Early Fall 2000 by The Thacher School

Parents’ Post A Newsletter for Parents and Friends of The Thacher School

Early Fall 2000

Dear Parents, Grandparents, and Friends: Head of School Michael Mulligan concluded his New Year’s Banquet speech on September 11 with a reference to something Wendell Berry wrote in his recent Life is a Miracle: An Essay against Modern Superstition. “Good artists,” Berry contends, “are people who can stick things together so that they stay stuck. They know how to gather things into formal arrangements that are intelligible, memorable, and lasting. Good forms confer health upon the things that they gather together. Farms, families, communities are forms of art just as are poems, paintings, and symphonies. None of these things would exist if we did not make them. We can make them either well or poorly; this choice is another thing that we make.” Berry gets it right—and makes, for me, an apt launch pad for the first Post of the year, a time when choice begins anew. What Sherman Day Thacher gathered together well over a century ago—students, horses, orange and avocado groves, dedicated and scholarly faculty—still coheres, still endures, still bestows health upon those of us whose good fortune has brought us to this place. Once joined, we then take our individual parts in the perpetuation of the piece of art that is the Thacher community: we overtly and actively value honor, fairness, kindness, and truth by keeping those four essentials in the center of on-going discussions, in our daily words and deeds. And though we may not always choose the best color from our palette, or locate just the right word for the poem, we consciously try and try again, knowing that making our community well is, if occasionally slightly beyond our reach, ultimately within our collective grasp.

YOU CHOOSE Whatever starting point you use—the first suitcase unpacked, the first step on a W Sierra trail, the singing of our traditional grace Domine at the start of the New Year’s Banquet, or the Head’s annual reading of Oliver Wendell Holmes’s The Chambered Nautilus on the first day of classes—school has begun with all the energy, eagerness, and enthusiasm that can be packed into—and then released by—243 teenagers and five dozen teachers, advisors, and coaches. New students number 68: a 9th grade class of 50, 16 boys and girls joining the Class of 2003, and two new juniors—all of whom bring vigor and a wide variety of accomplishments and talents to our hillside community. Other compelling stats: a quarter of our students receive financial aid; 21% of the student body are students of color, and 49% are related to another student in the School or to a graduate of CdeP. You could cover the soccer field with the number of state and foreign flags flown by the members of the student body: in addition to California, these young women and men have traveled from 26 states, from A (Alaska) to W (Wyoming) and eight foreign countries, to be a part of the 112th Thacher School,“ the only [one],” in the words of Michael Mulligan, “we will ever have.” Made well, it will, we expect, stay stuck.

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Julia Robinson, Katie Frykman, Saxon McClintock, Kate Kieve, and Grace Bueti take a breather on a boulder near the Cottonwood Lakes.

At Devil’s Postpile National Monument, members of the 85-mile trek on the John Muir Trail: in front, John Babbott, Rob Dickson, Canyon Cody, David Babbott, Will Barkan; in back, Deloria Many Grey Horses Lane, Arielle Flam, Emery Mitchem, Hugh Gordon, faculty co-leader Jamie Dial.

Patrick Bates and Robert Neville in the middle of a circle of new friends.

At every switchback, we would rest, remark how thankful we were that we were not doing this during the heat of the day, and take a look back over the ghostly pale moonlight defining the outlines of the ridges behind us. I was in the front when, after two and a half hours of hiking continuously up, my feet dragging and my eyes batting with fatigue, I crossed the road running along the top of The Ridge and looked over the other side. We could see all the way to the ocean. Later…out of our sweaty clothes and in our sleeping bags, we didn’t speak a word to each other, [but we felt] a connection, a common feeling of pride and accomplishment…as we went to sleep. —Logan Clark ’01

Chris Willoughby stands at fire-stoking readiness at the Golden Trout Camp fire ring. Seated at the edges: Ho Jung Kim, Becky Swan, Whitney Livermore, faculty member Diana Garcia, Taylor Medina, Nhu Y Dang.

OUT THERE blisters and scrapes are healed and gone, but lasting are the stoTThe ries: the Meyer-Etchells trip getting “pulled over” by a forest ranger; the newly acquired Missouri Fox-Trotters striding over miles and miles of Sierra trails in a flash; a high-country, in-tent rendition of “Amazing Grace,” sung by one 9th grade girl for a fellow advisee of the name; instant oatmeal facials concocted with glacier-cold stream

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Dance Teacher Intensive at Butler University, focusing on Bartenieff and Laban movement theories and anatomical basics of ballet technique. • Chuck Warren (Vet Med, Horse Department) attended Jazz Camp at Idyllwild School of Music and Art to hone his trombone skills; there, he studied with professional musicians and jazz professors.

Greg Haggard’s gang lunch at the edge of a Sierra lake: Ben Heilveil, Charlie Munzig, Chris Brown, Tyler Caldwell, Cyrus Menendez, and Luke Myers.

water; sliding down shale, getting nicked and dirty and calling it “the best day ever.” Gone and back from fall Extra Day Trips are now hardy campers, some of whom had never felt the weight of a backpack or slept under the starry dome or tasted pine needles amidst the ramen. Trips went in all directions, though primarily north: far to the Sierra, the Lost Coast, Mammoth Lakes, and closer to home, the Los Padres National Forest, Thacher’s backyard Clarissa Calwell leads the string on her all-girl pack trip with faculty leader Katherine Halsey. playground.

SUMMERWORK More than a quarter of the faculty pursued some sort of professional development during the summer break: • Greg Haggard (Chair of The Arts Deparment, Director of Music) attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, and was under the tutelage of James Jordan and Sabine Horstmann (both authors of books on vocal technique and choir dynamics). • Gallia Vickery (Mathematics, Dance) studied at the Bill Evans

• Marcia Edwards (Chemistry, Biology, Human Relationships & Sexuality Program Coordinator) learned Webpage production; she presently is in the middle of designing a Chemistry Webpage for Thacher’s intranet “so that students can share their writing and research;” Marcia’s reading focused on microbiology and gender communications. • Susan Hardenbergh (Horse Department), Katherine Halsey (French, Horse Department), Wendi Parker-Dial (Arts, Horse Department), and Holly Mitchem (Arts, Horse Department) packed their tack, loaded up four horses, and headed to the Pat Parelli Natural Horsemanship Clinic in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where they picked up new tools, skills and vocabulary for their work with freshman riders.

Of all the seminars, workshops and conferences I’ve attended in my several years at Thacher, this was by far the most challenging, exciting and useful to me. I learned so much about horses, about the relationship between humans and horses, and about what we bring to the relationship that can help or hinder our horse’s performance.

• Chair of the Science Department, Rae Ann Sines, dove deep into at the Human Genome workshop sponsored and run by Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory and —Holly Mitchem, on the hosted by Cal State Parelli Horsemanship Clinic Fullerton. With other biotech high school and college teachers, Rae Ann spent the week primarily in lab work using human DNA, interpreting data, discussing classroom application, and doing computer modeling. Rae Ann took another week of summer to study at the Lakeside Laboratory at Lake Okoboji in Iowa, learning how to teach animal behavior. The highlight, she reports, was meeting William Soudar, writer for The New York Times and author of Plague of Frogs. “It was extremely interesting to hear about an environmental problem from the standpoint of a journalist and to pick his brain about current theories on the decline in amphibian populations worldwide.”

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• To prepare for the School’s new course offering in journalism, Elizabeth Bowman (Director of the Library) attended an Intensive Journalistic Writing Workshop in Ashland, OR, sponsored by the Journalism Educators Association. • Austin Curwen (History, Horse & Outdoor Programs) and Emily Etchells (Spanish) spent a week at Taft School’s Teacher Education Conference, Austin immersed in learning approaches to the newest Advance Placement offering, a half-year elective called Cultural Geography, and Emily preparing to prepare our younger students for the level of work expected at the AP level. • Also working with our equine friends and teachers were Cam Schryver (Director of the Horse Program) and Jake Jacobsen (English, Drama), who attended a week-long seminar at the Olson Ranch in Black Forest, Colorado. There, they worked with a master of draft horses, learning about care and training, about harnessing, hitching and driving—all in anticipation of the possibility of Thacher’s procuring a pair of Percherons or Belgians as workers (feeding in pasture) and as “teachers” in the Horse Program. Jake also led a three-week adventure in Africa for Thacher students and parents that included climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. • Wendi Parker-Dial took in a Cultural Landscape Photography Workshop at the Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, CO, a course taught by Len Jenshel, one of the foremost contemporary photographers of changing landscapes. • Buck Wales, Chair of the Mathematics Department, completed his MALS degree at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, wrapping up with a term focused on Politics and Society. • Alison Curwen (Study Skills) traveled to the Pacific Northwest to attend an 8-day conference on “New Trends in Learning Styles,” whose topics included identifying student learning styles, strategies for working with visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners, and methods to increase content retention. • Steve Carter (Arts) convened with a diverse group of others at the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, where they studied the pottery-making techniques of the Anasazi, focusing on replicating with traditional tools and materials the classic black-and-white pottery made in the Mesa Verdi area during the 11th century. “Using only tools found in the archeological record, we were challenged in manipulating bone, stone, plant fiber, and wood,” said Steve. “I was led to a special appreciation for the Neolithic artists who produced such beauty with an incredible resourcefulness.”

The highlight was the three days I spend with a National Severe Storms Lab chase team, following tornado supercell storms and helping to launch weather balloons into those storms to measure electric fields. It was straight out of the film Twister: crazy people tearing down the highway in a motley caravan of vehicles, trying to get close to tornadic activity without ending up in a tornado!” —Elissa Thorn

• A-J Goldman (Mathematics) pursued a certification course for the high school varsity level of volleyball at the USA Volleyball Camp in Iowa, where he learned basic and advanced skills in hitting, setting, rotation, and strategy. • Elissa Thorn (Physics) participated in a lightning study based in Goodland, KS, where she learned about clouds, weather, storms, tornadoes, and lightning, as well as storm forecasting, state-of-the-art research radar, electric field measuring, and weather balloon launching. • Pierre Yoo (Chemistry) met nature face-to-face in the mountains of the Yukon, as he completed a three-week long National Outdoor Leadership School program.

HORSE PREP able horsemen and women worked with the Horse DepartSSeveral ment faculty during fall camping trips to prepare the horses for the soon-to-return freshmen. Katherine Bechtel, Leigh Salem, Melissa Vickery, Caitlin Mulholland, Anthea Tjuanakis, Patty Abou-Samra, Phoebe Halsey, Lizzy Brewer, Erik Fiske,Amanda Grumman, Tamima Al-Awar, Melanie Morris, Alex Huth, Iyana Reid, Jacey Roche, Annie Wheatley, Meg Kwan, Michael Dachs, and Tara Desjardins proved indispensable to the effort of “dummy-proofing” the steeds for the greenhorns. Of their efforts, Cam Schryver said, “We just couldn’t have gotten the program going without these kids and their hard work. In addition to schooling the horses, they produced fifty yachtline spliced lead ropes and several halters—no mean feat.” (Not a little esoteric, either!)

THACHER TEACHERS TEACH AT TEACH THE TEACHERS campus that never sleeps witnessed an astonishing 1400 southTThe ern California educators participating in the Vons/Pavilions Teach the Teachers Collaborative during the eight week-long sessions. Conceived by Thacher alumnus Jeff Menashe CdeP ’89, and Thacher faculty member Kurt Meyer, TTTC is a public/private collaboration designed to deliver week-long training in technology integration to K-12 teachers. (The founding partners of TTTC include Thacher and Menashe and Associates, the Los Angeles Office of Education, and Vons/Pavilions, a division of Safeway, Inc.) This summer’s ambitious program included 25 different courses, each focusing on the latest technology appropriate for a particular grade level or subject. A variety of technology companies and educational programs teamed up with TTTC, enabling the Collaborative to offer a diverse and exciting curriculum that included conducting physics experiments

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• New gardens and walkways near the WLT building (Admissions and College Counseling—also known as the In-n-Out) and the Health Center Several faculty homes were also tended to in significant ways: new bathrooms; new carpets, wood, or linoleum; refinished decks. And all of it in addition to the “routine” maintenance of a 400-acre, 100+ building campus! Hats off to the tireless guys who made it all happen: Robert Torres, Pat LaVelle, Elvis Anthony, Grounds Supervisor Bill Conrad, Oscar Luna, Jamie Robles, Angel Elmonte, Javier Briones, Rafael Piñeda, as well as Bob Lang and faculty/staff children Frank Conrad and Max Kuhl.

BETTER LATE THAN… Some of the TTTC gang: at the table, Kurt Meyer, Nathan Wallace, Jamie Burns-France, and Alice Meyer; standing, Ryan Meyer, Jerry Holden, Todd Meyer, Tyler Manson, Erik Hanstad, Ben Wallace, Chris Grant, and Melissa Vickery.

using equipment from Texas Instruments, learning about hurricanes and earthquakes from scientists from The Jason Project, trying out the latest technology products designed to enhance the teaching of reading and math, exploring the internet under the guidance of museum educators from SF MOMA, mastering the intricacies of Adobe Photoshop, creating a web adventure for students using WebQuests, and scanning the night sky using a remotely-controlled telescope. Thacher faculty, in addition to Executive Director Kurt Meyer, included Alice Meyer, program manager; Bert Mahoney, website designer; Jerry Holden, systems administrator; Roger Klausler, web site editor; as well as teachers A-J Goldman and David Harris. Scurrying behind the scenes the keep all systems go were many current Thacher students: Nathan Wallace, Julia Robinson, Ben Heilveil, David Gal, Melissa Vickery, Katie Kuhl, Tyler Manson, Chris Grant, Emery Mitchem, Michael Dachs, Duncan Winecoff, and Justin Torres. Alums, too, got into the act: hot-off-the-press grads Todd Meyer, Juliette White, and Wallis Adams; and a host of slightly older ones: Ted Craver, Ryan Meyer (sensing a theme yet?), Jamie Burns-France, Tim Johnson, and Ben and Elizabeth Wallace.

HOME IMPROVEMENT…

…came in many forms this summer, thanks to the herculean efforts … of the stalwart maintenance staff and contracted others. With Facilities Director Jamie Kuhl at the helm and Maintenance Department Assistant Diane Russell as first-rate first mate, several projects reached completion:

good news about Matty Wilson came in after everyone had left TThe for the summer so couldn’t be shared earlier—but here it is: Matty was named to the All CIF First Team in baseball for the year 2000. Those who’ve seen Matty hit, run and field know why; those who haven’t will bear witness this spring when batting season rolls ’round again!

THE COLLEGE BOARD…

…recently sent the news that seniors Mike Disner and Canyon Cody … had earned berths as Scholar Finalist and as an Honorable Mention Finalist, respectively, in the National Hispanic Recognition Program 2000-01, “an effort to recognize the exceptional academic achievement of Hispanic high school students.” This puts these boys in the top 3000 Hispanic students nationwide who, as high school juniors, were among the top scorers on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and who further qualified on the basis of their academic achievement.

UNIVERSITY-TO-US An elite and fortunate band of scholars is studying this fall with A UCSB’s Takashima Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies (and documentary film director, author, translator, and father to Emily ’03) Dr. John Nathan, whose expertise in this subject area combines with his keen interest in Thacher students in a time of rapid globalization. Each Tuesday evening for the first semester, primarily juniors and seniors meet here on campus with Dr. Nathan to discuss eight texts, including two translated by the good professor himself: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (Mishima) and A Personal Matter ¯ by Kenzabur¯o Oe—the 1994 Nobel Prize winner in Literature.

• a shiny new forest-green fence around the pool, with both entrances framed by stunning stone pillars • Room 14—the small theater-like room in the Anson S. Thacher Humanities Building—recarpeted and all seats replaced • New windows in and roofing on the building that houses history classroom K • Reflooring of the Health Center • Lower School bathroom partitioning • A soccer wall on the lower field

Dr. Nathan flanked by Betsy Bradford, Amanda Grumman, and David Babbott.

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Striking poses on the old John Deere: Matt Stenovec, Martin Sawyer, Justin Torres, Taylor Medina, Nhu Y Dang, Jim Sligh, Whitney Livermore, and Becky Swan.

Seasoned knot-meister Nathan Wallace shows Nhu Y Dang how to secure her horse at the tie rail as Becky Swan and Patty Abou-Samra watch.

Peter G horses a day mo

Fresh R Experienced horsewoman Anthea Tjuanakis assures Felicia Butts that Laddie won’t bite—probably.

Up n Eaton close ring as th

New riders—all 9th graders and some incoming N

about exactly what it is about the outside of a h This is a year-long awakening that starts with m ing latigo from lead rope, finding out what give pick up a hoof to clean it. Following closely on t Yee haw!

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Evan Werlin gets the dust out of Colorado’s hide as he gets his steed ready for action.

Gierke and Jim Sligh move their around the ring on their first ounted.

hman Riders

next: Justin Torres, Chris n, and Martin Sawyer pay e attention to riders in the hey await their own turn.

g sophomores—are discovering more each day horse that’s good for the inside of a boy or girl. mucking stalls in the early morning, differentiates—that is, which leg muscles relax—when you the heels of these early lessons: actual riding.

The horses kicking up dust, Becky Swan leads faculty member Chuck Warren’s riding group through patterns.

A passel of freshmen watch a horsecatching demonstration in the Jess Kahle coverred arena.

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BEYOND ENDURANCE A random selection of tomes read and enjoyed (as self-reported) by A students this summer:

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, and Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt (Betsy Bradford)

The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey (“My new favorite book!” says Emery Mitchem)

Dune by Frank Herbert (Matt O’Meara)

Shogun by James Clavell (Jamie Everett) Franny and Zooey by J.S. Salinger (Chris Bonewitz)

Into Thin Air by John Krakower, The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (Robert Brownell)

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines (Zoë Towns)

Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah (Joy Bergeron)

The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris, and Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology by Ventino Braitenberg (Rob Bray)

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (Emmett Hopkins)

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow, Term Limits by Vince Flynn, and “several John Grishams” (Will Chamberlain)

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Laurel Peterson)

Do They Hear You When You Cry? by Fauziya Kassindja and Layli Miller Bashir (Yasmine Arastu) Touching the Void by Joe Simpson (Laura Slattery)

So here and now, on the threshold of the only 112th Thacher School we will ever have, looking forward but being actively mindful of the present, let each of us include in our New Year’s resolutions this: to be a worthy and thoughtful artist, to make our community well—with consciousness and deliberation in our every action—in order to make it good. Here’s to the best year yet! Michael Mulligan, Head of School, in his New Year’s Banquet speech, September 11, 2000

All smiles and representing the third generation of Livermores and Orricks to join the School is Whitney Livermore, right, with her mom, Mo, and dad, Nori Livermore CdeP ’66.

Hugs all around for the Gore-Judds: mom Tomiko, new student Rebeccah, and big brother Peter.

Merilee and Sam Eaton CdeP ’65, flank their son Chris as they all take a break from unpacking on Opening Day.

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CdeWHAT? of you new to Thacherspeak might wonder about the nomenTThose clature we use in publications to indicate graduating year. When you see a simple abbreviated year after a student’s name (Suzie Jones ’03), you know that he or she hasn’t yet graduated. “CdeP” followed by a year indicates alumni status.

NEW FACULTY FACES Fountain Valley School in Colorado has come Elissa Thorn, a FFrom physics teacher whose prior experience includes a stint at Santa Catalina School. Elissa graduated magna cum laude from Carleton College, where horseback riding, alpine skiing, tennis, and French horn were her primary extracurricular interests. As a resident of one of the “bookend” apartments in the Lower School, Elissa rides herd on the 9th grade boys as an advisor to that group; she is also working in the English Riding Program.Y Second- and third-year Spanish students find Emily Etchells in their classroom during this year that Cecilia Ortiz is in Spain on sabbatical. A cum laude graduate of Colby College with a double major in Spanish and Biology, Emily has interests that intersect with some of Thacher’s premier programs: lacrosse, hiking and camping, and riding. Emily lives in Lee Quong and is an advisor to junior girls.Y Also recently ensconced in the Humanities Building (borrowing Chris Mazzola’s desk while she is on maternity leave) is Francoise KasimirowskiGarcia, a trilinguist (English, French, Spanish) whose bachelor’s and master’s degrees were conferred by the University of Toulouse (France). Cooking, linguistics, and the Ojai Youth Foundation are Francoise’s passions outside of teaching and her family— husband Alejandro (an interventional cardiologist) and children Julian and Clemencia.Y Thacher and Colorado College grad Diana Garci CdeP ’95 adds her expertise to our coaching ranks; at Thacher Diana was a four-year, three-varsity sportswoman and a four-year varsity lax player at CC (captain her last two years there). A Romance Languages scholar, Diana is also helping to fill in for Sra. Ortiz: she teaches two sections of Spanish and advises sophomore girls.Y Working in Admission, teaching in the Mathematics Department, coaching both boys’ and girls’ soccer, and advising sophomore girls is Mary Everett CdeP ’94 and also a graduate of Colorado College, where she majored in math, was, two years running, MVP of CC’s lacrosse team, and was her Division I school’s ninth all-time goal scorer.Y Sandy Jensen, a Julliard and NYU’s Tisch School of Fine Arts graduate and an actor, is teaching the drama component of our Introduction to the Arts freshman program. With his deep involvement in local schools and youth sports teams, the Ojai Library Foundation, and various regional arts projects, Sandy is a ubiquitous and positive presence all around the Ojai Valley. Sandy’s wife, Connell Davis, is a pediatrician; his children, Cal and Genevieve, are students at Matilija Junior High and San Antonio School.Y Most recently the Senior Major Gifts Officer at the University of Vermont, David Babbott, who earned his BA from Amherst College and his MBA from Cornell, has been named Director of Special Gifts and Planned Giving. Nancy, David’s wife, is an elementary-level teacher who has just taken on the task of revamping the Monica Ros School’s library. Two younger Babbotts—David and John—are Thacher students (’01and ’03); Ben is a student at Matilija.Y Alison Curwen, who earned her undergraduate degree at Connecticut College

and her master’s at UC Berkeley, has stepped into the post of Study Skills instructor. A reading specialist, Alison has been a teacher in Washington State and, more locally, at Monica Ros School; she’s married to Austin Curwen (History, Horse & Outdoor Programs)Y Another former Monica Ros teacher and educator of 12 years, Julie Manson will do officially what she’s done unofficially for years as the wife of Dorm Head Bo Manson: be an advisor to 9th grade girls in Casa.Y New to the Health Center is Susan Perkins, R.N., who will serve as our new weekend nurse. Susan’s wealth of experience includes work in pediatrics, trauma, anesthesia, and emergency medicine. On campus with her will be her 8-year-old daughter, Bryn.

Under the spreading California Oak: Connell Davis and Sandy Jensen, David Babbott, Elissa Thorn, and Mary Everett (both seated), Emily Etchells, Diana Garcia, Julie Manson, and Francoise Kasmirowski-Garcia (with daughter, Clemencia)

SHORT TAKES With several thousand miles added to his odometer (and, he’d claim, W an intimate knowledge of the major cross-country highways), physics teacher David Harris is back after his sabbatical year spent in New York at Vassar College. There, he took classes in astronomy, including some formal training in planetary science “to enrich the freshman physics courses and to be able to use our observatory more effectively.” He also took courses in the history of science and technology, as well as in physics to see if we prepare students well in our AP Physics Program (“We do,” he reported.) Curriculum development and winter blizzard fending off were David’s other pursuits during his nine months in Poughkeepsie, NY.e Three freshly-minted babies: James Joseph (“JJ” henceforth) Mazzola, all 81⁄2 pounds, 201⁄2 inches of him born August 7 to Chris (Dean of Students and French teacher) and Rich (Athletic Director and English teacher) Mazzola; on August 25, weighing in at 7 lbs. and just shy of 20 inches, Caroline Redfield DelVecchio, delivered to Sarah (History, cross country and track) and Greg DelVecchio; and on September 15, the 8 lb., 2 oz. Aidan McKay Mahoney, born to Horse Department faculty member Elizabeth Reynolds Mahoney CdeP ’88 and her husband, Digital Media Czar Bert.e The first of this year’s monthly Sunday Morning Meditations took place in the Outdoor Chapel on September 3. Readings by seniors Alden Blair, Matt Brewer, and Mary Ann Bronson, a short address by Head of School Michael Mulligan and a variety of musical offerings led by Director of Music Greg Haggard filled the sunny hour of reflection and quiet celebration.e “Drive,” a poem by new sophomore John Babbott (catch him if you can on the cross-country course—he’s run-

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ning numero uno at the moment for the Toads’ team) was one of five winners of an Honorable Mention Award in the Potato Hill Poetry 2000 contest, announced this summer—an annual event that draws poems from students all over New England.e This year’s head of United Cultures of Thacher, Carina Fisher, spoke at Assembly last month about Mexican Independence Day (actually, the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1810)—about the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) issued first (and perhaps, some argue, prematurely) by Father Miguel Hidalgo, and the reply, Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! Viva Mexico! which now traditionally rings throughout our neighbor country every September 16 in remembrance of the surprise attack by the Mexicans on the Spanish. Pictured here with another hat on, Carina helps James Dibblee fit his new backpack on Opening Day as Peter Frykman assists.e

specifically with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. We were examining the cell death pathway in order to understand how it may be altered in drug-resistant cells—in the hope that we will soon be able to identify new drug targets for the treatment of patients experiencing this resistance.” Putting Thacherbased skills to work at the Fran Joswick Therapeutic Riding Center was Amanda Grumman (pictured here), where she taught handicapped people of all ages how to ride and handle horses on the ground. Amanda reported, “I learned a lot about patience and compassion.” In a parallel universe, Jennifer Rocco helped prepare horses and then led riders at the Therapeutic Riding Academy in Montecito— that is, when she wasn’t riding herd as at the Ridley Tree Art Center’s camp. Eagle Scout candidates Luke Myers and Tyler Caldwell served as Junior Assistant Scoutmasters at a week-long session on Catalina Island, contributing their own particular talents to a tradition half a century old—that’s how long their troop has used Camp Emerald Bay as a part of boys fulfilling the Scouting mission. Up in Fog City, Claire Cichy served as a consultant to a furniture design company called Design Within Reach; she worked on their web site and catalog…and did some filing, too! Lauren Cerre returned to the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende, where she and her family had lived when she was in the sixth grade to work in an orphanage for girls of all ages and to teach English to local school children. In her spare time, she explored a photo journalism project that focused on Mexican culture and traditions.

Thacher Spring 2000, the CD recorded last year by virtually every musician on campus (Chorus, Chamber Singers, Jazz Explosion, various electronic music pieces, and recent grads Marisa Binder CdeP ’00, coloratura soprano, and Richie Parks CdeP ’00 on mandolin) is available. Look for it on sale during Family Weekend (or through the Student Store).

GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT, PAID OR UN A sampling of summer engagements for a few of our students: Nhu A Y Dang interned for MAXXAM, Inc., an environment concerns company, filing, photocopying, and doing various computer-related tasks. “I felt as if I were the only person there actually working independently. It was great!” Alexander Lurie volunteered at Four Winds Westward Ho, a camp at which he helped in all sorts of activities, including covering for counselors on their days off.“I learned how to get kids to listen to me!” The Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forus was the beneficiary of Satya Peake’s good will and talents: they put her to use as a greeter and intern docent. Down the road a piece, Matt O’Meara served as assistant director to the younger kids’ plays at Santa Barbara’s Summer Stock theater. There, he set and managed the lighting for both shows, The Mermaid’s Tail and The Sign of the Sea Horse. “The most challenging aspect was not the job itself, but working with other people to get it done,” Matt said. Robert Brownell donned a white lab coat for his oncology work at Northwestern University Memorial Hospital in Chicago. “I worked

One of Lauren Cerre’s summer photos: Boy on Milk Truck.

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Winter 2000 :: 11

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SCHOOL THE THACHER ION PARENTS ASSOCIAT October, 2000 we look forward to to the morning air, ss Dear Parents, ne sp cri attend, as me lco ed and we We hope you will and there is a renew Family Weekend. is us ds of your on en up fri on w ne So As the days shorten time to meet the ul for Thacher parents. erf s nd itie other wo tiv a ac is er It est fall sem ew friendships with ents of the year. and to make and ren of the most fun ev ff, e sta on d ly an . ite y ed fin ult fill de fac ful is r d it ache igorated an acquainted with Th weekend feeling inv children, to become me away from the co s ay alw ve ha e and Newlin Thacher parents. W er 27, at 5 p.m. Liz es on Friday, Octob ago and have cu ars rbe ye ba e ss fiv cla ion th dit will kick off wi this Thacher tra n ga be ) members and ’02 ily e fam mi Family Weekend d Ja all students an nnon CdeP ’99, for ha are (S es ’69 rti pa eP to help out Cd ese s Hasting t co-chairs. Th learn!—is invited reed to be the even —or would like to ing We will cu e). rbe vic ba ser for d t again graciously ag who has a talen m the Thacher foo ne fro yo ce An an al. ist su special ass ca a ry dly will be ve ith some kin okies. Watch for ent for ourselves (w t-so-low calorie co ev no s or thi rts on t sse pu de we ler as best, kil rents to bring their also need some pa soon. ng mi co rtunities for ls tai de the listing various oppo invitation with all eks ago with a form exactly what we we e— few ns a po us res m g on fro eived a letter ased with the str ple en be teers. Please let ve ha lun e vo W You should have rec acher activities. e some additional Th us ll in sti ate n ca cip t have as rti we t pa bu parents to her parents— questions you migh n also answer any d expect from Thac ca an ilies in e W for . fam pe all ee ho sm thr or uld by wo st in any job, big lunteering was set ere vo int ch an su ve of ha ren ’01) u ple au yo (L am us know if d Mike Cerre Just call. (An ex e summer: Gina an ng School events. lat mi , s co ’02 me up ho t an ir ou th ab the Na ll , at we rings amin CdeP ’99 me to Thacher gathe , Saxon ’04) eth CdeP ’96, Benj ab ’01 liz in (E av e their hosting Welco (G ac k all toc W eg McClin arilyn and Bruce and LynRae and Gr in the Bay Area; M and Santa Barbara; ra, ntu Ve ai, Oj Alissa ’04) for area. for the Los Angeles interaction the enrichment and unity often enjoys have any mm u co r yo he If . ac ity Th un e Th m the parent comm fro rs ke ea on almost y sp ult ing of stimulat students and fac your thoughts with ting, please are sh set to bly on em ati ass lin inc r a class or larger he eit in ic rs top ke ea ate any appropri a number of sp like to coordinate uld The Thacher wo of e W nts . de ow esi kn let us our roles as co-pr of er oth An her Board ar. ac ye Th throughout the liaisons to the tion is to be parent cia us. We can so th As wi ts hts ren ug Pa School ate to share your tho sit he t no aol.com do r@ ase the email at jmgre of Trustees. Ple 5) 386-4559 or by (80 at me ho at ed be reach nnifer and rtunity to thank Je e to take this oppo lik tireless and uld ir wo the we for t, ) las ’03 And eP ’00, Cameron Cd a iss tion. They ar cia (C so ay Rick Ridgew of the Parents As ar as co-presidents ye ! t ck las Ri rk d an wo er ing inspir teful, Jennif easy. We are all gra us at made it all look so kend, around camp you at Family Wee ring ing du see es to tim rd er wa We look for fall, and at oth country meets this sscro or s me ga er socc the school year. Warm regards, ether, Co-Presidents Betsy and John Gr

the Study Hall Betsy and John on eP ’99, Russell Cd rt steps with Robe ’03, and Ted ’01

) 646-4377 • FAX

• (805 IA 93023-9001 JAI, CALIFORN O • D OA R 5025 THACHER

(805) 640-1033

Whenever I begin a Parents’ Post, I’m surprised (though it happens W every time) when that iMac message box pops up in the lower right corner, and in it, a cheerful little animated iMac asks if I need any help. (“It looks like you’re writing a letter,” it veritably chirps.“Would you like help?”) This brief interaction (I always politely decline the assistance) always prompts a smile: though I know intellectually that this newsletter ultimately goes through a routine production process like any other publication, it incontrovertibly begins, at least in my mind, as a bona fide letter to you: full, I hope, of news you want to hear, of faces you are eager to see: your children’s, their friends’, their teachers’. The idea that I’d need help of anything but a technical kind is laughable: in fact, there’s always too much to tell, so active, so funny and engaging, so entirely vital are your children. Too, I realize in writing and in placing photos in the Post, that we faculty bear witness daily to views of your progeny (an “Aha!” moment in class, an arm thrown around a friend or a saddle onto a horse’s back, a perfectly placed soccer assist) that you often miss—miss as in “fail to perceive” and (perhaps more) as in “to feel the lack of.” This is just to say that we do not for one moment take for granted these faces or the emergent people they’re attached to. Rather, we are grateful for your sharing them with us, perhaps especially because of we acknowledge that “missing.” I hope you hear our gratitude in every one of these letters home. Cheers ’til Family Weekend,

Editor Joy Sawyer-Mulligan Production and Design Tim Ditch

Design J. Bert Mahoney

Photography Kate Kieve ’04, Mary Everett CdeP ’94, Greg Haggard, Katherine V. Halsey, Mollie Gardner CdeP ’99, Wendi-Parker-Dial, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan

The Thacher School Parents’ Post 5025 Thacher Road Ojai, CA 93023-9001 Address Service Requested

HOO L

T HE

Production Credits

Jessie Liu, Sarah Shaikh, and Zak Kitnick working—and playing—behind the scenes at the New Year’s Banquet.

CH E A R H

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