THE BLUE DOORS 1 Nightingale- Bamford School Volume 6 Issue

Transcription

÷e Blue Doors
The
NightingaleBamford School
Volume 6
Issue 1
Fall 2011
TH E BLUE DOORS 1
Volume 6, Issue 1
Fall 2011
A biannual publication of
The Nightingale-Bamford School
20 East 92nd Street
New York, New York 10128
www.nightingale.org
We would like to hear from
you! Letters to the editor,
class notes, story suggestions,
corrections, and any questions
you have may be directed to
[email protected].
DESIGN
Pentagram
L AY O U T
CZ Design
PRINTING AND MAILING
Finlay Printing
PHOTOGRAPHY
All photography courtesy of subject
unless otherwise noted:
Cover and Class of 2011 by Matthew Septimus
Foreword and Women in Leadership Symposium
by David S. Hughes
Contents
THE BLUE DOORS
4
Our Next Head of School
6
At the Heart of Nightingale
6
8
Study Abroad
6
11
Blackboard
12
Post Game
14
One Puppy at a Time
16
A Lifetime of Community and Caring
20
Hallways
26
Reunion
31
Class Notes
Cranes and Founders’ Day by Darrel Frost
Beatriz Stix-Brunell by Dave Morgan
Reunion photography by Jennifer Taylor
On the cover: Hannah-Mia Hinds ‘22
enjoys a moment of reading in her
Class I homeroom.
2 TH E B L UE DOORS
The board of trustees has announced Paul A. Burke
as Nightingale-Bamford’s seventh head of school.eople these
areas are named after.
As a leader at Nightingale for more than 40 years, Kitty Gordan
is no stranger to the ins and outs of the schoolhouse.
Stephanie Schmiege ‘06 and Aliyya Swaby ‘09 report on
their adventures in Tanzania and Ecuador.
Lower School Librarian Lois Strell inspires her students with
passion and a dash of whimsy.
The National Football League can be a man’s world,
but that hasn’t slowed down Samantha Kleinman ’06
one bit as she helps players adjust to life off the field.
Our Middle School girls find leadership skills—and homes for puppies—through our partnership with Unleashed.
Annabel Stearns Stehli ‘57 has been a class agent for more
than 30 years. As she steps down from her role, she looks back
at a lifetime of keeping her class connected. people these
areas are named after.
Stories and photographs from around the schoolhouse
Foreword
What news! You will see on the following pages the wonderful announcement that the board of
trustees has announced Paul A. Burke, our beloved head of the Upper School, as the next head of
school. There were cheers from all corners of the schoolhouse when it was announced, with some
of the loudest coming from me. If you haven’t already met him, I hope you get the opportunity to
do so in the coming months—you will see immediately why the search committee felt that he was
the best choice to lead this remarkable institution.
Mr. Burke steps into this role next July. As we consider our last few months together, a few
people have asked me to name the greatest lessons I’ve learned after 20 years as head of school,
and many more have asked for my favorite memories. Both wonderful questions, and I hope to
share some of my answers with you later this year. After all, we still have lessons to learn and
memories to make in the coming months.
For this, my last letter to you in these pages, I want to focus instead on some of the most
important words that we teach here at Nightingale-Bamford: thank you. This phrase of gratitude,
as simple as it may seem, is fundamental to the future success of our girls.
The problems that we are facing now, and the problems that our girls will face in the future,
will require more specialized knowledge and more expertise than any one person could
“ hope to
master; the days of a solitary genius spending years alone in a laboratory before her, Eureka!”
moment “are long past. (In fact, Malcolm Gladwell has written extensively about needing to redefine
the term genius,” arguing that a genius should not describe a preternaturally advanced student, but
rather should refer to those who excel at building on the work of others. In other words, a genius
has no innate talent that elevates her, but rather applies incredible energy to a problem by bringing
people together and synthesizing their work.)
At Nightingale, we have labored hard over the last two decades to bolster our girls’ ability to
study across disciplines, to understand the importance of another point of view, to celebrate the
victory of a group. As I tell our incoming parents, you can’t succeed at Nightingale unless others
succeed around you. And a vital component of these kinds of partnerships is not only being open
to others’ ideas, but acknowledging
others’ contributions to our lives, whether small or large.
“
In short, developing an attitude of gratitude.”
During one of this year’s first Morning Meetings, I encouraged our girls to take a few minutes
before bed each night and recall three people for whom they were grateful, then actually go thank
those people. I even took the bold step of asking our students to write a thank-you note occasionally
using actual pen and paper! In fact, all the juniors in my public speaking class know that I ask them
to write (not e-mail!) those with whom they interview for internships—I remind them how impressive
it is when I receive a genuine, handwritten letter in my big stack of Nightingale mail. This could
even be a wonderful exercise for your family, to set aside time every so often to write thank-you
notes together. The power to acknowledge and celebrate others, the understanding that our friends’
(and even our opponents’) successes support our own—what an amazing message with which to
leave our girls.
And so let me wrap this up by giving some of my own thanks. This will be, I warn you, a process
that will never be finished: each of the many thousands of people whom I have encountered during
my 20 years at Nightingale have changed my life for the better. But there are two people in particular
whom I would like to thank now, both for what they have given to me and to this school.
First is Liz Nagel, my unflappable assistant and perpetual friend. I will never forget her smile
in the morning, her infectious laugh, her stern warnings that I am late for yet another meeting,
and the warmth with which she welcomes every person into our doorway. She embodies Nightingale’s
heart, and no head of school—in fact, no person—could be luckier than to have Liz at her side.
And as has been the case for more than 40 years at Nightingale, there is Kitty Gordan.
Incomparable in intellect, intelligence, demeanor—and, yes, fashion—Kitty has practically run the
school for two heads, in the process gathering and guiding some of the greatest faculty I have ever
seen. Her presence behind the scenes belies the impact that she has had on every corner of our
school. As I take my sabbatical this spring, I could not be more pleased that she will be stepping in
as acting head. Kitty’s presence has been invaluable to me these last 20 years, she is an anchor in
her own right for almost everyone in the building, and I could ask for no better partner in crime.
I hope you will take the opportunity soon to thank each of these women, as well as the myriad
teachers, colleagues, and friends who influenced you (or continue to influence you) during your
time at Nightingale. And as we gather at the end of this school year, we’ll have the opportunity to
share these influences, lessons, and memories, and say thank you to each other in person.
Sincerely,
Dorothy A. Hutcheson
Head of School
Hannah Cope ‘12, Millicent Hennessey ‘12,
Katherine Lipman ‘12, and Sophie Sawyers ‘12.
T H E BL UE D OOR S 3
Our Next
Head of School
Our Next
Head of School
Nothing could give me greater cause for celebration
than the appointment of Paul Burke as Nightingale’s
next head of school. Working closely with him for
the past four years, I can attest that our new leader is
a man of unparalleled integrity who believes deeply
in our mission of educating girls’ hearts and minds.
Most important, he models Nightingale’s mission
in every interaction he has within our community.
Paul is deeply respected as a teacher, a leader,
an innovator, and a speaker. He has a profound
sense of fairness and a fabulous sense of humor,
both of which—believe me—are essential
characteristics for a successful head of school.
He will bring his boundless energy, passion, good
cheer, and excellent judgment to the task of leading
Nightingale. What a privilege it will be to hand the
reins of this wonderful school over to someone
I admire so much as a colleague and friend.
The board of trustees has announced
Paul A. Burke as Nightingale-Bamford’s
seventh head of school.
Head of School
A few words with Mr. Burke
It is with great joy that I write to tell you that Paul A. Burke has
accepted the invitation of the Board of Trustees to become
the next head of the Nightingale-Bamford School, effective
July 1, 2012. Mr. Burke was the unanimous first choice of the
search committee, and his selection was ratified by the full
board at a special meeting on October 11, 2011.
Mr. Burke is currently head of Nightingale’s Upper School
and in his three years here has brought extraordinary new
energy and innovation to the division while upholding
Nightingale’s traditions and embracing its mission. For
students, parents, administrators, and faculty, he has been
that rare leader whose passion inspires passion and whose
ideas inspire ideas. His intellect, judgment, vision, and humor
have earned him respect both within and beyond the blue
doors. He is a truly remarkable educator, and he understands
Nightingale’s past and its potential on the deepest level.
Mr. Burke will be the seventh head of school in Nightingale’s
91-year-history, succeeding Dorothy A. Hutcheson, who last
year announced her plans to step down after an illustrious
20-year tenure.
An American history teacher for more than a decade,
Mr. Burke began his career in 1996 as a college counselor at
the Salisbury School in Connecticut. In 2000, he joined the
Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, where he was college
advisor for three years before becoming a dean of students.
A 1996 graduate of Williams College, he earned a Masters
degree in Educational Administration from Columbia
University Teachers College, where he was inducted into
the Kappa Delta Pi honor society. Mr. Burke is married to
Christine Rowe Burke, a senior marketing executive; they
4 TH E B L UE DOORS
have twin five-year-old sons and a three-year-old daughter.
The selection of Mr. Burke was the culmination of a national
search that involved the entire Nightingale community.
Working with consultants from Educators’ Collaborative, the
nine-member search committee, chaired by Patsy Gilchrist
Howard ’62, reviewed the credentials of dozens of candidates
with a wide range of backgrounds, educational philosophies,
and experience. Three extremely qualified finalists emerged
from this process, and each spent several days touring the
schoolhouse, meeting with members of our community, and
being interviewed by parent, alumnae, and faculty committees.
The feedback that followed was invaluable to the search
committee, and I want to take this opportunity to thank
everyone who participated in what was an exciting but
demanding process.
The selection of the head of school is one of the great
responsibilities of trusteeship, and I know the rest of the
board joins me in feeling privileged to have exercised that
responsibility, and to have arrived, with Paul Burke, at the
threshold of an exciting future.
Nina Joukowsky Köprülü ’79
President, Board of Trustees
Congratulations!
Thank you. There is something incredibly special about
this place that I felt the moment I first came through the
blue doors. The strength of our students and faculty, the
involvement of our alumnae and parents—I couldn’t be
happier to become the next head of this community.
What will the process be like as we move from
Ms. Hutcheson to you?
Ms. Hutcheson and I will share one goal, and that will be to
make this transition as smooth as possible for our girls and
our faculty. I will be working with her closely over the next few
months, and also with Kitty Gordan, who will continue to be a
vital resource for me and the school. They both have a lot to
share, as do so many in our community, and I’m excited to begin.
How will Nightingale change now that you’re head?
We will be starting a new chapter together, but this is not
a new book. The traditions and values that have guided
Nightingale for so long will remain central. We will grapple
with these traditions, sure, and we will think long and hard
about how our values and practices can match the demands
of the modern day. Nightingale has always done this, and I
expect we’ll continue to do so. As far as specifics go, you’ll
have to give me at least a few weeks!
What are your favorite Nightingale traditions?
There are many, of course, but I’ll choose one to highlight:
the first day of school for the Kindergarteners. The senior
class lines up in the lobby and each takes the hand of a young
girl and leads her up to her classroom. This is a physical
manifestation of the care with which our older girls look out for
our younger girls, and it reinforces the idea that our students
rely as much on each other as any adult. It is a short moment,
but its impact, for me at least, lasts throughout the year.
What is the role of a head, as you see it?
Certainly the head has administrative roles, academic roles,
and fundraising roles. I believe that my most important
function, however, will be that of chief questioner. We have
really amazing faculty, our girls are shockingly capable, and
the sheer expertise of our alumnae is overwhelming. So my
job is to bring these people together in intelligent ways, ask
smart questions, and help fashion solutions and new ideas.
What are the greatest challenges or opportunities
that you see facing Nightingale?
We are all incredibly fortunate to have had Dorothy Hutcheson
for so many years, guiding us so ably. I will be stepping in at a
great point in Nightingale’s history, and I feel that we are able
to tackle any challenges that arise. Some of those may include
how best to integrate technology into the classroom without
losing that one-to-one attention that has so long defined the
Nightingale experience. Some of these may include maintaining
our positive faculty culture as both a tool for retaining our fine
teachers and also recruiting the next generation of educators.
Other challenges may include how to develop long-term and
meaningful relationships with the schools and neighbors around
us and abroad without losing our own sense of community.
Of course, as we ask questions and approach these
challenges, there is the opportunity to remind ourselves
about who we are. I fell in love with this school because of
its sense of self, its pride in how we are able to educate girls
and help them find their individual voices. Our greatest
opportunity is celebrating these voices and helping them
echo around the world.
At the Heart of
Nightingale
At the urging of Melissa Rios ‘12,
students from all three divisions came
together to fold these cranes in the
wake of last spring’s tsunami in Japan.
They are currently hanging in the
Joan Stitt McMenamin Library.
As a leader at Nightingale for more than
40 years, Kitty Gordan is no stranger to
the ins and outs of the schoolhouse.
If you have been a part of
Nightingale-Bamford in the
last 40 years, chances are that
you have heard the name of
Mrs. Gordan—or Kitty, as she’s
known to friends and colleagues.
During her four decades here,
she has spent most of her time
working behind the scenes,
but as Ms. Hutcheson takes her sabbatical this coming spring,
Mrs. Gordan will be stepping into the spotlight as our acting
head of school.
From her early days here, Mrs. Gordan has been at the
heart of Nightingale’s academic life. She arrived in 1969 as a
history teacher with plans to stay only a short time, but quickly
fell in love with the school and has served a variety of roles
in the intervening years. She has taught history in both the
Middle and Upper Schools, was a homeroom teacher, chaired
the history department, and for the last three decades has
been one of the head of school’s right-hand women.
As assistant head in the late 1980s, Mrs. Gordan was
instrumental in guiding the school through the two years
when the schoolhouse was under construction. She took on
the challenge of redesigning the academic program to suit a
decentralized academic community, ensuring that the quality
of the Nightingale program wouldn’t change, even if the
location of classes did. “The faculty was heroic,” she notes,
with characteristic humility. Shortly after our students returned
to the new schoolhouse in 1991, Mrs. Gordan played a
critical role in the transition from Joan McMenamin to Dorothy
Hutcheson, helping to usher the school from one chapter to
6 TH E B L UE DOORS
the next in as seamless a fashion as possible, just as she’s
doing now.
She has left her mark on the school culture, of course, but
also on the lives of generations of students. Lily Zhang ’08
said of her former advisor, “Mrs. Gordan is brilliant, sensible,
and diplomatic. Her words in the classroom are profound and
her care as a mentor has shaped my values, judgment, and
worldview in my most formative years. I look up to her for her
intellectual strength and upright character.”
Mrs. Gordan commands a tremendous amount of respect
from the faculty and staff at Nightingale, due at least in
part to her formidable intellect, a mastery of Nightingale’s
ever-evolving curriculum, and what long-time faculty member
Jane Guggenheimer refers to as “the style and flair of a
Parisian model.” As she takes the reins this spring, Mrs.
Gordan will work to ensure that the academic experience
for our girls is unaltered by the administrative changes.
“The school has thrived and grown in many different areas
under Ms. Hutcheson, and we are at a very good point,”
Mrs. Gordan remarks. “I would like Ms. Hutcheson to have
a wonderful sabbatical, her well-deserved victory lap,
confident that our students are as well taught as ever.”
After more than four decades helping to shape
Nightingale-Bamford into the school that we are today,
Mrs. Gordan might be forgiven for looking backward at her
lengthy list of accomplishments. Yet she is, as ever, passionate
about developing Nightingale for tomorrow’s graduates.
“I look to the future with great excitement and confidence,
thanks to Nightingale’s ability to redefine itself without ever
losing sight of its core values.”
Study Abroad
Stephanie Schmiege ’06 has been teaching in
Tanzania since 2010, and Aliyya Swaby ’09
spent this past summer in Ecuador reporting
on the illegal wildlife trade. What follows are
reports they each sent in detailing some of
their activities and lessons learned.
Above, Stephanie Schmiege ‘06 with some of her Tanzanian students; below, a landscape drawn by one of Stephanie’s pupils.
A dispatch from Tanzania by Stephanie Schmiege ’06
Arriving at Kibeta English Medium Primary School in Bukoba,
Tanzania for the first time, I was met by a crowd of smiling
faces, a bit shy but eager. Following me to my door, they
chanted, “Welcome Teacha Stephania.” The students had
even put up a sign of welcome that read, “Welcome Dear
Aaron and Stephanie at KEMPS August 2010.”
KEMPS sits on the hills above the town of Bukoba with
spectacular views of Lake Victoria, one of the world’s largest
freshwater lakes. The landscape is grassland and banana trees,
the green of the vegetation contrasting with the red of the dirt.
Touched by my pupils’ initial welcome, they have since
astonished me with their curiosity, energy, and generosity.
In the classroom, my pupils are rambunctious and, with some
encouragement, very creative. In my Standard 4 art class we
have been studying famous artists and looked very closely
at Van Gogh’s Starry Night. With an evening field trip to look
at the stars over Lake Victoria and the lights of Bukoba at
night, my pupils created their own landscapes in the style of
Van Gogh.
In Science class with Standard 5, I have asked students to
keep a weekly observation journal of a site on the KEMPS
campus. Their curiosity was peaked when they discovered a
toad on one of their sites. This “handsome, fat toad,” as one
pupil described him, became the focus of much study—most
likely to the toad’s chagrin.
I am not only kept on my toes by my pupils, but also by the
intricacies of learning to live in a different culture. Although I
8 TH
THE
E B L UE DOORS
DO O RS
teach in English, the national language of Tanzania is Kiswahili.
I learn new words every day, often thanks to the many pupils
who have undertaken to teach me Swahili (learning Swahili
from 10 “teachers” at once is a challenge). Instead of
subways, public transportation takes the form of pikipikis, or
motorcycles. You simply bargain down your fare and they will
take you, your bike, bed, crate of soda, goat, or anything else
to your destination. (I once rode home from the market with
a dozen eggs in a bag on the back of a pikipiki—no small
challenge!)
Except for the public transportation, which moves
frighteningly quickly on narrow roads, the pace of life is more
relaxed than New York. Greetings include asking about the
day, work, family, and any number of other things, and only
then do you begin to think about discussing the reason for
the visit. In Kiswahili there is a saying: “Haraka haraka haina
baraka” or “Hurry hurry has no blessings.” The reality of this
saying can be very frustrating—waiting in lines to use the
ATM or pay the electricity bill, waiting for the bus that broke
down to be fixed or waiting to post a letter at the post office—
and yet people also take time to connect with their neighbors,
customers, and anyone they meet. Once you add these
greetings they are hard to remove. In a recent visit to New
York I found myself the subject of many askance looks as I
asked questions that were “too personal” for the aloof New
Yorker. I mean, really! Can you imagine asking a waiter “How
are you? How is the work? How is the family?” before saying
you’d like a burger and fries?
your jobs, families, friends, cows, and every part of your lives
be well and good!
I came to Tanzania expecting to teach at a primary school;
to share my love of art, science, and language. I expected to
help students with homework, to explain lessons they didn’t
understand and to live in a fishbowl. I have learned so much
more than I expected: how to improvise teaching aids, how to
ride sideways on a motorbike in a long skirt, how to speak a
new language, how to be American and a part of a Tanzanian
community, how to slow down and take a breath.
So, in traditional Tanzanian form, I would like to take a
moment of your busy day to send my greetings to everyone
at Nightingale and the greater Nightingale community. May
A dispatch from Ecuador by Aliyya Swaby ’09
In early June, I headed off into the dense Amazonian jungle,
equipped with nothing but a handcrafted walking stick and a
small backpack. Well, not exactly.
I am in Ecuador for two and a half months this summer,
investigating the effect of the illegal wildlife trade on the
ecology of the Amazon for an independent journalism project.
And not just any place in the Amazon—I’m looking at the
Yasuní National Forest, which has been called the most
biodiverse forest in the world.
For decades, the indigenous Waorani tribe, only one of
several in Yasuní, has been sustainably hunting in the forest,
which is allowed by Ecuadorian law. But the relatively recent
introduction of oil companies into the region has led to
overdevelopment of forest resources and indirectly to
unsustainable indigenous hunting practices, including the
sale of wild meat.
An environmental studies major at Yale, I wanted to put
together a project this summer that would combine my
interest in forest conservation with my interest in journalism.
I figured it was about time to put my seven years of Spanish
language classes to use by reporting on-the-ground and
talking to experts and locals. My goal is to develop a focus
among the complex political, anthropological, ecological,
Blackboard
Aliyya Swaby ‘09 with a wild tapir in Ecuador, 2011.
and economic factors associated with the issue and create a
fresh magazine-style article. A more-than-daunting task.
Yet things started coming together relatively quickly. My
second weekend in Ecuador, I witnessed a pivotal event that
has since become the crux of my entire project. The morning
of June 11, I was at a meat market in the jungle town of
Pompeya along with a guide from the Wildlife Conservation
Society, ready to see illegal transactions of wild animal meat
with my own eyes. Indigenous vendors pulled up to the port
on the Napo River in canoes, some of which held white sacks
of dead animals, while buyers waited on shore.
Usually this process goes uninterrupted, but the Ministry
of the Environment—an autonomous governmental body
for environmental policing in Ecuador—had been cracking
down on this trade in the previous few months. That day, they
sent four marine officers to the port to confiscate all of the
meat from the canoes. And I watched later that afternoon
back in the larger jungle town of Coca as the navy burned
500 pounds of wild meat in the courtyard outside their offices.
It was a warning to the angry mob of buyers and sellers
watching from behind the courtyard gates: participating
in this trade is a waste of time and money. Since then, the
10 TH E B L UE DO O RS
amount of wild meat at Pompeya seemed to decrease
markedly, but sources within the indigenous communities
have reported the increased frequency of underground sales
out of the Ministry’s range of notice.
In the past several weeks, I have done numerous interviews
with representatives of various sides of the issue—Ministry
officials, non-governmental organization members, indigenous
people and scientists—in Quito, Yasuní, and nearby jungle
towns. I have hiked through areas of the Amazon and seen
few animals, which would have been rare a couple of decades
ago. I have gone hunting with members of a Waorani
community and seen the impact of development on their
lifestyle.
Most importantly, I have learned to think about my
experience not just as fodder for an article but as a dynamic
being of its own, involving the lives and even cultures of
millions of organisms. I am lucky to be a part of it.
This project was made possible by the Harvey Cushing
Fellowship in Science from the Kingsley Trust Association, and
I would like to thank them for their support. For more details
about my summer, read my blog at monkeybusinessinyasuni.
wordpress.com.
Blackboard is a
section in which we
feature a member
of the renowned
Nightingale faculty.
If you ask parents and students what their most
beloved place is in the schoolhouse, many will
say the Lower School library. Under the stewardship of Lois Strell, it is a refuge jammed with
books and artwork extolling the joys of reading.
But Ms. Strell does not want the library to be
limited to books. “It’s about being curious,
gaining the power to explore and discover on
one’s own,” she says.
Ms. Strell came to Nightingale 11 years ago
after many years working as a librarian. She has
always loved to travel. Growing up, her parents
were both educators and their teaching schedule
allowed the family to take adventurous summer
holidays. Her family traveled extensively and
lived in Mexico for two summers as well as
Puerto Rico. Ms. Strell’s love of travel continued
through her teens and adulthood and now
she can claim visits to China, Nepal, India,
Baja, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, Europe, and
Israel—as well as every state in the union save
Alaska. Her love of reading also began as a child.
She received special permission from her school
librarian to take out as many books as she
wanted. Her parents worried that she read too
much, but for Ms. Strell books were (and are)
as essential to life as air and water.
It is clear that Ms. Strell loves her job.
Upon entering the Lower School library, one
is immediately greeted by Octavia, a green,
plush octopus donning a
Nightingale tunic, who looms
happily over the stacks. Some
of Ms. Strell’s whimsical hats
dangle from clear cords,
and seasonal art covers the
bulletin boards. Ms. Strell
brings imaginative projects
into the girls’ lives, like the
Caldecott project where
first-graders study various
illustrating techniques. In
second grade, the girls study
the roots of fairy tales, a
project that ties in with their
studies of immigration, and
later in Lower School, the girls
partake in a special passport
project, where they try to read
a number of books in different categories. Many
of these projects—like the Lower School World
Records Day or 2008’s special book election,
which was used to teach girls about the electoral
process—are labors of love for Ms. Strell, love
that is soon reflected on the faces of her Lower
School charges.
Under Ms. Strell, the library is also a place of
adventure and whimsy. Girls are introduced to
Rogo and Priscilla, two puppets (who don’t know
they’re puppets) who come from the moon—only
Ms. Strell understands them because they speak
Unicornish. Even the girls’ library bookmarks are
unique: every year, Ms. Strell takes a photograph
of each child and mounts the photo onto her
own bookmark. Not only is it easy for a child to
identify her bookmark, but it is also an artful
way for her to track her transformations from
year to year.
In addition to her inventive projects and
library duties, Ms. Strell is busy with many other
activities at Nightingale. For three years she was
assistant coach for fifth- and sixth-grade track.
She has taught many Hobbyhorse classes like
puppetmaking, hat making, and other crafts.
She escorts the seventh-graders to Oxford in the
summer for the Dragon School Exchange and
chaperones the fourth-grade class to Greenkill
environmental camp every year.
When asked to choose a favorite book, it’s as
if she’s being asked to pick one
special child. After a long pause
and many sighs she answers,
“Well, J.K. Rowling is an amazing
storyteller who changed the
landscape of reading. The books
span all age groups. So, Harry
Potter is one of my favorite
books.” Finally, asked if she has
any advice for parents, Ms. Strell
says, “You have to allow them
to make some choices on their
own and encourage the act of
reading by being open to books,
magazines, comic books—almost anything. Also it’s important to model for your children
and sit and read!”
—Jayne Sosland P’20
T H E BL UE D OOR S 1 1
Post Game
The National Football League can
be a man’s world, but that hasn’t
slowed down Samantha Kleinman ’06
one bit as she helps players adjust to
life off the field.
Samantha Kleinmen ‘06, at left, with some of the NFL players and staff at Broadcast Boot Camp.
by Greg Groggel
“Hello, this is Samantha Kleinman…”
Over the phone, Samantha Kleinman cuts an imposing
figure: direct, confident, and with a clear sense of purpose.
It’s a concentrated effort by the amiable 25-year-old; the
earnest disposition is a necessary part of her job.
Since January 2010, Kleinman has worked for the National
Football League’s Player Engagement department. Her
objective is to provide professional support for past and
present players as they think about life beyond the gridiron.
As point person for half of the NFL’s 32 teams, she’s required
to follow the game closely, albeit in a different capacity than
your average Monday morning quarterback.
The goal of the department, and thus by extension
Samantha, is to be a trusted resource for the player and his
family. To gain that trust, she needs an authoritative voice,
one confident enough to command respect from players
accustomed to rather candid coaches. At the same time,
Kleinman needs to grease the wheels of communication.
“When I’m on the phone, I try to listen to what they’re saying,
without passing judgment, and still maintain a level of
professionalism,” she says.
What’s notable about the Player Engagement department
is that the services rendered—which include continuing
education, career development, financial education,
professional development, and career transition—aren’t
mandatory. It’s up to the individual’s own resolve to take
that step and ask for help.
“When they first seek us out, they’re a little unsure of
themselves,” says Kleinman. “All they really know is football.”
The players have been told when to eat, sleep, train and
tackle throughout their careers, and they now suddenly find
themselves left to their own devices to find employment.
Many of them don’t even have a resume. But that’s where
Samantha comes into play. She helps guide them through
a process most people experience after graduating from
college. Preparing for an interview, composing professional
e-mails, applying for internships, and general office etiquette
might seem like the basics of a modern workplace, but for
many of these men it’s an entirely foreign playbook.
One would be forgiven for assuming that these former
stars of the most-watched sport in America might veer
towards the discourteous in their daily interactions. According
to Kleinman, however, that’s far from the truth.
“Since the services aren’t mandatory, they’re so often
grateful,” she says. “Really appreciative and often surprised
by how much they learn.”
That sense of service is what drew Kleinman to this
overlooked aspect of professional sports. After graduating
from The University of Pennsylvania in 2008, she first went to
work in the entertainment and music industry, an experience
that left her feeling unfulfilled. “I wanted to do something
where I felt like I was making a difference to someone,”
Kleinman explains.
That she now finds herself in sports isn’t entirely accidental.
Though never really a sportswoman herself, Kleinman always
has been drawn to the pace and unpredictability of sports.
While in college, she had a job in the athletics department,
and it was there that she realized no two days would be
the same.
Preparing for an interview and
general office etiquette might seem
like the basics of a modern workplace,
but for many of these men, it’s an
entirely foreign playbook.
A regular interruption in her work at the NFL league office
in midtown New York is the annual Broadcast Boot Camp.
Former players are invited to attend the four-day crash course
in broadcasting in hopes of finding work in the booth. For
Kleinman, it’s one of the central times when she moves out
from behind the telephone and interacts with the players in
person. It’s then, she concedes, that her carefully cultivated
authoritative presence tends to dissipate.
And honestly, how can you blame her?
The company at these boot camps is no average ensemble.
Among the attendees at a recent edition were 11-time Pro
Bowler Derrick Brooks, wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad,
two-time Super Bowl champion Charlie Batch, and future Hall
of Fame offensive tackle Orlando Pace. You try standing next
to the 6’7” 325-pound Pace and try to maintain a level of
authority.
But even if players tend to dwarf Kleinman, she never gets
star-struck with their prestige. “When you work with them,
they are just normal people,” she says. “There are no egos—
it really is a professional relationship.”
While the NFL league office itself is a balanced mix of
men and women, those seeking assistance from the Player
Engagement department are strictly male. It’s at events like
the Boot Camp where Kleinman is reminded of the gender
imbalance. More so than their celebrity, this reality can be
nerve-wracking.
“Sports can feel male dominant,” Kleinman says, “which
can be intimidating.”
With now over a year under her belt at the NFL, she still
sometimes gets anxious standing in front of a large group of
very large men. But when required to address such a huddle,
that nervousness is always buoyed by something else.
“I have the confidence of knowing that while I’m not as big
as them, I have the knowledge, experience, and resources to
help them.
“Nightingale gave me that confidence.”
One Puppy
at a Time
Nightingale is beginning its second year as a
participant in Unleashed, an afterschool program
that fosters leadership skills in Middle School
girls through work on animal welfare issues,
particularly puppy rescue.
by Wendy Cebula P’18, P’20
Making a difference. Right now. That’s not an easy thing for
a Middle School girl to do in a world run by adults. But it
was precisely the goal Head of Middle School Noni Thomas
had in mind when she introduced the Unleashed program to
Nightingale students last year.
Founded by Dr. Stacey Radin in 2010, Unleashed empowers
girls to take the initiative in helping their community by using
puppy rescue as a “leadership laboratory.” Three schools in
New York City were invited to pilot the program: Nightingale,
Poly Prep in Brooklyn, and New Heights Academy, a charter
school in Washington Heights. Ms. Thomas immediately
accepted the invitation: “Given Nightingale’s mission to
develop the hearts and minds of young women and the
Middle School’s goal to support the healthy social and
emotional development of our girls, Unleashed seemed a
perfect match,” she said. A natural love for adorable puppies
didn’t hurt, either.
Last year, 17 girls in Classes V–VIII participated in the
12-week program, which met on Wednesday afternoons.
(The program continues this year at Nightingale, as well.)
They worked on rescue events and developed their own
fundraising initiatives, such as the “Pet-to-Pet Connection”
where pet owners donate five to ten dollars of the money they
would ordinarily spend on their own pet to save another pet.
On May 1, the girls participated in Leadership Day at New
York Dog Spa and celebrated the first anniversary of the
founding of Unleashed on May 18. The girls set up booths,
made presentations to the community, and raised awareness
around animal rescue.
By all accounts, the pilot program exceeded even the girls’
expectations. Ms. Thomas noted that at the beginning of the
program, “Some girls expressed skepticism that they would
actually be the ones taking the lead on the rescues and the
adoption events, but now they see that they are expected to
take charge, and they love it. They feel trusted and respected,
and they take their responsibilities seriously. Moreover, they
are learning how socio-economic issues affect animal welfare
in particular communities. In this way, they are learning the
difference between doing ‘charity’ work and doing work that
affects real social change.” The girls also enjoyed making
new friends from other Middle School grades and meeting
students from other schools. “I love the spirit of sisterhood
and solidarity this program has engendered among our
students,” Ms. Thomas said.
Middle School girls with some of the puppies they helped rescue.
When I walked into the first Unleashed meeting, I glanced
around and saw familiar faces of people that I had seen around
school but I did not actually really know who they were. Now,
because of everything we do in Unleashed, I can say that I know
all of them. In Unleashed, we rescue puppies but we also do
much more. We learn more about the world and ourselves.
Right after we started, we established a code of rules to make
all of us feel more comfortable during the meetings. This was
very important because Unleashed makes girls feel confident
and helps them be able to voice their opinions to make a change
in the world. Unleashed is a girl-powered program. We love our
coaches but they are always telling us that at adoptions, we run
the show. This makes us a lot more confident. Now, when we are
a little more than halfway through this program, I can definitely
say we are all on our way to becoming very important social
change agents, thanks to Unleashed.
At the beginning of our meetings, we always start with a
“check-in.” This is a question that is asked to all the girls. The
questions are normally related to animal welfare or something
that you would change. They always stimulate the mind. At
the end, we always finish with a “check–out,” which is another
question.
During the meetings, we always do activities. We have
done so many, ranging from listening to a panel of experts with
different jobs in the animal world to reading real applications
written by people who want puppies and giving our opinions on
them. Every activity is enjoyable and even though you are having
a great time and laughing hard, you are still learning valuable
lessons. We normally voice our opinions by writing on huge
pieces of paper taped on the wall and we read them aloud when
we are finished. For example, we used this process when we
evaluated the applications for puppies and we also have written
notes for an article describing Unleashed.
In Unleashed, I also feel like I am relaxing and getting rid
of some of the stress of school. We are all so comfortable
during the meetings. Last meeting, we did an activity that was
so much fun and I thought it really helped all of us. On three
sheets of blank, white paper, we wrote one thing per page
about something in the animal world that really annoyed us or
something that we really want to change. Then we crumpled
them up like snowballs and threw them around! After we had
enjoyed a snowball fight and gotten some of our frustrations out,
we gathered them up and unfolded them and read them aloud.
That was a meeting I will never forget!
When asked to explain Unleashed as one of the questions in
our meetings, we all had a hard time explaining that it is a dog
rescue and a social change program. However, all Unleashed girls
know how much fun it is and how, even though you are laughing
and making friends with girls you never thought you could, you
are becoming more confident and gaining a voice of your own.
Still, there are many exciting things to come! When we come
back from spring vacation, we will be receiving Paw Pals! This
is when we write letters and send chewy toys with our scent
on them to dogs in rehab. The staff will read our letters to the
dogs and send us progress reports. Also, we are about to start
planning a day where everyone does community service! The
future is bright for the Unleashed girls and any puppies that
come their way!
—Lucy Ritzmann ‘17
A Lifetime of
Community and Caring
Annabel Stearns Stehli ’57 has been a class agent for
more than 30 years, one of the few constants in her
remarkable life. As she steps down from her role, she
looks back at a lifetime of keeping her class connected.
by Annabel Stearns Stehli ‘57
It was a brisk sunny day in the
fall of 1969, 12 years after I’d
graduated from Nightingale,
and my six-year-old daughter
and I had driven into the city
from Brooklyn Heights where
we lived. I wanted her to see my
old school. We found a parking
meter on Madison Avenue
and Dotsie got to pop in the
quarters.
Miss Hamilton happened to be speaking to the receptionist
when we arrived. She was as warm, appealing, and energized
as ever and I was delighted to see her. Everyone was always
delighted to see Miss Hamilton.
After being cooped up in the car, Dotsie was feeling
rambunctious and ran off down the hall, exploring. Miss
Hamilton remarked on how adorable she was. Dotsie was
cherubic looking, with a sturdy body and straight, thick blonde
hair cut in a Dutch Boy style that framed her face in a perfect
inverted U, with bangs. There were pictures of her taken
that day in her blue corduroy jumper and red sandals.
Looking quizzical, Miss Hamilton asked, “Why isn’t she here?”
“She has leukemia.” In those days acute leukemia was
terminal. Miss Hamilton looked at me with astonishment and
compassion, sharing in my unbearable misery. I went on to
explain that Dotsie wasn’t in school this year because of her
high risk of infection but that she could be up and could go
on excursions. I didn’t add that her only sibling, her younger
sister, Georgie, was in a program for severely autistic children.
Meanwhile, it was a beautiful day and all was well if I didn’t
think about tomorrow. Dotsie’s hair had grown back after her
last round of chemo, she was romping in the hallway, stopping
to gaze up at the pictures on the wall, Miss Hamilton was
dealing with and being a comfort to me, and it dawned on
me then that Nightingale was still part of my community and
always would be no matter what.
Six years later, in 1975, I saw Miss Hamilton again. Dotsie
had died in 1971, just after her eighth birthday, and Georgie
was in a special school in New York. Divorced and remarried,
I was living in New Canaan, my husband was commuting, and
I was staying home to take care of Mark, our baby boy. I had
been invited to a large gathering of Nightingale alumnae in
Fairfield, and after having the most wonderful time seeing
alumnae from different classes, I agreed to be a class agent;
allowing for a few hiatuses, I’ve been a class agent ever since.
In 1977, my husband got a job in Geneva, Switzerland,
and while we were there, Georgie miraculously recovered
from the limiting aspects of autism after undergoing a therapy,
unknown in the U.S. at the time, called auditory training.
Within a year, Georgie’s nightmare world of sound, where
certain frequencies came through like fingernails on a
blackboard, was corrected, and she was out of special ed
for the first time in her life and getting As in German—taught
in French—in a normal school.
In 1982, we were back in the States. Georgie was
seventeen, Mark was seven, his little sister, Sarah, born in
1979, was three. At Nightingale we had a gala twenty-fifth
Reunion attended by a large majority of our class. After a
tour of the school, we convened for dinner at classmate
Julie Kayan Dooman’s apartment in Kips Bay Plaza. When it
came my turn to talk about my life, I mentioned Dotsie and
Georgie’s amazing progress and my son Mark and his sister,
Sarah, and how happy I was to have been able to have more
children. “Yes, but what about your writing?” someone asked.
Would I have done it if I hadn’t been
a class agent, written all those letters,
extracted all those class notes from my
classmates, and gotten those reunions
together? I frankly doubt it.
A few days later, somebody from the development office
at Nightingale asked me to write a short piece about the
reunion. I did, and finally, for the first time, I wrote something
emotional that moved me and didn’t make me gag. I was
further encouraged when I was told it was good enough to
be sent out to the entire mailing list of parents and alumnae.
At the 30th reunion, also well attended, Julie Kayan
Dooman approached me in her wonderful authoritarianmingled-with-sweetness manner, and said, “Where’s the
book?” As a vice president of American Express, she had
developed a commanding presence, and I hastened to make
excuses.
“My mother’s 80, she’s had Parkinson’s for almost 25 years,
and she takes up so much room in my head that I can’t write
it.” After finding out that my mother was still living on her own
but needed a team approach and full-time round-the-clock
skilled nursing care, Julie said, “Put her in a nursing home and
write the book.” Within six months my mother was getting the
care she needed and, three months after that, I began the
process of writing Sound of a Miracle, a Child’s Triumph over
Autism (Doubleday 1991). Would I have done it if I hadn’t
been a class agent, written all those letters, extracted all those
class notes from my classmates, and gotten those reunions
together? I frankly doubt it.
In 2002, I received my most cherished honor, Nightingale’s
Alumnae Achievement Award, at a ceremony sprung on me to
my utter amazement, with friends and family sneakily showing
up to celebrate with me. I also won a big silver bowl I got to
keep for a year, given for having the highest percentage of
classmates donating to the Annual Fund. I tried the next year
to get my classmates to pony up properly so I could win the
bowl again because I needed it for my fruit, but they didn’t
oblige, feeling my motives were spurious and self-serving.
Maybe they will this year, with our 55th reunion coming up.
Maybe, in giving Miss Hamilton some credit for the
remarkable degree of physical fitness so many of us enjoy
at the age of 72, they’ll send a check in her honor.
Being a class agent is about fundraising and soliciting
truncated Christmas letters for the class notes section of
The Blue Doors. Although we all love reading them, I’m going
to suggest they write them in Haiku this year. For example:
I had a good year.
Rode camels and elephants
Abroad. Lucky me.
Being a class agent is also about fabulous stories for the
50th reunion book, like Mary Klee’s unforgettable tribute to
Suzy Tucker. It’s about community, and caring about each
other, and reminiscing and laughing over the wonderful times
we had at school. It’s about helping each other over some
rough spots when we can, seeing people over the years who
truly know us in a special way, and the joy of fellowship. It’s
about loyalty to the school that launched us fully prepared.
As I shouted out so many times in my blue serge bloomers
when I was a cheerleader, “Bo bo skee wotten dotten woddot
n’ choo. Nightingale, Nightingale, here’s to you!” Here’s to
you indeed.
Beatriz Stix-Brunell ’11, as seen in the
Royal Ballet’s production of Ballo della
Regina earlier this year. Already an
experienced dancer at the age of 18,
Ms. Stix-Brunell garnered attention
and acclaim as the youngest member
of Christopher Wheeldon’s Morphoses
project several years ago. She graduated
with her Nightingale class this past
June and now is under contract in the
Royal Ballet’s corps in London.
Hallways
Nightingale’s General Store offers a
variety of items for purchase, including
tote bags, t-shirts, and teddy bears.
To see the growing assortment of
Nightingale regalia and spirit wear,
please visit www.nightingale.org/store.
class of 2011
Congratulations to the energetic Class of 2011, who graduated on June 9, 2011, in a beautiful ceremony at
Brick Church. Dr. Ruth Westheimer gave the Commencement Address, and Karen Joseloff ’11 served as
student speaker. The 44 girls in the class will be heading out to the following colleges and universities this fall.
Barnard College
Bates College (3)
Brown University
Bucknell University
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College (2)
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Fordham University
Hamilton College
Harvard University
Haverford College
Kenyon College (2)
Lafayette College (3)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Middlebury College
Hailey Huddleston, Alexis
Jimenez, and Holly Hutcheson,
members of the Class of 2011,
review some photos from their
graduation day.
New York University
Northwestern University (2)
Oberlin College
Occidental College
Parsons, The New School for Design
University of Pennsylvania (2)
University of St. Andrews (Scotland)
Skidmore College
SUNY New Paltz
Vassar College
University of Vermont
Villanova University
Wake Forest University
Wesleyan University
Whitman College
The College of William and Mary
Yale University
summercore reflections
In April, the Nighthawks beat the Brearley Beavers 2–0 in the annual Faculty/Staff Volleyball Game. In addition to the big win,
the teams and their supporters helped to raise $4,800 for Japan earthquake relief.
annie jacobson ’15
Out of a field of 500 entrants from across the nation,
Annie Jacobson ’15 was one of 12 Middle School
students to win the Youth Prize of the first-ever
National STEM Video Game Challenge. Inspired
by the Educate to Innovate Campaign, President
Obama’s initiative to promote a renewed focus on
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
education, the National STEM Video Game Challenge
aims to motivate interest in STEM learning among
America’s youth by tapping into students’ natural
passions for playing and making video games. Annie
used the programming language Scratch to create
her original game, “Alien of my Own.”
The STEM Challenge perfectly fit Annie’s interests:
“I love programming and making games,” she said,
so when former Academic Technology Coordinator
Erin Mumford told her about the contest, she
immediately decided to enter. “I already had ideas
for the game that I wanted to make, so all I had to do
was sit down and program it!” As she developed her
game, Annie said that her greatest challenges were
“finding and fixing glitches, and trying to make it
more fun.” Throughout the process, she found willing
testers at Nightingale: “My classmates in my study
hall didn’t mind playing it and giving me feedback,
and I really appreciated their help!”
Annie’s prize included not only an HP Laptop,
educational software, and subscriptions to game
design software for herself, but also a $2,000 grant to
Nightingale, which was used to purchase additional
technology equipment for classrooms.
Annie’s family, friends, and teachers are
understandably proud. “No one in the Middle School
is surprised by Annie’s accomplishment,” said Head
of Middle School Noni Thomas. “As an avid computer
programmer and a leader in our Robotics Club,
Annie has demonstrated an impressive level of
intellect, creativity, and ingenuity in the areas of
technology and engineering. But what we appreciate
most about Annie is the sense of fun and exuberance
she brings to all of her endeavors. Annie rocks!”
For more information about the STEM Challenge,
visit www.stemchallenge.org.
by Paul Burke, Head of Upper School
For years the catch line in schools regarding
technology has sounded something like this: “We
integrate technology to enhance our teaching and
to advance student learning. It allows us to do what
we already do well even better.” This remains true,
but there is a competing truth: technology, when
used effectively, can not just enhance but actually
alter how we teach and the ways in which students
learn. A recent poll of Nightingale faculty reflected
a comfort with technology and a desire to learn, but
also a lack of clarity about how these tools could
be tapped to improve our teaching. As Adam Van
Auken, our director of technology, says, “We did not
know what we did not know.”
Enter Lynne Schalman and Steve Bergen and their
highly regarded Summercore course. Throughout
a three-day immersion program that balanced
pragmatism and inspiration, Nightingale teachers
from the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools practiced
new approaches and considered the applicability of
various programs.
For teachers, learning anything new can be
daunting: we are compelled to move from the
comfortable confines of our position as experts in
our chosen field of study to the unsettled domain
of a student who is at ease with some ideas and
discombobulated by others. Therein lay the
worthiness of this endeavor: it is safe to say that
all of us left with ideas that will help us next year.
Teachers, after all, are just like everyone else:
we will never know what we don’t know, but one
thing is for sure. After Summercore, we know much
more than when we started!
young alumnae committee
by Samantha Wishman ‘06
The Young Alumnae Committee held its first meeting
in January 2011 with alumnae from the classes of
2000–2007 who were eager to become more involved
with Nightingale. Our goal is to help cultivate
relationships within the Nightingale community
by reconnecting young alumnae with classmates,
faculty, and students. We hope to create a vibrant
and valuable community for young alumnae through
events, career networking, and engagement with
current students.
Since the first meeting of the Young Alumnae
Committee, we have held a Young Alumnae
cocktail reception, participated in a faculty panel
about preparing students for the challenges of the
workforce, and organized a Senior Week panel about
the transition to first jobs after college and what
alumnae can do in college to prepare.
Going forward, we aim to maximize the usefulness
of Nightingales’s social media presence and Web site
directory so that alumnae and current students can
reach out to members of the Nightingale community
for guidance and advice. We are already beginning
to build out the Young Alumnae Committee to other
cities; we just added our first non-NYC member from
Washington D.C.! Our first annual Fall Fundraiser will
be held on Thursday, November 17, and in the spring
we hope to plan a forum on a topic of interest to
young alumnae. Check out the Nightingale Web site
for more info.
and administrative experience has prepared her well
for Nightingale. From 1995 until June, 2011, she
served as Director of Athletics at Kent Place School
in Summit, New Jersey, and for the 10 years before
that, Ms. Malmgren worked in a number of different
capacities, including Athletics Director, at Mount
St. Dominic Academy in Caldwell, NJ. A former
collegiate-level basketball player and award-winning
basketball coach with multiple State Championships
to her name, Ms. Malmgren has a deep understanding
Deb Malmgren
Athletic Director
of how to create the best possible athletic program for
girls, and she is excited about the year ahead: “I am
really looking forward to working with a great group
of athletes, coaches and parents here at Nightingale.
The fall Nighthawks season is off to a great start
The welcome and support I have received since I
under the leadership of Deb Malmgren, who
arrived has been tremendous. I hope to build on
joined the faculty in July as Director of Athletics.
the strong foundation in place and provide a quality
Ms. Malmgren’s wealth of coaching, leadership,
athletic experience for our student-athletes.”
rajiv joseph at nightingale
by Caitlin Kelley ‘12
On Monday, May 15, 2011, the young playwright
Rajiv Joseph visited the Class XI and XII
Contemporary American Drama class. Joseph
had two plays produced in Manhattan last spring:
Gruesome Playground Injuries (starring Jennifer
Carpenter, star of Dexter, and Pablo Schreiber, who
also paid a visit to Nightingale last year) and Bengal
Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (starring Robin Williams).
As a part of the class’s curriculum, students are
required to see and write a review of two productions;
many saw and wrote about both of Joseph’s plays.
“After his visit, students claimed Rajiv Joseph as
‘our playwright’” noted Laura Kirk ‘94, who teaches
all four sections of the English class.
When Joseph arrived, there was an immediate
sense of familiarity because of the students’ extensive
knowledge of his work. Though Joseph knew
little about Nightingale, he seemed immediately
comfortable. His enjoyment showed through
comments such as, “this kind of thing is the best
part of my week—getting to visit people like you
who follow and appreciate my work.”
The questions in the class ranged from the
more general, outlining his career, to the specific,
concerning creative decisions in his plays. His
responses were thorough and forthright; he came
across as the type of artist who is unwilling to alter his
ideas in order to impress others. When one student
hinted at this, he agreed, adding that he found that
this was central to his success: “Lots of my friends
write for TV, and I find that they aren’t as happy as
I am. Don’t get me wrong, I write for TV, too, and
I love it. But it’s different.” Joseph talked about
how when he’s writing a scene for television, there
are other people involved who have the power to
completely reshape his ideas, but in theater, he has
more freedom to write what he wants, which makes
it that much more satisfying for a writer. He stressed
that this was only one of the many unique aspects of
theater, particularly emphasizing how the presence of
both actors and audience in a single room provides a
distinctive experience that is absent in media.
Students who were present for Mr. Joseph’s visit
gained both a perspective on his personal work and
an incentive to continue theatergoing in general.
After a semester of reading and reviewing plays—
as well as experimenting with writing some scenes
themselves—the students were incredibly fortunate to
be given the opportunity to meet with a professional
as successful as Joseph. The students will likely
continue to regard him as “our playwright,” and the
Nightingale community as a whole will be sure to
follow him and his work into the future.
laurie hallen retires
For nearly three decades, Laurie Hallen has been
a fixture in Nightingale’s Lower School. After Mrs.
Hallen announced her retirement last spring, we
honored her many years of warmth and wisdom with
a tea for students, parents, alumnae, and friends on
Thursday, June 2, at the schoolhouse. It was moving
to see so many students, parents, faculty and staff,
and alumnae gathered to honor Mrs. Hallen—the
Student Center was at capacity! Beautiful tributes
were given by Elena Hahn Kiam ‘81, Katherine
Lipman ‘12, and Ms. Hutcheson.
freedom riders
Parents of C.A.F.E. hosted a special sneak preview
of the new documentary Freedom Riders at the
schoolhouse on April 5, 2011, a month before its
premiere on PBS. Filled with powerful photographs,
film footage, and interviews, the documentary tells
the story of the more than 400 Americans of varying
races and backgrounds who risked their lives by
deliberately violating Jim Crow laws and traveling
together on buses throughout the deep South—all
to advance the cause of civil rights. Director Stanley
Nelson and producer Laurens Grant were on hand to
introduce the film and answer questions afterward.
More information is at www.pbs.org.
service by the numbers
32,432
dollars raised for charity walks
1,800
sandwiches made for Yorkville Common Pantry
357
bars of soap donated in the Soap for Haiti drive
400
origami cranes made for Japan in a school-wide
project
13,000
dollars raised by the School for a School program
to build a new elementary school in Cambodia
126
items donated in last fall’s school supplies drive
184
pairs of shoes collected for Soles 4 Souls
Reunion 2011
Nightingale-Bamford alumnae returned to the schoolhouse for Reunion on May 12,
13, and 14, 2011. The festivities began with the Women in Leadership Symposium
on Thursday evening, which featured three outstanding panelists: noted author
Anna Quindlen P’06, Barnard College president and Nightingale Trustee Debora
Spar ’14, and former director of Deloitte’s Talent organization Anne Cicero Weisberg
‘75. Reunion continued on Friday afternoon with the annual Founders’ Day assembly:
Elena Hahn Kiam ‘81 was awarded the Service Award, Margaret von Mehren ‘81
was awarded the Alumnae Achievement Award, and the Class of 2011 was inducted
into the Alumnae Association. On Friday evening, alumnae and faculty filled the
H. Dale Hemmerdinger Auditorium for the Reunion Celebration party, which
honored Nightingale faculty and staff who have been at the school for 30 years
or more. Members of the Class of 2001 then departed to the library to open
and read their 10-year letters, to much laughter and even a few nostalgic tears.
On Saturday morning, Reunion classes returned to the schoolhouse for a student
panel discussion about life at Nightingale and then gathered in the Student Center
for class photos and a lovely luncheon prepared by Chef Vazquez.
Top: Stacy Calder Clapp
‘91, Viola Nelson ‘91,
Vice President of the
Alumnae Board Brooke
Brodsky ‘91, Christina
Hewett Call ‘91, Laura
Kunzelmann Hastings ‘91,
and Alyssa Drewes ‘91
at the Saturday luncheon.
Bottom left: Josette
Bailey ‘72, Amanda
Sullivan ‘83, and Odette
Cabrera Duggan ‘83.
Bottom right: Amanda
Bassen ‘01, Francesca
Forrestal ‘01, Renee
Cumberbatch Jackson
‘01, and April GentileMiserandino ‘01 read
their 10-year letters.
Top: Members of the Class
of 2006 at the Saturday
Luncheon: Quincy Kevan,
Jordan Fribourg, Marne
Braddock, Jenna Peissis,
Marguerite Colson, Allison
Basker, Samantha Wishman,
Annie Skidmore, Claire
Whitman, Rebecca Podell,
Elizabeth Olesker, Savanna
Cummin, Whitney Lane,
Keiko Katsurangawa,
Shanna Keown, Arden
Surdam, and Sarah Taub.
Left: Hilary Johnson ‘76,
Julie Weiner Buyon ‘76,
and Liz Robinson Schubiner
‘76 at the Friday night
cocktail party. Right:
Nadja Hansen ‘01, Laura
Hampton ‘01, Francesca
Forrestal ‘01, and Paloma
Figueroa ‘01. Bottom:
Head of School Dorothy A.
Hutcheson is joined by
Anne Cicero Weisberg ‘75,
board member and Barnard
College President Debora
Spar, and Anna Quindlen
P’06 at the Women in
Leadership Symposium
that kicked off Reunion
weekend.
2011 Founders’ Day Speech
by Elena Hahn Kiam ‘81
Thank you, Ms. Hutcheson, and thank you to the administrators,
faculty, and supporters of the Nightingale-Bamford School
for all you are doing to keep the magic of a Nightingale
education alive and well. Like you students in the audience
today, I received a wonderful education. My experience here
formed the foundation for what I have been able to accomplish
since I graduated from the blue doors in 1981. It is why I have
chosen to support Nightingale in whatever way I can—to
ensure that other young women benefit from the inspiring
people who teach and work here.
I arrived in my blue tunic in 1969, particularly shy and not
sure of myself, the youngest of four girls in my family. My three
(often bossy) older sisters were already at Nightingale and,
like me, ended up staying all 12 years. My mother occasionally
substituted as a language teacher in later years, so it was a bit
of a family affair.
Like you probably do, I often felt that there was too much
work. I remember staying up late to memorize the opening
lines of the Canterbury Tales in Old English—I could not figure
out why knowing this, or all my Latin declensions, would have
an impact on my life because I had absolutely no idea what
I was going to do when I left this place. I also wondered if
I was missing a lot by being with just girls (and only 40 of
them for 12 years), not to mention being so well-known by
the teachers that they noticed every little thing, down to the
occasional out-of-uniform sock, or when I wasn’t trying my
hardest, or when I was whispering during math class with my
good friend Susan.
But looking back, I think I took for granted what
Nightingale taught at the core: that girls can accomplish
whatever we set our minds to, and there are simply no limits
or glass ceilings. I came to understand, as I suspect you will,
just how much the teachers here cared about me and took
the time to get to know my strengths and weaknesses. It
may seem claustrophobic at times, but to be truly known by
invested and talented teachers is the best thing that can ever
happen to you. Your teachers will give you the confidence to
take risks and explore all your interests, as they did for me,
even if you don’t have any thought-out plan.
So let me tell you a bit about my story after I left
Nightingale: I ended up studying architecture at Harvard, a
subject I knew nothing about. What I did know was that I had
always loved art at Nightingale, starting with Ms. Winkelhorn
(whom we called Ms. Winky), one of my favorite teachers.
I did not realize it at the time, but certain other exceptional
teachers would become my role models. My fourth-grade
teacher, Laurie Hallen, held me to high standards, but did so
with kindness and great humor. Her example and those of
many of my other great teachers influenced how I conducted
myself later in life.
When I went on to college, I found I was better prepared
than most of the other incoming freshmen. When my
roommate panicked over her first research paper, I took out
my trusty box of plain notecards that I had used here for my
paper on the Irish Potato Famine and showed her how to
get hers done. In return, she bought me donuts—it was a
perfect relationship.
Because of Nightingale, I already knew how to write and
how to be persuasive and communicate. Because we are held
to such high standards at such a young age by teachers like
Mrs. Hallen, we at Nightingale know how to take on difficult
assignments and are willing to explore new interests. So when I graduated from college, I became a banker at
JP Morgan. I did not know anything about money and finance,
but thought it would be good to learn some business before
becoming an architect. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed business
and stayed for 15 years. It was when I was at Morgan that I
came to appreciate the all-girls environment here at Nightingale
that many of you may feel from time to time is narrow. Try to
imagine yourself as the only woman in meetings, especially
in less progressive places like Texas and Oklahoma. I was
there to build JP Morgan’s private banking business. Because
of Nightingale, I never even considered being viewed as
anything but totally capable. I always did my homework (just
like I was taught here) and was able to persuade potential
clients that I would be the right banker for them, even though
they were often very skeptical about a young woman like me
advising them on their finances.
When Lia, my third child, was born, I made the difficult
decision to leave JP Morgan. As one of the few senior women,
I had become a role model myself. In retrospect, what I did
not like about the bank, and corporate America in general,
is that there were not many places available for women,
particularly at the top. The sacrifices a woman had to make
to keep pace were so great. Also, unlike the caring and
supportive culture that I remembered at Nightingale, I felt
that the women vying for the few available senior positions in
corporate America were usually not supportive of one another.
I did not want to make the sacrifices of being away from my
home and community and not seeing my children grow up, so
I left and raised my three children. When they were a few years
older, I returned to the working world. Today, I feel fortunate
to be part of a company that at its essence is about helping
women achieve success in business and life—and allowing
them to do so on their own terms.
The company is called lia sophia, named after our
daughters Lia in Class VI and Sophia in Class IX. It is a direct
sales company like Tupperware, and we have independent
sales representatives, almost all of whom are women, selling
fashion jewelry at home parties. They work on their own
schedule and from their homes; simply put, they are the CEOs
of their own businesses.
I am creative director and head of marketing for lia sophia,
so I have been able to combine my early love of design with
business. Having the confidence to follow my interests without
having a master plan really stems from my days at Nightingale.
Just like Nightingale is a school for and about girls, lia
sophia is a company for and about women. And that’s the
best part—seeing how our business opportunity has allowed
women from all walks of life to reach their personal goals,
whether it is to earn enough to make a mortgage payment or
to be able to afford to educate their children or to leave an
unsatisfactory full-time job and start a new career. lia sophia
rewards women for supporting other women they have
recruited to be on their team. It very much reminds me of
the supportive culture I experienced and benefited from
while I was here at Nightingale, which is not as prevalent as it
should be.
I have always felt it was very important to give back to my
community when I could, particularly to the institutions that
were important in my life. Obviously, Nightingale figured
high on my list. I became active following my graduation, and
joined the board 10 years ago. I have tried to stay involved
in whatever ways the school asks of me because I really am
thankful for the opportunities that the blue doors opened for
me and I know will open for my own daughters.
I know my story may seem far off for many of you students.
However, your own story will start happening sooner than you
think. It may have begun already with just an interest in writing
or the joy of playing a team sport. To me, it seems like only
yesterday that I was sitting in the very same seats you are
sitting in, wearing my blue skirt and my sensible brown shoes.
I was not always paying attention either. I was painfully shy
and not sure of myself. However, I found my voice and I found
it here.
So treasure your Nightingale years for all they are worth.
Be thankful that you are known and cared about as individuals.
Know that the advice and learning you are receiving here will
set you on a path where one day you will have the skills to
pursue your passion, but also the wisdom to be practical
about how you do so. Nightingale certainly did that for me,
and I am forever grateful.
Behrman Communications Dr. Pam Charles Cisneros
Foundation Class Wish Clubbed Thumb Theater
Weill Cornell Medical College Cravath, Swaine and
Moore DonorsChoose Empire 8 Productions The
Film Sales Company Francesca Harper Project
GenArt The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American
History Green Depot HarperCollins Publishers I Have
a Dream Foundation JP Morgan Chase KKO
Network Lyn Devon The Marwood Group Mayor
Bloomberg’s Campaign Mei Tao Photography
The Metropolitan Museum of Art modaCYCLE The
Morgan Library & Museum Dr. Susan Morgello Mount
Sinai Medical Center Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Surgery Group New Perspectives Theatre Company
NYU School of Medicine Dr. Nena Osorio Pollock
Krasner House and Study Center Rockefeller
University Senator Gillibrand’s Office Shoshanna
Tribeca Film Enterprise US Weekly What 2 Wear
World Civic Orchestra
Nightingale’s Internship Program, referenced above, is run by Amanda Goodwin,
our new Director of Alumnae Relations. Ms. Goodwin comes to us from ABC
News, where she spent the past four years working as an analyst. Prior to that,
she helped found an educational non-profit organization, Choose Responsibility,
where she was in charge of public policy research, development, and outreach
in her position as assistant to the director. In addition to her full-time work,
Ms. Goodwin has also served as a lead class agent for the Middlebury College
Alumni Association since 2006—for her efforts in that role, she received the
alumni leadership award in 2008. Ms. Goodwin brings with her many exciting
Amanda Goodwin
Alumnae Relations
new ideas to keep our alumnae involved and connected to Nightingale throughout
“
their lifetimes. In her words, I am honored to join this community, and excited
Class Notes
Every summer, Upper School students partake in internships provided by parents and alumnae.
Here is a quick sample of some of the offices where our students spend their summers.
Class notes are
published twice a
year in each issue
of The Blue Doors.
The deadline for
inclusion in the fall
issue is June 15,
and December 15
for inclusion in the
spring issue.
40s 60s
30s
Cornelia M. Baddeley ’47
welcomed another grandchild in
October 2010.
Pamela Holmes Bergen ’49
reports that she is alive and
well in Dundee, Oregon, the
heart of Pinot Noir Country. She
celebrated her 80th birthday this
summer with her children and
grandchildren, who travelled
from various parts of the country
to be with her. Sending her best
wishes to Nightingale, she writes
that the school “has become an
even more amazing and inspiring
establishment than when I was
there sixty years ago.”
50s
Annabel Stearns Stehli ’57 is
providing full-time day care for
her grandson, Lucius Howell,
born June 1, 2010, the son of her
daughter Sarah, an architect, and
her son-in-law, Lucius Howell, Sr.,
a first-year resident in internal
medicine. She will continue on as
Lucius’s primary caregiver and is
still at work worldwide in Auditory
Training. Her three books are
still in print, the first since 1991.
She just attended, with Jill Hyde
Scott ‘57, their 50th reunion
at Vassar. Googling Annabel
Stehli provides comprehensive
information on Auditory Training.
In addition to baby Lucius,
Annabel has four grandchildren
ranging in age from two weeks to
nine years. To read more about
Annabel, see page 14.
Joan Fleischhauer Smith ’61
is retiring after 46 years as an
educator, most recently (the past
18 years) as Upper School Head
at Roland Park Country School
in Baltimore, MD. She is looking
forward to travel, golf, reading,
and mostly spending more
time with her husband Neale,
daughter Heather (journalist living
in Paris), son Chip and daughterin-law, and two granddaughters
in Baltimore. She writes that she
was sorry to miss reunion due to
work conflicts.
Christine Burton Schwartz ’76
writes, “I was so sorry to miss my
35th reunion. I was attending my
daughter’s law school graduation!
Congratulations, Courtney!”
Christiane Wiese Wyckoff ’77
has been teaching for nine years,
first in gifted education, then as
a fourth grade teacher at Sope
Creek Elementary School in
Marietta, GA, a suburb of Atlanta.
In August, she celebrated
her 25th anniversary with her
husband Kurt, with whom she
has three children: Spencer, a
recent graduate of Georgia Tech;
Carden, a senior at a Magnet
School; and Virginia, an aspiring
singer, dancer,
and actress.
80s
70s
After 35 years in book publishing,
Sarah Welsch ’70 is now
running a literary agency, Welsch
Publishing, in Lebanon, NH. Her
husband Robert is teaching
at Franklin Pierce University in
southern New Hampshire.
Anne Cicero Weisberg ’75
has taken a new job as Director
of Diversity at BlackRock.
She writes that she loved
celebrating Nightingale’s 90th
birthday by being on the
Women in Leadership panel.
Deborah Moore ’76 is living
in Berkeley, California. She
graduated from Dominican
University this spring with a
teaching credential. Her daughter
and son are also finishing their
studies, one in France and one in
Monterey, California. She writes
that she enjoyed seeing everyone
at the reunion and adds, “Let’s
get together again in less than
five years!”
Jennifer Mah Lawson ’81 writes
from North Carolina that all is
well with her family. This fall, her
older son is off to UC Boulder
and her younger son is beginning
his sophomore year
of high school.
When she is not working on
her tan or driving her kids to
sporting events, Christina
Schlank Gaffney ’82 is a writer
and editor of non-fiction (mostly
health and medical) books.
She lives in Manhattan Beach,
California with her two sons,
Myles (7) and Chase (5), and
her husband, Steve Gaffney,
who is a photographer.
She sees Brooke Eaton ’82,
Pamela Saunders ’82, and Susan
Hoffman ’82 in LA and is in
touch with several other friends
who are still in New York, whom
she sees when she is there every
year for the month of July. “And
then, of course,” she adds, “there
is Facebook. I look forward to
seeing everyone at our
next reunion!”
to work with a group of passionate and engaged alumnae who are unwavering in
their commitment to Nightingale.”
Alison Edwards Curwen ’84
relocated to England in August
2010 with her husband and three
children. They are working at
Kingham Hill School, a boarding
school in the idyllic Cotswolds.
Heather Lee McLaughlin ’86
and her husband Rich welcomed
their son Colin Lee last July. His
big sister, Kathleen Lee, is thrilled.
Heather writes, “It was great
catching up with many of you
during our reunion in May!”
Claudine Solin Radford ’90 is
living in San Francisco, California,
with her husband and daughter,
and works as a psychotherapist.
Upon hearing of Jenny Smith’s
retirement, she honored her by
kicking a soccer ball to her dog
Ruby. Reflecting on Ms. Smith’s
thirty years at Nightingale, she
writes, “We all share warm
memories from our Nightingale
days as teammates and friends;
so many of us continue to weave
sport and outdoor activity into
our daily lives and into the lives
of our families! Your commitment
and dedication continues to live
through us.”
Jean Boehmler Reynolds ’94
and Liz Boehmler ’94 have
reconnected with Gen Schaab
McCormack ’94. Gen and Jean
live five minutes away from each
other in suburban Philadelphia. Gen and her husband Bill have
twin six-year-olds, Hadley and Ted,
and a three-year-old, Campbell.
Gen writes that she has also
reconnected with Jennifer
Heckart ‘94, her Princeton
classmate (class of ’98), now a
visiting professor of religion at
Haverford College.
Margaret C. Gordon ’92 and her
husband, Kirk Andrew Schloegel,
welcomed their daughter,
Ramona Gordon Schloegel, in
early December 2010.
90s
Elizabeth Clark Jordan Benz ’92
and her husband David welcomed
their second daughter, Camilla
Cavanaugh Benz, on May 7,
2011 (Kentucky Derby Saturday).
She was eight pounds seven
ounces and 20.5 inches in length.
She was welcomed home by big
sister Olivia Beaumont, who will
turn two in January.
Allison Schoenthal ’93 welcomed
her daughter Cecilia S. Hoffman
on May 13.
Alice Birnbaum Roebuck ’94
and her husband Andy are so
happy to share the news that
their family has expanded.
Everett Wilson Roebuck arrived
on January 21, 2011, joining big
brother Harris, who turned four
this past July (above). They are
settling into a new routine and
hope that Nightingale friends
will visit them in Cambridge.
Kate A. Wesselmann ’97 is
pleased to announce the birth
of her son, Clark Royal Allen,
born March 13 at 1:00 p.m.
Amy Wortzman ’97 received
her MBA from U-Mass Boston
this past summer, with a focus in
finance.
Katharine Dockery ’98 works as
a Banking and Finance Associate
at Emmet, Marvin, and Martin, LLP.
Jonill L. Mayer ’98 works as
a development consultant here in
New York with Wingo, Inc., where
she produces fundraising events
for a range of non-profit clients
such as STREB, the New York Zen
Center for Contemplative Care,
and the Eleanor Roosevelt Center.
She recently moved to Brooklyn
Heights, where she lives with her
fiancé Colin and their cat, Suzy.
Anna Cheung ’99 married
David Shih, on June 26, 2010,
at the Institute for Advanced
Study (below). Ms. Cheung
is a psychiatric nurse, and
Mr. Shih is a physics professor
at Rutgers University. They met
at Princeton and continue to
live in New Jersey.
Hally Bayer ’90 will begin
working at Hewitt this fall, as the
Lower School Learning Specialist.
Previously, she worked as a
special education teacher at the
Mary McDowell Friends School in
Brooklyn. Hally lives in Brooklyn
Heights with her husband Greg,
daughter Annabel (age seven),
son Sam (age four), and dog Scout.
Jennifer Wilder Belew ’90
recently began her new career as
a real estate agent with Sotheby’s
International Realty, focusing
on Westchester County, with an
office based in Rye. She lives in
Rye Brook with her husband Greg,
and two daughters, Alexandra
(age six) and Victoria (age four).
Amie Rappoport McKenna ’90,
Cecilia Hanke Wolfson ’90, and
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss ’93
are Class I parents this year.
Their daughters are, respectively,
Emilie, Philippa, and Sienna.
Ashley Jones Moss ’94,
Jenny Kosovsky Flandina ’94,
Jean Boehmler Reynolds ’94 and
Liz Boehmler ’94 recently got
together with their families for
brunch in New York. The night
before, Ashley, Liz, Jean, and
Laura Kirk ’94 had drinks with
new parent Laura Davis Stahl
’94 and her husband Jimmy and
congratulated them on the arrival
of Hailey Braden Stahl, born on
April 6, 2011 (above).
Priscilla Aquino Garza ’97 and
her husband Jorge welcomed
Zacarias Federico Garza on March
13, 2011 at 1:54 a.m. (below).
In April, Ayree Koh ’99 organized
a benefit concert called “NYC
Musicians for Japan,” which
raised $6,000 for the Japanese
Red Cross Society. Ayree writes,
“Many thanks to Mr. Adam van
Auken for the generous loan of
a Nightingale projector and to
Ms. Hutcheson for attending the
concert.” Plans are underway for
a one-year anniversary concert
in March 2012. Ayree is the
Administrative Director of the
New York Youth Symphony, as
well as the manager of the World
Civic Orchestra, which will be
playing a concert at Alice Tully
Hall on September 25, 2011,
featuring “Triple Crown” awardwinning actress Ellen Burstyn as
a Guest of Honor and Narrator.
Paige Schwarz ’99 is still living
in a great house in the beautiful
Hudson Valley. She is leading
the seventh grade at the Bronx
Preparatory Charter School and
teaching fifth through ninth grade
special education.
00s
Kate Auletta ’00 continues to
work at the Huffington Post/
AOL as the travel editor. She
recently moved to Brooklyn
with her husband and is getting
decorating help from Zoe Settle
’00, who has started an interior
design and wedding registry
consulting business.
educational resources, including
the university’s museums, theaters,
libraries, and professors and
artists-in-residence. In her role,
Suzannah exposes high school
students to all of the possibilities
that their futures hold, aided by
the support an institution like
Yale University can provide.
Susan M. Crile ’03 is beginning
her second year of law school
and living in Washington D.C.
Sloane M. Grogan ’03 married
Thomas Hamilton in June 2010
in Oxford, England. She lives in
Oxford and works for Oxfam GB
as an Ethical Trade Advisor. Three
of her four bridesmaids were
Nightingale graduates: Elizabeth
Langton ’03, Jessica Kreps ’03,
and Kate Wilson ’03.
After joining American Express
last fall, Daphra A. Holder ’03
was recently promoted to a
Marketing Manager in Digital
Acquisitions.
Adrienne N. Ellis ’00 got married
this past summer in California.
Katy Lawton ’00 and Sam Hill
’00 were both bridesmaids at her
wedding.
Megan G. O’Neill ’03 is living in
Brooklyn with her boyfriend. She
is currently working as a freelance
writer and freelance reporter for
People magazine.
Yoree Koh ’00 is a correspondent
for the Wall Street Journal in
Tokyo. Immediately after the
earthquake and tsunami, she
and a few of her colleagues were
sent to the devastated areas in
Sendai and Fukushima to report
on both the nuclear situation and
the survivors. Her sister Ayree
Koh ’99 writes, “Through the
inspirational words of her and
her colleagues’ stories, we were
immediately motivated as regular
citizens to do everything in our
power to help Japan.”
Clarissa U. Striker ’03 is working
in business development at
Scoop St., an internet start-up
that offers special discounts on
local businesses in New York.
Celene Menschel ’00 has just
started her first year at Harvard
Business School.
Becky Tanenbaum ’00 co-formed
Jonas White’s Better Butter in
2009. Her flavored butters are
now available at Dean and Deluca.
Suzannah Holsenbeck ’01, this
past spring’s Cum Laude speaker,
is currently the partnership
coordinator for Yale University’s
Co-Op Partnership. Through
her work for this innovative
program, Suzannah is able to
connect students attending New
Haven’s magnet Co-Operative
Arts and Humanities High School
with the wealth of opportunity
offered by Yale’s artistic and
Shaquinah Taylor ’03 graduated
in May from Teachers College,
Columbia University, with
a Masters of Education in
Psychological Counseling. She
was also named a 2011 Education
Pioneers Graduate Fellow.
Maha R. Atal ’04 is the
co-founder and Executive
Director of a new nonprofit called
Public Business, which invests in
public interest reporting about
business. To start with, Public
Business is partnering with the
Guardian, Prospect Magazine,
MIT, Columbia, and Transparency
International.
Sarah Goher ’04 gave the
Nightingale community a
firsthand account of the revolution
in Egypt in February, when she
came to New York to attend
the screening of her husband
Mohamed Diab’s film, Cairo 678.
She now writes from Egypt, “Pay
attention and learn from the past,
because history does repeat itself,
as it does in our personal lives...
always leave room in your mind to
expect the unexpected, because
A Family Affair
Dedication to Nightingale is a family affair for Cathy Cramer
’77, her sister Wendy Sanford ’84, and their mother, Susan
Hecht Tofel ’48. Many things have changed over the decades,
including the size and scope of both the schoolhouse and the
student population (Mrs. Tofel graduated with a class of 10
women), but a caring community has remained a constant.
“This is such an important factor in a school. Nightingale is a
place of high academic standards but it still cares about the
individual. Students are seen not simply as scholars, but as
whole girls facing the challenges of growing up,” Ms. Cramer
said. Ms. Sanford also spoke of the dedicated community:
“I’ve been back and forth with Nightingale over the years.
We moved away for a couple of years when I was a child;
I returned as part of the alumnae board after graduating;
I worked in admissions a few years later. Each time, I was
welcomed back as if I’d never left.”
“Nightingale is where I learned to be a
student. It’s where I learned to think.
It’s where I learned to be confident.
It’s where I learned to lead.” —Cathy
Nightingale has been central to the lives of all three of
these women. Mrs. Tofel was a dedicated member of the
Board of Trustees and served as its president for 11 years. She
was also part of the search committee to find a dynamic new
Head of School—Dorothy Hutcheson. In fact, Nightingale’s
seventh-floor gymnasium is named for Mrs. Tofel in honor of
her many contributions to the school. Following their mother’s
example, Ms. Cramer and Ms. Sanford have also maintained
close connections. In addition to Ms. Sanford’s work in
admissions and on the Alumnae Board, Ms. Cramer taught
eighth grade history at the school and is now very involved
with the greater New York independent school community as
the Director of Interschool, of which Nightingale is a member.
All three of these remarkable women are members of the
Luscinia Society, a group of alumnae, parents, and friends who
have established planned gifts with Nightingale. Ms. Tofel
finds it important to make Nightingale a philanthropic priority.
“Nightingale prepared my daughters beautifully for college
and for life. The school puts real value on the individual and
allows every girl to achieve in her own way. I want future
generations of girls to be part of such a strong institution.”
no one can predict tomorrow.”
Adwoa S. Adusei ’05 is going
to graduate school at NYU for
an M.A. in Art History and to
LIU-Palmer School for an M.S.
in Library Science. For the past
year she has worked at Teacher’s
College Library and interned for
the Armory Show.
Ashley Francis ’05 is entering
her second year as an assistant
teacher at the Buckley School.
She started graduate school at
Bank Street College of Education
in July, where she is pursuing
a dual degree in Literacy and
Childhood Education.
Ayia Gospodinova ’05 looks
forward to more Class of 2005
bonding this year!
Jing Jin ’05 is starting at Brooklyn
Law School this fall. She is excited
to be in school and close to
Nightingale friends in New York.
Abby Lofberg ’05 is living in
New York and studying at
Columbia University.
Daphne Schmon ’05 is working
on a documentary, Children of the
Wind, a touching and inspiring
story.
Jessica Taylor ’05 graduated
from Muhlenberg College in
2009 and is now working at a
pharma advertising agency as a
copywriter. She writes, “I don’t
see enough of my fellow class of
’05 members, but I’m sure that
will change.”
Amanda C. Kahn ’06 graduated
magna cum laude from Columbia
College in June 2010 with an
E3 Biology major (a combination
of evolutionary, environmental,
and ecological biology). She
was awarded departmental
honors and a prize for the best
thesis in the department. As an
undergraduate, she traveled
to Brazil and Nicaragua to do
research and public health work.
She is currently conducting
research in an Alzheimer’s
neurogenetics lab at Columbia
University Medical Center and
plans to apply to MD/PhD
programs.
Arden Ellis Surdam ’06 is a
graphic designer at a privately
held mobile application
development firm based in New
York City and the Art Director and
Co-Founder of Susie B. Magazine,
which she runs with four other
Nightingale alumnae. a eulogy for nadine fribourg newman ’73
Nella L. Williams ’06 and
Natacha Y. Lam ’06, who were
both recently living in Japan,
met in Hiroshima and visited the
Peace Museum and a nearby
island. Nella is currently working,
teaching, and spending time
with friends in Japan. Natacha
returned to America this summer
to begin law school at Harvard.
Samantha Wishman ’06 took on
the Greek system in an article
in The Daily Beast, arguing that
the current structure needs to do
more to “empower women to
take part in campus life with full
and equal rights.” She currently
serves as an editor of Susie B.,
an online magazine for women,
and was a featured author at
Nightingale’s Authors’ Night.
Maya Popa ’07 was recently
awarded the Clarendon
Scholarship from Oxford
University, an award for
international students, which
provides full funding and a yearly
stipend for graduate school.
She has accepted offers from
both Oxford and NYU and will
do both graduate programs
simultaneously for the first year.
After taking a year off between
high school and college, Emma
W. Wood ’07 is just beginning
her senior year at Harvard, where
she studies Russian literature.
Madeline Stix ’08, a senior
at Brandeis University, was
published in the school’s Shifting
Perspectives journal. Maddie, who
was among six students chosen to
share their experiences working
with various disenfranchised
groups around the world, wrote
about her experience with the
Zabaleen community, a Coptic
Christian group in Cairo, Egypt.
Marlena Fauer ’10, a member
of Yale University’s Class of 2014,
was named Rookie of the Year
and First Team Skipper of the
New England Intercollegiate
Sailing Association’s (NEISA) allstar women’s team. The All-NEISA
team is chosen each year by a
special awards committee from
among NEISA’s 42 member teams,
and honors those sailors who
by Licia Hahn ‘73
I am terribly sad to report the death of our classmate, Nadine
Fribourg Newman, on April 25, 2011. Her valiant long-term
struggles against illness were a constant reminder of her quiet
courage and indomitable will to be there for her three sons,
Jason, Scott, and Daniel, husband Jerry, and her family. She was
an inspiration to all who knew and cared so much for her.
Nadine was my closet childhood friend—for 42 years. We
met at the age of 13—a tough age for awkward teen girls. When
she joined us at Nightingale from Town, we quickly bonded. Her
distinctive laugh, twinkling eyes, good nature, pragmatism, smarts,
independent spirit, and sense of humor were infectious. We had
the good fortune to be students during the tenure of the legendary
Mrs. McMenamin, perhaps in part influencing our decisions to head
off to women’s colleges. After college, we shared the distinctive experiences of being
single women in New York. With her newly minted MBA, Nadine
entered the world of consumer marketing and then brought her
much needed business skills to several leading not-for-profits. We
frequently compared notes and advice about corporate politics,
careers, cooking, family, marriage, and friends.
Then Jerry came on the scene and Nadine went on to be a
great mother, delighting in all the experiences and challenges of
raising her boys. She was a wonderful listener, trusted confidante,
and steadfast in her commitment to helping so many who were
less fortunate. We celebrated our birthdays over the years with the
unspoken gratitude for the gift of more time. This year, she was
unable to be with me on mine just past, nor was it fated for her to
make it to her 56 year this June.
Our friendship was akin to that of sisters, a unique bond
cemented as each other’s personal historians and champions.
To lose such a treasured friend is a devastating loss for me, as it is
for our entire class, each member with her own personal memories
of Nadine, a remarkable woman who very much shared in our
collective coming of age at Nightingale.
had a particularly notable season.
Among the athletes selected
for the 2011 squad, Marlena is
one of only two freshmen, and
she was the sole winner of the
Rookie of the Year award. She
also received a Women Skipper
Honorable Mention from the ICSA
All American Committee.
in
memoriam
faculty
and staff
notes
Linda Pratt Hegel ’53 passed
away on April 3, 2011, in New
Haven, Connecticut. Mrs. Hegel
formerly served as president of
the Garden Club of New Haven
and the Federated Garden
Clubs of Connecticut. A member
of the Luscinia Society, which
was founded to recognize the
generosity of those who have
established planned gifts with
Nightingale, she is remembered
with gratitude. Mrs. Hegel is
survived by her husband, Richard
Hegel, as well as a brother and
a niece.
Former Director of Annual
Giving Sherrie Ager and her
husband Brian welcomed
Catherine Rose on May 6, 2011.
Catherine weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz.
and, as the happy family reports,
“loves being out in the world—
particularly in her car seat.”
Roosevelt “Roo” Credit, leader
of Nightingale’s Gospel Girls,
is currently appearing in a
modern version of Porgy and
Bess, starring Audra McDonald,
Norm Lewis, and David Alan
Grier. The production opened at
the American Repertory Theater
in Cambridge, MA, on August
17, 2011, and is scheduled to
begin previews on Broadway on
December 12, 2011 in the Richard
Rodgers Theater.
Violin instructor Gregory
Harrington wowed the crowd at
the NBA playoffs in Atlanta, GA,
this past spring with a beautiful
rendition of the national anthem.
By the final notes, the nearly
19,000 fans were on their feet
for a standing ovation.
Physical Education teacher and
varsity dance coach Allison Trotta
and her husband became parents
to Lillian Ellen Trotta on January
31, 2011. The little Nighthawk-intraining weighed in at 8 lbs. 3 oz.
Rosalie Eve Solitto (above) was
born to Lower School math
specialist Rebecca Zuercher
and her husband, Joe, on May 3,
2011. “Rosie” weighed in at 6 lbs.
10 oz. and was 21 inches long.
Rebecca writes that mother and
daughter enjoyed a wonderful
summer vacation together.
Human Resources Manager
Kate Totino and her husband
Louis welcomed Noelle Katherine
into the world on July 30, 2011,
at 12:25 p.m. She weighed
8 lbs. 2 oz., and both mother
and daughter are doing well.
Ellen Schroyer, mother of
Rebecca Rahl ’70, passed away
last May in a nursing home in
Florida.
Meredith Brown, a member
of the Math Department, was
married to Peter McNamara on
April 9, 2011, at the First Baptist
Church in Tallahassee, FL. The
couple recently enjoyed an
August honeymoon in Aruba
and Curaçao.
Ceres Lyonene Hart Kennedy
was born on May 15, 2011 to
music teacher Deadra Hart
and husband Fred Kennedy;
she weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz.
Stefanie Spanfeller ’10, a
sophomore at Bucknell, writes,
“I just wanted to assure you of
how amazingly well Nightingale
prepared me for college! I hope
that every girl there knows how
lucky she is to attend a school as
caring and academically rigorous
as Nightingale.”
Head of School
Board of Trustees
Nina Joukowsky Köprülü ‘79
President
Lisa Grunwald Adler ‘77
Vice President
James D. Forbes
Treasurer
Martin Frederic Evans
Secretary
Clarissa Bronfman
James S. Chanos
Blair Pillsbury Enders ‘88
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss ‘93
John J. Hannan
Patricia Gilchrist Howard ‘62
Ex-officio
Elena Hahn Kiam ‘81
Steven B. Klinsky
Paul Lachman
Jennie Brodsky
President, Parents Association
Ex-officio
Kathryn Martin
William J. Michaelcheck
Gregory Palm
Debra G. Perelman ‘92
Renan Pierre
Debora Spar
Mary Margaret Trousdale
Juliet Rothschild Weissman ‘93
President, Alumnae Board,
Ex-officio
Honorary Board Members
Jerome P. Kenney
Susan Hecht Tofel ‘48
Grant F. Winthrop
PARENTS ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
Jennie Brodsky
President
Rebecca Rasmussen Grunwald
Vice President
Julie White
Secretary/Treasurer
ALUMNAE BOARD
Juliet Rothschild Weissman ‘93
President
Brooke Brodsky ‘91
Vice President
Zoe Settle ‘00
Secretary
Ex-officio
Mary Richter ‘93
Chair, Alumnae Fund
Liz Boehmler ‘94
Melissa Elting Walker ‘92
Elizabeth Riley Fraise ‘98
Sage Garner ‘04
Daphra Holder ‘03
Hillary Johnson ‘76
Elizabeth Friedland Meyer ‘89
Melissa Providence ‘01
Cecilia Hanke Wolfson ‘90
Liz Victory Anderson ‘88
Amie Rappoport McKenna ‘90
Palmer O’Sullivan ‘94
Arden Surdam ‘06
Ex-officio
Samantha Wishman ‘06
Ex-officio
OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL
ADVANCEMENT
Sue Mathews
Director of Institutional Advancement
Kate Ahner
Database Manager
Vinton Bauer
Campaign Manager
Darrel Frost
Director of Communications
Amanda Goodwin
Director of Alumnae Relations
Jessie Page ‘03
Advancement Associate
Susan Tilson
Associate Director of Communications
Elisabeth Tiulescu
Director of Analysis and Data Management
Lisa Wainer
Director of Special Events
From Seattle to Sydney, Head of School Dorothy A. Hutcheson will be
spending her spring sabbatical traveling to meet with alumnae, friends
of Nightingale-Bamford, and our partner schools around the world.
Visit www.nightingale.org/alumnae to see when Ms. Hutcheson will be
in your neighborhood. We look forward to seeing you at one of these
celebrations this spring!
The Nightingale-Bamford School 20 East 92nd Street
www.nightingale.org
New York, NY 10128

THE BLUE DOORS 1 Nightingale- Bamford School Volume 6 Issue

Transcription

Similar documents

October Newsletter - The Springs of Scottsdale

To enter a team or sponsor the games (10 people per team) and

Adding a Medical Dictionary

SPRING 2014 1 Nightingale - The Nightingale

Nightingale in Scutari: Her Legacy Reexamined

exclusive long island appearance

THE NIGHTINGALE–BAMFORD SCHOOL

FALL 2015 1 Nightingale - The Nightingale

Consultation on a proposal to build a new secondary school to open