History and Traditions - Chase Collegiate School

CHASE
COLLEGIATE SCHOOL
EST. 1865
Alumni Office
565 Chase Parkway
Waterbury, CT 06708-3394
(203) 236-9557
[email protected]
www.chasecollegiate.org
The History and Traditions
of McTernan School
at Chase
Part of the
McTernan History Book
Christopher A. Brooks '59
and
Mathew A. Calabro '04
with
John F. Stephen '70
CHASE COLLEGIATE SCHOOL
Waterbury, CT
McTernan School
Today, Kellogg Tennis Center and Kellogg Field serve a large number of Chase students through physical
education classes, team practices and athletic competitions. These two facilities are lasting tributes to a family
that has chosen to have so many generations educated at the School, beginning with Mr. and Mrs. Frederick R.
Kellogg '19, and continuing with their four children, Charles T. Kellogg '45, Cynthia Kellogg Skipp '47, Judith
Kellogg Rowley '53 and Peter M. Kellogg '55.
Fulkerson Arts Center
T
he Fulkerson Arts Center was dedicated on May 11, 1963.
In 1961, Mr. Charles Fulkerson, whose son, Chuck
Fulkerson '62, attended McTernan School and whose two
daughters, Mary '58 and Martha '62, graduated from Saint
Margaret's School, made a gift to the School of a Butler-type
building which was to be vacated by his company, Waterbury
Pressed Metal. The building, approximately 180 x 60 feet, was
disassembled and moved to the campus.
Originally, the building served as a full-time gymnasium with
accompanying showers and lockers. The gymnasium floor was marked off for basketball, volleyball, and
badminton - configured so that it would be possible for all three games to go on simultaneously. The building
also provided space for dance recitals, lectures and other School ceremonies and events. Today, the building is a
multi-functional facility and serves students from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 as the School's performing
arts center and a secondary athletics facility.
Additional renovations, including a new rubber floor, were completed to facilitate the Lower School's five-days-aweek physical education curriculum and to allow Middle and Upper School sports teams to practice more
frequently throughout the winter season. Fulkerson Arts Center also serves as the alternative location for
Commencement during inclement weather.
Wayland Courtyard
T
he Wayland Courtyard was established in honor of Elton
Scovil Wayland, a Trustee of the School from 1929 to 1960,
and was dedicated on October 9, 1973 by Headmaster Chip
Spencer. The courtyard was designed by Marian Larkin '64.
Mr. Wayland's son, John E. Wayland, attended McTernan
School and graduated in 1939. Mr. Wayland's daughters, Lucy
Wayland Hall '36, Eleanor Wayland Thomson '39 and Alice
Wayland Cruikshank '51, are all graduates of Saint Margaret's
School.
His daughter, Lucy, had two sons, Ridgway M. Hall '55 and Elton W. Hall '57, who both attended McTernan
School. Additionally their sister, Eleanor Hall Clevenger, graduated from Saint Margaret's in 1966.
Mr. Wayland's daughter, Eleanor Wayland Thomson '39, had three sons, Schuyler Thomson '61, Peter Thomson '65
and Alexander Thomson '70, who attended McTernan School. Eleanor's husband, Woodward Thomson '31, is also
an alumnus of McTernan School.
Today, the Wayland Courtyard remains situated in front of Saint Margaret's Hall and is enjoyed daily by Chase students.
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History and Traditions
T
here was concern that the School's relocation to Chase Parkway after the 1972 merger with Saint
McTernan History and Traditions at Chase
Margaret's School would cause the legacy of McTernan - its 60 years of history and traditions - to be
lost. These apprehensions have been assuaged. The merger saw a majority of McTernan teachers and a
great many McTernan students shift from Columbia Boulevard to Chase Parkway, allowing an unyielding
dedication to McTernan's academic culture to be instilled within the new School. In addition, McTernan's
headmaster, Chip Spencer, was chosen to lead the new School, and 19 McTernan trustees served on the School's
Board, ensuring the preservation of McTernan's history. In the decades that followed the merger, a vast array of
McTernan alumni have been immortalized within the names of Chase. Buildings and classrooms, soccer fields
and tennis courts, academic prizes and athletic awards all bear the names of McTernan graduates. Chase boys
wear white pants at Commencement just as was done by McTernan boys, and Chase's crest is reminiscent of the
Macte Virtute patch that McTernan boys wore on their corduroy blazers. The history and traditions of
McTernan are not only alive and well at Chase Collegiate; they are thriving. Listed below is a collection of the
most prominent features at Chase that bear names from the heritage of McTernan School.
Goss Field House
I
n 1979, the Goss Field House was dedicated in honor of
George A. Goss, Jr. '34, for his steadfast support and longrange vision for the School. Mr. Goss was a firm advocate of
sports, fitness and enjoying the outdoors; he was indeed a true
scholar-athlete. It was in this spirit, and with his characteristic
zeal, that he launched a Capital Campaign in 1972 to erect a
new athletic complex. The next year, construction began on the
School's new field house.
Claire, his wife, served as the president of the Parents'
Association (1976-1977); his three sons, George III '66, Edwin '68 and Dirck '70, are McTernan graduates; and his
daughter, Lee '80, attended St. Margaret's-McTernan. In 2005, Claire Goss donated a new athletic trophy case in
honor of her husband, which today holds several McTernan trophies.
Today, Goss Field House serves students from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 through physical education classes,
team practices and athletic competitions. Chase athletics boast 42 interscholastic teams in 13 different sports,
which allows students to easily find and develop their athletic interests. The School supports a rigorous athletics
program with a no-cut policy that teaches discipline, teamwork, leadership and competitiveness. The School's
teams are almost exclusively coached by faculty members.
In 2007, the Goss locker rooms, restrooms, shower facilities and storage rooms were renovated and refurbished.
Kellogg Tennis Center and Kellogg Field
I
n the late 1950s, Kellogg Field was constructed with the
support of Mrs. Margaret A. Riley, wife of Thomas P.
Kellogg and mother of Thomas P. Kellogg, Jr. '50, Sara Kellogg
Goodrich '55 and Margaret Kellogg Hall '65. In 1983, the
Kellogg family again generously agreed to support an
expansion of the School's outdoor athletic facilities. The
crowning achievement of this project was the building of four
new tennis courts, situated adjacent to Kellogg Field. On May
18, 1985, the Kellogg Tennis Center was formally dedicated at
Saint Margaret's-McTernan School.
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McTernan School
seating furniture, reduction of the height of current shelving for
a more open look, and glass paneling on the second floor to
isolate sound.
Today, the library remains a valuable resource for students,
faculty, staff and parents, and offers reference services, research
assistance, reading advisory, and a quiet place to study. The
goal of the Library Program is to develop students who are
“information literate.” The School also strives to develop
literature appreciation aptitudes in our students so they will not
only be good readers but will also know the joy of reading. In celebration of McTernan's 100th Anniversary in 2012, the Centennial Library was re-dedicated as the McTernan
Centennial Library on May 1, 2010. The McTernan Centennial Library will permanently showcase McTernan
memorabilia in a special archival display. The names of major contributors to the 1965 Centennial Campaign
appear on two large bronze plaques located on the main floor of the library. With the building's rededication as the
McTernan Centennial Library, the McTernan name became an even larger part of the daily vocabulary on campus.
The Cashman Classroom
History and Traditions
Garthwait Dining Room
O
n June 1, 2004 Chase honored the generous and unyielding
support of the Garthwait family and Cly-Del
Manufacturing by dedicating the School's dining hall as the
Garthwait Dining Room. Robert Garthwait II entered McTernan
School as a Kindergarten student in September of 1965 and
continued on to St. Margaret’s-McTernan School, graduating in
1978. Thirty-two years later, in 2010, Robert's son, Robert
Garthwait III, would follow in his footsteps, graduating from
Chase after a lifetime of education at the School.
In the Dining Room, each of the three divisions - Lower,
Middle and Upper schools - sit at round tables with several
classmates and, in the case of the Lower and Middle schools,
one faculty member. The food is served family style, with each
table's entree and dessert brought from the kitchen and placed
in the center for all to enjoy. Also offered are a full salad and
sandwich bar and a daily selection of soups.
Adorning the walls of the Dining Room are signs from each of
Chase's founding schools, including: The Collegiate Institute
for Young Ladies, Saint Margaret's School, McTernan School,
St. Margaret's-McTernan, and Chase. Also featured in the room
are portraits of several Saint Margaret's headmistresses, as well
as McTernan's own Charles McTernan and Berkeley Hotchkiss.
McTernan Centennial Library
T
he Cashman Classroom was first dedicated at McTernan School in 1965 in honor of George Cashman, who
taught at the School from 1916 to 1952. The Cashman Classroom was rededicated at Chase in 2004 to
recognize this "devoted teacher and loyal friend of McTernan boys." Chase Middle School students now study
Latin in the Cashman Classroom.
Berkeley Hotchkiss Hall
O
n October 15, 1961, a ceremony
was held at the McTernan School
to dedicate Hotchkiss Hall in
recognition of long-time McTernan
headmaster Berkeley W. Hotchkiss '18
and to honor his memory and his
accomplishments as a teacher,
headmaster, and man.
On May 14, 2005, Hotchkiss Hall was
rededicated at Chase Collegiate School. Since Berkeley devoted his career to teaching and pre-preparatory
education, the second floor of Saint Margaret’s Hall, where the Middle School classrooms and hallways are alive
with the energy and enthusiasm of the young minds Mr. Hotchkiss held so dear, was chosen as the appropriate
place to honor him.
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C
entennial Library was originally dedicated in March 1965.
In 1963, Frederick Kellogg '19 began a capital campaign
aimed at raising $250,000 for a much-needed library building.
The campaign was part of Saint Margaret's Centennial
Campaign, a $1 million capital campaign in preparation for the
School's 100th Anniversary in 1965.
Mr. Kellogg was one of the first graduates of McTernan School.
His mother, Sarah Munson Kellogg, graduated from Saint
Margaret's in 1887 and his wife, Lucy Templeton Kellogg,
graduated in 1924. Sons Chuck Kellogg '45 and Peter Kellogg
'55 attended McTernan School and his daughters Judith Kellogg
Rowley '53 and Cynthia Skipp Kellogg '47 were students at Saint
Margaret's.
The original building included a language laboratory, music
listening room, specialized reading room and a small chapel.
An art studio, which combines working space for sculpture,
painting and drawing is connected to the Centennial Library.
In 2008, Centennial Library underwent numerous upgrades,
including new computers on the main floor, electrical and
cabling system upgrades to support additional computers, soft-
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McTernan School
greater-Waterbury community.
The Smith Cornerstone Room,
located in Camp Hall, hosts
many School functions and
events. The room is used daily
by Lower School students, and
on Thursday mornings all
Lower School students and
teachers join together in
morning meeting to sing,
pledge allegiance, and enjoy student presentations. Student events held in the
Smith Cornerstone Room include the Kindergarten Native American Festival,
the Grade 1 Science Fair, and assorted class plays.
Larkin Athletic Award
C
reated in 1978, the Larkin Athletic Award was given in memory of Dr. Charles Larkin of Middlebury by his
family. Dr. Larkin's son, Dr. Charles L. Larkin, Jr. '36, and his grandsons Charles L. "Sandy" Larkin III '59
and David Larkin '64 attended McTernan School. The award is presented annually to the outstanding athlete at
Chase Collegiate School who is involved in at least two sports and who also exemplifies good sportsmanship, fair
play and a strong work ethic. The silver trophy is on display in Goss Field House.
History and Traditions
Arnold and Mary Minicucci Classroom
M
inicucci’s, Inc. was opening its doors in downtown Waterbury just about the time that Mr. Charles McTernan
was founding McTernan School. Over 90 years later, the relationship between these two icons of Waterbury
came full circle when the Arnold and Mary Minicucci Classroom was dedicated in 2005 in the Middle School’s
Hotchkiss Hall. Through the generosity and gratitude of McTernan alumnus Rob Minicucci '67, the classroom
honoring his parents was given in recognition that the McTernan education they provided him was the foundation
for much of his later success.
Kellogg Room
Shawn Anton Walsh '67 Memorial Award
T
he Shawn Anton Walsh '67 Memorial Award is presented at Commencement each year to an Upper School
student whose concerned leadership has had a distinct effect upon the lives of fellow students, and whose
unusual dedication to all phases of school life has made a significant contribution to Chase Collegiate School. The
award is presented by Shawn's brother, Lance Walsh '71, also a McTernan graduate.
Henry Wade White '23 Awards
T
wo awards are presented each year that were established by Henry Wade White '23: the Martha Starkweather
Wade Memorial Award for Excellence in French and the Minnie Steele Art Award.
McTernan Medal
C
reated in 2004, The McTernan Medal is awarded to an alumnus/a whose efforts on behalf of the School have
been exceptional examples of leadership, dedication and teamwork. Past recipients of the McTernan award
include Sandy Larkin '59, Bob Wesson '57 and Rob Fenn '56.
Honor Code
T
he Honor Code and Honor Council were instituted at Chase Collegiate in the fall of 2005 as a part of the
educational mission of the school to facilitate the following in the Upper School community: an explicit code
of honorable and right conduct and academic integrity; a sense of personal integrity, honesty, responsibility,
ownership and forthrightness by each student with regard to her/his behavior and academic work as a member of
the upper school community; the understanding that we all make mistakes and the provision of a process by which
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hrough the generous support of Philip Rowley and Judith Kellogg Rowley '53, the Kellogg Room was
dedicated on February 28, 2006 in honor of the Kellogg Family. The dedication was attended by three of the
children of Lucy Templeton Kellogg '24 and Frederick Kellogg '19: Chuck Kellogg '45, Cynthia Kellogg Skipp '47,
and Judy Kellogg Rowley '53, along with Marne Kellogg, wife of son Peter Kellogg '55, and many members of the
extended family.
Formerly spoken of as "the small dining room," this elegant room is located on the main floor of Saint Margaret's
Hall. The Kellogg Room is often used for more formal occasions, which befits a family known for its kindness
and grace.
Smith Cornerstone Room
T
he Elizabeth C. Smith Cornerstone Room was dedicated on April 6, 2006 in
honor of the late Elizabeth "Copey" Smith through the generous support her
daughter, Maggie Smith '69.
Copey's three sons, Harold (Hal) '60, Robert '61 and Jim '63, attended McTernan
School and daughters Maggie '69 and Annie '71 graduated from Saint Margaret's
School. The Smith family continues to have close ties to the School and the
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McTernan School Valley Athletic League (HVAL) and have won many league titles. Baseball is one of the School's first sports, and
the program is alive and well. The varsity baseball program is a member of two leagues: Connecticut
Independent School Athletic Conference (CISAC), as well as the Hudson Valley Athletic League (HVAL). The
Highlanders have claimed 20 league titles over the years in each conference. The girls' varsity basketball program
has been one of the elite programs in all of New England for the past 25 years. Chase has won 14 league
championships and holds five New England titles, with several girls going on to play at Division I to Division III
colleges and universities. The girls' varsity tennis team has won six Hudson Valley Athletic League (HVAL) titles
and plays one of the toughest schedules around. Chase has a strong tradition of wrestling, putting forth its best
performance ever last year to finish 11th place overall in the Western New England Independent School
Tournament. Four students earned medals and the chance to compete at the prestigious New England Prep School
Wrestling Tournament in 2009.
History and Traditions
mistakes may be owned and corrected; a sense of self-government and facilitation of peer leadership within the
upper school student body; and the enhancement of student development and maturity.
Speech Program
H
arnessing the dedication and enthusiasm for public speaking displayed by Mrs. Christine Ranft, Chase has
increasingly integrated the discipline into each of its divisions.
The Speech program at Chase Collegiate School begins in the Lower School with Sharing. Students bring a
treasured object from home to describe to their class, fostering both early confidence with public speaking, and
critical listening skills.
In the Middle School, students in grades 7 and 8 present two formal speeches known as Declamations to their
entire class, parents and other guests. A signature event in the life of the Middle School, Declamations teach each
student the value of careful research, composition, and revision, while building oratorical skills that help each
student develop self-confidence as public speakers. The students have conducted research and written a paper
which is then distilled into a five-minute formal speech before a public audience. The Robert Adams Cup,
awarded since 1959 to recognize excellence in public speaking, goes to the student scoring highest in both 7th and
8th grade Declamations.
The goals of the Senior Speech program in the Upper School are to encourage the intellectual leadership of the
senior class, to raise the level of public discourse in the School, to give students a meaningful opportunity to voice
their opinions, and to provide an educational challenge that further develops the essential skill of public speaking.
Each senior is expected to speak to the student body at a morning assembly for five to eight minutes on a topic of
personal choice and significance. The speech is not graded, but successful completion is a requirement for
graduation.
Acting Program
T
he Highlander Theater Company is Chase’s resident drama group, which is comprised of Upper School
students who annually produce two main stage productions. From acting, to stage managing, to assistant
directing, to lights, sound, design, and house managing, this group creates challenging theater in the style and
subject matter usually only found in colleges. The results from this company have been recognized with several
Halo Awards (including Best Play) from the area’s professional theater, Seven Angels Theater. The Student
Written and Directed (S.W.A.D.) One-Act Festival is unique to Chase. Students in the Playwriting class produce
works suitable for production (several of these plays have been recognized statewide). These scripts then find
homes in the Directing class, which combines with the Acting class to begin a rehearsal period leading up to the
festival, where audiences and press alike see the shows. It’s all student created, and the results are impressive as
well as inspiring.
Sports Program: Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Wrestling
T
he School's athletic program teaches students that practice is as important as the game, sportsmanship is
critical, and success on the playing field is often replicated in the classroom and in life. Physical education is
mandatory for students in Pre-K through Grade 8. Students in grades 6 through 8 may also participate in the
interscholastic sports program, and Upper School students are required to play sports at least two out of three
seasons of the year. Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, Tennis, and Wrestling begin in Middle School, and continue to
the Junior Varsity and Varsity levels in Upper School.
Chase Collegiate has an extremely strong athletic tradition, which continues to strengthen. The varsity soccer
program is one of the strongest in Western New England. Both boys' and girls' teams are members of the Hudson
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