Janella Brand - Holy Innocents' Episcopal School

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School 

TORCHBEARER 

a pu b l i c a t i o n f o r p a r e n t s , a l u m n i a n d f r i e n d s o f h o l y i n n o c e n t s ’ e p i s c o p a l s c h o o l 

Janella 

Brand 

Retiring After 

31 Wonderful Years 

THINK GLOBALLY, 

ACT GLOBALLY 

SERVICE WORK 

ON THE ROAD WITH 

THE DEFENDING STATE CHAMPS 

CONGRATS! 

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN COMPLETE 

SPRING 2008 | volume V | issue 4

Gala 2008 

The Gala Committee out for A Night In The Orient 

Pie The Principal Day 

Lower School Assistant Principal Mr. Greg Kaiser, in his best “Pie-rate” outfit, wears his 

Cool-Whip well, rewarding those students who completed their Accelerated Reader programs. 

Left to right: Charles Schoen, Dana Ponder, Aimee Malcolm, Sana Thomas, Towns Paolucci, Anne Harris, Carrey Burgner, Anna Pfohl, Julie McNeil, Kathy Sullivan, 

Vanessa Birdwell, Lori Snellings, Karen Fallon, Cheryl Hix, Stacy Scott, Stephanie Ungashick. 

2 | torchbearer Spring 2008 

torchbearer Spring 2008 | 3

Storm Damage 

State Of The School Luncheon 

Past and present school leaders, Mr. Elliot Galloway, Mrs. Dorothy Sullivan and Mr. Kirk Duncan share thoughts at the State of the School reception. 

A fierce storm swept through Atlanta on the morning of February 26th, bringing down trees and power lines throughout the city. Our campus did not escape unscathed. 



Mission Statement 


develops in students a love of 

learning, respect for self and others, 

faith in God, and a sense of service 

to the world community. 

Nathan Johnson 

is one happy 

hopper at 

Lower School 

Field Day 

School Philosophy 


offers an educational program 

encompassing academics, arts, athletics 

and spiritual formation. Through 

opportunities to grow intellectually, 

spiritually, physically and emotionally, 

students develop their individual worth 

and dignity. The challenging academic 

program prepares students for higher 

education and emphasizes learning as a 

pathway toward ethical leadership and 

a commitment to the common good. 

The school provides a welcoming 

and supportive environment, embraces 

the differences inherent in a diverse 

community, and embodies the inclusive 

Episcopal tradition of respect for the 

beliefs of others. Holy Innocents’ is an 

active community of faith engaged in 

local, national and international service 

to others. 

 

32 

contents 

torchbearer SPRING 2008 | volume v | issue 4 

EXECUTIVE EDITOR 

Nick Roberts 

MANAGING EDITOR/STAFF WRITER 

Mary Ryan Fink 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 

Dunn Neugebauer 

Bonnie Taylor 

Tamika Weaver-Hightower 

June Arnold 

Michele Duncan 

Mimi Strassner 

Judie Jacobs 

Wendy Jackson 

Erin Ainor 

Holly Raiford 

Mary Chris Williams 

GRAPHIC DESIGN 

Irby Heaton 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

Nick Roberts 

Mary Ryan Fink 

Alice Thompson 

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS 

Gemshots Photographic 

Bonnie Taylor 

Allyson Marbut 

Sam Hyde 

Letters to the Editor 

Please send to the attention of Nick Roberts, 

at nick.roberts@hies.org, or mail to: 

Nick Roberts 

Director of Communications 


805 Mt. Vernon Highway, NW 

Atlanta, GA 30327 

From the Editor 

Over the course of my career, I’ve changed jobs a number of times – moving between 

Advertising agencies to work on new accounts, teaching Marketing at a post-grad school, and 

taking a 3 ½ year “sabbatical” in Peace Corps. I’ve never worried whether I’d be able to perform 

the work waiting for me in my new job. I have always worried, though, whether the priorities and 

philosophies of my new employers might clash with my own. 

This was especially true for me last December when I accepted the Director of 

Communications position at Holy Innocents’. I had too much experience with schools whose 

missions seemed to be their endowments, and educators more concerned with their careers 

than their students. I know what a great school looks like – my wife works for one, as did my 

mom. But I’ve also seen some of my son’s friends graduate woefully unprepared for the next 

stage of their lives – and in my opinion, it wasn’t their fault. 

So I took things slowly. I watched and listened and tried to gauge the effects of a Holy 

Innocents’ education on the students receiving it. 

Now, nearly six months later, I can honestly say that I’ve never known any school whose 

priorities I more admire and whose mission and philosophy I agree with so completely. I am 

continually impressed by how Holy Innocents’ prepares children and teens for success – and not 

just in the college classroom, but in the world, and at any endeavor they might choose to pursue. 

Over these few months, I have marveled at the academic insights coming from students of all 

grade levels, their genuine commitment to community service, their artworks and performances, 

their poise and confidence, and their eagerness to engage the world beyond their classrooms. 

There’s no great mystery why this is the case. You need only look to the cooperation between 

the school and its parents. Politics and personal agendas seem nonexistent on this campus. 

The Laptop Program and Accelerated Reader Program, to name two of the many remarkable 

ideas that foster learning here, have reaped huge dividends precisely because the motivation 

behind them is to create opportunity instead of publicity. And I can’t wait to see what happens 

with the new Global Citizenship Program beginning next year. 

Finally, our entire community’s commitment to the Episcopal Mission of acceptance, inclusion, 

commonality and exploration has simply created the ideal atmosphere for talented, young 

minds. 

The Episcopal Church has a one-word slogan that you’ll find on every parish sign – 

“Welcome.” I can’t think of a more appropriate summation of what I’ve experienced here. I feel 

truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to join in your community. 

Nick Roberts 

Cover Story: 

An enduring, loved and loving presence 

since 1977, Ms. Janella Brand will be missed. 

26 

22 

38 

Baseball Diaries 

26 One man’s travels with the defending state 

champs 

Service Work 

When our students see a need, they 

32 

also see opportunity 

Global Initiative 

Holy Innocents’ increases focus on international 

38 

study, relationship and development 

48 

a r t i c l e s 

f e a t u r e s 

Film Festivals 

Young Spielbergs strut their stuff on the silver 

screen 

15 | The Political Season 

16 | Science Olympiad 

31 | Remembering Red Smith 

50 | Spring Sports Recap 

c o l u m n s 

36 | Principal’s Corner 

66 | From the Head of School 

d e v e l o p m e n t 

17 | Capital Campaign Draws To A Close 

21 | Alumni Catch-ups 

42 | Volunteer Reception, Gala and more 

58 | From the Development Office 

61 | Class Notes 

TorchBearer is published by the Offices of Admissions, Communications and Development of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School. Special appreciation goes to the parents, faculty and staff whose 

contributions make this publication possible. Every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy within this magazine. Please notify the editor of any errors or omissions and accept our sincere apologies. 

6 | torchbearer Spring 2008 torchbearer Spring 2008 | 7

History Class 

Holy Innocents’ Through The Years 

50 Years Ago: 1958: Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church completes its 

new church building on Mount Vernon Highway in Sandy Springs. The parish had been 

located at Spring and 16th Streets since 1886, but was forced to move because it stood 

right in the path of the government’s new interstate highway project (I-75/85). Planning 

begins for a parish pre-school. 

25 Years Ago: July 1, 1983: 

Mrs. Alice Malcolm becomes the new 

Head of School at Holy Innocents’. Mrs. 

Malcolm had been Dean of Students since 

1972. She had taught Art at HIES since the 

school first opened in September, 1959. 

15 Years Ago: 1993: A 

Middle and Upper school gymnasium is 

completed. 

10 Years Ago: 1998: The 

Alan A. Lewis Pre-School building opens. 

Janella Brand accepts the position as its 

first principal. 

5 Years Ago: June 1, 2003: 

Kirk Duncan is named the 8th Head of 

School of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal 

School. 


AROUND CAMPUS 

Uno, dos, 

tres, cuatro… 

Upper School Spanish teacher Ken 

Kiser is well known around campus for his 

teaching, coaching and omnipresent grin. 

But when an email circulated inviting people 

to his “performance” at Eddie’s Attic, the 

well-known music venue in Decatur, it took 

many of his friends by surprise. 

“I’ve been playing music forever,” explains 

Mr. Kiser, who recorded his self-titled CD of 

folk songs last year (it’s available on ITunes 

and Amazon). When asked how he became 

a folk artist, Mr. Kiser replies, “Well, I was 

in this great jam band in college – but we 

graduated and went our separate ways, so it 

just became me and my guitar.” So much for 

divine inspiration. 

Mr. Kiser hopes to return to the studio 

soon. “I’m always writing,” he says. “I find 

that if I listen to a lot of different music – but 

most importantly, if I’m reading a lot, like 

novels and poetry – it just gets the juices 

flowing. I take an idea or image, or just a 

nice phrase from something I’ve read, and 

put it through my own ‘Ken Kiser’ filter and 

it comes out as something different. But I 

make no apologies – we’re all just giving our 

perspective on things.” 

Mr. Kiser – we hear you. 

J.B. Meathe was off to a slow start at 

Bobby Jones Golf Course. The 8th grader 

had bogeyed the first hole and barely 

saved par at number two. 

“I didn’t feel like I was playing well,” he 

said. Then he stepped to the tee on the 

164-yard, par 3 third. “I hit a choked down 

6-iron,” remembers J.B. “It looked good in 

the air and nearly landed right in the cup, 

then bounced past the pin. But there’s a 

DANIEL WHITE 

The erudite grease monkey. 

English teachers aren’t normally 

concerned with speed. They want us to 

communicate effectively and enjoy the 

world of literature – at whatever pace we’re 

comfortable. 

So take your time with the following 

sentence: Upper School English teacher 

Daniel White races Rotax-class karts, watercooled, 

two-stroke powerplants producing 

28 horsepower and revving to 13,500 rpms., 

with a top-speed over 100-miles per hour. 

Not exactly War and Peace, but it’s pretty 

interesting, don’t you think 

It turns out Mr. White has always loved 

racing – he’s a big fan of the Formula One 

and Indycar circuits and has gone to the 

Indianapolis 500 a number of times. He ran 

his first race last March and realized his 

dreams on the track. “My wife Angela has 

been very supportive. My first time on the 

track was an experience we’ll treasure.” 

So what draws someone to race a go-kart 

that can go over 100 mph “I have plenty 

of opportunities to engage in my emotional, 

creative side as an English teacher,” says 

Mr. White. “Racing takes a completely 

different mental approach. It is a lot more 

than mashing the gas and turning left 

and right; it’s a discipline that integrates 

all aspects of the learning process to 

perform at a high level. And I love engaging 

my rational, technical side. It’s all about 

integrating classical thinking with romantic 

thinking.” 

Well, at least he still sounds like an 

English teacher. 

8th Grade Golfer Comes Up Aces 

big slope in the back of the green, and 

it rolled back down and dropped in the 

hole.” 

For the record, this wasn’t even J.B.’s 

first ace. “I’ve had two on par 3 courses, 

but never on a regular course,” he said. 

J.B. isn’t just a “one-hit” wonder. He 

played the next six holes at one-under and 

is one of the school’s top golfers as an 8th 

grader. 

Felicitaciones 

to Ms. Lopez 

Upper School Spanish teacher Ms. Lisa 

Lopez joined the American Association 

of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese 

(AATSP) less than a year ago. So why is 

she slated to give a speech at their annual 

convention in San Jose, Costa Rica this 

July 

“They e-mailed that the deadline for 

proposals for the annual conference was 

coming up. Since I like to write, I decided to 

send one in.” And just like that, Ms. Lopez 

learned the way to San Jose. 

Her proposal is titled “Revolutionizing 

Space in Language Classrooms,” In it, she 

explains that, “Classrooms haven’t evolved 

much since the 1800s,” despite significant 

changes in technology and lifestyle. Her 

idea includes kitchenettes and mirrored 

body-movement areas. “The traditional 

furniture is out,” she says. “The new focus 

would be on our five senses and the four 

planes of existence – physical, mental, 

spiritual and emotional.” 

Ms. Lopez is, of course, very excited 

to have been chosen to speak at the 

convention. “I have to do a 30-minute 

presentation to fellow Spanish and 

Portuguese teachers from around the 

world,” she says. “It’s scary, but I’m looking 

forward to it.” 

Tropical Service 

Over Spring Break, 14 Upper School 

students and two faculty chaperones visited 

the tropics, but not to hit the beach. They 

spent their time in service to the people 

of Costa Rica, spending several days 

teaching math and English at Escuela 

Nuevo Amanecer, an elementary school in 

Pocora, Costa Rica. They also delivered a 

large quantity of classroom and playground 

supplies they had purchased prior to the trip. 

Sophomore A.P. Taylor was glowing— 

and it wasn’t from sunburn—about the 

Mr. Kimeli Naiyomah was in New York 

City on September 11, 2001. He visited Holy 

Innocents’ this past April 16th. Between these 

two dates, Mr. Naiyomah did something 

extraordinary – so much so that our school’s 

favorite children’s author, Carmen Deedy, 

decided to write a book about it. 

Ms. Deedy’s new book, 14 Cows For 

America, tells the story of Mr. Naiyomah’s 

returning to his Maasai homeland in Kenya 

and telling the people about the huge fires 

he’d witnessed on the day we now know 

simply as “9-11,” the sight of people jumping 

from tall buildings and the enormous clouds 

of debris sweeping through the city. Most of 

his audience did not know what a skyscraper 

was. They’d only seen jet airplanes trailing 

white lines across the sky, 30,000 feet 

overhead. 

But through Mr. Naiyomah’s story, the 

Maasai understood that the American people 

had been wounded, were in pain, and 

were afraid of what lay ahead. “I know my 

people, I know they are merciful,” said Mr. 

Naiyomah. “They can be fierce and deadly 

when provoked - but they are also the type 

of people who can easily cry for the pain of 

other people.” 

So the Maasai decided to help in the only 

way they know. They donated a portion of 

their wealth to help America recover from the 

tragedy - 14 Zebu cattle, their most valuable 

possessions. 

Along with HIES 2nd grade teacher and 

Director of the Accelerated Reader program 

Ms. Susan Rapoport, Ms. Deedy convinced 

AROUND CAMPUS 

This summer, Upper 

School History teacher 

Ms. Claire Logsdon 

will spend a week 

with a day that lives in infamy. She plans to 

attend the conference Pearl Harbor: History, 

Memory, Memorial to examine one of the 

monumental moments in American history 

while that history is still alive. 

At the conference, she’ll hear survivors 

of the Japanese attack recount the events 

of December 7th, 1941, as well as visit 

Hickam Airfield and the Pearl Harbor naval 

museums. 

Ms. Logsdon knows that both she and 

her students will benefit from her trip. “The 

best teachers are the ones who experience 

history firsthand,” she says. “I’ll be able to 

share what I learn with my students and 

hopefully make this part of history come 

alive for them.” 

Carmen Deedy Introduces Her Inspiration 

Mr. Kimeli Naiyomah addresses the assembly 

experience. “The kids were so nice.” she 

enthused, “They all wrote me thank-you 

notes, and the teacher even gave me a gift.” 

EARTH University (Escuela de Agricultura 

de la Región Tropical Húmeda), a private, 

non-profit university dedicated to education 

in the agricultural sciences and natural 

resources, helped coordinate the efforts 

of the HIES students, as well as their 

housing. EARTH University is located in 

Guacimo, with the foundation’s headquarters 

in Atlanta. 

History in 

Paradise 

Mr. Naiyomah to come to Holy Innocents’ 

so he could tell his story, which he did at the 

April assembly. While he spoke, you’d never 

have known another person was in the gym, 

as the students sat silently enrapt by the 

details of Mr. Naiyomah’s life and his journeys 

since 9-11. 

As for the cattle – they have since doubled 

in number, so the United States is now 

the proud owner of 28 Zebu cattle. Our 

government has reciprocated by offering 

scholarships to seven boys and seven girls 

from Mr. Naiyomah’s village—one for each of 

the original fourteen cows. 

Carmen Deedy 


AROUND CAMPUS 

French 

Made Easy 

Ms. Joanne Thomas 

is a presence, both 

in the classroom and 

online. The Middle 

School French teacher 

created three textbooks 

– then posted them on 

the internet – to give 

her students better 

language resources. 

She began the 

project when Upper 

School Principal Mr. 

Chris Durst asked if 

she could teach French 

without a book. “I knew 

I could,” said Ms. Thomas. “I write my own 

notes and activities, but then it hit me that 

not only could I teach without a textbook, I 

could write one.” 

With the Greenbaum Grant, she traveled 

with three of her students to France to 

ensure her lessons were current. After the 

trip, her books went public. 

Since its debut, the site has not only been 

a hit for Americans, but it’s also had visitors 

from over 60 countries. “I’m excited that the 

information is available for the students,” 

said Ms. Thomas. “And it’s nice to know 

that people from South Africa, Guatemala 

and Latvia are using it, too.” 

To see her work, go to: 

http://ahbon.wikispaces.com/, 

http://fifthgradefrench.wikispaces.com/ or 

http://seventhgradefrench.wikispaces.com/. 

Six members of the Holy Innocents’ 

family belong to that elite fraternity 

known as People Who’ve Run 

Marathons. And they all have 

interesting outlooks on their 

races. 

Math teacher/cross country 

coach Mr. Mike Daly, who has run 

15 marathons, says, “The big carrot is to 

qualify for Boston, and try I did. Finally in 

Huntsville, I ran a 2:58 and made it!” 

Administrative Assistant Mr. Dunn 

Neugebauer has run 14 marathons, 

including three Bostons. He especially 

remembers Jacksonville in ’93, his first. “I 

wasn’t a nice person those last six miles,” 

says Mr. Neugebauer. “Life is short until the 

last part of a marathon.” 

Assistant swim coach Ms. Haley Chura, 

who ran a 3:32 in her first Boston Marathon 

this April, remembers her first time meeting 

‘The Wall.’ “It hit me right on schedule – 

Strength and conditioning coach Mr. 

Peter Tongren knows Dodgeball. Not only 

is he a three-time national champion, 

but he also appeared in the 2004 movie, 

“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.” 

“I got Vince Vaughn out,” Mr. Tongren 

says with a smile. 

His experience on the Silver Screen took 

Mr. Tongren and some of his championship 

teammates to Hollywood three times. “First 

we helped choreograph the actual dodgeball 

scenes,” he said. “Then we went for some 

preliminary filming. The third time was live 

Visiting Spain Before Math 

Sixth graders in Ms. Eliza Suarez’s Spanish 

class didn’t need a field trip to discover the 

wonders of Spanish culture. They simply 

turned their own classroom into a Spanish 

museum, with student-made exhibits of 

bull stadiums, architecture, art, and even a 

restaurant with authentic Spanish recipes to 

taste. 

“They really did a great job researching 

their exhibits and put a lot of effort into 

creating them,” says Ms. Suarez. “Learning 

a language is much easier – and a lot more 

fun - when you can see all your lessons in a 

cultural context.” 

Ms. Suarez’s students have also 

connected with students in Spain via “E-Pals” 

and shared photos of their museum with their 

Chief Running Bears 

mile 20,” Ms. Chura says. “My legs, my 

arms, my brain – they all just quit. I tried 

counting steps, singing songs – anything 

to take my mind off of running.” 

Other HIES marathoners include Ms. 

Chura’s mom, Upper School teacher 

and swim coach Elizabeth Chura, 

Lower School assistant Ms. Jennifer 

Brown and Fine Arts Director Mr. 

Joshua McClymont. 

Mr. McClymont is the speediest Bear, 

turning in a 2:36 (wow!) last fall in Houston. 

“Training consumes me. It affects my eating, 

my sleeping, everything” he says. “But after 

four months of logging hundreds of miles, 

I’m ready to toe the line and get this baby 

going.” 

There are undoubtedly more marathons in 

store for Elizabeth and Haley Chura, Jennifer 

Brown and Joshua McClymont. Mr. Daly 

and Mr. Neugebauer, however, insist they’ve 

retired. 

Tongren Goes Hollywood 

new amigos. Depending on who you listen 

to, the museum was either “awesome” or 

“divertido.” 

takes in costume.” 

In the movie, Tongren 

can be seen in the 

semifinal round against 

the Average Joes, as well 

as a few ‘quick takes.’ 

So what’s it like to see 

yourself in a movie “It 

wasn’t as exciting as I 

thought it would be,” he says. “I’d seen the 

whole movie long before it was released. 

But the first time I saw it in a theater was still 

pretty neat.” 

Ms Eliza Suarez and her class 

One Good Turn 

Deserves Another 

With three languages at his disposal, Mr. 

Gerard Gatoux is rarely at a loss for words. 

But when the senior class chose him as 

honorary Tassel Turner for their graduation 

ceremonies, he was – quite temporarily – 

speechless. 

“What a wonderful surprise,” said Mr. 

Gatoux afterwards, fully recovered. “I’ve 

always supported these students in and out 

of the classroom, and I’ve really enjoyed 

watching them grow and mature. We’ve gone 

on mission trips and have a lot of memories 

together. One of my favorites is the time we 

were volunteering in Reynosa, Mexico, and 

they all dyed their hair.” 

In keeping with tradition, the Tassel Turner 

is kept secret until its announcement at a 

special chapel service. Mr. Gatoux, unaware 

that he was this year’s honoree, listened in 

anticipation of the announcement. When 

asked if he’d had a hunch that he might be 

chosen, he hesitantly admitted, “Well, I had 

hoped.” 

Connor Thompson, Dalyan Kilic, Tal Kelsey, Henry Odom 

Katie Cross, Kennan Luther, Jasmine Brooks 

AROUND CAMPUS 

Heart of Service 

This summer, rising junior A.P. Taylor will multiple vaccinations 

join a two-month mission trip with Teen and must take antimalarial 

medication 

Missions International to work with Ugandan 

orphans – helping to build a meeting hall for before, during and 

them and teaching basketball. The civil war after the trip. 

that has raged in Uganda for over twenty As daunting as 

years has left many displaced and orphaned the environment 

children in its wake, and their plight speaks might seem, what 

to A.P.’s spirit of service. 

makes A.P. nervous, 

““People in the U.S. might be down on besides the thought 

their luck or have difficulties, but there is that snakes might 

usually something they can do about it,” slither into her tent, 

says A.P. “That isn’t true in Uganda.” is the question of 

A member of the Varsity Basketball team, how all the teens will 

A.P. looks forward to sharing the game get along. “I hate drama,” she explains. “I 

with the young children. She is also excited just want to go and get some work done. A 

about visiting exotic cities like Entebbe lot of people want to go to Africa, but just to 

and Kampala, as well as Jinja, site of the go, not to work.” 

headwaters of the Nile. 

Her experience on the recent HIES 

The trip is preceded by a weeklong ‘boot mission to Costa Rica and this ambitious 

camp’, where the volunteers will receive trip are part A.P.’s plans for possible Peace 

cultural sensitivity and personal safety Corps service after college. But while her 

training. Their accommodations 

future has yet to take shape, one thing is for 

will be rugged— 

sure—some Ugandan children are going to 

tents and bucket baths. And they need play some good basketball this summer. 

To Russia With Love 

Some children in Moscow couldn’t make it 

to Stacy Bubes’ bat mitzvah. But they still 

want to thank her for including them in her 

celebration. 

“My cousin Charlie was adopted from 

Russia, and I’ve seen pictures of where he 

lived,” Stacy said. “The building was really 

old and dilapidated.” So for her mitzvah 

project, a philanthropic option for Jewish 

children coming of age, she raised $7,000 

and gathered loads of toys for Charlie’s 

old orphanage, the Ryazan Baby House in 

Moscow. 

The money helped buy much-needed 

new windows. “The windows were cracked 

and really needed to be repaired,” says 

Stacy. “It gets so cold there in winter, and orphans in Moscow. “If you don’t have 

when one child gets sick from the cold, they parents, you don’t have anything,” she says. 

all get sick.” 

“I’m lucky that I do, but there are still kids 

These days Charlie’s life is a lot different, out there who don’t. I’m just glad I got the 

but Stacy hasn’t forgotten all the other chance to help.” 

Peter Myer, Madison Collins, Anne Claire Pittman, Madeleine Gibson 

Katherine Correll, Samantha Glover, 

Ane Wanliss, Grant Wilmer 


BIG BEAR ON CAMPUS 

With this issue of TorchBearer, we introduce 

the Big Bear on Campus award. The BBOC 

is not intended to showcase extraordinary 

accomplishments or individual expertise. 

Instead, it will recognize students and staff 

who make our school unique – who always 

seem to be in the middle of things and 

contribute that special, intangible element 

that creates Holy Innocents’. 

With that in mind, we proudly introduce 

the inaugural Big Bears on Campus: 

The Political Season 

HIES Students Hot On Political Trails 

Upper and Middle School students watch closely as the 2008 Presidential campaign unfolds. 

Who: 

GARY KLINGMAN 

8th grade History teacher and advisor 

Why: An outstanding educator who is involved at Holy Innocents’ to 

the ‘n th ’ degree. 

Mr. Klingman_________________________. 

a. Sponsors the Student Council 

b. Leads part of the Recycling Club 

c. Is Head Coach of MS Cross Country 

d. Is Assistant MS. Track Coach 

e. Sponsored the MS Film Festival 

f. Organized and led MS Mock Convention 

g. Holds technology classes for his colleagues 

(this wasn’t a question – all the answers are true) 

What you may not know about him: 

He lets loose on class trips. On last year’s 8th grade excursion, his 

students nominated him to be a featured dancer at the Polynesian 

Night Luau, and he accepted graciously. 

Something you should know about him: 

The balance of power in his classroom has shifted, and his students 

are in charge of teaching. 

Colleague quotes: 

“If Mr. Klingman were a color, it would be a loud and bold primary 

one.” 

“Many of the innovative, new, exciting and cool events in the Middle 

School are traceable directly back to him.” 

His favorite memories at Holy Innocents’ are: 

Working with the Student Council and traveling to the Apple 

conference with the Technology Department to see the iPhone 

unveiled. 

Favorite quote: 

“I think, therefore I am.”-René Descartes 

Our thanks to Mr. Klingman for thinking and being, because without 

him, the Middle School most assuredly wouldn’t be the same. 

Who: 

DANIEL BLAUSTEIN 

Senior 

Why: A leader by example who is connected to his community 

and, despite numerous honors and accolades, remains 

grounded and genuine. 

Details: 

• Captain of basketball team 

• Captain of State Champion Baseball team 

• National Honor Society 

• Mu Alpha Theta 

• Trinity House volunteer 

• Atlanta Children’s Shelter volunteer 

What you should know: 

When he was a little boy, he dreamt of being: a baseball player. 

These days, he dreams of being: a baseball player. 

Favorite classes: 

AP Statistics, Government and Economics 

Favorite book: 

The Horse is Dead 

Favorite quote: 

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are 

a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” Mark Twain 

There’s no doubt, however, about his remarkable character. 

Congratulations, Daniel, on being named our inaugural Big Bear on 

Campus. We look forward to hearing great things from you for years 

to come. 

Diane Bucher, Alexis Stewart, 

Keller Donnell, Molly Suttles, 

Grace Chambless, Blair Touzet, 

Katie Cross 

Holy Innocents’ 

has gone into 

politics. And 

thanks to the 

candidate-following 

and platformscrutinizing 

projects 

that the Upper and Middle Schools have 

done this year, students have become quite 

familiar with the process. 

In the Upper School, history teachers Mr. 

Quinton Walker and Ms. Claire Logsdon 

have been stressing the importance of 

staying current. They’ve kept abreast of 

political happenings by charting caucuses 

and writing letters, even voting as a class on 

Super Tuesday. “Not everyone could vote 

with us because some students are still 17,” 

said Ms. Logsdon. “But the ones who could, 

did, and even wore the ‘I voted’ sticker for 

the rest of the day.” 

Their youthful enthusiasm is a strong 

indication that the young voter has returned. 

“The students have been really excited 

and will ask me in the mornings if I saw 

the results of the last night’s debate” Ms. 

Logsdon said. “It’s great that they’re so into 

it, because at their age, I don’t think I was.” 

Taking an interest in politics puts students 

in the know and sets a great precedent for 

the future. “Closely watching the process is 

necessary because it gets students in the 

habit of being regular news followers,” said 

Mr. Walker. “They know what’s going on, 

Charlie Robertson and Phillip Jones 

represent Illinois 

The candidates: 

Clint Dolan, Sarah Venable, Jaya McFarland 

The Great State of Michigan 

enters the convention 

who’s running and 

have become even 

more familiar with 

the American political 

landscape.” 

But while the Upper 

School students were 

studying the landscape, the Middle School 

students were living it. Led by Middle School 

History teacher Mr. Gary Klingman, students 

explored the electoral college’s role in a 

presidential election. Their Mock Convention 

project involved hands-on approach, with 

students serving as de facto delegates, 

voting electronically and creating their own 

platforms. 

During their Convention assembly, they 

announced their votes and listened to 

an actual convention delegate, Mrs. Jan 

Hackney, speak of her own experience vying 

for a congressional seat. 

“The students will definitely remember 

what we did with Mock Convention because 

they experienced it in so many ways,” said 

Mr. Klingman. “They analyzed platforms, 

thoughtfully selected candidates and listened 

to someone who will actually hold a seat at 

the Democratic convention in Denver. Not 

everyone gets to take in politics quite like 

that.” 

Regardless of what happens in November, 

Holy Innocents’ students have learned the 

excitement of being in the party. 


Science Olympiad 

Olympians 

Take The 

Competition 

Off The 

Field 

LIVING OUR MISSION 

Mission Accomplished 

Living Our Mission Campaign Exceeds Its Goal 

With The Help Of Generous Friends And Donors 

Diane Bucher, Alexis Stewart, 

Keller Donnell, Molly Suttles, 

Grace Chambless, Blair Touzet, 

Katie Cross 

Amanda Turner, Payton Anderson and Carson McGorry celebrate with their team’s trophy 

Akul Munjal and Doug Kruse 

with the Olympiad robot 

In 2008, not all Olympic games will be 

held in Beijing. 

Earlier this year, another group of Olympic 

contenders vied for medals right here in 

Georgia at the Middle School Science 

Olympiad competition. 

The Holy Innocents’ team, led by Science 

Department Chair Ms. Janet Silvera and 8th 

grade Physical Science teacher Mr. James 

Jackson, first competed in the regional 

competition where the two HIES teams 

finished 2nd and 4th, and then to state, 

where they secured 4th place. 

With success like this, it’s no wonder 

that the team has earned itself a reputation. 

“People talk about us – and know when 

we’re coming to their competition,” said Mr. 

Jackson. “It’s a great feeling to know that 

your opponent considers you when he’s 

preparing.” 

Holy Innocents’ preps for the competition 

for the better part of the year. Coaches 

make themselves available during off 

periods, and this year, the students spent 

the Martin Luther King holiday and a few 

Saturdays hard at work. 

To ensure the students have the best 

possible training, coaches call on additional 

science experts for help. In-house go-to’s 

Mr. Dave Heidel, Upper School Chemistry 

teacher and Mr. Mike Poley, Upper School 

Science teacher, advise students in their 

respective areas. Parents have also been 

known to pull some weight, and next year’s 

roster will feature past Olympians who’ll 

share their experiences with the up-andcomers. 

“It says a lot that we have Upper School 

students who are willing to come back and 

coach their old events,” said Ms. Silvera. 

“Their commitment was great when they 

were on the team, and it’s very impressive 

that they continue to be involved.” 

The program benefits a student’s overall 

academic development, and almost all 

Olympiad participants will win an award 

at some point in their academic careers. 

“Science Olympiad relies on self-motivation, 

challenges work ethic and sharpens 

analytical thinking,” Ms. Silvera states. 

“And those skill sets aren’t just pertinent to 

science competitions; they’ll help students 

succeed, no matter what they end up 

doing.” 

Kaki Bennett and Ian Gresov 

E.J. Thurmond, Ane Wanliss 

Congratulations, everyone. February marked 

the completion of HIES’ Living our Mission 

Capital Campaign. This three and a half 

year effort surpassed its goal of $17 million, 

securing over $17.6 million from a total of 

1,064 gifts and pledges, making LOM the 

largest capital campaign in school history. 

“It’s amazing what we’ve done,” said 

Head of School Mr. Kirk Duncan. “To watch 

the campaign from its inception to its end 

has been remarkable. And to see how the 

school has physically changed because of 

our combined efforts just shows that we’re 

moving in the right direction.” 

The campaign’s outcome is quite visible 

around campus – it includes the 41,000 

square foot Fred Rowan Family Middle 

School building, a 28,000 square foot 

gymnasium, eleven acres of athletic fields 

and the Mt. Vernon Highway pedestrian 

tunnel, the largest of its kind in the state of 

Georgia. Oh – and HIES added two million 

Dorothy Sullivan, Chris Durst, Sarah Rowan, Bernice Rowan, Fred Rowan, Kirk Duncan 

dollars to its endowment. 

Holy Innocents’ received its largest 

donation ever from the Rowan family, 

who led the giving with two million 

dollars. The Been family, the Robert W. 

Woodruff Foundation and two anonymous 

contributors followed suit with gifts of a 

million dollars or more. 

While the large contributions head the 

list, the entire Holy Innocents’ community 

was needed for the campaign to succeed. 

“I think a lot of people don’t realize how 

powerful individual giving is,” said Michele 

Duncan, Director of Development. “It’s the 

totality of all gifts that brings you to your 

goal, and it really says a lot about our school 

that we had such a tremendous effort.” 

Kirk Duncan, Head of School, agrees. 

“Campaigns like these are so important 

because they start a ripple effect. Donors 

give contributions which directly benefit 

the students. Then they, with more tools 

and resources at their disposal, get a better 

education and are in better positions to 

help those around them. The giving spirit 

is infectous, and it sparks people to action, 

which is really what our Episcopal mission is 

all about.” 


TOP OF MIND 

1. What I like best about going to Holy Innocents’ is _____________________________________________________________________ 

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2. My favorite class is ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

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3. What I look forward to most all year is ________________________________________________________________________________________ 

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4. I am usually asleep for the first ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

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__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________mins./hrs. when school starts. 

5. If I could nominate one person to do my homework, it would be _________________________________________ 

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6. I would never eat the ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

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7. How many times have you been late to school this year ________________________________________________________ 

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8. My favorite team to beat is _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

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You Know You’re At 

Holy Innocents’ When… 

You see the seniors trying to park around poles in the senior parking lot. 

You see baseball players doing yoga at 6:45 in the morning. 

You walk down the hallways and everyone 

smiles and knows your name. 

You arrive at Holy Innocents’.... duh! 

You see so many smiling faces in the hallways. 

You’re able to make friendships with people you normally 

wouldn’t at the drop of a hat. 

You get to school. 

You walk down the halls and see all the crimson and white shirts. 

You hear the rooster cheer. 

You see Señor Gatoux smiling when he walks through the hallways. 

You hear boys making Yoshi noises. 

Everyone knows you. 

You hear techno and Mario Kart sound effects 

blasting from the Senior Commons. 

The Seniors are blasting the song “What is Love” 

by Haddaway in the Commons. 

You walk into the 4th grade hallway, and it smells like 

a waste treatment plant. 

You hear the Seniors in the Commons playing music during 

the 15 minute break in the morning. 

You see your friends. 


ALUMNI CATCH UPS 

Catie Sweetwood ‘03 

Emily Weprich ‘03 

Jeff Campanella ‘03 

ALUMNI CATCH UPS 

Emily Weprich 

Once a Bear, Always a Bear 

After graduating from Indiana University 

with a degree in Sports Communication, 

Catie Sweetwood got an internship with the 

NFL’s Chicago Bears, handling marketing, 

publicity, special promotions and rowdy 

fans. 

But Catie was a Golden Bear long before 

she donned Chicago’s black and orange. 

A graduate of ’03, she played Lacrosse, 

ran Track and Field and swam for Holy 

Innocents’. Some of her favorite high 

school memories include sporting events 

and practices. “Sports were great because 

you played with everybody, and not just 

your grade,” Catie says. “You depended on 

underclassmen and upperclassmen and saw 

everyone as teammates.” 

She thanks Holy Innocents’ for preparing 

her for college and attributes much of her 

writing success to US English Chair Ms. Niki 

Simpson. “She was my favorite teacher,” 

Catie says. “She really pushed me, but I look 

back and appreciate it now. I still remember 

that she named her dogs Scout and Boo 

Radley after the characters in To Kill a 

Mockingbird.” 

Catie’s stint with the Chicago Bears 

ended this past season, but she continues in 

marketing with Lisa P. Maxwell, a branding 

and marketing agency where she helps 

manage new accounts. 

With sports in her past, in her bones and 

on her resume, she’s always open to an 

athletic career. “It’s something I’d never rule 

out,” Catie acknowledges. So while one day 

we may hear her on TV giving play by play, 

for now she’s happy cheering on her team. 

Go Bears! 

This And That 

For Emily Weprich, variety is the spice of life. 

An ’03 graduate, she began spicing it up in 

high school as a swimmer, lacrosse player and 

runner. “Sports were great because they built your 

confidence and were a good way to make friends,” 

Emily says. 

She also participated in Young Life and served as 

Class President and Homecoming Queen her Senior 

Year. “The Homecoming bonfire is one of my favorite 

memories. We actually picked up James Jackson, 

who was Student Body President, and carried him 

down to the fire.” 

After high school, Emily attended Auburn, where 

she continued to pile up extracurriculars. She 

trained in ROTC, competed in various pageants, 

was president of the women’s lacrosse team and 

auditioned for reality TV. 

Once a college grad, she traveled to Kuala 

Lumpur and Bali to backpack for two and a half 

weeks, and this past October, she ran the Chicago 

Marathon. 

Her most recent accomplishment was on the 

big screen as an extra in Tyler Perry’s The Family 

That Preys. “In the movie, I’m the girl talking to the 

guy wearing the pink tank top,” Emily says. “Kathy 

Bates and Alfre Woodard pass me when they walk 

into the bar.” 

And with her hands in a number of pots, her 

to-do list will only get longer. But, as we now know, 

that’s just how Emily keeps life spicy. 

Jeff Campanella,’03 acts out 

(in and around Birmingham) 

In high school, Jeff Campanella was a 

Halloween enthusiast, an athlete and skilled 

ping-pong player. While these traits still hold 

true, Jeff has incorporated another passion 

that also pays his bills. 

He’s an actor with eight plays and a 

Theater Degree from Auburn under his belt. 

He now works at the Birmingham 

Children’s Theater, where he occasionally 

touts the alias ‘Tom Sawyer’ and 

performs for large crowds of energetic 

kids – an audience of 1,200 isn’t unusual. 

“Performing in general can rack your nerves, 

and you’d think kids would be easier,” 

says Jeff. “But they aren’t. Especially when 

they’re screaming.” 

His company also goes on the road 

to bring theater to less affluent areas of 

Alabama, where schools often lack simple 

stage equipment. “When that happens, we 

adapt,” says Jeff, “but I like performing in 

those schools because the kids have less, 

and they appreciate you more.” 

Jeff also appreciates everyone who 

contributed to his Holy Innocents’ 

experience. “I remember I had Ms. Maney 

for math, who was wonderful,” Jeff 

recalls. “Ms. Danzig introduced me to The 

Outsiders, which is still my favorite book. 

And I loved playing P-square, which is like 

4-square in the Senior Commons. Everyone 

used to gather and watch us play.” 

In May, Jeff will move to New York and 

continue to hone his thespian skills. He’ll 

focus on acting, but will spend some 

time on ping-pong, too – so as to gain a 

reputation as the city’s fiercest player from 

Georgia. But if not, he’ll at least act like it. 

Jeff Campanella and Emily Weprich 

Jeff Campanella, 

James Jackson, 

Scott Seaborn, 

unidentified 


Feature 

One of our school’s most 

beloved educators 

announces her retirement. 

On June 1st, Janella Brand 

will leave Holy Innocents’ 

after 31 wonderful years. 

End Of An Era 

Jimmy Carter was in the White House – 

probably watching Roots with the rest of us. 

Because of some group named OPEC, the 

price of gasoline had jumped all the way to 

62 cents a gallon. Disco had simply taken 

over the airwaves. And Janella Brand began 

teaching 2nd grade 

at Holy Innocents’ 

Episcopal School. 

On that first day 

in 1977, just as she’s 

done every school day 

since, Janella met her 

students at her door. 

They probably thought 

she seemed nice 

enough. Little did they 

or their parents realize, 

though, what sort of 

effect this new teacher 

with the soft, southern 

accent would ultimately 

have on our school. 

It’s not that Holy 

Innocents’ would never 

be the same. Quite the 

contrary. With Janella 

setting the example, 

Holy Innocents’ has 

had the strength to 

remain consistent for over 30 years – a place 

where children will always feel safe and 

welcome and confident that they can do 

anything worth doing. 

Through good times and bad, up years 

and down, Janella has served as a sort of 

philosophical navigator – keeping us moving 

forward in the appropriate direction, steadily 

confident in our work and mission. Now, 

thirty-one years after she first came on 

board, our school’s mission is no longer in 

question, our philosophy no longer open to 

debate. Janella has pointed out the direction 

to us so many times that, finally, we no 

longer need to ask. 

But that doesn’t make her leaving any 

easier. As Head of School Kirk Duncan says, 

“It will be a void, but what she’s left here 

will continue to affect the school in a very 

positive way. We’ll all carry on her legacy.” 

The New 2nd Grade Teacher 

Holy Innocents’ was actually Janella’s 

fourth job teaching school. She began her 

career in the Atlanta Public School system, 

then taught in New Orleans and Little Rock 

as she and her 

husband Lee moved 

around the South in 

the first years of their 

marriage. 

Eventually, the 

young couple 

returned home to 

Atlanta with their 

young daughter 

Jenny. As fate 

would have it, Jenny 

became the reason 

Janella came to Holy 

Innocents’ in the 

first place. “At that 

time, the admissions 

process for 

Pre-School was little 

more than lining up 

over in the parking 

lot,” remembers 

Janella. “If you got 

there first, you got 

a number. They took 8 girls and 8 boys. 

We pulled into that lot at 4 AM and were 

fortunate enough to get the last space for 

one four-year old girl. We had a wonderful 

beginning for her here. I really liked what I 

saw and knew this was where I wanted to 

be when I went back to teaching.” 

From Kirk Duncan 

“I haven’t even thought about not having Janella here. There have been so many times over the last five years 

where I’ve just gone into her office and sat with her and just gained sustenance from her presence.” 



Feature 

From Janella 

On young children: 

“They are so honest and untouched – what 

they are to be, they’re now becoming. And it’s 

such a wonderful opportunity to be a part of 

the becoming.” 

Luckily, the right person was in place 

to make that happen. Dorothy Sullivan 

immediately recognized how the 

temperament and insight of Jenny’s mom 

Ginny Lewis and Gracie Northcutt 

share time with Janella. 

would be successful in the classroom. 

“Janella and Lee were very supportive 

parents,” remembers Dorothy, “which kind 

of starts the process of what we do and how 

we do it. She is so calming and gracious 

and slow to anger or criticize. She’s very 

centered and stable with a great deal of 

sweetness and a supportive nature about 

her. That was very apparent from the first 

time I met her.” 

And it has been apparent to every mom, 

dad and colleague Janella has worked with 

ever since. As Associate Head of School 

Rick Betts says, “Everybody who comes in 

contact with her comes away with a good 

feeling, a warm feeling. Even if it was a 

difficult conversation about a controversial 

subject, she has a way of calming the 

waters every time.” 

A Soft Touch 

When speaking of Janella, many people 

at HIES mention the same things – her 

caring, calm and nurturing way; her ability 

to defuse tension; her levelheadedness as 

Principal of the Alan A. Lewis Pre-School. 

But Janella didn’t come to Holy Innocents’ 

as a principal; she was hired as a 2nd grade 

Emily Menay 

teacher. And for the first 19 years of her 

tenure, that was her role. 

Dorothy Sullivan tells a story that sheds 

light on her friend’s teaching skills. “One 

of the things that can be hard on the 

administration of the Lower School is that 

parents request teachers, and of course, 

you can’t always accommodate. One year I 

had 39 parents want Janella as their child’s 

teacher. I thought it was a great honor for 

Janella that half of the whole community 

wanted her as their teacher – I’m sure the 

other half did too, but didn’t think to request 

it.” 

Ms. Heather Hahn ‘91 is one of a number 

of current Pre-School teachers who had 

Janella both as a 2nd grade teacher and 

now as a principal. “It’s taken me awhile to 

be able to call her ‘Janella’ – I still want to 

call her ‘Mrs. Brand,’” says Heather. “She’s 

always been a mentor of mine. Even when I 

left here after 8th grade, I would come back 

and visit Mrs. Brand. She really believed in 

the kids that she taught. She believed that 

we could do anything, could accomplish 

anything. And she still believes that.” 

Out of the classroom 

Janella’s 20th year at our school, 1996-97, 

was her first in a new position. “She was 

the first assistant principal ever at Holy 

Innocents’,” remembers Dorothy Sullivan. 

“It’s a job that involves a lot of discipline. 

Typically, discipline in Lower School is 

because of physical action – pushing or 

hitting or something – and it’s difficult for 

most people to keep emotions out of it. But 

From Dorothy Sullivan 

“(Janella) always put writing – not 

handwriting, but composition – at the very 

front of the fire. She wanted every 2nd 

grader to start that process of learning to 

write and enjoy expressing themselves. 

She would publish their works and bring in 

visiting writers. It was the strongest – and, I 

think it was to her the most important – part 

of her program. And it worked beautifully. 

And we got a lot of good writers out of that 

2nd grade program due to her work.” 

she was so fair and so patient with those 

children, trying to teach them ways of doing 

things that would keep them out of trouble. 

She never stopped teaching.” 

Janella remembers her time as Assistant 

Principal quite fondly. “I just loved being 

Assistant Principal because I knew the 

children. Part of my responsibility was to 

discipline them and everyone thought, 

‘oh well that’s just the world’s worst thing, 

you’re going to hate that.’ But it turned out 

to be quite a blessing, because I knew the 

students – I’d taught them in 2nd grade – 

and I could sort of tailor-make whatever we 

needed as far as discipline.” 

The role was short-lived, however, 

because in 1998, the new Alan A. Lewis 

Pre-School needed the right person to serve 

as Principal. “I don’t think there was even 

a consideration of doing a search,” says 

Dorothy Sullivan. “Sue Groesbeck just said 

‘I want Janella to do this,’ and everyone 

agreed. Really, there was no reason to look 

for anyone else.” 

It almost didn’t happen, though. “When 

they offered me the job here in Pre-School,” 

says Janella, “I almost didn’t take it, because 

I loved what I was doing so much in the 

Lower School. If I had not taken this job, 

though, I would have missed one of life’s 

greatest blessings. It is just so rewarding to 

be around these very young children and to 

be a part of it and see how it all starts out.” 

Those blessings go both ways, though, 

because it’s hard to imagine the Pre-School 

without Janella, either. As Rick Betts says, 

“Janella is one of those people who comes 

to personify an institution – she is the Alan A. 

Lewis Pre-School. They’re synonymous. “ 

In typical fashion, however, Janella 

deflects all credit for the sterling reputation 

of the Pre-School. “The support we get from 

our parents is really the reason we’ve had 

such success here. When a student realizes 

that his parents and teachers are working 

together, it develops a sense of respect and 

adds importance to the lessons and school 

environment,” she says. “And it allows us, 

as teachers, to nurture in a different way – a 

more personal way – which results in more 

opportunities and more teachable moments.” 

Graduation 

Feature 

The next school year will be the first 

since Gerald Ford was president without 

either Dorothy Sullivan or Janella Brand 

on campus. Some people are, of course, 

concerned about what that means, exactly. 

“On the one hand, it’s been a beautiful 

experience to work with both Janella and 

Dorothy. But for the school to lose both 

of them – that’s 60 years of HI experience 

leaving,” says Kirk Duncan. “And that’s 

tough for any organization – you’re never 

going to replace that. But what they’ve 

added here will always be here. They’ve 

created the Holy Innocents’ atmosphere 

and lived the philosophy. And those things 

– the intangibles that make our school so 

special – will forever bear their imprint. Long 

after the rest of us have moved on, Dorothy 

and Janella’s influence on this school will 

continue. And thank goodness for that.” 

From Rick Betts 

“A key piece of what she does is parent 

education. Particularly when the Pre-School 

student is the oldest child in the family – you 

know kids don’t come with instructions 

– and that Pre-School age, the first time 

the student leaves the nest, there’s some 

anxiety. And Janella has spent a great 

deal of time and effort helping parents to 

understand the developmental stages of 

children and what are proper expectations.” 

To the Members of the Holy Innocents’ Community 

I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you and my affection for you. During my many years here I have been blessed to be 

a part of this fine school. I will greatly miss the connections I have made with students, parents, colleagues and friends. You have touched my 

life in a wonderful way. I could recount pages of examples and stories of which you are a part. I have always felt supported by this strong faith 

community. My fond memories will serve to bolster and sustain me as I move into the next chapter of my life. 

The soul is healed by being with children. - Fyodor Dostoevsky 

Left: Corinne Bicknese, Olivia Stockert, My Bui,Janella Brand and Left to Right: Caroline Nick, Gia Cullens, Chase Pelletieri, Henry Reams 

24 | torchbearer Spring 2008 torchbearer Spring 2008 | 25 

Thank you, 

Mat Campbell

BASEBALL Diaries 


decisions! Be sharp! Take care of each 

other! And we’ll let the results take care of 

themselves.” Twenty heads nod in unison. 

They are wide-eyed, young, eager, immortal, 

ready for anything. 

Seniors Daniel Blaustein and Bentley 

Heyman are elected captains. Applause all 

around. 

Deal dismisses the team, reminding them 

to be in their rooms by midnight – TV’s off, 

iPods off, laptops off. Spring training, after 

all, starts tomorrow. 

“I’m excited. Right when 

it happened I didn’t feel 

pressure, but I knew it was 

time to step up.” 

Blaustein on being named captain 

On The Road 

With The Defending State Champs 

The obstacle is the path – Zen Proverb 

Friday, February 29, 2008 

Atlanta to Crystal River - 3:50 p.m. - Three 

15-passenger vans head out of Holy 

Innocents’ onto I-75 South as spring break 

begins. The Holy Innocents’ baseball team 

is off on its seven-day, five-game tour of 

Florida. The vans carry five coaches, twenty 

players, a journalist and a priest. They are 

sent off with a boxed lunch of a turkey 

sandwich, chips, a cookie and a dill pickle. 

Parents wish them well; players shut off 

their laptops, refrain from playing with their 

hackey sacks in the parking lot and board 

the buses by grade. Peer pressure, you see, 

still rules the day. 

The priest – Father John Porter – will act 

as General Manager of the Golden Bear 

team. I – the journalist – will be the bat boy. 

The trip is a “spring training,” if you will, for 

the defending state champion Golden Bear 

baseball team that will compete against 

some of Florida’s finest. The plan is to return 

in one week, all red-faced and with stories 

to tell. 

by Dunn Neugebauer 

Gas tanks are filled to the gills, parents 

follow in cavalcades; and all are excited 

about this supposed five-hour drive. 

The drive is an education in nicknames, 

lingo and superstitions. I learn names such 

as B-Hey, T-Hey, Jingles, Flappy, Squirrely 

and Diesel. I hear terms such as pearl, 

deuce, roll it up and crop dusting. 

And let’s not forget those superstitions. “I 

wear the same socks every game,” Assistant 

coach Marshall Gaines says. 

Shortstop Bentley Heyman is a bit more 

complicated when dealing with his pre-atbat 

ritual. 

“Two swings right, two swings left, one 

arm circle right, one arm circle left, one bat 

circle over the head, then start timing the 

pitcher.” 

There is more, but there’s time, plenty of 

time. And there’s a problem. 

You see, the last time I was in Florida, I lost 

my wife, my microwave and my dog, but 

that’s another story for another time. And as 

I’ve often told people - it’s hard to get back 

on the proverbial horse when you’re still in 

midair from falling. 

But I digress. 

The five hour drive takes seven. Google 

and/or MapQuest never seem to take into 

consideration this two-hour issue known 

as “Atlanta traffic.” Still, spirits soar as the 

vans start and stop down the mindless 

expressway known as Interstate 75. 

“You know, this is no easy trip,” Head 

Coach Dylan Deal says. “Last year we went 

1-4 and we’re playing even better teams this 

year. Still, you’re going to see some good 

baseball and we’ve got some great kids. 

Oops, I might have jinxed this trip already.” 

As I look around, however, I see that 

success breeds success. The state 

championship of last year has attracted a 

fine cast of characters aboard these buses. 

On the coaching staff alone are some 

serious baseball resumes. For example: 

General Manager Porter played 

professional ball for an affiliate of the 

Cleveland Indians. Though rumor has it a 

jammed pinkie contributed to the end of his 

career back in ’58, he says it was the curve 

ball. “Actually it was my ability,” he said. 

Jay Hood (a.k.a. Hoodie) played in the 

Anaheim Angels organization (’98-’02) 

and reached the Class AA level before a 

shattered wrist ended his up-and-coming 

career as a shortstop. “Best baseball mind 

I’ve ever known,” Coach Deal says. 

Marshall Gaines was actually a punter for 

the University of Georgia football team. His 

claim to fame in the 90s was taking a bunch 

of 65-pound runts and turning them into 

football stars at Morgan Falls. “Salt of the 

earth,” says Deal. 

Dylan Deal ‘97 is home grown out of HIES. 

Starred in the 90s and was often written up 

in the Northside Neighbor for his heroics. 

Deal would later play at Davidson College in 

North Carolina. He also played a starring role 

in “The Music Man” last fall, but that’s also 

another story. 

Zach Blend ’02: Another home-grown HIES 

grad Played high school ball before starring 

on the Rollins College intramural champions 

a couple years later. Was prominently known 

as “The King.” 

D.C. Aiken: was an outfielder/catcher at 

William & Mary and is the father of current 

catcher Sean Aiken. 

The journalist played Little League and 

rumor has it, back in 1970 a high fly ball 

was hit in the Madison, Georgia sky to the 

second baseman. All he had to do was 

catch it, kiss his mom, get his free drink 

and celebrate the team’s championship 

by playing kick the can in the yard with his 

friends. He dropped it… and cried all the 

way home instead. 

10:15 p.m.: Five coaches, twenty players, a 

journalist and a priest gather in Room 111 of 

the Best Western. The Honorable Dylan Deal 

presides. 

“What you do out there tomorrow will 

set the tone for the season. Make good 

Bentley Heyman, Sean Aiken 

Austin Pound 

Daniel Blaustein 

Whit Woodring 

Saturday, March 1, 2008 

Alachua, FL: “The last time we were standing 

out here on a baseball field together, great 

things happened.” 

These words kicked off the 2008 season 

on the Sante Fe High School field and the 

journalist can’t even remember which coach 

said them. Might have been Marshall Gaines. 

Regardless, good words… 

And great things began… 

Blaustein gets the first hit of the season, 

a screamer between short and third. He 

takes third on an infield error and scores on 

Fletcher Hawkins’ single. Bears open up a 

lead they won’t relinquish. 

Pitcher Mark Grimm fans the first six 

batters he faces. He goes on to strike out 

nine in four innings. The Canes don’t even 

touch the ball until the third inning when their 

No. 7 hitter singles between short and third 

just off of Bentley Heyman’s glove. 

“I hung a slider that did absolutely 

nothing,” Grimm would later say. 

Blaustein goes 4-for-5 with two runs and 

two RBI’s. Fletcher Hawkins is 3-for-4 with 

two RBI’s. Heyman also drives in two with 

two singles. 

The Bears pound out 16 hits; every starter 

gets at least one and six different players 

drive in a run. The team looks smooth – late 

season smooth – and even Deal is a bit 

surprised. 

“I’m shocked it went that well,” he says. 

“I’m very happy with the way we opened. We 

swung the bats well; we were aggressive. 

We manufactured runs. I like that. Still, we 

can’t get complacent. And remember, we 

have four games in four days after tomorrow 

so take care of yourselves!” 

The happy players nod, joke around, pat 

each other on the backs. Even Deal jumps 

on another coach’s back as they leave the 

field. Tomorrow, you see, is a day off. The 




plan is to sleep late, dine wherever and swim 

with the manatees. 

Red-faced parents, already baked in the 

Gainesville sun, greet their kids with hugs, 

congrats and reminders to behave, brush 

their teeth and mind their manners. The kids’ 

faces turn a bit redder, they pretend not to 

hear. 

Life goes on… 

8:15 p.m. - A bunch of red-faced parents 

and players dine by the pool at the Best 

Western somewhere near Crystal River, 

FL. Wills Aitkens has already caught a fish. 

Gaines bagged two himself, while Joe 

Austin’s luck wasn’t as solid. 

“I got two bites, then nothing,” he said. 

Austin’s luck hasn’t started out that well. 

He actually tripped when getting off the bus 

earlier today. “Just earning your stripes,” he 

was told. 

Coach Deal was going to celebrate 

by mullet gigging, but an upset stomach 

sidelined him – (bad onion rings, I was told). 

He fends off the compliments for his team 

but parents are already on to something. An 

idea, you see, is germinating. 

“What if you went undefeated this year” 

one asks. Deal violently shuts down the 

suggestion. His arms even get into the 

action as he almost drops his Diet Coke 

in protest. “We’ll slip up somewhere,” he 

assures. “Maybe Monday night even.” 

Parents laugh. But they smell blood. Oh 

dear, oh dear… 

Fell asleep watching Columbo relentlessly 

tail a cold-blooded murderer. 

“This trip is so fun, I’m 

gonna keep coming here 

even after my kids are 

through playing ball.” 

Johnny Heyman – 

father of Bentley and Tyler Heyman 

Sunday, March 2, 2008 

Crystal River, FL - So we’re sitting under 

the Spanish moss, relaxing on a warm, 80 

degree day. The kids are relaxed – some are 

fishing, others playing chess or bocce ball 

or hackey sack; a couple throw the football 

while others actually swim, hunting for 

manatee. 

Travis Stout, sophomore pitcher who got 

the last three outs the day before, reflects on 

his outing. 

“I was nervous – you know, being a 

sophomore and wanting respect and all,” he 

said. “But I just took a deep breath and told 

myself to do what I know how to do.” 

It worked. The Canes got nothing off him 

the previous day. 

Though the idea is to have a relaxing day, 

Coach Deal recalls a year earlier when this 

wasn’t quite the case. 

“I’m underwater looking at a manatee and 

all of a sudden I look up,” he remembers. 

“There’s this huge water moccasin – I mean 

five to seven feet long coming into the water. 

I’m freaking out. All of a sudden (Forrest) 

Stillwell starts beating him with a boat oar 

trying to kill him. It only made him madder. 

Luckily, the snake finally went away.” 

Fortunately on this day there are no 

snakes, only five or six manatee, a cookout 

to kill for (compliments of Stillwell and his 

father) and another day of soaking up the 

rays. 

7:30 p.m. - The night is capped off with more 

serious competition – bowling at Manatee 

Lanes somewhere in town. 

Bowling notes: Kevin Kyle and Tyler 

Heyman ended with turkeys – that would 

be three consecutive strikes to end the 

game for those of you scoring at home. The 

players beat the coaches 591-564. Problem 

was, no one could remember what the bet 

was, so everybody just shook hands, paid 

their $6.42, turned in their shoes and left 

Manatee Lanes. 

9:30 p.m. until - Back at the hotel, late 

at night, the minds of HIES baseball are 

spinning: “Who do we pitch in middle relief 

tomorrow … Is Fletcher playing too deep 

at third… Don’t we need Sean’s bat in the 

lineup...How’s Mark’s arm...Where do 

we pitch Daniel...How good is Berkeley 

Prep...How many innings do we pitch 

Austin...Where’s Flappy going to play” 

“You know, you learn 

a lot about people when 

you do their laundry.” 

Lisa Woodring – mother of pitcher Whit Woodring 

Coach Deal and his staff ponder, wonder, 

plan, optimize. The win was nice but big 

days are ahead. 

Some early-trip observations 

• Baseballscoutz.com has HIES ranked 

No. 3 in the state. 

• People around me keep saying, “That 

was off the record!” 

Andrew McGonnigle 

On The Road With The Defending 

State Baseball Champs 

• Fried green tomatoes really aren’t 

all that bad. 

• The card games the kids play 

are Red Alert and Tonk. 

• Before this week is over, I’ll have to 

write my hotel room number on my 

hand so I can remember where it is. 

Until tomorrow… 

Monday, March 3, 2008 

Crystal River to Ocala – Hanging out in the 

hotel room, listening to “The Night They 

Drove Old Dixie Down” on Hoodie’s stereo. 

Brooke Hawkins – father of Fletcher – pulls 

his car around and cranks up his stereo. The 

kids are playing cards and hackey sack in 

the parking lot. There’s an extra kick to their 

step. 

After all, it’s game day. 

“I’m excited; this is my first varsity start,” 

tonight’s pitcher Kevin Kyle says. “I don’t 

have any pre-game routine; just try to chill 

and do as little as possible. Basically, I just 

want to go out there and have some fun.” 

A junior, Kyle has a four-pitch arsenal that, 

when working, could give opponents fits this 

season. 

So the journalist is thinking about this 

game – this thread that runs through so 

many people’s lives, these stories, these 

real estate agents, stockbrokers and priests 

who put their lives on hold for a week to 

go on this trip. This talk of sacred spaces 

such as Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, this 

bond, the movies – “Bull Durham” and “Field 

of Dreams”… And me, a tennis coach for 

crying out loud – I’ve got a baseball uniform 

on and I can’t wait until some umpire yells 

“Play Ball.” Can’t wait to smell the grass, 

watch the maintenance folks line the fields, 

hear the parents yell for better and for worse, 

hear the kids pumping each other up… 

Cars crank, vans roll; it’s on to Ocala for 

more of this disease known as baseball. 

And later - this from the HIES website: 

Ocala, FL - The Golden Bear baseball squad 

won its second game of the season without 

a loss, this time in extra innings as “spring 

training” continues to go well for Dylan 

Deal’s team. 

The Bears knocked off Trinity Catholic in 

nine 8-6. 

“I’m proud of our guys because we 

battled,” Deal said. “Good teams battle to 

the end and we did. It wasn’t pretty but it 

was a win. 

“It shouldn’t have been that close of a 

game; we gave them a lot of runs, but we 

also showed a lot of character.” 

The Celtics came within an eyelash of 

winning it in the bottom of the eighth, when 

their No. 9 hitter singled to right with a 

runner on second and the score knotted at 

5. But right fielder Rob Aitkens gunned down 

the runner trying to score to push the game 

to another extra frame. 

The Bears used the momentum in the 

ninth to score three runs. Daniel Blaustein, 

who went 3-for-4 and is 7-for-9 on the 

season, singled; Bentley Heyman walked 

and Fletcher Hawkins walked to load the 

bases. 

Sean Aiken then ripped a double to score 

two. Hawkins would later score on a wild 

pitch to put the Bears up 8-5. Hawkins was 

2-for-4 on the night and is off to a 5-for-8 

start. 

“Hey dude, where’s my iPod” 

An unidentified player 

The Celtics put a run on the board in the 

bottom half, but reliever Travis Stout got out 

of trouble to get the win. Stout pitched 2 ⅔ 

innings; Blaustein pitched 2 ⅓ and Kevin 

Kyle started and went four innings. 

Aiken also had an RBI single in the seventh 

to temporarily put the Bears up, but the 

Celtics tied it in the bottom half. 

Hawkins had two doubles and two RBI on 

the night while Wills Aitkens, Jack Austin, 

Andrew McGonnigle and Mark Grimm had 

singles. Blaustein had a double and a single. 

Another unsung hero was courtesy runner 

Austin Pound, who helped manufacture two 

runs with aggressive base running. 

“We’ve got a lot of good things to build 

on, though we didn’t come up big the way 

we did Saturday against Gainesville,” Dylan 

added. 

The Bears will be in action again Tuesday 

in Tampa against Berkeley Prep. 

“This team knows how to 

do everything except lose.” 

Assistant coach Marshall Gaines 

10:30 p.m. - Dinner at Chili’s with parents 

and friends, then to bed. Fell asleep to Kelso 

and the gang on ‘That 70s Show’. 

Unsung fact of the day: Approximately 20 

Sean Aiken 

Coach Dylan Deal 

Andrew McGonnigle 

seconds before Aitkens gunned down the 

runner at the plate, the HIES coaching staff 

ordered the outfield to “take three steps in.” 

If not for that, our beloved Bears would have 

gone down in eight. 

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 

Ocala to Tampa -You win some, you lose 

some, and some get rained out… 

Left Ocala at 10 a.m., made the hourand-a-half 

drive to Tampa. Worked out 

at Berkeley Prep – a very casual workout 

with the energy level a medical flatline. A 

little fungo, some hitting and an impromptu 

football game in right field. 

GM Porter sat in the visiting dugout, the 

team working out under his watchful eye. 

It’s good we got the workout in; the weather 

channel has nothing but green over the city 

of Tampa. It’s supposed to get ugly. 

With the game called off and a doubleheader 

slated for tomorrow, thirty-two 

people (separate checks) invade Golden 

Corral, then it’s off for a five-star, droolinduced 

nap back at the hotel. 

6:30 p.m. - Bowling tonight – coaches vs. 

the players. We made the same bets, same 

teams but this time neglected to add up the 

scores to figure out who won. Oh well, oh 

well. Impromptu coaches meetings are held, 

card games among players, hackey sack in 

the parking lot, but mostly sleep. 

As Coach Deal told his players in the 

parking lot, “No swimming, no sitting in the 

hot tub. Guys, we’ve got 14 innings to play 

tomorrow.” 

Not many grunt or protest. 

GM Porter took in a Yankees game at 

Legend’s Field. No report yet as to his 

observations. 

Fell asleep before the opening credits on 

‘L.A. Law’. Good night. 

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 

Tampa – In national news, Brett Favre is 

retiring and a cold front is zipping through 

the Northeast. 

As for the local stuff, if you ever feel like 

complaining about Atlanta traffic, try driving 

in Tampa; the Busch Gardens trip has been 

scrubbed due to the doubleheader, and 

tonight’s starter Austin Pound has a simple 

game plan when going in – “rock and fire.” 

Other general observations: 

• Sean Aiken plays catcher and first 

and carries his own bowling ball when 

on the road… 

• Travis Stout, if he continues his 

good pitching, will be nicknamed 

“Lights Out Stout.” 

• Lenny’s makes the best ham & cheese 

subs known to man. If you’re ever in 

town, order the #1 and do yourself a 



favor and get the lemonade. 

• It cost us $96 to fill up the van. 

“And they say the economy is good,” 

Coach Deal said. 

• Everybody I room with snores. 

• Emily Procter, who plays Callie 

Duquesne on CSI-Miami, is hot. 

• Shortstop Bentley Heyman got off to 

a slow start in the first two games, but is 

chomping at the bit to turn things around 

today. Don’t try to tease him about his 

2-for-9 start. He simply won’t laugh. 

• If Jack Austin’s single up the middle 

in Game 2 had been a foot higher, the 

pitcher would’ve been carried off on 

a stretcher. 

• Hoodie bowled a 192 last night; 

Kevin Kyle a 168. The journalist dipped 

from a 175 to a 121. Coach Deal almost 

The Bears then collected their bats and 

balls, remembering their parents’ advice 

to clean up after themselves, made the 20 

minute drive to Tampa Prep, and played 

even better in an 8-1 effort. 

Mark Grimm was the offensive hero, going 

3-for-4 with two RBI, Jack Austin had an 

RBI single and drilled a 401-foot out to deep 

center – a ball that would have damaged 

cars at Holy Innocents’ – and several others 

chipped in. 

On the hill, Whit Woodring went five 

innings, gave up five hits, one earned run 

and fanned five. Jack “Flappy” Austin threw 

an inning before Travis “Lights Out” Stout 

closed the deal in the seventh. 

Despite the two wins, Coach Deal wasn’t 

all smiles. 

“It’s a good job getting two wins in one 

Baseball team goes looking for manatees. 

Originally I was sad – for the coaches, the 

players, the parents. For the buildup and the 

desire to play in this big game that wasn’t 

going to be played; that couldn’t be made up. 

Then I started thinking: About nicknames 

and hackey sack and late night TV and time 

in the batting cage. About watching these 

kids do everything but lose; watching them 

laugh, bowl, chatter, fall off buses, and 

even puke. About traveling from Atlanta to 

Gainesville to Crystal River to Tampa, back 

to Crystal River, back to Atlanta. About late 

night coaches/parents meetings in Room 

111 of the Best Western, or 3106 at the 

Marriott. About Hoodie’s music, Deal’s giving 

Travis a new nickname every day, about 

barreling into a restaurant 30-something 

strong. 

You see, I’ve done spring training before 

Sean Aiken, Jack Farrell, Tyler Heyman, 

Bentley Heyman, Jackson Davis, 

Ryan Cox, Charley Henley, 

Fletcher Hawkins, Whit Woodring 

Holy Innocents’ Remembers 

Red Smith 

IN MEMORIAM 

Staff members and former runners remember the coaching legend 

Bentley Heyman, Rob Aitkens, 


broke the lanes with a fastball that 

landed half-way down the alley, almost 

breaking the rack that hadn’t lifted 

yet from his previous shot. The manager 

became very nervous every time Coach 

Deal came up to throw. No one blamed 

him. 

• Team moms are the best 

invention 

since the remote control. 

• The players seem well-rested, focused 

and ready. Details at 11. 

4:30 p.m. - Game report – In a 

doubleheader worth missing The Celebrity 

Apprentice for, the lean, mean maroon 

machine rolled to two more wins Wednesday 

night, upping its record to a perfect 4-0. 

Though the first game was far from 

perfect – an infield error, not getting bunts 

down and swinging at inappropriate pitches 

– the team picked it up from the third inning 

on and drilled Berkeley Prep 11-2. 

Pitcher Austin Pound’s pre-game plan was 

perfecto, as he went six innings, allowed only 

four hits, no earned runs and struck out four. 

Daniel Blaustein continued his torrid pace, 

going 3-for-3, while Fletcher Hawkins also 

kept his going with a 3-for-4 outing. Wills 

Aitkens (2-for-4) was another who came up 

big and Bentley Heyman’s bat came to life. 

day and I think we played fairly well in the 

second game,” he said. “I can handle the 

mistakes, what I can’t handle is the mentality 

that we can just show up and win ball 

games. We’re going to have to learn to stay 

focused for seven innings, especially against 

the teams in our region.” 

9:55 p.m. - The team loaded up (almost left 

behind a bucket of balls), some ordered hot 

chocolate to keep their hands warm, and 

headed to Carrabba’s for a victory dinner. 

The waitresses were simply appalled. 

Final note: Tomorrow it will be two 

undefeated teams going at it. The 4-0 Bears 

will travel to Crystal River to face the 13-0 

home team. In the words of the immortal 

Don King, “Somebody’s ‘0’ has got to go!” 

Fell asleep to ‘Scrubs’ after a brief staff 

meeting in Deal’s room. 

Thursday, March 6- Friday, March 7, 2008 

At first I thought the end was a bit 

melodramatic. I mean, we got to Crystal 

River at about 3 p.m. About five minutes 

later, lightning began; then the thunder; then 

the rain in droves. Within minutes, the field 

was two inches underwater and the game 

was canceled. 

I guess Don King was wrong; somebody’s 

‘0’ didn’t have to go. 

– and in the big leagues. Have covered the 

Marlins and Cardinals and Mets (Oh my!) 

Have hung out in the club house, interviewed 

the big names, written stories and sent them 

in within seconds of deadline. 

But once upon a time, as a joke, I told 

Coach Dylan Deal I wanted to accompany 

him and his team down to Florida. He said, 

“Why not” It wasn’t a bad question. So the 

next thing you know I’m sitting in the dugout, 

dressed in Gaines’ uniform, writing down 

notes, staying out of the players way except 

to give a high-five or a pat on the back, 

picking up equipment, praying with the team 

before the game, and soaking it all in. 

Next thing you know I’m meeting the 

parents, the coaches, the players. And 

before I knew it I’d caught this disease – this 

disease known as baseball. It started in my 

mind and went straight into my soul. It’s still 

here as I type, now safe at home in Atlanta. 

Still with me as I do laundry and surf through 

the channels. It’s great…isn’t it 

I fell asleep with a smile on my face. 

Thanks for listening. 

Dunn Neugebauer 

February 29-March 7, 2008 

Notes from Spring Training 

Robert “Red” Smith died February 24th, 

2008. He spent nearly two decades at Holy 

Innocents’ lending his expertise to our cross 

country and track programs. Many current 

faculty/staff members were more than eager 

to share their memories of the man who 

coached literally thousands of HIES runners. 

Athletic Director Rob Weltz 

“I remember after our state track 

championship in 2004, Red rode back with 

me and I noticed he was getting choked up. 

I asked him what was wrong and he said, 

“I’m so glad that we won and also I’m so 

glad you’re going to take me to Wendy’s to 

get me a Frosty. Whenever we win, I have to 

have a Frosty. 

“He was a breath of fresh air; 

he was very passionate with 

the kids and was often getting 

them to try new things. One 

time I went to a cross country 

meet with him and I felt like we 

were on the red carpet at the 

Academy Awards. Everybody 

knew Red Smith.” 

Head cross country coach 

Mike Daly 

“He had a great sense of 

humor; he was always on 

the kids to not miss practice 

because of cat birthdays. We 

have an annual Leadership 

Award that goes to the 

senior runner who best exemplifies Red’s 

leadership skills. A great idea. I learned a lot 

from Coach Red and I know he meant a lot 

to a lot of people.” 

Former head cross country coach 

Randi Aton 

“I had the pleasure of meeting Red in the 

fall of 1993 when he helped Lucie Bornholm 

and me with the school’s first cross country 

team. From the beginning, his enthusiasm 

for the sport affected our runners. He would 

tell the kids before a race to “start fast, 

speed up, and sprint at the end” and then he 

would beam that wonderful Red Smith smile! 

I know this: He loved the sport of running, he 

loved his athletes and he loved his family. 

I will miss him.” 

Former state champion Jenna Downey ‘03 

“I was set on playing soccer and he 

kept telling me I had to run track. He 

wouldn’t take no for answer! He was like 

a grandfather to me and was a mentor for 

many years. He had such a great sense of 

humor and a warm and caring personality; 

it’s hard not to love him! There aren’t that 

many people who have had the sort of effect 

on me that Coach Red did.” 

Jeff Campanella ‘03 – former HIES runner 

“He lived a wonderful life, giving back so 

much to others. I’ll never get the image out 

of my head of Jenna running 

down the Carrollton hill for 

the state title and Red just 

sitting in his chair weeping 

with joy. It was such a great 

moment.” 

Dunn Neugebauer – current 

HIES cross country coach 

“I remember in 2001, it 

was my first year ever of 

coaching cross country. I 

was really nervous about 

it – until they told me I’d be 

coaching with Red. I never 

worried again. After all, how 

many teams had a guy with 

50-plus years of experience 

under his belt” 


SERVICE AND MISSION WORK 

“…and a sense of service 

to the world community. 

Rawson Allen 

– from the HIES Mission Statement 

George Gwaltney (front) 

Owen Brock (back) 

Emily Martin 

From Pre-K through 12th Grade, Holy Innocents’ students learn the power of service work. 


SERVICE AND MISSION WORK 

As an Episcopal school, with 

weekly chapel services and 

four chaplains, Holy Innocents’ 

can’t help but approach its 

philosophy and methods with 

a nod toward the Bible. So why 

does Luke 12:48 receive so 

much attention 

“From him to whom much is 

given, much is expected,” reads 

the verse. 

And students at Holy 

Innocents’ have, indeed, been 

given much. They attend a 

beautiful school in a beautiful 

section of a beautiful city. And 

they learn very early that much 

is, therefore, expected. 

What’s so refreshing, though, 

is how quickly and joyfully Holy 

Innocents’ students take Saint 

Luke’s words to heart. 

It begins in the Alan A. Lewis 

Pre-School, where this year our 

youngest students chipped in 

their own allowances to help 

secure school supplies for 

children their own age attending 

the Albert T. Mills Enrichment 

Center, an organization in 

downtown Atlanta serving at-risk children. 

The Holy Innocents’ Parents Association 

was so impressed by the work our Pre- 

Schoolers did that they dedicated the 

proceeds of this year’s Fun Run to purchase 

a bus for the center. 

In Lower School, service is built into the 

curriculum. Students study virtues such as 

charity and the Golden Rule in LS Chaplain 

Ms. Beth Lynch’s class, where she makes 

a concerted effort to link her lessons with 

community outreach. 

For instance, to learn patience and 

the art of conversation, Ms. Lynch’s 

students interact with elderly residents 

of the Dorothy Benson Adult Day Care 

Center, staging a tea party or giving hand 

massages, all while engaging the seniors 

in heartfelt conversation. For a lesson on 

homelessness, Lower Schoolers visited the 

Atlanta Children’s Shelter where they put on 

Emily Martin 

Kendall Gregory 

puppet shows, hosted picnics and simply 

played with a group of young children for 

whom playtimes are few and far-between. 

“We do all of this, studying, doing the 

lessons and getting out into the community, 

to learn how to be God’s hands and feet, 

because this is what we’re called to do,” 

says Ms. Lynch. 

That calling doesn’t subside, but rather 

gains momentum in Middle School, where 

chaplain The Reverend Patty Roberts 

leads the service efforts. Her students 

work throughout the city on projects from 

assisting the disabled to food drives to 

working with the homeless to preserving the 

environment. “At chapel last year, I read the 

list of everything we had done for service, 

and it was overwhelming,” beamed Rev. 

Roberts. “It was over three and a half pages 

of different service opportunities students 

had taken advantage of.” 

And it’s in Middle School where Rev. 

Rawson Allen 

Roberts helps students begin 

to focus their efforts. Her 

Great Days of Service program 

allows students to divide one 

day of service between two 

organizations. The idea is to 

let them experience different 

types of outreach and decide 

what kinds of projects and 

causes most interest them. 

“Then hopefully, when the kids 

are in Upper School they’ll be 

able to draw from the work 

they did here, and already 

have an idea of what sort of 

volunteer work they want to 

pursue,” Rev. Roberts says. 

And that leads us to Upper 

School, where the verse from 

Luke really takes hold. 

Holy Innocents’ Upper 

School has gained a significant 

reputation – not only in Atlanta 

but throughout the South 

and even overseas – for the 

commitment and energy of its 

students to community service. 

Many Upper Schoolers 

help with Horizons, a summer 

enrichment program located 

on the HIES campus. Horizons works 

with at-risk and disadvantaged children 

to prevent academic decline during the 

summer months through a variety of 

educational, social and athletic activities. 

Upper School volunteers help translate for 

the large Latino population who attends 

Horizons. They also serve as Teachers’ 

Aides, help with swim lessons and tutor 

young children with their academics. Not 

surprisingly, HIES students accounted for a 

full 95 percent of Horizons’ 1,200 volunteer 

hours last year. 

Of course, with age comes privilege, so 

Upper Schoolers also have opportunities to 

travel to perform service beyond their local 

community. 

For three years running, groups of Upper 

Schoolers have traveled to the Gulf Coast to 

assist with the cleanup efforts in the wake 

of Hurricane Katrina. This spring, students 

Casey Wilson, Amanda Bassett Nick Bitzis, Bailey McBride, Evy Mitchell Kendall Krebs 

Corinne Bicknese, 

Olivia Stockert, 

My Bui 

cleaned storm drains and picked up debris 

along the Mississippi coast. “I was just so 

impressed with the effort that they put into 

this job,” said The Reverend Sarah Wood, 

US Chaplain and leader of the effort. “It was 

thankless work, but they didn’t stop.” 

Another of the Upper School’s cleanup 

efforts is closer to home. What started 

as an AP Environmental Science project 

monitoring the water quality in Sandy 

Springs’ Allen Park has transformed into 

a full-blown park clean up. After analyzing 

bacteria in the creek water, students 

detected a problem. But instead of telling 

authorities and getting back to their 

schoolwork, the students opted to address 

the issue themselves, and hopefully improve 

the entire park. They picked up years’ worth 

of accumulated trash, planted indigenous 

trees and other plant species and wrote 

letters to Sandy Spring Council members. 

Today, thanks to the students’ hard work, 

local non-profits have joined the effort and 

are working toward the park’s restoration. 

And then there are those service projects 

that take place within our school’s walls. 

Recycling is an HIES cross-grade initiative 

in which virtually everyone participates. 

Students also lead many fundraising efforts 

– donating money to the Atlanta Children’s 

Shelter, the American Diabetes Association, 

and schools in Haiti, Costa Rica and 

Tanzania, among other causes. 

In other words, Holy Innocents’ students 

tend to what they see needs tending. “As an 

Episcopal school, we are committed to the 

formation of the whole person, which is not 

focused on oneself,” said Rev. Wood. “We 

do everything we can to help students learn 

that offering and outpouring of self to others 

is what makes them whole.” 

So in a day and age of hand sanitizers 

and anti-bacterial lotions as far as the eye 

can see, it’s comforting to know that HIES 

students are comfortable getting their hands 

dirty. In a twist on the adage, “a little dirt 

never hurt anybody,” our students have 

learned that a little dirt can actually help out 

quite a bit. 

Luke 12:48 never rang so true. 

Connor Randall 


Chris DURST Upper School Principal 

School Principal Theresa Jespersen 

I had the great 

privilege of 

addressing 

several of our 

current board 

members about 

the qualities and 

characteristics 

that make our 

Upper School 

a compelling 

choice for families in the Atlanta area. 

There’s so much more to a quality 

education than grades and scores; the 

competitive aspect of education—‘btw, 

what college did you get into’—seems to 

permeate most discussions about school 

quality. It’s such a shame that these limited 

benchmarks (not necessarily of success 

or excellence) are dominating the airways. 

As Principal I feel the need to re-center 

the debate about what makes a quality 

school, not necessarily sounding defensive 

or masking deficiencies, but to articulate 

what’s really important—or should be 

important—to the families at the school. 

The following are qualities I believe are 

found at great schools, and hopefully you’ll 

find them in the HI Upper School: 

• Schools must be soulful. Every great 

school has a certain ‘something’, that 

consciousness that transcends buildings 

and rooms and lockers. It’s what you feel 

when you come onto campus. Soulful 

schools are about partnerships with 

families, students and teachers. Soulful 

schools care for students in extraordinary 

ways, for schools know that if children don’t 

feel connected, they run the risk of falling 

prey to society’s worst nightmares. Soulful 

schools are tearful, joyous, thoughtful, 

inspiring—all of which reflect a singular 

purpose towards helping and educating 

children. 

• There is no greater benefit to student 

learning than selfless teachers. 

Selflessness is absolutely crucial. “But 

I’ve always taught this way,” is a sure 

sign that someone has lost his way. We 

know more about student learning and 

brain function than we ever have, and it 

is time to demand that teachers search 

outside teacher-centered models to engage 

students. Students are savvy: they know 

exactly which teachers have been doing 

the same tired lessons for years and which 

ones constantly try to provide that magic 

moment of learning. Selfless teachers 

are the professionals willing to try new 

techniques, are not afraid to be vulnerable, 

teach both skills and curriculum and go to 

great lengths to model the most appropriate 

behaviors for children. 

• Every school has a portrait of excellence. 

Too often school improvement discussions 

center on what children are not doing, or 

how curriculum is flawed or how parents 

are making a mess of things. Great schools 

refocus the discussion by framing the 

picture in the community of what the school 

looks like when it is outstanding. Inevitably, 

that picture becomes a beautiful portrait of 

what the children can make of their lives if 

we just will allow ourselves to see it. 

• The more we give of ourselves, the more 

we will love what is left. Independent 

schools, and HI in particular, have a 

greater obligation and responsibility to the 

community to produce individuals who 

appreciate service and recognize the value 

of diversity. Students who share in these 

values and are competent and comfortable 

engaging in a fluid and diverse society 

will ultimately be the leaders of the next 

generation. 

Principal’s corner 

Middle School is an awesome time in a 

young person’s life. They are beginning to 

feel their power a little, to be a little more 

independent and self-reliant. It’s time to 

discover where they fit in, to start figuring 

out where - and who - they want to 

be. Middle School at Holy Innocents’ is 

a place where kids learn to make things 

happen, and not just allow things to happen 

to them. Our kids feel empowered and 

supported, whether it’s to make a movie 

about changing the world or simply learning 

to avoid the belligerent geese on the ball 

fields. I want them to try, so that they 

learn they can do. Our faculty and staff are 

enthusiastic supporters of the kids and 

have worked very hard this year to make 

this, the Best Middle School in the World. 

In math, the department chair and 

faculty have coordinated their efforts to 

make their teaching more effective, the 

kids’ efforts more directed, and the results 

more positive. The process began by 

identifying objectives for each level of math, 

and examining the rationales for inclusion 

in the curriculum. They have examined 

the time allotments for each section, and 

have created new timelines. This should 

make the transition from arithmetic to 

mathematics and Upper School courses 

much smoother. 

We’re adding a few courses for next year. 

In Fine Arts, we are offering an Advanced 

Art class for eighth graders who are serious 

about pursuing art in Upper School. It will 

allow the students to spend more time 

developing their skills using clay, drawing, 

painting, and making photographs. Recent 

economic events have shown us all that we 

need to make sure our kids understand the 

value of a dollar and have the wherewithal 

to spend it wisely. All of our eighth grade 

students will take a Personal Finance 

course where they will “get jobs,” and learn 

how to survive on an hourly wage. They 

will learn how to use a checking account 

and a credit card, fill out a tax return, and, 

hopefully, understand the importance of 

maintaining good credit. 

This year we marked the transition 

from first to second semester by having a 

Focus Week of experiential learning. Rather 

than jump right into the new semester, 

we took the first five days after Christmas 

break and spent the week engaging in 

new and different adventures, and, for 

the younger grades, performing some 

community service. The kids had fun, 

they learned a little about themselves 

and their schoolmates, and they enjoyed 

the transition 

back into hardcore 

academics. 

We’ll keep this 

experience as a 

tradition, but we’ll 

make changes from 

year to year. 

We also had 

our first-ever 

Middle School Film 

Festival this year. Students in grades six 

through eight were invited to form teams 

and make two-minute films about Making 

the World a Better Place. The movies dealt 

with serious issues such as drunk driving, 

global warming, and the seamy underside 

of the fast food industry along with an 

exposition of the first-response lifesavers 

in the police and fire departments. We 

have already started planning for next 

year’s event and have even brought the 

current fifth graders over to find out about 

what awaits them when they cross the 

mystic traffic circle and come to the Middle 

School. 

As I said, this is a terrific time to be in the 

Middle School. This year has been terrific, 

and next year looks even better. 

One of my greatest joys and biggest 

responsibilities as principal of the Alan 

A. Lewis Pre-School has been guiding 

the young children in my care toward the 

development of a spiritual foundation upon 

which to build as they grow older. The 

process here at Holy Innocents’ is greatly 

enhanced through the students’ opportunity 

to participate in weekly chapel services. 

During these services the children learn 

about God’s world through stories, song, 

and prayers. 

Basic concepts and understandings are 

taught in the 

classroom. First 

we learn that 

God loves us 

all and that we 

are to love each 

other. There is 

an emphasis 

here given to 

family, friends, 

and community 

and the parts 

JANELLA Brand 

they play in our lives. A daily reminder 

of the Golden Rule sets the tone during 

morning devotions that are heard by way of 

the school intercom. Teachable moments, 

which present themselves during the day, 

are used to emphasize these principles. 

Through the use of age-appropriate Bible 

stories, the students learn that God cares 

for each of us in a special way. Building 

upon His love for us, God’s care, guidance, 

and protection are highlighted as a part 

of this study. Tolerance and respect along 

with lessons of diversity and acceptance 

support the theme as well. Regular service 

projects are introduced and implemented 

in an effort to help the students develop an 

understanding of the importance of sharing 

and reaching out to others. 

We also learn that God is dependable. 

There is evidence of His dependability 

as we witness the predictability of the 

changing seasons as well as other visible 

reminders in the world around us. Children 

can relate to the rising and ebbing of the 

tides when they visit the beach and they 

Pre-School Principal 

Middle 

experience light and darkness through the 

day and night routinely. 

We further emphasize the fact that we 

can talk to God by praying to Him. Prayer is 

a part of each day. Children learn to recite 

chapel prayers including the Lord’s Prayer 

and they are taught blessings that are used 

before snack time and at Kindergarten 

lunch. During the year each class is given 

the opportunity to write a joint prayer, which 

is learned and shared during morning 

devotional time. We know that we can pray 

anytime and anywhere. Recently, a Pre-K 

student reflected, “God must have really 

big ears!” 

As our students mature, they are given 

an opportunity to build on these basic 

understandings and to learn about their 

individual family’s religious traditions 

and beliefs. Hopefully, we are laying a 

foundation that our students will use to 

build a spiritual reservoir from which they 

can draw strength for the rest of their lives. 

On July 1, 2007, I began my first year as 

the Principal of the Lower School following 

Rick Betts who was named our Associate 

Head. Rick had done a remarkable 

job as Dorothy Sullivan’s successor as 

principal. Upon her retirement in 2007, Holy 

Innocents’ honored Dorothy for her thirty 

years of distinguished service by naming 

the Lower School the Dorothy Sullivan 

Lower School. So you see, all of this was 

a bit intimidating. How does one follow in 

these footsteps 

The foundation of the Lower School is 

built on determining what is best for our 

students and ensuring that they receive 

what is needed. The faculty and staff 

treat the students with respect and set 

boundaries. Children as learners need to 

be aware of the academic and behavioral 

expectations. Each day, I see students 

holding doors open for one other, smiling 

and laughing, and being active participants 

in their studies and activities. 

Service projects are an important part 

of our studies. Students in all grades are 

involved with activities that serve others. 

From helping with dogs that have been 

neglected to entertaining folks at the 

Benson Center, our students plan and 

participate in these events which benefit the 

community beyond Holy Innocents’. 

Our Fine Arts Department affords the 

students an opportunity to explore and 

discover their abilities in the visual and 

performing arts. Through our programs, 

students develop a love for painting or 

printmaking or a deep appreciation for 

acting, singing, or playing an instrument. 

Many programs stress the concept of 

students’ wellness. The physical education 

classes, health classes, and guidance 

services from our counselor place great 

emphasis on being a healthy person in both 

mind and body. 

It is imperative that we prepare 

our students for the 21st century and 

the demands of technology. The fifth 

grade laptop program has provided our 

teachers with the ability to reach each 

student’s learning style and increase their 

comprehension and understanding of 

the material. It is amazing to witness the 

teachers and students learning from one 

another and exhibiting a true authentic 

learning environment. 

All of these areas are integrated with 

our strong academics to give our students 

a solid foundation that will support them 

as they enter the Middle School years. So 

what have I learned this year in regards 

to following in footsteps I am following 

the footsteps of those who have seen 

future needs and implemented a vision. 

The route forward may not be plotted in 

details, but with 

this clear vision, 

the direction 

will always be 

known. 

Lower School Principal 

TERRI POTTER 


GLOBAL INITIATIVE 

Holy Innocents’ Global Initiative Program 

France 

JAPAN 

HOLY INNOCENTS 

Kelly Moore 

Speaking In Tongues 

COSTA RICA 

Holy Innocents’ 

is going global. 

That doesn’t mean we’ll open a Pre- 

School in Beijing or field varsity cricket and 

sumo teams. It does mean, though, that our 

school’s focus has extended well-beyond Mt. 

Vernon Highway. 

We’ve come a long way since Ms. 

Anne Jackson taught our very first French 

class to Middle Schoolers in 1975. Today, 

Holy Innocents’ has formal, sister-school 

relationships in both Japan and France. Our 

administration’s stated goal is to have at least 

one sister-school on every continent within 

five years. Our foreign language programs 

are receiving all kinds of accolades – for both 

teachers and students. We’ve expanded the 

scope of our school’s service projects – a key 

component of both the Balanced Excellence 

program and our Episcopal Mission – virtually 

around the world, with visits to and service 

projects in Haiti, Costa Rica and Tanzania. 

On top of all that, the HIES Upper School 

begins a new Global Citizenship Program next 

fall, a three-year curricular option for rising 

sophomores with increased language study 

and an experiential, cross-cultural focus – 

including semesters abroad and extensive 

international service options. 

So perhaps we should say that Holy 

HAITI 

Innocents’ has already gone global. Or 

maybe we should just point out that everyone 

involved with these programs is very excited 

about the work they’re doing. 

Lauren Seiple, 

Kendall Gregory, 

Mackenzie Sawicki, 

The Holy Innocents’ Foreign Language program has 

received some pretty impressive kudos this year. Both 

teachers and students collected awards for academic and 

pedagogic excellence. 

Ms. Anne Jackson (in what can only be described as a 

long-overdue honor) received the American Association 

of Teachers of French 

“Outstanding Teacher Award” 

for the 2007-08 school year. 

Ms. Jackson introduced 

foreign language study to Holy 

Innocents’ back in 1975. 

“This is an enormous 

honor for someone who really 

deserves it,” her departmental 

colleague Mr. Gerard Gatoux 

says, giving voice to our entire 

community. “Anne Jackson 

really got French going here. 

She laid the foundation for 

everything our department has 

accomplished.” 

Head of School Kirk Duncan 

concurs. “Anne Jackson is one 

of the reasons we can extend 

our Global Initiative beyond the 

classroom. We can go to Haiti 

and Costa Rica because the 

most basic element of cultural 

exchange – language study – 

is so well established here. And 

you’ve got to thank Anne for 

that. As for the award, all I can 

say is ‘it’s about time.’” 

A number of HIES students 

have also been recognized 

for their accomplishments 

with foreign language. Junior 

Alex Wallace was named “Student of the Year”, by 

the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and 

same Georgia Department of Education ceremony at 

which Ms. Jackson received her award. 

“Alex is a remarkably gifted student of languages.” says 

Ms. Christine Stafford, Foreign Language Department 

Chair. “He not only loves studying and communicating 

in Spanish, but he understands that he can use his skills 

to improve his community – he 

translates at an elementary 

school where less than half the 

parents speak English, and he 

is increasingly involved with the 

growing Hispanic community in 

Atlanta. That’s the whole reason 

we do what we do – to see 

our students enjoy and excel 

in communicating in a foreign 

language. Not only has Alex 

excelled in his foreign language 

this year, he has also received a 

number of honors and awards 

for his writing in English. Alex 

makes all of us very proud.” 

And then there are junior Kate 

Newman and sophomore Sarah 

Hamill, who received prizes in a 

composition contest sponsored 

by the French Consulate in 

Atlanta. They were honored 

at a reception at the Consul’s 

residence. Ms. Stafford adds 

some perspective on what 

these two young women have 

accomplished: “What makes 

Kate’s and Sarah’s prizes so 

remarkable is that we have two 

high school students winning a 

contest that was open not only 

to high school students, but also 

to university students, in seven states! This is an amazing 

honor for two very talented students.” 

So congratulations, félicitations, and felicitaciones 

Portuguese. Alex is the second HIES student in five years 

From Pre-K through high school, Holy Innocents’ students learn the power of service work. 

to receive this prestigious award and was honored at the to all! 


TANZANIA 

Alex Wallace 

Ms. Anne Jackson 

Dr. Madeline Hamill, Sarah Hamill, Mr. Gerard Gatoux, 

Kate Newman, Mrs. Elizabeth Newman

GLOBAL INITIATIVE 

Introducing Global Citizenship 

Beginning next year, Holy Innocents’ Upper 

School will add a new Program for Global 

Citizenship. A three year curricular option 

for rising sophomores, Global Citizenship 

features electives in world literature, 

comparative religion and environmental 

science, as well as increased foreign 

When I was 18, 

I was blessed with 

the opportunity 

to travel to Costa 

Rica with two 

of my younger 

brothers, Matthew 

and Brandon, and several of my classmates 

(one whom happens to be my new sisterin-law). 

This 10-day enrichment trip was my 

first foray into international travel. How we 

managed to survive loving, yet overzealous 

parents who packed (for us, mind you) 80 

pounds into a medium-sized suitcase and 

accompanied us on the first leg of our trip 

to Dallas to see us off eludes me still. What 

I am certain of, however, is that the trip 

sparked my passion for thinking about our 

ever-evolving world. 

Eight years later, our world is certainly 

just that – ever evolving. We need not 

turn further than the evening news or our 

own wallets to appreciate the fast-paced 

changes our world is currently experiencing. 

“Globalization,” the word du jour popularized 

by Thomas Friedman in his works The 

Lexus and the Olive Tree and The World is 

Flat, refers to the phenomenon of people, 

ideas, and events of the world unifying into 

language study. Outside the classroom, 

the program includes semesters and 

summers abroad and extensive service 

work (both international and domestic). The 

program attempts to nurture cross-cultural 

understanding and an appreciation of 

diversity and inclusion issues. While it won’t 

a single, functioning society. The question 

today that merits consideration, both 

globally and at Holy Innocents’, is just how 

effectively this society “functions.” 

Picture for a moment a serene arctic 

image. I would imagine a steel-colored sea 

littered with large pieces of ice scattered 

throughout. Many of you pictured icebergs. 

The interesting thing about icebergs, 

however, is that we only see a portion of 

the iceberg above the waterline. About 

10% of the iceberg, in fact. And this is akin 

to our knowledge of our expanding world 

-- we know what we know. Beneath the 

surface of the water, a significant majority of 

the ice can be found, and this ice certainly 

intertwines itself with neighboring pieces of 

ice. This, too, is like our worldview, in that 

we do not know what we do not know—the 

unknown. 

Enter Holy Innocents’ and the new 

Program for Global Citizenship (PGC). 

This program is a prime example of the 

institution’s efforts to expand what it knows 

about our changing world; to expose 

more of the iceberg. An excerpt from the 

school mission statement reads “Holy 

Innocents’ Episcopal School develops in 

students…a sense of service to the world 

affect the actual diploma students receive 

from HIES, it will undoubtedly affect their 

lives and options after receiving it. 

So while the world’s not technically getting 

smaller, at Holy Innocents’, it certainly seems 

to be getting a lot closer. 

community.” The PGC fully embraces the 

notion of serving the world community. A 

guiding question of the program focuses on 

the quality of the society in which we find 

ourselves; in other words, how well does 

our emerging global society “function” and 

can we dare suggest that the concept of a 

“good global society” exists Admittedly, 

there is some anxiety within this question, 

as we only know what we know, and like our 

iceberg, there is much unknown. 

The program embraces the pillars of 

servant leadership, diversity and inclusion, 

and citizenship as we begin our inquiry into 

the good global society. From the Bahá’í 

faith we find the philosophical approach 

that suggests we “Let our vision be world 

embracing.” The PGC uses that notion as a 

compass for guiding itself in its endeavors 

to expose more of the iceberg. And as much 

as we might want to, we promise not to take 

any of our global citizens to icebergs. At 

least in the first year. 

Quinton Walker 

Upper School History Teacher 

Director, Program for Global Citizenship 

‘Travel is fatal to prejudice, 

bigotry and narrow-mindedness’ 

“This is one of my favorite quotes, from 

Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain. There’s 

a spirit in those words that we’re trying to 

capture at HI, to open people’s minds. 

If we can send out 25 or 50 kids a year 

to Haiti, Africa, Costa Rica, Japan… if 

we can send 50 kids a year… and you 

From the Director 

multiply that over 10 or 20 years. You’re 

sending out quite a few people who 

are going to have the means to make a 

difference in the world. You’re sending 

them out to do good things and to bring 

back perspective and understanding 

they can then share with others here 

in America. So I think it’s a wonderful 

program. Plus, just the Christian aspect of 

it – to go into these areas of poverty and 

make a difference. I can’t think of a better 

example of our mission.” 

Kirk Duncan, Head of School 

Language and Culture Studies: 

Their Effects on One Student 

By Tyler Marquardt, HIES ‘06, Boston College ‘10 

I am an Economics major here at BC, 

with what I call a History and Japanese 

concentration. Unfortunately, I don’t have 

time for a double major or a minor, and even 

with limited graduation requirements, I need 

to take about nineteen credits per semester, 

including my Senior year when I’ll also be 

writing my thesis. Some of you may think 

this is a huge mess, but I’ve made these 

schedule choices for one reason – they’ll 

allow me to study in Tokyo for my entire 

Junior year. But before I share that with you, 

let me start at the beginning. 

I want to take you back to when I was 

Olympiad team (which I see has had great 

success in recent years), played soccer and 

ran track. I also took my first Spanish classes 

that year. This wasn’t my first exposure to 

other languages; in fourth and fifth grade 

I took French in public school and before 

that I lived in Albuquerque where my first 

and second grade teacher taught us basic 

Spanish. However, this was my first formal 

class setting with homework, vocabulary, 

quizzes and tests. With Mrs. Stafford’s 

instruction, I did well, and continued through 

high school with more great teachers: Ms. 

Tyrrell, Mr. Gatoux, and Dr. Palmer. 

For me, Spanish was much more than just 

a class. As some of you may know, I was one 

of 32 students from all of Georgia selected 

to participate in the Governor’s Honors 

Spanish Program in 2005. For four hours a 

day, six days a week, we took Spanish class, 

conducted research in Spanish and were 

forbidden to speak English. At the end of 

the six-week program we gave an hour-long 

presentation in Spanish. I spoke about the 

Panama Canal and tried to give both sides of 

the issue (from its controversial construction 

to the handover that President Carter 

signed off on). At the end of GHP, I was not 

only comfortable speaking in Spanish, but 

found myself thinking and dreaming in the 

from Mr. Gatoux and other teachers, allowed 

me to receive the Georgia Spanish Student 

of the Year for 2006. 

In addition to my Spanish studies, I was 

a part of Holy Innocents’ first exchange 

program with Asahigaoka ( 札幌旭丘高校 ) 

High School in Sapporo, Japan. By the time I 

graduated, I had twice hosted students from 

Sapporo and had traveled there once. My 

brief, eye-opening time in Japan encouraged 

me to learn Japanese and try to find a job 

with a Japanese company in an American 

market. I’ll complete my studies in Tokyo 

in September and hope to be as fluent as 

possible when I return next August. While 

in Japan, I’ll begin research for my thesis. 

Although my topic is not set in stone, I plan 

to study U.S. foreign policies to Japan either 

in opening the country up to international 

economics in the 19th century or the 

1945-1960 post-war period. 

As cliché as it sounds, I feel compelled 

to say ‘The road ahead is shrouded 

in unknowns.’ But in my years at Holy 

Innocents’, I was able to discover not only 

what I was good at, but also what I love 

doing. My experiences with both Spanish 

and Japanese studies have opened a whole 

world to me and given me a goal to strive for. 

Now I only have to find a way to get paid for 

From Pre-K through high school, Holy Innocents’ in Seventh students grade. I was on the Science learn language, the as well. power This experience, with of help service what I love doing! work. 


Gala 2008 

a ni g h t in th e or i e n t 

Laurie and Roland Pritchett 

Jim Scott , Spot 

The bidding heats up 

Raffle winner Bland Deshong 

Stephanie and Rick Betts 

Karen Barney, Rick Fishman, Jackie Fishman 

Surveying the silent auction items 

Lizzie and Kirk Duncan 

Stacy Scott and friend 

Cheryl Hix, Sana Thomas, Stacy Scott 

Towns and Rocco Paolucci 

Jess Brown, Molly Eustis, Erica Barbakow 

Carmen and Joe Kissack 

Cindy and Mark Stroman 

Angie Aiken and Anne Jackson 

Rick Betts and Theresa Jespersen 

Vicki and Chris Durst, 

Heather and Michael Hingson 

Bernadine Richards, Georgia Watts, Anna Pfohl 

Kathy Sullivan, Lori Snellings, 

Carrey Burgner, Julie McNeil 


A Heart For The Arts 

VOLUNTEER RECEPTION 

We love our volunteers! Holy Innocents’ is blessed to have an amazing group of energetic and talented 

volunteers who make countless things – such as the Gala, Heart for the Arts, Booster Club activities and a successful Annual Fund, to name 

just a few – happen for our school. On May 1st, top volunteers were saluted at a party at the home of Head of School, Kirk Duncan and his 

wife, Lizzie. With a nod to Cinco de Mayo, Mexican food was featured and more than 100 people fiesta’d the night away. 

Kirk Duncan 

Susan Mehre, Ann Taylor, Carter Taylor 

Merrell and Butch Woodyard and Lever Stewart 

Karen Barney 

Joshua McClymont 

Karen Martin, Twyla Fendler, Michele Duncan 

David Aldridge, Gail and John Jokerst 

Sana Thomas and Jane Thomson 

Michele Nelson, Stephanie Ungashick, 

Rocco and Towns Paolucci, Lori Ainsworth 

Debbie and Matt Reams 

Cheryl Hix and Stacy Scott 

The Reverend 

Patty Roberts 

Susan Sapronov 

Janet Silvera 

Merrell Woodyard and Kirk Duncan 

Mary McKenzie 

Twyla and 

Jeff Fendler 

Kristen and Kelly Williams 

Cathy Bennett, Karen and David Calhoun 

Angie Barry and Wes Green 

Event Co-Chairs 

Leah Henry and Alexis Veer 

Dana and Dave Patton 

Claire Mills and Dana Ponder 

Joanie Ehlers and June Arnold 


FINE ARTS 

FINE ARTS 

AP Art Students’ 

PortfolioS 

Upper School Art teachers Ms. Judie Jacobs and Ms. Wendy Jackson are both accomplished artists in their own right. As is obvious from 

their students’ work on these pages, they’ve helped lay a solid foundation for the next generation of artistic talent. 

Cory Wright 

Nine Faces Of Cami 

Keaton Anderson 

Landscape 

Ethan Bower 

Glass Mosaic 

Anastasia Courvaras 

Rockstar 

Kishauna Callwood 

Untitled 

Katherine Tate 

Untitled 

Meagan Miller 

Sunset 

Lilly Landskroener 

Golf Course 

Courtney Armstrong 

Lighthouse 

Kevin Brenninkmeijer 

Whole Milk 

Sarah Bissell 

Recycled Bottles 

Collin Rhea 

Red picket fence 

Haley Pope 

Landscape 

Caitlin Corsetti 

Nightscape 


FINE ARTS 

Art And Technology 

Partner Up 

H.O.P.E. 

by Katie Keith, Carolina Saca, 

Katie Tiller and Mary Weaver. 

A grieving teen stares silently out the 

window of his bedroom. Smokestacks 

belch pollution into a lead-colored sky. 

A fireman talks about his goal of being 

of service to others. 

The depth and eloquence of student 

films submitted to the Upper and Middle 

School Film Festivals this year show that 

our students have a 

lot to say, and the 

medium of video is an 

expressive vehicle with 

which to say it. 

“Digital video 

is the future of 

communications,” 

declared Middle 

School English and Film 

teacher Mr. David Gale, 

addressing the crowd 

that came to view the 

videos submitted at the 

1st Annual Middle School 

Film Festival. Middle School 

filmmakers certainly appear 

to be catching on to the 

art. Today’s desktop editing 

software is within the reach of all computer 

users with access to a video camera—a 

far different scenario from the specialized, 

expensive post-production houses of 

the recent past. This allows Internet 

users all over the world to contribute 

constantly, coherently and usefully to 

what’s on the Web, and these skills will 

be highly effective in the marketplace, 

as well. It became clear to teachers and 

administrators at the Rowan Family Middle 

School that HIES students should have 

a voice in this media revolution, and the 

skills to express it. 

The theme for the MS Film Festival was 

modeled after the work of Dr. Tim Tyson, 

principal of Mabry Middle School. Mabry 

students have gained world recognition 

for their short films. Their digital media 

content is shared with viewers all over the 


world on MabryOnline.org, as well as via 

the iTunes store. During Tyson’s visit to 

HIES in June 2007, MS History teacher 

Gary Klingman, and David Gale quizzed 

him extensively on how to orchestrate a 

film festival. They decided to adopt the 

theme, “Making Our World a Better Place”. 

Sixteen teams of 

student filmmakers came 

forward when the Film 

Festival was announced. 

“Sixth and seventh 

graders were at a major 

disadvantage,” says 

Klingman. “They didn’t 

have enough computer 

access. They could 

research, script and 

shoot their projects, 

but they couldn’t get 

them edited. This 

should not be an 

issue next year, 

when everyone 

has a laptop.” In 

the end, though, all three 

grades were represented. The videos that 

made it to the final judging were Drunk 

Driving, by Nick Andrist, 

Mitchel Bassett, Trent 

Martin, Harrison McCrorrie 

and Ben Rousseau; Global 

Warming, by Blake Barber, 

Warner Ray and Edward 

Vear; Think About What 

You Eat, by George Dobbs, 

Carter Holland and William 

Mavity; and H.O.P.E., 

by Katie Keith, Carolina 

Saca, Katie Tiller and 

Mary Weaver. 

H.O.P.E. won 1st 

place in the 1st Annual 

MS Film Festival. The 

eighth grade, all-girl 

team of filmmakers 

observed that, “… 

this opportunity has allowed us to 

appreciate the great Americans who 

serve our community. We are sending 

out the message that a person can never 

give up on hope.” The film’s interesting 

camera angles, quick cuts and effects, 

and footage from many different locations 

made it a standout. 

Sending out the message is the whole 

point of film festivals like this, Klingman 

points out. “When you are heard by one 

person, that makes a difference. When you 

are heard by ten people, it makes even 

more of a difference. But imagine if you 

are heard by 100 million people—what a 

difference that would make!” 

The submissions to the Upper School 

Film Festival, held in late April, showed 

clearly that students are absorbing 

powerful aesthetic messages from their 

widespread exposure to media--whether 

it be television, movies or video games— 

and that they know how to apply this 

knowledge to their own creations. They 

are also mastering the complex software 

required to turn out a finished video 

production. 

The Upper School films tackled topics 

ranging from athletic shoes to the 

absurdity of 

war. First Place 

winner, A Loss, by 

William Ward, Neil 

Kimball and Alex 

Herzog, depicted 

a teen struggling 

to overcome 

the death of his 

girlfriend. Ward’s 

directing skills 

were showcased in 

this piece, as were 

Kimball’s considerable 

acting skills. 

Second Place 

winner was X-treme 

Walking, by John 

Mitchell, Jackson Davis and Ryan Cox. 

The video was actually a commercial 

depicting the marvelous acrobatic feats 

possible for wearers of this athletic shoe. 

The film made liberal use of clever special 

effects and used a “man-on-the-street” 

interview style that featured multiple Upper 

School students and faculty. 

Rachel and the Emo Boy, by Neil 

Kimball, required Kimball to serve as both 

director and actor—a task he found to be 

quite difficult. The film was a theater of the 

absurd story about a girl who thinks she is 

having a bad day, until she meets a young 

man whose day is infinitely worse. The 

intense, well-written script was supported 

by tight editing and interesting camera 

angles. 

Alex Fujimoto and John Aldridge’s 

submission to the Festival, The Squid 

and the Tsunami, employed the technique 

of exporting sequences from the video 

game Halo, editing them together and 

recording a sound track. There was a 

profound and poignant message buried in 

the endless animated battles—that trivial 

matters can result in huge, meaningless 

wars. Considering the massive appeal 

that video games hold in today’s market, 

any animation or virtual set design skills 

are going to be a meal ticket for these 

students. 

Filmmaker Spiros Stathoulopoulos, 

guest speaker at the Festival, is the 

director of PVC-1, a Cannes 2007 Festival 

winner. PVC-1 has the distinction of being 

shot entirely in one continuous take, a fact 

of great interest to the HIES filmmakers. 

Technology and art aside, the underlying 

purpose of the Upper School Film Festival 

was to raise funds for our sister schools in 

Haiti. Student organizer, rising senior Lara 

Sullivan, is satisfied that the Festival gave 

voice to the significant skills held by these 

HIES students, in addition to raising $600. 

Think About 

What You Eat. 

by George Dobbs, 

Carter Holland 

and William Mavity 

Drunk Driving 

by Nick Andrist, 

Mitchel Bassett, Trent Martin, 

Harrison McCrorrie 

and Ben Rousseau 

Global Warming 

by Blake Barber, Warner Ray 

and Edward Vear 

To view these films, visit the 

News and Events section of 

the HIES website and click on 

MultiMedia Gallery. 


Sports 

SPRING SPORTS RECAP 

Tennis team advances to Final 8; Liz Link places at state in track 

John McGoogan 

Bentley Heyman 

[ TENNIS ] 

Broken bones, broken hearts. Injuries 

finally caught up to the boy’s tennis team 

in the playoffs, as a broken bone in Zach 

Reece’s playing hand left the Bears a bit 

short handed in its effort against Wesleyan 

in the Final 8 of the state. 

Reece made a gallant effort playing lefthanded, 

and the team took it to the final 

set, but a 6-4 in the third loss at No. 1 

doubles ended their season at 18-5. 

Tyler Mills, the team’s MVP, had only one 

loss on the year; ditto for Owen Brock 

at No. 3. Reece played No. 2 and had a 

successful season. 

The team endured a broken thumb from 

Keaton Anderson and a sprained ankle 

from Brock to reach their Final 8 status. 

They emerged as 6AA region champs with 

a win over state-champion GAC as well as 

Pace Academy. 

Ad-in! Lauren Seiple and Morgan Grate 

led the girl’s tennis team to the region 

quarterfinals before bowing out to state 

contender, Wesleyan. Seiple and Grate 

occupied the No. 1 and 2 singles slots, 

and look for the team to get even stronger 

when Mary Elizabeth Shutley rises to the 

varsity level next year. 

Elizabeth went undefeated in JV play, 

normally winning easily on her way to an 

8-0 record. 

Sure, Coach Cindy Harder will lose her 

share to graduation, but Seiple and Grate 

return, as well as some key doubles 

players to give the Bears a lot of hope. 

[ TRACK & FIELD ] 

Leaping Link. Sophomore Liz Link 

more than outdid her expectations in 

the triple jump this year for Coach Ron 

Liz Link 

Green. Getting second in the region, the 

sophomore sensation finished ninth at the 

state meet in Albany in early May. 

“She jumped the second best distance 

of her career in the preliminaries,” Coach 

Green said. 

Link was the lone girl who qualified for 

state, though almost the entire team set 

personal records at the region meet at 

GAC. 

Most in school history! That’s right, three 

boys going to state in track is a record at 

HIES and Coach Green enjoyed the road 

to Jefferson with Trevor Gillum (pole vault), 

Darrin McElroy (high jump) and O’Neal 

Wanliss (400-meter) in tow. 

Gillum and McElroy were second in region; 

Wanliss won the 6AA meet in the 400, 

becoming only the second individual boy’s 

region track champion in school history. 

Attendance was up among the track unit 

this year, leaving Green and his assistant 

happy when thinking of the future. 

[ LACROSSE ] 

LAX facts. And what a year for boy’s 

lacrosse! A milestone was its first win over 

Westminster in school’s history – a 10-8 

victory back in April. 

“That was arguably the best win in the 

history of this program,” Coach Mike 

Thornton said. 

They advanced to state as the No. 2 seed; 

though they were dropped 13-10 by topseeded 

Milton, Thornton and his gang left 

the field with heads up high. 

Ashley Tucker, Kelly Scott 

The state took note of the team’s success 

– Davis Lukens was named All-American 

for the second straight year as well as All- 

State. Phil Georgakakos was First Team 

All-State and Kit York and Brian Garber 

All-State Honorable Mention. 

Brett Bennett 

[ SOCCER ] 

Oh so close. It ended in the opening 

round of the state boy’s soccer playoffs 

– a 3-2 win in penalty kicks to Paideia. 

Regardless, Coach Adam Janiak said it 

best: “By far that was the most selfless, 

passionate game I’ve seen a group of 

young men play in my 10 years as a 

coach.” 

Sam Johnson and John van Beuningen 

were the leading scorers, though Janiak 

could mention his entire roster when asked 

who some of his key players were. 

Sam Johnson 

Natalie Decker 

[ BASEBALL ] 

Still playing. They won it all in Class AA 

in 2007 and Coach Dylan Deal and his 

baseball squad are making another run as 

of this writing. Winning 13 games in a row 

at one point during the regular season, 

the Bears – second in region – began their 

postseason drive against Banks County 

Friday, May 9th in a best two-of-three. 

The team has enjoyed leadership by 

committee – as Coach Deal has enjoyed 

watching his entire team step up. 

Mark Grimm is the pitching ace; Bentley 

Heyman – a Wake Forest signee – is one 

of the top hitters and solid at shortstop. 

Daniel Blaustein – co-captain – has been 

a stellar performer at second base and, 

when needed, on the mound. Fletcher 

Hawkins’ bat has been solid as has his 

glove at third base. Sean Aiken – off to 

William & Mary next year – is the team’s 

rock at catcher. The list could go on. 

State finals are Friday, May 30th. 

Sean Aiken 

[ GOLF ] 

Fore! Good news is, the boy’s golf team 

captured third at the 6AA tournament. 

“The bad news is, only the top two get to 

go to state,” Coach Jim Griffin said. 

Regardless, what a season his young 

squad had! John McGoogan and Ryan 

Cox were primarily the low medalists for 

the squad. The team has good news 

looking forward – eighth grader J.B. 

Meathe will join the varsity next year after 

drilling a hole-in-one this season for the 

JV Bears. “I’m playing every day this 

summer,” Meathe said. 

Griffin for one, is glad to hear it. 

As for the girls, Coach Randi Aton had 

only four out a few years ago, hardly 

enough to even compete in a meet. She 

now has 14 and a contending squad in 

6AA. Though they didn’t advance, Casey 

Farrell led a Bear squad to a contending 

year. Aton had several others step up as 

well. 

“I’m proud of our kids,” Aton said. “Things 

are looking up!” 

Tyler Mills 

C.J. James, 

Adam Wypyski 

Ending strong. No, they didn’t earn a 

postseason trip, but the girl’s lacrosse 

team ended with consecutive wins over 

GAC and North Forsyth. 

Chandler Hartley, Caroline Lee, Kat 

Conway and Kyle Keenan were among 

the leading scorers for the season; Coach 

Forrest Stillwell commented time and 

again on the squad’s improvement. 

John Beuningen 

Whit Woodring 

Bringing the heat 

Will Byrd, Bill Whitaker, John McGoogan, 

Joe Byrd, Ryan Cox, Blake Snellings, 

Coach Jim Griffin 

Until next time… 

50 | torchbearer Spring 2008 Christina Touzet and Virginia West 


COLLEGES OF MATrICULATION 

Class of 2008 SCHOLARSHIPS 

Taylor P. Adams, University of Georgia 

Sean A. Aiken, College of William and Mary 

Robert K. Aitkens, University of Georgia 

Sarah C. Allen, American University 

Sydney Allen, The University of Alabama 

Caroline V. Anderson, Berry College 

Courtney L. Armstrong, Auburn University 

John B. Austin, University of Georgia 

Virginia R. Baldwin, The University of Montana, Missoula 

Sylvia B. Barrows, Sewanee: The University of the South 

Brett L. Bennett, Elon University 

Michael A. Bird, Mercer University 

Sarah L. Bissell, University of Georgia 

Daniel I. Blaustein, Georgia State University 

Kirsten K. Boe, University of Kentucky 

Ethan R. Bower, Georgia State University 

Kaitlyn R. Bradshaw, Wofford College 

Kevin David Brenninkmeijer, University of Colorado at Boulder 

Chelsea B. Brogdon, Southern Methodist University 

Meredith E. Broudy, University of Georgia 

Phillip M. Brunson, Kennesaw State University 

Mary L. Byrd, University of South Carolina 

James L. Caldwell, Georgia State University 

Kishauna R. Callwood, St. John’s University 

Loren R. Canby, Miami University, Oxford 

John M. Carpenter, Louisiana State University 

Amy C. Casey, Furman University 

Caitlin L. Corsetti, The University of Alabama 

Anastasia Couvaras, University of Georgia 

Katherine P. Decker, Louisiana State University 

Glenn P. DeMarcus, Vanderbilt University 

Justin L. DeNicola, Clemson University 

Arsalan Derakhshan, Emory University 

Garrett Easom, University of South Carolina 

Alexander H. Erdemir, The University of Alabama at Birmingham 

Alice E. Eustis, Presbyterian College 

Katherine B. Evans, The University of Montana, Missoula 

Anne C. Galloway, University of Georgia 

Mary Glen Galloway, Undecided 

Brian M. Garber, Georgia Institute of Technology 

Jasmine A. Garrett, University of Richmond 

Kelly L. Garrison, Sweet Briar College 

Philip B. Georgakakos, Georgia Institute of Technology 

Trevor J. Gillum, University of Georgia 

Samuel A. Gonzalez, Montana State University, Bozeman 

Julia A. Grimm, Clemson University 

Mark E. Grimm, Brown University 

William F. Hawkins, The University of Alabama 

Christopher C. Herbert, University of Florida 

Bentley Heyman, Wake Forest University 

Caitlin S. Hogan, Georgia Institute of Technology 

Sara C. Hollett, Auburn University 

Andrew G. Hovancik, University of Georgia 

Emily E. Hovis, University of Georgia 

Ashleigh C. Hutchings, The University of Alabama 

Helena Johnson, Georgia Perimeter College 

David H. Kamerschen, University of Georgia 

Timothy B. Kovacs, Appalachian State University 

Lilly C. Landskroener, University of Georgia 

Erik A. Larsen, Georgia College and State University 

Caroline E. Loux, University of Georgia 

Davis L. Lukens, Denison University 

Martin H. Macintyre, Clemson University 

Sarah F. Margeson, University of South Carolina 

Emily E. Martin, University of Georgia 

Kerry A. Martin, University of Georgia 

Arden C. McClain, Miami University, Oxford 

Darrin W. McElroy, United States Naval Academy 

Ian Andrew McGonnigle, Undecided 

John C. McGoogan, Southern Methodist University 

Matthew O. McMillan, Clemson University 

Margaret A. McWhirter, University of Georgia 

Colin Meier, Undecided 

Meagan M. Miller, The University of Alabama 

Tyler R. Mills, Kennesaw State University 

John O. Mohammadioun, University of Colorado at Boulder 

Norma V. Nyhoff, Carleton College 

Lauren Danielle Ouellette, Rollins College 

Haley R. Pope, Rhodes College 

Austin L. Pound, Appalachian State University 

Erica L. Price, DePaul University 

Wayne Alan Quigley, Undecided 

Katherine E. Quirk, University of Georgia 

Ellen R. Reece, Auburn University 

Clara H. Reed, Berry College 

Emily W. Richter, University of Georgia 

Amanda T. Saca, Wofford College 

Raquel L. Scharyj, Wake Forest University 

James Kyle Strait, Georgia Institute of Technology 

Harrison A. Stroman, University of Georgia 

Rachel E. Sullivan, University of Virginia 

Katherine M. Tate, University of Colorado at Boulder 

Carlee A. Terrell, Georgia Institute of Technology 

Christopher W. Thomas, Duke University 

Michael G. Vaughan, Georgia Institute of Technology 

Colleen C. Weaver, Winthrop University 

Matthew A. Webb, Oglethorpe University 

Virginia A. West, Miami University, Oxford 

Megan D. Wilkins, University of South Carolina 

Rachael E. Windler, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 

Cory J. Wright, Berry College 

Christopher A. York, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

Taylor Adams 

University of Alabama, Alumni Scholarship 

Sarah Allen 

American University, Dean’s Scholarship 

George Washington University, Presidential 

Scholarship 

Caroline Anderson 

Berry College, Academic Scholarship and 

Equestrian Scholarship 

Jack Austin 

University of Georgia Honors Program, 

Charter Scholarship 

Michael Bird 

Mercer University, University Academic 

Scholarship 

Sarah Bissell 

Miami University, Oxford, Oxford Scholarship 

Southern Methodist University, Rotunda & 

Distinguished Scholar 

Kaitlyn Bradshaw 

Birmingham-Southern College, Academic 

Award 

Kevin Brenninkmeijer 

Montana State University, Bozeman, 

Achievement Award 

Meredith Broudy 

University of Maryland, College Park, 

Presidential Scholarship 

Kishauna Callwood 

St. John’s University, Academic 

Achievement Award 

Loren Canby 

Simmons College, Activity History Award 

Jack Carpenter 

Louisiana State University, Bengal Legacy 

and Star Student Scholarship 

Glenn DeMarcus 

American Express Award 

Ali Eustis 

Ohio Wesleyan University, Diversity Award 

Annie Galloway 

Auburn University, Academic Scholarship 

Brian Garber 

University of South Carolina, Woodrow 

Scholars Award 

Jasmine Garrett 

Elon University, Presidential Scholarship 

Randolph-Macon University, Presidential 

Scholarship 

Sam Gonzalez 

Montana State University, Achievement 

Award 

Julia Grimm 

BellSouth Corporation, BellSouth 

Scholarship 

Christopher Herbert 

University of Florida, Atlanta Gator Club 

Scholarship 

Caitlin Hogan 

Auburn University, Talent Scholars Award 

Sara Hollett 

DePauw University, Alumni Legacy Award 

Kam Kamerschen 

Louisiana State University, Tiger Scholarship 

Timothy Kovacs 

Western State College of Colorado, National 

Student Scholarship 

Erik Larsen 

Berry College, Opportunity Grant 

Carly Loux 

University of Alabama, J.C. Moore 

Scholarship 

Auburn University, Academic Charter 

Scholarship 

University of Georgia, Charter Scholarship 

Davis Lukens 

Denison University, Denison Alumni Award 

Emily Martin 

University of South Carolina, McKissick 

Scholars Award and In State 

Tuition Award 

Kerry Martin 

University of Georgia, Charter Scholarship 

University of South Carolina, Woodrow 

Scholars Award and Merit Award 

Darrin McElroy 

New Mexico Military Institute, U.S. Naval 

Academy Foundation Scholarship 

Tyler Mills 

Kennesaw State University, Tennis 

Scholarship 

Norma Nyhoff 

Carleton College, Academic Scholarship 

and National Merit Award 

Danielle Ouellette 

Rollins College, Florida Access Grant 

Emily Richter 

Auburn University, Academic Charter 

Scholarship 

Christopher Thomas 

Rice University, Trustee Distinguished 

Scholarship 

IBM Watson Scholarship 

Megan Wilkins 

University of Mississippi, Academic 

Excellence Award and Children of 

Alumni Award 

University of South Carolina: Woodrow 

Scholars Award 

Cory Wright 

Berry College, Academic Scholarship 

Lycoming College, Academic Scholarship 

Kit York 

University of California at Los Angeles, 

Scholarship Recognition 

Total Awarded: $1, 781, 900.00 


2008 Middle School Honors 2008 Upper School Honors 

Group Awards 

Sixth Grade 

Eighth Grade 

Duke TIP—State 

Payton Anderson 

James Best 

Kendall Krebs 

William Mavity 

William Rasmussen 

Evy Mitchell 

Creighton Aldridge 

Grand Concours National Winner 

Bailey Wilkie 

Grand Concours State Winners 

Bailey Wilkie 

Evy Mitchell 

Michael Money 

Charisse Hughes 

Kendall Konenkamp 

Mary Catherine Thompson 

Certificat d’honneur 

Rachel Garber 

Carolina Saca 

Sarah Widener 

Bailey Wilkie 

Science Olympiad—Regional First Place 

John Galloway 

Jack Watts 

Jake Decker 

Derby Sutter 

Carson McGorry 

American Mathematics Competition 

James Best (1st Place) 

Student Council Executive Board 

President – Katie Keith 

Vice President – Natalie Scott 

Secretary – Anne Yanda 

Treasurer – Allison Rogg 

Art – Leanne Money 

Band – Percussion - Clayton DeHaven 

Band – Woodwinds - Stewart Brumbeloe 

Chorus – Kennan Luther 

Computer - Alina Brenninkmeijer 

Drama – Drew Anderson 

English – (Girls) – Ashlyn Masters 

English – (Boys) – Patrick Shelton 

French – Mary Catherine Thomson 

Handbells I – Adair Chambers 

Handbells II – Dalyan Kilic 

Health – Ansley Carter 

Geography – Natalie Kessler 

Math – Mary Catherine Thomson 

Orchestra – Madison Collins 

Beginning Orchestra – Elizabeth Callaway 

Physical Education – 

Jamey O’Shaughnessey 

Science – Marielle Williams 

Spanish – Grant Wilmer 

Strategies – Trent Martin 

Research Skills – Harrison Young 

Seventh Grade 

Art – Stephen Williams 

Band – Percussion – Thomas Coleman 

Band – Woodwinds - Christin Grulke 

Bible – Wright Griffith 

Chorus – Michael Money 

Drama – Payton Anderson 

English – (Girls) - Hannah Weiss 

English - (Boys) - Devon Asbury 

French – Evy Mitchell 

Handbells I – Addie Ponder 

Handbells II – Alexandra Juneau 

Health – Brantley Taylor 

History – Emma van Beuningen 

Accelerated Math – Creighton Aldridge 

Transitional Math – Thomas Coleman 

Orchestra – Wick Simmons 

Physical Education – Chandler Cook 

Science – William Rasmussen 

Spanish – Bailey McBride 

Strategies – John Gordon Hiles 

Accelerated Algebra – James Best 

Algebra – Allison Rhea 

Pre-Algebra – Amanda Graham 

Art – Kate Hollett 

Band – Percussion – Jake Decker 

Band – Woodwinds - Brittany Ketchup 

Chorus – Rachael Walker 

Drama – Emma Borne 

English – (Girls) – Darby Cook 

Englsih – (Boys) – Harrison Andros 

Ethics – Allison Rogg 

Film – Shamoya Bailey 

French – Bailey Wilkie 

Handbells I – Rachel Garber 

Handbells II – Tay Rivers 

Health – Anne Yanda 

History – Shannon O’Hanlon 

Latin – Thomas Menk 

Orchestra – Michelle Nelson 

Physical Education – Clint Dolan 

Rhetoric – Hannah Kissack 

Accelerated Science – Natalie Sterrett 

Science – Shannon O’Hanlon 

Spanish – Darby Cook 

Strategies – Anna Griffin 

Special Awards 

Athlete of the Year 

Skye Bolt 

Sarah Venable 

Chaplain’s Award 

Katie Keith 

Dean’s Award for Citizenship 

Sixth — James Moon & Katie Jacobs 

Seventh — Wright Griffith & 

Brantley Taylor 

Eighth — Harrison Andros & Allison Rogg 

Middle School Faculty Award 

Clint Dolan & Katie Keith 

World History – Channing Jones 

World History Honors – Natalie Decker 

US History – John Mitchell 

US History Honors – Mackenzie Sawicki 

AP US History – Kate Newman 

Topics in Modern History – Garrett Easom 

European History – Clara Reed 

AP European History – Norma Nyhoff 

Government/Economics – Brett Bennett 

AP Government – Katherine Quirk 

World Geography – William Ward 

Ancient History & Religion – Carter Ehlers 

Ethics – Neil Kimball 

New Testament – Sarah Hamill 

Comparative Religions – 

Arsalan Derakhshan 

Mythology – Caitlin Hogan 

Spirituality – Alan Quigley 

Journalism – Melissa Reeder 

English 9 – Kathryn Maloy 

English 9 Honors – Kate Borden 

English 10 – Millen Kebede 

English 10 Honors – Sophia Sapronov 

English 11 – Sakia DeLaney 

English 11 Honors – Lauren Seiple 

AP English Language – Lara Sullivan 

English 12 – Sarah Bissell 

English 12 Honors – Rachel Sullivan 

AP English Literature – Norma Nyhoff 

Biology – Carter Ehlers 

Biology Honors – Kaki Bennett 

AP Biology – Alex Herzog 

Chemistry – Price Barnett 

Chemistry Honors – Corinne Bicknese 

Anatomy & Physiology – Carlee Terrell 

Physics – Arden McClain 

Physics Honors – Courtney Kissack 

AP Physics – Katherine Quirk 

Environmental Science – Sam Johnson 

AP Environmental Science – Blair Barrows 

Algebra I-B – Bobby Fine 

Geometry – Meghan Barrett 

Geometry Honors – K.C. Crewdson 

Algebra II – Christina Callaway 

Algebra II Honors – Corinne Bicknese 

Algebra III – Drew Steinmetz 

Pre Calculus – Haley Pope 

Pre Calculus Honors – Caroline Lee 

Discrete Math – Emily Martin 

AP Statistics – Caitlin Hogan 

AP Calculus AB – Kerry Martin 

AP Calculus BC – Rachel Sullivan 

Spanish I – Rekeyia Sherrell 

Spanish II – Meghan Barrett 

Spanish II Honors – Megan Ernst 

Spanish III – Ashleigh Luttery 

Spanish III Honors – Rebecca Hamm 

Spanish IV – Matt McCloskey 

Spanish IV Honors – Jennie Hardin 

Spanish V – Caroline Anderson 

AP Spanish – Alex Wallace 

French I – Kate Decker 

French II – Bailey McDearis 

French II Honors – Kaki Bennett 

French III – Kartee Johnson 

French III Honors – Kate Newman 

French IV – Holly Spalding 

French IV Honors – Lara Sullivan 

AP French – Helena Johnson 

Latin I – Jackie Menk 

Latin II – Casey Farrell 

Latin III – Rachel Bottoms 

Latin IV – Emily Richter 

Yearbook – Megan Wilkins 

Foundations of Art – Callen Phillips 

Drawing II – Chandler Wood 

3D Design I – Bill Whittaker 

2D Design II – Wood Alter 

Drawing 1/2D Design I – Olivia Stockert 

AP 2D Design – Haley Pope 

AP 3D Design – Sarah Bissell 

AP Drawing – Kishauna Callwood 

Chorus – Chris Mann 

Theatre Arts – Phillip Brunson 

Band – K.C. Crewdson 

Orchestra – Rebecca Hamm 

Photography – Alex Erdemir 

Informational Technologies – Ryan Cox 

Life Wellness – Halle Addison 

Physical Education – 

Christine Georgakakos 

Governor’s Honors Program – 

Kate Newman 

Phi Beta Kappa Award – Kate Newman 

Scholar Athlete Award – 


Katherine Quirk 

Quill and Scroll – 

Channing Jones, Katelyn Dramis, 

Josie Rahn, Lara Sullivan 

Student Council Scholarship – 

Alex Wallace 

University of Georgia Cert. of Merit – 

Jennie Hardin, Caroline Lee, 

John Mitchell, Kate Newman, 

Lauren Seiple 

S.T.A.R. Student and Faculty Award – 

Kit York and Christine Stafford 

Frank L. Butler/Marilyn Butler Blane 

Memorial Scholarship – Andrew Parrish 

National Honor Society Scholarship – 

Corinne Bicknese 

Citizenship Award – Alan Quigley 

Atlanta Journal Cup – Arsalan Derakhshan 

Excellence in Moral Courage Award – 

Helena Johnson 

Ninth Grade General Excellence Award – 

Sarah Merkel, Peyton Warley 

Tenth Grade General Excellence Award – 

My Bui, Rebecca Hamm 

Eleventh Grade General Excellence 

Award – Kartee Johnson, Chandler Wood 

Twelfth Grade General Excellence 

Award – Katherine Quirk, Megan Wilkins 

Faculty Award – Arsalan Derakhshan 

The Principal’s Award – Sean Aiken 

Alice L. Malcolm Headmaster’s Award – 

Jennie Hardin 

Salutatorian – Norma Nyhoff 

Valedictorian – Rachel Sullivan 


PROM ‘08 

Juniors and Seniors danced the 

night away at Callanwolde 

Prom Queen: Rachel Sullivan 

Prom King: Philip Georgakakos 


From The Development Office 

In Honor of Pan Phillips 

In honor of Pan Phillips, beloved 1st grade assistant teacher 

in the Lower School, a series of benches were installed 

in front of the Dorothy Sullivan Lower School. The Lower 

School faculty felt this was an appropriate way to honor 

her memory as she cared so much for the children. These 

benches will help to keep the Lower School children and 

faculty comfortable and safe while waiting in the carpool line 

(a duty Pan enjoyed and took seriously). 

Pan passed away suddenly in 2007 and is missed by all 

who worked with her. She worked at HIES for 27 years. 

Please don’t sit out the 

Annual Fund this year! 

With the June 30th deadline looming, Annual Fund volunteers 

have been working to get in every possible gift to reach our 

goal of $1,100,000 and to have as high a percentage of 

participating families as possible. Every child at Holy Innocents’ 

receives a form of financial aid from the Fund each year, so 

we ask each family to consider a gift at the level that is right 

for their circumstances. Dollars raised this year will be used 

towards things like faculty training and benefits, educational 

programs, basic repairs to facilities and expansion of the laptop 

program. 

College Fair Gets All A’s 

The Bruce E. Mitchell 

Financial Aid Fund 

In May, Holy Innocents’ received a generous donation from a 7th grade 

student, Amanda Turner, and her family. This gift will be used to support the 

Science Olympiad Program and the Middle School Science Department 

over the next two years. The HIES Science Olympiad team competed in 23 

categories at the State Science Olympiad in March and won fourth place 

statewide against 28 other top schools in Georgia. Amanda credits Mrs. 

Janet Silvera with her increased interest and achievement in science, and 

she came up with the idea to support the program. Students are chosen for 

the team in the early fall and spend many hours over the course of several 

months preparing for the regional and state competitions, practicing after 

school, on Saturdays, and over vacations. It takes a great deal of dedication 

and hard work to comprise a winning team: Amanda’s gift will ensure that 

our Science Bears have what they need to stay on top of their game. 

The Holy Innocents’ 15th annual College Fair took place April 8 in the 

school gymnasium complex. It was once again a great success with 

over 140 colleges participating and 450 students from 30 high schools 

attending. 

The college reps always compliment our spacious venue where the 

college tables were spread out over the two gyms. We offered a hospitality 

area on the upper hall of the main gym where we served the college reps 

a boxed lunch and desserts prepared by parent volunteers. The area was 

decorated with art loaned by Mrs. Jackson’s and Mrs. Jacob’s Upper 

School art classes. 

Parent volunteers from the 10th grade class, ably assisted by 9th grade 

class parents, hosted the Fair. Over 50 students also volunteered their time 

in the student and rep registration areas, in the parking lots to assist the 

reps with their materials, in the Hospitality area and on the gym floor. 

We were pleased to receive such positive feedback from the college 

reps, with several commenting that it was the best fair yet. 

Turner Gift to Science Olympiad Program 

Janet Silvera, David Turner, Amanda Turner, Kathy Turner, 

James Jackson 

Dana Halberg, Barbara Cartmill, David Haddow, Susan Bishop, Bruce Mitchell, Joe Reynolds, Anne Bachman, John Almeter, Denise Ivey 

In 2007, an anonymous donor made a 

generous $100,000 gift to endow a financial 

aid fund in honor of former Trustee and 

Scholarship Foundation Chairman, Bruce 

E. Mitchell. This gift was issued with a 

challenge to the community, and those 

whom Bruce has touched over the years, 

to match the support dollar for dollar 

and significantly increase the level of aid 

available for talented minority students with 

demonstrated financial needs. The fund 

has grown to $175,000 and we hope to 

continue to grow it in hopes it will provide a 

Anne and Carter Bachman and Libby Lindsay 

full scholarship one day. 

On April 17, an event was held at the 

Cherokee Town Club in honor of Bruce 

Mitchell. This event was a wonderful tribute 

to Bruce and all he has done for HIES over 

the years. Many members of the Scholarship 

Foundation attended the event, as did other 

members of the HIES community. 

Bruce E. Mitchell has been an active 

member of the Holy Innocents’ Episcopal 

School Community for more than thirteen 

years, having served in numerous capacities 

including service as Vice Chair and Member 

of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the 

Scholarship Foundation. He contributed 

countless hours and personal resources 

to the life and growth of the school and 

is admired by many members of the Holy 

Innocents’ school family. 

Please contact Michele Duncan 

(404-303-2150 x193 or michele.duncan@ 

hies.org) in the Development Office if 

you wish to receive more information on 

supporting this Fund. 

Wilson Salisbury 


Bruce Mitchell

Outreach 

Fun Run Scores Personal Best 

CLASS NOTES 

Six hundred people walked the morning away for a good cause 

during the Parents’ Association Fun Run on April 26th. Seventy-five 

Upper School and 8th grade students counted laps and kept records, 

aided by a dozen parent volunteers. 

All funds raised will go toward the purchase of a new school 

bus for the Albert T. Mills Enrichment Center. It is a credit to 

the HIES spirit of outreach that the event surpassed its goal of 

$15,000 by nearly 50%, earning over $22,000. 

CLASS OF 1995 

Class representative: 

Nicole (Thomas) Thibo: nicthm@yahoo.com 

Tom Anderson, ’95, and his wife, Megan 

had a little girl, Isabelle Anderson, on 

October 22, 2007. 

CLASS OF 1996 


Jenny (Graham) Beeson: jagraham1978@yahoo.com 

CLASS OF 1997 


Emilie (Collins) Murphy: emiliecmurphy@gmail.com 

George Bennett Cierny, ’97, and Jill 

Rachel Tanenbaum were married in Atlanta 

on April 5, 2008. They are both third year 

medical students at Tulane University in New 

Orleans, LA. 

CLASS OF 1998 

Class representatives: 

John Morgan: Jfmua2@aol.com 

Effie (Swartwood) Thompson: effies21@hotmail.com 

Alexandra Henderson, ‘98, is working 

as a marketing assistant at Linens USA 

in Doraville, GA. The company makes 

polyester industrial garments and sells them 

wholesale to uniform companies around the 

country. She is still living in Norcross with 

her boyfriend, Chuck and cat, Molly. 

Jeremy Stacy, ’98, is a computer project 

engineer with Crothall Industries. He and 

his wife, Susan (his Yale sweetheart) married 

last summer and live in Chicago. Jeremy 

also composes DNB music and performs 

solo as Aamano and with a partner as 

Section Nine. Susan is a vintage designer 

clothing dealer. 

Alex Johnson, ’95, and his wife, Liza, have 

a beautiful little girl Amelia Isis Johnson 

who will be turning one on May 10. Her 

big brother, Kellen Woods Johnson, just 

turned six and is the kindest big brother 

they could have dreamed of having to help 

Amelia along the road of life. Liza and Alex 

continue to cherish their time together and 

look forward to an excellent summer in 

Colorado. 

James Yancey, ’98, and Tray Butler, his 

partner of five years, were joined in a 

Commitment Ceremony on May 17, 2008 at 

the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. 

Andrew Savula 

and family 

Mary Anna Wearing 

Holly McClure, ’97, is still living in New 

York and is an Associate Producer for NBC 

Sports. She is going to Beijing from August 

1-22 for the Olympic games, which should 

be pretty exciting. She also ran the NYC 

Marathon this past November and reached 

her goal of finishing under 5 hours. 

William Morgan, ’95, passed his 

comprehensive exams to partially satisfy the 

Ph.D requirement for the History Department 

at the University of Texas. He will be 

spending next year in Cuba doing research 

for his dissertation. 

Joseph Minotto, Austin Minotto, 

Sam Baskin 

Walker Noland, 

Connor Jensen 

Sam Cravey and 

John Gibson 


Class Notes 

Class Notes 

CLASS OF 1999 

Class representatives: 

Jennifer (Cavanaugh) Brown: Jennifer.Cavanaugh@hies.org 

Samia Hanafi: samhanafi@gmail.com 

Drew McDonald: drew.mcdonald@pfsfhq.com 

Chris Denittis, ’99, recently accepted to the 

UGA School of Law and will begin in August 

2008. Chris graduated with a bachelor’s 

degree in journalism from Georgia also. 

Brian Hall, ’99, is currently shooting the 

21st season of FOX’s COPS. His first venue 

has him riding with Broward County Sheriffs 

Department in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Other 

recent projects include “The Real World 

Hollywood” now airing on MTV. Brian has 

teamed up with SneakySunday.com, 

an Atlanta-based website that features 

recommendations for bars and clubs, 

restaurants, hotels, shopping and live 

entertainment. Brian is helping launch 

SneakySunday.tv in the coming weeks, 

which will feature original programming and 

insider access to the cities’ hottest spots 

in a short-form, documentary-style videoreview 

site. 

Sarah Foy Moreland, ‘99, will marry Hans 

Marcus Sherman in Atlanta, Georgia on June 

14th, 2008 at All Saints’ Episcopal Church. 

The couple will continue to reside in Boston, 

Massachusetts. 

David Peterson, ’99, and Melissa Clapp 

Peterson, ’99, would like to announce their 

wedding on November 3, 2007. David says 

“It’s funny because they didn’t really hang 

out at all much in high school, but met back 

up a couple of years ago, and the rest is 

history.” 

CLASS OF 2000 

Class Representatives: 

James Capo: jhcapo@gmail.com 

Nitara Carswell: nitaracarswell@hotmail.com 

Sarah Oddsen: sarahodd@hotmail.com 

Courtney Dutson, ’00, attended Bikram 

Yoga Teacher Training last fall, which is a 

very intensive 9-week program for Bikram 

Yoga, the original hot yoga. Teacher Training 

is similar in intensity to Army Boot Camp--18 

hour days, 2 intensive 90-minute+ yoga 

classes every day in 105 degree F heat, 

lectures, teacher dialogue memorization 

and presentation for evaluation, etc. She 

graduated and now teaches Bikram Yoga 

full-time at several studios in the Central 

Florida area. Courtney lives in Cocoa 

Beach, FL and surfs every day possible. 

CLASS OF 2001 


Matt Freeman: msfreeman@gmail.com 

Ellen Williams: ellenwilliams@mindspring.com 

Ashley Crowley Jones, ’01, has been 

married for four years to Erik Jones, and 

they have a 1 1/2 year old little boy named 

Joshua Jones. They live in Fort Rucker, AL. 

Her husband is in flight school for the US 

Army. He is training to be an Apache pilot. 

The Jones’ will soon be moving wherever 

the Army sends them by the end of the year 

which is very exciting. 

CLASS OF 2002 


Katie Kirtland: kirtlkr@bellsouth.net 

Alley Pickren: alleypic@uga.edu 

Zach Blend, ’02, was hired by Holy 

Innocents’ as an assistant baseball coach. 

Zach led the Holy Innocents’ Middle School 

Baseball Team to a 2nd place finish in the 

Dunwoody Senior League this spring. He 

works full time as a Development Officer for 

the Goshen Valley Boys Ranch in Waleska, 

Georgia, a home for young men who have 

found themselves within the state foster care 

system due to years of abuse and neglect 

and are in need of a higher level of care and 

support due to past traumatic experiences. 

Alex Crumpler, ’02, “One year ago, 

Sonia Barbalho and I entertained one 

another about the possibility of traveling 

together. Having the passion to see the 

world, challenging ourselves in foreign 

situations and a desire to widen our 

global perspective, we began planning an 

extended trip that would include much of 

South America, Australia and Southeast 

Asia. The dream became a reality! We felt 

that there will be few times afforded to us in 

our lives to go on a similar journey. Budget 

in mind, we agreed that the purpose of 

our trip will be to immerse ourselves in a 

menagerie of cultures, languages and life 

lessons. 

“Thus far we have survived a week in Rio 

de Janeiro celebrating Carnival, witnessed 

the creation of a perfect Argentinean 

Malbec, explored the ruins of Machu Picchu, 

walked across floating islands made of 

reeds in Lake Titicaca and biked through the 

Patagonian Lake District. 

“The adventure will have an exponential 

impact on who we are as people and 

positively enrich our international awareness. 

Traveling increases one’s appreciation for 

life, evokes curiosity and passion, sharpens 

one’s ability to adapt and, most importantly, 

it energizes the mind to learn. 

“We seized an opportunity and made 

many sacrifices in order to follow our hearts 

and dreams. This adventure would not have 

been possible without the love, support 

and knowledge of our friends and families. 

You have enlightened, inspired and instilled 

the qualities and values that have and will 

continue to shape us for the rest of our lives. 

Words cannot express our gratitude for the 

many things you have bestowed upon us. 

Although this may be an unconventional way 

to learn, the potential to learn is endless. 

We love you and will continue to share our 

insights, experiences, recommendations 

and appreciation. The web address is www. 

goneroaming.wordpress.com.” 

Missy Evans, ’02, is graduating from the 

University of Denver Graduate School of 

Social Work in the clinical Families track, 

on June 6 with a Masters in social work. 

She will receive her school social worker 

license and social work license. Missy will 

be moving to Jackson, WY for a job as a 

therapist. 

CLASS OF 2003 


James Jackson: JJDAWG84@UGA.EDU 

Emily Weprich: wepriep@auburn.edu 

Caroline Wimberly: caroline.wimberly@duke.edu 

Robert Fowler, ’03, is graduating from the 

University of North Carolina with a Masters 

degree, and will be working in Charlotte for 

PricewaterhouseCoopers in the fall. 

Adam Jones, ’03, graduated from the 

University of Georgia, Terry College of 

Business with a degree in Management 

Information Systems in December 2007. 

He now works for Ernst & Young in the 

Technology and Security Risk Services 

Department full time and recently moved 

into a new place in Buckhead. 

James Milner, ’03, graduated cum laude 

last May from the University of Miami, 

FL. He received departmental honors 

in Philosophy. James was accepted at 

Georgetown University for the Conflict 

Resolution M.A. Program. He currently 

works at Knuckle Up Fitness Sandy Springs, 

where he has recently begun training in 

Brazilian jiu-jitsu. 

CLASS OF 2004 


Amy Fore: amyfore@uga.edu 

Collins Marshall: HCM04@fsu.edu 

Gordon Silvera: Gordon.M.Silvera@dartmouth.edu 

Angelique Constantaras, ’04, has been 

accepted to study abroad through the UGA 

en España Sevilla Maymester program. The 

program extends from May, 7 2008 to June 

2, 2008, and she will be taking Business 

Spanish as the final Spanish class of her 

Spanish major at UGA. After the program, 

Angelique will remain in Spain with relatives 

in Benidorm, Spain and continue to improve 

her fluency in the Spanish language by 

working in the area. She will return in the 

fall of this year to complete her Advertising 

degree through the Grady School of 

Journalism and Mass Communication 

at UGA. Most recently, Angelique was 

awarded the position of VP of Educational 

Programming on the Advertising club’s 

executive board for Fall 08 and she was 

accepted into Alpha Delta Sigma, a national 

honorary society sponsored by the AAF 

(American Advertising Federation). 

Eric Huff, ’04, is graduating from Florida 

State University where he majored in 

Finance. He will be moving to San Diego 

upon graduation. 

Susan Little, ’04, is currently an intern with 

Mass Mutual Financial Group. She started 

in January and currently works both in the 

Athens and the Atlanta, Georgia offices and 

will continue through the summer and fall. 

Jordan Olinger, ‘04, will be graduating 

from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH 

this May with a B.S. in Athletic Training and 

Natural Sciences. Through her tenure at 

Xavier University, she has been involved in 

several organizations such as the Student 

Government Association, University 

Admissions Committee, Delta Sigma Theta 

Sorority, Incorporated, the Black Student 

Association and the Xavier Cheerleading 

Team. During her senior year, she was 

President of the 2008 Senior Board, Vice 

President of the Rho Xi Chapter of Delta 

Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Chair 

of the Board of Elections Committee, and a 

member of the Leadership Committee and 

Gospel Choir. Jordan also interned 

as a student athletic trainer this year for 

the Xavier Musketeers Men’s Basketball 

team who made it to the Elite Eight in the 

NCAA Tournament. During the past four 

years, Jordan has been recognized for 

her academics and leadership abilities by 

receiving the Outstanding Sophomore award 

in 2006 and just recently was the recipient 

of the Xavier University President’s Award. 

Jordan has also been on Xavier University 

Dean’s List consecutively and National 

Dean’s List. Succeeding graduation, Jordan 

received the opportunity to participate in 

an Alternative Breaks Trip in the Dominican 

Republic assisting and living at an outreach 

orphanage. Jordan has truly enjoyed her 

experiences at Xavier and is excited to move 

to Nashville, TN where she will be attending 

Physician Assistant School concentrating in 

pediatric orthopedic surgery. 

Kate Stice, ’04, is graduating from Florida 

State University. She majored in Public 

Relations. She is headed around the world 

solo for four months visiting 17 countries. 

Amy Stivarius, ’04, is graduating from UGA 

in May with a BS in Psychology. She is very 

excited! 


Class Notes 

Class Notes 

CLASS OF 2005 


Tyler Rathburn: tratt@comcast.net 

Rachel Shunnarah: rach521@uga.edu 

Kate Sternstein: kasternstein@davidson.edu 

Allyson Young: youngan@auburn.edu 

Katherine Cochrane, ’05, began her senior 

year at the University of Georgia in the fall 

while completing double majors in both Real 

Estate and Spanish. She is currently planning 

on attending law school in the fall of 2009 

and hopes to pursue a career in property 

law. 

Presently, Katherine is studying abroad 

in Valencia, Spain. The trip started on 

January 20th and she returned on April 

26th. Katherine is in Spain with the “UGA 

en España” program(http://www.spain.uga. 

edu/vcia/index.htm) to fulfill credits for her 

Spanish major. She is taking four classes 

in Spanish at the University of Valencia. 

She also has a blog detailing some of her 

experiences if you’d like to read it at: http:// 

katcochrane.blogspot.com/ and picasa 

web album of pictures at http://picasaweb. 

google.com/katcochrane. 

Andy Rast, ’05, deployed to Iraq with 3rd 

Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment on March 

13. He is spending seven months monitoring 

convoys moving throughout Iraq. 

CLASS OF 2006 


Kaitlin Duffy: duffykc@auburn.edu 

Miller Edwards: edwardm@auburn.edu 

Anna Pickren: annapic@uga.edu 

Amy Schwartz: amy8700@hotmail.com 

Justin Bower, ’06, is attending Field 

Training with the US Air Force this summer 

at Maxwell AFB, AL. He is currently enrolled 

in AFROTC at the University of Georgia with 

plans to commission in Spring 2010. He also 

received the H. Randolph Holder POW/MIA 

Scholarship Award. The award is in memory 

of Major Holder who was imprisoned in 

a Nazi German camp during WWII. The 

award, presented at the Annual Dining - 

Out /Awards Ceremony for the Air Force 

ROTC program at UGA. He was given to a 

cadet who, according to his commander, 

exemplifies good leadership, academic 

excellence, outstanding integrity and a 

high sense of responsibility. Major Holder’s 

widow was present at the dinner to hand 

Justin the award personally. Justin also 

received the American Legion Scholastic 

Excellence Award during the ceremony in 

recognition of his leadership abilities. He will 

be participating in the Air Force Field Training 

program this summer in Alabama and will 

return to Athens in the fall for his junior year 

where he is studying Psychology and is an 

active member of the ATO fraternity. 

Amir Kabiri, ’06, has been working as an 

Apple Campus Rep at USC in L.A. 

Courtney McClain, ’06, pledged Pi Beta Phi 

Sorority at Wake Forest. 

Claire Sellers, ’06, is currently entering her 

junior year at Marymount Manhattan College 

with a double concentration in directing and 

producing and management with a minor 

in theatre performance. Claire is a Resident 

Advisor at one of the college’s residence 

halls and she was also the assistant director 

to Lisa Rothe for her Marymount’s mainstage 

production of “A Month in The Country”. In 

Summer 2007, Claire traveled to Paris to 

study the Jacques Lecoq acting method 

under Sarah Harper and Pascal Laurent. In 

Paris, Claire performed in “En Attendant 

de la Loco”, a performance commissioned 

by the city to depict the coming of the first 

railroad in Paris. This summer, Claire will be 

teaching theatre, English, and French, at 

TASIS (The American School In Switzerland), 

in Lugano, Switzerland 

CLASS OF 2007 

Charlotte Bissell: cmb123@comcast.net 

Sarah-Elizabeth Kirtland: kkirtla@clemson.edu 

Taylor Pack: pack_t@bellsouth.net 

Emily Phillips: goldengirl188@aol.com 

Rebecca Barrow, ‘07, joined Kappa 

Delta sorority at the University of Georgia. 

Rebecca is also involved in the Greek 

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, is a 

member of the UGA Deck Dawgs (an 

organization of students who work with 

the Athletic Association to promote swim 

meets), and is a member of the UGA Heros 

(a UGA philanthropy that supports programs 

for children with AIDS). In March 2008, 

Rebecca traveled with the Greek InterVarsity 

group to Neply, Haiti for a mission trip. 

Peter Grimm, ’07, has been named to the 

Wake Forest University’s Dean’s List for fall 

semester 2007. 

M.J. Jansky, ’07, was recently inducted into 

Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society 

of the two-year college. He was inducted at 

Seminole Community College in Orlando, 

Florida. 

Clover Street, ’07, will be interning in 

Minnesota working with reptiles at Reptile 

and Amphibian Discovery Zoo this summer. 

Reptiles are Clover’s passion for a career in 

herpetoculture. He is a member of the Maine 

Herpetological Society. Over the past year, 

he became the Wildlife Care and Education 

Club vice president and the club went with 

research biologists to tag bear cubs. Overall, 

he is enjoying Unity College! 

LOST ALUMNI 

We are missing contact information for the 

above alumni. If you are in contact with any 

of the above graduates, please encourage 

them to get in touch with the HIES alumni 

office by emailing tamika@hies.org. 

Carter L. Hatcher 1995 

Holly P. Bond 1996 

Christopher L. Lardner 1996 

Kimberly A. Munro 1996 

Katherine L. Schultz 1996 

Stephanie M. (Spottswood) Scurlock 1996 

Benjamin J. Gaudreault 1997 

Andrew B. Hess 1997 

Peter M. Nagle 1997 

Kimberly A. Perisino 1997 

Keith A. Cooper 1998 

George M. McCord 1998 

Laura H. Bond 1999 

Elizabeth M. Fowler 1999 

John P. Gallagher 1999 

Kyoko F. Sadoshima 1999 

Robert A. Schiess 1999 

Emily F. Tonge 1999 

Alexandra J. Allen 2000 

Katharine M. Duke 2000 

Jasmine Nadja M. Smiri 2000 

Slade J. Hill 2001 

Andrew J. Maxfield 2001 

Shannon F. Vaughn 2001 

Patrick M. Anderson 2002 

Sean P. Coughlin 2002 

Matthew A. Nickerson 2002 

Ashley D. Chandler 2004 

Bryan A. Jones 2004 

Shaquita N. McWilliams 2004 

Hailey M. Appling 2005 

Alexandra B. Lunday 2005 


From the Head of School Alpha omega - Class of ’08 

A Fond Farwell to Janella Brand 

Thursday, April 24 was Alpha Omega Day 

at Holy Innocents’ sponsored by The Office 

of Alumni Relations and Development. The 

36 Alpha Omegas (listed below) were first 

celebrated with their faculty members at 

the Ice Cream Social in Porter Dining Hall. 

The students were welcomed to the event 

with photo buttons featuring their first grade 

pictures. 

The next event was dinner at Maggiano’s 

Little Italy at Perimeter with parents, 

faculty, staff, and friends. The Director 

of Alumni Relations and Special Events, 

Tamika Weaver-Hightower, presented each 

student with a lapel pin to be worn on their 

graduation gowns. The program ended with 

a slideshow of the students’ Holy Innocents’ 

memories. 

One of the joys of my first 

five years at Holy Innocents’ 

has been my occasional 

visits to the Pre-School 

morning carpool. It is a 

wonderful way to connect 

with our young families, 

many of whom will be with 

us for years to come. Each 

carpool brings with it a 

parade of pets, all styles 

of pajamas on younger 

siblings, mostly smiling 

student faces (with a few 

future “night owls” having 

a difficult time getting an 

early start), and a lot of 

laughs. On the first day of 

school after a long summer, 

one Kindergartener jumped 

out of his car, looked up at 

me with his head cocked 

quizzically to one side 

and asked, “Are you still the Head of the 

school” There are always surprises on the 

Pre-School carpool line. 

As much as I love seeing the children, 

I must admit that just as great a pleasure 

is the carpool time I spend with Janella 

Brand. I haven’t yet allowed myself to 

think about next year’s carpool without her 

loving, comforting presence. Janella will 

be retiring this June after 31 years at HIES, 

first as a 2nd grade teacher, then Lower 

School Assistant Principal, and for the past 

ten as Principal of the Pre-School. Many 

of our faculty and parents were students 

of Janella’s. Her imprint is everywhere on 

campus. 

When I first came to HIES in 2003, 

Janella was in her sixth year as Pre-School 

Principal. She had been instrumental in 

attracting funding for the new Alan A. Lewis 

Pre-School building, and her input was 

crucial in finalizing the plans that led to its 

wonderfully child-centered design. Janella 

was also the school’s unofficial “Guardian of 

the Philosophy” (as Dorothy Sullivan fondly 

referred to her). Janella chaired a committee 

that met several times each year to discuss 

the ways we upheld the tenets of our 

Statement of Philosophy (a document that 

has since been revised with extensive input 

from Janella). The school’s mission, at that 

point, was assuredly in her capable hands. 

With Janella, all seems serenely secure. 

Janella Brand is also a passionate public 

servant. She has been deeply involved 

at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church for 

years and has inspired many with her grace 

in meeting the needs of others. About 

two years ago, Janella and her husband 

Lee returned from a vacation in Costa 

Rica. When most people return from such 

a trip they tell tales of surf lessons and 

rain forest treks. Janella, however, spoke 

enthusiastically about a school she had 

encountered. She and Lee had gotten to 

know a man named Harry Bodaan, the 

owner of their hotel, who told them about 

a school in the nearby village of Quepos 

that needed lots of help. Janella spoke 

earnestly of the beautiful students in Escuela 

de Estadio, studying hard day after day in 

abject conditions. She was determined to 

help. And when Janella puts her mind to 

something… 

A year later, because of Janella’s 

determined leadership, the Pre-School 

had gathered over 600 

pounds of supplies for 

Escuela de Estadio. The 

children wrote letters 

to the students and 

Janella even contacted 

administrators at UPS to 

facilitate the process of 

shipping this enormous 

bundle of school supplies 

to Costa Rica. All in all it 

was a monumental task 

pulled off with the unique 

blend of patience and 

efficiency we’ve all come 

to expect of Janella. She 

was fueled by her passion 

for children and her faith 

that God wants all of us 

to serve those in need. 

Janella’s passion inspired 

us to reach out to the 

people of Costa Rica and 

led to our contact with EARTH University 

near the capital of San Jose. Recently, a 

dozen Upper School students spent their 

spring break teaching elementary school 

students from some of the poorest schools 

near EARTH University. 

Janella will fill her retirement by spending 

time with her husband, her grown daughter 

Jenny and her dog, Delilah. She will also 

devote more time to her volunteer pursuits 

as she explores new and varied ways to 

impact the lives of children - whether in 

Sandy Springs or Costa Rica. In short, she 

will continue being her altruistic, loving self. 

Her world will continue to be filled with the 

many blessings that come from a generous 

spirit. 

Above all else, Janella will be remembered 

for her absolute love for her students. She 

begins each day at the Pre-School by 

signing on over the intercom, broadcasting 

her daily prayer into each classroom, 

“Good morning, boys and girls. This is your 

Principal, Mrs. Brand.” Those words will 

forever echo through the hallways of the 

Pre-School, as will Janella’s loving care for 

all who entered there. She will be greatly 

missed. We wish her a fond farewell. 

Sarah Allen 

Caroline Anderson 

Jack Austin 

Michael Bird 

Sarah Bissell 

Kirsten Boe 

Chelsea Brogdon 

Kate Decker 

Bailey Evans 

Kelly Garrison 

Philip Georgakakos 

Trevor Gillum 

Fletcher Hawkins 

Christopher Herbert 

Bentley Heyman 

Caitlin Hogan 

Emily Hovis 

Tim Kovacs 

Lilly Landskroener 

Carly Loux 

Kerry Martin 

Arden McClain 

John McGoogan 

Matthew McMillan 

Ali McWhirter 

Norma Nyhoff 

Lauren Danielle Ouellette 

Kyle Strait 

Rachel Sullivan 

Katherine Tate 

Carlee Terrell 

Christopher Thomas 

Michael Vaughan 

Colleen Weaver 

Virginia West 

Rachael Windler 


Lower School students discover the joy of teamwork during Field Day races on May 6th. 

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