July/August 2013 - Falmouth Academy

GAM: a social meeting of whaleships…
with all the sympathies of sailors [and] all
the peculiar congenialities arising from a
common pursuit.
Volume XXIX, Number 6
July-August 2013
The GAM
GAM: a social meeting of whaleships…with all
the sympathies of sailors [and] all the peculiar
congenialities arising from a common pursuit.

A Farewell From the Headmaster
With mixed emotions I write my last
“Letter From the Headmaster.” For eight
years, I have had the privilege of serving this
remarkable and unique school community
where I have been enriched by meaningful
relationships with students, faculty and staff,
parents, alumni, trustees, and friends of the
school.
Four distinguishing features make
Falmouth Academy unique: an intellectually
engaged community, an environment of
trust and respect, community partnerships,
and small size.
The qualities we first look for in prospective
students are motivation and interest in
learning. Students come here because they
want an environment where learning is
valued and where their peers are academically
motivated. The same is true of our
faculty: life-long learners themselves, they
are fully engaged in learning and are
passionate about their craft. Falmouth
Academy is no place for the passive learner,
no place for someone unexcited about ideas.
It’s a pleasure to hear seventh graders tell
me two months into their first year: “I have
never worked so hard at school and I have
never enjoyed it more.” Their work makes
sense to them, and they thrive in classrooms
where faculty and students are leaning into
whatever they are learning.
Falmouth Academy is successful because
of the close, respectful relationships that
develop between students and teachers as
they work together. High expectations and
trust are the crucial ingredients in these
relationships. Teachers with high expectations
as well as the skills and desire to
encourage and support different learning
1
styles give their students powerful incentives
to be responsible for their own learning. In
order for students to make a, sometimes,
uncomfortable stretch or risk to learn, they
must feel safe. They must know they will be
supported by both their teachers and their
peers. In a community of trust, students will
reveal themselves and try new things, and
teachers will give students the space they
need to explore creative and imaginative
thinking. The result is a partnership between
student and teacher as they work together
to achieve success in the classroom, on the
stage, or on the playing field.
These respectful partnerships are everywhere
in our school community. I admire,
for instance, the partnerships among
academic departments. In our humanities
curriculum, the art, English and history
departments work collaboratively to give
their students a variety of lenses to see their
material.
Our science department has a longstanding
partnership with the international
Woods Hole science community that predates
by three decades the current talk about
STEM curriculums. We have arranged for
a quarter of our student population to work
with world-class scientists in state-of-the-art
laboratories.
Every one of our academic departments
pitches in to support our annual all-school
science fair that is a national model of academic
cooperation and student success.
Our Student Council and Honor Society
have established important partnerships in
our community and across the globe. Partnerships
with local art, music, and athletic
groups allow many area residents the use of
our facilities. Partnerships give students in
our small school global perspectives.
Another key to Falmouth Academy’s
success is our commitment to being a small
school with no back rows. Students here
can’t remain anonymous; they know they
must be accountable for their actions and
their studies; they know their voice counts
and that their peers will support their contributions
to class conversations.
A small community can occasionally feel
too close, and for some students our size
seems limiting. But experience convinces me
continued on page 2

that the positive aspects of this academic
intimacy far outweigh the negatives,
especially for adolescents who will be
stronger if they work hard to discover
their own voice rather than slide quietly
under the radar of those around them.
I look forward to following Falmouth
Academy’s ongoing successes from my
new spot in Baltimore. I am fortunate to
have had the opportunity for eight years
to grow and learn both personally and
professionally among such a remarkable
community. Thank you all.
With my admiration,
About the Cover
The cover of this edition of the GAM
showcases the Class of 2013’s Senior Self
Portraits. Employing a variety of media,
and evoking a spectrum of emotions, the
pieces embody the diversity of this year’s
graduating class.
Each piece hangs in our gallery alongside
self portraits drawn by the seniors in
their eighth grade year. They are at once
an expression of each student’s personality
and a brief glimpse into the journey they
have traveled since that original drawing.
That journey is one of self discovery, a
key component of a Falmouth Academy
education. This tradition offers seniors an
opportunity to reflect on and express the
change and growth they’ve experienced
while at FA.
In This Issue
Congratulations to the Class of 2013- 3/4
Declamation Day - 5
2013 Honor Society Inductees - 6
Headmaster’s List - 7
Annual Fund Highlights - 8
Recognition Day - 9/10
Alumni Notes - 11/12
Alumni All-School Meeting - 13
From the Counselor - 14
New Students for 2013-2014 - 15
From the Director of Admissions - 16
From the Director of Athletics - 17
Senior Parent Gift Fund - 18
The GAM is published six times a year for the community of Falmouth Academy.
David C. Faus ~ Headmaster
Michael J. Earley ~ Director of Admissions
Barbara Campbell ~ Director of Alumni and Parent Relations
Tucker Clark ~ Assistant to the Headmaster
Dave Ellis ~ Director of Communications
2

Congratulations to
There are places I remember all my life...
All these places have their moments...
I know I’ll often stop and think about them...
In my life I’ve loved them all...
3

the Class of 2013
Where are They Going?
James Abdu McDaniel College
Ryan Ackell Wellesley College
Chloe Brake New York University
Isabelle Camarra Rhode Island
School of Design
Luka Catipovic University of Colorado,
Boulder
Ryan Davis
Skidmore College
Ally Friedman New York University
Jamie Giancola University of Vermont
Angela Hodge New College of Florida
Lauren Hoyerman University of Vermont
Graham Littlehale Ohio Wesleyan University
Savannah Maher Dartmouth College
Brendan Marren Flagler College
Christina Nunley United States Air Force
Academy
Jessica O’Malley Colgate University
Peter Primini Florida Institute of
Technology
Dan Sakakini Union College
Nick Scharr Arizona State University
Abby Schneider High Point University
Katherine Shachoy Smith College
Emily Skehill Northeastern University
Lizzie Stimson Bard College
Ronna ten Brink Tufts University
Summer Tomkins Ohio Wesleyan University
Betsy Wadman Marist College
Caitlin Walsh Denison University
Commencement Remark
Highlights
“You know how to advocate for yourself
– you have been trained here at FA to
ask for help and to take responsibility for
your own work. Your college professors are
going to love you – because you will visit
them during their office hours! You will
have peers that either don’t care enough to
ask for help or don’t know how – because
they have not been held as accountable as
you have.”
- David Faus
Headmaster
“We will take risks, take pride in what
we do and seize new opportunities, and
we are grateful to Falmouth Academy for
preparing us to do these things.”
- Katherine Shachoy
Senior Class President
“Each of you leaves here with an
incredible gift. A great education is one
thing no one can take away from you.”
- Beth Colt
Chair of the Board of Trustees
“I share the final two sentences of the
Falmouth Academy mission: “We hope
that our students will leave Falmouth
Academy with a wider perspective on the
human condition and prepared to sustain
a love of learning.”
- David Faus
Headmaster 4

2013 Eighth Grade Declamation Day
When Monica Hough began the
Declamation Day tradition in 2002 with the
class of 2006 she called it “The Thing.” Her
assignment sheet to the students read;
In Old Norse, the Thing was an assembly, a
parliament where all the tribes gathered. It also
meant “object of value.” You, my valued ones,
are about to embark on your own Thing, and it
will be of mythic proportions.
Presentations in that inaugural year were
diverse. They included an excerpt from Book
of Five Rings, a Japanese warriors manual
linking martial arts to writing poetry complete
with a karate demonstration. A criticism
of Degas’ Dancers Practicing at the Barre
extolling the “difficult and sometimes ugly
work that goes into a beautiful ballet en
pointe.” There was even a stirring recital
of Susan B. Anthony’s speech upon being
arrested for casting a vote in the 1872 presidential
election.
“What was most wonderful for me,” Mrs.
Hough said, was the students’ incredible
support for each other. If someone momentarily
drew a blank the kids were patient
and encouraging. They rehearsed with each
other and welcomed each performance with
warmth and delight.”
“We’re not sure how this event will carry
over next year,” Mrs. Hough said. “But this
year’s Thing was certainly a success!”
Now more than ten years later Declamation
Day has become a rite of passage for
eighth graders, a graduation
ceremony, as it were,
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pulling together skills they have been working
on - textual analysis, deep self-reflection,
and communicating with an audience.
In an era when so much of their communicating
is done only through technology, it
is essential to have students learn about the
power of face-to-face communication.
Students still select and memorize a
written passage at least 24 lines long. They
write about the piece, both an analytical
and personal response. They present their
introductions and declaim their passages in
front of the whole eighth grade and an audience
of interested upper school students,
faculty, and parents. Afterwards, they walk
to Peking Palace for a celebratory banquet,
another tradition that started with the class
of 2006.
Topics are as varied as ever. This year’s
audience heard two speeches by President
Reagan, one on the Challenger disaster, one
on religion, a song from Les Miserables, a
speech by Teddy Roosevelt on the value of
hard work, presentations on baseball, dance,
poems about the Irish, and many more.
Students still present with nervous excitement,
but more importantly and perhaps
more distinctly FA, they continue to be
welcomed by warm supportive audiences
of their peers and an atmosphere of mutual
respect and admiration for each other’s hard
work.

2013 Honor Society Inductees
38 students were inducted into the Falmouth Academy chapter of the National Honor
Society in a May ceremony.
Introduced by faculty advisor Julie Swanbeck, four current members of the NHS spoke
briefly about the values of the society: senior Christina Nunley about character; junior
Carlo Bocconcelli, scholarship; senior Chloe Brake, service and citizenship; and sophomore
Victoria Avis, leadership.
Monica Hough, who teaches English to seventh and ninth graders and coordinates
Falmouth Academy’s middle school, spoke to the students about “The Importance of
Being Earnest.” She encouraged them to state what they believe simply, honestly, and
passionately. “Do not cover the strength of your convictions with a shield of sarcasm or
self-consciousness. Nothing will make you more vulnerable. Nothing will make you more
courageous,” she said. “When we use humor to mask our real feelings rather than to reveal
them, we lose some of the power and passion of our ideas.” This year’s inductees are:
Junior Honor Society
8th Grade
Mary Kate Jones
Oliver Russell
7th Grade
Gwendolyn Borning
Samuel Bresnick
Martha Clark
Helena Connell
Rebecca Cox
Matthew Donahue
Randall Driscoll
Jane Earley
Allison Eldredge
Kiric Hallahan
Megan Iverson
Nicholas Kania
Coralee LaRue
Sarah Lott
Cecelia Mastroianni
James Melvin
Lily Turner
Samira Wolf
Senior Honor Society
12th Grade
Jaroslav Hofierka
11th Grade
Henry Jones
William Mendelsohn
Mary Rosbach
10th Grade
Hope Allison
Mimi Feldmann-DeMello
Owen Sullivan
9th Grade
Charles Colt-Simonds
Samuel Cox
Grant Doney
Natasha Garland
Wanting Huang
Gregory Pickart
Nicolas Pingal
Madalena Primini
Sintra Reves-Sohn
Anxin Shen
Charlotte Van Voorhis
6
6

Headmaster’s List Third Trimester 2012-2013
Headmaster David Faus announced that 91 students were named to the Falmouth
Academy Headmaster’s List for the third trimester of the 2012-2013 academic year.
These students earned at least three As in their five core subjects and had no grade lower
than a B-minus:
7th Grade
Gwendolyn Borning
Samuel Bresnick
Martha Clark
Helena Connell
Rebecca Cox
Matthew Donahue
Jane Earley
Allison Eldredge
Kiric Hallahan
Megan Iverson
Nicholas Kania
Celie Mastroianni
James Melvin
Lily Turner
8th Grade
Stephanie Aviles
Patrick Best
Luisa Bocconcelli
Lachlan Cormie
Isabel Davern
Tomasz Dvorak
Elizabeth Feldmann-DeMello
Samuel Graber-Hahn
Théo Guérin
Lena Hanschka
Sydney Johnson
Mary Kate Jones
Regina Ledwell
Michael Mangalo
Sophia McCarron
Ethan Mendez
Celia Patterson
Meghan Remillard
Oliver Russell
Brendan Smith
Kayla Tashjian
Quinn Van Tol
Eliza Van Voorhis
Pearl Vercruysse
Willa Vigneault
Palma Walko
9th Grade
Christie Brake
Charles Colt-Simonds
Samuel Cox
Grant Doney
Wanting Huang
Alex Kania
Gregory Pickart
Nicolas Pingal
Sintra Reves-Sohn
Anxin Shen
Charlotte Van Voorhis
Cassandra Weare
10th Grade
Hope Allison
Ethan Altshuler
Victoria Avis
Zhicong Chen
Alec Cobban
Quinn Cobban
Matthew Delaney
Robert Eder
Jennifer Feldmann-DeMello
Sam Giancola
Giuliana Hulten
Pai-Lin Hunnibell
Aidan Huntington
Guy Knapp
Phoebe Long
Jillian Schwartz
Hannah Smith
11th Grade
Catherine Aviles
Carlo Bocconcelli
Abagail Bumpus
Nora Ruth Collins
William Mendelsohn
Lily Patterson
Emma Rogalewski
Mary Rosbach
Nicholas Russell
12th Grade
Ryan Ackell
Chloe Brake
Isabelle Camarra
Alexandra Friedman
Angela Hodge
Jaroslav Hofierka
Lauren Hoyerman
Jessica O’Malley
Dan Sakakini
Emily Skehill
Elizabeth Stimson
Summer Tompkins
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Falmouth Academy Annual Fund Highlights
Thanks to you, our donors, the Falmouth
Academy Annual Fund achieved great success
this year.
• The Annual Fund meets 10% of our annual
operating budget, so it is crucial that we reach
the goal. This year we met the goal before the
fiscal year was done. Thanks to our donors, the
Annual Fund raised $425,000.
• When asked to make their first gift to the
Annual Fund and designate it to financial aid,
90% of the Class of 2013 participated!
• Foundations are interested in participation
statistics in the Annual Fund, especially from
alumni. This year, alumni participation increased
over last year by three points – reaching
18% – twice as much as other independent day
schools, according to the National Association
of Independent Schools Annual Fund survey.
• The alumni council issue a challenge to have
at least ten donors per graduating class pledge
$10 to financial aid for each class to do so.
2003 and 2013 met the challenge and other
classes came close.
Eighth grader Kayla Sheehan takes
advantage of smartboard technology in
her math class, where she is calculating
the price of a Super Bowl advertisement.
Olivann Hobbie greets Matthew
Waterbury ’04 at the FA auction. Matt
was an alumni sponsor of the event with
his business, Waterbury & Olson
Optometry, PC.
• 100% of our trustees and faculty and staff
participated in the Annual Fund.
• Falmouth Academy Parents increased their
giving by 13% over last year!
• The Senior Parent Gift Fund alone raised
over $18,500 allowing the committee to award
grants to nine faculty members (see complete
award information on page 18).
• Our big fundraiser, the Falmouth Academy
Celebrates the Arts auction, netted nearly to
$50,000 for the Annual Fund. The Fund-a-
Need itself earned $22,100 toward technology,
which allowed us to purchase new classroom
laptops, an interactive whiteboard for Humanities
and Language classes, and 83 science
eBooks for the library (53 of which came with
print editions as well).
James “Otto” Reber was happy to have the
winning bid for a Sarah Peters’ bronze
bas relief depicting a scene from
Falmouth’s history.
Sheila Giancola led the Senior Parents
Gift Fund, which raised enough to fund
nine faculty grants and add to the SPGF
endowment which earns money for future
grant requests.
Your donations and participation means a great deal to Falmouth Academy, and, on behalf of
the students and faculty whom the Annual Fund supports, we thank you.
8

Falmouth Academy’s 2013 Recognition Day
At its annual Recognition Day, June 8, Falmouth Academy honored character, hard work, personal
and academic growth, and community achievements.
ALL-SCHOOL AWARDS
Thomas Kimball Clark Award: to an upper
school student who furthers the ideals of FA:
Summer Tompkins ’13
Homer P. Clark Award: to a middle school
student who furthers the ideals of FA: Samuel
Graber-Hahn ’17 and Pearl Vercruysee ’17
Brenda and Charles Olson Award for Love
of Learning: Upper school, Elizabeth Stimson
’13; middle school, Elizabeth Feldmann-
DeMello ’17
Renaissance Award: for diverse excellence:
Chloe Brake ’13
Willard C. and Leona H. Weaner Scholarship
Award: for a student who makes an
outstanding contribution to the atmosphere
of FA: Catherine Aviles ’14
National Honor Society scholarship awards
to returning students who give support and
help to the community: Alec Cobban ’15;
Aidan Huntington ’15; Phoebe Long ’15; Lily
Patterson ’14
Patrice Buxton Award for Love of
Reading: Coralee LaRue ’18
Faculty Commendation:
Jaroslav Hofierka ’13
The Mariner Awards: to the students who
best represent the ideals of FA Athletics:
Summer Tompkins ’13 and Alex Tashjian ’13
DEPARTMENT AWARDS
Lewis Award: for continuous effort, growth,
and leadership, and contributions to and benefits
from Falmouth Academy:
Christina Nunley ’13
Meltzer Award for the Greatest Academic
Growth: Upper school, Jamie Giancola ‘13;
middle school, Mary Kate Jones ’17
Parents’ Committee Award: to a senior who
has shown the most academic and social
growth during his or her years at Falmouth
Academy: Elizabeth Wadman ’13
The Janet Kearsley Award for Dedication in
English: Lauren Hoyerman ’13
Middle School Distinction in English:
Oliver Russell ’17.
Middle School Dedication in English:
Meghan Remillard ’17
Upper School Distinction in History:
Ryan Davis ’13
Susan Pasley MacKenzie Award for
Excellence in Ancient History:
Alexander Kania ’16 and Greg Pickart ’16
Middle School Distinction in History:
Eliza Van Voorhis ’17
Middle School Dedication in History:
Stephanie Aviles ’17
The Worthington Campbell Award for Ethical
Leadership: Daniel Sakakini ’13
Bruce E. Buxton Award for Imagination:
Isabelle Camarra ’13
9

Before he announced the all-school awards, headmaster David C. Faus said, “It is a challenge and a
pleasure for the whole faculty to choose the recipients of these awards from among the many strong
candidates. It is a challenge because so much of what is achieved here happens through team effort. It
is a pleasure because we have the immense satisfaction of discussing our students’ growth and steady
effort, their unselfish concern for the community, and their impressive accomplishments.”
Upper School Distinction in Science:
Luka Catipovic ’13
Middle School Distinction in Science:
Patrick Best ’17
Middle School Dedication in Science:
Palma Walko ’17
Middle School Distinction in Math:
Théo Guérin ’17
Middle School Dedication in Math:
Ethan Mendez ’17
Upper School Dedication in Math and
Science: Jessica O’Malley ’13
Upper School Distinction in German:
Jaroslav Hofierka ’13
Middle School Distinction in German:
Isabel Davern ’17
Outstanding Beginner in German:
Matthew Donahue ’18
1st place poetry:
Ryan Davis ’13 for “To My Childhood
Friend, Who Is Sleeping While I Am
Downstairs”
2nd place poetry:
Savannah Maher ’13 for “1994”
ARTS AWARDS
Drama Award for Dedication:
Angela Hodge ’13
Distinction in Chamber Orchestra:
Ronna ten Brink ’13
Leadership in Chamber Orchestra:
Guy Knapp ’15
Dedication in French:
Chloe Brake ’13 and Jill Schwartz ’15
Distinction in Jazz: Nick Scharr ’13
Leadership in Chorus:
Savannah Maher ’13; Elizabeth Stimson ’13
Upper School Distinction in
Photography: Carlo Bocconcelli ’14
Middle School Distinction in
Photography: Megan Iverson ’18
Panache en Francais: Michael Mangalo ‘17.
Middle School Dedication in French:
Lachlan Cormie ’17
RESONANCE,
THE LITERARY MAGAZINE, AWARDS
1st place prose and winner of the Susan
Pasley Mackenzie Creative Writing Award:
Coco Raymond ’15
2nd place short story:
Théo Guérin ’17 for “Testing the Hypothesis”
Distinction in Ceramics: Hope Allison ’15.
Margaret Tew Ellsworth Award for Creativity
in Studio Arts:
Aidan Huntington ‘15.
Distinction in Studio Arts: Jane Earley ‘18
Dedication in Taekwondo:
Brendan Marren ’13
Perseverance and Dedication to Physical
Fitness: Patrick Best ’17;
J.D. Snowman ’17; Quinn Van Tol ’17.
10

Alumni Notes
Congratulations to Amanda (Nolan-Early) Dixon ’93 who received the U.S. Army Commanders
award for Public Service, showing exemplary work in bettering the lives of U.S.
Army families in the Pacific and the U.S. Army as a whole. Amanda said, “My family and
Falmouth Academy valued public service. In Hawaii, I was involved in Cub and Daisy Scouts
and working with the family readiness group to get people motivated.” Amanda’s husband
Rich, a colonel, has moved from field artillery to models and simulations, which means the
family moved in June from Honolulu, Hawaii to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas
Christina Nunley ’13 was
recognized by the local
U. S. Air Force National
Guard at the last All-
School Meeting of the
year for her admission to
the U. S. Air Force
Academy.
John Gwynn ’07, Tyler Gwynn ’12 and
Tim Wadman ’09 perform in a band called
Rula Bula, which performs locally and in
Boston. See their schedule on the Rula
Bula Facebook page. In their spare time,
John is writing for the New Bedford Standard
Times; Tyler is entering his sophomore
year at the University of Colorado,
Boulder, where he plays in the school band
at sporting events; Tim graduated from
Villanova University. He begins
Suffolk Law School in the fall.
Sam Amazeen ’07 is currently in Saratoga
Springs, NY for the final phase of the
nuclear submarine officer training pipeline.
He hopes to be on a boat by next December.
Sam graduated from the U. S. Naval
Academy in 2011 and accepted a commission
into the Navy as an Ensign. He
received his M.A. in Security Studies from
Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign
Service.
Seth Ament ’99 is a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience/genetics at the Institute for Systems
Biology, Seattle. He’s studying human brain disorders. Nell (Ament) Hiller ’00 is a senior
associate lawyer at Alston & Bird in Washington DC where she works in health policy law.
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Congratulations to Ted
Melillo ’92 and his wife
Nina Gordon whose baby
boy, Simon, was born May 3.
Loving Falmouth Academy
grandparents are Jerry and
Lalise Melillo, our Rhetoric
teacher.

Carol Hong ’99 is one of 30 applicants to be named an Ambassador for the Formosa
Foundation in 2013. Through its Ambassador Program, the Foundation offers hands-on
training for students to develop grassroots and campaign skills and to become community
organizers and leaders. Participants in the program develop the expertise, analytical framework,
and networking skills in order to promote Taiwan. As part of the program, Carol
visited Washington D.C. in June for two weeks where she took a seat in Congress and
participated in discussions about judicial reform for U.S. and Taiwanese diplomatic relations.
Carol, who also goes by Chien-Hwe, emigrated from Taiwan with her parents and sister
Theresa ’97. She began her interest in U.S. and Taiwanese diplomatic relations as a personal
journey to discover her own roots, history and ancestry.
Congratulations to Justin Waller ’12 who was
named the University of Massachusetts First-Year
Resident of the Year. Given by the Residential Life
office, the award recognizes the most outstanding
student based on campus/residence hall involvement,
leadership, and academic excellence. The committee
read through 45 nomination letters from the
entire first-year population (about 4,600) and chose
Justin, who said, “It was a big surprise to me.” He
will begin his sophomore year in September in the
UMASS Honors Program at the Amherst campus.
His residence assistant, said, “Justin has one of the
biggest hearts I have come to know here at UMass.
He is an amazing individual and deserves more
recognition than I can offer.”
Payton Swick ’98 wrote, “I wanted
to check in and let you know
that I’ve started a new job! I’m a
Code Wrangler at Automattic and
I work on various parts of Word-
Press.com.” Payton also reported
that he and Megan O’Hara ’02
are getting married this summer.
We wish them all the best!
Best wishes to Yuki Honjo ’90 and
her husband Jason Cullinane on the
birth of Mayumi Aisling born on
May 5.
Clea Baumhofer ’10 and Zuzka Sottova ’08 and their parents met in Budapest, Hungary
in May and then traveled together to the Sott home in Bardejov, Slovakia. Zuzka, who
stayed with the Baumhofers as a Falmouth Academy exchange student, is a senior at the
University of Reading, England and will attend graduate school at Central European University
in Budapest this fall after completing an internship with an NGO in Bratislava this
summer. Clea is completing a semester abroad in Paris, studying at the Sorbonne and the
Pierre and Marie Curie Institute. She will complete an eight-week internship with GTM
Batiment, a construction firm in Paris, before returning to Johns Hopkins in September.
Clea’s sister Signe ’12 will begin her sophomore year at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo in
September, where she is studying animal sciences. Zuzka’s brother Juraj ’10 is studying at
the University of Sheffield.
Congratulations to Alex Gundersen ’09
who will begin her medical school studies
this summer at Penn State following
her spring graduation from Villanova
University.
Chris Buccino ’02 graduated from Harvard
School of Design with a master’s degree in
landscape architecture. His sister, Kacey Bisienere
’07 will graduate from Auburn University
in August with a master’s degree in athletic
training and exercise science research.
Melora Armstead ’08 received
her Bachelor of Arts, magna
cum laude, from Northeastern
University in the College of
Arts, Media and Design.
J.T. Kittredge ’10 became a licensed train engineer in
December and is working this summer for CapeFLYER,
the Cape Cod to Boston line. J. T. is majoring in
marketing at Elmira College.
Evan Hutker ’07 is living in Cambridge and works at First Years, where he designs
baby products, baby monitors, baby chairs. Harly Hutker ’11 is an architecture major at
Northeastern University. Evan was a key speaker at the David Faus tribute in June.
12

Alumni Spotlight
Alumni All-School Meeting
National Alumni Day of Service
Falmouth Academy alumni demonstrated
their care for their communities in our second
Falmouth Academy National Alumni Day of
Service. Activities took place in Chicago, Boston,
New York City and Falmouth. Many thanks
to Jeremy Gantz ’00 and his wife Caitlin who
participated in a clean-up along the Chicago
River area,
Andrew Kingman ’00 who did some work at
Piers Park Sailing Club, and Katie (Plumb)
LiVigne ’01 and her husband Greg who helped
Hurricane Sandy victims clear their homes in
Far Rockaway, NY. Recalling the former Landscaping
Days at FA, Sarah (Lafaver) McCarron
’96 and her husband Mike and son Connor,
Elie (Swain) Harmon ’88, her husband
Jamie and their children Tyler and Andrew,
and Justin Campbell ’07 planted heather to recreate the heather garden originally
planted by dear friend and former trustee and parent, the late Beth Schwarzman,
who was instrumental in landscaping the entire campus when Falmouth Academy
moved here in 1989.
Stay tuned: A Class of 1983 reunion is scheduled for July 27, 2013!
Congratulations to the Class of 2003! They were the first class to reach 10 donors
in our Power of 10 Annual Fund challenge in May. Thirty donors boosted alumni
giving participation in this challenge, and the Alumni Council made an extra gift in
honor of the Class of 2003. Thank you for supporting financial aid!
Want to remember your good old Seventh Grade days of your at Falmouth Academy?
Just check out the Plan Book page under Student Life on the FA web site for a
great slide show of the Class of 2018 telling those familiar stories:
http://falmouthacademy.org/index.php/student_life/the_plan_book1
Alumni Council to Begin Third Year with Solid Track Record
The 23-member Alumni Council ended its second year with a steady stream of success
and momentum building. Co-Presidents Ben Baum ’99 and Katie (Plumb) LiVigne ’01
are very pleased to report that alumni participation in the Annual Fund again met and
exceeded its goal, raising the rate to 18% of addressable alumni who contributed this year.
(Last year, the rate was 15%, and the previous year it was 7%.)
A Strategic Plan was assembled this year with a task force led by David Tamasi ’90.
Looking at a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) built by the
Alumni Council, the task force realized that the key areas to focus on in the near future
are programming, development, and membership. A fourth theme of Communications
and networking is woven through each of the above areas.
In the 2013-2014 school year, the Alumni Council will continue to focus on building
alumni participation in fundraising. A survey going out to alumni this summer will focus
on building our networking database and increasing FA’s LinkedIn Alumni Group with
networking opportunities. (If you haven’t yet joined LinkedIn, please do to participate in
Alumni Group activities.) We are also shaping the membership of the Alumni Council
and are looking at things like life and job skills, class year, and region. If you are interested
in joining the Council, email alumni@falmouthacademy.org. Also watch for an
13 alumni-specific e-publication from the Council toward the end of the calendar year.

The Class of 1993 had its 20th reunion over Graduation weekend. The small class was delighted
that 40% of its members were present. To those who lived so far away, you were definitely
missed! Pictured in the photo are class advisor Rob Wells, Sara (Gifford) Vaughan,
Colleen (Bulman) Dunn, Jozef Scesnak, Chris Foster, Petra Scamborova and Tristan (Williams)
Young.
From our Counselor - Stephanie Mastroianni
I always
feel a bit
out of sorts
this time
of year:
beginnings
and endngs
make me
uneasy.
With the
end of the
School Counselor Stephanie Mastroianni school year
come good-byes — to students who are
graduating, moving, or changing schools
and to faculty and staff who are also making
changes. These are friends we have
come to know well, and with whom we
have worked and learned for many years.
In my work, I emphasize the importance
of healthy good-byes and “closure.” I advise
students to lean into their good-byes and
to feel their sadness as they reflect on what
they have learned from the people they
are going to miss. After all, good-byes are
really about relationships, and our Falmouth
Academy relationships have seen us
through ups and downs and through days
and years in close circumstances that won’t
ever be quite the same.
As disjointed as we may feel, we must
recognize that after our good-byes,
we will start our new relationships with
rich and life-affirming gifts that our
Falmouth Academy experiences and
relationships awarded us. So as we say
our good-byes and wipe away our tears,
I offer Dr. Suess’s advice, “Don’t cry
because it’s over. Smile because it
happened.”
Senior Jamie Giancola prepares for battle
on Capture the Flag day! Jamie will attend
the University of Vermont this fall.
14

New Students in 2013-14
7th grade Town School
Mia Beams Mattapoisett Old Hammondtown/Homeschool
Nell Bowen Falmouth Morse Pond School
Owen Bresnick West Tisbury West Tisbury School
Noah Buehler Edgartown Martha’s Vineyard Charter School
Becky Butler Buzzards Bay St. Margaret Regional
Parker Cleary Falmouth Morse Pond School
Sam Colt-Simonds Woods Hole Morse Pond School
Alexis Condon Edgartown Edgartown School
Mackenzie Condon Edgartown Edgartown School
Thomas Earley North Falmouth Bridgeview Montessori School
Tyler Edwards Edgartown Edgartown School
Camden Emery Oak Bluffs Edgartown School
Chris Evangelista Bourne Homeschool
Seamus Fearons Mattapoisett Friends Academy
Brooke Feldott Waquoit Morse Pond School
Adeline Hayman Edgartown Edgartown School
Walker Heard Falmouth Homeschool
Niels Herbst Buzzards Bay Waldorf School of Cape Cod
Ian Hinkle Plymouth Rising Tide Public Charter School
Jake Howell Oak Bluffs Oak Bluffs School
Emma Keeler Rochester Rochester Memorial School
Maria Kelly Sandwich Bridgeview Montessori School
Charlie Kleindinst Falmouth Morse Pond School
Aidan Ledwell Falmouth Morse Pond School
Leah Isabelle Littlefield West Tisbury Martha’s Vineyard Charter School
Jack Marvel Marion Sippican School
Anna Metri Bourne Bridgeview Montessori School
Anna Nitardy Vineyard Haven Tisbury School
Samuel Perry Monument Beach Waldorf School of Cape Cod
Gedeon Pil Vineyard Haven Tisbury School
Kyle Ribeiro Oak Bluffs Oak Bluffs School
Grace Russell Mattapoisett Old Hammondtown School
Ruby Sanger Woods Hole Morse Pond School
Ben Schwenk Cotuit Barnstable Intermediate School
Hannah Stillman Plymouth Rising Tide Public Charter School
David Thieler Falmouth Morse Pond School
Devin Waite Oak Bluffs Oak Bluffs School
Sam Wallace Oak Bluffs Oak Bluffs School
8th grade:
Gabe Nadelstein Vineyard Haven Tisbury School
Ben Shachoy Marion Friends Academy
Alissya Silva Marion Old Rochester Regional
Alexei Sudofsky Marion Old Rochester Regional
Shaelyn Yopp New Bedford Our Sisters’ School
9th grade:
Caleb Dutton Oak Bluffs Oak Bluffs School
Biaggio Filice Bermuda Somersfield Academy
Megan Flory East Wareham Wareham Middle School
15
Molly Herbert Barnstable St. Francis Xavier Prep. School

9th grade Continued:
Mason Jones Plymouth Plymouth Community Int. School
Will Kraus West Barnstable Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School
Emma Stillman Plymouth Rising Tide Public Charter School
10th grade:
Luis Mickeler Germany Waldorf School of Heidelberg
Alex Gottlieb Mashpee Cape Cod Academy
11th grade:
Taylor Mulhearn East Sandwich Pope John Paul II HS
12th grade:
Cody Baker N. Falmouth Lake Forest HS/ Lake Forest, Il
From the Director of Admissions - Mike Earley
Falmouth Academy: A small school
that will make your world bigger.
My grandfather was a hearty defender
of personal choice. Whenever two people
differed in their opinions or preferences, he
liked to say, “That’s why Baskin-Robbins
makes 31 flavors.” Of course, when not
ordering an ice cream, it is possible to take a
position that is simply wrong. Even so, I’ve
encountered many situations in which Pop’s
philosophy applied, including as I looked
over the list of new Falmouth Academy students
for next year.
We are thrilled to welcome these students
and their families to our school community
because they come from such a rich variety
of backgrounds and because we know that
each one of them will become part of us in
his or her own way. You will see students
from 27 different school environments (not
quite equal to Baskin-Robbins!) including
public schools, public charter schools,
independent schools, parochial schools,
Montessori schools, Waldorf schools, and
homeschooling. These students come from
most of the towns in our area, but also from
Chicago, Bermuda, and Germany. Our four
students from China will return next year, as
well. And, as anyone familiar with Falmouth
Academy knows, our kids from all over
Southeastern Massachusetts bring their own
unique threads to the tapestry.
Fundamentally, Falmouth Academy offers
its students an intellectual experience. This
must entail encountering ideas different from
those we already have and trying to make
sense of them.
Our community has always been enriched
by a remarkable variety of experiences and
backgrounds. This small school makes our
world bigger every year.
In September, the admissions season
begins again, as we start the process of enrolling
new students for 2014-15. It may horrify
some readers to know that the students who
enroll in the 7th grade for that year will
graduate from FA in 2020!
If you know a family who might be
interested in learning more about the school,
please contact me now so that we can send
application materials in September. You can
also encourage them to submit the information
request form on the Admissions page
of our web site. Families wishing to learn
more about our school may want to request a
copy of the DVD we produced this spring, or
they may like to visit the new Results Matter
section of our web site under “About FA” to
see the end results of a Falmouth Academy
education.
Sarah Knowles and I will be in the office
this summer if any of you would like to talk
about the coming admission season. With
everyone’s help, we expect next year to be as
successful as this one.
I hope you all have a good summer. We
have plenty of great ice cream shops in
Falmouth, so don’t go looking for a Baskin-
Robbins. But enjoy whatever flavor you
please!
16

“Grace Under Pressure”
A Note From the Director of Athletics
This past Sunday, The Cape Cod Times
ran a column by Jonathan Mahler in which
he offered a viewpoint on youth sports in
America. Though I was ultimately disappointed
in Mahler’s argument, I was struck
by his assertion that, “the problem isn’t that
we take youth sports too seriously. It’s that
we don’t take them seriously enough. As a
result, we’re producing bad citizens and bad
athletes.” Mahler moves on to assert a need
for youth sports to play a greater role in developing
more competitive soccer players for
the U.S. National Team, and to endorsing
greater sports specialization, both contentions
with which I do not agree. Yet, I have
been left pondering the idea that we are
“producing bad citizens” from our efforts at
sports for kids in America. While Mahler’s
focus is youth sports programs, I am thinking
more of school interscholastic athletics.
On this score, I fear that Mahler may have a
troubling point.
If pressed, I suspect that all educators
will defend the existence of school sports
with some variation of arguments about the
lessons one can learn from the playing field
or the court. These arguments are valid:
learning to subjugate one’s personal interest
to those of a group, learning how to be a
good teammate, and learning how to work
in concert with others for a common goal
are all extremely noble lessons.
We have just finished final exams at
FA, and one of the central justifications for
giving such exams is that kids need practice
performing in challenging and, yes,
even stressful, situations. If one does not
gain such experience in his/her formative
years, the pressures of adulthood may prove
unmanageable.
Athletics provide countless stressful
situations in which athletes must perform
under pressure and maintain their
17
poise when many around them are given to
nothing short of fanatical behavior. Think
of the frenzy of emotion and noise at a
hard-fought high school basketball game.
Such situations provide a perfect opportunity
for young people to test their ability
to exhibit, in Hemingway’s famous words
about courage, “grace under pressure.” Yet,
student athletes need to be taught that
skill, and those values. That is what hit me
about Mahler’s claim that we are not taking
youth sports seriously enough.
I believe interscholastic athletics can
play a powerful role in creating balanced
and poised individuals and respectful
citizens. These results cannot be taken for
granted, however. Learning how to behave
under pressure and in the heat of competition
are lessons that must be consciously
taught by mature teacher/coaches who
understand that the importance of school
athletics
ultimately has little to do with winning
games.
Anyone who is serious about teaching
life lessons about conduct and character
through athletics in America today must
operate with the clear understanding that
the task is inherently counter-culture. All
around us we are bombarded with examples
from popular culture of celebrated
coaches and athletes who berate officials
and opponents, who exhibit all types of
boorish behavior, and who send the message
that how one plays the game matters
for little.
Sadly, almost thirty years of coaching
and officiating have shown me firsthand
that such conduct is not found only in
professional or major college sports, but
is too often a staple of high school play as
well. I am proud to know that it is not the
norm at Falmouth Academy, however, and
that our coaches do bring to the sidelines
FA’s core rule of “know where you are.” In
the case of our coaches, the rule is extended
to include “know what your role is.” Yet,
we aren’t perfect, and the end of the year
is a good time to reflect on what we want
high school sports to be, and how we as FA
coaches can be the teachers of life lessons.
This is a goal worthy of being taken seriously!

2013 Senior Parent Gift Fund Grants
The 2013 Senior Parent Gift Fund awarded a total of $14,724 in grants, and $3,781 was
earmarked for the Senior Parent Gift Fund Endowment. Thank you to the parents of the class of
2013 for their generosity. The complete list of grants is below.
Fully funded projects:
Katherine Curtis:
Developing experiential education curriculum
on Cape Cod geology, summer to
fall 2013
Katherine will spend the next few months
conducting outreach and establishing
partnerships with local organizations to
expand her students’ research opportunities
and FA’s Cape Cod geology and ecology
curriculum.
Petra Ehrenbrink:
Continuing her online study at the Goethe
Institute, summer 2013 to spring 2014
Petra will undertake online study through
the Goethe Institute in Munich, Germany.
The work will focus on modern teaching
concepts and the use of technology in the
classroom. This builds on the work she
began through an SPGF grant in 2010.
Lucy Nelson:
Independent painting project inspired by
Italian Renaissance portraits,
summer 2013
Lucy will be doing a series of paintings
inspired by Italian portraits, specifically
those related to marriage, created during
the 15th century by Renaissance artists
such as Piero della Francesca, Antonio and
Piero del Pollaiuolo, Fra Filippo Lippi, and
Boticelli.
Liza Schalch:
Attending a 7-day Oxford University
Teacher seminar in Oxford, England,
June/July 2013
The seminar will inform and revive her
pedagogical approach to teaching Shakespeare.
Examining Shakespeare’s life and
plays, it explores how they’ve been revised
and re-written over the centuries and how
teachers can illuminate Shakespeare’s plays
through performance in the classroom.
Partially funded Projects:
Doug Jones:
Chaperone to Greece, June 2013
Doug considers these trips to be invaluable to
teaching both Latin and Geometry, because
of the connections he can make between the
classical world and these subjects. He also
enjoys introducing the wonders of the classical
world to his students.
Stephanie Mastroianni:
Co-chaperone to Belize, March 2014
The trip is part of the “Exploration Latin
America” elective that Susan Moffatt will
teach next year. Stephanie has taught an
extensive Maya curriculum, and she will be
a guest speaker providing insight on Mayan
culture and its roots in Belize.
Don Swanbeck:
Independent study of Western art and artifacts
in France, July 2013
Don will travel to Paris to view classical sites
such as the Louvre and cathedrals such as
St. Denis. He will also visit other northern
French landmarks from Roman, Carolingian,
and medieval Christian cultures.
Julia Taylor:
Attending a Global Connections seminar in
Bogota, Colombia, July 2013
Global Connections brings together school
leaders to learn from each other, to explore
international schools and build connections
to promote a more global perspective at their
home schools.
John Yankee:
Attending the Chorus America Annual Conference,
June 2013
The conference will give John access to individuals,
and resources that address and support
the wide range of ensembles he directs
and teaches.
18

The GAM
Falmouth Academy
7 Highfield Drive
Falmouth, MA 02540
508-457-9696
NON-PROFIT
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
OSTERVILLE, MA
02655
PERMIT #3
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Falmouth Academy Summer Programs Begin July 1!
Visit: http://tinyurl.com/2013FAsummerprograms
For More Information