summer 2014 617-520-5260 2 A Life To Live 5 Examining the Learning Process 8 Happenings 18 The Class of 2014 20 Reunion 2014
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Shady Hill School
on supporting a master faculty
board of trustees 2013 – 2014 Jane Moncreiff ’76 Chair Chuck Longfield Treasurer Nima Eshghi Clerk David Altshuler Bob Crowley Pam Dickinson Maria Choi Fernandopulle Jeanne Fitzgibbon Melissa Hanenberger Alyssa Haywoode Jake Hopkins TTC ’01 James Houghton Scott Matthews Jeanne McDermott Rory Morton ’78, TTC ’87 Erik Ramanathan Alex Sacerdote Karl Sims Suzanne Siner ’83 Mark Stanek Head of School Lenore Gessner Travis ’63 Ralph Wales John Wilson By invitation: Kimberly Kubik Director of Advancement Elizabeth Reid ’74 Chief Financial Officer Nina Coslov Co-Chair, Parents’ Council Allison Webster Assistant Head of School alumni board 2013 – 2014 Isabel Black ’02 Kathryn Dingman Boger ’94 Kip Brown ’84 Andrew David ’98 Hilary Johnson ’01 Vera Zieman Garibaldi ’91 Mary Ellen Grossman ’62 Melinda Margetson ’76 Jeita Phillips ’94 Kathryn Bailis Phillips ’90 Emily Hart Reith ’89 Caroline Simonds ’95 Lenore Gessner Travis ’63 Julia Vance ’10 Frederick A. Wang ’65 Charles Wyzanski ’59 communications office Catherine D. David Director of Communications Erik Smith Communications Assistant photography Porter Gifford ’79/Porter Gifford Photography and the Shady Hill School Archives
OUR MIS SION Shady Hill School wants children to be joyful, active learners who develop the intellectual discipline necessary to become contributing, ethical citizens. To accomplish these ends, we believe in the primacy of exploration and discovery, we advance the mastery of skills, and we help students shape meaning from knowledge.
This issue of the Shady Hill magazine focuses on our long tradition and deep commitment to supporting a culture of excellence in teaching. I am happy to share with you some of the ways we provide enriching professional development to our faculty and staff. We are dedicated to providing a wealth of resources to keep our teachers current in research and fluent in best practice, while providing them time for reflection and ongoing feedback.
Greetings from Shady Hill! I’m pleased to present this second issue of Shady Hill’s magazine with our new design format. This summer issue — and the one you’ll receive in the fall — are the latest versions of what has been Shady Hill’s NewsLetter. I always enjoy the slower pace of summer which allows for reflection on the past school year and thinking about our goals for the coming year. I am pleased that we have made advances in a number of areas that support our mission and enhance the learning experience of our students. The last month of school was a wonderful celebration of the deep learning and engaging work that our students have accomplished with the guidance of our dedicated faculty. We have piloted STEM and STEAM projects to support our long-standing tradition of integrated learning and enrich our students’ experience. Our focus on “Learning and The Brain” allowed our faculty to reflect on neuroscience research, from attention to executive functioning, in order to improve pedagogy. This year we made great progress in prioritizing the initiatives of our Strategic Plan. The Board of Trustees voted to begin an advance phase of campaign planning to implement our key priorities. We will be conducting preliminary conversations about funding for our STEM program and facility while also looking to support endowment for faculty/staff salaries and benefits and for student financial aid. As you can see, it’s been a busy and exciting year! Lastly, I want to mention that on June 6, we celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2014 and Middle School Closing at a beautiful event on the Green. We are tremendously proud of the individual and collective accomplishments of this class, especially their kindness and strong leadership, and wish them all the best at their secondary schools.
Warmly,
Mark J. Stanek, Head of School
LE T TER FROM THE HE AD OF SCHOOL
when i was twenty-four years old, I accepted an offer to be a full-time Middle School and Upper School math teacher in an independent school. It was 1993 and my 10-month salary was miniscule (less than twenty thousand dollars). I remember having a conversation with my parents who were worried I would not be able to survive on such a small income with my college loans and living expenses. But I, like most teachers, did not join the teaching profession because of money or benefits. Instead, I was drawn by a calling to help shape children’s lives. As Katharine Taylor, Shady Hill’s first Director, wrote in an article published in the 1930s, “A teacher’s work asks more than accomplishment of both teacher and pupil. For to both, the school means not simply a job to put through, but a life to live.”
A Life To Live: Support For Our Faculty Mark J. Stanek HE AD OF SCHOOL
It is this life that is tremendously rewarding and fulfilling and one that Shady Hill is committed to sustaining for our faculty through appropriate financial resources. Attracting and retaining excellent teachers is becoming increasingly challenging. One of our strategic initiatives is to support Shady Hill’s long tradition of teaching SHADY HILL SCHOOL SUMMER 2014
Left: Grade VII and VIII teachers meeting on Professional Development Day in March. Above: A meeting of the Studio and Performing Arts faculty.
excellence by providing competitive compensation and enriching professional development experiences. In my first year as Head of School, I asked individual teachers why they stayed at Shady Hill. Some of them replied that it was the students and families that kept them here. Others added that colleagues, collaboration, autonomy, sense of community, and professional development opportunities were similarly important. Most of the faculty spoke of the professional culture at our school and how they felt supported and encouraged to continue to develop their skills and to learn new ones. These were heartwarming words to hear. In a recent article in the Washington Post entitled, “One Thing We Can Learn From Shanghai: How To Develop Teachers,” author Valerie Straus compared the reasons for longer teacher retention in China to that of the United States. Her findings indicate that schools that professionalize teaching have the best results.
For example, teachers who have time to collaborate (including participating in mentoring relationships), opportunities for continual growth and improvement, and career leadership opportunities tend to stay longer in the field. I’m pleased that Shady Hill provides time for teachers to reflect and collaborate as well as opportunities for teacher leadership. Each year, teachers participate in and lead committees focused on teaching and learning. Many serve as directing teachers or mentors for our Teacher Training Course (TTC) and all participate in ongoing professional development. Some of our faculty members teach seminars for our TTC apprentices and all directing teachers participate in ongoing professional development with public school teachers from our partnership schools. This year, the faculty focused on the topic of “Learning and the Brain” to study how neuroscience research can
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I, like most teachers, did not join the teaching profession because of money or benefits. Instead, I was drawn by a calling to help shape children’s lives.
inform pedagogy and best teaching practices. Experts in the field engaged us in dialogue and some faculty and administrators led other sessions for teachers throughout the year. Additionally, we had the opportunity to send twelve teachers to a “Learning and The Brain” conference in Boston last fall and they shared their experiences with their colleagues when they returned. It is of utmost importance to me that we sustain and strengthen our professional culture in order to attract and retain excellent teachers. This year, we introduced new part-time faculty coaches who observed and collaborated with classroom teachers in both the Lower and Middle Schools. Many teachers appreciated the opportunity to engage in rich conversations about pedagogy and to reflect on teaching practice. The coaches observed colleagues’ classes and offered feedback as part of this plan. Coaches advised faculty members in a number of ways, including offering suggestions for the design of lessons and projects, reviewing assessments to understand students’ experiences, and facilitating conversations about best practices. Additional support for faculty will come from the establishment of two endowed funds: The Faith Chase Fund and the Class of 2014 Fund for Professional Development. The Faith Chase Fund is named in honor of a long-time, much-loved faculty member who was the first African-American teacher hired by the School. The endowment draw on this Fund will be used to enable faculty of color to attend the annual N.A.I.S. People of Color Conference each year. The 2014 Class Gift will support continuing education and professional development for our faculty to attend seminars and conferences. As a nation, we need to value teachers — as they are valued in other countries — by offering them higher compensation, benefits, and professional development opportunities. We need to send a strong message to our youth that the teaching profession is an honorable and important one to join. By building more respect for the profession, we will not only attract excellent teachers into the field of education, but will also provide them with enriching, career growth opportunities. Research shows that no matter the curriculum, program, or school, an excellent teacher is key to students’ growth and achievement in any given year. At Shady Hill, we are committed to developing teachers through our TTC program, and we are dedicated to providing enriching professional development and leadership opportunities for our existing faculty. Supporting our teachers is an investment in the success of our students and in our School.
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it was a hot day in august and the full Shady Hill faculty reassembled to begin the academic year. Across the Assembly Hall, pairs leaned together, focusing intently as one partner tapped out a well-known song using their index finger and the other partner listened to determine the song. Within minutes things went from quiet to hilarious as tappers tried in vain to get their partner to hear what was in their head. Tappers, the ones trying to convey something obvious like “Happy Birthday” or “Star Spangled Banner,” estimated that their partner would guess half of the songs they tapped. But only 2% of the listeners guessed the song correctly. The tappers, like teachers and parents everywhere, struggled with the “The Curse of Knowledge.” After hearing the title, the song sounded obvious to the tappers; they held knowledge that made it impossible to understand what it was like to not have that knowledge. And yet this is the challenge for Shady Hill teachers each day. How does one hold knowledge about phonics or math facts or concepts like utopias, and understand the learning process of a child who does not yet hold that knowledge?
Examining The Learning Process Allison Webster ASSISTANT HE AD OF SCHOO L
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Assistant Head of School Allison Webster.
So began our “Learning and the Brain” professional development track for the 2013-2014 academic year. We held multiple goals for this professional time: •
Provide frameworks for understanding learning and strategies for teaching a range of learners
•
Teach more about the connection between specific brain functions and learning and apply this knowledge to classroom practice
•
Utilize the enormous expertise of the SHS faculty and staff to further our learning as a group, as well as tap the rich resources of the Boston community
Faculty came into the year primed by a shared summer reading packet. We read Teaching that Sticks by Chip and Dan Heath, an introduction to the neurodevelopmental framework developed by All Kinds of Minds; an excerpt from School for All Kinds of Minds by Mary-Dean Barringer; and a Judy Willis article entitled, “What You Should Know About Your Brain.” We also listened to an NPR piece, “Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills,” about the importance of play and unstructured time in developing executive function skills.
test yourself by going to: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA or by scanning the QR code on the next page —) In-depth activities to look at a students’ mental energy, processing controls (sorting of sensory information), and production controls (output, self-monitoring, planning) gave us all an opportunity to see students with a more precise understanding — and better adjust instruction to meet their specific needs. Faculty examined their own attention profile and considered its impact on their teaching and student learning. Faculty applied subtle shifts in their classrooms in real time, since all of our sessions were immediately applicable there.
There are many examples like these to demonstrate how we used the expertise and experiences of our faculty and staff to improve our understanding of students and strengthen instruction. At the same time, we utilized a number of outside resources during the year to broaden our thinking. During our December professional day, we invited Harvard professor Mazharin Banaji, PhD, to speak about her book Blindspot: The Hidden Biases of Good People. She articulated how automatic processes can hijack our brains and make us all prone We “made sticky” the neurodevelopmental constructs to bias; she also offered practical ways to avoid these from All Kinds of Minds — attention, memory, pitfalls. George McCloskey, PhD, a frequent speaker at language, social cognition — to name a few. Over the Boston’s Learning and the Brain conference, came in next sessions, our Learning Resource Directors, Alice March and led faculty through an in-depth presentation Vogt and Docia Reid, used a variety of resources to and discussion about executive function skills. Also in add depth to our understanding of broad ideas like March, Parents’ Council brought Harvard researcher attention. For example, we watched a video that vividly and author Dr. John Ratey to campus to talk about the demonstrated that “pay attention” is an unclear directive. ways movement shapes our brains. A parent donation We are always paying attention to something — but is also enabled twelve faculty and staff to attend Boston’s it the thing to which we need to be attending? (You can Learning and the Brain conference.
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see how well you "pay attention" by trying this test: Throughout it all, we found opportunities for faculty to share what they were learning. Our new faculty coach roles, ably filled by science teacher Monica Chrambach and former loop gradehead Cheryl Bruun, also helped faculty apply what they were learning. Even casual opportunities, like faculty lunch, became opportunities to share stories from classrooms and ideas. Are we “done” with our study? No more than a child is “done” learning when they leave Shady Hill, or a faculty member is “done” learning after graduate school. Our ongoing work is to understand the learning process of each child on campus, and stay current with the ideas and research that facilitate this understanding. Shady Hill is a school where teachers and administrators want to engage in this work, and it’s an exciting time to be an educator as more and more is discovered about how our brains function and learn. I’m grateful to be an educator in such a thoughtful community of lifelong learners, especially ones who can focus on the details of the brain and learning without losing sight of the entirety of each child and all his or her unique capacities. I want to offer special thanks to the many people who partnered with me and invested time, energy, and expertise to make our professional development rich this year, including Krista Demas, Serena Gifford, Docia Reid, Kim Walker, Alice Vogt, and the SHS faculty and staff who participated with curiosity, thoughtfulness, and zest.
Guest speakers at Shady Hill this year included Dr. John Ratey (left) and George McCloskey, PhD (below).
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happenings G R A D E V III P L AY: T H E W I Z A R D O F O Z
top photo The Class of 2014 put on a delightful production of The Wizard of Oz on Thursday and Friday, March 13 and 14. In addition to their performances, students were responsible for creating the scenery, managing the lighting and sound, and helping with costumes and makeup. Darin Goulet, Chair of Performing Arts, was the Musical Director.
L O W E R S C H O O L M A T H M O R N I N G A N D P I D AY
middle photos Shady Hill hosted a Math Morning on March 14 so that Lower School students and parents could explore math activities together. Many family members got involved in the fun, staying after drop-off to engage in math games and problem-solving. After the classroom activities, everyone gathered in the Blue Gym for a special Pi Day Lower School Assembly. Head of School Mark Stanek welcomed the community and expressed his own appreciation for math before reading a special story about Pi that he wrote with Stephanie Travers of our PE Department.
2 0 14 A L U M N I A R T S H O W
bottom photo Shady Hill’s Alumni Board hosted Art Show 2014 from March 25 through 28. There was a reception for the show and artists on Wednesday, March 26. The show featured the works of more than 30 artists from the classes of 1944 to 2011, and included jewelry, paintings, drawings, photography, collage, woodworking, paper art, pottery, and sculpture. Select pieces were available for purchase and artists donated a portion of sales to the school.
news briefs SHADY HILL HOS T S BL ACK M AN CAN INS TITUTE
Shady Hill hosted its second Black Man Can Leadership Institute on Saturday, May 17. This event brought African American males from the area’s independent and public schools to the Shady Hill campus to focus on “Empowering African-American Males: Community, Finances & Future.” Young males from pre-k to ninth grade came together to participate in identity workshops, sports activities, a tie-tying workshop, and more activities integrating this theme. We partnered with Terris King II TTC ’10, an apprentice alum, and Brandon Frame, founder of The Black Man Can Institute, to bring professional African American men to share their experiences and to develop relationships with the young men in attendance. The Institute’s goal is to reach 1,000 black males this year. A parent component with discussions and resources took place in the Assembly Hall during the day. At the end of the day’s activities, the students received ties and certificates recognizing their participation. The organizers presented Shady Hill with a plaque thanking the school for hosting this event. Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Tahira Wilson-Guillermo was also recognized by the organizers for contributing to the success of this event.
Second graders observed salamanders in a classroom terrarium this spring. PARENT S’ INDEPENDENT SCHOOL NE T WORK A WA R D S A G R A N T T O S H A D Y H I L L T O S T U D Y SAL AMANDERS
During their study of the Charles River, second graders learn about river formation, bridges and dams, simple machines, native wildlife, and the history of the river and its Native peoples. This year two Shady Hill parents submitted a grant request to PIN — the Parents’ Independent School Network — to enable the students to participate in an environmental study underway at Fresh Pond. The Fresh Pond study monitors red-backed salamanders, which are important indicators of an area’s ecological health. The PIN grant we received brought a local ecologist to the school to teach the students how to monitor our campus and collect data that can aid in the larger study. Brooks Matthewson, the ecologist, made visits to Shady Hill in April.
C O U N CI L F O R T H E A D VA N C E M E N T A N D S U P P O R T O F E D U C A T I O N (C A S E ) R E C O G N I Z E S S H A D Y H I L L
At the tie-tying workshop, SHS alumnus Zach Lyncée ’12 demonstrated the art of tying a bowtie.
The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Council for Aid to Education (CAE) have recognized Shady Hill for overall fundraising performance in the “Elementary Day School with More than 1,500 Alumni” category. The award is based on data submitted to the Voluntary Support of Education survey administered by the Council for Aid to Education and is conducted annually by CAE and co-sponsored by CASE.
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Introducing Our Newest Bruce Shaw Fellow shannon kilduff ttc ’04, our newest bruce shaw fellow, is a Grade I-II Loop teacher who has taught at Shady Hill for ten years. She decided to apply for the Shaw Fellowship — which provides salary, benefits, and a $10,000 professional development grant over two years — because she feels she’s at a point in her career that allows her to “think and look outside the classroom to consider what might be interesting and useful for the community as a whole.” Science teacher Jeanne McDermott’s tenure as a Bruce Shaw Fellow brought innovative ideas to parts of our curriculum (read about her Fellowship in the article starting on page 12); as the newest Fellow, Shannon is looking forward to exploring new concepts and being able to share what she learns with colleagues.
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Shannon Kilduff TTC ’04 consulting with some of her second graders as they work on a STEM unit. The students were hypothesizing about and then analyzing the factors that influence the speed and distance of marbles going through shoots (ramp height, marble mass, etc.).
When asked how she felt when she was told that she had been chosen for this honor, Shannon said, “I was very, very excited and I immediately began talking with Allison Webster, our Assistant Head of School, and making plans!” She explained that her overall plan is to focus her Fellowship work on executive function* and on the mindfulness and emotional intelligence of children — and the ways these intersect with learning. She said, “I’ve been thinking a lot about these areas and how some children need additional support in developing organizational skills. I see this as an opportunity to help them acquire listening skills, the ability to think about the steps of a task before starting it, critical thinking skills, and more. That’s been a focus of my work as a loop teacher. The Shaw Fellowship is a wonderful opportunity to have an allotment of funds to grow professionally.” Shannon earned her undergraduate degree at Emerson College in performing arts education. She entered the Teacher Training Course (TTC) as a member of the Class of 2004 and earned a master’s at Lesley University the same year. She said of applying to the TTC, “The moment I walked into one of our kindergarten classrooms for a visit, I knew that teaching was absolutely what I wanted to do — and I haven’t looked back since!” Although still at the very beginning of her Fellowship, she has plans for how she will begin her important work this summer. So far, she has enrolled in a seminar run by executive function researcher and author George McCloskey, PhD. She has also carved out time to read several books, and is looking forward to consulting with other Lower School colleagues, past and present, this summer and into the fall. A goal of the Bruce Shaw Fellowship is to open doors for teachers to explore new ideas and to share what they’ve learned with our community. The expectation is that over the two years the exploration will also lead to new questions and new opportunities for professional growth and development.
*Execuive Function: The ability to initiate, prioritize, plan, self-regulate, and complete tasks. Learn more about Executive Function at: http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/multimedia/videos/inbrief_series/inbrief_executive_function/
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it's recess. A fairly young child, on urgent business, bursts into my classroom, demanding to know if I’m a science teacher. He is not just mildly curious. He is deeply, existentially perplexed, releasing his questions in breathy bursts. “I know how to teleport, what I don’t know is, how do you get put together afterwards, so it doesn’t hurt?
Teleporting: Or, What I Did With My Bruce Shaw Fellowship Jeanne McDermott SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
My colleague Barbara Bratzel joins the group. We exchange quick glances and get right to work, countering his question: How are you teleporting? Is it through wires? Why do you think it hurts? Is the person being squeezed inside the wires? What other ways could you teleport?
We reassure the child that teleporting might be tricky but needn’t hurt given all we’re learning about DNA. Besides, matter and energy are two sides of the same coin. The information in your body might be scanned, sent as computer code and used to rebuild a body. Satisfied, the child thanks us and skips out the door.
What do children need to know as they grow up? Now? Ten years from now? Twenty? Even squinting, it’s hard to see into the future. But, as our former director Bruce Shaw knew, schools must try. He created the fellowship as a way to encourage the kind of creativity, innovation and risk-taking that supports institutional change. I am honored to have been the first recipient of the Bruce Shaw Fellowship. Inspired by the school’s emphasis on STEM/STEAM in our Strategic Plan, I began with these essential questions: What is STEM/STEAM? What builds on our traditions? Who are the deep and creative thinkers pushing the envelope in child-centered ways? How do we integrate the science, engineering, math, and arts that we do now? How do we counter the gender, race, and class stereotypes that affect children in STEM learning? How can we embody the spirit of creative risk-taking and problem-solving at the heart of STEM/STEAM? Allison Webster was my guide. We brainstormed, prototyped, and designed a plan together. I started with a teetering stack of books and articles, most of which focused, to my impatient chagrin, on the need to boost STEM college graduates. Yes, I found it worrisome that 47% of China’s college graduates have STEM degrees compared to 16% in the US. But I teach children, and I’m pleased that most leave Shady Hill loving science. They don’t all grow up to be astronomers, data crunchers, or chemical engineers, nor do I think they should.
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Jeanne McDermott with a science class.
What does STEM look like at other schools? In Boston, I visited The Chestnut Hill School, Groton School, Saint Sebastian’s School, The Cambridge School of Weston, MIT, and Olin College of Engineering. In London, I visited Hampton Hill Junior School. In San Francisco, I visited The Nueva School. I saw clear examples of what would not work at Shady Hill: A beguiling new building, dedicated to science and math, but without instructional collaboration? An expensive, top-down, multi-year initiative to “put the school on the map” as a STEM leader? No, thank you. I also saw clear examples of what would. At Olin, I felt the spirit of play, adventure, and curiosity, attracting students not traditionally drawn into engineering, and a college dedicated to breaking down the “old” silos of departmentalized teaching. At Hampton Hill, I saw chickens, gardens, and compost piles used to teach
science, history, and maths (as Brits like to say). At Nueva and Chestnut Hill, I saw thoughtful-designed, joyfully taught, child-centered engineering curricula in action. Mindful that teaching and learning encompass much more than what happens inside the boundaries of a school, I traveled to the UK, visiting the National STEM Education Centre, and museums, like the Wellcome Collection, that do a fabulous job of linking science, engineering, and art with comedy. What’s not to love about an exhibit, a “Pestival,” that celebrates insects and advocated eating them? Closer to home, I took an online course, “Learning Creative Learning” from MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten Group, relishing the opportunity to immerse myself in the imaginative ethos of the Maker movement. After I visited my first Maker Faire in NYC, I was inspired to take a class in programming Arduino
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at the Artisan’s Asylum, a creative learning space in Somerville. From all of this, I harvested seeds, many of which grew at Shady Hill in unexpected ways. First was The Rube. “Let’s create a giant Rube Goldberg chain reaction machine!” suggested a teacher who was brainstorming ideas for Flex Week. Why not? Never mind that none of the adults had ever built one before. Our hopes morphed into a plan. Almost 75 fourth and fifth grade students built one using a variety of materials, with the help of 12 adults over the course of three days. On the final day, an audience of children and parents gathered and watched, with hushed laughter, hoots, and sympathetic ahhhs, as string-by-string, ball-by-ball, a chain reaction moved around the Gold Gym. As an unexpected added bonus, we then watched a human chain reaction machine that Steph Travers, of the PE Department, had created with third graders.
Kindergartners experimenting with Bee-Bots.
The second was Bee-Bots. I had first seen Bee-Bots, simple programmable toys that look like honeybees, at The Chestnut Hill School. We bought a set. Tracy Polte, Chair of our Science Department, got excited about using them to teach about pollination with first graders. When our school participated in “Hour of Code,” a nation-wide day dedicated to programming, Anthony Amoroso, a kindergarten gradehead, was inspired to use the Bee-Bots with
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his class. The spark spread from Anthony, to the kindergarten team, to the Lower School Faculty Coach Cheryl Bruun. The result was an innovative two-week pilot program of lessons, not only in programming, but also in numeracy and literacy. The third was Human+. For the past five years, our seventh grade human biology curriculum has benefited from Academic Technology Director Will Borden’s work as a “test subject” for the development of a robotic foot at Hugh Herr’s MIT Lab. David Sengeh from MIT’s Biomechatronics Lab has also talked to our middle school students about his work developing inexpensive prosthetics for developing countries using 3-D printers. We asked ourselves: what types of engineering projects might our human biology students do? The idea of “Human+” evolved from here. This spring, we challenged students to design and build a prototype of a device that could help expand human capabilities. The designs, including a massaging shoe, a wheelchair hovercraft, a pick-pocket protection device, lighted magnifying glasses, and a LEGO robotic hand, beautifully tapped and challenged our students’ creativity and problem-solving skills. My two-year Bruce Shaw Fellowship made these avenues for exploration possible. I finish this phase of STEM exploration with enormous gratitude for what our school has enabled me to do and gleeful excitement for the changes ahead. Human babies are born curious problem-solvers. Good schools feed and nurture those innate qualities. At an informal gathering of adults, all of whom worked in STEM jobs, Head of School Mark Stanek asked, “What childhood experiences were formative for you?” “I loved animals.” “I built my own tree-house.” “My family took camping trips.” “I was the AV guy who ran movie projectors.” “I loved puzzles.” More important than the actual specific answers was the emotional undertone. Everyone shared a sense of passion, play, and curiosity. I am confident that whatever form the STEM curriculum at Shady Hill takes, it will allow children the unhurried chance to discover and uncover their own particular path to joy. Who knows? It just may include teleporting . . .
This Is Philanthropy! by Kimberly Kubik, Director of Advancement
I’m very glad to have another opportunity to share some news and information about philanthropy at Shady Hill, this time focusing, in part, on the faculty professional development initiative within our Strategic Plan. Because we have two newly established endowment funds, this seems like the perfect time to share updates on both of the funds with you. Along with two recently established funds, the Jane Hardy Fund (JHF) and the Faith Chase Fund (FCF), Shady Hill has a number of endowed funds, directed to a specific use, and we have an update on one of those funds, The Visiting Artist Fund (VAF) here as well.
visiting artist fund The arts at Shady Hill School contribute greatly to the vibrancy and dynamism of school life. A variety of performances and exhibitions mean that Shady Hill students are always encountering and engaging in art. Whether in movement, song, creation, or reflection, the arts provide a very special way to develop mind and PAGES 14 + 15
Jane Hardy
body. The Visiting Artist Fund (VAF) was established in 1989 by a member of the community who is passionate about the power of the arts to transform our lives. The intent of this gift was to underwrite visits to campus by a variety of arts and artists, as well as to provide support for visits to cultural institutions and performances. This past year, the Visiting Artist Fund underwrote a number of performances, including an a cappella group from Amherst College. Their energetic and engaging performance, question and answer session, and their sharing why singing and performing together brings them joy was a powerful and magical experience for our middle schoolers. This past year another generous donor stepped forward to provide funds for even more artistic experiences for our students. This alumni donor arranged for middle school students to attend Celebrity Series of Boston performances and to have some of those artists perform at school. Students were able to attend a performance of Jason Moran’s “Fats Waller Dance Party” at the Berklee Performance Center and a performance by the Paul Taylor Dance Company at the Shubert Theater. In addition, this donor supported a hilarious and entertaining performance by The Quartet of Happiness at Shady Hill in April.
the jane hardy fund As with the Arts, movement and athletics are central to Shady Hill’s program. To honor Jane Hardy upon her retirement, and via working with Jane to ensure this named fund reflected her vision and priorities, the Jane Hardy Fund (JHF) in support of faculty/staff coaching, physical education, movement, and athletics was established. As with all newly established endowment funds, and in-line with standard best practices, a draw from the fund begins after a three-year trailing average
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has been established. In the meantime, gifts to this fund to honor of Jane continue. Currently, the JHF stands at $262,000, which means that in 2015 when the Fund begins to add to the budget, at Shady Hill’s current endowment spend rate of 4.5%, $11,790 will be available for faculty and staff coaches. We will keep you posted on the growth — and uses — of the Jane Hardy Fund moving forward!
the faith chase fund Another of Shady Hill’s strategic initiatives is to celebrate and grow our diverse community. The goal of this initiative states, “Shady Hill remains deeply committed to building a community that understands and values our diverse world and we actively seek students, parents, faculty, and staff from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.” This commitment brings a responsibility for steady attention to individuals’ experiences, as well as
to our curriculum, our admission work, and our day-today lives at School. One of the ways heritage, history, and diversity will be recognized at Shady Hill moving forward is through The Faith Chase Fund (FCF). In 1969, Faith Chase was hired by Shady Hill as a pre-kindergarten instructor and the school’s first African-American faculty member. Over the course of Faith’s tenure, a celebrated twentythree years, her devotion to teaching and diversity fundamentally enriched Shady Hill and its community. In 2010, Shady Hill School established The Faith Chase Fund. Each year this fund, as per Faith’s wishes, will provide dollars to support Shady Hill teachers who wish to attend the National Association of Independent Schools’ People of Color Conference (PoCC). During this conference, teachers representing
independent schools from across the country come together to share ideas, learn cooperatively, and renew their vigor for teaching. As a revival of ingenuity, Shady Hill attendees return with new ideas and methods that strengthen the school’s commitment to diversity and encourage a broad approach to connecting with students. The draw from this restricted endowment fund will be available beginning fiscal 2016, and every year after that, in perpetuity, one of the most wonderful aspects of endowment funds. Gifts to this fund, (or to any of Shady Hill’s endowed funds), mean that the principal, or total fund dollars, grow via additional gifts to a fund and via overall investment strategy. Shady Hill’s spendpolicy involves a 4.5% draw on endowment, and as the principal in a fund increases, so then, does the size of the draw. Shady Hill’s diverse faculty continues to be one of our greatest strengths, as evidenced in the unique perspectives that create a truly robust learning environment. It is for this reason, and so many others, that The Faith Chase Fund is such an important and welcome facet of Shady Hill. We are a stronger, delightful, varied, and dynamic school and community as a result of the vision and support of so many. Thank you for your part in supporting both Mark Stanek’s vision and the School’s Strategic Initiatives as well as Shady Hill’s long-term mission and goals. If you have any questions about these funds or other funds, or wish to make a donation, please contact me at 617-520-5224 or kimberly_kubik@shs.org.
Faith Chase
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SHADY HILL SCHOOL  SUMMER 2014
congratulations to
the class of 2014 Anna B. Albright
Tim Longfield
George Altshuler
Kiva McElhiney
Louise Ambler
Anneliese Merrigan
Gaby Avelino Callie Bauer Pascal Beckert Will Berlin
Ben Morris Ezra Muratoglu Dan Nakajima
Anna Burke
Emmett Nunes
Fiona Campbell
Jack Parker
Ruby Carmel
Jesse Pellman
Olivia Cavanagh
Mei Pike
Elana Chen-Jones
Abby Powers-Lowery
Casey Chertavian Yusie Chisholm Adam Clements Morgan Cutts
Sara Pratt Nicky Reed Sam Rowe
William Daniels
Natalia Ruiz
Melissa Dee
Mecha Sapuppo
David Encarnation
Eleanor Stetson Dibble
Zoe Fenn
Clarissa Swanson
Kyla Frieden
Maggie Thompson
Alexandra Galls Valentine Ghaemi Abbott Gifford Jeremy Gordon Owen Henderson
Will Thompson Halina Tittmann Lena Venkatraman Raven Whyles
Amelia Ickes
Lillian Wilcox
Rachel Iler-Keniston
Miles Wilson
Neta Kafka
Arthur Worthington
Caroline Keppler
Chichi Wu
Jeremy Klein
Eli Zibello
David Labow Serena Laing Matt Longfield
PAGES 18 + 19
reunion 2014
Members of the Class of 1964 — this year’s 50th reunion class.
Members of the Class of 1954 — this year’s 60th reunion class.
Members of the Class of 1984 — this year’s 30th reunion class. SHADY HILL SCHOOL SUMMER 2014
Members of the Class of 1944 — this year’s 70th reunion class with Head of School Mark Stanek.
Members of the Class of 2004 — this year’s 10th reunion class.
losses George Chandler (Chan) Bingham ’40 of Belmont died on June 13, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, a daughter, three grandchildren, and a sister. Bradley Dewey Jr. ’30 of Hanover, NH, formerly of Concord, died on May 12, 2014. He is survived by his five children, including Margot Dewey Churchill ’57; his sister, Ann Dewey Kent ’40; sixteen grandchildren; and seventeen great-grandchildren. Ruth Dewing Ewing ’30 of Peterborough, NH, formerly of Newton and Cambridge, died on February 19, 2014. She is survived by three children; nine grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Current SHS grandparent Ann P. Finigan of Belmont died on June 13, 2014. She is survived by her daughter and SHS parent Nancy Selldorff; two sons; a brother; a sister; and four grandchildren, including Francis Selldorff ’15.
Former SHS parent Herta Loeser of Canton, formerly of Cambridge, died on March 2, 2014. She is survived by her three children, Helen Loeser ’62, Harris Loeser ’66, and Thomas Loeser ’71; and eight grandchildren. William Magoun ’43 of Scottsdale, AZ, formerly of Cambridge, died on April 21, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Patricia; two children; three grandchildren; and two sisters, Margaret Rothrauff ’48 and Jean Farnsworth ’52. He was predeceased by his brother, Francis Magoun ’42. Robert Stevens ’43, TTC ’51 of North Andover died on July 10, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Anne; seven children and stepchildren; and eleven grandchildren and step-grandchildren. Current SHS parent Seth Teller of Cambridge died on July 1, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Rachel Zimmerman, and daughters Julia Teller ’20 and Sophia Teller ’17.
Former SHS parent Robert Gardner of Cambridge died June 21, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Adele; five children, including Caleb Gardner ’98 and Noah Gardner ’01; a sister; a brother; and six grandchildren.
Suzanne Williams Todd TTC ’39 of New York City, died on April 26, 2014. She is survived by a son.
Grey Hodnett ’50 of Little Rock, AR, died on April 24, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Kay; four children; and three grandchildren.
Former SHS parent George Waldstein of Cambridge, died on March 12, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Nan; three children, Sarah Waldstein ’72, Abby Waldstein ’75, and David Waldstein ’78; and seven grandchildren.
Frederic Locke TTC ’50 of Randolph, VT, formerly of Belmont, died on May 26, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Holly; four children; three grandchildren; and a brother.
Former SHS parent and former faculty Noa Hall Williams of Cambridge, died May 14, 2014. She is survived by her husband, John; sons, Caleb Williams ’84, Jared Williams ’86, and Nathaniel Taylor ’90; two grandchildren; a brother; and a sister.
PAGES 20 + 21
Non-Profit Org. u.s. Postage paid Permit 2664 Boston, ma 178 Coolidge Hill Cambridge, ma 02138
upcoming events G R A N D P A R E N T S ’ D AY
October 10 (Friday) Information will be sent to grandparents in the fall. S H A D Y H I L L FA I R
October 18 (Saturday) 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Shady Hill Campus LOWER SCHOOL (B-IV ) A DMIS SION OPEN HOUSE
October 26 (Sunday) 2:00 to 4:00 pm Assembly Hall & Classrooms
M I D D L E S C H O O L ( V - V III ) A D M I S S I O N O P E N HOUSE
November 13 (Thursday) 7:00 pm Assembly Hall & Classrooms
T H A N K S GI V I N G A S S E M B LY
November 26 (Wednesday) 11:00 am Gold Gym YOUNG A LUMNI REUNION
For the classes of 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011. November 26 (Wednesday) noon Assembly Hall