Year End 2002 by The Thacher School

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

Year-End 2002

Dear Parents and Friends: We begin this last Post of 2001-02 at the very end of the year, with the final words Head of School Michael Mulligan spoke to the freshly-minted graduates of the Class of 2002 on June 1, at approximately 11:30 a.m. PST: So now, here you are: diplomas in hand at last, suitcases and boxes packed up, ready to leave, your ship about to weigh anchor. I’m reminded a little of another goodbye moment captured by Jeffrey Eugenides in a piece (“The Burning of Smyrna”) he wrote about his grandparents setting sail from Greece, heading westward for fresh opportunities across the Atlantic. He writes, It was the custom in those days for passengers leaving for America to bring balls of yarn on deck. Relatives on the pier held the loose ends…[A]s the ship blew its horn and moved away from the dock, a few hundred strings stretched across the water. People shouted farewells, waved furiously, held up babies. Propellers churned, handkerchiefs fluttered, and

up, on deck, the balls of yarn began to spin. Red, blue, yellow, green, white, they unwound toward the pier, slowly at first, one revolution every ten seconds, then faster and faster as the boat picked up speed. Passengers held the yarn as long as possible, maintaining the connection to the faces disappearing on shore. But finally, one by one, the balls ran out. The strings of yarn flew free, rising on the breeze. As much as I appreciate the beautiful image of all those lines of color aloft in the air, I end not with yarn let go of, but rather, with this assurance to you: if you have been a Thacher student, the ball of yarn is, in fact, limitless. It can extend on forever. And we will hold on to our end, regardless of how far you travel, how many oceans you cross in your lives beyond CdeP. We send you off today with the fervent hope that you’ll hold on to yours.

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NATIONAL MERIT NEWS Eleven juniors were named this spring as ranking among the top five percent of students who sat for the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test earlier this school year: Katherine Bechtel, Will Chamberlain, Hana Chang, Alison Flynn, Hugh Gordon, Graham Dunn, Lucy Hodgman, Alex Huth, Will Johnson, Emily Nathan, and Whitney Snyder. They will go on to further competition in the program—and we will keep you Posted.

TRA LA! During the third weekend in April this spring, Music Director Greg Haggard and his merry band of vocalists (Chorus and Chamber Singers) sang their way down to The 2002 Festival in the Parks, held this year at Knott’s Berry Farm. Once ensconced there, the group performed nigh perfectly, according to the judges who awarded each group a “superior” rating and a first place. Having heard these kids warble all year (and in several different languages to boot), we can’t help but concur.

SHORT TAKES Ronald Wu and Bea Staley, heads of Thacher’s Community Service Program, pictured here, accepted an award on behalf of the School from the Ojai Optimist Club during that organization’s Youth Leadership Appreciation banquet. Meanwhile, at the Special Olympics extravaganza in early May, Nhu Y Dang took a moment to hug her favorite competitor. e The Thacher Literary Society was especially active this year under the vibrant student leadership of Kasi McLenaghan and Matt O’Meara (guided by Peter Robinson). Symposium, the group’s year-end publication, was entitled Perennial Woody Plants and featured the selected poetry and short stories of 18 students, representing all four classes at the School. e Putting her poetry to music with regularity is freshman Ellen Adams, who boldly finagled herself a Saturday afternoon gig this spring singing and playing guitar at Local Hero, one of Ojai’s independent bookstores. Ellen attracted an SRO crowd—no wonder she’s been invited back! e Meanwhile, Ellen’s classmate, Juliana Ma, got the good news that she’d won runner-up status—one of only nine—in a nationwide art contest that, according

to Art teacher Elizabeth Mahoney, entertained hundreds of entries. At a late-May Assembly, Will Barkan, the inaugural recipient of The Mangled Measuring Spoons Award (for year-long helpfulness at Open House above and beyond the usual), helped to present the honor to Betsy Bradford, this year’s pick. e PTS— The Thacher Pack and Spur Club—put together a mouth-watering event this spring: a pit-barbecue at Patton’s Cabin. With James Everett, PTS prez, orchestrating, many hands made, well, if not exactly light work, at least lighter work of all the hauling of necessary tools and provisions into the backcountry of the Los Padres. Thanks to Cam and Lori Schryver, Roberto Contreras, and Rosalio Ramirez, who unquestionably performed much hard labor to help the event go off without a hitch. e James Everett also recently won the Shakta Bearstep Buckle (handed off by Phoebe Barkan, the next most recent recipient) for his selfless support of all aspects of the Horse Program. Congratulating him here is the originator of the award and its benefactor, Ed Roberts, who also helped to launch Thacher’s Gift Horse Program. e Four members of Thacher’s Equitation Team wound their way to Ohio to ride in a national level high school Hunter-Jumper competition. Amanda Grumman, Katherine Bechtel, Phoebe Barkan, and Catherine Whittinghill, like all the other competitors at the event, picked horses at random from a pre-established group, which meant that, according to their coach, Elizabeth Mahoney, “It’s less about the horse and much more about who’s riding well.” And ride well they did, including Kat’s taking 6th place in the final Championship Open class. e Grateful thanks go to Elaine Elliot, mom of Alison Flynn (pictured here in a hilariously funny oneact play produced this spring with classmate Chris Cahill), for her on-going generosity in supporting Open House with replacement parts and games entire. We’d constantly be a few checkers short if not for her! e Troy Pollet and Whitney Livermore were recently elected by their peers to the Judicial Council, the body of five students and two faculty members that adjudicates major infractions of school rules. They will begin their term in the fall. e If you’ve ridden or hiked a Thacher trail recently and noticed how well cared for it looked, you probably have the Red Reef Rangers to thank— Brian Keane, Walker Cahall, Vincent Chen, David Moore, Nathan Parker, Chris Cahill, and Graham Dunn. This band of stalwart, bigtool-wielding, mostly-junior guys has been on the trail-mending course for several months now, and has even bailed out folks in trail

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emergencies. Having attended the US Forest Service’s Trail Crew Certification Workshop, the boys are officially certified volunteers, a designation that enables them to check out actual government equipment. This is exactly what they did All-School Trivia Bowl ’02 goes Hawaiian just prior to this spring’s camping trips for a quick, two-day session aimed at removing two 5foot diameter Ponderosa pine trees, fallen this winter on the Pine Mountain trail. We’re here to say, “Thanks!” e Chance Phelps (pictured here) and his buddies on the baseball team spent one practice early in the season working on batting, bunting, and fielding skills with ten local youngsters who’d won the chance to play with the Big Boys. What a thrill that must’ve been for the little nippers! e Lacrosse defensewoman, sophomore Jennie Tucker sufficiently wowed the evaluators at the tryouts for the US Lacrosse Tournament–Under 19 to land herself a berth on the Pacific West team. Jennie crossed the country in late May to play in the tourney. e Rising star folksinger-songwriter Edie Carey returned to Thacher’s stage to great acclaim once again, performing both old favorites and new material. e Some of the finest contemporary films out there were screened for a Thacher audience this spring when Mountainfilm made a fortuitous-for-us stop in Ojai’s east end.

UNCOMMON AUTHOR OF SCHOOL’S “COMMON BOOK” Writer-musician James McBride spent a recent evening with the Thacher community, mesmerizing the SRO crowd with readings from The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother. Warm and engaging, he answered questions about his family, the writing and publication processes, and

How to write the story that’s inside you? Well, first, imagine lighthouses in the dark. Your story has to touch each point of light. what’s next for him as an artist. McBride wrapped up the speaking part of his visit (he went on to play a piece he’d written for his musical, Bobos) with this: “Use your privilege in being here to reach out to someone who’s different from you. Talk with each other. And remember: to tell a big story, you have to tell the little stories.”

Author James McBride, responding to a question from his Thacher audience

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL The College Counseling Office’s annual Case Study Program gathered the largest group of deans of Admission from universities and colleges across the country this April. Juniors from Cate School joined their Toad counterparts in small groups, each led by an admission professional, for a morning of workshops in which students got a bird’s-eye view of the application and admission committee processes in all their myriad aspects. After the seminars ended (some held, Thacher-style, under trees), students had the chance to meet informally with the deans in a college fair on the Forest Cooke Lawn. Schools represented included Barnard, Duke, Kalamazoo, NYU, Sarah Lawrence, USC, Colorado College, Georgetown, Lake Forest, Pitzer, Swarthmore, Columbia, Harvey Mudd, Macalester, Reed and the University of Chicago.

VOLLEY Continuing a century-plus tradition, Thacher students and faculty again this year donated many hours in service to what has become the most prestigious amateur tennis tournament in the country— the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament, founded by our founder’s brother late in the 19th century. As ballboys and ballgirls, card flippers, court managers, walkway sweepers, trash picker-uppers, publicity assistants, orange juice servers— even security personnel—they help keep the tournament running smoothly. Overseeing the whole caboodle of volunteers this year was Alice Meyer. Two Thacher students got to play in the tourney: the doubles team of Troy Pollet and Tim Stenovec advanced to second round play. Pictured here, freshmen “ballbirls” get their marching orders from David Babbott, who, with Jake Jacobsen, trained the frosh in the fine and esoteric art.

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pitcher who’d shut down the Toads earlier and who now went up against our Graham Douds. Graham pitched a masterpiece performance, handing the opposition their first loss of the season, 8-5— and creating, with his teammates, a moment that would prove to be nothing less than pivotal. While the boys had worked hard to this point, it was on that night under the lights that they became a band of brothers with the spunk and stamina to run their winning streak to seventeen games—the longest any baseball team in Ventura County has seen in 21 years. As each game racked up a fresh victory, these boys proved they were no diamonds in the rough, but already highly polished gems. Once they secured the Condor League Championship, 9-0, it was on to the CIF’s, where, after beating 5th-ranked Rio Hondo, 10th-ranked LA Lutheran and 2nd-ranked Hesperia Christian, the Thacher Toads came home to our Bard Field to seek and secure what was indisputably the most thrilling victory in the big book of Thacher baseball through the decades: after a Thacher color guard From a letter to loped through the outfield to the Director of Athletics rhythm of Nikke Alex’s a cappella rendition of The National Anthem, the Rich Mazzola, written crowd filling the bleachers behind the by an Oaks Christian parent who backstop and the hill above the field witnessed two of Thacher’s CIF saw a good old-fashioned pitcher’s duel in the semifinal game against debaseball games: fending CIF champs, Avalon. As As a parent and a teacher, I must tell Thacher entered the bottom half of you how impressive your team is. Your the final inning, the Toads had held Avalon to three runs—but were themcoaches are excellent: encouraging… selves scoreless. Charlie Munzig’s leadand inspiring the team to keep focused off double proved to be just the spark and on track. Your they needed: bats soon players demonstrate caught fire. true teamwork. You Graham’s douencourage each other ble scored Charlie; Brenas a team; you inspire ton Sullivan’s each other as a team; single moved you play hard as a Graham to third; then he team; you are focused scored on as a team. When you Cameron Robertson’s pinch-hit sincome on the field, it is evident that you gle. The Toads then gave up two outs, have a love for the game and the desire and with two strikes, Tyler Caldwell drove in the tying run with a double. to win. You win with honor and When Dan Bartlett lined a single to graciousness.… I wish that you right-center, the home crowd erupted, and as Tyler crossed the plate, our all could sit in your opponents’ players and coaches, roaring and stands and hear the words that jumping for joy, rushed to greet him. they say about you and your “It was heaven,” summed up Coach Mazzola (see corroborating photo, p. team. [In short,] you make 19). That win propelled the boys to Thacher fans out of your the CIF championships, and though opponents. the final game was not fated to fall to Thacher, it didn’t matter. “What really —Pam Gill mattered was the enthusiasm, the camaraderie, and the shared hard work

Spring Sports Whether you were playing on or wildly cheering one of the three undefeated Condor League Championship teams, or watching the other valiant Toadly squads combining sweat and smiles on court, field or track, it was unquestionably a spring for the memory books. In deference to the team that grabbed and held the loving attention of the School and broader community straight through to the end of May, we can’t help but give top—and longest—billing to The Inspiring Story of the Baseball Team. Read on.

BASEBALL Coaches: Rich Mazzola, Robert Torres Captains: Jimmy Madigan, Charlie Munzig “Where do I begin?” mused Coach Mazzola on what he called his “dream season.” The steely determination of this year’s team was forged early in the fire of losing a no-hitter against athletic powerhouse, Oaks Christian. The boys reacted with two dominating victories over Cate (8-1) and Villanova (15-0). Next came the rematch against OC, featuring the same

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which yielded memories that will last us all a lifetime,” said their coach. And for those of us who watched on in wonder and delight, we say to our boys of spring, Thank you.

suing game,” said the coach.“Better still, we got the most out of many players, not just a select few.” And we bet we’ll see several step up to varsity level next spring.

VARSITY GIRLS’ LACROSSE

FRESHMAN GIRLS’ LACROSSE

Coaches: Emily Etchells, Peter Robinson

Coach: Phoebe Larson

Captain: Brooke Toeller

Captains: Chandler Pease and Cindy Sorrick

Predictions, schmedictions: losing too many seniors last year to count, this team might have been relegated to “It was a building season”-ville. But no. Added to the powerhouse captain (and ultimate MVP) Brooke Toeller were junior scoring threat Annie Wheatley, backed up by the invaluable Bessie Hatch at midfield and veteran keeper Carrie Blayney, who more than once kept the Toads in the game. “The sophomore class—eight strong— provided tremendous strength,” said Coach Etchells—and that group included Jennie Tucker, who was selected to the Pacific-West Under 19 squad to represent the region at the nationals over Memorial Day weekend. Outstanding leadership by Brooke was bolstered by the experience and dedication of the other seniors, Charlotte Lord, Laura Neville, and Bea Staley. Continued their coach: “No question that one of the spring’s highlights was a resounding stomping of Cate here on Big Gymkhana Weekend, after two close matches earlier in the season.” Most Improved Players were Sabrina Lee and MacKenna Chase.

JV GIRLS’ LACROSSE Coach: Diana Garcia Captains: Claire Faggioli, Laurel Peterson, and Stephanie Hubbard Everyone on this team would agree that the highlight of the season came in their final game, in which the girls beat Midland 11-10. (Said Coach Garcia: “It’s a good thing I don’t have a weak heart!”) Senior Evan Dawson was leading scorer, followed by juniors Jackie Au, Jacey Roche, and sophomore Elizabeth Jackson. Top defenders included Captain Hubbard and sophomores Steffi Rauner, Jessica Cornwell, and Kelly Percival. Though not technically a JV player, freshman Chandler Pease played in nearly every game. “We witnessed great improvement in each en-

“It was a great season full of high energy,” said Coach Larson of her spring with the 15 girls who came out essentially to learn the sport. Repeated drills and improved skills proved fairly proportional, as the girls learned about ground balls and the crease.“What was most exciting was watching their hard work pay off by their participation on several pivotal JV games. As a coach, I was so impressed with how quickly the girls took to the sport. There is some fabulous talent in this enthusiastic group.” TRACK Coaches: Derick Perry, Theana Hancock Captains: Andrew Poole and Hilary White In the Condor League meet, both teams finished second, with John Babbott and Katie Frykman voted MVP, sharing the honors with two Cate runners. The intense and speedy John, in the process of qualifying for the Division IV CIF’s, broke the long-standing School record in the mile (established in 1966) and also finished an amazing third in the 1600M finals. Also qualifying for and then competing in the CIF’s were Annie O’Donnell and Katie Frykman (both in the mile), each of whom achieved personal bests during the competition. “The great team spirit this season can be directly credited to our captains, who effectively and enthusiastically led a slew of new runners who decided to test themselves,” said Coach Perry. Winning the David Lavender Trophy for Most Improved Runner was Julien Rhodes; taking away The Track Cup (high point girl or boy and MVP) was Katie Frykman, an every-time member of the 4x400 relay and “someone who tried many different events—and successfully!” according to her coach. Icing on the cake: these athletes also won a Tony Dunn Sportsmanship Award.

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VARSITY BOYS’ TENNIS Coach: Jim Kasser Captain: Tim Stenovec Although no one watching had any nails left after the last point was scored, the concluding Condor League match of the season against Cate—which came down to the final set—saw Thacher emerge victorious and undefeated in season play, securing the Condor League Championship for themselves and, by extension, the School. Match play outside of the League featured victories over tough opponents that included Oakwood, Ventura, St. Bonaventure and Viewpoint. Stellar singles play by Tim Stenovec and Troy Pollet was certainly part of the team’s success; but so was their partnership when the two joined forces in doubles when they competed through the first round at the prestigious Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. Tim and Troy also played together in the CIF doubles playoffs, while Ali Arastu represented CdeP in the singles playoffs. As a team, Thacher qualified for the CIF’s but lost in the opening round to a talented team from Crossroads School.

raise money for their adventures, the kayakers hosted a roll-a-thon during Family Weekend, which witnessed participation by many; Kyle Dumont set a record of going under and coming up 67 times. Incidentally, Kyle, Cameron Goodman, and Robert Neville recently embarked on Thacher’s first summer kayaking camp, a tour (de force) of Northern California’s waterways, led by Mr. Supplee.

CLIMBING Four juniors—Russell Grether, Whitney Snyder, Mike Tyson, and Kylie Manson—and a coach named Pidduck comprised this spring’s Climbing Program. The quintet traveled for weekend trips to worldclass climbing destinations of Joshua Tree, the Buttermilk Boulders, Owens River Gorge, Horse Flats and Pine Mountain, and made

JV BOYS’ TENNIS Coach: David Johnston Captains: Robert Brownell, Jose Estrada Lower courts, upper courts—whatever the venue, the members of this team cheerfully made the most of their afternoon time, putting together a record of 6-4 over the course of their three months together. With twenty players rotating through the team’s roster, the sheer numbers out for the squad proved that tennis has never been more popular here at the School. The true measure of this team’s success, though was neither in the number of players manning the courts nor in the team’s winning record. Look rather to the sheer enjoyment these boys had out there, whether giving their all in a heartbreaking loss to Cate (tied 9-9 in sets lost by 6 overall point), or emerging victorious over those same Rams in the midst of a sixmatch winning streak. “Lots of energetic fun” characterized the group, according to their coach, who watched as the lads apparently developed and refined rules for a fast-emerging game called “Xtreme Tennis.” (You’ll just have to ask them.) KAYAKING Coach: Kurt Supplee Armed with the goal of each team member’s becoming sufficiently skilled to have successfully attempted at least one river trip by season’s end, this group was “full of zest and zeal,” as witnessed by their leader, day in and day out, from the pool to the ocean to the rivers of the lower Sierra. To

several day trips to excellent local climbing areas. “This term, without question, saw some of the most technically difficult ascents ever undertaken, or accomplished, by Thacher students,” reported Coach Pidduck. “Others have climbed long routes such as Washington Column and El Capitan in Yosemite, while others have climbed higher peaks, such as Mt. Whitney, Mt. Russell and Mt. Sill in the Sierra Nevada— but very few have climbed routes as technical or as demanding as this group.” Stand-outs include Kylie’s ascents of the face of the Jameson Plaque Boulder (second over-all female ascent), as well as the left-hand arete (which was, by the way, the first female ascent of the route). Kylie also climbed Yosemite’s Royal Arches, and succeeded in an ascent of the very difficult Sock Hop problem at Pine Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest. Russell and Mike proved able pioneers, searching out new climbs right in our own backyard, here on Thacher’s challenging cliffs and boulders. “Such first-ascents are similar to the work done by a trail crew to establish a new trail,” asserted Mr. Pidduck. “Because of the efforts of these boys, we now have more climbs and boulders for all of us to enjoy.” Whitney earned Most Improved, ultimately earning and then exceeding the title of Thacher Advanced Climber.

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SETTING SAIL One of physics teacher Elissa Thorn’s students’ favorite projects involves their building a boat that has “literary, cultural or historical significance.” The boat’s design couldn’t include any pre-constructed model boat parts, Styrofoam, inflated balloons or capped water bottles, and had to include an internal cargo compartment. Once students had completed their boats, they were required to calculate how much cargo it ought to be able to hold before sinking, as well as to predict their boat’s ability to remain upright under different wave conditions, based on stability and resonance principles. Testing took place in the waters of a wading pool, where the kids were able to create nine different wave conditions. To conclude, students wrote an extensive paper documenting all aspects of the project. This year’s fleet included a Lake Titicaca Reed Boat, an Arabian Dhow, a Mississippi River Boat, a Venetian gondola, a Korean turtle ship, a catamaran, the Sea Shadow (a Navy research boat), a Native American canoe, a Phoenician merchant ship—and the Queen Mary. “No Titanics this year, thank goodness!” smiled Elissa from poolside. Pictured above, Armando León and Jaime Luna.

ON THE ROAD (and in the air)

AGAIN In addition to separate performances on Big Gymkhana Family Weekend and later in the month, Gallia Vickery’s Thacher Dance Ensemble also took to the road this spring, visiting professional dance studios and three schools—Marlborough, Viewpoint, and Crossroads. At all their whistle stops, they took classes alongside other serious dancers, in ballet, jazz, hip hop and modern. A special thanks to the parent hosts who laid out the red carpet so that our girls could sleep on it: Vickie Blayney, Marian Craver, Nancy Myers, and Sally Werlin. Pictured here: Claire Milligan, Mary Leighton, Ali Barbieri, and Clare Holstein (above right) and Emily Nathan, Joy Bergeron, and Alissa Wallace (above) in Ms. Vick’s latest choreographic marvel, “The Corridor.”

GO TREK Spring Extra-Day Trips sent students and faculty all over the map, from Northern to Southern California (and numerous points in between) to Lakes Powell and Mead and the C o l o r a d o River—even to the beautiful-mystical Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. Backpacking and horse packing, still- and whitewater kayaking and canoeing, rock climbing and mountaineering—all trips put at least a little grit into the vittles at night. Some ventures had a value-added element: photography in the “field” with an expert camerawoman/ artist, or environmental service (on the island of Santa Cruz, amid the wild pigs), or (at least as planned) astronomy lessons amid the peaks of the Sierra. Beyond the inevitable (and often breathtaking) vistas, some other rare sights: two condors in the wild, spied off the Marble Canyon Bridge in northern Arizona, and a pod of whales heading north seen from a bluff high above Pt. Conception.

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Big Gymkhana Weekend Family

We have heard over and over again that there is something about the outside of a horse that does great things for the inside of a kid. But I am here to tell you that before it affects the inside of the kid, it will first likely affect the outside of the kid, usually in the form of scrapes and bruises.… These are part of what I believe is the unpublished life-changing ingredient of the Thacher experience. It is what I call “the education of shared disasters.” Yet, in fact, everyone arrives back at Thacher [after various trips] to tell of challenges, not only survived, but overcome, even mastered—to everyone’s surprise.… To you Thacher parents, I compliment you on your faith and courage [in this kind of education.] To you Thacher students, I urge you to have the ride of your lives, to take stock of all that is given you here and take a bit of time to recognize the gift of this magical time and place. —T. Newlin Hastings CdeP 1970 (Shannon CdeP 1999, Jamie CdeP 2002)

The operative word was certainly “big” this year: a record turnout of parents, siblings, extended family, even alumni; a highest-ever number of donations and of dollars earned by the Parents’ Auction ($85,000—a jump of $12,000 from the year before!); a Gymkhabaret over-brimming with talent; major victories in baseball and girls’ lacrosse; wide-ranging thoughts at the ecumenical chapel service on Sunday; a big new barn dedicated to the super-sized friendship of two men; an oversized pinwheel on the Gymkhana Field as a new grand entry left its stamp in the dust. The main event—those renowned games on horseback—had spectators cheering all afternoon, as barrel racers, pole benders and ring-spearers sent hearts (their own and those of the watchers) hurry-scurrying into throats more than once. The Orange Team (captained by Duncan Winecoff and Ben Heilveil) took top honors with 5933 points; Green (with Katherine Bechtel commanding) followed with 5407; Blue (Amanda Grumman leading the cerulean charge) came up just a few horsehairs behind, with 5279. The Parents’ Auction, a year-long labor of love on the parts of Susie Bechtel, Kathy Back, and Marilyn Wallace, featured more items than ever before, including the piece de resistance, an equisite Craftsman-style table hand-made by artisan-dads John Bueti and Bo Manson. (Generously donated back to the School, it is in a place of honor in the Library.) The Parent-Student Tennis Tournament yielded a victory for one pair of Babbotts (David and Ben), and, alas, a defeat for another Babbott duo (Nancy and John). Meanwhile, up on the Twin Peaks Trap Range, the team of Jamie Hastings and his dad, Newie, took top place at the Parent-Student Trap Shoot. It’s all good, of course—but maybe what feels the best (at least to a Thacher rider) is that combination of soft dirt and hard metal that means you actually did scoop up the Silver Dollar at a lope. And who did, in this event’s 50th anniversary year? In order of pick-up: Toby Nathan, Annie Strachan, Patrick Bates, Willy Wilder, Dillon Valadez, Conner Schryver, Annie O’Donnell, and Becky Horton.

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TOP TEN FRESHMEN (in order) Conner Schryver Toby Nathan Lisa Frasse Michael Yun Becky Horton Hazel Ruiz Barrett Brown Zach Behar Davie Connick Dillon Valadez

TOP TEN RIDERS (in order) Jamie Hastings Conner Schryver Luke Myers Michael Dachs Katherine Bechtel Duncan Winecoff Erik Fiske Toby Nathan Lisa Frasse Phoebe Barkan

Big Gymkhana Buckle winner Jamie Hastings also tied the School record for the number of firsts placed in a single gymkhana (six). Named Top English Rider was Katherine Bechtel, who also, with fellow junior Michael Dachs, earned the Perpetual Silver Bridle for achievement in the Horse Program.

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Senior

Add one (1) senior to one Thacher, that three’s a char during a three-day spring w requirement that gives eve profoundly a topic of perso each senior presents his or friends. Thus is the transfo was dazzlingly wide, as the

SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

ARTS AND LETTERS Patty Abou-Samra Chelsea Bauch Joy Bergeron Heidi Cole Eita Hatayama Youna Kim

20th-century Furniture Design and Architecture Picasso and Goya: A Comparative Study Fashion Retailing and Merchandising Writing a Screenplay Leading Musical Ensembles Recitative and the Balance between Words and Music in Opera Andrew Ma 20th-century American Architecture Madeleine McQuillan Translation and Adaptation Maggie Tillman Muslim Architecture in Spain Zoë Towns Film Noir Noël Vietor Designs for Modern Living: The Los Angeles Case Study Houses Hilary White Man Ray, Cindy Sherman, and Annie Leibovitz: A Photographic Study [see portrait, upper left] Duncan Winecoff Notre Dame Cathedral and 12th-century France

Betsy Bradford Rob Bray Evan Dawson James Everett Claire Faggioli Mercedes Farrell Erik Fiske Amanda Grumman Jamie Hastings Alex Herbert Bobby Kellogg Jane Kwett Dan Moore Laura Neville Libby Rauner Iyana Reid Julien Rhodes Leigh Salem Matt Spille Nathan Wallace Natalie Warren Daniel Weems

Yucca Mountain String Theory Sleep Disorders Retinal Rivalry: H Mass Extinctions i Social Anxiety Dis Biometric Technol Starting a Colt The Differences be Conventional Ran The Psychology of Shark Attacks Teaching Autistic C Nano-machinery The Myers-Briggs Stem-Cell Researc The Rain Forests: D Renewable Energy Land Developmen Psycho/social Gen Physics of Paraglid Pheromones Nikola Tesla: His L

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Exhibitions 2002

(1) deep interest or passion and one (1) year and what do you get? At rm—and it’s a combination that yields us a wealth of Senior Exhibitions weekend. The Senior Ex (as students fondly call it) is a graduation ry 12th grader the opportunity to investigate intensely and sometimes onal import. In April, the School celebrates this research and discovery, as r her work publicly to the School and wider community of parents and ormation from student to teacher complete. This year’s spectrum of topics e roster here veritably shouts.

How the Horse Views the World in the Geologic Record sorder logies

etween Organic and nching Deceit

Children

Type Indicator and the Enneagram h Do we really need them? y Sources nt & Conservation der Comparison ding

Life and Works

HUMANITIES AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Tamima Al-Awar Will Barkan Daniel Bartlett Robert Brownell José Estrada David Gal Monique Gaskins Chris Grant Ben Heilveil Nick Horton Stephanie Hubbard Max Leeds Charlotte Lord Alexander Lurie Claire Milligan Laurel Peterson Andrew Poole Laura Slattery Bea Staley Tim Stenovec Brooke Toeller Ronald Wu

Che Guevara Osama bin Laden Israel and Palestine: The Roots of Conflict Hiroshima: The Decision to Drop the Bomb Stealth Technology Arab-Israeli Peace: Dream of the Past or Vision of the Future? Public Education/Public Policy Economic Revolutions: What’s Next for the US? Rhetoric in Plato’s Phaedrus Special Operations Forces The US Space Program and the Future of NASA The Evolution of Violence in Public Entertainment Ancient Roman Popular Entertainment California Partisan Government ETA: Ethnic Violence in the North of Spain Esperanto: Can it Speak for Us All? German and Italian Automobile Design and Culture The Changing Role of Women in Saudi Arabia The Trail of Tears Christian and Islamic Fundamentalism: The Army of God and Al Qaeda Martyrdom in Islam The Impact of China’s Entrance to the World Trade Organization

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Academic Commendations

Although Thacher does not produce an Honor Roll or Dean’s list, we do, at each school year’s conclusion, award Academic Commendations, by subject area, to those students who have produced consistently superior work. An asterisk indicates the student or students who have done the finest work in the given subject area.

photo by Amanda Grumman

* indicates the top student in the class in each discipline

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Ellen Adams* Dana Gal* Becky Horton Ned Lederer Chandler Pease Keely Walsh Kaitlin Walter

The Nash Robbins Short Story Prize, for excellence in writing, presented to the author of the best short story of the year: Julia Robinson, for her short story, “The Plum” The William Bishop Nixon Poetry Prize, for the best poem written at any time during the year: Iyana Reid, for her poem, “So color me Blues!”

Jessica Cornwell* Julia Robinson* Cara Bonewitz Whitney Livermore Kasi McLenaghan Kelly Percival Jenna Reasor Jim Sligh

Kylie Manson* Hana Chang Owili Eison Katie Kuhl Mary Leighton Emily Nathan Katie Telischak Mary White

Stephanie Hubbard* (The Jack Boyd English Prize) Madeleine McQuillan* (The Jack Boyd English Prize) Claire Milligan Laurel Peterson Leigh Salem Zoë Towns Ronald Wu

photo by Alex Herbert

MATHEMATICS

Max Anderson* Chandler Pease* Ellen Adams Ryan Church Ned Lederer Justine Robinett Cindy Sorrick

Kelly Percival* Ali Arastu Ella Carney Jessica Cornwell Leland Franklin Martin Sawyer Ward Sorrick

Chris Cahill* Jackie Au Katherine Bechtel Hana Chang Hugh Gordon Alex Huth

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Award, for excellence in Science and Mathematics: Chris Cahill

Level IV and AP students: Stephanie Hubbard* Chelsea Bauch Laurel Peterson Julia Robinson

Claire Milligan* (The Morgan Ward Prize) Betsy Bradford Rob Bray Laurel Peterson Ronald Wu

photo by Laura Slattery

SCIENCES LANGUAGES Level I Sarah Chamberlain* Ellen Adams Ella Carney Ryan Church Elizabeth Craver Armando León Juliana Ma Chandler Pease Level II Max Anderson* Jessica Cornwell Ho Jung Kim Jessie Liu David Moore Robert Neville Alissa Wallace Catherine Whittinghill Level III Andy Clark* Katie Kuhl* Katherine Bechtel Cara Bonewitz Lucy Hodgman Jenna Reasor Justine Robinett Stephen Rooke

Barrett Brown* Max Anderson Edward Cahill Ned Lederer Juliana Ma Justin Ouyang Chandler Pease Justine Robinette

Jessica Cornwell Ho Jung Kim Whitney Livermore Taylor Medina Robert Neville Kelly Percival Stephen Rooke Ward Sorrick Evan Werlin

11 12

Chris Cahill Vincent Chen Katie Kuhl Kylie Manson Katie Telischak Stephanie Hubbard Leigh Salem

Each year, The Science Award is given to the students who have done the best work in Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. This year awards go to Jackie Au in Chemistry; to Martin Sawyer in Physics; and to Betsy Bradford and Claire Faggioli in Biology.

HISTORY

Ellen Adams* Becky Horton Tommy Kim Armando León Hazel Ruiz Keely Walsh Willy Wilder

Cara Bonewitz* Ali Arastu Jessica Cornwell Virginia Dawson Whitney Livermore Kasi McLenaghan Julia Robinson Martin Sawyer

Jackie Au* Christopher Cahill Hana Chang Charmiane Lieu Kylie Manson Jacey Roche Vivian Wu

Betsy Bradford* Daniel Bartlett Evan Dawson Youna Kim Zoë Towns Martin Sawyer

Year-End 2002 :: 13

and School Awards 2001-2002 The Vaquero Cup, to the best all-around student in riding, shooting, and gymkhana: Jamie Hastings

CUM LAUDE SOCIETY

photo by Nate Wallace

THE ARTS

9 10

Juliana Ma (Art) T.J. Bermant (Drama and Music) Ben Babbott (Music) Whitney Livermore (Art) Jessica Cornwell (Art) Lauren Fiske (Music) Ned Lincoln (Photography) Cameron Goodman (Wood Design)

Jessie Liu (Art) Zak Kitnick (Art) Jackie Fiske (Music) Jackie Au (Photography) Emery Mitchem (Wood Design)

Zoë Towns (Photography) James Everett (Wood Design) The Harry Llewellyn Bixby Dramatic Cup, awarded in recognition of contributions to the Thacher Drama program: Will Barkan and Stephanie Hubbard

The Darah Corbett, Jr., Studio Prize: Laura Neville The Marcus Hele Dall Award, to the best photographer in the School: Erik Fiske The Rhode Island School of Design Art Award, in acknowledgment of achievement in the Visual Arts: Tamima Al-Awar The Agnes M. Lord Music Award: Youna Kim The Eric Bechtel Dachs Prize for Technical Theatre, awarded by the Drama Director to the senior who, in his or her career at Thacher, has shown the greatest dedication, imagination, and expertise in technical theater: Hugh Gordon The Munro-Palmer Public Speaking and Debating Prize: David Gal

The Cum Laude Society is a national organization that recognizes superior academic achievement and excellence in select high schools across the country. Founded in 1906, it is modeled on Phi Beta Kappa, the college-level honor society. Election to Cum Laude commends those students who, while undertaking a rigorous course load, not only have a maintained the very highest level of academic achievement and integrity throughout each and every year of their time at Thacher, but also hold dear the qualities of excellence, justice, and honor named in the Society’s motto. Up to 20% of the senior class may be elected. Elected in the spring of their junior year: Stephanie Hubbard Youna Kim Claire Milligan Elected this spring: Betsy Bradford Charlotte Lord Madeleine McQuillan Laura Neville Laurel Peterson Leigh Salem Laura Slattery Brooke Toeller Ronald Wu

The Charles Pratt Trapshoot Plate, to that student with the highest score: James Everett (47/50) photo by Amanda Grumman

The Jesse Kahle Horse Camper Award, to the student who has demonstrated horse camping skills of the highest quality and greatest range by planning and carrying out a variety of worthwhile horse trips during a Thacher career: Phoebe Barkan The Best Camper Award, to the student who has demonstrated camping skills of the highest quality and greatest range by planning and carrying out a variety of worthwhile trips during a Thacher career: Phoebe Barkan and Katherine Bechtel The George Beckwith Gymkhana Trophy, to the captains of the winning gymkhana team: Ben Heilveil and Duncan Winecoff The Bissell Gymkhana Trophy, to the highpoint man or woman: Jamie Hastings

The Edward R. Spaulding Tennis Cup, presented each year to the School Tennis Champions: Evan Dawson and Tim Stenovec. The Marvin Shagam Award, given annually to that student who has made a difference in The Thacher Community through force of character, goodness, courage, vision, and love for all God’s creation, rather than for leadership in academics and athletics. Although established in Mr. Shagam’s name, he has no part in the selection of the recipient: Laurel Back

photo by Laura Slattery

:: Parents’Post

THE END OF THE YEAR It begins after the last regular formal dinner of exam week—on the eve of Memorial Day—with a measured walk up the rocky trail at the far north edge of the campus, the whole School snaking its way slowly to the Memorial Pergola. Gathered closely there, we listen as the Head of School speaks briefly about the sacrifice Thacher boys and men have made in the wars of the last century, then reads out their names, their hometowns, and the dates of their deaths. It is a poignant reminder that though Thacher is surely ours, it is not ours alone. As Newlin Hastings put it in his Chapel Talk on Family Weekend, “[These plaques] represent rightly those who have gone before us, those who sacri-

Just as a paradox is only apparently a contradiction that in fact coheres around its own internal consistency, so a commitment to self-creation through kindness to others empowers us and guides us to live lives that cohere not only in fulfilling their own purposes, but also in participating in an ongoing human project, an upward spiral of which we happen to occupy one brief moment.

Following this evening of quiet and reflection come the flurry of exams and packing up and signing yearbooks and the All-School Banquet and farewells and goodbyes—and this year, a happy and fortuitous disruptor of the usual pattern: CIF playoffs for the baseball team. At the banquet, Robert Brownell, outgoing School Chair (pictured here with classmate and Senior Class President, David Gal, as well as Mr. Mulligan and recently elected School Chair, Charlie Munzig), remarked on the year past, ending with a humble acknowledgement that he’d “like to think [his] class is leaving pretty big shoes to fill.” Following at the podium, Mr. Mulligan agreed, thanking the seniors for their strong leadership this year, and then went on to reflect on the importance of appreciating what we have together in this school and community while we are actually here. Many of you, both seniors and underclassmen, have this year evinced a particular appreciation of the experience of Thacher in the here and now. I know this because you have told me so and because I have watched you celebrate—in both quiet and boisterous ways—your time together here. To enjoy what you have, while you have it: that is sublime. That is what it is to live the best kind of life: to find beauty in each day; to appreciate nuance, to embrace success and failure, harmony and conflict as they unfold. With most underclassmen heading homeward on Fri-

ficed, and more important—in whose memory [lies] the Thacher tradition: to live better lives, to make a difference in this world, to be men and women of character.”

After the reading of the names and a moment of silence, the assembled crowd moves to the Outdoor Chapel, where another tradition begins: Se—Dr. David Johnston in his nior Vespers, a time for Senior Vespers talk readings selected or written by seniors (this year, Brooke Toeller, Laura Neville, and Chris Grant), the singing of The Banquet Song and an address by a faculty member whom the seniors have chosen. This year, it was Dr. David Johnston at the podium, asking us to consider “three familiar but never outdated approaches to, or perspectives on the lives we are in the process of living: first, cultivate your garden; second, create yourself; third, be kind.”

day morning, the ensuing 24 hours and the campus really belong to the seniors, whose families began arriving throughout the day on to be ready for that evening’s major events: Baccalaureate in the Outdoor Chapel and the Senior Banquet, held under the tent on the Forest Cooke Lawn. Speaking at the former was Dr. Aristotle Sophocles, “a public servant and a renais-

We still do not know what space is made of, nor do we know where most of the matter of the universe hides, nor do we have a completed map of the heavens. And scientists are beginning to question the Big Bang Theory (and have suggested replacing it with the “Big Bounce Theory”) and some are questioning the notion that ours is the only universe. Your generation may well explain the creation, structure, evolution, and future of the universe. No small task, but for the first time in human history, it’s achievable. —Dr. Aristotle Sophocles in his Baccalaureate Address

Year-End 2002 :: 15

As you reflect upon your time at Thacher, you may realize that few of your peers [in the world outside] have received equal preparation in terms of education, a sense of community, understanding people and developing a set of personal values. This is a tremendous privilege, one that you should cherish. Use this privilege, this advantage, to your and other’s benefit. And remember that honor, fairness, kindness, and truth are the cornerstones of any society, regardless of one’s spiritual orientation. —Justin Faggioli CdeP 1969 (father of Nathan CdeP 2001 and Claire CdeP 2002) in his remarks at the Senior Banquet sance man” whose work as a physician, lawyer, professor and innovator has touched many lives, but especially deeply those of disabled outdoorsmen and women.

The Elizabeth Helms Adams Perpetual Sportswomanship Award, given to the girl who, by vote of the Athletic Council, has demonstrated those qualities of sportsmanship, participation, achievement and leadership characteristic of the highest ideals of interscholastic athletics: Brooke Toeller The Newton K. Chase Community Service Award, given to that student who, through volunteer work in the community, has demonstrated an unselfish interest in and concern for others: Laurel Back The School Chair Award, given in recognition of the contributions of the School Chair throughout the academic year: Robert Brownell The Charles L. Tutt Silver Bowl for Integrity and Responsibility, given by the faculty in recognition of those qualities of character not always recognized in the traditional school-type awards—not primarily leadership, but integrity and responsibility, fortitude in the face of adversity, and consideration for others: Will Barkan

The Thacher Cup, presented to the senior who, in the judgment of the faculty, best demonstrates those qualities the School holds as central: academic excellence, extracurricular achievement, moral leadership and concern for others: Stephanie Hubbard

At the banquet, Justin Faggioli CdeP 1969, after being introduced by his daughter Claire, offered the nearly-grads four pieces of advice: “Become comfortable with uncertainty; value the richness of your Thacher experience; seek to understand other people as well as yourself; continue to serve others.” Head of School Michael Mulligan then went on, with the help of various faculty members, to award the School’s major prizes. The Thacher Letterman Club Perpetual Sportsmanship Award, given to the boy who, by vote of the Athletic Council, has demonstrated those qualities of sportsmanship, participation, achievement and leadership characteristic of the highest ideals of interscholastic athletics: Will Barkan and James Everett.

Positive experiences, harmony, happiness and well-being in our lives is not a matter of luck. They don’t just happen. We have these experiences—indeed, we’ve had a great year here because, by and large, we’ve been willing to place our emphasis on the good. We’ve tried to make the right decisions, to extend ourselves, to do the right thing, to try to live by the principles that this School stands for. And that has made all the difference. I think now of the story recounted by the Cherokee Indians. An elder tells his grandchild that there is a fight going on inside himself. He says that it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil, driven by anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, superiority, lies and ego. The other wolf is good, full of joy, peace love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, and compassion. The child looks at the elder and asks, “Which wolf wins?” The elder replies, “The one I feed.” Our happiness truly does depend on that which we nourish inside ourselves, where we put our attention, what we believe is important and how we spend our energy. It makes all the difference to who we are and who we become. This year, collectively speaking, we have nourished the better part of ourselves. And as a result, we have been rewarded with a sense of grace. —Michael K. Mulligan, Head of School in his concluding remarks at the All-School Banquet

:: Parents’Post

Yet once here, you members of the Class of 2002 saw and understood Thacher for what it should be as a school and community—a home base from which to venture into areas new and scary, or seriously challenging to the body or mind. You headed into canyons and up sheer cliffs, down fast rivers;

The banquet ended with a few last words from the Head of School: My final thoughts emanate from a poem read at a Formal Dinner grace one evening earlier this year, a piece by Rainer Maria Rilke, the Austro-German poet. As someone who sought and created several successive homes for himself in various parts of Europe, he knew much about comings and goings—and this poem addresses a theme I think about often during this time of year.

Dove that ventured outside,

flying far from the dovecote:

housed and protected again,

one with the day, the night,

knows what serenity is,

for she has felt her wings

pass through all distance and fear

in the course of her wanderings

The doves that remained at home,

never exposed to loss,

innocent and secure,

cannot know tenderness;

only the won-back heart

can ever be satisfied: free,

through all it has given up,

to rejoice in its mastery.

Being arches itself

over the vast abyss.

Ah the ball that we dared,

that we hurled into infinite space,

doesn’t it fill our hands

differently with its return:

heavier by the weight

of where it has been.

Now many of you have heard me say that personal growth doesn’t come while you stay within comfortable, safe boundaries—physical, intellectual, or spiritual. For you parents, having your child away from your home (even if you’re day parents!) and in the larger home that is Thacher demanded a particular leap of faith. But you sacrificed, in more ways than one, to give that gift of wings to your child. Thacher seemed a worthy and safe dovecote.

stepped across thresholds into worlds of ideas you’d considered only distantly, if at all, before; jumped, feet first, into social constructs that demanded your best self, even if that self was in perpetual evolution. Thus, as Rilke suggests, “exposed to loss”—in giving up the comfort of the familiar, you gained mastery in many areas. And in all of this, you have provided a model for those students following in your winged path. And so tomorrow, we will hurl you out in a whole new way—but we will be secure in the knowledge that, with each return you will make to Casa de Piedra, you will, indeed, be “heavier by the weight of where you have been.” We know because we have watched this simple alchemy take place here in you, year after year.

CH A

ER S

E TH

Year-End 2002 :: 17

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SCHOOL THE THACHER ATION PARENTS’ ASSOCI

nts’Associesident of the Pare Pr As b. er ov pr g, dede African community of carin ise a child,” goes th a : ra ge to lla ge vi a lla vi ch a s su “It take ew Thacher as al education of , I have come to vi ual, social and mor ct lle te in e th ation this past year er to furth tees for their and Board of Trus king in synchrony or rs w to ts ra ul ist in ad d m te ad f, ica culty, staf plaud Thacher’s fa our children. I ap mmitment. unity this year by excellence and co the School comm in le ro nt rta po enthusian im so grateful for the tion has also filled am ia I s. oc ss ice rv s’A se nt d re an Pa The ber of events to work many long sponsoring a num ho readily agreed w s nt re pa coordinating and ss tle coun ve received from derful year! astic support I ha It has been a won . ts ec oj pr d an s recognize committee , however, like to hours on various ld ou w I e. lik ld much as I wou zers and creative thank everyone as enthusiastic organi s, er ad le tic I cannot begin to ge er Huth and all en chairs, who were ank you to Barbro Th ! em th ith w k all the committee rb to wor ndy O’Meara, Ba d, it was great fun , Helen Keane, Sa n) tio problem solvers. An ia again ec es pr rr Ap To f ie af a and Terr ulty and St in ac (F ed M by rb gh Ba ou d ill an Pam W Gear Sales), ices), Nina ie Torres (Thacher hite (Library Serv W h et ab iz Medina, and Terr El to k you Betsy Grether Barbecues). Than ts’Annual Fund), en ar (P er th re G (Family Weekend d John , and Lynn Tillman Proctors), Betsy an , Susan Stenovec gs tin Toumanoff (Exam sie as H z Li d athy Back and Su parents’ Day) an many thanks to K y, an m once more (Grand d An ). 02 e. for the Class of 20 a Auction with m (Graduation Party ng the Gymkhan iri ha -c co b jo us milies to tremendo tter welcoming fa le Bechtel for their st Po s’ nt re Pa st ho as writing my fir and Brian Back w yesterday that I w ratulating Kathy ng co ort by r pp It seems like just tte su le ill al fin you w ar. I now close my ting this fall. I know ar st n tio ia oc the new school ye ss rents’A residents of the Pa will become Co-P e. in h as you did m their work as muc ith your children! derful summer w on w a u yo g in ish W

Dear Parents,

Warmest regards,

4) Marilyn Wallace 2002, and Alissa ’0 99, Nathan CdeP 19 eP Cd in am nj 96, Be (Elizabeth CdeP 19 ) 640-1033 6-4377 • FAX (805 64 ) 05 (8 • 01 90 3IFORNIA 9302 D • OJAI, CAL 5025 THACHER ROA

:: Parents’Post

Among the charming traditions of Thacher, one I like best is this: at the first Assembly after which each senior has earned admission to at least one college or university, the class, en masse, comes down from their lofty perch on the Senior Lawn to the bottom stone wall of the terraced lawns above the Pergola – thus signifying that they are all freshmen again. In the spirit of that gesture, I offer the final lines of a poem by Roger Granet, first published in The New York Times in 1991; here, a parent is on the verge of leaving his child at college. And suddenly released from my ruminations/we all squeeze these moments until you/disappear into the freshman dorm/kissing us and yesterday goodbye and/hugging newborn notions of bold tomorrows. Those “bold tomorrows” are precisely what we wish for each senior listed below at his or her chosen college or university. Hug hard. We’ll be missing you. Patty Abou-Samra

Otis School of Design

Tamima Al-Awar

Academy of Art College (San Francisco)

Will Barkan

University of Colorado—Boulder

Chelsea Bauch

New York University

Daniel Bartlett

UC Santa Barbara

Joy Bergeron

New York Fashion Institute of Technology

Alex Lurie

Northwestern University

Betsy Bradford

Bowdoin College

Andrew Ma

University of Colorado—Boulder

Rob Bray

UC Berkeley

Madeleine McQuillan Brown University

Robert Brownell

Northwestern University

Claire Milligan

Stanford University

Heidi Cole

UC Berkeley

Dan Moore

UC Santa Barbara

Evan Dawson

Trinity College

Laura Neville

Brown University

José Estrada

University of Illinois

Laurel Peterson

Yale University

James Everett

Naval Academy

Andrew Poole

Whitman College

Claire Faggioli

Cornell University

Libby Rauner

Dartmouth College

Mercedes Farrell

Carnegie Mellon University

Iyana Reid

Santa Monica City College

Erik Fiske

Emory University

Julien Rhodes

Lehigh University

David Gal

Brown University

Leigh Salem

Dartmouth College

Monique Gaskins

Pomona College

Laura Slattery

Colorado State College

Chris Grant

Wheaton College

Matt Spille

Trinity College

Amanda Grumman

Cazenovia College

Bea Staley

Emory University

Jamie Hastings

California Polytechnic University

Tim Stenovec

Colby College

Eita Hatayama

Pomona College

Maggie Tillman

New York University

Ben Heilveil

St. John’s College

Brooke Toeller

UC Berkeley

Alex Herbert

Stanford University

Zoë Towns

Columbia University

Nick Horton

Davidson College

Noël Vietor

UC Santa Cruz

Stephanie Hubbard

Stanford University

Nathan Wallace

Trinity University

Bobby Kellogg

UC Santa Cruz

Nathalie Warren

Colorado College

Youna Kim

Georgetown University

Daniel Weems

UC Santa Barbara

Jane Kwett

McGill University

Hilary White

UC Santa Cruz

Max Leeds

University of Southern California

Duncan Winecoff

Whittier College

Charlotte Lord

Dartmouth College

Ronald Wu

University of Pennsylvania

Year-End 2002 :: 19

CIF Baseball Coach of the Year Rich Mazzola (also Thacher's Athletic Director) celebrates a sweet CIF semi-finals win over Avalon amid dust and flying players.

INTO THE STRATOSPHERE In some extraordinary extracurricular scientific inquiries this spring, junior Ian Whittinghill proved that, in fact, it is rocket science. Ian won “Most Creative and Innovative,” as well as the U.S. Navy’s prize for the finest research paper at the Ventura County Science Fair, then went on to snag first place in the aerodynamics/hydrodynamics category at the California State Science Fair with his project entitled “The Effect of Mass Flux on the C* Efficiency of Aluminized Grains in an N2O-fed Hybrid Rocket Motor.” But just as he was walking out the door with all that hardware, he was called back to answer just a few more questions, posed by a panel of highly specialized PhD’s. Then came the knock-your-socks-off news: the 250 judges—all cutting edge professional engineers and scientists— had conferred and voted his project the single best in the state out of all the first-prize-winning county entries, earning Ian The Arnold O. Beckman Prize and a stunningly generous cash award. We are reduced to one word: Wow.

end with the fond wish that, in the mid-summer days in which you IIread this last Post of the year, you and your children are still happily in the arms-flung wide, tilted run that Erik Fiske caught in this photo. Enjoy your time together!

CH E A R H

Cheers and best wishes,

Editor Joy Sawyer-Mulligan

Sports Contributor Rich Mazzola

Photography Kelly Anderson, Elizabeth Bowman, Elaine Elliott, Jeanne Frasse, Elizabeth Herr, Wayne Glass, Amanda Grumman, Jan Grumman, Matt Harder, Liz Hastings, Loren Kieve, Mo Livermore, Julie Manson, Jane McCarthy, Michael Mulligan, Susan Neville, Susan Ouyang, Molly Twichell Perry CdeP 1985, Jasmine Simpson, Ian Strachan ’04, Kurt Supplee, Joy SawyerMulligan, Timothy O. Teague, Elissa Thorn, Hilary White CdeP 2002, Parker White. [See what happens when you ask for help? Thank you all!] Baseball team photo, p. 19, courtesy of The Ventura County Star

HOO L

Design and Production Tim Ditch

T HE

Production Credits