Shore Country Day School Bulletin - Fall 2018

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SHORE BULLETIN • FALL 2018

Costa Rica, June 2018

SERVICE LEARNING AT SHORE

FE AT U RES

2018-2019 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Rayna Lesser Hannaway President Franklin Foster Vice President Denise Marks Treasurer William Shields ’84 Secretary Jennifer Borggaard ’84 Stephen Boyko Lauren Crane Dino Di Palma Khoa Do ’86 Hugh Foster Anthony Frye Johan Goedkoop Kristin Goedkoop James Hamilton Leslie Hammond Elizabeth Shorts Harrigan ’92 Blake Liggio Santo Politi Elizabeth Skates Duncan Wilkinson Sarah Wolfgang

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CONTENTS

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BULLETIN • FALL 2018

SHORE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL Established 1936 545 Cabot Street Beverly, Massachusetts 01915 (978) 927-1700 www.ShoreSchool.org

ADMINISTRATION Head of School Clair P. Ward Head of Upper School Gustavo Carrera Head of Lower School Sara L. Knox Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management Daphne Clark Faldi ’89 Director of Advancement Jody M. Johnson Director of Finance and Operations Ann-Marie Flynn Director of Marketing and Communications William R. Fisher MAGAZINE Editorial Brooke Booth William Fisher Linda Grodberg Jody Johnson Nancy McNall Photography William Fisher Alyse Gause Linda Grodberg Paul Pelletier Design Jeanne Abboud Design ON THE COVER: On the ninth grade’s service learning trip to Costa Rica, John Fates ’18 and Wells Goltra ’18 took part in a coastal reforestation project near the village of Nosara.

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From the Head of School

Service Learning

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Pura Vida: Grade 9 in Costa Rica Service Learning on Campus and Beyond Honoring ‘Lady’ Drafting Marcus Smart: Ava D’Ambrosio Helps Tufts Floating Hospital Shore Students Join the National School Walkout Fifth Graders Spur Change with ‘Plastic-Free Friday’ United in Service 2018

Community

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Gustavo Carrera: The Future is Now Welcome Outside Bruce Wright Retires Celebration Dinner Remarks Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night The True Blue Giving Circle

News 47 51 52

2018 Closing Exercises The Class of 2015 Goes to College Welcome New Trustees

Inspiration 54 58 62 66 68

Shrek the Musical Delights All Ages How We Teach: Sara Knox on Elementary Classroom Practice Digging Deep Into American Roots Music Storytelling in Spanish Sports in Review

Past & Present 72 75 78 80

A Visit with Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo ’90 Alumni Notes In Memoriam Save the Date

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FROM THE HEAD O F SCHOOL

By Clair Ward “Shore now finds itself in an enviable position. With our leadership transition complete and our financial ship steady, we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to consider what is ahead for our school. What are the best ways for Shore to advance its mission in the next ten years?”

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decade ago, our school adopted the Community Code to solidify Shore’s vision about raising children. At the time, we looked toward a day when the values of kindness, honesty, respect, openness, and dependability would permeate all that we did in order to help our community be its best. Today these values fly high on banners above our graduates; they are present as even our littlest children recite them for Morning Meeting; they are part of the pledge that all of our families sign each year for re-enrollment. The Community Code is present in all that we do. Shore now finds itself in an enviable position. With our leadership transition complete and our financial ship steady, we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to consider what is ahead for our school. What are the best ways for Shore to advance its mission in the next ten years? Is it possible for Shore to take its strong local reputation onto the national or even the international stage? How might we

need to recalibrate our program to satisfy new aspirations? One of the most reliable methods for curriculum development is called “backwards design.” You consider your intended outcome and then build the curriculum in a backwards direction, ensuring that each learning experience along the way builds the understanding you hope that students will achieve to move them to the next level. So as we consider how to enhance Shore’s reach, it makes sense to start with our oldest learners—the ninth graders. After creating the strongest possible goals for our ninth grade experience, we then work backwards in our curriculum development, testing each preceding grade level against its ability to contribute to that ultimate outcome. In this issue of the Shore Bulletin, you will encounter evidence of just that. While Shore has always been successful in sending prepared graduates out into the world, the faculty and I believe it is possible to take that to the next level. Rather than simply anoint our ninth graders as

FRO M TH E H E A D O F SC H O O L

the leaders of the school, we are asking how we might treat the ninth grade year as a leadership laboratory—a far more intentional year of leadership development. We are also considering ways to couple that leadership with service, thereby educating students who are comfortable as servant leaders. To achieve this, we have to gaze through two additional lenses. First, rather than merely expose our children to service opportunities, we have to inspire them through service such that they internalize service behavior for themselves once they leave Shore. This does not require us to change the service relationships we have historically had as a school. Rather it requires us to deepen them into more personalized and transformational experiences. When our students find their own personal empathy for and partnership with those they serve, they stand a better chance of adopting service as a lifetime behavior. In effect, from the age of 3 to the graduate age of 15, we need to effect the gradual transfer of the driving agency for service from adults to students. I hope you enjoy reading about the assorted

projects already being initiated by engaged students. Our kids are ready to do this; we need to make sure the curriculum appropriately prepares and empowers them to succeed. Second, we should consider ways to help our students bring Shore’s Community Code to the national and international stages. In addition to helping students develop local and national consciousness, we can also help them see themselves as global citizens. This year Shore launched an international environmental service trip to Costa Rica. Over the course of that trip, I watched with amazement as our students transformed themselves from visitors to actors. By the end of the trip they no longer saw the boundaries of culture and country. They felt the need for preservation personally and deeply; they felt the shared sense of agency that was required no matter the country or culture of origin. Once we have intentionally built the capstone experience of the ninth grade year, we will be in a position to look at how each curricular and co-curricular experience contributes to that intended

outcome. This process will include confirming some activities and experiences, and looking more critically at others. The point is never change for change sake. The name of the game is intentionality. For each piece of curriculum, culminating activity, and trip, the question will have to be this: How does this experience contribute to the ultimate goal of raising Shore graduates in a way that is most relevant to their own future? Now beginning my eleventh year as a head of school and my second at Shore, I am struck by the amazing moment we are experiencing, in which we see our history connecting to our future. With AISNE re-accreditation this fall and a strong Board of Trustees ready to embrace a new round of strategic planning in 2019, Shore Country Day School is indeed poised for tremendous and groundbreaking success. Our focus needs to be on refining all that is possible into the right next steps for our school. I suspect that ten years from now, we will all consider this moment a profound crossroads for our school—a moment when history was being made.

Students took the stage during the fall 2017 benefit concert to aid victims of natural disasters.

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PuraVida:

FE AT U RES

By Bill Fisher

From June 2–7, 2018, during the final full week of the school year, Shore’s ninth graders were far from campus, immersed in an eco-experience in rugged Costa Rica. Led by a highly regarded educational travel organization, Chill Expeditions, along with Head of School Clair Ward, Spanish teacher and World Language Department Chair Pamela Torres, and science teacher and Science Department Chair Oliver Hay, it was not only the first international foray for many of the students, but also the first

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N EW T RUST EES

GRADE NINE IN

Costa Rica

for Shore in many years. On a challenging itinerary that included exploring the geology and wildlife surrounding the volcano Rincón de la Vieja, as well as studying threatened sea turtles and partnering in service with local residents in the tiny village of Ostional, on the Pacific coast, the aim of the ambitious trip was never obscured from view—not by the tropical dry forest, torrential rains, or nightfall over black-sand beaches. They were there to advance the reinvention of service learning at Shore.

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“A year into my leadership transition,” says Clair Ward, “we’re realizing as a community that Shore is a strong enough school for us to begin to ask, ‘Have we realized all that’s possible? Are our practices as relevant to today’s student as they were to the student of 10 years ago?’” Not change for change’s sake, insists Ward, but relevancy: “It’s the ethical thing to do, and it’s right for kids, to be sure we’re raising them so they’ll be prepared for their future. Relevancy, in other words, is implicit in our mission to help children become ‘healthy, compassionate citizens of the world.’” That last word, “world,” is central in Ward’s vision. No more, she argues—echoing the sentiments of Shore’s new Head of Upper School, Gustavo Carrera, a native of Argentina—is it enough to challenge our students to adapt and assimilate within diverse cultures in the United States, such as on the highly successful ninth grade Mississippi trip, which remains a cornerstone of the ninth grade program. “If we aspire to raising citizens of the world,” Ward explains, “then international travel, too, is essential. If we want our students to carry with them, and act on, the elements of the Community Code long after they leave Shore, no matter where life takes them, then we need to ask them now, while they’re still here, what might it look like to be kind, true, respectful, open, dependable, and their best anywhere in the world.”

Costa Rica, according to Ward, is an extraordinary “leadership laboratory” in which to allow ninth graders to put to the test the most fundamental aspects of their Shore education. Recognized globally for its progressive environmental policies, Costa Rica is nearing a goal of becoming completely carbon-neutral by 2021, already generating 98% of its electricity from green sources such as hydro, solar, geothermal, and biomass. While the country occupies only a miniscule percentage of the world’s landmass, it contains 5% of the world’s biodiversity; 25% of the country’s land area is in protected national parks

“It’s the ethical thing to do, and it’s right for kids, to be sure we’re raising them so they’ll be prepared for their future. Relevancy, in other words, is implicit in our mission to help children become ‘healthy, compassionate citizens of the world.’” Clair Ward, Head of School

Exploring the tropical dry forest near Rincón de la Vieja.

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PU RA V I DA : G RA D E 9 IN COSTA RI CA

and refuges teeming with wildlife and plants. Working with Chill Expeditions’ in-country experts, Ward, along with Pamela Torres and Oliver Hay, designed an itinerary to immerse students in this story of Costa Rica’s leadership in environmental sustainability and ecological stewardship and service. At the same time, they hoped students would embrace a real-world opportunity to communicate and share ideas across cultures, and that in doing so they’d gain new insight about their place in the world, about their own abilities, and about how they might lead the way forward in service to others.

Arrival: Liberia and Guanacaste Province On the first full day of the experience, Applying volcanic clay before taking a rejuvenating dip in the hot springs near the group left the small city of Liberia, in Rincón de la Vieja. the northwest of the country, where they had arrived from Miami, and set out for the renowned Rincón de la Vieja National by the country’s dedication to protecting the natural Park, an active volcano complex in the province of world. The next two days, in Ostional, would reveal indiGuanacaste surrounded by tropical dry forest. There, viduals and communities whose lives and fate are intistudents observed countless insects and birds, reptiles, mately tied to the health of the environment. The tiny small mammals, and hot pools and areas of bubbling village, on Costa Rica’s western coast, is the site of the mud—fumaroles—indicating substantial reserves Ostional National Wildlife Refuge, a stretch of coastline of geothermal energy. Highlights of a day-long hike that is one of the two most important mass-nesting included spotting an elusive tapir, a large, herbivorous areas in the world for the olive ridley sea turtle, a mammal with a prehensile nose trunk; peering carethreatened tropical species best known for its behavior fully into the burning, sulfurous volcanic fumaroles; of synchronized nesting in mass numbers, termed spying camouflaged iguanas, brightly colored butterflies, and the sparkle of hidden waterfalls; and encountering groups of spider monkeys carrying their young high in the trees, with a family of howler monkeys nearby sounding a warning. At the end of the spectacular day, the group relaxed in natural hot springs, where students discovered skinsoothing volcanic clay that could be applied like paint and then washed off in a river before slipping into the springs. Costa Rica is a world leader in eco-tourism, and the first day’s forest hike and hot springs finale were a fitting introduction to the ecological richness made possible Observing an unusual bird alongside the hiking trail in the tropical dry forest.

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Witnessing the nighttime egg-laying process of an olive ridley sea turtle as local experts and volunteers monitored the event.

arribadas, the Spanish word for “arrivals.” Hundreds, and sometimes hundreds of thousands, of olive ridleys return to this specific area year after year to bury their eggs to incubate beneath the black, volcanic sand; peak season is between September and December. The turtles generally ride in on the high tide at night, but during an arribada they start arriving soon after sunset and keep coming until 6:00 a.m. the next morning. Used to a life in the ocean, the turtles drag their heavy bodies over the beach until they pass the high tide line. There, flicking clouds of sand, they dig a nest with their specially adapted flippers to deposit around 80-100 soft-shelled, white eggs the size of a ping pong ball. Many of these eggs are scavenged by vultures and other wildlife, but from those that survive emerge baby turtles, which hatch within 45-54 days depending on incubation temperatures. They see varying degrees of success as they dig their way out of the clutches of eggs and then attempt to drag themselves to the ocean. Residents and visiting volunteers often help the baby turtles on their journey, protecting them from predators.

Olive Ridleys: Ostional For their two days in Ostional, Shore students and teachers took as their home base the Albergue Arribadas, a modest hostel-style lodging run by Wendy Cruz, an educator and naturalist who directs the Las

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Arribadas Biological Station dedicated to the sea turtles. From Cruz, ninth graders learned about the local marine ecosystem and sea turtle life cycle, as well as the sustainable project to use a percentage of turtle eggs for consumption and commercialization by Ostional residents. Then, under the intense tropical sun, the group walked the black-sand beaches of the coastal refuge for much of the day to collect plastic and other garbage, deadly for the sea turtles, and to observe dozens of their abandoned nests. In the middle of the night, local experts accompanied the students as they returned to the beach on two successive forays in near-total darkness, hoping to see a few of the adult turtles arriving. Relying only on moonlight and special dim, red flashlights so as not to disturb the marine animals, the group was disappointed after hours of fruitless searching on the first night, but was elated to encounter several turtles on the second. They sat quietly alongside volunteers who had arrived to study and protect the egg-laying process and monitor the turtles’ progress back to the ocean; round trip, the cycle can take several hours. For many in the Shore group, witnessing a turtle laying her eggs—after having helped to clean the exact same spot in the sand earlier in that day—was one of the most memorable experiences of the entire trip. Ninth grader Lucy Adams observed, “It was incredible to see how the Ostional community has changed their entire lifestyle to help care for the turtles that lay their eggs on their beaches.”

PU RA V I DA : G RA D E 9 IN COSTA RI CA

children who mature into engaged citizens prepared to better the world, then we have to empower them to take action today.”

Soccer: Ostional Away from the beach, as ninth graders spent downtime with the residents of Ostional, the joy of unexpected friendship was layered atop the experience of witnessing the sea turtles’ ancient ritual. Practicing their Spanishlanguage skills with local children just as they practiced their English with the American students, ninth graders relished intense barefoot soccer matches played on the field at the center of the village. As Shore varsity soccer player John “Many of the students talked to me about how challenging Fates recounted, “The kids ran circles around us with the beach cleanup felt—the heat, the bugs, the fatigue their foot skills and passing after the nights patrolling in the darkness—but once they technique. The goalie was 10 years old, and better than actually witnessed the incredible event of a turtle emerging any varsity goalie we played from the waves, shuffling up the beach, painstakingly this year. We had the greatest time losing, and we didn’t digging out her nest, and laying scores of eggs, the hard care one bit if we looked like beginners compared to work of the beach cleanup suddenly made sense.” them.” Fellow varsity player Tessa Shields said, “It was Oliver Hay very impressive how all of us students dove right into playing and meeting the Oliver Hay recalls, “Many of the students talked to local kids. By the second day, we were able to make mixed me about how challenging the beach cleanup felt—the teams to play a large game. It was a memorable experiheat, the bugs, the fatigue after the nights patrolling ence because of the way we were able to communicate in the darkness—but once they actually witnessed the with kids that we had very little in common with.” incredible event of a turtle emerging from the waves, Above and below: Working in the Ostional National Wildlife shuffling up the beach, painstakingly digging out her Refuge to remove trash from the beach. nest, and laying scores of eggs, the hard work of the beach cleanup suddenly made sense.” Place-based education, explains Hay, can make an impact that’s difficult to recreate any other way. “Because we were there, the experience became something profound: confronted with life and death and natural selection on full display, the students personally understood how our one species can have such a huge impact on all others.” Clair Ward underscores the significance of that personal, emotional connection to the experience. “Our students’ commitment to service,” she says, “only gains traction when it’s personally motivated, and personally managed.” This is how today’s students find their voice, and become leaders, she argues. “If Shore is to become a ‘pay-it-forward’ institution, raising

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For Clair Ward, what was most gratifying about the Pamela Torres observed the interactions on the encounters on the soccer field was seeing her students soccer field with some trepidation at first, but then “lean in” to an experience whose rules and whose with increasing satisfaction. “As I watched our kids try very language were determined by the local residents. to communicate with the local residents,” she recounts, “Even the ninth graders most proficient in Spanish “I was reminded how hard it can be to take the first had surely never been in step and use a second language in a reala situation such as this world situation, while at the same time one, and so there were you’re trying to absorb so many cultural For Clair Ward, what was those initial moments of and social cues.” But very quickly, Torres discomfort in which the says, the students gained confidence, most gratifying about Shore students had to opening up to the people of Ostional. the encounters on the decide: are we in or out? “The Costa Rica experience, particuAfterwards, many of them larly in the moments like those on the soccer field was seeing spoke of this as one of the soccer field, became the capstone to our most pivotal moments language program.” her students “lean in” to on the trip; they were an experience whose rules able to reflect and sense their own growth over a Costas Verdes: Nosara and whose very language very short span of time.” were determined by the Moments of downtime to Returning to Liberia in Guanacaste allow for such serendipiProvince on the fifth day of the trip, local residents. tous encounters had been the Shore group visited a nursery run carefully orchestrated by the non-governmental organization throughout the itinerary. Costas Verdes, which leads reforestation The idea, explains Ward, was that “While we don’t have efforts to restore biodiversity in coastal ecosystems in the ability to teach them all the rules of the world, by Guanacaste. Deforestation from ranching, agriculture, encouraging them in these moments we can raise them and timber farming has affected 80% of Costa Rica’s as global citizens, flexible and resilient enough to adapt native forests; since 2011, Costas Verdes has helped in any situation.” restore 6,500 trees in these areas. Playing a friendly game of soccer with local children in Ostional.

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PU RA V IDA : G RA D E 9 IN COSTA RI CA

The students and teachers helped workers prepare tree seedlings for planting, and then traveled to an active reforestation site in Nosara, a nearby coastal area, to work alongside local high school students to plant dozens of native trees. Costas Verdes believes that the active participation of local communities in such activities is vital; the NGO involves schoolchildren in all its activities, and organizes workshops in local schools and communities. The local students that the Shore group worked with in Nosara had raised tree seedlings throughout their school year; the planting project was the culmination of their efforts. “It was telling,” says Oliver Hay, “to learn that Costas Verdes deliberately avoids relying on experienced workers to plant trees.” Instead, it enlists inexperienced community members in all of its reforestation work. Though paid workers or volunteer experts could certainly ensure better success rates for newly planted trees, Hay explains, “The organization is willing to accept a higher percentage of tree loss in exchange for increased awareness of the need for reforestation among residents. And it’s true that our kids are clearly thinking differently as a result.” In reflecting on the experience, ninth grader Georgia Adams said, “By the time we were working on the reforestation project, I felt my ‘comfort zone’ had expanded in so many ways already. I had tasted foods that I never would have considered eating at home, embraced our buggy and sandy rooms, and, as the only student on the trip who had never taken Spanish, struggled to use a few phrases. On the last day, working alongside the high school students planting trees, I really threw myself into the hot, uncomfortable work, and I found myself understanding more and more of the students’ expressions, exclamations, and laughter.” “This was service learning at its best,” according to Pamela Torres. “This trip allowed us to build on all the work these kids have done during their time at Shore and reach a new level of intensity and giving back. What the students accomplished in the hours they gave picking up garbage on the beaches, working in the nursery, and planting trees brought their entire service experience together. It was hard work, and they understood all the good they were doing. They came home fired up to take better care of the planet, and of each other.”

Reflections: Liberia On Shore’s final day in Costa Rica before flying home from the airport in Liberia, the group shared reflections in a ceremony, during which each member received a piece of a bandana symbolizing

Preparing seedlings for the coastal reforestation project managed by Costas Verdes.

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Above: leaving their mark on the beach in Ostional. Below: crossing a rope bridge along their journey.

the “expedition mentality” that Chill Expeditions emphasized throughout the trip. Teresa DiNanno said, “This was my first time traveling internationally; at the start I felt so far away from home, and all I wanted to do was be back there. But all through this rough spot I had friends and peers by my side, comforting me and helping me to not focus on the negatives. In the end, I learned how important it is to live in the moment and to take in every experience before it is gone. When I saw lightning illuminate the beach while we were searching for sea turtles, it was a moment that I wanted to last forever.” “I was really struck by the Costa Rican culture,” shared Charles Hoffman. “I learned they’re much more tolerant of their surroundings than we are—they ignore the bugs that fly around them, they never complain when the weather is too hot or too rainy, and they rarely mind getting completely dirty if it helps them get the work done faster. At the same time, their care for the environment is amazing. I will take this experience with me to my next school and everywhere I go.”

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In the students’ reflections, Clair Ward hears affirmation. “I think we’re onto something,” she observes, “something that makes our ninth grade year not only completely unique in the pre-K through nine market, but completely unique even among high schools.” Over the course of the Costa Rica trip, she explains, it became clear that the experience in many ways represents the next evolution of Shore’s ninth grade program. “Beyond looking to the oldest children in the school as service leaders,” she says, “we’re well on the way to being able to very strategically describe the leadership traits and behaviors that we expect to see in them, and then develop and explore those on a variety of stages”—Squam, Mississippi, Costa Rica, and within the Shore community itself—“throughout the year. Ninth grade will quite literally become a leadership laboratory year.” Whereas students in traditional high school programs typically encounter such “laboratory” experiences in their junior and senior years, here at Shore, Ward suggests, “We’re focused on creating that culminating

“The motto in Costa Rica is, ‘Pura Vida,’ which means ‘simple life.’ When you arrive, don’t be afraid to shout the motto, for everyone in Costa Rica is simply living.”

Pausing for a group photo near the top of Rincón de la Vieja.

Bianca Perullo ’18

curricular experience much earlier.” And what the evidence suggests, according to Ward, is that children who have had this type of robust ninth grade year are that much more prepared as they enter tenth grade to be successful socially, emotionally, academically, and in terms of leadership and service. Still, Ward makes clear that ninth grade at Shore does not stand apart. “In addition to looking carefully and critically at travel and other transformative experiences of that year, we’re also compelled to think strategically about fifth through eighth grade.” This is no different than building curriculum in mathematics or English, she argues. “If we want our students to be up to the challenges we set for them in their final year at Shore, then we need to work backwards to ensure that everything they do in the years leading up to it is designed to get them there.” In the Shore group’s final hours in Liberia, many students, too, were thinking about the future of service and the ninth grade program. “For the next class that adventures to Costa Rica,” said Bianca Perullo, “I have a few words of advice: make the most of everything, jump in the ocean in your clothes if you’re hot, don’t worry about the bugs—you get used to them, take lots of photos, and bond with your classmates. The motto in Costa Rica is, ‘Pura Vida,’ which means ‘simple life.’ When you arrive, don’t be afraid to shout the motto, for everyone in Costa Rica is simply living.” In the words of Charles Hoffman, “If I were to tell next year’s ninth graders one thing, it would be to say ‘yes’ to whatever the people of Costa Rica offer you. You will most likely enjoy it, and even if you don’t, it’s better to try it, because you’ll never know otherwise.”

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Service Learning

On Campus and Beyond

Fifth grade and Kindergarten Buddies sharing a book in the Kiva.

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ll across the elementary and middle school universe, today’s teachers increasingly favor the concept of “service learning” over the older notion of “community service.” According to Shore’s Service Learning Coordinator, Pamela Torres, the shift reflects educators’ desire for a more expansive, inclusive, and up-to-date understanding of service at school. “The traditional idea of community service implies that we, the privileged, go and do something for others who are less privileged,” says Torres. “But at Shore, as at many other schools, we no longer feel that’s the way we should think about service; instead of understanding it solely as some kind of donation to the less fortunate, we want to acknowledge that it can teach us something about the world and ourselves, as well. Through service, we all benefit.” One definition, from Loyola University, emphasizes the importance of mutuality in service learning: all participants should benefit, learn, and grow from the experience. The U.S. government’s Youth.org program notes two key components that distinguish service learning from community service: experiential activities that integrate with the academic curriculum, and opportunities for reflection on and application of

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learning in real-life contexts. In other words, the service learning experience in some way should encourage critical reflection on the conditions which create the need for various types of community service in the first place. The program’s materials cite studies that suggest students who participate in service learning are more likely to pursue civic engagement, volunteer, and take an interest in world events and politics. At Shore, many students have witnessed the evolution toward service learning in real time, as over the past few years teachers have increasingly begun to tie service-based projects and trips to different phases of their curriculum, ensuring hands-on work translates into benefits for students in the classroom as well as recipients in the field. While Upper Schoolers and upper Lower School students have all seen evidence of this shift, perhaps none have experienced it more starkly than Shore’s ninth graders, who two years ago welcomed the addition of a transformative week-long trip to Glendora, Mississippi, with Ipswich-based Partners in Development, and in 2018 traveled to Costa Rica on the school’s inaugural international service experience. “The Mississippi trip is Shore’s most mature example of service learning,” says Torres, with an itinerary that takes the ninth grade from the culturally and historically

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1. Service opportunities posted in the Upper School 2. Eighth graders at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum 3. Fifth grade and Kindergarten Buddies 4. Gwen Schatz ’17 in the Pre-K classroom 5. Emily LeMieux ’18 reading with Scarlett Singleton ’25

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6. First graders helping to install their Little Free Library at Appleton Farms

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“...instead of understanding [service learning] solely as some kind of donation to the less fortunate, we want to acknowledge that it can teach us something about the world and ourselves, as well. Through service, we all benefit.” Pamela Torres

Claudia Pollock ’17 in Glendora

rich city of Memphis, Tennessee, to the remote village of Glendora, where the students assist with projects to benefit underserved local residents. In the words of Partners in Development’s founder and president, Gale Hull, Glendora is “a place where the population for generations has felt that their lives have been controlled and dominated by others. There is much entrenched hopelessness, depression, and inertia. We have been entrusted with a huge responsibility.” Before students even depart in the fall, explains Torres, they lay the academic groundwork for the experience in history class by studying the Civil Rights Movement and other topics. Then, while on the trip, they visit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and the Emmett Till Museum in Glendora itself, learning the story of the 14-year-old AfricanAmerican who was lynched nearby in 1955, after a white woman said she was offended by him in her family’s grocery store. Upon their return, students delve into an English class study of Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains,the story of Massachusetts native Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, and the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, Farmer made it his mission to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most, in countries such as Haiti and Rwanda. Though the ninth grade’s Mississippi trip—as much a service experience as a first-hand encounter with critically important issues of social justice—may

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stand out at Shore, students in every grade find new opportunities for service learning each year. Upper Schoolers consult their new and improved Service Learning Board to find projects with local organizations such as Beverly Bootstraps and Appleton Farms. Seventh and eighth graders regularly spend afternoons working, and learning, with those and other regional nonprofits such as The ARC, Family Promise, and the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. From each of these experiences they’ll bring back new ideas and understanding to share with peers in their history, social studies, language arts, and science classes. Shore families are just as involved in these efforts. Through the Shore Parents Association’s United in Service partnership with the United Way, hundreds of members of the Shore community have the chance to work with and learn from nonprofits in Beverly and surrounding towns. In fall 2017, with the string of natural disasters that devastated parts of the United States, the Caribbean, and Central America, students and faculty joined alumni and friends to stage a concert to benefit the survivors. But not every example of service learning has to be of such grand scale, insists Torres. “We see service opportunities right here at school and in nearby Beverly,” she says. “Our Upper School students are invited to volunteer to read or help with math lessons in Lower School classrooms; our annual Fall Rummage Sale helps to benefit the Beverly Children’s Learning Center, right across the street. For Shore, service isn’t just a once a year; it’s in our classrooms every day.”

Honoring

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‘Lady’

resident of Glendora, Mississippi, known to all as “Lady” was the guest of honor as ninth graders hosted an “Empty Bowl” dinner fundraiser in Shore’s Dining Hall on May 11, 2018. Lady, whose name is Debbie Johnson, cooked for these ninth graders as well as two previous ninth grade groups on their fall service learning trips to Glendora over the past three years, and the fundraiser was to benefit Partners in Development, the Ipswich-based nonprofit that coordinates the Mississippi experience for Shore. Lady, who works for Partners in Development in Glendora, was invited for a four-day visit at the school not only to be recognized for her outsized role in the success of the ninth grade trip, but also to enjoy reconnecting with students and alumni who credit her generosity, humor, and compassion—and of course, her cooking—with making their Mississippi experience a transformative and unforgettable one. According to ninth grade alumnus Daniel

their teachers delighted in showing their guest around the school, and Chef Scott Flanagan was thrilled to assist Lady and her Shore helpers in the kitchen as they prepared chili and cornbread for the dinner. In the Dining Hall, ninth graders, faculty, alumni, and parents enjoyed Southern specialties while they perused ceramic bowls and recycled-fabric bracelets the students and Shore community members created to raise funds. Fabric for bracelets was donated by a local fashion designer, Vivienne Lowe of Tien 2. The Empty Bowls concept allows artists and groups to create and donate bowls, then serve a simple meal; guests choose a bowl to keep as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. In exchange for the meal, and

From left: ‘Lady’ seasoning chili in Shore’s kitchen, students and alumni enjoying dinner, Walter Morris paying tribute to the guest of honor.

Blundin ’17, who attended the fundraiser, “The personal connections we made with the people of Glendora, like Lady, truly allowed us to understand their lives. No articles or videos carry that same emotion, which is essential to create empathy. Almost a year and a half later, the experience in Mississippi is still as vividly ingrained in my heart and soul as if it happened yesterday.” In addition to the fundraising dinner, Lady’s visit also included excursions to historic sites in Boston and scenic areas on the North Shore. Ninth graders and

the bowl, guests usually make a donation. Shore’s event raised more than $1,000 to support Partners in Development. Shore has built a connection with Partners in Development over the past several years, through both the ninth grade Glendora trip and the annual United in Service Day. The nonprofit helps residents of some of the most deeply impoverished communities in Haiti, Guatemala, and the Mississippi Delta attain independence and whole-life improvement. Through economic development, children’s programs, housing, and medical assistance, the organization engages whole communities, ensuring a better quality of life and a more promising future.

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Drafting Marcus Smart:

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Ava D’Ambrosio ’18 Helps Tufts Floating Hospital

n September 6, 2017, Shore ninth grader Ava D’Ambrosio and her father, Gerry, appeared with Celtics guard Marcus Smart at a special event at Tufts Medical Center’s Floating Hospital for Children. Smart was there at the D’Ambrosios’ invitation, to unveil the second-ever “Smart Center,” a technology-filled, kid-friendly mobile cart which will move between Tufts pediatric inpatient units and outpatient clinics to provide patients and their families access to technology and other resources as a means for relaxation, communication, and therapy during their hospital stays.

Hence, the appeal of the Smart Center, a virtual candy store of technology, including iPads and laptops, to enable kids and families to enjoy games, explore educational software, and even communicate with far-off friends and relatives while receiving hospital care. “It’s important for kids and their families to have outlets like these, especially in a hospital,” said Smart at the unveiling. “I am looking forward to making Smart Centers available in more Boston-area facilities.” Tufts’ Smart Center was sponsored by D’Ambrosio Brown LLP. Earlier in the year, when Ava D’Ambrosio had first heard about the work of Smart’s YounGameChanger Foundation, a nonprofit the Celtics player created to motivate young, inner-city kids and benefit families of seriously and chronically sick children, she immediately knew one of the foundation’s Smart Centers could make a big difference for the patients she had met at the Floating Hospital for Children. D’Ambrosio had years of experience at Tufts, first as a young patient herself, and later as a volunteer and advocate for others. When she was in third and fourth grades, D’Ambrosio had been hospitalized at Tufts for long

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stretches before successfully completing treatment for a rare blood disorder. While there, she discovered that despite the incredible care she had received from Tufts’ doctors, nurses, and the staff of the Child Life Services Program—which provides families of sick children with support that ranges from tutoring to family activities and play groups—life in the hospital could still be stressful, scary, and monotonous. Hence, the appeal of the Smart Center, a virtual candy store of technology, including iPads and laptops, to enable kids and families to enjoy games, explore educational software, and even communicate with faroff friends and relatives while receiving hospital care. D’Ambrosio had already made the decision, once she was healthy again, to give back to Tufts through volunteering and collecting supplies for their unique “bibliotherapy” program for pediatric hematology/oncology patients—which promotes stress relief and personal expression through writing—but she knew that bringing a Smart Center to the kids and families she worked with would be, quite literally, a game-changer. So she asked her father, Gerry, who had a connection to Smart’s organization, to make a call, and in September, the D’Ambrosios appeared with Smart and hospital representatives before an audience of children, families, and staff. Ava, a featured speaker alongside Smart, shared her reflections on her time in the hospital with those at the event. “I know from experience that there can be a lot of downtime for some of you,” she said, “and that can make you even more nervous and scared than you already are. But the great thing about a wonderful center like this is that it can help you take your mind off things—not just for the patients, but for the families, too. So thank you, Marcus and your foundation.” Making the connection between Smart’s foundation and Tufts isn’t the first time D’Ambrosio’s interest in helping hospitalized children has paid dividends. In 2014, she was the spokesperson for the Fenway Park launch of Cumberland Farms’ “Cups for Kids” Campaign, which donates a portion of summer drink sales to hospitals around the Northeast, including Tufts Floating Hospital.

D RA FTIN G M ARCUS SM A RT

D’Ambrosio and Smart with the Smart Center at Tufts.

Nor is Ava the first D’Ambrosio to find ways to benefit worthy causes. As a sophomore at Yale, her oldest brother, Anthony, a Shore graduate of the Class of 2011, was selected as one of two co-coordinators of Yale’s Dwight Hall, the umbrella organization for more than 90 student-run member groups that engage 3,500 students each year in service and social justice activities. The same year, he received a Newman Civic Fellow Award, which honors inspiring student leaders. Meanwhile, Andrew D’Ambrosio, a 2015 Shore ninth grade graduate, with his older brother Anthony

manages a non-profit organization called American Sign Language (ASL) Sports, which hosts organized clinics and athletic events for children with physical, cognitive, and auditory disabilities. “Andrew is the reason I chose to stay at Shore for ninth grade,” Ava says. “He had a great experience, and I really looked forward to the many service learning opportunities built into the program.” The youngest D’Ambrosio sibling looks set to continue her involvement with those who need help after graduation, as well. “I want to become a doctor—hematology in particular,” she states with assurance. The discipline is the study of the cause, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to the blood, such as the disorder she suffered from as a child. To prepare for the demanding field, D’Ambrosio says she plans to load up on science work in high school; she’s well prepared after digging into advanced topics in biology in Shore’s ninth grade science track. But in the midst of thinking about high school and continuing her volunteering for the Floating Hospital for Children, D’Ambrosio still finds time to follow the advice she gives to children and families coping with illness: sometimes, taking your mind off things can be the best therapy. Known for her scene-stealing comedic performances in numerous Shore plays and musicals, Ava relishes theater arts. “When I’m acting on stage,” she says, “I’m able to push everything else aside and be in the scene. I can just pretend I’m the character, and nothing worries me at all.”

The D’Ambrosio family at Ava’s graduation; from left: Andrew ’15, Gabriella, Ava ’18, Michelle, Gerry, and Anthony ’11.

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FE AT U RES

Shore Students Join the National School Walkout

Caroline St. John ’21 and Sylvia Marks ’21 joined other Upper School students in creating signs for the walkout.

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n April 20, 2018, Shore Country Day School students participated in the National School Walkout, a movement created and led by students and timed to coincide with the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado. During what was just one of at least 2,700 walkouts planned around the country, more than 100 Shore sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth graders joined an estimated 150,000 of their fellow students in every state

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to protest national, state, and local failures to take action on violence in schools. According to the Shore walkout’s organizers, seventh graders Ella Williams and Mackenzie Holian, the purpose of the event was to show solidarity with the students of Parkland, Florida—where a gunman stormed Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, leaving 17 people dead—and to send the simple message that schools should be a safe environment for kids. “I think some people might

misunderstand what our walkout is about,” said Holian. “For us, it’s not about guns; what it’s really about is that students shouldn’t have to worry about being hurt where they are learning.” The walkout at Shore was entirely student-driven. Williams and Holian had watched coverage of the first national student walkout on March 14 as well as the national March for Our Lives on March 24, and were determined to plan their own student action at Shore. Holian said, “Seeing students lead the earlier events reaffirmed that

N EW T RUST EES

“What’s great about getting involved in this movement is that we’re learning how to lead.... We wanted to show that when something bad happens, don’t stand by; stand up. Kids have a voice and can use it for the greater good.”

Ella Williams ’20

we are the next generation that’s going to lead the country, and that it’s our job to change what we think needs to be changed to make our schools safer.” Williams agreed, observing, “What’s great about getting involved in this movement is that we’re learning how to lead. I’ve always been interested in the Civil Rights movement—seeing young people in the 1960s doing things similar to what’s happening now—and this felt like the next step.” She continued, “We wanted to show that when something bad happens, don’t stand by; stand up. Kids have a voice and can use it for the greater good.” During the walkout, which was scheduled at the same time as the thousands of other events nationwide, the two organizers led a silent march around Shore’s Oval; many students held signs with messages such as “Enough is enough” and “Fear has no place in our schools.” Head of School Clair Ward and numerous Shore faculty members joined the silent march, and when it was over, Ward addressed the solemn student audience. “Today,” Ward said, “you join the voices of your peers in demanding that education should be safe for all kids across the country. Today you take a stand and send a message that as a nation we need to create a solution. We, as the adults in your life, stand beside you. We are committed to keeping you safe, and committed to helping your voices be heard. We are proud and lucky to be beside you, and today you make our school proud by taking this step to improve our safety with your voices.”

Ella Williams ’20 and Mackenzie Holian ’20 addressed a crowd.

Interim Head of Upper School and English teacher Walter Morris also spoke, along with Spanish teacher Gretchen Bowder. Morris acknowledged failures on the part of the nation’s adults. “We all agree that schools should be places where students can come and be free of any worry about their safety. As adults, we want to promise to provide and protect that sense of security. Sadly, events like the tragedy in Florida demonstrate that we are failing to keep that promise. The aftermath of the Parkland shootings

has also highlighted our failure to communicate with one another rationally and respectfully about what we can do to prevent or at least minimize the chances of more violence.” Young people, Morris concluded, might be the ones who succeed where their parents have not. “The children of our country are right to demand that we adults listen to what you have to say, and I hope that you’ll continue to ask hard questions, to insist on answers, and to hold your elders accountable.” 21

S E RVI E LEARNING FE AT UCRES

“We need to do our part by speaking up. We can’t let anyone silence us or ignore us. If you have something to say, I urge you to say it—to stand up, and to shout it to the world. I urge you not to fit the outline given to us but to break it. We all need to say something before it truly is too late.” Gretchen Bowder also spoke hopefully about the ability of children to effect change. “No one is too young to bring about important change. Ordinary young people have been critical to changing the laws, and to changing our lives, in the United States at many points in the past,” she said. She cited several moments in American history in which children’s actions had played a part. “In 1903, children got into cages to raise awareness of child labor issues, and they led the ‘March of the Mill Children,’ walking from Philadelphia to New York to protest Holian and Williams led students in a silent march around the Oval.

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Mackenzie Holian ’20

labor conditions in the textile mills. … In 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Johns led a walkout at her all-black high school in Virginia to protest the abysmal conditions there, and her case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where it became part of the Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation moment. … A few years later more than 1,000 children in Birmingham, Alabama, skipped class, and they marched in the streets to demonstrate for civil rights. Television footage of the police turning dogs and fire hoses on the children was a game changer for politicians at the national

level.” Today, Bowder explained, the young people of the Black Lives Matter movement have made a fundamental impact on the national conversation about racial violence. “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said he was surrounded by ‘anonymous extraordinaries,’” she continued. “These are people who work selflessly and vigorously for what they believe in—people like you, people who are motivated by conviction, not recognition. I am pleased to see today that you are walking in their footsteps, following in a long tradition of student activism.”

N ATIO N A L SC H OO L WA LKO U T

When Mackenzie Holian, the event’s featured speaker, came to the podium, she also cited King, paraphrasing part of a wellknown speech. “King said our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. We cannot be silent,” Holian urged, “because the safety of students has to matter. The safety of our communities has to matter. The safety of our country has to matter.” Yet, Holian argued, while adults and world leaders may say that age doesn’t matter, that one can “be the change that you want to see” at any age, “As soon as our change doesn’t fit the outline provided for us, we are silenced. We are told that we are too young and don’t know what things are like in the real world. Well, guess what? I know that in the real world 17 people were killed in Parkland, and I know that in the real world 20 first graders were shot at Sandy Hook. I know that in the real world, we are the next generation of leaders and of people who will make this world a better place.” Applause interrupted Holian’s speech as her words gathered momentum; many

Head of School Clair Ward spoke to students.

students held a friend’s hand or put an arm around a classmate’s shoulder. “We will make this world a better place not by arming people with guns, but by supplying them with facts and knowledge, by giving everyone an equal opportunity to succeed, and being kind to each and every person,” she argued. “I know that in the real world, I will use my voice to not only be the change that I want to see, but to be the change that needs to happen in order to keep our schools and our country safe.” Holian returned to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., as she brought the event to a close. “King also said, ‘We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now, and in this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late.’” Holian said, “We need to do our part by speaking up. We can’t let anyone silence us or ignore us. If you have something to say, I urge you to say it—to stand up, and to shout it to the world. I urge you not to fit the outline given to us but to break it. We all need to say something before it truly is too late.” Before students departed, Ella Williams read the names of the 17 students and teachers who died in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, many of whom were close in age to those who now listened to their names at Shore. A moment of silence was held, and then these young people returned silently to class, aware that this Friday morning was different from all the others yet to come. 23

S E RVI C E LEARNING

Fifth Graders Spur Change with

‘Plastic-Free Friday’

Ethan Oder ’22 helped explain the impact of plastic on the environment at a special assembly.

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his year, a group of fifth grade students, inspired by their study of plastic waste in the world’s oceans with Grade 4 and 5 science teacher Whitney Morris, launched an initiative to encourage Shore community members to reduce their use of plastic. The project kicked off in January 2018 with informational student-led presentations and an all-school “PlasticFree Friday.” According to Morris, fifth graders became passionate about creating change at Shore after learning about the vast quantities of plastic and other trash, discarded by humans, that litter the world’s oceans, endangering sea life and the environment. Scientists estimate that a staggering 8 million metric tons of plastic pollution enter the oceans each year from the world’s 192 coastal countries. Debris such as plastic bottles and bags endangers marine mammals,

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birds, and other organisms, which become entangled in or ingest them. Fishing and shipping industries are also impacted by marine debris, due to damage to vessels and equipment. In addition, coastal communities spend millions cleaning up their shorelines every year. A movement to reduce or eliminate a chief source of ocean debris, plastic bags, has been gaining momentum around the world, including in Boston, Salem, Beverly, and other local communities. On January 1, 2018, a new “Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance” went into effect in the City of Salem. The purpose of the ordinance, according to the city, is “to reduce the number of single-use plastic bags that are being used, discarded, and littered, and to promote the use of reusable checkout bags by retail establishments located in Salem.” Boston’s ban will go into effect within the year, and a similar ordinance takes effect

F IFTH G RA D E RS SPU R C H A N GE

in Beverly on January 1, 2019. Other local communities with bans already in effect or on the way are Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, Newburyport, Hamilton, Ipswich, and Cambridge. During their information sessions, the fifth grade organizers of the initiative emphasized several startling facts to encourage their peers to reconsider their use of plastic. They noted that of the nearly 300 million tons of plastic produced every year, more than 50% is used just once and then thrown away. Packaging accounts for the largest percentage of that total. Annually, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide, and in the United States, 100 billion plastic beverage bottles are sold in a year, amounting to about 315 bottles per person. Despite the grim statistics, fifth graders reminded listeners that there are simple things anyone can do to help reduce plastic pollution. Exchanging plastic drink bottles and grocery bags for reusable ones was their top suggestion; reusing, recycling, and “upcycling� plastics into useful or decorative items is another simple action anyone can take. On Plastic-Free Friday, students worked together to put some of these ideas into practice. Many carried reusable water bottles, and all joined in creating upcycled crafts and jewelry, such as braided fashion made

of plastic grocery bags, necklaces crafted from bottle caps, and bracelets created with rings cut from plastic drink bottles. Upcycling ideas created elsewhere have turned into popular product trends, including bags and backpacks made from car tires or used traditional fabrics, high-tech materials made from industrial plastic byproducts or car tires, and furniture and more created out of discarded wood, cardboard, and other secondhand finds. The fifth grade plastic-free initiative continued throughout the month of January with curriculum suggestions for classroom activities as well as a drawing contest on the theme of reducing plastic ocean waste. Winning drawings were featured on a reusable tote bag designed and sold by the students as a fundraiser. Money raised goes to local organizations working to address the issue of plastics in the ocean, including Salem Sound Coastwatch, which has helped to push plastic bag bans in a number of North Shore communities and regularly holds cleanups on the Sound.

Students created jewelry out of recycled plastic materials on Plastic-Free Friday.

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FE AT UCRES S E RVI E LEARNING

Shore is UNITED IN SERVICE

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n United in Service Day, April 21, 2018, some 200 Shore family members, teachers, and friends came together to make an impact in partnership with the Mass Bay United Way. Through 11 service projects around the region, participants contributed more than 600 volunteer hours to benefit local organizations that included Family Promise, Acord Food Pantry, Windrush Farm, Beverly Children’s Learning Center, Backyard Growers, Open Door Food Pantry, Salem YMCA, RAW Arts, Beverly Hospital, and the United Way’s Summer Learning Collaborative.

According to Shore parent Julee Haley, co-organizer of United in Service 2018 along with fellow parent Abby Albrecht, “It was an amazing day for our volunteers. Working together, we collected 198 pounds of food for the hungry, delivered 12 meals for homeless families, created life-size gaming boards to help battle summer reading loss, prepped beds and planted eight trays of veggie seedlings, and much more.” 2018 represented the third year of partnership between Shore and the United Way. This year’s event began with a kickoff brunch in Shore’s Dining Hall, where families all pitched in to create cheerful cards and decorations to go to Beverly Hospital. As teams prepared to depart to work sites across the region, the United Way’s Senior Director of Community Impact, Sarah Bartley, told them, “All the research we have available shows that kids who are involved in service at a young age are more likely to stay involved as adults—so a big thank-you to Shore families for kick-starting a lifetime of giving back.” Bartley continued, “I also want to congratulate the school for taking the time and making the space available for this kind of volunteering. At the United Way we really believe that the most complicated challenges we face as a society—providing access to high quality education, addressing food insecurity and poverty— aren’t solved by one organization or one program. It takes a whole community coming together to effect positive social change. So we love supporting what Shore’s doing.” A sunny, warm morning meant kids and adults alike were eager to roll up their sleeves for spring planting, cleanup, painting, and other projects. A new service beneficiary this year, RAW Art Works in Lynn, welcomed food donations from Shore families and generously provided a morning of creativity for participants. RAW’s development manager, Sarah Brogna, is herself a graduate of Shore in the Class of 1985. “We’re a youth arts organization rooted in art therapy,” she explained. “At its core, RAW believes that all kids should be seen and heard and that everyone has a story to tell. Through our 100% free programming—from painting to filmmaking, for kids ages 7-19—RAW uses art to ask kids ‘what is really going on’ in their lives, giving them the tools to create in unexpected ways, and envision new possibilities for their future.” Sasha Fates ’25 hoisted a load of carrots at the Open Door Food Pantry.

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N EW T RUST EES

Clockwise from top left: United Way’s Sarah Bartley with Head of School Clair Ward and daughter Ella Williams, co-organizers Abby Albrecht and Julee Haley, and project leaders Nina Wilson and Patti Murphy; creating paper flowers and get-well cards for Beverly Hospital; completing a raised garden bed at the Open Door Food Pantry; working on a green space for the Salem YMCA; RAW’s development manager, Sarah Brogna ’85, welcoming volunteers; and cleaning up at Windrush Farm.

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COM MU NITY

“We often think of ‘21st century learning’ as something that’s in the future; but in reality it’s already here.”

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Gustavo Carrera:

The Future is

Now By Bill Fisher

“W

hen I was growing up in the Patagonia region of Argentina,” recalls Gustavo Carrera, Shore’s new Head of Upper School, “we had to walk down to the telephone company’s local office whenever we wanted to make a call to Buenos Aires. There was an operator there, a real person, who literally had to connect the wires so we could talk to grandma in the city.” But today, Carrera continues, he can share pictures with his brother there by e-mail, or Skype with relatives on the beach; a budding entrepreneur anywhere in the world can design a high-tech product on his or her mobile device and have it instantly assembled in a factory in China. “It’s striking,” he observes, “that in just the span of my lifetime, I have witnessed a complete technological transformation, perhaps more so than many. The new experiences it enables, the complexity of the global connections it requires—these truly stand out for me.” They are also extraordinarily significant for students, Carrera adds. “We often think Hence, the appeal of the Smartof ‘21st century learning’ as something that’s in the future; but in reality it’s already here.” Center, a virtual candy store of Carrera relishes the opportunity to talk about his technology, including iPads and students’ experiences. “Spending time with young people is what I do,” he emphasizes. “Enabling students laptops, to enable kids and families and faculty to have experiences together is what my job is all about.” He may talk a lot about technology, he to enjoy games, explore educational admits, but he views technology as “a tool that allows software, and even communicateus to communicate with each other, to know each other with far-off friends and relativesbetter, to break down barriers.” After all, students’ experiences in school aren’t that radically different while receiving hospital care. than in the past, he explains. “One of the things I really appreciate about Shore is the continued emphasis on traditional pedagogical approaches like the Harkness method. The grounding in collaboration, a team

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FE AT U of RES the things I “One learned very early was the value of speaking many languages, not just as something that is impressive in restaurants, but as an essential component of cultural proficiency.”

approach to the world—these are very important for the century in which we are living.” At the same time, Carrera says, when you consider the global economy, while these foundational skills may be the same, a new emphasis is needed on seeing things through a greater variety of perspectives and media than ever before. “It’s going from collaborating across the Harkness table,” he elaborates, “to collaborating across continents, manipulating and synthesizing a world of instantly accessible information, and creating something new.” The child of immigrant parents, and a product of the multi-lingual, multi-ethnic culture of Buenos Aires, where he attended school, Carrera has made cross-cultural communication an area of special focus. “One of the things I learned very early was the value of speaking many languages,” he observes, “not just as something that is impressive in restaurants, but as an essential component of cultural proficiency. Especially in schools such as Shore, where we are really part of the greater Boston urban area, we can be sure we’ll have students whose

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parents have come, or will soon be coming, from all over the world.” The technology economy of the Route 128 corridor, he suggests, will continue to attract ever more culturally and linguistically diverse populations to the area. “Our students must be able to interact with people from all over the world.” Carrera’s long engagement with and scholarly work around ideas of cross-cultural interaction and influence recently won praise from the World History Association, a major professional association of scholars, teachers, and students, which presented him with its 2018 Teaching Prize for a middle school curriculum he designed, “The Struggle for Freedom & Equality is World Wide: The Cold War, Civil Rights & Decolonization.” The broadly conceived lesson plan and supporting materials examine the intersection between the Civil Rights movement, U.S. foreign policy, and decolonization in Africa. It looks at how African independence movements were central to the Civil Rights movement, and vice versa; and it considers how both of these were shaped in the environment of the Cold War. “Social justice

and international relations have always been areas of passion for me,” Carrera admits. “At the same time, this curriculum asks students to approach history from multiple perspectives, which is key.” Looking ahead, he sees the related field of urban studies as increasingly important in any curriculum. Carrera explains that today, 50% of the world’s population lives in cities, but by 2050, it’s projected that the percentage will grow to almost 70%. Another statistic to watch: cities today already consume over 75% of the world’s resources and produce nearly the same percentage of carbon emissions—all while occupying just 2% of the landmass of the planet. “When you look at the world through the lens of cities,” he says, “understanding where we live, understanding the globe as a network of cities, becomes critically important.” That understanding, Carrera continues, translates into thinking about global issues such as sustainability, transportation, equity, and consumption. “The global is indeed local.” Still, he acknowledges, “Thinking about global challenges

TH E FUT U RE I S N OW

can be overwhelming for anyone. This is why I encourage my students to focus on local needs and actions, even while thinking globally. Looking at global problems through a local perspective can be incredibly empowering for young people; we want them to gain a sense of ‘civic agency,’ the feeling that they can make a positive impact in their community and the world.” Carrera speaks often of his role as facilitator, someone who sparks conversations that lead to action. “Anybody who has been part of a Harkness discussion in a thoughtful way,” he elaborates, “knows that at the core of that approach is helping students experience a work of literature or a source text for themselves. This is one of the things that excites me most about teaching—being able to create those situations in which people are able to talk to each other and learn from each other, and where my voice is not the most prominent one in the room.” In the 19th century model of education, Carrera explains, students were often trained away from any sense that they could participate or lead the conversation; this model lingers well into the current century. “But what is wonderful about Shore is that the voice of the student is elevated and respected, in ways you don’t see elsewhere. It’s something you can feel in the bones of the school.” Like the concept of character, says Carrera. “Character is not a thing that you have or don’t have,” he argues. “It’s something you develop, by experiencing things like Shore’s overnight trips or the House system.” Sometimes, he says, we tend to think of character in terms of following the rules; but character is much broader than that. “It’s about leadership, but also about the ability to collaborate. When you’re backpacking, sometimes you are the leader, and

sometimes you are the person bringing up the rear. Sometimes, you don’t have all the skills that are needed, and you ask for help from others. Personally,” he admits, “when I have to put together a tent, I usually turn to somebody else to tell me where those poles are supposed to go.” It’s all part of developing character, says Carrera. So, too, is that sense of civic agency he describes. “We need to

wilderness. “We love to go hiking. We like the mountains, and the cold. Our favorite escape is the Berkshires.” His youngest daughter, six-year-old Camila, is now a veteran of these adventures. “She often has a better idea of how to do things—like assembling a tent—than I do.” This fall, Carrera looks forward to bringing his lifetime’s worth of experience reaching across landscapes and cultures and, of course,

“Character is not a thing that you have or don’t have. It’s something you develop, by experiencing things like Shore’s overnight trips or the House system.” help our students realize that we live in a world that is intertwined, teaching them competencies that will help them do well in the world, but don’t preclude them doing good.” There is a mythology that doing well and doing good are two separate things, he acknowledges. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I think you can do both. In fact, the skills that you need to do one of these are the same as those you need for the other.” Patagonia, the region where Carrera spent so much time as a child, is incredibly empty. It’s possible to drive for hours and not see another human being; road signs warn drivers when they’re about to pass their last chance for gas. Perhaps it’s surprising, then, that the Head of Upper School claims, “I’m a city guy at heart. The writer Jonathan Rose, the author of The Well-Tempered City, said that cities are humankind’s greatest invention, and in many ways I think that’s true. I love everything cities add to life.” Yet Carrera, along with his wife and two daughters, has just as much appreciation for the

his innate trust in the good sense of children, to Shore’s Upper School. “The kids I’ve met so far have been so wonderful, so open, so welcoming, so bright and bubbly. I want to know them better, to know their families, and to know my colleagues.” His job, he says, is to empower them all for the information revolution, the globally connected future, that has already arrived. He will have help in this endeavor. Preparing for this moment of change, says Carrera, is something our school has been doing for many years.

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COM MU NITY

Welcome

Outside By Bill Fisher

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ower School students welcomed donors, key vendors, and Shore families and friends passionate about outdoor education to the official opening of Shore’s two new outdoor learning spaces on May 23, 2018. The invited guests had generously supported the realization of a large learning garden and smaller “secret garden” for Shore’s youngest students through gifts, donated labor, professional services, and, above all, unflagging commitment to an expanded vision for learning outdoors at Shore. Some of those supporters at the opening events had been involved in the projects since April 2017, when Shore parents at that year’s Spring Benefit heard about the school’s plans to develop spaces for outdoor education, and pledged more than $90,000 to help fund the initiative. Additional donations followed throughout the year, and along with continued support from engaged and dedicated Shore families, they enabled the design and creation of two beautiful new focal points for campus which were first unveiled on an “Evening of Gratitude” in October 2017. As guests entered the flourishing learning spaces on a bright May morning more than a year after the initiative was first launched, they were pleased to meet students and teachers prepared to show them how their contributions were already paying dividends in the form of thriving plants and vegetables, an enhanced science curriculum, expanded space for discussion and reflection, and Pre-K play fueled by a bubbling brook and life-size fairy house. In the large learning garden adjacent to the Upper School, fourth graders helped the visitors plant new seedlings next to already growing plants and vegetables. Head of School Clair Ward told guests, “These wonderful new spaces have already become valuable assets for science study, English and history discussion, and exploration and discovery in our earliest grades. We can’t wait to show you how the outdoors becomes even further integrated into the curriculum in the years to come.” For Lower School science teacher Whitney Morris, whose fourth graders took on the lion’s share of the

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Clockwise from top left: Head of School Clair Ward lending a hand in the spring, a sign explaining the fourth grade’s greenhouse project, Pre-K students enjoying their “secret garden,” lettuce thriving in a raised bed, the scene in October 2017 on the “Evening of Gratitude.”

responsibility for the first spring crops in the garden, the May celebration was the culmination of months’ worth of planning and effort. “Last fall,” she recalls, “when I saw the size of the new garden beds, it felt like an enormous amount of space; it was a little intimidating.” Along with her colleagues, Morris realized the expanded garden—more than double the planting area of the raised beds that had previously occupied the same spot—would require the school to think much bigger. “From what was really just a sampling garden in the raised beds,” says Morris, “we went to having the ability to grow enough food to make a real impact.” Morris and her students could now take part in the farm-to-table movement, learning where and how food is produced and about a diverse range of produce, including Swiss chard, kale, radishes, beans, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and many more. Students could choose what to grow and how much; crops could then be donated to Shore’s Dining Hall or the local nonprofit, Beverly Bootstraps. Young scientists could study soil conditions and plant health, and research solutions when unexpected problems were encountered (leaf miner larvae, for example, which burrowed into and destroyed Swiss chard and spinach leaves in the early spring). They could even explore the importance of pollinators such as bees in a pollinator-friendly garden bed. But the completion of the larger learning garden represented more. Situated prominently at the front of the school, next door to the Center for Creativity, and oriented around a circular Harkness discussion table masterfully carved from a solid slab of New Hampshire granite, the garden was built to make a statement. “When parents and visitors see kids in the garden, working with their hands or discussing around the table,” observes Morris, “it showcases a new area of emphasis for the whole school. The garden brings together outdoor education and project-based learning with a focus on real-world challenges.” All grades will be involved, and areas all across the curriculum will be addressed. Imagine students in the iLab studying sustainable agriculture by designing a drip-irrigation system or compost bins, Morris suggests. Or, visualize Upper School English students writing in nature journals or finding inspiration for photography and painting. “The learning garden is a natural setting for any activities that require thinking and creativity,” observes Morris. Most importantly, she emphasizes, “The learning will be student motivated and student driven. It will reflect the entire Shore community, evolving over time in response to new needs and initiatives.” When guests at the May opening events made their way from the learning garden to the smaller “secret” garden in the Lower School courtyard near

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Morris and her students could now take part in the farm-to-table movement, learning where and how food is produced and about a diverse range of produce, including Swiss chard, kale, radishes, beans, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and many more. early-learning classrooms, they found Pre-K 1 students in an elaborate mud kitchen eager to distribute homemade cookies they had created with Chef Scott Flanagan. Refreshments in hand, adult visitors were led on a tour of the whimsical discovery space by the students, who over the course of the spring had quickly made the flowing “stream,” large sand pit, and fairy house their daily destinations for creativity and imagination. Being in nature encourages so much that is of value, says Head of Lower School Sara Knox. “In nature, children take risks in a way that looks different from the types of risks they typically take during the school day. They learn about balance and safety. They learn to make sensible decisions and recognize that it isn’t so scary to try things that feel new or different.” Novel kinds of social interactions bloom here, and carefully crafted open-ended questions encourage children to investigate, discover, and feel a sense of wonder. “Especially for our younger students,” Knox explains, “the concept of an outdoor classroom fits seamlessly within our Reggio Emilia teaching philosophy. By giving care and attention to the way we organize the outdoor space and the materials we provide there, we encourage the kind of creative, collaborative thinking we look for in all of our students.” Serious thought about both outdoor learning spaces first arose out of faculty discussions about a part of Shore’s strategic plan that called for innovation in the way the school supports and challenges students with a wide range of abilities, learning styles, and needs. “We quickly discovered,” recalls Knox, “that we had a large group of teachers already passionate about

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Clockwise from top left: Fifth graders reading in the garden, third graders discussing around the Harkness table, science teacher Whitney Morris working with fourth graders, a sign prompting a closer look, Lower Schoolers splashing in their “stream.”

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outdoor education as an answer to this strategic call to action, and that we had many families with this kind of learning on their mind, as well.” Several families took the lead with donations that helped to build momentum, and many more joined them in providing support through the Spring Benefit and beyond. Months of brainstorming and design iterations followed, with multiple faculty focus groups reviewing and revising potential plans drawn up with the help of local landscape architects. Certain outdoor elements— the central Harkness table in the large garden, the mud kitchen in the early-learning space—were there from the beginning; others, such as beehives and chicken coops, never made the final cut because of concerns about budget, space, or the difficulty of providing yearround care for live animals and other garden residents on a school campus. In the learning garden, visitors now find seven spacious beds filled with an assortment of vegetables and native plants, artfully arranged in a semi-circle around the monumental granite Harkness table. Benches, stumps, large boulders, and shaded areas of grass provide numerous seating options for conversation, reading, and reflection. Earthen berms, shrubs, trees, and other elements protect and give definition to the different areas. In the early-learning space, meanwhile, children run from kitchen to sand pit, cross the stream via miniature bridge, and take turns hiding in the fairy-style house. “Now that we’ve had time to experience the completed spaces,” Knox says, “I’m quite glad we didn’t include every item that was on our wishlist. With room to grow and change, teachers are excited to think about what’s next.” A summer task force of faculty members from multiple different disciplines and grade levels was charged with developing a formal outdoor education program that connects the whole school. Still, one guiding principle has remained abundantly clear from the beginning. “Getting your hands dirty is actually a thing,” says Knox. “Connecting to the earth changes us, as humans. Children begin to see themselves as part of a larger whole.” Overnight camping trips built into Shore’s program as early as fifth grade have emphasized this connection for decades. Now, as children care for the garden and negotiate their own rules for exploration and play, they experience success and failure; they hypothesize, and become comfortable with the unknown; they learn that they must be thoughtful, gentle, careful, and responsive in order to find success. “These, of course,” Knox explains, “are the same attributes we hope our children will possess in all their human interactions. Through nature, young people find the essential balance between character, intellect, and compassion.”

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Wright in his Upper School math classroom, spring 2018

Bruce Wright Retires “As anyone who teaches middle school knows,” Wright says, “once there’s confidence, you can do anything; you can give kids, both boys and girls, almost any challenge, and they will rise to meet it.”

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pper School Math Department Chair Bruce Wright retired in June 2018 after a 44-year career, with the final 24 spent at Shore. Justly proud of the program that he helped shape, Wright says, “Math is a real area of strength for us.” For many years, mathematics at Shore has maintained a strong reputation among secondary schools. When Shore students matriculate, they become leaders in their high school math classes. So much so, Wright explains, that on numerous occasions, “Prep schools have shared glowing reports about Shore students.” One well-known school in Massachusetts sent a letter to local public schools describing the mathematical foundations each potential applicant needs in order to succeed at their school; Shore students were cited as an example. “Over the past nearly two-and-a-half decades at Shore,” Wright reflects, “I have been truly fortunate to have the amazing opportunity to work with fellow math experts Kent Vienot, Mardi Lowery, and Anneke Chang as part of our long-tenured team.” Together, the teachers focused on bringing the joy of mathematics to everything they did, and joy naturally built confidence. “As anyone who teaches middle school knows,” Wright says, “once there’s confidence, you can do anything; you can give kids, both boys and girls, almost any challenge, and they will rise to meet it.” The real goal of those challenges, explains Wright, has always been preparing students to be “thoughtful, deep-thinking mathematicians”— flexible problem-solvers who instinctively ask “Why does this work?” Students’ “light bulb” moments of discovery, Wright admits, stand out as among the most satisfying memories of his time at Shore.

B RUC E W RI GH T RET I RES

So, too, do recollections from his tenure as coach of the Girls Varsity Soccer team since its inception in 2001. “From the very beginning, seeing the eagerness in players’ eyes and their true dedication on the field has always jump-started each school year for me.” Shore athletes, observes Wright, have something special. “They are bright, coachable, and thirsty to improve. Each of my teams came together as a soccer unit, and as a band of sisters. Players elevated their game, worked hard to perfect techniques, and cheered each other on.” Wright inspired his teams to reach higher and to play with passion; in turn his players inspired him. “Their willpower and exuberance never failed to amaze me. Each squad exceeded my expectations in the way they improved as individuals and as a team, in the way they played with competitive and sportsmanlike spirit, and in the way they formed lasting bonds of friendship.” As he retires, Wright is looking forward to adventures outside the classroom and beyond the sports fields. “It’s exciting not knowing where I’ll devote my energy,” he says. He has interests in hiking, birding, and history, especially the Civil War and World War II. He plans to travel to spend time with family that’s spread from Tennessee to the New York-Canadian border, and to volunteer with local charities. But, he admits, “Hiking is my passion. I cannot wait to hit the trails on those beautiful spring and fall days.” Still, the mathematics teacher and soccer coach readily acknowledges that there are things he’ll miss about Shore. For one, his wife, Ellen, remains at Shore as a sixth and seventh grade English and language arts teacher and a beloved advisor to devoted middle school girls. “Working with kids has been my greatest joy,” Wright continues, “not only in the classroom, but also out on the field as a coach. Shore does such a great job emphasizing the camaraderie among students, not to mention among the faculty and staff. The spirit and the cohesion are present every day, and they are hallmarks at Shore. I’ll miss being part of that.”

“It’s exciting not knowing where I’ll devote my energy,” he says. He has interests in hiking, birding, and history, especially the Civil War and World War II…. But, he admits, “Hiking is my passion. I cannot wait to hit the trails on those beautiful spring and fall days.”

Members of his Varsity Girls Soccer team presented Wright with a commemorative megaphone at an assembly on the last day of school.

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2018 Celebration Dinner Remarks by Sander van Otterloo ’91 and Nancy McNall

The night before the 2018 Closing Exercises, graduates and their families gathered in Shore’s Dining Hall and listened as Athletic Director Nancy McNall and Director of Secondary School Counseling and English teacher Sander van Otterloo delivered remarks during the annual Celebration Dinner. Wise, funny, wistful, and full of pride, their words were a final inspiring gift the graduates would take with them as they moved on to their next adventure. Both speeches are excerpted here.

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“The Dangle Trio,” began Nancy McNall, “is the name of a climb on Shore’s indoor ropes course where three climbers are challenged to ascend a series of wooden beams which are connected by wires. Each rung or level of beams becomes progressively further up and more difficult to reach the higher you climb. “With each climb there is preparation. There are rules to follow. For example, climbers are not allowed to use their ropes or support wires to assist their climb. There is safety—each student wears a harness and helmet, while each belayer has been trained

and, ultimately, passed the belay test. Each belayer has a backup and anchor in place. Lastly, there are goals. Some climbers aim simply to give it a try, while others attempt to reach the lofty two dollar bill affixed to the top beam by a previous eighth grade student. “While these climbing experiences are not everyone’s idea of a good time, there is always a way for everyone to get involved. Rather than another pep talk about what you should do, these climbing opportunities offer a chance to experiment with what you can do, and to call on skills and behaviors that might never come forth under

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“Every climb has its own story, but one chapter always remains the same. No matter the climber, no matter the struggle, you’ve found the opportunity to deepen your connections with one another, to show your trust, to depend on someone else, and to dig deep within yourself. All the while you were creating a community.” Nancy McNall typical circumstances—skills that are already in place, but may just need the exercise. “This past winter, it was business as usual in the Howard Gymnasium. A team of three belayers—each with a harness safely buckled, carabiner locked, brake hand in place—were ready below the Dangle Trio. On the other ends of three ropes were the climbers. Next came the safety commands: ‘On belay?’ ‘Belay on.’ ‘Climbing.’ ‘Climb on.’ “Climber one easily makes it onto the first bar of five with the help of two others. After some trial and error, climber two finds a way up. Now it’s climber three’s turn;

but this student decides to sit down on the floor to contemplate the first move. At this point, the problemsolving begins: How to get climber three up onto the bar? As many of you know, it’s a different scenario for each group. Some try to go at it on their own, some pull their way up, and some literally stand on top of their teammates. “After quite a bit of give and take and several fruitless attempts, the entire class dug deep to support this one group. The three belayers, three back-up belayers, three anchors, and remaining class members all rallied. Belayers showed trust in themselves and their newfound belay skill to

keep their climber safe, putting the brake on when necessary and providing just enough slack for the climber to make that next reach. The climbing team exchanged ideas back and forth, always respectful of one another. The students on the floor shouted out encouragement. “The next thing we knew, several members of the class, with the belayer on brake, took hold of the rope and, gripping firmly, walked in lock-step as far back as they could go. They pushed through the doors of the gym out toward the Greentop while literally lifting the third team member to the next beam. It was a sight to see as

2018 graduates and their families enjoyed a dinner prepared by Chef Scott Flanagan in Shore’s Dining Hall.

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Nancy McNall spoke about the “Dangle Trio” and the value of human connections.

the class celebrated this collective superhero effort. “Every climb has its own story, but one chapter always remains the same. No matter the climber, no matter the struggle, you’ve found the opportunity to deepen your connections with one another, to show your trust, to depend on someone else, and to dig deep within yourself. All the while you were creating a community. “In an increasingly polarized world where many of us spend too much time looking at screens, it’s never been more important to remember the value of human connection. You have the tools to support, collaborate, and to make decisions. I’ve only referred to one slice of your life at Shore; think about how much more there is. As you move on to ninth grade, tenth grade, and beyond, trust yourself, take that chance, and try that climb. In the Howard Gymnasium you said it, and I believe it: ‘You can do it. You got this!’” 40

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Sander van Otterloo came to the podium next, admitting to the audience, “Remembering the somewhat hackneyed truth that everything we need to know in life we learned in kindergarten, my original plan for this speech was to grab some of my all-time favorite children’s literature and borrow some of the lessons from these books. Just as I was starting to reach for a copy of Ferdinand, however, I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be a lot more fun to blindly pick children’s books to see what I could discover?’ I wandered aimlessly around the room picking books at random, and now I will offer you the seeds of advice I plucked from the pages of these books. “The first book in my random stack created a problem from the getgo. The Story of a Castle had no words. I had to rely solely on the pictures to lead me to some kind of morsel. People build a castle. People live in the castle quite happily. Eventually the castle is abandoned and falls into disrepair. Finally, many moons later, after wars and parties and more wars and parties, the castle is appreciated as a museum. “I’m pretty sure the message here is that castles are here for a long time, and we are not. Beyond recognizing that life is short, we should also learn to appreciate the castles in our lives. To push a metaphor a bit further, perhaps Shore is a castle in your life. It has been here before you and it will most likely outlive you. Teachers may remain after you leave, but they, too, will move on. And I challenge you all in the coming years to appreciate the castle of Shore by returning for visits and by contributing to the annual fund. At your age you may wonder how five or 20 dollars will make any difference, but I think it is brilliant if you can develop a satisfaction in giving back when you are young. “The next book I read in my random selection was Sea Otter Heroes. This was a science book, and

“Students come back to Shore years later and ask, ‘Do you remember me?’ The answer to that question is always, ‘Yes! Of course I remember you!’ Each and every one of you leaves an indelible mark on us teachers.” Sander van Otterloo it taught me that sea otters have a strong effect on the health of marine ecology in the Northwest. “Just like the otter is one of the keys to supporting a healthy ecosystem in the Northwest, I hope you graduates will consider your school next year as your new ecosystem. The otters aren’t doing anything truly special to be heroes in their ecosystem. In fact, pretty much all they are doing is grubbing down on some big crabs. However, they play a crucial role. You don’t have to be a leader in your new ecosystem to create an impact. Find ways to positively impact your new community, and the number one way to quietly impact your next community is simply to be kind. “Next, I read a book called Bear Snores On. Bear is hibernating in his cave, when some of his animal friends arrive, brew up some tea, pop some popcorn, and have a fullon dance party. Poor Bear sleeps through the whole thing. When he wakes up, he’s fuming (mainly because he’s been asleep for months) but also because he realizes he missed a good party. “The message here is that there are so many opportunities and so many decisions you will face in high school. We live in a time when it is challenging to say no: to our phones, to Netflix binge-watching, to Fortnite, to the seemingly limitless possibilities and distractions out

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there. You have got to be able to set your priorities. I was lucky in high school to find the “work hard, play hard crowd.” I found friends who were dogged in their pursuit of finishing homework efficiently so that they could enjoy their free time. Prioritize your work and know that your friends will always be waiting for you, eager to spend time with you when your work is done. “In the book I Am Yoga, the protagonist says, ‘When I feel small in a world so big, I calm my mind, my body, my breath, I can create and imagine. I am Yoga.’ “One of the biggest and scariest epidemics affecting young people today is anxiety. Because the world is spinning so fast, and because there are so many distractions in the modern world, it is more important than ever to be able to find your quiet center in the middle of the din. “You have been fortunate to take a mindfulness class at Shore, and I hope that all of you will seek a personal way of finding your quiet center. For some of you this may be going for a jog or a mountain bike ride in the woods. For others it could be coloring or sketching, but find activities that help you find your quiet center and go to them when the world is spinning a little too fast. “Waiting, by Kevin Henkes. This is a book about some toy figurines that live on a windowsill. They all stare out the window. One waits for snow, one waits for rain, one waits for the moon, etc…. One day an exotic elephant friend joins them. Unfortunately, the elephant is made of porcelain, falls off the windowsill, and shatters. They never see him again. It is very sad. “Everyone will have that elephant friend that falls out of nowhere. Everyone will experience a loss, or a hurt so deep that it will wrench you and turn you inside out, shake you to your core, perhaps make you feel like you can’t go on. Some people in the room have already experienced this kind of despair. Some have

been fortunate to walk through the world relatively unscathed up to this point. While I wish everyone in the room happiness, and I am confident that you will have many beautiful moments in your lives, it is important to know that these feelings of despair are inevitable, and that you can’t really prepare for them other than by making a pledge to yourself that you will seek help if and when you need it. Seeking professional help in a time of crisis is a sign of strength rather than a sign of weakness. “In Toot and Puddle: Top of the World, Toot leaves a note for Puddle saying that he’s going for a walk and that he’ll be back soon. When he doesn’t come back, Puddle goes looking for Toot. Through his incredible intuition, Puddle finds his friend Toot in France, in Provence, I think. Instead of going directly home, they decide to continue the adventure by getting on a plane and climbing Everest. When they get to the top, ‘Whew,’ puffed Puddle. ‘That was fun.’ ‘I’ll say,’ said Toot. ‘I’m glad we did it together,’ Puddle said. “This is you right now. You are at your Everest mountaintop having climbed your way to the very top of Shore. You’ve arrived at your Everest through your own hard work, but your teachers, parents, and friends have supported you along the way. Remember what Toot and Puddle recognized. There is no better version of success than success shared with the ones you love. “Students come back to Shore years later and ask, ‘Do you remember me?’ The answer to that question is always ‘Yes! Of course I remember you!’ Each and every one of you leaves an indelible mark on us teachers. In the future, please know that we are always eager to hear from you. Your e-mail addresses will change, but ours won’t, so reach out and tell us when you have reached

Sander van Otterloo inspired listeners with lessons learned from children’s literature.

your next mountaintop, and please also reach out if you are ever in a valley of despair. You are not quite ‘our children,’ but you are darn close. “Please know that each one of you has contributed in significant ways to our Shore ecosystem. In your next adventures, remember that your friends will help define your path. Find the crowd that will demand the best from you. In rough patches reach out to your parents, your friends, your teachers, or mental health professionals. Find the path to your quiet center, and bask in the glory of shared success. Enjoy the view from Everest. ‘I’m glad we did it together.’” 41

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Faculty & Staff

Appreciation Night May 3, 2017

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n May 3, parents, grandparents, trustees, and friends joined Shore faculty and staff— more than 200 guests in total—to applaud colleagues as they celebrated significant service anniversaries, and Head of School Clair Ward offered a tribute to Upper School Mathematics Department Chair Bruce Wright, who retired in June 2018. Also recognized at the event were outgoing and incoming parent volunteers and Board members. The evening in the Trustey Family Theatre began with the annual meeting of the Shore Corporation, during which the outgoing Treasurer of the Board of Trustees, Duncan Wilkinson, presented an overview of the school’s strong financial position, and nominees to join the Board were unanimously approved. These new trustees include: Steve Boyko P ’19, Lauren Crane P ’26, Dino Di Palma P ’25, Kristin Goedkoop P ’20, ’22, and Blake Liggio P ’29, ’29. Also acknowledged for their service to Shore were the following outgoing trustees: Josh Webber P ’19, ’19, ’21, Cynthia Mazareas P ’18, Robin Ellis P ’21, Libby Mallon P ’19, ’22, and Anne Ruben P ’21.

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Next, Head of School Clair Ward applauded Ruben again as the outgoing Chair of the Parents Association, and congratulated Dean of Students and sixth grade English teacher Sean Melia on receiving his Masters of Liberal Studies in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College. After acknowledging Shore teaching assistants, Ward praised the valuable contributions of six fiveyear faculty and staff members: Upper School science teacher Jake Ahern, Lower School S.A.I.L. teacher Shay DeAngelis, fifth grade homeroom teacher Louis Frank, School Counselor Katie Hertz, Innovation Lab Manager Cam McNall, and Buildings and Grounds staff member Matt Thurlow. She then went on to recognize the dedication of individual employees on their 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30-, and 35-year anniversaries at Shore. First to be honored was Director of Food Services Scott Flanagan, for his 10 years of service. Ward explained that Flanagan has “one of the most complicated jobs on campus—overseeing the Servery that is responsible for feeding 400 children and nearly 100 employees each day.” An experienced coach with the

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Opposite page: Clair Ward and Walter Morris congratulated Bruce Wright; guests celebrated Beth White.

This page: Guests applauded faculty, staff, and new trustees; Ward and Morris congratulated Rondi Kilham. Photo caption to come

Boys Varsity Baseball team as well as a volunteer at the annual United in Service event, “Scott Flanagan plays a crucial role in fostering community,” Ward said. Celebrating 15 years at Shore was Nancy Keaton, Flanagan’s close colleague in the Dining Hall. Ward noted, “Nancy has helped to prepare and serve over one million delicious lunches!” A baker who takes every opportunity to connect with children, Keaton demonstrates “kind leadership in action,” said Ward. Also marking 15 years was Kindergarten teacher Keisha Myrie. “For those of you familiar with the Measurement Olympics or the annual Rainbow Fish plays,” Ward said, “these are curriculum hallmarks attributed to Keisha. Her mind is keenly focused on what young children need to solidify their learning.” Noting that Myrie also coaches Upper School sports, Ward said, “Keisha sets a calm and principled example for our young women.” Upper School History Department Chair Gwen Sneeden was another teacher recognized for 15 years of service. “One of Gwen’s greatest attributes is her ability to model,” said Ward. “She sets high standards for students and then tirelessly models how to achieve them. Gwen also models for young people how to find their own strength not only intellectually, but also personally. She is a quiet guide-by-the-side helping everyone (including Heads of School) always do their best.” With 20 years at Shore, Technology Integration Specialist Jill Codding received praise from the Head of School as a gifted teacher. “In her technology role,” Ward said, “Jill stands eagerly in the shoes of the learner and anticipates everything necessary to get children to a place of understanding. She is known for doing this with adults as well.”

In her 25th year at Shore, math specialist Mardi Lowery is “a math icon for our children,” said Ward. “When children work with Mardi, they know she is rooting for them. … In addition to the technical knowledge of math, Mardi understands the layered technical challenges of learning math.” At the same time, Ward added, Lowery is just as understanding when children need emotional support. “She looks at each and every child through a lens of possibility,” Ward said. The Head of School also celebrated the 25-year anniversary of Interim Head of Upper School and English teacher Walter Morris. “Each day, Walter lives and teaches the Shore mission,” Ward acknowledged. “While Walter’s favorite place is the classroom, he gave us all the gift of stepping in as interim head this year. As both

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a leader and a person, Walter is calm, wise and steady. … Known for striking the perfect balance between being the hardest grader and the most nurturing educator, Walter is tireless in his care for both children’s minds and their hearts.” In celebrating Pre-K teacher Beth White’s three decades at Shore, Ward said, “Shore is deeply grateful to you for your 30 years of care and keeping of children. Your energy to embrace new things and continue building relationships is second to none. Thank you for all that you have given and continue to give.” A calm and consistent voice for the youngest Shore children, always knowing exactly what they need to be happy and healthy, White is also known for the support she provides parents, especially in the early days of their child’s school career, Ward said. “Radiating sunshine each day, it is no This page: wonder that people, espeNancy and Scott Keaton; cially our littlest, gravitate Pat Coyle and Sean Melia. toward her.” The Head of School next Opposite page, clockwise congratulated reading and from top left: language arts specialist Gwen and Ralph Sneeden; Rondi Kilham on achieving Scott and Sandi Flanagan; 35 years of service. “Rondi Katie, Walter, and Meghan has a calm and gentle Morris ‘02 along with approach that makes each Meghan’s son, Finn; Cam and Nancy McNall; Keisha Myrie child feel valued. … She and Jason Tarasuik; Matt is a caretaker as well as a Thurlow. teacher. She has the uncanny ability to sense someone in need; over the years her

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colleagues recall community service projects and drives to help Shore families and beyond. … Rondi, you are our gift, and Shore is lucky to have you here each day. Thank you for all that you do.” To conclude the tributes to faculty and staff, Ward recognized Bruce Wright on the occasion of his retirement after 24 years at Shore. “Watching someone do what they love is amazing,” Ward began. “When what you are watching is the inspiration of children, it is pure magic. Watch Bruce Wright speak about unlocking the magic of mathematics for his students and you will see him grin from ear to ear. It is different than a mere smile. This grin is made of a passion for both teaching and learning.” Quoting Shore’s motto—Suum Quisque Optimum (from each their best)—Ward said, “For each of his 24 years, Bruce has not only been helping children be their best, but doing it by always giving his best. Bruce, you are a Shore icon, a true inspiration. We are gratetul for all you have given us and wish you well as you move into your next exciting stage.” Before inviting guests to the freshly planted learning garden outside the Center for Creativity to enjoy “toasts and treats”—champagne and an assortment of desserts prepared by Shore parent Carol Harlow-Carlson of Treat confections—Ward took a moment to acknowledge a final significant transition as Jenn Borggaard ’84 prepared to step down as President of the Board of Trustees in June. “I want to extend a personal thank you to Jenn for bringing me to Shore,” Ward said, “and for supporting our leadership transition with a calm and measured stance. Thank you for your loyalty, your leadership, and your tirelessness in always doing what is right for our school.”

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The True Blue Giving Circle In April 2018 Shore introduced the True Blue Giving Circle, recognizing and celebrating our loyal alumni, parents, grandparents, parents of alumni, employees, and friends. By making a gift of any amount to The Shore Fund for three or more consecutive years, Circle members build upon Shore’s legacy of academic excellence. Director of Annual Giving Brooke Booth P ’24, ’26, ’29 explains that consistent support of The Shore Fund from all members of the community is crucial, and one of the qualities that makes Shore such a vibrant place. “Donors who give back to Shore through The Shore Fund each and every year ensure that new generations of Shore students will continue to access important educational opportunities and resources—true hallmarks of a Shore education. Our donors are truly committed to making Shore strong today and tomorrow.” Circle members receive acknowledgement in Shore’s Annual Giving Report and at special events. Shore is incredibly grateful for the support of all donors, especially those whose commitment is so regular and true. Your loyalty inspires our community.

“As an alumna, I started giving back to Shore right out of college, to stay connected to the school. Thirty years later, our kids have had a great experience here—the opportunities available to them are one in a million. Staying involved and giving back just seem like the right thing to do.”

~ Emily Brown Thorne ’81, P ’19, ’20

At the 2018 Closing Exercises, from left: Emily Brown Thorne ’81, Phoebe ’20, Stu Thorne ’77, Walker ’19, Sue Thorne, and Martha Brown.

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2018 Closing Exercises

The ninth grade Class of 2018

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ead of School Clair Ward presided as 68 eighth and ninth grade students were graduated during Shore’s 81st Closing Exercises on June 13, 2018. It was Ward’s first graduation ceremony at Shore since becoming Head of School in 2017. Before the Closing Exercises began in the Howard Gymnasium, graduates met for their traditional class gatherings in the historic Winslow Building, where they received flowers they’d wear during the ceremony and reminisced about their Shore experiences. By tradition, eighth grade graduates wore white—white dresses and calla lilies for the girls, and white rose boutonnières for the boys—while ninth graders were distinguished in pale blue, with the girls carrying delicate blue delphiniums and boys wearing blue pocket squares in their blazers. Parents looked on, cameras and phones in hand

to capture the scene, as the graduates posed for class photos on the Winslow Building steps and then processed as a group for the start of the Closing Exercises.

At the podium, the Head of School welcomed the graduates and guests by referring to Shore’s Community Code, displayed on banners high on the wall of the Howard Gymnasium. “At moments like this,” Ward said, “it’s easy to be distracted by the sadness of an ending. But today’s celebration marks the most important of beginnings—the moment in time when you will lean into your next step. And no matter what you have learned here in math, history, science, or music, we are committed to your taking Shore’s Community Code with you as the most significant lesson that you have learned. In the words of the Code, if you are ‘kind, true, respectful, open, and dependable,’ you will not only ‘be your best,’ but also be the best of Shore.” Following Ward’s inspiring introduction, students stood to sing their “Graduates’ Song,” an original medley of Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb” and the Beatles’ “In

The eighth grade Class of 2019

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Eighth grade graduates processed.

My Life” arranged by Shore music teacher Jenn Boyum. “I can almost see it, that dream I’m dreaming,” eighth and ninth grade girls sang, “but there’s a voice inside my head saying you’ll never reach it.... My faith is shaking but I gotta keep trying, gotta keep my head held high.” The pop lyrics blended into the familiar folk-rock classic as the boys sang, “There are places I remember all my life, though some have changed—some forever not for better, some have gone and some remain. All these places have their moments with lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living; in my life I’ve loved them all.” Ninth grade class speaker Charles Hoffman also found inspiration in Beatles lyrics as he shared words of advice with the audience. “In the Beatles song, ‘The End,’ the lyrics say, ‘The love you take is the love you make.’ I interpret this to mean ‘The more you give, the more you get.’ The most important thing you can do for someone is to be kind to them. Think of others before you think

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of yourself.” Hoffman had a second piece of advice to share. “To all the students, faculty, staff, and families of Shore, I urge you: be in the moment. While it can be good to think fondly of the past or dream about the future, the present is the most important time and place. Things matter here and now. Make every moment at this school count.”

Hoffman reflected on his time at Shore as he continued, “We all opened our hearts to this school and let it work its magic. To say that we’ve been blessed or privileged to attend Shore would be an understatement. Shore gave us the tools we needed to discover who we are. Shore gave us opportunities and acceptance, never telling us to hide away parts of ourselves. Shore gave us a second family—people you can count on, people you can trust, people you’re comfortable enough with to be yourself. But the most important lesson I’ve learned at Shore is that teachers can give you all the tools, but you are ultimately going to have to take responsibility for yourself. Thank you to each of you, and thank you to Shore for the lessons learned.” Fellow ninth graders Alex Oder and Ava D’Ambrosio spoke of their own lessons learned. According to D’Ambrosio, “Shore taught us that stepping outside of our comfort zone, taking risks, being curious, working hard, and building relationships are essential in learning and life.” Oder said, “Whether you’ve been here for one year or 11, Shore has changed each and every one of us. Every one of us has

Graduates gathered in the lobby of the Winslow Building before the Closing Exercises.

C LOS IN G EXERC I SES

Charles Hoffman ’18 urged graduates, “Be in the moment.”

learned our own lessons, had our own struggles, and found our own path to where we are now. It may feel terrifying to think of leaving the school we’ve known, but thanks to Shore, I know that we’re up to the challenge. When the future comes, we’re more than prepared to meet it on our own terms.” The Head of School then called each eighth and ninth grade graduate individually to the stage, where Ward congratulated them before the students received a graduation certificate from President of the Board of Trustees Jenn Borggaard and shook hands with Interim Head of Upper School Walter Morris and Head of Lower School Sara Knox. Later, graduates were invited to present roses to their parents, and longtime Shore community members were acknowledged with bouquets. Clair Ward then returned to the podium to offer her closing words, which took as their jumping-off point the legacy of educator and television personality Fred Rogers. “Rogers was a tremendous advocate for children,” Ward said. “Many of his beliefs reflected the most progressive, child-centered ap-

proaches to education. I share with you the following Rogers quotation: ‘At the center of the universe is a loving heart that continues to beat and that wants the best for every person. Anything we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings—that is our job.’” “Graduates,” Ward continued, “as you move into your summers and on to your next step, you begin to not only take responsibility for

fostering your own intellect and emotional growth, but also I hope you will follow in Fred Rogers’ footsteps by looking at what you can do for others. Shore will always be a loving heart that continues to beat for you and want the best for you. Our greatest hope is that Shore’s love for you will inspire you to always be your best. On behalf of your teachers, I want to thank you for the privilege of being your guides and your coaches. Thank you for the lessons you have taught us, and know that this will always be your home. I encourage you to take Shore with you wherever you go. Be fierce; whenever you face a challenge, face it with conviction. Based on what I have seen from you, I know that whatever comes your way, you’ve got this!” Graduates, joined by alumni, faculty, and staff singers in the audience, concluded the Closing Exercises with the traditional benediction, and as students recessed, they each leaped to high-five a painted hand above the gymnasium doorway, receiving “a last touch of Shore, and leaving Shore with a last touch of you,” as Ward explained. Students and their families then gathered outside for

Eighth grade graduates tried to pose for their class photo.

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congratulations from faculty, who shared reminiscences and well wishes for the fall and beyond. More than 20 eighth grade graduates return to Shore in the fall to be part of the school’s unique ninth grade program. Graduating ninth grade and eighth grade students move on to high schools and college preparatory schools including Boston University Academy, Brooks School, The Governor’s Academy, Marblehead High School, Middlesex School, Milton Academy, Peabody High School, Pingree School, Phillips Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, and St. George’s School, among others. Ninth grade graduates of the Class of 2018 were: Georgia Adams, Lucy Adams, Linden Adamson, Kealan Biebesheimer, Ava D’Ambrosio, Teresa DiNanno, John Fates, William Goltra, Charles Hoffman, Samuel Izzo, Sophia Izzo, Emily LeMieux, Myles Lopes, Alexander Oder, Bianca Perullo, and Tessa Shields. Eighth grade graduates of the Class of 2019 were: Melina Abatjoglou, Paulina Arce, Rikit Bansal, Ivan Betancourt, Rebecca Birnbach, Samuel Borggaard, Erynn Bowe, Alexander Boyko II, Sophia Carbone, Patrick Carroll, William Charman, Marisa Costello, Aidan Davie, Sophia DiNanno, Edward Doggett, Isabella Eaton, Jeremiah Edokpa, Charles Faldi, Camryn Flessel, Carolyn Fortin, Jaqueline Furey, Camryn Georges, Madeline Hammond, Eleanor Herriman, Aliana Istanbullu, Spencer Johnson, Alexandra Krohg, Holly Levasseur, Miranda Lloyd, Amelia Mallon, Bryan Marinelli, Anja Meaney, Charles Minney, Elizabeth Mittelbusher, Joseph Mulligan, Hope Nardone, Hugh Park, Christopher Pelletier, Adlai Politi, Sarah Pollock, Brooke Schatz, Alexander Schimmel, Emily Storer, Charlotte Strovink, Walker Thorne, Olivia Tilzey, Grace Toran, Lily Webber, Sarah Webber, Cameron White, Tenley Williamson, and Lauren Zion.

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Miranda Lloyd ’19 congratulated Ricky Bansal ’19.

Kealan Biebesheimer ’18 embraced Marisa Costello ’19.

Walker Thorne ’19 and Hughie Park ’19 received boutonnières from Assistant to the Head of Lower School Monique Clark and School Nurse Sue Cronin.

CO LLEGES

The Class of 2015 Goes to College Congratulations to these Shore alumni on their college acceptances! Mayo Amorello Kenyon College

Sophia Knopp Boston University

Sanjna Patel Information not provided

Ashley Tucker Amherst College

Walker Anderson Syracuse University

Christian Krohg Colby College

Annabelle Ayer Georgetown University

Drew Kushnir Wesleyan University

Nailah Pierce University of Massachusetts —Amherst

Thomas Ulfelder New England Institute of Technology University

Nathan Bargman Information not provided Griffin Barlow University of Colorado— Denver

Anya Levendusky University of Rochester

Nick Pocharski Carnegie Mellon University

Dylan Vienot Roger Williams University

Owen Rourke-Nicholas Oxford College of Emory University

Ned Werner Information not provided

Raymond Carter Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Emily Mastrocola Bentley University

Grace MacCurrach Hobart & William Smith Colleges

Will Cherry Montclair State University

Ted Moskal Washington University in St. Louis

Sam Cioffi University of Vermont

Charlie Mosse University of Richmond

Char Clark Harvard University Jordan Coan University of Chicago Annie Colloredo-Mansfeld Harvard University Andrew D’Ambrosio Milton Academy

Michela Savignano University of Michigan— Ann Arbor Ibraheem Sayed Southern Methodist University

Peter Whouley Fordham University Tookie Wilson Tufts University Ollie Wolcott Trinity College

Elizabeth Stark Endicott College

Everett Ypsilantis Information not provided

Georgi Munick Information not provided

Grace Stevenson George Washington University

Ava Zieff Information not provided

Casey Nardone Governor’s Academy

William Talleri Babson College

Oliver Zmetrovich University of Pennsylvania

Missing or incorrect information? E-mail alumni@shoreschool.org and send us an update.

Maggie Eames Lawrence Academy Grace Evans Colorado College Abraham Figueroa Information not provided James Fortin Williams College Hans Fotta U.S. Military Academy— West Point Tyler Hughey Information not provided Giuls Istanbullu Information not provided

Graduates celebrated on the Greentop after the 2018 Closing Exercises.

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Welcome New Trustees

Stephen Boyko Family: Judi, wife; Alexander ’19, son; Abigail, daughter. Residence: North Andover. Education: Boston University. Professional Background: Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP.

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Lauren Crane

Dino Di Palma

Family: Harry, son, Grade 2. Residence: Reading. Education: B.A. in Economics/Accounting, College of the Holy Cross. Professional Background: Former Vice President of Finance, Bain Capital Public Equity; Former Manager of Assurance Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers; Certified Public Accountant.

Family: Annalisa, wife; Olivia, daughter, Grade 3. Residence: Swampscott. Education: M.B.A. in Business Administration and Public Policy, McGill University; B.S. in Economics and Political Science, McGill University. Professional Background: High tech executive; entrepreneur.

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N EW T RUST EES

Blake Liggio Family: Carolyn, wife; Dante, son, Pre-K 2; Quinn, daughter, Pre-K 2. Residence: Reading. Education: J.D., Northeastern University School of Law; B.A., Colby College; Buckingham Browne & Nichols School. Professional Background: Goodwin Proctor LLP.

Kristin Goedkoop Family: Daan, husband; Eloise, daughter, Grade 8; William, son, Grade 6. Residence: Marblehead. Education: M.S. in Nursing, University of Virginia; B.S. in Nursing, Boston College. Professional Background: Acute Care Trauma Nurse Practitioner; Emergency Room Nurse; Adjunct Professor, Boston College.

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Delights All Ages

From February 28 to March 3, 2018, the Upper School’s winter production of Shrek The Musical had fans of all ages cheering for their favorite green ogre at three virtually sold-out shows in the Trustey Family Theatre, as well as at a special matinee performance for Beverly students and seniors.

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ased on the Dreamworks Animation film Shrek—which drew on source material in William Steig’s 1990 picture book of the same name—Shrek The Musical tells the now-familiar story of a misunderstood ogre who just wants to be left alone in his swamp, only to find himself accompanied by a donkey sidekick on an adventure to rescue a princess with a surprising secret. Staging such a fanciful tale—with its heavy reliance on special makeup, prosthetics, and fairy-tale costumes— presented unique challenges for director Sarah Carlin and her team of talented student singers, dancers, and crew members, and the numerous teachers and parents who helped realize her vision. “There were nearly 50 students in this cast,” said Carlin, “and almost every one of them needed an extended makeup and costuming session at the start of each show; some needed additional character changes in between scenes, as well!” Carlin and parent volunteers spent hours before each staging to conjure characters including the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Bears, Humpty Dumpty, Peter Pan, and Shrek’s road-trip companion, Donkey. Some were particularly challenging: bringing Pinocchio to life required the team

to track down a remote-control wooden nose, and creating a convincing Wicked Witch meant fabricating custom pointed nose and chin prosthetics. That’s not to mention the musical’s central character, Shrek, who wore a “fat” suit and prosthetic ogre’s head mask with bright green airbrushed face and neck makeup to match. Additional ogres—Shrek as a child, Shrek’s parents, and Princess Fiona, who is transformed into an ogre each night—all required their own ogre ears, face makeup, “fat” suit, and giant green hands. Long before the makeup sessions, faculty members had worked with the students almost daily throughout

Staging such a fanciful tale—with its heavy reliance on special makeup, prosthetics, and fairy-tale costumes—presented unique challenges for director Sarah Carlin and her team of talented student singers, dancers, and crew members, and the numerous teachers and parents who helped realize her vision.

Left: Alex Oder ’18 as Shrek, with Brooke Schatz ’19 as Fiona. Top right: Anja Meaney ’19, Eden Welch ’20, and Meg Hoffman ’20 as the Three Blind Mice. Bottom right: Chris Pelletier ’19 as Grumpy, Linden Adamson ’18 as Lord Farquaad, and company.

All photos by Paul Pelletier.

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Top: Eden Welch ’20, Brooke Schatz ’20, and Meg Hoffman ’20 as the three Fionas. Bottom: Marisa Costello ’19 as Pinocchio with a company of fairy-tale characters.

“If there is one thing I will remember about this show, it will be its heart.”

Alex Oder ’18

the winter to perfect dance routines choreographed by third grade teaching assistant Kate Ventimiglia, and to fine-tune songs from the catchy, contemporary score, conducted by Upper School music teacher Jenn Boyum. Simultaneously, student crew members worked with iLab and theatre manager Cam McNall, third grade teacher Sam Hamlin, and sixth grade math teacher Kent Vienot to build and paint sets, props, and one extraordinary character: the lovable, 10-foot-tall dragon who guards Fiona’s castle and ultimately enables her to marry Shrek. The creature required two crew members to operate her mouth, eyes, and body as she “sang” and “danced” around the stage during pivotal moments. All the effort certainly paid off, a fact that was evident at the first full performance: a special matinee presented for more than 200 fourth and fifth grade students from Beverly’s Hannah and Centerville elementary schools, as well as seniors from Herrick House, Colonial Gardens, and the Beverly Council on Aging.

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These invited guests were thrilled to attend their own private staging of Shrek The Musical, and they took in the performance in the Trustey Family Theatre as if it were Broadway. As did the audiences at the three public shows that would follow, they clearly appreciated the enormous talent of the cast, the professionalism of the pit musicians, the attention to detail in the costumes and makeup, and the artful stage sets, lighting, and sound. But perhaps what most stuck with audience members as they left the darkness of the theatre was the many moments throughout this comedy when quiet emotion came through in an actor’s glance, when a kiss shared between two ogres brought forth viewers’ squeals of surprise, or when real joy and longing seemed to flow in the notes of a solo by Shrek, Fiona, or even the dragon. These, of course, are the things we most love about musicals, and the reasons middle school students so readily accept the challenges in their production.

S H R E K T H E M USI CA L

Top: Lord Farquaad’s Duloc Dancers. Right: Alex Oder ’18 as Shrek with Myles Lopes ’18 as Donkey. Below: Linden Adamson ’18 as Lord Farquaad.

“If there is one thing I will remember about this show, it will be its heart,” said ninth grader Alex Oder, who played Shrek. Referring to previous recent Shore musicals, he explained, “Where Mary Poppins had its magic, and Bye Bye Birdie had its energy, Shrek had pure and contagious passion. From the cheers and laughter of Shrek’s opening night, to the tears and somber embraces at its end, each cast member wore their joy and sorrow like a badge of honor.” Another ninth grader, Charles Hoffman, who played a

variety of roles in Shrek The Musical, said, “This is a show that emphasizes the idea of a happy ending, and that’s exactly what this show gave me.” He continued, “Though the cast and crew represented a mix of grades seven through nine, you would never have guessed which kids are in what grade, because of the way we bonded through the story. These are some of the best actors, dancers, singers, performers, and friends I’ve ever known, and I couldn’t be prouder of this family that I’ve been blessed to be a part of.”

After receiving seven award nominations in the annual Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s (METG) Middle School Division Musical Awards competition, Shore’s Upper School production of Shrek The Musical brought a Best Supporting Actor win for ninth grade graduate Linden Adamson, in the role of Lord Farquaad. Ten students and their parents attended the MET Musical Awards at the Berklee Performing Arts Center on Saturday, June 23, along with director and theater arts teacher Sarah Carlin and assistant director Sarah Sklarsky. Competing against 72 other middle schools, Shore was in the running for a total of seven awards, including Best Overall Production. Shore was also nominated in the categories of Best Set Design & Execution, Best Supporting Actor, Best Lighting Design & Execution, Best Sound Design & Execution, Best Specialty Ensemble Dragon, and Best Choral Ensemble. 57

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How We Teach:

Sara Knox on Elementary Classroom Practice

By Bill Fisher

The first surprise for anyone who talks with Shore’s Head of Lower School, Sara Knox, about the core practices that define the school’s Pre-K through Grade 5 classrooms is that the seemingly timeless gesture of raising a hand for a turn to speak during a classroom discussion is, in fact, routinely discouraged. “What we’ve found is that, often, when kids have an idea they want to share, their hand goes up, and they immediately stop listening to anything that’s happening around them,” Knox explains. “So instead, if we encourage them to keep their hand down, to listen, and to engage with the flow of ideas and conversation, they’ll soon learn how to find their moment to jump in and contribute or add on to what someone else is saying— which makes for a much stronger discussion.” Spend more time with Knox, one discovers, and the surprises keep coming. “When you visit one of our early elementary classrooms,” Knox says, “you’ll see our teachers coaching kids to look and listen to their classmates. Even in first and second grades, we encourage students to take ownership of the flow of discussion, teaching them how to use questions as prompts. You might hear a child saying to a partner or to the rest of the group, ‘Tell me more

about that.’ As they become more comfortable, we then teach them how to use expressions like, ‘I want to piggyback off of your idea.’” Learning how to dissent is just as important as learning

how to affirm, Knox continues. “Something else that we deliberately teach is how to say, ‘I’m not sure I agree, because ….’ If a child is listening and hears something that isn’t what they were thinking, they’re learning that there are ways to disagree that actually help move the conversation forward.” With discussion and studentdriven learning at its core, the typical Shore classroom is often a place where students eagerly work independently or in small groups, with teachers gradually releasing responsibility for prompting inquiry. In many ways, the rapid

First grade teacher Laurel Fitzpatrick listens in as her students trade ideas.

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Second graders work independently on an iPad.

progression from teacher-centric instruction to student-directed exploration with teacher support is a theme that repeats itself across the entire Lower School—not just in homerooms, but in every area, from the iLab to S.A.I.L. “At the start of any unit,” says Knox, “whether it’s writing or social studies or math, teachers own much of the responsibility for guiding the class. But as they see the children becoming more comfortable with the material, we let go of some of the responsibility and ask the students to take on more. By unit’s end, the idea is that we’ll hand off something to students and they’ll be able to do it independently, and demonstrate mastery.” Take reading, for example: imagine a second grade class that’s about to launch a unit in understanding character, suggests Knox. “At the start of the unit the teacher may offer a few different read-alouds, where the questions and conversation starters are coming from the teacher to get the

children to think about character. Then they’ll roll that out to a small group for guided reading, where they study the same text and the same concepts, but dig just a little bit deeper.” Finally, Knox says, the teacher hands the text over to children to explore independently; they’ll be accountable for showing mastery by writing about a character on their own. If higher-level thinking begins surprisingly early in the Lower School, Knox says that Shore’s concept-based approach to learning across the curriculum is the cause. “We like to talk about concepts versus topics,” she explains. “On the one hand, topics are things that you can learn everything about—by reading books and gathering facts, for example. But topics don’t always allow for the kind of synthesis and analysis that we hope to encourage in our students.” A concept, she says, is more abstract. Take one example from first and second grades: perspective. “What a concept like this allows us to do is group topics under

a larger umbrella, and help kids make connections and comparisons—skills they can take with them and continue to use as they encounter new topics down the road. In other words, concepts nurture thinking.” That philosophy weaves its way through every subject Shore’s elementary students explore, from reading and social studies to math and, especially, writing. “Our approach to writing,” Knox explains, “has more to do with the craft and the quality of the writing than with ‘perfecting’ things like spelling and grammar.” Visitors can see this play out through the writers workshop, a daily, largely independent writing session that often focuses on big ideas such as story structure, dialogue, and action—or, as Knox describes it, “unfreezing” characters. “A typical writers workshop might begin with five minutes of very intentional discussion and concrete examples related to a single strategy, such as unfreezing characters by making them talk. The teacher may follow that with a quick guided writing activity, and then set students to an independent writing activity during which the teacher is able to visit with each student one-on-one.” The individualized instruction that occurs during these

“Even in first and second grades, we encourage students to take ownership of the flow of discussion, teaching them how to use questions as prompts.”

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mini-conferences is a time for teachers to quickly evaluate where a child needs a push, and, in the moment, to offer an idea or question that prompts thinking about the next creative step. “It’s wonderful to see our teachers move from one child to the next, and to witness students’ moments of inspiration,” Knox remarks. “We often say, ‘Teach the writer, not the writing,’ and this is where that approach really shines.” The focus on ideas and understanding, rather than technical perfection, guides Shore’s approach to teaching spelling, as well. “Because our emphasis is on the craft of writing, we encourage ‘inventive spelling,’” explains Knox. Children’s ability to grasp phonetic concepts develops gradually, and so does their approach to spelling—from writing only initial consonants in a word, to adding end and middle consonants, and finally to adding vowels and letter combinations. Teachers practice balance when it comes to evaluating and correcting these “mistakes,” holding editing conferences with students during which they pick and choose a few key issues for emphasis. “But we really don’t try to touch on every ‘error,’” says Knox. “That would create overload, and discourage the kind of creativity and fluidity that we’re after.” In both spelling and math, however, pointed instruction and practice always complement this concept-based approach. Shore’s elementary phonics program, Words Their Way, runs from Pre-K through Grade 4, and offers rigorous word study within a unique, research-based framework. “Studies have shown that the traditional spelling program, with a list of words each week and a test on Friday, actually doesn’t work very well,” says Knox. “Children just don’t retain what they learn week to week to become successful

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“The culture of our school elevates the social and emotional well-being of our students as one of our core concerns, essential for academic success and individual growth.” spellers.” Instead, Words Their Way, and the research it’s based on, argues that offering children—in a differentiated and developmentally appropriate way—just-in-time insight into how words work allows them to adopt and practice spelling skills over and over again as they encounter new words. “Instead of remembering individual words,” explains Knox, “they learn concepts and components that are used in lots and lots of words.” Fifth grade teacher Louis Frank works with students during a math lesson.

Much the same can be said for Shore’s elementary math program, Math in Focus, which emphasizes visual, hands-on learning and problem-solving skills in teaching children how to understand numbers, not just compute on the page. According to Knox, “When our kids come to math class, it’s very rare that they’ll use paper and pencil and nothing else. Instead, they’ll have lots of opportunities to work in small groups using a variety of manipulatives, dice, counters, whiteboards, and the like. Doing this lets kids mentally grasp how numbers work; we call it becoming a ‘mental mathematician.’ We do this very well at Shore, and by the fourth and fifth grades, many of our students are faster than their parents at calculating mentally.” Yet for all the academic work that happens in Shore’s classrooms, there’s one aspect of the elementary program that’s even more important. Knox explains, “The culture of our school elevates the social and emotional well-being of our students as one of our core concerns, essential for academic

H OW WE T EAC H

Third graders collaborate.

success and individual growth. We create so many opportunities for our teachers to deeply know their students, both intellectually and personally, that we immediately notice emotional or behavioral needs and work as a team to support each child.” Formally, this approach to social and emotional well-being is known as “Responsive Classroom” methodology. Not merely a reactive framework to catch problems when they occur, Responsive Classroom informs nearly every aspect of Shore’s elementary practice, institutionalizing a core set of social-emotional competencies side-by-side with academic ones. “What this looks like in the classroom,” says Knox, “is touchstones like the Morning Meeting, a daily opportunity for the entire class to sit together in a circle on the rug, talk together, and set the tone for the day. It’s about engaging and demonstrating respect and care for every member of the group.” 61

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“The care our students show for each other, the engagement with their teachers and peers, the moments of inspiration, the excitement about exploring and discovering the world on their own—it all looks simply joyful.”

Other Responsive Classroom hallmarks, such as “quiet time” and “energizers,” get right to the heart of kids’ day-to-day well-being. “Literally, quiet time is just that,” explains Knox. “Kids can sit at their desk, be sprawled on the rug, get cozied up with a buddy, with no expectations. Sometimes kids use this time to do something like writing or reading; many draw or do

puzzles. It’s an emotional reset for the rest of the day.” Energizers, on the other hand, get the class up out of their seats and moving around. Like recess, these quick activities help recharge and refocus the brain. From no hand-raising to inventive spelling, and from mental math to quiet time, Shore’s elementary classroom practice is, in some ways, full of surprises. But as Knox explains, the results and, more importantly, the culture it creates, are not. “For us,” she says, “this all feels completely natural; it’s who we are as a school. The level of preparation, planning, and expertise that our teachers rely on to do what they do every day is tremendous. Yet in the classroom, what you see doesn’t look difficult at all: the care our students show for each other, the engagement with their teachers and peers, the moments of inspiration, the excitement about exploring and discovering the world on their own—it all looks simply joyful.”

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Digging Deep

Into American Roots Music

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A M E R ICA N RO OTS M USI C

Music teacher Jennifer Boyum is the recipient of the 2017 Parents of Graduates Award, a professional development grant awarded annually to support a faculty member’s proposal for travel that will significantly benefit teaching at the school. By Bill Fisher

H Seventh graders sketch the geography of American roots music.

uddled over a laminated map of the United States, Upper School Music Teacher Jennifer Boyum’s seventh grade students uncap their dry-erase markers. They use the bright colors to sketch new layers onto the states: a rough overlap at the border of Texas and Mexico, a circle for New Orleans, a zig-zag up and down the Mississippi River, a loopy rectangle around Kentucky and Tennessee, and a meandering line running through plains and deserts to southern California. Working together, the students are marking out the cities, regions, and byways that figure in their study of American roots music, the hugely diverse and wildly influential range of genres and sub-genres that arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

“Lots of people treat ‘folk’ and ‘roots’ as synonymous in music,” says Boyum; in her classroom, making the distinction is critical. She explains, “At the beginning of the 20th century, the term ‘folk music’ described music made by whites of European ancestry, often in the relatively isolated rural South. As the century progressed, that definition expanded to include the song styles—particularly the blues—of Southern blacks, and later of Native Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Cajuns. But at the same time, popular musicians began to draw on folk music as an artistic source like never before, and it became a specific form of popular music itself, made famous by singer/songwriters such as Bob Dylan.” This gradual evolution of “folk,” recounts Boyum, left music writers, scholars, and fans looking for new ways to describe the diverse array of musical styles that didn’t fit the popular mold increasingly heard on radio. The term “roots music” came to refer to this broader range of musical genres, which includes blues, gospel, traditional country, zydeco, Tejano, and Native American pow-wow. In Boyum’s course, unassumingly called, simply, “Grade Seven Music,” small groups of students choose an individual roots sub-genre to investigate, such as Appalachian ballads, bluegrass, Tejano, or salsa. “To be honest, some of these we can trace all the way to when immigration really

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Students work on audio-visual presentations.

got going in the 17th century. But what’s most interesting for us as a class,” says Boyum, “is when we can see how a musical style, like Tejano, reflects both cultural forces and a particular place and time”—in this case, a combination of Texan and Mexican border styles layered with the accordion-tinged accompaniments of Eastern Europeans. Germans, Poles, and Czechs had immigrated to Texas and parts of Mexico in the 19th century, and fled to southern Texas during the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. “The kids’ research touches on so many topics: not only in music, but also in geography and American and world history,” Boyum says. “West Coast blues is another great example. A musical style with its origins in the South, it’s the end result of both historical and cultural movements, including westward migration during the Dust Bowl, and the advent of Hollywood, which drew countless musicians across the country in search of employment.” Genres such as Tejano, and the influences that formed them, are new to many of Boyum’s seventh graders; often, they’re relatively new to the teacher herself, who came to Shore by way of a traditional, conservatory-style graduate program. “I know a lot about dead, European composers like

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Brahms and Bach and Beethoven,” she jokes. “What I love about this course is discovering, alongside my students, the echoes of the earliest popular American musical forms, the unknown artists who have fallen into obscurity over time.” That’s why Boyum’s seventh graders largely steer clear of big names and big cities, such as Nashville and country music. “As the kids dig into more obscure corners of the material on their chosen sub-genre,” she says, “they come across factoids and lessthan-famous places that have much to teach us.” One student, for example, discovered a tiny but influential music festival and museum in Opelousas, Louisiana, the birthplace of zydeco. An accordion-heavy genre originated in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers, it blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the region. Another student found that tiny museums in two small towns in Mississippi—Clarksdale and Tunica, both located along historic Highway 61—are home to some of the most important materials anywhere—artifacts, recordings, and the like—related to the birth of Delta Blues. Armed with finds such as these, the students deliver multimedia presentations in front of the class, incorporating everything from biographies of key musicians in any given genre to maps to YouTube examples of signature songs or typical dance steps. “It’s surprising how much of this history and music can resonate with my students,” admits Boyum. “Take salsa: lots of kids are really drawn to this style’s upbeat, fun sound,” she says, “but they’ve also seen it on Dancing with the Stars, so it’s actually part of their own cultural vocabulary.” Another example, surprisingly enough, is the Appalachian ballad. One

particularly well known piece in this genre is “Swallowtail Jig,” an infectious and instantly recognizable Celtic country song that came to Appalachia along with Irish immigrants. Boyum’s seventh grade class includes a number of talented musicians, one of whom, a violinist, brought his instrument and played a version of the jig for the class. “It turns out that the song happens to be one of the first that nearly every young violin student learns by heart,” says Boyum. “Moments like this—or when piano players studying the history of Scott Joplin’s ragtime staple, ‘The Entertainer,’ realize it’s the song they learned years ago—are what this course is about. When my students find a personal connection between music and history, that’s when the light bulb goes on for them.” This teacher may have an ulterior motive for sending her students scurrying down obscure cultural trails for musical treasure: the facts and faces they discover in their research will help form the basis for a project of Boyum’s own. She is the recipient of Shore’s 2017 Parents of Graduates Award, a professional development grant awarded annually to support a

Seventh grade musicians practice guitar basics.

A M E R ICA N RO OTS M USI C

“What I love about this course is discovering, alongside my students, the echoes of the earliest popular American musical forms, the unknown artists who have fallen into obscurity over time.” faculty member’s proposal for travel that will significantly benefit teaching at the school. Her project proposal: to build and follow a musical and cultural itinerary— based partly on the work of the seventh grade students in her class—to trace important moments and milestones in roots music’s history in the United States. “Listening to music live, in the place where it was born, is a unique experience,” says Boyum. “I plan to travel all along the Mississippi, down to New Orleans, and then further west. I want to learn more about ‘cowboy’ music and Native American music, genres not many are very familiar with. Whatever I find and bring back will directly figure into the next iteration of this course—from recorded musical examples to photos, actual artifacts, conversations with musicians, and even techniques in instrument building.” Boyum will also spend time during her trip at the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center, one of the largest archives of ethnographic materials from the United States and around the world. Its collections, encompassing millions of items of ethnographic and historical significance recorded from the 19th century to the present, include extensive audiovisual documentation of traditional arts, cultural expressions, and oral histories, and offer researchers access to the songs, stories, and other creative expressions of people from diverse communities. “The Folklife Center,” explains Boyum, “is the place to go when you want to see the first-ever sheet

it’s hearing movie soundtracks, buying music online, or listening to YouTube videos, they’re exposed to music continually. So understanding the context and maybe even the history of what they’re hearing, being able to speak about music with insight, listening with a discerning ear, and being able to pick up common threads that connect the past to their own present musical moment—these are actually critical skills that will serve them their whole lives.”

music for a song like ‘Home on the Range,’” which entered into popular culture in the early 20th century after being discovered by one of Folklife’s most prominent musicologists, John Lomax. “Lomax and his pioneering colleagues realized,” says Boyum, “that by the 1920s and 1930s, the great American ‘melting pot’ was quickly obscuring traditional songs and styles that were iconic, yet rarely known beyond their specific region.” If all this weren’t enough, students wrap up their trimester of music with research into rock-and-roll originators, such as Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, alongside practice on the guitar. They play along with the sheet music for well-known chord progressions of the rockand-roll era, and by this point in the course, they are immediately able to link the classic three-chord structure with that of rock’s precursor, the blues. Asked why her seventh grade music class—which also includes music theory— devotes so much time to plumbing, and playing, distant corners of American musical and cultural history, Boyum has a surprisingly simple answer. “While I have no illusions that all of my students will go on to become great musicians or famous musicologists, I firmly believe that each and every one of them is on the way to becoming a lifelong consumer and critical listener Boyum demonstrates a chord progression. of music of all kinds. Whether

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Storytelling

in Spanish

O

By Bill Fisher

n any given day in Claudia Ovalle’s Lower School Spanish classroom, two things are almost certain to be true: Ovalle, a native of Colombia, will be speaking exclusively in Spanish to her students; and children—even the youngest in Pre-K 1 and 2— will understand most everything she says. A third thing is just as certain to be true: these young learners will be having a lot of fun. Each day, Ovalle’s students enjoy experiences—completely in Spanish— that never fail to inspire smiles and laughs: interactive stories, mystery objects, card games, dancing, singing, and much more. It hardly seems like a place where the serious work of secondary language acquisition takes place. Yet that is precisely what this is. Though they may not realize it, the Pre-K through Grade 4 students in Ovalle’s classroom are surrounded by a range of carefully implemented strategies built on two related models of language acquisition. The first, Total Physical Response, or TPR, is a teaching method that marries vocabulary acquisition with sounds and movement. Developed by a psychologist, TPR emphasizes listening comprehension over grammar, and with its active and low-stress approach is especially effective with young learners. The second model is a system of language acquisition called Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling. TPRS, as it is known, is an input-based approach to teaching language that focuses on systematic instruction of vocabulary in a highly comprehensible, personalized, and contextualized manner. Very often in TPRS, it is said that “the students themselves are the curriculum.” Vocabulary structures are taught not through memorization or sheer repetition, but through question-and-answer exchanges with students, the use of physical objects such as stuffed animals and other props that can be touched, movement and music, songs and rhymes, and, finally, narrative storytelling and readings. A constant flow of language and symbols ensures that students will understand nearly every message and be able to respond successfully, whether it is with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, one word, or an entire phrase or sentence. The teacher guides the heavily-scaffolded early phases of learning, gradually leading students through word groups and stories that repeatedly circle back on themselves to reinforce key concepts, but as students gain fluency and comprehension, they act more independently by retelling story moments on their own, devising and writing new narratives with classmates, and even creating videos in which they practice solo speaking. According to Claudia Ovalle, the level of comprehension and fluency that students can achieve through TPR and TPRS, even in first and second grades, is astonishing. “For this age, the immersion these approaches offer is a totally natural way for them to learn the language. Just like an infant beginning to develop language, you start simply by talking to them, and by helping them experience daily life through conversations and gestures. Early on in the process, children may just react, but soon comes comprehension, and then speech and fluency.”

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STO RYTE L L ING I N SPA N I SH

Head of Lower School Sara Knox adds, “The reason we start with Spanish so early—and continue with it through ninth grade—is because it lets us do it well. It takes time to do what Claudia does in the classroom: to teach a language with depth and encourage real understanding, rather than simply offer surface-level ‘exposure’ to some vocabulary. With languages,” Knox says, “depth really is more important than breadth.” With both a Master’s degree in education and extensive training in TPRS and Montessori methods, Ovalle can draw on a wide range of tools and techniques with her Lower School learners. One of these is the Morning Meeting circle, used throughout Shore’s Lower School as a way to introduce the day and open up discussion about anything that may be on children’s minds, from dealing with a playground conflict to saying thank you for a friend’s help or kindness. In Ovalle’s classroom, circle time looks much the same, only in Spanish. She greets each child individually, and expects a simple greeting back; then, she asks each how he or she is doing, and again they respond with a few words or a sentence. With their classmates the center of attention, students quickly feel comfortable speaking and listening in Spanish as a matter of routine. “At the very beginning of the school year,” recalls Sara Knox, “we may have heard kids telling homeroom teachers or parents that they didn’t understand what was being said in Spanish class, but with just a little bit of patience, we’re

Each day, Ovalle’s students enjoy experiences— completely in Spanish—that never fail to inspire smiles and laughs: interactive stories, mystery objects, card games, dancing, singing, and much more. Clockwise from top left: Standing up for a song, explaining the rules of a game, laughing during a vocabulary lightning round, celebrating the Day of the Dead, tossing word cards, sharing stories during circle time, acting out a word.

now seeing every grade level easily pick up meaning and readily participate in conversation. The other critical piece of this approach is how hands-on and interactive the experience is. For me,” admits Knox, “as a Spanish-learning adult dropping into her class, all the comprehension cues, gestures, props, and other supports Claudia provides make me feel I could easily become fluent in just a short time.” Ovalle says, “The support I’ve found at Shore for my approach to teaching Spanish is gratifying. Everything I do is to make sure kids love learning language, and the response from children and teachers has been incredibly positive.” As the Lower School Spanish program continues to evolve, Ovalle says she hopes that culture will come to play an increasingly significant part. “As an immigrant, I am very excited to teach my culture—but that culture is not just Colombia; it is all of Latin America and all Spanish-speaking countries. I am looking forward to bringing many of these influences into projects with the art and music and drama departments.” In the spring, Ovalle worked with Lower School music teacher Alex Asacker to produce several Spanish-language songs for the annual World Music Concert. “Outside of Shore,” says Ovalle, “I have made many connections to Spanishspeaking communities in our region; I have friends from Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Honduras. Family is very important for all of us, and since some of us are far away from family members, we look to each other as a second family.” And now, it seems, in Ovalle’s Spanish-speaking classroom, children who listen and learn from her stories and songs are finding connections to those cultures, too.

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Linden Adamson ’18 and Arihaan Barua ’19 congratulated each other after competing in the mile race at Shore’s invitational track meet held at Governor’s Academy.

Sports in Review By Nancy McNall

Fall

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ollowing an all-school pep rally to kick off the year in sports, spirits remained strong throughout the fall. Boys Varsity Soccer had a superb season highlighted by a win over an always tough squad from Fenn, a goal in the final minute of play to overtake Pike, and a 2-2 “win” versus Fay in the last game of the season. JV Soccer focused on the fundamentals of the game and showed their true grit in a 3-3 come-from-behind tie against Fenn at home. In Mr. Wright’s final season at the helm, Girls Varsity Soccer recorded an undefeated season! The players revelled in the fact that their skills and teamwork were far superior at the end of the season than they were at the start. Varsity Field Hockey enjoyed an influx of talent from players across the grade levels. Even its lone loss to Fay under the lights did not dampen a season full of highlights. The team was elated as they ended the season with a 1-0 win over Fay to avenge its earlier loss. JV Field Hockey had fun learning the sport. After a scoring drought to start the season, they found their stride at Pike and finished with a strong game versus Brookwood. Cross Country enjoyed meets with Tower and Brookwood. Coach Mary Kinahan commented, “The runners were outstanding and truly understood what a meet was all about. It was great to see everyone increase their endurance and be able to run longer distances.”

Winter

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or the first time in school history, Shore added Girls JV Basketball to its winter lineup of teams. The girls lived up to expectations and finished the season with

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seven wins and two losses. Girls Varsity Basketball had another winning season. The talented squad communicated well and supported one another throughout the schedule. The team’s one loss came in a balanced, competitive, high-intensity contest with Governor’s. Boys JV Basketball displayed genuine team effort all season long with each player contributing, whether with a steal, rebound, basket, or assist. Although Boys Varsity Basketball was short on wins, the team was long on enthusiasm. The players enjoyed each other’s company and had some lively competition in practice. According to Coach David Lund, “Everybody developed their basketball IQ as well as their skills.” Shore Squash was more competitive than ever in its match against Meadowbrook, a nationally ranked team which has beaten Shore handily over many seasons. Most matches were tightly contested. Shore athletes displayed grit and sportsmanship in the face of the challenge, and several walked away with a win in their own contest.

Spring

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hore saw unprecedented success on the fields this past spring. Three undefeated teams and state championship titles for the track team ensured the year in sports ended on a high note. Going undefeated was special though not surprising for the talented Girls Varsity Lacrosse squad, but a highlight was beating Exeter when Shore’s starting goalie was injured. The entire roster stepped up to make it a 100% team win. Girls JV Lacrosse also had success on the field with a final record of 8-2,

S PO RTS I N REV I EW

highlighted by a nail-biting one-goal win versus Tower’s varsity squad. Boys Varsity Lacrosse celebrated its first undefeated season in recent history with a blend of elite talent and players new to the sport. “Game in and game out, these guys played together, supported each other, and played their hearts out,” reported Coach John Clark. Varsity Softball continued its roll of winning seasons with an undefeated record. According to first year coach Ellen Sargent, “They were a highly competitive crew, which made both practices and games fun.” Varsity Baseball finished the season under first year coach Mike Pannozzi with a 5-4 record. Pannozzi mentioned that watching players step out of their comfort zone to help the team in different positions was a highlight of the season, along with the team’s comeback victory at LCA. Track enjoyed its most rewarding season yet, with championship performances at the state meet to conclude the season. Coach Sarah Sklarsky summed it up best, “The pride and emotion that the kids felt when they realized what we had accomplished as a team was unforgettable— it was incredible to see how powerful the shared experience was for our kids.” Boys and Girls Varsity and JV Lacrosse players held a friendly competition to wrap up the spring sports season.

On Saturday, June 2, 22 Upper School students competed with tremendous success in the annual Massachusetts Middle School Track & Field State Championships in Clinton. Individuals and teams claimed state titles in several events, and Shore Boys Track became the overall state champions in the small school division, competing against 55 other public and private schools.

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N EW T RUST EES

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A Visit with

Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo ’90

Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo with (from left to right) Pre-K teacher Beth White, past English teachers Judith Lais and Joanne Harder, third grade teacher Sam Hamlin, past teacher Barbara Drummond, and alumna and parent of two current students Alison McMaster ’92.

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n the Trustey Family Theatre, visiting children’s author and alumna Barbara Willcox DiLorenzo ’90 delighted third through fifth graders last spring when she shared memories from her time as a Shore Lower Schooler. DiLorenzo is the author of two picture books. Her first, Renato and the Lion, was listed among the best children’s books of 2018 by Bank Street, was named a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2018 by the Children’s Book Council, and was a fall 2017 Junior Library Guild selection. Her newest book, Quincy, was published in February 2018.

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A prolific artist and creative writer even as a young student, DiLorenzo admitted that as a third grader in the classroom of late Lower School Head and teacher Anita Barbato, she once had illustrated an adorable cow, and had mischievously made it look like the animal “was pooping.” “I thought I’d get in trouble,” she said, “but Mrs. Barbato appreciated the drawing, and kept it framed on her office wall for years.” Her teachers’ encouragement of all forms of creativity was the running thread in DiLorenzo’s exchanges with students during her April 25 visit to Shore. She credited Shore teachers with providing early

support for her artistic endeavors. Two Upper School English teachers, Joanne Harder and Judith Lais, had given her a major boost by recognizing her work with a creative writing award at her ninth grade graduation. “I was sure there were more talented writers in the grade” she recalled, “but they must have sensed that I needed a feather in my cap to boost my confidence. It really made a difference in the rest of my life and the trajectory of my career.” Her teachers’ hunch about their ninth grade student was spot-on: DiLorenzo went on to receive her BFA in illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, and to

BA R BA RA W IL LCOX D ILO REN ZO ’9 0

study painting at the Art Students League of New York. In 2014 she received the Dorothy Markinko Scholarship Award from the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature. She is a signature member in the New England Watercolor Society as well as the Society of Illustrators. Currently she teaches at the Arts Council of Princeton, and is co-president of the Children’s Book Illustrators Group of New York. During her visit to Shore, DiLorenzo talked about the inspiration and research behind her first book, Renato and the Lion. Describing how she built the story on extensive research about Italy during World War II, DiLorenzo noted that third grade teacher Sam Hamlin, who introduced her to students on the stage of the Trustey Family Theatre, was responsible for her realization that admitting to not knowing something could prompt new discoveries. In a

science class, Hamlin had asked another student if she knew the answer, and when she said that she didn’t, Hamlin had acknowledged how valuable that admission was. “That honesty was really great to hear,” DiLorenzo said. “It gave me permission throughout my life to not always know the answer, to go learn more or ask for help to find it. And for someone who was not very enthusiastic about research when I was a student, Renato and the Lion turned out to be one giant research project that I fell in love with.” The book tells the touching, magical story of a boy in war-torn Florence, Italy, and the stone lion that magically comes to life to rescue him. According to DiLorenzo, “The idea for Renato and the Lion began over a decade ago, on a family trip in 2006. We were visiting Italian family in Treviso, and decided to take a detour to Florence. On a visit to the Bargello, a museum in Florence

Her teachers’ encouragement of all forms of creativity was the running thread in DiLorenzo’s exchanges with students during her April 25 visit to Shore. She credited Shore teachers with providing early support for her artistic endeavors.

containing mostly sculptures, something magical happened. Near the courtyard where two white lions stand guard by a doorway, my three-year-old son wholeheartedly believed that one of them was alive.” This interaction haunted DiLorenzo, and she began to draw a boy character with a stone lion

An image from Renato and the Lion

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“For ten days in 2015, I wandered around Florence, frantically sketching, taking tours, and trying to learn from people who had lived through the war. … When I left Italy, I only had one carryon bag, but it was filled to the brim with 15 books and loads of sketches and paintings.”

come to life. However, it wasn’t until she happened to learn from a documentary film about the protection of artworks in World War II Europe that the story began to take its final shape. After researching wartime Italy through libraries in the United States, she said, she took a solo trip to Florence. “For ten days in 2015, I wandered around Florence, frantically sketching, taking tours, and trying to learn from people who had lived through the war. I met a bookseller, Enrico Rossi, who was seven years old in 1944. I hired a local guide to translate while I interviewed him. I learned enough to make a few more books out of his information! When I left Italy, I only had one carry-on bag, but it was filled to the brim with 15 books and loads of sketches and paintings.” All of her discoveries informed various aspects of Renato and the Lion. DiLorenzo said, “They helped me feel confident about where my characters were placed in the illustrations, and whether the things they did could actually have happened.” Still, she admitted, “I know not everything is perfect in the book, but to me, there is a freshness to the way I was working

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that makes the story feel like it’s in motion. Nevertheless, I could keep working on this book forever. I’m certain there is still more research out there to be uncovered, or illustrations to refine. I wonder if other authors and illustrators ever feel like they are truly finished with their work.” DiLorenzo spent part of her visit to Shore in Beth White’s Pre-K 2 classroom, where DiLorenzo led a drawing workshop based on her newest book, Quincy, about a creative chameleon who can’t seem to fit in. In the book, Quincy wants to love chameleon school, but he’s not very good at blending in. No matter how hard he tries to stop it from happening, all of his thoughts keep popping up on his skin. The only thing Quincy loves about school is painting during art class with his favorite teacher, Mrs. Lin. “But can painting help him find a way to blend in?” DiLorenzo asked. Pre-K students learned how to draw Quincy with help from DiLorenzo, and enjoyed filling him in with colorful thoughts and feelings. The author shared how

the character of Quincy connected with her own experiences at Shore. “When I was a student,” DiLorenzo explained, “I often felt different, too. I noticed that some of my friends were excelling at academics, but every report card of mine noted, ‘Barbara daydreams in class.’ My friends just always seemed to know what to say, and I struggled with that and became very shy.” But it was okay, DiLorenzo said. “That discomfort was an incredible opportunity for growth. It really informed my creative work, and in the case of Quincy, it literally became material for a book.” Today, she said, many of her Shore classmates, even those she might have felt very “different” from, have become supporters of her career. “That’s something I never realized when I was young: that these people would be lifelong friends and supporters. It’s something I truly appreciate.” According to DiLorenzo, seeing old classmates and teachers on her visit to Shore was amazing. “I discovered that my Shore family is still there for me.”

DiLorenzo spoke to students in the Trustey Family Theatre.

ALUMNI NOTES Christopher Clark ’55 enjoyed a wonderful reunion with classmates in Denver in September 2017. He sends thanks to the hosts of the event: Deedee Morss Decker ’55, Roger Hollister ’55, and Sally Vance Allen ’55. “We all began together in Kindergarten, and over 70 years later, we are still the best of friends. My thanks for Shore Country Day School!”

to recover from back surgery she had in the summer of 2017. Sallie reported that so far all is on track, and she is looking forward to hiking again in 2018.

Dorothy Decker ’55, Roger Hollister ’55, and Sally Vance Allen ’55 hosted Shore classmates in Denver in September. It was a great reunion. Carroll Taylor Clark ’55, Eloise Weld Hodges ’55, Freddy Winthrop ’55, Chris Clark ’55, and a few spouses traveled to Denver for a wonderful gathering.

Julia Blagden Emby ’75 said it was very touching to see some Shore friends at her father’s celebration of life. Shore alumni in attendance were Rob Ginn ’75, Lisa Ginn ’76, Wendy Morgan Richardson ’75, Margaret Shuwall Briggs ’76, and Amory Frothingham Ford ’75.

J. Roger Hollister ’55 is a retired physician (pediatric rheumatologist). He is now volunteering for six nonprofits in Denver including the Denver Zoo and the Denver Art Museum. William Simmons ’60 and Mandy are splitting their time between Potomac, MD, and Sarasota, FL, with a break in the summer on the North Shore catching up with good friends and family, many of whom went to Shore! Bruce Michaud ’65 is still the CEO of the Salem Witch Museum, the third most visited historical site in Massachusetts. His son, Faxon, graduated from St. John’s Prep in 2011 and the University of Vermont in 2015; Faxon starred as Rugby captain and now owns TitanGuideService.com. James Richardson ’65 has moved to Brooklin, Maine. Sallie Sprague ’66 traveled to Peru and New Zealand in November of 2015 and 2016, respectively, but is now staying home

Eleanor Bowne Andrews ’67 is the director of the Northeast Harbor Library and loves living on Mount Desert Island with her husband, Sandy.

C. Todd Stephenson ’77 read with great pleasure the recent Shore Bulletin about innovation and about Shore’s new Head of School, Clair Ward. He is the Head of Upper School at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, where they are doing so many of the same things with maker spaces and outdoor education. Former classmates and educators, if you visit the Austin area, please reach out to him as he would love to (re)connect. Patricia Pruett Trow ’84 and her husband, Brian Trow, live in Atlanta, GA, with their two children, Leighton Emerson and Tatum Elizabeth. Patti is the Vice President of Sales at MNI Targeted Media, a Division of the Meredith Corporation, where she has worked for nine years. Brian, originally from Iowa, is a contractor and star of A&E’s Flip This House. They recently built a Frank Lloyd Wright-style home in Buckhead, Atlanta. They are enjoying the Southern way of life and having fun with their two young children. Patti is still an avid alternative music listener, and you can follow her on Twitter @fanofduranduran.

Grant Cooper ’97 is a real estate agent in New York City, and feels lucky enough to still see Ethan Liebermann ’97 and Josh Pressman ’97 occasionally, and run into Kate “Sully” Sullivan ’97 on the New York subway. He just received a touching letter from Mardi Lowery because she returned his sixth grade string art as she is retiring. Cooper said, “I am still grateful for the great and caring teachers like Mardi Lowery that I had at Shore. Miss you all!” Mallory Jaffe ’02 announced her engagement last year, and was married in May 2018. Harrison O’Hanley ’03 founded and launched his rocket startup, ABL Space Systems, in January 2018, to develop launch vehicles to send small satellites into orbit. According to O’Hanley, who spoke with science journalist Mac King on his Another Think Coming podcast, ABL aims to serve the increasing number of private companies whose businesses depend on launching Earth-orbiting satellites cheaply, frequently, and reliably. A first launch of an ABL craft is penciled in for 2021. Katherine Lodge Lowell ’04 married Will Lowell on September 16, 2017. When the two met at Middlesex School, they had no idea that their families had been intertwined for over eighty years; they soon discovered they were tied together by one of the most famous debates in American history. On March 19, 1919, Henry Cabot Lodge debated A. Lawrence Lowell in front of thousands of people at Symphony Hall in Boston. The story was recounted in the Boston Globe in September 2017. Lowell Abbott ’07 was recently named to the Alumni Board at Brooks School as part of the Events Committee. Abbott is a research analyst at Spencer Stuart, an executive search and leadership consulting firm in Boston.

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Anna Lisa (Falzone) ’08 and Porter Grieve ’08 launched their blog and Instagram account, Recess City, into a business and full-time travel lifestyle just weeks after marrying in August 2017. In November, after earning coverage in the Boston Globe for their social media success, they made a detour from an around-the-world itinerary for a holiday pit-stop in the Trustey Family Theatre, where they impressed Upper Schoolers with their business savvy and socially conscious insight into the booming economy of ‘ethical fashion.’ Brian McLaughlin ’09 was the runner-up of the men’s competition at the 2018 U.S. Alpine Championships in Sun Valley, ID, in late March. McLaughlin was squeezed out of first place by Tom Ford, who took the win by 0.36 seconds. McLaughlin, who is also the reigning NorAm and NCAA Giant Slalom champion skiing for Dartmouth College, now has his sights firmly set on the World Cup next season. McLaughlin has a world rank in GS of 31.

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in education policy that would push for systemic changes in the U.S. education system. Alec Kingston ’11, a 2018 graduate of Georgetown University, received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to Mexico City, Mexico, from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Alec will take part in the Fulbright-García Robles Binational Business Program, in which she will take Master’s business classes at ITAM and intern at a Mexican company. At Georgetown, Alec received a B.S. in Science, Technology & International Affairs with a concentration in Global Health and an International Development certificate, graduating from the university’s School of Foreign Service magna cum laude.

Tookie Wilson ’15, co-captain of the Phillips Andover Girls Varsity Soccer team, was profiled by The Phillipian in September 2017. Coach Lisa Joel said, “She’s an 80-minute player, and she stands out on the field. Wilson and her fellow captains have worked hard to lead by example.” Wilson’s leadership goes beyond the field, as Wilson and her fellow seniors lead with kindness and integrity. Coach Joel said, “These [younger athletes] are lucky to have [these captains]. They set the work ethic tone. They set the ‘kindness’ tone. They have high standards as human beings and they are also super competitive athletes. They love the sport, they love their teammates, and they love competing… .”

Mikhaila Waldman ’09 is attending Cumming School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University for her Masters in Science and Animals in Public Policy.

Mayo Amorello ’15 was named to the Division 3 Boys Lacrosse All-State Team. As a junior in the 2017 season, Amorello was the best goalie in the Cape Ann League all year; now he’s one of the best in the state according to Boston Lax, an independent lacrosse organization. He stopped more than 65 percent of shots on goal.

Oliver Zmetrovich ’15 was named 2017-2018 Salem News Boys Swimmer of the Year. He finished first place in the North sectionals, and came out on top for the second consecutive season at Division 1 states in the 100 butterfly, setting a meet and state record with a time of 48.94, which was just over two seconds behind the national high school record set in 2012. In addition, he took first place and set a Division 1 and state record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 49.20. Zmetrovich will continue his swimming career at the University of Pennsylvania.

Katie Barrand ’11 committed to joining Teach for America after her recent graduation from Boston College. Katie is a firm believer in the transformative power that education can have on a child’s life; she says she had incredible teachers who encouraged her to grow as a student. As an intern at Horizons for Homeless Children, Katie researched the achievement gap that underprivileged children face. After she wraps up her time with Teach for America, Katie plans to pursue a career

James Fortin ’15 was named a winner of Phillips Exeter Academy’s Negley Prize for the year’s best U.S. history papers. He wrote about the Barbary Wars between the United States and some of the Barbary states, which were Muslim countries in North Africa that relied on piracy to support their economies in the late 18th and early 19th century. Fortin sought to demystify the Barbary Wars, which many historians have called America’s First War on Terror.

Rhea Prem ’16 was one of 28 finalists in National Geographic’s 2018 People’s Choice Student Photo Contest. Then a junior at Phillips Academy Andover, Prem captured her photo, titled “Goodbye is Not Forever,” during a trip in Niswarth, India, with Andover’s “Learning in the World” program last summer. Prem is a photographer with Andover’s Phillipian student news publication as well as a competitor with Andover’s Girls Track team.

SHORE BU LLET IN FA LL 2018

Georgia Bowder-Newton ’14 co-wrote the 2018 Freshman Musical, Hitched, at Harvard University.

A LU M N I N OT ES

Ryan Lynch ’17, a member of Boy Scout Troop 35 of Hamilton, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in May 2018, capping off eight years of community service, skills development, and scouting adventures. The final step in the arduous process toward the distinction was completing his Eagle project: making functional and aesthetic improvements to the meeting space known as “the Barn” on the grounds of the historic First Congregational Church of Hamilton. A junior at Pingree School, Lynch received commendations from Senator

Elizabeth Warren and from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

how to skate; he also assists at local youth skating competitions.

Ben Jones ’18 performed this spring in the annual Ice Spectacular show at the North Shore Skating Club. As a competitor, Jones won the North East Ice Skating Club Winter Classic Competition in January; he continued to train to compete in the Lake Placid Figure Skating Championships in late June. In addition to a heavy school, practice, and competition schedule, Jones makes time to volunteer at Special Skates, a program that teaches children with special needs

Ben Wilkinson ’18 was among a group of 12 St. George’s School students who repaired a 26-foot-long, 1,200-pound great white shark made of foam and fiberglass. They were getting the shark ready for its new home at Flo’s Clam Shack in Middletown, RI, before the end of the school year. The project drew the attention of various local media outlets, with reporters and camera crews visiting the Hilltop to speak with students about the experience.

Shore’s Southern California Reception

Shore alumni and grandparents gathered in Los Angeles with Head of School Clair Ward on April 5, 2018, for Shore’s Southern California Reception. The event, hosted by current grandparents and native Los Angelenos Debbe and Spike Booth GP ’24, ’26, ’29, was held on a beautiful spring evening at the historic California Club located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Of the enthusiastic turnout for the evening, Ward said, “It was so clear to me that alumni still have a strong emotional connection to Shore and their teachers. I felt privileged to hear

their stories as they relived what they referred to as some of the best years of their lives.” Alumni from the 1980s, 90s, and 2000s reconnected with each other and reminisced about their time at Shore, talking fondly about former teachers, coaches, and classmates. According to Brooke Booth, Director of Annual Giving, “There was a groundswell of interest among attendees in facilitating further activities to reach even more broadly into the Shore alumni community.” The Head of School welcomed guests in her remarks at the

At the reception, from left to right, were: Debbe Booth GP ’24, ’26, Spike Booth GP ’24, ’26, Brooke Booth P ’24, ’26, Caitlin Kluchnik ’11, Clair Ward, Brandon Stroman ’94, Andrew McReynolds ’98, Mallory Jaffe ’02, Evan Hayes, Jocelyn Fritz Hayes ’90, Sam Hulefeld ’90.

beginning of the event, and asked alumni to think back to their time at Shore. Quoting the words of a few current ninth grade students, Ward assured the group that while the school has grown in many ways since their own time, Shore is at its core the same place they know and love. “I consider this event a big success,” said Ward. “Alumni left the evening talking about seeing us again next year and finding ways to connect with the school in the meantime. I suspect many are now considering a trip back to campus for the first time in many years.”

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PAST & PRESENT

In Memoriam Ferdinand Colloredo-Mansfeld P ’78, ’80, ’82, GP ’06, ’10, ’11, ’15 Ferdinand “Moose” Colloredo-Mansfeld died on December 26, 2017. Moose was a significant figure locally and nationally in commercial real estate, and he served in leadership roles on numerous non-profit boards, especially for land conservation, education, and health care. In addition to his wife Susanna (Lawrence) ’55, Moose is survived by his brother, Rudolf ColloredoMansfeld; his three children, Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld of Hamilton, Rudolf Colloredo-Mansfeld of Chapel Hill, NC, and Anne Penfield of Strafford, VT; and their spouses and ten grandchildren.

h

Carol Ackerman Former Faculty

David Dearborn ’52, GP ’17

Carol Ackerman died on October 30, 2017. Ms. Ackerman taught French and Spanish over nearly 30 years in public schools in Gloucester, Rockport, Ipswich, Natick, and Bourne, and at Shore. She was a past chair of the boards at Wellspring House and the North Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Danvers, and a member of the boards of the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library, the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, and the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, now Rockport Music. She is survived by two daughters, Laurel and Suzanne, and a son, Steven; four grandchildren and a step-grandson; a sister; and several nieces and nephews.

h George Blagden P ’73, ’75, GP ’04 Former Trustee George Blagden died on August 9, 2017. George is survived by his wife, Josephine “Jody” Blagden, their son, Timothy Blagden, and his wife, Kristen Riley, daughter Julia Whitney Blagden Emby and her husband, Christopher JS Emby, four grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was a former treasurer for the Board of Trustees at Shore Country Day School. Daughter Julia was touched by the attendance at George’s celebration of life by several Shore friends: Rob and Lisa Ginn, Wendy Morgan Richardson, Margaret Shuwall Briggs, and Amory Frothingham Ford.

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SHORE BU LLET IN FA LL 2018

David Dearborn died on June 6, 2018. David was a graduate of Shore, St. Paul’s School, Harvard College, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He served his country as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army. Mr. Dearborn had been employed for 25 years as a fund raiser for Harvard College, and as a trust officer at the State Street Bank in Boston. Active in the community, he was a member of several local boards. Surviving him are his wife, Mary; his son, Chris Dearborn, and his wife, Heidi; and son Fred Dearborn, his daughter, Molly Cook, two grandchildren, Matty Dearborn and Emily Dearborn, two brothers, Alex Dearborn and his wife, Danna, and Philip Dearborn and his spouse, Mark, along with several nieces and nephews.

h Jane Harris Former Faculty Jane Elizabeth Harris died on March 5, 2018. She was as a science teacher at Shore Country Day School for 25 years. She was very active in St. John the Baptist Church in Peabody and was the co-founder and manager of the thrift store. She enjoyed gardening, dancing, and traveling. In addition to her husband Donald, she is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Derek and Deborah Harris; her daughter and son-in-law, Laurel and her husband Christian Shepard; and her four grandchildren.

I N M EM O RI A M

Hope Wigglesworth P ’66, ’68, ’71, ’73, Former Trustee, Former Faculty

Ralph Vogel P ’77, ’80, ’83, GP ’12, ’16, ’16 Former Trustee

Hope Williams Wigglesworth died on May 5, 2017. Mrs. Wigglesworth began her career as a language arts teacher in Ipswich, and then at Shore. She was a member of the Radcliffe College Board and helped to shape the integration between Radcliffe and Harvard. At Harvard’s commencement in 1998, Mrs. Wigglesworth was awarded the Harvard Medal, which is annually given to individuals for “extraordinary service to Harvard University.” Mrs. Wigglesworth worked extensively for Ipswich community causes and was devoted to education. Hope is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Henrietta and Peter Lodge, and their children, John and Benjamin; son, John, his wife, Priscilla Brooks, and their children, Nick and Rosie; son, Andrew, his wife, Robin Lacey, and his children, Haley, Caroline, and Harrison; and son, David, his wife, Rayna Swanson, and their children, Kestrel and Talven.

Ralph B. Vogel died on July 17, 2017. Mr. Vogel was a long-standing and dedicated member of numerous organizations, including The Trustees of Reservations, The New England Aquarium, Boston Children’s Service, the Vincent Memorial Hospital, Pine Manor College, the Hotchkiss School, and Shore Country Day School. In addition to his wife, Mabel, he is survived by his daughter, Virginia V. Yonce; sons, William D. Vogel II and Ralph B. Vogel, Jr.; nine grandchildren; his sister, Virginia V. Mattern; and his brother, Frederick Vogel III.

h Richard S. Robie, Jr. P ’75, ’79, ’81 Richard S. Robie, Jr. died on November 24, 2017. Mr. Robie founded the commercial real estate firm Robie Properties, and served on many local boards for charitable organizations. Mr. Robie was formerly a Trustee of Shore Country Day School, of Choate Rosemary Hall, and of St. Lawrence University. In addition to his wife, Ann, and his brother, Don, he leaves five children and their spouses: Chip and Susan Robie; Doug and Dana Robie; Beth Robie; Jay and Traci Robie; Brad and Maki Robie; and ten grandchildren.

ALUMNI James Beyer III ’82 Matthew Bowden ’93 Sargent Bradlee ’46 Carolyn Brainard Merriam Brown ’35 Lucy Bangs Butler ’53, P ’74, ’75, ’76 Mary Hodges-Henshaw ’62 Henry Lodge, Jr. ’73 Bayard Storey ’46 Frances Welch ’53 Esther Shiverick Yntema ’41 PARENTS OF ALUMNI Joseph Gal P ’81, ’83 GRANDPARENTS OF ALUMNI John DeWitt GP ’21, ’25 Edward Giampietro GP ’21 Donna Johnson GP ’19, ’21 Rhoda Frye Nissenbaum GP ’12, ’13, ’15, ’18, ’20 Nancy Winchell GP ’13, ’19

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Save the Date Join the Shore community in 2018-2019 for these beloved traditions, service opportunities, and memorable special occasions.

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September 14–16

Shore Family Safari

January 26–27

Family Ski Weekend

September 27

Back-to-School Night

February 8

Acapalooza

October 19–20

Rummage Sale

Upper School Winter Musical

October 31

Halloween Parade

February 28– March 2

November 7

Middle School Admissions Open House

April 5

Math + Families = Fun!

April 13

United in Service

November 20

Young Alumni Gathering

November 21

Grandfriends Visiting Day & Thanksgiving Assembly

April 26

Lower School World Music Concert & Art Show

May 2

Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night

December 13

Holiday Concert

January 13

All Grades Admissions Open House

May 16

Upper School Spring Concert & Art Show

January 18

Martin Luther King, Jr. Heritage Celebration

May 24

Memorial Day Assembly

June 12

82nd Closing Exercises

SHORE BU LLET IN FA LL 2018

N EW T RUST EES

The strength of our community defines Shore, and inspires our students and faculty to be their best. Gifts to The Shore Fund from all members of our community drive the mission of our school forward by supporting professional development, curriculum, financial assistance, athletics, and the arts. Your support makes all of this happen. Every gift of every size makes a difference.

For more information contact the Advancement Office or visit

www.shoreschool.org/givenow Jody Johnson P ’19 ’21 Director of Advancement jjohnson@shoreschool.org (978) 402-3816

Brooke Booth P ’24 ’26 ’29 Director of Annual Giving bbooth@shoreschool.org (978) 402-3818

FE AT U RES

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 110 Beverly, MA

SHORE

545 Cabot Street Beverly, Massachusetts 01915 Forwarding Service Requested Address Service Requested

If this publication is addressed to If thiswho publication is addressed to someone who no longer someone no longer main-

a permanent tainsmaintains a permanent address ataddress your at your home, contact the Advancement Office at alumni@shoreschool.org. This will home, contact Brooke Booth in the enable us Office to keep database current and ensure that Advancement atour bbooth@ all alumni and friends receive the Bulletin. Thank you! shoreschool.org. This will enable us to keep our database current and ensure that all alumni receive the Bulletin. Thank you!