Fall

Rector Elected at St. Thomas Episcopal Parish

The Vestry of St. Thomas Episcopal Parish in Coral Gables recently announced that the Rev. Mario E. Milian, 34, was appointed Rector. Milian, who is the youngest person ever to be called as Rector of St. Thomas, brings a rich background of life experience, education, mission, and diversity to the Parish's leadership position.

Milian, who came to St. Thomas three years ago as Associate Rector, is a native of Cuba. His theological training for the priesthood began in Matanzas, Cuba, immediately after highschool and continued in Honduras. He completed a B.I.S. at Arizona State University, summa cum laude and received his Master of Divinity degree in Berkeley, CA, at Church Divin-ity School (CDSP). He served Episcopal churches in Arizona and California in positions of Associate Rector and Rector prior to coming to St. Thomas Episcopal Parish.

Active in the Diocese, Milian hosts the Diocesan radio show Fe y Vida. The Search Committee, appointed last December by the Vestry, undertook a national search under the guide-lines of the Diocese. After an extended search, the Committee recommended Milian. The Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, Bishop of the Diocese of Southeast Florida, issued the formal invitation toto Milian to serve as the new Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Parish.

“To say that St. Thomas Parish is fortunate to have Fr. Mario as our Rector is a huge understatement”, said Meg Kerr,

Senior Warden. “After nearly a year-long search, it is excit-ing and wonderful to report that he was unanimously recom-mended by the Search Committee and elected by the Vestry and then approved by Bishop Frade”.

Milian summarizes his goals as a priest: "to lead Christ's Church in love and without fear so that it continually grows spiritually and intellectually in its mission in an increasingly diverse world.”

Experienced with missions, Milian worked as the Overseer for reconstruction after Hurricane Mitch for the Diocese of Honduras. At Good Shepherd Church in Arizona, he estab-lished a Day Labor Worker Program. At St. Thomas, he immediately assumed the clergy leadership of the largest outreach program in the history of the parish: a partnership between St. Thomas Church and School with the community ministries of Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in little Havana.

St. Thomas is a church with a 60-year history and the school with a history almost that long. Consistent with Anglican tradition, spiritual formation and education of young minds go hand in hand.

Milian is married and he and his wife Julie are expecting a baby boy in December. The family will be moving to the church rectory in Coral Gables.

Auction Chair Christy Veloso, Outreach Members Jane de Cardenas & Massiel Pena with Senior Warden Elect Nikki Suarez & Rector Mario Milian

FROM OUR HEAD OF SCHOOLKris Charlton Honored at Parish School Sunday

Parish School Sunday, celebrated every October, honored Kris Charlton this year for her 10 years of service as head of school at St. Thomas. As a surprise for Mrs. Charlton, the service featured not only the unity of church and school but also enthusiastic expressions of gratitude for the exceptional leadership that she has provided for the last decade as head of school.

After the processional which included clergy, choirs, altar servers, acolytes, school administration and faculty, Vestry, and School Board, students from St. Thomas School gave the readings and led the responses in the liturgy. From the loft, the voices of the children in St. Thomas’s special Chapel Choir joined the adult voices of the Parish Choir to create beautiful service music. Throughout the congregation, students in their dress uniforms sat with their parents in the sanctuary where they begin each school day in morning chapel.

In addition to those features, which are present every year at Parish School Sunday, was the special honoring of Kris Char-lton. Tom Bales, recently retired chair of the School Board, spoke about the extraordinary work that Mrs. Charlton has done at St. Thomas, referring to her as “my teacher,” in the same way that the faculty are the essence of the learning experience for the students. Following Tom, gifts were presented to Mrs. Charlton by Meg Kerr on behalf of the Vestry, Beth Johnson on behalf of the School Board, and Victoria Hegewisch on behalf of the Parents’ Association. A citation was read from the Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, Bishop of the Diocese of Southeast Florida, complimenting the fine work

TOP LEFT: Rector Mario Millian with Head of School Kris Matteson Charlton and her daughter Alison Charlton; TOP RIGHT: ; BOTTOM: Kris Matteson Charlton with Board Chair Beth Johnson and Past Board Chair Tom Bales

of the school under the administrative leadership of Kris Charlton.

This part of the ceremony climaxed by each St. Thomas student bringing a rose up to the altar where Mrs. Charlton was seated, creating a bouquet of several hundred roses to surround her. At the very end of the service, the Chapel Choir of children and the Parish Choir of adults stood in a semi-circle at the altar rail and sang the “Celtic Blessing” as Mrs. Charlton knelt at the altar with her daughter Alison Charlton to be blessed by the Rt. Rev. Calvin Schofield, Jr., retired bishop. The tribute to Kris Charlton was followed by a recep-tion in Rantz Hall.

On Friday, October 21, 2011, as part of our previous capi-tal campaign, Realizing the Covenant, the Admission Office was dedicated to Valerie Douberley, Director of Admission for over 25 years. This room was dedicated with love in memory of Caroline Brumbaugh by the Brumbaugh, Newcomm, and Shelfer families.

Student Council at St. Thomas Episcopal Parish School is made up of student officers from the fifth grade whose mission is to promote service to the community, enhance school spirit and raise money for their outreach projects.

With great enthusiasm and poise, 32 candidates delivered unique speeches where they each presented their uniquely individual platforms to the third and fourth grade student-body, faculty and parents. The final decision was a very diffi-cult one, as all candidates excelled in the content and deliv-ery of their speeches. It was very obvious that each and everyone of them had what it takes to be a true leader. We thank all of the candidates who ran for office and congratu-late our newly elected 2011-2012 Student Council officers.

CAMPUS HAPPENINGS

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Student Council Elections

President: Grant Dill Girl’s Vice President Amanda Roberts Boy’s Vice Presdent Justin Lopez Treasurer JoJo Bolduc Secretary Connor Bass Sergeant at Arms John Whiting Chaplain Jacob Murphy Historian Julia Irvin Advisor Fran Rosen

from the University of Padova, Italy with further studies in Computer hardware and software and computer networking. He was a software engineer/system engineer for ten years and an IT Director for the following ten. He worked in Rome for 7 years for Vitrociset, providing services for the Italian Air Traffic Control, Italian airports, Italian Airforce and the Euro-pean Space Agency. Daniel worked as a contractor for the European Space Agency at the European Space operations Centre (ESOC), participating in the development of space-craft control operating systems for several missions. He speaks Italian, English and Spanish.

New Technology DirectorSt. Thomas welcomes Daniel Peca as our new Director of Technology. Daniel and his wife Stefania are both from Rome. Married for 18 years, they have a daughter Susanna, age twelve, in the seventh grade at Divine Savior Academy in Doral. They moved to Miami from Darmstadt, Germany in April 2001. Daniel has a degree in Mathematics from

FROM OUR STEPS CHAIR

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Dear St. Thomas Parents, How exciting it is to write as President of The Parent Association and welcome you to our new school year. It is amazing that only 5 years ago my family joined the St. Thomas school community when my daughter Victoria started Sr PK in Ms. Noble’s class at only 4 years old. Now she is a year shy of being a Senior! Time

Carnival Chairs, Associate Head of School Kitty Finneran, and Art Teacher Evans Crews join Carolina Alegrett, winner of the Carnival T-Shirt Design Contest and her family

Carnival Chairs Carolina Cisneros, Silvia Luna and Carola Mato

their beautiful home. Thanks to Violeta Perla and Ana Cris-tina Chiossone, Hospitality chairs, for planning all these Wonderful Coffees, STEPS General Meeting/Volunteer Fair and Alumni Day which were huge success as well. We continue with our Wonderful Wednesdays with Cherie Cole coordinating our committees and parents to sponsor the yummy breakfast.

The STEPS PA is an integral part of the school and an excel-lent source of support to the teachers and administrators. I am so blessed to be working with an amazing group of current and new moms and dads that volunteer to plan, coordinate, execute and staff events and fundraisers that help us fund school programs that provide the best educational experience for our children.

Erin Bauer, Ana Bru, Jessica Leyva and Laura Marandino put together an amazing Book Fair enjoyed by our students and community (all proceeds going to our St. Thomas library). Over fifty vendors participated in our Fall Bazaar chaired by Katy de Leon and Michelle Canto. Thanks to their hard work we were able to raise $7000 for for Holy Comforter Church and the School/ Homeless Assistance Program.

Please support our upcoming events Golf /Tennis Tourna-ment, and A Night in the Big Apple Dinner/Auction in order to help us continue being a model for academic excellence and a school where students are nurtured, challenged and taught to honor God, themselves and each other.

really flies! But my youngest daughter Sofia, who is in First Grade, gives us the opportunity to continue to enjoy the won-derful St Thomas community 4 more years.

The beginning of our school year has been very successful. The school community was welcomed not only by teachers and friends, but by a beautiful campus with lush landscaping and parking in place. Also, parents have noticed a smoother start since STEPS PA decided to cut back on marketing efforts for some of our events, for example, Sally Foster’s sales incentive and Carnival underwriting and raffle. Sally Foster, led by Kim Viñas, is now extended to the end of the school year, which gives us all the opportunity to continue to support our beloved school throughout the year. The Apple Orchard Carnival, paid by the Parents Association, was an incredible success. Our Chairs Carolina Cisneros, Silvia Luna y Carola Mato, created a fun filled carnival for all. We also were able to welcome current and new parents at our traditional Welcome Coffees. Special thanks to the Pegg, Gutierrez-Bravo, Luna, Carolina Cisneros, Valls and McDowell families for opening their homes to us, and to Chris and Jennifer Green, who welcomed our new parents at

Victoria HegewischParents of STEPS Parent Association

STEPS CARNIVAL

One of the many cherished traditions at St. Thomas is our annual St. Thomas Carnival. For over thirty years students, alumni, alumni parents, parishioners, grandparents and friends from our community come back “home” to enjoy a day dedicated completely to our children. It is wonderful to walk around and watch everyone enjoying the carnival with old friends and new. Many parents walk around from booth

to booth with their children reminiscing on their own carnival experiences while others are making a new memory that they also will cherish. Our thanks to all our past and present dedi-cated, enthusiastic and talented STEPS Parents Association volunteers for always providing us with this beloved tradition that bonds us all together!

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LEFT: Evans, Attie, & Callie Crews with Carolina Carbajales, Father Bill Walker, and Colleen Cobb; RIGHT: Alejandro, Adrian, & Andres Garcia

LEFT: Cassie Cobb, Caroline Kolski, & Isabel Malloy; MIDDLE: Wesley Cusack & Nicolas Rojas

LEFT: Michael Arias & Max Swieltelsky; MIDDLE: Sabrina Gonzalez; RIGHT: Abigail Roberts & Carly Wood

St. Thomas School teaches students to look beyond them-selves, see others in need, and respond to those needs as a community. We teach them to move into the adult world with a sense of responsibility to others, and to share the richness they have received in education, the arts, and technology. For years, we have combined school and church into an effort called The Holy Comforter Outreach. Our students have collected canned goods, held food drives, collected toys and books, collected clothing, and filled Christmas stockings and Easter baskets for children and adults served by Holy Com-forter. This effort has resulted in the continuing ministries of a daycare center, senior housing complex, food assistance for the homeless, and an after-school program for teens. This year, in addition to all of the programs, we have been fortu-nate enough to enjoy with Holy Comforter, we look forward to planning a Biscayne Bay Cleanup Day for 5th grade, a Community Partnership for the Homeless, where we feed the homeless once a month, and a work project at Holy Com-forter to organize their daycare.

One of our traditions at St. Thomas is the St. Francis Coin Drive where our students do chores around the house to earn extra money. The funds collected are then presented to the Homeless program and the class that collects the most gets to

keep the St. Francis statue for the year.

What a wonderful way for our students to share their bless-ings and follow in St. Francis’ teachings of reaching out to the homeless. Through the generosity of City National Bank and the Jorge Gonzalez family, who matched the funds collected they raised over $2,000. St. Thomas will continue to join Holy Comforter Church to keep vital community ministries alive there, and will also become the major thrust of parish outreach in additional areas.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

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Reaching OutMrs. Bohn’s Kindergarten class keeps the St. Francis statue this year!!

Top: Newly refurbished Day Care Center; Aboove: St. Thomas mothers Becky McCarron, Georgette Collins, Stephanie Jackson, Lola Pegg serve meals at the Homeless Center

As part of their fifth grade Outreach Program, the fifth grade class visited Holy Comforter Church for their annual class visit. Loaded with bags of groceries, the students arrived and immediately went door to door at the Senior Center hand delivering these much needed groceries to the residents. The elderly residents were very appreciative of this unexpected gift and warmly thanked the children. One them actually thought they were polite children trick or treating and gave them candy!!

Following their visit to the senior citizens, Rector Rafael Garcia welcomed them in the beautiful Church. He thanked them for their visit and particularly for all the support Holy Comforter has received from them. He pointed out all the major renovations the Church was able to undertake thanks to their financial support. Students were then taken to the Day Care Center where they were shown the new section that had also just been upgraded thanks to the donations reeived from St. Thomas Episcopal School and Church. Our fifth graders were able to see firsthand what an impact the funds they raised through bake sales, dress down days, spaguetti dinner

and general donations have had on the lives of those attend-ing the Day Care Center.

Students were split into three groups that joined the over 50 children in the day care center. Together with Mr. Ken Willy, Miss Bridgett Provoste, Mrs. Evans Crews and Mrs. Kitty Finneran, they were able to interact with the children and take part in music, art and reading centers. By the time lunch time came, our fifth graders had bonded with their own “child”. They then enjoyed a lunch provided by St. Thomas and were were able to continue interacting with the children.

After lunch, Mrs. Susan Katz, Director of Academics, presented a lecture on the priceless stained glass windows. As they boarded the buses back to St. Thomas, it was very evident it had been a very important day in their lives. They realized just how much the smallest act of generosity and kindness has an enormous impact on the life of someone in need. Each student felt much closer to their sister parish and renewed their desire to continue sharing their blessings with this wonderful community.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

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FIFTH GRADERS VISIT HOLY COMFORTER

Top: Fifth graders visit Senior Center; Left: Anna Bauer in Art Class; Right: Nicolas Fernandez & Andres Chiossone visit Day Care Center

Killian Smith delivers groceries at Senior Citizen center

DEVELOPMENT

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Over the past year, there have been some wonderful opportu-nities which have brought the administration and our school families together to share the vision of the Master Plan, and the goals for this capital campaign. We are planning more "Capital Cocktail" get-togethers, so let us know if you would like to join us for one!

We are now moving out of Phase I. It is completed, and we have pledges to cover the cost of this portion of the project. We will not move forward with Phase II until we have raised the proper funds to do so.

A capital campaign asks donors to make a “stretch” pledge, a multi-year donation. This campaign invites you to give in installments over the next three years. We ask you to make a commitment before the end of the 2011 year to this important campaign. All donations are tax deductible.

All of us have benefited from the St. Thomas capital cam-paigns that came before us: the entire classroom wing on the south side of the courtyard, and most recently the Rantz Hall addition, which includes the spaces for Music, Art, Language, Environmental Sciences, and the Learning Resource Center. None of these incredible spaces would exist for our children if the parents before us had not provided the capital needed to build them.

Please email or call Linda Johnson as soon as you are ready to discuss your gift to this effort.

Securing Our Future Improvement Phase 1: • Athletic fields (new and existing), new civil work (drainage, compaction, etc.), and sod• New irrigation system• Perimeter, field, and parking lot landscape• Fence, gates, and stone pillars on new athletic field• 6-foot concrete wall on new athletic field and 6-foot stone pattern concrete panel wall along 600 feet on Banyan Drive • Parking lot upgrade and expansion• New lights in parking lot• Relocation and replacement of existing vegetation on exterior on Banyan Drive wall• Relocation of trash center and addition of recycling area• Installation of walkways• Butterfly Garden

Securing Our Future Improvements Phase II:A. Permitted projects for Phase II will cost about $400,000 and will include:• Perimeter fencing, pillars and gates along Kendall Drive and the west end of the property• Site-wide landscapingB. Unpermitted projects for Phase II in no particular order include:• Shade structures over: a. Preschool playground b. Lunch area c. Old Rectory porch (next to new field) d. Guardhouses• Old Rectory a. Upgraded bathrooms b. Water fountains• Lunch Area a. New pavers b. Summer kitchen• Interior Courtyard a. Drainage b. Landscaping c. Pavers over the cement circle• Sacristy a. Redesign and renovation

FROM THE SECURING OUR FUTURE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN AT ST. THOMAS.

Greetings and an Update

Amy and Jeff SteinhourThank you for your support!

As many of you may have noticed, our children at St. Thomas started their own school garden last year. As our fourth graders took on this project, they achieved great success in their first year, placing 3rd out of 78 participating schools in Miami in The Fairchild Challenge.

Starting with the White House, there has been a very strong national movement throughout the country to encourage and promote school gardens. St. Thomas once again is ahead of the game as the classes will now be taking on many more garden-related projects and visiting many local farms as well. This year, our fourth grade children will enjoy and participate in the garden as Mrs. Katz, Ms. Oldham, and the fourth grade teachers have worked hard to build many aspects of the garden into the curriculum in multiple areas—science, language arts, and social studies to name a few. A number of field trips to local farms and food markets have been planned to compliment what the children are learning about agricul-ture in Florida.

School gardens are about the Slow Food Movement through-out the country to educate children about eating healthy and taking responsibility for our planet. A child who might other-wise never consider touching broccoli might be more inclined to try it if he or she grew it and picked it themselves. Growing food builds curiosity. Children get a good picture of where food comes from and that there is a lot of work behind all of those fresh veggies in the supermarket aisle. The children are encouraged to touch the soil and smell it, hold leaves in their hands, and to take in the freshness of it all. That way, they really feel connected to the garden. Some children have even started their own gardens at home.

Nurturing young seedlings is a valuable part of the learning process. Watering them, caring for them, and weeding the garden all teach valuable lessons in being responsible and developing teamwork. A plant not watered dies. If the bugs are left to flourish, there will be no harvest. If the garden is not tended and weeded, the plants will be choked out and die. Scientific experiments can be conducted on variables such as watering and fertilizing. Math can be studied in relation to spacing, layout, and perimeter. Gardens even relate to social studies and history when children are making choices on whether to grow native plants versus growing exotic plants brought to us from far away places.

In our garden, we will continue to grow many different types of vegetables. Our vegetables were chosen carefully, taking

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continued on page 10

By JoEllen StrumpOur St. Thomas School Garden

CAMPUS HAPPENINGS

into consideration what grows well in Florida, what has a short growing season, and what will be fun to harvest. Last year, we grew beets, radishes, many varieties of sweet and hot peppers, and multiple cherry and beefsteak tomatoes in a rainbow of colors. We also grew eggplant, lettuce, broccoli, onions, brussel sprouts, and many, many herbs. This year we will be growing the same, but will also be experimenting with some new vegetables such as sweet peas, strawberries, and the ever-famous Seminole pumpkin, which was the main staple of our native Seminole Indians.

In our garden, we are also learning about health, nutrition, and cooking. In our garden alone, the children will grow everything necessary to make a pizza. Before they get to eat the pizza, they will have already learned about planting seeds, enriching the soil with natural nutrients, and caring for plants in a sustainable way that does not hurt our environment by using natural means to deal with pests. They have also learned that bugs are not always bad and some bugs are very good for our soil and for our plants.

Grafton (2017) and Erica Vazquez (2005).She noted that the butterfly garden’s care and maintenance is a continuing proj-ect. Every spring there will be a ceremony to release butter-flies into the garden as a symbol of renewal.

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‘Our St. Thomas School Garden’ - continued from page 9

Last summer, Hilda Bacardi was hard at work at St. Thomas. After walking the campus and hearing the vision for its future, she fell in love with the idea of refurbishing the butter-fly garden. Located just to the east of the St. Thomas church and school offices, the butterfly garden had been planted by Pat Knox, the former teacher of environmental education, some years ago. It was time to re-work the area, and Ms. Bacardi began a two-month project of restoration.

Working with the landscape architect and her own knowl-edge, Ms. Bacardi began by reviewing the plants that were in place. She wanted to incorporate as many existing plants as possible. Once the garden was revamped, it included blue porter weed, yellow top flaveria, mixed colored pentas, blue iris, milk week, and salva coccinea. The canary palm was cleaned of the plant on its trunk that was inhibiting its growth so that it could thrive.

The next important part of the butterfly garden project was to restore the wooden bridge that was originally an Eagle Scout project. Made sturdier and given a new coat of paint, the bridge was replaced in its original position in the garden, where Scouts, students, and children at St. Thomas can continue the tradition of using it for ceremonies.

Ms. Bacardi took on the butterfly garden project because of her love of St. Thomas and all that it has given to her children,

Butterfly GardenCAMPUS HAPPENINGS

This year we will be comparing and contrasting different varieties of peppers and tomatoes. In fact, the children will come to understand the difference between a GMO (genetically modified organism) to an heirloom variety. Heirloom vegetables are derived from seeds that are passed down from generation to generation. These seeds have never been changed in a lab from their original state. They are the tomatoes and peppers that our grand-parents grew and ate, and boy, can you tell the difference in taste!

The projects never end! This year, students will also start to compost and be introduced to vermiculture (the study of worms). So be prepared when your child asks to bring in your kitchen scraps from home one day. Worms can eat their bodyweight many times in a day. The fun never stops. Stop by next month and take a look. By January, we will be expecting a bountiful harvest of food and knowledge and hopefully building a lifetime love and appreciation for gardening in your children!

Welcome Our New Third Grade TeacherHolly Forbes is our new third grade teacher at St. Thomas Episcopal Parish School. Teaching has been her passion ever since she was a little girl in Dallas, Texas where she was born. When she was sixteen, her family moved to Coral Gables, Florida. After graduating from Westminster Christian High School she went on to study elementary education at Texas A&M.

She married her husband, Andrew Forbes, in Dallas in 2004. Shortly after, they moved to Miami and she began working as a fourth grade teacher at Gullivery Academy. She took a three year leave of absence when her boys Ben and Sam were born.

During her time off, she substituted at St. Thomas and fell in love with the school! She was thrilled when Mrs. Charlton offered her a job last spring! Her son Ben is in Mrs. Stutzer’s class and Sam will be attending next year.

Holly feels it is a pleasure joining such a special family here at St. Thomas, both as a parent and a teacher. She appreciates the fact that everyone has been so welcoming and looks forward to many years here!

CAMPUS HAPPENINGS

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One of the most famous characters in children’s literature is also one of the world’s best-known and most adored rag dolls! The character is called Raggedy Ann, and she has a brother by the name of Raggedy Andy. Raggedy Ann and Andy have been around for more than 95 years! The Raggedy Ann and Andy stories were written by Johnny Gruelle, the author and illustrator of the Raggedy Ann books.

The books were first published in the early 1900’s. The stories reflect a time when American values were being chal-lenged by progress and social change. Johnny Gruelle told his stories with an old-fashioned setting, telling about things like his own dolls, which were hand-crafted and homemade. Legend has it that he got his idea when his little girl burst into her father’s art studio, trailing a battered rag doll behind her. She told her father that she had found the faceless doll in her grandma’s attic. Her father picked up the doll, looked at the blank face, and used his cartooning pen to create a whimsical face on the doll. Thus, Raggedy Ann was “born!”

All through October, the students from kindergarten through fifth grade listened to stories about Raggedy Ann and Andy. In addition, every child got a special bookmark.The students in the upper grades also did research on Johnny Gruelle, the author. Each student got to answer a question about the story he or she heard. Mrs. Jenks and Mrs. du Feu collected all the correct answers and, at the end of the month, one answer from each grade level was randomly chosen and the winner received a prize. Even the teachers got into the spirit by wearing Raggedy Ann aprons or Raggedy Andy hats the day the winners were announced.

The winners of the Raggedy Ann and Andy Contest were:

Raggedy Ann and Andy Visit the St. Thomas LibraryBy Susan Moss Katz, Director of Academics

Raggedy Ann and Andy had a lovely visit at St. Thomas!

Kindergarten – Max Manna First Grade – Rory Holt and Alec Vila Second Grade – Lulu Infante Third Grade – Sloane Sell Fourth Grade – Mary Catherine Lorie Fifth Grade – Justin Lopez

2012

ST. T

HO

MAS EPISCOPAL PARISH SCH

OO

L A LU M N I F U N R U NSAVE THE DATE

February 11, 2012

ALUMNI NEWS

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Alumni DayMembers of the classes of 2006-2011 participated in our yearly Alumni Day, one of St. Thomas’ most important tradi-tions. Alumni processesd into Chapel where Father Mario welcomed them “home” and held a special service in their honor. Student Council President Maite Gutierrez ’ll (Westminster) and Cristy Hernandez ’06 (Palmer Trinity) elo-quently shared their St. Thomas memories with a standing room only audience. Over 30 members of the class of ’06, currently high school seniors, came back “home”. The amaz-ing overall attendance of more than 100 alumni was a true testament to the love our alumni have for their school, for each other and for the lifelong friendship they began here so many years ago. Cristy Hernandez reminded everyone that “it was here that we were taught the values of kindness and compassion and that all our successes and accomplishments meant nothing if we were not good and true people first. “Here is the place where we first learned that our character should always remain our greatest source of pride.” We are so very proud of each and every one of our alumni!

FROM LEFT: Maite Gutierrez ‘10; Christy Hernandez’06

Chris Sanz ’98, was inducted in the Athletic Hall of Fame at Palmer Trinity School. Chris graduated from Boston College, attended FIU College of Law and is now at the University of Miami School of Law pursuing a Masters of Law. He passed the Florida Bar and is currently interning for Shutts & Bowen.

Andrew Roberts ’03, sophomore at Dartmouth College, writes he loves New Hampshire, particularly the changing seasons. He is teaching skiing in his spare time this fall and is preparing to spend his spring quarter in Morocco.

Hailey Wood ’03, a junior at Highpoint University and a friend from Marketing Club, started “Get Social”, a business that sets up social media accounts. She is also Director of Social Media for her University as well as a University Ambassador.

Alden Dunwody Pimentel ’84 and Lacy Dunwody Matheson ‘88, were part of our Christmas Bazaar this fall. Alden and her husband Jamie live in Greenville, South Caro-lina where she is busy raising Elliott, Stewart and Lauren and at the same time is a Stella & Dot representative. Lacy and her husband Jordan live in Tallahassee with their girls Stella and Barrett. Lacy runs her business “Felt Happy Boutique”.

John Joseph O’Sullivan ’05, freshman at MIT, writes: It’s great to be in a place where everyone you meet is interest-ing and passionate about what they do. The work is hard, but you feel like the Institute is making you do this stuff because they understand what it takes to excel in the real world, and want you to graduate able to do so. I love it here, and encour-age anyone ready to challenge themselves for the rest of their lives to set their sights on MIT. Just like I did. Good luck to all!

Merrett Fay ’09 (Westminster) came in 5th in the boy’s Divi-sion for the Wakeboard World Championships. Besides wakeboarding, Merrett has become an amazing filmer/editor. He came in 4th in the New Producer Video contest. His latest video on wake boarding friend Noah Flegel, was chosen as the first wake boarder to feature as Sports Illustrated Kid Athlete of the Year!

The Bit O’Straw Hunter Classic in the Stongid C 2X Grand Prix Stadium in Saugerties, New York saw 58 starters. The top 12 horse-and-rider combinations returned for a second round and Cassie Crotty’10 emerged as the winner on her own horse Uroko. Cassie is also excelling in basketball and volleyball at Ransom Everglades School.

Congratulations