Download - The Taft School
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around the POND Cum Laude Scholars Named n This fall’s honorees are (from left in photo): Alex Reiff, Academic Dean Jon Willson ’82, Michelle Chang, Kanoko Kotaka, Thuy Tran, Ina Kosova, Cathy Chen, Christina Morgan, Sarah Nyquist, Eliza Davis, Kristen Shaker, Julian Patrick Sena, Benjamin Garfinkel, Mai Thanh Nguyen, Tae Young Woo, Christopher Browner, Connie Cheung and Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78. Yee-Fun Yin Sixteen Taft seniors were recently inducted into the Cum Laude Society, tying last year’s record number for the fall term inductees. A maximum of 20 percent of the Senior Class may be elected into membership in the Cum Laude Society; those inducted in the fall represent the top 9.2 percent of their class, with weighted averages that ranged from 93.2 to 97.9 for those two years. In introducing the new Cum Laude Society members Headmaster Willy MacMullen recalled the work of Professor Angela Duckworth, the noted UPenn research psychologist who spoke to the Taft community in 2010. “If you have the willingness to do that which is hard, to get back up after you’ve struggled and to face challenges, it will pay off more than anything,” MacMullen said. “That is what these students have done throughout their years at Taft. By any measure these are extraordinary students. But do not forget that achievement comes because they worked hard. Working hard, persevering and having grit matter hugely.” Founded in 1908, the Cum Laude Society is the national scholarship society in secondary schools, corresponding to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi in colleges and scientific schools. Students are elected based on their academic records during both their middle and uppermiddle years. Another group of inductees will be honored during graduation exercises this spring; their selection will be based upon their records for their uppermid and senior years. The Ranking Scholars for 2010–11 year with the highest unweighted averages in their classes are Linh Khanh Tang ’14, Ne Yeon (Carrie) Shin ’13 and Kristen Shaker ’12. Be Our Guest Bingham Auditorium was a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors set in motion by the spirited cast of Beauty and the Beast on stage during fall Parents’ Weekend. And despite the unusual and significant snowfall, it was this lively production that made Parents’ Weekend unforgettable. “It is a great musical—certainly Disney’s best,” said Taft theater and film teacher Rick Doyle. Under Doyle’s direction, Taft mounted a production based on the stage adaptation of the Disney film, featuring Jillian Wipfler ’13 as Belle and Jacob Goldstein ’15 as Prince Adam, cursed to inhabit the body of a beast. Christopher Browner ’12 was brilliant as Lumière, and Max Flath ’13 excelled as the narcissist Gaston. “I thoroughly enjoyed playing Belle,” said Jillian. “Not only is she a princess, but she is a passionate and intelligent girl with a fire in her. Although it was challenging, I worked to create my own Belle, while keeping her the princess we all know and love.” , The high-energy cast, the spectacular sets and the exceptional choreography all made Beauty and the Beast a production to remember. Yee-Fun Yin
Student Perspectives Mark W. Potter ’48 Gallery The winter term began with an emotional one-man show featuring the photography of senior Everett Brownstein. The mountains of Nepal’s Helambu region are dotted with monasteries that attract Buddhist lamas. It is also a popular destination for trekking and tourism. Brownstein volunteered as a teacher in the local school there; his students are the subjects of some of his photos. The show featured portraits and landscapes of the children, their school and the remote village where Brownstein lived. But there were also images of life in the larger, more urban Kathmandu Valley. Photographs of the simple and pristine landscape of Helambu were n Pokhara, Nepal, 2011, by Everett Brownstein ’12 juxtaposed with images of the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu. From shots of an almost unnoticeable switchbacking trail leading to the school in the serene mountains, to the crowded streets filled with mopeds and cars, these photos captured life in Nepal through Brownstein’s incomparable eye. Pieces of Everett’s one-man show may be seen in the current exhibit of student work in the Potter Gallery. Paintings, drawings, sculpture, ceramics and photography are all on display through March 2. All pieces were created during the current school year. The student artists will make way for their mentors on March 30, when the Taft School Visual Arts Faculty Show opens in the gallery. For more information, visit www.taftschool.org/pottergallery. Rhino Run As an elementary school student, Sara Iannone ’13 joined the cross country team at St. John the Evangelist School, where she often competed against students who were much older and much more experienced. Still, it was clear early on that she was a runner to watch. Since that time, Sara has become one of Taft’s top cross-country runners. Under the auspices of her Litchfieldbased running club, Sara has competed in the USATF Junior Olympics. Through all her successes, she has never forgotten her days at St. John’s. “I wanted to plan an event for the community because there are so many local kids who like to run,” Sara explained. “When I was running at St. John’s, I loved going to races to run and to meet runners from other schools.” Last April, Sara began working with boys’ cross country coach Steve Palmer to plan a cross country meet for middle school runners. On October 5, their plans came to fruition: Students from Middlebury’s Memorial School, Rumsey Hall, Watertown’s Swift Middle School, and, of course, St. John the Evangelist competed in the first Taft Rhino Run, a 3k-event on the Taft School campus. “The middle school distance is shorter than high school, so they only ran one loop of our standard course,” Sara notes. “That means they only had to run the hill once.” More than 100 runners competed in two races: one for boys, one for girls. Memorial’s Alex Abraham bested the boys’ field of 63 to win in 11:22. Sydney Soracin was the top finisher of 51 girls, with a winning time of 13:05. The top ten finishers in each race earned ribbons, while the top finishers from each school went home with Taft Rhino Run t-shirts. “The kids really seemed to enjoy the race,” said Sara, “and I think it’s great that Taft offered Mr. Palmer and me so much support in putting together this event. There were many Taft cross country runners who came and volunteered their time to help out and cheer on the runners.” n Middle school girls take off at the start of the first (annual?) 3k Taft Rhino Run. Everett Brownstein Sara and Mr. Palmer both hope the Taft Rhino Run will become an annual event. “Taft has always had a good number of local students on the cross country teams. In fact, I’ve had 10 captains for the boys’ team who have been local runners,” said Palmer. “I’ve watched some middle school races; they’re exciting, fun to watch, and remind us of the essence of sports. Sara’s idea to host this race was a great one.” Taft Bulletin Winter 2012 17
- Page 1 and 2: Vision forTaft Winter 2012
- Page 3 and 4: in this issue B u l l e t i n Winte
- Page 5 and 6: Letters Love it? Hate it? Read it?
- Page 7 and 8: Better Brain Care MONTREAL—After
- Page 9 and 10: In Print A Good and Perfect Gift: F
- Page 11 and 12: Bowlby’s Battle for Round Earth F
- Page 13 and 14: Honoring a Hero Will Keys ’06 Mem
- Page 15 and 16: Club Homework Helpers Taft students
- Page 17: Inspiration Through Celebration As
- Page 21 and 22: y Makkonen and Peucker. Cassie Rusc
- Page 23 and 24: the game in overtime (1-2) in a har
- Page 25 and 26: A Geologist’s Vision forTaft with
- Page 27 and 28: Where is the Taft campus and commun
- Page 29 and 30: Wold Family Chair in Environmental
- Page 31 and 32: Robert Falcetti
- Page 33 and 34: highly motivated future leaders fro
- Page 35 and 36: The Systems Guy Charles Thompson us
- Page 37 and 38: home to his Brooklyn neighborhood a
- Page 39 and 40: from the ARCHIVES Yee-Fun Yin A Tro
around the POND<br />
Cum Laude Scholars Named<br />
n This fall’s honorees are (from left in photo): Alex Reiff, Academic Dean Jon Willson ’82, Michelle<br />
Chang, Kanoko Kotaka, Thuy Tran, Ina Kosova, Cathy Chen, Christina Morgan, Sarah Nyquist, Eliza<br />
Davis, Kristen Shaker, Julian Patrick Sena, Benjamin Garfinkel, Mai Thanh Nguyen, Tae Young Woo,<br />
Christopher Browner, Connie Cheung and Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78. Yee-Fun Yin<br />
Sixteen <strong>Taft</strong> seniors were recently inducted<br />
into the Cum Laude Society,<br />
tying last year’s record number for the<br />
fall term inductees. A maximum of 20<br />
percent of the Senior Class may be elected<br />
into membership in the Cum Laude<br />
Society; those inducted in the fall represent<br />
the top 9.2 percent of their class,<br />
with weighted averages that ranged from<br />
93.2 to 97.9 for those two years.<br />
In introducing the new Cum Laude<br />
Society members Headmaster Willy<br />
MacMullen recalled the work of<br />
Professor Angela Duckworth, the noted<br />
UPenn research psychologist who spoke<br />
to the <strong>Taft</strong> community in 2010.<br />
“If you have the willingness to do that<br />
which is hard, to get back up after you’ve<br />
struggled and to face challenges, it will<br />
pay off more than anything,” MacMullen<br />
said. “That is what these students have<br />
done throughout their years at <strong>Taft</strong>. By<br />
any measure these are extraordinary<br />
students. But do not forget that achievement<br />
comes because they worked hard.<br />
Working hard, persevering and having<br />
grit matter hugely.”<br />
Founded in 1908, the Cum Laude<br />
Society is the national scholarship society<br />
in secondary schools, corresponding<br />
to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi in<br />
colleges and scientific schools. Students<br />
are elected based on their academic<br />
records during both their middle and<br />
uppermiddle years. Another group<br />
of inductees will be honored during<br />
graduation exercises this spring; their<br />
selection will be based upon their records<br />
for their uppermid and senior years.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Ranking Scholars for 2010–11<br />
year with the highest unweighted averages<br />
in their classes are Linh Khanh<br />
Tang ’14, Ne Yeon (Carrie) Shin ’13 and<br />
Kristen Shaker ’12.<br />
Be Our Guest<br />
Bingham Auditorium was a kaleidoscope<br />
of brilliant colors set in motion<br />
by the spirited cast of Beauty and the<br />
Beast on stage during fall Parents’<br />
Weekend. And despite the unusual<br />
and significant snowfall, it was this<br />
lively production that made Parents’<br />
Weekend unforgettable.<br />
“It is a great musical—certainly<br />
Disney’s best,” said <strong>Taft</strong> theater and<br />
film teacher Rick Doyle.<br />
Under Doyle’s direction, <strong>Taft</strong><br />
mounted a production based on the<br />
stage adaptation of the Disney film,<br />
featuring Jillian Wipfler ’13 as Belle and<br />
Jacob Goldstein ’15 as Prince Adam,<br />
cursed to inhabit the body of a beast.<br />
Christopher Browner ’12 was brilliant<br />
as Lumière, and Max Flath ’13<br />
excelled as the narcissist Gaston.<br />
“I thoroughly enjoyed playing<br />
Belle,” said Jillian. “Not only is she<br />
a princess, but she is a passionate<br />
and intelligent girl with a fire in<br />
her. Although it was challenging,<br />
I worked to create my own Belle,<br />
while keeping her the princess we all<br />
know and love.”<br />
, <strong>The</strong> high-energy cast, the spectacular<br />
sets and the exceptional choreography all<br />
made Beauty and the Beast a production<br />
to remember. Yee-Fun Yin
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