friends' central school directions summer 2009

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDFriends’ Central

School1101 City Avenue

Wynnewood, PA 19095-3490

Summer 2009

Friends’ Central

Directions

Commencement2009

Dear Friends,

Commencement is a special momenthere at Friends’ Central. Under the tower-ing trees of Commencement Terrace,cheered on by a field of parents, teachers,and friends, our most recent graduatingclass sits tall and proud. A name is called,a hand shaken, a diploma passed on andone more Friends’ Central graduatereturns to his or her seat, prepared foradventure, discovery, and the responsibili-ties and rewards of citizenship.

This year’s class heads off to 59 dif-ferent colleges—more than half of themto schools from which they received earlydecision offers or schools they declaredfrom the outset as their top choice. Theyare scholars, leaders, athletes, artists andactivists, and they head off to studyEnglish, chemistry, theater, religion, phi-losophy, history, and engineering.Eighteen of them will play college sports.One of them has a dual enrollment.Nineteen percent of them receivedNational Merit recognition. By virtuallyany objective measure, the Friends'Central School Class of 2009 enjoyed out-standing success in this year's collegeadmissions process, and they have left alasting imprint on our School.

The class of 2009 promises to dogreat things, and we all look forward tohearing about their adventures, theirchallenges, and their successes when theyreturn to their alma mater, as we hopethey do, each Reunion year. I am confi-dant that whichever paths they follow,

2008-2009 Board of TrusteesAnn V. Satterthwaite, Clerk

Peter P. ArfaaJames B. Bradbeer, Jr.

Adrian CastelliKenneth DunnKaye EdwardsGeorge Elser

Jean Farquhar ’70Victor Freeman ’80Christine Gaspar ’70

Robert Gassel ’69Edward GrinspanWalter Harris ’75

Sally HarrisonKaren Horikawa ’77

Deborah HullMichael C. Kelly

Matthew S. Levitties ’85Craig Lord

Hillard MadwayEd Marshall ’68

Carol MongeluzziSuzanne Morrison

Jeffrey PurdyLawrence S. Reichlin

Marsha RothmanJonathan Sprogell

James WrightBarbara M. Cohen, Emerita

Joanna Haab Schoff ’51, Emerita

2008-2009 Alumni/ae BoardMallory Floyd '96, Co-PresidentAaron Selkow '88, Co-PresidentRachel Newman Schwartz '89,

Vice PresidentBess Collier '96, Secretary

Jeffrey Brody '98Gail Carter Zuagar '97

Anne Dufour Clouser '50 Alice Hess Crowell '46Andrea Deutsch '85

David Ellis '51Melanie McCarthy Frick '94

Bill Georges '88Ruba Habtemicael '96

Susan Kelsay '59Peter Klein '87Patrick Lord '90

Jane Cubberley Luce '68Clio Mallin '96

Latifah McMullin '99Donald Reimenschneider '52

Alexander Schall '86Barbara Weinberg '79

Jessica Zeldin '88Immediate Past President

Andrew Newcomb '87

Summer 2009

Friends’ Central

Directions

Cover: David M. Felsen awards Jona Shreeve-Taylor ’09 her diploma. Photo by Hilary Takiff Weiss ’96

these graduates will carry with them thevalues that made their time here atFriends’ Central so important, the valuesof simplicity, peace, integrity, community,stewardship, and equality.

Reunion this year was a wonderfultestament to Friends’ Central’s enduringimpact. More than 600 alumni/ae, family,and friends returned in May and broughtwith them not only tales of their mostrecent adventures and challenges, but alsovivid memories of the time they spenthere and the relationships they formed.Over and over again we heard about theway Friends’ Central continues to shapetheir lives.

This summer issue of Directions cele-brates our recent graduates and ourReunion year alumni/ae. In so doing, ithighlights the remarkable spirit that dis-tinguishes a Friends’ Central education.

Sincerely,

David M. FelsenHeadmaster

Hilary Takiff Weiss ’96

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7

16

Feature

16 Commencement 2009

22 Reunion 2009

Departments

2 Campus Log2 Celebrating the Earth4 Earth Day at Cobbs Creek7 Senior Performances

8 Portrait Exhibition

10 Spring Athletics

12 Awards

29 In Support30 Fun Run31 Thank you volunteers!

32 Archives

Contents

Head of SchoolDavid M. Felsen

EditorRebecca H. Anderson

Director of Communications

Art Director, DesignerSuzanne DeMott GaadtGaadt Perspectives, LLC

Development Office StaffLydia A. Martin

Director of Development

Linda Waxman Wasserman ’75Director of Alumni/ae Affairs

James P. BrennanDirector of Annual Giving

Joel F. W. PriceWebmaster/Data Specialist

Leigh BrowningAssistant Director of Communications

Jody MayerAlumni/ae Relations and Annual Giving

Assistant

M. Brom SnyderDevelopment Office Associate

Denise Koehler MorrisDevelopment Office Secretary

Monica PetersonDevelopment Office Secretary

PrinterGarrison Printing Company

Photography: Hilary Takiff Weiss ‘96,Michael Tolbert, Leigh Browning,

Rebecca Anderson

We welcome any comments, letters, photographs, and suggestions

for future issues. Please send all communications to:

Editor, DirectionsFriends’ Central School

1101 City AvenueWynnewood, PA 19096

[email protected]

Visit Friends’ Central on the web at www.friendscentral.org

2

2 Friends’ Central

Lower School

Top: Students from the class of ’19 show how many pennies the LowerSchool raised. Front row (from left) L. Christian Jeter, Julie Pozzuolo,Simone Mutz, Benjamin Klein, Quinn Balitsaris, James Cohn, SydneyParmet, Noah Condiff, Zoe Shoemaker, Dylan Mitchell. Back row (fromleft) Tori Lane, Nayah Moore, Emma Velinsky, Andrew van Beuren, ThomasBradbeer, Hannah Grossman, Carson Lonner, Sarah Bergmann.

Pennies for Peace

This spring, the Lower School librarysponsored a service project called"Pennies for Peace" that brought studentsfrom pre-k through fourth grade togetherfor an important cause. The students col-lected pennies over several months forthe Central Asia Institute, which seeks toprovide community-based education,especially for girls, in Pakistan andAfghanistan. In these countries, onepenny can provide one pencil, fifteenpennies can provide a notebook, and$600 can provide one teacher's annualsalary. The "Pennies for Peace" projectshowed FCS Lower Schoolers that theycan make a difference on a global scale,one penny at a time. Ultimately the stu-dents collected a staggering total of83,249 pennies—$832.49—for theCentral Asia Institute!

Celebrating the Earth

Friends' Central Lower School stu-dents recognized Earth Day in Aprilwith an all-School festival. The MiddleSchool Earth Force team joined theLower Schoolers for a variety of activi-ties and games. Outside, they tried todetermine species of trees by huggingthem blindfolded, got rides in a wheel-barrow labeled "public transport" fromscience teacher Peter Grove, andexplored a solar energy display hookedup to a CD player. In the gym, stu-dents looked at worms under micro-scopes, spoke to a representative fromRiverbend Environmental EducationCenter, and got their faces painted bythe Middle Schoolers. Everyoneenjoyed learning about protecting theEarth during their lively shared cele-bration.

Top right: Erik Williams shows how solarenergy works.

Bottom right: Robert Saligman '17, DavidGreenfield '17, and Dennis Roberts '17.

On Friday, May 15th,MatthewFiebach ’18 had the honor of beingnamed Principal for the Day. AsPrincipal, Matthew instituted a School-wide pajama day and declared theweekend homework-free. He alsokindly proposed that teachers receivedouble pay for the month, but hispowers could only extend so far!

3Directions Summer 2009

Principal for the Day

Left: Matthew with real Lower School principals Joe Ludwig ’69 and Lou DelSoldo.

Above: Jack Briggs' third graders performed"Ballplayer," based on a traditional AmericanIndian story.

Center right: 1C performs for the Upper School.

Bottom right: Kaan Yilmaz ‘20, Nichols Sperans‘20, and Caroline Blackman ‘20 perform asJapanese wrestlers in the 1B play “Four StrongWomen.”

Spring Performances

In the spring term, Lower School stu-dents put on a number of colorful andeducational performances for their peersand families.

4

Middle School

Friends’ Central

Water for the World Project

Five Friends’ Central eighth graderswho are members of the Earth Forcegroup “Water for the World” recentlycompleted a phenomenal service projectthat involved the entire Middle School.At the beginning of the year, scienceteacher Doug Ross told his eighthgraders that he wanted them to partici-pate in some kind of project of theirchoosing that would make a differencein the world. Suzy Bernstein, VictoriaGillison, Marielle Greenblatt, AshleyTedesco, and Rachel Weiss truly took hissuggestion to heart. Through the EarthForce program, they were able to attenda Fairmount Park Water Works seminarfeaturing Aldo Magazzeni, founder ofthe Traveling Mercies charity organiza-tion.

Aldo’s mission is to help poor com-munities around the world gain accessto clean water, and he has focused par-ticularly on villages in Afghanistan. InAfghanistan’s remote villages at the baseof mountains, fresh water can only beaccessed at high altitudes. Women andchildren in these societies bear theresponsibility of retrieving fresh waterfor their communities, which takes awaytime that could be used for their educa-tion. Aldo’s solution has been to designsimple gravity-powered water systems

Earth Day at Cobbs Creek

In May, Friends’ Central School eighthgraders joined forces with the CobbsCreek Community EnvironmentalEducation Center in celebration of EarthDay. As part of the program, the Friends’Central students demonstrated to TurnerMiddle School students how to test thewater for various chemical levels such asoxygen and nitrate and determine thegeneral health of the stream area. Thestudents were excited to share theirknowledge with other middle school stu-dents in the hope that everyone willbegin to understand and care more aboutwater quality in the Philadelphia area.Later in the morning, Mayor Nutter cameto visit the Center and spoke to the stu-dents about their analysis of CobbsCreek, which he was pleased to find is inrelatively good health!

Top left: River Yockey ’13 takes a sample fromthe creek.

Above: Claudia Kronfeld ’13 interviewed byFox News

Below: Claudia Kronfeld ’13, Aubrey Faggen ’13, Mackenzie Melman ’13, ThomasFakharzadeh ’13, Mayor Nutter, Harper Estey’13, River Yockey ’13, and Jason Clough ’13.


that use pipes and basins to carry thewater from the tops of the mountainsdown to the villages. He provides themeans and materials, and local workersinstall and operate the system.

The five eighth-grade girls wereinspired by Aldo’s elegant and practicalway of making a difference in the worldand decided to involve their peers inraising money to help build a water sys-tem in Afghanistan. Knowing that a lit-tle incentive would go a long way, thestudents came up with a plan that theyknew would inspire everyone in theMiddle School: raffling off a night of nohomework. They sold tickets for $2each. The homeroom that bought themost tickets would automaticallyreceive a night of no homework, and ifthe girls managed to raise $900, thewhole Middle School would have anight with no homework. The fivefundraisers breezed past this goal andmanaged to raise over $1,200!

Below: Doug Ross, Suzy Bernstein ’13,Ashley Tedesco ’13, Aldo Magazzeni,Marielle Greenblatt ’13, and Rachel Weiss’13. (Not pictured: Victoria Gillison ’13)

Above: Marielle Greenblatt ’13, ZacharyKratchman ’13, Nathan Willis ‘13, Mackenzie Melman ’13.

Grade 8 Showcase

As is tradition, the eighth grade class puton a showcase at the end of the year forthe FCS community. This year's showcasewas "The Best of Times: Works by JerryHerman."

Middle School Concert

The Middle School Concert on May 15th featured the Fifth Grade Chorus, the Middle School Chorus, the Middle School Orchestra, and the MiddleSchool Jazz Band.

Phoenix Game Day

On Thursday, June 4th,Middle Schoolerswrapped up the year with Phoenix GameDay, an exciting day of competition thatdivides the Middle School into four colorteams, red, yellow, green, and blue.Phoenix Game Day evolved from the oldBlue and Gray day in the Upper School,and has now become a beloved traditionin the Middle School. Students competedin water balloon tosses, three-leggedraces, and much more. Ultimately theYellow team triumphed, but the day ofspirited competition was equally enjoyedby all!

Above left: Janelle Purnell ’13, Rachel Weiss’13, Nathan Willis ’13, Andrew Nadkarni ’13;above: Ryan Cassidy ’13.

Poetry Elective

In April, University of PennsylvaniaEnglish professor and Friends’ Centralparent Al Filreis came to the FCS campusto work with English teacher Liza Ewen’sUpper School poetry elective. In previousyears, Al has visited classes in the LowerSchool, and last year he also held a work-shop for English and language arts teach-ers at Penn. Because the Friends’ Centralpoetry elective is a relatively new course,Liza collaborated with Al throughout theyear on the syllabus. During his visit toFCS, the students worked on close read-ing and had a lively conversation aboutthree different poems by EmilyDickinson, Frank O’Hara, and BobPerelman. In May, the poetry elective hada follow-up visit at the University’s KellyWriters’ House to work with Al and sixPhiladelphia poets (Sarah Dowling,Michelle Taransky, John Timpane,CAConrad, Randall Couch, and TomDevaney). Al invited the poets to bringone of their favorite poems and discusstheir own writing with the FCS students.Liza considered the collaboration atremendous success, writing, “I think thebest part of the experience was the diver-sity. The students not only had thechance to find out how Al Filreis reads

and teaches poetry (and the ways inwhich it was similar, different, comple-mentary to my approach) but they hadthe chance to learn from six poets them-selves--there’s something about an artisttalking about his/her own art that cannotbe captured by the best of teachers orscholars.” Al was equally pleased: “All sixof the poets in one way or anotherexpressed pleasure and astonishment athow smart and articulate and game thestudents were. FCS students are seriouswithout being stiff or pedantic or closed-minded. They’re loose and fun and intel-lectually flexible. These attributes are theperfect combination when one is trying

to understand poetry. At the WritersHouse I found them to be non-judgmen-tal, non-prejudicial. This is crucial forengaging in intellectual ventures.”

You can watch the poets speaking to theFriends’ Central students here:http://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Six-Poets-Teach.html

6

Upper School

Studying Shakespeare

Two members of the Friends’ Centralcommunity are planning to take advan-tage of exciting opportunities to studythe works of William Shakespeare.Drama teacher Terry Guerin has beenawarded the British University Summer

School Scholarship by the EnglishSpeaking Union of the United States. TheScholarship will provide Terry with theopportunity to attend a three-weekcourse, “Teaching Shakespeare ThroughPerformance,” at the Globe Theater inLondon. The program has teachersattend Globe productions and work with

theater artists and Globe Education prac-titioners, in addition to putting on theirown scenes on the Globe stage!

Terry’s student, Lizzy Marmon ’09, isalso anticipating a special opportunity tostudy Shakespeare. Lizzy has been chosenfor the Dean’s Scholars in ShakespeareProgram at George WashingtonUniversity. The co-curricular programallows a select group of students to studythe works of Shakespeare and perform inhis plays, taking advantage of resourcesprovided by the Folger ShakespeareLibrary, The Shakespeare Theater, andthe GW Department of Theatre andDrama. In the spring, students in theprogram travel to London, where theymeet with the head of The ShakespeareBirthplace Trust, visit the StratfordFestival Theater, and take a day trip toStratford-Upon-Avon.

Friends’ Central

Above: Left side (from left): Matthew Frank ’10,Rich Olson ’10, George Gordon ’10, ChristianWeber ’10, Jonathan Hewson ’10, R. KyleFullerton ’10. Right side (from left): Emily Bach’10, Emma Fox ’10, Natasha Willis ’10, ArielleFogel ’10, Gabriella Capone ’10, Front: (fromleft) Liza Ewen and Al Filreis.

Top left: Lizzy Marmon ’09 and Terry Guerin


(Clockwise from top left): Nicholas DeFina ’12 and C. MylesEverett ’12 filing at the American Friends Service Committee;Elizabeth McMorris ’10, Ariel Parker ’11, Ian Dumoff ’10,Matthew Weinberg ’12, David DeLeon ’11 at the JohnHeinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum; PhyllisGallagher, Aengus Culhane ’11, and Angelique Benrahou ’10 work on the Friends’ Central Upper Schoolcampus; Lee Gratz ’11, Adam Posner ’11, John Armstrong ‘09, Samuel Brodfuehrer ’12, Munir AbdusShakur ’12, Brice Goldberg ’12 working at Lower MerionConservancy, which strives to preserve the natural andhistoric resources of Lower Merion, Narberth, and thesurrounding area; Brianna Guindon ’12 plays Bingo atSaunders House, a long-term care center for older adults; RoshanNegahban ’11 and Jennifer Siegel ’10 pack food for MANNA,which delivers meals to people with life-threatening illnesses inthe Delaware Valley. Photos by Hilary Takiff Weiss ’96.

Senior Performances

In June, a number of seniors presented their Senior Projects toparents and friends in Shallcross Hall.

Spring Service

Left: John Armstrong ’09, Anthony DeCusatis ’09, and Curtis Pawley ’09act in John's adaptation of the musical Ribbons of War.

Below: Emily Ziffer ’09 plays a tango on her flute.


Upper School: Portrait Exhibition

Above left: Sarah Shaw ’10, by Andrew Kelly ’09 Olivia Gillison ’10 at the pool, by Sarah Shaw ’10

Above right:Mathew Frank ’10, by Stephen Nemroff ’09Dad at work, by Mathew Frank ’10

Left: Melanie Sachs ’11, by Sean Doerrman ’11Lucas Sachs, by Melanie Sachs ’11


Above left: Anne Estey ’10, by Aaron Reichlin ’10 Becca K, by Anne Estey ’10

Above right:Sakina Abdus Shakur ’09, by Sam Spector ’11 Munir Shakur ’12, by Sakina Abdus Shakur ’09

Left: Nicole Deutschman ’09, by Dominic Morris ’10Aaron Levy Diver, by Nicole Deutschman ’09

10

Spring Athletic Wrap-Up

Friends’ Central

BASEBALL

Record: 5-5 League; 10-10 OverallCoach: Ross Trachtenberg ’98Assistant Coaches: Kyle Beatty, Mike Primiani, Tim Kirk ’04

Captains: Peter Liebman ’09, Andrew Kelly ’09, Ricky Moses ’09

MVP: Ricky Moses ’09, Ed Rooney ’10MIP: Daniel Rosner ’09

All Friends Schools League Ricky Moses ’09, Ed Rooney ’10, Alex Yih ’10 (1st Team)

All Main Line Ricky Moses ’09, Ed Rooney ’09 (1st Team); Alex Yih ’10 (2nd Team);Peter Liebman ’09 (HM)

SOFTBALL

Record: 2-7 League; 2–8 OverallCoach: Tony ColadonatoAssistant Coaches: Steve Colucci, Tara Colantuono

Captains: Anne Estey ’10, Sophia Grillo ’10

MVP: Caroline Satalof ’11MIP: Ella Torres ’12

All Friends Schools LeagueJessica Cooper ’11 (1st Team); Caroline Satalof ’11 (HM)

All Main Line Caroline Satalof ’11, Jessica Cooper ’11(1st Team); Nicole Deutschman ’09 (2nd Team); Hannah Shaw ’10 (HM)

BOYS’ TENNIS

Record: 9-0 League; 10-1 OverallCoach: Bill SemberAssistant Coach: Hardy BakerCaptains: Alex Margolies ’10, Matt Trichon ’09

MVP: Alex Margolies ’10MIP: Declan Hahn ’12

All Friends Schools League Ilan Dreyfuss ’12, Declan Hahn ’12, Alex Margolies ’10, Sam Spector ’11

(1st Team); Jeremy Stursberg ’09 (HM)

All Main LineDeclan Hahn ’12, Alex Margolies ’10, Sam Spector ’11 (1st Team); Ilan Dreyfuss ’12, Matt Trichon ’09, Jeremy Stursberg ’09 (2nd Team)

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

Record: 5-3 League; 9-3 OverallCoach: Lauren Becker Rubin ’83Assistant Coach: Diana Bleakley ’01Captains: Emily Belkoff ’10, Emily Brodsky ’10

MVP: Emily Belkoff ’10, Emily Brodsky ’10

MIP: Jaime Clough ’10, Claire Harris ’11

All Friends School LeagueEmily Belkoff ’10, Emily Brodsky ’10,Jaime Hyman ’11, Kaitlyn McCaffrey ’10,Grace Pearlman ’10 (1st Team), BeccaDahle ’12 (HM)

All Main LineEmily Belkoff ’10, EmilyBrodsky ’10 (1st Team); Becca Dahle ’12, KaitlynMcCaffrey ’10, Grace Pearlman ’10 (2nd Team); Phoebe Harris ’09, Megan Holt ’10, Jaime Hyman ’11 (HM)

BOYS’ LACROSSE

Record: 2-3 League; 4-6 OverallCoach: J.B. BowieAssistant Coaches: Dean Granoff ’04, Eric Carlson

Captains: Emmett Culhane ’09, Andrew Fusselbaugh ’09, Matt Hyman ’09, Brett Richardson ’09, Jake Schutzman ’09

MVP: Andrew Fusselbaugh ’09MIP: Michael Michnowicz ’12

All Main LineAndrew Fusselbaugh ’09 (1st Team);Emmett Culhane ’09 (2nd Team);Michael Michnowicz ’12 (HM)

GIRLS’ TRACK

Record: 2-2 League; 2-2-1 OverallCoach: Venetia RickettsAssistant Coaches: Jernell Mapp, Brandon Shell, Andy Coval, Mark Fifer, Keenan Willis ’03

MVP: Libby Fifer ’09, Imani Shell ’12MIP: Xavia Hobson ’12

All Friends Schools League Libby Fifer ’09, Madelena Rizzo ’10,Imani Shell ’12 (1st Team)

All Main Line Libby Fifer ’09, Madelena Rizzo ’10,Imani Shell ’12 (1st Team); Erica Bash ’09, Meghan Cartafalsa ’12,Samantha Greenberg ’10 (2nd Team);Xavia Hobson ’12 (HM)

11

BOYS’ TRACK

Record: 2-2 League; 2-5 OverallCoach: Tony DeSabatoAssistant Coaches: READ DeSabato ’02, Sky Dumont, Mark Fifer, Keenan Willis ’03, Andy Coval

Captains: Anthony DeCusatis ’09, Patrick DeSabato ’09, Ivo Milic-Strkalj ’09, Christian Weber ’10, Hal Woodin ’09

MVP: Patrick DeSabato ’09, Ivo Milic-Strkalj ’09, Hal Woodin ’09

MIP: Alex Sheltzer ’11

All Friends Schools League Patrick DeSabato ’09, Jordan Grossman ’09, Ivo Milic-Strkalj ’09 (1st Team)

All Main LinePatrick DeSabato ’09, Ivo Milic-Strkalj ’09, Hal Woodin ’09 (1st Team); Peter Chawaga ’09, JordanGrossman ’09, Alex Sheltzer ’11 (2nd Team); Kyle Fullerton ’10, Dan Segall ’11 (HM)

GOLF

Record: 1-7 League; 3-8 OverallCoach: Tom MacFarlaneAssistant Coach: Padraig BarryCaptain: Ben Bersoff ’09MVP: Ben Bersoff ’09MIP: Sean Doerrman ’11

All Friends Schools LeagueBen Bersoff ’09, Matt Fedder ’11 (1st Team)

All Main LineBen Bersoff ’09, Matt Fedder ’11 (2nd Team)

Directions Summer 2009

Most Valuable Players (Above, from left)

(Front row) Ivo Milic-Strkalj ’09 (Boys’ Track), Emily Brodsky ’10 (Girls’

Lacrosse)Middle Row (l to r): Caroline Satalof ’11(Softball), Emily Belkoff ’10 (Girls’

Lacrosse), Pat DeSabato ’09 (Boys’ Track),Hal Woodin ’09 (Boys’ Track), Alex

Margolies ’10 (Boys’ Tennis), Imani Shell’12 (Girls’ Track), Libby Fifer ’09 (Girls’

Track)(Back row) Ben Bersoff ’09 (Golf), AndrewFusselbaugh ’09 (Boys’ Lacrosse), Ricky

Moses ’09 (Baseball)

Most Improved Players (Bottom, from left)

(Front row) Jaime Clough ’10 (Girls’Lacrosse), Claire Harris ’11 (Girls’

Lacrosse), Ella Torres ’12 (Softball), XaviaHobson ’12 (Girls’ Track)

(Back row) Declan Hahn ’12 (Boys’ Tennis),Sean Doerrman ’11 (Golf), Dan Rosner ’09(Baseball), Alex Sheltzer ’11 (Boys’ Track),Michael Michnowicz ’12 (Boys’ Lacrosse)

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT AWARDS (Below, from left)

Pat DeSabato ’09 (Outstanding Senior Athlete),Nicole Deutschman ’09 (Florence Jackson Award),

Erica Bash ’09 (Outstanding Senior Athlete), PhoebeHarris ’09 (Florence Jackson Award), Brett

Richardson ’09 (David Kirk Award)

COLLEGE BOUND ATHLETES(Above, from left)

(Front row) Erica Bash (Cross Country, Indoor Track,Track and Field) Muhlenberg College; Nicole

Deutschman (Field Hockey) Dickinson College; LibbyFifer (Track and Field) Wheaton College; Jillian Glen

(Cross Country, Indoor Track, Track and Field)Muhlenberg College; Ariel Several (Tennis) Johns

Hopkins University; Patrick DeSabato (Cross Country,Indoor Track, Track and Field) Providence College(Middle row) Emily Rosenblum (Tennis) SwarthmoreCollege; Peter Liebman (Baseball/Golf) University ofRochester; Max Gilbert (Swimming) Amherst College;John Armstrong (Swimming) Williams College; MaxKaplan (Wrestling) Wesleyan Univeristy; Tom Ringe(Swimming) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology(Back row) Emmett Culhane (Lacrosse) HaverfordCollege; Hal Woodin (Track and Field) Syracuse

University; Andrew Fusselbaugh (Lacrosse)Washington and Lee College; Brandon Laing(Basketball) Lafayette College; Ricky Moses(Baseball) Spartanburg Methodist College

Missing: Ivo Milic Straklj (Cross-Country, IndoorTrack, Track and Field) Haverford College

Photos by Mike Tolbert.

All School: Awards


Upper School Academic Awards: (front row, l-r): EmilyZiffer ’09 (Language Award), Natalie Willis ’09(Language Award), Rae Reichlin ’10 (Ramsey Award forProse), Nicholas DeFina ’12 (The Poets and PlaywrightsPrize). (Back row, l-r): Jason Kirschner ’09 (ScienceAward), Jennifer Simon ’09 (Language Award), EmilyHarnett ’09 (History Prize Paper), Mitchell Johnston ’11(Mathematics Award). Not pictured: Charlotte Bassett ’09 (Language Award)

Upper School Awards: The Benjamin V. Ogden Awardrecognizes students who are uniquely aware of theirspiritual, mental, and social responsibilities as citizens.The Calvin Rankin ’43 Award recognizes students whoare worthy representatives of the high ideals for whichCalvin is remembered—a love of great music, a gift fordiscriminating writing, and a character of gentlenessand integrity. The Leola Adelaide Smith ’74 Award isgiven to students who have an appreciation for culturaland intellectual pursuits and at the same time are sen-sitive to the beauty in nature as well as in people.(Front row, l-r): Eric Sorensen ’09 (Leola Adelaide SmithMemorial Award), Natalie Willis ’09 (Calvin RankinAward), Elisabeth Fifer ’09 (Benjamin V. Ogden Award),Gabriella Wachs ’09 (Leola Adelaide Smith MemorialAward), Charlotte Bassett ’09 (Benjamin V. OgdenAward), Sakina Abdus-Shakur ’09 (Benjamin V. OgdenAward). (Back row, l-r): Brett Richardson ’09 (BenjaminV. Ogden Award), Michael Rubin ’09 (Calvin RankinAward), Amy Corenswet ’09 (Leola Adelaide SmithMemorial Award), and David Simins ’09 (Calvin RankinAward). Not pictured: Christina Hurley ’09 (CalvinRankin Award), Sarah Backal-Balik ‘09 (Leola AdelaideSmith ‘74 Award)

The Music Award is given in recognition ofloyalty, service and contributions to theMusic Department. The recipient demonstrat-ed excellence in composition, performanceand academic achievement. Jacob Snider ’09and Emily Ziffer ’09.

The Susan Durnford Snipes Award recognizes outstanding contributions made by seniors to com-munity service in the School. The John H. McCollum Award is given by the Home & SchoolAssociation to seniors who represent the spirit of collaboration and modesty that John McCollumbrought to the community. (Front row, l-r): Phoebe Harris (John H. McCollum Award), ElisabethFifer (Susan Durnford Snipes Award), Jenna Paul-Shultz (Susan Durnford Snipes Award), RebeccaHorowitz (Susan Durnford Snipes Award), Elizabeth Mitnick (John H. McCollum Award), (back row, l-r): Andrew Kelly (John H. McCollum Award), Lizzy Marmon (John H. McCollum Award), JasonKirschner (Susan Durnford Snipes Award), Julia Ellis-Kahana (Susan Durnford Snipes Award),Stephen Nemroff (Susan Durnford Snipes Award). Not pictured: Ivo Milic-Strkalj ’09 (John H. McCollum Award)

Directions Summer 2009 13

This year, Friends’ Central School is proud to announce that 18 seniors have been inducted intothe Cum Laude Society. The Cum Laude Society “recognizes academic achievement in secondaryschools for the purpose of promoting excellence (Areté), justice (Diké) and honor (Timé).”Congratulations to: Back Row (from left) Jonathan Edelstein, Michael Rubin, Amy Corenswet,David Simins, Andrew Kelly, Max Gilbert, Julia Ellis-Kahana, and Jacob Schutzman. Front row(from left) Pat DeSabato, Jason Kirschner, Emily Ziffer, Natalie Willis, Phoebe Harris, Jenna Paul-Schultz, Elizabeth Mitnick, and Jennifer Simon. Not pictured: Sarah Backal-Balik, Ivo Milic-Strkalj

Top National Merit Honors. Five FCS seniorsreceived National Merit Scholarships thisspring. The National Merit ScholarshipProgram singles out students based on theirperformance on the PSAT, their academicrecord, school recommendations, and otheraccomplishments. National Merit ScholarshipRecipients: (front row, l-r): Rebecca Horowitz,Jennifer Simon. (Back row, l-r): JasonKirschner, Natalie Willis, and JacobSchutzman.

National French Honors. Three Friends’Central seniors received medals in Le GrandConcours, a national French contest. The annual competition is sponsored by theAmerican Association of Teachers of French,and invites students from grades 1-12 acrossthe United States and abroad to take a writtentest to show their skills in the French lan-guage. Charlotte Bassett, Jennifer Simon, and Emily Ziffer

14

All School: Awards

Friends’ Central

This spring, Friends’ Central honored 28 Upper School students for their commitment tocommunity service. The Service Award recognizes students who have worked 40 or morehours for nonprofit agencies outside of the Friends’ Central community. As always, thisyear’s group of students served at a great variety of agencies, including LankenauHospital, Saunders House, PAWS, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees,and the American Cancer Society. Pictured are the 2008-2009 Service Award Recipients(back row, from left): Charlotte James ’10, Sarah Weingarten ’10, Hannah Shaw ’10,Chelsea Pasahow ’10, (front row, from left): Louis Lesser ’11, David Yarnell ’12, AlexiSeveral ’11, Emily Brodsky ’10, Natasha Sultan ’10, Jeffrey Horowitz ’10, Ephraim Frankel ’10. Not pictured: Daniel Adelson ’09, Taylor Anderson ’10, Katherine Drebin ’11,Jonathan Edelstein ’09, Anne Estey ’10, R. Kyle Fullerton ’10, Drew Kopicki ’11, RebeccaHorowitz ’09, Michelle Kaplan ’10, Aaron Reichlin ’10, Thomas Ringe ’09, Jessie Rohrer’11, Emily Roll ’12, Katherine Roll ’11, Elisabeth Rubin ’11, Ariel Several ’09, and DavidWeinberger ’11.

Friends’ Central sophomore Jane Gordon ’11earned National First Place honors in theFrench exam Le Grand Concours. The contest,sponsored by the American Association ofTeachers of French, attracted over 101,487 stu-dents from all 50 states.

Middle School Citizenship Awards were given to eighth graders (from left): Michael Furey(Jacqueline Frances O’Neill “Enthusiasm and Spirit” Award), Suzanne Bernstein (JaquelineFrances O’Neill “Enthusiasm and Spirit” Award), Nathan Willis (Frank M. Groff“Sportsmanship and Friendship” Award), William Block (Ida Hill Cahn “Peace ThroughService” Award), and Anna Lynn-Palevsky (Ida Hill Cahn “Peace Through Service” Award).Not pictured: Ashley Tedesco (Frank M. Groff “Sportsmanship and Friendship” Award)


Photography Contest Winners

Top row from left: Andrew Kelly ’09, Samantha Karpinski ’10

Middle row from left: Andrew Kelly ’09, Sakina Abdus-Shakur ’09

Bottom row from left: Anne Estey ’10, Samantha Karpinski ’10

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f r i e n d s ’ c e n t r a l s c h o o l

Friends’ Central

CommencementClockwise from top: The class of 2009; Andie Luongo, Emily Rosenblum, Liz Mitnick, Ariel Several;Diane DeVan helps Jeremy Stursberg get ready for the ceremony.

Commencement


STUDENT COLLEGESakina Abdus Shakur Bryn Mawr CollegeDaniel Abelson Syracuse UniversityDaniel Adelson Cornell UniversityJohn Armstrong Williams CollegeZachary Auerbach Carnegie Mellon UniversitySarah Backal-Balik Vassar CollegeDaniel Badgio St. John's CollegeAlex Barron Tulane UniversityErica Bash Muhlenberg CollegeCharlotte Bassett Duke UniversityBenjamin Bersoff Emory UniversityJustin Bortnick Lafayette CollegeMargaret Bowie University of ChicagoAdam Brecher Carnegie Mellon UniversityMichael Carpenter Earlham CollegeWilliam Castelli Sarah Lawrence CollegePeter Chawaga Wake Forest UniversityAmy Corenswet Vassar CollegeNaomi Crimm Bates CollegeEmmet Culhane Haverford CollegeAnthony DeCusatis Carnegie Mellon UniversityA. Patrick DeSabato Providence CollegeElizabeth Deutschman University of PennsylvaniaNicole Deutschman Dickinson CollegeKelly Diamond University of PennsylvaniaJonathan Edelstein University of PittsburghSonja Eisl College of CharlestonJulia Ellis-Kahana Brown UniversityDavid Eschenazi Sarah Lawrence CollegeElizabeth Fifer Wheaton CollegeAndrew Fusselbaugh Washington and Lee UniversityMax Gilbert Amherst CollegeJillian Glen Muhlenberg CollegeJennifer Goldman Muhlenberg CollegeZachary Goldman Vanderbilt UniversitySamuel Green Emory UniversityJordan Grossman Penn State UniversityMorgan Gunter Howard UniversityAlexander Guy George Washington UniversityEmily Harnett University of PennsylvaniaPhoebe Harris University of VirginiaRebecca Horowitz Washington Univ in St. LouisChristina Hurley Haverford CollegeMatthew Hyman University of ArizonaMaxwell Kaplan Wesleyan UniversityAndrew Kelly Johns Hopkins University

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the class of

STUDENT COLLEGEBrandon Laing Lafayette CollegeMegan Lee Dickinson CollegeMatthew Levy Villanova UniversityPeter Liebman University of RochesterAlexandra Lizzi Muhlenberg CollegeAndrea Luongo Rollins CollegeElizabeth Marmon George Washington UniversityElizabeth McElroy Bloomsburg University of PAAngie McGuinness University of PennsylvaniaIvo Milic-Strkalj Haverford CollegeElizabeth Mitnick Washington Univ in St. LouisRichard Moses II Spartanburg Methodist CollegeAriana Mundy Temple UniversityMichael Murray Temple UniversityStephen Nemroff Emerson CollegeJames Newman Drexel UniversityMaureen Noonan Albright CollegeEric O'Brien University of PennsylvaniaSean O'Brien Worcester Polytechnic InstituteAngela Padolina Drexel UniversityJenna Paul-Schultz Johns Hopkins UniversityCurtis Pawley Sarah Lawrence CollegeBrett Richardson Cornell UniversityTom Ringe Rose-Hulman Inst of TechnologyJulia Romano Skidmore CollegeEmily Rosenblum Swarthmore CollegeDaniel Rosner Brandeis UniversityImara Roychowdhury Brandeis UniversityMichael Rubin University of PennsylvaniaJacob Schutzman Washington Univ in St. LouisAriel Several Johns Hopkins UniversityJona Shreeves-Taylor Temple UniversityDavid Simins Princeton UniversityJennifer Simon Yale UniversityJacob Snider Columbia UnivesityEric Sorensen Duke UniversitySarah Starr Tulane UniversityJeremy Stursberg Ohio Wesleyan UniversityMatthew Trichon Northeastern UniversityGabriella Wachs Barnard/Jewish Theological SemCatherine Weingarten Bennington CollegeNatalie Willis Yale UniversityMegan Wilson East Stroudsburg UniversityHal Woodin Syracuse UniversityFrank Zhao Lehigh UniversityEmily Ziffer Tufts University

18

On Saturday, June 6th, Friends’ Central

celebrated Commencement for the Class

of 2009. The ceremony included remarks

by Ann Satterthwaite, Clerk of the Board

of Trustees, Headmaster David Felsen,

and fourth grade teacher Ginger Fifer.

Sakina Abdus Shakur ’09 and Brett

Richardson ’09 were chosen by their class-

mates to address the class and gave mov-

ing speeches about their education and

the friendships they formed at FCS.

First things first …Congratulations Class of 2009! by Sakina Abdus Shakur ’09

“Although today marksthe commencement ofour lives away from

Friends’ Central, ...

... we will take this place with us whereverwe go. This School has taught us thepower of the individual. George BernardShaw famously said “Life isn’t about find-ing yourself, it’s about creating yourself.”FCS has taught us to be conscious indi-viduals and to be active in our lives, sothat we could create ourselves. Thephilosopher Rihanna also said, “You'regonna be a shining star, fancy clothes,fancy car-ars.

And then you'll see, you're gonna gofar. Cause everyone knows, who you are-are. So live your life, ay ay ay.”….

This has been an extraordinary yearin history. We elected the first African

American President of the United Statesof America. President Barack Obama rec-ognized the power of the individual, andenlisted thousands of young people toaid in his campaign. The youth were adriving force in the Presidential election,and the youth of the class of 2009 will bea significant force in the world. We areexperiencing life in marvelous times, so Ithink it is quite fitting that we are gradu-ating this year, in a year of change, inspi-ration and hope for the future….

As we venture into the world it iseasy to feel fear and apprehension. In ourtimes of uncertainty let’s remember thepower of the individual. Remember tohave a zeal for knowledge and to alwaysbe active in your education. Rememberthat your actions do make a difference,and you have the ability to positivelyaffect the world. Remember to do thethings you love, and devote your life toyour passions. Remember the power ofthe individual, your power. 09!”

Friends’ Central

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the class of

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Commencement Addressby Brett Richardson

“We’ve changed somuch since we’vecome to FCS...

... The physical changes are obvious: nomore big heads, squeaky voices or Velcroshoes. But the inner changes are there aswell, and they are the true marker ofprogress. It wasn’t too long ago that wewere all immature freshmen trying to fitinto high school life. It wasn’t too longago that we were stumbling over Junioryear. The funny thing is that even thoughwe’ve changed so much in so many ways,we are still the same people that we havealways been.

Our bond starts in the classroom.Building off of one another we collective-ly have become smarter, better, faster,stronger. Our teachers … shaped our

abilities by giving us both the content tosucceed and the tools to go further. FCSsupplied us with a rigorous workload, butthe school community also encouraged usto grow outside of the classroom experi-ence. That, to me, is more important thanour accomplishments with our schoolwork; and that, to me, is what growing upis all about. A student’s passion is whatmakes him or her unique. Playing fields,stages, any other literal or metaphoricalcanvas: we have all expressed ourselves insome way in our time here. I’ve watchedmy classmates “in their element,” the fire(or inner light as I’ve been taught) burn-ing as they show off their talent or skill.It’s through the support of the peoplearound you that your passion cangrow….

So I turn to my classmates: we havebeen blessed with not just a great step-ping stone to the college world andbeyond, but we have been blessed withsupportive parents and teachers who haveequipped us with the right tools. We have,

as individuals and as a class, done greatthings for the FCS community. And nowas we set off on our own to different partsof our world, we have the chance to makea tangible difference to society. Followyour passion and share your love of itwith others. Don’t sacrifice your passionfor anything. As we leave this place, weleave it with our heads held high andthankful for what it has given us. Ourparents’ investment in us will be matchedwith an even higher yield by the accom-plishments we have yet to achieve. Don’tbe sad, don’t fear the impending changethat we are facing. Be happy that of allthe places we are leaving, we are leavingFCS. Be happy that you can share thismoment with the surrounding communi-ty. The Class of 2009 is brimming withpotential to create our own change forthe better, and I am confident that we willmake the most of our opportunities andexperiences.”


Other page, clockwise from top left: DavidFelsen addresses the Class of 2009; SarahBackal-Balik recessing; Amy Corenswet, FrankZhao, Ricky Moses, Dan Rosner; Megan andKatie Lee; Sakina Abdus-Shakur addresses herfellow graduates.

This page, clockwise from top left: The Class of2009 enjoying the moment; Ivo Milic-Strkalj,Hal Woodin, Max Kaplan, Jake Snider, PatrickDeSabato; Ariana Mundy and Megan Wilson;Brett Richardson addresses the Class of 2009.

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It’s a Family Affair!

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the class of

Clockwise from top left: Richard Moses ’77and Ricky Moses ’09; Nicki Deutschman ’09, Catherine Deutschman ’06, Beth Deutschman ’09;Rodney Willis ’77 and Natalie Willis ’09proudly display their Friends’ Central diplomas; Doug Hyman ’79 and MattHyman ’09; Mark Fifer, Megan Fifer '96,Elisabeth Fifer '09, Ginger Fifer, and MarkFifer '96; Alexander McElroy ’06, LorettaMcElroy ’74, Elizabeth McElroy ’09, andKatherine McElroy ’12.

Friends’ Central


friends’ central school

Reunion 2009began onFriday, May

8th with Career Day,an annual tradition

in the Upper School that had a special twist this year. Career Day fea-tured Ben Daniels ’03, who screened his award-winning documentaryThis Is My Cheesesteak for the ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders inShallcross Hall. The film explores the personalities of the top cheeses-teak restaurant owners in Philadelphia as well as Ben’s personal infat-uation with the famous Philly sandwich.

As a special additional surprise, Tony Luke of Tony Luke’sCheesesteaks fame dropped by Friends’ Central with cheesesteaks forall of the Upper School students. The students were thrilled with thelunchtime surprise and also with the opportunity to ask Ben ques-tions about his life in Hollywood, where he currently works at RyanSeacrest Productions.

Career Day also featured classroom visits by other young alums,including Elizabeth Hutchin ’99, Amy Dunn ’99, Lauren Collier ’99,Margot Conrad ’99, Jared Fertman ’99, and Adam Seitchik ’89. Thisenthusiastic group spoke to different Upper School classes abouttheir careers in marketing, social work, science research, and law.

On Saturday, May 9th over 600 alumni/ae, family, friends, andformer faculty came to the City Avenue campus to celebrate thereunion years for the classes of ’39, ’44, ’49, ’54, ’59, ’64, ’69, ’74, ’79,’84, ’89, ’94, ’99, and ’04. The alums mingled over breakfast on theoval before gathering in Shallcross Hall for Meeting for Worship.Many spoke movingly about their time at Friends’ Central and theimpact their education made in their lives long after graduating.

At the Reunion Program, headmaster David Felsen presentedMarilyn Murray ’64 and Robert Gassel ’69 with the 2009Distinguished Alumna/us Awards. Marilyn was honored for her out-standing accomplishments in the field of healthcare and Robert for hisoutstanding accomplishments in the field of real estate as well as serv-ice to the School. The Class of 1959 received special recognition fortheir record-setting attendance and enthusiasm. Dave Branning ’59presented David Felsen with a check for $110,280.45 representing theamazing generosity of all the Reunion classes this year.

Alums congregated under the tent for a delicious lunch in theafternoon, which was followed by the chance to cheer for varsitysports games or participate in the alumni/ae match ups against thegirls' varsity lacrosse and softball teams. Those looking for a respitefrom the May sun took the time to visit a display from the archivesand remember what Friends' Central looked like when they were stu-dents. In the evening, all classes gathered in Rex Gymnasium for theHeadmaster's Reception, followed by dinner, dessert, and dancing inShallcross.

The 2009 Reunion was a wonderful success, giving alums theopportunity to reconnect with old friends, teachers, and their belovedalma mater.

Reunion2 0 0 9


Other page, top to bottom: Ben Daniels ’03 with Upper School stu-dents after the screening of This Is My Cheesesteak; The AlumnaeLacrosse Team: (left to right): Robin Rothman ’84 (kneeling), DianaBleakley ’01, Anne Ross ’94, Lauren Becker Rubin ’83, JacquelineFehling ’39, Tori Curl Wolgin ’89, Lisa Kay Solomon ’89, AndreaDeSabato ’05, Rachel Bradburd ’05, Malika Cohen ’99; Emily Bosk’99 and Callie Lytton ’99.

This page, clockwise from top left: Lisa Kay Solomon ’89, RachelNewman Schwartz ’89, Tory Curl Worgan ’89; Amy Dunn ’99, MargotConrad ’99, Jared Fertman ’99, Elizabeth Hutchin ’99, and LaurenCollier ’99, 2009 Career Day Visitors; Sampling the cookies at lunch;Richard Pompetti ’04, Chris Bleakley ’04, Adam Axler ’04; LynnMurray ’64 and Kathy Murray-Allan ’62; Jeanne and Carl “Reds”Reichert ’49; The Class of 1984


Class of 1939Doris Yocum Markley, Jacqueline Fehling

Class of 1944Betty Hall Williams, Martha ShmidheiserDuBarry

Class of 1949Front row: Caroline Shortlidge Helmuth,Carol Scholz Snow; Back row: Carl “Red”Reichert, Madge Littlefield Bird, IvanGabel, Richard Collins

Class of 1959Front row: Haig Yardumian, Dick Graves, JimHudson, Os Cresson, Joan Shore Steinhouse, JoanMesirov Sperans, Dave Branning, Cinda BuswellHill, Roberta Sandra McCarthy, Betsy MackeySmith, Nancy BreMiller Black, Susan M. Kelsay;middle row: Leonard A. Sylk, Betsy MarklandSchwartz, Sally Reynolds Motley, Dave Linton,Carolyn Jakob Knudsen, Susan Lobb Hoag, Blair S.Newton, Anne Hall Flaccus, Dick Richards, BonnieForster Richards, Perry Anthony, Steven F. Jess, TimPatterson, Jean Berg Eselgroth, Bob Hall; back row:Reid Bush, Bob Ward, Gertrud Nunner-Winkler,Suzanne Murphy Lewis, Sarah Newton Krebs, JonasStiklorius, Chuck Ensor, Tom Donaldson, SteveLongaker

Class of 1964Front row: Shellie Curcio Karabell, Dick Fetter, Gail ColemanPowell, Barbara Linnehan Ellis, Lynne Murray, Tom Dean, TerryCooper; back row: Leigh Hunter, Marti Plummer Mahaffey, JohnWitherspoon, Judy Price Waterman, Dave Williams, John Boyd,Tom Draper, Sophie Bronstein

Class of 1969Front row: John Schalow, Carl Parris, Robert Gassel,Garry Hayner; back row: Terry Cooper, Joe Ludwig,James Supplee, Susan Wright Matthiessen

Reunion2 0 0 9



Class of 1999Rimi Chakraboty, Ben Fogel, BrookeGassel, Amy Dunn, Latifah McMullin,Sara Wasserman, Malika Cohen,Reza Madani, Izzy Grinspan, EmilyBosk, Monet Trent, Callie Lytton,Margot Conrad, Mitra Keykhah,Genevieve Gonzalez-Turner, DeenaBernett, Defne Amado, ElizabethHutchin, Ted Vermeychuk, JaredFertman, Ryan Hardin, MichaelMartino, Darryl Yorkman

Class of 2004Emily Phillips, Chris Bleakley, DanZimmerman, Richard Pompetti,Morgan Frank, Becca Kantor, MarianGrove, Mike Robbins, Joe Silver,Adam Axler, Rebecca Slovak, DianeChen, Jessica Bogart

Class of 1984Front row: Steven Goldstein, Mark Silberberg (Riley and Caleb inback), Jamie Goldsborough, Samantha Hewit Fruchtman (Maddiebehind), Michelle Lecks Roover (Benny and Hailey), Betsy Madway(William Goldstein, Lily Goldstein, Henry in stroller), Trina PewGandal, Ray Lohier; back row: Robin Rothman, Doug Kaplan

Class of 1989Gregg Liss, Lisa Kay Solomon, AdamSeitchik, Rachel Newman Schwartz, ScottErlbaum, Eric Dichter, Ashu Singh, JeffreyGittleman, Michael Porter, Jim Christy

Class of 1994Julie Levison, Anna Krouse


One of the high points of this year’sReunion was the tremendous turnout andenthusiasm of the Class of 1959. Long beforegathering on campus in June, this class setthemselves some very high goals. They weredetermined to have 50% of the class attendand to raise $50,000. On May 9th, thirty-sixout of sixty classmates gathered and present-ed the School with a check for over $57,000.Their teamwork and eagerness to cometogether and celebrate their time at Friends’Central were remarkable.

Fun Facts from ’59

Trudi Nunner-Winkler came thefarthest—all the way from Germany.

Of the forty members of the classwho came to Reunion 2009, morethan ten of them had not been back

to FCS in fifty years.

Lenny Sylk has hosted the Class Reunion party every year.

The Class of 1959 has a child of a former headmaster.

The Class of 1959 has two sets of married alums.

An amazing 77% of the class participated in the Class Gift.

The Remarkable 50th Reunion for the Class of 1959

We did not want the weekend to end. Most of the attendees from our class had not beenback to the School since graduating, yet weset a 50th Reunion attendance record. —David Branning

Where can you go andbe in a room whereeveryone is your age,knows you, and canhelp you relive yourchildhood while stillremaining an adult?That was the class of 1959 Reunion. Itwas a once in a lifetime event. —Cinda Buswell Hill

Reunion2 0 0 9


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Each year, the Friends’ Central School Alumni/aeOffice honors two alumni/ae for their distinguishedrecords of service to the School, their communities,or their professions.

This year’s Distinguished Alumna was MarilynMurray ’64. Lynn works as Director of ProfessionalRevenue Cycles at The Lucille Packard Children’sHospital of Stanford University.

Robert Gassel ’69 was honored as theDistinguished Alumnus. Bob spends almost as muchtime on campus now as he did forty years ago. Heserves on the Board of Trustees and his son Bruno isa member of the class of 2016. Bob’s daughter Brookegraduated from Friends’ Central in ’99. Away fromcampus, Bob has a successful career in commercialreal estate.

The professional and personal dedication thatLynn and Bob exhibit, their devotion to family andcommunity and improving the world around them, exemplify the values that define Friends’ Central. Weare proud to claim them as our own and to honor their accomplishments.


d i s t i n g u i s h e d a l u m n u s / a a w a r d s

Marilyn Murray ’64

Distinguished Alumna 2009

Robert Gassel ’69

Distinguished Alumnus 2009

Friends’ Central School

I felt closer than ever to myclassmates and there was such awonderful bond. —Jean Eselgroth

Class of 1959Other page top left: Sue Ann and JonasStiklorius ’59, and Cinda Buswell Hill ’59 at theHeadmaster’s Reception; Cinda Buswell Hill andDave Branning lead the Class of 1959 intoReunion; Tim Patterson ’59, Cinda Buswell Hill’59, Elizabeth Mackey Smith ’59, DaveBranning ’59, Susan Kelsay ’59, Bob Hall ’59,George “Dick” Richards ‘59

This page top left: Dave Branning offers DavidFelsen the Class of 1959’s Reunion Gift; TheClass of 1959 enjoyed their hats; Barbara Sylk,Leonard Sylk ’59, Betsy Markland ’59, BonnieForster Richards ’59, and Rick Richards ’59

Lower School HostsGrandparents’ Open House

On Thursday, April 30th, third andfourth graders welcomed their grandpar-ents to the Lower School campus for aspecial Open House. The Open Houseprovided a delightful opportunity forthird and fourth graders to spend somespecial time with their grandparents andto show off their School. The childrengave their grandparents a tour of theSchool, introduced them to teachers pastand present, and participated in activitieswith fun prizes. Afterwards, everyoneenjoyed refreshments in the cafeteria.

In Support

Top: Sun Yoo, Brendan Yoo ’17, and Man Yoo; far left: Gayle Bosma, Dale Decatur ’18, Mel Bosma; left: Amari Aiken ’17 and DeborahAiken; below: Sam Zaoutis ’17 and LorraineBeitler

Left: Elaine Gillison (Victoria ‘13and Olivia Gillison ‘10); DianaBleakley ‘01

On Tuesday, May 19th, fifty-eight volunteerscame to the City Avenue campus to participatein a Marathon Phonathon for the 2008-2009Annual Giving Campaign. The Phonathon ranfrom 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Fannie CoxCenter, where volunteers made calls to over1,000 members of the Friends' Central commu-nity! The enthusiasm and support for FCS werepalpable as the callers helped push the Schoolcloser to the year’s Annual Giving goal.Ultimately, the volunteers raised over 100 giftsin cash and hard pledges, amounting to over$25,000. Many more people pledged to givewithout specifying an amount. Friends’ Centralis so grateful to the volunteers who donatedtheir time as well as to the many people whomade gifts. Commitment to the School’s priori-ties sustains our tradition of excellence.

Going the Distance for Friends’ Central


Fun Run

On Sunday, April 26th, the 2nd annual all-school FunRun drew on the energy of Earth Day to highlightFriends’ Central’s Going Green initiative. The day fea-tured traditions like the 5K and 1 mile races, theFriends' in the Garden Plant Sale and the Children'sConcert for Peace. The “going green” twist also providedthe opportunity to introduce a number of new activi-ties, including composting demonstrations, half-hourworkshops with Peter Grove on how to start a garden,and a display from the Riverbend EnvironmentalEducation Center. It was a pleasure to see everyone frompre-kindergarteners to seniors and parents come out tocelebrate Earth Day at the School!


In Support

Top: The start of the 1-Mile race

Above, clockwise from left:Sebastian Villa ’20 gets excitedabout the Fun Run; Grace Decatur’20 and Abby Donnenfeld ’20 showoff their face paint; Cathy Fiebach,Fun Run Co-Chair, and DavidFelsen enjoy the day; Ryan Schiller’17 and Neil Goldader ’17 exploresolar energy.

Left, front row left to right: ClaireHarris '11, Jaime Hyman '11,Megan Holt '10, Grace Pearlman '10. Back row left toright: Coach Lauren Becker Rubin '83 with son Justin '21,Phoebe Harris '09, Noreen Neal '10, Emily Brodsky '10, Becca Dahle '12

The events you have seen showcased herein “In Support,” from the Pumpkin Fair tothe Film & Lecture Series, the book fairs,and the Fun Run, are a vital part of ourschool year. They offer chances for us togather as a community, to revel in our sur-roundings, talents, and camaraderie. Theysustain our connection to each other,introduce us to new friends, and help ourchildren appreciate Friends’ Central notjust as a School but as a true circle offriends. All of these events exist becausewe have an amazingly supportive parentbody. These events depend on the manyparents who volunteer to plan, host, coor-dinate, staff, and promote them. Thesevolunteers donate food, decorations, andtheir talents. They support the School in avital way. The countless hours they spendon building our community deserves spe-cial recognition and a warm “thank you!”

The 2008-2009 Home & School Executive Committee

Co-Presidents: Cathy Fiebach (’08-’10), Anja Jefferis Levitties ’86 (’07-’09)

Secretary: Marie Satalof (’08-’10)

Treasurer: David Arnold (’06-’09)

Immediate Past President:Charlotte Schutzman

Upper School Co-Chairs: Anne Rubin (’07-’09), Annie Weiss (’08-’10)

Middle School Co-Chairs:Amy Estey (’08-’10), Kimberly Tarquinio (’07-’09)

Lower School Co-Chairs:Jessica Coss (’07-’09), Heather Osborne (’08-’10)

Parent Representatives:

12th Grade: Bobbi Cassidy, Molly Love,Charlotte Schutzman, Shirl Shakur, CathyWeiss

11th Grade: Sherri Belkoff, Amy Dweck,Patty Hewson, Ann Matey, Sally Richman

10th Grade: Vicki Gratz, Linda Hall,Bernie Kopicki, Julie Low, Beth Snider

9th Grade: Marta Adelson, Nancy Bray,Valarie Everett, Christine Laine, Jennie Nemroff

8th Grade: Ellan Bernstein, Mercedes Jacobson,Joe McCaffrey, Frances Vilella-Velez, Annie Weiss

7th Grade: Beth Dahle, SarahDeMichele, Elena Levitan,Tracy Winig

6th Grade: Paula Durlofsky,Sharon Ritt, Mary EllenWeissman, Kris Yoo

5th Grade: Terry Bovarnick,Jessica Coss, Jane Ebby, Lauren Becker Rubin, ’83

4th Grade: Sharon Weiss, Deb Correll, Leslie Matthews

3rd Grade: Carrie Cohen,Stacy Gorberg, Angela Greene,Seth Williams

2nd Grade: Amira Quraishi, Chris Bruckner, Helene vanBeuren, Husam Ansari

1st Grade: Suzie Sall, EstherBook, Corina Ramos de Villa

Kindergarten: Marci Morgan, Ami Lonner, Melissa Anderson

Pre-Kindergarten: JaneSchoenborn, Elizabeth Nourian

Committee Chairs

Community Service: Barbara Matteucci (US),Marian Pearlman (US),Melissa Anderson (MS), LornaDreyfuss (MS), Kim Emmons-Benjet (LS), Timika Lane (LS),Jennifer Tobey (LS)

eScrip: Wendy Frame

Family Dance Night: Betty Brizill, Lis Dosanjh,Peggy Hervas

Film & Lecture Series: Annie Weiss

Friends in the Garden: Paulina Hewett, Karen Ivory,Mary Fran Schlessinger,Elizabeth Belk

Fun Run & Family Day: Cathy Fiebach, Joan Giresi

Gift Wrap: Wendy Frame

Lower School Book Fair: Erica Taxin Bleznak ’86, Janet Bortnick

Lower School Winter Blast:Michelle Narin, Lauren Becker Rubin ’86

Middle School Book Fair:Terri Jones, Paula Williams

Parents of Students of Color:Allessandro Condiff, KathyFoy, Terri Jones

PSOC Bowl-A-Thon: BettyBrizill, Andrea Swinton

Prom Committee: Chris Hilke

Pumpkin Fair: Dora Feingold,Susan Roberts

Quaker Life Group: Paula Williams,Robert Williamson

Welcoming Committee: Lorna Dreyfuss Lynn Anderson (US)Lauren Becker Rubin ’83 (MS)Heather Osborne (LS)

Home & School 2008-2009Volunteers

Marta AdelsonRobert AdelsonAtif AhmadSabina AhmadTonia AlwynCary AndersonCindy AndersonLynn AndersonMelissa AndersonPaul AndersonRebecca AndersonNancy AndrewsPhillip AnnasHusam AnsariLaura ArmstongDavid ArnoldSharon AshHolly AyersHeather BadtMaureen BalitsarisBetty BardLisa BardarsonBernadette BartholomewEvan BashElizabeth BelkSherri BelkoffGlenn BellCari BenderRodd BenderBrian BenjetBritt BennerEric BergerJessica BergerEllan BernsteinLen BernsteinLaura BessenTammi BishopChris BlackmanErica Taxin Bleznak ’86 Esther BookJanet Bortnick

Meg BoscovTerry BovarnickKaren BowersBrad BradbeerCarol BradbeerCarl BradleyAndrew BrandtLisa BrandtNancy BrayDavid BrighamHolly BrighamBetty BrizillCaroline BrooksGwen BrownRandy BrownChris BrucknerRobert BrumleyTed BurdenFloyd ButlerTrish CartafalsaBart CassidyBobbi CassidyKim CassidySilvia ChapkovichSteve ChawagaDebbie ChoiDeborah CianfraniGeorge ClothierAmy CohenCarrie CohenLiz Cohen ’83Scot CohenKathy Coleman-MartinAllessandro CondiffCarla ConnorMary ConnorAlison Cook-SatherMatt CooperDeborah CorrellCatherine CorsonElizabeth CosgriffJessica CossElise Cotler Alan CotlerLouise CulverEllen CutshallBeth DahleDavid DahleDoris Davis-WhitelyCatherine DawsonKate DeansAmy DecaturScott DecaturMary Ann DeCusatisMelinda deLisleSarah DeMichele Patricia DeRussoBobbi DeSabatoEsra Diker-YilmazAmy Cooperberg DiLuca ’78Tony DiLucaLisa DissingerSusan DomchekJag DosanjhLis DosanjhJeff DrebinLorna DreyfussVirginia DuerrPaula Durlofsky


Thank you volunteers!


Evelyn DuvivierMarc DuvivierAmy DweckRennard EastJane EbbySusan EllisKim Emmons-BenjetAmy EsteyJohn EsteyValarie EverettHeather ExleyMarci Feigenbaum-Bergmann

Allen FeingoldDora FeingoldRandi FeldRicky FeldCathy FiebachJon Fiebach ’82Al FilreisAmy FlorestaMadge FolwellChristopher ForrestMike FoxTina FoxKathy FoyReginald FoyWendy Frame Ellen FrankClare FullertonMary FureyMichael FureyBob GallagherPhyllis GallagherEve GalvinElaine GillisonEverett GillisonSteve GinsbergJoan GiresiEmily GiszterSimon GiszterDeb GoldaderBarry GoldbergDavid GoldsteinPearl Graub ’73 Stacy GorbergBrian GordonJulie Cowitz Gordon ’81 Vicki GratzDana GreenblattDoris GreenblattEric GreenblattAngela GreeneLeslie GreenfieldEarle GreerMark GreisigerEd GrevesKathryn GriffoJim GrochMichele GrossmanGeorge GrovesLaura GrovesJohn GruberRebecca GuentherIhnsouk GuimLinda HallJohn Harris

Randi HarrisSusanna HauserWarren HauserCaroline HawkinsDarin HaytonKathryn HaywardDianne HeardJohn HeardHeather HebertLisa HellerDedrick HervasPeggy HervasPaulina HewettPatty HewsonMaxine HobsonLisa HolgashRichard HoltSusan HoltDeborah HoppySusan HymanKaren IvoryTiffany JacksonBruce JacobsonMercedes JacobsonAlaina JamesSusan JohntzPenny JoinesRonald JoinesLance JonesTerri JonesLaura KeenBev KithRina KellerMichael KellyPam KimRay KimYun Hui KimKristin KimmellTodd KimmellJoanne KleinLori KochKerri KonikBernie KopickiJane KoppelmanSam KratchmanHoward KrugerDanielle KulickeChristine LaineTimika LaneAlex LangendorferJennifer Corson LeBow ’85Pam LechleiderNatalie LeeJennifer LehrerElena LevitanAnja Jefferis Levitties ’86 Matthew Levitties ’85 Karen LewisRick LiebmanSonja LindgrenMireia LizandraPat LobbHao-Li LohCasey LonderganAmi LonnerMolly LoveJulie Low

Clare LuzuriagaDiego LuzuriagaLorna LynnThomas LynnTom MacFarlaneMarcia MannJoni MarcusMarci MarcusKaren MartinLydia MartinAnn MateyEd MateyBarbara MatteucciDavid MatthewsLeslie MatthewsJoan MazzottiJoe McCaffreyErica McCannBill McCulloughStephanie McCulloughDawn McDonnellKathy McGeeJoanna McMorrisEmilie McVeyIris MelendezApril MellodyDrew MelmanDiane MerryRegina Mickie-ChalmusLisa MillerJodi MindellPeter MinneciCorrie Mitchell ’85Eric MitchellLaura MitchellMarci MorganSuzanne MorrisonRick Moses ’77 Sheila MosesGregory MundyLinda MundyAngela MurrayMichelle NarinJennie NemroffSara NerkenAlison NetzBruce NewmanLaurel NewmanLinda NewmanJanine NguyenSteven NichtbergerCatherine NierenbergPaola NoguerasElizabeth NourianRobert NourianPeter O’DwyerHeather OsborneArnita Outlaw Chris OzbunHarold PalevskyAnthony ParkerDe ParmetKim ParrisLynne PartridgeJennifer PavaoMary Jean PawleyMarian Pearlman

Felix PenzarellaKaren PenzarellaTara PerkinsCarol PerloffNancy PetersonGina PinottiSharon PollackSharyn PozzuoloFred PurnellAmira QuraishiCatherine RamaswamyCorina Ramos de Villa ’94Eric RaymondKatherine RaymondChristine RedJon ReichlinLarry ReichlinNorma ReichlinDavid RichmanSally RichmanSharon RittCarl RobertsDavid Roberts ’83Susan RobertsBarbara RoddyJames RoddyAnn RogersPaul RogersJohn RooneyLisa RooneyEllen RosenLouis RosnerMarcy RosnerLaura RossioLeonard RossioHarry RothMadge RothenbergKimberly RubensAnne RubinLauren Becker Rubin ’83 Christine RussellMaryann SaiaMeg SaligmanPeter SaligmanSuzie SallLisa SandlerBruce SatalofMarie SatalofLeigh ScheuritzelMary Fran SchlessingerJane SchoenbornWalter SchoenbornSandrine SchoenfeldLynn SchuchterCharlotte SchutzmanMaurice SchweitzerCaroline SegallGregory SegallLisa SeligsohnShirl ShakurJamie ShellerKathy ShewardLisa ShimadaMarcy ShoemakerElliott ShoreLeslie SiegelMike Silver

Meli SimmeringPaula SingerEve SmithHoward SmithWendy SmithBeth SniderStacey SpectorAmy SteinEric SternJacqueline SternMaria SturmEric SultanHelena SultanFran SutherlandAndrea SwintonAllison SzaparyDavid TaffettSharon Taffett Joy TakahashiKimberly TarquinioLynn Teller Stacey ThomasDarlene Threatt-RiceLauren TierneyJennifer TobeyCindy TorresEve Troutt-PowellHelene van BeurenDavid VelinskyLaura VergesFrances Vilella-VelezCorinna VillarsFrederick VillarsBob VonderheideErika Waginger-GoldbergPeggy WahrmanMargie WainfanElizabeth WallaceKate WallaceJason WarleyJesse WashingtonSharon WeissAnnie WeissCathy WeissDavid WeissDebbie WeissHarry WeissMary Ellen WeissmanJodi West-BookerSherri WexlerLori WhitePaula Williams Seth WilliamsSonita WilliamsRobert WilliamsonTracy WinigSusan WirshbaEve WollmanLeslie WollockKar-Lai WongGuang YangDonald YihPam Yih Kris YooRegina Ziffer

Thank you volunteers!


In 1926 Friends’ Central held its firstCommencement on its new campus.Eighty-three years later,Commencement Terrace still playshost to our June celebrations. Thisyear, as part of their 50th Reunion, theClass of 1959 raised money to restoreCommencement Terrace so that thisimportant tradition of honoring ourseniors and handing out diplomas cancontinue for another eighty yearsunder the magnificent trees.

from the Archives

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A Tradition Continues

friends' central school directions summer 2009

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