Duke School Under the Oak Magazine, Summer 2014

Under the Oak
SUMMER 2014
Duke School in the Community
Excellence Through Service Learning and Outreach Projects
Project Workshops for Educators
Preparing Problem Solvers for the 21st Century
Home-Court Advantage
Athletic Enhancements on Campus
UNDER THE OAK
1

Under the Oak
INSIDE this issue
DUKE SCHOOL CORE VALUES
WHAT WE DO
Inspire learners to boldly and creatively shape their future.
MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Duke School - a proud contributor in the community.
IDEAS WE LIVE BY
LEARNER-CENTERED
Learners are the center of a dynamic and collaborative
learning, inquiry and discovery process.
ACTIVE INQUIRY
Intellectual curiosity through project-based learning
propels learners to explore multiple paths
to creative solutions.
BOLD THINKERS
A deep love of learning and respect for our community
forms bold, critical thinkers for life.
WHY WE DO IT
To prepare the next generation of problem solvers
for our complex world.
DUKE SCHOOL IN THE COMMUNITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Student service learning and outreach projects.
FACULTY IN THE FIELD................................. 6
Alumnus returns to Duke School as faculty member.
COLLABORATIVE ARTS PROGRAM......................... 7
Opening music and chorus programs to non-Duke School students.
REFLECTIONS FROM JENNY MURRAY,
NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Visiting Duke School as a candidate for a new position.
PLOTTING ON COMMON GROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Expanding Duke School’s community garden for families, faculty and staff.
EDITORS
WRITERS
MAGAZINE DIRECTOR
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Tracy Proctor
Irecka Smith
Kathy Bartelmay
Ann Davis
Nicole Thompson
Dave Michelman
STAYING CONNECTED WITH MARILYN ORNSTEIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
An educator and project expert’s ongoing services and outreach.
PROJECT WORKSHOPS FOR EDUCATORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Project Work: Preparing Problem Solvers for the 21st Century.
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE ............................. 14
Athletic Enhancement Project adds new tennis courts on campus.
DESIGNER
PHOTOGRAPHER
Gina Lorsson
Molly Cronenwett
Duke School publishes Under the Oak annually for its
alumni, parents, grandparents and friends. If you would
like to add someone to our mailing list, please e-mail
communications@dukeschool.org. We also welcome news
about alumni for future publications; please e-mail alumni@
dukeschool.org with this information.
ALUMNI CONNECTIONS: ALWAYS A DRAGON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Catching up with Duke School alumni and introducing new graduates.
ON THE COVER:
Oak tree on Duke School’s campus. Students and faculty
use the oak tree as a regular meeting place and refer to it as
U.T.O.T. (under the oak tree).
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Message from Dave Michelman, Head of School
Pat Bassett, the long-time President of NAIS
(National Association of Independent Schools),
once remarked that if the only ones who would be
upset by your school disappearing are current and
past parents and students then you are too insular.
A great school is one that prepares its students
well and is a vital contributor to the town in which it
resides. Duke School is proud of the contributions
it makes to Durham.
Perhaps Duke School’s most obvious contribution
to Durham is through the service outreach our
first through eighth grade students participate
in. Students support BackPack Buddies, read
to reluctant beginning
readers and feed lemurs.
While students, naturally,
take much from these
experiences, they also help
strengthen Durham.
Students do more through
projects. For the last several
years, the seventh grade
has adopted a park. The
seventh graders work
with Durham Parks and
Recreation Department to
identify a city park in need
of improvements. The
students survey neighbors,
explore the park and
investigate successful
parks. They then present a
plan of improvement with a
budget to representatives
of Durham’s Park and
Recreation department.
The plan is debated by the
city and then the approved
parts are implemented. In
the last few years, parks have gotten new water
fountains, community gardens, bird houses,
improved basketball courts, and slick new paint
jobs because of our students.
The fifth grade does a non-profit project where
they learn about how non-profits operate,
including how they market, fundraise and how they
live their mission. In the last few years, students
have persuaded me to make Duke School the
training center for the dogs of BARKS, and three
students were asked to present at a non-profit’s
development event.
Even eighth graders still support the community as
part of their capstone individual project. Students
have painted murals on older buildings, have
decorated rooms at the Ronald McDonald House
and have designed iPhone apps for pediatric
cancer patients.
Parents have also gotten into the act. At least three
times a years, families come together to help our
community. They participate in the Big Sweep;
they help package 10,000 meals as part of Stop
Hunger Now and collect books for Book Harvest,
an organization started by a Duke School parent,
which gives books to underprivileged children.
The entire organization
supports the Durham
community. For the past
two years, Duke School
has collaborated with other
non-profit organizations
in the Chapel Hill/Durham
area to sponsor a weeklong
adventure, The
Collage Project. The
summer program brings
middle school students
from diverse backgrounds
together for an expensefree
collaborative arts
experience.
All of these initiatives
show Duke School as an
important partner in the
Durham community. Even
our unique approach
to education provides
educational alternatives
to entrepreneurs,
professionals, professors
and doctors who are considering moving to the
area. Duke School has a real appeal to the creative
class, which helps Durham continue its amazing
renaissance as a wonderful place to live and work.
As Duke School strives to create the next generation
of problem solvers, a part of this mission is to
model good citizenship through service learning
– a curriculum designed to introduce students at
a young age to stewardship and the importance
of giving back to the community and creatively
solving preexisting problems. I think we are doing
a pretty good job.
DUKE SCHOOL,
IN THE C MMUNITY
Fostering an environment where students are at
the center of a dynamic and collaborative learning
process goes beyond the classroom. Duke School
strives to lead by example—to be the epitome
of excellence by instilling the principals of
stewardship in its students at a young age through
service learning. This is evident in activities from the
management of on-campus recycling to caring for
an endangered species.
Service learning, the ongoing commitment to
community service and outreach, has always
been a part of Duke School’s curriculum. While
preschoolers and kindergarteners learn the
fundamentals of responsibility and assist their
teachers with the upkeep of
their classrooms, first through
eighth graders collaborate with
local organizations and create
service projects unique to their
grade. There are no required
hours of service because Duke
School students want to work
in their community. Students
even create opportunities to be
model citizens of the Triangle
beyond their grade-level
projects.
This year, the Middle School
Student Council members
created a giving tree and
donated clothes, shoes, toys and
1,434 canned goods to Urban Ministries of Durham.
Seventh graders have adopted city parks in Durham,
partnering with Durham Parks and Recreation and
Duke Forest to discuss ways in which they can be
of service and help make improvements to local
parks. Students have also worked with children with
autism and volunteered at Kids Cafe, where they
tutored, prepared meals for and planned STEM
activities for children. Even Duke School’s parents,
grandparents, faculty and staff help students make
an impact in the community by raising more than
$4,400 for Durham’s CROP Hunger Walk event and
donating 2,520 books to Book Harvest.
However, that’s only a snapshot of Duke School’s
community efforts. For six years, Duke School’s first
graders have partnered with BackPack Buddies,
an organization that provides children from foodinsecure
homes with weekend meals during
the school year. A developmentally appropriate
project, BackPack Buddies connects perfectly
with the first grade healthy-selves curriculum and
raises awareness about the need to help others.
Additionally, students are empowered by knowing
that what they do matters.
“Children understand that they are helping
children of all ages,” says Carolynn Hageman, first
grade teacher. “Service learning is really meaningful
because it fits in with everything we do. Our hope is
that they will continue this work of helping others.”
As children transition from the Lower to Middle
School, their service learning projects are just as
important and they naturally advance. Fifth graders
are introduced to research through their work
with the Duke Lemur Center service project—a
partnership since 2008.
“Students learn about the value
of research and conservation,
as well as all that goes into
caring for the lemurs on a daily
basis,” says Annie Gentithes,
sixth grade teacher. “There
are rich connections between
our ongoing work at the Lemur
Center and the fifth grade Zoo
Project in the spring. Students
realize how special it is to have
a world-renowned research
center right across the street
from the school. ”
Fifth graders visit the Lemur
Center once a month to learn the trade of being
a keeper by cleaning nesting boxes, creating and
delivering enrichment, and preparing individualized
diets for each lemur.
“Everyone can be a steward for their community,”
says teacher Angela Nelson. “All it takes is some
research, a plan and follow through.”
Following through is one of Duke School’s greatest
contributions to the greater Durham community.
Service learning and outreach projects provide
students with valuable opportunities to use their
research and planning skills to make an impact.
Just look for the students who are wearing their
maroon and grey t-shirts, eager to find and execute
their creative solutions to local problems.
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FACULTY
IN THE FIELD
with MICHAEL GILBERT
grade teacher here at Duke School and now I
was learning how to be a better teacher from
her. Working with one of my former teachers on
a professional level and reminiscing about when I
was in third grade was wonderful. I now walk my
students to art and PE with the very same teachers,
Marki and Candy, that I had when I was at Duke
School. It is very cool.
age, and I am happy that the kindergarten children
will continue service learning at Duke School.
Q: You have had several professional development
and training opportunities, including working
personally with Dr. Sylvia Chard. How did these
opportunities prepare you for your first school year
as a Duke School teacher?
A: The experiences I had in AmeriCorps greatly
influenced my life. Building trails and working
with the Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina relief
were both humbling and exciting. I was able to
make the outdoors accessible and provide help to
people in Louisiana. Working with children was
great too, although what really opened my mind
and made me committed to becoming a teacher
was teaching Spanish-speaking adults English at
an elementary school in Colorado. Other Corps
members and I taught parents at the school
while their children were
in class. The adults were
so kind, grateful and
eager to learn, plus they
occasionally cooked us
amazing food!
Before becoming a teacher, you joined AmeriCorps
and volunteered with the hurricane relief, built trails and
taught young children. Can you talk about this experience
and how it influenced you to become an educator?
Q: As a Duke School
alumnus, having attended
Duke School from kindergarten to eighth grade,
how has project work and inquiry-based learning
evolved since you were a student?
A: In sixth grade at Duke School I had a teacher,
Thomas Carson. For our science project we were
interested in making a pond here at the Erwin
Road campus. The class decided how big to make
it and researched the plants and fish that would
best survive in the climate we provided them with.
We called garden stores and researched how to
make the pond. I think now, our faculty continues
to follow student interest, guide children and
“Duke School continues to
have a wonderful, supportive
community of learners. The
teachers and parents all want
what is best for the children.”
facilitate meaningful learning in a very similar way.
I just think the work continues to get deeper and
the investigations more varied. I have noticed
that the children are using even more reading,
writing and math in project work than when I was
a student here.
Q: Duke School’s campus has changed a lot since
you were a student on Duke School’s former Lower
School campus on Hull Avenue, but what has
remained the same?
A: Last night I was sitting at
graduation for the eighth
graders and thinking
about this same question.
It seemed like our eighth
graders were experiencing
the same things I felt when
attending Duke School.
Duke School continues to have a wonderful,
supportive community of learners. The teachers
and parents all want what is best for the children.
The children work together and collaborate. The
children are still funny and have fun together.
Q: After experiencing Duke School as a student
and now a faculty member, do you feel like your
connection to the school gives you an advantage?
A: I think the connection does give me an
advantage. I was fortunate last year to substitute
teach in Kate and Kerry’s class. Kate was my third
Q: Duke School incorporates service learning
projects and community outreach activities into
the curriculum at an early age. As a kindergarten
teacher, how do you prepare your students for
service learning?
A: Service work is important to me. I did this in
AmeriCorps and still do it today. This year our
kindergarten class was able to help build the garden
beds at the new and fantastic community garden.
They brought shovels and wheel barrels and put
the first dirt into the beds. I was surprised at how
hard and how long they worked. They insisted that
they would not stop until the job was done. This
attitude is so important to instill in kids at an early
Eight students from the Lerner
School, Triangle Day School and
members of the homeschool
community performed
alongside Duke School’s
Middle School band and chorus
students in this year’s winter and
spring concert.
A: I am very fortunate to have studied with Dr.
Sylvia Chard. I love project work. Dr. Chard and
former kindergarten teacher/consultant Marilyn
Ornstein helped us at the beginning of this year
when our class was studying pets. Our children
started to make a list of questions they wanted to
investigate. These questions were honestly pretty
low level, and Laurie Ann and I didn’t know what
to do. Dr. Chard and Marilyn gave us great advice.
When asking a question, the children should always
pretend they are talking to a real expert. Then the
questions will be more thoughtful and meaningful.
Sure enough, this method worked. Our children
continued to ask thoughtful questions throughout
the year.
COLLABORATIVEARTSPROGRAM
These students travel to Duke
School’s campus twice weekly
for combined rehearsals with
Duke School students.
“Opening the Middle School
music programs to students
from schools without band
and chorus programs and
homeschool families with no
access to band or chorus exposes
families from other schools to
Duke School’s campus, culture
and community,” says Director
of Auxiliary and Alternative
Programs, Les Webster.
“It also has the added benefit
of giving Duke School students
an opportunity to work with
like-minded students from
the surrounding independent
school and homeschool
community.”
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Reflections from Jenny
New Middle School Director
Spring is the time for college visits for families
across the country, mine included. My husband
Craig and I had planned for this milestone since
that proud day four years ago when we watched
our son, Logan, graduate from eighth grade at
Duke School. I still smile when I hear the Journey
song he and his classmates chose to sing at the
graduation ceremony.
Just as prospective college students make a
campus visit, so do educators. What I didn’t know
was that I would find myself looking at Duke
School through a different lens. I would be visiting
a school I’ve loved as a parent and teacher for so
many years, as a Middle School director candidate.
Even though I was already quite familiar with Duke
School and its campus, my visit day brought with it
new information and deepened my understanding
not unlike the college visits Logan, Craig and I
took across the state and up the east coast.
My visit and interview day started with an overview
information session with the Head of School,
Dave Michelman, who asked me questions and
answered my queries to confirm that we are a
good match. I then
moved on to
“...What I didn’t know was
that I would find myself looking at Duke
School through a different lens....
I would be visiting a school I’ve loved as a parent
and teacher for so many years, as a Middle School
director candidate. What I found was a renewed
passion and conviction that Duke School is
a special place and the right one
for me.”
meetings with various constituencies— teachers,
students and parents—each with their own
questions and important information, not unlike
the academic department sessions at most
colleges. I even met with the people who control
the finances and make it possible for us to do the
great work that we do. In each session, I answered
and asked questions so that we could all feel
comfortable with the decision ahead.
What I found was a renewed passion and conviction
that Duke School is a special place and the right
one for me. Educators, administrators, students
and parents here are dedicated, talented people
who want the very best for children educationally,
socially and emotionally. Teachers care deeply
about the program they deliver for children each
and every day. Parents want to understand and be
involved in their children’s school. Students want
to learn, explore and grow. Administrators want
to lead in creating an environment that allows all
parties to work together to achieve the established
goals and beyond.
I am honored to be the next Middle School
director, and I look forward to working in this new
capacity with such a diverse and involved group
of people. Working together, I foresee an even
brighter future for our beloved Middle School.
Alas, college visits have ended, and my son has
chosen his next educational home. As he continues
to build on the strong foundation from his years
at Duke School, I feel confident that he too has
chosen well.
Logan’s next “educational home” along with
his fellow Duke School classmates can be
found on page 18.
PLOTTING
ON COMMON GROUND
The votes are in,
and so it is that Duke School is the home of a
community garden – a place for families to grow
produce and flowers for their personal use.
Nestled next to the Middle School Gym, the
community garden contributes to a more
sustainable environment, promotes a positive
community image and creates opportunities for
friends and neighbors to work together.
Last year, members of the Parent Service
Organization (PSO) Garden Committee borrowed
space from the Preschool to begin a small garden.
The garden was a hit, and after its harvest was
served at a Duke School community dinner, there
was a high demand for
more space to grow fresh
fruits and vegetables.
Fast-forward a year, and
now there’s a beautiful
area, hosting 18 plots,
all of which are in use.
Several classes have also
taken the community
garden under their wings
to care for and complete
project work activities.
Even the creation of the
community garden was
fertile soil for project
work. Fifth graders measured the perimeter of the
fence, and the area and volume of the plots to help
the school determine estimates for the garden’s
fence and soil. Kindergarteners used tiny shovels
and wheelbarrows to move soil, while one class
even rented a plot for project work. Some fourth
graders planted sweet potatoes, corn beans and
squash to represent their North Carolina project.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of the community
garden, besides the fact that people are growing
their own foods, is the way in which it naturally
builds the school community. Families are working
together, sharing advice and even helping each
other water plots.
“It is a true community feel,” says Student Support
Specialist Tiffane Land, who observed three
generations working in the garden together. “We
are connecting with families within our community
that we would not normally come across because
our kids are in different grades.”
Tiffane says there is available space for the
community garden’s expansion in the future.
Future garden plans also include a fence display of
student murals, planting of berry bushes and fruit
trees as well as workshops and events that will be
open to the entire Duke School community.
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UNDER THE OAK 9

STAYING
CONNECTED
lower east side of Manhattan for two years before
moving to Wisconsin for her husband’s doctoral
studies. She taught third grade in Wisconsin,
then preschool in Princeton, New Jersey, before
settling in the Durham/Chapel Hill area in the early
1970s and teaching two- and three-year-olds.
public schools will use this tool when planning
their goals and curricula. While participating in
this think tank, Marilyn had the chance to work
with a special new collaborator - her husband.
Peter is a developmental psychologist at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and,
studied the history of jazz and ballet, Haiti, Ernest
Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald and other
literary expatriates in Paris, and the Trojan War
through the works of Euripides.
Marilyn has passed her love of learning and
Marilyn’s expertise with Duke School’s projectbased
curriculum began when Margaret Mason,
then curriculum director, sent her to a workshop
with Drs.Lilian Katz and Sylvia Chard – the creators
of the Project Approach. Margaret realized the
benefit of this particular type of learning and
chose Marilyn to gather the first information on
it because of her extensive background in early
childhood education.
somewhat surprisingly, this is the first time their
related careers have ever directly crossed paths.
Outside of formal education settings, Marilyn’s
hobbies include teaching, as well. This fact isn’t
that surprising as she says, “teaching is in me from
the top of my head to the bottom of my toes!”
Through a UNC partnership program, she has
been working with a Burmese family teaching
both a six-year-old student and his father.
teaching on not just to her students and fellow
teachers but to her family, as well. One of her
daughters is a clinical psychologist at the ADHD
Clinic at Duke University, working with families on
how their children can become successful learners.
Her other daughter is a preschool teacher at
Duke School. Miriam Ornstein and her co-teacher
Maureen were actually the first pair of Duke
School teachers with whom Marilyn consulted on
the Project Approach after her retirement.
with Marilyn Ornstein
Few people have a history with Duke School like
Marilyn Ornstein. Marilyn began her tenure at
Duke School in 1982 in the midst of an already
well-established early childhood education career.
Since retiring in 2011, Marilyn has continued to
share her wealth of knowledge at the school
partially as a substitute teacher but more often
as a consultant, working with teacher pairs on
their training in the Project Approach, the specific
project-based style of learning in which the school
has become a leader.
A New York City native, Marilyn went to school at
Queens College and taught second grade on the
As Duke School integrated the Project Approach,
Marilyn’s expertise became sought after throughout
the North Carolina education community, not just
by private schools but by the public sector as well.
The Randolph County Partnership for Children
not only sends representatives to Duke Schoolhosted
educator workshops, but has requested
that Marilyn travel to them multiple times over the
past few years for extra education on the Project
Approach.
Marilyn has also been part of a number of books
and pamphlets on early education published by
the NC Department of Public Instruction including
“the North Carolina Guide for the Early Years” and
“Learning Through the Eyes of a Child: A Guide to
Best Teaching Practices in Early Education.”
Recently, Marilyn was part of a think tank
sponsored by Duke University’s Sanford School of
Public Policy and the North Carolina Department
of Public Instruction. This group created a
learning and development assessment tool for
kindergarten through third grade. It is hoped that
Marilyn also currently volunteers with the Durham Head of School Dave Michelman calls Marilyn an
Literacy Council, where she tutors a woman from institution and a treasure. “Her knowledge of
the Republic of Guinea who had no education in
her first language, let alone English. After working
for years with young children who come from
a literate background, here was a student who
didn’t even know how to hold a pencil. It required
a different way to approach teaching her to read.
project development and the extensive work she
has done with new teachers is invaluable,” he says.
Not content to be a subject expert, her sharing
of knowledge with current teachers will benefit
children for years to come, not just at Duke School
but all over North Carolina.
After about three years of
working together, this woman
recently passed her citizenship
test, and Marilyn was there to
see her sworn in as an American
citizen.
When not furthering the
education of others, Marilyn
embodies Duke School’s
mission of lifelong learning
in her personal life. She is a
regular student of the Osher
Lifelong Learning Institute
(OLLI) at Duke University. In
the past few years she has
Marilyn attending her student’s Naturalization Ceremony.
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PROJECT
WORKSHOP FOR
EDUCATORS
Project-based learning is definitely in the limelight
these days. Schools across the country, striving to
prepare students for the 21st century, are seeking
ways to engage its students in strategic inquiry
work and problem solving. At Duke School, on
the other hand, inquiry-based project work has
been fundamental since its inception. As Lower
School Director Sandy Gillespie says, “The Project
Approach is designed to get children interested
in learning and to take ownership of their own
education,” a value now considered as best
practice across the country.
When the school began getting more requests for
educator tours and project training than it could
handle, Les Webster, Duke School’s director of
auxiliary and alternative programs, and directors
Kathy Bartelmay, Sandy Gillespie and Jenny
Murray, saw this as an unique opportunity. A
Summer Institute for Educators, Project Work:
Preparing Problem Solvers for the 21st Century,
was launched in 2013. The workshop quickly filled
with educators from across the country, eager to
learn how to implement inquiry-based projects in
their own schools.
The first seeds for the project workshops were
sown in 1996 when Drs. Lilian Katz and Sylvia
Chard, creators of the Project Approach, visited
Duke School and conducted a four-day workshop
for the entire faculty. The goal was to deepen every
faculty member’s understanding of project work
and to build a cohesive preschool through eighth
grade program. The school has had an ongoing
relationship with Drs. Katz and Chard ever since,
sending new teachers to their Summer Institute at
the University of Illinois and inviting Dr. Chard to
consult on a regular basis.
But most importantly, faculty members continue
the work and have conversations day in and day out
about planning projects collaboratively, observing
one another’s classroom and sharing samples of
student work.
“The conversations and shared student work has
made a huge difference to student success and my
journey as a learner,” says Julie Marshall, second
grade teacher and project committee member.
As a result of this ongoing work, Duke School
teachers have become leaders in inquiry-based
project work. Their work has been featured in
several publications by Drs. Katz and Chard and on
the Project Approach Web site. In addition, Kathy
and Sandy are members of the Project Approach
Teacher Education Network (PATEN), a small team
of Project Approach consultants.
Lower School art teachers Marki and Jodi with
kindergarten students.
But learning about the Project Approach at a
conference is not as powerful as seeing it in action.
When Kathy received a request to train teachers at
the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge a few years
Sixth grade teacher Michelle Reich with student Lauren Taylor.
ago, she invited them to visit Duke School instead. Institute for educators each year. The next Summer
In addition to observing students deeply engaged Institute will be this August.
in their investigations, educators were able to ask
Duke School teachers logistical questions that “This has really changed my thinking about project
were essential for successful implementation of work and how to do it. It’s been wonderful to
inquiry-based curriculum.
see kids so engaged and be such great problem
solvers,” one participant wrote in her workshop
“It’s one of my favorite things, to teach teachers,” evaluation.
says Jenny. “We can help more children that way.
It’s exciting to know that what we know about Just as Duke School teaches its students to be
teaching children best will go to other schools.” productive members of their community, the school
itself is a great example to other independent and
Duke School now hosts a Winter and Summer public schools.
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HOME-COURT
ADVANTAGE
Duke School has evolved quite a bit since its
creation in 1947, most recently and visibly with
the relocation of the Lower School to create
one cohesive campus. Now, a new athletic
enhancement project is underway—the creation
of new tennis courts.
It has long been planned to add tennis courts to
Duke School’s campus as, until now, the boys’
and girls’ tennis teams are the only school athletic
teams that do
not practice and
compete onsite.
Currently, the
tennis teams
use the courts at
Morreene Road
Park, just a few
minutes away.
Athletic Director
and Middle School Physical Education Teacher
Jean Sartain said the Morreene Road courts are
“as good as it can be if you don’t have your own
courts,” but there are many benefits to having the
courts on campus.
The first benefit is that by having courts onsite
Duke School can be responsible for their upkeep
and keep them in tiptop condition, instead of
having to deal with public courts that may be low
on the county’s maintenance priority list. Jean
says she believes some students are discouraged
from enjoying tennis because the city courts are
showing wear and tear, and they are very excited
to have really good courts on which to play.
One great advantage to
having home courts is that
more people will come to watch
the tennis teams compete.
Tennis matches will be more efficient when held
on campus. Students will no longer have to waste
practice time being bussed to the public courts.
While only a few minutes away, those wasted
minutes add up over a season. Also, there are only
five courts at Morreene Road, and there will be six
at Duke School. This means that one more set of
opponents can be competing at the same time,
and everyone can have their turn sooner.
One great advantage to having home courts is that
more people will come to watch the tennis teams
compete. Right now, the spectators are mainly
parents. By having matches directly on campus,
more students will
be able to stay
to cheer on their
classmates while
they compete.
Head of School
Dave Michelman
says it will be a
great benefit for
Duke School’s
tennis teams to feel more a part of the school’s
athletic community.
In addition, either by having more exposure to the
school matches or just from being tempted by the
shiny new courts, Jean says that it is likely more
students will want to join the teams. This spring,
nine boys are on the tennis team, and fourteen
girls competed for Duke School this past fall.
Plus, having onsite courts means that they will be
available to the Duke School community and add
to the school’s summer camp programs.
Having tennis courts on campus also means that
tennis can now be taught as part of the physical
education curriculum. “Tennis is a lifelong sport,
so it would be a great addition to the PE program,”
says Dave.
For all these reasons, “we are so pleased that the
tennis courts have come about,” says Jean. “Not
many schools that only go through grade eight
have their own tennis courts. We are very, very
lucky.”
Dave says because of the school’s solid financial
status, it was able to allocate a portion of its
bond funds (which are designated for capital
improvements) to the Athletic Enhancement
Project. This source of funding in conjunction
with the restricted gifts received from several
private donors helped fund the project in totality
and avoided a major campaign. The Athletic
Enhancement Project is a valuable addition
to Duke School and will provide considerable
enhancements for students, parents and alumni.
“Thanks to the support of generous donors, Duke
School students will be able to begin playing on
their own tennis courts next academic year,” says
Kenneth W. Chandler, Duke School’s director of
development. “Plans for enhancing our soccer
fields are still under review, and we are continuing
to evaluate the best ways to enhance the current
field and plan for appropriate irrigation. These gifts
have helped to strengthen our athletic program
and enrich the student-athlete experience. ”
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15 15

Alumni Connections: Always a Dragon
had a baby girl, Hadley Michelle! Iris says her life
Annelle Sheline went to New York University’s
MINI-PROFILES
CLASS OF 2000
Meet Julia Fiore
Julia attended Duke
School from preschool
through eighth grade
and then went to
Durham School of the
Arts. While at Vassar
College, she majored in
environmental studies
and spent summers
in Durham working at summer camps. After
graduating, Julia spent a few years teaching on an
educational farm in California, and since 2011, she
has been the program director at Camp Riverlea,
a day camp in Durham County. She also worked
at two farms in Durham County, including Little
Sprout Farm, where she helped grow veggies and
the Prodigal Farm, where she worked with goats
and learned the trade of cheese making.
School students and teachers, and is continuing to
grow. Julia looks forward to organizing exciting
community events and expanding the alumni
network in the year ahead.
Julia started connecting with her fellow Class of
2000 alums first and learned that they have had
varied and successful experiences since leaving
Duke School.
Kate Chavez (Hotelling) started working for
a local non-profit that provides resources to
developmentally disabled adults after she
graduated from the University of New Mexico. Her
work inspired her to pursue the behavioral health
field, and she is currently at New Mexico Highlands
University in the second semester of her masters
in clinical social work. Kate is also a newlywed,
marrying in June of 2013. She currently lives in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she works with
high-risk kids at a seventh through twelfth grade
charter school.
is super busy working full time, being a mom and
wife and attending school part time but “totally
worth it.”
Emma Schall graduated from Loyola University in
New Orleans, where she studied graphic design.
After graduating, she began working for Line 58,
a branding and web design firm. Emma has lived
in New Orleans for 10 years and says it has been
an adventure. Traveling has been a big part of her
family’s life as they have visited Ecuador, Chile and
Quebec. She is recently engaged and planning a
wedding for next spring.
(NYU) Gallatin School of Individualized Study, then
worked as a journalist in Egypt and Yemen for a
few years before returning to the United States
to complete a Ph.D. in political science at The
George Washington University in D.C. Annelle’s
research is on the Middle East, and she will be in
the Persian Gulf and the Levant next year doing
fieldwork for her dissertation. Annelle says Duke
School’s former teacher Jane Ann McCullough
remains the best teacher she ever had!
Elyssa Weber is currently enrolled in a clinical
psychology doctoral program at the University of
Massachusetts, Boston, where she researches the
effects of natural disasters. As part of her program,
Elyssa is also conducting clinical work
in neuropsychology at a Boston area
hospital. She previously worked at
the University of Maryland, Baltimore,
conducting psychiatric research after
graduating from Wellesley College. In
her free time she enjoy arts and crafts
and catching up with her old friends from
Duke School.
With many happy memories from being a
student at Duke School, Julia was delighted to
join the Development Office as the events and
Parent Service Organization (PSO) coordinator in
December 2013. She has enjoyed helping the PSO
organize events and re-connecting with the school
and with her former teachers.
Tory Clark received her undergraduate degree
from Tufts University and has stayed in the
Cambridge/Boston area. She spent about five
years “gallivanting about the globe,” teaching
countries about climate change and energy
software. She is now in her second semester of an
energy policy masters program at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT).
“The Bench” built by the Class of 2000 and repainted many times since then.
We will feature a class notes section in
future publications. Please send notes to
Julia at alumni@dukeschool.org.
As an alumna, she was the perfect person to lead
Duke School’s alumni network. Since Julia began
working at Duke School, she has created a Duke
School Alumni Facebook Group. The group has
more than 140 members, consisting of former Duke
Iris Jackola (Warszawski) received her nursing
degree from Duke University and is now returning
to school to become a family nurse practitioner. In
May 2011, she got married and this past October,
If you graduated (completed eighth grade)
or ever attended Duke School, you are an
alumnus/alumna.
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Alumni Connections: Destinations of 2010 Grads
Join our Duke School Alumni Facebook Group –
a forum for reconnecting with old classmates while
keeping in touch with Duke School.
Marisela Aguirre
Alisha Anaya
Alice Broderick
Isaiah Bryant
Corey Coleman
Avery Dart
Alaina DeLisle
Sean Freemerman
Alexandra Garcia
Drew Gotwals
Brandon Hawkins
Charles Herst
Rachel Hill
Ryan Jackson
Justin Katz
Eleanor Kunz
Emily Lane
Naomi Lerner
Erik Lutz
Lia Manos
Zac Marion
Nathaniel Merrill
Thomas Moorhead
Collins Mullen
Grant Murphy-Herndon
Logan Murray
Rex Musette-Blumenthal
Tara Nagar
Camille Oliverio
Emma Postel
Malcolm Price
Kaitlyn Reed
Will Ruff
Eve Ruff
Jawaun Short
Maya Sugg
Alex Teunis
Nathan VanLandingham
Emma Westlund
Abby Westlund
Annie Wieland
Colin Wilkins
Odom Williford
Lucy Wooldridge
Julian Young
East Carolina University
George Washington University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Brown University
Northeastern University
UNC - Wilmington
East Carolina University
UNC - Chapel Hill
*
Appalachian State University
Wake Forest University
Appalachian State University
Yale University
UNC - Chapel Hill
Yale University
North Carolina State University
Harvey Mudd College
UNC - Chapel Hill
North Carolina State University
UNC - Chapel Hill
Duke University
Macalester College - St. Paul, MN
UNC - Greensboro
UNC - Chapel Hill
Northwestern University
North Carolina State University - College of Design
UNC - Asheville
Duke University
Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts
Wellesley College
Guilford College
Appalachian State University
Columbia University
Northeastern University
North Carolina A&T University
UNC - Asheville
Emory College
Emory & Henry College
Denison University
Furman University
Northeastern University
American Field Service International Exchange Program - Norway
UNC - Asheville
Duke University
Elon University
CLASS HIGHLIGHTS
RACHEL HILL
Valedictorian at Jordan High School
JUSTIN KATZ
Valedictorian at Durham Academy
ZAC MARION
Valedictorian at Cedar Ridge High School
* Plans not yet known/confirmed
HIGH SCHOOL DESTINATIONS
OF 2014 GRADS
Carolina Friends School:
Megan Aurentz
Violet Bishop
Gwyneth Graham
Jackson Kennedy
Adina Ornstein-Luks
Ben Westlund
Cedar Ridge High School:
Grace McGhee
Kate Milner
Sol Rosenbluth
William Stiffler
Chapel Hill High School:
Olivia Garcia
Durham Academy:
Jaspreet Bhutani
Gwen Caudle
Catherine Horrigan
Charles Hua
Jake Jeffries
Ava Pacchiana
Sterling Roberts
Durham School of the Arts:
Juliana Manson
East Chapel Hill High School:
Noah Clapacs
Molly Horan
Eli Schulman
Jordan High School:
Emily Coin
Estelle Hamilton
Julian Morrison
Andrew Taylor
Ingrid Trost
Maya Saterson
Trent Smith
Riverside High School:
Ryan Greenblatt
Connor Van Deman
Carrboro High School:
Chloe Turner
Cardinal Gibbons High School:
Eric Horlbeck
Sam Marcom
Joey Uzarski
Northwood High School:
Bridget O’Donnell
Panther Creek High School:
Alex Cole
Morgan Gustafson
Public School in California:
Kalina Aragon
Undecided:
Anna Marshall
Sean Williams
Bella Xavier
CONGRATULATIONS
TO THE CLASS OF 2014!
WE WILL MISS YOU!
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Duke School launched its new
school logo, marketing campaign
and named the Duke School
dragon mascot, Sparky in 2011-12.
Duke School’s logo expresses an
energy and balance (yin & yang),
movement, reciprocity, interaction
and growth. The dragon connotes
action, adventure, energy and
imagination – all important
attributes of Duke School.
We are dragons, We are real!
Photo: 20Christine UNDER Prisk THE OAK