opening doors to the world… the lausanne way!

Dr. Julie Elb in front of the ParthenonOn the gallery level inside Hagia Sophia: (Back row, L to R) Louisa Perlberg ’10, Taylor Dargie ’10, BethanneKadien ’10, Carolyn Ashmun ’11, Josh Steiner ’10, Logan Scheidt ’10, Aaron van Alstine ’10; (Middle row)Hannah Law ’10, Emily Walker ’10, Rachel Dudash ’10, Elspeth Sweatman ’10; (Kneeling: Ian Fennesy ’10)A Once-in-a-Lifetime Adventure in Turkey & GreeceBy Julie Harper Elb, Ph.D., Lausanne Upper School History Department ChairUpcoming LausanneOverseas Study ProgramsIn March 2010, I had the pleasure of leading a group of 12 of my humanities students,with my colleague Jonas Holdeman, on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure to Turkey andGreece. As the crossroads of East and West and a city of well over 12 million,Istanbul took everyone’s breath away with its exotic sites, ancient city walls, freshlamb kebabs and the sounds of the Muslim call to prayer which rang five times dailyfrom every mosque in the city. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing Istanbul’scrown jewel, the 6 th century Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia, believed by theemperor Justinian to have surpassed all other architectural marvels in the world.We toured the Blue Mosque, visited the Topkapi palace complex, ate Turkish delightand drank every tea imaginable in the Spice Bazaar, studied in the archeologicalmuseum and shopped in the massive Grand Bazaar, which satisfied even our mostdedicated shoppers with its more than 4000 stores. On our last full day in the city,we enjoyed a day cruising up the Bosphorus to the mouth of the Black Sea, watching1400 years of history pass along both shores. It astonished all of us that the morethan 20-mile trip was all part of downtown Istanbul. We ended our cruise with alunch in the fishing village of Sariyer, overlooking the mouth of the Black Sea.After a short flight to Athens, we hiked the Acropolis to tour the Parthenon,desperately being renovated after centuries of alteration and abuse. We saw the newAcropolis museum, open less than a year. Its glass floors allow you the dizzyingexperience of walking and seeing all the way through to the excavations underneaththe building, even from three floors up! As our tour guide explained, there are toomany precious relics in the city to just clear land for new structures; they have to finda way to excavate and preserve while still moving forward. Because of potentialstrikes in the city, we revised our plan and traveled south to see the temple ofPoseidon at Sounion and had perhaps the most perfect weather of the whole trip.We spent the entire day outdoors exploring. In Greece, we took a day cruisethat took us to three smaller islands in the Mediterranean, one of which has nomotor vehicles of any kind and everything (even washing machines) must becarried by donkey.It was certainly a unique experience for all of us getting to compareEastern and Western culture in such a short time span and seeingeverything we’d studied in class come so vividly to life. The studentscame back brimming with excitement over having experiencedsomething we’d only ever talked about in the classroom. We cameback with new friends and experiences that we’ll never forget.Summer 2011Michelangelo, FranceStudents will learn en plein air painting inLoches, France, in the Tourainecountryside, with Kate Manzo, ourMichelangelo Project teacher. They will takeart classes in the morning and haveexcursions through the countryside in theafternoon. Participants gain one semesterfine arts class credit.French Immersion, FranceStudents will attend the St. Denis School inLoches, France to learn French. They willbe immersed in French language classes inthe morning and have excursions aroundthe Touraine countryside in the afternoon.Rising 9 th grade students will stay in thedormitory, while rising 10 th to 12 th gradestudents will stay with a host family.Spanish Immersion, SpainThis trip will take students to Madrid,Spain, where they will be immersed in theSpanish language through a collaborativeprogram with Suffolk University. This is foran immersion credit that will count towarda World Languages diploma.For more information about Lausanne’soverseas study program, contact StephenCampbell at scampbell@lausanneschool.com.14 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 15

Lausanne Laptop InstituteJuly 10–13, 2011Memphis, TNwww.laptopinstitute.com> Leading institute for one-to-oneeducators> Over 120 hands-on sessions> Pre-conference and post-conferencetraining opportunitiesCreating and Maintaining Global Connections: Lausanne Goes to Europe!By Stewart Crais, Director of Operations and creator of Lausanne’s Laptop InstituteConfucius Institute Takes Lausanne to ChinaBy Samantha Kemmish, Head of Lower SchoolLausanne created the Laptop Institute in2003 to provide an opportunity forschools to share best practices indeveloping, managing, maintaining andproviding teacher professional growth.Since then, the conference has reachedthousands of educators across the worldand spurred the creation of countlessopportunities for students. Like manynew initiatives, the unintended outcomesare sometimes the most rewarding. Thisis true for the Laptop Institute and iswhat took Lausanne to the Netherlandsin October.For close to two years, Lausanneworked with the American School ofThe Hague in creating an offshoot ofthe Laptop Institute. During initialdiscussions and advertising, it wasevident that there was demand for aEuropean Laptop Institute. Located inLeiden, a beautiful college town southof The Hague, Netherlands, theAmerican School of The Hague hostedthe event in October of 2010 andattracted over 200 educators fromacross Europe.Headmaster Stuart McCathie, teacherKelley Geer and I attended the event.The goal of attending was not only tobuild further global connections withconference attendees and otherinternational schools but also to presentbest-practice in one-to-one teaching andmanagement. Ms. Geer representedLausanne well with a standing room onlysession on laptop usage in a literaryclassroom. Mr. McCathie and Iparticipated in a number of panelsdiscussing management and strategicplanning of laptop programs.The trip was bookended by visits toother schools in the area. Mr. McCathieand I took a train to Brussels and stoppedin for tours and discussion at theInternational School of Brussels (ISB).Lausanne has attracted a handful ofstudents from ISB over the years,providing a good fit for continuing theinternational education and IB diplomaofferings. ISB is located in a beautifulsuburb of Brussels and is known for itsnatural setting and green initiatives. PK–12 th grade students from over 70different countries attend ISB and moveon to colleges in the U.S. and abroad.Mr. McCathie and I met with theadmission and academic offices of theschool, promoting Lausanne as a schoolof choice in the U.S. when familiestransfer out of Brussels. InternationalPaper has their European headquarters inBrussels, so there are many families thatmove between Brussels and Memphis.We also took time to visit theInternational School of Amsterdam(ISA). Again, in order to further ourglobal connections to other schools, wemet with the head of school and thetechnology team. Discussions centeredaround ways Lausanne teachers couldpartner with ISA in helping themdevelop their one-to-one laptopprogram. ISA provides an internationaleducation for students in grades PK–12and offers a robust arts program as well.Finally, it was not all business for thegroup from Lausanne. Sites such as AnneFrank’s house, the Van Gogh Museum, awalking tour through Leiden and variousstreet scenes and other experiences weresome of the highlights of the trip.Connecting Lausanne to the globalcommunity is achieved every dayon our campus, but trips such asthese create even greateropportunity to provide ourstudents with the best possibleopportunities around.The first two weeks of December 2010, Mrs. Kara Barbour, our Early ChildhoodCoordinator, Mr. Campbell, our Director for International Programs, and I traveled toChina with the Winter Bridge Program for American Schools.Four hundred delegates flew from the U.S. to Beijing for the orientationof the 2010 Chinese Bridge for American Schools: A New Start organizedby Hanban (Confucius Institute Headquarters). Hanban is committed toproviding “Chinese language and culture teaching resources andservices to the world, to meet the needs of overseas Chinese languagelearners, so as to contribute to the development of multiculturalism andthe building of a harmonious world.”We were divided by states and were then assigned eight different provinces to visit.The Tennessee delegation, along with the delegation from Texas, was assigned to thecity of Wuhan, which is located in the province of Hubei.As guests of the Chinese government, we visited three schools: Wuhan ExperimentalForeign Languages Primary School, Wuhan #1 Middle School and Hubei University,which our recent Mandarin teacher Monica Tan attends. As we toured the schools andlearned more about the state of education in China, we were overwhelmed to see fiftysmiling students in each classroom waving to us and excited to practice their English.With daily Mandarin classes a priority in Lower School at Lausanne, Mrs. Barbourand I were thrilled at the opportunity to have this on-site experience in China. As theDirector of our International Programs, Mr. Campbell had additional priorities.Lausanne has a growing overseas studies program, and he was making personalconnections with schools in order to start sending Lausanne students to China.Students begin English instruction in first grade in Wuhan, whereas in most of China,students begin English instruction in third grade. The eleven and twelve-year-oldstudents we spoke with were fluent in English and eager to learn about American popstars, environment and the differencesbetween schools in China and the U.S.Some of the differences we noticed inChina were large class sizes (45+ studentsper class), a school day that lasts from7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and teacher-drivenpedagogy. That being said, kids are kidsno matter what their nationality. We weredelighted to see Chinese studentshugging their teachers, joking with oneanother and enjoying childhood. Thisopportunity to learn so much aboutChinese culture and education was a giftwe will cherish. We are grateful for ourpartnership with the Confucius Instituteat the University of Memphis whichmade this wonderful trip possible.(Top left) Students in Wuhan, China, whereLausanne administrators spent time studying thestate of Chinese education.Stephen Campbell, Samantha Kemmish and KaraBarbour in China.Samantha Kemmish at the very top of the GreatWall of China.16 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 17

As you travel the world, continuelearning but make sure you teach aswell. Share your culture with thecommunity and your actions will helpresolve the misperceptions differentsocieties have of one another.Lausanne Grad Drawn to South African Mission & Research Work:Don’t Just Learn…ShareBy Andrew Dawson, Lausanne’s 2008 valedictorian and a junior at the University of MiamiClass of 2008 valedictorian and current Universityof Miami student Andrew Dawson with children inSouth AfricaOn January 3, 2011, I had theopportunity to return to Lausanne toshare my recent summer internship inSouth Africa with the Upper Schooland 2005–2010 alumni. There werethree things I wanted the students toget out of my talk with them. First wassomething we learned from one anotherat Lausanne and that was to broadenour perspectives. Although I am anapplied physics and accounting major, itwas a geography professor that inspiredme to apply for a grant to work with theAmy Biehl Foundation in Cape Townlast summer.The second point I wanted to sink inwas not to be afraid of failure. This wassomething I noticed in my work in thefreshman dormitories at college; thefreshmen who were afraid to takechances and leave their comfort zoneshad trouble succeeding. If I had beenafraid to fail, I never would have beenable to travel to South Africa. I wasturned down several times beforereceiving the research grant that enabledme to go there.For the research grant from theUniversity of Miami, which funded mytravel and living expenses, I studied howinternational volunteers affect the peoplethey “help” during their mission workand what the volunteers and localpopulation learn from one another. Inaddition to my research, I also raisedfunds to organize and run a World Cupsimulation for over 150 children.Seeing the kids get to playorganized sports and developteam skills working in groupswas the highlight of my trip. Theschools are underfunded, so thefoundation funds creative skillsand sports that they don’t getin school.During the World Cup simulation,children were provided breakfast andlunch each day, as well as uniforms andawards. The portable goals and otherequipment ordered for the gamesremained with the children so theycould enjoy a better year-round soccerprogram in their schools. Although thetournament proved a positive experiencefor those involved, I was surprised bysome of the information I obtainedthrough interviews and observations formy research.International service learning groupscome to the townships to supplementtheir studies in the classroom. Becausethey are volunteering, many of thegroups automatically assume that thework they are doing will have a positiveimpact on the community. However,many of their actions, unbeknownst tothe volunteers, have a negative effect.For instance, most of the volunteergroups naturally took pictures of thechildren in the school, the school itselfand the surrounding community. In aninterview with a 15-year-old schoolboy, Iasked him how this made him feel andhe told me that he did not understandwhy all white people thought he and hisfriends were like “zoo animals.”Many of the younger children lovegetting their pictures taken and loveseeing the digital images of the pictures,but as the children get older, those typesof requests actually send a negativemessage that volunteers unintentionallyreinforce.Although my research may haveseemed to discourage internationalinvolvement in volunteer work, itbrought me to my third point. Iencouraged students to continuetraveling abroad for research andvolunteerism, but emphasized that theyput more thought into what theirpresence means for those whom theyvisit, thinking about the ways theiractions will be perceived and the waysthey can have a more positive impact.As you travel the world, continuelearning, but make sure you teach aswell. Share your culture with thecommunity and your actions will helpresolve the misperceptions differentsocieties have of one another.18 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 19

Looking BackYou Can Be theNext GreatestGeneration2011 Chair of Ideas, Jessica LeCroy ’70, Inspires and Challenges StudentsBy Andrea Dancy Auguiste ’82, Director of Annual Fund and Alumni Relations2011 Chair of Ideas speaker, Jessica LeCroy ’70, sits with the Class of 2011 after addressing the entire Upper School and sharing a question and answer discussionwith the seniors; Jessica LeCroy; Chair of IdeasJessica LeCroy ’70, Lausanne’s 2011Chair of Ideas, acknowledges heranonymity and admits she is oftenasked, “If you have done all thesethings, why haven’t I ever heard ofyou?” As the story of Ms. LeCroy’s lifeunfolded before us during her Chair ofIdeas speech on Friday, October 29,2010, all of those present wereengaged, inspired and thankful that wehad the opportunity to hear such anincredible global citizen and product ofLausanne speak.I first spoke to Jessica LeCroy when arranging an alumnigathering in New York in 2009. She called from Toronto, hercurrent home, to say how much she’d like to attend but was abit wary about whether or not anyone from her class year,1970, might be there.I thought, what a nice lady, so soft-spoken, the perfectSouthern belle. Her voice was joyful, someone who laughedeasily — someone anyone would want to get to know. Nothingabout our conversation would suggest I was speaking with apolitical powerhouse.A retired member of the Senior Foreign Service, Ms. LeCroyheld overseas postings in Nicaragua, the Netherlands, Georgia,Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq and Canada. In her words, she was oneof the many “anonymous civil servants lost in the background of ahuge, faceless bureaucracy.” Among her domestic assignments sheserved as National Security Advisor to the Secretary of theTreasury, a Congressional Legislative Assistant on the Hill andVisiting Senior Fellow in Geoeconomics at the Council onForeign Relations in New York. She is currently a senior advisorto the Canadian law firm Bennett Jones, LLP, in its Toronto office.We were thrilled that her law firm shared her time with us so thatshe could be recognized as our 2011 Lausanne Chair of Ideas.The Chair of Ideas is a rebirth of the Distinguished SpeakerSeries begun in the 1960’s by Lausanne’s then headmaster,Walter Coppedge. Speakers included such creative minds asMargaret Mead, William F. Buckley, B.F. Skinner and AldousHuxley to speak to Lausanne students. Chair of Ideas speakershave since included politician Harold Ford, Jr., civil rightsleader and NAACP president Benjamin Hooks, Facing Historyand Ourselves founder Margot Stern Strom, opera divasMignon Dunn and Kallen Esperian, peace activist ArunGandhi, filmmaker Jodie Markell ’77 and actress GinniferGoodwin ’96. The physical symbol of the Chair of Ideas is anantique school-master’s chair, which is on display in our schoollibrary. Inscribed on the arm of this old writing desk are thenames of the speakers who have addressed our students fromthe chair, and their pictures are displayed above it.Ms. LeCroy did make the decision to fly in from Toronto forthe New York alumni event and had a wonderful time chattingwith Lausanne’s assistant headmaster, Michael Christopher,who encouraged her to visit Lausanne to speak to the studentsat a graduation or as a Chair of Ideas.I later extended an invitation to Ms. LeCroy to visit us inOctober and much to my delight, she said yes. Still, in theback of my mind I’m thinking, government official? Will shehold the attention of the students?Little did I know she intended to grab it with a YouTubevideo of the Billy Joel song, “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Thisfast moving account of world history from 1949–1989 is setto the soulfulness of Billy Joel and shows images of the manyevents and people who shaped our history. It was amazing!She definitely hadtheir attention.20 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 21

Here are some of the words of wisdom she shared:Since leaving Lausanne, I have been a wanderer — never living morethan a few years in one place. I have no family of my own — nohusband, children or life partner. When people ask where I call home,I usually answer with a laugh, “wherever I am standing at the moment.”In receiving this invitation to be here today, your headmasterconcluded with the phrase, “Welcome Home.” And, I have to tell you,I was a little taken aback at such a sweet sounding, but to me, ratherexotic phrase.You see, I consider myself a kind of homeless person: I studied at alot of different colleges and graduate schools and law schools after Ileft Lausanne. In college, I must have changed my major a dozentimes. I started out pre-med and, even today, when I visit a clinic or ahospital, I still long to be a part of that world. I practiced law for onlya short while before I joined the diplomatic service.I was in the Foreign Service for 25 years — a quarter of a century— spending most of my overseas assignments in dangerous countriesin various stages of civil unrest, conflict or full-fledged war. Again, abit ironic, since I consider myself something of a pacifist...In addition to wonderful times, there were some very difficult andgut-wrenching experiences: I have witnessed and reported onhorrendous human rights abuses and stood on the edge of more massgraves in more countries than I care to remember. Mortars have struckdozens at a time night after night, day after day, near me...I have gone weeks without a shower, long periods in freezingweather without heat, in blazing heat without air conditioning.Reading at night with a flashlight, without electricity. Sleeping only afew hours a night for weeks on end because of the demands of my job.Exposed to, and contracting, local diseases. And, many times, my ownclosely-held personal beliefs and values have clashed directly with mygovernment’s foreign policy toward the country of my assignment...And yet, I am here today, lacking most of the accoutrements of anormal life, thinking that I must be the happiest and most fulfilledperson in the world. Small victories, more than grand successes, havepunctuated my life...Have you thought aboutcoming back to Lausanne toshare your life experiences?Do you have advice to giveor a story to tell?The students were indeed hooked.It was not easy deciding upon a topic for today’s speech. I hadthought about talking about the importance of returning civility to ournational discourse, for instance, or defending the idea of elitismagainst what I perceive to be a clash of ignorances, rather than a clashof civilizations (that is not my phrase, it is the Aga Khan’s).By virtue of your education here at Lausanne, you are a member ofthe elite whether you know it or not...At one point, an initial draft of my remarks began to sound likePolonius’ platitudes to Laertes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Friendsadvised me “make sure you tell them” this or that particular story oradventure. But you and I share this intimate space at Lausanne in away that transcends time. So this was the topic I settled on.What I would like to leave with you as this year’s recipient of theChair of Ideas is just that:Ideas — the importance of keeping an open mind to new ideas, andinformation and experiences — no matter where you are or what youare doing.With ideas, you have so many options for achieving happiness andmaking valuable contributions...My final idea today is this — “To whom much is given, much isexpected.” And, at Lausanne, we have been given a lot.With my high level of energy and curiosity, I shudder to think whatwould have become of me without the ideas I was exposed to atLausanne, which led me to believe in nearly endless options for myown life.I’ve had many sleepless nights thinking about the mass of humanityout there — so many in our own country — who have no Lausanne.I have every expectation that conditions are ripe foryou all, if you manage things correctly, to become “theNext Greatest Generation.” After all, you students ofLausanne, my generation didn’t start the fire.We want to hear it, and our students are hungry for yourinput. Go to www.lausanneschool.com/alumni to view thespeeches of alumni who spoke to our students this pastsemester. Their words and involvement truly inspired ourstudents: Rebecca Baer ’01, Aarica Blackett ’05, AndrewDawson ’08, Zac Hill ’04 and Jessica LeCroy ’70, our 2010–2011 Chair of Ideas.If you are interested, please contact us to schedule apresentation in Upper School Convocation:alumni@lausanneschool.com or 901.474.1008.Since leaving Lausanne, I have been a wanderer –never living more than a few years in one place.I have no family of my own – no husband, childrenor life partner. When people ask where I callhome, I usually answer with a laugh, “wherever Iam standing at the moment.”In receiving this invitation to be here today, yourheadmaster concluded with the phrase, “WelcomeHome.” And, I have to tell you, I was a littletaken aback at such a sweet sounding, but to me,rather exotic phrase.General David Petraeus and Jessica LeCroy ’70; Lausanne alumni at the Chair of Ideas event October 29, 2010: Stephen Campbell ’91, Lewelyn LeCroy Hootkins ’72,Jessica LeCroy ’70, Susan Tucker Kuhnel ’63, Andrea Dancy Auguiste ’82, Beverly Owen ’56, Andrew Wohlfarth ’96; Seniors Lance Myers, Lance Williams, ChrisKeith, Sami Homsi, Colin Ennis with Jessica LeCroy ’70Jessica Ke ’11, a Lausanne senior with a strong interest ininternational business, was amazed by Ms. LeCroy’s career. Sheexplained, “(Ms. LeCroy) has traveled all over the world,meeting interesting people and doing unique jobs inconjunction with her employment by the U.S. Foreign Service.”After listening to Ms. LeCroy’s special one-on-one discussionwith the seniors and sharing lunch with her, Ms. Ke continued,“My favorite thing about her is her storytelling skill. She hasthe magical ability to transport her listeners to the scene of hertale, to have them feel what she felt at the time. Her life, astold to us, seems like fiction, but we know it isn’t; her careerhas been so full and so interesting that it almost soundsimagined. She is truly an example of a Lausanne graduateputting her global education to good use.”“The first word that comes to my mind when asked aboutJessica LeCroy is ‘brave,’” shared Cole Blocker ’11. “I wasamazed by her, her stories and by the many dangeroussituations she has been involved in — all of which were just‘part of the job.’ From Lausanne to the Offices of ForeignService — wow!“The second word that comes to my mind is ‘contrarian.’ Ifyou are reading this, Ms. LeCroy, yes, as you suggested — Ilooked it up!“I thoroughly enjoyed having lunch with her after herspeech and the opportunity to talk with her more intimately.The incident she shared regarding the soldier that escorted herto church in a war zone and later lost his life continues totouch me in an inexplicable way.“But I believe the comments she made regarding Lausanneand how it changed her were those that struck me the most.She said,‘I remember the exact room where I learned to read a book.’‘I remember the exact room where I learned to write a wellcraftedessay.’‘I remember the exact room where I learned to look at apiece of art critically.’‘I remember the exact room where I learned to communicatemy own ideas.’”Mr. Blocker concluded, “I also remember those rooms…”Thank you, Ms. LeCroy.22 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 23

An Introductionto Lausanne’s Newest Faculty MembersBy Fred M. Blackmon, Jr., Director of Community Relations and Laura S. TrottPhotography by Laura S. TrottLausanne’s faculty is second to none. Because werecruit locally, nationally and internationally, ourstudents are exposed to a variety of teachers withbackgrounds as diverse as our student population.When schools hire great personnel, those folks oftenhave the drive to continue broadening their careerpaths. As a result, each year a small new group ofteachers joins the Lausanne family and brings newperspectives to our students. We are pleased tointroduce you to our new colleagues!Mrs. Kristin Dunn is Lausanne’s newLower and Middle School Counselor.She did her undergrad work inpsychology at the College of Williamand Mary and gained her masters incounseling from the University ofMemphis. Outside of teaching, shecoaches swimming and track for schooland community teams. As the schoolcounselor, Mrs. Dunn meets with classesto work with students on peer relations,problem solving, character developmentand career exploration. In addition, shemeets with students individually and insmall groups developed to addressspecific challenges. Groups may beformed to help students with transitions,friendships, family changes, stressmanagement or other needs that may arise.Ms. Robin Fessler joins Lausanne’sLower School as one of our two new 2 ndgrade teachers. She earned herundergraduate degree in early childhoodeducation at Lynchburg College and herMAT in Instruction and Curriculum atthe University of Memphis. Originallyfrom Morris County, N.J., Ms. Fesslerhas 17 years of teaching experience,having taught junior kindergarten, 1 stgrade, 2 nd grade and 5 th grade at variousindependent schools in New Jersey andin the Memphis area. Most recently, Ms.Fessler was the Director of AcademicStudies at St. George’s IndependentSchool-Germantown campus. Outsideof teaching, Robin loves reading,running, playing with her WestHighland White Terriers, cooking andtraveling. Ms. Fessler serves as a boardmember on Kimbrough Grove’sHomeowners Association.Dr. Nancy Graham, an accomplishedmusician, joins the Upper School SocialStudies Department. She holds a doctorof sacred music from The GraduateTheological Foundation in South Bend,Ind. and she is ABD (all but dissertation)for a Ph.D., from the Foundation House,Oxford University. Dr. Graham came toLausanne in August after teaching atStuart Country Day School of theSacred Heart in Princeton, N.J. She alsotaught our own Mr. Fred Blackmon atThe Montgomery Academy inMontgomery, Ala. At present, Dr.Graham teaches Modern World Historyand Living in a Global Society.24 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 25

Ms. Rachel Hammons joins our facultyas our 7 th grade social studies teacher.She served the maternity leave positionfor 7 th Grade Social Studies last springand is no stranger to Lausanne. Ms.Hammons has worked at our schoolsince 2002 in our Athletics, AfterCareand Summer Camp Programs. She has aB.A. in political science communicationsand a M.A. in English from theUniversity of Memphis, where shegraduated magna cum laude and was aRegents’ Scholar. During her collegiatecareer, she served as a legislative internfor Senator Mark Norris and traveled toChina with the Confucius Institute.Mrs. Andrea Harris joins the LowerSchool as a 2 nd grade teacher. She is apublished writer, having written aparenting column that ran in weeklynewspapers across the region. Her workhas been mentioned in USA Today. Mrs.Harris graduated cum laude from theUniversity of Memphis and previouslytaught 4 th grade. She is an awardwinningphotographer and owned herown photography business. An activevolunteer in the Collierville community,she has worked closely with theCollierville Food Pantry, ColliervilleVictory Garden, the Collierville HomeSchool Group and Tara OaksElementary School.Mr. Tyler Orf joins our Upper SchoolSocial Studies Department. He comes toLausanne from St. Louis University HighSchool, where he taught 9 th grade worldhistory, coached football and lacrosseand was actively involved in thecommunity service program. Mr. Orfreceived his B.A. at the University ofTulsa. He graduated magna cum laude,was a member of Phi Beta Kappa andwon the James P. Ronda Award forAmerican History during his time at TU.His first year out of college was spent inthe marketing and event department ofa Fortune 500 company, experience thatlends itself to his new position as aneconomics teacher at Lausanne. He willalso be teaching American Governmentand coaching Middle School golf andboys varsity lacrosse.Ms. Sara Schneider joins our 6 thGrade teaching team as our MiddleSchool language arts teacher. Ms.Schneider is a cum laude graduate of theUniversity of Memphis, where sheearned a B.S. degree in education with aspecialty in grades K–6 English. She hastaught at St. Francis of Assisi School andBruce Elementary. Ms. Schneider alsohas coached sports on the varsity andMiddle School levels the past few years,namely at St. Benedict High School. Shebrings her experience of playing softballfor Memphis and coaches our MiddleSchool girls team.Ms. Stephanie Slough teaches UpperSchool chemistry, environmentalscience and IB biology. After graduatingfrom Colorado State University, Ms.Slough spent 15 years in agriculturalresearch before returning to education.She spent several years teaching on theisland of Yap in The Federated States ofMicronesia, Thailand and Jordan beforejoining the Lausanne faculty. In additionto her love of science, she is anaccomplished photographer andrecently had her works displayed in theLausanne Family Art Show. She wasawarded the National Council ofCommercial Plant Breeders GraduateStudent Award in 2000.Mrs. Tela Thigpen joins us as ourDirector of College Advisement. Herbachelor’s degree is from ChristianBrothers University, where she has beenAssociate Director of Admission for fouryears. She has worked in highereducation for a decade. In the pastsemester, she’s arranged over 70 collegevisits to Lausanne in addition to the oneon-onecollege counseling andpresentations she provides to studentsand parents. She serves on the RhodesCollege Advisory Board and is the cochairof the Memphis NationalAssociation of College AdmissionCounseling (NACAC) College Fair. Shehas been nominated for a board positionon the Southern Association of CollegeAdmission Counseling (SACAC). Inaddition, she dabbles in print modelingand is an accomplished vocalist. Sherecently sang the National Anthem toopen our homecoming games.26 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 27

The Road Ahead“Mr. Christopher,Mr. Christopher!”To bring these dreams to reality,we will have to stretch ourselves,imagining new ways to serve ourstudents, to innovate in ourclassrooms and to embracetechnological change in a way thatcontinues to enhance the learningprocess. We will have to cometogether and focus our collectiveimagination, enthusiasm andresources to continually improvewhat we do for our students.A bright face looks up at me. Hugesmile (no front teeth). “I just atelunch and I’m gonna grow 85,000times bigger!”In a flash she dashes off. Standing there, I try to imagine her“85,000 times” bigger. It’s a bit of a stretch for me, but for her, Iam certain she imagines exactly what that will be like. And,twelve years from now, when she steps across the stage atgraduation, she will be “85,000 times” bigger — in waysneither she nor I could ever have guessed.Four years ago our board, administration and faculty didsome imagining of its own. We imagined a school that nolonger had a dark, small library but one that served all of ourstudents and would become a focal point for our students andcommunity. We imagined athletic facilities that we could beproud of, that would promote physical and mentalconditioning and a healthy spirit of competitiveness.Four years ago, our board, administration and facultyimagined a school that embodied its ideal of being a “world”school, one that would serve our diverse population andwould rightfully prepare our students for the ‘flat world’ ofthe 21 st century. We imagined offering Mandarin PK–12,becoming NAEYC (National Association for the Educationof Young Children) accredited and becoming anInternational Baccalaureate World School. And, we imagineda community that could come together to make thesewonderful dreams possible.Four years later, our dreams are a reality and that reality hasfar exceeded what we ever could have imagined.So, what’s next? What can we imagine for four years fromnow? More importantly, what can we imagine for our firstgrader so that when she graduates in twelve years, she will be“85,000 times” bigger?Let’s start with what we know. We know that the world,complicated as it is, will be far more complicated for her. Weknow that her access to any information she wants will beseamless and instantaneous. We know that we will have toteach differently because our students’ abilities to learn andabsorb information will continually transform. And we knowthat Tom Friedman’s famous ‘flat world’ predictions will surelybe old news in a world where the balance of economic, culturaland political power will have shifted in a way to make thecurrent global climate unrecognizable.Knowing this, we want our first grader to learn to beinquisitive and flexible in order to stay on top of her changinglandscape. We want her to have nimble research skills coupledwith a discerning eye that can separate fact from fiction,opinion from hard data. We want her to be confident in herability to grow, change and take risks so that she can createunbounded opportunities for herself. And, we want her toappreciate the richness of the diverse cultures that will alwaysbe part of her daily life.To bring these dreams to reality, we will have to stretchourselves, imagining new ways to serve our students, toinnovate in our classrooms and to embrace technologicalchange in a way that continues to enhance the learningprocess. We will have to come together and focus ourcollective imagination, enthusiasm and resources to continuallyimprove what we do for our students.Fortunately, we know we can do it. We’ve done it before.After all, seeing her “85,000 times” bigger is what we’reall about.Michael ChristopherAssistant Headmaster—School Advancement28 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 29

2004B Aarica BlackettAarica returned to heralma mater to speak toUpper Schoolstudents about herrecent book, entitled,“No Longer Daddy’sLittle Girl.” She ispictured with AsenaMay ’05 and MarshallWade ’05.B Zac HillZac is a designer/developer for the trading card game Magic: TheGathering and the XBox Live Arcade series Duels of the Planeswalkers.He also coaches the University of Washington Mock Trial team, pens acolumn for TheHuffington Post andserves on the LuceScholars SelectionCommittee for theHenry LuceFoundation.Recently he wasinvited back toLausanne as analumni speaker, where instead of following Fred Blackmon’s directions,he told stories about getting chased around board rooms by monkeysand chickens. He is currently (and always) accepting donations for hisburgeoning “adorable stuffed penguin” collection; sightings ofparticularly precious specimens should be directed to zac.dc.hill@gmail.com. Zac is pictured with Fred Blackmon, director of communityrelations and assistant head of Upper School.B Austin JohnsonAustin and Christy Henderson got married on October 23. Austinreceived a bachelor’s degree in finance from Christian Brothers University.He works in investment banking at Morgan Keegan in Memphis.2005–2010B During their winter break, several young alumni came to sharelunch together and to hear Andrew Dawson’s ’08 presentation toLausanne's Upper School.Front Row: Joe Clark ’06, Sarah Jones ’06, Devon Pohlman ’06,Michael Rabinowitz ’07, Hina Purohit ’10, Nora Chen ’10, RachelDavidson ’10, Sayna Giles ’10Middle Row: Evvie Crowder ’09, Brooke Vogel ’09, Hannah Law ’10,Peggy Flanagan ’06, Taylor Stavely ’09, Maysam Homsi ’09,Mitch Leff ’09Back Row: Hannah Segui ’09, Kelsey McCathie ’10, Celia King ’09,Hillary Weiss ’10, Lily Wilcox ’10, Miller Whittington Murphy ’09,Andrew Dawson ’08, J.P. Danley ’08, Danica Damplo ’08, JeremyPerkins ’102005B Benjamin ChurchBenjamin started his career at Pinnacle Airlines Corporation in Memphisas an accountant back in October. He is getting married in May.B Zoe EtkinZoe is in graduate school at the California Institute of the Arts workingtoward her MFA in creative writing. She recently applied for theBeutner Award for Excellence in the Arts through her school and wasone of seven awarded a $50,000 scholarship. Zoe writes,“I just wantedto share my wonderful news with my fellow Lausanne alums!”B Lauren MerrittLauren is majoring insports management atUniversity ofMemphis and iscurrently working asan intern in Athleticsback at Lausanne.B Luke OakleyLuke is in law school at Santa Clara University in California.B Sarah RaySarah started work in September as a Special Assistant in the Office ofthe Secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Developmentin Washington, D.C. “I get to work on a variety of projects related toHUD’s goal of ‘using housing as a platform to improve quality of life,’like revitalizing cities through the Choice Neighborhoods program,connecting the homeless to services and housing and finding ways touse HUD programs to improve health.” Sarah lives in Dupont Circle,just down the street from friends Brittany McDonald Owen ’05 andKanya Balakrishna ’05.2006B Joseph ClarkAfter graduating from Boston University in May with a B.A. in history,Joseph has just completed his first semester of graduate school atJohns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. He is a Ph.D. student inthe history department studying African diaspora and comparativeSlavery in Latin America and is currently researching his master’sthesis, which is on Afro-Mexican religious devotion and politicalagency in the 18 th century.B David DawsonDavid is working at the National Academy of Sciences in science andtechnology economic policy in Washington, D.C.B Mary Beth EppsMary Beth is starting garduate school at the University of Memphisfor a masters in public health.B Alex FisherAlex will be starring asMina in “Dracula” withthe Idle Muse TheatreCompany in ChicagoFebruary 3–March 6.She graduated fromLake Forest College inMay of 2010 and thismarks her debut toChicago’s professionaltheatre scene.B Peggy FlanaganPeggy is a senior at Parsons School of Design in New York and lovesNew York!B Megan GwatneyMegan has been living in China and is taking classes there untilsummer 2011.B Sarah JonesSarah is moving to Hartford, Conn., working with MetLife Insuranceas an annuity sales representative.B Eppie KylesEppie is living in Austin, Texas and is participating in State SenatorRodney Ellis’ Texas Legislative Internship Program, which startedin January.B Devon PohlmanDevon will be graduating with a mid-grades education degree fromUT Chattanooga and will soon begin “the great job search.”B Claire Neely RichardsAfter graduation and a semester at Mercer University, Clairetransferred to Mississippi State University. “At Lausanne, I discoveredhow much I loved being involved, so in college I continue to be activewithin my university. I became an Orientation Leader for MSU, heldSarah Ray ’05; Brittany McDonald Owen ’05; Fred Blackmon,Lausanne’s director of community relations and assistant head ofUpper School; Beth Anne Kadien ’10; Rachel Ann Dudash ’10 andMichael Rabinowitz ’07 met for dinner in Washington, D.C. whileMr. Blackmon was visiting the area.34 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 35

Just for fun!Any moment of any day at Lausanne you may witness an amazing academic orartistic feat, celebrate an award-winning individual or team, catch that LausanneLynx Spirit or hear the joyful laughter shared by our students and faculty. Here arejust a few Lausanne snapshots from the 2010–2011 year you may have missed.August123At the beginning of the school year, the Student Government,Sydney Clarke ’12, Natalie Brashear ’11, Kate Morrison ’11and Roy Lan ’13, invited each Upper School student to pledgeto uphold Lausanne’s character expectations of knowledge,truth and honor.SeptemberThe Middle School elected new officers to represent the school’shouses of Massey, Lendenwood, Monmouth and Cottingham.Lower School art teacher Virginia Curry, foreign languageteacher Flavia Sandoval and music teacher Tara West organizedand hosted the Senior Kindergarten Artists at Play eveningevent featuring Ms. Sandoval’s native country Honduras forstudents and parents.45OctoberFifty-four students from the sophomore, junior and senior classesat Lausanne were inducted into the Beta Club, an honor societythat promotes the ideals of character, service and leadership andrewards meritorious achievement. Thirteen students wereinducted into the Cum Laude Society and eighteen newmembers were chosen for the National Honor Society.NovemberFourth graders presented their nine-week cartography projectto their parents during a morning breakfast. After studyingcoordinate grids, lines of latitude and longitude, map scalesand geographic locations students created Mercator Projectionmaps of the world in preparation for their upcoming study ofimmigration. (Julia Whitehorn pictured below.)DecemberThe Upper School hosted a Flash Back Formal, borrowingdresses and suits from parents and friends and raising moneyfor the Make-A-Wish Foundation ® of the Mid-South. This wasthe first dance to be hosted in Lausanne’s new gymnasium.JanuaryLausanne’s three debate teams came home with three trophiesfrom the Manassas High Invitational debate competition, and fiveout of our six competitors received personal speaker awards. Allof our individual competitors were in the top twenty, and threewere in the top five, including first and second place! (Left toRight) Jackson Sloan ’14; Gregory Hannissian ’13; Gary Witt,Director of the Lausanne Oral History Project; Lee Silberberg’13; Tyler Epps ’12; Roy Lan ’13; Issa Basco ’12; and Chad Clark,Debate Team Coach and Lausanne Technology SpecialistSeven out of the eleven Middle and Upper School students whocompeted the University of Memphis’ SMCTE-sponsored writingcompetition placed in various events, including 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rdplace in the 40-dash and the 80-dash. (Front) Abigail Grayson’16, Diana Barnett ’15 (Back) Spencer Ware ’12, Chisom Oraedu’13, Elizabeth Dia ’14, Keyuree Satam ’14, Nelson Carney ’116 9781011FebruaryLausanne’s partnership with the Confucius Institute at theUniversity of Memphis was celebrated with a reception in theLower School library. The third grade class gave a wonderfulpresentation in Mandarin. Watch it: www.youtube.com/lausanneschoolThe 7 th and 8 th grade Lausanne Lynx boys basketball team won theShelby County Championship game in a 50–30 victory over theCollegiate School of Memphis. James Muse and ShuntarioAlexander, both 8 th graders, were named to the All-Tournamentteam and 8 th grader Spencer Mackey was named tournament MVP.Valentine’s Day was the kickoff of Lausanne’s InternationalWeek. Mauricio Calvo, Executive Director of Latino Memphis,spoke to Upper School students during convocation. Secondgraders held a special sock hop and created Valentine’s Daycards for seniors at a local assisted-living facility. (Molly Craispictured below.) This is just one of the many communityservice projects carried out this year by Lausanne students.Keep up with the news posts on our Web site and become afan of our Facebook page to catch up on other 2010–2011happenings and future updates!16 7 82 35Some important spring datesyou won’t want to miss:9• Once Upon a Mattress –Lausanne’s Upper SchoolSpring Musical – April 14–16• Spring Choral & BandConcert – April 28• International Film Night –May 6• Baccalaureate – May 22• Graduation – May 23410 1138 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 39

Marketing & Communications Office1381 West Massey RoadMemphis, TN 38120NON PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGEPAIDMEMPHIS, TNPERMIT NO. 14191938195819471967Since opening its doors in 1926, Lausanne Collegiate School has created a joyful andchallenging learning process for its students. Supported through meaningful relationshipswith teachers and friends, our students have been empowered to seek their own journeys andto appreciate the rich diversity of our world. The forward-thinking passion and dedication fora wide range of student-centered programming in Lausanne’s past is still very present in theLausanne of today. It’s education…the Lausanne Way!1993197119812001