Norfolk Academy’s Guide Through the Pandemic

online. Dr. Zenilman credited the students and teachers who went through the regular testing. He also credited school leaders who he said came to him by asking what needed to be done to keep school open at a time when many campuses were closed. “You have made this successful,” he said.

Honor Council Chair Anna Russell ’23 noted that her sophomore volleyball season practices were held outside and she did not have a choir to sing with that year because of the pandemic. Yet she remained thankful because she was able to go to school and be with friends and teachers every day.

“I can confidently say that the team covered all sides of the Covid-19 crisis,” she said.

Norfolk Academy pulled out all the stops on November 10, 2022, for a Convocation to express heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Jonathan Mark Zenilman, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, whose guidance and expertise helped the school navigate in-person schooling during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although Dr. Zenilman spent countless hours on Zoom and conference calls with members of the school’s Board of Trustees and Headmaster Dennis Manning, this visit was his first time on campus. The entire school community — 1,200 students and 200 faculty and staff — assembled in Burroughs Gymnasium for a ceremony that included expressions of appreciation from students and school leaders, as well as music from the Upper School Chorus.

Dr. Zenilman was the keynote speaker, and he opened his address by telling the packed gymnasium that when he signed on to help Norfolk Academy, there was no rule book for how to proceed or how to protect students.

He recalled that he told Mr. Manning, “I would love to help you, but at this time, I don’t have the answers. What we think we know today will change, and we have to be prepared to change.”

Starting in summer 2020, Dr. Zenilman provided leadership as Norfolk Academy created a thorough program of protocols that included regular Covid testing, contact tracing, masking, and ventilation that allowed students to learn on campus every day at a time when many other schools were forced to be

Senior Class President Lucas Knapp ’23 said the pandemic upended just about every aspect of his life. The one constant was being with his school friends and finding comfort learning on campus.

“We must never forget the importance of our community,” he said.

Mr. Manning lauded Dr. Zenilman’s generosity and announced the establishment of a scholarship named for Dr. Zenilman that will provide funding for a student to attend the school.

The school also honored Trustee Guy R. Friddell III ’69, whose “insatiable” appetite for research and tireless approach to Covid research led the school to Dr. Zenilman. Over the course of the pandemic, Friddell and Zenilman emailed and spoke for hours by phone and Zoom; through their work for the school, the two men forged a close friendship. Board of Trustees President Alfred M.

Jr. ’80 presented Mr. Friddell with a doctor’s white coat as a gesture of appreciation.

“Without his relentless tenacity, we would not be where we are today,” Mr. Randolph said. ◆

Esther Diskin is Director of Communications.

NORFOLK ACADEMY & COPERNICUS – GYMNASIUM CELEBRATE

50years

A Friendship for the Ages

Norfolk Academy students lined the sidewalk in front of the school’s main arch, waiting breathlessly for the arrival of tour buses from Washington, D.C.

It was the repetition of a moment that has happened every year since the historic moment in 1973, when German Teacher Katherine “Frau” Holmes first connected with Jürgen Wiehe, her counterpart at Copernicus-Gymnasium in Löningen, Germany, for a phone call. That conversation began building a bond that led to a half-century of exchange visits.

This year’s anniversary marked a dramatic difference in scale and planning: in addition to the 15 exchange students and two faculty chaperones, Norfolk Academy families hosted 36 student-musicians and about a dozen additional faculty members from Copernicus-Gymnasium.

To see a recording of the concert and a digital version of the “Festschrift,” an event program featuring official letters and memorabilia submitted by alumni, visit our website: www.norfolkacademy. org/academy-advantage/ international-programs/50thanniversary-celebration-of-the-germanexchange.

Indeed, hours after their arrival at the school, the German students joined their American counterparts onstage in Johnson Theater to begin a week of rehearsals in preparation for a gala celebration and premiere of “We Hold These Truths,” a piece by composer Stephen Melillo for chorus and orchestra, commissioned in honor of the occasion. In between hours of rehearsals, the German students had field trips to explore Hampton Roads, including Jamestown, Yorktown, and the Outer Banks; since Löningen is in a rural part of northwestern Germany, the sand and dunes of this region are a novelty.

Students, alumni, teachers, parents, and many special guests attended the 50th anniversary celebration of Norfolk Academy’s exchange program with Copernicus-Gymnasium on April 1.

The rehearsals, directed by NA’s Cheney Doane and CGL’s Philipp Hemmen, were core components of the learning experience; the two music directors, who had been planning for months, forged a strong friendship. “We got on very well from the beginning on Zoom,” said Doane, who is fluent in German.

“Nonetheless we were asking ourselves how this was going to be. Actually, it was such a relief to see how easy it was because everyone had such strong ability.”

The intensity of the rehearsals paid off. The nearcapacity audience in Johnson Theater on April 1 took an emotional journey with eloquent speeches, evocative artwork and photos of past exchanges, and soaring brass, woodwinds, percussion, and choral harmonies.

Speakers noted that the 50-year friendship between the schools sets an example, not only for other exchange programs but also nations.

“I applaud your success, your commitment, your educational and cultural dialogue,” said Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander, one of the celebration’s distinguished speakers. “You are truly making a difference in the world.”

The two schools were one of the first pairings of the German American Partnership Program (GAPP), administered by the Goethe-Institut and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and the U.S. State Department. Molly Rowland, executive director of GAPP, said that the organization has exchanges at 730 schools with 400,000 alumni of its program. Yet, it has never seen a friendship as durable as this one. “What an accomplishment,” she said, in presenting a plaque. “To 50 more years!”

Ralf Göken, head of school at CGL, presented Norfolk Academy with an abstract sculpture, made from stone from a quarry near Löningen, entitled “Dialogue”; the two pieces are mirror images of each other but fit together perfectly, which he said mirrors the nature of strong human relationships. “At a moment when there is too much hate and division in the world, we must treasure this gift of a very steady friendship.”

Kadyn Johnson-Smith ’23, who went on the exchange to Germany last year, spoke on behalf of student participants. He candidly admitted that he was nervous before leaving Norfolk, not sure what was in store. However, he quickly felt right at home with his homestay family. “The German exchange brought me unforgettable memories,” he said.

Kadyn introduced “We Hold These Truths,” which was performed in five movements, interspersed with remarks from longtime directors Chris Nelson and Elisabeth Rüve about the exchange and its broader influence.

Nelson, who has introduced hundreds of NA students to Germany and shown German students the beauty of Hampton Roads for more than three decades, spoke about the value of the homestay and the growth he sees students make in the weeks of their visit.

Rüve summarized what so many others said during the night: “This special program has changed the world for the better.”

Among the other highlights of the night was a prerecorded speech from Frau Holmes; the video was introduced by Nelson, noting that Holmes deserved to have the “final word” of the evening.

“It has been a great relationship for 50 years,” she said, “and I am so proud of all of the people and teachers and institutions that have made it so wonderful.”

But the celebration was not over: in June, Norfolk Academy’s delegation traveled to Löningen for a concert and homestays there. More to come about that visit in our next issue! ◆