Amidst the Trees - Spring 2018

Amidst
L
Trees
The Magazine of Forsyth Country Day School
SPRING 2018

FCDSMagazine
3
A MESSAGE
from Gardner Barrier ’97
Head of School
5
FURY IN A HURRY
Amidst the Trees (tries to) Catch Up with
Austin Dillon ’09
Forsyth Country Day School
5501 Shallowford Road
Lewisville, NC 27023
336–945–3151—fcds.org
Head of School
Gardner Barrier ’97
Associate Head of School for
Academic Affairs
Michelle Klosterman, Ph.D.
Associate Head of School for Advancement
Nathan Battle
Director of the Upper School
Steve Manna ’02
9
CAMPUS NOTES
Furies making an impact
15
THE FOUNDATION
FOR WHAT’S AHEAD
How we’re continuing to build on the school’s
strong foundation through the strategic plan
Director of the Middle School
Dan Quesnel
Director of the Lower School
Dennis Moser, Ed.D.
Director of the Johnson Academic Center
Ashley Clark
Amidst the Trees
Editor
Priscilla St. John
Publication Design
Scarlett Jessup, ROODcreative
Contributors & Special Thanks
Tom Howell, Rosalie Bland ’85, Jan DiBlasio,
Renee Foust, Cate Reece Lynch ’03, Beth Mack,
Mark Palmer
Front Cover – He won! FCDS’s own Austin Dillon ’09 and his team from Richard
Childress Racing (RCR) celebrate his Daytona 500 win.
19
STARRY NIGHT: 2018 AUCTION
More than 200 Furies gathered to raise
funds for professional development at
the Starry Night auction
21
THE ARTS TAKE
CENTER STAGE
The arts are now at the heart of campus
with the creation of Arts on Main
Parents, alumni, and friends of Forsyth Country Day School are encouraged to contribute articles, photographs, and other items of interest to Amidst the Trees.
Please send them to: priscillastjohn@fcds.org or Editor, Amidst the Trees, Forsyth Country Day School, P.O. Box 925, Lewisville, NC, 27013.
Alumni are encouraged to send Class Notes updates and pictures to alumni@fcds.org.
Amidst the Trees is published twice annually and sent free of charge to parents, alumni, and friends of Forsyth Country Day School. POSTMASTER: please
send address changes to Amidst the Trees, P.O. Box 925, Lewisville, NC, 27023.
DONOR
25 WHY WE PROFILE:
GIVE 30
The Jarrahi Family
UP ON THE ROOF
Harlan Blynn ‘99 goes from marketing
consultant to urban microgreen farmer.
We were intrigued, too.

Gardner poses with Middle School engineering students for the cover of Forsyth Family magazine. “It looks like I’m the one teaching here, but I’m really the one learning!”
he said. “These kids are pretty incredible.”
a message from
Gardner Barrier
Dear FCDS Community,
3
How do you take a great school and make it even better? Our
strategic plan – outlined in broad strokes in The Foundation for
What’s Ahead – honors all that is already great about FCDS.
Using our mission and core values as the foundation, we’re
working to prepare a new generation for what’s ahead – just as
FCDS prepared so many of us.
The arts have always been integral to FCDS, and in The Arts
Take Center Stage and our Donor Profile, you’ll learn how the
vibrant new arts space is bringing the arts to the heart of campus
where they belong, and how a family’s generosity helped to make
the visual arts component a wonderful reality.
We catch up with not one, but two alumni in this issue:
NASCAR champion and recent Daytona 500 winner Austin
Dillon ’09, and Harlan Blynn ’99, who recently quit a consulting
career to follow his passion of urban farming on the rooftops of
Denver. (As a sidenote, I remember playing soccer with Harlan,
and I fully agree with all of his thoughts on what it meant to play
for Coach D.)
Take care, happy reading, and go Furies!
Gardner Barrier ’97
Head of School
Follow @gardnerbarrier on Twitter

Amidst the Trees (Tries to) catch up with Austin Dillon ’09
5
To say that Austin Dillon’s career is on the fast track would
be...literally true. The 27–year–old two–time NASCAR champion
(he previously won the 2011 NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series drivers’ championship and the 2013 NASCAR
XFINITY Series drivers’ championship) won the sport’s biggest
race this winter: the Daytona 500.
“There’s nothing better than the Daytona 500 in my opinion
as far as racing goes,” Austin said. “It’s our Super Bowl. You’re
just forever etched in NASCAR history when you win one of
these things. The fans really get behind it.”
Austin is in his fifth full–time season in the Monster Energy
NASCAR Cup Series and his 11th full–time NASCAR Xfinity
Series, and – as a driver – every day is different for him.
“Training is a little bit different in our career because
NASCAR limits the amount of time you can test a race car,”
he said. “We test when we can, but we also prepare by using a
simulator and by looking over old race footage and notes that
we take at different tracks.”
For the majority of the week, Austin has sponsor and media
appearances, then spends Thursday through Sunday at the
track. With this demanding schedule, Austin admits that juggling
time is the most demanding thing about being a driver.
“Everything is important, but sometimes it’s very difficult to
make sure that we allocate the right amount of time to everyone.
I feel very blessed to have such an awesome career.”
As those who knew him at FCDS know, Austin’s passion
wasn’t always racing. “Although racing was always in my family,
I grew up playing stick and ball sports,” he said. “You name it,
6

I played it: soccer, basketball, football,
baseball, everything. I actually played in
the 2002 Little League World Series.”
His brother (fellow Fury and
NASCAR driver Ty Dillon ’11) was
actually the impetus for Austin’s career.
“One day, my brother and I saw
Bandolero cars running on the
quarter–mile track at Charlotte Motor
Speedway,” Austin said. “Ty asked my
grandfather (NASCAR legend Richard
Childress) if we could test one out, and I
wanted to try it, too. We’ve been racing
ever since.”
Now that he’s won his sport’s biggest
race, Austin has set new goals. “We want
to keep winning races and try to win a
championship in the Monster Energy
NASCAR Cup Series,” he said. “I’ve won
the NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series,
so I would be the first to win all three if
we are able to accomplish that.”
The FCDS Experience
Austin is an FCDS “lifer” who
attended the school from Pre–K through
graduation. “My time at FCDS provided
a great foundation for my life,” he said.
“I made friends that still remain great
friends to this day. Forsyth Country Day
provided a sense of community that I try
to replicate on my team now. We’re all
very close and have pride in what we do.”
Austin fondly remembers Mrs. Monroe
and Mrs. Holcomb, and he recalls having
Mr. Howell for homeroom in Upper
School. “He was pretty great,” he said.
His favorite class at FCDS was the
CEO Internship class, run by then–Head
of School Hank Battle. “I remember
we got to go to different businesses and
listen to the CEOs. I remember to going
to Pike Electric and listening to Mr. Pike
speak,” he said. “It was really cool to hear
the experiences of successful business
people. I think it gave us real–world
experience and it was really inspiring.”
Although he credits FCDS with
preparing him well for life, it is his family
who was the key to his success as a driver.
“Family has definitely been the key to my
career,” he said. “I wouldn’t be where I
am if it wasn’t for them.”
7 8

CAMPUS NOTES
Jack Brinkley ’17, Julia Cullinan ’17, Nicole Ellis ’17, Emily
Evans ’17, Benjamin Merrick ’17, Charles Terry ’17, James
Wall ’18, Lily White ’18, and Jonathan Winbush ’17 received
the distinction AP Scholar with Honor. AP Scholar with Honor
is granted to students who receive an average score of at least
3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four
or more of these exams.
Harrison Angell ’17, Lawson Brown ’17, Xun Cao ’18,
Catherine Cavenaugh ’17, Nicolas Chen ’18, Andrew
Claybrook ’18, Meredith Dockery ’17, Jordan Dyer ’18, Paarvv
Goel ’17, Jackson Halus ’18, Alexandra Huggins ’18, Victoria
Huggins ’18, Scott Joy ’17, Roby Kilby ’17, Yanghui Liu ’17,
Aran Parnia ’18, Christopher Perry ’17, Lilly Sessions ’17,
William Swaim ’17, Adrianna Torrieri ’17, Ranae Tuttle ’17,
Jiaming Wang ’18 and Alexander Zades ’18 were named AP
Scholars. The award of AP Scholar is granted to students who
receive scores of 3 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 5) on three or
more AP Exams.
Congratulations to our students for these academic honors.
FCDS Leadership Club Plans and Hosts Greater Good Forum
This past fall, the FCDS Leadership Club planned and
hosted the Greater Good Forum, which brought non–profit
organizations to campus and provided information about
service learning opportunities.
During the forum, Upper School students listened to speakers
from Hydrating Humanity, H.O.P.E., and READ Winston
Salem and participated in service activities. They made 500
lunches, drafted a letter to local, state, and national representatives
advocating literacy instruction for all students, cut shapes
to be used in crafts and literacy activities, and prepared crafts
for an outreach activity at Kaleideum.
Representivatives of local non–profits explained service
opportunites available, and students discussed how the school
community should embrace service as an integral part of daily
life.
FCDS thanks the following community partners: Hydrating
Humanity, H.O.P.E of Winston–Salem, READ Winston–Salem,
Kaleideum Downtown, Forsyth Backpack Program,
Teachers2Teachers, and Clemmons Food Pantry.
FCDS Recognizes Students and Alumni with National
Merit and AP Scholar Distinctions
Forsyth Country Day School is honored to recognize the
57 students from the Classes of 2017 and 2018 with National
Merit and AP Scholar distinctions.
National Merit
The National Merit® Scholarship Program honors “students
who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success
in rigorous college studies.”
Three FCDS seniors – Andrew Claybrook, Victoria Huggins,
and Alexander Zades – have been named Semifinalists in the
2017 National Merit® Scholarship Program. Approximately 1.5
million high school juniors entered the program by taking the
Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test
(PSAT/NMSQT®), which screened the program entrants based
on their test scores. The number of semifinalists represents less
than one percent of high school seniors in the United States.
To become a finalist, students complete an extensive scholarship
application that discusses their academic record, extracurricular
activities, leadership skills and other honors they have
received. NMSQT finalists will be named in the spring of 2018.
Five seniors – Christopher Atala, William Boyles, Gwyneth
Howerton, Alexandra Huggins, and Jiaming (Kevin) Wang were
named Commended Students in the 2017 National Merit®
Scholarship Program. They placed among the top five percent
of the more than 1.5 million students in the competition.
AP Scholar Awards
FCDS students from the Classes of 2017 and 2018 have
also been recognized by College Board for their college–level
achievement on Advanced Placement (AP) examinations taken
last spring.
Benjamin Burnett ’17, Banks Pickett ’17, and Charlotte
Thomas ’17 received the honor of National AP Scholar, granted
to students in the United States who receive an average score of
at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on
eight or more of these exams.
Samy Bencherif ’17, Sutton Blanchard ’17, Audrey Buck ’17,
Benjamin Burnett ’17, Margaret Burnett ’17, Shiyu Chen ’18,
Lauren Do ’17, Blythe Drucker ’17, Nicholas Emken ’17, Jared
Faulk ’17, Lena Johnson ’17, Jacob Jung ’17, Macy Justice ’17,
Rahul Krishnaswamy ’17, Jiajie Li ’17, Shuyao Li ’18, Turner
Malmo ’17, Caroline McNeer ’17, Victoria Parker ’17, Rohan
Patel ’18, Banks Pickett ’17, Colin Requarth ’17, Julianne
Strauch ’17, Charlotte Thomas ’17, and Logan Welborn ’18
received the honor of AP Scholar with Distinction, granted to
students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP
Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these
exams.
9 10

FCDS Middle School Team Takes First Place in Math Competition
The FCDS Middle School MathCounts Team came in first
place in the region at the MathCounts Competition and advanced
to the state finals.
Six FCDS students placed in the top 20 in the individual
category this year:
First Place – Saanvi Pawa
Second Place – Joshua Howard
Fourth Place – Max Drucker
Fifth Place – Sophie Scherer
Fifteenth Place – Jake Koonin
Seventeenth Place – Landon Greenwood
We are proud of all our students for all their hard work and
impressive achievements!
FCDS Middle School Team
Wins Odyssey of the Mind
The FCDS Middle School
team won first place in the
Northern Regional Odyssey
of the Mind tournament in
March, advancing to the State
Championship.
The newly formed FCDS
team was: eighth graders
Emmie Cawood and Sophie
Scherer, seventh graders Landon
Greenwood and Kaeden
Palmer, and fifth garder Ava
Scherer. FCDS parent Brian
Scherer coached the team.
They scored a perfect 200
out of 200 on the “long–
term” problem as well as a
perfect 50 out of 50 on the
“long–term style”. FCDS also
beat out a very tough middle
school team that has competed
as a group for the past four years. The FCDS team also scored the second highest on “spontaneous” – a 98 out of 100.
These students all very worked hard and their efforts showed. Congratulations!
Six FCDS Students Earn
Elite Orchestra Chairs
Six Upper School Orchestra
students earned chairs at the
North Carolina American
Strings Teachers Association
All–State Orchestra Festival.
They were selected from more
than 200 video submissions of
the state’s top string players.
They are: freshman Nathan
Faulk; sophomores Zach
Moore and Duncan Hart;
and juniors Lydia Yu, Harry
Zhang, and Kael Zhang.
Congratulations to these
students on this wonderful
accomplishment!
Two FCDS Students Accepted to N.C. Governor’s School
Juniors Katherine Angell and David Craig were accepted to
the North Carolina Governor’s School. Katherine earned the
honor for English and David was recognized for
natural sciences.
“Katherine and David are both devoted learners who will
benefit immensely from the intellectual atmosphere at
Governor’s School,” said English Department Chair and
Governor’s School Advisor Tamara Harrington. “They will
bring much energy, curiosity, and enthusiasm to the experience,
which will benefit everyone involved.”
Katherine and David will attend Governor’s School East for
six weeks this summer at Meredith College. Congratulations!
11 12

FCDS Honors its Fall Athletes
Congratulations to our fall sports student–athletes, teams,
and coaches for the following post–season honors:
Cross Country
Lindsey Ickes – NCISAA 3A Girl’s Cross Country State
Champion, PACIS Conference Champion
Ben Mitchell – NCISAA 3A Boy’s Cross Country State
Runner–Up, PACIS Conference Champion
Lindsey Ickes, Ben Mitchell, and Will Scott – NCISAA All State
FCDS Boys’ Cross Country – PACIS Conference Champions
PACIS All Conference Boys’ Team Selections: Ben Mitchell,
Jackson Halus, Daniel Snyder, Nick Strauch, Zach Moore,
Kyle Budd, Will Scott, and Mason Ickes
FCDS Girls’ Cross Country– PACIS Champions
PACIS All Conference Girls’ Team Selections: Lindsey Ickes,
Delaney Stark, Haleigh Kozlowski, Josie Kilborn, and
Catherine Mitchell
PACIS Boys’ and Girls’ Coach of The Year: Joe Scott
Boys’ Soccer
PACIS All–Conference Selections: Caelan Smith and
Harry Thomas
Volleyball
PACIS All–Conference Selections: Tori Huggins and
Hannah Reid
Girls’ Tennis
PACIS All–Conference Selection: Taylor Myers
Girls’ Golf
PACIS All–Conference Selections: Zoe Kurtz,
Sarah Grace Clifton, Sophie Scherer, and Yasmin Horner
Forsyth Backpack Program Club Earns $1,500 Grant
The Forsyth Backpack Program Club, led by president
Yasmin Horner and vice–president Sahar Sayess, earned a
$1,500 grant from the Winston–Salem Foundation’s Youth
Grantmakers in Action – almost a quarter of the group’s
budget. Yasmin and Sahar competed with 12 other groups as
they interviewed for the grant.
The club used the money to host a large packing event during
the Middle School Day of Service at which the entire FCDS seventh
grade was educated about local food insecurity and packed
backpacks for local children in need.
This club has already provided more than 3,000 meals to
food–insecure children in Forsyth County by organizing a 5K
last fall.
“We were very pleased to partner with FCDS again,” said
Carol Templeton, president of the Forsyth Backpack Program.
“It is especially impressive when students see a need and take
affirmative steps to execute a plan to meet that need. As a direct
result of the efforts of the Forsyth Backpack Program Club, we
packed 800 backpacks (3,200 meals) for Winston–Salem/
Forsyth County School students identified by school personnel
as being in need of food on the weekends. These meals truly
made a difference in the lives of the students we serve, and we
hope will make a difference in the lives of the FCDS students
who worked together for the betterment of their community.”
Four FCDS Students Selected for Prestigious Honors
Choruses
Four FCDS singers earned chairs in their respective North
Carolina Music Educators Honors choruses last November.
At the high school level, senior Logan Welborn ranked as the
#1 alto 1 in state, and senior Christopher Atala was ranked as
the #9 bass 2. For the middle school choir, eighth grader Mira
Fitch earned the rank of #12 alto 1 and seventh grader John
Speas was ranked #13 tenor.
Approximately 1,200 singers auditioned for 160 chairs in the
high school chorus and more than 800 students auditioned for
only 139 chairs in the middle school group.
Both honors choirs performed at the Stevens Center on
Sunday, November 12, 2017. Congratulations to Logan,
Christopher, Mira, and John on this exceptional achievement!
12 FCDS Students Earn Chairs to the NC Jr. Western Regional Orchestra Festival
FCDS hosted 484 students from across North Carolina as they vied for only 179 chairs in one of the two state–sanctioned
orchestras. Twelve FCDS students earned chairs – the most of any school.
Congratulations to the following FCDS Orchestra students:
HONORS ORCHESTRA
Violin II
Leo Wang
Viola
Kaeden Palmer
Cello
Katherine Li
REPERTORY ORCHESTRA
Violin I
Nicole Chung, Saanvi Pawa,
Sophia Scherer, and Katelyn Skinner
Violin II
Emmie Cawood
Viola
Sarah Boyles and Olivia Samuels
Cello
Ryan Reynolds and Sonya McNatt
Congratulations on this impressive
achievement!
SAVE THE DATE
ALUMNI THANKSGIVING GATHERING
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7:00

The Foundation
What’s ahead at Forsyth Country Day School?
Let’s take a look inside the school’s strategic plan.
To Head of School Gardner Barrier ’97, the strategic plan is
a blueprint for the continued success and evolution of FCDS.
“Picture the earth, the soil – that’s what FCDS already was. You
can’t build anything on a surface that isn’t strong, isn’t stable,”
Mr. Barrier said. “Forsyth Country Day has always been a great
school, and I’ve always been proud to call myself an alumnus,”
he said. “The mission and core values are the foundation we
build to take the school to the next level.”
Mission and Core Values
The school’s mission, “FCDS is a community of learners
dedicated to preparing our students for what’s ahead,” and
the core values – responsibility, respect, integrity, compassion,
and curiosity – serve as the foundation and guide all decisions
about what the school does.
“Everything we do as a school centers on the word ‘preparing’,”
Mr. Barrier said. “This school is preparation.” The phrase
“community of learners” carries equal weight, because the
FCDS community isn’t just students: it’s faculty, staff, parents,
and all other community stakeholders.
The final phrase: for what’s ahead. “It’s a tagline for us, but
it’s so much more,” he added. “What’s ahead, for our students,
is their future, and we don’t know exactly what that will look
like yet, but we can be aware of the trends and adapt to how the
world is changing.”
The core values are another important element, according
to Dr. Michelle Klosterman, FCDS’s Associate Head of School
for Academic Affairs. “The core values are a re–visioning of the
character traits we explored last year,” she said. “Character traits
are innate; they don’t necessarily dictate behavior. Values and
beliefs dictate behavior, and our core values are guidance for
what we do.”
The strategic plan–created from the mission and core values–
has four components: program, environment, organization, and
finances. It should be noted, however, that none of the components
functions independently, and that when you’re discussing
one, you’re really discussing all four.
“It’s all connected,” said Associate Head of School for
Advancement Nathan Battle. “None of the elements exist on
their own. For programs to work, you need to have the right
environment. When you consider the environment and programs,
you have to keep an eye on the financial picture and the
organization and ask if you’re putting your people in the best
environment.”
Because the four components are so interdependant, this
article will focus on the two most visible pieces: program and
environment.
Program
“The program piece is an expansion of our mission,” said Dr.
Klosterman. “This is where we look at curriculum – what we
teach – and pedagogy – how, why, when, and where we teach.”
Mr. Barrier agrees. “In previous generations, education was
content–driven. The teacher knew things and taught us about
them,” he said. “Now, content is everywhere. Knowing things
isn’t as valuable. What our kids’ education needs to focus on
is how to THINK about this content. We have to provide the
context to go deep.”
The academic curriculum will stay much the same, but the
way it’s approached will be adjusted to focus on deeper, more
complete understanding of the material. “It’s a value, not a
volume proposition,” Dr. Klosterman said. “We want to focus
on deep learning, not surface learning.”
The change to the daily schedule in Middle and Upper
Schools for the 2018–2019 academic year is an excellent
example of this commitment. Middle and Upper School will
have six–day rotating schedules that feature two days of four
75–minute classes and four days of six 55–minutes classes.
“Longer classes are opportunities to practice with the instructor
present,” Mr. Battle said. “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect
practice makes perfect,” he said. “In these 75–minute blocks,
teachers can go deep into subjects, and students can begin
independent work under the teachers’ supervision. Instead of
having a 43–minute class and giving homework, the teacher will
be able to assign practice, then guide, redirect, and help individual
students deepen their understanding of the material.”
Another focus will be personal development “Our students
need to learn how to learn, to build a skill set, and to adapt
successfully to change,” Mr. Barrier said. “It will be a constant
in their lives – changes in jobs, careers, and quite possibly both.
We need to help them shift and develop their aptitude for
change.”
15 16

One example of personal development in action is the Fifth
Grade Academy, which will debut next year. “The transition
from fourth to fifth grade is one the most challenging to make
both emotionally and academically,” said Dr. Klosterman, who
will also serve as Middle School Director next year. The Fifth
Grade Academy will help support this transition by making it
more gradual. Like fourth grade, students in the Fifth
Grade Academy will have two main teachers – one for language
arts and social studies and one for math and science – which
will reduce the number of transitions they need to make during
the day. Like the rest of the Middle School, fifth graders will eat
in the main dining hall, attend the same assemblies, and rotate
electives including chorus, orchestra, visual arts, technology,
and physical education.
“This will allow them to develop executive functioning skills
to plan, organize, and complete tasks,” said Dr. Klosterman.
“By reducing transitions, we can support their move to
increased independance.”
The specific personal development program is still, appropriately
enough, developing, but Mr. Barrier described the Upper
School vision as LifePrep 2.0. “It’s basically LifePrep on
steroids,” he said. “Every sixth day has been set aside for
grade–level meetings. We’ll discuss and practice different
components of wellness and personal development, including
good nutrition, coping strategies and stress management,
interviewing, public speaking, personal finance, balance, and
how to cultivate healthy habits. These are all deeply practical
life skills that our kids will need to know to function as
grown–ups.”
In Middle School, a wellness period that includes PE,
guidance, and an interdisciplinary project block has been set
aside. “Wellness will include physical movement, health, and
learning how to embody our core values,” Dr. Klosterman
said. “To understand the value and importance of core values
and wellness, adolescents need repeated opportunities to learn
about them and apply their knowledge. Think of it as a ‘genius
hour’ every six days in our new schedule.”
Environment
The environmental piece asks the questions: how does our
built environment facilitate the delivery of our program? What
needs to change and what can remain the same? “The environment
piece gives us the abilty to see our mission in action,” said
Dr. Klosterman. “It allows us to facilitate our teaching approaches
and leverage our current spaces to build community.”
Simple examples of this are in the changes to the campus
interior. Paint is lighter and brighter, lights have been switched
out for LEDS, and furniture is more modern and adaptable to
different needs. Artwork supports the new mission and illustrates
the core values.
In order to guide the use of space on campus, the school is
working through a campus master planning process. Last year,
this led to the transformation of the former weight room into
the Engineering Center, which allowed for the expansion of
the engineering program at FCDS into the Middle School. In
fall 2017, FCDS renovated the area that formerly held the MAP
program into Arts on Main, a space that houses the Jarrahi
Family Center for Visual Arts, a dedicated choral room, and
storage and office space.
“We had art classrooms at the back of a gym, yet we had all
this unused space in a central location,” Mr. Barrier said. “As
the arts are front and center at our school, we wanted them
front and center on campus. Arts on Main gives the arts a central
campus location and provides better facilities for the visual
arts and chorus. (For details, see The Arts Take Center Stage on
page 21).
Also slated for development are a training center focused on
the physical aspects of wellness (to be located in the back of the
Tierney Gymnasium where the arts used to be) and a personal
development center, which will be located adjacent to College
Counseling. “The personal development center will serve as
a community center for everyone where we can convene and
work together at the center of campus,” Dr. Klosterman said.
It would provide space for meeting with parents, for guest
speakers for classes like Business & Entrepreneurship, and
feature the tech to allow long–distance collaboration. “It will
facilitate group projects and ideation, but it can also be a
place just to relax and help strike the balance we all need,” Dr.
Klosterman said.
Nothing in the strategic plan is particularly revolutionary,
Mr. Barrier said. “It’s deeply pragmatic,” he said. “The things
that we’re already known for – writing, College Counseling,
the arts, the Johnson Academic Center – we want to continue
to enhance. Where we see areas for improvement, we’ll make
improvements, as we did with Arts on Main and the Engineering
Center.” But the analysis and consideration will continue.
“As a community, we’re digging deep and evaluating what we’re
doing on an ongoing basis, with our mission, core values, and
strategic plan to guide us and lay the foundation for our next
50 years and beyond.”
17 18

On March 3, approximately 300 Fury parents, faculty, administrators, Board members, and friends of Forsyth gathered in a transformed
Childress Activities Center to raise money for faculty professonal development. Attendees bid on silent and live auction
items, enjoyed delicious food, wonderful company, and – best of all– raised a record $129,506 that will directly benefit our
students’ learning by training our teachers. Thanks to Auction Committee Chair Jen Stern and her committee, to everyone who
donated items and services, to everyone who attended Starry Night 2018.
Board Chair Steward Beason ’81 with wife Tracey Beason
Dr. Aliana Trujillo Sindram ’95, Lindsay Bloodworth Thompson ’95,
Cate Reece Lynch ’03, and Kristin Holcomb
Upper School English teachers Meredith Harvey and Tamara Harrington
These Stock the Bar winners are about to discover friends they didn’t know they had.
Thanks for your generosity, Chere and Nokomis Gregory!
Winner! Winner! Preschool teacher Harriet Jennings and her husband Dell won the Heads or Tails
event, scoring a $2,500 gift certificate to Windsor Jewelers.
Upper School math teachers Teresa Angell and Ann Kimmer
Doctors Katherine and Tony Atala
Parents’ Association President Meredith Masten and Kim Parsons
Alex Mitchell won the tuition raffle despite some serious competition.
Joan and John Woodard
Thank these ladies for an amazing auction! From left: Andrea Gendrachi, Patricia Wilson, Carrie Pinnow, and Chair Jen Stern
19 20

The Arts Take Center Stage
The sun shines in through glass walls, illuminating an
expansive space that now serves a blank canvas for the visual
arts at FCDS. Depending on the time of day, the light changes,
and students from Middle through Upper School paint, throw
pottery on the wheel, or draw. Welcome to the Jarrahi Family
Center for Visual Arts, which serves as the physical center and
focal point of Arts on Main.
Arts on Main—part of the Strategic Campus Improvement
Plan (SCIF) that addresses the built environment component
of the strategic plan (detailed on pages 1–4) — comprises three
new classrooms—the Jarrahi Family Center for Visual Arts, a
new chorus room, and a generous storage area.
“The new Arts on Main spaces speak to FCDS’s commitment
to the arts,” Fine Arts Department Chair John Kildahl said.
“We are saying to our students and to everyone that the arts are
integral to an FCDS education.”
The new spaces provide several simple and practical
advantages for the visual arts. “Students don’t have to travel
as far to reach their art classes,” Mr. Kildahl said. “This may
seem simple, but it’s a huge advantage to teaching and the flow
of a day.”
Lexi Stevenson, who teaches Middle School art and an
Upper School drawing class, agrees. “It’s so much more
functional, and so much more open,” she said. “There’s so
much natural light. It’s essential to painting. The kids are really
responding to that.”
She also likes how the room’s size and flexibility allows
students more space to create their work and collaborate. “Fifth
grade did a collaborative group installation with line, space,
and form. To visualize this, we used balloons,” she said. “This
space allows them to spread out and really explore their
creativity.”
The choral room earns similar praise from Upper School
chorus teacher Terry Hicks. “It’s really an incredible space—
it’s so acoustically live.” The prior choral room, he said, was
very dry acoustically and it was difficult for students to hear
themselves. “In here, they can really hear their parts and their
voices,” he said. “Rehearsal is so much more productive now.”
Lower and Middle School chorus teacher Virginia Lee
concurs. “The space brings a lot of energy and room for
activities, a lot more flexibility in terms of formations and what
we can do,” she said. “I also love the new location in terms of
proximity to art classes. It helps us build an art community.”
Both Mr. Hicks and Miss Lee love that there’s room for a
dedicated office and risers in the back, which allows them
to pull out the risers when they need to prepare for a performance.
“They can get used to the risers and where they’re
supposed to stand,” Mr. Hicks said. “It’s so helpful in terms of
preparation.”
Eighth grader Lexi McQuilkin, who sings with Miss Lee, is
enjoying the new space. “The old area was basically padded,”
she said. “It held the sound. In the new space, you can hear
yourself singing so much better. That makes it a lot easier when
we’re trying to learn notes.”
Aaron Craven, FCDS’s orchestra director, already had the
Scronce Orchestra Room, but the new space positively impacts
him and his students as well. “This new space helps to bring
our music department together, and to bring our entire fine
arts department together,” he said. “I now have some flexibility
when breaking out into sectionals in regards to space. Being
able to have a new dedicated music space—the choral room—for
my violin section to break out into when I have a guest from
the symphony here is wonderful.”
The central location of the arts is also key. “The arts are more
21 22

23
visible on campus now,” Mr. Kildahl said. “When students are able to see what other students are doing and making, it entices
them to take classes, it informs their idea of what an FCDS student is and can be, and defines more broadly for all people on our
campus what it means to be a Fury—i.e a creative and engaged thinker and maker.”
Miss Stevenson has already seen that happening with her students. “I teach seventh grade in [the Jarrahi Family Art Center],”
she said. “My students think it’s cool–looking. Seeing the ceramics equipment is intriguing to them. They ask, ‘When can we do
that?’ It fosters curiosity.”
With the new Arts
on Main space, a
world of possibilities
opens up for the arts
at Forsyth Country
Day School. Ceramic
artist Tori Huggins
’18 agrees. “The arts
program at FCDS will
undoubtedly see the
benefits of a space
that inspires students
to pursue their artistic
talents,” she said.
“Having a space where
10 or more students
can have their own
potter’s wheel in a
wheel–throwing class
is unique, and the freedom
to explore all sorts
of artistic endeavors
will enrich the creativity
of the student body.”
Mr. Kildahl sees
more students being
involved in the arts
either directly through
classes or by better interdisciplinary
teaching
among faculty in other
departments. “Simply
exposing every student
to the creative power of
art–making is enriching,”
he said. “We are
always rethinking our
offerings to make them
best fit our student
body and best prepare
them for what they
will see in college and
beyond. I am incredibly
excited about what we
are going to be able
to offer our students
going forward.”

FCDS Dedicates Jarrahi Family Center
for the Visual Arts
Donor Profile: Why WE Give
The Jarrahi Family
This winter, FCDS dedicated the Jarrahi Family Center for Visual Arts thanks to the generosity and vision
of the Jarrahi family.
Approximately 40 people joined
Head of School Gardner Barrier,
Dr. and Mrs. Ali Jarrahi, and their
extended family to celebrate the dedication
of the Jarrahi Family Center
for Visual Arts.
After Mr. Barrier and Dr. Jarrahi
addressed the crowd, Dr. Jarrahi
officially cut the ribbon to open the
center. Guests (including long–time
art teacher Justine Linville) toured
the bright, airy new facility and
had the chance to participate in art
demonstrations with FCDS’s Fine
Art Department Chair John Kildahl
and fellow art teachers Karen Dalton
and Lexi Stevenson.
“FCDS is incredibly grateful to the
Jarrahi family for their generosity,”
Head of School Gardner Barrier ’97
said. “Dr. Jarrahi is a remarkable
person, and it struck me at the
ribbon cutting how his joyful and
generous spirit was focused on his
gratitude for having the opportunity
to give back to FCDS. It was a
wonderful experience to get to spend
time with people as committed to
others as Dr. Jarrahi and his family.”
Dr. Ali Jarrahi, an alumni parent and grandparent as well as a art enthusiast , was shown the need for a
state–of–art visual arts space at FCDS by his daughter Shaida Jarrahi Horner ’89. “I believe in the statement
that to whom much is given, much is likewise required,” Shaida said. “He was grateful for the opportunity to
give back in a meaningful way.”
Dr. Jarrahi believes strongly in education as a tool for positive change. “Trouble in the world comes from
ignorance. My daughters were well–educated and well–prepared at Forsyth Country Day School, and I
would like everyone to have that.”
Dr. Jarrahi and his wife Parvin have three FCDS alumnae daughters: Shaida, Shiva Jarrahi Kincaid ’86, and
Leila Jarrahi ’91. Three of their grandchildren attend FCDS: Yasmin Horner ’19, Halle Kincaid ’20, and Sarina
Horner ’22.
25
Both Dr. Jarrahi and Shaida believe strongly in the power of art. “Art makes life worthwhile,” Shaida said.
“It may not be a basic need, but it does make life joyful. We use art to express ourselves and to speak to
others across time and space.”
26

2017 Alumni Thanksgiving Gathering
Close to 200 Furies came together for a festive night at Foothills Brewery on November
24, 2017 at the second annual Alumni Thanksgiving Gathering. Cooper Alan (you
may know him as Timmy Cooper) and his band played, and alumni and faculty came
together as Furies for fun night of catching up. See you next year!
From left: Gray
Townsend ’14, Kent
Griffin ’14, and John
Showfety ’14
The Reeces are almost a party unto
themselves! From left: Bill Reece ’10, Jack
Lynch, Cate Reece Lynch ’03, dad John
Reece, mom Libby Reece, Morgan
Reece, and Jack Reece ’05.
From left: Hannah
Leshin ’07, Chris True,
and Megan Shoaf True ’07
From left: Josie
Hanes ’14, Anna
French ’14, Tim
Cooper ’79, and
Gray Townsend ’14
The brothers Hsu!
From left: Ryan
Hsu ’04, Wesley
Hsu ’02, and
Hartley Hsu’01
From left: Tyler
Van Zandt ’04,
Seth Wallace ’04,
Ryan Hsu ’04,
Emily Jane Wall
’04, and friend.
The Carrs
represent!
From left:
Dreier Carr
’07, Anna
Marie Carr
’08, Nicole
Carr, and
Speight
Carr ’12
Mimi Driscoll
Bennett ’07 and friends
Tamara Harrington
and the Class of 2014!
From left: Timmy
Cooper ’14, Meredith
Parman ’14, Mrs.
Harrington, Adair
Sheppard ’14, Gabo
Leyva ’14, and Sydney
Browder ’14
You can’t keep Coach D away from FCDS or a party! With Samantha Wood Zecopoulos ’06
(left) and Addison Ruffin Kon ’06
Timmy Cooper (aka Cooper
Alan) ’14 and McKinley Pollock
’14 entertain the crowd.
27 28

Up On The Roof
It took finding an old essay to reignite a passion and turn
Harlan Blynn ’99 into a farmer.
Harlan graduated from Case Western Reserve University
with his bachelor’s degree in accounting and began a career in
strategic pricing and analyis at Nextel, followed by working in
strategic marketing at Sirius XM Radio. “I was pretty successful,
but I just didn’t care at a personal level if the company sold
more cell phones in a quarter,” Harlan said. “It just kept eating
at me that I wasn’t doing something that I cared about.”
In addition to his corporate career in Washington, D.C.,
Harlan did volunteer work running a nonprofit focused on
outdoor education for kids. The children he worked with lived
in a “food desert” – an area with little or no access to fresh
foods. “Their supermarket was the 7–Eleven,” he said. “They
had no access to fresh food in general.” He also hypothesized
that they had no food culture, and that the families – many
of whom were immigrants – couldn’t find food they were
comfortable cooking and serving to their families.
Harlan took to bringing fresh foods in for the kids he served,
but that was only a Band–Aid. One evening, he was up on his
roof in D.C., looking at all the empty rooftops across the city
when he had a revelation: all of those bare roofs were a waste
of space. “Seeing the empty roofs and my experience with that
at–risk community got into my head and caused me to write an
essay about how I wanted to solve the food desert problem by
farming on rooftops.”
That essay was his ticket to Cornell University’s business
school, where he focused on global sustainable enterprise.
When he graduated, however, the economy was in a shambles,
so he became a management consultant working with start–ups
in Boulder, Colorado.
“I never intended to be a consultant,” he said. “It’s easy to
fall into that inertia, and before you know it, eight years had
flown by. The clock had kept ticking and I still hadn’t done
what I cared about.”
In 2017, Harlan found his old business school essay while
cleaning his desk, and he knew it was time to make his business
school dream a reality. His timing couldn’t have been better: his
home city of Denver just passed a Green Roofs ordinance that
requires that any new building of 25,000 square feet or more or
any building of a similar size with a roof that’s being replaced
must use a percentage of the new roof for vegetation.
30

“Green roofs are now the law in Denver,” Harlan said.
“Land access has now been partially solved for me. It’s going to
be an easy value proposition: grow grass and hire a landscaper
or I’ll take care of your roof and we can value–share.”
Harlan envisions his company, Topping Out Farms, as a for–
profit in a food desert that employs locals and grows what they
are familiar with. “I can design a for–profit that pays a living
wage and produces food locally.”
“It would be hyper–localized,” he said. “One reason a lot of
non–profits that try to address the food desert issue have failed
is that they bring fresh kale and spinach and no one wants
them. The people who live there don’t know who grew it and
they don’t know what to do with them.”
Harlan plans to grow not only food, but the culture locally.
“A lot of people in these neighborhoods are working entry–level
at McDonald’s.” Once Harlan’s business is up and running, he
will start employing people who live in the neighborhood where
he’s growing the food.
Harlan has signed a lease in Globeville, a Denver neighborhood
that fits his criteria, and has started Phase 1A of his plan
at this indoor space. His first set of products will be microgreens
– tiny shoots of almost any vegetable or herb that you
can imagine – that are very popular with foodies.
I started with market first then backed into what that product
needs to be,” Harlan said. “I’m growing pea shoots – they have
a really interesting flavor – an Asian salad mix with brassicas,
broccoli, kale, spinach,” he said. “I’m very proud of our first set
of products.”
In addition to being popular, microgreens grow quickly,
maturing from seed to saleable in two or three weeks. “My first
set of customers will be farmer’s markets,” he said. “We’ve got
such a huge farmers’ market community. I can have 15,000
customers flowing throughout the day.”
Harlan also plans to build in a community–supported agriculture
(CSA) box, where customers will pay a weekly fee for a box
of his produce. Later, when people are familiar with Topping
Out Farms and its products, he plans to layer in restaurants –
most likely in late 2018 or early 2019.
“As soon as I get soil – whether on a rooftop or if a community
allocates a third of an acre somewhere, I’ll plant food
that will go to that community as it’s harvested. My only goal
there is to cover my labor cost and seed cost.”
“I can be in farmers’ markets this year, and this summer, I
think I can employ one full–time or two part–time employees.
For every one acre, I’ll be able to employ one and a half
individuals.” Harlan likes that with microgreens, his employees
will learn quickly and – unlike traditional crops – will get
to go through the cycle from planting to sales many times. “As
I’m training these people, they will germinate seeds 30 times
in a farmers’ market season.”
This is all despite Harlan’s relative lack of farming experience.
“As an adult when I got my first backyard as an adult, I
became obsessed with growing as many things as I could,” he
said. “It is very transformative to start working with the soil.”
Passion aside, Harlan admits that when he’s at his extention
courses through Colorado State, “I’m the least skilled
farmer in the room,” he says. “I’m a total rookie.”
Right now, Harlan is playing a waiting game for his Phase
1B – actually getting that rooftop space. “In the morning
I water the plants and work on my calendar, and in the
afternoon, I cold call people, have coffee, try to get that roof
access.”
“It’s a significant cost to put a green roof up, so everyone is
waiting to do it,” Harlan said. “I was expecting this,” he said.
“I’m learning a lot about patience.”
The FCDS Experience:
Harlan Blynn ’99
Harlan Blynn ’99 credits his desire to solve the food
desert problem to his time at FCDS.
“I guess my interest in working with at–risk communities
started at Country Day,” he said. “I’d never been
explosed to those communities until the Fury Boys’
Service Club. Coach Danforth would take us for overnights
at the Samaritan Inn.”
Harlan recalls that John would take a group of 10 or
so boys to the inn and they would serve as overnight
staff who made sure that everyone had what they needed.
“That was an eye–opener,” Harlan recalled. “I had
never experienced being cold or not having a meal. I felt
a strong need to work with the communities who aren’t
getting the service they need.”
That said, Harlan admits he wasn’t a model student at
FCDS. “I was a goof–off in class,” he said. “I remember
all the good–natured teachers who took the time to try
and set me right. It took 15 years after I finished to get
it all together.”
“Forsyth Country Day gave me a good breadth
of experience,” he said. He remembers running the
lights and sound for theatrical productions, building
community, and – of course – playing soccer (he was a
teammate of Head of School Gardner Barrier, Harlan
recalls).
“I’m sure everyone from my era or earlier loves Coach
D,” he said. “He showed me what it meant to really have
heart, and what heart can do to overcome a lot of deficiencies.
We were just a ragtag group of soccer players
before Coach Turner, but no team ever out–hearted us.”
by th e
numbers
Everyone is familiar with Sudoku: the addictive, sometimes
vexing puzzle game that challenges the player to fill a 9x9 grid
of squares made of 81 individual cells. Each of the nine squares
must contain only the digits 1 to 9, and each row and column
of the puzzle must also contain only the digits 1–9.
Kelly Chen ’18 is more than familiar with the game—she’s
a top–ranked Sudoku player in her native China and in the
world. She placed first for individuals in the under 18 category
in the first World Junior Sudoku Championship in August
2015 in Beijing, then followed that up with a two fourth–place
finishes in 2016—one at the World Sudoku Championship in
October 2016 and one at the China National Sudoku Championship.
How did she get so good? She started early. “I started playing
when I was 6 years old,” she said. “I saw my mom playing it in
the newspaper and I thought, ‘This is really interesting’.”
Friends tease her that her mother encouraged her interest
just so Kelly could learn her numbers, but by age 11, Kelly was
serious about the game. When she was in seventh grade, she
started a Sudoku team at her school to share her love of the
puzzle. The initial goal was to practice twice a week, but they
soon began competing against other schools.
Even after graduating middle school and joining the Forsyth
Country Day student body, Kelly remained team captain: finding
resources, answering questions online, and competing with
the team when she was home from FCDS in the summer.
In 2017, Kelly placed fourth in the Sudoku Grand Prix and
was invited to the World Sudoku and Puzzle Championships in
India. “I qualified but I couldn’t go because there were conflicts
on the border between India and China.”
Stumped by Sudoku? According to Kelly, who estimates that
solving a classic Sudoku takes her from 60 to 70 seconds and
variants take a bit longer, there really are no quick tips. “It’s just
logic,” she said. “There are techniques you can use, but they are
all based on logic. I look at a puzzle, I write in what I see, then
I figure out the rest. The more you practice, the better you will
get.”
For this top FCDS student, Sudoku provides a much–needed
break from the rigors of schoolwork, and she’s never without a
Sudoku book; she even takes them out to work on after finishing
tests or assignments. “It’s what I do for fun,” she said. “It’s
more interesting than video games or movies.”
In the fall, Kelly will attend the renowned Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT).“It is my dream school,” she
said. “In the fall I went there for a math competition and fell in
love with it.” At present, she hopes to double–major in applied
math and biology. “That may change,” Kelly said. “I’ll probably
see a lot of new things I’ve never seen before when I get to
college.”
One thing that isn’t likely to change is Kelly’s hobby. “One
of my teammates from the Chinese national team will be a
freshman at Wellesley College, so we’re thinking of starting a
Sudoku club together.”
31 32

10
8
6
4
2
0
3%
7%
Participation by Percentage
Winner
2018-2019
Class of 1995
#ForeveraFury
was
used
113
times
10%
2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
10%
Alumni Giving
Participation
78
2017-2018
1st
Time
Alumni Donors
Participation by Number
Winner
Class of 2003
Births & Adoptions
Peter Andrews ’96 and Elizabeth Holt Andrews ’96 welcomed a
son, Will, on October 12, 2017.
Taylor Williams ’05 and his wife Liz welcomed a daughter,
Mary Copeland Williams, on March 15, 2018.
New bundle of joy? Let us know if you welcomed a child into
your family (and send a picture)! So that we can include your happy
news! Send birth or adoption announcements to alumni@fcds.org
by August 1, 2018, for inclusion in our next issue.
In Memoriam
Forsyth Country Day expresses its deepest sympathy to the families of the following Forsyth Country Day School alumni, faculty,
and friends. These listings include all information recieved by press time. If a friend or loved one is not included and you would
like him or her to be remembered in our next issue, please send the information to alumni@fcds.org.
Alumni
Bobby Emken
’81 passed away
on February 28 of
complications from
a brain tumor.
He was 54. A
graduate of Wake
Forest University,
the University of
North Carolina
School of Law,
and the Fuqua
School of Business
at Duke University,
he enjoyed a
successful career as
an attorney, working
as in–house
counsel for 14 years
Bobby Emken ’81
at Guilford Mills
and as a member
of legal team at Reynolds American since 2005.
Bobby was inducted into the Fury Athletic Hall of Fame in
2007 for his superior achievements on the soccer field (he was
an All–American whose teammates at FCDS dubbed “The
Crusher”). Bobby leaves his beloved wife Lynne, who worked as
a part–time receptionist at FCDS for many years, and their two
sons, Alex and Nicholas ’17, both of whom attended FCDS.
Faculty, Friends, and Family
Gail Flynn, a long–time Lower School teacher, passed away
on Wednesday, November 28, 2017. Many alumni will remember
Mrs. Flynn as their fourth grade teacher – a position she
held from 1971–1987 before relocating to Charlotte for her
husband’s work. When she returned to FCDS in 1995, she
taught fifth grade, then fourth grade, and worked in the Johnson
Academic Center between 1995–2008.
Mrs. Flynn was a valued and respected colleague whose
passion for mathematics was legendary. As one alumni parent
noted, Gail Flynn was a teacher who was always able to motivate
students to do and be their best.
“She was patient
and kind, but
demanded the best
effort from her
students every day,”
founding teacher
John Danforth
recalled. “In all my
years of teaching
with Gail, I never
saw her ‘lose her
cool’. I consider
myself very fortunate
to have known
Gail. She was the
perfect role model
and friend.”
Ralph Angiuoli,
a former trustee of
Forsyth Country
Day School, passed
away in Cornelius,
N.C. on March 3,
2018. He was 81.
33 34
Gail Flynn
Ralph Angiuoli

Forsyth Country Day School
5501 Shallowford Road
Lewisville, NC 27023