The Senior Class and Board of Trustees Dinner A celebration of the Class of 2018 (shown on this cover). pg. 5 >
Winter / Spring 2018
Alumni Spotlight Award-winning guitarist Mark Cosgrove ’74 performed for his alma mater, then took a trip down memory lane. pg. 16 >
Reunion Weekend 2018 With events from May 4-6, there’s something for everyone. Join us and reconnect with fellow alumni! pg. 22 >
Board of Trustees 2017-2018 Scott Bolenbaugh P’09 Chairman Tom Hunt ’74 P’16 Vice Chairman Elizabeth Wavle P’11 Treasurer Alan Sheriff P’08 ’16 Secretary Jay Abbe ’59 Bette Jane (BJ) Booth P’11 Andrea Devereux P’14 Jonathan C. Downs ’71 P’03 ’08 ’09 Andrée Newsome Falco ’63 Dr. Ellen Faulkner P’06 ’11 Jeremy Fergusson ’63 Andrew Gespass ’73 Mandy Mundy Whitney Parker-Klimpel P’06 ’09 ’14 Josh Perlsweig ’03 John H. Petito P’96 ’03 Joan Reinthaler ’53 Anne C. (Annsi) Stephano ’58 P’77 ’78 ’81 Derek Warden ’79 Brett Webber ’85 Navarrow Wright ’88 P’16
Head of School Thomas G. Wilschutz
Honorary Trustees Chris Chandor ’60 P’86 Alan Donley ’55 Betsy Bidelman Meredith ’54 P’81 Richard Moss ’48 Eric Shaw ’55 Jean Tappan Shaw ’53
THIS PAGE: On January 18, 2018 during an away basketball game against Princeton Day School, senior Devon Brewster hit his 1,000th career point! Devon also happens to carry a 3.9 GPA. He credits his mother, Elizabeth Moyd-Brewster P’18, a Navy chief, with his disciplined work ethic. Basketball Head Coach Cleve Christie told the Bucks County Herald that Devon embodies the “three legs of a stool: academics, working hard on the basketball court and being an asset to the campus, a good guy.” COVER: Photos by Kelli Abdoney
Winter / Spring 2018
Contents
Solebury School Winter/Spring Magazine
Editor Jennifer K. Burns P’19 Assistant Head of School: Advancement and External Affairs
Managing Editor Deb O’Reilly Director of Publications and Online Media
Features
Alma’s Update Editor
8 Storytelling Through Film
Renee LaPorte Director of Alumni Relations and Gift Planning
Contributing Editor Holly Victor ’89 Director of Marketing and Communications
Design and Production Proof Design
10 Teaching Character Through Social Studies
Please send change of address to:
Solebury School 6832 Phillips Mill Road New Hope, PA 18938 Phone: 215-862-5261 Fax: 215-862-3366 Email: alumni@solebury.org © Copyright 2018 Solebury School
This year, students have had a wide variety of opportunities to give back, thanks to our exceptional Community Service Club.
16 Alumni Spotlight
Connect With Solebury School
Twitter twitter.com/SoleburySchool
Beginning this school year, all Solebury School sophomores are now required to take a yearlong Ethics class. Jared Levy, our new Social Studies department head, shares the thinking behind the decision.
14 Building a Service Mindset
FacEbook Facebook.com/SoleburySchool1925
New Solebury School faculty members with film industry experience have expanded and strengthened this focus of study, which teaches students a broad range of skills.
Award-winning guitarist Mark Cosgrove ’74 shared his talents with his alma mater during a special performance at a student assembly this winter. Plus, Joyce Bulifant ’56 stopped at Solebury on her book tour, and recent grads visited us for Young Alumni Day!
22 Reunion Weekend 2018
From May 4-6, we’re celebrating Solebury School alumni with a weekend full of events, including many that are kid-friendly. Bring your loved ones and join us!
youtube youtube.com/SoleburySchoolUWatch Instagram @soleburyschool
www.solebury.org
Departments 2 A Note from the Head of School A message from Tom Wilschutz
4 A LOOK BACK
During the 1970s and 80s, Prom was called “Glitter Ball” and had its own fun traditions.
26
Alma’s Update
Catch up on alumni news
A N o t e f r o m T o m W i lsc h u t z
Head of School If we translate this concept to Solebury School, thinking specifically of our student population, our retention time is six years. Every six years, those who began as 7th graders complete their studies as seniors and graduate — and we have completely replaced our student body. Of course, this process is as it should be... students enroll, progress through the grades, and then they graduate. Culture and values, however, do not have a process in nature that replenish them automatically; they require thoughtful nurturing to transfer from generation to generation through the years. Our students, the faculty, our alumni, all of us who value Solebury School carry Solebury’s mission, our culture, and our values across the years. Today, some of the very intentional efforts to promote our culture and values include the school’s annual opening convocation where we orient new members to what it means to be a member of this community. We created a community code, which is also a focus of discussion in the opening days of each new school year. Many of the student groups on campus like Peer Leaders, Judiciary Committee, Community Service, Spectrum, and Diversity are just a few of the ways that we reinforce, and perpetuate, the culture of Solebury School. However, I worry that these efforts are not enough to combat the twin forces we face as a society in 2018. One force is change: the complete replacement of our student body every six years. But now, in 2018, we acknowledge the recent emergence of a second force, one that is global in nature and knows no boundaries.
I find myself thinking much about our country, our democracy, the world we are creating for our children, how we arrived at this moment as a people, and where we are going. And I think about Solebury School and our students, the culture we have, the values we seek to impart and nurture, the community we tend to on a daily basis. And, from one perspective, I think Solebury School is much more like Lake Erie than we are like Lake Superior.
What do I mean? Every lake has a calculated retention time, the amount of time it takes for every drop of water in the lake to be replaced. With outflow, evaporation, draw downs, in-flow and rainfall, every lake replaces all of its water over a specific period of time. For Lake Erie, the calculated retention time is 2.6 years, whereas the larger Lake Superior takes nearly two centuries to replace its water volume.
2
The Magazine
This emergent second force doesn’t have a name, but we can easily describe its manifestations. There is a roughness, a harshness today in our society and most troubling, a normalization of behavior that once was simply unacceptable. As many of you know, I was trained as an historian, and for historians it is all about perspective and context. So, to be clear, at the margins of every society, from the time men and women first created communities, there has always been that rough, harsh, coarse fringe. However, gradually we have witnessed over the recent past those qualities that live and thrive on the margins of society. We see them slowly becoming more mainstream, slowly desensitizing us, and if we are not careful, we find ourselves accepting behaviors that are, quite simply, unacceptable. How we treat one another, the language of public and private discourse, thoughtful dialogue and real listening — lost in favor of labeling and shouting. The acceptance of lying as the norm, accompanied by the willingness to live in a factless world. (The words of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of
Winter / Spring 2018
New York, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts” have an increasingly hollow ring in 2018.) Journalists, political scientists, and sociologists now, and historians one day, will probe the various causes for this societal shift. That is not our challenge at the moment. Rather, our challenge is to recognize that Solebury School is not an island unaffected by these pathologies that spread like crab grass, taking hold when no one tries to root them out, and most worrisome, can become, gradually the new normal. And so I am concerned. Will these pathologies worming their way into mainstream society seep onto the campus of Solebury School? Are our culture, our values, more at risk now than before? These concerns have prompted us to discuss how might address the societal ills we see around us and how we keep replenishing the tradition, culture, and values of Solebury School.
“Is ours a healthy community, nurturing values of honesty, inclusivity, and respect for all? Yes, we live our mission.” My goal as an educator is the same as it has been for the now 10 years I’ve had the honor to lead this school. I acknowledge that I may not be able to change the world, but I readily accept the challenge to tend to a small corner of that world here on the corner of Phillips Mill and School Lane. To that end, we have created a brand new initiative called the Culture Committee, headed by Dean of Students Annette Miller and School Counselor Julie Laing. They have gathered faculty and students — seniors, as well as 9th graders new to our school — to join them as they brainstorm initiatives for preserving the special character and culture of Solebury School in a proactive way. Some of the school’s traditions, such as our convocation ceremony at the start of the school year, will fall under their domain. Other projects of theirs are yet to be determined, but the concept of this committee has been met with great enthusiasm across our community. (In this edition of the magazine you will also read Social Studies Department Head Jared Levy’s article on our curricular shift to expose all of our sophomores to a yearlong Ethics course, heretofore available only at the honors level for tenth graders. This is yet another response by Solebury to the critical need to respond to the world we live in.) Is ours a healthy community, nurturing values of honesty, inclusivity and respect for all? Yes, we live our mission. But I am worried about some trends I see and am cognizant of the reality that our better angels are always in a struggle with the seamier side of our human nature. That is what it means to be human.
Winter / Spring 2018
Over the course of the coming months and years our community will see an increase in programming, assemblies, and other actions that are specifically designed to strengthen the inclusive values and the culture of Solebury School and to pass these along to new generations of students. And while I see trends that are troubling, here at Solebury I see kindness, generous spirits and support daily. In late January one of our new middle school students broke his leg in three places in a freak accident while playing hockey. Returning to school in a wheelchair some days later, our students flocked to his side to push his chair, open doors, carry his backpack, get a lunch tray and on and on. One morning two of our middle school students waited in the front circle nearly an hour anticipating his arrival. That same day, one of our 9th grade students slipped in the dining hall and food flew everywhere. There was no laughter or taunting; there were eight or ten students who jumped up immediately to help the young woman up, pick up her food, and one offered to go back through the line and get her some food. If there are reasons to be concerned, the Solebury School community offers reasons for hope on a daily basis.
Solebury School’s Community Code Solebury School strives to build a community guided by honesty, respect, and integrity. We seek to establish a safe and healthy environment, promote ethical behavior, and foster a spirit that furthers the well-being of all. To accept membership in this community is to accept and embrace responsibility to uphold the culture of Solebury School and carry these ideals into the larger world. In order for members of the Solebury School community to be able to make the correct choices, the following questions serve as guidelines:
• Does this action mislead or deceive? • Does this action give me or others an unfair advantage? • Does this action deprive another person of his or her rightful property? • Is this action respectful and helpful to me or another person? • Does this action bring credit to Solebury School or its community?
www.solebury.org
3
Beyond the books A look Back Our last issue celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Holmquist School for Girls’ founding in 1917. An alumna wrote to us in response…
Glitter Ball For years at Solebury School, there was no Prom. Instead, there was Glitter Ball. This “formal” event — which took place in the dining hall — was held every spring beginning in the 1970s until 1986. As many remember it, Prom replaced Glitter Ball in 1988.
It is 1947. I am a new student at The Holmquist School. One weekend there was a dance with Solebury, a nearby boys boarding school. By some first-time miracle, I was asked to dance by a good-looking boy and he became my boyfriend. We upperclassmen had a shack outside our school where we were allowed to smoke. I liked to do the Bette Davis thing and never inhaled. But alas, my smoking career ended when I began to knit socks for my new boyfriend — argyle socks! Now, you cannot smoke and knit ordinary socks, certainly not argyle socks. I had finished one sock when tragedy struck! My boyfriend was a naughty boy and was expelled from Solebury. As heartbroken as I was, I am not one to start something and not finish it. I finished the second sock and mailed the socks to him. A year or so later, I got a letter from a Marine in Korea! The letter was from him, thanking me for the socks. I wrote back to him but did not receive an answer. The Korean War was fierce, and I wondered if he had survived. Seeing your article about Holmquist made me think about this memory, so I looked him up on the Internet. I found him! He died a couple years ago; he had survived the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in 1950. Then, I looked up the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. It was considered the Iwo Jima of the Korean War. It was terribly cold during that battle, the coldest winter in 100 years, and the Chinese outnumbered the Marines eight to one! The fighting was fierce with many deaths and injuries from both the fighting and the devastating cold. My friend was a member of “The Chosin Few,” the survivors of the battle. Since his thank-you letter was sent from Korea, I’d like to think that the argyle socks may have helped him and saved his feet from the cold!
-Barbara (Silverstone) Garrison ’49
4
The Magazine
Middle and high school students would hit local thrift shops in New Hope and Lambertville for vintage ball attire (think sequin cummerbunds and old Bonwit Teller gowns). Sometimes the event featured live entertainment; one alum recalled that in the mid-1980s, a local Princeton rock band called The Groceries performed. But in the weeks leading up to Glitter Ball, students would take classes in authentic ballroom dancing technique to debut on the big night. “Those dance lessons were mandatory,” says Solebury School’s Director of Marketing and Communications Holly Victor ’89, shown in the white gloves and blue dress in the photo. “We would push all the tables to one side in the dining hall and do our best to waltz and foxtrot without injuring each other. Glitter Ball was such a blast — halfway through the night, the waltzing would dissolve into an 80s rock music dance party. One of my favorite Solebury memories!” “The Glitter Ball was a truly lovely moment in my young life,” says Solebury School teacher Peter Ammirati ’82. “It was fun to learn how to waltz and to have a chance to try that kind of couple’s dancing in a formal setting. I also really appreciated that before the dancing, all of the seniors had dinner at different faculty homes. After the waltzing, the band that my friend Rick Wolf ’83 played bass in performed their high-energy stylings of rock songs that were popular in that era, such as songs by the Police and John Cougar Mellencamp. That band was called the Clastics, and it was comprised of young men who were talented musicians and also physically striking. I am honestly surprised that the Clastics did not become a famous band in the Western world.”
-Deb O’Reilly
Winter / Spring 2018
Beyond the books
The 10th Annual
Senior Class and Board of Trustees Dinner January 26, 2018 By Deb O’Reilly PHOTOS BY KELLI ABDONEY “One of my fondest memories of a class here has been Ethics, a course [for sophomores] that isn’t typically offered to many high school students,” said Lakumi Dias ’18 at the podium during this year’s Senior Class and Board of Trustees Dinner. Lakumi was selected as one of the event’s three senior speakers, along with Will Gao ’18 and Josh Zolkewitz ’18. “Those class discussions were some of the best I’ve had to this day,” she continued, beginning to smile, “and I came away from them knowing that the answer to most things is capitalism, but that’s only at 30,000 feet. Once you get lower, to about 1,000 feet, the answer is Iowa, the most important place in this country.” The audience burst into laughter while directing their gaze at a grinning Head of School Tom Wilschutz, who teaches Ethics and who, as you might’ve guessed, is from Iowa. And such is the spirit of the evening: memories shared that invoke laughter as well as happy tears, along with heartfelt tributes offered to the teachers, staff, and fellow students who’ve made a difference in each other’s lives. This annual dinner celebrates our seniors and their upcoming transition to alumni; it’s meant to kick off their final months at Solebury School in a meaningful way. Hosted by our Board of Trustees, a family-style meal is prepared by our talented dining staff and served by our Middle Schoolers who, one day, will be the seated guests. Continued next page
ABOVE: Andre Benoliel ’18 with teachers Michelle Gavin and Stacie Anastasio. TOP, RIGHT: Lakumi Dias ’18, one of our three senior speakers. MIDDLE: Zac Turner ’18. BOTTOM, FROM LEFT: Middle School students Marina Kobozeva ’22, Abby Salerno ’22, and Meghan Fay ’23.
Winter / Spring 2018
www.solebury.org
5
“The Class of 2018 are a group of independent, deep thinkers. They take the time to be thoughtful, quiet leaders who make differences by setting examples of kindness, civility, and humility.” -Dr. Jen Perez, senior class chair
At the dinner, the following seniors were given Founders Awards: Laurie Erskine Award for Literature: Sam Mauro ’18 Arthur H. Washburn Award for Science: Will Gao ’18 Arthur H. Washburn Award for Math: Zehang (Hans) Huang ’18 The Founders’ Award for Language: Mei Peng Rizzo ’18 Julian L. Lathrop Award for Social Science: Mei Peng Rizzo ’18 Karline Holmquist Award in Performing Arts: Teva Skovronek ’18 Karline Holmquist Award in Visual Arts: Olivia Lutz ’18 and Yanbo (Danny) Wang ’18 Karline Holmquist Award for Theater: Erik Daughterman ’18
6
The Magazine
TOP ROW, FROM LEFT: From 7th grade to senior year! Ben Weinberg ’18, Jake Goodman ’18, Eli Ziff ’18, Caitlin Miller ’18, Lorenz Markhoff ’18, Michael Melchiondo ’18, Ben Roxey ’18. SECOND ROW, FROM LEFT: Scott Bolenbaugh P’09, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, pins Olivia Lutz ’18 during the pinning ceremony. Coach Terri Miller P’16 ’18 with Will Gao ’18. THIRD ROW, FROM LEFT: Ben Weinberg ’18, Olivia Heffernan ’18, Erik Daughterman ’18, Teva Skovronek ’18, and Lorenz Markhoff ’18. Connor Fay ’18. BOTTOM, LEFT: Jackson Becker ’18. Visual Arts Department Head Erika Fairchild P’13.
Winter / Spring 2018
Beyond the books
Making the Grade Now for the fourth year in a row, the College Board has asked Solebury School’s Math Department Head Britta Milks to be an AP Calculus Reader. AP readers evaluate and score the free-response sections of the Advanced Placement exams. In early June, Britta will travel to Kansas City, MO, to join other high school teachers and college professors in this role. The experience is an incredible professional development opportunity, offering teachers an in-depth understanding of the AP exam, which in turn, helps inform how they can better teach their own students. “My teaching over the past few years, since I have been grading, has become more focused and polished,” Britta said. “There are some topics that are not included on the exam that I enjoy teaching and I still teach them, but I have moved them to after the AP exam so that my focus up until May is on AP curriculum topics. I never want to lose the ability to branch out into calculus topics that I enjoy, but I want to ensure that my students are appropriately prepared for the topics they will see on the exam.” Grading AP exams has not only informed when Britta covers certain topics, but also what she emphasizes in her classroom. “I have put a greater emphasis on language, proper notation, and
appropriate justification for responses. I introduce the proper way to craft responses from day one and help students build that skill throughout the curriculum when they encounter different topics. I want students to develop the skill of procedural fluency and sound reasoning in their responses,” she said. “I have found that students tend to be too wordy in their responses. They start with good notation and reasoning and then start to doubt themselves and keep explaining their answer. Usually when they do this, they end up saying something that is incorrect. On the AP exam, this can negate their entire answer. I work on this with my students and try to have them be succinct in their responses while hitting all of the key components of the question. It takes a great deal of practice to learn how to respond to questions appropriately.”
-by Deb O’Reilly
SAVE THE DATE for
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 2:00 - 5:00 pm Performing Arts Center
Visit solebury.org/tedx for speakers!
What is TEDx?
TEDx is a program to help independent organizers (like Solebury School) create TED-like events of their own. For more about TED Talks, brief videos that present great ideas, go to www.ted.com. Winter / Spring 2018
www.solebury.org
7
Storytelling Through Film New Solebury School faculty members with film industry experience have expanded and strengthened this focus of study, which teaches students a broad range of skills, from writing dialogue to project management. By HOLLY VICTOR ‘89 The day before winter break in late December, students from our Scene by Seen film class gathered outside in Solebury School’s driveway circle with their equipment, along with their teachers and a pair of student actors. They were met by longtime professional stuntman Manny Siverio, just in from New York City. He was on Solebury’s set that day to oversee safety and to teach students some of the skills required as they recreated an action/fight scene from the movie, The Fast and the Furious. With over 500 films and TV shows to his credit, Manny (shown left in the photo below) offered sage advice that transformed our students’ production exercise into a unique and safe learning experience.
Solebury’s Scene by Seen class is a hands-on introduction to producing and directing, taught by Doug Claybourne and Laura Napier, an award-winning producer and writer/director team. In the class, students learn multiple filmmaking techniques by staging and re-shooting scenes from film while discussing the production and directorial elements, aesthetics, and the philosophy of the individual director and/or producer during the making of a feature film. For this particular lesson, Filippo Meozzi ’20 directed the shoot performed by our student actors, Gabe Parsons ’19 and Chanler Sharpe ’19. Why The Fast and the Furious for this lesson? “Each trimester my co-instructor, Laura Napier, and I let the students choose scenes from a film that I produced or assistant-directed to recreate in class,” explained Doug, who served as executive producer of the film in 2001. “This group knew immediately what movie they wanted.” A veteran of the industry, Doug has produced or assistant-directed some of Hollywood’s most unforgettable films, including Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, as well as The Escape Artist, The Black Stallion, Rumble Fish, Peggy Sue Got Married, War of the Roses, The Mask of Zorro, and many more. “We want to give the kids real working knowledge of the film industry,” Laura said. “By the time the course is over, the students have filled each crew role, acted in scenes, and worked with pros like Manny. They are getting real, hands-on experience.”
Scene by Seen film students work with a professional stunt coordinator during a shoot.
8
The Magazine
“I think working with Doug has been a fantastic learning experience and has inspired me to do so much more with film,” said Filippo. “Doug is a great resource to have and he has great connections within the film community such as his colleague, Manny, who helped me learn how to frame physical interactions between the actors in the shot. Doug and Laura’s class has inspired me to write my own short film, and I am currently working on a script with two of my friends who are also in the class.”
Winter / Spring 2018
Scene by Seen is just one of several film classes that Solebury School students can enroll in this year. Brian Pearson teaches Digital Filmmaking, which gives students the opportunity to learn a modern set of technical skills. Brian is quick to point out, however, that while students learn the art of storytelling through writing, editing, digital cinematography, lighting, and audio recording, they also garner valuable lessons on how to see a project completely through, from idea to finished product. “My students learn project management skills, starting with how to be organized,” said Brian. “They learn how to work together in groups.... who is going to direct, act, or shoot? Everyone plays a role.” As the class plans their shoots, they often have to problem-solve on the quick; for example, rain might interrupt an outdoor shoot, or the subject of an interview might not show up on time or prepared. “My students have to learn how to cope with setbacks and how to change course, if necessary,” said Brian. “They learn how to operate our camera equipment but also how to be responsible for it. They learn how to take criticism when we review their work.” As he reflected on his class, he paused and then added, “This class really is one huge life lesson.” Brian has been an educator for 30 years, teaching everything from screenplay writing to guitar, complemented by a career in arts management and production. At Solebury School, Brian also teaches Screenplay Writing as well as Video Editing, where students learn to edit footage using software such as Adobe Premiere Pro™ and Adobe After Effects™. The class meets in the Visual Arts building and uses the eight new iMacs™ that the department had installed last summer for the 2017-18 school year. Brian’s classes also work in a room in the Barn Complex, and he has hopes to eventually expand their space.
Winter / Spring 2018
Video Editing students edit footage on a new suite of computers installed last summer.
“My students learn project management skills, starting with how to be organized. They learn how to work together in groups... who is going to direct, act, or shoot? Everyone plays a role. My students have to learn how to cope with setbacks and how to change course, if necessary. They learn how to operate our camera equipment but also how to be responsible for it. They learn how to take criticism when we review their work. This class really is one huge life lesson.” -Teacher Brian Pearson Rounding out this focus of study, students also have the opportunity to learn from Emmy-winner Chris Canaan, who joined our Visual Arts Department faculty this year. Chris recently relocated to New Hope from Los Angeles where he spent years writing for the long-running television series Walker, Texas Ranger and various other shows. Since his move, Chris has held workshops at the Bucks County Playhouse and teaches at The College of New Jersey. This fall at Solebury School, he taught “Anatomy of a Screenplay,” where students analyzed classic films, exploring the relationships between character and plot, discovering how structure supports narrative, and ultimately learning what it takes to
draft a disciplined, soundly constructed dramatic script. This winter, Chris is teaching a Screenplay Writing class on Monday evenings. Solebury School decided to open registration for the class to the public, as a service to the community. The class booked up immediately and garnered a lengthy waiting list. “I’m thrilled we have such a talented and experienced team of educators in film,” said Director of Studies Rick Tony. “Not only do students get the chance to do hands-on, creative work which results in a tangible product, they also learn invaluable life skills. Having observed some of these classes myself, I know our students are loving these offerings while learning a ton.”
www.solebury.org
9
T e ac h i n g C h a r act e r Through Social Studies Beginning this school year, all Solebury School sophomores are now required to take a yearlong Ethics class. Jared Levy, our new Social Studies department head, shares the thinking behind the decision and the various ways he and his fellow teachers help build students’ character. By Jared Levy
A Solebury School Social Studies class is a group of learners having a discussion around a table. All are equals in the most important ways, in the kindnesses they extend to one another and the respect they give mutually. All engage with each other on topics that strike the essence of what it is to be human. It’s no small task and it doesn’t happen every single day, but that’s the goal I see when I go from classroom to classroom, learning more about the department. It’s what I see in Russ Carrick’s class as students brainstorm around types of legislation for an AP Government project. It’s what I see in Angelo Coclanis’ World History classroom as clusters of students discuss ancient cultures. And it’s what I see in department meetings, where educators, like our students, sit with their legs folded across the knee or sprawled out on the edge of the table, listening deeply to each other, engaging, and building off of one another’s ideas.
10
The Magazine
Stepping into the role as the new Social Studies Department Head this year (after taking the reins from former Department Head Peter Ammirati), I feel a familiar pang of excitement in these meetings as I do in the classroom. I look around at experienced educators and young teachers, all peers, and I wonder, ‘What can we do?” So during one of the first department meetings of the year, I posed the question, “What do we teach as a Social Studies Department?” It was the kind of heady, open-ended philosophical question that our department excels at asking. And like the best educational moments in our classes, I was surprised and energized by our Ethics teacher Scott Eckstein’s answer: “Social Studies teaches character.” To me, character is considering received wisdoms. We guide our students through stories, facts, and theories. When it came
to determining how best to educate our students, the 10th grade felt like the right place to broaden to an Ethicsbased curriculum. Before this year, 10th graders had the option of either a second year of World History or an honors track, Honors Ethics. Honors Ethics students had, and continue to have, a unique educational experience, taught by three different teachers, one each trimester — Scott, Peter, and Head of School Tom Wilschutz. World History II students learn from teacher Martin Smith with an incredible depth of investigation into cultural institutions and different modes of cultural thought. The decision to switch to a broad Ethics curriculum, with a core syllabus available to all 10th graders and keeping the Honors offering in place, was motivated by considering our strengths and what we’re uniquely good at. It is uniquely Solebury to engender a spirit of deep questioning and rigor of
Winter / Spring 2018
thought. Students have their perspectives challenged, see others’ perspectives, and in turn, develop their own. This is part of character. The conviction to maintain your position only once you’ve examined others. Our students do that in many ways. Character, it seems to me, is also tied to individuals. When I think about the collection of people around our department meeting table, it makes me so happy to see a diversity of styles and mindsets. I’m so impressed by the honest ways in which we communicate with one another. Our offerings have grown with Kristina Bauman bringing Anthropology into the department, and Don Kaplan’s mix of simulation activities and teaching foundational skills of research. We are a department of storytelling in a time where stories are so powerful, but facts matter, too. As for me, for the past four years, I’ve taught a class on Creative Nonfiction. My goal is to have students own their own stories, question facts, learn about the history of writing, and question the relationship between art and fact. This is similar to a new class I taught with Science Department Head Cari Nelson last fall, called Moral Conflicts. In that class, we applied science to philosophy, exploring different forms of truth. As collaborators, Cari and I shared space in the classroom and in our discussions of science and morality. The results were a large, dynamic class that questioned everything from the ethics of nuclear disarmament to abortion. Each topic asked students to develop arguments and consider the process of coming to have a position. Our inquiry was so deep that we challenged each other to do the same, considering our process of designing curriculum and teaching effectively. But never is the dual power of stories and facts more clear to me than when I take students to debate tournaments. (I am also the advisor of Solebury School’s Debate Team, which I founded a few years ago.) We have an incredible group of students
Winter / Spring 2018
that continue to amaze me in their public speaking skills, reasoning, and ability to consider multiple perspectives in a debate. In a recent interview, former President Obama discussed how we don’t share a set of facts anymore. In Lincoln Douglas, the form of debate our students compete in most often, the students start from that place: here is a shared set of facts and values, now what? Who can better support their positions? It is not one fixed truth, but an exercise in perspective: what if someone can better understand their position in the face of that set of facts? So with all these experiences, both personal and departmental, informing
changes in both the way I teach and the direction of Social Studies Department, I come back to the basic image of the table. We, as a department, return to the table every two weeks with unique experiences and perspectives. Sometimes we energize one another and feed off of each other’s ideas. We share incredible lessons we taught or workshop a homework assignment. Other times, we spin our wheels on a sticky problem, like how to effectively teach research methods. But each meeting, I believe we start from the place of teaching character, and from my position at the table, looking all around, I see incredible, energizing examples of character every day.
www.solebury.org
11
Summer 2018 Classes These classes are not just for Solebury School students, but open to all high schoolers (see the opposite page for three middle school offerings, too).
Register at solebury.org/summer today!
Geometry June 25-July 27
Five-Week Courses for Credit Finish a full-year course in five weeks, freeing up your schedule to take more advanced classes during the school year. Each class offers six credits upon completion. Please go to solebury.org/summer for required prerequisites and costs.
Chemistry June 25-July 27 This course engages students with topics concerning matter and how matter changes. We will discuss the scientific
the tools, such as stoichiometry, to analyze and understand chemical reactions both qualitatively and quantitatively, and practice these skills in the laboratory. Finally, we will study thermodynamics; modern atomic theory; the behavior of solids, liquids and gases; nuclear energy; and when time allows, we will introduce biochemistry in preparation for Biology. Throughout the course, problem-solving skills are emphasized and fostered along with writing lab reports. Taught by Sarah Lanzetta.
method, chemistry’s historical significance, atomic theory, the arrangement of the Periodic Table of Elements, and chemical nomenclature. We will focus on chemical reactions and their representation in chemical equations, and we will develop
The purpose of the course is for students to discover the conjectures and definitions of geometry through hands-on investigations. Students will learn to apply deductive and inductive reasoning as they examine geometric proofs. Relationships and properties such as congruence, symmetry, similarity, parallelism, and perpendicularity will be examined in depth. Additionally, students will investigate the properties of circles, right triangle trigonometry, and formulas relating to plane and solid figures. Inherent in the course is the development of critical-thinking skills, logic, and geometrical visualization. Time permitting, a review of algebra will be included at the conclusion of the course, as most students will be entering Algebra II the following year. Taught by Michelle Gavin.
Pre-Calculus June 25-July 27 This course is designed to further the study of trigonometry and its applications. Topics will include the unit circle, the six trig functions, trig identities, the law of sines, the law of cosines, “real world” applications of these functions, and selected applications in physics. Then, we will introduce functions and relations focusing on conic sections, exponential, logarithmic, and rational functions. This course enables students to move on to the Calculus AB course. Taught by Matt Baron.
12
The Magazine
Winter / Spring 2018
Two-Week Courses for Enrichment Take a deep dive into a subject of interest! Some of these classes offer credits. Go to solebury.org/summer for more details and costs.
Franklin Institute is included. Taught by MIT grad Dan Perez, for students entering 7th-12th grade of all experience levels. Two science elective credits offered.
Introduction to Robotics with LEGO® MINDSTORMS® June 25 - July 6 no class July 4 This class will explore robotic design and programming principles through entertaining games and challenges. A day trip to LEGOLAND® Discovery Center in Plymouth Meeting, PA is included. Taught by Dan Perez, for students entering 7th-12th grade of all levels of robotics experience. No credits offered.
Rock Band Workshop July 16-27 Learn to play in a band, lead and rehearse a band, and discover what makes a good performer. All students will perform in a live concert on the last day of class! Students should bring their own instruments. Taught by professional musician Cathy Block, for those entering 7th-10th grades. No credits offered.
College Essay Writing Workshop July 9-20 One of Solebury School’s most popular electives, take this course in the summer with less distractions and achieve your goal: an epic college admissions essay that is compelling, vivid, structured, and meaningful. Taught by English Dept. Head Sarah Sargent, for those entering 10th-12 grade. Limited to 12 students. Two English credits offered.
Global Justice June 25 - July 6 no class July 4 How does a country, such as Germany after World War II or South Africa after apartheid, heal its wounds? This class will begin with a
Winter / Spring 2018
focus on South Africa, using it as a foundation to study how other nations have confronted racism in their history. We will explore how societies damaged by hate might help people heal and move forward through deliberate action, including recent movements in the U.S., with the goal of finding hope in these actions. Taught by Hanna Howe, for students entering 9th-12 grades. Two Social Studies elective credits offered.
Introduction to Engineering July 9-20 Learn basic engineering design methods and apply them to solve fun design challenges. We will use teamwork and creativity combined with technology, including 3-D printers and laser cutters, to find solutions to a number of missions. A day trip to the
If you have any questions about our summer classes, please contact Summer Programs Coordinator Staci Freer at sfreer@solebury.org or at 215.862.5261.
www.solebury.org
13
Building a Service Mindset
All Solebury School students must complete at least 10 hours of community service by graduation. This year, students have had a wide variety of opportunities to get involved and give back, thanks to our exceptional Community Service Club. By Holly Victor ’89
On Martin Luther King Day, Solebury School student Carly Feld ’19 and 55 other students, teachers, and parents made cozy fleece blankets for Alliance Cancer Specialists in Doylestown. Inspired by the experience of a classmate’s father, Carly wanted to lessen the discomfort experienced by many chemotherapy patients. “Almost everyone is affected by cancer,” she explained. “We are hoping to make this an annual tradition.” Meanwhile, Elke Krieger ’18 worked with classmates on refurbishing furniture to be sold at the Network of Victims Assistance (NOVA) Thrift Store. NOVA supports, counsels, and empowers victims of sexual assault and other serious crimes in Bucks County and works to prevent and eliminate violence in society through advocacy, training, community education, and prevention programs.
14
The Magazine
Winter / Spring 2018
“Student involvement can make life better for victims of crime right here in our county,” explains Solebury School parent and NOVA volunteer Nancy Vander Zwan P’19. “We often get pieces at the Thrift Store that could earn real money for us if they were refurbished. But we don’t have the time and, frankly, we are limited in our creativity. This important partnership offers community service experience for the students and provides counseling and services for people in need.” “If we make a chair nice enough to sell for $50, for example,” said Sarah Sargent, “that provides the resources for what it takes to represent a victim in court or to provide a training class.” Sarah is the Community Service Club advisor as well as Solebury School’s English Department Head. The Martin Luther King day of service is just one of many efforts from the Solebury School Community Service Club to better their school and the world around them. “Service is at the core of our community. We work hard to show our students how to turn their philanthropic impulses into action and provide opportunities for service,” said Sarah. “While the Service Club is new this year, it’s rooted in a tradition of service that goes back decades.” Earlier this year, the club raised over $3000 in support of five organizations that provided direct relief to hurricane victims of Harvey, Irma, and Nate. The club organized a trip to volunteer at Tabby’s Place, a no-kill shelter for cats. They also arranged for 15 students to volunteer at Carversville Farm Foundation, a farm providing healthy options for foodinsecure families in the area. This spring, Community Service Club member Ellie Herman ’18 is organizing a collection drive to assemble hygiene kits for women affected by natural
Winter / Spring 2018
TOP AND OPPOSITE PAGE: Community Service Club members, volunteers, and faculty members spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the Crib refurbishing furniture for resale at NOVA’s thrift store. BOTTOM: In the library that same day, Carly Feld ’19 instructed volunteers on how to make blankets for chemotherapy patients.
disasters across the globe. This is the focus of her capstone project for Teach2Serve, Solebury School’s rigorous multi-year program that inspires students to create solutions to problems they identify in the world, often through community service.
“We want to solidify a service-mindset in students while they’re young,” explains Jacob Potter ’19, who helped get the club off the ground. “Teenagers want to help, but don’t always know where to start. They’re invited to come by and see what’s up — everyone is welcome.”
www.solebury.org
15
ALUMNI Spotlight
Mark Cosgrove ’74 Musician Mark Cosgrove sat in Solebury School’s Performing Arts Center, a building he once called the school gym, a spacious barn-like structure sometimes described as Noah’s Ark flipped over. An hour from now, he would be on stage performing a guitar concert for the school. Yet in this moment, with the house lights up and the airy space deserted, his thoughts drifted through the misty hallways of memory. By LAUREN ECKSTEIN
“I remember being right in this room during Arts Festival,” he said. “We would create combos and perform. We were pretty bad. But it was exciting and I got bitten by it. Those were the years when I got addicted to music.” Mark graduated from Solebury School in 1974 and went on to become a successful guitar player. He has played solo, in bands, toured around the U.S. and Europe, and won national guitarpicking competitions. In December, he performed at an all-school assembly, returning to the place that helped inspire him to pursue music. “Solebury absolutely played a role,” he said. “I could not have imagined that I would be back here playing. It’s a tremendous honor and a treat to come back.” It was the summer of 1970 when Mark first arrived at Solebury School. He grew up in Manhattan, but his parents wanted him to attend high school outside of the city. He came for pre-season soccer and moved into the Boys Dorm, which was then located in the Barn’s Lower Wing. Back then, he said, things were quite different. “There was a porch off the back of the dorm called the smoker’s terrace,” he laughed. “It was loose around the edges, not a buttoned-up private school. But it was a very creatively inspiring place. There were wonderful instructors.”
Mark, in front of the Barn’s Lower Wing where he used to board as a student in the 1970s.
16
The Magazine
By the time he arrived at Solebury School, Mark was already interested in music. He grew up in a home filled with classical music — his mother was a costume and set designer for Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera who won a Tony Award in 1948 — yet he was drawn to the drums and especially guitar. At Solebury, Mark met a group of friends who spent their time listening to music, playing music, and getting hooked on music. He remembers being especially supported and influenced by his math teacher, Bruce Berg. “He was an algebra teacher and he played the fiddle,” said
Winter / Spring 2018
Mark. “We were just starting to dabble in bluegrass and folk. He singled me out a little bit and really was an encouraging figure.” Mark said that his love of music grew at Solebury, influenced by the creative atmosphere of the school and the friends and teachers who surrounded him. A smile stretched across his face as he talked about David Rynerson ’73, Carl Klingler ’74, Peter Kane ’70, and Betsy Day ’73. “I was nurtured and it was the luck of the draw about who you fell in with in life,” he said. “You realize, that was a miracle. I sure don’t regret the time I had here and the friends I had here. They were special parts of my life.” After graduating from Solebury School, Mark attended Bucks County Community College. Yet the pull of music was strong, so after two semesters at school, he jumped into the local music scene and worked at a construction company as his day job. “I was a carpenter who played music. Then I was a contractor who played music,” he said. “I was working 40 hours a week and playing music three or four nights, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. I don’t know how I did that. But I slogged on and got better.” When he was in his 30s, Mark got interested in flatpicking, a guitarpicking technique that creates a bright, crisp, metallic sound. He heard about small competitions across the country, offering $25 or $100 prizes, but that wasn’t his style. “I could have started small,” he smiled. “That would have been a good idea, but no. I had to go to the biggest one.” Mark went to the U.S. National Flatpicking Guitar Championship in Winfield, Kansas. He aimed high. And he lost. “I miserably failed,” he said. But he didn’t give up. Mark practiced for seven years and his hard work paid off. In 1994, he won the Doc Watson guitar competition and in 1995, he won first place in the U.S. National Flatpicking Guitar Championship. “It was a good
Winter / Spring 2018
Music Department Head Cathy Block booked Mark Cosgrove ’74 (accompanied by bassist Larry Cohen and guitarist Peter Lorch) for a performance at an all-school assembly in December.
thing that looks good on a resume,” said Mark modestly.
speed. The audience was riveted. In every row, heads bobbed and toes tapped.
Since then, he has been busy. He plays guitar around the country and in Europe. He has released seven CDs. He has his own band and also plays with the David Bromberg Quintet. He has become a full-time musician. “I don’t do any more carpentry,” he said. “I have no day job whatsoever. I am 61 years old, and to be traveling all over and playing music and doing well, I just feel very, very grateful.” While his competition days are over, Mark said he continues to love playing and improving. “I’m always tinkering and trying to get better,” he said. “You learn things all the time.”
Between songs, he reminisced. “We used to play basketball here,” he laughed. “I met so many interesting people here. The people here helped form my life and my music.”
Back inside the Performing Arts Center, the students shuffled in, the lights went down, and Mark along with fellow musicians Peter Lorch and Larry Cohen, took the stage. A rich, infectious sound burst into the air as Mark’s fingers exploded with activity, flying up and down the neck of his guitar. He shook his head and furrowed his brow slightly, playing with intensity, precision, sensitivity, and
After an hour, the audience erupted in cheers and the current “guitar gods” of Solebury School rushed to the stage to meet their new idol. As the students stood in an awkward semi-circle around Mark, they seemed a bit starstruck and speechless. Before the concert started, as he sat in the empty theater, Mark said that he hoped his performance would resonate with the kids in the audience, especially those who were interested in music. “I’d be delighted if I opened up their ears a bit or inspired them to try something.” Now, an eager collection of awed young musicians formed around Mark. “That was ridiculous,” said Aidan Holtz ’20. And it was instantly clear that Mark’s wish had come true.
www.solebury.org
17
ALUMNI Spotlight
A Visit From Joyce Bulifant ’56 By Deb O’Reilly Photos by Kelli Abdoney In Solebury School’s Founders Library on a chilly night in November, and despite a nasty cold, the charismatic actor, writer, and consummate professional Joyce Bulifant ’56 entertained fans with stories from her memoir, My Four Hollywood Husbands. The visit was a welcome stop on Joyce’s book tour.
18
The Magazine
“You are all so fortunate to be at Solebury,” Joyce told the crowd. “Whether you are a student, parent, aunt, uncle, or grandparent of someone at Solebury, you are very lucky. Solebury School changed my life.”
MacArthur ’56, who would eventually
It was in the 1950s as a boarding student at Solebury when Joyce met the late James
Five-0.) Joyce attended Solebury School
become her first husband. (The son of Helen Hayes and playwright Charles MacArthur, James was also a successful actor, most recognized for his role as Dan “Danno” Williams on the original Hawaii from 7th to 12 grade, and it was here where
Winter / Spring 2018
OPPOSITE PAGE: Joyce and Franca Warden P’68 ’73 ’79 ’83. ABOVE: Joyce’s husband, Roger Perry, accompanied her on keyboards for several songs.
her dyslexia was identified and where she ultimately overcame her struggle to learn to read. It’s where she also fell in love with the theater. After graduation, Joyce embarked on a successful career on Broadway and in Hollywood, starring in dozens of plays, films, and TV shows, including beloved roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Airplane!, Love Thy Neighbor, and Match Game. Theatrics ensued in her personal life, however, as Joyce navigated two more “Hollywood” marriages, to Edward Mallory (Dr. Bill Horton on Days of Our Lives) and William Asher, the famous director-writer-producer of I Love Lucy, Bewitched, and the Beach Party movies. Her current husband Roger Perry, a composer and actor, joined her on the book tour. Joyce has also devoted much of her life to campaigning for children’s rights as Executive Vice President of The Dyslexia Foundation, a former trustee of the Orton Dyslexia Foundation Board, and founder of The Dyslexia Awareness program. At the event, Joyce sang a few songs (with Roger accompanying her on keyboard)
Winter / Spring 2018
and shared stories from the book —
donated 50% of those sales to Solebury
some sweet, some nostalgic, and some
School’s Arts program.
hilarious. She took questions from the
Afterwards, Joyce and Roger joined the
audience and signed copies of the book,
audience of Solebury’s fall production,
sold by Farley’s Bookshop, co-sponsor
The Hollow, where she shared, “I had my
of this special evening. Joyce generously
first audition right on this stage.”
From My Four Hollywood Husbands, by Joyce Bulifant ’56 Mother and her beau Charles drove me from scary New York City to the serene countryside of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. After passing through the charming town of New Hope, we traveled up a hill lined with oak trees and arrived at a beautiful farmhouse and barn that had become Solebury, a coed boarding school. A blue and white sign swung gently at the entrance. The sign marked not only the entrance to a wonderful school, but the entrance to a whole new life for me.
For more on Joyce, visit JoyceBulifant.com. To purchase the book, visit amazon.com.
www.solebury.org
19
Alumni News
Young Alumni Day 2018
On Wednesday, January 10, Solebury School welcomed back dozens of recent grads to Walter Lamb Hall. Among them were many alumni from the Class of 2017; we were happy to hear that Solebury had prepared them well for the rigors of college. During the event, Head of School Tom Wilschutz posed this question...
WHAT HAVE YOU MISSED MOST ABOUT SOLEBURY SCHOOL?
“All of the teachers.”
“The unique sense of community.” “The foosball tourneys.”
“Brunch!” “The community.”
“The close friends I made here.” “The theater.” “The close-knit community.”
“SLAM.” “The dance team and performing at basketball games.”
“The teachers.” “I miss
“The campus and the community.” everything.” “The friendliness and sense “The wrestling team.” of open-mindedness.” 20
The Magazine
Winter / Spring 2018
TOP ROW: A fantastic group of people! MIDDLE, FROM LEFT: Emily Webb ’14, Hannah Dorph ’15, Claire Batchelder ’13, Abby Klapper ’13. Noah Sadoff ’16 and JR Madey ’16. Joshua Reinstein ’15, Jian Dempsey ’14, Jonathan Fleming ’16. BOTTOM, LEFT: A group from the Class of 2017. BOTTOM, RIGHT: Associate Head of School Steve Buteux, Kate Voynow ’16, Hannah Dorph ’15.
Photos by Kelli Abdoney
Winter / Spring 2018
www.solebury.org
21
Alumni News
Schedule of Events Solebury School
2018
Reunion Weekend Reconnect, reminisce, and/or network with your fellow Solebury School alums this spring! We’ve planned a weekend full of events to suit every interest, and many are kid-friendly.
Friday, May 4
3:00 - 4:00 pm Registration
School memorabilia available for purchase.
7:00 - 11:00 pm
Solebury’s Annual Dinner & Auction at Lambertville Station A Gatsby Gala Join us for a roaring extravaganza of food, drinks, live music, and fun! $125 per person, reservations required
Saturday, May 5 9:30 - 11:00 am Registration School memorabilia available for purchase.
10:00 - 11:00 am
2:00 - 3:00 pm Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony Honor those inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Memorial Service
3:00 - 5:00 pm
(behind Founders’ Library) Rain Location: Abbe Science Building Honor the memory of alumni and friends of Solebury School who are recently deceased.
Burger and Beer Bash
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Strategic Plan Update
A relaxed, super-fun party benefiting Solebury’s Page and Otto Marx Jr. Endowed Fund. $10.00 per person, reservations required
1960s Reunion Gathering
Head of School Tom Wilschutz discusses the State of the School. Q&A to follow.
Celebrate the ‘60s at Solebury School and meet with Head of School Tom Wilschutz.
12:00 - 1:30 pm
6:30 - 8:00 pm
Buffet Lunch
Alumni Reception
Complimentary
Complimentary
Please RSVP at
solebury.org/reunion2018
Sunday, May 6 10:00 am Farewell Brunch Join your classmates for a complimentary farewell brunch!
22
The Magazine
Winter / Spring 2018
Alumni News
Alumni
Burger & Beer Bash Saturday, May 5, 2018 3:00 - 5:00PM
$10.00 per person, reservations required This event, one of the highlights of Reunion Weekend, supports a great cause! All of the proceeds go to Solebury’s Page and Otto Marx Jr. Endowed Fund, which provides tuition assistance to students of color with demonstrated financial need. Since 2000, the Page and Otto Marx Jr. Foundation has challenged Solebury School to grow its endowment and sustain its tuition support for underrepresented populations. This school year, the fund awarded more than $60,000 in financial assistance to Solebury students. Marx Scholarship recipients have gone on to attend a number of prestigious institutions, from Haverford to Morehouse, Bryn Mawr to Smith.
Join us at the Burger and Beer Bash and support our students!
Athletic Hall of Fame 2018 Induction Ceremony Saturday, May 5, 2018 • 2:00PM At h l e t i c C e n t e r
Please join us as we celebrate these stand-out athletes and induct them into the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018!
Carlton Carter ’98 • Thomas Hedges ’08 • Candido Rivera ’88 Winter / Spring 2018
www.solebury.org
23
An Extravaganza of Food, Drinks, Live Music, and Fun!
Join us for Solebury School’s annual dinner auction,
The Gatsby Gala is also a wonderful opportunity to
hosted by the Home and School Association.
share fabulous food, cocktails, and a moonlit view of
The auction continues to be the School’s largest
the Delaware River from the gorgeous ballroom at
fundraising event, supporting educational programs,
the Lambertville Station with fellow parents, faculty,
student activities, and facility improvements.
alumni, and friends of Solebury School.
Come dressed to party the 1920s way! Themed attire is encouraged, but not required.
Friday, May 4, 2018
Lambertville Station’s Riverside Ballroom Want to help make the night a roaring success? Join the party! Send in your RSVP card (invitations were mailed earlier this month), or RSVP online at solebury.org/auction. On the website, you can also get a sneak peek of our auction items!
We are also looking for auction sponsors. If interested, please contact Auction Manager Jessica Harms at jharms@solebury.org.
solebury.org/auction 24
The Magazine
Winter / Spring 2018
Auction 2018 Special Appeal
A New Lighting System for the Barn Theater! During the last five years, the Barn Theater has undergone a transformation, with all new seating, improved sound system, and a new tech booth installed to support our SoleStage Players’ increasingly ambitious productions. There is one final piece to the proverbial puzzle: a new lighting system. “A new LED lighting system will not only offer the school huge savings down the road on our electricity bill, but my students will be able to learn how to operate a modern system, one that professional theaters as well as college theater programs use,” says Tech Director Peter Martino. “Once the funds are secured and the theater is prepped this summer, the installation will take less than two weeks,” adds Theater Director Shawn Wright. “And the best part is, The Haley Foundation has generously committed to match, dollar for dollar, every gift made to this project up to $50,000, so your gift has twice the impact.”
This project benefits the entire Solebury community as the Barn Theater hosts special guest speakers and events, and our summer theater camps.
What Is a Special Appeal? During the live auction, we seek donations to fund a specific program or project. Last spring, the Special Appeal raised funding for a new HVAC system in the dining hall, which was installed last summer. The appeal also launched our Home and School Above & Beyond Endowed Award for Faculty and Staff, now awarded every June at the close of school. If you attend the auction, please donate during our Special Appeal, which will be featured during the live auction. If you’re not able to attend, you can make your gift online at solebury.org/auction.
Many thanks to The Haley Foundation for their outstanding support of Solebury’s theater program! Solebury School is a 501c3 corporation and all Special Appeal contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Winter / Spring 2018
www.solebury.org
25
A l u m n i N e ws a n d C lass N o t e s
Alma’s Update CLASS of 1999
Sean Scolnick (aka Langhorne Slim) has a new album out, Lost at Last Vol 1. He and his band appeared on Conan in November and have been on tour in support of the new album.
CLASS of 2006
Tristanne Davis has been hired by Green Blue, an environmental consulting firm in Charlottesville, VA.
CLASS OF 2016
Jonathan Fleming will study Physical
Submit a Class note We’d love to hear from you! Please write us about your promotions, new jobs, retirements, moves, trips, babies, grandbabies, or whatever you’d like to share.
Mail: Solebury School Attn: The Alumni Office 6832 Phillips Mill Road New Hope, PA 18938
E-Mail:
destroyed and vegetation above 35 feet decapitated. The earth’s largest rainforest palm lay on its back like a stricken dinosaur. It will take months, possibly years, to
Theatre in the beautiful countryside of Arezzo, Italy, for four months this fall. There, he will hone his craft and hopes to visit a few European countries along the way.
rebuild and recover from this first taste of global warming.
CLASS OF 1955
Renee Rosengarten Hurewitz has seven grandchildren all in different stages of schooling. It reminds her of her own experiences at Solebury School, especially in 1950 when Headmaster Bill Orrick tried
FACULTY Stacie Anastasio Athletic Trainer Stacie Anastasio and her wife, Jessie, welcomed their first child in November, a sweet baby boy named Jamie. He arrived five weeks early but is thriving and charming everyone on campus!
hard to keep her rambunctious 8th grade on
alumni@solebury.org Class Notes are edited for length and clarity, and they will be published online.
the straight and narrow.
CLASS OF 1976
James Richard McQuillar says hello
CLASS OF 1947
from Midwest City, OK. Happily married for 34 years, he’s the proud grandpa of
Peter Whelan escaped the ferocious
four grandbabies. Currently working as a
Hurricane Irma on one of the last planes out
Contract Officer and Program manager
of Key West. The return was shocking. His
at Tinker Air Force Base. He would love
small enclave at the end of his street looked
to reconnect with all of his classmates,
like wartime annihilation, with rare palms
including Nat Croskey ’75.
26
The Magazine
Winter / Spring 2018
Alma’s Update
OBITUARIES
active former board member of Social
Equus, and Dancin’. The studio also built
Venture Partners MN as well as a board
sets for David Bowie, Tina Turner, The
W. Lawrence Kimber ’33
member of Art Buddies. She was awarded
Rolling Stones, and for Ringling Bros. and
the Organization Development Professional
Barnum & Bailey Circus. In addition, he
of the Year from M.A.P. for Nonprofits.
taught theater production at New York
Earlier in her career she was a manager
University and at Brandeis University. In
for the Guthrie Theatre’s Community
the early 1980s, he opened an architectural
Outreach Programs and had worked for the
design studio, Jim Hamilton & Company.
United Way in St. Paul. She was a tireless
The firm designed restaurants, homes, and
champion of many other causes but she
commercial projects.
W. Lawrence Kimber ’33 passed away on February 22, 2016. Born William Lawrence Kimber, he earned an engineering degree from Haverford College in 1937. For over 40 years, Mr. Kimber worked for Leeds & Northrup, a Philadelphia-based manufacturing firm. Lawrence was instrumental in reopening the Orchard Park Friends Meeting in 1958 for weekly worship. He remained an active member as clerk, treasurer, and trustee. His hobbies and interests included sailing, tennis, skiing, windsurfing, and hunting, and he also enjoyed delivering Meals on Wheels.
Kay Delcher ’57 Kay Delcher ’57 died November 30, 2016. She spent most of her adult years in Wimberley, TX, in her beloved home on Lone Man Creek, not far from her church. Born in Philadelphia, she moved to Texas as soon as she could. Kay loved dogs and cats and put them above most people. Her handful of close friends were fierce in their devotion to her.
Ellen Mitchell Gallagher ’68 Ellen Mitchell Gallagher ’68 of Minneapolis and La Jolla, CA, a lovely and gentle spirit, died on October 27, 2017 surrounded by family, friends, and her devoted husband Gary, who was the love of her life. Ellen graduated with a psychology degree from the University of Wisconsin, receiving her MA in counseling at the Alfred Adler Institute of Chicago. She went on to earn
also brought to the smallest interactions of daily life her attention and love. She possessed a unique ability to impact lives. Throughout her long illness, Ellen inspired everyone with her courage. She had a kind and generous spirit and a gift for gathering friends around her, while making each one feel uniquely appreciated. She was a woman of great depth, moral character, inner strength, exquisite taste, keen intellect and a wicked sense of humor. She always sought to make this world a better place and she did.
Jim Hamilton P ’74 ’78 ’82 GP ’10 ’14 James H. P. Hamilton, restaurateur and visionary, who designed showrooms for Oleg Cassini, windows for Tiffany & Co., displays and lighting for Steuben Glass, the launch of the Ford Mustang at the 1964 World’s Fair, and the stage and film sets for Give ’Em Hell Harry, died on Feb. 2, 2018, from complications from diabetes at The Actors Fund Home in Englewood, NJ. He was 86. As a teenager, Mr. Hamilton was hired to paint scenery for St. John Terrell’s Music Circus in Lambertville, NJ. He worked his way up to set designer,
Born in 1931 to Dr. Lloyd A. and Marguerite P. Hamilton, Jim Hamilton grew up, worked, and lived in Lambertville for most of his life. Though he was a longtime resident and an active member of the neighboring New Hope, PA, community where he raised his family, he was dedicated to his hometown. In 1979, he designed a master plan for Lambertville’s moribund commercial district, and then set out to execute it. His vision was to retain the city’s small river- town ambiance while encouraging local businesses and restaurants. Once a week, he and the city’s building official offered a free one-stop service to local property owners, who received design services for their buildings and the necessary permits to proceed with them. In Lambertville, he designed The Swan Hotel Bar, The Boat House, and his own restaurant, Hamilton’s Grill Room, which he opened with his daughter, Melissa, in 1988. The Grill Room was one of the first restaurants in the region to offer local meat, fish, and produce, and it remains a landmark. With his neighbors, he created Shad Fest, an annual event celebrating the federal Clean Water Act and the subsequent return of the shad to
a summer job he held for five years. He
the Delaware River off Lambertville. He
attended Brown University, received a
loved cooking elaborate meals, and he
degree from Rhode Island School of Design
frequently offered his cooking skills for
in 1953, and went to graduate school in fine
and leadership. She was also an instructor
community and social causes. He once
arts at Yale. In 1956, following service in the
at the University of St. Thomas.
said that the greatest tribute he received
Army, Jim founded a scenic design and set-
Deeply caring, Ellen was a passionate
was from an inmate who deferred his
building studio, Design Associates, with his
release from the New Jersey Correctional
philanthropist and unparalleled in her
mentor, Charlie Evans. Design Associates,
Facility by three weeks in order to finish
generosity. She was founder and president
housed in a former roller-skating rink in
a cooking class he taught at the prison.
of The Marjorie Weil and Marvin Edward
Lambertville, produced scenery for many
The State of New Jersey and City of
Mitchell Foundation, served as president
Broadway shows, including the original
Lambertville declared Sept. 17, 2005,
for Chrysalis Center for Women, was an
productions of Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar,
as Jim Hamilton Day.
further certificates in her field and was an accomplished consultant in executive coaching, team development, management
Winter / Spring 2018
www.solebury.org
27
Help Our Students Continue to Soar
Here’s how to make your state tax dollars work for Solebury School Qualifying businesses can use Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC) to redirect their state taxes from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to Solebury School, where they will provide financial aid for Pennsylvania students who qualify. It’s a terrific, nearly cost-free opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our students — more than half of whom receive some form of financial aid.* Available tax credits move quickly through this program so we advise applying on, or as close to, the application date, as possible.
Requalifiying Business Application Date: May 15th New Business Application Date: July 3rd
What Is EITC? EITC provides Pennsylvania companies with a 75% tax credit for donations to a non-profit scholarship or educational improvement organization (like Solebury School). If the business commits to making the same donation for two consecutive years, the tax credit increases to 90%. By combining this tax credit with federal deductions for charitable gifts, the scholarship donation is virtually cost-free to businesses.
Learn More Feel free to contact Heather Gaghan, Annual Fund Manager, at hgaghan@solebury.org or at 215.862.5261 with any questions you may have about the program and its process. You may also go to solebury.org/EITC for information as well. *Students must be residents of Pennsylvania to receive EITC funding.
28
The Magazine
Winter / Spring 2018
$tart a Tab $tart a Tab at Mike’s at Cafe Mike’s Cafe
Check
Check Out Check Out a aOut Book a Book From From the Book From the the Library Library Library Go on a Go on a Weekend Weekend Trip Trip
Stop Into Stop Into the Carriage the Carriage HoUse and HoUse and say Hello say Hello
Participate Participate Every Day Every Day of One of One Spirit Week Spirit Week
/ '#.ū.) / '#.ū.)
,MlRal^ @p ,MlRal^ @p Become a aRRMM Become a
aRRMM SHERPA aqmM SHERPA aqmM
Make an Make an Announcement Announcement at at Assembly Assembly
Send Send a aLost Losta Send Item Lost Email Email Email
Eat Lunch Go to a Talk to Go to a Eat Lunch with a Talk to ������t�� Julie ������t�� with a �o����t Teacher Julie �o����t Teacher
6853 6853
)5(( )5(( Go to Go to Soccer Soccer Under the Under the Lights Lights
See the See the Winter Winter ���i��� ���i���
ȵʋɛ ȵ Walk the ȵʋɛ ȵ Walk the ·ɸˆ˙ȵʎ Horseshoe ·ɸˆ˙ȵʎ ˀ˔ˆ ʎȵˆˆ Horseshoe Trail ˀ˔ˆ ʎȵˆˆ Trail
Join a Join a Club Club Go to a Go to a Rock Band
A S=N@A@ Rock Band or Jazz A S=N@A@ %KQOA -KEJPO or Jazz Roots %KQOA -KEJPO Roots Concert
This chart was created by Erik Daughterman ’18.
High High Five Five Tom Tom
Participate Participate in a in a ����e ����e ���petiti�n ���petiti�n ÷ƀŇ ƚƍ XŘƭĆƈƓ ÷ƀŇ ƚƍ XŘƭĆƈƓ ĬƓđƫƄĥƘ PƚƝ÷ |ń ĬƓđƫƄĥƘ PƚƝ÷ |ń ĴĆ rƎƋƞƛŘŇƘ rưƀć ĴĆ rƎƋƞƛŘŇƘ rưƀć
Concert
“I had been thinking of everything I have done/accomplished while at Solebury,” Erik shared. “That made me think of what I wanted to do before I left. Then I sort of pictured a list, which became a bingo board...”
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Bellmawr, NJ Permit No. 280
6832 Phillips Mill Road New Hope, PA 18938-9682 Address service requested
Save The Date
Reunion Weekend................ May 4-6 TEDx Event............................May 23 Graduation............................. June 9 For all events, please visit solebury.org.