Winter 2012
DWIGHT TODAY A Magazine for the Global Dwight Community
Volume 9, Number 1
g l o b a lv i s i o n Dwight International School Seoul Opens Fall 2012, Dwight’s Fifth Campus Worldwide
Also in This Issue
There’s No “I” in “Team” for Dwight Athletes Student and Teacher Share a Cross-Country Journey of a Lifetime
Will
your kids
have a world-class education?
Admissions Open House exclusively for Dwight Alumni Tuesday, April 17, 2012 9:00–11:00 am
Dwight students traverse Mount Solitaire, British Columbia, as part of a research project to record lichen growth on the glacier. The trip, chaperoned by Dwight Science Department Chair Barry Gragg, was one of six international Dwight Journeys offered last year.
Dwight has undergone
a renaissance.
Come learn first-hand how Dwight is becoming the premier place for a
global education.
From the Editor
dwight today
Dwight Today is a publication serving the entire Dwight community, which includes current students and their families, as well as alumni and friends of the Dwight, Franklin, and Anglo-American Schools. Its purpose is to inform you of exciting news from our school today as well as from members of our community. Our goal is to keep you connected to the spirit of Dwight. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please address all correspondence to the Editor, Dwight Today, The Dwight School, 291 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, or you can email us at rbennett@dwight.edu.
Chancellor Stephen H. Spahn Editor-in-Chief Rachael Bennett Director of Communications Editorial Staff Kari Loya Director of Development Jamie Hinman Director of Alumni Affairs Laurie Silbersweig Communications Associate
Dear Readers, We are in the midst of another busy and exciting year in all areas of The Dwight School, and the communications department is no exception! In addition to our newly launched website and growing Facebook page, we have redesigned Dwight Today to align with the three pillars of our school: Global Vision, Community Service, and Personalized Learning. In this Winter 2012 issue, and in our issues moving forward, our feature pieces will all reflect one of these three pillars in a way that we hope is both informative and engaging, giving all of our readers a better taste for the exciting renaissance underway at The Dwight School.
Graphic Design Audrey Miller Director of Creative Design Proofreaders Ashley Haughton Melissa Lachman Jacqueline Leitzes Caroline Walsh
Rachael Bennett Editor-in-Chief
Photographers Ghila Krajzman Oistin Mac Bride Stan Schnier Ian Wilson Printing Queen City Printers Inc., Burlington, VT, environmentally certified to the Forest Stewardship Council™ standard.
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Dwight faculty take students down a path of learning, exploration, and self-discovery. The road Gabe Lewent ‘12 traveled with English teacher Charles Shuttleworth last summer spanned 3,500 miles; the two shared meaningful moments and insightful conversations as they took in nature’s sights and sounds on a cross-country bicycle trip for charity known as “The Big Ride.” The photo featured here is just one of countless others taken by Mr. Shuttleworth along the way. Read about their journey on page 44. —Photograph by Charles Shuttleworth
Twelve Dwight athletic team captains share the spotlight with dozens more of their fellow teammates — all partners in a new athletic department community service program. Each team is tapping into the Dwight spirit of lending a hand, raising awareness, and giving back to the community. To learn more, turn to page 40. —Photograph by Stan Schnier
Winter 2012
DWIGHT TODAY A Magazine for the Dwight, Franklin, and Anglo-American School Communities
features
global vision
34 Dwight’s Global Classroom Dwight begins connecting its five international campuses in New York, London, Vancouver Island, Beijing, and Seoul.
community service
40 Athletics and Service Dwight’s varsity athletes make a difference in their communities.
personalized learning
44 Across the Country in Forty-Eight Days
Veteran English teacher Charles Shuttleworth and senior Gabe Lewent bike across the country to raise money and awareness for the American Lung Association.
news
events
07 Chancellor’s Letter 08 Foundation Trustees 10 Community News 6
| Dwight Today
22 Events 50 Alumni News 61 From the Archives
From the Chancellor
Chancellor Stephen Spahn, Pasi Sahlberg, and Principal Dianne Drew
Dear Dwight Community, In early December, the leading Finnish educator, Pasi Sahlberg, visited our campus to meet with students and faculty to discuss his new book, Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Reform in Finland? Finland’s meteoric rise in the world of international education — based largely on superior benchmarked international test scores — has drawn attention from the White House and leaders around the globe. His visit gave me a chance to reflect on our own vision for education and our students here at Dwight. We are driven to create innovative, international leaders with both a global and community vision made possible through personalized learning. Every student has different story aspirations and hopes. We want to link together the dreams and passions of students and teachers to develop individuals who can make a difference in the world not tomorrow, but today through social and economic entrepreneurship. We have an iron-willed belief that if we can create shared value among organizations, individuals, and countries, we can build a more perfect world. This process never ends but is a steady voyage through both calm and rough seas that allows for individuals and all mankind to move forward. We believe profoundly that our own age is one of progress, even though we must fight the centrifugal forces that pull us apart. Centripetal forces, which bring us together, must be at the center of any successful school or school system, whether private, public, or parochial. Our discussions with Mr. Salhberg are only the latest in a long line of discussions with international thought leaders that are embedded in the nature of our school. The feature stories in this issue of Dwight Today should give you a better sense of how, through our three pillars of global vision, community service, and personalized learning, we are already busy creating world leaders today. Fondly,
Stephen H. Spahn, Chancellor
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Dwight Today | New Foundation Trustees
The Dwight School Foundation Welcomes Three New Trustees
The Dwight School Foundation welcomes three more members to its Board of Trustees: Hege Fossum Eriksen (Elise, ’21; Selma, Preschool 3s), Stefani Langel (Ex-Officio, Parents Association President; Joshua ’13; Sarah ’17), and Peter Timmins ’90 (ExOfficio, Alumni Council President). They join fellow trustees Marlene Arbess (Matthew ’13; Ethan ’15), Jonathan Auerbach (Sasha ’13), Libby Callaway, Andrew Chrisomalis, Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71, Gary Fuhrman ’79, Michael Kalnick, Susan Kessler (Stephen ’10), Marie Lippman (Adam ’15),
David Magier (Jeremiah ’11, Aaron ’12), Eric Semler (Nicholas ’13), Ravi Singh (Maya ’22), Shiv Vasisht ’95, and Richard Zinman (Emily ’11). The trustees advise and work in conjunction with the Chancellor to think critically about the future of the School to ensure that a Dwight and Woodside education is of the highest quality. The Foundation, a separate 501(c)3 not-for-profit entity, was established in 1969 to give members of the Dwight community a way to provide meaningful support to the School’s faculty and students.
Hege Fossum Eriksen (Elise ’21; Selma, Preschool 3s) Hege is Head of Marketing and Co-owner of Johnny Love, a Norwegian-based men´s fashion company, where she serves as a board member and runs the U.S. division. The emerging brand’s accounts include Saks Fifth Avenue and Ron Herman. From 2000 until 2004, she ran the promotion/marketing division of Stargate, a Grammy Award-winning international music production company with clients that have included Elton John, Beyonce, Rihanna, Usher, and numerous other top artists. Hege co-chaired Dwight’s most recent Spring Benefit in 2010 at the Rubin Museum and is currently serving as a third grade class rep for the Parents Association. She and her husband, Mikkel, a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer, are originally from Norway and have been members of the Dwight community since 2008.
Stefani Langel (Joshua ’13; Sarah ’17), Ex-Officio: Parents Association President Stefani is currently President of the Dwight Parents Association and has been involved in various aspects of the Dwight community for the past eleven years. She is an enthusiastic advocate for the School and dedicates much of her time to enhancing school life for parents, students, and faculty. Stefani received a BBA from Hofstra University and went on to work at an international marketing company that promoted travel to Europe. She spent seventeen years producing trade shows with clients including many European governments. Additionally, Stefani and her husband, Josef, originally from Germany, own and manage a real estate business on the Upper West Side.
Peter Timmins ’90, Ex-Officio: Alumni Council President Peter is currently a financial advisor with The Poppo Group, a division of UBS Wealth Management, which has been recognized by Barron’s as one of the top 1,000 Advisory Teams in the U.S. for the past two years. He joined UBS (formerly PaineWebber) in June of 2000 to work with senior portfolio managers in development and business management — doubling the production of the team within three years. Prior to this, Peter held management and associate director level positions in the Operations and Compliance departments. He received his BS from Emerson College and attended graduate level courses at the Harvard Extension School. Peter enjoys being active in his community as a board member to the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center in Manhattan focusing on the Youth Services division and as a community farmer at East End Community Organic Farm (EECO Farm) in East Hampton, NY. He is a member of the New York Croquet Club, a Young Associate with the Metropolitan Opera, and an enthusiastic New York Knicks fan. Peter has lived in Manhattan for over thirty years.
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| Dwight Today
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Community News | Milestones
Matt and Rebekah Gagne
Weddings Diana and Garrett Wilson
Kindergarten teacher Rebekah Friedman married Matt Gagne on November 6, 2010, in Lenox, Massachusetts. They honeymooned in Kauai, Hawaii. English teacher Diana Hirtle married Garrett Wilson on July 23, 2011, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They spent their honeymoon in Lake Como and Provence.
Jessica and Ian Cohen
Brian and Laurel Aquadro
School counselor Jessica Sarnicola married Ian Cohen on October 29, 2011, at The Foundry in Long Island City. They plan to honeymoon in Costa Rica. Eleventh grade dean Laurel Ingraham married Brian Aquadro on October 22, 2011, in Rockport, Massachusetts. They honeymooned in Hawaii. Orange Clownfish 4s teacher Ashley Adams married Alex Luchsinger on November 5, 2011, at The Pavilion at Pepper Plantation in Charleston, South Carolina. They honeymooned in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Alex and Ashley Luchsinger
Preschool admissions associate and Small Wonder teacher Nora Colwell married Logan Thomson on July 30, 2011, in Geneva, Illinois. They honeymooned in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Nora and Logan Thomson
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Milestones | Community News
Leo Francis Miazga Mann
Babies Art teacher Suzanne Miazga and her husband, Ted Mann, welcomed Leo Francis Miazga Mann on September 30, 2011. Leo weighed 6 lbs. Admissions director Alicia Janiak and her husband, Brian, welcomed Grace Alice Janiak on September 20, 2011. Grace weighed 6 lbs., 15 oz.
Grace Alice Janiak
Keira Elisabeth Bailey
English teacher Nina Bailey and her husband, Kent, welcomed Keira Elisabeth Bailey on October 16, 2011. Keira weighed 7 lbs., 5 oz. Science teacher Shalini Bhavnani and her husband, Manoj, welcomed Tania Manoj Bhavnani on February 19, 2011. Tania weighed 8 lbs., 1 oz. Preschool Spanish teacher Wendy Puello and her husband, Kelvin, welcomed Jasmine Puello on March 31, 2011. Jasmine weighed 8 lbs.
Tania Manoj Bhavnani
Jasmine Puello
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Community News | Professional Development
Professional Development
Dwight Faculty at the Forefront of Educational Initiative and Knowledge Improvements to the Integrated Math Curriculum —Matthew Moran, Mathematics Teacher This past summer, mathematics teacher Megan Shirk and I collaborated on a project to improve the Integrated Math courses for students in grades eight through ten. These courses will continue to work in parallel to the traditional course sequence of Algebra-Geometry-Algebra 2, but we aimed to make the Integrated Math courses more “integrated.” This means that each course now includes a balanced approach covering algebra, geometry, statistics, probability, and other mathematical disciplines, while the core of each course maintains an appropriate level of rigor for its primary discipline. In our redesign of the Integrated Math courses, we took into careful consideration what mathematics content would be most critical for students to prepare them for mathematics courses in the IB Diploma Program, as well as college-level mathematics and standardized tests. One key concern for us was including more statistics content into the curriculum in order to better prepare students for the demands of the IB Math Studies SL course and college-level statistics courses. We also sought to ensure that each discipline was included in each of the three courses, so that students could retain
knowledge from year to year while also developing their skills to prepare for more demanding courses. One other improvement to the courses was the development of a set list of standards to be addressed in each course, along with an assessment procedure that would allow for students to be measured on each standard to mark their progress through their math courses. This process was tested last year with the eighth graders in the Integrated I course, and the positive results with that class encouraged us to use this assessment system with all three courses. By assessing students on individual standards, rather than unit assessments, we are better able to target areas where students need more support, and this information can be shared with students and teachers to better communicate about student progress. As the improvements to the Integrated Math courses have been put into action for this year, we will continue to revise the curriculum and make adjustment to the plans shared using Rubicon Atlas. We also look forward to working with our math department and MYP faculty to better integrate math into our School’s curriculum and thank The Dwight School Foundation for its support of our project.
Leadership in Literacy Education —Ashley Sharik, Third Grade Teacher This past June, I was awarded a grant from The Dwight School Foundation to take a graduate level class called Literacy and Leadership at the Bank Street College Graduate School of Education. My goal for the class was to unite my two passions of teaching elementary students and my love of literature and to strengthen my knowledge of teaching reading at the elementary level. Through this course, I made great strides in refining my understanding and skills of literacy education by learning how to better structure my classroom through modeling, discussions, and conferencing. I also learned about the role of a literacy coach, ways to collaborate with colleagues to evaluate students’ literacy needs and design instruction to meet those
12 | Dwight Today
needs and how to help teachers continually refine teaching practices. Throughout the class, I observed reading lessons, discussed conferencing and demonstration strategies with colleagues, and carried out strategy lessons. The teachers also suggested ways to use media literacy in the classroom and showed a number of web tools for leveling books, creating class activities, and utilizing photography and video. The summative project of the class consisted of creating a threehour professional development plan, and I aim to use my created plan to strengthen literacy education in the Timothy House. I believe that teaching well is a lifelong learning process and intend to continually reflect, assess, and enhance my teaching practices. I thank The Dwight School Foundation for supporting my professional growth and helping me encourage my students to become lifelong readers.
Professional Development | Community News
Ebb and Flow. Earth on paper. 20”x 26”.
A World of Creative Opportunity —Ellen Sayers, Art Teacher and Tenth Grade Dean Part of the role of a teacher is modeling behavior, skills, and attitudes. As an art teacher, I try to embody this by maintaining the professional dedication and perseverance required in the arts by keeping an art studio in Brooklyn and looking for exhibition opportunities. By continuing to develop a professional body of artwork, I can cultivate ideas, expand my imagination, and improve my visual communication skills. This past July, a grant from The Dwight School Foundation allowed me to participate in an artist-in-residency program, where I spent four weeks making personal art with twelve fellow artists. The residency was hosted by The Public Art Academy located at the Pajama Factory in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In the cavernous rooms of the renovated Pajama Factory, the other artists and I shared a communal art studio and displayed our work in a community exhibition at the end of the session. The experience was life changing; for four weeks, I was removed from “normal life.” Our communal studio allowed twenty-fourhour access, so our group spent every waking moment at the studio. By living closely with each other, we shared ideas, feedback, questions, techniques, and inspiration. The artistic themes ranged from interpreting information as form, to cultural disparities, and beyond. I had the opportunity to investigate themes of deconstructing natural and architectural patterns. I experimented with materials and processes, including cyanotypes and encaustic painting. By the end, I produced a series of paintings, photographs, and sculpture. As a teacher, this was also an opportunity to develop professional connections that can be shared with Dwight students. This winter, our Dwight art students will engage in online critiques with professional artists who can provide objective and constructive input. Extra critiques would be particularly helpful as the senior students prepare for their IB Visual Art exams, which include extensive research, art-making, and understanding of their two-year process in the art studio. The International Baccalaureate expects the students to develop quickly and understand deeply. Increasing professional feedback would do just that.
Fantasia (Model). Collage, acrylic, earth.
In addition, many students are interested in pursuing art as a career but are unsure of the opportunities. Speaking to professionals in any field is helpful to high school students as they search for their personal path. Hearing from artists and other creative professionals about occupations would open the students’ eyes to a world of creative opportunity.
Winter 2012 | 13
Community News | Professional Development
Lower School Foreign Language Curriculum Development —Jordan Kutcher, Lower School Spanish Teacher and Su-Ling Huang, Lower School Chinese Teacher Our summer grant from The Dwight School Foundation enabled us to create a new PYP foreign language curriculum to be used throughout the lower school. The overarching idea behind the new curriculum is that larger, core classroom concepts will be extended into foreign language classes, making the foreign language instruction an extension of the class’s larger unit of inquiry. Doing this will create cross-disciplinary instruction among math, writing, and foreign language. We began our work on the new curriculum by researching language standards for elementary schools across the nation. Using both national and state standards, we categorized skills for every grade. We divided the skills into subsets of listening,
IB Training Academy in St. Louis —Shelby Levin, MYP Coordinator It was an honor to be invited, along with math teacher Jaya Bhavnani, to this past summer’s IB Academy. Held threeto-four times a year, the IB Academy’s aim is to prepare educators for the roles of workshop leader, site visitor, and consultant. An IB teacher must have three or more years experience at an IB World School to apply and be accepted for the program. This past summer’s intense, one-week training program took place in St. Louis, Missouri. The Academy reviewed the main aspects of all three IB programs, offered training sessions, and gave educators an opportunity to meet and interact with experienced IB teachers from schools all over North America. Overall, the IB Academy provided a profound professional development experience. Specifically, it was extremely beneficial to learn more about the inquiry approach to learning and expand on the IB’s philosophy of lifelong learners. Through group activities, we shared sample unit plans and rubrics as evidence of how our teaching aligns with the program and gained a comprehensive understanding of the program’s continuum. I am so appreciative to have attended the IB Academy in St. Louis. It was one of the best, most rewarding conferences I have attended. Ultimately, it will be beneficial to the students at Dwight, as I will now be able to aid our faculty in many new ways. Adds Ms. Bhavnani, “Being part of the Academy enhanced my knowledge and understanding of the three programs ... it offered a wide range of fascinating experiences and excellent professional development advantageous both to me and to Dwight!”
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speaking, reading, writing, and cultural awareness that are developmentally appropriate for each grade level. Once we had written the master skills list, we began to develop our units. We divided all of the relevant foreign language topics over a five-year lower school span, and eventually, we came up with six units of inquiry specifically designed for each grade. Then, for each of the thirty units, we developed learning activities and final assessments. Finally, we began creating tailored resources to match both the language goal and the PYP central idea. Our grant allowed us to further the development of PYP foreign language in exciting new ways, and we look forward to continuing our work throughout the year.
Professional Development | Community News
New Lower School Mathematics Curriculum Introduced —Jennifer Betz, Second Grade Teacher This past summer, Lisa van Beeck (third grade teacher), Jaya Bhavnani (upper school math teacher), Beverly Soares (math chair), and I received a grant from The Dwight School Foundation to rewrite the lower school math curriculum. Our collective positions as lower and upper school educators allowed us to examine mathematics thoroughly from different perspectives in order to develop a quality curriculum. To ensure that students will benefit from learning thorough and challenging math content, our team combined skill sets from the Com-
mon Core standards, New York State Math standards, and PYP standards into comprehensive unit plans to facilitate effective lesson planning. Each math unit mirrors the format of a PYP unit of inquiry, where students explore a central idea through different lines of inquiry. The new curriculum also enables teachers to utilize a variety of resources and assessments in order to meet the unique needs of their students. This new math framework will ensure that students throughout the lower school will have a common learning experience as they gradually develop deep conceptual understandings about mathematics.
Inspirational Speakers at IB Annual Regional Conference —Elaine Natalicchi, Lower Division Foreign Language Coordinator I was awarded a grant from The Dwight School Foundation to attend the IB Annual Regional Conference, held this year in San Antonio, Texas. Among the plenary speakers was Craig Kielburger, co-founder of Free the Children, a youth empowerment organization. The organization has built more than 650 schools throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America, educating more than 55,000 children in sixteen countries. Oprah Winfrey became involved with Craig’s project, and she, herself, has opened one hundred schools with him. Craig’s work fosters ethical living and social responsibility the world over. This inspiring presenter got his start as a seventh grader, when he read a newspaper article about an incident of injustice toward a child. At the end of his talk, he left us with a powerful message from Jesse Jackson: “You are not the children of the future; you are the children of right now.” The following day, Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, told us his own personal story. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Khaled went with his family to live in Paris after his father was sent there by the Foreign Ministry. Four years later, as they prepared to return home, Afghanistan was taken over by a coup, forcing the Hosseini family to seek asylum in the United States. Once in the U.S., Khaled graduated from high school and studied medicine. While he was practicing as a medical doctor, he started writing The Kite Runner, then later A Thousand Splendid Suns. He now heads up the Khaled Hosseini
Foundation, working to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. Khaled gave us a surprising figure: his organization can build a house for six people with just $1500.00. This inspired a sub-regional organization, Texas International Baccalaureate Schools, to make a generous contribution of $30,000.00 to the Hosseini Foundation. The first breakout session I attended dealt with foreign language teaching in the IB Program, connecting it with international-mindedness. International service learning was discussed in another session, with an emphasis on travel abroad to deepen students’ understanding of global and intercultural issues. I also attended a session in Spanish on language immersion, led by the principal and the PYP coordinator from Escuela Lomas Altas in Mexico City. Although Dwight is not an immersion school, strategies used in the Lomas Altas model are of interest to us. The most valuable session was on concept-based curricula, from Lynn Erickson’s model of three-dimensional teaching. Her methods provide a strong basis for the inquiry-based teaching used in lower school. Dr. Erickson emphasizes process over content, contrasting facts as being locked into a place or situation with concepts, which enable transfer of learning. The Regional Conference is of significant value to those who work in the realm of the IB, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity once again to attend.
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Community News | New Faculty
Dwight is growing! As our student population continues to expand, we have added the following members to our world-class team of faculty and staff.
Sarah Babbitt
English/Social Studies Teacher Sarah Babbitt
Sarah was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated with degrees in Creative Writing and Film from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at Wisconsin, she completed a study abroad at the Universita per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. Sarah received her MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College in 2001. After graduating, Sarah taught in the Bronx with the New York City Teaching Fellows and simultaneously received her MA in Secondary English Education.
Cameron Ballance First Grade Teacher Cameron Ballance
Cameron is originally from Columbia, South Carolina. She received a high school IB Diploma and then graduated with honors from the University of Georgia with a BA in Early Childhood Education and Child and Family Development. Cameron completed her student teaching in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. She will complete her master’s degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University’s Teachers College this spring.
Cassidy Brody
Second Grade Teacher Cassidy Brody
Cassidy graduated summa cum laude from New York University, where she majored in Elementary and Special Education and minored in Psychology. She has student taught kindergarten through third grade in a variety of New York City public schools and is working toward her MA in Developmental Psychology at Columbia University’s Teachers College.
Shauna Fitzmahan
Social Studies/Theory of Knowledge Teacher
Shauna Fitzmahan
Shauna completed a BA in History with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She taught IB History and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and worked as a CAS coordinator and IB assistant examiner for TOK and History at the International School of Estonia. Shauna then moved to Kyoto, Japan, where she continued to teach social studies. She recently completed her MA at Columbia University’s Teachers College.
Martha Hirschman
Vice Principal of the Lower Division/Admissions Chair
Martha Hirschman
Martha received a BS in Education from the University of Michigan and an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has been teaching in independent schools in the New York and New Jersey area for several years.
Annaleigh Kress
Third Grade Teacher Annaleigh received her BA in Educational Theater from New York University. Prior to joining Dwight, Annaleigh taught at Grace Church School in lower Manhattan. A native New Englander, Annaleigh returns to New Hampshire every summer to serve as the co-founder and program director of The Derryfield School’s summer youth theater camp. Annaleigh Kress
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New Faculty | Community News
Jamie Hinman
Director of Alumni Affairs Prior to joining Dwight, Jamie was a recruiter at a leading Manhattan international law firm. She graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. While at Columbia, she competed on the field hockey team. Jamie is a member of the Change for Kids Junior Council and is also involved with Sanctuary for Families.
Jamie Hinman
Nicholas Lindner IB Film Teacher
Nicholas graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with BAs in Film Studies and Fiction Writing. He also holds a master’s degree, with distinction, in Film and Television Studies from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Nick has spent the last decade working in freelance film and television production. He has experience with narrative and documentary features as well broadcast projects with PBS, ABC, National Geographic, and HBO.
Nicholas Lindner
Jessica Nevitt
English Teacher Jessica graduated from Columbia University with a BA in English and an MA in English Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College. After many years studying Italian culture and language, she spent a summer abroad before her junior year of college studying literature in Venice, Italy. Jessica Nevitt
Ronald Posner
Fifth Grade Teacher
Ron joins Dwight after having worked as a math coach for Catapult Learning. He received his BA from Franklin and Marshall College and his MA in Childhood Education from Long Island University’s Westchester Graduate Campus. He taught for five years in Westchester County before becoming a math coach. Prior to becoming an educator, Ron spent two years working in the financial field.
Stephen Presti
Ronald Posner
Third Grade Teacher Stephen earned his BA in Secondary Education from St. John’s University, with a concentration in social studies and is now working toward an MA in Elementary Education. During his year of student teaching, Stephen formed his philosophy that “all children can learn,” and he looks forward to collaborating with the Timothy House teachers to enhance the classroom experience for students.
Beverly Soares Math Chair
Stephen Presti
Beverly earned her MA from Lehman College and her Doctorate from Columbia University’s Teachers College. She has taught mathematics in private, parochial, and public schools, instructed students in Barnard’s STEP program, and served as an adjunct professor for SUNY. Beverly has also served as an educational specialist for the New York Department of Education and was a co-founder of a youth organization in Westchester that engages children of all ages. Beverly Soares
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Community News | New Faculty
Rachelle Watson
Fifth Grade Teacher
Rachelle Watson
Rachelle is originally from outside Melbourne, Australia. She received her Bachelor of Early Childhood and Primary (Elementary) Education at RMIT in Melbourne, majoring in the Arts. She began her teaching career in Australia, where she developed a passion for the Thinking Curriculum. She continued her career in London, where she taught Year One and was the Head of Science at a private school in St John’s Wood for four years before moving to the U.S in 2011.
Nicole Weldzius
Fourth Grade Teacher
Nicole Weldzius
Nicole received her BA in Elementary Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University. Her passion for language led her to study abroad in Granada, Spain. Nicole began her teaching career in education as a bilingual teacher and most recently taught in a fourth grade duallanguage classroom.
Michael Wiesenfeld English Chair
Michael graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Writing Seminars Program at Johns Hopkins University. He earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, then served as a prosecutor in New York City for several years before returning to his first love: literature. After teaching in two other private high schools, Michael joins the Dwight faculty as chair of the English Department and a teacher in the twelfth grade IB Diploma Program. Michael Weisenfeld
Sara Jo Wyllie
First Grade Teacher
Sara Jo Wyllie
Sara Jo received a BA in Theater and an MA in Educational Theater and English Education from New York University. She studied and worked in Ireland at Trinity College and later became part of a group called Shakespeare to Go, which toured the five boroughs of New York City performing Shakespeare for children. Sara Jo is pleased to have found a career that combines both her love for theater and her love for children. Sara Jo recently spent two years as an assistant teacher at Grace Church School, where she taught second and third grade.
Violetta Zambetti Music Teacher
Violetta Zambetti
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Violetta holds Masters of Music and Advance Studies Degrees from the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music, where she was a recipient of the Silvia Kugel Music Scholarship Award. With over twenty years of international choral and instrumental teaching experience, Violetta believes in promoting students’ own creativity, knowledge, and long-term passion for music as ways of cultural exchange and enrichment. As the current Head of the Board of Bronx Arts Ensemble, Violetta actively supports the arts in both the local and greater New York communities.
Class Notes | Alumni
Annual Fund
graduates Successful Dwight, Franklin, and Anglo-American graduates span the globe. Your gift will ensure that future Dwight graduates also leave their mark. Please support The Dwight School Foundation’s Annual Fund. Help future Dwight graduates reach their potential by ensuring the best Dwight education possible. Last year, a record number of alumni supported the Annual Fund. We hope alumni will have an even greater impact this year. Please consider making a gift in the attached pledge envelope or online now at www.dwight.edu/ givingtodwight. For more information, please contact Jacqueline Leitzes, Director of Annual Giving and Major Gifts, at 212.724.6360 x247 or jleitzes@dwight.edu.
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Michael Archer, Matthew Archer-Nieto, Maite Nieto, and Elizabeth Nieto
that sticks out for us was when we attended the Winter Concert at Carnegie Hall as prospective parents — the quality of the production was unbelievable. We were coming from a school that focused on the arts, but here it was clear Dwight took it to a whole different level. We also formed strong bonds with other parents. Parents at Dwight look for and expect the best for and from their kids. As we move into a new generation of parents with our first grader, it is clear the community still values accomplishment and achievement.
Michael currently serves on the 2011-12 Annual Fund Committee. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are entering their tenth year as parents at the school. Over the years Elizabeth has been involved with the Parents’ Association. Daughter, Maite, graduated in 2010 and son, Matthew, is currently in the first grade.
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Dwight really cultivated a global vision in our daughter, Maite, who graduated in 2010. As a fifth grader, she traveled to Dwight’s campus in London for the week-long exchange. Maite studied both Spanish and French and found that Dwight has a remarkable language program. Before her senior year, Maite traveled on a Dwight program to Saudi Arabia, an experience she will never forget; it was truly a game-changing event for her. She is now studying Arabic in college and will likely major in Arabic and Middle East Studies. With our son, Matthew, we have been particularly impressed by the quality of his teachers. They have been energetic, smart, and engaging and know how to get the most out of their students. We
Dwight’s amazing teachers at all levels and their ability to foster each child’s ‘spark of genius’ is a strong formula for success.
Michael Archer & Elizabeth Nieto Parent of Maite ’10 and Matthew ’23 Annual Fund Donor Since 2004
can’t imagine a better start for him. Dwight’s amazing teachers at all levels and their ability to foster each child’s “spark of genius” is a strong formula for success. We have been pleasantly surprised at the growth of the school. Dwight is always trying to make itself better, providing the teachers with the best training, expanding and enhancing the physical infrastructure, and making many other improvements. Dwight is charging into the future, even though it has been around for over a century. Elizabeth and I have been supporters of Dwight and The Annual Fund since we arrived. There is no more important investment we will ever make than in our children. For us, it is not only about supporting the school financially, but also about being involved and giving our time. Sure it can be difficult, but we find a way to carve out the time. To have an impact and a say in the school community, you have to be engaged. And where else to better place our contributions than here? This is not only a long-term investment for the School, but one our children benefit from immediately. We look forward to and are excited to see the next big developments at Dwight.
The Annual Fund is the backbone of The Dwight School Foundation’s fundraising programs. Its purpose is to help The Dwight School and its Woodside Preschool maintain the highest standards of excellence in education. Your donation provides support for student financial aid, faculty professional development, and other enrichment items and programs. We depend on your support to help us reach our 2011-12 annual giving goal of $1,400,000. For further information about our Annual Fund, please call 212.724.6360 x247 or email jleitzes@dwight.edu. To make a gift online, please visit www.dwight.edu/givingtodwight.
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Events | Reunion Day
Welcome Back!
Reunion Day, October 15, 2011 Dwight welcomed a growing number of Dwight, Franklin, and Anglo-American alumni and guests to campus on October 15 for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres (catered by Mayan Axelrod ’91 of Mayan Woods Catering). Alumni came from far and wide to reconnect with classmates and favorite teachers. Guests enjoyed a wine bar in the Quad (donated by Bobby Shagrin ’75) and a rooftop keg of beer (donated by Alumni Council President Peter Timmins ’90). Fifty-year graduate and Dwight faculty veteran, Hank Cadra ’61, was recognized for his dedicated alumni service to the School and awarded a commemorative plaque by Chancellor Spahn. After the reception, alumni celebrating landmark reunion years headed off to class dinners held off-site and arranged by their class representatives. A special thank you to our student volunteers for their help in facilitating such a memorable afternoon, and thank you again to our donors for their generous support in creating a successful Reunion Day. We look forward to seeing you all at next year’s Reunion!
1. Hope Hillyer ’79 and Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71 scan the yearbook room 2. Chancellor Spahn with Arthur Zinn ’81 and his wife, Martha 3. Jessica Salzer ’05 and Scott Hefler ’97 share a laugh with Mrs. Luz Giraldo 4. Steven Alter ’76 and Henry Ettinger ’75 5. 1991 classmates pose for a photo op 6. Guests enjoy the rooftop view 7. William Betts ’89, Jonathon Hunt ’85, Etienne Bernstein ’91 and his son 8. Part of the spread catered by Mayan Axelrod ’91 9. Hank Cadra ’61 and Alvin Fields ’61 check out their 50-year-old yearbook
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1. Former faculty member Rodney Zagury and sister Lisa Zagury, Anglo ’81 2. Heather Baram Turkewitz ’91 and Diana Danneman Cohen ’91 3. Daphnae Xhemali-Torres, Anglo ’86 and Mark Wilson, Anglo ’86 4. Frank Falcone, Anglo ’81 and friend 5. Anglo ’81 classmates Carolyn Blair, Peter Trump, Frank Falcone, and Caroline Watson 6. Guests reminisce on the rooftop 7. Chancellor Spahn awards Hank Cadra ’61 for 50 years of dedicated alumni service to the School 8. Blake Spahn ’89 chats with fellow alums 9. Sibile Morency ’01 and Peter Timmins ’90
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Events | Reunion Day
Reunion Day, October 15, 2011
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1. Thomas Eisenberg ’84 and Bruce Blau ’76 2. Sushi station 3. Fern Blumenfeld Jaffe ’71 browses old yearbooks 4. Student volunteers at registration 5. Daniel Maren ’11, Science Chair Barry Gragg and Karl Bahceci ’11 6. Dwight class of 1991 7. Dwight class of 1971
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Events | Alumni Holiday Party
Dwight Alumni Share “Sparkling Holiday Spirit”
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Dwight held its second annual Young Alumni Holiday Party on Wednesday, December 7. Greg Williamson ’97 and his fiancé hosted the party at their downtown apartment; the event provided a wonderful opportunity for alumni to reconnect during the holiday season. A special thank you to Annie Sigal Medina ’93 and Mayan Axelrod ’91 for providing the food, and to Stuart Jakub ’97 for underwriting a portion of the event.
1. Class of 1997 2. Scott Hefler ’97, Jessica Salzer ’05, and Jeffrey Plevan ’96 3. Stuart Jakub ’97 and Fabiana Portalano ’97 4. 1997 classmates Christos Katsiaouni, Greg Williamson, and Fabiana Portalano 5. Guests mingling
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Answer the Call!
Alumni Phonathon, November 16, 2011 On November 16, Dwight held its fourth Alumni Annual Fund Phonathon in the Quad. Once again, a dedicated group of alumni volunteers tirelessly called fellow graduates to ask for their support. Volunteers spoke with Dwight, Franklin, and Anglo-American graduates about the impact annual fund dollars have had on the School and shared the latest exciting news from Dwight. We would especially like to recognize Alumni Council members Scott Hefler ’97, Jyotsna Bean ’96,
and Peter Timmins ’90 for their hard work during this event. We will be organizing another phonathon campaign in March to reach even more alumni and break last year’s record number of alumni gifts. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Jamie Hinman at jhinman@ dwight.edu. Thank you to all of our phonathon volunteers and our generous donors for making the fall phonathon such a success!
Alumni Council President Peter Timmins ’90 and Scott Hefler ’97 hit the phones
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Events | International Society Cocktail Reception
International Society
Cocktail Reception, October 5, 2011 On Wednesday October 5, Chancellor and Mrs. Spahn hosted a cocktail reception at Manhattan’s Soho House to honor members of the School’s International Society — individuals who made gifts of $1,880 or more to The Dwight School Foundation’s 2010-11 Annual Fund. Over one hundred members of the Dwight and Woodside community, including parents, alumni, former parents, faculty, and friends — attend-
ed this celebratory event and were elated upon hearing that International Society gifts accounted for 90% of the total Annual Fund dollars raised in 2010-11. During the evening, Foundation Trustee Marie Lippman (Adam ’15), who is also a member of the Annual Fund Committee, as well as Chancellor Spahn, thanked everyone for their support and encouraged their continued generosity.
1. Stefani Langel and Madoka Duet 2. Andreas Kurali and Aubrey Hodges ‘99 3. Kirk Spahn ‘95, Constance Spahn, Richard Zinman, Hege Eriksen 4. Harry Rubin, Blake Spahn ‘89, and Cathy Rubin 5. Mirinha and John Halpern 6. Adam Ginsburg and Kara Feifer 7. Alena Paltina and Guennadi Pesselev 8. Christelle Labat-Comess, Principal Dianne Drew, Noel Labat-Comess 9. Daniela Berger Ben Zion ‘93, Annie Sigal Medina ’93, and Audrey Zinman 10. Kirk Spahn ’95, Greg Williamson ’97, Blain Namm ‘97 11. Steven and Sara Knox 12. Marie Lippman and Marlene Arbess 13. Beatrice Burckhardt 14. Madoka Duet, Don Duet, and Chancellor Spahn
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The Dwight School experience is unique — and its foundation strong. There are three pillars upon which this world-class education is built: global vision, community service, and personalized learning. We’ve dedicated a feature article to each of these themes to bring them to light and to life.
Feature | Global Vision
global vision
The Dwight Family of Schools:
Five Campuses, One Global Vision ome schools have classrooms without walls; Dwight has schools without national or international borders. With four campuses abroad in London, Vancouver Island, Beijing, and Seoul — all connected to the school in New York and to one another — Dwight is on the forefront of international education. The imperative is clear: In our rapidly changing world, today’s graduates must possess global wisdom. Technology has broken down all barriers to information-sharing and is continually ushering in new modes of inter-connectivity. While business has primarily been the one in the global driver’s seat, education is now keeping pace.
Bringing Internationalism to Life for Students Dwight has long been ahead of the curve; it was the first independent school in the U.S. to establish a permanent international campus in London. The year was 1972, and the location was The Woodside Park School — the precursor of today’s North London International School (NLIS) and the first to join with Dwight in New York. For more than a decade, fifth graders in New York and North London have benefited from this cross-cultural connection through an annual exchange homestay program. Staying with host families and spending time in each others’ classrooms, students eagerly look forward to connecting with their peers “across the pond” each year.
Hamza Tahir ’18 visits London in Dwight’s fifth grade exchange progam
With the more recent opening of Dwight schools in British Columbia and Asia, students in New York have been participating in additional international exchange opportunities. Over the 2011 winter vacation, for example, Athletic Director Matt Lewis took the boys varsity basketball team to China to meet and play against their cohorts at The Dwight American-Capital Normal High School Program in Beijing. The team also visited the cultural and historical landmarks of this great city. To read about this unique experience, visit china. dwight.edu. More Dwight exchange efforts are in the works, including a theater project with students in North London and New York for the 2012–13 academic year. So, too, are curricular connections being planned, so that students in the same grade learning about the same subject — as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum — can interact through online video technologies such as Skype in real-time.
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Max Joseph ’10 focuses on his subject during a trip to Beijing
Global Vision | Feature
Expressing ideas confidently and creatively in more than one language is one of ten characteristics of the IB learner
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A Snapshot of Dwight Campuses Abroad North London International School, London, England Established: 2005; precursor founded 1972 Three Campuses: Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools Grades: Pre-K – 12 Enrollment: 400 day students Diploma awarded: IB
Dwight International School, Vancouver Island, Canada Established: 2009 One Campus: On 23 acres Grades: 6 – 12 Enrollment: 126 students (65 day and 61 boarding) Diplomas awarded: IB, British Columbia (BC) high school, and US (Advanced Placement) high school diploma
The Dwight-American Capital Normal High School Program, Beijing, China Established: 2009 One Campus: Attached to Capital Normal University Grades: 10 – 12 Enrollment: 168 day students Diplomas awarded: Joint US (Advanced Placement, English) high school and Chinese (Mandarin) high school diploma
Dwight International School Seoul, Seoul, South Korea Established: Opening August 2012 One Campus: In Digital Media City Grades: K – 12 Enrollment: 300 day students Diploma awarded: Working toward IB accreditation
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Seoul
Dwight students and alumni also have opportunities to shape their own programs abroad. Upon graduating in 2010, Jennifer Lee traveled to Beijing for the summer to work as an assistant teacher in several science classes taught in English at The Dwight American-Capital Normal High School Program. As her time in China unfolded, she also had the opportunity to teach her own literature course. In the evening hours, Jen learned Chinese from her host mother, who spoke no English. Now a sophomore at Cornell University, she continues to study Chinese and plans to return to Beijing for her junior year abroad. For Max Joseph ’10, one week in Beijing proved to be a wonderful opportunity to experience Chinese culture and delve deeper into one of his passions — filmmaking. He traveled with Paul Sanders, former Chair of the English Department and now Vice Principal for grades 6 – 12, to make a short film about the Capital Normal High School and its program. While there, Max stayed with a family of a Capital Normal student and attended high school classes. Mr. Sanders taught a number of English classes during their week, working with teachers on employing more engaging teaching pedagogies and advancing student critical-thinking skills by meeting with students individually about their goals and their learning. Both Max and Mr. Sanders also participated in a number of Chinese culture classes and visited some of the city’s major sites.
Training Tomorrow’s World Leaders Today Thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation, Dwight developed a Leadership Academy two years ago on its Vancouver Island campus to bring upper school students from all of its schools — along with student leaders from around the globe — together. In this intensive program, which will continue again this summer, students plan and execute a community service project of their own making. “Some of the projects we’ve seen draw on successful social entrepreneurship models,” explains Graham Brown,
Global Vision | Feature
Deputy Head of the Dwight International School and President of the Dwight Leadership Academy. His philosophy is rooted in the belief that everyone is a leader — each in his or her own way, quiet or bold. “Through the Academy, we want to ignite every student’s individual ‘spark of genius’ in the Dwight tradition and encourage each to ‘step up to the plate’.”
Vancouver Island
In addition to working on a project that challenges them personally, students participate in a range of intellectually stimulating workshops, attend lectures with guest speakers, and partake in physical challenges and exercises — all designed to foster leadership skills. Everything takes place on the beautiful shores of Shawnigan Lake in British Columbia, providing a background emphasis on environmental studies as well.
A Living Mission Dwight has deeply committed educational leaders at the helm of each school, all of whom have extensive experience living and teaching around the world. Together, they’re creating a road map for the very best in pre-university international education. The Dwight Family of Schools (DFS) holds strong to the ideals of the IB mission: To develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. (See page 39 for more about the IB.) “Not many educational institutions are willing to be as innovative as Dwight,” says Dianne Drew, Principal of The Dwight School, New York. “We all believe in the IB — it’s a living mission that we embrace every day, providing students with a variety of opportunities to understand and experience different cultures through a wide range of travel, exchange programs, curricular collaborations, and technologies. My fellow Dwight school directors share the same philosophy. We all learn from one another; together, we’re willing to take on whatever challenges that may come along the way, find novel solutions, and apply them in culturally-sensitive ways.”
Beijing
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richer when students have the opportunity to travel and learn with and from others who are also on a path to becoming enlightened global citizens. Today’s employers across industries — and borders — are seeking talented, internationally-minded individuals who possess an impressive set of skills, including cultural agility, fluency in second and third languages, and the ability to take risks. Graduates of Dwight will be well equipped with this skill set and the tools needed to succeed in both higher education and the global job market. Even more importantly, they will be prepared to become tomorrow’s leaders.
Coming soon: Dwight in Seoul’s Digital Media City
Jerry Salvador, Director of the Dwight International School (DIS) on Vancouver Island, further explains, “It’s extremely valuable to have such distinguished partners who provide a true world perspective on education. It’s exciting to talk to other heads within DFS to explore where we’re all going and what we should be doing as educators to keep pace. In addition to the bigpicture issues, we also share best practices and strategies for tackling pragmatic issues, such as computer networking and reporting.”
A Dwight IB Education Is Priceless
Mr. Skeoch also serves as Director of the Dwight American-Capital Normal University High School Program in Beijing and as Head of the new Dwight International School in Seoul. He will be moving to Korea from North London, where he has also been the Assistant Head of School for the past five years, taking his IB leadership expertise to further develop Dwight’s presence in Asia. This comes two years after Dwight was selected by the Seoul Korean government from 120 international schools to establish a campus in this important global hub. The school is scheduled to open in August 2012 in Seoul’s Digital Media City, a state-of-the-art media and culture complex.
The value of the rigorous and respected IB curriculum is clear, regardless of nation status; it becomes even
With campuses around the world, Dwight faculty will have opportunities to teach abroad for a year or two to
Through the cross-fertilization of ideas, every Dwight faculty member and each school can benefit from gleaning the best IB knowledge and teaching practices. With a number of esteemed faculty who play key roles in the IB organization, reports David Rose, Head of NLIS, “We’re delighted to help other schools in the Dwight family build a top-notch IB curriculum, train local faculty, and share our strengths as one of the foremost IB schools in the U.K.”
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“Research studies reveal that nothing trumps the IB curriculum in preparing students to fare better and be more likely to finish their university course of studies — neither the Advanced Placement high school diploma system in the U.S. nor the A-levels in the U.K.,” asserts Kevin Skeoch, Executive Director of the Dwight Family of Schools. “The IB offers a foundation with a much greater breadth and depth of knowledge. When students graduate, they demonstrate mastery in essay writing, research application, critical thinking, and understanding how culture impacts what we know about the world.”
Global Vision | Feature
further their own career development and bring back additional teaching strategies to their home schools. Faculty like Chair of the Science Department Barry Gragg have already benefited from briefer visits. He recently took four students to British Columbia, near Dwight’s Vancouver Island campus, for a research project involving the study of lichen growth on some of Canada’s oldest glaciers.
London
Building a Global Alumni Network In the summer of 2010, Dwight held its first formal alumni reunion outside the U.S. — in South Korea. The event coincided with a visit from Chancellor Stephen Spahn, who was meeting with the Mayor of Seoul and other top officials to begin laying the groundwork for the opening of the next Dwight school there. Mr. Spahn, graduates living in that part of the world, and even two current Dwight students originally from Seoul, toured a state-ofthe-art wellness center founded by former Dwight parent Dr. Kwang Yul Cha and his son, Wontae Cha ’00, and shared an evening of lively conversation and new ideas. Expect more alumni events in Seoul — and at Dwight’s other campuses as well. Every Dwight graduate will become part of this powerful global alumni network, which they can draw on wherever they call home. Dwight, indeed, has become a passport to the world.
More About the IB Founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 19 68, the International Baccalaureate (IB) offers high-quality programs of international education to a worldwide community of schools. It is the only universal curriculum where students are graded according to international benchmarks. The IB aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end, the IB works with schools, governments, and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
The IB works with 3,286 schools in 141 countries to offer the three IB programs to approximately 956,000 students. • The Primary Years Program (PYP) for students ages three to twelve started in 1997 and is now offered by 817 IB World Schools. • The Middle Years Program (MYP) for students ages eleven to sixteen started in 1994 and is now offered by 914 IB World Schools. • The Diploma Program (DP) for students ages sixteen to nineteen started in 1968 with first examinations in 1970 and is now offered by 2,303 IB World Schools.
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Feature | Community Service
community service
The Glory of the Greater Good —
On and Off the Playing Field thletic Director Matt Lewis stretches out his long legs on a bench in Dwight’s new Physical Education office in a moment of repose amid the noise of comings and goings to the boys’ locker room. His focus is clear as he shares his personal philosophy about what makes for a good — great — team: It’s all about giving up of oneself ... not about athletic ability, talent, or drive. “The value of being part of a team is giving up personal goals and desires; they interfere with a team’s success,” Mr. Lewis declares. But he feels that society tells us the opposite. “Children are bombarded with messages in the media that are all about winning, about becoming megastars, and earning milliondollar endorsement deals. This is especially true in sports like basketball, which I coach. Unfortunately, this notion is often ingrained through school athletic programs as well. I believe athletes should be selfless and that their primary responsibility is to give back … to make the players and the athletic program better and richer. Personal glory is irrelevant.” Mr. Lewis knows first-hand about the allure of stardom on the court; from a young age, he too, wanted to be an NBA player. His finely tuned shooting skills earned him a spot as a shining recruit on the Tufts University team, where he remains in the record books as the eighth-best free-throw shooter in the school’s history. Though he didn’t become an All-Star, Mr. Lewis was inspired to stay in the game as a coach, and steeped himself in the teachings of one of his mentors, former Notre Dame graduate assistant coach Win Palmer, with whom he worked at Flint Hill High School, located in Fairfax, Virginia. There, he gleaned how to manage and motivate a team. Mr. Lewis has excelled in a coaching career that will endure longer than that of a pro ballplayer. Dedicated to educating the next generation of Dwight athletes to be thoughtful, caring individuals, Mr. Lewis is ideally situated; he’s working in an environment where the value of community service is part and parcel of everyday life.
Matt Lewis
There’s No “I” in “Team” Last fall, Mr. Lewis put his thoughts and philosophy down on paper when he drafted “The Core Values of the Dwight School Athlete,” in which “Commitment to the Community” stands tall at the top of the list. The first line of the statement reads, “Sacrifice: The Dwight School athlete realizes that his/her
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Varsity Soccer Captain George Domaille ’12
Community Service | Feature
Co-Captains of the Girls Varsity Tennis Team, Alexa Runsdorf ’12 and Alexa Leopold ’13
“We hope that these experiences will enable kids to grow up embracing community service as a part of who they are. Consequently, they will get much more out of participating and become lifelong contributors because they want to, not because they have to,” says Neil Brier, who coaches the Middle School’s soccer team, and serves as Dwight’s Activities and Community Service Coordinator for grades 6–12.
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efforts should primarily be directed at the betterment of others.” (See the sidebar for the full values statement.) Co-Captains of the Boys Varsity Basketball Team, Louis Ruggiero ’12 and Andrew Abrams ’12
Last year, Mr. Lewis brought these words to life when he took the boys varsity basketball team to a Harlem community drug addiction treatment facility and a local-area food bank to “open their eyes to what’s going on around them while they lent a hand serving a meal,” he explains. Following this experience, the players seemed more sensitive to those who face significant challenges just a stone’s throw from the school. “The boys were invigorated by having done something as a group to help others, and their performance on the court improved. They came together as a team to make decisions that were clearly best for the whole.”
Looking Beyond the Leader Board With the undeniable benefits of this field trip still fresh in his mind, Mr. Lewis introduced a required community service component this year for all junior varsity and varsity players who wear Dwight’s blue and white. Working together, each team must complete a community service project of their choice during the season. After explaining the new requirement to his coaches, Mr. Lewis was understandably gratified when they “took the ball and ran with it” — each one of the fall sports teams came together for a cause, to build deeper relationships within the school community, and to lay the foundation for future group efforts in the seasons to come.
Co-Captains of the Varisty Volleyball Team, Rachael Miller ’12 and Lidia Henderson ’12 (Taylor Levy ’12 not pictured)
Co-Captains of the Boys and Girls Varsity Cross-Country Teams, Kristen Tsutsui ’12, Josefine Brekke ’13, Jelle WeulenKranenberg ’13, Sam Russell ’13, and Stephanie Chu ’12
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The boys and girls varsity cross-country teams elected to tap into their athletic abilities by participating as a group in the Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research in support of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. This annual event honors the legacy of Terry Fox, who lost a leg to bone cancer and then ran across Canada to raise money for cancer research before he passed away in 1980. The result: Team bonding — and lots of it. Coach Peter Durning was pleased to see that the runners chose to spend extra time together on weekends, planning a spirited school-wide campaign that included an
Community Service | Feature
From the Desk of the Athletic Director … educational component, bake sale fundraiser, and prerun pasta party for all Dwight participants. Together, they raised $450. Senior Kristen Tsutsui, Co-captain of the girls crosscountry team, reports, “We spoke at morning meeting about the inspiring story of Terry Fox and his run across Canada to spread awareness and raise money for bone cancer. We also showed a short clip documenting it.” All the pre-run preparation brought greater rewards when the team members, who were in a circle stretching and cooling down after the event, shared a powerful moment with another runner — a man whose own story closely mirrored that of Terry Fox. Proudly bearing the Canadian flag throughout the 5K, this runner disclosed that he, too, had recently been diagnosed with cancer, bringing home the message of the day — and bringing greater satisfaction to the students for having just given of themselves. Other teams, including the girls varsity tennis team, selected projects that brought them closer to younger members of the Dwight community. Tennis coach Frances Wilson says, “We chose the Ronald McDonald House New York Kids Charity Fun Run, which was an event that students in grades K–5 have participated in for many years. We wanted to show our support and hoped that our players would be inspired by the experience and begin laying the foundation for selecting next season’s community service project early. Speaking about the experience, Co-captain Alexa Leopold says, “By interacting with our lower-school students during the Fun Run, we created a larger sense of a community, and it ended up being a great experience!” Dwight winter sports teams are in the midst of selecting their community service projects. So, too, will those wearing spring uniforms rally behind a cause, rounding out the first year of what promises to be a meaningful addition to Dwight’s winning athletic programs. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back. – Maya Angelou
Matt Lewis, who joined the Dwight team in 2005, drew on the School’s long legacy of excellence, and captured in writing his vision of what it means to play for Dwight.
Memo To: All Dwight Athletes From: Coach Lewis Re: The Core Values of the Dwight School Athlete Commitment to the Community Sacrifice The Dwight School athlete realizes that his/her efforts should primarily be directed at the betterment of others. Loyalty The Dwight School athlete looks for ways to help others and the program. Leadership and Honor The Dwight School athlete follows all school rules and procedures, including attending all classes, assemblies, and any other school-related commitments. Our athletes interact positively with all members of the community, listen respectfully to others, and always look to initiate conversation in an effort to make all feel welcome in our community. We believe that sacrifice, loyalty, leadership, and honor together help to build a commitment to our community; this helps our students to better understand their direct connection to one of the School’s major pillars, Community Service.
Attitude Courage Our athletes are positive, persistent, and confident. We respect all our opponents, but we fear none of them. We are always humble. We know that a truly confident athlete does not need to talk about his/her performance. Our athletes’ performances will speak for themselves. Excellence Our athletes know that the more we think only about winning, the less we will win. The more we think about the things we can control — our work ethic, our behavior, and our positive support and unconditional love for each other — the better we will perform. Pride Our athletes are proud to be a part of the 140-year-tradition of excellence in Dwight athletics. We believe that courage, striving for excellence, and pride help build a healthy and positive attitude within our school culture, and most importantly, help our students to better see their place in the world community; and, in this way, support the School’s second major pillar, Global Vision.
Character Discipline Our athletes do things the right way even when no one is watching. We make good decisions about our physical and emotional well-being, our community, and our school. We believe that discipline builds the character in our students that allows us to be the type of school where the third major pillar is Personalized Learning. Our students are able to take advantage of this personalized learning concept only because they have developed the proper discipline. In this way, proper discipline leads to strong character; this path lends itself to students discovering their “spark of genius.”
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Feature | Personalized Learning
personalized learning
Two for the Road:
Student and Teacher Share a Journey of a Lifetime t the beginning of a cross-country bicycle ride stretching from Seattle to Washington, D.C., senior Gabe Lewent, a cycling neophyte, was confident that he had what it takes to complete nearly 3,500 miles alongside veteran riders. Despite this certainty — the typical bravado of a teen-age boy — Gabe’s companion on the trip, English teacher Charles Shuttleworth, was less sanguine. This was a daunting challenge for experienced adult riders; unquestionably, it would prove even more so for a sixteenyear-old first-timer. The duo was poised to begin the seven-week “Big Ride Across America,” which raises funds and awareness for the American Lung Association’s research, education, and public health campaigns to improve lung health, prevent lung cancer, and advocate for clean air. They had signed on for this noble journey seven months earlier.
Dateline: November 12, 2010 An avid cyclist, Mr. Shuttleworth was sharing his passion for the open road with the upper school at a school assembly. While waxing poetically about freeing his mind, discovering the beauty of our country, and feeling the contours of the changing landscape under his wheels, Mr. Shuttleworth was also imparting how demanding these long ventures can be. Nevertheless, in closing, he jokingly welcomed students along on his next trip, never expecting someone to take him up on such an ambitious offer — that someone was Gabe.
Fog and rain did not deter cyclists on the Big Ride
Mr. Shuttleworth’s initial response was surprise, followed by a hint of skepticism, and a “wait and see” attitude. But after Gabe demonstrated his commitment to the ALA mission, Mr. Shuttleworth agreed to serve as both mentor and guardian on the Big Ride, fueling Gabe’s “spark of genius.” “I looked forward to seeing Gabe, a born-and-bred city kid, dive into the great outdoors, see the country on a bike, and support a good cause,” he says. Before and during the journey, Gabe and Mr. Shuttleworth raised over $13,000 for the ALA. Gabe participated “to honor and pay my respects to those who have died because of lung cancer … and to be involved in something bigger than myself,” he says. Mr. Shuttleworth, who actually took this very same trip in 2006, wanted to support the organization again — especially its environmental safety lobbying initiatives on Capitol Hill. “In my twenty-five years of bicycle travel, I have developed a keen sense of the
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Gabe gives the thumbs-up sign
Personalized Learning | Feature
Dateline: December 21, 2011 Gabe tapped into his experience and adventures on the Big Ride as the subject of his college essay. His commitment to the ALA mission impressed Lesley College, where Gabe was accepted early action and received the school’s Centennial Award in recognition of his accomplishment. The Centennial Award carries a $12,000 scholarship per year for four years. This fall, Gabe will be heading to Lesley in Cambridge, MA, and no doubt, riding his bike across New England when he gets the chance.
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difficulty. In fact, he had “energy to spare,” according to Mr. Shuttleworth’s blog posting from the road in “My Bicycle Life.” As the ALA team traveled over every kind of terrain and through all kinds of weather — from foggy, hot and humid to torrential rainstorms; and from tough contrary winds to cooler breezes — Gabe fine-tuned his biking skills, became physically stronger, and kept up with the often-taxing pace of riding more than eight hours a day. Mr. Shuttleworth was impressed with his endurance; Gabe says, “I never doubted myself. I knew I could do it.”
Mr. Shuttleworth and Gabe take a break from the rhythm of the road
earth’s natural beauty, and I consider the effort to preserve air quality an essential task and moral responsibility,” he reports. With a built-in support team that travels every mile with the riders, including a mechanic and vehicles to pick up those who may be fatigued or injured, the ALA trip was a perfect choice for first-time rider, Gabe.
Dateline: May 15, 2011 The first mile of the journey actually began one month prior with training. Gabe had never ridden a bike outside Manhattan — let alone the long distances he was going to travel cross-country, including several “century” (100+)-mile rides in one day. The longest totaled 112 miles, from Sheridan to Gillette, WY. But Gabe impressed Mr. Shuttleworth by excelling on the first of five training sessions, where they rode more than sixty miles on a bike path from Yonkers to Brewster, NY. Mr. Shuttleworth attributes this to Gabe’s natural ability. On another trip, they began in Manhattan, crossed the George Washington Bridge, and cycled to Nyack, NY — a popular jaunt for city bikers. These sessions enabled Gabe to jump right into the Big Ride. He managed the first day’s trek of eightyseven miles over the Cascade Mountains in Washington State, from sea level to 3,000 feet, without much
46 | Dwight Today
Due to the intense summer heat, the riders would often rise before sunrise — once at 4:30 am — to break down their tents, load their gear onto the support truck, eat breakfast, and get on the road to take advantage of the early morning’s lower temperatures. These wee-hour wake-ups proved to be the worst part of the trip for Gabe, but he found riding in the cooler temperatures on such days to be the best part. As the weeks wore on, Gabe, who was the youngest participant, took to these daybreak routines with greater ease. Gabe and his companions spent many long hours soaking in the elements, observing the scenery, reflecting … and just being “in the zone.” He explains, “Being outside the city and not having to think about which subway to take or when to get to the next class, I could slow down and have more time to think. I learned from Mr. Shuttleworth, who is laid back and whose dedication to biking is amazing, how to roll with it and enjoy the moments along the way.” Along the route, the duo visited seven colleges, where they stayed in dorms as a respite from sleeping in tents. Although he and his family had already visited some prospective schools, Gabe got a taste of campus life in different parts of the country.
Dateline: August 6, 2011 Approaching mile 3,482 — the final mile in the Big Ride — Gabe knew one thing: “There would be more finish lines to come.”
Personalized Learning | Feature
Completing the long journey was a major achievement for each and every one of the twenty-six ALA bikers, but it was especially impressive for a teenager with precious-little biking experience under his belt. “Gabe proved his mettle,” says Mr. Shuttleworth, “and was often one of the regulars who consistently arrived first at the day’s finish line.” Mr. Shuttleworth continues, “The trip made an impression on Gabe, and he seemed to mature along the way. He clearly took pride in his accomplishments on the road, and contemplated his next steps in school — and in life. These changes were noticeable to everyone; the whole group was proud of him. I can’t help but think that the discipline of the ride — and the confidence it should instill in Gabe for having finished it — will serve him well in college and beyond.” With the successful crossing of the first physically grueling and mentally challenging threshold, Gabe was inspired to continue stretching himself and to strive higher than ever before in his young life. And he had his teacher to thank for this transformative experience.
Supporting Teachers’ Passions The Dwight School embraced the duo’s impressive undertaking by awarding Mr. Shuttleworth a professional development grant to underwrite the expenses for hosting Gabe on the Big Ride. “Dwight was very generous in facilitating our trip,” reports Mr. Shuttleworth, “as well as in supporting other ventures that ‘spark my own creative genius.’ I have received Dwight grants to write about my biking experiences; as well as to focus on my love for photography on the road, which keeps me in the moment. In addition, Dwight is enabling me to teach part-time during this school year, so I can work on my travel memoir. I am extremely grateful for these opportunities.” This professional development grant was one of many that Dwight offers to faculty. For a list of other recent grants, see page 12.
Dateline: September 8, 2011 At the beginning of his final year at Dwight, “Gabe seemed to come back with greater resolve or a greater sense of purpose … with greater self-confidence,” reports Mr. Shuttleworth. Gabe’s parents noticed these
The Inside Scoop on the Big Ride Total number of riders: 26, ranging in age, from 16 to 70 Amount raised by Gabe and Mr. Shuttleworth: $13,000 of $175,000 total Total mileage: 3,482 miles Average miles per day: 87 Riding days: 40 Off-days: 8 Flat tires: 12 Falls off bicycle: Gabe 8; Mr. Shuttleworth, 1 PB&J sandwiches consumed: 82
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Feature | Personalized Learning
changes as well. “He is more outgoing, open, and articulate about what he wants to do with his life. This comes from feeling more self-assured and equal with adults,” says Steven Lewent, Gabe’s father. When speaking about the Big Ride, Gabe “becomes most proud when recalling that he wanted to go on the trip upon first learning about it from Mr. Shuttleworth — and that he carried through with the commitment,” explains Mr. Lewent. “It’s one thing to plan for the trip, and to do the training. It’s quite another to actually hit the road mile after mile, through cold, heat, rain, and wind. Gabe has something under his belt that he initiated and carried through to completion — and it was no small feat.”
Dateline: 2012 and Beyond Mr. Shuttleworth sees Gabe as a fellow adventurer, who enjoys the outdoors, wants to travel, and likes to challenge himself. The two — mentor and student — share a kindred spirit, a desire to explore and to test his own physical limits. “The seed has been planted,” says Mr. Shuttleworth. “Our trip will likely be one of many more biking or mountain climbing expeditions to come for Gabe.” While content to trace the outline of Manhattan Island on his bike this past fall, Gabe looks forward to more ambitious treks — “to biking in different countries, wherever I can cover a lot of ground and see the world,” he shares. “I also want to hike the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia to see more
of the U.S.” Then — practically in the same sentence — Gabe mentions Ironman competitions ... the possibilities are endless. Indeed, there will be more finish lines to come.
Road Reading: Favorites from Mr. Shuttleworth’s Bike Trips A long journey presents the perfect opportunity to enjoy diving into a great book. Here are a few that Mr. Shuttleworth has packed to read on his adventures: Lengthy classics best read with the luxury of time: Anna Karenina and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Adam Bede and Middlemarch by George Eliot Philosophical road trip novels: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig On the Road and The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac Western novels set in many of the same places that Mr. Shuttleworth has traversed: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon Fools Crow by James Welch Quintessential American poetry set in the West: All of Us: The Collected Poems by Raymond Carver A great personal story about finding oneself: Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse
Charles Shuttleworth’s Cycling Life: Two wheels. Six cross-country trips. Twenty-five years. 50,000 miles. A million thoughts. As a teenager growing up on Long Island, Mr. Shuttleworth left the New York City area to attend boarding school at Hotchkiss in Connecticut, where he developed a love for the woods. While summering in Maine, he continued to escape urban life and “never envisioned becoming a ‘city person’,” he tells us. Nonetheless, Mr. Shuttleworth went to college at NYU, and stayed on as a grad student. After two summers without the means to vacation outside Manhattan — and several extra pounds — he sought a solution: Buy a bicycle. Mr. Shuttleworth began riding to explore the five boroughs. He then ventured beyond, over the Green Mountains and on to Montreal in six days. He was smitten. And he had found the perfect antidote to city life.
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In the summers that followed, Mr. Shuttleworth covered most of North America on his bike, as well as the alps of Switzerland and Austria. His favorite trip was a big loop of the West, beginning and ending in Eugene, OR, in 2004. When riding with Gabe this past summer, Mr. Shuttleworth crossed his personal 50,000-mile mark. “I always find these summer trips to be restorative,” he reports, no doubt because he still lives in Manhattan — and rollerblades to Dwight. Mr. Shuttleworth has chronicled his adventures in words and photos online, is writing a biking memoir, and even penned a poem entitled “Why I Ride.” It begins simply with, “To live fully.” Read this poem and more about Mr. Shuttleworth’s life on two wheels at why-i-ride.blogspot.com.
Alumni | Dwight Today
Dwight Ski Weekend Stowe Mountain Lodge March 2-4, 2012 The Dwight Alumni Association is planning a 2012 winter weekend getaway to Stowe, Vermont. Please contact jhinman@dwight.edu if you are interested in attending.
dwight ski weekend at stowe mountain lodge Please visit www.stowemountainlodge.com to learn more about Stowe and the Lodge.
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Alumni | Welcome Letter
Dear Fellow Alumni, When I was a Dwight student, the term “social media” referred to passing around the same newspaper to share the sports section. Today’s electronic media provide a myriad of ways to stay in touch with old friends, find new ones, network for employment, or sell that old stuff sitting around the house. As the president of the Alumni Council, I want to find ways to continue to connect with one another to promote these activities. When we stay connected in meaningful and enjoyable ways, we share in the positive experiences of all of our graduates. The continued evolution of technology provides us with more ways to accomplish daily tasks, yet we still struggle to fit them all into our day. We use the internet to share in the successes we enjoy, broadcast the accomplishments of our children, and reach out to new people with similar interests. The Dwight website, www.dwight.edu, connects our school to the alumni body and should be on your list of ways to stay connected. On a recent visit to Dwight, I was introduced to a new technology used in classrooms called a “Smart Board.” There are many features of the technology that are raising the standards Dwight students experience today. One of the more impressive aspects is the ability to connect students by video conferencing with other classrooms that also have similar technology. Our school is at the forefront of creating the true global experience that the leaders of today are promising. The growth Dwight will experience in the near future will separate us from our peers in ways that have yet to be credited. Our brand will establish a new level of admiration commensurate with the growth and success of the future leaders that graduate from our schools. The International Baccalaureate and the rigorous standards of its curriculum are producing graduates who will make positive changes in the world and, in the process of doing so, will raise the value of all of our diplomas. I invite you to join the alumni who have come back to the school to share in the successes they have enjoyed with friends and faculty. Sincerely,
Peter Timmins
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See Reunion Day and Holiday Party photos on pages 22–28!
Alumni Council | Alumni
ALUMNI COUNCIL 2011-12 Pictured below are the members of the 2011-12 Alumni Council. If you are interested in being involved with the Council, please contact Jamie Hinman, Director of Alumni Affairs, at jhinman@dwight.edu.
Peter Timmins ’90, President
Jyotsna Vasisht Bean ’96, Vice President
David Akers ’04
Etienne Bernstein ’91
Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71, President Emeritus
Vanessa Freeman, Anglo ’89
Scott Hefler ’97
Aubrey Hodges ’99
Christos Katsiaouni ’97
Sibile Morency ’01
Blain Namm ’97
Jessica Salzer ’05
Reza Sarbakhsh ’00
Victor Schwartz, Franklin ’58
Greg Williamson ’97
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Alumni | Alumni Accolades
David Ackers ’04
The Produce Pusher David Ackers ’04 knows his tomatoes. He recently began overseeing northeast sales for Lipman Produce, which employs over 4,000 workers in 23 locations throughout North America and is the largest tomato and eastern vegetable grower in the United States. David manages a full-time staff of 395 employees at Lipman’s New Jersey plant and, at age 25, is handling this new challenge with the poise and grace of a Dwight alum. David is responsible for managing accounts and securing new partnerships with clients ranging from the major broad line distributors to fast-food restaurants and retail
52 | Dwight Today
supermarket chains. Besides tomatoes, Lipman supplies peppers, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, eggplant, and watermelon. David loves that there is never a dull moment in his day as he is either making sales calls, loading and routing trucks, or working on the packing house floor. He has quickly become an expert on all things produce! Though the job can be grueling (David is constantly on the road between Canada and Lipman’s headquarters in Florida), he is learning more every day, from keeping up on market conditions to best practices for managing clients and employees. One of Lipman’s core values
Alumni Accolades | Alumni
is customer satisfaction, which David embraces as he builds key relationships. Lipman also strives to be environmentally responsible and care for the health and well-being of its employees. One of the great perks of the job is getting unlimited free access to produce. David promised the next time he visits New York City, he will bring Señora Giraldo some of the green tomatoes that she loves! He also regaled the Alumni Council with fresh, plump tomatoes at our last meeting in September. We wish David the best as he — no pun intended — grows into his new position!
Ari Bornstein ’03
From Panama with Sun Ari Bornstein ’03 was featured on Forbes.com last October for his entrepreneurial work in Central America. Bornstein is owner and manager of Mondo Taitu, a hostel he recently started with three friends in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Mondo Taitu attracts tourists from around the world, offering tree house-like accommodations by the water. The many beautiful beaches offer sandy shores and crystal blue water that is perfect for snorkeling, and the city’s picturesque backdrop makes Mondo Taitu a top destination for a fun-filled trip. From renting tandem bicycles to hosting 1980s theme parties, Ari and his partners make Bocas del Toro THE place to be in Panama!
Lipman tomato fields
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Alumni | Alumni Accolades
David Brown ’97
An All-Star Leader
Dwight alumnus and basketball superstar, David Brown ’97, was recently featured on CNN for his work with Basketball Stars of New York, a program he started that helps kids develop their basketball talent. An all-star basketball player at Dwight, David went on to play in college as well as coach at both the high school and college levels. After a corporate career with the New Jersey Nets, David decided to create his own business where he could combine his love of basketball and working with kids. He saw a great opportunity and a niche market he could fill by providing professional-level instruction to kids who needed to hone their skills on the court. Basketball Stars of New York only employs former basketball players and athletes in an effort to keep the company as authentic as possible. He credits his time at Dwight for inspiring this business model and keeping the focus on the kids.
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David also credits Dwight and his former Dwight coaches for fostering his passion for basketball. He cites legendary faculty member Radomir Kovacevic as an inspiration and part of the reason he wanted to work with kids. When asked about Radomir, David says “He taught me to do things the right way and how to lead other people. [This] allowed me to be a leader on the basketball team and prepared me for basketball in college. If I hadn’t had him as a coach, I would never be doing what I am doing right now.” David says his chance to work with Coach Pee Wee Kirkland and Chancellor Spahn also paved the way for his current career. Reflecting on how his Dwight experience impacts his current coaching style, David looks back fondly at the practices and time spent with friends, not necessarily the games won. “We won almost every game … [but] the chemistry and camaraderie is what you always want to strive for in a team.” It is that conviction that he ultimately tries to instill in his students and his coaches at Basketball Stars of New York. Ever ambitious, David plans to increase the scope of his company and hopes to eventually run international camps at Dwight’s four campuses abroad (London, Vancouver Island, Beijing, and Seoul – see Feature Story on page 34) to “give kids the chance to learn skills from coaches in America, which is the heartland of basketball.” We have no doubt that he will do just that!
Guest Speakers | Alumni
Richard C. Goodwin ’46
Give Peace a Chance!
Richard C. Goodwin ’46, a prominent philanthropist and advocate for peace in the Middle East, visited The Dwight School on September 20 to speak with Paul Sander’s twelfth grade Theory of Knowledge class. Beside sharing what life was like at Dwight sixty-five years ago, Richard explained some of the political obstacles facing the peace movement and the importance of an open dialogue to resolve conflict in the Middle East. Richard is the founder of the Middle East Peace Dialogue Network, an organization dedicated to bringing peace to the Middle East. He also shared his values for a philanthropic life — Richard seeks to construct a better world through the spirit of giving. In appreciation of his support, Drexel University named the Goodwin College of Professional Studies in his honor. He also left his mark on Dwight’s Alumni Office — his Post-it® quotes on peace and philanthropy now serve as inspiration to the staff! Richard currently resides in Snowmass Village, Colorado, and has two sons, one daughter, one step-daughter, and three grandchildren.
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Alumni | Class Notes
Share the latest news and a photo with your classmates for the next issue of Dwight Today and The Dwight School website: www.dwight.edu. Send news to Jamie Hinman at jhinman@dwight.edu. Dwight Class Notes Bruce Lovell ’57. “After getting engineering degrees from RPI and Cal Tech, I worked for IBM for 30 years and took early retirement. Following that, I started my own computer consulting business in which I still occasionally work. I enjoy travel and I have visited all 50 states and 77 countries. I have two children and one grandchild; and I live with my partner, Elsie, in Colorado.” Walter Becker ’63. Walter recently had a chance to reconnect with his classmate Roy Fleischer ’63. He is looking forward to his 50th reunion in a year. Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71. “I was thrilled to connect with everyone from our class at our 40th reunion in October. Some of us had not been together since graduation. We had an outstanding time at dinner and the afterparty and made plans to get together again in the next few months. Thanks everyone for making our reunion so amazing!” Fern Blumenfeld Jaffe ’71. Fern has been married to her husband David for the past 31 years. They have three children. Dan, 27, is a botanist living in Massachusetts. Trevor, 24, is a mechanical engineer on his way to Australia for graduate school in sustainability; and Isabelle, 20, is studying at Clark University. Fern has worked as a nurse midwife for the past 35 years in a community health center in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She loves her work, but might love her vacations more! She was quite overwhelmed with the reunion and was sorry to not have kept in touch with so many bright, kind and interesting people. Rya Rosenzweig ’71. “I had the best time at our 40th reunion! Seeing everyone after so many years was thrilling. It felt like time had stood still for all of us and we fell right back into our wonderful friendships with
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tons of laughter, fun, and many heartfelt moments. It was great to see Mr. Spahn, and I loved seeing the updated School. I have been working as an interior designer for the past 15 years and really enjoy the work. I started out as an artist and after many years of onewoman shows in SoHo, I loved the friendships I found through my design experience. My love for color and design is an easy extension of my painterly sensibility. I love educating my clients and helping them make their homes a true delight. On a personal note, I have a wonderful family. My husband, Charlie, an attorney, and I have been married for 36 years. We have two wonderful daughters: Jessica, an urban planner; and Erica, a mathematics teacher at The Cathedral School. Both girls are happily married and living in Manhattan. My daughter, Jessica, has a three-and-half-year-old son named Zachary, who is our delight.”
Olya Turcihin Stern ’80. Olya has started a blog called “Olay’s Urban Journal” where she captures natural, humanistic qualities within the urban landscape: www.olyaurbanjournal. blogspot.com. She is also a current parent. Clifford Boro ’88. Cliff is enjoying the California lifestyle in San Diego. He is working away on KidZui full-time and recently launched a major new search engine/portal for kids in August (www.zui.com). They are up to 2 million uniques a month but still have lots of work to do! Caroline Kellen-Garcia ’88. “Last January my husband, Eric, and I had boy/girl twins. Our son is named Magnus and our daughter is Evangeline. We currently live in Ridgefield, Connecticut. I work for my family’s foundation, but my husband and I also work together as photographers. Our website is www.kellengarcia.com. We also did a project this year that can be seen at www.nycposers.com.”
Randy Solomon ’71. “Words are simply not sufficient enough to express how wonderful it was to see my classmates at reunion, some of whom I have seen over the years but many of whom I have not seen for forty years! Our planned activities throughout that day and night (thanks to Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71) produced fond recollections as well as new memories that will always be with me. Each one of my classmates will forever have a special place in my heart.”
Matt McGuire ’90. “I am residing in the Hudson Valley area, and I have started my own business as an early intervention service provider and tutor. It is going well. People can check out my business site at www.mcguiretutoring.com.”
Christopher Semal Dwight ’77. “My first novel, Trial of Tears, is due for release in midFebruary, published by Cannon Publications. It’s a black-comedy thriller set in the music industry. You can find further details at my website: www.chrissemal.com.”
Todd Feltman ’91. “I am teaching journalism and writing to second through eighth graders at a public school in Inwood. I am enjoying it! I am writing my dissertation in urban education at The Graduate Center. I am hoping to defend it next fall. The reunion
Class Notes | Alumni
day in October was great! It was wonderful seeing everyone!” Austin Stark ’97. Austin is a partner at Paper Street Films. Most recently, he produced Tony Kaye’s critically acclaimed education drama, “Detachment,” starring Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, James Caan, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu, Bryan Cranston, Blythe Danner, and Tim Blake Nelson. The film premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and will be released this fall. This past year, Austin also executive produced a film, directed by Jessica Goldberg, starring Krysten Ritter, Bryan Geraghty, Madeleine Martin, and Logan Huffman. The film is currently in post-production and will be released in 2012. Alex Vayner Garber ’02. “Since graduating Yale, I am happily married (we celebrated our fouryear anniversary in January 2012), running a small web and software development firm here in New York City, while getting through LSE’s accounting program and applying to MBA programs. I’m still playing and teaching some tennis. I had a blast teaching one of the top 100 women in the world during the 2011 US Open.” Tierney Model ’03. “I am currently working as a real estate agent at Sotheby’s International Realty in New York City. I also recently started a blog entitled “Heels and Deals” (www.tierneymodel.com) as
my two passions are fashion and real estate. I keep in touch with many of my friends from Dwight, and we all agree that we wish we could be back in high school!” Valentina Calastri ’05. Valentina graduated from Bates College with a BA in political science and women and gender studies. She subsequently went into public health and worked as a patient care associate at an LGBT community health center in Chelsea. Valentina currently lives in Seattle, where she is pursuing a second bachelor’s degree (in science) at the University of Washington, and aspires to become a women’s health nurse practitioner. Craig Danton ’05. Craig attended Columbia University, where he majored in electrical engineering and worked on developing bottomof-the-pyramid renewable energy solutions for communities in rural India. After graduation, he remained in New York City to work for Buro Happold Consulting Engineers PC, focusing on developing effective lighting solutions for architectural projects worldwide. Craig is currently living in Boston, where he is in his first year at Harvard Business School. Jessica Salzer ’05. Jessica attended Bates College, where she created her own popular culture studies major. After graduating, Jessica went on to work for the City of New York in the communications department of NYC & Company, the City’s marketing and tourism organization. At NYC & Company, Jessica helped to shape news stories and develop global social media marketing strategies. Currently, Jessica is an associate producer at a digital creative agency and is responsible for managing digital marketing campaigns for several large brands. Jessica remains active in the Dwight community and was recently appointed to the Dwight Alumni Council and Communications Committee.
Dave Rawitz ’06. “I graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2010 with a degree in earth and environmental sciences. During my time there, I was involved in many activities, including environmental groups, community service, teaching, and laboratory and field work. One particular field experience, involving water and oyster sampling in the Chesapeake Bay, drew my attention to aquatic ecology and environmental restoration. After graduating, I took a year off during which I worked part-time at Legal Outreach in Queens as a science tutor, and at Queens College under Professor Cecilia McHugh, conducting research on historical earthquake records through submarine sediment cores taken from around the world. Now I have returned to my calling — to study aquatic ecology and restoration at Stony Brook University. I am currently pursuing a MS in marine science.” Tahira Sands ’06. “Since graduating in 2006, I have been pursuing my associate’s degree in illustration at Pratt Institute while working as a substitute here at Dwight. I work with grades 6 through 12. This December, I will graduate with my associates degree and continue my education while in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in art education.” Maria Belen Del Pozo ’07. “I graduated from Dwight in 2007 and recently graduated from Boston University in 2011 with a bachelor of science. I majored in health sciencedental concentration. I am now attending New York University College of Dentistry doing a two-year dental hygiene program, and then will continue to dental school to specialize in orthodontics.” Matthew Grogan ’08. Matthew is in his last year at the University of Edinburgh. He is currently writing his dissertation and applying to an American conversion course for law.
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Alumni | Class Notes
Hye Min (Anika) Kim ’11. “I am currently at Johns Hopkins University. I do not know yet my major, but I am considering a few different choices: biology, psychology, neuroscience, international relations, and perhaps business or marketing.”
Anglo Class Notes Susan Ward Roncalli ’81. “I enjoyed the wonderful photographs of the reunion! I still live in the Los Angeles area. I teach at Eagle Rock Jr/Sr High School, which has recently been authorized as an IB MYP school. My husband and I own and operate a pilates studio in Pasadena. Our children are 15 and 17, and we are in the midst of college application season! I am also working on my PhD in education at Claremont Graduate University. I am in New York a few times a year, and am always grateful for the efforts of Peter Trump ’81, who organizes reunion dinners whenever I am in town.”
Franklin Class Notes Victor Schwartz ’58. “Lots of things have occurred in my life, but as the year ends, there are two I will always recall with much fondness. I testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 13, 2011, about whether pre-dispute arbitration agreements, lawful since 1925, should be abolished in consumer and employment contracts. The Acting Chairman of the Committee, Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, wants to do so; I was against the idea. Actually, there was some humor in the presentation. In February, I delivered the Robert S. Marx Lecture at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, a place where I taught and was dean at 32 years old. The current dean, alumni, and students defied the well-worn Thomas Wolf observation that “you cannot go home again.” Cincinnati was my home and the return was most pleasant. I put together four decades of experience as an academic, plaintiff’s counsel, and chairman of a Federal task force in
the talk I called, “The Forces That Shape American Tort Law.” Sid Moskowitz ’72. Sid owns and operates S.J.S.A. Housing LLC in Augusta, Maine. It is a property and asset management firm that specializes in residential and office rentals in Augusta, Hallowell, Farmingdale, and Gardiner, Maine. Richard J. Henley ’74. Richard leads an advisory firm, Healthcare Strategic Solutions, working with investment banks, private equity firms, entrepreneurs, and portfolio companies in the areas of strategy, mergers, and acquisitions, capital raises, and business development within healthcare services. Prior to this role, Richard served as a CEO, COO, and CFO at several healthcare systems.
Grandparents: Save the Date! 2012 Grandparent’s Day Kindergarten May 16, 2012
58 | Dwight Today
Preschool May 17 & 18, 2012
Where Are They Now? | Alumni Below are alumni from landmark years with whom we have lost contact. Please communicate with your class representative if you know the whereabouts of anyone on this list. You may also contact Ashley Haughton, at ahaughton@dwight.edu or 212.724.6360 ext. 230. We appreciate your help! Anglo ’82 Alex Aronoff Tony Calderon Jariya Cheakdkaipejchara Lou Gallagher Renato Ghica Nicky Gonzalez Harry Hall Robert Houston Adam Mallin Tori McIlwain Neda Modjtabai Audrey Mutch Doug Shubert Paul Suemmermann Haik Vartany
Anglo ’87 Matthijs Bouw Valentina Celada Lily Chen Pilar Corrias Julia Doris Ali Ebtehadj Philip Graham Luisa Guglielmotti Granz Henman Nataly Jones Richard Kim Chris Langmeyer Juliana Lee Rebecca Munguia Albert Ngai JC Parker Heather Pruitt Erika Ring Rachel Schreiber Mike Shua Halit Silbershatz Allegra Speidel Kevin Stussman Ian Van Praagh Andrew Withers
Anglo ’92 Alejandro Alarma Courtney Barnes Alex Engel
Monika Kusmirek Shirli N. Michalevicz Shaun Mitchell Tommy Prescott Vanessa Thompson Carlos Tseng
Dwight ’62 Ronald Alexander Bruce Andreozzi Edward Atchison Dean Avery Stephen Barenblatt Kenneth Bayuss Howard Bloom Alan Broffman Grafton Burke John Cosgrove Charles Federbush William Feldman Richard Fieber Paul Franchini Charles Friscia Val Gabriel Richard Gaskin Robert Gibson Ronald Globus Bruce Grabber James Hall Frank Hanrahan Donald Holden Norman Jacobson Eugene Kriegsmann Robert Larkin Steven Lee Edward Levine Kevin Madden Richard Melvin Harvey Merle Arthur Mintz Shaun Murphy John Perez Charles Pinto John Poka Preston Reilly William Reynolds Christopher Roseman
Edward Roth Barry Schneider Robert Schwalbe Anthony Seymour Allen Skriloff Joseph Spellman Jerome Weiss
Dwight ’67 Alton Amsterdam Fred Apuzzo Thomas Barrow Michael Bassett Louis Chiarelli Thomas Christensen Robert Corby Daniel Cortese Robert Cosgrove Paul De Guzman Daniel Gallagher Robert Haynes Bradley Ingram Neal Johnson Charles Kolster Fred Leonardi Eric Levine Barry Lott John McCarthy Ralph Michi Richard Miraglia Aldo Nachinovich Steven Pasvankias John Perez Peter Puglisi John Rampolla Allan Robertson Humberto Rodriguez Peter Ryan Louis Schmidt Peter Selten Valentino Sowaal Andrew Stephenson Fred Stolz Scott Trager Mitchell Travers Paul Tuske Bruce Van Nimwegen
Arthur Wiggins Robert Winston
Dwight ’72 Nancy Becker Michael Bevan Charles Drinkhouse Roy Friedman Jason Goldstein Kozo Hayase Harlan Lazarus Nancy Levy Jeff Manber Scott McKeon Mary Milano Richard Minowitz Paul Most Alec Naiman Andrea Rein Margaret Schlem Steven Schwaid Karen Toffler Jack Yeshoua
Dwight ’77 Andre Bautista Mary J. Brown Leslie Christian Ronan Conroy Monica Elmer Stuart Gitow Jeffrey Haber Hugh Hamilton Cathy Katz Alan Kreisbuck Cynthia Moss Andy Slote Laurene Von Klan
Dwight ’82 Joshua Lieberman Bettina Ouaknine Julie Risi Daniel Schulman Jill Somerstein John Veronis Dara Waldman
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Alumni | Where Are They Now? Missing alumni from a landmark year (a class celebrating a five (5), ten (10), fifteen (15), twenty (20), etc. year reunion) Dwight ’87
Marnia Andrus David Brandt Michael Chesler Michael Cohen Kristie Coscarello Jeffrey Goldin Michele Levy Jayme Lindenbaum Joseph Marcus Corey Schneider Christian Strauss
Dwight ’92
Ami Ashkenazi Steven Barrocas Justine Berinstein Andrea Capasso Mark Ciccarelli Baruch B. Goldstein John Habersham Vanessa Longacre Carter McHyman Nicholas Robespierre Zachary Santini Noah Simon Joseph Smith Nicole Strauss
Dwight ’97
Shira Adi-Cohen Mark Amarali Gable Chase Orly Even-Tal Alexandra Garcia Nicholas Karayiannis Julien A. Koubi Michael L. Nixon Todd E. Novick Jessica Schumur Dwight Smith Arika Utsunomiya Kimber M. Vanderbilt Andrea Wassmer
Dwight ’02
Anwar Azlan Francesca d’Aquino Nisha Gajan Jacob Hadjigeorgis
60 | Dwight Today
Chun-Yang Hsu Emir Iljazovic Donna Katzen Yoosik Kim Dragutin Kravic Allegra Levy Derek McCrann Woo Sam Park Evan Philips Jeffrey Ponzo Arthur Schipper Iva Srdanovich Andrew Tulin Jean-Paul Viera
Dwight ’07 Danielle Armiger Natacha Gronik de Oliveira Tatiana M. Hennessy Olivia M. Jessup Howoon Lee Coco L. Mellors David M. Moon Winifred Robertson Matthew J. Safko Omry Shapira Maxim Streletzki Anusha Tomar Tom Tschernichovsky
Franklin ’62 James Alexander Shalah Ansari Margaret Broida Lee R. Buschhoff Edward Cedar Philip Coons Barbara Ditchik Francine Eckstein Harry Falkenstein Peter Feinstein Susan Goldstein Patricia Grossman Amy Hochstein Sharon Hopper Steve Lee Sheryl Levin Stephen Levin Charles Loewinthan
Thomas McLaughlin Bonnie Orentlich Jill Oxenfeldt Jill Rentner Carol Schreiner Paula Shane Marilyn Smith Jaclyn Solloway Paul Stein Stephen Suffern Evelyn Toonkel Peter Umans Maxine Wallace Michael Wood Arthur Zinner
Franklin ’67 Evelyn Behr David Bernard Douglas Brown Patricia Brown Leopold Celitz Suzanne Cohen Beth Davis Barry Doyno Rebecca Fleischman Walter Fried Joseph Geller Richard Gross Maury Halperin Julian Harlowe Karen Hersh Marc Hollander Nancy Koplin Franklin Koppel Madeline Miller Martin Pols Barbara Schwartz Edward Seeber Susan Taube Jack Tolk Karen Tucker Deborah Vickery Roni Weinstein
Franklin ’72 Loren Averick Terri Berk Vivian Brotman
David Caspi Glenda Fishman Stephanie Friede Nancy Froelich Marsha Greenburg Peter Hankoff Robin Katz Lori Lambert David Lederman Myles Lipton Betsy Mintz Clifford Morse Mara Nowak Elizabeth Portnoy Philip Rocker Mitchell Rodbell Andy Rosen Karen Rosen Bradley Ruda Michael Talan Helene Tekulsky Renee Van Engel Amy Weinman Nancy Weinman Ellen Winkler
Franklin ’77 Adam Beckman Jessica Berk Sheri Bishop Claudia Caine Debbie Dankner Karyn Gelbord Melissa Gers Emily Goldman William Israel Barbara Kaufman Temmie Levine Steven Mack Claudia Milgrim Sedgwick Mortimer Mark Natelson Cate Plowman Douglas Pullar Michael Sieger Chris Valin
From the Archives
Dwight Class of 1970
Phone: 212.724.6360 x230 Fax: 212.721.4513 Website: www.dwight.edu
Dwight is an IB World School
Parents of alumni: If your sons or daughters are no longer at home, please notify the Office of Alumni Affairs, ahaughton@dwight.edu, of their correct address.