W Parents ’ Post A Newsletter for Parents and Friends of The Thacher School Early Fall 2000 Dear Parents, Grandparents, and Friends: Head of School Michael Mulligan concluded his New Year’s Banquet speech on Septem- ber 11 with a reference to something Wen- dell Berry wrote in his recent Life is a Mira- cle: An Essay against Modern Superstition. “Good artists,” Berry contends, “are people who can stick things together so that they stay stuck. They know how to gather things into formal arrangements that are intelligi- ble, memorable, and lasting. Good forms confer health upon the things that they gather together. Farms, families, communi- ties are forms of art just as are poems, paint- ings, and symphonies. None of these things would exist if we did not make them. We can make them either well or poorly; this choice is another thing that we make.” Berry gets it right—and makes, for me, an apt launch pad for the first Post of the year, a time when choice begins anew. What Sher- man Day Thacher gathered together well over a century ago—students, horses, orange and avocado groves, dedicated and scholarly faculty—still coheres, still endures, still be- stows health upon those of us whose good fortune has brought us to this place. Once joined, we then take our individual parts in the perpetuation of the piece of art that is the Thacher community: we overtly and actively value honor, fairness, kindness, and truth by keeping those four essentials in the center of on-going discussions, in our daily words and deeds. And though we may not always choose the best color from our palette, or locate just the right word for the poem, we consciously try and try again, knowing that making our community well is, if occasion- ally slightly beyond our reach, ultimately within our collective grasp. YOU CHOOSE Whatever starting point you use—the first suitcase unpacked, the first step on a Sierra trail, the singing of our traditional grace Domine at the start of the New Year’s Banquet, or the Head’s annual reading of Oliver Wendell Holmes’s The Chambered Nautilus on the first day of classes—school has begun with all the energy, eagerness, and enthusiasm that can be packed into—and then released by—243 teenagers and five dozen teachers, advisors, and coaches. New students number 68: a 9th grade class of 50, 16 boys and girls joining the Class of 2003, and two new juniors—all of whom bring vigor and a wide variety of accomplishments and talents to our hillside community. Other com- pelling stats: a quarter of our students receive financial aid; 21% of the stu- dent body are students of color, and 49% are related to another student in the School or to a graduate of CdeP. You could cover the soccer field with the number of state and foreign flags flown by the members of the student body: in addition to California, these young women and men have traveled from 26 states, from A (Alaska) to W (Wyoming) and eight foreign coun- tries, to be a part of the 112th Thacher School,“ the only [one],” in the words of Michael Mulligan, “we will ever have.” Made well, it will, we expect, stay stuck.
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Parents’ PostA Newsletter for Parents and Friends of The Thacher School Early Fall 2000
Dear Parents, Grandparents,and Friends:
Head of School Michael Mulligan concludedhis New Year’s Banquet speech on Septem-ber 11 with a reference to something Wen-dell Berry wrote in his recent Life is a Mira-cle: An Essay against Modern Superstition.“Good artists,” Berry contends, “are peoplewho can stick things together so that theystay stuck. They know how to gather thingsinto formal arrangements that are intelligi-ble, memorable, and lasting. Good formsconfer health upon the things that theygather together. Farms, families, communi-ties are forms of art just as are poems, paint-ings, and symphonies. None of these thingswould exist if we did not make them. Wecan make them either well or poorly; thischoice is another thing that we make.”
Berry gets it right—and makes, for me, anapt launch pad for the first Post of the year, atime when choice begins anew. What Sher-man Day Thacher gathered together wellover a century ago—students, horses, orangeand avocado groves, dedicated and scholarlyfaculty—still coheres, still endures, still be-stows health upon those of us whose goodfortune has brought us to this place. Oncejoined, we then take our individual parts inthe perpetuation of the piece of art that is theThacher community: we overtly and activelyvalue honor, fairness, kindness, and truth bykeeping those four essentials in the center ofon-going discussions, in our daily words anddeeds. And though we may not alwayschoose the best color from our palette, orlocate just the right word for the poem, weconsciously try and try again, knowing thatmaking our community well is, if occasion-ally slightly beyond our reach, ultimatelywithin our collective grasp.
YOU CHOOSEWhatever starting point you use—the first suitcase unpacked, the first step on aSierra trail, the singing of our traditional grace Domine at the start of the New Year’sBanquet, or the Head’s annual reading of Oliver Wendell Holmes’s The ChamberedNautilus on the first day of classes—school has begun with all the energy, eagerness,and enthusiasm that can be packed into—and then released by—243 teenagers andfive dozen teachers, advisors, and coaches. New students number 68: a 9th gradeclass of 50, 16 boys and girls joining the Class of 2003, and two new juniors—all ofwhom bring vigor and a wide varietyof accomplishments and talents toour hillside community. Other com-pelling stats: a quarter of our studentsreceive financial aid; 21% of the stu-dent body are students of color, and49% are related to another student inthe School or to a graduate of CdeP.You could cover the soccer field withthe number of state and foreign flagsflown by the members of the studentbody: in addition to California, theseyoung women and men have traveledfrom 26 states, from A (Alaska) to W(Wyoming) and eight foreign coun-tries, to be a part of the 112th ThacherSchool,“ the only [one],” in the wordsof Michael Mulligan, “we will everhave.” Made well, it will, we expect,stay stuck.
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OUT THEREThe blisters and scrapes are healed and gone, but lasting are the sto-ries: the Meyer-Etchells trip getting “pulled over” by a forest ranger;the newly acquired Missouri Fox-Trotters striding over miles andmiles of Sierra trails in a flash; a high-country, in-tent rendition of“Amazing Grace,” sung by one 9th grade girl for a fellow advisee ofthe name; instant oatmeal facials concocted with glacier-cold stream
At every switchback, we would rest, remark how thankful we
were that we were not doing this during the heat of the day,
and take a look back over the ghostly pale moonlight defining
the outlines of the ridges behind us. I was in the front when,
after two and a half hours of hiking continuously up, my feet
dragging and my eyes batting with fatigue, I crossed the road
running along the top of The Ridge and looked over the other
side. We could see all the way to the ocean. Later…out of our
sweaty clothes and in our sleeping bags, we didn’t speak a
word to each other, [but we felt] a connection, a common
feeling of pride and accomplishment…as we went to sleep.
—Logan Clark ’01
Julia Robinson, Katie Frykman, Saxon McClintock, Kate Kieve, andGrace Bueti take a breather on a boulder near the Cottonwood Lakes.
Chris Willoughby stands at fire-stoking readiness at the Golden TroutCamp fire ring. Seated at the edges: Ho Jung Kim, Becky Swan, WhitneyLivermore, faculty member Diana Garcia, Taylor Medina, Nhu Y Dang.
At Devil’s Postpile National Monument, members of the 85-mile trek onthe John Muir Trail: in front, John Babbott, Rob Dickson, Canyon Cody,David Babbott, Will Barkan; in back, Deloria Many Grey Horses Lane,Arielle Flam, Emery Mitchem, Hugh Gordon, faculty co-leader JamieDial.
Patrick Bates and Robert Neville in the middle of a circle of new friends.
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water; sliding downshale, getting nickedand dirty and calling it“the best day ever.”Gone and back fromfall Extra Day Trips arenow hardy campers,some of whom hadnever felt the weight ofa backpack or sleptunder the starry domeor tasted pine needlesamidst the ramen. Tripswent in all directions,though primarilynorth: far to the Sierra,the Lost Coast, Mam-moth Lakes, and closerto home, the Los PadresNational Forest,Thacher’s backyardplayground.
SUMMERWORKMore than a quarter of the fac-ulty pursued some sort of pro-fessional development duringthe summer break:
• Greg Haggard (Chair of TheArts Deparment, Director ofMusic) attended WestminsterChoir College in Princeton, NJ,and was under the tutelage ofJames Jordan and SabineHorstmann (both authors ofbooks on vocal technique andchoir dynamics).
• Gallia Vickery (Mathematics,Dance) studied at the Bill Evans
Dance Teacher Intensive at Butler University, focusing on Bartenieffand Laban movement theories and anatomical basics of ballet tech-nique.
• Chuck Warren (Vet Med, Horse Department) attended Jazz Campat Idyllwild School of Music and Art to hone his trombone skills;there, he studied with professional musicians and jazz professors.
• Marcia Edwards (Chemistry, Biology, Human Relationships &Sexuality Program Coordinator) learned Webpage production; shepresently is in the middle of designing a Chemistry Webpage forThacher’s intranet “so that students can share their writing and re-
• Susan Harden-bergh (Horse De-partment), Kather-ine Halsey (French,Horse Department),Wendi Parker-Dial(Arts, Horse Depart-ment), and HollyMitchem (Arts,Horse Department)packed their tack,loaded up fourhorses, and headed
to the Pat Parelli NaturalHorsemanship Clinic inPagosa Springs, Col-orado, where theypicked up new tools,skills and vocabulary fortheir work with fresh-man riders.
• Chair of the ScienceDepartment, Rae AnnSines, dove deep into atthe Human Genomeworkshop sponsoredand run by Cold SpringsHarbor Laboratory andhosted by Cal StateFullerton. With otherbiotech high school andcollege teachers, Rae Ann spent the week primarily in lab workusing human DNA, interpreting data, discussing classroom appli-cation, and doing computer modeling. Rae Ann took another weekof summer to study at the Lakeside Laboratory at Lake Okoboji inIowa, learning how to teach animal behavior. The highlight, she re-ports, was meeting William Soudar, writer for The New York Timesand author of Plague of Frogs. “It was extremely interesting to hearabout an environmental problem from the standpoint of a journal-ist and to pick his brain about current theories on the decline in am-phibian populations worldwide.”
Greg Haggard’s gang lunch at the edge of a Sierra lake: Ben Heilveil,Charlie Munzig, Chris Brown, Tyler Caldwell, Cyrus Menendez, andLuke Myers.
Clarissa Calwell leads the string on her all-girlpack trip with faculty leader Katherine Halsey.
Of all the seminars, workshops and
conferences I’ve attended in my
several years at Thacher, this was by
far the most challenging, exciting
and useful to me. I learned so much
about horses, about the relationship
between humans and horses, and
about what we bring to the
relationship that can help or hinder
our horse’s performance.
—Holly Mitchem, on theParelli Horsemanship Clinic
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• To prepare for the School’s new course offering in journalism, Eliz-abeth Bowman (Director of the Library) attended an Intensive Jour-nalistic Writing Workshop in Ashland, OR, sponsored by the Jour-nalism Educators Association.
• Austin Curwen (History, Horse & Outdoor Programs) and EmilyEtchells (Spanish) spent a week at Taft School’s Teacher EducationConference, Austin immersed in learning approaches to the newestAdvance Placement offering, a half-year elective called Cultural Ge-ography, and Emily preparing to prepare our younger students forthe level of work expected at the AP level.
• Also working with our equinefriends and teachers were CamSchryver (Director of the HorseProgram) and Jake Jacobsen(English, Drama), who attendeda week-long seminar at the OlsonRanch in Black Forest, Colorado.There, they worked with a masterof draft horses, learning aboutcare and training, about harness-ing, hitching and driving—all inanticipation of the possibility ofThacher’s procuring a pair of
Percherons or Belgians as workers (feeding in pasture) and as “teach-ers” in the Horse Program. Jake also led a three-week adventure inAfrica for Thacher students and parents that included climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro.
• Wendi Parker-Dial took in aCultural Landscape Photogra-phy Workshop at the Ander-son Ranch in Snowmass, CO,a course taught by Len Jen-shel, one of the foremost con-temporary photographers ofchanging landscapes.
• Buck Wales, Chair of theMathematics Department,completed his MALS degreeat St. John’s College in SantaFe, wrapping up with a termfocused on Politics andSociety.
• Alison Curwen (Study Skills) traveled to the Pacific Northwest toattend an 8-day conference on “New Trends in Learning Styles,”whose topics included identifying student learning styles, strate-gies for working with visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners, andmethods to increase content retention.
• Steve Carter (Arts) convened with a diverse group of others at theTaos Pueblo in New Mexico, where they studied the pottery-makingtechniques of the Anasazi, focusing on replicating with traditionaltools and materials the classic black-and-white pottery made in theMesa Verdi area during the 11th century.“Using only tools found inthe archeological record, we were challenged in manipulating bone,stone, plant fiber, and wood,” said Steve. “I was led to a special ap-preciation for the Neolithic artists who produced such beauty withan incredible resourcefulness.”
• A-J Goldman (Mathematics)pursued a certification coursefor the high school varsity levelof volleyball at the USA Volley-ball Camp in Iowa, where helearned basic and advanced skillsin hitting, setting, rotation, andstrategy.
• Elissa Thorn (Physics) partici-pated in a lightning study basedin Goodland, KS, where shelearned about clouds, weather,storms, tornadoes, and light-ning, as well as storm forecast-ing, state-of-the-art researchradar, electric field measuring,and weather balloon launching.
• Pierre Yoo (Chemistry) metnature face-to-face in the moun-tains of the Yukon, as he com-pleted a three-week long Na-tional Outdoor LeadershipSchool program.
HORSE PREPSeveral able horsemen and women worked with the Horse Depart-ment faculty during fall camping trips to prepare the horses for thesoon-to-return freshmen. Katherine Bechtel, Leigh Salem, MelissaVickery, Caitlin Mulholland, Anthea Tjuanakis, Patty Abou-Samra,Phoebe Halsey, Lizzy Brewer, Erik Fiske,Amanda Grumman, TamimaAl-Awar, Melanie Morris, Alex Huth, Iyana Reid, Jacey Roche, AnnieWheatley, Meg Kwan, Michael Dachs, and Tara Desjardins proved in-dispensable to the effort of “dummy-proofing” the steeds for thegreenhorns. Of their efforts, Cam Schryver said, “We just couldn’thave gotten the program going without these kids and their hardwork. In addition to schooling the horses, they produced fifty yacht-line spliced lead ropes and several halters—no mean feat.” (Not a lit-tle esoteric, either!)
THACHER TEACHERS TEACH ATTEACH THE TEACHERSThe campus that never sleeps witnessed an astonishing 1400 south-ern California educators participating in the Vons/Pavilions Teach theTeachers Collaborative during the eight week-long sessions. Con-ceived by Thacher alumnus Jeff Menashe CdeP ’89, and Thacherfaculty member Kurt Meyer, TTTC is a public/private collaborationdesigned to deliver week-long training in technology integration toK-12 teachers. (The founding partners of TTTC include Thacher andMenashe and Associates, the Los Angeles Office of Education, andVons/Pavilions, a division of Safeway, Inc.) This summer’s ambi-tious program included 25 different courses, each focusing on the lat-est technology appropriate for a particular grade level or subject. Avariety of technology companies and educational programs teamedup with TTTC, enabling the Collaborative to offer a diverse and ex-citing curriculum that included conducting physics experiments
The highlight was the three
days I spend with a National
Severe Storms Lab chase
team, following tornado
supercell storms and helping
to launch weather balloons
into those storms to measure
electric fields. It was straight
out of the film Twister: crazy
people tearing down the
highway in a motley caravan
of vehicles, trying to get close
to tornadic activity without
ending up in a tornado!”
—Elissa Thorn
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using equipment from Texas Instruments, learning about hurricanesand earthquakes from scientists from The Jason Project, trying outthe latest technology products designed to enhance the teaching ofreading and math, exploring the internet under the guidance of mu-seum educators from SF MOMA, mastering the intricacies of AdobePhotoshop, creating a web adventure for students using WebQuests,and scanning the night sky using a remotely-controlled telescope.Thacher faculty, in addition to Executive Director Kurt Meyer, in-cluded Alice Meyer, program manager; Bert Mahoney, website de-signer; Jerry Holden, systems administrator; Roger Klausler, web siteeditor; as well as teachers A-J Goldman and David Harris. Scurryingbehind the scenes the keep all systems go were many current Thacherstudents: Nathan Wallace, Julia Robinson, Ben Heilveil, David Gal,Melissa Vickery, Katie Kuhl, Tyler Manson, Chris Grant, EmeryMitchem,Michael Dachs,Duncan Winecoff, and Justin Torres. Alums,too, got into the act: hot-off-the-press grads Todd Meyer, JulietteWhite, and Wallis Adams; and a host of slightly older ones: TedCraver, Ryan Meyer (sensing a theme yet?), Jamie Burns-France, TimJohnson, and Ben and Elizabeth Wallace.
HOME IMPROVEMENT……came in many forms this summer, thanks to the herculean effortsof the stalwart maintenance staff and contracted others. With Fa-cilities Director Jamie Kuhl at the helm and Maintenance Depart-ment Assistant Diane Russell as first-rate first mate, several projectsreached completion:
• a shiny new forest-green fence around the pool, with both en-trances framed by stunning stone pillars
• Room 14—the small theater-like room in the Anson S. ThacherHumanities Building—recarpeted and all seats replaced
• New windows in and roofing on the building that houses historyclassroom K
• Reflooring of the Health Center
• Lower School bathroom partitioning
• A soccer wall on the lower field
• New gardens and walkways near the WLT building (Admissionsand College Counseling—also known as the In-n-Out) and theHealth Center
Several faculty homes were also tended to in significant ways: newbathrooms; new carpets, wood, or linoleum; refinished decks. Andall of it in addition to the “routine” maintenance of a 400-acre,100+ building campus! Hats off to the tireless guys who made it allhappen: Robert Torres, Pat LaVelle, Elvis Anthony, Grounds Super-visor Bill Conrad, Oscar Luna, Jamie Robles, Angel Elmonte, JavierBriones, Rafael Piñeda, as well as Bob Lang and faculty/staff childrenFrank Conrad and Max Kuhl.
BETTER LATE THAN…The good news about Matty Wilson came in after everyone had leftfor the summer so couldn’t be shared earlier—but here it is: Mattywas named to the All CIF First Team in baseball for the year 2000.Those who’ve seen Matty hit, run and field know why; those whohaven’t will bear witness this spring when batting season rolls ’roundagain!
THE COLLEGE BOARD……recently sent the news that seniors Mike Disner and Canyon Codyhad earned berths as Scholar Finalist and as an Honorable MentionFinalist, respectively, in the National Hispanic Recognition Pro-gram 2000-01, “an effort to recognize the exceptional academicachievement of Hispanic high school students.” This puts these boysin the top 3000 Hispanic students nationwide who, as high schooljuniors, were among the top scorers on the Preliminary ScholasticAptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and whofurther qualified on the basis of their academic achievement.
UNIVERSITY-TO-USAn elite and fortunate band of scholars is studying this fall withUCSB’s Takashima Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies (and doc-umentary film director, author, translator, and father to Emily ’03)Dr. John Nathan, whose expertise in this subject area combines withhis keen interest in Thacher students in a time of rapid globalization.Each Tuesday evening for the first semester, primarily juniors andseniors meet here on campus with Dr. Nathan to discuss eight texts,including two translated by the good professor himself: The SailorWho Fell from Grace with the Sea (Mishima) and A Personal Matterby Kenzaburo Oe—the 1994 Nobel Prize winner in Literature.
Dr. Nathan flanked by Betsy Bradford, Amanda Grumman, and DavidBabbott.
Some of the TTTC gang: at the table, Kurt Meyer, Nathan Wallace, JamieBurns-France, and Alice Meyer; standing, Ryan Meyer, Jerry Holden,Todd Meyer, Tyler Manson, Erik Hanstad, Ben Wallace, Chris Grant, andMelissa Vickery.
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Fresh
New riders—all 9th graders and some incomingabout exactly what it is about the outside of a hThis is a year-long awakening that starts with ming latigo from lead rope, finding out what givepick up a hoof to clean it. Following closely on tYee haw!
Seasoned knot-meister Nathan Wallace showsNhu Y Dang how to secure her horse at the tierail as Becky Swan and Patty Abou-Samra watch.
Striking poses on the old John Deere: MattStenovec, Martin Sawyer, Justin Torres,Taylor Medina, Nhu Y Dang, Jim Sligh,Whitney Livermore, and Becky Swan.
Up nEatonclose
ring as th
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hman
g sophomores—are discovering more each dayhorse that’s good for the inside of a boy or girl.
mucking stalls in the early morning, differentiat-es—that is, which leg muscles relax—when youthe heels of these early lessons: actual riding.
Riders
Gierke and Jim Sligh move theiraround the ring on their first
ounted.
A passel of freshmen watch a horse-catching demonstration in the Jess
Kahle coverred arena.
Evan Werlin gets the dust out ofColorado’s hide as he gets his
steed ready for action.
The horses kicking up dust, Becky Swanleads faculty member Chuck Warren’s
riding group through patterns.
next: Justin Torres, Chrisn, and Martin Sawyer paye attention to riders in thehey await their own turn.
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A random selection of tomes read and enjoyed (as self-reported) bystudents this summer:
The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey (“My new favoritebook!” says Emery Mitchem)
Shogun by James Clavell (Jamie Everett)
Franny and Zooey by J.S. Salinger (Chris Bonewitz)
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines (Zoë Towns)
The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris, and Vehicles: Experiments inSynthetic Psychology by Ventino Braitenberg (Rob Bray)
Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow, Term Limits by Vince Flynn, and“several John Grishams” (Will Chamberlain)
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, and Angela’s Ashes byFrank McCourt (Betsy Bradford)
Dune by Frank Herbert (Matt O’Meara)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Laurel Peterson)
Into Thin Air by John Krakower, The Perfect Storm by SebastianJunger, and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (Robert Brownell)
Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah (Joy Bergeron)
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (Emmett Hopkins)
Do They Hear You When You Cry? by Fauziya Kassindja and LayliMiller Bashir (Yasmine Arastu)
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson (Laura Slattery)
So here and now, on the threshold of the only 112th
Thacher School we will ever have, looking forward but
being actively mindful of the present, let each of us include
in our New Year’s resolutions this: to be a worthy and
thoughtful artist, to make our community well—with
consciousness and deliberation in our every action—in
order to make it good. Here’s to the best year yet!
Michael Mulligan, Head of School,in his New Year’s Banquet speech,
September 11, 2000
Hugs all around for the Gore-Judds: mom Tomiko, new studentRebeccah, and big brother Peter.
Merilee and Sam Eaton CdeP ’65, flank their son Chris as they all takea break from unpacking on Opening Day.
All smiles and representing the third generation of Livermores andOrricks to join the School is Whitney Livermore, right, with her mom,Mo, and dad, Nori Livermore CdeP ’66.
BEYOND ENDURANCE
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CdeWHAT?Those of you new to Thacherspeak might wonder about the nomen-clature we use in publications to indicate graduating year. When yousee a simple abbreviated year after a student’s name (Suzie Jones ’03),you know that he or she hasn’t yet graduated. “CdeP” followed by ayear indicates alumni status.
NEW FACULTY FACESFrom Fountain Valley School in Colorado has come Elissa Thorn, aphysics teacher whose prior experience includes a stint at SantaCatalina School. Elissa graduated magna cum laude from CarletonCollege, where horseback riding, alpine skiing, tennis, and Frenchhorn were her primary extracurricular interests. As a resident of oneof the “bookend” apartments in the Lower School, Elissa rides herdon the 9th grade boys as an advisor to that group; she is also work-ing in the English Riding Program.Y Second- and third-yearSpanish students find Emily Etchells in their classroom during thisyear that Cecilia Ortiz is in Spain on sabbatical. A cum laude gradu-ate of Colby College with a double major in Spanish and Biology,Emily has interests that intersect with some of Thacher’s premierprograms: lacrosse, hiking and camping, and riding. Emily lives inLee Quong and is an advisor to junior girls.Y Also recently en-sconced in the Humanities Building (borrowing Chris Mazzola’sdesk while she is on maternity leave) is Francoise Kasimirowski-Garcia, a trilinguist (English, French, Spanish) whose bachelor’sand master’s degrees were conferred by the University of Toulouse(France). Cooking, linguistics, and the Ojai Youth Foundation areFrancoise’s passions outside of teaching and her family— husbandAlejandro (an interventional cardiologist) and children Julian andClemencia.Y Thacher and Colorado College grad Diana GarciCdeP ’95 adds her expertise to our coaching ranks; at Thacher Dianawas a four-year, three-varsity sportswoman and a four-year varsitylax player at CC (captain her last two years there). A Romance Lan-guages scholar, Diana is also helping to fill in for Sra. Ortiz: sheteaches two sections of Spanish and advises sophomore girls.YWorking in Admission, teaching in the Mathematics Department,coaching both boys’ and girls’ soccer, and advising sophomore girlsis Mary Everett CdeP ’94 and also a graduate of Colorado College,where she majored in math, was, two years running, MVP of CC’slacrosse team, and was her Division I school’s ninth all-time goalscorer.Y Sandy Jensen, a Julliard and NYU’s Tisch School ofFine Arts graduate and an actor, is teaching the drama componentof our Introduction to the Arts freshman program. With his deep in-volvement in local schools and youth sports teams, the Ojai LibraryFoundation, and various regional arts projects, Sandy is a ubiquitousand positive presence all around the Ojai Valley. Sandy’s wife, Con-nell Davis, is a pediatrician; his children, Cal and Genevieve, are stu-dents at Matilija Junior High and San Antonio School.Y Mostrecently the Senior Major Gifts Officer at the University of Ver-mont, David Babbott, who earned his BA from Amherst College andhis MBA from Cornell, has been named Director of Special Gifts andPlanned Giving. Nancy, David’s wife, is an elementary-level teacherwho has just taken on the task of revamping the Monica Ros School’slibrary. Two younger Babbotts—David and John—are Thacher stu-dents (’01and ’03); Ben is a student at Matilija.Y Alison Cur-wen, who earned her undergraduate degree at Connecticut College
and her master’s at UC Berkeley, has stepped into the post of StudySkills instructor. A reading specialist, Alison has been a teacher inWashington State and, more locally, at Monica Ros School; she’smarried to Austin Curwen (History, Horse & Outdoor Programs)YAnother former Monica Ros teacher and educator of 12 years, JulieManson will do officially what she’s done unofficially for years as thewife of Dorm Head Bo Manson: be an advisor to 9th grade girls inCasa.Y New to the Health Center is Susan Perkins, R.N., whowill serve as our new weekend nurse. Susan’s wealth of experience in-cludes work in pediatrics, trauma, anesthesia, and emergency med-icine. On campus with her will be her 8-year-old daughter, Bryn.
SHORT TAKES With several thousand miles added to his odometer (and, he’d claim,an intimate knowledge of the major cross-country highways),physics teacher David Harris is back after his sabbatical year spent inNew York at Vassar College. There, he took classes in astronomy, in-cluding some formal training in planetary science “to enrich thefreshman physics courses and to be able to use our observatorymore effectively.” He also took courses in the history of science andtechnology, as well as in physics to see if we prepare students well inour AP Physics Program (“We do,” he reported.) Curriculum de-velopment and winter blizzard fending off were David’s other pur-suits during his nine months in Poughkeepsie, NY.e Threefreshly-minted babies: James Joseph (“JJ” henceforth) Mazzola, all 81⁄2pounds, 201⁄2 inches of him born August 7 to Chris (Dean of Studentsand French teacher) and Rich (Athletic Director and English teacher)Mazzola; on August 25, weighing in at 7 lbs. and just shy of 20inches, Caroline Redfield DelVecchio, delivered to Sarah (History,cross country and track) and Greg DelVecchio; and on September 15,the 8 lb., 2 oz. Aidan McKay Mahoney, born to Horse Departmentfaculty member Elizabeth Reynolds Mahoney CdeP ’88 and her hus-band, Digital Media Czar Bert.e The first of this year’smonthly Sunday Morning Meditations took place in the OutdoorChapel on September 3. Readings by seniors Alden Blair, MattBrewer, and Mary Ann Bronson, a short address by Head of SchoolMichael Mulligan and a variety of musical offerings led by Directorof Music Greg Haggard filled the sunny hour of reflection and quietcelebration.e “Drive,” a poem by new sophomore John Bab-bott (catch him if you can on the cross-country course—he’s run-
Under the spreading California Oak: Connell Davis and Sandy Jensen,David Babbott, Elissa Thorn, and Mary Everett (both seated), EmilyEtchells, Diana Garcia, Julie Manson, and Francoise Kasmirowski-Garcia(with daughter, Clemencia)
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ning numero uno at the moment for the Toads’ team) was one of fivewinners of an Honorable Mention Award in the Potato Hill Poetry2000 contest, announced this summer—an annual event that drawspoems from students all over New England.e This year’s headof United Cultures of Thacher, Carina Fisher, spoke at Assembly lastmonth about Mexican Independence Day (actually, the start of theMexican Revolution in 1810)—about the Grito de Dolores (Cry ofDolores) issued first (and perhaps, some argue, prematurely) byFather Miguel Hidalgo, and the reply, Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!Viva Mexico! which now traditionally rings throughout our neigh-bor country every September 16 in remembrance of the surprise at-tack by the Mexicans on the Spanish. Pictured here with another haton, Carina helps James Dibblee fit his new backpack on Opening Dayas Peter Frykman assists.e
Thacher Spring 2000, the CD recorded last year by virtually everymusician on campus (Chorus, Chamber Singers, Jazz Explosion, var-ious electronic music pieces, and recent grads Marisa Binder CdeP’00, coloratura soprano, and Richie Parks CdeP ’00 on mandolin) isavailable. Look for it on sale during Family Weekend (or through theStudent Store).
GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT, PAID OR UNA sampling of summer engagements for a few of our students: NhuY Dang interned for MAXXAM, Inc., an environment concernscompany, filing, photocopying, and doing various computer-re-lated tasks.“I felt as if I were the only person there actually workingindependently. It was great!” Alexander Lurie volunteered at FourWinds Westward Ho, a camp at which he helped in all sorts of ac-tivities, including covering for counselors on their days off.“I learnedhow to get kids to listen to me!” The Santa Barbara ContemporaryArts Forus was the beneficiary of Satya Peake’s good will and talents:they put her to use as a greeter and intern docent. Down the road apiece, Matt O’Meara served as assistant director to the younger kids’plays at Santa Barbara’s Summer Stock theater. There, he set andmanaged the lighting for both shows, The Mermaid’s Tail and TheSign of the Sea Horse. “The most challenging aspect was not the jobitself, but working with other people to get it done,” Matt said.Robert Brownell donned a white lab coat for his oncology work atNorthwestern University Memorial Hospital in Chicago. “I worked
specifically with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. We were exam-ining the cell death pathway in order to understand how it may be
altered in drug-resistantcells—in the hope that we willsoon be able to identify newdrug targets for the treatmentof patients experiencing thisresistance.” Putting Thacher-based skills to work at theFran Joswick TherapeuticRiding Center was AmandaGrumman (pictured here),where she taught handicapped
people of all ages how to ride and handle horses on the ground.Amanda reported,“I learned a lot about patience and compassion.”In a parallel universe, Jennifer Rocco helped prepare horses andthen led riders at the Therapeutic Riding Academy in Montecito—that is, when she wasn’t riding herd as at the Ridley Tree Art Center’scamp. Eagle Scout candidates Luke Myers and Tyler Caldwell servedas Junior Assistant Scoutmasters at a week-long session on CatalinaIsland, contributing their own particular talents to a tradition half acentury old—that’s how long their troop has used Camp EmeraldBay as a part of boys fulfilling the Scouting mission. Up in Fog City,Claire Cichy served as a consultant to a furniture design companycalled Design Within Reach; she worked on their web site and cata-log…and did some filing, too! Lauren Cerre returned to the colonialcity of San Miguel de Allende, where she and her family had livedwhen she was in the sixth grade to work in an orphanage for girls ofall ages and to teach English to local school children. In her sparetime, she explored a photo journalism project that focused on Mex-ican culture and traditions.
One of Lauren Cerre’s summer photos: Boy on Milk Truck.
Winter 2000 :: 11
TH
ET
H
ACHER SCH
OO
L
1889
October, 2000
Dear Parents,
As the days shorten and there is a renewed and welcome crispness to the morning air, we look forward to
fall semester activities for Thacher parents. Soon upon us is Family Weekend. We hope you will attend, as
it is definitely one of the most fun events of the year. It is a wonderful time to meet the new friends of your
children, to become acquainted with Thacher faculty and staff, and to make and renew friendships with other
Thacher parents. We have always come away from the weekend feeling invigorated and fulfilled.
Family Weekend will kick off with class barbecues on Friday, October 27, at 5 p.m. Liz and Newlin
Hastings CdeP ’69 (Shannon CdeP ’99, Jamie ’02) began this Thacher tradition five years ago and have
again graciously agreed to be the event co-chairs. These parties are for all students and family members and
will be very casual. Anyone who has a talent for barbecuing—or would like to learn!—is invited to help out
as we put on this event for ourselves (with some kindly assistance from the Thacher food service). We will
also need some parents to bring their best, killer desserts or not-so-low calorie cookies. Watch for a special
invitation with all the details coming soon.
You should have received a letter from us a few weeks ago with a form listing various opportunities for
parents to participate in Thacher activities. We have been pleased with the strong response—exactly what we
would hope for and expect from Thacher parents—but we can still use some additional volunteers. Please let
us know if you have an interest in any job, big or small. We can also answer any questions you might have as
well about upcoming School events. Just call. (An example of such volunteering was set by three families in
their hosting Welcome to Thacher gatherings at their homes late summer: Gina and Mike Cerre (Lauren ’01)
in the Bay Area; Marilyn and Bruce Wallace (Elizabeth CdeP ’96, Benjamin CdeP ’99, Nathan ’02,
Alissa ’04) for Ojai, Ventura, and Santa Barbara; and LynRae and Greg McClintock (Gavin ’01, Saxon ’04)
for the Los Angeles area.
The Thacher community often enjoys the enrichment and interaction
of stimulating speakers from the parent community. If you have any
inclination to share your thoughts with students and faculty on almost
any appropriate topic in either a class or larger assembly setting, please
let us know. We would like to coordinate a number of speakers
throughout the year. Another of our roles as co-presidents of The Thacher
School Parents Association is to be parent liaisons to the Thacher Board
of Trustees. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts with us. We can
be reached at home at (805) 386-4559 or by email at [email protected]
And last, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Jennifer and
Rick Ridgeway (Carissa CdeP ’00, Cameron ’03) for their tireless and
inspiring work last year as co-presidents of the Parents Association. They
made it all look so easy. We are all grateful, Jennifer and Rick!
We look forward to seeing you at Family Weekend, around campus at
soccer games or cross-country meets this fall, and at other times during
The Thacher SchoolParents’ Post5025 Thacher RoadOjai, CA 93023-9001
Address Service Requested
Production Credits
Editor DesignJoy Sawyer-Mulligan J. Bert Mahoney
Production and Design PhotographyTim Ditch Kate Kieve ’04, Mary Everett CdeP ’94,
Greg Haggard, Katherine V. Halsey,Mollie Gardner CdeP ’99, Wendi-Parker-Dial,
Joy Sawyer-Mulligan
Whenever I begin a Parents’ Post, I’m surprised (though it happensevery time) when that iMac message box pops up in the lower rightcorner, and in it, a cheerful little animated iMac asks if I need anyhelp. (“It looks like you’re writing a letter,” it veritably chirps.“Wouldyou like help?”) This brief interaction (I always politely decline theassistance) always prompts a smile: though I know intellectuallythat this newsletter ultimately goes through a routine productionprocess like any other publication, it incontrovertibly begins, atleast in my mind, as a bona fide letter to you: full, I hope, of news youwant to hear, of faces you are eager to see: your children’s, theirfriends’, their teachers’. The idea that I’d need help of anything but atechnical kind is laughable: in fact, there’s always too much to tell, soactive, so funny and engaging, so entirely vital are your children. Too,I realize in writing and in placing photos in the Post, that we facultybear witness daily to views of your progeny (an “Aha!” moment inclass, an arm thrown around a friend or a saddle onto a horse’sback, a perfectly placed soccer assist) that you often miss—miss asin “fail to perceive” and (perhaps more) as in “to feel the lack of.” Thisis just to say that we do not for one moment take for granted thesefaces or the emergent people they’re attached to. Rather, we aregrateful for your sharing them with us, perhaps especially because ofwe acknowledge that “missing.” I hope you hear our gratitude inevery one of these letters home.
Cheers ’til Family Weekend,
Jessie Liu, Sarah Shaikh, and Zak Kitnick working—and playing—be-hind the scenes at the New Year’s Banquet.
