FALL 2015 1 Nightingale - The Nightingale

÷e Blue Doors
The
NightingaleBamford School
Volume 10
Issue 1
Fall 2015
FALL 2015 1
THE BLUE DOORS
Volume 10, Issue 1
Fall 2015
A biennial publication of
The Nightingale-Bamford School
20 East 92nd Street
New York, New York 10128
nightingale.org
We would like to hear from you!
Letters to the editor, story
suggestions, corrections, and
questions may be directed to
bluedoors@nightingale.org. If you
have a class note to share, please
submit it via our online form
at nightingale.org/sharenews.
DESIGN
Pentagram
Contents
1
4
10
14
L AY O U T
CZ Design
PRINTING AND MAILING
Allied Printing Services
PHOTOGRAPHY
All photography courtesy of subject,
unless otherwise noted:
Foreword
A note from Head of School
Paul A. Burke
Cover, foreword, US Commons,
new third-floor classrooms,
Julia Tamlyn ’15, Class of 2015,
global education, alumnae/daughter,
annual fund, and Rebecca Grunwald
by Matthew Septimus
MS/US Library and Open Doors
Center by Billy Tidwell
Reunion 2015, Spring Benefit, and
Maya Popa ‘07 by Jennifer Taylor
Convocation, NASA, LS World Record
Day, Rebecca Strauss, Tina Kelley,
Homecoming, Lynn Sherr, Chelsea
Clinton, Sweet Readers, soccer players,
and David Byrnes by Susan Tilson
Cum Laude by Liz Layne
A Peek Behind
the Blue Doors
An inside look at some
of our new spaces
Latin Roots
Soul Friends
Jeff Kearney looks back
at the development of
Nightingale’s Latin program
Julia Tamlyn ’15 reflects
on the Class of 2015
and the importance of
Nightingale friendships
16 | Reunion 2015
20 | Class of 2015 37 | Class Notes
Alumnae celebrate
Nightingale and one
another at Reunion 2015
Congratulations to our
most recent graduates!
44 | Voices
24 | Hallways
Stories and photographs
from around the schoolhouse
US assembly by David Byrnes
On the cover: Holly Miller ’24
works diligently on her painting in
her fourth-grade studio art class.
2 TH E B L UE DOORS
FAL L 2015 1
FOREWORD
Of the City, By the Girls,
For the World
Throughout their time at Nightingale, girls engage in academic experiences away from
the schoolhouse that integrate and complement what they learn on 92nd Street. These
often take the form of field trips or internships around New York City, semester-school
programs around the country, or exchanges with institutions around the world. We also
build in signature travel experiences at certain grade levels, such as the Class VIII trip
to Washington, D.C., and the Class IX trip to London.
This year, as Class VIII returned from our nation’s capital and Class IX prepared to fly
to London, news broke from Paris. In response, the school affirmed our well-vetted and
practiced safety procedures and monitored the news closely. We did not, however, ever
strongly consider canceling or rescheduling the trip.
Our commitment to these trips—even in the face of harrowing worldwide events—is
based in a commitment to our mission. Our charge is to educate girls’ hearts and minds,
to graduate well-educated young women of character. Girls who are resilient in the face
of challenge and prepared to lead amidst uncertainty—uncertainty like that experienced
after Paris, or Beirut, or any other number of recent events. For this reason, Nightingale’s
faculty is engaging in a yearlong exploration of global education.
This exploration includes looking at the ways in which Nightingale can pursue and
mirror the very best of what immediately surrounds us. Even as we embrace and reinforce
the value of a one schoolhouse model, we will consider how Nightingale can take
advantage of the diverse resources and people of New York City.
An exploration of a global framework should also include curricular and pedagogical
reflections on the where, the how, and the who of a classroom in today’s world. Many times
the Nightingale classroom is ideal, but we should consistently ask when students are better
served by leaving the schoolhouse. We should also consider when traditional academic
disciplines can and should take an integrated experiential and interdisciplinary approach.
Finally, we can seize this moment to think about how educational experiences are created
as much by the girls as they are for the girls.
Nightingale can boldly enhance our public purpose via partnerships with like-minded,
values-based schools and organizations. There is an altruistic element to this work: we are
fortunate to have the resources that are available to us, and we believe that we know a
good deal about how best to educate girls. This is worth sharing with others. There is an
unapologetic, self-interested element to this work, as well: the most dynamic schools shine
their light outward and provide a model and resources for others on how best to educate.
Not surprisingly, and quite quickly, that light shines back on the initiating school, making
it that much more vibrant. A global framework for Nightingale must consider what our
school community can do for the world.
By the end of this year, the Nightingale community will have a well-articulated and
forward-thinking framework for teaching global competence. Our plan will embrace the
potential of tomorrow while affirming our long-standing and absolute commitment to
educating the hearts and minds of every girl. It is our belief that, in so doing, Nightingale
girls will be best prepared to address the global challenges we face today and the ones
that will take shape tomorrow.
Paul A. Burke
Head of School
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FAL L 2015 3
A Peek Behind
the Blue Doors
With the schoolhouse renovation moving toward completion,
several new spaces revealed this fall have had an immediate
and positive impact on student life, generating excitement for
what is still to come.
The Middle and Upper School
library has been reimagined and
expanded to support the role of
the library in the modern age.
With more space for the girls to
study and collaborate with one
another, the library is a place
of learning and connection for
our students.
4 TH E B L UE DOORS
FAL L 2015 5
Overview
The third and final phase of Nightingale’s ambitious
schoolhouse construction project is well underway. All major
construction within the existing schoolhouse was completed
over the summer, resulting in new, open spaces that have
already greatly enhanced the day-to-day experience of
every girl. The consensus among students and faculty alike
is that the new design already makes the schoolhouse feel
bigger, even without the additional 20,000 sq. ft. of usable
space the townhouses will provide once they are completed
in 2016. The abundant use of glass allows natural light to
flow into the hallways on several floors, brightening those
spaces and contributing to a feeling of openness throughout
the building.
In the pages that follow, you will have the opportunity
to see some of our renovated spaces in action, as well
as architectural renderings of the new fitness room and
Lower School library, both of which are part of the ongoing
renovations in the adjacent townhouses. We are excited to
share these images with the Nightingale community and
look forward to welcoming you back to 92nd Street to see
the fully renovated and expanded schoolhouse when the
project is complete!
Two classrooms were combined to create the Upper School
Commons, which has quickly become the hub of our vibrant
Upper School. The perfect space for girls to study, relax,
and meet with teachers or one another, the Commons is the
new location of choice for socializing in the Upper School.
Students have noted that the addition of this new space has
had many positive consequences, not the least of which is
that the library (featured on the previous page) is now a truly
quiet place, reserved for serious study.
6 TH E B L UE DOORS
The third floor now incorporates classrooms of varying size,
which are tailored to different styles of teaching and learning.
The seminar room and the two-tiered public speaking room
both feature glass walls on both sides, allowing natural light to
flow from the library windows directly through the classrooms
and into the Upper School hallway.
FAL L 2015 7
When completed, the Lower School library will anchor
the eastern end of the fourth floor. Its inviting design will
encourage girls to settle in and discover the joy of reading,
with cozy spots to curl up with a book, as well as welcoming
spaces for collaborative work and class activities.
In this transitional year, the third-floor Open Doors Center
is primarily serving as a conference room for students,
faculty, and parents alike. From parent class representative
meetings with division heads to meetings of 11th graders
from Nightingale and the Young Women’s Leadership School
of East Harlem working on a joint project, the room has
become a sought-after meeting space, its small size perfectly
suited to collaboration and conversation.
In many rooms throughout the renovated schoolhouse,
Nightingale students, faculty, and staff are sitting
comfortably in ergonomically designed chairs donated
by Humanscale, the premier designer and manufacturer
of ergonomic products that improve health and
comfort at work. Humanscale has been honored with
more than 200 prestigious awards since 2007, and its
designs have been featured in various museums, such
as the Museum of Modern Art. We at the NightingaleBamford School extend our deepest gratitude to
Humanscale’s founder and CEO Robert King P’18 P’21,
Monique King P’18 P’21, and Humanscale for their
exceedingly generous donation.
A fully equipped fitness and training space will occupy
the ground-level floor of the townhouses, allowing
students to work on their physical strength and overall
fitness throughout the year, as well as broadening the
scope of training for Nightingale’s athletics teams.
8 TH E B L UE DOORS
FAL L 2015 9
Latin Roots
Classics faculty member Jeff Kearney takes
a look at the origins and development of
Nightingale’s signature Latin program.
[From L to R:] Clara Wade Boecklin, Marianna von Heereman, and Shirley Bennette
were instrumental to the development of Nightingale’s Latin program.
By Jeff Kearney
In June of 1975 the Times News Service reported a story that
appeared in papers as far as the Bakersfield Californian and
the Post-Crescent of Appleton, Wisconsin:
In a ceremony that ended with the graduates and
alumni singing out “In Praise of Old Nassau, My
Boys,” two young women from New York, Cynthia
Chase and Lisa Siegman, addressed Princeton
University’s 228th commencement Tuesday as the
valedictorian and salutatorian of the Class of 1975,
the first time a woman has been awarded either
honor in the school’s history… Adhering to Princeton
tradition, Siegman read her salutatory in Latin.
After comments from the graduates on the moment itself
(less momentous to students than to the press and alumni)
and future plans (comparative literature, law), the article turns
to “two most interested spectators” at the ceremonies outside
Nassau Hall that afternoon: Mrs. Joan McMenamin and
Miss Marianna von Heereman. The historian Headmistress and
the Latin teacher had taught both Chase and Siegman when
they were students at Nightingale (Chase graduated in 1970,
Siegman in 1971). When asked about the role of a single-sex
school in her students’ success, Miss von Heereman—likely
one of just a few in the audience to understand Siegman’s
address without a dictionary—shook her head, saying only,
“Girls of that caliber…under all conditions are better.”
10 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Though the authors proposed
“not to teach to-day what
may be taught more properly
to-morrow,” the pace of
their book suggests seizing
the day rather than waiting
for another one.
In its aim to educate “girls of that caliber,” Nightingale
has always given Latin a front row seat. By the time Marguerite
Colson ’06 delivered another Princeton salutatory, the Latin
requirement was 90 years old. The language has been
offered since the school’s founding in 1920, when it formed
the core of a college track that also included classical history,
a curriculum comparable to that of the boys’ schools at the
time. There was also a general track that was similar to a
traditional liberal arts curriculum, comprised, among other
subjects, of English, art history, and French. Perhaps most
notably, we learn from a 1922–1923 catalogue of Miss
Nightingale’s Classes, it was all accomplished between
9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., October through May.
The first Nighthawks began Latin in Upper School Class IV,
the equivalent of our seventh grade. There they tackled a
remarkable 35 chapters in Collar and Daniell’s First Year Latin,
a book simple in title alone. Though the authors proposed
“not to teach to-day what may be taught more properly
to-morrow,” the pace of their book suggests seizing the
day rather than waiting for another one. In fact, the book
frontloads nearly all of the grammatical terminology—from
parts of speech to word inflection to types of subordinate
clauses—before the introduction of the alphabet. The purpose
was to anticipate questions before they could arise in a
12-year-old mind. While the authors were at it, they decided
to address such matters as “What Latin is,” “Why Latin is
studied,” and the nine-step “How to study Latin.” The final
piece of advice in the last of these was “consider the
troublesome parts.”
Students finished the book’s basic training by the end
of our eighth grade. The practice sentences that year give
a clue that the pace had not slowed: The poor soldiers
are tired in body, but they surpass the enemy in speed.
The remaining Upper School years were devoted to Roman
authors, beginning in Class VI (our ninth grade) with texts
used in today’s AP Latin curriculum. They cut generous
swaths through the Gallic War and First Catilinarian Oration.
When they were not reading Cicero, girls were imitating his
prose style. It would seem unlikely that the 75 lessons in
the “beginning” years had left gaps, but Baker and Inglis’s
Latin Prose Composition was not going to take any chances.
Its stated aim, after all, was “that better results be gained
and dishonest work be discouraged.”
Miss A.J.G. Perkins and Miss C.L.W. Wade taught the
first Latin classes along with ancient history. According to
former Associate Head of School and de facto Nightingale
historian Kitty Gordan, they were “part of a group of very
well-educated and talented women, mostly graduates of
Bryn Mawr, Barnard, and Vassar, who spent their teaching
career at Nightingale and played a formative role in the
history of the school.” This was particularly true for Miss Wade,
later Mrs. Boecklin, whose tenure stretched into the early
1960s. To her colleague and successor Shirley Bennette,
Mrs. Boecklin seemed to read the Aeneid “like a newsreel…
as if the events in the poem were happening right now.” Her
precision with Latin was matched, says Eve Krzyzanowski ’69,
by a meticulously woven braid she wore across the top of
her head in the Flavian (A.D. 69) manner. Likewise, the
curriculum that Mrs. Boecklin began to weave—with strands
of ancient history, culture, grammar, and literature—would
prove as lasting as the hairstyle; it still lives today. In fact,
Mrs. Boecklin’s braided portrait hangs over Latin faculty
desks as a tribute to her enduring influence on our work:
tradition and innovation, our fundamental warp and weft.
Aside from the years immediately following the school’s
founding, the 1960s may have been the single most
FAL L 2015 1 1
auspicious period for Latin at Nightingale. Two remarkable
teachers—and pivotal figures in the program—joined the
faculty: Marianna von Heereman in 1958 and Shirley Bennette
in 1968. Their long tenures (Miss von Heereman’s until 1976
and Mrs. Bennette’s until 1990) would change and shape the
department’s curriculum and faculty in fundamental ways.
At first glance the women could not be more different.
Miss von Heereman was from an aristocratic family in Silesia,
a German-speaking region of Poland. She was educated
by private tutors, including in Latin, which she learned from
a Jesuit priest. She emigrated to the United States via
Switzerland to escape the political climate. She was single and,
while liberally educated in the arts, had little interest in music.
In fact, she once presented a vinyl record to Mrs. Bennette
with the request that she “find a home for the strange object.”
Miss von Heereman’s students recall her as vividly. Eve
Krzyzanowski ’69 remembers how “in severe dark suits down
to sturdy Oxfords, she cut an imposing figure.” Elena Hahn
Kiam ’81 adds that Miss von Heereman carried a picture of
Plato in her wallet: “I suppose she liked gazing at his image
just as others enjoy seeing photos of their families.”
So I kept making the point that Latin should be first.”
Her argument, likely grounded in modes of persuasion first
learned in Cicero, worked. The requirement that Latin begin
in Class VI stands. [Ed. note: modern language study at
Nightingale now begins in Class III.]
Mrs. Bennette also extended Classics in another direction—
outside the school’s doors. In Nightingale’s first academic trips
abroad, “a busload or so” of girls from Classes IX through XII
toured Rome and southern Italy much as they do today.
As important as the trip’s itinerary was its inclusivity. To Mrs.
Bennette it was essential that every academically eligible
student come along. Consequently, fundraising was both
creative and fierce. The department hosted turkey dinners in
which Mr. Bennette played piano, sometimes accompanying
a small chorus. Students and faculty sold African violets.
There was a block sale in Mrs. Bennette’s Upper West Side
neighborhood, where Latinists pedaled records and old
copies of National Geographic. John Klopacz, who now
teaches at Stanford, recalls Bennette’s reluctance to postpone
a sale for a hurricane, declaring that Vermonters do not yield
to the weather. “Ever after that day,” Klopacz remembers,
In this undated photo from Nightingale’s archives, Miss von Heereman meets with Nana Tucker Visitor ’75
Mrs. Bennette, by contrast, was a New Englander who
received a thoroughly American (and first-rate) education,
first at Mount Holyoke College, then at Berkeley and Union
Theological Seminary in New York. A Fulbright Scholar at
the American School in Athens, she traveled widely with her
husband, a classical pianist. Mrs. Bennette’s attention to detail,
Alexandra Hahn Murphy ’78 recalls, was less an academic
exercise than a moral one. For her, reading Latin was an act
of historic preservation: “She wanted to prevent texts from
being permanently lost in translation as it were.”
Though steeped in tradition, Miss von Heereman and
Mrs. Bennette saw in many ways to the “modernization”
of the Classics department that exists today. Under their
leadership, the department hired one of the school’s first male
teachers, Mr. Hamister, in the 1970s, followed by Mr. Klopacz
in the 1980s. When the language was in danger of “starting
too late” (the requirement had moved up to begin at Class
VIII), Mrs. Bennette championed the cause to move it back
earlier and earlier in the curriculum, first to Class VII, and then
Class VI. Latin as the first language was not an easy sell on
Mrs. McMenamin, a strong advocate of French. Mrs. Bennette
recalls the negotiations: “Of course the modern language
people wanted [French] to be first, but it didn’t really make
sense because Latin is the basis for French and Spanish.
12 TH E B L UE DO O RS
“when confronted with some hurdle, we would look at each
other and say: ‘We’re from Vermont. We can do this.’”
Later with Klopacz and Diana Stone, now on the faculty at
Dwight-Englewood School, Bennette formed a memorable
fundraising and traveling team: “We had so much fun doing
these things. We were the envy I think of the school because
we [were] such a close-knit department.”
As the requirements for the Nightingale diploma changed
to include more science and modern languages in the 1970s,
the Latin requirement was extended to Class IX. Vergil and
Horace-Catullus were among the school’s first AP offerings,
classes that Mrs. Bennette recalls earned a spate of fives,
the top score. Furthermore, Miss von Heereman’s practice
of tutoring Greek was carried forward at all levels. Though
the Greek senior elective had not been taught in six years by
the time Mrs. Bennette wrote her “Departmental Philosophy
and Goals” in 1987, she was hopeful for a Greek revival.
Her analysis on Latin was also practical. Showing concern
for students entering the school in Class IX with no Latin
(or means to catch up), she noted the importance of Latin
instruction in secondary school because it is “the rare bird
who continues the study of Latin in college…what is
accomplished in Latin must be accomplished here.”
When Mrs. Bennette retired in 1990, she left a legacy
that has extended beyond a curricular requirement. As she
wrote in her department philosophy statement, learning
the language was a means of “dealing with LIFE as well
as Latin.” It should affect those whose own formal Latin
education ended with the requirement in eighth grade or
who never enrolled at all. Appropriately, an annual lecture
in her name brings classical scholars to Nightingale to
continue conversation with the Greek and Roman authors for
a general audience. In addition, the spirit of service and fun
that drives the Classics Club recalls Mrs. Bennette’s own ethos.
At Bronx Classical School our students have shared Latin
lessons, tutored in mythology, and helped middle schoolers
stage a Roman play. At home they decorate circular sugar
cookies to look like Roman denarii. They play knucklebones
for an arbiter bibendi (with grape juice) and celebrate Rome’s
birthday with cake.
Mrs. Boecklin, Miss von Heereman, and Mrs. Bennette
founded and developed a program that has lived on through
its many teachers; their personalities (and classes) were
present in the dusty sort through the Classics department
bookcase last spring, as we packed boxes in advance of the
schoolhouse renovation. Londinium and Plato’s Apology,
we recalled between sneezes, must belong to Dr. Murphy,
who taught the entire ninth grade about Roman Britain
before they left for London, but also Greek philosophy to
a decidedly smaller group senior year. The Roman Cookery
of Apicius was still folded to a recipe for donuts, which
Miss Stone made every February when her students were
beginning to flag. There was also her well-thumbed Orpheus
and Eurydice, a script for a morning meeting her students
performed in Latin. Alongside Miss von Heereman’s Rom
in 100 Bildern was The Handbook of Roman Imperial Coins,
which brought to mind the perennial Class IX project in
Dr. Dakouras’s class. Latin Songs for the Classroom—text,
CD, and early model, “bass boost” portable stereo—could
only be Ms. Schapiro.
Months later we would re-open those boxes in a new,
light-filled space unrecognizable to the founders or even
to Siegman and Chase’s classmates. Between north and
south glass walls, Cicero tumbled out along with Caesar’s
Gallic Wars, a bundle of dry erase markers, and a flash drive
of articles on the Aeneid. The new light was flattering on
Gildersleeve’s Grammar and The Metamorphoses alike.
As with the curriculum and the first teachers, they had aged
well. Now glass-housed, something of the old would always
shine through.
FAL L 2015 1 3
Soul Friends
Julia Tamlyn ’15 was this year’s peer-elected student speaker at
Nightingale’s Commencement on June 4, 2015. In her remarks,
included below, she shares her take on the Class of 2015 and
the strength she derives from her connection to her classmates.
Parents, family, friends, teachers, and students: it is my
honor to welcome you to Nightingale’s 91st Commencement
Exercises. I’m going to begin my speech by letting you in on
a little secret about the Class of 2015: We don’t like change.
If you know anything about us, it’s that. We also like to
complain. If you’re a parent, you’ve heard us complain about
our teachers. If you’re an advisor, you’ve heard about our
workload. Or, if you’re Dr. Willis, you’ve just heard us complain
too much. It’s not that we’re unhappy (believe me, you won’t
find a class who loves Nightingale more than the one standing
up here today). We just like traditions and would prefer if
everything would stay exactly the same, thank you very much.
If the constant jackhammering and presence of our very
own ModuFlex trailer outside the building isn’t evidence
enough, let me tell you: Nightingale is going through a lot
of change right now. But this change is nothing compared
to what the Class of 2015 has experienced throughout the
last 13 years. I entered Nightingale with 14 out of the 32 girls
who stand before you today, and we would not be the strong,
opinionated, confident, and loving class we are if not for those
who have both joined and left us. It has hurt to see friends
leave, but those changes have done nothing if not brought
us closer together.
I know that we are able to recognize change, good or
bad, and adapt to it. We have lived through sabbaticals,
seen teachers come and go, hazed the new ones, and even
hazed the ones who have been here longer than we have.
When there were changes made to the student center,
there was a week of uproar. Why were the new chairs pink?
Why were the tables shaped so oddly? Why did we need four
flat-screen TVs to tell us what was for lunch that day? But we
no longer flinch when we enter the cafeteria and we have
learned how to study with the noise of jackhammers in the
background. We have—one could say—adapted.
Before this year’s “Around the Tree” celebration, a beloved
Nightingale tradition, Mr. Burke came to warn the seniors of
a change we would soon see: an olive tree in the center of
the auditorium instead of the customary giving tree. While we
were all mad, confused, and hurt at first, we were soon able
to see why this change was made and we circled it with pride.
14 TH E B L UE DO O RS
A few weeks ago, all of the seniors wore their college
apparel to school. Although this was exciting and presented
us with limitless Instagram opportunities, my classmates
and I were finally forced to wonder: how will we handle the
biggest change of all and how will we do it without each
other? Four months from now we will look around our college
classrooms and be surrounded by different faces, some of
them male and all of them new. The classes will be bigger,
our teachers probably won’t care what we ate for breakfast
that morning, and there won’t be a senior lounge for us
to walk into and start complaining about everything that’s
going wrong. So, I ask again, how will we face these changes
without the best support system any teenage girl could ask
for? I truly believe that no matter how much anxiety we feel
now, my classmates will face it not only with grace, but with
the courage and confidence that they have discovered within
themselves at Nightingale.
In an article she wrote about female friendship, feminist
and author Emily Rapp said: “Here’s the truth: friendships
between women are often the deepest and most profound.
It is love...support, salvation, transformation, life: this is what
women give to one another when they are true friends, soul
friends.” If I had gone to any other school, I probably would
only be able to turn to a small friend group, or maybe the one
or two girls who I actually managed to keep in touch with after
leaving. What’s special about Nightingale is that I don’t have
a friend group: I have a grade. I have soul friends. I am so
lucky to be able to know that four months from now, I honestly
can talk to any one of these 31 girls about how I’m feeling
and tell her how much I miss her. This change will be difficult,
and I am scared. But I know I will face it in stride because I am
a Nightingale girl and a member of the Class of 2015.
The blue doors have been my doors for the past 13 years.
When I go through them, I enter a community filled with
caring classmates, supportive teachers, and an unparalleled
education. But the blue doors are just the first of many doors
I will walk through in my life. I am not sure which doors I will
go through next, or where they will lead me, but I know that
no matter which ones I choose, I’m walking through them
32 strong.
FAL L 2015 1 5
Reunion 2015
On May 15, 2015, Nightingale alumnae gathered at the
schoolhouse for Reunion 2015. Over the course of the
jam-packed day, returning alumnae visited classes in all three
divisions, attended a panel discussion with current students
and faculty, heard from Head of School Paul A. Burke at the
alumnae luncheon, attended the Founders’ Day assembly, and
celebrated with one another at a festive evening cocktail party.
The Class of 1965 also enjoyed a number of special
activities in honor of their 50th reunion, including separate
meetings with both the fourth-graders and the senior class,
as well as a Skype session with a few of their classmates who
live far away and were unable to make the trip to 92nd Street.
At the annual Founders’ Day assembly, Charlotte Ronson ’95
received the Distinguished Alumnae Achievement Award
for her successful career in the fashion industry, and Jean
Klingenstein ’60 was honored with the Distinguished Alumnae
Service Award for her lifetime of service to Nightingale.
The cocktail party for all alumnae on Friday evening
provided the perfect capstone to a very busy day, as our
alumnae—together with current and returning faculty—
enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect and reminisce about
their days behind the blue doors.
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1) Diana Moody Huston ‘65 chats with
Susie Heller ’69
2) Three generations gather in the
student center: Victoria Alexander PP’90,
Kira A. Mitchell, and Lisa T. Alexander ’90
3) Elizabeth Buller ’23 and Julia Demeny ’23
share a moment with Linda Frank Sicher ’65
after the annual meeting of Class IV and
their pen pals from the 50th reunion class.
4) Top: Diane M. Falk ’65, Jean Goldfrank
Bronstein ’65, Maureen Brown Fant ‘65,
Sandra Gary ’65, and Diana Moody Huston ’65;
Bottom: Elise D. Frick ‘65, Linda Frank
Sicher ’65, and Judith Bandler Velenchik ’65
5) The Class of 1965 used Skype to visit
with three classmates who could not attend
Reunion in person: Betsy Spitzer Walter ’65
(who lives in Australia), Phoebe Russell
Ozuna ’65 (who lives in California), and
Regan O’Connell Burnham ’65 (who lives
in North Carolina and is shown on the screen
in this photo).
6) Marie Nikolova ’10, Isabella Trentalancia ’10,
and Rebecca Maier ‘10
7) Abby Lofberg ’05, Kate Berger ’05, and
Julie Lush ‘05
FAL L 2015 1 7
8
12
9
13
10
14
11
18 TH E B L UE DO O RS
8) Top: Erica Wolff ’00, Laura Israel Sinrod ‘00,
Ginger Shields ’00, Cara Thomas ’00, Annabelle
Saks ’00, Louisa Conrad ’00, Isabel Galassi Slokar ’00,
Fernanda Winthrop ’00, Emmie Robinson ’00,
Liz Niemiec ’00, and Melanie Flamm ’00
Bottom: Becky Tannenbaum ’00, Zoe Settle Schriebl ’00,
Kate Auletta ’00, and Deborah Wolfson ‘00
9) Honorees Jean Klingenstein ’60 and
Charlotte Ronson ‘95
10) Head of Middle School Claire du Nouy chats
with Nina Stuart ’05 and Alex Kreps ‘05
11) Lesley Savin-Martin ’85, Anne Mickle ’85,
Cally Adl ’85, Alexandra Limpert ’85,
Alexandra Sabin Elliott ’85, Sofia Milonas ’85,
and Monica Illich Vogelstein ‘85
12) Top: Erica Ross ‘90, Shyama Patel ’90,
Jennifer Wilder Belew ’90, Wendy Pillsbury ’90,
and Lisa T. Alexander ’90
Bottom: Amie Rappoport McKenna ’90, Patti Moreno ’90,
Julie Hess ‘90, and Jessica Rubinstein Katz ‘90
13) Jean Klingenstein ’60, Jean Walker Campbell ’60,
Sandy Close ’60, Carol Seabrook Boulanger ‘60,
Phoebe Sherman Sheftel ’60, Susan Whitney Lewis ’60,
Deborah Lipkin Goldsmith ’60, Gina Heaton Greco ’60,
and Charlotte Lee ‘60
14) Lisa T. Alexander ’90 and Patti Moreno ‘90
show off their vintage Nightingale class jackets!
FAL L 2015 1 9
Class of 2015
Congratulations to the 32 girls of the
Class of 2015 who are now attending
the following colleges and universities:
Bennington College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Chicago (2)
Columbia University (2)
Cornell University (4)
Dartmouth College
Emerson College
Harvard College
Haverford College
Lewis & Clark College
Muhlenberg College
Northwestern University
Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg
University of Pennsylvania
Princeton University (2)
University of St. Andrews
Sarah Lawrence College
University of Southern California
Tufts University
Tulane University
Wellesley College
Williams College (2)
University of Wisconsin, Madison
20 TH E B L UE DO O RS
FAL L 2015 2 1
Focus on Global Education
This year, Head of School Paul A. Burke has tasked the faculty with affirming, articulating, and practicing a
global education framework that will ensure that Nightingale graduates are globally competent girls who have
the disposition and capacity to understand and act on issues of global significance. As the school approaches
its centennial in 2020 and examines ways to sustain the Nightingale mission well into its second century,
faculty and staff are evaluating the curriculum and developing even more global learning opportunities
(through foreign language study, cultural exchanges, service learning projects, etc.) that will foster social,
political, scientific, and environmental engagement in a complex and expanding international context.
22 TH E B L UE DO O RS
FAL L 2015 2 3
Ha llways
Stories and photographs
from around the schoolhouse
nasa chief scientist
inspires students
In a special joint assembly earlier this fall, Middle
and Upper School students had the opportunity
to hear from NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Ellen Stofan.
In a fascinating and accessible presentation,
Dr. Stofan discussed how NASA scientists look
outward (studying and exploring the universe),
inward (examining the effects of zero- or lowgravity environments on the human body), and
homeward (studying Earth from both near and
far). A geologist by training, Dr. Stofan spoke
passionately about her hope that scientists will
one day have the opportunity to travel to Mars to
study its surface up close, and she also expressed
her desire that the United States move beyond
political debates about whether climate change
exists to real conversations about what to do
about it. She also encouraged the girls to go into
scientific careers, noting that they could fill some
current needs at NASA for heliophysicists (to help
them understand the sun better than they do now)
and engineers (to develop “warp drive” and new
propulsion systems to allow astronauts to travel
faster in space). The assembly concluded with
a number of great questions from our students,
who were curious about everything from how
Dr. Stofan became interested in science in the first
place (she is the daughter of a NASA scientist and
a science teacher) to whether she ever feels scared
by the knowledge about the Earth she has by
virtue of her chosen field (she finds it comforting
to know how small she is in the grand scheme of
the universe, but she does still worry about climate
change). Pictured above, from left: Christina
Stebbins ‘16, science teacher Nicole Seibert,
Dr. Ellen Stofan, Head of Science Nikki Vivion,
Lia Kiam ‘17, and Head of School Paul A. Burke.
ls world record day
a huge success!
Lillian Magee ’25 took in the
scene at Nightingale’s annual
Convocation exercises on
September 11, which featured
three student speakers, as well
as Head of School Paul A. Burke
and Alumnae Board President
Zoe Settle Schriebl ’00. Many
of the speakers touched on the
idea of Nightingale as a place
where lifelong friendships and
connections begin, and pointed
out that although the schoolhouse
may look a bit different, its
character is unchanged.
24 TH E B L UE DO O RS
On April 30, the Lower School celebrated World
Record Day, a Lower School tradition based
loosely on the Guinness Book of World Records.
The purpose of the day is to celebrate the Lower
School community, engage in grade-level athletic
competitions, and work creatively using math,
reading, and writing skills. The World Record Day
theme was construction and building, and the
girls had a wonderful time throughout the day,
competing at the opening games in the gym,
solving construction- and building-related problems
in math class, and celebrating their accomplishments
at the closing ceremonies in the auditorium.
FAL L 2015 2 5
tina kelley speaks to ms
about homeless youth
Rebecca Strauss Joins
Nightingale as Director
of Open Doors
Rebecca Strauss joined the faculty in July
as director of Open Doors, Nightingale’s
burgeoning K–XII leadership program.
Dr. Strauss comes to Nightingale from
Columbia University, where she was a
lecturer in the departments of English and
comparative literature, as well as co-director
of “Readings in Human Rights.” Prior to that,
she was director of the first-year writing
program at the University of Virginia and
taught in the English department. She holds
a BA from Barnard College and a PhD from
the University of Virginia.
A lifelong New Yorker who attended
Fieldston, Dr. Strauss is excited to return
to the independent school world in this
new position: “I’m so thrilled to join the
Nightingale community and so excited for
what Open Doors can spark in and for the
girls. I regard Open Doors not as a program,
but rather as the Nightingale mission in
action. Open Doors is a constellation of
co-curricular initiatives that exemplify what is
so special about Nightingale: the absolute
commitment to educate the mind and heart
of every girl. By providing ample leadership
opportunities through global education,
experiential and service learning, civic
engagement, interdisciplinary approaches,
and diversity and inclusivity curricula,
Open Doors works across divisions and
departments to develop innovative curricula,
design special programs, and cultivate
partnerships with like-minded cultural and
educational institutions across the city and
around the globe.”
26 TH E B L UE DO O RS
homecoming 2015
Tina Kelley spoke to Middle School students
last spring about the book that she wrote about
homeless youth who have been residents at
Covenant Houses located in 27 cities worldwide.
She opened with a powerful video featuring
residents and staff who spoke honestly and
emotionally about the circumstances that made
them homeless and how Covenant House gave
them the resources they needed to regain control
of their lives. Both during her assembly and
subsequent breakout sessions with students in
Classes VI and VII, Ms. Kelley reiterated that the
“secret sauce” at Covenant House is unconditional
love for every single person who walks through
the doors. Many students asked to hear about
success stories, and Ms. Kelley told one about
Paulie, a young man who went to Covenant House
for help 10 times, yet left every time. His counselor
never stopped believing in him, however, and
always reminded Paulie that he had the power to
get a job and a home and stable family. On his
11th return, the counselor’s message finally stuck
and today Paulie has his own house, a wife and
child, and a job in management. Our students left
Ms. Kelley’s presentation both concerned about the
current state of homeless youth and inspired to act.
The Nightingale community
came out in force to cheer
for the Nighthawks at
Homecoming 2015 on
October 16 and 17. The
spirit-filled weekend kicked
off in the gym on October
16 with dodgeball and dance
music at a morning pep
rally for Classes VIII–XII and
continued that afternoon
with a special Lower School
poster-making party and pep
rally. The celebration then
moved to Asphalt Green,
where 900 Nighthawks
fans cheered our varsity
soccer team to an exciting
5-2 win over Spence. The
festivities continued the next
day, when more than 600
members of the Nightingale
community came to the
schoolhouse to enjoy fun
activities for all ages, a
delicious lunch catered by
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, and
exciting JV and varsity
volleyball games against
Spence.
FAL L 2015 2 7
class ix students take part
in aids walk
Last May, 11 girls from Class IX joined
approximately 30,000 other New Yorkers for
AIDS Walk New York. The annual 10K walk,
which raises both awareness of the challenges
facing those with HIV/AIDS and funds for
organizations focusing on the disease, took them
through Central Park and down Riverside Drive.
Nightingale’s team raised over $2,500 for several
organizations in the tri-state area that focus on
prevention, care, and advocacy programs for
those affected by HIV/AIDS.
ms girls hear
chelsea clinton
lynn sherr addresses
classes vii–xii
Veteran broadcast journalist and author Lynn Sherr
spoke to girls in Classes VII–XII on April 22. After
a comprehensive introduction delivered in three
parts by Eve Aresty ‘20, Summer Williams ‘20, and
Gavriela Langer ‘20, Ms. Sherr shared stories from
her own career, as well as from the life of astronaut
Sally Ride, who is the subject of her most recent
book Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space.
28 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Thanks to Nightingale’s partnership with the
92nd Street Y, about 40 girls in Classes VII and
VIII had the opportunity on September 21 to hear
Chelsea Clinton discuss her new book, It’s Your
World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going!,
with acclaimed novelist Meg Wolitzer at the 92nd
Street Y. Ms. Clinton’s book is intended to inspire
young people to make positive changes—big
and small—in their families, schools, communities,
and country. Her message ties in perfectly with
Head of Middle School Claire du Nouy’s theme
for the Middle School this year, which is to stand
up and do something in the face of injustice or
wrongdoing, rather than being bystanders.
sweet readers program
expands at nightingale
For the first time this year, all Class VII students
are participating in Sweet Readers, a nationally
recognized, not-for-profit program that connects
children in middle school with adults who have
Alzheimer’s disease. The program’s objective
is to enable children to “discover the person
behind the disease” through hands-on, art-based
projects. Before the girls were paired with their
“elders,” they received training about the science
of Alzheimer’s disease and related research, as
well as on how to relate to an elder who has this
disease. Each seventh grader will participate
with her section for one quarter of the year, with
approximately half of the girls meeting their elders
at the Jewish Museum on 92nd Street and the
other half traveling to the Covello Senior Center in
East Harlem. Nightingale is collaborating with the
Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem
(TYWLS) on the Sweet Readers program, and the
girls who are at the Covello Senior Center also
have a partner from the seventh grade at TYWLS.
FAL L 2015 2 9
success at states for
upper school debate
former top women’s soccer
players address ms
At an assembly earlier this fall, Middle School girls
were treated to a visit by two former world-class
soccer players, Sara Whalen Hess, who played
on both the victorious 1999 U.S. World Cup
soccer team and the silver medal–winning
2000 U.S. Olympic team, and Emily Stauffer
Keenan, two-time captain of Harvard’s women’s
soccer team, three-time All-American, and Ivy
League Player of the Year. Both women also
played professionally for the New York Power
before moving on to other careers: Sara is now
a psychologist focusing on teens, and Emily is
currently a stay-at-home mom who earlier in her
career was a Teach for America corps member,
as well as a Teach for America staff member. The
girls were very interested to hear about how Sara
and Emily balanced soccer with other demands on
their time and were curious about Sara’s recovery
from a career-ending knee injury in 2002. For their
part, the two former players encouraged the girls
to find something they like to do that “fills them
up” inside, but to be sure that they maintain a
number of different interests throughout their lives.
30 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Nightingale qualified seven debate teams for
the State Championships held at SUNY Oneonta
from April 24 to April 26. The topic under
consideration was “Resolved: Committing United
States ground troops to fight ISIS is in the best
interest of the United States.” As history faculty
member and debate coach Dr. LE Hartmann-Ting
noted, “Simply making it to States is a big deal—
students need to reach final rounds at at least
two tournaments to earn qualifications.” But two
of our teams distinguished themselves even
further at the tournament: Annie Abruzzo ‘16 and
Megan Yang ‘16 cleared the preliminary rounds of
competition and won their double octofinal round,
ultimately placing 10th out of 65 teams overall in
junior varsity public forum debate, and Katherine
Ottenbreit ‘17 and Lucy Ritzmann ‘17 advanced to
the finals! In addition, the team as a whole won
the fifth place overall sweepstakes trophy in Public
Forum debate. Dr. Hartmann-Ting noted that
small programs rarely accumulate enough points
to be competitive against larger schools, so this
impressive recognition of the team as a whole
“confirms that our program has depth, and I hope
that all of our debaters who worked so hard all
year will give themselves the credit they deserve.”
David Byrnes Comes to
Nightingale as Director
of Communications
Nightingale welcomed David Byrnes as director
of communications in July. Mr. Byrnes comes
to Nightingale after serving in similar capacities
at two other independent schools in New
York. Most recently, he held the director of
communications position at the IDEAL School
& Academy on the Upper West Side, where he
managed all aspects of the school’s internal and
external communications and also served as
the director of institutional equity. Before IDEAL,
Mr. Byrnes was director of communications at
the Cathedral School.
A graduate of Amherst College, Mr. Byrnes
also brings to Nightingale deep experience
in the areas of diversity and inclusivity. He is a
member of the NYSAIS Diversity Committee,
as well as a co-founder of the CARLE Institute,
which aims to give white faculty members the
necessary historical framework, interpersonal
skills, and curriculum development strategies
they need both to teach a diverse student
body and to take an active role in the diversity
and multicultural efforts of their school
community. Mr. Byrnes is already making an
impact in these areas at Nightingale as faculty
advisor to CAFE (Cultural Awareness for
Everyone), whose mission is to highlight the
full diversity of the Nightingale community and
to create a forum for discussion around issues
of equity and justice.
After spending the past few months
acquainting himself with the school and its
people, Mr. Byrnes says that he is looking
forward to sharing Nightingale’s story: “In so
many ways, Nightingale is a study in balance—
a balance between educating the heart and
mind; innovative pedagogies and traditional
subject matter; the classic liberal arts model
and twenty-first century education trends;
an honoring of the school’s history and a
commitment to its future. Our faculty and
staff not only embrace the tension in these
relationships, but they harness it in endlessly
creative ways. That makes for an incredibly
compelling story, and independent school
communications is fundamentally about
storytelling. As director of communications,
I’m grateful for the chance to articulate what
makes this community unique. And as we
approach the school’s centennial in 2020, I’m
also excited to develop strategic plans for
communications that will help sustain the
school’s mission well into its second century.”
impressive finish for
us students at math bowl
On April 18, seven students from Classes IX
and X participated in the Interschool Math Bowl
hosted by Browning, which featured teams from
Brearley, Browning, Chapin, and Trinity. The
students participated in two rounds of problem
solving and were then tasked with writing and
performing a song with a mathematical theme.
According to math faculty member Rachel
Labes, “There were some very exciting moments
in the competition, as well as some particularly
interesting questions. One of the highlights of
the day occurred when the Nightingale team had
the opportunity to ‘steal the points’ from Chapin
by correctly answering a math question posed
in Latin.” Ms. Labes also noted that the team’s
song about imaginary numbers “was clearly the
fan favorite.” In the end, the girls answered all
questions correctly, but were just edged out of
first place by a team that strategically picked a
question of higher point value. Congratulations
to all of the participants—Anna Fighera ‘18,
Katherine Graham ‘18, Lia Kiam ‘17, Jackie Luke ‘18,
Natalie Margulies ‘17, Katherine Ottenbreit ‘17,
and Xixi Wang ‘18—on their impressive second
place finish!
FAL L 2015 3 1
nagasaki bombing survivor
speaks to students
American history students in Classes XI and XII,
together with all students in Classes VI–VIII and X,
had the special opportunity on May 7 to hear from
Mr. Sueichi Kido, a survivor of the August 1945
US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Mr. Kido experienced the bombing of Nagasaki
when he was five years old and now serves
as Vice General Secretary of Hidankyo (Japan’s
confederation of atomic bomb survivors); he was
in New York City to speak at the UN about their
review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,
and our students were lucky that he could take
the time to speak (through an interpreter) to them.
Many thanks to Mihoko Nagasu P’16 for connecting
us to this fascinating and inspiring speaker!
32 TH E B L UE DO O RS
latin students shine
on national exam
Nightingale students continued their consistently
excellent performance on the National Latin
Exam this year. Under the joint sponsorship of
the American Classical League and the National
Junior Classical League, the exam was given in
February to 140,745 Latin students from all 50
states and 20 foreign countries.
In their first year of exam eligibility, 22 seventhgraders earned a ribbon and certificate for
outstanding achievement in the Introduction to
Latin Exam, and another 18 received certificates
for achievement. Students in Classes VIII–XII
earned 33 summa cum laude certificates and gold
medals, 24 maxima cum laude certificates and
silver medals, 9 magna cum laude certificates,
and 7 cum laude certificates. In addition, special
recognition was given to nine students for earning
a perfect score.
Three Nightingale students also received
special book prizes: Kate Wittpenn ’16, Evelyn
Elgart ’15, and Rebecca Lin ’15 were each
recognized for their impressive achievement
of winning a gold medal for four (Kate) and
five (Evelyn and Rebecca) consecutive years.
newest cum laude society
members inducted
Isabella Beroutsos ‘15, Jazmyn Blackburn ‘15,
Olivia Barnhill ‘15, Annie Abruzzo ‘16,
Wayan Buschman ‘16, Frances Cohen ‘16, and
Kate Wittpenn ‘16 were officially inducted on
April 29, 2015, into Nightingale’s chapter of the
national Cum Laude Society, which celebrates
the academic excellence of juniors and seniors
with exemplary academic records. Four additional
members of the Class of 2015 were inducted
into the Cum Laude Society at the end of their
junior year: Arlene Casey ‘15, Evelyn Elgart ‘15,
Marlo Knapp-Fadani ‘15, and Rebecca Lin ‘15.
varsity tennis is
best in the city!
Last spring, Nightingale’s varsity tennis team
had another phenomenal season, going
undefeated for the second year in a row! That
stellar record earned the Nighthawks the regular
season title in the AAIS league, which they then
followed up with the championship title at the
AAIS end-of-season tournament. That wasn’t
enough for the 2015 Nighthawks, however, who
went on to win the Mayor’s Cup tournament,
which brings together the top teams from NYC’s
public, private, and parochial schools. This victory
was a first in Nightingale’s history and the perfect
way to cap off a perfect season!
FAL L 2015 3 3
spring benefit 2015
Board of Trustees
Welcomes Three
New Members
Romi Gottfrid
This year’s president of the Parents Association,
Romi Gottfrid is the mother of three Nightingale
girls—Annika ’20, Emma Rei ’23, and KK ’26.
An active parent volunteer within the Nightingale
community from the very beginning, Romi has
served as a class representative for each of her
daughters’ classes and has co-chaired several
school events. Prior to having children,
Romi worked as an environmental research
consultant both with private consulting firms
and in the nonprofit sector. Romi was born in
California, but grew up in Tokyo, where she
attended a K–12 American, independent
all-girls school. She holds a BA from Boston
University and an MA from Duke University.
Raffiq Nathoo
Raffiq Nathoo has spent his career in the
financial advisory and private equity investment
businesses and is Executive-in-Residence at
New Mountain Capital, which he joined in
2015 after 22 years at the Blackstone Group.
He received an MBA from Harvard Business
School and an AB from Dartmouth College.
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations
and the Board of Visitors of Dartmouth
College’s Dickey Center for International
Understanding, he also serves on the boards
of the New York Community Trust and North
Shore-LIJ Health System. Raffiq and his wife,
Michele, have three children, including Sofia ’19.
turning passions into
change at us assembly
At Upper School assembly on October 2, students
were asked to think about how and why they
give to charitable organizations. The assembly,
entitled “Turning Your Passions into Change,”
was moderated by Jason Rosado, CEO of Givkwik,
a “purpose-driven” software company that works
with companies to help them give to worthy
causes. During the morning, the students heard
from representatives of three organizations—
Digital Citizen Fund, Bent on Learning, and Life
Vest Inside—all of which emphasize issues of
equity and justice, have women in leadership
roles, and demonstrate how students can turn
their passions into practical ways of improving the
world. After each presentation, the girls had the
opportunity to ask questions that would help them
to evaluate which organization they personally
found most deserving of support. They broke into
groups to discuss why they supported a particular
cause and had the opportunity to lobby for others
to join them. At the end of the assembly, the
girls were given a link to vote for their preferred
organization. The winner of that vote would then
receive a $500 donation, while the two runners-up
would each receive $250. When all the votes were
counted, Digital Citizen Fund, which helps girls
and women in developing countries gain access
to technology, was named as the recipient of the
top prize.
Zoe Settle Schriebl ’00
Over 500 members of our community gathered
on May 1, 2015, to celebrate Nightingale at the
biennial spring benefit. Held downtown at Tribeca
360°, the festive evening included cocktails and
a seated dinner, silent and live auctions, and
dancing late into the night. Attendees were also
treated to an energetic a cappella rendition of
Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
by a group of Class VII girls.
Chaired by Allison McKibben P’22 P’25 P’27
and Leigh Hrazdira P’22 P’24, the event raised
more than $482,000 in support of every girl
at Nightingale, with $215,000 of that directed
toward Open Doors, Nightingale’s signature K–XII
leadership program that strives to educate the
hearts and minds of our students by empowering
each girl to explore and enlarge her sense of self
and world.
34 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Zoe Settle Schriebl ’00 joins the Board of
Trustees in her new role as president of the
Alumnae Board, on which she has served
since 2010. A Nightingale “survivor,” Zoe is a
writer who recently published Living in Style:
Morocco, and a contributing editor at Interiors
and Ultra Travel magazines. She is a graduate
of Connecticut College, where she designed
her own major, a variation of comparative
literature focusing on international magazines.
She is also a design consultant and recently
became a certified barre instructor at Exhale,
which, she points out, have nothing to do
with each other, but demonstrate just a few
of her myriad interests fostered in her time
at Nightingale.
The board also extends its deepest
gratitude and thanks to those trustees whose
terms ended this year: James S. Chanos,
Stacy Calder Clapp ’91, Brooke Brodsky
Emmerich ’91, James D. Forbes, Steven B.
Klinsky, and Mary Margaret Trousdale.
FAL L 2015 3 5
two generations of nightingale girls gather on the roof
Alumnae with daughters who are currently students at Nightingale came together in October for the annual alumnae/daughter
photo. Timing issues necessitated taking photos of two very similar, yet not quite identical groups. In an homage to People
magazine’s weekly “second look” feature, can you spot the differences in these two pictures?
class notes
Class notes are published twice a year
in each issue of The Blue Doors. If you have any updates
you would like to share with your classmates, please
complete our online form at nightingale.org/sharenews.
40s
as babies so it is fulfilling for us
to see them embarking on their
new life voyages. I have happy
memories of the six years I spent
at Nightingale. We were not
as involved in sports, the arts,
or community activities as the
students are now, but it was a
different time in 1941–1948.”
Pamela Holmes Bergen ’49
writes: “Are the school colors
still silver and blue? Do you
still sing ‘Silver and Blue’ as the
school song? I am getting ready
to move into a retirement home
near Portland, OR. Waiting to
get the word and clearing out
stuff. The above question inspired
by looking at my yearbook.”
50s
Isabelle Butcher, granddaughter
of Gwendolyn Humphreys
Champniss ’40 writes:
“My grandmother Gwendolyn
Champniss née Fincke
Humphreys attended the
Nightingale-Bamford School
and turned 94 this week.
Gwendolyn currently lives in
the south of England with her
husband of 70 years, Gerald
Arthur. Gwendolyn and Gerald’s
five children live across the
U.K and North America. They
have 11 grandchildren and
8 great-grandchildren.”
Present in top photo, but not bottom: Michele Raynor Littenberg ’87 and Caroline Littenberg ’21; Odette Cabrera Duggan ’83, Faith Duggan ’19,
and Isabella Duggan ’21; Alexandra Koeppel ’82, Regina Rosenfeld ’21, and Sarah Rosenfeld ’25
Present in bottom photo, but not top: Blair Pillsbury Enders ’88 and Marian Enders ’22; Sofia Milonas ’85 and Alexandra Dingle ’19; Victoria
Radford Patricof ’92 and Chloe Patricof ’24; Alexandra Lebenthal ’82 and Ellie Diamond ’22; Alison Griscom Wilson ’84 and Sophie Wilson ’16;
Taylor McKenzie-Jackson ’95 and Annabel Jackson ’28
36 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Penelope Reed Putnam ’48
reports: “We are in a new phase
of our lives as Chris has been
in hospice care here at home
for three months. He is doing
well and we are thankful for the
excellent care. One of our twin
granddaughters was married this
month here in Simsbury, CT. Her
twin is now working as a physical
therapist in a hospital in Boise,
Idaho. We helped care for them
Barbara D. Horgan ’50 writes:
“It is with amazement that I am
able to send a class note for the
year 1950! When people ask:
‘How are you?’, I usually answer:
‘I’m falling forward!’ To my joy,
I am still in contact with several
of my class, as well as other
NBS friends from the past. The
student base was very, very small!
Although retired, I am still useful
to the New York City Ballet and
the George Balanchine Trust and
Foundation. In December I will
travel to Cambodia, Laos, and
Vietnam...made possible by
most of it being on a boat!”
Virginia Wilner Newmyer ’50
reports: “I am still working (!),
lecturing, and teaching British
history and literature at the
Smithsonian, Politics & Prose,
and Florida Atlantic University.
My oldest granddaughter
(age 29) got married in June in
Hull, MA, where she grew up.”
Janine Jordan ’51 has won a
variety of notable awards in
interior design, including a 2015
“Lifetime Excellence Award” from
the Alliance of Interior Designers.
Mary Burt Blume ’54 writes:
“On a recent trip to Italy and
Greece, all the wonderful
teaching from Mrs. Boecklin in
Latin and ancient history came
flooding back. I remain so
grateful for my NBS education!”
Marina Johnson Sutro ’55 writes:
“Hello Class of ’55. [I] am still
living in Nantucket, a wonderful
place year-round. I am thinking
of moving south, any ideas?”
Patricia Lee Eoyang ’57 reports:
“Back in Hong Kong for the
fall semester as my husband
continues to teach an MA class
in translation here each year
since retirement from US and
HK universities. All quiet in
great contrast to last year when
Occupy Central disrupted daily
life in the city. Thanks to e-mail
I stay in touch with several NBS classmates, for which I am
most grateful. Dede Bonnett
Guessous ’57 has moved to
Michigan (after living in Morocco
since marriage to her late
husband, a great scholar) and I
hope to see Jill Hyde Scott ’57
next spring, when my husband
goes to Harvard for a conference.
We live most of the year in
Bloomington, IN, with Sept.–Dec
in Hong Kong, but spend about
a month each summer in Europe
(this year it was Padua, Lisbon,
and Crillon-le-Brave near
Avignon) and Christmas holidays
in Kona, Hawaii, where our older
son, an ex-Goldman partner, has
a home. Don’t know how long we
can keep this up, but we do enjoy
it! From HK we will make short
trips to Hoi An and Hue in
Vietnam; Beijing; and Chiang Mai,
Thailand. Only regret I have is that
my granddaughter couldn’t go to
NBS (she lives in Potomac, MD).”
Cornelia Wadsworth Robart ’57
writes: “Enjoying volunteering
for my alma mater Bryn Mawr
College at their rare and used
books store in Cambridge, MA.
Family visits filled my summer and
autumn calendar—Switzerland,
Denmark, Maine, Delaware.
Upcoming travel plans interrupted
by upcoming spinal stenosis
surgery (anyone familiar with this?).
Love to all.”
Jacqui Bishop ’59 writes: “I am
thrilled to be able to report that
the Omega Institute, a highly
respected educational and retreat
center in Rhinebeck, NY, has
asked the nonprofit I started,
Sharp Again Naturally, to partner
with them in delivering the
good news about successes
in preventing and reversing
Alzheimer’s (AD) and and other
forms of dementia. AD is thought
to be incurable, but in a small
study reported last year by UCLA,
9 out of 10 subjects recovered
their minds and are living normal
lives. I myself have come back
from dementia using the approach
we advocate. The author of
the UCLA study and two other
renowned medical experts will be
featured at a weekend conference
July 1–3, 2016, at Omega, and
Sharp Again will be delivering the
opening presentation on Friday
night. Our medical advisory board
is also convening to develop and
refine a testing and treatment
protocol to help families and
physicians in addressing AD.
The UCLA study is the lead article
in our upcoming newsletter. We
can use all the help and support
we can get, so if you’re interested,
please contact us to find out
more at sharpagain.org.”
FAL L 2015 3 7
60s 70s
Gail Dravneek Harvey ’64 writes:
“I continue to volunteer for RI
NOW, serving on their legislative
team. Our legislative priorities
for the upcoming legislative year
are sexual assault on campus,
economic parity, ending violence
against women, and protecting
women’s reproductive rights.
I also have a part-time job with
the University of Rhode Island’s
Providence campus working on
programs that deal with urban
issues. My husband is busy
editing his novel and we are
the traveling duo, visiting our
grandchildren who stretch from
Montreal to Brooklyn and whose
ages range from 28 to 5! I am
happy to be in the mix! Since our
50th reunion in 2014, I am happy
to say some [members] of our
class are staying in touch even
though many of us are all over
the place.”
Jill Combier Danger ’67 reports:
“My son Michael Combier married
Isabelle Tramoy at the American
Church in Paris on July 11, 2015,
and my grandson Ethan, three
years old, started school in
September!”
Liz Levitt Hirsch ’69 continues
to bring free concerts to
communities across America
through her role as president
of the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt
Foundation. She writes: “Our
foundation’s new initiative, Levitt
AMP [Your City] Grant Awards,
is an annual grants competition
to transform neglected public
spaces through free concerts
in small to mid-sized towns
and cities.”
Eve Krzyzanowski ’69 writes:
“My film, Kosciuszko: A Man
Before His Time, [premiered]
on PBS stations [in] October.
Kosciuszko was a Polish officer
who was a hero of the American
Revolutionary War and then
returned to Poland to fight
for the rights of peasants and
Jews. My daughter, Alexandra
Krzyzanowski-Novitz, a junior at
Drew University majoring in
computer science and Mandarin,
turns 21 on New Year’s Eve.”
38 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Jessica Saleh Hunt ’79 writes:
“As of two years ago, I started my
career as a residential real estate
agent in Manhattan with very
successful results, and I am
loving it! I joined a top team at
Douglas Elliman’s West Side
office. I represent sellers, buyers,
and renters in all neighborhoods
in Manhattan. I love staying
connected to my class and
women from other classes
through Facebook. It’s great to
see what everyone is up to.”
Elizabeth Leef Jacobson ’79
writes: “My daughter Annie
Jacobson graduated from
Nightingale last June. She had
a wonderful 13 years there, and
we will always appreciate the
excellent education Nightingale
has provided.”
80s
Misplaced Day, a collection of
poetry and micro-fiction by Belle
Fox-Martin ’70, was published in
2015 by the Troy Book Makers.
Rachel Hall Russell ’72 writes:
“After teaching for 30 years, I
retired to enjoy my grandchildren.
In addition, I am getting back
into my own art and music.”
Anne Cicero Weisberg ’75
is senior vice president at the
Families and Work Institute.
She reports: “I am working hard
to make the workplace work for
everyone and love every minute
of it! Our 40th reunion was a
blast—and we’re all getting
together more often now.”
Adrienne Morris ’80 writes:
“After nine wonderful years
working as the Director of
Development and Alumnae
Relations at Lincoln School, an allgirls school in Providence, where
my daughter, Lily, is a sophomore,
I have just started a new job as
Regional Development Director at
Brown University. It is great to be
connected with many classmates
from NBS on Facebook and in
person. I hope we can plan to get
together for our next reunion or
maybe a mini-reunion in between.
I am sorry to have missed our
35th reunion this past May.”
Tanya Traykovski ’82 reports:
“I recently completed my MA
in Modern and Contemporary
Art History and Art Markets at
Christie’s Education. In addition
to being the official VIP tour
provider for the Art Miami
group, I am helping to curate a
permanent installation for a new
MSK ambulatory cancer surgery
center and working with private
art advisory clients. I am very
happy to have made a mid-career
switch to the art world and would
love to connect with any NBS
alumnae who work in the field
or are interested in art!”
Alison Edwards Curwen ’84
writes: “After five years of
working in a boarding school in
the Cotswolds, England, my
family and I have relocated to the
USA. We do love the intentional
communities of boarding school
and we are now at Mercersburg
Academy in Mercersburg, PA. It’s
been a lovely landing and this
area is new to us, which adds to
the uniqueness of the experience.
In August I had breakfast with
Dini Von Mueffling ’84 and even
though it’s been way too long
since we’ve seen each other, we
fell into easy conversation. I have
some work in NYC, so I hope
experiences like this will happen
with more frequency. Facebook is
nice, but face-to-face is much
better. Another highlight like this
was in May 2014 when a group of
college friends flew into Seattle
to surprise and celebrate Victoria
Johnson ’84’s birthday, complete
with Korean body scrubs and
many meals. Otherwise life with
three teens, two dogs, and my
husband keeps a certain amount
of chaos in my life, which I love;
it’s never boring!”
marina rustow ’86 named macarthur fellow
Nicole Kohn ’78 will be
showing her work, including her
painting, “80% of The World’s
Oxygen,” above, at the Berlin
Collective Studio Fundraiser
Artist Studios Event in New
York from January–April 2016.
To see more of Nicole’s work,
visit nicolekohnartist.com.
For her work using the Cairo Geniza texts to shed new light on
Jewish life and on the broader society of the medieval Middle East,
historian Marina Rustow ’86 was named as one of the 24 MacArthur
Fellows for 2015. The MacArthur Fellows Program awards
unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown
extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits
and a marked capacity for self-direction. Known colloquially as
the MacArthur “genius grants,” each fellowship comes with a
stipend of $625,000 to the recipient, paid out in equal quarterly
installments over five years. Marina is a professor in the Departments
of Near Eastern Studies and History at Princeton University.
Tara L. Jones ’84 writes: “After
a winter and spring focused
on music, I spent the summer
months hosting a multitude of
Airbnb guests, working in my
garden, and helping out with
the deconstruction, plumbing,
and electrical work for our (much
needed) bathroom remodel.
Fall will find me back out in the
garden getting it ready for winter
and at my piano preparing for
a recital in my home sometime
this winter. I will also be working
on incorporating dozens of new
medicinal plants and trees into
my garden in preparation for
the Scottish Herbalism training
I will begin in January.” To hear
Tara’s music, visit her website at
musicsweetsweetmusic.com.
Elizabeth Kraft Jones ’85
reports: “My oldest, Alexander,
is off to college to study
composition at Berklee College
of Music and my youngest, Olivia,
is off to high school where we
live in Charlotte NC. Time Flies!”
Abigail Wilentz ’89 married
Robert Snow in Toronto, Canada
(his hometown), in September.
She writes that they “plan to
celebrate throughout the year
back home in New York.”
90s
Alexandra Shiva ’90’s
documentary How to Dance
in Ohio debuted on HBO in
October. The film centers on
a group of young people on
the autism spectrum preparing
for the spring formal in
Columbus, Ohio.
Members of the Alumnae Board gathered recently at the schoolhouse.
[From L to R:] Sage Garner ’04, Amie Rappoport McKenna ’90,
Liz Victory Anderson ’88, Zoe Settle Schriebl ’00, Hillary Johnson ’76,
Palmer Jones O’Sullivan ’94, and Elizabeth Riley Fraise ’98.
Melissa Elting ’92 writes:
“I am living in NYC and I have
an 11-year-old daughter, Lily,
in fifth grade.”
Alex Gilbert ’92 and her business
partner, Jennifer Noyes, have
started a new luxe womenswear
brand, M. Martin.
Heather McLaughlin ’86 writes:
“Hope everyone is doing well!
We had a great family vacation
in Alaska this summer, including
the Disney cruise and then bear
watching and salmon fishing—
our little ones loved it! Colin
just started Kindergarten and
Kathleen has entered fourth
grade. Wishing everyone a Merry
Christmas/Happy Holiday season
and best wishes for 2016!”
Fiona Salmon ’88 writes: “I am in
the midst of writing my memoir,
An Accidental Lady of Leisure,
and my collection of personal
essays and true very short stories,
Platinum Ever After. I am about
to receive a certificate in memoir
writing from Gotham Writer’s
Workshop[, and] I am also
studying narration voiceover.
I am still trying to get used to my
new life with a traumatic brain
injury. I hope to be able to attend
our next reunion.”
Holly Highley Caracappa ’91
writes: “My daughter Allegra is
in Class I. It’s great seeing many
Class of ’91 alumnae at pickup
and dropoff!”
Claudia Granville Crain ’92
writes: “My twins are nine and
a half years old and in fourth
grade. We live in Boston with
our dog, Annie.”
Stephanie De Wangen ’92
writes: “A quick update—
my family and I moved to
Mozambique from London two
years ago to follow my husband’s
business venture in real estate
development in East Africa. I
continue to work for my company
in London (The Up Group, a
headhunting firm focused on
digital/Internet) by working
remotely and using Skype.
Just shows how technology can
connect us all—wherever we
may be! We have two wonderful
children—Henry is five and
Isabelle is three—and they fill
our lives with wonder.”
Debra Perelman ’92 reports:
“I am living in NYC with my
husband and four kids. My
daughter Maia started NBS this
year entering the fifth grade,
which is very exciting. It is fun
to be back at the schoolhouse.
I have two sons at Friends
Seminary (fourth grade and
second grade) and my youngest
son is at Jack & Jill preschool.
For the past 11 years, I have
been working in private investing
for MacAndrews & Forbes.”
Katherine Snyder ’92 and
her husband, Reto Gregori,
welcomed a daughter, Lida Jane
Kennedy Gregori, on April 21,
2015. Lida joins big brother
Leo, 3, and half siblings, Paul
Benjamin and Sarah Angelina.
Mary Richter ’93 reports: “I am
enjoying my role at Nightingale—
especially when I get to see
friends from the past!”
Alex Mar ’94 writes that her
first book, Witches of America—
a nonfiction book about
present-day witchcraft all around
the country—was published on
October 20, 2015, by Farrar,
Straus & Giroux. “There’s been
some lovely early praise from
Leslie Jamison, Richard Price,
Publishers Weekly, and
Bookforum.” For more
information, visit alex-mar.com.
Caroline Mortimer Bareau ’94
writes: “After 5 wonderful years
in Singapore, we moved back to
NYC this summer and are excited
to be home!”
Tara Abrams Levine ’94 was
named chief marketing officer of
Deutsch New York in May 2015.
Jennifer Tanenbaum Heffer ’96
is a new mom and working parttime in the admissions office at
Saint David’s School in New York.
FAL L 2015 3 9
Nelly Ward ’00 married
Frederick Charles Merkel III at the
Washington Memorial Chapel in
Valley Forge, PA, on May 2, 2015.
\\
Fraser Ross Maloney ’98 and
her husband, Rob, welcomed
their second daughter, Serena
West Maloney, earlier this year.
The Young Alumnae Board has been hard at work planning activities for
the year. [In window at back:] co-chairs Siena Kissel ’06 (left) and Gaby
Santana ’06. [Front row, from L to R:]: Sarah Taub ’06, Lizzie Olesker ’06,
Laura Salibello ’07, Nikki Schloss ’07, Carmen Ingerman ’09, Anna
Tarassishina ’09, and Adrianne Glascock ’09.
00s
Fernanda Winthrop ’00 and her
husband, Alex Michas, welcomed
daughter Edith Wise (“Edie”) on
October 7, 2015.
Sophie McManus ’96 recently
published her first novel, The
Unfortunates (Farrar, Straus &
Giroux 2015), to excellent reviews,
including from The Washington
Post, where reviewer Ron Charles
called it a “brilliant social satire of
life among the 1 percent of the
1 percent.”
Jane Simmons Bullock ’97
writes: “Anne Caldwell Bullock
was born on May 29, 2015.
Liza (3.5 years) is an enthusiastic
and proud big sister!”
Joy Jones ’97 welcomed a son,
Henry Blake Jones (above),
on September 1, 2015. Henry
weighed 9 pounds, 12 oz at birth
and measured 21 inches long.
Marietta Dindo Danforth ’98
reports: “I’d like to share the
news that my husband, Brad
Danforth, and I had a baby girl,
Piper Grace Danforth, on April 28,
2015. Piper and I visited Emily
40 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Grant Turner ’98 last week
and Sophi Jacobs ’98 this past
weekend. I’m also excited to
say that I just received my
second National Leadership
Grant from the Institute of
Museum and Library Services
for the organization I manage at
Zoo Atlanta called the Great Ape
Heart Project. Our non-profit
research group helps zoos across
the globe assess and treat
cardiovascular disease in great
apes. The grant will allow our
research group to establish
a national blood pressure
monitoring program for zoos
that house great apes, as well
as conduct genetic testing for
inherited heart diseases.”
Annabelle Saks ’00 has joined
Maria Campbell Associates,
working on adapting books into
film. She reports that Agnes
Ahlander Turner ’01 is a colleague.
Elizabeth Riley Fraise ’98
writes: “My husband Adrien,
our two-year-old son Harcourt,
and I were thrilled to welcome our
second son, Porter Riley Fraise, to
our family on April 15! In October,
Harcourt and I attended the
Alumnae Homecoming. The
chocolate soccer balls, photo
booth, and Nightingale pennants
were such a big hit with him
that the following week he
incessantly asked to go back to
‘Mommy’s school’!”
Maritza Fair Williams ’06
stopped by Nightingale this fall
with her daughter, Naomi, and
her mother, Elaine Fair, who
retired from Nightingale in 2014
after more than 25 years of
service to the school. They
enjoyed seeing the renovated
schoolhouse and visiting with
Middle School Assistant Sylvia
Guzmán, who also happens to
be Maritza’s aunt!
Amanda Bassen ’01 writes: “I got
married this past summer to Bart
Clareman (Collegiate Class of
2001). We are excited to start this
next chapter of our lives together.”
Isabelle Galassi ’00 (see faculty
and staff notes)
Liz Niemiec ’00 married Marc
Braunstein on September 23,
2015, in their backyard in
Newport, RI. Liz is a psychiatrist
at Newport Hospital. In photo,
below, from left: Margaret
Niemiec ’04, Marc Braunstein, Liz,
and Simon Braunstein (Marc’s son).
Valentina Perez ’11 graduated
from Harvard last spring and is
back in New York City working in
the research department for the
Hillary Clinton campaign.
Anne Rabbino Bisbano ’01
welcomed a baby boy, Thomas,
to her family on September 8,
2015. Thomas joins big sister
Francesca, 2. Anne is the
director of the middle school
at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s.
Megan O’Neill ’03 married
Jesse Bull on September 19, 2015,
in Nashville, Tennessee. Many
Nightingale classmates were in
attendance to help celebrate
her nuptials. In photo, from left:
Meredith Blank ’03, Judgie
Graham ’03, Kate Schlosstein ’03,
Clarissa Striker ’03, Megan
O’Neill ’03, Tanya Kaufmann ’03,
Jessie Page ’03, Tierney Model
’03, Shoko Katsuragawa ’03,
and Susan Crile ’03.
Ashley G. Billman ’04 reports
that she currently lives in Norfolk,
VA, where she recently began
her fourth year teaching American
literature at Norfolk Collegiate
School.
Samantha Kleinman ’04 writes:
“I’m excited to share with the
Nightingale community that I
earned my MBA from NYU’s Stern
School of Business in May 2015.
I am continuing my career at
the NFL, where I have taken on
a new role as Senior Marketing
Manager after spending five
and a half years working in the
Player Engagement department.
In my new role, I will focus
on player-driven marketing
campaigns and initiatives
targeting the male fan segment.
I look forward to returning
to the schoolhouse soon
and reconnecting with the
Nightingale community!”
Tschabalala Self ’08 had her
first solo show in New York, “Out
of Body,” at Thierry Goldberg
Gallery from May 28–June 18,
2015. The show included her
painting entitled “Pink Eye” (oil,
pigment on canvas), shown above.
Cordelia L. Zukerman ’02 reports
that she completed her PhD in
English literature at the University
of Michigan this past summer
and has stayed on as a postdoc.
maya popa ’07 wins prestigious literary award
English faculty member Maya Popa ‘07
won the 2015 Hippocrates Prize for Poetry
and Medicine, which was announced in
London on May 29. From a vast number of
international submissions, the Hippocrates
Foundation (UK) publishes a shortlist of
three finalists every spring and then in May
awards a prize of 5,000 British pounds for
the best poem submitted on a medical
theme. Ms. Popa’s poem, “A Technique for Operating on the Past,”
was inspired by her neuroscientist great grandfather.
The New Yorker magazine
published “For My Brother, in
Bluegrass,” a poem by Elizabeth
Metzger ’07, in their July 6/13,
2015 issue.
Reagan Brown ’13 is currently a
junior at Mount Holyoke College,
majoring in art history with a
minor in studio art. She writes:
“I love my experience at Mount
Holyoke and love being back
at an all-women’s institution! For
the past two years I have been
the Photos-Video Editor for the
Mount Holyoke News, the longest
running all-female independent
publication. I am currently an
RA for the second year. I helped
re-found the Mount Holyoke
Yearbook after it was discontinued
in 2010. This past summer I was
an intern at Olana State Historic
Site, the former home and estate
of the Hudson River School
Painter Frederic Church. It was
an amazing experience and it
was beautiful to be in the Hudson
Valley for the summer! I will be
studying abroad in the spring in
Siena, Italy.”
Ali Jones ’04 married Nicholas
Thorne on June 6, 2015, in
Richmond, Virginia. Ali writes that
she met Nicholas at Yale, despite
the fact that he went to Buckley
and grew up across the street
from her family on 79th Street!
Ali’s two older sisters, Ashley
Jones Moss ’94 and Catherine
Jones ’98 were the matron and
maiden of honor; Madeline
Bertha ’04 and Caitlin Carabine
McLean ’04 were also in the
wedding party. Ali is finishing her
second year at Harvard Business
School, and she and Nicholas plan
to live in NYC after her graduation.
Eva S. Hudgins ’06 reports:
“This May, I graduated from
medical school at the University
of Pennsylvania and started my
internship in internal medicine
at Mount Sinai in July. After this
year, I will spend the next three
years of residency training in
dermatology at North Shore
Long Island Jewish Hospital.
I’m glad to be back in New York
and have enjoyed reconnecting
with my NBS ’06 girls!”
Loulou David ’09, Carmen
Ingerman ’09, and Anna
Tarassishina ’09 returned to the
schoolhouse for Homecoming
on October 17 and reported that
they loved the new look of the
schoolhouse. Of the new, more
open design, Carmen wrote:
“Long gone are the days of
hallway naps!”
Lucia Perez ’10 left for South
Africa on November 1 to pursue a
Fulbright Fellowship. She reports
that she’ll be doing astronomy
research with Dr. Thebe Medupe
in Mafikeng for eight months and
is thrilled to have the opportunity
to experience the Southern Sky.
Alexandra Damley-Strnad ’13
represented Canada at the Pan
American Games this summer.
She competed in the Snipe class
with her sailing partner and
2016 Rio Olympic hopeful
Evert McLaughlin. FAL L 2015 4 1
WE’RE STRIVING TO REACH 50% OF
OUR GOAL BY DECEMBER 31, 2015
MAKE A GIFT TO
THE NIGHTINGALE-BAMFORD SCHOOL
ANNUAL FUND TODAY!
Music faculty member Sarah
Taylor Ellis is currently composing
a “timeless contemporary”
musical adaptation of Jane
Austen’s Emma with Ovation
Award–winning playwright
Meghan Brown. Emma received
a developmental reading at
Brooklyn’s Gallery Players in
November 2015. Sarah was
also recently invited to join the
advisory board for Extended Play,
an online platform for creative and
critical discourse devised by the
Civilians, a company that “makes
new theater from investigations
into the most vital questions of
the present.”
Your early support of the Annual
Fund allows the school to put your
dollars to work immediately, which
has a direct impact on the education
of every girl at Nightingale.
in
memoriam
faculty
and staff
notes
Dance and PE faculty member
Jeanne Finnigan-John was
inducted into the Academy for
Teachers this year and selected to
participate in a master class with
Robert Battle, the artistic director
of the Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theater Company. The Academy
for Teachers master classes bring
exceptional teachers together
with leading intellectuals,
scientists, and creative artists for
a day of high-level instruction
and inspiration. According to
Sam Swope, the Academy’s
president, “Only 18 teachers are
chosen for each master class,
and of those, only four teach in
private schools. Being selected
is a well deserved honor for both
teacher and school.” Ms. John
commented that her master class
with Mr. Battle was “a day for me
to reflect and learn and dance. It
was wonderful to meet colleagues
and especially awesome to take a
class with Robert Battle.”
Middle School Counselor Lily
Gumz married Nick Joseph on
June 13, 2015, in Bedford, NY.
Class III homeroom teacher Isabel
Galassi ’00 married Antony Slokar
on June 20, 2015.
Art faculty member Kira Lynn
Harris created site-specific works
examining visual representations
of the city in contemporary culture
for her solo show, “Glittering
Dystopias,” at the Women and
Their Work Gallery in Austin,
Texas, this summer. In addition
to her work at Nightingale, Kira
joined the faculty of the Yale
School of Art this fall as a visiting
critic; her responsibilities include
meeting with graduate students
six times over the course of the
semester.
Former science faculty member
Thu-Nga Ho has moved to
Pittsburgh, PA, and is now serving
as academic dean and director
of curriculum at St. Edmund’s
Academy. She writes: “While I am
sad about leaving Nightingale,
I could not be more thrilled
about this new and exciting
opportunity.” Head of School Emerita Dorothy
A. Hutcheson has been very
busy this year. After graduating
from Union Theological Seminary
with a Master of Divinity degree
in May, she spent the summer
in Cambridge, England, as the
program director at Cambridge
Prep Experience for rising eighth
and ninth graders, which is part
of Oxbridge Academic Programs.
While in Cambridge, she had the
opportunity to have lunch with
Maha Atal ’04, who is working on
her PhD at Trinity Hall, Cambridge
University. And this fall, she
began a new position as school
chaplain at Trinity-Pawling School,
an all-boys boarding school in
Pawling, NY. She spends the
week at Trinity-Pawling teaching
two classes and leading the
school’s four weekly chapels,
and commutes back to NYC on
weekends to spend time with
her husband and work at a church
in Brooklyn.
Itty Bitty Smitty is here! English
faculty member Sherwyn Smith
proudly announces the birth
of his son Ezekiel, who arrived
on May 23, 2015, and weighed
6 lbs, 2 oz. He writes: “Both
mom Dominika and son are
doing great! And Mr. Smith is
over the moon!”
Paula McGrath ’87 died on
October 4, 2015, after a long
battle with breast cancer. She
was 46. She is survived by her
sons, Dylan and Leopold Diouf,
her brother, John McGrath,
her parents, Diane McKecknie
and John W. McGrath, and her
former husband, Pape Diouf.
Sabina FitzGibbon Philip ’44
died on August 29, 2015, in
Manchester, Vermont, after an
extended illness. She was 88
years old.
Elizabeth Porter Seefeld, who
worked at Nightingale for 14
years as administrative assistant
to Headmistresses Maya Stevens
Bamford and Edna Hill Robillard
in the 1940s and 1950s, died on
July 26, 2015, at the age of 98.
English faculty member Maya
Popa ’07’s critical essay on
four contemporary Irish poets,
“Forever Writing From Ireland,”
appeared in the September 2015
issue of Poetry, the preeminent
American journal in the field.
Maya also published an article
on (and interview with) poet Mark
Doty—one of the most famous
modern American poets—in Poets
& Writers, the top magazine of
the publishing world. For more
on Maya Popa ’07, see the box
on page 40.
Nancy Klee Stone ’53 died last
spring at age 79. She is survived
by her husband, Robert Stone;
her children, Peter Kempner,
James Kempner, and Carrie
Getz, and their families; and her
stepdaughter, Lesley Stone.
Art Department Head Marc
Travanti spent part of his spring
sabbatical collaborating on
a two-person exhibition and
performance, “Hand to Hand,”
which ran from May 22–31, 2015,
at HilbertRaum Project Space in
Berlin, Germany.
nightingale.org/giving
Math faculty member Shira Sand
and her husband welcomed their
second child, a son, Isaac Meir
Fass, on September 18, 2015.
Isaac joins big sister Shoshana, 3.
42 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Director of Technology Marquis
Scott married Melissa Goldkopf
on September 5, 2015.
Network Administrator Rachel
Gibson died on June 28, 2015.
The longest-serving member
of Nightingale’s technology
department, Ms. Gibson worked
behind the scenes to ensure that
our network functioned smoothly.
As Mr. Burke stated shortly
after her death, “Every time
Nightingale girls logged on to our
network seamlessly; every time
they were able to communicate
with their teachers and students
via e-mail, Ms. Gibson was there.”
Class III homeroom teacher
Fernanda Winthrop ’00
(see class notes)
FAL L 2015 4 3
Voices
Here we feature the
voice of someone
in the Nightingale
community. If you
would like to
share some of
your thoughts or
experiences with
others in the
community, please
contact us at
bluedoors@
nightingale.org.
44 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Rebecca Grunwald P’19 is president of
Nightingale’s board of trustees. She delivered
the remarks below at the 91st annual
Commencement Exercises on June 4, 2015.
Many years ago I attended my own commencement
ceremony from an all-girls’ school that is, in many
ways, similar to Nightingale. Held on a blazingly
hot and muggy day, it was an old-fashioned
ceremony. We wore wildly short white dresses,
but we also wore woven flower crowns of the
same design that had been worn by graduating
seniors at the school for almost 100 years. The
ceremony—held outside, at the side of a scenic
pond—began with us walking around the edge
of the pond toward the huge white tent in a field
on the other side.
It was exciting to be with the girls in my class
on that march. My class consisted of girls who
were brilliant, funny, accomplished, and kind; who
represented different cultures and backgrounds;
who had different interests and values.
As I came around the edge of the pond, I saw
my father coming toward me. He quickly handed
off a small package wrapped in newspaper, inside
which was a copy of TS Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book
of Practical Cats. This was in a year prior to Cats
becoming a popular musical, when this tome was
considered a literary work.
It struck me as an odd choice. Why this book
of poetry and not, for instance—if it was to be
TS Eliot—Four Quartets, with its reference to time
present and time past perhaps being present in
time future. I loved my father, but he definitely
did not love cats. In his world, cats were for barns.
So, why this book? Was it because its cover was
orange and black—the Halloween-inspired colors
of my then soon-to-be college? Was it a joke?
There were NO hints inside. My father, who
always inscribed everything with long messages,
wrote only a simple note: “Rebecca, I really do
love cats. Love, Daddy.” It was obviously my job
to figure this out.
Was I supposed to “be my own cat?” The
verses all describe cats that are different from
one another—from Jennyannydots to Old
Deuteronomy. My parents always encouraged
my brothers and me to be independent and
to follow our own paths. The message of the
TS Eliot collection could simply be this: Be your
own true self.
Too simple.
After some thought, I have now decided that
the message is tied to the belief that cats have
nine lives. Believing that one has nine lives is
wildly liberating and, as I have found many years
after my graduation day, allows for quite a bit of
personal development and change.
When I went to college, I thought I was going
to be a musician. I’m not a musician.
But I am, quite contentedly, an architect.
When I went to college, I thought my life
would be spent in New England. But I am, quite
contentedly, living in New York City.
When I went to college, I never imagined
having a daughter who is amazing every day
and a husband who, also amazing, writes and
produces zombie movies. (This came after
completing a college degree in English where
he focused brilliantly on the classical works of
literature at a very traditional university. He clearly
used up a couple of lives making that switch.)
When I went to college, I never imagined that
I would be standing here at Nightingale sharing
a stage with this wonderfully talented, brilliant,
funny, artistic, athletic, accomplished, and kind
Class of 2015.
When I went to college, I had a view of what
I would be that did not include the twists and
turns of life, the changes in my viewpoints, and
the development of my desires. Thank goodness
for nine lives!
I have been able to try things—to fail and to
triumph. To find, as Mr. Burke likes to call it, my
own true self. How lucky am I?
Having nine lives means that you can try things,
you can follow the paths that you find, and you
can keep going even if those paths lead you to
places that you never thought were possible or
had never even considered. You, like a cat, can
always land upright and on your own feet.
So, as you leave the blue doors, keep an open
mind and be courageous. Use up eight of your
nine lives, live the journey, and love the ninth.
If the journey through those lives is truly your
own, you too will find your own true self.
Head of School
Paul A. Burke
Board of Trustees
Rebecca Rasmussen Grunwald, President Blair Pillsbury Enders ‘88, Vice President
Elena Hahn Kiam ‘81, Vice President
Douglas Feagin, Treasurer
Gregory Palm, Secretary
Paul A. Burke, Assistant Secretary
Graciela Bitar
Brenda Earl
Alexander Evans
Romi Gottfrid, ex-officio
Mark Greene
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss ‘93
John Hall
Patricia Gilchrist Howard ‘62
Paul Lachman
Thomas McGinn
Raffiq Nathoo
Renan Pierre
Dina Habib Powell
Alice Birnbaum Roebuck ’94
Zoe Settle Schriebl ’00, ex-officio
Howard Silverstein
Monica Spencer
Henry Timms
Honorary Board Members
Jerome P. Kenney
Nina Joukowsky Köprülü ‘79
Susan Hecht Tofel ‘48
Grant F. Winthrop
ALUMNAE BOARD
Zoe Settle Schriebl ’00, President
Elizabeth Victory Anderson ‘88
Elizabeth Boemler ‘94
Paul A. Burke, ex-officio
Melissa H. Elting ‘92
Elizabeth Riley Fraise ‘98
Sage G. Garner ‘04
Hillary Johnson ‘76
Siena Kissel ‘06
Grace McCleary ’16, student representative
Amie Rappoport McKenna ‘90
Elizabeth Friedland Meyer ‘89
Palmer Jones O’Sullivan ‘94
Gaby Santana ‘06
Kate Wittpenn ’16, student representative
OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL
ADVANCEMENT
Jane-Garnet Brown
Director of Capital Giving
David Byrnes
Director of Communications
Christie Guevara
Director of Alumnae Relations
Jessie Page ‘03
Events Coordinator
Andrew Peterson
Database Manager
Mary Richter ‘93
Director of Institutional Advancement
Katy Ritz
Director of Annual Giving
Susan Tilson
Director of Publications
HEAD OF SCHOOL EMERITA
Dorothy A. Hutcheson
PARENTS ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
Romi Gottfrid, President
Leigh Hrazdira, Vice President
Jennifer Gourary, Secretary/Treasurer
FAL L 2015 4 5
Nightingale
The Nightingale-Bamford School
20 East 92nd Street, New York, NY 10128
nightingale.org
46 TH E B L UE DO O RS