Celebrating the Arts - Dwight-Englewood School
Celebrating the Arts - Dwight-Englewood School
Celebrating the Arts - Dwight-Englewood School
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TODAY<br />
S P R I N G 2 0 1 1<br />
<strong>Celebrating</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Arts</strong><br />
Alumni Profile:<br />
Bob Bakish ’81, CEO and Chairman, Viacom International<br />
Creating Original Opera:<br />
A Lower <strong>School</strong> Tradition<br />
Handbell Ensembles: A D-E Legacy<br />
Our Own (<strong>Englewood</strong>) Idol: Erica Butler ’11
North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Patriot Division Champions<br />
Get Into<br />
The Game<br />
Be Part of a Winning Team!<br />
A big win takes an all-out team effort. Our Bulldogs showed us over this<br />
past basketball season just what a team that works toge<strong>the</strong>r can do!<br />
Congratulations, boys, you made us proud!<br />
Annual Fund 2010–11 is in <strong>the</strong> home stretch, but<br />
we need <strong>the</strong> WHOLE TEAM—parents, alumni, faculty<br />
and friends—to step up if we are to meet our goal<br />
of providing our students with <strong>the</strong> best education<br />
possible. The Annual Fund is a winning effort that<br />
provides <strong>the</strong> margin of excellence for our students!<br />
Make your online gift now at www.d-e.org/giving<br />
or call Pat Boig at 201-569-9500, ext. 3411.<br />
If you’ve already given, many thanks for being<br />
part of our winning team!<br />
Visit www.d-e.org and<br />
support D-E today!
HEAD’SMESSAGE<br />
A flourishing arts environment and an educational approach that values passion and inspiration are<br />
two ways <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> nurtures graduates who will “engage creatively and compassionately in<br />
<strong>the</strong> world.”<br />
Dear Friends,<br />
Our <strong>School</strong> Mission, Profile of<br />
a Graduate, and Core Values<br />
comprise our three foundation<br />
documents. Toge<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong>se documents<br />
describe who we are as a school,<br />
supporting all we do, as well as who<br />
we aspire to become as a school. In<br />
particular, our Profile of a Graduate<br />
speaks to <strong>the</strong> following:“our graduates<br />
will continue to cultivate <strong>the</strong>ir talents<br />
and pursue <strong>the</strong>ir passions,”and“our<br />
graduates will engage creatively and<br />
compassionately in <strong>the</strong> world.”<br />
In a TED Talk that I shared with our<br />
community on my Twitter page (DrD_DE),<br />
Ken Robinson talks about how students<br />
lose <strong>the</strong>ir creativity in schools, <strong>the</strong><br />
research that supports that claim, and<br />
changing educational systems to ensure<br />
that students remain as creative as <strong>the</strong>y<br />
are when <strong>the</strong>y begin school. Interestingly,<br />
in-depth study of a topic leads not only to<br />
expert knowledge, but also to an<br />
understanding of how it is connected to<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r topics and provides students with<br />
an opportunity to learn more about how<br />
<strong>the</strong>y learn. Allowing students <strong>the</strong> option<br />
of pursuing a topic in which <strong>the</strong>y are<br />
extremely interested—or with a member<br />
of our faculty who is inspired as well—<br />
allows students to see passion and<br />
develop <strong>the</strong>ir own passions in education.<br />
In this issue of D-E Today, centered on<br />
<strong>the</strong> arts, you will find myriad examples of<br />
how our students, faculty, alumni, and<br />
parents are all developing <strong>the</strong>ir passions.<br />
Through exceptional explorations in <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong>atre, instrumental and vocal music,<br />
<strong>the</strong> visual arts, literature, and more,<br />
members of our community are<br />
achieving exciting personal development<br />
and ultimately benefiting society.<br />
We start with entertainment industry<br />
executive Bob Bakish ’81, whose focus<br />
is on popular music and culture; and<br />
Mark Shapiro ’77, a lauded conductor of<br />
opera, orchestra, and vocal ensembles.<br />
We report on a student who was selected<br />
by national audition to play with a jazz<br />
ensemble at events of <strong>the</strong> 53rd Annual<br />
Grammy Awards, and ano<strong>the</strong>r who won<br />
<strong>the</strong> highly competitive 2011 <strong>Englewood</strong><br />
Idol contest. We explore <strong>the</strong> history<br />
and ongoing D-E tradition of handbell<br />
ensembles. In faculty leadership, we<br />
have Visual <strong>Arts</strong> Chair Gregg Emery, who<br />
continues to bring toge<strong>the</strong>r both alumni<br />
and students to present compelling<br />
exhibits in our Swartley Gallery.<br />
Performing <strong>Arts</strong> Chair John Littlefield<br />
continues to be an integral member of our<br />
wonderful resident chamber ensemble,<br />
315 East, and is preparing his orchestra<br />
for a London trip this summer. We also<br />
showcase <strong>the</strong> Lower <strong>School</strong>’s Creating<br />
Original Opera program. Alumni who are<br />
now professionally active in <strong>the</strong> arts have<br />
often found <strong>the</strong>ir interest sparked as a<br />
result of this unique experience.<br />
Current literature depicts a growing<br />
concern with students who “burn out”<br />
before college. The compelling<br />
documentary film, Race to Nowhere,<br />
which we recently screened as part of our<br />
Head of <strong>School</strong> Series, speaks to stresses<br />
that children now go through to build <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
“resume,” losing <strong>the</strong>ir love of learning and<br />
creative spark in <strong>the</strong> process. At <strong>the</strong> same<br />
time, in his research with Harvard, Tony<br />
Wagner has found that this generation of<br />
children is interest-driven, self-directed,<br />
constantly connected, multi-tasking, and<br />
creative. We find <strong>the</strong>y want to make a<br />
difference, and <strong>the</strong>y want to do interesting<br />
and worthwhile work.<br />
To prepare <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
is regularly developing new ways for our<br />
students to learn critical thinking and<br />
problem-solving skills. Our students are<br />
learning to work collaboratively and to lead<br />
by influence. We are creating programs—<br />
with <strong>the</strong> opportunity for artistic expression<br />
amongst those programs—encouraging<br />
students to be agile and adaptable,<br />
because <strong>the</strong>y must have those skills in<br />
an entrepreneurial, ever-changing world.<br />
I hope you enjoy this issue and will find<br />
yourself, too, inspired to celebrate your<br />
passions and to “engage creatively and<br />
compassionately in <strong>the</strong> world.”<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Dr. Rodney De Jarnett<br />
Head of <strong>School</strong><br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong><br />
Core Values<br />
At <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> we all come<br />
to grow. We seek growth in respect,<br />
honesty, judgement, commitment,<br />
courage and community and expect<br />
each of us to work towards living<br />
<strong>the</strong>se, our shared values. We<br />
believe <strong>the</strong> opportunity to grow is a<br />
precious gift, one that brings out<br />
our best selves.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
1
TABLEOFCONTENTS<br />
4 |<br />
6 |<br />
8 |<br />
10 |<br />
18 |<br />
22 |<br />
FEATURES<br />
Alumni Profile: Bob Bakish ’81<br />
Creating Original Opera<br />
A Lower <strong>School</strong> Experience that Endures<br />
Handbell Ensembles<br />
A D-E Tradition<br />
Alumni Profile: Mark Shapiro ’77<br />
<strong>Arts</strong> in Our <strong>Englewood</strong> Community<br />
Erica Butler ’11 Wins Idol Contest<br />
Literary <strong>Arts</strong><br />
Appreciating Calliope Magazine<br />
Frimi Sagan’s 40+ Years of Service<br />
Our Mission<br />
As a community of learners, <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> strives to foster in each student a<br />
passion for life-long learning. We seek<br />
excellence, honor, integrity, and embrace<br />
diversity in order to develop <strong>the</strong> skills, values<br />
and courage to meet <strong>the</strong> challanges of a<br />
changing world and make it better.<br />
Above: Comedian “Larry David” and baseball great “Reggie Jackson” were<br />
two of <strong>the</strong> individuals featured in this year's Middle <strong>School</strong> Living Wax<br />
Museum event.<br />
Below: Middle <strong>School</strong> students produced an original “Water is Life” video<br />
and recited poetry at <strong>the</strong> 30 Miles in 30 Days Safe Water Campaign kick-off<br />
assembly. See “Last Look” for details.<br />
Right: D-E cross country runners relaxed after a successful meet earlier<br />
this year.<br />
CAPTIONs
12 |<br />
14 |<br />
16 |<br />
20 |<br />
36 |<br />
24 |<br />
28 |<br />
34 |<br />
44 |<br />
57 |<br />
59 |<br />
60 |<br />
CAMPUS/COMMUNITY EVENTS<br />
Spring 2011 Fashion Show & Luncheon<br />
Swartley Gallery Happenings<br />
2011 Reunion Weekend Preview<br />
New Alumni Society Announced<br />
<strong>Celebrating</strong> Cultural Diversity<br />
The Inspirational Debbie Rivera ’11<br />
Head of <strong>School</strong> Series 2010–11<br />
DEPARTMENTS<br />
Alumni Happenings<br />
Student Standouts & Faculty Endeavors<br />
Athletics Highlights<br />
Class Notes<br />
In Memoriam<br />
Bulldog Bookshelf<br />
Last Look<br />
The D-E Safe Water Campaign<br />
TODAY<br />
D-E Today is published by:<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> Communications &<br />
Publications, in partnership with <strong>the</strong><br />
Development & Alumni Relations Office.<br />
Comments are always welcome. Please<br />
address <strong>the</strong>m to:<br />
Editor, D-E Today<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
315 East Palisade Avenue<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong>, NJ 07631<br />
phone: 201-569-9500, ext. 3408 or<br />
fax: 201-569-1676 or<br />
email: tausne@d-e.org<br />
Editor/Director of Communications<br />
and Publications:<br />
Liz Tausner<br />
Contributors:<br />
Pat Boig<br />
Jamie Dalgliesh ’13<br />
Maria Sanchez-Gardner ’78<br />
Leslie Virostek<br />
Graphic Design:<br />
Peapod Design, New Canaan, CT<br />
Photography:<br />
Covers photography by Harrison Co ’10 and<br />
Colleen White (northjerseymedia.com).<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r photos by Joe Camporeale<br />
(NorthJersey.com), Harrison Co,<br />
Jim Healey (Peapod Design), Bob King<br />
(northjerseymedia.com), Ken Laudau ’82,<br />
Gordon Marquardt ’12, John McCabe, Taylor<br />
Rago ’12, and Len Rubenstein. Additional<br />
photography supplied through D-E alumni,<br />
faculty/staff, parent & student submissions.<br />
Printing:<br />
Albert’s Printing, Long Island City, New York.<br />
Proofreading:<br />
Leslie Virostek<br />
On <strong>the</strong> front cover:<br />
Lower <strong>School</strong> students taking a bow after<br />
performing <strong>the</strong>ir original opera production<br />
(see inside).<br />
On <strong>the</strong> back cover:<br />
Erica Butler ’11 in her winning <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol<br />
performance at <strong>the</strong> Bergen Performing <strong>Arts</strong><br />
Center earlier this year (see inside).
ALUMNIPROFILE<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
4<br />
Bob Bakish ’81: Entertaining a Global World<br />
He’s <strong>the</strong> head of Viacom International Media Networks, and <strong>the</strong> evolving global media environment<br />
is his business.<br />
Bob Bakish ’81 began working<br />
as an executive for <strong>the</strong> media<br />
giant Viacom in 1997.<br />
Coincidentally, that was <strong>the</strong> very<br />
same year that DVDs became<br />
available in <strong>the</strong> U.S. for <strong>the</strong> first time.<br />
Over <strong>the</strong> next decade, DVDs would<br />
rise in popularity and become an<br />
important revenue stream for<br />
studios and media corporations. Fast<br />
forward to today: DVD sales have<br />
significantly declined as consumers<br />
increasingly choose less expensive<br />
and more immediate digital and<br />
streaming media. What will <strong>the</strong> next<br />
big thing be? You can bet that Bakish,<br />
who has steadily worked his way up<br />
Viacom’s corporate ladder, is already<br />
thinking about it. Earlier this year he<br />
was appointed president and CEO of<br />
Viacom International Media<br />
Networks (VIMN). Keeping ahead of<br />
trends in technology and evolving<br />
consumer attitudes is just one of <strong>the</strong><br />
challenges he contends with in a<br />
global, fast-paced industry.<br />
Bakish, who will be <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>’s<br />
Commencement speaker and a 2011<br />
recipient of <strong>the</strong> Distinguished Alumni<br />
Award, is a graduate who is truly engaged<br />
with <strong>the</strong> increasingly inter-connected<br />
“changing world” of <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>’s mission<br />
statement. His company owns many of<br />
<strong>the</strong> world’s most popular premier<br />
multimedia entertainment brands—<br />
including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy<br />
Central, and BET—which are seen globally<br />
in more than 600 million households in<br />
160 countries and 34 languages. Bakish<br />
is also chairman of <strong>the</strong> board of<br />
Viacom18, <strong>the</strong> company’s joint venture in<br />
India, and serves on <strong>the</strong> boards of <strong>the</strong><br />
company’s joint ventures with BSkyB, <strong>the</strong><br />
largest subscription-based television<br />
broadcaster in <strong>the</strong> United Kingdom, and<br />
Telecom Italia Media.<br />
The Complexity of a<br />
Global Business<br />
Bakish grapples with a mind-boggling level<br />
of detail on <strong>the</strong> one hand, and a lot of<br />
strategic, big-picture thinking, and project<br />
management on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r. “Because it’s<br />
truly a global job, <strong>the</strong>re’s an incredible<br />
amount of complexity,” says Bakish. With<br />
so many diverse markets, <strong>the</strong>re are loads<br />
of differences to address, from distribution<br />
to regulation, local programming, and of<br />
course cultural preferences. Says Bakish,<br />
“The sheer breadth and scale of it is<br />
fundamentally challenging.” At <strong>the</strong><br />
broader level, <strong>the</strong> challenge is getting a<br />
global workforce to embrace common<br />
strategies and work toge<strong>the</strong>r on specific<br />
opportunities, and also to develop<br />
programming that can cross international<br />
and cultural boundaries. Recently Bakish<br />
worked on adapting and introducing <strong>the</strong><br />
telenovela TV format, which is typically<br />
associated with Hispanic language<br />
channels, to Nickelodeon and MTV. One<br />
success story is Nickelodeon’s highly<br />
rated House of Anubis teen mysterydrama<br />
soap series. Based on a series from<br />
Nickelodeon Holland, <strong>the</strong> new show<br />
premiered this January in <strong>the</strong> United<br />
States, and in February in <strong>the</strong> United<br />
Kingdom. (There is a German version<br />
as well.)<br />
Not surprisingly, Bakish travels for business<br />
a great deal—in fact, a little more than half<br />
<strong>the</strong> year. His office is in New York City, but<br />
in a single month he might spend a week<br />
in Los Angeles, a week in Madrid, and a<br />
week in Mumbai. In <strong>the</strong> world of<br />
international business, notes Bakish,<br />
“There’s no substitute for going places.”<br />
And, when <strong>the</strong> business is<br />
entertainment, <strong>the</strong>re can be some<br />
interesting perks—such as developing,<br />
promoting, and attending special events<br />
with rock stars and o<strong>the</strong>r celebrities. A<br />
particularly memorable one for Bakish<br />
was MTV’s 2009 Europe Music Awards in<br />
Berlin. Bakish was <strong>the</strong>re when, as part of<br />
<strong>the</strong> show, <strong>the</strong> Irish rock band U2 gave a<br />
free concert at <strong>the</strong> Brandenburg Gate to<br />
commemorate <strong>the</strong> 20th anniversary of<br />
<strong>the</strong> fall of <strong>the</strong> Berlin Wall. Bakish says<br />
<strong>the</strong> visually stunning, historically<br />
meaningful, and electrifying performance<br />
was amazing and unforgettable.
Bob Bakish ’81 (left) with President Cristina de Kirchner of Argentina at an MTV event.<br />
Preparation Paves <strong>the</strong><br />
Way for Opportunity<br />
Bakish didn’t plan to become <strong>the</strong> media<br />
chief executive he is today. He says that if<br />
<strong>the</strong>re is a lesson to be learned from his<br />
career trajectory, it is that solid<br />
preparation and hard work will make<br />
possible a variety of opportunities. His<br />
preparation, he notes, began at <strong>Dwight</strong>-<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong>. Though his strengths as a<br />
student were always in math and science,<br />
he now recognizes <strong>the</strong> great foundation he<br />
received in English and writing. The work is<br />
hard at D-E, notes Bakish, but it pays off.<br />
“You really are working and investing in<br />
yourself,” he says. “I think <strong>the</strong> primary<br />
thing I got from <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> was a<br />
fantastic education.”<br />
After <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>, Bakish earned a<br />
bachelor’s degree in operations research<br />
from Columbia’s <strong>School</strong> of Engineering<br />
and Applied Science. It proved to be a<br />
good foundation in real-world problem<br />
solving. He started a job in network<br />
systems at AT&T, but decided to expand<br />
his options. He earned an M.B.A. from<br />
Columbia’s Business <strong>School</strong> and began a<br />
career of management consulting,<br />
eventually finding his way to marketing<br />
and to <strong>the</strong> prestigious Booz Allen &<br />
Hamilton firm, in <strong>the</strong> media and<br />
entertainment division. He had just made<br />
partner at Booz Allen and was “on a<br />
perfectly good career path” when he was<br />
invited to join Viacom. Bakish took <strong>the</strong><br />
leap. He says that if you work hard and<br />
make yourself a valued professional, life is<br />
going to present you with big decisions.<br />
His advice: “Think about it, make a<br />
choice, and never look back.”<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r of Bakish’s convictions is that<br />
dedication to work should never take<br />
over a person’s whole life. “Everybody is<br />
replaceable,” notes Bakish. “You’ve got<br />
to enjoy o<strong>the</strong>r things in your life.” Bakish<br />
values time spent with his wife, Deedra,<br />
and two daughters, one in high school<br />
and one in middle school. For recreation,<br />
he enjoys skiing with his family, listening<br />
to music, and playing <strong>the</strong> guitar. Bakish<br />
also makes time to serve on Columbia<br />
Business <strong>School</strong>’s Board of Overseers<br />
and Media Forum and <strong>the</strong> Engineering<br />
<strong>School</strong>’s Board of Visitors.<br />
Moving Forward<br />
On a regular day when he’s not traveling,<br />
Bakish begins his work at about 6:45<br />
a.m. On <strong>the</strong> drive from his Connecticut<br />
home to <strong>the</strong> city he’ll make a phone call,<br />
typically to one of <strong>the</strong> senior executives<br />
running a part of <strong>the</strong> business in Asia or<br />
Europe. His drive home around 6:00 p.m.<br />
will include ano<strong>the</strong>r Asia call. It’s one of<br />
<strong>the</strong> things you have to live with when<br />
running an international business across<br />
multiple time zones, notes Bakish: “The<br />
New York office and <strong>the</strong> Asia office are<br />
never open at <strong>the</strong> same time.”<br />
It’s a busy life, but a rewarding one for<br />
someone who enjoys problem solving,<br />
working with people, strategizing, and<br />
implementing in a rapidly evolving global<br />
environment where <strong>the</strong> answer isn’t<br />
always clear. “I can get bored pretty<br />
easily, and this is not a job you get bored<br />
with,” he says. “I like making a plan,<br />
executing it, and seeing it work. It’s fun<br />
to move something forward.”<br />
In <strong>the</strong> end, he observes, <strong>the</strong> fundamental<br />
question for his company, which brings<br />
films from Paramount and award-winning<br />
global sensations like South Park to <strong>the</strong><br />
world, is not what <strong>the</strong> technology will be or<br />
how to navigate <strong>the</strong> complexities of<br />
various markets, but “How do we make<br />
<strong>the</strong> best entertainment?” He says,<br />
“People still want to be entertained. And<br />
one can argue that when you look around<br />
at <strong>the</strong> world today, a little entertainment<br />
is a good thing.”<br />
U2 and Jay Z performing at <strong>the</strong> Brandenburg Gate, in a special concert produced by MTV.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
5
6<br />
In presenting <strong>the</strong>ir original opera, fifth graders showcase <strong>the</strong>ir creativity, while developing life<br />
skills and learning about careers in <strong>the</strong> arts.<br />
On April 28 in <strong>the</strong> Hajjar<br />
Auditorium, <strong>the</strong> Silver<br />
Shooting Stars opera<br />
company presented its opera, called<br />
Turned Inside Out, to great acclaim.<br />
The 42-member opera company<br />
wrote <strong>the</strong> storyline, composed <strong>the</strong><br />
music, created <strong>the</strong> sets, devised <strong>the</strong><br />
costumes, orchestrated <strong>the</strong> sound,<br />
lighting, and public relations, and<br />
managed <strong>the</strong> show. It’s an<br />
impressive feat, particularly<br />
because <strong>the</strong> Silver Shooting Stars<br />
are also known as <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong>-<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> fifth grade. Creating<br />
from scratch an entirely original<br />
opera—from <strong>the</strong> first germ of an<br />
idea to <strong>the</strong> fully realized<br />
production—is a project fifth<br />
graders at D-E have been<br />
undertaking since 1986.<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> CREATINGOPERA<br />
The fifth graders’ accomplishment is part<br />
of a program called Creating Original<br />
Opera, which is supported by <strong>the</strong><br />
Metropolitan Opera Education<br />
Department and takes place in schools<br />
all over <strong>the</strong> world. It’s also a major<br />
component of <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>’s fifthgrade<br />
academic curriculum that gives<br />
students insight into careers in <strong>the</strong> arts<br />
and develops such life skills as<br />
collaboration, negotiation, problem<br />
solving, and planning.<br />
Lower <strong>School</strong> Music Director Mary<br />
Heveran runs <strong>the</strong> program at D-E and<br />
explains that it begins in <strong>the</strong> fall, when<br />
students brainstorm to create a name<br />
and logo for <strong>the</strong>ir opera company. This<br />
year’s name, Silver Shooting Stars,<br />
acknowledges <strong>the</strong> 25th anniversary<br />
of <strong>the</strong> opera program at D-E and <strong>the</strong><br />
fact that an alumnus is shooting a<br />
Members of <strong>the</strong> Silver Shooting Star Opera Company perform Turned Inside Out this April 2011,<br />
<strong>the</strong> 25th year of <strong>the</strong> Creating Original Opera program.<br />
documentary film about <strong>the</strong> program<br />
(see sidebar).<br />
Students also brainstorm ideas about<br />
<strong>the</strong> story <strong>the</strong>ir opera will tell. Heveran<br />
says <strong>the</strong> operas always feature children<br />
exploring and resolving some sort of<br />
conflict. But <strong>the</strong> plots can be about<br />
anything. Heveran loves this early stage<br />
in <strong>the</strong> process. “I am continually amazed<br />
and surprised and delighted,” she says.<br />
“Every year <strong>the</strong>ir ideas are so different<br />
from <strong>the</strong> year before. It’s amazing how<br />
you start out with a blank paper, and<br />
<strong>the</strong>n suddenly, something new exists.”<br />
The next important step is that each<br />
job—from actor to writer to carpenter—<br />
is discussed, and children apply for<br />
positions. Each job carries with it real<br />
responsibility. The electricians learn<br />
about electricity and face <strong>the</strong> task of<br />
designing <strong>the</strong> lights (often tin cans with<br />
wire). Costume designers must consider<br />
who <strong>the</strong> characters are—and what <strong>the</strong>y<br />
might symbolically represent—before<br />
creating costumes. Composers start with<br />
<strong>the</strong> lyrics and write one song at a time.<br />
Notes Heveran, “They make <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
own deadlines, and <strong>the</strong>y have to be<br />
responsible for <strong>the</strong>ir own work.” For<br />
Heveran, it is important for students<br />
“to see how <strong>the</strong>ir jobs as students can<br />
translate into a professional job.”<br />
In <strong>the</strong> early part of <strong>the</strong> year, students<br />
also learn from professionals. They<br />
attend an opera at <strong>the</strong> Met (this year<br />
it was The Queen of Spades, by<br />
Tchaikovsky) and learn from visiting<br />
professionals who come to campus to do<br />
workshops and presentations. Guests<br />
have included a professional drummer
whose Broadway credits include The<br />
Lion King, and a tenor who has sung<br />
on Broadway in A Little Night Music.<br />
The performance is usually scheduled for<br />
<strong>the</strong> last week of April, with a preview/<br />
dress rehearsal performed for <strong>the</strong><br />
preschool, and a show <strong>the</strong> next evening<br />
for parents and o<strong>the</strong>r members of <strong>the</strong><br />
community. The shows belong entirely to<br />
<strong>the</strong> fifth graders. The adults who have<br />
provided guidance all along are strictly<br />
hands-off. Says Heveran, “If <strong>the</strong>re’s a<br />
prop missing, or a problem with <strong>the</strong><br />
lighting, <strong>the</strong> kids have to deal with it.”<br />
Each one of <strong>the</strong> fifth graders feels a<br />
great sense of accomplishment about<br />
this collaborative effort. For Mary<br />
Heveran and o<strong>the</strong>r educators, <strong>the</strong>re are<br />
many o<strong>the</strong>r things to celebrate. Seeing<br />
a shy child gain <strong>the</strong> confidence to stand<br />
up on stage and perform a solo is one.<br />
Seeing students become inspired to<br />
seek careers in <strong>the</strong> arts is ano<strong>the</strong>r.<br />
Ally Hirschlag ’02, who now runs an<br />
off-Broadway <strong>the</strong>ater company<br />
(www.marconi<strong>the</strong>atre.com), says that <strong>the</strong><br />
fifth-grade opera experience was<br />
extremely important. A lead actor in her<br />
class’s opera, she says, “As we began<br />
rehearsing it, since <strong>the</strong> show was literally<br />
being built up as we went along, it was<br />
easy to put our two cents in to most of<br />
<strong>the</strong> songs and dialogue.” This<br />
collaborative style and collective<br />
ownership made an impression. “It was<br />
very much a round-table kind of creative<br />
process,” she says, noting “that is exactly<br />
<strong>the</strong> kind of <strong>the</strong>ater company I have<br />
endeavored to create.” She says, “It takes<br />
good communication, <strong>the</strong> willingness to<br />
cooperate and compromise, and an open<br />
mind to have a truly successful creative<br />
team, and <strong>the</strong> fifth grade opera was my<br />
first glimpse into that world.”<br />
David Torsiello ’01, an actor who recently<br />
toured nationally with Dora <strong>the</strong> Explorer<br />
Live! Search for <strong>the</strong> City of Lost Toys,<br />
agrees that <strong>the</strong> Creating Original Opera<br />
program gave him insight into just how<br />
many people collaborate to bring to<br />
fruition a professional performance. “As<br />
a professional performer, I have been<br />
aware that my contribution to an entire<br />
production has been only a minor part<br />
of <strong>the</strong> big picture. Most of my colleagues<br />
do not realize <strong>the</strong> many people that<br />
contribute to a single production,” he<br />
says. “Next time you are handed a<br />
program at a show, read it from cover<br />
to cover and you will be amazed at what<br />
went into that show.”<br />
Lower <strong>School</strong> students wait excitedly on <strong>the</strong> steps leading up to Hajjar Auditorium before an opera<br />
production dress rehearsal.<br />
Torsiello recalls vividly his performance<br />
as “Jesse,” a soccer player who is injured<br />
in a game, in his class’s opera, In <strong>the</strong><br />
Shadow of a Dream. He says, “The opera<br />
program has helped me appreciate how<br />
music and performance are more than<br />
just a personal calling. Music has a social<br />
component that touches nearly every<br />
aspect of <strong>the</strong> world. The program teaches<br />
students about not only creation, but<br />
Documenting <strong>the</strong> Creative Process<br />
collaboration, inspiration and <strong>the</strong> beauty<br />
of sharing those components with<br />
audiences.” He also notes, “Learning how<br />
to work with <strong>the</strong> talents of o<strong>the</strong>rs within<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir respective fields has allowed me<br />
to adapt to <strong>the</strong> professional world in a<br />
positive way. These are valuable lessons<br />
that are not readily discovered in a<br />
classroom, but are extremely important<br />
in almost any profession.”<br />
Filmmakers Max Sturm ’05 and Joe Alessi ’06 have seen <strong>the</strong>ir collaborative<br />
works receive great acclaim. Their film, Lyrical Medicine Chest, was <strong>the</strong><br />
winner of PBS’s Reel 13 competition and selected by Anthology Film Archives<br />
in New York City (see sixtyfortysix.com). This year <strong>the</strong> pair is collaborating with<br />
o<strong>the</strong>rs to do a full-length feature documentary that showcases <strong>the</strong> opera program<br />
at <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>. Says Sturm, “The fifth grade opera program is unique in that<br />
<strong>the</strong> students must do it all. They must learn to collaborate, deal with complex peer<br />
interactions, everything. The results are poignant, sometimes funny, and very<br />
moving and compelling. I was and still am fascinated and energized by <strong>the</strong> power<br />
of what kids can do when <strong>the</strong>y all come toge<strong>the</strong>r.”<br />
Sturm says that he was one of those shy, introverted kids who came to believe in<br />
his ability as a performer, thanks to <strong>the</strong> opera program. He says, “Participating in<br />
<strong>the</strong> fifth grade opera was absolutely one of <strong>the</strong> highlights of my <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong><br />
education. The experience inspired me to continue pursuing performing arts<br />
opportunities. Later I successfully<br />
auditioned for roles in D-E Upper<br />
<strong>School</strong> <strong>the</strong>atrical productions,<br />
including Little Me and Pippin.”<br />
Sturm and Alessi’s film will capture<br />
<strong>the</strong> entire process of putting toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />
a successful production. Says Sturm,<br />
“We hope to successfully release <strong>the</strong><br />
film to <strong>the</strong> independent film circuit<br />
later this year.”<br />
Max Sturm ’05 (center, with glasses) performing in <strong>the</strong> opera that inspired him to initiate a<br />
film documentary about <strong>the</strong> program.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
7
8<br />
A Beloved Tradition<br />
A tradition that began at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong> in <strong>the</strong> 1950s has become a favorite of each new<br />
generation of students.<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> HANDBELLENSEMBLES<br />
A D-E tradition, handbell ensembles are a popular activity for Middle and Upper <strong>School</strong> students.<br />
With two sets of handbells,<br />
three Middle <strong>School</strong><br />
handbell classes per<br />
semester, and three year-long Upper<br />
<strong>School</strong> bell classes, it’s clear that<br />
handbells are one of <strong>the</strong> most<br />
popular musical activities at <strong>Dwight</strong>-<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong>. First introduced into<br />
<strong>the</strong> music curriculum at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> in <strong>the</strong> 1950s, handbells have<br />
become one of D-E’s more beloved<br />
and enduring traditions. Says Matt<br />
Schukis, choir director, “Kids love <strong>the</strong><br />
fact that <strong>the</strong>y are playing a set of bells<br />
that has history.” Meanwhile, visiting<br />
alumni often feel nostalgic. Says<br />
Schukis, “They’ll remember what bell<br />
<strong>the</strong>y played. They’ll come back and<br />
say, ‘Can I see my bell?’”<br />
What’s great about handbells? Everything,<br />
says Schukis. For starters, <strong>the</strong>y make<br />
beautiful music—in many styles and<br />
genres—without requiring ensemble<br />
members to have years of experience or<br />
deep technical knowledge. “I can take an<br />
8th grade student and have him ring a bell,<br />
and I can bring in a professional handbell<br />
player to ring <strong>the</strong> bell, and it sounds <strong>the</strong><br />
same,” notes Schukis.<br />
Which is not to say that handbells are not<br />
a rewarding challenge. Handbell players<br />
know that every single note counts, and<br />
<strong>the</strong>y strive for perfection. As Schukis points<br />
out, “Unlike any o<strong>the</strong>r music ensemble,<br />
you’re it. Nobody else is playing your part.<br />
If you’re in <strong>the</strong> orchestra and you play<br />
clarinet, <strong>the</strong>re are o<strong>the</strong>rs who are playing<br />
<strong>the</strong> same part.”<br />
As <strong>the</strong> students quickly learn, precise<br />
timing and teamwork are very important<br />
and require a great deal of practice. Plus,
One of <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>’s six handbell ensembles performed this holiday season at a local community center.<br />
for some songs, students standing next<br />
to each o<strong>the</strong>r might be sharing a bell<br />
between <strong>the</strong>m, and <strong>the</strong>y must coordinate<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir movements closely. “The students<br />
know what to do, how to problem solve,”<br />
says Schukis. “They have to work it out<br />
when <strong>the</strong>re are shared bells.”<br />
No one could have predicted that<br />
handbell choirs would become such an<br />
enduring tradition, but legendary retired<br />
music teacher Joe Erwin says that <strong>the</strong><br />
handbells were a hit from <strong>the</strong> beginning.<br />
Erwin was a new faculty member at <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong> in <strong>the</strong> 1950s when <strong>the</strong><br />
first set of bells—from <strong>the</strong> famous<br />
Whitechapel foundry in England—were<br />
delivered to <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>. They had<br />
been ordered by music teacher Helen<br />
Williams, who was retiring. Erwin, who<br />
had some experience with handbells,<br />
decided to follow through and get <strong>the</strong><br />
bells anyway. He arranged a piece of<br />
music and taught a group of faculty<br />
members to play it. Then, at a chapel<br />
ga<strong>the</strong>ring of <strong>the</strong> student body, <strong>the</strong> bells<br />
were unveiled and <strong>the</strong> faculty showed<br />
<strong>the</strong> girls just what kind of magic could be<br />
created with a handbell performance. All<br />
<strong>the</strong> girls wanted to try it, and handbells<br />
have been a thrill for <strong>Dwight</strong> and <strong>Dwight</strong>-<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> students ever since.<br />
Matt Schukis says that handbell<br />
ensembles breed a special kind of<br />
camaraderie, and Joe Erwin agrees.<br />
He says, “Music is an expression of a<br />
deep human nature. It seems like<br />
music making, but it’s really friendship<br />
making.”<br />
He also remembers a number of times<br />
when <strong>the</strong> handbells have created a<br />
sense of community. There was <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> trip in <strong>the</strong> 1970s to Romania with<br />
<strong>the</strong> choir and bell choir. There was also a<br />
memorable Fa<strong>the</strong>r-Daughter Dinner—a<br />
tradition attended by <strong>Dwight</strong>’s seniors<br />
and <strong>the</strong>ir dads. The daughters were<br />
delighted and amazed when <strong>the</strong> dads<br />
got up and performed a handbell piece<br />
that Erwin taught <strong>the</strong>m. Erwin, who had<br />
arranged <strong>the</strong> piece, had added in a<br />
clever and playful discordant ending,<br />
which brought <strong>the</strong> house down.<br />
With <strong>the</strong> growing popularity of <strong>the</strong><br />
handbells, <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> acquired a<br />
second set of bells in <strong>the</strong> 1980s. These<br />
Schulmerich handbells, cast in <strong>the</strong><br />
United States and used by <strong>the</strong> Middle<br />
<strong>School</strong>, don’t have <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>the</strong><br />
Whitechapel bells, but <strong>the</strong>y have <strong>the</strong><br />
advantage of being easier to learn on.<br />
Schukis explains, “Whitechapel bells are<br />
still made <strong>the</strong> way <strong>the</strong>y were made back<br />
in <strong>the</strong> 1500s. They are basically small<br />
exact replicas of tower bells,” he says.<br />
They were originally created so ringers<br />
could practice without having to be in <strong>the</strong><br />
tower. The Schulmerich bells, in contrast,<br />
are made to be handbells, designed with<br />
more modern technology, and can be<br />
adjusted for sound and ease of playing.<br />
Schukis says it is not uncommon for D-E<br />
students to try handbells for <strong>the</strong> first<br />
time in 8th grade and continue to play<br />
<strong>the</strong>m through senior year.<br />
A staple of winter and spring concerts,<br />
<strong>the</strong> handbell ensembles are always a<br />
fan favorite. Schukis points out that<br />
while audiences love <strong>the</strong> distinctive<br />
sound of <strong>the</strong> bells, listening is only<br />
part of <strong>the</strong> enjoyment. Because of <strong>the</strong><br />
graceful motion of ringing <strong>the</strong> bells and<br />
<strong>the</strong> precise timing, a handbell concert<br />
gives <strong>the</strong> impression of something that<br />
is beautifully choreographed. Says<br />
Schukis, “It’s really fun to watch.”<br />
Spring 2011<br />
9
ALUMNIPROFILE<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
10<br />
Mark Shapiro ’77: His Forte Is Conducting<br />
From <strong>the</strong> classics to new and rarely performed music, Shapiro has made his<br />
mark as an intellectually curious and versatile conductor.<br />
Mark Shapiro ’77 conducting Poulenc’s opera Les Mamelles de Tirésias at <strong>the</strong> Juilliard <strong>School</strong> in<br />
December 2010. Photo by Nan Melville.<br />
Variety is <strong>the</strong> spice of life.<br />
That aphorism might possibly<br />
be <strong>the</strong> best way to describe<br />
<strong>the</strong> infinitely interesting banquet<br />
that is Mark Shapiro’s existence as<br />
a conductor of choral groups,<br />
orchestras, and opera. The 20-year<br />
artistic director of both Cantori<br />
New York and <strong>the</strong> Monmouth Civic<br />
Chorus, Shapiro is highly sought<br />
as a visiting and guest conductor.<br />
He has worked with Juilliard Vocal <strong>Arts</strong>,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Nova Sinfonia chamber orchestra of<br />
Halifax, and <strong>the</strong> Bridgeport (Connecticut)<br />
Symphony, among o<strong>the</strong>rs. Recent special<br />
engagements have included conducting<br />
New York’s St. Cecilia Chorus in Carnegie<br />
Hall and presenting a Handel oratorio in<br />
a 5,000-seat Roman amphi<strong>the</strong>ater in<br />
Vaison-la-Romaine, France.<br />
Yes, Mark Shapiro goes to many different<br />
places—geographically and artistically<br />
too. Although he is a devotee of <strong>the</strong> great<br />
composers—Beethoven’s 5th Symphony<br />
is one of his favorite works—he has<br />
become known as a very versatile<br />
conductor and a champion of new and<br />
neglected music. A longtime collaborator<br />
with Teatro Grattacielo, an opera<br />
company that specializes in little-known<br />
verismo operas, Shapiro has also worked<br />
with <strong>the</strong> Center for Contemporary Opera<br />
and is an astonishing four-time winner of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Adventurous Programming Award<br />
of <strong>the</strong> American Society of Composers,<br />
Authors and Publishers.<br />
As if all of that weren’t enough, Shapiro<br />
is also a teaching faculty member at<br />
Long Island University and Mannes<br />
College The New <strong>School</strong> for Music. For<br />
fun, he also heads <strong>the</strong> conducting<br />
program and teaches at <strong>the</strong> European<br />
American Musical Alliance in Paris<br />
every summer.<br />
“I love teaching,” says Shapiro. “I think<br />
its one of <strong>the</strong> best ways to understand<br />
what you’re doing. There’s a whole<br />
problem solving element to conducting<br />
and teaching that is enormously<br />
interesting.”<br />
Variety is indeed <strong>the</strong> spice of life. Notes<br />
Shapiro, “One of <strong>the</strong> things I dread in life<br />
is boredom, and that is never a problem.”<br />
The Role of <strong>the</strong><br />
Conductor<br />
At <strong>the</strong> most basic level, a conductor<br />
must have an understanding of music<br />
and a knack for communicating with<br />
and organizing people. But Shapiro<br />
doesn’t think <strong>the</strong>re is only one “right”<br />
interpretation of a piece of music—even<br />
<strong>the</strong> classics can be fresh. In this way,<br />
<strong>the</strong> conductor can be thought of as a<br />
sort of chef: He takes ingredients that<br />
are available (a particular piece of music,<br />
a particular ensemble of musicians) and<br />
with a certain know-how and flair (a little<br />
more articulation here, a measure of<br />
ritardando <strong>the</strong>re…) creates something<br />
distinctive and memorable.<br />
Nor does Shapiro think of himself as <strong>the</strong><br />
big boss. One of his favorite metaphors
is that a conductor is a sort of jockey.<br />
(“Not that I’ve ever been on a horse!” he<br />
declares.) It’s a matter of directing and<br />
channeling <strong>the</strong> energies of something<br />
that’s very much alive and in motion.<br />
Says Shapiro, “To my mind, both <strong>the</strong><br />
piece and <strong>the</strong> musicians are alive.”<br />
The result of Shapiro’s labors is a<br />
complex, coordinated, public<br />
performance that draws on <strong>the</strong> talents<br />
of dozens of musicians and engages<br />
audiences of hundreds or perhaps<br />
thousands of people. Yet each<br />
performance begins in a very quiet,<br />
private, and personal way when Shapiro<br />
sits down—sometimes at <strong>the</strong> piano—to<br />
explore <strong>the</strong> music score for <strong>the</strong> first<br />
time. Where to begin? “You look for <strong>the</strong><br />
elements of <strong>the</strong> music that are surprising<br />
or personal to <strong>the</strong> composer,” says<br />
Shapiro. “I try to find out what sort of<br />
music it is—What world am I in? I spend<br />
a lot of time just trying to let <strong>the</strong> music<br />
suggest things to me.” Shapiro, who<br />
has a great interest in <strong>the</strong> science,<br />
perception, and cognition of music,<br />
notes that a composer’s choices “offer<br />
a window into <strong>the</strong> mind.”<br />
Even when <strong>the</strong> conductor has a clear<br />
sense of <strong>the</strong> way he wants to interpret<br />
<strong>the</strong> music, rehearsals evoke new ideas.<br />
“The live performance is different from<br />
what you imagined,” says Shapiro. “I<br />
always try to be in front of <strong>the</strong> ensemble<br />
with a kind of open-minded attention.”<br />
D-E Orchestra to Go Abroad<br />
After all, he points out, <strong>the</strong> musicians<br />
bring <strong>the</strong>ir own strengths and<br />
experiences to bear. While he avoids<br />
listening to recordings of music he is<br />
going to undertake, Shapiro values<br />
<strong>the</strong> interplay between himself and his<br />
musicians. He says, “I think it’s great<br />
to get ideas from o<strong>the</strong>r people.”<br />
While Shapiro has worked with some<br />
amazing professionals—renowned<br />
singers Harolyn Blackwell and Barbara<br />
Dever among <strong>the</strong>m—he also works with<br />
highly talented but amateur groups.<br />
He notes, “I really enjoy working with<br />
ensembles and helping <strong>the</strong>m achieve<br />
more than <strong>the</strong>y thought <strong>the</strong>y could.<br />
That’s hugely rewarding.”<br />
Proximity to Great Works<br />
Shapiro grew up in a family that<br />
appreciated many kinds of music, from<br />
folk to opera. He took piano lessons in his<br />
youth and enjoyed singing in <strong>the</strong> chorus as<br />
a student at <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>. At that time<br />
he didn’t know he would make a career in<br />
music. That didn’t come until later, at Yale<br />
University, where he started a small vocal<br />
ensemble and conducted pieces he knew<br />
from high school and college classes, along<br />
<strong>the</strong> way to earning his bachelor’s degree in<br />
music, summa cum laude. He went on to<br />
obtain diplomas in orchestral conducting<br />
from <strong>the</strong> École Normale de Musique in<br />
Paris, where <strong>the</strong> foundation in French he<br />
gained from D-E first proved its tremendous<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> musicians will have <strong>the</strong> opportunity to perform for<br />
new audiences and to experience <strong>the</strong> vibrant history and culture of<br />
London and its environs on an eight-day tour June 11–18.<br />
The trip includes sightseeing excursions to <strong>the</strong> Houses of Parliament,<br />
Buckingham Palace, <strong>the</strong> Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Windsor<br />
Castle, Stonehenge, Bath, and more. The orchestra will perform three<br />
concerts while abroad, one of <strong>the</strong>m in Banqueting House, <strong>the</strong> last surviving<br />
building from <strong>the</strong> Palace of Whitehall.<br />
Music Department faculty member John Littlefield explains how students<br />
were selected for <strong>the</strong> trip. “We held auditions in <strong>the</strong> fall, and 34 students<br />
were accepted to what we have titled <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> Touring<br />
Orchestra,” he says. The group will perform a number of pieces on <strong>the</strong>ir tour,<br />
including Mozart’s “Jupiter Symphony” (first movement), Ravel’s “Pavanne for<br />
a Dead Princess,” Dvorak’s “Czech Suite” (last movement), and Gershwin’s<br />
“Prelude No. 2.”<br />
usefulness, and <strong>the</strong> Peabody Conservatory,<br />
where he studied under <strong>the</strong> tutelage of<br />
Gustav Meier. Shapiro also holds a<br />
doctorate in choral conducting from<br />
Stonybrook University.<br />
He does not remember <strong>the</strong> first piece<br />
he conducted when he was just starting<br />
out, but he does remember tackling<br />
Beethoven’s epic 80-minute-long<br />
Missa Solemnis, a demanding, rarely<br />
performed masterwork that requires<br />
coordinating an orchestra, a chorus, and<br />
four vocal soloists. At <strong>the</strong> time it was an<br />
ambitious piece for his age and stage of<br />
development as a conductor. Shapiro<br />
calls it “one of <strong>the</strong> first mountains I felt<br />
I climbed” and “a game changer.”<br />
It is a masterpiece he still loves today.<br />
In fact, Shapiro feels that one of <strong>the</strong><br />
best things about his professional life is<br />
having <strong>the</strong> opportunity to put himself into<br />
<strong>the</strong> mindset of a great composer or into<br />
<strong>the</strong> world of an amazing piece of music.<br />
“There are a lot of rewards about <strong>the</strong><br />
work,” he says. “I think one of <strong>the</strong> things<br />
that actually comes right back to some of<br />
my experiences at <strong>Dwight</strong> is <strong>the</strong> proximity<br />
to greatness.” As a student, Shapiro<br />
remembers how exciting it was to be<br />
exposed to and to learn from great works<br />
of art—whe<strong>the</strong>r in literature, music,<br />
or <strong>the</strong> visual arts. Notes Shapiro, “The<br />
general respect for masterpieces was so<br />
much a part of <strong>the</strong> fabric of <strong>Dwight</strong> when<br />
I was <strong>the</strong>re—and I think is still <strong>the</strong>re.”<br />
The Annual Fund<br />
enhances excellence<br />
at <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>.<br />
Give online at<br />
www.d-e.org<br />
Spring 2011<br />
11
A”RUNAWAY”SUCCESS<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
12<br />
The 2011 D-E Spring Fashion Show and Luncheon<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> presented its 2011 Spring Fashion Show and Luncheon on March 2 at<br />
<strong>the</strong> Rockleigh Country Club, benefiting <strong>the</strong> Faculty & Staff Fund.<br />
Abiannual event that is<br />
hosted by <strong>the</strong> Special Events<br />
Committee of <strong>the</strong> D-E<br />
Development Office <strong>the</strong> Spring<br />
Fashion Show and Luncheon<br />
welcomed approximately 300<br />
guests and featured more than 50<br />
beautiful runway looks from Saks<br />
Fifth Avenue of The Shops at<br />
Riverside. Apparel from designers<br />
Armani Collezioni, Akris Punto,<br />
Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, and<br />
many more were showcased,<br />
ranging from must-have casual to<br />
stunning formal fashions.<br />
From left: Gretchen Walker of Saks Fifth<br />
Avenue, Associate Director of Development<br />
Bea Movsesian, and Lenora Klein and Robin<br />
Modell, co-chairs of <strong>the</strong> 2011 Fashion Show.<br />
The event included a special<br />
announcement and presentation of <strong>the</strong><br />
first-ever <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
Community Achievement Award. Alexis<br />
Cooperman, a <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
parent, trustee, and dedicated volunteer,<br />
was honored by Karen Aboodi, president<br />
of <strong>the</strong> D-E Board of Trustees. Aboodi<br />
noted, “Alexis embodies an unflagging<br />
commitment to <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>, to<br />
making our <strong>School</strong> <strong>the</strong> best it can be.”<br />
Fashion Show guests had <strong>the</strong> opportunity<br />
to win several enticing raffle prizes,<br />
including Broadway tickets, gift baskets<br />
from local retailers and specialty shops,<br />
and tickets to professional sports events.<br />
A highlight of <strong>the</strong> event took place in <strong>the</strong><br />
days following, when D-E parent Rima<br />
Amirsaleh was <strong>the</strong> lucky winner of a pair<br />
of diamond and pearl Nini Earrings, valued<br />
at more than $11,000. Saks Fifth Avenue<br />
generously contributed <strong>the</strong> earrings for<br />
<strong>the</strong> raffle and gave <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong> 10% of all<br />
proceeds from sales at <strong>the</strong>ir Riverside<br />
store from March 2 through March 4.<br />
During <strong>the</strong> event and in <strong>the</strong> days following,<br />
Head of <strong>School</strong> Dr. Rodney De Jarnett<br />
expressed his sincere thanks to all those<br />
involved in <strong>the</strong> show’s tremendous<br />
success. “This event would not have been<br />
possible without <strong>the</strong> creativity, dedication,<br />
and literally hundreds of hours of time<br />
contributed by our exceptional Fashion<br />
Show volunteers and D-E staff members,”<br />
he said. “I wish to express my sincere,<br />
personal gratitude to both Lenora Klein<br />
and Robin Modell, our 2011 Fashion<br />
Show and Luncheon Committee co-chairs,<br />
for yet again planning and executing an<br />
incredible, memorable event. Lenora and<br />
Robin expertly managed a dedicated<br />
committee of Fashion Show volunteers,<br />
all of whom deserve our thanks.”<br />
Amber Sabathia and Kelly Spitzley (center)<br />
and <strong>the</strong>ir guests.<br />
Head of <strong>School</strong> Rodney De Jarnett, Alexis<br />
Cooperman, who received <strong>the</strong> Community<br />
Service Award, and Robin Modell and Lenora<br />
Klein, event co-chairs.<br />
Helen Herssens (center) with some of her guests.<br />
From left: Helen Jerome, Stephanie Wolfer,<br />
and Kathy Leventhal.
Spring 2011<br />
13
SWARTLEYGALLERY<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
14<br />
Where Art and Artists Flourish<br />
Swartley Gallery is a place where student and alumni artists show work and share ideas.<br />
“Off <strong>the</strong> Wall” Exhibit<br />
Showcases Works<br />
by Young Alumni<br />
Vivid, conceptual influences of street art<br />
were noted by visitors to “Off <strong>the</strong> Wall,”<br />
a special exhibit featuring works by<br />
young D-E alumni earlier this year in D-E’s<br />
Swartley Gallery. The artists “have been<br />
influenced by <strong>the</strong> urban landscape and<br />
culture that swirls around and within each of<br />
<strong>the</strong>m,” according to Visual <strong>Arts</strong> Department<br />
Chair Gregg Emery, who curated <strong>the</strong> show.<br />
Pieces by Joshua Williams ’02, Geobany<br />
“Bowz” Rodriguez ’00, and Veronique “Acet”<br />
Broussard ’00 leveraged digitally manipulated<br />
work, stencils, grafitti, and more traditional<br />
approaches to painting and drawing on ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />
untraditional surfaces. Emery noted in his<br />
exhibit remarks that “(All) use <strong>the</strong>ir personal,<br />
creative voices to speak <strong>the</strong>ir mind, share<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir story and make <strong>the</strong>ir individual mark<br />
upon <strong>the</strong> collective consciousness of this<br />
world on a local and global level.”<br />
Alumni Designers Share Ideas, Experience<br />
Erica Sellers ’08 and<br />
Seung Paik ’99<br />
stopped by <strong>the</strong><br />
Swartley Gallery recently<br />
to share <strong>the</strong>ir work with<br />
D-E students. Sellers is a<br />
junior at Rhode Island<br />
<strong>School</strong> of Design (RISD),<br />
and Seung graduated<br />
from RISD and has worked<br />
as a designer for lead<br />
corporate brands including<br />
Reebok, Nike, and Under<br />
Armour, to name a few.<br />
Visual <strong>Arts</strong> Chair Gregg<br />
Emery noted, “These<br />
young D-E alumni<br />
graciously contributed<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir time to visit our Innovative Design, AP Portfolio, and AP Studio Art classes.<br />
Our students were excited to have this chance to benefit from <strong>the</strong>ir expertise,<br />
viewpoints, and wonderful personalities.”<br />
Works by alumni artists were featured at <strong>the</strong> “Off <strong>the</strong> Wall” exhibit, showcasing urban-inspired <strong>the</strong>mes and media.<br />
Visual <strong>Arts</strong> Chair Gregg Emery (left) and faculty member<br />
Marisol Diaz (2nd from right) welcomed visiting young<br />
alumni Seung Paik ’99 and Erica Sellers ’08 to <strong>the</strong> arts<br />
center, where <strong>the</strong>y spoke to several AP classes.
D-E student artists ga<strong>the</strong>red for a photo at <strong>the</strong> opening reception for <strong>the</strong> Senior Spotlight Exhibit.<br />
This striking poster promoted <strong>the</strong> 2011 Senior Spotlight Exhibit in <strong>the</strong><br />
Swartley Gallery.<br />
Visual <strong>Arts</strong> Are Alive at D-E!<br />
To see more, and read <strong>the</strong> D-E Visual <strong>Arts</strong> Blog, visit www.d-e.org/arts!<br />
Katie Yook’s work “What’s <strong>the</strong> Best Nation?<br />
Donation.” won Best in Show at this year’s Senior<br />
Spotlight exhibit.<br />
Senior Art Spotlighted<br />
This year’s Senior Spotlight Exhibit featured<br />
painting, sculpture, and mixed media by<br />
students Jenny Lee ’11, Eunice Her ’11,<br />
Hadar Naftalovich ’11, and Katie Yook ’11. The<br />
show was curated by Shireen Kahn ’11. Katie<br />
Yook’s painting “What’s <strong>the</strong> Best Nation?<br />
Donation.” won Best in Show honors.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
15
REUNION2011<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
16<br />
Save <strong>the</strong> Date!<br />
June 3–5 is our 2011 Reunion and Commencement Weekend at <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong>. For<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong>, <strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> for Boys, and D-E <strong>School</strong> graduates from class years ending in<br />
1 and 6, milestone year celebrations are also planned.<br />
A Reunion Preview<br />
This year’s Reunion includes a<br />
“Jazz Rock Jam” featuring<br />
Jazz Rock alumni and current<br />
instrumental students, and directed<br />
by Rob DeBellis; a Leggett Hall<br />
room dedication ceremony<br />
commemorating 40+ years of<br />
service of retiring English<br />
Department faculty member<br />
Frimi Sagan; and <strong>the</strong> traditional<br />
Reunion Soiree “under <strong>the</strong> tent”<br />
on Leggett Field.<br />
Special Honorees<br />
During <strong>the</strong> Reunion, Head of <strong>School</strong><br />
Dr. De Jarnett will be joined by special<br />
presenting guests to honor Robert<br />
Bakish ’81 and Karl Zimmermann ESB<br />
’61, winners of <strong>the</strong> 2011 Distinguished<br />
Alumni Award. Bob Bakish is president<br />
and CEO of Viacom International Media<br />
Networks. He will also be <strong>the</strong> graduation<br />
speaker for <strong>the</strong> Class of 2011 on<br />
Sunday, June 5. (See profile on page 4.)<br />
A writer, photographer, and lecturer, Karl<br />
Zimmermann is <strong>the</strong> author or co-author<br />
of 23 books. He has been published in<br />
magazines, with stories appearing in<br />
Travel & Leisure, Gourmet, Trains,<br />
Classic Trains, Americana and<br />
Passenger Train Journal (he served as<br />
contributing editor to both), Cruise Travel,<br />
Bon Appetit, Locomotive & Railway<br />
Preservation, and many o<strong>the</strong>rs. He is<br />
also a frequent contributor to <strong>the</strong> travel<br />
sections of newspapers across <strong>the</strong><br />
country including <strong>the</strong> New York Times,<br />
Washington Post, Los Angeles Times,<br />
Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and
Chicago Sun-Times. On <strong>the</strong> web,<br />
Zimmermann has written a monthly<br />
column, “All Aboard!,” for trains.com<br />
and feature articles and news for<br />
expedia.com. He is an accomplished<br />
photographer; many hundreds of his<br />
photographs are in print—in both his<br />
own books and o<strong>the</strong>rs, and in <strong>the</strong><br />
aforementioned magazines and<br />
newspapers. After concluding a 25-year<br />
career as teacher and administrator in<br />
independent schools, including director<br />
of development at ESB and D-E from<br />
1965 to 1978, Zimmermann began in<br />
1990 an ongoing relationship with<br />
Browning Associates, a consulting firm<br />
that specializes in counseling schools<br />
on development and related matters.<br />
Zimmermann has served as lecturer,<br />
study leader, and tour host aboard <strong>the</strong><br />
GrandLuxe Express and for Smithsonian<br />
Associates and <strong>the</strong> Society of<br />
International Railway Travelers.<br />
The <strong>School</strong> will also recognize <strong>the</strong> 2011<br />
inductees into <strong>the</strong> D-E Athletic Hall of<br />
Fame. Baseball, basketball, and football<br />
player Robert Brisk ’76, is a former<br />
faculty member and served as Upper<br />
<strong>School</strong> principal at D-E from 1980 to<br />
1999. Susan Brisk Sharp D ’71 earned<br />
multiple varsity letters and was <strong>the</strong><br />
1971 MVP in field hockey, basketball,<br />
and lacrosse.<br />
Don’t Miss It!<br />
For an overview of all Reunion<br />
2011 events, please refer to <strong>the</strong><br />
inside back cover of this issue<br />
of D-E Today. To download <strong>the</strong><br />
official Reunion event invitation,<br />
review <strong>the</strong> schedule in more<br />
detail, or RSVP online, visit<br />
www.d-e.org/alumni or<br />
contact Alumni Director<br />
Maria Sanchez-Gardner ’78, at<br />
201-569-9500, ext. 3413, or<br />
email sanchm@d-e.org.<br />
Last year’s dinner cruise around Manhattan was a big hit at Reunion. This year all members of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Leggett-Umpleby Society are invited. See story below.<br />
Leggett-Umpleby Society Formed<br />
The Alumni Relations Council is very pleased and proud to announce<br />
<strong>the</strong> founding of <strong>the</strong> Leggett-Umpleby Society, a group for alumni and<br />
alumnae of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong>, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> for Boys and<br />
eventually <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> who have reached <strong>the</strong>ir 50th<br />
Reunion. If you graduated 50 years ago or more, you are automatically a<br />
member and invited to attend <strong>the</strong> Society’s events.<br />
According to Co-chairs Nancy Robin Jaicks D ’55 and Armand Pohan<br />
ESB ’60, <strong>the</strong> purpose of this society is to provide occasions for alumni and<br />
alumnae to ga<strong>the</strong>r and connect with each o<strong>the</strong>r. Whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>se ga<strong>the</strong>rings<br />
are centered on art, music, or education, you can be sure <strong>the</strong>y will provide<br />
an opportunity to learn as well as spend time with old and new friends.<br />
The first event for <strong>the</strong> Leggett-Umpleby Society was a reception on April 8<br />
in Hulst House prior to this year’s final Head of <strong>School</strong> Series concert by<br />
315 East, our resident professional chamber ensemble. Approximately 25<br />
members of <strong>the</strong> Society were in attendance and enjoyed <strong>the</strong> reception with<br />
Dr. De Jarnett before <strong>the</strong> concert.<br />
As part of Reunion Weekend, Society members are invited to enjoy a<br />
dinner cruise around Manhattan, which is being sponsored by Co-Chair<br />
Armand Pohan. Register online for this event on <strong>the</strong> Reunion 2011<br />
reunion registration page at www.d-e.org/alumni or by contacting Maria<br />
Sanchez-Gardner by phone at 201-569-9500, ext. 3413, or by email at<br />
sanchm@d-e.org.<br />
More events will be scheduled for <strong>the</strong> fall. Says, Co-chair Nancy Robin Jaicks,<br />
“If you belong to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong> or ESB Class of 1961, or an earlier class, you’re<br />
in luck! We hope to see you at ga<strong>the</strong>rings of <strong>the</strong> Leggett-Umpleby Society.”<br />
For more information about <strong>the</strong> Leggett-Umpleby Society, please call<br />
Development Director Pat Boig at 201-569-9500, ext. 3411.<br />
Use your smartphone’s QR code reader to register and<br />
pay online for <strong>the</strong> upcoming Reunion.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
17
ARTSINOURCOMMUNITY<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
18<br />
“<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> students, faculty, and alumni took part in <strong>the</strong> annual fundraiser known<br />
as <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol at <strong>the</strong> Bergen Performing <strong>Arts</strong> Center. This year one of our own was <strong>the</strong><br />
winning contestant.<br />
Our Idol: Erica Butler ’11<br />
Absolutely shocked” are just<br />
some of <strong>the</strong> words that Upper<br />
<strong>School</strong> student vocalist Erica<br />
Butler ’11 still uses to describe how<br />
she felt when she learned that she<br />
had won <strong>the</strong> coveted title of 2011<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> Idol. Butler dazzled with<br />
her extraordinary performance of<br />
“Superwoman” and several o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
popular music hits before a sell-out<br />
crowd at <strong>the</strong> Bergen Performing <strong>Arts</strong><br />
Center on January 7, becoming <strong>the</strong><br />
first-ever student from <strong>Dwight</strong>-<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> to be named as <strong>the</strong><br />
contest winner.<br />
Erica with her parents Eric (far left) and Iris<br />
Butler, and Alexander Diaz, Bergen PAC Director<br />
of Education (far right).<br />
Auditions for <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol are open<br />
to any high school student living in, or<br />
attending school in <strong>Englewood</strong>, NJ.<br />
Hundreds auditioned, and Erica was<br />
one of only 11 semi-finalists selected to<br />
perform. The popular competition<br />
benefits <strong>the</strong> Dr. John Grieco Scholarship<br />
Fund. (See Judy Aronson sidebar.)<br />
Erica, who names stars Alicia Keys and<br />
Jessie J as two of her favorite<br />
Erica performed with fellow D-E student Ethan First ’11 on guitar, for her winning performance in<br />
<strong>the</strong> 2011 <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol event.<br />
inspirations, has been singing solos and<br />
playing piano since she was 10, and is<br />
active in her church choir as well as in<br />
D-E’s own Jazz Rock ensemble. One of<br />
several in her family who sings, including<br />
her fa<strong>the</strong>r and older sister Dana<br />
Butler ’07, Erica speaks in a somewhat<br />
soft but strong voice. Singing, however,<br />
is ano<strong>the</strong>r matter. Her quiet demeanor<br />
in <strong>the</strong> classrooms and hallways of D-E<br />
is at odds with her incredible on-stage<br />
presence. She says, “With music, I can<br />
just let go…Music is my passion.”<br />
A D-E Lifer who still fondly remembers<br />
<strong>the</strong> Lower <strong>School</strong> principal greeting her<br />
each morning at drop-off, Erica says<br />
Math Department faculty member<br />
Shakeh Tashjian and Student Services<br />
Director Erika Raser are among those<br />
who have helped to mentor and support<br />
her during her education at <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Erica hopes to pursue a combined major<br />
of music and business when she begins<br />
college in <strong>the</strong> fall at George Washington<br />
University in Washington, DC.<br />
Since winning <strong>the</strong> title of 2011<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> Idol, Erica has been honored<br />
with invitations to sing at a number of<br />
local ga<strong>the</strong>rings, including an assembly<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Bergen Academies, and a recent<br />
meeting of <strong>the</strong> New Jersey State<br />
Legislature’s Tourism and <strong>the</strong> <strong>Arts</strong><br />
Committee. Following her moving,<br />
improvisational performance of
Erica takes a bow after her performance for a<br />
meeting of <strong>the</strong> New Jersey State Legislature’s<br />
Tourism and <strong>the</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> Committee.<br />
With an event as successful<br />
as <strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol<br />
competition, you can bet<br />
that a number of people are working<br />
pretty hard behind <strong>the</strong> scenes. Judy<br />
Mitzman Aronson ’78 is one of <strong>the</strong>m.<br />
Aronson is a history teacher at both<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-Morrow High <strong>School</strong> and The<br />
Academies @ <strong>Englewood</strong> who helps<br />
to put on <strong>the</strong> event every year. (She<br />
is also a proud graduate of <strong>the</strong> Class<br />
of 1978, and counts D-E Alumni<br />
Director Maria Sanchez-Gardner ’78<br />
and D-E parent Linda Reiter ’78 “as<br />
some of my good friends.”) While<br />
music is a passion for <strong>the</strong> contestants,<br />
Aronson’s passion is clearly<br />
community building, which is<br />
a huge aspect of <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol.<br />
Aronson explains that <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol<br />
was <strong>the</strong> brainchild of community<br />
visionary John Landes, former president<br />
of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> Area Community<br />
Foundation. It was originally designed to<br />
bring toge<strong>the</strong>r students from three area<br />
high schools: The <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, <strong>Dwight</strong> Morrow High <strong>School</strong>, and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Academies @ <strong>Englewood</strong>. Today it is<br />
open to all high school students in<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong>. Says Aronson, “<strong>Englewood</strong><br />
“You Raise Me Up” and “America <strong>the</strong><br />
Beautiful,” Assemblyman Mat<strong>the</strong>w<br />
W. Milam, <strong>the</strong> committee’s chairman,<br />
joked that he wished Erica could be<br />
available at regular 15-minute<br />
intervals to sing during <strong>the</strong> remainder<br />
of <strong>the</strong> meeting, to “keep <strong>the</strong><br />
committee inspired.”<br />
Contestants in <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol perform<br />
not just for <strong>the</strong> love of <strong>the</strong> stage, but<br />
also for prizes donated by local<br />
vendors. Past first place winners of<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol competition have<br />
been granted an all-day recording<br />
session at Bennett Studios in<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> coupled with cash prizes<br />
supported by <strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> Area<br />
Community Foundation. In addition,<br />
this year’s <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol and 1st and<br />
2nd runners up will be awarded a Dr.<br />
John Grieco Scholarship. The “Idols”<br />
later perform both toge<strong>the</strong>r and as<br />
soloists at local area community<br />
centers, schools, and senior centers.<br />
Idol is more than a musical competition;<br />
it is a way for <strong>Englewood</strong>’s high school<br />
students to get to know each o<strong>the</strong>r on<br />
a different level, outside of school, and<br />
on <strong>the</strong>ir own terms. This event has<br />
become a great way for performing arts<br />
students and staff to get to know and<br />
trust each o<strong>the</strong>r.”<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> Idol is also <strong>the</strong> largest<br />
annual fundraiser for <strong>the</strong> Dr. John<br />
Grieco Scholarship Fund, which is<br />
named after <strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> public<br />
school superintendent who spearheaded<br />
<strong>the</strong> creation of <strong>the</strong> Academies @<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> as well as o<strong>the</strong>r initiatives.<br />
Aronson is <strong>the</strong> founder and advisor to<br />
<strong>the</strong> fund. Organizers of <strong>the</strong> Idol event<br />
are students in <strong>the</strong> Dr. John Grieco<br />
Scholarship Fund elective and club,<br />
which focuses on teaching students<br />
all aspects of event management,<br />
from creating budgets to designing<br />
marketing plans to ticket and T-shirt<br />
sales to event production.<br />
Aronson, who lives in Tenafly with her<br />
husband, Mark, and children Jacob, Sam,<br />
Lizzie, and Molly, says that many people<br />
deserve credit for Idol’s success, notably<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> English teacher and<br />
D-E Well Represented<br />
at Idol Competition<br />
Judy Aronson ’78: Passionate for <strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> Community<br />
At <strong>the</strong> 2011 <strong>Englewood</strong> Idol event, Erica<br />
Butler took top honors, but plenty of o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
D-E students performed at <strong>the</strong> show.<br />
Impressive performances by Gina Marie<br />
Enriquez ’14 and Brian Park ’12 placed <strong>the</strong>m<br />
among <strong>the</strong> 11 semi-finalists. Lexi Byron ’11,<br />
Kara Byron ’13, Zoe Oz ’13, Taylor Gilroy ’11,<br />
Danni Chalfin ’13, and Erica Klein ’11, who<br />
call <strong>the</strong>ir group SixChix, also performed as<br />
dancers and won <strong>the</strong> title of “Best Dance<br />
Crew.” In addition to <strong>the</strong>se performers, Ethan<br />
First ’11 provided musical accompaniment to<br />
Erica Butler; Michael Hajjar ’11 served as<br />
co-MC; and Alexander Koren ’12 and Andre<br />
Amirsaleh ’13 provided intermission juggling<br />
entertainment. Alan Brown, D-E Upper <strong>School</strong><br />
Dean and one of <strong>the</strong> many enthusiastic fans<br />
in <strong>the</strong> audience, called <strong>the</strong> performances<br />
“absolutely electrifying. This was a great night<br />
for <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong>!”<br />
Dance Club advisor Vicky Frankel, who<br />
lends her choreographic talents to <strong>the</strong><br />
competition. She says, “The program<br />
[continues to thrive] with incredible<br />
support from people like Vicky Frankel,<br />
and both donated and in-kind support<br />
from organizations such as <strong>the</strong> Bergen<br />
PAC, <strong>Englewood</strong> Area Community<br />
Foundation, The Community Chest, TD<br />
Bank, Bennett Studios, and a number<br />
of o<strong>the</strong>r local, dedicated organizations<br />
and businesses.”<br />
The approximately $5,000 raised by <strong>the</strong><br />
event this year is indeed a big reward, but<br />
it’s not <strong>the</strong> only one for Aronson. She<br />
relishes <strong>the</strong> idea that Idol brings students<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r. “When performers are on stage,<br />
it is of course great fun for <strong>the</strong>m, but it’s<br />
also a blast to be cheering from <strong>the</strong><br />
audience,” she says. “At <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong><br />
evening you vote for <strong>the</strong> winner. An<br />
invisible bond forms as <strong>the</strong> evening goes<br />
on. Kids realize that even though <strong>the</strong>y<br />
attend different schools <strong>the</strong>y have a lot in<br />
common. There’s this magic that takes<br />
over as <strong>the</strong> evening goes on, and by <strong>the</strong><br />
time <strong>the</strong> Idol is crowned, everyone is on<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir feet cheering for <strong>the</strong> winner, no<br />
matter what school <strong>the</strong>y go to. I love<br />
that moment.”<br />
Spring 2011<br />
19
CULTURALDIVERSITY<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
20<br />
The Art of <strong>Celebrating</strong> Cultural Diversity<br />
Two events held this spring at D-E and presented in part by <strong>the</strong> newly created Office of Multicultural<br />
Initiatives did an effective job of showing how differences can be a beautiful thing.<br />
Cultural Showcase Inspires<br />
Aspecial assembly held on <strong>the</strong> eve of <strong>the</strong> 2011 Spring Break showcased <strong>the</strong><br />
incredibly rich array of diversity found within <strong>the</strong> D-E <strong>School</strong> community.<br />
Featuring all Upper <strong>School</strong> students in memorable vocal, dance, poetry,<br />
spoken word, and instrumental performances, <strong>the</strong> first annual INSPIRE Multi-<br />
Cultural Showcase took place in Schenck Auditorium and<br />
left a vivid impression.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> opening words of one of <strong>the</strong> INSPIRE Club presenters, Jay Kapur ’11 noted<br />
that <strong>the</strong> club hopes to “provide education, improve communications and sponsor<br />
celebrations for all members of <strong>the</strong> D-E community, [believing] that we can work<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r to create an environment of respect, trust, equity and justice.”<br />
Danny Chang ’12 (left) and Alberto Jimenez ’13<br />
performed “Hembra,” a Peruvian song, at an<br />
assembly showcasing D-E’s cultural diversity.<br />
Rachna Agarwal ’12, ano<strong>the</strong>r INSPIRE<br />
club member, stated that <strong>the</strong> assembly<br />
was “intended to be more than a show<br />
of talent. Our goal [was] to expose us to<br />
that special something that comes from<br />
sharing one's culture with o<strong>the</strong>rs.”<br />
Assembly program highlights included<br />
a soulful rendition of “Drunken<br />
Confessions,” performed by US students<br />
Brian Park ’12 and Justin Kim ’11; a<br />
Peruvian guitar duet; and a dance<br />
segment based on <strong>the</strong> song “Waka<br />
Waka” from <strong>the</strong> 2010 FIFA World Cup.<br />
Student Gillian Garcia ’13 recited a<br />
beautiful poem titled “The Children of<br />
Cuban Exiles” by Sonia Guerra, and<br />
Ariella Witter ’13 shared her own<br />
compellingly personal perspective on<br />
“<strong>the</strong> browning of America” in a narrative<br />
entitled “My Modern Family.” Witter’s<br />
family heritage is Jamaican, Chinese,<br />
and Puerto Rican.<br />
Clinton Carbon, INSPIRE Club faculty advisor and director of <strong>the</strong> D-E Office<br />
of Multicultural Initiatives, praised <strong>the</strong> students and faculty who worked so many<br />
hours to put <strong>the</strong> assembly toge<strong>the</strong>r. He says, “We definitely achieved our goal to<br />
celebrate and honor <strong>the</strong> soul and spirit of members of our community.”<br />
INSPIRE President<br />
Honored<br />
Debbie Marie Rivera ’11 is one of<br />
only 24 Bergen County students<br />
to be recognized with a 2011<br />
Youth Certificate of Merit from <strong>the</strong><br />
Dr. Martin Lu<strong>the</strong>r King, Jr. Birthday<br />
Observance Committee of Bergen County.<br />
Debbie Rivera with Sen. Robert Menendez,<br />
who visited D-E for <strong>the</strong> INSPIRE Club’s<br />
Hispanic Heritage Recognition Assembly in<br />
October.<br />
Nominated by <strong>the</strong> D-E Office of<br />
Multicultural Initiatives, Debbie received<br />
her award at a program on January 17 at<br />
Temple Emeth in Teaneck, also receiving<br />
at that time several certificates of<br />
recognition from New Jersey officials,<br />
including <strong>the</strong> Bergen County Executive’s<br />
Office and U.S. Congressman Steve<br />
Rothman. The award program highlights<br />
outstanding academic achievement and<br />
service to school and community, that<br />
goes beyond membership and which<br />
exemplifies <strong>the</strong> ideals of Dr. King.
Debbie Rivera ’11 at <strong>the</strong> MLK Honors event, with her D-E mentors including Clinton Carbon,<br />
director of <strong>the</strong> D-E Office of Multicultural Initiatives (2nd from left), and Joseph Murphy, chair of<br />
<strong>the</strong> D-E Ethics Department (far right).<br />
Debbie was nominated for her<br />
outstanding work in revitalizing INSPIRE,<br />
<strong>the</strong> D-E student diversity club; her<br />
participation on <strong>the</strong> D-E Hearing Council<br />
(for which she was elected by her fellow<br />
Upper <strong>School</strong> students and faculty/staff<br />
members); her participation as a<br />
member of <strong>the</strong> D-E contingency to <strong>the</strong><br />
NAIS Student Diversity Leadership<br />
Conference in December 2010; and,<br />
finally, her work with her church as a<br />
Sunday <strong>School</strong> teacher and volunteer<br />
with New Jersey SEEDS. Debbie is also a<br />
senior-freshmen mentor to an advisory of<br />
students, and she has been manager for<br />
<strong>the</strong> volleyball team since freshman year.<br />
Clinton L. Carbon, director of <strong>the</strong> Office<br />
of Multicultural Initiatives, noted,<br />
“Debbie is a student who personifies our<br />
Profile of a Graduate, and, frankly, all <strong>the</strong><br />
ideals of Dr. King's work. Whe<strong>the</strong>r<br />
considering Debbie’s work with <strong>the</strong><br />
INSPIRE club throughout this entire year<br />
with compelling events, or her everyday,<br />
cheerful disposition, Debbie works hard<br />
to welcome all students. She is a<br />
wonderful ambassador for our school,<br />
and she believes in working on special<br />
initiatives that will have a future life<br />
within our community.”<br />
Debbie says, “I stand strong for promoting<br />
differences amongst our student body,<br />
and I think that it is very important to<br />
educate each o<strong>the</strong>r about what we each<br />
represent. I have been involved in<br />
diversity clubs since middle school and<br />
participated in conferences such as <strong>the</strong><br />
Young Latina Conference by Latinas<br />
United in Political Power and <strong>the</strong> annual<br />
Teens Talk About Racism with Marianne<br />
Murphy (wife of Ethics Department faculty<br />
member Joe Murphy). One of <strong>the</strong> things<br />
that I’ve been particularly involved in<br />
shaping is INSPIRE, <strong>the</strong> new version of<br />
<strong>the</strong> diversity club, and <strong>the</strong> Diversity<br />
Steering Committee with students and<br />
faculty. INSPIRE is my favorite club on<br />
campus and although it is a new club,<br />
I see it being a strong establishment<br />
many, many years from now.”<br />
Debbie says that her motivation on<br />
diversity issues comes in part from her<br />
family circumstances as “a firstgeneration<br />
daughter of an immigrant<br />
family.” She notes, “I will be <strong>the</strong> first<br />
one in my home to graduate from high<br />
school and go on to college.”<br />
Last fall, Debbie began organizing an<br />
assembly for Hispanic Heritage month.<br />
Held at <strong>the</strong> beginning of October, <strong>the</strong><br />
assembly featured a speech by U.S.<br />
Senator Robert Menendez, <strong>the</strong> only<br />
Latino senator and chairman of <strong>the</strong><br />
Senate Democratic Hispanic Task Force.<br />
(He is also <strong>the</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r of D-E graduate<br />
Alicia Menendez ’01.) Debbie, who<br />
hopes to work in <strong>the</strong> government<br />
someday was thrilled when Sen.<br />
Menendez agreed to participate. “I<br />
was so surprised and extremely excited<br />
about his presence because he is a<br />
Latino I look up to and admire as a<br />
politician,” she says.<br />
As INSPIRE’s president, Debbie also<br />
helped to organize <strong>the</strong> club’s recent<br />
assembly that showcased cultural<br />
differences within <strong>the</strong> D-E community.<br />
She says, “The Spring INSPIRE Assembly<br />
was also a labor of love.”<br />
Next fall Debbie is headed to<br />
Washington, DC, to join <strong>the</strong> prestigious<br />
Georgetown University Scholars Program,<br />
where she will begin her college studies<br />
in political science.<br />
A “Beautiful” Book<br />
Reading<br />
In an event jointly sponsored by <strong>the</strong> D-E<br />
Upper <strong>School</strong> student group Circle of<br />
Women and <strong>the</strong> Office of Multicultural<br />
Initiatives, author Rosie Molinary presented<br />
her book, Beautiful You: A Daily Guide to<br />
Radical Self-Acceptance.<br />
The book Beautiful You: A<br />
Daily Guide to Radical Self-<br />
Acceptance was featured in a<br />
D-E community reading by<br />
visiting author Rosie Molinary.<br />
Reading<br />
select<br />
passages<br />
to a large,<br />
attentive<br />
group of D-E<br />
students,<br />
teachers, and<br />
staff at <strong>the</strong><br />
Imperatore<br />
Library,<br />
Molinary<br />
outlined how<br />
her book can<br />
help readers<br />
to “discover<br />
365 ways<br />
to shore<br />
up <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
confidence, encourage self-awareness,<br />
and get reacquainted with <strong>the</strong>ir beautiful,<br />
brilliant selves.”<br />
Marisol Diaz, D-E visual arts faculty<br />
member and advisor to Circle of Women,<br />
remarked, “Beautiful You is an action plan<br />
to give women what <strong>the</strong>y need to champion<br />
and fully live <strong>the</strong>ir own lives, coaching<br />
<strong>the</strong>m into <strong>the</strong> most extraordinary—and<br />
necessary—habit of treating <strong>the</strong>ir whole<br />
selves well.”<br />
Molinary’s presentation drew from her<br />
personal experience, as she described<br />
herself as “a Latina, Gringa, daughter,<br />
sister.” In a PowerPoint presentation,<br />
Molinary provided intriguing before and<br />
after slides that demonstrated how<br />
supermodels and celebrities need<br />
“hours of preparation” in order to fulfill<br />
contemporary society’s hyper-inflated<br />
standards of physical perfection.<br />
Clinton L. Carbon, director of <strong>the</strong> D-E<br />
Office of Multicultural Initiatives, noted,<br />
“[We] were very pleased to sponsor<br />
Ms. Molinary for this reading. Her work<br />
is inspirational [and] informative, and<br />
her topic could not be more timely for<br />
students and faculty of both genders<br />
and all races.”<br />
Spring 2011<br />
21
LITERARYARTS<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
22<br />
Calliope Showcases Students’ Creativity<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>’s award-winning literary magazine is a labor of love for its editors and a<br />
treasure for <strong>the</strong> entire community.<br />
Every spring brings a new edition<br />
of Calliope, <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>’s<br />
literary magazine. Chock full of<br />
poetry, prose, photography, and<br />
various kinds of artwork, Calliope is<br />
a showcase for student writers and<br />
artists. It also represents a year’s<br />
worth of work on <strong>the</strong> part of <strong>the</strong><br />
member students who meet weekly<br />
throughout <strong>the</strong> year to critique and<br />
cull submissions. Steve Petkus, <strong>the</strong><br />
magazine’s faculty advisor, notes that<br />
Calliope members take <strong>the</strong>ir role of<br />
“workshopping” submissions very<br />
seriously. During review, names are<br />
withheld in an effort to foster a nonbiased<br />
environment. The students’<br />
efforts produce a quality publication<br />
that has been recognized with<br />
numerous awards over <strong>the</strong> years.<br />
From its humble origins to its glory<br />
today, Calliope has inspired and<br />
influenced many creative alumni,<br />
including some who have gone on<br />
to literary or artistic careers.<br />
A Long History<br />
Calliope’s roots go back to <strong>the</strong> early years<br />
of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong> and a publication<br />
called <strong>Dwight</strong>onia, which was a<br />
combination of <strong>the</strong> official graduation<br />
program, alumnae news, and literary<br />
magazine. Then in 1949 The Scribblers<br />
was established as an honorary<br />
association sponsored by <strong>the</strong> English<br />
Department. Seven senior girls were<br />
chosen to meet, discuss plays/books, and<br />
read <strong>the</strong>ir own literary works. There was<br />
a prose and poetry contest for <strong>the</strong> entire<br />
school and later a revival of an “honor<br />
book” containing what were considered<br />
to be outstanding compositions. In<br />
approximately <strong>the</strong> same timeframe, <strong>the</strong><br />
A sampling of some of Calliope’s creative covers over <strong>the</strong> years.
monthly <strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong> newspaper called<br />
The Penton reported news on <strong>the</strong> school<br />
events. Then in 1958 Calliope was<br />
established, replacing The Penton and<br />
incorporating <strong>the</strong> literary works of <strong>the</strong><br />
student body.<br />
The modern era of Calliope might be<br />
said to have begun in 1973, when<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong> merged with <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> for Boys and a<br />
relatively new faculty member named<br />
Frimi Sagan became <strong>the</strong> advisor.<br />
Sagan’s 15-year tenure would see<br />
Calliope grow in size, scope, and<br />
quality. “When we started, it was a<br />
small pamphlet with only an occasional<br />
sketch,” notes Sagan. “When <strong>the</strong><br />
schools merged, it became ambitious!<br />
We decided to ask students to contribute<br />
artwork. We [also] decided to make it<br />
much more comprehensive.”<br />
More than a<br />
Few Awards<br />
In <strong>the</strong> 1980s, Calliope became a<br />
member of <strong>the</strong> Columbia Scholastic<br />
Press Association (CSPA), an<br />
organization that is affiliated with <strong>the</strong><br />
Columbia University <strong>School</strong> of<br />
Journalism and that promotes quality<br />
in student publications. D-E students<br />
took a big step toward putting toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />
a polished literary magazine, and editors<br />
began to take <strong>the</strong>ir work very seriously.<br />
Notes Sagan, “They had to learn how to<br />
be tactful without destroying ambition<br />
of <strong>the</strong> writers and <strong>the</strong> poets. We all<br />
were crazy about <strong>the</strong> magazine and<br />
utterly committed.”<br />
Student editors began submitting<br />
Calliope to CSPA for both rated critiques<br />
and entry into a separate national<br />
competition. Calliope has done extremely<br />
well in recent decades in <strong>the</strong> critique<br />
category, earning Silver Medalist<br />
certificates from 2000 to 2003 and Gold<br />
Medalist certificates seven years in a<br />
row, from 2004 to 2010. In addition, <strong>the</strong><br />
magazine has earned awards at <strong>the</strong><br />
national level in what <strong>the</strong> CSPA calls <strong>the</strong><br />
"Crown Awards.” Frimi Sagan remembers<br />
what it was like when Calliope received<br />
its very first awards: “We practically<br />
threw ourselves out of <strong>the</strong> window!<br />
What an affirmation of our efforts.”<br />
Many of <strong>the</strong> awards came during <strong>the</strong><br />
tenure of Nancy Melser, who took over in<br />
<strong>the</strong> late 1980s, and more recently with<br />
Debbie Minsky as faculty advisor.<br />
A Profound Impact<br />
Calliope has had a profound impact on<br />
many alumni who have gone on to creative<br />
careers. Diane Barzman Heiman ’76,<br />
author of See What You Can Be: Explore<br />
Careers That Could Be for You! (American<br />
Girl Library), is a former editor of Calliope.<br />
“Mrs. Sagan, through her gentle<br />
enthusiasm, nurturing comments, and<br />
insightful support gave me courage to<br />
submit my poems and essays to Calliope,”<br />
she notes. “To see my own words in print,<br />
when I felt vulnerable, was so affirming.<br />
Calliope started me on my present career.”<br />
Mark Shapiro ’77, an opera, choral, and<br />
orchestral conductor (see Alumni Profile<br />
Frimi Sagan Retiring after 43 Years<br />
Frimi Sagan and students, in a moment<br />
that has been replayed hundreds of<br />
times in <strong>the</strong> English classrooms of<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>.<br />
on p. 10), has fond memories of coediting<br />
Calliope, and also contributing.<br />
“Working on <strong>the</strong> magazine helped me<br />
cultivate a sensitivity to language and<br />
poetry that has been useful in my<br />
subsequent work as a conductor of vocal<br />
music,” he says. “The skill set needed to<br />
produce <strong>the</strong> magazine—working with a<br />
team to coordinate a multiplicity of<br />
elements in time to meet a deadline—<br />
has also been invaluable.”<br />
Artist Mat<strong>the</strong>w Weinstein ’82, whose<br />
works can be found in public and private<br />
collections around <strong>the</strong> world, notes,<br />
“I wrote some very, very bad poetry for<br />
Calliope. But I grew up to make some very<br />
good art, and this is where it started.”<br />
Nurturing Calliope to become <strong>the</strong> awardwinning<br />
publication it is today is just<br />
one part of <strong>the</strong> legacy of English<br />
Department faculty member Frimi Sagan, who<br />
will be retiring from <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> at <strong>the</strong><br />
end of <strong>the</strong> school year, after 43 years of<br />
teaching.<br />
It is no exaggeration to say that she has had<br />
an impact on <strong>the</strong> lives of literally thousands of<br />
D-E alumni, nurturing students’ love for great<br />
literature, streng<strong>the</strong>ning <strong>the</strong>ir ability to read,<br />
think, and write critically, and personally living<br />
our <strong>School</strong> mission by fostering a passion for<br />
life-long learning. She will always be<br />
remembered for her wonderful smile,<br />
encouraging manner and voice, and for her<br />
famous Russian literature course. Soroya Zarghami Gage ’79, a news writer and<br />
producer for NBC Universal News (and a former editor of Calliope) attests that reading<br />
Anna Karenina in that class changed her life. “With <strong>the</strong> modest whisper of a <strong>the</strong>rapist<br />
and <strong>the</strong> neutrality of a ma<strong>the</strong>matician, she guided me through lust, murder, betrayal,<br />
jealousy and revenge,” she says of Sagan. “She suggested that adult life was going to<br />
be very interesting and, thanks to her, it is.”<br />
Claudia Weinstein ’78, a producer and writer for 60 Minutes and member of Calliope,<br />
also remembers Sagan’s influence. She says, “My memories of this class and Mrs.<br />
Sagan aren’t just about being 16 and reading a great book, but also about being<br />
guided by a teacher of such kindness, intellect, grace, and encouragement—a person<br />
who valued our minds, encouraged us to do <strong>the</strong> same, and showed us we had <strong>the</strong><br />
intellectual stamina to stand on our own, voice our opinions, and move forward into<br />
<strong>the</strong> world.”<br />
A special celebration honoring Frimi Sagan’s service to <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong> will take place<br />
during <strong>the</strong> 2011 Reunion Weekend. We will ga<strong>the</strong>r at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June<br />
4, in Hulst House. The dedication of <strong>the</strong> Frimi Sagan Classroom will follow<br />
immediately <strong>the</strong>reafter in Leggett Hall. We welcome and encourage members of <strong>the</strong><br />
D-E community to share <strong>the</strong>ir memories and tributes about Frimi for <strong>the</strong>se events,<br />
and for future publication. To submit a tribute or for more information about Reunion<br />
Weekend events, please email Alumni Director Maria Sanchez-Gardner ’78 at<br />
sanchm@d-e.org.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
23
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
24<br />
ALUMNIHAPPENINGS<br />
From <strong>the</strong> traditional Alumni Holiday Party in New York to smaller ga<strong>the</strong>rings, including a pizza<br />
party in Washington, DC, for young alumni, various social events for D-E alumni provided casual,<br />
memorable opportunities to catch up with fellow classmates, friends, and faculty members.<br />
Alumni involvement in on-campus events greatly benefited educational and community initiatives<br />
at <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>. For Reunion 2011 information and o<strong>the</strong>r upcoming alumni events, please visit<br />
www.d-e.org/alumni.<br />
Young Alumni DC Dinner<br />
Young alumni based in Washington, DC, ga<strong>the</strong>red for a pizza party with<br />
Head of <strong>School</strong> Dr. De Jarnett (left), Upper <strong>School</strong> Principal Joseph<br />
Algrant (back center), and Lower <strong>School</strong> Principal Peter Davies (right).<br />
Director of Development & Alumni Relations Pat Boig also attended.<br />
Annual Jazz Rock/<br />
Alumni Faculty Lunch<br />
Alumni came toge<strong>the</strong>r for <strong>the</strong> traditional pre-Winter Break Jazz Rock<br />
performance and luncheon in <strong>the</strong> dining hall.<br />
Alumni-Faculty Holiday Party<br />
From left: Jordan Yuelys ’78, Kris Kossmann ’80, Paul Marber ’78,<br />
Bruce Sheckowitz ’78, and “Cici” Kossmann Wilkinson ’80, who<br />
graciously hosted <strong>the</strong> party in her home.<br />
From left, former English Department faculty member John<br />
Brancato, Alison Desir ’03, ARC Chair Mark Jerome ’85, and<br />
Helen Jerome.
Alumni Share Advice about <strong>Arts</strong> Careers<br />
Maintaining your passion<br />
through every rejection…<br />
Always believing in your<br />
personal creativity…Understanding<br />
<strong>the</strong> psyche of perennial optimist<br />
SpongeBob Square Pants…<br />
These were just some of <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>mes<br />
eight <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> alumni in artsrelated<br />
careers conveyed to students<br />
this April as part of <strong>the</strong> “Spark an IDEA”<br />
<strong>Arts</strong> Festival. IDEA is a student-created<br />
organization that stands for Intensifying<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>Arts</strong>. Working primarily<br />
with Development & Alumni Relations<br />
Director Pat Boig and Alumni Director<br />
Maria Sanchez-Gardner ’78, students<br />
drew upon <strong>the</strong> tremendous resource that<br />
is <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>’s alumni population<br />
to create an event in which professionals<br />
could share <strong>the</strong>ir experiences with<br />
students. The eight alumni guests spoke<br />
in both small group discussions and large<br />
assembly presentations. O<strong>the</strong>r highlights<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Festival included performances<br />
in which <strong>the</strong> alumni showcased <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
instrumental and vocal talents (see<br />
photos), and a highly appreciated video<br />
sneak preview of upcoming Nickelodeon<br />
Channel programs, provided by President<br />
Cyma Zarghami ’80. A brief Q & A<br />
session followed each presentation,<br />
which for many was <strong>the</strong> best part of <strong>the</strong><br />
entire event.<br />
According to Michael Hajjar ’11,<br />
President of IDEA, <strong>the</strong> festival was <strong>the</strong><br />
result of nine months of planning. He<br />
noted, “Our goal was to encourage more<br />
students involved in <strong>the</strong> artistic realm in<br />
and outside of D-E. We want students to<br />
realize that alumni, who may have<br />
participated in <strong>the</strong> arts while attending<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong>, now work in<br />
<strong>the</strong> arts world and have interesting<br />
careers and lives.”<br />
Cyma Zarghami ’80 spoke with students following<br />
her assembly presentation in Schenck Auditorium.<br />
Alumni Presenters at <strong>the</strong><br />
“Spark an IDEA” <strong>Arts</strong> Festival<br />
Laurie Woodrow ’78<br />
Executive Vice President, Fierce<br />
Entertainment, Los Angeles, CA<br />
Woodrow has 20 years experience in<br />
international film distribution and<br />
specializes in acquisitions and worldwide<br />
distribution of all types of films including<br />
major film titles as well as award-winning<br />
festival films.<br />
Laurie Woodrow ’78 discussed her career<br />
in film production and her background in<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r areas of <strong>the</strong> fine arts, including her<br />
experience as a Guggenheim Museum intern.<br />
Paul Lucas ’79<br />
Principal, Paul Lucas Productions<br />
Lucas produces and manages plays and<br />
readings in New York and Edinburgh,<br />
Scotland. This year he is proud to be<br />
producing A Conversation with Edith<br />
Head, Dai (Enough), and Woody Sez on<br />
<strong>the</strong> Fringe as well as several o<strong>the</strong>r works.<br />
Cyma Zarghami ’80<br />
President, Nickelodeon and MTV<br />
Networks’ Kids & Family Group<br />
Zarghami, a recipient of <strong>the</strong><br />
Distinguished Alumni Award of <strong>Dwight</strong>-<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong>, joined Nickelodeon<br />
in 1985 and became <strong>the</strong> channel’s<br />
general manager in 1996 overseeing<br />
all aspects of programming, scheduling,<br />
acquisitions, marketing and<br />
management of <strong>the</strong> network. In 2006,<br />
she was promoted to president of <strong>the</strong><br />
Kids & Family Group, which includes<br />
Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Movies,<br />
Noggin, The N, and Nicktoons Network.<br />
Sabrina Peck ’80<br />
Director, Choreographer,<br />
Performing <strong>Arts</strong> Faculty<br />
A recipient of <strong>the</strong> D-E Distinguished<br />
Alumni Award, Peck conceives, directs,<br />
and choreographs original <strong>the</strong>ater<br />
works infused with movement and<br />
music. Recent works include Waiting,<br />
with former Bosnian refugees at Wave<br />
Hill Gardens in New York; and To <strong>the</strong><br />
River, with 40 children from Hell’s<br />
Kitchen. As a director, Peck likes to<br />
collaborate with playwrights, and recently<br />
she and playwright Chiori Miyagawa<br />
conceived and developed The Antigone<br />
Project, a re-imagining of <strong>the</strong> Sophocles<br />
play by five contemporary women. Peck<br />
initiated <strong>the</strong> City Steps, NYC’s public<br />
school arts program. She recently<br />
choreographed The Clean House at<br />
Lincoln Center Theater.<br />
Sabrina Peck ’80 (left) discussed dance and<br />
creative movement with Michael Hajjar ’11<br />
(IDEA Club president) and Upper <strong>School</strong><br />
faculty member Vicky Frankel.<br />
Andrew Burton ’83<br />
Keyboardist, vocalist, and composer<br />
Burton has been a member of bands<br />
that have signed with major record<br />
companies and has performed at <strong>the</strong><br />
Beacon Theatre, Radio City, Carnegie<br />
Hall and on The Craig Ferguson Show,<br />
PBS, and <strong>the</strong> Jools Holland Show. He has<br />
toured four different continents and has<br />
arranged, recorded for, and appeared<br />
with bands for major artists including<br />
Robert Plant, Ian Hunter, and Nils<br />
Lofgren. He has also played music for<br />
major films like Revolutionary Road.<br />
He currently owns and operates his own<br />
project studio in Hoboken called Tannery<br />
Row Recording, which is known for its<br />
vintage keyboard equipment.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
25
ALUMNIHAPPENINGS<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
26<br />
Members of <strong>the</strong> IDEA Club ga<strong>the</strong>red with Sidd Khosla ’94 (3rd from left) following his presentation,<br />
which included a moving performance of his song “Today It’s Friday.” Also pictured are language<br />
arts faculty member Dori Levin ’93 (4th from left) and Alumni Director Maria Sanchez-Gardner ’78.<br />
Chip Thomas ’99 provided a brief but very<br />
well-received riff during his remarks about<br />
playing drums with and managing PaperDoll.<br />
Chip Thomas ’99<br />
Musician, PaperDoll, rock band<br />
Thomas is a member of <strong>the</strong> indie rock<br />
band PaperDoll, which is based in New<br />
York City. The band gained national<br />
attention in <strong>the</strong> U.S. in early 2010 when<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir song “If Nothing Happened” was<br />
featured in a national TV commercial for<br />
Vick’s Dayquil. The same song was also<br />
named in Blender’s “Five Songs We<br />
Love” in March 2010. He currently is also<br />
working for a start -up music company,<br />
Nxtm, LLC, formerly an MTV entity.<br />
Clients include Taylor Swift, Justin<br />
Timberlake, and many indie bands.<br />
The Schmid Pavilion Campaign Update<br />
When Chris Schmid decided to retire from coaching<br />
last year after 33 very successful years, a group of his<br />
former players wanted to find a way to honor “Schmiddy”<br />
for all that he has done for generations of young people at D-E.<br />
Toward that end, a volunteer committee led by Jay Agresta ’84,<br />
Stephen Borg ’86, Ryan Goodman ’01, Mike Kopko ’03, Michael<br />
Malhame ’88, and Paul Marber ’78 announced <strong>the</strong>ir intention to<br />
build <strong>the</strong> Schmid Pavilion on Solomon Field. This pavilion will provide<br />
a covered area for fans and athletes to ga<strong>the</strong>r both before and<br />
after games. The campaign for <strong>the</strong> pavilion has begun and to date,<br />
approximately $65,000 has been raised from soccer alumni and<br />
friends of Schmiddy toward a goal of $150,000. The great news<br />
for D-E is that Schmiddy only retired from coaching soccer.<br />
Fortunately for students at D-E, he remains very active at <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> as Middle <strong>School</strong> athletic director and head of <strong>the</strong> Physical<br />
Education Department.<br />
The Committee is committed to raising <strong>the</strong> remainder of <strong>the</strong> funding<br />
needed for <strong>the</strong> pavilion. For more information, please call Pat Boig or<br />
Maria Sanchez-Gardner in <strong>the</strong> Development and Alumni Relations<br />
Office at 201-569-9500, ext. 3411 or 3413 respectively. To make a<br />
gift to <strong>the</strong> campaign, you may do so online at www.d-e.org/schmid.<br />
Sidd Khosla ’94<br />
Lead Vocalist and Musician, Goldspot,<br />
rock band<br />
Khosla founded <strong>the</strong> band Goldspot in<br />
1999 in Los Angeles and since <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>y<br />
have recorded two albums. Tally of <strong>the</strong><br />
Yes Men, which was released in 2007,<br />
and And <strong>the</strong> Elephant is Dancing, which<br />
was released last fall, have both been<br />
very successful. He also has branched<br />
into writing music for soundtracks<br />
including <strong>the</strong> film Today’s Special,<br />
which was released last fall.<br />
Jesse Mills ’97<br />
Violinist<br />
A Juilliard graduate, Mills has performed<br />
in prestigious venues throughout <strong>the</strong><br />
U.S., Canada, and Europe, including<br />
London, Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam,<br />
Milan, Dresden, and Brussels. Two time<br />
Grammy-nominated Mills is known as a<br />
pioneer of contemporary works, a<br />
renowned improvisational artist, as well<br />
as a composer. He is a member of Duo<br />
Prism, an ensemble that plays a full<br />
spectrum of works composed for piano<br />
and violin duo and which won first prize<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Zinetti International Competition<br />
in Italy in 2006. Mills also regularly<br />
appears with 315 East, D-E’s resident<br />
professional chamber ensemble, which<br />
performs in <strong>the</strong> Head of <strong>School</strong> Series.
Spring 2011<br />
27
28<br />
Members of <strong>the</strong> D-E community exemplify <strong>the</strong> Core Value of “community” every day. Here are just a<br />
few examples of our student and faculty members’ recent initiatives and notable accomplishments.<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> STUDENTSTANDOUTS&FACULTYENDEAVORS<br />
Olivia Guidera ’11 (center) with Coaches Kim Franco and Michelle Carstens, after <strong>the</strong> North Jersey Field Hockey Coaches Association senior<br />
showcase game.<br />
Olivia Guidera ’11<br />
The milestones just kept coming<br />
this winter for miler Olivia Guidera<br />
’11, who made D-E <strong>School</strong> history<br />
in February by becoming <strong>the</strong> first <strong>Dwight</strong>-<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> athlete to medal in a State<br />
Group championship. In <strong>the</strong> Non-Public<br />
B Girls 1600-meter run, Olivia made a<br />
final lap charge, sweeping past her four<br />
opponents for a finish that took sixth<br />
place in <strong>the</strong> race, knocked six seconds<br />
off her best time, and qualified her for<br />
<strong>the</strong> NJ Indoor State Meet of Champions.<br />
Earlier in <strong>the</strong> season, Olivia won <strong>the</strong><br />
1600-meter race at <strong>the</strong> North Jersey<br />
Track and Field Championship at <strong>the</strong><br />
Rothman Center of Farleigh Dickinson<br />
University. It marked <strong>the</strong> first time since<br />
1992 that a <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> athlete<br />
won a winter track varsity event.<br />
While her individual achievements are<br />
impressive, Olivia is very much a team<br />
player and team leader. A four-year<br />
starter for <strong>the</strong> varsity field hockey team,<br />
she served as captain in 2009 and 2010<br />
and received league and county honors.<br />
Deflecting praise, she notes, “The D-E<br />
coaches are great. They help to build<br />
teams that are very close, amidst<br />
players with many different perspectives.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> same time, we have fun, and<br />
[with <strong>the</strong>ir guidance], we see that we all<br />
bring a different strength to <strong>the</strong> table.”<br />
Off <strong>the</strong> track and field, Olivia is copresident<br />
of <strong>the</strong> D-E Gay Straight Alliance<br />
Club (GSA), a member of <strong>the</strong> Yearbook<br />
staff, and a student with environmental<br />
science aspirations.<br />
This year she is enrolled in Honors<br />
Chemistry and Honors Biology classes,<br />
and she also enjoys AP Environmental<br />
Sciences with D-E Upper <strong>School</strong> Science<br />
faculty member Don McNeil, whom she<br />
describes as “awesome.” Her Senior<br />
Focus Project is concentrated on <strong>the</strong><br />
critical environmental issue of water<br />
safety, in part based on a service project<br />
she did in Thailand several years ago.
Alexander Koren ’12<br />
The competitions hosted by <strong>the</strong><br />
International Juggler’s Association<br />
(IJA) sound like a lot of clowning<br />
around. For example, <strong>the</strong>re is <strong>the</strong> soap<br />
juggling contest to see who can juggle wet<br />
soap for <strong>the</strong> longest time, and a contest<br />
called trick matching, in which someone<br />
names a trick and a juggler must perform<br />
it to stay in <strong>the</strong> competition.<br />
But for Alex Koren ’12, juggling is a<br />
serious passion. He’s was <strong>the</strong> kid who<br />
taught himself to juggle at <strong>the</strong> age of nine<br />
by picking up three tennis balls and<br />
practicing every day for hours and hours,<br />
“inside, outside, and everywhere.” Today<br />
he can handle various numbers and<br />
kinds of balls, clubs, yo-yos, and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
items. In fact, at a recent IJA festival in<br />
Pittsburgh, Alex won a first place medal in<br />
Chinese yo-yo speed tossing and was<br />
third in <strong>the</strong> blind juggling contest, which<br />
involves juggling with eyes closed.<br />
Alex’s passion for juggling led him to<br />
found <strong>the</strong> D-E Juggling Club in 2009.<br />
(See d-ejuggling.org for video clips of <strong>the</strong><br />
group.) When his club was approved by<br />
Faculty Member Publishes<br />
Mystery, Proceeds Benefit Human<br />
Rights Group<br />
Longtime D-E photography teacher and Yearbook<br />
faculty advisor John McCabe has published his<br />
murder mystery, Johnny Red, to raise funds for a<br />
human rights group. For several years, Johnny Red has<br />
been included in <strong>the</strong> D-E Community of Readers Program<br />
and has met with a positive response from many students.<br />
McCabe notes, “It’s enjoyable to<br />
not only talk about my book with<br />
students and to hear <strong>the</strong>ir reactions<br />
to it, but I also enjoy sharing <strong>the</strong><br />
actual process of writing with <strong>the</strong>m.”<br />
All proceeds from sales of Johnny<br />
Red will be devoted to <strong>the</strong> National<br />
Labor Committee (NLC), a nonprofit<br />
organization dedicated to eliminating<br />
child labor and sweatshop abuses. The NLC has visited D-E<br />
several times as part of <strong>the</strong> Upper <strong>School</strong> assembly<br />
program and, with help from students across <strong>the</strong> country,<br />
has made a huge difference in assisting hardworking<br />
people who live in unimaginable poverty.<br />
Above: The front cover of Johnny Red, a murder mystery by D-E<br />
photography faculty member John McCabe, features a photo of<br />
McCabe’s son Dan ’02 on a New York street.<br />
Alex Koren ’12 demonstrates his juggling<br />
talent.<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>, Alex felt a strong sense of<br />
being supported as an individual. He<br />
says, “The <strong>School</strong> made me feel like I<br />
was accepted, even with a hobby that<br />
was off <strong>the</strong> beaten track.”<br />
Since <strong>the</strong>n, Alex has introduced o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
club members to <strong>the</strong> joys of competition.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> IJA festival in Pittsburgh, Vice<br />
President Andre Amirsaleh ’13 made it<br />
into <strong>the</strong> finals of <strong>the</strong> Chinese yo-yo high<br />
toss. Alex has been to juggling conventions<br />
in such places as Lexington, KY, and<br />
Winston-Salem, NC, and says that <strong>the</strong>se<br />
Males Earns Doctorate<br />
ga<strong>the</strong>rings help him to continue to<br />
learn from fellow jugglers from around<br />
<strong>the</strong> world. He proudly notes that <strong>the</strong><br />
ethos of <strong>the</strong> Juggling Club also involves<br />
teaching and learning. “Everyone<br />
participates in teaching o<strong>the</strong>rs, and<br />
some have even made <strong>the</strong> effort to<br />
visit senior centers to put on a<br />
performance,” he says of club<br />
members. “It’s a great feeling seeing<br />
<strong>the</strong> skills that <strong>the</strong> Juggling Club<br />
shares, being transformed into a<br />
passion by fellow students.”<br />
Alex balances his love for juggling<br />
with playing guitar in <strong>the</strong> Jazz Rock<br />
ensemble, playing soccer, and of<br />
course keeping up with his academic<br />
work. His favorite classes include<br />
Philosophy and Computer Sciences<br />
because <strong>the</strong>y “broaden my mind and<br />
make me look at subjects from a<br />
different perspective.” Believe it or<br />
not, he says, juggling has made him<br />
a better student. “I came to realize<br />
that without my juggling, my work<br />
ethic wouldn’t be what it is today,”<br />
he says. “Juggling has taught me<br />
that when I make a mistake, I can<br />
try again until I get it right.”<br />
Science faculty member Nancy Males received a doctoral<br />
degree in educational leadership earlier this spring, with a<br />
concentration in educational technology, from University of<br />
Phoenix. She started <strong>the</strong> program four years ago; <strong>the</strong> majority of her<br />
course work was taken online, with residencies each summer in<br />
Washington, DC.<br />
Her dissertation addressed how public teachers in Abbott districts in<br />
New Jersey integrate technology into <strong>the</strong>ir classrooms. Designated by<br />
<strong>the</strong> New Jersey Supreme Court, Abbott districts are low-performing<br />
districts that have students with a low socioeconomic status. Males<br />
hypo<strong>the</strong>sized that teachers who were new to teaching and teachers<br />
who were new to <strong>the</strong>ir school (experienced or not) would use<br />
technology less because of <strong>the</strong> stress of being in a new classroom.<br />
This is a particularly important issue since <strong>the</strong>re is a high turnover<br />
rate of faculty in <strong>the</strong>se schools. What she found was that experience<br />
level, age, and education level are important factors in whe<strong>the</strong>r or not<br />
a teacher integrates technology.<br />
“The research was a wonderful experience. The educational technology<br />
portion is something I’m extremely interested in,” says Males. “In fact,<br />
one reason I came to D-E was because of <strong>the</strong> emphasis on technology,<br />
particularly <strong>the</strong> tablet program. I hope to use <strong>the</strong> experience gained<br />
from my doctoral program to continue looking for and trying out <strong>the</strong><br />
best practices involved in educational technology in my classroom.”<br />
Males, whose daughter Kelly teaches 4th grade in <strong>the</strong> Lower <strong>School</strong>,<br />
holds her B.S. and M.S. from Texas A & M University and has been at<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> since 2005.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
29
STUDENTSTANDOUTS&FACULTYENDEAVORS<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
30<br />
Daryl Johns ’14<br />
Acoustic bass player Daryl<br />
Johns ’14 enjoys performing<br />
with D-E’s jazz rock ensemble<br />
and stage band. This past February,<br />
however, Daryl played a few somewhat<br />
higher profile gigs—namely, events<br />
associated with <strong>the</strong> 2011 Grammy<br />
Awards in Los Angeles.<br />
Selected by national audition for <strong>the</strong><br />
High <strong>School</strong> Grammy Jazz Band, Daryl<br />
played at a tribute event honoring Barbra<br />
Streisand as <strong>the</strong> MusiCares Person of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Year, and at a Grammy Awards<br />
ceremony after-party. Daryl and his<br />
fellow musicians even attended <strong>the</strong><br />
53rd Annual Grammy Awards as guests<br />
of The Recording Academy—with a walk<br />
up <strong>the</strong> red carpet. While in LA, <strong>the</strong> high<br />
schoolers also had a recording session<br />
at <strong>the</strong> legendary Capitol Studios in<br />
Hollywood.<br />
“It was great to spend 10 days with so<br />
many talented young musicians who<br />
share <strong>the</strong> same passion for this great<br />
music,” notes Daryl, adding, “Someday I<br />
hope to walk that red carpet on Grammy<br />
night again to get my own Grammy.”<br />
It would be no surprise if he did. Daryl is<br />
no stranger to national and international<br />
recognition for his jazz prowess. He was<br />
a semi-finalist in <strong>the</strong> 2009 Thelonious<br />
Monk International Bass Competition<br />
and received an honorable mention<br />
nod and this endorsement from Monk<br />
himself: “Daryl represents everything<br />
this music is about, his respect for <strong>the</strong><br />
history belies his youth.” Last year Daryl<br />
received “Best Soloist” and “Best<br />
Original Song” honors in Downbeat<br />
magazine’s 33rd Annual Student<br />
Music Awards.<br />
Daryl’s connection to jazz might be<br />
considered hereditary. His mo<strong>the</strong>r is<br />
Debbie Keefe, a musician who teaches<br />
saxophone, flute, and o<strong>the</strong>r reed<br />
instruments at <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>. His<br />
fa<strong>the</strong>r is critically acclaimed drummer<br />
and composer Steve Johns, with whom<br />
Daryl has played and recorded. “My<br />
parents are both jazz musicians so I grew<br />
up with it,” says Daryl.” I have met and<br />
played with some of <strong>the</strong> greatest jazz<br />
musicians in <strong>the</strong> world, and I am always<br />
impressed with all <strong>the</strong> great stories <strong>the</strong>y<br />
tell on and off <strong>the</strong> bandstand.”<br />
Jazz bassist Daryl Johns ’14, back on <strong>the</strong> D-E campus after performing with <strong>the</strong> High <strong>School</strong><br />
Grammy Jazz Band in Los Angeles.<br />
Daryl has already recorded his first CD<br />
with his own jazz trio at <strong>the</strong> Bennett<br />
Studio in his hometown of <strong>Englewood</strong>,<br />
and is currently doing recording projects<br />
at <strong>the</strong> hallowed studios founded by<br />
Rudy Van Gelder, who has been<br />
called <strong>the</strong> greatest recording engineer<br />
in jazz history.<br />
Daryl has patiently and passionately<br />
honed his craft by playing in <strong>the</strong> awardwinning<br />
Manhattan <strong>School</strong> of Music<br />
Pre-College Big Band and Improv<br />
Ensemble and attending New Jersey<br />
Performing <strong>Arts</strong> Center’s Jazz for Teens<br />
program, through which he has<br />
performed with such jazz greats as Les<br />
Paul, Randy Brecker, Jimmy Owens, and<br />
Dave Liebman.<br />
Daryl calls jazz “America’s classical<br />
music,” and loves <strong>the</strong> role his instrument<br />
plays in an ensemble. “I love playing jazz<br />
bass because it provides <strong>the</strong> foundation<br />
for <strong>the</strong> rest of <strong>the</strong> band,” he says, noting,<br />
“I don’t think I picked <strong>the</strong> bass, I think<br />
<strong>the</strong> bass picked me.”<br />
To learn more about Daryl visit his<br />
website at: Daryljohns.com.
D-E Students Earn<br />
National Scholastic<br />
Writing & <strong>Arts</strong> Awards<br />
Five Upper <strong>School</strong> students were<br />
honored earlier this spring by <strong>the</strong><br />
2011 Scholastic Art & Writing<br />
Awards, hosted by <strong>the</strong> Alliance for Young<br />
Artists & Writers. The national program<br />
is recognized as <strong>the</strong> one of <strong>the</strong> most<br />
prestigious recognition and scholarship<br />
programs for teenage artists and<br />
writers in <strong>the</strong> U.S. Since 1923, some of<br />
America’s most celebrated writers have<br />
been recognized by The Scholastic Art<br />
& Writing Awards while <strong>the</strong>y were<br />
teenagers, including: Truman Capote,<br />
Bernard Malamud, Joyce Maynard,<br />
Sherley Anne Williams, Joyce Carol<br />
Oates, and Sylvia Plath. This year a<br />
record-breaking 12,000 works of art<br />
and writing were submitted.<br />
A past Gold Key winner, Joshua Kurtz ’13<br />
was honored this year for his work in<br />
both poetry and persuasive writing. Brian<br />
Kosnik, D-E faculty member and Josh’s<br />
English teacher, noted, “I speak on<br />
behalf of <strong>the</strong> entire English Department<br />
when I say that we are all proud of Josh.”<br />
In art, Jennifer Lee ’11 received<br />
recognition for her work in painting, as did<br />
Olivia Lim ’12, who had two acrylics that<br />
each received Gold Key recognition. Mixed<br />
media works by Stephanie Moon ’13 and<br />
Hannah Oh ’15 were also among those<br />
recognized. Stephanie was also honored<br />
for her work in sculpture. Gregg Emery,<br />
chair of <strong>the</strong> D-E Visual <strong>Arts</strong> Department,<br />
commented: “The Visual <strong>Arts</strong> Department<br />
is extremely proud of this year’s<br />
Scholastic Award artistic winners. This<br />
recognition is a testament to <strong>the</strong>ir hard<br />
work, abundant creative curiosity, and<br />
artistic ability. Notably, being regional<br />
winners in such a competitive area of<br />
<strong>the</strong> country is an added honor for <strong>the</strong>se<br />
young artists.”<br />
Artists who received a Gold Key Award<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn NJ Region were invited<br />
to display <strong>the</strong>ir work at <strong>the</strong> Montclair<br />
Art Museum’s Education Gallery for<br />
several weeks in February and March.<br />
All literary and artistic pieces that<br />
received a Gold Key award at <strong>the</strong><br />
regional level have been forwarded to<br />
<strong>the</strong> National Scholastics Art and Writing<br />
Award, for consideration for fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />
recognition in June 2011.<br />
DWIGHT-ENGLEWOOD AWARDEES<br />
Joshua Kurtz ’13–2 Gold Key Awards for Writing<br />
Jennifer Lee ’11–Gold Key & Honorable Mention Awards for Art<br />
Olivia Lim ’12–2 Gold Key Awards for Art<br />
Stephanie Moon ’13–3 Gold Key Awards for Art<br />
Hannah Oh ’15–Gold and Silver Key Awards for Art<br />
Joshua Kurtz ’13, Gold Key awardee for writing, is pictured here with English teacher Brian Kosnik<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Carson Reading Room.<br />
This acrylic piece is one of two paintings that<br />
received top-level Gold Key recognition for<br />
Olivia Lim ’12.<br />
One of junior Jennifer Lee’s striking mixed<br />
media pieces, which won Scholastic Gold Key<br />
and Honorable Mention nods.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
31
STUDENTSTANDOUTS&FACULTYENDEAVORS<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
32<br />
The Art of Science<br />
Using <strong>the</strong> art of videography and<br />
some artistic engineering,<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> students in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Middle and Upper <strong>School</strong> Divisions<br />
were recognized recently for significant<br />
achievements in two competitive<br />
scientific awards programs.<br />
Student Videos Earn<br />
Recognition, <strong>School</strong> Wins<br />
$5,000 Grant<br />
In a national video contest sponsored<br />
by <strong>the</strong> Chemical Heritage Foundation in<br />
conjunction with <strong>the</strong> Dow Chemical<br />
Company, three 9th grade teams from<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> received “Top 20”<br />
honors. Called “It’s Elemental,” <strong>the</strong> contest<br />
challenged students to make a video<br />
that creatively presented <strong>the</strong> historical,<br />
scientific, and societal significance of<br />
one of <strong>the</strong> elements in <strong>the</strong> periodic table.<br />
More than 700 videos were submitted.<br />
The D-E team of Maeve O’Brien ’14 and<br />
Alexa Kaufman ’14 created a video about<br />
zinc with an original rap song soundtrack;<br />
<strong>the</strong> video by Amy Wang ’14, Ellie Polite<br />
’14, and Jamie Spingeld ’14 featured<br />
three phosphorus molecules discussing<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir similarities, differences, and uses;<br />
and Angely Prieto ’14 and Gary Finn ’14<br />
introduced <strong>the</strong> world to <strong>the</strong> superhero<br />
known as Super Sodium. All of <strong>the</strong><br />
students are freshman in <strong>the</strong> advisory<br />
groups of Dr. Nancy Males and<br />
Dr. Marco Pagnetti.<br />
By placing in <strong>the</strong> top 20, all three videos<br />
went on to compete in a viewer’s choice<br />
competition. What’s more, <strong>the</strong>y earned<br />
D-E's nationally recognized “It’s Elemental”<br />
online video contest winners (all from <strong>the</strong><br />
Class of 2014) with <strong>the</strong>ir chemistry teachers<br />
from <strong>the</strong> D-E Science Department, Dr. Marco<br />
Pagnotta (back row) and Dr. Nancy Males<br />
(foreground, far right).<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> Science<br />
Department <strong>the</strong> opportunity to<br />
compete in an essay contest for a<br />
$5,000 grant. In March, D-E was<br />
informed that it was one of only 11<br />
schools in <strong>the</strong> nation to receive <strong>the</strong><br />
grant, which will be used to purchase<br />
equipment for science lab work. Nancy<br />
Males explains: “We wrote <strong>the</strong> grant<br />
essay asking for funds to purchase<br />
spectrophotometry equipment and<br />
molecular model kits to enhance <strong>the</strong><br />
molecular biology units that we teach<br />
in 9th and 10th grade. It's sometimes<br />
difficult for students this age to make<br />
some of <strong>the</strong> abstract connections that<br />
we want <strong>the</strong>m to make. Purchase of<br />
this equipment will allow us to develop<br />
more hands-on opportunities to help<br />
<strong>the</strong> students better visualize <strong>the</strong><br />
concepts.”<br />
Bulldog ’Bots Place Second in<br />
State Robotics Competition<br />
Critical Mass, <strong>the</strong> D-E robotics team,<br />
placed second at <strong>the</strong> New York State<br />
FIRST Tech Challenge Championship<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Javits Center in New York. The<br />
team went undefeated in every round<br />
until <strong>the</strong> final match, losing by only a<br />
few points. Opposing teams included<br />
Horace Mann, Stuyvesant High <strong>School</strong>,<br />
and Bronx High <strong>School</strong> of Science.<br />
The team distinguished itself early on<br />
in <strong>the</strong> field of 64, which was split into<br />
two divisions, according to team<br />
advisor Marco Pagnotta. “Our intrepid<br />
squad not only seeded first after four<br />
undefeated matches to become an<br />
alliance captain, but <strong>the</strong>n went on to<br />
win our division’s single elimination<br />
play-offs,” he says. “But, our threeteam<br />
alliance lost in a best two-outof<br />
three nail-biter to <strong>the</strong> overall<br />
champions from <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r division.”<br />
A few more points in <strong>the</strong> final match<br />
would have earned <strong>the</strong> team an<br />
invitation to <strong>the</strong> FTC World<br />
Championship in St. Louis.<br />
The Critical Mass team included<br />
Co-Captains Nick Canelos and<br />
Denver Cohen (chief builder);<br />
seniors Taylor Derchin and Liz Kim;<br />
sophomores Danielle Katan, Leah<br />
Steinmetz, and Rhea Kothari; and<br />
freshmen Clement Hathaway, Clifford<br />
Yudkoff, Oscar Uribe, Joseph<br />
Chartouni, and Allan Lee.<br />
Quick Takes<br />
Upper <strong>School</strong> students Rachel Cole<br />
’12 and Jessica Lee ’12, both varsity<br />
soccer players, were named earlier this<br />
year to <strong>the</strong> Top 100 of <strong>the</strong> national<br />
TopDrawerSoccer.com rankings. Rachel<br />
is ranked #66 nationally in her age group<br />
and is ranked #4 in New Jersey. Jessica<br />
is ranked #99 nationally and is ranked<br />
#5 in New Jersey. For more information<br />
visit www.topdrawersoccer.com/<br />
players-to-watch.<br />
Soccer phenom Rachel Cole ’12 was ranked<br />
#4 in New Jersey and #66 in <strong>the</strong> U.S. earlier<br />
this year.<br />
Senior Marti Satnik ’11 had an article<br />
published in <strong>the</strong> Jewish Advocate<br />
earlier this year. The article, “Planting <strong>the</strong><br />
Seeds of Peace: Reflections on a<br />
Summer Challenging Preconceptions,”<br />
focused on Seeds of Peace, a camp in<br />
Otisfield, ME, “where teenagers from<br />
across <strong>the</strong> Middle East and North<br />
America work on conflict resolution and<br />
finding commonalities.” Marti spent a<br />
summer at <strong>the</strong> camp after being<br />
accepted as an American Delegate or<br />
“seed” with <strong>the</strong> mission “to cultivate a<br />
small path toward peace.” Her article<br />
vividly describes <strong>the</strong> range of emotions<br />
that she felt during <strong>the</strong> experience,<br />
particularly in <strong>the</strong> weeks following her<br />
return from <strong>the</strong> camp, when she visited<br />
Israel and Jordan with her family. The<br />
article can be read in its entirety at:<br />
www.www.jstandard.com.
D-E Lower <strong>School</strong> music faculty<br />
member Mary Heveran, who is also<br />
mayor of <strong>the</strong> City of Leonia, NJ, and D-E<br />
parents Sheilagh Cirillo and Stephanie<br />
Goldman-Pittel, were honored by <strong>the</strong><br />
Women’s Rights Information Center at<br />
that organization’s 2011 “Girls Night<br />
Out” Awards Dinner on February 9.<br />
“<strong>Celebrating</strong> women who exemplify<br />
philanthropy and voluntarism and<br />
inspire o<strong>the</strong>rs to give back,” <strong>the</strong> event<br />
recognized each woman for her<br />
countless hours of dedicated service<br />
to her respective community. An<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong>-based nonprofit, <strong>the</strong> Center<br />
provides a place for women in transition<br />
to gain career, life, and resource-building<br />
skills that can change <strong>the</strong> direction of<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir economic futures for <strong>the</strong> better.<br />
From left: D-E community members Sheilagh<br />
Cirillo, Stephanie Goldman-Pittel, and Mary<br />
Heveran, all honorees at <strong>the</strong> Women’s<br />
Information Network’s “Girl’s Night Out” event.<br />
Sara Park ’11 won honors earlier this<br />
year as a semifinalist in <strong>the</strong> 2010<br />
Siemens Competition in Math, Science<br />
and Technology, for her math research<br />
paper on “The Unit Area Triangle<br />
Problem.” Sara worked with Prof. Dan<br />
Ismailescu of Hofstra University on her<br />
abstract, and focused on a “timeless”<br />
question raised by <strong>the</strong> Hungarian<br />
ma<strong>the</strong>matician Paul Erdos, as follows:<br />
“Does <strong>the</strong>re exist an absolute constant c<br />
such that any measurable planar region<br />
R of area contains <strong>the</strong> vertices of unitarea<br />
triangle?” The Siemens competition<br />
recognizes high school students “who<br />
are willing to challenge <strong>the</strong>mselves<br />
through science research.” According<br />
to Sara’s research: “Results suggest<br />
that <strong>the</strong> answer to <strong>the</strong> general question<br />
is affirmative.”<br />
Middle <strong>School</strong> student (and talented<br />
baker) Erik Peterson ’14, along with<br />
his fellow 8th grade classmates, Noah<br />
Kaplan ’14 and Jack Foreman ’14,<br />
creatively initiated a bake-off in <strong>the</strong> D-E<br />
dining hall in <strong>the</strong> month of December.<br />
Erik’s Milk-Free Chocolate Cake recipe was<br />
one of several that were baked and <strong>the</strong>n,<br />
through taste tests, selected by a group<br />
of judges, including Middle <strong>School</strong> math<br />
faculty member Kimberly Klein. Toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />
with D-E’s own Chef Luke, and with help<br />
from Sheila Sullivan, dining hall director,<br />
<strong>the</strong> boys worked out a plan for converting<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir recipes for serving a family of eight<br />
to serving <strong>the</strong> D-E Middle and Upper<br />
<strong>School</strong>s—more than 600 diners!<br />
Eigth-grader Erik Peterson with D-E Dining<br />
Services’ Chef Luke, before serving his<br />
Milk-Free Chocolate Cake.<br />
Lower <strong>School</strong> language arts faculty<br />
member Janet Glass had an article<br />
published in <strong>the</strong> fall 2010 issue of<br />
Learning Languages: <strong>the</strong> Professional<br />
Journal of <strong>the</strong> National Network for<br />
Early Language Learning. Writing about<br />
foreign language instruction for students<br />
through grade 5, Glass discusses her own<br />
fulfilling (and successful) approach at D-E,<br />
featuring students’ paired practice<br />
sessions, oral presentations, even a visit<br />
by Don Quixote (obligingly played by D-E<br />
Upper <strong>School</strong> Ethics Department Chair<br />
Joseph Murphy). In 2008 Glass was<br />
honored as National Teacher of <strong>the</strong> Year<br />
by <strong>the</strong> American Council of Teachers of<br />
Foreign Language (ACTFL). To read <strong>the</strong><br />
article in its entirety, visit www.NNELL.org.<br />
D-E Clubs, Actively<br />
Supporting Their Causes<br />
The second annual D-E Fights Against<br />
Cancer (DEFAC) Club’s “March Madness”<br />
fundraiser earned more than $2,000 for<br />
cancer prevention efforts. The event<br />
featured a series of fun, fast-paced<br />
basketball games between Upper <strong>School</strong><br />
classes, including <strong>the</strong> finals between <strong>the</strong><br />
Class of 2013 and some courageous (and<br />
good-humored) D-E faculty members.<br />
DEFAC members promoted <strong>the</strong> event with<br />
<strong>the</strong> sale of wristbands, which helped to<br />
buy points for <strong>the</strong> teams, and snacks sold<br />
during <strong>the</strong> games.<br />
The D-E Upper <strong>School</strong> AIDS Awareness Club<br />
recognized International AIDS Week in<br />
February, organizing and presenting an<br />
impressive, week-long array of guest<br />
speakers, including medical professionals<br />
and human services organizations. The club<br />
concluded <strong>the</strong>ir week with a trip to God’s<br />
Love We Deliver (GLWD), an organization<br />
that serves terminally ill patients in <strong>the</strong><br />
New York City area. Club members helped<br />
prepare meals and spent <strong>the</strong> early<br />
afternoon navigating downtown Manhattan,<br />
delivering food to six GLWD clients.<br />
Members of <strong>the</strong> AIDS Awareness Club at <strong>the</strong><br />
offices of God’s Love We Deliver in New York.<br />
The D-E Amnesty International Club<br />
sponsored a special Hulst House lecture<br />
and Q&A session in March with<br />
Abdalmageed Salih, a refugee from Darfur.<br />
Salih chairs HAND (Human Rights &<br />
Advocacy Network for Democracy),<br />
a consortium of Darfuri human rights<br />
groups. With a slide-show presentation, he<br />
discussed how fundamental resources such<br />
as water and oil have dictated <strong>the</strong> tide of<br />
events in <strong>the</strong> troubled region. Earlier this<br />
year, <strong>the</strong> AI Club celebrated International<br />
Human Rights Week, including screening<br />
<strong>the</strong> Academy Award-nominated<br />
documentary Burma VJ, and several<br />
members of <strong>the</strong> club attended <strong>the</strong> United<br />
Nations’ Student Conference on Human<br />
Rights at <strong>the</strong> UN in New York.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
33
ATHLETICSHIGHLIGHTS<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
34<br />
A Season of D-E Milestones<br />
2010–11 Winter Athletics Recap<br />
The boys varsity basketball team celebrates <strong>the</strong>ir County Tournament win.<br />
Boys Varsity Basketball<br />
This year’s boys varsity basketball<br />
season was one of <strong>the</strong> best in recent<br />
history. The Bulldogs finished with<br />
a 23-3 record, tying <strong>the</strong> school record for<br />
most wins in a season.<br />
The Bulldogs captured <strong>the</strong> North Jersey<br />
Interscholastic Conference (NJIC) Patriot<br />
Division crown with a perfect 17-0 league<br />
record. The team also won <strong>the</strong> Bergen<br />
Holiday Tournament at River Dell High <strong>School</strong><br />
for <strong>the</strong> first time since 2001. For <strong>the</strong> second<br />
year in a row <strong>the</strong> Bulldogs were invited to <strong>the</strong><br />
prestigious Bergen County Jamboree, and for<br />
<strong>the</strong> third consecutive season <strong>the</strong>y qualified<br />
for <strong>the</strong> state tournament.<br />
Captains Zach Hodges ’11 (averaging 16.9<br />
points per game and 3.4 assists) and<br />
Wesley Dickinson ’12 (21.3 points per<br />
game, 9.4 rebounds) led <strong>the</strong> squad, with<br />
contributions from a strong supporting cast.<br />
Zach and Wes both reached 1,000 career<br />
points (see sidebar), were unanimous first<br />
team all-league picks, and were selected<br />
all-Bergen County, with Zach being named<br />
first team and Wes being named to <strong>the</strong><br />
second team as a junior. In addition, Keion<br />
Osbourne ’13 and Robert Zeller ’13 were<br />
named second team all league and Austin<br />
James ’13 was selected as an all-league<br />
honorable mention. “I am very proud of<br />
<strong>the</strong> accomplishments of this year’s team,”<br />
said Coach Eli Goldberger. “They raised<br />
some eyebrows around <strong>the</strong> county with<br />
<strong>the</strong> upset win over Tenafly and <strong>the</strong>ir effort<br />
against a group-four power Hackensack<br />
who went on to reach <strong>the</strong> final four of <strong>the</strong><br />
Jamboree.” With Zach Hodges being <strong>the</strong><br />
only senior, <strong>the</strong> future looks very bright for<br />
Bulldog basketball.<br />
The Bulldogs were victorious against <strong>the</strong><br />
Newark Academy in a 23-3 season.<br />
Basketball player Wesley Dickinson ’12 is<br />
joined by his parents, Mark and Theresa<br />
Dickinson, and Athletic Director and Coach Eli<br />
Goldberger, shortly after he earned his historic<br />
1,000th point.<br />
After chalking up his historic 1,000th point,<br />
Zach Hodges ’11 is congratulated by Coach<br />
Goldberger.
Dickinson, Hodges<br />
Make Basketball<br />
History<br />
As impressive as <strong>the</strong> boys varsity<br />
basketball team’s effort was, <strong>the</strong><br />
season was remarkable for a few<br />
incredible individual accomplishments.<br />
Both Zach Hodges ’11 and Wes<br />
Dickinson ’12 reached <strong>the</strong> milestone<br />
of having scored 1,000 career points.<br />
Zach’s 1,000th point took place<br />
during <strong>the</strong> Bulldogs’ victorious game<br />
against Bergen County League rival<br />
Cresskill. He received a standing<br />
ovation from a wildly enthusiastic<br />
and supportive crowd and was<br />
joined by his family and Coach Eli<br />
Goldberger on <strong>the</strong> court mid-game to<br />
mark <strong>the</strong> historic event. Goldberger<br />
noted, “What can I say about Zach<br />
Hodges? He is truly <strong>the</strong> heart and<br />
soul of this program. He leads by<br />
example and has raised <strong>the</strong> bar of<br />
expectation among his peers simply<br />
by his determination and will. I am<br />
so happy for Zach. To score 1,000<br />
points and to do it against Cresskill<br />
in front of a terrific home crowd—and<br />
to clinch a league championship on<br />
<strong>the</strong> same night! I couldn’t think of a<br />
better scenario!”<br />
Zach ends his career with 1,081<br />
points and is currently 4th all-time.<br />
Junior center Wes Dickinson scored<br />
<strong>the</strong> 1,000th point of his career in<br />
February, in a game against <strong>the</strong><br />
Leonia Lions. With 7:44 remaining<br />
in <strong>the</strong> second quarter, Wes sank a<br />
history-making free throw. He went<br />
on to finish with a game high of 24<br />
points, leading <strong>the</strong> Bulldogs to a<br />
50-40 victory. Coach Goldberger<br />
commented, “This is a terrific<br />
individual accomplishment for<br />
Wesley! What makes it more<br />
meaningful to me is that Wes never<br />
once asked me if he was close or<br />
how many points he needed to reach<br />
a thousand. Wes is about TEAM first<br />
and foremost, and that is what<br />
makes him such a great player.”<br />
With a total of 1,305 points (2nd all<br />
time) after <strong>the</strong> season, Wes is just<br />
76 points shy of Josh Williams ’02,<br />
whose 1,381 points tops <strong>the</strong> list of<br />
D-E’s all-time leading scorers.<br />
Lady Bulldog Jennifer Stone ’11 was honored at her last girls varsity basketball game by Coach<br />
Rich Muller, her family, and teammates.<br />
Winter Track<br />
Winter track had its best year in<br />
some time, growing in numbers<br />
and accomplishments. The<br />
team’s ranks and quality were helped by<br />
an infusion of new sophomores and<br />
juniors. Megan Kwon ’12, Jamie Dalgleish<br />
’13, Alexandra De Los Reyes ’13, Jessica<br />
Lee ’12, Vanessa Pike ’13, and Leah<br />
Steinmetz ’13 were able competitors<br />
among a number of hard-working<br />
sprinters. Superb races from Victoria Ngo<br />
’12 toward <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> season earned<br />
her <strong>the</strong> rank of <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>’s sixth-fastest<br />
800-meter runner. On <strong>the</strong> boys’ side,<br />
Rolando Tan ’13, Amit Shah ’12, and<br />
Franco Lombardi ’14 showed great<br />
improvement throughout <strong>the</strong> season.<br />
Kudos also go to Emily Shaw ’11, who<br />
aided athletes and coaches alike.<br />
Our veterans took <strong>the</strong> team to a level of<br />
accomplishment not seen in decades.<br />
Coming off <strong>the</strong>ir cross country seasons,<br />
Alec Jiao ’11 and Marc Rosenberg ’14<br />
won medals in two large invitational<br />
meets. With her victory in <strong>the</strong> 1600-meter<br />
race in <strong>the</strong> North Jersey Invitational,<br />
Olivia Guidera ’11 became <strong>the</strong> first<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> athlete to win an<br />
invitational event since 1992. At <strong>the</strong> end<br />
of <strong>the</strong> season, Olivia in <strong>the</strong> 1600 and<br />
Libby Ward ’11 in <strong>the</strong> 3200 became<br />
<strong>the</strong> first <strong>Dwight</strong> athletes to medal in <strong>the</strong><br />
county championship in years. Their<br />
performances made <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> second<br />
fastest 1600-meter and 3200-meter<br />
runners, respectively, in <strong>the</strong> school’s<br />
history. At <strong>the</strong> state meet, Olivia became<br />
<strong>the</strong> school’s first athlete to medal in a<br />
state group competition when she took<br />
sixth place in <strong>the</strong> 1600. (Read more<br />
about Olivia on page 28.) Libby Ward<br />
and Alec Jiao took seventh place in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
races, just one place shy of <strong>the</strong> medals.<br />
Girls Varsity Basketball<br />
This year’s girls varsity basketball<br />
team struggled from <strong>the</strong> start with<br />
injuries to key players, including<br />
Rachel Cole ’12, April Flaim ’12, Rachel<br />
Porth ’12, and Christine Colon ’12.<br />
Struggling to find a cohesive starting<br />
five, <strong>the</strong> team finished 1-20 on <strong>the</strong> year.<br />
The disappointing record, however,<br />
doesn’t tell <strong>the</strong> whole story of a very<br />
competitive season. Of <strong>the</strong> 20 losses,<br />
10 were decided by 10 points or fewer,<br />
including a tough overtime loss to<br />
Waldwick, a one-point loss to Leonia, a<br />
three-point loss to Pompton Lakes, and<br />
two four-point losses to Patriot A division<br />
champions New Milford and Patriot B<br />
division champions Emerson. The<br />
Lady Bulldogs’ one win of <strong>the</strong> season<br />
came against Saddle River Day. Captain<br />
Jen Stone ’11 was <strong>the</strong> only senior.<br />
This season Coach Rich Muller marked<br />
<strong>the</strong> 500th game he’s coached and his<br />
25th year of coaching.<br />
The team looks good for next year, with<br />
a number of returning seniors leading<br />
<strong>the</strong> way, along with with sophomore first<br />
team all-league guard Haley Brescia ’13<br />
and freshman second team all-league<br />
post player Lindsay Saftler ’14.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
35
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
36<br />
HEAD’SSERIES<br />
<strong>Celebrating</strong> Exceptional <strong>Arts</strong> Professionals:<br />
2010–2011 Head of <strong>School</strong> Series<br />
The D-E Head of <strong>School</strong> Series<br />
continues to showcase<br />
exceptional professionals in<br />
<strong>the</strong> performing arts. This academic<br />
year <strong>the</strong> series featured special new<br />
events, including a film screening<br />
and a discussion with <strong>the</strong> director<br />
of <strong>the</strong> National Counterterrorism<br />
Center, Michael Leiter ’87.<br />
Head of <strong>School</strong> Dr. Rodney De Jarnett,<br />
who initially envisioned and <strong>the</strong>n<br />
launched <strong>the</strong> program in 2008, noted,<br />
“Our 2010–2011 Series has fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />
established D-E as a vibrant center<br />
for intellectual and cultural learning at<br />
all levels.”<br />
The <strong>School</strong>’s resident professional<br />
chamber ensemble, 315 East, kicked<br />
off this year’s series in <strong>the</strong> fall with a<br />
program called “From Vienna to Prague.”<br />
The concert included works by Mozart<br />
and Dvorak, and a stirring trio for cello,<br />
flute, and piano by Bohuslav Martinu.<br />
Next in <strong>the</strong> series was “Reel Music:<br />
Sounds of Cinema,” presented in<br />
November by Jazz Vistas, D-E’s resident<br />
professional jazz ensemble, with jazz<br />
adaptations of music featured in movies,<br />
including Lolita, Spike Lee’s Do The<br />
Right Thing, and The Man with <strong>the</strong><br />
Golden Arm.<br />
In January, Jazz Vistas presented “From<br />
Boogaloo to <strong>the</strong> Beatles,” an electrifying<br />
performance inspired by music from <strong>the</strong><br />
1960s. The concert was appealing to<br />
both Woodstock-era fans and classic jazz<br />
lovers. Among pieces performed were<br />
adaptations of <strong>the</strong> Beatles’ “Come<br />
Toge<strong>the</strong>r”; John Coltrane’s “26-2”; “Time<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Season” by <strong>the</strong> Zombies; Jefferson<br />
Airplane’s “White Rabbit”; and “Do Right<br />
315 East: A Chamber Ensemble performing at Schenck Auditorium earlier this year.<br />
Music Department faculty member Robert DeBellis (left), director of Jazz Vistas, with fellow<br />
instrumentalists at <strong>the</strong>ir 1960s-<strong>the</strong>med concert, “From Boogaloo to <strong>the</strong> Beatles.”
Woman” by Aretha Franklin. Guitarist<br />
Mark Bowers wowed <strong>the</strong> standing-roomonly<br />
crowd with Hendrix-inspired riffs,<br />
and vocalist DK Dyson encouraged<br />
backup vocals from D-E students,<br />
including Sarah Elrafei ’11, GinaMarie<br />
Enriquez ’14, and Estee Levy ’13.<br />
Following Head of <strong>School</strong> Series<br />
tradition, each event included a<br />
memorable buffet designed to match<br />
<strong>the</strong> performance <strong>the</strong>me and deliciously<br />
crafted by local caterer Food for Thought.<br />
The “Boogaloo” jazz concert, for example,<br />
featured snacks reminiscent of <strong>the</strong><br />
1960s, including Ritz crackers with<br />
CheeseWhiz, fondue pots (though <strong>the</strong>y<br />
contained vegetable dip), and trays of<br />
chocolate Yodels.<br />
In March, <strong>the</strong> series branched out to<br />
include a screening of <strong>the</strong> acclaimed<br />
documentary film Race to Nowhere<br />
(see sidebar).<br />
Two April events wrapped up <strong>the</strong> series.<br />
The first was a performance by 315 East<br />
titled “Musical Rearview Mirror.” It<br />
featured <strong>the</strong> works of Stravinsky,<br />
Mendessohn, Mozart, and Bach, which<br />
were performed in reverse chronological<br />
Race to Nowhere Screening<br />
A young musician enjoyed <strong>the</strong> chance to meet <strong>the</strong> performers backstage after Jazz Vistas’ “Reel<br />
Music” concert.<br />
order. The second was a special<br />
presentation in Hajjar Auditorium<br />
featuring Michael Leiter ’87, who is <strong>the</strong><br />
director of <strong>the</strong> National Counterterrorism<br />
Center in Washington, DC. A graduate of<br />
Columbia University and Harvard Law<br />
<strong>School</strong>, Leiter has served in a number of<br />
roles within <strong>the</strong> intelligence community.<br />
In his current role, he reports directly to<br />
President Obama.<br />
Overall, <strong>the</strong> events in <strong>the</strong> series were well<br />
attended and well received by <strong>the</strong> D-E<br />
community. Noted Dr. De Jarnett, “We<br />
are especially grateful to our 2010–<br />
2011 Head of <strong>School</strong> Series Sponsors<br />
for <strong>the</strong>ir generous support.” This year’s<br />
sponsors include: The Grace and<br />
Mercy Foundation and Telebrands, Inc.<br />
(Platinum Level); Brencourt LLC,<br />
Gensler and NY Waterways (Gold Level);<br />
Paul and Elizabeth De Rosa (Silver<br />
Level); FLIK (Bronze Level); and Willis<br />
HRH, Aetna, and Dean Street Greenery.<br />
Several anonymous sponsors also<br />
supported <strong>the</strong> series.<br />
In March <strong>the</strong> Head of <strong>School</strong> Series presented Race to Nowhere, a<br />
documentary film that has caught <strong>the</strong> interest of critics, educators, and<br />
parents. Despite stormy wea<strong>the</strong>r with torrential rain and high winds, an<br />
audience of several hundred parents and D-E faculty and staff turned out<br />
for <strong>the</strong> screening in <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>’s Schenck Auditorium. The film’s main<br />
<strong>the</strong>me focuses on how our nation’s youth are coping (or not) with a range<br />
of contemporary stresses. Touching on such issues as <strong>the</strong> pressure on<br />
high school students “build <strong>the</strong>ir resume” for college applications and <strong>the</strong><br />
challenges of increasingly heavy homework loads of students as young as<br />
4th and 5th grade, <strong>the</strong> film touched a nerve with all those present.<br />
Head of <strong>School</strong> Dr. Rodney V. De Jarnett began <strong>the</strong> screening by<br />
challenging attendees to think about how <strong>the</strong> film resonated with <strong>the</strong>m,<br />
including <strong>the</strong>ir approaches to <strong>the</strong>ir children and how <strong>the</strong>y handle<br />
academic responsibilities. At <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> film De Jarnett moderated<br />
comments from <strong>the</strong> audience, assisted in part by <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>’s three<br />
division principals. Upper <strong>School</strong> Principal Joe Algrant spoke about<br />
achieving balance in <strong>the</strong> lives and workloads of Upper <strong>School</strong> students,<br />
and how this year’s modified schedule is helping. Middle <strong>School</strong> Principal<br />
Kathy Christoph noted how <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>’s “Activity Period” enables all<br />
Middle <strong>School</strong> students to pursue a number of special interest clubs<br />
during <strong>the</strong> school day.<br />
A film screening of <strong>the</strong> critically acclaimed documentary Race to Nowhere was<br />
included in this year’s Head of <strong>School</strong> Series.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
37
HEAD’SSERIES<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
38<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> would like to thank <strong>the</strong> following sponsors for <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
support of <strong>the</strong> Head of <strong>School</strong> Series.<br />
Violinist Jesse Mills ’97 joined 315 East: A Chamber Ensemble for an<br />
Upper <strong>School</strong> morning assembly “preview” prior to <strong>the</strong> group’s<br />
performance on April 9, entitled “Musical Rearview Mirror” and featuring<br />
works by Stravinsky, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Bach.<br />
Michael Leiter ’87 (back row, 4th from left) joined his classmates following his<br />
engrossing discussion on April 12 on his role as director of <strong>the</strong> National<br />
Counterterrorism Center, as part of <strong>the</strong> 2010–11 Head of <strong>School</strong> Series season.<br />
Michael spoke in Hajjar Auditorium to a near-capacity (and<br />
highly appreciative) audience made up of parents, past<br />
parents, fellow alumni, faculty, staff, and students.
HEAD’SSERIES<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
40
Snapshots of D-E Life:<br />
Winter2010–Spring2011<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
42<br />
The campus of <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> was alive this winter and early spring with myriad athletics,<br />
arts, and o<strong>the</strong>r activities. Some special events included <strong>the</strong> Winter <strong>Arts</strong> Festival, a compelling Lower<br />
<strong>School</strong> assembly on Anti-Bullying, <strong>the</strong> Middle <strong>School</strong>’s annual Pack <strong>the</strong> Gym, Egypt Day and Living Wax<br />
Museum events, Upper <strong>School</strong> student-directed One Act Plays, Coffee House, and o<strong>the</strong>r compelling<br />
performances. Students were active in <strong>the</strong> Lower <strong>School</strong>'s exploratory Big Dig, <strong>the</strong> D-E Fights Against<br />
Cancer Club's March Madness fundraiser, <strong>the</strong> Amnesty International Club’s presentation of guest<br />
speakers, and many o<strong>the</strong>r worthwhile endeavors shown in <strong>the</strong> following photo collage.
Spring 2011<br />
43
CLASSNOTES<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
44<br />
Class notes may be submitted to your Class Representative(s) or to <strong>the</strong> Alumni Office at<br />
alumninews@d-e.org at any time. Deadline for submission for <strong>the</strong> Fall 2011 D-E Today issue<br />
is July 1, 2011. <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> reserves <strong>the</strong> right to edit submissions for length and clarity.<br />
Class Notes are not a vehicle for advertising professional services. Please send contact and<br />
address changes by email to Sharon Rein, development database manager, at reins@d-e.org.<br />
Do you enjoy catching up with<br />
your classmates? Are you a<br />
good writer? WE NEED YOU! Be<br />
a Class Representative (Rep) and help<br />
keep your Class up to date on what’s<br />
happening with your classmates.<br />
During your major class reunions,<br />
you will be contacted to help form a<br />
committee to plan your reunion<br />
activities and contact classmates.<br />
If you are interested in becoming a<br />
Class Representative or volunteering on<br />
one of <strong>the</strong> school’s standing committees,<br />
please contact Alumni Director Maria<br />
Sanchez Gardner ’78 at 201-569-9500,<br />
ext. 3413; or email sanchm@d-e.org.<br />
D 33<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Marion Leggett Whyte<br />
Delray Dunes Club<br />
7 Slash Pine Drive<br />
Boynton Beach, FL 33436<br />
Email: mwjomama84@aol.com<br />
D 36<br />
Eugenia “Deedee” Pepper Wattles writes<br />
<strong>the</strong> following about her late husband<br />
Walter C. Wattles: “A recent tribute was<br />
posthumously paid to Walter for being<br />
<strong>the</strong> biggest fundraiser for <strong>the</strong> Highland-<br />
Cashiers Hospital. For 40 summers, we<br />
loved having family and friends at our<br />
second home we built at Highland, NC.<br />
Walter’s love of <strong>the</strong> area was <strong>the</strong> impetus<br />
for his raising over three million dollars<br />
for its hospital. In grateful appreciation,<br />
<strong>the</strong> hospital recently mounted a sizeable<br />
bronze plaque in Walter’s likeness on<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir wall.”<br />
D 37<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Alleyne Ma<strong>the</strong>ws Tanham<br />
One Washington Square Village<br />
West Building, Apt. D-12<br />
New York, NY 10012<br />
D 38<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Mary Rolston<br />
310 Elm Road, Apt 228<br />
Princeton, NJ 08540<br />
Email: mjrolston@webtv.net<br />
Mary Rolston is still breathing and<br />
moving and hopes to make <strong>the</strong> 75th<br />
reunion in 2013!<br />
D 39<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Irene Jones Reinert<br />
5111 Palmer Ranch Parkway<br />
Sarasota, FL 34238-4499<br />
Laura Gilbert Tupper doesn’t have much<br />
news to report. However, she thinks of<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> (now <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong>) <strong>School</strong><br />
often. She wonders who is left from <strong>the</strong><br />
noble class? She is still influenced by all<br />
she learned and “observed” while at<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>…and she loved her one year as a<br />
faculty member!<br />
E 40<br />
Class Rep needed:<br />
Don Coffman reports that he is retired and<br />
has outlived his IRA…that’s <strong>the</strong> best he<br />
could do. He and Gloria just celebrated<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir 66th wedding anniversary!<br />
D 42 & E 42<br />
Class Reps needed:<br />
Dorothy Ma<strong>the</strong>is Thornhill and husband<br />
Arthur Thornhill Jr. both remember <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
great undergraduate days side by side on<br />
E. Palisade Avenue!<br />
D 43<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Elizabeth Nutt Barnes<br />
P.O. Box 7309<br />
Macon, GA 31209-7309<br />
Email: barnesward@citcom.net<br />
Mary Soons McCarty writes that she and<br />
Stuart are newly moved to North Carolina in<br />
a lovely cottage at a great “senior” place<br />
near <strong>the</strong>ir daughter, Ann, who lives in Oak<br />
Ridge. All <strong>the</strong> children are in good health<br />
and lots of fun: Stuart II is in Broom County,<br />
NY; Jane is in Princeton, NJ; and Mary Croft<br />
is in Portland, OR. She feels lucky to have<br />
good health and 66 years of marriage. She<br />
remembers that Miss Leggett came to <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
wedding on February 8, 1944!<br />
E 43<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Haydock H. Miller, Jr.<br />
2225 Calle Cacique<br />
Santa Fe, NM 87505-4944<br />
Email: doc_miller@cybermesa.com<br />
D 45<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Jeanne Minor Walton<br />
908 Kern Springs Road<br />
Woodstock, VA 22664<br />
Email: jwalton@shentel.net
Elizabeth Quarles Ryden has been living<br />
in a long-term retirement home, Casa<br />
Dorinda, for almost 10 years. While Santa<br />
Barbara, CA, is a beautiful location, she<br />
misses old friends in Scottsdale, St. Louis,<br />
and <strong>Englewood</strong>. Her husband, Reinhardt<br />
A. Ryden, died last year after three years<br />
of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Medical Center. She would love to<br />
hear from anyone old enough to<br />
remember her! Please call her at<br />
821-969-8181.<br />
D 46<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Marjorie Sherriff Rohde<br />
40 Vine Street<br />
Wrentham, MA 02093<br />
Email: marjorierohde1871@verizon.net<br />
Phone: 508-243-5462<br />
Patricia Browning Knowlton is still<br />
“hanging out” in <strong>the</strong> same home for 51<br />
years! Lil Garside Durkee lives nearby so<br />
<strong>the</strong>y get toge<strong>the</strong>r often.<br />
D 47<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Ann Emmons Petri<br />
6829 Lemon Road<br />
McLean, VA 22101-5422<br />
Email: annwmp@verizon.net<br />
Ann Emmons Petri and her husband, Bill,<br />
have “reached <strong>the</strong> point in life where we<br />
have grandchildren choosing to live with<br />
us. We live in a highly desirable job area<br />
with many federal government positions<br />
available and so far, out of <strong>the</strong> 13, two<br />
(Danny and Jess) have stayed with us with,<br />
hopefully, more to come.”<br />
E 47<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Hal Curtis<br />
1641 Wildwood Road<br />
Ukiah, CA 95482<br />
Email: curtises@pacific.net<br />
D 48<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Keats Van Alstyne Smith<br />
215 Club Road<br />
Baltimore, MD 21210-2252<br />
Email: kvaspow@verizon.net<br />
Robin Merrill Ogilvie reports that this past<br />
July 3rd, grandson Alex Chalier married<br />
Rachel Martin at <strong>the</strong> Washington<br />
Crossing Inn in Pennsylvania. In August<br />
she spent time researching her<br />
Revolutionary Redcoat GGG-grandfa<strong>the</strong>r<br />
in Nova Scotia. Such fun!<br />
E 48<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Donald A. Anderson<br />
20 Devon Court<br />
Spring Lake Heights, NJ 07762<br />
Email: andwri@yahoo.com<br />
Don Anderson spoke with Bob Briggs,<br />
currently in Oregon enjoying life with his<br />
wife of many years. Bob spends most of<br />
his time writing poetry, enjoying music,<br />
and in his spare time relaxing using<br />
meditation. Except for running into Frank<br />
Sparrow in Korea during <strong>the</strong> war, he<br />
really has not seen any of <strong>the</strong> whole<br />
bunch. Don says he “continues to reside<br />
in Spring Lake caring for my wife, Amy,<br />
who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.<br />
Both Doug Ix and George Gallup helped<br />
me celebrate my 80th in June. It was a<br />
great party!”<br />
D 49<br />
Please send news to your Class Rep:<br />
Ann Satterthwaite<br />
1615 34th Street NW<br />
Washington, DC 20007-2711<br />
Phone: 202-342-0203<br />
Fax: 202-337-8607<br />
Email: asatt@aol.com<br />
Carol Remington Mathis and her<br />
husband, Norman, are enjoying <strong>the</strong>ir first<br />
great grandchild! She says happily,<br />
“There is nothing like a baby to bring joy<br />
to all <strong>the</strong> family.”<br />
D 50<br />
Class Rep needed:<br />
From Sophie McClanahan Barnes (<strong>the</strong><br />
woman formerly known as “Fifi”): “Each<br />
time I look under my class year for <strong>the</strong><br />
news from anyone else still alive, I am<br />
disappointed. Where are you all? I am<br />
here in Westport, CT, cozily ensconced in<br />
what’s left of <strong>the</strong> shredding safety net for<br />
elderly/disabled citizens. Thank you,<br />
Eleanor Roosevelt and Francis Perkins,<br />
may <strong>the</strong>y not have to roll over in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
graves! The growing numbers of us who<br />
are disengaged from <strong>the</strong> stock-marketeer<br />
class continually thank <strong>the</strong>m and at <strong>the</strong><br />
same time fear for our children and<br />
grandchildren. Yes, I am an active<br />
progressive (turned poet), retired reluctant<br />
salesperson, who is able, at last, to think<br />
about <strong>the</strong> world outside of being anxious<br />
for my own personal morrow. I want to<br />
do something about it and am trying to<br />
steepen my own learning curve in that<br />
regard. Anyone else? My phone is<br />
203-293-4375, email:<br />
sophiebarnes2001@yahoo.com, and I<br />
can be found on Facebook.”<br />
E 50<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Marshall Umpleby<br />
1012 Hillview Drive<br />
Ashland, OR 97520<br />
Phone: 541-488-2428<br />
Email: mumpleby@mind.net<br />
Bill (Marshall) Crozier writes: “In 1944/45<br />
Bert Hanselpacker fired up our 7th grade<br />
imaginations with readings from Nordoff<br />
and Hall’s The Mutiny on <strong>the</strong> Bounty. A<br />
subsequent long-distance exchange of<br />
correspondence (and stamps) with<br />
Pitcairn’s postmaster advanced my interest<br />
and a lecture by Irving Johnson of Yankee<br />
fame that highlighted diving for Bounty<br />
relics firmly established Pitcairn as my<br />
lifetime travel priority. Not too long ago, on<br />
<strong>the</strong> way from Santiago to Papeete, I had a<br />
chance to spend a brief sojourn on ’my’<br />
island. I could have stayed a month; it<br />
thoroughly exceeded my expectations.<br />
Subsequently, at auction, I acquired a<br />
piece of <strong>the</strong> Bounty’s English oak hull,<br />
suitably charred from when <strong>the</strong> mutineers<br />
burned <strong>the</strong>ir ship to avoid detection. One<br />
could underestimate <strong>the</strong> power available to<br />
<strong>the</strong> teachers of young boys. ESB had some<br />
outstanding teachers.”<br />
From Marshall Umpleby: “Mimi and I will<br />
celebrate our 50th anniversary in March<br />
with a trip to <strong>the</strong> big island of Hawaii,<br />
along with daughters Sarah and Amy plus<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir partners. We continue to volunteer<br />
for <strong>the</strong> Ashland Independent Film Festival<br />
and for <strong>the</strong> Oregon Shakespeare Festival,<br />
which broke its all-time record for ticket<br />
sales, 450,000-plus, for <strong>the</strong> second year<br />
in a row. We recently flew to California,<br />
visiting Amy in Nevada City and Sarah in<br />
San Diego. From <strong>the</strong>re we took a train to<br />
Santa Barbara for <strong>the</strong> International Film<br />
Festival, <strong>the</strong>n ano<strong>the</strong>r train to Emeryville,<br />
where my nephew, a professor of<br />
philosophy at Cal, and his family live. In<br />
place of grandchildren we have three grand<br />
ferrets, four grand horses, a grandnephew<br />
and grandniece. Life is good!”<br />
Spring 2011<br />
45
CLASSNOTES<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
46<br />
D 51<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Elinor Lockwood Yeo<br />
133 Day Street<br />
Newton, MA 02466<br />
Email: revelinor@alumnae.smith.edu<br />
Kathleen MacGregor Randolph<br />
continues to enjoy Arizona, travel to<br />
Maine to visit her son and his family,<br />
Alaska for cool wea<strong>the</strong>r, and excursions<br />
to California for a change of scenery.<br />
She is sorry to miss <strong>the</strong> 60th reunion.<br />
She sends her best regards to all!<br />
E 51<br />
Class Rep:<br />
James Webster<br />
4277 Bitterroot Road<br />
Reno, NV 89509-0640<br />
Email: jwebster@gabelli.com<br />
To all my classmates from <strong>the</strong> ESB Class<br />
of 1951: I have been thinking of a way to<br />
honor our <strong>School</strong> on <strong>the</strong> occasion of our<br />
60th Reunion and what I’ve come up<br />
with is a Challenge for all of us! For each<br />
and every one of our Classmates who<br />
gives $60 in honor of our 60th Reunion,<br />
I will match that $60! It would be great<br />
to have 100 % of our Class making a gift<br />
in honor of our time at ESB! What do you<br />
say, gentlemen? You can call Pat Boig in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Development Office at 201-569-<br />
9500, ext. 3411, or go online and make<br />
your gift at www.d-e.org/supporting.<br />
Can’t wait to hear how many of you<br />
make a gift! Best regards, Jim Webster.<br />
D 52<br />
Class Rep needed:<br />
Joan Lyman Larson sent in this note:<br />
“Bob and I are still very active in golf and<br />
tennis. I sold paintings this past summer<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Historical Society Show in Quogue.<br />
All our children and grandchildren are<br />
doing well. I feel very lucky. I just visited<br />
my Aunt Dorothy Lyman Hewitt D’ 29<br />
and Emily Lyman Mussells D ’33, who<br />
are 98 and 94, respectively! Amazing!<br />
We had fun talking about how great<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong> was and still is.”<br />
Audrey Stein Merves reports: “Life in<br />
Philly is hectic and fun for us. We<br />
became grandparents for <strong>the</strong> 8th time<br />
on May 4, 2010. Our youngest daughter,<br />
Jennifer Robbins, and husband Brian<br />
have a son, Nicholas Ethan. He lives a few<br />
blocks from us, so we see him every few<br />
days. What fun. We moved into <strong>the</strong> city two<br />
years ago from <strong>the</strong> suburbs. I love it—Stan<br />
not so much. Driving to his office on <strong>the</strong><br />
expressway during rush hour is no fun. I<br />
am busy in civic affairs. I sit on a board at<br />
<strong>the</strong> University of Pennsylvania, on a board<br />
at Temple University, and just took on<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r directorship as a board member<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Walnut Street Theater, <strong>the</strong> oldest<br />
<strong>the</strong>ater in America. I am enjoying all of it,<br />
and it does keep me busy. Three of our<br />
grandchildren graduate from college this<br />
spring, one each from Emory, Oglethorpe,<br />
and Lawrence universities. Three more are<br />
sophomores at Harvard, Maryland, and <strong>the</strong><br />
U.S. Air Force Academy, and one is still in<br />
high school. If anyone from our class has<br />
relocated in or near Philly, please contact<br />
me; it would be fun to spend a lunch<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r and talk of <strong>Dwight</strong> days.”<br />
E 52<br />
Class Rep needed:<br />
Vincent Felitti sent in <strong>the</strong> following news:<br />
“I am a semi-retired internist living with<br />
my wife in La Jolla, CA, for <strong>the</strong> past 43<br />
years. I have three adult children and get<br />
to travel a fair amount now; invited<br />
because of medical research I’ve been<br />
involved in. Things have worked out well,<br />
overall. I haven’t been in <strong>Englewood</strong> for a<br />
half century, but it would be nice to see<br />
what happened to <strong>the</strong> school. On<br />
reflection, it was a remarkably fine place<br />
and I’m grateful for <strong>the</strong> demands <strong>the</strong><br />
Masters put on us, even though that<br />
gratitude might have been lacking <strong>the</strong>n.”<br />
The passing of Tommy Johnson is noted<br />
on page 58 (In Memoriam). Jon Foote<br />
ESB ’53 composed a poetic tribute called<br />
“Tommy, you were my Best Friend.”<br />
The following is an excerpt:<br />
At Eaglebrook, we began to part,<br />
you being a year older.<br />
Your speed was a legend and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
than that, my memories fade a little.<br />
Despite <strong>the</strong> fade, <strong>the</strong>y revive some on <strong>the</strong><br />
soccer field—when Gov. Dummer and PA<br />
games brought us toge<strong>the</strong>r as opponents.<br />
I still couldn’t catch you, you were much<br />
too fast—<br />
But I evened <strong>the</strong> field by scoring one that<br />
won <strong>the</strong> game at last.<br />
Our lives have gone down different trails<br />
And haven’t crossed too often…<br />
BUT in <strong>the</strong> end, my thoughts are clear.<br />
First Best Friends never part, as <strong>the</strong><br />
Mem’ries live forever!<br />
D 53<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Cynthia Walz Doggett<br />
Two Thornton Lane<br />
Concord, MA 01742<br />
Email: cwdogg@aol.com<br />
Anne “Vyt” Vytlacil lives in Washington,<br />
DC, and has her own architectural<br />
firm with a specialty in residential,<br />
commercial, and institutional renovation<br />
projects, combining contemporary design<br />
with historic preservation. She is <strong>the</strong><br />
daughter of modernist painter Vaclav<br />
Vytlacil, and after his death a few years<br />
back she donated her fa<strong>the</strong>r’s house,<br />
studio, and land to <strong>the</strong> Art Students<br />
League of New York, which <strong>the</strong>n<br />
established The Vytlacil <strong>School</strong> of<br />
Painting and Sculpture. Well done, Vyt!<br />
Carvel Glidden is a member of <strong>the</strong><br />
Belfast (Maine) Life Drawing Group,<br />
which held an exhibit of figurative work<br />
at Belfast’s Clifford Gallery last June.<br />
The show, titled “The Figure Revealed,”<br />
contained a range of work in sculpture,<br />
bas relief, charcoal, and pencil drawings,<br />
paintings, and portraits, shaped wire<br />
figures, and even an artist’s sketchbook.<br />
Carvel was one of <strong>the</strong> exhibitors. The<br />
Belfast Life Drawing Group provides a<br />
way for serious artists to study <strong>the</strong> figure,<br />
avoiding <strong>the</strong> cost of instruction by<br />
sharing modeling fees. The purpose of<br />
<strong>the</strong> exhibit was to acknowledge <strong>the</strong><br />
commitment of this group to <strong>the</strong> classic<br />
art practice of drawing from a live model.<br />
Mimi Dickey Smith has been weaving<br />
on a loom for over 20 years. She has<br />
participated in national weaving<br />
workshops and seminars. An<br />
accomplished artist, she experiments with<br />
different weave structures, and pushes<br />
<strong>the</strong> traditional techniques to new levels<br />
by exploring new designs, colors, and<br />
textures. A patient teacher, she loves to<br />
see her students expand <strong>the</strong>ir skills and<br />
succeed in what she loves to do. She is a<br />
long-time member of <strong>the</strong> Weaver’s Guild<br />
of Rochester, NY, where she teaches. In<br />
October 2011, she will teach at <strong>the</strong><br />
Eastern Great Lakes Fiber Conference in<br />
Chatauqua, NY.<br />
Camilla Vilas Durfee is also a teacher.<br />
For <strong>the</strong> past several years she has been<br />
teaching English (part time) to<br />
Georgetown University’s international<br />
students, who range in age from 17 to<br />
35, and come from 30 countries. Over
<strong>the</strong> year, she and Gib travelled to Hong<br />
Kong, Hanoi, Vietnam, and Boulder, CO,<br />
and to <strong>the</strong> quaint village of Cambria, CA,<br />
to visit three of <strong>the</strong>ir far-flung children.<br />
They also drove to St. Catharines,<br />
Ontario, where <strong>the</strong> International Masters<br />
Rowing Regatta took place. Camilla won<br />
four medals!<br />
In August, Beverly Vahlteich Delaney and<br />
Bill enjoyed a two-week, 3300-mile motor<br />
coach tour out West to visit “Majestic<br />
Parks.” The scenery was indescribable<br />
and Old Faithful in Yellowstone did not<br />
disappoint. They will be moving to <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
new home at Crane’s Mill, <strong>the</strong> retirement<br />
community in West Caldwell, NJ, in <strong>the</strong> fall,<br />
so Beverly continues to downsize <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
six-bedroom home in Cleveland Heights,<br />
plus choosing paint colors, carpeting, and<br />
kitchen countertops for <strong>the</strong>ir new one.<br />
Benita Galanti Jones writes: “We are very<br />
happy to be able to say that life still<br />
manages to move along past pathways,<br />
albeit more slowly. Summer in Norfolk<br />
means gardening. We are now considering<br />
what has not been a particularly<br />
successful pond—too shady for water lilies<br />
and too inviting for herons for goldfish—<br />
into a bog garden where we can grow<br />
shade-loving plants.” She and Ian had a<br />
fascinating trip from Moscow to St.<br />
Petersburg. Beni still can’t believe she was<br />
actually in Red Square and <strong>the</strong> Kremlin!<br />
On a sad note, Carole Neri Lembo’s<br />
husband, Gregory, died in July 2010. She<br />
and Greg were married for 38 years. Greg<br />
was an avid croquet player who was a<br />
member of <strong>the</strong> Green Gables Croquet Club<br />
in Spring Lake, NJ, and <strong>the</strong> Palm Beach<br />
(Florida) Croquet Club.<br />
E 53<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Hugh Mitchell<br />
147 Hillside Avenue<br />
Rochester, NY 14610-2441<br />
Email: goshawk@frontiernet.net<br />
D 54<br />
Class Rep needed:<br />
Daniel and Debborah Dunn Wessels are<br />
enjoying <strong>the</strong>ir four grandchildren, ages 3,<br />
5, 10, and 13, who, with <strong>the</strong>ir respective<br />
parents, spent Christmas with <strong>the</strong>m. They<br />
see her sisters, Andrea Dunn Williams D<br />
’57 (husband is Robert Williams ESB ’54)<br />
and Alice Dunn Martin D ’58 (husband is<br />
William N. Martin) and <strong>the</strong>ir families<br />
during <strong>the</strong> summer in Christmas Cove,<br />
ME. We hope to get toge<strong>the</strong>r with a few<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> Class of 1954 ladies later this<br />
spring at Judith Pike Robertson’s place.<br />
D 55<br />
Class Rep needed:<br />
In <strong>the</strong> spring of 2010, Nancy Robin Jaicks<br />
moved from New Jersey to Manhattan.<br />
She writes, “I absolutely love it! I recently<br />
attended <strong>the</strong> soiree given by <strong>the</strong> school<br />
and Cici Kossmann Wilkinson ’80, a<br />
former student of mine, just a few blocks<br />
from here. Very crowded, filled with former<br />
students I enjoyed seeing, and fun. Last<br />
fall I travelled to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where<br />
my children were born in <strong>the</strong> ’60s. It was a<br />
reunion and very stimulating. Lots of<br />
plans for more travel.”<br />
D 56<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Susan Carter<br />
100 West Hudson Avenue, Apt. F4<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong>, NJ 07631-0026<br />
Susan Carter sent in <strong>the</strong> following report:<br />
“Over Thanksgiving, I visited with my<br />
nephew, Tyler Carter, his wife, Katharine,<br />
and <strong>the</strong>ir three-year-old daughter, Sadie,<br />
in beautiful Sarasota, FL. The wea<strong>the</strong>r<br />
was perfect and it was lovely to be all<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r. Mimi Hesse Davis of Pompano<br />
Beach, FL, is delighted that she now has<br />
a second home to visit near her daughter<br />
in Connecticut. Also, she enjoys painting,<br />
and sells her paintings and prints on<br />
eBay. Check out her website at<br />
http://stores.ebay.com/mimisart-954...<br />
and click on <strong>the</strong> red door to see her<br />
work. I took peek and was really<br />
impressed. Her grandson, Charlie, 15<br />
years old, is now <strong>the</strong> #1 mountain bike<br />
rider in New Zealand! Our 55th reunion<br />
is June 3rd and June 4th. Sure hope you<br />
can join us! Hasta La Vista!”<br />
D 57<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Sandra Agemian Borg<br />
310 Walnut Street<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong>, NJ 07631<br />
Email: SandyBorg@northjersey.com<br />
Natalie Beaumont spent Christmas in<br />
Hawaii with sister Carol Whitesell D ’52<br />
and was able to sing in her choir for<br />
Christmas. Natalie writes, “The Head of<br />
<strong>School</strong> Series concerts are great and I<br />
recommend <strong>the</strong>m to all music lovers. I<br />
sometimes attend <strong>the</strong>m with Susan<br />
Carter D ’56 and Helen Homans. One<br />
great feature is that some of our D-E<br />
students participate with <strong>the</strong> pros; many<br />
of which are faculty members. The recent<br />
jazz concert I saw was superb in all ways:<br />
musically and entertainment-wise with so<br />
many unique touches…and for a very<br />
minimal cost. O<strong>the</strong>r than that, I still tutor<br />
through <strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> Library’s Literacy<br />
Program; I enjoy singing in two groups-choir<br />
and Senior; and do some folk and<br />
ballroom dancing, and, as of a year ago I<br />
became <strong>the</strong> secretary of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong><br />
Historical Society.” Natalie also visited<br />
Penny Atwood Kruger in San Francisco<br />
this year and <strong>the</strong>n onto Santa Barbara<br />
to spend time with her son who is a<br />
wrestling coach and a black belt in judo.<br />
Sara Heilman is living in Chicago and<br />
working full time with high school<br />
students in a contained special<br />
education high school in <strong>the</strong><br />
neighborhood. During <strong>the</strong> summer, Sara<br />
crews on a sailboat on Lake Michigan<br />
and enjoys time with her son and his<br />
wife and her daughter who are nearby.<br />
Nancy Kolar Bowen is living in<br />
Charleston, VT, and heads to Virginia<br />
often to visit with children and<br />
grandchildren. Faith Reinhardt King<br />
wrote in November that she had been<br />
on a 20-day cruise to <strong>the</strong> Panama Canal.<br />
She hopes to have ano<strong>the</strong>r fantastic trip<br />
soon. Stephanie Knoch Marchand is<br />
wintering in Florida and has a summer<br />
home in Vermont. Son Geof is <strong>the</strong> IT<br />
person for <strong>the</strong> Athletic Department at<br />
UVM and daughter Deb has her own<br />
design business. Whit and Steph<br />
celebrated <strong>the</strong>ir 50th wedding<br />
anniversary. Sally Sparrow Horton is<br />
in Florida and had a visit with Shirley<br />
Cookman Babington and Andy Dunn<br />
Williams.<br />
Life is going well for Penny Atwood<br />
Kruger, who lives in San Francisco and<br />
enjoys her two granddaughters, who<br />
fortunately live nearby. Penny’s stepson,<br />
Mark, lives in Boulder where his wife is a<br />
professor at <strong>the</strong> University of Colorado.<br />
Their children are both fencers and<br />
compete in <strong>the</strong> U.S. and Europe. Terry<br />
Stratton Flagg has visited Penny when<br />
she visits her two daughters. Terry sent<br />
in this update: “While not retired as a<br />
landscape designer or as a life coach, I<br />
relish <strong>the</strong> more relaxed rhythm of<br />
working on my own. I am especially<br />
inspired working for an organization,<br />
Spring 2011<br />
47
CLASSNOTES<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
48<br />
One to One Women Coaching Women,<br />
which serves a deserving and<br />
underserved population of women who<br />
cannot afford life coaching. Tom and I<br />
recently immersed ourselves in an<br />
enlightening and challenging yoga retreat<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Bahamas. Our ’Jan Plan’ allowed<br />
us <strong>the</strong> delicious experience of spending<br />
<strong>the</strong> month of January in California near<br />
where our two daughters live with <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
families. The next milestone will be my<br />
50th reunion at Wheaton College, which<br />
promises to be a banner celebration.<br />
With fond memories of our days toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />
at <strong>Dwight</strong>.”<br />
D 58<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Gale Hartung Baldwin<br />
One Allwood Road<br />
Darien, CT 06820-2413<br />
Email: gale9023@aol.com<br />
D 59<br />
Class Rep needed:<br />
E 59<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Peter Rousselot<br />
Email: peter.rousselot@gmail.com<br />
Dr. Richard Vann<br />
Email: rvann@dan.org<br />
D 60<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Rose Satterfield, D.M.D.<br />
7459 Allison Road<br />
Pelham, NC 27311<br />
Telephone: (336)388- 0139<br />
Email: rsat@mebtel.net<br />
Judith Kytle Hanshaw sends her<br />
congratulations to <strong>the</strong> Class of 1960<br />
on a great past reunion. She continues<br />
to enjoy <strong>the</strong> 50th reunion photos and<br />
stories.<br />
In Connecticut, Mary Riker McAllister is<br />
back at work teaching remedial reading<br />
after recovering from a broken leg. The<br />
Rev. Bobbie Weeks Miner and husband<br />
spent some time this winter in Florida;<br />
Connie Bayles von Maur and Bobbie are<br />
planning a get-toge<strong>the</strong>r for us sometime<br />
in 2012 and hope many of our class will<br />
join in. Rose Satterfield is sad to report<br />
from North Carolina that her mo<strong>the</strong>r<br />
passed away in October at <strong>the</strong> age of 96<br />
(see In Memoriam on page 58). Rose is<br />
hosting her 14-year-old grandson from<br />
Germany for <strong>the</strong> year. He is attending <strong>the</strong><br />
8th grade here in <strong>the</strong> U.S. She says, “It is<br />
interesting being a parent again!”<br />
Elena Love and Ginny Weleck Ricken<br />
had lunch recently in Arizona where <strong>the</strong>y<br />
both reside. Gretchen Priemer Lawler,<br />
Ph.D., has checked in from Indiana and<br />
reports she was very pleased to receive<br />
<strong>the</strong> D-E Today bulletin after many years<br />
out of <strong>the</strong> loop.<br />
E 60<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Armand Pohan<br />
Email: APohan@aol.com<br />
Michael Sloane is retired and still lives<br />
on a two-mile private lane in Allamuchy,<br />
NJ, where he has been for <strong>the</strong> last 42<br />
years. He continues to be active in local<br />
and county government. For hobbies, he<br />
restores and uses antique farm tractors<br />
and antique electronic equipment, and<br />
he is still building a model railroad that<br />
he started back in 1952. For more<br />
details, see www.fotki.com/mikesloane.<br />
D 61<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Donna Dederick Ward<br />
Meadowood Farm<br />
557 Bennett Hill Road<br />
Shaftsbury, VT 05262<br />
Email: hungrytrout@comcast.net<br />
Eleanor “Missy” Evans Grose been living<br />
in London since 1989 and still enjoying<br />
it. She and her husband have a small<br />
financial company that <strong>the</strong>y run toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />
(Tom’s <strong>the</strong> boss, she’s <strong>the</strong> cleaning<br />
lady!). They have four children: twin girls<br />
who live in Singapore who each have<br />
three children, ano<strong>the</strong>r girl who lives just<br />
outside of London who has one child,<br />
and a son in NYC who works for Google<br />
and is getting married this summer.<br />
From Susan Stellar: “I’ve been in<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> since 2008, assisting my<br />
parents in <strong>the</strong> home many of my<br />
contemporaries will remember. Before<br />
that, after retiring from <strong>the</strong> City of<br />
Detroit, I taught middle school science<br />
<strong>the</strong>re. Last year I reconnected with<br />
Karen Lane Fierstein. Now Karen, Patty<br />
Thomson Russell and I are <strong>the</strong> de facto<br />
50th Reunion Committee. I’ve enjoyed<br />
my new old friends so much that I am<br />
really looking forward to a great weekend<br />
in June. I’ve also been in touch with <strong>the</strong><br />
Cassebaum family: Anne D ’61, Frances<br />
Galloway D ’59, and Mary Elizabeth<br />
(“Lucy”) Meyer D ’66. Their home was my<br />
second home during our <strong>Dwight</strong> days.<br />
Mrs. Cassebaum still lived around <strong>the</strong><br />
corner until her death in April 2010 at <strong>the</strong><br />
age of 101! This September <strong>the</strong> four of us<br />
spent a delightful evening going to<br />
Greenwich Village to see a play directed<br />
by my bro<strong>the</strong>r’s partner. (Unfortunately,<br />
<strong>the</strong> manager of <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ater was not only<br />
a jerk, but also a crook, and <strong>the</strong> IRS<br />
padlocked <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ater one day after it<br />
opened.) I’ll use this opportunity to<br />
encourage all <strong>Dwight</strong> ’61 classmates to<br />
come to our 50th Reunion in June. See<br />
you <strong>the</strong>re!”<br />
E 61<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Warren M. Duffy<br />
20 Glattly Drive<br />
Denville, NJ 07834<br />
Email: Wmmfduffy@aol.com<br />
Last June Ian Harris and his wife moved<br />
from <strong>the</strong>ir home in Milwaukee to Walnut<br />
Creek, CA, to be closer to her son and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
grandchildren. I have just finished my<br />
seventh book, Books not Bombs: Teaching<br />
Peace since <strong>the</strong> Dawn of <strong>the</strong> Republic<br />
(Charlotte, NC: Information Age Press,<br />
2010), co-authored by Chuck Howlett.<br />
(See Bulldog Bookshelf on page 59.)<br />
D 62<br />
Class Rep needed:<br />
Marianne L. Olmsted missed <strong>the</strong><br />
Nantucket Reunion this past year, but<br />
plans to go in 2011. Margaret “Margo”<br />
Clark Swezey was recently married to<br />
Wayne Swezey. She is a “Jersey girl”<br />
again! They will spend part of <strong>the</strong>ir time at<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir house on Martha’s Vineyard. Wayne<br />
and she knew each o<strong>the</strong>r as teenagers<br />
back in <strong>Englewood</strong>!<br />
From Roberta LaBan Culver: “Here’s a<br />
photo taken December 20 at a small<br />
ga<strong>the</strong>ring celebrating my mo<strong>the</strong>r’s 100th<br />
birthday! In <strong>the</strong> photo are, left to right:<br />
Anne McClanahan Bourne, Eve LaBan<br />
Drew D ’64, Joan Ursillo Pukash D ’64,<br />
and Roberta LaBan Culver. Susan Carter<br />
D ’56 also stopped by <strong>the</strong> previous day<br />
to wish my mo<strong>the</strong>r a happy 100th!” (See<br />
photo next page.)
E 63<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Dr. Charles E. Kordula<br />
9 Elm Place<br />
Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677<br />
Email: yo_corto@yahoo.es<br />
E 64<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Wouter de Nie<br />
9 St. Peter’s Road, Apt. 7<br />
Tamaqua, PA 18252<br />
Email: wouter_denie@yahoo.com<br />
D 65<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Lynn Henschel Klein reminisces: “Seems<br />
like we should be rehearsing a song for<br />
Mr. Erwin and preparing a paper for<br />
Mrs. Pershouse…but that is yesterday!<br />
Today, being hot cougars inside and<br />
outside is completing our paper and<br />
singing life’s song. Remember, use <strong>the</strong><br />
best of yesterday to enjoy today and <strong>the</strong><br />
best of today to plan tomorrow. Use our<br />
well-honed intelligence to prepare and to<br />
plan and to share. That is following our<br />
song and getting an ‘A’ in life.”<br />
E 65<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Andrew L. Odell<br />
36 Wayside Lane<br />
Scarsdale, NY 10583<br />
Email: alodell@duanemorris.com<br />
D 66<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Wendy Schnee Geisler<br />
2342 Fountain Way<br />
San Antonio, TX 78248<br />
Email: wsgeisler@aol.com<br />
The Bachrach Family at <strong>the</strong> Festival of Trees, in Michigan, where Anina and Ben, founding members,<br />
are on <strong>the</strong> Board. This 26-year event benefit supports <strong>the</strong> Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation.<br />
Cornelia Ursillo Corderone has retired as<br />
<strong>the</strong> chair of <strong>the</strong> Board of Review for <strong>the</strong> NJ<br />
Department of Labor.<br />
This year Anina Erslev Bachrach is looking<br />
forward to <strong>the</strong> wedding of her son, Andrew,<br />
in her garden in June. This is such a<br />
compliment. (She has always been a<br />
gardener not a housekeeper.) Drew is in<br />
luck. Lucy, his wife to be, is a chef. Anina<br />
will be thinking of her own wedding in her<br />
parents’ garden. Time flies and comes full<br />
circle. Ben and she are retired and now<br />
live in Estero, FL, and Dearborn, MI. It is<br />
nice to have <strong>the</strong> best of both worlds.<br />
E 66<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Michael Kazin<br />
4113 Leland Street<br />
Chevy Chase, MD 20815<br />
Email: mk8@georgetown.edu<br />
Jack Piermont’s son got married in August.<br />
Peter Smith is looking forward to <strong>the</strong> 45th<br />
reunion <strong>the</strong> weekend of June 3 and 4!<br />
D 67<br />
Class Rep needed:<br />
Susan Law Dake now has four<br />
grandchildren under age 5: Sunaina,<br />
Ryan, Liam, and Emelia.<br />
E 67<br />
Class Rep:<br />
William Bierce<br />
512 Bedford Road<br />
Mount Kisco, NY 10549-4520<br />
Email: Wbierce@biercekenerson.com<br />
D 68<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Allie Kissam Delventhal<br />
Email: akd50@earthlink.net<br />
Barbara Grabell has lived in Central<br />
Oregon for over 30 years. She owned a<br />
successful specialty dessert business in<br />
Bend and was involved in commercial<br />
cattle ranching for many years, along<br />
with her husband. She now lives on a<br />
ranch outside of Bend with her two<br />
Dutch-born Friesian geldings and<br />
rescued Lhasa Apsos (she is involved<br />
with Lhasa Apso rescue organizations),<br />
as well as a few o<strong>the</strong>r four-legged<br />
children. She has worked for <strong>the</strong> State<br />
of Oregon for <strong>the</strong> past 16 years.<br />
Mildred Faulkner Waale updates: “I<br />
continue to work as a certified learning<br />
disabilities teacher-consultant (LDTC) on<br />
<strong>the</strong> Scotch Plains-Fanwood High <strong>School</strong><br />
Child Study Team. As with many local<br />
school districts, our district has seen a<br />
vast ’changing of <strong>the</strong> guard’ as<br />
thousands of public service employees<br />
left active duty to retire, in response to<br />
<strong>the</strong> changes implemented by <strong>the</strong> current<br />
NJ administration. My LDTC work<br />
continues to be fulfilling, as I help special<br />
needs students transition throughout<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir high school experience and on to<br />
adulthood/post-secondary education/<br />
<strong>the</strong> world of work. At <strong>the</strong> same time, I<br />
have, at my ‘mature’ stage in life, opted to<br />
pursue a doctorate in education (Ed.D. in<br />
educational administration) at Rutgers<br />
University, to re-activate many of <strong>the</strong><br />
management and accounting skills that<br />
have remained untapped since my<br />
transition from business management<br />
(telecommunications) to education, back<br />
in 2001. I am hopeful that this degree<br />
Spring 2011<br />
49
CLASSNOTES<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
50<br />
and certification will enable me to effect<br />
my last career transition, from LDTC to<br />
school business administrator, and that I<br />
will be able to join all <strong>the</strong> Class of ’68<br />
retirees in retirement 10 years hence.<br />
For now, I am thoroughly enjoying <strong>the</strong><br />
renewed access to new ideas and<br />
stimulating conversation among my fellow<br />
colleagues who are traveling this path<br />
with me at this time. I have continued<br />
to keep my toe in <strong>the</strong> world of project<br />
management, and am an active volunteer<br />
in <strong>the</strong> New Jersey Chapter (PMINJ) of <strong>the</strong><br />
national Project Management Institute<br />
(PMI). I am currently director of <strong>the</strong><br />
Scholarships Committee, a group that<br />
reviews applications and awards<br />
scholarship to graduating high school<br />
seniors (sons/daughters of PMINJ active<br />
members), on <strong>the</strong>ir way to attend a<br />
four-year undergraduate college. This<br />
year, this committee extended <strong>the</strong><br />
scholarships to also include master’s in<br />
project management candidates at PMIaccredited<br />
educational institutions.”<br />
My husband, Jens, and daughter, Anna<br />
Ka<strong>the</strong>rine (now 21), continue to support<br />
me in my educational pursuits, and<br />
continue to be an essential source of joy,<br />
light, inspiration, and encouragement<br />
in my life. Jens continues his work<br />
providing Danish controllers for American<br />
and Canadian smokehouse oven<br />
manufacturers, while also inventing<br />
speaker systems in our basement. He<br />
enjoys his monthly and weekly meetings<br />
with different audio groups, such as <strong>the</strong><br />
NJ Audio Society. Anna Ka<strong>the</strong>rine enjoys<br />
her work as a classroom teacher’s<br />
assistant for special needs students in<br />
a private school in northwestern NJ, and<br />
her part-time work as an assistant dance<br />
instructor for young children at our local<br />
YMCA. My best wishes to all of <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> family as you continue<br />
to support our current students—<strong>the</strong><br />
next generation of leaders—in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
educational and working pursuits.<br />
E 68<br />
Class Rep Needed:<br />
Seth Guggenheim, senior assistant bar<br />
counsel for <strong>the</strong> Virginia State Bar, has<br />
accepted an invitation to join <strong>the</strong> adjunct<br />
faculty at <strong>the</strong> American University<br />
Washington College of Law. With ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />
adjunct professor, he is teaching a<br />
course called “Trial Advocacy: Ethics for<br />
Trial Lawyers.” Seth recently moved from<br />
his home in Be<strong>the</strong>sda, MD, to<br />
Washington, DC.<br />
D 69<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Ali Chase Hassan<br />
3519 Hilltop Lane<br />
Plano, TX 75023-8030<br />
Email: achase1@pisd.edu<br />
Editor’s note: Our apologies to Ali Chase<br />
Hassan for <strong>the</strong> misprint of her note<br />
concerning her son’s marriage. The<br />
correct information is as follows:<br />
Ali Chase Hassan had a fabulous time in<br />
Pasadena, CA, for son Chase MacLeod’s<br />
wedding to Melissa Martin on March 7,<br />
2010. They had met at SMU in 2004.<br />
Wedding was at <strong>the</strong> Huntington Langham<br />
Hotel, built in <strong>the</strong> 1920s as a Ritz, and<br />
attended by oodles of Chi Os and Pikes,<br />
and lovingly officiated by Julia Fuller.<br />
Ali reports: “I’ve been promoted up to<br />
high school, and am now <strong>the</strong> lead<br />
counselor for a new high school my<br />
district is building and opening later<br />
this summer—very exciting and way<br />
overwhelming, but I’m honored and<br />
flattered and all is fantastic! Have a<br />
business conference in Austin next<br />
month and am hoping to see Nell<br />
Gorman! My son, Chase, has also<br />
been promoted by his corporate and<br />
commercial real estate company to be<br />
an associate vice president, and is now<br />
leading a team in <strong>the</strong>ir Orange County,<br />
CA, office. He and wife Melissa and <strong>the</strong><br />
twin Labrador retrievers moved out <strong>the</strong>re<br />
in January, just as I took my new position!<br />
We’re all great and very blessed.”<br />
E 69<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Richard H. Hunter<br />
1138 King Street, 3rd Floor<br />
Christiansted, St. Croix<br />
U.S. Virgin Islands 00820<br />
Email: rhunter@islands.vi<br />
From Marc Falon we received this note:<br />
“Hello to all: I am 60 now, and saving for<br />
retirement, which hopefully will be in a<br />
few years. I have temporarily given up my<br />
career in <strong>the</strong> music industry, after<br />
working years ago with Robert Palmer<br />
and Isaac Hayes, both of whom have<br />
passed away. I have permanently given<br />
up my career in <strong>the</strong> computer industry<br />
also. My only source of income (currently)<br />
is my third career, working as an<br />
insurance producer, with a New Jersey<br />
license, creating sales leads for The<br />
Hamilton Group, which is a large<br />
insurance agency located in Cedar<br />
Knolls. I am still living in my house in<br />
Bergenfield, and I am ’single’ with two<br />
daughters, one 14 years old, and <strong>the</strong><br />
o<strong>the</strong>r 27. I just returned from a beautiful<br />
cruise to Bermuda, where I sailed with<br />
my current lady, Pam. I have just taken a<br />
few weeks off, just to relax, and feel very<br />
refreshed and healthy. When I retire in a<br />
few years, I will get back into writing and<br />
producing original music. I am involved<br />
with many genres and still have my own<br />
24-track studio to record in. I would love<br />
to hear from my fellow classmates from<br />
ESB ’69, and also from friends I<br />
remember from <strong>the</strong> classes of 1968 &<br />
1970. It seems to me that my class from<br />
1969 is <strong>the</strong> most elusive of all classes,<br />
because every time I get <strong>the</strong> bulletin,<br />
<strong>the</strong>re is nobody saying anything about<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir lives, except Rick Hunter!”<br />
D 70<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Sharon Levine<br />
2200 N. Central Road Apt. 9T<br />
Fort Lee, NJ 07024-7595<br />
Email: smlrehab@nj.rr.com<br />
E 70<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Samuel L. Davis<br />
Email: Sam@dsslaw.com<br />
Steve Abrams<br />
Email: steve@sjabrams.com<br />
Steve Abrams sent in this news of a visit<br />
with a classmate: “Dave Yarock and wife<br />
Laurie Meyer D ’71 live in Tenafly, NJ.<br />
Dave has purchased a horse farm in<br />
Liberty, NY, and converted it into a venue<br />
for training trotters. Last summer, Dave<br />
arranged a tour of <strong>the</strong> farm for me. It is<br />
impressive indeed. Among o<strong>the</strong>r stellar<br />
features, it houses one of <strong>the</strong> East’s few<br />
indoor mechanical trotting wheels. After<br />
<strong>the</strong> tour, I drove <strong>the</strong> 10 miles from Dave’s<br />
farm to Monticello Raceway and watched<br />
Dave win a race. That victory capped a<br />
summer-long racing series. In a winner’s<br />
circle presentation, racetrack authorities<br />
presented Dave with an elegant plaque<br />
for having won <strong>the</strong> series.”
Dave Yarock wins!<br />
D 71<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Marcy Cohen Gregory<br />
Email: MarcysanMS@aol.com<br />
Elaine Ober<br />
Email: emober24@gmail.com<br />
Elaine Ober and Marcy Gregory Cohen<br />
are in <strong>the</strong> midst of planning our Class<br />
of ’71 40th reunion get-toge<strong>the</strong>r on June<br />
3rd and 4th, so, all classmates, keep<br />
your eyes peeled for update postings on<br />
our Facebook class page, <strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong>-<br />
Class of 1971.<br />
E 71<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Merrick Cohen<br />
16 Nelson Drive<br />
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467<br />
Email: mlcohen@rcn.com<br />
Merrick Cohen is looking forward to<br />
catching up to his classmates at <strong>the</strong><br />
upcoming 40th reunion <strong>the</strong> weekend of<br />
June 3 and 4. He sent in <strong>the</strong> following<br />
update: “I have a wonderful native<br />
Bostonian wife and two active teenage<br />
boys and an awesome Goldendoodle. My<br />
mo<strong>the</strong>r still lives in <strong>Englewood</strong> and when<br />
in <strong>the</strong> neighborhood, I always walk down<br />
memory lane and revisit my days at <strong>the</strong><br />
old ESB. I fondly remember Adolph<br />
Amend and his role in helping me move<br />
forward. ESB had great teachers and I<br />
hope D-E has <strong>the</strong> same.”<br />
D 72<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Emily Klotz<br />
40 Richard Street<br />
Tenafly, NJ 07670<br />
Email: eklotz@rcn.com<br />
Melissa Mettler Abrams writes: “It was<br />
with great sadness that I read about <strong>the</strong><br />
death of Janet Stork. I can still remember<br />
her laugh. She was always smiling and<br />
happy. Sorry too to hear about Mr. Kidder.<br />
I’ve lost touch with Terry Kidder…do you<br />
read <strong>the</strong> Alumni News, Terry? If so, give<br />
me a call at 970-391-5942. I’d love to<br />
hear from you.”<br />
E 73<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Michael Bruno<br />
21 Whippoorwill Road<br />
Armonk, NY 10504-1328<br />
Email: msb@stonebridgepartners.com<br />
David Hovsepian<br />
2400 West El Camino Real, #307<br />
Mountain View, CA 94040<br />
Email: hovsepian@stanford.edu<br />
D 73<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Suzanne Nutt<br />
Email: snutt@syarch.com<br />
74<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Ca<strong>the</strong>rine Campbell-Rodriguez<br />
334 Jefferson Avenue<br />
Cresskill, NJ 07626<br />
Email: brodri@juno.com<br />
75<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Stefan Bucek<br />
7148 Via Carmela<br />
San Jose, CA 95139-1125<br />
Email: skbucek@comcast.net<br />
Gary Mass is living in Fort Lee and<br />
working in <strong>the</strong> healthcare industry with<br />
his bro<strong>the</strong>r, Bobby Mass ’79. It is nice<br />
to have <strong>the</strong> business three miles from<br />
home, so he can often cycle to work.<br />
In his spare time, he loves road cycling,<br />
having done over 5,400 miles this past<br />
year including eight centuries and two<br />
double centuries. His son, David Mass<br />
’06, just graduated from <strong>the</strong> University<br />
of Delaware with a degree in finance and<br />
accounting. Gary just got a Lab puppy,<br />
so now <strong>the</strong>re is a new “baby” in <strong>the</strong><br />
house. Candy and he traveled recently to<br />
Scandinavia this past summer and went<br />
on a Caribbean Cruise over New Year’s.<br />
76<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Alisa Liskin Clausen<br />
Varnaesvej 171<br />
DK 6200<br />
Åbenrå, DENMARK<br />
Email: alisaclausen@gmail.com<br />
Linda Dabagian Galgano<br />
248 Purdue Court<br />
Paramus, NJ 07652<br />
Email: Ldab58@hotmail.com<br />
Linda Dabagian Galgano sends this<br />
news: “My youngest son, Mat<strong>the</strong>w, will<br />
graduate from Monmouth University in<br />
May. My eldest son, Rich, is a financial<br />
planner, living in New Milford. I regularly<br />
see Randi Woodrow who I’m glad to say<br />
is back on <strong>the</strong> East Coast, and Seta<br />
Nazarian-Albrecht ’75. When Randi<br />
comes into town, I get to see her sister,<br />
Laurie ’78, who continues to run<br />
marathons around <strong>the</strong> world. I continue<br />
to work at <strong>the</strong> Paramus Barnes & Noble,<br />
hosting famous and not-so-famous<br />
author signings, along with running<br />
fundraisers and discount purchasing for<br />
schools and nonprofits. I am busy honing<br />
up my Facebook skills as I am working<br />
on our 35th Reunion (can that be<br />
possible?). Please look for our Facebook<br />
Group: <strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> Class<br />
of 1976 and get up-to-date information<br />
on <strong>the</strong> weekend’s events. Please<br />
encourage fellow classmates to get in<br />
touch. My significant o<strong>the</strong>r, a middle<br />
school principal, and I are <strong>the</strong> proud<br />
parents of three (sometimes four) dogs,<br />
all of which are rescues. We look forward<br />
to a smaller house, larger property, and<br />
more dogs one day!”<br />
77<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Robin Goldfischer Hollander<br />
370 Lydecker Street<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong>, NJ 07631<br />
Email: hollander@nj.rr.com<br />
Mark Shapiro conducted <strong>the</strong> St. Cecilia<br />
Chorus in a performance of <strong>the</strong> Mozart<br />
Requiem and music by Morton Lauridsen<br />
and David Randolph at Carnegie Hall on<br />
April 9. He recently conducted Poulenc’s<br />
comic opera Les Mamelles de Tiresias<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Juilliard <strong>School</strong>, and Handel’s Saul<br />
in <strong>the</strong> 5000-seat amphi<strong>the</strong>ater in Vaisonla-Romaine,<br />
France. He is currently<br />
celebrating his twentieth season as<br />
artistic director of Cantori New York, with<br />
Spring 2011<br />
51
CLASSNOTES<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
52<br />
whom he won a third ASCAP Adventurous<br />
Programming Award in 2010, and also of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Monmouth Civic Chorus. Upcoming<br />
engagements include a performance of<br />
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony in Halifax,<br />
Nova Scotia, with <strong>the</strong> chamber orchestra<br />
Nova Sinfonia. (See alumni profile on<br />
page 10.)<br />
78<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Maria Sanchez Gardner<br />
Phone: 201-569-9500, ext. 3413<br />
Email: sanchm@d-e.org<br />
Paul Marber<br />
37 Sullivan Drive<br />
Jericho, NY 11753-1938<br />
Email: Rebramp@aol.com<br />
John Lucker writes: “My wife, Meghan,<br />
and I have been married for almost 22<br />
years and have spent that whole time<br />
living in Simsbury, CT, with our three sons:<br />
Connor (19), Taran (16), Piers (14).<br />
Connor is a freshman at Hobart College.<br />
We also have a 4-year-old Shitzu named<br />
Lily. I am active in my community as a<br />
sports coach, Boy Scout leader, and a<br />
smart growth community group leader.<br />
I’m also <strong>the</strong> lead plaintiff in a class<br />
action lawsuit to have an extremely<br />
neglected and mismanaged historic<br />
cemetery in Queens—where my paternal<br />
grandparents are buried—restored,<br />
endowed, and perpetually managed<br />
(http://www.baysidecemeterylitigation.com).<br />
Professionally, I am a partner with<br />
Deloitte Consulting where I lead <strong>the</strong><br />
firm’s Advanced Analytics & Modeling<br />
capability. I consult with clients in many<br />
different industries to help with <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
use of data and analytic methods to<br />
better understand and manage <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
businesses. I also write and speak<br />
extensively for professional journals and<br />
trade groups. I have fun keeping in touch<br />
with many of my fellow <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> alums on Facebook and LinkedIn.”<br />
Claudia Weinstein works at 60 Minutes<br />
and lives in Manhattan with her daughter,<br />
Noa, a high school freshman, and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
feral poodle.<br />
79<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Elizabeth Mettler Bacon<br />
Blair Academy<br />
P.O. Box 600<br />
Blairstown, NJ 07825<br />
Email: quenames@yahoo.com<br />
Alice Athanasiou Gabriele sent this<br />
update and a message to all our<br />
alumnae: “I was diagnosed with ovarian<br />
cancer this year. I was Stage 2, so <strong>the</strong><br />
prognosis is pretty good. At this stage we<br />
aim for cure ra<strong>the</strong>r than remission. Right<br />
now I am clear but am still undergoing<br />
treatment. Ovarian cancer is a silent<br />
killer as very few are diagnosed at my<br />
stage and lower. I was having yearly<br />
vaginal sonograms and blood tests (CA<br />
125) as my mom died from <strong>the</strong> disease<br />
two years ago; o<strong>the</strong>rwise I, too, would<br />
probably have waited to go to <strong>the</strong> doctor.<br />
I urge all women to ask for a yearly<br />
vaginal sonogram and have <strong>the</strong>m semiannually<br />
if <strong>the</strong>y are high risk…Everything<br />
else is fine--Andrew is a senior at<br />
Princeton, Ali is a sophomore at<br />
Muhlenberg, and Chris is a freshman at<br />
Cold Spring Harbor High <strong>School</strong>. Andrew<br />
was recently named Academic All-Ivy<br />
(he was captain of varsity sprint football<br />
for two years). Ali plays lacrosse at<br />
Muhlenberg (I coached her and her<br />
friends through 6th grade). Chris is our<br />
golfer—he won an award for having <strong>the</strong><br />
lowest average score in his age group<br />
for Long Island in <strong>the</strong> Met PGA summer<br />
tournaments. I must focus on <strong>the</strong>se<br />
positives with what transpired this year,<br />
so please excuse me for being so proud.”<br />
Paul Lucas writes: “After being stateside<br />
for most of <strong>the</strong> past six or seven months,<br />
I’m heading over to London on Monday<br />
for <strong>the</strong> Opening Night of Woody Sez in<br />
<strong>the</strong> West End. I’ve been working on this<br />
production since 2007, when I had it in<br />
Edinburgh. In February, I hope to be<br />
going to LA for a gala DVD release and<br />
to accept an award for a short film<br />
competition that I won. I’m hoping to<br />
catch up with Cheryl Stotter Magnuson<br />
’82, Courtney Starrett Zani ’82, Bitsy<br />
Osder ’82, and Joey Langer ’84 while I’m<br />
<strong>the</strong>re. In February/March I have Taylor<br />
Mac on tour in Australia and New<br />
Zealand, but ra<strong>the</strong>r than go to Oz again,<br />
I’ve decided to take my first trip to India.<br />
I’m really excited. If <strong>the</strong>re are any D-E<br />
alumni in Mumbai or Delhi, let me know.”<br />
Richard Mueller sends greetings to<br />
friends and classmates. He lives in<br />
Alpine, NJ, and is very busy with his<br />
cardiology private practice and vein<br />
center in Manhattan. He is on <strong>the</strong> staff<br />
at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and an<br />
assistant professor of medicine at Weill<br />
Cornell Medical College. His wife, Jill, and<br />
he spend most weekends in<br />
Westhampton Dunes. Their younger<br />
daughter, Jacqueline, is a star student<br />
athlete at Tenafly High (one of only two<br />
freshmen on <strong>the</strong> varsity basketball team,<br />
and a county all star last year as an 8th<br />
grader at Alpine). Her older sister, Bridget<br />
(herself a former hoops star at Alpine), is<br />
a junior at Tenafly and is looking at<br />
colleges. “Dick” hangs out now and <strong>the</strong>n<br />
with David Yamner and sees some D-E<br />
alumni as patients.<br />
Heidi Skolnik is heading to China to<br />
present to <strong>the</strong> Shanghai Institute of<br />
Sports Science her new book Nutrient<br />
Timing For Peak Performance. She<br />
enjoyed a career highlight this past<br />
year when she did nutrition counseling<br />
for performers in <strong>the</strong> Broadway hit<br />
Billy Elliott.<br />
Soraya Zarghami Gage is a 20-year<br />
veteran of NBC News and now serves<br />
as executive producer of NBC Learn—<br />
<strong>the</strong> education arm of NBC— after serving<br />
as its senior editorial producer since<br />
2006. In her role, she has overseen <strong>the</strong><br />
content production for three websites,<br />
including NBC Archives on Demand,<br />
iCue, and What’s Your iCue?, a<br />
Facebook application. She also oversees<br />
production of original content for <strong>the</strong><br />
site, including more than 300 original<br />
mini-documentaries about U.S. history<br />
produced for <strong>the</strong> websites. Soraya has<br />
traveled throughout <strong>the</strong> Middle East with<br />
American troops covering various stories<br />
on Iraq and Afghanistan. She also met<br />
with King Hussein of Jordan years ago<br />
for a story on Jordan.<br />
80<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Dr. Bard Cosman<br />
8708 Nottingham Place<br />
La Jolla, CA 92037-2128<br />
Email: cosman@sbcglobal.net
81<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Kenneth Lenskold<br />
Email: kenlenskold@yahoo.com<br />
After years of practicing out of state,<br />
Larry Milgrim has moved back home. He<br />
has an ENT and cosmetic facial plastic<br />
surgery practice in Teaneck. Recently<br />
elected to Castle Connelly “Top Cosmetic<br />
Doctors and Dentists” as well as being<br />
listed in “Best Doctors in America” for<br />
many years, he specializes in sinus<br />
problems and facial surgery such as<br />
nose jobs and facelifts, Botox and<br />
Juverderm. He is so excited to be back<br />
home with friends.<br />
82<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Patricia Arlin Bradley<br />
52 Washington Avenue<br />
River Edge, NJ 07661-2431<br />
Email: pabradley@aol.com<br />
83<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Ron Pomerantz<br />
Email: ronpomerantz@yahoo.com<br />
Lisa Canino D’Alessandro<br />
Email: lisa@candal.net<br />
Scott Berrie was featured in a recent<br />
article for <strong>the</strong> Bergen Record. In July,<br />
Scott moved his family to <strong>the</strong> Israeli<br />
capital from Manhattan for a year while<br />
he lays <strong>the</strong> groundwork for <strong>the</strong> 2012<br />
<strong>the</strong>atrical release of Jerusalem, I Love<br />
You. Berrie’s Impulse Creative<br />
Productions LLC is licensed to produce<br />
<strong>the</strong> next film in Emmanuel Benbihy’s<br />
“Cities of Love” series. Like <strong>the</strong> earlier<br />
Paris, Je t’aime (2006) and New York, I<br />
Love You (2009), this cinematic ode to<br />
Jerusalem will weave toge<strong>the</strong>r about a<br />
dozen short segments from well-known<br />
directors and writers.<br />
Dan Dubelman got a chance to play<br />
guitar with Robby Krieger of <strong>the</strong> Doors<br />
for <strong>the</strong> Pat Tillman Memorial Event.<br />
Dan performed in New York with Steve<br />
Holley, <strong>the</strong> former drummer from Paul<br />
McCartney and Wings, who also plays<br />
with Andy Burton in Ian Hunter’s band.<br />
Andy recently performed with Bruce<br />
Springsteen and Garland Jeffreys.<br />
Brooke Shields took time out between<br />
sets to say hello to seniors Michael<br />
Hajjar ’11, Brian Hajjar ’11, and Alexa<br />
Danoff ’11 during her final performance<br />
at Feinstein's at <strong>the</strong> Loews Regency in<br />
Manhattan earlier this year. Schedule<br />
conflicts made it impossible for Brooke to<br />
participate in <strong>the</strong> April IDEA Alumni <strong>Arts</strong><br />
Festival (see pages 25-26) but she was<br />
able to spend some quality time with <strong>the</strong><br />
very appreciative students.<br />
84<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Amy Shlafer Gerber<br />
23 Rio Vista Drive<br />
Alpine, NJ 07620<br />
Email: shlafe627@aol.com<br />
Kenneth Handel<br />
237 East Enid Drive<br />
Key Biscayne, FL 33149-2206<br />
Email: Kenhandel@aol.com<br />
Leslie Gerber Harris<br />
420 East 72nd Street, Apt. 5E<br />
New York, NY 10021<br />
Email: leslieharris@nyc.rr.com<br />
Kaveh Alizadeh is <strong>the</strong> president of <strong>the</strong><br />
Long Island Plastic Surgical Group, which<br />
is <strong>the</strong> largest and oldest private academic<br />
practice in North America. He was named<br />
top doctor in New York area by Castle<br />
Connolly, and best plastic surgery group<br />
and cosmetic surgeon of 2011 by LI Press.<br />
Kaveh recently founded Operation Restore<br />
Hope, which provides education, research,<br />
and free care to children in need around <strong>the</strong><br />
globe. Classmate Angela Miglietta-Comeau<br />
has been instrumental in <strong>the</strong> Foundation as<br />
a board member helping Kaveh and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
surgeons make trips to Afghanistan, Burma,<br />
Iraq, and Haiti. Kaveh is currently treating a<br />
6-year-old girl with full surface body burns<br />
from <strong>the</strong> conflict in Palestinian-occupied<br />
territories. Kaveh’s recent reconstructive<br />
surgery on a 9-year-old Iraqi boy with facial<br />
injuries from an IED explosive device was<br />
featured on <strong>the</strong> CBS show 60 Minutes in<br />
March. Kaveh lives with his wife and two<br />
daughters in Manhattan. If alumni or<br />
students are interested in helping <strong>the</strong><br />
Operation Restore Hope Foundation or<br />
participating in future trips, please visit<br />
www.lipsg.com and contact Kaveh.<br />
When Mindy Merdinger Blackstock could<br />
not find a Girl Scout troop for her 10-yearold<br />
daughter, Bayla, she decided to start<br />
one. Now she is <strong>the</strong> proud troop leader<br />
for her daughter and her school friends.<br />
Because Mindy works full time, <strong>the</strong>y meet<br />
on weekends.<br />
85<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Laura Nadel Eisen<br />
5013 Benton Avenue<br />
Be<strong>the</strong>sda, MD 20814<br />
Email: jellyfish5@comcast.net<br />
Marc Jerome<br />
Email: mjerome@monroecollege.edu<br />
86<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Alisa Gettenberg Lessing<br />
150 East 69th Street, Apt 7A<br />
New York, NY 10021<br />
Email: alisa.lessing@rcn.com<br />
On August 22, 2009, Toju Omatete<br />
married Elya Rafikova in Washington, DC.<br />
They met at <strong>the</strong>ir yoga studio! Two months<br />
later, Elya accepted a research position<br />
at UC Santa Cruz. So finally last June,<br />
Toju resigned from eight years as a GED<br />
program coordinator and instructor at<br />
<strong>the</strong> Latin American Youth Center in DC,<br />
packed up and drove across country to<br />
join Elya in Santa Cruz. To quote Toju,<br />
“Hmm, DC to Santa Cruz? Absolutely no<br />
complaints!” Toju is <strong>the</strong> former president<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Oberlin College Class of 1990 and<br />
is quite involved with his alma mater’s<br />
Alumni Council. He is working on a big<br />
cluster (’90,’91,’92) 20th reunion<br />
happening this May.<br />
Ca<strong>the</strong>rine Prendergast is currently<br />
director of undergraduate rhetoric<br />
programs at <strong>the</strong> University of Illinois:<br />
“Each year as I prepare 100 staff to<br />
teach academic writing to 4,000-plus<br />
incoming first year students, I remember<br />
with gratitude <strong>the</strong> extra care Mrs. Falk<br />
took to help me when I was a struggling<br />
writer.” Ca<strong>the</strong>rine has also recently<br />
published Buying into English: Language<br />
and Investment in <strong>the</strong> New Capitalist<br />
World, a book that explores <strong>the</strong> global<br />
chase to learn and master English.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
53
CLASSNOTES<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
54<br />
87<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Elissa Gross<br />
Email: horseback1024@aim.com<br />
James Liu<br />
Email: LJLiu@aol.com<br />
Michael Leiter paid a special visit to <strong>the</strong><br />
D-E campus this spring as a featured<br />
presenter in <strong>the</strong> 2010–11 Head of<br />
<strong>School</strong> Series. Michael is director of <strong>the</strong><br />
National Counterterrorism Center in<br />
Washington, DC. See pages 36–38 for<br />
more details.<br />
Emily Reisbaum lives in Carroll Gardens,<br />
Brooklyn, with husband Scott Medintz<br />
and <strong>the</strong>ir children, Solomon (11), Joshua<br />
(9), and Miranda (5). She is a lawyer and<br />
recently founded a boutique law firm with<br />
two terrific partners. They focus on<br />
litigation and counseling relating to<br />
complex commercial and intellectual<br />
property matters ( www.cgr-law.com).<br />
She can’t believe it’s been almost 25<br />
years since high school: “It does feel<br />
like forever ago, but we just can’t be<br />
that old!”<br />
Greg Russell sent in <strong>the</strong> following update<br />
on his life: “Since our time at <strong>Dwight</strong>, I’ve<br />
had a great time dispatching my pre-med<br />
degree and working in <strong>the</strong> completely<br />
unrelated world of entertainment! I’m<br />
well primed to produce a film/TV series,<br />
and to that end, I’m now writing to share<br />
a project I am developing. It is an<br />
animated feature film/TV series along<br />
<strong>the</strong> lines of Disney/Pixar’s movie Cars.<br />
Combine that with some Transformers, Xmen,<br />
and a few o<strong>the</strong>r goodies, and<br />
<strong>the</strong>re’s a hint at where we’re going with<br />
it. Think about motorcycles in this<br />
context. The exciting part: As a long-time<br />
fan of <strong>the</strong> rock group Rush (literally since<br />
I was 13), it is an honor and privilege to<br />
say that I am partnering on <strong>the</strong> project<br />
with Neil Peart, drummer/lyricist for<br />
Rush, who is also a best-selling novelist.<br />
Neil has become a good friend and we<br />
ride motorcycles toge<strong>the</strong>r, and on tour in<br />
various places across <strong>the</strong> US.<br />
Accomplished sci-fi writer Kevin J<br />
Anderson (Star Wars, Dune, X-Files<br />
novels) is on board. Our concept artist is<br />
Marc Gabbana (The Matrix, Star Wars).<br />
Check out marcgabbana.com if you have<br />
a moment. Sound design is being done<br />
by Soundelux (Shrek, Godzilla, Nine,<br />
etc.), who are friends of mine. We have<br />
developed compelling concept art for<br />
several characters, have written<br />
treatments for <strong>the</strong> script and trailer, and<br />
are now looking to create a two-minute<br />
animation to present to <strong>the</strong> major film<br />
studios and toy manufacturers.”<br />
88<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Christopher Green<br />
Email: chris@producersguild.org<br />
Elizabeth Youngman<br />
Email:<br />
eyoungman@redcarpetoccasions.com<br />
89<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Lydia Bartletta Cochran<br />
1669 Belle Isle Circle<br />
Atlanta, GA 30329<br />
Patti Smith Barrett<br />
Email: pasmith68@hotmail.com<br />
Marc Leibman moved to Woodcliff Lake<br />
from Tenafly last August. He is still<br />
practicing law in Fort Lee with Kaufman,<br />
Bern, Deutsch & Leibman.<br />
90<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Brett Goldstein<br />
Email: goldsbr@yahoo.com<br />
91<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Alexis Charnee<br />
480 Stuyvesant Avenue<br />
Ru<strong>the</strong>rford, NJ 07070<br />
Email: AlexisCharnee@yahoo.com<br />
Robin Schulman<br />
1142 18th Street<br />
San Francisco, CA 94107<br />
Email: schulman@adobe.com<br />
Robin Schulman and Byron Walden were<br />
married on June 25, 2010, at <strong>the</strong> Yale<br />
Club in New York City. In celebration of<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir wedding, Robin and Byron<br />
constructed a wedding-<strong>the</strong>med<br />
crossword puzzle, which appeared on<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir wedding day in <strong>the</strong> New York Times,<br />
and <strong>the</strong>y distributed copies of it to <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
wedding guests, including DeAnne<br />
DeFuccio Canavan, Peggy Vermont,<br />
Robin’s bro<strong>the</strong>r, Andrew Schulman ’95,<br />
and sister, Aimee Schulman ’02. Times<br />
crossword editor Will Shortz was quoted in<br />
Time Out magazine citing Robin and<br />
Byron’s puzzle as one of his favorites.<br />
92<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Elsie Mak<br />
7000 Boulevard East, Apt. 28G<br />
Guttenberg, NJ 07093-5036<br />
Email: makelsie@hotmail.com<br />
Bradley Tevelow<br />
Email: btevelow@yahoo.com<br />
Beth Del Colliano Pasmantier is living in<br />
Westchester, working in advertising, has<br />
two terrific little girls, ages 7 and 5. She<br />
would love to have coffee and/or playdates<br />
with any alumni in <strong>the</strong> area! Hope<br />
everyone is well. She can be reached at<br />
Bethdelco@gmail.com.<br />
93<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Paola Lefcovich-Miller<br />
230 Central Park West, Apt. 12J<br />
New York, NY 10024<br />
Email: enana2000@hotmail.com<br />
94<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Eevin Hartsough<br />
527 Ninth Avenue, Apt. 2B<br />
New York, NY 10018<br />
Email: EevinH@gmail.com<br />
Rafi Jafri<br />
25 Snyder Road<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> Cliffs, NJ 07632<br />
Email: rjafri@alumni.uchicago.edu<br />
Laura Swain<br />
234 Thompson Street, Apt. 5<br />
New York, NY 10012-1342<br />
Email: lauraswain@hotmail.com<br />
Elizabeth “Liz” Jefferies de Villegas, her<br />
husband, Arnoud, along with <strong>the</strong>ir son,<br />
Felix, welcomed <strong>the</strong>ir second boy, Adrien,<br />
on November 9, 2010, in Newport, RI.
95<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Nirupama Nukalapati<br />
177 East 93rd Street, Apt. 1A<br />
New York, NY 10128<br />
Email: niru125@aol.com<br />
Sara Siris Nash writes: "I’m currently<br />
living in Manhattan with my wonderful<br />
husband of nine years, Brad Nash, and<br />
our two amazing daughters, Gabrielle (3)<br />
and Elana (almost 1). Brad is a litigator<br />
and of counsel to Schlam Stone & Dolan<br />
LLP. I am a psychiatrist practicing at<br />
Columbia University Medical Center and<br />
specializing in consultation-liaison<br />
psychiatry (seeing patients with<br />
psychiatric problems in <strong>the</strong> general<br />
medical and surgical settings). I am also<br />
<strong>the</strong> proud aunt to Shlomo (10), Binyomin<br />
(2), and Rivka (6 months) Siris, of<br />
Jerusalem, Israel.”<br />
Laura Zaks recently started working with<br />
<strong>the</strong> Azuero Earth Project, an NGO<br />
dedicated to environmental conservation<br />
in Panama. Laura is working on <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
marketing and development from <strong>the</strong><br />
New York area. The website is:<br />
www.azueroearthproject.org.<br />
96<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Joshua Fink<br />
525 East 72nd Street, Apt. 32-H<br />
New York, NY 10021<br />
97<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Chianoo Schneider<br />
391 Morrow Road<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong>, NJ 07631<br />
Email: chianoo.schneider@ey.com<br />
Elizabeth “Lizzy” Glidden has accepted<br />
<strong>the</strong> position of director of legislative<br />
affairs for U.S. Congressman Tim Walz<br />
(D-Minnesota, walz.house.gov).<br />
Congressman Walz is a member of <strong>the</strong><br />
House Committee on Veterans Affairs<br />
and is <strong>the</strong> highest-ranking retired,<br />
enlisted soldier ever to serve in<br />
Congress. Lizzy’s duties will be to<br />
manage <strong>the</strong> congressman’s Washington<br />
office and direct all legislative matters<br />
for <strong>the</strong> congressman and his district.<br />
Lizzy is a 2001 graduate of Union<br />
College and 2006 graduate of <strong>the</strong><br />
Washington College of Law, American<br />
University, cum laude. She is presently a<br />
third-year associate of <strong>the</strong> Washington<br />
law firm of Steptoe and Johnson.<br />
From Michael O’Connor: “I thought I’d<br />
pass along a couple of pictures and<br />
details about a bike ride a couple of us<br />
went on to raise money for a charity called<br />
Operation Smile, an organization that<br />
sends medical teams into mostly Third<br />
World countries to perform corrective<br />
procedures on cleft lip and cleft palate<br />
deformities. In 2009, my bro<strong>the</strong>r, my<br />
cousin, and I rode from NYC to Norfolk, VA<br />
(<strong>the</strong> headquarters of Operation Smile),<br />
and raised $9,000. This year I wanted to<br />
make it a shorter distance to enable us to<br />
open it up to more riders, so my friend<br />
from <strong>the</strong> University of Maryland, Max<br />
Skalatsky, and I put toge<strong>the</strong>r a route that<br />
took us from Washington, DC, to New York<br />
City in October. We called <strong>the</strong> event Miles<br />
for Smiles and all proceeds went to<br />
Operation Smile. Phil Brill-Edwards ’99,<br />
Iyad Baker ’99, classmate Kristian<br />
Kordula, and I all participated in <strong>the</strong> bike<br />
ride that raised almost $30,000 this year.<br />
The four of us and nine o<strong>the</strong>r participants<br />
rode 240 miles over <strong>the</strong> course of three<br />
days and had <strong>the</strong> good fortune of<br />
beautiful wea<strong>the</strong>r and managed to have<br />
great time along <strong>the</strong> way. We are going to<br />
make this an annual event and it will be<br />
held at <strong>the</strong> beginning of October every<br />
year. If any o<strong>the</strong>r D-E alumni or <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
friends would like to join us in 2011, it<br />
would be great if <strong>the</strong>y could email me at<br />
micconnor@hotmail.com and I’ll fill <strong>the</strong>m<br />
in on all <strong>the</strong> details. In <strong>the</strong> meantime<br />
maybe <strong>the</strong>y’d like to check out this year’s<br />
website at www.operationsmile.org/<br />
milesforsmiles.”<br />
98<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Kristin Laoudis<br />
Email: tcbk64@aol.com<br />
Helyett P. Piney<br />
Email: spice317@aol.com<br />
Regina Scarpa<br />
723 Jenney Trail<br />
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417<br />
99<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Claire Hambrick<br />
Email: ClaireRH@aol.com<br />
00<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Peter Boyer<br />
Email: boyerp5@yahoo.com<br />
Christopher Desir<br />
Email: Cdesir@aol.com<br />
Joseph Go<strong>the</strong>lf<br />
Email: emailme@joego<strong>the</strong>lf.com<br />
Bryan Krane<br />
Email: bryanknj@hotmail.com<br />
01<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Nia Al’Mahdi<br />
Email: AKappa4@aol.com<br />
Roy Ben-Dor<br />
Email: roybendor@gmail.com<br />
Juliana Zapata<br />
Email: julianazapata83@hotmail.com<br />
Avni Doshi majored in art history at Barnard<br />
and <strong>the</strong>n did a master’s at University College<br />
London. Having done research related to<br />
contemporary Indian art, she moved to<br />
Bombay, hoping to get a better understanding<br />
of <strong>the</strong> art world <strong>the</strong>re and to meet <strong>the</strong> artists<br />
she’d studied. She has been working as an<br />
art critic for a while and has written a number<br />
of catalogue essays for artists and galleries.<br />
In January she curated her first show in Delhi.<br />
She also wrote a catalogue for <strong>the</strong> Skoda art<br />
prize, which has been put toge<strong>the</strong>r by a group<br />
of art experts in India as an answer to <strong>the</strong><br />
Turner prize (http://www.<strong>the</strong>skodaprize.com/).<br />
She would like to start an artist’s residency<br />
in India.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
55
CLASSNOTES<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
56<br />
02<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Kate Eyerman<br />
Email: kae22@georgetown.edu<br />
Samantha Silver<br />
30 Bogert Road<br />
Demarest, NJ 07627<br />
03<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Terecille Basa-Ong<br />
Email: terecille@gmail.com<br />
Alison M. Desir<br />
Email: alison.desir@gmail.com<br />
Michael Kopko<br />
Email: kopko@post.harvard.edu<br />
Anthony Arbaiza will be starting as a<br />
business and technology analyst for<br />
Cognizant Technology Solutions Co.<br />
04<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Mat<strong>the</strong>w Kopko<br />
Email: mattkopko@gmail.com<br />
05<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Stephanie Rollo<br />
Email: stephanie.rollo@gmail.com<br />
Roy Moran<br />
Email: royxmoran@gmail.com<br />
Stephanie Rollo and Mark Torossian<br />
were engaged on December 3, 2010.<br />
Stephanie is <strong>the</strong> New Jersey regional<br />
manager to Revolution Prep, an<br />
educational services company committed<br />
to improving and transforming education.<br />
Mark is a vice-president at BNY Mellon<br />
and head of infrastructure cost allocations<br />
within <strong>the</strong> Finance Department. A<br />
November 2011 wedding is planned.<br />
06<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Kathryn Maffetone<br />
Email: jerseysweetie743@aol.com<br />
Larry Stevens was featured recently in an<br />
article in Ezra Magazine, one of Cornell’s<br />
most popular magazines. Larry provided<br />
this note: “From my days at D-E to<br />
graduating from Cornell with honors, to<br />
getting into grad school in DC and Harvard’s<br />
doctorate program after I finish Teach For<br />
America, to now influencing hundreds of<br />
children in Washington, DC, America’s worst<br />
school system…Every day is a challenge,<br />
but God is good and has prepared me for<br />
<strong>the</strong> journey. Thanks to D-E from me for<br />
bringing me to this place in my life.”<br />
Faculty member Marisol Diaz writes:<br />
“How fascinating <strong>the</strong> world is: Last night I<br />
picked up a new art and literary journal<br />
(H.O.W. Journal) from www.howjournal.com<br />
since I am very interested in such<br />
publications, and this Sunday morning<br />
I’m reading it to find one of <strong>the</strong><br />
contributing writers is former D-E student<br />
Emma Larson! Thought this may be of<br />
interest to you all.”<br />
07<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Marc Hajjar<br />
Email: Mjh726@gmail.com<br />
Monil Kothari<br />
Email: Kothari_moni@bentley.edu<br />
08<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Maya Gunaseharan<br />
Email: msg228@cornell.edu<br />
Amina Lawrence<br />
Email: ALawrence@Howard.edu<br />
On September 27, 2010, Lilah Larson<br />
and Daniel Fisher ’06, were married in<br />
a private ceremony in Nyack, NY.<br />
Chris Lo spoke at an exciting Upper<br />
<strong>School</strong> assembly which also featured<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> Idol performances and PAS<br />
Short Films. Chris is currently at Wash<br />
U, was Student Government president<br />
at D-E and has done great things in<br />
his short time out of D-E. The biggest<br />
to date is creating a pay-it-forward<br />
website called <strong>the</strong> Karma Seed<br />
(http://<strong>the</strong>karmaseed.org). He really<br />
wanted to come back and speak about<br />
how influential his experience at D-E has<br />
been for him and introduce Karma Seed.<br />
He described his 15-20 minute talk as<br />
his version of a high school “TED” talk.<br />
09<br />
Class Rep:<br />
Neesha Khanna<br />
Email: neeshakhanna@hotmail.com<br />
10<br />
Class Reps:<br />
Sabrina Garcia<br />
Email: sabg@sas.upenn.edu<br />
Chelsea Payraudeau<br />
Email: Capayraudeau@loyola.edu<br />
Former Faculty/<br />
Staff News<br />
Friends from <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> paid a special visit to former<br />
long-time staff employee Margaret<br />
Raffloer at <strong>the</strong> Plaza at Mill Pond in<br />
Park Ridge, NJ, to celebrate<br />
Margaret’s 90th birthday.<br />
Seated left to right: Gene Wojtyla,<br />
Margaret Raffloer, Robert Carson, and<br />
Lisa Schmid. Standing left to right: Betsey<br />
Carson, Serena Carson, Malcolm Duffy,<br />
Doris Moss, Chris Schmid, Ginny Luciano,<br />
and Alice Praylow.
INMEMORIAM<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> notes with regret <strong>the</strong> passing of <strong>the</strong> following members of <strong>the</strong> extended <strong>Dwight</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, <strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> for Boys, and <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> family. Every effort is made to<br />
include members of our community who have passed away as we are made aware of <strong>the</strong> news. Please<br />
forward information to <strong>the</strong> Alumni Office at alumninews@d-e.org or to your Class Representative.<br />
Anita Liskin, Former Teacher, Past Parent,<br />
and Grandparent<br />
Born Antoinette Merker on March 2, 1926, Anita grew up in Paris and<br />
came to America in <strong>the</strong> 1940s. Known for her intellectual curiosity,<br />
warmth, and joie de vivre, she taught French at <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> for<br />
more than 10 years. A graduate of <strong>the</strong> Fashion Institute of Technology, she also<br />
used her knowledge of fashion and design to costume many <strong>the</strong>atrical<br />
performances at <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong>. She was <strong>the</strong> beloved mo<strong>the</strong>r of Diana Liskin<br />
Chapman D ’73, David and Max Liskin ’76, Alisa Liskin Clausen ’76, and <strong>the</strong><br />
late Barbara Liskin. She was <strong>the</strong> beloved grandmo<strong>the</strong>r of Elizabeth “Lizza”<br />
Bonagura ’02, Rebecca Bonagura ’02, and Helene Clausen. She was<br />
predeceased by her husband of over fifty years, Louis D. Liskin.<br />
ALUMNAE/ALUMNI<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> 1936<br />
Julia A. Flitner Lamb<br />
12/3/2010<br />
(See sidebar.)<br />
ESB 1938<br />
Norman"Topper" Cook Jr.<br />
2/5/2010<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> 1939<br />
Jean Harber Goldstein/Tao Yin<br />
3/16/2009<br />
ESB 1939<br />
Gerald Poor Jacobson<br />
5/25/2010<br />
Robert L. Southworth<br />
8/14/2010<br />
(See sidebar.)<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> 1940<br />
Lois Brewster Butcher<br />
8/18/2009<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> 1941<br />
Patricia White<br />
11/12/2009<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> 1944<br />
Margaret Gaston<br />
1/10/2011<br />
Elizabeth Jean McKown Page<br />
10/5/2010<br />
ESB 1948<br />
George E. Stroub<br />
1/25/2011<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> 1950<br />
Lois Brenner Barnitt<br />
2/27/2010<br />
Spring 2011<br />
57
INMEMORIAM<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
58<br />
Julia Flitner Lamb D ’36<br />
Julia Appleton Flitner Lamb was a lifelong conservationist, devoting much<br />
of her efforts to <strong>the</strong> protection of <strong>the</strong> Palisades, Hackensack River, and<br />
Hudson River Highlands watershed. A founding and advisory member of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference, she was a key strategist to <strong>the</strong><br />
historic Storm King legal case that helped define <strong>the</strong> environmental movement.<br />
She was <strong>the</strong> recipient of Ford’s 1972 National Conservationist Award. A<br />
graduate of Vassar College, she served on a number of boards, including that<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Greenbrook Sanctuary, <strong>the</strong> Palisade Preservation Coalition, <strong>the</strong> Citizens<br />
Advisory Council to <strong>the</strong> Palisade Interstate Park Commission, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong><br />
Garden Club, Women of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and <strong>the</strong> League of Women<br />
Voters. She was a trustee of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Dwight</strong> <strong>School</strong> from 1947 to 1951. She was<br />
predeceased by her husband, Albert Richard Lamb, Jr., M.D. She is survived by<br />
four sons, Albert ESB ’60, George ESB ’64, Thomas ESB ’67, and Peter ESB ’72;<br />
five grandchildren, and three daughters-in-law.<br />
ESB 1950<br />
John Cloud<br />
6/6/2010<br />
Henry Wise<br />
6/16/2010<br />
ESB 1952<br />
Thomas Johnson<br />
10/27/2010<br />
Husband of Judith W. Johnson and<br />
devoted fa<strong>the</strong>r of Thomas Jr. ’85 and<br />
Pamela Johnson Gammill ’87, Tom was<br />
<strong>the</strong> bro<strong>the</strong>r of Patricia Johnson Wood D<br />
’55 (past parent, former employee, and<br />
former trustee of D-E) and Ann Johnson<br />
Frost D ’58, as well as bro<strong>the</strong>r-in-law<br />
Calvin Frost ESB ’58. Tom was an uncle<br />
to Jon Wood ’90 and Margaret “Meg”<br />
Wood Berling ’91; a cousin to <strong>the</strong> Scholl<br />
sisters (Virginia Scholl D ’65, Sarah<br />
Scholl Hedberg D ’68, and Barbara<br />
Baker-Bury D ’62); and a nephew of<br />
Julien Schnoll and Ka<strong>the</strong>rine Johnson<br />
Schnoll D ’28.<br />
ESB 1956<br />
Donn C. Strong<br />
4/22/2010<br />
ESB 1958<br />
Richard Thatcher<br />
10/1/2010<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> 1959<br />
Julie M. Habers<br />
1/29/2011<br />
ESB 1961<br />
George Mussawir<br />
10/13/2010<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong> 1972<br />
Robin Zaretsky Schlossberg<br />
11/23/2009<br />
DE 1981<br />
Denise Taylor<br />
1/3/2011<br />
FRIENDS<br />
In Remembrance of<br />
Former Faculty and Staff<br />
David Appleton<br />
1/6/2011<br />
Nelle Lane<br />
11/26/2010<br />
Mo<strong>the</strong>r of David ESB ’74, Ellen D’71,<br />
and Robert ESB ’73.<br />
Anita Liskin<br />
11/14/2010<br />
(See sidebar.)<br />
In Remembrance of Current and Past<br />
Parents and Grandparents<br />
Dary Derchin<br />
12/16/2010<br />
Mo<strong>the</strong>r of Taylor-Leigh Derchin ’11.<br />
William J. Follette M.D.<br />
5/20/10<br />
Fa<strong>the</strong>r of Deborah Follette Culbertson<br />
D ’68 and Sharon Follette Tift D ’63.<br />
William E. Ix Jr.<br />
12/26/2010<br />
Former Trustee of ESB and D-E;<br />
husband of Jane Ix, fa<strong>the</strong>r of Elizabeth<br />
Ix Buccellato’85, Gregory ’79, Jeff ’74,<br />
Jon ESB ’72, and William ESB ’71;<br />
cousin of Alexander Ix ESB ’45 and<br />
Douglas Ix ESB ’48.<br />
W. Frank Kearney<br />
11/15/2010<br />
Fa<strong>the</strong>r of Phil Kearney ’84; husband of<br />
Betty Kearney, former librarian.<br />
Virginia Carter Satterfield<br />
10/26/2010<br />
Mo<strong>the</strong>r of Rose Satterfield, D.M.D.<br />
D ’60 and Cynthia Carter Satterfield<br />
D ’66; grandmo<strong>the</strong>r of William A. Keller,<br />
Jr. ’82 and Virginia Keller ’84.<br />
Robert Lyman<br />
Southworth ESB ’39<br />
Robert Lyman Southworth<br />
passed away in his home in<br />
New Milford, CT, on August<br />
14, 2010. His daughter, Pam<br />
Southworth, wrote a beautiful<br />
summary of Bob’s life: “Dad had a<br />
wonderful upbringing in <strong>Englewood</strong>,<br />
where <strong>the</strong> family resided for<br />
approximately 50 years. <strong>Dwight</strong>-<br />
<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong>—or in those days<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong> for Boys—<br />
was a significant part of <strong>the</strong><br />
structure which defined my Dad’s<br />
character…a lovely man, a true<br />
gentleman everyone says…Dad<br />
spoke quite often about his football<br />
coach, Luke Ward, teaching <strong>the</strong><br />
values of life through sports and<br />
how his underrated team went on<br />
to win a big game!” Robert is<br />
survived by his wife of 56 years,<br />
Joan Olsen Southworth, his<br />
daughters, Pamela and Diane<br />
Southworth, and his bro<strong>the</strong>r, Walter<br />
Southworth ESB ’43. Any of Bob’s<br />
classmates or friends can contact<br />
Pam at 860-355-0425.
BULLDOGBOOKSHELF<br />
If you are a D-E alumna, alumnus, student, parent, or current or former member of our faculty and/or<br />
staff, we welcome your Bulldog Bookshelf submissions. Please forward information about your<br />
publication(s) to: alumninews@d-e.org. Please plan to provide electronic files of cover art images<br />
and/or any relevant press releases, biographical information, etc., when submitting your publication(s)<br />
for consideration. In lieu of electronic files, hard copies are accepted. Deadline is July 1, 2011.<br />
Peter Balakian ESB ’69<br />
Bruce Black ESB ’72<br />
Ian Harris ESB ’61 and<br />
Chuck Howlett<br />
Ziggurat (Poems)<br />
The University of Chicago Press,<br />
September 2010<br />
Exploring history, self, and imagination,<br />
as well as his ongoing concerns with<br />
catastrophe and trauma, many of<br />
Balakian's new poems wrestle with <strong>the</strong><br />
aftermath and reverberations of 9/11.<br />
Writing Yoga: A Guide to<br />
Keeping a Practice Journal<br />
Rodmell Press, 2011<br />
In a volume that is part memoir and part<br />
writing guide, Black shares tips about how to<br />
keep a practice journal, with guided writing<br />
exercises in each of <strong>the</strong> ten chapters.<br />
Books not Bombs:<br />
Teaching Peace since <strong>the</strong><br />
Dawn of <strong>the</strong> Republic<br />
Information Age Press, 2010<br />
Offering a comprehensive historical<br />
analysis of <strong>the</strong> origins and development of<br />
peace education in America, this book<br />
examines <strong>the</strong> evolution of peace ideology within <strong>the</strong> context of<br />
opposing war and promoting social justice in <strong>the</strong> classroom<br />
and in society.<br />
James Lord ESB ’40<br />
My Queer War<br />
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011<br />
Published posthumously, this memoir tells<br />
<strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> author’s sexual awakening<br />
as a young soldier during World War II and<br />
his experiences with <strong>the</strong> horrors and<br />
vagaries of war.<br />
Susan Newman, Ph.D. D ’60<br />
The Case for <strong>the</strong> Only<br />
Child: Your Essential Guide<br />
Health Communications, June 1,<br />
2011<br />
The popular Psychology Today blogger and<br />
author of fifteen books, Newman examines<br />
<strong>the</strong> increasingly prevalent phenomenon of<br />
one-child families and offers guidance to parents weighing <strong>the</strong><br />
factors involved in choosing to raise a singleton.<br />
Susan Thomas D ’64<br />
Last Voyage: Selected<br />
Poems of Giovanni Pascoli<br />
Red Hen Press, 2010<br />
Thomas and her fellow translators<br />
introduce <strong>the</strong> work of a well-known 19thcentury<br />
Italian poet, whose poems have<br />
never before been presented in English.<br />
Spring 2011<br />
59
LASTLOOK<br />
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
60<br />
An Enlightening Assembly and a Community Challenge<br />
This spring, <strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> had a special all-school assembly to explore <strong>the</strong> global issue of<br />
clean drinking water and to kick-off a new student effort called 30 Miles in 30 Days: The D-E Safe<br />
Water Campaign.<br />
By Jamie Dalgleish ’13<br />
The all-school assembly about<br />
safe water occurred on March<br />
10. It was inspired thanks to an<br />
earlier relationship that our <strong>School</strong><br />
established with Blue Planet Network<br />
(BPN), an international nonprofit<br />
organization devoted to solving <strong>the</strong><br />
global drinking water crisis. (Editor’s<br />
Note: BPN’s CEO is Lisa Diaz Nash ’76, a<br />
2009 recipient of <strong>the</strong> D-E Distinguished<br />
Alumni Award.)<br />
The Middle <strong>School</strong> was <strong>the</strong> first to<br />
present, with a skit performed by some<br />
of <strong>the</strong> 7th grade students illustrating<br />
differences between African and<br />
American cultures with respect to water.<br />
For example, <strong>the</strong> skit emphasized that<br />
people in Africa must carry 40 lbs. of<br />
water about four miles (36 laps around<br />
our large gym in <strong>the</strong> Modell’s Sports<br />
Complex), three times a week to get<br />
safe drinking water!<br />
A poem—composed by Middle <strong>School</strong><br />
faculty member Giselle Winters about<br />
<strong>the</strong> differences between how Africans<br />
and Americans perceive water—was<br />
performed by her Home Base class.<br />
Several groups of students presented<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir videos. Some 7th graders<br />
presented a video, emphasizing that<br />
“Water is Life,” noting that, for example,<br />
our bodies are 75% water, and we can<br />
survive weeks without food but only a<br />
couple days without water. Ano<strong>the</strong>r group<br />
of 7th graders showed a video that<br />
compared how far women in Africa must<br />
walk to collect water with <strong>the</strong> distance of<br />
classrooms from water fountains at D-E.<br />
Students in <strong>the</strong> Lower <strong>School</strong>’s 4th grade<br />
class made a video depicting differences<br />
between here and <strong>the</strong> lives of young<br />
African drumming and dancing provided some light-hearted moments at an educational assembly<br />
dedicated to <strong>the</strong> very serious topic of <strong>the</strong> lack of safe drinking water in many parts of <strong>the</strong> world,<br />
including rural Africa.<br />
people in Africa. Additionally Justin<br />
Kim ’11, made remarks and presented<br />
a video titled “Water Trap.” He has<br />
researched <strong>the</strong> water crisis for his D-E<br />
Senior Year Focus Project. Justin refers<br />
to <strong>the</strong> crisis as a “water trap” because<br />
it affects <strong>the</strong> economy, education, and<br />
health in a way from which <strong>the</strong>re seems<br />
to be no escape for <strong>the</strong> people.<br />
A particularly vivid, percussive part of <strong>the</strong><br />
assembly included <strong>the</strong> Upper <strong>School</strong><br />
Dance Club performing a traditional African<br />
dance in tandem with Mr. Levin’s Middle<br />
<strong>School</strong> African drumming class and<br />
students in <strong>the</strong> Lower <strong>School</strong>. Upper<br />
<strong>School</strong> Environmental Club President<br />
Michelle Aboodi ’11, with help from her<br />
fellow seniors, demonstrated <strong>the</strong> incredible<br />
weight of carrying water, compared to what<br />
students carry in <strong>the</strong>ir backpacks.<br />
The assembly introduced <strong>the</strong> new 30<br />
Miles in 30 Days safe water campaign.<br />
Running in April through early May 2011,<br />
<strong>the</strong> campaign involves all students<br />
making a special pledge to walk, run, or<br />
bike 30 miles in 30 days. All are asked<br />
to contribute $30 ($1 per mile achieved)<br />
as part of this pledge.<br />
The money raised will help to fund a new<br />
well for St. Teresa’s Orphanage in<br />
Tanzania, Africa. The organization was<br />
selected for our <strong>School</strong> by BPN. The<br />
number of children at <strong>the</strong> orphanage is<br />
roughly <strong>the</strong> same as <strong>the</strong> D-E Middle<br />
<strong>School</strong>. This well will give <strong>the</strong> children at<br />
this orphanage safe, healthy, drinking<br />
water for at least <strong>the</strong> next 20 years. Just<br />
like water, this will have a ripple effect: as<br />
a result of safe drinking water from <strong>the</strong><br />
well, <strong>the</strong>se orphanage students will be<br />
able to grow up and have an education<br />
and in turn help <strong>the</strong>mselves out of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
“water trap.”<br />
When all <strong>the</strong> presentations were done,<br />
Headmaster Dr. Rodney De Jarnett urged<br />
everyone to make <strong>the</strong> pledge, saying,<br />
“You can’t simply write a check to do this.<br />
The idea is for all of us to walk, bike or<br />
run 30 miles in one month’s time, to try<br />
to experience what it’s like to have to<br />
travel so far in order to get water that<br />
might not even be safe.”
We Want You Back!<br />
Join Us For These Upcoming D-E Alumni Events<br />
Reunion and Commencement 2011<br />
Reunion Weekend with special celebrations for reunion class years ending with 1 and 6<br />
Friday, June 3<br />
6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Alumni-Faculty Soiree<br />
8:00 p.m. Jazz Rock Alumni Jam<br />
8:30 p.m. Dinner Cruise Around Manhattan<br />
Saturday, June 4<br />
11:30 a.m. Frimi Sagan Classroom Dedication<br />
12:30 p.m. Alumni Luncheon<br />
2:00 p.m. Alumni Association Annual Meeting<br />
Distinguished Alumni<br />
Induction Ceremony<br />
Robert Bakish ’81<br />
CEO, Viacom International<br />
Karl Zimmermann ESB ’61<br />
Author & Photographer<br />
Saturday, June 4 (continued)<br />
2:30 p.m. Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony<br />
Robert Brisk ’76, Varsity Football,<br />
Basketball and Baseball<br />
Susan Brisk Sharp D ’71, Varsity Field<br />
Hockey, Basketball and Lacrosse<br />
Evening Major Reunion Class Celebrations<br />
Sunday, June 5<br />
10:00 a.m. Commencement<br />
Robert Bakish ’81<br />
Speaker
<strong>Dwight</strong>-<strong>Englewood</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
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