Spartan magazine, Winter 2018 by St. Stephen's Episcopal School

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Winter 2018

Faculty Innovation: Enhancing the Student Experience

C O NTENTS

2 Head Lines 3 Planning for Our Future 4 Celebrating Generations of Giving

PHOTO S COVER: Master potter Lisa Orr preparing the school’s 3-D ceramics printer for a new project Alexander Valdez maneuvers a robot on club sign-up day; Sixth graders prepare to decant honey from the school hives; Members of the Class of 2021 celebrate Homecoming: Chelsea Saucedo, Bella SalazarHarper, Salma Mohamed, Linda Liu and Olivia Korensky

head of school

Faculty Innovation

5 Enhancing the Student Experience 11 Invasion of the Spiderbots 12 Educational Technology in Action Spartan Life

Christopher L. Gunnin

editor Anne Marie Becka

class notes editor Nolu McIlraith ’12

design Ellen Buckmaster, Bucko Design

14 Building Media Literacy 15 Senior Academic Achievements 16 A Honey of a Harvest 17 Student Life on Instagram 18 Spartans Dominate at Fall SPCs 19 Parents’ Association Update 20 Supporting the Annual Fund, First! Alumni News

21 Reunion 2017 25 Q&A with Jennifer Stayton ’85 26 Sarah Aubrey ’90

contributors Christine Aubrey Lou Porter Bailey ’71 Cynthia Bartek Nicole Blandford Sherry Buchanan Chris Caselli ’82 Veer Chauhan ’19 Margaret Gardiner Troy Lanier Jon McCain Nolu McIlraith ’12 Paul Sweeney Jennifer Stayton ’85 Victoria Woodruff Melinda Young Andrew Yow ’18

Makes Her Voice Heard

28 Class Notes 36 Lou Porter Bailey ’71 Retires

subscription information and address changes Joanna Sarrett, jsarrett@sstx.org or 512.327.1213 x158

SNAPSHOT Eighth graders Kendall Dowd and Mafalda Mu work on a science project

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H E AD LIN ES

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I N CO M M UN I T Y

SUPPORTING

included a series of core value exercises last September, community surveys conducted in October and Visioning Day in late January.

GREAT TEACHING

To aid the community in narrowing specific areas of focus, the strategic plan research group, a subset of the larger committee, conducted an extensive examination and analysis of internal and external issues that could impact the school in the next five years, including social, technological, economic, environmental and political factors. Researchers also studied results of the 539 completed community surveys to cull constituents’ views on the school’s strengths and potential areas for growth.

for the 21st Century

As I observe our faculty in action, I marvel daily at the quality of their work, as well as their work ethic. They create activities for learning, navigate students’ individual needs and build transformative relationships that inspire a lifelong love of learning. St. Stephen’s faculty members guide, teach, mentor, advise and coach students from dusk until dawn. And then they get up and do it all again the next day. Our teachers are content masters, relational experts, constant learners, tireless workers, partners with parents, collaborative colleagues, dignity agents, and promoters of joy and hope. They also have strong character and endeavor daily to uphold our founders’ vision for a school community focused on high academic standards, progressive social values and thoughtful service to others. As I continue to study effective teaching tools and techniques and reflect on the work of successful independent schools in the 21st century, I have come to believe that educational relevance is central to great teaching and better learning. Great teachers continually reflect on the quality of their work and adjust their professional practices to ensure that the classroom experiences they offer students are relevant to the skills and talents they will need to thrive far into the future. The best teachers boldly and regularly ask: What is the ideal approach and plan for my students…Is this coursework relevant to their futures… What should we add or take away from the lesson to make it most relevant… Is there a better way? This issue of Spartan magazine offers insights into how our teachers continually seek to answer these important questions and prepare our students for successful futures in an ever-changing global economy. Our feature article focuses on classroom innovations spurred by a new professional development program that helps teachers bring technological and pedagogical innovations to the classroom. This issue celebrates a handful of the numerous innovations that are increasing student engagement and enriching lesson plans in all areas of academic programming. This issue also offers insights into the school’s comprehensive strategic planning process, which has enabled our school community to closely examine what we stand for, which programs and practices allow us to fulfill our mission, and what strategic drivers should shape our school’s future. As with our innovation grant initiative, you will find that central to the strategic planning process is a desire to enhance the St. Stephen’s experience for our students. Not content with the status quo, our faculty and administrators continue to do the hard work of self-reflection that began three years ago with a comprehensive Self Study conducted for our ISAS and SAES reaccreditation. As a result, we are as committed as ever to academic excellence and intellectual inquiry, student diversity, equity and inclusion, our Episcopal Identity, social justice and service to others — and to offering Spartans truly transformative experiences in the classroom and across campus. I hope that in the following pages you discover that St. Stephen’s remains a school of learners for learners and that we continue to seek new ways to create meaningful classroom experiences for our students, boldly exploring the most appropriate and innovative ways that we can prepare today’s Spartans to live lives of meaning and significance. — christopher l. gunnin, head of school

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Spartan Magazine

Spark: A flash of light. A point of illumination. That moment in time when one element transforms into another. Spark 2023 is a community-wide kindling of inspiration, imagination and intention that will guide our strategic plan for the coming five years. Spark 2023 represents our greatest hopes for our school community, from ideas to implementation, as we forge the brightest possible future for St. Stephen’s together. “The strategic planning process is a chance for us to dream together, as a community, about ways that St. Stephen’s can continue to grow as an institution and reach new levels of excellence in the years ahead,” said Head of School Chris Gunnin of the initiative to develop a five-year strategic plan for the school. “As such, a comprehensive process was designed to ensure that all school members are able to participate in the creation of our new strategic plan.” To help ensure a successful outcome, the board of trustees retained Christina Drouin to guide the strategic planning committee. Founder and executive director of the Center for Strategic Planning, Drouin is a national leader in the field of independent school strategic planning. “She literally wrote the book on strategic planning for private schools,” Gunnin said of Drouin, who co-authored a guidebook on the subject for the National Association of Independent Schools.

Their work led to the creation of the three strategic drivers that were examined against the backdrop of our core values and school mission on Visioning Day. These drivers identified what the school must leverage, change or innovate in order to: 1) Define and Align our School Identity — who we are as an institution and what we stand for; 2) Add Value to the Student Experience — how we can enhance their unique educational journeys; and 3) Add Value to Society — ways we can help improve the greater community we all serve, both individually and collectively. These three imperatives provide the framework for our new strategic plan. In addition to determining how best to build upon the value of a St. Stephen’s Episcopal School education, they lay the groundwork for engaging a new generation of Spartans in the meaningful work of developing the personal, academic, creative and spiritual gifts and talents they will need to thrive in an ever-changing world. The school community will gather again in February for a series of initiative drafting workshops to determine specific ways we can move from intention to action. Participants will be asked to propose projects, programs and activities that will help advance St. Stephen’s new strategic plan. Proposed projects will be vetted by the administrative leadership team, and approved initiatives will have a designated leader and timeframe for completion. Stay tuned for more information about ways to participate in these workshops, which are scheduled for February 26–28. “Ultimately, our goal is for the full school community to recommit to our core values, identify our strengths with an eye toward leveraging those competencies in the years ahead, and collaborate on a new shared vision for St. Stephen’s future,” Gunnin said. St. Stephen’s final strategic plan, Spark 2023, will be launched in April. Members of the school community can stay abreast of our plans and progress by visiting our dedicated Strategic Plan webpage at www.sstx.org/strategic-plan.

St. Stephen’s yearlong strategic planning process ensures that students, alumni, parents, faculty and staff, board members, and friends of the school all have meaningful opportunities to engage in and contribute to the process. To date, opportunities for engagement have

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CELEBRATING GENERATIONS of Giving and Service Many families have generously supported St. Stephen’s throughout our school’s 67-year history. Each gift makes a real difference in the life of our school, improving our beautiful campus, boosting financial aid for qualified students, enhancing our operating budget or increasing the school’s endowment. Among our many dedicated donors, one family stands out as truly visionary: the Temple family of Lufkin, Texas. When the board of trustees approved the current endowment fundraising effort 18 months ago to double the school’s existing endowment from $15 million to $30 million, we thought back to the largest endowment gift the school has received to date. It was $2 million from the T.L.L. Temple Foundation in 1993. Beginning when Arthur Temple Jr. joined the St. Stephen’s board in 1957, the Temple family has been a faithful supporter of the school. Generations of family members have served on the board of trustees, providing thoughtful leadership: Arthur Temple Jr., 1957–59; Buddy Temple, 1984–90; Ellen Temple, 1991–97; Hannah Temple Sanders ’92, 2004–10; and Temple Webber III, 2014–20. In addition, the T.L.L. Temple Foundation has given the school more than $11 million to support a large menu of school needs: new classrooms and dormitories, the dining hall, athletic facilities and, most importantly, the school’s endowment. This fall, once again, the T.L.L. Temple Foundation gave the school a pace-setting gift for the current endowment effort, a $1 million matching gift for the financial aid endowment. We have one year to meet the 1:1 match in order to receive the family’s gift. We are delighted to accept this challenge as an incentive for other donors and grateful to the foundation for again taking an early leadership role in supporting St. Stephen’s. — christine aubrey, associate head of school for advancement

Spartan Magazine

Reasons to Support o St. Stephen’s Endowment St. Stephen’s is a spirited community. We celebrate our diversity, nurture each other’s individual skills and talents, and rejoice in our shared vision for a more innovative, compassionate and just world. Our community is filled with bright, talented, independent-minded thinkers and doers who are raised up and supported by one another. Developing strong-minded, gentle-hearted Spartans takes true dedication and secure financial footing. Without a larger endowment, we risk limiting opportunities for our students and faculty. That is why we are launching the most ambitious endowment initiative in our school’s history — one that will uphold and preserve the St. Stephen’s experience for generations of Spartans to come. There are many reasons to give….

k Endowment is the great differentiator

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HOW NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND CROSS-DISCIPLINARY STUDIES

enhance student learning

o evoke the sense of sadness conveyed by “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” the plaintive 18th century poem by Thomas Gray, senior Johnason Wei recorded himself reading lines of verse set against the sounds of whistling winds and rustling leaves. “Instead of background music, I recorded the sounds of nature,” said Wei, a student

between schools that stay true to their values and those that do not.

in Matthew Reilly’s Sound and Sense: Reading Poetry course. “Reading the poem got

l A healthy endowment enables us to enhance the

some online research about the poem and then, using a field recorder, I stepped on

socioeconomic diversity of our campus.

me into the mood of loneliness and emptiness, and the setting really affected me. I did leaves and rocks and was able to get other sounds like the echoing of the wind.”

A school that values the dignity of every student is one that nurtures each child’s unique talents and aspirations.

Two other students in the class, Angela Yang and Harry Sage, used microphones,

William Blake’s “The Tyger.” Employing the program GarageBand on her laptop, Yang

In recent years, we have worked hard to preserve and rebuild our campus environment; now it is time to invest in people.

o Gifts to the endowment honor Bishop Hines’

memory and great legacy of equity.

FACULTY INNOVATION:

recorders, smartphones, laptops and other devices to develop interpretations of was able to read the poem to the tune of a Chinese nursery tale featuring a tiger that has the same melody as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” To add tinkling noises to the recording, Yang jingled door keys rhythmically into a recording device. “I wanted to use the sound of the keys to add a bright sound,” explained Yang.

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In a sharply divergent interpretation of “The Tyger,” Sage made several recordings of himself reading the poem aloud at different rates of speed, all of which sought to capture its “brooding atmosphere,” he said. For his third and final recording, he played a melancholy tune on his violin to accompany the reading. According to Reilly, these poetry-sound exercises are a way to break free from approaching poetry as if every word is a riddle that students have to decipher. By shunning silent reading in favor of experiencing the sounds of poetry—all of which are enabled by electronic devices—he has created a completely different paradigm for his students. “One of the goals was to build confidence through risk-taking,” Reilly said of the initiative. “It’s less about what poems mean than about how students respond. Having them go through the process of adaptation is one alternative to having a debate. When it comes to the meaning of a poem, there can be a multiple number of right answers.”

Finding New Ways to Enhance Learning Reilly was one of 32 St. Stephen’s teachers who spent a portion of their summer vacation developing new ways to enhance student learning—thanks to a new professional development initiative offered by Head of School Chris Gunnin and Dean of Faculty Wallis Goodman. Innovation grants, as they are known, are offered to all members of the faculty interested in finding ways to infuse academic programming with both technological and pedagogical innovations. The push to modernize the classroom experience was spurred by both internal and external factors, including results of the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) Accreditation Committee’s visit last February and the school’s own Educational Technology Task Force. Both groups recommended that St. Stephen’s incorporate newer technologies and explore cross-curricular integration by combining coursework from different disciplines. In addition, since joining St. Stephen’s last year, Gunnin has rallied faculty to find new ways to use technological resources to support learning to ensure we are providing transformational opportunities for students in the areas of computer science and computer

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THE GOALS OF THIS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ARE TO GENERATE FRESH CURRICULUM GEARED TO TODAY’S WORLD, TO INCREASE COLLABORATION BETWEEN STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND DEPARTMENTS, AND TO ENCOURAGE EFFECTIVE TECH INTEGRATION. CHRISTOPHER L. GUNNIN, HEAD OF SCHOOL

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FACULT Y IN N OVATION

programming. “We do traditional college preparatory education very well,” Gunnin noted. “But we need to ensure we are preparing students for their futures in a fast-moving, ever-changing world — not our pasts.” Gunnin determined that the greatest impediment to faculty innovation was time constraint. “In addition to preparing for and teaching four classes a day, our teachers coach, advise, work in the dorms, sponsor clubs, attend daily Chapel and hold sit-down lunches with students,” he said. “All that, and being available to provide extra help to students throughout the day, means all of their hours are accounted for.” To rev up the faculty’s use of technology and encourage crosscurriculum partnerships, last spring Gunnin and Goodman offered faculty the opportunity to apply for summer study grants. “We asked them to imagine how they could enrich their teaching and coursework over the summer,” explained Gunnin, who was able to earmark money for the project partially from school funds and from an additional gift from the Helen S. and John J. McKetta Jr. Charitable Foundation.

LEFT: English teacher Matthew Reilly records senior Sam Lyzzaik during poetry class; RIGHT: Jordan Mitchell and Chiayenne Wolfe apply computational thinking to “The Great Gatsby”

Upper School Head Greg Hicks ’68, Middle School Head Magnus Maccow, Academic Dean Kim Garey, Goodman and Gunnin.

expertise, many teachers have collaborated with Nicole Blandford, St. Stephen’s educational technology coordinator.

The result? Thirty-two teachers received faculty innovation grants. The scope of their work was broad and impressive, encompassing 23 different classroom enhancement projects covering a wide range of subject areas, including science, English, fine arts, math, history and more.

Since arriving at St. Stephen’s in August, Blandford has visited classrooms and brainstormed with teachers on the many ways that technology can add value to students’ classroom experiences. Blandford is adamant that technology be utilized in meaningful ways in the classroom and add value to course work and lesson plans. “People often mistake technology for innovation,” she said. “That’s the danger. You don’t want it to be technology for technology’s sake.”

Applying Technology in Meaningful Ways

“The grants were designed to provide teachers with the funds needed to explore, design and implement new curriculum that directly impacts the student experience,” Gunnin said. “The goals of this professional development program are to generate fresh curriculum geared to today’s world, to increase collaboration between students, teachers and departments, and to encourage effective tech integration.”

Reilly used his innovation grant funds to purchase several studioquality microphones and then created a series of classroom exercises to enhance students’ poetry studies, which now include text, audio and video recordings, as well as podcasts and blogs. This high-tech approach enables his students to examine, deconstruct, discuss and interact with poetry as both a written and auditory art form.

The innovation grant proposals underwent a careful approval process. Following written submission to department chairs, the proposals were reviewed by a selection panel that included

Numerous other teachers opted to hone their technological skills, rejigger course syllabi, or otherwise revamp and update educational methods on their own. To boost the effort with on-site

With Blandford’s assistance, technology is finding its way into an array of classes. Students in Jenny Huth’s junior English class reading “The Great Gatsby” are not only exploring F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic narrative of the Jazz Age, with its fateful tale of privileged classes colliding with nouveau riche strivers, bootleggers and revelers, they are using technology to apply “computational thinking” to the novel and data-mining chapters for patterns in imagery, word frequency and a closer reading of the text. Using computers and projectors, sophomore English students are projecting images of painter-poet William Blake’s illustrations accompanying “Songs of Innocence and Experience” onto the classroom wall and, with teams of students leading the presentations, doing peer-to-peer teaching and learning. “I’ve

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Spartan Magazine

always been really passionate about poetry,” said sophomore Lily Canter, who added that exploring Blake’s words alongside his illustrations added power to the written word. Freshman Miranda Zheng also appreciates the benefits computers bring to the classroom. She recently worked on a history project examining the roles of women in ancient Greece and was astonished to find that she could take a full virtual tour of the British Museum in London. Conducting an Internet search, she viewed and uploaded representations of Spartan women engaged in athletic contests, as well as contrasting carved figures of Athenian women performing domestic tasks. “With technology you can find pictures or works of art without actually being at the museum,” Zheng marveled. Freshmen studying “The Odyssey” in Colleen Hynes’ English 9 class were assigned to three-person teams and collaborated on the construction of multimedia websites related to Homer’s epic and W.S. Merwin’s “Odysseus.” In striving to unlock deeper meanings of Merwin’s poem, another trio of students assembled images of Calypso and the Sirens from the Internet and used color-coded boxes and annotations on the screen to highlight their interpretation. What’s particularly noteworthy about both students’ analysis of the Merwin poem, as well as their rendering of Calypso and the Sirens, is that they arrived at the poetry and art through their own creativity, Hynes explained. Hynes’ students said that familiarizing themselves with technology as part of the course work has helped build their self-confidence. Freshman Linda Liu, a student in Hynes’ class, said she was able to overcome her fear of technology while constructing a website connecting an analysis of Margaret Atwood’s 1974 poem “Siren Song” with “Kiss of the Siren,” a 19th century painting by the Austrian artist Gustav Wertheimer. “I’m really bad at technology,” Liu said, “but this was an important project so I thought, ’O.K. I’m going to do this myself.’” Hynes’ students said that working in groups proved to be a valuable experience, aided by technology. Day students and boarders communicated about the project using Skype and FaceTime on their smartphones as they worked together to build out their websites. “We were in near constant communication via text, and everyone seemed to contribute,” Liu said.

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An Interdisciplinary Approach to Learning

Ceramics teacher Lisa Orr shows off a completed pot designed on the school’s 3-D clay printer

A High-Tech Approach to Clay? Technology has even made it to the school’s ceramics studio, where Lisa Orr’s art students work with ancient materials of dirt, clay and fire, as well as pottery wheels. There, in the back of the room— past the shelves of rough-hewn teacups and saucers, teapots and candleholders, and assorted vessels—her students are exploring ways to expand their ceramics work with the help of a high-tech 3-D clay printer. Orr, who readily embraces and is excited by new technology, said that she is enchanted by the inherent advantages that tools like the 3-D clay printer offer. “The 3-D technology has created a huge technical learning curve for me,” said Orr, adding that “it’s definitely not plug-and-play.” Yet she is thrilled with how bringing this design tool into her studio has helped her collaborate with her students and broadened their sense of what it means to be “artistic.” “There are many highly analytical kids on our campus who don’t consider themselves creative,” she explained. “Bringing this type of technology into my classroom has opened new avenues for these left-brained students to explore their artistic side in ways they never could before.” In the studio, there is a strong spirit of collaboration between Orr and her students, as they test out new ways to build pieces using the 3-D printer. Sophomore Miles Ray has proposed that they form teams, use the 3-D printer to construct clay body parts, and then piece the sections together to build a clay figure. Ray’s idea strikes a chord with Orr, who believes that student explorations in 3-D clay printing will lead to heightened creativity and new kinds of teamwork in her art classes.

While some faculty who received innovation grants focused on integrating technology into their lesson plans and class projects, others also reached across campus to partner with teachers from other departments to deepen and enrich students’ understanding of course materials. English teacher Jenneken Van Keppel and history teacher Kimberly Alidio collaborated on an innovation grant that enabled them to revamp their curricula to find “points of contact” that would deepen their students’ understanding of course materials. The project helped Van Keppel’s sophomore English students examining William Blake’s “Songs of Innocence and Experience” make stronger connections to activities taking place across the trans-Atlantic divide at the dawn of the 19th century. Her students selected poems from among a number of Blake’s works and created websites that enabled them to outline connections to themes, such as that of disillusioned youth. Through his poems and accompanying illustrations, which were introduced vividly in the classroom via audiovisual presentations, students got a visceral taste of the trapped chimney sweeps and abandoned children whose lives are cruelly hemmed in by child labor and the oppressive religiosity that justified it. “Blake’s poems—truly beautiful literature—are also propaganda,” Van Keppel explained. “Blake was really responding to specific issues, reacting to some elements of the Enlightenment. He created a movement.” In the New World—and across The Hill in Alidio’s class—Thomas Jefferson’s Arcadian vision of the republic was clashing with Alexander Hamilton’s hard-headed Federalism. These events are illuminated by the use of primary sources gleaned from digital online libraries, including Jefferson’s letters to a military general and a personal letter to his nephew. In what Alidio called “a break from the usual essay,” her students presented a montage of original materials, scholarly research, and their own analyses and critiques on the websites they built. “We are teaching them how to present information to the larger public,” said Alidio, noting that familiarity with the use of original sources is practical training for college. “A lot of research today is taking place on a digital platform.”

ABOVE: English teacher Colleen Hynes helps Jesus Perez and Audrey Kaufmann on a multimedia literature project; BELOW: (front) Jackson Young, Riley Bray, Lara Bell; (back) Colleen Hynes, Audrey Kaufmann

Several of Alidio’s students drew parallels between Blake’s writing and Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief who penned a famous 1810 letter to William Henry Harrison, then governor of Indiana. In the letter, Tecumseh appeals to the larger community of “red men,” whom he described as “once a happy race, since made miserable by the white people.” The unit helped sophomore Lee Hicks discover that both Blake’s child in “The Chimney Sweeper” and Tecumseh longed for “green fields and sunny days, peace and freedom.” History teacher Jamal Middlebrooks and English teacher Hynes also joined forces to teach a History-English unit. Their interdisciplinary section led to freshmen delving into the worlds of the ancient Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta while concurrently studying “The Odyssey.” The two teachers asked students to mine their classroom texts for meaningful connections between literature and culture on such themes as what it means to

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Spartan Magazine

At the heart of a self-driving car is a computer that takes in data from the sensors. Our crew used an Arduino microcontroller that, while technically not a computer, is similar in that it serves as the brain of the spiderbot. Similar to a computer, microcontrollers need to be programmed. This programming serves many tasks, the first of which is to gather data from the sensor. In this case, the Arduino uses a version of C++, a general purpose programming language.

It’s Alive! Bringing Biotech to the Classroom Thanks to an innovation grant she received last spring, biology teacher Kathy McCain spent part of her summer examining ways to bring biotechnology to the classroom. McCain first became interested in biotech when she attended a teachers’ conference in Denver. While there, she discovered that Austin Community College (ACC) has a biotech incubator. McCain was able to visit the ACC

INVASION

More importantly, and most salient to the self-driving car analogy, the microcontroller has algorithms programmed into it so that it can determine what action to take when the spiderbot reaches an obstacle. Students tweaked these algorithms to make their spiderbot navigation more efficient.

More than 30 St. Stephen’s students in the Upper School and Middle School Robotics Clubs spent fall term building semiautonomous spiderbots — robots programmed with algorithms that enable them to avoid obstacles on their own without direction from a person with a remote control.

Just as the computer in a car makes the vehicle go, turn and stop, the microcontroller physically controls the two motors on our spiderbot. Students wired a “nervous system” on a prototyping board and then connected that nervous system to the microcontroller on one end, tapping directly into the motors on the other. A unique part of this project was that students included a motor driver chip in this part of the design. So what began as a simple toy hack became the creation of electronics at the chip level.

of the

SPIDERBOTS

incubator lab this summer and attend a five-day training course on how to use the incubator and incorporate lessons in biotechnology into her course curriculum. As a result of ABOVE: Jenny Huth teaches students to develop word maps and find patterns in imagery in “The Great Gatsby”; BELOW: Bryan Rangel, Hoshi Hu and Gabriel Kamar work on a multimedia project for English class

this training, this fall she was able to teach students how to conduct DNA extraction and DNA fingerprinting and guide them in conducting research on the biotech industry.

be civilized, reverence for the gods, respect for the dead and loyalty to family, importance of the household, and the masculine ideal. Hynes said the interdisciplinary approach to the text energized her students to explore the meaning of the Greek hero and the Homeric ideals of virtue and glory. As with the William Blake-American history unit, the Greek unit required students to form teams and produce a website for the class. Hynes said she has been won over by the evident enrichment students derived from the new interdisciplinary and high-tech approach to the project. “Usually, the only person who sees a student’s writing is the teacher,” she said. “For this class, students were able to consider “The Odyssey” in a broader historical background and share their work with their peers. I’ve been impressed with their creativity. There’s real substance to their work.” Appreciative of new ways to bring classroom materials to life for students, Hynes also remains committed to time-tested principles of good teaching: “Students should be taught to think critically, read closely and write clearly,” said Hynes, who concluded her thoughts with a quote from Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft: “Technology is nothing without the soft touch of humanity.”

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Her colleague Dean Mohlman also has added biotechnology lessons to his Advanced Biology II class. During fall term his students worked on a fascinating biotech project. After growing bacteria in the lab, they inserted a plasmid with a green florescence protein gene on it into the bacteria. Later they checked to see if the bacteria glowed bright green in the presence of UV light.

Think of the spiderbot project as you would the process of designing a self-driving car. First, you need a car. Rather than reinvent the car, or in this case a spider body, students used a simple, off-the-shelf spider toy that walks in one direction. It has no brains or sensors. You just snap it together like a model car, turn it on and it goes. Using a ready-made spider allowed students to have immediate success in building a functioning robot and provided a low barrier to entry into the program. Students then modified the design by combining two single motor bodies into one dual motor body capable of independent left and right motion.

The project will end with St. Stephen’s first-ever semi-autonomous spiderbot maze competition! —troy lanier, science teacher and robotics club sponsor

ABOVE: A semi-autonomous spiderbot created by the Robotics Club; BELOW: Emmie Casey, Lukas English and Tony Shan build a spiderbot

Self-driving cars are full of sensors, such as cameras, lidar and gyroscopes. Similarly, our spiderbot needed sensors in order to detect walls and other objects in its path. We added an ultrasonic sensor that emits an inaudible 40 kilohertz signal. When the signal bounces off another object, the sensor is able to detect the distance to that object. In effect, this gave our spiderbot eyes, or one could say ears, although the sensor clearly looks like eyes. While human ears cannot hear the sensor’s emissions, an iPhone camera can, and it translates the sound into an audible one. You can see the sensor and hear evidence of this phone phenomenon in a video posted at www.sstx.org/videos/academics/robotics. In the video, the spiderbot walks to the camera, detects that it is too close and then adjusts its course.

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TECH IN ACTION

As 8:30 a.m. approaches at St. Stephen’s on a beautiful Monday morning, Rebecca Gibbs’ Algebra II students arrive in the Upper School computer lab for class. Throughout first period, students engage in a dynamic lesson that uses Desmos, a suite of digital math tools that includes interactive games and teacher-developed lessons to bring math problems to life for students. Using the “Match my Line” and “Marble Slide” activities, students review and strengthen their understanding of slope and then move on to using the online calculator to explore inequality graphing. In Gunn Hall, Rick Pearson’s second period Middle School science students quickly enter the lab and, as they do each day, take out their own laptop or grab a classroom Chromebook. Today is day two of the “Raisin Lab,” and groups pick up where they left off by accessing Google Classroom to open a shared Sheet, where they have recorded data from day one of the lab. Today the students receive a new piece of information—the mass of one raisin—and the groups begin estimating the number of raisins in their boxes in light of the new information and then record that data into the Sheet. After they enter the data, students learn how to calculate an average of a range of cells in Sheets and then open their own copy of a Google Sheet to practice calculations while they eat the raisins out of their boxes as a snack! Third period finds Kimberly Alidio’s Upper School history students in Brewster Hall working in groups on Chromebooks or personal laptops to critically evaluate websites about the American Revolution. Students report back on the user

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Spartan Magazine

experience of the Museum of the American Revolution, National Museum of American History and other Smithsonian Institution websites and then discuss whether they would use these sites for future research projects based on the strengths and weaknesses of each. They also share interesting facts they learned about the American Revolution during their exploration of the various sites. Later, in Hines Hall, my own fourth period Middle School Maker Class is hard at work at various stages of an electronics project. Some students finish soldering individual BlinkyTiles, used to create custom-designed light sculptures, into the structures they planned at the beginning of the lesson. Others are busy reworking titles that were erroneously soldered into incorrect places or moving tiles around to make their structure more visually appealing. Other students have completed the soldering process and now are busy programming their BlinkyTile structures using Processing, a flexible software language for learning to code, to light the tiles in different colors and cast different light patterns. During fifth period in Gunn Hall, one student at a time comes to the front of Meg Dowdy’s Spanish classroom to share presentations they have created that provide instructions in Spanish, of course, on how to prepare their favorite dishes. Students have used Google Slides, PowerPoint and even iMovie to create their presentations, and many have even made their dishes for the class to enjoy after their presentation! Delicioso! In the Temple Academic Center during sixth period, Virginia Talley’s fully immersive Spanish I class is busy reviewing conversational Spanish in PowerPoint while answering questions about images in the presentation. Students then take out their cell phones and go to Quizlet, an interactive group-based competition program that enables them to review vocabulary in preparation for an upcoming test. Teams quickly work together, interacting with the lesson built for them, and a combination of cheers and groans erupt when the winning team’s name flashes on the board. After several rounds of lively competition, students log into Kahoot, another game-based learning platform, during individual material review in a group setting. Back in Gunn Hall, Morgan Stokes’ theology class is engaged in a conversation about presence and distraction and how technology affects both. The class starts with a thought-provoking discussion of the ways that people present themselves through social media and online and compares how that can be different from how they present themselves in real life. They also discuss the dangers that exist when those two personas do not align. The class then reads excerpts from an article that asks whether smartphones have

ABOVE: Science teacher Rick Pearson helps Olivia Knox, Lillian Gunn, Fiona Lemieux and Ariaan Ghatate on a lab project; BELOW: Jenna Rogge and James Stephens program their BlinkyTiles

damaged their generation and engages in a thoughtful discussion about the positive and negative consequences that come from smartphones, as well as the ways their parents monitor and/or limit their use of technology at home. As the school day winds down with eighth period, Troy Lanier’s Middle School science class works to complete the Hot Wheels/ Projectile Motion lab. Students are busy using Vernier Photogates, which provide accurate timing of events within physics experiments, in daisy-chain configurations to assist in the calculation of acceleration as a result of gravity. Prior to this lab, students spent three days learning how to properly utilize the Photogates, one of several interactive sensors that integrate with Chromebooks that the students will use throughout the year. Students then import the data gathered by the Photogate directly into a Chromebook for further analysis and synthesis with Google Sheets.

PHOTOS Students study the Hexbug

and then make their own robotic creations; Instructor Kurt Oehler introduces a Hexbug to the class

— nicole blandford, educational technology coordinator

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SPARTAN LIFE

Winter 2018

Spartan Magazine

SPARTAN Life

EVENTS CLUBS CULTURE CELEBRATIONS AWARDS TALENT SPORTS HOLIDAYS ACHIEVEMENTS SUCCESS

Building Students’ Media Literacy Skills In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey last fall, a photo of a shark swimming along a flooded Houston highway went viral across social media. We all hear about these types of hoaxes, shared misinformation and skewed interpretations of current events. Fake news...it’s everywhere, including in “the news.” So how can our students become informed citizens and develop skills to evaluate and navigate the media landscape? This year, as part of a St. Stephen’s innovation project, a group of faculty tackled the job of building Media Literacy into the curriculum across all grade levels. This initiative was intended to create dialogue about the nature of news and to help students think critically and evaluate news sources. One of the first actions we took involved surveying our student body to get some “baseline” findings. Included in the online poll were questions about where students get their news, how often and deliberately they consume news, and how trustworthy they consider their sources. Interestingly, many of our students consume news from social media, yet they acknowledge that traditional news sources are probably more reliable. It is also notable that our students appear to approach news sources with a certain degree of open mindedness. By exposing themselves to a variety of viewpoints in the news, it is possible that they may at least partially avoid what Bill Gates calls the “filter bubble”—a form of intellectual isolation that keeps people from understanding other points of view. In order to improve our students’ abilities to navigate news sites and social media outlets, we introduced special lessons that include website evaluation skills, close reading of news for bias, comparison of news sources for slant and sophistication, and specific techniques, such as reverse image searching, to determine if a viral photo is based on an altered image (e.g., a shark swimming along a Houston street). We also invited a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist to speak with Upper School students about the editorial process, including fact checking.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Our goal in establishing these lessons was to ensure that every student hears messages related to media literacy this year and has an opportunity to apply critical thinking to their media consumption. Also, to help students remember important criteria used in evaluating media, we created the acronym PACE:

PURPOSE (What is the primary purpose of a particular news source?) AUTHOR (Does the writer have expertise or authority?) CONTEXT (What’s the larger story/main issue?) EVIDENCE (What evidence supports the claim and is it reliable?) Want to try your hand at sniffing out fake news? Take this quiz online: http://factitious.augamestudio.com/#/ — cynthia bartek, head librarian

Media Literacy Poll Results

75% of our students report that they consume news regularly 51% of students spend 1-15 minutes consuming the news daily TOP 5 sources of news reported by students (ranked):

1. Parents/Family 2. Friends/School sources 3. Social Media (primarily Instagram and Snapchat) 4. Cable Television 5. Websites

trustworthy source of news

79% of respondents said that “traditional media” is the most 62% of students reported that they consume news from sources

they do not agree with ideologically

Seniors Recognized by National Merit Scholarship Corp. During fall term 18 members of St. Stephen’s Class of 2018 were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. for their strong academic performance on the 2016 PSAT. Among them, six seniors were named National Merit Semifinalists, 11 were honored as Commended students, and two were named National Hispanic Recognition Program honorees. St. Stephen’s National Merit Semifinalists included Sophie Guess, Hayden Mast, Cat Orman, Austin Raven, Harry Sage and Eloise Thompson. These seniors have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring. The school’s National Merit Commended students, who placed in the top 5 percent of more than 1.6 million students, included Madeline Casas, Henry Colangelo, Taylor Francis, Natalia Gutierrez, Lindsey Hentschel, Sofia Hsu, Jack McClish, Ava Mouton-Johnston, Robert Quinn, Ellie Schlesinger and Natalee Weis. In addition, seniors Madeline Casas and Thomas Waugh were named National Hispanic Recognition Program honorees. “The school community joins me in congratulating these seniors for their great academic achievements,” said Head of School Chris Gunnin. “Not only are members of the school’s senior class great scholars, they are terrific athletes and teammates, active members of student government and campus clubs, fine musicians and artists, supportive roommates and great friends.”

PHOTO TOP (left to right) front row: Natalia Gutierrez, Ava Mouton-Johnston, Madeline Casas, Henry Colangelo, Jack McClish; back row: Taylor Francis, Natalee Weis, Robert Quinn; not pictured: Lindsey Hentschel, Sofia Hsu and Ellie Schlesinger; MIDDLE (left to right): (front row) Austin Raven, Harry Sage, Sophie Guess; (back row) Hayden Mast, Cat Orman, Eloise Thompson; BOTTOM (left to right): National Hispanic Recognition Program honorees Madeline Casas and Thomas Waugh

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Winter 2018

CALENDAR

SPARTAN LIFE

Spartan Magazine

SPRING 2018 CAMPUS EVENTS SPRING SWING FEBRUARY 24 SCHOOL NIGHTS AT THE OBSERVATORY MARCH 10, APRIL 21, MAY 5, JUNE 16

PHOTOS Andrew Yow; Head of School Chris Gunnin celebrates homecoming with Yow dressed as Martin the Spartan

GRANDPARENTS ’ DAY MARCH 23 TOWNER PIANO RECITAL MAY 20 BACCALAUREATE MAY 25 UPPER SCHOOL GRADUATION MAY 26 MIDDLE SCHOOL CLOSING CEREMONY JUNE 1 For more detailed information about upcoming events, please visit the school website at www.sstx.org.

Gain Insight into the Student Experience @SSTXLIFE A Honey of a Harvest

Key Society is managed by six directors, including seniors Yow and Taylor Francis; juniors Jacob Hale, Greta Kastner and Ingrid Villarreal; and sophomore Katherine Wilkey. “We are responsible for training the other members of Key Society, helping the Admission office plan class visit days and other admissions events, and managing @SSTXLIFE,” Yow said.

St. Stephen’s Middle School buzzed with excitement this fall as Science 6 teacher Kindy Verderber helped sixth graders decant honey from the school’s hives into jars. Junior Veer Chauhan, who has helped care for his own hives for several years, assisted Verderber’s class with harvesting three racks of honeycomb. Together, they took the honeycomb to the lab for processing and carefully worked in sterile lab conditions.

“We wanted something that really showed what it’s like to be a student on the St. Stephen’s campus,” said senior boarding student Andrew Yow, who helps manage the school’s student-run Instagram account @SSTXLIFE. In addition to serving as president of the senior class, Yow directs Key Society, a club open to all Upper School students, whose members help run the social media account for the Admission Office in addition to a host of other responsibilities.

“I inherited a swarm of fun,” explained Verderber, who took over management of the hives from a former Middle School teacher. “I really liked the idea of learning about the social order of the beehive. It fascinates me—the way the bees communicate with dances and pheromones. It is a gift to be able to share this unique opportunity with our students.”

“We wanted something that would be visually engaging, while also using a picture-based platform that is a primary sharing resource for young people,” Yow explained. “Ultimately, we wanted to share with both prospective families and current students what an average day at St. Stephen’s looks like.”

“As directors of the account, we are constantly on the lookout for cool shots on campus — from a nature pic or seniors playing spikeball, to a whole host of other options,” explained Yow, who put out a call for photos to all boarding and day students. “Often when there is a school trip, we will reach out to participants for any photos they may have. If there is a large special event on campus, such as Lessons and Carols, we ask a few of our members to take a couple shots of what is taking place.

Yow came up with the idea for @SSTXLIFE in the spring of 2016, when he was looking for ways to make student activities more visible to a larger audience. “We already had the official school social media accounts, but those were more formal,” noted Yow, who shared his idea for a studentrun account with Martha Black, associate director of Admission. “I brought it up with Mrs. Black, sponsor of Key Society, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“When images are sent our way for the Instagram account, I pass them on to the other directors,” Yow said of the club’s vetting process. “Three of the directors must approve the photo and caption before it is posted. We strive to post content that is relevant to the wider St. Stephen’s community, beyond those directly associated with the school. We want posts that not only resonate with current students, but also with alumni and prospective families.

“Key Society held many open table meetings, formed committees and developed posting policies,” he explained. “By the following academic year, the account was set up, promotional stickers were printed, and posting commenced.”

“We really hope that, through this account, followers will gain a better understanding of what the daily life of a Spartan looks like, and from that, gain a better appreciation for everything this school does.”

Work with the three-year-old hives is ongoing. During winter term, the sixth graders will blend wax from the melted honeycomb with cocoa butter to create lip balm.

PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Asher Fore and Mac Magruder decant honey from the school's hives; Junior Veer Chauhan removes a honeycomb from an active hive

A Lesson in Beekeeping I started beekeeping in seventh grade after researching and learning everything I needed to about bees and beekeeping. I was fascinated with bees, so a crazy idea popped into my head: "What if I became a beekeeper?" By luck, I found a man on Craigslist who was moving to Idaho to grow potatoes and was selling both his beehive and bees. I got in touch with him, and he agreed to sell his bees to me. The day he brought the bees, I was so excited that I sat outside on a chair right by the hive’s entrance, watching them and letting them land on me all morning. The videos I had watched on YouTube made the bees seem very calm and docile. However, I made a huge mistake: I fed them sugar water. Later in the afternoon, I found that they had drunk the entire bottle. As I pulled the bottle out of the hive, I was immediately swarmed. I ran out of my backyard screaming and rolling on the ground, trying to get them off me. I was stung at least 20 times, and I spent the rest of the weekend with a puffed up face, asleep on Benadryl. After that day, I never went anywhere near them without a beekeeper’s suit. —veer chauhan, class of 2019

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

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SPARTAN LIFE

Winter 2018

Spartan Magazine

The Many Ways Parents Support Student Athletes and Artists St. Stephen’s Parents’ Association plays many roles on campus. We are a resource for all school parents and grandparents, and we hope that families see us as a fun avenue for getting involved in the school community. The PA brings parents together through class-level parent parties, our fall social and Spring Swing. We also help raise funds for the school through various special events and programs, and we support students in a number of ways. Two significant ways we support Spartans is through our Booster Club and Fine Arts PAtrons. The Booster Club was reimagined during the 2014–15 school year by parent Marnie Near, whose goals for the revamped Booster Club were to increase school spirit and improve communications between the Athletics Department and the wider school community. She accomplished these goals by creating a Booster Club Board that meets quarterly and by working closely with Athletics Director Jon McCain to identify shared goals and areas for collaboration. Team parents do the lion’s share of the Booster Club’s work, communicating with parents about sports schedules and coordinating volunteers for athletic events. Every year we have approximately 72 team parents working behind the scenes, and the Booster Club supports approximately 325 student-athletes each school term.

Spartans Dominate in Fall SPC Championship The Spartan Boys’ Cross Country Team won their first Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) championship in almost two decades and the girls’ Field Hockey team earned their best finish in program history at the fall championships in Fort Worth. The Cross Country team claimed victory in thrilling fashion. After winning the SPC South Zone meet two weeks prior, Coach Paul Carrozza felt confident that his team would be in the race, but stiff competition from both St. Mark’s and St. John’s proved to be challenging. At the two-mile mark, Spartan juniors Crayton Carrozza and Travis Dowd led the pack of runners at the front, but the gap between St. Stephen’s second and third runners looked too wide to overcome. After the turn, heading into the final 400 meters, junior Phillip Chang and sophomore Julian Baeza had raced their way into the top 20 in the field. Chang finished the race in 11th place, and Baeza sprinted his way to an 18th place finish, passing three runners in the final stretch of the race. It became clear to all the coaches and spectators watching the St. John’s runners cross the finish line that the race would be close. The team title ultimately was decided by the fifth place finishers from each team. Junior Ben Abikhaled dashed past a pack of runners in the final moments of the race to secure a 23rd place individual finish and a two-point team victory over St. John’s. The girls’ cross team finished seventh in the SPC led by an All-SPC performance by senior Amelia Allen. The Spartan Field Hockey team earned their best finish to date at the tournament in Fort Worth with a victory over St. John’s in the third place game. St. Stephen’s battled through 60 minutes of regulation, 20 minutes

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

of overtime, and nine strokes before coming away with their second win over the Mavericks in the 2017 season. Assisted by senior Isabella Palmieri, Siofra Murdoch scored to take the game to overtime. Senior Eloise Thompson and juniors Riley Nichols and Murdoch each notched goals in penalty strokes, and junior goalkeeper Margaret Savage made two clutch saves. At the close of the tournament, Murdoch, Nichols and Savage each earned All-SPC honors. The boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams both finished in sixth place overall at the SPCs. The sixth place finish was an improvement for the boys over last year in only the second year of the program. The boys opened the tournament with a tough four set loss at the hands of St. Mark’s. In the consolation semi-final, the boys faced Houston Episcopal and secured their third win of the year over the Knights of Houston. Junior Zach Taylor was named to the All-SPC team. The girls’ volleyball team opened the SPC tournament with a three-set win over Trinity Valley before falling to Houston Episcopal in the quarter-finals. Senior Bella Almanza and junior Ariana Zarse earned All-SPC honors. — jon mccain, director of athletics PHOTOS Cross Country Coach Paul Carrozza celebrates the team’s SPC Championship win; St. Stephen’s girls’ Field Hockey team earned their best finish in program history at the fall championships

needs, it was a daunting task. McMillin and Arnow worked closely with Fine Arts Director Elizabeth Hansing Moon and the faculty to create a PA group that could support the department and its students. According to McMillin, current PAtrons chair, the primary goal of the group is to provide support for special activities and help collect optional program dues. In addition, they now have a parent volunteer lead for each discipline, who purchases snacks and arranges special program receptions and dinners. They also help spread the word about rehearsals and shows and, in some cases, even help out during live performances. To accomplish all of this, the PAtrons utilizes the time and talent of more than 60 parent volunteers each year, and they support more than 200 students each term. The PA greatly appreciates all our parent volunteers. If you are a current parent who is interested in helping out with either of these important groups, please reach out to Ellen Miura, ellen.miura@gmail.com, or Bill McMillin, billymac57@mac.com. Thank you! — melinda young, parents’ association president, 2017–18

To help increase school spirit, the Booster Club created the Spartan Army to encourage kids to attend team sporting events and cheer each other on. Students wear Spartan Amy t-shirts and form cheer groups to help encourage players. The Booster Club also hosts three major events to help encourage school spirit. During “Grillin’ with the Gunnins,” students and their families gather before the first football game for hamburgers and hotdogs and fun social time before cheering on our Spartan players. The Spartan Block Party is our annual family carnival that celebrates St. Stephen’s athletes and generates excitement around fall games. For the past two years, Block Party planners have teamed up with the Advancement Office to open up the Spartan Block Party to alumni and their families returning to campus for Reunion. The Celebration of Sport is another important Booster Club event for students and their parents. “It is a way to celebrate our student-athletes and to recognize the physical, social and emotional benefits of participating in sports,” said Ellen Miura, the 2017–18 Booster Club chair. This year’s celebration will be held on Sunday, February 25. Please check the school calendar for more details. The Fine Arts PAtrons was created during the 2016–17 school year to provide similar support for our Fine Arts extra-curricular programs. Parents Bill McMillin and Debbie Arnow led the charge with the full support of the PA and head of school. For many years, parents of Fine Arts students had been asking for ways to streamline communications and increase support for the various fine arts disciplines. Considering that the school has 24 different areas of fine arts studies, all with different

PHOTO Sixth Grader Trevor Smith and his teammates enjoy cupcakes from the PA after a game

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SPARTAN LIFE

Winter 2018

ALUM N I REUN I O N

Spartan Magazine

Why We Support the Annual Fund Whether you are new to St. Stephen’s or a longtime friend of the school, you know that St. Stephen’s Annual Fund is an important fundraising program that helps strengthen our school in countless ways. The Annual Fund directly supports St. Stephen’s operating budget, which is why 100 percent participation in the Annual Fund is so important. Participation in the Annual Fund is the best way you can show support for the school and your belief in the importance of a St. Stephen’s education. To further explain the significance of the Annual Fund, we asked several chairs to share their personal reasons for giving.

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As St. Stephen’s alumni, we can honestly say that the education we received as students prepared us exceptionally well for college and beyond. Now that we also are parents of current students, we truly understand the impact the Annual Fund has on the daily life of students. Gifts to the Annual Fund are a direct investment in the shared values and history of all Spartans. Every gift, no matter the size, has a significant effect on the daily life of students, who will join our alumni community and help make a difference in the world. — alumni chairs karen fricke nalle ’88 and brian nalle ’88

Karen Fricke Nalle ’88 and Brian Nalle ’88

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The relationships our daughter formed with other students and the faculty are still with her today, and she refers to her time at St. Stephen’s as the most important time of her life. We support St. Stephen’s because we know that the school will be a part of our daughter’s life forever. — alumni parent chairs julie peak and david hightower

Julie Peak and David Hightower with daughter Erin Hightower ’12

Reunion 2017

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The laughter of hundreds of Spartans spread across campus as alumni reunited in front of the Brewster Cross on a Saturday evening last September for Reunion 2017. A slight breeze pushed through the crowd, and the tantalizing smell of barbeque filled the air. The faint sound of a DJ’s set played in the background. This special gathering was the culmination of a weekend filled with exciting Reunion events: our annual alumni barbeque on The Hill.

The Annual Fund is important to me and my family because it ultimately supports St. Stephen’s students. Donations to the Annual Fund help cover the difference between the total cost to educate a student and the actual cost of tuition, enabling St. Stephen’s to remain a diverse and competitive learning environment. Plus, Annual Fund donations enhance the overall educational experience by supporting athletic programs, extracurricular activities, classrooms and teachers. —parent chairs catherine and charles sansbury

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Catherine and Charles Sansbury with sons John ’17 and Will ’18

Every time we step on campus, we become more aware of the unique qualities that make St. Stephen’s worthy of our support. We can be such an important influence in our grandchildren’s lives. Along with our love and support, we cannot make a better investment in their future than to contribute to their education, both academically and financially.

Patricia and Roger Medors with their granddaughters, America ’20, Ava ’24 and Mia Gonzales ’21

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

—grandparent chairs pat and roger medors

If you have not yet donated to this year’s Annual Fund campaign, please consider making your tax-deductible gift today at www.sstx.org/annualfund. Thank you for your support!

Head of School Chris Gunnin and Spartan Society Board President Jennifer Stayton ’85 kicked off the evening’s festivities by welcoming St. Stephen’s graduates back to campus. Gunnin expressed his excitement about the gathering of our alumni community and encouraged everyone to enjoy each other’s company and the festivities which lay ahead. “Since my arrival on campus in the fall of 2016, I have talked with numerous alumni about the significant ways St. Stephen’s helped shape their lives, and I have discovered some common themes,” Gunnin noted. “They spoke of their intellectual awakening, social and cultural transformations, the powerful relationships they developed with classmates and teachers, the value of daily worship and reflection in Chapel, and the natural beauty of our campus. I’m sure many of these points resonate with you as well.

“I hold a deep respect for the founding vision of our school, as well as a great appreciation for the high standard of excellence established by our earliest faculty members and school leaders and upheld by our graduates,” Gunnin added. “Our students don’t just pray that they will get good grades and accepted into good colleges; they pray every day to be empowered to make a difference in the world. And they learn here, at this school on a hill, how to face the world with open minds, open hearts and open doors. PHOTOS TOP: Denise Owusu ’12, Melissa Livsey, Sarah Mohamed ’12; Bryan Chaney, Charlotte Ramsey Chaney ’85

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ALUMNI REU N ION

Winter 2018

Spartan Magazine

“Welcome home, Spartans,” he concluded. “I hope that you will return often and that each time you do your love for St. Stephen’s and your pride in your alma mater will be renewed.” Following Gunnin’s remarks, Stayton spoke about the launch of the revamped alumni association, now called the Spartan Society. She also explained the renewed purpose of the Spartan Society Board and promoted our new professional networking application, “Spartans Connect.” In addition to alumni, a record number of faculty and staff attended Reunion events to help welcome and celebrate their former students and forever Spartans. Student Government officers entertained alumni and faculty children by taking them on an expansive scavenger hunt across campus, enabling these future Spartans to experience what it means to be part of the school community. They engaged with a wide range of interesting students, toured the far reaches of our breathtaking 370-acre campus, and were treated to the dining hall’s world-famous soft-serve ice cream. In addition, many of our current students were given a glimpse into what life will be like when they return to the school and pass through our front gates as alumni. For Ava Mouton-Johnston, a member of the Class of 2018, helping out at Reunion made her realize that being a Spartan will not end at graduation. “This is really cool!” she exclaimed about the gathering of alumni on Saturday. “When will I have my first reunion?” Mouton-Johnston said the event made her understand that she is a part something larger than herself and that she and her fellow Spartans will remain connected to one another and the school for a lifetime.

PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Back Row: Cameron Beesley ’97, Cristina Hidrobo ’97, Keri Tonn ’97, Sarah Templeton ’97, Virginia Talley ’97,Sonia Gonzalez Cargo ’97, Erin Jozwaik ’97, Grayson McDaniel ’97, Front Row: John Heard ’97, Misty Stroder ’97, Chris Wackman ’97, Chandi LaBoy, Archie Clinton ’97, Ben Whittenburg ’97, Matthew Land ’97, Jordan Preddy ’97, Erica Tracy Robinson ’97, Bradley Richie ’97, Holt Lackey; Archie Clinton ’97 with daughter Chloe; Hildegard Brewster Bird ’53, Asher Barreras; Alumni from the 1980s gathered at Reunion 2017; Jose Toscano, Will Marcus ’12, Alan Toscano ’12, Yosua Husodo ’12; the Rev. Anne Knight Hoey ’56

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

The barbeque was a perfect complement to the many activities planned for alumni throughout the weekend. Friday’s schedule included class visits, a Chapel service with students, lunch in the dining hall, campus tours and various athletic events. On Friday, the Parents’ Association hosted the second annual Spartan Block Party for students and alumni children. Bounce houses and carnival games galore populated the field adjacent to Clayton Gymnasium. This event segued into both the alumni tailgate party and the Pioneer Spartan Dinner. The tailgate party helped our former athletes and sports enthusiasts regain their Spartan spirit. Later in the evening, they joined with students to cheer on students at a number of varsity events, including the Homecoming football game. The Pioneer Dinner, hosted by Chris and Nancy Gunnin, provided a more intimate gathering for those alumni who already had celebrated their 50th class reunion. Pioneer Spartans enjoyed an evening of laughter and good conversation, as they reminisced about the early years of campus life.

PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Lorna Newman Hampton ’77 and her mother, Dan Norton ’76, Anne Epstein ’77; Oliver Meek ’97, Johnny Wilson, John Heard ’97; Claudia Conner, Miriam Conner ’08, Jenny Huth, Rebecca Gibbs; Courtney Perry, David Gibbs

Our annual alumni hike to the Gulch helped kick off events on Saturday. More than 30 people attended the challenging campus hike led by Charlton Perry, director of St. Stephen’s Devil’s Canyon sstx.org

ALUMNI REU N ION

Winter 2018

ALUM N I PRO FI L ES

Wilderness Program. Strength and Conditioning Coach Jay Patterson also led personal training sessions for alumni in the Fitness and Well Center. Later in the day, alumni class representatives attended an appreciation luncheon and were welcomed by Gunnin, Stayton and Nolu McIlraith ’12, alumni relations and giving coordinator. Class representatives serve an important role in connecting alumni to the school and helping to facilitate gifts to the school’s Annual Fund.

What initially drew you to St. Stephen’s? I was drawn to St. Stephen’s because of the great academics and its size. Honestly, I thought I would get lost in the shuffle at a larger school. I liked the idea of a school that had a strong emphasis on academics and was small enough that everyone in a class could interact with one another and actively participate. I also liked the idea of a place that valued individuality.

On Sunday morning, the Rev. Todd FitzGerald, school chaplain, and Jim Crosby ’70, Upper School lay chaplain and theology teacher, led a special alumni service. The Rev. Anne Knight Hoey ’56, an alumna and Episcopal priest, gave a moving sermon during the program, which was attended by graduates from all decades and boarding students. Following a lovely champagne brunch attended by alumni, faculty and staff, Reunion 2017 came to a close. Thank you to everyone who returned to campus to reunite, reconnect and rekindle your love for St. Stephen’s. It was a joy and a privilege to have you back on The Hill. Please mark your calendars for Alumni Reunion 2018, which will be September 21-23, when we will celebrate the class years ending in 3s and 8s. Of course, all alumni classes are invited. If you would like to serve on a Reunion committee and assist with planning, please contact Nolu McIlraith ’12 at nmcilraith@sstx.org or 512-327-1213 x178. In the meantime, if you have not already made a gift to this year’s Annual Fund campaign, please consider making a gift today. You can also connect with other Spartan alumni at any time by downloading our new professional networking application, “Spartans Connect” on the App Store, Google Play, or at https://community.evertrue.com/sstx. —nolu mcIlraith ’12, alumni relations and giving coordinator

What were your early impressions of the school? While St. Stephen’s might look a lot different than it did more than 30 years ago, the core principles of what I was taught and experienced have barely changed. The academics are still rigorous, the teachers and staff are still caring, and the school doesn’t just "talk the talk" when it comes to the concepts of family and community. The importance of community was then and continues to be stressed and manifests itself in all aspects of daily life at St. Stephen’s.

A Few Questions for Jennifer Stayton ’85 Some Spartan alumni might not know Jennifer Stayton ’85 on sight, but they probably know her voice. The former director of alumni relations at St. Stephen’s has served as host of KUT’s “Morning Edition” since May 2004. Last spring she accepted a new leadership role at the school: president of the Spartan Society Board. Stayton’s familiarity with St. Stephen’s school culture, extensive fundraising experience, and tenure in alumni relations and the alumni association equip her with the skills necessary to help lead the Spartan Society and alumni programming. To further ready herself for the role, Stayton spent the latter half of the 2016–17 school year shadowing the previous Spartan Society president, Jenny Cook Purcell ’83, in order to familiarize herself with the responsibilities and the other board members.

PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Mary Burke ’69, Josh Harrison ’69, Vicky Williams Harrison ’69; Phebe Davol ’72, Margot Clarke ’71, Michael Moss ’74, Steve Monas ’72; David Parker ’72; Donna Baldwin, Davis Baldwin ’93, Jacob Baldwin, Nevita McCormick, Basil Baldwin; Nathan Richards ’12, Reed Goodman ’12, Sarah Mohamed ’12, Denise Owusu ’12, Nolu McIlraith ’12, Yosua Husodo ’12, Alan Toscano ’12

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Spartan Magazine

To help you get to know the new Spartan Society board president, we subjected the experienced news anchor to some hardball questioning….

How do you think alumni can impact the school? Although it might sound corny, I fully believe that alumni can impact the lives of current students. We can serve as a gateway to the future success of students. As alumni, we are walking examples of how the lessons they learn and the connections they make while attending St. Stephen’s can influence or shape the outcome of their lives. These lessons and connections can be made one-on-one or at local and global levels, and they will follow our students as they make their way into the world and navigate their roles in their respective families, workplaces, communities and beyond. I know I did not, and could not, completely recognize and appreciate the scope of what I learned at St. Stephen’s until I had some time and distance from it. By serving as role models for current students and creating opportunities for alumni to interact with current students, my hope is that alumni can continue to influence and help shape the youth of tomorrow. What is your vision for alumni programing? I would like to know our graduates’ vision for alumni programming at St. Stephen’s! What would each of you like to see Spartan alumni do to serve the school, each other and the community at large? Personally, I would like to develop alumni programming that enables alumni and current students to utilize the experiences, skills and connections that we cultivated during our time at the school. I would like to create opportunities, whether formal or informal, for alumni to share information and anecdotes about jobs or careers, living in different cities, recent college experiences, nonprofit and service opportunities, and any other topics that alumni identify as of value and interest to them. —nolu mcIlraith ’12, alumni relations and giving coordinator

sstx.org

ALUMNI PROFILES

Winter 2018

everything has to be exactly right before they talk. Women have to be bolder about voicing an opinion because half the time men are wrong too.”

Empowering Women Behind the Camera Such practical advice litters her conversations when asked about spearheading a drive to enable more women in positions behind the camera. “TNT recently began the Shatterbox Anthology, an initiative with Refinery 29 to fund 10 short films directed by women,” Aubrey noted. “’Swim’ by Kristen Stewart, which was showcased at Cannes this year, is a result of this initiative.” Their strategy was to “identify women in the system that were close to being at a level to be approved as episodic television directors, but who needed another boost to extend their profile and circle of contacts. To that end, we are doing 10 short films by 10 female directors. Some are comedies, dramas, documentaries; one’s an action piece, and I hope to also have one animated short. Regardless, all can be used as calling cards for the female directors because it’s hard to get into the circle of approved television episodic directors.”

photo by james white, turner broadcasting

Sarah Aubrey ’90: Making Her Voice Heard “Yes, I am still interrupted in meetings,” noted executive vice president of original programming for TNT, Sarah Aubrey ’90. “That’s a situation that women experience as part of group dynamics, and I’m not exempt from them.” Prior to joining TNT, Aubrey produced such movies as “Lone Survivor,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Bad Santa” and “Lars and the Real Girl.” She also was previously a partner at Film 44.

Her comment was in response to recent research indicating that men talk more often and for longer periods, and are more likely to interrupt a woman. The flip side is that women tend to talk faster so they can make their point before being interrupted. Regarding the latter, Aubrey suggested that, given the overall dynamic, women also feel that they need to have everything in place before speaking. “It’s not that women don’t use their voice,” she said. “These are general stereotypes, but women are more hesitant to offer opinions or to interject in conversations without every aspect

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

of the interaction nailed down. You don’t want to risk being wrong or appearing unprepared.” You can almost hear the non-verbal shrug. “I would encourage everyone to let loose a little more,” Aubrey continued. “It’s okay to be wrong, and it’s okay to be disagreed with. The biggest lesson I learned from being a lawyer was not to be afraid to argue or to have someone argue with me. It’s not the end of the world for someone to disagree with me. It is being less hesitant about feeling that

When looking to hire women directors, Aubrey found that she was burning through the list of women directors with experience in episodic TV really quickly. “We want to give women the same opportunity that men would get, namely, not only to do television but huge blockbusters—opportunities that men, who equally have done very little, would get.” The absence of working women directors on lists of names to be considered for high profile projects suggests that the bar might be set higher for women before they are given the same chance at bat. However, Aubrey has actively sought women directors and entrusted them to shoot episodic pilots. This is important, as the first episode sets the tone for the series and can become a powerful calling card, which paid off handsomely when Charlotte Sieling directed “Good Behavior.” “We are talking with Ivy Agregan, who did the visual effects for “The Revenant,” but still needed a calling card to be able to direct a big visual effects show. Doing a short film allows her to prove that she can deliver.”

Finding Balance

Spartan Magazine

can. First and foremost, I am very proud to be a working mom. That basically means my life is a mess all the time. There is no balance.” She confesses what every working woman already knows: Balance is an illusion.” “I love my work, but I don’t love my work quite as much as I love my kids, so I am committed to the insanity,” Aubrey explained. “I don’t want to paint the picture that I have it all under control, that the system is perfect; you won’t ever get to the resting place, where ’now I have the perfect balance’. As soon as you accept that, you don’t put as much pressure on yourself — and that makes life more livable and workable.” Aubrey credits her TNT work environment with helping her find a level of control. “I love how family oriented everyone is. If you have to do something with one of your children, everyone not only says, ’Of course,’ but they also pitch in and help cover. That’s the way the world should work for men and women at work—period. “When people tell me they need to be at a doctor’s appointment or a play performance, they go. When you are lying on your deathbed you don’t look back and say, ’Oh I missed the marketing meeting.’ You think about being able to attend a play for your kids.” The mother of three admitted, “Jobs come with a lot of pressure and a constant public reckoning with wins and losses. It’s important to enjoy the process of what you get to do every day. If you don’t take time to stop and enjoy that, then things get petty and miserable.” Will things get better for women any time soon? “I’m optimistic,” she concluded. “This next generation coming up is incredibly supportive of each other. That old-fashioned notion that I was still somewhat subject to—that there could only be one successful woman in a room—has really given way to women publicly, vocally, supporting each other. As one of the leaders at TNT and Turner, I love that there are many other female leaders, as well as woman from the administrator to manager level that are quite vocal. “Right now in my job I feel the happiest in terms of being a woman at work than I ever have in my career.” —margaret gardiner, reprinted with permission of the author and publisher

While male entertainment leaders seldom get quizzed on being a working parent, the Texan native does not get defensive about it. “Nobody gives an award for working fathers, though there are many,” she said. “We all figure out being a parent the best way we

sstx.org

ALUMNI N EWS

Winter 2018

Class Notes 1951 WILL BREWSTER

life is his marriage to Susan; they celebrated their 48th anniversary this year.

brewsterwilliam34@gmail.com

1952 FRED HELDENFELS

fheldenfels@gmail.com

1953 E D NA N O E L H E L D E N F E L S

fheldenfels@gmail.com

1954 MIKE HINES

mjhines1@cox.net

1955

Nancy Hopwood reported from Ann Arbor, Mich., that after a second knee replacement, she visited Central Asia and the Republic of Georgia, as well as Newfoundland and went to Morocco in late November. She saw her last patient in July and is now retired. She enjoys having more time to travel and take amazing photos. Dallas Baxter traveled to Santa Fe, N.M., this fall for a Diocesan function, and then to explored the Four Corners and onward from there to the Diocesan Convention in El Paso, Texas.

1961

colin@phippsfarm.com

S T E V E J O L LY

stevejolly@mindspring.com

ELLEN MCCORQUODALE MARTIN

1962

ellen@mccorquodale.net

D AV I D S A N D E R S

rdavidsanders@msn.com

1957 RU T H W I L S O N W I T T E N

1963

Ruthwitten@aol.com

JULIA CAUTHORN

julia@texancapital.com

1958

They popped over to Australia as well. Last fall they visited Dallas and Houston, where they saw David Barnett and his wife, Virginia, and attended Jan (Davenport) Goodloe’s daughter’s wedding.

Pat Black enjoyed two reunions with Leighton Johnson Donnell ’56 at the Berkshire Choral International’s weeks in Asheville, N.C., and in Sheffield, Mass. The conductors and company were inspiring.

COLIN PHIPPS

1956

visited Dallas and Houston, where they saw David Barnett ’66 and his wife, Virginia, and attended Jan (Davenport) Goodloe’s daughter’s wedding.

Anne Gateley ’66, training for a cycling trip to New Zealand Helen Thompson signed a contract to do another book with the same photographer (Casey Dunn) and the same publisher (Monacelli) on Texas Modernism. The new book will be a companion to Marfa Modern, which has now gone into its second printing. Candy Miller is still caring for three retired horses and a feral cat, growing hay and enjoying occasional visits from the raccoon families looking for tidbits. Her main focus is still her tiny equine wound care business.

J. P. B RYA N

1964

BryanJ@teai.com OR andrea@thebryanmuseum.com

BART WULFF

1967

bart@wulffranches.com

R A N D Y PA RT E N

1959

1965

tromberg@me.com

DIANNE DUNCAN TUCKER

1968

ddtuck@aol.com

R O B E RT H E N D E R S O N

1960

1966

ggpat77@gmail.com

CANDY MILLER

hcm@postoakfarm.com

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Mark Bode still lives in Gulf Stream south of Palm Beach, Fla., with son Craig and his wife. It is his 43rd year in the financial planning business, which is run from their home next to the ocean. His 1973 Vanderbilt baseball team was voted into Vanderbilt’s athletic Hall of Fame, as they were the first Vanderbilt team to win an S.E.C. Championship and finished sixth in the country. His brother, Arthur, recently passed away from Lou Gehrig’s disease. He is still a “Ronald Reagan Conservative” and active in politics. Gayle Rego attended St. Stephen’s during his freshman and sophomore years (1964–6). He ended up moving to California from Venezuela in 1966 and going to Berkeley High for his junior and senior years where discrimination was based on economics, not race and the color of one’s skin. He attended UC Berkeley in 1968 when all the riots were occurring on campus. The one thing St. Stephen’s did for him was make his last two years of high school and even his one semester at UC Berkeley seem easy! He had a full four-year alumni scholarship to attend UC Berkeley, but left to go to work, then got married, had children, then more work…. He has three daughters of his own, three stepdaughters, eight grandchildren and two greatgranddaughters. He has donated to St. Stephen’s over the years because it is a wonderful school. John McFarland continues to fight for truth and justice. He is also in his ninth year on the board of Front Steps, where he has learned a lot about homelessness in Travis County. His wife, Jill, is well and in her 25th year with the Settlement Home and their famous Settlement Home Garage Sale, which took place in the fall. It raised about $600,000 for the home for teenage girls.

Candy Miller maintains a web page for the class at www.postoakfarm.com/SSSLink.htm Ann Gateley reported that she and husband Ira prepared for a cycling trip to New Zealand in January. They popped over to Australia as well. Last fall they

Robert E. Henderson has had a busy but productive fall in the Washington, D.C., area. The weather was mild and clear with beautiful nights and what the locals call harvest moons, but they look remarkably like Comanche moons. He and Leilani went to the 45th reunion in Cambridge, Mass., for his class and saw old friends, talked about kids and grandkids, discussed mortality, heard from the college about how the young’uns are treating Mother Harvard, and came away impressed

John McFarland ’68 and Clark Heidrick ’68, still friends after all these years

1970 We need a Class Representative. If interested, please contact Nolu McIlraith ’12 at nmcilraith@sstx.org. Ellen Jockusch reported that after 20-plus years as your Class Representative, she is officially resigning. She has enjoyed serving, but thinks the school and her classmates would benefit from having a new representative who will bring renewed energy to the job. If you’re interested, please email her at ejockusch@ gmail.com or contact Nolu McIlraith ’12, alumni relations and giving coordinator.

1971 K AT H RY N M I L L E R A N D E R S O N

1969

zjmiller1513@gmail.com

JOSH HARRISON

Rueben Rivers reported that his youngest child, Diana, is now in first-year medical residency training in NYC and a future dermatologist. His middle child, Jennifer, is working for a STEM advocacy company started by women. Michael, his eldest, is still in Tempe, Ariz., doing SEO/SEM work. Wife Beverly remains retired and serves in the ministry. He still practices internal medicine in a traditional private practice. He is beginning to explore teaching again.

JHarrisonLaw@aol.com

rehenderson@nvcc.edu

PAT FAT T E R B L A C K

John Looney is still working full time at Duke University and enjoying it. He treats mostly college students at Duke and UNC and conducts research on the adaptation of college students nationally. He and Susan spend more time at their farm on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee and in travel. The best thing in his

with the heightened sensibilities on all sides. He wants his Spartan class to start making plans for their 50th St. Stephen’s reunion next year in Austin. He and Leilani also had a wonderful weekend with family that included a day at the Gold Cup Steeple Chase in Plains, Va., with daughter Rachel and son-in-law Sameer. The good time, good food and good company left them with abiding memories and plans to return next year.

jrparten@parten.com

TOM ROMBERG

Spartan Magazine

Josh Harrison and significant other Vicky are well and not nearing retirement. They enjoyed a trip to the Netherlands and to Bruges, Belgium, this year during tulip season. They also had a very nice visit with Michelle Childers Parten, Mary Bachman Fenton and Alan Fenton, Gaye Holcomb Evart ’70, and Page Allen ’60 at Reunion in September. It was also great to catch up with Greg Hicks ’68, who recently returned from the Northwest to Austin and joined the school staff.

Will Dibrell reported that in 2015, he took a break from trial preparation in the biggest case of his 25-year career as a lawyer and traveled to Norway to attend a very

unique meditation retreat co-led by a longtime Austin friend. He thought it was an amazing one-time trip to an extraordinary far-away place, and yes the arctic light and dramatic landscape of the Lofoten Islands were the most beautiful he has ever seen. While there he met someone he was clearly meant to be with: Ellen, a Dutch citizen who has lived in Norway for 19 years. She is a language teacher, painter, astrologer, guest-house keeper and an active community member in a small fishing village. She has an adult son in Norway, a sister in Sweden, and five step-grandchildren in The Hague, Netherlands. During the last two years, Ellen has made seven trips to the United States, and Will has made six trips to Norway. In the meantime, his big case ended (successfully), and he has since fully retired from life as lawyer. He and Ellen were married in Norway in June 2017, and he now has a long-term permit to live in Norway. They have a beautiful guest house property with busy seasons in midsummer (for the midnight sun) and February/March (for the northern lights). He is truly enjoying this big new chapter of life! Lou Porter Bailey and husband Scott Bailey ’70 both retired in December 2017. They do not have any specific plans but are looking forward to spending more time together. Lou said it has been great working at St. Stephen’s in the alumni and planned giving areas. She hopes to have more time to see friends, especially her St. Stephen’s friends!

sstx.org

SEPT. 21-23, 2018 ALUMNI N EWS

Claire McKay and husband Hank Ewert ’70 welcomed their first grandchild. Their daughter, Suzanne King ’98, gave birth to Alejandro on Sept. 2, 2017! “He is adorable and we are definitely in love with little Alex.” Larry Jones attended Reunion 2017, stayed with Fred Meyers and his wife, Jennifer, in their lovely new abode for four wonderful days. He saw Rudy Green and his wife, Joyce, and their son Andrew Green ’07 after their return to Austin from Miami; Andrew flew in from Tokyo for the event. Larry’s sister Julia Jones ’77 also was there for her 40th reunion. They all got together at the home of David Parker ’72 on Saturday night for the band Uranium Savages, which was a wonderful reminder of Parker’s incredible generosity and his lifelong Spartan blood. While there he saw Phebe Davol ’72, Chris Butler, Jim Smith ’72, Margot Clarke ’72, Peggy Phillips and husband Dean Singleton, Walter Adams, Darrell David ’72 and his wife, Joe Pool ’73 and his wife, Anne Goetzman Kelley, and many more. He even made time for Alan Fenton to give him a good drubbing on the golf course. It was quite a wonderful time. Fred Myers wrote that the 2017 Autumnal Equinox weekend in Hunt was fun for all. He, Ginger Borron Arrizola, Chris Butler, Margot Clarke ’72, Phebe Davol ’72, Katherine Enyart ’73, Jeff Glanz, Gwin Steph, Jim Smith ’72 and Hope Lochridge all spent time together on the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas.

1972 DA R R E L L D AV I D

darrell.s.david@gmail.com DAV I D PA R K E R

parker.d@sbcglobal.net

1973 DOUG ANDERSON

dlalaw@hotmail.com

Doug Anderson is truly an empty nester now, as both of his kids and his grandson all live in Houston. His son got married a year ago and should be graduating from the University of Houston in May. His daughter and grandson keep him busy traveling to Houston about twice a month. His grandson is an all-star in soccer and baseball, but seems to be leaning toward baseball. Anderson enjoys taking him to Astros games. When not practicing law or traveling to Houston, he spends time with Kevin Crawford ’73, Jim Erickson ’74 and Paul Koester ’74. They frequently get together throughout the year, whether it is to do some bay fishing, attend a UT football game or do some quail hunting in Victoria, Texas. He believes it is always good to stay in touch with or hear from longtime good friends. He would like to remind everyone that by the time they read this, their 45th Reunion will be upon them. He was

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Winter 2018

able to attend the one for the Class of 1972 that David Parker ’72 and his Dana held at their home in Austin. It was a great time for those who were able to attend. He also saw Joe Pool and Robert Levers from his class. He and Kevin Crawford will be making plans on a location, so if anyone has any ideas please let them know. And please send him a current email address to dlalaw@hotmail.com.

1974 ANN RHODES MCMEANS

armcmeans@gmail.com

Mike Peters is still retired and loving it. He enjoys breakfast in the back yard at whatever o’clock suits him. He is taking lots of little trips with wife Suzanne Walters, including such exotic vacation destinations as Steamboat Springs and Snowmass, Colo., and Oklahoma City. He wishes peace and sends love to everybody. John Harvey Williams is living mostly in Oaxaca, Mexico, where he has a thriving real estate brokerage with a local Oaxacan attorney partner. He spends about 25 percent of the year back in Austin. His life is good. He sends his best to all.

up with the planning of her father-in-law’s 100th birthday party, an event for which she had no prior experience. They enjoyed having the far flung family in one place for the weekend. Her sons, Jesse and Cole Sutera, are bi-coastal. Jesse has started his own business in California, and Cole is working for the Rand Corp. in Washington, D.C., as an analyst and programmer. Interestingly, neither has chosen the arts, although she and Paco still enjoy visiting galleries with them. They have made a few trips to D.C., where they spend days on end at the Smithsonian, but Sacramento, Calif., has the best contemporary pottery collection she has seen. Generally she and Paco spend their days gardening and cooking and the evenings playing music on their various instruments. It is a lovely, quiet life in the Hill Country; she would not trade it for anything.

1982 W E N D Y W H I T E NA U G H T O N

wendy.naughton@gmail.com

1983 LAURA MEARS MIRECKI

llynnmir@aol.com

1984 S U Z A N N E C A N TA R I N O P F E I F F E R

SuzannePfeiffer@austin.rr.com

1985 L I B B I E WA L K E R A N S E L L

libbieansell@gmail.com

1975

REUNION 2018

1986

1993

mary.l.brandt@gmail.com

CHRIS BRECKWOLDT

DAV I S B A L D W I N

S Y LV I A M C I N T Y R E - C R O O K

cbreckwoldt@sstx.org

rdbaldwin@mac.com

1987

1994

C AT H E R I N E H O E Y R A N DA L L

C AT H E R I N E C O O K W E I S S

randallwe@aol.com

cmcook76@aol.com

1988

1995

MARK ROWE

RHEA BENBOW THOMAS

markrowe@henna.com

rheabt@gmail.com

Emily Cowley Leongini lives in the Washington, D.C., area where she works as an FDA regulatory attorney in a private practice. She is married and has two little ones.

sycrook1@cox.net

1976

Kim Sellers retired to Frisco, Texas, for eight months and then returned back to work as senior vice president for Guardian Life Insurance Co. in New York City. He and his wife, Deborah, will keep their home in Texas, but they also have an apartment in Manhattan. They would love to see any Spartans that come to New York City. Also it has been great to see more of their grandchildren that live in the city, and life will get even better as they welcomed the birth of their third grandchild, Tegner, in August.

daniel@danielnorton.com

Abigail Connor Klamert reported that Sadie Gray Augstein shared her first giggle! She is her oldest daughter’s child and her first grandchild, and will no doubt grow up to be incredibly smart and good looking. Abigail has a 1850’s bed and breakfast in Deersville, Ohio, and another pre-Civil War houseturned–law-office building in nearby Cadiz, Ohio. She is licensed to practice law in both Ohio and Texas and travels between them depending on the weather. In addition to Sadie’s mom, Mia, her other kids are Olivia and Tad, who are all gainfully employed now.

MARK TUCKER

1990

mrtucker@mindspring.com

JOSEPH FRISZ

Join the Facebook Page “St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Class of 1976”

1977 R O B E RT E T T I N G E R

robert@ettlaw.com

1978

1989 We need a Class Representative. If interested, please contact Nolu McIlraith ’12 at nmcilraith@sstx.org.

BETH COCKERHAM MACK

1979

Kate Bentsen Henrichson lives in Austin, is self-employed in health and fitness, and has a 7-year-old daughter.

1997 CAMERON BEESLEY

leardsfool@gmail.com

semack77@gmail.com

1998

SETH ALLEY

JA R E D H O C K E M A

sethalley@msn.com

jhockema@mac.com

A N N S T R A U S E R PA L M E R

annstrauser@hotmail.com H AW K I N S L I

1999

hli3@yahoo.com

BECKY HOLLIS DIFFEN

friszman@yahoo.com

Becky@beckyanddaniel.com

1996

Don’t forget to join the Class of ’99 Facebook group.

C A R R O L L L I V E LY R E E S E R

1991

carroll@reeser.net

LIZ FLEMING POWELL

malexander@alexanderatty.com

2000

lz.powell@gmail.com

SHANNON POWERS FLAHIVE

MARGARET MEADOR

spowers1@austin.rr.com

margaretemilymeador@gmail.com

1980 MILES WRIGHT

1992

miles@xanofi.com

MONIKA POWE NELSON

1981 CHARLOTTE STUCKEY BRIGHAM

charlotteesbrigham@yahoo.com

Bebin Cypher and husband Paco retired from the art show/selling pottery business. They now have the luxury of making whatever pottery they care to. Most of August and early September were taken

SAVE THE DATE SEPTEMBER 21-23

M A RY B R A N D T

DA N I E L N O RT O N

Kent Acord and his wife, Megan, moved from Charleston, S.C., to New Braunfels, Texas, in winter 2016. They welcomed their first grandchild in November 2016.

Spartan Magazine

E R I C A P E T E R S S TA F F O R D

Erica.Stafford@bvcpa.com

MEGHAN ALEXANDER

K AT E H E N R I C H S O N

malexander@alexanderatty.com

giantmonsterprincess@gmail.com

Samara Yudof Jones had a baby boy in March 2016.

Monika Nelson reported that the Class of 1992 had a great reunion! They terrorized the staff at Fresa’s Chicken al Carbon by wandering around and not staying in their designated seating area because they “cannot be contained.”

Daniel Williams splits his time between Washington, D.C., and Austin, working as a bar owner.

2001 JULIET FRERKING

frerking@gmail.com

Gerry de Leon is living and working in Los Angeles as a screenwriter. His first film, “Opening Night,” can be seen on Netflix, and his most recent, “The Iron Orchard,” wrapped this past summer in Austin.

sstx.org

2002 KEAN TONETTI

stonetti@gmail.com

Kean Konnetti wanted to thank everyone who came out to Reunion events this year. She heard that this was the best attended Reunion in St. Stephen’s history! On top of seeing sunset from The Hill, the class enjoyed great catered BBQ, an open bar and lots of familiar faces with most of their teachers in attendance. She brought her fur baby, Piglet, since the campus has been pet-friendly since before it was cool. She thinks only one thing could have made it better: if YOU had come! “Mark your calendar for 2022 because our 20th will be a throwdown blowout.” She will be recruiting some classmates for a committee of co-chairs so they can plan something great off campus. Email her if you have ideas! And as always, keep the news coming: stonetti@gmail.com.

2003 We need a Class Representative. If interested, please contact Nolu McIlraith ’12 at nmcilraith@sstx.org.

2004 BRIAN KAUFMAN

brian.r.kaufman@gmail.com ERIC NEUHAUS

ean2324@gmail.com

Barret Hudson has had a busy year with his wife, Amanda. In January, they loaded up a couple of duffel bags and three cats and moved to Sweden. Since then, they have been settling into European life in Sweden’s third largest city, Malmo, where they both work making video games at Massive Entertainment. In August they traveled back to America for several weeks to visit friends and family and had the pleasure of meeting up with Stephanie Redfern to watch the solar eclipse in rural Wyoming. Justin Hatchet visited them during his European travels and had fun catching up with the two of them in Copenhagen. Somehow mixed in with all that, Amanda found time to write a novella, which is due to be published later this year, and is in the process of revising several other manuscripts. If you are ever in Copenhagen or southern Sweden, drop him a line; he will be happy to show you where to find a great Fika! Hej då from Malmo. Lennie Waite is living in Houston with her husband, Matt. She started her own company, Waite Performance Strategies LLC, which focuses on performance consulting for athletes and athletic organizations. She is still training and racing the steeplechase. She competed in the World Championships for Britain in the 3000m steeplechase and is currently training for the Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Gold Coast, Australia, in April. She and her husband decided

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Winter 2018

to take on a big house renovation project to fill all of their spare time. They are converting a duplex into a single family home in the Montrose area. Luckily, their nearly completed house remained dry during Hurricane Harvey, and they were hoping to move in by the end of the year. When she is not running, working or keeping an eye on the house renovation project, she enjoys playing with her lab mix, Oly. Laura Christie started working in the craft beer industry two years ago after a three-year stint in IT sales. She works at 4th Tap Brewing, the first worker-owned production brewery in Texas! She discovered that she loves learning about beer and brewing history and is pursuing a level-two cicerone certification this year. She gets to spend her time with an incredible community of industry people, drinking beer and figuring out how to show consumers the rich history and sensory complexity found in the myriad styles of beer out there. She asks that if any Spartans are in the area of north central Austin that they please stop by for a pint! Sohail Akmal recently was promoted to senior market strategist at Direct Energy in Houston, Texas, where he has worked the last five years. Additionally, he got married to a lovely partner in crime on August 5. Her name is Natasha Maqsood, and she is an eighth grade math teacher in Fort Bend County. They were set up through mutual friends and met at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. He decided to propose to Natasha at the same place six months later since the museum held such significance to them. The rest, as they say, is history. Lawrence Sampleton was present at his wedding. Amelia Shister finished her master’s degree in international trade and investment policy from George Washington University. She left the Brookings Institution and is now working at the International Trade Commission as a trade analyst investigating import injury cases. She also is bartending on the side to pay for her adventures; this year she has gone gorilla trekking in Rwanda, whisky tasting in Islay and the Scottish highlands, and hiking up a mountain in Abisko, Sweden, to photograph the northern lights. She is already planning next year’s trips! Drew Harrison wrote that after having spent the last seven years working in visual effects for film on many award-winning and nominated projects, he made the transition to video games. He has been working at Suckerpunch Productions, an AAA game studio in Washington State, for the last two years as a senior character texture painter. They are set to announce the game soon and will be a highly anticipated title for the upcoming PlayStation lineup. James Cousar took a road trip to Carlsbad Caverns in the summer 2017. He also started a new QA position with Cloud Imperium, the company that manages the Star Citizen project.

Spartan Magazine

Tara (Grant) Schetzel lives in Indianapolis, where she works as an engineer for Rolls-Royce. She and her husband, Douglas, welcomed a baby boy in February, and their daughter turned 2-yearsold this past summer. They have seven backyard chickens that they keep for the fresh eggs.

Key Arm Suh is working at a growth equity firm. Lucy Wagner recently moved from Boston to San Francisco to work as a product manager at Intuit; let her know if you need help filing your taxes or tackling accounting for your small business!

2005 R A C H E L K AT Z

2010

rpk228@gmail.com

C A R L O T TA G A R Z A

carlotta.garza@gmail.com O M A R YA G H I

2006

omaryaghi2@gmail.com

S E L I NA S T R A S B E R G E R

RYA N N Y O U N G

selina.strasburger@gmail.com

rhy9@cornell.edu

S A R A H C R O M W E L L S H E P PA R D

sarahhcromwell@gmail.com

2011 L I N D S AY R E D M A N

2007

llredman@gmail.com

ANNE BUCKTHAL

G R AY T W O M B LY

anne.buckthal@gmail.com

twombly.gray@gmail.com

COLE ARLEDGE

H E N RY S I K E S

cole.arledge@gmail.com

whsikes1@gmail.com

Tara Schetzel ’04 and family at a pumpkin patch

A L I A YA H G I

alia.yaghi1@gmail.com

2008 A M A N DA K U S H N E R

Nicole Martin is in her fifth year of graduate school, working on her Ph.D. in educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and researching how teachers think about and teach science. She also leads a free fitness group, the November Project, in Madison that strives to build community and positivity through free weekly workouts for all ages and fitness levels.

amandakkushner@gmail.com

Amanda has set up a Facebook group called St. Stephen’s Class of 2008. Ashley Toscano graduated in May from NYU Stern School of Business after earning her MBA. She started at Givaudan in NYC in the fall, along with working for Gap Year Guidance, a gap-year consultancy co-founded with her sister, Anique Toscano ’15.

2009

Jorge Munoz is a software engineer at Conversable. He got married in December. Sohail Akmal ’04 and wife Natasha at their wedding

J. J. B O T H A

johannbbotha@gmail.com C H A N TA L S T R A S B U R G E R

chantal.strasburger@gmail.com

Parker Ainsworth is in his fifth year teaching and coaching at Greenhill School. He teaches both fifth and seventh grade history classes and then heads over to coach varsity football and basketball in the afternoons. While the schedule would make it appear as if “some things really never change,” Parker is set to finish his master’s degree in liberal studies at SMU in the spring of 2019. Parker would never venture to say “Pony Up!” too loudly, but has enjoyed the opportunities SMU offers and would recommend liberal studies degrees to anyone who asks! To anyone passing through Dallas, feel free to swing by a Hornets game and/or give Parker a shout!

Hayley Blundell lives in Manchester, England, working for a charity organization called The Challenge that hosts a summer program for 16- and 17-year-old kids that focuses on social integration and community development. She and her partner, Matthew, are engaged to be married in 2019. JJ Botha recently started as a software engineer at Google. He is still living in Brooklyn with his loving family of five succulents. Dustin Godevais is still thriving and has started his graduate studies. Helen Hootkins is now a Montessori primary teacher.

Delaney Ozmun graduated from UT’s School of Social Work with her MSW in May. She now lives in Portland, Ore., with her partner, Noah, and their dog, Sage. She works with Youth Villages as a family social worker, helping keep kids with their families. Rachel Reznick is happy to announce that her office recently relocated to the historic Paramount Studios backlot. Her current favorite projects include working on the remake of Stephen King’s "Firestarter," as well as the upcoming D.C. Comics digital series, "Titans." She also could not be more excited to support Chetan Panda for Congress in 2018! Chantal Strasburger recently fulfilled a lifelong dream of living in the United Kingdom and has jumped the pond! After four incredible years romping around Brooklyn, N.Y. — the last two spent launching a Snapchat Discover channel called Sweet — she is on to exciting new adventures in a sunny little town called London.

ALUMNI EVENTS SPRING 2018 Sometimes life’s twists and turns make it difficult to return to campus, so we are coming to you! Please join us— and your classmates—at one of our regional events this spring. We would love to see you!

CALENDAR

ALUMN I N EWS

WASHINGTON, D.C. MARCH 29 AUSTIN MAY 31 For more information, please visit our alumni events website at www.sstx.org/ alumnievents or contact Nolu Mcilraith ’12, alumni relations and giving coordinator, at nmcilraith@sstx.org.

sstx.org

ALUMN I N EWS

2012 HELEN ELIZABETH OLD

helenelizabeth1@me.com CAROLINE PRINGLE

Winter 2018

Will Deaderick is finishing up his degree in math and statistics at Rice, where he also plays club water polo. He has been applying to graduate programs in statistics and data science mainly in California.

carolinepringle93@gmail.com JA K E P O L I T T E

jake.politte@rocketmail.com Y O S UA H U R O D O

yosua.adiyasa@hotmail.com

Nolu McIlraith is enjoying her second year as the alumni relations and giving coordinator at St. Stephen’s. She continues to be a dorm parent on campus, working in Allen House with junior girls. She is most excited about the acquisition of “Spartans Connect,” St. Stephen’s very own professional networking application. In her free time, she explores the Austin food scene, attends yoga classes at Black Swan Yoga and runs/bikes around the lake. Please stop by her office in Hines Hall the next time you are on campus. Thanks to all those who came to Reunion 2017!

2013 JA M E S C A R T E R

Gregory Lastrapes spent the past spring semester in China. While there, he made a film about tourism-driven gentrification in the city of Jingdezhen, famous for its porcelain. He will spend the following semester editing the material, aiming to release a final cut next year. Ella Martin-Gachot is studying architecture and urbanism in Paris this year as part of a study abroad program through Smith College. While there she has been working on a thesis project about the concept of home and queerness in Paris, concentrating on the intersection between gender and public space. After long days of work, she likes to contemplate the Paris skyline while legally drinking wine on her roof. Grant McHorse is studying public policy at Duke University with a focus on health policy. This past summer, he interned at the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy in Washington, D.C., more than doubling the number of sane people in the healthcare debate in the nation’s capital. He is currently in the process of applying to med school.

carter@rice.edu LISA NORDHAUSER

lisa.nordhauser@gmail.com

2014 JA C K LY N H O R T O N

Diehl Sillers studied abroad in Iceland, where he was focused on cool “geology stuff” like volcanoes and soil. Upon his return, Diehl interned for the fish and wildlife service in Eufaula, Alabama, working on GIS projects and learning natural resource management. He said of Alabama, “It felt more foreign to me than Iceland.”

jaclynlhorton@gmail.com NAT H A N G O L D B E R G

nathangoldberg@college.harvard.edu

Carl Austin III is majoring in business management at UTSA. He plans to graduate early and start his masters to use his extra year of eligibility for football. Now a starting safety for the Roadrunners, Carl was part of the team that sent UTSA to its first-ever bowl game last year. He did so while being recognized on the Conference USA Commissioner’s honor roll, reserved for student-athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.0. He also is starting a nonprofit organization that helps kids diagnosed with diabetes. “I want to make sure that they know they can still do whatever it is they dream of doing.” Maddy Bunner is on track to graduate this spring from UT’s Moody School of Communications after transferring from the Liberal Arts College. As a corporate communications major, Maddy has interned for Knot Standard, a custom menswear company in Austin, and previously worked for a NYC food Instagrammer (@nycdining), basically getting paid to eat yummy food while making everyone else question their career paths. Now she works for a different local food Instagrammer (@austinmymouth), and even runs her own account. Follow her @TheCarbnivore!

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Will Skelton, a senior at Tulane University, is on track to graduate with a BSE in engineering physics with an electrical engineering concentration. Outside of the classroom, he is president of the Tulane student branch of IEEE, a professional organization for engineers focused on electrical engineering and electronics in general. Reflecting on his four years of college, Will said, “I love New Orleans.” Gabe Sperling transferred to the University of Texas after a year at USC. Through UT, he has worked as an electronic medical scribe at Volunteer Healthcare Clinic and studied abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico, as part of a global health program. Gabe is planning to work as an electronic medical scribe for a year after graduation before matriculating to medical school. Nathan Goldberg is now pursuing joint philosophy and statistics degrees at Harvard. In his spare time, he finds out what the Class of 2014 is up to.

Spartans Connect

Spartan Magazine

2015 JIM OLD

jamesold1@mac.com

Anique Toscano was admitted into NYU Stern’s Business and Political Economics Program and is spending sophomore year abroad in London and Shanghai. She also is working on Gap Year Guidance, a gap-year consultancy co-founded with her sister, Ashley Toscano ’08.

2016 NICK GOLDREYER

nick.goldreyer@gmail.com

IN MEMORIAM Harry Carter Gerhart III ’59 Harry Carter Gerhart III was born on Sept. 9, 1941, to the Rev. Willis P. Gerhart and Eleanor Deuel Gerhart in Abilene, Texas. He attended St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, where he managed the Spartan football team before following his father’s footsteps at Sewanee, The University of the South, where he majored in English literature and math. After a stint back home as an oil field surveyor, he attended Wharton School of Business for one year before serving as a naval communications officer in the Vietnam War. After the war, and during another year at Wharton, he met Creta Jane Juchem at Smokey Joe’s bar, which kicked off the love story of a lifetime. They married in 1971 and moved from Philadelphia to Columbus, Ohio, where Harry taught and ran the books at the Columbus School for Girls. In 1973, he returned to Austin as CFO and general manager of the upstart Texas Monthly magazine. Together with Creta, Harry dedicated himself to community and his young family. After 16 years with the magazine, the family moved to Colorado, where Harry ran other businesses, enjoyed singing in church choirs, volunteered for the Democratic Party, traveled and spent time in the mountains with Creta. Harry loved nothing more than his family, his friends, good humor and a tall tale. His adventurous soul and love of life were contagious. He epitomized encouragement and wise counsel in a time of need. Harry died on Sept. 7, 2017, surrounded by his family, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He will be greatly missed by many, including his three children, Matthew, Andrew and Alice; their spouses, Laura, Erin and Micah; and his granddaughters, Eva, Lucy and Leah. He was preceded in death by wife Creta, brother John, and nephew Nathaniel. A memorial service was held in his honor in October 2017.

Join Our Online Community. Spartans Connect includes a directory integrated with LinkedIn, maps, photos and more! Spartans Connect gives YOU the power to continue to build relationships with St. Stephen’s alumni and stay up to date on school news and events. Networking and connecting have never been easier.

k Search for and download “Spartans Connect” in the iPhone App Store, Google Play or any web browser using the address: www.community.evertrue.com/sstx l Sign up for an account using LinkedIn or Gmail m Update your profile, then start connecting with St. Stephen’s alumni and current and former faculty/staff n Check out alumni events near you, and stay up to date with St. Stephen’s school news

T-Mobile

12:00 pm

Nolu McIlraith

Questions? Contact Nolu McIlraith ’12 at nmcilraith@sstx.org

Alumni Nearby Professionals to Know Classmates Directory News and Social

Tell Your Friends

o Spread the word to your classmates!

All Spartans are automatically included in Spartans Connect. To be removed from the app, contact Nolu McIlraith ’12 at nmcilraith@sstx.org.

sstx.org

ALUMN I N EWS

Winter 2018

Lou Porter Bailey ’71 and Christine Aubrey

Alumni News Submissions

Alumni are contacted by their class rep several times a year for news and information. For assistance connecting with your

Spartan Magazine

It takes a great deal of heart to create good minds

class rep or submitting news, please contact Nolu McIlraith ’12, alumni relations and giving coordinator, at 512.327.1213 x178 or nmcilraith@sstx.org. To find your rep online, please visit our alumni page at www.sstx.org/alumni. If you do not use email and would like to get in touch with your reps, please call Nolu McIlraith ’12 for their mailing address and phone number. You also may submit Class News via the school website at www.sstx.org/class-news. We welcome high resolution photographs with your Class Notes news summary. When you send a high resolution photo,

Spartan Forever: Lou Porter Bailey ’71 Retires It is with great fondness and gratitude that we announce the retirement of Lou Porter Bailey ’71.

please always identify everyone in the photo, make sure we can see all faces clearly, and make sure to send a JPG format in the largest size possible (at least 900 pixels; 3" wide at 300 dpi).

A loyal Spartan for nearly 50 years, Bailey’s blood runs red and purple…. In addition to being married to a fellow Spartan, both her daughter and son-in-law are proud graduates of the school. Bailey served as director of alumni relations for 12 years before transitioning to director of planned giving in 2016. “We are tremendously grateful to Lou for her many years of dedicated service to St. Stephen’s and wish her great joy in retirement,” Associate Head of School for Advancement Christine Aubrey announced last fall. Before she departed campus,

Printed submissions may be mailed to: Spartan magazine St. Stephen’s Episcopal School 6500 St. Stephen’s Drive Austin, TX 78746 Spartan magazine editors reserve the right to edit or omit any information submitted.

we asked Bailey to reflect on her deep connection to the school. It was in 1968 when I first set foot on the St. Stephen’s campus. I was in 10th grade and lived in Gillette Dormitory with roommate Carolyn Lowrey ’71. My advisor was the great Kathryn Respess. She and the other teachers were very good and very caring. My mother, Elizabeth Porter, was the school librarian. I dated Scott Bailey, who was a year older than me, for a while during my sophomore year. I ran into him at my ninth school reunion; he was single and living in Houston, and so was I. We married about a year later and have now been happily together for 36 years. We moved our daughter, Katherine, into the Towner East Dorm at St. Stephen’s in 2001. She graduated in 2005 with nine other children of alumni, including three from my class. Ten years later we welcomed Spartan T.J. Brown ’99, Katherine’s wonderful husband, into the family. I came to work at St. Stephen’s as alumni director in 2004—more than 13 years ago! Thinking about my retirement, I cannot quite imagine my life without St. Stephen’s. But, of course, I don’t really have to—just like you don’t have to. In many ways, St. Stephen’s is like my home, and I will continue to come home once in a while and continue to help support it like a family member. You can, too. Since I have worked in planned giving for the past few years, I have learned how important planned gifts are to the school. We are working hard to grow St. Stephen’s endowment, which is funded in large part by planned gifts, such as money given to the school in a donor’s will, as a beneficiary of an IRA or other retirement fund, or by way of stock or real estate gifts made to the school. A strong endowment enables the school to stay true to its core values and beliefs. It ensures we can uphold our founding mission and vision, which were established by the Rev. John Hines and the Rev. William Brewster. I give to St. Stephen’s because I want to uphold our longstanding commitment to a diverse, inclusive community that respects the dignity of every human being, our rigorous academic environment that fosters active inquiry and a love of learning, and our balanced offering of academic, athletics and fine arts programming in which students are encouraged to discover and develop their individual gifts and passions. Don’t you, too? I have left the school money in my will, and I intend to increase the gift if I can. I also will continue to donate to the Annual Fund every year so that the school can continue to support financial aid for students who need it, as well as countless special programs. I love St. Stephen’s, and I thank you for being a part of it with me.

—lou porter bailey ’71, director of planned giving (left to right:) Olivia Andrade, Grace Angelillo and Lucy Damweber

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

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Like us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/StStephensAlumni Join our St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Alumni Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/ groups/8735891587/ Chat with us on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ststephenschool Connect with us on LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com – St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Alumni Check out our YouTube Channel at: www.youtube.com/user/ststephensaustin

Whether you are new to St. Stephen’s or a longtime friend of the school, you know that our outstanding students and talented faculty are the heart and soul of our school community. Our diverse, inclusive campus is full of countless unique characters with strong character that we help nurture and support through a wide range of enhanced programs and special offerings.

Have you received any emails from the alumni office recently? If not, we may not have a current email address for you. Please send your current email address to nmcilraith@sstx.org so you won’t miss invitations to fun events and news about your classmates. Thanks!

Please help us sustain St. Stephen’s longstanding mission and vision by joining with other members of the school community to support the Annual Fund. Your participation really does matter! If you make only one gift to St. Stephen’s this year, please support the Annual Fund, First!

www.sstx.org/annualfund

sstx.org

6500 St. Stephen’s Drive Austin, Texas 78746

If you receive multiple copies of this publication or have updated address information to share with us, please send an email to jsarrett@sstx.org. Thank you!

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PARTING SHOT St. Stephen’s faculty and staff viewing the solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID AUSTIN, TEXAS PERMIT NO. 2556