ENDLESS MELODIES | P. 14 jazz continues to thrive on prairie’s campus
ALUMNI MAGAZINE
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT EVERETT MCKINNEY RETIRES AFTER THREE DECADES AT PRAIRIE
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VOLUME 5 ISSUE 1
Contents —
03 from the head of school 04 faculty notes
campus happenings
05 Into the Sunset 06 Making Caring Common: Ayanna Crenshaw ’20
08 On Air: Students Create Prairie’s First Podcast
10 Everett Story Title Here 14 Endless Melodies alumni 16 The Man Behind the Curtain 18 Tools, Tricks, and Targets 20 A Great Day for 1K 21 Across the Aisle 22 Alumni Notes 24 Star Light, Star Bright
the last word
25 Making Kindness a Priority
— CONTRIBUTORS Editor: Brendan J. O’Brien Designer: Dora Knuteson / Dooley & Associates Authors: Callie Atanasoff Nat Coffman Rachel Morello 2 Aliya | prairieschool.com Pitts Brendan J. O’Brien
In October, students in the Primary School launched The Prairie Podcast Project, the school’s first foray into the popular medium. See page 8 for more.
From the Head of School —
Dear Prairie Families, For decades across our campus, Prairie faculty have modeled and emphasized communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. These 4 C’s are key to success in any endeavor and are crucial skills our students will use as they move through the rest of their lives — as college and graduate students, as colleagues in their workplaces, as members of their families, and as neighbors, voters, volunteers, and leaders in their communities.
“When members of a community work together through words and actions, they can achieve great things. That is certainly true of Prairie. — Nat Coffman, Ed.D.
In many ways, Prairie is our students’ first community outside of their family. Utilizing their toolkit of 4 C’s, they build relationships, contribute to the greater good, earn duties and responsibilities, and set out on an adventure that is rarely a smooth linear path. Along their journey, they are supported by and grow alongside our community of Prairie faculty, scholars, parents, and alumni from all over the world, each with their own perspectives and talents. It is this combination of our differences and our shared experiences that make our community so strong, and a Prairie education so unique. As you’ll read throughout this issue, our students spend a great deal of time working with and learning from and about people who live, look, and/or think differently than them. Our emphasis on diverse perspectives and experiences allows our students to learn the empathy, civility, and leadership necessary to help our school and their future communities thrive. I encourage you to join our students in their pursuit of collaboration and community this spring. Join us in the theater for the 5th and 6th grade musical or one of our spring concerts. Break out your favorite Prairie blanket or windbreaker and come cheer on the Hawks Girls’ Soccer team, the Boys’ Tennis and Golf squads, the Boys’ and Girls’ Track athletes, or the LP Baseball team at any of their various competitions this spring. Thank a mentor who made a difference in your life during National Teacher Appreciation Week, between May 6th-10th, 2019. Congratulate a graduating Senior at Commencement on Friday May 24th, or reach out to welcome an incoming Prairie family. However you feel moved to participate, your contribution will help us continue to grow and strengthen the Prairie community. We are better for your being a part of Prairie.
Sincerely,
Nathaniel W. Coffman, Ed.D. Head of School & President
Faculty Notes
TEACHERS AT WORK TO BROADEN THEIR IMPACT ON THE PRAIRIE COMMUNITY —
This winter, the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology selected JOY ARAGONES, Middle School Science Teacher, for the 2019 MIT Science and Engineering Program for Teachers (SEPT). Joy is one of only fifty STEM educators worldwide to have earned this distinguished opportunity; MIT describes the awardees as “Innovative, creative, and dedicated leaders in their communities.” As part of the week-long program, Joy will travel to the MIT campus this summer to take part in professional development sessions focused on integrating creative technology in STEM coursework.
EMILY HENKEL, Early School Educational Assistant, returned to school in January to pursue her credentials in Early Childhood Education. Henkel already holds a teaching license, along with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from UW-Parkside. Her latest undertaking takes advantage of a “2+2 articulation agreement” between her alma mater and the Wisconsin Technical College System; she’ll work to obtain her Associate’s degree through Gateway Technical College, and will complete her coursework at Parkside for a second Bachelor’s degree. This spring, Art Teacher IZZI BUIKUS had several pieces selected for “The Raw Artist Showcase,” a Milwaukee-based art show featuring local, independent talent in visual art, film, fashion design, music, performance art, and photography. Her visual artwork — which incorporated charcoal, watercolors, and oils — will show in downtown Milwaukee in July 2019. [A] 4 | prairieschool.com
In March, JIM BROETZMANN, Middle School Science Teacher, attended the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers’ (WSST) annual conference in Madison. Jim presented to fellow Wisconsin educators on the topic of “The Use of Interactive Notebooks in the Middle School Science Classroom.”
SCOTT HUGGINS, Upper School English Teacher and Forensics Club Advisor, received word this spring that his first full-length novel, All Things Huge And Hideous, will be published by Superversive Press later this year. The plot expands on Scott’s existing novella, Doctor to Dragons, a dark-comedy take on sword and sorcery. PETER WILSON, retired, checked in
A
recently from his home in Akron, Ohio. “[One of my most memorable experiences is] being a member of the founding faculty that worked to achieve the school’s opening in 1965,” says Wilson. [B]
Births
B
JOHN (US Social Studies) and ABBI FRENCH (and big sister Lillian)
announce the birth of Corrine French on 1/26/19. [C]
SOPHIA (Grade 3 teacher) and JOE PENKALA
announce the birth of Milo Werner Penkala on 2/12/19. [D]
D
C
Campus Happenings TAKING IT PERSONAL
Working together, Prairie’s parents set a fundraising record — By Aliya Pitts, Assistant Head of School for Advancement
T
o achieve success, a goal — a desired outcome — must be established. And the first step — the one that defines the journey — is showing up. Each year, Prairie relies on charitable gifts from donors to balance the budget. Academic, art, athletic, and co-curricular programs are all supported by an endeavor known as the Prairie Fund: donations ranging from $1 to $150,000, given by members of the community who have shown up to support the school they love. Prairie is a special place with a powerful history of both collaboration and generosity. However, the way parents fit into this philanthropic puzzle can be complicated for schools like TPS. On one hand, tuition alone represents a significant financial commitment for many families. On the other, these are the people who, like our alumni, know firsthand what an exceptional learning environment Prairie offers today’s students. Traditionally, this dichotomy resulted in limited parent giving to the Prairie Fund. In 201718, 26% of Prairie’s parents made a Prairie Fund gift, compared to peer schools across the country where 65% participation is the norm. So this fall, Prairie’s Advancement Office, charged with raising over $1,000,000 annually to fill gaps in the budget, looked to those past traditions for inspiration – and the wheels began to turn. Led by Prairie Fund Chair Lyndsay Knoell – parent of Emma ’20, Wyatt ’22, and Gretta ’29 – the Advancement team
wanted to build on the growing success of the Faculty Prairie Fund Campaign. This fall, for the 5th consecutive year, 100% of full-time TPS faculty made a charitable gift back to the school. A buzz was already building around such a remarkable display of support, and it was exciting to think about what that same success could look like for the parent community. With the help of an enthusiastic group of volunteers, the community began a personal, peer-to-peer campaign — relying on the parents themselves to spread the message to each other. Grade Captains, responsible for sending updates and soliciting support, were assigned to each class. Parents appeared in Prairie Fund promo videos. Knoell, Fund Chair, kicked everything off with a letter to his fellow parents in early October. With a campaign that featured everything from old fashioned snail mail to social media posts, staff and volunteers quickly discovered part of the issue was knowledge: parents didn’t understand the impact their gift could make or what types of initiatives their funds would support. As with faculty, the focus was on participation — a gift of any size — and communication was critical. Every printed piece and webpage detailed the types of opportunities made possible for students thanks to philanthropy: the school’s annual Jazz Day, new classroom supplies, college fairs, Prairie’s Malone School Online Network membership, team uniforms, theater costumes — the list is endless.
“Anything new, cool, or unique that happens here does so because of the Prairie Fund, the annual fundraising drive supported by parents, grandparents, and other friends of the school,” said Knoell. “As Chair, I quickly realized the strength of a school’s annual fundraising lies in participation — the numbers, the teamwork, the shared belief in the mission — rather than a few large gifts. Every contribution matters, regardless of size, and that’s why I’m asking you to join me in giving to the Prairie Fund this fall.” Join him they did. As of March, Prairie’s parent giving was up 400% over 2017-18. In every division – including a staggering 97% in Primary School – parent participation levels have increased. The initiative was a true testament to the power of participation, and what’s possible when a community shows up.
Current and alumni parents (from left) Joe Cronin, Jim Brzezinski, and Corey Brandt work on building their Lego Mo Hawks at Prairie’s Leadership Donor event in March.
Campus Happenings
MAKING CARING COMMON: AYANNA CRENSHAW ’20
Prairie junior builds bridges from Wind Point to Nashville to Harvard University
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By Rachel Morello, Communication Manager
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ertain faces become familiar across Prairie’s campus specifically because of the smile they carry and the joy they spread. A positive aura just seems to trail these people wherever they go. You come to recognize their chuckle, their greeting, regardless of whether you’ve met — and if you haven’t yet, you certainly will soon. This is certainly the case with Ayanna Crenshaw ’20. You almost never find the current junior without a smile spread across her face, or sitting alone at Morning Meeting — usually, she’s up front making an announcement on behalf of the Track team. It’s no surprise that Crenshaw’s teachers and classmates trust her. It’s even less of a shock that she has taken it upon herself to work to spread kindness and understanding across Prairie’s campus — a place that she says has all the right tools for tough yet productive conversations. “I feel like being at Prairie is a blessing,” she says. “Kids in a lot of other schools go through things that I can’t even imagine going through. We do a good job — but we can always be better.” So, Crenshaw has set to work bridging the gaps that she sees within her school community through a few different
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national projects. This winter, for the second consecutive year, faculty selected Crenshaw among a group of Prairie students to attend the People of Color Conference’s Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) in Nashville, Tennessee. Along with five of her classmates and more than 1600 of their peers, Crenshaw worked to experience and learn about race, privilege, power, gender, sexual identity, and themselves. She returned to campus with “tons of ideas” about how to spark similar conversations at Prairie. “We talked about different problems we have at our schools and out in the world, different experiences that we could all relate to,” she explains. “I really enjoyed it, and I felt lucky that our teachers were accepting of us participating. It’s really cool having teachers who support us like that.” Beyond the recognition Crenshaw has received in the Prairie community as a leader and collaborator, she has also been tapped to work with her peers far and wide. She was chosen as one of twenty-five high school students nationwide to be a member of the “Making Caring Common” Youth Advisory Board, a project of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. As part of the Board,
students collaborate to help address pressing ethical and moral issues facing teenagers today, through year-long projects they develop to implement on their own campuses. At Prairie, that means working with Middle School students to cultivate a culture of kindness. Crenshaw is currently leading an informal initiative to get her younger peers to think about what kindness means to them. The answers populate a whiteboard outside the Middle School office, with the goal of eventually being combined into some sort of digital artwork. Some of Crenshaw’s Upper School classmates have joined in as well, hoping to build connections across the Middle and Upper School divisions. But she says it’s not always big projects or cross-national groups like the Youth Advisory Board that make a difference: often, it’s the little things. And as a leader in Prairie’s community, she tries to do little things as often as she can. “I speak up in class when topics of diversity or race come up, I try to engage with my classmates in the hallways, just interacting in a positive manner,” Crenshaw says. “Leading by example feels like one of the best things I can do — in school and in life.”
“Leading by example feels like
one of the best things I can do
— in school and in life.”
Last fall, Ayanna Crenshaw ‘20 was just one of twenty-five high school students nationwide chosen to serve on a Youth Advisory Board put together by Harvard University.
Kristina Gile, 2nd Grade Teacher, works with Tiano Tvardek ‘30 to record an episode of the Prairie School project last fall.
Campus Happenings
ON AIR: PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS CREATE PRAIRIE’S FIRST PODCAST
Student Council gets down and digital for this year’s project. — By Brendan J. O’Brien, Director of Communication The students circle up on the fuzzy grey rug and take turns saying their names into the microphone. Some are shy and some shout, some are tiny and some are ten, but all are here for the same reason: to talk about grit. Welcome to the Prairie Podcast Project, a first-time dabbling into the world of digital media by the Primary School Student Council. Despite this being only their second episode, the group already has the process down. Having spent the past week talking about grit in their respective classes, they are now visiting Kathryn LaLonde’s room to practice the answers they’ll give about what grit means, and how they can show it in their lives. “It has gone even better than I hoped,” says LaLonde, 3rd Grade
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teacher and Student Council Co-Advisor. “It’s just a really cool project that has allowed all of the kids to work together.” The Primary School Student Council has developed a reputation for cool projects. Since taking over as an Advisor during the 2015-16 school year, LaLonde has helped spearhead initiatives such as Attitude of Gratitude, A Tiny Way to Show Big Appreciation, and Teaching Leaders and Planners. The annual project is part of the Primary School’s Character
Education Program, designed to help students understand and implement the nine different character traits Prairie teaches its students: growth mindset, grit, gratitude, social-emotional intelligence, optimism, purpose, zest, curiosity, and self-control. Nine traits for nine months of school. Every month, teachers make it a priority to point out that particular trait whenever it manifests itself in their lessons. “I always try to keep it in mind when it appears in other subjects,” says LaLonde. “For example, I might say, ‘Today, we’re learning double-digit multiplication and we’re going to need a growth mindset.’” After practicing their answers with LaLonde, students go down the hall to record with Kristina Gile, 2nd Grade teacher, Student Council Co-Advisor, and the podcast’s digital guru. After the recording is complete, members of the group will sit down to interview a special guest – this particular episode features Dr. Coffman, Head of School – before Gile edits the audio. Every student in Kindergarten through 4th Grade participates in at least one Student Council meeting per year, meaning everyone will have the opportunity to hear their voice on the podcast. The project has proven a fun way to reinforce what students are learning in class, and when it comes to the character traits, learning is exactly what they’re doing. Primary School teachers are diligent in devoting regular class time — thirty or forty minutes, three or four times a week — to teaching character education. Through skits, discussions, books, and other resources, students study character traits the same way they study math, English, or science. “It’s very cool when you see the kids begin to understand,” LaLonde says. “They really start to get it. They begin to use the words in their vocabulary. They notice the importance of these things in their own lives.” A version of this story originally appeared on www.prairieschool.com. To list to past episodes of the Prairie Podcast, visit www.prairieschool. com/prairie-podcast-project.
WORDS OF WISDOM Every podcast episode features a special guest from the Prairie faculty. While their advice is aimed toward Primary School students, here are a few excerpts we can all benefit from remembering.
—G rowth Mindset with Susan Holum, Head of Primary School “We want students to continue trying new things. Even if it’s not something they are good at right away, we want kids to have an open mind and be willing to try.”
— Grit with Dr. Coffman, Head of School “Grit is about picking yourself up and dusting yourself off; persevering when things get hard.”
— Gratitude with Kathy Boero, Head of Middle School “Every day I walk up to The Prairie School doors and think how I’m grateful to work in a school where there’s respect and students and teachers work together.”
—S ocial Intelligence with Dr. Mike Boticki, School Psychologist “Being socially intelligent can help our friends feel good about themselves. It also helps us work as teams and groups, it can help with problem-solving, and it can help build friendships and relationships.”
— Optimism with Terie Carpenter, Lead Early School Teacher “Optimism is a feeling or attitude of being positive or hopeful about the future; it’s a quality that anyone can choose.”
— Purpose with Molly Lofquist-Johnson, Sr. Director of Admission “My professional purpose has been about experience and getting to know this job inside out, figuring out each year what I need to do a little better.”
— Zest with Everett McKinney, Associate Head of School & Head of Upper School
Students talk about grit with Kathryn LaLonde, 3rd Grade Teacher, prior to recording their podcast.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, you need to have a sense of embracing your life and embracing the day with a positive, enthusiastic, go get ’em, take charge attitude.”
WORDS OF
ENCOURAGEMENT Everett McKinney retires after 29 years at Prairie. —
Brendan J. O’Brien,
Director of Communication
Growing up as an only child in Memphis, TN, Everett McKinney’s childhood contained an ample sprinkling of the key ingredient needed for boyhood interests to blossom into lifelong ambitions: encouragement. He received it from his parents – his mother an outgoing department store buyer, his father a shy box factory foreman – who did what they could to help a young McKinney pursue opera and classical music and piano. He admits that these interests were rare for an African American boy growing up in recently desegregated Memphis, a city at odds with the place it was trying to become. “To be that fortunate, to have my parents say, ‘Well, if that’s what he wants to do, let’s get him lessons and send him to the schools and have him meet the people who can help him.’ That meant a lot. And just growing up as an African American with both parents – I didn’t realize what a luxury that was – and to have them be so supportive, that was my good fortune.” Throughout his schooling he’d go on to receive plenty of encouragement from high school teachers and college professors. Perhaps the most pivotal advice came from the Language Chair at the University of Tennessee in the weeks after McKinney’s graduation, the two performing together in the Knoxville Civic Opera Chorus. What are you going to do now? The possibilities 10
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were both endless and overwhelming. “He asked and I didn’t know,” he says. “So he suggested becoming a TA in French, working on my Master’s, and that’s how I ended up going down that path.” It was a path that would wind from the American South to Europe to the upper Midwest. McKinney came to Prairie in the summer of 1989 after a few years teaching at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield. Prairie quickly became his home; the people his family. He continued to find encouragement here, this time from new co-workers like Wendy Will, Tracy Waters, Jenny Mueller, Mary Lou Moeller, Kathy Denbell, and Harold Swanson. They welcomed him, asked after things like what bank he was using, answered his questions about where he could take his mom for dinner when she visited. “The professionalism was noticeable immediately,” he says. “They were all very friendly, very nice. And I have valued having colleagues like that.” Everett McKinney will retire in June following three decades at Prairie. He has taught French, served as Middle School Dean, and spent the last decade-plus as Head of Upper School. In retirement, his springs and autumns will be spent at the home he and his husband, John, own in La Crosse. The rest of the year
they will reside in Racine. The potential also exists for some trips to the Smoky Mountains. “The dogwoods are just beautiful there,” he says. We sat down on a busy morning in April, the interview delayed a few minutes as he met with a teacher seeking advice. His office, sparsely decorated, is peaceful and inviting, the sunshine coming through the large windows and warming the space. His modus operandi when it comes to attire might be defined as Southern Gentlemen Meets European Class, and this day was no different – he donned a knit sweater and corduroys with his burnished loafers and round framed spectacles. Before we began he came from behind his desk and took the chair next to mine. Did you want to be a teacher growing up? McKinney: I wanted to do something interacting with people. I’m actually pretty introverted in a strange way; people say, ‘Oh, he’s so gregarious and outgoing’, but I’m really not. I love time by myself. I was an only child so that’s one reason. I will give the appearance of being this outgoing and talkative guy which I can do with a certain amount of ease, but boy when I get home, I like to crash. Being introverted, where do you think the desire to work with people came from? McKinney: Being an only child the attention was on me. My mom was a department store buyer in Memphis, bought infant and children’s wear for almost twenty-five years. So she was pretty outgoing. My dad was shy. He was a twin, and of the two he was the more reserved one. I think I inherited more of my uncle’s traits in being a little bit, I don’t know, outspoken about things. What do you remember most about being a kid in school? McKinney: I came up at the crux of the Civil Rights movement. In 1964 I was in second grade when things began to change.
Do you have memories of that? Of things changing? McKinney: The elementary school I attended was predominantly African American and when the Civil Rights things were being put into place, they tried integrating with teachers first. I remember after sixth grade coming back for seventh and the teachers were different. They had moved the strong, respected African American teachers into the white schools, and put weaker, not as highly-performing white teachers into the African American schools. And that was just very revealing. And so after my parents saw the quality of the school would not be up to par, they sent me somewhere else for eighth. I went to a predominantly white public high school in which I and another young man were the only two blacks in a school of hundreds. At least until our senior year when they’d done enough experimentation with teachers and they began enrolling more African American students.
How did you like it? Or dislike it? McKinney: I didn’t dislike it. I’d maybe say something to my parents about how it was a bit harder, but they’d say, ‘That’s okay. We think it’s the right choice and that you’ll be better off.’ I took a bus every day eighth grade through senior year, a public bus, to go to high school. It was pretty neat actually. Did you sing in high school? Were you speaking French? Where did these passions come from? McKinney: I’ve always sung. I was lucky. My father’s side was pretty musical. He was from a big family so everyone took piano lessons and my uncle, my dad’s youngest brother, was an incredible musician. So everybody played music and took piano lessons. I did that from an early age. Although I wish I had taken an instrument. The piano is an instrument.
McKinney: [Laughing] I can play enough to get us into my score and my parts and that sort of thing. But I really wish I’d taken up a string or some other instrument. I’ll tell any parent, ‘Yes, piano is good. It will give them a foundation, but also encourage [your children] to do an instrument.” When did you start speaking French? McKinney: I took French in high school, two years with a really good teacher. I was lucky – because French and Spanish and German were still
or so. It was engaged learning. Madam Mateau her name was. Mrs. Matthews. You spent time abroad. What was that like? McKinney: After my first year in graduate school I spent a year in France as part of an exchange program. In a city called Besancon on the eastern coast. And that’s where you learn. It’s nice to study the academic stuff, but one month abroad trumps what you learn in a course for an entire year. The thing my travels have taught me beyond just
between between twelve and probably four while doing stuff around the house. I could spend all afternoon – and I used to do this before John and I got married – at the movies. Before I became a dean and, you know, had to work to do. [Laughing] Saturday is also spent, if I haven’t finished the New York Times – I only get the hard copy on Sunday – I will spend Saturday getting caught up because I know it’s coming the next day for a week’s worth of reading. Let’s talk about Prairie. It’s, what, 1989 when you arrive on campus? McKinney: 1989. Let me tell you about being hired here. It was so cool. First person I met was Jim Van Hoven [Head of School]. And we had an interview, just like you and I are sitting down, and we talked about my philosophy and as we finished he said, “Well Everett, I’ve enjoyed talking to you very much. I think you might be a good fit, but I want you to know, it will be the department making this decision. Because that’s where you’ll be working. Wendy Will is the Language Chair. So good luck with the rest of your day and I hope you make as positive an impression on them as you have on me.’ And I attribute my first years of learning the culture here to my department having an investment in me. It was my good colleague Tracy Waters who said, ‘I’ll help you move.’ It was Wendy, it was people just being helpful however they could.
taught like Latin with lots of reading and writing – but I had a teacher who was pretty progressive and understood the importance of communication. So we didn’t just do the grammar, but we also did conversational French. And rather than just learning your part of the dialogue you had to create dialogue. had a language lab and I think 12 We | prairieschool.com she’d gotten a grant to do that. That was cutting edge back in the mid-seventies
learning French, is an appreciation for life. Good food, good company, good friends. Things it doesn’t require great wealth to buy. Going to a museum or a concert. Just an appreciation of life. I think Europeans do that a bit better than we do. What do you like doing on a Saturday? McKinney: In the winter it’s faithfully listening to Metropolitan Opera
I have valued having colleagues like that. And I try to be that person for new teachers. But I’ll tell you what, these new folks coming out? They are so ahead of where I was. I knew about my discipline, but we hire people today much more educated in the science and theory of teaching. I’ve done a lot by trial and error. This works and this doesn’t, and I didn’t necessarily know why. But having people like [Learning Specialists] Mari [Grobschmidt] and Kim Leinweber say, ‘Well you’re processing it this way or a kid is thinking that way.’ It’s the best
of both worlds. If you get passionate people with a little personality and that discipline knowledge, and then the how and why of it? That’s good. And I have always taken this advice: Make acquaintances and don’t burn any bridges with the facilities, the kitchen staff, and the clerical staff and you’ll be alright. That’s good advice. My father taught high school social studies for 43 years – you remind me of him in many ways – and I remember at Christmas he’d always buy a kringle and a case of beer for the custodians. McKinney: They’re the people that run the place. Sure, I have a title of Division Head, but when you want a question answered, who do you ask? You go to [Upper School Assistant] Barb [Barth]. What happens when you want to eat? You go to the kitchen. Why do you enjoy working with teeanagers? McKinney: Because they’re a work in progress. When I was teaching full time it was so great to have a kid in fifth grade and then in AP French to see them progress from being a ten-year-old to being seventeen or eighteen. They’re a work in progress, they’re evolving, and you’re just trying to model for them, call them on things – and this is where my southernness comes in – you’re going to get dressed down when you’re crossing the line, but it’s nice to know that’s not who they are going to be. And if you can be some part of that transformation in a positive way, that’s a powerful thing. What have you learned about yourself from teaching? McKinney: I gotta use a Coach Swanson because it’s so true. I went out with him and his wife Sunday. He’s eighty-four. And still a gentleman and just a good, good man. And I know you’ve heard a lot about him, and your kids will hear about him. I’ve learned this: you’re never as good as they say you
are, and you’re never as bad as they say you are. A recent candidate said, ‘As an educator, having a short memory is a good thing.’ You have to move on when you’re dealing with kids and people in a profession where you learn from making mistakes. Because it’s constant, right? The next one is about to knock on that door any minute. McKinney: And when they knock, it’s a parent with an issue. It’s a student coming in. Could be a colleague who needs you. Or it could be Nat with an issue, could be the boss. So you got four folks you’re dealing with. There was a knock right before you came in, happened to be a colleague needing help. That’s the fun of this job. Having those experiences. And I’ll tell you, this is the best job in the world. Other than teaching, it’s the best. And I get the best of both worlds because I still teach as well. Why was that important to you? Staying in the classroom? McKinney: Because it gave me credibility with students, and it gave me credibility with faculty. When there’s a meeting and someone is talking about kids not getting it – we had this problem a couple years ago with a group of freshmen as they transitioned – I know exactly what those teachers are dealing with. I don’t have all the students, but I have enough that they’ll go out and say, ‘Yeah, he’s okay. Don’t cross this or that line. And maybe say hello and smile at him once in a while and he’ll stay off your case.’ Once more into the breach. Teachers and students appreciate knowing you’re in it with them. McKinney: I’m not asking you to do anything I’m not willing to do. I don’t ask the kids to pick up something or do something I wouldn’t do. You’ll see me going through and picking up paper off the floor, because this is my school.
This is our school. So we all have to take responsibility. And let me tell you what, they can bend down a whole lot easier nowadays than I can. How will you remember Prairie in ten, twenty years? McKinney: Wow. Well obviously, it was a place that provided a very decent livelihood. You have to be practical about things. But I would say it’s the, and it’s so cliche, but it boils down to connections and the people I’ve gotten to know through good times, sad times, through losses. But it’s so nice to – this is one thing I’ll miss – it’s so nice walking around town and recognizing somebody. And they recognize you. It’s nice to know people are happy or comfortable enough to say, ‘Hey Mr. McKinney, do you remember me?’ That feels good. That’s the payoff. I’ll miss that. I’ll have it for a couple more years. That payoff might end in two or three years with the kids here now, but there’s thirty years worth of kids out there. McKinney: Yes there is. That’s the hope, yes. It’s been a good gig. It was something I never aspired to. I wanted to be a good teacher. And after about ten years Bonnie [Benes] said, ‘I think you’d be a good Dean of Students, what do you think?’ And we worked together for six or seven years before realizing it was someone else’s time. And so now, after doing this for ten or twelve years, it’s someone else’s time. Let some fresh eyes look on it. Because it’s good. What do you hope for Prairie? McKinney: We lost Mrs. Johnson last year. And her family can take great comfort in what she established. Prairie is an entity, an institution that will survive and be here long after us. There will be ebbs and flows, but this is a place that will go on. And you just hope the people who come and go get the best out of it. I tell every single new hire coming through here, “I sure hope you have as enjoyable a time as I’ve had.”
Campus Happenings ENDLESS MELODIES
An inherent commitment to music and creativity sees jazz thriving on Prairie’s campus.
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By Brendan J. O’Brien, Director of Communication
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n 1959, six years before Prairie opened its doors to its first eightyfour students, Miles Davis released the greatest jazz album ever made. Aficionados and novices alike will waste little time telling you A Kind of Blue is brilliant for many reasons. Most notable, however, is Davis’s dedication to creativity, as well as the musician’s innate knack for exploring the avenues of his imagination. In this way, Prairie and Miles Davis (and jazz in general) have a lot in common. Ask former Music and Band Director Pat Badger and she’ll tell you about the rich history jazz has on Prairie’s campus, one that continues to thrive under the watchful eye of nationally-renowned trumpeter and Instrumental Music Teacher, Jamie Breiwick.
In February, Prairie hosted the 2019 Woody Herman Jazz Festival, a match made in bebop heaven. Conducted by the Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra, the Festival was billed as an educational day of jazz open to middle and high school ensembles in Southeastern Wisconsin.
At this year’s festival, Prairie welcomed ensembles from Glen Hills Middle School, Waterford High School, Catholic Memorial High School, and Milwaukee High School of the Arts for a day dedicated to jazz history, workshopping, and improvisation.
The collaboration between MJO and TPS was a continuation of Prairie’s first Jazz Day in the spring of 2018. The brainchild of Breiwick, last year’s event saw a handful of schools visit campus for a day of learning and playing with members of Prairie’s music department and famed NYC jazz trumpeter Jeremy Pelt.
“It’s great to see all of you here,” said Curt Hanrahan, MJO’s Artistic Director, as the saxophonist addressed students during a special concert. “Jazz isn’t really happening in a lot of the schools anymore. It’s up to you to let people know this kind of music is still around; that’s why we’re out teaching the young people. This is a deeply American art form.”
Much like Prairie’s participation in Summerfest Jazz Education Day and the school’s yearly Visiting Artist Series, Jazz Day is another chance for Prairie students to continue their development as musicians.
Jamie Instrumental Music Teacher, 14 | Breiwick, prairieschool.com was a driving force in bringing Jazz Day to Prairie.
Kai Nakayma ‘20, a member of the Upper School Jazz Band, warms up before performing at the 2019 Woody Herman Jazz Festival.
“If you put a musician in a place where he has to do something different from what he does all the time… that’s where great art and music happens.” — Miles Davis in Miles: The Autobiography
A HIGH-TECH HOME FOR PRAIRIE’S MUSICIANS The soothing sounds of Thelonious Monk or John Coltrane. Typically, that’s what could best be described as music to Jamie Breiwick’s ears. However, in the fall of 2018, Prairie’s Instrumental Music Teacher was delighted by sounds of a different nature – hammers and drills in the Prairie music room as the Facilities team overhauled Prairie’s recording studio. The remodel resulted in a new Music Technology Lab highlighted by state of the art drum pads, computers, and MIDI keyboards. “Composing, electronic music, sound effects, video production: the kids can do it all on these things,” said Breiwick. The idea for a remodel came about when the campus computer lab Breiwick regularly used – the Case Lab in the SRC – was needed for a new Computer Coding class. While the Music Technology Lab will be used regularly by classes like 7/8 Electronic Media and AP Music Theory, it will also be the place where Prairie’s young artists congregate to work on their craft. “Students use the studio all the time to write and record,” says Breiwick. “And this new space is incredible. I’m really excited for our musicians.”
Jamie Breiwick (back row, second from right) performs with the Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra at this spring’s Woody Herman Jazz Festival at Prairie.
THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN Behind every TPS theatrical performance, a talented crew puts the pieces together, led by a former Prairie student-turned-teacher — By Rachel Morello, Communication Manager Hammer: check. Paintbrush: check. Table saw: check. Not exactly your typical school supply list, but these are the tools Prairie students use as part of their Tech Theatre courses. Upper School students can sign up for one of two Theatre Workshop classes as part of Prairie’s Performing Arts curriculum.
Back in the day, Wagner attended Prairie from preschool through 7th Grade. Even after he left, he maintained relationships with several teachers — some of whom remain on campus to this day, and one of whom he reached out to during his post-grad job search. That landed him a phone call with Prairie’s Performing Arts department. And the rest is history.
Unlike more traditional His favorite part of courses, the objective is teaching these courses? not pass/fail — it’s getting “It’s a different way to the job done. Grades are interact with students. based on completion, Showing them how to use rather than assigned a circular saw is different by the letter. Students’ than teaching them about assignments are tasks derivatives,” Wagner listed on a whiteboard describes. “It builds a at the beginning of the certain kind of rapport that class period, big and small you can’t get in a classroom to-do’s needed to complete because it puts everyone construction on the sets for on the same team, rather various school productions. And the classroom doesn’t Ben Wagner, center, at Melissa Flynn, US Math Teacher, work with students in the sound booth than a ‘leader-follower’ prior to the Upper School Players’ performance of Mamma Mia! this spring. relationship.” consist of desks and chairs. Sometimes, it’s a speakeasy, or a forest of Truffula Trees. This For most of the school day, Melissa Flynn heads one of those winter, it was a small island off the coast of Greece, the backdrop traditional classrooms, teaching Upper School math. She sneaks for the Upper School’s spring production of Mamma Mia! away to the Jack Mitchell Theatre to co-teach Workshop classes with Wagner. As Technical Theatre Director, Ben Wagner oversees all of the Workshop courses. He says the work his students do is the “It’s really low-stakes,” she describes. “If students aren’t epitome of hands-on learning. comfortable doing something, they don’t have to do it on the first day. They start where they’re at. Everyone is learning at their “Literally, if you don’t put your hands on anything here, you own pace.” aren’t going to get anything out of the class,” explains Wagner, who came to Prairie fresh out of Transylvania University in But the pace moves fast. With two musicals on the Performing Lexington, KY, where he graduated with a B.A. in Neuroscience Arts calendar each school year, students have a full slate of work and Theatre. to do in a condensed amount of time. This year, first semester 16 | prairieschool.com
HERE WE GO AGAIN! Prairie hosts its first-ever Alumni Theatre Night Tech Theatre students got their hands dirty putting together the set for the Middle School’s performance of Seussical, Jr.; almost immediately after the curtain closed, it was on to building the base of a two-story building that would form the centerpiece of the set for Mamma Mia! Class periods aren’t necessarily “structured” (pun intended). Wagner and Flynn list out to-do’s on a whiteboard backstage; when students arrive, they pick an assignment and go to work. During class, both instructors circulate to supervise and teach where needed. If students don’t get their task done in the class period, they can pick it up the next day — or someone else can collaborate to finish it. Wagner says there’s value in having Workshop as a class during the school day, rather than kids signing up for Crew as a co-curricular after school: it’s almost like a modern-day, 2.0 version of what schools used to call home economics. “It’s like a weirdly specialized job class,’” he explains. “You might never
Prairie hosted its first-ever Alumni Theatre Night during the Saturday evening performance of Mamma Mia!, the Upper School Players’ spring musical. The Performing Arts Department invited cast members from several past TPS productions to celebrate their shows’ 5th, 10th, 20th, and 40th anniversaries. Fourteen alumni traded their place on stage for a seat in the audience, where they were recognized by name before the curtain rose. The event was the brainchild of Upper School Vocal Music Teacher Fletcher Paulsen. He says he hopes the tradition can continue. “We want alumni to reconnect with each other and the faculty who ran the shows they were part of,” Paulsen explains. “It’s an attempt to continue to build Prairie’s theatre community and expand the theatre family, and it’s also to recognize the people who put in the work before us.”
need to build any of this stuff, but you also might. The kids are learning how to use a level, how to use a drill — the skills they’re learning are super transferrable to real life.”
Students make real, visible progress in their skill levels. Some come to Workshop having never handled a power tool, and others are seasoned pros, able to tackle more advanced tasks. Sophomore Riley Larsen is one of those students who got up to speed quickly. He’s taken the course every semester of his US career at Prairie
so far, and as such, his instructors not only trust him with more involved projects — they trust him to show his younger classmates the ropes. “It’s my class where I can relax,” Larsen says. “Mr. Wagner and Ms. Flynn keep things really laid-back, but it’s still a productive class. They keep things light, joking with us while we get things done.” Larsen plans to work this summer building sunroofs, where he’ll be able to hone the skills he’s developed in Tech Theatre even further. And experiences like his are what keep Flynn and Wagner teaching the course. “Students don’t have to take this class, it’s not a graduation requirement,” Wagner says. “They’re here because they want to be, which is really cool and fun to be around.”
Alumni performers pose for a group picture at Prairie’s first Alumni Theatre Night.
TOOLS, TRICKS, AND TARGETS
At Prairie, a persistent attitude of exploration encourages students to try all sorts of “co-curricular” opportunities. — By Rachel Morello, Communication Manager
Riding has allowed Tess Fortune ‘10 to see the world. In college, she represented the U.S. at a World University Equestrian Federation competition in Norway.
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eading, writing, arithmetic… and horseback riding.
These were the disciplines Tess Fortune ’10 needed to balance during her tenure as an Upper School student at Prairie. An equestrian from a young age, Fortune’s lifelong hobby morphed into much more during her teenage years. Her success at regional and national competitions combined with a desire to excel academically proved challenging — but it’s a lesson she’s grateful to have learned at Prairie. “Prairie is a place where the teachers and students do their best to help you reach your potential,” Fortune says. Originally from Greendale, Wisconsin, Fortune traveled across town to attend Prairie, and drove the opposite direction several times per week to the barn where she rode. She admits that the schedule she kept wasn’t always easy, and on several occasions, she had “learning moments” about what it meant to budget her time. 18 | prairieschool.com
“It wasn’t always easy, but my teachers helped me through it,” she recalls. “Everyone at Prairie helped get me on the right track, and I really appreciated that.” Fortune has continued riding competitively — and winning — through her years as a college student at Marquette University, and at the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law. She says the prioritization and time management skills she gained at Prairie have helped her as she progressed through her studies, and now as a professional. “Reflecting back, I don’t think I would have been able to get through my upper level studies the same way that I did without the academic motivation and reward that Prairie provided for me,” Fortune says. “They never did the work for me, but they pushed me and gave me the tools to do it myself, and I’m better off for it.”
Academic or otherwise, the pursuits of a Prairie student are all central to their development, to becoming their best selves. The Prairie School nurtures the creativity, interests, and abilities of every student, inspiring each to explore, thrive, and add value individually and in collaboration with others. This is the opening line of Prairie’s Mission Statement, a guiding tenet for the school community. There’s a reason it comes first: it professes the belief that Prairie students are more than just scholars — they are also artists, athletes, leaders, and anything else they set their minds to be. This is also the reason activities outside of the school day are dubbed as “co-curricular” at Prairie, rather than “extracurricular.” Academic or otherwise, the pursuits of a Prairie student are all central to their development, to becoming their best selves. You would be hard-pressed to find a current Prairie scholar without pursuits beyond the classroom. The opportunities they seek are as diverse as the students who seek them. For example, 3rd Grade student Noel Turek is into magic. Since watching a magician perform tricks on America’s Got Talent when he was five, Turek has been fascinated with all things illusory. Card tricks are his specialty. “I really like seeing people’s reactions,” he explains. “I want to stick with magic for a long time.” These days, Turek takes regular lessons at a magic shop — and at home, his parents help him practice his tricks. His teacher even invited him onstage at a recent show, to perform a single trick and experience the bright lights for himself. “It was really cool!” he exclaims, with a smile on his face. “There were, like, 55 or 60 people. My mom sent a video to my teacher, Mrs. LaLonde, and she showed it to my classmates, too.”
Along with participating in the Upper School Musical and a handful of co-curricular clubs, Senior Heidi Korando ’19 spends some of her free time skeet shooting. A recreational activity where participants attempt to break clay targets mechanically flung into the air from fixed stations using shotguns, competitive skeet shooting has long been a pastime in Korando’s family. She has competed regionally and nationally since 5th Grade, and hopes to continue when she moves on to college next year. For the past few years, Korando has been placed in an adult bracket, which means practicing two to three times per week, as well as participating in multi-day meets across the Midwest during the school year. “It’s pretty flexible, but it takes commitment,” she explains. Korando says many people are unfamiliar with the sport, and she has encountered some who are ignorant about the skill and practice it entails. But she says her Prairie family has shown her incredible support in her pursuit of an activity she’s passionate about. “In the past, I’ve generally shied away from talking about it, but people here are very receptive to listen and learn about things they don’t know much about. They want to learn about you and your interests,” she adds. “I think Prairie’s environment is one of support. It doesn’t matter if you’re a track athlete, you still come to musicals to watch your friends perform — and vice versa.” “Prairie prepares you for the academics of college, but it also teaches you to manage your time. That’s something I’ll carry with me.”
A lot of Turek’s friends play sports, participate in Girl Scouts, practice piano, dance ballet. He says he likes that Prairie gives everyone the chance to try something new. “I think it’s cool that we can do what we’re interested in,” he says. “We don’t have magic [as a club] here, but I could maybe teach other kids some of my tricks!”
Forget shooting the breeze. In her free time senior Heidi Korando ‘19 prefers shooting the skeet.
A Great Day for 1K
With this three-pointer against Burlington Catholic Central on February 4th, Brooke Foster ’19 became just the seventh player in TPS Girls’ Basketball history to eclipse the 1,000 point total. We recently caught up with a couple of 1K Club members to see what they’re up to these days.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL 1,000 POINT CLUB Jessica White ’99 Brittany Holterman ’04 Alana Trotter ’06 Kate Anderucci ’14 Gabbi Ortiz ’14 Sammy Woodward ’16 Brooke Foster ’19
Gabbi Ortiz
Occupation: Professional basketball player in Tenerife, Spain, of the country’s Canary Islands. Favorite Prairie memory: Our win my junior year to advance to State. We weren’t expected to advance that year and the celebration with my teammates, as well as the whole State experience, was something so special.
A fun, non-basketball, fact about me: I love shoes. Nike tennis shoes are my weakness and I can never have too many. I also have a collection of retro Jordans that fill the top of the closet…my prized possessions.
Jessica White
Occupation: Logistics Analyst, Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee Favorite Prairie memory: I have so many, and I have them two-fold as I also helped coach under Melody Owsley while I was working at Prairie. What stands out today when thinking about my senior year was after losing the State Championship game for the second straight year and lying in the dark in the middle of the Fieldhouse floor with my teammates. It was the end to some amazing moments I experienced because of basketball at Prairie. Now I realize those memories and bonds will last forever and always hold a special place in my heart.
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A fun, non-basketball, fact about me: I was one of the first members of Brittany Holertman’s ’04 awesome gym in Wauwatosa. I see her every week; it’s fun to keep up with Prairie ties and see what amazing things people are doing today.
Across the Aisle:
WORKING TOGETHER DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCES
State Representatives Greta Neubauer ‘10 (right) and Samantha Kerkman chat before addressing Prairie Middle School students.
Middle School students talk civility with current State Representatives from opposite ends of the political spectrum. — By Rachel Morello, Communication Manager
If you were granted face time with a local politician, what would you want to know? For Prairie’s 5th Grade students, the hot topic boiled down to one question: how do you work together across party lines? This winter, 5th Grade social studies students hosted a pair of state legislators to discuss the purpose of government. State Representatives Samantha Kerkman (Kenosha County) and Greta Neubauer ’10 (Racine) — a Prairie alumna — came armed with information about the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government in Wisconsin and nationwide. But most of their conversation shied away from the talking points you’d ordinarily hear during a political visit. Kerkman is a Republican, Neubauer a Democrat. And the fact that they could sit next to each other, exchanging ideas and conversing politely, interested many of the students. It made them curious enough to ask: how do you work together with someone when you don’t see eye-to-eye? Much of the ensuing conversation between the students and their guests focused on how important it is to work together and respect each other, even when your views or opinions don’t align. The
lawmakers discussed the differences and similarities between their two parties: what does a Republican viewpoint typically encompass? What about summing up a Democratic point of view? How do you balance getting your point across while still being respectful of your peers in the Statehouse? Neubauer said she sees the students’ curiosity as a good thing, especially at their impressionable stage in life. “We are in a moment in this country in which a lot of people — young and old — are questioning the democratic process. A big part of what I try to do in my communications is to restore people’s faith in government,” Neubauer explained. “We really feel this responsibility with young people to show them what government can be, and talk about the ways we can and need to work together. These are people we want to participate in their government — we want them to believe that there’s good reason to do that, and know that there are ways they can actually express their opinions now, as fifth and sixth graders.” Both Neubauer and Kerkman told the students that talking to people their age is one of the best aspects of a job in government — helping young people understand the ways decisions on a local, state, or national level are impacting them and their families. Kathy Boero, Head of the Middle School, expressed excitement that the students had a chance to infuse some character education learning into their social studies class. “The conversation, questions, and thoughtful, respectful discussion that took place was inspiring, and at times made it difficult to believe that the students were not from an Upper School Government class!” Boero said.
Alumni Notes —
1980s Kim Benson ’80 lives in Oxfordshire, England, where she has been in a number of performing groups. Most recently she sang and danced in a production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. She is also active with pantomime – “a U.K. specialty” – and photography. She earned her Ph.D. from Duke University. [B]
1990s Inder Paul Singh ’90 is President of Eye Centers of Racine and Kenosha. He was recently featured on Healio.com for his work with Rhopressa, a new once-a-day drop that works differently from other drugs and is opening new horizons in how glaucoma is treated. The fourth book by children’s author Becky Benishek ’93, The Squeezor is Coming, was released by MacLarenCochrane Publishing. She was featured on storymonsters.com in January. For more information about Becky and her books, visit beckybenishek.com. Photographer Adam Emery ’93 appeared on BBC World News in January (alongside kids and current TPS students Lexi ’29 and Carson ’25) to discuss the outdoor images he captured during the Polar Vortex of 2019. [A]
2000s Margaret Dearden Stutt ’01, who uses the recording name Pezzettino, released her new album Resin in January. It was the eleventh studio album for Strutt, who currently lives in Oakland, CA. She was profiled by Glide Magazine shortly after the album’s release. Katie Axelson ’07 was named Best Blogger for 2018 by Twin Cities Collectives and Creatives. You can read her blog Encountering the Father Together at www.katieaxelson.com. 22 | prairieschool.com
Greta P. Iliev ’08 is a Litigation Associate for Caulkins & Bruce in Arlington, VA. She was recently admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
2010s Claire Harris ’10 is a literary agent for Foundry Literary + Media in New York. She received her B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Austin and attended the NYU Summer Publishing Institute before joining Foundry Literary + Media. Ashley Monti ’12 was crowned Miss Racine on January 12th. Her social impact platform is called SOUL (Supporting Others Understanding Loss) and is dedicated to helping young people who have lost a loved one. Monti credits her experiences in Miss America – she’s been competing for over eight years – with helping her cope with the loss of her mother at a young age. “I wouldn’t be able to talk about the death of my mother, I wouldn’t have made SOUL my initiative, if it weren’t for the volunteers in this organization that helped me grow and gain the strength to talk about it,” she told the Racine Journal Times in January.
Alex Harrity ’15 is an Associate Producer for the Fusebox Festival, an international performing arts festival in Austin, TX. The youngest member of her team, she credits Mr. Sagadin and Mr. Siyerzen for being wonderful technical directors who encouraged her love of theater. Her experiences at Prairie led to her studying Theatre Management at St. Edward’s University in Texas. Trista Deuster ’16 became a member of the Milwaukee Bucks’ Hoop Troop prior to the 2018-19 season. From greeting fans at the new Fiserv Forum to going into the stands during the game, the interactive team brings excitement and enthusiasm to Bucks’ games and events. [F] A digital painting by Grace Siler ’16 was selected as one of the finalists in the Memphis in May International Festival. The contest was dedicated to pieces that best represented Memphis. Sammy Woodward ’16 has started all twenty-seven games this season for the Carthage College women’s basketball team. Woodward helped lead the Lady Redmen to a 17-10 record while averaging 10 points and 4.3 rebounds.
Enyo Amet ’14 (track and field) and Zane Navratil ’14 (tennis) were honored alongside thirty-four other UWWhitewater All Americans from the 2018 calendar year at halftime of Warhawks’ men’s basketball game on Feb. 13th. [C]
Jason Bates ’17 received the Regional Sound Design Competition’s top prize at the 2019 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), a national program involving 18,000 students from colleges across the country.
Professional basketball player Gabby Ortiz ’14 competed this season for Ciudad de la Adelantados in Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain) in the Liga Femenina league. “The plusses are that basketball is my sole job and I just get to play without schoolwork or other requirements,” Ortiz wrote to the Racine Journal Times in January. “I get to live in a foreign country at no expense and travel to places I would more than likely never to get to see. Some minuses include the loneliness aspect due to the language barrier and being in a new foreign place outside the United States.”
Laura Panthofer ’17 and her mentor, Manuel Garcia, were recently honored with a Student Bronze Addy at the 2019 Regional Addy Awards in Augusta, GA. Their winning project “Chase Those Crazy Cravings” was created for Kellogg’s PopTarts and played off people’s enjoyment of strange breakfast foods. In February, she was part of a team that competed in the Start-up Challenge at Savannah College of Art and Design. The team presented the idea of Tribe, a mobile app to help streamline family communication and preserve traditions, to professionals from
Amazon, Stealth, and Facebook. Tribe took 3rd place out of nearly fifty teams. [E] J.C. Butler ’19 played a pivotal role in helping UC-Irvine to a 30-4 record and a berth in the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, their second in program history. Used primarily as a defensive stopper off the bench, Butler saw his minutes increase steadily throughout the season. “He has made a tremendous foundation for himself,” coach Russ Turner told the Racine Journal Times. “I don’t have any question that JC is a winning player for us moving forward. The only question now is, how much better can he get?”
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WEDDINGS Courtney Owsley ’11 married Logan Ketterer ’11 on January 5th, 2019. [D]
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Star Light, Star Bright During Spring Break two groups of Upper School students enjoyed experiences they won’t soon forget. Becky Wheeler, US English Teacher, and Luke Yehlen, US Math Teacher, took a group of students on the annual Southwest Trip, and Hannah Lane, US World Language Teacher, led an excursion to Ecuador. Here’s a sneak peek at all the fun they had. Visit the Prairie Blog at www.prairieschool.com to read more about their adventures.
Students on the popular Southwest Trip spent plenty of time stargazing in New Mexico. They also had ample 24 | prairieschool.com opportunity to hike, sand jump, and camp, as they did here in Gila National Forest (opposite right).
From ziplining in the mountains to staying with host families, the six young ladies who visited Ecuador relished a a ten-day excursion that included a visit to the Basilica del Voto Nacional (right) and the Cascada Nambillo waterfall (below).
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The Last Word
MAKING KINDNESS A PRIORITY — By Callie Atanasoff, Director of Admission Norah’s legs were crossed and giant rectangles of fleece camouflaged the floor. It was a Saturday morning and sunlight streamed in, washing over the families gathered in the Student Research Center. “Don’t tell her she’s too young,” her mom warned with a smile. “She will prove you wrong.” And she did, tiny fingers tying little strips of fabric to create blankets. Coverings not for herself, but for someone in need at Racine’s Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization (HALO).
“Well, right now, I’m working on a letter to my pen pal at Primrose.” Luca’s eyes were bright when I asked more about his writing partner who resides at the local retirement community in Mount Pleasant. “A lot of the people there don’t have many friends or family that come to visit. So, we’re their friends! And guess what?! At the end of the year, we’ll get to meet them. IN PERSON.”
His given name is Darrin, but our family affectionately calls him Big D. He likes to drink Diet Coke, dance to Michael Jackson, and defy the medical diagnosis that with Down syndrome, he would only live until 40. He recently celebrated his 52nd birthday, and for several years of his remarkable life, he has attended Prairie’s Upper School Service Club Holiday Party, a special event for Racine-area adults dealing with cognitive disabilities. The party guests are surrounded by students eager to make them smile with games, crafts, and plenty of Big D’s favorite beverage.
I have two toddlers, Braden and Brynn, and like any other parent, often feel like they haven’t heard a word I’ve said. But I have come to realize it’s less about what you say and more about what you do. More about how you spend your time, how you make those around you feel, how you create change. Because our children – whether they are three or thirteen – will be leading our communities one day, and they need to know what compassion, selflessness, and respect look like. Fortunately, those values are infused into Prairie’s guiding mantra, expected of our faculty, and encouraged in our families. I would like to think that the majority of Prairie students would find a way to give back, regardless of the blazer-free days earned in Middle School or service hour requirements in Upper School. I believe that by the time they are serving as buddies to younger students or participating in iPods for Alzheimer’s or collecting socks for veterans, they have been given thoughtful opportunities to work on their hearts.
Last year, we started a tradition with Braden and Brynn. During the Christmas season, knowing they’ll be receiving new toys and books, they are asked to go through their playroom and choose items they’d like to give to kids that may not have as much. It’s important to us as a family that we remember the needs of others – and it must be more than a conversation. I’m grateful that when I bring Braden and Brynn to school each day, because I know these lessons will be imparted in the classroom as well. I rely on Prairie to partner with me in that process. To show – not tell – my children what it means to make kindness a priority.
4050 Lighthouse Drive Wind Point, WI 53402
Honor-An-Educator
Every May, Prairie celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week by recognizing our outstanding educators. Whether you’re an alumnus interested in honoring the career of Mr. McKinney, or a parent wanting to celebrate the impact a particular teacher has made on your child’s life, visit www.prairieschool.com/give to make your Prairie Fund gift. Messages will be shared with honorees as desired.
DISCLAIMER: As always, we appreciate hearing from you and welcome your input, contributions, comments and suggestions. Information in this publication is presented in good faith. Please email the school or send your feedback to us at cschmidlkofer@prairieschool.com. To guarantee delivery, update your mailing information by contacting us at cschmidlkofer@prairieschool.com. Please call 262.752.2522 if you no longer wish to receive this publication.