the calhoun chronicle, winter 2014
DESCRIPTION
Biannual magazine of The Calhoun School, a progressive 3's-12th grade independent school on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Cover Story: "Music Moves Us"TRANSCRIPT
4 Deconstructing Race Update 18 Cougars
Win! 30 Alumnae/i News8 In the Classroom:
What Moves You?20 Music Moves Us! WINTER 2014
EDITOR
Beth [email protected]
NEWS EDITOR
ALUMNAE/I NEWS
Bart Hale ‘[email protected]
COPY EDITOR
Amy Edelman
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
Angela FischerMichelle Raum
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Steve NelsonHernán Ortiz
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jim ByrneVictoria JacksonBeth Krieger
DESIGN
Iris A. Brown Design, LLC
O N T H E C OV E R
Music Moves Us! Close to 200 Middle and Upper School students now participate in Calhoun’s instrumental programs, including (L—R) Sacha Rogosin ‘16 on sax, Adam Horowitz ‘14 on bass, Claire Anino ‘20 on violin.
Page 20
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4
The Calhoun Chronicle is published twice each year by the Communications Office for alumnae/i, current and former parents, staff and friends.
Calhoun’s Mission To inspire a passion for learning through a progressive approach to
education that values intellectual pursuit, creativity, diversity and community involvement.
PA R E N T S A S S O C I AT I O N 2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 4
OFFICERS
CO-PRESIDENTS
Chris Rothermel Rosa Sabater
SECRETARY
Lynda Roca
TREASURER
Barbara Pyles
VICE PRESIDENTS, UPPER SCHOOL
Ellen CohenMarc Corpron
VICE PRESIDENTS, MIDDLE SCHOOL
Nicole FrankelSusan Dubin
VICE PRESIDENTS, LOWER SCHOOL/81ST
Sara Jane HeldLouise Litt
VICE PRESIDENTS, LOWER SCHOOL/74TH
David HawkinsCarolyn Tierney
Eric Potoker ’85Chair
Jon BrayshawVice Chair
Dylan HixonTreasurer
Melissa LibertySecretary
Steven J. NelsonHead of School
LIFE TRUSTEES
Robert L. Beir*Eric B. Ryan
*deceased
B O A R D O F T R U S T E E S 2 0 1 3 – 2 0 1 4
TRUSTEES
Susan Barkey Jonathan Bauman Stefanie Bhalla Andrea Booth Lori Fleishman Dorr ‘92 James Glasgow Melanie Griffith Dorian Herron Michael Marra Bernadette Mitchell Marc Murphy Brooke Parish Colleen Pike Blair Shaiza Rizavi Chris Rothermel, PA Rep Rosa Sabater, PA Rep Karen Segal Steven Sinatra Susan Thomson
HONORARY TRUSTEES
Edwin Einbender*Constance Stern Flaum ’39Ronald M. Foster, Jr.*Sally Goodgold*Lawrence S. HarrisMark S. KaufmannAnne Frankenthaler Kohn ’39*Peter D. LedererStuart Levin*David C. Masket*Joan MasketArthur S. OlickElizabeth Parmelee*June Saltzman Schiller ’42Jesse S. Siegel*Mary-Ellen Greenberger Siegel ’49Allen B. SwerdlickEdward S. Tishman
*deceased
T H E C A L H O U N S C H O O L
MAIN NUMBER
212-497-6500
LOWER SCHOOL/74TH
212-497-6550
ADMISSIONS/81ST
212-497-6534
ADMISSIONS/74TH
212-497-6575
ALUMNAE/I RELATIONS
646-666-6450
ANNUAL GIVING
212-497-6579
COMMUNICATIONS
212-497-6527
Please send changes of address, phone or email to [email protected]
A
Photo: Victoria Jackson
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4
Features Music Moves Us! 20
Departments V I E W P O I N T 3
by Steve Nelson
S C H O O L N E W S
Benefit 2014 2
Deconstructing Race Update 4
Grandparent Events 4
Alumnae/i at the Helm 5
Faculty/Staff Newsmakers 6
In the Classroom: What Moves You? 8
Onstage 16
Sports 18
A LU M N A E / I N E W S
Spring Reunion 30
Class Notes 31
From the Archives 32
On-the-Road: San Francisco 34
Profile: Sarah Kramer ‘92 35
Profile: Sam Nagourney ‘05 38
Event Photos 40
Content s
10
16
40
Profile: Sarah Kra
Profile: Sam Nagou
Even
18
WINTER 2014
ViewpointBY STEVEN J. NELSON, HEAD OF SCHOOL
Much about the school was wonderful indeed in 1998, but the
finances were tight and the 81st Street building was in need of lov-
ing care and expansion. And there was a bit of a mission crisis. To
oversimplify a complex situation, half the school clung tenaciously
to progressive roots. The other half feared the word “progressive”
and sought to ban it from the school’s lexicon.
The school’s achievements since then are clear: We have won-
derful facilities, enrollment is up nearly 60 percent, finances are
solid and there is little ambivalence about our progressive mission. I
believe we are widely recognized as being among the most distinc-
tive progressive schools in America.
As in any institution, reaching such a point is necessary but not
sufficient. The challenge, then, is to make sure it stays that way.
In my earliest years, I knew that this challenge would be best met
by involving Calhoun graduates in stewardship of the mission and
program. No constituency understands the mission more powerfully
than those who experienced it. No group benefits from the success
of the school more than the alumnae/i who will carry the pedigree
for a lifetime.
This year, to an extent unprecedented in Calhoun’s long history,
a number of very important roles in the school are occupied by
Calhoun graduates. Eric Potoker ’85 is Chairman of the Board of
Trustees. He is only the third Calhoun graduate to hold this position
in 117 years! Lori Fleishman Dorr ’92 is a member of the board and
chair of the Committee on Trustees, the most critical position in
assuring the perpetuation of the board and, therefore, the mission.
Alison Max Rothschild ‘85 (’85 was clearly a good vintage!)
was recently appointed Director of Calhoun’s Lower School, after
several years as Co-Director with Kathleen Clinesmith. Sonia Bonsu
’95 is Calhoun’s new Director of Development. Bart Hale ’00 is our
Director of Alumnae/i Relations, and Debbie Aronson ’79 is Director
of Community Service. Sabrina Spiegel Zurkuhlen ’06 was named
Assistant Athletic Director earlier this year.
Lisa Gilbert ’81, Bobby Rue ’85 (’85 again!), Hannah Scarritt-
Selman ’05, Dan Stein ’07, Chelsea Stilman-Sandomir ’05 and
Michael Zurkuhlen ’06 are all members of Calhoun’s faculty.
I handed diplomas to Bart, Hannah, Dan, Chelsea, Mike and
Sabrina, so this makes me especially proud—and a bit confused!
Every aspect of the school’s growth and progress over these
years is satisfying, but this part is particularly gratifying. The
involvement of more and more Calhoun graduates will ensure that
our preeminent progressive mission thrives in perpetuity.
Head of School Steve Nelson is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, and has his own blog on Calhoun’s website at www.calhoun.org/stevesblog.
Putting Stewardship in the Hands of Alums
When I began my tenure at Calhoun nearly 16 years ago, I had many hopes. The first, rather modest hope was to make it through the initial year with the school and myself intact. That seems a long time ago…perhaps because it was a long time ago! We’ve since sent some 750 thoughtful, sensitive, creative, ethical and talented folks into the world. That may not solve all the world’s problems, but it’s no trivial contribution.
“We have wonderful facilities, enrollment is up nearly 60 percent, finances are solid and there is little ambivalence about our progressive mission. I believe we are widely recognized as being among the most distinctive progressive schools in America.”
3
WINTER 2014
4
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
SCHOOL NEWS
GRANDPARENTS OF LOWER SCHOOLERS:
COME BACK TO SCHOOL!Grandparents of Calhoun students
in the 3’s through fourth grade are invited
for an in-class morning visit on
May 1 (3’s–1st) and
May 2 (2nd–4th)
Get on the invitation list!
Contact Nicole Nelson,
212-497-6533, or
Completion of Documentary Marks First Phase of Calhoun’s Deconstructing Race ProjectCalhoun is proud to announce the completion of the feature-length documentary film I’m Not
Racist…Am I?, successfully marking the end to the first phase of the school’s three-part
Deconstructing Race Initiative.
The film, which explores issues of institutionalized racism through the eyes of 12 New York City
public and private school students, wrapped in late September 2013 and is currently in postproduc-
tion. Calhoun project director David Alpert and the Point Made Film production team—led by director
Catherine Wigginton Greene, producer André Robert Lee and executive producer Barb Lee—will
be spending the next few months planning the film’s release. A trailer and supplementary materials
about the film can be found at www.notracistmovie.com.
“The ultimate objective of the film—and the overall project—is to expose the myth of color-blind-
ness in a society that, for many, espouses a post-racial mantra,” explains David, who initiated and has
been spearheading the Deconstructing Race initiative for The Calhoun School.
Point Made Films was hired by Calhoun in 2012 to produce the documentary, based on the compa-
ny’s deep commitment to and experience with projects that look at the intersection of race, individual
identity, education and community responsibility. Point Made’s last three films include Adopted, an
investigation into the unforeseen complications of transracial adoption; The Prep School Negro, a
poignant film that examines the experiences of African American scholarship students at the nation’s
most elite schools; and In 500 Words or Less, which explores the college application process through
the eyes of high schoolers.
Deconstructing Race is a three-part youth-based project focused on issues of white privilege and
institutionalized racism. In addition to the documentary film, the project will include curriculum for
students from kindergarten through twelfth grades, and an interactive website created by and for
students. Since receiving its first grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the project has contin-
ued to receive additional funding, including contributions from the Bertha and Gilder foundations.
Numerous organizations, educators and scholars have come out in strong support of the project,
including Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and the National Association of Independent Schools.
Find out more about the Deconstructing Race project:� Deconstructing Race project at www.calhoun.org/dr� I’m Not Racist…Am I? trailer and supplementary interviews at www.notracistmovie.com� Follow the film’s progress on Twitter @notracistmovie
Cultural Programming Captivates Grandparents
Now in its second year, Calhoun’s Cultural
Excursions for Grandparents continues to earn
enthusiastic reviews!
Earlier this fall, 15 grandparents enjoyed a
private tour (before museum hours!) of MoMA’s
permanent collection of works by Picasso,
Monet and other masters. More recently, a group
of grandparents enjoyed a similar visit to the
New Museum, which is located on the Lower
East Side. Anita Fleishman, who has become a
regular participant, was particularly enthralled
by the trip to the New Museum, which features
contemporary art—a place she acknowledges
she might never have visited. “I found it very
thought-provoking…and I’m actually still thinking
about it,” she says. Calhoun Director of Special
Events Nicole Nelson, who organizes the tours
for grandparents, agrees that seeing the Chris
Burden exhibit at the New Museum was a par-
ticular treat. “It was one of the most interesting
art installations I have ever seen,” says Nicole.
In the first year of the Cultural Excursions
program, Calhoun offered grandparents a pri-
vate tour of the Rubin Museum of Art, hosted by
fellow grandparent and founder Donald Rubin;
and a formal tea luncheon and tour of both the
public and private rooms at Gracie Mansion.
Nicole is already busy trying to plan some-
thing equally compelling for next year’s excur-
sions. Calhoun grandparents who would like to
be notified of upcoming events should register
online at www.calhoun.org/grandparentemails,
or contact Nicole Nelson, 212-497-6533.
I’m Not Racist…Am I?, a feature-length documentary produced by Calhoun and Point Made Films, follows the journey of 12 public and private school students—three from Calhoun—as they confront and explore issues of racism and white privilege.
5
WINTER 2014
SCHOOL NEWS
Alison Max Rothschild ‘85 Named Lower School DirectorHead of School Steve Nelson has announced a transition in Lower School leadership that will
begin taking place over the next few months.
Effective next fall, Alison Max Rothschild ‘85 will be the Director of the entire Lower School,
3’s through fourth grade. Kathleen Clinesmith, with whom Alison has been serving as Lower
School Co-Director, will begin a new position working closely with Steve on a number of school
initiatives. Various aspects of this transition will be phased in through the remainder of this
current school year.
Also effective next fall, LS math teacher Anthony Yacobellis will begin serving as the Assis-
tant Director of the Lower School, 81st Street, reporting to Alison. Hamida Butt, who has been
acting as Curriculum Coordinator for second through fourth grades, will serve as the Director of
Curriculum Development for the entire Lower School.
“Our Lower School is a model of progressive education at its best,” said Steve when he made
his announcement to Lower School faculty and parents. “This leadership team will continue to
build on the remarkable work that Kathleen started several decades ago.”
Calhoun is thrilled
to welcome Sonia
Bonsu ’95 to her new
position as Director
of Development.
When the announce-
ment was made
earlier this year,
Head of School Steve Nelson noted that Sonia’s
promotion marks the first time a Calhoun alum
is taking on the stewardship of the school’s
advancement efforts.
Sonia comes to her new position after having
worked for five years in Calhoun’s Development
Office as the Director of Annual Giving, during
which time she led the Annual Fund to record
levels of participation and overall giving. In
her new position, she is responsible for annual
fundraising, Calhoun’s ongoing major gift pro-
gram, periodic capital campaigns, and alumnae/i
relations. Reporting to Sonia is Bart Hale ’00,
Director of Alumnae/i Relations; Lauren Spirig,
Major Gifts Manager; Nicole Nelson, Director of
Special Events; Jessica Dudley, Data Operations
Manager; and Barbara Bernard, Development
Associate.
Before being hired to join the Development
team, Sonia served as an alumnae/i represen-
tative to the Calhoun Board of Trustees. The
Calhoun grad earned her AB from Harvard
University and a JD from Fordham University
School of Law.
“I was 12 years old when I set foot in this
building for the first time, and I knew almost
instantaneously that this was where I wanted
to be a student,” says Sonia. “I benefited from
the progressive philosophy, the diverse student
population, the caring and astute teachers and
the robust financial aid program. At that time, I
could not have guessed that 14 years later, Cal-
houn would be a part of my everyday life again.”
Sonia looks forward to new challenges. “I
cannot envision a more gratifying role than
dedicating my professional energy to securing
resources that keep Calhoun a vibrant and lead-
ing educational institution. I love this place, and I
am fortunate to be able to say thank you in this
way each and every day.”
Alison Max Roth- schild ’85 (right), newly named Director of the Lower School, will be joined on the LS team by Anthony Yacobellis, Assistant Director, and Hamida Butt, Director of Curriculum Development.
Sonia Bonsu ’95 Promoted to Director of Development
calhoun annual fund 2013-2014
what moves you
www.calhoun.org/onlinegiving
6
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
They also explored ways and means
for video projects to support
curriculum needs; how to acquire
low-cost, low-tech equipment and
software; how to create stories and
scripts; how to use a green screen;
and easy methods for stop-motion
animation.
Joan Gillman, MS science teacher,
was a guest presenter at the Sci-
ence Teachers Association of New
York State’s annual conference
in Rochester this past fall. One of
her workshops, “Astronomy and
Interdisciplinary Curricula Go Hand-
in-Hand,” was a two-hour class on
how to design, build and launch
straw rockets. Earlier in the fall,
an article she wrote based on the
same curriculum—“Straw Rockets
Are out of This World”—was pub-
lished in Science and Children, a
magazine produced by the National
Science Teachers Association
(NSTA). The article describes the
hands-on physics project that Joan
conducts with her fifth graders as
part of an annual astronomy unit.
Marjorie Duffield, US theater
teacher, had her full-length play Ice
Island produced last September
at Belhaven University in Jackson,
MS. Originally mounted off-Broad-
way in 1999 by the Melting Pot
Theatre Company, Ice Island tells
the story of the crew of The Endur-
ance, led by Sir Ernest Shackleton,
and their failed attempt to cross
Antarctica in 1914. The play chron-
icles their journey and explores
how Shackleton and his men used
heroism and humor to survive.
Gregg Landes, Upper School drum
and percussion teacher, played
percussion for The Landing, an
Off-Broadway musical that opened
at the Vineyard Theatre in Union
Square this past fall. The produc-
Math teachers Ben Schwartz and
Anthony Yacobellis were guest
speakers at the Progressive Educa-
tion Network’s National Conference
in Los Angeles on Oct. 10–12. The
conference was attended by pro-
gressive educators from across the
country. For their workshop, “How
Much Is a Million: Conceptual
Understanding in Mathemat-
ics,” Anthony and Ben described
Calhoun’s hands-on approach to
engaging elementary-age students
in the self-discovery of mathemati-
cal concepts. Anthony, who has
been teaching third grade math at
Calhoun for 13 years, was recently
promoted to LS Assistant Director
at 81st Street. Ben, who began at
Calhoun as a fourth grade math
teacher in 1999, currently teaches
math to sixth and eighth graders
and serves as the chair of Calhoun’s
Academic Cabinet.
Lavern McDonald, Upper School
Associate Director and history
teacher, penned an article that was
published as the September cover
story of “Bookends,” the Sunday
literary supplement of the Jamaica
Observer. Lavern’s article was
about the Caribbean and diasporic
writers who contributed to the
Brooklyn Book Festival last summer.
Brian Hallas and Rob Klein-
schmidt, Lower School media arts
teachers at 74th Street and 81st
Street respectively, led a work-
shop at the Blue School’s second
annual Teaching Innovation Confer-
ence on Tues., Nov. 5. This year’s
conference, titled Making/STEAM,
was dedicated to unleashing cre-
ativity and imagination in schools.
Rob and Brian’s interactive work-
shop—“Making Classroom Videos
with Found Objects and Recycled
Materials”—demonstrated various
techniques and examples of past
work as well as materials used and
storyboards created by students.
SCHOOL NEWS
FACULTY/STAFF NEWSMAKERS
tion was created by theater com-
poser John Kander (Chicago, Caba-
ret, Kiss of the Spiderwoman) and
playwright Greg Pierce (Slowgirl).
Says Gregg, “The band includes
only four instruments—cello,
woodwinds, piano, and an extensive
percussion setup—but the music
is beautiful, the playing was very
challenging and satisfying, and [the
musicians] were visible the entire
show and act as four additional
voices to the four actors on stage.”
Steve Nelson, Head of School,
continues to irate and inspire in his
Huffington Post editorials on issues
of education and social justice.
Here are some of the latest:
■ “A Look Ahead at 2014 in
Education Reform” (Jan 3, 2014)
■ “Education Isn’t Broken, Our
Country Is” (Dec. 16, 2013)
■ “Lipstick on the Pig of Education
Reform” (Oct. 6, 2013)
Find a link to Steve’s HuffPo
blogs from Calhoun’s News &
Media mash-up page,
www.calhoun.org/newsmedia.
In the Spotlight Ben Schwartz, MS math teacher (left) and LS math teacher Anthony Yacobellis were guest speakers at the Progressive Education Network’s National Conference, held in Los Angeles.
LS teachers Brian Hallas (below left) and Rob Kleinschmidt led a media workshop at the Blue School’s Making/STEAM Teaching Innovation Conference.
7
WINTER 2014
Calhoun Celebrates Brendan Kiely’s First Book LaunchCalhoun celebrates the release of US English
teacher Brendan Kiely’s first novel, The
Gospel of Winter. Published by Margaret K.
McElderry Books of Simon & Schuster, the
book hit stores on Jan. 21.
“Sharing the book launch with the
Calhoun community is so meaningful to me,”
says Brendan, who began working at Calhoun
in the admissions office in 2004. “It’s also
exciting because, since I teach English and
creative writing classes, it’s fun to think that
the publishing of my book can serve as inspi-
ration for my students.”
The Gospel of Winter has received praise
from two bestselling authors—Colum McCann
(Let the Great World Spin, TransAtlantic) and A. M. Holmes (Jack, The
End of Alice)—and has earned a pair of starred reviews from Publish-
ers Weekly and Kirkus. “Setting his story against the shaky aftermath
of 9/11 and the scandals that surfaced in the Boston archdiocese in
early 2002, Kiely hits his mark with a sickening portrayal of Father
Greg and those who let his behavior continue,” notes Publishers
Weekly. “But it’s the combination of Aidan’s vulnerability, denial, and
silent rage that makes the novel so distressingly vivid and real.”
SCHOOL NEWS
6SIX WAYS TO
CONNECT ONLINE WITH THE
CALHOUN COMMUNITY1.
CALHOUN WEBSITEwww.calhoun.org
2.
www.facebook.com/calhounschool www.facebook.com/calhounalums
3.
www.twitter.com/calhounschool
4.
INSTAGRAM@calhounschool
5.
YOUTUBEwww.youtube.com/calhounschool
6.
LINKEDINhttp://bit.ly/calhounlinkedin
TEACHERS TEACHING TEACHERS
US art teacher Hailey Kim (left) goes over the finer points of silkscreen monotypes with chemistry teacher Kim Cassidy. The lesson was one of five different hands-on activities offered one afternoon in December as part of a larger initiative promoted by US Director Lorenzo Krakowsky, whereby colleagues teach colleagues. Other offerings included a literary conversation with Brendan Kiely and Nicole Nemergut on the theme of “Exile and Homecoming”; a pinhole photography lesson with Gary Cohen; a woodshop project with David Hyman; and experiments demon-strating “How Electric Charges Behave” with John Roeder. “It’s a valuable exercise for our teachers to learn by being students, to understand a bit about the experiences of our students, to learn about other teachers’ approaches, and to explore possibilities for collaboration,” says Lorenzo. In addition to the one-day workshop last December, Upper School teachers are invited throughout the year to colloquiua presented by fellow teachers on a variety of academic topics.
8
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
What Moves You?
Calhoun’s 2013–14 yearly theme is about
getting our community to study action
and movement. It allows our younger
students to explore the more literal
concepts—modes of transportation,
physical movement, exercise, and how
people are “differently abled” in terms
of mobility and accessibility. For our
older students there are also more
abstract explorations: how the arts
inspire; how technology, design and
innovation are reinventing what it means
to be mobile; and how one can take
action for change. Here are just some
of the projects and activities that have
“moved” us so far this year.
IN THE CLASSROOM
1. Sixth graders Noah Shaub and and Lauren Kauppila practice coding skills using manipulatives and “robot vocabulary.”
2. MS English teacher Larry Sandomir poses with visiting author Liz Murray, whose message students called “life-changing.”
3. Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, inspired students with his courage and humor.
1
2
3
9
WINTER 2014
IN THE CLASSROOM
Author Liz Murray Brings Words of Empowerment
The words “life-changing” were
cited several times by Calhoun
Middle School students and faculty
when describing their time spent
listening and talking to Liz Murray,
author of the memoir Breaking
Night and subject of the 2003 TV
movie Homeless to Harvard.
Liz came to Calhoun in October
to talk about her experiences in the
1970s in New York as a homeless
youth raised by drug-addicted
parents, and how she turned her
life around—graduating from high
school in two years and getting
admitted to Harvard on scholarship.
First speaking at an assembly
for the entire Middle School and
faculty, and then meeting in smaller
groups with seventh and eighth
graders, the author “made us feel
empowered—that we all mattered,”
observes MS English teacher Larry
Sandomir, who arranged for the
visit. Clearly his students agreed. In
thank-you letters to the author, one
student wrote: “Listening to your
story and to hear you say that there
was a possibility that I could totally
change my life around was like
opening my eyes after the storm.”
Ishmael Beah Shares His Inspirational Story
Upper Schoolers couldn’t have been more amazed or honored when they
got to hear and meet Ishmael Beah, former Sierra Leonean child soldier
and author of the published memoir A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy
Soldier. Ishmael spoke to Upper Schoolers about his harrowing experiences
as a 12-year-old during his country’s civil war, and how he has managed to
rise above his tortured childhood and commit himself to social activism and
service.
Ishmael’s memoir was a community-read for Calhoun’s Upper School,
and students and teachers had spent countless hours discussing the book
before Ishmael’s visit in late October.
“He left me speechless,” said Jules Starn ‘16 after the presentation.
Another student, Nica Delbourgo ‘14, remarked on Ishmael’s sense of
humor, which clearly “got him through” his struggles, and was amazed that
“he never expressed pity for himself; he just accepted [it] and moved on.”
Rebecca Snow ‘14 was similarly inspired: “He used his struggles as a way to
better himself and make a difference,” she observed.
See a video of Ishmael’s talk at Calhoun: http://bit.ly/1anlM4r.
Coding Captivates “Digital Natives”
Upper and Middle School students
were enthusiastic participants in
December’s Hour of Code, a
nationwide event organized by
code.org, the nonprofit dedicated to
expanding participation in computer
science education.
Sixth graders in Alba Polsley’s
math class practiced coding in a
lesson called “My Robotic Friend.”
Using cups as manipulatives in
various formations, the students
learned how to employ program-
ming techniques and a pre-defined
“robot vocabulary” (code) to
complete specific tasks. Explains
Alba, “The students learned the
connection between symbols and
actions as well as the valuable skill
of debugging.”
Meanwhile, in Jonathan Haff’s
US Intro to Programming class, stu-
dents were excited to learn how to
make their first iPhone games using
Objective-C, the language used to
write all native iPhone apps.
“Programming is an important
and powerful skill every student
should explore,” says Jonathan,
Director of Technology and Building
Operations. “Today’s students are
often referred to as ‘digital natives,’
but they have no understanding
of the technologies they’re using.
Learning to code enables a deeper
understanding of technology, and
more important, provides them the
ability to create new technologies.”
SUN POWER! Chris Jager ’15 (below left) and Jack Javer ’15 demonstrate the new solar cell chargers that were purchased and placed in various classrooms by the new Upper School Sustainability Club. If initial tests go well, the two leaders of the club hope to raise money for more units to be installed on windows throughout the school. Earlier this year, Jack gave an impassioned talk to fellow Upper Schoolers about the need for renewed sustainability initiatives at Calhoun. Some of the projects on the docket: more efficient water fountains that might encourage classmates to refill water bottles; new waste stations with compost trash recycling bins; and an educational campaign for recycling that will be a collaboration among kids in all divisions of the school.
KEEPING IT GREEN: Chase Smith (below) was one of the enthusiastic first graders who teamed up with the Upper School Community Action Class in late October to participate in the Central Park Conservancy’s Keeping It Green program.
4
5
WHAT MOVES YOU?
1 0
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
IN THE CLASSROOM
Students in the Middle School Sustainability Club are growing and harvesting greens and herbs for Calhoun’s lunch program using a new hydroponic tower garden that “lives” in the seventh-floor science lab.
The tower is a self-contained, closed system that uses about 20 gallons of water (none wasted) and doesn’t require soil or sun—though the new full-spectrum growing lights are definitely contributing to the growing
tower’s efficiency. As many as 20 plants are planted at one time and ready for harvest in as little as 21 days!
Lower Schoolers are contrib-uting to the project by nurtur-ing the seedlings for the tower garden. Middle Schoolers are planting the seedlings, testing the water acidity to ensure the correct pH factor, and harvest-ing the plants. Already, they have provided a healthy batch of basil, kale, arugula, bib lettuce and other greens to our food service program!
David Hyman, the MS club’s supervisor and new sustain-ability coordinator at Calhoun, says he hopes to get three more towers. But for now, he’s thrilled about the way the Middle School students are taking charge; he’s even more optimistic about the opportunities the tower garden is creating for cross-divisional cooperation. Next up: a fresh look at how we use our Green Roof and third-floor greenhouse!
Hydroponic Growing Tower Feeds Calhounders
(Clockwise, from left) Calhoun’s hydroponic garden tower; Maddy Gordon ’14, one of the US student liaisons to the Middle School Sustainability Club, shows second grader Henry Dorr how well the seeds he helped germinate are growing; Chef Drew Grabiner (right)
gives some pointers on planting seedlings in the tower garden to (L–R) MS science teacher Kristin Bozymowski, Matthew Glimcher ’19, sustainability coordinator David Hyman, Sam Draeger ’20 and Oscar Llodra ’20.
1 1
WINTER 2014
IN THE CLASSROOM
“I will never use the word normal
ever again.” That was the promise
that John Sharon extracted from
members of the Calhoun commu-
nity when he came to the school in
November to talk about his organi-
zation, Disabilities Understood, and
how to create a supportive, inclusive
community for people with different
abilities. “We are all temporar-
ily able-bodied; none of us are
immune,” John told his audience of
Middle and Upper Schoolers. He also
asked the students to imagine “how
hard it is to be defined by what you
can’t do.” Equality, he explained,
doesn’t mean justice: “Justice
means everyone gets what [he or
she needs] to succeed. We should
fight for justice, not just equality.”
John’s visit to Calhoun,
arranged by MS social studies
teacher Irene Baigorri, was inspired
by the 2013–14 year theme, What
Moves You? Ability Mobility Acces-
sibility Accountability—which was,
in fact, a choice largely influenced
by a powerful presentation made
to Calhoun faculty last year by
senior Jenna Taylor about issues of
disability and accessibility. Jenna,
like John Sharon, was born with
arthrogryposis multiplex congenita,
a rare condition that limits muscle
and bone growth.
As a follow-up to John’s visit,
Jenna arranged an Upper School
town hall meeting this winter
featuring Rick Guidotti, a former
international fashion photographer
who left a successful, glamorous
career to look for and capture “non-
traditional” beauty among children
with differences. Over the course of
the last 15 years, Rick has traveled
the world as both a photographer
and advocate of children with
physical differences, establishing
or partnering with support groups
to mount exhibits that help people
see “not the disease or diagnosis,
but the child as a human being.”
Referencing Calhoun’s yearly
theme, Rick avowed that “when you
change how you see, you see how
you’ve changed.” The photographs,
he says, also help the individual
children redefine their own beauty,
leading to self-acceptance, self-
esteem and self-advocacy.
Redefining Beauty and What Is Normal
(Left) Jenna Taylor ‘14 poses with international fashion photographer Rick Guidotti, who is redefining the concept of beauty through his portraiture work (above)—“helping people see not the disease or diagnosis, but the child as a human being.”
For Jenna, Rick’s visit was a
personal accomplishment. “To be
able to be given the space to bring
in a guest speaker on a topic I am
so passionate about, and affects
me personally, makes me so happy,”
she says. “But it is another thing
altogether to have the speaker so
well received and to hear students
talking about it in the hallways and
during class. It means that we’re not
only getting a message out there,
but the message is being heard.”
Read more about Rick’s work
at www.positiveexposure.org, an
arts, education and advocacy
organization he established to work
with individuals living with differ-
ences. For information about John
Sharon’s organization, go to www.
disabilitiesunderstood.com.
GET MOVING: Students enrolled in this Upper School October Session got the ball rolling for a special yearly theme activity related to health and physical fitness. Using a Fitbit tracker, they learned to monitor and analyze physical activity, following Lower Schoolers as they ran, jumped rope and got moving with hula hoops. The data was shared with Lower Schoolers in their math classes, where the results were turned into lessons in charting, estimation and prediction. (L—R) Ashley Wrght ‘16 with third graders Hope Coven and Leah Sever
WHAT MOVES YOU?
1 2
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
IN THE CLASSROOM
It may be some time before they step into their eventual role as stewards of the earth, but Middle School students in Kristin Bozymowski’s science classes are already researching and debat-ing the merits of nuclear energy and renewable resources. “There is a rush in this country to find alternative energy sources, since fossil fuels have a limited life and also pose a huge environmental impact,” notes Kristin, who de-signed an engrossing unit of study this year that her students have embraced.
Students began the year by looking at the pros and cons of nuclear power as a potential larger-scale source of energy, gauging how much of the energy we’re currently using is from nuclear (20 percent) and exploring issues related to nuclear waste. To supplement their research, the stu-dents screened the documentary film The Ultimate Wish, which examines the impact of nuclear weapons and nuclear power
through the eyes of Nagasaki sur-vivors and Fukushima evacuees, and read Trinity, a graphic novel about the Manhattan Project. The seventh and eighth graders also met with Geoffrey Shaw, repre-sentative of the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the United Nations, for a talk about alternative uses of nuclear technology.
Then, in December, Kristin’s students stepped into roles as “radiation detectives,” leaving no stone unturned in New York City for this hands-on, experiential investigation. Equipped with Geiger counters to measure radiation levels at various loca-tions around New York, the stu-dents broke into groups and trav-eled to 10 different sites—all tied to the original Manhattan Project. One group ventured to the Baker and Williams warehouses, located near the High Line, which was a storage facility for the uranium ore used for the creation of the atomic bombs deployed by the United
States in World War II. Upon returning to school, the students entered their data to cross-refer-ence and analyze their readings—all of which felt below maximum acceptable radiation levels.
The fieldwork was followed by various activities on the subject of radiation, including a nuclear energy debate; a survey of the Calhoun community to determine people’s perceptions of nuclear en-ergy; and a conversation via Skype with Japanese teens who had been evacuated from the area near the Fukushima Daiichi power plant meltdown in 2011.
The final piece of the unit will come in the spring, when Calhoun again hosts Hibakusha Stories, an assembly that features speakers relating their experiences during the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
Is Nuclear Energy the Answer? Middle Schoolers Investigate
(Far left) MS science teacher Kristin Bozymowski helps seventh graders Stephanie Vaccaro and William Rothermel enter and analyze radiation measurements from their assigned Manhattan location.
(Left) Seventh grader Anna Valentino uses a digital Geiger counter to measure radiation levels in the Baker & Williams warehouses, a former storage facility for uranium ore located near the High Line.
1 3
WINTER 2014
IN THE CLASSROOM
Fifth Graders Take Esperanza Rising to CourtPam Muñoz Ryan’s novel Esperanza
Rising had fifth graders in an uproar
this fall.
The novel, set in Mexico during
the time of the Great Depression,
set off an emotional debate as to
whether Mama and her daughter,
Esperanza, could be legally thrown
off their land now that Esperanza’s
father had died. “The kids were
outraged that Mama wouldn’t get to
stay in her home unless she agreed
to marry her evil brother-in-law—who also was the supposed legal
heir,” explains humanities teacher
Chelsea Stilman-Sandomir ’05.
The students resolved to take
matters into their own hands and
stage a trial. Chelsea and her fellow
humanities teachers—Andrew
Marsiglio and Ebony Murphy-Root—gave an immediate thumbs-up to
the student-driven project. “It
not only meant they were thinking
deeper about the implications of
the novel, but their initiative would
also incorporate what they had
been learning in social studies
about government and courtroom
procedure,” notes Andrew. To make
the learning process an even richer
cross-disciplinary project, the teach-
ers brought in MS Spanish teacher
Linda Sandoval to help the students
translate the narration, questions
and “testimony” into Spanish,
so the trial could be a bilingual
exercise.
Immediately, the kids began
writing a transcript for the trial
based on the plot lines of the story;
and they designed the courtroom
and assumed the various roles of
judge, jurors, lawyers, witnesses,
defendants, bailiffs and sketch art-
ists. Ready for their day in court,
the fifth graders presented the
two-day case before an audience of
fellow students and parents, with an
extra day for the jury to deliberate.
Their decision? Mama gets to keep
her land, by a 5—4 vote. It was a
win-win situation!
(L-R) Fifth graders Alex Simmons, Annie Brewer, Jude Thompson and Eli Samson play their roles in a trial based on the novel Esperanza Rising.
1
(Right) GIVING BACK: In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Calhoun girls’ volleyball teams held their annual Dig Pink event last October and raised an impressive $2,200 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation—three times more than last year! (L—R) Caitlin Leung ‘17, Emma Vallo ‘15, Alexandra Schonfeld ’15, Michelle Zukerman ’15, Joelle Schneider ’17, Lia Barnhard ’16
(Top) THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT! Practicing their photo and graphic skills, seventh grade students in Mike Zurkuhlen’s photography class created PSA posters that would be meaningful to their fellow students. (Poster by Bennett Wood ‘19 and Fiona Geddes ‘19)
CALHOUN KIDS LOVE MATH! At least, that’s the educated opinion of Abby Jean-Baptiste ’14 (left), who elected to spend two mods this year on an independent study in advanced multivariable calculus with US math teacher Danny Isquith (right). The opportunity was made easier because of the flexibility of the block system and the encouragement of the Upper School administrators who made it work, says the senior.
Abby confesses that she loves the concreteness of math—working through textbook concepts and then applying them to problems. “I think math is more popular at Calhoun because teachers are so passionate about it; they try to make it under-standable and fun. It’s more than memorization; it’s about under-standing and discovering something for ourselves. That makes it more meaningful.”
WHAT MOVES YOU?
1 4
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
Zach Simon ’14 was busy last summer. Immediately after school ended, the senior headed to Cleveland, OH, for a six-week internship with the Neurology Department at Case Western Reserve University. From there, it was off to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) for a second internship—this time with an astrophysics team—that lasted for five weeks and finished just in time for the beginning of the new school year at Calhoun.
“I already loved reading and talking about physics with [US teacher] John Roeder, but to watch [the scientists] actually conduct science and research firsthand? It was simply breathtaking,” says Zach.
At Case Western, much of Zach’s time was spent at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veter-ans Affairs Medical Center. He went on rounds with the neuro-ophthalmology team, worked on programming in their mathemat-ics lab, and assisted with tracking the eye movement of multiple sclerosis patients. “We got to hear
all these amazing stories from veterans of the Korean, Vietnam and Iraq wars,” says Zach.
Earlier in the summer, while on a college tour at UNC, what was supposed to be a five-minute chat with Dr. Chris Clemens, the chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, had turned into a 90-minute conversation. Dr. Clemens was so impressed by Zach that he personally gave him the department tour that a grad student was originally scheduled to provide.
At the end of the visit, Dr. Cle-mens offered Zach an internship on an astrophysics project at Cha-pel Hill if it came to fruition later in the summer. It did, and Zach jumped at the chance. He ended up working alongside several un-dergraduate students on a project that was actually the brainchild of artist Christopher McCall, who travels to exotic places to capture the sun as it moves (McCall’s work has been exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art). For his part, Zach helped program a remote camera to follow the sun
robotically, to ensure maximum exposure. By using astrophysics equations, Zach and the students were able to derive formulas to guarantee that the camera would catch the sun exactly at sunrise each day.
During his time at UNC, Zach was also able to attend some 300- and 400-level classes taught by Dr. Clemens on astrophysics and cosmology. “Yeah, I got to raise my hand,” says Zach with a smile. He adds that the most memorable part of his summer was staying up all night with graduate students at UNC’s remote observatory, where they communicated with the SOAR telescope operator near Santiago, Chile, and looked at binary star systems.
Zach hopes to land another internship in the physics realm for his Senior Work project this spring, and intends to study the subject in college.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Do you have an internship opportunity for
Calhoun’s Senior Work program (six weeks in May/June) or during the summer? If so, submit details at
www.calhoun.org/seniorwork or contact Lavern McDonald,
Internships Drive Senior’s Passion for Physics
Zach Simon ’14 has his “Rocky” moment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he did a summer internship on an astrophysics project.
1 5
WINTER 2014
IN THE CLASSROOM
PHYSICS OF FURNITURE: Students in the new Upper School elective course The Physics of Furniture learn how to test the weight-bearing capacity of wood in variable sizes before designing and building stools for the school’s woodshop. The interdisciplinary course, co-taught by US math teacher Taylor White and woodshop teacher David Hyman, is an example of Calhoun’s commitment to “STEAM”—project-based learning that integrates science, technology, engineering, art and math. (Top) Leo Bien-Aime ‘16, James DiBiasi ‘16 and Lindsey Randle ‘16 test the weight-bearing capacity of their wood. (Bottom) Josh Copperman ‘16, Javay Fraser ‘16, Layla Garcia-Carela ‘16 and Alex Horsley-Redding ‘16 go over the design specifications for the stool they’re building for woodshop.
(Left) MALALA: Seventh graders responded, in poem and prose, to the news about Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen who was shot by the Taliban for encouraging girls to get an education. Read more poems and essays by students in the Middle School literary journal, Chrestomathy, January 2014, viewable online at www.calhoun.org/chrestomathy.
Students Score Points with Hoops for HousingThis year’s Hoops for Housing
fundraiser—a round-robin basket-
ball tournament that raises money
for the Next Step Men’s Shelter
on the Upper West Side—was an
enormously successful commu-
nity effort, led by a core of Upper
Schoolers with a strong team of
Lower and Middle Schoolers as col-
laborators.
The Upper Schoolers engaged
students from the Lower School
special course Help the Homeless
to promote and support the event’s
fundraising activities. Meanwhile,
Lower and Middle School students
from Calhoun as well as other NYC
schools were invited to take part in
the event, which featured two tour-
naments—one for second through
fourth graders and the other for
fifth through eighth graders.
(L-R) Matthew Pfeffer ‘17 and Oliver Otcasek ‘17, together with classmate Adam Shankman ‘14 (not shown), reached out across divisions to raise funds for the Next Step Men’s Shelter.
“Calhoun students are inspired
to care for others,” observes senior
Adam Shankman, a member of
the US elective class Hunger and
Homelessness, which co-hosted
the event. “As a class, we wanted
to help those less fortunate while
giving our younger students an
opportunity to be active citizens.”
All told, the event raised more than
$1,500 for the shelter—plus a lot of
enthusiasm for a job well done!
Malala: Our Voice By Nia Howard Fenton ’19
Malala is the incredible voice of hope
The non-stop argumentative voice of beliefs and rights
And the powerful voice of education.
She represents children and women
who are depending on her
Who have had their voices silenced and
now must fight for THEIR OWN RIGHTS.
Malala wants an education
She yearns for equality and fairness
She wonders where the voice of
women and children are hiding
She lives in a country where women have been
deprived of making decisions and speaking out
Malala is the leader of chances for women and children around
the world
She is the Northern Star that people will follow,
A symbol of bravery and determination.
She has taught many people that
ONE CHILD
ONE TEACHER
ONE BOOK
AND ONE PEN CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
1 6 SCHOOL NEWS
Onstage
Upper School thespians were right on the mark—creating some of their own “impro-vised” sight gags for this production of On the Razzle, by Tom Stoppard.
1. (L-R) Emma Morrow ’16 and Juliana Cordero ’14
2. (L-R) Abigail Jean-Baptiste ’14, Carlotta Kane ’14 and Emma Newman ’14
3. (L-R) Noelle Clark ’14, Jules Starn ’16 and Dylan Jacobs ’16
4. (L-R) Jason Alejo ’14 and Shoshana Baraschi-Ehrlich ’14
5. Emily Kuper ‘15 and Shoshana Baraschi-Ehrlich ’14 emerge from the amazing set, designed by
tech director Marc Aubin and created with the help of students in the US theater tech class.
UPPER SCHOOL THEATER: ON THE RAZZLEZZLE
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
1
2
3 5
4
Brad Slaight’s Middle Class, which explores the tribulations of young people in a series of poignant and sometimes humorous sketches, was performed with aplomb by the eighth grade theater class.
1. Tomio Filiaci and Jake Madsen
2. Talia Kurlansky (center) with Oummu Barrie (left), Celia Goodman (back center) and Jeniffer Rodriguez (right)
3. Jake Roshkow
4. Lindsay Jackman and Ethan Lichtenstein
5. Talia Kurlansky and Teo Torrado
1 7
WINTER 2014
SCHOOL NEWS
EIGHTH GRADE THEATER: MIDDLE CLASS
1
3
2
4
5
1 8
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
SCHOOL NEWS
SPORTS
”TWO” SWEET:
Girls’ Volleyball Team Wins NYCAL League and
Tournament Championships!
2
The Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team staged an
inspiring come-from-behind rally in the NYCAL
Tournament Finals at CCNY on Oct. 25, captur-
ing the championship for a second consecutive
year. Already down two sets to one, the top-
seeded Cougars were on the brink of elimina-
tion, trailing 18–11 in the fourth set to number-
two Columbia Prep, before heroically digging
out and riding that momentum to a stunning
3–2 victory.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these girls,”
says head coach Sabrina Spiegel Zurkuhlen
’06, who was joined by assistant coaches Des-
mond Hamilton and Patricia Amador (who is
also a Calhoun parent). “The win was amazing,
but I’m even more proud of the way the girls
won. With their backs to the wall and the end
drawing near, they pulled it together as a team
and supported each other to be the best they
could be.”
The Cougars, who had already captured
the league title by virtue of a perfect 12-0
record against NYCAL opponents in the
regular season, finished 16-4. Adds Sabrina,
“A huge thank-you to everyone who came out
to support the girls throughout the season.
The enthusiasm and support was undeniably
a huge factor in the momentum shift and win-
ning push toward the end of the title game!”
The team loses just two seniors this June,
but the pair—Taj Cutting and Maddy Gordon—will undoubtedly be missed for their leader-
ship. Nevertheless, the Cougars are expected
to contend once again for the NYCAL crown
in 2014, as they’ll return with a cast of young
and talented players, including Emma Griffith
’17, Rose Gruber ’16, Isabel Thomson ’16, Taylor
Gerard ’15, Nicole Carey ’18, Olivia Abrams ’17,
Natalie Zukerman ’15 and Dalas Zeichner ’15.
Says Sabrina, “With such a young team and
developing talent in the Middle School and JV
program, I couldn’t be more excited about the
future of Calhoun volleyball!”
1 3
1 9
WINTER 2014
SCHOOL NEWS
Sports BriefsThe Boys’ Varsity Soccer team, coached by
Francesco Filiaci, finished just 3-8-2, but all
signs are there for continued improvement next
year. The Cougars will return with this year’s
captains, Michael Leavitt ’15 and Thomas Gata-
nis ’15, along with Zeus Rocancourt ’15 and star
goalkeeper Bennett Hagemeier ’16. In addition,
the new JV team should provide solid replace-
ments for Alex Minev, Ben Minerva, Reece
Robinson, Zach Wiener, Massimo Costantini and
Brad Driscoll, all graduating this spring.
Departing seniors Rebecca Marcus, Noelle
Clark, Leila Jacobson and Lila Lopez-Ruiz
admirably led the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team
through a season with plenty of improvement,
a few close calls and abounding spirit. “Very
special thanks to those pioneering ladies who
helped found the team four years ago and
earned placement alongside Calhoun’s most
cherished athletes,” says head coach Bryan
Caine. “With 16 players due to return and the
promise of some talented freshmen, the pos-
sibilities for the 2014 season are endless.”
Calhoun fielded its first-ever Boys’ JV
Soccer team this fall. Under the leadership of
Sean Cullity ‘16 and Michael Fortunato ‘16, the
Cougars fought hard and grew tremendously
as a team. “Despite the fact that the Cougars
closed the season with a losing record, their
determination was apparent in every game,”
says head coach Eric Rydin, who notes that
the nerve-racking tie with Browning (3–3) and
nail-biting losses to both Columbia Prep and
Lehman serve as a testament to the incredible
potential of this young squad. And the Cougars
weren’t short of firepower this season; Craig
Supcoff ‘16 led the team in goals, with Jackson
Lundy ‘16 and Michael Fortunato not far behind.
The Girls’ JV Volleyball team finished the
season 9-6, with a 5-5 mark in league play.
But the standings won’t be what the players
remember. “Every athlete grew, became more
confident on the court, and saw firsthand what
hard work and dedication can do,” says assis-
tant coach Kevin Randazzo. “What started out
as a team unsure of its talent and skill ended up
a tight-knit group, ready for any challenge.”
Positive highlights abounded during the
season for the Girls’ Middle School Volleyball
team. Each Cougar learned to successfully
serve the volleyball over the net by the end of
the season, and many of the seventh graders
intend to return to the team next year. Says
head coach Alyssa Viglietta, “As the eighth
graders move on, what I hope is that they’ve
not only learned about the game of volleyball,
but that their love for the sport pushes them to
continue playing in the future.”
Cross-Country Team Finishes Second at League Championships By Hernán Ortiz, Assistant Coach
The Calhoun Cross-Country team had quite the run this season—pun intended! The team peaked at
the NYCAL League Championships in October at Van Cortlandt Park, when each of the 10 athletes
competing set a personal record.
On the boys’ side, our front-runners, Jason Kauppila ‘18 and Dylan Jacobs ’16, ran the 3.1-mile
course in 18:31 and 18:49, respectively. Michaela Harvey ’17 led the girls by taking down the course in
24:42. Overall, only three points separated Calhoun from first-place Columbia Prep, who won for a
second straight year.
This year the team says goodbye to Jason Alejo, a strong, tough senior who helped Calhoun place
second by finishing 21st (21:47), despite running the championship meet while hurt. Amazing feat!
From the beginning to the end of the fall season, when Calhoun sent a school-record seven run-
ners to the NYSAIS State Championship meet, everyone improved his or her personal best time by
a minimum of 1:15 in a 3.1-mile race. Some even improved their times by up to five minutes! These
Cougars worked hard and were dedicated to achieving their absolute best. Next year we’re looking
forward to wresting the championship title from Columbia Prep with continuous hard work and effort!
1. The Girls’ Varsity Volleyball team celebrates after its dramatic, come-from-behind NYCAL tournament championship victory over Columbia Prep.
2. For a second-straight year, the Girls’ Varsity Volleyball season ended with the Cougars posing for an official tourney championship photo!
3. Varsity player Taylor Gerard ’15 returns the ball as Nicole Carey ’18 looks on.
4. Calhoun’s Cross-Country team finished second at the NYCAL League Championship meet.
5. Boys’ Varsity Soccer: Outgoing senior Ben Minerva battles for possession.
54
2 0
what moves you?MusicMusicMovesMovesus!us!By JIM BYRNE
oo(Clockwise from top) Music teacher Dan Stein ’07, Michael Fortunato ’16, Jack Gulielmetti ’14, and Sacha Rogosin ‘16
2 1
hile the economic climate has led
many schools across the country to
shutter their music programs or, at best,
relegate them to the endangered species
list, the approach at Calhoun has been
exactly the opposite. Simply put, the
music program here has exploded.
Today, students can choose from a
variety of music classes in strings, brass,
wind instruments, chorus and chamber
music as well as in percussion, keyboard,
jazz improvisation and lyric writing.
In fact, there are more than 20 music
electives in the Upper School; in Middle
School, in addition to chorus, instrumen-
tal (winds/brass) and strings, students can
opt for classes like Electronic Music Lab
or the newest offering, Introduction to
Jazz Improvisation.
The tremendous growth in the music
program has been spurred in part by sci-
entific evidence that proves the enormous
impact the study of music can have on
brain development. But it is also reflec-
tive of Calhoun’s historic dedication to
integrating the arts seamlessly into aca-
demic studies. Plus, teachers and student
musicians alike point to the collaborative
nature of music performance, the disci-
pline it instills, and, not insignificant, the
sheer joy and fun that music brings. Head
of School Steve Nelson, a serious violinist
who once served as president of Detroit’s
Center for Creative Studies, Institute of
Music and Dance, says his experience
with and passion for music was probably
why he was hired. “Certainly I was clear
in my intentions when I came to Calhoun
that music is an important part of overall
education of kids and adults and just of
humanity in general.”
Whh
manman
Teachers and student musicians alike point to the collaborative nature of music performance, the discipline it instills, and, not insignificant, the sheer joy and fun that music brings.
2 2
Our program has developed this sort of specialization, which is simply remarkable for a music program in a school that isn’t a conservatory.
Shortly after arriving at Calhoun in
1998, Steve teamed with Lower School
Director Kathleen Clinesmith and her
husband, music teacher Ben
Clinesmith—who had come to
Calhoun in the early ‘90s after
running youth orchestras and
working in music education—to
plan a strings program. Their first
hire for the fledgling strings program,
launched in 2002, was violin and piano
virtuoso Victor Lin, who, as fate would
have it, met Steve while both were Roll-
erblading in Central Park. “The only
reason I stopped to talk to him was I
needed to know who this dude with
the silver hair was who had rocketed
past me,” says Victor.
Music teacher Brian Coogan recalls
that there was “hardly any music at all”
when he joined the school in 1990 as the
sole instrumental teacher and band con-
ductor. “There were some recorders and
a ‘music appreciation course,’ whatever
that means,” recalls Brian. “We started
with five clarinets and continued to grow
over the years.”
Today, there are close to 200 stu-
dents in the Middle and Upper School
instrumental program, performing in the
all-school orchestra, Community Orches-
tra, chamber ensemble, band, percussion
ensemble, wind and brass ensembles, and
one of seven jazz ensembles…not to men-
tion another 80 in choral groups.
Brian says the growth of the instru-
mental program really kicked in when
the 81st Street building almost doubled
in size, in time for the 2004–05 school
year. The expanded building included
the addition of four new floors—provid-
ing several music rehearsal rooms and a
new performing arts center. Teachers like
Brian, who had worked in the basement
(or “down in the dungeon,” as he referred
to it), suddenly had their own space…and
ry.
Our O
ductor. “Ther
a ‘music apprec
that means,” rec
with five clarinets
ver the years.”
Today, there are c
s in the Middle and
mental program, pe
Comm
ban
ens
…n
Mus
ere was “hardly any mus
oined the school in 1990
ntal teacher and band c
re some recorders and
— Steve Nelson, Head of School
2 32 3
with that extra room came increased flex-
ibility for more small-group instruction,
more rehearsal space and an increased
performance schedule.
The physical expansion of the
school also opened the door
for the music program to add
electives and hire additional
music teachers, including adjuncts
who could provide specialization—some-
times one-on-one. “Our program has
developed this sort of specialization,
which is simply remarkable for a music
program in a school that isn’t a conserva-
tory,” says Steve. Aside from the profes-
sional music faculty, the school is popu-
lated by an unusual number of academic
teachers who happen to be talented
musicians. In the Lower School alone,
math teacher Anthony Yacobellis is also a
punk-rock musician and concert pro-
moter; math teacher Austin Applegate is
an accomplished guitarist who also gives
after-school music lessons; and kindergar-
ten teacher Tina LoGuidice moonlights as
the lead singer in a rock band.
g as
the lead singer in a rock band.
[Music] helps the children[Muunderstand the world better, and assists with issues ofdiversity and anti-racism by allowing for a better
standing of someonelifestyle.e.
Fourth graders Axel Fonseca and Isabella Ulfelder
— Debbie Morenzi,bLS74 Music Specialist
Sixth grader Noelani Wilkinson
2 4
Calhoun s Community Orchestra is perhaps
the best example of the democratic impulses
of progressive education. It is a unique
ensemble of Middle and Upper School
students performing together with Calhoun’s
professional music faculty as well as other
staff and parents. In two concerts each year,
the Community Orchestra performs first as
a small group and then with the school’s full
orchestra of student musicians, ranging in
skill from beginner to advanced. The result is
astounding and inspiring for musicians and
audiences alike.
“The adults don’t see this as a groaning
duty, but as an incredibly joyful opportu-
nity to just make music with other human
beings,” says Head of School Steve Nelson
of the orchestra. “Doesn’t make a difference
if you’re technically accomplished or just a
beginner—the quality and feeling behind a
simple musical phrase is the same thing. This
kind of democratic commonality with music
at its center is a real hallmark of our school.”
The Calhoun Community Orchestra dates
back to 2001, when Lower School Director
Kathleen Clinesmith traveled with Co-
Director Alison Rothschild ’85 and learning
specialist Hamida Butt to the International
School of Brussels for a conference on
early childhood education. While there, they
enjoyed a concert performed by the school
orchestra, a group that coincidentally hap-
pened to play a piece written and arranged
by Calhoun music teacher Ben Clinesmith.
It was decided then that Calhoun would
have its very own strings program, which in
turn led to the creation of the Community
Orchestra.
“I felt that we might be able to do
something more interesting and reflective of
Calhoun by creating an orchestra made up
of students, parents, teachers and anyone
loosely affiliated with the community,”
recalls Kathleen. “It meant offering free
lessons to our teachers and staff—some
of whom would be beginners or who only
played in their younger years—along with
the several parents and teachers who were
pre-eminent professional players and willing
to join.”
Since its humble beginnings, the Com-
munity Orchestra has held relaxed rehears-
als each week during the school year, which
makes for a comfortable and pleasant
experience for the amateurs while providing
professionals the opportunity to solo or try
out an arrangement or composition of their
own. The linchpin of the group has been Ben
Clinesmith, thanks to his ability to com-
pose arrangements for a range of players,
from beginners on up. But, ultimately, what
makes it all work is the democratic environ-
ment that allows its members, ranging from
the 10-year-old who just learned “Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star” to the 35-year-old who
just last week played at Carnegie Hall, to
perform the same music side by side, with
each voice equally important.
Noah Krauss ’15 has performed with the
Community Orchestra since he came to Cal-
houn in fifth grade, and says there is nothing
like it. “I can look to my right and see Ben
Clinesmith, who is a fantastic cellist, and I
can glance left and see a fifth grader trying
his or her hardest. It’s such a strange thing
to see, but the results we get are pretty
amazing. It’s such an inspiring experience
to see all of these people just playing their
hearts out.” �
Watch video excerpts formCommunity Orchestra concerts atwww.calhoun.org/music
A Community of MusiciansCalhoun’s Community Orchestra is perhaps School of Brussels for a conference on out an arrangement or comprr
Ben Clinesmith (left) and a younger Noah Krauss ’15 performing with the Community Orchestra, an ensemble of musicians rangingfrom beginners to professionals.
2 5
“In some cases, we didn’t even know
they were musicians at the time they
were hired,” says Steve. But because he
believes in “hiring interesting human
beings who can do more than just teach
within their discipline,” he says he’s not
surprised that Calhoun ends up with a
disproportionately high number of teach-
ers who are also musicians. The best part
is, their passion for music frequently finds
its way into the classroom, so students
get exposed to music all the time—both
inside and outside of the music program.
Music as Interdisciplinary Partner
Music is, in fact, interwoven with curricu-
lum in all divisions, reflecting Calhoun’s
mission to seamlessly integrate the arts
with other academic studies.
Debbie Morenzi, who incorporates
world music into her work with Calhoun’s
youngest as the LS74 music specialist,
notes that music is a wonderful resource
for teaching social studies. “It helps the
children understand the world better, and
assists with issues of diversity and anti-
racism by allowing for a better understand-
ing of someone else’s lifestyle,” she says.
Ben Clinesmith’s “Sing It, Say It”
program, which he debuted at Calhoun
in 1993, uses music to help teach and
reinforce reading, writing and math skills
to first graders. Simple songs are broken
down into measures and beats, and the
vibrations that make up actual sound can
be counted mathematically and charted in
terms of waves on a graph.
An increasing body of scientific
evidence supports Ben’s approach, that
the study of music is actually related to
the acquisition of math skills as well as
reading, says Steve, who points to recent
research that shows that parts of the
brain developed by music actually have
to do with linguistics and mastering both
oral and written language.
Students get exposed to music all the time—both inside and outside of the music program.
First graders record songs they wrote with direction from LS music specialist Dustin LeVasseur.
2 6
Ben’s curriculum continues today at
Little Calhoun under the auspices of first
grade music specialist Dustin LeVasseur,
who embraces music as the core of the
Calhoun experience. “The arts have the
ability to stand alone, but can also be
woven into many aspects of learning,” he
says. “For me, it means having a curricu-
lum based in creativity, where I’m able to
intertwine music with any aspect of the
students’ lives. It’s crazy to think that
there isn’t more experiential learning with
music happening like this on a larger level
elsewhere.”
As students progress through the
Lower School, their class time continues
to include song, movement, music appre-
ciation and percussion instruments. In
second grade, they begin their first formal
instrumental lessons with recorders, and
then in Middle School, each student can
choose to sing in the chorus or pick an
It’s crazy to think that there isn’t more experiential learning with music happening like this on a larger level.level.
t’s cIt
with
vel
es
re-
mal
nd
n
instrument to learn. By eighth grade, stu-
dents can opt out of music, but more than
half continue on in choir or instrumental
music.
Cynthia Wuco, Middle/Upper School
chorus teacher, likens her position in
the middle grades to something of a life
coach. “It’s a time that can be emotional
and tumultuous and filled with personal
struggle,” she says, noting that “singing,
or any type of music instruction, gives
a student who might feel as if nothing
is going right just one great
thing they are able to do.”
Victor Lin, director of the
Upper School jazz program, agrees that
music gives students an opportunity to
express and better understand them-
selves. “They need it to process all the
things that are happening to them,” says
Victor.
— Dustin LeVasseur,First grade music specialist
Adjunct music teacher John Romeri provides a one-on-one lesson to Celia Goodman ‘18.
2 7
It may come as a surprise that the begin-
nings of Calhoun’s jazz program can be
traced back to what many consider the low-
est form of music: the type that’s played in
elevators. Well, sort of.
The program literally got its start in the
81st Street elevators, as an unofficial class
taught by Victor Lin with one “enrolled”
student. That student, Dan Stein ’07, began
playing the upright bass as an eighth grader
in 2002, when Calhoun added a strings
program. Dan started studying the bass in
the context of classical music, but he also
absorbed a lot more that Victor had to offer.
“As I got a little better and more excited,
Victor just started teaching me all kinds of
music—pop, funk and jazz—and we’d ride up
and down the elevator, playing for whoever
would listen whenever the door opened.
That was the beginning of the jazz program.”
Today, Calhoun’s Upper School jazz pro-
gram—headed by Victor—boasts more than
30 students performing in seven ensembles,
coached by an extended adjunct faculty
composed of some of the most promising
jazz artists in America. It’s even trickled
down to the Middle School, where a jazz
program began this year in the eighth grade
under the leadership Kevin Farrell.
The success of the program has been
astounding in terms of both student enthu-
siasm and the talent that has emerged. Insiasm
ast two years, Victor has taken histhe la
advanced jazz students in the “730 more
”Band”—named for the time they practice
morningeach —to the prestigious Berklee
ge High School Jazz Festival in Boston, Colleg
e they’ve placed in the upper echelon ofwhere
ers from mostly top conservatories. winne
Jack Gulielmetti ’14, who has performed J
in both competitions and last year
earned Most Accomplished Player at
e festival, says, “The biggest differthe -
between us and the groups from ence
schools is that some of those kids areother
lly majoring in music in high school. Weliteral
have a major here, but if it’s somethingdon’t
you take seriously enough, you can take
advantage of the resources we have.”
Steve Nelson believes that students have
gravitated toward the program because, at
its core, “jazz is sort of cool,” observing that
most of, if not all, popular music has its roots
in jazz—and thus students are intuitively
attracted to the form. “It’s pretty easy to
take kids from the milieu of popular music
that they have on their iPods and other
devices and draw them from that into jazz,
which I think is much more complex, richer
and interesting intellectually,” says Steve.
When it comes to explaining his
approach to teaching, Victor says there is
“no recipe,” but the key is individual atten-
tion for each student. “It’s not even about
what they achieve,” he notes. “It’s about
cultivating relationships and piquing their
curiosity.” Still, he believes that the jazz
program would not be where it is today
without his “remarkable” original student. “I
remember saying to Dan, ‘If we’re going to
show that this can work, you’re going to be
the big example.’ I literally threw everything I
knew into him, and told him that by the time
he graduated I wanted to be gigging with
him, and that when he graduated college I’d
be hiring him professionally for my trio.”
All of that came true. Dan went on to the
Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he
graduated with honors, and is now complet-
ing his master’s degree in jazz studies at
Juilliard. He’s also back at Calhoun, teaching
the subject he loves. “It’s incredible for me
to see how the jazz program has developed,”
he says. “The year after I graduated was the
first year of actual jazz classes, and that was
kind of a bittersweet thing for me, because I
would have loved to have had those classes
while I was here. But I was still happy that
Calhoun was embracing this art form that I
knew other students would be really excited
about. And now the fact that it’s such a big
program with enormous excitement around
it? It’s astounding. It makes me so happy,
and I’m so glad that I can come back and be
a part of it.” �
All That Jazz
(L-R) Victor Lin, head of Calhoun’s jazz program, and adjunct music teacher Dan Stein ‘07 re-createthe “elevator music” that started it all in 2003.
See video interviews with Steve Nelson,Dan Stein ’07, Jack Gulielmetti ’14 andother musicians at www.calhoun.org/music.
2 8
Confidence and Collaboration
Karina Rajchman ’12, who currently
attends NYU and plays in three bands
with fellow alum Josh Musto ’12, acknowl-
edges that the music program at Cal-
houn did wonders for her self-esteem.
“Learning new pieces of music, as well
as performing live, instilled a great deal
of discipline and confidence in me from a
rather early age,” says Karina. “I quickly
learned there is no feeling quite like the
moment after playing a great gig, or
transcribing a tough solo. When you have
those skills and moments under your belt,
the way you approach life each day takes
on a different meaning. I truly believe
music, or any kind of artistic passion,
gives people a certain lust for life that you
simply can’t find elsewhere.” Karina calls
Victor Lin and Ben Clinesmith “unbeliev-
ably inspiring teachers,” whose approach
to teaching music is far more than a
series of notes and scales that should be
memorized.
Collaboration is key to the way
Calhoun’s music faculty approaches
instruction. “Our mantra here is that
every student has a job, and that job is
to make everyone else in his or her band
or orchestra better,” says Victor. “It’s not
about looking good or getting your solo
in the spotlight. The best person isn’t any
better than the newest musician. Music-
making isn’t supposed to be a spectacle.
It’s something that people should want to
participate in.”
Although the objective of the music
program isn’t to churn out professional
musicians, Calhoun is indeed home to
some serious talent. Pianist Tiffany Poon,
a senior this year, came to the United
States from Hong Kong at the age of 10 to
attend the Juilliard School while concur-
Learning new pieces of music, as well as performing live, instilled a great deal of discipline and confidence in me from a rather early age.
— Karina Rajchman '12
Karina Rajchman '12
Noah Krauss '15
Although
program isn’
musicians, C
some serious
a senior this
States from
attend the JNoah Krauss '15
2 9
rently enrolled at Calhoun. She has since
played in numerous international venues,
from Australia and Russia to Montreal and
across the United States, including Carn-
egie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Steinway
Hall. Most recently, she won first prize
and Best Performance of Concerto Award
at the VIII Moscow International Fredrick
Chopin Competition for Young Pianists.
Junior Noah Krauss has also earned
countless accolades—including the New
York Music Competition, first on cello and
second on piano. But what both Noah and
Tiffany also have in common is that they
chose not to take the traditional route of
conservatories.
“I never really had any interest in leav-
ing Calhoun,” says Noah. “You get indi-
vidual attention here, which is so great.
It’s really student-based.” Noah recalls
his earlier years at Calhoun, beginning in
Middle School. “It was very inspiring to
see high-caliber musicians come in and
play with us,” he says. He had the option
of auditioning for a music school when
he was 14, but opted to stay. Instead,
Noah—who performs with the school’s
Community Orchestra, all-school orches-
tra and in various ensembles—decided
he wanted to be a positive role model for
Calhoun’s younger students. “I’m just
trying to show them the greatness of
this program and what you can do with
it if you work hard and if you have a real
love for music. And I think this program
really does [encourage that], because you
get to play pieces that aren’t necessarily
common in high school orchestras. We
play pop songs, movie themes and all the
really great classical works, so it’s a really
wide spectrum. I just love it.”
Jack Gulielmetti ’14, a talented guitar-
ist who attends Juilliard’s pre-college
program, studies composition and has
actually composed for the New York
Philharmonic, is another student who
I have friends who go to [music] schools but don’t have the same access to practice rooms, instruments or faculty; I think that sets Calhoun apart.
firmly believes in Calhoun’s approach
to music education. “I have friends who
go to [music] schools but don’t have the
same access to practice rooms, instru-
ments or faculty; I think that sets Calhoun
apart,” he says. “I also think you need to
be a well-rounded person to play music.
You can’t just get inspiration from music
itself; that would get old after a while
and you would end up sounding like the
people you listen to. You have to bring
in ideas from what you read or what you
do in math or something you learned in
biology.”
What’s been most noticeable about
the music evolution at Calhoun is how
quickly it bonds students and faculty.
Says Meighan Stoops, Director of Music,
“The first level of music education is
listening together as a group, and then
it’s on to playing music together. But the
third level, when you’re in front of people
performing—that’s when the experience
is ratcheted up to an entirely different
intensity. You learn that you have to take
care and look out for one another. And
that’s something that can translate to
any other scenario in life.”
Concludes Noah, “Calhoun is such a
great environment for musicians, artists
and…I really can’t picture myself any-
place else…it’s one of my favorite places
to be.” �
rt.apa
I have
— Jack Gulielmetti ’14
Practice time for eighth graders Michael Nelkin, Ethan Lichtenstein, Jake Rosenthal and Noah Copperman in Ben Baron’s instrumental class.
Celebrating Classes Ending in “4” and “9”
All other alumnae/i are welcome as well!
Location: Rooftop, 81st Street
www.calhoun.org/alumreunion
Be a Reunion Class ChairQHelp plan your reunion
QProvide updates/class news
about classmates
To volunteer, contact:
Bart Hale ’00
Director of Alumnae/i Relations
646-666-6450
Reunion Friday, May 16, 2014
3 1
WINTER 2014
CLASS NOTES
MARRIAGES
Annie Polyn ’95 to Jorge Peña
Raul Julia ’01 to Betsy Lippitt
Jack Hale ’03 to Erin Grattan
Ian Law ’03 to Angela Sbiliris
Sonia Balaram ’06 to Saad Yousuf
BIRTHS
To Stephanie Diamond ’93 and
Ethan Kerr, a daughter,
Grace Sequoia
To Nora Zelevansky ‘95 and
Andrew Weiner, a girl, Estella Rose
To Pete Harris ’93 and Breda
Carroll, a boy, Oliver
To Troy Cummings ’97 and Laura
Cummings, a girl, Chloe
To Brian Peters ’97 and Yael
Leopold, a girl, Journey
IN MEMORIAM
Dorothea Weitzner ‘39
Edna Fredericks Engoron ’41
Betty Neuwirth Lee ’48
Prudence Duff Jube ’78
1940s-1960sPlease send news about your
families, your work and your
celebrations to [email protected].
We’re especially eager to hear from
alums celebrating their reunions
this spring—particularly alumnae
from 1954, 1959 and 1964, who
are marking their 60th, 55th and
50th reunions. Looking forward
to hearing from you!
1960sMaxine Margolis ’60 returned to
Calhoun this fall for an Upper
School intersession course about
Brazil, led by US teacher Erika
Zamfirescu. Maxine, who has
spent her career as an anthro-
pologist specializing in the people
and culture of Brazil, authored
a new book this year, Goodbye,
Brazil: Émigrés from the Land of
Soccer and Samba, and has been
traveling to São Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro for TV and radio inter-
views about the book. Her other
published works include True to
Her Nature: Changing Advice to
American Women, and all are
available on Amazon. Earlier in
her career, Maxine taught at the
University of Florida in Gaines-
ville, where she is professor
emerita of anthropology. She is
also a member of the American
Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Nancy Kohl Wergeles ’60, who lives
in Connecticut with her husband,
Donald, is a licensed marriage and
family therapist. Nancy has also
become an enthusiastic writer; one
of her essays, “Food for Thought,”
was submitted and read at Calhoun’s
Evening of Original Literary Works,
held this past fall (see box at
left). “The evening at Calhoun
was wonderful; hearing my words
read by someone else was indeed
a thrill,” says Nancy, who mostly
writes fiction, but also enjoys writing
about her cooking adventures. “The
Calhoun of today is a far cry from
what it was like in my day. Today
the environment is so warm and
nurturing.”
Edith Tomi Wilson ’69 traveled to
South Korea last summer with her
uncle Tommy on a trip for Korean
War veterans who were celebrating
their 60-year reunion. Edith hopes to
continue to travel abroad, including a
possible trip to Egypt next year.
1970sCarol Havdala ’78 returned to
Calhoun this year, but this time
as a parent—with her daughter,
Nicole Decrem ‘15, who entered
the eleventh grade this fall. Carol’s
mother, Huguette Havdala, joined
Carol at the new parents’ reception
in September and was equally
excited to see the school again.
Carol is a math teacher at the High
LITERARY EVENING
HIGHLIGHTS ALUM
AUTHORS
Many thanks to Barbara
Williams Fullard ’66,
Nancy Kohl Wergeles ’60
and Daniel Romoler–
oux ’98 for participating
in Calhoun’s Evening of
Original Literary Works,
held on October 24, 2013.
Heeding the call for
authors, these three alums
submitted their poetry
and prose, which was read
with other community
works by a cast of
students, teachers and
parents. Barbara’s poem
“Brownstone” recalls her
years at the school’s 92nd
Street building; Daniel’s
poem “Imagine” is a
lyrical ode to following
one’s passion; and Nancy
reflected on how she
discovered her love for
cooking when she was in
Middle School in her essay
“Food for Thought.”
Read their work at www.
calhoun.org/alumauthors,
and watch for future
calls for submissions for
Calhoun’s next literary
evening!
Maxine Margolis ’60 (right), who authored a new book on Brazil, returned as a guest speaker for an October intersession class offered by US math teacher Erika Zamfirescu.
FLORENCE LOUCHHEIM STOL ’18:
New Light Shines on Patron of the Arts
Florence R. Louchheim ’18 (1900–1967), a renowned patron of the arts, was the subject of a lecture this past November by Boston University Spanish professor Christopher Maurer at the Residencia de Estudiantes, Madrid, in anticipation of the biography he is cur-rently writing about her.
“Florence graduated from The Jacobi School* with her own pe-culiar vision of the role of women in post–World War I American society and with a passion for languages and art,” says Maurer. “She became—like Peggy Guggenheim, who graduated from Jacobi a few years earlier—a superb collector of contemporary paintings, sculpture and prints.”
Maurer’s lecture revolved around Florence’s stormy relation-ship with a Spanish poet and painter, José Moreno Villa, who fell in love with her in Spain, traveled with her to New York in 1927, and published a book of poems and drawings, Jacinta la Pelir-roja (Red-Haired Jacinta), about the unsettling experience. The eccentric Florence and her collection (which she bequeathed to the University of Michigan Museum of Art) are captured in My Crowd (privately printed, 2003), a vivid memoir about the Louchheim family by her niece Mary Louchheim Evangelista.
Florence was one of 25 students in the graduating class of 1918. She was class vice president and one of the literary editors of the The Ink Pot, for which she wrote a lead editorial, “Strange Garments,” which focused on the responsibility of “the girls of America,” and more broadly, “the youth of America” for “rebuild-ing and…reinvigorating the United States in post-war reconstruc-tion.” Florence was also in the cast of the senior play, performing the role of the wife in a one-act drama by Monica O’Shea titled The Rushlight.
Professor Maurer, who was in touch with Calhoun to glean information about Florence’s high school years, writes: “From what I can tell, The Jacobi School gave Florence a life-long interest in languages (she knew French and German and wrote excellent Spanish), art and theater.” Later in her life, she established the Florence Louchheim Stol Foundation, which continues to give grants to major New York arts and music institutions. She died in Vermont as Florence L. Stol in 1967.
*Calhoun began as The Jacobi School in 1896, named after the school’s founder, Laura Jacobi. The name was changed in 1929 by parents who wanted to honor headmistress Mary Calhoun.
“The Jacobi School [Calhoun] gave Florence a life-long interest in languages (she knew French and German and wrote excellent Spanish), art and theater.”
Archives3 2
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
CLASS NOTES
1. Portrait of Florence Louchheim ’18 by Francis Bruguiere (archive of Mary L. Evangelista)
2. Florence Louchheim Stol ’18 (top row, center) was on the editorial board of The Ink Pot, the school’s combination yearbook/literary journal.
1
2
From the
3 3
WINTER 2014
CLASS NOTES
(thanks to Ben) and then headed
off to the closing night party,” says
Rama.
Nicole Betancourt ’86 , who lives
in New York with her husband and
two daughters, Pilar and Biulu,
enjoys a successful filmmaking
career as a producer and director.
In 1996, she won an Emmy
Award for Outstanding Individual
Achievement for her documentary
film Before You Go: A Daughter’s
Diary. More recently, Nicole was
granted a fellowship by the W. K.
Kellogg Foundation to create a
video series, Parent Earth, which
educates parents about healthy
food. Launched in 2009, the project
“creates and distributes short videos
on everything from cooking and
gardening to nutrition and behavior.”
Will Pollock ’86 , who is living in
Atlanta, published a new e-book in
November, Pizza for Good, cited as
an inspiring and wildly entertaining
cookbook, memoir and philanthropic
guide to building local community
through food. It includes 20 recipes
for specialty pizzas that stress local
ingredients and covers a range of
kitchen tips. (Featured in the book
is another Calhounder, Rachel Harris
Brown ’87, and her son, Ethan.)
Will, who is also the founder of a
charitable Atlanta-based artists’
collaborative called ARTvision, is
donating 50 percent of the proceeds
from his book to Positive Impact, an
organization that provides programs
for people affected with HIV.
pizzaforgood.wordpress.com
Marc Mendelson ’87 is the latest
Calhounder to return to his alma
mater as a parent. He and his wife,
Tara, have been thrilled since their
daughter, Sacha, entered first grade
this year. Marc has a background in
finance, having most recently been
at JPMorgan Chase; Tara, who had
been an assistant principal with the
NYC Department of Education, has
School for Environmental Studies in
Manhattan, and she, her husband,
Peter, and Nicole live in Irvington, NY.
Stephen Cadwalader ’79 enjoyed
reuniting with friends at the
annual Alumnae/i Pub Night in
November. He is currently serving
as vice president at Jason McCoy
Gallery in New York, which features
contemporary works in painting,
drawing, photography, sculpture
and video.
1980sBetsy Lichtenstein ’80 lives in New
York with her husband, Matthew,
and two children, Molly and Sammy.
She has worked for the last three
years as a geriatric care manager
while attending classes at Hunter
College’s Brookdale Center for
Healthy Aging. She hopes to
receive her certificate in geriatric
care management in 2014.
Adam Campagna ’84 launched
his own architecture business last
winter after five years as a senior
architect at Rockwell Group, where
he handled residential and hospi-
tality projects. He holds a master’s
in architecture from Harvard
University’s Graduate School of
Design and lives in Brooklyn with
his wife, Sheila Choi, and his son,
Aidan, who is in fifth grade.
Rama Wiener Dunayevich ’84
shared news that a San
Francisco Bay Area contingent of
Calhounders took the opportunity
to have a great mini-reunion on
October 15 at the Mill Valley Film
Festival for a screening of Ben
Stiller ’83’s new movie, The Secret
Life of Walter Mitty. “While Ben
was honored with a tribute award,
a group of us—Marco Aurelio ’80,
Geoff Strawbridge ’81, Erika Milvy
’82, Michael McCormick ’84 and I—cheered him on from the VIP seats
now started her own business in
personal and home organization.
The couple also has an older son,
Jacob.
Ross Kleinberg ’88 has built his
own PR freelance consultancy,
KBERG MEDIA, specializing
in strategic media relations for
consumer-facing and business-
based clients, while still passion-
ately coaching soccer and playing
basketball on the weekends—“sans
Sybil yelling or Neil draining 3’s!”
Ross notes. His daughters, Sophie,
now 10, and Samantha, five, are
both competitive gymnasts and
“still enjoy Dad’s motivational
quotes.”
Kathleen Acosta ’89 is completing
her master’s at Bank Street College
in dual-language childhood special
and general education. “Between
my experiences as a full-time
special-education teacher and
various substitute-teaching assign-
ments, I have gained exposure to
varied learning environments across
the grades,” Kathleen reflects. She
also provides private tutoring to
elementary students in all subject
areas.
Ellie Spielberger Wertheim ’89 is a
family law attorney, specializing
in divorce mediation and family
conflict resolution as a partner at
Family Mediation LLP. Ellie, who
received her JD from the University
of Pennsylvania Law School in 1997,
is a certified mediator in New York
City family courts and serves on
the board of the Family and Divorce
Mediation Council of Greater New
York. Ellie and her husband, Jon,
have two children, Benjamin and
Allegra.
1990sNaomi Horowitz Fowler ’90 lives in
New York and has been working
in jewelry manufacturing for EF3
Alliance. Her son, Griffin, will be
starting kindergarten next year.
1. (L—R) Geoff Strawbridge ‘81, Rama Wiener Dunayevich ‘84, Ben Stiller ‘83, Erika Milvy ‘82, Michael McCormick ‘84 and Marco Aurelio ‘80 joined Ben for the movie premiere of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty at the Mill Valley Film Festival. “It was great to meet and catch up and, of course, joke around,” says Rama, who adds, “as you can see, Michael has matured consid-erably since high school…”
2. Marc Mendelson ’87 joined his daughter, Sacha, a new first grader, at Calhoun’s Welcome Back Picnic for Lower School parents.
2
1
3 4
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
CLASS NOTES
Calhoun’s ON-THE-ROAD program has been connecting alums in the biggest cluster areas
outside the New York tristate region for the past three years.
PHILADELPHIA (2011)
LOS ANGELES (2012)
WASHINGTON, DC (2012)
WEST PALM BEACH/BOCA RATON/MIAMI (2013)
Make sure you’re on THE CALHOUN MAP! If the numbers swell,
your city could be the next destination for a CALHOUN ON-THE-ROAD reception
as we continue to grow the alum network!
Email [email protected] whenever you move, and we’ll put you on our GPS!
division, where he prosecuted child-
abuse and neglect cases in Kings
County. He lives in New York with his
wife, Jennifer Napuli Fraidstern, and
two sons, Max and Ben.
Jamie Gerardi ’97 is senior editor
at Weight Watchers, where he has
worked for the past eight years. In
the spring of 2007, he contributed to
the launch of the Weight Watchers
Online for Men subscriber site. He
lives in New York.
Greg Goodman ’98 is currently
starring in a National Geographic
Channel TV show called Get Lost
in Korea, which premiered on
November 23. He still lives in
Thailand with his wife, Carrie Martin,
and travels throughout Asia. The
show is available to view at www.
adventuresofagoodman.com/watch-
get-lost-in-korea-online.
Marina Sapritsky Nahum ’98
is co-founder and the current
Jessica Daniels Schwarz ’95 won a
2013 Emmy award in the category
of Outstanding Casting in a
Comedy Series with NBC’s hit show
30 Rock, where she was a casting
director for three and a half years.
Annie Polyn ’95, a data analysis
manager at Bellevue Hospital, married
Jorge Peña, a New York City architect,
on September 7, 2013, in the “small
cowboy town of Dubois, Wyoming.”
Annie was happy to celebrate her
nuptials with Calhoun friends Nora
Zelevansky ’95 and Devon Roe Whitney
’95, who attended the New York City
bachelorette party, and Tim Hawkey
’94, who attended the wedding.
Dan Fraidstern ’96, is an attorney
with the firm Warren & Warren,
P.C., in Brooklyn, which he joined in
August 2011. Previously, he spent
six years working for the Admin-
istration for Children’s Services
in the family court legal services
1. Erika Nakamura ’99 (right) and her wife, Amelia Posada, run the acclaimed organic butcher shop Lindy & Grundy’s Meats in Los Angeles.
2. Annie Polyn ’95 and Jorge Peña strike a pose at their destination wedding in Dubois, WY.
3. Jessica Daniels Schwarz ’95 with her husband, Jaime, before winning an Emmy for Outstanding Casting in a Comedy Series for NBC’s hit show 30 Rock.
2
3
1
CALHOUN ROAD TRIP!
KEY CODE Over 100 Calhounders on our radar 4–100 Calhounders on our radar
SARAH KRAMER ‘92
Emmy Award Winner Says the Story—Not the Medium— Is the MessageSarah Kramer ’92 remembers when she fell in love with storytelling. “I was 13, at sleep-away camp. I recall pulling my bed near my friends’ [beds] when we were going to sleep, to talk about our days. There would be long, detailed [accounts]. I really fell in love with stories that summer.”
Even so, the road to Sarah’s career wasn’t yet clear. At Middlebury College, she majored in art history and briefly thought she would be a curator. And while that was certainly one way of telling sto-ries, she wasn’t completely satisfied, so she decided to intern at a documentary film company, where she did photo research on historical documenta-ries. Now interested in nonfiction narratives, she went back for a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University, graduating in 2003. Having found her stride, the Calhoun alumna went on to help launch a public-radio project, StoryCorps. As a senior producer and founding staff mem-ber, Sarah had key roles in all of the StoryCorps projects, including weekly national broadcasts, and spent four years as part of a Peabody Award– winning production team.
By 2007, Sarah was at The New York Times, and, recognizing the quickly changing media climate, worked there as an interactive journalist on long-form narratives. Though she didn’t have a tradi-tional print-journalism background, she observes that “content is one thing we’ll always continue to need, regardless of how it’s given out or distributed. The way we’re all digesting content is changing drastically, but the hallmarks of doing deep dives on stories and giving thoughtful analysis remains the same.”
The key is to be able to tell a story, says Sarah, who credits Calhoun for giving her the freedom to be creative, to explore her interests and figure out
how to express herself. “Calhoun really teaches you how to think in your own way—it was there that I had the real beginnings of finding my voice.”
Sarah’s thoughtful work at the Times earned her and her colleagues an Emmy in 2010 for a multimedia project called “One in 8 Million,” a col-lection of stories that portray everyday New York-
ers, and a nomination for their 2011 production, “Coming Out,” a multimedia project highlighting stories of LGBT teenagers around the country. “Coming Out” inspired a tremendous outpouring from teens who submitted testimony via Twitter and other social media outlets. “We had a huge re-sponse—close to 1,000 submissions in just one day. For some kids, it became a mechanism to come out or just be heard.”
Sarah’s work is about uncovering the universal-ity in very different personal experiences, particu-larly from “the unsung people you might not know about.” Her hope is to inform, educate and help others—and herself—to make sense of the world. And she never stops finding new ways to do it. Last summer, after six years at the Times, Sarah left to join up with a colleague at a storytelling startup. Again, the medium is changing. But she hopes her projects will continue to unfold many more stories that just need to be told.
“Calhoun really teaches you how to think in your own way—it was there that I had the real beginnings of finding my voice.”
Profile
3 5
WINTER 2014
CLASS NOTES
director of development for
Migdal International Society, Inc.,
in New York, which focuses on
Jewish community programs. She
previously spent time in London
to pursue a master’s degree from
the London School of Economics,
and, subsequently, a PhD in
anthropology. In 2005, Marina
also traveled to Odessa, Ukraine,
where she then spent several years
living, traveling, and working on her
dissertation.
Erika Nakamura ’99 lives in
Los Angeles and, together with
her wife, Amelia Posada, owns
and operates Lindy & Grundy’s
Meats—a butcher shop focused on
local, sustainable, organic meats.
Their shop practices nose-to-tail
butchering to utilize the whole
animal, and they work with farms
that use natural grass feed without
employing hormones or antibiotics.
Erika attended the French Culinary
Institute after college and, soon
after, began her butcher career
with an apprenticeship at Fleisher’s
Grass-Fed & Organic Meats in
Kingston, NY. Erika and Amelia’s
shop has been featured in the Los
Angeles Times, Bon Appétit, Food &
Wine and The New York Times, and
on NBC, CBS and The Huffington
Post. lindyandgrundy.com
Ilya Sapritsky ’99 lives in New York
where he works in pharmaceuticals,
currently serving as the director
of business development for
Unipharm, Inc. Since last spring,
he has also been serving as vice
president of Sequoia Laboratories.
2000sBart Hale ’00 sailed in the Sunfish
World Championships last October,
held in Lewes, DE. Bart and the
other competitors battled tropical
storm conditions all week, including
squalls, heavy winds and even
3 6
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
CLASS NOTES
a tornado watch, but Calhoun’s
sailor held on for 46th place out
of 75 boats, which has him ranked
number 64 internationally on the
Sunfish boat.
Lisa Horowitz ’00 earned a degree
in sociology from New York
University last spring and is now
working as a certified EMT in
Stratford, CT. From 2006 to 2011,
she was a paramedic in the New
York City Fire Department. Lisa
lives in Connecticut with her dog,
Greysee.
Raul Julia ’01 married Betsy Lippitt
at his family’s home in Hurleyville,
NY, on August 31, 2013. The fellow
actors met in 2009 at the Flea
Theater in Tribeca, where they
both appeared in the play Unum.
According to a New York Times
profile (“Vows,” Sept. 15, 2013), the
couple’s relationship grew when
they were cast together in another
Flea performance, Office Hours.
Classmate David Tunick ’01 was
among those in attendance.
Tamar Sinclair ’01 is dean of
discipline and safety as well as
a ninth grade history teacher at
Edward R. Murrow High School, a
district school in Brooklyn. She
has also taught law electives as
part of College Now, in connection
with Kingsborough Community
College. Tamar, who began her
career in education more than five
years ago, holds an MA in teaching
planning, time management, and
attention/memory for students with
ADHD and learning disabilities, or
emotional issues interfering with
their academics.
Victoria Miller ’04 is assistant editor/
video publishing at About.com in
New York. Since joining in December
2012, she has been managing
freelance producers and work flow
for web video creation, working with
new freelance hires, and overseeing
contractual terms and financial
records. Victoria received an MA in
film theory and production from the
New School in 2010 and has her BA
in English from Wheaton College.
Dan Raskin ’04 transitioned last
September from his sales associate
role at Essential New York Real
Estate to Halstead Property on the
Upper West Side, where he is now
licensed as a real estate sales-
person.
Rosanna Volchok ’04 is currently
pursuing a master’s in public
administration at New York Univer-
sity’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate
School of Public Service, from
which she expects to graduate in
2015. For the past two years, she
has been working as a laboratory
administrator for Rockefeller
University, a center for research
and education in biomedical
sciences.
Nick Kahn ’05 is currently working
as an urban planner for FEMA’s
Hurricane Sandy Community
Recovery Assistance team in
New Jersey. He is managing two
projects in Tuckerton, NJ: One
is the creation of a municipal
economic development strategy,
and the second is a plan to relocate
essential municipal services out of
flood zones. Nick currently lives in
New Brunswick, NJ, where, in his
spare time, he is the social media
coordinator for the University of
of social studies from Teachers
College at Columbia University.
She is also a 2012 graduate of the
Summer Principals Academy at
Teachers College, which prepares
leaders in district and charter
schools.
David Kramer ’02 began pursuing
his MBA part-time at New York
University’s Stern School of
Business while continuing his work
at Morgan Stanley. He is living in
Brooklyn with his girlfriend, Liz.
Jack Hale ’03 married his college
girlfriend, Erin Grattan, this
past July in Rochester, NY, after
nearly 10 years together; the two
started dating in their freshman
year at Colgate University. A
large delegation from Calhoun
was represented, including
groomsmen Andrew Booth ’03,
Tommy Grochal ’03, Darko Latic ’03
and José Ortiz ’03. Also in atten-
dance were Sam Breier ’02,
Gianni Cionchi ’03, Ian Law ’03,
Daniel Winarick ’03 and best man
Bart Hale ’00.
Daniel Winarick ’03 completed his
PhD in clinical psychology from
Adelphi University and has been
providing in-home, psychologically
informed and clinically oriented
tutoring to students from various
private schools in New York
City. His approach has a focus
on building organizational and
executive functioning skills such as
Michigan Alumni Association’s
Northern New Jersey chapter. Nick
got his BA from Macalester in 2009
and his master’s in urban planning
from Michigan in 2011.
Nina Kompanek ’05 hit the stage
in November to play an “old lady”
in Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant,
which ran at The Players Theatre
on MacDougal Street in New
York. Outside of her acting, Nina
has been teaching in the after-
school program at Trevor Day and
substitute-teaching at Calhoun.
Justin Kruger ’05 moved to Cary,
NC, where he took a job in October
as a social media, marketing and
community manager at the video
game development company
Ubisoft. Previously, Justin had
been in New York working as a
social media manager—first for
Global Grind and then for Social
Tree Frog, where he stayed for two
years before his latest move.
Eric Levy ’05 has teamed up
with Andrew Curtis ’06 to start
their own business venture,
YourNeighborhood, an online real
estate social portal that helps
individuals locate and adjust to
a neighborhood that fits their
interests and needs. Andrew is also
working toward a master’s degree
in computer science from City
College. www.yourneighborhood.co
Samara Savino Antolini ’06 is
keeping especially busy these days,
working as an assistant in the
college guidance program at the
Chapin School while also pursuing
her MBA in international business
at St. John’s University, expecting
to graduate in 2015.
Sonia Balaram ’06 married Dr. Saad
Yousuf on January 4 at the Ritz-
Carlton in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Sonia and Saad met in September
2006 as undergraduates at Brown
University. Over the years, their
CALLING ALUMNAE/I PERFORMERS AND WRITERS…
ALUMNAE/I CAFÉ CALHOUNWEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014
The storied tradition of our Upper School talent show, Café
Calhoun, will be re-created this spring as a celebration and showcase of
alumnae/i performers and artists! Details and invitation to come.
Those interested in participating should contact: [email protected].
3 7
WINTER 2014
CLASS NOTES
friendship blossomed until, in May
2013, Saad proposed to Sonia in
Central Park.
Sophie Harris ’06 began a new
job this year at CD Network, a
multi-label showroom, where she
is serving as a fashion executive
assistant. Sophie is also keeping
busy as a freelance photographer.
Katie Schreiber ’06 has returned
to Sarah Lawrence College, where
she earned her BA, to continue
graduate work for an MFA in
creative nonfiction. “I am currently
co-authoring a book about exercise
addiction with a researcher based
in Florida,” Katie notes. “I’m at
work on a future manuscript that
will be my thesis (and hopefully my
second book!)…I also write regularly
for Psychology Standard and
continue to freelance.” As if that’s
not enough, Katie is also planning
a wedding with her fiancé, Sandy
Marks!
Sabrina Spiegel Zurkuhlen ’06
remains a familiar face at Calhoun,
but now in a new role, having
transitioned from part-time coach
and school nurse to a full-time role
as Assistant Athletic Director. This
fall she coached the Girls’ Varsity
Volleyball team to a successful
tournament championship victory—the second in as many years!
Blair Baron ’07 started working
this fall as a first grade teacher at
Harlem Prep Elementary School,
which is part of Democracy Prep
Public Schools—a network of open-
enrollment public charter schools
operating in Harlem and Camden,
NJ. Blair spent her first two years
after graduating from Vassar
College as a high school social
studies teacher in Plymouth, NC,
working under the auspices of Teach
for America.
Javier Bautista ’07, who holds a BA
in political science and government
from Yale University, began working
for the nonprofit organization Trans-
portation Alternatives last summer.
He serves as the community
affairs coordinator, advocating for
alternatives to driving cars on city
streets—including options such as
riding bicycles, taking public trans-
portation and walking.
Wade Brill ’07 has transitioned from
Argentina to Seattle, where she is
working as a certified life-purpose
coach. On the side, Wade also
teaches Pilates and meditation.
Caroline Castro ’07 took a new job
in New York last May as a brand
licensing analyst in sales research
at Ziff Davis, Inc. The digital
media company, which specializes
in technology, gaming and men’s
lifestyle industries, receives more
than 100 million unique visitors
each month.
Alex Gumpel ’07 continues taking his
passion for hiking to “new heights”:
Earlier this year he climbed to
the summit of Mount Shuksan in
1. Bart Hale ’00 placed 46th in the Sunfish World Championships in Lewes, DE, last fall and is currently ranked number 64 on the single-handed boat.
2. Barry Weinstein ’09 launched his own company, Pillowcase Studies, while enrolled at American University’s Kogod School of Business.
3. Jack Hale ’03 married Erin Grattan at a ceremony in Rochester, NY, last summer.
4. Calhounders did some “heavy lifting” as groomsmen at the wedding of Ian Law ’03 to Angela Sbiliris this fall. (L—R) Andrew Booth ’03, Tommy Grochal ’03, Gianni Cionchi ’03, Roberto Soto-Carrion ’03 and Ian.
5. Sonia Balaram ’06 and Saad Yousuf were married this January in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
6. Andrew Curtis ’06 and Eric Levy ’05 are business partners in the real estate venture YourNeighborhood.
2 31
65
4
Washington State, just south of the
Canadian border. More recently,
Alex hiked the highest peak in the
northeastern United States, Mount
Washington in New Hampshire,
which stands at 6,288 feet. When
he’s not summitting, Alex puts his
climbing expertise to good use,
working for Patagonia’s store in
downtown Manhattan.
Sam Schreck ’07 has touched
down in Beijing, China, where he is
interning with the operations and
development team for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.
He is also serving as a teaching
fellow at China Foreign Affairs
University. Sam is a consultant for
Booz Allen in Washington, DC, but is
currently on a leave of absence.
Shelby Wong ’07 is pursuing an
MFA in acting at The Actors Studio
Drama School at Pace University.
She expects to graduate in 2016.
Meanwhile, she continues working
at Jujamcyn Theaters.
Eve Blazo ’08 graduated from
Brown University in 2012 with a
concentration in modern culture
and media, before returning to
New York to work in the fields of
fashion and media. She has held
Sam Nagourney ’05 spent this fall immersed in New York’s political landscape, where he helped manage two successful bids for city office. Following a triumphant primary win as deputy campaign manager on Upper West Side Councilmember Gale Brewer’s race for Manhattan borough president, Sam was hired as deputy finance director for Bill de Blasio’s mayoral campaign. A graduate of Bates College with a BA in political science and sociology, Sam paused recently to reflect on his busy campaign season.What were the most challenging and rewarding aspects in your campaign roles for Gale Brewer and Bill de Blasio?
I enjoy taking on a high level of responsibility and thrive in high-pressure situations, so the fundraising side has been a natural draw for me. For Brewer’s race, the most challenging parts were fighting political insiders’ perceptions and keeping the team’s spirits up. Gale entered the race extremely late—only six months before the primary, compared with
her opponents, who had been campaigning for two years. When we entered the race, every insider said it was too late. The majority of local Democratic clubs and Manhattan electeds endorsed our opponents. I’ll never forget sitting with my campaign team as it became clear not just that we had won, but that we had come from behind to win handily. I came to de Blasio’s race after Gale’s primary win to help finish out his fundraising. I joined an amazing team, and we had to put the pedal to the metal to raise $6 million in five weeks. We would often have four fundraising events a day, traversing from Tribeca to Little Neck, Queens, in a matter of hours. The pace was consistent and thrilling. We were often up at 6am and in bed at midnight. There isn’t a moment of boredom on competitive campaigns. And of course, the most rewarding thing about both was winning, and winning convincingly.
What types of campaign finance reform, if any, do you think are needed most today?
Campaign finance reform is critical to reduce the influence of money and big business in government. New York City has made great strides by offering a public funds program. City residents who contribute up to $175 have their donations matched six times by the city. Combined with
the limit on individual contributions, the matching program truly allows any donor to be nearly as important as the wealthiest. We still have a lot of work to do. In an ideal world, campaigns would be supported entirely by public funds, thus reducing the need for candidates to fundraise and allowing them to spend more time working on the issues. Did Calhoun inspire or support your interest in politics?
While I’d always been interested in government, my first true experi-ence was as student body president during my senior year at Calhoun. My biggest political misstep occurred during the annual Secret Santa gift exchange. I mistakenly assumed the entire school wanted to par-ticipate rather than asking people to opt in. On gift-giving day, more than a dozen kids didn’t get anything. But, luckily, with John Roeder’s
great guidance, we were able to make sure everyone got a present. It’s moments like those that quickly develop one’s political instincts. The person at Calhoun who most inspired me [was] English teacher Phil Tedeschi. From him, I learned essential skills like attention to detail; he played a large role in forming my work ethic. Perhaps most important, Phil taught me the basics of writing. His instruction led me to the editor-in-chief role for The Issue, and his guidance as an advisor helped me succeed. The lessons I learned from Phil both in and out of the classroom prepared me for my career and are still top of mind in my day-to-day political job.Where do you hope to go from here?
I’m not sure what’s next. The campaign trail is certainly addictive. I’d be happy to join the mayor-elect’s administration and help him push his agenda, and I’d be happy helping more great candidates get elected. We’ll just have to see.
Profile3 8 CLASS NOTES
SAM NAGOURNEY ‘05
Campaign Guru for de Blasio and Brewer
“The person at Calhoun who most inspired me [was] English teacher Phil Tedeschi… the lessons I learned from Phil both in and out of the classroom prepared me for my career and are still top of mind in my day-to-day political job.”
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
Sam Nagourney ’05 (center) with NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray.
3 9
WINTER 2014
CLASS NOTES
assistant, and says she is consid-
ering a major in biology.
Zuri Pavlin ’12 joined classmates
Max Lemper-Tabatsky ’12 and
Alex Tritto ’12 at Connecticut
College this year, where he enrolled
following a postgraduate year at
Brewster Academy. Zuri is playing
on Connecticut College’s varsity
basketball team.
spring and spent the summer
working as an administrative
coordinator for Partners HealthCare
in Boston. In November, she headed
off to Hawaii, where she volunteers
for World Wide Opportunities on
Organic Farms (WWOOF) on two
different organic farms to continue
learning about sustainable living
and farming.
Marcy Isaacson ’09 completed her
BA in American studies at Dickinson
College, which included a junior year
study-abroad experience in Bologna,
Italy. She is now back in New York.
where, in August, she began as an
administrative and event assistant
in the Mayor’s Office of Special
Projects and Community Events.
Albert Namnum ’09 caught up
with classmates at the annual
Alumnae/i Pub Night in November.
He graduated from the University
of Virginia last spring with a BA in
economics and government, after
having transferred from Wake
Forest, and is currently living in
Washington, DC, where he works for
Capital One.
Amanda Nason ’09 is working as a
marketing consultant at LocalVox in
New York, having earned a degree
in psychology at the University of
Delaware earlier this year. In her
position, she researches prospective
clients and offers online marketing
solutions for small and medium-size
local businesses.
Barry Weinstein ’09, who went to
American University’s Kogod School
of Business after Calhoun, spent a
year abroad at the London School
of Economics before launching
his own entrepreneurial initiative
in 2011, Pillowcase Studies, which
designs pillowcases inscribed
with text on a range of subjects.
The idea, he explains, is to make
studying comfortable, fun and a
more natural part of the day. He
3 9
WINTER 2014
positions at Vogue and Style.com,
and freelances as a fashion stylist
and writer.
Alexandra Koutsomitis ’08
participated in Calhoun’s Holiday
Craft Fair this year, showing her
beautifully designed silk scarves,
which she sells through her own
accessories company, Alexa Sofia.
All of her products are based on
her original artwork. The company,
which Alexandra launched in
September 2013, specializes in
“playful creations, bridging the gap
between fine art and fashion,” says
Alexandra. “Each design conveys
the intricate details and the unique
qualities of the materials that were
used in my original artwork.” Find
her designs at www.alexasofia.com
Gaia Rikhye ’08, who has shifted her
career from the arts to the beverage
business, is working in wine sales
while also going for an MA in
wine studies at the Wine & Spirit
Education Trust and the Institute
of Masters of Wine. “I had wine
experience from having worked at
an auction house out of college,”
says Gaia. She was working at
Sherry-Lehmann in corporate sales
before moving to New Zealand,
where she spent time in viticulture
with a few vineyards and wineries.
“I plan to return for the harvest
next year,” she says. In addition to
her time back at school, Gaia now
acquires, selects and buys wines for
Vitis, which has a retail shop and an
Internet-based company.
Skylar Sasson ’08, who had been
working in admissions at Avenues:
The World School, is now working
as a professional development
assistant coordinator at the law
firm Paul, Weiss. She says she’s
“weighing my options” as to
whether law school is in her future.
Terry Horowitz ’09 earned a BS in
biology from Bates College last
envisions possible expansion to
printing study notes on bed sheets
and other items such as plates.
www.pillowcasestudies.com
2010sRebecca Lansbury ’12, who is a
sophomore at Bard College, volun-
teers as a peer health educator on
campus. She is also working as a lab
CLASS NOTES
ALUMS PROVE THEIR METTLE—NO MATTER THE TEAM!
The ninth annual Alumni-Faculty Game was an instant classic!
The faculty team defeated the alumni squad 59–55, exacting
revenge for last year’s close-fought loss while taking the
all-time series lead, 5–4.
Some would protest, however, that the Calhoun graduates were
the real winners in this contest, as the core of the faculty team
was actually made up of alums wearing their “staff” hats: Casey
Shane ’06 and Richard Lin ’97, who coach various teams at
Calhoun, played key roles in the faculty win, and Upper School
English teacher Bobby Rue ’85 calmly sank a pair of free
throws late in the contest to clinch the victory for the faculty. If
not for these former varsity players switching sides, the faculty
team would have had an even worse chance at winning than
the Generals do when they play the Harlem Globetrotters!
GO, COUGARS!
(Above) Playing for the alum team, Tim Gruber ’13 (center) sets a pick for
Desi McGrath ’12 (right).
4 0
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
EVENTS
4
THE CALHOUN CHRONICLE
Seventh Annual Alum Pub NightCalhoun’s seventh annual Alum Pub Night kicked off the holiday season
in late November with a spirited celebration. Held again this year at
Legends Bar in midtown Manhattan, the gathering boasted a terrific
mix of graduates spanning 30 years. It was especially great to see
the number of grads from the early ‘80s, who used the occasion for a
“mini-reunion,” and more recent alums from the 00’s, who are already
starting to approach significant reunion anniversaries!
1. (L—R) Stephen Cadwalader ’79, Andrea Newhouse Moynier ’83, Tracy Cohen ‘83, Anthony Coleman ’82, Kriss Roebling ‘83, Amanda Naughton ’83
2. (L—R) US biology teacher Francesco Filiaci, Emily Kaiser ‘05, Jen Lewis ’05 and Max Marcus ‘05
3. (L—R) Rico Bautista ‘07, Mirella Brussani ’07, Ally Kotowski ’07 and Jessica Neufeld ‘07
4. (L—R) Samara Savino Antolini ‘06, Alex Gelband ’05 and Sophie Harris ‘06
3
2
4
5 6
NOVEMBER 26, 2013
1
5. Chris Foster ’95 with US science teacher John Roeder
6. (L—R) Amanda Nason ’09, Amalia Safran ’09, Xander Green ‘09, Marcy Isaacson ’09 and Jack Asimov ‘09
4 1
WINTER 2014
EVENTS
1. (L—R) Carner Round ’13 and Lizzy Indek ’13
2. (L—R) Lily McMillan ’13, Hannah Klingenstein ’13 and Jana Gharzeddine ’13
3. (L—R) Michael Luzmore ’13, US art teacher Gary Cohen and Stephen Mondesir ’13
4. (L—R) Alex Tritto ’12, Zach Taylor ’12 and US English teacher Ellen Kwon
5. (L—R) Max Lemper-Tabatsky ’12, Jake Wegweiser ’13 and Benny Tuchman ’12
6. James Basuk ’13 and US Spanish teacher Hernán Ortiz
Holiday Homecoming Luncheon Just before winter break, Calhoun welcomed back nearly 40 alums who
had an opportunity to reconnect with classmates and visit with their
former teachers. The homecoming event kicked off with the traditional
12 Days of Christmas celebration, followed by a full spread of Chef
Bobo’s food and a pick-up basketball game in the gym. It was great
catching up!
1
5
3
4
DECEMBER 20, 2013
2
WINTWINTWIWIWIWWWWWININTTWIWIWI TWIWIWIWINTNTWWWIW TTWII TER 2EER 2ER ER R 2222222E 2E 22222201400140100114444440140144001401400 4440140001014144440011444
Hannah Klingenstein ’13 and Jana Gharzeddine ’13
3. (L—R) Michael Luzmore ’13,US art teacher Gary Cohen andStephen Mondesir ’13
4. (L—R) Alex Tritto ’12,Zach Taylor ’12 and US English teacher Ellen Kwon
6. James Basuk ’13 and US Spanishteacher Hernán Ortiz
6
MORE PHOTOS AT www.calhoun.org/alumevents