alumni magazine
TRANSCRIPT
The MacDuffie SchoolA L U M N I M A G A Z I N E
Volume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
MISSION: To foster in all students the intellectual habits of mind, high ethical standards, and respect for diversity required for becoming effective individuals in their personal and work lives and moral and responsible participants in the world beyond.
CONTACT US:66 School Street, Granby, MA 01033413.255.0000 | macduffie.org | [email protected]
ADVISORY BOARD
Steven Griffin, Head of School
Leslie Pitt Chehade ‘87
Cheryl Lyncosky White ‘93
Alun Polga, Dean of Students
Tim Duff, Headmaster of Pioneer Valley Christian Academy
Nina Metz, Past Parent
John Soares, Current Parent
Deb Jacques, Current Parent
CONNECT WITH US
WINTER 2018 PRODUCTION STAFF:
Writer & Editor: Jodie Lynn Boduch, Director of Marketing & Communications
Designer: Paul J. Pereira of Paul J. Pereira Design
Photographers:
Risley Sports Photography
Michael Epaul Photography
Grynn & Barrett
Peapod Designs
Members of the MacDuffie community and featured alumni have also provided photos.
Volume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
HEAD OF SCHOOL
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Every unselfish person you have known helps you to be thoughtful of others; every person of honor and ideals helps you to be honest and true to your best.”
– Dr. Rutenber
Greetings from the Head of School,
hile we’ve always gone out of our way to keep you posted on the happenings at MacDuffie, especially during these times of institutional change, you’ll see a slight pivot in our alumni magazine this year. We’ve decided to place more of a focus on our
accomplished graduates. After all, it’s YOUR magazine!Sure, there’s still much space reserved for the “humble brags” for on-campus activities—see our articles about the Arts, Athletics, Middle School, and Community Service—but there’s also more of a spotlight on our alumni. You’ll meet lawyers, writers, directors, photographers, and athletes, and of course, you’ll read about your schoolmates in our class notes section. Finally, given our deep dive on history for our greatly anticipated book project, we’re able to start sharing some interesting snippets of history. As always, we’d love to hear from you, as keeping you engaged with our recent grads, with your friends, and with your former teachers, is our true goal. Dr. Rutenber wrote in 1966 that “in the friendly, community life of MacDuffie you have learned that no one lives to herself...every unselfish person you have known helps you to be thoughtful of others; every person of honor and ideals helps you to be honest and true to your best...You in turn will influence all those who come in contact with you, even as you have been influenced by your parents, your teachers, and your fellow-students.” The alumni magazine is a great place for us to celebrate our alumni and how so many of them work to be, as our mission states, “moral and responsible participants in the world beyond” their personal and work lives. We always hope to influence our current students with your tales of alumni “making a difference” in their communities through innovation and leadership. I hope that, in turn, you’ll continue to take fond memories of The MacDuffie School along with you on your journey.
With best regards,Steve Griffin
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S.T.E.A.MVolume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
Full
Ahead
When Erica Nagel ’99 recently worked on a S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) initiative with fellow theater educator Maria Aladren, retired MacDuffie theater teacher Ms. Boutin came to mind.
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MacDuffie MENTORS
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THAT WAS A GOOD THING—a very good thing. For Erica, for Maria, and for the students at Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools (MCVTS). It was the start of an innovative collaboration that brought together physics and theater education. Erica is Director of Education and Engagement at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey. McCarter runs school-based programs and summer camps, offers classes in partnership with a local service organization for the homeless, and participates in collective impact arts education advocacy projects. The nonprofit also creates audience engagement opportunities and works with local districts to offer teachers professional learning about arts integration. “I was immediately struck by the bravery and rigor Maria expected from her students and brought to the table herself,” says Erica. She was drawn to working with Maria because in many ways, it reminded her of her own theater education at MacDuffie. “Ms. Boutin was fearless about the kind of material we got to dig into and treated us all like professionals. She had extremely high expectations born out of deep care for her students and love of the art form. Because of her mentorship, I got to college already thinking outside the box in terms of narrative structure, grounded in text analysis, empowered to create my own work, and ready to take on leadership in a lot of areas on stage and off.” Erica studied theater as an undergraduate at Washington University and, developing an interest in audience engagement strategies, earned an MFA in Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas _Austin. This led her to the artistic department at McCarter, where she coordinates and creates audience engagement and community partnerships.
ENTER STAGE RIGHT, THE S.T.E.A.M PROJECT. The project commissioned three professional playwrights to write short plays and lead playwriting workshops. On the pedagogy side, the physics teacher re-structured his curriculum to align with the areas of theater technology the drama teacher was exploring. The students solved the technical challenges of the
plays using their knowledge from physics class (e.g., building a robotic arm as a prop for one of the plays). Another play used the idea of Schrödinger’s Cat (a thought experiment in which two contradictory states can be equally true until observed) as a central metaphor for the uncertainty of students who fear there may be an active shooter in the school. Students chose to do the piece as a site-specific performance and learned how to live-project their performance from a classroom onto a screen in the theater. A discussion about swarm intelligence (the collective behavior of individuals) ultimately became a play about what it means to feel like an American. Students concluded that civic participation was what anchored them in the idea of America and held voter registration drives at the performances. McCarter’s education department spearheads other projects, too. Erica says she’s most inspired by those “that use theater to help participants become engaged, kind, intellectually curious individuals while they also hone their artistic technique.” She believes that her theater training, starting at MacDuffie, is where she developed skills of discipline, resourcefulness, resilience, collaboration, giving and receiving feedback, and leadership. Erica cites the emphasis on writing and the integrated curriculum as important aspects of her MacDuffie education. “Whether in English, history, math, or the arts, we were always being challenged to express ourselves clearly and effectively in writing,” she says. As for the cross-disciplinary approach, she uses the example of reading a book in English class set in the time period being studied in history, and then building a hypothetical budget in math for a trip to that part of the world. “We were constantly asked to research and look for connections between subject areas. I think that really influenced my world view. We were asked to have strong opinions and to reflect on our identities, voices, and what we wanted to bring to the world.”
“I am still very close with a group of best friends from MacDuffie, and while I’m the only one that ended up working in theater as a career, ALL of us cite Ms. Boutin as a central influence on our growth as people, students, and leaders,” says Erica. “Ms. Boutin was one of those teachers who consistently pushed you to take your ideas further, to stretch yourself as an artist, and to never be satisfied with something that was ‘good enough.’ She did this as a director and acting coach, but also as an example.”
Other teachers Erica remembers fondly include Mr. Vennell (who taught her that peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice), Mr. O’Brien (who showed her that history is a series of compelling stories of cause and effect), and Ms. O’Brien (who made her think about why history should matter to people who want to make the world better). Erica also gives a shout out to Mrs. Clayton, Director of International Admissions, who “taught me a lot about how to be welcoming, kind, and warm without relinquishing your personal power or integrity.”
Erica Nagel ’99
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ARTS
THEATER: Invoking Shakespeare
The Bard is having a moment at MacDuffie. Theater teacher and Arts Department Chair Ms. Benedict says students have been learning about Shakespeare in class, on the professional stage, and in our own Little Theater. Acting, which is a full-year course, exposes students to Shakespeare through a Romeo and Juliet monologue assignment in the third quarter. This allows students to do a piece with more weight, Ms. Benedict says, and helps them learn to interpret and communicate with an audience who might not understand the material. The class eases into Shakespeare’s language in a fun way: By playfully trading Shakespearean insults
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fromThe Bard’s Guide to Abuses and Affronts (e.g., “Out of my sight! Thou dost infect my eyes” from Richard III). The annual Arts-English field trip to the Hartford Stage to see a Shakespeare play, overseen by internationally renowned Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak, makes the material even more accessible.“ Getting to see professional Shakespeare is important because students experience the responses people and themselves have to the work,” Ms. Benedict says. Words, visuals, eye contact, how emotions are conveyed—all contribute to a fuller understanding. A Q&A with the cast and crew afterward is beneficial for students, too, as they have the opportunity to discuss the play, theater careers, and language barriers. Students themselves brought Shakespeare to life with A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Fall 2016, exploring the challenges of the work and expansiveness of production (including dedicated crews for costume, makeup, and hair). This year, students saw the play on stage in Hartford. Ms. Benedict says it’s an experience that allowed students to “see how the interpretation of the director and actors can change the experience.” The theater program won’t be doing Shakespeare this academic year, but students will take their experiences with them into the Winter Musical, The Addams Family, March 2-4 and the Acting Ensemble Showcase, April 27 and 28 (Reunion Weekend!).
ARTS
MUSIC: From Skills to PoetryOur music program, headed by Ms. Meirovich, offers something for musicians of all skill levels, from learning to play and perform to composition and production. Guitar Skills (in its 3rd year) and Keyboard Skills (in its 2nd year) are open to beginner and intermediate students. Already, Ms. Meirovich says, she’s seen students branch out as their skill levels and confidence increase. The classes work on developing all aspects of playing an instrument: dexterity; ear training; hand, eye, and ear processing; and even working through being nervous. Students perform for one another as well as for the school community as part of their course work. Music Theory, Composition, and Production is a year-long class new to the curriculum. The goal of the course is to give students the tools and abilities to write and produce their own tracks. A music production course offered last year was successful—so much so that students Carlo De Felice ’19 and Jonah Abrams ’19 continued collaborating on music production over the summer. Ms. Meirovich revamped the offering to incorporate theory because, as she
says “you have to learn the vocabulary, then you can write poetry.” The music program—which also includes soloists, the MacDuffie Singers, the Middle School Band, and the Middle School Chorus will culminate in the Spring Music Concert on April 20 and 21.
DANCE: Leadership Through DanceSo you think you can choreograph? Our new, semester-long Choreography course requires as much technique and creativity as it does leadership. Dance teacher Ms. Muzzy explains that students must schedule rehearsals, coach and teach their peers, and oversee production design (costumes, lighting, music, etc.) for the final presentation at the Visual Arts Show and Dance Concert (May 4 and 5). In addition to student choreographers and Ms. Muzzy herself, guest artists also serve to teach and inspire. “It’s beneficial for our students to have exposure to working artists,” she says. In Spring 2016, students welcomed former visiting artist in dance at Mount Holyoke College Candice Salyers. In Spring 2017, Ms. Muzzy’s fellow SUNY Brockport MFA alum Falon Baltzell taught a Master’s class. Both guest artists worked with the MacDuffie Dancers (our dance repertory group) to create a piece for each of the concerts. Also new to the dance program this year is another component that values leadership: a MacDuffie chapter for the National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA). Fifteen students (juniors and seniors) are currently working toward Ph
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induction, the criteria for which includes 45 hours of dance class, a certain GPA for the dance program, and attendance at workshops and live performances. Leadership, character, and collaborative efforts also factor into candidacy. VISUAL ARTS: Time and MotionEach year, Visual Arts teacher Ms. Hastings selects a theme—it provides a focus, she says, for the artists and artworks to be studied and created. Students at all visual arts levels (grades 6-12) are working with Time and Motion this year. Making kinetic art (art that moves) helps the students improve their problem-solving skills, Ms. Hastings says. Some projects will be as simple as pinwheels. Others will be more involved, such as the sculptures that will be featured at the end-of-year
Visual Arts Show and Dance Concert. Upper School students will present sculptures depicting “What Makes Me Tick” and will have a miniature mobile hanging inside a form similar to a grandfather clock.“Getting students to create original art is always a challenge,” Ms. Hastings says. “Adding an additional element, something unexpected, helps them push themselves outside of their comfort zones.”
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WINTER 2017Our Boys’ Prep Basketball program under Coach Jacque Rivera continues to cultivate players whose standout efforts at MacDuffie often lead to some excellent opportunities for college play. Jake Kakar ’17 signed with Barton College (Division II). Early Division I commits Dana Tate ’18 (University of Rhode Island) and Alex Christie ’18 (Stony Brook University) signed their Letters of Intent already...even before the start of the 2017-18 season!
Girls’ Varsity Basketball under new coach Art Thomas grew in strength throughout the season. They reached the New England Playoffs as the #3 ranked team and lost by just three points in the semifinal in what was the final MacDuffie game for Florence Tshimanga ‘17. Florence went on to play Division I Basketball at Grand Canyon University.
Similar to our Boys Prep and Girls’ Varsity teams, our Boys’ Varsity Basketball team achieved success by reaching the playoffs of the newly established Prep 6 Conference, falling short in the quarterfinals.
SPRING 2017Ultimate Frisbee remains popular and competitive. With over 35 players on 3 teams, the Co-ed Varsity team under Coach Shelburne’s leadership took first place at the annual Marianapolis Prep School Invitational. Our Track & Field team continued to thrive in its second year, and the school welcomed back Girls’ Lacrosse to the list of spring offerings.
FALL 2017Girls’ Varsity Soccer (regular season, 11-1-1) capped an excellent season by winning the NEPSAC
Class C Championship. They were also ranked #1 in New England Class C and were the Western New England Class C Champions, both for the second consecutive year. Emilee Auclair ‘18, Ania Ludkiewicz ’19, and Ala Legowski ’19 were named All Western New England All-Stars; Ania and Ala were also All New England Junior (Class of 2019) All-Stars. Once again, Ala represented the Poland U17 National Team during the fall season in a European qualifying tournament against Switzerland, Ukraine, and the Faroe Islands. Poland won all 3 games to finish top of their group.
Boys’ Varsity Soccer (regular season, 10-5-1) won the South East New England (SENE) Conference Championship. The team, ranked #5 in New England Class D, also made it to NEPSAC Class D semifinals. Jola Oke ’18 and Alvaro Garcia ’18 were named All Western New England All-Stars, Devon Huard and Alvaro were the All New England Senior (Class of 2018) All-Stars, and Hazim Jaber was an All New England Junior (Class of 2019) All-Star. Devon, Mason Baral ‘18, and Jace Legowski ‘18 were also named to the SENE All League Team.
Girls’ Volleyball Volleyball went undefeated in the regular season with 17 wins—and only dropped one set all season. Ranked #2 in New England Class C for the second successive year, the team also made it to the finals for the second year in a row. Jocelyn St. Onge ‘18, Sarah Scott ‘19, and Kacey Deecher ’20 were named All New England All-Stars.
Both Cross Country teams had strong seasons and a great post-season showing. The Girls’
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team came in 1st place in the SENE Championship and the Boys’ team came in 3rd. Individual highlights for the Girls’ SENE race: Olivia Ramirez ‘19, 2nd; Marie Hua ‘21, 4th; Haley Moriarty ‘19, 6th; and Beyza Tumturk ‘20, 10th. Individual highlights for the Boys’ SENE race: Ian Hua ‘20, 1st; Ethan Deecher ‘18, 8th; and Mehmet Tuncer ‘20, 9th.
TOP: Ultimate Frisbee. BOTTOM: Girls’ Varsity Soccer
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Boys’ Varsity Basketball
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ALUMNI
Amanda Keating ’07,
CONGRATULATIONS on being one of the winners of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. Tell us about the contest and about your play. Thanks! It’s a huge honor just to have my play make it into the final 30 that were performed (there were over 1,000 submissions to the festival this year), and to be one of the six winners was incredible. This is the first of my plays that will ever be published, which is very exciting. The festival itself has been around for over 40 years, so the folks at Sam French really know what they’re doing and treat all the playwrights, directors, and actors involved with a lot of kindness and respect and enthusiasm. I was fortunate to have done the play once before, but this was with a whole new (and amazing) cast, so it was a blast to dive back in with new minds and hearts. The play is called this movie, and takes place in a movie theater on Thanksgiving Day, with the only two moviegoers at the 11:45am matinee encountering each other across the aisle.
How long have you been writing plays, and what inspired you to start? Do you do any creative writing in other forms?
I’ve written poetry and short stories since I was a little kid and started writing small plays in Denise Boutin’s class at MacDuffie. I majored in theater in college, but mostly did other things (directing, acting, designing, etc.) and never identified fully as a playwright until afterward, when I attended the National Theater Institute at the O’Neill Theater Center in Connecticut. I took a playwriting class there that completely changed my life, helping me be much more open and comfortable creatively. Of all the creative disciplines I’d tackled (and I’d tackled pretty much all of them), playwriting just felt right. I’m trying to come back around to fiction again, but no major progress on that front yet.
How did your time at MacDuffie shape your career as a playwright?Oh man, in so many ways. MacDuffie allowed me to be creative in every way I wanted to be - from Aimee Stone’s dance class, to running the a cappella group, to all the plays I was in directed by Ted Lyman, to every class and play I did and conversation I had with Denise Boutin. And of course my mom, Linda Keating, who was the Director of Admissions,
championed and celebrated my work and the work of all my fellow theater makers at MacDuffie in every way she could. [Ed. Note: Linda Keating passed away in 2015.] I was very lucky. At the time, MacDuffie not only challenged me academically, but also gave me the freedom to play creatively, and I am forever grateful for the opportunities it gave me to do both.
What are your favorite memories from MacDuffie?Most of them take place on the MacDuffie stage at the old campus! I performed in every play from eighth grade onward, I danced and sang, and I considered that room my home. I loved MacDuffie in general, though, and think back on my time there with a lot of love and fondness. I learned so much and had the opportunity to do big, brave things which I think have played a big part in making me who I am today.
Did you have any teachers who influenced your creativity?Absolutely—and many of these teachers have retired or moved on. First and foremost, Denise Boutin, who remains a good friend to this day, and who both believed in me
without doubt and challenged me fiercely to be a better artist. As I’ve said, my mom, whose presence at every set build, who stayed late for hours while I was in rehearsal, who loved and admired everything I and my fellow students made. Aimee Stone, who gave me the vocabulary to create choreography and process verbal and intellectual ideas physically. Alun Polga, who taught me to be a keen reader and writer of all kinds of texts, and who believed in my capacity as a creative writer and critical thinker. But I also can’t leave off Greg Vennell, Joan O’Brien, Gisele Zachary, and Elizabeth Lancaster, who were just amazing teachers and opened my mind to ideas, awareness, and bravery in work that I carry with me to this day in my writing.
Anything else? I feel like I’ve yammered on so much! But just want to say quickly that I owe MacDuffie a lot - especially the teachers and my mom, who created a space where I could be myself and find pride, comfort, and creativity in that. There’s no better foundation for being an artist.
Q&Awith
PlaywrightAmanda Keating ’07
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Off the Court withJordy Tshimanga ’16IN MAY 2016, three-star prospect Jordy Tshimanga had a number of offers to play basketball at Division I colleges. There was plenty of buzz, both on campus and in sports media, about the 6’11”, 270-pound center from Montreal. He made his announcement in assembly, with Nebraska, UNLV, and Minnesota baseball caps on the table. He went with the University of Nebraska because, as he says, it was just the right fit: the environment, the school opportunities, the athletics program, and the fan base. MacDuffie’s Coach Jacque Rivera was a good influence on him, he says, and “gave me great advice that I took on my journey to college.” We checked in with Jordy to see how college life, and college basketball, is treating him. As a Division I player, Jordy stays busy year-round. In the off-season (summer), he attends summer classes in the morning and follows the team lifting and workout schedule in the afternoon. Once the school year begins, so does the hardest part of being a college basketball player—managing classes and basketball. The course load is more intense (Jordy is a psychology major) and practices are longer. The team lifts in groups to accommodate various schedules. Jordy is something of a celebrity—everyone knows him wherever he goes in Nebraska, he says. And his impression of that fan base was spot on: Lincoln gets “crazy” for game days. With all this in mind, what’s the best thing about being a Husker? “Being able to play basketball every day and getting better at it!” Keep your eyes on the TV screen for Jordy; he moved into the starting five last year and continues to improve. Go Huskers!
Charles O’Neill ’09 Charles, a graduate of UMass, coaches Boys’ Varsity Soccer and Co-ed JV Tennis. While at MacDuffie, he was the all-time leading goal scorer, proud member of the 2006 CISAC Championship team, and scored the game-winning goal in his senior game. Mr. George, his coach at the time (and now coach of Girls’ Varsity Soccer and the Athletic Director), has remained a mentor. When the coaching position opened up, Charles saw it as an opportunity to help build team cohesiveness and win another championship. “I think the new campus is beautiful,” he says, “and I’m glad to know MacDuffie is still a great place where people from around the world can share their experiences and get to know one another.” It was an experience he says he didn’t fully appreciate until he graduated. Charles says coaching has changed his perspective. “Coaching allowed me to see the game as a whole. I was no longer concerned with a single position and could understand how the game moves over all,” he says. The overall goal is to create a positive experience for his players. “If my team is having fun and enjoying themselves and growing collectively as players then that’s a great atmosphere to be a part of.”
Sinéad Murray ’10 Girls’ JV Volleyball coach Sinéad Murray, who recently graduated from
STCC, has been employed at the same Boys & Girls Club she used to attend on Carew Street in Springfield, MA. “I guess I’m fond of making my way back to places that have made me who I am,” she says. As a MacDuffie coach, Sinéad enjoys becoming acquainted with her players. “I’ve always liked how MacDuffie has people from all over the world, so getting to know people from different places is always awesome,” she says,
“but knowing that sports is universal and can bring us together is even better.” Being an alumna means that as a coach, she could “be a face for the students as someone who’s traveled on a bit of their path, hoping they wouldn’t mind opening up to me.”
Of her time at MacDuffie, Sinéad says it’s the little things that stand out, like the icebreaker in the middle of the school year designed to get students to socialize with people beyond their existing circles. She also appreciated Mr. Vennell’s Peace Studies course, where she learned “to communicate with others who may have a different opinion than you,” a skill she finds useful to this day. The new campus, she says, still feels like MacDuffie. “I am grateful for the opportunity...I’m glad to be given a chance to continue to grow with open arms. I feel very welcomed.” Thank you, Charles and Sinéad, for returning to campus and enriching our community!
ALUMNI COACHES: Charles O’Neill ’09 & Sinéad Murray ’10
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PREVIOUS WINNERS INCLUDE:
Varona Maysonet-Ayala ‘18, 2016
Natalie Pappas, ’15
Caleb Shelburne ‘14 & Maggie Taylor ‘14
THE UNICORN AWARD IS AWARDED ANNUALLY TO A CURRENT MACDUFFIE STUDENT who has the Best Poem or Short Story published in the literary magazine, The Muse. The award pays homage to the Unicorn, MacDuffie’s longstanding mascot when MacDuffie was an all-girls’ school. The Unicorn was also the previous name of the literary magazine. The winner of this award is selected by a prestigious contemporary poet; past judges have included Lisa C. Krueger, Lauren Davis, and Joshua Medsker.
2017 WINNING ENTRY FOR THE UNICORN AWARD:
Envy By Varona Maysonet-Ayala ’18
cherry blossom,
pluck yourself from view,
finish what you started,
in pink and reddish hue.
crimson lips fashioned into a smile,
sip tar from your red cup,
cherish paint bleeding from your wounds.
see the saltwater rising up.
burnt umber,
costumes toasted green.
i twirl and plie across wooden planks
godsent rupture, ripping at the seams
i bleed ink, i pour pink salt on my wounds.
dropping rosebuds by your feet,
ice echoes from stretched skin,
wrists caught by ivy ties,
do you think we could dance again?
ALUMNI SUBMISSIONS TO THE MUSE The Muse has a new “Uni-corner” section to honor the creativity of our alumni. Please visit macduffiemuse.com for submission information. The Muse honors creativity in various forms--poems, short stories, artwork, and photography. You can also find The Muse on Instagram: @macduffiemuse
AWARDThe Unicorn
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Middle SchoolEach year, 7th Grade holds a Town Hall meeting during which they present proposed legislation. As part of the Town Hall last spring, Mrs. Gordon’s Civics class (now 8th graders, Class of 2022) wrote letters to Massachusetts State Representative Solomon Goldstein-Rose, who represents the 3rd Hampshire District, and submitted their legislation ideas.In response to the letters, Rep. Goldstein-Rose paid Middle School a visit this fall. “We need more young people to get involved in politics,” he said, sharing with the group that he thought he would grow up to be a clean engineer technician. Then he observed how issues in public policy moved incrementally. ”I realized I wanted to see more bold legislation being passed, and I decided I would run for office myself. I hope some of you will consider running for state rep or other public position.” Students were engaged—and Rep. Goldstein-Rose was engaging. Head of Middle School Mrs. Albanese says he “was very relatable to our students. He shared an
important message with them: that they are not too young to have influence and impact on what is happening in Massachusetts and beyond.” Youth empowerment is a key element in Rep. Goldstein-Rose’s platform. Because one of the tenets of our Middle School is finding and using your voice, his talk was particularly resonant. “I think the most interesting thing I learned was that you can be any age to contribute to lawmaking,” says Sophie Stetson ‘22. “You can propose a bill at any age, young or old. It’s how they involve everyone in making the government better—by showing them a different point of view.” Head of School Mr. Griffin spoke to the educational benefit of community partnership. “It’s great to see our teachers taking the initiative to partner with our community,” he says. “Having our students write letters to Mr. Goldstein-Rose, and having him respond by coming to speak to them in class, makes the study of civics more interesting and authentic to them.”
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One of our signature events every fall is the Middle School Excursion. Students get reacquainted, meet their advisors, and have fun. This year’s event was held at Dufresne Park.
When Matt Brown ’24 read about 9-year-old Jacob Thompson, a terminal cancer patient whose early Christmas wish was for festive cards, he invited the MacDuffie community to make and send cards. Our 6th and 7th graders took part, sending Jacob cards with penguins (Jacob’s favorite animal) and holiday wishes.
Science 7 worked on their mapping skills this fall--check out those 3D topographic maps!
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Community
Outreach
Because our students are inspired to help in so many ways, community outreach takes many forms at MacDuffie. Here’s a small sampling of our recent
service efforts, in the words of our students.
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KEY CLUBIn the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the Key Club collected donations of clothes, shoes, toiletries, medicine, and food, filling over a dozen large boxes with supplies for Houston. “It feels great knowing that, as a group, we are making a positive impact on the lives of people in need,” says Ethan Deecher ’18. While the club was in the midst of Houston donations, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, prompting another service effort. Varona Maysonet-Ayala ’18 says the club, “led by the incredibly compassionate Mrs. Caballero,” dedicated a lot of time and heart to aiding relief efforts. Varona adds: “On Mountain Day, the Key Club joined together with whisks in hand to bake and buy treats to raise money for relief efforts. Then, many students dedicated a few hours to sorting donated goods in Holyoke at Nueva Esperanza Inc., hoping to supply the ‘new hope’ the organization was aiming to provide.”
DUFFCARE+DuffCare+, founded this fall by Arda Sengun ’20, is a club that aims to build character and develop leadership through volunteering. “I dream about a better world,” he says, “and how to make dreams come true.” Whereas the Key Club collects and distributes donations for many organizations, DuffCare+ focuses on the volunteer effort itself. As Arda explains it, the club records community service hours and gives students a record of those hours (which may come in handy for a resume, a job interview, or the Senior Leadership Practicum). Arda and club VP Julianna Segura ’20 coordinated a breast cancer research fundraiser and are planning a fundraiser for another organization soon.
UNICEFMacDuffie now sponsors a chapter of UNICEF, the international organization founded in 1946 to protect the rights of children. The club started at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year with the goal of raising funds to support UNICEF, which helps children who are suffering from hunger, poverty, and disease. Co-VP Jola Oke ’18 says the club “aims to create awareness about such children and draw people’s attention to the children suffering.” Each month, UNICEF MacDuffie will hold an event to raise funds or to educate. For example, in October, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF raised almost $500. In November, the club held a hunger banquet to give students an experience of the hunger prevalent in some third-world countries. “Helping people has become natural for me,” says Jola. “Coming from Nigeria, I have witnessed the suffering some of these kids are experiencing, so it’s a great feeling knowing I can help them in some way even when I’m so far from home.”
Helping people has become natural for me. Coming from Nigeria, I have witnessed the suffering some of these kids are experiencing, so it’s a great feeling knowing I can help them in some way even when I’m so far from home.”
— Jola Oke ’18, Co-VP UNICEF Club
KEY CLUB DUFFCARE+ UNICEF
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Distinguished Alumni Award 2017: Marisa Maleck ‘03THIS YEAR’S DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENT WAS ATTORNEY MARISA MALECK ’03.
16 | The MacDuffie School Alumni Magazine Volume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
Community. I have three things I want to say about this value.
First, I have always tried to keep and find a community. When I was at MacDuffie, I was an athlete and into plays/musicals. I loved that at MacDuffie you could be both a jock and a theater geek. That was an early model for me to refuse to fit into one mold. And that value enabled me to participate as fully as possible in different communities. It was this trait—my willingness to keep an open mind about other perspectives—that led me to discover my most important community in college: the debate team! I still love talking to those people and tossing around ideas. It also led to Justice Thomas offering me a clerkship with him. He told me he wanted someone who could reach across to people who didn’t always think like him. During my year at the Supreme Court, some of my closest friends were fellow clerks with whom I did not share the same judicial philosophy, but we bonded over other commonalities and shared life experience, and together did the best we could to influence our bosses. My ability to find community anywhere had its genesis in this community, and it has served me incredibly well. Second, another thing about community: Never, ever, worry about asking for help. You cannot succeed without asking for help. I promise you. I ask for help all the time, and people are always tickled to help. Third, I also think about the teachers still here who shaped me in ways maybe I didn’t fully appreciate when I was where you were: Ms. O Brien, Mr. Vennell, Ms. Tomkiel, Mr. Blanton...they taught me empathy and the importance of being part of this really neat community. I hope you appreciate that or at least will one day. Integrity. I have two things I want to say about this value. First, on a professional level: When I was at MacDuffie, I was in a play, The Crucible. One of the characters, John Proctor, refuses to sign a pledge that he was a witch, which would spare his life. And
he has this great line, where, upon being pressured to sign that he was a witch, he repeated “But it’s my name, it’s my name.” That lesson stuck with me; your name, what you do, reflects who you are and your values. Having integrity, being honest, honoring your word, doing your best work, and never cutting corners will always define you. My drive to do my best has brought me professional success. The community you’re in is probably smaller than you think. Keeping your reputation for honesty intact is so very crucial. That brings me to my second point. What I just said is only part of integrity. As important as doing good work is living with integrity and authenticity. In some ways, I was probably my most authentic self at MacDuffie. But I also felt some pressure about fitting in. You probably are, too. But I’m telling you with hindsight being 20/20, it’s so much less stressful when you stop caring so
much about what others think of you. They aren’t thinking of you as much as you think they are anyway! Also, a life-changing life hack: Don’t ask what they think of you, ask what you think of them...and are they worth your emotional and physical energy? ... of all the values that MacDuffie teaches you, I think the ones that resonate the most for me right now in my life are Community and Integrity. I’m 31 now, and I thought
these values at your age were just some marketing person’s BS. But as I wrote this speech, I reflected on how important the values are and were to me along my journey. There have been times when I have compromised who I was because I wanted to fit in. You may be struggling with this, too, in high school. You may want to deny that you are really into something like knitting. Or that you like Dungeons & Dragons. For me, I denied a lot of things about myself. But I’m finally finding my community. And I’m living more authentically now, in part because I have returned to the values that MacDuffie teaches. It’s never too late to embrace and live these values. I hope you, too, years from now, will be able to reflect on the lessons that MacDuffie taught you.
SHE GRADUATED FROM AMHERST COLLEGE WITH HONORS, where she double majored in political science and gender studies. After college, Marisa worked at various legal nonprofits and on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she worked on Justice Sotomayor’s nomination. She graduated from the University of Chicago with honors and won the school’s prize for excellence in appellate advocacy and a service award for students who have made an exceptional contribution to the quality of life at the law school. She has since worked for two federal judges, including Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court, and is now an attorney at a law firm in Washington, DC. She is particularly proud of some of her gratis work, including winning an appeal for a woman who was trafficked into the US and forced into domestic slavery, and also winning an appeal that resulted in a court striking down a voting law in Guam that restricted voting to a certain race. She has recently been asked to start serving as the chief lawyer to the D.C. Republican Party in a volunteer capacity. Marisa gave a speech to our students at Assembly, excerpted here, in which she reflected on MacDuffie’s CIRCLE Values (Community, Integrity, Respect, Creativity, Leadership, Excellence). She cited Community and Integrity as the most important values to her at this point in her life.
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CIRCLE VALUES LOGO
The CIRCLE Values are a core part of the MacDuffie brand ex-perience. The seal shown at left can be used with or without the typography shown below. The individual values (Commu-nity, Integrity, etc.) can be written out elsewhere.
CAMP MACDUFFIE LOGO
The Camp MacDuffie logo is used in print and digital promotional material for MacDuffie’s summer day camp.
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The MacDuffie School Alumni Magazine | 17Volume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
Commencement 2017
Commencement 2017
20 | The MacDuffie School Alumni Magazine
An Eye for Justice:
Volume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
The Photography of Sylvia Horwitz ‘56
ALUMNI
The MacDuffie School Alumni Magazine | 21
ARTIST’S STATEMENT:Sylvia Horwitz, class of 1956, is a Minneapolis-based photographer/artist whose work has been widely exhibited. She has received a number of grants and awards. Her photographic essays over the past 25 years combine formal artistic considerations with evocative cultural and socio-political content. This work reflects a worldview established in her education at MacDuffie and subsequent professional experience in the fields of health and public education. She lived for four years in Israel, often participating in archeological digs. Returning to the United States in 2000, she showed her photographs of Jerusalem’s Old City and the desert wilderness in several exhibitions. Currently, “In This Place: What makes a place holy? ” is on display at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI. Sylvia travelled to Buenos Aires to dance and photograph tango 14 years ago. In Argentina, her interests turned to the street as she encountered political protest and the famous Madres, mothers of Argentina’s desaparecidos, those who “disappeared” during the military regime of the 1970s and early ‘80s. Her connection with these women and their stories over the next few years shaped a significant body of work exhibited in the Midwest and Florida. She has become a strong advocate for the work of World Without Genocide. From her first exhibited series of powwow dancers in northern Minnesota, to the documenting of active resistance to an oil pipeline on ceded treaty land in North Dakota, she has been immersed in social justice and environmental issues affecting Native Americans. (see: Land. Water. Life.) Visit her website (sylviahorwitz.com) to view this series, selected images from other photographic work, and current exhibitions.
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Class
Notes
1950Beverly Simpson ’50 I think often about my 1950 classmates and wonder where you are and what your interests are these days. Please know that I will be happy to hear from you and welcome you to visit my partner Ed Colbert and me at 40 Gregory Street, Marblehead, MA 01945. Email: [email protected]; tel. 617-365-3203.
Cynthia Crane Story ’53 Hello to my 1953 classmates! I hope life is good for you. I was thrilled to reconnect with Ann Buckley Tarbox through Facebook and hope for more contacts. I am still performing. I have retired my show John Denver, Bernie Madoff & Me and expect to do my new show, This Is a Changing World, My Dear (Whether You Like It or Not), in 2018. Madoff caused the loss of a Greenwich Village Brownstone, a Paris apartment and a beach house, but we’re still here. My husband’s book, The Shakespeare Fraud, is picking up steam, and he’s started a follow-up. My two girls and two grandsons are well, and we are grateful for 52 years of marriage. MacDuffie and Dr. Rutenber remain cherished, a major influence in my life.
Edith Thorp Altvater ’56 I have spent the last two years as conservator and executrix for a friend. I am still in the old homestead, retired from accounting at the turn of century, and remain a landlord. Happy to say my daughter is an academic advisor at the University of Hartford, and my
two grandchildren are what keep me young. I would love to hear from my classmates. I am [email protected].
Sylvia (Smith) Horwitz ’56 I would very much appreciate contact with any of the people I knew at MacDuffie. The death of my roommate, Jean Mann (Long), has left a big void. Our conversations would bring me right back to our “school in old New England.” MacDuffie was a defining period of time. Under RDR’s leadership, it set the standard for navigating through my lifetime. The influence of our teachers, Dr. Graham and Miss Heald in particular, made a significant difference in shaping my world view. Please visit sylviahorwitz.com and let me hear from you. My email is [email protected].
Carole Robinson ‘58 I find it hard to believe that our 60th reunion is coming in April 2018. I sincerely hope that many of you will be able to attend this occasion. Where has the time gone? A quick update on our family: Jonathan is an accomplished skier and musical historian and lives in New Hampshire. Wendy, wife, mother of three, and grandmother of one has been in the travel business for over 25 years. Leanne, who was in the Class of 1987 but did not graduate from MacDuffie, is a wife, mother of two girls, and a special education teacher in Pelham, MA. Debby is single and is in sales in a private paper firm and lives in Amherst, MA; her twin, Jenny, is mother of
two and a teacher in New London, NH. David and I will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in December. He still oversees all our business companies in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and does consulting on the side. I am very busy with DAR, Eastern Star, and the Croydon, NH historical society. I am singing in a Croydon church and am learning to be a bell ringer. On a different note, Leanne and I attended the reunion day on April 29 this year. The cocktail party and the dinner were exquisite. The awards speaker did an outstanding job. Unfortunately, there were only 13 of us there to enjoy the evening. I understand that many of you alumnae were very disappointed when the school went co-ed. Did you realize that in order for the school to continue, it needed to increase the student numbers? Most other schools were going co-ed at that time. It worked out wonderfully for the school especially when many international students enrolled.
Do you remember when we were boarders in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, maybe even in the 80s, how we always needed to be pairs or threes whenever we walked anywhere? That was for our safety. Springfield, including our school’s area, was not a safe place for girls to walk alone. The wonderful opportunity presented itself to move to Granby, MA to the former seminary. What a marvelous solution. A large
campus with acreage for sports and privacy. The move enabled MacDuffie to house more students and be more competitive in sports with other schools. The classrooms are spacious and the teachers are incredible.
Please find time to visit MacDuffie and see for yourselves all the progress that has occurred in the past 10 years. RDR would be very pleased to see the direction the school has taken in the 21st century.
Ann Ellis ’59 At the end of summer 2014, I was unknowingly infected with C. difficile and Sepsis and spent over a month in New York Presbyterian Hospital, then in a special rehab for 2-3 months, then home in a rented hospital bed with an aide(s) to take care of me. I wasn’t even allowed out of bed to go to the bathroom. Had to wear adult diapers. I survived these two diseases and am up and about. Not as active as I used to be, but alive....
1960Brenda (Crawford) Reiss ‘61 See photo submission, next page.
Constance W. Mainwaring ’61 I’ve retired as owner of CARAMBA in Stuart, FL after 30 years. I don’t miss retailing and am taking two yoga classes to get my mind and body in shape. My home, built in 1925, survived Maria.
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Class Notes
24 | The MacDuffie School Alumni Magazine
Class Notes
Janis (Jostrom) Gilley ’62 This summer my husband, Roy, and I had a great visit with classmate Katie Stein and her husband, Jay Merrill, who were spending some time in mid-coast Maine. We also spent a few days on Martha’s Vineyard and had brief visits with Marcia Baylock Randol and her husband, Bill, and with Susan Aylward Brown. We have all stayed connected for over 50 years!
Andrea (Pickett) Brode ’65 I write this from Prato, Italy, where I am spending the fall semester with 28 students from Beacon College in Leesburg, FL. This is the first time Beacon has sent students to study abroad. Beacon is the first regionally accredited college to offer two- and four-year degrees to students who learn differently. Prato is a medieval walled city in the heart of Tuscany only 20 minutes by train from Florence. We expect this to be a transformative experience of us all. Ciao!
Holly Evans ’67 I retired in 2015 from being an English teacher in Copenhagen, NY after teaching for 25 years. In 2008, I was ordained to the priesthood
in the Episcopal Church and have been the priest at Grace Church in Copenhagen ever since. It was quite a challenge to practice my two vocations at the same time! I have two married children; my son, who lives nearby, and my daughter, who lives in Pleasantville, NY with her husband and my 5-year-old granddaughter. Life is very full with my church job and going to the Y every day for exercise. I loved my MacDuffie years and tried to model my teaching after Mrs. Fuller and Dr. Graham.
Susan Story ’67 I retired from the CT Division of Public Defender Services on October 1 and had served as Chief Public Defender since 2006. Prior to being appointed as Chief, I served as Deputy Chief of the Division for 12 years. I live in Durham, CT with my husband, Matt, two Airedales, and my horse.
Ruth Sanderson ’69 I am currently the co-director of the MFA in Children’s Book Writing and Illustrating at Hollins University in Roanoke Virginia, the first program in the country to combine these two disciplines. I am currently working on
illustrating my 90th book for children, which happens to be a book written by my own daughter, Whitney, and her fifth book for Random House. My website is ruthsanderson.com. I am on Facebook and would love to connect with other classmates from ‘69!
1970Jane Quandt ’70 It’s been 16 years since I was called to serve as the Senior Minister of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Riverside, CA, and I’m still loving it.
Judith E. Riley ‘71 MD After 38 years as an obstetrician/gynecologist, I will shutter my office on 10/31/17. I have had a wonderful, interesting, challenging career in medicine, which has included extensive work in public health and family planning, faculty positions in both the Department of Surgery and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, teaching of both medical students and residents, and for the past 22 years, running my own solo practice of obstetrics and gynecology.
I have truly loved getting to know my patients and their families, delivering their babies, performing surgeries when necessary, and, many times, serving as my patients’ primary care physician. It was a difficult decision to close my practice, but I realized that I wanted more time with my family, more time to travel, and more time to read, hike, swim, and relax. Our daughter now lives in Boston, where she is pursuing her Master’s degree, and my husband and I travel frequently to visit her.
I graduated from MacDuffie in 1971, 46 years ago, and I know that it was the six years at MacDuffie that shaped my intellect and desire to learn. My teachers taught me to write, to read, to speak French and read Latin, and with Miss Pestridge’s assistance, to understand calculus. Miss Gower (Mrs. Teece) was my mentor in biology, and life, in general. My mother died suddenly and unexpectedly during my sophomore year, and the Dean, Mrs. Jennings, was a tremendous help to me during the next few years. I owe MacDuffie a debt of gratitude. I am very sad the old campus is gone but happy that MacDuffie has established itself in a new location.
Claudia Kearns ’72 I recently relocated to Wilmington, NC from the NYC Metro Region, Basking Ridge, NJ after 30+ years in the NYC financial data industry. I enrolled at MacDuffie as an 8th grade boarder from Upstate New York and graduated 5 years
Volume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
Graduation day, 1961. Patsy Samuel on left, Brenda Crawford on right.
Ruth Sanderson ’69
The MacDuffie School Alumni Magazine | 25
Class Notes
later, and I have extremely fond memories of my professors and classmates.
1980Odile Breton ’84 Lisa Casey Joyner ‘83 relocated back to Massachusetts with her husband in 2016, and who would have thought that taking a stroll through Boston Common one morning she would run into one of her high school friends, Odile Breton? Needless to say, we were both excited to see each other and it was like being back in Wallace Hall.
Yesenia Bonilla ’85 I have been living in the US for the past four years as a visiting faculty member teaching ESL in North Carolina. I am currently working in Gaston County School. I love my job, and I am grateful to MacDuffie for all the skills learned, in particular the ones related to languages. Because I took French when I was a sophomore, I am now able to speak and understand it. I hope to catch up with all the students who lived in Wallace Hall.
Mindy Feld ’87 I live in South Orange, NJ with my partner, Casey, and our two daughters, Charli and Lia. I would be happy to host a MacDuffie alumni gathering at our home, and I welcome hearing Charli is a freshman at Tulane in New Orleans and Lia is a junior at Columbia High School. Mindy would be happy to host a MacDuffie alumni gathering at her home and welcomes hearing from former classmates through LinkedIn.
Stephanie C. Fox ’87 The latest result of my writing career is complete. It is the true story about a beautiful black-and-orange-and-white calico cat from Kuwait, illustrated in watercolor, and is in print. It is called Scheherazade Cat - The Story of a War Hero. She was born on Failaka Island, Kuwait, and was found playing with a cluster munition (fortunately a dud) by U.S. soldiers...and adopted. If you would like to see it, the book is discussed on my website at queenbeeedit.com.
Kristen (Light) Dolan ’88 My husband Peter and I have been living in Munich, Germany for the last three years and plan on repatriating back to Pennsylvania in September 2021. I am sure it will come as no surprise to any of my MacDuffie foreign language teachers to hear that my German is horrific! I will celebrate my 20th anniversary with KPMG LLP in March 2018, where I have a global role within the firm that allows me to travel—a bug I picked up at MacDuffie! Peter and I are doing our best to take advantage of being centrally located in Europe and see as much as we can. My youngest stepson graduated from university last May and is studying for his CPA, and my oldest stepson is in IT for a large telecommunications corporation. Some of you may remember my mother, who is still working and living in Connecticut with my grandmother, who will turn 101 in October! Facebook has been great to connect with so many alumni. We have plenty of space in Munich, so anyone who is
visiting or traveling through, please look me up.
1990Jodi-Lyn Manning ’90 I am two years into my interior decorat-ing business and celebrating one year with a retail shop at The Shops at Marketplace, downtown Springfield. It is very exciting to be part of the revital-ization effort in the metro area. I love that Facebook has reunited most of my 1990 classmates. We would love to find Kimberly Knowles and Shannon Mayotte!
Erika (Vie-Carpenter) Babin-eau ’92 After a few moves, I find myself living happily just outside of Charlotte, NC with my husband of 17 years, Greg, and our three kids, two dogs, and a cat. Noah is 13, Caleb is 11, and Gabrielle is 7. I am working part time after staying home with my kids for many years and current-ly back in school chasing after my nursing degree. My parents are still out in Colorado, though I am trying to convince them to move down South near me. I would love to hear from some of my old classmates! I’m on Facebook or you can email me at [email protected].
Mariana Muci ’93 I would like to reconnect with Aya Tanaka ‘94. I live in Saltillo, Mexico, and am married with two kids. I would like to hear from my friends. Keep in touch!
2000Nate Hogan ’00 I am currently living in Sweden and working at a financial research firm focusing on responsible investment.
Melody Serafino ’01 I married Jason Perlroth in April 2017 in New York City. As you can see, a number of MacDuffie alumni attended the wedding!
Christine (Wynne) Smith ’01 My family and I moved to North Carolina in 2016, where my husband, Jason, is ministering in the inner city of Charlotte. My family recently grew by one: Jack (8), Hannah (6), Sean (3), and Rachel (15 mo).
Evan Landry ’02 I’m running my own business, Landry Audio Cor-poration, specializing in commer-cial audio system installation. I never would have gotten here if it weren’t for MacDuffie’s open and encouraging atmosphere and theater opportunities!
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MacDuffie friends celebrating the April 2017 wedding of Melody Serafino ‘01 and Jason Perlroth in New York City.
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Class Notes
Tadd Lyman ‘03 and his wife, Lauren, had their second child, George Foster Lyman, in August and moved shortly thereafter to Fort Leavenworth, KS. Tadd is
enrolled in Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. He is simultaneously studying for his Master’s in Business Leadership at the University of Kansas. They look forward to having all that completed by June, when they will move to their next posting!
Valencia Andrews ’07 I am living and working as a college advisor and doula in the Greater NYC Area.
James Noga ’08 I recently moved out to Arizona with my soon-to-be wife, Kathryn. I am now a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and help children with disabilities (mainly Autism, ADHD, PDD, etc.) become more independent and decrease their challenging behavior. Last year I was actually down the road in the Granby Public Schools as their BCBA. I’m hoping to go back to school in the fall for my PhD in School Psychology. Also, I have to say: I still use tech-niques taught in the Peace Studies class by Mr. Vennell; I also teach them to my kiddos on the spec-trum. That class really set my path in motion with wanting to help
Volume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
Evan Landry ’02
Christine (Wynne) Smith ’01 and family.
Valencia Andrews ’07
others, and I don’t think I’d be where I am today if I didn’t take that class.
2010Sophia Anastasio ’10 I am currently living, working, and dancing in New York City. I am part of a dance company here and enjoy it immensely! I hope my MacDuffie language teachers will be pleased to hear that I also still spend a great deal of time studying languages. My current inter-ests are French, Spanish, and Arabic (Modern Standard and Egyptian Colloquial dialect).
IN MEMORIAM
Carol Edgelow Howe ‘40
Valerie (Zucker) Holt ’66 Excerpt from obituary published October 26, 2017 in The Arlington Advocate
Valerie (Zucker) Holt ’66 of Carlisle, MA passed away in October 2016 after a two-year battle with cancer. During her junior year at Connecticut Col-
lege in the late ‘60s, Val went on a blind date with William “Biff” Holt, a cadet at the Coast Guard Academy across the street. They were married the following year. They had five children and moved around during Biff’s Coast Guard career. No matter where they lived, Val built a loving home for her family, immersed herself into volunteering, and developed a network of close friendships. In addition to raising her family, Val worked as a medical social worker and a preschool teacher. She was also incredibly active in the community at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord and made several trips to First Parish’s partner church in Romania, where she helped build the community’s Friendship House.
Abigail (MacKenzie) Sturges ‘67
Mari HarmanExcerpt from obituary, published in the July 28, 2017 edition of the Vineyard Gazette, online at vineyardgazette.com.
Mari Brainerd Harman, a lifelong resident of Edgartown, died Thursday, July 20 at her home on the harbor with her children and loving caregivers at her side. She was 95.Having spent every summer of her life on the Vineyard, she returned to year-round residency a year ago. Mari was at least the third generation of Brainerds to inhabit the Island, a legacy that has continued through three more genera-tions of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The
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In Memorium
Island was always home to her.Born in Montreal, Canada on Jan. 24, 1922, Mari was the youngest child and only daughter of Elizabeth McLennan and Winthrop Brainerd. The Brainerds built a summer house in Green Hollow, Edgartown in 1916 and would spend part of every summer on the Island. Mari learned to sail as a child on the Vineyard, engendering a lifelong love of sailing which led to summers spent cruising the Eastern seaboard including parts of Canada aboard numer-ous boats, especially Nanuk and Nanuk II. Educated at Netherwood School in New Brunswick and Miss Edgar’s and Miss Cramp’s School in Montreal, she attend-ed McGill University for one year before leaving school to drive ambulances for the Canadian Red Cross during World War II. She met her future husband, Archer, in Edgartown. His family bought a house on Starbuck’s Neck, moving later to one on Tower Hill that abutted the Brainerd property. It was from the porch of a rented house in 1938 that Archer first spotted the girl who would become his wife, and who for the next 70 years would be his constant, delighted companion. Growing up together on the Vineyard, Mari and Archer shared many mutual friends and a passion for sailing. They were married in 1944 when Archer was a senior at Yale University and about to head off to the Pacific theatre in World War II as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. Mari and Archer raised four children and eventually wel-comed six grandchildren and
13 great-grandchildren. All the “greats” came to know her well and loved spending time with her on and off the Island. The family knew her as Bamum and remained extremely close to her until her death. While her husband, Archer, was a highly respected, life-long educator—he was headmaster of many schools most notably Peck School in Morristown, N.J. and St. George’s School in New-port, R.I.—Mari assumed the important role of headmaster’s wife and was at Archer’s side throughout his career, providing support, guidance, and advice. Many former students, teachers and colleagues cite her influence as being vitally important in their own lives. Her family will remember Mari for her indomitable spirit, her irrepressible good cheer, her fearlessness in the face of convention and preconceived expectations, her boundless energy and enthusiasm, and her ability to find joy in such things as the daily wonders of her bird feeders, cards and creations from her “greats,” swimming (well into her 80s and usually without a suit), and her large circle of family and friends. She had a particular love of under-dogs, be they human or animal, always holding a soft spot for “the naughty ones.” Her family notes they will not miss her exceptionally sparsely stocked refrigerator or her adamant re-fusal that “no one needs dessert after dinner.” In her retirement years, she was anything but retiring. She was a passionate volunteer at the Edgartown library and Edgartown school, and for Head
Start. She loved winter, always heading north to New Hamp-shire and Canada, and was an avid cross-country skier.
Amy Hughes
Longtime French teacher Amy Hughes passed away December 31, 2016. In April 2017, Mr. Vennell spoke at the memorial service honoring her life at Abbey Chapel, Mount Holyoke College. This is his eulogy in full.
Good morning. I am Greg Vennell, and I taught with Amy at MacDuffie from 1981 until she retired. During that time, I had the very good fortune to carpool with her almost every school day. Now, we all know that Amy enjoyed a good conversation. Well there were times when we would be pulling out of the MacDuffie driveway and I would ask her a question, and she would talk the whole ride until she dropped me off at the Mount Holyoke bus stop. Yet the whole time, even though I spoke very little, I never felt we weren’t having a conversation. What I did do was learn and become inspired. Among the many things I learned was what a visionary she was. Amy was way ahead of her time in creating a bond with China for a teacher exchange program—bringing a number of teachers over the years to MacDuffie to teach Mandarin
and she and Bob going over there numerous times to teach English, once for a whole year. I was so inspired by Amy shar-ing her love of learning about other cultures that my wife and I led trips of MacDuffie students and parents to Belize, Ireland, Italy, the Amazon, and even a camping safari to the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania. With her in mind, we always made sure we had local guides and that the trips included access to local communities and homestays. Because of who she was and how she lived, Amy inspired me to create what we call Diversity Day at MacDuffie about 25 years ago. On that day, students, teachers, and outside presenters lead workshops on other cul-tures, special interests, and new perspectives. Next Wednesday we’ll be doing it again, as we do annually, and I can’t tell you how many students and adults have had their hearts and minds opened because of Amy’s inspi-ration. As you can probably tell, speaking in front of this many people doesn’t come easy for me. But I wanted to share these thoughts with you. Thank you, Amy. You’re still inspiring me.
If you’d like to submit the name of a loved one who has passed away, please email [email protected].
28 | The MacDuffie School Alumni Magazine
History
Class Rings
The MacDuffie Annual Fund
If you damaged or misplaced your class ring, all is not lost—we promise! Contact [email protected] for questions and pricing.
We also welcome donated rings (from an estate, no longer used, etc.) for students who can’t afford them. The student’s initials will be engraved alongside yours, and the ring will be resized. It’s a delightful way for an alum to establish a connection with a current student. If you’d like to donate a ring, please contact [email protected].
I am writing to invite you to contribute to The MacDuffie Annual Fund. Although the costs of a MacDuffie education are covered by tuition, The MacDuffie Annual Fund helps us take that education one step further through campus enhancements and classroom innovations. Donations go to the sorts of things that make a great educational experience even better: upgrades to performance spaces, improvements to athletic equipment, and classroom technology (think 3D printing and Virtual Reality).
Thank you for your consideration. Your donation is a vote of confidence in the mission and direction of MacDuffie. Ways to donate: online (visit macduffie.org and click on “Donate” on the top left), by mail using the enclosed envelope, or by calling Executive Assistant to the Head of School Darcie Mavlouganes at 413.255.0000 x. 207.
Sincerely,Steven GriffinHead of School 2011-present
DONATE
Volume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
Student Perspectives: Campus Life The Annual, closer to a modern-day yearbook than Magnolia Leaves, was first published in 1907 and set the layout precedent for several years. Major features included faculty and staff names and positions, a list of class officers, and a description of “family life” at MacDuffie (e.g., “What they did at Christmas”; “What they did at Easter”). Social events and outings were also celebrated: college football games, tea, a visit to paper mills, a visit to Old Deerfield (something MacDuffie students still do today!), a trek up Mount Tom, and a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert.
Social EventsStudents also had “history parties” where they dressed with tokens of a character in history and went through a bit of charade. There was the Junior-Senior Dance, too: “Promptly at six o’clock supper was served to guests who came in full
evening dress, escorting on their arms their ladies of the evening. The dance started at eight in the Gymnasium, which was decorated with banners and pennants. A cozy corner, neatly tucked in one corner, was occupied most of the time.” Another recap, “The Hallowe’en Party,” provides a glimpse into the thrill of a secret party: All the Howard Hall girls received, in a most mysterious manner, an invitation to a Hallowe’en spread. It was to be given by four girls who live in the west end of the hall. The suitably decorated invitations said, ‘You will be awakened at the witching hour of midnight, if you so desire.’ I did desire and I knew that twelve o’clock must have struck by the punching and pounding which was being administered to me. It seemed as if I had been asleep only an hour… When I finally jumped out of bed and was slipping into my kimona I heard tap, tap, tap at my door. Positive that it was one of the first I took a great deal
of time and opened the door with much giggling. There stood a teacher. Oh what should I do! No means of escape was open for me... And as luck would have it, another girl came tip-toeing down the hall. Here we were, facing the teacher, and oh so serious. No one ventured an explanation. The next minute we were all laughing and then the story came out... When she discovered what our plan was she simply told us to go ahead and have the feast but we must surely be at breakfact [sic] on time. We immediately asked her to come with us to the spread and she proved to be the whole life of the affair.
History EXCERPT FROM THE HISTORY OF THE MACDUFFIE SCHOOL
Our narrative based on archival materials...a work in progress!
The MacDuffie School Alumni Magazine | 29Volume 9, Issue 1 WINTER 2018
The MacDuffie School66 School StreetGranby, MA 01033
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The MacDuffie SchoolSave the date! Reunion Weekend 2018
April 27 & 28 We’ll be sharing information and updates via mail, email, our website, and the MacDuffie School Alumni Group page on Facebook (facebook.com/groups/TheMacDuffieSchoolAlumni/). Nominations are open
for the 2018 Distinguished Alumni and Young Alumni Awards. Please send your nominations to [email protected]. (Please send along contact information updates to that address, too.)
We look forward to seeing you!