the quill magazine, winter 2010

The Pike School Magazine Winter 2010

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Head of SchoolA Message from the

The Next Good Turn

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Welcome to another edition of The Quill. This is my sixteenth year at Pike, and I continue to feel very fortunate to be here. Much of that gratitude is to those who came before and serve as a reminder that we have been passed a torch that it is our duty to carry forward.

In these pages, you will find the idea of stewardship, which Merriam-Webster defines as “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” The truth is that we are all acting as stewards for generations yet to come. Were it not for those who came before us in Pike’s previous 83 years, we would not have much of what we take for granted today: our school’s rich tradition of graduating independent learners and responsible citizens; our strong sense of community; and our remarkable facilities.

Each generation has done its part to take what it was given and to nurture that gift and try to find ways to build upon it. This message is particularly resonant in today’s world, as we are more focused on being much better stewards of our Earth and its resources. I am very hopeful that our children will have an even keener sense of their duty to the planet, their place in the community, and their responsibility to think of others, including those who are yet to be born, than did my generation.

We have all seen the problems caused on a worldwide scale by those interested only in increasing their personal net worth, while showing no regard for the effects of their actions on others. As I listen to our students every day discuss their worlds and the issues they face, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future. We will continue to encourage those conversations as our students grow into the young adults to whom we will pass the torch. I hope you feel that same sense of optimism for tomorrow as you read, in the pages that follow, about The Pike School of today.

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Volume 16 No. 1Winter 2010The Quill is a publication of The Pike School Office of Development, Alumni Affairs, and Communications.

Office of Development,Alumni Affairs, and CommunicationsTara L. McCabeDirector

Christen HazelAssociate Director

Cliff HauptmanDirector of Communications

Cara KennedyDevelopment Associate

Our MissionThe Pike School seeks to develop within its community a life-long love of learning, respect for others, the joy of physical activity and a creative spirit. A Pike education is a journey that prepares students to be independent learners and responsible citizens.

Editor-in-ChiefCliff Hauptman

Contributing WritersDebbie AndersonBo BairdChristen HazelLaura Russell

Design/LayoutCliff Hauptman

The Pike School34 Sunset Rock RoadAndover, MA 01810Tel: 978-475-1197Fax: [email protected]

On the cover: What does the Annual Fund provide? These cubbies offer a mere hint of the Fund’s essential role in a Pike education. (See the back cover.)Opposite:This year’s Pre-K and Ninth Grade students: an Opening Day tradition.(Photos: Cliff Hauptman)

Features

Departments

Graduation 2009

The Distinguishing Slice

10

Message from the Head of School

Upper School News

Middle School News

Lower School News

Alumni Events

Class Notes

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6

8

18

26

Facing Page

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2009-2010 Board of Trustees Lucy Abisalih, chairWonjen BagleyMarcy BarkerFirdhaus BhathenaAndrew ChabanBobbie Crump-BurbankShamim Dahod

James Demetri, vice chairLouis ImbrianoLori Kavanagh, secretaryMichele KerryBruce LandayRob MacInnisMary McKernan

Paul Miller, treasurerIvy NagahiroKim PackardRenee Kellan Page ’79Leslie RosasKonse SkrivanosRichard Vieira

Upper School NewsSuper Models

Can making bubbles help students in Grades 1 and 9 learn about geometric theories? Upper School math teachers Karen Latham and Liza Waters, and Grade 1 teachers Mimi Adessa, Telly Jordan, and Carolyn Tobey thought so. On a Friday afternoon in November, the students from Grades 1 and 9 met to pool their resources and find out how bubbles could give them an idea about the space inside the three-dimensional shapes known as “platonic solids,” an aspect of time and space that humans have wondered about for millennia.

Before the students went into the “bubble lab,” the Ninth Graders shared with their First Grade lab partners a little bit of what they had learned about the vocabulary of “platonic solids,” such as faces, vertices, sides, and angles. The information was familiar to the First Grade students, as they, too, had been studying geometry in their math class.

Next, the scientists had the hands-on experience of seeing for themselves how bubbles can create another dimension. With frames of three-dimensional figures called

“zomes,” such as cubes and tetrahedrons, students soaked each face of the figure in a soapy solution and then held the figure up to see how the surface tension of the bubbles on each face would seem to collapse and form another figure within a figure. While it was a lot of fun to blow on the figures to create even more bubbles, the Ninth Grade students were thrilled with how their younger counterparts were able to connect what they had learned in the classroom to what they were doing in the lab. One Ninth Grader said, “They used the vocabulary really well. I didn’t think they would understand as much as they did!” Math teacher Karen Latham noted that the time together was an opportunity to examine scientific concepts but, just as importantly, also a time for some of our oldest and youngest students to connect with each other. “The relationship building was great for everyone,” she said. As a way to seal the cross-divisional friendships, the Nines left the bubble making equipment with the First Grade to use at their water table. One Ninth Grader commented that she hoped they’d be invited back to the First Grade room to conduct more bubble experiments.

I’m Forever Building Community

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4 The Pike School www.pikeschool.org

Upper School News by Laura Russell, Head of Upper School

On a September morning at 11:20 a.m., a dozen Upper School teachers sat in the front of Betsy DeVries’ and Tom Lynch’s humanities class. The fourteen Ninth Graders took their seats in the room, not sure what to expect from these teachers. Both adults and students carried a copy of the book My Most Excellent Year, which chronicles the ninth grade year of four very lively students. At first, Betsy and Tom only directed the conversation to the teachers.

The 9s observed and took notes on what the teachers said and how they said it. At one point, a few teachers disagreed with

each other, and some of the 9s looked a little worried–what would happen next? The teachers were actually invited to the class to model how to have a conversation on a topic. Many of the students in the class had participated in Socratic seminars in their English classes, but this was an opportunity to see how an unstructured conversation would unfold. Later in the period, the students were invited to comment on what they observed. One student said, “Last year, we didn’t really listen to each other, but today I noticed that you all listened to each other, and you were able to get your point across without having to be the loudest. I liked how you supported

one another even when you disagreed with each other.”

Betsy and Tom hope that providing a model like this will deepen the conversations they will have with the 9s in humanities all year. The class asks students many difficult questions about their responsibilities as citizens of the world, and with more finely tuned discussion skills, the students will come away with new perspectives, a sense of empathy for others, and many questions about how they can be a force for good in the world.

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Good Sports: Coach Jolene ButtressGetting Jo Buttress to sit down for an interview is like trying to catch a bumblebee in the garden. She has been involved in the Pike community in so many ways—as a secondary school adviser, learning specialist, Eighth Grade math and history teacher, Eighth Grade adviser, Eighth Grade team leader, and Sixth Grade team leader—she moves from task to task with a humming efficiency. However, if she knows

you want to talk about sports, she is much easier to catch. Jo has been a coach for 22 years, and she has coached a wide variety of sports, some of which she has never played herself. But she says there are so many ways to apply what you know from one sport to another that it has not been too hard for her. In fact, her coaching career started with coaching ice hockey, a sport she never played, having grown up in California. The

school needed a women’s coach, she was handed a pair of skates, and she became a hockey coach. She began coaching lacrosse when her daughter signed up for the team and Jo offered to help out. She gives her coaching colleagues a lot of credit for mentoring her and showing her how to coach over the years. And she even shared that she does not mind long bus rides to away games if there’s another coach on board, as bus rides are a great venue for learning about the people you work with.

Like so many teacher-counselor-coaches who are part of independent schools, what she loves about coaching is the opportunity to interact with students and parents in a setting outside the classroom. She constantly strives to balance the desire to win with the desire to have as many kids participate as possible. She says coaching at Pike gives her a broader perspective about why sports are so important to our culture, since Pike athletes come with different goals and dreams, from making varsity at a secondary school to just having fun with peers.

Fast Facts about Coach Buttress

Sports played in college: Soccer (goalkeeper)

Years coaching: 22

Sports coached: Soccer, basketball, ice hockey (boys & girls), lacrosse (boys & girls), softball, volleyball, tennis, swimming

Team she started at Pike: Softball

Worst thing about coaching: Being cold in the rink or on the field

Best thing about coaching: Wonderful memories of students achieving more than they thought they could in a contest

Most dedicated moment: Coaching with her three month old daughter in a backpack

Other recent coaching jobs: Town lacrosse (boys and girls)

Future plans: When her kids leave home, she’d like to start coaching the youngest lacrosse players in the town league.

Winter 2010 The Quill 5

Middle School News

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by Bo Baird, Head of Middle School

Reaching New HeightsFor decades Pike took its Fifth Grade to Sargent Camp for a week of oudoor education. When we were informed last winter that Boston University planned to close the camp, the Fifth Grade faculty looked for an alternative. After visiting camps and interviewing schools, we chose Merrowvista, a camp that started one year before Pike did, in 1925. Its values closely match our own and during our first visit this November, we experienced what we had expected—a quality program run by strong educators. In addition to a focus on the environment and sustainability, themes of taking personal challenges and reaching out to others were integrated into activities throughout the week. Students had numerous opportunities to learn and grow, starting with being away from home. They returned not the same children who had left at the beginning of the week.

An undulating line of Fifth Graders snaked its way through the woods along leaf-littered trails, their feet pushing through a cascade of yellow, brown, and gold. Once the hikers had left the road from Merrowvista, their

boots and sneakers found their surest footing on rocks poking through the blanket of leaves. While the sun was shining, everyone knew to wear hats and gloves as temperatures were just beginning their climb from a nighttime low around freezing. Students also paid attention to dressing in layers. The girl who proclaimed that she was wearing seven layers was beginning to resemble the Michelin Man.

As the ascent began in earnest, the usual questions didn’t surface. That’s because the Merrowvista counselor stopped his group at the trailhead and said, “I can’t hear certain questions. Like ‘How far is it to the top?’ ‘What’s for dinner?’ and ‘What time is it?’

But I do want to hear questions about the trees, and plants and animals.” And as a result, conversations led along interesting paths. One student’s mother was a triathlon competitor. More than one student had never been on a hike before. At water breaks, counselors injected their own questions, and we learned that students’ role models included Michelle Obama, Shawn Johnson, and Dad. Higher up the mountain, students were asked, “If you could give one month of your time to a charity or cause to benefit others, what would it be?” This climb was propelling students to explore new dimensions of themselves and their world.

In the dining room before we departed, our counselor had shown us a relief map of the region and explained that our climb would take us to a unique spot in the world. It was the site of a huge ancient volcano that scientists believe may have collapsed or exploded; the trail we were now climbing was taking us up a section of the ancient rim. As the trees thinned near the top, Merrowvista counselors shouted “Look up and to your left, don’t look down.”


Do you remember the days of staring at a blank piece of paper and wondering how in the world you were ever going to fill one page? So your first move was to ask if three lines from the bottom was enough. What about four? Things have changed.

Fourth graders sat in a circle waiting to hear from the author perched in the white wicker chair usually reserved for the teacher. He was in the middle of drafting a story and wanted to know which introduction they preferred. So he waited for quiet and then floated one trial balloon after another: “What was that noise? BAM! There it was again. Mrs. Jansen scrambled to the kitchen to grab the broom.”

“Have you ever felt so scared your blood turns to ice and the bump in your throat gets so big it chokes you?”

“Two years, five months, three weeks ago…I saw something that no man or living thing would ever want to see.”

My first reaction was, “This was a Fourth Grader!?” If I had written one of these leads as a nine-year-old, I would have been looking for an agent.

This was not a special occasion but a regular opportunity students have to share their writing. A central tenent of writing workshop is to have students completely engaged in expressing their ideas. “The key,” says Fourth Grade teacher Sharon Libront, “is to create an atmosphere where [students] are living and breathing as writers.” They are always capturing new ideas to write about, some from reading books, others from the last recess. Following tips from published writers helps too. Georgia Heard’s technique of “heart mapping” helps students tap feelings of people who are important to them, heartfelt memories, and even secrets they hold. Writers notebooks fill up quickly with topics that students are eager to write about. And suddenly, new stories emerge,

such as “Cowboy Peanut” and “How to Conquer Being a Girl—with a Little Bit of Attitude.” There still may be days when ideas don’t come cascading onto the page. But an interview with children’s author Kate DiCamillo lets children know that words sometimes don’t come easily for professional writers either.

How do you know that writing workshop is making a difference? When directions to put their writing notebooks away are met with groans. When these same notebooks go home on a “no homework” night so that a fledgling author can start his new series. And when parents tell their son’s teacher that something has changed about their child: they’ve never heard him so excited about writing.

It was a dark and stormy night...

We scrambled up the incline and soon were gathered together, a puzzled group staring at rock and scrub oak. Then all at once we turned around and looked down from the ledge. Wide-eyed Fifth Graders gaped. A world of lakes spread out to the horizon. The Merrowvista campus had shrunk to a small circle of buildings in a sea of woods. Far off to the east, Lake Winnipesaukee’s waters glinted just in front of the imposing White Mountains outlined on the horizon.

After a pause, everyone dove into their backpacks for their cameras. But of course all you can capture is a sliver of the panorama. So we sat on the ledge soaking in the view, trying the impossible—to make it an indelible memory. Once cameras were tucked safely away, the entire grade gathered on the ledge. Following instructions from the counselors, on the count of three we shouted, “TONGA.” And then we waited in silence. Suddenly a faint but unmistakable “tonga” found its way up to us. We shouted out again as loud as we could, and a few seconds later heard a faint “tonga” in return. Those were the voices of the counselors and staff at Merrowvista responding to our call and including us in a longstanding camp tradition. It’s one I hope we continue for a long time.


NewsLower School

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A Sense of TimeOne of the themes that children in Second Grade explore at Pike is “Coming to America.” Pilgrims and their voyage across the Atlantic on the Mayflower are one of the groups of immigrants that they study. This year, Second Grade teachers Ms. Elkin, Mrs. Hampson, Ms. Taylor, and Mrs. Munroe designed a unique science experiment as well as a timeline activity to help students develop a greater sense of time as they studied people who lived “long ago.”

To help the children understand how long it took to travel to America on the Mayflower and some of the challenges the travelers faced, they did an experiment with food. Refrigeration wasn’t an option at that time and the trip took 66 days, so the Pilgrims relied heavily on food provisions that didn’t spoil easily like hardtack, salted beef, beer, and some cheeses. Mrs. Elkin made some hardtack (flour and water) that the children tried eating, and her cooking did not get rave reviews. The hardtack was the winner in their science experiment, however. Cheese, (near) beer, salted beef, and hardtack were placed inside a plastic container that the children observed daily and recorded changes by drawing and writing in a science journal. In less than three weeks in the classroom, when

everything except the hardtack was molding, the children realized that the trip across on the Mayflower would have been less than half over for the travelers. The length of time passengers spent on the Mayflower became more real to them, as did an appreciation for the benefits of hardtack.

In addition, each class made a timeline that covered the years 2001 to 2009, the years of their lives to date. Every child chose the events that were important to him or her. The children used photographs, drawings, and words to describe the events and sequenced

them on the timeline according to the years they occurred. Their selections were sometimes predictable for seven and eight year olds and often were touching. They wrote about birthdays, first days in nursery school, adoption days, the first day with eyeglasses, losing their first teeth, learning to ride a two-wheel bike, reading their first chapter books, their families, and much more. Learning about time by recording personal experiences of the past was fun and meaningful for every child.


by Debbie Anderson, Head of Lower School

Small Hands on LiteracyClassroom literacy centers are an effective and enjoyable way to provide students with skill practice or enrichment at an appropriate level of challenge. Teachers set up a variety of learning centers that children rotate through either individually, with partners, or in small groups. Listening, speaking, word study, writing, spelling, and reading centers are typical. Teachers help children learn how to use each center with the goal that they become increasingly independent.

Rainy Days

On my recent visit to First Grade, children were practicing reading and writing in many different ways. The child in this picture had already created many words and listed them, sorted by their vowel sounds. As I watched, she carefully arranged the colored cubes to make the word “rat” after which she repeated it softly to herself and copied it at the bottom of her list of short “a” words. At other centers children were using a variety of materials to make words. Some were arranging letter tiles, while others

were twisting letters on rods, working on a laptop or playing word Bingo with a teacher. Multisensory activities like these that have visual, auditory, and kinesthetic components make learning easier and more effective for children.

For some Lower School children, an occasional rainy day with indoor recess is something to be celebrated. The choices individual children make at these times are interesting to observe. Many children know right away how they want to spend this half-hour of time when they get to choose activities in the classrooms. For some, it is

precious quiet time to curl up with a good book, while others gravitate toward board games with friends. There are typically some who want to write stories together, devise a new game, draw, or play with puppets. There is always a group that wants to build with blocks or legos, particularly if the weather has been sunny and recess

has been outdoors for weeks. Recess is the only time during the day when children are the “captains of their own ships,” and the freedom is precious to them. I have noticed over the years that this “down” time for children is where much of their creativity and individuality blossoms. It is time very well spent and much enjoyed.


Amid the traditional peach, green, and white balloons and blossoms, the girls holding peach-colored

roses and the boys adorned with white boutonnieres, the soon-to-be graduates entered The Pike School’s Harding Gymnasium in procession, as the Cantabrigia Brass played Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance. Approximately 400 parents, grandparents, siblings, faculty, and staff stood to honor the graduates at the start of the ceremonies, camera flashes sparkling like fireworks.

The Pike School held its 73rd graduation exercises Wednesday, June 10, for a class of seventy-eight Eighth- and Ninth-Graders.


Head of School John “Muddy” Waters welcomed the assembled guests and addressed the students, saying that, as a history teacher, he is inclined to put things into historical perspective. He reminded the graduates that when many of them entered Pike, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate, American Beauty won the Oscar for Best Picture, and the Dow was at 11,200.

Recalling that he used to enjoy reading to them before they acquired the skill to read to themselves, Waters read to the graduates one last time, choosing as his allegorical text a children’s book: Wemberley Worried by Kevin Henkes. The book enumerates a list

of Wemberley’s anxieties on her first day of school. “I give you this list,” said Waters to the students headed off to their new schools, “not to make you nervous but to remind you that you have been through this before when you came to Pike and even when you moved from Lower to Middle to Upper School. You are well prepared as independent learners and responsible citizens, so we know you will do well.

In addition to a number of academic and athletic awards presented to graduating students on the evening of Tuesday, June 9, six citizenship awards were presented at Wednesday’s ceremonies.

• Kelly O’Donnell of Billerica received the A. Daniel Phelan Award for meeting life’s experiences with a positive spirit and good humor, thereby becoming an inspiration to the Pike community. The prize is named for Dan Phelan, a Pike teacher from 1990-1996. O’Donnell attends Academy of Notre Dame.

• Tyler Britt of North Andover and Sara Teplow of Andover shared the Nicholas Grieco Prize, which honors one of Pike’s most loyal families and is given to the ninth grade student who, in the opinion of the Upper School faculty, has achieved notable academic improvement and personal growth at Pike, having been a positive influence on fellow students. Britt attends the Brooks School and Teplow attends Andover High School.• Maria Karamourtopoulos of Methuen was awarded the Alumni Prize, established to honor Pike alumni and awarded to the eighth grader who, in the opinion of the Upper School faculty, has achieved notable academic improvement, demonstrated an ability to assume responsibility, and displayed friendliness to faculty and fellow students. Karamourtopoulos attends the Pike Ninth Grade.• Joshua Orlowitz of Wakefield was the recipient of the Margaret J. Little Award, given to the student who best demonstrates integrity, generosity, and thoughtfulness, thus exemplifying the spirit of The Pike School. The award commemorates Margaret Little, teacher and Pike’s second Head of School. Orlowitz attends Wakefield High School.• Kelsey Hutchinson won the David A. Frothingham Award for contributing with distinction to the betterment of the school and/or community. Established in 1994, this award honors Pike’s sixth Head of School. Hutchinson attends Lawrence Academy.• Louisa Dallett of Andover was given the Head of School Award for exhibiting unusual qualities of leadership in non-academic affairs, while setting a school standard for scholarship. She attends the Brooks School.


This year’s graduation speaker was alumna Emma Goldstein of the Pike Class of 2006. Goldstein, who was graduated last spring from Phillips Academy and is now matriculating at Tufts University, provided the Pike graduates with some insights to the distinctive aspects of the Pike experience. “At Pike,” she said, “we do not just join the club, but we lead the club. At Pike, we do not just avoid being mean to each other, we reach out to each other. At Pike, we do not just let our teachers teach, we have ongoing conversations with the adults who care for and respect us throughout our time here.” In concluding, she offered this reassurance: “Next year, you will go to all sorts of places, leaving behind Farnsworth and the comforts of your homeroom cubbies, but Pike will be with you forever. Pike will make you want to do more. Pike will make you know how to do more.”

Eighth Grade, Class of 2010Hannah Elisabeth Abbe*Brant Alexander AbrahamSahil Bhaiwala*Ani Siranoush BilazarianRachel N. BoltonMatheson Eleanor BurnsZoe Grace CampbellEmily Rose CarroloTimothy Alexander ChalouxRachel Miriam Cope*Christopher Louis CortnerCaroline Ann CuocoJessica DarfoorEleanor Jane DenisonTahera Alefiya Doctor**Sarah Ledger DumontSarah Jane Eberth*Joseph Patrick FennessyKevin C. Fung†Caroline Keiley GlancyGnahon Lydia Lorine Godo-SoloPearson Wild Goodman**John W. GradyMadelaine Nicole GrayBenjamin Alan GrossmanGabriella Rose Rahal HaddadAlexander David HammondBridget Elisabeth HealeyAmelia R. Hulshult†Maria C. Karamourtopoulos◊Abigail Hillman Katz

Alexander James KramerAngela Niamh Lei*Anna Francis McCabeAlex Matthew MeyersJulie Hejin MoonBriana MoreBess B. MuggiaSara M. NunezKelly M. O'Donnell◊Joshua Alex Orlowitz◊*Theodore Nicholas PapapetrosBrian Robert PoirierLogan Barnard PooleSheridan Davis PresteroJuliette Mee Ra Randazza*S. Guy Ross*Carlos Efrén RotgerMichael James SchelziAndrew J. SchwartzMichael Richard SciasciaG. Clarke ShipleyMax Joseph SilveiraIsha SinghalDaniel Marshall SmithGregory Tyler SternSebastian Daniel TsaiTess L. WatlerHanna Katrine Marianne WhirtyMarie Thérèse WilsonHarry Maddox WoodGrace Maria Yanagi

Following Goldstein’s speech, Fine Arts Department Chair Larry Robertson led the Graduation Chorus in a number of songs and received a standing ovation and a Pike chair upon his retirement after thirty-two years at Pike.

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Ninth Grade. Class of 2009Tyler Joseph Britt◊†Emily Ann BrownFrank Albert Cieri, Jr.Louisa Marbury Coy Dallett◊†Megan Catherine FanningJohn Billings FrenchNicholas Stempel GatesJessica Horton

Kelsey Marguerite Hutchinson◊Stephen Robert LafortuneAlexander Carl MellinJason Stoughton Nawrocki*Kiera Maria PareceJamison L. Poland*Nicholas Matthew SweetserSara Linda Teplow◊

◊Citizenship AwardsA. Daniel Phelan Award: Kelly O’DonnellNicholas Grieco Prize: Tyler Britt and Sara TeplowAlumni Prize: Maria KaramourtopoulosMargaret J Little Award: Joshua OrlowitzDavid A Frothingham Award for Community Service: Kelsey HutchinsonHead of School Award: Louisa Dallett

*Academic AwardsThe Cynthia E. Pike Award: Sahil BhaiwalaAlice L. Jablonski Science Prize: Tahera Doctor, Sarah EberthBiology Prize: Jamison Poland, Jason NawrockiEnglish Prize: Pearson GoodmanFrench Prize: Angela Lei, Hannah Abbe, Rachel CopeHistory Prize: Tahera Doctor, Pearson GoodmanLatin Prize: Guy Ross, Juliette RandazzaSpanish Prize: Joshua Orlowitz

†Athletic AwardsJohn Hopkins Award: Laura Ippolito, Jake HowellSally Bullard Award: Charlotte Gacek, Gino RoyKerri Kattar Award: Amelia Hulshult, Tyler BrittGirls Athletic Award: Louisa DallettBoys Athletic Award: Kevin Fung

Academy of Notre Dame

Andover High School

Boston University Academy

Brooks School

Central Catholic High School

Concord Academy

Dana Hall School

Governor’s Academy

Landmark School

Lawrence Academy

Middlesex School

North Andover High School

Peddie School

Phillips Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy

Pike Ninth Grade

Pingree School

St. John’s Prep

Wakefield High School

Williston Northampton School

Where to? 1 8 211 1 2 2 3 1 7 1 1 1 11 2 12 7 2 2 1


The Distinguishing

Slice

by Cliff HauptmanAs misunderstood as it is vital, the Annual Fund is an integral part of an independent school education.


A bright yellow school bus wends its way north through the flaming New England foliage and unloads its

cargo of Pike Third Graders in the parking lot of New Hampshire’s Nashua National Fish Hatchery. Here, amid concrete breeding tanks, holding Atlantic salmon the size of fence posts, the Third Graders experience the first of the two most memorable events in their study of water, watersheds, and wetland ecology.

This first field trip to the hatchery, and its hands-on encounter with a bowlful of Day-Glo-orange eggs newly squeezed from a gravid female salmon, is prelude to their receiving a mass of fertilized Atlantic salmon eggs to hatch and raise in their classroom. The second field trip, five months later in May, when the hatchlings have grown to the size of an inchworm, takes the Third Graders back north to the Skowhegan River for a second memorable event. There they release their charges to the natural environment and, literally, wade into the ecosystem to encounter its other denizens: crayfish, aquatic insects, and minnows.

Those invaluable field trips, and similar curricular expeditions experienced by every Pike student in every grade, every year, are complete strangers to the slice of Pike’s annual budget designated as “Tuition.” Rather, like quite a few other items that are often taken for granted as being normal operating procedure at Pike, the monies to pay for those trips come from a section of the pie that constitutes the thirteen percent of the budget not covered by income from tuition, specifically the six-percent slice labeled “Annual Fund.”

So what exactly is the Annual Fund? As defined by Tara McCabe, Pike’s Director of the Office of Development, Alumni Relations, and Communications, the Annual Fund is a volunteer-driven, peer-to-peer,

fundraising program that affords members of the Pike community a tax-deductable opportunity to contribute to the school’s operating budget. “Most importantly,” explains Christen Hazel, McCabe’s Associate Director, “is that Annual Fund gifts are used as they come in. In other words, the Annual Fund is not a reserve that we’re holding for next year’s budget; it’s income that we’re depending on now to pay for the current fiscal year’s expenses. As an integral part of the budget, determined this year to require a target of $630,000, the stream of contributions to the Annual Fund directly impacts the school’s cash flow throughout this academic year.”

A universal fixture in the culture of independent schools as a means of keeping tuitions affordable, the Annual Fund is unfortunately misunderstood and appears to many as something of a shell game. On the surface, it seems that while families are paying a lower tuition, it is a tuition that falls short of covering the actual cost of educating their child. So, in addition, they are expected to contribute the difference in the form of an annual donation. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just charge the full amount the school needs?

The answer is no. While tuition is charged only to families with children currently at Pike, the Annual Fund draws from a community many times that size. Among members of the Board of Trustees, current parents, former parents, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, grandparents, and friends, about 4,000 people constitute the pool of potential donors to the Annual Fund. Thus, while offering a tax deduction opportunity and keeping tuition lower, the Annual Fund spreads the cost of the shortfall over a much greater number of contributors and unites, over time and distance, a community of families and individuals who share a common stewardship.

Keeping BalanceIndependent schools like The Pike School differ from public schools in that they charge tuition, rather than receiving money from local government. Public schools have no mechanism for altering their budget to meet changes in short-term needs; if there are more students, classes get larger, rather than more teachers being added; if new curricula are introduced, others must be dropped; if local budgets are cut, school programs are eliminated. Independent schools, on the other hand, control their own budgets, but they perform a fine and artful balancing act in doing so.

To consistently offer an outstanding education to its students and a manifest

Providing magnificent teaching and resources cannot simply be a matter of presenting magnified tuition bills.

value to their families, an independent school like Pike must attract and retain first-rate teachers. It must be able to dependably equip those teachers with the resources they need to design creative curricula and impart to their students skills, knowledge, self-confidence, and a love of learning. It must maintain a physical environment that promotes such activity. And, if it recognizes a social obligation to its community, as most independent schools do, it must offer a means of access to families who would not otherwise be able to afford the expense of attendance.


Independent schools must provide all that while keeping their costs competitive, because parents seeking independent schools are not limited to the local offering. For independent schools, therefore, providing magnificent teaching and resources cannot simply be a matter of presenting magnified tuition bills.

Typically, independent schools strive to spend as much as possible on staff and faculty salaries, benefits, and professional development. They must also, of course, cover their expenses for heating, electricity, phones, water, sewage, insurance, and maintenance, as well as provisioning a fund for financial assistance. Then it must pay for replacement resources: books, paper, pencils, art supplies, sports equipment, food, and other supplies, as well as upgrades to computer hardware and software and other new technology.

If an independent school skimps on any of those elements, it quickly ceases to be desirable. An ample selection of independent schools—Pike among them--that liberally support those expenses populate the North Shore region of Massachusetts, giving families plenty of reason to abandon inferior programs. Yet, if a school dared to set its tuition fee so that it actually covered its cost per student, it would surely jeopardize its goal of full enrollment.

Therein lies the balancing act.

A glance at the pie charts that represent Pike’s income and expenses for fiscal year 2008-09 give some insight into the process. Each year, members of Pike’s Board of Trustees evaluate Pike’s priorities in accordance with its strategic vision. Foremost is faculty: how much in terms of salaries, benefits, and professional development can Pike afford to spend so that the school, in comparison to its peer schools, is attractive to the best teachers? As it turns out, according to statistics kept by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the average portion that goes toward salaries among 337 elementary day schools nationwide is about seventy-two percent of the total budget. Pike’s seventy-four percent of the total reflects the high value Pike places on faculty as a vital factor in establishing excellence. Yet, setting faculty salaries higher than that would either require reductions in the resources available for other vital expenses, or force Pike to increase tuition.

According to those same NAIS national statistics, Pike already averages about two percent higher among the 337 elementary day schools in that portion of its income that is gained through tuition (although Pike’s tuition is highly competitive with those of its peer schools in northeastern Massachusetts). So, anything greater than an incremental increase in tuition is not an option. Add investment income, which accounts for just a small portion of Pike’s total income, and only ninety-four percent of the school’s expenses are covered.

One more quick peek at the NAIS data reveals that, on average, the 337 elementary day schools across the country obtain about eight-and-a-half percent of their income from gifts. Of Pike’s pie, that corresponds to the six-percent slice labeled “Annual Fund,” the slice that rounds out the budget and makes possible the field trips, the special equipment and substrate for the playgrounds, the chemicals for the science labs and the glazes for the ceramics studio, the new cubbies and gym floor, the air conditioning for the dining room, the extra overhead projectors for the classrooms, the visiting performers and artists, and the myriad other expenses that fall beyond the itemized necessities, but which profoundly enrich a student’s experience and contribute so meaningfully to the unique gestalt that is Pike. Building CommunityThe significance of the community-building aspect of the Annual Fund cannot be overemphasized. From the oldest former teacher to the parents of the newest Pre-kindergarten students, and from the most local staff members to the most distant alumni living abroad, those who contribute to the annual fund share a common bond of esteem for Pike’s excellence, commitment to Pike’s mission and values, and responsibility for Pike’s future. They are each claiming their stake in Pike and validating the school’s hallmark, in the broadest sense possible, as a close-knit, family-oriented environment. And those farthest away from Pike, in either years or miles, apply the school’s motto of non sibi solum (not for oneself alone) to the greatest extent, for their support is purely for the benefit of others.


Pike alumni parents Frank and Penny Cieri, for example, are as enthusiastic about Pike today as they were nearly fifteen years ago when they began the application process for their daughter, Elizabeth ’06, now at Trinity College, and, later, for son Frank Jr. ’09, now at The Governor’s Academy. That persisting enthusiasm is fueled not only by the quality of their children’s time at Pike and their appreciation of the resulting preparation for secondary school, but also by a strong sense of belonging, a feeling of remaining a part of some indelible part of their family history, like a first home. Thus, they continue to be fervent Pike boosters.

“We need to stress to parents that they have to be as excited when their child is here as they were the day they were admitted,” says Frank. “They have to remember what they were thinking and feeling when they were going through the application process and thought they weren’t going to get in.”

“They have to be reminded,” adds Penny, “of how badly they wanted to get in here and why they wanted to get in here.” “And now that they’re here, it’s not over,” says Frank. “Now they need to come through. This is your child who may be here for eight or nine years. You need to make a difference.”

The beauty of the Annual Fund is that you can continue to make a difference. Whether a current or alumni parent of a Pike student, or a past student yourself, you have the opportunity to remain a key advocate for a community that will continue imparting to future generations the essentials of life in which you believe: a life-long love of learning, respect for others, the joy of physical activity, and a creative spirit. The level of excellence with which Pike continues to perform that mission is yours to determine.

EventsAlumni Class of 2006 Dinner with Head of School

Thanks to the dedicated class agents Elizabeth Cieri and Tori Wilmarth, on April 25, 2009, alumni from the class of 2006 reunite at Pike for a dinner with Head of School Muddy Waters. The four years between graduation and the present moment melt away as classmates reminisce about their Pike experience with old friends and beloved faculty. While some alumni had not been back to campus since graduation, everyone enjoys touring the new building and catching an inning or two of the Red Sox game “on the big screen” in the auditorium. Pike relishes the opportunity to wish them the best as many of them head off to college in the fall.

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1. Carolyn Calabrese, Sara Finkle, Zach Feldman, Noah Feldman

2. Scott Dzialo, Amy Salvatore

3. Bernie Leed

4. Emma Goldstein, Zoe Weinberg, Elizabeth Cieri, Bernie Leed

5. Left to right. Back row: Scott Dzialo, Elizabeth Cieri, Noah Feldman, Peter Ly, Analise Saab, Phill Picardi, Carolyn Calabrese, Paul Heinze, Leah Denison, Amanda Harmeling, Colleen Welsh, Hutch, Fran Mellin, Laura Russell. Middle row: Christen Hazel, Amy Salvatore, Kate Majike, Michaela Miragliotta, Emma Goldstein, Alina Pechacek, Zoe Weinberg, Trisha Gordon, Gail Der Ananian, Muddy Waters. Front row: Rosa Valentin, Alex Matses, Zach Feldman, Liza Brecher, Sara Finkle, Tori Wilmarth.

6. Noah Feldman, Rosa Valentin, Zach Feldman

7. Analise Saab, Alina Pechacek

8. Kate Majike, Hutch

9. Leah Denison, Liza Brecher, Sara Finkle, Carolyn Calabrese

10. Paul Heinze, Alex Matses

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EventsAlumni EventsAlumni

Lunch with Muddy at AHS

Class of 1994 Summer BBQAfter reuniting with several classmates on Facebook, class agent Jessica Hellman Solomon, put her energy towards gathering her classmates back on campus for an afternoon BBQ with family. During an impromptu campus tour, alumni marvel at the new building and enjoy seeing their former classrooms. Over potluck dishes and burgers on the grill, alumni giggle at the slideshow of Polaroids from their Middle School reports on any topic.

1. Left to right, Standing: Muddy Waters, Adam Courville ’94, Elizabeth Courville, Becky Cutts, Hope Carter ’94 and Charlotte, Carolyn Taylor, Meg Rubino ’94, Gina Finnochiaro ’94, Cassie Cardillo McCracken ’94, Brian McCracken, James Lentini ’94, Shirlie Dowd ’94, Tay Bozkurt ’94, Brooke Myers, Ethan Solomon, Nicki Masucci Kelley ’94 and Sarah, Dave Kelley. Kneeling: Matt Caiazzo and Christopher, Lori Montopoli Caiazzo ’94 and Ashley, Jessica Hellman Solomon ’94 and Maddie, Christen Hazel

2. Elaine and Brooke Vivian

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NYC Alumni Wine Tasting at Bottlerocket

1. Alyson Gerber ’99 and a friend, Andi Fern ’85

2. Bob Thompson ’68, Tara McCabe

3. Laura Bissell ’93, Stephanie Gardner Ginsberg ’81

4. Dana Limanni-Tarlow ’81, Meredith Gardner Rubenzahl ’83, Juli Gardner Spencer ’90, Christopher Langone ’89

5. Mara Terlizzi ’89, Christopher Langone ’89

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EventsAlumni EventsAlumni Visiting Day, November 20091 2

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EventsAlumni Visiting Day, November 200913 14

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1. Matti Burns ’10, Angela Lei ’10, Juliette Randazza ’102. Julianna Aucoin ’09, Harry Wood ’10, Adam Arsenault ’09, Cecile

Harmange ’093. Isha Singhal ’10, Julie Moon ’10, Briana More ’10,

Maria Karapourtopoulos ’10, Rachel Bolton ’104. Greg Stern ’10, Michael Sciascia, John Grady ’10, Joe Fennessey ’10,

Clarke Shipley ’10, Sheridan Prestero ’10, Kevin Fung ’105. Sydney Bagley ’09, Hailey Scott ’096. Guy Ross ’10, Sebastian Tsai ’10, Andrew Schwartz ’10, Carlos

Rotger ’107. Abby Katz ’10, Grace Yanagi ’10, Zoe Campbell ’10, Emily Carrolo ’10,

Hannah Abbe ’108. Maddie Walsh ’10 Sarah Dumont ’10, Gabriella Haddad ’10, Maria

Karamourtopoulos ’10, Rachel Bolton ’10, Amelia Hulshult ’109. Joe Fennessey ’10, Michael Sciascia ’10, Zander Buttress ’09,

Pearson Goodman ’10, Tyler Britt ’0910. Rachel Bolton ’10, Bridget Healey ’09, Maddie Gray ’1011. Nick Letwin ’05, Will Kavanagh ’0512. Stephen LaFortune ’09, John French ’09

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13. Stephen Lafortune ’09, John French ’09, Julianna Aucoin ’09, Jason Nawrocki ’09, Harry Wood ’10, Nick Sweetser ’09, Emily Brown ’09, Lindsey Zucchino ’0914. Elle Denison ’10, Anna McCabe ’10, Hannah Abbe ’10, Sarah Eberth ’10,

Isha Singhal ’1015. Bridget Healey ’10, Rachel Bolton ’10, Maddie Gray ’10, Amelia

Hulshult ’10, Nick Gates ’0916. Nina Mazzarelli ’09, Stephanie Neville ’09, Cecile Harmange ’0917. Grace Hoyt ’08, Emma Healey ’0818. Greta Martin ’06, Marina Moschitto ’07, Christine Goglia ’0719. Alumni Panel for 8th grade students. Left to right. Back row:

Adam Arsenault ’09, Erin Cahill ’08, Peter Thompson ’07, Sydney Bagley ’09, Hanna Whirty ’10 Front row: Alex Mellin ’09, Naomi Smith ’07, Jacob Shack ’07

20. Parents of alumni panel for 8th grade parents. Left to right. Back row: Bruce Letwin P’05, P’07, Nidhi Singhal P’07, P’10, Maureen Denison P’00, P’03, P’06, P’10, Fran Mellin P’05, P’09, Deb Hartigan P’08 Front row: Chris and Eleanor Armstrong P’96, P’98, P’01, Fred Glore P’98, P’01, Marcy Shack P’01, P’03, P’07, Jay Hartigan P’08

Dinner with Muddy, San Francisco, February 24, 2010Left to right: Priscilla Harris Morse ’65, Sarah Leary ’84, Benjamin Pease ’74, Muriel DeStaffany Karr ’59, Gary Campbell ’69, Muddy Waters


Cynthia Kimball writes: “For the Class of 1959, this has been the year of our 50th reunion. Unbelievable but true! I only wish we had been able to get in touch with more people to arrange for meetings, but we are making progress. Kay (Karla Haartz Cortelyou) ’59 and I started contacting as many of our class as we could. Some of us started acknowledging this milestone by meeting in April at Pike (as mentioned in the last Quill), following a gathering in honor of Deb Fitts ’59, who passed away on July 17, 2008. Some ’59ers whom we were able to contact include Jeff Crane, Cheryl Lewis, Muriel Destaffany Karr, Hilary Hayes Geyer, Margaret Kimball, Joan Lebow Demarest, Carla Flint, Sharon Seeche Rich, Jeff Freedman, Linda Wilkinson Lebach, and Mary Allen Rowland Swedelund. This August some of us gathered in West Springfield,

MA to watch Kay show one of her Morgan family, Maxwell Smart. Iris Vardavoulis Beckwith ’59, Dusty Miller ’59, Daria Bolton Fisk ’53, Kay ’59 and I had a really wonderful time picnicking and sharing memories of our time at Pike, and updating each other about our lives since we graduated fifty years ago! It would be great to continue having these gatherings, small or large.

NotesClass 1939William Eastham writes, “My wife, Jane, died in 2005 . Since then, I’ve lived at St. John’s, on the lake in Milwawkee, WI, a very beautiful retirement facility. For the past year, I have served on the St. John’s Board, which recently financed an $83 million dollar bond. This bond is to construct a 21 story building and living center to enlarge the community. I currently enjoy golf, tennis and skiing.”

1946George Fraser recently built a log home near Asheville, NC. He plans to use it as a summer home. He is still playing golf and flying RC models.

1950Thomas Merrick ’50 writes, “I have one grandson age 5 1/2 and one granddaughter due in February. ps. Been retired from BTL 10 years!

1951Jim Bride and his twin brother John ’51 relish their senior citizen status. Jim has touched base this year with Pike graduates Martha (Allen) Ross ’53, Penny Jackson Trask, Tally (Saltonstall) Forbes ’53, Bill ’49 and Ann Bride, and of course John Bride! Oh, he recognized each immediately! Nancy Eastham Iacobucci writes, “Frank and I recently celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary. Although he retired from his position as a judge, he is still working full time as counsel to a law firm and with other projects- all of which he enjoys! But we both especially enjoy spending time with our six grandchildren (and with their parents of course...)! I am still singing in a choral group, reading a lot and visiting with friends--All fun!”

1955Lucy Kemper Pieh writes “I’m enjoying living in Maine. I continue to facilitate grief support groups for hospice and am enjoying being with a 91 year old mother-in-law, and two grandchildren (ages 5 and 2 1/2). We often have three generations in our house. My life feels like a blessing.”

1958Katherine Pickering Motley is in residential real estate sales on the North Shore, having been a manager since 1991. She writes, “I remarried in 1990- almost 20 years ago!- to Richard O’Dywer (architect from England). Would love to dance more, ski more, draw more. I work hard and don’t have enough time to enjoy my 3 grandchildren. I do appreciate our beautiful house on a tranquil pond with lots of birds.”

1959Iris Blackmer Beckwith just got back from a NE region dance competition, and she had a really great night. She took 1st place in the 6 Viennese Waltz and Quickstep heats that she entered. The tango wasn’t that great as they were late getting on the floor, and it threw her off a bit. But, oh well, she still had fun. The Lindy Hop solo showcase turned out to be a show stopper. Everybody loved it, and she and Olaf got the highest score given (96.7). Sharon Seeche Rich’s son Matthew Robinson married Dr. Emily Schopick of Trumbull, CT on October 17, 2009. Matthew is pursuing a Masters in Ed. at B.U. Emily is a nephrologist doing research at Brigham & Women’s. The couple reside in Boston. Sharon became a Director on the board of the Celebrity Series

of Boston. Great organization presenting performing arts in every category for over 70 years!”

1961Wendy Burns Conquest is producing video documentaries and living in Hanover, NH. Steven Seeche writes, “After an 8 year fight with cancer, we lost my wife of 37 years. My daughters and I are working hard to adjust. I sold my house;

I retired; I trained as a mediator & arbitrator; I have joined the boards of not-for-profits and am enjoying my civic rent.”

1962Richard Pieters was elected speaker of The Massachusetts Medical Society, this past June.

1967Pamela Bullard writes, “I taught French, Spanish and English as a second language


Stephen Andrews ’70 with daughter Jessica ’18 at Pike

Renee Kellan Page ’79 (left) and her mom Pauline (right) visit with former Pike faculty member Dot Erickson (center).

for 32 years. I retired in June, and I am looking for a new career path, with writing and photography. I am married to a Spaniard, and we return there every July with our son! We would love to hear from Pike friends.”

1969Nancy Clifton Collier writes, “Our two boys are both off to college now- both at Dartmouth. I am just retired from the local Planning Board Chairmanship after 12 years and now becoming more involved in local conservation activities.” Christina Landry would love to hear from any Pike alumni, especially if anyone visits Sarasota- “Paradise on the West Coast of Florida.” She writes “I am a realtor in Sarasota and most importantly raising my daughter, Jacqueline, who was born in China and is a new 13 years old.” Daniel Miner writes, “Having raised three daughters, Hannah 22, Marilyn 16, and Phebe 14, Nancy and I will be ’empty nesters’ too soon. Still playing hockey and guitar; always on the lookout for classmates.” Gail McCoy Moorhouse ran into Robin Lathrop ’69 who was in our class until 4th Grade. Definitely “it’s a small world” event. Gail and Tim’s kids are grown and gone, but now we have alpacas! Check them out at www.blackberrylandalpacas.com. Raymond Stecker writes, “Interesting how each generation improves upon the previous, as it should be! Hope all my fellow ‘Pikers’ are well.”

1970Stephen Andrews writes, “Our daughter Jessica ’18, started Pike this year in first grade; we are very excited. Lisa and I are impressed with the teachers, staff and facilities. We are looking forward to connecting with past alums and current parents.” Leslie Stecker Dumont says, “Sarah ’10 graduated last year from Pike and is happy at Dana Hall.

Emily ’11 will be graduating this year and has a long list of secondary schools she’s looked at. Bill is with ReMax, and we live in North Andover. Hi to all! :)”

1971Stephanie Curtis Harman is living in the Bay Area with her husband Fred and three children: Kirsten (18), Stephen (16), and Allison (13). Please visit!

1977Nicholas Thomas writes, “My photography is featured in a cover story of the November issue of Range Finder Magazine. The artwork should look familar as some of it was hanging in the Pike Alumni Art Show. They also did a radio interview with me which will be on Apple Itunes.”

1978Forbes Bagatelle-Black writes, “I recently became a victim of the “jobless recovery” when my employer laid off about 80% of its engineering staff. This will cause short-term pain, but long-term benefits because it will allow me to pursue some projects I have been putting off.” Alison Smith S. Bentley is recently divorced. She has two kids, ages 13 and 16. She is a part-time massage therapist in Chelmsford, MA. abentley.massagetherapy.com. She is also a part-time teacher at a local elementary school. Happy and healthy. Cheers!

1981Suzanne Goldberg Barnhart writes, “We are so happy to be back in Andover, especially for the holidays! Annie is now 2 1/2 and David is 1 1/2, and I started my own hospitality representation company- www.houseofkooser.com” Susanna Harwood-Rubin writes “I had a series of drawings in a design showcase in LA that ran from October 20, 2009 through November 19, 2009. Proceeds benefited the Habitat

for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles.” Dana Limanni-Tarlow and Stephanie Gardner-Ginsberg ’81 had a fun night out with Claire Coward-Wood ’81 at a charity dinner for The Esperanza Academy. She also hosted a Halloween Party at her house and Stephanie Gardner-Ginsberg ’81, Nolden Johnson ’81 and Suzanne Goldberg-Barnhart ’81 were all there

Dana Limanni-Tarlow ’81 and son Drake


NotesClass with their children. Nolden’s birthday was Novemeber 8th-- what a bash at his house in Marblehead!

1985Christina Doykos Breen spent the last 8 years founding an independent middle school in New Hampshire called Seacoast Academy. Received tons of helpful advice from teachers/administrators at Pike. A hugely generous community! She now teaches English at Phillips Exeter.

1986Robin Hessman writes, “I am thrilled to announce that after more than five years of non-stop work on my film about five people from the last generation of Soviet kids who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, we are almost at the finish line. Without your generous help and support, we would never have made it this far. I am also very excited to let you know that My Perestroika will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival as part of the US Documentary Competition. This is an enormous honor, as the independent film festival founded by Robert Redford is considered the premiere US film festival. Over 10,000 films were submitted for the 2010 festival, which will take place from Jan 21- 31st.” Ashley MacVaugh continues to ride and train horses, running her own equestrian business. She recently finished the season with a top third finish at the United States Equestrian Federation Fall Eventing Championships at Fair Hill International (MD). She currently coaches the Area 1 (New England) young riders team, which finsihed 4th at the championships this summer in Lexington, KY.

1988Naima Amirian-White is a veterinarian with USDA and serves as a Public Health Trainer and D.V.M. She resides in Western N.C. with her husband Nick, a USDA consumer inspector, and 2-year- old daughter Yasmin. They have 5 dogs, 2 cats, 13 horses and raise minature donkeys and thoroughbreds. They have entered the real estate market as well by puchasing six investment properies. Kier Byrnes writes, “My band, Three Day Threshold, just released a new CD call “Straight Outta the Barrel.” (It’s available on iTunes.) We were also recently invited down to perform for Fred Noe, Master Distiller, (and great-grandson) of Jim Beam, and he took us for a private tour of the distillery.”

1989Martha Previte-Botten writes, “I’m living near Burlington, VT now, with my husband and our 2 year old daughter. I’m a law clerk at the Federal Court, and my husband is an assistant professor at the UVM College of Medicine.”

1990Imran Khusro writes, “After working in the IT industry for a few years and operating a real estate development company, I have gone back to Law School. I will graduate at the end of 2010.”

1991Courtney Peck Kenaley writes, “I’d love to update you on any new news I have, however I don’t have any!!! Still working at the same job, fixing up our fixer upper and loving the Pacific Northwest. Wish I could be more exciting. . . .”

1993Laura Bissell was featured in “The Glasshammer: Smart Women in Numbers” in an article titled “35 Under 35” as managing director of Okapi Partners. Jessica Parr and her husband DJ live in Exeter, NH. They welcomed a baby girl on September 24, 2009 named Lily Claire Cacciapuoti. Jessica is in the last year of PhD in History at UNH. Everyone is doing well. Lana Luciano Silvestro writes, “I currently live in Andover with my husband Troy and two sons, Anthony (2) and Thomas (4 months). I teach second grade in Lawrence, MA.”

1994Adam Courville moved to Boston in the Fall of 2008 after six years as Program Director for Kids on the Block-Vermont, an educational support troupe based in Burlington, VT. As Box Office Manager of PST, he is honored to take part in helping ensure that every year, thousands of children have access to the magic of puppetry. David Ercolini is working as an illustrator in NYC. His current project is a children’s book for Scholastic. Mary Piscitello Mercer writes, “I am currently living out in the Bay Area with my husband and am in my last year of residency in emergency medicine. I will be pursuing a fellowship in EMS & Disaster Management in San Francisco next year.”

1996Melissa Armstrong is still teaching pre-school/daycare and continues to love living in St. Louis where she met her fiance. They are very excited to be getting married in June 2010. Michael Ercolini is in his last year at George Mason Law School and his working on a film documentary. Morgen Peck was married to Morgan Lackenbauer this past September in Newport, RI.

1997Meghan Hayes is currently at Boston College getting her masters in elementary education. She will be doing her pracitum at the Brimmer and May School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in

Lily Claire Cacciapuoti

An impromptu reunion of members of the Class of 1989 last fall in Boston include, left to right: Susan Sullivan, Emily Meehan, Mara Terlizzi, Christina Herz, Craig Garcia, Nathalie (Lemaitre) Nguyen, Ian Harbilis, Sarah (McAdams) Corbett, Katie (Baldwin) Watts, Nicole (Poisson) Loring.


Morgen Peck ’96

is also playing varsity baseball. The team went to the Division III regionals last year. He has done chemistry internships at Bob Langer’s Lab at MIT and Genzyme Corporation. Alexandra Yuschik is a junior at Carnegie Mellon with a major in math.

2005Christian Anderson was awarded the Faculty Prize at Phillips Andover in Spring 2009 and is currently attending Yale. Jennifer Hyslip is in the middle of her sophomore year of college and just finished her first semester, which was awesome at Conn. College after transferring from GW. She is on the varsity squash team and is traveling to San Francisco with the team this break which should be exciting. William Kavanagh writes, “All’s well at ’Nova so far. I am enjoying my freshman year, especially watching their amazing football and basketball teams in action. In the wake of my 5th Pan-Mass Challenge, I have become a member of the Villanova Cycling team and will be one of the youngest riders to ever race with the team when their season begins in the spring. GO WILDCATS!” David Riedell writes, “I am thoroughly enjoying my 2nd year at Tufts University. I recently switched out of engineering for lack of interest and have yet to decide a new major. I played soccer at Tufts this past fall.”

2006Jamie Aponas went to Belize with her senior class. She also got her scuba diving certification. It was one of the hardest experiences she has ever gone through, but she learned so much. They were there for two weeks, and she got to see a shark, an eagle ray and amazing fish. But receiving the certification was very hard. She had to take quizzes and do underwater tests like taking off her breathing mask 40 feet underwater. The trip, she says,

made a big difference in her life. Spencer Harkins is taking a year off from school to live the dream in Breckenridge, CO. He has been skiing every day since November and will continue to until the mountains dry up for the summer months. He is working as a ski technician and filming ski movies when he has time. He will spend the rest of the year traveling and searching for more snow. Hallie Malitsky is at Syracuse University and is pledging Alpha Phi Omega, an international community service sorority. Michaela Miragliotta was awarded the Latin Award, the National Latin Exam Gold Medal, and an award for Excellence in English at Andover High School. She is now attending UMASS. Leah Psoinos was awarded the James R. Hurley Athletic Director’s Award and the Kristin “Krit” Kearins Memorial Scholarship at Andover High School. She now attends Syracuse University. Parker Washburn was awarded the Yale Bowl at Phillips Andover in the spring of 2009. He attends Harvard University. Victoria Wilmarth is at school at Duke University in North Carolina, studying public policy and global health. She is really enjoying exploring a new part of the country and is grateful to be a part of the Robertson Scholars Program, which allows her to be dually enrolled at Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The two rival universities have an incredible range of opportunities to offer, and Tori is doing her best to take advantage of both. Lauren Wilmarth received a scholarship for tennis from UConn and is currently ranked sixth in New England by the USTA. She entered UConn in the fall of 2009.

2007Taylor Angles is a senior at GA. She entered the Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards competition and did very well. She won a gold key for her portfolio and a silver key for an individual painting included in the portfolio. As a gold key winner (one of 150 in

the Spring. Sara Kellner writes, “In 2006, I started my own business, “La Vie Equestrienne: The Finest Equestrian Tack, Unique Designs for Horses, Pets and People.” www.EquestrienneCompany.com. I would love to reconnect with Pike alumni!” Chad Turner is marrying Kimberly Orefice (a former Pike intern from 06-07) in June 2010, on the beach in CT. He has also just accepted a new job with Keurig in Reading, MA. Both Chad and Kim say hello to all of their Pike School friends. :)

1998Douglas Armstrong is in his second year of law school in San Francisco, CA. He is engaged to Alexandra Baker. They are planning a July 2010 wedding in Seattle, WA.

1999Arlen Galloway has been named a men’s basketball assistant coach at Middlebury College. Galloway comes to Middlebury from Kenyon College, where he served as an assistant coach for the previous two seasons. Galloway also worked as an assistant coach at Washington College during the ’06-’07 season. Galloway has also worked at several basketball camps, including the Hoop Mountain Camp as well as the Hoop Group camp. Sara Kitaeff writes, “I’m going to Suffolk Law, in my 2nd year. I am going to

travel through Turkey with my boyfriend in December. I worked at the Louvre Museum on an internship program in college and lived in Paris for almost a year. Now I also bartend gallery openings on Newbury Street.” Brett Masterson has been freelance designing since graduating from Syracuse University’s School of Architecture, and recently bought a home in Roxbury that he is renovating with his parents. Follow along! threehighland.blogspot.com. Sasha Parr is in a Law/MPH program at Northeastern/Tufts Medical. She is living back home in Reading.

2001Bethany Gostanian has just started graduate schoool at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University, working on a masters of philosophy in classical archeology. She is working hard but having a great time. Cricket is her new sport! Katherine Nelson writes, “I just started my PhD in Astrophysics at Yale. I am living there, in New Haven, with Ben Heller ’02.” Sarah Wooten is in law school at the University of Georgia!

2002Brendan Parr is in a PhD program in Chemistry at Emory University.

2003Emilie Lantelme is spending six months in the “Outback” studying wildlife--she just loves the beauty of this place....She hopes to finish at DU this year. “G’day.”

2004Katherine Cormier is loving Boston College and excited to study abroad in Milan, Italy this spring at Bocconi University. “Best to all my ’04 classmates and hope everyone is doing well!” Matthew Skinner is a junior at Washington University in St. Louis. Double major in Chemistry and Economics. He


NotesClass

Erik Sirakian ’07, now at Phillips Academy, led an assembly at Pike on genocide to raise awareness of the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.

the state), her work will go on to compete nationally. Mari Miyachi, a Brace Student Fellow, did a presentation at Phillips Andover entitled “Hired for Life: Translating the Historic Problems of the Modern Japanese “Company Man.” Gregory Serrao has been having a great time surfing in Cape Cod. James Yuschik is a high school senior looking at colleges. He seems to be most interested in Cornell in between playing hockey and soccer.

2008Emma Zanazzi is taking a really cool Latin AP course on Vergil, and is learning so much! She is still seeing Pike kids everwhere, and it’s so much fun!

2009Emily Brown writes, “I am a repeat Freshman at Pingree and I love it. The teachers and kids are so great and I know I am going to have a great four years here.” Frank Cieri wrote from GDA this past fall: “This semester the weirdest class that he is taking is Film; it’s a lot of fun. He was playing on the JV football team until he broke the socket of his shoulder (outside of football) and now he just watches. His team is doing well though he doesn’t know the record because he doesn’t go to the away games because he has doctors appoitments then. He may go to Germany this summer with school but he is still not sure. Life is awesome; he has no photos.” Kelsey Hutchinson writes, “I am currently at Lawrence Academy as a new sophomore. I am loving it here, but I still miss Pike with it’s awesome curriculum, sports, teachers and peers. I hope to keep in touch with Pike and keep connected

with old teachers and peers. Max McGillivray was in a play production this summer, Guys and Dolls, in Andover. Over the summer he worked at the Spinners, the minor league affiliate of the Red Sox. He is also learning the guitar. This year, he made a film club at Brooks and has been really busy making movies and such. He is also in the fall play this year and the co-creater of an all-boys acapella group.

2010Christopher Cortner writes, “Andover High is going well. I am in the fall production of The Sound of Music. I love the drama program and have met tons of new people and I’m having a lot of fun. I am really getting along and enjoy Andover High a lot. Lydia Godo-Solo traveled to Costa Rica over the summer. It was such a beautiful country. She is completley in love with PA. It was the best school for her! She has made tons of friends, while keeping in touch with friends from Pike! Pearson Goodman is playing football. He is currently at Phillips Andover & he loves it. Madelaine Gray

writes, “I have started a new sport, volleyball, and I am doing dance at Lawrence Academy. Nothing else is that new.” Amelia Hulshult loves Brooks and it’s awesome that she has made the varsity team as the starting goalie; she is still playing with a broken finger. Julie Moon is boarding at Phillips Exeter Academy and loves it. She is taking advanced dance classes and is also a member of the dance company. Kelly O’Donnell played JV soccer this fall. She loves NDA! Pike really prepped her for it. Her family also got a new parrot named Piper! Brian Poirier writes, “I am having a great time at St. John’s Prep! I’m involved in Model UN, investment club, running for freshman student council, I did freshman cross-country, fencing, sailing in the spring, making friends and I made the Headmaster’s List!” Logan Poole goes to The Governor’s Academy. It’s going great and he is playing soccer. Max Silveira went to Florida over the summer with his basketball team. They had six very close games, all decided by five points or less. It was a great experience and when they were not playing they saw the

best competition in the country play. The kids were huge there was one kid who was 7’1”. Now he is playing with the Andover High School JV team and they are doing very well in a fall league. Life is good at AHS. Isha Singhal is going to Brooks and so far she loves it. She loves all her teachers and has made some friends! She is doing community service and afternoon art right now and they are really fun. Tess Watler’s school is going well. She made the field hockey team despite the 27 girls cut, and she is starting. She loves the people and the campus, and is looking forward to the next four years at Exeter. Marie Wilson goes to Lawrence Academy and also dances for her school sport. Outside of school, she figure skates.

The Class Notes in this issue of The Quill comprise those received as of February 1, 2010.

Gregory Serrao ’07


In Memoriam

1962 Pike yearbook photo

Robert Farnsworth Worthen ’62 died Dec. 25, 2009 at home after a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer.

Rob graduated from the Hotchkiss School and Bucknell University. He received his MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1975. Rob was president of Worthen Industries, a manufacturing company headquartered in Nashua, N.H. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Susan (Benner); son, Douglas ’92, and daughter, Carrie (Worthen) Collins ’90; and two grandchildren, Jamie and Lindsay Collins. Surviving him are his brothers, Rick ’61 and his wife Nancy (McArdle) ’61, David ’74 and his wife Gail, Peter ’58 and his wife Sally, and his sister, Lynn Worthen Berns

’64 and her husband Fred, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Excerpted from Peter Holland ’60’s eulogy:Rob was a very close friend and in the roughly fifty some odd years we have known one another we have had lots of laughs, shed a few tears, profited from our mistakes which by the way were many, although I don’t know that Rob would readily admit to that, and shared some great experiences together. He was a mentor, a teacher, an advisor and a friend and I can still say friend even though he was also my boss for some 30 plus years.

Ever since I can remember, Rob had a framed quote hung on his office wall that came from a 1910 speech delivered by Teddy Roosevelt entitled “Man in the Arena”. I bring this up because I think this quote really defines Rob in so many ways. It reads:

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose

face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

First of all, I want to say that while Teddy may have been a great president, I think he took a little poetic license in writing those lines. Our English teacher at Pike School, Mrs. Little, who many of us had, would definitely not have approved of all those commas, semi colons, ands, and buts to hold the last sentence together. Anyway, the “Man in the Arena” is what Rob was all about. The will to succeed or as Rob would say,” the desire to win” despite great odds against you, through hard work, persistence, undaunted enthusiasm, devotion, focus and fighting to the bitter end; that was Rob. He never gave up and he never wanted any of us who worked with him to ever give up.

Bryant J. Daniels, Esq. ’73 died unexpectedly in his home in Redondo Beach, CA on February 14, 2009. He was the son of the late Atty. Alfred L. Daniels of Andover.

He is survived by his mother, Nancy M. Daniels of Stoneham; sisters, Diane L. Daniels of Washington, Marianne Daniels Guarino of New Hampshire; his brother Dr. Al Daniels of Brookline; as well as three nephews and a niece.

We had a lot of fun growing up. We got to know each other at Pike School. At that time, there were four Worthens at Pike: Peter ’58, Rick ’61, Rob ’62 and Lynn ’65. David ’74 was yet to be born. Rick and I were great friends first and Robbie, as he was known as in those days, used to tag along. Of the three of us, he was definitely the intellect. We had a great group of friends that started out with the Holt Road crew and included Lee ’60 and Peter Clark ’62, Linda ’61 and Terry Onthank ’62, Getsy Clotworthy ’59 and Kathy Pickering ’58. That group grew as we went through Pike to include Gardner Kellogg ’62, Dudley Whitney ’60, Tom Wholey ’60, Richard Hornidge ’60, Andy Daly ’60, Cinda Kittredge ’65, Lyndy Rogers ’64, Cindy McKee ’65, Nancy McArdle ’61, and others. We all stayed together as friends all through prep school, college, and in many cases, right up to today. I wish that Rob were here with us and we were all about to hang out together for the weekend as we have done on so many previous occasions. I am sure he would be happy that so many of you came today to say goodbye. I am also sure that his message to all of us would be to carry on, have fun, don’t ever give up and play to win.

He graduated from Pike School, Brooks School, and Cal State Dominques. He received his law degree from Southwestern and had been a practicing attorney since 1987.

In Memoriam


The Pike School34 Sunset Rock RoadAndover, Massachusetts 01810-4898

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What does Pike’s Annual Fund fund?Even our cover can’t cover it all.

Read the article on page 14.

the quill magazine, winter 2010

Documents

pike education

pike school magazine

responsible citizens

grade students

strong sense of community

independent learners

alumni affairs

responsible management