The
Whittier Miscellany MAY 2018 • WILMINGTON FRIENDS SCHOOL’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER • WILMINGTON, DELAWARE
Bidding a bittersweet farewell to excellent teachers CONNOR MILLER ’19 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF One of the most outstanding aspects of the Wilmington Friends School Community is the teachers. All teachers care about their students and their success and go out of their way to meet with students to provide extra help. Unfortunately, as in every profession, teachers retire, but new ones will always come to fill their place. This year, seven faculty members are leaving in both the upper school and the middle school. Those teachers are Lynn Puritz-Fine, Mark Schmittle, Lauren Gutstein, Helena Cochrane, Jerome Bailey, Eric Tucker, and David Gertler. The community will miss them, but they leave many memories in their wake. Upper School Dean for Students, Lynn Puritz-Fine, who has been at the school for almost thirty years, had this to say about her Friends School experience: “Every one of my favorite memories contains a special moment with a student. They run the gamut from happy to sad. I had an extreme trip to Costa Rica with two guys who were athletic. I remember one moment when we were climbing up the mountain with mudslides and thorns everywhere and bullet ants which could send you to the hospital with one sting. The boys took me in hand and one of them said, ‘I got you, Ms. Puritz’. They dragged me and pushed me up that mountain. It took them two hours, but they got me up that mountain. I’ll never forget that. To me, Friends School means family, support, collegiality, and growth. Over these three decades, I’ve gone through all kinds of life events from a divorce, to breaking my pelvis twice, to getting sabbatical opportunities, to being in Colorado when my son was a senior, to being a mom, to going to Mexico with my children, to the recent death of my husband. My
students and colleagues were there,” Puritz-Fine continues, “Teaching is not a job for me; teaching is a vocation. Counseling is a vocation, but this community is healing. The commitment and enthusiasm in my colleagues is unusual. The students who allow me to help facilitate their growth by being honest with me has been amazing.” Rebecca Zug, Head of Upper School, says this about Puritz-Fine, “She has been here almost thirty years and has left her imprint on student life. I think for a long time to come, we will say: “what would Ms. Puritz do? She cares about students in a way that is a model for all of us.” Puritz-Fine has impacted the lives of nearly every student she has worked with and the community will miss her, but we wish her an abundance of happiness with her children and grandchildren. Mark Schmittle, Head of the Science Department, mentioned that his favorite aspect of working at Friends was, “working with fun students and great colleagues.” Schmittle has been a chemistry teacher for many years and is known both for his friendly pranks that he pulls on his students, and his extravagant stories. Zug describes, “He has had such a lasting impact on the science department and for decades before my time he was the soccer coach, he was the yearbook advisor, and he did eco-sustainability initiatives, he has been faculty clerk, grade dean, and department chair. I value working with him. He is a real source of wisdom.” The upper school English Department and theatre community will be losing Lauren Gutstein. Throughout her time at Friends, she has worked passionately with the performances. Gutstein mentioned this on her time at Friends: “We’re more than a school, we’re a close-knit community. I think my work with the shows will be some of the memories that stick with me the most because they’re such intense times while trying to put a production together. Friends is
a place where people can call home and where people care about each other. This is my first time in a Quaker institution which will be lasting for me. It is nice to see the Quaker values in practice.” The community is saddened by her departure but wishes her the best in the future. Middle school history teacher, Jerome Bailey who has been at Friends for two years will be leaving to teach at another school in the upcoming year. We wish you the best of luck! David Gertler, middle school teacher, is also leaving this year. Also known as ‘Math-Master G’, Gertler has been known to create raps at the end of the year including all of his students. We will miss his charisma and versatility! Eric Tucker, middle school English teacher, may also be leaving due to medical reasons. We thank him for captivating stories and great tennis coaching. Any student who has experienced his class will remember his bowl of chocolate with a packet of cheese at the bottom that is older than anyone can remember! Helena Cochran came to us from Episcopal. We were so lucky to get her and almost as soon as she arrived, she started working in the college guidance office. She has done the QUEST Dominican Republic trip, she chaperoned MOAS, she was in Alabama for the Equal Justice Initiative, she has been extraordinary. We are really going to miss her. Javier Ergueta will be taking a one year sabbatical with his son in Spain. In addition to spending time in Spain, Ergueta plans to travel extensively working and doing research that will enhance his IB courses. Everyone at WFS wishes him a great time and look forward to your return! Finally, as Zug stated, “Everyone wears multiple hats in this community so every time a teacher leaves, the ripple effect is significant.” We are thankful that all of these fine teachers were part of our Friends School journey.