Dwight Today Winter 2022

Winter 2022

DWIGHT TODAY A Magazine for the Global Dwight Community

Togetherness New 94th Street Campus Expanding Early Education Lesa Wang Designs Learning Experiences

Performing Arts Innovating in the Age of COVID-19 The Lion’s Gazettte Students Launch Dwight News Site

Dwight is dedicated to igniting the spark of genius in every child. Kindling their interests, we develop inquisitive, knowledgeable, self-aware, and ethical citizens who will build a better world.

HEADING | DWIGHT TODAY

Dwight students listening to music, circa 1941, and performing 80 years later.

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DWIGHT TODAY

FEATURE STORIES

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Kyra Spahn ’23 Launches an Online Tutoring Platform Lesa Wang Instills Creative Confidence

Laurie Silbersweig: Editorial Director Emily Chase: Design Director

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Anthea Lake Builds Community at Dwight Global Student-Athletes Bring Their A Game

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Walter Wolff ’42 Leaves a Previously Unknown Legacy Sonu Kapoor ’17 Joins Our Alumni Council

Photography: Oscar Brett, Cormac Bradley ’22, Dianna Bush, Tobias Everke, Brody Shuffler ’25, Mike Sheehan, and Dwight faculty and staff Copyright © 2022: Dwight School

CHANCELLOR’S LETTER | DWIGHT TODAY

Dear Dwight Community, We have been navigating the global pandemic as a school and extended family around the world for two years. We have a deep well of reserves from which to draw, including the sheer passion and ingenuity of our expert faculty and staff who remain tireless in their dedication to our students regardless of the circumstances. They also remain indefatigable in their transdisciplinary work and focus on the future. Dwight in New York is thriving, as are all of our Schools worldwide, and our network is the unequivocal leader in global education.

As you’ll read about in this issue of Dwight Today, our caring community has continued to rally around one another, and especially around our students, to ensure that they are joyful and flourish not only in the classroom, but also anywhere their passions lead them.

We have also expanded with the recent opening of our new 94th Street Preschool and Kindergarten Campus, and continued to innovate and reimagine learning experiences and spaces in which to build the skills and confidence students need to be career-ready transformative thinkers and creative problem-solvers. We will never stop our work to ensure that students are on the cutting edge of knowledge — on the frontier of their passion — so that they can excel.

This April, we will kick off our School’s 150th anniversary year at The Dwight School Foundation’s Spring Benefit. We will celebrate a long and proud tradition of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary and the impossible into the possible. We will also open the doorway to the next 150 years.

I hope that you will join us as we mark this milestone — and reach far into the future together with open minds and open hearts.

Fondly, Stephen H. Spahn Chancellor of Dwight School

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DWIGHT TODAY | COMMUNITY

Our Fourth Annual

Service Week Brought Lions Together to Make a Difference

With Dwight’s pillar of community front and center, we strive to make a difference, help others, and build a better world. Amid the ongoing pandemic, our Dwight family’s continued commitment to community service made us quite proud. Many students, from cubs to lions, were eager to lend a helping paw and demonstrate the power and impact of taking action and volunteerism during our fourth annual Service Week!

Students participated in a range of projects, including some they founded themselves through our Spark Tank incubator, designed to aid our local and global communities. By bringing to life the IB’s commitment to service, creativity, and action, they put their full hearts and energy into helping our neighbors, fellow New Yorkers, and students on the other side of the globe.

Prior to kicking off Service Week, Kate Zolotkovsky, Director of Service Learning, worked with students to identify and organize activities that they, together with faculty, staff, and families, could participate in to give back. Due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, some activities were held virtually or were limited in capacity, but that did not diminish students’ lion-sized enthusiasm. “Service Week has become a strong tradition at Dwight,” Ms. Zolotkovsky says. “It is so inspiring to me to see the community come together in this way early in the school year to meaningfully give back and make a positive difference. Our students lead the way with their great ideas and initiatives to make New York and the world a more peaceful, welcoming, inclusive, and just place.”

Thank you to everyone who participated in the following Service Week activities: Forming Futures: Assembling Kits for Fellow Students A non-profit founded by Victoria Buendia-Serrano ’23, Forming Futures is dedicated to helping New Yorkers with low income recover from the effects of the pandemic by packaging and distributing school supplies and hygiene kits. Victoria developed Forming Futures through Spark Tank, and together with fellow Dwight students began distributing kits last spring. During Service Week, they joined with faculty and staff to package 500 kits and backpacks, which included hand-written notes of encouragement wishing every student a great school year ahead!

New York Common Pantry: Making Brown Bag Lunches to Help Feed New Yorkers This volunteer activity is a staple during Service Week, and this year, Dwight families made and delivered 276 complete lunches for the New York Common Pantry’s Help 365 Program, which provides food to New Yorkers who are homeless and hungry. Together, we exceeded our target goal of lunches by 138%!

Cleaning up Litter to Protect Our Environment Project leaders Emma Brandon ’23, Nina Hissnauer ’23, Jonah Saltzman ’23, and Jacobo Bustos ’23 invited fellow Dwight students

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SERVICE WEEK | DWIGHT TODAY

and families to pitch in and pick up litter because “what’s on the ground is ocean-bound.” This year, they removed more than 25 bags of ocean-bound trash from Riverside Park!

“It was an amazing experience to be able to organize an in-person event that can not only help keep trash out of bodies of water, but also keep Riverside Park clean,” reports Emma. “As people walked by and saw what we were doing, they thanked us, which was amazing because it felt good that other people care about the importance of keeping our parks and bodies of water clean.”

Raising Awareness and Funds for WISER The Dwight WISER Club, which has long supported the mission of the WISER School for Girls in Muhuru Bay, Kenya, was positioned just outside our entrance to help raise awareness of the boarding School, which is funded entirely by generous donations. The Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research (WISER) is dedicated to advancing the education of girls and women in an impoverished area of Kenya; and to providing them with everything they need to succeed, go on to higher education, and become agents of change in their own community. During Service Week, club members shared the WISER message and raised nearly $500 by selling t-shirts and sweatshirts for the School.

Sustainable Start: Helping New Yorkers Who Are Homeless Founded by Dwight students Chloe Trujillo ’21 and Victoria BuendiaSerrano ’23 through Spark Tank, SustainABLE Start is a non-profit that distributes sustainably produced hygiene products to people who are homeless in New York and now several other major cities in the U.S. The current New York City leaders are Dwight students Albert Randsborg ’22 and Nina Hissnauer ’23. This year, they together with SustainABLE Start volunteers, packaged 200 kits in only an hour and a half!

Autism Awareness Training with Luv Michael During Service Week, Dwight students and families were introduced via Zoom to the work of Luv Michael, a non-profit organization that offers a virtual volunteer program designed to educate people about autism, advocate for autism acceptance, and provide meaningful employment and on-the-job training for adults with autism.

Learning About the Central Park Conservancy In addition, our sixth graders connected some service learning to their Central Park unit through a Zoom visit with Dwight parent Aileen Bruner (Jake ’23) who is an active leader in the Central Park Conservancy. She shared a wonderful presentation about the history of Central Park and how social action formed the Conservancy and saved the Park!

During this year’s Service Week, we saw again that there is virtually no limit to what the Dwight community can accomplish together while focusing on the greater good!

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DWIGHT TODAY | INNOVATION

Kyra Spahn ’23 Launches “I learn best when I teach others,” shares Kyra Spahn ’23, founder of Tutorpeers, an online tutoring platform built by students for students.

Kyra’s experience is not unique — research has shown that when students teach, and learn from, fellow students, a deeper understanding of the material is fostered and the benefits are mutual.

What is unique, however, is Tutorpeers. While there are numerous online options for finding a college or grad student tutor, and countless more for professional tutors, only Tutorpeers is designed exclusively to connect middle and high school students with one another any time anywhere.

Accessible and affordable, Tutorpeers was launched in September and has quickly become a go-to platform on campus. “I’m so excited that students in Dwight’s own after-school tutoring program are using it. So are Dwight Global students,” Kyra says. “It’s taken off quickly and I hope to expand it to other Dwight campuses around the world and beyond!”

HOW IT WORKS A student can register as a learner, tutor, or both and then select from a range of subject areas: math, physics, chemistry, biology, history, English/EAL, and world languages. Learners can request homework help right away or schedule a time to work with a tutor to improve their grades and study for exams together. Students often learn better and faster from someone closer to their own age, and those who tutor reinforce and deepen the knowledge they recently gained in class while helping others. They also have the added benefits of earning practical experience and money.

Tutorpeers matches students ages 13 and older using custom algorithms to find the best fit based on common interests, grade level, location, and more to meet their learning goals, availability, and budget in a safe and secure space. The mission of Tutorpeers is to make high-quality student tutoring accessible to students worldwide regardless of their location or financial circumstances so that they can reach their highest potential and educational goals.

FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY As a seventh grader, Kyra originally brought the germ of the idea for Tutorpeers to Spark Tank, Dwight’s incubator created to nurture student innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills. That year, she learned about the steps in the design thinking cycle in Design class with her teacher, Matt Moran, Director of Technology and Innovation, and extended that learning with him after school in Spark Tank.

“Mr. Moran provided feedback and helped me figure out where I wanted to go with Tutorpeers,” Kyra explains. “I cemented the idea after creating a proposal and business plan for my tenth grade Personal Project, also

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A One-of-a-Kind Ed-Tech Platform with Mr. Moran’s guidance. Part of that process included researching the competition, and when I found that there was nothing that filled that niche, I decided to take it to the next step. I explored a range of popular websites for teens to determine what features and design elements I wanted Tutorpeers to have and then began working with developers,” Kyra reports. It took three-four months to build the prototype and a few more months to test and refine it prior to going live.

PURSUING A PASSION EARLY ON Kyra has been interested in education since elementary school; she chose to do her fifth grade PYP Exhibition project on the topic of inequities in access to education and methods to improve them globally. In grade 8, she followed that with her LaGuardia research paper about different pedagogical approaches around the world, saying, “the work I have done over time through different projects has enabled me to pursue my interest and explore different aspects of education, ultimately helping me to maintain my motivation to turn Tutorpeers into a reality.”

Education is also a subject well known to Kyra outside of school; her father is Dwight’s Vice Chancellor, her mother is Head of Admissions for Grades K-8, and her grandfather is the Chancellor. Kyra credits Chancellor Spahn with inspiring her to follow through with her innovative ed-tech concept. “He is such an idea man and saw the potential in Tutorpeers. He really pushed me to keep going and I am so grateful to him.”

So, too, has Spark Tank enabled Kyra to keep her eye on problem solving in the educational space. The first time she participated was with a team of fellow fifth graders and their Music teacher, Vita Zambetti. They presented an idea for a community service group called SPARKlers to bring music and music education to schools and communities that are underprivileged. When Kyra presented Tutorpeers on her own a few years later, she embarked on a more robust Spark Tank journey that took her through the complete five-stage development cycle from concept to market launch. She shares that it was the Spark Tank panel of judges who advised her to see Tutorpeers as a platform and community rather than just a website, and describes the incubator experience as a lesson in persistence. “It can take a long time to develop and refine something tangible and I learned what that really takes. It’s important to stick to it.”

The future of Tutorpeers may be linked to Kyra’s own future. She wants to pursue a career in medicine and can envision bringing the platform with her to medical school for fellow doctors in training. Whether or not there is a Tutorpeers 2.0 or 3.0 in the offing, one thing is for sure: Kyra brought her innovative vision to life with equally impressive creativity and perseverance, and is already making a difference to benefit learners and tutors alike.

Learn more at tutorpeers.com!

GLOBAL VISION | DWIGHT TODAY

Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School

nd Ranked 2th in Shanghai and 5 in China Among Top International Schools

Congratulations to our Dwight colleagues in China! Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School is ranked fifth on the “2022 China International School Brand Value Top 100” list by KingLead.

Based in China and founded by alumni from world-renowned universities such as Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Peking University, and Tsinghua University, KingLead is an international educational services and resource platform.

In addition to ranking fifth in the country, Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School is ranked second on KingLead’s list of 27 international schools in Shanghai for their outstanding curriculum, faculty, and student achievements.

The process of assessing schools in a country the size of China can be extremely daunting for parents. Many rely heavily on the research and rankings of schools conducted by third parties like KingLead to help them evaluate their options and identify the best of the best from the 1,500+ international schools in China and to learn which has graduates studying at overseas institutions of higher learning.

Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School, a boarding school for students in grades 10-12, gained instant attention in Shanghai for its exciting new model of education. Dwight partnered with Shanghai Qibao High School, one of the best schools in all of China, to bring a shared vision of intercultural understanding and educational collaboration to life. The School offers the International Baccalaureate curriculum, Cambridge curriculum, select courses from the Chinese national curriculum, elective courses, and service-learning projects, educating globally minded students.

Impressively, Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School has grown to include 600 students; and graduates have gone on to study at top colleges and universities, including Stanford, Brown, Cornell, The University of Chicago, Wellesley College, RISD, and others.

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DWIGHT TODAY | DWIGHT GLOBAL

Dean Anthea Lake Is Dedicated to

Building Community at Dwight Global

Bringing three decades of global teaching experience to Dwight Global Online School, Anthea Lake has taught IB, AP, and British A-Level classes at schools in Egypt, Spain, Italy, England, Germany, and the U.S. She has been part of Dwight since 2014, when we launched online learning; and teaches psychology and business while also wearing dual hats as Dean of Middle School and Dean of Student Life. This keeps Dr. Lake quite busy, yet more than anything, she sees her main role as helping to build community at Dwight Global.

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ANTHEA LAKE | DWIGHT TODAY

“Our students come from all over the world, but what they have in common is that they all want to learn while feeling a part of something bigger than themselves,” she says. “What I love about my job is building a strong sense of community and belonging at Dwight Global.”

We sat down over Zoom with Ms. Lake, who lives in a small English town called Bloxham in Oxfordshire, to learn more about her passion for fostering relationships with and among students, as well as her journey as an educator before joining Dwight Global, which she believes is the world’s best online school!

WHAT WAS YOUR PATH TO EDUCATION? I come from a family of teachers who work in K-12 schools, colleges, and universities in the UK and worldwide. My father is from Anguilla and my mother is from St. Lucia. My father was one of the first black head teachers in London at a high school called Sladebrook Comprehensive. When he retired, he went back to his homeland for a few years and took over the local high school, which was run by his cousin, Albena.

She was a teacher, a politician, and freedom fighter for her nation, and in her honor the school is named the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School. I was inspired by their great work to become a teacher.

I grew up in Berkshire in southeast England and attended the University of West London, where I studied business information systems, followed by Canterbury Christchurch University, where I studied professional development in post-compulsory education.

I went on to earn my Master’s degree in School Leadership and Development from Kingston University and a PhD in Education from The Open University.

WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY? I’m a strong believer in putting students at the center of their own learning journey.

When students are given opportunities to lead and follow their passions, they succeed, again and again. We put this philosophy into practice at Dwight Global. Our clubs and activities are student-led, meaning they create the ideas, inspire and influence their peers, and plan and move initiatives forward.

Our students are creative and passionate and have started and now lead over 30 clubs, not to mention countless other initiatives throughout the school year. I get to put them at the helm — and as a result I like to say I have the easiest job in the world.

HOW DO YOU AND DWIGHT GLOBAL FOSTER COMMUNITY? We are an online school and the Internet has no walls. We may live in different time zones and countries, but we come together as one. One way I’ve built community at Dwight Global is by introducing the house system, which is a traditional part of the British educational system I grew up in. It is designed to foster camaraderie.

At the start of the year, students are assigned to one of four houses: red, blue, yellow, or green. The houses provide a feeling of belonging and tradition and offer students a chance to be leaders. Each house has a head and deputy, who welcome and engage students, encouraging them to get involved.

Throughout the school year, houses compete in various match-ups, ranging from Spirit Week contests and debate-a-thons to lip sync and Halloween costume competitions, with the winner accumulating points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points

I’m a strong believer in putting students at the center of their own learning journey. When students are given opportunities to lead and follow their passions, they succeed, again and again.

is the victor and claims the coveted house cup. While fun and competitive, it’s less about winning and more about bonding and making lasting friendships. The house system provides a sense of belonging — students within houses form such strong bonds and that gives our students confidence and spirit.

In addition to our student-led clubs, Dwight Global also has weekly advisories, where students connect with each other as well with faculty and staff; Spark Talks, which are discussions with successful and inspiring members of our community; and workshops and celebrations like Global Rights Week and Wellness Week. We also have opportunities to meet in person during the year, including orientation and our annual STEAM weekend in New York City. This year, students and families have also met up around the world in person at Spark Socials. These events are unusual for an online school and we pride ourselves on our strong sense of community — that’s what makes us a great online school.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING DEAN OF GRADES 7 AND 8?

The best part is the focus on personalized learning for our students. We have nearly 60 seventh and eighth grade students in our Middle School and as their dean, my responsibility is working with each of them and their families on academic and pastoral issues and supporting their personal sparks of genius. Our Middle School students are pursuing their passions just like our high school students — they are actors, some with major roles in movies and TV shows; athletes; musicians; and dancers who are all so accomplished.

We also have students passionate about robotics, coding, politics, and leadership.

They work so hard on their pursuits and that effort carries over into everything they do, including their schoolwork.

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DWIGHT TODAY | DWIGHT GLOBAL

What I love most is that Dwight Global gives students the opportunity to fulfill their dreams.

YOU WROTE A BOOK — WHAT IS IT ABOUT AND HOW DOES IT APPLY TO YOUR TEACHING? It’s called Business Enterprise Education and it’s a case study approach to helping schools implement a culture of business and enterprise for students from years 7-13 (the UK high school years). It was first written in 2009 as a practical guide to implementing the UK’s specialist schools initiative, which helped schools focus on certain curricular areas as a means of improving student performance.

It helps teachers design curriculum and experiences for students to learn by doing; for example, by creating their own business plans and investment strategies.

either as a research project, similar to the IB Extended Essay, or as an experiment.

One student researched how COVID-19 lockdowns affect our ability to socialize; another studied what effect watching screens has on our neurological development. One great thing about Dwight Global faculty and students is how willing so many of them are to be subjects in these experiments — to enthusiastically volunteer and participate.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT DWIGHT GLOBAL? Our students are involved in so many activities outside their academics and Dwight Global offers the flexibility they need to pursue them at the highest level. This allows them to excel equally in their passions and in school. What I love most is that Dwight Global gives students the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. They have time to be number one in their professional pursuits and receive a world-class education without sacrificing either.

I use the ideas set forth in the book about experiential and hands-on learning at Dwight Global. In my business and entrepreneur class, for example, students set up companies and apply for hypothetical $500,000 loans.

They have to put together a business plan, including financial and market planning, in the first trimester. As the year progresses and we study new topics, students implement their new-found knowledge into the growth and development of their businesses. They present their companies’ progress in class and often compete to see who can make the most money, which they love.

I also teach psychology and here, too, high school students are assigned handson research projects. Throughout the year, they plan and execute experiments to test existing theories. For the end-of-year project, they investigate a topic or theory

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I’m especially mindful of how important this is because I was a competitive sprint hurdler in high school. I didn’t have a flexible schedule and had to study in between races and sometimes miss classes to compete at regional and national competitions. I remember taking

my exams and racing on the same day. That’s why I’m delighted that Dwight Global gives students such great opportunities. We also award financial aid to many students, which means that Dwight Global is open to a diverse range of students from all backgrounds. That’s absolutely wonderful.

Finally, being part of the Dwight network of schools around the world is really special both for our students and us as faculty and staff. We have numerous cross-campus collaborations and opportunities to share best practices, as well as global celebrations, which don’t exist at other schools. We are all part of one big Dwight family both on the ground and in the cloud. You can’t find that anywhere else.

We’re proud to have been named the second best online high school in the U.S. by Newsweek and among the top five worldwide by World Schools in recognition of Dwight Global’s excellence and commitment to our students.

BEFORE WE GO, DO YOU STILL RUN? Yes, I do and I enjoy competing in races to raise awareness and money for charities. I will even run a 10K on my treadmill if needed!

HEADING | DWIGHT TODAY

Jake Silber ’22 Directs Classmates

and Their Sparks of Genius Light up the Screen!

A group of Dwight students was especially excited for the lights to go down in the AMC Theater in Times Square during the 2021 AllAmerican High School Student Film Festival because their work in a short film entitled “The Pickpocket” would soon be screened!

The student behind the camera as writer, director, and producer was Jake Silber ’22, who had enlisted fellow creative seniors to bring his vision to life. Actors Bernardo Sequeira, Carol Arap, Jane Barbero, and Grace Guthart were the on-screen talent; musician and composer Akhil Karra was the off-screen talent who scored the film. These students have been sharing their talents and artistic sparks of genius with us for several years.

Carol, Jane, and Bernardo have performed in numerous Dwight theater productions and Scene Nights. Akhil has performed in a variety of concerts and music celebrations, including Dwight’s global concerts at the Shanghai Concert Hall and Carnegie Hall, where he had the opportunity to conduct one of his own compositions. Grace has shared her talents on the volleyball court as Captain of our Girls Varsity team, which took home the ISAL championship title this year!

Jake, who has been a passionate photographer, has exhibited his work in our School exhibitions as well as in galleries in Manhattan and the Hamptons, while also receiving numerous awards in the annual NYC Scholastic Art and Writing Competition.

SPARKING CREATIVITY Jake came to Dwight specifically because he wanted to take the same digital media and film courses that his older brother, Max ’20, had enjoyed so much. From the beginning, Jake’s visual arts journey has been impressive. He cites two mentors for helping and supporting him along the way: Head of Visual Arts Justyn Ambrose and IB Film and Media teacher Kevin Rosenberg, “The Pickpocket” was filmed in Central Park last year when Jake was in the first of Dwight’s two-year IB Film course. Mr. Rosenberg had assigned students a project requiring them to film a short piece in one continuous shot without cuts or editing. “I was inspired by film noir and shot ‘The Pickpocket’ in black and white with no dialogue,” Jake explains. “We found some hats and accessories from the 1950s to bring in a feeling from that era. I also shared some music I liked with Akhil as inspiration. It was a great experience to work with my friends. Directing them was fun and they brought their own ideas, contributing to the final product.”

“The Pickpocket” wasn’t Jake’s only film to debut in the same film festival — another entitled “The Betrayal” was also selected. This sci-fi

film stars Jake’s parents in multiple roles and was scored by Akhil as well.

Sci-fi and comedies are Jake’s favorite genres. To date, he has made several films in both Dwight’s film class and a summer online UCLA film course.

“I also submitted some shorts I made during the UCLA course to film festivals and one was accepted into two festivals, which were livestreamed last year,” Jake says. With this impressive industry recognition, paired with his love of being behind the camera, it’s no surprise that Jake wants to pursue film studies in college.

LEARNING ABOUT THE ART FORM Dwight’s IB HL Film course is designed to develop students as proficient interpreters and makers of film. It encompasses the study of film theory, criticism, cinematic movements, filmmaking and production processes, and more. Over two years, they study the content and technical aspects of film, while developing the skills and creative competencies to communicate through the language of film and express their own voice.

“I love this course — it provides great resources and equipment and gives us so many opportunities to tell stories and make short films,” Jake explains. We take on different roles, such as writer, director, cinematographer, and editor; and every project has a different twist or challenge, such as making a silent film. The class pushes you to come up with ideas that you wouldn’t normally, and Mr. Rosenberg has been so great in helping me to shape these ideas and in providing feedback on my scripts. I have learned so much from him and our study of film analysis.”

Currently, Jake and his classmates are busy working on a comparative study of elements (cinematography, sound, etc.) in two films in the same genre, writing about films, developing their own portfolio, and reflecting on their own work. They’re also preparing to send off their film reel to the IB for assessment this spring.

With college in his sights, Jake wants to study film next year. Max is doing the same at Boston University. It appears that the brothers — who have contributed to each other’s films both on and behind the camera — are on the same path to becoming professional filmmakers, perhaps a la the Coen Brothers!

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DWIGHT TODAY | HEADING

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HEADING | DWIGHT TODAY

Head of School Dianne Drew and high school students take in the crisp fall air and catch up on the week’s activities.

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DWIGHT TODAY | COMMUNITY

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Our Preschool and Kindergarten

Are Expanding!

We’re growing and heading uptown! In fact, we opened a second Preschool and Kindergarten campus at 705 Columbus Avenue and 94th Street in February with our Small Wonder Program. Following that will be our Preschool 2s, 3s, Pre-K, and Kindergarten programs this coming fall.

We are delighted with the proximity of the new facility to our CPW/Main Campus for students in grades 1-12, which will conveniently pave the way for families with children continuing their educational journey at Dwight. We have offered them the opportunity to select the 94th Street location as their preference upon opening those divisions.

Our new facility has the same look and feel as our Riverside Campus at 144 Riverside Boulevard, extending our warm, welcoming, and nurturing learning environment for local families who live further uptown. In addition to our bright and vibrant classrooms for our youngest learners, the 94th Street Campus includes specialty spaces to enhance learning both indoors and out! These include a gym and tumble space; full lending library; and a studio for woodworking, building, tinkering, and science. Students will enjoy a private outdoor playground during the school day and additional rooftop space with a tennis court as part of our rich after-school programs. Students will also continue to utilize Dwight’s Athletic Center for a comprehensive swim program beginning in Kindergarten.

Additionally, we have expanded our Riverside Campus by adding a dedicated Small Wonder space next door at 175 Riverside Boulevard, with three new Small Wonder classrooms and a gym. The more the merrier!

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Bursts Student Creativity Through the Virtual Frame in

Our Fall 2021 Visual Arts Exhibition

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for grades 1-12

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DWIGHT TODAY | ALUMNI

Walter Wolff ’42 Left a WWII Legacy That Remained Under Wraps During His Lifetime

A U.S. Army-issued green metal lock box cloistered in a closet for decades opened up a world previously unknown to Nina Wolff Feld, when her father gave it to her in the final days of his life. Walter Wolff’s cache contained some 700 letters written in French to his family during WWII, not long after he graduated from Dwight in 1942 — and not that much longer after their 16-month escape from Hitler.

At the age of 19, German-born Mr. Wolff was drafted by Uncle Sam and later found himself en route back to Europe as part of a special unit known as The Ritchie Boys. It was comprised of many refugees like himself whose language skills and inside knowledge of Germany and Axis countries made them ideal U.S. intelligence officers and operatives.

A KID AT DWIGHT Before this fascinating chapter in Mr. Wolff’s life, explored in Ms. Felds’ 2014 book, Someday You Will Understand: My Father’s Private World War II, detailing her father’s experiences as they unfolded through his correspondence, there is one chapter in the book of special note to Dwightonians entitled “Unraveling the Chaos: A Kid at the Dwight School.” It recounts how just six months after arriving in the U.S. Mr. Wolff wrote and presented an essay, “A Survey of the Political Situation,” to fellow students and faculty in February 1942, which Ms. Feld describes as follows: “Having been swept into the vortex of history, he used his paper to impose order on the chaos of his past by analyzing the machinations of the enemy as the Allied Forces pushed forth to crush the Axis.

What is remarkable about the paper is an eloquence that can be earned only through experience, and the depth of his knowledge of geopolitics. Worthy of a seasoned journalist, it was delivered by a boy of seventeen, whose third language was English, only five and a half months into his new American life and using as sources only the radio, American newspapers, and those around him who had survived the same circumstances he had and had some perspective to offer.”

In addition to the sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the forces at play on a global scale from one so young — and so articulately for one so new to the language — Mr. Wolff’s essay is striking for its resonance in 2022. The opening paragraph written 60 years ago grips readers in today’s world rife with misinformation and fake news. Mr. Wolff begins: “It is very difficult nowadays to be accurately informed. Through a continuous barrage of false news, sent out by hundreds of radio stations, we must detect the facts. But, with a little study of propaganda methods, we are, most of the time, able to obtain a fairly accurate picture of the war.”

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WALTER WOLF ’42 | DWIGHT TODAY

Mr. Wolff provided a detailed, eight-page assessment of how events and battlefronts around the world were interconnected and impacted one another, and looked at the U.S. position accordingly and that of other countries in both the European and Pacific Theaters. Drawing the complex picture and connecting the dots, this essay can be read in its entirety in Ms. Feld’s book.

TURNING THE TABLES We learn through his letters that Mr. Wolff’s Army journey began with a very slow start punctuated by many moments of boredom at training camps in the U.S. before landing at Camp Ritchie in Maryland, where he became an interpreter and found his calling as an intelligence officer. He was among nearly 16,000 fellow Jewish and European refugees who were fluent in German, French, Italian, Polish, and other languages — and who could understand the culture and psyche of military enemies. They became known for their interrogation and psychological warfare efforts on the frontlines in Europe, contributing to the Allies’ victory. Many in this covert strategic unit continued to serve post-war as translators and interrogators, including Mr. Wolff. After Germany’s unconditional surrender, he served at several POW camps in Italy registering and interviewing prisoners, and ferreting out high-ranking Nazis who were sent to trial in Nuremberg. In this stunning capacity, especially for such a young man, Mr. Wolff turned the tables from persecuted German Jew to prosecutor of German war criminals.

Earlier, Master Sergeant Wolff was also one of a few from his unit selected to classify and translate Mussolini’s documents following the dictator’s death, quickly making up for the boredom of his initial Army days stateside. The letters sent home at this time painted a picture of war-ravaged Europe through the eyes of one who was spared. Mr. Wolff, then age 15, fled Brussels with his family and an American friend just a few days before it was bombed and occupied

by the Germans. They escaped by way of the coastal roads, arriving at Dunkirk as the first bombs fell, and then through occupied France to Spain until they were able to board one of the last ships out, arriving in New York just a few months before Pearl Harbor.

The letters constitute both a war journal and a means by which Ms. Feld gained great insights into her father, which had eluded her during his lifetime. She explains, “I knew that I had grown up as the daughter of a famous furniture designer who founded the Bon Marché home furnishing stores in New York City, but I had not gotten the memo that I was the daughter of a refugee. Although we spent several months a year in Europe, I was not aware of my father’s traumatic past. He never spoke about it I presume because all he wanted was for his children to have a ‘normal’ life. And I suppose that he just wanted to get on with life as well.”

The awakening to her father’s history was quite dramatic and most definitely life-changing. Ms. Feld, an artist, ended up devoting several years to archiving and translating his letters and to writing her book. The contents of this personal archive were recently donated to the Leo Baeck Institute, an archive and research library in New York City dedicated to the history and culture of German-speaking Jews.

Today, Ms. Feld continues to keep her father’s story alive, along with the larger lessons of the Holocaust. That green metal box became her legacy. She is currently working on a socio-political history of The Europa Building in Brussels, tracing how an Art Deco apartment building was transformed into a symbol of the power and terror of the Third Reich, and transformed yet again during post-war reconstruction. It’s now a symbol for the promotion of humanitarian and progressive values to citizens worldwide as the seat of the European Council and Council of the European Union. It is also — quite strikingly — where the Wolff family lived for several years before their escape to New York.

Nina Wolff Feld

Connects with History Students During a lunchtime Zoom with students in grades 11 and 12 history classes, Nina Wolff Feld read excerpts from her father’s Dwight essay from 1942, drawing some striking parallels between the past and the present — between the false news and propaganda of Nazi Germany he was cognizant of and the fake news that proliferates today. Her goal is “to better understand how the past has affected present downfalls in geopolitics.” Students had the opportunity to ask questions, and one in particular about Walter Wolff’s days inside the covert U.S. Army intelligence squad known as The Ritchie Boys, was of special interest to all.

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Sharing Big Smiles and Great Memories at Alumni Reunion

Thanks to all of our Dwight, Franklin, and Anglo-American alumni for joining us at Reunion 2021 atop our roof! It was great to see everyone — and to toast those celebrating landmark years (ending in 0, 1, 5 and 6) in both 2020 and 2021 — making up for lost time. It didn’t take long for old friends to reconnect and to relive old times together!

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Lesa Wang

Head of Design and Director of Global Spark Programs

Designs Innovative Learning Experiences for Students

For Lesa Wang, returning to Dwight where she had taught early in her career, was like coming full circle. She brought back a wealth of experience gained over the intervening three decades to her roles as Head of Design and Director of Global Spark Programs. She also brought her unbridled passion for inspiring students as artists, designers, entrepreneurs, and engineers — and a commitment to instill creative confidence.

We sat down with Ms. Wang to learn about her own educational journey and how she designs innovative learning experiences for our students.

path to becoming an educator began very early, though I didn’t know

WHAT WAS YOUR PATH TO EDUCATION? Growing up in a suburb of Minneapolis, I spent lots of time with younger children, babysitting, and creating programs for kids, so my

of Wisconsin for communication design. After attending a summer

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it then. My dream was to become a designer, and because my parents wanted me to also get a liberal arts education, I went to the University program at Parsons and falling in love with New York, I transferred to Pratt in Brooklyn.

LESA WANG | DWIGHT TODAY

At Pratt, I explored so many things — printmaking, photography, communication, fashion design — and learned by doing, which became a hallmark for me. I started teaching art on Saturdays and rediscovered how much I really loved being around kids, so I majored in art education. By the end of my senior year, I had had just one interview — at the Anglo-American International School [which joined with Dwight the following year, 1993] — and was hired on graduation day. It was great to walk down the aisle to accept my diploma knowing that a teaching job was waiting for me.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST FULL-TIME TEACHING JOB LIKE? Anglo-American was a very small school with one class per grade.

After just one year, the Head of Visual Arts announced that she was leaving and recommended that I take her place, which was quite something because I was just 23 years old! The following year, Anglo and Dwight joined and all of the visual and performing arts teachers came under my wing. It was certainly a different time and a different school back then.

Paris, which showcased the works of American artists, and part of my responsibilities was to create a space for artists-in-residence. This ended up being an important turning point, as I’ve been designing spaces for creative thinking ever since.

UPON RETURNING TO NEW YORK, DID YOU GO BACK TO THE CLASSROOM? I didn’t start teaching again for some time. I worked for a nonprofit, where I created an emerging artists initiative helping artists and designers find funding for and venues to exhibit their work.

This was followed by a stint in advertising, where I found myself sitting between the strategic and creative folks, feeding both sides with inspiration. It was only after having my daughter that I found myself thinking a lot about something my father always said: It’s important to go to bed with peace of mind, knowing that you’re doing something to add value to the world. In my corporate job, I didn’t feel like I was. The happiest times had always been working with kids, so I returned to teaching art and design at Marymount, an all-girls school in Manhattan.

I engaged students in real-world projects that brought professionals into the classroom so students could see people doing something that they love while also being able to make a living. Over 17 years there, I helped to design the School’s four distinct maker spaces and developed and implemented a STEAM curriculum. Students loved it and graduates were going into engineering, design, and art, which was wonderful.

I taught IB Visual Arts and what immediately connected me to it was that students had to model what professional artists do in the real world, such as develop a theme for a show, produce a gallery’s worth of work, and be critiqued. I also loved that we could inspire students with a collection of amazing artwork that Chancellor Spahn was installing on campus. At that time, we had fewer pieces than we do now, but it was really special. I wanted to integrate students’ art side by side with professional pieces, so for one project, fifth graders made tiles and installed them in the hallways. Some of those tiles have remained ever since and can be found beneath the School’s Goya etching collection.

While teaching, I went for my Master’s degree in International Educational Development with a focus on Peace Education at Columbia’s Teachers College. During summer breaks, I spent all of my time in France. As a Francophile, I decided to move there after five great years at Dwight. I worked at the American Center in

It was through a coincidence that I reconnected with Chancellor Spahn, who had always been an educational mentor of mine. He was someone I referred back to in my mind, imagining that he was in the room whenever I had a big show or presentation, and wondered what he would think. Chancellor Spahn has the vision and heart to make big things happen, and when he invited me to come back to Dwight, I said yes!

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN DESIGN AT DWIGHT? What really excites me is creating spaces for learning and we’ve been doing that. We now have a new makerspace for Upper School students called the Spark Lab at 568 Columbus Avenue, adding to those that we have across all grades. Our Riverside Campus has The Studio for preschool and kindergarten students. In Lower School, we have the Wonder Lab; and in Middle School, we have the Invention Studio. Three out of the four spaces were developed during my first year and a half back at Dwight.

We’re also reframing things to bring more engineering into the design curriculum and to create learning experiences that cross disciplines and borders. Additionally, we’re bringing in professionals from the

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DWIGHT TODAY | FACULTY Q&A

We want students to be curious, to know how to frame and ask great questions, and to learn by doing.

outside who can share their passion and expertise with our students.

There are so many exciting opportunities to teach design and engineering, and I stay up at night trying to figure out how to fit all of them into a 45-minute class!

At the end of the day, we want to offer students unique and relevant learning experiences and showcase the amazing work and creative thinking they’re doing, while building their creative confidence and abilities to think globally and collaboratively. When students come into my classroom, I greet them with, “Good morning, designers!” because I want them to know that they’re empowered to invent something, to make something themselves — and they’re doing it. Students are resourceful and they find creative solutions, they’re naturally empathic, which is important in design thinking, and they envision things with intention in response to challenges both large and small.

WHAT’S YOUR EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY? I believe that kids should be around the most passionate and interesting educators, and part of our goal is to create the best learning experiences that we can offer them. That includes having someone who says that your ideas matter, and yes, go for it. This fits well with Dwight’s spark of genius ethos, which allows students to pursue their passions and gives them spaces to do that. Students are encouraged to create a pathway for learning at Dwight, and I encourage them to take advantage of the incredible resources our global community has to offer them. I dream of hearing students say, “My classmate in Seoul and I are working on this project, and I am working with another classmate in London on that challenge.”

We want students to be curious, to know how to frame and ask great questions, and to learn by doing, so they’re being scientists in science class, for example, rather than just learning about other people’s ideas and discoveries. We also want students to collaborate with people who have different perspectives, while at the same time maintaining their own identities and convictions. These are really important to me to instill in the classroom and through all of the learning experiences we offer.

I also believe, as do all of our design teachers, that it’s important for students to produce something — an artifact of their learning — that

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is not only a quiz or a test, but also something that demonstrates in a different way that they understand the material. My hope is that the design and engineering process will become interconnected across disciplines, so that making something is just another way that students can show their learning in a class.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AS DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL SPARK PROGRAMS? I’m currently working on a partnership with Tufts University to create a design and engineering program for all of The Dwight Schools. I’m also working on the development of an aerospace program for all of our students. It’s so exciting to think of all the ways that our students can collaborate across campuses and across the globe. Dwight School London will be seeking our help in creating a makerspace; and one of our makers-in-residence, who is also the Director of Innovation at the new Franklin School, Jaymes Dec, will be helping Dwight School Dubai to obtain their Fab Lab certification.

I look forward to visiting each Dwight campus to see how their spaces are developing and how their programs are unfolding based on the unique talents of their faculty, and then seeing how we can amplify that. One of the many strengths of Dwight’s global network is that we can share expertise across continents to design innovative learning experiences for all of our students, and this is especially exciting for me.

WHAT’S YOUR PERSONAL SPARK OF GENIUS? My spark of genius is connecting people — connecting people to people and connecting people to projects that fit their unique strengths.

WHAT’S A LITTLE-KNOWN FACT ABOUT YOU? I’m a birder, and became one after spending some time on a yoga and birding retreat with an ornithologist in Oaxaca, Mexico. I find joy in having a reverence for nature through birding. It’s really important for me to take a break from technology, put my phone down, and just look up and change perspective. I’ve read countless birding books, watched videos, and listened to podcasts about birding, and I’m teaching myself how to identify birds by sound.

Ms Wang’s enthusiasm — whether for birding during her free time or for inspiring students’ creative confidence at Dwight — is contagious, and we’re fortunate that she came back to the nest where she first earned her teaching wings!

DWIGHT TODAY | DWIGHT GLOBAL

The Sparks of Dwight Global Students Are Lighting up the Competitive World!

Andrew Ena ’25, a top-ranked tennis player, won the Silver Ball in the Winter National Championship (boys 16). He also took home two Bronze Balls in the National Indoor Championship, with a third-place finish in both singles and doubles.

Dwight Global students who pursue their passions beyond the classroom enjoy the flexibility they need to train and compete at the highest level in sports and dance without compromising their academics. We’re shining a spotlight on just some of the many students in our community whose recent triumphs are catapulting them to even greater heights!

Zak Latif ’25 competed in his first World Cup in épée fencing, representing Team USA in this global competition.

Shannon Lam ’25, a top-ranked tennis player, finished 2021 by reaching the final of the Junior Orange Bowl, 14U. Among other prizes, she also took the Gold Ball in the Easter Bowl 12s Division and won the Les Petits AS-USA playoffs.

Nathan Zaytsev ’24, and his partner, Alisa, are the 2021 U.S. Open to the World U19 Ballroom winners.

Pasha Levy ’25 and Cassidy Leishman ’24 took the gold medal for their duet, “Ocean and Pearls,” in the National Ballet Competition in January. Pasha also earned a place in the top ten for the 14-16 age group.

Jake Welsh ’24 and Zack Welsh ’24 made a big splash at the 2021 USA Winter Nationals! They competed in the synchronized diving events and placed seventh in the Men’s 3-meter Springboard event.

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DWIGHT TODAY | HEADING

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HEADING | DWIGHT TODAY

The Grand Prix meets science class! Eighth grade students calculated the speed and acceleration of a toy car — and then how friction on the race track can effect both.

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Senior Cormac Bradley’s

Spark of Genius Soars at 10,000 Feet!

At age six, Mac Bradley ’22 caught the aviation bug. That’s when he took his first commercial flight and decided right then and there that he wanted to become a pilot. He has never wavered, so it comes as no surprise that “Top Gun” is one of his all-time favorite movies.

“While I didn’t understand it at such a young age, I was always fascinated by flying. Later on, after meeting some pilots and talking with people in the airline industry, I realized that I could actually become a professional pilot,” Mac reports. “And it was during COVID-19 that I was able to begin to make that happen.”

When travel was curtailed, there was a pandemic silver lining for Mac; he had the time to dedicate to flying lessons and started logging the hours in the air required to get a pilot’s license. He attended an aviation school in Harrison, NY, and began taking two-hour flights every two weeks to become eligible for the exam. When Mac hit the 52-hour mark, he earned his wings.

Now with over 80 hours as “pilot in command,” Mac shares how exhilarating it is to fly solo with words like “thrilling,” “joy,” and “euphoria” —“the feeling of freedom is unmatched” — and he is well on his way to realizing his dream.

With a spark of genius ignited early on, Mac found ways to pursue his passion in the Dwight classroom. He began by exploring aerodynamics and efficiency using model airplanes for his fifth grade PYP Exhibition project. Now he is finishing his IB DP Extended Essay on how space travel and zero gravity affect the body, which is timely with the emergence of commercialized space travel. Mac was inspired to research this topic by the physiology he learned in one

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of his favorite classes, Sports Exercise and Health Sciences. As the corollary, Mac has drawn on his classroom learning in Physics to help him in flight school; theoretical concepts suddenly had real-world applications when he sat behind the controls.

It takes a certain mindset to enter the cockpit and feel comfortable in the pilot’s seat — and Mac definitely has it! He is independent, calm, and confident, as well as cautious.

“My first solo flight and the first time I landed a plane without assistance from the instructor was nerve-wracking,” Mac reports, and he did so before his 17th birthday. “But now there’s a great feeling of accomplishment. Everything in aviation is experience, with its best and worst — experience is the best teacher.”

A SMOOTH DWIGHT JOURNEY Mac appreciates the flexibility Dwight has offered in support of his passion. With an hour commute each way to Harrison from his home on the Upper West Side, Mac needed at least three hours before school began and was able to schedule classes a little later in the mornings. Similarly, with evening flight lessons, he needed some flexibility around classroom assignments so that he could achieve his flying and academic goals simultaneously.

Now in his 15th year at Dwight, Mac first became a Lion in our Preschool 2s program, making our School his home away from

PERSONALIZED LEARNING | DWIGHT TODAY

home. “I’ve built so many great relationships with teachers and staff, who have seen me grow up, and I have so many great memories from over the years. Dwight is such an incredible school and community in which everyone knows and supports each other,” he says.

In addition to his passion for flying, Mac is an avid photographer and videographer. He has devoted much of his time outside of School to these interests — and has also lent his expertise to Dwight by taking photos for us!

Last year, Mac began learning about film in our two-year IB HL Film class, which is designed to develop students as proficient interpreters

and makers of film. “Dwight has a robust film program,” Mac says.

“We’ve been learning to master cinematic skills and develop a scene physically, build storylines, and create a compelling product. We also have the freedom to learn more about what interests us through a number of different projects, which is great.

“With his eye clearly focused on becoming a commercial pilot, Mac set his sights on applying to colleges with aviation programs and was accepted into one of his top choices. As his journey at Dwight comes to a close, we know that he will take off successfully — and soar — to great heights wherever he goes and for many years to come!

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DWIGHT TODAY | PERSONALIZED LEARNING

Performing Arts in a New Light:

Reimagining Student and Audience Experiences Amid the Pandemic

Last year when schools reopened everywhere, the Dwight Performing Arts team faced a COVID-19 challenge: how to capture performances normally seen on stage and in concert spaces and share them virtually while maximizing the impact of the performance itself for both students and the audience. Being innovative while adhering to health and safety guidelines and still providing students with a social and collaborative experience became the standard — and a number of benefits emerged for them and our community audience.

One example was when Middle School students rehearsed three different plays in person and over Zoom in smaller groups by grade level instead of as one with all students across grades 6-8, creating a Bentley House theater festival entitled “Fairy Tales, Folktales & Adventures.” Their performances were filmed in our Performing Arts Center and shared online.

The Mainstage Theater production of the spring musical, which brought Upper School students together via Zoom to rehearse and then outdoors to film their performances in New York City locations connected live theater to film in a more intentional and interesting way. According to Eric Novod, Head of Performing Arts, “If we were going to be recording live theater performances for a virtual audience, our team wanted to see how we could take advantage of the technology and filming capabilities available and turn the virtual nature of a theater performance into something special and more innovative than it might have been if it was live.” The spring musical certainly did that!

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In our music program, the focus shifted from large complete ensembles to smaller groups of musicians who could collaborate in person — who may not have done so in larger ensembles. This enabled faculty to curate groups differently in a unique, smaller way to create musical combinations that may not have happened otherwise. It also opened the door for a greater focus on original music composition and production, which we saw with the launch of our student-run educational record label, 566 Records.

Also last year, concerts were entirely virtual; Dwight Conservatory students and those in our music classrooms from grade 6-12 recorded their performances at home, which were then combined into one video. Our annual global concert, which has been held at such iconic venues as Carnegie Hall and the Shanghai Concert Hall, was a compilation of video performances by each Dwight School, including a finale of “Listen to the Music,” in which recordings by more than 100 musicians and singers worldwide were edited together by the Dwight School Seoul music faculty — no small feat — bringing the best of technology to inspire our global community.

WHAT HAS EMERGED ANEW One of the positive outcomes of recording concerts and plays is that it has allowed more younger students to participate and ease comfortably into the performing arts for the first time — something that may not have happened with larger in-person performances where one might feel hesitant to dive in. According to Mr. Novod, now more Dwight Conservatory students are hooked and look forward to participating in the next showcase. Another positive outcome is that students are thinking about

PERFORMING ARTS | DWIGHT TODAY

performance in new ways; they’re really taking to heart how to present emotion and meaning through the arts.

When asked what advice he gives to students in a COVID-19 world, Mr. Novod shares: “I tell them to keep in mind that while the usual energy that they get from performing in front of people might not be there when recording a virtual performance, the impact they’re going to have when people watch is very much the same thing. You have to picture your future audience because that’s the key for virtual spectators to have a similar emotional response.”

For our Dwight actors who miss the live audience response and energy, our faculty, Terrence Christgau and Kim Guzowski, set up talk-back sessions via Zoom after some virtual productions so that students could hear immediate feedback from their peers, teachers, and community members, even though they’re not in the same room.

The virtual nature of things has affected audiences in positive ways, making the performing arts in general more accessible, and enabling more Dwight community members to see a performance. Families and friends who may have missed a concert or show otherwise now have the opportunity to watch the live recording — and re-watch it as many times as they want. Our Fall Conservatory and Music Concert, led by faculty member Michael Ferrari and Conservatory Coordinator Emma Mooradian; and our K-5 Winter Music Celebration, “Let’s Join Together,” with Timothy House students and orchestrated by their music teacher, Vita Zambetti, are two examples.

A RETURN TO AUDIENCES IN THE THEATER SEATS “This year, we started planning to have performances with live audiences who can experience the art form in person and be impacted by it,” Mr. Novod shares. “We began with Dwight’s IB senior director’s workshop in our Performing Arts Center and the recent Mainstage Theater production of The Seagull at the Redeemer Church with health and safety protocols in place during rehearsals and performances.” Both were inperson events with a limited audience. With so many talented students auditioning for The Seagull, which was an original adaptation of the Chekov classic set in the present day, the play was performed twice by two different casts — enabling more students to participate and experience the energy of performing with a live audience and more families to be present.

While the future of COVID-19 is unclear, the Performing Arts Department is certain that the changes that have benefited students and audiences will be helpful in enhancing the overall experience for live performances in the future. The social and emotional power of music and theater is limitless, and being a part of a production and concert brings participants so many benefits. These will never change. Dwight’s talented students will also continue to deliver entertaining and impactful performances — and their creative sparks of genius will continue to shine no matter the stage or venue!

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After the votes were cast and counted, our Timothy House Student Council was ready to begin serving their community!

ATHLETICS | DWIGHT TODAY

Dwight Lions Were Back in the Game This Fall —

and Winning Championships!

After a year spent honing skills and keeping in shape, Dwight student-athletes roared back into preseason training and looked forward to the return of competition in the fall. They brought their A-game — most especially, our Girls Varsity Soccer, Varsity Volleyball, and JV Volleyball teams all competed in the ISAL league playoffs — and our Girls Middle School and Varsity Volleyball teams brought home ISAL championship titles! We congratulate them and all of our Lions, who left it all on the field.

GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

GIRLS JV VOLLEYBALL

The season was stellar as the team won the ISAL championship! They showed tremendous offensive power with a commanding regular season record of 14-4, earning them the #1 seed. During the playoff run, the girls displayed incredible heart, will, and determination.

The championship match against LREI was a game to remember!

The girls came out to a fast start and displayed offensive precision, while their defensive playmaking was too difficult to overcome. They won in convincing fashion in three straight sets (25-17, 24-13, 26-24).

Coach Tiam Chuck applauded his team and said, “All season long, the girls battled adversity and never lost sight of their ultimate goal of winning a league title. I am so proud of them for earning a NYSAIS State playoff bid and I cannot wait to see what the future holds!” Kudos to Captains Lisa Canevari ’23, Nina Hissnauer ’23, and Olivia Wamble ’23; and to Grace Guthart ’22, whose leadership and dedication to the program will be missed next year.

It was a great season for the team led by Captains Grace Capiraso ’25 and Danielle Reische ’25. With a record of 7-7, the highlight of the year was making it to the ISAL semi-finals and losing in dramatic fashion in a hard-fought match versus Berkeley Carroll.

Coach Cyrus Guzman shares that the camaraderie and work ethic of student-athletes is what made this such an enjoyable experience. He added, “It was an absolute joy to coach these girls every day. Their commitment and improvement from the start of the season until the end was tremendous. I am very much looking forward to next fall and improving on this year’s successes.”

GIRLS MIDDLE SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

The seventh and eighth grade teams competed as one in the ISAL League and were crowned League champions! The girls had a commanding overall record of 11-2. The grade 7 team was led by

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DWIGHT TODAY | COMMUNITY

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captains Kira Stratopoulos and Lara Silveira; and the grade 8 team was led by captains Eloise Oppy, Benedetta Dal Bon, Isabella Gonzalez, and Constanza Romano. Coach Brett Madarasz reports that winning the championship was an especially outstanding accomplishment given the previous year off due to COVID-19.

“The girls really stepped up and displayed resilience this season.

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After not competing for a year, they took full advantage of every practice and each and every player made significant improvements from start to finish. I could not be more proud and I can’t wait to see the eighth graders flourish in high school, as well as the seventh graders continue to grow in their final year on the Middle School team.”

ATHLETICS | DWIGHT TODAY

BOYS VARSITY SOCCER

Head Coach Max Tyers and Assistant Head Coach Daniel Dawson had high expectations for the team, with the ultimate goal of winning the ACIS League championship and making it to the NYSAIS playoffs. At the conclusion of the regular season, the team earned the three seed with a record of 5-3-2. In the first round of the league playoff, Dwight took on Friends Seminary and in dramatic fashion, won the semi-finals in penalty kicks after 90 minutes of no score.

A few days later, our Lions took on Packer in the championship and lost 1-0 in a hard-fought game. They came extremely close to reaching their goal and Coach Tyers praised the team for being a special group: “The boys were fantastic all year and I am so incredibly proud of the resilience and togetherness they showed from the first day of preseason until the final game.” They plan to pick up right where they left off in 2022 — and we can’t wait! Team captains Kyle Mulligan ’22, Luca Tornambe ’22, and Sam Weisleder ’22 left a lasting impression for the future of the program as dedicated leaders both on and off the field.

GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER

It was a memorable and successful season for the team, who showed a lot of growth and plenty to build on in 2022 led by seniors Isabel Beiboer, Isis Boelens, Maya Gallagher, and Gabrielle de Lambilly.

Head Coach Micaela Oliverio credits them for their leadership, commitment, and the everyday fun they brought to practices, bus rides, and games. “I absolutely loved coaching these girls, and Dwight is such a special environment,” she says. “I am so excited for next season — the only negative is that it feels so far away!” Special

shoutout to Isabel Beiboer and Maya Gallagher for their nominations as League All-Stars — congratulations girls!

BOYS JV SOCCER

Coach Denis Michalak reports that the team made massive strides from the first day of preseason until the last game. He added, “It was the fastest turnaround and this year’s group was the most fun team to coach ever! The boys were super-dedicated, hardworking, and truly showed what it meant to overcome adversity.” Over the first half of the season, they had a record of 1-3-1; during the second half, it was 4-4-2.

The team finished one point shy of making the ACIS League playoffs, but Coach Michalak and the team have a lot to be proud of. Over the remaining five games, the team, led by captains Hayden Lucas ’24 and Mateo Marcel ’25, beat the first-place team twice and the second-place team once. A special shoutout goes to JV League All-stars Alejandro Abdy ’25 and Ilan Ibrahimagic ’25. Congratulations all, we can’t wait for the 2022 season!

MIXED GENDER MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCCER

This fall was an extremely eventful season for middle schoolers on the pitch with a 7-1 record. While some would say that the team’s most impressive feat was scoring a league best of 38 goals, Coach Ted Belcher boasts that he is most proud of the cohesiveness of the squad and how student-athletes displayed character growth. “I am incredibly proud of this team’s efforts and dedication. It was evident that they cared for one another and wanted to see each other succeed.”

Special shoutout goes to team captain Ilan Rivera ’26, who recorded five scoreless games as goalkeeper!

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DWIGHT TODAY | COMMUNITY

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MS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY

The cross country season was definitely a memorable one, with new personal records for every member of the team! Coach Doug Sklar reports that this year’s team was one of the hardest working groups that he has ever coached. “I’m not only happy with how hard the boys and girls worked during the season, but also how they did so throughout COVID-19. During a time when things were challenging, our student-athletes turned to running and it showed in their times and efforts.” Congratulations to James Knox ’25, who placed second in the 5000m race for the ACIS finals. He posted a remarkable time of 19:28, which is a fantastic accomplishment! Coach Sklar and runners hope to continue the great start they made this fall in winter and spring track.

MIDDLE SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY

Though runners did not compete in any races this year, they made great progress with personal achievements. Many first-time runners improved their times by over three minutes! Coach Sklar shares that the foundation they’re building is going to serve them well when they enter high school competition.

Congratulations to all our Lions — we know more great things await you next year!

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Ages 1-2.5 years with a parent or caregiver

SMALL WONDER SUMMER PROGRAM JUNE 21-JULY 28 Art, music, gym activities, story time, and more!

To register, email smallwonder@dwight.edu

Ages 2.5-5.5 years for enrolled students in our 2s, 3s, and Pre-K classes

RIVERSIDE SUMMER CAMP JUNE 21-JULY 28 Campers explore a different theme each week, from ocean life and cooking, to sports, animals, and outer space!

Register on your Jumbula account

Ages 4-12 years DWIGHT SUMMER CAMP JUNE 20-AUGUST 12 We’ve got lots of great things in store, including Spark Camps, plus trips and swimming for all!

Learn more at a virtual open house: March 11 | April 11 | May 13 Dwight families receive a 12% discount with code Dwight22 Register for an open house and Camp at dwightsummercamp.org

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DWIGHT TODAY | HEADING

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HEADING | DWIGHT TODAY

Lower School students are happy to be together in person!

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DWIGHT TODAY | COMMUNITY

Extra, Extra

Students Launch The Lion’s Gazette!

Through our new, student-led online newspaper, Lions are sharing their creative sparks and impressive journalistic talents!

the Dwight community with unique expertises and experiences that usually don’t show up during class.”

Since the fall, Upper School students have been working hard after school to create The Lion’s Gazette: Dwight News, which includes news, opinion, arts and entertainment, sports, and media sections. The latter includes a playlist of songs curated by students and a podcast entitled “The Field Trip,” which is described as “starring members of

Students have brought their interest in writing — and in writing about a range of topics that they’re passionate about — to tackle some important issues of the day, including the pandemic and the gender pay gap. They’re also spotlighting news and events on campus and sharing some of the contributors’ own artworks. In the opinion

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THE LION’S GAZETTE | DWIGHT TODAY

section, students pose thoughtful questions such as should schools teach Internet ethics and should schools ban standardized testing?

The result is an engaging mix of content created entirely by students for their classmates and the Dwight community.

The Lion’s Gazette site was designed and built by Ethan WongChassine ’22. He, together with Amelia Gayle ’23, Editor-in-Chief, the section editors listed below, and all of the contributors, have combined their talents and merged their interests: • News: Jake Bruner ’23 • Opinion: Zoe Papavasiliou ’23 • Arts and Entertainment: Jonathan Ben Shoshan ’22 • Media: Francine Gonzalez ’23 • Sports: Eric Gayner ’22 The first podcast, which is hosted by Albert Randsborg ’22 and Bernardo Sequeira’ 22, is an interview with Paul Vliegen, Global Politics and History teacher. In addition to future podcast episodes, each issue of The Lion’s Gazette will spotlight pop-up art and design exhibits around New York City, recap athletic games and competitions, and share music playlists. Future issues will also feature news of what’s happening in our Lower and Middle Schools, broadening the scope of the site’s focus.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? With the launch of The Lion’s Gazette, students have reignited a tradition that dates far back in our history. We have no doubt that it may have begun before our archival records can confirm, but the first word we have comes from the 1938 edition of the Dwight Scroll yearbook, which says that the student newspaper from that era, The Dwight Reporter, grew out of the Dwight Athletic Reporter created in 1935. It covered athletics and fostered “an ‘all-around’ school spirit which was noticeably lacking before.”

In subsequent generations, the student newspaper grew to cover much more than just athletics and its name changed numerous times.

It evolved through the ensuing decades to: The Dwightonian, The Dwight Word, Phoenix (referencing the return of the journalism club “from the ashes” after a hiatus), The Tiger (as our mascot had been a tiger) — back to The Dwightonian — then to The Dwight Chronicle, and most recently and briefly, Roar.

“The students working on The Lion’s Gazette have been very dedicated and motivated to put forth impressive work,” says Abby Blaine, English teacher and the faculty advisor for the newspaper. “They have grown so much and developed their skills over the last few months, taken on leadership roles, and also had fun while collaborating. I’m very proud of their accomplishments and can’t wait to see what else they create this year.”

We can’t wait either!

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DWIGHT TODAY | ALUMNI

Sonu Kapoor ’17

Problem-solver Extraordinaire and New Member of Dwight’s Alumni Council Sonu Kapoor ’17 has a keen mathematical mind.

When you ask about her favorite concept in mathematics, she won’t hesitate to answer: “Fourier transforms, for sure. They feel like magic!” A Fourier transform is a mathematical operation that converts a signal (like a melody) from the time domain to the frequency domain (its individual notes and intensities).

Such a fascination makes sense for this recent Dwight alum who graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS and an accelerated Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University in December. She is now looking forward to applying to PhD programs to continue her engineering studies, specifically in the math-heavy fields of signal processing and information theory.

Sonu credits some of her success at Cornell to her Dwight education.

“Just taking IB Higher Level Math alone was a challenge in and of itself,” she recalls. “It was really a college-level course that helped me a lot in my engineering classes.”

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES Sonu arrived as an eleventh grader at Dwight in 2015 after moving from Mumbai to New York. She was enthralled right away by the opportunities the School offered students to find and pursue their sparks of genius. The seemingly endless possibilities appealed to

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Sonu, whose own spark of genius is her ability to draw knowledge from different disciplines to create something new.

Coming from a traditional academic curriculum in India, Sonu was grateful for the chance Dwight gave her to explore different topics and to merge her various interests. “I knew Dwight was the right place for me from the get-go,” she recalls. Sonu appreciated, for example, how students could create their own way to fulfill the CAS (Creativity, Action, and Service) requirement for the IB Diploma Program. For her CAS project, Sonu, together with a few classmates, designed a simulated business-planning experience in which members of the Investment Club (of which she was one) were presented with a series of problems and asked to solve them in different ways. Sonu drew on knowledge she had gained in a summer business and entrepreneurship program at Yale between her junior and senior years, part of which was similar to Dwight’s own Spark Tank.

SONU KAPOOR ’17 | DWIGHT TODAY

In addition to the Investment Club, Sonu also was a member of Dwight’s Honor Council, Boxing Club, and Prom Committee.

“There were so many activities to choose from, I wanted to do them all,” she recounts.

Finding the right balance between academics and extracurriculars might have been a challenge for her, but through regular trimester reflections and check-ins with her advisor, Bentley Ferraina, who is also Dean of Grade 10, Sonu was able to assess her progress. “Mr. Ferraina would always ask me two questions: ‘Looking back on the trimester, what are you most proud of?’ and ‘Looking forward to next term, what do you hope to achieve?’ This really helped me to stop and evaluate myself instead of just being in constant motion,” she recalls.

MEMORABLE DWIGHT LEARNING EXPERIENCES One of Sonu’s most indelible classes was Theory of Knowledge (TOK). A cornerstone of the IB DP, TOK is a two-year course in which students examine the nature of knowledge, the many ways people obtain it, and challenge assumptions. “TOK really challenged my way of thinking,” Sonu says. “I learned to remove myself from situations to properly address them and to hold multiple points of view while making decisions.”

At college, Sonu made valuable use of what she learned in TOK in the leadership positions she held in the Cornell Student Assembly, as the representative of the College of Engineering, and in the Language House where she lived. Proficient in Hindi, Marathi, Spanish, German, English, Sindhi, and Sanskrit, Sonu plans on adding Mandarin to her repertoire soon.

At Dwight, Sonu’s favorite class by far was physics with Barry Gragg, Head of the Upper School Science Department. “He really made physics fun and spontaneous — it didn’t feel like work,” she explains.

Sonu has many fond memories of that class, including observing the moon and different galaxies from Dwight’s rooftop telescope. She also recalls an intriguing internal assessment she worked on with Mr. Gragg in which she calculated the age of the universe using redshifting, a change in color frequency of stars that can be used to determine the rate of the universe’s expansion after the Big Bang.

Sonu says, “Mr. Gragg made me laugh a lot, too, and he’s one of the reasons I ended up being so interested in engineering.”

At the time, Sonu had planned on studying business in college. That was before she had a conversation with Chancellor Stephen Spahn, which ended up being seminal to her choice. Indeed, like so many Dwight alumni over the years, Sonu can trace her trajectory back to a single interaction with Chancellor Spahn about her future. “When I told him that I wanted to study business because I love solving problems, he said, ‘How can someone run a business well before first

I knew Dwight was the right place for me from the get-go.

knowing what problems that business is trying to solve? And the best way to know what problems to solve is to study engineering, a field in which you face problems everyday.’ This advice really resonated with me. Solving problems is what gives me extra energy and motivation in everything I do.”

ENTREPRENEURIAL ENDEAVORS Business remains a strong interest and Sonu has her hand in several ventures, including one she’s launching with her father to provide talent acquisition solutions in the fields of technology and finance.

“Our goal is to empower companies to hire quality talent. Typical recruitment agencies go into the market and hunt for talent and then charge their clients a fee, which is normally a percentage of the candidate’s salary. Our product is available for a flat fee, which is better for the client’s budget. The interface we offer also allows clients to select candidates from a curated database directly.”

Another entrepreneurial pursuit in the works is a personal finance service. “It’s a single solution that manages assets, debt, income, taxes, and everything in between,” Sonu explains. The idea came to me when I thought about engineers and people in similar fields who don’t have enough time to think about their finances.”

As if pursuing a PhD and starting several businesses aren’t enough, Sonu also manages real estate for her family. Of course, she’s already thinking of innovative ways to automate many real estate protocols.

“I’d like to make things more efficient, as the steps a person needs to take to rent, sell, or buy a single property are just too many and too complicated.”

TAKING A SEAT ON DWIGHT’S ALUMNI COUNCIL Among her many accomplishments, some of Sonu’s proudest experiences include the friendships she forged and has maintained with Dwight classmates and teachers. She remains close to her alma mater and recently joined the our Dwight, Franklin, Anglo-American Alumni Association’s Alumni Council. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to work on projects with classmates. At Cornell, I did a lot of event planning that brought people together. I look forward to doing that at Dwight as well,” she says. Sonu also hopes to become involved in Spark Tank and inspire students, like herself, who are solving problems in innovative ways.

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DWIGHT TODAY | ALUMNI

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Myles Douglas MD, PhD ’61 writes: Looking at the previous Class Notes, I was surprised to discover a picture of the Class of 1961 yearbook team with me in it! After many years as a cardiothoracic, vascular, and endovascular surgeon, I became involved in the medical device industry developing stent graft treatments for aortic aneurysms and started two companies, ENDOLOGIX and Red Vascular Technologies. I have lived in Nevada, Arizona, and California, but now I’m back on the East Coast in Florida. I’m hoping someday to make it to one of the reunions!

Steven Silver ’65 (Franklin) retired from his career as an orthopedic surgeon and researcher, and is now living in Springfield and Boston, MA. Caren Osborne ’69 tells us: In 2020, I moved from Andover, CT, to Chapel Hill, NC, to be closer to my daughter and three grandchildren after the death of my husband, Rick. I had a beautiful new home built, and have a photo organizing and office productivity and organizing services company, Caren’s Organizing Solutions.

I enjoy going to my grandchildren’s soccer, football, lacrosse, and baseball games as well as dance recitals.

Paula Oppenheim Cope ’71 writes: Recently, I had a wonderful visit with Chancellor and Mrs. Spahn and got caught up on all things Dwight. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with my class and hope we can have a 50th reunion in person as Dwight celebrates 150 years of success!

Martin Grossman ’75 (Franklin) is a chiropractor in Miami and says, “Please come by and say hello!”

Andrew Chait ’78 writes: I’m still in New York with my wife, Hedy ’72 (Franklin), and son, Jeremy. I’m working at the family gallery, Ralph M Chait Galleries, and doing antique shows in the

Northeast. We all like going to sporting events, museums, and traveling. It’s hard to believe that we’re going to start the college application process for Jeremy!

Jimmy Altman ’85 is a 42-time Emmy Award-winning journalist celebrating his 17th year reporting the news in Connecticut. Working for WTIC-TV (FOX61), he has toured the world on assignment, including reporting from the shores of Cuba, the streets of Ireland, and on the sidelines of various Super Bowls. This past year, Jimmy also won the New England Edward R. Murrow Award for news writing – his fifth Murrow Award.

Miles Ladin ’86 shares: In 2021, I had my first solo art exhibition in Oostende, Belgium. In the last five years, my artworks have also expanded from photography to drawings and paintings. They’re on my Instagram page, @MilesLadin, and are available for purchase.

Ed Metzendorf ’91 reports: All is good and living in Westchester.

My oldest daughter is at Michigan and my youngest is in high school.

I enjoy running summer camps called Next Level in New York and New Jersey.

Calvin Yang ’21, CEO, Canadian Youth Alliance for Climate Action (CYACA), was named one of Canada’s “Top 30 Under 30 2021” by the Corporate Knights magazine for his leadership, which includes his efforts while at Dwight. “After co-organizing the largest climate march in U.S. history in 2019 through Fridays for Future International out of New York City in 2019, Calvin Yang had his sights set on greening his home country of Canada. The young media coordinator founded CYACA, a non-profit Gen-Z-led lobbying firm dedicated to advancing non-partisan federal climate policies. ….

CYACA has helped amend climate legislation such as Bill C-12 and partnered with IPSOS to launch a poll for Gen Z voters.”

Send your class notes to Olivia Merrick-Haight: omerrickhaight@dwight.edu

Please Join Us for The Dwight School Foundation’s Spring Benefit in Celebration of Dwight’s 150th Anniversary

Thursday, April 28, 6-10 pm 583 Park Avenue New York City

Please RSVP online by April 14: ourdoorwaytothefuture.com

That feeling when all you want to do is run ... Kindergarten students are on the move in PE class!