Summer 2008 1

Innovation… Paul Krieger, Headmaster

Thud. The 8-lb. light blue bowling ball lands in the high grass and rolls to an abrupt stop. Three juniors, hunkered down 30 feet away, dash towards the ball with measuring tapes in hand. “307 and a half feet,” one screams. “Awesome” says the boy next to him. A crowd of some 100 students and faculty let out a loud cheer of approval.

Mr. Fagen’s honors physics class had spent the last two weeks of the semester researching, designing, procuring the materials, building, and finally testing a 13-foot high 12th century-style trebuchet. The trebuchet was made famous by Richard the Lionheart (Duke of Normandy) and used in the 1191 siege of the city of Acre. Basing their calculations on engineering data, wind speed, torque, and even current humidity, this class of young physicists had figured that the 8-lb bowling ball would sail 310 feet through the air. They were off by less than three feet.

This past year, Christ School altered the traditional concept of end of semester and final exams. Exams have been replaced with intentionally designed end-of-semester projects which assess a myriad of skills that our students acquire over the course of the term. A 10th grade English class wrote, cast, directed and acted in their own play. Several students in Mr. Clapper’s chemistry class developed a hydrogen fuel cell while others explored and documented the process of electroplating metals using a voltaic cell. Another student who was enrolled in both AP Art and Bible Studies did a joint study and examined biblical images within the context of art history.

The genesis of this change arose from the belief that our focus is to prepare Christ School boys properly for the rapidly changing 21st century workplace. To do that well, the tools we have traditionally used in the classroom

to assess a boy’s progress must be scrutinized, evaluated and adjusted as needed.

Memorization has been a skill long associated with school and the workplace. As recently as the mid-20th century those students and workers who could memorize vast amounts of material were rewarded. One of the most popular game shows of the 1960s was television’s “Concentration.” The game featured thirty blocks which would roll over and display items such as pineapples, fire hydrants, and ladders. The contestant had but a short time to memorize where they were in relationship to each other before the blocks would roll back to a blank display. Those who remembered where all the matching blocks were won the game and prize money. One would be hard

…we are properly preparing our boys for the abstract material and requirements at competitive 4-year colleges and universities. On front cover, and above is the Honors Physics class

reproduction of a 12th century trebuchet.

2 Summer 2008

pressed to find such a game in 2008, which rewards rote memorization. Google now serves as the “memory lobe” for our modern brain.

Skills that will be rewarded in the 21st century will be those involving and engaging creativity, innovation and the understanding of global markets, cultures, and trends. Products such as steel, clothes, and cars once manufactured in the modern world industrial countries are now being made less expensively in developing world economies. Western economies now find it increasingly difficult to compete globally. The old skill set no longer suffices.

The 1970s workplace for which I was educated during high school is not the one that Christ School boys will be entering. Yes, they still need the time-tested values of responsibility, dedication, and hard work—a staple for generations of Christ School boys, but their high school curriculum needs to reflect the changing environment of the 21st century world economy and prepare them accordingly.

Surveys tell us that 70% of today’s graduating college students want to become entrepreneurs. That is up from 13% in 1965. Young adults ages 18-24 start new companies at twice the rate of 35-44 year olds. Young people today are “digital natives” who live on-line and think nothing of texting, cell phoning, surfing the internet and watching TV — all at the same time. At 53, I am considered a “digital immigrant” who struggles to access, harness, and process the plethora of available information and data in our 24-hour world.

Rest assured that we haven’t thrown the proverbial baby out with the bath water. Throughout the academic term at Christ School, there are tests, essays, papers, oral reports, and quizzes all of which serve as tools for assessing a student’s progress during a school year. Students still need to know how to take a test. The positive feedback we have received from colleges on our revised curricular approach has buoyed our confidence that we are properly preparing our boys for the abstract material and requirements at competitive 4-year colleges and universities.

This article celebrates our innovative new style of teaching, mentoring, and engaging our boys both inside and outside of the traditional classroom. Take a glimpse. I think that you will find – as indeed I have found – that learning is much more exciting and meaningful.

T he new English elective, Drama as Literature, dove head-first into Shakespeare with their in-class pro-

duction of scenes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” during fourth quarter. Students were responsible for all aspects of the production from costume, set, music and prop design to editing, directing and acting—including the memorization of their lines.

All twenty students in the class performed roles. In the Shakespearean tradition, no women were allowed on stage, so the boys portrayed all the female roles as well. In addition to the production work, each student was required to write academic papers analyzing the script and justifying his stage work and designs.

• Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsXl-evLfbM to see a live action demonstration of the Trebuchet

Harrison Dent ’10 investigates his chemiluminescent reaction between luminol and sodium hydroxide.

Summer 2008 3

500 Christ School Road • Arden, North Carolina 28704-9914828-684-6232 • Fax: 828-684-2745 • www.christschool.org

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1900C H R I S T S C H O O LAn Episcopal School for Boys

Greetings! While the Christ School campus has quieted down somewhat since graduation, things are buzzing in the Advancement Office as we head towards the end of the fiscal year. The team is hard at work reaching for our Annual Loyalty Fund goal, and with four full weeks left, the pressure is on to finish strong.

I feel extremely fortunate now to consider my family part of the Christ School community. The ten years I spent teaching and coaching at Greensboro Day School provided me with several opportunities to experience, and become very impressed with, Christ School as a visitor. After residing in my hometown for all of my life except the college years, I thought that I would experience some anxiety about leaving as moving day drew nearer in late May. Interestingly, that never happened. Those prior experiences with Christ School helped to create a level of anticipation about coming here that in turn was confirmed during my first forty-eight hours on campus. Warm welcomes from faculty and staff, the help we received from faculty member James Uhler and students Colin Allshouse and Josh Whitney as we unloaded a storage “pod”, and the opportunity to explore the larger campus beyond the center have already provided my family with warm, memorable first impressions. I am excited to serve in a capacity working to promote the development of this incredible school, and I understand very well the high expectations that are placed upon the Advancement Office. We have a strong team, and should you have any questions or concerns pertaining to advancement issues, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Danny WrightDirector of Advancement

Danny WrightDirector of Advancement

4 Summer 2008

On Saturday, April 5, 2008, the Parent Council rolled out the red carpet to host “Hollywood Nights - Legends to Legacies”

at Blue Ridge Motion Picture Studios. More than 245 guests fended off the paparazzi to enjoy an elegant and fun evening complete with live and silent auctions.

“Jack Nicholson” and “Audrey Hepburn” were sighted among the crowd, but the stars were the volunteers who were responsible for recruiting sponsors and advertisers, gathering items and designing the event, which was the first for Christ School in more than a dozen years. Current parent and Gala Chair Patti Harrison led a tireless team of parent and alumni volunteers whose enthusiasm and creativity made it a night to remember.

The Script

Above right: The flashbulbs of the paparazzi are almost as dazzling as the red carpet “stars,” Sean Cashin and Donna Coudes.

Above and right: Robin Boylan ’66 interviews “Jack Nicholson” and “Audrey Hepburn” was sighted more than once among the crowd.

Lights…Cameras…Auction!

Summer 2008 5

The Climactic Finish

The Plot

Larry Miller ’66 and the resplendent John Bowen ’67.

The Parent Council’s goal was to fund the construction of a Concession Pavilion,

complete with bathroom facilities, to be located down by the track, soccer and baseball fields. The gala raised more than $116,000 (net proceeds) and construction began in June. It is projected to finish before the Greenies take the field for their home-opener against Providence Day in August.

Gala Chair Patti Harrison and Acquisition Co-chair Sandy McLeod worked tirelessly to create the magical and successful evening.

The gala evening was underwritten by sponsorships, advertising

and ticket sales. Generous donors provided more than $120,000 worth of travel, services and merchandise value for the live and silent auction packages. Some of the stars of the show were a day trip on a 45’ custom touring coach, Opus One wine, a stay at Ocean Forest on Sea Island, Georgia and dorm packages for the boys that provided permission to have an in-room refrigerator.

Guests got a sneak preview on the auction website provided by Donna Lyerly (Jake ’07).

Hollywood Nights – Legends to Legacies Gala Auction

Current parents Kevin and Nancy

Simpson (Ashe ’09) with Walter

’72 and Susan Hannah.

Tommy Westfeldt ’70 congratulates Headmaster Paul Krieger on his new golf vacation.

Sports items for every fan!

A full list of our generous sponsors will be printed in our Headmaster’s Annual Report.

The Sports Complex Concession Pavilion

Going once… going twice…

6 Summer 2008

Graduation 2008

“For students to arrive here at Yard A represents more than the acquisition of enough courses to graduate. The young men who are about to walk across this stage have lived together, eaten together, won numerous athletic championships… studied together… taken tests together …and know each other as one might know a brother, and will remain friends forever.”

“The Class of 2008 comes from six different countries, nine different states, and 22 different cities. Yard A is the end, but like so many things in life, it also represents a new beginning… a chance to go forth and make a difference in the world.” –John Yanik, Valedictorian

The graduation speaker was the students’ choice for 2007-08 Teacher of the Year, Matt Fagen, who teaches physics and math. In a speech filled

with humor and personal experiences of “the road less traveled,” Mr. Fagen said he had taken a very non-traditional route in life and held many jobs (including working in a rock band, a pet store, a women’s clothing store, a potato harvester, and as a music teacher, among others) before realizing that his real calling was to teach.

“There is nothing wrong with taking the road less traveled. But if you are lucky enough to know where you want to go in life, just go there… if there is a four-lane highway right to it, there’s no reason to get out your snow shoes. If you don’t know where you’re going, don’t worry… don’t be afraid to wander around a bit… You might have a good time, and collect a couple of good stories along the way!”

on Sunday morning May 18th, the Angelus Bell on top of Christ School’s St. Joseph’s Chapel tolled 107 times to mark the 107th graduation.* The ceremony for the 35 members of the Class of 2008 was preceded by a Baccalaureate service in the chapel.

Members of the Class of 2008, followed by the faculty and administration, marched through a double row of students and parents to take their places on the historic “Yard A” in the center of the campus, the site of the original school buildings.

In his introduction of the Valedictorian John M. Yanik of Arden, Academic Dean Erich L. Cluxton said that John had been the scholastic leader of the school each of the four years he attended Christ School. Also, said Dean Cluxton, John had been awarded one of the fifty world-wide R.H. Park Foundation Scholarships to attend NC State University, “two incred-ible achievements for one student.” John Yanik’s Valedictory speech focused on the tradition, symbolism and significance of “Yard A” in Christ School’s long history. * Christ School was founded in the fall of 1900, and the first graduating class was the following spring of 1901.

Verger Chris Thompson rings the Angelus for the Baccalaureate service.

Matt Fagen, Teacher of the Year

Summer 2008 7

Valedictorian John Yanik with his parents and brother Mark ’04

Coleman Dessaint’s familyThomas Belk’s family

The Mahoney Family with Carter ’08

The graduation ceremony concluded with each new graduate moving down a faculty receiving line offering his personal thanks and saying an individual goodbye, a tradition filled with emotion. At the front of the line Max Baker greets Latin teacher Chris Webb.

Academic Dean Erich Cluxton presents Class Salutatorian, Miles C. Plumlee, with his diploma. Plumlee, from Indiana, will attend Duke University in the fall to study engineering.

Academic Heights

Family Time

“Gentlemen of the class of 2008: Be wary of the comfortable life, because it won’t teach you much. It will be the discomfort that will open your hearts and open your

eyes. It will be the discomfort that will make you grow, and you will be different than all others around you. I would rather you spend 10 years growing than 100

years vegetating. Be wary of the comfortable life.” –Headmaster Paul Krieger

8 Summer 2008

Academic Dean Erich Cluxton presented Salutatorian Miles Plumlee, and Valedictorian John Yanik with their medals.

The Awards

The Headmaster’s Cup was presented by Headmaster Paul Krieger to John Yanik, Valedictorian.

Vincent Draddy ’11 received a Commendation from Headmaster Krieger– “Vincent is a 9th grader from Arden, NC with a 4.08 GPA. I have had the opportunity to watch Vincent grow up since 5th grade. It has been an impressive and signifi-cant path to manhood.”

Athletic Director David Gaines ’84 presents Lakeem Jackson ’09 with his Basketball Championship ring.

Beth and Paul Krieger with their son Colin Allshouse ’09. Colin was awarded the Yale Club Book Prize and the Technology Service Award. He is the Honor Council Chair for 2008-09. Blake Cannino ’08 is close to his sisters (they’re triplets), so

he doesn’t mind them helping him pose with his art award.

Father Kirk Brown presents ASSIST student, Till von Manteuffel ’09 of Germany, with his Certificate of Attendance.

Special awardSValedictorian ...................................................................John Yanik ’08Salutatorian ...............................................................Miles Plumlee ’08The Headmaster’s Cup ...................................................John Yanik ’08The Big Brother Award .......................................... Alex Swendsen ’08The Philip Tilghman Memorial ................................... James Nardi ’08James Gibbon Merrimon Scholarship Prize .....................John Yanik ’08The Class of 1941 Award ........................................... Thomas Belk ’08The David L.M. Taylor Award ...................................... Tyler Stokes ’12North Carolina State University Park Scholarship ...........John Yanik ’08The Switzer Family Scholarship ... Carter Mahoney and Matt Shackett ’08

Departmental awarDsRedwood Senior English Prize ...............................Whit Whitmire ’08Robert L. McWhorter Creative Writing Awd. .............Steven Tutor ’09The Pen and Plate Award ...............................................John Yanik ’08Robinson Journalism Award ................................... Gabe Dunsmith ’11Edward E. Ford Foundation Award ..............................Hough Price ’09The Angelus Award .......................................................Alex Wojno ’09The Grayson Cole Mathematics Award ..........................John Yanik ’08Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Award...................... Matt Horwitz ’10F.R. Meech Biology Award .............................................John Yanik ’08Chemistry Award....................................................... Matt Horwitz ’10Physics Award ............................................................Zhelyo Vasilev ’09Environmental Science Award ................................... Matt Shackett ’08Technology Award ........................................... Thomas Willingham ’10Technology Service Award ......................................Colin Allshouse ’09The History Award .................................................. Matt Horwitz ’10The Global Awareness Award ................................Vincent Draddy ’11The Spanish Award .................................................Whit Whitmire ’08The French Award ...................................................Harrison Dent ’10The Robert H. Reid Latin Cup ............................... James Garland ’10The English as a Second Language Prize ......................... Karl Cho ’11The Art Award ........................................................Blake Cannino ’08The Weil Award .............................................................. Ross Lalor ’10The Pingree Theatre Award .................................... Alex Swendsen ’08Lawton Ingle Music Award ...........................................Danny Agee ’09The Sacred Studies Award .............................................Jarred Lehr ’09

academic awardSBrevard College Book Award ................................. Preston Holmes ’09Dartmouth Club Book Award .......................................Jarred Lehr ’09Harvard Club Book Award .........................................Ryan Volatile ’09The Sewanee Award for Excellence .................................Ben Jones ’09The Randolph-Macon Award ............................ Charles McCarthy ’09The Yale Club Book Prize .......................................Colin Allshouse ’09

Form Book prizeSThe Second Form Book Prize ......................................... Josh HorwitzThe Third Form Book Prize .........................................Mitchell SmithThe Fourth Form Book Prize ....................................... Dylan WiemerThe Fifth Form Book Prize .......................................... Hannes ToeweThe Sixth Form Book Prize ................................................ John Yanik

The SucceSSuS FideliTaTe awardThe Second Form Prize ......................................... Marcus StephanidesThe Third Form Prize ..................................................... Derrick PaceThe Fourth Form Prize ................................................. Dylan WiemerThe Fifth Form Prize ..................................................... Kent Godwin

aThleTic awardSThe Athletic Cup .....................................................Miles Plumlee ’08The Moltke-Hansen School Spirit Trophy ..................Casey Pence ’08The Sewell Hustle Award .........................................Austin Coward ’11The Pat James Award ....................................................Ali Knowles ’09The Mike Knighton Sportsmanship Award ...................Davis Jayroe ’08

Summer 2008 9

Tyler Stokes ’12 was awarded the David L.M. Taylor Award - presented by Mr. Taylor’s sister, Vinton Murray. This is awarded to a Second Form student for scholarship, leadership and athletic achievement demonstrated during his eighth-grade year.

2007-2008 Prefects

The Awards

Senior Prefects L to R: David Wilson, Matt Shackett, Miles Plumlee, John Yanik, Hal Swanson, Billy Newton, Carter Mahoney, Sam Redmond, Clay Maxwell.

10 Summer 2008

Ninth Grader Wins Essay Contest

Gabe Dunsmith ’11 was one of five

winners in the Junior Achievement Business Ethics essay contest and the only freshman in a contest usually restricted to juniors and seniors.

“I wrote the essay about whether or not professional football teams should allow players to join who do not have a college degree, went through a vigorous editing stage, submitted the essay, and waited for a response.”

The keynote speaker for the Business Ethics Luncheon at the Grove Park Inn was Pete McDaniel, senior writer for Golf Digest Magazine and co-author of sabout Tiger Woods. McDaniel spoke about prejudices he faced growing up, weaving in his own views on athletic importance and ac-ceptance. CS Chaperone, Drew Hyche ’94, introduced the students to Mr. McDaniel, whose father laid many stones for buildings at Christ School and worked in the dish room. What a small world!

Academics

Do the Math!

Christ School Latin scholars received recognition for their outstanding performances on the National Latin Exam. Left to Right: Mitchell Smith ’11, Cum Laude, Latin 1; Cornelius Benecke ’09, Silver Medal, Maxima Cum Laude, Latin 3 Prose; Marshall Plumlee ’11, Magna Cum Laude, Latin 1; David Miller ’12, Magna Cum Laude, Latin 1; Gabriel Dunsmith ’11, Cum Laude, Latin 1; Latin Teacher Chris Webb; not pictured Latin Teacher Jackson Mabry.

National Honor Society

Academic Dean Erich Cluxton with the newest members of the National Honor Society. L to R: Matt Horwitz ’10, Marshall Plumlee ’09, Clay Maxwell ’08, and Ben Jones ’09.

Math Competition

This year a team of four eighth graders competed in MATHCOUNTS, a national middle school math

competition for public and private middle schools all over Western NC. The CS team consisted of Wesley Kang, Josh Horwitz, David Miller, and Dylan Morris. The boys prepared for the competition with additional classes throughout the school year. They worked on creative problem solving techniques and learned con-cepts above and beyond what they studied in their Algebra I and II classes, including geometry and sta-tistics. Faculty members Dan Chase and Bryan Martin served as coaches.

Virtual Stock Market

Mr. Chase’s Algebra classes participated in a virtual stock market competition to solidify their under-

standing of percentages, probabilities, ratios, and a lot of negative numbers. Each student was given $100,000 in virtual money to spend on stocks, bonds, and mu-tual funds. Prizes were awarded for the top earners in each class, plus a grand prize for the overall winner. To date, the top investor (Tyler Stokes ’12) has turned his $100,000 into nearly $120,000 in just a few weeks. The game generated enough interest that a second school wide game was started.

Math Department Chair Bryan Martin took students interested in engineering to visit NC State University. The students, (L to R) Jayon Payne ’10, Zhelyo Vasilev ’09, and Matt Thurston ’08, are standing in front of the self-guided vehicle built on campus. They saw the mechanical engineering, nuclear engineering, aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering, computer sci-ence, and electrical engineering departments.

Math Students Visit NC State