ENSIGHTS I N S E ARC H OF T RU T H
SUMMER 2019
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING My First Book Project Responsive Classroom 2019 Capstone Scholars
BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2019-2020 In Search of Truth President Toby S. (T.J.) Wilt, Jr. Vice President Will Morrow Treasurer Bruce Crosby Secretary Jennifer Frist Legal Counsel John Jacobson Special Advisor Bruce Moore
ENSWORTH Mission Statement Ensworth is a kindergarten through twelfth grade, coeducational independent school. The School promotes academic excellence and inspires students to be intellectually curious, to use their talents to the fullest, to be people of integrity, and to be contributors to society.
Edie McBride Bass * Jim Bowen Stuart Brunson
Administrative Team
Amy Christiansen Beth Courtney Ben Freeland Trish Frist * Craig Goguen Chad Greer Phyllis Hildreth Deb McDermott Neal Patel Josephine Smithwick
David Braemer Head of School Dr. Sarah Buchanan Associate Head and Director of Enrollment Management Ricky Bowers Associate Head and Director of Athletics Chan Gammill Head of Middle School Nowell Hesse Head of High School
Jamee Thompson
Jason Hiett Director of Technology
Head of School David Braemer, ex officio
Bedell James Director of Advancement
President Ensworth Parent Association Barbara Smith, ex officio
Whitney Johnson Director of Finance and Operations
President-Elect Ensworth Parent Association Elizabeth Gerken, ex officio
Bruce Libonn Head of Lower School
President Ensworth Alumni Board Jonathan Gluck, ex officio
*Indicates Permanent Trustee
Bobby Mirzaie Director of Curriculum and Instruction
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Contents
COMMUNITY
3 Experiential Learning
20 For the Record
11 Responsive Classroom
24 Parent Association
14 Capstone Scholars
26 Events Photos
17 Finding the Right College Fit
64 Frist Campus
ATHLETICS 34 Middle School Athletics
54
65 Campaign Update
ARTS
FACULTY
40 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Middle School Play
48 Faculty Profiles
42 The Wiz: High School Musical
53 Faculty News
44 Lucy’s Play: High School Play 46 Visiting Artist: Susan Beiner
52 Faculty Bookshelf
54 Faculty Retirements 55 David Morgan Day ALUMNI 56 Alumni Class Notes
36 High School Athletics
60 Alumni Profiles
Android
Apple
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Paper: Chorus Art Silk - 70 lb Text and 80lb Cover; 30% Post Consumer Waste, 100% Recyclable, EFC Chlorine Free
Copyrighted 2019 by Ensworth School. Ensworth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin in its admissions or its hiring policies. Ensworth is a member of NAIS, CASE, SACS, SAIS, and the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools. ENSIGHTS is a bi-annual publication of Ensworth’s Office of Institutional Advancement. EDITOR Tiffany Townsend DESIGN Mary Byrne Dailey EDITORIAL STAFF Sarah Crosby, Paul Downey, Nancy Keen Palmer-Gift, Anne Stringham CONTRIBUTING WRITERS David Braemer, Paul Downey, Dina Marks, Nancy Keen Palmer-Gift, Teresa Todd, Tiffany Townsend PHOTOGRAPHY Travis Commeau, Mary Byrne Dailey, Paul Downey, Tim Jones, Nancy Keen Palmer-Gift, Adrienne Parker, John Picklesimer, Mike Strasinger, Barton Whitman
MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Experiential Education When I reflect on the most meaningful learning experiences that I have had over the years, it is remarkable how many of them occurred outside of a conventional school environment. While I was the beneficiary of terrific educational opportunities as a student, so much of what I experienced took place within a traditional, teacher-centered framework. Despite the fact that I gained a great deal through this process, I cannot help but think of how much I would have benefited from the types of experiential education opportunities that create context and relevance in ways that a traditional classroom setting cannot.
thing. It’s quite another to be sitting behind the wheel of a 1980 Ford Fairmont ready to pull into traffic for the first time, as your instructor calmly sits in the passenger seat sipping a cup of coffee, smoking a cigarette, and giving you directions. While my initial experience behind the wheel wasn’t pretty, it was impactful, as I learned more about driving in that one hour than I learned in all of those classroom hours combined. The value of “learning by doing” when it came to driving was clearly the most effective means to develop this skill, and it represents an approach that can be applied to many different educational contexts.
The power of this dynamic was particularly clear to me this past spring, when my son Dax got his driver’s license. Going through this process with him reminded me of what I experienced in learning how to drive as a teenager. Growing up in Massachusetts, you could get your learner’s permit when you turned 16 and then you had to wait six months to get your license, provided that you successfully completed a driver’s education course during that time. My classroom experience in Driver’s Ed amounted to about 30 hours, split between lectures on the rules and regulations that made up the state’s official driver’s manual and dated videos showing the horrors of what could go wrong if you violated those rules and regulations. This aspect of Driver’s Ed amounted to no more than a hoop that I was required to jump through in order to get my license.
While Driver’s Ed is not part of the Ensworth curriculum, oppor tunities for authentic experiential education are an important aspect of our program. This issue of Ensights explores a variety of ways that our school supports and encourages students to learn by doing and, in the process, to develop important skills and to pursue personal interests in meaningful ways. Central to accomplishing this is a faculty that is intentional in their efforts to create these types of opportunities. Doing so involves a certain amount of risk, as teachers must cede some degree of control to their students. This is similar to what one experiences when letting their child practice driving, something that is necessary but a little scary at the same time. With a foundation of trust and high expectations, however, the outcomes are ultimately positive and lasting. This commitment to providing opportunities for experiential education is just one more way to ensure that an Ensworth education will serve our students well regardless of what road they choose to follow in their future.
The real learning that I experienced in Driver’s Ed took place during the few hours of actual driving we did as part of the course. Having to memorize the penalties for various driving infractions or to watch what could go wrong if one is speeding through a rainstorm after consuming too much alcohol is one
David Braemer HEAD OF SCHOOL
ACADEMICS
Experiential
LE AR N I NG AT E N S WO R T H
By Office of Communications Staff Paul Downey ’92, Nancy Palmer-Gift ’03, Tiffany Townsend
ACADEMICS
Experiential Learning
IN THE LOWER SCHOOL
In ways both big and small, our Lower School teachers are bringing curricular content to life through immersive activities that offer students the opportunity to go far beyond retention of facts and figures and to fully absorb the knowledge that they set out to discover. The following examples illustrate this approach and represent only the tip of the iceberg that is experiential learning at Ensworth.
KINDERGARTEN: Comparison of Solids in Science
With two visits to science every seven-day rotation, kindergarten is allowed ample time to conduct ongoing experiments with Mr. Bond. They begin with the comparison of states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas) and expand upon the inquiry into properties of solids through a 10-unit experiment. Each class period, students are given two solids to compare based on the properties of color, shape, density, magnetic attraction, etc. They use balancing weights, buckets of water, magnets, and more to deduce not only that two objects are different, but identify what makes them so. They collaborate with a partner and scribe their observations on a fact sheet in an interactive activity that gently introduces them to the scientific process. Many “Eureka, I’ve got it!” moments are experienced in this unit, and kindergarteners are well on their way to more fully understanding the complexities of scientific content! 4 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
GRADE 1: Lovely and World Languages
In order to love others, we must truly love ourselves. Only when we recognize and celebrate what makes us unique can we come to the feel the same about someone else. First grade students dove into this powerful concept in their World Language classrooms this year. They read the book Lovely by Jess Hong in both Chinese and Spanish, discussed the concept of loving ourselves and celebrating differences, and then wrote a script. Each child was given the opportunity to write and illustrate a characteristic they loved about themselves, culminating in a celebratory video that paints a beautiful picture of the individual qualities that represent the Class of 2030. The impact of such a powerful concept touched the hearts and minds of each and every one of our Lower/Middle School students, as the theme of World Language Week was chosen to be Lovely: Finding the Lovely in Ourselves and Others.
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G R A D E 2 : Student-Driven Pioneer Day
Pioneer Day has been part of the second grade experience at Ensworth for many years. What will always be an iconic educational tradition has evolved into a truly immersive approach to historical study. Students engage in an in-depth exploration of how life was experienced before technology and modern conveniences, learning step-by-step as they follow the journey of the early settlers making their way across the Oregon Trail. Along the way, students make comparative charts of life then vs. now, assume fictional personas, and log daily journal entries as if they were on the trail themselves (and play the classic computer game that we all fondly remember). While they haven’t churned butter with marbles and mason jars of late, it is because the teachers have empowered the students to choose their own cultural project from the time period and become the leaders in sharing such with their peers. Mrs. Moeller sums it up best, “As our second graders move on through their lives, they may not remember what state Chimney Rock was in, or what the names of the forts along the Oregon Trail were, but they will know that they can learn and teach a skill and that, though making something oneself can be tricky, with the help of a friend and some tenacity, there is usually a way to get it done!”
GRADE 3: Serving up Empathy through Service
While second grade students connect to the experiences of the past, third grade engages with the challenges of the present as they learn about homelessness and food insecurity through their partnership with Bridge Ministries. They study the issue and available services and are empowered to choose their own creative approach when it comes to promoting their service learning project. The goal is to collect items for the Bridge’s Holiday Toy Drive, and they are asked specifically to collect on behalf of eight- and nine-year-old peers. Not only do students relish the opportunity to collect gifts, but they also gain an empathetic understanding of those they serve in realizing they, too, are third graders with similar wishes. It is up to each and every student to choose how they’d like to advocate for the toy drive—some make posters, others make collaborative educational videos, and all of them study
the nonprofit, the issue they address, and the solution they propose. The act of receiving generosity and the joy it brings in sharing it with others will certainly not be lost on our future fourth grade students.
G R A D E 4 : Future City of Ensworth
In light of the capital campaign activity on campus and inspired by Bodys Isek Kingelez’s City of Dreams exhibit featuring sculptures made of recycled materials, Lower School Art Teacher Kathryn Swords and her fourth grade students made their own Future City of Ensworth art project. This project inspired such enthusiasm that students on their own volition would arrive early to school to continue their work. Solo structures coalesced to create a collaborative city as one student’s Tiger Scraper connected to another’s Futuristic Weather Station, which resided next to the interactive playground. Kingelez’s motivation was to construct his own vision of a harmonious home, city, and planet, and used the medium of recycled materials, as did our students. They studied his work, referenced scholarly materials, and had group conversations on what their ideal vision of school would contain. They chose whether to work individually or as a pair and sourced everything from feathers, to cardboard, to popsicle sticks to bring their buildings to life. Given the freedom to answer for themselves what this Future City of Ensworth would be composed of, they discovered that individual contributions to a collective made a most vibrant vision of what is to come, tiger-shaped buildings and a dolphin-shaped aquarium included.
GRADE 5: Interdisciplinary Lewis & Clark
The study of Lewis & Clark and their western exploration has grown into an interdisciplinary study that is a hallmark of the fifth grade experience. While rooted in Humanities, the analysis stretches into activities in unexpected places—from math class to class trips and beyond. Students do not merely read history books to learn about the historic expedition; they examine archived journal entries and consistently evaluate the pros and cons of Lewis’ decisions at key points of the journey. They also study the history of the boats and forts available in the time period and build model structures accordingly. For a creative spin while studying line graphs with Mrs. Dale, they plot the winter temperatures of the Northern Plains in 1805. Spoiler alert: there’s quite the negative slope! They have a leg up on Lewis & Clark but still experience a taste of the excitement when they try their hand at orienteering, with the use of a compass and a topographic map, while enjoying time at Land Between the Lakes. New horizons are explored while history brings to life an immersive educational experience for each and every fifth grade student. 2019 SUMMER | 5
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Experiential Learning
IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Grade 6 Museum Project Brings Ancient Civilization to Life All Grade 6 History classes, taught by Ruby Cortner, Maurice Hopkins, and J.K. Scott, brought wonders of the ancient world to life by creating a pop-up museum event in Patton Hall for the entire Lower/Middle School community this fall. After learning about different civilizations in class, students were given the opportunity to contemplate what ancient wonders interested them the most. Then, the teachers held a fantasy draft to determine who worked on which wonders, including The Great Wall of China, Nazca Lines of Peru, Inca Ice Mummy, Terra Cotta Warriors, the Colosseum, and more. The process shifted to an in-depth research stage, assisted by librarian Debbie Sandwith, with each student writing a detailed description and formal Works Cited. The wonders fell into specific groups: Infrastructure/Fortresses, Statues/Colossals, Mummies, Writing Systems/Calendars, Palaces/Baths, and Temples/ Tombs. Each group collaborated on the differences and similarities between their category’s wonders.
The hands-on element was what made the museum experience such an effective learning tool. “They had to know information about their wonder in order to teach guests about it,” explains Ms. Cortner. “In a standard test situation, it is just the student taking the information I teach and then giving it back to me on the test. With the public being part of the sharing of information, students tend to care more because they want to get it right.” The day of the pop-up museum involved faculty, staff, parents, and students from all nine grades. Grade 6 students dressed in period garb, talked about their wonder, and guided the community through the interactive aspects of their project. The success of the museum project spurred the History Department to involve all disciplines in the first annual Medieval Day on the last day of school. The day was filled with activities that included medieval siege machines, a scavenger hunt, drama, and music.
Cortner observed, “Jim Mann’s Medieval The hands-on Next, each group entered the challenging math lesson, Aaron Velthouse’s Medieval stage of writing a proposal to the element was what madrigals, Fred Schmidt’s jazz band Museum Committee (Ms. Cortner, Mr. Mary Perkins’ and Carolyn Henry’s made the museum heralds, Scott, Mr. Hopkins, Mrs. Dee Dee Little, and science catapult lesson, and Dee Dee Little’s experience such Shakespeare skits were incredible!” Mr. Wallace). Cortner explains, “We had to make sure the exhibit would fit in the allotted an effective museum space and that each would be an One experiential learning activity has learning tool. effective learning tool. They learned to work already inspired many more, and this is together, further develop their research and only a taste of the immersive educational writing skills, and know the information about not only their experiences students engage in at the Middle School level. wonder but also the other members of their groups’ wonders, so Seventh grade students conduct their own cross-curricular they would be prepared to answer any questions from museum- Memory Project in conjunction with their service-learning goers.” partnership with Abe’s Garden; eighth grade students delve into the physics of motion through the competitive Pumpkin The students then tackled the hands-on aspect of their assigned Races, and countless debates across disciplines and grades wonder, transforming their knowledge into an interactive teach all Ensworth middle school students the etiquette of museum exhibition. They spent several days constructing their civil discourse and the ability to compassionately disagree on displays using a multitude of materials and techniques. complex topics. 6 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
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Experiential Learning
IN THE HIGH SCHOOL
Experiential Learning and Cross-curricular Collaboration:
My First Book By Teresa Todd, High School French Faculty
The “My First Book” project began after I attended my first Social Issues Conference where the Restore LaVi session piqued my interest. Former parent Diana Day-Cartee and her daughter, Ali Cartee ’18, had been volunteering in Haiti for a while with restavecs, or child slaves. They established Restore LaVi (“Restore Life”) in order to start a food program, do missionary work, and improve the situation of the children. As Diana spoke about the plight of restavecs, I immediately remembered a similar book project a college was doing that a colleague had told me about. I asked Diana afterward if books in French and English would help her, and she enthusiastically followed up on our conversation. The first year, I recruited people who would be going into French IV or French AP as seniors, offering them a ready-made Service Learning project. English faculty Dina Marks joined our crew as the editor for the English portion of the books. Writing is such an important part of learning a language, and working with students one-on-one in the editing process to help them choose the correct tenses is invaluable. I thought that the project would allow us to work on their French outside the classroom and help people at the same time, but I was totally unprepared for their level of talent. We discovered that we were lucky in our inaugural year to have chosen Sam Slipkovich ’17, an amazing artist, and Isabella Kendall ’17, a phenomenal photographer. Shona O’Bryant ’17 paired up with Lyra Jaffe ’17 to create the alphabet book that the Haiti school uses for instruction. Because of that one book, the Haitian school started a kindergarten reading program. And because of that kindergarten class, a former Ensworth Lower School teacher who moved to Boca Raton decided to raise money to fund a kindergarten teacher. And Restore LaVi added education to its mission statement. The process has evolved over time in that it has become much more intentional. One of our most important process-related rules is that all people in illustrations must be people of color 8 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
and need to represent the target audience. There is such a dearth of children’s books with main characters who are of color, even in the U.S. It is especially important when the character is in a position of power. Indie Charles ’22 expertly illustrated Gigi Elliott ’20’s professions book with a lovely variety of people of color, suggesting that every kid reading one of our books can be a doctor, lawyer, or teacher. Jalen Sueing ’19 looked up pictures of Haitians on which to base his protagonist and used a popular Haitian name for him. Additionally, even from the first year when Isabella Kendall ’17 was working with Maggie Zerfoss ’17 to create picture books, we made sure to be culturally sensitive. The work is done almost exclusively on the first three Service Learning Days, and the entire process is very much student-led. If someone wants to work on the project, they tell us what part (or parts) they want to do before the first Service Learning Day. With so little time to work, the art has to be started the first day, and the stories have to be written by day two. Tech also ideally starts on the second day when they are scanning artwork, uploading images, and beginning to create the templates. The authors use the Service Learning breakout PCLs to start their books. Some students have been both author and illustrator, such as Isabella Nuñez ’19 and Jalen Sueing ’19. Lillie Waddell ’21 has chosen to author and illustrate from the beginning, and Miranda Marks ’21 transitioned from illustrating other people’s stories to writing her own. This year, when Greg Eubanks returned from a Service Learning conference, he mentioned adding Spanish. We invited Spanish teacher Sara Bostwick to join us and she assembled a team of her enthusiastic students. The Día de los Muertos book will be finalized in the fall, as we are still working out our Spanish language partner. When I gave Jalen Sueing a copy of his book on Awards Day, he looked at it, looked up at me, and exclaimed, “I’m a published author!” I am truly in awe of the kids’ talents; every year, I think that the books can’t get better, but they do.
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2019 SUMMER | 9
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Experiential Learning
IN THE HIGH SCHOOL
Harkness on Your Feet By Dina Marks, High School English Department Chair
One of the challenges that we face as a department is keeping alive in our high school students the joy of reading instilled by the lower/middle school faculty. High school students are increasingly focused on the grade (or the “points”) offered by an assignment, and it’s difficult to get them to slow down and focus on reading as exploration, as a puzzle to be unlocked, or as play.
effects. Each student has a job, and because of that, no one is sitting back or disengaged. The key to this assignment, though, is that we turn everything over to the students, and then we stay out of their way while they figure out the scene. There were, in fact, times that I sat in the hallway while the students puzzled through the text and worked through the scene so that they had to come up with their own answers.
Last year, as we were reading Macbeth with the freshmen, Kristin Ware was looking for a way to break the cycle of “read, How, for example, should the costume designers show that Lady discuss, assess.” For homework the night before, her students Macbeth is scrubbing imaginary blood off of her hands? What had read and annotated Act 5 Scene 1 of the play; instead of should the scene designers draw on the board to match the the expected Harkness discussion, however, Kristin had them feeling of 5.1 of the play? What does the word “taper” or “closet” work together to figure out how to stage, mean in this context? With what inflection and then perform, the scene. She wasn’t Each student has should the doctor in this scene read his lines sure how it was going to turn out, but it was to effectively communicate the emotion of the a job, and because so successful that I did it with my students, moment? What do you do if your classmates and now it is one of our go-to projects. of that, no one is are playing around and not getting to work? When we empower the students to deal with sitting back or The first thing that we do is put a list of these things without offering ready-made disengaged. jobs on the board, and students sign up answers for them, we allow them to overcome for which job they want to do. Of course, the anxiety of being “wrong” or “getting a bad we need students to be actors, but we also ask for students grade.” We normalize that it’s okay to struggle and to not always to design costumes out of whatever they can find in the know what the answers are, and we remind the students that classroom, to create the scenery, to be “text experts” and school is a place to learn rather than a place to feel like they have counsel the actors, to be the director and keep everything to know everything and do everything perfectly the first time. running and everyone on task, and to run lighting and sound
CLASS OF 2020 10 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
Responsive
ACADEMICS
CLAS S RO OM H O W Y O U T E A C H I S A S I M P O R TA N T A S W H AT Y O U T E A C H
Children are more comfortable and confident in engaging in active learning when they are in an environment that fosters social and emotional understanding and competence. Responsive Classroom (RC) is an approach to teaching that employs thoughtful and proactive practices to create a safe and joyful classroom culture that is developmentally responsive to students’ strengths and needs. With Responsive Classroom, the growth of social and emotional skills is equal to academic development. Everything from teacher language, to tone of delivery, to the physical setup of a classroom contributes to the creation of an environment where students are able to do their best learning. Kindergarten teacher Megan Florentine and Middle School
English teacher Emily Parrelli were immediately drawn to the philosophy of Responsive Classroom after attending training sessions. Emily explains, “There is a connection between RC and the mission of Ensworth in the core values of teaching the whole child. The emphasis is on belonging, significance, and fun, which closely aligns with what we do here at Ensworth.” Both teachers became certified with RC and are now two of the approximately 200 RC consulting teachers across the country. Megan and Emily first shared their RC knowledge informally with other teachers through Late Start opportunities and discussion groups. In the summer of 2018, the rest of the kindergarten team, along with Grade 4 teacher Whitney Earhart and Grade 5 teacher Kelly Goorevich, attended training together in Chicago, which led to the first RC cohort 2019 SUMMER | 11
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“Students learn to listen thoughtfully, think critically, and build collective knowledge as an interactive team while being individually accountable to the group. Highly collaborative classes are motivating, memorable, and just more fun.” -KELLY GO OREVICH, G RADE 5 TEACHER
“When we build relationships with families, we get a fuller picture of who our students are. When a beloved pet dies or a baby sibling is born, I can adjust my interactions with my students to respect these important life events taking place outside our classroom. It takes a village to raise a tiger.” - LEANN JACKOBOICE, KINDERGARTEN TEACHER 12 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
on campus for the 2018-2019 school year. The group met monthly to discuss RC principles and strategies and to collaborate on intentional ways to incorporate RC into the structure and procedures of their classrooms. Megan shares how RC informs her approach to teaching her kindergarten students: “We are teaching skills for success on the front end instead of just assuming they know what to do and then getting upset when they get it wrong. Children want to know how to do things correctly. If we assume that we need to teach everything, there’s never a moment of disappointment. We demonstrate and practice every single step of each process, whether it is how to push in your chair at the table or how to line up at the door, so students know exactly what we are looking for and how they can do it right. And then you revisit those things as often as you need to throughout the year.” Emily explains how the tenets of Responsive Classroom also apply to discipline and classroom management
ACADEMICS in her middle school class: “RC guides the way you work with students who have made a mistake or a bad decision. Logical consequences take place first; then, you have a problem-solving conference, and students set goals for themselves. Having disciplinary steps that are consistent helps take the stress out of it. The student can see the escalation of their actions instead of thinking a teacher is picking on them; it shows direct connections between their actions and results. Plus, it encourages us to deeply and individually know our students and what is going to resonate with them, which in turn guides the way we respond.” This summer, Grade 4 teacher Sarah Bryant, Grade 5 teachers Barb Daugherty and Michelle Chang, Lower School Science teacher Andrew Bond, and Middle School Math teacher Edd Caudill attended the RC Summer Institute, and the two cohorts will work together in the coming year. Additionally, Emily will be hosting a book study group on RC discipline with Middle School teachers, and Megan will be working with special teachers on implementing RC practices in their classrooms through the study of a book written specifically with specialarea teachers in mind. Megan and Emily agree that the Responsive Classroom training has been the most life-changing professional development they have experienced. “It’s the subtle things you do differently that change everything,” explains Megan. “You are calm; your kids are calm; it fosters a safe and peaceful environment. You know each student as an individual and can respond to them accordingly.” Emily adds, “It’s not a huge departure from the way we were teaching before, but it’s a shift in thinking and a more intentional approach. And when you do it consistently and well, it benefits both students and teachers.”
By Tiffany Townsend Director of Marketing & Communications
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF
Responsive Classroom
The Responsive Classroom approach is informed by the work of educational theorists and the experiences of exemplary classroom teachers. Six principles guide this approach: 1. Teaching social and emotional skills is as important as teaching academic content. 2. How we teach is as important as what we teach. 3. Great cognitive growth occurs through social interaction. 4. How we work together as adults to create a safe, joyful, and inclusive school environment is as important as our individual contribution or competence. 5. What we know and believe about our students—individually, culturally, developmentally—informs our expectations, reactions, and attitudes about those students. 6. Partnering with families—knowing them and valuing their contributions—is as important as knowing the children we teach. Learn more about Responsive Classroom at responsiveclassroom.org As RC consultants, Emily and Megan spent their summer sharing this profound classroom toolkit with teachers all over the country, knowing the impact this has on students and educators of all ages, and hoping to help others make the classroom experience soar.
“Curriculum content is the core of the lesson plan, but how we teach it is just as significant. Now that I’ve learned to make the time to balance age-appropriate material with varied learning styles and to consider the time of day I deliver it, I am witnessing more students achieve their personal goals than ever.” -SUKEY JOHNSON, KINDERGARTEN TEACHER 2019 SUMMER | 13
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S CH OLARS Ensworth’s Capstone Program is exemplary of experiential learning; students are given the opportunity to engage in an extensive exploration of a passion or interest that is above and beyond academic courses and extracurricular involvements—though it is often the product of weaving multiple inspirations into one. To participate, a student investigates, proposes, and gains approval for a specific research project in Grade 11, and will conduct the research and presentation of their findings over the course of their senior year.
Sponsors share their thoughts on the Capstone Scholars and their projects
THOMAS AWAD
“MILITARY TO MOB: THE SPECTRUM OF WARFARE AS SEEN THROUGH FILM AND LITERATURE” Sponsor: Mr. Miller Wrote and presented a paper that comments on the media of storytelling and the themes explored, comparing the two types of warfare, analyzing the way in which each type of warfare is portrayed, and providing historical context. “Brilliant at the table and in his writing, Thomas always sought to grow intellectually, so going into this year, I knew his Capstone project would be a romp. He didn’t let me down. Thomas would meet each quarter’s goal around three weeks early, and then he would ask me how he could supplement his initial plan with additional work—a high schooler who asks for more homework! His intellectual curiosity and drive made this experience incredibly rewarding for both of us.” - Jim Miller
CHAZZY BAILEY
“NASHVILLE: A CITY ON THE RISE?” Sponsor: Ms. Bradshaw Analyzed urban development and demographic changes in Nashville through a case study, researching historical archives and conducting interviews to create an anthology focusing on gentrification, immigration, culture, physical expansion, zoning laws, and economic development. “Very few young adults have the sustained curiosity Chazzy has demonstrated throughout the project. As a result of his curiosity and my delight in watching him try new approaches to his research, we found ourselves going down rabbit hole mazes. Fortunately, a deadline approached and both of us had to draw the line and begin to narrow the scope of our conversations and allow Chazzy the space to create his own definitive claims about the changes our city has seen in the last 50 years.” - Mary Catherine Bradshaw 14 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
MELANIE COMOGLIO SOLAR BEEHIVE HEATER
Sponsor: Mr. Ireland Researched thermodynamics and solar heating, creating and testing various prototypes for a completely independent heating system for the bees on the High School Campus. “Melanie Comoglio’s passion for engineering and beekeeping along with her entrepreneurial spirit drove her to make a non-invasive passive solar beehive heater to be used during prolonged periods of extremely cold temperatures. This project combined her environmental passions with the desire to invent and fabricate something that is useful and can improve the world in which we live. She demonstrated the very essence of what it means to engineer solutions to problems, while demonstrating the scientific ability to collect data that she used to guide her decision making of her prototype solar beehive heater.” -Mike Ireland
LIAM FERRIS
“OROBOROUS: A MODERN SPECULATIVE FICTION ANTHOLOGY” Sponsor: Ms. Marks Wrote a creative anthology of short stories, focusing on “speculative dystopias,” including themes such as social media, artificial intelligence, automation, and the surveillance state. “Liam is a master storyteller because he is, at his core, a worldbuilder. For this series of short stories, he has created a fictional world that parallels our own, smoothly weaving current issues of technology, government, and power dynamics into his own vision of a dystopian future. Liam’s work takes to heart Shakespeare’s argument that ‘All the world’s a stage / And all the men and women merely players’—but society has crumbled and there are no characters to tell the story; the reader must piece together their stories from what’s left.” - Dina Marks
She embraced the troubleshooting of our protocols and “ learned more from the experience of literally re-searching.”
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- CHRIS THOMPSON
ROWAN FREIBERG
“WOOLWORTH’S, NASHVILLE, AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT” Sponsors: Ms. McLarey & Mr. Miller Researched Woolworth’s role in the Civil Rights Movement through interviews and historical records. Filmed, edited, and produced a 30 minute documentary.
CORRINA GILL
“EXPLORATION OF MUSIC AND ITS MEANING” + EP Sponsor: Mr. Salazar Researched several empowering artists, including their melodies, chord progressions, lyrics, production, and more and used the concepts to write, record, and produce her own original EP.
“When Rowan took Toni Morrison with me last spring, she already “In this Capstone, Corrina set out to explore and study the music of had an interest in Civil Rights and the history of the Movement. artists who have impacted her. The aim of this was to analyze the Additionally, she brought intellect, industry, and discipline to compositional, lyrical, and overall artistic techniques employed every Harkness session and writing assignment. She clearly had by these artists in order to better understand the mechanics the right toolbox for an outstanding Capstone project. Rowan’s of powerful music and to use some of those techniques in her passion for both her subject and filmmaking, coupled with own songwriting. She had a culminating goal of writing four considerable perseverance, has truly paid off.” -Jim Miller to six powerful songs in different styles, which she achieved masterfully.” - Elias Salazar
CAROLINE FRIST
RACIAL SEGREGATION IN NASHVILLE PUBLIC EDUCATION Sponsor: Mr. Whitfield Researched racial segregation in Nashville through interviews, books, and documentaries, and organized a forum on campus, inviting major figures from the Nashville Civil Rights Movement to speak.
GEORGIE HAYNES
“THE ART OF HEALING”
Sponsor: Mr. Love Researched the use and benefits of art as therapy for individuals with mental disorders, interviewing and shadowing professional art therapists and compiling findings into a final research paper.
“Caroline Frist researched and analyzed the history of segregation “Georgie Haynes has developed her Capstone project out of her in Nashville public schools and presented her project on March passion and love for the healing power of art and its capacity 30th. She chronicled and analyzed the battles that ensued in as a therapeutic tool. I have been amazed by the energy and Nashville after the Brown vs Board of Education decision and enthusiasm she has displayed throughout this project. Georgie studied the role of busing, subsequent “white flight,” the stairstep has shown great diligence and dedication toward gaining a deeper plan, and other forces that dictated the course of history in the understanding of art therapy and its impact on - not only those battle to desegregate public education in Nashville.” that have been diagnosed with disorders such as PTSD or autism - David Whitfield but also those that have been victims of trauma.” - Tim Love
ANDY GARSIDE
“THE POWERFUL IMPACT THAT DOGS HAVE ON VETERANS AND THE HOMELESS” Sponsor: Mr. Love Explored how dogs impact the physical and mental well-being of veterans and the homeless, writing a collection of essays focusing on the personal experiences that veterans and the homeless have with dogs. “Andy Garside has developed his Capstone project out of more than his love and passion for the impact that animals can have on those struggling with their mental well-being. Throughout his life, animals, specifically dogs, have had a profound impact on him. It is this connection that not only led Andy to become a certified therapy dog handler but to explore the use of these animals to help support those with mental illness.” -Tim Love
SHOSHANA KELNER
“GENETIC EXPLORATION AND ANALYSIS OF LOCAL FRESHWATER FISH” Sponsor: Mr. Thompson Collected, extracted, and sequenced DNA of fish from local rivers and analyzed the DNA sequences through various methods to compare the samples to existing cataloged species. “Shoshana is a true Renaissance student. Research projects have a way of demanding a wide array of skills, and Shoshana marshalled several of her diverse talents to pull off this Capstone. Beyond her applications of Biology and Chemistry knowledge, Shoshana found herself using photography skills, statistical analysis, document research, and graphical design to name a few. She embraced the troubleshooting of our protocols and learned more from the experience of literally re-searching.” - Chris Thompson 2019 SUMMER | 15
ACADEMICS
S C H OL ARS SCOTTIE KOEHNER
“THE WORLD OF MUSIC THROUGH THE LENS OF JIMI HENDRIX”
Sponsor: Mr. Aveni Researched and wrote a series of papers about Jimi Hendrix, including topics such as his playing style and songwriting, music production, and musical impact. Took weekly guitar lessons and learned to play several Jimi Hendrix songs while emulating his unique style and technique.
“When Scottie asked me about doing a Capstone on the playing of Jimi Hendrix, I told him that there really is no better course of study for any aspiring guitarist. To properly understand modern guitar playing, one must assimilate the unique contributions to the technique, tone, and language of the electric guitar. Over the past year’s worth of research, practice and work, Scottie has impressively made the journey from a beginning acoustic guitar player to that of a “shredder” capable of a note-for-note rendition of the epic ‘Voodoo Child’.” - Jim Aveni
MARIANNA STAFF POETRY
Sponsors: Ms. McLarey & Mr. Berry Read books of poetry for inspiration as well as books on how to write poetry to create a booklet of original poems, undergoing multiple revisions and focusing on precision of language and the function of each word. “Marianna entered her senior year with a special interest in and aptitude for writing poetry and found her center of gravity in reflections on family and the role that her own family has played in the development and awakening of her own identity. Marianna created a two-part sequence of related pieces—poems that speak to one another, join one another, in conversation and in reflection. The result is a highly nuanced meditation on family legacy and on place, as well as a generous and wonderfully self-deprecating snapshot of late adolescence.” - David Berry
JULIA-ROSE NEFF FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
Sponsor: Ms. Johnson Explored different photography processes using both film and digital cameras, focusing on how to make the entire image work with the model. Made clothing, fit the models, and performed numerous shoots and reshoots for a final 10-piece gallery. “Julia-Rose began by studying fashion photography, and the work grew into also documenting performances both on and backstage. In her exhibition, it was fascinating to see the process of how costumes, the stage, and an art gallery can alter a person’s purpose and even personality while wearing a costume or dress. My favorite piece in her gallery show is the ‘ClothesLine’ installation; I am really proud of her experimenting with materials and pushing the concept of photography with a contemporary art installation.” - JC Johnson
She demonstrated the very essence of what it means to engineer solutions to problems, while “ demonstrating the scienti fIc ability to collect data that she used to guide her decision making...” - MIKE IRELAND
16 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
ACADEMICS
FINDING T HE R I G H T
COLLEGE FIT The Class of 2019 is the first class to go through the High School under the four-year college counseling model. Students are matched with their college counselor at the beginning of freshman year and stay with the same counselor throughout their high school career. Four seniors share their experience with the program and how it helped them find the right college fit.
Fred Jackson
Rhodes College
or Fred Jackson, finding the right college fit started with discovering that what he thought he wanted wasn’t what resonated with him after all. Fred’s counselor, Laura Stewart, says, “We generate an initial list of schools that we think students should visit based on our conversations about their interests. In the beginning, Fred was focused on larger schools near ski areas and the coasts, but it took him visiting those schools to understand that it wasn’t the environment he wanted to be in, especially after his Ensworth experience.”
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Fred began to narrow down his choices, recognizing that he wanted a small liberal arts school, preferably in the south, with a strong science program. Both of his parents had attended Rhodes College in Memphis, which Fred refused to consider, but over a three-day weekend, he decided to take a chance and visit. He was surprised to find that he loved it. “Memphis was a cooler city than I expected, and I liked the feel of the Rhodes community. They also have a really strong biology department. They recently built a new science building, and it feels like you are walking into Tony Stark’s house; it is very advanced,” he says.
Fred opted for an early read to Rhodes, where students can submit their transcripts and scores to get a rough idea on the possibility of acceptance. After further thought, he decided that Rhodes was where he wanted to be, so it was the only school to which he applied. When Rhodes football coaches found out he was interested, they reached out to him, although he wasn’t initially sure if he wanted to play football at the collegiate level. Only after Fred was accepted did he consider the possibility of playing. Mrs. Stewart says, “He found it to be more important as he got into the process because he’s so used to being a part of a team here. It’s a great opportunity for him to pursue sciences in an academically rigorous environment while also playing on a team.” Fred notes that his college counseling process was incredibly smooth. “It gave me peace of mind immediately from freshman year to have a plan,” Fred recalls. “Choosing a college can seem intimidating, and it’s a big deal, but it’s calming to know that you have someone who can help you with anything you need during your process. It’s great to have someone by your side all four years.” 2019 SUMMER | 17
ACADEMICS
L a u r e n H a ll
Emory University
auren Hall moved to Nashville from Kentucky in eighth grade and started at Ensworth her freshman year. She admits that she was surprised to have a college counselor immediately assigned to her, as she didn’t know at the time what a college counselor was or what they did. Now, four years later, she refers to her counselor, Terry Whitehill, as her “favorite person” and credits him with helping her broaden her horizons and dream big when it came to applying to colleges.
L
When Lauren and Mr. Whitehill began meeting, she thought that an in-state or nearby public university was her only attainable, affordable option. During her first two years at Ensworth, faculty recognized Lauren’s strong work ethic and commented to Mr. Whitehill that they wanted her to have opportunities equal to her potential without having to worry about financial constraints that can often limit options for many families. Mr. Whitehill introduced Lauren to the QuestBridge Scholars program and encouraged her to consider colleges with strong merit-based scholarships. “Lauren was open to every suggestion I made and followed through by completing all required applications and diligently doing her part to provide herself with these amazing opportunities,” he says. Lauren was accepted as a QuestBridge summer scholar her junior year, which helped in her application to become
JaTorria Lee
For JaTorria, one of the steps to consider was that she wanted to compete in track at the collegiate level. NCAA eligibility and the recruiting process added another layer to her college application experience. “My coaches 18 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
Lauren applied to 16 schools, 12 of which were part of the QuestBridge program. She ended up with several great options, including Emory, one of the nation’s top universities. “It was helpful how QuestBridge was set up; they made the process easy. After researching all the schools, I ranked them in order of preference, and then QuestBridge matched me with Emory,” she says. Whitehill notes that, ultimately, she matched with the school that was the best fit for her, pointing out Emory’s size, location, and strong pre-med and business programs that align with Lauren’s interests. As a QuestBridge scholar, she will receive a full, four-year scholarship to Emory, valued at over $250,000. When asked what advice she might give to underclassmen, Lauren shares, “It’s important to find the faculty and staff you can form really good relationships with; it makes your day a lot better when you have those people.” And those strong relationships also helped Lauren in her quest for the right college.
Samford University
hen asked about her college counseling experience, JaTorria Lee speaks effusively. “I really love the fact that I had a college counselor throughout my high school experience and that I had Mr. Phillips. He relieved so much stress, and he was very honest with me, which I loved. I thought that senior year would be so stressful; I was in his office literally every day the first quarter, but it ended up being one of the easiest processes ever. They guide you step by step.”
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a QuestBridge Scholar the following year. She references the important role that faculty played in her acceptance. “I did a math competition my junior year and formed a great relationship with Mrs. Glenn,” Hall says. “I know she wrote a wonderful recommendation that made a difference.” QuestBridge has approximately 15,000 applicants each year, which narrows to 5,000 finalists, matching 1044 students from 47 states with colleges—a 16% acceptance rate nationally.
and Mr. Phillips, they know about the process,” she explains. “They know how to get you where you need to be and what you need to have. They had connections, and they knew who to talk to and the coaches that would potentially want me to run.” Mr. Phillips adds, “JaTorria and I would text coaches and admissions representatives together. She was very hands-on, and I was hands-on in her process. The advantage of track and swimming is that you know exactly where you will fit in a school’s team because you can look at the website, view their times, and know if you would be competitive in their program. JaTorria knew that she wanted to go somewhere where she wouldn’t be the top runner as a freshman, where she would be pushed athletically to work hard and improve.”
ACADEMICS
In addition to a strong track program, JaTorria was also looking for a mid-sized school with a diverse student body, preferably located within a three-hour drive and in a city similar to Nashville. She applied to four schools: Samford University, Rhodes, Western Kentucky University, and the University of Memphis. In the final stretch, Samford came out on top. “They gave me everything I wanted in a school. Being an athlete in college can be difficult, but students at Samford seemed genuinely happy, like they were handling the balance of academics and athletics without being overly stressed. I was impressed that
Liam Ferris
for a predominantly white institution in the south, it was very diverse. And all of the people were so friendly and welcoming; everyone was amazing,” she explains. JaTorria says that her Ensworth experience has prepared her well for the transition, “I think the sense of community here has made me into the person I am and has taught me to be compassionate and empathetic. Ensworth really instills in you to be a nice person. That’s really important when you are going through different stages in your life. It’s all about who you are as a person and who you know—that’s what gets you places in life.”
Brown University
or Liam Ferris, the pieces of his college puzzle started coming together earlier than they do for most—in middle school when he became involved in the Duke TIP (Talent Identification Program). Through this program, he was connected to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and was encouraged to apply for their Young Scholars program. It was also in middle school that the seeds of one of Liam’s interests were planted when he attended camp at the urban farm of Trevecca Nazarene University.
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At Ensworth, Liam continued to develop his passions for both science and music. He joined the Rock Band, took part in many of the musical productions, and delved into music theory. The production experience at Blackbird Studios gave him a deeper appreciation for the technical side of music. He also continued his relationship with the Trevecca Nazarene urban farm, interning there during the summers. “I am interested in the intersection of biology and humanities: how the food system in the US works, why people eat what they do or make environmental decisions that they do,” Liam explains. “I think sociology offers a more effective way to convince people that there is a problem, instead of just throwing statistics at them.” When it came time to narrow down college choices, Liam knew that he wanted a smaller to medium-sized school with flexibility in the curriculum that would allow him to pursue his interests in both environmental science and music. He applied to nine schools that fit his criteria, noting that Brown University was a “moon shot” because of its selectivity. He
worked with his advisor through the Cooke Foundation to apply through their college scholarship program. Liam’s counselor Paul Phillips, shares, “Liam was very directed with his search; he had a good idea of what he wanted to do. He was accepted to many schools, so we did a lot of prioritizing: comparing colleges, and using the process of elimination to narrow his options.” Liam notes that it was very helpful to have an established relationship with Mr. Phillips, as he explains, “He already knew me and my interests, and I knew him, so it was much more comfortable going to see him and asking daunting questions, questions that you might not get answered from the college directly.” Liam’s final choice came down between Vanderbilt and Brown. He had not visited Brown before applying, but he was attracted to the fact that they offered the programs he was looking for with a very flexible curriculum, more so than the average liberal arts college. Liam attended Brown’s accepted students weekend, and his experience visiting classes and interacting with students confirmed that it was the right place for him. Mr. Phillips observes, “He was wearing a Brown University t-shirt the Tuesday he came back from his visit. Honestly, he could not have made a poor choice, because all of his options were great; it was truly about finding the best fit.” By Tiffany Townsend Director of Marketing & Communications 2019 SUMMER | 19
ACADEMICS
FOR T H E R E C OR D
Student Government Leaders Elected
Congratulations to President Gerard Bullock ’20 and Vice President Dominic Wynn ’20 who will represent the High School student body during the 2019-2020 school year. Marshall Wilt ’22, William Vreeland ’21, and Rylie O’Neil ’20 were elected as Class Speakers for their classes.
Head of School for a Day
Fourth Grade student Connor Krause ’27 served as a wonderful Head of School for a day on Friday, May 3. He went back and forth between campuses, directed hookup traffic, and even handed out Grade 8 yearbooks at the Lower/ Middle School assembly!
Let’s Hear It for...
Josh Howard ‘19 had the opportunity to sing with his church choir at Carnegie Hall in February 2019.
Dance That Heals
Under the leadership of Lainey Garside ’21, Ensworth hosted its first-ever Dance Marathon on Saturday, February 2, 2019 and raised $20,012.19, over twice the goal, for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
MathCon Outcomes
Out of 3,757 competitors, there are 62 finalists, but only one champion. Congratulations to Colin Murray ’20 who was the Grade 11 MathCon Champion at the national competition in April. Congratulations to Lily Bowen ’25 who also traveled to the competition where she received an Honorable Mention in the Grade 6 division. 20 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
Team Tiger Stripes
As Runner-up in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “Student of the Year” Award, Charlie Mahanes ’20 and his Tiger Stripes team raised a total of $63,766 for LLS. They were also awarded “Top Fundraiser” and had the opportunity to name a future Blood Cancer Research Trial, which they designated to be dedicated to the Ensworth Class of 2020. Of the record-breaking $195,000 earned this year, 60% was raised by Team Tiger Stripes and the winning team alone.
Cum Laude & Bar Pin Awards
To view a complete list of 2019 high school academic awards, visit the Ensworth Blog: www.ensworth.com/barpins
ACADEMICS
Book Awards
Each year, colleges and college alumni groups recognize outstanding students throughout the country with book awards. This year, Ensworth juniors were honored for their excellence in various fields of endeavor by these colleges and universities. The Harvard Prize Book: Ryan Crants Presented annually in more than 2,000 high schools around the world to recognize outstanding students in their next-to-graduating class who demonstrate excellence in scholarship and achievement in other non-academic areas. The Hollins Book Award: Jane Anna Vickery Recognizes an outstanding junior who has demonstrated sustained academic excellence and possesses a special interest in English and creative writing.
Sewanee Award for Excellence in Writing: Paul Park Selected on the basis of scholarship, leadership, demonstrated excellence in writing and for notable potential for future success as a writer. The St. Lawrence University Book Award: Jessica Calloway Recognizes an outstanding high school junior who has displayed a significant commitment to community service. The Tulane University Book Award: John Noonan Students selected for the award embody the university’s motto, “Not for one’s self, but for one’s own,” and have demonstrated excellence in academics, leadership, and public service, in their respective communities.
The Kenyon Review: Jordan Williams This award is presented by the President of Kenyon College to a junior in recognition of intellectual engagement, creativity, and commitment The Jefferson Book Award: Sara Pickrell to community. Presented by the University of Virginia Club of Nashville to a junior who best represents the Jeffersonian ideals of scholarship, leadership, The Princeton Book Award: Carrie Elcan and citizenship. Recognizes a junior who displays excellence in the areas of academics, extracurricular activities, and community service, as well as a strong Washington Lee University Book Award: Madeline Wall desire, either through words or actions, to change the world for the Presented by the Nashville Chapter of the Washington & Lee University better. Alumni Association to a student in his or her junior year who exhibits the qualities cherished and exemplified by George Washington, a generous The Randolph College Book Award: My-Lan Le benefactor of the University, and Robert. E. Lee, its president from 1865 to Recognizes an outstanding high school junior who displays excellence 1870. These qualities are personal integrity, academic excellence, and leadership. in academics and leadership. The Saint Michael’s Book Award: Dante Rodriguez (not pictured) The Rensselaer Medal: Colin Murray Awarded to a student of high academic success and exemplary community Established in 1916 with two purposes: to recognize the superlative service involvement, whose accomplishments embody St. Mike’s academic achievement of young men and women, and to motivate commitment to intellectual achievement, social justice, issues of peace and students towards careers in science, engineering, and technology. concern for others. The Rensselaer Medal recognizes an outstanding junior who has distinguished himself/herself in mathematics and science. The Yale Book Award: Mae Mae Wallace Awarded to a student at Ensworth who shows the greatest intellectual The Rhodes College Book Award: Katie Buttarazzi promise, as evidenced by actual achievements and demonstrated potential; Awarded to a junior student who has demonstrated exemplary who, by activities at school and in the community, has demonstrated a community service coupled with a commitment to leadership and broad range of interests and accomplishments, and who is of outstanding helping others. personal character.
2019 SUMMER | 21
ACADEMICS
FOR T H E R E C OR D
National Merit Advancements
Congratulations to Thomas Awad ‘19 and John Smalley ‘19 who both advanced to the Finalist standing in the National Merit Scholarship program.
Middle School Geography Bee Jack Bruns ’23 was the 2019 National Geography Bee champion on the Lower/Middle School Campus.
Small Hands, Big Impact
Thank you to all who contributed to the Kindergarten Coin Collection, which raised $2,194.56 for Habitat for Humanity. This is proof that small change and little hands can still make a big impact. In total, the Ensworth kindergarten class has raised over $26,000 for Habitat for Humanity and impacted the lives of 26 low-income, hardworking families in its 26-year partnership with this admirable organization.
Orange & Black Competition
Congratulations to eighth-grade captains Vaughan Banks, Cole Hooper, Katie Barrier, and Henry Cato, who led the Black and Orange teams through a variety of activities throughout the year. In the end, the victory went to the Blacks on Field Day, and Blacks won the overall competition. Go Tigers! 22 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
Head of School Award
The Head of School Award, given to students who have earned a place on the Head of School list in all four marking periods of their eighth-grade year, was presented to: Aden Barrett Katherine Groomes Caleb Park
Jackson Rehm Lucas Rehm Phillip Rollins
Katherine Sales Hannah Smokler Helen Thompson
James N. Brown Award
The James N. Brown Award, given to students who have earned all As in Effort and Consideration throughout their sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade years, was presented to: Aden Barrett Asha Bhatt Audrey Campbell Mei Mei Dellinger
Katherine Groomes Caleb Park Jackson Rehm Lucas Rehm
Katherine Sales Hannah Smokler Helen Thompson
MS Robotics Team The Robotigers placed third in the Strategy and Innovation category of Robot Design in the State Tournament. Ensworth Team A also came in third place in the Inspiration category of Core Values.
Grade 8 Gift
Each year, the Eighth Grade Class works together with their parents and teachers to host the Pancake Breakfast, an Ensworth tradition that has grown into a major event for the school community. After serving well over 1,000 people at the breakfast, members of the class determined that the proceeds of their Pancake Breakfast will be directed toward Abe’s Garden, a local memory care and assisted living community.
Grade 4 Spelling Bee
Lily Goldner ’27 came in 2nd place, and Thao Le ’27 took home the winning title with a successful spelling of “mountain.”
August 14 First Day of Class (see calendar for orientation schedules) October 4 Homecoming Weekend & Alumni Reunions October 17–18 Fall Break October 13 High School Campus Preview Day October 25 High School Grandparents Day October 28 Robert Inman Golf Classic November 22 Pancake Breakfast November 26 Lower/Middle School Grandparents Day November 27–29 Thanksgiving Break December 21 Winter Break Begins (through January 6, 2020)
ENSWORTH
2019 IMPORTANT DATES Visit ensworth.com to confirm dates and for more information
House of Morality Wins the Devon Cup
From Homecoming Week to Spirit Week, our Tiger Houses have competed in various activities throughout the year. House points were awarded for competitions including Dress Days, Powder Puff Football, House Dodgeball, Mr. Morgan Says, and Dining Hall Clean-Up. Designed to promote school spirit and build connections among the grade levels, each of our four Tiger Houses is led by two senior captains who were selected by the members of their houses at the beginning of the school year.
1 st PLACE House of Morality
3 rd PLACE House of Truth
Captains: Elizabeth Perrone, Scottie Koehner
Captains: Gracie Sinks, Grant Hollomon
2 nd PLACE House of Vitality
4 th PLACE House of Integrity
Captains: Ashley Settles, Jackson Wright
Captains: Allison Halloran, Disser Wallace
House Captains Elected for 2019–2020 House of Integrity
House of Morality
House of Truth
House of Vitality
Cal Archdeacon Ellis Hardie
Barrett McFerrin Nabeeh Daouk
Carrie Elcan Ryan Crants
Elliston Paavola Trent Sanchez
Grade 8 Presidential Debate
Congratulations to Lucy Bond & Hannah Smokler who won the Grade 8 Presidential Debate advocating for Franklin D. Roosevelt as the best president in U.S. history.
Arts Awards
Jacqueline Frist ‘21 won a Gold Key Award for her photography, “Forest of Dreams” (see inside back cover) in the Digital Art category of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Her work, created in JC Johnson’s Photo 1 class, was displayed at Carnegie Hall in June. She was one of 2,700 (out of 340,000 submissions) to receive national recognition. JC Johnson also received a gold medal as an educator.
Dance Team & Dance Company placed second in their TSSAA Dance routine.
Ensworth’s Orchestra attended a Concert Performance Evaluation in Franklin and won trophies for excellence in two categories:performance and sight reading. 2019 SUMMER | 23
COMMUNITY
Build Our Community
| Support Our School
VOLUNTEER, ATTEND, SUPPORT. We need YOU to get involved at Ensworth! You are a valued and important member of the Parent Association, and with your involvement, we can fulfill our Mission to build our community, support our school and educate our parents. By actively participating at Ensworth, you will get to know your child’s teachers and meet other wonderful parents while having a positive and meaningful impact on the school. If these are not reasons enough, countless studies show your child directly benefits from your involvement at school in a number of ways, including improved academic performance, better social skills and behavior, and increased self-confidence. In the words of educator Jane D. Hull, “At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” Your participation at Ensworth ensures a rich and full Ensworth experience for both you and your child; it further demonstrates to your child that you value education and care about building our school community. So, how can you get involved at Ensworth? There are many meaningful ways, both big and small. You can serve as a room parent for your child’s class, attend a parent gathering, chaperone a field trip, participate in parent education classes, volunteer at Super Saturday, join one of over 17 Parent Association Committees; attend the community-wide Tiger Night 2020 (formerly E-vent Auction), and so much more. We encourage you to volunteer, attend, and support Ensworth. Regardless of how you choose to get involved, your participation will result in big rewards for Ensworth, your child, and you.
BARBARA SMITH 2019-2020 President, Ensworth Parent Association
24 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
| Educate Our Parents
PARENT EDUCATION AT ENSWORTH Just as our children learn through their experiences and reflections, we parents seek to come together as a community to develop more effective parenting skills. Through its programming, the Parent Education Committee strives to cultivate Striving for Intentional Parents lifelong learners in our parent body. The and Healthy Kids committee offers small classes, nationally acclaimed speakers, Head of School talks, book clubs and more, which focus on the key issues facing parents today and provide a variety of tools to improve our parenting skills. During the 2018-2019 school year, speakers and programming included: • Dr. Jean Twenge, nationally acclaimed author of iGen • Dr. James Goodlad, Making Smart Decisions about Video Games • Former Miss Tennessee Caty Davis, The Dangers of Substance Abuse
• Allison Edwards, LPC, Why Smart Kids Worry: And What Parents Can Do to Help parenting series • FCD expert Becky Bergeron, The Dangers of Vaping/Juuling • Kevin Hines, Suicide: The Ripple Effect
For the 2019-2020 school year, the Parent Education Committee’s programming will focus on Healthy Kids, Healthy Families, and Healthy Community. “We aim to inspire all in the Ensworth community to enhance our roles as parents and to collaborate with each other to support a healthy school with healthy kids,” says Parent Education Chair Sharon Pensinger. “We hope you will join us for one of our small classes and attend the phenomenal speaking events we have planned for this year.”
UPCOMING EVENTS: Tuesday, August 27 - 6:00 PM FCD Experts present What You Can’t Smell and Can Barely Detect: Vaping + Other Risky Behaviors
January 16, 2020 Michelle Borba: Internationally renowned educator, bestselling author, parenting, child development & bullying expert
October 29, 2019 - 6:30 PM Leon Logothetis: Global adventurer, motivational speaker & star of The Kindness Diaries
Beginning January 23, 2020 Positive Tools for Parenting: Small group, 8-week class
PARENT EDUCATION MINDFULNESS CLASSES An Interview with Bela Herring Ensworth parent Bela Herring, Certified Mindfulness Educator and the founder of The Mindful School of Nashville, led a mindfulness parenting class in 2018-2019. Parents of students across grade levels came together once a week to learn about and practice mindfulness. Check E-News for information about the 2019-2020 mindfulness series.
2019-2020 PARENT ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBERS Barbara Smith, President Elizabeth Gerken, President-Elect Britt Horn, Immediate Past President Tiffany Armistead, Secretary
What is mindfulness and why is it important? Mindfulness means paying attention to what is happening within yourself at the present moment. It is an essential tool that allows us to compartmentalize what we see, think, and feel in a given moment, and create a space to respond to it (or not). Mindfulness also gives each of us a deeper understanding of who we truly are, what we feel, and what we think in any given moment.
Denise Boosalis, Treasurer
Why do you choose to spend time teaching parents this skill? Mindful parents are much more likely to respond rather than react. When parents learn how to practice mindfulness, they are more attentive and intentional parents. They are also better equipped to handle the stress and struggles of parenting in a healthy and safe way.
Katie Porterfield, Communications Chair-Elect
How did the parents progress in their mindfulness journey? At the beginning of the year, parents practiced just two minutes of quiet meditation per session. When they arrived in May, they were engaging in 20 plus minutes of quiet practice. This was amazing progress and growth. It has truly been a pleasure and privilege to serve our school and share these mornings with such intentional parents. “In the often hurried world we live in, working with Bela in our mindfulness group gave me the tools to view not only my to-do list in a different way—but also changed the way I view and deal with so many things in everyday life.” - Suzanne Crook, parent of Nash ’19
“Bela helped me reach the next level in my mindfulness journey. The techniques I learned have been extremely effective in combating the stress everyday life throws at you. The class has also been very helpful in reshaping how I parent and communicate with my son.” - Chuck White, parent of Finn ’30
PARENTING WITH PURPOSE with LORI GLENN Join us as we explore different approaches to becoming the best parents possible.
Mike Haney, Treasurer-Elect Jennifer Rasmussen-Sagan, Communications Chair
Ned Spitzer, Fundraising Chair Jim Boosalis, Fundraising Chair-Elect Sharon Pensinger, Parent Education Chair Lori Glenn, Parent Education Chair-Elect Libba Vickery, HS Representative Kirsten Crosby, HS Representative-Elect Delia Darst, MS Representative Mina Patel, MS Representative-Elect Irene Head, LS Representative Amanda Graff, LS Representative-Elect Anna Talerico, Arts Council Chair
I think of the Parenting With Purpose book club as continuing education for my lifelong career as a parent. My goal is for book club participants to gain and share knowledge about raising healthy, happy, and well-adjusted children. Active participation is always encouraged, but it is also fine to attend even if you haven’t read the books.
and experience-based books on topics such as general advice, anxiety, empathy, college readiness, bullying, conflict resolution, grit, nutrition, finding purpose, and happy families. What is your favorite parenting book? I love Wendy Mogel’s books, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee and The Blessing of a B Minus. I also really enjoyed Angela Duckworth’s book Grit. I have gifted this to many friends.
Stephanie Sundock, HS New Parent Chair
How do you choose the books for Parenting with Purpose? Our committee tries to identify a broad variety of highly recommended research
When do you find time to read? The hook-up line or before bed!
Ashley Owen, Volunteer Coordinator Chair-Elect
PARENTING WITH PURPOSE Summer Reads
Our Summer 2019 books provide insight into developing harmony and happiness in our homes. We will kick off the school year with a discussion of these books in the fall.
The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey
Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Pam Humbert, Arts Council Chair-Elect Monica Michalec, Camilla Jackson, Auction Liaisons
Jessica Baba, LS/MS New Parent Chair-Elect Carrie McLaren, Volunteer Coordinator Chair
Kiabe Supuwood-Allen, Curtis Child, Julie Gray, Coco Kyriopoulos, Allison Wootson, At-Large Representatives
SAVE THE DATES! Tiger Night 2020 (formerly “E-Vent Auction”) February 8, 2020 Super Saturday May 2, 2020 2018 SUMMER | 25
COMMUNITY
CHAIRS Halle Hayes, Monica Michalec, Britt Horn (2018-2019 PA President), Camilla Jackson, Georgette Eftekhari
Ensworth’s
E-VENT AUCTION Saturday, March 30, 2019 High School Campus
26 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
COMMUNITY
CHAIRS Julie Dretler, Polly Ryerson, Sara Perry Ensworth’s
SUPER SATURDAY Saturday, May 4, 2019 High School Campus
2019 SUMMER | 27
COMMUNITY A
E
B
ENSWORTH
Lower/Middle School
EVENTS Spring 2019 F
D
C
PICTURED A, B, C, D Field Day E, F Grade 4 Biography Fair G Grade 4 Harris Hillman Ice Skating H Kindergarten Habitat Fundraiser I Grade 6 Caesar Debates J, K Kindergarten Habitat for Humanity 28 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
COMMUNITY G
H
J
I
K
2019 SUMMER | 29
COMMUNITY A
B
ENSWORTH
High School
EVENTS Spring 2019
PICTURED A, B Spring Fun Day C Encore at the Spring Choral Concert D Spring Dance Concert E, F Spirit Week Competitions G, H, I, J, K Spirit Week /Mr. Morgan Says C
D
30 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
(Annabel Frist, winner of Mr. Morgan Says)
COMMUNITY F
E
G
H
I
J
K
2019 SUMMER | 31
COMMUNITY
CLASS OF 2019 GRADUATION Saturday, May 25, 2019 • High School Campus 32 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
COMMUNITY
GRADE 8 CLOSING EXERCISES Tuesday, May 21, 2019 • Lower/Middle School Campus 2019 SUMMER | 33
ATHLETICS
34 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
ATHLETICS 2018
|
2019
MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS HVAC CHAMPIONS
Boys’ Golf • Girls’ Golf Girls’ Soccer • Girls’ Basketball
FOOTBALL
• Overall record of 6-1 • Team MVP: Cole Hooper ’23, Offense MVP: Mark Smith ’23, Defense MVP: Russell Jankowski ’23
GOLF
• The Boys’ Golf team: HVAC Champions • Ethon Stanford ’23 was an Individual Champion, Hudson Wilt ’24 and Sam Johnson ’23 were Top 5 Medal Winners, and Ellis Hiett ’23 rounded out the championship team. • The Girls’ Golf team: HVAC Champions • Savannah Cherry ’24 was Overall Champion and Vaughan Banks ’23 and Josie Wilt ’25 were Top 5 Medal Winners.
TENNIS
• Both the Boys’ and Girls’ Tennis teams finished as HVAC Team Runners-up overall • Girls #1 Doubles Champions: Alara Weitkamp ’24 and Vaughan Banks ’23 • Girls #2 Doubles Champions: Mimi Bowen ’25 and Grace Hasselbeck ’24
VOLLEYBALL
• All HVAC honors: Katie Barrier ’23, Olivia Bentley ’23, Aden Barrett ’23 • Additional Grade 8 leaders: Lucy Bond ’23, Carleigh Hanbury ’23, and Morgan Bailey ’23
CROSS- COUNTRY
• Boys led by Tripp Johnson ’23, Jackson Rehm ’23. Girls led by Katherine Sales ’23, Stella Green ’23, and Parker Stack ’23 • Alex Shackell ’25 placed second overall and Lily Bowen ’25 placed third overall, both earning All-HVAC honors.
SOCCER
BASEBALL
• Grade 6 Baseball : 12U Bellevue Runner-Up Jack Watts ‘25, Jonah Biller ‘25, Lachlan Newell ‘25, and William Hull ‘25 • Varsity Baseball All HVAC: Mark Smith ‘23, Reed Whitman ‘23, and Spencer Yu ‘24.
• The Boys’ Soccer team: Cole Hooper ’23 and Reed Whitman ’23 were both named All-HVAC. • The Girls’ Soccer team: HVAC Champions • Led by Sofia Al-Kurdi ’23, Olivia Bentley ’23, and Gabby Mchaourab ’23, who all earned All-HVAC honors.
SOFTBALL
WRESTLING
LACROSSE
• Jack Fleming ’24: 2nd in HVAC Tournament at 158 lbs and “Best Match” in the tournament
BASKETBALL
• Girls’ Varsity Basketball: HVAC Champions • Jaloni Cambridge ’24 and Noelle Jamison ’24 earned ALL-HVAC honors. • Boys Varsity Basketball: All HVAC standouts: Reed Whitman’23 and Cam Gordon’23 • Girls Grade 6 Basketball : HVAC Junior Division Runner-Up
SWIMMING & DIVING
• Sofia Al-Kurdi ’23: Diving Champ • Middle School Championships - Led by top 16 finishers and finalists Alex Glenn’26, Leah Jackson’25, Lizzie McWilliams’25, Kenzie Robbins ’24 and Sidney Tompkins ’25.
• HVAC Division Runner-Up • Home runs by Anna Belle Needham ‘23 and Leah Jackson ‘25 • Led by three eighth grade students: Carleigh Hanbury ‘23, Anna Belle Needham ‘23, and Lucy Bond ‘23
• Girls’ Team: Middle Tennessee Runner- Up • Led by Sophie Williamson ‘23, Erin Crosby ‘23, and Helen Thompson ‘23, as well as Aden Barrett ‘23, Carmen Darst ‘23, Greer Karl ‘23, Mamie Levi ‘23, Lily Morgan ‘23, and Hudson Sheer ‘23. • Boys’ Team had only one loss and was led by Alex Milton ‘23, Henry Cato ‘23, and Mercer Borden ‘23.
TRACK & FIELD
• Mark Smith ‘23: HVAC Boys’ 100M and 200M Champion • Cam Gordon ‘23, Russell Jankowski ‘23, Hudson Wilt ‘24 and Mark Smith ‘23 - HVAC Boys’ 4 x 100M Relay Champions • Cam Gordon ‘23, Russell Jankowski ‘23, Reed Whitman ‘23 and Will Garner ‘24- Boys’ HVAC 4 x 200M relay champions • Sullivan Brown ’24: Girls’ HVAC Long Jump Champion
2019 SUMMER | 35
ATHLETICS
36 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
ATHLETICS 2018
|
2019
HIGH SCHOOL WINTER/SPRING HIGHLIGHTS BASKETBALL
• Women’s Basketball State Champions • Dontavia Waggoner ’20: Division II-AA Middle/East Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year • Dontavia Waggoner ’20, Annabel Frist ’21, and Kaiya Wynn ’21: Girls’ Division II-AA Middle/East All-Region team • Miss Basketball: Congratulations to Dontavia Waggoner ’19 who was named TSSAA Miss Basketball, and also to Kaiya Wynn ’21 who was Runner-up for the award. • Lewis McDaniel ‘19 and Keshawn Lawrence ’20: Boys’ Division II- AA Middle/ East All-Region team
SWIMMING & DIVING:
• State Champion: Kallie Chelsvig ’20 ( 100 Freestyle) • Middle Tennessee High School Swimming Association (MTHSSA) High School Region Championships: Both the men and combined teams taking first place overall • First-place finishers in individual and relay events included Patrick France ’21, Michael Glasson ’19, Cole Kennon ’19, Noah Lucy ’21, Rob McCall ’21, and Evan Petty ’21. • High school state championships: The combined team placed 3rd. • Girls First Team: Kallie Chelsvig ’20; Boys First Team: Evan Petty ’21; Girls Second Team: Emily Harris ’22 and Anna Jackson ’22; Boys Second Team: Michael Glasson ’19, Noah Lucy ’21, and Rob McCall ’21 • MTHSSA Coach of the Year: Coach Christian Bahr
GIRLS’ LACROSSE:
Caleb Horton ‘20; Shot Put: Dontavia Waggoner ‘20; Long Jump: William Wright ‘20; 4x200 Relay: Jayda Woods ‘22, JaTorria Lee ‘19, Bry’Nhyia Brazier ‘20, Kaiya Wynn ‘21; 4x400: JaTorria Lee ‘19, Claire McGehee ‘22, Gianna Bullock ‘21, Kaiya Wynn ‘21 • Track Individual State Runner Ups: Pentathlon: Gianna Bullock ‘21; Decathlon: William Wright ‘20; Discus: Nsia Gittens ‘20; Long Jump: Zoe Williams ‘19; 4x200 Relay: William Wright ‘20, Roland McGhee ‘22, Andre Turrentine ‘21, Jude Maloy ‘20; 400: JaTorria Lee ‘19; 200: Kaiya Wynn ‘21 • Region Champions: 200: Jude Maloy ’20 ; 400: Kaiya Wynn ’21; 4x400: JaTorria Lee ’19, Gianna Bullock ’21, Claire McGehee ’22, Kaiya Wynn ’21; Pole Vault: Jacqueline Frist ’21; Triple Jump: Caleb Horton ’20; Long Jump: William Wright ’20; Pentathlon: Kaiya Wynn ’21; Decathlon: Jude Maloy ’20 • New Track School Records: Boys 4 x 200: William Wright ‘20, Jude Maloy ‘20, Andrew Turrentine ‘21, Roland McGhee ‘22; Girls 4 x 200: Jayda Woods ‘22, Bry’Nhyia Brazier ‘20, JaTorria Lee ‘19, Kaiya Wynn ‘21; Girls Triple Jump: Zoe Williams ‘19 ; Girls 300m Hurdles: Gianna Bullock ‘21; Girls 400 meter: Kaiya Wynn ‘21; Girls Discus: Nsia Gittens ‘20; Pole Vault: Jacqueline Frist ‘21 • Tennessee State Indoor Track & Field Championships, Jacqueline Frist ’21 set a personal record for pole vaulting and placed 4th overall; Roland McGhee ’22 took 5th in the long jump, 16th in the 60m, and 11th in the 200m, and Zion Wynn ’21 set a personal record in the 60m hurdles and finished 17th.
BOYS’ LACROSSE:
• TSLA All-Star Team: Jackson Wright ‘19
BASEBALL:
• Division II AA Mr. Baseball Finalist Garrett Schultz ‘19 • DII AA Middle/East All Region Elijah Brooks ‘19, Devin Obee ‘21, Garrett Schultz ‘19, Patrick Vandenbergh ‘19 (honorable mention) • DII AA Middle/East Region MVP & Major League Baseball Breakthrough Series Invitee: Devin Obee ‘21 • Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Scholar Athlete Award: Elijah Brooks ‘19 • Middle Tennessee Senior All Star Classic: Elijah Brooks ‘19, Garrett Schultz ‘19, Patrick Vandenbergh ‘19, Gage Young ‘19
TENNIS:
• State Champion: Maggie Cannata ‘19 • State Quarterfinalists - Doubles teams: Maddie Hand ‘21 & Hadley McCormick ‘22; Avery Smith ‘21 & Anna Chambers ‘21 • State Semi-Finalist: Riley Collins ‘22 • All Region 1st Team: Maggie Cannata ‘19, Anna Chambers ‘21, Riley Collins ‘22, Maddie Hand ‘21, Hadley McCormick ‘22, Avery Smith ‘21 • Athlete of the Year Nominees: Maggie Cannata ‘19, Anna Chambers ‘21, Riley Collins ‘22
• TGLA Private School State Champions • All-Region and All-State: Carrie Elcan ‘20, Annabel Frist ‘21, Caroline Frist ‘19, McLean Whitson ‘19 • MVP of the State Tournament: Adelaide Mason ‘22 • Finalist for the Tennessean Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year: Caroline Frist ‘19, Annabel Frist ‘21, McLean Whitson ‘19 • Tennessean Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year & Tennessean Athlete of the Year: Annabel Frist ‘21
TRACK AND FIELD:
• Girls’ Track Team State Champions • Track Individual State Champions: Pentathlon and 400: Kaiya Wynn ‘21; Decathlon: Jude Maloy ‘20; Triple Jump & High Jump: Zoe Williams ‘19; Triple Jump: 2019 SUMMER | 37
ATHLETICS
38 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
ATHLETICS 2018
|
2019
H I G H S C H O O L AT H L E T I C S ROBERT INMAN AWARD for Athletic Participation
Robert Inman, a coach and teacher at Ensworth for 33 years, instituted the ideals of Ensworth participation. Mr. Inman coached four athletic seasons for over 30 consecutive years and positively influenced the lives of thousands of students. The following seniors participated in at least 11 athletic seasons and received the Robert Inman Award for Participation: Fred Jackson
Cole Kennon
Jackson Wright
The following juniors participated in at least eight athletic seasons and received the Robert Inman Award for Participation: Cal Archdeacon
Charlie Mahanes
Katie Rose Pacconi
Gerard Bullock
Jude Maloy
Jake Pagach
Paige Chestler
Jake McCallister
Ari Ruchman
Caleb Horton
Gabriel McDaniel
Sara Pickrell
COLLEGE SIGNING CEREMONY May 3, 2019
Hailey Braemer: Soccer, Davidson College
Ethan Sanchez: Lacrosse, University of the Cumberlands
Elijah Brooks: Baseball, Tennessee Tech
Garrett Schultz: Baseball, Xavier University
William Garrett: Football, Sewanee, The University of the South
Patrick Vandenbergh: Baseball, Lafayette College
Jillian Gray: Track & Field, Rhodes College
Wesley Walker: Football, Georgia Tech
Josh Howard: Football, Morehouse College
McLean Whitson: Lacrosse, Furman University
Fred Jackson: Football, Rhodes College
Zoe Williams: Acrobatics/Tumbling, University of Oregon
Cole Kennon: Football, Middlebury College
Jackson Wright: Lacrosse, Rhodes College
JaTorria Lee: Track, Samford University
Dante Wynn: Football, U.S. Air Force Academy
Lewis McDaniel: Basketball, University of Central Arkansas
Gage Young: Baseball, Centre College
David Reynolds: Football, Florida International University 2019 SUMMER | 39
ARTS
40 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
ARTS
IN FEBRUARY, the Middle School Drama Club put on a
the moment when they realized their role in saving Narnia
production of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch,
and stepped up to the challenge—some more reluctantly
and The Wardrobe, the classic tale by C.S. Lewis. All of us
than others. The rest of the ensemble floated gracefully
were excited to tell our version of this story. Our parents had
through the myriad roles they played. We choreographed
read the story to us, or we had read it ourselves, and most of
epic battles between centaurs and wolves, with death
the students had seen the 2005 movie. It felt that this story
scenes and a resurrection. Our actors played haunted trees,
was an old friend we knew like the backs of our hands. Of
an enchanted wardrobe, and a beaver dam. This was a true
course, once we were in the weeds, breaking the story apart
ensemble production with most of our cast playing two or
and creating Narnia together, we realized how much we
three different and important roles.
had forgotten or never understood. Walking back through the beautiful language,
Creating Narnia on stage
again and again, was an
presented some challenges.
enjoyable indulgence.
Thankfully, Kathryn Swords, our art teacher and scenic
The story tells the tale
designer, happened upon
of four children, roughly
an
the ages of our middle
decorated for the holiday
school actors, who were
season and saw Narnia in
sent away from their
the birch trees and plywood
Anthropologie
store
parents in the middle of
moose. That store graciously
World War II. I think it is
donated
easy for any child to feel
dressing to us when their
a lack of control over the
holiday season was over, and
their
window
major decisions in their
we were delighted with the
lives, whatever their life
results! John Picklesimer
circumstances. Certainly, the Pevensies and reallife children in times of
Middle School Spring Play February 24, 2019
built us a wardrobe and a lamppost, and we were up and running! Emily Parrelli,
war are relatable to all of us in that way. They did not choose
English teacher and costume designer, created a lion’s
the war exploding around them, and being sent from their
mane and endless ears and tails so that our ensemble could
parents during such an uncertain time must have been
portray the entire population of Narnia and the English
scary and confusing. That they landed in a mystical world
countryside.
in which they were the catalyst of the triumph of good over evil empowers them in a way the real circumstances of their
This play was ambitious for us. When a story is as familiar
lives cannot. So it is no wonder our own middle schoolers
and beloved as this one, the pressure to do it justice is real.
are so drawn to Narnia.
Our enthusiasm was on point, though, and every member of our ensemble contributed to creating the Narnia of our
There were so many fantastical and wonderful characters
imaginations. We hit some unexpected bumps, but in the
to dig our teeth into in Narnia! Anna Crawford portrayed an
end, our cast and crew told the story of Narnia with intensity
intimidating and icy White Witch, and Sammy Taylor’s Aslan
and grace. These words that Aslan told Lucy rang true for us
was regal and stoic. Sophia Frist cornered Mr. Tumnus’
day after day: “All shall be done, but it may be harder than
nervous loyalty, and the four Pevensie children each found
you think!”
Hope Moeller
Middle School Drama Director & Grade 2 Faculty 2019 SUMMER | 41
ARTS
42 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
ARTS
EN S WO RTH p res e n ts
High School Musical March 7–9, 2019
THE WIZ, the 1975 retelling of the classic The
keep us from seeing the love that surrounds
Wizard of Oz, may express Dorothy’s journey to Oz
us. Sometimes, we don’t even look up from our
in a different way from the original movie musical,
phones to see the person standing in front of us,
but the story remains the same. A young girl is
supporting us, cheering for us, desperately wanting
desperately seeking for a place she fits in, for
to connect with us. Sometimes, we find a reality in
adventures with friends who love and understand
the distractions and inaccuracies of social media,
her. She takes a fantastical journey that ultimately
where everyone carefully crafts a reality that is,
leads her right back to where she started, with a new
in fact, not very real. The Wizard of Oz creates
sense of appreciation and marvel at who she is and
an image, an image that—in our current day and
the strength she has found inside her.
age—would no doubt be intentionally curated on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter. But when we
Growing up is hard, no matter where one is in the
look behind the image, what is there?
process. We navigate our shifting worlds, and as much change as we see around us, the changes
Relationships, even among family and friends, take
inside are even more unsettling. We often feel like
work and commitment and dedication. They require
we have nowhere to turn, that we’re alone, that
us to be vulnerable and open and trusting. That’s
even the people we love the most—the Aunt Ems in
how our traveling friends make it through. Together,
our lives—could never really understand us. Maybe
they find they have more strength in their care for
that’s so. And maybe, on top of all that, we demand
and connection with each other than any of them
a perfection (of ourselves and of those we love the
do alone. We know the Scarecrow has always had
most) that is impossible to achieve. And when we fail
brains, the Tin Man has always had a heart, the Lion
to achieve that perfection, it’s easy to give up...on
has always had courage, and Dorothy has always
goals and dreams and relationships. Or worse yet,
been able to find her way home. But it takes friends
our flaws lead us in desperation to craft an image
to unlock each of those things, to give us the brains
of being in complete control, utterly together all the
and heart and courage to embrace who we are and
time, needing no help from anyone else.
be open to loving those around us fully. And that’s what most of us long for—a place where we feel
We live in a distracted age, and that has consequences.
Sometimes,
those
loved, seen, and heard. That is HOME.
distractions
Shawn Knight Director
2019 SUMMER | 43
ARTS
44 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
ARTS
LUCY’S PLAY (2013): Over the past 20 years, I have been a part of several dozen student productions at the high school and college levels, many of which have been quite good, and many of which have included talented artists who went on to find success in both college and professional theatre. But I have never been a part of a production like this: a truly studentmade play. We made this. It’s new. Sally wrote it. She started in July, and she finished in March. We cast it. We rehearsed it for six weeks. And now we’re going to show it to you. No one has ever seen it before. And ya know what? It’s good. While Sally was still in the first stages of writing this play last summer, I was in West Virginia. I was on a pilgrimage of sorts, with my dad and my grandfather, going to visit some places that I had never laid eyes on before, places buried deep in my family’s past—but not that deep. One of the places that I went was Number 6 Hill. That’s the hill that my father’s father was born on in coal country West Virginia, not far from Beckley. He spent his childhood in those hills, like generations before him. Then came the GI Bill. Then a baby boy. Then a scholarship to Vanderbilt. Then another baby boy, who came to Ensworth, and eventually helped to make this play. My trip to West Virginia
THE 2013 PRODUCTION OF LUCY’S PLAY during my senior year at Ensworth was the single most significant opportunity of my playwriting career to date. Having the world of your play come to life is a tremendous gift for any playwright, let alone a high school senior. I will be forever grateful to the Ensworth Capstone program, the Ensworth Theatre Program, and David Berry for their trust and support of this play. The opportunity to return to Ensworth six years later and do it again is simply the best gift given twice. Returning to Lucy’s Play has been a little bit like time travel, and a lot like having an ongoing conversation with my eighteen-year-old self. I’ve laughed at her and been proud of her at the same time. While some scenes have been revised, dialogue improved, and character arcs clarified, senior-year Sally wrote the heart of this play, and I’ve got to give her credit for that. What has been improved, I credit to the current cast and crew whose input has been invaluable. These students are some of the smartest and most dedicated storytellers I have ever had the privilege to work with. I am honored by their commitment and truly inspired by their talents.
helped me to realize just how much my story is not really my own—it’s my family’s. I think that’s what Sally’s play is about, at least in part. It says: “Every family has a story, and everyone’s story is a result of one’s family.”
LUCY’S PLAY (2019): The past six years have seen my grandfather, James Berry, pass. And they have seen my son, another James Berry, born—as well as my son Cooper and a second daughter, Marion. Those same six years have seen Sally graduate from Ensworth—and from Middlebury College. The years have seen her begin her journey as a professional playwright—a journey that has, for the moment, led her back here to us and to Lucy’s Play. How grateful I am. My greatest pleasure of the past year, outside of my family, has been watching a number of my former students return here to support and work alongside my current students. It’s not unlike sitting at Lucy’s table. Names, faces and stories from across the years collide as we come face-to-face with our own history— and our own legacy. It is the gift that healthy community yields.
David Berry
Director & Arts/English Faculty
Most of all, I am so grateful for the opportunity to return home to Mr. Berry’s rehearsal room. David Berry runs a program that emphasizes creating empathy and building community through storytelling. He remains my greatest mentor, and it is his lessons that have guided my artistic endeavors. Without him, I would have never had the courage to pursue playwriting. Thank you. Additional thanks to Talia Mayden ’13 with poem edits and Dean Scott Perkinson with Devon song edits. This play is not about my family, but it is my love letter to them. I thank them for their patience, support, and most of all, their sense of humor. Just like last time, Lucy’s Play is dedicated to my sister, Caroline Seitz, with all my love.
Sally Seitz ‘13
Playwright & Class of 2013 Alumna 2019 SUMMER | 45
ARTS
46 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
ARTS T H E T E ACH I NG A RT IST E N D OW M E N T AT E NS WORT H
V I S I T I N G A R T I S T:
Susan Beiner
RENOWNED CERAMICS ARTIST SUSAN BEINER was on campus for a week in March working with high school students as a visiting artist. The Teaching Artist Endowment at Ensworth enriches the study of the arts on the High School Campus by bringing in celebrated artists in the fields of music, theater, and the visual arts. Beiner’s award-winning work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications, most recently the cover of the December 2018 issue of Ceramics Monthly. When she is not working on or coordinating showings of her creations, Beiner serves as a professor of Art at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Ensworth art instructor Cati Blitz became familiar with Beiner through workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Under Beiner’s guidance, students worked on a ceramic pot project using clay casts of everyday objects. She cites
the value in ceramics projects to aid in problem-solving. “The students’ experiences in the studio can translate into something else,” Susan explains. “Even if they don’t do anything related to ceramics, at some point in their life, they’ll remember what they did with this group and they’ll know how to make something or they’ll have an idea of how to approach a problem.” Beiner also recognizes how the Ensworth Teaching Artist Endowment benefits those who are not artistica lly-inclined. “It ’s an opportunity to get students exposed to contempora r y a r t,” Susa n obser ves, “Because art now has completely evolved. It’s not how it was in the past, about having a patron to make paintings or making money on an object. It’s more about the engagement and collaboration between disciplines. It’s the connection between the two that makes the object relevant or the conceptual approach to something. Everybody lends some kind of voice to art and presents that to students in some way.”
THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM was established through the generosity of an endowed gift. The program brings in experts in various artistic fields for a series of sessions within current classes, exposing students to new and innovative ideas and introducing them to influential leaders of the arts community. For more information on endowed gifts or other charitable giving opportunities, contact Bedell James at jamesb@ensworth.com or 615.250.8919. 2019 SUMMER | 47
FACULTY ACADEMICS
Get to Know Ensworth’s New Head of High School:
Nowell Hesse W hat in spire d you to pursue teaching/ coaching as a profession? In truth, I origina lly approached teaching as “taking a break” between my time at UGA and my intended matriculation to medical school. I thought I would teach and coach for a year (maybe two), then return to my own education and a career I had spent much of my underg raduate yea rs preparing for. Little did I know that I would become hooked on helping others learn and grow into better people. My time on this side of the desk in the classroom and on this side of the whistle on the field showed me that education is the most important thing I could do in my life. What attracted you to working at Ensworth? I became aware of Ensworth while attending graduate school at Vanderbilt. David Braemer gave our group a tour of the High School Campus, and I was immediately impressed with both the scale of the place and the thoughtfulness with which it had been designed. I learned a bit about the school’s reputation from my local Vandy peers, and all available evidence suggested it was a great school that would only get better with time. When I began to explore opportunities outside of New Orleans, the Ensworth job immediately jumped to the top of my list. Having spent time in Nashville, and considering my wife and I wanted to be at a school that all of our children could attend in the near future, Ensworth’s reputation for excellence and the opportunity to work with David Braemer in a leadership role sealed the deal. In what ways have you used experiential learning/hands-on projects in your classroom to enhance the learning experience? During my first year of teaching physics, I employed a very “direct” instructional approach. It worked for many students, but not for all. I began to shift my approach to more of an inquiry-based, hands-on pedagogy during the latter half of my second year, and I had fully adopted this experiential philosophy by the end of my third year. The deep learning that results when students gather data during 48 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
experiments they designed and then analyze that data to arrive at basic physics principles is compelling, and in my experience, ultimately more effective than any lecture I could give on the same material. What have you seen in Ensworth that makes it unique/different? Ensworth’s high school is very young, both in comparison to the rest of the school and in comparison to other similar schools around the country. I have not encountered another high school that has achieved such success in such a short amount of time, and I credit David Morgan and the team he helped assemble to launch the high school. I have been amazed by the thoroughness and depth to which the high school program was thought out in advance. What is a memorable moment/favorite memory in your career in education? For about twenty years at my previous school, we talked as a science faculty about the need for a new building that would support the kind of experiences we wanted to provide our students. We did not have adequate lab space or equipment to run the kinds of experiments, activities, or long-term research projects that would give our students deep insights into the basic sciences or allow them to push into advanced topics they wanted to explore. I remember how excited I was when the board approved the project a few years ago, an excitement that built with each completed phase of the project. I will never forget walking through the completed building and seeing students learning in the state-of-the-art classrooms for the first time. What is your favorite aspect of your job as an educator/ administrator? My office sits at the intersection of students, teachers, parents, and administrators. I love working with all of those constituencies to improve the overall student experience and help each individual student grow into the best version of his/her self. The division head role is both rewarding and challenging, and I continue to grow personally from my work every day.
List 3-5 fun facts about yourself that people might not know. • I am a HUGE New Orleans Saints fan. • I love to fish, and I particularly love to go fly fishing with my father. • I enjoy making furniture for my children’s bedrooms.
FACULTY
FAC U LT Y PROFILE S A closer look at faculty/staff at Ensworth
David Dingess ’11 Lower/Middle School PE Teacher
What inspired you to pursue teaching/coaching as a profession? Becoming a coach and teacher was an easy decision for me. Sports have always been a priority in my life and have taught me my greatest lessons. I played high school and collegiate sports, and through my experience, I realized how influential coaches could be to children and young adults. It has been rewarding to watch these children evolve over the years through their athletic abilities. What attracted you to working at Ensworth? I attended Ensworth from kindergarten through twelfth grade. I was fortunate enough to watch and be a part of the school’s evolution through the addition of the high school. I knew if given the chance, I’d like to come back and work here. In what ways have you used experiential learning/hands-on projects in your classroom to enhance the learning experience? In our P.E. classes, experiential/hands-on learning is the basis of our everyday curriculum. Whether it is climbing ropes, timing races, or partner activities, we allow the students to feel a part of our process by being fully self-engaged. We have so much fun watching these guys grow and gain confidence in themselves. What do you think sets the Ensworth experience apart—makes it unique/different? I can honestly say that I work with some of my favorite people every day. The relationships I’ve made over the past 20 years at Ensworth are some of my most valuable. It truly is an extension of my family! I feel incredibly grateful to work with them and be mentored by them day to day. What is your favorite aspect of your job? Every day, I strive to be a positive influence in the lives of these children. I try to build their confidence, laugh hard with them, and give them the skills to stay active and healthy. I want to see them all succeed in whatever their interest may be moving forward. They are a gift!
List 3-5 fun facts about yourself that people might not know. • I played college football at Furman University. • I am an avid golfer and am playing in first-time tournaments this summer. • I am a sports nut! You should see some of my research and analysis sheets on different sports. • I am a super picky eater. • I’m organized and a planner to a fault.
Mr. Dingess with “PE Teacher for a Day” Alex Aplin ’27 2019 SUMMER | 49
FACULTY ACADEMICS
FAC U LT Y PROFILE S A closer look at faculty/staff at Ensworth Pegasus Day, Mount Olympus Day: students complete the 12 Labors of Hercules, but in Latin, Cyclops Day: on Valentine’s Day to celebrate the love the Cyclops Polyphemus had for a sea nymph Galatea, I transformed my classroom into the cave of Polyphemus for two days and completed both a grammar lab and a DBQ based on Latin and Greek sources! What do you think makes the Ensworth experience unique/ different? Its school spirit is ubiquitous!
Amy Skillicorn Middle School Latin Teacher
What inspired you to pursue teaching Latin as a profession? The Latin language teaches students how to think critically and analyze words, which is beautiful and worthwhile at all ages. My favorite aspect about teaching Latin is its profound etymology and the connections it allows students to make between English words and their Latin roots. The word “student” is actually from the Latin verb “to be eager about” something! What attracted you to working at Ensworth? The quality of the faculty. I know that I can, on any day, watch a colleague teach and see phenomenal instruction that humbles and inspires me. This year, I watched twelve other teachers across our three campuses and walked away with new ideas after each class. In what ways have you used experiential learning/hands-on projects in your classroom to enhance the learning experience? I’d like to think I do this in many ways, but the obvious answer for me is my classroom transformations. By definition, a classroom transformation aims to create an unrecognizable space for students that transports them into a world of learning. I pushed myself to transform my room once a month. A few favorites from this year are: 50 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
What is a memorable moment/favorite memory at Ensworth? The first classroom transformation I completed at Ensworth was Pegasus Day in November 2017. Students completed Latin challenges in exchange for pieces of an edible Pegasus. If they completed all five challenges, they could eat their Pegasus. I think this was my favorite day because students were engaged, excited about what they were doing, plus I had fun putting the pieces together: homemade wooden crates for Pegasus’ egg, Rice Krispy Treat Pegasus bodies, candy horsetails, etc. What is your favorite aspect of your job? I love that Ensworth gives me the freedom to try new things in my classroom and to experiment with ambitious teaching techniques. Mr. House and I decided that we wanted to create our own curriculum and we were supported 100%! Ensworth supports teachers who aim to match high academic rigor with high student engagement.
List 3-5 fun facts about yourself that people might not know. • In November, I eloped to Italy with my husband Troy. • In college, I was a competitive ballroom dancer and my favorite dance is the Viennese Waltz. • My husband and I first bonded over playing Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies and still play about once a month. • I am about halfway through my Ph.D. program in Latin!
FACULTY
Sharon Glenn High School Math Department Chair
What inspired you to pursue teaching as a profession? Math has always been FUN. I went to college thinking that I might like to major in either math or engineering, so my freshman year I took classes that would work for either major. As soon as I took the “proofs” class that spring, I was hooked. I loved writing answers that EXPLAINED why something was true, and I loved the logic behind it. One thing led to another, and I found myself in graduate school studying pure math after an undergraduate degree in math and a minor in education. At that point, I really enjoyed the teaching aspect of my graduate program, but I wasn’t as excited about the research part of the program. Again, I really liked EXPLAINING the “why” as much as the “how,” so teaching was the logical choice. What attracted you to working at Ensworth? For this answer, you need a little back story. Mr. Brady was my eighth grade Algebra 1 teacher. He was challenging and engaging, and he pushed us to be our best. He was a founding faculty member at Ensworth at the same time as I was a founding faculty member at a new high school in Franklin, and when we’d see each other at math contests, he would jokingly say that I should come work with him. He became more serious as Ensworth started hiring teachers, and I attended an open house at the middle school and listened to Will Moseley and David Morgan talk about their vision for the high school. A bit later, my husband and I toured the high school when there weren’t even walls in the building. As we drank hot chocolate and ate E cookies, I started thinking that maybe I could see myself here. Working with students who truly loved learning and teaching on this beautiful campus were definitely draws, but the biggest draw was the idea of challenging students to use the Core Skills on a regular basis in math class. I was excited about asking students to make observations, to ask good questions, to collaborate with their peers, to communicate about mathematics, to make hypotheses and to evaluate the validity of those conjectures. In what ways have you used experiential learning/hands-on projects in your classroom to enhance the learning experience? Even in our large group discussions when there isn’t a physical component to them, I try to have students be the generators of the knowledge. I give them just enough information so that they will ask the question that will lead them to the discovery of the day. At other times, they work in small groups to gather data so that they are ready to make observations that help them take that leap. About midway through the first quarter, my Precalculus students make comments about how everything they do has a visual/lab component to it, and I love it! We use all sorts of manipulatives and
technology (Twizzlers, spaghetti, beans, measuring tapes, Post-it Notes, magnets, computers, etc….) to try to make the lessons be both memorable and student generated. What do you think sets the Ensworth experience apart? In my first year at Ensworth, I noticed that students don’t back down from a challenge. I tell all of my students about this on the first day of school so that they are prepared to live up to that characteristic set forth by the first graduating class. When I put a hard set of problems in front of them, they don’t immediately look to me to ask, “How do we do this?” They take inventory of what they already know, talk to their peers to get the ideas flowing, and write something down (even if it is wrong) so that they can edit it in a moment. Before they know it, they’ve arrived at a solution, and they feel a great sense of accomplishment in doing something that seemed very difficult at first. This is what they always talk to me about at the end of the year when they ask me to write their college recommendation letters. It is what makes the experience transcend the mathematical skills they have acquired. What is your favorite aspect of your job? This is an easy question - the students. I often sit quietly in a classroom for a moment after all the students have gone and smile as I mentally review the interactions we had. I love it when students are engaged in the material, when they conquer something hard, when they have a great insight, and when they care for each other so well. I love it when they leave my room smiling! I also love it when students look up at the end of an 85-minute lab period and claim, “Wait - class is already over? That went by so fast!” This happens when they are completely engaged in the tasks at hand, and it is awesome!
List 3-5 fun facts about yourself that people might not know. • I can’t stand velvet. It gives me chills akin to the “nails on a chalkboard” feeling. • When I was in high school, the underground newspaper voted me Best Dressed by Her Mother. You can imagine what that looked like. • I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was about 19. My youngest brother had cancer, and teaching me to drive was low on the list of priorities. He’s doing great now and we are supporters of St. Jude! • I am a Nashville Native. The only other place I have really lived is in Cookeville, TN (both as an undergrad at Tennessee Technological University and when I taught at TTU for the first couple of years after I got married. I got to sit with the faculty when my husband graduated!) 2019 SUMMER | 51
FACULTY ACADEMICS
FAC U LTY B O OK S H E LF What did the Ensworth faculty read this summer?
LIZ ATWOOD
BOBBY MIRZAIE
Lower School Reading Teacher
Director of Curriculum & Instruction
The Guest Book
The Library Book
Author: Sa ra h Bla ke
Looking for the perfect book for a long plane ride or lazy day at the beach? Author Sarah Blake delivers a sweeping American saga that causes the reader to look past the shallow first impressions of the WASP main characters. The Milton family, fortified in old money, is awash in secrets. Three generations sail the waters of Penobscot Bay, sip scotch on the porch, and uncover the cracks in the moral code of a golden family.
WHITNEY JOHNSON
Director of Finance & Operations
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don’t
Author: Jim Collins
The key premise of this book is that for a company (or school) to go from good to great, you need disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action. Good is the enemy of great, and many people and companies settle for good because it’s easier. They’re not striving to be the best in the industry, which opens the door to competitors. Being the best means there is absolutely no room for mediocre thinking. As a school, we must use our talents to the fullest and always strive for greatness.
Author: Susa n Orlea n
The author takes you back to 1986 and lures you into the real crime mystery surrounding the epic fire that destroyed the Los Angeles downtown library; however, the true heart of the story comes from the author’s vivid stories of how a public library serves society with resources and builds community with support for the underserved. And in return, you will be delighted in learning how the community of Los Angeles works to rebuild the downtown library for future generations.
RICH MISCHINSKI High School English
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
Author: Mark Sullivan
Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, this bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours.
J.K. SCOTT
Middle School History
A Praying Life Author: Paul Miller
SCOTT SANDERS
High School Facilities Staff
The Source
Author: James Michener The Source is a novel about an archaeological dig in Israel with a fictional storyline interwoven into the plot—educational, interesting, and thoughtprovoking.
No other book in my walk with Jesus has impacted me more internally than Paul Miller’s book, A Praying Life. I can’t begin to tell you the amount of work the Holy Spirit did within me while reading and discussing this book on prayer. Paul Miller is anointed with the ability to share his real-life laments and victories in a way that did nothing but make me actually want to pray.
Visit the Ensworth Blog at ensworth.com/bookshelf for more faculty book recommendations 52 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
FACULTY
FAC U LTY N E WS RETIREMENTS Joe Brady High School Math Teacher 16 Years at Ensworth
Jean Bruce High School Librarian 15 Years at Ensworth
Myra McLarey High School English Teacher 16 Years at Ensworth
Rose Pickel Lower/Middle School Art Teacher 46 Years at Ensworth
Cindy Rose HS Athletics & Alumni Relations 15 Years at Ensworth
WEDDINGS Olivia Carmichael ’10
to Miller Fitts on May 4, 2019
BIRTHS Christina Alvarez (Drake Jarman ‘98) Thomas Warren Jarman on March 19, 2019
Hayley Brantley (Tyler) Kathryn “Kate” Evans Brantley on January 25, 2019
Matt Kaminski (Jennifer) Josephine Pearson Kaminski on April 25, 2019
Lindsay Parriott (Matthew) John Lewis Parriott on July 15, 2019
IN MEMORY James Kenneth Bateman Facilities Staff - 1992-2011 August 13,1940 - April 13, 2019
Jim Aveni traveled to Miami this past April at the invitation of Dean Shelly Berg from University of Miami’s Frost School of Music to take part in a Nationwide Super Teachers Conference. He was selected as one of ten teachers brought to the school to discuss the current state of education, speak with their Education students, and tour their diverse music program. Educators from LA, Seattle, Charlotte, Detroit, Dayton, and more took part in the weekend. Roc Batten has returned to Ensworth as Head Football Coach. Roc originally joined Ensworth in 2005 and served the school in a variety of roles, as the first Director of Service Learning, an Assistant Football Coach and Defensive Coordinator, Admission Assistant, Track Coach, and Director of Summer Programs. Most recently, Roc has directed the football program at Battle Ground Academy, where he has been Head Coach since 2011, leading the team to the State Championship finals in both 2014 and 2018. Roc was recognized as the DII-A Coach of the Year in 2016. Megan Florentine and Emily Parrelli presented Responsive Classroom to teachers from all over the country this summer. In June, Emily presented in Oklahoma, Virginia, and Vermont and Megan in Texas, Iowa, and Minnesota. Travis Fravel joined Ensworth this summer as the Director of Soccer. Coach Fravel brings 18 years of coaching experience, most recently serving as the Associate Head Coach at Belmont University, where he was involved in all aspects of the program for the past seven years. Fravel has also served as a coach for Tennessee Soccer Club for the past eight years, leading the team to state and regional (SRPL) championships. Sharon Glenn presented at Spring Middle Tennessee Math Teachers Association Conference on Linear Systems, Inequalities, and Programming.
Nowell Hesse has joined Ensworth as the new Head of High School. Hesse was previously Head of Upper School at the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans for the past seven years. During his time as an educator at Newman, Hesse held a number of significant positions, including Chair of the Science Department and Director of Technology. In addition to his administrative roles, Hesse taught physics at both the regular and Advanced Placement levels and coached boys’ and girls’ soccer, football, and track at the middle and high school levels. Krystle Horton recently earned her Doctor of Education degree from Lipscomb University. JC Johnson was presented with a Gold Key Award at the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards at Carnegie Hall in recognition of her work as an educator of Gold Key winner Jacqueline Frist ‘21. Doug Magee earned his Doctor of Education in K-12 Education Policy and Leadership from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. Elias Salazar was appointed Contemporary Vocal Music Chair for the TN American Choral Director’s Association. Amy Skillicorn presented at the Summit for Transformative Learning in St. Louis along with Jennifer McGee this summer. She also gave a talk at the American Classical League Centennial Institute in NYC in June. Both addressed the topic of classroom transformations, escape rooms, and ludic student engagement, although the former was for a pedagogy audience and the latter for classicists. Kudos to Ensworth’s Facilities and Grounds crews, as Ensworth was selected by Pioneer® Athletics as a winner of the 2018 Fields of Excellence® Award. The Fields of Excellence Award Program honors outstanding athletic fields and the hardworking field crews who diligently maintain them. 2019 SUMMER | 53
FACULTY ACADEMICS
NOT E S F ROM R E T I R I NG FAC U LTY
JOE BRADY
ROSE PICKEL
Lower/Middle School Art Teacher
“Ensworth has been such a major part of my life for forty-two years (actually, forty-six years as my daughter was here for four years before I began teaching). It is an amazing place for children that has brought me great joy and many memories to cherish. I will miss the everyday presence of being with the students, but I will always have Ensworth in my heart, and am grateful for the many people who have come into my life through my time here. Thank you.”
MYRA M C LAREY
High School English Teacher
“To add to what Joe (Brady) said, what a privilege it was to be one of the founding chairs. What a rare chance I was given to be able to design an English program that focused on the skills students would need for navigating the 21st Century. My thanks to the board who believed that if they built it, students would come. When we department chairs began our work, what is now an amazing facility was a patch of ground. I remember taking the eighth graders out there for a pizza party. We sat on a concrete floor and looked at the sky and asked them to imagine what it would look like, be like. Those were the days for sure. And they led the way for the wonderful students we have today. What a joy it has been to work with wonderful colleagues. Thanks to Will Moseley and David Morgan for taking a chance on me. Thanks especially to the parents who believed in our vision and trusted us with their greatest treasure, their children.”
High School Math Teacher Thanks for the memories. . . . . “It is hard to imagine that sixteen years have passed since a determined group of educators gathered in a classroom on the middle school campus to plot out strategies for the new Ensworth High School. As I retire from this wonderful community, I wish to offer my sincere thanks to the students and parents in the cornerstone classes. They all took a chance on what might be and what could be in the new school. Every time I think about those years, I can only smile at what the community accomplished; I am so grateful to have been a part of that experience. Thank you for being all that you were.”
JEAN BRUCE High School Librarian
“In June 2004, my family and I moved to Nashville from Maine to be part of the founding faculty at the high school. Little did I know it would be an adventurous 15 years. My original intent was to stay for five years to create the library and then continue to the next school with a “founding librarian” title on my resume. It has been the amazing students and parents, from the first graduating class to the most recent, that kept me at Ensworth until retirement. From teaching research to coaching bowling, it has been a pleasure to know that I’ve contributed to the quest “in search of truth.” I’m proud to say I’m a life-long Tiger. Thank you!”
Note from a previous faculty member: I just retired after 45 years of teaching mainly French from elementary school to college. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for fourteen years with you, which gave me the tools and experience to teach middle school students, especially seventh and eighth graders. I was able to navigate the maze of the institution like The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia and felt I could in an independent school in the US, thanks to the “savoirfaire” you inculcated in me, even though I was more experienced as a college professor when I came to Ensworth School. I would love to be in touch with my former students, parents and colleagues, those who wish so, and learn about the many great things they have been doing. Feel free to contact the advancement office to obtain my e-mail. Again, thank you and many appreciations. M.L. Kabahita, Ensworth French Faculty 1984-1998 54 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
FACULTY
organ Day M . r M M AY 8 , 2 0 1 9
Mr. Morgan, thanks for 17 years of service to Ensworth! David Morgan was honored for his 17 years of service to Ensworth and for his leadership as the Founding Head of High School with a special “David Morgan Day” on May 8, 2019. Faculty, students, and administrators recognized and celebrated Mr. Morgan’s accomplishments during a morning assembly, where he was presented with a framed copy of the Vision Statement and a clay replica of Townes Tower handcrafted by Ceramics teacher Cati Blitz. Parents, alumni, and other members of the community attended an evening reception to thank Mr. Morgan for his vision, dedication, and the profound impact he has had on the school. On Awards Day, David Braemer announced that the “Lewis and Clark Award” would be renamed the “David Morgan Award” in honor of Mr. Morgan’s pioneering spirit in the establishment of the high school program.
2019 SUMMER | 55
ALUMNI
Ensworth Alumni
C LAS S NOT E S
WEDDINGS Elizabeth Ann Clippard ‘08 to Patrick James Scaglione on March 2, 2019
Laura Stevens ’87 to Andrew Upchurch on June 29, 2019 Millie Chapman ’08 to Ben Long on April 27, 2019 Katherine McDonald ’09 to Coleman Breland on May 11, 2019 Olivia Carmichael ’10 to Miller Fitts on May 4, 2019
Alicia Batson ’77, an Adult
William Akers’ ’02 debut
Daniel Tashian ’88 won
Many members of the Ensworth community came together in April to shower
Psychiatrist at Centerstone, was recently elected as a board member of the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association, a health education non-profit dedicated to advancing the diagnosis and treatment of stress-induced medical conditions.
Jacob Austin Shiang Kung on June 23, 2018
two Grammys with his work on Kacey Musgraves’ album, Golden Hour, which received the Album of the Year and Best Country Album awards. In addition to his producer credit, Tashian co-wrote 7 of the 13 songs on Golden Hour.
Jacqueline Thompson Towery ’96 (McClain)
Frazer Buntin ’89 published
BIRTHS Neely Coble ’93 (Kate)
Mary Kelton Coble on December 11, 2018
Karen Jones Kung ’94 (Jeffrey)
Hudson Thompson Towery on April 16, 2019
William “Wilder” Adcock on May 29, 2019
a book titled, A Monkey Could Do Your Job. The book is based on real-life scenarios and provides practical tactics for understanding and overcoming crazy feelings about work.
Andrew Schneider ’01 (Tessa)
Macie Garrett ’00, a first-
Drake Jarman ’98 (Christina)
Thomas “Warren” Jarman on March 19, 2019
Mary Lynn Ware Adcock ’01 (Chase)
Lucy June Schneider on April 16, 2019
grade teacher at East End Prep, was honored as one of the 2019 Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Blue Ribbon Teachers.
Cate Wiley Lane ’03 (Will)
William Walter Lane on October 3, 2018
novel, Westside, which was touted to be “an addictively readable fusion of mystery, dark fantasy, alternate history, and existential horror” was published by HarperCollins in May.
Tavarres Jefferson ’09
with love before he relocated to Las Vegas to assume his role as Executive Resident at Mountain View Hospital.
Whitney Edwards ’03 is
now the Director of Events for the Downtown Sporting Club, the latest Strategic Hospitality endeavor. She returns home to Nashville from New York City where she was most recently the Director of Private Dining for Eleven Madison Park.
Spencer Foote ’09 was promoted to booking agent in the Fair and Festivals department at WME (William Morris Endeavor Entertainment) where he has been working since graduating
Continuing the Ensworth Tradition
SENIORS WITH ALUMNI PARENTS 56 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
ARMISTEAD Jim Armistead ‘81 Lindsey Armistead ‘19
CHANG Sam Chang ‘80 Julia Chang ‘19
FRIST Tommy Frist ‘83 Caroline Frist ‘19
ALUMNI
from Sewanee: The University of the South in 2013.
Ellyse Murphy ’10 graduated from PennDesign with a Masters in City Planning and a Certificate in Real Estate Design and Development.
Orleans Darkwa ’10, NFL
running back, returned to campus to host his third annual free football clinic on the Frist Campus on Saturday, June 15.
Vanderbilt University Mens’ Baseball team for their 2019 College World Series win over Michigan!
lives in New York City and works as Fixed Income Associate at AllianceBernstein.
Sally Krebs ’14 is currently
graduated from the College of Charleston with a B.A. in Arts Management with a minor in Business Administration and a concentration in Music Industry.
working as a data strategist for Access2Insight in Chicago, Illinois.
Ashanti Charles ’15
graduated from Wake Forest Medical School in May and will begin his residency in general surgery at the University of Florida.
graduated with a B.A. in Elementary Education and Child Studies from Vanderbilt University where she will remain to pursue her Masters in Education this fall. She will also be a familiar face on our Red Gables Campus as a kindergarten intern for the 2019-2020 school year.
Cole Parrish ’11 works in
Quin Cochran ’15 graduated
Jonathan Krebs ’10
commercial real estate for Southeast Venture in Nashville and is a member of the Ensworth Alumni Board.
Shelby Crants ’14 began
her first year at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in July. Congratulations to Kiambu Fentress ‘14 and the
GILL Amy Grant Gill ’74 Corrina Gill ‘19
from the United States Military Academy at West Point this May and was commissioned into the US Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Infantry.
Emma Hood ’15 graduated
magna cum laude from Kenyon College this spring with a major in Mathematics, concentration in Scientific Computing, and minor in Art History. She now
KAISER Rachel Tidman Kaiser ‘76 Marie Kaiser ‘19
Preston Johnson ’15
Mathieu Loing ’15 graduated
from NYU this year with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. In his senior year, he led a team of 35 students to build a Hyperloop pod for SpaceX’s Hyperloop Pod Competition. The team placed in the top 50 teams out of over 1000. Upon graduating, Mathieu joined Mastercard as an analyst in their management consulting division.
Bailey Murphy ’15 graduated
cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History with a minor in Business Administration from Georgetown University this past May and moved to Atlanta to work as an Investment Banking Analyst for Suntrust Robinson Humphrey.
SINKS Leigh Pinson Sinks ‘84 Gracie Sinks ‘19
Elizabeth Parrish ’15
graduated from Sewanee: University of the South and is working for the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team in Washington, DC as a part of the team’s community foundation staff.
Caroline Sheridan ’15
graduated cum laude from Southern Methodist University this past December with a B.A. in Corporate Communications and Public Affairs and minors in Journalism, Fashion Media, and Art History. In April, she assumed the role of Brand Public Relations Coordinator with the Neiman Marcus Group in Dallas.
Jordan Bone ’16, a star point guard for the University of Tennessee basketball team, was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Kaelene DeCoster ’16 was
recently accepted into the 3-2 Occupational Therapy Program at Washington University where she will enroll in the fall.
WALLACE Tim Wallace‘83 Disser Wallace ‘19
ALUMNI
Ensworth Alumni Ana Darielle Nunez ’16
recently completed a summer abroad in Sydney, Australia and is spending this summer as a commercial real estate intern with Wells Fargo in New York City. Ana Darielle was also recently named a finalist for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar of the Year Award.
C LAS S NOT E S b
a
Courtney Daddario ’17 is a
rising junior at TCU where she currently holds positions as Vice President of Finance for Delta Delta Delta sorority and campus tour guide for the university. She most recently accepted an accounting internship with Mineralware in Fort Worth.
d
e
c
Sarah Allen ’18 was accepted to NYU Tisch School of the Arts where she will pursue her studies of dance in the fall.
f
g
h
Send us your news! Keep in
touch with your classmates and let them keep up with you. Send your latest news, moves, and photos.
Stop on by! We’d love to
have you back on campus sharing your passions and professions. Whether it’s for assembly, an individual class, or anything in between, contact the alumni office to discuss.
i j
k
l
m
Contact:
alumni@ensworth.com
a Ana Darielle Nunez ‘16 was recently named a finalist for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar of the Year Award b Quin Cochran ‘15 graduated from US Military Academy c Millie Chapman ‘08 wedding d Congratulations to Vanderbilt Baseball player Kiambu Fentress ‘14 e William Walter Lane, son of Cate Wiley Lane ‘03 f Westside novel written by William Akers ‘02 g Thomas “Warren” Jarman, son of Drake Jarman ‘98 h Spencer Foote was recently promoted to booking agent in the Fair and Festivals department at WME i Olivia Carmichael ‘10 wedding j Lizzy Clippard ‘08 wedding k Lucy June Schneider, daughter of Andrew Schneider ‘01 (and granddaughter of faculty members Dean Schneider and the late Robin Smith) l Sarah Allen ‘18 was recently accepted to NYU Tisch School of the Arts to pursue dance studies m Courtney Daddario ‘17, a junior at TCU, is interning at Mineralware in Fort Worth
ALUMNI
n
o
q
p
r s
t
u v
w
x
n Bailey Murphy ‘15 graduated cum laude from Georgetown University o Caroline Sheridan ‘15 graduated cum laude from SMU. She is Brand Public Relations Coordinator with the Neiman Marcus Group in Dallas. p Jordan Bone ‘16 was drafted by the Detroit Pistons q Mary Kelton Coble, daughter of Neely Coble ‘93 r Ashanti Charles ‘15 graduated from Vanderbilt where she will remain to pursue her Masters in Education this fall. She will also be a kindergarten intern at Ensworth this year. s A Monkey Could Do Your Job written by Frazer Buntin ‘89 t Farewell party to Tavarres Jefferson ‘09 before he moves to Las Vegas u Elizabeth Parrish ‘15 graduated from Sewanee and is working for the Washington Nationals v Daniel Tashian ‘88 won two Grammys with his work on Kacey Musgraves’ album, Golden Hour w Emma Hood graduated magna cum laude from Kenyon College x Mathieu Loing ‘15 graduated from NYU this year with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. In his senior year, he led a team to build a Hyperloop pod for SpaceX’s Hyperloop Pod Competition.
Saturday, October 5
Friday, October 4 Homecoming Football Game Ensworth vs. Father Ryan Homecoming Tailgate & Dinner at 5:30p.m. Football Game at 7:00p.m.
Class of 2009 10 Year Reunion & Reunion Parties for class years ending in ’4 & ’9
Monday, October 28 Robert Inman Tiger Classic Golf Tournament
Contact Bedell James at jamesb@ensworth.com for details.
ALUMNI
PROF I LE S The passions and professions of our alumni represent the lasting impact of our school’s mission statement. Read on to see h ow a handful of E nsworth alumni a re using their talents to the fullest to be positive contributors to society—in academics,the arts, athletics,service, and beyond. Nancy Keen Palmer-Gift ’03 Communications Coordinator
Alumni Focus:
SA L LY S E IT Z ’ 1 3 What was the inspiration behind your Senior Capstone, Lucy’s Play ? Was there a particular teacher or class that influenced your passion in any way? My original inspiration was Mr. Berry’s final assignment in his class Introduction to the Stage, the freshman introductory theater course. All students were asked to write a one-act play. I worked very hard on mine at home, but when it came time to read the plays in class, I refused to participate, completely embarrassed that my play was more serious and more personal than anyone else’s. Eventually, with some gentle encouragement, I let the class read mine, and I was surprised by the positive feedback it received. Mr. Berry pulled me aside afterward, explaining that the piece worked because it used conventions of time and space that were stage-specific as opposed to a short story or film. I considered myself somewhat of a skilled writer, but this experience felt like I had finally found my way into storytelling. 60 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
When it came time for me to write my Capstone, I knew I wanted to write a play about a family, attempting to marry both the humor and the seriousness wrapped up in every family’s story. I was also inspired by a movie that had recently come out, Little Miss Sunshine. In that movie, one of the scenes I loved was where the family has a total mess of a family dinner. It’s hilarious, and the dialogue is lightning fast, but what struck me the most was how universally relatable honest family conflict is. The reality of family life doesn’t look like a Christmas card or an Instagram post. To me, Lucy’s Play strives to paint a truthful picture of family love. Did your Senior Capstone influence your college trajectory? What about your professional career? Absolutely. Having the encouragement and opportunity to explore playwriting at Ensworth affirmed for me just how much I enjoy writing and collaborating with
ALUMNI cast and crew for the stage. Being in the room for Lucy’s Play rehearsals during my senior year was an incredible, artistically fulfilling experience that is rare for young playwrights. After that, I knew I wanted more. The success of Lucy’s Play made me a more competitive candidate for better schools. I think Lucy’s Play was the differentiating factor that led to my admission to Middlebury College. At Middlebury, I was able to take advantage of its tremendous writing and theater program and work with incredibly talented students and faculty. I was able to complete major projects as both a playwright and a director. Since graduation, my focus has been on balancing the creative side of the entertainment industry with the business side. With each project I undertake, the learning experience continues. I moved to Austin, Texas and have worked with the film festival, the television festival, and in private theater. I have written, directed, and produced two one-act plays, one of which was awarded “Best of the Fest” for the 2019 Frontera Festival in Austin. My artistic career since graduating college has had its ups and downs, but every show results in a greater network of contacts and a widening array of opportunities. While some days are more successful than others, the positive response from the 2013 production of Lucy’s Play is a touchstone I often revisit for the confidence to move forward. What was it like being back on campus with Lucy’s Play once more, this time in a teaching capacity, instead of a student? It has been an amazing experience. I feel so lucky to be working with this cast. They are individually so smart, so hilarious, and just an incredible group of determined storytellers. Their feedback has been invaluable to me in making the play current. They have collaborated with me with such poise and advanced theatrical insight. I will never forget having a younger student, who is not even driving yet, tell me that I’m “playing it too safe” in one of my scenes. That kind of feedback is invaluable.
2019 Lucy’s Play Cast & Crew How did you incorporate experiential learning into your work with the Ensworth cast?
Is there anything else you would like to add in regards to “experiential learning” and your time at Ensworth?
Mr. Berry and the students participating in the theatre program execute a unique form of experiential learning in every session. It’s not just about reading a play and learning the lines. Performing the play means inhabiting the text. The actors and stage crew must constantly make choices regarding character and context. It’s a unique opportunity to study metaphors and story arc from a personal perspective. What differentiates the experience of doing Lucy’s Play from something well known is that Lucy’s Play was a live text. Every sentence, every pause, every scene was up for debate. Mr. Berry and I made sure the students felt encouraged to give their opinions and feedback. Often, we would come into a rehearsal reading the new material back to back with the original draft, then ask the actors which version they liked better. Then, we would ask them to articulate why? Why are these words more effective? Why do these stage directions work better? Why is one version of a scene stronger than another? Lucy’s Play 2019 is definitely a collaborative effort. We made so many new discoveries and improvements. I am so grateful to have been a part of it.
To me, the essence of experiential learning is what you learn from working collectively with a group of creative people. Some of my most valuable learning experiences at Ensworth occurred during rehearsals in the black box theater which taught me how to be a collaborator and how to be a contributing member of a working theatre company. It also solidified some very important friendships in my life. Plays are never just the work of one person. Ensworth taught me the value of being part of a community of artists. What’s next on the horizon? Do you have a current project you’re particularly excited about? I have a number of projects in various stages of development, some of which are still very much in the planning stages. One of these is a verbatim theatre piece that pulls from interviews with women from small Texas towns. Most recently I stage-managed a new play called 100 Planes with Filigree Theatre in Austin, Texas. Next up is traveling with the production for their month-long run at the Sacred Fools Theater in Los Angeles.
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Alumni Focus:
W I R TH CAMPBE L L ’ 1 1
How did interest in fitness impact your college career? What about now as an adult?
Tell me a little about what you remember from your experience with Fitness at Ensworth. Fitness at Ensworth kick-started life as I know it today. I began high school as a 5’11 chubby freshman; when I hit my growth spurt, I became 6’3 and lanky. I knew I loved sports, but had never thought much about playing past high school, and I even considered quitting football my freshman year. After my growth spurt, fitness class became not just a class I had to attend, but my favorite period of each day. Coach Perkins, Epps, and the entire staff pushed me to be the best I could be. My passion for fitness was just beginning. When playing sports in college became a possibility, it pushed that passion to the next level.
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My junior and senior years were huge parts of my fitness journey. My body began to change; I gained strength and knowledge. When I would visit colleges, the first things the coaches would notice was my size, which for a high school quarterback, was great. Because of this, my confidence grew, not only in sports and fitness, but in life. I was no longer the self-conscious chubby kid. Without Ensworth fitness and the coaches who pushed me, there would have been no college football or fitness passion that I still carry with me today. Fitness has become my life as I know it. Tell me about your new business. What was the inspiration behind it? TRUMAV Fitness combines what was instilled in me during Ensworth fitness and what I continued to learn during my time at Auburn. My dream became opening a gym, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I looked into franchises and managerial or trainer roles at pre-existing gyms in town, and then I was blessed with the opportunity to do something great with Tim McGraw. He was creating his health and wellness brand and hoping to
launch the first location for his gym. I was fortunate to have known Tim since my high school days when he would attend all of our games. The opportunity arose and I couldn’t be more thankful it did. With TRUMAV, we wanted to create an environment where anyone, no matter what fitness level, could come, participate, and better themselves. These days, people want to look good, feel good, and continue to do so for a long time. That’s just what our classes are created to do. Has any routine, mantra, or regimen from the Ensworth fitness days stuck with you? Arriving at Auburn for summer training, only weeks after graduating high school, I felt extremely prepared for everything that was thrown my way. Many teammates struggled with correct form or training knowledge, while Ensworth had equipped me with a strong foundation in fitness. I may not have been the biggest, fastest, or strongest guy on the team, but my training knowledge was above and beyond every other freshman. That knowledge has stuck with me to this day and is something I use every day at TRUMAV.
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Alumni Focus:
W I LL IAM J OY ’1 0
broadcast club to have weekly ‘talk shows’. I also ran on the cross-country team and played soccer. Did your sports broadcasting experience influence your college trajectory?
What motivated you to pursue sports broadcasting at Ensworth? What else were you involved in on campus? When I started at Ensworth, I was a die-hard sports fan, talked too much, and was a bit of a know-it-all. I like to think that the know-it-all part has faded... but at the time, it was a perfect combination for being a sports columnist working for the school newspaper, The Ensider, which gave me an outlet to voice those thoughts and improve my writing. When Ensworth began broadcasting games, I asked if I could be an announcer, and with help from some faculty members, we were able to set that up. We kept pushing the limits, adding graphics and an intro, and even creating a
idol) Muhammad Ali. I was fortunate enough to win two Emmys in my two years: one for an investigation into ambulance response times and the other for a feature on how hospital ER staff in “Room 9” were on the frontlines of the city’s rise in violent crime. Before Louisville, I worked at WCSC-TV in Charleston, SC. There, I reported on the Masters, shark hunting, and I was the first reporter on the scene on the Emanuel A.M.E. massacre.
Absolutely! On top of working for the paper and broadcasting, Ensworth’s Capstone program allowed me to intern at WSMV-TV, the NBC station in Nashville. I gained a passion for journalism and was drawn to the University of Missouri, home When you think of Ensworth and to the world’s oldest (and best!) school of “experiential learning” what comes to journalism. It also headquarters IRE, or mind? Investigative Reporters and Editors, and is one of two universities in the country Experiential learning is learning by that own a commercial television station. success/failure and the best way to learn. Journalism, like many other professions, What are you up to professionally can’t just be taught in a classroom. It is these days? learned through opportunities like the ones I had with the broadcast club, announcing Right now, I’m a reporter at KMBC-TV, the football and basketball games, writing Hearst-owned station in Kansas City, MO. for the paper, and with my Capstone. Before this, I was working as a reporter for Experientia l lea rning teaches you WAVE-TV in Louisville where I covered troubleshooting, which is a skill coveted everything from the Kentucky Derby to the by any employer. passing of boxing legend (and childhood
Ensworth Annual Fund - “All In” Field Day Challenge - May 13, 2019
The Blacks may have won Field Day, but victory went to the Oranges in this year’s Alumni Field Day Giving Challenge. Many thanks to all who contributed; at the end of the day, whether Orange or Black, we’re #Allin4Ensworth.
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COMMUNITY
Welcome to Frist Campus In recognition of the generosity, leadership, and vision of the Frist family and the key role they have played in the establishment and development of the high school program, the High School Campus is being renamed Frist Campus in their honor. Over the past fifteen years, Ensworth has grown into a nationally recognized K–12 independent school with an enrollment of approximately 1,140 students from diverse backgrounds. Distinctions of the high school program include Harkness-based classrooms, the four-year college counseling model, the Service-Learning curriculum, and the Capstone program, which has yielded 107 Capstone Scholars. Graduates have matriculated to 234 different colleges and universities in 39 states and 7 countries. Since 2004, high school teams have achieved 22 state
championships in eight different sports. During this time, the High School Campus has expanded to include a performing arts theater, natatorium, baseball stadium, indoor/outdoor tennis center, and state-of-the-art golf center. Without the Frists’ unwavering commitment and transformative support, these accomplishments would not have been possible. Their vision helped make the dream of Ensworth’s high school a thriving reality, and we honor their leadership with the naming of Frist Campus.
Left: Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Frist at Class of 2016 G raduation with daughter Trisha ’79 and granddaughters Carrie ’20, Cate ’16, & Lauren ’13. Right: Dr. & Mrs. Frist at 2017 Closing Exercises with grandchildren Sophia ’23, Jacqueline ’21, Caroline ’19, Annabel ’21, & Tommy ’23.
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COMMUNITY
The campaign for a new lower school building C A M PA I G N U P DAT E
$23.8 MILLION
Break Ground:
Raised
Now:
209 from 244 gifts
donors
$31.5MM
$23.8MM
146
Break ground at
$31.5
a re
F I R S T-T I M E
MILLION
Campaign Donors CAMPAIGN DONORS As of July 10, 2019
Anonymous The Ahrend Family Elizabeth & T. Clark Akers Mr. & Mrs. Lawson C. Allen American International Group, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. James Armstrong Cynthia & Dave Arnholt Mr. & Mrs. Charles Atwood Beth & Brian Bachmann Courtney & Christian Bahr David & Stephanie Bailey Jodi & Mark Banks Dr. & Mrs. L. Cole Barfield Mr. & Mrs. H. Lee Barfield II Ms. Amy Bass Edith McBride Bass Candy & Jim Bass Benevity Community Impact Fund Brad & Kim Blevins Andrew & Elizabeth Bond Mr. & Mrs. Jim Boosalis Mr. & Mrs. Dennis C. Bottorff Mr. & Mrs. Jack O. Bovender, Jr. Sara & Richard Bovender Rebecca and Scott Bowers Richard Braemer & Amy Finkel
David & Timiny Braemer Kathryn Carell Brown Foundation Kathryn & David Brown Eliza & Stuart Brunson Louise & John Bryan Sarah & Bob Buchanan Joshua & Anne Buckley Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey W. Buntin, Jr. Nancy & Jeff Bunting Daphne & Rawls Butler Mr. & Mrs. Michael Buttarazzi Terre & Doug Cahill Bratschi Campbell Katherine & Mike Cannata Ann & Monroe Carell Foundation Laura & John Chadwick Ravi Chari & Sharon Albers Dr. & Mrs. Douglas L. Christiansen Stacey & Stu Clark Sandy & Don Cochran Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan J. Cole Greg & Liza Coleman Amy & Overton Colton Stephanie & Forrest Conner Ruby Cortner & Bill Fletcher Mr. & Mrs. Richard Courtney
Crain Family Foundation Drew Crawford Bruce & Kirsten Crosby Donna & Keith Crowe Janet & Michael Dagley Delia & David Darst Mr. & Mrs. Ansel L. Davis Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Land Deleot, Jr. Kathy & Mike Dorr Julie & Adam Dretler Lucy & Greg Duvall Jenny & John Dyer Susan & Jonathan Dyke Mr. & Mrs. George R. Eberle Mr. & Mrs. Shervin Eftekhari Trisha & Chuck Elcan Ensworth Parent Association Mr. & Mrs. Alec T. Estes Jean M. Ewing Mr. & Mrs. Edward Ewing The William Stamps Farish Fund Amanda & Bob Farnsworth Mr. & Mrs. Royce E. Fentress, Jr. Samuel M. Fleming Foundation The Freeland Family Phyllis & Steve Fridrich 2019 SUMMER | 65
COMMUNITY
CAMPAIGN DONORS (CONTINUED) As of July 10, 2019 The Dorothy Cate & Thomas F. Frist Foundation Julie & Tommy Frist Ashley & Harrison Frist Jennifer & Billy Frist Senator & Mrs. William H. Frist The Frist Foundation Elizabeth & Gregg Gerken Glenn Family Craig & Trista Goguen Gwen & Frank Gordon Joel & Bernice Gordon Family Foundation Linda & Kerry Graham Elena & David Graves Kristen & Chad Greer Dr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Groomes Grace Hall Carolyn & Hartley Hall Kailey & JR Hand Katie & Mike Haney Jenny Hannon Wiff & Wendell Harmer Ann Phillips Harmer Mr. & Mrs. H. Rodes Hart Karly & Clay Hart Patricia & Rodes Hart Foundation R. Rick Hart The Haslam Family Foundation, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. James A. Haslam III Natalie & Jim Haslam Joanne Fleming Hayes Glenna & Sam Hazen The HCA Foundation Bela & Virgil Herring Amber & Phil Hertik Mrs. Alice Hooker Mr. & Mrs. Steven C. Hooper Rene Houghland Rebecca & John Howard Mrs. Jeanne Hubert & Mr. Peter C. Sales Kelli & Doug Hudson Rob & Jody Hull The Hunt Family Foundation Mr. & Mrs. James V. Hunt, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. James V. Hunt, Sr. Allan B. Hunt Ingram Foundation Mr. & Mrs. John R. Ingram Mr. & Mrs. Orrin H. Ingram II Mrs. Martha R. Ingram Christy Wilkins Ivey The late Mrs. Frances C. Jackson Mr. & Mrs. Granbery Jackson III Anne & Bedell James Mr. & Mrs. Edward B. James, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Morris Jamison Mr. & Mrs. Anderson L. Jarman Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Johnson Jr. Edie & David Johnson Heather & Stephen Johnson 66 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS
Torry & Mary Leyden Johnson The Nancy M. & Victor S. Johnson, Jr. Foundation Ms. Whitney L. Johnson Mr. Crews Johnston III Ling & Andy Kelley Corinne & Brock Kidd Cannon & Catherine King Steve & Lisa Kirkham Mr. Philip D. Krebs Emily & Will Kurtz Chris & Coco Kyriopoulos Ashley & Matt Lane Tracy & Kristie Langston Rebecca & Bryan Larson Jennifer & Phillip Lawson Katherine Hawkins Letterman Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Liapunov Dr. & Mrs. MacRae F. Linton Dr. & Mrs. Newt Lovvorn Mr. & Mrs. David C. Mason Mr. & Mrs. Abhishek Mathur Emily & Hill McAlister Shannon & Mike McGuffin Met Foundation Karen & Bruce Moore Lise & Will Morrow Dr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Nesbitt, Jr. Sally & Jon Nesbitt Mr. & Mrs. Allen Oakley Mrs. Alfene S. Page Kim Patikas Mr. & Mrs. Craig W. Perry Tim Petrikin Johnson Phillips Pam & John Picklesimer Mr. & Mrs. Forrest Porterfield Jamie & Ben Rechter Drs. Kris P. & Christopher R. Rehm Dr. Ellen C. Reynolds The Rich Foundation Mr. & Mrs. William Rich Ms. Amy Rich & Mr. Eddie Schmidt Mr. & Mrs. Tate Rich Amy Liz & John Riddick Mr. & Mrs. Stephen S. Riven The late Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Robinson Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Robinson, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Edwin Wilson Robinson The late Mrs. Margaret Ann Robinson Mr. & Mrs. David Rollins, David & Mary Rollins Advised Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Elena & Robert Rollins Ellie & Trent Rosenbloom Mr. & Mrs. Seamus P. Ross Anne & Joe Russell Rebecca & Grant Rutledge Alex & Polly Ryerson
Ms. Mary Elizabeth Sales & Mr. Ed Frank Strauss Whitney & Chris Schickling Laurie & Jim Seabury Casey & Chris Seay Maureen & Donald Seitz Libby & Jason Sheer Dorothy & Clay Sifford Lorien & John Sites Mr. & Mrs. Brian S. Smallwood Betty & Randy Smith Mr. & Mrs. Frederick W. Smith Barbara & Brett Smith Leah & Jim Sohr Speer Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Richard M. Speer Mrs. Lynnda Speer Kathleen Armour-Spitzer & Ned Spitzer Julie C. Stadler The T & T Family Foundation Anne & Jim Tate Stewart & Clay Taylor Betsy & Dave Taylor Jamee & De Thompson Currey & Wade Thornton Emily & Crom Tidwell III Chadd & Kari Tierney Bonney & Jim Todd Mr. & Mrs. Brian W. Tolbert Jacqueline & McClain Towery Tiffany Townsend & Todd Matthews Mr. & Mrs. Reed Trickett Christi & Jay Turner James Stephen Turner Family Foundation Linda & Lester Turner Drs. Victor & Stacey Vallejo Mr. & Mrs. Jack Wallace Louise Bullard Wallace Foundation Missy & Paul Wallace Dr. & Mrs. Trent Wallace Ann & Axson West Mr. & Mrs. Govan D. White Jana & Matt White Jonna & Doug Whitman Mr. & Mrs. William M. Wilson Blair Wilson Mr. & Mrs. T.J. Wilt Dallas & Fleming Wilt Mr. & Mrs. Toby S. Wilt Anne Potter Wilson Foundation Maury & Mark Woolwine
To make a gift to the Excellence Begins with E Campaign please contact Bedell James at jamesb@ensworth.com
GOLD KEY AWARD WINNER Jacqueline Frist ’21
Forest of Dreams Digital Art Category National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
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