Parents’ PostA Newsletter for Parents and Friends of The Thacher School Year-End 2000

Dear Parents, Grandparents,and Friends:

This final Post of the year is born during that

strangely disquieting (if quiet) interstice between

the boisterous, celebratory end of our year and the

productive buzz of Thacher’s Teach The Teachers

summer program. Classrooms are empty, star-

tlingly neat and orderly; tennis courts and sports

fields are green blanks; the Pergola is vacant, the

wooden Toadstools near it cleared of bowls of gra-

ham crackers and milk cartons. But it’s only mo-

mentary, a still prelude to certain ensuing activity.

This final issue, then, toasts that activity, which is,

after all, the very life of the School. That the pri-

mary element of it is now in your homes means

that what follows can serve as a prompt: Be sure to

prod your daughter or son for more details of our

last few weeks as the 111th Thacher School.

ON THEIR WAY……in the College Board’s annual National MeritScholarship Program are no fewer than seventeenjuniors named in a letter received by Head ofSchool Michael Mulligan. Noted for their “out-standing academic potential” were the following,whose names were read at an Assembly in May:Dave Babbott, Chris Bonewitz, Jennifer Bowie, MaryAnn Bronson, Canyon Cody, Matt Cohen, PeterFrykman, Katie Harmon, Emmett Hopkins, ErinJohnson, Brian Kelly, Caitlin Mulholland, SmithaReddy, Kevin Schmidt,Anthea Tjuanakis, MeredithWalker, and Emma White.

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FOR THE HUNDREDTH TIME…Thacher students and faculty once again pitched in full force ascourt managers, security, press helpers, cleaning crew and—themost visible and acclaimed role—ball boys and ball girls—in the100th Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. Founded by our founder’sbrother, William Larned Thacher, the four-day OVTT is the oldestand largest (1600 entrants) amateur tourney in the country, “a riteof passage for anyone playing tennis in Southern California,” ac-cording to former participant, Billy Jean King. Winning Chief Or-ganizer Chris Mazzola’s award for being the “Most Cheerful underthe Most Tedious and Adverse Conditions” were Joy Bergeron, GavinMcClintock, Betsy Bradford, and Canyon Cody, each of whom tooka shift at punching security gate numbers at a distant outpost in theValley. In addition to all those helping to keep the event afloat,Thacher brought four players to the nets: Tim Stenovec in CIF sin-gles, Troy Pollet in the 14-and-Unders, and Andrew DeYoung andDave Babbott in CIF doubles. Pictured here, some of the ballpersonson popsicle break.

CALL OFTHE WILDBy all kinds of self-propul-sion—hiking, paddling, rid-ing—Thacher student andfaculty campers fanned out toseveral wilderness areas dur-ing this spring’s Extra DayTrips: to the Los Padres (in-cluding stops at favorite andlong-established Thachercamps on the Sespe River), theColorado River, the High andLow Sierra (see photo, nextcolumn, for proof of igloo-

building in May—by Tessa Enright, Laurel Hastings, Emmett Hop-kins, and others on their backpacking trip), the Sisquoc, and even, forone fortunate group, the Navajo Reservation of Arizona and NewMexico, where, as guests of the Alex and Cooke families, they partookin a ritual slaughter and butchering of a sheep. 100-plus tempera-tures in some places, star-filled skies at night for everyone, strategi-cally located natural pools for swimming in (horses, too, of course),

some high winds and steep trails, a snake or two (Bobby Kellogg andJamie Everett said the rattler they kill’d, skin’d, and et tasted, well, alot like chicken), a few notched knees (human and equine) and a bitof sunburn planted the kind of memories that only grow betterand riper with each telling—and that make reunions down the roadeven more fun for all those peculiarly Thacheresque remember-the-times.

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SHORTTAKESWhen pushcame to shove(actually, itnever got thatp h y s i c a l ) ,Dave Babbottedged outBetsy Brad-ford in thisspring’s Geog-raphy Bee. Or-chestrated and run by Clay Pell, the competition drew a big crowd toRoom 14, where we all learned a great deal about this wide world ofours.e A busload of Cate juniors dieseled onto campus mid-spring to join Thacher juniors for the annual College Fair, a day ofreviewing mock admission folders with selected deans of admissionfrom colleges and universities across the country, including Amer-ican University, Boston University, Barnard, Cornell, Bryn Mawr,Carleton, Columbia, Reed, University of Chicago, USC, Pitzer, Oc-cidental, Mills, Macalester, Harvey Mudd, and Williams.e Bigthanks to Elaine Elliott (Alison Flynn’s mom) for the several bags ofgames for Open House. From one end of the house to the other,they’ve been put to immediate and sometimes fiercely competitiveuse! e Director of the Horse Program Cam Schryver an-nounced recently that, in recognition of her extra effort, energy, andindefatigable behind-the-scenes contributions to the Horse Pro-gram, Sara Thacher could wear the esteemed perpetual ShaktaBearstep Silver Buckle. This is an occasional award, one given in onlyunusually compelling circumstances—the sort that seem to happenwhenever Sara’s around. e As featured artist with the localOjai Camerata (the Valley’s premier select vocal ensemble) in theirspring concert, senior coloratura Marisa Binder sang the sopranosolo of Rutter’s Magnificat to the thrill of two weekendaudiences. e The Ojai Rotary Club just named lacrosse andsoccer player Annie Nyborg(pictured here with her fa-ther, Neils during GymkhanaFamily Weekend) as its MayAthlete of the Month, citingher “legacy of leadership andaccomplishment.” eNews came from the VenturaCounty Star last month thatfour members of TheThacher Notes staff had beenhonored for design and writ-ing: Co-editors Clay Pell and Marisa Binder, Marley Orr for a sportsfeature, and Emmett Hopkins (twice) for news writing. Beaming inthe wings when the announcement was made were proud faculty ad-visors to that publication: Elizabeth Bowman and Bert Mahoney.eTaking first place in both the Speed Chess and the Untimed ChessTournaments was senior (and president of the club) Paul Bonewitz.Giving him a run for his money in those two events were WillChamberlain and Heidi Cole.e

The stunning Advanced Place-ment Studio Art Calendar manyof you saw (and purchased) atGymkhana Family Weekendwas, it turns out, a big seller. Noreal surprise there, given thequality of the works by MeganWinecoff, Sara Thacher, AllegraTowns, Hannah Hooper, CelesteThomas, Carissa Ridegway, TaraDesjardins, and Anthea Tjua-nakis. All profits, the artists de-cided, would go towards pur-chasing art supplies for studentsin local public elementaryschools, an on-going project near and dear to the hearts of theseyoung women.e Bobby Kellogg and Ronald Wu have earnedsufficient stripes out at the stables, on trails and on the gymkhana

field to be elected to PTS—the ThacherPack and Spur Club.e Elected tothe Ventura County Athletes’ Hall ofFame for the year 2000 were CherylLynn Horton (volleyball, basketball,lacrosse, and pictured here hoisting thefifth-in-a-row State Lacrosse Champi-onship tro-phy) andA n w a rW h i t e(basketball,tennis, here

with his coach, A-J Goldman). eWe didn’t have to wait for summer forthe arrival of the first of The Four Ba-bies to arrive: born to Phoebe and MarkLarson on the first of June was GordonFairburn Larson, weighing in at 6 lb.,11 oz. Next up: Chris and Rich Mazzola in late July, followed by theDelVecchios mid-August, and finally, in September, the Mahoneys,first-timers to the whole shenanigans. e A classic: a mathe-matical scavenger hunt created this spring by A-J Goldman (Math-ematics), offered a final clue that read, “The Fibonacci sequenceand the Thacher School.” It was senior Kirby Williams who figuredout that the clue would lead to some public version of The Cham-bered Nautilus—the Oliver Wendell Holmes poem read by the Headof School at the first Assembly of the year. (The nautilus, in fact, isa perfect example of the Fibonacci sequence in nature—a list ofnumbers in which you add the previous two numbers in order to getto the next number, e.g., 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc. The chambers ofthe nautilus increase in size in exactly this proportion.) As the cleverKirby deduced, the winning envelope was taped behind the pictureof the nautilus in the Library. e This spring, three seniorsmade one a last attempt at Silver Dollar fame and glory. WayneChang, Clay Pell, and Nate Faggioli saddled up, mounted, and rodeout to the Gymkhana Field where, in the presence of Jack Huyler,Emeritus Director of the Horse Program and staunch guardian ofThacher tradition and lore, each successfully reached for the shiningcoin and scooped it up.

THE GREATOUTDOORS……was the setting allspring long for the Ad-vanced Climbers:Brooke Halsey, NateFaggioli, Addie Hearst(all three “stand-outsin the Program,” ac-cording to their leader,Brian Pidduck), EllaGoodbrod, CarissaRidgeway, Fritz Rice,

Kevin Schmidt (named Most Improved ), Carlos Soriano, and An-drew Warren—students who have al-ready learned the fundamental skillsand techniques and who want todelve more deeply into the intrica-cies of rock climbing. “It’s a sort ofapprenticeship in alpinism,” ex-plained Mr. Pidduck, “ as we exam-ine the psychological and physiolog-ical aspects of climbingperformance, and then put theminto practice.” Other areas of inquiryand hands-on (and feet-on) exami-nation: anchor systems, lead climb-ing, basic mountain rescue. Thegroup ventured to world-classclimbing areas in Yosemite Valley,Joshua Tree, the Needles and theEastern Slope of the Sierra Nevada.

ALSO OUT THERE……were the hardy kayakers who, under the guidance of Jamie Dial,practiced enough Eskimo rolls (50 consecutive does the trick) toqualify them for waterways as close as the Pacific at Ventura and asdistant as the Kern River. Pictured here, the wet set: Laura Slattery,Alden Blair, Lauren Fraim, Peter Warman, Julien Rhodes, Mr. Dial(standing), Carina Fisher, Heidi Cole, and Tessa Enright.

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THE GAVEL PASSESKristin Berona, School Chair for this past academic year, announcedat Assembly to loud and supportive cheers that Caitlin Mulholland(pictured here with Kristin and Mr. Mulligan at the All-School Ban-quet) would don the mantle of leadership for the year 2000-01.Caitlin’s worthy opponents in the finalist race were Chris Brown andEmily Dachs.

SPRING SPORTS

TRACK

Coaches: Derick Perry, Kurt Meyer, Sarah DelVecchio

Captains: Todd Meyer, Eric Reeser, Justin Hilton, Juliette White

The core of this team, formed by athletes who’d run for three years,“made it possible to train and compete more intensely than in recenthistory,” reported Coach Perry. “Each captain contributed to thefeeling of camaraderie and competitiveness”—and helped to in-spire the kind of sportsmanship that resulted in their being awardeda Tony Dunn. The boys’ 4 X 400m relay—Justin Hilton, KirbyWilliams, Bo Eison, and Eric “Like-a-coyote-on-a-kitten”* Reeser—established a new school record in that event, while Logan Clarkblasted through school records in both the 1600m and the 3200m,and finished second in CIF Division IV championships in the3200m. No surprise that she won Most Valuable Runner, nor that shewon MVP of the League Meet, as well. There, Allegra Towns (pic-tured here hurdling with her sister, Zoë) took the 300 IntermediateHurdles and Deloria Many Grey Horses Lane the 800m. Most Im-proved were JustinArnold and ZoëTowns. “I can’t sayenough about thededication andcommitment ofthese runners,”concluded Perry.“The future looksbright with com-petitors such asthese, as well as

Year-End 2000 :: 5

Canyon Cody and GavinMcClintock,” pictured herewith Chris Brown hard onhis heels.

*The words of Coach DelVec-chio, describing how Eric ap-peared as he zoomed up onthe Cate runner ahead of himin the final leg of the relay.

VARSITY BOYS’ TENNIS

Coach: A-J Goldman

Captain: Anwar White

“What a year!” was just about all Coach Goldman could utter at theend of this banner season, in which his team hammered its way to an11-1 League record, to a 15-3 season record, to the CIF quarterfi-nals—and on the way, won a Tony Dunn award for their fine sports-manship both on and off the courts. The boys dedicated their seasonto the memory of Frederick Stymetz Lamb, CdeP ’40, faculty mem-ber and coach of many victorious Thacher tennis teams during hisdecades of service to the School and to tennis in the Ojai Valley. Withseniors Anwar White, Clay Pell, and Paul Bonewitz setting the toneand example of excellence, the rest couldn’t help but follow. The end-of-season play involved handing Cate a defeat in the two schools’final 13-5 match. Two increasingly formidable players won MostValuable and Most Improved: Dave Babbott and Nick Horton, re-spectively. And with only three seniors leaving the ranks, there’sclearly much to look forward to in the years immediately ahead.

JV BOYS’ TENNIS

Coach: David Johnston

Captain: Peter Hartnack

Another Tony Dunn winner, this team played “with willingness anda great sense of perspective,” according to their coach. Emmett Hop-kins—“our most consistent winner when teamed with Andrew Poolein doubles”—proved a force to contend with, as did Tyler Mansonwhen he put his killer serve to work against the opposition. Otherteam members included Lee Wittlinger, Brian Kelly, Dan Moore,Max Leeds, Andrew Ma, and David Gal.

BASEBALL

Coaches: Rich Mazzola, Robert Torres

Captains: Matt Cohen, Matty Wilson

With an early-in-the-season charge led by Matty Wilson, who hadthree home runs and two wins on the pitcher’s mound during thefirst four games, this team marched undaunted and headlong togreat achievement this spring. Alfred English had his days in the sun,too, both behind the plate (where he’d never played before) and onthe mound, where, in one game, he struck out fifteen players in afive-inning 11-1 win over OVS. According to Coach Mazzola, “Theregular season highlight came with a barn-burner, 10-9 victory overCate that included a two-run triple by Michael Back, a suicidesqueeze bunt by Matty, and Alfred’s relieving Matty to pitch the lasttwo innings.” Post-season play extended all the way to the CIF quar-

terfinals. Named Most Improved was first-timer Matt Spille; MostValuable, Matty Wilson. “Each and every player contributed to theseason’s success,” continued Mazzola.“With only one senior gradu-ating, we can hardly wait ’til next spring!”

VARSITY GIRLS’ LACROSSE

Coaches: Greg Courter, Mary Everett, CdeP ’94

Captains: Cheryl Lynn Horton, Annie Nyborg

Winner of the State Championship title for the fifth consecutive year,this team demonstrated “some of the best defense a Thacher teamhas ever played” reported Coach Courter. They gave up an averageof only four goals per game while scoring an average of 13 per con-test—the underpinnings of their juggernaut repeat sweep of theCondor League, 9-0. Erin Hafkenschiel,Anthea Tjuanakis, MeredithFlannery, Brooke Toeller, and Ellie Fletcher were the core of thatfearsome defensive unit, playing aggressively and cohesively. Lead-ing the offensive charge (over and over) were seniors Cheryl LynnHorton (69 goals, 15 assists), Besse Gardner (39 goals, 27 assists), andAnnie Nyborg (43 goals, 25 assists), while at midfield, Andrea Black,Liz Sanseau, and Sarah Morrow provided speed and excitement inthe transition game. At the State Championships, held at Thacherthis year, two of ours were named Most Valuable: Cheryl Lynn as theOffensive MVP, and goalie Caitlin Mulholland as Defensive MVP.

JV GIRLS’ LACROSSE

Coach: Diana Garcia, CdeP ’95

Captains: Felicity Howe, Kristin Berona

Despite the relative inexperience of this team, its roster was filledwith determined, gutsy players, from the four seniors (Felicity,Kristin, Lacey Gordon, and Erin Blankenship—who collectively wonMost Valuable Players) straight on down through the ranks of jun-iors and sophomores. Quoth Coach Garcia,“I was very impressed bythe girls’ ability to overcome their uncertainties about this sport, es-pecially in clinch moments against more experienced teams.” Thesquad improved dramatically during their weeks together, though,ultimately beating teams they’d lost to earlier in the season. Leadingscorers were Erin and Felicity, while Most Improved were Bea Staley,Charlotte Lord (also most assists), and Stephanie Hubbard. “Wecould not have had such a great season without the tenacity, enthu-siasm and versatility of all the players, especially of our goalies, Es-ther Guzman and Kindra Clemence.”

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Dear Parents,

Like us, you are probably amazed at how quickly the school year flew by! 1999-2000 was

especially exciting and bittersweet for us as we had both a graduating senior and a freshman.

It seems as though we were just yesterday greeting students and their families in the warmth

of September—and now the ebullient class of 2000 has graduated, each with plans that take

him or her to far corners of the world.

It has been truly enriching to serve as co-presidents of the Thacher Parents Association. The

enthusiasm and commitment from the parent volunteers, faculty, administration, staff, stu-

dents, and Board of Trustees has been phenomenal to experience first-hand. We so enjoyed

getting to know and work alongside so many of you. Here, in our final letter of the year, we

would like to give grateful acknowledgment to the outstanding committee chairs who gener-

ously gave hours of their time and energy with unfailing good cheer. You made it so much

fun! Newlin and Liz Hastings (Family Weekend Barbecues), Kathy Back and Lisa Grant

(Thacher Gear Sales), Diane and Bill Horton (Parent’s Annual Fund Drive), Elizabeth Hef-

felfinger (Library), Joan Arnold (Grandparents’ Days), Betsy Grether and Nina

Toumanoff (Parent Auction), Pam Schuman (Faculty Appreciation Day), Margo Bar-

bakow and Lynn Braitman (Grad Night). Your organization and enlightened leadership,

along with your stalwart, energetic teams of volunteers, made for a great year.

Thank you to each and every one of you who helped out with the myriad Parents Association

activities this year. From hosting sports teams for meals at your homes, to taking birthday

cakes to the dorms, to donating games to Open House, you have given so freely and support

the School so completely. It is clear that Thacher has

not only great students, but great parents as well. It

was a pleasure working with you all and we hope

you had as much fun as we did. We congratulate

Betsy and John Grether as they take over the Par-

ents Association reins, and we wish you an adven-

turous and languid summer, each in good measure!

Warm Regards,

Jennifer and Rick Ridgeway

(Carissa ’00, Cameron ’03)

THE THACHER SCHOOL

PARENTS ASSOCIATION

5025 THACHER ROAD • OJAI, CALIFORNIA 93023-9001 • (805) 646-4377 • FAX (805) 640-1033

have been intertwined here to such an extent that I feel it’s fitting thatI take the advice that my beloved father gave to me all those years agoand pass it along to you now…It is really all you need to know.” (Pic-tured here, Wayne Chang giving a reading.) And so the end begins.Final exams follow apace, then the All-School Banquet, the final timefor this year that the community as we know it (see ToadTalk, page15, for Bo Manson’s view of this phenomenon) is gathered in oneplace. There, we honor and cheer various individual accomplish-ments, hear the School Chair’s parting words, and say our good-byesto freshmen and sophomores, who leave the next morning in loadedcars or vans or busses to the airport. In that last dusk together,under the still pepper trees of the Pergola, we hear the names ofthose whose work and achievement have earned them academiccommendations, or of those who have distinguished themselves inother areas central to Thacher’s mission: the horse, outdoor andcamping programs, and community service.

Year-End 2000 :: 7

FAREWELL, NOT GOODBYE……to those faculty and staff members who are moving back to or to-wards new personal adventures or professional endeavors:

• Catherine Jappe, who slid gracefully and ably behind the StudySkills desk when Wendy McCobb moved on this year;

• Bobby Acquistapace, CdeP ’95, who pitched in cheerfully and ca-pably in the stable area, gymkhana field and trails winding over theRidge and into the Sespe;

• Richard Heller, who returns to his horse ranching full-time after hisyear with us in the Math classroom;

• Andrew Ho, physics, who knocked our collective socks off with hisclassroom, sports field, ballroom, and podium knowledge andelan;

• Bill Vickery, whose service as Athletic Director and Condor Leaguecoordinator set a new standard for commitment and excellence andwhose eye for detail is unequaled;

• Cecilia Ortiz, who, with her husband David and daughters Eveand Hannah, will spend her sabbatical year in Spain.

A WAY OF ENDINGSleeping bags are aired andput away, the last soot isscrubbed from the camp pots,then books and binders arestacked and ordered, somestudying resumes, formaldinner and then…the dustywalk up to the Memorial Per-gola and Outdoor Chapel,where, annually, we stand tohear the Head of School in-tone the names of thoseThacher men who gave theirlives in various wars. Fromthere, to Senior Vesperswhere, this year, Dean of Stu-dents Chris Mazzola (chosenby the seniors to be theirspeaker) ruminated on somewisdom first handed to heryears ago by her father in a

small frame: a copy of the words of 18th century English essayist,poet, and statesman Joseph Addison. On this paper were what hecalled “the three great essentials to happiness in life: something to do,something to love, something to hope for.” She concluded,“Our lives

“As you fly into summer with

open arms, remember the

balance between flaws and

perfection. And when you

come back next fall, though

you may strive for perfection,

remember to appreciate the

imperfections in any endeavor.

You can escape that glass

bottle of your ego; you can

escape into the forests, no

matter where you are.”

Kristin Berona,School Chair, 1999-2000

Big GymFamily W

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The weather for Big Gymkhana this yearwas Goldilocks-right: not too hot, nottoo cold, not too sunny, not too cloudy—making the riding, spectating, timing,and cheering out at the field a particularpleasure for the crowd of young, mid-dle-aged, and older folks involved.Hurry-scurrying, rescuing, jumping,ring-spearing, galloping, galloping, gal-loping: with the practice of severalWednesdays under their belts (or, in thecase of upperclassmen, of several years),no race was too daunting for this gang ofgung-ho riders. When the last handfulof dirt flew into the air after the SilverDollar Pick-Up, it was the Green Teamthat had prevailed, under the captaincy ofLucinda Brown and Darren Bechtel, rak-ing in a total of 6433 points for the sea-son. Orange (led by Wallis Adams andSara Thacher) finished with 5385, andBlue (under the guidance of Christy Ac-quistapace and Alex Herbert) with 5180.

After everyone had cleaned up some,Cam Schryver and other members of theHorse Department distributed the rib-bons and other hardware in a ceremonyheld at the Wadsworth Gymnasium: toRonald Wu and Christy Acquistapace, thecoveted silver-studded perpetual bridlesfor Best All-Around Horsemanship inthe sophomore or junior class; to Kather-ine Bechtel, the Top Freshman RiderBuckle and the Top English Rider Buckle

TOP TEN FRESHMEN

Katherine BechtelLuke MyersOwili EisonPhoebe BarkanTyler CaldwellTroy PolletChance PhelpsPhoebe HalseyJonathan Walsh-WilsonJacey Roche

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mkhanaWeekend

Winter 2000 :: 9

(she’ll just have to alternate days, weguess). To big brother Darren Bechtelwent the Overall High Point and theOverall Day High Point Buckles.

Non-stop events elsewhere on campus:on the Twin Peaks Trap Range, Riley,CdeP ’70, and Darren Bechtel outshotthe competition to win the Parent-Stu-dent Trap Shoot; on the tennis courts,for the second year running, it was Dou-bles Trouble Babbott/Babbott (David andDave) victorious; in the Lamb Audito-rium, song, dance, and drama lit up thestage; at the Outdoor Chapel, moun-taineer, entrepreneur, and Thacher dadRick Ridgeway spoke to the appreciativecrowd. And the place of happy conver-gence on Saturday evening, the gym,where yet another artfully crafted andhighly successful Parents’ Auction—thanks to the year-long efforts of Auc-tion Chairs Nina Toumanoff and BetsyGrether—brought the generosity ofdonors together with the generosity ofbidders to create a whopping $75,000which, combined with other donationsto the Parents’ Fund, support various as-pects of the School’s programs. The cre-ativity, purpose, and munificence of lit-erally hundreds of people made thewhole campus and the entire weekendbuzz with excitement—and left a feelingof accomplishment and satisfaction re-verberating for many days afterwards.

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TOP TEN RIDERS

Darren BechtelRonald WuDuncan WinecoffKatherine BechtelAlex HerbertLucinda BrownWallis AdamsLuke MyersOwili EisonLibby Rauner

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FOREIGNLANGUAGE

Level IKatherine Bechtel* Stephanie Hubbard* Marisa BinderKatie Kuhl Andrew Ma Charlie MunzigAmy Vanderloop

Level IIBrooke Halsey *Sarah Shaikh*Mercedes Farrell Gavin McClintock Lucy Milligan Emily Nathan Laurel Peterson Katie Telischak

Level III Youna Kim* Liz Sanseau*Mary Ann Bronson Eric Butts Kerry ConnollyEmmett Hopkins Emma White

Level IV andAdvanced PlacementAlden Blair Emmett Hopkins Brian Kelly Charlotte Lord Smith Reddy Lee Wittlinger

The Foreign LanguageAward, given to thesenior who has donethe best work inlanguage:Brooke Halsey

ACADEMIC COMMENDATIONS 1999-2000(*indicates the top student in that discipline)

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HISTORY

Amy Vanderloop*Christopher CahillVincent ChenOwili EisonJulia ErdmanEmily NathanKatie Telischak

Betsy Bradford*Erik FiskeYouna KimClaire Milligan

Anthea Tjuanakis*Dave BabbottMary Ann BronsonHannah CarneyMeredith FlanneryEmmett HopkinsBrian KellyCaitlin MulhollandMeredith Walker

Lucy Milligan*Nathaniel FaggioliBrendan FitzgeraldElla GoodbrodPeter HartnackSarah MorrowEric Reeser

MATHEMATICS

Alison Flynn*Katherine BechtelVincent ChenPhoebe HalseyAlex Huth

Youna Kim*Claire MilliganLaurel PetersonRonald Wu

Erin Johnson*Mary Ann BronsonEmmett HopkinsKevin Schmidt

Brooke Halsey *Juliette White*Lucinda BrownWayne ChangLucy MilliganClay Pell

The RensselaerPolytechnic InstituteAward for Excellence inScience andMathematics:Mary Ann Bronson

COMPUTERSCIENCE

Darren BechtelWayne ChangFred KimTodd Meyer

The Computer ScienceAward, to the juniorwho has done the bestwork in ComputerScience:Kevin SchmidtSimon Xi

ENGLISH

Amy Vanderloop*Carrie BlayneyGraham DunnKatie KuhlEmily NathanJacey Roche

Maddie McQuillan*Claire Milligan *Meg KwanLeigh SalemNoel Vietor

Mary Ann Bronson*Hannah CarneyEmmett HopkinsBrian KellyCaitlin MulhollandAnthea TjuanakisMeredith Walker

Kristin Berona*Wayne Chang*Marisa BinderErin BlankenshipLucinda BrownLucy MilliganMia Silverman

The John NashRobbins Short StoryPrize: MeredithWalkerThe William BishopNixon Poetry Prize:Nikki Silverman

THE SCIENCES

Christopher Cahill*Arielle FlamDrew FleckKylie MansonCharlie MunzigNathan Parker

Robert BrownellEita HatayamaBen HeilveilStephanie HubbardYouna KimJulien RhodesRonald Wu

Yasmine ArastuEric ButtsMeredith FlanneryMeredith WalkerEmma WhiteSimon Xi

Kristin BeronaErin BlankenshipBrooke Halsey Cheryl Lynn HortonClay Pell

The Chemistry Award:Kevin Cahill

The Physics Award:Mary Ann BronsonClaire Milligan

Year-End 2000 :: 11

The Darah Corbett, Jr.,Studio Prize:Sara Thacher

The Marcus Hele DallAward, given to thebest photographer inthe School:Carissa Ridgeway

The Rhode IslandSchool of Design ArtAward, inacknowledgment ofachievement in theVisual Arts:Megan Winecoff

The Agnes M. LordMusic Award: Margaux Lloyd

The Eric Bechtel DachsPrize for TechnicalTheatre, awarded bythe Drama Director tothe senior who, in hisor her career atThacher, has shownthe greatestdedication,imagination andexpertise in technicaltheater:Matt Schuman

The Class of 2000Dance Award,established this year inrecognition of theleadership, dedication,and accomplishmentsofMargaux LloydLucy MilliganYui ScribnerMariposa WiddoesMegan Winecoff

CUM LAUDESOCIETY

The Cum LaudeSociety, founded in1906 and modeled onPhi Beta Kappa, is anational organizationthat recognizessuperior academicachievement andexcellence in selectsecondary schoolsacross the nation.Election to CumLaude honors thosestudents who not onlyhave “Excellence,Justice, and Honor” atheart (the society’smotto), but who alsohave maintained thevery highest level ofacademic achievementthroughout each andevery year of theirtime at Thacher. Theyare the topdecatheletes of theacademic realm.

Seniors elected in thespring of their junioryear:Kristin BeronaWayne ChangClay Pell

Seniors elected thisspring:Marisa BinderErin BlankenshipPaul BonewitzLucinda BrownEllie FletcherBrooke HalseyLucy MilliganMia SilvermanJuliette White

Juniors elected thisspring:Mary Ann BronsonBrian Kelly

The Munro-PalmerPrize for PublicSpeaking andDebating:Dave Babbott

The BeckwithGymkhana Trophy: Darren Bechtel andLucinda Brown,captains of thewinning Green Team

The Bissell GymkhanaTrophy, to the high-point gymkhanarider:Darren Bechtel

The Vacquero Cup,awarded to the bestall-around student inriding, shooting, andgymkhana:Darren Bechtel

The Charles PrattTrapshoot Plate, givento that student withthe highest score inthe annual SchoolTrapshootCompetition:Chris Brown

The Spaulding TennisCup, to the winner ofthe School-WideTournament:Dave Babbott

The Marvin H.Shagam Award, givento that student whohas made a differencein The ThacherCommunity throughforce of character,goodness, courage,vision, and love for allGod’s creation, ratherthan for leadership inacademics andathletics. Although theaward was establishedin Mr. Shagam’sname, he has no partin the selection of therecipient.Jennifer Bowie

ACADEMIC COMMENDATIONS 1999-2000(*indicates the top student in that discipline)

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THE ARTS

Emily Nathan*Julia ErdmanHugh GordonRussell GretherEmery MitchemBrenton SullivanSarah TapscottAmy Vanderloop

Kindra Clemence*Tamima Al-Awar Will Barkan Heidi Cole Youna Kim Dan MooreLeigh Salem

ChristopherBonewitz*Hannah Carney Grace Carter Logan ClarkTara Desjardins Max Greene Esther Guzman Tyler Manson Anthea Tjuanakis

Marisa BinderErin Blankenship Paul Bonewitz Margaux Lloyd Trevor McProud Anne Nyborg Allegra TownsPeter Warman Kirby Williams

The Harry LlewellynBixby Dramatic Cup,awarded to students inrecognition of theircontribution to theThacher Dramaprogram:Paul BonewitzMariposa Widdoes

12 :: Parents’Post

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN……registration on the lawn of the Mulligans’ home two, three, or fouryears ago, there, too, was the first of the rituals of Commencement

weekend: a reception for parents,friends and extended family ofthe soon-to-graduates. Fromthere, the hordes moved to theForest Cooke Lawn, sheltered bya tent open to the waftingevening breezes. After the ban-quet, an address by Thacheralumnus and father (of Besse ’00and Mollie ’99) Bob Gardner,CdeP ’60, and retiring Presidentof the Alumni Association,brought the assembled to theirfeet in appreciation for the wis-dom and rightness of his words(See The Thacher News, summer,

for full text.) After thanks to Parents’Association Presidents Jennifer andRick Ridgeway for their creative, in-spiring, and tireless work, and for“their conscientious efforts on be-half of the School and for their sen-sitive and thoughtful contributionsto the business of the Board,” Headof School Michael Mulligan movedon to the major awards of theevening.

First, a reiteration of the names ofthose seniors and juniors elected to the Cum Laude Society, then thetwin sportsmanship awards: for girls, The Elizabeth Helms AdamsPerpetual Sportsmanship Award, voted by the coaches of Thacher’sAthletic Council to honor “those qualities of sportsmanship, par-

ticipation, achievement, andleadership characteristic ofthe highest ideals of inter-scholastic athletics” was wonby tri-athlete and triple-cap-tain Cheryl Lynn Horton, “adetermined, yet graciouscompetitor and leader” whoseexcellence on the volleyballand basketball courts and onthe lacrosse field have notonly brought glory to this

School “elevated the play of others.” The boys’ counterpart to thisaward, The Thacher Lettermen’s Club Perpetual Trophy, lauds notmerely athleticism, but more important, commends a commitmentto excellence, teamwork, good sportsmanship and the ability to in-spire others to better play. Both winners of this award—Todd Meyerand Anwar White—simply love the games they play, the races theyrun (Todd in track, lacrosse and soccer, Anwar in tennis and bas-ketball), working tirelessly to hone their own skills and to push, byforce of example, others to improve theirs. Next on the agenda, theNewton K. Chase Community Service Award, which went to Felicity

Howe for having “demonstrated, through volunteer work in thecommunity, an unselfish interest in and concern for others.” Felic-ity, through both organizing and serving “has epitomized the best ofthe Community Service Program.” The Charles Warren AlpinistAward, whose simple criteria is “that the climber be trusted to evac-uate the faculty leader should he be injured in a climbing situation,”went to Brooke Halsey, whose “overall ability, dedication, and at-tention to safety has created two years that shall henceforth beknown as ‘The Brooke Era.’” The School Chair Award, next, honoredKristin Berona who, in the words of the Head of School with whomshe worked quite closely, “came to the job, in the words of psychol-ogist Abraham Maslowe, ‘self-actualized.’ She has always, it seems,known who she is; she has been confident of her values but neverboastful of her abilities. She has been sensitive to others and open to

review and criticism. Quietly and ef-fectively, she has represented studentopinion. Ever smiling and everthoughtful, she has been for me agreat example of the fact that wisdomand age need not be at odds.”

And, finally, the two culminatingawards: The Charles L Tutt Silver Bowlfor Integrity and Responsibility, whichrecognizes not primarily leadership,but “integrity and responsibility, offortitude in the face of adversity, andconsideration for others,” went, byvote of the faculty, to Jon LePlastrier,

And always remember

this: You did not go to

prep school or boarding

school or private school

or high school or

secondary school. You

went to Thacher.

Bob Gardner, CdeP ’60

In her room at the prow of the house

Where light breaks,

and the windows are tossed with linden,

My daughter is writing a story.

I pause in the stairwell, hearing

From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys

Like a chain hauled over a gunwale.

Young as she is, the stuff

Of her life is heavy:

I wish her a lucky passage.

But now it is she who pauses,

As if to reflect my thought and its easy figure.

A stillness greatens, in which

The whole house seems to be thinking,

And then she is at it again with a bunched clamor

Of strokes, and again it is silent.

I remember the dazed starling

Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;

How we stole in, lifted a sash

The Writer

Amissa Bongo and Wayne Chang headtoward their seats.

Head of School Michael Mulligan and PaulBonewitz share a moment at the podium.

Through the gauntlet of faculty andfans: Lucinda Brown and Eric Reeser.

▼

“whose courage, integrity, aprofound respect for othersregardless of age or rank”make him a model for allothers in the community.And The Thacher Cup,whichgoes “to that senior who, inthe judgment of the faculty,best demonstrates thosequalities the School holds ascentral: academic excellence,extracurricular achievement,moral leadership, and con-

cern for others,” was voted to WayneChang: “He has made the pursuit ofknowledge a hallmark of his careerhere at Thacher. His steadfast moral-ity, equanimity during difficult situa-tions, and genuine kindness have alsomarked his tenure here. He has lived alife based on honor and integrity, andhe truly represents the best of whatThacher is, and even further, the bestof what we are as humans.”

The evening concluded with someclosing remarks from Mr. Mulligan,who used a poem by Richard Wilburas his springboard.

Mr. Mulligan concluded: In so manyways the experience of this daughter is

Year-End 2000 :: 13

your experience, and the expe-rience of the father is ours, fac-ulty and parents together. Youare writing your own stories;you are in your own boats, ca-pable of raising your own an-chors, heavy as they may be.The cargo of your life over youryears here has been, no doubt,at times weighty. You, like thisyoung author, have had topause for reflection, for inspi-ration, to find the proper word,the right phrase.

But we have given to you the room, the tools and training, you havewritten pieces of your own stories, and you will continue to. As you arethe author, you must remind yourself that if you find yourself the vic-tim in your story, it is because that is the way you have written yourscript.

Like the iridescent starling that we do not wish to affright, you face anopen window, the sill of this world. We hope, naturally, that you will nothave to batter, to become bloodied to find the opening, to access the bril-

liance on the other side. But free-dom means that you are doingthe choosing, and you now, as youhave before, will succeed or strug-gle, live in harmony or live inconflict, by your choices.

The scary part for us, your teach-ers, your mentors, your devotedparents and families, is that whilewe can help open the windows,we cannot fly through them withyou. We cannot ultimately choose

for you, coach you through your every move, direct you through everyopening.

This you must do for yourselves.

So now, like this girl’s father, we stand on the stairwell outside of yourroom, wishing harder than ever what we have always wished—that youwill rise up, beating a smooth and certain course for the opening, yourown iridescence flashing in the light beyond.

And retreated, not to affright it;

And how for a helpless hour,

through the crack in the door

We watched the sleek, wild, dark

And iridescent creature

Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove

To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

And wait then, humped and bloody,

For the wits to try again; and how our spirits

Rose when, suddenly sure,

It lifted off from a chair-back,

Beating a smooth course for the right window

And clearing the sill of the world.

It is always a matter, my darling,

Of life and death, as I had forgotten. I wish

What I wished you before, but harder.

—Richard Wilbur

Mariposa Widdoes and Evy Disner in a post-diploma hug.

Bennett Barbakow shows what aSilver Dollar Pick-Up (short horseor not) can evolve into.

Mia Silverman, all smiles after the ceremony,with Spanish teacher Cecilia Ortiz and herdaughter Hannah.

In a long-standing tradition, Todd Meyeris congratulated by Michael Mulligan andhis father, Kurt Meyer (Mathematics) atthe commencement podium.

14 :: Parents’Post

COMMENCEMENT DAY……dawned clear and bright, and not long after, the celebrants wendedtheir way up to the Outdoor Chapel, where the Baccalaureate serv-ice included an address by Thacher and Princeton alumnus, Ty-rone Pike, CdeP ’73, president and CEO of VPNX.com, Inc., a Sili-con Valley technological company. As someone who, self-reportedly,“made several fortuitous left turns” in his academic and entre-peneurial life, Mr. Pike extolled the challenge and rewards of “think-ing outside the box.”“Thacher,” he said, “grooms synthesizers, peo-ple who can arrange, create, design, organize, plan, and preparebeyond the present, who can find the pieces that don’t look like theyfit together, flip them backward, and discover the fit.” He also stressedthe importance, stated in the Thacher mission and borne out in ourheritage, of using one’s own success to give back to the communitiesof which we are citizens. “Go out there and find a way to lower thebar and let those who have not had the opportunities [you have] toenter the i-age.” From there, it was down to the Big Top again, thistime for the Main Event: the presentation ofdiplomas, in traditionally random (not al-phabetical) order, each senior called joiningMr. Mulligan at the podium to listen to ashort testimony to the particular influencehe or she has had on this community andits members. (See special insert.) One finaldiploma—reserved, always, for the SchoolChair—and up went the roar from thecrowd and the happy graduates, sustainedand echoing long after the last chair hadbeen vacated, a sound now a piece of ourshared aural history.

AH, THE PLACES THEY’RE GOINGWallis Adams Oberlin College

Justin Arnold Vanderbilt University

Bennett Barbakow Brown University

Darren Bechtel Stanford University

Kristin Berona Stanford University

Marisa Binder University of Chicago

Erin Blankenship Trinity University

Paul Bonewitz Tufts University

Amissa Bongo Georgetown University

Jake Braitman Colorado College

Lucinda Brown Yale University

Wayne Chang Yale University

Evy Disner University of Southern California

Alfred English Kenyon College

Nate Faggioli George Washington

Brendan Fitzgerald McGill University

Ellie Fletcher Vassar College

Lauren Fraim University of San Diego

Besse Gardner UC Berkeley

Ella Goodbrod Mt. Holyoke College

Lacey Gordon Scripps College

Brooke Halsey Princeton

Peter Hartnack University of Southern California

Justin Hilton University of Southern California

Hannah Hooper Eugene Lang College andParsons School of Design

Cheryl Lynn Horton Duke University

Felicity Howe University of Colorado, Boulder

Fred Kim Northwestern University

Jon LePlastrier UC Santa Cruz

Margaux Lloyd Goucher College

Trevor McProud Colorado College

Todd Meyer Emory University

Lucy Milligan Princeton University

Sarah Morrow University of Colorado, Boulder

Anne Nyborg Stanford University

Marley Orr Colby College

Richard Parks McGill University

Clay Pell Harvard University

Eric Reeser Emory University

Fritz Rice Pitzer College

Carissa Ridgeway Bard College

Matt Schuman UC Berkeley

Yui Scribner Barnard College

Mia Silverman Stanford University

Guido Soracco Franklin & Marshall College

Carlos Soriano University of Pennsylvania

Devon Tarasevic Southwestern University

Sara Thacher Rhode Island School of Design

Allegra Towns Columbia University

Andrew Warren Connecticut College

Juliette White Wellesley College

Anwar White Carnegie Mellon University

Mariposa Widdoes DePaul University—Conservatory

Kirby Williams Oberlin College

Megan Winecoff Lewis & Clark College

Nothing ever is,

but all things are

becoming…

All things are the

offspring of flux

and motion.

Socrates

Year-End 2000 :: 15

On the last Monday before Commencement this spring, Bo Manson(English, Casa Dormitory Head) gave his TOAD (Teacher On ActiveDuty) Talk—a feature of every Monday’s Assembly, during which thefaculty member in charge for the week reads a poem, sings, offers somepersonal insight, or, in some other unique way, kicks off our week.

Well, here we are at the end of another school year. Last night, webegan our traditional end-of-year festivities with Senior Vespers.This week, we will continue with the All-School Banquet, the SeniorBanquet, Baccalaureate, and Graduation. Of course, we all recognizethe value of these traditional year-end events. It is important that, asa community, we set aside time to celebrate the accomplishments ofboth our underclassmen and our seniors. But these formal celebra-tions also serve a more fundamental purpose. They allow us to rec-ognize, accept, and adjust to a process that is as natural as the sun ris-ing each morning and setting each evening: the well-establishedrhythm of our school year from its beginning in September to its in-evitable end in June. If fact, I’m really talking about the yearly trans-formation of our present Thacher School into yet one more pastThacher School.

We like to think of Thacher as a stable institution, flexible enough toembrace contemporary concepts and technology, yet careful to re-tain its historical strengths and values. It’s no wonder that we so en-thusiastically maintain our many traditions: The Honor Code,school banquets, gymkhana, camping, Toad duties, milk and grahamcrackers, breakfast check-in, formal dinner, school songs, OpenHouse, surprise holidays, Secret Santas, and senior skip day…Yet,what really is “The Thacher School”? Clearly, it doesn’t exist in ad-mission brochures, WASC reports, or archival photographs. In fact,there actually is no one Thacher School. Thacher, like all schools, isthe unique combination of the individuals who occupy it at anygiven moment in time. It is something we create every Septemberonly to then dismantle each June. In a very real sense, there have been111 separate Thacher Schools since Sherman Day Thacher foundedhis school in September, 1889. Maybe that explains why we find it sotempting to create [long-standing traditions] in the course of a yearor two. After all, one year is the actual life span of each school we cre-ate, embrace, celebrate, and then vacate in this annual cycle.

For our seniors, this perspective may be somewhat reassuring. Theyare, as it turns out, not the only ones leaving Thacher this week: ina sense, we all are. While it’s true that each senior will never again bean active resident of this hillside community, in a way, neither willthe rest of us—at least not of this Thacher community. This 111thThacher School will cease to exist in just a few days because the sen-iors will leave it, because some faculty will leave it, but also becausefreshmen will become sophomores, sophomores will become jun-iors, and juniors will become seniors. The sun will set on this 111thThacher School. This present school will inevitably, naturally, be-

come a past school, not only for our seniors, but also for the rest ofus.

Virginia Woolf expressed this fundamental relationship betweenthe present and the past in a brief passage from her novel To TheLighthouse. For those of you who haven’t read it, the novel primarilyconcerns the events of two days (separated by ten years) in the livesof the members and friends of a large British family. In [this pas-sage], Mrs. Ramsay—the wife, mother, and host of the family—and friends gathered at the Ramsays’ summer home and pauses inthe doorway of her dining room at the end of a family meal. There,on the threshold, she reflects on this notion of the present trans-forming itself into the past, and of the necessity that we, too, recog-nize at the end of each school year: on the one hand, that we shouldpause to celebrate our present; and, on the other hand, that wemust take that inevitable step forward into a future which requiresthat our present become our past.

As I read Woolf ’s description, I hope you will think of the seniors forwhom this transformation is arguably most poignant. But I alsohope that you are reminded that for each of us, the present is atransitory commodity, something to be cherished even as we antic-ipate our disparate futures and remember our communal past.

It was necessary now to carry everything a step further. With her foot onthe threshold [Mrs. Ramsay] waited a moment longer in a scene whichwas vanishing even as she looked, and then, as she moved and tookMinta’s arm and left the room, it changed, it shaped itself differently; ithad become, she knew, giving one last look at it over her shoulder, al-ready the past.

May 29, 2000

TOADTALK

TH

E

THACHER

SC

HO

OL

1889

Mrs. Ramsay on her threshold; we on ours.We glance back in this moment of quietand calm, and then look forward, the sum-mer, shimmering, stretching ahead—and,beyond it in the distance, students, faculty,families, and friends walking slowly towardsus, ready to recreate, again, The ThacherSchool of 2000-01. See you then!

Cheers,

P.S. My favorite fridge poetry, which I dis-covered after the last Open House ofthe year had ended:

whisper thousand sfairyato

imagine sweet summer

Production Credits

EditorJoy Sawyer-Mulligan

Design J. Bert Mahoney

Production and DesignTim Ditch

PhotographyKathy Caldwell, Timothy Teague, Ted Grether ’01, Meredith Walker ’01,Joy Sawyer-Mulligan, Michael Mulligan, Steve Carter, Philip Channing,Emmett Hopkins ’01, Brian Pidduck, CdeP ’92