Bulletin Winter 2011

ST. GEORGE’Swinter Bulletin2011

St. George’s SchoolP.O. Box 1910Newport, RI 02840-0190

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDSt. George’s School

INSIDE:A groundbreaking internship • Library construction • Web extras

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Science students land coveted internshipsin Paris BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY

Three students have ‘backstage pass’ on libraryproject BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY

Hark back to your Hilltop days: Selections fromthe Red & White archives

Chapel talks:Choosing happiness BY VICTORIA LEONARD ’11

A shower of thoughts fits together BY ZACH MASTRODICASA ’11

The ‘well-rounded me’ came before the ‘egg’ BY CHAD LARCOM ’11

Finding home in an unfamiliar place BY ABI MOATZ ’11

Giving (and getting) a second chance BY SAM PETERSON ’11

St. George’s on the Web

Class Notes

In this issue:

Left: Choir members Carine Kanimba ’12 and Michelle Hare ’12

sing at a recent chapel service. PHOTO BY RACHEL RAMOS

UpcomingEvents

* For information on additional events, visit the St. George’s School Facebook page, our web sitewww.stgeorges.edu or contact events coordinator Ann Weston at [email protected] or401.842.6731.

St. George’s School admits male and

female students of any religion, race, color,

sexual orientation, and national or ethnic

origin to all the programs and activities gener-

ally accorded or made available to students at

the school. It does not discriminate on the

basis of religion, gender, race, color, sexual

orientation, or national or ethnic origin in the

administration of its educational policies,

scholarship and loan programs, or athletic and

other school-administered programs. In addi-

tion, the school welcomes visits from disabled

applicants.

SStt.. GGeeoorrggee’’ss PPoolliiccyy oonnNNoonn--DDiissccrriimmiinnaattiioonn

In 1896, the Rev. John Byron Diman,

founder of St. George’s School, wrote in his

“Purposes of the School” that “the specific

objectives of St. George’s are to give its stu-

dents the opportunity of developing to the

fullest extent possible the particular gifts that

are theirs and to encourage in them the desire

to do so. Their immediate job after leaving

school is to handle successfully the demands

of college; later it is hoped that their lives will

be ones of constructive service to the world

and to God.”

In the 21st century, we continue to teach

young women and men the value of learning

and achievement, service to others, and respect

for the individual. We believe that these goals

can best be accomplished by exposing students

to a wide range of ideas and choices in the

context of a rigorous curriculum and a sup-

portive residential community.

Therefore, we welcome students and teach-

ers of various talents and backgrounds, and we

encourage their dedication to a multiplicity

of pursuits —intellectual, spiritual, and physi-

cal—that will enable them to succeed in and

contribute to a complex, changing world.

SStt.. GGeeoorrggee’’ss SScchhoooollMMiissssiioonn SSttaatteemmeenntt

Mon., March 28 - Sat., April 2Global WeekMon., April 4Schoolwide Day of ServiceTues., April 5 - Wed. April 6Fri., April 8 - Sat., April 9Admission Second Visit ProgramsLos Angeles area reception Tues., April 12Santa Monica, Calif.The Huntley HotelHosted by Rudy Bethea ’87Fri., May 13 - Sun., May 15Reunion WeekendSat., May 28Spring Dance ConcertMon., May 30Prize Day

ST. GEORGE ’ S 2 0 11 WINTER BULLET IN 1

From the editor’s desk ........................................................................................................................................2Science students land coveted internships in Paris BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY ..............................................3Three students have ‘backstage pass’ on library project BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY ................................6Reunion Weekend ................................................................................................................................................8Hark back to your Hilltop Days: Selections from the Red & White archives ......................................9Hilltop archives ..................................................................................................................................................17Hall of Fame pitcher once visited the Hilltop BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY ..................................................18Chapel talks:

Choosing happiness BY VICTORIA LEONARD ’11 ........................................................................................20A shower of thoughts fits together—like pieces of a puzzle BY ZACH MASTRODICASA ’11 ............23The ‘well-rounded me’ came before the ‘egg’ BY CHAD LARCOM ’11 ................................................26Finding ‘home’ in an unfamiliar place BY ABI MOATZ ’11 ..................................................................28Giving (and getting) a second chance BY SAM PETERSON ’11 ............................................................30

Highlights: Student achievements ................................................................................................................32Classrooms ..........................................................................................................................................................38Geronimo ..............................................................................................................................................................42Arts ........................................................................................................................................................................45SG Zone - Athletics ............................................................................................................................................48Campus happenings ..........................................................................................................................................54Traditions..............................................................................................................................................................58Around campus ..................................................................................................................................................60Global outreach ..................................................................................................................................................63On the Web ..........................................................................................................................................................64Post Hilltop: Former community members, alumni/ae in the news ....................................................66Faculty/staff notes ..........................................................................................................................................68Board notes ..........................................................................................................................................................71The fondest of memories: Michael Wynne-Willson ’37 BY QUENTIN WARREN ........................................72Class Notes ..........................................................................................................................................................77

Student-made banners for Middlesex

Weekend decorate King Hall.

PHOTO BY RACHEL RAMOS

On the cover:

Sebastian Bierman-Lytle ’11 and L’Oreal

Lampley ’11 star as Romeo and Juliet in

the 2010 Fall Play.

PHOTO BY RACHEL RAMOS

Suzanne L. McGrady, editor

Dianne Reed, communications associate

Toni Ciany, editorial assistant

Rachel Ramos, web manager

Contributing photographers:Andrea Hansen, Kathryn Whitney Lucey,

Bill Rakip, Rachel Ramos, Len Rubenstein,Louis Walker

The St. George’s Bulletin is published bi-annually.Send correspondence to

[email protected].

St. George’sB u l l e t i n

C o n t e n t s

The Alumni/ae Magazine ofSt. George’s School

Newport, R.I.

This magazine is printed on paper that is certifiedby SmartWood to meet the Forest StewardshipCouncil standards. FSC sets high standards thatensure forestry is practiced in an environmentallyresponsible, socially beneficial, and economicallyviable way.

ST. GEORGE ’ S 2 011 WINTER BULLET IN2

Ijust got through reading Patti Smith’s memoir of

her relationship with the artist and photographer

Robert Mapplethorpe called “Just Kids.” It was a

great book that also made me think a lot about mem-

ories—the memories we

have of people we’ve come

to know at one time or

another in our lives, and

the way our memories can

either elude, or invade, our

minds at times.

I remember going to

see Mapplethorpe’s work in

Boston in 1989 and the

hauntingly beautiful pic-

tures he took of Smith. In

her book, Smith’s memo-

ries of her growing bond

with Mapplethorpe are so

sharp and keen. Probably

because she kept journals,

she could write about even

the outfits she wore back in

the 1960s. The book was a

testament to keeping track

of the small moments that

will matter later in life. But

then again, when you have those meaningful

moments, the mind pictures and those waves of

emotion, so pure, seem next to impossible to quell.

What are your memories of the Hilltop? This

edition of the Bulletin includes an archival spread of

Red &White front pages aimed in particular at this

year’s major reunion classes. Perhaps the headlines

will bring back memories for some. And please note:

The full editions of all those stories are available on

our web site. They could even provide some talking

points around those reunion roundtables.

Memories are also what make up a number of

chapel talk themes (pp. 20-31). It’s remarkable how

many of our students use their chapel talks to reveal

parts of their childhood selves, how powerful those

memories are for them, and how even early on in

adulthood, young men and women grow nostalgic

for times gone by—as they will for the rest of

their lives.

When baseball great Bob Feller died this winter,

the news brought back some indelible memories for

a few of our alums. (“Hall of Fame pitcher once

visited the Hilltop,” p. 18). Nothing like pure, raw,

God-given talent—which we have in abundance here

at SG—to do that. Have you checked out our

YouTube channel? I dare you not to get chills listen-

ing to Elodie Germain ’12 and L’Oreal Lampley ’11

singing “Amazing Grace.”

Of course being on the Hilltop is also about

getting the chance to make new memories, and the

teachers and students here are working hard to move

forward productively in their academic pursuits. Two

girls will get the chance to study in France this sum-

mer at the famed Curie Institute (“Science students

land coveted internships in Paris,” p. 3), and three

boys are learning about architecture and sustainabil-

ity in the real-life work site that is the Hill Library

construction project.

And speaking of memories … Recently our

students rallied to get the school on board to help

them plan a classic prom. Sure theWinter Formal has

always served as the school’s fancy dance, but it seems

the students are looking to make one more of those

dressed-up nights for the memory books.

Hope the photographs are spectacular.

St. George’sF r o m t h e e d i t o r ’ s d e s k

Connor, 4, and Suzannein Watch Hill, R.I.

Suzanne McGrady

Bulletin Editor


Sadie McQuilkin ’12and Heydi Malavé

’11 work in thebiology laboratory in

the Science Center.

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“I’m doing cancer research in Paris.”And that’s

just what two of our standout science and language

students—HHeeyyddii MMaallaavvéé ’11 and SSaaddiieeMMccQQuuiillkkiinn ’12—are able to say thanks to

the careful planning and teamwork of

Head of the French Department AAlllliissoonnddee HHoorrsseeyy and TToomm EEvvaannss, a biology and microbiol-

ogy teacher in the Science Department. Malavé and

McQuilkin are scheduled to spend three weeks in

Paris in June and July—two of them as research

interns at the world-renowned Curie Institute, one of

the top medical, biological and biophysical research

facilities in the world specializing in the treatment of

cancer. They will be the first-ever high school age

interns to study there.

For St. George’s, the program is a real coup—

representing a promising extension of our global and

off-site curricular offerings, and a progressive, real-

Science students land coveted internships in Paris

BY SUZANNE MCGRADY

It’s an impressive answer to the question, “So what are you doing this summer?”—

ST. GEORGE ’ S 2 0 1 1 WINTER BULLET IN4

The Institut Curieat 26 rue d’Ulm,Paris.

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world application of an interdisciplinary course of

study. For Malavé and McQuilkin it’s the chance of a

lifetime: Neither has been to Europe. “And these are

students who are really passionate about science,”

said Evans.

How the internships came about is a study in

determination and the desire to find superior stu-

dents superior opportunities. Evans was inspired by

de Horsey’s expansion of her summer cultural

immersion trip to Paris in which she secured week-

long internships for four students last summer:

AAnnddrreeww CCoollaacccchhiioo ’10, SSoopphhiiee FFllyynnnn ’11, LLiinnnniieeGGuummmmoo ’11 and MMaacckk FFeellddmmaann ’11 each took part in

an internship at either Poilâne, a famous artisanal

bread bakery; Hôtel de Banville; Tg Communication,

a public relations firm specializing in luxury goods;

or Gatard et Associés, a research and marketing firm.

De Horsey named it the Global Cultural Initiative

Program (GCIP). Evans, who’s also helped land a

number of science-centered internships for his stu-

dents in the United States, asked de Horsey to investi-

gate an opportunity at the Curie, and she embraced

the chance to move into new territory.

“I was really excited when Tom approached me

about finding an internship in Paris for French/biol-

ogy students,” de Horsey said. “It’s not an obvious

collaboration, but that’s what’s so great about it—we

found an incredible cross-curricular opportunity at

the Curie Institute that will add another unique

component to the GCIP program and Tom’s science

internships—another layer of learning for the stu-

dents and what they can bring back to the classroom

for our departments.”

De Horsey said the two teachers have similar

thoughts about the positive impact that internships

can have on their students. “And though our disci-

plines are different, our objectives are the same: to

find meaningful learning experiences via internships

that will allow our students to put their skills to use

and expand their knowledge—the ‘learning by doing’

model,” she said.

This semester Evans and de Horsey are meeting

with both Malavé, of Newark, N.J., and McQuilkin,

of Portsmouth, R.I., outside of the regular class

schedule to get the girls even more prepared for the

internships. They’ll be studying alongside some of

the most respected scientists in the world—

researchers like Anne Houdusse, head of the Curie

Institute’s Structural Motility Team, who was the

recipient of the prestigious FEBS/EMBO (The Feder-

ation of European Biochemical Societies and The

European Molecular Biology Organization) Women

in Science Award for 2009 for “outstanding contribu-

tions to the field of structural biology.”

McQuilkin’s research will focus on the proteins

involved in cell movement. Investigating the way

proteins are moved to different places inside cells or

secreted from cells helps scientists better understand

how diseases develop.

Malavé will delve into the study of cellular signal-

ing, or the ability of cells to perceive and correctly

respond to their microenvironment. Miscues in

cellular processing result in disease.

At the Curie, the girls will get an inside look at a

vast network of facilities, including a research center

on biophysics, cell biology and oncology and a cancer

treatment hospital. McQuilkin, a section editor for

the Red & White student newspaper and a standout

runner on the cross-country course, says her favorite

subjects are biology and English, so she knows she’ll

likely pursue those in college. The medical field draws

her, she said, because “that’s just an awesome field to

help people.”

“My aunt had breast cancer,” she added. “Know-

ing that I could help people like her would be great.”

The internship, McQuilkin said, might help her

narrow down which areas of the medical field she

ST. GEORGE ’ S 2 0 1 1 WINTER BULLET IN 5

Sadie McQuilkin ’12and Heydi Malavé

’11 will take part ina two-week

internship at the Curie Institute in

Paris this summer.

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wishes to pursue. “It may help me decide whether I

like the research aspect or want to be with people and

be a pediatrician or something like that,” she said.

Malavé, who graduates in May, knows the experi-

ence will ready her for further study in college. “I’ve

never really had any research training except for here

in micro[biology] class,” she said, “so I can use those

skills and obviously learn more.”

Malavé, meanwhile, is all about the science. She’s

taking the year-long A.P. biology course; she took

microbiology first semester and is taking the D.N.A.

science elective this spring semester. She says she is

especially happy to be investigating the research side

of the medical profession. “We need vaccines, we

need medication for people who are already suffering

from these diseases. There’s not only a need to prac-

tice medicine, the research is also important.”

“Studying microbiology and preparing for the

internship have opened a new way of thinking for

me,” Malavé said.

Of the cross-disciplinary aspect of the trip,

Malavé said, “It think it’s perfect.”

“Not only are you into a new culture, but you’re

going to get an academic perspective on research. In

both fields you’re going in there knowing that you’re

not necessarily the top at it, but you’re going to learn

a lot from it—language and science research.”

McQuilkin admitted the adventure is a little

intimidating. “But I think being able to combine

different disciplines is going to be a great way to

apply what we’ve learned here,” she said.

Evans himself also was preparing to branch out

into new territory. “A lot of this is beyond what I

teach in the classroom, so I’ll be learning along with

them and hopefully together, we’ll get them ready to

go over there, and hopefully the professors will be

impressed. They’re going to be put right to work.”

For the last few years, as Evans has incorporated

real-life research on AIDS into his advanced place-

ment biology course, he’s talked to a number of

researchers who he said want to support science in

schools. “Almost every one of them told me that

what we need are younger people getting involved in

this challenge now,” Evans said. “We need more

basic science.”

“We need more and more young people to get

passionate about science and research earlier.”

In the French classroom, both Sadie and Heydi

are also excellent students, according to de Horsey.

McQuilkin won the Alliance Française Prize last year,

for excellence in French at the intermediate level, and

skipped a level—going from French 3 Honors to AP

French. Beyond their strong language skills, though,

both girls distinguish themselves as curious, moti-

vated students. “They are not afraid of a challenge

and always work to mastery and a higher level of

understanding in French,” de Horsey said.

The traits are just what de Horsey looks for when

selecting students for the GCIP, itself inspired by the

Global Engagement and Culture of Innovation pillars

of the Strategic Plan. “I’m a huge believer that intern-

ships are the next step after the classroom in the

learning process,” de Horsey said. “What’s being

taught in the French classroom can be experienced

directly through student travel and cultural immer-

sion. Education can continue through internships to

show students how skills are honed and how careers

can be built around cultural interests.”

De Horsey says she told her students at the end

of last year she’d be meeting with the Director of

Education at the Curie Institute, Jacqueline Legras,

about the possibility of establishing an internship.

McQuilkin sent her an e-mail written in French the

day before she left for France to say she was very

interested. So when de Horsey met Legras she was

able to tell her she had a student in mind for the

program. Madame Legras’ response was, “Don’t you

think it’s our responsibility to create these opportuni-

ties when we have motivated students?”

“Right then I knew that we had similar philoso-

phies and that the chance of an internship becoming

a reality was strong,” de Horsey said. “It even gave me

the confidence to ask for two internships.”

Alex Wilsterman’11, Evan Read ’12and Alex Elron ’12are taking part in aspecial project during the winterterm focusing on thereconstruction of theHill Library.


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Three students have ‘backstagepass’ on library projectAs the school seeks LEED certification for the building, these boys are actively involved in the process

Every Wednesday afternoon after classes, three

students with an interest in architecture and sus-

tainability head over to the center of

campus where the Hill Library is under-

going an $8 million restoration/expan-

sion project. The three make their way

into the cavernous interior of the now-

gutted structure where they’ve been

getting a behind-the-scenes look at the

building project—one that no other students and

very few faculty members are even privy to. In the

process, AAlleexx EEllrroonn ’12, AAlleexx WWiillsstteerrmmaann ’11, and

EEvvaann RReeaadd ’12 are also helping the school notch

one more point toward the coveted LEED (Leader-

ship in Energy and Environmental Design) certifi-

cation of the building, showing St. George’s

commitment to best sustainability practices.

For the boys, getting involved in a special project

centered on construction and environmentally

friendly building has been a true education. While

they are interested in the project—the building mate-

rials, the construction techniques, the science behind

the new 215-foot tower on the north façade of the

library—they’re also deeply involved in the commu-

nity. “We’re interested in the school. We want to

know what’s going on here,” Elron said.

Throughout the winter sports season, the three

boys have been spending the afternoon wearing their

own personalized hard hats and getting a guided tour

of the project from Site Supervisor Renato Cabral of

Shawmut Design and Construction. “Having this

opportunity to go ‘backstage’ and having the superin-


The new entranceand stair tower for

the Hill Librarybegan to take shape

in January andFebruary.

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tendent of the entire project as a guide has been so

interesting,” Elron said.

St. George’s is on target for a “gold” level LEED

certification of the library project and a few points

from “platinum.”

Administered by the U.S. Green Building Council,

the LEED certification process isn’t for the faint of

heart. It’s imperative that the project even in the begin-

ning stages of design be focused on environmentally

friendly building practices and operation goals. Certi-

fication is based on a points system, in which points

are earned in categories such as sustainable sites, water

efficiency, energy and materials. LEED certification for

schools goes even further by guiding education centers

in the construction or renovation of buildings that

provide healthful and environmentally sound areas for

students and teachers. Within a 100-point rating sys-

tem, the project earns points that determine whether

the building gets one of four levels of certification:

certified, silver, gold or platinum.

By getting certification, St. George’s is showing

its commitment to sustainability, and building with

an eye toward the impact on the environment and

operational efficiency.

For the students, learning about building—liter-

ally from the ground up—has been something of a

coup. “I have really enjoyed this project,” Read said.

“It has been a very humbling experience. It has

helped me realize how much goes into making a

building, especially a LEED-certified building. Often,

what seems like a pragmatic solution is made compli-

cated by various safety factors or environmental

issues that only a specialist would have considered.”

Each of the boys is taking on different aspects of

the project to study. Elron’s research includes site

selection, water use reduction, construction waste

management, and daylight and views, while Read is

taking on stormwater design (quality and quantity

control), water efficiency as it relates to water effi-

cient landscaping, optimizing energy performance,

materials and resources (with a goal to maintain 75

percent of existing walls, floors, and roofs), indoor

environmental quality and green cleaning. Wilster-

man is researching alternative energy, certified wood

(ours comes from Maine), the use of Energy Star

appliances, water-efficient landscaping (it’s hoped

rain run-off from the roof will help water a garden

near Twenty House dormitory), and indoor chemical

and pollutant source control. As a group the three

are also integral to the “LEED as a teaching tool”

component of the certification.

“I think I can speak for all of us when I say we

have gained a deeper appreciation for the work all the

men and women have contributed to this project,”

Read said.

Wilsterman agreed. “It’s been great to be able to

see the progression of the library even through the

small time period we have been doing the project,” he

said. “To be able to talk to the superintendent of the

project when we go in has been a huge help, too. He

answers any questions we have and is one of the

friendliest people I have ever met.”

“Wednesdays,” Elron added, “are something that

we all look forward to.”


Mark your calendars for another great

Reunion Weekend in May, says Events Coordina-

tor Ann Weston.

Scheduled events begin Friday, May 13, and

are of special note to reunion classes. As usual, the

weekend kicks off on Friday evening with the

presentation of the St. George’s distinguished

alumnus/a award, the Diman Award, which this

year goes to PeterWoicke ’61, former investment

banker andmanaging director of theWorld Bank and

the current Board Chairman of Ashesi University in

Ghana and Chairman of the International Save the

Children Alliance. A welcome reception as well as

a variety of evening events for individual reunion

classes will follow the Diman Award presentation.

Saturday’s activities include Chapel tours,

class visits, student and faculty panel discussions,

a picnic lunch on the front lawn and a formal

dinner at the Stephen P. Cabot and Archer Har-

man Ice Center. This festive dinner celebration

is in honor of all the reunion classes.

Alums will be receiving an invitation to

ReunionWeekend in early March, but for now,

save the dates—May 13-15. Please visit our website

atwww.stgeorges.edu for ReunionWeekend regis-

tration, hotel information, weekend schedule and

a list of alumni/ae who have already registered.

Alumni/ae invitedback May 13-15

1936 • 75th

1941 • 70th

1946 • 65th

1951 • 60th

1956 • 55th

1961 • 50th

1966 • 45th

1971 • 40th

1976 • 35th

1981 • 30th

1986 • 25th

1991 • 20th

1996 • 15th

2001 • 10th

2006 • 5th

REUNION CL ASSES

PHOTOBYANDREAHANSEN

PHOTOBYSUZANNEMCGRADY

R E T U R N I N G T O T H E H I L L T O PReunionWeekend ’11

Senior Picnic, Spring 2006.


Hark back to your Hilltop daysThe next section of the Bulletin was put together in an effort to spur a memory, reconnect

you with your past, and in the meantime show off another “Web Extra” on our website. On the

following pages you will find a selection of front pages from the student newspaper,

the Red & White—one each from the graduation years of our major Reunion classes

from 1941, 1951, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001. But fear not: We know this may just be a

tease. We’ve added the full editions of each of these papers to the Archival Miscellany section

of www.stgeorges.edu.

We hope you enjoy the opportunity to browse through what may be a forgotten portion of

your past. And we hope you stay actively involved in what we have going on today. Browsing

through these papers reminded us that no matter the era, a thread of continuity—exhilaration

and angst—marks the high school years. Meanwhile, if any of this content prompts an urge to

reconnect with the community, please do post your thoughts on our Facebook page.

We welcome the dialogue—and continuing the ongoing story of St. George’s. �

PHOTOBYSUZANNEMCGRADY

ST. GEORGE ’ S 2 011 WINTER BULLET IN

H A R K B A C K T O Y O U R H I L L T O P D A Y S

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ST. GEORGE ’ S 2 011 WINTER BULLET IN 11


Advertisements from the February 2, 1938, Red & White, recall a differentera, when a Thames Street business rented typewriters to students and therewas a “department store” in Newport. And yet ice cream (though DutchlandFarms is no longer in business) has remained a hit throughout the decades.

R E M E M B E R W H E N ?Hilltop archives


BY SUZANNE MCGRADY

Whenbaseball great Bob Feller died on

December 15, 2010, in Gates Mills, Ohio,

at the age of 92, at least a few St. Geor-

gians were struck with a personal memory of the

famed fastballer.

Recruited to the majors directly out of high

school (he never had to pay his dues in the minors),

Feller interrupted his career midstream to serve in the

Navy—and for a time he was stationed in Newport.

Julian Sloan ’45, Porky Ballard ’43, Robin Rogers

’44 and Peter Ward ’43 all report seeing Feller hurl

his trademark heater from the mound on North

Field behind the chapel.

“I was an impressed little kid and awed by his

celebrity,” said Sloan.

At the time Feller, who had already played for the

PHOTOCOURTESYOFTHEDENNISGOLDSTEINCOLLECTION/CLEVELANDPLAINDEALER

Hall of Fame pitcheronce visited the HilltopAlums recall seeingFeller, who remainedamong the elitepower pitchers inbaseball history,throw from themound on NorthField behind theSt. George’s Chapel.

Bob “Rapid Rober t” Fel ler : Nov. 3, 1918 – Dec. 15, 2010


Cleveland Indians for five years and garnered national

attention for his remarkable pitching prowess at a

young age, was training at the Naval gunnery school.

Another of his assignments, however, was to put

together a Naval baseball team. According to the

Newport Daily News, Feller looked over hundreds of

players and eventually chose 30 players with back-

grounds in minor league and college teams.

One day the team apparently made arrange-

ments to practice on the Hilltop. Published reports

at the time say Feller also made a few local public

appearances. In June 1942, he told the members of

the Sportsman’s Club, which met at the Hotel

Viking, that he was coaching a good club but was

handicapped by lack of a real ballpark.

Rogers says he remembers standing with fellow

students behind the backstop on a spring day in ’42

and knowing full well the boys were in the presence

of greatness.

“He threw the ball so fast that it went through

the backstop!” recalls Ballard, who said even though

Feller himself was still only in his 20s, the boys

looked up to him as a man. “Certainly a sports hero,”

Ballard said.

Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 and

the winningest pitcher in Cleveland Indians history,

Feller still regarded his time in the military as some

of the most influential years of his life.

In an essay he wrote on his military service,

“Answering the Call,” Feller claimed he always felt he

was a “Navy man at heart.”

“I never have to strain my memory to recall the

day I decided to join the Navy. It was 7 December

1941. I was driving from my home in Van Meter,

Iowa, to Chicago to discuss my next contract with

the Cleveland Indians, and I heard over the car radio

that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. I

was angry as hell.”

Feller had already spent almost six full seasons in

the major leagues, with a record of 107 victories and

54 losses, and he had a family-related draft exemption.

“But I knew right then that I had to answer

the call.”

After four months in Newport, Feller was

assigned to a battleship, the USS Alabama, as a

gun-captain, and saw action off Tarawa, and in

the Marshalls, the Carolines, and the Philippines.

But in August 1945, he returned to his baseball

roots. “Just 15 days after the United States

dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, I went

on inactive duty,” Feller wrote. “It was back to

baseball after that.”

Top left:William Fellercaught the fast

balls fired by hisson at his own risk.When Bob was just

eight, he broke threeof his father's ribs

with a pitch.

Top right: Bob Fellerwarming up during

the 1940 season,when he went 27-11

as a 21-year-old.

PHOTOSCOURTESYOFTHEDENNISGOLDSTEINCOLLECTION/CLEVELANDPLAINDEALER

Following is a chapel talk delivered on Nov. 4, 2010.

Good morning. I’m going to start us off with

a fundamental question of philosophy: Who

am I? Cliché right? Yeah I know, but let’s just

go with it for a while. After some soul searching, I

have concluded that I Am A Noticer. I’m perceptive. I

notice things—about people, words, places, hair, the

sky, a song, the grass, pretty much anything.

For example, let’s take the chapel. While some

kids sit in chapel and stare across the aisle into each

other’s eyes, I tend to look up and around. Have you

ever noticed that those two angels up there don’t have

bodies? Did you know that there’s a baby lamb in the

back eastern window? What about the ceiling above

the organ? It has stars painted all over it. Or, how

about the plethora of wild beasts in the altar window?

There are also a few enormous oil paintings in the

back that tend to be overlooked. And when you’re

walking through the chapel during the day, have you

ever noticed the spots of colored light on the walls?

Did you realize that even after almost everyone is out

of the chapel, Doc G continues to play organ pieces?

Well, those are just a few of the little hidden treasures

that I’ve picked up on.

I also pride myself on noticing changes. For

example, when Mary K returned from summer her

hair was substantially lighter! Or, just recently, a

Victoria Leonard ’11poses with familymembers at herConfirmation servicelast year in theChapel. With herare her grandparents,Joseph Gagne andthe late Rita Gagne;and her grandmother,Marsha Leonard.


Choosing happinessSmaller joys can add up–if you notice themBY VICTORIA LEONARD ’11

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C H A P E L T A L K SDifferent Takes

display of miniature pumpkins was installed on the

Great Room’s mantel. So autumnal! When I notice

something that provokes a question, like “How do the

enormous Main Common Room doors stay open

without a latch?” I go on little investigations to solve

the mystery. I discovered that there are magnets on

the bottom of each door, which attract to a magnet

on the wall! Isn’t that fascinating? I think so.

Maybe I’m alone or wicked weird because I

delight in these little factoids and tidbits, but I truly

believe that it’s the little things that help us get by and

that give day-to-day life special meaning. If we’re

only truly happy when we win a game or ace a test,

then honestly, joyous moments would be sporadic,

and I don’t think we should live like that.

A hug in the hallway or an especially funny e-mail

on the Food Court really gets me going. I also love it

when there’s a faculty member standing behind you in

chapel and they just belt out the hymns. These little

things also help me recover. Let’s say I bomb a test A

period on Friday. I feel terrible, hate myself for not

studying more, and just become the largest of Debbie

Downers. Then, I walk into King Hall … and it’s taco

day. Instantly a smile spreads across my face and my

heart flutters. Taco day! My mood is significantly

altered and I can put the test behind me and just relish

in euphoria.Well, that’s a little exaggerated. But really,

small things like that affect me.

This past summer I went through something

much more difficult than bombing a test. Actually, it

was the hardest period of my life. Right before Prize

Day, Memere, my grandmother, fell down and was

taken to the hospital. The MRI showed that there was

a tumor growing around her spinal cord. Mem and

Pep, my grandfather, live in Wakefield, which is one

town over from where I live. It’s no more than an

eight-minute drive and consequently for my whole

life, I haven’t gone more than three or four days

without seeing them, and even that’s a stretch. They

used to babysit me every Tuesday and I would sleep

over at their house a lot. Basically, they were always

around. So, it hit me pretty hard when I realized that

we had to move Mem to a nursing home because she

couldn’t stand up or get around by herself. But hon-

estly, I wasn’t really worried. She was a two-time

breast cancer survivor and it didn’t even cross my

mind that anything would happen. But as the sum-

mer progressed we weren’t seeing very much

improvement.

Even though Mem was always in the back of my

mind, I focused on little things to help me get

through the summer. My family and I relied on each

other to stay positive and help each other to continue

to live our lives. But, inevitably, sometimes I would

get anxious and worried. It was in those moments

that little delights kept me going. Playing tennis with

my boys or going to the farmer’s market with my

sister and mom would distract me and let me enjoy

the summer. A day at the beach with my family

would propel me to be positive and realize just how

lucky I am. Nothing put me in a better mood than

when my dad wore his red T-shirt that says “Pope My

Ride”with a picture of the Popemobile on it. The fact

that he doesn’t really get the MTV reference makes it

even better. Or when he would try to convince me

that “crisp”was going to be this year’s word for “cool.”

He would then singlehandedly make the prophecy

come true by frequently dropping phrases like “your

shirt is criiiisp.”Anyway, those were just a few of the

things that helped me cope.

But unfortunately, as summer came to a close, we

were forced to accept that Mem wasn’t going to get

better. Soon after, her pain ended and she passed away.

At that point in particular, small delights were espe-

cially important to me. Any tiny thing that I could

find beauty in made it that much easier for me to deal

with losing one of my biggest supporters, and some-

one whom I loved more than anything in the world.

Above all, it was the love offered by my family and

friends that I relied on to survive this difficult period.

Now, when I find myself stressed, or missing

Mem, I force myself to stop and look around. At

school and at home, there’s always something or

someone that reminds me of how lucky I am and

ensures me that everything will be OK. I’ve discov-

ered that the seemingly mundane parts of my day are

the ones that I cherish most. Being woken up by

nudges from my dog’s nose or being able to drive to

school when the sun is rising over the water are just

two of the thousands of little gifts I receive every day.


Appreciating the small pleasures in my life also allows

me to gain perspective as to what is important, and

what isn’t worth freaking out over.

I remember a few weeks ago I was at Sweet Berry

Farm with Mr. Leslie, working on my special project.

I’m doing my project on sustainability with a focus

on local farming. Our task for the day was to shuck

Indian corn: not very glamorous. We set up a table

behind the barn and began ripping the husks away

from the cobs. The kernels were revealed to be multi-

colored and they looked like gemstones. Every time a

new cob was opened, we would say that it was more

beautiful than the last. We started a little competition

to see who would find the most special cob of all. I

distinctly remember Mr. Leslie shouting “Yahtzee!”

after finding a cob covered in bright red kernels. In

an activity as minor as shucking corn, we were

awestruck by true beauty. This goes to show that if

you take the time to look for something to cheer you

up, it’ll be there.

So, next time you’re walking through the School-

house, check out the inscriptions on the walls and

notice crests on the ceiling. Or if you’re headed down

to the beach, take a look at the school’s compost bins

behind Merrick House. And when your favorite

hymn is chosen for chapel, don’t be shy! Sing it loud

and proud!

Step back and think about how many times you

laugh during the day. Start noticing when you make

other people laugh. We all have the power to make

someone’s day so try and go out of your way to thank

someone who always has your back or makes you

giggle and know that even the smallest thing you do

can positively impact everyone around you. Appreci-

ate what you have, and don’t let the little things that

make you smile become insignificant. Henry Ward

Beecher said, “The art of being happy lies in the

power of extracting happiness from common things.”

There are millions of simple pleasures to be found

here at St. George’s; don’t let them pass you by, and

remember, you can always choose happiness.

VViiccttoorriiaa LLeeoonnaarrdd ’11 of Narragansett, R.I., is a

school prefect, head of the SG Choir, head of the

Women in Leadership club, and a member of the

Snapdragons a cappella group, the handbell choir

and the varsity tennis team. She can be reached at

[email protected].

Victoria Leonard’11, shown here atthe SG compost bin,worked on a specialproject last fall that focused onsustainability andlocal farming.


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Itwist the knob roughly halfway so that the water

is the perfect temperature. I step beneath the

spout to feel the stream begin to penetrate my

thick hair and wet my scalp. I snap open the sham-

poo, and as I begin to massage the foam into my hair,

it starts, almost as habitually as my shower routine

itself: Ideas, memories, hopes and daily recollections

all begin to enter my mind as if I am scrubbing them

into my brain as I lather my head. Nevertheless, I

know why this consistently occurs, especially at an

institution such as St. George’s, where one’s time in

the shower is one’s only consistent moment of soli-

tude when the mind is free to wander.

Just a few days ago while I was in the shower, the

A younger ZachMastrodicasa ’11and his family

members play theirfavorite Game Boys.


A shower of thoughts fits together—like pieces of a puzzleBY ZACH MASTRODICASA ’11

C H A P E L T A L K S

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memory of my favorite childhood video game,

“Banjo-Kazooie,” drifted into my head. The goal of

this Nintendo game is to use a bear, Banjo, and his

bird companion, Kazooie, to navigate several worlds

in search of “Jiggys.” These “Jiggys” are golden puzzle

pieces that can be attained by completing certain

tasks and have the power to unlock new worlds

within the game until you reach the witch, whom

Banjo and Kazooie had to battle in order to save

Tootie, Banjo’s kidnapped sister. I used to play this

game for hours on end, year after year, while my little

sister, Shelby, watched me.

This recollection prompted another memory of

when my family constructed a brand new jigsaw

puzzle only to be left with one missing piece. Equally

confused and disheartened, we searched everywhere

for the final piece to join the 999 others and complete

the 1,000-piece puzzle, yet to no avail. Although we

knew exactly what we were looking for, no amount of

searching could solve this dilemma, so we gave up,

and left the nearly complete puzzle on the table.

Before I was finished pondering this old mem-

ory, another thought popped into my head. I

remembered when the word “jigsaw” itself first made

a registered impact on my brain: after I watched my

first R-rated movie. You may be familiar with the

“Saw” films, but if not, it is a horror series based

upon an old man named Jigsaw. In the films, Jigsaw

kidnaps people he deems not grateful of life, and

places them in various ghastly traps he calls “games.”

Jigsaw’s aim in creating these assorted traps is to test

the person by giving them a bizarre ultimatum in

which they have to make a choice between extraordi-

nary pain and death. For example, in the first film,

one victim, Paul, was a man with a decent life,

yet who decided to slit his wrists, presumably for

recognition and attention. According to Jigsaw, the

irony of Paul’s situation was that if he genuinely

wished to die, all he would have to do in the trap was

simply stay where he was and the trap would become

his tomb. However, if his self-mutilation was indeed

only for acknowledgement and he actually wished to

live, he would have to “cut himself again” by piloting

his way through the tight barbed wire maze out of

the trap to freedom. Jigsaw’s gore-filled tests such as

this one cause him to be frequently perceived as a

villain. Yet, just as the movie’s title “Saw” contains a

double significance representing both the tool and

Jigsaw himself, I argue Jigsaw’s intentions aren’t as

one-dimensionally evil as they may appear. Although

I admit Jigsaw’s methods are immoral, wrong and

unethical, and that the films are unnecessarily

explicit, I do agree with the message Jigsaw attempts

to pass on to his subjects: that being thankful for life

is the most vital concept of all.

At this point in my shower, I began to rinse off,

when yet another thought crossed my mind. With

Thanksgiving on the horizon I began to contem-

plate what I myself am most thankful for in life, and

concluded that I am most appreciative of all the

characteristics I have received and inherited from

other people. For example, I believe I received wits

from my father, personality from my mother, artis-

tic thought from my older sister, and my partial free

spirit from my younger sister, who always does as

she pleases. Additionally, I received emotional

strength from my aunt, Sharon, who discovered she

was pregnant days after she lost her husband in a

traumatic car crash. My Uncle Michael is laid back

and has taught me how to differentiate between

what is truly important and what can be less impor-

tant probably because he was raised and still resides

in northern Ontario, Canada, where the atmosphere

and lifestyle always seem so stress free. At St.

George’s I’ve collected a few more pieces, such as

wisdom, articulation, and the fine art of arguing.

Thanks, George. However, perhaps I am most

A childhood photoshows Zach Mas-trodicasa ’11 and histwo sisters, Hillaryand Shelby, withgeese during theirannual summervacation on LongLake in Sudbury,Ontario, Canada,where Zach’s motheris from.


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thankful that I have received my gratitude puzzle

piece, though I’m not sure where exactly from,

without ever having to endure one of Jigsaw’s tests.

This contemplation helped me recognize that, in a

way, we all are like human jigsaw puzzles; multifac-

eted with many different characteristics. With the

water turning cold, I further realized the age-old

advice “to be ourselves” is impractical, since other

people gave countless pieces of our own anatomical

puzzles to us.

At the end of this reflection, I turned off the

shower and reached for my towel assuming my roam-

ing brain had finally returned. I was wrong because

just as I began rubbing my hair dry it felt as if I had

rubbed one more thought into my head.

In the “Saw” movies, Jigsaw cuts a jigsaw piece

out of the victim’s flesh if the victim fails the trap. I

think Jigsaw does this to symbolize that the victim is

missing their gratitude piece—which brings me back

to my family’s puzzle mystery. After a few days in

which our 999-piece puzzle sat on the table unfin-

ished, we noticed the missing piece had been put into

its place. It turned out that my little sister had taken

one piece when we began the puzzle in order to

ensure that she would be the one to place the final

piece. In that instant, every thought that was jum-

bling around in my brain fused together for a

moment. I realized that building a puzzle is a lot like

building your character and self. At first, it’s difficult

as there are only a few pieces in place. However, after

some time, you begin to develop and build the foun-

dation of your life with pieces inherited from others,

much like a puzzle’s frame is formed. Eventually,

despite an assortment of setbacks, you progress, and

find your identity by discovering who you truly are as

a person just like when you near completion of a

puzzle and are able to see what it depicts. Neverthe-

less, just as everything is coming together and you

think you’re about to reach completion, you may

come to realize you are missing a piece. My advice to

you is, when you get this feeling, instead of simply

assuming the piece is lost after a few minutes’ search,

as my family did, seek out the person who is holding

onto that last piece you need.

When I got back to my room after my shower,

with my puzzle thought complete, I had one final

idea. I imagined how wonderful it would be one day

to have the largest hot water tank possible so I could

just linger in the shower for hours thinking and

reminiscing until my mind attains an acute enlight-

enment. Which brings me to my final piece of advice

for you: to think. Now this sounds quite obvious but

I’m not referring to class and homework, but rather

times such as when you’re in the shower, or before

you go to bed. Just as the journey matters in terms of

our final destination, I believe thought process is of

monumental importance in evolving our completed

ideas. I encourage all of you to simply let your mind

drift off the next time you come across one of these

free moments because in the end you never know

what your traveling thoughts may trigger; they might

even produce a chapel talk.

ZZaacchh MMaassttrrooddiiccaassaa ’11 of Millis, Mass., is head of Red

Key, the admissions tour guide group; senior dormitory

prefect in Diman; senior writer on the Red & White;

and has been on both the Disciplinary Committee

and Student Council. He plays football, hockey

and baseball, and his biggest hobbies are fantasy

football and rocketry. He can be reached at

[email protected].

“When I see thisphoto [of my family]it reminds me of mychildhood and thebasic ‘puzzle pieces’ I inherited from

each member,” saysZach Mastrodicasa

’11.


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The Larcom family atThanksgiving: ErinLarcom, 21, PatrickLarcom, 25, Ian Lar-com, 17, Chad Larcom’11, Mrs. ElizabethLarcom, Mr. CharlesLarcom and ElizabethLarcom, 12. (Missing isMegan Larcom, 22, whowas teaching English inEgypt before beingevacuated to Qatar bythe State Department inFebruary.)



Welcome back to the Hilltop, I hope you all

had a restful and fun break wherever you

ended up going. Throughout my time

here at SG I’ve heard my fair share of unique and

engaging chapel talks. I’ve listened to the “Tao of

Tofu,” learned that there is something you can take

away from the “Saw” movies, and learned a lot about

other people and what their experiences can offer me.

I’ve learned a lot in my four years of listening to

chapel talks, and now I hope I can give back some-

thing I’ve learned.

I grew up one of eight in a military household. I

was born in Augsburg, Germany, and have lived in

five states from Alaska to upstate New York.

The dogma of my childhood was the pursuit of

being well rounded, the mythical Renaissance man,

the jack-of-all-trades. No one ever told me not to be

well rounded. Until, that is, someone told me to be an

egg. Prior to this advice, I sought “Grade-A” perfec-

tion in everything I did. From planning fundraisers

to pop quizzes, everything had to be perfect. Even the

most insignificant activities of daily life were consid-

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The ‘well-rounded me’came before the ‘egg’BY CHAD LARCOM ’11



ered essential for my well-rounded development. I

based this assumption on the successes of my five

siblings (including my twin), who all fervently strove

to be the best in everything.

Take my Thanksgiving for example. My older

brother successfully baked a “pumple” cake, which is

a pumpkin pie cooked inside a chocolate mayo cake

and an apple pie cooked inside a vanilla carrot

cake, all topped with star and buttercream frosting!

Immediately following the unveiling of this baked

behemoth my sister Skyped in from Egypt to inform

us that she was now not only teaching English on a

Fulbright Scholarship but being paid to play on a

basketball team and rowing in the Suez Canal. Yes, in

case you were wondering, I have a lot to live up to. As

a result, as of two years ago I contiguously played

nine different sports, considered five states and two

countries home, and claimed interests ranging from

surfing to playing the trumpet. Whether my fervor

for activity hatched from the intense environment of

a large, ambitious, Army-brat family, or from my own

internal competitive nature, the result remains that I

sought only to be well rounded.

Thus, my approach to life was scrambled when a

teacher told me to be an egg.

At first, I’ll admit, I thought he was crazy. How-

ever, as my junior year of high school went by, I real-

ized what he meant. He didn’t want me to smell like

an egg, look like an egg, or break like an egg. He

wanted me to shape my life like an egg. To live egg-

shaped is to be arguably well rounded but to have a

focus point, an aspect of life that you are sensitively

conscious of and focused on. It means realizing there

is something you love and concentrating on it to

achieve not only sufficiency in that field, but excel-

lence. Once you start to do this you stretch your

perfect sphere of traits towards a specific point of

interest, in essence you become an egg. Once this

ovoid lifestyle is attained, not only do you stand out

in a certain aspect, but all of your other skills and

traits start to lend themselves to that focal point.

Sure enough, much to my surprise, my teacher’s

ovoid philosophy began to take form during my

junior year biology class. I had always managed to do

well in school, but before this class I never really

made a connection between my classroom experi-

ences and my extracurricular life. Soon I started

drawing connections between my seemingly unre-

lated summer activities, with my family’s past, and

what had become my favorite subject in school, biol-

ogy. My work with the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge,

a cancer research fundraiser, stemmed from my

mom’s battle with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and

contributed to my interest in biology. I began to see

that while I used to do many activities in the pursuit

of being well rounded, not every one of these activi-

ties contributed to a greater purpose. Recognizing my

passion for biology and embracing the egg-shaped

philosophy have allowed me to take all of my talents

and funnel them into one area of interest, biology

and cancer research, which I hope to study in college.

The egg-shaped philosophy has made me confident

with what I want to study and with its grounding in

everything else I do.

What I want to leave with you is the ovoid phi-

losophy. I’m not saying not to be well rounded. In

fact, I would urge you to go out and try new things.

Test out everything you can, because you never know

when someday your choir singing voice or your

advanced calculus will help you achieve your central

interest. Go try new things and search for something

that you truly enjoy and then focus on it and achieve

greatness. Recognize that everything you do is con-

nected, like pieces of a shell, and they all define you.

Being well rounded is important, but you should

have one defining characteristic, one interest that you

focus on. Use your shell and everything you’ve

learned to focus on something you love and you will

accomplish more than you would have if you tried to

scramble yourself across many things.

CChhaadd LLaarrccoomm ’11 of Middletown, R.I., is the sports

editor of the Red & White, was the captain of the

varsity cross-country team, and enjoys playing trum-

pet in the Brass Players and Jazz Ensemble. He

founded the Middletown Pan-Massachusetts Chal-

lenge Kids Ride and is coordinating the third annual

ride this coming spring. Chad wants to go to college

for pre-med, and he can be reached at Chad_Lar-

[email protected].


Following is a chapel talk delivered Oct. 7, 2010.

Do you know that feeling when someone asks

you a question you don’t quite know the

answer to? Often you let out a nervous

giggle, and look around hoping someone else can

jump in and save you. The question that always makes

me feel out of place is, “So, where are you from?”

I know, what a weird question to get nervous

about, but when you really think about it, what does

this mean? Where is your home? Or, what is your

home? All the time around here people say, “I am just

going home for the weekend” or “Ughh, I really wish

I was home right now.” These little comments always

make me think. Does home mean where I was born?

The area where I grew up? The place my parents live?

Or the place where all of my personal belongings are?

I was born in Sun Valley, Idaho, where my free-

spirited parents lived for 11 years before I was born.

They were free-spirited enough to seriously consider

naming my sister Rainnebeau Trout. They resided in

a very secluded area right off the Salmon River. I lived

there for a very short time before we decided to pick

up and move. We moved from Idaho when I was only

one, so I could not possibly call that home, right?

Fresh from the middle of nowhere, my family

moved to a typical suburban neighborhood just

outside of Denver, Colo. To say the least, I absolutely

loved Colorado. The people are calm, love nature,

and always seem to have a knack for hospitality.

There is great skiing less than two hours away, and I

was actually excited to get up and go to school every

day. All of my friends had siblings two years older and

were exactly my sister Hillary’s age. Every weekend all

of the kids would play “night games,” like Capture the

Flag, in the green belt in our neighborhood. My sister

and her friends would be on one side of the creek,

and my friends and I would be on the other. Yes, the

older kids always won, and yes, at least one of the

younger siblings would be pushed into the creek

every game. In Colorado, I was always able to be

outside, I had a really close group of friends, and

their parents could just as well have been my parents.

So I could call that home, right?

After going from pre-school, to elementary

school, and to middle school fairly close to home, I

was more than ready for high school. At this point in

my life I honestly thought Colorado was my home,

and I would continue to call it that until I moved

away for college. However, what I most certainly

wasn’t ready for was to start a brand new high school

with kids I had never met before. Because of my dad’s

job, our family was picking up and moving to Cave

Creek, Ariz. Hillary was at school at St. George’s, and

as for me, I hadn’t really been accepted yet. So I

started freshman year of high school at Cactus Shad-

ows High. I was very bitter about moving from Col-

orado, and wasn’t pleased with the thought of living

in Arizona. I would always say, “Mom, this is a retire-

ment community, I’m not really thrilled about being

here.” The people didn’t seem as friendly, but maybe

they just weren’t as “granola.” I couldn’t ski every

weekend—but then that would just be me being

selfish. Even though I was bitter about moving, I had


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Abi Moatz ’11 surveys a school inFungurume, DRC,that her father’scompany wasrebuilding. “I helpedwith painting,” shesaid. “This was one of the old classrooms, beforethe remodel. Thisparticular classroomfit around 50 stu-dents. The studentshad to bring theirown chairs (thecinder blocks on the ground).”

Finding ‘home’ in anunfamiliarplaceBY ABI MOATZ ’11

lots of friends at school, and, even though it took me

a while, I began to see the odd beauty of the desert. I

was reluctant about calling Arizona my home,

though, because my heart was still in Colorado.

I don’t know exactly what made me do it, but

after one year of Cactus Shadows I decided to reapply

to St. George’s and pray that this time I was accepted.

I repeated my freshman year here and became very

comfortable with my friends, my teachers, and of

course the dorms. Arizona now seemed too far away

to be called home, and I had lost touch with most of

my friends there anyways. Every open weekend every-

one was able to go home, and it made me feel lost.

Spending weekends alone in my room or alone in the

upstairs of my grandparents’ house I really began to

wonder, “Where exactly is my home?”

I would sit in my room, almost numb, thinking

about how I wished to lie in my own bed and to sit in

the sunshine in my own backyard, but I couldn’t even

do that for a long weekend. Everybody says, “My

home can be your home,” and while this is wonderful

and I appreciate it, how uncomfortable would it be if

you walked downstairs and you saw me eating your

cereal and petting your dog? Really uncomfortable.

Between my sophomore and junior year, my

family packed up our house in Arizona and put every-

thing in storage. My dad’s job was moving us to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo. You might recog-

nize this country from the Invisible Children video we

saw yesterday. To get to my house in Africa it takes me

approximately 48 hours. That’s five planes rides and

several very surreal car rides. The moment I first

landed in the DRC I walked off the small rickety plane,

and 30 feet from me an Army painted UN plane

landed on the tarmac. Without time to take it all in, I

was herded forward, past a group of Congolese police

sitting in the bed of a truck holding AK-47s. I subtly

looked around—and to my surprise nobody else

found this out of the ordinary. My new “home” felt

more like I was picked up, spun around, and placed in

some sort of documentary. The airport has just two

small rooms, one for native Congolese people, and the

other for business people. The more and more I

looked around, the more out of place I felt. There was

too much to look at, too much to try to comprehend,

and mostly way too much to compare it to.

These experiences have given a whole new

meaning to the word “home” for me. Home needs to

be somewhere you feel happy, comfortable and safe.

The big move to Africa made me seriously realize

home is more of an idea and a feeling than an

address. Was I selfish to feel that I wasn’t at “home”

in the States, when I was safe and I always have

family nearby? Maybe, but perhaps it’s only human

to feel lost when there isn’t something solid to rely

on. Now, I am not saying that whenever I am happy

I think, “Ooooh, so this is my home.” No. Home

doesn’t need to have a roof, a backyard, or an

address, but it needs to give the feeling of content-

ment, safety and happiness.

Therefore, it’s only appropriate that I am not even

capable of articulating a concrete definition of what

“home” means to me. A place where safety embeds

itself into the earth, which then lets me exceed my

personal boundaries. What exactly are those bound-

aries, or do they even exist at all? Despite my difficulty

verbalizing what my home is, I’ve come to understand

what all of these various moves have allowed me to

feel: comfort in places of unfamiliarity. Restrictions

now prove inexistent, in the sense that I’m consis-

tently doing various things on my own. Not for enjoy-

ment really, but simply because it was what was

necessary. Perhaps I had to grow up and mature faster

than anyone should have to. However, these experi-

ences have transformed me into who I am today.

Although I’m not sure who exactly

that is yet, I’ve come to understand

that only through experience will my

true character take form.

In the words of Bob Dylan, “The

Ballad in Plain D”: “How good, how

good does it feel to be free? And I

answer them most mysteriously. Are

the birds free from the chains of the

skyway?”

AAbbii MMooaattzz ’11 is a dorm prefect in Zane and played

on the varsity field hockey team last fall. Her family

has now returned to the United States. She can be

reached at [email protected].


PHO

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1


Abi Moatz ’11 with(l-r) her sister,

Hillary ’08, dad andmom in Newport.

Following is a reprint of a chapel talk delivered on

Sept. 21, 2010. This version corrects information in

the author’s biography printed in the Notes from the

Hilltop.

Iwant you all to take a moment to close your

eyes and think. Think about two people in the

St. George’s community. The first person is

someone you don’t particularly like. The second is

someone who doesn’t like you. It is only human

nature not to get along with everyone. I am not up

here today to preach to you about all being friends

and holding hands around a bonfire. I just want to

talk about the power and importance of a second

chance and not judging someone too quickly. People

often say you only get one chance to make a first

impression. Well yes, that’s true. But how well can

you judge someone’s character from a single

moment? I would argue that how you carry yourself

after making a bad impression or after making a

mistake is a true test of character. It is easy to be

confident and comfortable when everything is going

your way. It’s a different story when things aren’t.

In a small community like St. George’s, some-

times a second chance is all it takes to form a great

friendship. St. George’s is a place that is intended to

help us grow and mature so that hopefully by the

time we leave the Hilltop on Prize Day we have the

confidence and tools for success. With growth come

many challenges and mistakes. I have learned more

Sam Peterson ’11warms up before amatch in the HoopesSquash Center.


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AM

OS


Giving (and getting)

a secondchance

BY SAM PETERSON ’11

from my mistakes here than I have from all of my

successes combined.

Many of you know I spent the spring semester

last year away in Colorado. I arrived in Colorado

pretty nervous and anxious to make new friends.

Most of the kids were great, but one kid annoyed me

a lot. His name was Max and he was from North

Carolina. To me he came across as rude, sarcastic

and just disrespectful to people in general. I’m

telling you this because now Max is one of my best

friends. Max told us after we returned from Spring

Break that he was committed to changing. He had

realized how rude he had been and wanted a fresh

start. So as a group we decided to give him a second

chance and with that he thrived.

Judging anyone before you really know him or

her is always dangerous but it is so easy to see some-

one walk into King Hall and instantly comment on

how weird they seem or how ugly their dress is. We

too often try to box people in, in order to classify

them or to understand them. However, life and

someone’s personality and character cannot be

simplified into a simple derogatory phrase or hurt-

ful comment. Everyone in this chapel has more to

contribute to this school than that, and you should-

n’t limit yourself by not giving people a chance to

show you who they really are. If you were in their

position you would want the same chance given to

you. As I think of my time at St. George’s I have

experienced both ends of the spectrum. I have given

second chances and I have received them. I have

been judged too quickly and I have judged too

quickly myself.

Everyone in our community should have a

chance to show who they are. When I arrived it was

often, “It’s Mr. Peterson’s son”, or “Yeah, that’s the

head’s kid,” this is but a small piece of who I am.

Those of you who share in the joy of being a fac brat

or who have older siblings who have walked these

halls before understand what it means to be defined

by someone who isn’t you.

Whether you are a new student who has only

been here a week or you are a fellow sixth former

preparing for the final haul to Prize Day, there is

something you can take away from this talk. To the

new students: Be careful. Don’t judge too quickly.

You’ve only been here a week. It is but a small piece

of what your experience will be. Looking back on

the first few weeks of freshman year I couldn’t hon-

estly tell you who I was with or what I was doing.

That isn’t to say these days aren’t important for you.

It’s all very new, fun and exciting; it just isn’t the

end-all of your experience. Also, give yourself a

second chance. You will make mistakes during your

time here; it is only natural. What you do after these

mistakes is how people will come to remember you.

Your friendships and who are you will continue to

change over your remaining time here.

Seniors, looking back, do you remember what

we were like initially? So much has changed since

then and so have many people in our grade. Be

careful as you begin your final year here not to

carry with you judgments from the fall of 2007 or

even the spring of 2010. Give someone a blank

slate. Let them prove themselves to you. It is our

last year here and we will all miss it more than we

know. We are no longer the scared 13- and 14-year-

olds who arrived here some years ago. We have

grown up together as a class and because of that we

all share something special. We all know what it

takes to succeed here. We all know how hard it can

be. As you look yourself in the mirror on that last

Monday in May, will you be able to say you have

done all that I can to make my experience and the

people around me all that it can be? I would expect

nothing less.

SSaamm PPeetteerrssoonn ’11 is a member of the school’s

Honor Board, a chapel prefect and captain of

the varsity squash team. He will be attending

Hobart College in the fall and can be reached at

[email protected].



Thanks to vigorous sales of a self-produced CD

featuring original and cover songs performed by SG

musicians and vocalists, LLiinnnniiee GGuummmmoo ’11 has

achieved her goal: to help provide a dining place for a

special group of underprivileged children in Africa.

With the goal of raising $10,000 for The Tanzan-

ian Children’s Fund to support The Rift Valley Chil-

dren’s Village, Gummo last year convinced a number

of musically talented students to record perform-

ances for the CD, titled “Kushirikiana Dunia Moja:

Sharing One World.”

Hundreds purchased the CD, which is still being

sold in the SG Bookstore and on iTunes for $11.99.

Proceeds from the project will be used to build

an open-air dining room for the children of the

village, many of whom have lost parents to illness or

poverty. The dining room will be called the St.

George’s Café, a project estimated to cost approxi-

mately $10,000.

Along with the CD, Linnie also organized a

dress-down day, and several donors came forward

with extra donations to help the cause.

By January, proceeds totaling $11,068.41 were

ready to send to the Tanzania Children’s Fund. All

future proceeds will be sent to the orphanage as well.

For Gummo, the project was highly personal.

Her relationship with the children at Rift Valley

began when she first visited the orphanage with a

friend and her mother in 2009. Rift Valley is operated

by Executive Director India Howell, a friend of Lin-

nie’s mom, Marci.

When Gummo went back to the orphanage a

second time, in 2010, she brought her guitar.

“You can’t get it away from me; it’s my third

arm,” she said. What she hadn’t anticipated, though,

was the reaction of the children. They were so drawn

to the music, they would gather around Linnie,

touching the strings as she played, and begging her to

play more.

That’s when the idea set in to write a song about

them and put together an entire CD devoted to rais-

ing money to improve their lives. When Linnie wit-

nessed the children eating lunch on the dirt floor at

school, the idea for the dining room was born.

On the CD, Gummo performs a song with MMaagg--ddaalleennaa FFrraannzz--SSooeellnn ’11, called “Serengeti,” inspired

by her experiences with the children. The CD also

features “Blackbird,” by MMiirriiaamm EEllhhaajjllii and SSeebbaasstt--iiaann BBiieerrmmaann--LLyyttllee ’11; “Man in the Mirror,” by BBrriicceeBBeerrgg ’12, DDaavviidd KKeehhooee ’13, OOkkssaannaa NNaaggoorrnnuukkaa ’10

and NNiiccoo DDeeLLuuccaa--VVeerrlleeyy ’13; “I’ll Stand by You,” by

VViiccttoorriiaa LLeeoonnaarrdd ’11, Linnie and LLaanneeyy YYaanngg ’10;

“Makes My Life,” by Linnie and TTaayylloorr RRiisslleeyy ’11;

“Imagine,” by TTaarrlleettoonn WWaattkkiinnss ’11, HHeennddrriikk KKiittssvvaann HHeeyynniinnggeenn ’10 and NNiiccoo DDeeLLuuccaa--VVeerrlleeyy ’13;

“His Eye is on the Sparrow,” by LL’’OOrreeaall LLaammpplleeyy ’11

and LLaarraa MMccLLeeoodd ’10; “Compline D’un Autre Ete:

L’apres-midi” by SSoopphhiiee FFllyynnnn ’11, EEmmiillyy LLeewwiiss ’12

Linnie Gummo ’11at the Rift ValleyChildren’s Village inTanzania, Africa.


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SYOFLINNIEGUMMO’11

S T U D E N T A C H I E V E M E N T SHighlights

MMIISSSS IIOONN accomplished

and HHeennddrriikk KKiittss vvaann HHeeyynniinnggeenn ’10; as well as “I

Can See Clearly Now,” by the female a cappella group

the Snapdragons and “Amazing Grace,” by the St.

George’s Chapel Choir.

Recruiting and organizing the host of students to

sing and play for a CD was one thing, but Gummo

also had to arrange recording studio time at a studio

in Pawtucket, R.I., and oversee the production of

artwork for the cover, by LLaauurreenn HHiillttoonn ’10—and she

drove to visit Grammy-Award-winning producer

Nile Rodgers and convinced him to record an intro-

duction for the CD.

At the center of it all were Gummo’s memories of

the children and their determined spirit to prosper

despite their circumstances.

“Overall they’re very happy kids when they come

to the orphanage. They learn to be happy with lim-

ited things,” she said. “You know, here in the United

States if kids have a soccer ball that’s broken, they

throw it away. These kids will kick it around anyway.”

In June, Linnie will go back to Tanzania for the

third time, now being able to make her dining room

dream a reality. And Rift Valley will always be a part

of her life. “Oh, yes,” she said. “I’m always going to be

back there.”

CChhaadd LLaarrccoomm ’11 was recently voted a finalist in

competition for one of the country’s most coveted

merit-based college scholarships: the Morehead-Cain

offered by the University of North Carolina.

The Scholarship committee notes four areas of

accomplishment they evaluate: moral force of charac-

ter, scholarship, physical vigor and leadership.

Larcom, who intends to pursue a program in

pre-med, has impressed the selection committee so

far with a vibrant academic and extra-curricular high

school program. Along with serving as the sports

editor of the student newspaper, Larcom was the

captain of last fall’s varsity cross-country team, and

an accomplished trumpet player in the Brass Players

and Jazz Ensemble. Inspired by his mother’s success-

ful battle with cancer, he founded the Middletown

Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Kids Ride three years

ago. The third annual ride will be held this spring.

At press time, Larcom was getting ready to head

to the Morehead-Cain Final Selection

Weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C., being

held Feb. 26-March 1, 2011. The Class

of 2015 scholars will be notified on

March 3.

A number of students have

pitched in this year to help continue a

composting program organized by the

Sustainability Club. SSaaddiiee MMccQQuuiillkkiinn ’12, CChhaarrllootttteevvoonn MMeeiisstteerr ’12, SSeettoonn TTaallttyy ’11, AAllii BBaallllaattoo ’12,

IIssaabbeellllee DDoovvee ’11, PPaauulliinnaa GGooddzz ’11, AAlleexx EEllrroonn ’12

and AAlleexx WWiillsstteerrmmaann ’11 have been among the

students helping out by devoting time each day to

working in King Hall. Biology and Environmental

Science teacher HHeeaatthh CCaappeelllloo, the school’s sustain-

ability coordinator, said the group, along with fac-

ulty members SStteevvee LLeesslliiee and PPaattrriicciiaa LLootthhrroopp, has

been composting 2-6 five-gallon barrels of vegetable

scraps per day. The compost will be used to help

fertilize the soil in gardens around campus.

Three third formers have been

elected by their peers to help the

class have their voice heard in

student government issues. PPeeppppeerrNNaaggllee ’14, MMaarrggaarreett SScchhrrooeeddeerr ’14and LLuucc WWooooddaarrdd ’14 were named

Third-Form Student Council

representatives in February. They’ll

join representatives from the other

forms in a group chaired by Senior

Prefect HHiillllaarryy WWeeiinn ’11 during

weekly meetings. The Student

Council discusses, proposes and

votes on issues relating to school

policy including discipline, athlet-

ics, and the spiritual, academic and

social lives of the student body.

In February, JJoohhnnnnyy KKiimm ’14

was elected by his peers to be the

Third-Form Honor Board repre-

sentative. The Honor Board,


S T U D E N T A C H I E V E M E N T S

Pepper Nagle ’14

Chad Larcom ’11

MargaretSchroeder ’14

Luc Woodard ’14 Continued on page 34

which issues recommendations to the Head of School

in most student discipline cases, was formed last

spring as a way to reduce the

often-overwhelming duties that

had previously been placed on

the School Prefects. The prefects

continue to lead Student Council

initiatives, bring student con-

cerns and input to the adminis-

tration, and organize student

bonding and school spirit activi-

ties. Honor Board members are selected by students

and approved by faculty members based on their

own attention to issues of ethical leadership.

Four students excelled in the All-School Debate competition Nov. 16, making it tothe finals: Luc Woodard ’14, Grace Alzaibak ’12, Jack Barthelot ’12 and JackCoaty ’13. Alzaibak and Coaty emerged as the winners in the final.


PHOTO

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RAMOS


Phongpol "Up" Punyagupta ’13 (second from left) and Morgan Buffum ’13(second from right) had the chance to hear a presentation in January by thedivers who discovered the remains of the USS Revenge, a ship commanded byU.S. Navy hero Oliver Hazard Perry and wrecked off Watch Hill, R.I., in1811. The divers, Craig Harger (left) and Charles Buffum, Morgan's uncleand the brother of James Buffum ’78, told the Associated Press that theymade their first discovery in August 2005, "and kept it secret as they contin-ued to explore the area and make additional discoveries. Since then, theyhave found four more 42-inch-long cannons, an anchor, canister shot, andother metal objects that they say they’re 99 percent sure were from theRevenge."

PHOTO

BYDEEDEE

BUFFUM

Continued from page 33

Johnny Kim ’14

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LEJA

Math teacher and track coach WWaarrrreenn WWiilllliiaammss,AAlllliiee FFuulllleerr ’14, BBrriittttnneeyy CCoorrssoo ’11 and Directorof Library Services JJeenn TTuulleejjaa ran in the 10KJingle Bell Run in Newport in December to raisemoney for SOLA (the School of Leadership,Afghanistan). It was the first road race ever foreach of the girls and all four runners came inunder one hour. SOLA’s mission is to prepare“the very best Afghan students for study in theU.S. and abroad so that they can return home tobecome the future leaders of Afghanistan.”



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Student sees businessopportunity inboyhood hobbyBY SUZANNE MCGRADY

OK, that’s not fair if you don’t know

PPaattrriicckk HHoolloowweesskkoo ’11. An ingenious student

looking to make a lit-

tle extra money last

summer, Holowesko

has a bit of notoriety

here on the Hilltop:

He recently turned a

boyhood hobby into

an idea for a start-up

business. And well,

let’s simply say, it’s just getting off the ground.

But-ump-bump.

You see Holowesko ’11, who grew up in

Nassau, Bahamas, has been flying radio-con-

trolled aircraft since he was 5 years old. These

days, Holowesko’s got about 25 planes back

home (though he told a student reporter last

spring that in the last 10 years he has crashed

another 25-30 planes.) And these aren’t inex-

pensive toys.

Actually, Holowesko’s “toy” aircraft aren’t

really toys at all. An expert on aerospace engi-

neering recently called the technologies in to-

day’s radio-controlled vehicles “remarkable”

in Air & Space magazine, citing the toys’ more

efficient motors and lighter batteries. And

Holowesko’s taking full advantage of the new

improvements. He used them to create a ‘su-

per-helicopter’/modern helicopter and found

it was a great way to hoist a camera. So last

summer he came up with the idea to attach a

Nikon to his heli and start an aerial photogra-

phy business. Since he managed to get it up

and running only a week before school, he

never had time to utilize it, besides taking

photos of his own house, he said.

“But I wanted to bring (my helicopter) to

school to potentially work with local real es-

tate agents and take photos of local real estate

and houses for sale,” said Holowesko, who

along with his clothes and books, lugged the

rig back to school in September.

His first photography test flight on the

Hilltop came over Columbus Day Weekend in

October. Most students had gone home for the

weekend, but Holowesko and a friend were on

campus, so he says, he decided to try it out

around here. “Using the helicopter’s GPS hold

feature, to essentially ‘lock’ it in place where I

wanted it gave me the freedom to pivot the hel-

i copter and adjust zoom, tilt and shutter of the

camera, while the helicopter flew itself,” Holo -

wesko explained. He says he got off about 20

shots that day, though the windy conditions made

about half come out blurry “due to the wind

speeds increasing in relationship to the height.”

Of course Holowesko knows he can’t in-

vade SG air space whenever he wants: the ve-

hicles can be disruptive to quiet study, not to

mention distracting to nearby passersby who

might not expect to see (and hear) an R-C

helicopter zooming over North Field.

For now, Holowesko’s future business

activities are … in a holding pattern.

There’s a story behindthis photo of St. George’s.Can you imagine whereit was taken from?

Patrick Holowesko ’11


College Acceptances (as of Feb. 10)

Babson College

Baylor University

Bentley University

Boston College

Brown University

Chapman University

College of Charleston

College of the Holy Cross

Colorado College

Connecticut College

Dartmouth College

Davidson College

Dickinson College

Eckerd College

Elon University

Fairfield University

Franklin and Marshall College

George Washington University

Georgetown University

High Point University

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Ithaca College

Johns Hopkins University

Kenyon College

King's University College

Lake Forest College

Lehigh University

Lewis & Clark College

Montana State University, Bozeman

New York University

Northeastern University

Northern Arizona University

Ohio Wesleyan University

Philadelphia University

Providence College

Rhodes College

Rutgers University

Saint Anselm College

Savannah College of Art & Design

Santa Clara University

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Sewanee: The University of the South

Southern Methodist University

St. John's College

Stanford University

Stonehill College

Suffolk University

Temple University

The College of Wooster

Tulane University

University of Alabama

University of Connecticut

University of Denver

University of Edinburgh

University of New Hampshire

University of New Haven

University of Mississippi

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of Rhode Island

University of San Francisco

University of St. Andrews

University of Vermont

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Vassar College

Wake Forest University

Washington and Jefferson College

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Babson College

Brown University (2)

Colorado College

College of the Holly Cross

Connecticut College

Dartmouth College (3)

Davidson College

Franklin and Marshall College

George Washington University

Georgetown University

Hobart & William Smith Colleges (2)

Johns Hopkins University

Kenyon College

Lehigh University (2)

New York University

Rollins College

Saint Anselm College

Stanford University


University of St. Andrews

University of Vermont

Vassar College

Wake Forest University (2)


29 of those students are now settled and plan to enroll at the following institutions:

College decisions will continue to come in through the regular round in April

73 members of the Class of 2011 have received a total of 126 early acceptances from the following 67 colleges and universities



III FormSamuel Frederick AlofsinKatherine Elizabeth BauerCamilla Pepperell CabotMargaret Deane CardwellEdward Hill CarterYu Yao ChengWoo Won ChunCameron Roarke CluffJohn Anthony DeLucaIan Bowen DickeyCharlotte Rhucent Ytable DulayMary Olivia KeithMargaret Peyton KilvertJohn Jongmin KimThomas Edward Kits van HeyningenHannah Marie MacaulaySamantha D. MaltaisJorge L. MelendezVirginia Casey MoylanSophie Pepper NagleGrace Connors PolkVirginia Tully RossAubrey Miles Fitzhugh SalmonLily Joy SanfordMargaret Elizabeth SchroederIan Oliver SchyllingSeung Hyouk ShinWilliam Eberlein SimpsonBrendan Peter VischerRobert Loux WoodardJieun Yoon

IV FormColby O’Neil BurdickJosephine Rose CannellJohn Garvoille CoatyCarolyn Keely ConwayRebecca Warren CutlerNico Cyril DeLuca-VerleySophia Elisabeth DenUylKelly Frances DugganMiriam ElhajliRahil Karim Aliff FazelbhoyGenevieve Barton FlynnBethany Lynn FowlerHikari HasegawaAnderson HersheyJessica Leong HomAndrew Pierre Issa

Honor Roll Nicholas King LarsonXingyan LiHannah McCormackDuncan A. McGaanAllison Armstrong McLaneAlana Claire McMahonLisbeily MenaJeremy MonkAndrew Walker MoreauMcKenzie NagleChanjoon ParkDaniel Perry, IIIKatarina PesaTyler Andrew PesekOona Carolena PritchardCallie Victoria ReisVivianne Renee ReynosoTheresa Anne SaludJae Young ShinVirginia Margaret SmithCaroline Claire ThompsonSienna Warriner TurecamoHan Xu

V FormKatherine Pond AdamsCaroline Elizabeth AlexanderScott Ethan AllenGrace George AlzaibakHayden Alexander ArnotAlexandra Elena BallatoJack Ives BartholetHonoria Newbury BermanKendra Lindsay BowersJoy Imani BullockClaire Emily ChalifourWoo Sung ChunRobert Joseph Citrino, IVCalvin James CotancheEliza Duncan CoverCasey Elizabeth DeLucaEmily DerecktorKatherine Mitchell DesrosiersDavid Alexander ElronMegan Hope EverettEric Oliver Fornell, Jr.Sean Noraas Foss-SkiftesvikDevon Elizabeth FownesEmma Dane GarfieldMatthew Field GilbertWilliam Todd GilbertEllen Abigail GranoffWilliam Hackney Greer

Amanda Marie HanselMichelle Ann HareJamison Campbell HarringtonElizabeth Wynn HaskellErin Sumi HendrixRichard Camden HoweHalsey Clay HuthKun Min KimMichael J. KimSophie Barksdale LaytonStephanie Jimin LeeEmily Jeanne LewisLisa Heeyoung LhoFrederick Parker Little, IIIValdair Corsino LopesCharles Webb MacaulaySarah Auger MacDonnellJoseph Matrone MackElizabeth Todd ManningRiley Joseph McCabeAlana Marie McCarthySadie Ruth McQuilkinTao OuyangAlexandra Rose PaindirisPearson Bahan Potts, Jr.Julia C. RayhillEvan Parker ReadBettina Kauffmann RedwayEmma Rossiter ScanlonVeronica Gabrielle ScottJohn Ingalls Snow, IVRachel Charlene SungCharlotte Anne von MeisterHelen Elizabeth WestonAlexander Sheldon Whitehouse

VI FormEmily Thayer AdamsVirginia Merrill AdamsGraham Thomas AndersonMatthew Eric ArcherRachel Grosvenor AsbelSebastian Alexander Bierman-LytleSarah Collum BurdickBrooke Beverley BurrowesAnna Elizabeth CarrJulia Stanton CarrellasMichael Patrick CaseyChristopher John ChewGraham Dean CochraneLeiter Campbell ColburnHaley Anne CongdonMichaela Gia Davies

Vanessa Keane deHorseyNiall James DevaneyLukaia Cree Edward DolbashianIsabelle Ross DoveJonathan Leo DunnMack Edward FeldmanSophie Carol FlynnMagdalena Theresa Franze-SoelnYongjie Yong FuOlivia Isabella Beatriz GebeleinPolina Victorivna GodzCaroline Lauren GummoOlivia Louise HoeftJohn Patrick HoloweskoDaniel Alan JohnsonAnh Viet LaL’Oreal McKenna LampleyCharles Bayard LarcomVictoria Kathryne LeonardMadeline White LucasHeydi MalavéEvelyn Dawn MaldonadoPhoebe Saran ManningZachary Charles MastrodicasaKatherine Hume McCormackAvery Lynn McDonaldGeorge Grove MencoffCaroline Hosmer MillerKelly McPhillips MillerAbigail MoatzErin Christine MonahanEverett Richard Gray MuzzyLilias Juanita NoesenMary Elizabeth O’ConnorEsiwahomi Amina OzemebhoyaJeremy Thomas PhillipsKyle Joseph PowersKatharine Rose PutnamVirginia Randolph ReynoldsManon Cameron RichardsTaylor Anne RisleySharnell Chory RobinsonRachel Elizabeth SellstoneJordan E. St. JeanCarolyn Cooper UhleinDavid J. VasquezMartin VentosoHillary Louise WeinKatherine Steel WilkinsonTaylor Marion WilliamsAlexander Gove WilstermanHarrison Peabody Wulsin

Head of School Commendation for Academic ExcellenceThe Head of School Commendation for Academic Excellence is St. George’s highest bi-annual honor.

These students received no grade below an A- during the 2010-11 first semester:

Sebastian Alexander Bierman-LytleEmily DerecktorBethany Lynn FowlerPolina Victorivna GodzOlivia Louise Hoeft

John Jongmin Kim Charles Bayard LarcomHeydi MalavéEvelyn Dawn MaldonadoHannah McCormack

Tao OuyangOona Carolena PritchardBettina Kauffmann RedwaySharnell Chory RobinsonMargaret Elizabeth Schroeder

Jae Young Shin William Eberlein SimpsonVirginia Margaret SmithCarolyn Cooper Uhlein Han Xu

Academic Honors for First Semester 2010-11


Above: Sean Foss-Skiftesvik ’12,Jimmy Ferretti ’12and Caitlin Connerney ’12.

Right: Members ofGary Cornog’s Eng-lish class, “Novelsand Tales of theSea,” visited the NewBedford WhalingMuseum in Novem-ber, where they hada special visit fromJohn Bockstoce,author of “Whales,Ice and Men,” and“Furs and Frontiersin the Far North:The Contest AmongNative and ForeignNations for theBering Strait FurTrade”. PH

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L E A R N I N G O N — A N D O F F — T H E H I L L T O PClassrooms


L E A R N I N G O N — A N D O F F — T H E H I L L T O P

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Seniors Niall Devaney andLindsey MacNaught at workin the biology lab.


Above: Thomas Kitsvan Heyningen ’14,Drew Michaelis ’13and Anderson Hershey ’13 review their newclass schedules.

Right: OonaPritchard ’13 and Hannah McCormick’13.

Far right: SuzanneMcGrady’s Journalism class. PH

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Captain MMiikkee DDaawwssoonn and student crew mem-

bers set sail Jan. 30 for the Winter 2011

Geronimo voyage after the boat underwent

her Winter Yard period at Rybovich Shipyard and

Marina in West Palm Beach.

The Fall Geronimo trip ended Nov. 18, 2010, when

the boat arrived in Harbour Island after a nice sail

north from the Exumas, according to Program Direc-

tor Deborah Hayes.

“The crew [captained by Dawson] had a chance to

do a “Buoy Chase” in which the students retrieve a

buoy that has been thrown over the side. By handling

Geronimo under sail, the students get to practice their

boat-handling skills as well as their teamwork and

leadership skills,” she said.

“They were able to get in some very successful

turtle sampling in the waters surrounding North

Eleuthera before finishing the program,” she added.

“The last day on board was spent giving Geronimo a

thorough cleaning followed by festivities that gave the

students a last chance to be together as crew before

they all flew home for Thanksgiving holiday.”

The professional crew on the Winter Voyage will

include First Mate KKaarreenn MMaaccDDoonnaalldd and Second

Mate SSttuuaarrtt SSiiddddoonnss, along with students KKaatthheerriinneeAAddaammss ’12, AAlleexxaannddrraa BBaallllaattoo ’12, RReeiidd BBuurrnnss ’13,

BBeecckkyy CCuuttlleerr ’13, WWiillll FFlleemmiinngg ’13, EElllleenn GGrraannooffff ’12,SSaarraahh MMaaccDDoonnnneellll ’12, CChhaarrlloottttee vvoonn MMeeiisstteerr ’12.

Above: SophiaDenUyl ’13 takescontrol of Geronimowhile under way.

Right: Nico Deluca-Verley ’13 at thehelm with (l-r) JohnHarris ’13, BettinaRedway ’12 andMichelle Hare ’12.

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N E W S F R O M G E R O N I M OOn board

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N E W S F R O M G E R O N I M O

John Harris ’13keeps an eye on themainsheet while

tacking.

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Summer Geronimo program of fered for new students

New Dragons will have the chance to get to

know a few classmates even before the school year

begins when a first-time Geronimo program begins

this summer.

Designed by Geronimo captain and program

director DDeebboorraahh HHaayyeess, the “Sea Legs” initiative

will allow incoming new students to get to know a

bit of SG culture prior to the start of school by

embarking on one of two possible seven-day

adventure cruises aboard the school’s 69-foot sail

training vessel.

The dates for the new “pre-orientation” cruises

are July 18-25, when the boat will sail from Portland

to Rockland, Maine; and July 29-Aug. 6, when the

boat will sail back to Portland from Rockland. If

needed, a third trip will be added Aug. 10-17 and

students will sail the boat back to Newport from

Maine.

“The biggest goal is to provide a platform for

new students to meet and interact before arriving

on campus,” Hayes said.

Working with Hayes, Director of Admission

JJiimm HHaammiillttoonn said he hopes the new program will

also allow incoming students to connect with a

faculty member before arriving at school and to

develop community and social skills through

living and working together on the boat.

“It will allow them to have an experiential

learning opportunity,” Hamilton said, “and a head

start on getting to know some kids who will be

going to school with them in the fall.”

Daily shipboard activities, such as sail setting,

cooking and navigation, also will help students

build leadership skills and confidence. Off the

boat, students will explore the islands in Casco and

Penobscot bays in a number of hiking trips.

And the program might even heighten stu-

dents’ interest in applying to one of the existing

seven-week-long academic-based Geronimo

cruises offered during their school years. “They’ll

get terrific insight into the Geronimo program,”

Hamilton said, “and they might feel it will be the

right thing to add to their curriculum.”


Editor’s note: The fall crew of Geronimo hosted Carol Hamblet,

coordinator of student health services, emerita, and wife of the late

Headmaster Chuck Hamblet, on board last fall. Mrs. Hamblet re-

tired from St. George’s in 2004 after serving the school loyally and

passionately for 15 years.

While on our way down the Florida coast, we stopped at

Fernandina Beach and took a road trip to the Archie Carr

Center for Sea Turtle Research at the University of Florida, the

organization that uses the data Geronimo collects. We met a

few of the scientists, whom Michelle tried to win over with a

couple of turtle-related jokes. We also met a group of their

graduate students. After listening to a brief presentation about

the importance of their research and about sea turtles in gen-

eral, we were able to ask questions and truly get an idea of

what our work in the Bahamas will be like. It only took a few

pictures of green turtles and some free chocolate to get our

whole crew fidgeting with excitement and anticipation.

Even though we felt ready to get under way at that

moment, there was one more night to spend at the marina

in Fernandina. We got to spend it with a guest. Mrs. Carol

Hamblet happens to live in the area and we invited her to

have dinner with us onboard Geronimo. It was exciting to

talk about our trip with the woman who had such a connec-

tion to the school and to Geronimo. She told us about her

experiences at Exeter and St. George’s, including a few stories

about Mr. Weston when he was as young as 14. She left us in

good spirits and with a healthy amount of baked goods to save

for watch snacks. We are well prepared to start the last stretch

of our journey.

—Bethany Fowler ’13

Carol Hamblet visiting SGfor the stone dedication at Convocation is here withEvelyn Maldonado ’11.

The fall crew in Washington,D.C. before stopping in Fer-nandina Beach, Fla. to visitMrs. Hamblet. Left-right:David Kehoe ’13, Sophie

DenUyl ’13, Bettina Redway’12, Nico DeLuca-Verley ’13,

Andrew Harris ’13, Mag-dalena Franze-Soeln ’11,Bethany Fowler ’13 and

Michelle Hare ’12.

“A V is it f rom Mrs. Hamblet”

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N E W S F R O M G E R O N I M OOn board


Top: Cameron Cluff’14 with his mom,

artist Karen Roarke,at a gallery opening

in the art center.

Above: FlutistRachel Sung ’12 andpianist Joanna Xu’13 perform at theRoarke reception.

Leave it to the Art Department to teach the rest

of us how to be creative when your workspace is

altered during a construction project.

Since September, the department has been get-

ting along without use of the Hunter Gallery, which

is being used temporarily for books and study space

while the Hill Library undergoes a large-scale reno-

vation project.

So, in an effort to keep the studio arts front and

center in the community, art teacher LLiissaa HHaannsseell has

organized a series of artists’ workshops and exhibi-

tions in the lower level of the Drury/Grosvenor Art

Center. The events have gotten rave reviews from

participants and exhibit guests. Featuring local artists

working in various media, the workshops have been

offered on Sundays throughout the year and have

allowed both art enthusiasts and novices alike to

learn more about the process of creating art. Guest

artists have included Cameron Cluff ’s mom, KKaarreennRRooaarrkkee P’14, a painter who offered “Exploring Trans-

parency: Acrylic Painting and Glazing Techniques;”

art teacher and local artisan TTeedd SSttuurrtteevvaanntt ’96, who

taught the workshop, “Casting Plastic Objects: Mold

Making and Casting Techniques;” Rachel Asbel’s

mom, HHoollllyy GGrroossvveennoorr ’75, P’11, whose class was

titled “Painting Architecture: Water Color

Techniques to Describe Architec-

ture;” and community member AAnniiaaWWooiisshheekk, wife of art teacher RRaayyWWooiisshheekk ’89, whose upcoming work-

shop will be called “Visual Simplicity

in Painting: Experimentation with

Collage, Composition and Color.”

As with the previous Hunter

Gallery exhibits, student musicians

are also taking part in artist’s recep-

tion night festivities.

For the Roarke reception,

Jooaannnnaa XXuu ’13 and RRaacchheell SSuunngg ’12

played a piano and flute sonata by

J. S. Bach.

A painting by CCllaaiirree CChhaalliiffoouurr ’12, along with a

mural she co-produced with friends, has been getting

some much-deserved attention in Jamaica.

Her painting titled “The Painter’s Path” won a

silver medal in the annual national Jamaica Cultural

Development Commission art competition and was on

display last summer in the Jamaica National Gallery.

The work also inspired another effort. Claire and

friends, with the help of Fiona Godfrey, a well-

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Continued on page 47

C R E A T I V I T Y O N T H E H I L L T O PArts


Above: Claire Chalifour ’12 withfriends and family—Bianca Lalor, RebeccaChong, her motherMichele Chalifour,and Raquel Gordon—work on a mural tohonor StephanieCrispinelli, a studentfrom Lynn Universitywho died in the Janu-ary 2010 earthquakein Haiti.

Right: The mural ondisplay at a school in Race Course,Clarendon.

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C R E A T I V I T Y O N T H E H I L L T O PArts


Above left: LucasCampbell ’13, SetonTalty ’11 and PolinaGodz ’11 perform in the Fall Play,

“Romeo and Juliet.”

Above right: L’OrealLampley ’11 (Juliet)and Kate Hamrick

’13 (the Nurse,Angelica).

C R E A T I V I T Y O N T H E H I L L T O P

“Soda Bottle,” a photograph by OOoonnaa PPrriittcchhaarrdd’13 is featured on the January cover of Newport Life

magazine. The photo was an entry in the magazine’s

4th annual Reader Photo Challenge. Pritchard took

the photo as part of Kathryn Lemay’s “Visual Foun-

dation” class last year as a way to look for texture

for a subsequent charcoal drawing. A photo contest

judge said there was “an excellent mix of lines,

pattern and texture in this tightly composed

abstract image.”

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Visit us at www.flickr.com/photos/stgeorgesschool/collections

We post event photos, fully downloadable, on flickr.com. Take a look!

photos

Coming Soon!Coverage of the Winter Musical:

“Little Shop of Horrors” ~ Feb 26. & 27

Upcoming Event:Spring Dance Concert ~ May 28

known artist, painted a mural inspired by Claire’s

painting to honor Stephanie Crispinelli, a student

from Lynn University who died in the January 2010

earthquake in Haiti. Stephanie’s great-grandfather,

grandfather and great-uncle all attended St. George’s.

Crispinelli’s family was in Jamaica on a mission

with Food For The Poor building a school in Race

Course, Clarendon, for 150 students. The mural,

called “Stephanie’s Path” is now hanging on the out-

side of the school.



Congratulations to the members of the girls’

varsity basketball team, who prevailed in three com-

petitive games to walk away champions of the first

annual 2010 St. George’s Girls’ Basketball Holiday

Classic. In the opening round of the tourney on

Friday, Dec. 17, the SG girls pulled out a 44-36 vic-

tory against St. Mark’s, before they played cross-

island rival Portsmouth Abbey later in the day.

“Eight returning St. George’s players remembered

the emotional one-point overtime loss to the Ravens

last February,” said Head Coach JJuulliiee BBuuttlleerr. Subse-quently, the girls played their best game of the 2010-

2011 season, she added, winning by a convincing

55-23 score in the second round of the tourney. On

Saturday, the players picked up where they left off on

Friday night, Coach Butler said, and a strong defense

was key. “When 5-foot-10-inch Canterbury guard

Krista O’Gara, who poured in a tournament high 37

points in Friday night’s second-round game against

St. Mark’s, hit the first bucket of the game, it looked

like she was off to another big outing. But senior co-

captains KKeellllyy MMiilllleerr (Atlanta, Ga.) and MMaarryyOO’’CCoonnnnoorr (Middletown, R.I.) shared her defensiveassignment in the first half, keeping her scoreless for

the remaining 15 minutes of play. Unselfish team

passing led to a balanced SG scoring attack. This,

coupled with a strong team defensive effort sent the

Dragons into the half with a convincing 30-5 score.

SG was prepared for O’Gara to have a breakout

second half, but sophomore SShhaannnnoonn LLeeoonnaarrdd (EastGreenwich, R.I.) picked up where Miller and

O’Connor left off, holding the junior from New

Fairfield, Conn., to two second-half field goals.

Sophomores JJeessss HHoomm (Holmdel, N.J.), TThheerreessaaSSaalluudd (Morganville, N.J.), and Leonard combinedfor 31 points. OOoonnaa PPrriittcchhaarrdd (Middletown, R.I.),JJooyy BBuulllloocckk (Middletown, R.I.), and VVeerroonniiccaa SSccootttt(Plymouth, N.H.) gave their usual consistent play off

the bench. Sophomore KKeemmii RRiicchhaarrddssoonn (ChestnutHill, Mass.) and freshman MMeeggggiiee OO’’CCoonnnnoorr(Middletown, R.I.) also contributed to the Lady

Dragons’ victory.”

Above: Varsityhockey player Mike Reed ’13.

Top right: Varsitybasketball playerMary O’Connor ’11.

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A T H L E T I C D E P A R T M E N T N E W SSG Zone


Above: SG varsityswim team membersMichael McGinnis’13, Emil Henry ’11

and PatrickHolowesko ’11 cheeron swimmers fromthe Perkins School

for the Blind duringa swim event in

December.

Left: Maddie Lucas ’11 readies fora J.V. squash match.

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MMiikkee CCaasseeyy ’11, along with field hockey playerVVeerroonniiccaa SSccootttt ’12, cross-country standout EEvvaannRReeaadd ’11, and football players DDrreeww BBooyydd ’12 andCChhrriiss CChheeww ’11 were named 2010 Providence JournalIndependent Stars in December for their play during

the fall season.

Scott was named to the Independent School

League all-star team for her outstanding all-around

play.

Boyd, a 6-1, 230-pound offensive lineman and

linebacker, earned first-team All-ISL honors and All-

New England selection after leading the team in

tackles with 84 stops.

Chew was the winner of SG’s Thayer Cup for the

team MVP. The 5-8, 205-pound running back, defen-

sive lineman and kicker also earned All-ISL honors.

And Read earned All-New England Division 3

honors and was an ISL honorable mention selection.

Two St. George’s graduates were among 19 out-

standing scholar athletes recognized last fall by the

Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA).

In October, the ICSA named its 2010 ICSA All

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A T H L E T I C D E P A R T M E N T N E W S


BOYS’ CROSS COUNTRYGalvin Cross Country Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EEvvaann RReeaaddCross Country Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CChhaadd LLaarrccoommCross Country Most Improved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJooee MMaacckkAll-ISL, Honorable Mention . . . HHyytthheemm AAll--MMuullllaa,, EEvvaann RReeaaddAll-New England, Division III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EEvvaann RReeaaddAll-County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EEvvaann RReeaadd,, HHyytthheemm AAll--MMuullllaaProJo All-Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EEvvaann RReeaaddCaptains-elect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EEvvaann RReeaadd,, JJooee MMaacckk

GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRYGalvin Cross Country Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HHiillllaarryy WWeeiinnCross Country Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . AAnnaaiissee KKaanniimmbbaaCross Country Most Improved . . . . . . . . . . . . . EErriinn MMoonnaahhaannAll-New England, Division III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HHiillllaarryy WWeeiinnAll-County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EErriinn MMoonnaahhaann,, SSaaddiiee MMccQQuuiillkkiinn,, . . . . . . . . . . . MMaarrggaarreett SScchhrrooeeddeerr,, MMeegg OO’’CCoonnnnoorr,, EElliizzaa WWeesstt,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RRaacchheell SSuunngg,, LLooggaann HHeennddrriixxCaptains-elect . . . . . . . . . . . . . SSaaddiiee MMccQQuuiillkkiinn,, RRaacchheell SSuunngg

FIELD HOCKEYWalsh Field Hockey Bowl . . . . . . . . . . . . KKaatthheerriinnee WWiillkkiinnssoonnField Hockey Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RRoossiiee PPuuttnnaammField Hockey Most Improved Player . . . . . . . . . CCoollbbyy BBuurrddiicckkAll-ISL, First Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VVeerroonniiccaa SSccoottttISL Sportsmanship Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . SStt.. GGeeoorrggee’’ss SScchhoooollProJo All-Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VVeerroonniiccaa SSccoottttCaptains-elect . . . . . . . VVeerroonniiccaa SSccootttt,, CChhaarrlloottttee vvoonn MMeeiisstteerr

FOOTBALLThayer Football Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CChhrriiss CChheewwClaggett Football Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BBrreetttt PPaasssseemmaattooFootball Most Improved Player . . . . . . . . . . . . JJeerreemmyy PPhhiilllliippssAll-NEPSFCA, Class C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DDrreeww BBooyyddAll-ISL, First Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CChhrriiss CChheeww,, DDrreeww BBooyydd,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJaalleeeell WWhheeeelleerr,, AAlleexx EEllrroonnAll-ISL, Honorable Mention . JJeerreemmyy PPhhiilllliippss,, MMaacckk FFeellddmmaann,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BBrreetttt PPaasssseemmaattoo,, KKaaii DDoollbbaasshhiiaannProJo All-Stars . . . . . CChhrriiss CChheeww,, DDrreeww BBooyydd,, JJaalleeeell WWhheeeelleerrCaptains-elect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DDrreeww BBooyydd,, JJaalleeeell WWhheeeelleerr,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AAlleexx EEllrroonn,, JJiimmmmyy FFeerrrreettttii

BOYS’ SOCCERSoccer Most Valuable Player Award . . . . . . . . . . . MMiikkee CCaasseeyySoccer Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PPaattrriicckk MMccGGiinnnniissMcIlhinny Most Improved Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJaassoonn PPaarrkkAll-New England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MMiikkee CCaasseeyyNEPSSA Senior All-Star Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MMiikkee CCaasseeyyAll-ISL, first team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MMiikkee CCaasseeyy,, VVaallddaaiirr LLooppeessProJo All-Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MMiikkee CCaasseeyy,, VVaallddaaiirr LLooppeessCaptains-elect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VVaallddaaiirr LLooppeess

GIRLS’ SOCCERSoccer Most Valuable Player Award . . . . . . PPhhooeebbee MMaannnniinnggSoccer Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJuulliiaa CCaarrrreellllaassSoccer Most Improved Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GGiiggii MMooyyllaannAll-ISL, First Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AAnnnnaa CCaarrrrAll-ISL, Honorable Mention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MMaarryy OO’’CCoonnnnoorrCaptains-elect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJooyy BBuulllloocckk,, OOoonnaa PPrriittcchhaarrdd

FF AA LL LL AA TT HH LL EE TT EE SS MM AA KK EE TT HH EE II RR MM AA RR KK

22 001100 SS TT .. GG EE OO RR GG EE ’’ SS FF AA LL LL AA TT HH LL EE TT II CC AA WW AA RR DD SS

Chris Chew ’11 carrie s the ball in a varsity football gameagainst St. Paul’s.

Varsity field hockey’s Rosie Putnam ’11 angles forthe ball during a matchup with St. Mark’s.


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Evan Read ’12 is the winner of the 2010 GalvinCross-Country Award.

Girls varsity soccer goalie Phoebe Manning ’11makes another dramatic save in a game againstPomfret.


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The 2011 Alumni Hockey Game was held on Saturday, Jan. 15, and reportsindicate varsity boys hockey coach Ryan Mulhern ’91 organized a funreunion on ice. “We all survived. It was a great day at SG,” reported BillBatchelder ’61, who led the self-proclaimed “semi-centennial” line, alongwith Fred Stetson ’61 and Oliver Hamill ’61. Joining them were Bill’s son,Jon (left), and Tim Lineaweaver ’75, Jim O’Brien ’75, Christian Whatley’80, Greg Ferguson ’85, Steve Connett ’86, Jeff Kimbell ’89, Ray Woishek’89, Dan Woishek ’91, Rich Dempsey ’92, Cooper Schieffelin ’95, PeterSchieffelin ’96, Will Seifert ’99, Gerrit Lansing ’02, Henry Sheehan ’02,Cam Dyment ’04, Jay Kendrick ’04, Jon Lareau ’05, Liam Chatterton ’06and Anthony Longo ’06.

Academic Sailing Team, an honor that acknowledges

the students’ “success at the highest levels—both on

the water and in the classroom” for academic and

athletic performance during the 2009-2010 aca-

demic year.

JJeeffffrreeyy KKnnoowwlleess of Middletown, R.I., who grad-uated from Brown University last May with a GPA of

3.76 in neuroscience, was named a member of the

2010 ICSA All Academic Sailing Team – First Team;

and HHaannnnaahh BBuurrrroouugghhss of Peace Dale, R.I., a seniorat Stanford University studying engineering with a

GPA of 3.75, was named a member of the 2010 ICSA

All Academic Sailing Team – Second Team.

Boys Varsity Squash player RRaahhiill FFaazzeellbbhhooyy ’13captured the 5.0 division championship title of the

Rhodysquash RI Open on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010. The

tournament, which was attended by a number of top-

ranked professionals, was held in the Hoopes Squash

Center at SG over the weekend of Nov. 20-21. In the

final championship match 28-year-old professional

Shaun Delierre of Montreal, ranked No. 74 in the

world, beat tournament favorite No. 35 ranked Julian

Illingworth 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10 in a hard-fought

97-minute match. As a freshman last year, Fazelbhoy,

of Mumbai, India, finished third at the New England

Class B championships. His regular season play at

first singles along with his tournament performance

made him a first-team All-ISL selection. Girls Varsity




Squash Coach and English teacher CCoolliinn MMoorrtt won the consolation round of the Men’s 4.0

Singles division.

It was brief but exciting, according to Varsity Boys

Soccer Coach JJeerreemmyy GGoollddsstteeiinn, when St. George’swelcomed the soccer team from a school in Saumu,

France—Institution St. Louis—for a visit to campus on

Sept. 10 and 11. The 15 French teammates were in

America as part of an exchange program and their first

stop was Newport, where they played and won a small

tournament with three U.S. schools. “I appreciate the

entire community being friendly and quickly involving

both players and coaches in our fun activities,” Gold-

stein wrote to the community. “Our willingness to host

international guests makes SG a special place.” French

Department Chair AAlllliissoonn ddee HHoorrsseeyy helped organizethe visit, and a number of host families opened up their

homes to the guests. The French boys went on to spend

some time in New York City and in Massachusetts.

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Dining ServicesBaker Kendra Gardner wowed thecrowd with herlifelike cake for theMiddlesex WeekendPep Rally.

One longtime fan and supporter, one veteran

coach and four outstanding former athletes

were inducted into the SG Sports Hall of

Fame on Friday, Nov. 12, 2010.

Entering the Hall were Dr. RRoobbiinn WWaallllaaccee, SG’sschool physician and avid follower of SG athletics;

former coach the Rev. JJoohhnn SS.. RRooggeerrss; and star ath-letes HHeennrryy PP.. BBrriissttooll II ’72, DDaavviidd BB.. HHeennnneessssyy ’81,MMeelliissssaa BBrroowwnn BBrriiddee ’84, and JJiillll DDooyyllee JJaabblloonnsskkyy ’93.

The ceremony was MC’d by Associate Director of

Admission RRyyaann MMuullhheerrnn ’91, a former professionalhockey player and member of the Hall himself.

Mulhern presented each of the entrants with

a framed certificate and read each entrant’s cita-

tion, specially prepared by a former player or

close associate.

MMaarriiee DDoouugghheerrttyy HHiinnmmaann ’75 wrote the citation

for Wallace’s induction. “Since 1974 [Dr. Wallace] has

been patching our wounds, listening to our conflicts,

prescribing remedies for our ailments, giving counsel

to the administration and cheering on our sports

teams,” she wrote. Wallace, an expert sailing race

organizer renowned in Newport, was also the recipi-

ent of the United States Sailing Association’s 2006

Harman Hawkins Trophy “for his race-management

skills, implementation of rules and regulations, equi-

table judging and fair and impartial appeals resolu-

tion.” Wallace remains a member of the school’s

full-time faculty.

1980 alumna SSaarraahh RRooggeerrss MMccMMiillllaann penned thecitation for Rogers. “In 1977, [Father John Rogers] set

the tone for his St. George’s coaching career,” she

wrote. “Named the St. George’s Coach of the Year, Fa-

Ra led his varsity baseball team to the co-champi-


Sports Hall of Fame induction caps off celebration of high school athletics

~



E.M. Swift P’10

onship of the Southern New England Independent

School Conference. In 1992, Fa-Ra was again named

St. George’s Coach of the Year, and his varsity basket-

ball team’s undefeated record on the road and overall

15-1 season earned him the Independent School

League coach of the year.”

Bristol, Hennessy, Bride and Jablonsky were

praised for their prowess on the playing fields and in

the gymnasium.

As a student, Bristol was a versatile athlete, but in

the winter his success came in the wrestling pit,

where he notched three consecutive New England

championship titles in his final three years on the

team. He came back to the Hilltop to teach math and

photography after graduating from Bowdoin College,

where he served as wrestling team captain in ’75 and

’76 and picked up sailing.

Hennessey played on the varsity football team for

two years and on the varsity hockey and lacrosse

teams for three years at St. George’s. “As a running

back on the varsity football team his senior year, he

recorded a 96-yard run from scrimmage, one of the

longest running plays in St. George’s history, on a

victorious Middlesex weekend,” classmate CChhrriissttoo--pphheerr LL.. BBrriigghhaamm ’81wrote in his citation. Hennesseyco-captained the varsity lacrosse team in 1981 and

played the majority of each game switching back and

forth between defense and attack helping to lead the

team to its first-ever Independent School League

(ISL) Championship.

Bride was captain of the field hockey, basketball

and lacrosse teams at SG and won the MVP award in

field hockey and numerous ISL All-League selections.

On Prize Day in 1984, she won the Elliott Cup. “Mel

moved on to Colby College where her athletics were

once again an intricate and valuable part of its

athletic program,” wrote DDoollllyy HHoowwaarrdd, director of girls athletics and dean of day students, emerita,

in Bride’s citation.

Doyle, another Elliott Cup winner, “made an

immediate impact in soccer, basketball, and track,

earning a varsity letter in every season during her

four-year prep school career,” wrote basketball coach

JJuulliiee BBuuttlleerr in her citation for her former two-yearcaptain. She was “the consummate team player, one

who brought skill, enthusiasm, intensity, determina-

tion, and humor each day with her unconquerable

competitive spirit.”

After the inductions, the student body partici-

pated in the annual Middlesex Weekend pep rally, ate

zebra cake and burned a specially crafted zebra in a

bonfire on Cliff Field. On Saturday, the teams hosted

Middlesex School squads on the Hilltop.

Veteran sportswriter EE..MM.. SSwwiifftt P ’10 was thefeatured speaker Thursday, Nov. 11, the day before the

Hall of Fame, for an all-

school event in Madeira

Hall.

Swift, a special con-

tributor for Sports Illus-

trated, where he has been

working since 1978, has

covered 15 Olympic

Games, starting in 1980

when he reported on the

“Miracle On Ice,” the gold-

medal winning U.S.

hockey team.

Swift’s talk highlighted those years, and he regaled

the audience with personal reflections of the relation-

ships he made through his work with hockey luminar-

ies like Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr. He also read

excerpts from “Sports in a School Curriculum,” an

essay he wrote for the Teacher’s College Record about

the importance of prep-school athletics.

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This year’s Sports Hall of Fame inductees: David Hennessy ’81, The Rev.John Rogers, Jill Doyle Jablonsky ’93, Melissa Brown Bride ’84, HenryBristol ’72 and Dr. Robin Wallace.

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Above: Ericka Hines’89 was the guestspeaker for theannual MartinLuther King Jr. DayChapel service inJanuary.

Right: Pamela Layton P’09, ’12 was on campus inOctober to deliver a lecture on stem cell research.

Far right: JohnVisconti was anotherspeaker in the Sci-ence Department’sBrown Bag LunchSeries.

St. George’s graduate EErriicckkaa HHiinneess ’89, whosecareer now focuses on helping individuals and

socially conscious organizations con-

tribute positively to their communities,

was the guest speaker at the annual

music-filled Martin Luther King Jr.

Chapel service Jan. 17, 2011.

Hines, a former lawyer turned entrepreneur who

started Social Change Diva to promote her message

of empowerment, urged students to “step up their

leadership” and be “agents of greatness.”

“I know service is ingrained in this community,”

she told students, faculty members and staff. “Now

you can think about ways to serve smarter.”

She encouraged students to investigate whether

they might be able to serve more than one social

purpose with their efforts, such as donating cloth-

ing as well as sponsoring dress down days to give

money to charities.

She also encouraged the community “to learn

and connect globally, but act locally.”

“Martin Luther King was a social change agent

on a macro scale,” she said, “but we all have the

opportunity to be social change agents on a micro

level” by helping our neighbors.

The MLK Service also featured poignant music

performances by CChhrriiss CChheeww ’11, who sang “DeepRiver;” the Snapdragons; and EEllooddiiee GGeerrmmaaiinn ’12 andLL’’OOrreeaall LLaammpplleeyy ’11, who sang “Amazing Grace.”(available on our YouTube channel. See page 47 for

our Web extra information.)

All students will participate in a communitywide

day of service in April.

In the mid-16th century, some of the most popu-

lar books coming off the printing presses were those

that proclaimed to hold remedies or cures for ill-

nesses and troublesome human afflic-

tions. And as Dr. JJoohhnn VViissccoonnttii told anaudience gathered for one of the Science

Department’s “Brown Bag Lunches” in

December, these so-call “books of secrets” also repre-

sented some of the public’s first experiences with

published science.

Visconti, author of “The Secrets of a 16th century

Venetian Woman: Isabella Cortese and Alchemical

Medicine,” gave a compelling presentation on some of

the first mass-produced instructional science manuals


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to a group of interested students, faculty and staff

members on Dec. 6 in the Dupont Science Building.

Primarily recipes and sets of instructions, the

books featured everything from how to avoid the

plague to cures for baldness and bad breath, how to

make disappearing ink, and a sort of 16th century

equivalent of Viagra.

“Let’s say they were epistemologically eclectic,”

Visconti said.

The authors of the books, “the professors of

secrets,” were often on the margins of academia and

the educational world. “Certainly they were less

academically pure and more commercially inspired,”

Visconti said.

Though the so-called cures never seemed to

fulfill their claims, the professors of science seem to

play to an eager, if not hopeful, audience.

“And there were vast social and economic impli-

cations for these books,” Visconti said. “The authors

assumed that we needed to look more closely at

nature for the answer to medical issues.”

Dr. Visconti moved to the Hilltop this year with his

wife, SSaarraahh LLaawwrreennccee, a new member of the HistoryDepartment, and their 2-year-old daughter, Veronica.

Another “Brown Bag Lunch Speaker Series” offered

by the Science Department featured SStteepphhaanniiee WWeeiinn’06, who returned to campus Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011, to

talk about her work as a biology research assistant.

Wein, who graduated from Skidmore College in

Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2010, titled her talk “The

Science of Sexy” and described her work researching

male ornamentation and sexual selection in the

Common Yellowthroat bird population.

As an undergraduate earning her bachelor’s

degree in biology, she and her fellow undergraduate

research assistants spent months logging data from

bib measurements and feather and blood samples to

discover how the most brilliantly decorated male

birds continued to win female attention and whether

their offspring fared better in the long run.

Wein, who credited Steve Leslie’s Environmen-

tal Science class for her interest in scientific

research, said the research helped her discover

she has a passion for the study of evolutionary

biology and ecology.

“It’s not just about dinosaur bones and fossil

relics in the Natural History Museum,” Wein said.

“It’s exciting to look at evolution as it’s happening.”

This past summer Wein began a new research

project by taking part in a trip to the Panamanian

rainforest to study the effect of introduced disease

in glass frogs. She currently attends the University of

Maryland, where she is at work on her Ph.D.

Wein is the daughter of Celeste and BBoobb WWeeiinn, a physics teacher at St. George’s. Her younger sister,

HHiillllaarryy WWeeiinn ’11, is the senior prefect.

SSaannddoo BBaayyssaahh ’05 was on campus Jan. 25, 2011,to talk with students interested in pursuing a career

in medicine—another lunchtime talk organized by

Science Department Chair HHoollllyy WWiilllliiaammss. A second-year medical student at Brown University, Baysah

outlined her tips for planning a collegiate career and

curriculum geared toward the ultimate goal of

becoming a doctor.


Above: StephanieWein ’06.

Below: Sando Baysah ’05.

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She showed samples of her class lists while she

was an undergraduate studying biochemistry at

Harvard and told students about taking the Medical

College Admission Test and filling out med school

applications.

Baysah, who was born in Liberia, took several

trips abroad while at Harvard to research the health

care systems in places like Switzerland and China. For

her essays, she said, she emphasized her interest in

the Liberian health care system.

“They want to know about something you’re

interested in,” Baysah said of admission reps, “a proj-

ect you can see through to the end.

“Don’t just say you like ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’”

The first Music Guild of the school year on Oct.

17 featured appearances by the Orchestra, the Jazz

Ensemble and a number of solo vocalists. Showing

off their singing talents were JJuulliiaann TTuurrnneerr ’14, NNoorraaHHooggaann ’14, JJoosseepphh GGrriimmeehh ’13, LL’’OOrreeaall LLaammpplleeyy ’11,GGrraaccee AAllzzaaiibbaakk ’12, JJoosseepphhiinnee CCaannnneellll ’13 andEEmmmmyy DDeerreecckkttoorr ’12.

St. George’s continues to answer the call to service

for the Rhode Island Blood Center. On Nov. 8, in an

effort this year organized by Assistant Athletic Direc-

tor and Trainer WWeennddyy DDrryyssddaallee, the school surpassedits goal and students, faculty members and staff

donated a total of 41 units. The next blood drive is

scheduled for Monday, April 18. This marks the com-

pletion of SG’s 25th year working with the RIBC.

Retired French teacher SStteevvee HHoorroowwiittzz, a Frenchteacher at St. George’s for 34 years, instructional serv-

ices faculty member EElllleenn MMiinnoorr and Drysdale haveserved as SG’s blood drive coordinators over the years.

St. George’s admission programs for prospective

students continue to be a hot ticket on the school tour

circuit. This year the programs have played to a full

house of more than 100 visitors at each event, accord-

ing to Associate Director of Admission JJuulliiaaSSaabboouurriinn. The “St. George’s Today” program isdesigned for candidates and families who wish to

explore the school for a longer period of time and in


Performers during Parents Weekend included the Hilltoppers (top), Peter Carrel-las ’14 member of the Brass Ensemble (middle) and the Snapdragons (bottom).

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Campus happenings


greater depth than is possible during a traditional

visit. The programs run from 8 a.m. through lunch in

King Hall at 12:15 p.m., and feature several presenta-

tions in the Main Common Room by faculty mem-

bers and current students, as well as class visits and

campus tours. This year’s “St. George’s Today” pro-

grams took place on Oct. 9, Nov. 6, Dec. 4 and Jan. 8.

Know a prospective student who may wish to be

included next year? Call the Admission Office at (401)

842-6705 or e-mail [email protected].

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Our reception in New York city draw hundreds

to the historic New York Yacht Club at 37 West 44th

St.—a club steeped in tradition, and even more

important for our purposes, with close ties to St.

George’s. At the recent New York gathering in

November the club’s Vice Commodore, TThhoommaassHHaarrrriinnggttoonn P’12, outlined for the audience exactlyhow closely the two are actually aligned.

Harbour Court, the club’s home on Halidon

Avenue in Newport, is the former home of the Brown

family of Providence and Newport—“the link

between the New York Yacht Club and St. George’s

School,” Harrington said.

“Mrs. Natalie Bayard Brown built Harbour Court

for her son, John Nicholas Brown, between 1904 and

1906. She hired the architectural firm of Cram,

Goodhue and Ferguson of Boston. The design was

inspired by her sister’s chateau in Normandy, France.

“Natalie Brown’s only son, John Nicholas Brown,

attended St. George’s school where he studied as a

day student until 1918. In 1920, while still in college

at Harvard, he approached architect Ralph Adams

Cram, who had become a close friend, about creat-

ing a chapel, which he could present to St. George’s,

much as his mother had presented Emmanuel

Church in Newport to its congregation 20 years

earlier. Ralph Adams Cram said, and I quote: ‘This

particular chapel has for me much more than an

architectural and professional interest, for I had

known the donor since he was three years old….’

The classic Gothic chapel was consecrated on St.

George’s Day in 1928.

“In 1930, John Nicholas Brown married Anne

Seddon Kinsolving. Their first son was Nicholas Brown

who was christened in the St. George’s Chapel in 1932.

From 1952 until 1954, John Nicholas Brown served as

the 36th Commodore of the New York Yacht Club.

“In 2005, St. George’s School dedicated the John

Nicholas Brown ’18 Center in honor of the school’s

illustrious alumnus.”

Of course another connection between St.

George’s and the NYYC is St. George’s alumnus and

trustee JJooee HHooooppeess ’62. Harrington called Hoopes “agentleman who has given of his time and treasure to

both the yacht club and to St. George’s School.”


Upcoming EventsDDoonnaalldd VVaann ddee MMaarrkk ’77, a former broadcast journalist who now

makes motivational speeches about leadership and success, is scheduled to

be a guest speaker on campus Monday, May 16, at 7 p.m.

As a former correspondent and anchor at CNN, CNBC and

public television, Van de Mark interviewed hundreds of leaders

in business and politics, including Jack Welch, Starbucks’

Howard Schultz, Intel Corp.’s Andy Grove, Charles Schwab, Bill Bradley,

Body Shop Founder Anita Roddick, and best-selling authors such as

Stephen Covey, Andrew Weil and Deepak Chopra. Now he’s using the

wisdom culled from those interviews to help others navigate the road to

more fulfilling careers.

He is the host of “The Wisdom of Caring Leaders” and “The Wisdom of

Teams,” training videos used by corporations and schools.

St. George’s looks forward to having Van de Mark share some of his tips

on strengthening leadership skills. Clips of his speeches can be found on

YouTube.

Web

extra

EEllooddiiee GGeerrmmaaiinn ’12 and LL’’OOrreeaall LLaammpplleeyy ’11 sing “Amazing Grace”

at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Chapel Service. Available on the

St. George’s YouTube Channel.

WATCH SG VIDEO ON YOUR PHONE:

1. Download a barcode reader app on your Smartphone.2. Scan the QR code (left).3. Press Play!

or visitwww.youtube .com/sgdragon372

on your phone’s browser.

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Traditions

The 99th AnnualChristmas Festival and A Service of Nine Lessons & Carols 2010Above: Sebastian Bierman-Lytle ’11, who served as the Master of the Feast at thisyear’s Christmas Festival, sings “The Boar’s Head Carol.”

Left: Emily Walsh ’14 was one of several pages and Evans Barnes ’14 was this year’s jester at the Christmas Festival.

Opposite page, top left: Crucifer Emma Scanlon ’12 carries the newly restored Peaslee Processional Cross at the Service of Nine Lessons & Carols.

Top right: Choir members L’Oreal Lampley ’11, Succentor, and Timon Watkins ’11, Precentor, lead the singers into the chapel.

ST. GEORGE ’ S 2 0 1 1 WINTER BULLET IN 59ST. GEORGE ’ S 2 0 1 1 WINTER BULLET IN 59

52nd Annual Pie RaceMore than 80 “runners” turned out for this

year’s 52nd annual Pie Race Nov. 15, 2010. While

conditions were cold and gray, school spirit ruled

the day as JJooee MMaacckk ’12 of Bristol, R.I., crossed thefinish line first ahead of a motley assembly of

costumed creatures, theatrical types, dogs, small

children and those with afternoon study allergies.

Mack finished the 1.1 mile course with a time

of 6:04. “Junior EEvvaann RReeaadd of Manhasset, N.Y., wasrunning about 10 yards ahead of Mack for most of

the race until he took a mysterious detour into the

school’s Charles A. Hamblet Campus Center just

before reaching the finish line,” wrote math teacher

and race organizer DDoouugg LLeewwiiss in his post racewrap-up. “When asked what led him off course,

Read momentarily put down an order of cheese

fries, wiped some ketchup from his lips, and said,

‘No comment.’”

The Pie Race is the brainchild of legendary

physics teacher and track coach TTeedd HHeerrsseeyy, whodevised the race back in 1959 as a way of bolstering school spirit. Each November since then, students have sprinted around the

Hilltop campus in an effort to win home-baked apple pies, approximately 20 of which were awarded at a school assembly on Fri-

day, Nov. 19. Winners received their awards for a variety of reasons, few of which had to do with athleticism: NNiicckk LLaarrssoonn ’13 andAAnnddyy MMoorreeaauu ’13 won the “Twelve Items or Fewer Prize,” given to those runners completing the race while pushing a grocery cart.

The Incredibles participated in this year’s Pie Race: (in the front row) WillPeterson and Jake Peterson; and (in the back row) Librarian Jen Tuleja,Katie Harris ’11, Sage Hill ’14, Admission Officer Krista Peterson, Englishteacher Stuart Titus, Head of School Eric Peterson and Polina Godz ’11.


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S E E N O N T H E H I L L T O PAround Campus

A tree, planted in memory of NNiicckk GGiivvoottoovvsskkyy ’83,

will be dedicated on campus at the end of this school

year thanks to the generous

donations of his classmates.

Givotovsky, a husband and

father of two, died tragically in

a tractor accident at his home

in Connecticut on July 3, 2009. He was 44.

Nick’s vibrant career as an Internet consultant

and his many contributions to discussions about

digital identity and rights earned him the respect and

camaraderie of many in the industry.

“I believe we need explicit, uniform, enforceable,

and yes, universal rights to our own user-related data,”

Givotovsky wrote in one online forum. “Not just for

purposes of privacy, but so that individually and

collectively we can use our leverage as rightful owners

of what are in fact valuable assets …”

A resident of Cornwall, Conn., Givotovsky also

had a passion for the outdoors.

Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway told

the local paper, “He came to our farm every spring

and bought plants for his yard. He was very involved

with the agricultural fair. He was a positive, upbeat

person who was always willing to help out. His loss

creates a big hole. Cornwall needs more people like

him.”

Givotovsky left behind his wife, Laura Kirk, and

his children, Nina, 12 and Sasha, 10.

The tree, a Mt. St. Helens® Flowering Plum, is

planted between Memorial Schoolhouse and the

library, behind Auchincloss Dormitory. A small

rounded tree with purple leaves, its light pink flowers

bloom in the early spring.

The tree dedication ceremony at SG is tentatively

set for early this summer.

Remembering Nick Givotovsky ’83


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The Grand Prize in the 2010 Beautiful Middletown Pho-

tography Contest went to a photo of the cloister at St. George’s

Chapel. Portsmouth photographer Susan Berman took the

photo. “Probably no single structure in Middletown is more

iconic than the St. George’s Chapel,” the judges wrote. “Yet we

seldom see the grace and symmetrical beauty of the support-

ing structure itself. This photograph captures that with great

detail. The blue stone walkway leads you into the image, while

the shadow detail and color palette provides a calmness that

equally draws the viewer into the photograph. Technically, the

perspective control is superb, the color rendition accurate and

balanced and the depth of field perfect.”

Chapel photo wins photo contest


The copper dragon sculptures on theexterior of the east side of the NathanielP. Hill Library were removed prior to thestart of restoration of the building lastfall. Though they appear to have beenmade specially for St. George's, the sculp-tures were actually manufactured in theearly 1890s for an office building indowntown Providence known as theManufacturers Building. The dragonswrapped around large metal flagpoles atthe seventh-floor level of that building,which was in continuous use until 1964,when it was demolished in an “urbanrenewal” effort. Luckily for St. George’s,the dragons were saved—thanks to FrankMauran ’43, former Art DepartmentHead Richard Grosvenor, and the lateHeadmaster Archer Harman, who wereinstrumental in bringing the two mag-nificent sculptures to campus after theHill Library was completed in 1978.

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S E E N O N T H E H I L L T O PAround Campus

These antique, cast-iron urns now decorating the entrance of Old School were donated by the Class of 1985 on the occasionof their 25th reunion in memory of classmates Jonathan L. Cohen ’85, Ralph C. Menapace, III ’85, and Jeffrey A. Napoleon’85. Talented SG gardener Lori Silvia filled the urns with festive cuttings from around campus of Red Twig Dogwood, threevarieties of holly, Blue Spruce, Juniper “Grey Owl,” Cypress, Arborvitae, Weeping White Pine and Winterberry.

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The seniors in this year’s Seminar in Global Studies class will travel for 10 days beginning March 7 to Senegal, where they willconduct research for a cultural studies project on a topic of their own choosing. Pictured here are (in the front row) CarolineMiller, (in the middle row) Katherine Wilkinson, Polina Godz, Rachel Sellstone and Hillary Wein; and (in the back row), seminar instructor Jeremy Goldstein, science teacher Devon Ducharme, Phoebe Manning, Magdalena Franze-Soeln, Victoria

Leonard, Timon Watkins, Mary O’Connor, Brittany Corso, Anaise Kanimba and science teacher Kim Bullock.

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DDaavviidd CChhooii (left), an exchange studentfrom South Africa, arrived on campus

Oct. 3 for a seven-weekprogram of study at St.George’s coordinated byDirector of Global Progams

JJooee GGoouulldd (right). Choi, 17, is a stu-dent at Cape Town’s all boys Bishop’sSchool. An ongoing exchange beguntwo years ago allows the South Africanstudents to study here in the fall andtwo St. George’s students, one boy andone girl, to travel abroad in the sum-mer. The St. George’s girl attends thenearby all girls St. Cyprian’s School in Cape Town.

C O M M U N I T Y M E M B E R S G E T A W O R L D V I E WGlobal outreach


@

WATCH SG VIDEO ON YOUR PHONE:

1. Download a barcode reader app on your Smartphone.2. Scan the QR code (left).3. Press Play!

or visitwww.stgeorges .edu/school_ l i fe/webcasts

on your phone’s browser

videos

Commun i t y membe r s a re now watch ing H i l l t op even t s f rom

the comfo r t o f the i r own homes , l i ve on the web .

Don ’ t m i s s ano the r n igh t o f SG en te r t a inmen t !

A D D I T I O N A L C O N T E N T O N T H E I N T E R N E TOn the web


VIEW SG PHOTOS ON YOUR PHONE:

1. Download a barcode reader app on your Smartphone.2. Scan the QR code (left).

or visitwww.f lickr.com/photos/stgeorgesschool/collections

photos

DIRECTIONS FOR DOWNLOADINGOUR PHOTOS FROM FLICKR.COM

1. Go to www.flickr.com/stgeorgesschool/collections

2. Click through our galleries to see the photography.

3. Once you have selected a photo you’d like to download,click on the “Actions” tab at the top left.

4. Scroll to “View All Sizes.”

5. Click on the “Original” Size, then click on“Download the Original size of this photo” above the picture.

The photo will be saved to your computer.

Now you’ve got your printable photo for free!


An exhibit of prints by acclaimed pho-

tographer CChhaarrlleess AA..YY.. TThhoommppssoonn ’88 wason display at the Pobeda Gallery in Moscow,

Russia, from Dec. 17, 2010, to Jan. 31, 2011.

The exhibit was titled “Sirin and

Alkonost,” after the mythical half-bird/half-

woman creatures of Russian folklore. In his

statement for the show, Thompson wrote:

“To me the myth of Sirin and Alkonost

encapsulates the yearning to escape our

human limitations and enter the realm of

pure power, beauty and infinite possibility.

While they are obviously also symbols of

female power, beauty and intelligence, Sirin

and Alkonost stand for something more

universal. This desire to metamorphize and

transform oneself into something extraordi-

nary is perhaps shared by all humanity, but

to me, in Russian culture, and especially in

ballet, it is in a particularly raw form. The

ballerinas featured in these images are cap-

tured at that very moment of transforma-

tion, where bird wings have yet to appear,

yet the human body has already achieved

flight.”

Thompson’s editorial and art photogra-

phy have been published in, among others,

Vogue, Esquire, Elle Décor, Town & Country

and The New York Times.

DDaavviidd TToodddd ’77, P ’14 has been makingthe rounds, publicizing his new book, “The

Texas Legacy Project: Stories of Courage and

Conservation,” which was published last fall.

The book, is a collection of stories about

Texans who’ve devoted parts of their lives to

preserving land and wildlife, or advocating

for public health, or for a voice in media and

politics. “To find and preserve these stories

of courage and perseverance, the Conserva-

tion History Association of Texas launched

the Texas Legacy Project in 1998, traveling

thousands of miles to conduct hundreds of

interviews with people from all over the

state,” Todd writes. The oral histories now

also have been made available online with

accompanying video and audio. Stories

include everything from a West Texas grocer

fighting nuclear waste to an Austin lobbyist

pressing for green energy.

Todd is the founder, coordinator, and

interviewer for the Conservation History

Association of Texas. He has worked as an

environmental attorney, environmental

donor, and cattle rancher, and has served on

the boards of Audubon Texas, the Texas

Conservation Alliance, Texas League of

Conservation Voters, and Lone Star Chapter

of the Sierra Club.

LLaauurreenn SSttrraassssnneerr RRuusssseellll ’90 and thefurniture company she co-owns with her

father, Russell & Mackenna Furniture, were

featured in the Nov. 15, 2010, Wall Street

Journal as part of an article on parents and

children going into business together. In

“Parent & Child Inc.,” reporters Colleen

DeBaise, Emily Maltby and Sarah E. Needle-

man focus on what they call the less-than-

“traditional path to entrepreneurship.”

Russell says she started her company after a

marketing client of hers saw a nautical-

themed vanity she had in her home that had

been designed by Russell and built by her

husband, and requested one for herself. The

client then ordered a host of other furniture

items from the duo. The orders inspired

Russell to start her own company, “but

neither of us had any business experience,”

Russell told the reporters of herself and her

husband. “I knew really quickly to make it

work we were going to need some help.”

Luckily her father, Larry Strassner, who had

just retired after serving as chief executive

officer of a publicly traded staffing com-

pany, was available for guidance. Now, seven

years later, the father and daughter duo have

grown their co-owned business to more

than $1 million in annual revenue.

The recipient of St. George’s 2010

Diman Award for distinguished alumni/ae,

KKaattee ZZeerrnniikkee ’86, has been making themedia rounds to promote her new book

“Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America.”

Along with a number of print interviews

with international publications such as the

Christian Science Monitor, Zernike made

television appearances on shows including a

panel discussion on C-Span’s Book TV, in

which she appeared with TTuucckkeerr CCaarrllssoonn ’87and “This Week in Washington” with Chris-

tianne Amanpour and “The Press Club.”

JJaammeess AA.. TToorrrreeyy ’66 was nominated foran administrative post in the Obama

A photo by Charles A.Y. Thompson ’88.

A new book co-authored by David Todd ’77,P’14.

A L U M N I / A E I N T H E N E W SPost Hilltop


administration in November when the

president suggested him for a seat on the

board of directors for the Overseas Private

Investment Corp.

OPIC is a financially independent U.S.

government agency that helps U.S. busi-

nesses invest overseas, fosters economic

development in new and emerging markets,

and supports U.S. foreign policy—at no net

cost to taxpayers.

Eight members of OPIC’s Board of

Directors are from the private sector and

seven are from the federal government.

A hedge fund investor since 1977, Tor-

rey is a senior advisor to Cadogan Manage-

ment, a fund-of-funds firm with offices in

New York, Tokyo and London. He founded

The Torrey Funds in 1990 to identify and

invest with promising hedge-fund talent. In

1992, he formed one of the first exclusively

international fund-of-funds. Prior to the

founding of The Torrey Funds, he held a

variety of executive positions with Kidder,

Peabody & Co, The First Boston Corp. (now

Credit Suisse), Paine Webber and Alex

Brown & Sons. All members of OPIC’s

Board of Directors, which meets four times

per year, must be appointed by the President

of the United States and confirmed by the

U.S. Senate.

SSyydd TThhaayyeerr ’68 was making a name forhimself this winter in the world of three-

dimensional film.

“Vancouver 2010 – Stories of Olympic

Glory,” a 3-D film Thayer co-produced with

Cassandra Henning, premiered in December

on DirecTV. It was the first 3-D film ever

shot at the Olympics, according to Thayer.

“It’s a start, but as technology improves,

this will become the standard,” noted

Thayer, who works for the independent film

production company Cappy Productions in

New York.

The film, which is 46 minutes long,

includes stories on speed skater Apolo Ohno

and his quest to become the most-decorated

American winter Olympian of all time, the

controversial showdown between figure

skaters Evan Lysacek and Evgeni Plushenko,

and the Chinese pairs team of Shen Xue and

Zhao Hongbo, who earned their nation’s

first-ever gold medal in figure skating.

Jamestown, R.I., resident SSccootttt FFeerrgguu--ssoonn ’80 retained his title as sailing’s LaserStandard Master fleet winner at the Laser

Masters World Championships in Hayling

Bay, England on Sept. 19, 2010.

His final tally of 15 points placed him 21

ahead of his principal rival, the Netherland’s

Arnoud Hummel. Conditions were wavy,

but Ferguson held his own, while Hummel

suffered an unfortunate “death roll.”

“I was a little bit surprised I did as well

as I did because there are a lot of really good

guys out there,” Ferguson told reporters

after the event. “A lot of things fell into place

for me.”

It was Ferguson’s fourth world champi-

onship appearance. He was third in Brazil

his first time out, fourth in Spain his second,

and won in Halifax in 2009.

Last summer US-61, a 12-metre yacht

owned by GGuuyy HHeecckkmmaann ’69, was tearingup racecourses up and down the east coast.

The storied boat won her class at the New

York Yacht Club Annual Regatta and the

Around the Island Race, as well as every

regatta in Newport and Edgartown, accord-

ing to Heckman. She also won the North

Americans in the grand prix class. US-61 is

housed at the Newport Shipyard, and is the

only “Twelve” with a forward canard rud-

der. She was originally built for Tom Black-

aller, the three-time America’s Cup

competitor, world champion, engineer, sail

maker and internationally famous helms-

man, who died in 1989.

XXoocchhiinnaa EEll HHiillaallii ’07 was the subject ofa feature story in the January 2011 issue of

Carnegie Mellon Today titled “Ridiculous,”

by free-lance writer Sally Ann Flecker (avail-

able online).

Right now El Hilali is finishing up the

requirements for her chemistry major and

her minor in economics at the Pittsburgh

university—and she credits her boarding

school experience for part of her success.

“I studied with people who otherwise

I would never have had the chance to inter-

act with,” El Hilali said of St. George’s. She

told Flecker she felt an emphasis here to be

“more than a good student; the students

were expected to be leaders.” College coun-

selors here told her about Carnegie Mellon.

“I probably wouldn’t have applied here if I

hadn’t gone to St. George’s,” she said.

Last year El Hilali was selected as a

United Negro College Fund/Merck Under-

graduate Science Research Scholar, which is

intended to encourage the interest of

African American undergraduate students

in science and biomedical science careers.

Included with the scholarship are two paid

Merck internships—one she attended in

2010 and one she’ll embark on after her

graduation in May.

Guy Heckman ’69 on the 12-metre US-61.

A L U M N I / A E I N T H E N E W S


Veteran St. George’s sailing coach RRooyy WWiilllliiaammssis the subject of a profile on the industry web

site Sail1Design.com (www.sail1design.com/

airwaves).

“Notes From a Very

Fortunate High School Sail-

ing Coach” by alumna JJeenn((VVaannddeemmooeerr)) MMiittcchheellll ’00outlines Williams’ philosophy

on coaching and how he’s

developed the program over

the last 21 years on the Hill-

top. While Williams admits

SG’s resources have helped the teams succeed, high

school sailing, he says, is all about the opportunity for

him to “innovate, educate, motivate, and appreci-

ate” his students.

“I’m rewarded seeing the students get into sailing

and develop confidence and skills,” he told Mitchell.

He’s also supported by wonderful resources. As

the article notes, SG has the largest high-school-

owned fleet of club-collegiate 420’s in the country

with 22. The program also has two FJs and four

power boats, so Roy and his team of coaches operat-

ing from the Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport Har-

bor, can train the team and set up courses to suit

their needs. The program usually has about 45 stu-

dent sailors each spring, with those on the varsity

team training for the Fleet Racing (Mallory/Cressy)

and Team Racing (Baker) National Championships.

Mitchell, a former member of the SG varsity sail-

ing team, graduated from St. Mary’s College of Mary-

land with a bachelor’s degree in English. She sailed on

the varsity sailing team at St. Mary’s and was a co-cap-

tain in her senior year. She was a three-time All-Ameri-

can Crew and a two time National Champion.

A hearty congratulations to English teacher AAlleexxMMyyeerrss, who recently receivedhis Master of Fine Arts in

Creative Writing degree from

Vermont College. A prolific

writer, Myers’ fiction and

nonfiction has been pub-

lished in a number of literary

journals, including Juked, A

Capella Zoo, Flashquake, The Battered Suitcase, the

Apple Valley Review and Short Story America, which

nominated a story of his for a Pushcart Prize. He won

first place in the Tiny Lights 2008 personal narrative

contest for “The King and I,” previously reprinted in

the Bulletin. In March, he’ll be published in

Whistling Shade.

Art Department Chair MMiikkee HHaannsseell’s ’76 sculp-tures were the focus of a solo show at Rhode Island

College’s Bannister Gallery in December.

The show, “Sculpture In All Its Parts,”

highlighted Hansel’s use of

natural and mechanical

elements to suggest “...that

nature and industry aren’t

really opposites, but more

like complementary terms.”

“Mike Hansel uses sculp-

ture to point people away

from what they take for

granted towards an oddly

humorous world composed of vaguely familiar ele-

ments. His works are reinvented associations made

between careful observations and the half-forgotten

elements of memory,” noted Curator Professor

William Martin, chair of RIC’s art department.

A large-scale piece of Hansel’s sculpture was

installed at the south end of Adams Library on the

RIC campus and will remain there until September.

SSaarraahh DDiicckk, a 2007 graduate and former schoolprefect, has accepted a position to serve as an intern-

ship fellow in the Admission Office for the next two

years. She’ll begin work this summer.

Dick, who will graduate from Claremont

McKenna College with a bachelor’s degree in art this

spring, has continued to

pursue her passion for

lacrosse. She has been an All-

American for the past two

seasons as well as her league’s

player of the year last year,

and she’ll captain the team

this spring. “We are very

excited to have Sarah working

Faculty/Staff Notes

Mike Hansel ’76

Sarah Dick ’07

Roy Williams

Alex Myers


with us for the next two years,” said Director of

Admission JJiimm HHaammiillttoonn.

Geronimo Captain and program coordinator

DDeebboorraahh HHaayyeess was invited by Sail Training Interna-tional (STI) to speak at the

group’s annual conference in

November.

Her talk was titled, “Risk

in Sail Training: Recognizing

and Managing it,” and was one

of several workshops held at

The International Sail Train-

ing and Tall Ships Conference

2010 in Stavanger, Norway.

STI is a worldwide sail training organization

representing 30 countries and hundreds of sail train-

ing programs.

Science teacher Dr. KKiimm BBuulllloocckk was among 40teachers, graduate students and community activists

to participate in the 9th

annual International Nonvio-

lence Summer Institute at the


July 6-16, 2010.

The gathering, intended

to certify participants as

Kingian nonviolence trainers,

was taught by Nonviolence

trainers Jonathan Lewis of

the Gathering for Justice; Gail Faris, of the URI

Women’s Center, and Dr. Paul Bueno de Mesquita,

director of URI’s Center for Nonviolence and Peace

Studies. Dr. Bernard Lafayette Jr., noted civil rights

luminary and distinguished visiting scholar, returned

directly from a current training project in Nigeria, to

serve as the institute’s senior trainer for the ninth

consecutive year.

Bullock says Dr. Martin Luther King’s principles

of nonviolence truly inspired all participants

throughout the intensive training.

Showing endurance and stamina: Director of

Library Services JJeenn TTuulleejjaa completed the Marine

Corps Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 31, in Washington,

D.C. Tuleja used the event to raise money for the

American Cancer Society in honor of her dad, who

was diagnosed with the disease two years ago. “His

courage and strength to get better inspire me.”

Admission Intern MMaatttt DD’’AAnnnnoollffoo completed the New York Marathon Sunday, Nov. 7, in 4:53:02.

PHOTO

COURTESY

OFJENTU

LEJA

Director of Library Services Jen Tuleja successfully completes the MarineCorps Marathon in October.

Deborah Hayes

Kim Bullock

Associate Director ofAdmission BetsyLeslie and science

teacher Steve Leslie,who returned from ayearlong sabbatical inMontana last sum-

mer, presented a talkon their research of

the wolf population in Yellowstone National

Park at one of theScience Department’sBrown Bag Lunches.PH

OTO

BYRACHELRAMOS


When the red doors of Old

School opened to usher in the

start of the 2010-11 school year,

there was a palpable difference in the front

hall. Along with a renovation of some of the

peripheral offices, longtime receptionist

Gail Miner couldn’t be heard greeting new-

comers or giving directions. After 25 years

at SG, Miner retired last September.

Miner, tucked in her small office in the

lobby of Old School, was a friendly fixture in

the life of the school for visitors and commu-

nity members alike. She arrived at a time

when the school was just making its first

foray into the modern age of telecommunica-

tions. “We’ve never had this position. Make

it!” she says she was told on one of her first

days on the job. Business Manager Wes Hen-

nion had recruited her with the intention of

providing callers to SG a centralized phone

service. Miner seemed right for the job.

Miner arrived in Newport in 1962 from

Utica, N.Y., “an 18-year-old kid, the bride of

a sailor,” she said. For 13 years, along with

raising four girls and a boy, she worked for

the Answering Service of Newport, where

she often fielded off-hours calls dealing with

emergencies. The job was very stressful, she

said, “and after a while you got burned out.”

On her first day at St. George’s, she

recalls meeting then Admission Office and

Summer School Assistant Marge McFarland

out on Sixth Form Porch. As the two sat

together in the light breeze overlooking the

beach, she remembers saying, “You know, I

could get used to this.” The two would later

forge an enduring, close friendship. McFar-

land went on to serve as the school’s registrar.

St. George’s seemed to suit Miner’s feisty,

up-beat personality to a “T”. Still, she admits,

“I was so new at first, I just sat back in awe.”

The seriousness of the school’s purpose, and

the intellectual and personal lives of com-

munity members all wove themselves into

the fabric of Miner’s own life. She has fond

memories of many aspects in the life of the

school, and the people she met here. The

recently deceased Jean Peirce, she said, ran

the SG Dining Hall with commander-like

intensity, with the end result being a lot of

well-fed individuals. “You could really walk

out of King Hall feeling like you weighed

400 pounds,” she said. She enjoyed socializ-

ing with the parents who came to pick up

their students, though celebrities and the

not-so-well known were all alike to her, she

mentions. She remembers the actor Jason

Robards, the author Danielle Steele, golfer

Raymond Floyd (who gave her an auto-

graphed photo for her son-in-law) and the

former CEO of Reebok, Paul Fireman.

An avid reader with a thirst for knowl-

edge, she often found that being a recep-

tionist allowed her to have a number of

engaging conversations throughout the day.

She also took pride in being a reliable

source of information for just about anyone

with a question entering the building—or

already in the building for that matter.

Students hold a special place in her

heart, and she particularly recalls Jason

Monroe ’95 waiting for her at her car one

day, just to stay in touch.

A devout Catholic, Miner began nearly

every workday at the beach, where she would

read the newspaper and say her prayers. She

was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 23

years ago, but only recently required the use

of a wheelchair. She remains optimistic about

her retirement years. Memories of St.

George’s sustain her. “I smile a lot,” she said.

Faculty/Staff NotesLongtimereceptionisttakes herfinal call

PHOTO

BYSU

ZANNEMCGRADYA born conversationalist,

Gail Miner arrived at a timewhen the school didn’t have aswitchboard—and became thewelcoming voice of SG


The St. George’s Board of Trustees wel-

comes to its ranks RRoodduullpphhuuss BBeetthheeaa JJrr.., who

graduated from St.

George’s in 1987.

The Board voted

unanimously to ap-

point Bethea at its

meeting on Oct. 16,

2010.

Bethea is the vice

president of global

sales and strategy for

MetLife’s employee

benefits arm, Institu-

tional Business. He has been with MetLife for

more than 15 years in various roles.

In 2009, Bethea received the YMCA Black

Achievers in Industry Award, and he was pre-

viously recognized as one of the Top 50 Under

50 corporate executives by Black MBA maga-

zine. An active volunteer for A Better Chance,

Bethea is also the vice chair of membership for

ABC’s National Advisory Council.

Bethea graduated from Bowdoin College

with a double major in government and

African-American studies and a minor in eco-

nomics. As a Consortium for Graduate Study

in Management fellow, he attended the Uni-

versity of Southern California where he re-

ceived his M.B.A. in 2000.

Currently, Bethea and his wife, Aliya, live

in Southern California with their daughter,

Maya.

Trustees and the community warmly re-

member former trustee and faculty member

CChhaarrlliiee LLeeee P’87, who died in a single-car crash

near Killingly, Conn., Dec. 10.

The bow-tie-wearing Lee was an SG

trustee from 1982-1991, the father of Chris Lee

’87 and the brother of honorary trustee Phip

Lee. He was an ardent supporter of the Geron-

imo sail training and marine studies programs.

Lee lived in Narragansett, R.I., with his

wife, Camilla, of 44 years. As an investment

banker, Lee for a time lived overseas in Hong

Kong and Tokyo, and also resided in New

York, Boston and Providence, where most re-

cently he was a vice president of Morgan

Stanley Smith Barney. According to those who

knew him best, however, he had a special

fondness for the shoreline of Rhode Island,

where he kept his boat and spent time with

his family. An avid fisherman who took daily

walks with his dog, Tucker, Lee also was well

known in Rhode Island for his support of

Canonchet Farm, 174 acres of land in Narra-

gansett that environmentalists hope to protect

from development.

The community also mourns the death of

JJoohhnn AArriiaaiill P ’89, ’94, a former trustee who

died on Jan. 20. Ariail lived a life filled with

generosity to others, according to his family.

Proud of his Irish roots, the Alexandria, Va.,

lawyer used his good fortune to benefit others

and the city around him. He was a supporter

of many efforts to beautify the city and helped

those in need on a regular basis. A graduate of

Davison College in 1964, Ariail received the

school’s Alumni Service Award in 2004, recog-

nizing him for his “high degree of service to

the college.”

He was also a talented and involved busi-

ness owner and landlord. He co-owned a

number of restaurants including Restaurant

Eve, The Majestic and Eamonn’s Dublin Chip-

per in the city. He was also founder of Sport

and Health Clubs, and co-owner of Lorton’s

Workhouse Arts Center and the Alexandria

Times, according to the newspaper.

Like Lee, Ariail also enjoyed time out-

doors with his dogs; he could be seen regularly

“walking his beloved American water spaniels,

Snickers and Moon Pie, around the city,” the

paper noted.

At St. George’s, Ariail was a devoted St.

George’s parent who always kept the school

close to his heart. He served as a member of

the board from 1986-1992.

Ariail leaves behind his wife, Leslie, his

sons, Jay Ariail and J.E. Shreve Ariail ’94, and

his daughter, Allison Erdle ’89.

On a final note, also at the Oct. 16, 2010,

board meeting, the trustees voted to appoint

FFooxxhhaallll ““FFooxxyy”” PPaarrkkeerr ’43 an honorary trustee.

Parker served the school as a trustee for 21

years and retired from the board in 2010.

N E W S F R O M T H E B O A R D O F T R U S T E E SBoard notes

Bethea appointed to SG Board of Trustees;Lee, Ariail remembered

Rodulphus (Rudy) Bethea Jr. ’87

Charles P. Lee, P ’87, SG faculty 1975-1977and trustee from 1982-1991.

PHOTO

COURTESY

OFTH

E1976 LANCE


PHOTO

BYQUENTINWARREN

The fondest ofmemories

BY QUENTIN WARREN

“I shall always be grateful for that place.”—on Jackson Pond, Dedham, Mass., September 27, 2010

He flew night fighters for the RAF in World War II, sold hairbrushes in New York,

plugged British sports cars in Boston, ran a marmalade business in Hamilton, Mass.,

became a radio and television personality on both sides of the Atlantic,

operated a mobile broadcasting studio up and down the U.S. East Coast,

married the love of his life and then, upon losing her, married the other love of his life.

He has traveled the seven continents. Throughout it all, he has never forgotten

or failed to appreciate the year he spent at St. George’s, and he remains among

the school’s staunchest advocates


Good afternoon, Sir,” I said, “ I’m

Michael Wynne-Willson, the new

ESU Exchange student from Radley

College in England.”

“A warm welcome to you, Mike, please

come in,” he replied. “I’m glad to meet you

and I hope that you will enjoy your year

here.”

“I’m sure I will, thank you, Sir,” I replied.

“I want you to know that I’m here to

broaden my mind and notmy education!”

So went the inauspicious give-and-take

when St. George’s School Headmaster

Vaughan Merrick greeted a new senior from

Great Britain in the fall of 1936. Recalling the

words of Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine in

the memorable film “Casablanca,” it was des-

tined to become “the beginning of a beauti-

ful friendship.”

Michael F. Wynne-Willson ’37, P’73,

spent a single academic year at St. George’s

on an English Speaking Union scholarship.

But the bond he formed in those indelible

nine months as a 17-year-old rivals any you’ll

find in fellow alums before his time and since.

His SG experience is woven like tracer thread

through the course of his colorful life—his

priceless relationships with people, his un-

flappably positive take on things, his

poignant humor, and the eclectic, often hair-

raising events that came to shape him in all

his complexity to this day. Wherever he went,

whomever he met, and whatever he did, he’ll

insist that lurking behind it all, every step of

the way, was that pillar of fortitude, cama-

raderie and mischievous good cheer that took

root in his sixth-form year right here at SG.

And to seal it like a bug in amber for all

of perpetuity, embarrassingly he’ll point

out that his photo has appeared on the

opening spread of “Class Notes” in the

Bulletin more times than even he cares

to admit.

Suffice it to say, Michael’s allegiance to

St. George’s and indebtedness to the year he

attended run deep. He served on the Annual

Giving Committee in 1990-91, resumed that

post in 2008 and continues at it today. He

has been a loyal and prolific class correspon-

dent for as long as anyone can remember. He

is a member of the Ogden Nash Society. He

has attended more SG events including re-

unions, dedications and special Chapel serv-

ices than anyone can begin to tally. He is a

vocal ambassador of St. George’s who cham-

pions the school at every opportunity. He

has endeared himself to the Alumni/ae Of-

fice. He is wholly sincere in his support. On

the occasion of his 50th reunion at the 1987

Alumni/ae Weekend Chapel Service he deliv-

ered the homily. “How lucky and grateful I

am that, through a stroke of good fortune, I

was chosen to come here from Radley Col-

lege in England and how totally it altered the

shape of my life,” he remarked.

Michael was born in London, Eng-

land, on Sept. 13, 1919. His fa-

ther, Linton F. Wynne Willson,

served in the British military during World

War I and the Boer War in Africa, following

which he became the headmaster of a school

for boys in the county of Gloucestershire.

Michael’s description of him as it appears in

“Before I Forget!,” the first in a series of two

self-published autobiographical accounts

containing Michael’s memoirs through 2002,

is worth noting because it could be used just

as easily to describe Michael himself: “He

was the owner of a superb sense of humor

and a love for life, his fellow man, girls and

all sports.”

And who but Michael’s mother to soften

the edges even further, whom he describes

thus: “A kinder and more thoughtful lady

than my Mum would have been next to im-

possible to find.”

The result of their union was a delight-

fully funny fellow with a huge heart and a

uniquely optimistic world view. “I was the

luckiest of kids when I was young, for I never

doubted for a minute that my parents loved

me,” Michael writes. “They instilled in both

[my sister] Betty and me the basics of love,

honesty, trust, obedience, humility and car-

ing for others. They charted the way for us

and made it all as simple as possible for us to

follow by their example.”

He was enrolled at Radley College in

Abingdon just to the south of Oxford when

he received an English Speaking Union

scholarship to St. George’s in 1936 for his

senior year—no need for confusion, mind

you, as the British term “college” coincides

with the American notion of “secondary

“

Perched on the West Steps outside Sixth Form House in a photograph taken by Michaelduring his SG days are cohorts and close friends from the class of 1937— Johnny Bell, Kinsley Twining, Dick Sheble and Hack Wilson—along with a young Johnny Merrick, sonof the headmaster. Opposite, Michael in vintage RAF sheepskin alongside Head of SchoolEric Peterson on a recent visit to the Hilltop.


school.” He was already well versed in the art

of schoolboy high jinks, having discovered at

an early age that girls, good friends and a

fun-loving spirit resonated far more conspic-

uously in his view of life than dogged aca-

demics. So armed, he came to the Hilltop

wondering “what in heaven’s name I had got

myself into,” although certain that the year

ahead “was surely going to be different and

anything but dull!”

And so it was, a year of eye-opening

firsts and new people and an introduction to

the U.S. where, a decade later, he would

come to live. At St. George’s he moved into

Sixth Form House and made friends in-

stantly—with his roommate Kerr Colling-

wood, with the unforgettable black

groundskeeper and night watchman, Sam,

to whom he became particularly attached,

with Maggie who served tea in the Main

Common Room, with Vaughan and Bea

Merrick, with George and Marge Wheeler,

and with classmates and fellow students. His

own words at his 50th leave no doubt as to

the significance of the experience:

“The tolerant understanding of the fac-

ulty, and the lasting, never-to-be-forgotten

and most valuable friendships which have

meant so much for so long … the Merricks

and the Wheelers, and some of those within

my class. Is it any wonder then that as often

as I return to this most special and beautiful

of places, I feel as if I’m returning home?”

On holidays and weekends, like any

Dragon today, Michael would venture off

campus with friends and visit places like

Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Mon-

treal. Shenanigans aside, it was on one such

foray that he met a girl named Jackie Cham-

bers whom he would end up marrying seven

years later. As the story goes, he went to

Rhinebeck, N.Y., to visit an old family friend

who had started a school for girls there called

Foxhollow. He was delighted to catch up

with this familiar vestige of his childhood,

but even more so “to ascertain that I was the

only male in her hen-coop of gorgeous

young maidens!” Jackie happened to be the

president of the senior class, and she and

Michael struck a chord, corresponded regu-

larly and would remain attached throughout

her all-too-brief life, which ended with can-

cer in 1967.

Graduation from St. George’s came,

as Michael laments, “all too swiftly,”

and he returned to his family in

England. As it happened, his father died of a

heart attack quite suddenly and the future

lost its glimmer, especially on the brink of

yet another world war, with Great Britain

poised in the cross hairs of Germany’s

bombsights. Michael joined the Royal Air

Force (RAF) in 1939 and flew twin-engine

Bristol Beaufighters among other aircraft in

night-fighter operations against the German

Luftwaffe until 1946. For an active RAF pilot,

it was a time of excitement and fear, learning

and growth, and in Michael’s case, more sto-

ries than can possibly fit in these sundry

pages. He writes in “Before I Forget!”:

“What was WWII really like for me?

First I must say that in my way of thinking,

war of any kind is ungodly, hellish, often ter-

rifying, a ludicrous waste of time, money,

and, above all, humans. Secondly, I have to

say that, for me, war was challenging, educa-

tional, exciting and I must say ashamedly if

honestly, often fun.”

On leave at one point in 1944, Michael

returned to the States and married Jackie in

Middleburg, Va., in a ceremony the attendees

of which included none other than Vaughan

and Bea Merrick. Following the war they

lived in England, but faced with untenable

career opportunities (“When I came out of

Michael (front row, third from left) and fellow fliers in the RAF 255 Night FighterSquadron gather on a typical Sunday afternoon outside one of their favorite wartime watering holes, the Adam & Eve pub in Trunch north of Norwich and the Norfolk Broads.Below, Michael toasts family and friends at his 90th birthday party in Brookline, Mass. on Sept. 13, 2009.

PHOTO

COURTESY

OFMICHAELWYNNE-WILLSON


the RAF, all the four-engine bomber boys

were getting the good jobs in civil avia-

tion!”), and health issues with regard to

Jackie’s ability to bear children, they made

the decision to move to the U.S. in 1948.

They lived in New York City for a brief while

where Michael sold hairbrushes for Kent of

London. (“I knew as much about how to sell

a Kent brush as a mermaid might know

about how to put on trousers!”). From there

they moved to Boston where he sold British

automobiles, then to Hamilton, Mass.,

where, over the course of 19 years, they pro-

duced and marketed homemade Mendip

Marmalade, and he became involved in

broadcasting on both sides of the camera in

the early days of on-location news reporting.

They adopted two children, first Wendy, then

Mark, who would go on to become a mem-

ber of the class of 1973 at St. George’s.

Alas, Jackie succumbed to cancer in

1967, the end of a loving era, leaving Michael

a widower at the age of 46 in Hamilton with

Wendy and Mark, dogs Minus and Duchess,

cat Perky and pony Piglet. He became very

involved in public relations for the New Eng-

land Aquarium, the Boston Zoological Soci-

ety, and Harbor National Bank, and during

that time he met Anne Patterson who be-

came his second wife on June 8, 1968, and

remains devotedly so to this day. They

moved from Hamilton to Westwood, Mass.,

in 1970, very close to the town of Dedham

where they now reside.

True to form, Annie and Michael have

lived an active, outwardly productive life to-

gether, including some 40-odd years of ex-

tensive global travel as organizers and tour

guides of high-end excursions to exotic lo-

cales—Antarctica, Africa, India, the Far

East, Jordan, and more. Paid to accompany

first-class tourists all over the world

amounts to classic Wynne-Willson entre-

preneurship, providing the two of them

with, as Michael puts it, “champagne-class

travel on a beer budget.”

But, to be honest, what better travel

companionship could anybody with a

passport ask for?

And as far as St. George’s is concerned,

what better friends to count among its own?

Annie and Michael visit the Alumni/ae Of-

fice every summer on the hottest day imagi-

nable loaded with deli sandwiches, chips,

cold leek soup, homemade cookies and the

tastiest iced tea on the planet. It used to be a

picnic for the office outdoors on the rocks,

but last year it morphed into a spread on

Sixth Form Porch. Personally, I think they do

it because they like us, but there is more.

There is the Hilltop, and the school, and the

setting, and their own genuine belief that it is

important to remember the impact all of it

had on a young boy from England in 1937.

In a chat last fall Michael described the feel-

ing as one of “absolute sheer gratitude for the

fact that it enabled me to get a little bit of a

look at the future, which you don’t usually

have at the age of 16 or 17.”

Ironically, for a man with the most light-

hearted touch and disarming wit, the gravity

of what really counts in life hardly escapes

him. From the Chapel lectern on the occa-

sion of his 50th reunion he said, “If experi-

ence has given me the right to suggest any-

thing to anyone, it is to try to remember

never to forget any kindness or favor done,

and to constantly try to remember those who

touched one’s life in that way over the years.”

PHOTO

COURTESY

OFMICHAELWYNNE-WILLSON

Michael and Annie in springtime regalia at a June 1982 outing. Of Annie he would write inhis second book of memoirs, “It is my delight to dedicate this to Annie who, as you may havegathered, is just one kind, loving, caring, patient and super special girl. Should you knowher, you will know that that is next to an understatement!”

Michael with themembers of the

Alumni/ae Develop-ment Office during

their annual midsum-mer picnic: (l-r)

Cindy Martin, LindaMichalek, QuentinWarren, Michael,Toni Ciany, KristaSturtevant, Bill

Douglas and NataliaTavares do Couto.


CCaallll tthhee bbooookkssttoorree aatt 11--440011--884422--66666622 ffoorr tthheessee iitteemmss aanndd mmoorree,, oorr vviissiitt oouurr oonnlliinnee ssttoorree aatt wwwwww..ssttggeeoorrggeess..eedduu..

Show your dragon pride! Order one of our newest items from the SG Bookstore.

Golf Supplies - $22 (set)or separatelyTowel - $6

Divit/Ball Marker - $10Hat Clip - $9

Rogue® Duffel BagMed - $96(23”x11”x11”)

Large - $100(30”x11”x11”)

Vineyard Vines® Classic Totewith School Shield

$85

UpcomingEvents

* For information on additional events, visit the St. George’s School Facebook page, our web sitewww.stgeorges.edu or contact events coordinator Ann Weston at [email protected] or401.842.6731.

St. George’s School admits male and

female students of any religion, race, color,

sexual orientation, and national or ethnic

origin to all the programs and activities gener-

ally accorded or made available to students at

the school. It does not discriminate on the

basis of religion, gender, race, color, sexual

orientation, or national or ethnic origin in the

administration of its educational policies,

scholarship and loan programs, or athletic and

other school-administered programs. In addi-

tion, the school welcomes visits from disabled

applicants.

SStt.. GGeeoorrggee’’ss PPoolliiccyy oonnNNoonn--DDiissccrriimmiinnaattiioonn

In 1896, the Rev. John Byron Diman,

founder of St. George’s School, wrote in his

“Purposes of the School” that “the specific

objectives of St. George’s are to give its stu-

dents the opportunity of developing to the

fullest extent possible the particular gifts that

are theirs and to encourage in them the desire

to do so. Their immediate job after leaving

school is to handle successfully the demands

of college; later it is hoped that their lives will

be ones of constructive service to the world

and to God.”

In the 21st century, we continue to teach

young women and men the value of learning

and achievement, service to others, and respect

for the individual. We believe that these goals

can best be accomplished by exposing students

to a wide range of ideas and choices in the

context of a rigorous curriculum and a sup-

portive residential community.

Therefore, we welcome students and teach-

ers of various talents and backgrounds, and we

encourage their dedication to a multiplicity

of pursuits —intellectual, spiritual, and physi-

cal—that will enable them to succeed in and

contribute to a complex, changing world.

SStt.. GGeeoorrggee’’ss SScchhoooollMMiissssiioonn SSttaatteemmeenntt

Mon., March 28 - Sat., April 2Global WeekMon., April 4Schoolwide Day of ServiceTues., April 5 - Wed. April 6Fri., April 8 - Sat., April 9Admission Second Visit ProgramsLos Angeles area reception Tues., April 12Santa Monica, Calif.The Huntley HotelHosted by Rudy Bethea ’87Fri., May 13 - Sun., May 15Reunion WeekendSat., May 28Spring Dance ConcertMon., May 30Prize Day

ST. GEORGE’Swinter Bulletin2011

St. George’s SchoolP.O. Box 1910Newport, RI 02840-0190

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDSt. George’s School

INSIDE:A groundbreaking internship • Library construction • Web extras

St.G

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Sch

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l20

11w

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Bu

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in

Science students land coveted internshipsin Paris BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY

Three students have ‘backstage pass’ on libraryproject BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY

Hark back to your Hilltop days: Selections fromthe Red & White archives

Chapel talks:Choosing happiness BY VICTORIA LEONARD ’11

A shower of thoughts fits together BY ZACH MASTRODICASA ’11

The ‘well-rounded me’ came before the ‘egg’ BY CHAD LARCOM ’11

Finding home in an unfamiliar place BY ABI MOATZ ’11

Giving (and getting) a second chance BY SAM PETERSON ’11

St. George’s on the Web

Class Notes

In this issue:

Left: Choir members Carine Kanimba ’12 and Michelle Hare ’12

sing at a recent chapel service. PHOTO BY RACHEL RAMOS

Bulletin Winter 2011

Documents

Transcript of Bulletin Winter 2011