2012 #47 Spring/Summer GCS News

The first-ever Diversity Film Festival enlivened two winter days andevenings at GCS in February. A brainchild of Kim Chaloner, DiversityCouncil Co-Coordinator and Dean of Community Life, the festival aimedto bring new voices and perspectives to students, parents, faculty and evensome alumni parents through screenings and discussions with documen-tary filmmakers. Alumna Gywn Welles ’92 was on hand to screen herfilm, “Welcome to My World,” which followed students stepping intoother lives through an exchange program

Spring/Summer 2012, No. 47 NewYork, NY

continued on page 16

The seventh and eighth grade girls’ basketball team finished thelatest season with 11 wins and one loss, making the team’s fouryear record 44-1.Athletic Director, Illi Armijos, began coaching the team in

2007, and in 2008–09 the team began a three-year undefeatedstreak. Many of the GCS players have gone on to play on varsityhigh school teams at schools including Dalton, Deerfield,Masters, and Berkeley Carroll. Coach Armijos is confident thatthis year’s team will continue their winning ways.She sees this season’s single loss as a positive. “We learned

how to lose this year. It’s hard to motivate a team that doesn’tlose. It is a good opportunity to reinforce a consistent workethic—this applies to life.”

As we go to press, the inaugural ninth grade at Grace Church School hasbeen selected and will open in September with an enrollment of 59, farexceeding our initial projections. Director of Admissions for the HighSchool Division, Camilla Campbell, announced this spring that studentsare coming from all over NewYork City and New Jersey. Eleven studentsfrom GCS will be joined by others from schools that include St. Bernard’s,Town,Allen-Stevenson, Dalton,VCS, Friends, Rodeph Sholom, Collegiate,City and Country, St. Luke’s, Cathedral, St. David’s, Packer Collegiate,Sacred Heart and others. Ms. Campbell said, “We are enormously pleasedwith the strong and diverse makeup of the class.”The ninth grade year will begin with an orientation that includes a three

day retreat at the Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill, NY.Activities focused onoutdoor education, team building and cross-cultural communication willset the stage for the ninth grade class to coalesce before starting theacademic year.

H I G H S C H O O L U P D A T E

New Students –New Teachers

For more on the High School see page 18

Reel Life at GCS

Girls Basketball goes 44-1over four-year span

GGRRAACCEE CCHHUURRCCHH SSCCHHOOOOLLnewsGGRRAACCEE CCHHUURRCCHH SSCCHHOOOOLLGRACE CHURCH SCHOOL

6

¤‚ ⁄⁄

⁄›

Next stop: INDIASee page 8

raditional education centers on the belief thatwhat must be learned and known will standthe test of time. We proclaim: “There are

things that ought to be learned.” One hundred yearsagomost educators agreed onwhat an educated personshould know. Facility with Latin and Greek werenecessary, perhaps some French, math up throughgeometry, knowledge of the Bible, western art historyfrom the Renaissance to the Impressionists, thecanon of western literature from the CanterburyTalesthrough Mark Twain, western history from HomericTroy through Lincoln, and the key work that allshould study was Thucydides’ “The History of thePeloponnesianWar.”I would like to include these on my 21st century

list of “need to know,” but obviously there is so muchmore to learn, and today information is ubiquitous,while a century ago it was harder to get and thereforesomewhat self-limiting. Given that, what should webe teaching our students?The key question for the traditional 21st century

educator is how can we organize our students’ think-ing so they absorb new information and add it to theirpersonal knowledge base. The purpose of absorbinginformation is to be able to use it productively. Itshould enable our students to generate new ideas andactions.Daniel Kahneman, the author of “Thinking, Fast

and Slow,” contends that people have two cognitivesystems that run simultaneously. One is fast and intu-itive and the other is slow and logical. This constructhas been around forever in many different dyads.Weuse a plethora of names from ego and id to yin andyang. Kahneman calls them System 1 and System 2,which complement and compete with each other.System 1 is our intuitive intelligence. It is rapid, auto-matic and easily accessible. System 1 creates oursense of what is normal and expected. If I say “landof the free and the home of the…” you think of theword “brave.” System 1 allows us to function withouthaving to make millions of decisions every day.System 1 intelligence develops through priming andrepetition. People believe something they have con-tinually been told is true. My son is a dedicated blueand orange Mets fan even though he knows that theYankees have a terrific record and enthusiastic fans

who love watching their team win. But by demon-strating my commitment to the Mets and taking himto Mets game after Mets game, he became a Metsfan. He has come to appreciate how character buildingit is to be a Mets fan and why that makes us inher-ently superior to those who go to the Bronx for aneasy win.Once something takes hold as normal, System 1

will defend the belief vigorously. Our automaticassumptions exist in System 1. Some automaticassumptionsareaccurate. If yousee somethingslitheringon the ground, you automatically avoid it because itmight be a snake. Other assumptions are not accu-rate: assumptions that arise from popular knowledgetransmitted by the culture. Every yearwe do an exercisewith eighth grade students about gender bias. By theend of the exercise, both the boys and the girls under-stand that they have an inherent negative bias aboutwomen.Where does that come from?We don’t teachit here nor do they learn it with their families. (If youwould like some insight, watch the movie, “MissRepresentation,” which was screened at GCS thisspring.)Twenty-first century children and adolescentsare bombarded by information from myriad sourcesand media. My generation just had television, whiletheir System 1 is under siege in ways we did notexperience.System 2 on the other hand, is our logical intelli-

gence. It is designed to expand our understandingand experience. System 2 is harder to use, is muchslower, and takes much more energy to get engagedand keep engaged.We, in schools, spend most of ourtime trying to develop the System 2 intelligence.Unlike System 1, which is constantly turned on,System 2 intelligence requires activation and mainte-nance. System 2 is responsible for correcting theSystem 1 norms. System 2 filters raw informationinto knowledge, ideas, and actions, whereas System1 is intuitive and accepting and is not a good filter.The question for schools is how to teach so that ourstudents maximize System 2.Students need to learn to think in constructive and

creative ways, to be able to sort and value the piecesof the puzzle, and to re-order them in new ways thatcan provide different paths, actions and concepts.Without creative intelligences we wouldn’t survive.

a MESSAGE from the HEAD

CONTENTS

2 Message fromGeorge Davison

5 Behind the Scenes:The Building andGrounds Committee

6 2012 Auction

8 Grace InternationalExchange Program:India

10 News Around School

17 Faculty and Staff News

20 Alumni Feature:David Bender

22 Alumni News

GCS NEWS

Spring/Summer 2012No. 47

Director of DevelopmentJoyce Kuh

Associate Directorof DevelopmentTia Biasi

Communications DirectorKate Marcus

Database ManagerRobert K. Brown

Development AssistantRyann Supple

PhotographyKim ChalonerTivadar DivékiJoyce KuhIlana LaurenceKate MarcusDan RuferEric SchneiderChanté StoneRyann Supple

DesignThe Blank PageNewYork, NY

GCS News is published forstudents, parents, alumniand friends of the school.We welcome commentsfrom our readers.

2

TTraditional education or 21st century learning?At Grace Church School, we say both.

While necessity is the mother of invention,creativity needs space, time, and confidence.Similarly, we all know incredibly creative peoplewho dream great things but cannot convert thosedreams into reality, in part because they are notsufficient critical thinkers and in part becausethey do not know how to communicate theirideas to others who can then help them convertan idea into an action. System 2 needs to includecollaborative and communicative thinking too.Humans are clannish and suspicious in their

System 1 world, but to be successful in theirSystem 2 world they need to become both col-laborative and willing to share to gain the insightand strength of a large group. They must beopen-minded, or cosmopolitan, in their thinkingto effectively challenge the parochialism ofSystem 1. If you would like a good definition ofwhat being “cosmopolitan” means, I would liketo suggest Kwame Anthony Appiah’s book:“Cosmopolitanism.”Besides being critical, creative, collaborative

and cosmopolitan, we need to have character andresiliency. Character, the ethical element ofSystem 2, helps to regulate System 1. System 1is fierce and does not back down easily. System2 takes a huge amount of effort to run. Withoutresilience, giving up is easy, which is again whybeing a Mets fan in this era is so broadly educa-tive (and System 1 says superior). Throughouthistory we have been amazed when otherwisegood people succumb to the leadership of thosewho appeal to their basest instincts. It is probablyour most important charge to build resilient andethical character in our students and children.Our 21st century challenge: We deal with a

huge mass of undifferentiated information as weequip our studentswith a solid, relevant knowledgebase that will allow them to function ethicallyand collaboratively to generate ideas and action.To the right you will find our ideas for how

this school should foster strong System 2 intelli-gence, to correct effects of popular culture inSystem 1, while at the same time building astrong System 2 knowledge base.

� Establish in students a firmly rooted confidence in themselves

and their abilities. Strive to develop in each child mental keen-

ness, physical confidence,pleasure in learning,and the skills basic

to an understanding one’s self and theworld.Self-confidence is a

necessary pre-condition to being reflective and resilient.

� Enrich students’experiencewith broadopportunities for creative

expression every day. Even if we, the adults, have a knowledge

and skill outcome in mind, the students should have a creative

opportunity in the realization of the goal.

� Help students tomaster a certain rangeof skills,especially theability

to express one’s own ideas and appraise those of others. Effective

communication is crucial to the implementation of an idea.

� Strive to help each child develop an active ethical consciousness,

and enforce the daily application of values as well as the discus-

sion of them, which is why we have not only Chapel but also a

host of ways students can act upon those values.

� Cultivate cosmopolitan thinking in students, nurture in them a

steady affectionate trust in themselves and their world made

resilient by the interaction of different ethnic and socio-economic

influences.

� Help them learn how to collaborate with others for life; foster an

environment that prizes communal as well as individual achieve-

ment andencourages students tobecomewiselypositivepeople.

� Teach students to think broadly by providing a multi-sensory

program balanced among the intellectual-academic, social-

emotional, ethical-spiritual, and physical realms.

� Sustain a school culture and structure that fosters the spiritual/

ethical, social,emotional,physical development of each student.

� Create a sense of balance in part through academic, artistic, and

athletic engagement that provides abundant opportunities for

substantive involvement, varied means of self-expression, and

individual and group accomplishment.

If these ideas sound familiar, then you have read the GraceChurch School Mission Statement, found at gcschool.org/mission. Twenty-first century traditional education is not anoxymoron. It is what we are and what we intend to be.

George P. Davison

3

4

The GCS Alumni Association presentedthe second annual night out for the entireGCS community on January 19. Alumnusand parent Jason Hackett ’84 hosted theevening of demonstrations called Things IDidn’t Learn in School, ably guidingguests through the presenters’ twists andturns with stories and demonstrations ofhis own and a gigantic hit of mirth.The audience learned how to clean a

pomegranate, make rum punch and findarchitectural treasures. They can confi-dently start a fight (or get away from one),now knowing the rules of engagement,and can skillfully substitute fruit snacksfor the ‘J’ in PB&J.Lauren Shockey ’98, JohnTauranac ’53,

Susan Shaftan Perrin ’74, Ian Mangiardi’02, Tèja Van Wicklen ’81, and alumniparents Myrle Wall and Ruth Hackett pro-vided fun and instruction, even inspiringmembers of the audience to stand up togive their own demonstrations.D.J. Pierce Jackson ’99 set a cool club

tone in Tuttle Hall and alums from classesspanning four decades turned out, alongwith current parents, alumni parents,faculty and friends. If you missed thisexciting evening of HOW-TO, don’tworry, catch the Video Highlights atgcschool.org/TIDLIS

THINGS I DIDN’TLEARN IN SCHOOL

AN EVENING OFDEMONSTRATIONS

AND

EXPLANATIONS

5

Reporting to the Board of Trustees, theBuildings and Grounds Committee is madeup of volunteers who function as keepers and

enhancers of the school’s physical plant. Workingclosely with Peter Hogden, Facilities Manager, thecommittee of current and former parents meets atleast six times a year and more often as needed. Theyprovide expertise in the areas of urban development,architecture, construction, and project managementin order to stay on top of repairs and maintenance aswell as renovations and larger projects. Think thegym, renovated Kindergartens, new Tuttle Hall win-dows and more recently the beautiful green turf on10th Street and the alumni display case housing GCSmemorabilia. Their work is not all glamorous andvisible: one important project involved installing thenew boilers in the basement. The committee keeps aclose watch on regularly scheduled building mainte-nance like a fresh coat of paint, new tile in the bath-rooms, replacement light bulbs, and other projectsthat are handled by the building maintenance staff.The committee regularly evaluates, prioritizes and

proposes physical improvements to the school facility.It develops detailed plans and budgets for projectsgoing three years out and major projects at least fiveyears ahead of time.According to committee memberand alumni parent Susan Hewitt, the committee isadept at proving a need and its resolution. The com-mittee determined that the old boilers had outlived

their useful life. After inviting the Board of Trusteesdown to the basement to check out the old boilers in2009, new up-to-code boilers were approved. Thenew boilers are more energy efficient and have theflexibility to switch from oil to gas, depending onfluctuations in market prices. To fund the expenditure,committee member Denise Shirley arranged for a $1million interest-free loan through the NewYork StateEnergy Research Development Authority. Some proj-ects address the demands of the school program, suchas the expansion of the Early Childhood area in 2007.The committee spent several years trying to find aneighborhood spot for a new gym, when then-committee member Tom Bishop figured out how tobuild one in our own backyard. Other projects aremaintenance-oriented, like replacing the Tuttle Hallwindows in 2011.Projects, large and small, are planned out in metic-

ulous detail, a time-consuming process for volun-teers. Committee chair Kevin Rotheroe explains, “Idecided to serve on the Buildings and GroundsCommittee because the great teachers and rich cur-riculum of Grace Church School deserve first-ratefacilities, and also because I strongly believe that ourhistoric Fourth Avenue presence should be respect-fully maintained. Exterior impressions matter tomembers of our community as well as those wishingto join it.”

Kevin Rotheroe – ChairRobert AndersonMary BurnhamSteve DietzKarin Greenfield-SandersSusan HewittMargarette LeeKate PlattJohn PlengeAndy PollockSara QueenOscar ShamamianDenise ShirleyGary Spindler

Ex-OfficioDouglas EvansGeorge P. DavisonPeter Hogden

Peter Hogden

B E H I N DT H ES C E N E S T H E BU I L D I NG AND GROUNDS COMM I T T E E

6

Cassie Glover and Julie McAskinAndrew and Meaghan Cheung

Doug Schwalbe, Nancy Lorenz, Maureen McQuillanColbert and Mary Cannon, Cara Wall, Julianne Mulvey

Frankie, Lisa Arnold, Deano, Donna Francis

Erin Hussein and Shingmin Lai

Sporting beehives, pearls, furs and fedoras, and welcomed by a gaggle of flight attendants anda Sinatra-style crooner, the crowd at the 26th Annual Scholarship Benefit Auction leapt rightback into the 50s. This year’s auction, “Fly Me to the Moon” led by co-chairs Shingmin Lai andErin Hussein, and scores of fabulous volunteers, raised $450,000 for the scholarship fund.

Fly me to the Moon

George Davison and Sarah Woods

Gary and Kate Spindler, Elyce Arons

The Strip

7

Michael and Jill Abitbol, David Langan

Seifali and Neil Shah, Tory Weil, Dana Farrington

Stephanie Moulton, Taisa Markus, Anne McCarthy, David Shevlin, Jennifer Ford and Steven Wells

Nancy and Frank Bynum

Jennifer McCoy and Nancy LorenzJean Yun, Dan Berger, Dan Yun, Melissa Berger

Lisa Nelson and Peter Henry

Justine Leguizamo, Josh Pickard, Aimee Bell

Over spring break, 12 students in seventh and eighth grades and threeteachers travelled to India on a Grace International ExchangeProgram trip. We prepared for our trip by studying India’s culture,customs, government, geography, and economy in the India Elective.By the time we left NewYork, we were ready to experience the realIndia. The first week we toured India, the second, we stayed with ourwonderful hosts from Vasant Valley and attended Vasant ValleySchool.We started our tour the morning after our arrival in India, seeing

monuments in Old and New Delhi and the Red Fort, which was builtin the 17th century by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. We took arickshaw to Jama Masjid, the biggest mosque in India, and then wentto Raj Ghat, where Gandhi was cremated. After that we went to theIndia Gate, Humayun’s Tomb, and Qutub Minar. On our way toAgra,we visited one of the Deepalaya Schools for underprivileged chil-dren. On the India trip two years ago, GCS students were inspired to

support Deepalaya by creating a service organization called Namasteto raise funds for scholarships. It was great meeting the Deepalayakids and participating in activities such as seeing who could light themost candles with one match. The Taj Mahal was our next stop. It’samazing in photos but the real thing is REALLY amazing!Next stop: Jaipur. On the way there, we ate a wonderful lunch of

mutton, rice, naan, and pasta. During our stay in Jaipur, we drove tothe town of Siras, our tour guide Shiv’s hometown.We visited a schooland rode through town on carts drawn by camels and oxen, then puton our turbans and went to lunch. After playing cricket and musicalchairs, we visited the town’s potter who was quite dexterous. Then wetraveled by jeep on an incredibly dusty journey in search of a leopard.Unfortunately, our dust intake was in vain. After this 12-hour day, wehad a nice dinner where we all nearly fell asleep in our food.

8

GRACE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Next stop:

INDIA

After a good night’s sleep, we rode elephants up to the beautifuland colossal Amber Fort. We visited the Jaipur Palace where we sawmuseums and had lunch. The next day we saw the nearby lion andtiger rescue center, meeting the residents we heard every morning.Then we were off to Jodhpur. We saw the Mehrangarh Fort and thenhopped on auto-rickshaws and drove through some crazy traffic, withthe feeling that either we were going to hit someone, or someone wasgoing to hit us. Thankfully, neither of those happened and we latermade it safely to the airport for our flight back to New Delhi.Arriving at Vasant Valley, we were excited to meet our hosts and

start our week atVasantValley School. Other than calling their teacherssir or ma’am, the kids were a lot like us. We took a field trip to theMughal Gardens and the house of Indian president Shrimati PratibhaDevisingh Patil. Later we visited Sikh and Hindu temples. For lunchwe went to McDonald’s where no beef or pork was served so insteadof the Big Mac it was the Maharaja Mac. The trip ended with a fundinner with many laughs. I had my tenth and final milkshake in Indiathat night even though we weren’t supposed to have dairy. Then a fewhours later, we went to the airport, got on our flight, and went home.In India we all had a great time. The smell, the food, and even the

Pepsi was different. The whole culture was different. The movieswere amazing and the traffic was crazy. I think we all want to go backas soon as we can. Overall, it was the experience of a lifetime.

–Henry Kamp, grade 8

9

10

NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

On January 21st, GCS first through fifth graders hosted students fromthe Japanese Childrens Society, a school in New Jersey. A first step inthe Grace International Exchange Program, the visit gives youngerstudents some experience with peers from other places.

JCS Visits GCS

SHANGHAI TO NYCIn the sixth exchange with Southwest Weiyu Middle School inShanghai, GCS hosted 14 students and five teachers and administratorsin January. They attended classes, visited the Metropolitan Museum ofArt, saw a basketball game and hung out with their NewYork pals.

At the beginning of each school year, eighth grade students identifya cause to support. Fueled by their study of human rights and thehistory of slavery in the United States, this year they chose tofocus their efforts on the Somaly Mam Foundation, an organiza-tion that strives to end modern slavery and human trafficking.The foundation, started by human trafficking survivor andactivist Somaly Mam, works primarily in Cambodia andSoutheast Asia. The students planned an event that included abreakfast and a raffle. Coincidentally, and much to the excitementof the eighth grade, Somaly Mam was traveling in the UnitedStates and offered to come to the April 4th event. Well over 100students, parents, former parents, trustees, faculty and staff filledTuttle Hall, lining up to meet Somaly Mam, who spoke movinglyof the cause and reminded students, “know that you are lucky, tohave someone that takes care of you, to give you food to eat, andthat you go to this school.” The event raised $1,100 for theSomaly Mam Foundation, and will support the foundation’sProject Futures and Voices for Change programs, which provideawareness and advocacy campaigns and empowers survivors tobecome a part of the solution. (Learn more at www.somaly.org)

EIGHTH GRADE RAISESAWARENESS AND FUNDS

NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

11

On a blustery winter day, intrepid Junior Kindergartners traveled a few blocks south to discovera new Grace Church School building. They delivered handmade paper bouquets to the adminis-trative offices of the High School Division and listened to a short presentation of what the highschool will be like by Ms. Jacob and Mr. Loverude.

Field Trip Notes Gods vs. Monsters

In February, the fourth grade performed“AMythical Musical,” a humorous takeon the myths of Ancient Greece. Thestudents donned togas, crowns, andmonster masks and created a musicalclash between the gods of MountOlympus and the monsters. The playcoincided with the fourth grade study ofancient civilizations.With their play, thestudents made their history books comealive.

Third graders interviewedMr. Mahabir, High SchoolDivision Head, with prob-ing questions about thehigh school schedule, thenew building and exactlywho would be preparinglunch.

NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

12

The GCS seventh and eighthgraders discovered that smallactions—serving a meal,filling a grocery bag, foldingclothes, organizing toys—canmake a big difference whenthey volunteered at theYouthService Opportunities Project(YSOP) on February 16.Founded in 1983 by Quakers,this NewYork City-based non-profit immerses middle andhigh school students and adultsinto societal issues includinghomelessness, hunger andpoverty. For the ninth consecu-tive year, GCS students teamedup to volunteer throughYSOPat soup kitchens, shelters,and drop-in centers.

Snow DaysEven though there were no snow days this winter(not even close), upper schoolers took to the slopesin the annual February ski trip, a longstanding GraceChurch School tradition (unlike snow days).

Jazz in Tuttle Hall

Trombonist Art Baron and Violinist/Director of Technology Akbar Ali Herndonperformed at an April Lower School sssembly featuring Jazz at Lincoln Center.The musicians explained how each instrument works, demonstrated how jazz isconstructed and then led students in some snazzy jazzy scat singing.

Grace StudentsLend a Hand

13

NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

A new puppet depictingBayard Rustin, conceivedand constructed in Ms.O’Mara’s puppet elective,joined an esteemed groupof figures and made itsdebut appearance in thisyear’s Martin Luther KingDay march. Students,faculty and staff woundtheir way to the gym,where they convened andjoined in singing “WeShall Overcome.” The dayconcluded with an upperschool assembly, featuring“I Have a Dream,” anoriginal dance performedby students in Ms. Cruz’sdance elective.

In the Library:LONDON LADDIn December, illustratorLondon Ladd spoke to secondand third grade students aspart of the library’s guestauthor and illustrator program.Best-known as the illustratorof “March on! The Day myBrother Martin Changed theWorld,” he talked about depict-ing Martin Luther King’s 1963march. “I wanted the reader tofeel as if she or he was actuallytraveling on the bus or was inthe crowd at the WashingtonMonument.” He also explainedthat a number of African-American artists inspired him,singling out ClementineHunter who was a self-taughtartist and granddaughter ofslaves. As he spoke, he dis-played images of his notes onthe manuscript of a biographyof Oprah Winfrey, anddescribed how his illustrationsderive from visual cues inthe text.

BLOOD DRIVE AT GRACEOn January 12th, 63 adult volunteers rolled up theirsleeves at the MLK Day ServiceActivity and donatednot only their time but also 37 pints of approved bloodto the New York Blood Bank. GCS students createdSpanish and English language blood drive posters forthe Blood Bank as well as for Beth Israel MedicalCenter. Fifth and seventh graders participated in the“Little Doctors” program, where they learned aboutblood bank history, the components of blood, and howdonations help save lives.

Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Activist, Held High

Boys’ Night Out

I N V A S I O N O F T H E R O B O T S

NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

14

Gillian Chaloner-Larson ’54 spoke to seventhgrade science students to help them preparefor the upcoming GCS science fair. She alsooffered insight into the options for a life inscience after school. Gillian is a micro-biologist/virologist consultant for the World HealthOrganization.

Budding Scientists

The evening of April 13 was the first ever“Boys’ Night Out” at Grace, attended by 158fathers and sons.Dean of Student Life Ilana Laurence said,

“We decided to hold this special program forboys in deference to our year-long explorationinto how boys learn best, and how we, as par-ents and educators, can keep our boys ground-ed and connected to themselves, their emo-tions, their friends and families, and to theiracademic lives. Much of the research in thisfield points to the importance of boys spendingtime with older male role models, and Boys’Night Out was an attempt to provide a funopportunity for this type of bonding to occur.“We began the evening with collaborative

games and rock climbing in the big gym, fol-lowed by four different half-hour workshops,sponsored by the Children’s Arts Guild, thatwere artsy, musical, and dramatic in nature.Weare lucky enough to have so many differentkinds of boys here at Grace, and as we planfuture boys’ nights, we hope to offer an evenwider variety of activities to best reflect themyriad interests of our wonderfully diversepopulation.”

Watch where you walk or you might have a close encounter with a robot darting betweenthe library and dining room. Robotics is a new upper school elective and GASP activity forlower schoolers. In both, students construct Lego robots, learn beginner programmingskills using the LEGO interface “mindstorm,” and complete weekly challenges with theirpartners. Students might program a robot to travel from the computer room to the libraryto say “hello” to the librarian, command robots to follow a black line drawn on the floor,and to detect boundaries in the “stay on the table challenge.” At the end of this school year25 students will have participated in the robotics program. Plans are underway to expandthe program next year with more activities and bigger challenges.

NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

15

Third Grader becomes Head of School(for the day)Having won the raffle for Head for the Day, on April 18, Jane Aronsreleased students and faculty from uniforms and dress codes, and letstudents in Early Childhood and Lower School come to school in paja-mas. Ms. Arons and Mr. Davison toured the high school building andmet with Facilities Manager Peter Hogden to review constructionplans. On April 19, Jane returned to her regular job as a third grader.

To andFromSouthAmericain Underan Hour

It was a short trip to South America, just to Tuttle Hall, but studentsgot the feel for the continent, walking along the coastline, followingthe Amazon, and finding the mountain ranges on a larger-than-lifesized National Geographic map.

GCS was selected to be the pilot school in a nationwide effort topromote sun safety and skin cancer prevention, the Fun in the Suncampaign launched by the Women’s Dermatologic Society (WDS).Through supplies given to the school by the WDS and skin carecompany Le Roche-Posay, GCS students learned how to protectthemselves from harmful sun. Along with samples of sunscreen,storybooks and games that teach about sun protection, bracelets thatturn color when it’s time to reapply sunscreen and hats to block thesun for Early Childhood students, theWDS contributed a retractableawning to block the sun from the rooftop play yard. Volunteersmanned a table at May Fair, where they provided free skin cancerscreenings and samples of sunscreen. For detailed information onhow to protect yourself from the sun, ask a GCS student.

Fun in the Sunwithout Getting Burned

The ¤‚-Minute Gap – Book Buddies

For at least a quarter of a century at GCS, older students andyounger ones read aloud together, a blissful, quiet 20-minute-longmoment during the busy school week.

16

NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

ALUMNI SPEAKER SERIES

GwynWelles ’92A week before screening her film at the GCS Diversity Film Festival, GwynWelles ’92 spoke toupper schoolers as part of theAlumni Speaker Series about her experiences at Grace and how shebegan making films. She showed a trailer of her documentary “Welcome to MyWorld” and gavestudents her perspective as a Grace graduate 20 years later. Back in 1992, she did not intend tobecome a documentary filmmaker, although she did reveal that the movie “One Fine Day” is areal story based on her family. Gwyn described the film, about two classmates whose divorcedparents fall in love and get married, as a “true Grace Church School love story with GeorgeClooney as my father.”Gwyn talked about her shift in career from teacher/administrator to film maker. As she started

watching documentary films, she realized this mediumwas a perfect intersection of all of her pas-sions—people, education and art. When an exchange program between students from Maine andNewYork City landed at her school she leapt at the chance to document her students’ stories. Inten days of filming and several years of editing, “Welcome toMyWorld” came to life and debutedat a number of film festivals.After a lively exchange with students, Gwyn offered some advice about their future. “Think

about what you love to do, read about what you love to do, and meet people as often as you can.”She encouraged students to go to events to meet people in the field they hope to pursue and rec-ommended volunteering as a way to gain expertise. When asked what was different about Grace,Gwyn said, “It was the same in all of the important ways. It’s still warm and friendly.”

A Case for History

Inspired by ceramics teacher StevenMontgomery, an elegant display casecontaining GCS artifacts and treasurestelling the story of GCS has turnedSouth Hall into an exhibit space. Afew months ago, Mr. Montgomeryapproached Alumni Director Tia Biasiwho jumped at the opportunity to dipinto the archives and showcase the his-tory of the school through its alumni.Trustee Denise Shirley piloted thebudgeting, design, and construction ofthe display case through the Buildingsand Grounds Committee process.Cabinetmaker JerryMiddleton designedand built the case. Exhibits will becurated by alumni; Zoe Jackson ’95lent a hand with the current display,which features a uniform circa late1800s. We invite alumni to exhibittheir GCS memorabilia. Contact theAlumni Office for details.

between high school students in New YorkCity and Maine; filmmaker and Sikh activist Sonny Singhoffered a look at the often contentious SouthAsian experience inthe U.S. in “Article of Faith”; and Bennett Singer presented hisfilm “Brother Outsider, The Life of Bayard Rustin,” depictingthe life of the gay activist 50 years ago during the Civil RightsMovement (see page 13 for MLK Day recognition of BayardRustin). According to Ms. Chaloner, “The conversations amongupper school students inspired by our look at Bayard Rustin’slife, Sonny Singh’s presentation, and Gwyn Welles’ film career,resonated with subjects the students were exploring in advisory,community service, ethics, and character education. It wasamazing to hear our students share their observations and buildon their understanding of community engagement.”

The Diversity Film Festival was born out of the Strategic Planfor Diversity and Inclusion adopted by the Board of Trustees in2010.

Feedback from students....“Very moving and truthful...you should always beyourself”

“Powerful and meaningful”

“End racism, start love”

“It helped me think of whatI can do in the world”

“Courageous”

“....you have to stand upand respect yourself”

continued from cover

Reel Life at GCS

GCS art teacher StevenMontgomerywas appointed a Smithsonian Fellow for 2012. Hewill spend a month this summer in Washington, DC, working at the Air and SpaceMuseum as an Artist in Residence. Once the province of international scholars, thefellowships have recently opened up for visual artists. Mr. Montgomery is the first ceramicsculptor and only middle school art teacher to be awarded this fellowship. Fellows areselected by a group of art experts from the Smithsonian Institution, with input from rep-resentatives from the Smithsonian’s history, culture, and science research communities.Mr. Montgomery, whose 1998 ceramic work “Static Fuel” is in the Smithsonian

American Art Museum’s collection, was nominated to apply for a fellowship by thatmuseum. While a nomination to apply for the Smithsonian Artists Research Fellowship(SARF) does not assure acceptance, all nominations are initiated by a museum curatorand therefore the nomination itself is considered a significant honor. There have onlybeen several nominees working in clay since the inception of the program and only onefor 2012. Until now, none have been accepted.Rather than simply offering an artist studio space, the SARF program provides an

active research environment where creative work is inspired by in-depth study of objects,discoveries, and historical events. Artists and Smithsonian experts work together in avariety of disciplines at museums and research centers to explore connections betweenhistory, art, culture, and science.Driven by his passion for industrial imagery, Mr. Montgomery will delve into the

aesthetics of military aircraft at the Smithsonian NationalAir and Space Museum, “Serialnumbers, national markings, striping, camouflage and enumerable emblems are justsome of the graphic markings on military and commercial aircraft that are used for com-municating information. Nose cones, air intakes, propellers or the shape of a fuselage orwing may have specific aerodynamic and ergonomic functions but are frequentlyenhanced with color, graphics and other icons that are also intended to communicate.While the mere scale and beauty of any military aircraft in a museum’s collection isenough to inspire and excite, it is, of course, impossible to ignore their aggressive,violent intent and historical implications.”

17

FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS

Lower School Division Head, BarbaraHaney, announced the arrival of grandsonLeo Seidman-Haney on April 7. Parents areBarbara’s daughter Sarah and Elie Seidman-Haney.

First grade teacher Carolyn Hall, afterspending 24 years at Grace Church School(9 years as a student and 15 as a teacher),is leaving us to get married and moving toNewburgh, NY. GCS will miss her!

MR. MONTGOMERY GOES TO WASHINGTON Goodbye, Ms. Hall

Static Fuel 199827"h x 69"w x 32"wPainted CeramicCollection:Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum

FIRST YEAR TEACHING: ⁄··‡

¤‚⁄¤

Tell Zelda Send news to [email protected]

FORMER FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS

18

Director of College Counseling

Melanie ChoukraneMs. Choukrane is currently the Director ofCollege Advising at The Brearley School,where she has served for the past eightyears. She has 13 years of experience inindependent schools as well as nearly 10years in admissions departments at BarnardCollege in NewYork City and SarahLawrence College in Bronxville, NY.Ms. Choukrane will join the entering ninthgrade class, getting to know the studentswell by the time they are ready for collegeapplications. She will also travel to collegesand universities around the country, intro-ducing Grace Church School to admissionspersonnel and reminding them of the Gracestudents who have attended their schools.She earned her B.A. in Medieval Historyfrom Sarah Lawrence and an M.A. inHistory and Education from TeachersCollege at Columbia University.

“I am excited to be joining the talented teamof educators at Grace Church School, and Ilook forward to this opportunity to helpshape the expansion of this exceptionalinstitution.”

Ninth Grade Dean

MiChelle CarpenterMs. Carpenter is currently the EducationTeam Mathematics Specialist and ProgramDirector for Kumon North America, an afterschool math and reading enrichment pro-gram. In that capacity she hires, trains andmanages Kumon’s staff of teachers forNewark public schools, conducts parentorientations and supervises 200 studentsin the program. She has nearly 20 years’experience in independent schools, havingbeen Chair of Middle and Upper SchoolMathematics at The Packer CollegiateInstitute in Brooklyn and Chair of MiddleSchool Mathematics at The Park Schoolin Baltimore. Ms. Carpenter will join theentering class in September and move withthem as they progress through the HighSchool. She earned a B.S. in MaterialsScience Engineering from Drexel Universityand is currently enrolled in the JointDoctoral Program in Urban EducationPolicy at Rutgers University.

“When I learned about the thought that wentinto creating the schedule for the new HighSchool Division, I thought, someone musthave asked the question, “What is possi-ble?” I knew that the kind of school thatthinks and muses and conjures like this isthe kind of school where I can do my verybest work.”

School Counselor

Lindsey WillisMs. Willis has spent the past six years asProgram Coordinator for the Departmentof Counseling & Guidance at the HoraceMann School in Riverdale. Her counselingincludes coordinating social, emotional andacademic support for students and workingwith learning specialists, class deans, teach-ers and division heads to ensure an effectivesupport network. She was previouslyDirector of Residential Life at The GunnerySchool in Washington, CT.At Grace Ms. Willis will serve on the

student support and guidance team, workingwith students in grade six through highschool. She earned her B.A. inNeuroscience and Behavior from MountHolyoke College and her M.A. in SocialWork at the University of Chicago. She hasalso studied at the Ackerman Institute forthe Family in NewYork City.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to becollaborating with the faculty and staff ofGCS, both in the Upper School and in theHigh School as it is establishing itself.Working together with this group, I’m excit-ed to get to know and support the studentsand the families of Grace Church School.”

New Students –New TeachersWith the size and composition of the entering class now in shape, the educators

and staff who will guide them are also falling into place. From an overwhelming

number of applicants for various positions, the following have been selected to

date to join Division Head,Hugo Mahabir, and Dean of Faculty, Arvind Grover.

›6 Cooper Square By the Numbers

19

H I G H S C H O O L U P D A T E

Faculty signed on to date include:

BiologyCynthia JacksonB.S. Milligan CollegeM.A.T. Georgia State UniversityM. Ed. Teachers College, Columbia UniversityExperience: The Browning School,PBS Channel Thirteen Education Consultant

English/World LiteratureJacob RootA.B. Harvard CollegeM.A. Yale Divinity SchoolExperience: St. Bernard’s School,The Winsor School (Boston)

FrenchClaire Bigelow NalleyB.S. Trinity CollegeExperience: The Chapin School, Maisonde la France, Ministère de Tourisme

HistoryAlexander DillonB.A. Macalester CollegePh.D. Harvard UniversityExperience: Lawrence Woodmere Academy,College of the Holy Cross, Teaching Fellow,Harvard University

Library and Information Systems DirectorSarah CouriB.A. University of IllinoisM.L.S. University of IllinoisExperience: NewYork Public Library

SpanishIris CortesB.S. NewYork UniversityM. A. Teachers College, Columbia UniversityExperience: Mott Hall, Global NeighborhoodSecondary School, The Heritage School

Technology IntegratorJason McDonaldB.A. Fordham UniversityM. A. CUNY, City CollegeExperience: The Packer Collegiate Institute,UNIS

WritingRabhi Asmuna GurungB.A. Lake Forest CollegeM.F.A. Columbia UniversityExperience: Columbia University

The High School team continues to interviewthe top candidates for faculty positions; the fullcomplement of teachers will be in place wellbefore the doors open in September.

6‚‚ light fixturesshining down.

⁄›‚ cubic yardsof concrete

¤,‡‚‚ squareyards of carpeton the floor

‹‚‚ gallonsof paint onthe walls

¤‚‚,‚‚‚ linear feetof data cablinginside the walls

20

ALUMNI FEATUREDAVID BENDER ’·⁄

or the past several years, I’ve worked as a Middle East politicalrisk analyst, initially for a consulting firm and now for anenergy company. As a result, most of my work focuses on

regional issues most familiar to those looking at it from afar. Willnew governments in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya be able to reestablishstability and build democratic institutions? Is the Saudi Arabian stateviable in the long term?What is the future of Iraq and Syria?Will AlQaeda stay relevant following the Arab Spring? But the answers tothese questions are often based on more granular and intangibleunderstandings of how social and political dynamics work in theregion. My knowledge of these dynamics hascome from my own experiences in the regionand conversations with locals in their offices,homes, and around cafes.Since I graduated from college in 1999, I’ve

spent close to five years in the Middle East. Ilived in Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, and traveled tonearly every Arab country one could reasonablygo it (and one,Yemen, that in retrospect was per-haps slightly unreasonable). Throughout theseyears, I’ve often felt that there are two differentMiddle Easts. One with religious fanatics wielding Kalashnikovs,endless wars, suicide bombings, social and political instability, andoil money that feeds it all. But there’s also the other Middle East, theone with warm cultures and peoples, beautiful landscapes and cities,amazing histories, and sociopolitical dynamics that reveal muchabout the modern world. From these experiences came my initialinterest in the region, and I complemented it with academic study ofthe Middle East. This is perhaps what helped me approach the regionfrom a perspective that assumes a sort of unexpected normality in theregion. As such I’ve always seen the chaos, violence, and instabilityas a disruptive phenomenon, rather than a basic identity. That the

region I was involved in turned out to be at the center of global security,geopolitics, and energy still feels like an accident to me.My very first exposure to Islam was in Mrs. Kohn’s fiftth grade

social studies class. In eighth grade, Mr. Heckscher’s history classabout China, was in many ways my first exposure to studying a non-Western place with a totally different historical narrative. It openedup the notion of studying something that wasn’t U.S. or Europe.Although I had focused on the modern Middle East as I majored inhistory in college, it was just after graduation that I found myself ontrack to becoming a “Middle East hand.” I spent 1999–2000 on a

Thomas J.Watson Fellowship in eightArab coun-tries researching the role of the press in theMiddle East. This was before terrorism had cometo be the prism through which much of theMiddle East is considered. I did research on athen new uncensored satellite channel calledAl Jazeera that seemed to be provoking someinteresting discussion. But more than any schol-arly insights, I discovered that I enjoyed the Arabworld immensely. The first apartment I everrented on my own was in Cairo; hitchhiking from

Oman to the UAE with an Iranian truck driver felt like one of themost adventurous things I’d ever done; and I woke up one morning inmy house in Damascus with the realization that my Syrian life wasno longer exotic, rather it felt completely normal—that was an oddfeeling for someone who grew up in Greenwich Village.I developed a specific connection to Syria mostly as I was finish-

ing my M.A., and I had two fellowships to study and research inDamascus for much of 2004–2007. It was an exciting time to be inDamascus, the Syrian economy was opening up and the city waschanging quickly. The war in Iraq was raging out of control; Jihadistspassed into Iraq through Syria and Iraqi refugees were flooding

F

Shibam, Wadi Hadramawt, Yemen, 2005:Guidebooks often call this town the Manhattanof the Desert for its (relatively) tall buildingsthat rise up from the flat valley floor.

“The events of the Arab Spring

do not necessarily represent

region-wide regime change,

but rather a powerful and

fundamental shift in which

popular opinion is gaining

more importance.”

21

Syrian cities. The political assassinations that took place in Lebanon,including the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri,were being blamed on Syria. U.S. pressure on the country was grow-ing and many Syrians feared coming American airstrikes. Still thecountry continued to have one of the most repressive militaryregimes in the world. Despite the political turmoil, my life inDamascus was wonderful, largely a part of the other Middle East. Ihad great Syrian friends; I went toArabic class every morning and satin cafes every evening. Though from time to time, these two worldswould intersect and it could be either amusing or horrifying.The borderwith neighboring Lebanon would occasionally be closed for securityreasons, which once meant that I couldn’t pick up my camera from arepair shop in Beirut. Another time the brutal character of the Syrianregime invaded my social circle as a Syrian computer programmerfriend was arrested on suspicion of using malicious code on sensitivenetworks. Thankfully, he was released (and cleared), but that was areminder that he could have just as easily disappeared for a decade.Back in the U.S. in late 2007, I got a job in political and security

risk analysis offering analysis on how political and social dynamicsaffect the operating environment and markets in the Middle East.Perhaps not unique to the Middle East, but geopolitics in the regionoften appear like a sort of hydraulic. No story is a simple one; thereare always regional consequences.An Israeli strike on Iranian nuclearfacilities could impact countries in the Gulf, the Levant, global oilprices, and potentially shift political dynamics across the region.Another example would be about the future of Iraq. Counter-intuitively, it may be that while the world has become accustomed andfairly adept at dealing with an unstable Iraq, a stable and prosperous Iraqmight actually be more threatening to the regional balance of power.An Iraq that is politically stable and able to increasing amount of oilexports could be viewed in Iran and SaudiArabia as a significant longterm threat. The Saudis would worry about growing wealth andpolitical influence of Iraq, and perhaps fear the resurgence of apowerful and meddlesome military institution. Iran would seeincreasing oil production in Iraq as a competition that could displacethem as the second largest producer of crude oil in OPEC and as arising regional hegemony.But it’s worth noting that being an expert doesn’t always mean you

have the answers. The ongoing Arab Spring is something that fewsaw coming, and even fewer are able to predict its future. When itbegan, many Western commentators thought we were seeing a waveof democracy similar to the events of 1989 in Eastern Europe. Butthis notion reflects more our wishful thinking than the reality on theground. The events of the Arab Spring do not necessarily representregion-wide regime change (oil-rich regimes are able to buy their sur-vival; Damascus seems to think it can shoot its way back to stability),but rather a powerful and fundamental shift in which popular opinionis gaining more importance. For decades, authoritarian regimes haveused a combination of bribery, misdirection, and brute force to sup-press the views of the people. Regardless of which regimes survivethese uprisings, all Arab government will need to recognize that theymust engage with their people. That might go a long ways to unite thetwo Middle Easts, making the big picture more accurately reflect thelocal circumstances.I look forward to following this, because those are the people that

I’ve been fortunate enough to know for much of the past decade.

Aleppo, Syria, ¤‚‚§:Atop the ancient citadel.

Roof, Damascus, Syria ¤‚‚§:On the roof of my house inthe Afif neighborhood.

Essaouira, Morocco, April ¤‚⁄¤:On the fortress walls in front of theport city of Essaouira a few hourssouth of Casablanca on the coast.

22

ALUMNI REUNION ¤‚⁄¤

Class of ’6‡

Class of ’8¤

Class of ’8‡

Milestone classes from 1957–2002 celebrated at the annual reunion cocktail party in Stokes Library on April 27. Current seventh gradestudents gave a guided tour of the school, and George Davison gave a hard hat tour of the high school building under construction at CooperSquare. Others capped off the evening with a rousing game of kickball in the gym they wish had existed when they were here.

Class of ’‡‡ (and ’‡¤)

23

Class of ’·¤ Class of ’·‡

Class of ’‚¤

The class of ’82 acknowledged their deceased classmateKim Walker with a digital tribute to the ten years of KimWalker “Shining Star” Drama Award winners from thefund created in her memory. Kim’s mother, Ruth, herbrother and nephew Chris and Talis, were on hand tobe with Kim’s classmates.To find out more or to contribute to Kim’s Fund, writeto [email protected]

24

ALUMNI NEWS

1938Bob Kloepfel sends this remembrance: A formerchoir boy at Grace Church School…In those days thechoir was composed only of boys and men. Theschool was just great with great teachers. A closefriend was Bob Winquist. As of this date(12/24/2011) I am 86 years old. Mr. Mitchell was ourchoirmaster and he was tough but he was great.

1943Lloyd W. Perkins: Celebrating marriage andUniversity graduation of my oldest grandson, ex-Marine, Wesley Perkins.

1951Janet R. [email protected]

From Norm Hall: We continue to live temporarily ina Methodist parsonage in Rohnert Park, CA and rent-ing our house in Novato. It has some great landaround it filled with wild song birds that make thedays rather beautiful although I fear that when wereturn to our regular house, the parsonage might haveto suffer an exorcism. We have been very busy doingtheatre, just completing runs of “Cabaret” and “MyFair Lady.” Shirley will be in a production of “Gypsy”playing one of the strippers “of a certain age” and Iwill be playing Sir Pellinore in “Camelot.” Doing the-atre just keeps us in touch with all the generationsalthough I admit to a terrible ignorance, fear, andintimidation of smart phones. Early next year I’ll bedirecting “Steel Magnolias” and Shirley will beOuiser, the Shirley MacLaine role in the movie ver-sion. Although I am a stepgrandfather three timesover, I will be enjoying the full grandfather version inlate May when my son and daughter-in-law expecttheir first child. They are old fashioning it by notknowing in advance whether it is a boy or girl. Ratherrefreshing in a way. In three weeks we will be cele-brating our 30th wedding anniversary with an openhouse, which will be a very large gathering at the par-sonage. Let’s hope for good weather. We miss thegreat comraderie of the class of 1951 after our lasthappy meeting and hope that it can be revived soonerrather than later.

Craig Smith’s daughter, Laura, married in 2002 andhe is now grandpa to two boys, Ulisse (Uli) andDarwin Vieri. Craig’s words: “friends from Grace,Wayne Hall, Class of ’52, Tommy Reese andNorman Hall. I suppose Norman won’t be inclined totell the sixth graders how we looked for the catacombsunder the church (until we got caught by Ms.Johnson), or how we got up on the roof (and gotcaught by Mr. Grant!). What fun we had playingknights on our playground with swords I carved out ofwood and shields I painted to reflect “The Boy’s KingArthur” by Sidney Lanier and illustrated by N.C.Wyeth—a book I still own. Memories, do we care?We do, very much!” How true a sentiment! (says Jan).

Gail RichardsTirana:My life is “serene,” like Jan’s.Not the words I’d use for teaching—interesting, fun,lively—in this my 25th year. Now that’s hard to fathom,since it was new in mid-life. My eldest grandperson islooking at colleges, another jolt. So on it goes...

Diana Turner: I’m not old enough to have twodaughters over 50! My son Todd won his election forcouncilman-at-large in Bowie, MD (and has given metwo granddaughters); daughter Teri has been living inCalifornia for six years and loving it. Oldest daughter,Athena, who is registrar at Juniata College inPennsylvania, will be traveling to England, Scotlandand Ireland to visit locations for the college’sexchange students. Her second daughter, Rejane, willmarry in November. My only grandson is now 15 andan avid athlete.

1954Cynthia [email protected]

1955Abigail Calkin: I have a newbook out—“The Night OrionFell.” It is available at bookstoresor online through Amazon.com.Just had a first—I sold books ina bar in Kodiak, Alaska!

1956Pamela [email protected]

1957Curtis Deyrup: In an online information update, Mrs.Deyrup wrote to theAlumni Office: “My husband wasidentified as deceased in your 2010 newsletter. He isvery alive. His brother, Johnny, died many years agowhen he was 18 years old.” When informed that themisinformation appeared in a remembrance by former

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

ALUMNI NEWS

CALLING!We want to hear fromyou. Send us yournews by email [email protected] by filling out theform on the backcover of GCS News.

classmate James Levy, Curtis himself replied (with bynow convincing confirmation of his existence). “Mywife just passed me this news of my demise, whichwas sourced to Jimmy Levy.As far as I can remember,Jimmy was getting it wrong back in the fourth grade,when we attended Grace Church School together, andat Trinity and at Columbia, where we were also fellowstudents. Some things never change. I am happythough to hear that he was still in the land of the liv-ing in 2010. I had not heard from him, or about him,in decades.”

Curt added this remembrance to the online alumniblog: “Our unforgettable English teacher, Mrs. Bonte,lives on at the top of my private pantheon of greatestteachers I ever knew, right up there with LionelTrilling, who was famous, and Michael Wood, whowas just an instructor when I knew him at Columbia,but who finished his career as Charles Barnwell Strautprofessor of English at Princeton. Mrs. Bonte’s coach-ing was the essential preparation I needed for a careerin business journalism that lasted for almost thirtyyears, until the 1990s, when it unexpectedly detouredinto computer programming. Grace Church Schoolwas good to me, but Mrs. Bonte was indispensable,which I recognized at the time. I loved her for it then,and I still do.”

Nadine Carter Russell in a note to Durell Godfrey:I went to Florence with a friend from college days. Hewas in the Florence Biennale exhibition so our tripstarted at the end of November with a trek to Florenceand Rome, and then we decided to spend Christmas inParis. We opened and closed museums almost every

day, ate wonderful meals,went to cooking schooloutside Florence andplayed tourist. Returnedhome at New Year’s intime to go to the ill-fatedLSU–Alabama game.

1958Durell [email protected]

Durell Godfrey: I bumped into Susan CannonYoung ’59 who is volunteering at the Eastern LongIsland Hospital in Greenport, NY. Amazingly she rec-ognized me as I helped a friend to go home from a stayin the hospital.

AnneWaldman:Recent poetry travelsin past months have beento China, India (whereI worked for the StateDepartment in Muslimschools in Kerala, and dida reading and talk at theKolkata Book Fair), Nicaraguaand Montreal. I will be travel-ing to Marrakech in May andworking at a school for Berbergirls and very excited aboutthat. Also have been performing with my belovedson, musician Ambrose Bye (born 1980), from a newCD in progress, “The Milk of Universal Kindness.”The twenty-five year, thousand page (exhausting!)anti-war epic “The Iovis Trilogy: Colors in theMechanism of Concealment” was published byCoffee House Press in June of 2011. And I haverecently been appointed a Chancellor at TheAcademy of American Poets. Busy days...

1959Alice Bateman: I am so excited about findingmy childhood friends from the early days inNewYork City! I have found one of my dear-est friends, Deborah Bancroft, who now livesin the state of Washington. And reconnectingwith Ted Chaloner has been great fun too! Iwould love to stop by GCS … my daughterand her husband have moved to the Village.Since returning from Europe, my husband,TomVanderzyl (also an artist) and I have madeour home here in Texas. We have reared achild, continued our studies, followed our indi-vidual artistic paths, and now—finally—we are build-ing on our property! Time has really gone by much tooquickly! (Alice is an artist living and working in FortWorth, TX. See her work at www.alicebateman.com.)

Deke Simon: Never say never. Got an M.A. inClinical Psychology and now earning my hourstowards licensure as a marriage and family therapist inLos Angeles.

CLASSAGENT

ALUMNI NEWS

25

26

ALUMNI NEWS

1961Diane M. [email protected]

Diane Falk announces a new book, “Lee FalkStoryteller: Creator of the Phantom and MandraketheMagician,”which includes articles, stories and playswritten by her father, along with many illustrationsand photos. Contributions from colleagues,friends and family including Diane and hersiblings Valerie ’54, and Conley, create a greatchronicle for this 100th anniversary commem-

orative edition, published by the Scandinavianchapter of the Lee Falk Bengali Explorers Club,Stockholm, Sweden, 2011.

Diane reports that Sandra Gary lives in Californiaand writes about various current issues. She alsopassed along these personal memories: “BryantYoung, whose son honored us with his presence at lastyear’s reunion, was always a vital young person whowould often exclaim, “Pint Size, Pint Size” perhapsreferring to our then reduced statures! Also, the veryblond and sereneMaggie [Wellpot], one of only a fewgirl students in Mrs. Chandler’s fourth grade; and,Francesca Fogg, with whom I had ‘long talks’ on abalcony on the inside of her parents GreenwichVillage apartment; along with Christina [Peet],whose mother was an artist with a studio in a Villagetownhouse with a sculpture garden; and CeliaMcLaury, a pianist with her own music room athome—with a bright red rug and a huge blackpiano—remain vivid memories. Other fellow studentsincluded Charles Elliot, a true and good artist, whoalso spoke to others with inspiration and affirmations,even when I created in Mrs. Grant’s art class a paint-ing with orange pyramids and orange people thatcaused her to ask me to explain to the entire art classwhy I created that image. I could not explain, but Irecall that Charles, with his very blond crew cut,understood. (Later, I restored my connection to theGrants by winning the spelling contest—100%; myreward was to be invited to Mr. Grant’s office to shakehands.) One of the most serious memories about fel-low classmates was that of Ron [Merican] who hadvery red hair. Most importantly, he was Jewish, andevery morning in Chantry,Ron vehemently refused toremove his yarmulke or bow to the altar. Even at suchan early age, he expressed strong convictions abouthis identity and faith. With so much more to remem-ber, I hope that fellow classmates will share theirmemories as well as especially current good newswith both humor and inspiration. Best To All, Diane.”

1962Alan [email protected]

Madelaine Rockstein Doyle: We are expecting our10th grandchild in February. Oldest is 18!

Connie Kittle Neer is excited to see her classmates inMay. She will travel from Rochester where she spendsan inordinate amount of time on the yoga mat. Shelooks forward to quality time with her daughter, i.e.shopping for her, and to seeing a couple of shows.

Peter Ratner’s son, Simon, married Rewa Murphy inNew Zealand on February 22. Grandmother Elinormade the trip from New York for the big day. Petercame to New York in May for the birth of his grand-child and to attend the Class of ’62 reunion. (More onthat in the next issue!)

Joseph L. Soler: Celebrated our 40th anniversary withaCarribbeancruise, andenjoyingmy10yearsof retirement.

1963Cathryn L. [email protected]

John Miner: [I have had] some great years in com-mercial photography in New York, Boston, Honoluluand Los Angeles.

1965David [email protected]

Kit [email protected]

Katherine Hahn Falk: I am sad too to write inresponse to Kate Haines Richards’ question aboutRenee Warren. Renee died when she was 18. Mymother and I went to her funeral in Brooklyn. Wenever learned the cause of her death.

1966Jill BrandonWilson [email protected]

Patricia [email protected]

Jill Brandon Wilson Evitt: I continue to work as acity planner for the city of Somerville, MA, which I ampleased to note has benefitted from successful planningover the past three decades. Now a very dynamic, pro-gressive and diverse community...thankfully more likea microcosm of NYC! Two sons growing up fast—one at Brown University and the other at DavidsonCollege grad training and doing “parkour” abroad for

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

a year! Still in touch with ’66 classmates MaggieCooper, Marni Zea and Marc Bauman.

1967Verne Deffner [email protected]

1968Paul [email protected]

Gilles Lucas: I am living in Boca Raton, FL. Lost mymanagerial job with a Dutch airline three years agoafter 25 years. I am actively looking for a job andworking part time for a senior move managementcompany. Look me up if you ever are in the neighbor-hood. My email is [email protected].

1969Mark [email protected]

Niles [email protected]

Rodney K. [email protected]

A note from class agent Rodney Hobbs: Here is achallenge to the Class of ’69—Let’s work to getupdates from every member of our class to build up toour 45th reunion in 2014, a mere two years from now.Paul is getting the ball rolling below.

Paul Spillenger: I live in a relatively funky neighbor-hood in Silver Spring, MD, a suburb of Washington,D.C. There’s a woman I’ve been married to for about10 years. Her name is Lu. She lives here too. Samehouse. We have a border collie mix as a dog, and helives here as well. Ollie is his name. I have a 20-year-old son named Franz who doesn’t live here. He goesto college at Wesleyan. I work in the TV documentarybiz, writing and producing (and sometimes narrating)shows for National Geographic, Discovery and otherTV companies. It’s a living. When I’m not working, Iwrite. My first novel is almost half done. (I hope!) Ialso play music (guitar and banjo mostly), do t’ai chich’uan, and play chess. Lu and I have a small primi-tive cabin we built up on a piece of scrubby land onCape Breton, Nova Scotia. We go there every summerwithout fail for at least six weeks. Usually more. LastJuly, in Nova Scotia, I fell from a great height andbroke my back. Surgeons told me I came within threemillimeters of severing my spinal cord and beingparalyzed or dead. Not surprisingly, this has had a sig-nificant effect on my life since. I’m still not 100%,and may never be, but I’m a lot better than I was andcan get around fine now and even exercise.

1971Mary-Paula [email protected]

Nadia Ghent Krolewski: We’ve been living in sunnyCalifornia for 14 years, but bit by bit we are headingback East. Alex, our oldest, is finishing his freshmanyear at Harvard, and the three of us remaining here inIrvine plus our cat—my husband, John Krolewski,daughter Sara, and me—will most probably move thissummer to Rochester, NY. John’s been offered a job aschair of the pathology department at the University ofRochester School of Medicine, and I’ll be looking forwork or maybe even going back to school. Looks likewe’ll be trading 360 days of sunshine for 96 inches ofsnow a year! But I’m looking forward to being in thesame time zone as my NewYork family.

Adrian Shoobs: Nate, who is currently a sophomoreat Westfield High School was admitted to Simon’sRock College in Great Barrington, MA. He willattend as a freshman this September. Simon’s Rock , adivision of Bard College, is a four-year liberal artscollege specifically designed for high school studentswho have the intellectual maturity to start their collegeexperience after completion of tenth or eleventhgrade. Elizabeth, who will be nine in April, competedin the sub-bantam category (seven-eight year olds) atthe Junior Olympics National Cross-CountryChampionships in Myrtle Beach, SC this pastDecember. She was the only member of her teamfrom the Westfield YMCA to qualify for this event.She also swam for the Westfield Marlins swim teamlast summer. Unlike her dad and mom, she seems tohave innate athletic talent. She also has a pretty goodwork ethic and really enjoys what she’s doing. Thiswinter she started taking fencing lessons and recentlytied for third place fencing foil at a local tournament.

Pamela Whalen is very involved in building theclient base project for her husband Jim’s financialadvisor position at Merrill Lynch. (Much tooinvolved.) She comes from a strong entertainmentsales management background so she is well suited toassist. Her sales experience is also helping to finally

27

ALUMNI NEWS

Nadia Ghent Krolewskiwith her family

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

28

ALUMNI NEWS

wrap up the funding for her original Off-Broadwaybound play entitled “Impasse.” Pamela’s director is BudBeyer, the former chairman of the theater departmentat Northwestern University, where she graduated witha degree in theater. There have been many starts andstops in this funding process. Pamela enjoyed seeingher classmates at the recent GCS 40th Reunion.Everyone looked pretty much the same as in 1971!

And class agent Mary-Paula BaileyAllegaert adds:As for me...I’m still inthe game, freelancing at atelier-lb, aboutique beauty/fashion/luxury groupof LeoBurnett. Lots of fun, great people,fab location (23rd & Park Ave. So). Atthe moment, we’re waiting to seewhere our middle son Spencer decidesto go to college. He’s choosing amongMichigan, McGill, Johns Hopkins,NYU, USC and Miami. Quite anarray! We’re very proud of him!(Older brother) Pierre thriving atStanford, (youngest) Chanler finishingoff his upper mid year at Hotchkissplaying varsity lacrosse.

1972Sidney [email protected]

Priya Butani Nye: I live in Denverand have two sons, Joe, 20, and Ted,22. Joe is currently working at arestaurant and doing part time stud-ies, and Ted graduates from WestPoint in May and then will be off toHawaii for three years. I attendedStony Brook University for collegeand then went on to New England

Law School in Boston, lived in Germany for threeyears and relocated to Denver where I attended RegisUniversity for Education. I teach part time and amcurrently looking into going back in to a law-relatedfield.

1973Elizabeth [email protected]

1974GregoryGerard: I produced “TheBananaMonologues”at the Midtown International Theatre Festival in July2011 to a jubilant audience, receiving great reviewsand awards. I hope to take it Off Broadway in 2012.

1975Valerie [email protected]

The Class of 1975, after a long, apathetic silence onthese pages, came out in force to respond defensivelyto their ad hoc class agent’s email subject line: “Areyou dead yet?” Apparently not.

Dédé [Acosta]Wilson “waves wildly” with the retort:“I’m not dead. Just a tad grey (although I won’t let yousee that) and still living in Amherst, MA. Have beenin brief contact with Doug [Barone], Phil [Rose] andPeter [Michelson]. Somehow I have a 27-year-olddaughter and 22-year-old twins ... where have theyears gone? Liz [Minters], Martha [Bailey],Annette [Ghee], Phil [Rose] and Val [Ritter], I lookfondly at your old buildings whenever I walk by and Iget nostalgic.” Dédé would love to “FB connect withothers.” So would a bunch of us, for example:

Phil Rose nonchalantly replies that “the real reason”he dropped into our email conversation was “to let youall know that I put up this class picture on Facebook afew years ago. [See Phil’s FB page] Tag yourself (andanyone else you know if you want)! And if we’re notalready FB friends, let’s connect. My non-profession-al FB is just philfoxrose without the ‘.writer’ ending.”Biographically, however, Phil adds: “After living a fewplaces including rural Maine, I ended up back in thecity and, partly by accident, four blocks from Grace.Still a writer, though I switched from covering tech-nology to writing about spirituality, and have a regularcolumn.”

Speaking of “regular column,” yes, that is our DavidBrooks, the Times pundit and PBS NewsHour talkinghead. He has had some pleasant exchanges with GCSof late, including the assertion that the school was thebest one he ever attended.

Martha Bailey is “still plugging away” as an in-housecounsel at Citigroup and living on the Upper WestSide with her husband and four kids. Like Dédé, shehas fond memories of the Village in the 1970s, and“the exhilarating independence I felt as a 10-year-oldzooming around on my bike.” Martha recalls thatDédé, always ahead of the curve, mastered the skate-board “which I always admired!”

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

The Allegaerts. Bearcats won thatgame 18–4 against NorthfieldMount Herman (sorry, Adrian!).

CLASSAGENT

“WOW... how the world circles around,” writes JohnCrellin, another of our number coming out of thewoodwork to “reconnect and compare notes.” He haslived in Pittsburgh, PA, for the last 15 years, but hasbeen to a lot of other places, “including a little trip tothe Middle East in 1991, care of our president at thetime and a guy named Saddam.”You can find him at:www.facebook.com/crellin2

The Saddam mention piqued Annette Ghee’s inter-est. She also has spent some time abroad with twooverseas stints to the Philippines and Peru, but basedin Seattle since around 1983. “Check out my FB pagewhere I have recent cool pics of hanging out withgorillas in Rwanda. Happy to link up with any ofyou,” she writes. She, too, is part of the un-dead fromGCS ’75 living among us with grey hair, with whichshe is “thrilled.” Really? “It’s also quite OK (now) thatmy kid is outta the house and finishing her sopho-more year at Yale. I am an epidemiologist working inthe development sector. Have I bored you yet?” Nah,not a chance, hon.

Annette’s one-time Romeo (I forget nothing),Douglas Barone, forwarded the GCS email aroundbut did not reply himself with any news. Always thestrong, silent type, huh Doug?

On the topic of “silent types,” Valerie [Ritter] Paley,so-called interim “class agent,” also has grey hair, ahusband, and old kids (21 and 14). I’m still living inNew York City, where I recently finished a Ph.D. inHistory from Columbia and was the historian incharge of developing the new permanent galleries atthe New-York Historical Society.

Clearly, the Class of 1975 was only too happy toreconnect. Feel free to continue to do so!

1976Ethan [email protected]

1977Alexandra [email protected]

Nancy [email protected]

1978Michele [email protected]

1979ConstanceWalsh [email protected]

1980Cynthia McCaffrey has recently taken on the role ofChief of Staff at UNICEF. Previously, she was theSenior Vice President of Program and StrategicPartnerships at the US Fund for UNICEF.

1981Lisa [email protected]

1982Christopher [email protected]

[email protected]

Charles Rouse: I moved to Austin, TX in December2011. I had spent the last year-and-a-half around myfather’s family in North Carolina. I’m currentlybetting that with the slowly but hopefully surelyimproving economy I can return to a corporate job asa consultant, which was my last full-time job. I leftMinneapolis, MN after living there for 16 years,including receiving my M.A. in HRIR at theUniversity of Minnesota in 1998. Prior to that, Ireceived my B.S. in HR from LeMoyne College inSyracuse, NY. Though unmarried with no childrenyet, I am having fun discovering Austin in the mean-while.

1984Jason [email protected]

Carolyn Hall is leaving her post as much-loved firstgrade teacher at GCS to marry Clark Newman inJune. Clark is the Chief Pilot for the fixed wingdivision of GE. Carolyn will be moving to Newburgh,NY.

1985Evan M. [email protected]

1986Charles [email protected]

Michael [email protected]

Alexandra Barrett [email protected]

29

ALUMNI NEWS

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

ALUMNI NEWS


1987Kate [email protected]

Tyler [email protected]

1988Alexander [email protected]

James Schiff married Meredith Straus on November12, 2011 in Anguilla.

1991Marc [email protected]

1992Isca [email protected]

[email protected]

Matty (Matthew)Alexanderwrites about US politicsand is a senior editor at NewsCore, the internal wireservice for News Corporation. He lives downtownwith his girlfriend, Maria, and two cats—Kissingerand RFK. He enjoys watch boring political speechesand the NewYork Rangers.

Kara Tufariello Binford:Keegan was born inOctober. My husband and Iare loving every momentof being new parents.From the dirty diapers tothe first giggle, it’s been anamazing six months.

Isca Greenfield-Sanders: I recently spent a week inCalifornia making six new etchings with my printpublisher Paulson Bott Press. Each print is a direct toplate photogravure with color aquatint. This one istitled, “Wading II (Pink).”

Stefan Karpinski: For the past couple of years, I’vebeen working on a project that probably deserves to beconsidered slightly crazy: creating a new program-ming language for technical computing. After a longtime as a skunkworks effort, it’s now out in the openand, to my major surprise and delight, is gaining a lotof attention and popularity. It’s still small potatoescompared to more established languages, but seemspotentially poised to become a disruptive force inscientific computing. Since you can’t really take apicture of a programming language, I’ll include awebsite: julialang.org.

Jessica Lacy: After a wonderful wedding in SagHarbor and a promotion to the Head of Internationaland Independent Film at ICM, I am looking forwardto heading to the Cannes Film Festival where I’ll bepresenting several films I packaged.

ALUMNI NEWS

30

Sia Sotirakis marriedJed Wasserman

September 24, 2011.

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

Heather FlorescueFerrantino sent thesephotos of her family—husband Matt, andfour-year-old tripletsJack, Kate and Ryan,taken last fall at StonyBrook State Park out-side of Rochester.

Alex Merkin: I am currently in Miami directing mynew feature film, “House of Bodies,” starringTerrence Howard, Peter Fonda, Queen Latifah andAlexz Johnson. It’s the second feature I’ve directed inthe past six months for Latifah’s newly formedMiami-based studio. The first, “Percentage,” starringVing Rhames and Macy Gray is currently finishingpost-production and is due out later this year.

Mike Smertiuk, to Isca: Life has been good to me. Ihave a job that I look forward to waking up in themorning and going to work every day. I am with theNYPD Counterterrorism Bureau, specificallyassigned to the World Trade Center. At first it was alittle hard to come down to the site every day, but as afew months passed, I am at peace with what I experi-enced and saw that day 10 years ago. I enjoy goodhealth and still live in my rent-controlled apartment inthe East Village with my cat, Angel. I look forward toseeing you and the rest of our classmates at ourreunion. 20 years, crazy...

Joseph Stein: We welcomed a new addition to ourfamily, Stella Stein, last May, and she is doing greatalong with our son Jeffrey who is now 8 years old. MywifeAmy and I recently started a chapter of the “CureStarts Now” Foundation in New Jersey in honor of ourdaughter Elizabeth who passed away last year. It helpsto raise funds to find a cure from the disease shepassed away from, a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.

Tony Stone: Here is River Eve Auf DerMaur Stone! She was born at home, practi-cally on the banks of the Hudson River. Weare having an amazing time with her. She’slaughing, quacking, and sleeping throughthe night. Love for you to meet her soon.

GwynWelles:After a decade, I have returned to school!I am taking a break from producing documentaryfilms and studying at Columbia Business Schoolwhere I am focusing on ways to harness business forsocial good and storytelling for social change. I hadthe opportunity to screen my documentary “Welcometo My World” for GCS students and faculty thisspring, and it was great to be back at the school!See page 16.

Damian Zunino: Life is pretty routine and crazy.Lots of family time balanced with the architecturaland interior design company my wife Britt and I run,studiodb. Our daughter, Harper, just turned two inMarch and our six-year-old son, Brecken, is enjoyingfirst grade.

ALUMNI NEWS

The Zuninos onChristmas.

1993James Benenson [email protected]

KatherineWood [email protected]

Amy L. [email protected]

1994Sophie [email protected]

1995Rachel Zabarkes [email protected]

Brian [email protected]

Claude Kelly received two more Grammy nomina-tions including Song of theYear for co-writing BrunoMars’ hit song, “Grenade.” Last year Claude wasnominated for co-writing Ledisi’s “Pieces of Me.”Youcan see him in action every week on the FOX network,where he is the vocal coach on Simon Cowell’s “TheX Factor.”

Kathryn Slattery and Matthew Longo were marriedFebruary 19, 2011 in Greenwich, CT. The two firstmet at Middlebury College, where she studied theHistory of Art and Architecture, and he, Religion.

Years later, inDecember 2007, theymet once more andfell in love in NewYork City, at theMiddlebury alumniholiday party at theAmerican Museumof Natural History.Looks like the rest is,well, history.

Patrick McElhone:Carolyn Wise and Iwere married onNovember 5, 2011by the HonorableWilliam Kuntz atLiberty Warehousein Brooklyn, NY.Grace students andalums in attendanceincluded BrianPlatzer ’95 and hiswifeAlex Hardiman,Sarah Miller ’95and her fiancée,

John Dearie, and flower attendant CatherineCheung ’19 and her brother George ’23.

Leigh McMullan is a lawyer, is working on a collec-tion of personal essays from home, up the street fromGCS. Read one of them in The New York Timespublished in December called “Uptown Can Be aDowner.”

1996Callie [email protected]

Emi Knafo ’96 is aresident in ZoologicalMedicine at CornellUniversity College ofVeterinary Medicine.Treating everythingfrom goldf ish tozebras, she’s seen abit of the world, fromsterilizing turtles inthe Galapagos andassessing the healthof wildebeests inSouth AfricanNational Parks.

Forbes loves GCS alums: Alex Leo was named inForbes 30 under 30 in Media in December 2011.(Charles Best ’90 named in 40 under 40.) Alex is theDirector of News Product for Reuters Digital. Theformer Huffington Post editor is now “helpingReuters figure out future of digital news.” Forbes alsoreports that she moonlights as a comedy writer.

Alumni Board ChairCallie Siegel started a new job asthe Director of Development at the Children’sMuseum of Manhattan, after over five years in thatrole for our own GO Project. Callie lives in Park Slopewith her husband, Nate.

32

ALUMNI NEWS

Emi giving an AmericanKestrel acupuncture.

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

Bowie Zunino andhusband Jeff Barnett-Winsby welcomed adaughter, Gilvey GrayBarnett-Zunino to thefamily on February 8.

1997Eric [email protected]

Lucy Horton is back from a year in India doingresearch on the long-term effect of dehydration andmalaria in children. She graduates in May 2012 fromTufts School of Medicine.

1998Lauren [email protected]

[email protected]

Melissa Paige was engaged to Jonathon Russell inJanuary.

Lauren Shockey’sbook, “Four Kitchens,”was published in July2011 to high praiseand great reviews.Lauren is a freelancefood and travel writer.

2000Vernon Dubner lives and works in Switzerland andhas a new gallery, Dubner Moderne, which includeswork by fellow alum Isca Greenfield-Sanders ’92.

Nicholas Young has a degree in East Asian Studiesand Economics fromt Brown and graduated magnacum laude in 2009. He lives and works in Beijingwhere he and a Brown classmate started a non-profit,East West Coalition (www.ewco.ca), promoting cul-tural exchange. They’ve had great success bringingAmerican students to China and North Korea andChinese students to the United States.

JustineWells took a new position at the Guggenheimin the education department, working with internshipsand adult academic programs. She lives in Brooklynwith Vanessa Beloyianis, who is working toward herM.F.A. at Pratt.

1999Pierce [email protected]

Andrea [email protected]

[email protected]

2001Cecilia [email protected]

2001Tilden [email protected]

2002Samantha [email protected]

Luce de Palchi: After graduating from BenningtonCollege in June 2010 I freelanced for an architect andart dealer for a year. This past summer I accepted afull time position as an architectural designer for globalspecial events at MAC Cosmetics. I enjoy living andworking in SoHo. I continue to see some Grace kidsfrom time to time and remain very best of friends withSaga Blane.

2003William [email protected]

Jasmin [email protected]

Briana Bierman: I graduated fromWellesley last May, and am currentlyin Japan for the year teachingEnglish through the JET Program.I’m working in both elementary andmiddle schools, which is a lot of fun.A few weeks ago I went to see snowmonkeys bathing in a hot spring. Themonkeys were amazing—they wereso relaxed that they didn’t seem tomind people standing right next tothem. (Definitely a relief since theirteeth looked quite sharp!)

33

ALUMNI NEWS

Callie andBowie giveGilvey theGCS tour.

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

ALUMNI NEWS


34

ALUMNI NEWS

Will Horton left Melbourne, Australia after five fondyears to relocate to Hong Kong and open a represen-tative office for CAPA—Centre for Aviation, wherehe writes about air transport, mainly in NorthAsia andAustralia Pacific.

Margaret Harris: I moved to Los Angeles for culi-nary school then moved back to New York City. I’vebeen working at Michelin-rated restaurants and wouldlike to manage one someday. My fiancé is a chef atGordon Ramsay’s, so I’m taking some time offbecause I’m about to have a baby! It’s a boy. Hope tocatch up with everyone soon!

Jasmin Stanley: I’ve loved Goucher, but I’m finallygraduating in May and looking for any job opportuni-ties in film or television production (hopefully in NewYork).

2004Roma [email protected]

PaulYoung will be graduating from the University ofEdinburgh with a degree in Chinese and History thisJune and, as of now, plans to return to Beijing to findwork. He spent the past five summers there teachingand studying and, like his brother Nicholas, he attend-ed Peking University during his junior year.

GeorginaWells received her B.A. inArt History fromVassar in May, and will spend the summer interningfor an online arts publication as a blogger and editor.

2005Marketa [email protected]

Jack Coyne spent the fall semester in Copenhagenstudying at the Danish Institute for Study.

Melissa Mason is doing well at Abilene ChristianUniversity inTexas. In addition to college, she is raisinga rescued dachshund and cooking great dinners forfriends.

Liseanne Miller spent spring 2011 semester studyingin Venice through B.U.’s study abroad program.

2006Peter [email protected]

2007Cecilia [email protected]

Oona Morris has just completed her first semester atDartmouth and she loves it. She is the only freshmanon the varsity squash team so she has a ready-madesupport group and travels across the country with theteam.

Correction:Claire Read is attending Oberlin College,not RISD, as reported in the last issue.

2008Christopher [email protected]

Kieran Coyne is still singing with theYoung People’sChorus of New York City. His conductor, FranciscoNúñez, was recently named a MacArthur Fellow.Friends Seminary has been wonderful.

Matthew Marani was acepted early decision atSkidmore College where he will join his sister Julia’06.

2009Elenore [email protected]

Cody Cintron visited South Africa for the Christmasholiday.

2010Elizabeth [email protected]

Tim Doner was featured in the Metropolitan sectionof the Sunday NewYorkTimes and on theToday showin March for speaking 16 languages—most of whichhe taught himself. You can see him on his YouTubevideos, practicing Ojibwe, Pashto and Hindi, amongothers, if you search on “Tim Polyglot.”

SamWarrenwrites: I am loving Poly Prep! Ran crosscountry in the fall and looking forward to playingbaseball in the spring. Hello to all my former teachers.

2011Cora [email protected]

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

CLASSAGENT

RodneyW. Smith,GCS teacher 1949-52,on February 18, 2012.

IN MEMORIAM

T H E S M I T H SA GCS Courtship Remembered

September 15, 2011Dear Tia Biasi, Alumni Director,Well that is a giant coincidence; The Smiths were the couple that I talkedabout to the sixth grade at Grace, at our recent reunion [last May].Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Congratulations on your 60th anniversary. I rememberyou well, and fondly. When I told the story to the sixth grade about yourthrowing chalk out the window to get Miss Fiske’s attention, everyonesmiled. For us, that was a storybook romance. Phyllis and Rodney, youare now part of the folklore of Grace Church School.—TomTom Reese ’51Marathon, NY

In response to an email to alumni requesting notes and anecdotes about the Smiths:

September 13, 2011

Dear Grace Church School,My parents, who met as teachers [at Grace Church School] in 1949 or 1950, while mygodfather, Al Grant, was the Head of School, are Phyllis G. Fiske and Rodney W. Smith.Would it be possible to get something from the school as a memento of their meeting inhonor of their 60th wedding anniversary this year?

Winthrop SmithNorth Monmouth, ME

September 16, 2011

My Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith,

I remember when you were courting many moons ago.

My memories of both of you are so clear in mymind

that it seems like only a decade ago instead of 60

years!...There was a window behind where I satand I

can remember Mr. Smith going over to look down at

Miss Fiske, who was out there with her class.

…All best wishes,

Roberta Sharpe-Martin ’52,San Diego, CA

November 12, 2011

Dear Tia,The book and letters got here today... I called [my parents] and read from the letters to myfather whose mind is very much there, remembering his students… I could see the smileas I read about his throwing chalk out the window, something which no one other thanthese students would have seen. And many thanks for the book with my mother’s recollec-tion as well as pictures of Uncle Al. It will make their anniversary special beyond belief.


February 18, 2011Dear Tia,To show how lucky we were that you were able to track down my parent’s students, myfather died this morning in Virginia at home. My father may have let his mail sit unopenedfor a year, but as I emailed, he read the book you were kind enough to send in its entirety.


December 31, 2011

Dear Mr. Davison,

You have certainly brought back fond memories of our first teaching jobs, our meeting

each other and our wedding on December 27 in the Grace Church Chantry! Dr. Pitt

performed the ceremony and Al Grant walked me down the aisle. It was snowing outside.

Thank you so very much for sending us [the history and the notes]… Rodney has just read

the book from cover to cover and that is the first book he has read in the past 50 years!

We both thank you again and again and wish you and the school the BEST in 2012.

Phyllis Fiske Smith,

Irvington, VA

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage Paid

Manchester, NH

Permit No. 206

Grace Church School

86 Fourth AvenueNew York, NY ⁄‚‚‚‹

›§ Cooper SquareNew York, NY ⁄‚‚‚‹

Parents of Alumni:If your children no longer live at home, please notifythe Alumni Office of their current addresses. Thank [email protected] 212.475.5609

Let your classmatesknow what you aredoing—marriages,births, moves, jobs.

LET’SKEEPINTOUCH

NAME

MAIDEN

CLASS

ADDRESS

PHONE (H)

PHONE (W)

E-MAIL

PROFESSION

POSITION

SPOUSE

CHILDREN

NEWS FOR GCS NEWS:

Send to: ALUMNI OFFICE, GRACE CHURCH SCHOOL 86 Fourth Avenue NewYork, NY 10003E-mail: [email protected]

Enclosed is my gift of $___________ for the Grace Church School Annual Fund.Please make checks payable to Grace Church School, or go to www.gcschool.org to donate online.

VISIT THE GCSALUMNI PAGESwww.gcschool.org

SUPPORT THEANNUAL FUND

2012 #47 Spring/Summer GCS News

Documents

Transcript of 2012 #47 Spring/Summer GCS News