Commencement was held at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, with Head of School Larry Weiss, Upper School Head Bob Bowman, and Board of Trustees Co-chairs Lara Holliday and Bradford Mulder ’83 presiding. In accordance with Upper School tradition, members of the graduating class chose the Faculty Speaker, Director of College Counseling Lindsey Berns, and the Class Speakers, Tyler Clarke ’14, Adam Ginsberg ’14 and Simon Jackson-Forsberg ’14.

Continuing a recent cus-tom, the Commencement Speaker was the recipient of the George Fox Distinguished Alumni Award. This year, the well-known actor and producer Fisher Stevens ’81, fulfilled that role admirably with candor, wisdom, and wit.

The Upper School Choir, di-rected by Russell Marsh, and the Upper School Chamber Ensem-ble, directed by Elvira Sullivan, inspired and delighted a filled to capacity audience in the College’s beautiful Founders Hall.

Commencement for the Class of 2014 by Joan Martin

➜ SEE MORE PHOTOS and read speeches at brooklynfriends.org/commencement2014

Photos from top, left to right: Graduates Sam Whang, Raphael Norman-Tenazas, Julia Greenwald, Anton Sack, Lucas Mirer; Tyler Clarke and Elinor Hills; Nicholas Ullman, Glyne Haper, and Evan Novick; Aria Cato receiving her diploma from Head of School Larry Weiss

BROOKLYN FRIENDS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

VOL. 10, NO. 3 SUMMER 2014

Members of the Brooklyn Friends School Class of 2014 received their diplomas

on June 10th in a lively ceremony marked by an abundance of family feeling,

good humor, and gratitude for the unique characteristics of a BFS education.

continued on page 3

2 Brooklyn Friends School Newsletter SUMMER 2014

The Cove. The winner of more than 25 film awards, The Cove made the world aware of the role of a small Japanese coastal city in a major annual capture and slaughter of dolphins. In ad-dressing the graduating Class of 2014, Fisher’s commencement speech brought alive – with en-ergy, perception and humor – his still-strong connection with his experiences at Brooklyn Friends.

All of us at BFS are very excited by the growing numbers of alumni who are reconnecting or remaining connected with the school through social media, informal get-togethers, and par-ticipation in the school’s alumni activities. We are especially thankful for the inspired work of Lekeia Varlack ’99 in her first year as Director of Alumni and Susan Price ’86 in her continuing role as BFS Historian and Ar-chivist. As the dynamic growth of the school continues in the coming years, we are committed to expanding and deepening our efforts to strengthen our outreach to alumni and to renew their sense of connection and mem-bership in our extended teaching and learning community.

MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL DR. LARRY WEISS

During May and June we received a very positive report from

the Decennial Visiting Commit-tee appointed by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) that served as a basis for the official renewal of our NYSAIS accreditation for the next ten years. The Committee’s membership of 13 educators included four heads of school as well as teachers and senior administrators from peer schools throughout New York, including Dalton, Horace Mann, Ethical Culture Fieldston, Lycée Fran-çais, Oakwood Friends, and The Park School of Buffalo. In their written report, the Committee cited the vitality of our school community, the warmth and insight of our students, and BFS’s ambitious expansion program as demonstrated strengths of the school. Their positive affirmation of our operational and strategic goals was deeply gratifying, and we look forward to sharing addi-tional details of the report when school begins anew in September.

Also during the month of June, our Upper School build-ing project took important steps forward with 100% completion of construction drawings by our architectural team at FXFowle

and the subsequent competitive bidding process for selection of the project’s general contractor. We remain on-track to open – in September 2015 – a 40,000 square foot, freestanding Upper School building located at 116 Lawrence Street at One MetroTech Center. Just around the corner from our current high school facility and only two blocks from Pearl Street, the new building is in the heart of the thriving academic, govern-mental and corporate MetroTech campus, which is anchored by the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. Spread across three floors, the new facility has been designed intentionally to serve and support the Upper School’s challenging and comprehensive International Baccalaureate Program, soon to begin its eighth year.

In the context of such new developments, maintaining and celebrating the continuity and connection with the history of Brooklyn Friends are especially important to me. The BFS gradu-ates who attended Alumni Day ’14 from classes going back to the 1940’s all recall their Upper School experiences as significant in shaping their academic and professional interests, their val-ues, and their worldviews. Great

high school teachers and learn-ing experiences occupy a very special place in the memories of recent graduates and of alumni going back several generations.

Consequently, it was espe-cially heartwarming that our Alumni Day celebrations on June 7th honored the legendary Upper and Middle School teacher Dick Begelman with the BFS Teacher Extraordinaire Award. We all joined in recognizing Dick’s exceptional contributions to our school from 1967-1988. A teacher of English and the Perform-ing Arts, Dick was the driving force behind many of the stu-dent productions from that era, including The Mikado, Finian’s Rainbow, and Iolanthe, among others. Alumni Day provided the perfect opportunity to announce an effort to raise $500,000 from alumni to name the black box theater in the new Upper School facility in honor of Dick.

Just as the Alumni Day festivities ended, it was time to graduate an impressive group of students into the alumni ranks. At the Class of 2014 Com-mencement, Fisher Stevens ’81 received the George Fox Dis-tinguished Alumnus Award in recognition of four decades of achievement in film and theater as an actor, director, and produc-er and especially his Academy Award-winning work as produc-er of the 2009 documentary film,

The joyous Alumni Day and Commencement

activities described in this newsletter took place

during an exciting juncture in BFS history.

Architect’s rendering of the black box theater in the new upper school facility (FXFOWLE)

Larry Weiss with Fisher Stevens ’81, recipient of the 2014 George Fox Award

SUMMER 2014 Brooklyn Friends School Newsletter 3

Photos from top, left to right: Nathan Josaphat receiving congratulations from Board Co-chair Bradford Mulder; Sophie Adelman, Chloe Burton, Jillian Feinberg; Clara Siegmund; Julian Smith De Niro greeted by Board Co-chair Lara Holliday; Head of School Larry Weiss congratulating Anna Emy

Every one of the seven speak-ers at commencement exercises took note of the community spirit, resilience, stamina and ac-complishments of the 36 mem-bers of the graduating class and indeed every member of the BFS community. Whether they are teachers, staff, students, alumni, parents or extended family, the many individuals who comprise BFS look out for one another and are deeply invested in the success of students and the institution, speakers said.

Upper School Head Bob Bowman began the ceremony by thanking the graduates’ fami-lies for their blessings of love and faith and by recognizing the vital role of faculty at BFS. “Your teachers have stirred and challenged you in ways that have made a critical difference and helped you grow as a scholar and a person,” he told the graduates.

The three Class Speakers talked about their individual and collective experiences as BFS stu-dents. Tyler Clarke, who joined the Class of 2014 in seventh grade, described the personal attributes of every member of the class. “Today I leave know-ing that I have a connection with everyone here,” she said. Adam Ginsberg, who started in preschool, reflected on how the class was more like a family than a group of students in a grade. “For many people, one of the scariest things about graduation is the prospect of losing this sec-ond family and only seeing them in 20 years at a reunion,” he said. “But I know that the bonds in this grade are too strong to be easily broken.”

Simon Jackson-Forsberg, a BFS student for only a year, expressed his gratitude for the unparalleled opportunities and support he received at BFS as a student relocating to New York City from Buffalo. “The fact that the powers that be looked at my application as a new opportunity instead of an administrative bur-den set a precedent of acceptance that resonated in the administra-tion, my new teachers, and my

new friends,” he shared.Referring to the graduates

as an “extraordinary group of young people,” Faculty Speaker Lindsey Berns predicted that “each one in this class is capable of incredible things – capable of brilliant and innovative think-ing, acts of kindness and ideal-ism, but above all, capable of sur-prising us and themselves… This year alone people on this stage acted in a play and sang in a musical for the first time, joined a team sport for the first time, even joined student government for the very first time and ended up leading the senior class to a great year.”

When the ceremony con-cluded with a speech by alumnus Fisher Stevens, it was evident that at BFS, the more things change, the more they remain the same – the same in all the ways that matter, of course. Just as the three Class Speakers found different routes to BFS, so did Fisher, from Chicago to New York. And just as the members of the Class of 2014 recognize and appreciate the close family atmo-sphere of Brooklyn Friends, that too was part of Fisher’s life in the late 1970s and early 1980s at BFS. “You don’t realize how lucky you are,” he told the graduates. “This is as supportive a world that you are going to get. My advice is to try and create this kind of world and people around you for the rest of your life. That is some-thing I learned by going to this school.”

2014 COMMENCEMENT continued

The best thing to happen is when you can make your work be something you really care about. Always keep your eyes open, and your heart open. And I hope you all feel that you have been given that opportunity when

you walk out of here today. I hope that Brooklyn Friends has prepared you to find your passion, and in your own way, to make a difference. The one thing that I can tell you is that your life will be an incredible adventure; it will fill you with humility and with grace. And always remember, it is important to find joy. It really will be a grand journey, and I am truly excited for you, the Class of 2014. FISHER STEVENS ’81 Commencement Speaker

Sophie AdelmanJohns Hopkins University

Sean Allen *University of Chicago

Kira BarrettSmith College

Chloe Burton *Lewis and Clark College

Aria Cato Agnes Scott College

Cindy ChenCarleton College

Tyler ClarkeWesleyan University

Julian Smith DeNiro *New York University

Anna EmyVassar College

College Destinations for the Class of 2014Allison FalikmanPace University

Jillian FeinbergSkidmore College

Adam Ginsberg *University of Pennsylvania

Julia GreenwaldPitzer College

Max Gustafson *Rochester Institute of Technology

Glyne Harper, Jr. *Ursinus College

Elinor Hills *Yale University

Simret HuntSmith College

Simon Jackson-ForsbergJohns Hopkins University

Nathan JosaphatSiena College

Sayeed JosephSkidmore College

Jamie LeeSchool of Visual Arts

Anna Mackie *Skidmore College

Rosalind MajorDavidson College

Samuel MillerSUNY Geneseo

Lucas MirerDrexel University

Sarah Murray *Agnes Scott College

Raphael Norman-Tenazas *Johns Hopkins University

Evan NovickUrsinus College

Olivia ParnellConnecticut College

Anton Sack *Carleton College

Sofia Schultz *Connecticut College

Clara SiegmundWesleyan University

Nicholas Ullman *Skidmore College

Lotte WalworthRhode Island School of Design

Samuel Whang *Drexel University

Ayanna-Kai WhiteheadEmory University

* denotes students who attended Brooklyn Friends School since first grade or earlier

Sofia Schulz and Anna Mackie

Sayeed Joseph Rosalind Major

4 Brooklyn Friends School Newsletter SUMMER 2014

SUMMER 2014 Brooklyn Friends School Newsletter 5

So now we’re graduating in just a few moments. I have to say that you’re not just the BFS Class of 2014 to me; you’re my family. . . . The sight of those golden doors in Pearl Street will become less familiar, and not

having Donna [Foote] to protect us from the outside world can be shocking at first, but I know we’re all going to do well. I know that at another point in our lives we will all be brought back together to rejoice over the years we had here at Brooklyn Friends. TYLER CLARKE ’14 Class Speaker

What our class lacks for in size, we make up in unity and togetherness. While at times our little bubble of a grade can be frustrating, when everybody knows everything about you – both

the good and definitely the bad – this aspect makes everyone feel less like a classmate, and more like a member of a family. The ability to be open with all of your classmates is something special to this class as there are no real cliques or rivalries – everyone truly gets along. ADAM GINSBERG ’14 Class Speaker

We’re all moving on to amazing places next year, and I can con-fidently say that none of us would be going anywhere quite as amazing without the BFS college office. They invest themselves in

each one of us. Being personally available to make these types of connections transcends the job description, and that’s something that I think makes BFS faculty as a whole incredibly important to students. For me, it made feeling at home here possible. SIMON JACKSON-FORSBERG ’14 Class Speaker

I’m proud of you when you succeed – and you have all succeeded so much already, at so many things – but I’m even more proud of you when you don’t. Because when you pick yourselves up and keep going, that’s when we really see

your strength and grace. When you cheer and encourage your friends through their ups and downs, we see your immense capacity for love and friendship. But most of all, when you try something you don’t already know you’re good at, when you risk failing – that’s when we see you grow. LINDSEY BERNS Faculty Speaker

Your dreams and passions will change. The life of the mind is constantly expanding and will lead you to discover many avenues to pursue. Embrace these changes and do so with gusto. It will make for an unforgettable life…

My wish for each of you is to possess the fortitude to be yourselves as you move through college and beyond. When you find yourself in circumstances that unexpectedly cause you to look back, I hope you do so with no regrets. BOB BOWMAN Head of Upper School

6 Brooklyn Friends School Newsletter SUMMER 2014

June 7th was a busy day for Brooklyn

Friends, as our former students gathered on Alumni Day to reminisce about old times and explore what’s new at BFS. The day began with a rousing

Alumni Basketball game in the lower gym, where athletes from various years competed to capture the feeling of making that win-ning shot for the home team once again.

While some alums were cheering in the gym, others chose a quieter way to relive their Brooklyn Friends experience by attend-ing Quaker meeting. During meeting, many expressed their sentiments with poignant remarks and memories that filled the meet-inghouse with the familiar light of reflection we have grown to appreciate.

After Quaker meeting, everyone was ush-ered to the cocktail party where they enjoyed a wonderful spread of tasty bites and drinks that provided them with the fuel necessary to mix and mingle with former classmates and staff. The cocktail party was punctuated by a special tribute to former MS/US English and Drama teacher Dick Begelman (1967-1988). As part of the celebration, Dick was presented with a Brooklyn Friends School Teacher Extraordinaire award as well as an official Proclamation from New York State given on behalf of his classmates by NYS Assemblyman and fellow alum Karim Camara ’88. After witnessing Dick deliver a spirited acceptance speech, it became very clear why he was such a respected and beloved teacher at BFS.

The rest of the night was filled with laugh-ter and memories as alums flipped through old yearbooks, reminisced with friends and browsed the poster sized archived photos that adorned the walls. Everyone had a memorable time and were truly reminded how special Brooklyn Friends School is, was and will always be.

Following the festivities, many of the re-union year classes joined together to celebrate the spirit of BFS. The Class of 1964 celebrated their 50th reunion with a dinner at Arman-do’s, a neighborhood Italian restaurant, hosted by Head of School Larry Weiss and Director of Development Karen Edelman.

The Class of 1984 celebrated their 30th

Friendship, Memories and Laughter Mark Alumni Day

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reunion at the beautiful apartment of class-mate Nadia Block ’84. Dick Begelman also attended the rooftop after party where ev-eryone reconnected and shared stories about their memories of Brooklyn Friends.

Members of the Class of ’54 had a spe-cial gathering to commemorate their 60th reunion. With an impressive attendance, the former students reminisced about the good ol’ days and their life since BFS. Afterwards, Lynn Sherman Baskin ’54 contacted the Alumni Office to share the pictures and memories of their private reunion.

Alumni Day 2014 was definitely a success measured not only by the number of alums who attended, but also by the lively energy and excitement that permeated Brooklyn Friends. Alumni Day is our time to realize that the BFS spirit that made it such a special school when we attended, is still intact and thriving. For everyone that couldn’t attend as well as those who plan to be back, let’s work together to support Brooklyn Friends and make Alumni Day 2015 an even bigger hit!

by Lekeia Varlack ’99

Happy 60th to the Class of 1954 Left to right, 1st row – Stephen Silver, MD, Mary Jane Craig, Marna Dann, Betsy Buck, Lynn Sherman Baskin, Myron Maliner; 2nd row – Alfred Buck, MD, Martha Denckla, MD, Mollie Leengran, Phillip Steiner, MD, Michael Kenin, MD, Anne Adler Rogin. Having five physicians in this group makes BFS very proud indeed.

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Left to right: 1. Stephen Wermiel ’68, Mechele Plotkin Flaum ’68, Kymberly Hamilton ’83 2. Dick Begelman, Larry Weiss, Karim Camara ’883. Leslie Brimberg Atiram, Derek Lynch ’89. 4. Flien Moes, Margie Duncalfe, Michael Sherman ’77 5. David Gardella, Darrick Hamilton ’89, Warren Harding ’776. The Class of 1954 at Alumni Day: Ed Teter, Judy Katz, Ken Hason, Mayda Pasternack Podell, Ronald Podell, Judy Greenberg, Sally Raymond, Francine Prose, Robert Leveen7. Martin Norregaard, Dick Begelman, Margie Duncalfe, Frank Lundquist, Valerie Lundquist8. Janna Joissainte ’13, Leovanny Fernandez ’109. From the Class of 1981: Helen Mango and Michael Economos10. Brad Reh ’84, Ruth Calaman ’84, Tommy Uhll and Alexandra Silverton Uhll ’8411. The ever-popular Alumni Basketball Game

See more photos on the BFS website, brooklynfriends.org/alumniday14

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WHAT A FUN NIGHT! That’s the sentence echoed throughout Brook-lyn Friends in the days following the Spring Bowl. On the evening of Tuesday, April 29th, Brooklyn Friends School took over Brooklyn Bowl, our borough’s legendary concert and bowling venue. Raising over $85,000 for finan-cial aid at Brooklyn Friends, the evening was a fantastic success.

The fun began with a 175-piece silent auc-tion. Guests enjoyed the delicious food and drink by Blue Ribbon as they perused and bid in support of financial aid. Friends took periodic trips to the photo booth where things sometimes got downright silly! Fifth grade teacher Jeremy Hawkins was a true highlight of the evening when he bravely served as the live auctioneer. His expertise and charisma helped to raise $24,000 in the live auction.

Throughout the event guests danced to the beats of talented DJ and BFS parent Lumumba Bandele. To celebrate the success of the evening, The Dexter Lake Club Band, led by Family Center parent Jamie Krents, hit the stage and the bowling began! The evening

All photos, left to right: 1. Amanda Welch, Lekeia Varlack, Claudia Lewis, Crystal Backus, Jazelyn Montanez; 2. Jeremy Hawkins; 3. Pam Kiernan, Johanna Evans-Colley; 4. Remko deJong, BoBi Ahyn, Lee Olive, Louise Olive; 3. Andrew Edwards, Debra Edwards; 4. Jason Donofrio, Andrea Basham, Emily Perkowski, Andrew Perkowski; 5. Duane McLaughlin, Andrea Basham, Seth Basham; 6. Andrew Edwards, Debra Edwards; 7. Wendy Weiss, Larry Weiss, Bob Bowman; 8. Suzannah Tartan, Raymi Ramseur, Robert Weinstock, Dana Stevens; 9. Remko deJong, BoBi Ahn, Lee Olive, Louise Olive; 10. Susan Greenstein, Mark Buenzle, Nurit Newman; 11. Lawrence Laybourne and Herran Bekele; 12. More than 300 guests enjoyed the BFS Spring Bowl, which raised $85,000 for the financial aid program; 13. Lara Holliday, James Forrester; 14. Natania Kremer, Mari Moreno, Sharon Carter, Maura Eden; 15. Marlies Winter, Michael Winter, Lauryn Small, Jake Ottmann; 15. M. Salomé Galib, Fiona Forward4

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ended on a high note, as friends danced and bowled together.

Many thanks go out to the PAT Spring Bowl Committee, led by Co-Chairs Fiona Forward and Salomé Galib. Fiona and Salo-mé are a BFS dream team, as they volunteered to lead this committee after both chairing this event twice before. This amazing committee did everything from solicit auction items, to sell tickets, to decorate Brooklyn Bowl.

The PAT Spring Bowl Committee thanks the preschool through fourth grade students, art teacher Susan Greenstein, the Lower School classroom teachers and parent Clare McAuliffe for their work in creating the live auction artwork. Special gratitude goes to the entire Brooklyn Friends community for their support of the event. The community rallied to purchase tickets, donate faculty and staff tickets, donate auction items and underwrite the event.

We can’t wait for next year’s party – Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at Brooklyn Bowl.

—Emily Cowles

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A DAY OF Celebration,

Joy and Delight

Everyone had a wonderful time welcoming Grandparents and Special Friends to the Lower School on May 22, 2014. Two

hundred guests enjoyed a musical perfor-mance by our 4th graders, a visit to the

all school art show, and best of all, being “back at school” spending time in the

classrooms with the children.

cdcd

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SUMMER 2014 Brooklyn Friends School Newsletter 11

by Jeffrey Stanley

Now in its eighth year, the BFS Merit Scholarship program awards $10,000

in tuition funds for all four years of high school to two or three outstanding eighth graders who are academically impressive and have a history of contributing to the school in significant ways.

Contending for a Merit Schol-arship isn’t all about academic rigor. Hildagard Gabel and Philip Camposano – the Class of 2017 Merit Scholars who are now concluding their ninth grade year – display a variety of passions and ways in which they engage with the school commu-nity. They excel in academics, the arts, athletics, and service – and like the other merit scholars before them – they seek out op-portunities to advance the entire community.

“Finding out that I was a Merit Scholar felt absolutely amazing,” recalled Hildi, who entered the school in fourth grade. “I was ecstatic, of course, but also surprised and incredibly honored. I’m grateful to BFS for recognizing my work and effort over the past four years.”

Her adviser, Upper School English teacher Sidney Bridges,

MERIT SCHOLARS THRIVE ON ALL FRONTS AT BFS

described this multifaceted achiever as “outstanding.” He has gotten to know Hildi well this year. “She’s an exemplary school citizen,” he said. “She is thriving as a caring, graceful, and energetic leader in student government, the classroom, and in athletics. What my colleagues and I appreciate beyond her intrinsic curiosity is her inclina-tion to discern and affirm the light in her classmates.”

Hildi is especially passion-ate about history and art. “I love learning about how so many different people, movements, and events shape today’s culture,” she said. “In 2-D Art this year I’ve enjoyed learning new ways to convey my ideas and new techniques I can use to refine my drawings and paintings.” Hildi’s innate talent and newfound skills paid off when she won a Silver Key in the Scholastic Art Awards this year. Hildi is also actively involved with the school beyond the classroom, playing junior varsity volleyball, serv-ing as Student Senate secretary, and volunteering with younger students at the Horizons at BFS program. Outside of BFS she continually sharpens her musical

UPPER SCHOOL MERIT SCHOLARS

Class of 2015Maya Kaul

Giovanna MolinaJacob Swindell Sakoor

Class of 2016Anna Franceschelli

Henry JacobsAbby Moore

Class of 2017Philip CamposanoHildagard Gabel

Class of 2018Joy FreundLucy Smith

Isabel Ullman

talents, playing piano and teach-ing herself guitar.

Hildi’s classmate and fellow Merit Scholar Philip Campo-sano said he was humbled when he learned he had received the school’s competitive award. “I knew that many of my class-mates were also very deserving of the scholarship,” this consid-erate and personable young man recalled.

Philip, who entered BFS in kindergarten, has adjusted well to life in the Upper School and said he was surprised by how welcomed he felt from the out-

set. “You walk in with all these preconceived ideas, but BFS real-ly proves that high school can be an open and inviting place,” he said. “The upperclassmen were looking out for the freshmen in the best way – it creates a posi-tive atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable.”

With an academic focus on math and science, Philip chose dance as his arts elective and played on both the varsity bas-ketball team and the champion-ship-winning varsity volleyball team. “Although it’s been a chal-lenge being a freshman on the varsity teams, I have gotten to know and become good friends with my teammates,” he said.

Philip’s adviser, science teacher Margarita Sanchez, isn’t surprised that he is thriv-ing with new peers across the grade levels. She describes him as a “mature, sincere, respectful and sensitive young man who is always eager to participate and help – he is always ready to start the day with a smile.”

Every year at this time, BFS announces the 8th grade recipi-ents of the Upper School Merit Scholarship. They are Isabel Ullman, Lucy Smith and Joy Freund. Congratulations – we’ll be checking in with you about a year from now.

Philip Camposano and Hildagard Gabel of the Class of 2017

From left, Isabel Ullman, Lucy Smith and Joy Freund – Class of 2018 Merit Scholars at their 8th Grade Moving Up Ceremony

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Vol. 10, No. 3, SUMMER 2014 The Newsletter is published three times a year for BFS families, faculty, alumni/ae and friends.

Joan Martin, Editor

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PAIDS. Hackensack, NJ

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Eleventh grade was “both intensely stressful and

incredibly rewarding” for Bisa McDuffie-Thurmond ’15. “I at-tribute that mostly to a newfound maturity that develops as you go through high school,” he said. A

talented musician who has frequently focused on jazz at the school, this sage scholar has

instead been particularly passion-ate about the IB Theater program this year. In the fall he played Tom Collins in Rent. “For me, this was one of those cliché high school experiences where you try something you’ve never done, have a great time with it and make awesome friends along the way… I’ve found it to be gratifying and I’ve come to really enjoy, and be an invested member in, the school’s theater community.”

The decision to choose between playing bass in the BFS jazz band and walking the boards was tough but necessary. “In junior year, it’s a necessity to construct a schedule in which academia is the sole focus,” said the BFS lifer who started here at age 3. One aspect of that focus was his IB Historical Investigation paper, “an analysis of a specific

PORTRAITS OF YOUNG FRIENDSevent in American history requir-ing the student to provide objective fact about the event,” he explained, “and through examination of the subject matter develop a thesis and position.” He chose Robert F. Kennedy for his topic; specifically, “Kennedy’s transition from his work as part of his brother’s ad-ministration, where he marginal-ized Civil Rights issues, to his work at the forefront of these issues after his brother’s death.” He’s noticeably proud of his accomplishment with his first IB research paper. “Though difficult, the paper produced some of the strongest work I’ve done in 13 years at the school.”

Bisa also served as one of a group that represented BFS at the annual Quaker Youth Leadership Conference, a nationwide event at which, as Bisa put it, “students tackle and analyze Quakerism and the Quaker principles.” Outside of school he still jams on the bass whenever possible. “I find that there are emotions that can be expressed through music that simply cannot be expressed in any other way.”

Finalized college plans are still a way off, but this focused young scholar has already made up his mind. “I intend to major in political science and subsequently pursue a law degree,” he said. “I’ve been interested in politics since I was little.”

Jonathan Bach ’15 wants to do one thing so badly that at age 16

he’s already embarked on a profes-sional career. That one thing is in theater, but his Broadway dreams don’t involve being in the lime-light. They are fulfilled behind the scenes in the unique world of stage management. “It’s hard for me to do after school activities because I work,” he explained. “I’m a stage manager on a production of 9 to 5 and after that I’ll be part of the stage management team for the CFDA Fashion Awards for the third year and part of the stage management team on the Ameri-can Theatre Wing Gala for the third year as well.”

Do the math: that means he’s been at it since age 13. Jonathan hasn’t finalized career plans yet but he’s set on continuing his life working in this specific slice in the hierarchy of professional the-ater productions. “It is my love, my passion and my dream. I am so lucky to be doing it in New York City.”

To audiences this position might seem mysterious or dull but the stage manager is the driving force of a production backstage

night after night. The job actually begins during rehearsals, during which the stage manager typically shadows the director and notes all of the director’s creative decisions regarding blocking, set, props, costumes and lighting. The stage manager also creates and manages rehearsal schedules, freeing the di-rector to focus on her artistic vision for a show. It’s one of the most im-portant—and most unglamorous and anonymous—parts of show biz. But within the business, word spreads quickly about high qual-ity stage managers and they find themselves in constant demand.

As for BFS, “junior year is go-ing well,” says this academically strong IB student. His favorite un-dertaking this spring is his final IB Math project. “I’m analyzing the grosses of 10 different Broadway shows, and I’m loving the fact that I have the chance to mix Broadway with math.”

A BFS lifer who started at age 2, Jonathan is an Ambassador for the BFS Enrollment Office and was selected to be part of a group of students who toured and chatted with the NYSAIS committee who visited the school. “I love tours and I love people,” said the effusive teen. “It was so nice to be able to interact with a group of people that want to know about our school because I have so much to say.”

– Jeffrey Stanley