Oasis The ESA Experience Winter 2017
Part of a collaborative painting on five panels by Jacob Camden, ‘18, Abby Langford, ‘18, RJ Miniex, ‘18, Emma Sonnier, ‘17, and Oliver Vreeland, ‘18
When you provide children with an inspiring environment and the right tools, the possibilities for learning are limitless. Dr. Paul Baker The Lafayette Campus Enrichment Center opened on January 27th. Read more at ESAcadiana.com/EnrichmentCenter
ESA’s Class of 2017
Congratulations on a fantastic fall!
$
Seniors had been offered more than
3.1Million
in institutionalmerit aid at the time of publication.
ESA’s 2017 National Merit Honorees
Nine members of the Class of 2017 have been named Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program, a number exceeded by only five schools in Louisiana. Semifinalists are among the top scorers in the state on the PSAT and have the opportunity to advance to Finalist standing this spring. ESA’s Semifinalists, clockwise from top left, are Peyton Feuer, Tracey Dibbs, Sam Hebert, Gabe Olivier, Andrew Malek, Michael Jindia, Tolson Frantzen, Lance Myers and Clarke Patrone. ESA’s 2017 Commended Students – among the top five percent of the more than 1.6 million students who took the 2015 PSAT – are Davis Curry and Nick Beyer. Hebert, Frantzen and Patrone also have been named candidates in the U.S. Presidential Scholars program, one of the highest honors a high school student can receive.
Acceptances to date: Auburn University Baylor University - Honors Centenary College of Louisiana Colorado School of Mines Colorado State University DePaul University - Honors Furman University Harvard College LaTech Loyola University New Orleans LSU LSU - Honors Michigan State University
Millsaps College Northwestern State University Rice University Savannah College of Art & Design Southern Methodist University Spring Hill College Stanford University SUNY - Binghamton University Texas Christian University Trinity University Tulane University Tulane University - Honors UL - Lafayette UNC - Asheville
UNC - Charlotte University of Alabama University of Alabama - Honors University of Chicago University of Colorado at Boulder University of Denver University of Iowa University of Mary Hardin-Baylor University of Mississippi University of San Francisco University of Tennessee University of Virginia Villanova University Washington & Lee University
Davis Curry, ‘17 on Bayou Tortue
Exploring Louisiana The Lower School’s fall 2016 enrichment clusters were all connected through our state’s culture and landscape. Within the theme, students explored architecture, birding, textiles, agriculture (above left at The Market Basket farm in Youngsville), cuisine (above right), flood relief, photography (below in Camelot), healing traditions, cemetery detective work, beekeeping and much more.
ESA’s Learning Center Brings Tools to Struggling Readers
ESA’s Lower School Learning Center is making the most of a new program that uses iPads to provide a phonics curriculum customized to each student’s needs. ESA is piloting the Hill Learning System, a new app developed by The Hill Center, a nationally recognized School and Teacher Training Center for Learning Differences, Learning Disabilities and ADHD in Durham, North Carolina. The entire curriculum for The Hill Center’s phonics program is included on the app, which is loaded on the Learning Center’s iPads. The teacher uses a master iPad to push specific tasks to each student’s device. As the teacher works with groups of three to four children, she can push different challenges in oral drill, phonological awareness, word attack/sight words, fluency and spelling to each child. After a challenge, students can see their progress in colorful charts and dancing stars, and are compared only to their own previous work, not to the other students in the group.
“The program makes differentiation easier by tracking each student’s progress and tailoring the tasks to the child’s level,” says Learning Center Director Shannon Frugé. ESA’s Lower School Learning Center program is the only program in the state of Louisiana to use the new Hill Learning System app. Mrs. Frugé is a Level 2 certified Hill Center instructor, and Learning Center instructor Elizabeth Pham is a Level 1 certified instructor. As a program model replication site for the The Hill Center, the ESA Learning Center gives students the reading, writing, math, organization and study skills assistance they need to succeed now and to find success independently.
The Arts are Thriving! From our youngest students to our seniors, ESA scholars find plenty of opportunities in the visual and performing arts. The PreK-3 classes (top far left) visited the Cade campus art studio last fall to work with upper school art students, who shared their canvases and demonstrated different painting tools before encouraging the younger students to explore their creativity. The Lower School choir (bottom far left) accompanied Chorale Acadienne on two songs during Chorale’s annual Christmas concert. Visual Arts co-chair Elise Sonnier (bottom left) traveled to Haystack Mountain School of Craft in Deer Isle, Maine, where she took part in the class “Expanding Your Skills: Glass Bead Making.” Mrs. Sonnier received a grant from the Louisiana Association of Independent Schools to fund her studies, and has returned to share her new skills with art students. Elsa Ramsay, ’17 (at the microphone on Halloween), completed the Rising Star program at Savannah College of Art and Design last summer. She earned college credit while impressing the professors with her work in fashion, costume and set design. After the program, SCAD offered Elsa a place in next year’s freshman class – the first member of ESA’s Class of 2017 to be accepted into a college or university program. On Duo Day, a celebration of Episcopal Schools Week, seventh graders (above) performed Gahu, a drum-and-dance style of the Ewe people of Ghana. Third grade teacher Ashleigh D’Aunoy joined Cade music teacher Bill Smith to work with the students and to share her knowledge of west African dance.
Spring Musicals: Cade Campus - The Wedding Singer, March 9-11 Lafayette Campus - Annie, May 20
An Interactive Classroom Unadorned white walls, swiveling and rolling chairs with adjustable writing surfaces and a mobile lecturn are all you’ll find in Dr. Delecia Carey’s English classroom (above). This new interactive classroom encourages movement, facilitates cooperative study and offers a flexible and responsive environment for dynamic teaching and learning. Over the summer, the walls were painted from floor to ceiling with a special paint that turned them into white boards. Two projectors (one attached to a Smart Board) give teachers the ability to project on separate walls so groups of students can work simultaneously. The flexible furnishings and open spaces allow students to form and change groups quickly and easily. And chairs can be rolled into corners for groups to meet, pulled into a circle for a discussion or pushed against the walls so the students can work on the floor.
“The white cube allows us to draw our students into the vital work of constructing meaning through writing. Each day the walls will be covered in their words, words they have written, words they need to explain and defend,” says Dr. Carey, English Department Chair. Dr. Carey invites other faculty members to use the classroom when it is available, and teachers from different disciplines have welcomed the chance to escape the confines of more traditional classrooms so that students can take an even more active role in their learning than they usually do.
ESA Writes An essay by Abby Langford, ’18, “History of the Early Church: The Institution of an Orthodox Position Concerning the Question of Christology,” has been chosen by The Concord Review for publication in the Winter 2016 issue. The Review is the only academic journal that accepts secondary school submissions, and being published in it is a prestigious accomplishment! Abby is pictured here in the center, with the other artists of this issue’s cover image. Isabelle Berthelot, ’20, was named a winner in the Promising Young Writers Program last spring. Sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English, the contest recognizes promising 8th grade writers from across the nation. Isabelle is the first ESA student to win the award, Louisiana’s sole 2016 winner and the first Louisiana writer to garner the honor since 2010. Honored in the Louisiana Writes 2016 competition were Elena Alvarado, 1st, Ian Allam, 2nd, and Ender Ryan, 3rd in 5th-6th grade poetry; Lily LaFleur, 3rd in 5th-6th grade fiction; Jillian Kennedy, 1st in K-2 non-fiction; and Jacob Camden, 3rd in 9th-10th fiction.
Right: Gabe Olivier, ’17, speaks to upper school faculty about the Peer Leadership program. Weekly meetings between peer leaders and freshmen provide opportunities for fun activities as well as serious discussions.
Left: “Cade Oak” by parent Kelli Kaufman
New Avenues for Leadership Along with Student Council, class offices, and team and club positions, ESA students have new opportunities to experience leadership. The Peer Leadership Program matches teams of seniors with groups of freshmen to help the ninth graders transition into high school. Meeting once a week, the peer leaders form relationships with the freshmen as they discuss everything from school work to social life. Based on a national program, ESA’s peer leadership experience takes the seniors through a series of retreats and training sessions that give them the confidence and skills to lead with empathy. The Advanced Leaderhip Seminar, a semester-long course, introduces students to the process of researching and refining ideas, then producing a persuasive proposal. At a recent Board meeting, Dom Berthelot, ’17, Mikaila Kinsland, ’17, and Ben Frugé, ’18, spoke to ESA Trustees about their proposals for creating a Founders Day and other ideas for preserving tradition at ESA, making ESA a green school, and improving the BYOD and technology program at ESA. Their presentations wowed Board members and gave them a new perspective on student life at ESA.
A Gift in Art and Words ESA parent Kelli Kaufman donated the stunning painting, “Cade Oak,” (left) which was auctioned at the Falcon Club’s Evening Under the Oaks in January. The Falcon Club’s dinner and year-long fundraising efforts provide support for ESA arts and athletics. In making her generous gift, Mrs. Kaufman offered a beautiful tribute to ESA teachers and coaches:
While we know that ESA is dedicated to an academic program that is second to none in our entire state, passion is the magic ingredient that it cultivates in our students, which will ultimately meld success and happiness together to give them a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Passion isn’t something you can teach, and at the same time passionate people are contagious. If we are lucky, we get glimpses of it early in life through inspiring teachers and coaches who go above and beyond in guiding us, believing in us, and who tap into our hidden gifts and talents waiting to come out. The coaching staff, art teachers, drama teachers and music teachers are lighting sparks in our children not because they are simply doing their jobs, but because they are doing those jobs with PASSION.
ESA’s 76th and 77th State Titles
ESA Cross Country, both boys and girls, won the 2016 Class B State Championships in November! The boys’ team scored just 45 points for the win, the third in a row. Running for the Falcons were: Oliver Nickel (2nd), Daniel Magann (5th), Oliver Vreeland (8th), Christian Herpin (14th), Ellis Hernandez (16th), Jackson Spoon (23rd) and Kenneth Quoyeser (33rd). The win is boys’ cross country’s 12th State Championship. Scoring 32 points, the girls’ team placed four runners in the top ten. Running for the Falcons were Samantha Withers (1st, above), Aline Malek (2nd), Abby Langford (4th), Madeline Breaux (6th), Breigh Rodriguez (19th), Libby Menard (23rd) and Arden Frantzen (33rd). This year’s is the 8th State Championship for the girls and the second in a row. Congratulations, Falcons!
A Promising Winter
ESA’s winter sports teams are making us proud this season! As of publication, ESA Basketball stood 24-9, and 3-1 in District. Boys’ soccer was ranked second in the State after claiming the District title, while the girls’ team was ranked ninth, and third in District. Entering the playoffs, excitement is building for ESA Athletics! ESA Volleyball advanced to the quarterfinals of the State tournament. Honors included All-Star Game: Maddie Breaux; Best of the Teche: Nanine Cowan, Maddie Breaux, Britt Falterman, Mary Catherine Louis; All-District: Nanine Cowan, 1st Team, Victoria Kinsland, 2nd Team, Britt Falterman, Honorable Mention. ESA Boys’ Swimming placed third in State, and girls finished 11th. Earning medals were: boys’ 200m medley (Dylan and Daxton Fowler, Michael dela Rosa and Lazar Papp), silver; Lazar Papp, gold, 50 free; Isabella Buttaci, silver, 500 free and 100 breast; Izzy Sabbaghian, bronze, 100 fly; and Michael dela Rosa, gold, 200 IM and 100 breast. Michael set a new school record in the 100 breast!
The jurors were unable to select just one student to receive top honors in the exhibit. They chose Carter Broussard (whose photographs are on the cover and on page 5) and Tana Gauthier, who works in both 2D and in large-scale ceramics (above). Of Carter and Tana, the judges wrote: What really stood out with these two is their individual vision and their ability to recognize ‘mistakes’ and turn them into great successes. What also appealed to us was the sophisticated manner in which they addressed their work and the concepts underlying it, and the professional manner in which they made choices and articulated them as they presented their work.” Read more about ESA’s artists at ESAcadiana.com/VisualArts.
Alumni Notes 1987
Kohlie Frantzen’s new venture, Helical Outposts, which provides solar-powered, hydroponic greenhouses that purify water, has been getting lots of attention in the news lately. Ask Kohlie about this ground-breaking work!
1992
Alisha Davlin received a BA in English from Tulane, MFA in Creative Writing from NYU and M.Ed from Lingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has two decades of experience teaching and tutoring high school and college students. As an undergraduate outside reader for a highly selective university and founder of Davlin Tutoring, Alicia is helping students raise test scores and write top-notched admissions essays.
1996
Marie LeBlanc Collins has been named the new Executive Director at Family Tree, a local nonprofit providing counseling and education to build stronger families. Last
fall, she gave a TEDx Talk, “Alternatives to Corrections: More Than Just a Jail,” at Lafayette’s TEDxVermilionStreet.
1997
2001
Whitney Weeks Halamuda completed her Nurse Practitioner’s coursework last May and is now living and working in Austin with her husband Jeremy.
Carroll Boudreaux, Jr. married Kim Ardoin on November 18th. Classmates Martin Romero and Nick Rhoades and former teacher/coach Mark Broussard were part of the wedding party.
Steven Burgin and wife Beverly are the proud parents of a baby girl, Lucy Laine Burgin, born January 21st.
1998
Rachel Feinberg Harrison and husband, Bo, are proud parents of Priscilla Jane.
Sonia Gupta received a BA in English and American Literature from NYU and a law degree from Loyola in New Orleans. She practiced as an attorney for eight years, and is now a software developer in the Denver area.
2000
Sarah Gray gave birth to a baby girl, Mira Bruce, last summer. She and her husband, Andy Horowitz, live in New Orleans, where Sarah is an Assistant Professor of psychology at Tulane.
2002
2003
Sumaya Elhelou had a great November! She married Zakaria Elhassouni and received a nomination for this year’s Lafayette Education Foundation Award, all in the same week. Sumaya teaches at Comeaux High School. Caroline Young Dubuisson and husband James welcomed a baby boy, James Jackson Dubuisson, into the world in August.
ESA in NYC It was back to New York for Dr. and Mrs. Tate, who spent their short stay meeting with ESA alumni for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. In Manhattan, they met up with JG Martinez, ’87, who works in asset analysis for Wood Mackenzie, a company that provides analysis for energy companies. Other alumni who welcomed the Tates to their city included Lindsay Barnes Arrieta, ’02, MIssy Collins Henderson, ’84, Willard Knox, former member of the Class of ’84, and the group at right. Thanks to all of the ESA alumni who supported the Tates/ Tutwiler Fund this year. With more than $920,000 in the endowment, with your help we can reach $1M! ESAcadiana.com/Donate
Caitlin Pate Dominique and husband Ross had their first child on November 19th. Welcome to the world, Tucker!
2004
Quentin Walker married Emily Ajubita on October 1st in New Orleans. Quentin received an undergraduate degree from Rhodes College and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola. He is Vice-President of Scurlock Electric in Houma, a family owned and operated company.
2006
Nisha Loganantharaj married Spencer Robichaux in New Orleans on November 5th. Katherine Simon and Wayne Andry were married on October 1st at Rip Van Winkle Gardens on Jefferson Island.
2007
Michael McGehee has been living in Los Angeles and working in the music industry after completing a music business
degree at Belmont University. He has just released his second single, “Red Rover,” as an independent artist. Claire Mickey moved to NOLA in August to begin LSU Medical School. Francesca Kizer married Ryan Campbell on November 19th. Cesca received a BS in Psychology from Loyola University in New Orleans and is currently employed as a certified Child Life Specialist at Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Lafayette.
In their last stop in New York, the Tates dined with, from top left, Stephi LaPointe Wingert, ’04, Sarah Cole, ’08, Catharine Pyenson, ’01, Scarlett Davis, ’10, and bottom from left, Michael Barron, ’07, Amy Meche, ’06, and Sara Dale, ’06.
2008
Classmates Clara Little and Daniel Frugé were married in the Henton Chapel on ESA’s Cade campus on Saturday, October 22nd.
fayette. Ben received a BS in Petroleum Engineering in December and will pursue a graduate business certificate and then a career as a deepwater well site engineer.
Find alumni information throughout the year on the ESA Alumni facebook 2013 Laura Doré married Cole Wiley on Octo- Anna Buttaci has been accepted to LSUH- page. ber 8th. Laura is now the Events Manager at the Ogden Museum.
SC in New Orleans, where she will start next fall.
2009
2015
Classmates Caroline Craig and Jonathan English were married on September 17th. Both have been living and working in Colorado.
2012
Ben Como was the Outstanding Graduate for the College of Engineering at UL La-
Mallory Gaspard has been accepted into the PhD program of her choice at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She was invited to apply based on GPA and research activities. After an interview, Mallory was invited to join the accelerated program. She will complete BS and doctorate degrees in a total of seven years.
Send your updates to Linda Dautreuil at ldautreuil@esacadiana.com. Keep up with ESA at ESAcadiana.com and on Episcopal School of Acadiana’s facebook page.
Making a Mark Michael Barron, ‘07 (left), is one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for Science this year! A Senior Scientist at AeroFarms, a company that uses indoor vertical farms to improve crop productivity, Michael leads an R&D team. His team has been extremely successful in improving average crop yield for a variety of crops. Michael has a Bachelors of Arts/Science from Harvard University, a Masters of Science from Louisiana State University, and a Masters of Science from Indiana University-Bloomington. In October, he married Gulus Emre. Congratulations, Michael!
Matt Dembowski, ’02 (below), returned to Cade for Veterans’ Day in November. He spoke in chapel about his experiences at West Point and his tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Matt caught up with classmate Angela Granberry Davis, ESA’s Upper School Counselor and the mother of twins, Emily Grace and Jackson Tyler, born in January! She and husband, Tyler have a daughter in Kindergarten at ESA’s Lower School.
ExLabs This spring, Visual Arts co-chair Jennifer Graycheck, ’01, and marketing expert Brett Landry, ’95, are teaming up to offer a new course to advanced visual arts students (left). The main focus of the course is to provide the skills, equipment and training to create cutting edge communications in the form of video content. Beginning with a three-day workshop and continuing through weekly Skype conferences, email and text communications and sessions in the digital lab, the students are learning about creative concepting, script development, storyboarding, pre-production, shooting, editing, color correction, post-production and social media placement.
Left to right: Nick Schutte, ’17, Blake Feuer, ‘17, Jennifer, Brett, Isabelle Berthelot, ‘20, Peyton Feuer, ‘17, and Oliver Vreeland, ‘18.
P.O. Box 380 • Cade, LA 70519
www.ESAcadiana.com
Kindergarten’s Pilgrims’ Journey
The Happenin’ APRIL 1, 2017
WAREHOUSE 535 • CATERED BY RUFFINO’S HOSTED BY THE ESA PARENT GROUP fiESA Abroad