Fall 2002

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

Fall 2002

GETTING HERE/ BEING HERE paths to our gate are TTheir as different as our local McNell Road, shaded by arching olive tree branches, is from the several-laned I405: one read about Thacher in U.S. News and World Report and pursued an application, dragging his initially bemused then equally convinced parents behind him; another’s uncle is a faculty member here; another was attending a program in Maine My parents encouraged me to make decisions with which Thacher is afmyself—to talk to teachers and to my filiated and heard whisperings of “this School. Thacher, like all advisor. That’s been one of the wonderful school in California”; someone else was schools, is the unique touring another school and heard about surprises about this place—that this is my combination of the indius, came for a visit out of curiosity, and fell journey (as my mother likes to say). And that viduals who occupy it in in love with the place and the people. Many any given moment in it’s actually welcomed and expected at followed paths well worn by relatives time.… One year is the Thacher for students to participate in solving who’ve attended or presently attend—a actual life span of each problems they encounter. Its about learning brother or sister, uncle, aunt, father, grandschool we create, emhow capable we are ourselves. father, great-grandfather or second cousinbrace, celebrate, and once removed. Some have traveled thouthen vacate in this an—Charlie Munzig, School Chair, in his sands of miles to be here (from the nual cycle.” So here we welcome address to new families on Opening Day Midwest or the East Coast, from China, are, at the beginning Japan, Kenya, Korea, New Zealand, Saudi once again, with our eyes Arabia); others had to walk out the gate to walk in the still on the creation component, eager to see just what gate on Opening Day. But whatever direct or circuitous sort of Thacher we’ll fashion and form this year. We exroute they took, however short or long, these new stu- pect, given what we’ve seen so far of the new kids and dents and faculty are already family, already valued for adults on the block, and the positive spirit with which the the perspectives and opinions and worldviews and talents seasoned ones have returned, it’ll be, as we intone every they bring to this community. Fifty-one freshpeople (or, fall, “the best year yet.” in the jargon, smuts1), a dozen new sophomores, and ———— two new juniors, as well as a handful of new teachers, 1smut: 9th grader, freshman; the term derives from the fact that Schoolers were typically the pot cleaners on camping trips have joined the rest of us returning folk to help make a Lower and often got campfire soot on their faces.

2 new Thacher. I’m reminded of a TOADtalk English 2 TOADtalk: the Monday morning Assembly offering of the Teacher teacher Bo Manson gave two years ago at the end of that on Active Duty; a poem, a reflection, a song, an exhortation, a peracademic year. He said, “In fact, there is no one Thacher sonal story—it can take whatever form the teacher wishes.

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joined the Development Team as a Campaign Gifts Officer, a job to which he brings wide work experience: he was a consultant in the area of geology and in all aspects of management for ExecuTrain Corporation, the world’s largest computer training company. Scott also brings with him to work each day his son, Richard, who’s joined the sophomore class.

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LECTURES CONCERTS

INFUSION lucky stars in alignment, part of the Master Plan— SSerendipity, whatever the case, we’re over-the-top happy to have these new faculty members in our midst: Kara and Jeff Hooper are most recently from Texas Military Institute, where they taught English and a combination of History and Spanish, respectively. In addition to teaching those courses here, Jeff coaches football; Kara works with English 1 and English 3 students and will coach the Varsity Girls’ Soccer and JV Girls’ Lacrosse Teams, come winter and spring. Jeff holds a BA from Trinity University (TX) and an MA from the University of Texas at Austin in Latin American Studies. Kara, who was a “fac brat” at and is a graduate of Hotchkiss School (CT), earned her BA at Colby College (ME), and will soon complete her MA at Middlebury College (VT). Bill Rexford, most recently Dean of Students at Rye Country Day in Westchester County, NY, teaches history and coaches football; during the spring season, he’ll be tending to the Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse team as their head coach. Bill earned his BA from Dartmouth (NH) and a Masters degree from Lewis and Clark College (OR). Sondy, Bill’s wife, has left her career in interior design (she majored in this area at Oregon State University) in order to launch her own line of stationery. Spencer Stevens, our new AP Biology and chemistry teacher, taught most recently at Brimmer and May in Cambridge, MA; Spencer fills his fall afternoons with the Outdoor Program, and in the spring, he will coach JV Boys’ Lacrosse.

Spencer, whose undergraduate degree bears the Dartmouth seal, comes to Thacher with invaluable lab experience as a researcher in the bio-tech field. New to the Horse Program faculty are Interns Cam Spaulding CdeP 1992 and Erin Anderson. After graduating from Lewis and Clark (OR), Cam, putting many skills learned and passions discovered at Thacher, worked for several years on ranches in Montana and Hawaii, then in southern Idaho as field instructor for an experiential education program for at-risk youth. With a diploma in Equine Business Management, Erin has several years of working with horses and in the riding world under her belt; her expertise includes eventing (she was a member of the Australian Eventing Squad), polocrosse and polo, English dressage, as well as western riding; she also has completed the Certificate 3 level in veterinary studies in her native Australia. Scott Smith (BA, Duke University) has

Based on just these early weeks’ events, it’s clear that this year’s Lectures & Concerts series, under the guidance of Elizabeth Bowman, will again be provocative, enlightening, entertaining—and always engaging.

Folksy/bluesy singer-songwriter Leah Siegel kicked off this year’s program with a Friday evening under-thestars performance in the Centennial Amphitheatre. Next, for an after-formal-dinner lecture and discussion came Dr. Ruqayya Khan, UCSB’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies Visiting Scholar in Comparative Literature and Religious Studies. Dr. Khan spoke about the distinctions between and overlaps in the Arab and Islamic worlds. Other recent evenings included cowboy musician David Stamey and a screening of Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks—a documentary directed and produced by local artisans Bobby Houston and Rob Hudson—and one on which our own Tyler Manson CdeP 2000 worked, as well. Many other artists, as well as lecturers of all kinds, will make their way to Thacher throughout the year. Be sure to check in on the School’s web site for upcoming events (www.thacher.org). Incidentally, several students are serving as helpers to Elizabeth, greeting and hosting guests, as well as previewing upcoming events at Assembly. They are Rebeccah Gore-Judd, Jenna Reasor, Stephen Rooke, Matt O’Meara, Sarah Jackler, Mike Quintana, Julia Erdman, Sarah Shaikh, and Lucy Hodgman.

SR EX submitting their detailed Senior Exhibition proposals, 12th IIngraders have now taken their first official step in that now decade-old program. Over the next several months, they’ll research, refine, in some cases change their focus, dive deep, and discover much—and by the third weekend in April, we’ll witness, as we do every year, their

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transformation from students to teachers. Among the several dozen tantalizing topics flying around: Myths and Dragons in Literature: The Cultural Origins; Language Acquisition in Children; Historical Portrayals and Perceptions of Virginity in Art, Religion, and Literature; Marriage Rituals: A Multicultural Comparison; High-speed Photography; Homelessness in an Affluent Society; Artificial Intelligence; Marilyn Monroe and Katherine Hepburn: Icons in a pre-feminist Society; Relativity; Horse Whisperers. Can’t wait.

POINT/COUNTERPOINT Sir Winston Churchill Debating Society opened its year weighTThe ing a resolution that “the United States should take military action against Iraq forthwith.” Arguing the affirmative were Calvin Kim and Katie Kuhl; the negative, Troy Pollet and David Moore. President Martin Sawyer gave the negative rebuttal, and Stephen Rooke the affirmative. The audience voted with their feet, leaving Room 14 by one door or the other to express which team provided the argument with greater merit; among our students, the negative overwhelmingly secured the majority vote. [Of course, this writer has no idea how that will read in two weeks’ time (with this Post going to press just after President Bush made his speech to Congress on this critical issue).] Students from Cate School have been invited to come to our campus to engage in the same debate—an eerily historic repetition, SWCDS advisor Marvin Shagam recalled, in that in 1991, Thacher debaters, taking the less popular side in deference to their guests from the Mesa, advocated the use of force in compelling Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. At that time, the Thacher audience voted against Thacher in favor of the position held

by Cate’s debaters.

who did double shifts: first at a UCSB-owned nature preserve, where he collected and catalogued native plants, installed irrigation systems, and restored a large eroded hillside, and with People Helping People, a group that focuses on building maintenance, yark work, and the sorting and organizing of non-perishable items for distribution to those in need. Arielle Flam (back from her School Year Abroad in Spain) rolled up her white coatsleeves at an immunology lab at UCLA, where she shadowed some of the scientists there who were working on a therapeutic vaccine for melanoma. Tucking into the Teton County (WY) Library’s nooks and crannies was Lindsay Hunt, who helped with various projects and read to children. Delighting youngsters was also Emily Love-Platt’s bailiwick, as a volunteer at the San Diego Natural History Museum, where she served as an exhibit interpreter for a prehistoric crocodile exhibit. Translation: Emily got to handle king snakes and bearded dragons. Equally hands-on, Alex Huth gave his time and talents to the US Geological Survey in Tucson, AZ, where he built computers and wrote programming. Taking service even farther afield were Peter Oberndorf

Observing and living in a community so impoverished yet so rich in culture had an enormous impact on the way I returned to see my own country.

—Peter Oberndorf

THE SPIRIT OF PITCHING IN Many Thacher students lent a hand this summer in volunteer M activities, some in their own backyards and others far from home. A sampling: Maddie Ignon worked with her mother at the West Hollywood Food Coalition, cooking and serving the homeless of that neighborhood. In a similar effort, Laurel Back—along with her mom and sister—ran a two-week camp for the children who frequent the Project Understanding homeless shelter in Ventura. In Marin County, Katie Telischak volunteered at a one-week arts camp for disadvantaged kids, working with artists in teaching dance, drawing, puppetry, and painting to children ages 4 to 12. Throughout the summer, Katie also tutored one-on-one in math, reading, and writing in a program that aims to catch junior high schoolers about to fall through the academic cracks. Right next door, Rebecca Mayne worked for Meals Of Marin, making food for AIDS victims: MOM is part of the Marin AIDS Project, an organization with which Rebecca was involved last school year. John Babbott worked as a researcher for Direct Relief International, a nonprofit medical supplies distributor based in Santa Barbara. Close by, Zak Kitnick ably served the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, a nonprofit organization and gallery launched several years ago by artists for artists; although Zak’s official job involved returning information (including slides) to artists who’d submitted their work for review, Zak, as a bonus, got a gander at some great, new artwork along the way. Also volunteering in the Santa Barbara area was Barrett Brown,

and Clare Holstein. After intensive training in language, communication, building, and maintenance, Peter spent seven weeks in Valle, Honduras, with Amigos De Las Americas (and in collaboration with Save the Children), a home-stay program in which Peter and his two partners were responsible for completing a local health education project.

So enthused was he by the experience, Peter’s been asked to be a stateside spokesperson for the program. Clare (pictured here with two of the campers in her care) joined a dozen other Californians who, after painstakingly raising funds dollar by dollar, traveled to the Vladimir region of Russia, where they organized and ran a two-week summer sports camp for kids from 10 different orphanages in the region—a total of over 100 children. Clare’s specialty was music and drama.

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countless other communities across the country and many LLike parts of the world, Thacher spent a part of September 11 in reflection and remembrance. At the Outdoor Chapel, the School gathered for a service that included our entering the amphitheater to the Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem, then listening to readings by School Chair Charlie Munzig and his classmates Sarah Shaikh and Ian Whittinghill, as well as by Julia Robinson and Max Anderson; a rendition of William Byrd’s Non Nobis Domine by The Chamber Singers and a few of faculty; and a closing hymn, America, the Beautiful—affirmation of what the late conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein once said, “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”

Charlie Munzig, Class of 2003 In a recent editorial, news analyst Daniel Schorr reflected on how American’s lives have changed since September 11: “I do not see the transformation of America in the past year that many talk about.

The year since 9/11 has left us with little more than a profusion of flags, a heightened sense of respect for uniformed public servants, and an uneasy sense of vulnerability. The U.S.A. Freedom Corps that President Bush called for has not taken off. The State of the Union summons to a new culture of responsibility, to replace the culture of selfishness, became almost a mockery when the series of financial scandals starting with Enron broke. The Wall Street Journal records that by 38 to 30% the economy outranks terrorism as a priority for Americans. The Washington Post records that positive attitudes towards government, which soared after 9/11, have largely changed back.

One hears much about a greater sense of solidarity, of public spiritedness and religious tolerance since 9/11, and more civility. And one might add, increased apprehension and increased bridling at inconvenience. In the end, I suspect we will end up being much the way we were.”

I hope Daniel Schorr is wrong. We will always remember where we were on September 11, 2001. As a generation, we will be marked by the events of that day. I hope we will demonstrate a new commitment to public service. I hope that as we reach our eighteenth birthdays and become citizens with full voting rights, we will exercise those rights conscientiously. I hope we will have the courage to stand up for what we believe is true and right about our nation and brave enough to speak out when we believe it is misguided. I hope

we will be a generation to lead our nation to help others in a new spirit of compassion, generosity, and tolerance. I hope we will become citizens not just of the United States, but of the world.

Sarah Shaikh, Class of 2003 The day before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said in an address to Congress “ We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship god in his own way—everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor— anywhere in the world. That is no vision of a distant millennium; it is a definite basis for a world attainable in our own time and generation.

Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere.”

So, my fellow students, I encourage you to emulate these four essential freedoms. We are the next generation of leaders and it is our duty to lead the creation of a free world to all. We must create a world where hate and war are not prevalent but instead where freedom stands tall. My challenge to you is take on this task, and implement these freedoms to make them the pillars of the world.

Ian Whittinghill, Class of 2003 I am an American. I have lived a blessed American life. I have the freedom to dream, to build, and to explore. You and I live the life the founders imagined for us. We are the proof that their sacrifices were not in vain. They had security and love, but they valued liberty more. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were signing their own death warrants. They put a price on their heads for our sake and, thereby, set an American tradition of self-sacrifice.

Why would they do such a thing? They lived privileged lives. They were men of means, education, and prestige. They were able to create wonderful lives for their children and had property and businesses to hand down to them. Why risk it all? Hadn’t they attained “the American Dream?”

This summer I learned that one of the signers was my great-great, great-great, great grandfather, Carter Braxton. He saw his fleet of merchant ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He eventually had to sell his home and property to pay his debts. Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

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Nine of the 56 signers fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Julia Robinson, Class of 2004

They were…who America became. A people of great vision. People committed to truth and human rights. A people willing to stand against tyranny.

I would now like to read a piece by Mary Oliver. It was not written in response to September 11, but I feel that it does pertain to it.

Twenty-five thousand people escaped the towers on September 11.

As they were running down the stairwells, we have all heard their stories about looking into the faces of the rescuers who were running into the building. Afterwards, firemen from all over the country left their families to climb onto the uncertainty of the five-story pile of rubble to look for survivors.

These brave men tie us to our past. The all-American cause of freedom and self-sacrifice runs deep within us. Americans are stirred to valor when liberty is hanging in the balance. There is not enough darkness in the world to put out the light of freedom. This is the real American Dream. And you don’t need a Costco card, J.Crew catalog, or a stockbroker to get it. America dreams a dream of freedom for the world.

Are we naive? Perhaps. Is our view of right and wrong too simple?

Maybe.

But still, we cherish the lives of patriots who run into the face of tyranny. Agonizing loss is redeemed through their self-sacrifice as they pass the mantle to us. They make us grateful. They make us proud. They [help] us remember how fragile goodness and kindness and justice are in this flawed and foolish world.

And so it goes. God has shed His grace on America. I have been the lucky son who lived the American life of which my father and my greatgreat-great-great, great-grandfather, Carter Braxton, dreamed.

Max Anderson Class of 2005 About a week after September 11, I received this story in an e-mail from a friend: A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt about a recent tragedy. He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other is the loving, compassionate one.” The grandson asked him, which one will win the fight in your heart?” The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.”

When I think back a year to the tragic events of September 11, some of the most chilling accounts for me were of telephone calls made and email or phone messages left by those trapped in the World Trade Center Towers who knew or suspected that the end of their lives was close at hand. It is telling, I think, and it leaves a lesson to be learned, that every message left was to express love. Every caller, facing his or her own death, wished only to connect one last time with loved ones, to offer and to receive one last assurance of love. Can we not learn from these sad stories that, in the end, what is ultimately most important is our connection to others, the love and compassion we offer and receive—not anger or violence? And can we not learn to nur ture and “feed” in our hear ts what is most impor t ant after all?

The former poet laureate Billy Collins recently wrote: “Pick a poem, any poem, from an anthology, and you will see that it is speaking for life and therefore against the taking of it. A poem about mushrooms or about a walk with the dog is a more eloquent response to Sept. 11 than a poem that announces that wholesale murder is a bad thing.”

Poppies The poppies send up their orange flares; swaying in the wind, their congregations are a levitation of bright dust, of thin and lacy leaves.

There isn’t a place in this world that doesn’t sooner or later drown in the indigos of darkness, but now, for a while, the roughage shines like a miracle as it floats above everything with its yellow hair.

Of course nothing stops the cold, black, curved blade from hooking forward— of course loss is the great lesson.

But also I say this: that light is an invitation to happiness, and that happiness, when it’s done right, is a kind of holiness, palpable and redemptive.

Inside the bright fields, touched by their rough and spongy gold, I am washed and washed in the river of earthly delight— and what are you going to do— what can you do about it— deep, blue night?

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Trotting Two-for-the-price-of-one: Rebekkah McFarland rides Lax and leads Ty.

out of their

With just a few weeks of working with their horses and their faculty leaders under their belts, the School’s new riders are looking more and more like the pros they’ll be by Big Gymkhana time. In the getting-ready portion of the Horse Program, Dallas Swift picks Dave’s hoof clean before saddling.

“What goes where?” is a question put to rest shortly after “You want me to do what to his foot…I mean, hoof?!?”—and it’s not long before the proportion of preparation-to-riding time tips towards the on-board experience.

The recent Family Weekend provided, as it does year after year, proof positive that the outside of a horse is very good for the inside of a boy or girl.

R l i d m

Feedlot loose the care of R

Comfo Z

Elise Post leaves no leather unchecked as she preps her horse, Salazar, for their afternoon ride.

Coulter Woolf and his instructor Cam Spaulding share a chuckle.

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Josephine Chow uses a light touch to steer Trigger out of the barn area.

All smiles, Lauren Chase makes Bert heel.

Ruth Sawyer leads the willing Freckles down to the mounting area.

ens up under Ryan Smith.

ort Zones Leaving nothing to Chance (her horse), Catherine Robinson makes sure her latigo and cinch don’t pinch.

Flag-flapping doesn’t seem to bother Willy Wilder’s steed, Soap.

Martha Gregory moves Dandy in a ground work circle.

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ALL POINTS OF THE COMPASS camping trips took students FFall and faculty all over the state and even off-shore in early September, and by all variety of means, thanks to various individuals’ creative planning, combined with the experienced oversight of Brian Pidduck, Director of the Outdoor Program.

Treks—none under cloudless blue skies and some even in snow!—in the High Sierra (and the Low) and the Hidden Coast of Northern California, to the windswept Santa Cruz Island, to the Los Padres back

country. Unusual adventures this fall included the Boys’ Cross Country Team’s training on trails in the Golden Trout (Mt. Langley/Mt. Whitney) area as a team of peer horse packers kept them supplied; the Girls’ Cross Country team’s training on Hawaiian shores under the guidance of x-c coach (and Big Island native) Theana Hancock; and three dozen Thacher kids and teachers learning the ropes (known, they’ll tell you now, as lines), as well as marine navigation, celestial

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star plotting, and sea shanty singing on the SSV Tole Mour, a three-mast, square-sail schooner owned by Thacher alum Larry Janss CdeP 1968. Although it’s hard to argue for what lasts longest in terms of what students learn on these trips, we know that it’s in giving that the greatest is gained: in redistributing the pack of a floundering fellow hiker, in giving the last of your gorp to someone who looks like she could use it, in singing a cheering song on the trail when you’d honestly rather moan and groan. And then there’s the visible that endures and actually grows: the work done by Thacher campers on campsite and trail maintenance on Santa Cruz is right up there for positive impact. The efforts Thacher

students and faculty (Steve Carter and Li Li leading the charge) have invested in working with the National Park Service to restore the fragile ecosystem of that island are long-reaching and visible in the form of abundant new plant species and the retreat of invasive weeds such as thistle, mustard, and fennel.

ESTEEMED NOT MERELY BY US Honored at this fall’s annual meeting of the Secondary School AdH mission Test Board was our own Monique DeVane, Assistant Head for External Affairs, who won the Everett Gourley Award, “established to recognize an individual whose interest in students and concern for colleagues is an inspiration to those who serve in admission.” Active far beyond Thacher in regional and organizations such as the SSATB, the Western Boarding Schools Association, and The Association of Boarding Schools, “Monique, while not a classroom teacher, is teaching all of the time,” according to the award presenter, “and she exhibits the finest qualities of a great instructor: she’s an expert in her field, she has an uncanny ability to explain things, she connects in a meaningful ways with students, and she makes us all want to be our best.” We couldn’t agree more.

SUMMER SCHOOL As part of the faculty’s on-going professional development, Dr. A Michael Grinder, National Director of Neural-Linguistic Programming in Education, spent a half-day with us before the opening of school in a workshop designed to increase effectiveness in teaching. Both theoretical and practical in his approach, Dr. Grinder walked us through various teaching-and-learning scenarios involving the three primary modalities of perception (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) and the various input, storage, and retrieval styles. For both experienced teachers and newer ones, it was a productive, helpful, entirely topical morning well-spent. Faculty and staff also refreshed their CPR and Wilderness First Aid skills during the week preceding school’s opening in late August. On their individual paths to greater knowledge were many faculty this summer and early fall: taking Advanced Placement teaching seminars in their subjects were Fred Coleman and Theana Hancock (both in Calculus), Pierre Yoo (Chemistry), Elizabeth Mahoney (Studio Art), Brian Pidduck (Environmental Science), Spencer Stevens (Biology), and Kurt Supplee (Statistics). Kurt also headed north to Ontario where he attended a kayaking seminar sponsored by the National Outdoor Leadership School. Director of College Counseling Maria Morales-Kent and Alice Meyer (AP Psychology—and newly an assistant to Maria) attended a UC Conference at UCSB where the focus was the state system’s new comprehensive approach to college admissions; also on the docket were plans for revising their per-

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forming/visual arts requirements and their use of the SAT in admission decisions.

Several faculty members continued course work towards masters or PhD degrees: Li Li in Chinese (she passed her oral Photograph by Chris Eaton ’04 defense of her dissertation), Emily Etchells in Spanish (at St. Louis University’s Madrid campus), Kara Hooper in English (at Middlebury College’s Santa Fe locale); Buck Wales (Mathematics) returned to Santa Fe for another set of Summer Seminars at St. John’s in Philosophy; he studied Wittgenstein and Plato, and ventured into Woolf (Virginia, that is) territory. Katherine Halsey (French) returned to the Pirelli Horse Clinic in Colorado to advance yet another level in that program. Watch out for flying lassos, too: Katherine also attended the Woodard Team Roping Clinic. After spending a week as a music theory consultant to the Advanced Placement testing program, Greg Haggard took off for Minneapolis, where he attended the International Choral Symposium. Meanwhile, Gallia Vickery (Mathematics, Dance) took in Summerdance workshops in Santa Barbara, where she focused on postmodernism, and ballet and jazz for modern dancers (with the directors of the Hubbard Street Dancers Chicago).

Chuck Warren headed to Virginia and then to Portugal as he undertook clinics in classical and Spanish School riding. Holly Mitchem (Art History), in order to research an article for a journal that focuses on the Arts and Crafts Movement in design, sojourned to the island of Iona (one of the Hebrides off the eastern coast of Scotland) where she learned more about Alexander Ritchie, a Scottish Arts and Crafts designer. Also going abroad was Austin Curwen, who traveled to South Africa with the National Association of Independent Schools’ Delegation for Diversity, an offshoot of NAIS’s Equity and Justice branch. The purpose of the trip was to exchange information about attempts here in the States and in South Africa to create more inclusive schools. The delegates visited school, met with the Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Education at the South African Parliament, and met with various grassroots economic initiative groups.

“It was a truly transformational trip,” reported Austin upon his return.

P. P. S. TO 01-02 bits of news broke too late to make it into the final issue of last TThese year, but they’re worthy of inclusion now: Last spring, Elizabeth Craver was appointed as a Congressional Page, one of only 72 young men and women nation-wide appointed by the Speaker of the

House. Apparently, when Congressman Gallegly called to congratulate Elizabeth, he underscored the importance that her attending Thacher had in the selection process, noting that another Toad— Robert Grether CdeP 1999—had demonstrated an unusually high caliber of preparation when he served as an intern to Gallegly. The proof ’s clearly in the pudding, as Elizabeth has been asked back, this time as an intern. Also newsworthy: Thacher’s Athletic Director Rich Mazzola was named California Scholastic Federation’s Baseball Coach of the Year for 2002. This came as little surprise to those of us admirers who watched him coach—so ably, so thoughtfully, so in tune with the qualities of the finest sportsmanship—last spring.

THREE’S A CHARM…

morphs to “Three are charming!” when you consider the latest adm ditions to the Thacher fac-brat army: born May 25 to the Larsons (Phoebe, Marc, and big bro Gordon) was Audrey Sherwood (7 lbs., 14 oz.). More recently, making her entrance on September 24 was Riley Benson Carney (at 10 lbs., 11 oz., she was “already being fitted for football pads,” according to her parents, Jason and Megan). Following a few days later on September 28, Stapley Edwards took her rightful place in the Curwen clan (Alison, Austin, Darcy, and Tag), weighing in at 8 lbs., 6 oz. At this writing, all three babies are learning how to sit tight as students spin them on the dining hall tables’ lazy susans. Wheeee!

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SCHOOL THE THACHER ATION PARENTS’ ASSOCI Fall 2002 a great start for ar has gotten off to ye e th pe ho e W ion! s available durur Parents’Associat d the opportunitie ye jo en u yo at Greetings from yo th hope rs, advisors, and children. We also es, to meet teache ss cla it vis to , all of you and your nd eeke as athletes and glorious Family W ess Thacher Toads itn w to , es ili ing the recent and m fa her love so much! ildren, as well as ot friends of your ch s a weekend we all it’ er nd wo no e’s s. Ther of the Parents growing equestrian work as presidents ’s rm te w ne e th of to thank all of already in the thick rd for a moment, wa ck ba ce an gl Although we are to ance e School and its like to take this ch great benefit of th ry ve e th in to Association, we’d ar ye last eP 1996, Benjam red so generously ce (Elizabeth Cd la al W n ily n ar you who voluntee io M ank ssociat lar, we wish to th t year’s Parents’A students. In particu 4) for serving as las ’0 know, sa lis dy A ea , 02 alr u 20 n CdeP As many of yo n. tio vo de CdeP 1999, Natha ng ili fa un tist, devoted ch grace, skill, and fall. A brilliant scien is th er rli ea t President with su en accid consultant on d Bruce died in an acher, serving as a Th to d en fri l Marilyn’s husban fu er nd for all when we er, he was also a wo e know we speak W e. te us Tr a husband and fath as s term d about to start hi many projects an e Wallace family. th to ies th eir t sympa ve volunteered th extend our deepes dividuals who ha in g in w e llo fo an e Ke th ank elen announce and th ion committees: H We are pleased to us Parents’Associat rio e Medina va ev St he d of s an air rb t as ch y Services; Ba ar br Li , te time this year to ac hi W h et nnant, Barb rad Night; Elizab ’Meara, Debbie Te O y nd Sa ; Q and Jill Kitnick, G BB kend nts’Day; Betsy hem, Family Wee Elliott, Grandpare ne ai El l, ; les and Dennis Mitc Sa r ea rG and Susie Bechte ie Torres, Thache f, Exam Proctors; of an um To a Medina, and Terr in N n; d Staff Appreciatio Smith, Faculty an . on cti nd Au Gymkhana Weeke nt out volunteer letter se responded to the ho w thuu en yo an of d all ive ve rece Thanks to regular mail. We ha or ne ail yo em an if via r le be ab ties avail in Septem are still opportuni e er sth t s’A bu nt re se Pa on in cipation siastic resp d. Remember, parti lve ith vo w in d t te ge ain to s else want y to become acqu variis a wonderful wa d the School in a sociation activities ting your child an or pp su rticle pa hi ht w ig s m nt u t how yo other pare any questions abou me ve ha ho u at yo d If he . ac ys ety of wa we can be re ts, en ev ol ho sc g comin aol.com. ipate or about up ail at brianjback@ em by or 43 97 448 at (805) ts and ming school even g you at the upco ein se to d ar rw fo We look ll and winter. games this late fa

Dear Parents:

s, With warm regard

ck Kathy and Brian Ba

) 646-4377 • FAX

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

(805) 640-1033

As I close this Post, I’m lookA ing out the north window of the Head’s Home, the bamboo there, not a little droughtdry, turning even more golden in the glow of near-sunset rays. The same sun catches the backs of students heading dorm-ward (which always means uphill) after sports practice: they jostle and good-naturedly try to trip each other; one walks with her own racket slung over one shoulder, her friend’s over the other; another, long-strided and slow, wipes sweat off his forehead with his arm. I know that, while I can’t actually see them from here, on the other side of campus, 9th grade girls and boys are ambling towards Lower School and Casa, dusty and sweaty, too.

Soon, they remember that they’ve got to get to formal—which means dinner—and they quicken their steps. I’m reminded that these transitional moments are as much a part of each day as the bigger events they sew together, and that from this to that is the stuff of our lives, too.

It was wonderful to see so many of you on Family Weekend. Until next time, all good cheer from Thacher!

E R H C S A Production Credits

Address Service Requested

Photography Alex Herr ’06, Theana Hancock, Katherine Halsey, Megan Carney, Kurt Supplee, Fred Coleman, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan

O HO L

5025 Thacher Road Ojai, CA 93023-9001

Design and Production Tim Ditch

C

The Thacher School Parents’ Post

E H TH T

Editor Joy Sawyer-Mulligan

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Permit Number 17 Ojai, CA 93023

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