).

(below) Kindergartners show their 100th day of school crowns to headmaster Stephen Repsher; High school violinists Sarah Fleming ’11 and Miles Bennett-Smith ’09 practice for their next performance (2009).

THE ARTS AT COUNTRY DAY DRAMA, MUSIC, ART When William Sutton built the “L-shaped” building for the high school in 1969-70, the room in the corner of the “L” was designated the multi-purpose room. It served its purpose well, housing dances, musical and theatrical performances, art shows, and all-school assemblies. Head of high school Francie Tidey directed an early performance of “Antigone” with a borrowed stage, no lights or curtain, and seven student actors. Productions continued with “Our Town” and “Spunky the Naughty Elf” (starring young Ronnie Reagan).

DRAMA Dave Hechler, hired to teach English in 1974, took on high

all time, “Waiting for Godot”: “I couldn’t have had a better

school drama, too, until the arrival of Paul Ford in 1978.

cast with adults than I had with those boys—Chris Dale

Ford was the first full-time drama teacher and, according

’93, Kent Easter ’92, Tom Giguiere ’92, and Steve Lesher

to his predecessor Mr. Hechler, “took the program to a

’92. They had been acting together since seventh grade.

whole new level.” Ford first taught lower and middle school

With that kind of talent, it (‘Godot’) was better than the

students and assumed the high school program when Mr.

sum of its parts.”

Hechler moved from the area. Ford directed productions of Dylan Thomas’s “Under Milkwood” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” among others, produced numerous lower

and middle school student performances, and designed and oversaw the installation of the lighting grid in the new multi-purpose room. When Mr. Ford moved to New Mexico in 1984, C.B. Davis took over the program for the next 10 years. In his production of “Alice in Wonderland,” since some characters were portrayed by puppets, the cast included high school students as actors and middle school students as puppeteers. In the Spring 1994 SCDS newsletter, Mr. Davis talks of his favorite production of

Drama teachers Paul Ford and C. B. Davis.

The cast of the 1996 production of “Noises Off,” directed by Paul Bawek: Casey Ryan ’98, Michael Kelly-DeWitt ’97, Helen Harlan ‘98. Carin Laue ’97, Conner Earl ’96, Chloe Ellers ’98, Andrew Cochrane ’97, Max Dickstein ’97, and Sarah Barker ’96.

MUSIC Volunteers and parents, including Corinne Geeting and Betty Ramseth, taught music to all students in the early years. In 1975, Friedl Graham was hired in the lower school. A few years later Miss Graham left to become Mrs. Bell and Reed Maxson was hired, soon joined by Barbara (Allen) Lazar in 1980. Mrs. Lazar taught pre-kindergarten to third graders for 26 years, and Mr. Maxson instructed the children in fourth-12th until his retirement in 1985. When Wendy Frampton Holly was hired in 1990, music took on a new dimension with Ms. FH not only teaching students, but also creating a venue for faculty and parent voices with the popular Parent Faculty Choir, which performed on many occasions. Instrumental music received a boost in 1992 when Mary Silan Seawright was introduced to Country Day and generously funded a fourth-eighth grade instrumental music program for the next five years, allowing SCDS to hire music teacher Greg Sage to oversee the program. The duo of Dan Ahlstrom (hired in 1998) and Bob Ratcliff (hired in July 2000), band-

mate friends in their home state of Idaho, followed Mr. Sage, teaching band and orchestra to students in grades

Wendy Frampton-Holly, “Ms. FH,” directs a production from a perch at the back of the performance area.

five through 12.

The music department relaxes after a full day of performing at the retirement party for headmaster Selden Edwards, featuring musical guest Willie Pickens. (l to r) Bob Ratcliff, Willie Pickens, Barbara Lazar, Elena Bennett, and Dan Ahlstrom.

L o w er S c ho o l M us ic By Barbara Lazar

The old piano was avocado green and sat in the middle of the kindergarten room (the former room KB, part of a temporary building long gone). A triangle, jingle bells, and a small tambourine were hanging above the piano in a small basket. There was no music. The rest of the room was filled with low tables and tons of the supplies found in any well-run kindergarten. Those were the resources and conditions I had when I began my nearly 26 years as the lower school music teacher. It was December 1980, and I was brought in as a part-time teacher to help prepare a holiday program. The newly hired music teacher that year was working with grades 4-12, and I was to work with K-3. The other music teacher, Reed Maxson, had the music room to work in, a fairly new add-on to the school at that time, and I worked in the kindergarten room in the afternoons (in those days kindergarten ended at noon). Several years later, when Mr. Maxson left, I inherited the music room. There was an old upright piano (too tall to sit

at and see any small children on the other side), and a few xylophones and metallophones. There were no controls for heat and air; those were controlled by the teacher in the art room. There was no phone, no phonograph or tape player, no TV and no computers. When I retired in 2006, I was still working in the music room, but with a phone and computer, heat and air controls, a CD player, and a TV. The other resources accumulated for the school during those years—thanks to the commitment of the administration to enhance the instruction of the arts—included texts, videos, rhythm instruments, resource materials on composers, and props for a variety of movement activities—all in materials adjustable for grades pre-kindergarten through third. Because the school was so committed to the arts, a schedule was established that allowed me to see my students frequently. I gradually set into motion many

Barbara Lazar and longtime kindergarten teacher Mari-Lu Marcus dress for the 1985 Fall Family Festival. yearly class concerts to allow parents and others to see and enjoy the wonderful performances of children given the time to participate in music education. I did not like to repeat the same materials over and over from year to year—and indeed each new class had its own needs and group personality that dictated some of what we did—but I often found I had no choice about some pieces. Children would insist on singing a favorite from the previous year, or would beg to learn one they had heard an older class perform. And there were some pieces that were just too precious and/or loved by too many children to be left unsung. Some that stick in my mind : “Fifty Nifty United States,” “Scary Black Cat,” “Rainbow Connection,” and “Candles of Hanukkah, Candles of Christmas.” What a wonderful school! There are now not just one or two music teachers but several committed and talented musician-teachers, available for PK-12th grades covering general music, band, orchestra, jazz band, and small ensembles. The teachers work together in multigrade involvement and performance. Older student groups attend festivals and come away with awards for excellence. And music is only a small segment of what Country Day has to offer!

Barbara Lazar, Former Faculty Barbara taught music in the lower school from 1980 to 2006. Barbara’s two youngest children are SCDS Lifers: Daughter Jennifer Allen graduated in 1992 and son Jason Allen in 1995. Jennifer is a senior project manager at the San Francisco office of an international translation agency and lives in Oakland. Jason has been teaching for 11 years, and he and his wife Melanie have a daughter in the first grade at SCDS. Jason is a key member of the 50th anniversary committee.

ART Drama productions, concerts, assemblies, and dances often usurped the art department’s space in the corner of the L-shaped building, but despite these obstacles, longtime artist and art teacher Kay Schweizer built a respected art program. From the “2007-2008 Annual Report”: In 1974, Ms. Schweizer was first hired to teach in the school’s summer program and then moved to full time as an art teacher for lower, middle, and high school students. Her reputation as the animated lecturer for the AP Art History course inspired a good number of students to join her class and soon after select art as their major in college. In fact, class of 1999 member Meredith Brown claims that “through surveys and systematic studies (which is to say, I’ve asked my friends), I can say with utmost authority and statistical proof that Country Day has produced more art history majors and minors at American universities than any other high school in the country. Quite clearly the one and only explanation for this bizarre phenomenon is Kay Schweizer.” When the

school community gathered on May 30, 2008, to celebrate Ms. Schweizer’s 34 years at SCDS, headmaster Steve Repsher said, “Kay has been integral to the foundation of the Country Day arts curriculum. Her deep intellect and soaring spirit have left their indelible mark on our visual arts programs and, more important, on her students.”

Kay Schweizer in the art room.

On June 9, 1966, the Tree of Learning sculpture created by Don Herberholz, art teacher in the CSUS art department and spouse of first art teacher Barbara Herberholz, was given to Country Day. The sculpture hung in Matthews Court adjacent to one of the first portable buildings on the Latham campus, until the (first) Matthews Library was completed. The sculpture has since disappeared.

CHALK MURAL One of Kay Schweizer’s inspirations was the Chalk Mural. From the “2007-2008 Annual Report”: “For the first mural in 1992, in celebration of Picasso’s birthday high school students worked together on a 40-foot mural honoring the artist. The following year, the event was repeated with a Matisse mural, and in 1994 with a tribute to Jasper Johns. In 1998, when the mural was the work of Wayne Thiebaud, the artist dropped by the school to see his cakes, pastries, and gumballs depicted in chalk on the long sidewalk.” In 2013, when the work of Gregory Kondos was the subject of the mural, Mr. Kondos, accompanied by his wife Moni Van Camp, spent the afternoon viewing the finished mural, meeting and talking with the school community, and signing prints.

Gregory Kondos signs prints for students and faculty.

Roy Lichtenstein, 2007

Gregory Kondos, 2013

Henri Matisse, 1999

Chalk Mural Subjects 1992

Pablo Picasso

2003

René Magritte

1993

Henri Matisse

2004

Giorgio De Chirico

1994

Jasper Johns

2005

Edward Hopper

1995

“Hand of the Artist”

2006

Georgia O’Keeffe

1996

“Soviet Art”

2007

Roy Lichtenstein

1997

“Picasso’s Women”

2008

Vincent Van Gogh

1998

Wayne Thiebaud

2009

Katsushika Hokusai

1999

Henri Matisse

2010

Wayne Thiebaud

2000

Gabriele Münter

2011

Andy Warhol

2001

Franz Marc

2012

Louis Comfort Tiffany

2002

Georgia O’Keeffe

2013

Gregory Kondos

2014

Betty LaDuke

JOURNALISM, A COUNTRY DAY TRADITION LITERARY MAGAZINES As the founders intended, writing is paramount in the

you a Happy Valentine’s Day. He wanted to run away, but

Country Day curriculum. Journals are assigned in class,

his owner said, ‘not today.’” In sixth grade with teacher

on field trips and during vacations, and sharing one’s

Cary (Leek) Kelly, “Another Paragraph” was produced

writing is encouraged. When alumni submit papers for

for over a decade, with each class writing, editing, and

their college professors, they are often asked, “Where did

publishing small booklets of their writings. “Birds of a

you learn to write?” The answer, of course, is Country Day

Feather,” by Beth Nelson ’98 describes a pet parakeet

School. Students put their thoughts on paper beginning in

turning from blue to green while Beth was on vacation.

lower school and produce quality keepsake publications

It turns out the bird escaped and met the family dog.

throughout their time at Country Day.

Colorblind dad Jamie, trying to solve the problem before Beth returned, bought a new bird in the wrong color, and the paragraph ends with “Nice try, Dad.” Another early literary endeavor was “Nepenthe,” which means “freedom from care.” Submissions included work from both middle and high school students, and editors noted in their introduction that publishing the charter

issue of a literary magazine was anything but carefree. The magazine was first published in 1979, with advisor faculty member Frances Jorjorian, then again in 1980, advisor unknown, though likely compiled by Francie Tidey. English teacher Patricia Fels took over as advisor from 1981-84, and the magazine expanded with poems and artwork. In 1997, the magazine was brought back as “The Glass Knife” with the title coming from a poem written by a friend of the advisor, English teacher David Masiel. Mr. Masiel Sixth graders produced this issue of “Another Paragraph.”

went on sabbatical to finish his own book and, for several years, English teacher Dana Deleray (Vargo) advised the staff. Since 2001, “The Glass Knife” has been produced

In lower school, “Branches” was published in 1980 and

by a high school elective class of writers, photographers,

includes a poem by Loren Kalisky ’88 “The Sun” and

and artists, with Matthews librarian Joanne Melinson as

another from Katherine Merksamer ’88, “Hail.” First

advisor.

grader Greg Cushard ’91 (eighth grade graduate) writes “My turtle has a pretty shell. In a well, one day he fell. How he got out, we’ll never tell.” And by Matt Ryan ’89 (eighth

Dr. Bell seems to know everything. Once, to test him,

grade graduate): “My puppy wags his tail to say, he wishes

we asked him the date of Petrarch’s birthday—and he knew the answer, without any hesitation.

Anonymous

THE FIRST MEDALLION, 1964

When the idea of having a yearbook was presented, one

of the first matters to be decided was what to call it. The Parents’ Association decided to sponsor a contest among the students. Each student who submitted an entry also had to write a paragraph or statement as to why he or she felt it would be an appropriate name for the yearbook. The judges were Mrs. Lowell R. Gano, president of the Parents’ Association, Mrs. Archibald M. Mull, Jr., vice president of the PA, and Mr. Matthews, Mrs. Preston and Mrs. Webb of the faculty. Three judges voted for The Medallion, entered by Robert Ricketts, while two voted for The Countryman, submitted by Jay Johnson. Because the voting was close and both names were fine, the judges decided to name the yearbook The Medallion and the school newspaper The Countryman. Robert received a $5 check and Jay received a $2 check.

CONTEST TO NAME THE YEARBOOK

Th e M ed alli o n , 1 9 6 4 t o t h e P r e s e nt by Susan Gorton Nellis The 1964-65 inaugural yearbook chronicled the first year

throughout the book. In volume 28, 1992-93, “Big in a Lot

of Country Day, but it was a far cry from what is produced

of Little Ways,” editor Sara Rahimian worked to create a

50 years later. The first book was handwritten and typed

theme focusing on the growth of SCDS and what made

on a typewriter—all done in-house. There were 23

the school unique or “big” despite the fact that it was

pages, and the first “graduate” (from ninth grade), Susan

small.

Ricketts, was featured. In contrast, the 2013-14 yearbook was created on MacBooks and sent electronically to

Once the book is off to the printer, the yearbook

Walsworth Publishing Company. It contained 208 pages,

class starts planning the next year’s book. The staff

and all the seniors received individual pages.

brainstorms ideas on white boards, researches special events in the world, and considers happenings at SCDS.

For the first 10 years, yearbook editors were either eighth

The theme of the book is always kept a secret until the

or ninth graders, until the 1974-75 book. The covers of the

books are distributed at the end of the school year.

first decade of yearbooks were hand drawn, presumably by students and/or faculty artists. The 1974 cover paid tribute to the first 10 years of Medallions with a montage of the covers. Until 1977, the book jackets were soft cover. The 1982-83 cover replicated the cover of Time Magazine,

dedicating the book to the “Woman of the Year,” 12-year kindergarten and first grade teacher Barbara Rogers. Often the theme of the book each year was determined by events of the day. “Go for the Gold” was the theme in 1984, saluting that year’s Olympics. In 1987-88, an original cover drawing by art teacher Kay Schweizer kicked off the theme “Change Wears Many Faces,” with new faces on campus, the campus undergoing a “facelift,” and facing the facts with additional academic classes for high school students. In many editions, the staff follows the theme

Medallion layout editor Rob McAulay ’77 takes a rest during a staff work night. (Medallion 1976-77)

Susan Gorton Nellis, High School Faculty In Sue Nellis’s high school senior year, her high school marching band from Crescenta Valley High in Glendale, was invited to march in the 1973 Rose Parade. As one of the drill team captains, Sue marched ahead of the band and was responsible for carrying the big “G” of Glendale in a stiff wind for five miles. Staying in Southern California, Sue graduated from Whittier College in 1977 and then moved to Sacramento with husband Mark Gorton while Mark attended law school. Ms. Nellis began her career at SCDS in 1982, teaching history in both the middle and high schools, along with a variety of elective classes including aerobics, stained glass, and badminton, as well as advising the Medallion yearbook for seven years. She served as head of the high school from 2006 to 2014, and then decided to return full-time to the classroom teaching history. Sue and Mark's children, Whitney '04 and Jared '08, are proud SCDS Lifers and college graduates.

T h e Oc t a g o n by Patricia Fels Even though it’s been over 36 years, I still remember

without captions; little style consistency; and, worst of

how angry the first grade parent was with the Octagon’s

all, no understanding of modular design. And was I even

1978 holiday issue. “How could you send that home?” she

reading the headlines? (“Brown and Gold Day Is Success,”

demanded, her voice shaking. “You’ve ruined Christmas

“Junior High Basketball is Big Success,” “Homecoming Is

for my family!” It took me a minute to even remember

Success”!)

the column. Yes, the Octagon had featured a Christmasoriented “Question Person.” The students had interviewed

But there are good things there, too. Cartoonist Ken

Santa Clauses in shopping malls, asking them for the

Press ‘81 won a national award for a comic strip on

strangest gift a child had ever requested. But none of the

the school bus’s long trip. Columns like “Angles”—later

gifts were shocking or “inappropriate,” so why was she

diversifying into “Acute Angles” (Adam Braver ‘81 and Tim

so mad? “My child looked at the different pictures and

Grieve ‘82) “Obtuse Angles” (John Shattuck ‘81), “The Right

figured out that Santa Claus isn’t real,” she said. “And it’s

Angle” (Steve Davis ‘82), and “D’Angle” (James Chapman

all the Octagon’s fault.”

‘89)—were both bold and witty.

Teacher/gourmet

Daniel Neukom began writing his restaurant review “La

Of course, controversial stories are a newspaper’s

Toque Blanche,” awarding the long-forgotten restaurant

lifeblood. And the Octagon has run many over the years:

Claude’s a B+, despite its lack of whole-grain breads and

stories about underage drinking, drug abuse, stress,

freshly ground pepper. And the Octagon received all

eating disorders, tobacco, teenage pregnancy, parking

kinds of letters from parents, teachers, and students.

problems, bus safety, dangerous power lines, cheating, illegal downloading and homosexuality. But it’s the

In the early days we didn’t have advertising. Instead,

controversial stories that come out of nowhere that

the paper was sponsored by local businesspeople with

always surprise me.

names very familiar to Sacramentans: Eppaminondas Johnson (owner of Eppie’s Restaurant), Sam and Sharon

In fact, the first Octagon in newsprint was the product of

Anapolsky (Julius), Isolde Brown (Rytina Cleaners), Rob

that kind of story. Joey Fong ‘82 had visited a mortician

Gallaway (Gallaway and Co.), Bill Campbell (Camray

friend of his mother, a pathologist. The details of his tour

Construction), and Bob Frink (Bob Frink Chevrolet). Their

were so fascinating that editors Tierney Smail ‘79 and

$150 sponsorship paid for all our copysetting, developing,

Jane Sooby ‘81 ran the story in two parts. The first ended

printing, and mailing costs, and earned them a front-

this way: “On the table lay a deceased body.” But when

page story. And some time during the 1988-89 volume,

the paper arrived, that final sentence had been deleted.

Mr. Campbell donated $8,000 so that the Octagon could

Coincidentally, the printing teacher at Mesa Verde High

join the computer age. That’s how much two Apple

School, where the first four issues had been printed, was

Macintoshes ($1,500 each) and a Laserprinter ($5,000!)

also the mortician’s brother! He had removed the line

cost in those days. Other long-time advertisers included

because he was afraid his brother would get in trouble

Bob Earl (Earl Construction), Relles Florist, Sevim Larsen

with local morticians. And so we made a switch—Majestic

Real Estate, and dentist Wayne Walters. And realtors

Printers became our printer, and the downtown Aardvark

Nancy Reid and Richard Price have continually advertised

laid out the paper. And, for the first time, the Octagon

in every issue since 1992, even though Nancy’s daughter,

looked like a real newspaper.

Liz Reid-Baumel, graduated in 1995! Nowadays we set our own copy and “develop” our own photos. But simply

Well, sort of. Looking at those early issues, I wince at all the layout gaffes—butting headlines; tiny photos, many

printing and mailing a 12-page issue costs almost $1,500.

Minister’s daughter Meredith Brown ’99 carried a very realistic Baby Think It Over doll around all weekend, including into her dad’s Sunday morning service. A story by Sarah Gaither ‘03 about sports recruiting kept the Octagon from being mailed home (prompting many, many letters to the editor).

A review of a history of

“Saturday Night Live,” by Victoria Loustalot ’03, won first place in the nation in the Quill and Scroll International Writing and Photo Contest. Francie Neukom ’04 wrote a profile of a hookah lounge, which so enraged a parent The 1977-78 Octagon staff shows off the first paper produced by Majestic Printers.

that he sent a letter advising her to get a future job with the tobacco companies. Her twin sister Kelly ’04 sampled dog treats from My Best Friend’s Barkery, along with our

Reading through the old issues, I’m struck by the stories

dog Darrell and picky dog Chloe, owned by Kate Farrell ’03

that remain evergreen. One of my favorite headlines from

and her brother Matt ’05, both Octagon staffers.

1979-80, “Bathrooms smell—alternatives sought,” sounds

very much like one from 2007-08, “Bathrooms look,

The disparaging remarks made to Laura Murphy ‘06 when

smell—well—horrendous.” Stories about why students

she wore a burka to Pavilions horrified readers. A moving

left SCDS and later returned always meant angry letters

feature story by Parul Guliani ‘11 about a freshman’s

from English classes at St. Francis or Rio. Not surprisingly,

struggle with Lyme disease also won national recognition.

there are lots and lots of stories about college, including

And a two-part series on helicopter parenting by Zach

a memorable lament from editor-in-chief Jennilee

Lemos ‘12 was especially praised by our judges.

Giguiere ’94, who as of March 18 was the only senior not yet accepted to college. (Shortly thereafter she got into

And last year, for the first time, we had two stories

Pomona.) And, of course, both headmasters and new

that were finalists for the National Scholastic Press

campus sites were always coming and going.

Association’s Story of the Year: a news story by Garrett Kaighn ‘14 about students’ experiences with Bitcoin and

However, there were unique stories as well. A controversial

a feature story by Connor Martin ‘14 about obtaining a

speaker from NASA, who made questionable comments

prescription for medical marijuana.

in a presentation (“Was he sexist, racist, or inspirational?” asked the headline), was criticized and defended by

Flipping through the bound volumes feels like a quick trip

teachers and administrators in a story by Kelley Taber

through entertainment and social history. The Octagon

‘84. A column by Sharmila Chatterjee ‘84 about a fired

reported on “Saturday Night Fever,” “Mork and Mindy,”

teacher so moved our typesetter that he burst into

Vuarnet sunglasses, “Chariots of Fire,” “The Cosby Show,”

tears. An investigation of the safety of our school buses

LSD, “Melrose Place,” “electronic mail” use in colleges,

by Lara Malakoff ‘87 prompted a sharp correction from

the Rolling Stones’ “Voodoo Lounge” album (in which

assistant headmaster Frank Pignata. Marcia Djudzman

reviewer Susan Harlan ‘95 says she’s surprised that

‘90 accompanied former editor Scott Pfaendler ‘87 to his

“these grandfathers” are still playing rock music in 1994),

treatment for Hodgkin Disease and wrote a memorable

the Cattle Club closing, Country Day’s first Sikh students,

profile. Undercover visits to two abortion counseling

piercing’s popularity in Ashland, a snowboarder/skier

services by Jessica Vando ‘92 and Matt Kaiser ‘91

face-off, the Monica Lewinsky story, the gender gap in

disconcerted both readers and the reporters themselves.

computer technology, the Y2K fizzle, freaking, “Friends,”

Twins Amy and Beth Nelson ‘98 wrote numerous stories

“The Simpsons,” IM-ing, video games, celiac disease,

about prospective campuses, interviewing their father,

“The O.C.,” Facebook and MySpace, Samuel Alito, texting,

Board president Jamie Nelson, when the sites were

Wikipedia, cupcakes, Priuses, athletic concussions, the

proposed and again when they fell through!

Occupy movement, Dungeons and Dragons,

Kindles,

Blackberries, Twitter, Pandora, “Glee,” cheating with

Taylor ’10, Nicole Antoine ‘11 and Kamira Patel ’14 have

Smartphones, food trucks, YouTube educational videos,

created pages that could run in professional publications.

and anime. The Cave’s walls are papered with awards, and late I like to think that my suggestions and editing made

on paste-up night all those names make me feel like

these stories better. But I can’t take any credit for the

the room is full of ghosts. (Even my daughters are up

remarkable artwork we’ve had over the years. Cartoonists

there; they were two of the largest group of editors-in-

like Ken Press and his brother Doug ‘83, Mary Witter ‘81,

chief—five girls—we ever had). Some have gone on to

Dominique LaBaw ‘82, Marc Paoletti ‘85 (How ever did we

be professional writers and journalists, including Adam

get away with “Super Senior”?), Matt Kaiser, Lara Malakoff,

Braver, Tim Grieve (now editor of The National Journal),

Katharine Harlan ’99, Kyle McNally ‘08, and Jacob Sands ‘16

Chris Springer ’85, Marc Paoletti, Tracy Fine ’88, Max

never failed to make me laugh or to help drive home the

Dickstein ’97, Elise Craig ‘02, Victoria Loustalot, and

message of our editorials. And with more recent graphic

Meredith Bennett-Smith ’06. Two graduates have even

programs like InDesign, gifted artists like Lily Kramlich-

been editors-in-chief of the paper on which I first worked, The Stanford Daily (Tim Grieve and Miles Bennett-Smith ’09). Perhaps our staff’s proudest moments have been when we won the Pacemaker, also known as “the Pulitzer Prize of high school journalism.” We’ve been nominated many times but won only twice, once in 2001-02 (under editors-in-chief Zach Goldstein ’02 and Elise Craig) and 10

years later (under Mollie Berg, Ian Cardle, and Christina Petlowany, all ’12). And for the first time the 201314 Octagon competed in the “hybrid” category in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association contest, entering the combined online and print editions, and winning prizes for stories in both. I started advising the Octagon at 23, and now I’m 61. In Patricia Fels and staff member Steve Lesher ’92 pass the time at John Wayne Airport following the journalism conference and a visit to Disneyland.

between I’ve yelled and screamed and threatened to quit more times than I can remember. But there’s still nothing like the high of publication day.

Patricia Fels, High School Faculty When Patricia Fels graduated from ed school in 1976, jobs were scarce. Thus she was overjoyed to be hired by SCDS, even if she did drive past on her first visit because it didn’t look much like a school yet. She planned to teach for a few years and then move to Boston, but these plans didn’t work out. That first year she taught eighth grade English, freshman English, middle school newspaper, high school newspaper, and study hall. And every other morning she was on traffic duty. Luckily, her only other responsibilities were her three cats, Jack, Abby, and Carl. Over her nearly 40 years at SCDS Ms. Fels has taught every level of English from seventh grade to senior year, including both AP classes. She has also advised the literary magazine and for 18 years was the college counselor. At Country Day she met her husband, Daniel Neukom. They married in Ms. Fels’s hometown of Phoenix in 1981, and twins Francie ’04 and Kelly ’04 are Country Day Lifers. Teaching is Ms. Fels’s focus, her passion, and her only hobby (besides reading and her black cat Zoser), so when she thinks about retirement, she panics.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND ATHLETICS From the first day at the new school, faculty subscribed to the principle of a healthy body leading to a healthy mind. The first physical education teacher, David Denzer, was on board from Day 1 at the Unitarian Universalist site, and a March 1, 1966, article from the first school newspaper, The Countryman, notes that “Miss Arellano, a recreation major from Sacramento State, was invited to school to teach the students group games, team work, sportsmanship, relays, and exercises.” For the first 15 years, academic teachers also taught physical education classes, but by 1980, there was a dedicated physical education department with teachers Anne Adams, Bill Stainbrook, and Bev Marx, soon joined by Marcia Brand, Dan Williams, and Michelle (Collier) Myers.

PE teachers also organized and coached the

school’s athletic teams, with Jeff Walkuski, Ms. Marx, and

Mr. Stainbrook working as part/time athletic directors.

Michelle Myers shows off her participation medal from More Magazine’s Women’s Half Marathon.

As the middle school athletics coach, Mr. Stainbrook coached flag football, soccer, and softball, and he

The first full-time athletic director, Joe Braun, was hired in

remembers playing against the Carden School, Eastern

1992, followed by Bruce Heard from 1994 to 2000. Athletic

Prep, Merryhill, and St. Michael’s.

director Matt Vargo took over in 2003, and expanded the athletic offerings for both middle and high school. In 2012-13, Mr. Vargo was named Athletic Director of the Year for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section. The school’s relationship with CSUS continues: in certain majors, CSUS students are required to observe Country Day’s physical education classes for four hours of elementary instruction, and several professors require their students to teach SCDS students for hands-on experience, as part of the college’s teacher-credentialing program.

addition,

Country

Day

teachers

demonstrate for CSUS liberal studies and PE majors the model of “Developmentally Appropriate PE.” The stability of the physical education program is best demonstrated by stalwart teachers Ms. Myers and Mr. Stainbrook. The two longtime teachers are now walking young “Chips” down to the gym and instructing the Bill Stainbrook coaches volleyball (Medallion, 1984)

children of those students they taught a generation ago.

S o ccer S t a r t s a t S C D S by Daniel I. Neukom Clayton J. “Pat” Tidey was the headmaster at Country Day from 1969-83. He played an integral part in the formation of the school’s character. As a product of independent schools on the East Coast and in Dallas, he understood the need to present increasingly sophisticated offerings at Country Day School. Consequently, when I approached him with the proposal to start a soccer program in my second year of teaching in 1974, he was excited, enthusiastic, and supportive. Soccer was just beginning its widespread popularity in the 1970s, so it was still considered somewhat exotic and foreign. The professional North American Soccer League had just launched, and most non-professional soccer teams were at independent schools on the East and West Coasts. To start our program, I sent a rather plaintive letter to local high schools that had teams (not many) and to fellow

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Daniel Neukom coaches George Frioux (left) and the fall 1977 soccer team.

independent schools in the Bay Area. We were fortunate. Jesuit, Waldorf, Encina, and Christian Brothers agreed to include Country Day in their schedules. I had asked to

than twice the number of any other one. Toran “Big Foot”

play their junior varsity teams as it was our first year and

Brown (also class of 1982 and former president of the

also indicated the team would be coed because our high

board of trustees) was our stalwart goalie.

school was so small. We even had some middle schoolers on the team to fill out the numbers!

I appreciate the effort of all the players, but would like to acknowledge a few who were particularly memorable in

The 1974 season was a bit truncated. We played only

those early years. Dave Pollock ’77, George Frioux ’78, Phil

six games—losing every one until the last at CB, which

Chew ‘79, and Mike Owens ’83 were a bunch of studs—so

we won 1-0! The next year we were able to include

skilled and always tenacious. The Frasse twins (Arquelle

games with Rio Americano, as well as Mt. Tamalpais and

and Ken, ‘79) were among the most enthusiastic. And I’ll

University High in the Bay Area. We doubled our success

never forget the day I saw Life magazine’s cover photo

and won two games, tied one, and lost eight. Only two

at the local Lucky store. It was of Rochelle Law ’76, arms

years later, SCDS was a powerhouse, going 7-1-2. Mr.

raised in a cheer. She was on the original women’s soccer

Tidey and the board sent me a letter of congratulations

team at UCLA. The caption read something like “America’s

and a gift certificate to a fancy French restaurant to

New Youth.” Shared glory. The Country Day soccer

celebrate the accomplishment. The following years

program had arrived.

were less successful until the 1981 season. We became the “Berserkers,” named after the Viking warriors of the

After 10 years of coaching, I turned over the team to other

Middle Ages. Martin Hoshino ’82 led the scoring with 21

leadership (fortunately). The Tibor Pelle and Matt Vargo

goals and three assists—an all-time SCDS record up to

years were far more successful than mine. Go, Cavs!

that time. The team scored 35 goals that season, more

1974. The first soccer (Coach Daniel Neukom) and tennis (Coach Barbara Rosenberg) teams are formed. The soccer team defeated Christian Brothers, 1-0, in a tightly played match. “The stunning victory made the season all worthwhile.” (1974-75 Medallion)

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(top) The 1974 fifth/sixth grade championship flag football team, coached by Dave Hechler. (left) Ryan Eytcheson ’03, back in the gym for the 2008 homecoming rally, enjoys the festivities with high school teacher Daniel Neukom. When Ryan was a sophomore, he organized the first “under the lights” homecoming match— and Country Day’s first evening soccer game was born. The tradition continues.

Daniel I. Neukom, High School Faculty Daniel I. Neukom earned his bachelor’s degree in history, a master’s in education and a teaching credential from Stanford University, then travelled east to complete a second master’s in social science at the University of Chicago. He arrived at SCDS in September 1973 to teach history to middle and high school students and a year later was also coaching the school’s first soccer team. He met English and journalism teacher Patricia Fels at SCDS, they married in Ms. Fels’s hometown of Phoenix in 1981, and twins Francie ’04 and Kelly ’04 are Country Day Lifers. Mr. Neukom civilizes the campus in several ways: he is invariably polite, he prefers the dressed-up look of a jacket and slacks and traditionally wears a tuxedo on the day of the AP European History exam, he is always available to offer advice on buying, selling and servicing your car, and he makes a daily pot of special coffee on morning break. It’s a special treat when the “Mokka Man” delivers full cups to the desks and classrooms of his colleagues. When asked in a Medallion article in the 1976-77 edition, “What would you be doing if you weren’t teaching school?” Mr. Neukom responded that he would “open a small restaurant—maximum 10 tables—with a superior wine list, reasonable prices, and friendly service. All food would be natural and wholesome.” Country Day is fortunate that he is still an integral part of the high school faculty and hasn’t left yet to open his restaurant.

GRAND MOMENTS IN SCDS ATHLETICS 1977 Under the coaching leadership of Daniel Neukom, the SCDS soccer team ends the year with a 7-1-2 record, with a 3-0 win over the Jesuit JV, a 2-1 win over the Rio Americano JV, and a 2-0 win over the Waldorf varsity.

1981 Former New York Yankee Wayne Benson coaches SCDS baseball to an undefeated 6-0. Steve McIntosh and Rolf Keltner, among others, have great seasons. SCDS is admitted to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).

1981 & 1982 In 1981, Kelley Taber ’84 places 2nd in the 200IM, and in 1982 she places 4th in the IM and 5th in butterfly at the Sac-Joaquin section championships, earning All-American honors both years.

1985 Basketball star Graham McDougal ’85 graduates as the school’s all-time rebounder with 695 rebounds and team MVP for two years in a row.

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1989 Girls' track and field wins the school’s first league championship in the Central Valley Christian League.

1990s The early ‘90s are good years for soccer; Country Day players win the league’s MVP award for five years: Jason Allen (1992), Jason Allen (1993), Ian Stone and Foad Ahmadi (Hajialiamad) (1994), Ian Stone (1995), and Matt

FIRST MVP, 1984

Junior Jason Wimberly was chosen All-league MVP by the league soccer coaches, including coach Dan Williams, who says “Jason has college Division I soccer in his future.” (Medallion 1984-85)

Post (1996).

places second in the section, the strongest finish of any

1991

team in school history.

The second-place boys' basketball team earns the first

1996

playoff berth in school history. Boys' track and field

Matt Post ’97 sets the single season scoring record in

wins the CVCL championship and first boys' title in SCDS

soccer with 25 goals.

history. Girls' volleyball wins a playoff game, becoming

2002

the first SCDS team to do so.

Under coach George Champayne, girls’ soccer dominates

1992

the league with a 12-1-1 record, entering the finals as the

Coached by Tibor Pelle, girls' soccer goes 7-2 in its first

CVC champions. In the Division IV finals, they lose, 0-2,

season.

to the Modesto Central Catholic Raiders on the grass at

1994 & 1995

American River College stadium.

Boys’ soccer goes undefeated, 11-0-2, and wins the league

2003

championship. Boys repeat in 1995 with another league

After waiting on Highway 99 for two hours while the

championship and defeat Lincoln, 3-1, in first round of

flat tire on the bus is fixed, the girls’ varsity soccer team

playoffs.

trounces Modesto Christian, 4-1, advancing to the section

1995

final for the second year in a row, where they eventually

Led by Allison Furry ’97 and Annie Nichols ’98, volleyball

fall to Central Catholic.

2006

2013

With a shutout by senior goalkeeper Michael Follette

Mary-Clare Bosco ’13 is named MVP in the league for

’07 and two goals from sophomore Miles Bennett-Smith

basketball. The girls’ basketball team hosts its first home

’09, the boys’ soccer team defeats Tioga, 2-0, to win the

playoff game and gets its first postseason victory in

school’s first-ever CIF Sac-Joaquin section championship.

school history.

2008 With an incredible bicycle kick save with just seconds to go

The seventh/eighth grade boys' basketball team goes

by Miles Bennett-Smith ’09 and a goal by Brad Antognini

undefeated in back-to-back seasons. In the 2015

’09, the boys’ soccer team claims their second section

championship game, Shemar Morrow ’20 hits the game-

championship, defeating Tioga, 1-0.

tying basket at the buzzer in overtime to help keep the

2009

streak alive.

Led by three-time league champion Marco Siragusa

2015

’10, the boys' cross country team wins the Sac-Joaquin

The boys' basketball team wins its first-ever league and

section championship and advances to the CIF state

section titles. The team beats Jesuit's scoring record

championship. It's the school’s first state championship

in a CIF Sac-Joaquin section championship game with

berth.

freshmen BJ Askew, Jayce McCain, Cole Johnson, and

2010

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2014-2015

Rick Barros III all scoring over 20 points in the final. The

After the soccer section championship, goalie Alex

baseball team earns its first postseason berth and defeats

Graves ’11 changes uniforms on the run and helps SCDS

Big Valley Christian in the playoffs.

win its second cross country CIF Sac-Joaquin section

2015

championship.

Claire Pinson ’15 wins the 200M freestyle, and Amalie

2010 Robbie Lemons ’10 leads the nation in scoring in basketball for the majority of his senior year, finishing second in the country and first in the state, averaging 36.4 points per game.

2011 The girls’ varsity volleyball team advances to the section title game at UC Davis, falling to Victory Christian in five games. Led by Logan Winfield ’13, the cross country team captures its third straight CIF Sac-Joaquin section championship.

2012 After 100 scoreless minutes, the boys’ soccer team defeats Victory Christian, 4-2, in penalties to win the soccer program’s third section championship.

Soccer team members Matt Post ’97, Ian Stone ’96, and goalie Colin Hanks ’96 run the “drop the shoe” contest, using young Jared Gorton’s (‘08) shoe, at the rally celebrating the fall 1994 season. The Cavs won the league championship with an undefeated record.

Fackenthal ’18 wins the 50M free at the Sac-Joaquin section championships.

LOGOS, COLORS, MASCOTS, AND EMBLEMS

In early spring 1965, the first headmaster, Herbert

from a perspective below the stack. The reason for this is

Matthews, asked the artist at Webco Printing Company to

that from that angle with a bit of visual license, the edges

design several emblems, one of which would be chosen

of the book covers and spines can be seen to spell out

as the official emblem. Four designs were submitted, and

“SCDS.”

the “schoolhouse” logo was selected by students and

104

faculty. Susan Ricketts ’68 wrote in the 1964-65 yearbook

During this time, the school mascot transitioned from the

that the “schoolhouse in the emblem is set in fields

Owls to the Cavaliers. When headmaster Doug Crone,

with a tree nearby because this typifies our school and

seeking to enliven the school with a new mascot, put

the wholesome country atmosphere for which we are

names up to a vote, the student body picked the Cavaliers.

striving. The flag, too, is an important part of our school

A corresponding Cavalier shield was unveiled in the 1992-

life.” Consistent with the country atmosphere and in the

93 annual fund drive chaired by Bud and Sally Tollette.

tradition of popular colors of the late 1960s, brown and

The theme for the drive was “Commit to the Cavalier

harvest gold were chosen as the original school colors.

Challenge—Continue the Tradition of Excellence.” Soon thereafter, the sports teams adopted the shield featuring

The owl mascot was created in the mid-1970s. Lower

the colors red and white, with black letters. The athletic

school librarian Georgia Rust remembered that when

teams had previously switched to red and black uniforms,

the school sat alone in the field on Latham Drive, there

reportedly due to a bargain on red and black athletic

was a family of burrowing owls living on a mound of dirt.

clothing that was too good to pass up.

Papa owl would sit on the railing of the library trailer and swoop down if an animal got too close to his home. The

In spring 1998, the green and pewter “corporate” colors

emblem with the owl under “SCDS” was placed on shirts,

of the school’s letterhead and logo changed to the athletic

notebooks and other memorabilia.

colors of red and black. Since then no official changes in logo, mascot, color or emblems have occurred.

Art teacher Kay Schweizer created a stylized river and hills logo to replace the original 1965 design. Kay’s

The 50th anniversary owl mascot (conceptualized and

inspiration was the sun’s energy of knowledge flowing

over the valley into the river, whose current triggers

Johnson ’95 and named “Baxter” by the anniversary

imagination and inquiry.

committee after considering student suggestions) and the gold and black anniversary logo were temporary features

In 1986, the stack of books emerged in a commissioned

related to the 50th anniversary celebration. The color

design by Gwen Amos Design. The first book logo

gold was brought to campus as an extra color during the

featured a green stack of books surrounded by the

golden anniversary. These additions are designed to last

school’s full name in pewter. The book stack is drawn

as long as the spirit of the celebration remains.

1966: Frank Pignata’s sixth grade class crosses the Guy West Bridge on a field trip to Sacramento State.

105

2007: Fourth graders and teacher Helen Diepenbrock hike the hills of San Francisco.

CAMPUS LIFE, 1964-2014

106

September 2014

107

CAMPUS LIFE 1964 THE PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION

1965 THE EARLY LUNCH PROGRAM

It is difficult to imagine Country Day, then and now,

Parents’ Association newsletters tell us quite a bit about

without a Parents’ Association. The first meeting was held

the eating habits of 1960s and 1970s students.

just a month after the start of school in 1964, and the group’s fundraising role in the early years is substantial.

The all-American hot dog was part of the menu from 1965,

Notes from those first years show purchases from the

when they were served out of the library trailer. Those

parents’ group ranged from books and typewriters to

Wednesday dog days were some of the most popular

buildings, blacktops, and furniture. Parents’ Association

and continued for decades, sometimes accompanied by

funds purchased the school’s first computers in the spring

a dessert and sometimes by fruit. Recipes for desserts

of 1979 and contributed toward the construction of the

were included in the monthly newsletter, and parent

lower school library (1976) and the music room (1980). In

chefs spent their Tuesday nights baking carrot cupcakes

1982, their $20,000 donation supported team uniforms,

and brownies for Wednesday lunches. The cooks were

the high school yearbook and newspaper, teacher

let out of the kitchen in 1976, when the lunch committee

training, the library, and the art, physical education,

voted to purchase desserts.

science, and math departments. A notice in the September 1979 Parents’ Association

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Fundraisers were varied: pasta parties serving over

newsletter, tells us that “in an effort to make the hot

500, family potluck dinners, fashion shows, musical

dog lunch more nutritious, donuts will be replaced with

entertainment,

label

apples.” But, children’s tastes being what they are, total

collection, jog-a-thons, logo-wear and book sales, and

subscribers to the program dropped, possibly due to the

the popular lunch program. Today’s Fall Family Festival

elimination of donuts. The apple experiment was deemed

originated with the Country Fair in the early ‘70s, where

a failure, with vast numbers of apples being returned

games, craft booths, a garage sale, a raffle, and a general

uneaten. So the lunch committee voted to replace the

store of homemade foods and crafts were offered. A

apples with cookies.

cookbooks,

Campbell

Soup

“Fall Frolic” fundraiser for school books and equipment was held at the home of Muriel and Ernest Johnson

In 1980, Chili Mondays were introduced, and the next

and included a fashion show, musical program, and a

year hamburgers joined the program on Thursdays.

casserole and cake menu. The “Big Deal” casino party

Pizza Fridays were added soon thereafter and the lunch

in November 1982 at Del Paso Country Club, chaired by

program was complete. The lunch plan was a financial

Linda Johnson (McCurdy) and Maria Kaufman, included

success, too, often netting $15,000 or more per year,

a drawing for a year’s tuition, which was won by ninth-

thanks to the volunteers who staffed the program.

grade parents Crystie and Charles Halsted of Davis. A Parents’ Association membership fee was asked of all parents, for which members received the popular parent/student roster. In the mid ‘90s, it was decided that there would be no fee; all parents were automatically members, and the parent/student roster was available to all families.

Betty Kanner, president of the Parents’ Association, serves a hot dog to a young student. (Medallion, 1966-67)

1973 THE ANCIL HOFFMAN PICNIC The Ancil Hoffman Picnic, and the associated “Capture

and gold to red and black, and the game was played

the Flag” game, started in 1973. When researching the

successfully by the two teams; the brown team became

history of this long-time tradition, high school teacher

black and the gold became red. In the 1989-1990 school

Sue Nellis found that, “Not a year has been missed

year, the event became strictly a high-school activity.

since the beginning, although once it took place at Oak

Up until that time, middle school students attended.”

Meadow Park on American River Drive to save money on

(Editor’s note: In 1987, the school colors changed from

bus transportation, and one year the group was late to

brown and gold to red and black because, according to

the picnic because of a bomb scare.”

memory, headmaster Doug Crone ran across a sale of red and black athletic uniforms too good to pass up and the

The complicated rules of “Capture the Flag” (or “Strategy”

sports teams became red and black. Ten years later, the

as it was called at one time or another) originated in the

school’s letterhead followed suit, changing from green

early 1970s with English teacher Dave Hechler. Dave

and pewter to red and black.)

writes, “I remember the inspiration for the game came

109

from the summer camp I attended for many years in

And about that bomb threat, Ms. Nellis continues: “At

Vermont. At the end of each summer, the entire camp

10 a.m. on September 15, 1995, a stranger called in a

played an elaborate version of Capture the Flag called

bomb threat. The students were immediately evacuated

Strategy that went on for hours. One of the great things

and given instructions to stand out on Latham Drive in

about the game was getting to know all the kids. You

front of the school. High schoolers listened attentively as

could be stuck in jail with a bunch of kids and it didn’t

head of high school David Hillinck explained the situation.

matter if you were 14 and your jail mate was six, you had

Finally, after two hours the lower and middle schoolers

to work together to get out. I think that’s why we started

were able to return to class. The high school had originally

playing Strategy at Country Day. I remember writing out

planned to leave school for Ancil Hoffman after second

all the rules on a ditto and then meeting with groups of

period (around 10:10), but because of the disruption they

students to explain how it worked.”

left later than was originally scheduled. Once at the park, though, Capture the Flag began and things were back to

Looking through past issues of the yearbook, Ms. Nellis

normal … “ (1995-96 Medallion)

found regular references to the event: “Once at the park, the fierce brown and gold ‘Strategy’ competition erupted. At the sound of the air-horn, the teams, lined on both sides of no-man’s land, rushed out in search of treasures. In the median strip, combatants found passes to the opponents’ territories. Bearers of the passes recited sayings or performed tasks to validate their freedom of movement. Other treasures collected either added or subtracted points from the score. As usual the game was rife with ups and downs.“ (1982-83 Medallion). Ms. Nellis also notes that changes to the game occurred throughout the years. “For the fall 1987 picnic, history teacher Dan Neukom inherited the job of head hamburger chef from retired assistant headmaster Frank Pignata. That same year, the school colors changed from brown

Instructions to team members in Capture the Flag: “Don’t break the chain.”

CAMPUS LIFE 1974 BROWN AND GOLD DAY

1976 THE FRIENDS OF COUNTRY DAY

Before the advent of AP exams, when spring was a time for

In 1976, Alice Matthews invited a group of SCDS

winding down and playing outside, high school students

supporters to the first gathering of the Friends of Country

and faculty would take a day and head to Paradise Beach,

Day, a service organization to bring together former

just over the J Street Bridge in River Park. Travel was by

parents, trustees, and alumni. Headmaster Herbert

bike, on skates, and some on the bus, and PE teacher Bill

Matthews greeted the group in the multi-purpose room,

Stainbrook stationed himself on the bridge, making sure

and they were offered a hot dog lunch from the thriving

all crossed safely.

lunch program. (SCDS Newsletter 1976). Annual lunches followed for many years, well attended by former parent-

The rituals prior to the group departure were essential.

board members and trustees.

Toran Brown ’82 tells us, “The ceremony started

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somewhere near the Kitty Perkins MP building, where the

In 1981, the Friends group organized a Festival of the

gold and brown teams gathered to start the procession.

Arts event, featuring famous and soon-to-be-famous

There were the top royalty, usually Francie (in a gold

artists and honoring the group’s founder, Alice Matthews.

gown) and Pat Tidey, then the team captains, librarian

Students, alumni, and local artists were invited to show

Addie Gold and me, selected specifically because of our

their work in the multi-purpose room “gallery.” Some

last names. ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ was played on

local artists represented were Helen and Alan Post

a portable record player, with someone holding up the

and Boyd Gavin, who was one of Country Day’s earliest

speaker and the teams lined up.” Mrs. Gold and Toran

students. “Live music and drama added to the charm

were “dubbed” and presented with their leadership

of the evening with the gentle refined violin duets by

tokens—a sword for Brown and a torch for Mrs. Gold.

Jane and Janie Clayson . . . and Paul Ford’s Upper School

The torch, as some remember, was a broomstick with a

drama students delighted the audience with a witty and

rag attached on top. The rag obviously had been soaked

refreshing rendition of ‘Hamlet.’ ”

in some sort of lighter fluid because when it was lit, there was flame. Toran assumes that it was decided that

When Frank Pignata retired in 1986, Mrs. Matthews was

a teenage boy was safer with the sword than with the

happy to turn over the leadership of the group to Frank

flaming torch. The pageant paraded across campus to

Pignata, followed, in 1992, by former trustee John Burr.

the parking lot departure site. After Toran graduated in

At some point, the concept morphed from a supporters

1982, another Brown, Rachel Brown ’91, stepped up to

group to a “friend of the board,” with the friend sitting

fill the spot.

in on board meetings to provide a historical perspective. John Burr served in this capacity, as well as former

Brown and Gold Day morphed into Red and Black Day

trustees John Wheaton and Jamie Nelson.

when the school’s colors changed in 1987. The high school continued its excursion to Paradise Beach until the mid 1980s when rowdy crowds, trash, nude swimmers, and even the rumor of a ghost walking the beach suggested a change of locale.

Toran Brown ’82 Maturing from the “Brown” of the traditional “Brown and Gold” day to president of the board of trustees, Toran Brown’s career at Country Day has been long and diverse. After graduating from SCDS in 1982 and from the University of the Pacific in 1986, Toran joined the family business, Rytina Cleaners. He met his wife Katie at Country Day high school, and they were married in 1988. The family returned to SCDS in 1999 when Toran and Katie enrolled MacAulay in kindergarten. Toran was a member of the board from 1997 until 2007 and served as president from 2002-2006. Children MacAulay ’12, Taber ’14 and Emma Kate ’15 attended SCDS for lower and middle school.

111 Ancil Hoffman, 1993-94: The victors celebrate their win.

(above) Alumni Toran Brown and Katie Hammer were married November 19, 1988, commemorating the 55th anniversary of Toran’s maternal grandparents, Friedel Schoen and the late Walter F. Schoen. On the morning of the wedding, Toran’s mother Isolde Brown, Mrs. Schoen, Toran and Katie planted a tree at Country Day. (Photo reprinted from the January 26, 1989, Octagon.)

(right) High school teachers Sue Nellis and Daniel Neukom are rewarded with fruit pies for their many years teaching— 34 for Ms. Nellis and 43 for Mr. Neukom.

CAMPUS LIFE 1978 COUNTRY DAY AUCTION HISTORY Arden Hills continued to be the location for another four years until the gym was completed and the auction moved to campus. Once on campus, meal preparation proved challenging with limited access to a catering kitchen. The 1982 auction meal was prepared by a group of parents, and the menu included spinach salad, chicken crepes, and a selection of fancy homemade desserts. The year the entrée was grilled chicken was also the year parent Dick Nelson dumped the hot coals in the dumpster during Sunday morning clean-up and started a fire. Alumni parent Betty Ryan, former auction chairs Sue Popp and Doris Matsui, and former administrator Barbara Ore meet at the 2010 Early Risers Breakfast for Breakthrough. The earliest auctions recorded were in 500 BC, when young women were sold into marriage to the highest

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bidders. No female was auctioned at Country Day’s first auction in May 1978, but a unique offering for bid was breakfast in bed served by a singing French maid from the Monkey Business Company. Held in the garden of the Domich family, the event was chaired by Sue Popp and Doris Matsui and raised $13,000. The Domiches offered their yard for several more years, including in 1980, when rain and an unseasonable cold night made a move necessary. From the May 1980 Parents’ Association Newsletter: “To the rescue came old friend of the school Sherm Chavoor, with an offer to use the Arden Hills Racquet Club. A telephone committee was quickly formed and the event was moved.” The auction raised close to $30,000 for the new gymnasium, with the highest bid going for a dinner offered by Elaine and Richard Benvenuti and Sharon and Sam Anapolsky, as well it should have. The “dinner” was really a chauffeured trip to a Pajaro Dunes beach house, gourmet dinner for the three couples who won the bid, mints on the pillows, Saturday morning breakfast and beach walk, picnic lunch on 17-Mile Drive, dinner out on Saturday night, more meals on Sunday, and a chauffeured trip back to Sacramento.

One item from the first auction—a membership in the Rio del Oro Racquet Club donated by parents and club owners Margie and Bill Campbell—is, 38 years later, still one of the donations, the Campbells never missing a year of offering the donation. Julius Clothing, Shasta Linen, and Rytina Cleaners are three more businesses that have been listed as donors in auction catalogs from 1978 to 2015. Another donation with longevity is “Headmaster for the Day.” Nowadays, it is most often bid on for one’s student, but in 1979, trustee Rob Gallaway won the bid for himself. He proclaimed the day “Hay Day” and everyone wore farm clothes. The Parents’ Association Newsletter, December 1979, notes that this set the tone for other activities, including a yelling contest and a pie-eating contest. Mr. Gallaway taught Pat Tidey’s history class, visited lower school classes, and reported, “school spirit is very strong.” In the late 1980s, the auction chairs decided it was time to pay tribute to some of the early “movers and shakers” and invited Sue Popp to be the first honoree, who generously filled her table with many old friends. In 1989, three couples were selected: Dornie and John Burr, Pam and Rob Gallaway, and Jane and John Wheaton. The tradition continued for three more years with tributes to Francie and Pat Tidey (1990), Nancy and Mead Kibbey (1991), and Brenda Sue and Frank Pignata (1992).

Parents most often took on the duties of auctioneers, but there were “celebrity” masters of ceremony on occasion. In 1987, talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh, starting his career at local station KFBK, joined the auctioneers on stage, accompanied by KCRA newscaster Stan Atkinson, and, for several years, the crowd was treated to the Y92 (KGBY) morning team of Paul Robins and Phil Cowan. Professional auctioneers became the norm starting in 1996.

High school students and SCDS staff volunteers welcome guests to the auction.

It takes many committee members and volunteers to organize such a huge project, and parents have

I remember my art history teacher Mrs. Schweizer

consistently stepped up to offer their time and skill

demonstrating a statuesque Corinthian column to

to produce this event year after year. Starting from

the class. She dressed in a sheet, and stood straight

relatively modest beginnings, the auction continues to thrive 38 years later. The 2015 auction celebrated the 50th anniversary of Sacramento Country Day School and its chairpersons were Sue Popp’s son Curtis ’89 and his

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wife Susan.

and stiff with her hands pressed tightly to her sides. It was so hilarious. What a privilege it was to attend this school. Sunny Seegmiller ’97

One of the more popular auction items for several years was a ladies’ outing to Meadowood for lunch and croquet, including a lesson with the resident pro. (front row) Suzanne Jacobs, Sally Nichols, Susan Knapp, Eugenia McCarthy, Wendy Ross; (back row) Jeanne Johnston, Joan Nelson, Julie Nelson, Gail Graham, Michele Taylor, Janis Pattison, Margie Amott. (1992)

1986 T o K i ll a Mo c k in g b ir d R e d ux by Lauren LaMay So how many times have I read “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Tom Robinson is found guilty in a shameful Jim Crow

aloud to eighth graders over the years? Enough to have

miscarriage of justice. I show the current students a

the book practically memorized. It always begins thus:

scrapbook made for me by a former student who, in the

“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm

summer after her eighth grade year, actually pilgrimaged

badly broken at the elbow. When it healed. . . his left arm

to Monroeville, Alabama—thinly disguised as Maycomb

was somewhat shorter than his right.” Here I pause and

in the novel—and took pictures of the exact courthouse

point out that my left arm, too, is about an inch shorter

Harper Lee describes in her book. We write poetry about

than my right and will not completely straighten, thanks

the verdict scene and read it aloud at Open House in

to a whitewater rafting accident that shattered my left

the spring. I have seen parents cry over this. By the end

elbow on the high school Ashland trip some years ago.

we see how Jem’s arm was broken—and his heart, too.

The eighth graders are duly impressed by my show-and-

And we see how Jem and his sister Scout were rescued

tell of deformity and harrowing capitulation to a Class IV

by none other than the mysterious and misunderstood

rapid. Being a school chaperone can be dangerous.

Boo Radley, who "came out" once to save their lives and was never seen again. The eighth graders finally grasp

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When this important information has sunk in, I go on:

the significance of the title, an unlikely infinitive phrase

“When enough years had gone by to enable us to look

having to do with love, hate, and the unholy destruction

back on them, we sometimes discussed the events

of innocence. At the end they are left with the picture of

leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started

Atticus sitting at his injured son’s bedside: “He would be

it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it

there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked

started long before that. He said it began the summer

up in the morning.”

Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out.” I point out that nowhere in the

Atticus Finch is still “there” for me every year—and if “To

opening paragraph does Scout the narrator explain how

Kill a Mockingbird” is what I am most associated with at

Jem broke his arm. I tell this year's batch of eighth graders

Sacramento Country Day School, I don’t much mind. After

that they won’t find this out until the end of the book.

all these years, I still get messages alluding to the novel

Of course, the novel becomes so much more than the

from former students, those long lost ghosts of eighth

roundabout tale of how Jem broke his elbow. And by the

graders past. And so every January I roll up my sleeves—

end, of course, Boo Radley will have come out—but they

literally—and begin the rite of passage again: “When he

don’t need to know that just yet.

was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow . . .”

Every year I find out again, in Chapter 21 (and each and every time with chilling dismay), that in spite of Atticus Finch’s best efforts to defend him, the falsely accused

Lauren LaMay, Middle School Faculty Lauren LaMay was a classmate and dormmate of Sonia Sotomayor at Princeton, but claims to have no influence whatsoever on the Supreme Court. Ms. LaMay came to SCDS right out of Harvard graduate school in 1980 and has been teaching here ever since. At one time or another she has taught in all three divisions from PK to 12, settling on eighth grade English for the last several years. She reckons that she has probably read “To Kill a Mockingbird” aloud to eighth graders several hundred times by now.

1991 Sutte r ’ s F o r t - Ch a r Ne f f Win s t he L o t t e ry by Char neff Country Day lucked out that day in 1991 when fourth grade teacher Char Neff entered the lottery for a spot in the coveted “sleepover at the fort,” the Sutter’s Fort program inviting California school children to spend 24 hours portraying characters of 1840s California. Country Day had gone to the fort a few times in the 1980s, before the sleepovers became so popular, and a lottery was put in place to see which classes would be invited. Ms. Neff writes: “We won! And the requirements for

remember correctly, it was Alexandra Tollette ’99, who, I

costumes and other materials were fairly strict. We

understand, was married at Trinity Cathedral in 2010.

didn't have any materials or costumes and had to gather everything from pie tins to cups. My helper was Emily

That first year, students and parent helpers wore their

Warburg's mom, Judy. She and I were on the phone every

period-appropriate clothing and learned about rope

night for a couple of hours figuring out our next step. She

making and weaving. They baked bread, created baskets

spent hours securing the necessary materials. The binder

and candles, and worked in the kitchen and the laundry.

of instructions from Sutter's Fort was four inches thick. I

The park rangers were very impressed with how engaged

thought, what on earth have I gotten myself into?

our parents and students were that first year. We didn't win the lottery the following year, but were chosen on

115 Believe it or not, there are still a few of those first

merit to participate. With two years under our belt, I

costumes that kids are wearing almost 25 years later.

entered the lottery for the third year and again didn’t

Today there must be 20 bins of materials stored under

win. There was a rule that a school couldn’t be chosen

the lower school staircase. I always laugh when I look in

on merit two years in a row, so our luck had run out. I

a Sutter's Fort bin and see a couple of those original tin

pleaded with the Sutter's Fort staff, suggesting that they

cups that we purchased that first year.

have a teachers’ training, where teachers who shared their lesson plans would be rewarded with an invitation

That trip to the fort was on April 4, 1991. While we were

to the Sutter's Fort overnight program. They agreed, we

protected by the walls of the fort, we had no idea that

shared, and we were invited back! From that point on, we

there was a terrible hostage event, which was occurring at

have somehow managed to go every single year either by

Circuit City. The next day, even though we were exhausted

luck, merit, or some other creative thinking.

and smelling of smoke, the parents and younger siblings were already talking about a repeat trip to Sutter's Fort.

Our parents and our kids value this experience so much

I will never forget one of the girls telling me that when

that everyone benefits, including those who just happen

she grew up she planned to be married at the fort. If I

to visit the fort on our date. What a special tradition!”

Char Neff, Former Faculty Char Neff, the daughter of a military father, attended 14 schools in 12 grades. When she came to SCDS in 1984, she liked it so much, she stayed 27 years, teaching both third and fourth grades. Char retired in 2011, but returns often as a substitute teacher.

1991 C O U N T R Y DAY GRADUAT I ONS: A s I n d i v i d ua l a s the Sc ho o l by Patricia Fels (From the SCDS Newsletter, Summer 1991)

I graduated from high school with 700 others on a football

Although four seniors graduated in 1971, there was only

field. We wore graduation gowns and mortarboards. The

one the next year—Simone Miller. For her, the ceremony

ceremony included inspirational speeches from school

was a complete surprise. Miller, who lived on 40th Street

board members, and then our names were read quickly

as did Francie and Pat Tidey, thought that she was going

as we filed across the stage to shake hands and receive

to a high school potluck dinner. “When she walked down

our diplomas. The only non-traditional aspect was that

the sidewalk it became her procession,” Francie Tidey

we all wore bathing suits under our gowns because it was

said. The neighborhood children, including Ashley and

Phoenix, Arizona, and the temperature at the 7 p.m. start

Quincey Tidey, made an arch of branches over Miller’s

was 109.

head. On the Tideys’ lawn the guests were waiting. The 1972 graduation was probably the wildest of them all,

And that’s what I assumed graduations were like—long,

said Tidey. Board member John Hiram McComish arrived

hot, and dull.

at the Tidey home seated on the back of a convertible attired in tails, a top hat, and—running shorts.

Then, as a second-year teacher, I attended the

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graduation of the class of 1978, where nothing was the

But that zaniness is part of every graduation. In 1983,

way graduation was supposed to be. The awards were

the seniors sang two songs written for the occasion—

ridiculous, the headmaster’s speech was amusing, and

both from an album of UC Berkeley songs that Tidey had

the musical tribute by “Olsen and Johnson” turned out to

inherited from her father.

be a group of teachers and students singing individual,

One—sung to the tune of “Hail to California”—included

funny songs about each senior. At the end, members

these lines:

of the audience stood up and made funny toasts to the

“Hail to Country Day School, Alma Mater dear.

graduates. I’d never had such a good time. Little did I

Sing the homework chorus.

realize that in the years to come I would be an integral

Shout it far and near.

part of this ceremony, and that it would become one of

Academic rigor, we will never fail.

the best parts of my school year.

Sacramento Country Day School Hail! Hail! Hail!

The graduation ceremony says a lot about what the school is—small, eclectic, individual, and a bit offbeat. The

In 1984, Marc Paoletti graduated. Paoletti was famous

tone of graduation is evident from the very first program

for a cartoon strip called “Super Senior” in which the

in 1971, in which the title of the Graduation Address is

all-powerful hero righted wrongs at the school, often

“2636 Latham Drive.” It also includes “Words of Wisdom

in controversial ways. At his graduation, teacher Bill

to the Graduating Class.” Those Words of Wisdom grew

Stainbrook dressed in Super Senior’s characteristic half-

into the tradition of “Parting Shots,’ impromptu remarks

black, half-white garb, and marched down the aisle to the

from the audience, much like toasts at wedding-rehearsal

delight of Paoletti’s classmates.

dinners. One year, a parent played a guitar and sang a song to the graduates. Another time, classmates released hundreds of soap bubbles.

In both 1982 and 1990, the faculty returned to the song-

graduation was my last, so I gave it all I had,” said Tidey.

writing tradition. In fact, the song for 1982 grad Steve

“I had a sense of the future for myself as much as for the

Davis was a reworking of the song written for Joe Keene

students.”

in 1978. Both Davis and Keene were Harvard-bound, so the song was the Kingston Trio’s “MTA” with its famous

Thus the graduation tradition that Tidey began continues.

chorus— “Will he ever return? No, he’ll never return. And

And every year someone in the audience is as surprised

his fate is still unlearned. He will ride forever through the

as I was so many years ago. Parent and president of

streets of Boston. He’s a man who’ll never return.”

the Parents’ Association Julie Nelson, who presented the Parents’ Association AMICUS award last year (1991),

That year was especially difficult because there were 20

is one example. ”I was surprised at the demonstration

graduates. Last year, there were only 10, so the song-

of camaraderie between the faculty and students, the

writing task was easier. Senior Bill Schoeffler, who was

personalized tribute to the seniors. I hadn’t expected

famous for his Republican politics, was honored with

anything like that,” said Nelson. “When I graduated it was

the rendition of the early ’60s hit “Big John,” retitled “Big

in a class of 850, and all I remember is thanking God that

Bill”: “Now Richard Nixon likes the way Bill lives, Loves his

my name (Dozier) was at the beginning of the alphabet so

Daddy’s car and conservatives. Hates liberated women

that I could relax.”

and always will, And the cheerleaders know you don’t give no lip to Big Bill.”

Country Day tries to make the experience—like the education—more special, even magical. As drama teacher

117

But the graduations are also serious times. Francie

C.B. Davis (1984-1994) said to Tidey after graduation in

Tidey remembers being especially affected by two in

1986, “The fairies were out tonight.”

particular. The 1973 ceremony was held at the home of Mead and Nancy Kibbey, whose daughters Joan and Lark were graduating. “It was the graduation of our charter class, those who had come through four years,” said Tidey. “There was a sense of depth and continuity.” The ceremony took place on a deck set above the yard. In the middle was a carved granite sculpture created by Mr. Kibbey, which was used as a podium for the speakers. The sculpture was the arms of a father and a child, whose hands were clasped, representing, in Mrs. Kibbey’s words, “the moment here and now with two generations together.” “The dramatic setting and the beautiful centerpiece made it very special,” Tidey said. Another especially moving graduation for Mrs. Tidey was 1986. It was held in the backyard of Joanne and Terry Lindeman, overlooking the American River. At the end of the ceremony, the seniors threw wishes wrapped around stones into the river as dusk crept over the yard. In the audience some people cried. “I secretly knew that

At the graduation ceremony in June 1983, Francie Tidey selected special 45 rpm records for each senior. Here she presents Mary Ore with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” (Photo courtesy of Paul Ford.)

CAMPUS LIFE 1995 LIFERS RECOGNIZED WITH CEREMONY AND NEW ENDOWMENT FUND Lif ‘ er. noun. A student who has spent at least 12 years

During the 50th anniversary year, staff researched those

from pre-school through 12th grade at Country Day

students, identified an additional 18, and designated

School.

them “Lifer, no party!” They will soon be given proper recognition with a photo alongside the others displayed

The term Lifer was first coined in 1995 when the founding

in Geeting Hall and a special effort was made to locate

parents established the Lifers’ Scholarship Endowment

those Lifers, urge them to attend the 50th anniversary

Fund and congratulated their Lifers with a lunch and a

festivities, and give them the party they missed.

ceremony. The process included the honoring of a faculty member, selected by the Lifers, who had a significant

Over the years, the Lifers’ Scholarship Endowment Fund

influence during their years at SCDS. Each year since

has grown significantly.

1995, the Lifers, their parents, and the honored teacher

the tradition of supporting the fund as a lasting way to

have gathered to celebrate the “Education of a Lifetime.”

recognize the achievements of their graduating seniors,

Lifer parents have continued

and to acknowledge the dedication of the teachers and With the graduating Class of 2015, the newest 13 Lifers will

staff who have made such achievements possible. The

bring the total to 171. But this doesn’t take into account

proceeds of the Lifers’ Fund supplement scholarship

those students who attended SCDS for 12 years or more

funds to ensure that other children receive the benefits

prior to 1995 and who did not receive formal recognition.

of a Country Day education.

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The first Lifers Jenna Umino, Susan Harlan, Erin Briley, Brian Hallisey, Jason Allen, Emily Brown, Amy Johnson, and Liam Ryan, with honoree middle school teacher Lauren LaMay (center) in 1995.

1995 CLASS OF 1995 LIFERS – WHERE ARE THEY NOW IN 2014? Jason Allen married Melanie Hollis in 2007 and their

Susan Harlan is an English professor at Wake Forest

daughter, Rya, is in 1st grade at SCDS (Class of ’26). The

University. She is working on a book about Renaissance

family lives in Carmichael. Jason is an elementary school

war culture, and she writes travel essays for publications

teacher in Elk Grove, currently teaching sixth grade, and

such as The Guardian, The Toast, Roads & Kingdoms, The

he continues to pursue athletics as a competitive cyclist.

Awl, and The Morning News.

Emily (Brown) Carlin has been living in Los Angeles for 12

Amy Johnson lives in Sacramento and works in the family

years and is the director of talent acquisition for Lucky

scaffolding business. Amy chaired the Memorial Day 50th

Brand. She and husband Michael have been married for

anniversary events.

seven years and they have two daughters, Sloane, 5, and Dylan, 1.

Liam Ryan is a project manager/solar electrician for a large solar energy company in Santa Cruz, where he has lived

Erin (Briley) Henson lives in Redding with her husband of

for the past 18 years. He is married to Christina Turnwall

15 years Rich and their three children, Cara, 12, Emily, 8,

and they have a two-year-old son, Finnegan James.

and Jax, 3. After working in pharmaceutical sales, Erin is now a stay-at-home mom. Erin and Cara participate in the

Jenna (Umino) Kunihiro has been living in Honolulu,

Redding Rodeo Drill Team.

Hawaii, for the last 14 years with her five-year-old twin boys, James and David, and her husband, Scott. The boys

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Brian Hallisey lives in Santa Monica and works as a writer

attend Waikiki Elementary, the same school where Jenna

for an advertising agency on the Jack in the Box account.

teaches fourth grade.

THE ULTIMATE LIFERS Seven Lifers, each one starting in either pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, add up to plenty of SCDS years—94, as a matter of fact. Supporting those 94 years are two sets of parents that can only be called Ultimate Lifers. J. P. and Mahmoud Eltorai are parents of three Lifers—Adam ’06, Omar ’08, and Zach ’10; Mouse and Mark Endicott are parents of four Lifers—Sam ’02, Amy ’04, Joe ’08, and Bill ’10. Mouse and J. P. are ultimate volunteers, as well. They chaired events, served as trustees, and initiated special programs—Mouse started the line patrol, holiday gift making, and the used textbook exchange; J. P. spearheaded the funding for the baseball practice field. They have fed thousands of SCDS parents and students at Boosters and faculty events. When the last Eltorai and Endicott graduated in 2010, headmaster Repsher awarded Mouse and J. P. honorary diplomas in recognition of their long volunteer service to the school. (top) J.P. Eltorai accepts her honorary diploma at the 2010 graduation ceremony. (bottom) Mouse Endicott hands over her final tuition check to controller Carol Wessels.

CAMPUS LIFE 2006 COUNTRY DAY PARTNERS WITH THE RULINDO SCHOOLS IN RWANDA Country Day French teacher Gerlinde Klauser took on another role in 2006, when she made contact with Father Bernardin Mugabowakigeri, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, who introduced her to his former school and its head, Father Bernardin Banituze. A correspondence began, and soon a relationship between Country Day School in Sacramento and the Rulindo Schools and parish in Rwanda was established. Although Mme. Klauser was never able to travel to Rwanda, small groups of students and parents have made the trip over the years. In May 2008, Father Banituze visited Country Day and, during his month-long stay, taught classes in all three schools, addressed the board of trustees, and was introduced on the floor of the California State Assembly. At a ceremony before his departure, two trees were planted in the lower-school entry courtyard near the

Father Banituze and headmaster Stephen Repsher add the last soil for the friendship trees.

Procida Fountain, symbolizing the friendship between the

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two schools. Students regularly hold Rwanda fundraisers of one kind or another, and the proceeds are sent to the schools in Rulindo. Funds have paid for latrines, water tanks, livestock, school supplies and equipment. In 2012, the SCDS team carried loads of rocks by hand to help install concrete slab floors in five classrooms and helped put glass in the windows of eight classrooms. The recent “Every Child Deserves a Place at the Table” campaign raised funds to help students get lunch. Most importantly, the donated funds make it possible for Rwandan children to pay school fees, allowing them to attend school and walking miles and miles to do so. As Mme. Klauser hoped and envisioned, the partnership continues to provide SCDS students a global perspective and the awareness of life in a world so unlike their own.

Gerlinde Klauser and kindergartner Luca Procida ‘19 behind the welcome table for Rulindo donations. (2007)

Gerlinde Klauser, Former Faculty Gerlinde Klauser retired in June 2008 after 16 years at Country Day. During her time at SCDS, Madame Klauser was the foreign language chair for K-12 and taught French to lower school students, as well as French and German in the high school. French students had a number of coveted first-place winners in the national French contest under the tutelage of Madame. Madame Klauser passed away in 2010.

High school students Analise Rivero and Edek Sher, both ‘09, and Analise’s mother Carol traveled to Rwanda in 2007. Photo at right shows Analise next to the water tap with the inscription on the back acknowledging Country Day’s donations to fund the fresh water source for the school’s children. Analise remembers “a massive celebration when we turned the tap on for the first time.” For the last few summers, music teacher Elena Bennett (far right) has traveled to Rwanda to teach students in the Rulindo Schools.

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Orchestra students play at the sixth annual Gerlinde Klauser Play-a-thon in 2014. The first Play-a-thon was organized in 2009 by Miles BennettSmith ’09 as his senior project. With a goal of raising $500, the event raised $5,000 with 100% of the funds going to the Rulindo Schools. Annual play-a-thons since 2009, plus numerous other Rulindo fundraisers, have contributed $91,495 to Rulindo.

Donations have paid for ukuleles for the students. Here Micaela BennettSmith ’15 teaches music at one of the Rulindo Schools in Rwanda.

Play-a-thon proceeds help buy hogs, rabbits, and goats for students at various Rulindo Schools. Students who receive an animal are responsible for carrying it home and caring for it. When the animal reproduces, the student’s family keeps half the offspring, and the other babies go back to the school to be distributed to more students. The ripple effect will, over time, provide a source of income for hundreds of families throughout the district. Patrick Talamantes ’14 totes stone for the school’s concrete floor.

CAMPUS LIFE 2007 THE SCDS GARDEN The SCDS Garden has grown up—and out and down and all around. Divided into distinct sections for vegetables, native plants, herbs, and a sensory garden where visitors can experience all five senses, the garden has grown in seven years from a barren, inhospitable plot to a welcoming and fertile quarter-acre. The impetus for the garden originated with Charls Whelan, an SCDS groundskeeper and committed organic gardener, who thought the under-utilized space would be a good spot to involve the school community in a planting and harvesting project. Middle school teacher Doug “Dug” Wallis was the first garden advisor in 2007, and students in the middle school garden elective tilled the soil, planted the first seeds, and cared for the emerging plants, which,

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because of poor soil, miserable drainage, and lack of

from his organic landscaping business, volunteered to

time, were sparse. Field trips from lower school classes

take over for Mr. Wallis, who was moving to San Diego.

were encouraged, and several groups planted and then

Over several years and hundreds of hours of down-on-

harvested corn, beans, peas and flowers. However, for

your knees labor, paths were laid, an irrigation system

young children, in particular, it was difficult to see the

was installed, beds were mulched, picnic tables were

seedlings amidst the pervasive Bermuda grass.

brought in, and hundreds of seeds were planted in rich, productive soil.

Enter Michael Covey, Procida Landscaping, several key parent volunteers and an energetic middle school student

The result? A lush field of green, an edible garden, an

body. In 2010, student council president, eighth grader

outdoor classroom to teach the farm-to-fork relationship,

Alex Ahlstrom ’14, announced a contest to propose

and a popular spot to study or meet for lunch. Classes

improvements to the garden, and classmate Sara

harvest their own vegetables, and garden produce

Warady’s winning design was implemented by parent

regularly appears in the faculty/staff kitchen and at school

volunteers. Parent and business owner John Procida sent

events. A special section of the garden is devoted to crops

in the heavy equipment from his landscaping company.

for the Sacramento Food Bank, and the yield is delivered

Dr. Covey, retired from teaching high school science and

to the charity regularly.

Kathy’s Corner in the SCDS Garden Friends and colleagues paid tribute to former teacher Kathy Russell-Fernandez, spending a fall 2013 weekend to create “Kathy’s Corner,” a colorful grouping of flower beds and child-decorated stepping stones dedicated to Kathy’s memory. Ms. RF, as she was called by her students, taught math and science in the middle school from 2001-2012, and spent many hours in the garden, either planting or weeding, or familiarizing her students with the unique rhythms of plants and flowers, and the need to maintain and share a clean and safe environment. After a brief illness, Kathy passed away in August 2013 at the age of 57. She is survived by her husband Abel and their children, Grace ’18 and Calvin ’09.

2010s A SAMPLING OF TODAY’S TRADITIONS Traditions—those events that Country Day students anticipate as they move from one grade to the next—are not likely those concerned with reading lists or integrated curriculum. Rather, younger students look forward to classroom projects they’ve seen in the quads and on the playgrounds. In the lower school, pre-kindergartners join the action with their annual Pitchy Patchy parade, kindergarten students are greeted with cheers when they parade through campus celebrating the 100th day of school, and visitors marvel at the professional presentations when

With shields and javelins at the ready, sixth grade “Olympians” begin the competition.

students embody characters from the colonial, pioneer, and Civil War days. Parents are delighted when they are hosted by their children at the PK Father’s Day Breakfast and the first grade Mother’s Day Tea. Since its beginning in spring 2007, the seventh grade

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Renaissance Faire has grown from modest beginnings to an event featuring its own castle, lord and lady of the fair, entertainment, and booths for Renaissance games and goods. The sixth grade Greek Olympics culminates the students’ study of ancient Greece, and includes homemade shields, the javelin throw, a discus toss, races, and a feast of Olympic proportions. In the high school, the M & M man appears, offering mini morsels to seniors each time a college acceptance

Pre-kindergartners, dressed for their Pitchy Patchy parade, sit down for a comedic Greek performance during the school-wide celebration of World Cultures week.

is received. Leadership lunches, begun in 2007, offer students the opportunity to share outside-of-school experiences with their peers. Over the years the monthly topics have included building houses in Honduras, working at Pride Industries, ballet dancing, working for Breakthrough, a panel on living in the Middle East, and more. Faculty and students show off their language skills when they read “The Cat in the Hat” in dozens of languages, with each person reading a few lines in their language of choice. One year, the reading even included Jared Gorton ’08 Skyping from his school in Sweden to read a verse in Swedish.

Class of 2013 members wear the shirts of the colleges they plan to attend in the fall.

CAMPUS LIFE FRANCIE TIDEY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION The Francie Tidey Award for Excellence in Education, established in 2001, is an alumni-sponsored faculty award. Its purpose is to honor a member of the faculty or administration who has made an outstanding contribution to the school community during his or her tenure. The award was founded as a tribute to those educators who gave and continue to give so unselfishly to the students at Sacramento Country Day School. Steve Davis ’82 chaired the first Francie Tidey Award Advisory Committee and presented the first award to teacher Lauren LaMay. Steve wrote, “The alumni council solicited nominations from all of the alumni, read the nominations, and then selected someone who we felt embodied many of the same qualities that Francie has: a passion for excellence in her academic field, as well as a tremendous bond with, and respect for, her students as people.

RECIPIENTS

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Lauren LaMay, 2001

Barbara Fackenthall Tash, 2009

Patricia Fels, 2002

Wendy Ross, 2010

Daniel Neukom, 2003

Jane Batarseh, 2011

Frank Pignata, 2004

Marcus Romani, 2012

Barbara Ore, 2005

Robin Kren, 2013

Kay Schweizer, 2006

Sue Ryan, 2014

Sheila Hefty, 2007

Michelle Myers, 2015

Susan Gorton Nellis, 2008

Francie Tidey Award, 2001 Lauren LaMay received the first Francie Tidey Award, and Mrs. Tidey was in attendance to offer her congratulations. (pictured) Quincey Tidey Grieve ’86, Francie Tidey, recipient Ms. LaMay, and presenter and former trustee Steve Davis ’82.

CO UN T RY DA Y IN T HE 2 1 s t C E NT U R Y by Stephen Repsher

125

The past decade has seen much change at Sacramento

art, technology, and science programs. The middle school

Country Day School. Beyond the additions of new buildings,

added a variety of new electives in art, music, athletics, and

upgrades, repairs, and renovations, the school has

experiential education and depth to the English, science,

invested heavily in its faculty, students, and educational

world languages, and mathematics curricula. The high

programs. Facilities are important, but it is the people here

school added Advanced Placement courses, academic

who embody the heart and soul of SCDS and make our

elective classes, and new interscholastic athletic teams.

school the premier college preparatory experience in the

A half-acre school garden enabled students to grow food

region.

crops and to develop healthy eating habits.

Entering the 21st century, there was an opportunity

We added more co-curricular and social opportunities

to move the school forward to ensure its continued

for students with the Renaissance Faire, World Cultures

educational excellence. The immediate challenge was to

Day, movie nights, and clubs such as Anime, Robotics,

address a systemic shortfall in funding our programs and

and Entrepreneurs and the Owning Up curriculum, to

facilities. With the help of an expert independent school

help students with interpersonal relationships. New,

consultant, we established a strategic financial plan to

talented faculty, drawn from across the country and

increase faculty salaries and benefits and to provide a

California, brought more diverse academic, athletic, and

stable revenue stream to achieve the educational goals we

co-curricular programs with over 50% of our teachers

set for our students.

having earned advanced academic degrees.

We replaced the school’s aging utilities, safety systems,

A great impact on the school’s academic programs has

roadways, and infrastructure to accommodate the new

come from vastly improved technology. The school

Frank Science Center in 2005, a new lower school campus

provides iPad carts and Chrome Books for the lower

in 2008, a renovated middle school campus in 2011, a

school, one-to-one iPads for the middle school, and

renovated high school campus and middle/high school

one-to-one MacBooks for the high school. There is also

library in 2012 and 2013, and the new Middle School Center

campus-wide Wi-Fi, two high-speed Internet providers, a

for Science, Mathematics, and Technology in 2014. The

modern network structure, and academic databases for

school has built or renovated 40,000 of its 70,000 square

students to conduct research. Our technology department

feet of classrooms, laboratories, and indoor spaces.

trains faculty in the implementation of technology into the classroom, and the available technology for students

To improve enrollment management, we increased our

and faculty far surpasses that of any other school, public

financial aid from $355,000 to over $1.7 million, and

or private, in the six-county area.

increased from 10% to 26% of our students receiving tuition assistance. At the same time, the racial and ethnic diversity

We offer an exceptional educational experience at SCDS,

of the student body rose from 18% to 36% of our students

and we are poised to expand our lead as the preeminent

and from 6% to 17% of our faculty and staff. We saw an

college preparatory school in Sacramento, now and into

increase in the number of our international students,

the future. It has been a great honor for me to carry on

which further diversified our student population.

the work of the founders of Sacramento Country Day.

Enhanced funding further strengthened the school’s educational programs. The lower school enriched its music,

CAMPUS LIFE CELEBRATING FIFTY YEARS SCDS celebrated its 50th anniversary during the 201415 school year, starting with a birthday party fall family festival on September 14, 50 years from the day that Country Day first opened its doors, and culminating with 2015 Memorial Day weekend events. First student Greg Geeting was invited to the birthday party in September. Excerpts from his remarks: “It’s been 50 years to this day, September 14, the very first day of instruction at Sacramento Country Day School. Of course, the venue was not quite so grand as this one. We were Development director Wendy Ross enjoys the 50th anniversary gala with anniversary chair Richard Mancina ’73 and Memorial Day weekend event chair Amy Johnson ’95.

located—as many of you know—on the grounds of the Unitarian Universalist Society a mile or so northwest of here. . . . My father (Dr. Baxter Geeting) was co-founder of the school, along with Herbert Matthews. However, I believe it is fair to say that my mother Corinne Geeting and Mrs. Alice Matthews were very much founders as well. . . Taking time to remember founders and early students and staff is a fine thing, (and I am honored), if

126

for no other reason than to take stock and appreciate how far the institution has come. But if you want to know who really deserves the credit and the admiration for 50 successful years, it is all of those who followed, and those who now attend, teach, provide support as staff and parents, and who lead as administrators and board members. Those past—and you today—are the real heroes of this story. As one of that first group of students, it is I who salutes you on this day.“ Greg Geeting, son of founder Dr. Baxter Geeting, tells the birthday party audience of his experiences as one of the first students.

The founders’ foresight in anticipating the need for a school like SCDS was astute. Country Day remains the premier independent pre-kindergarten through 12th

grade school in the region. Children at every grade level are guided toward the skills and knowledge which, when the time comes, will gain them acceptance at selective colleges and universities across the country. Excellence in education continues, with graduates whose SAT scores are consistently the highest in the Sacramento area.

Baxter Geeting, when researching other independent schools, visited on several occasions Marin Country Day and modeled Sacramento Country Day after that school. The headmaster at Marin Country Day told Geeting, “If you can hang on for eight years, you’ll last forever.” It took a few years longer than eight for SCDS to reach the point where the future looked promising, and today’s Country Day community is indebted to the school’s founders for their steadfastness in challenging conditions. August 1980 , SCDS Parents’ Association Newsletter

127 Since this group missed the noted library party of 1982, they gathered in the library party bar photo booth at the 50th anniversary celebration. (back row) Elise Craig ’02, Allison Rude ’98, Chloe Ellers ’98, Beth Nelson ’98, Annie Nichols Jones ’98, Amy Nelson Wells ’98; (front row) Matt Post ’97, Erin Post, Najib Benouar ’02, Mayo Atte, Nancy Craig ’97, and Casey Ryan ’98.

(left) Student body vice president George Cvetich ’15 greets Baxter at the fall homecoming rally, where Baxter was first introduced to the students and faculty. (right) The five-layer birthday cake composed of hundreds of cupcakes.

ALUMNI IN MEMORIAM

128

Susan Ricketts-Green '68

Greg Chenu '86

Tony Geremia '69

Kimberly Lane '86

Grant Carlson '70

Scott Pfaendler '87

Peter Hillman '71

Richard Rader '89

Sarah McNair '71

Patrick Sparre '89

Chris Tippin '71

David Clayson ’92

Jim Lawson '73

Andrew Ekstrom '93

Claire Mower '73

Jeremy Bynum '95

Ann Wulff '73

Joshua Cohen '95

Donald Hoganson '74

Ryan Murchison '95

John Kent Coleman '75

David A. Roeschke '95

Tommy De Long '75

Christopher D. Domingo

Brad Scrimgeour '76

Carmen Luiza Onuta '96

Spar Wilcox '76

Andrew Cochrane '97

Mary Jean Hutchinson Schout '77

Greg Stechman '97

Sharon Cothran Lange '78

Jacob Owens '00

Kenneth Frasse '79

Bradley K. Wyatt '00

Maureen Kelley Houser '79

William Britt '01

Laurie Van Camp '81

Ying Vang '04

Mary Witter '81

Xai Lor '06

Steven Comerchero '82

Phillip Tablin-Wolf '06

Anne Keating '82

James Weatherholt II '06

Heidi Kriz '83

Connor Burns '20

In 1985, sixth-grader David Clayson died from an inoperable brain tumor. In his memory, a Colorado blue spruce was planted, which now towers over the gate between the lower and middle schools. At the base is a plaque with Clayson’s name and the years he attended, 1978-85 (Medallion May 25, 2015). (pictured) The Clayson children (Janie ’85, Hannah ’91, David ’92) with Janie’s teacher Lin Erickson and an assistant (1978).

Craig LaBare '84

THIS IS OUR SONG Lyrics by Elena Bennett written for the school’s 50th anniversary This is our song, we sing for Country Day! A song of thanks for 50 years and more. This is our school, where play and work unite us, where hearts and minds find room to freely soar. We sing to honor all who come to learn here—Rememb’ring those who walked these halls before. Our sky is bluer than the sparkling river, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine. Through windows glimpse bent heads with book or paintbrush; from doorways pour young voices clear and fine. This is our space, from Pre-K to the high school. We’ve built this place—it is both yours and mine. So sing today for every generation of students taught, and those who serve them well. We sing for all who plant the seeds of learning, and those they nurture, striving to excel. In years to come, may our unfolding story be one that each of us is proud to tell.

LISTS Headmasters

Herbert Matthews Sept. 1964 – Dec. 1965 Arthur Clanin (Interim) Dec. 1965 – Nov. 1966 Richard O’Connell Nov. 1966 – Feb. 1968 Dr. Henry Magnuson Mar. 1968 – Dec. 1968 Clayton Tidey Jan. 1969 – Aug. 1983 Barbara MacAulay Ore (Interim) Aug. 1983 – June 1984 James Achterberg July 1984 – June 1987 Douglas Crone July 1987 – Aug. 1988 Administrative Team (Interim) Sept. 1988 – June 1989 Daniel E. White July 1, 1989 – June 1998 Selden S. Edwards (Interim) July 1998 – June 1999 Selden S. Edwards July 1999 – June 2003 Stephen T. Repsher July 2003 – present

129 Board of Trustee Presidents 1964-1966 1966-1967 1967-1969 1969-1970 1970-1972 1972-1973 1973-1974 1974-1975 1975-1976 1976-1978 1978-1980 1980-1982 1982-1984 1984-1987 1987-1989 1989-1991 1991-1994 1994-1997 1997-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2006 2006-2011 2011-2012

Baxter Geeting K. Peter Poirier Paul A. Berg Michael S. Simpson John Burr Richard Keating John H. McComish John Dowdell Robert Gallaway John Wheaton Morgan Stoltz Mary Jane Sligar Richard Rader Jack Cornelius Gail Graham Robert Earl Grove Nichols James (Jamie) Nelson Timothy Ryan Chet Fite Catherine Camacho Toran Brown ’82 Anita Seipp Marmaduke Anita Seipp Marmaduke/ Steve Edwards 2012-2013 Steve Edwards/ Kelley Taber ’84 2013-present Kelley Taber ’84

Board of Trustee Members

Years of Service

** Headmaster, * Board President # Parents’ Association President (^) Deceased James Achterberg ** (^) 1984-1987 Anne Adams # (^) 1977-1978 Margie Amott 1986-1989 Sam Anapolsky 1980-1983 Doug Barker (^) 1993-1995 Richard Benvenuti 1977-1983 Paul A. Berg * 1964-1971 Carl Best 1975-1976 Shelby Best # 1980-1981 Jeanne Bovill # 2002-2003 Elliot Branning (^) 1982-1989 Nancy Brodovsky 2003-2006 Carol Anne Brown 1993-1999 Jonathan Brown 1983-1988 Susan Brown # 2006-2007 Toran Brown ‘82 * 1997-2007 Dornie Burr # (^) 1967-1968 Jeremy Burr 2013-present John Burr * (^) 1967-1979, 1992-1994 Catherine Camacho # * 1993-2002 Bill Campbell 1977-1982 Louis D. Carlson (^) 1964-1969 Karen Chan # 2003-2004 Rohitesh Chand 2013-present Chris Chediak 2006-2010 Sally Clifford 1975-1978 Jay Colburn 1965-1965 Joel Contreras 1986-1992 Jack Cornelius * 1977-1987 James Craig 1987-1987 Rev. Bill Creevey 1972-1974 Douglas C. Crone ** (^) 1987-1989 Bradley Cutler 1999-2006 Brooks Cutter 2007-2013 Pam Miller Dahl 1986-1990 Steve Davis ‘82 1999-2007 Charlie Demmon 2008-2013 Earl Dempsey 1985-1989 John Deyer 1973-1974 Tita Diepenbrock 1972-1973 Angela Donlan 2014-present Eric Douglas 1989-1990 John Dowdell * 1970-1980 Denis P. Doyle 1969-1973 Dr. William Dresser 1970-1972 Robert Earl * 1981-1994 Joanne Easter # 1984-1985 Steve Easter 1982-1994 Selden Edwards ** 1998-2003 Steve Edwards * 2006-present Debbie Egerland # 2007-2008 Jane Einhorn 1998-2001 J.P. Eltorai # 1996-2004 Mouse Endicott # 2000-2013

James Eva 1969-1970 Rick Eytcheson 1994-2003 Robert Fairbanks 1974-1978 Sara Louise Faustman 1965-1966 Joyce Feldstein 1972-1975 Kirsten Ferries # 2014-2015 Dr. Gary Fields 1975-1983 Ruth Fields # 1975-1976 Chet Fite * 1996-2001 John Fitzpatrick 1981-1985 Henry Fong (^) 1974-1976 Paul Frank 2002-2008 Scott Galati 2005-2009 Elizabeth Galindo 2000-2001 Rob Gallaway * 1973-1982 Lowell Gano 1964-1969 Mary Gano # 1964-1965 Duffy Kelly ‘79 Gardner 1986-1987 Corinne Geeting # (^) 1964-1964 Dr. Baxter M. Geeting * (^) 1964-1967 Louis Gerlinger 1969-1970 Randy Getz 2002-2011 Charlotte Gilmore # 1985-1986 Mike Godlove 1985-1994 Dr. Morton Goldstein (^) 1972-1974 Phyllis Goldstein # 1972-1973 Gail Graham * 1984-1994 Chris Granger 2014-2015 Charles Gray 1970-1972 Tim Grieve ‘82 1989-1990 Patrick Griffith 2008-2012 Jim Griggs 1975-1976 John Gudebski 2005-present Bill Hamm 1982-1986 Donald Hansen 1973-1975 James Hansen 1976-1979 Linda Hansen 1985-1986 Meg Hansen 1982-1983 Carolyn (Rader) Hardwick # 1981-1982 Deborah Harvego # 2011-2014 Elizabeth (Davidson) Hattin # 1979-1980 Linda Hauser 1985-1986 Carolyn Haw 1969-1972 Vivian Hawkins # 1999-2000 Chuck Hills 1972-1974 Chris Holben 2002-2008 Charles Hubbard 1974-1975 Frank Iwama 1990-1993 Worthing Jackman 2008-2012 Suzanne Jacobs 1987-1990 Vince Jacobs 1992-1998 Nellie Jamall # 1998-1999 Charles W. Johnson (^) 1964-1966 Jim Johnston 1983-1986 Dr. Forrest Junod 1985-1986 Betty Kanner # 1966-1967 Fred Katz 1993-2005 Christina Kaufman # 2008-2010 Dan Kaufman 1985-1988 Gale Kaufman 2001-2006

Board of Trustee Members

130

Years of Service

Loren Kaye 2013-present Janet Keating # 1973-1974 Richard Keating * 1969-1982 Lucy Keene 1975-1978 Jon Kelly 1978-1979 Nancy Kibbey 1973-1980 Ron Kingston 1994-1996 Jerry Knapp 1995-1998 Larry Knapp 1979-1981 Susan Knapp # 1987-1988 Bill Knight (^) 1980-1983 Marjorie Koldinger 1978-1981 Stan Lake 1989-1992 Carson Lambeth 2007-2008 Judy Law # 1976-1978 Dr. Lawrence Lee 1974-1975 Judy McComish Leet # 1971-1972 Aaron Levin 1966-1972 Dr. Larry Lieb 1975-1981 Tom Lincoln 2002-2005 Terry Lindeman 1975-1987 Sally Loeser 1980-1986 Jack Lovell (^) 1988-1993 Kathie MacEwan 1990-1991 Kingsley Macomber 1994-1998 Lee Mahla 2006-present Pat Mahon 1983-1987 Barbara Malakoff # 1978-1979 Elmer Malakoff 1975-1978 Peter F. Mancina (^) 1972-1974 Richard A. Mancina ‘73 2006-2011 Norman Mark 1969-1970 Anita Seipp Marmaduke # * 1997-2015 Arthur Marmaduke (^) 1988-1997 John W. Marton 1966-1969 Alfred Marwick 1968-1973 Doris Matsui 1977-1979 Herbert H. Matthews ** (^) 1966-1977 Dr. Floyd McAlister 1975-1977 Vern McCarthy 1992-1995 John H. McComish * 1969-1974 Linda (Johnson) McCurdy # 1983-1993 Milton McGhee 1970-1974 Ray McNally 2001-2005 Greg Michael 2005-2007 Kelvin Moss 1991-1998 William P. Mott, III 1968-1971 John Moulds 1982-1988 Dorothee Mull # 1965-1966 Tim Murphrey 1999-2008 Charlotte Musser # 1992-1993 John Myers 2003-2009 Dick Nelson 1991-1996 Jamie Nelson * 1988-2001, 2005-2008 Julie Nelson # 1989-1990 Mark Nelson 1980-1984 Grove Nichols* 1987-1994, 2010-present Sally Nichols # 1988-1989, 1996-1999, 2001-2006 Jacque Nolte # 1982-1983 John Norwood 1988-1989 Sherri Norwood # 1990-1991

James O’Neil 1969-1977 Barbara Ore ** 1983-1984 Louay Owaidat 2013-present Peter Parker 1983-1985 Carmen Patel 2000-2001 Janis Pattison 1989-1994 Drew Petersen 2007-present Bonnie Plummer 1989-1996 K. Peter Poirier * (^) 1964-1970 Shirley Poirier 1986-1987 Sue Popp (^) 1976-1985 David Post 1983-1986 David Pratt (^) 1986-1987 John Procida 2008-2014 Ed Quinn 1996-2005 Richard Rader * 1980-1987 Peter Raffetto 1998-2003 Julie Ramos # 2000-2001 Liane Randolph 2008-2013 Bill Ray 1984-1985 Anthony Rayner 1995-1998 Nancy Reid 1993-1999 Judy Reitan 1988-1996 Stephen T. Repsher ** 2003-present Monte F. Ricketts 1964-1968 Andrea Robertson # 2004-2005 Deborah Roden # 1994-1995 E. Denis Roden 1988-1992 Robert Roush 1972-1973 Sabine Roush 1972-1975 Robert N. Rowe 1969-1973 Elizabeth Russell 1993-1996 Georgia Rust # (^) 1969-1971 David Ryan 2011-2015 Timothy Ryan * 1988-2000 Lindsey Sackheim # 2012-present August Saibeni 1986-1989 Irene Sanz # 1995-1996 Steve Schroeder 2012-2014 Kevin Sexton 2009-2012 Dan Sheldon (^) 1977-1985 Lois Shellhamer 1966-1972 Michael S. Simpson * 1966-1972 Sarah Simpson # 1968-1969 Jack Sioukas 1980-1981 Mary Jane Sligar * 1976-1990 Tom Smail 1973-1983 Dr. Ed Smeloff (^) 1977-1979 Dr. Cedric Smith 1975-1977 Peter Sparre 1976-1979 David Speciale 2000-2006 Dr. Gene Spencer 1972-1978 Chuck Stechman 1990-1993 Linda Stechman # 1991-1992 Tim Steiner 1987-1988 Emily Stephenson 2014-present Jack Stockman (^) 2001-2004 Jan Stohr 1979-1985 Morgan Stoltz * 1975-1980 William Sutton 1969-1973 Kelley Taber ‘84 * 1991-1996, 2007-present Patrick Talamantes 2003-2009 Michelle Taylor 1994-1996 Clayton J. Tidey ** (^) 1969-1983

Mr. Tizzard 1969-1970 Roy Tolan (^) 1985-1991 Bud Tollette 1992-1999 Angelo Tsakopoulos 1979-1985 General Thomas Turnage 1968-1971 Alison Turner # 2010-2011 Howard Turner 1972-1977 Brian Van Camp 1975-1977 Alan Vando 1981-1992 Stan Van Vleck 2014-present Anvar Velji 1993-1995 William Walbridge 1978-1979 Andy Warburg 1990-1998 Rick Wasserman 1997-2003 Edmund Weber 1972-1975 Mary Ellen Weber # 1974-1975 Malcolm Weintraub 1979-1982 Dr. William Welch (^) 1964-1976 Tony Westra 1971-1972 John Wheaton * 1975-1986, 1990-1991, 2003-2005 Daniel E. White ** 1989-1998 Mary Anne Whitney # 2005-2006 Ron W. Wilcox 1966-1971 John Winters 2008-2011 Jim Wolf 1981-1984 Mamika Wolf # 1986-1987 Merle Wolf 1986-1989 Francis Zhang 2011-present

Trustee Emeritus

Dr. Baxter M. Geeting (^) Herbert H. Matthews (^) James O’Neil Nancy O’Neil (^)

Parents’ Association Presidents 1964-1964 1965-1966 1965-1966 1966-1967 1967-1968 1968-1969 1969-1971 1971-1972 1972-1973 1973-1974 1974-1975 1975-1976 1976-1977 1977-1978 1978-1979 1979-1980 1980-1981 1981-1982 1982-1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986 1986-1987 1987-1988 1988-1989 1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1992

Corinne Geeting Mary Gano Dorothee Mull Betty Kanner Dornie Burr Sarah Simpson Georgia Rust Judy (McComish) Leet Phyllis Goldstein Janet Keating Mary Ellen Weber Ruth Fields Judy Law Anne Adams Barbara Malakoff Elizabeth (Davidson) Hattin Shelby Best Carolyn (Rader) Hardwick Jacque Nolte Linda (Johnson) McCurdy Joanne Easter Charlotte Gilmore Mamika Wolf Susan Knapp Sally Nichols Julie Nelson Sherri Norwood Linda Stechman

Parents’ Association Presidents

Auction Chairs

1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

2011

Charlotte Musser Catherine Camacho Deborah Roden Irene Sanz J.P. Eltorai Anita Seipp Marmaduke Nellie Jamall Vivian Hawkins Julie Ramos Mouse Endicott Jeanne Bovill Karen Chan Andrea Robertson Mary Anne Whitney Susan Brown Debbie Egerland Christina Kaufman Alison Turner Deborah Harvego Lindsey Sackheim Kirsten Ferries Priya Krishnan, Katherine Merksamer ‘80

Auction Chairs

131

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

Doris Matsui & Sue Popp Terry Lindeman & Sue Popp Janet Keating & Mary Jane Sligar Janet Keating & Mary Jane Sligar Pam Galloway & Jane Wheaton Bernice Hagen & Pat Ingoglia Bernice Hagen & Jackie Nolte Barbara Ore & Sue Popp Mike Godlove Paul Aaron Julie Nelson & Sally Nichols Sherri Norwood & Lynda Phillips Julie Nelson & Linda Stechman Karen Edmiston, Marget Kingston & Janis Pattison Bob Earl & Steve Easter Linda Eytcheson & Sue Ryan Marilyn Wickland Lynne Powlesland Catherine Camacho Catherine Camacho Kathy Reeder Marisa Alcalay & Abby Pruitt Mouse & Mark Endicott Jeanne Bovill & J. P. Eltorai Lou Ann Fischer & Marsha Toms Lindsey & Andrew Sackheim Mouse Endicott, Lou Ann Fischer & Julie Ramos Karen Chan Katie Brown, Danae Evrigenis, Lou Ann Fischer & Rene Smerling Marcie Gudebski & Lee Mahla Susan Bitar, Barbara Demmon & Marcie Gudebski Christy Martinson Procida & Lindsey Sackheim Christy Martinson Procida & Lindsey Sackheim

2012 2013 2014 2015

Faith Galati & Margaret Hutchinson Faith Galati & Margaret Hutchinson Susan Bitar, Deborah Harvego & Kari Miner Liberty Sanchez Susan & Curtis Popp

Cum Laude Members + Charter Member ^ deceased Ryan Abramowitz, 2006 Nick Abramson, 2007 Erica Alterwitz, 1998 Catherine Anderson, 1988 Marion Anthonisen, 2004 Nicole Antoine, 2011 Laura Applebaum, 1995 Saima Awan, 1988 Bruce Baird, Faculty (2004) Michelle Baron, 2001 Jane Batarseh, Faculty (2008) Claire Bauman, 2009 Annie Bell, 2013 Ron Bell, Faculty (2007) Meredith Bennett-Smith, 2006 Miles Bennett-Smith, 2009 Mollie Berg, 2012 Damien Blake, 2011 Emily Blodget, 2002 Kelsey Blodget, 2004 Shira Bogin, 2008 Shaida Boroumand, 1996 Mary-Clare Bosco, 2013 Erica Brode, 2003 Carter Brown, 2013 Meredith Brown, 1999 Patricia (Annelise) Bryan, 2013 Christine Cahill, 2000 Ian Cardle, 2012 Sharmila Chatterjee, 1984 Lynsey Chediak, 2010 Hannah Clayson Smith, 1991 Jennieke Cohen, 2001 Kimberly Cotton Wong, 1998 Michael Covey, Faculty (2000) Elise Craig, 2002 Nancy Craig, 1997 Douglas Crone, Headmaster +^ (1988) Yanni Dahmani, 2013 Robin Datel, 1971 + C.B. Davis, Faculty Stephen L. Davis, 1982 + Richard Day, Faculty (2001) Elise DeCarli, 2013 Jillian DePoy, 2010 Joanna Derman, 2009 Max Dickstein, 1997 Marcia Djudzman Zimmerman, 1990 Charlotte Douglas, 2001

Kate Douglas, 1998 Jackson Dulla, 2013 Kinsley Earl, 1992 Kent W. Easter, 1992 Selden Edwards, Headmaster (1999) Schuyler Ellers, 1996 Adam Eltorai, 2006 Amy Endicott, 2004 Don Erlandson, 1992 Kate Farrell, 2003 Matt Farrell, 2005 Patricia Fels, Faculty + (1988) Calvin Fernandez, 2009 Tracy A. Fine, 1988 Emma Fisher, 2002 Matthew Fisher, 1999 Sarah Fleming, 2011 Christelle Follette, 2005 Andrew Furillo, 2009 Megan Gage, 2003 Juan Pablo Galindo, 2002 Baxter Geeting, Trustee +^ (1988) Jennilee Giguiere, 1994 Giancarlo Giustina, 2000 Jessica Goldman, 2004 Zachary Goldstein, 2002 Alexandra Gomez-Pepple, 1999 Timothy P. Grieve, 1982 + Parul Guliani, 2011 Ethan Ham, 2015 Jennifer Han, 2008 Susan Harlan, 1995 Katharine Heitman, 2001 Mackenzie Higgins, 2010 David A. Hillinck, Faculty (1995) Chia En (Ryan) Ho, 2014 Richard Huang, 1974 + Jamie Johnson, 2010 Anoosh Jorjorian, 1991 Garrett Kaighn, 2014 Joseph Keene, 1978 Jennifer Kelly-DeWitt, 1993 Nancy Kesek, 1996 Nancy Kibbey, Trustee + (1988) Minji Kim, 2009 Eric Knapp, 1998 Jessica Kreig, 1996 Katie Krohn, 1997 Lenelle Kwong, 1977 Ina Labermeier, 2002 Lauren LaMay, Faculty + (1988) Robert Lemons, 2010 Alison Levin, 2010 Jessica Lewis, 2003 Yee Lo, 2007 Joseph Lopez, 2003 Victoria Loustalot, 2003 Grant Lyon, 2002 Madison Mainwaring, 2008 Peter Mancina, 2007 Sarah Mancina, 2011 Brooklin Mao, 2009 Mingus U. Mapps, 1985 + Caroline McAlister, 1977 +

Cum Laude Members

132

Floyd L. McAlister, Trustee + (1988) Mohit Mehtani, 2000 Nicky Mehtani, 2007 Siya Mehtani, 2006 Aishwarya Nadgauda, 2015 Susan Gorton Nellis, Faculty (2000) Daniel I. Neukom, Faculty (1990) Francie Neukom, 2004 Kelly Neukom, 2004 Annie Nichols Jones, 1998 Charlotte Nichols, 2000 Angela Nickerson, Faculty (2002) Jessica Niles DeHoff, 1996 Katie O’Banion, 2004 Mary O’Hagin Holt, 1991 Jiwon Oh, 2011 Meridith Oram, Faculty (2006) Elizabeth Owens, 2005 Carmen Patel, Faculty (2003) Jason Patel, 2005 Kamira Patel, 2014 Matt Peck, Faculty (2008) Christina Petlowany, 2012 Aisha Pier, 2010 Patricia Portillo, Faculty (2009) Lindsay Pratt, 1997 Douglas Press, 1983 Lana Preszler, 2008 Charles Andrew Price, 1999 Alexander Quinn, 2006 Neda Rahimian, 2001 Sara Rahimian, 1994 Sheela Reddy, 1997 Elizabeth Reid-Baumel, 1995 Stephen T. Repsher, Headmaster (2004) Laurel Richardson, 2006 Analise Rivero, 2009 Kevin Rossell, 2014 David Russell, 1999 Mayuri Sadhasivan, 2012 Theodore A. Saibeni, 1990 Phillip Saltzman, 2000 Nicholas Samson, 2012 Kay Schweizer, Faculty Jim Scrivano, 1998 Shaun Shah, 2012 Moqing (Cissy) Shi, 2014 Isabel Siragusa, 2007 Christopher Springer, 1985 Christina Stainbrook, 2006 Bradley A. Stohr, 1991 Soya Sung, 2010 Kelley M. Taber, 1984 Yuko Takegoshi, 2004 Lauren Taylor, 2011 Jeremy Tempkin, 2008 Christopher Thompson, 2011 Ashley T. Tidey, 1983 + Francie Tidey, Honorary ^ Quincey Tidey Grieve, 1986 John Timmer, 2002

Mor Toledano, 2005 Tali Toledano, 2001 Quyen Uong, 2008 Jessica Vando, 1992 Jamel Velji, 1997 Jennifer Vogel, 2005 Stephen Vogel, 2007 Winnifred C. Ward, 1981 + Brooke Wells, Faculty (2015) John R. Wheaton, Trustee + (1988) Emily Wheelis, 2003 Daniel E. White, Headmaster (1990) Richard Whitney, 2012 Dan L. Williams, Faculty + (1988) Emma Williams, 2015 Ciara Wirth, 2006 Madeleine Wright, 2013 Kellen Yamanaka, 2000

Graduates ^ deceased

1968

Susan Ricketts-Green^

1969

Mark R. Berg Steven Cline Gregory Daniels Tony Geremia^ William Gibson Michael Godfrey Miles Krier Edsel Lyon Lynn Meinzer Robert A. Ricketts Lane Siebenthal

1970

Gregory Geeting Marta Moorhead Smith

1971

Mary Gail Artz Robin Datel Sarah McNair^ Mary Stockdale

1972

Simone Miller Rathe

1973

Sally Enroth William Hefner Joan Kibbey Timothy Lee Richard Mancina Tanis Hammer McGregor Claire Mower^ Marian Moyher Jennifer Mackey Newman Lark Ohta Brenda Ralph Julie Smith Ann Wulff ^

1974

Paul Ralph Dong Mark Favero Madeline Hefner Carpenter Heidi Feldstein Hobby Dick C. Huang Dayna Hammer Joonas

1975

John Kent Coleman ^ Dan Cothran Martha Goff Donald James Jeanine Jones Jane Stockdale Peggy Blattner Valine Pamela Yip

1976

Carolyn Adams Megan Eymann Rochelle Law Wagener John Martin Lotz Roberta Mancina Diane Mark Frost Brad Scrimgeour^ Annette Start Rutemiller Marcy Stoeven

1977

Jack Bankowsky Robert Boggs David Burr John Cothran Eric L. Eakin Brett Favero Elizabeth Kibbey Gosnell Mary Jean Hutchinson Schout^ Lenelle Kwong Robert H. MacAulay Cathy Miles David Pollock Margaret McAlister Silverstein Jeffrey L. Young

1978

Nora Hutchinson Jane Inouye Saeed Izadi Duffy Kelly Julie Ann Mark Hal Miles Mina Morvai Schnitzer Tierney Smail Korotkin Liz Smeloff Catherine Taylor Eckhouse

1980

Ann Elliot Artz Katya Bankowsky Rosemary Boggs J. Phillips Burr Clark Courtney Casper de Clercq Loxie Hoshino Ginny Mark Julie Miller-Baird Courtney Page Mark Rea Jane Sullivan Garland Andrew Weintraub

1981

Kathy Beals Marydaisy Fong Fredrik Fornaeus Jack Hutchinson Mary Ann Inouye Putter Kelley Maggie Kelly Rolf Keltner Steven A. McIntosh Terri (Moore) Means-Ferguson Katina Tsakopoulos Meckley Ken Press John Shattuck Jane Sooby Winnifred Ward Bradley Williams Mary Witter^

1982

Lori Bluemel Sallet Sharon Blumenthal Toran Brown Ellie Burr Lagerquist Steven Comerchero^ Michael C. Connolly Stephen Davis John Fernandez Joseph Fong 1979 Scott Bernard Frizzie Lorna Anderson Tim Grieve Richard Bankowsky-Banks Katie Hammer Brown Gigi Becker Martin Hoshino Phillip Chew Anne Keating^ Katherine Schroeder Duhamel Judy Kobrin Kenneth Frasse^ Dominique LaBaw Arquelle Frasse Shaw Shamsud-Din Peter Fuller Tracy Petersen Rachel George Alec Schendzelos Maureen Kelley Houser^ Anne Morris Seeley George Frioux Joseph M. Keene Sharon Cothran Lange^ Allison Marra McCarthy Caroline L. McAlister Richard Mix Heidi McIntosh Singleton Nicolette Lampert Sterk

1983

Shannon Absher Geraldine Ang James Bailey Vincent Alan Comerchero Heidi Kriz^ Beth McKenzie Arnoldy David Nadell Mary Ore Michael Owens Douglas Press Matt Preus Joel Sooby Rickert Ashley Tidey Anthony Weintraub Steven Whitworth

1984

133

Jenifer Beach Sharmila Chatterjee Sally Hahn Victoria Hartwell Lynn Keating Smith Craig LaBare^ Beth Ramsdell Curt Richardson Aaron Schock Troy Stafford Elizabeth Stroup Messina Kelley Taber Sascha Gibson Vogt Amila Yang

1985

Kirsten Ann Asling Anna Bailey Bosley Asra Beig Lura Laene Dillon Michelle F. Lambert Mingus Mapps Graham McDougal Edward J. Myers John Nadell Marc Paoletti Amy Pugh Sean M. Scott Michael Smith Christopher Springer Leanne Welter Sudduth

1986

Shalini Chatterjee Barbara Gallio DeNatly Andrea Hauser Cadrett Alan Hirahara Alison Kibbey Kimberly Lane^ Josephine Leung Michael Lindeman Annette Majalya Kimberly Manner Kelli Morton McFarland Donald B. Moulds Michael Noonan Shannon Parker Joan McGinnis Rostad

Diba Sadigh Seddick Quincey Tidey Grieve Katherine Tsakopoulos Jason C. Wimberly

1987

Philip Armstrong Jessica Asling Bybee Nina Bradbrook Peter Buchman Dawn Cornelius Andrew Dowling Daniel Erlandson David S. Farley Clark Gibson Alexander D. Gronke Andy Hahn Tzu-Chieh Hung Jill Jenkins Dr. Kevin Luong Gerald Moulds Kevin Mueller Erik Mukerjee Julissa Neely Sarah Noonan Robert Padjen Amie M. Pegram Scott Pfaendler^ Dalya Wardany Sadek Kristen Sligar Tonia Stramandi Andres Martin Valverde Joseph Anthony Villa Aljean Wall Marquis

1988

Catherine Anderson Saima Awan Michael W. Bush Huw Davies Christopher Davis Tracy Fine Julie Gallio Michael Gray Lorin Kalisky Amanda Meeker Julie Mosher Shawn Nibbelink John Reitan Eric Staats Morgan Tracy Tiffany Yelton

1989

Joel Bidinger James Chapman Bill Cushard Lisa Gray Landry Sarah Keizer Phyllis Leung Sidney Majalya Madeline Cohn Moss Nichol Oliphant Duncan Trena Robbins Yasmin Vera Eric Zahn

1990

Chris Ainsworth Jonathan Bernstein Josh Borg David Boyers Arun Chatterjee Marcia Djudzman Zimmerman Sonia Duale Ted Saibeni William L. Schoeffler Angelo Tsakopoulos

Meri Frame David Gould Trish Guting Thornquist Elyse Hughes Randy Johnson Jennifer Kelly-DeWitt Daniel Leung Justin Reitan Juan Soler Aimee P. Staats Thomas Wendler Verna Ruby Willson

1991

1994

Lelena Avila Nicole Bernstein Carolyn Bernstein Oliveira Rachel Brown Hester Hannah Clayson Smith Joshua Eisenberg Noemie Etienne Tiffani Hirahara Marino Tiffany Hughes Mendenhall Eric Johnson Anoosh Jorjorian Matthew Kaiser Joshua Miller Mayuko Morita Mary O'Hagin Holt Katina C. Oliphant Rebecca Rachford Leckman Megan Reitan Brad Stohr Sekou Waddell Kaycee Whitaker Robert Wilson

1992

Jennifer Allen Ahsan Awan Joshua Clement Brandon Dunmore Kinsley Taylor Earl Kent Easter Don Erlandson Eileen Gibson Thomas Giguiere Alan Godlove Charles Hirst Jonathan Knapp Elizabeth K. Lake Stephen Lesher Tracy McKay Allison Pines Amanda Sargisson Gina R. Schoeffler Janice So Kristin Taylor-Karrer Jessica Vando

1993

Carole U. Barrow Amy Countryman Christopher Dale Bahadir Dogan Janelle Evans

Sam Applebaum Mike H. Fauzy Alvin L. Gavin Jennilee Giguiere Carter E. Graham Jessie Lial Hinchman Daniel Kealey Jason Colin Leach Sara Rahimian Brandi Wertz Turner

1995

Lesley Lyn Adams Foad Ahmadi Jason Allen Laura Applebaum Barrett Katherine Bielski Viorica Bologan Harrison Erin Briley Henson Emily Brown Carlin Jeremy Bynum^ Dena Echeverria Jason Gatten Brian Hallisey Susan Harlan Amy L. Johnson Emily Minshew Liz Reid-Baumel Liam Ryan Nasila Salek Stephanie Seegmiller Banner Steven Sharma Kathryn Stewart Geoffrey Taylor-Karrer Jenna Umino-Kunihiro Justin Viar Ginny Wilbourn Chenen Brandon J. Wilson

1996

Wilbert Avalos Lara Baine Sarah Barker Shaida Boroumand Jonah Dickstein Conner Earl Schuyler Ellers Shella Gilbert Hamill Eric Godlove Christopher Grantham Colin Hanks Kristen Hughes

Evan Ikemire Nancy Kesek Reuben Kobrin Jessica Kreig Hendron Renee Low Sei Nakadaira Jessica Niles DeHoff Melissa Nugent Abigail Owens Jennifer Schurer Coldiron Kelby Simison Weaver Ian Stone Karl Yerkes

1997

134

Jennifer Lee Atwood Ann Chenu Benjamin Coburn Andrew Cochrane^ Richard Cook Nancy J. Craig Max Dickstein Allison H. Furry Curtis Graham Kelly Harrison Hardin Brooke Jacobs Adam Katz Michael Kelly-DeWitt Marion Kerr Katie Krohn Carin Laue Tepring Piquado Matthew Post Lindsay Pratt-Bak Ryan Pyne Sheela Reddy Melissa Ruggles Sunny Seegmiller Jamel Velji Joseph Wong Calvin Worthington

1998

Erica Alterwitz Ivona Bilyk Smith Matt Briley Adriana (Gladys) Castro Kimberly Cotton Wong Jesse Crowder Kate Douglas Burgin Kevin Ecker Chloe Ellers Helen Harlan Christopher Harris Nicholas Kindelt Eric Knapp Beth Nelson Amy Nelson Wells Huy Ngo Ann Nichols Jones Keith Posehn Kyle Reeder Leah Rose Parker Allison Rude Casey Ryan Ian Salvatore

James Scrivano John Scrivano Skip Silberstein David Smith Jr. David Titus Taryn Tyler Williams G. Sean Wiedeman

1999

Meredith Brown Katharine Clark Nicole Cohen Lynsey Corbett Kye DeVito Nead Matthew Fisher John Givens Alexandra Gomez-Pepple Katharine Harlan Sara Judson Elizabeth Kalfsbeek Penny Kuo Lana Labermeier Andrew Price Soroush Rahimian Alexandra Ralph Anne Regan Jeffrey Roden Melanie Ruggles Cadle Ebony Ruiz Gonzalez David Russell Suraj Satpathy Scott Seegmiller Alexandra Tollette Biering Tom Wroten Lenora Yerkes

2000

Christine Cahill-Reams Adrian Carpenter Marcella Clement Aja Amanda Cochrane Scheidlinger Cesar Cruz Sergio Da Silva Jamie Einerson Caren Gustavo Galindo Giancarlo Giustina Christine Gocke Ginger Harper Ashley Hildred Matt Kahler Johnny Lai Rebecca Lewis Thiess Mohit Mehtani Jonathon Meikle Bryan Meyer Morgan Musser Dana Ngo Charlotte Nichols Nadav Rotem Phillip Saltzman Ajaipal Sekhon Srivilay Singkhoumkhong Heidi Tash-Ngo Kendall Tobe Autumn Wilner-Heard

Kellen Yamanaka Charles Yim

2001

Neel Asaikar Amanda Batarseh Nasson Boroumand William Britt^ Rachael Brodovsky-Djekic Ramon Camacho Jennieke Cohen Carrie Cooper Bentley Luis Cruz Charlotte Douglas Marika Dvorak Kellen Galster Katharine Heitman Kou Her Shayna Katz-Kim Tibby Kempton Wroten Miles Kusch Carol Litdang Michelle Martin-Baron Lance Park Mimi Phouiphanith Neda Rahimian Devin Swanick Tali Toledano Jeremy Watson Steven Yanger Nancy Zhou

2002

Andrew Bare Najib Benouar Emily Blodget Zachary Callahan Alexis Covey Elise Craig Samuel Endicott Roberto Figueroa Emma Fisher Camaron Foster Juan Pablo Galindo Zachary Goldstein Chelsea Kahler Eliot Kerner Zainab Khan Sarah King Heather Kromer Ina Labermeier Karen Lial Benouar Mimi Litdang Keras Lo Grant Lyon Jamison Meikle Idonah Molina Tara Naygrow Gary Ng Alexandra Nichols Noah Oppenheim Amelia Owens Daniel Park Julia Perkovich Maura Ryan Jennifer Saltzman Phillips

Tejpal Sekhon Mackenzie Sheridan Cecchi Courtnie Thomas John Timmer Stacia Wickland Kelvin Yue

2003

Nicole Adams Nathaniel Adkins Lizette Avalos Pamela Baron Ruby Bolaria Erica Brode Alexis Caldwell Mary Cobb Mitchell Durante Ryan Eytcheson Michelle Eytcheson Van Wagenen Kate Farrell Dessa Fejta Megan Gage Sarah Gaither Justin Galster Sarah Heitman Nahaal Hekmat Allie Herson Wendy Hoffman Zahra Khan Lara Kincanon Susan Klein Hennessey Kelly Krohn Jessica Lewis Joseph Lopez Victoria Loustalot Melissa Opper Brendan Quinn Caroline Schaumloffel Badier Velji Sydney Wasserman Emily Wheelis Nathan Wong Devin Yamanaka

2004

Marion Anthonisen Tali Barash Alea Baron Kelsey Blodget Tomás Boatwright Valerie Boogaard McColloch Emily Cohen Ashley Cribbins Amy Endicott Jokhoroon Farah Joseph Flynn Erika Garwood Jessica Goldman Laskey Whitney Gorton Aaron Harris Anna Holguin Jared Jones Sara Joseph Jasmine Kerner Amy Laslett Berger

Heather Lynne LeMaster Anthony Linares Jennifer Lopez Branshaw Kelsey Lyon Emily Marmaduke C.J. Martin Jessica Murphrey Olson Francie Neukom Kelly Neukom Eric Norton Katie O'Banion Mary Park Ann Roberts Kurt Seifert Jarnail Singh Sekhon Jeremiah Sheckler Yuko Takegoshi Dominic Tatro Caroline Timmer Ying Vang^

2005

135

Corey Alling Jeffrey Brodovsky Lillian Brown Unterreiner Jonathan Cahill Kate Coulouras Renée Covey Michael Cvetich Thomas Ellison Matt Farrell Christelle Follette Gilbert Gede Shannon Habbas Michael Haleva Noah Johnson Esther Kim Peter Liu Yina Lor Seth Merksamer Stephen Opper Elizabeth Owens Janine Parmar Jason Patel Cody Payne Tushar Rawat Weng Khin Tjan Mor Toledano Shapiro Jennifer Vogel Chelsea Wilson Ryan Winters Jacqueline Young

2006

Ryan Abramowitz Yael Barash Alexandra Baron Jeffrey Bauman Ariana Bell Meredith Bennett-Smith Victoria Bloedau Jay Cutler Kristina Cvetich Mark Davidson Gabriela de la Torre Joshua Elder

Adam Eltorai Allison Estep Acacia Fisher Adam Gaither David Han Sarah Holguin Michael Ingram Naomi Javanifard Sarah Kelly Sanjeev Kumar Natasha Loghmanpour Xai Lor^ Kelly MacDonald Tommy Marmaduke Michael Martz Siya Mehtani Laura Caitlin Murphy Lindsey Partington Jennifer Patel Dang Kimberly Pflug Alexander Quinn Laurel Richardson Todd Rufer Christina Stainbrook Phillip Tablin-Wolf^ Chelsea Bess Tavill James Weatherholt II^ Ciara Wirth

2007

Nicholas Abramson Haley Anthonisen Colleen Anthonisen Alexandra Bell Brian Boogaard Ryan Brodovsky Tiernan Cutler Kathryn Dulla Alexander Egerter Jonathan Elder Katherine Fendick Michael Follette Sheldon Frank Jacob Friedman Thomas Gocke Chong Lao Yee Lo Peter Mancina Nicky Mehtani Alyson Opper Madeline Owens Saba Rahimian Amir Ian Seyal Isabel Siragusa Andrew Speciale Stephen Vogel Ian Wheelis Rachel Winfield

2008

Ian Benjamin Shira Bogin Nikolas Cvetich Anna Ellison Omar Eltorai Joseph Endicott

Lauren Evans Prentice Gede Jared Gorton Jennifer Han Sean Hoang Maya Javanifard John Kilbourn Bao Lor Madison Mainwaring Howard Male Kyle McNally Michael Needham Lana Preszler Zachary Sweigart Jeremy Tempkin Quyen Uong Denise Uwingabire Vionna Wong Mie Yang Yechun Yi Stephen Yslas

2009

Bradley Antognini Taggart Ashby Claire Bauman Blake Beebe Miles Bennett-Smith Emile Bourgeois Benjamin Cederlind Joanna Derman Sarah Emsley Katherine Estep Calvin Fernandez Nicholas Foote Marissa Fullum-Campbell Andrew Furillo Cristina Hargrave Emily Hirsch Seth Katz Danielle Kesich Minji Kim Christopher Knadler Tyler Larrabee Chase Lemos Michael Lewis Christopher Lopez Steve Lor Brooklin Mao Matthew Merksamer Rachel Nakano Amelia Phouiphanith Emily Repsher Rey Rickert Analise Rivero Sarah Rudy Keelan Shaw-Connelly Edek Sher Tyler Trussell Austin Walter Michel Wigney Hayden Winfield Kayla Winters Jordan Younger Daniel Zales

2010

Matt Akins William Banks Sadie Brown Patrice Carpenter Lynsey Chediak Robert Cook III Brigit Cvetich Case Demmon Jillian DePoy Zach Eltorai William Endicott Anne Fendick Angelica Gonzalez Whitney Hillis Jamie M. Johnson Austin Karp Lily Kramlich-Taylor Pressia Lao Robert Lemons Alison Levin Brianna Makishima Charlie Martin Mackenzie Mason Caitlin McNally Parker Murray Alexander Petlowany Aisha Pier Eva Rickert John Marco Siragusa Christian Stamatis Aaron Suits Soya Sung Molly Tash Alecia Tung Gabriella Vasquez Alyx Vernon Max Xie

2011

Angel Anguiano Nicole Antoine Shanna Ballesteros Francesca Bell Damien Blake Samantha Carrasco Brian Crush Dylan Dahlquist Daniel Edgren Jacquelyn Fischer Paige FitzGibbon Sarah Fleming Alexander Graves Parul Guliani Sarah Habbas Zaira Joaquin Colin Keiner Paul Kessler Thomas Lincoln III Michael Male Sarah Mancina Brandon Menge Nora Miller-Nechodom Case Nichols Jiwon Oh

Kyungjoo Park Ryan Paw Jennifer Rabowsky Dylan Repsher Marina Serrano Aamir Sheikh Sarah Smerling Kathryne St. Germaine Lauren Taylor Chris Thompson Richard Walter

2012

136

Lyria Beck Mollie Berg Ian Cardle David Coffill Katheryn Contreras Wei Dai Matthew Einhorn Barret Feusi Alistair Fortson Madison Galati Camille Getz Hayley Graves Gordon Ho Cabot Jackman Corvia Jones Zachary Lemos Lydia Lu Grace Mehta Samantha Messina Brandon Nakagaki Bryan Nakagaki Nicholas Neal Christina Petlowany Adam Pinson Emma Alexandra Ragland Mayuri Sadhasivan Nick Samson Shaun Shah Alexander Stamatis Trevor Sutley Garrett Walters Richard Whitney Blair Wigney Anna Young

2013

Annie Bell Morgan Bennett-Smith Mary-Clare Bosco Carter Brown Annelise Bryan Tyler Burger Jefferson Caves Yanni Dahmani Elise DeCarli Jackson Dulla Anastasia Ferry Nicholas Fesler Jacob Frankel Clement Goetzeler Jianna Gudebski Ben Hernried Donald Hutchinson

Alexander Kardasopoulos Marisa Kindsvater John Lewis Wanning Liu Corinne Locke Brandon Mysicka Taylor Oeschger Hana Owaidat Brandon Pefferle Tommy Peng Natalie Polan Shewetha Prasad Leslie Rieger Imani Ritchards Nikita Singh Kelsi Thomas Anthony Valdez Gerardo Vergara Alison Walter Kevin Wang Logan Winfield Madeleine Wright William Wright Wind Wu

2014

Janice Barajas Darby Bosco Caleb Davis Eric Hilton Chia En (Ryan) Ho Troy Hoddick Sydney Jackson Charlie Johnson Garrett Kaighn Dezhen Kong Maya Kuppermann Madeline Mahla Connor Martin David Myers Abigail Pantoja Kamira Patel Brandon Paw Grant Quattlebaum Leilani Reid-Vera Kevin Rossell Moqing Shi Savannah Symister Patrick Talamantes Sarah Wilks

2015

Micaela Bennett-Smith Alexander Bushberg Keegan Crain Skovran Cunningham George Cvetich Clare Fina Jaspreet Gill Ethan Ham Chien Ho Ryan Hoddick Lara Kong Lauren Larrabee Christopher Liston Guan Chen (Rio) Liu

Zhuoren (Johnson) Ma Caroline Mehta Grant Miner Erik Morfin-Ruiz Aishwarya Nadgauda Claire Pinson Erin Reddy Maxwell Shukuya Dominic Stephen You (Layla) Sun Isabella Tochterman Melissa Vazquez Anna Wiley Emma Williams Michael Wong

Lifers, 1977-1994

(Lifers, no party) David Burr '77 J. Phillips Burr '80 Winnifred Ward ’81 Toran Brown '82 Ellie Burr Lagerquist '82 Joseph Fong '82 Ashley Tidey '83 Lynn Keating Smith '84 Alison Kibbey '86 Quincey Tidey Grieve '86 Dawn Cornelius '87 Amanda Meeker '88 Rachel Brown Hester '91 Hannah Clayson Smith '91 Jennifer Allen '92 Thomas Giguiere '92 Jonathan Knapp '92 Jessica Vando '92 Carter E. Graham '94 Jessie Lial Hinchman '94

Lifers, 1995-2015

Jason Allen ’95 Nicole Antoine ’11 Lara Baine ’96 Lyria Beck ’12 Annie Bell ’13 Ian Benjamin ’08 Micaela Bennett-Smith ‘15 Miles Bennett-Smith ’09 Morgan Bennett-Smith ’13 Victoria Bloedau ’06 Nasson Boroumand ’01 Shaida Boroumand ’96 Darby Bosco ’14 Mary-Clare Bosco ’13 Erin Briley ’95 Matt Briley ’98 Erica Brode ’03 Emily Brown ’95 Lily Brown ’05 Sadie Brown ’10 Tyler Burger ’13 Alexander Bushberg ‘15 Christine Cahill ’00 Jon Cahill ’05

Alexis Caldwell ’03 Ramon Camacho ’01 Jefferson Caves ’13 Lynsey Chediak ’10 Mary Cobb ’03 Amanda Cochrane ’00 David Coffill ’12 Lynsey Corbett ’99 Elise Craig ’02 Nancy Craig ’97 Ashley Cribbins ’04 Skovran Cunningham ‘15 Jay Cutler ’06 Tiernan Cutler ’07 Jillian DePoy ’10 Charlotte Douglas ‘01 Jack Dulla ’13 Katie Dulla ‘07 Conner Earl ‘96 Alex Egerter ‘07 Anna Ellison ‘08 Tom Ellison ‘05 Adam Eltorai ‘06 Omar Eltorai ‘08 Zach Eltorai ‘10 Sarah Emsley ‘09 Amy Endicott ‘04 Bill Endicott ‘10 Joe Endicott ‘08 Sam Endicott ‘02 Allison Estep ‘06 Katherine Estep ‘09 Kate Farrell ‘03 Matt Farrell ‘05 Jackie Fischer ’11 Christelle Follette ‘05 Michael Follette ‘07 Jacob Frankel ’13 Andrew Furillo ‘09 Allison Furry ‘97 Megan Gage ‘03 Adam Gaither ‘06 Sarah Gaither ‘03 Camille Getz ’12 Christine Gocke ‘00 Thomas Gocke ‘07 Eric Godlove ‘96 Clement Goetzeler ’13 Jessica Goldman ‘04 Zach Goldstein ‘02 Alexandra Gomez-Pepple ‘99 Jared Gorton ‘08 Whitney Gorton ‘04 Curtis Graham ‘97 Jianna Gudebski ’13 Sarah Habbas ’11 Brian Hallisey ‘95 Ethan Ham ‘15 Helen Harlan ‘98 Katharine Harlan ‘99 Susan Harlan ‘95 Anna Holguin ‘04 Sarah Holguin ‘06 Michael Ingram ‘06 Brooke Jacobs ‘97

137

Amy Johnson ‘95 Charlie Johnson ’14 Jamie Johnson ‘10 Adam Katz ‘97 Shayna Katz ‘01 Eric Knapp ‘98 Lara Kong ‘15 Katie Krohn ‘97 Kelly Krohn ‘03 Lauren Larrabee ‘15 Robbie Lemons ‘10 Karen Lial ‘02 Tom Lincoln ’11 Christopher Liston ‘15 Natasha Loghmanpour ‘06 Renee Low ‘96 Caitlin McNally ‘10 Kyle McNally ‘08 Emily Marmaduke ‘04 Tommy Marmaduke ‘06 Caroline Mehta ‘15 Grace Mehta ’12 Mohit Mehtani ‘00 Nicky Mehtani ‘07 Siya Mehtani ‘06 Nora Miller ’11 Grant Miner ‘15 Jessica Murphrey ‘04 Laura Murphy ‘06 Morgan Musser ‘00 David Myers ’14 Amy Nelson ‘98 Beth Nelson ‘98 Francie Neukom ‘04 Kelly Neukom ‘04 Allie Nichols ‘02 Annie Nichols ‘98 Charlotte Nichols ‘00 Katie O’Banion ‘04 Ian Oppenheim ‘98 Noah Oppenheim ‘02 Julia Perkovich ‘02 Saba Rahimian ‘07 Laurel Richardson ‘06 Ann Roberts ‘04 Jeff Roden ‘99 Melanie Ruggles ‘99 Melissa Ruggles ‘97 David Russell ‘99 Casey Ryan ‘98 Liam Ryan ‘95 Maura Ryan ‘02 Kurt Seifert ‘04 Ian Seyal ‘07 Maxwell Shukuya ‘15 Marco Siragusa ‘10 Andrew Speciale ‘07 Dominic Stephen ‘15 Zach Sweigart ‘08 Yuko Takegoshi ‘04 Patrick Talamantes ’14 Heidi Tash ‘00 Molly Tash ‘10 Alex Tollette ‘99 Jenna Umino ‘95

Badier Velji ‘03 Jamel Velji ‘97 Sydney Wasserman ‘03 Stacia Wickland ‘02 Emma Williams ‘15 Chelsea Wilson ‘05 Kayla Winters ‘09 Ryan Winters ‘05 Madeleine Wright ’13 Will Wright ’13 Tom Wroten ‘99 Devin Yamanaka ‘03 Kellen Yamanaka ‘00 Anna Young ’12 Jackie Young ‘05 Jordan Younger ‘09

Major Capital Donors

$50,000+ Anonymous Jeff & Kay Barnes Phil & Jennifer Bosco Carol Anne & Don Brown Charlie & Barb Demmon Howard Dickstein & Jeannine English Steve & Cynthia Edwards Joan Francis Paul & Cindy Frank Mark & Marjorie Friedman GenCorp Foundation Pat Mahony & Randy Getz Sam Habbas Deborah & Chuck Hansen Deborah & Terry Harvego Worthing & Katrina Jackman The James Irvine Foundation Fred & Cathy Katz Laser & Skin Surgery Center of Northern California, Suzanne Kilmer & Tim Chapman Stan & Carol Lesher Kirk & Theresa Lincoln Anita Seipp Marmaduke Gregory & Gerrit Michael Tim & Andrea Murphrey Susan & John Myers Eileen & David Needham Louay & Maya Owaidat Christy & John Procida Gary & Abby Pruitt David & Patricia Ryan Lindsey & Andrew Sackheim Steve Schroeder Mr. & Mrs. Edwin A. Seipp, Jr. Kevin & Tracy Sexton Sumaya & Sherif Sweha Victoria & Jack Sweigart Pat & Scarlett Talamantes Judy Chang-Tung & Kingman Tung, M.D. Stan & Nicole Van Vleck Dee & Chris Vrame

John & Debra Winters Byron & Jane Younger Jane Tsai & Francis Zhang $25,000-49,000 Anonymous Rohitesh & Sandra Chand Janet & Chris Chediak Bradley Cutler C. Brooks Cutter Christina & John Driebe Ed Dudensing & Katie Newell ‘86 Jens & Debbie Egerland Mouse & Mark Endicott Greg & Danae Evrigenis Faith & Scott Galati Intel Foundation Kelley Taber ‘84 & Gary Jakobs Susan & Jerry Knapp Clement & Melinda Kong Cheryl & Tom Lincoln Nina & Richard Mancina ‘73 Mark & Shannon Needham Sally & Grove Nichols Drew & Grace Petersen Jim & Celia Puff The Setzer Foundation Yasmin & Masud Seyal Ross & Susan Siragusa Wells Fargo Foundation Diana Wilks Dr. & Mrs. Harvey Wolkov Yong Li Zhu

Directors Summerbridge/ Breakthrough Heather Hughes 1993-1996 Nancy Nagramada 1996-1998 Laura Noyes Zahn 1998-2002 Laura Steele Monahan 2002-2005 Adolfo Mercado 2005-present

Building Timeline 1964, Sept. 14 First day of school at the Unitarian Church 1965, Sept. 13 First day of school at 2636 Latham Drive, Portable buildings 1970 L-shaped Sutton building for middle and high school students 1974 The “sixth grade” building for middle school students 1976 Multi-purpose room 1977 Science and library building for middle and high school students 1979 Lower school classrooms for third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students 1982 Gymnasium 1985 Matthews Library Geeting Hall (Administration building) 1990 “East Campus” for high school students 2005 Frank Science Center 2008 Lower School building Winters Library 2015 Middle School Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology

Medallion Editors and Advisors Thank you to Sue Nellis for compiling the following list: Student Editor Faculty Advisor

138

1964-65 Susan Ricketts (9th grade) Ricketts, Geeting, Schenck 1965-66 (Kimberly Welch?) (yearbook missing) 1966-67 Debbie Rust (8th) faculty 1967-68 Ricky Lazansky, Andrea Turnage (8th) faculty 1968-69 Andrea Turnage (9th-Middle School) Mrs. Smith 1969-70 Joe McProuty (8th grade) Michelle McDonough 1970-71 Lisa Butler (8th grade) Michelle McDonough 1971-72 Meg Eymann (8th grade) Michelle Kauffman 1972-73 Kenny McGhee (8th grade) Ms. Presson 1973-74 Group (8th grade) Ms. Barkley & helpers 1974-75 Roberta Mancina (HS from now on) Dave Hechler 1975-76 Marcy Stoeven Frank Pignata 1976-77 Liz Kibbey Frank Pignata 1977-78 Kenneth Frasse Frank Pignata 1978-79 Julie Mark Frank Pignata 1979-80 Terri Moore Frank Pignata 1980-81 Marydaisy Fong Frank Pignata, Sue Pendleton 1981-82 Eleanor Burr, John Fernandez Sue Pendleton 1982-83 Geraldine Ang Sue Pendleton, Sue Nellis 1983-84 Sally Hahn, Lynn Keating Sue Pendleton, Sue Nellis, Cindy Erickson 1984-85 Amy Pugh Sue Nellis, Cindy Erickson 1985-86 Barbara Gallio, Dee Dee Sadigh Sue Nellis, Cindy Erickson 1986-87 Kevin Mueller Sue Nellis, Cindy Erickson 1987-88 Julie Gallio, Lorin Kalisky Sue Nellis

1988-89 Trena Robbins Sue Nellis 1989-90 Hannah Clayson Laurel McFarland 1990-91 Mary O’Hagin Melanie Slootweg 1991-92 Elizabeth Lake, Gina Schoeffler Anita Foster 1992-93 Sara Rahimian Anita Foster 1993-94 Sara Rahimian Heather Hughes 1994-95 Amy Johnson, Jenna Umino Heather Hughes 1995-96 Kristen Hughes, Nancy Kesek Gina Duran 1996-97 Sheela Reddy, Melissa Ruggles Jane Batarseh 1997-98 Erica Alterwitz, Ivona Bilyk, Kim Cotton Jane Batarseh 1998-99 Sara Judson, Melanie Ruggles Jane Batarseh 1999-2000 Becky Lewis, Morgan Musser Jane Batarseh 2000-01 Neda Rahimian Amy Johnson 2001-02 Karen Lial Amy Johnson 2002-03 Sarah Heitman, Sydney Wasserman Amy Johnson 2003-04 Whitney Gorton, Amy Laslett Amy Johnson 2004-05 Kate Coulouras Briana Fortenbach 2005-06 Tiernan Cutler, Natasha Loghmanpour Briana Fortenbach 2006-07 Tiernan Cutler Briana Fortenbach 2007-08 Emily Repsher, Kayla Winters Briana Fortenbach 2008-09 Emily Repsher, Kayla Winters Joel Rickert 2009-10 Anne Fendick Joel Rickert 2010-11 Lyria Beck, Jackie Fischer Joel Rickert 2011-12 Lyria Beck Joel Rickert 2012-13 Natalie Polan Joel Rickert 2013-14 Sydney Jackson Joel Rickert 2014-15 Aidan Galati, Grace Strumpfer Mollie Hawkins

139

Octagon Editors

Employees

Patricia Fels has advised the Octagon from 1977 to the present, except for the year she was on sabbatical (1986-87), when Steve Davis ’82 was the advisor.

ASE=After School and/or Summer Program BSAC/SB=Breakthrough and/or Summerbridge (Previous or Current Name) (N) = Non Graduate

1977-78 Tierney Smail 1978-79 Liz Smeloff, Jane Sooby 1979-80 Jane Sooby 1980-81 Winnie Ward, Brad Williams 1981-82 Tim Grieve 1982-83 Ashley Tidey 1983-84 Kelley Taber, Sharmila Chatterjee 1984-85 Chris Springer 1985-86 Quincey Tidey, Lara Malakoff 1986-87 Scott Pfaendler, Kristen Sligar 1987-88 Marcia Djudzman 1988-89 James Chapman 1989-90 Marcia Djudzman (second time) 1990-91 Brad Stohr 1991-92 Jessica Vando 1992-93 Jennifer Kelly-DeWitt 1993-94 Jennilee Giguiere, Carter Graham 1994-95 Susan Harlan 1995-96 Jessica Niles, Jennifer Schurer 1996-97 Max Dickstein, Katie Krohn, Jamel Velji 1997-98 Kate Douglas 1998-99 Meredith Brown 1999-00 Christine Cahill, Charlotte Nichols 2000-01 Charlotte Douglas, Katie Heitman 2001-02 Elise Craig, Zach Goldstein (Pacemaker winner) 2002-03 Jessie Lewis, Victoria Loustalot 2003-04 Kelsey Blodget, Amy Endicott, Francie Neukom, Kelly Neukom, Katie O’Banion 2004-05 Chelsea Wilson 2005-06 Laura Murphy, Meredith Bennett-Smith 2006-07 Nicky Mehtani, Isabel Siragusa 2007-08 Omar Eltorai, Mike Needham 2008-09 Miles Bennett-Smith, Analise Rivero, Michael Lewis 2009-10 Jillian DePoy, Lily Kramlich-Taylor, Caitlin McNally 2010-11 Nicole Antoine, Parul Guliani, Case Nichols 2011-12 Mollie Berg, Ian Cardle, Christina Petlowany (Pacemaker winner) 2012-13 Jefferson Caves, Yanni Dahmani, Madeleine Wright 2013-14 Garrett Kaighn, Connor Martin, Kamira Patel (print) Ryan Ho, David Myers (online) 2014-15 Emma Williams (print), Aishwarya Nadgauda (online)

EMPLOYEES, YEARS, DIVISION Achterberg, James, 1984-87, Headmaster Adams, Anne, 1973-81, PE Adams, Jennifer Porteous, 2000-10, Lunch Program Ahlstrom, Dan, 1998-10, Music Al-Mutawa, Alia, 2014-15, LS Albrand, Melissa, 1997-present, French Albright, Dixie, 1995-99, LS Alcalay, Allison, 1978-84, Science Alcorn, Stephanie, 1992-94, French Alexander, Chris, 1990-93, French Allen '95, Jason, 2001-02, LS Allen, Carol, 2000-02, Summer Program & ASE Director Alpizar, Federico, 2015-present , Spanish Altman, Robin, 2009-10, 2014-15, HS Science Ancrum, Dave, 2004-present, Basketball Coach Anderson, Anne, 1986-93, MS English Anderson, Hawley, 1984-87, Math, Science Anderson, Tracey, 2000-02, LS Andrews, Clare, 1978-81, LS, German Andrus (Lindstrom), Jessica, 1979-81, German Applebaum '94, Sam, 1998-02, HS Science Applegate, Brendy, 1972-73, LS Armstrong, Heidi, 1976-77, LS Ashby (McEvilly), Lucinda, 1982-92, Spanish, ASE Director Ashdown, Amanda, 2007-present, LS Bailey, Cindy, 1988-93, LS Bailey, Jane, 1964-66, Spanish Baird, Bruce, 2002-present, HS History Ball, Alison, 2006-08, BSAC/SB Barber, Sarah, 1998-99, LS Barkley, Susan, 1973-74, Spanish Batarseh '01, Amanda, 2005-06, LS Batarseh, Jane, 1994-present, Latin, Yearbook Battezzato, Lynn, 1974-76, LS Bauman, Jane, 2003-present, HS English, College Counselor Bawek, Paul, 1993-98, Drama Beamer, Alan, 2010-13, HS Science Bell, Ron, 2000-present, HS English Belon, Richard, 1978-79, PE Bennett, Elena, 2000-present, Music Bennett, Judy, 1982-87, LS Benson, Wayne, 1983-84, PE Benware, Mirna, 1977-78, German Bersola-Nguyen, Irene, 1994-95, LS Best, Karin, 1980-84, English, Science, Development Biggs, Lisa, 2000-04, Staff Biko, Linda, 1986-88, French Billings, Brian, 2011-present, Latin Birnie, Tate, 1996-97, BSAC/SB Bishop, Helen Prakelt, 1981-98, LS Bishop, Roy, 1987-98, LS Bittner, Jennifer, 1980-82, LS Bjerke, Erica, 2014-15, LS Black, Maile, 1998-00, MS Math

140

Blanchette, Cherie, 1978-82, LS Blattner '75 (Valine), Peggy, 1980-85, French, Admission Blodget '02, Emily, 2007-09, Staff Bloedau, Lonna, 1992-present, LS, Admission Bode, Jennifer, 2002-03, LS Bohn, Cameron, 2014-present, Staff Bolman, Edward, 2005-present, 6th Math & History Borak, Roxie, 1983-86, Business Manager Boyers, Jeanine, 2007-14, Mock Trial Bradbrook, Philip, 1986-87, History (Fulbright Exchange teacher from England) Brand, Marcia, 1982-88, PE Coordinator Branning, Linda, 1985-86, Staff Braun, Joe, 1992-95, Athletic Director Brennan, Michael, 2005-07, HS Brenton, Yara, 2013-present, LS Brown, Lydia, 2000-02, PE Brown, Susan, 1993-97, LS Brownfield, Chris, 1979-81, LS Burke, Cynthia, 1978-81, LS Burnett, Margaret "Jeremy", 1993-94, MS Science & Math Burns, Aleitha, 2008-present, 6th Science Burrow, Miranda, 1996-98, LS Busby, Scott, 1982-83, History, Math Bylsma (Hattersley '79N), Heidi, 1990-92, 6th Cabello, Francisco, 1979-81, Spanish Calderon, Jack, 2003-04, HS Math Campbell, Veronica Castro, 1979-00, Administration Canavan, Laura, 1966-72, LS Carlson, Wendy, 1992-93, MS Science & Math Carson, Amy , 2007-09, MS History Castro, Jesse, 1995-01, MS & HS Math Ceballos, Marianne, 2008-12, BSAC/SB Champayne, George, 1996-present, Soccer Coach Chaney, Kathryn, 1995-96, MS English Christie, Marisa, 2004-present, Staff Clanin, Arthur, 1965-68, Assistant Head of School Clausen, Mrs. , 1970-71, LS Clay, Simone, 1985-86, French Cleary, Corrine, 1998-2005, Drama Clement, Bill, 1999-present, Staff Clingan (Williams), Nancy, 1983-85, French Cochrane, Cheryll, 1992-98, MS English, Head of MS 1995-98 Coe, Jan, 1974-82, LS Conner, Loretta, longterm substitute, LS Contreras, Becky, 2009-12, LS Cormier, Jon, 2015-present, Development Cosden, Evan, 1995-98, 6th Cota Cann, Robin, 1984-96, LS Cotter, Nancy, 1999-01, MS & HS Math Cottrell, Monte, 1973-76, Science, History, Math Countryman '93, Amy, 1997-98, LS Covey '02, Alexis, 2012-present, LS Covey, Michael, 1998-05, 2013-present, HS Science & Math, Garden Coyle (Dowdell '83N), Kristen, 1990-98, Art, LS Cramer, Sherrie, 1995-96, ESL Crone, Douglas, 1987-88, Headmaster Crone, Patricia, 1987-88, Marketing and Admissions Crowell, Millie, 1973-77, LS Cummings, Teresa, 2002-04, ASE Director

Cunningham, Andy, 2005-present, Art Cvetich '05, Michael, 2013-present, Technology Dale, Evelyn, 1986-2007, Technology Dasher, Sarah, 2007-10, MS Science Datel, Kerry, 1973-74, Art Davenport, Chase, 1992-96, MS History & Math Davis, Barbara, 1982-83, Staff Davis, C. B., 1984-93, Drama, Latin Davis '82, Steve, 1986-87, HS English, Newspaper Day, Carolina, 1984-85, Spanish Day, Richard, 1997-present, French de Bellis, Heidi, 1994-96, LS DeLamater, Ann, 2000-02, 6th DeLu, Jackie, 1998-05, MS Science Dempster, Laurelmae, 1964-68, MS Dent, Nicholas, 2001-04, HS Math & Science Denzer, David, 1964-68, MS, Speech, PE deSherbinin, Diane, 1973-75, LS DeVries, Lisa, 1980-86, Staff Didion, Julie, 2008-present, Art Diener, Kathy, 2006-08, LS Diepenbrock, Helen, 1998-08, LS Dineen, Danny, 2005-08, MS English Doherty, Joe, 2002-08, LS Donovan (Alexander '87N), Brandi, 2013-present, LS Dozsee, Catherine, 1964-65, MS Dreyer, Jennifer, 2008-10, LS Driscoll, Patrick, 1995-97, HS English Duchossois-Allen, Christelle, 2006-07, LS French Duckhorn, Pat, 1981-96, Math DuPratt, Pamela, 1977-78, LS Earl, Nancy, 1996-97, Staff, ASE Edwards, Selden, 1998-2003, Headmaster Elftmann, Joey, 2007-09, ASE Emery, Gary, 1979-81, Math, Science Engbretson, Mr. , 1968-70, MS Erickson, Mark, 1977-79, History Erickson, Cindy, 1983-87, Math Espey, James, 1987-88, English Estioco, Gene, 1992-03, Custodian Estioco, Joyce, 1992-03, Custodian Fackenthall Tash, Barbara, 1979-present, LS Farber, Laurie, 1982-84, French Fearn, Bob, 1976-77, HS Math & Science Federighi, Risa, 2001-02, LS Fels, Patricia, 1976-present, MS & HS English, Newspaper, College Counselor Fernandes, Laura, 1978-79, Spanish Fine, Wendy, 1980-82, LS Fisher, Gail, 2003-04, Staff Flanary (Peters), Betty, 1981-97, LS Flood, Bill, 2000-02, MS & HS Math Foehl, Tucker, 2014-present, Assistant Head of School Forbes, Janice , 1964-68, LS Ford, Paul, 1978-84, Drama Fortenbach (Titus), Briana, 2004-10, Latin, Yearbook Fortier, Melissa, 2000-02, LS Foster, Gabriella, 2015-present, Staff Fowler, Andrea, 2006-08, LS Fraleigh, Douglas, 1983-87, Debate, Math Frampton Holly, Wendy, 1991-96, ASE Director, Music

141

Frampton, Penny, 1990-92, Staff Frank, Hannah, 2007-present, Staff Frazier, Mikki, 2002-07, ASE Director Freund (Byrne), Pat, 1986-88, Math Frey, Elaine, 2004-07, LS Friedman, Dag, 2000-02, LS Frishman, Brian, 2005-present, Drama Fuenzalida, Lisa, 1998-00, PE Fuerst (Adams), Elizabeth, 1989-94, LS Gallaway, Pam, 1980s, LS Gano, Mary, 1966-70, Staff Gasparini, Shawna, 2003-05, LS Gately, Brienne, 2001-02, LS Gates, Jane, 1992-96, LS Geminder, Aggie, 1999-present, LS Gilbert, Dan, 1987-89, Math Gillette, Jane, 2002-present, LS Gilli, Maureen, 1995-01, Art Giroux, Julie, 2000-05, Staff Gold, Addie, 1976-81, Librarian Goodwin, Sue, 1998-present, LS Gordon, Robin, 1980-98, HS Science Goren, Paul, 1980-81, History, Math Graf (Lockwood), Joan, 1990-98, Math Graham (Bell), Friedl, 1973-79, Music Graham, Peter, 1981-86, History Gravitz, Ben, 1993-94, HS Science Gravvat, Jennifer, 2007-08, LS French Gregory, Vicky, 1992-97, Staff Geier, Rod, 1976-77, History, Math Grieve (Tidey '86), Quincey, 2003-08, MS English, Head of MS 2006-07 Grow, Terri, 1975-76, LS Grunst, Cade, 2012-present, MS Science Guinee, Rick, 1982-84, English Gutierrez, Alicia, 2003-05, LS Haberman, Derek, 1990-01, Groundskeeper Hagedorn, Andy, 1988-89, English Hagen, Kristen, 1990-2003, 2006-13, LS, Learning Specialist Hake (Della Valle-Hake), Lisa, 1980-84, LS Hamilton, Anne, 2006-07, LS Harper '00, Ginger, 2000-01, LS Harris, Kathleen, 1973-74, French Hart, Eric, 1999-00, LS Hartman (Lind), Sara, 2005-10, Staff Hauck, Ms., 1974-75, LS Hawkins, Mollie, 2013-present, Librarian Heap, Julie, 1987-88, ASE Heard, Bruce, 1992-00, PE, History, Athletic Director 1994-00 Heath, Virginia, 1973-74, Staff Hechler, David, 1974-80, HS English, Drama Hefty, Sheila, 1986-2007, Librarian Hegwood, Sue, 1979-81, LS Henry, Susan, 1977-78, LS Hepp, Mary Pat, 2005-08, MS & HS Science Herberholtz, Barbara, 1964-69, Art, LS Hermans, Els, 2006-08, LS Herr, Kenneth, 2001-02, Groundskeeper Hertzel, Andy, 1990-91, Science Hillinck, David, 1994-97, HS History, Head of HS Hillinck, Jeanne, 1995-96, HS Science

Hixson (Underwood), Sally, 1975-80, LS Hoburg, Mindy, 1990-96, PE Holguin, Maria, 1998-00, Staff Holman, Jay, 2007-present, Physical Plant Director Houk, Steve, 1973-77, Science, Math, Head of MS 1976-77 Howell, Victoria, 1975-81, LS Hughes, Heather, 1993-96, BSAC/SB Director Humphers, Rina, 1979-81, LS Hutchinson, Martha, 1979-80, LS Hutter (Hook), Susan, 1991-97, MS Science Ingles, Mrs., 1968-69, LS Iverson, Louise, 1980-85, LS Jackson, Kathleen, 1973-75, LS Jacobsen, Patricia, 2003-present, HS Jensen, Kathryn, 2012-13, LS Johnson '95, Amy, 2000-04, Staff, Yearbook Johnson, Barbara, 1998-present, Staff Johnson, Carole, 1966-67, Art Johnson, Kristy, 2005-10, MS History Johnson, Mike, 1979-80, Debate Johnson, Scott, 2001-04, MS & HS Math & Science Jones (Richardson), Natalie, 1990-04, MS & HS Math Jones, Ariyana, 2009-present, LS Jordan, Susan, 1998-2001, LS Jorjorian (Leonard), Frances, 1976-88, HS English & Spanish Kassel, Anita, 1984-present, LS Kastner, Mrs., 1971-72, LS Katovich, Patricia , 1970-74, LS Kaufman (O'Connell '93N), Kathryn, 2002-06, LS Kaufman, Michelle, 1969-73, MS Keating, Janet, 1974-78, Staff Keesling, Peg, 1977-78, LS Kelley, Jana, 1978-79, Math Kelly (Leek, Ellis), Cary, 1988-2012, LS, Librarian Kelly-DeWitt, Susan, 2003-04, HS English, Art Kelly, Kathleen, 1974-76, French Kelly, Patricia, 2004-present, Art Kenney, Mr., 1968-69, LS Keys, Felecia, 2010-present, Music Kinney, Mr., 1968-69, LS Klauser, Gerlinde, 1992-2008, German, French Knapp, Susan, 1992-96, Staff Knighton, Hawley, 1981-83, Science Knutti, Anna, 1992-95, Spanish Kohler, Gabe, 2004-09, PE Kolbe, Jennifer, 2009-11, MS English Kooiman, Margie, 1972-74, LS Koskela, Bob, 1983-85, Maintenance Kravetz, Sandy, 1987-89, LS Krebs, Frank, 1983-85, PE Kren, Robin, 1992-present, LS Kreps, Jason, 2004-present, PE Kuipers, Chris, 2010-present, MS History, College Counselor Kumar, Dhinesh, 2014-present, Maintenance Kypridakis, Joan, 1972-75, English, History LaComb, Kathryn, 1996-98, 2013-present, MS English Lagunas Carvacho, Magaly, 1995-00, Spanish Lahm, Donna, 1989-99, Lunch Program, Staff Lahr, Mary, 2000-03, LS Lake (Arbuckle) '96, Bronwyn, 1998-99, LS LaMay, Lauren, 1980-present, LS, MS & HS English

142

Lamb, Becky, 2006-07, LS Landis, Sharon, 1992-94, LS, Admission Langford, Angela, 2003-04, LS Langwell (Marcus), Mari-Lu, 1980-2011, LS Langwick, Dorothy, 1973-76, Head of LS Lathrop (Erickson), Lin, 1977-79, LS Laurelle, Barbetta, 2005-08, Staff Law, Kris, 1986-96, PE Lazar (Allen), Barbara, 1980-2006, Music, ASE Director Lenz, Magdalena, 1990-96, Spanish Lester, Jane, 1977-78, HS Math Levy, Alice, 1997-2013, LS Lichliter, Lois, 1964-65, LS Lichterman, Dan, 2009-10, MS Liedtke, Matt, 2011-present, Maintenance Lien, Anthony, 2004-05, Music Little, Whitney, 2014-present, MS English & History Livaich, Emily, 2004-05, LS Livesey, Pam, 2002-present, LS Lo Khang, Ying, 2012-present, BSAC Lorimor, Tracie, 1996-97, LS Loscutoff, Carol, 1978-82, MS French, Administration Love, Tania, 2003-04, MS Luery, Carol, 1984-86, LS Lumban, Bennett, 2012-present, LS Lyon, Marcella, 1966-74, Staff Lyon, Sandy, 2000-present, MS History, Head of MS 2007-present MacEwan, Kathie, 1990-92, LS Maciel, Barbara, 1984-85, Math, Technology Mackenroth, Catherine "Cookie", 1998-99, LS MacKinnon, Patricia, 2002-03, MS & HS English Magnuson, Henry, 1968-68, Headmaster Maguire, Joseph, 1976-77, Math Mancina '76, Roberta, 1981-82, French, Drama Mangold, Glenn, 2007-present, HS Science & Math Manning, Donna, 1998-present, LS, PE Martell, Lucia, 1999-00, BSAC/SB Martin, T.C., 2000-01, Athletic Director Marx, Bev, 1979-86, PE, Athletic Director Masiel, David, 1993-01 , HS English Mathisen, Kristi, 2007-present, LS Matley, Zach, 2007-09, Technology Matthews, Herbert, 1964-65, Headmaster, Latin Matthewson, Joan, 1979-80, Music Maxson, Reed, 1980-85, Music McAllister, Morgan, 2012-13, LS McCargo, Christopher, 1998-00, MS History McCarthy, Monica, 2001-13, Spanish McDonough, Mrs. , 1969-71, MS McGill, Luisa, 1985-88, Spanish McGuire, Joe, 1976-77, HS McKenna, Francie, 1983-85, LS McLeran, Aaron, 2004-07, HS Science & Math Mead, Gary, 2007-09, Maintenance Mead, Pina, 2007-09, Maintenance Melinson, Joanne, 1994-present, Staff, Librarian Mellon, Janice , 1969-78, LS Mercado, Adolfo, 2005-present, BSAC/SB Director Miller, Chris, 1998-2015, LS Millsback, Chris, 2003-present, HS Math & Econ

Monahan, Laura Steele, 1995-present, MS Math, BSAC/SB Director 1998-02 Morgan, Alice, 1997-98, LS Morgan, Wendy, 1999-00, LS Mosher, Katie, 2007-08, LS Mosquera, Armando, 1986-87, Spanish, (Fulbright Exchange teacher) Murphy, Meagan, 2000-01, Staff Myers (Collier), Michelle, 1987-present, PE Coordinator Nagramada, Nancy, 1996-98, BSAC/SB Director Naylor, Patricia, 2008-present, French Neff, Charlotte, 1984-2011, LS Nellis Gorton, Susan, 1982-present, MS & HS History, Dean of HS (1997-06), Head of HS 1993-94, 2006-14 Nelson '94N (Moe), Katie, 1999-99, LS Nelson '98, Beth, 1998-98, Staff Nelson, Joan, 1972-78, Spanish, French Nelson, Julie, 1996-present, Communications, Development Neukom '04, Kelly, 2013-14, Staff Neukom, Daniel, 1973-present, MS & HS History, Dean of HS 1983-86, 1993-2014 Newcross, Wayne, 1995-96, Maintenance Nichols, Kathy, 1987-91, LS Nichols, Michelle, 1998-99, HS Science Nichols, Sally, 1994-96, Staff Nicholson, Victoria, 2005-07, HS Science Nickerson, Angela, 2001-03, HS English Nishimoto, Daina, 1997-98, Music Nobles, Greg, 1970-71, History Norman, Dee, 1975-76, LS Novak, Ann, 1976-78, Staff Noyes Zahn, Laura, 1998-2002, BSAC/SB Director O'Connell, Richard, 1966-68, Headmaster Obeso, Michael, 1996-98, PE Ochoa, Etelvina, 1996-2007, Spanish Ochoa, Ines, 2000-present, LS Oden, Sue, 1976-77, LS Oglesby, John, 1977-78, PE Oram, Meridith, 2005-2008, Spanish Ore, Barbara, 1972-2006, Head of LS, Head of LS and MS, Interim Headmaster Orosco, Mrs. , 1969-70, LS Orr, Karen, 2002-04, LS Osen, Jennifer, 2008-09, LS Osterlund, Jon, 2006-08, Physical Plant Director Otto, Sheila, 2007-08, Staff Owens, Kimberly, 1997-98, LS Packer, Rachel, 2003-04, LS Padgett, Michele, 2004-07, Staff Pangilinan, Kronemeyer, Joy, 2007-present, ASE Director Paredes, Kellie, 2000-02, Spanish Parker, Rachel, 2003-05, LS Patel, Carmen, 2002-05, Spanish Pauley, Harleen, 1990-91, Staff Peck, Matt, 2006-10, HS Science Peddy, Janet, 1987-99, Administration Pedersen, Laura, 2007-08, Spanish Pelle (Ham), Maya, 1996-present, Spanish Pelle, Tibor, 1993-02, HS History, Intl. Relations, Soccer Coach Pendleton, Sue, 1979-84, HS Math, Yearbook

143

Peoro, Kriti, 2008-09, Staff Peppenger, Erin, 1998-99, Staff Petchauer, Bill, 2007-present, Administration Peters, Pam, 1999-09, Drama, Life Skills Counselor Pignata, Brenda Sue, 1982-88, Math & Science Resource Pignata, Frank, 1964-86, Math, Science, Technology, Asst. Head of School Piquado, Charles, 2002-03, LS Piquado '97, Tepring, 2001-04, Staff, MS Science Pitts, Latonia, 2005-present, LS Plumb, Tom, 1981-83, Staff Pollack, Miss, 1968-69, LS Portillo, Patricia, 2008-present, Spanish Post, Erin, 2005-2007, LS Post, Susan, 1992-93, Staff Powell, Sally, 1993-99, French, Math, Dean of HS (1997-99) Prasad, Sanjesh, 2009-present, Maintenance Prestegard, Darlene , 1967-69, LS, Spanish Preston, Margaret, 1964-68, LS Puryear, Marilyn, 1998-99, LS Quinn, Marta, 1999-07, Administration Ramirez, Amanda, 2013-15, Spanish Ramirez, Carina, 2007-08, Librarian Ramseth, Betty Ann, 1967-69, Music Ratcliff, Bob, 2000-present, Music Rebmann, Ginny, 1990-96, LS Reeves, Shara, 2011-15, Staff Reid, Brienne, 2005-07, LS Relles, Jill, 1969-73, 79-96, LS Remington, Nancy, 1969-97, LS, Head of LS 1982-97 Repsher, Stephen, 2003-present, Headmaster Reschert, Bill, 1998-05, Maintenance Rice, Vega, 1985-89, French Richardson, Michael, 1982-83, MS or HS Rickert (Sooby '83), Joel, 2002-14, 6th, MS History, HS, Yearbook Ricketts, Norma, 1964-66, Staff Robinson-Boonstra, Don, 1985-87, Head of HS Rodgers, Barbara, 1971-79, LS Rogers, Daryl, 1998-01, PE Rogers, Diane, 1975-77, LS Romani, Marcus, 1990-01, HS Math & Science Rose, Rudi, 1998-present, Staff Rosenberg, Barbara, 1973-77, 82-85, LS Ross, Wendy, 1988-15, Development Ruiz, Darcelle, 1996-98, Receptionist Ruiz, Lucia, 2007-09, Spanish Russell-Fernandez, Kathy, 2000-12, MS Math Russell, Diane, 1991-92, French Rust, Georgia, 1973-00, Librarian Ryan, Sue, 1994-present, LS, Librarian Rylander, Charles, 1985-86, Maintenance Sadler, Carolyn, 1977-78, HS Science Sage, Greg, 1997-00, Music Salyphone, Kitsana, 1998-99, BSAC/SB Saribalis, Valerie, 1976-78, Music Scatton, Sarah, 2005-08, Staff Scheible, Karen, 1986-88, Development Schneider, Mary, 1967-68, music Schwartz, Dee, 1978-79, PE Schweizer, Kay, 1975-2008, Art

Scott Giusti, Darian, 2003-2014, LS Scruggs, Denise, 1998-05, 2008-present, LS, MS Math Seely, Richard, 1975-76, PE Sencion, Leigh Ann, 2007-09, LS Serrano, Daniel, 2005-10, Maintenance Sexton, Dean, 1975-86, HS Science & Math, Head of MS School 1979-86 Sexton, Ginni, 1975-76, Staff Shaikh, Nisar, 2002-03, HS Math Shank, Carolyn, 2000-08, Staff Shanks, Julie, 2002-present, Art Sharkey, Alison, 2007-08, MS Shelby (Pacheco), Karen, 1987-98, LS Shelomenseff, Melissa, 2011-14, Staff Shempp, Sharon, 1975-79, Spanish, Head of MS 1977-79 Shepler, Dennis, 1984-87, Science Shira, Kimberly, 1983-85, Math, Science Sieger, Mary Ann, 1977-78, LS Silvia, Steve, 2004-05, Physical Plant Director Simmons, Marian, 2011-13, MS & HS Assistant Librarian Simpson, Mrs. , 1969-70, LS Singh, Sailendra, 2000-present, Maintenance Slootweg, Melanie, 1986-99, Staff Smith, Indya, 2004-08, Staff Smith, Janie, 1996-97, LS Smith, Joan, 1967-69, MS Smith, Philip Ray, 1987-89, HS Math Smith, Robert, 1996-2005, MS History Smith, Stephanie, 2008-10, Staff Snyder, Catherine, 1966-67, MS Solberg, Sara, 1998-99, HS Math Song, Sarah, 2004-present, Technology, LS Sorensen (Bisgyer), Lisa, 1976-78, LS Spates, Krishna, 1997-98, BSAC Stainbrook, Bill, 1980-present, PE, Athletic Director 1990-92 Stapf Walters, Karen, 1983-89, MS History, English, ASE Director Stark, Barbara, 1985-87, LS Starns, Kristine, 1986-87, Music Stassi, Krista (Van Rooyan '89N), 1994-96, Staff Stewart, Sandra, 1976-78, LS Stockwell, Miss, 1970-71, MS Stone '96, Ian, 2001-02, LS Stone, Carol, 1975-76, 1984-88, French Strumpfer, Wayne, 2014-present, Mock Trial Sutton, Jean, 1992-99, Staff Tai, Amy, 1990-93, LS Takagishi, Kitane, 1976-78, French Talan, Mark, 2001-02, Athletic Director Tanner (Johnson), Paula, 1978-81 , French Tatar, Marc, 1988-89, Science Tellez, Joseph, 2014-present, HS Science Thomas, Andrea, 1995-96, BSAC/SB Thompson, Roger, 1985-86, Music Tidey, Clayton J. "Pat", 1969-83, Headmaster Tidey, Francie, 1969-1986, Head of HS Tihen, Bill, 2004-05, Technology Tindall, Pam, 1996-98, MS History Toscano, Kim, 1991-98, LS Travis, Rob, 1982-86, Extended Care Travis, Susan, 1982-86, Extended Care

144

Tronci, Gina, 1997-98, LS Tucker, Tammy, 2006-07, Music Vail, Christy, 2005-present, Head of LS Vail, Mark, 2007-2015, Digital Music Vallejo, Juan, 1984-85, Spanish Van Velzer, Brian, 1998-99, LS Vanderleest, Carissa, 2001-03, MS Science Vargo (Deleray), Dana, 1997-present, HS English, Admission Vargo, Matt, 2002-present, Athletic Director Velder, Amy, 2013-present, LS Walker, Donald, 2000-01, LS Walkuski, Jeff, 1986-89, Athletic Director Wallace, Robin, 2001-05, Staff Wallis, Doug, 1992-10, MS Science, Technology Warren, Wendy, 1975-82, LS Watson, Deborah, 1964-68, LS Watts, Melissa Fortier, 2001-06, LS Webb, Margaret, 1964-67, LS Weldon, Mike, 1990-92, PE Wells (Nelson '98), Amy, 2004-present, Staff Wells, Brooke, 2003-present, HS English, Assistant College Counselor, Head of HS 2014-present Welte, Judy, 1976-79, French Wesley, John, 1989-04, Maintenance Wessels (Thompson), Carol, 1987-present, Accounting West, Lonnie, 2001-04, PE Wheeler, Dorothy, 1981-82, Librarian Whelan, Charls, 2004-08, Staff White, Daniel, 1989-98, Headmaster White, Judy, 1993-96, MS History White, Marti, 1976-78 , LS Whited, Doug, 2014-present, MS Science Whited, Kellie, 2006-present, HS Science Widdershoven, Shirley, 1984-93, Staff Williams, Dan, 1984-93, PE, Science, Head of HS 1987-93 Williams, Merle "Bud", 1990-97, Maintenance Willson '93, Verna, 1997-99, Staff Wilson, Erica, 2001-present, Staff Wilson, Jeff, 1985-86, Math, Technology Wiman, Stephanie, 2004-09, Staff Winterrowd, Mark, 1975-76, English, Math Wise, Jeff, 1985-87, PE Wolfe, Cynthia, 1974-77, LS Wong, Judy, 2003-06, BSAC/SB Wood, Deborah, 1990-92, French Wood, Kim, 1999-05, Drama Woods, Wendy, 1977-78, LS Wroten (Kempton '01), Tibby, 2005-2011, LS, 2015-present, Librarian Wroten '99, Tom, 2005-present, Technology Wulf, Gloria, 1987-97, Staff Wymore, Adam, 2004-07, HS Science Yeats, Mr., 1964-65, MS Yogis, Janice, 1993-97, French Yonker, Mr. , 1964-65, LS Young, Jan, 1996-03, ASE Director Young, Jim, 1987-94, MS & HS Debate, History Young, Mike, 1983-84, Technology Young, Millie, 1982-87, LS Yu, John, 2015-present, LS

Enrolllment - Opening Day 1964-65 1965-66 1966-67 1967-68 1968-69 1969-70 1970-71 1971-72 1972-73 1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

11 (end with 33) 123 117 (March 67) 132 117 127 140 (12 in the HS) 180 207 (35 in the HS) 220 265 309 350 380 415 403 445 410 430 433 439 431 429 399 417 419 (64 in the HS) 442 459 479 520 532 506 495 490 (113 in the HS) 501 536 538 521 525 543 549 (135 in the HS) 534 523 506 512 471 444 468 469 481 489 495 (140 in the HS)