14 minute read
EXCELLENCE
1981 - Nancy & Dusty Heuston found Waterford School in Provo, UT, inspired by their work founding WICAT, as a research school, pairing a classical liberal arts education with the benefits of the latest computer technology. Nancy Heuston is Head of School.
1984 - Bob Capener joins Waterford faculty to start a soccer program. 1987 - Todd Winters joined the school as Director of Admissions, enrollment grew from 270 to 305 in the next year.
1981 1988
1981 - Mark Bromley begins teaching birding at Waterford School. 1986 - Betty Neal begins teaching at Waterford School.
1986 - Some of the first insects are pinned by Waterford students.
1989 - Waterford’s final graduating class from the Provo campus. 1990 - James Harris starts at Waterford School, launches Waterford’s Outdoor Program that same year. 1996 - Enrollment approaches 900 students.
1995 - Construction of Humanities Building is completed.
1989 1996
1993 - Enrollment grows to 665 students. Dining Hall & Math Building are constructed.
1996 - Time Capsule is buried to the East of the Humanities Building (and dug up November 2021).
1997 - The east soccer field was constructed—parents, faculty and students helped with laying sod. 2000 - The first Arts Week takes place at Waterford.
2004 - Lower School campus is expanded and renovated.
1997 2004
2000 - Fine & Performing Arts Buildings are constructed with support from Waterford’s first capital campaign.
2008 - Waterford Advisory Board (WAB) is established.
2009 - Waterford School launches a Robotics Program.
2005 2012
2004 - Establishment of a funded Waterford scholarship program. 2008 - Nature Lab was given as a gift from Bob Irvine that started the collection of specimens and sparked future taxidermy donations from other donors, resulting in the impressive collection that exists today.
2011 - Waterford establishes an independent Board of Trustees.
2015 - Founding Head of School, Nancy Heuston, retires after 34 years. 2020 - Waterford students, faculty and staff transition into remote learning due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
2016 - Andrew Menke begins at Waterford as second Head of School. 2021 - Waterford reaches historic enrollment of 1025 students.
2013 2021
2018 - Nancy Heuston is the recipient of the Lifetime Cultural Achievement Award by the Utah Cultural Alliance (UCA).
2018 - Waterford adopts the new strategic plan and campus master plan; the Board of Trustees votes to proceed with a historic capital campaign. Enrollment reaches 954. 2019 - Waterford opens the Outdoor Classroom, a research-based play and learning area outside for PreK and Kindergarten students.
June 2, 2022- The 35th class will graduate from Waterford School.
SAVE THE DA TE
APRIL 8 2022
April 8, 2022 - Waterford will hold a Capital Campaign kick-off event and ground breaking ceremony for the Science Center.
2022
2023 - Waterford will complete the constuction of a new Science Center, which will be operational for the 2023-24 school year.
ARTS
Waterford Orchestra fall concert, November 2021. Photo by Andrew Patteson. Middle School Play, Fall 2021—Shakuntala by Kalidasha. Photo by Andrew Patteson.
Upper School Play, Fall 2021—Henry IV, Part I. Photo by Andrew Patteson.
Visit waterfordschool.org/ calendar/events to watch the performances!
Waterford fall Choir concert, October 2021. Photo by Andrew Patteson. Waterford Dance Department performed at the Middle and Upper School assembly, October 2021. Photo by Andrew Patteson.
Soul Searching By Seven Castain ’22
There’s a voice rustling through The night. Bustling the leaves Still clinging to skinny, breakable Branches of evergreen trees. A wind hums and whistles my name As a cricket strums a melancholy Drum. A melody that sings Of lacewings and a simple remedy, A troubled soul that’s waiting for something to fill that hole That someone long ago reached Their hand in and stole. I settle in the grass, my hands Threading through the mass of this meadow’s flats. Through my palms, its heart thrums, The buzz of these bugs Are vibrating the rhythm of My blood. A tune of intimacy, A drop of the past, fitting so Perfectly unlike the last. I heed the warning of The reeds that are blowing with The breeze of this song that’s slowing. I whistle through the air, something hollow And bare, much like the tangle of thin ribs, caging in a thing That is about as useful as a pear.
Autumn Leaves By Mirabel Bienert ’22
Like brittle leaves upon an Autumn branch I find my love for you has reached its end. As crisp cold winds o’er rolling hills do dance, I watch as tired trees attempt to bend. And yet I find these leaves I still do love, Their vibrant colors splashed across my sight Bring to my saddened mind memories of Whispered words of love under starry night. Though in my mind your face is bright and clear, This newfound feeling in my heart does stir. And as it grows I feel a kind of fear With just one touch your face will start to blur. I pass and give a melancholy smile; The leaves have fallen and begun to pile.
Paws, photo by Megan Wade ’22 Artwork by Aaron Sakaguchi ’28
A R T S
How to Build a Ballet: THE GRINCH
BY ANNIE BRENEMAN
Dance Department Chair & Director of Dance Academy
STEP I: FINDING INSPIRATION
During the summer of 2021, I began thinking about the upcoming school year’s performances. After having no live dance performances for two years, I was looking for something new and different and FUN! We often perform the traditional ballet, The Nutcracker, for our Winter production, but this year seemed to call for something else. I have always loved the book Dr Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, what if we turned this story into a ballet?! Now comes the tricky part: Waterford School has never used this story for a ballet before, so we were tasked with building it from scratch. The illustrations from the book are so vivid that one might think it would be easy to build dances from it. Its straightforward narrative also convinced me that this was a good idea. I could imagine the people from Whoville dancing on stage, and taking each page from the book and turning it into different dances, one for each class.
In Performing Arts, there are no small parts. Whether your part is the lead character or the third tree on the left, the entire cast is important to the story. Personalities can influence casting just as much as technical abilities. I look at dancers’ commitment in class, technique, acting skills, and ways to challenge my dancers when I think about casting. The dancers at Waterford are very supportive of each other when cast lists are announced. When the part of The Grinch went to Class XII dancer, Neve Rauscher, the room squealed and clapped. As with many classical ballets, the end scene often includes a celebration, where different characters “show off” or perform. This is where I decided to add extra characters from Dr Suess’ other books to make an appearance. The other characters include Cat in the Hat, Sam I Am, Fox in Socks, and Thing One and Thing Two.
The recording of the 1986 cartoon movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, has a wonderful narration and helps tell the story for our ballet production. It even already has some music that could easily pull the story along, plus it would be easy to create dances to songs—such as “Trim up the Tree,” and “You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch.” However, the ballet needed more music. This is where searching through songs, albums, and artists on Spotify and Apple music helped to add to the playlist. The music should gel together with the characters and storyline, and I also wanted it to have a holiday feel, so finding music took some time. The celebration scene features music from Leroy Anderson, whose upbeat, light orchestral music seemed a perfect fit.
STEP II: CASTING
STEP III: FINDING MUSIC
This work of matching movement to music means the choreographer listens to the music over and over. All choreographers have a different process of creating movement, from improvisation to collecting ideas from other places, but if there’s one basic rule, it’s that the gestures and movement of dance should reflect the music. The goal is that the movements fit so perfectly with the music that they look and feel as if they were made for each other. My process involves what is called “experimenting,” where the dancers try different steps and I see what I like and piece the dance together.
STEP V: COSTUMES, PROPS AND SET DESIGN The first thing I do when looking for costumes is head to the storage basement of the Performing Arts building. We re-use costumes a lot, and then add other costumes that we need for each performance. I wanted this production to be bright, colorful, and full of life, so I had a lot of fun putting together costumes.
The dance department is lucky to have Jaron Hermanson, Waterford’s set and lighting designer, who is tasked with creating a Whoville village. The Concert Hall stage transforms with Jaron’s work.
Class VI students rehearsing for The Grinch ballet. Photo provided by a Annie Breneman.
STEP VI: REHEARSALS, REHEARSALS, REHEARSALS The dancers have six weeks to learn, and rehearse their dances before they head to the Concert Hall stage. This means attendance in dance classes (in-school and after-school Dance Academy) is important to focus on technical skills and practice their dances. Some of the older and more advanced dancers attend Saturday rehearsals as well.
STEP VII: PERFORMANCE TIME My goal is to nurture the dancers; to give them challenging and beautiful dancing, to encourage their artistry and creativity, and to increase their self confidence by helping to show what they are capable of. It’s wonderful to see my dancers on stage. I am always inspired by them! I look forward to our Opening Night!”
ATHLETICS
CREW NATIONALS
Two crews from Waterford School entered the US Rowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, FL. In the Women’s Youth 2x (double) event was Ulla-Brit Libre ’21 and Ana Holtey ’24. In the Men’s Youth 2x event was Fletcher Libre ’22 and Joseph Holtey ’22. They had great performances with the Women’s Youth 2x event, out of a field of 38 top crews from around the country, came in 6th in the A Final (making them 6th overall). The Men’s Youth 2x, out of a field of 47 top crews from around the country, came in 2nd in the B Finals (8th overall).
Crew Nationals featuring the Girls and Boys 2x teams. Photo provided by a parent.
Jaimeson Meyer (left) and Michael Osborn (center) playing lacrosse, Seven Castain playing soccer. Photographs by Steven Earl.
Waterford Girls Varsity Soccer Team wins 2A State Championship this Fall with a win against rival, Rowland Hall at Rio Tinto Stadium. Photograph from KSL. Lower School students show their school spirit at the fall Spirit Days Tailgate. Photo taken by Andrew Patteson. ALL AMERICAN AWARDS
Last spring, two students Jaimeson Meyer and Michael Osborn (both Class of 2021) and one student this fall, Seven Castain (Class of 2022), earned top athletic honors of All American. Mike received Academic All American as a lacrosse player who exhibits exemplary lacrosse skills, good sportsmanship on the field, and represents high standards of academic achievement in the classroom. Jamieson received (for the 2nd time) lacrosse All-American for exhibiting superior skills and techniques and possessing exceptional game sense and knowledge. Seven Castain received soccer All-American for her exceptional game play and scoring record. Jamieson has continued playing lacrosse at the Naval Academy, Michael is playing at Stanford University, and Seven will play at Texas Christian University.
ON THIS DAY
OCT. 1999
The Men’s Golf Team won Waterford’s first UHSAA State Championship
PRESENTED BY DESERET NEWS
Since 1927, the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA), the leadership organization for high school athletic and fine arts activities in Utah, has led the development of education-based interscholastic athletic and fine arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. For over 25 years, the UHSAA has presented the Academic All-State Award to recognize those students who have excelled in the classroom as well as in athletic competition or musical achievement. Individuals are selected for this award on the basis of their athletic or musical ability and academic proficiency. With over 85,000 students participating in high school activities, this award is the most prestigious honor the UHSAA presents to senior students. Here are Waterford recipients for music in the 2020-21 school year, for spring 2021 sports and for fall 2021 sports:
Barr D. ’21 Soccer Tarun M. ’21 Tennis Dylan M. ’21 Tennis Omeed M. ’21 Tennis Mike O. ’21 Lacrosse Kate P. ’21 Lacrosse Lucas W. ’21 Soccer
Bailey N. ’22 Tennis Megan W. ’22 Tennis Roman S. ’22 Cross Country Mateusz S. ’22 Cross Country
Finn P. ’22 Cross Country Ella D. ’22 Soccer
2021 MUSIC ACADEMIC ALL-STATE AWARD RECIPIENTS
