WFS Summer 2021 Magazine by Wilmington Friends School

QuakerMatters

Wilmington Friends School Summer 2021

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

ALUMNI BOARD

David Tennent, Clerk

Jonathan Layton ‘86, Clerk

Dorothy E. Rademaker, Vice Clerk

Andy McEnroe ’04, Vice Clerk

Robert W. Friz ‘86, Treasurer

Erin Bushnell ‘96

Jennifer Brady, Secretary

Stanita Clarke ‘06 Drew Dalton ‘97

Christopher F. Buccini ‘90

Emily David Hershman ‘09

Karen-Lee Brofee

Raven Harris Diacou ‘06

William Chapman

Alexandra Poorman Ergon ‘77

Brian Fahey

Matthew Lang ‘08

Lathie Gannon

Christopher Lee ‘82

Scott W. Gates ‘80

Adrienne Monley ‘02

Richard D. Grier-Reynolds

Katharine Lester Mowery ‘02

Noreen Haubert

Raymond Osbun ‘71

Susan Janes-Johnson

Richie Rockwell ‘02

the Board of Trustees in 2006, serving 5 terms, and are now rotating off. Your

Matthew Lang ‘08

Thomas Scott ‘70

time, dedication, wisdom, and creativity have made an incredible impact on the

Christopher Lee ‘82

James Simon ‘60

WFS community, and you will be missed.

Jacqueline Greenidge Nix

Martha Poorman Tschantz ‘85

Thank you to Russ Endo and Debbie Murray-Sheppard, who joined

Debbie Pittenger

Welcome to new Trustees Jacqueline Nix and Dwayne Redd.

Dwayne Redd

Jacqueline has been a member of the Wilmington Friends School community

Christopher Rowland ‘95

for over 25 years. She has had the pleasure of seeing each of her three

Aubree Wellons

Laura Reilly

children–– Naomi ’06, Kalyn ’17, and Kat ’19––complete over 12 years of schooling at, and graduate from, WFS. She has served in dozens of volunteer

Home and School Association

roles over the years and has formed deep ties with the community. Jacqueline

Board Liaison:

has called Wilmington home for nearly 30 years and enjoys the many trails

Michelle Silberglied

and outdoor life that the area has to offer. She is deeply committed to service to any community she is a part of, and in her professional life, Jacqueline has

Alumni Association Board Liaison :

worked for many years in founding and managing non-profit organizations

Martha Poorman Tschantz ‘85

with significant expertise in financial management. Dwayne is a Corporate Responsibility Analyst with State Farm Insurance. In that role, Dwayne oversees all philanthropic funding, media relationships, and community engagement for Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Dwayne and his wife Nicole are the parents of Nick, a 2020 graduate of WFS, and Jackson, a current WFS 11th grader. A sports enthusiast, this winter Dwayne helped coach the WFS Varsity Lacrosse team to an undefeated record and Winter League Championship as part of the Delaware Lacrosse League. Dwayne is a graduate of Hampton University with a degree in Marketing, and he received a Masters in Business Administration from Bowie State University. Dwayne has a strong interest in programs that promote youth development, and he has been an active community volunteer, working with organizations such as the Stone Garage Community and Youth Center (PA), the Jennersville YMCA (PA), the Avon

ADMINISTRATION Head of School, Kenneth Aldridge Assistant to the Head of School, Megan Walters Associate Head for Finance and Operations, William Baczkowski Assistant Head for Academics, Michael Benner Head of Lower School, Julie Rodowsky Head of Middle School, Jonathan Huxtable Head of Upper School, Rebecca Zug Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Melissa Brown Director of Communications and Strategic Marketing, Susan Morovati Finizio ’87 Director of Development, Chad O’Kane

Grove Football & Lacrosse Wildcats (PA), US Lacrosse – Delaware Chapter, and Wilmington Wings Lacrosse (DE).

Professional photography by Elisa Komins Morris and Billy Michels ’89. Also thanks to Mary Woodward, Sara Woodward, and the Yearbook Staff for photo contributions. Cover photo by Billy Michels ’89.

In This Issue Quaker Matters • Summer 2021

3 4

| Letter from Head of School Ken Aldridge | Alumni News

5 |

Giving of Their Time: Alumni Virtual Visits

23 37

| School News | Home & School News

Chicken: How 39 | Prescription one alum’s Senior Exploration led to a creative soup business.

Keeping Up With the Joneses

9 |

2021 Commencement

41 49

14 15 16

| Class Notes | In Memory

50 |

The Shows Went On!

| Academic & Community Awards | Class of 2021 Alumni Families | Retirements

18 |

Major Initiatives for the Year Ahead: An Incredible Opportunity for Growth How many times

in our lives do we recognize a true turning point in history? Maybe once, maybe twice? In the past 18 months, the whole world had to make incredibly drastic changes to react to the common threat of the pandemic. At the same time, our country began new, raw conversations and important actions regarding race in America. On top of all that, technology, social media, artificial intelligence, and let’s face it, Amazon, seemed to take an even stronger hold of society than before. All of these factors have raised new questions for educators–– shining a spotlight on values, processes, and priorities––and have created an incredible opportunity for growth. As we head into the school year, we feel a new energy and focus borne out of the recent pivotal events on major initiatives for the School in 2021-22 . It is imperative that these initiatives are synchronous with one another and, together, will make our program even stronger and transformative for our students. Initiatives include: Cultivating a Culture for All: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Understanding Our Market: Enrollment Task Force Strategies CoLT: A Culture of Learning and Teaching Technology: Part of an Integrated Toolbox

INSERT |

WFS Report on Philanthropy

MISSION Wilmington Friends, a Quaker school with high standards for academic achievement, challenges students to seek truth, to value justice and peace, and to act as creative, independent thinkers with a conscious responsibility to the good of all.

“

When I look back at the year we just had, two words stand out: beyond expectation.

”

~Ken Aldridge, Head of School

Andrew Aldridge, Cassandra Aldridge, Mariah Aldridge ’21, Ken Aldridge, Donovan Aldridge ’18, and Kaffie Weaver

As I told the graduating Class of 2021 several months

ago, when we arrived on campus on September 7, 2020, it was not easy to be optimistic about how long we would be able to offer in-person instruction, and it was hard to imagine what this year would hold. We had no idea the feelings of joy and triumph we would have as we gathered to celebrate the class at their commencement in early June 2021. When I look back at the year we just had, two words stand out: beyond expectation. Beyond expectation that our program, reimagined and rethought for a pandemic by our incredible faculty and staff, would not only succeed, but thrive.

We reimagined outdoor spaces as classrooms. Lower school students learned while spread out on tree trunks at the natural classroom, middle school students sat in a circle on the Jones House lawn while brainstorming parts of a story, and upper school students sat along the front walk working on charcoal landscapes. As fall turned into winter, our joyous lower school students carried their snow gear to school each day, hopeful that the lower school hills would provide one more day of sledding fun. As spring approached and temperatures rose, we began to plan for an in-person spring musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, live from the 50 yard-line of Tattersall Field. We reimagined our routines. We held auditions for drama performances and college visits virtually, we had sports competitions without fans. We held on to and felt great pride in those moments that felt “normal” - Spirit Week, snow days, state tournament games, the sound of musical instruments and singing voices filling the halls. We reimagined our partnership with parents. No longer able to meet face-to-face, we held parent-teacher conferences over Zoom, hosted a virtual parenting with resilience series with Dr. Lani Nelson-Zlupko, and welcomed a few hundred parents and friends to our first-ever virtual Quaker Quiz Night. We focused on the Quaker testimony of equality. We talked about standing up for others, working together, being the light. We reimagined, with the help of a year-long internal climate assessment, the approach to our diversity, equity, and inclusion work. The results of this assessment will be utilized to integrate new and important initiatives into our curriculum and school community, connecting it directly to our values and mission. We reimagined our use of technology. We held virtual Meetings for Worship with alumni from across the globe (literally!). Students virtually visited national parks and museums in Europe, competed in an Ethics Bowl, a Quaker Youth Leadership Conference, the National Mock Trial Competition, and the American Mathematics Competition. The technology of 2021 opened many doors for our students, faculty, and alumni, and we will continue to look for ways to integrate virtual aspects into our community even as the world begins to open back up. The longer we were in school in person, the more these reimagined expectations became a way of life. And then, beyond expectation, the finish line was in sight. The Class of 2021 signed its Senior Scroll, fifth graders visited middle school, and we began to think beyond the 2020-2021 school year. We all let out the collective breath we had been holding since September, rejoicing in what we had just accomplished. We had safely, strategically, and successfully educated nearly 700 students in the midst of a pandemic. I can’t thank our faculty, staff, parents, and students enough, for we could not have accomplished any of this if we were not all in it together. The Class of 2021 graduation marked a milestone for my family. The empty nest is no longer an obscure thought, but a quickly-approaching reality as our daughter, Mariah, was the last Aldridge to graduate from WFS. It was my honor to celebrate with her and her classmates. As I told the class at Final Assembly, I believe that when they look back 20, 50, 70 years from now, I do not think it will be the masks or the vaccines or the unprecedented times they will remember. I believe it will be their time spent together, learning how to change the world. In friendship,

Dear Friends,

Alumni News

In my final letter as Alumni Board Clerk, I am happy to extend my sincerest congratulations to the Class of 2021. I’m sure you never imagined that your last year at WFS would be during a pandemic! Your resilience, flexibility, and patience this year is a true testament to your character as a class. The Alumni Board wanted to acknowledge your accomplishments and enjoyed writing notes to each of you. I hope these messages communicated just how proud the WFS community is of you. We are so happy to welcome you to the alumni community, and we look forward to celebrating future milestones with you. I wish you all the best as you begin the next chapter after WFS. Matt Lang ’08 This year presented the opportunity for us to reimagine many aspects of school life: classes were taught in a hybrid format, combining virtual and in-person learning; events were held virtually, giving us the chance to engage with alumni all over the world; and performances were held outside. Athletic contests continued and our teams had successful seasons, with every spring team making it to the state tournament. Our Annual Fund raised $1,022,596, thanks to your support, and Friends will continue to offer strong programs in support of our Quaker values. Please check out the Annual Report, included in this edition, to read about all that we accomplished together. Looking forward to the year ahead, we are planning to bring back many of our on-campus events, including Homecoming on October 29-30. Since Homecoming was not held in-person last year, we invite alumni in Classes ending in 0, 1, 5, 6, to join us on campus. We will also be celebrating the 2020 Alumni Award recipients at the All Alumni, True Blue Reunion and Awards Reception. We are excited to acknowledge these honorees in person: Distinguished Alumna Award, Carol Quillen ’79; Outstanding Service Alumna Award, Tom Scott ’70; and Young Alumna Award, Eden Wales Freedman ’99.

Jon Layton ’86

Please stay tuned for more Homecoming information and visit our website wilmingtonfriends.org/alumni/homecoming. Thank you for your loyalty and support of Wilmington Friends School. I enjoyed serving as the Clerk of the Alumni Board for the past few years, and I am grateful to be part of such a wonderful community. Please join me in welcoming the new Clerk of the Alumni Board, Jon Layton ’86. Jon has served as the Vice Clerk for several years and is looking forward to continuing our strong traditions, rooted in Quaker values. Sincerely,

Matt Lang ’08

Grow Your Network with Quakers Connect! Quakers Connect is a free online career networking platform powered by Alumni Fire, exclusively for WFS alumni, parents, faculty, and staff. Members of Quakers Connect can benefit from support offered by others, while also giving back to the community by sharing their expertise. Sign up using LinkedIn or Facebook and expand your network! The link can be found on our website under “Alumni.” Members can share their expertise, or receive help with general career advice, introductions and networking, resume reviews, job shadowing, and informational interviews. Users can also search other members using location, industry, and common interests while at WFS, and limit the number of times they can be contacted by members.

Giving of Their Time: Alumni Virtual Visits

Thanks to Zoom, we were able to host several virtual visitors this year, including Peter Kelemen ’74; Javi Horstmann ’11; and Emily David Hershman ’09. A Conversation with Peter Kelemen ‘74: Some possible routes to mitigating global climate change On May 4, Head of School Ken Aldridge sat down with Peter Kelemen ’74, a recipient of the WFS Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2019, to discuss his work around climate change. Peter graduated from Wilmington Friends School, in 1974, and from Dartmouth College in 1980. He received his PhD from the University of Washington in 1987. He is an Arthur D. Storke Professor in Columbia University’s Dept. of Earth & Environmental Sciences, based at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. He was Associate Chair and Chair of the Department from 2012 to 2018. Kelemen is a member of the US Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the Mineralogical Society of America, and the Geochemical Society, a recipient of the AGU Bowen Award, an adjunct Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History, the Chief Scientist of the ICDP Oman Drilling Project, and a member of the NASA Mars 2020 Rover Science Team. He worked as a mineral exploration consultant from 19811990, and spent 16 years as a research scientist at WHOI before moving to Columbia University in 2004. His research focuses on chemical and physical feedbacks during reactive porous flow of fluids and associated deformation. For the past dozen years, this has included a focus on natural and engineered systems for CO2 removal from air and permanent, geological storage, via carbon mineralization during weathering and alteration of Magnesium- and Calcium-rich rocks. We are grateful to Peter for sharing his time and knowledge with the WFS community! To see a recording from the event, visit wilmingtonfriends.org/alumni/alumni-event.

Student Lunch and Learns Upper School students had the opportunity to hear from two alumni working in Governor John Carney’s office. Javi Horstmann ’11, Director of Constituent Relations/Policy Advisor, spoke to students about his role in the Governor’s office. Javi

enjoys the opportunity to hear about issues from constituents and then having the ability to work on policies that directly address these issues. Emily David Hershman ‘09 serves as Communications Advisor and is currently one of the leads on communications for the State of Delaware around the COVID-19 virus and vaccine. Emily showed examples of the advertisements her team developed to help keep Delawareans safe during the pandemic. She was also interested in hearing the students’ perception and feelings toward the vaccine since they are now eligible to receive it. Both Javi and Emily encouraged students interested in politics to explore working in state governments, saying it’s a great opportunity to get involved and make a difference in your state!

READ Groups for Alumni, Parents of Alumni, and Residents at Kendal-Crosslands As part of the School’s ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion work, a faculty and staff group developed a new program the School is piloting called READ, which stands for Read and Educate ourselves on Anti-Racism and Diversity. Each month, members of our faculty and staff community are invited to read an article about anti-racism and then participate in facilitated discussions. As an extension of this work, WFS recently hosted two virtual events: one for Alumni and Parents of Alumni and the other for residents at the Kendal-Crosslands retirement community. Participants at the Alumni and Parents of Alumni event read excerpts from Speak Up: Responding to Everyday Bigotry published by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The facilitated discussions were led by Kathleen Martin, Director of College Guidance; Erica Childs, Upper School Math teacher; Rose Gnade, Upper School Chemistry teacher and Assistant Director of College Guidance; and Ken Aldridge, Head of School. We’ve received positive feedback from those who attended, and hope to host more READ Journal discussions for alumni and friends in the future!

Homecoming 2021 Tentative Schedule We are planning to celebrate Homecoming on campus and in-person this year! All events will follow the proper COVID-19 protocols and are subject to change based on state guidelines and restrictions at the time of the event. Here is our tentative schedule, but please refer to the “Homecoming” page on our website under “Alumni” for up-to-date information. We will also send an email as we get closer.

Homecoming Games Friday 5:15pm Volleyball vs. St. Andrew’s

Pencil it in!

Friday, Octobe

✓ 50th + Re un

r 29, 2021

ion and 1748 Planned Giv Luncheon; C ing Society lasses of 19 4 5 , 1946, 1950 1956, 1960, , 1951, 1955, 1961, 1965, 19 66, 1970, 19 Country Clu 7 1; duPont b (11:30am) ✓ Guided tour of camp us for lunch eon guests (3 pm) ✓ Alumni/ ae Field Hock ey and Socc er Game (5p m) ✓ True Blu e and All Alu mni Reunion tion honorin /Awards Rece g the 2020 A plu m n i Award Reci (6:30pm) pients

Saturday, Octo ber

30, 2021

✓ Homeco min

g Service Co

Saturday 12:00pm Field Hockey vs. St.Andrew’s 1:00pm Boys’ Soccer vs. Conrad 2:30pm Football vs. Brandywine HS & Halftime Show by 4th-8th grade band Cross Country TBD

NEW! The Forums: Discussions in the classroom and by video conference, featuring Eden Wales Freedman, PhD '99 on “How we can respond to violence and trauma based on findings from Reading Testimony, Witnessing Trauma” and Christopher P. Loeffler '00 on “The Power of Design Thinking.” Saturday 10/30, Time TBD

llection (all d

✓ Smith M cM

ay)

illan 5k Run/W

alk (8:30am

) orship hono ring faculty/ or more yea staff with 15 rs of service to WFS (10am ) ✓ Conversa tion with He ad of Schoo (11am) l Ken Aldridg e ✓ Meeting fo rW

✓ Homeco min

g Lunch (11:

✓ Self-guid ed ✓ Kids’ Co rner

30)

Tours of the (12pm)

MS/US Cam

pus (12pm)

✓ Evening reu

nions off-ca mpus for all ending in 0,1 classes ,5, or 6, as a rranged by cl ass agents.

GO BLUE!

Welcome Margaretta! Please join us in welcoming Margaretta Homsey Kroeger ’00 as the new Constituent Resources Coordinator in the Alumni/Development Office. Margaretta attended WFS from kindergarten through eighth grade. A former attorney, she previously worked as a judicial law clerk and legal aid lawyer for several years. Margaretta will be working closely with the Home and School Association, as well as our alumni, parents of alumni, and grandparent communities.

Keeping up with the Joneses:

Remembering Rufus Jones ’52 and Reflections of Lee Jones Hargadon ’48 By Terence Maguire, WFS Archivist Wilmot Rufus Jones III ’52 passed away on January 13, 2021 and was a member of a class which produced a raft

of jurists, scientists, and very successful businessmen and bankers. They have also been exceptionally faithful alumni of Wilmington Friends, and Rue (as he was called by his friends and kin) was among the most successful and loyal. He was the second child of Wilmot Jones, Head of School at Wilmington Friends from 1935 to 1962, the longest-tenured head of school in our history. Wilmot presided over the last two years of the old school at Fourth and West, opposite the Wilmington Monthly Meeting House that still stands; in 1937, the school moved into the Alapocas campus and building, its first new location in 189 years. Little Rufus was not even three years old when the family moved from an apartment near Brandywine Park to what was called the Farm House and is now known as the Jones House (pictured above), a house that was first built even before Friends School began in 1748. His sister Lee, 3 1/2 years older, began kindergarten that year at WFS, and Rufus entered kindergarten three years later. Rufus’s son Stephen has beautifully recounted his father’s journey through many homes, many business positions, many manufacturing innovations and an ever-expanding family. The Alumni/Development office staff, which is housed in the Jones House, thought it would be interesting to capture, if we could, Rue’s time at Friends School in the 1940s and early 1950s. We interviewed Rue’s sister Lee Hargadon ’48, who has lived most of her adult life in Maine, not far from the greater Jones family compound at South China, which goes back to the early 19th century. We also thought that it would be of interest to learn what we could of those first 8-10 years of life on the new Alapocas campus. We also asked a number of Rufus’s classmate friends about him, and the portrait that arose was that of a fun-loving, slightly–even very–mischievous young man.

Memories of Rufus’s Classmates Fred Pardee A classroom prank: Teacher of French, Jane

Rittenhouse, marked Rufus absent from class one day. As the class progressed to the halfway point, the door to the broom closet opened and Rufus stepped out and calmly took his seat. Teacher Jane was so infuriated, she was speechless, and all she could do was point her finger toward the exit like an umpire calling the third strike for an out. Rufus complied silently as well, knowing instinctively that his next stop was his father’s office following his wait on the horsehair sofa in the front lobby. [Recurrent theme of popping out of closets?] Before class started, Rufus and I were caught throwing erasers at the blackboard to get the gratifying explosion of chalk dust upon impact. When we were sent to Wilmot’s office, we were introduced to Wilmot’s version of creative punishment suited to the offense. Wilmot took us outdoors behind the farmhouse to a tree with a suitably large trunk. He drew a chalk circle on the tree trunk and gave us a supply of erasers. We had to throw erasers at the circle for a long enough time to get it out of our systems.

Hersch Loomis I know Fred and Mark have a ton of Rufus stories. I remember one: One of us, I think it was Fred, regularly brought a hard-boiled egg in his lunch. Rue would reach over, take the egg, and crack it on his head. Then, he’d hand it back to Fred who peeled it and ate it. Well of course one day Fred brought the raw egg. Rue without hesitation performed the ritual cracking with obvious results. I doubt he went home to clean up. Mark Ball This Rue Jones story goes back to age 15, when I visited Rue and his family in South China, Maine. It has to do with Rue’s fitness as a boy and young man. It was too windy one day to go sailing in the Thistle (Wilmot called it “Do It,” as in “Thistle do it”), and so Wilmot suggested that a few of us boys get in a skiff, hold up a towel or something like that as a makeshift sail, and take off downwind. We did. It was splen7

did. We were at the end of the lake in no time. Then the question arose: how are we going to get back to the Jones cottage--a distance, as my enhanced memory would have it, of miles. There was no rowing back against that day’s wind. Swimming that far was something I myself couldn’t possibly do. The solution: Rue jumped in the water, grabbed the painter, and swam back to the cottage, towing me (and another boy?) along in the skiff. A stalwart lad, if perhaps a bit of a show-off. No wonder he was a block of granite in the Friends football team line.

Jack Porter Rather than a particular event, I will comment on a consistent, happy and sometimes mischievous style that Rue expressed throughout his life. During our lower school years I enjoyed some sleepovers at the Jones house. Wilmot Jones and wife Barbara naturally commanded due respect, and sister Lee appeared quite mature to two young guys. Not to be intimidated, Rue developed a practice, when we were not in position to be overheard, of referring to his mother as Babs and to my mother Eloise as El — delivered with a bit of a grin. I saw this lighthearted attitude throughout our school years and reunions, just being in Rue’s presence put a smile on my face. My memories of him still do the same.

An Interesting Prank

However, one Rufus prank was beyond slightly mischievous. The faculty was meeting one afternoon in the Emma Worrell Library, the front second floor, Wilmot Jones in the front of the assembly. From the third story were heard cries, “No, Rufus, no! Don’t jump!” followed by a body plummeting past those windows. In an instant Head of School Jones dashed out the door, so fast that on his way up he greeted the other teachers rushing down, with the assurance that it was only a dummy, a false alarm. Whose idea was this, and what were the consequences for Rufus Jones? Said Fred Pardee. “OK, Terry…operating on the principle that confession is good for the soul, especially at my age, I can add a little to the front end of the now legendary tale. “I can remember entering the garage with Rufus where athletic equipment was stored to find the football tackling dummy. Then it was fun to choose the best set of Rufus’s clothes in which to dress the dummy…plaid flannel shirt, khaki pants, etc. The rest of the story is pretty much in the public domain by now. “As an unknown conspirator, I did not have to face the aftermath that Rufus did…sitting at the family dinner table that night when Wilmot’s exquisite choice of punishment was to invoke the silent treatment, never making a comment, while Rufus squirmed in his seat during the entire meal expecting the hammer to fall.” The last time Rufus was on campus, he shared that consequence, adding that it was several days of awaiting that hammer--the wait, of course, being the punishment itself. In the write-up next to Rufus’s senior picture (pictured on Page 7) in the 1952 yearbook is the phrase, “Aloof goof.” We can wonder what the “aloof” might have referred to, but the “goof” part is easy to see.

Reflections of Lee Jones Hargadon ’48 Do you remember your first impressions of Farm House, which is now known as the Jones House?

It was really nice. When you went in the front door, to the right were two rooms. The front room was the kitchen. Everything got remodeled...The fireplaces all worked at one time. Dad used to get wood stacked on the side porch, so that he could just go out the Dutch doors and get wood. And staff meetings were held in the living room. The cellar is still rather primitive. It would seem the kind of place kids would love to play in. Did you do that?

We used to roller skate in the basement. It had a cement floor. Occasionally we would go up to the attic, but very seldom. We were outside a lot, a lot of room. And we used to have the old barn, which was terrific. It blew up in a hurricane [tornado, actually, in 1941]. Where were each of your bedrooms? If you went up the steps and made a right turn, that was my room; and then you made a U-turn and went up 4-5 more steps, that was Rue’s on the right. Did you have lunch at the school or did you ever go home for lunch? No, we never did. We always ate at

school. The dietitian was Hazel Smith.

Did school friends come to visit you at the Farm House? By and large no--but occasionally. I had a boy-

friend at one time, and he would occasionally come over. Rue would sometimes hide in a closet and pop out at inconvenient times. A perfect little brother, right? Yes, a pain in the ass.

How were the two of you able to handle the potential social pressure of being the kids of the Head of School? I don’t remember that ever being a problem that

other students brought it up. I remember walking down the main hallway one day, and my father was coming toward me, and said, “Miss Jones, you’re chewing gum. That’s Saturday detention.” That was consistent. There was no favoritism.

School heads are persons who often have great demand placed on their time. To your knowledge, could your father keep home separate from the business of school, especially since home was the same place as business, more or less?

Dinner was at six o’clock. Dad walked in about two minutes before six. And after dinner, four nights out of five, he would go off to a meeting of some sort. And mother ran the household. And, as near as I can make out, made the decisions--including sending me off to George School. I never graduated from Friends School. Not my choice.

WFS Class of 2021 Front row: Elise Johnson, Elissa Belleroche, Lucy Taylor, Grace Terranova, Felicia Froio, Olivia Delgado, Leah Agne, Cassandra Williams, Dallis Smith, Kalise Dyton Second row: Kyle Nisbet, Manon Magnan de Bellevue, Marie Horne, Erin Mann, Sarah Stovicek, Maxine Chou, Blythe Wallick, Tamryn Sainten, Emily Fenimore, Abigail Emsley, Estelle Hegenbarth, Madison McCoy, Mariah Aldridge, Isabella Bukowski, Kayla Farley, Kennedy Barnes, Aine Grubb, Meenatchi Ganeshkumar, Anniina Lappalainen, Luke Munch, Nathan Rashkind Third row: Camille DeBeary, Henry Wieman, Caroline Schumacher, Aristotle Makoujy, Leila Mulveny, Alexander Saville, Katherine Harron, Ely Longwill, Slade Baldwin, Meghan Malone, Matthew Banschbach, Sophie Mullen, Maximiliano Rios, Carter Gramiak, Brooke Goodman, Ian Wilhelm-McKinley Back row: Dare Barsczewski, Carby Wise, Marleen Ueberall, Christian Rosado, Theodore DeVoll, Brandon Williams, Bryce Young, Isaiah Gaines, Sander Katz, Mark Wilson, Patrick McKenzie, Peter Erskine, Rosaleen Cochran, Max Grimes, Samuel Boulos, Bennett Ross, Andrés Pardo, Lyle Knudsen, River Kendle

WFS Class of 2021 Congratulations to the Class of 2021! Members of the class are listed below with college choice, service project/agency, and senior exploration. Leah Agne

Dare Barsczewski

Maxine Chou

Tulane University of Louisiana Dominican Republic Service Trip Career shadowing

Undecided Bullock Garden Project Examining literature of race and class

Case Western Reserve University El Paso Service Trip Health and Exercise Routine Exploration

Mariah Aldridge

Elissa Belleroche

Rosaleen Cochran

American University Rodney Street Tennis Association Cooking

Amherst College Retirement Activity Center of Yan’an Courtyard in the Xinbei Community Chinese Media and Pop Culture

Bryn Mawr College AI Dupont Nemours Yoga

David Slade Baldwin Villanova University Dominican Republic Service Trip Woodworking

Matthew Banschbach Rice University Rodney Street Tennis Association German culture and language

Kennedy Barnes Marist College Nemours AI Dupont Hospital American Sign Language

Samuel Boulos Northeastern University Council on Language Instruction (Northwestern University) Coaching tennis with youth program

Isabella Bukowski Cabrini University Operation Warm Learning to cook

Camille DeBeary The University of Tampa Letters of Love To Seniors Beach Volleyball, Driving in CA, Adulting

Olivia Delgado Barnard College El Paso Service Trip Photography

Theodore DeVoll Drexel University Emanuel Dining Room Learning to play the accordion

Brooke Goodman George Washington University South Africa Service Trip Learning new things: juggling, hoola hoop and whistling

Carter Gramiak Northeastern University St. Ann’s Cross Country Coach Veganism across different cultures

Kalise Dyton

Max Grimes

Lyle Knudsen

Hampton University Dalissy J. Washington LLC Hair braiding

Washington College ReLax Collections Making an original podcast

University of Denver El Paso Service Trip Filmmaking and Editing

Abigail Emsley

Aine Grubb

Anniina Lappalainen

Clemson University Hinde’s Animal Rescue Oil Painting

Peter Erskine Clemson University Dominican Republic Church Trip Living “off the grid” in South Carolina

Kayla Farley

The University of Tampa Anna Marie Dance Studio Investigating careers in sports

Katherine Harron New York University Leukemia and Lymphona Society Fashion in NYC

Estelle Hegenbarth

Stevenson University Best Buddies Adulting Skills

University of Vermont El Paso Service Trip Midwifery

Emily Fenimore

Marie Horne

Elon University El Paso Service Trip Caring for a blind person

Felicia Froio Villanova University Special Olympics of DE Adulting Skills

Isaiah Gaines Indiana University (Bloomington) El Paso Service Trip Audio Engineering

Meenatchi Ganeshkumar University of New Hampshire (Main Campus) Hindu Temple Acc. Inc Learning to cook Indian cuisine

Albright College Lyte Hair braiding

Elise Johnson Vassar College Delaware Theater Company Exploration of Law

Sander Katz Bates College Outdoor Adventure Camp Learning to pilot an airplane

River Kendle Undecided Tennis Rocks Tennis Rocks

Washington College Cab Calloway Camp CPR and First Aid Certifications, Narcan administration

Ely Longwill Colorado College FC Brandywine Soccer Club Making a family cookbook

Manon Magnan de Bellevue Hofstra University Plarn Field of Hospitality

Aristotle Makoujy Tulane University of Louisiana Pass the Wisdom Shadowing in the real estate industry

Meghan Malone George Washington University South Africa Service Trip Learning how to fly an airplane

Erin Mann University of Kentucky Brandywine Warriors Studying AMPS: Amplified Muscular Skeletal Pain Syndrome

Madison McCoy Howard University South Africa Service Trip Researching Books / Learn to Love Reading (again)

Patrick McKenzie

Dallis Smith

University of Notre Dame South Africa Service Trip Teaching American History

Morgan State University Be My Eyes Automobile Maintenance

Sophie Mullen

Sarah Stovicek

Union College Dominican Republic Service Trip Becoming a poet

College of the Atlantic Delaware State Parks Service Scriptwriting a play

Leila Mulveny

Lucy Taylor

Emory University 4-H Riding Theraputic Program Triathalon

Pennsylvania State University (Main Campus) Dominican Republic Service Trip Woodworking

Luke Munch Amherst College El Paso Service Trip Shadowing physical therapist

Kyle Nisbet Lehigh University Delaware Stock Market Club Financial analyst shadowing

Andrés Pardo Northwestern University El Paso Service Trip Making an original podcast

Nathan Rashkind Gap Year Boys & Girls Club Sports Media Production

Maximiliano Rios Hartwick College Zooniverse.com Shadowing a Pediatrician

Christian Rosado Ursinus College St. Ann’s Cross Country Coach Coaching

Bennett Ross University of Virginia (Main Campus) Dominican Republic Service Trip Sports statistics

Tamryn Sainten Howard University Leadership Initiatives Self-Defense

Alexander Saville Gettysburg College Dominican Republic Service Trip Cooking

Caroline Schumacher Denison University Bridge to Learning Home Renovations

Grace Terranova University of Pittsburgh (Main Campus) Delaware Theater Company Home Renovations

Marleen Ueberall University of Stuttgart Blood Bank of Delmarva Learning vegan and vegetarian cooking

Blythe Wallick Bucknell University South Africa Service Trip Horseback riding

Henry Wieman Williams College El Paso Service Trip Learning bass guitar

Ian Wilhelm-McKinley California State Northridge Bullock Garden Project Exploring a real estate career

Brandon Williams Fordham University Jack & Jill Inc Healthy Routine Makeover: Yoga, Exercise, and Meal Prep

Cassandra Williams University of Delaware South Africa Service Trip Learning to play the piano

Mark Wilson University of South Carolina Dominican Republic Service Trip Making an original podcast

Carby Wise Undecided Dominican Republic Service Trip Nutrition and physical training

Bryce Young Connecticut College Good Neighbors Exploring area museums

REMARKS FROM DELAWARE STATE SENATOR SARAH MCBRIDE The Class of 2021 was thrilled when Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride accepted the invitation to speak at commencement. Below is an excerpt of her speech. “I’m sure, today, there are those of you who are out there who fear - for whatever reason - that your dreams are impossible. Some of you may worry, like I did, that who you are and what you want to do with your life are mutually exclusive. I’m sure there are some who wonder, despite our progress, whether the heart of our community is big enough to love you too. And I am here today to say: nothing is impossible. “You may be entering a world that doesn’t seem ready for your ideas. It may not even seem ready for you. But if there is one thing we see from history and if there is one thing I’ve seen in my work and my life - it’s our individual and collective capacity to transform what once seemed impossible, not just into possibility, but into reality. And the key to that change? It may seem trite. It may seem cliché. But the key lies in our youth - in the willingness of young people to fight for change and the confidence of the more seasoned among us to channel our own inner young person.

Moving from Possibility to Reality “Society doesn’t always listen at first, but, in time, we almost always inevitably do.”

“At events like these, we can often put so much focus on the future - on our future education, our future careers, and our future selves - that we can forget the unique potential and perspective that each of you bring, inherently, as young people…the power that you hold, right now, to bring about change…to make a real difference in our community and our country. Indeed, it has always been young people who have pushed - and in many cases led - us toward a more inclusive, compassionate world. “It was, at the start, a young Harriet Tubman - working with the Wilmington Quaker Thomas Garrett - who helped Black Americans up the Underground Railroad, through Wilmington, on their way to freedom. “It was young suffragettes who pushed their older, more experienced counterparts for bolder action that, eventually, resulted in votes for women through the passage of the 19th Amendment. “It was the bravery of young servicemembers in WWII that liberated a continent from tyranny. It was a 25-year-old John Lewis who led civil rights marchers across a bridge in Selma in pursuit of voting rights. It was the big hearts of young people who, in educating their parents and grandparents, helped lay the foundation for marriage equality in every state in this nation. And, today, we see the power of young voices in calling for all of us to act to protect our planet, advance racial justice, and eliminate violence in all of its forms. “Society doesn’t always listen at first, but, in time, we almost always inevitably do. “...So let your generation be the generation that sees those massive moral blind spots in real time. Let your generation be the one that continues to look at the world with the moral clarity, imagination, and urgency of youth…to be forever young so that your children and your children’s children will look back and be proud of the chapter you will write in our history books. “But first, we celebrate you. You’ve been through a lot - especially over the last two years. But you’ve made it, and we’re all better off for it.”

6 5

9 1

FINAL ASSEMBLY

& Awards

Academic Community

Sophie Mullen ’21 and Carter Gramiak ’21 were chosen by their classmates to address the Class of 2021; Abigail Emsley ’21 was honored as the WFS Malone Scholar.

The Charles W. Bush, Class of 1900, Award honors juniors who “most clearly demonstrate the School’s ideals of character, scholarship, and service.” The 2021 recipients were Bruno Yeh ’22, Aniyah Barnett ’22, and Hannah Carter ’22.

Austin Sarker-Young ’22 was the recipient of the Jordan Wales ’97 History Award as well as the Upper School World Language Award.

Estelle Hegenbarth ’21 received the Eden Wales Freedman ’99 English Award.

Luke Munch ’21 and Peter Erskine ’21 were the recipients of the Amanda Spackman Gehret, Class of 1951, Memorial Mathematics Award.

The Wyeth Brothers Performing Arts Award recipients were Sarah Stovicek ’21 and Kennedy Barnes ’21.

Teddy DeVoll ’21 and Aristotle Makoujy ’21 received the Howard W. Starkweather, Jr., Class of 1944, Award, recognizing students who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to community service.

The Wyeth Brothers Visual Arts Award recipient was Manon Magnan de Bellevue ’21.

Macy Volp ’22 received the 2021 Robert P. Hukill, Class of 1949, Science Award.

Elise Johnson ’21 was the recipient of the John Marshall Mendinhall II, Class of 1939, Memorial Award, recognizing the graduating senior considered to have done the most for Friends School.

Anna Erskine ’18, Meredith Erskine ’13, Jake Erskine ’15, Peter Erskine ’21, Meg Gehret Erskine ’83, Ann Gehret McKinney ‘83.

Jorge Pardo, Laura Jersild Pardo ’90, Andrés Pardo ’21, Ana Pardo ’24.

Carby Wise ’94, CJ Wise ’21, Evelyn Wise.

Helen Boulos, Sam Boulos ’21, Tim Boulos ’91.

Robyn Malone, Stephen Malone ’84, Meghan Malone ’21, Matthew Malone ’23, Maddie Malone ’18.

Sophie Longwill, Michael Longwill ‘82, Ely Longwill ’21 , Sarah Longwill, Hannah Longwill, Barbara Longwill.

WFS Alumni Families

Rose Mulveny ’26, Leila Mulveny ’21, Dan Mulveny ’87, Peri Mulveny ’23, Tracey Mulveny.

Best Wishes,Friends!

RETIREMENTS

in my room knowing I’d not lived up to her expectations to excitedly seeking her every grammatical approval, I’ve realized that I, like all those she has taken in and attended to with care, patience, and great expectations, may have achieved an exalted place in Margot’s world.

Margot Johnson, Administrative Assistant, Middle School, joined WFS in 1986

“...Like the bodhisattva who delays reaching nirvana out of

Head of Middle School Jon Huxtable shared these words

comed into her life those in greatest need of her compas-

about Margot.

sion. I know for a fact that she likely delayed by a year or

compassion to save suffering beings, Margot has wel-

two her retirement to make sure that her dog named ’Jon’ “...Margot, in only the way that Margot can, made me feel

was ok. Yet I also know that other two-legged mortals, each

like one of her pups... and for that I am forever blessed. So,

of us touched by Margot’s heart and care, have achieved

I am going to keep this short and sweet, I am only going to

this transcendent state as well. For her work has not been

talk about dogs. Margot’s absolutely favorite topic in the

that of a servant, but of a master.

world. “...To be included among Margot’s beloved pack of four“To be one of Margot’s dogs is to live the life of the most

legged children - Bonnie, Gracie, Lexie, Sugar, Daisy, Ginger

pampered, cared-for, no-expense-spared beings in the

- is to have become among the richest and most fortunate

world. While she pampers her pups, she trains the rest of

beings on the planet. Now I realize I no longer have to wish

us. The dogs get the love and I get the ’sit,’ ’fetch,’ ’stay,’

to return in another life as one of Margot’s dogs, I very

’Are you sure you want to use this version of your letter

blessedly already have been. We all have been.”

to middle school parents?’ The dogs get the special diets, regular and emergency trips to the vet’s. Dan gets the ’honey do’ lists, and I get the ’Now I just looked this up to be sure, and you really don’t want to use a comma in these twelve instances in this four-sentence paragraph…’ Yes, Margot. Thank you. “But what, you say, does this have to do with dogs? With Margot? Everything, of course. From the days of cowering

Helen Thompson, Middle School Dean for Student Life and Science Teacher, joined WFS in 1990 Dean for Seventh Grade and Department of History/Social Science Head John Hanson shared these words about Helen. “It was an Easter Sunday morning and our family was getting ready for church. I had just finished helping our threeyear-old son Jack get dressed - khaki pants, button down,

a little blue blazer, very cute. I briefly glanced into a spare

to his recent years on the main campus and finally to his

bedroom where I had 7 cans of house paint sitting for an

pandemic-related change to day custodian in 2020-21, his

ongoing painting project. I then took a shower, and got

steady presence, calm demeanor, and flexibility were huge

dressed, but I could not find Jack.

assets to the building services team.

“I walked around the house and called out my son’s name

“I’d like to share some words from his supervisors, Ray

and eventually turned into the spare bedroom. Somewhat

Carbone and Rickey Morrison.

stunned, there was Jack with all of the cans of paint open, dunking a paint brush to the very bottom and painting him-

“From Ray Carbone, ‘I started at Friends 22 years ago,

self as well as the carpeted floor.

and you already had a few years under your belt. I found out very quickly that you were a very loyal worker at

“Still a bit shaken on Monday, I shared this story with

Friends. You were not my fastest employee, which was

Helen. And she laughed. A deep belly laugh that you can

fine, because when I gave you a task to do I knew it would

tell when someone thinks something is truly funny. Helen

get done completely. You took pride in your work and you

then looked up through tears of laughter and said, ‘Hey,

made sure it was done safely and correctly. I could always

you can change his name to Picasso!’

count on you. Not many of you know, but Howard always put himself second, to make sure his family, friends and

“The reality of the story is that Helen is the true artist, with

his community were well taken care of. When Howard

her unique ability to work exceptionally well with students,

found time for himself he liked to fish and ride his motor-

teachers, administrators, and whomever else might walk

cycle. So, I’d like to wish Howard the best of health and

into her doorway or contact her by phone or e-mail. She is

happiness in in his new journey.’

a truly unique and gifted person and one who is an exceptional asset to Wilmington Friends School. As Jon Huxtable

“From Rickey Morrison, ‘I would like to thank Howard for

has said throughout the year, ‘The next Helen Thompson is

his diligent work ethic and his attention to detail, for his

not walking through the school’s doorway.’”

helpful and sincere demeanor and for always doing his

Howard Craighead Jr., Building Services Team, joined WFS in 1996 (Howard recieved his commemorative WFS chair for 25 years of service this year) Associate Head for Finance and Operations Bill Baczkowski shared these words about Howard. “Howard, a gentle and caring person at heart, will be going off to spend more time with his family, particularly his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Howard has always expressed a true joy for working and when he came to us way back in 1996, he was the lunch chef at the Olive Garden on 202 by day, and a building services custodian by night. In recent years he’s had to scale back a bit and I know for a workaholic like Howard, it has been disappointing. “As I’ve gotten to know Howard a little more in recent years, I’m amazed by the breadth of his interests and hobbies. Other than his family, his number one passion, Howard also enjoys his motorcycle, fishing, and cooking. I’m sure in retirement he’ll find plenty of opportunities to enjoy those passions. I know Howard has thoroughly enjoyed his time here at WFS and is proud of the service he’s provided even though in his line of work it sometimes goes unnoticed. From his many years at the lower school

best.’ “The students were very important to Howard and I know he particularly enjoyed the times when he had an opportunity to interact with them, and even though he was on vacation on June 4th, he insisted on working the night of graduation to send off the seniors. As Ray previously indicated, Howard places others before himself.”

Thank you Ann! Ann Cole, Administrative Assistant to the Head of School, is departing so that she may prioritize time with her family. Ann joined Friends in 2012, and has been an essential and well-respected administrator, with a compassion that meets the mission of Quaker education. Said Head of School Ken Aldridge, “Each and every day, Ann asked what she could do to be helpful. In fact, it was her first question after our morning hellos. Full of grace, charm, and an exceptional sense of humor, Ann found ways to handle all matters with care and thoughtfulness. She maintained a high standard for her work and the Friends community.”

Major

Initiatives

e h t for

Year

Ahead

An Incredible Opportunity for Growth 18

How many times

in our lives do we recognize a true turning point in history? Maybe once, maybe twice? In the past 18 months, the whole world had to make incredibly drastic changes to react to the common threat of the pandemic. At the same time, our country began new, raw conversations and important actions regarding race in America. On top of all that, technology, social media, artificial intelligence, and let’s face it, Amazon, seemed to take an even stronger hold of society than before. All of these factors have raised new questions for educators–– shining a spotlight on values, processes, and priorities––and have created an incredible opportunity for growth. As we head into the school year, we feel a new energy and focus born out of the recent pivotal events on major initiatives for the School in 2021-22. It is imperative that these initiatives are synchronous with one another and, together, will make our program even stronger and transformative for our students. Initiatives include: Cultivating a Culture for All: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Understanding Our Market: Enrollment Task Force Strategies CoLT: A Culture of Learning and Teaching Technology: Part of an Integrated Toolbox

Cultivating a Culture for All: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Core to Quakerism is honoring that of God in everyone, and this belief informs all that we do at WFS. When individuals feel respected, heard, and included, they have an opportunity to reach their fullest potential. As is true with many beliefs, embracing an ideal is certainly critical to its fruition, but its achievement can be evolutionary and complex. Creating an inclusive and equitable culture at WFS for all individuals is something we have always regarded as critical work, but in the past year have renewed a more focused initiative to better understand the extent to which this culture exists, and the extent to which it doesn’t.

Over two months during the 2020-21 school year, Trina Gary of Brown-Gary Associates conducted an immersive climate assessment at Friends. She spoke with faculty, staff, students, parents, trustees, and alumni. In this qualitative study, Trina conducted Zoom and phone interviews, both with individuals and focus groups, to see what important themes emerged. She also conducted an audit of disciplinary practices, outcomes, and communication. The resulting final report to the School serves as the basis of a DEI strategic plan. In the report, Trina provided “commendations for successful inclusion and multicultural practice models within the school and recommendations for further growth, consistent with best practices in independent schools and with the school’s mission and stated diversity and inclusion goals.”

Immersive Climate Assessment Themes LEAD ER DIVE SHIP FOR RSITY AN INCL USIO D N E& CLIMAT SCHOOL URE T L CU

CREATING AN IDENTITY - AWARE & SAFE COMMUNITY

STAFF INCLUSION & EQUITY

PARENT EDU CATION & PARENT SUPP ORT

DIVERSIT Y OF TH E STUDEN T BODY

TAINING HIRING/RE IVERSITY D Y FACULT

PHILOS O COMMIT PHICAL MENT T DIVERS O ITY AND SO , INCLUSION, CIAL JU STICE

Reviewing the report, setting goals and timelines, and funding considerations are priorities for our Board and Senior Administrative Team. Divisional leaders will focus on professional development priorities for teachers and developmentally-appropriate learning priorities for students. Our newly-formed DEI Committee will create a plan with a path forward and work with other school committees to be able to address several initiatives at once. The voices of our community helped inform Trina’s commendations and recommendations for growth, and we are grateful that so many constituents gave their time and provided their thoughtful and valuable feedback.

Understanding Our Market: Enrollment Task Force Strategies Independent schools across the country have experienced enrollment challenges over the past several years due to shifts in demographics, a wide variety of available educational options, and the rising cost of tuition. In addition, families who choose independent schools often have expectations, experiences, and viewpoints that are different from those of prior generations. Friends has felt the impact of these forces, and, as such, the WFS Board Finance Committee created an Enrollment Task Force made up of trustees and administrators to focus on these issues and challenges to be able to plan for the School’s sustainability. The Task Force members agreed that it was important to make an investment in better understanding ourselves, the market, and our sustainability. The team contracted Connor Associates, a market research and strategy firm, to help provide external data with the depth and breadth needed to have a good understanding of our market, and to see how WFS is perceived, what

is believed to be our value proposition, and how we compare to competitors. The scope of the work included: • Pricing elasticity and strategic financial planning • Enrollment feasibility and 2025 forecasting • External image audit and perceptual study Deliverables include a financial report with recommendations, data and information to help reach potential mission-appropriate families, an executive summary of the themes captured in the Image Audit conversations, and recommendations for immediate implementation. This report will help inform our admissions and marketing work, fundraising potential, institutional strategic planning, and accreditation self-studies. Understanding our value proposition from market research, the Committee will set specific goals for the identified areas of focus (tuition structure, rate of tuition increase, enrollment, and financial aid) that can then be placed into a five-year financial plan that becomes a road map for our work going forward.

A Culture of Learning and Teaching (CoLT) Many prominent educators, researchers, and policy makers have expressed concern regarding the new information economy and the need for more innovation and creativity in our schools: not just making our schools a bit better, but transforming our work. Many of these same authors have placed an emphasis on skill development -- the “4 Cs,” “digital literacies,” “21st century reading and writing literacies,” etc. Regardless of how we define and categorize these skills, educators need to be open to rethinking our practice in ways that support students’ ability to learn how to learn. Beyond articulating the abilities that we need to develop in our students, we are exploring and implementing ways of changing our perspective from a teaching orientation to a learning orientation. So how do we move beyond the traditional unit of innovation -- the teacher in the classroom -- and collaborate as an organization to innovate and remain relevant in our changing world? The Culture of Learning and Teaching (CoLT) committee was created to help answer this question. Recognizing that our culture is the result of many “drivers,” the group’s areas of focus include: desired learning outcomes for our students; professional learning and growth of our staff; the role of Quaker pedagogy; fostering creativity and innovation; and/or external factors/benchmarks that influence our culture. The committee is first focusing on professional learning and growth of our staff, and are using a Design Thinking approach. Committee members have just finished up the “Ideate” stage where they have designed prototypes to test this year. This Prototype stage will inform what works, allow the team to problem-solve, and create space for opportunities.

Design Thinking in Action The CoLT Committee is using the Design Thinking Approach to create a new model for faculty evaluation and growth.

2019

The value of our 1-to-1 device program was perhaps never more keenly felt as when we needed to pivot almost immediately to full virtual learning in March of 2020. At the time, all students in grades five through 12 had their own, school-issued MacBooks. During the summer of 2020, we expanded the program and issued MacBooks to fourth graders as well as iPads to students in preschool through third grade. We also invested significant time and resources in testing, diagnosing, and repairing weak links in our technology infrastructure (e.g. wireless access points, switches and wiring, firewall, etc.). These investments will continue to support our 1:1 program moving forward.

EMPATHY STAGE engaged, researched, observed, immersed

2019-20

Technology: Part of an Integrated Toolbox

DEFINE STAGE defined opportunity, created user need insight

IDEATE STAGE created model 2021 for faculty evaluation and growth

PROTOTYPE & TEST STAGES will vet the new 2021-22 model

IMPLEMENTATION new model for faculty evaluation

The devices we use are on a three-year lease cycle with Apple, and we have just completed a rotation for our laptops so our students, faculty, and staff are now all using the newest models of the MacBook Air. These devices provide immediate access for students to learn, create, and communicate in ways that are part of the fabric of today’s society. The myriad of uses––problem-solving, computing, coding, media literacy, video production, podcast production, creating art, presenting a project, collaborating, and more––are integral to the student experience at WFS. While the integration of technology into the program at WFS is certainly not new, it is a critical piece of all of our major initiatives, and we must be nimble and current as platforms, channels, and possibilities are continually evolving. This is true of both the hardware and programs supported by our Information Technology department as well as our computer science curriculum itself. In lower school, the computer science curriculum is a critical thinking and problem-solving course designed to encourage active learning, creativity, and exploration. It is presented through the following five strands: computational thinking; collaboration; computing practice and programming; computers and communication devices; and community, global, and ethical impacts. The same five strands presented in lower school are continued to be developed in middle school where the focus is on process over product, and students fully harness the problem-solving capabilities of a computer. They learn how to break problems down into discrete, repeatable steps, and are able to iterate through a multitude of approaches before arriving at an algorithm that achieves the goals of the problem. Harnessing the potential of algorithmic thought and the programmatic potential of computers, students use their computer science knowledge to be “creators” as opposed to just “users” of technology in many fields of study. The upper school computer science curriculum is intended to continue students’ development as algorithmic thinkers with the ability to translate ideas into a formal structure. Students understand how to define and solve problems from all disci-

plines in terms that can be implemented by a computational device. In addition, students will have a firm understanding of a number of surrounding technologies that they interact with on a daily basis, from Internet protocols to basic hardware. Problemsolving and self-reliance are essential as students become more confident in their abilities to use computers to devise and apply real-world solutions.

Tech Support Can Be An Important Part of Growth Within our 1-to-1 program, we recognize how important it is for kids to be able to remain on task and that their laptop is an important tool in this process. If a computer goes down, getting it repaired isn’t left to the parents to figure out how to get an appointment at the Genius Bar, or taking their own computer to a repair shop and waiting (while also being without a device.) In fact, there is very little stress or interruption. Our loaner program is set up so that if a student accidentally damages their computer, we take the time to migrate all of their user data and settings into an identical device. They use this device while their original laptop is repaired, and when it returns, we swap the student back into their original with all updated content and settings. In addition, we offer upper school students the chance to be part of Applecore, our student tech support program. Applecore is our support office, and students are the frontline service providers. Students, faculty, and staff all stop by Applecore when they need IT help or support, and our students can sharpen both their IT skills as well as their customer service skills.

Watch Us Bloom! Coming Up... For growth to happen, part of the process is through nourishment, and for a school, that includes funding. We are in the very early stages of our next comprehensive

campaign, which you will be hearing about later this year. Another part of growth is change, and the project to build a new

lower school will also continue this year.

One of the most fun things about growth is celebrating birthdays, and in the fall 2023, WFS Get ready to celebrate!

turns 275!

SCHOOL NEWS

QUEST Service Learning Trips

ck a B e ey’r

We are excited to announce that, after putting the program on hold last summer due to COVID, we were able to resume our QUEST service learning trips for WFS upper school students this summer. QUEST Term Service/Leadership Trips engage students in an experiential learning model to increase their understanding of global issues as well as strategies to mitigate the impact of these challenges. During the summers preceding their 10th, 11th, and 12th grade years, students may elect to travel to domestic or international destinations to engage in global issues through service and leadership. This June, students traveled to Acadia National Park for their QUEST service learning trip (in partnership with Earthwatch). They spent a week on an expedition to track biodiversity in the intertidal zone to see if species are adapting to warming, collect data on island flora, and track bird migration and the availability of their food source. The students’ research and observations will contribute to broader efforts to help solve challenges caused by climate change and other consequences of fossil fuel emissions. 23

SCHOOL NEWS 2

1. Pre-kindergarten students explored the Quaker testimony of equality. They read the story “Old Turtle and the Broken Truth” and then were challenged to look for the whole truths around them, which is something that is relevant for all, not just a select few (statements that promote equality). The dictations on the hearts are what the pre-kindergarteners discovered and voiced.

2. Seventh graders participated in a "space challenge" in Mrs. Hegenbarth's class, learning all about an astronomy topic that they feel passionate about, including this one about how NASA uses origami to help them transport large solar arrays.

3. Tony Cheng ’22, Frank Murphy

3 4 6

’24, Devin Wallace ’24, and Collier Zug ’24 represented the WFS robotics team 7584, “The Bad News Bots,” at the DE FIRST TECH CHALLENGE State Championship in May. The competition pits robots built and programmed by the students in performing a variety of tasks in two-and-ahalf-minute matches. They had a dozen matches against teams from across the State and had a lot of fun learning and competing in this challenging event.

4. Middle school students recently met WFS parent Dr. Taryn Fletcher, who worked as a teacher and school administrator for almost 20 years before writing a book and starting her own business to help schools incorporate more cultural diversity in their classrooms. Dr. Fletcher 24

SCHOOL NEWS studied the consequences of the Supreme Court decision Brown versus Board of Education as part of a large research project for her doctoral degree. She talked to students about the effects, both positive and negative, of school desegregation on students of color. Dr. Fletcher was joined by her mother, Dr. Olivia Roane, a public school teacher for more than 36 years and a former professor in the Department of Education at Wilmington University. Dr. Roane shared her experiences as a teacher in segregated schools.

The WFS Mock Trial team took first place in the 30th annual Delaware High School Mock Trial Competition! Gavel award winners include Tess Wolf '24, Claire Manning '22, Elissa Belleroche '21, Kaylyn Freeman '22, Rohan Mandayam '23, Greer Marvel '23, and Bryce Young '21.

6. WFS science teachers Kelley Cox, Ellen Johnson, Courtney McKinley, and Karen Horikawa participated in a gene editing workshop given by the Christiana Care Gene Editing Institute at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. The teachers learned more about the curriculum for “CRISPR in a Box” and implementing it in their classrooms. “CRISPR,” or Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, is a groundbreaking technology that can harness the activity of DNA repair pathways to generate desired genomic alterations.

7. In computer science class, 8th graders made and flew paper airplanes, then returned to the classroom to write an algorithm (a set of instructions that a computer follows) for making their plane. They also shared their algorithms with a classmate to use to create an identical plane.

8. Fifth graders learned about slavery––how it began, the passage, and modern-day slavery–– and students created a virtual museum. During the unit, Fifth Grade Teacher Beth Hill ’12 said, "The idea of the museum was to evoke empathy and leave the viewer with a deeper understanding of slavery. To do this... they could either present a news anchor/cast, create a podcast with visuals, or create a drawing or a physical project with a caption. They needed to be strategic in how each exhibit was placed and be really creative to evoke empathy. They've been work really hard on this for a few weeks now, and I cannot wait to post them so other students, teachers, and parents can see their hard work."

7 8

9. Upper school Spanish students took part in a Black heritage photo challenge as part of Black History Month. The goal was for students to share information and celebrate and learn more about Black heritage. They focused on three criteria for selecting and describing their pictures in Spanish: authenticity, stories, and people.

9 25

SCHOOL NEWS

Connecting ss o r Continents c A Seventh grade social studies students had a cultural exchange conversation with students from Mauritania who are connected with the MindLeaps program. Their teacher, John Hanson, had a chance to visit and see the MindLeaps program in action during a visit to Rwanda two years ago. MindLeaps (Mindleaps) is a USA-based organization working in developing countries to improve school performance and create positive livelihoods for at-risk youth. MindLeaps runs a unique program, based on a standardized dance methodology, that helps out-of-school and vulnerable youth undergo behavioral transformation, catch up on basic cognitive development and learn work-ready skills. MindLeaps creates educational paths for the most vulnerable children in the world through a creative arts program that is built on data-driven metrics. Three WFS students, Cereniti Johnson, Naomi Allen, and Arlo Nekoukar, gave presentations about their family backgrounds as well their own hobbies. In addition, other WFS students asked questions and shared examples of their hobbies as well as likes and dislikes about aspects of American culture. The students from Mauritania also shared aspects of their culture and families as well as a poem that was read and shared.

STUDENT REFLECTIONS “I thought it was interesting to have the zoom call with the students from Mauritania. I liked hearing about their hobbies. I think the students were very similar to us. I think it was nice to have a chance to meet students from so far away. We were able to do this because of technology and I thought that this would not have been possible to do a few decades ago. I wish we had more time to hear about what they are learning at school and also what kinds of things they would like to know more about us?” - Zach Altshul “I took away that Mauritania has a very different type of culture, weddings, languages, etc. What sticks with me is that one whole family doesn’t share the same language. I would’ve liked to learn more about schooling there and what a daily life is like. “- Sami Mayer “I learned about all the different cultures. Like in one of the presentations they showed all the different types of weddings from different cultures. Something that also stuck with me was how people in one household speak different languages. That was a very interesting thing that I never really thought about before. I would have liked to know more about the hobbies of the people living in Mauritania. It would have been cool to see what their life is like and what they do.” - Piper Roskovensky “I took away that Mauritania and the USA are somehow both extremely different and extremely similar at the same time. I would of liked to learn more about what sports they do there and how it is different from the USA.” - Vincent Ramunno III “I took away that they learned how to speak like 3 different languages and are fluent in them and I knew what they were saying when they spoke French and asked questions of us.” - Logan Jones

SCHOOL NEWS

al u t Art r i V

Exhibits

IB HL Art and Visual Arts Major seniors presented their portfolios in virtual exhibits. Along with their work, they included a curatorial statement of purpose, theme, and descriptions of each piece. Visit our website to see the full exhibits!

SCHOOL NEWS

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Our first grade city planners put a lot of thought into their fictitious town, thinking about the needs of the residents and where things should be located. First and foremost, they put the "Nine One One Center" in the middle, so everyone could easily be reached in case of emergency. Next, they made sure to include an apartment building where everyone could live. For all of those working parents, they placed a daycare close to the apartment building, along with a pet store (because pets are family too). Not too far from there is a bookstore, which is always fun to visit. A nice, big gym is easily accessible to the apartment building along with a restaurant. (There is another restaurant on the other side of town to accommo-

date everyone who wants to go out for a nice meal.) The mall is also nicely situated right next to the apartment building, and just a few doors down is the grocery store. The auto shop/gas station is across town, but the bank is right next door to it, because you know how gas prices are these days. They couldn't forget to include a hospital to care for the residents, and a nail salon next door in case someone would like to get their nails done before visiting any sick loved ones. Wilmington Friends School is the lovely little building in blue (GO BLUE!) which has a wonderful, large spa next door. Perhaps for the teachers to relax and rejuvenate after a busy week at school? Good thinking, Friends!

SCHOOL NEWS Socially Conscious Statistics The AP Statistics course at WFS acquaints students with the major concepts and tools for collecting, organizing, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. Students work on projects involving hands-on gathering and analysis of realworld data, and ideas and computations have immediate connections with actual events. It is an ideal structure for integrating socially conscious concepts. For instance, students look at the historic Swain vs Alabama case from 1965 and do a hypothesis test on whether the make-up of the jury was racially biased. Another project uses a real example from history where statistics was used to determine the total number of tanks that the German army had during WWII.

Student Empowerment

Author Visits After Reading Student’s Letter As a part of their reading unit, third graders wrote to beloved authors. Charlie H. ‘30 wrote to Nick Bruel, author of the “Bad Kitty” series, among many others. After receiving Charlie’s emailed letter, Nick immediately responded and offered to visit our third graders virtually. He joined the class through Zoom, talked about his new book, shared some drawing ideas, showed some of his artistic techniques, and answered questions.

Passion Projects in Middle School Mastery projects are an opportunity for middle school students to explore a topic they are passionate about, but isn’t offered in our curriculum. Sophia ‘27 had an interest in learning about sign language, so she took an online course and met once a week with her advisor to go over what she learned. Sophia then presented the information to her grade, complete with research she had done about the deaf community, a sign language conversation between her and her teacher, and her signing the song, “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas.

Healthy Debates in World Affairs Club Sponsored by the Upper School World Affairs Club, Sam Ritschel ’22 and Eden Cottone ’22 participated in a lunchtime debate on the question “Should recycling be a top ’green’ priority?” The purpose of the club is to foster friendly discussion on and provide a forum for analysis of issues of global importance. Topics range from school-wide issues to domestic and foreign policy. It offers students diverse perspectives and sharp but courteous argumentation. Guidelines require that topics should be topical and controversial; grandstanding is discouraged by focusing debate on substantive and serious issues; debaters cannot put forward a “straw man”; and debates allow good arguments to be developed on both sides.

Music News “Be the Change” -- Music That Reflects Our Values In the recent upper school Chamber Singers concert, students sang “Be the Change,” chosen by music teacher Margaret Anne Butterfield, who noted in her introduction that the piece adapts texts of Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., The Gospel of Matthew, and the composer Laura Farnell, and employs a phrase in Swahili. She noted that the Martin Luther King, Jr. quote that is part of the lyrics is also on a banner that hangs in the Wilmington Friends middle/upper school meeting room.

“Darkness cannot drive out the darkness; only light can do that. Hatred cannot drive out the hatred; only love can do that.”

SCHOOL NEWS LIVE concerts! We were very fortunate to be able to hold our middle and upper school choral and instrumental concerts in person this spring. The exterior of the library made a beautiful backdrop and the weather was almost perfect. Thunderstorms threatened the upper school symphonic and jazz band concerts, which were subsequently held in the West Gym with limited seating. Project MUSIC Several lower school students participated in Project MUSIC through the University of Delaware. Students worked on developing their skills in online workshops, from musical theater and digital music to songwriting and even dance lessons.

Melody Scavenger Hunt Enjoying the beautiful spring weather, lower school music teachers placed melodies outside for fourth grade students to find as part of a melody scavenger hunt. As students located each melody, they labeled the solfège, sang it, and notated it! Learning About Voice In their voice unit, sixth graders demonstrated their understanding through short essays on the process of creating sound, followed by creative projects on the anatomy and function of the larynx. Projects included rap songs (by the Epigolottis), skits (such as "Larynx Detectives"), Kahoot trivia quizzes, board games, paintings, and models.

Winter Sports 2020-21 Boys’ Basketball The WFS boys’ basketball team competed in what many call the toughest conference or “ACC of Delaware Basketball.” The team played hard in every game and continued to improve and support each other throughout the season. They finished up the year 4-10 and competed in the first round of the Delaware State Tournament losing to a tough St. Georges team.

ALL DISC First Team: Kayla Farley ‘21 Madison McCoy ‘21

highlights, including the boys’ team capping off the season with an historic finish.

Second Team: Margo Gramiak ‘22

ALL-STATE First Team Boys: Ty Wilmore ‘24

Honorable Mention: Caelen Grubb ‘22 ALL-STATE Honorable Mention: Kayla Farley ‘21 BLUE GOLD TEAM Kayla Farley ‘21

Winter Track While there were no regular-season indoor track meets this year, our runners stayed fit Girls’ Basketball and focused, and three The WFS girls’ basketball runners participated in team had an outstandthe State tournament. ing season finishing Congratulations to Max with an 8-5 record and Leffler ‘22 who was the a postseason record of state runner-up in the 1-1. They started off their 1600m with a time of tough schedule with a win 4:31! against conference foe Tatnall, followed by two State Meet Results wins against Tower Hill Max Leffler ‘22: and finished the season 2nd in the 1600m - 4:31 with an almost 20-point Luke Munch ‘21: victory over Wilmington 8th in the 1600m - 4:43 Charter. The team ended Ellie Criscimagna ‘23: up second in the confer7th in the 800m - 2:39 ence and played for the first time in the third Swimming round of the State TourCongratulations to our nament. boys’ and girls’ swim teams on a great season! Although it was a shorter season, there were many ALL-DISC Honorable Mention: Patrick McKenzie ‘21 Robby Tattersall ‘23

First Team Girls: Kira Agne ‘23 Honorable Mention: Marcel Stewart ‘22 DISC Conference Boys’ Coach of the Year Robin Lebauer State Meet Results The boys’ team finished 6th place overall in the state, girls finished 13th. Boys’ individual results Ty Wilmore ‘24: 2nd, 200 free/3rd, 500 free Marcel Stewart ‘22: 10th, 200 IM/12th, 100 fly Ameer Bashir ‘22: 10th, 100 backstroke Jalen Stewart ‘24: 10th, 500 free/13th, 200 free Boys’ medley results Ameer Bashir ‘22, Marcel Stewart ‘22, Jalen Stewart ‘24, and Ty Wilmore ‘24: Boys 400 free relay, 3rd/Boys 200 Medley relay, 6th Girls’ individual results Kira Agne ‘23: 3rd , 200 IM/4th , 500 free Leila Mulveny ‘21: 12th, 50 free

Girls’ medley results Kira Agne ‘23, Leila Mulveny ‘21, Leah Agne ‘21, and Peri Mulveny ‘23: Girls 400 free relay 11th/Girls 200 free relay - 13th Wrestling In an incredibly abbreviated season, Quaker wrestling still sent students to the State Open Tournament. The following wrestlers competed in their first State Tournament: Ethan Weiner ’24, Kaeden Fleming ’24, John Ursomarso ’24, Philip Crock ’23, Xavier McElderry ’22, and Max Grimes ’21. They all represented the team well in competition. Phil Crock went 3-2 on the day and finished one round short of placing in this year’s tournament. Aristotle Makoujy ’21, a four-time state tournament participant, finished 4th at the Wrestling State Open Tournament. He lost his first match of the tournament and then reeled off six straight wins (including one over a state runner-up from last year) to reach the 3rd place match. Aristotle is the first WFS wrestler since 2010 to reach the podium at the state tournament!

Congratulations to our winter athletes! Although not a typical winter athletic season, our student athletes made the most of it. We are proud of their continued dedication to their sports and thank our fans for their support even during this difficult year! Swim Team Makes History The Wilmington Friends School boys 400 relay team made history on Sunday, February 28, when they placed third in the State Championship race, becoming the first known all-Black swim relay team in Delaware to make the podium. Ameer Bashir ‘22, Jalen Stewart ‘24, Marcel Stewart ‘22, and Ty Wilmore ‘24 were also the first WFS boys swimming relay team to medal at the State Championship in the School’s history. The win was even more fitting as it came on the last day of Black History Month. “This is an historical accomplishment that calls for celebration,” Friends Athletic Director Jeff Ransom said. “The learning opportunity for our community, in a sport where people of color make up such a small percentage of the population, is a triumph we can all salute.”

Senior Winter Athletes

Spring Sports 2021 Baseball The team battled through one of the toughest schedules in the state, playing close games with several of the top ten teams. The team finished the season 9-9. ALL-STATE Second Team: Peter Erskine ‘21, Utility; Patrick McKenzie ‘21, 1st Base ALL-DISC DISC Conference Player of the Year Peter Erskine ‘21 First Team: Peter Erskine ‘21, Shortstop and Utility; Patrick McKenzie ‘21, 1st Base Second Team: Peter Erskine ‘21, Pitcher; Nathaniel Huxtable ‘22, Catcher; Aristotle Makoujy ‘21, Designated Hitter; Adin Shweiki ‘22, Outfield; Corey Silberglied ‘22, Utility and Pitcher DISC Honorable Mention: Jason Hughes ‘24, Third Base National High School Baseball Coaches Association Academic AllAmerican Team Peter Erskine '21 Patrick McKenzie '21 34

Bennett Ross '21 Golf The team got off to a great start by playing three of the four top teams in the State. The team’s only losses came at the hands of these four teams, while they were able to win all of their other conference and non-conference matches. Golfers Jake Bryson ‘23, Josephine Wellons ‘23, Zac Antao ‘24, and Danielle Higbee ‘25 finished sixth in the state in the team's very first tournament appearance. This was only the team's second year of existence and for three out of the four golfers it was their first time participating in the tournament. The team's overall record this year was 10-5. Boys’ Lacrosse The boys’ lacrosse team started several freshmen and sophomores this year, showing real promise for the future, and returned again to the playoffs. The team faced the state’s best competition, both in and out of the conference, finishing the regular season at 8-6.

Academic All American Andrés Pardo '21 ALL-DISC First Team: Lyle Knudsen ‘21 Jackson Redd ‘23 Second Team: Max Grimes ‘21 Girls’ Lacrosse The girls’ lacrosse team had an amazing season with a 14-4 record. A few close games made it an exciting season for fans to watch. The team went to the semifinals of the State Tournament for the first time since the 1990s. Alexa Donahue ‘22, Meghan Malone ‘21, and Caroline Schumacher ‘21 reached 100 goals this season while goalie Lucy Wood ‘22 reached 100 saves. Moira Marcozzi '23 was also named the Delaware Online Athlete of the Week. ALL-STATE 2nd Team: Alexa Donahue ‘22 Lucy Wood ‘22 Honorable Mention: Meghan Malone ‘21 Caroline Schumacher ‘21 ALL-ACADEMIC Meghan Malone ‘21

ALL-DISC First team: Alexa Donahue ‘22 Meghan Malone ‘21 Madeline Rowland ‘23 Caroline Schumacher ‘21 Lucy Wood ‘22 Second Team: Moira Marcozzi ‘23 Kaely Tornek ‘22 Honorable Mention: Lilly Hebert ‘25 Sawyer Rowland ‘25 Girls’ Soccer The girls soccer team finished the season with a loss at Archmere but not before they won the conference and defeated 5th ranked Newark Charter in the first round of the DIAA state tournament. The squad finished with a record of 10-5-2. Coach Scott Clothier marked his 100th regular season win as head coach at the team’s 6-0 win over Wilmington Christian. ALL-STATE Second Team Abby Emsley ‘21 ALL-DISC First Team: Abby Emsley ‘21 Giuliana DiPrinzio ‘25 Jocelyn Nathan ‘23 Maddie Osbourn ‘22 Second Team: Kayla Farley ‘21

Congratulations to our spring athletes! It was an incredible, record-breaking spring for many of our teams. We are proud of our students’ continued dedication to their sports and thank our fans for their support even during this difficult year! Peri Mulveny ‘23 Emma Slease ‘23 Lucy Taylor ‘21 Boys’ Tennis The boys’ tennis team had a great season, finishing the year 3-8, boasting wins over Tatnall, Brandywine, and Newark Charter. The team shows lots of promise and potential, with a record number of freshmen joining the team this year. Congratulations to our only senior, Matt Banschbach ‘21, for a fantastic season and a great second round finish at the State Tournament. Girls’ Tennis Girls’ tennis had another solid season finishing

at 8-4 in the toughest conference in the state. Everyone worked hard and in spite of some injuries showed continued improvement all year, and the team finished sixth in the state. Alexis Montana ‘22 had a huge win in the state quarterfinals over a St. Andrews’ rival: 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6 in the tiebreaker) to reach the semis where she took four games off the eventual winner from Dover, the only player to take more than two games. Track and Field State Championship Margo Gramiak ‘22 was the state champion in the 300m hurdles, jumped a personal record to medal in third place in

long jump, and rounded out her points scoring as fifth in the 100m hurdles. Marcel Stewart ‘22, Chris Rosado ‘21, Jalen Stewart ‘24, and Luke Munch ‘21 were state champions in the 4x800. Chris and Marcel came back in the boys 800m, with Chris in fourth and Marcel in fifth place overall. Luke ran the 3200m, scoring in sixth place and the 1600m scoring in fifth.

School Records Broken -Margo Gramiak ‘22 800m run with a time of 2:25.34, more than four seconds faster than the previous record.

Henry Wieman ‘21 ran the 3200m coming in 13th place. CJ Wise ‘21 had a massive 118’4” personal record in discus, coming in fifth place. He also competed in shot put, placing twelfth. The team overall tied for ninth place with 30 points out of 22 teams.

-Chris Rosado '21, Max Leffler '22, Luke Munch '21, and Marcel Stewart '22 - 4x800 with a time of 8:11.94, nine seconds faster than the previous record.

-Caroline Vanderloo '22, Margo Gramiak '22, Payton Williams '24, and Olivia Delgado '21 - 4x200 with a time of 1:53.60, three seconds faster than the previous record.

WFS Collegiate Athletes Congratulations to the WFS athletes who will continue to play their sports for their college teams: Christian Rosado '21, cross country/track at Ursinus College; Bella Bukowski '21, field hockey at Cabrini University; Luke Munch '21, cross country/track at Amherst College; Caroline Schumacher '21, lacrosse at Denison University ; Rosa Cochran '21, field hockey at Bryn Mawr College; and Max Grimes '21, lacrosse at Washington College.

Spring Sports 2021 Senior Spring Athletes

Sportsmanship Award Olivia Delgado '21 was honored by the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association with a Sportsmanship Award. Olivia's score was misreported during the Division 2 Girls' Long Jump event at the state championship, and she ensured that her actual score (which was lesser) was corrected and accurately reported. By coming forward to scratch her result at this event, Olivia removed herself from receiving a medal. "This is a true display of honesty and integrity," DIAA said. 36

Home & School News Under the leadership of clerks Tonya Baynes, Amy Blake, and Fola Adebi, the WFS Home & School Association (“H&S”) continued to rise to the challenge of coming up with new and creative ways to fulfill its mission of building community and raising funds for the school in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the spring semester, H&S focused on creating community through a series of virtual events. It organized a three-part Zoom series on “Parenting with Resilience” with Lani Nelson-Zlupko, Ph.D., LCSW, who gave parents practical tips and strategies for helping their children manage common struggles related to mood, relationships, and time and task management.

H&S also organized two very popular virtual cooking nights, which were a fun and delicious way to build community among students, parents, and faculty who learned to cook ricotta gnocchi with WFS parent Dan Butler of Piccolina Toscana restaurant, and Korean chicken bulgogi (“fire meat”) with WFS parent Sonia Connor of SoCoToGo. H&S is very thankful to Dan and Sonia for sharing their time and culinary talents with the WFS community. The H&S Parent Ambassador program, spearheaded by Kyle McKean ’98 and Kelly O’Donnell ’93, helped to organize a virtual “Community & Conversation” event for parents of students who were new to WFS this year. Parents connected over Zoom with Head of School Ken Aldridge and Parent Ambassadors in

small breakout groups, where they were able to chat, ask questions, and share resources. In addition, the H&S Parents for Multiculturalism group, clerked by Tonya Baynes and Kendra Okolo, hosted a virtual screening of the movie Coded Bias, which explored the impact of racial and gender bias in facial recognition software, followed by a thoughtprovoking Q&A session with the filmmaker. H&S continued its community service efforts through the Emmanuel Dining Room (“EDR”) project clerked by David and Kristine Tuttleman, who organized a group of generous WFS volunteers to provide lunch to between 150 and 200 families in need each month. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the volunteers prepared the meals at home for delivery to the EDR. Many new volunteers came on board this year, and their efforts helped to ensure that the EDR could continue to serve families without interruption throughout the pandemic. H&S also worked to make students, teachers, and staff feel appreciated during this challenging year. The H&S class representatives organized a surprise treat of soft pretzels and hot chocolate for upper school students in February, and a surprise ice cream truck for middle school students in May, which brought many smiles to campus. H&S clerks Fola Adebi, Tonya Baynes, and Amy Blake, and Lower School Coordinator Heather Jackman and Special Events Clerks Sue Handling and Kristin Jenney organized outdoor appreciation luncheons for teachers and staff in May, and thanked them for their extraordinary efforts this year with a surprise gift of WFS camp chairs. Finally, H&S was able to expand its fundraising efforts in several ways during the spring. Fundraising Coordinator Melissa Bilek helped to organize the first WFS Golf Outing in more than 20 years, which raised over $30,000 for the School. H&S was also able to reopen the Quaker Closet clothing resale store to current WFS families in April, under the leadership of clerks Lisa Pisano and Kendra Okolo, and held a successful virtual spring Scholastic Book Fair clerked by Kameron McConnell and Olivia Montejo. Thank you to all of the H&S volunteers who helped to make each of these events possible.

Photo credit: Farrah Skieky

PRESCRIPTION CHICKEN

How one alum's Senior Exploration led to a creative soup business.

Each year in May, the Senior Exploration provides seniors with a chance to integrate and apply skills and knowledge in an authentic, in-depth experience. Using a personal question as a guide, students are encouraged to find an experience that will require them to reflect on their own growth while at WFS. Students may explore any of the following: career options, service, immersion in a different culture, an old passion, or a new interest. Students work with a mentor/expert, document the experience through guided journals and photographic evidence, and present to family, peers, and faculty. With the Class of 2021 getting ready to head out on their Senior Explorations in the Spring, it was timely that we got an update about Taryn Pellicone ’06 whose Senior Exploration was about the “life of a chef” and learned that after working in the restaurant industry after college for 10 years, she started an on-demand chicken soup business (“Prescription Chicken”) in Washington, D.C. Most recently, Taryn and her partner began selling their product to grocery stores and it can now be found in more than 400 stores across the nation, including Whole Foods in the Mid-Atlantic region and Sprouts Farmers Market. We had a chance to ask Taryn some questions about her time at WFS and how her teachers and her Senior Exploration encouraged her to pursue her passion about food. Can you tell us about your background and where you are now? My life has always revolved around food and cooking in some form from going to cooking camp with my cousins and always entertaining for friends and family gatherings. Upon graduating from Friends, I decided to study hospitality at the University of Delaware as it combined my love for the culinary world with people. Immediately after my studies at UD, I moved to Washington D.C. to start a career in the food industry - from running fast casual operations to high volume restaurants at sports and entertainment venues. Hospitality has always been a passion of mine and no matter what path I took, I found myself coming back to the world of food and entertainment! What do you remember from your Senior Exploration? Senior Exploration was SO fun and SO interesting. I

very closely with Mary Woodward for the yearbook. I cannot say enough amazing things about her and she really got on our level to make us feel empowered and that we could accomplish anything. I could ramble for HOURS about all of my teachers. Looking back on it today, my time at Friends was invaluable and I am proud to say that I went there and got the guidance from who I did.

Taryn Pellicone ’06 with her business partner, Valerie. Photo credit: Scott Suchman

remember thinking, "How amazing is it that our school is letting us pre-explore our passions before going into the big scary (and exciting) world of college!" At that time I LOVED to cook and thought I wanted to be a chef. With that, I took some cooking classes with a fellow classmate and did an internship at the Four Seasons Philadelphia in their kitchen. The one thing I vividly remember was on day one of the Four Seasons the executive chef made me clean out lobster heads - and if you've ever done that, you'll know it really prepares you for the real world of being in the kitchen. I loved the hustle and bustle. I loved the white coat. I loved the passion behind every slice of the knife and even the bellow of the hot lines. There was a sense of community in the kitchen that I loved and it showed me that I wanted to continue down that path. Did you have any particular teachers at WFS who had an impact on you? It's hard to name just a few, because all of my teachers were absolutely incredible and I was there from second grade. Hope Hawkins was my first teacher - she made me believe in the value of friendship. Mrs. Woodward and Mrs. McManus were the two who had the most impact on me as I was graduating. Micheline (McManus) was my advisor and a teacher for the IB program. She showed me how to be me and to allow myself to shine through no matter what. I worked

The idea of "prescription chicken" is so unique - is there a background story on it? What made you want to start selling your soup in grocery stores? As I mentioned, I used to go to culinary camps with my cousin. Her sister, Valerie, is who I am in business with now! Val was battling two bouts of laryngitis in a matter of six weeks. It was crazy - she is a trained chef, lived above a grocery store, in the heart of D.C., and couldn't find good, practically homemade chicken soup anywhere. I was in the midst of a job transition and she approached me with the idea of chicken soup delivery and my immediate answer was YES. She has a background in restaurant public relations, marketing and brand development. All of that combined with my heavy operational background, mixed with people development and systems creation, we knew we were the perfect balanced recipe for creating this business. We launched in 2016 and tried a variety of things such as soup delivery, pop-ups in food halls, but one thing we noticed there to be a need for was a clean-label, all-natural and practically homemade chicken soup on the shelves of the prepared food aisles in grocery across the nation. So four years later, here we are, slinging soup in D.C. and on the shelves of over 400 natural grocery stores across the nation. Can you tell us more about the Whole Foods Women Maker Project? Whole Foods Market Mid Atlantic was one of the first retail partners we acquired. They are AMAZING about featuring locally made products, especially those founded by women. In the month of March they committed to partnering with three local non-profit organizations and matched 100 percent of sales up to $30,000 from featured women maker purchases March 1 through March 21, of which we were included. The non-profits were: Dreaming Out Loud, The Enterprise Center, and Community Kitchen Pittsburgh. We haven't seen the results of the campaign but we know they definitely reached their maximum.

Any advice you'd have for the Class of 2021? Can't stop, won’t stop - is that so cheesy? But really - as cliché as it is, follow your dreams. If there is something you want to do, then do it and do not let anyone tell you that it is impossible. One thing I will say is it's not easy and you've got to be persistent and hustle hard. Listen to your mentors. In the moment, your education may not always seem like it's setting you up for success, but you just got the best education out there and you are prepared to take over the world. It's also okay to change paths multiple times. Just because you think you're set out to do something does not mean it will always turn out that way. Never give up and always view a pitfall or challenge as an opportunity to learn. Some of the biggest advances we've had in our business have been from failures and we wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. It has allowed us to intimately get to know our business and our product and for that we are set up to do really amazing things. Anything else you'd like to add? In the Wilmington area, you can find our products at Sprouts Farmers Market and Whole Foods Market. It would mean the world to me for WFS families to discover our product and make it a part of their weekly grocery haul. Friends taught me everything. I look back on my education and time there and am so grateful for where it has gotten me today. My closest friends are all people that were in my classes and their friendship is my family. Friends school had such an impact on me and I fully believe that I've gotten where I am today because of my experiences and the people that were there by my side!

Photo credit: Farrah Skieky

Class Notes c mi ! e d d an n re p i r“ ” s o f g ok linin o L er v l si

CLASS OF 1954 Anna Hubbard Bellenger shares that 2020 “was the year I had (or would have had!) a one-person show at The Chester County Art Association. The show opened Thursday night, March 11, and closed Saturday afternoon! Also in 2020 the DAR gave me a framed certificate and pin honoring me with its Women in the Arts Recognition Award, which I was the first to receive. I sewed 200 cloth book covers with handles for my children’s book Sky High, which will be coming out this fall. I was also juried into the 154th International American Watercolor show in New York, held in April 2021. So I’m still painting! George and I moved two years ago to a retirement cottage at Jenner’s Pond, and the timing was right as food, mail, and books were brought to our door during the pandemic, and I’ve forgotten how to cook! Our three children, Baily Bellenger Cypress ’78, George Bellenger III ’79, and James Bellenger ’83 are all doing well, as are their children. Life is good, aside from arthritis!” CLASS OF 1955 Sara Hodge Geuder met her classmates Lynn Mulford Calhoun, Ellen Winthrop Jennings, and Caroline Simon Humphrey for lunch in May, taking advantage of Lynn’s visit from her home in Idaho to celebrate her brother John’s 90th birthday.

Sara Hodge Geuder ’55, Lynn Mulford Calhoun ’55, Ellen Winthrop Jennings ’55, and Caroline Simon Humphrey ’55.

Jeff Lippincott ‘65, Emily Geuder Blair ’87 and Sara Hodge Geuder ’55 together at Emily’s wedding to Mark Blair.

Sara also shared that her daugheter, Emily Geuder Blair ’87, married Mark Blair this summer, and Jeff Lippincott ’65 attended the wedding. CLASS OF 1957 Abbie Greene Fassnacht writes that her husband of 59 years, John Hartwell Fassnacht, died from complications of Alzheimer’s on July 28, 2020. “I am glad to be living at The Admiral Kendal in Chicago. And as in the past I

Anna Bellenger ’54 will have her children’s book Sky High published this fall. 41

Nominate an Alum for a WFS award! The Wilmington Friends School Alumni Association recognizes alumni annually for their outstanding achievements and service to the school and community. These individuals exemplify the best qualities of a Friends School graduate, including honesty, integrity, fairness, a commitment to serve others, and a commitment to equality and social justice. For more information or to submit a nomination, please contact Tina DiSabatino, Assistant Director of Development, at tdisabatino@wilmingtonfriends.org or 302.576.2981. will spend July, August and September at my cottage in Brooksville, ME. Let me know if you are heading my way, please.” CLASS OF 1958 Peter Gehret shares this pandemic silver lining: “I’m a model railroader so I’ve had plenty of tasks during the pandemic. However, I’ve also watched many truly terrible TV movies. Fortunately, due to the miracle of streaming, I was able, last fall, to watch my grandnephew Peter Erskine ’21 kick the winning field goal as Friends beat Tower Hill, 10-7. That, as the credit card advertisement states, was priceless!” Andy Hess writes that “Lidia and I have survived the pandemic since returning from Poland on one of the last flights in early March 2020, by being housebound except for medical appointments. We have made good use of Amazon and Instacart, which have met essentially all of our needs over 42

the past 14 months. We hope to be able to return to Poland this summer. I spent a week in the hospital in early May due to bradycardia (for the nonphysicians in the class this is great variation in heart rate, e.g. high 30s to the low 60s). While it can go untreated, if there are no symptoms as was my case, I fully recommend that you consult a good cardiologist. I learned that I had real problems with my ‘electrical heart system.’ Fortunately, these were completely overcome by placement of a pacemaker in my upper chest. This surgery was in fact a piece of cake. And the results are simply amazing. I don’t remember when I had such energy as I have now. My other news is that I became a Professor Emeritus at Vanderbilt in August of last year, after 52 years of service in the Chemistry Department.” Tom Wingate writes: “I read about the first all-black 400-meter freestyle relay team from Friends winning the bronze medal at the Delaware State High School Swimming Championships [in February]. Well done! In 1955, I had the distinct honor of representing Friends School at the very first Delaware State High School Swimming Championships held at Taylor Pool on the University of Delaware Campus. I was the only entry from Wilmington Friends in the meet; Friends School had no swimming team at that time. I won a bronze medal in the 50-yard freestyle and a silver medal in the 100-yard freestyle. It was quite an honor for me to represent Friends at that meet; it’s something I have never forgotten. I still have those medals today. Good luck to Friends School competitive swimming!” CLASS OF 1962 Robert Lessey shares the following pandemic silver lining: “The level of comfort people have developed with the Zoom platform has enabled me to stay in touch in a meaningful way with members of my family through host-

ing a weekly session and the screen has people filling three or four lively rectangles of faces and voices. The time commitment for me has been easy, although not everyone has the same predictable flexibility. A book group that I don’t host, and similarly several other groups, have managed to keep meeting and sharing. Presence at funerals and memorial services over the year was also made possible, some at great distance. I am a latecomer to streaming, but slowly getting into it, and have become a regular viewer and fan of SFJazz. Since moving to a house in North Potomac five years ago, I am four years into a building a butterfly garden, protected against deer, rabbits, and chipmunks, but friendly to birds and pollinators. Regular driving duties slowed, to music lessons, athletic practices and so on with four grandchildren, but the pace is picking up with beach volleyball added recently involving an hour drive to Frederick. Dog sitting when one or another of the families are away makes not having pets a natural result, except in July and August, when I host several dozen resident monarch caterpillars. I will find moments to feel grateful for the richness of life and send best wishes to all of my classmates of WFS ’62.” Richard Weigel has retired from the History Department at Western Kentucky University, but still teaches in its Lifelong Learning program. He recently completed a co-authored chapter on Peace in the Classical World soon to be published in a major study on Peace by Oxford University Press. He is also writing a play, “Escaping Hell’s Kitchen,” based on family memories of growing up in Manhattan and extensive newspaper research. CLASS OF 1965 Jeff Lippincott attended the wedding of Emily Geuder Blair ’87. (See photo of first page of Class Notes.)

CLASS OF 1968 Stuart Handloff has been living in Steamboat Springs, CO for nearly 50 years. He writes, “I’ve had a wide variety of occupations and finally settled on Executive Director and Board Chair for the regional professional theatre company, Piknik Theatre (an offshoot of a graduate school project from 2008); a job not nearly as glamorous as it sounds since it’s completely unpaid. Performing arts work was particularly hard hit during the pandemic since no gatherings of any kind were safe or permitted for the last year. Desperate to create something, we devised an audio theatre production which uses only sound to create and develop a story. Feel free to give a listen to this 50-minute comic interpretation of romance in the early settler days of Colorado at www.pikniktheatre.org. Donations are, of course, graciously accepted.” Dorothy Stilmar Green writes that, “while recognizing the many tragedies that the pandemic has inflicted on countless families, my husband and I have been experiencing a lovely silver lining. Our two granddaughters, who also live in Arlington, have been going to school in our 3rd grade living room and our kindergarten den while their Mom teaches 8th grade math from her old bedroom. It’s such a treat to have them for breakfast, lunch and after school play as well as listening to them as they are being taught and are learning while in class.” Mary Elizabeth Watson Smith shares that her pandemic silver lining has been her fourth grandchild, Claire, who was born in March 2020, at the height of the pandemic in New Orleans. She writes: “That experience was our introduction to all the twists and turns that unfolded over the next year! Our new arrival and the closing of day care allowed us to spend several

days weekly with our three-year-old granddaughter. We filled our days with many invented activities which have now become welcome traditions, such as ‘Rain Romps,’ in which you don rain gear and explore the neighborhood or park while jumping in every puddle and bring home ‘treasures’ to Mama and Daddy. Kenneth has long struggled with the vision of retirement. At one time, he had a golf handicap of 10, but was forced to give up the sport due to business and family priorities. During the shutdown, he resumed lessons, practice, and even played with the two ten-year-old twin boys next door! A vision of retirement is slowly forming!” CLASS OF 1969 Dave Stoddard has retired as a Workplace Safety Training Specialist with the Texas Department of Insurance. He was with TDI from 2008 to 2014 as a safety consultant, and from 2015 until last month as a trainer. He had a short interval with a private-sector safety consulting service in between, and previously spent 21 years in manufacturing plants, at first doing a mix of human resources and safety, and later doing safety and environmental. He writes, “Martha and I will remain in Round Rock for the present.” CLASS OF 1972 Amy Davis shares that her pandemic silver lining was being able to renovate a dollhouse her father built in 1951. Amy’s older brother Larry built an addition for it designed by her brother and architect, Zachary Davis ’75, and her older sister, Leslie Davis Guccione ’65 was the interior designer. She writes: “This was a fun project and long overdue. It was the perfect time to get it done!”

Thom Marston’s rain garden: top, proposed garden site in the Fall of 2019; bottom, completed rain garden in the Spring of 2021.

CLASS OF 1975 Thom Marston writes that his pandemic silver lining was creating a rain garden to support native plants. He 43 43

explains: “My favorite pastime is gardening in Maryland in order to return native plants to the ecosystem and to clean water flowing to the Bay. I completed training as a Watershed Steward, graduating in October 2019. My community proposed installing a garden in an area of our common lands that was not draining correctly and created leaf litter on the street and prevented access to fire suppression equipment. Along came COVID-19 that spring, which allowed me to work from home. I jumped at the request by my community to create a rain garden to support native plants. My neighbors helped me define the stream in the spring, and I solarized weeds in the soil with cardboard and tree chips during the summer. Last fall my neighbors helped me install 304 plants while social distancing. Today we have a flowering garden benefitting bees and butterflies and a few frogs. This project kept me engaged and active outside, allowed me to connect with others at a distance, and it kept me sane when I needed the mental relief.”

Victoria Sann shares that her oldest daughter Terri, age 40, is a financial advisor and member of the administration team at Merrill Lynch and has two children, Brandon, 15, who has numerous reptiles and is planning to attend vet school and Gabbie, 10, who owns a few small mammals, and her greatest asset is drawing and painting by sight. Victoria’s son David, age 38, is a manager for a major warehouse for a plumbing corporation and has three children, Jeremy, 19, and Emily, 18, and Tyler, 6. Her youngest daughter Lauren, age 35, works for Bank of America in their legal department and has one daughter, Madison, 7, who is in 2nd grade and has excelled to 5th grade work. She writes, “I am very proud of all my children and grandchildren. Karen Sann ’67, and myself are well. We both have been growing extra vegetables which we donate to our community center, and we also provide

gardening information on Facebook. I challenge others in the Class of 1975 to consider doing the same if you have any unused land.”

CLASS OF 1976 Christina Papastavros Fay writes that “John and I are looking towards retirement in a few short years. In a twist of fate, two of our four New Orleans-raised children now live in the Wilmington area (and another nearby in Washington), so after 45 years in New Orleans, John and I are buying a small property in Wilmington to spend more time closer to our children and grandchildren. We won’t be full-time Delaware residents just yet, but I’m looking forward to reconnecting with classmates and friends when we are in the area.”

CLASS OF 1980 Tracey Quillen Carney received the national 2021 Casey Excellence for Children Leadership Award, in recognition of her work to end childhood hunger, promote early language development, and identify and respond to childhood trauma. CLASS OF 1984 Sharon Cohen, founder and CEO of the non-profit organization Figure Skating in Harlem, had a letter to the editor published in The New York Times in April, in which she urged local skating rinks to do more to ensure greater equity and diversity in figure skating. CLASS OF 1987 Emily Geuder shared the following pandemic silver lining: “I met Mark Blair on January 24, 2020 for a cup of coffee. Shortly after that I left for a three-week trip to Southeast Asia. When I got back in early March, quarantine had just started so within a few weeks I was spending most of my time at his house. Fortunately, my bulldog

got along with his two labradoodles and pit bull. We decided to sell my house in Georgetown in June and then promptly renovated Mark’s entire home in Great Falls, VA. Mark proposed on October 28, 2020 and we’re getting married on June 19, 2021. I’ve never been happier and quarantining with Mark and his three dogs was super fun even with loads of contractors in the house almost every day. Mark’s three kids are icing on the cake. Marco is 25 and lives in Austin, TX. Jack is 24 and is finishing up school and living in Fairfax, VA. Annie will be a sophomore at University of Miami where she is a star soccer player (she started every game as a freshman!). Anyway, 2020 was a great year for me!” (See photo on first page of class notes.) CLASS OF 1988 Julia Fogg, is a professor of religion at California Lutheran University, where she has taught for 18 years. In January 2020, she chaired the inaugural faculty senate at the university. She writes: “It has been a rough ride guiding faculty through the pandemic, higher education budget crises, trauma from shootings and fires, and welcoming a new university president. Last spring, in the midst of everything, Baker-Brazos Press published my first book on immigration and biblical justice: Finding Jesus at the Border: Opening Our Hearts to the Stories of Our Immigrant Neighbors. I have been giving Zoom talks and lectures rather than doing the inperson book tour I had planned. In the fall of 2021, I look forward to starting the book tour, if any Friends alums are interested in hosting a book discussion on immigration!” More information can be found on her website, https:// julialambertfogg.godaddysites.com. Karen McKinstry writes, “I have lived in D.C. for nearly 20 years and work in the art and artifact collection at the

House of Representatives. My husband of 10 years, Erik, is at the Smithsonian and we have a 5-year-old named Winnie. I still spend time in Wilmington with my mom and we take beach vacations on the Jersey shore. I’m looking forward to seeing more family and friends this year as it becomes safer to travel.” She also shares her pandemic silver lining: “Planning the summer of 2020 was a challenge with my 4-yearold at home and trying to maintain a full-time work schedule. Day camps in D.C. were not opening so on a whim I checked in with WFS and got her a slot for two weeks. We were able to spend time with my mom as well as have a fun activity for Winnie. She liked it so much that I signed her up for a few weeks this summer too. My mom is thrilled to have company again and I feel confident in Winnie’s camp experiences at Friends.” Willow Pearson shares this pandemic silver lining: “2020 began, on January 25th, with the untimely death of my beloved brother Scott Pearson ’87. It was the worst of years. Then on June 30th, life’s silver lining of 2020 emerged; after two years together, Daniel Trimbach and I became engaged. We will be married in 2022! I found my one and only; it’s never too late for love.” CLASS OF 1994 Anne Brownlee participated in the ringing of the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on May 6, 2021, representing her employer Teach for America, to mark Teacher Appreciation Week. CLASS OF 1996 Jared Love shared that “after years of ‘Big City’ living” he and his wife and two daughters, ages 8 and 5, recently moved back to Lewes, DE. He writes, “I’ll commute to NYC a couple times a week (still with NBCUniversal) and

beach living will be an adjustment, but we’re really excited to be back in DE. Please give me a shout if you’re in the area, I would love to catch up!”

CLASS OF 1999 Nathaniel Carota was a part of two Academy Award-nominated films for best picture in 2020. He was the production accountant and post-production accountant on Nomadland as well as the post-production accountant on The Trial of the Chicago 7. He was also the post-production accountant on Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which he notes was also very well received last year. Eden Wales Freedman has been named Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, and will assume the position in July 2021. She previously served as Vice Provost for Faculties and Academic Affairs at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and Associate Professor of English at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

CLASS OF 2000 Meredith Jones and Keith Law were married in January in a micro-wedding at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, with their three daughters (Kendall ’24, Felicity ’31, and Verity ’35) filling out the wedding party. Meredith will be promoted to Associate Professor and granted tenure in the Department of Psychology at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ in September 2021. She also continues to enjoy her role as the Middle and Upper School Consulting Psychologist at Friends, and loved seeing all of her classmates who attended the 20th reunion on Zoom in October.

Julia Fogg ’88 published her first book last spring, titled Finding Jesus at the Border: Opening Our Hearts to the Stories of Our Immigrant Neighbors.

Meredith Jones ’00 and Keith Law with daughters Kendall ’24, Felicity ’31, and Verity ’35.

Earrings designed by Sara Titone ’02 to benefit Nemours Children’s Hospital.

CLASS OF 2002 Sara Titone writes, “I’d like to share a personal career update. My accessory brand, Daydream Weaver, was asked to design a Give-Back earring for the Nemours Children’s Hospital. For every earring purchase through September, $10 will be donated to their Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Gold is the color of Children’s Cancer awareness and that is reflected in the Gold and Natural hoop I designed.” CLASS OF 2003 Jacqueline Mellow received a publishing deal for her dark romantic fantasy series, and the first book, Song of the Forever Rains, is set to be published in July 2021. She writes that she also “got a new job at a woman-owned advertising agency that I love, and we welcomed our son, Everest, this past March 2021!”

Jacqueline Mellow’03 with son Everest.; her book Song of the Forever Rains, the first in a series.

Lindsay Moyer Parker ’03 and Stacy Parker 46

Lindsay Moyer Parker married Stacy Parker on August 11, 2020, in Tahoe, California. She writes: “The pandemic had us change our plans a bit! The original ceremony was supposed to be in Hawaii, but due to the virus and the state being shut down, we had to improvise. We chose Tahoe, where neither one of us had visited (even with my husband being a born and raised So Cal boy) and had an amazing, beautiful ceremony on the lake. Our reception was held later in August back in Orange County with family and friends. I was so lucky to be able to put my dress on twice! 2020 was a crazy year, but it was one of the best of my life. Stacy and I are very happy and loving our newlywed life. We bought our first home together in December and can’t wait to start our family.” Andriy Pazuniak shares that he and his wife are living in Los Angeles. They had a “pandemic baby” in the summer of 2020, and their son Idris and his brother Tariq “are both doing great.”

Faye Paul Teller writes that she and Arthur, her daughter Eliza (who turned one in April), and their dog Dora moved to Los Angeles in June. Arthur recently took a job as COO at TokenTax, a cryptocurrency tax start-up, and Faye is still enjoying doing commercial litigation. Nicole Wample started a job at Martin & Company as a Senior State Filing Analyst on December 1, 2020. Later that month, she finished earning her CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter) designation. She lives in Newark, DE with her husband and daughters (Mayble, age 7 and Charlotte, age 6), and they are all doing well. Caeli Rubens Richter shares that she and classmates Mary Ting Hyatt and Colleen Schell Sutler and their children met in early June when Colleen, who lives in the Washington, D.C. area, visited Caeli and Mary in Boston. CLASS OF 2006 Taryn Pellicone, co-founder of ondemand chicken soup business Prescription Chicken, was recently named part of Whole Foods Market’s “Women Makers” project in Washington, D.C., and her soups can now be found at over 400 grocery stores, including at Whole Foods in the Mid-Atlantic region and at Sprouts Farmers Markets nationally. CLASS OF 2008 Victoria Yu writes: “In June 2019, I made my life goal of having my horses in my backyard a reality and bought a small piece of property in Coatesville, PA. I was working in medical devices in sales and marketing traveling the world and quickly climbing the corporate ladder at 30 thinking I had this adulting thing figured out: owned a house, a car, some dogs, and had a good job

when bam! Suddenly on a Sunday morning my body tried to kill me and I had a massive stroke in November 2019. I was rushed to the hospital thinking ‘I have too much work to do to be missing work Monday.’ The next thing I knew I woke up on life support half paralyzed. I have been fighting to regain control of my body since, and it’s a crazy journey! The silver lining is that I’ve been able to retire.” CLASS OF 2009 Emily David Hershman married Greg Hershman on October 17, 2020 in Wilmington, DE. Emily now serves as Governor Carney’s Communications Advisor, mainly focusing on public education around the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, Emily and Greg have both gotten new jobs, have purchased their first home, Emily started a Master’s in Public Administration at the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware, and they both welcomed their puppy Arthur. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been serving as Governor Carney’s Communications Advisor, focusing on our all-state public awareness and education campaigns, as well as outreach to vulnerable communities around testing, prevention, and the vaccine. It’s been complex, emotional, and constantly changing. But I truly think the silver lining of this pandemic for me is that I have met people through this health crisis that I may never have met before. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with community members across the state from all different backgrounds and have learned so much from them and truly look forward to collaborating with them all far past this pandemic on other issues the state tackles together.” “I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that another silver lining was being able to stay in touch with my closest friends

from my class through Zoom and text threads. Many of us got puppies during the pandemic, so we made sure they could all meet each other as well.” Sammi Shay received her Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago in May 2020 with a specialization in healthcare. While at Loyola, she was invited to participate in the school’s HRSA-funded Opioid Workforce Expansion Training Program. She uses this training now as a social worker at a federally qualified health center in Chicago. She and her partner, Quinn Menchetti, recently got engaged and bought a home in Chicago a short walk away from Lake Michigan. She writes, “while it’s no Rehoboth Beach, I am so excited to spend all my warm days at the lakefront!” Mary Williams Schlauch and her husband Brendan Schlauch welcomed their son Samuel Elwood Schlauch on September 9, 2020. After spending four years working in Democratic politics in Washington D.C., Mary spent the last several years teaching in the Lower School at Friends, where she discovered a true love for Kindergarten and early education. Mary, Brendan, and Sam live in Wilmington with their dog Nellie.

Tariq and Idris Pazuniak, sons of Andriy Pazuniak ’03.

From left to right: Ronan, son of Colleen Schell Sutler ’03, Reese and Blaire, daughters of Caeli Rubens Richter ’03, Emmeline, Colleen’s daughter, and Armand, son of Mary Ting Hyatt ’03.

CLASS OF 2011 Austin Schoenkopf wed Elizabeth Nagle in May in Colorado. CLASS OF 2015 Travis Aerenson graduated from Colorado College in 2019 with a degree in physics, and is currently in graduate school at the University of Washington pursuing a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences. CLASS OF 2016 Jodi Lessner graduated magna cum laude and with departmental honors

Emily David Hershman ’09 and Greg Hershman. (Photo by Haley Richter, Philadelphia, PA)

Ellie Kelsey ’09, Sammi Shay ’09, Perrin Downing ’09, Anna Crosby ’09, Mary Williams Schlauch ’09, and Emily David Hershman ’09, Zooming with their pandemic puppies.

from Barnard College of Columbia University in May 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in political science and history. Since graduation, she has been working for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as an Investigative Analyst in the Special Victims Bureau’s Human Trafficking Response Unit. She also recently started a book review blog (https://bookhouseblog.substack.com/) where she has been posting reviews on a variety of subjects and genres. Margeaux Pantano graduated from the University of Delaware with a Master’s of Science in Accounting and a concentration in Management Information Systems. She will be working at EisnerAmper in their tax division. CLASS OF 2017 Jordan Perkins will be attending Wilmington University this fall to pursue a Master’s degree in business and finish his career playing basketball for his final year of eligibility.

Samuel Elwood Schlauch, son of Mary Williams Schlauch ’09.

CLASS OF 2018 Cecilia Ergueta shares that her pandemic silver lining was “a serendipitous

Austin Schoenkopf ’11 wed Elizabeth Nagle in May. Austin’s friends Eric Comeger ’12, Julian deOliveira ’12, Flavia Lopes ’12, Porter Ergon’12, and Southworth Hamilton ’12 are shown celebrating.

moment I can only thank the pandemic for.” She writes that, “towards the beginning of our friendship in high school, Leah Johnson and I browsed the WFS Book Sale, searching for a book we could read in tandem. Among the rows of worn spines we found two copies of the Estonian bestseller The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirähk. We didn’t devour the book so much as it devoured us, filling our minds with dark allegory, mystical folklore, and tantalizing insights into Estonian culture, all of which we dissected for hours during after-school walks through the Alapocas Run Park. Like many other high school friendships, college life split us geographically apart. But when the pandemic forced us into different paths, sending me to work in Berlin and Leah to apply for a summer research grant, we seized the opportunity for connection: this summer, I’ll be joining Leah in Estonia, where she will conduct research on local history and storytelling in the place that sparked our imagination years ago. And who knows, maybe we’ll even learn some Snakish!”

Cecilia Ergueta ’18 and Leah Johnson ’18.

In Memory Any time a member of the Wilmington Friends School community passes away, we feel great sadness by the loss. But reflecting on their lives and contributions to the greater good helps us cope and remember the many good things about them. Please visit our website at www.wilmingtonfriends.org/alumni/in-memory or use the QR code below to read about these wonderful members of the WFS community. We are now sharing full obituaries online instead of the printed magazine so we can be sure to include all of the information. If you would like to let us know a friend or family member in our community has passed away, please email Lynne Nathan at lnathan@wilmingtonfriends.org.

Past Faculty: William "Bill" Anderson Past Faculty: Thalia C. Putney Class of 1943: Dr. Ayres Holmes Stockly Class of 1946: Dr. Edward Marvel Phillips, Jr. Class of 1947: Elizabeth "Betsey" Ocumpaugh Beadle Herrmann Class of 1950: Janet Mitchell Harper ,William "Bill" Armstrong Reed Class of 1953: Antoine "Tony" Marie de Sercey Class of 1956: Cynthia Pyle Woolley Class of 1975: Deborah "Deb" Crawford Moodey Class of 1980: Ray "Ray-Ray" Douglas Board, Jr.

The Shows Went On! Two were online, one was masked without an audience, and one was outside, but all of the shows went on! Eighth graders presented The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet as well as Dear Edwina Online Edition; fifth graders presented Super Happy Awesome News; and upper schoolers presented The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Teachers and co-directors Margaret Anne Butterfield and Micheline McManus (a.k.a. McButter) wrote this article for the Delaware Music Educators Association newsletter about their experience with the upper school musical outdoors and shared helpful tips for other directors.

iPads, Doppler Radar, and Sunscreen: The Tools You Need to Put on a Pandemic Musical Looking at the grey sky, we were worried. Our tech person had set up his outdoor sound equipment, and we had paid for three hours of equipment rental and expertise. There was some muffled feedback coming through mic number four as the actors bravely meshed mics with masks and attempted to sing, dance, and act through the appropriately titled number “Pandemonium.” It started with a drip, and we looked at each other. Then the wind blew the props off the table, and we looked at our tech guy. Drips turned to rain, and he gave us the sign that he needed to stop to protect his equipment. We moved all the students to the football press box overlooking the field, and we stood outside, shivering, looking through the sideways rain. Looking at radar on our phones, we pondered cancelling, but then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the rain stopped. We moved the students back to the wet football field that was our stage, and started right where we had left off. Tech rehearsals are always stressful affairs. Tech rehearsal in a pandemic was something else entirely. 50

What were we thinking when we decided to put on a musical during a pandemic??? We had already made tentative plans to present The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as our 2020-21 musical by the time we went into lockdown last March. Not having a crystal ball, and being COVID-cautious, we decided to aim for the spring of 2021. We secured the rights for Spelling Bee with April dates, crossed our fingers, and started a little planning. Once we realized that we would have to do this outside or not at all, we weighed so many options, including pulling the plug entirely. Eventually, we moved to May dates (grateful that MTI was willing to be flexible!), rolled up our sleeves, and got to work, holding auditions in mid-March and beginning rehearsals as soon as we returned from spring break. What kept us going? Just this - we had to do something to offer our dedicated musical theatre students an opportunity to showcase their passion, but still be safe. Every decision we made was predicated on trying to give them a modicum of “normal” and help them maintain their passion. In the end, moving ahead with this production was absolutely the right thing to do. The smaller cast meant those students developed a

ders pre sented Super

Upper schoolers presented The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Fifth gr a Happy A w esome N ews

Eighth graders presented The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet as well as Dear Edwina Online Edition

wonderful camaraderie, even though they spanned all four grades and had varying levels of experience. They supported each other through rainstorms during a tech rehearsal, an iPad failure in performance, and even a temporary quarantine. “The show must go on” was never more true! Handy tips for putting on a fully-staged musical during a pandemic: •

Choose a show that has a small cast, but still offers opportunities for ensemble performers, and is set in the current era (so much easier to costume!).

•

Stage the production on an athletic field, and create a set using athletic equipment (it really helps to make friends with your athletic director!).

•

Juggle numerous conflicts with games that get rescheduled.

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Rent the performance tracks so you don’t have to set up a live pit outdoors.

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Hire a professional sound company for outdoor amplification (and pray that you can find funding!).

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Schedule matinee performances so you don’t have to rent lights.

•

Rehearse outdoors whenever possible, even on chilly evenings – at least until the sun goes down.

•

Wear sunscreen - lots of it. Think of it as the new stage makeup.

Upper schoolers presented The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

•

Make contingency plans for weather – every single. day. If you have them, you probably won’t need them, but if you don’t...

•

Realize that the audience will be spread out because of COVID restrictions. They will be sitting on bleachers to watch the performance, and it may be hard for the actors to hear their laughter.

•

Hope you have a supportive administration who helps you submit a last-minute application to DPH to move the production indoors, if necessary, with social distancing considerations in place.

•

Enlist help from parents for tech week meals, box office duties, audience seating plans, etc.

•

Know that iPads can overheat in direct sunlight. True story: when that happens, and you have no idea what to do, your students carry on as if nothing happened, sing four-part harmony to finish one song, then begin the next song without the track, only to be perfectly in tune when the tracks resume. Panic and pride can co-exist!

•

Keep your sense of humor and stay humble. When it rains sideways, the iPad overheats, and you have to grab the windshield mid-performance to keep it from blowing over, it’s better to laugh and let go of your idea of what the show was going to be. Whatever happens, it will be unexpected, sometimes terrifying, always worth it. But the rain will stop; we promise.

Visir our online school store, KangasCloset.com, to shop for apparel, accessories, and more! There is a wide variety of merchandise so you can show your school spirit in many ways. There are great gift ideas too!

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Homecoming • October 29-30, 2021

The school garden was more robust than ever this year, and we were able to consistently donate fresh produce to the Lutheran Community Services food pantry throughout the summer.

WFS Summer 2021 Magazine

Articles inside

In Memory

Class Notes

School News

Home & School News

Retirements

Keeping Up With the Joneses

Class of 2021 Alumni Families

Alumni News

Academic & Community Awards

Letter from Head of School Ken Aldridge