1953 T H E M A G A Z I N E O F S T. J O H N S C O U N T R Y D AY S C H O O L
Winter 2018
College Prep, Redefined.
Contents Letter from the Headmaster.........................1 School News Briefs........................................2 Lower School................................................................................... 2 Middle School..................................................................................4 Upper School...................................................................................6 Performing Arts ...........................................................................9 Faculty................................................................................................12 Parent Teacher League..............................................................13 Fine Arts ........................................................................................ 14 Athletics............................................................................................ 16
Pioneering Curriculum Enhancements... 18 Alumni Profiles............................................. 26 Traditions......................................................... 31 Alumni Notes................................................ 34
On the cover: Reagan Elia ’23 explores manatees and other marine life of the Tampa Bay on this year’s Grade 7 trip. Read more about it on page 4. Above: Angelina Warren ’28 gets lost in a book at the Heinrich Learning Resource Center.
1953: The Magazine of St. Johns Country Day School is published twice a year for the school community. The goal of 1953 is to tell the school’s stories and capture the history, traditions, values, and culture of St. Johns Country Day School.
Dear St. Johns Family, Since its very inception in 1953, St. Johns has been preparing students not just for college, but for life. In 1953, a time when only half of students nationwide were graduating from high school and less then a tenth of them went on to earn college degrees, a “college prep school” was innovative and unique. Today, some 65 years later, the expectations of our students and what is required of them to be successful in college and life are vastly different. Not only are the expectations different, but the educational opportunities for families are much broader. The result is a need for our school to continue to evolve and ensure that our future-facing curriculum is as distinctive as ever and continues to be the best option for families in preparing their children for the future. With this end in mind, last fall we announced to the community two new academic initiatives that will help our students become even more broadly informed and engaged and will better equip them for today’s ever-changing realities in college and career. You can read more about these initiatives on page 18. We look forward to continuing to provide the best college preparatory education in the greater Jacksonville area, and to helping our Spartans be ready for college and their lives beyond. Best wishes,
Todd A. Zehner ’87 Headmaster
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SCHOOL NEWS BRIEFS Lower School News Grade 5 Students Conserve Close to Home St. Johns’ Grade 5 started a new collaboration this year with St. Johns Riverkeeper, a local nonprofit devoted to maintaining clean and healthy waters in the St. Johns River. Earlier this year, St. Johns Country Day School became a water quality reporting station for St. Johns Riverkeeper, and Grade 5 students have been traveling
to Camp Echockotee, on Doctors Lake, all year in order to conduct a series of tests on the water they draw there. “The project folds in perfectly with the conservation focus of our science curriculum,” said Walter Newsom, Lower School science coordinator. “We’re working to integrate messages
Mr. Newsom helps a group of students learning to conduct a water quality test.
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about conservation and preserving our natural resources from Lower School right on up through AP Environmental Science, in Upper School, and it’s great for the students to be able to focus on a project so close to home, with effects they can see and experience nearly every day.”
Grade 5 students Grant Cassady and Lydia Trahan practice measuring water turbidity.
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School News Briefs STEAM-ing Forward The Lower School continues to center its curriculum around STEAM—that is, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics—with the goal of advancing students’ ability to analyze a problem, synthesize critical ideas, innovate, collaborate, and communicate. Popularized after the rise of “STEM” around the turn of the century, STEAM goes the extra mile to add in the arts, through components of creativity and innovation—important skills for today’s students. STEAM is found throughout the St. Johns Lower School, for example in the Grade 4 map-making project undertaken
Ashantii Williams ’26 works on her map in Mrs. Keller’s class.
Katelyn Moore ’26 builds a paper mache globe.
this fall. Students used their iPads to research different types of maps and their characteristics, then planned maps of their own, measuring dis-
tances between locations to determine scale. Finally, they created their maps using key map elements and made their own paper mache globes.
St. Lucia’s Day
In December, St. Johns Kindergarten classes celebrated St. Lucia’s Day, a festival of lights commonly observed in Scandinavia. Mrs. (Lucia) Miller, left, joined the Kindergartners dressed as St. Lucia, told students about the holiday, and shared some tasty pepparkakor (ginger cookies) she made.
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School News Briefs Middle School News
Above, students on the Grade 8 Mountain Trip take a break while on a hike. Left, Grade 7 students get up close and personal with marine life of the Tampa Bay.
Middle School Students Venture Far Afield The Middle School trips are a longstanding and beloved tradition at St. Johns and this year’s trips definitely built on that reputation. In August, Grade 7 departed for the Tampa Bay area for three days of outdoor education, teambuilding, and fun at Nature’s Academy. In September, 4
Grade 8 left for Pisgah National Forest, in North Carolina, for a week of backcountry camping, river rafting, outdoor cooking, and more with outdoor guides from Adventure Treks. Finally, Grade 6 left for Camp Montgomery in October for three days of teambuilding and outdoor fun.
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“The goal of all the Middle School trips is to foster teambuilding, camaraderie, environmental understanding, and, of course, fun,” said Head of Middle School Bill Rothe. “We approach each of these in an age-appropriate manner that helps each student grow, learn, and bond with classmates.”
School News Briefs
New House System Builds Positive Thinking This fall the Middle School launched a new house system, in which students from Grades 6, 7, and 8 are mixed together into different Houses for competitions and camaraderie. One of the main competitions was the design-a-boat challenge undertaken in the first week of school. Students used design-thinking strategies to build boats that would then be raced a length of the pool. This challenge was one of the first to earn points for Houses. In this system, Houses earn points for good citizenship, kindness, and competitions, though they can also lose points. The hope is that the House system will assist with building and sustaining positive attitudes and providing a strong start to the year in the Middle School.
Middle School students work together in mixed grade groups to create posters for their houses.
Middle School Soft Start This fall the Middle School implemented a new ‘soft opening’ at the start of the year, working to help students adjust and acclimate to the new year. The Middle School had two main goals for this year’s soft start: 1) to ensure that Middle School students were excited to return to school the next day, and 2) for a few days at least, to eliminate the usual stress of returning to school, such as homework, making friends as the new kids, deadlines, learning all new policies and procedures for 8 different teachers all at once, and running from class to class in 40 minute increments. “The soft start was intended to build relationships and rapport among students and teachers,” said Middle School Dean Beth Gryczewski, “and also to facilitate mixed-grade bonding among the students.” Grade 8 students line up for a shaved ice treat.
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School News Briefs Upper School News
Students on the College Counseling Field Trip tour Eckerd College, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
College Counseling Field Trip Upper School students had the opportunity this fall to visit a number of colleges and universities in the Tampa Bay area, gaining exposure to both large and small campuses and public and private institutions in a variety of settings. Nineteen students attended the tour, visiting the University of
South Florida, New College, Eckerd College, and the University of Tampa. Students were led on these tours by members of our college counseling team who guided them through everything they need to know to get the most out of their own campus tours moving ahead. School was in session
Student of the Week Sheila Hodges ’20 In December, First Coast News featured sophomore Sheila Hodges as its Student of the Week for her enthusiastic involvement in student life at St. Johns. Sheila Hodges ’20 is interviewed by news anchor Katie Jeffries for the First Coast News segment.
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at all four campuses and students had the opportunity to visit classrooms, see different dormitory living arrangements, dine on campus, and browse the campus bookstores alongside college students.
School News Briefs
Academic WorldQuest Academic WorldQuest is a flagship program of the World Affairs Council network and supported locally by the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville. The Quest is a team game testing competitors’ knowledge of international affairs, geography, history, and culture. The teams are student led, so students work together to make study guides, lead study sessions, make Quizlets, etc. This past November, more than 50 teams from around the Jacksonville area competed in the event at the University of North Florida. St. Johns sent two teams and the teams tied for 13th place. The teams consisted of: Lea Shah, Luke Mason, Ian Duncan, and Melinda Peacock (Team 1) and Bishoy Abdelmalik, Michael Beltz, Matthew Korahais, and Zach Buce (Team 2)
Academic World Quest participants Ian Duncan ’20, Melinda Peacock ’20, Bishoy Abdelmalik ’18, Lea Shah ’18, Michael Beltz ’18, Luke Mason ’18, Matthew Korahais ’18, and Zachary Buce ’18. St. Johns team sponsor Gayle Garrison ’94 and former St. Johns music teacher Anita Snell Daniels. Daniels and her husband Lad Daniels are members of the Jacksonville World Affairs Council and sponsored the St. Johns Academic World Quest Team.
Freshmen Kick Things Off On the second day of school, the freshman class left school for the annual Grade 9 Kickoff trip to Camp Immokalee. Students spent two days getting to know one another, participating in challenge exercises, boating, climbing, and just plain having fun while preparing for their transition to Upper School and the year that lies ahead. “The Grade 9 Kickoff is always a great trip for all of our students, but it’s particularly helpful for new students,” said Director of Admissions and trip chaperone Brian Pargman. “This trip provides so many opportunities for bonding and friendship that new students are very quickly not so new anymore. They come back to school on only the third day of school, and it’s like they’ve been at St. Johns for years.”
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School News Briefs
Seniors Take Time Out This October, the senior class stepped back from all the stress of college essays, AP courses, Myers-Briggs, college applications, and everything else, and took a quick break at Southwind Camp in Ocklawaha, FL. For two days, Seniors took time to have fun and be kids again. They went down the 150’ water slide as many times as they wanted, played games, and laughed. “We didn’t do any intentional group bonding activities,” said senior class faculty member and trip chaperone Gayle Garrison. “We focused on meaningful conversations and just taking a break from it all.” Students talked about what they do and don’t want out of relationships, how they responded to “if you really knew me, you would know…,” and sharing their favorite St. Johns memories. They particularly loved just having the time away together—no one left out— for games, relaxing, and feeling like a family.
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School News Briefs Performing Arts News
Fall Play a Stunning Undertaking More than 50 Middle and Upper School students participated in the fall play, “Nooses Off!,” a family-friendly murder-mystery comedy. After building the most complicated set design in school history—two stories with multiple balconies!—students performed on Friday and Saturday, November 10 and 11, 2017. “Nooses Off!” was definitely a labor of love for me, the performers, and the technical theatre students,” said Kim Cadley-Mach, director. “We had a shortened timeline due to Hurricane Irma, but the students threw themselves into learning lines and blocking, and designing and building the set. The results were truly a success for them all!”
Above: The cast rehearses the play within the play in the second act of “Nooses Off!” Below: Maggie Kent ’21, Tanner Zellem ’22, and Nicky Glassman ’19 discuss the show “back stage.”
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School News Briefs
Singers Perform at White House
Top, St. Johns Singers at the White House. Above, Aaron Makar ’19 sings a solo in “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.” Official White House Photos by Keegan Barber. Used with permission.
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The St. Johns Singers were selected via videotape audition to perform at the White House this winter, visiting Washington, DC December 8-10, 2017. Their trip included a visit to the Supreme Court as guests of the Honorable Justice Clarence Thomas, performing at the White House—“The People’s House”— a moonlight tour of the monuments, ice skating, and singing for patients at Children’s National Medical Center. The Singers also performed at Epcot in the Walt Disney World Candlelight Ceremony on December 17, 2017.
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School News Briefs
Winter Musical Celebrations
St. Johns’ bands, choral groups, and handbell choir hosted two beautiful concerts in December-- the Winter Band & Bells Concert and Winter Choral Celebration. Both concerts were toe-tapping hits full of holiday favorites and classic arrangements.
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School News Briefs
Music Students Experience PRISM Band and chorus students had the opportunity once again this year to attend Florida State University’s PRISM Concert -- a musical extravaganza produced by the FSU College of Music, featuring jazz ensembles, symphonies, chamber winds, the iconic Marching Chiefs, and much more. The concert is multifaceted and performances range from the very traditional to the experiential and new. “My hope is that attending this concert helps band students experience and understand the breadth and depth of musical possibilities and get excited about creating music of their own,” said band director Michael Warren.
Faculty News
Headmaster Emeritus Honored This fall, former Headmaster Stephen F. Russey was presented with the Edgar McCleary Award by the Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS), of which St. Johns is a founding member. The Edgar McCleary Award, named after the second Executive Director of FCIS, is given biennially to recognize exceptional individuals who have given tirelessly of their time and service to further the mission of FCIS, which is to promote the highest standards for PK-12 education through its accreditation process, professional development programming, and advocacy efforts. Russey was presented with the award on Thursday, November 2, 2017, at the FCIS annual convention 12
in Orlando, where he was joined by his wife, Claudia, who taught French at St. Johns. Russey served as St. Johns’ Headmaster from 1976 through his retirement in 2005, and was the school’s longest serving Headmaster. He currently serves as Headmaster Emeritus.
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Rodifer Named Teacher of the Week In December Grade 6 English teacher Mr. Pat Rodifer was named First Coast News’ Teacher of the Week. First Coast News’ Katie Jeffries came to St. Johns, interviewed Coach Rodifer, and took video of him with one of his Grade 6 classes. The segment aired on First Coast News on Tuesday, December 19, 2017. Congratulations, Coach Rodifer!
School News Briefs Parent Teacher League
PTL Update The Parent Teacher League (PTL) sponsored a number of wonderful events and activities for students and their families this fall. While Hurricane Irma created some havoc with scheduling, all of the fall events were incredibly successful. The Lower School Social had a Carnival theme this year, including games, rides, and crafts. Middle School families enjoyed a BBQ dinner and cheered on the Spartans at volleyball and football games. PTL partnered with the Alumni Office for an Alumni and Upper School Tailgate party prior to the St. Johns Homecoming Game. In November, PTL hosted a brunch for some very special visitors to campus – Grandparents and Grandfriends of Lower School students. PTL President Heather Schultz urges parents to get involved, “Each one of us has unique talents, skills, and resources that can enhance the lives and educational strides of our children. There is an endless amount of evidence that your involvement not only helps build success for your child in the classroom but in life. What a powerful investment!” Getting involved with PTL is also a great way to meet other families. We hope to see you at the monthly PTL meetings, held the first Wednesday of each month, 8:15 – 9:00 a.m. in the Heinrich Learning Resource Center.
Students and grandparents alike enjoyed spending time together on Grandparents Day.
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School News Briefs Fine Arts News
Grade 5 Marine Animal Ceramics For the second year, Grade 5 students contributed to a new legacy project—a display of ceramic marine animals on the wall in the Lower School library. Students chose an animal that they studied on their Driftwood trip, then drew or traced it onto paper. From there, they transferred it to clay and then modeled it for firing. After a first firing, they glazed it in colors appropriate to the animal. A second firing sealed the glaze and brought out a deep shine in the glaze, finalizing the animals for display. Left: Erik Williams. Top right: Grace Wonpat. Bottom right: Hunter Russell
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School News Briefs
Holiday Card Artwork Each year, St. Johns selects a piece of student art to adorn its holiday greeting card and the 2017 card artwork was created by Anna Harward ’18. St. Johns surprised Anna with the announcement earlier this month at flag raising, and presented her with a box of the cards.
Middle School Art In Middle School art classes, students began the year with color review and a color study (above, Tommy Keenan ’23 works on his) in preparation for self-portraits, which they painted and submitted to the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
Grade 3 Artists Create Vivid Landscapes This semester the Grade 3 art students have been practicing different watercolor techniques in creating these beautiful line drawing landscapes. Using black Sharpies and liquid watercolors, students experimented with watercolor techniques including wet on wet and wet on dry to create these vivid landscapes. Artwork by Grade 3 students Olivia Sheftall (top) and Dominique Clark (bottom).
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School News Briefs Fall Sports Recap
Cross Country Thirty-nine St. Johns students competed in cross country in 2017 and the girls and boys teams won races at Pedro Menendez, Baldwin, and the Marine Corps Freedom 5K, all leading to the State Championships in Tallahassee on November 11, 2017. Ben Kailes ’19 ran the fastest 5000m time in St. Johns history, 16:36, to place 11th at State. Kailes placed second in the Districts, and third at Regionals. Overall, the Spartan boys team placed 17th at State. Evelyn Hanson ’22, Juliet Moody ’23, and Hannah Marshall ’21 led the girls team to its 12th consecutive trip to
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the State Championships where the team placed 19th. Matthew Stratton ’22 earned All-District and All-Region honors, placing 28th at State with a personal record time of 17:10. Juliet Moody ’23 ran the fastest time of the season for the girls, 22:00, at the State meet. At the season-end cross country banquet, Spartan Awards were earned by three seniors—Zachary Buce, Connor Hale, and Matthew Korahais—and freshman Hannah Marshall. Jordan Noble ’20 won Most Improved Runner and the teams’ Most Valuable Runners were Ben Kailes and Evelyn Hanson.
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Sophomore Ben Kailes finished second overall for the boys at the district cross country championships in October. (Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Marshall.)
School News Briefs
Swimming The Spartan swim team had another robust season with the girls’ 200 medley and 200 free teams placing second at district and fifteen athletes advancing to the regional meet. Nick Rogers ’20 went on to the state championships, setting a new team record of 50:35 in the 100 butterfly and placing 6th in the state, and setting a new team record of 1:00:63 in the 100 breaststroke.
Football
Boys Golf The boys golf team had a great season, with four beginner golfers helping the team advance to October’s state regional tournament at the University of Florida. Jackson Powers ’20 earned the Most Valuable Player award. Boys Varsity Golf MVP Jackson Powers ’20 tees up for a swing in October’s match against Bishop Snyder (Photo by Kamy Loustau ’19).
Spartans take the field during the October Homecoming game against Halifax.
With only 4 seniors and starting a freshman quarterback, the 2017 varsity football team knew there were going to be ups and down. The team fought hard in every game and the younger players gained valuable game experience that will help next year. Senior wide receiver Cade Walden carved his name in the record book by surpassing his catches in a season that he set last year. Senior RB / LB Troy Myers showed the young players how, despite the win - loss record, Spartans play for personal and Spartan Pride.
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College Prep, Redefined.
Pioneering Curriculum Enhancements
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n 1953, when the time came for Dr. and Mrs. Heinrich to name their new school, the first thing that came to their minds was “The Pioneer School,” because the school was built on pioneering principles of being proactive in education and challenging the gifted. Ultimately, they set aside that name and settled on “St. Johns Country Day School,” which has served the school well for 64 years. From these very beginnings, St. Johns has been a college preparatory school, focused on sending students on to higher education and preparing them for their calling in life. Today, virtually all secondary schools prepare students for college, so what differentiates St. Johns from the rest? To this day, we remain a pioneering school, with a future-facing curriculum focused on preparing students not just for college, but for life. We hear it again and again from our graduates—that when they got to college, they not only survived, they thrived. They had the skills they needed to excel in their coursework, un-
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derstood self-leadership and motivation, and managed campus life with aplomb. Building on this success and its pioneering spirit, St. Johns is pleased to introduce three new academic program enhancements that will help students become even more broadly informed and engaged, and will better equip them for today’s ever-changing realities of college and career. These transformations build on the strong academic program originally pioneered by Dr. and Mrs. Heinrich and support the school’s mission to provide students with a superior college preparatory program with a diverse curriculum that stresses academic accomplishment, athletic participation and artistic expression for all students. These new additions include: ◆◆ St. Johns Fellowship Program ◆◆ Dr. Edwin P. Heinrich Fellowship ◆◆ Foundations
College Prep, Redefined.
St. Johns Fellowship program The St. Johns Fellowship program offers students the opportunity to pursue their passions through customized courses of study that integrate coursework, interactive projects, online studies, career internships, and service. Open to all Upper School students, the St. Johns Fellowship program is an exciting new offering designed to shape the opportunities our students will have in the future, allowing them to pursue their passion for a particular topic and conduct “deep dive” explorations into targeted areas of interest to them. For example, a student might pursue a Fellowship in medicine, global studies, or art, embarking on a customized educational experience that provides both academic and practical experience, providing a thorough and practical understanding and setting St. Johns students apart in the increasingly competitive collegiate and career world. St. Johns Fellows are assigned dedicated advisors who help the Fellow chart their academic path and access distinctive experiences and learning opportu-
nities, such as faculty-mentored projects, networking opportunities, and off-campus internships. Diverse, challenging online study opportunities with Global Online Academy enhance the St. Johns Fellowship program, helping students become nimble architects of their own lives. The following framework is an example of what might be required in a typical Fellowship program:
Fellowship Framework: ◆◆ Satisfy all requirements for graduation, as outlined in the Course Selection Guide ◆◆ Complete specific core curriculum courses ◆◆ Participate in an online course specific to the fellowship ◆◆ Fulfill a self-directed Senior Project requirement ◆◆ Achieve a minimum number of practical experience hours in the fellowship area
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College Prep, Redefined
WHY “COLLEGE PREP, REDEFINED?”
A By Leslie DeStefano, Director of Curriculum and Instruction
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recent report from Civitas analyzed data from 62 universities and colleges and found that “98.3% of these institutions are losing more students with 2.0 GPA or higher than below 2.0. A shocking 44% of the non-persisting students have a GPA of 3.0 to 4.0. While key academic skills remain essential to succeed in higher education, for students today, life, social, and cognitive realities must be addressed. Students must see purpose in their work and believe they can be heard and can make an impact. St. Johns’ new Foundations program has been designed to talk directly to our students about these realities and help them recognize their role in their education. The Fellowship program offers all students a genuine opportunity to think about why they are in school and see a direct connection between the choices and preparation made at St. Johns to their adult lives.
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Students participating in these programs will make choices about, and give voice to, their passions. They will engage in meaningful service related to that passion that connects directly with learning goals and academic standards. They will partner with community or global efforts to make a difference, and they will gain experience collaborating with students around the world through the prestigious Global Online Academy. And for the exceptionally mature, able, and motivated, there are opportunities do highly advanced work and earn an Advanced Placement Capstone diploma and a Dr. Edwin P. Heinrich Fellowship distinction. By redefining what a college preparatory program looks like, St. Johns Country Day School is empowering students to take charge of their lives without short-changing them on the well-rounded education for which St. Johns has always been respected.
College Prep, Redefined.
St. Johns Fellowship program (continued)
For example, a student might select a visual arts Fellowship. The student would complete the core school curriculum as required for graduation, two required art courses, such as Foundations of Art and AP Portfolio Development Studio, and two additional visual arts courses. The Fellow would also be required to complete one online study course, perhaps digital photography or graphic design. In their senior year, Fellows complete a focus area project that allows them to
The St. Johns Fellowship program is an exciting new offering designed to shape the opportunities our students will have in the future. gain practical experience and undergo the process of self-learning while exploring the targeted subject area. Finally, Fellows are required to complete 50 hours of volunteer practical experience with an organization or professional within the area of focus, thus exposing them to the subject in “the real world” beyond academia. Participants are assigned a faculty Fellowship mentor, who helps unlock opportunities for them, arranging internships, networking opportunities, and volunteer service. These varied experiences complement a student’s St. Johns diploma, providing students with opportunities to develop essential skills, discover their passions, and prepare for college and career.
Global Online Academy Online learning is an essential component of these diverse course offerings and a future-facing curriculum. These days many colleges and universities require students to take at least one class online, so St. Johns must work to prepare its graduates to learn in the online environment. Toward this end, St. Johns Country Day School is proud to be a participating member with Global Online Academy, the premier provider of online education with a mission to replicate in online classrooms the “intellectually rigorous programs and excellent teaching that are hallmarks of its member schools; to foster new and effective ways, through best practices in online education, for students to learn; and to promote students’ global awareness and understanding by creating truly diverse, worldwide, online schoolroom communities.” All Global Online Academy students work towards mastery of six core competencies1: 1. Collaborate with peers who are not sitting with them on campus. 2. Communicate and empathize with people living in areas of the world that are culturally different from their own. 3. Leverage their curiosity to curate and create content that is relevant to real-world issues. 4. Reflect on and take responsibility for their learning and that of others in an open forum. 5. Organize their time and tasks to become independent learners. 6. Interpret assignments and express themselves using a variety of learning tools. While Global Online Academy courses will be available to all students, they will be of particular value to those seeking diverse experiences and exposure to topics beyond the St. Johns Country Day School course offerings. 1 From the Global Online Academy Course Catalog at globalonlineacademy.org. Accessed on November 7, 2017.
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College Prep, Redefined
Dr. Edwin P. Heinrich Fellowship Within the St. Johns Fellowship program, the Dr. Edwin P. Heinrich Fellowship offers St. Johns’ most academically talented and ambitious students opportunities to stretch and demonstrate content mastery even beyond Honors courses. Leveraging resources from St. Johns’ robust slate of Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, along with the new AP Capstone Program offered in conjunction with the College Board, Heinrich Fellows have myriad opportunities to achieve and demonstrate that they are self-motivated, think independently, and are driven to academic accomplishment. Throughout their Upper School careers, Heinrich Fellows must complete a minimum of 20 courses at the Honors level and above, and at least 8 of these must be AP courses. “One of the most exciting aspects of both the Fellowship and Foundations Programs is that, beyond their content, they afford St. Johns students expanded opportunities while still immersed in the caring, collaborative environment we have here at St. Johns,” said Head of Upper School Mary Virginia Fisher. “Students and teachers alike will benefit from combining our small school setting with more robust course offerings and experiences usually offered only at much larger schools.” 22
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Throughout their Upper School careers, Heinrich Fellows complete a minimum of 20 courses at the Honors level and above, and at least 8 of these must be AP courses.
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College Prep, Redefined.
To this day, we remain a pioneering school, with a future-facing curriculum focused on preparing students not just for college, but for life. Foundations The new Foundations program provides St. Johns students in all grades with distinctive academic, character, future-ready, leadership, and life skills education far beyond what St. Johns has been capable of providing in the past. In order to develop the plan for Foundations, talented and dedicated faculty members evaluated and discussed the signature qualities St. Johns students need in order to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them, and how they can best overcome challenges they will face throughout their lives. The result is the comprehensive Foundations program, unique to each grade, with five main components to be delivered throughout the year: 1. Academic Skills 2. College Counseling (Grades 8-12) 3. Future-Ready Skills 4. Self Leadership 5. Life Prep A recent Grade 11 Life Prep activity with Mrs. Korahais focused on the assumptions people can have about each other. Students were shown sets of three facts about fictitious people. Based on these facts, the students made unprompted assumptions about who was being described-- It seemed like three very different people, but in the end it was revealed that the facts all described the same person. Students then discussed how people can put forward a certain image of how they want to appear, but it never gives the whole picture. In Mrs. DeStefano’s Academic Skills course, students are learning about managing work by setting “SMART” goals—that is, goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed (or,
of short duration). By following this “SMART” tip, students can create realistic, achievable goals that they can meet. So instead of saying “Raise Spanish grade to an A,” a student might set a goal of studying Spanish vocabulary 30 minutes each day, Monday through Thursday, for the rest of the current quarter. This specific and realistic goal is easy to measure, and it’s of a relatively short duration, making it more likely that a student will be able to stick to it. All of the Foundations programs are about life skills, persistence, teamwork, and innovation. They focus on initiative, deep thinking, problem solving and how to spring back quickly from setbacks. They’re about more than subject content; they include what you learn from failure as well as success, and how you map the course ahead. Through these new programs, St. Johns Country Day School is redefining college preparatory education and helping St. Johns students meet the everchanging demands of the world they will face after graduation. n
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HONOR
the past.
INVEST
in the future.
Your gift to the St. Johns Annual Fund is an investment in the students and the teachers. It is an investment that helps students achieve their full potential, encourages excellence in teaching and learning, and enhances the community. As a result of strategic financial planning and fiscal responsibility, St. Johns has been able to dedicate gifts to fund items that enhance the St. Johns experience rather than cover budgetary shortfalls. Every gift to the Annual Fund allows us to make campus improvements and strengthen programs for our students and teachers. Thank you!
Your gift is an investment in the students, teachers, and the St. Johns experience.
St. Johns has a tradition of excellence and a community spirit that inspires students to achieve their best inside and outside the classroom. While honoring the past, the school continues to create opportunities that serve our students and families and further distinguish St. Johns as a leader in the academic community.
Invest in St. Johns Today Online: sjcds.net/support Phone: (904) 264-9572
Your investment in St. Johns provides critical support for exciting new academic programs and campus improvements. Every gift, You can double or even including yours, is meaningful and triple your gift to has a direct and positive impact. St. Johns! Ask your
Mail: St. Johns Annual Fund 3100 Doctors Lake Drive Orange Park, FL 32073
employer if it matches donations.
Make your gift or pledge today at sjcds.net/give.
Alumni Profiles
Alumni Profiles
O
ne need only look at the amazing accomplishments of our more than 2,000 alumni to know that a St. Johns education prepares students for college and beyond. We have chosen to highlight three St. Johns alumni who represent the qualities we think of in a St. Johns graduate. All three acted on a spark ignited by their experiences at St. Johns, and were excited to learn about the new academic programs coming soon. St. Johns is implementing these new programs in order to give a new generation of Spartans opportunities to explore and find their passions.
TJ Weaver ’08 Teachers long for students who can combine passion with talent for their subject. From a young age, TJ Weaver ’08 was passionate about the world. He dove headfirst into the culture, food, history, and language of whatever country interested him most at the moment. In eighth grade at St. Johns, he was mistaken for being from a native Spanish speaking household, before he had even taken much Spanish. He now conducts most of his business communications in another language and speaks Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Mandarin. He credits the language teachers at St. Johns with instilling in him a love of language, culture, and people. He was described by 26
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Upper School Head and former head of the World Languages Department, Mary Virginia Fisher, as a once-in-a-lifetime language student with a “nimble linguistic acuity.” But he isn’t only skilled at language. At St. Johns, TJ was incredibly successful across the academic spectrum and his teachers continue to rave about his natural talent, work ethic, and passion for learning. One of his college recommendations reflects this—“An expressive, lucid, sophisticated thinker and writer,” it said, “TJ’s essays were invariably superbly and meticulously prepared, exhibited both mastery of detail and vision of broad themes, and were expressed with conviction.” On the athletic field, TJ was constantly trying to fire up his teammates, both in times of victory and defeat. “I loved the camaraderie and friendship that revolved around sports at St. Johns,” he said, “and our Senior Prank, turning the quad into a water park is a great memory.” The awards and accolades he amassed throughout his high school career are vast and impressive. He was a National Merit Finalist, Valedictorian, Best All-Around Young Man, Captain Borries Cup Winner, FHSAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, High School Heisman Program State Finalist, just to list a few. On top of all of that, he was recognized by his teachers as a uniquely gifted student both academically and personally. At the University of Miami, both TJ’s successes and his desire to know more about the world continued to grow. His list of majors and minors demonstrates that he was never satisfied with just getting by or passing the class. He majored in Economics, International Relations, Political Science, and History with minors in Business Administration, Modern Languages, and Spanish. He took Chinese his freshman year and fell in love with the culture, language, history and politics. He studied abroad in Costa Rica, Panama, China, Vietnam, and Spain, including taking Chinese language classes in Spanish.
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Alumni Profiles
After graduating from Miami, TJ worked as an International Project Coordinator for IOS Partners in Miami and Costa Rica doing business development, then went to China to teach Calculus and Physics to high-achieving Chinese students who were preparing to go to college in the United States, the UK, or Canada. He took time off and backpacked around Southeast Asia, volunteering in different communities. TJ loves getting into communities and learning and understanding the people and their culture. It is personally fulfilling, he says, and also vital to his job that he understand the people that the business decisions will affect. From China, TJ went to Istanbul to become an International Business English and Professional Development Coordinator helping “international professionals and corporate executives learn how to advance their professional and intercultural communication abilities
in light of the globalizing dynamic Turkish economy.” His thirst for knowledge was not quenched however, so returned to school and completed two masters degrees, one in International Business, and one in International Management, from HEC Paris in France. Even though TJ was already abroad, HEC required that he “study abroad,” so he spent six months in Lisbon, Portugal. His master’s thesis, “Trends and Strategic Challenges on Developing Renewable Energy Markets in the Developing World,” led him to his current adventure. TJ went back to IOS Partners, where he is now an International Project Manager and splits his time between Miami and various places in Africa including Madagascar, DR Congo, Ethiopia, and Malawi. His projects include working with the World Bank to bring developing nations into the modern economy by increasing the size and scope of the private sector. For example, in Madagascar, the economy S T. J O H N S C O U N T R Y D AY S C H O O L M A G A Z I N E
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Alumni Profiles
has not been able to thrive because the road infrastructure is so limiting. It is critical for the island nation to bring the country’s one air carrier, Air Madagascar, into a partnership to advance both social and economic development. TJ managed the team that evaluated options and negotiated a $40 million contract between a private airline partner and the government-controlled Air Madagascar. In Malawi, while confirming compliance with a grant from the United States to expand the country’s electrical systems, TJ had to get into the community and try to understand the social structure. Some portions of the country are patriarchal and others are matriarchal. This becomes an issue as Malawi tries to increase the number of people who have electricity in a sustainable way that might require some families to be relocated. While his company is a for-profit company, their mission is to do capacity building so that countries require less assistance and can sustain and then advance on their own power. “This job is personally and professionally fulfilling,” he says. “It is one of the coolest jobs. Hard and challenging, but very fulfilling. I’m not just trying to make rich people richer.” His advice to students is to study abroad, get out of your comfort zone, go to a new and unfamiliar country, and learn different languages and cultures. A Global Studies Fellowship at St. Johns would have been a perfect fit for TJ, and he hopes that many students will take advantage of the opportunities that will be offered in the new fellowship programs.
Vanessa Bowles Beasley ’84 When asked how she felt about coming to St. Johns every day as a student, Vanessa Bowles Beasley ’84 said she felt a “paradoxical sense that I was actually coming home [to] a place where I mattered and felt like I was part of a larger, stable community.” Her current role as Dean of the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons at Vanderbilt 28
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University is like an extension of that same connection between home and school where faculty live and serve as heads of houses for first year students creating “intentional and mutually beneficial educational networks among students, faculty, and staff to create a residential collegiate experience that rests on discovery, creative inquiry, and engaged citizenship.” She and her family live on campus in the Dean’s Residence and she loves helping students find their way and flourish as they take advantage of the opportunities they have at Vanderbilt, both inside and outside the classroom. This sense of home was so incredibly important to Vanessa as a student at St. Johns because her parents divorced shortly after she started at St. Johns and she said that the sense of where she belonged shifted dramatically. Vanessa was an exceptional student at St. Johns, earning awards and honors in academics and athletics as well as serving in leadership positions. Vanessa was Student Council President, and she was part of the Junior Classical League, Editor-in-Chief of the Saints’ Scroll, earned the Service Award, the Suwanee Book Award, was a member of the Cum Laude Society, and won the Hugh O’Brien Leadership Award. Vanessa’s academic success at St. Johns continued to the next level as she earned a bachelor of arts degree in speech communication and theatre arts from Vanderbilt. From there she went on to complete a master’s degree and then doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin. Her areas of academic expertise include “the history of the ‘great speeches’ by American presidents, political rhetoric on diversity and citizenship, and the changing relationship between mass media and politics in the United States.” As both a professor and scholar of US political rhetoric, she looks back with great appreciation on things like Mrs. Weber’s grammar rules, which are “arguably the most valuable for my current career as a scholar and writer,” learning to diagram sentences (which she embarrassingly still loves to do), and learning to love words and writing. But she says her most valuable lesson from St. Johns was working with Mr. Fisher in the food
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store because it was such hard work but “he’s telling you to smile, and you know what? You can smile when you’re doing hard work, and it makes everything better.” As Student Council President, she helped lead flag raising every morning and credits those daily public speaking engagements with how comfortable she is today with all the public speaking she has to do both as a professor and as Dean of the Commons. In her current role, she is the senior academic leader of the first-year experience for undergraduate students at Vanderbilt, working with the entire community to ensure that every student gets off to the best possible start. She is also an active member of the broader Vanderbilt community, serving as co-chair of the Student Life committee of the Faculty Senate, as chair of the Provost’s Task Force on Sexual Assault, director of the Program for Career Development for faculty, and as a Jacque Voegeli Fellow of the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities. In a sense, Vanessa has continued to experience school as home. That passion for wisdom, knowledge, understanding, coupled with a sense of belonging, family, and
acceptance started for her at St. Johns and has continued to her present position at Vanderbilt. “The teachers I had and the friends I made were literally my family...I don’t think I can put into words what those relationships meant to me...and for a professor of rhetoric, the inability to express gratitude verbally is a rare feeling. But it speaks to the depth of my appreciation. How lucky I was to attend St. Johns and become part of this community.”
Andrew Pu ’06 “When am I ever going to use this in real life?” is a phrase often heard around the halls of most schools, and St. Johns is no exception. Students don’t complain quite as much when the assignment is something as cool as building a roller coaster out of K’NEX in science class, but the thought still went through the mind of Andrew Pu ’06 as he built his roller coaster in Grade 7 science class. In seventh grade, it’s hard to imagine yourself actually making a living building roller coasters, but that is exactly what Andrew gets to do. S T. J O H N S C O U N T R Y D AY S C H O O L M A G A Z I N E
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Alumni Profiles
At St. Johns, Andrew always loved math and he especially loved Una Pardue’s class. He remembers that she made math fun, even though the class itself was rigorous. He loved sports and the atmosphere at St. Johns, especially anytime he was able to hang out with his friends. He started at St. Johns in Kindergarten and to this day keeps in close contact with his St. Johns family. It was in college and in speaking with friends from around the state “that I realized how special and unique St. Johns really is.” He especially remembers the now famous Senior Prank by his class in which they put hundreds of goldfish (it was supposed to be 2006 goldfish, but they couldn’t buy enough) in little cups all around the school. He played soccer, baseball, and basketball and his favorite memories mostly center around just hanging out with friends. Andrew wanted to be a doctor during most of his high school career and took classes toward that goal. But when he shadowed civil engineer and St. Johns parent Joe Mittauer during St. Johns’ Senior Week, Andrew knew that he had found his calling. Andrew went to the University of Central Florida to major in civil engineering. He remembers an engineering professor in his first year saying “look to your right and to your left. Only one of you will graduate as 30
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an engineer.” The coursework was difficult, but Andrew loved it. He was able to secure an internship through the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Andrew says he was incredibly lucky because it helped him secure a job after graduation in 2010 despite a very slow job market. He went to work for PCL Construction as an estimator and then as a Field Engineer. While at PCL, Andrew worked on major projects for Disney and Universal Studios such as Harry Potter Diagon Alley at Universal and the Disney Springs complex. He was then recruited by Universal to come work directly for them first as an Assistant Project Manager, and he was recently promoted to Project Manager. Andrew worked on The Incredible Hulk Coaster renovation, and he said he distinctly remembered that roller coaster K’NEX project in Grade 7 and thought “Wow, I really am building roller coasters for a living!” On these projects, Andrew says he uses so many skills that he learned from St. Johns beyond just the math and engineering. He says the scariest class but one of the most beneficial classes he took was Public Speaking with Beth Herzog. The ability to communicate clearly and effectively in both large and small groups, to craftsmen and construction workers as well as company executives has been incredibly valuable to him. His most recent project for Universal was Volcano Bay, the new waterslide park. It was a massive undertaking and high pressure environment, but Andrew credits the rigor at St. Johns, especially the tough final exams, as helping him to prepare for hard situations and also to persevere through them. In the future, Andrew would love to find himself back in the classroom teaching like a favorite professor of his at UCF who had a long career in construction before becoming a professor. Andrew has learned to apply what he learned in the classroom to the real world and to enjoy what he is doing. He would have been a perfect candidate for an engineering fellowship at St. Johns and hopefully years from now we will have even more students who can find their dream job through the opportunities and experiences that St. Johns provides.
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Traditions
St. Johns cheerleaders bring school spirit—and a huge banner!—to the 2017 Homecoming parade.
Homecoming
H
omecoming originated as an opportunity to invite alumni back onto campuses for a reunion. Schools would schedule it around an athletic event-- usually a football game-and host parties, campus tours, and more for graduates from all years. Today, at most schools Homecoming has evolved into a student-centered event with spirit competitions, parades, football games, homecoming court, dances, and more. Before St. Johns had a football team, homecoming was scheduled around a boys soccer game. When football was added and boys soccer moved to the winter season, Homecoming shifted to center around a home football game in October. Events such as spirit competitions between the Upper School grades, dress up days, homecoming court, and an Upper School dance all stayed. St. Johns also added a parade that loops around the front circle. After the parade, everyone moves to the gym for the final spirit competition, the lip sync battle. Then a pep rally follows in the Performing Arts Center hosted by the cheerleaders where all the fall
sports are introduced and the dance team and cheerleaders perform. One of the favorite new traditions is the Alumni and PTL Upper School Tailgate. After school, students, faculty, parents, and alumni gather on the outfield of the softball field. This year the tailgate featured food trucks, catered barbecue, bounce houses, cornhole tournaments, face painting, photo booths, and performances by the dance team and cheerleaders. These events have all helped to create a festive atmosphere as the anticipation of the football game mounts. One year, St. Johns was selected as the Game of the Week by the local television station and the tailgate became a chance for everyone to be on TV! Several St. Johns classes have made the tailgate the start to a fun reunion weekend. Last year, the Class of 1986 and this year the Class of 1987 gathered on Friday night at the tailgate and then had an event with their classmates on Saturday night. It is fun to have alumni back on campus and to give them the opportunity to see and experience campus alive and buzzing with activity!
Head of Lower School Mary Helen Cauthen kicks off the parade as the Grand Marshal. Members of the Class of 1987 Britt McTammany, Clay Meux, and Matt Costarakis met up at the Alumni Tailgate Party. Green Team Club members Ella Rothberg, Ryan Croft, Alexa Radford, and Stuart Mackenzie prepare to walk in the parade.
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Traditions
Halloween Parade
E
very October at St. Johns, Lower School hosts a costume parade around the quad for Lower School students. Seniors get to act like kids again and dress up to walk in the parade with their Grade 1 Buddies. It is a tradition that goes back decades. Mr. Howard acts as DJ, setting the mood with his Halloween playlist, and Lower School students line up all around the quad. Parents, Upper School students, Middle School students, faculty and staff all come out to watch as the students walk by. In the beginning, students wore costumes they chose or made themselves and the level of creativity was amazing. Then for a number of years, students wore papier mache masks that they made in art class. In recent years, paraders have returned to the costume idea and students once again let their imaginations run wild coming up with costumes including super heroes, unicorns, wizards, Storm Troopers, genies, football players, and gumball machines. This year we even had a washing machine! After the students have made 3 or 4 loops around the quad marching to “Monster Mash� and the themes from Ghostbusters and The Addams Family, they return to their classrooms for their Halloween parties. The seniors and their first graders head to the deck for a combined party. Without prompting or planning, a massive game of tag ends up finishing the day for the seniors and their first graders. It seems to happen every year that the seniors start out strong playing tag, but fade much faster than the first graders do. The Halloween parade is a fun day for the Lower School students and a great opportunity for seniors to relive their younger days.
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Traditions Rachael Stroh Hanff ’07 and her first grader, Kacey Spencer ’18, at the 2006 Senior-First Grade Halloween Party.
Devan Ruhl ’18 with her senior, Anna Salas ’07.
Nikalina Frustaci ’29 with her seniors, Kacey Spencer ’18 (left) and Devan Ruhl ’18 (right).
Left: Esan Patel ’18 with his first grader, Chloe Huynh ’29. Above: Esan with his senior, Umar Saulat ’07.
Top: Mona Grey ’29 with her senior, Lea Shah ’18. Bottom: Lea with her senior, Monica McCauley ’07.
Left to right: Nolen Miller ’30, Arlo Kistner ’27, Madison Dionne ’26, Ethan Kent ’29 with his senior, Charlie Lu ’18, and Yin and Yang, St. Johns guidance counselors Mrs. Landers and Mrs. Korahais. S T. J O H N S C O U N T R Y D AY S C H O O L M A G A Z I N E
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Alumni Notes
Alumni Notes
Atlanta in creating an Entertainment Village, collaborating with entertainment executives, production companies, investors, and film crews, as Atlanta seeks to become the next LA. She also represents three artists who were selected to do a PSA school tour next year. The artists support anti-bullying campaigns and will visit schools across the nation, speaking and performing to share an important message. Jennie Lee McGuigan ’94 is Manager of School Partnerships and Teacher Development at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in Townsend, TN.
1980s ▲ The Class of 1987 had their reunion over St. Johns Homecoming Weekend in October. The weekend started out with the Upper School and Alumni Tailgate where members of the Class of ’87 visited with classmates and former teachers. On Saturday night they gathered at Britt McTammany’s house for dinner, drinks, and reminiscing. Those in attendance throughout the weekend included Britt McTammany, Matt Costarakis, Todd Zehner, Rory Eggers, Clay Meux, Ben Bishop ’83 and Brooke Darby Bishop, Becky Radwan Updegraff, Haniff Vanjaria, Mark Stevens, Eric Sanders, Traci Frick Page, Chris Wilson, and Mark Fackler. Ami Patel ’86 moved from San Francisco to Atlanta after accepting a job as Chief Legal Officer at Sharecare, Inc., a health and wellness company based in Atlanta. In July 2016, Dave Auchter ’89 began working as Director of Business Development for Consumer and Packaged Goods at Haskell—one of the leading global architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and consulting firms based in Jacksonville. He recently was named Vice President of Corporate Marketing.
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Kay Blitch Lyerly ’80 is now working as a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty, Fleming Island.
1990s
▲ Julie Walker ’95 gave birth to a little girl, Vivianne Loretta Walker, in October. Her baby shower ended up being a St. Johns reunion of sorts with Madina Vanjaria Scott ’94, Randa Antar Blethyn ’95, Erica Leibo ’95, Cam Mills Butler ’95, Colleen Hart McDaid ’95, and Kielly Brannon Andrews ’95.
▲ Sara Beth Guswiler Johnson ’92 is a night-shift nurse in the pediatric emergency room at UF Jacksonville. She wrote in recently saying, “I was listening to the report from this paramedic last night and said–hey I know that guy–Kurt Scales!! He works for Jacksonville Fire Rescue as a firefighter/ paramedic. There are St. Johns connections everywhere!!” Christie West Hanson ’91 has started her own music management company Vendetta Music Group in Atlanta where she lives. She was recently asked to be a guest speaker at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Music Conference. Christie has assisted the City of
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After earning her Ed.D. degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Florida, Lauren Bartoy Gibbs ’96 worked at UF until she recently was appointed the Associate Director for Research Programs and Services for the Center for Urban Education and Policy at the University of North Florida. Catarina Castruccio-Prince ’97 has been named the interim director of development for the College of Engineering at the University of Miami. Tammy Caplin Jones ’97 and her husband Greg welcomed a baby girl, Riviera Peace Jones, in November.
Alumni Notes
▲ Katie Swink Reid ’03 and her husband DJ welcomed Josephine Gail on August 23, 2017. She was 8lb 10oz and 20.5 inches long. Katie writes, “Big sister Maddie absolutely adores her and can’t keep her hands off of her! She is named after my mom - Gail was her middle name. I think she has mom’s eyes.” ▲ Three classmates from the class of 1998 all had babies within just a few months of each other. The moms and babies got together for a Spartan and baby Spartan photo! Erin Bare Willingham ’98 and her husband, Brian, welcomed their second daughter, Audrey Dale Willingham, on July 25, 2017. Ryan Vessely Harmon ’98 and her husband, Fred, welcomed their second daughter, Claire Elizabeth Harmon, on May 12, 2017. Mary Holland Broe ’98 and her husband, Eric, welcomed a son, Kai Bear Broe, on August 18, 2017.
Buck Williams ’05 has joined the Jacksonville Public Education Fund Board of Directors as a voting member. He is a financial advisor with the Beard, Williams, Chappell Group at UBS Private Wealth Management. Buck is very involved in the community, volunteering with Sanctuary on 8th Street as board treasurer and is chair of the Troop Committee for Boy Scout Troop 26 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Ortega. Jillian Rosenberg ’05 got engaged to Ronnie Morgan.
2000s
▲ Ross Howayeck ’03 was recently promoted to Major in the United States Air Force. He and Whitney Rosenberg Howayeck ’04 moved from California to Delaware with the Air Force. Ross spent some time flying helicopters after Hurricane Maria in the Air Force’s relief efforts in Puerto Rico. ▲ Phillip Hobbs ’00 and his wife Ginny were featured on the local news for their incredible adoption story. Phillip and Ginny have two children, Tripp and Evalynn, who were both “snowflake” adoptions, meaning that they were frozen embryos that Phillip and Ginny adopted, had implanted as a viable pregnancy, and then delivered as healthy and happy babies.
Kate Mittauer ’04 earned her Ph.D. in Medical Physics from the University of Florida in 2015. She is now a Staff Medical Physicist and researcher in the Department of Oncology at the University of Wisconsin. Her work focuses on research, clinical development and implementation, and clinical coverage of MR-guided radiotherapy with the ViewRay MRIdian system.
Correction: In the Summer 2017 issue of 1953, we incorrectly identified the new baby of Kaye Henderson Stegink ’06. She and her husband welcomed a baby boy, Bishop Hunter, in August. We apologize for this error.
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Alumni Notes David Jackson ’06 has been deployed to Guam with the US Navy. Carter Weber ’07 and his wife Katelyn welcomed the birth of a baby boy, Carter Repp, in August.
▲ Former Headmaster Ed Ellison and his son, former Spartan Matt Ellison, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro this summer, reaching the summit on August 8, 2017. It was a frigid 15 degrees Fahrenheit at the summit.
During their training, they raised money for the Tug McGraw Foundation which works to improve the quality of life for people affected by brain tumors and brain-related trauma.
Caitlin Booth ’06 is a certified candidate for ordained ministry in the Florida Conference of United Methodist Church. She is attending Duke Divinity School getting her masters degree in Christian practice.
Philip Robbins ’08 married Brittany Quigg in October. Ramzi Shaykh ’08 was best man and Walker Mason ’08 and Philip’s younger brother Parker Robbins ’20 were groomsmen. Philip’s sisters, Jordan ’10 and Caroline ’13 Robbins, were bridesmaids. Georgia Libert Mason ’08, Natalie ’13 and Diana Shaykh ’19 were also in attendance. ▼
Jarrod Boitet ’06 and his wife Hannah had a baby boy, Colton Jules, in September. Colton joins older brother Ian. Andrew Pu ’06 is Assistant Project Manager at NBC Universal Creative Theme Parks and Resorts. He recently worked on the new Universal waterpark, Volcano Bay.
▲ In November, Kristen Weaver ’06, above left, completed the New York City Marathon with her husband, Brian Smith, above right.
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▲ Lauren Ashley Rollins ’07 married Jason O’Toole on September 19, 2015 in an intimate ceremony at the Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island. Jason is a fashion executive, while Lauren works in advertising and has a fashion blog called Brown Paper Doll. She started it as a style diary and it has developed into a fashion destination, showcasing her looks, fashion ideas, and overall inspirations. Within her first year, she gained sponsorship from Barbie, as well as been featured by J.Crew, Club Monaco, and Gianni Bini. Lauren and Jason recently relocated from New York City to Atlanta.
Alumni Notes Since June 2016, Kara Levine ’09 has been working at University Medical Center of New Orleans as an oncology social worker, making sure patients get the care they deserve, eliminating barriers to treatment, and helping patients cope with their diagnosis. Kara also facilitates support groups and has started the psycho oncology/supportive care services for the cancer center. Kara credits her summer reading book, Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture,” for Mrs. Herzog’s English class for inspiring her to go into this difficult but rewarding work.
Taylor, LOFT, and Lou & Grey. She lives in New York City. Carly Camera ’13 graduated from Saint Leo University in May with a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management. Vipul Patel ’13 has been selected as a Fellow at BU Spark! which is an initiative to support student-driven innovation and entrepreneurship in computer science, computer engineering and related disciplines, housed at Boston University’s Hariri Institute for Computing.
2010s ▲ Kelsey Camera Babcock ’10 and her husband Corey welcomed a baby girl, Kinsley Lillian, in August. (PHOTO: Kelsey Camera)
▲ After graduating from St. Johns, Marit Evans ’10 attended Florida State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in studio art and subsequent master’s degree in arts administration. Upon completing her master’s degree in 2016, she moved from Tallahassee to Aspen, Colorado, to begin her career at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, a premier destination for art making, education, and dialogue in the U.S. Blair Burke ’10 is now working in Global Brand Management for Marriott International. She moved to Washington, DC from Jacksonville in April. She writes that she “gets to see Rachel Brown ’10 here in DC every so often which has been so fun!” Lydia Logsdail ’10 is now a Recruiting Coordinator at EverBank and lives in Jacksonville. Noah Pozin ’10 got engaged to Hannah Van Der Stelt.
Patrick Kmieciak ’11 graduated from the University of North Florida with his bachelors and then his masters degree in Accounting. He was the recipient of the 2016 Elijah Watt Sells Award given by the American Institute of CPAs. The award honors CPA candidates who obtain a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections of the uniform CPA examination, passed all four sections on their first attempt, and completed testing in 2016. Out of the more than 100,000 individuals who sat for the exam, only 58 attained this high level of achievement. He is working for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Jacksonville. Tere’ Smith Irazarry ’11 and her husband Chris welcomed the birth of a baby boy, Levi Jason, in November. Connor Vansandt ’11 is starring as a superhero stuntman in the national touring company of Marvel Universe Live, a new arena style stunt show from the same parent company that tours Disney on Ice and Monster Jam. Connor performed in the show at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena from January 18-21, 2018. His sister Sarah, who was a long time St. Johns student, is a Grand Canyon white water rafting guide. Corina Mercado ’12 is currently attending the University of Oklahoma pursuing her master’s degree in affairs and graduates in December 2018.
▲ Caroline Robbins ’13 lives in New York City and has started a style, beauty, and lifestyle blog called Soulful Cymplicity. She works as a digital assistant at bollare communications. Kevin Weaver ’13 is the Assistant Director, Annual Giving at the University of Miami and focuses on student and young alumni philanthropy. Savannah Hollis ’13 is working at the United States Army Garrison in Garmisch, Germany in the Moral, Welfare and Recreation Department. Emily Kirk ’14 graduated from Florida State University and has accepted a position with the Kansas City Chiefs this February working as a fan experience and analytics assistant.
Kaley Boone ’12 is a Merchandise Analyst at ANN INC, the parent company of Ann
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Alumni Notes
Alumni Soccer Game and Social The Alumni Soccer Game and Social took place on Saturday, December 23. Hwang Marino ’09 and Connor Vansandt ’11 helped organize the event. We had 18 St. Johns Alumni come out to play soccer and many more who came to watch. Alumni ranged from 1965 to 2016. They played soccer from 3:00 - 5:00 at North Field and we had perfect weather. Arnold Rogers ’65 and his wife visited and wanted a tour of the school since he had not been on campus since the 1960s. Sean Chapman ’96 and his wife visited the school for the first time since graduation and were impressed by all the new facilities. Susan Crenshaw de Mauro ’99 and her husband were visiting from Peru where they live and came out so her husband could play soccer. Randy Lefko from the Clay Today even came out to take pictures and write a story on the event. The only player who is currently playing organized soccer is Maddie Schultz ’16 who plays for the Air Force Academy’s club team. Other players included Britt McTammany
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’87, Joe Patterson ’08, TJ Weaver ’08, Kevin Weaver ’13, former St. Johns students Sarah Vansandt and Tanner Hall, Luke Ryan ’15, Harrison Jinks ’15, Bobby Harris ’11, Drew Petty ’13, and some guests. After soccer, everyone transitioned to the deck where lights were strung in the trees and food and drinks were provided by caterer and alumna Nonie Larson
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’84. Other alumni joined on the deck including Russell Sellars ’88, Rashara Dubose ’10, Richard Illes Butler ’12, Ray Grant, Kara McCurry ’13, Cassidy Shepherd ’13, Ryan Lindholm ’12, and former football coach Rodney Dubose. Later in the night, even more alumni met up at Whitey’s Fish Camp.
Alumni Notes In Memoriam Frank Walker Palmer, Jr. father of Walker Palmer ’96. Larry Pickett, father of Mike Pickett ’83 and grandfather of Carson Pickett ’12.
▲ United States Naval Academy Midshipmen Megan Rogers ’14 was selected to be Company Commander for her final semester and has received her service assignment. She joined the Marine Corps and has been accepted in the Marine Ground Warfare Community.
▲ Katie Gordon ’17 is majoring in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee and is working as an undergraduate research assistant in the Scintillation Materials Research Center.
Solon Ellmaker, father of Charlie Ellmaker ’80 and Sandy Ellmaker Dinkins ’83, grandfather to Lillian Dinks ’17 and current student Caroline Dinkins ’19. Dr. Paul Mori, father of Mark Mori ’67 and Dr. Kurt Mori ’69. Al Newell, long time St. Johns Bus Driver, father to former nurse & teacher Missy Carter, and grandfather to St. Johns alumni Evan Carter ’14 and Zach Carter ’16. James E. Carter, father of Bruce Carter ’72, Bobby Carter ’76, and Dr. Jimmy Carter ’78 St. Johns alumna Carmen Roberson Greiner ’85
▲ Brooke Lucas ’13 and her first grader, Kate Jacobs ’24, and Becca Jacobs ’27 with her two seniors, Abbey Fagan ’16 and Madison Dill ’16, got together in Gainesville when Madison and her University of Miami volleyball team took on the University of Florida in the Second Round matchup of the 2017 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. (Photo courtesy of Jeni Jacobs.)
▲ Brooke Butterworth Bloch ’10 married Andrew Bloch in December at the historic Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY. Lucy Bolt ’10 and Emily Wood Meagher ’10 were bridesmaids and Brooke’s brother Blake Butterworth ’06 was a groomsman.
Send Us Your Updates! We love to hear what St. Johns Spartans are up to! Send your news, career changes, birth announcements and more to Director of Alumni Relations Gayle Garrison at ggarrison@sjcds.net. Please include a high-res photo so we can print it here!
John Earhart, father of Whitney Earhart ’92 and Amelia Earhart Daniels ’97. A member of the USNA class of 1966, he was inurned at the columbarium at the U.S. Naval Academy. Grace Taylor Van Nortwick, mother of the Honorable William Van Nortwick ’63, Wallace Van Nortwick ’68, Nina Van Nortwick ’70, Clare Van Nortwick Gilmore ’70, and grandmother of former student Patrick Gilmore. St. Johns alumnus Emory “Reed” Sourbeer ’75.
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Summer Programs Summer Camp
Summer Academics
◆ Day Camp ◆ Grades 1-11 ◆ Sports Camps ◆ Reading & Math ◆ Specialty Camps ◆ SAT/ACT Prep ◆ AM & PM Extended Care
3100 DOCTORS LAKE DRIVE, ORANGE PARK • SJCDS.NET/SUMMER • (904) 264-9572 StJohnsSummerPrograms-Ad-HalfPage.indd 1
2/6/17 1:36 PM
12th Annual ST. JOHNS SPARTAN
Golf Tournament FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018 Visit sjcds.net/golf for more information and registration. Register today!
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ark your calendars and plan to join us for a great day of golf, food, and fun at the award-winning Eagle Harbor Golf Club. Your participation will help to make this year’s golf tournament a great success! All proceeds from the tournament will directly benefit the athletic department and all of our student-athletes. Proceeds from prior golf tournaments have paid for a new scoreboard in the Brown Gym and on the softball field, windscreens and scoring poles for the tennis courts, brick enclosures for the softball and soccer field scoreboards, and many other athletic team “wish list” items.
Published by: St. Johns Country Day School Mail: 3100 Doctors Lake Drive Orange Park, FL 32073-6997 Phone: (904) 264-9572 Email: info@sjcds.net Web: sjcds.net Headmaster: Todd A. Zehner ’87 tzehner@sjcds.net Director of Alumni Relations: Gayle Garrison ’94 ggarrison@sjcds.net Director of Institutional Advancement: Amy Weaver aweaver@sjcds.net Director of Communications: Regan Minners rminners@sjcds.net
Thank you to the 2017-2018 Board of Trustees Officers: Tanya Powers, President Rick Gregson, Vice President Andrew L. Glassman, Treasurer Angela DeMonbreun, Secretary Members: Dr. Mark A. Dobbertien Gerri Duffey Lewis “Four” Dunton, IV Margaret Rood Gibbs Daniel W. Hodges Dr. Carissa J. Kostecki John B. Linge, Jr. Marla Matson-Quattrone Robin McMullen Jonathan C. Montgomery, Immediate Past President William R. Russell Dr. Arjav Ted Shah Michael R. Spigel Richard C. M. Wilson
Trustee Emeritus: Dr. Steven B. Kailes Robert Liguori Sharon J. Suggs Headmaster Emeritus: Stephen F. Russey Ex Officio: Todd A. Zehner, Headmaster
Save the Date! Contact Director of Alumni Relations Gayle Garrison at ggarrison@sjcds.net for more information on these upcoming events: ◆◆ Spring Fling: Friday, April 27, 2018. 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. at St. Johns. ◆◆ Graduation: Saturday, June 2, 2018, 7:00 p.m. at Thrasher Horne ◆◆ Founders Day: Friday, September 14, 2018. Please join us as we honor the 65th anniversary of the founding of St. Johns.
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Students in Ms. Dunning’s Pre-K4 class (L-R: Kate Stuart, Hutt Simmons, Teagan Goff, Emily Scott, and Brandon Horney) proclaim, “We are all best friends!”
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