FALL 2012 1 Nightingale - The Nightingale

÷e Blue Doors
The
NightingaleBamford School
Volume 7
Issue 1
Fall 2012
FALL 2012 1
THE BLUE DOORS
Volume 7, Issue 1
Fall 2012
A biannual 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,
class notes, story suggestions,
corrections, and any questions
you have may be directed to
bluedoors@nightingale.org.
DESIGN
Pentagram
Contents
2
4
12
16
L AY O U T
CZ Design
PRINTING AND MAILING
Foreword
Visual Education
Last Seen
PHOTOGRAPHY
A note from Head of School
Paul A. Burke
How does Nightingale's
acclaimed Visual Education
Program look after its first
decade?
Jenny Lu ‘12 captured
these stunning portraits
of her classmates on the
eve of their graduation
24 | Reunion
37 | In Their
Own Voices
Finlay Printing
All photography courtesy of subject
unless otherwise noted:
Museum of Modern Art and Class of 2012
by Matthew Septimus
Student Journals
at Nightingale
Margaret Parrish PP’12
explores the role of student
journals at Nightingale, from
Philomel to Time Regained
Sachiyo Ito and Hongtu Zhang by Darrel Frost
Rubin Museum, Lower School Field Day,
and Kristen Mulvoy by Nicki Sebastian
Reunion photography by Jennifer Taylor
“In Their Own Voices” photography
by David S. Hughes
Upcoming
Nightingale
Events
11 | 27 | 2012
TRUNK SHOW
8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
12 | 4 | 2012
FAMILY SKATING PARTY
A couple hundred alumnae,
two farewell parties,
one terrific weekend
28 | Hallways
Stories and photographs
from around the
schoolhouse
The best endorsement of a
Nightingale experience is the
strength of our girls’ voices.
Herein, we’ve collected a
few thoughts from current
students and members of
the Class of 2012 about what
makes Nightingale special
to them.
6:00 p.m.
3 | 14 | 2013
auction
6:00 p.m.
For more info, visit
nightingale.org/events
On the cover: A Lower School student
reflects during a trip to New York’s Rubin
Museum of Art, part of Nightingale’s
acclaimed Visual Education Program,
on March 14, 2012. To read more
about visual education at Nightingale,
see page four.
2 TH E B L UE DOORS
FAL L 2012 1
FOREWORD
Advice for a New
Head of School
I am honored to be writing you now as head of school, sharing
a message with friends and alumnae that I shared earlier this
summer with parents. I have been touched by the many who
have reached out to me in the months since my appointment
to wish me well. I have come to understand that a head of
school transition is only partly about an individual, though: it is
more about our school community and the 560 students in our
care. Our absolute commitment to the success of every one of
these girls and our unshakable belief in the balance of hearts
and minds—this is the essence of our mission. These are our
two big ideas, and they will remain our guiding principles.
Mrs. Mansfield recently gave me a delightful book that
provides additional wisdom for the future: it is called “Advice
for Mr. Burke from the Class of 2023.” (It is important to note
that of all the guidance I’ve received, this is the only one to
come in both prose and picture form.)
Several girls told me to keep a “tidy desk”; many told me
that I was “in for hard work.” Morgan Kim drew an impressive
picture of me sitting at my desk, next to a window lit by the
moon and stars. The significance of this is not lost on me:
Be with us during the day, Mr. Burke, and if you need to be
behind your computer, do it at night. Message received,
Morgan, thank you.
Other messages were equally clear. Katia Anastas said,
“Congratulations! Nobody’s perfect.” Thank you, Katia; what
a relief it is that you have this perspective. I will work very
hard. I will, at every moment, try to be the head of school
you deserve. Still, I will make mistakes. And so will you,
your classmates, your teachers, and even sometimes your
parents. This is as it should be—it means we’re exploring
and experimenting.
The Class of 2023 understands the obligations of
community. Tru Smith-Kendle said, “My advice to you is to
learn every girl’s name.” Claire Young asked me to “Please
visit us on the fourth floor.” Elizabeth Buller said that I need
to be sure that “No one is left out.” Tru, Claire, and Elizabeth
are right: Nightingale is a school where every girl is known.
These connections extend to alumnae, past parents, friends—
all those who have made and continue to make this place like
no other place.
Lauren Kim had a final bit of advice for me this summer:
“On vacation, you could climb a mountain and spot eagles
and hawks.” Thank you, Lauren. I may do just that. I love
being outdoors and spotting a rare bird on a mountaintop
would be spectacular. I must admit, however, that seeing you,
your classmates, and the rest of the Nightingale community
at the blue doors in the coming months carries with it even
greater promise.
Paul A. Burke
Head of School
2 TH E B L UE DOORS
FAL L 2012 3
Perspectives on
Visual Education
The Visual Education Program at Nightingale began
10 years ago with a broad vision and idea that art,
critical thinking, and visual literacy are inextricably
tied to excellence in education. What began with
generous donors, a supportive administration, and
a small number of committed teachers has grown
into a completely integrated curricular initiative.
Now, as the Visual Education Program passes its
10th anniversary, Director of Visual Education
April Tonin leads us through some of the program’s
highlights, cultural partners, and sample lessons.
Nightingale students at the
Museum of Modern Art, 2008.
4 TH E B L UE DOORS
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The Visual Education Program began more than 10 years ago
as an initiative for faculty to develop image-based lessons
that seamlessly integrated into their existing curricula. The goal
of the program was to develop students’ visual literacy and to
create an awareness of art and objects as valuable tools for
learning in all disciplines. Within a year of the program's
beginning, we added the museum education portion, which
focused on using the rich museum resources of New York City.
Although the goals of the program have remained constant
during the last 10 years, Visual Education has expanded and
changed to suit the needs of Nightingale’s faculty and staff.
Having just celebrated the 10th anniversary of this initiative,
we are now considering the following questions in order to
assess the program: how has the Visual Education Program
changed over time? Are the goals of the program being met?
How is the community being served? How can the Visual
Education Program assist the faculty and broaden its reach?
Lastly, how does this program fit into the framework of the
graduate of 2020? In order to respond to these questions, we
examined the program’s statistics and changes from the past
10 years: museums visited, the type of museum program
work is notable because it speaks to the success of the program
in encouraging the confidence and ability of the faculty in this
arena; image-based lessons have become an active and integral
tool for teachers at Nightingale.
In cases where there is a single instructor teaching all of the
sections of a given grade and subject, image-based lessons do
not always continue when staffing changes occur. Unless a
new teacher is specifically oriented and guided through the
image-based lessons, he or she may not always feel comfortable
using these lessons and adapting them to his or her own needs.
With this in mind, we try to have a brief Visual Education
orientation meeting for all new faculty members teaching
courses for which image-based lessons and museum visits have
been developed. With such a stable faculty (32 percent have
been at Nightingale for 11 years or more), it is a realistic goal for
us to be able to make individual contact with each new teacher.
More than 560 students participate in the Visual Education
Program every year—that is, every single student is supported
by some aspect of this program, whether in the classroom or
through the abundant expeditions to cultural institutions. Our
students visit a wide range of cultural institutions during their
The Rubin Museum of Art and the Nightingale-Bamford School have been longtime partners in visual
arts education. Nightingale students are curious, confident, global-thinkers—and knowledgeable
and compassionate learners. Many of my colleagues in the education department have worked with
Nightingale students on tours in the galleries and consistently report their admiration for students in
Nightingale’s Visual Education Program. —David Bowles, Rubin Museum of Art
One of the many strengths of the Visual Education Program is that it is accessible to all girls. Asking
the question, “What do you notice?” engages all students in a conversation in a non-threatening way.
There is never a wrong answer when a student responds with an observation. Visual Education
allows students to feel comfortable to take risks and share thoughts and ideas with her classmates.
With guidance from the teacher, the students’ observations allow the girls to discover, connect,
and discuss important elements of a work of art and relate it to topics from the broader curriculum.
—Claire Anderson ‘95, Nightingale Faculty
utilized, the number of participating faculty from the inception
of the Visual Education Program to the present, subject areas
represented, classroom lessons developed in each subject, and
frequency of revisions.
At the beginning of the 2001–2002 school year, there were
fewer than four faculty members involved in the Visual
Education Program. By the end of that first year, the number
more than doubled. Currently, more than half the faculty are
actively involved in teaching image-based lessons and planning
museum visits, each of which are created and planned around
the specific interests, style, and goals of each teacher.
One of our concerns about this individualistic approach to
curriculum development was how the lessons would stand
the test of time and changes in staffing. Most of the lessons
developed with teams of teachers remain in use over a long
period of time, but we also have a number of faculty who
develop their own image-based lessons, many of which are not
documented in Visual Education materials. This independent
6 TH E B L UE DOORS
tenure at the school, and they conduct repeat visits to museums.
These repeat visits help to build long-term relationships with
cultural institutions for both student and teacher, and they
allow Nightingale students to become lifelong learners and
museum-goers.
These visits also expose students to the world's diversity
through the lens of New York City’s various museums. The
objects and institutions that the faculty purposefully select
represent various cultures, time periods, media, and subject
matter. At this point, image-based lessons and museum visits
cover subjects ranging from history to health, mathematics to
photography, and languages from Latin to French and English.
In each case, museum visits include one or more pre- or
post-visit lesson—on several occasions, we have been fortunate
to welcome visiting artists or lecturers into the classroom.
The bulk of museum visits take place in the Lower School;
almost 40 visits per year in recent years. The visits comprise
single- and multiple-visit programs, as well as special
visual education at work
Each year, our students in Class II spend the year studying different facets of
New York, from its people to its history. Below are a few highlights of how the
Class II teachers utilize the Visual Education Program to support their curriculum.
The Queens Museum of Art:
the Panorama of New York City
Students explore the panorama of New York City and participate in a
hands-on activity to create a city block.
New York Transit Museum
Students learn about the history of the New York City subway system.
The exhibit features subway cars dating back to the 1800s.
Museum of the City of New York:
From Wampums to Windmills
Students explore the early history of New York City, focusing on the Lenape Native
Americans in Mannahatta, and the formation of a Dutch community in New Amsterdam.
The Tenement Museum
Students meet Victoria Confino, an actress portraying an immigrant who
came to New York City in 1916. The students ask questions and interact
with her to gain a broader understanding of an immigrant experience.
Weeksville Heritage Society
Students learn about the history of the Weeksville community in Brooklyn.
They visit the former home of the Williams family, who resided in Weeksville
from the 1930s until the 1960s.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art:
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Students read E.L. Konigsburg’s novel, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E.
Frankweiler, in class and then recreate the experience of the protagonists in the
museum setting. Students also view a sculpture attributed to Michelangelo.
Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts:
Yorkville Immigration
Guided by an educator, students take a walking tour of Yorkville. They learn
about the German and Hungarian immigrants who settled in this neighborhood
during the 19th- and 20th-centuries.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art:
Henry R. Luce Study Center for American Art
Students visited the Luce Center to look closely at paintings, furniture, and artifacts
to explore the ways objects can present a narrative about New York City history.
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Sachiyo Ito leads a workshop on traditional Japanese dance for Class I, 2011.
I remember going with two classmates in my art history class to complete a project at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. We had agreed to spend a double period there, and while we were there, we
discussed the paintings in such depth—not so much to complete the assignment, but just to hear
what the other person noticed that others did not catch—that we spent more time there, and even
on our way back continued to converse about the work we had seen. It felt strangely comfortable to
be able to sit, write, and talk about everything we saw at the Met, and to relate what we were seeing
to the material we were learning in class. —Ivanna Gaton ‘11
exhibitions. In addition, teachers in Classes III and IV led a
number of image-based lessons independent of museum
visits that were directly related to the English, art, and social
studies curricula.
The number of museum visits each year in the Middle School
is consistently three to four per grade; we find that Middle
School teachers more frequently use image-based lessons in
their classrooms. The subject areas represented were painting,
photography, ceramics, English, history, Latin, French,
and Spanish. Many of these classroom lessons have been
developed, revised, and taught for more than eight years.
Upper School students visited fewer museums than their
younger counterparts—a total of nine during the 2010–2011
school year—due in large part to scheduling constraints.
Teachers opted to use independent assignments for their
students, and one consistent trend over the years is that many
Upper School teachers create and use visual education lessons
autonomously.
One subject area that we have focused on in particular in the
last few years has been modern languages; we, along with the
8 TH E B L UE DOORS
modern languages faculty, hope to engage in museum visits
that are conducted in other languages such as French, Spanish,
and Mandarin. The Frick Collection has responded to this
request by providing excellent tours led by native speakers.
Dr. Susan Cohen-Nicole, one of our long-serving French
teachers, has participated in the Visual Education Program since
its inception, and she recently shared her views about the
importance of giving her students these museum experiences:
I have been using the extraordinary resource of a
private, French language visit to the Frick for a good
number of years, first for 11th-grade AP French students,
and [now] for advanced 10th-grade French students.
The French specialist provided by the museum takes the
students on a tour conducted entirely in French. The
students are always absolutely transfixed with fascination
and delight. The guide is wonderfully informative but
informal enough to put the students at ease, and makes it
seem normal to converse about superb art in French. These
visits are a high point of the year for all of us. The students
Artist Hongtu Zhang visits Class III, 2011.
When I teach Introduction to Art History to Class X, I can begin the course knowing that students
who have been at this school for a few years have visited the Metropolitan, the Guggenheim, the
Whitney, the Frick, MoMA, and so many other museums in this city. It makes a big difference that
they have some experience of older and contemporary art under their belt. They have not only seen
more art than many of their peers, but they can talk about and debate art and art theory with more
sophistication than you would expect from a fifteen-year-old. This is because of the Visual Education
Program. —John Loughery, Nightingale Faculty
and I consider it an absolutely sublime experience that
we shall renew every year.
Beyond these educational visits, there are several other
ways that the Visual Education Program has bolstered our
students' relationships with cultural organizations. In 2009,
we worked with John Welch, who is the managing museum
educator for school and teacher programs at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, to offer a history of photography course
afterschool for Upper School students. This course was unique
because students met with museum staff from the conservation,
curatorial, and photography departments. Students had the
opportunity to learn about the behind-the-scenes aspects of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. This course was modeled after
graduate-level colloquia and has allowed a further relationship
to develop between Nightingale and the museum. As a result
of the positive experience of the museum staff and Nightingale
students, some of the participants were offered informal
internships in the photography studio.
Another exciting partnership that has emerged from the
Visual Education Program is with the Colección Patricia Phelps
de Cisneros (CPPC), a private art collection based in Latin
America and the United States. The works from the CPPC
predominantly represent art from Latin America, North
America, and Europe. Each summer, two Upper School
students, chosen through a rigorous application process,
complete a six-week paid internship in the New York office of
the CPPC. The Nightingale students learn about the process of
developing a museum-quality publication. They experience all
the steps involved, from research, writing, editing, and working
collaboratively with various members of the museum staff.
During the summer of 2009, the students created a podcast for
a special exhibition at the Newark Museum, called Constructive
Spirit: Abstract Art in South and North America, 1920s–50s.
All of the museum work and classroom lessons described
so far are notable achievements. However, there are clearly
gaps when we look beyond the humanities and social sciences.
Mathematics and science connections exist, but they are few
and far between. One of the primary goals of the Visual
Education staff going forward is to implement more curricular
FAL L 2012 9
Participating
Museums
and
Cultural
Institutions
American Museum of Natural History Aperture Foundation
Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Cathedral Church of St. John
the Divine China Institute Cloisters Museum and Gardens
Colección
Patricia
Phelps
de
Cisneros
Cooper-Hewitt
National Design Museum Smithsonian Institution The Empire
State Building Frick Collection Friends of the Upper East
Side Historic Districts Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Hispanic Society of America Institute for American Indian
Studies
Museum
and
Research
Center
International
Center of Photography Sachiyo Ito and Company Jewish
Museum Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens at PepsiCo
Lower East Side Tenement Museum Metropolitan Museum of
Art El Museo del Barrio Museum of Chinese in America Museum
of the City of New York Museum of Modern Art National
Museum of the American Indian National Society of Colonial
Dames in the State of New York New York Hall of Science
New York Historical Society New York Transit Museum
Noguchi Museum Paley Center for Media Philipsburg Manor
Queens Museum of Art Rubin Museum of Art Studio Museum
in Harlem Whitney Museum of American Art Urasenke
Chanoyu Center of New York Weeksville Heritage Center
10 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Class III students work with a museum guide at the Rubin Museum, 2012.
It is always a pleasure to work with Nightingale students and teachers, as there is a real sense of
excitement and curiosity surrounding learning and the learning process. I’ve often wished that I had
more time than our hour-and-fifteen-minute tours, since students are usually brimming with insightful
questions and thoughtful comments. The fact that each year so many different classes visit the
Museum in conjunction with permanent and special exhibitions is really a testament to the strength
of the Visual Education Program and evidence that Nightingale takes full advantage of the resources
of the community. —Dara Cohen, The Jewish Museum
connections between art, math, and science. The re-opening
of the Islamic Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as
well as the new Museum of Mathematics, represents exciting
possibilities for the future. New science faculty in the Lower
and Middle Schools will also allow for the development of more
connections.
Assessing a program like the Visual Education Program
is very challenging. The statistics on museum visits reflect
growth in the program, and the number of girls learning in the
classroom with images is increasing. The challenge is to define
how this program helps attain the goals of the Nightingale
graduate of 2020, which has been our school's guiding vision
statement since 2007.
Our program directly supports three of the core
characteristics of the graduate of 2020. Global awareness,
diversity, and communication skills are all attributes that
are required of the students. Visual Education encourages
students to develop a cultural context for all of their learning.
By presenting objects and images from many cultures,
time periods, and materials, Nightingale cultivates greater
awareness and respect for differences in culture, ideology,
politics, and experience, thereby supporting the diversity of
the school community. Visual Education lessons help to
promote an artistic vocabulary in English and a second
language. With respect to the development of communication
skills, the structure of our program promotes analytical,
observational, verbal, written, and auditory skills. Both
classroom and museum-based lessons promote group work,
discussions, visual processing, observational analysis, and
creative writing.
Ten years ago the initial goals of the program were to engage
students with diverse works of art and to develop their visual
literacy skills and capacity to think critically. It also aimed to
consider a range of perspectives, including historical, cultural,
and personal, as well as those of formal design. The final goal
of the program was to make museums an extension of the
Nightingale classroom. During the last 10 years, the program
has been true to its mission. It continues to support these goals,
but we are thrilled that it has expanded to play an even more
significant role in the Nightingale community.
FAL L 2012 1 1
ART
Last Seen
Jenny Lu ‘12 captured the portraits that you
see on the following pages—silver gelatin prints
from 35mm film—as part of a photography project
that she displayed during ArtsFest this spring.
Ms. Lu will be attending Yale University this fall.
12 TH E B L UE DO O RS
FAL L 2012 1 3
14 TH E B L UE DO O RS
FAL L 2012 1 5
Destined to Sing:
Student Journals
at Nightingale
By margar et parrish pp’12
Ah, the often elusive “voice.” It’s not so easy to come by. Many of us labor into adulthood
to find a voice we feel comfortable calling our own. It takes an equal dose of mental sweat
equity and fearlessness to put oneself into a written piece and sign it. It also takes a lot of
practice and a good training ground. At Nightingale, student literary and current affairs
journals as well as the school newspaper provide just that.
Since 1955, Philomel, the Upper School literary magazine, has taken its name and
inspiration from Greek mythology. As is explained at the beginning of the 2012 edition,
Philomela, an Athenian princess, was raped by her brother-in-law Tereus and swore to
expose him to the world. To stop her, Tereus cut out Philomela’s tongue. Still, she could
not be silenced and instead wove a tapestry to tell her story. The gods eventually restored
a voice to Philomela by turning her into a nightingale. In honor of that legacy, the 2012
edition of Philomel is dedicated to “those who refuse to be silent and refuse to be still.”
16 TH E B L UE DO O RS
FAL L 2012 1 7
Nightingale’s Philomel takes shape in weekly, student-run
editorial meetings under the guidance of Christine Schutt,
faculty advisor since 1985. Pieces are submitted anonymously
and vetted by the editorial board. A submission may grow out
of a class assignment or come from weekend work done by
the author. Prose and poetry, photography and artwork (not
to forget the voice of the visual) make the cut, and subjects
run the gamut: from the complexity of the mother-daughter
relationship (“Daughter”) to the upheaval of a family move
(“Sounds of Sirens”) to the death of a loved one (“Corpse”)
to the cult of celebrity (“Clueless and Crazy”).
The editors look for variety among the submissions and
strive to ensure that each piece adds something different to
the magazine. Whatever the topic, every piece must have “a
moment of power,” says Laura Kirk, who assists in the advisory
process. “Even if it needs work, it has to be worth the edit.”
The content of the Middle School literary magazine,
Out of Uniform, is often, although not always, a reflection of
schoolwork. “When you look back over the course of the years,
you can see what’s going on in the classroom,” says faculty
co-advisor Mark Donovan. “For instance, in Middle School,
girls are asked to write in the form of a particular poem [which
explains a widespread liking for the style of Wallace Stevens’s
“Thirteen Ways to Look at a Blackbird”]. Fifth-graders write
quite a bit of fiction, and in seventh grade the girls write
sonnets, so those often appear in the magazine.”
When it comes to the editing process, the faculty advisors
give input regarding the balance and order of pieces and
layout, but steer clear of changes to the work itself. “In the
end, it’s their voice,” says Mr. Donovan. “We’re not going to
put our words into their pieces.”
History, the written word, and art also meld in Time
Regained, although perhaps in a different order of priority.
A relative newcomer, Time Regained was established in 2006
to provide a forum where students can express their views
18 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Does this article bring back memories of
your days on the staff of a Nightingale journal?
Have you continued to write beyond the
blue doors? Share your stories with us at
bluedoors@nightingale.org—we would love
to hear from you!
and at the same time educate the school community about
current affairs.
“Our girls are both talented writers and boldly opinionated,”
says faculty advisor and history department head Heidi
Kasevich. “Time Regained takes history and current events
out of the classroom in a meaningful way.”
The journal is a collection of essays about current events,
in which each author articulates a strong stance about a
contemporary issue in domestic or international affairs and
argues for that position by referencing relevant historical
events (hence, the title). Debate can be heated, says Dr.
Kasevich, as “we welcome opinions from across the political
spectrum.”
Articles in Time Regained are not previously submitted
coursework; staff members take on topics chosen by the
editors, although “if a writer does have her own idea, she is
welcome to submit it. We rarely decline to publish a piece;
instead, we work with the author to improve her presentation
of ideas in a logical and convincing way,” says Dr. Kasevich.
Perhaps less focused on the literary, but no less engaging,
Nightingale’s student newspaper The Spectator has been a
fixture since 1954. The newspaper tackles both local issues
and the local import of national news. Over the past few
years, hot topics have ranged from the school’s approach to
gay and lesbian issues to an investigation of “Tiger Mom”
parenting at Nightingale. Columnists have expressed
opinions across the ideological continuum, from Andie
Levien ‘08’s left-leaning “Not Owned by Murdoch” to
Solveig Gold ‘13’s conservative barb “Au Contraire.”
“At its best, the paper gets everyone talking, beginning
conversations that continue throughout the hallways and
faculty offices,” says Jeff Kearney, faculty co-advisor with
John Loughery.
As with other publications, the phrase “student-run”
crops up a lot when discussing how The Spectator comes
into being. The editors, who take part in the annual
Columbia Student Journalism conference, are the ones
who brainstorm for ideas, pitch stories, and assign articles.
Before the finished product lands on an advisor’s desk, the
students have sorted out problems of writing mechanics
and newspaper style. Faculty advisors “focus on legal
concerns, content, whether a news story presents facts
rather than opinion, how it is cited, and if it is supported
by accurate reporting,” says Mr. Kearney.
As for the particulars of the layout process, Mr. Kearney
reports that they “bewilder the advisors. [The newspaper]
appears like a Christmas present on our doorstep. While
we do read everything before it goes in, of course, the
school doesn’t believe in prior review or censorship.” The
Spectator is not an uncritical advertisement for the school,
he says, “it’s more of a gadfly intended to strengthen it.”
So what is the reward for all of this mental sweat equity
and fearlessness (besides, of course, the intrinsic reward
of a job well done)? For the literary publications, once the
magazines are in print the authors present their pieces at
morning meeting. “There’s always a lot of anticipation,”
says Class V homeroom teacher and former Out of Uniform
faculty advisor Catherine McMenamin. “The readings are
really a high point for the girls and an exciting culmination
to the year’s work.” The editors and contributors to Time
Regained similarly present their work at the end of the year.
More formalized appreciation comes in the form of
awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association:
Philomel has been awarded nine Gold Crown Awards and
five Silver Crown Awards; Out of Uniform won a Silver
Crown in 2009 and Gold Crowns in both 2010 and 2012;
Time Regained has so far garnered a Silver and two Gold
Crown Awards, with the authors of the 2010 award-winning
issue praised as “bright and thoughtful writers who think
outside the box.”
But, inevitably, every girl walks out the blue doors and
enters into the great wide world beyond. So where does
this early voice training take her? “Often, The Spectator
is only the beginning of a career in journalism,” says
Mr. Kearney. “Alumnae have written for some of the
[country’s] finest college newspapers.” For instance, former
editors-in-chief Emma Carron ‘08 and Aliyya Swaby ‘09
have been regular contributors to The Harvard Crimson
and Yale Daily News, respectively.
And many Philomel editors have continued their writing
endeavors after Nightingale, with several establishing
literary magazines at their respective colleges or going
on to careers in writing. Former editor Sophie McManus
‘96 started The Bishop at Vassar and is now a professional
writer; she will publish her first novel with Farrar, Straus and
Giroux in 2013. Previous Philomel staff members Elizabeth
Metzger ‘07 and Frannie Hannan ‘06 founded The Round, a
journal of literary and visual arts based at Brown University,
and have since passed the editorial baton to Lucy Kissel ‘09,
another Philomel alumna. Former Philomel editor Elizabeth
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Hartley Winthrop ‘97 is the author of Fireworks (2007) and
December (2009), and will publish her third novel in 2013.
The world is a-changing, and education has to adapt
to those changes. “The publications have evolved over
the years, as we all evolve, and they will continue to do so,”
says Mark Donovan. But no matter how the publications
change over time, “they will remain places for excellent
writing,” Laura Kirk says. “The skill of being able to write
and express oneself is important no matter what you do
in life.”
In short, being capable of making one’s voice heard will
never go out of style.
Enjoy these three selections from this year’s
student journals. You may also view the
complete editions of Philomel, Out of Uniform,
and Time Regained at nightingale.org.
Strong, not with muscles, but with power and an
efficient mind that swirls in her head and won’t
ever stop pumping, like a Queen.
Eleanor sounds uncommon. The Eleanor I know is
awkwardly placed and imperfectly proportioned. She hides
in the background where no one will notice her mess up and
stumble or croak. She is ashamed, but why, I do not know.
You should ask her yourself. She might be taken aback,
her face reddening as roses in spring. Blemished skin with
brown-orange blotches like an old dog. Greasy mush-colored
hair that is thick and irritating. Gap in her teeth that looks like
corn and hands not made to play the piano. Not graceful in
her odd eyes but lonely and off-balanced. Someone who likes
beat-up pickup trucks and rain, someone who’s in love with
the idea of love. She doesn’t spend much money on clothes.
Vintage only. An antique that you never understand how to
use. Wheezing laugh, smiles with hot breath. Humor as dull as
the murky water where you can never tell how deep the water
is or what is below.
Eleanor is someone you are proud to know. Even if she
makes stupid mistakes and changes her opinions, not up to
her full potential, she is Eleanor. Awkward, scared, knowing,
uncertain, hopeless, proud, unconfident Eleanor. I am proud
to know her. Names present a personality; that doesn’t mean
we all live up to it.
I was with my family in Johannesburg. We’d arrived three
days earlier and headed straight for the bush—a photo safari
of wild creatures that came so close to the Land Rover you
could touch them. (We were admonished never to touch
them.) We’d seen kudu in their native habitat, gracefully
vaulting the African shrubbery despite being encumbered
by 100-pound corkscrew antlers. Truth be told, we hadn’t
thought much about the kudu—we were too enthralled by
the ill-tempered hippos and chains of elephants and lionesses
feasting on wildebeest.
So now at the restaurant, when my father suggested to
my still jetlagged self that I order the carpaccio, I simply
followed his advice. Carpaccio was a favorite of mine, a
delicacy experienced only in restaurants, and I looked forward
to something familiar after several days of menus too exotic
for my still unadventurous palate.
I speared a medallion, red and moist and tender, delicately
scented with fresh pepper and shaved parmesan. It was
chewier than the carpaccio of my memory, gamier and more
pungent. But it was easy to agree: Yes, dad, this is delicious
beef carpaccio. I reloaded my fork.
I was making good progress on my meal when my father
saw fit to divulge his awful secret: it was carpaccio, yes, but
not of the bovine persuasion. It was kudu. Wasn’t that great,
he said. I’d tried something new and enjoyed it! He smiled a
smug little smile I can still see to this day.
The next moments were the gastronomic equivalent of
slamming on the brakes, right up to the forward lurch and
accompanying squealing noise. Had there been a windshield
something would indeed have hit it: Kudu, traveling at its
customary 45 miles per hour.
I’d tried something new and enjoyed it!
He smiled a smug little smile I can still see
to this day.
Eleanor and Eileanoir
by Eleanor Mason ‘17
as published in the 2012 edition of Out of Uniform
Eleanor. Most likely from old French. Eileanoir. Old form
of Helen. Meaning “light.” Not especially chosen and not
first pick, but Eleanor is what I end up with. Strong, not with
muscles, but with power and an efficient mind that swirls in
her head and won’t ever stop pumping, like a Queen. Eleanor
is Queen. Someone with great elegance and nicely mannered.
Not exactly me. Actress, Philanthropist, wife of U.S. President,
Poet. Titles of great leadership, not followship. Sees it once
and knows. Eyes of pure gold that turn icy when sharp
knives come into play. Not a dancer, not needing to grasp
things twice, and not an uncomfortable writer. The Internet
claims that Eleanor is a First Lady, an actress, writer, women’s
rights activist. A durable, patient type, nothing ruffles her,
determined, organizer of considerable skill. Heraldry Names
Manufacturers Ltd. describes me this way. Well, I beg to
disagree.
20 TH E B L UE DO O RS
Kudu Carpaccio
by Caroline Silber ‘12
as published in the 2012 edition of Philomel
When I was twelve I ate a kudu. The kudu is a plus-sized
antelope with Dr. Seuss-like horns and pinstriped haunches,
like it took a wrong turn on the way to Yankee Stadium. On
a plate, however, it’s a dead ringer for delicious, irresistible
beef—and here our story begins.
As in a vehicular collision, time slowed down and I became
aware of every detail. The violent convulsion of my gut. The
splat of meat hitting plate. The salty sting of tears pouring
down my hot, red cheeks. The cartoon question mark/
exclamation point that sprouted above my head.
I glared at my father with all the hatred of a kudu staring
down a predator. Why?! I cried accusingly. Why, my mother
echoed. Why, I imagined the kudu gasping with its last breath.
A SWAT team of wait staff appeared, new linens and
china were magically produced, I may have been briefly
sedated. My father attempted to will himself invisible. The
meal continued, as did our family trip, and while outwardly life
returned to normal, inside something had changed. My close
encounter with raw kudu led me to become someone who
asks questions. Like, Is that beef? And, Are you absolutely sure
that’s beef? And, What makes it okay to eat beef but not kudu
or okapi or puppies for that matter?
Now I don’t simply accept what I’m told—I investigate,
consult multiple sources, and consider the motivation of the
person behind the information. I question authority, trust but
verify, sprinkle a spoonful of skepticism on every story I’m
asked to swallow. Also, when I’m with my dad, I stick to salad.
Democracy’s Currency
by Solveig Lucia Gold ‘13
as printed in the 2012 edition of Time Regained
The year 2011 was marked by court cases that captured
the attention and sparked the imagination of ordinary citizens
in America and around the world: callous Casey Anthony,
accused of brutal infanticide; Dominique Strauss-Kahn,
head of the IMF and serial womanizer; notorious American
exchange student Amanda Knox, falsely charged with the
murder of another exchange student; Conrad Murray,
star-crossed doctor or malicious murderer.
The media eagerly reported every bloody detail and
suspicious facial expression, and the audiences loved it.
Not since OJ Simpson have Americans been so interested
and involved in the judicial system. Never before have they
been so informed about court proceedings.
But the media exposure brought new questions to
the surface. Was it democracy in action, or just more
sensationalized reality TV? Would we be better off if every
court proceeding in the land were televised? And most
importantly, should Americans be privy to the arguments of
the US Supreme Court?
“The day you see a camera come into our courtroom,
it’s going to roll over my dead body,” said Supreme Court
Justice David Souter in 1996. The ongoing question of
televising the Supreme Court has engendered strong
sentiments on both sides of the political spectrum, and it
has once again reared its ugly head. In March the Supreme
Court will hear oral argument in the case surrounding the
new healthcare act, and C-SPAN has asked to televise the
argument for the benefit of viewers across the nation. So far
the network’s efforts have been in vain.
There is enormous precedent for televising the court.
The proceedings of both the legislative and executive
branches of the federal government are broadcast on
a regular basis. Two-thirds of state supreme courts film
their oral arguments. Even Canada televises its Supreme
Court proceedings (and has been doing so since the
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1990s). In December, a Gallup Poll concluded that 72% of
Americans—77% of Republicans and 70% of Democrats—
were in favor of televising the upcoming oral argument. But
the Supreme Court justices remain resolute.
Odd, isn’t it? “We the people” are supposed to have
ultimate sovereignty. It is from us that the Supreme Court
derives its authority and its existence. Yet except for the few
Americans who are able to come to Washington and wait in
long lines for a handful of seats in the public sessions of the
Court, “we the people” are completely excluded from Court
decisions. Said Brian Lamb, chairman of C-SPAN, “If you can’t
do this in public and you’re doing the public’s business, then
something is wrong with this picture.”
By watching even a small portion of oral
argument, we would understand the court’s
rulings much better than we do now when we
simply read a few lines in the newspaper.
The ruling in the upcoming healthcare case will, in one
way or another, affect the life of every American. So shouldn’t
every American be able to see the case unfold? Since our
founding, it has been a principle of American government that
our laws and rights be spelled out and made available for all
to see and know—otherwise, we cannot expect the law to be
carried out or our rights to be preserved. How better to keep
us informed of our rights than to publicize important Supreme
Court decisions? How better to publicize those decisions
than through television, Americans’ most common source of
information?
The justices, however, fear that most viewers would see
only short sound bites and never the full argument. “For every
ten people who sat through our proceedings gavel to gavel,
there would be 10,000 people who would see nothing but
a 30-second takeout... which I guarantee you would not be
representative of what we do,” said Justice Antonin Scalia,
who was initially in favor of televising but has since changed
his mind.
Although C-SPAN would broadcast the entire oral
argument, other news stations might show brief clips taken
completely out of context. From these clips, the justices
argue, Americans would not understand the complicated
court proceedings—we might misinterpret a judge’s biting
comment or jump to unreasonable conclusions.
These are valid concerns. But one might counter that by
watching even a small portion of oral argument, we would
understand the court’s rulings much better than we do now
when we simply read a few lines in the newspaper; after all, a
newspaper can take a quotation out of context just as easily
as a TV program can.
Over time, we would see more and more of the court.
We would come to appreciate how it functions and how its
decisions are reached. We would learn about the issues at
hand, hear all the sides of every argument, and form our own
opinions. Far from harming the court, our education in this
manner would be better for the court.
Gary Spencer, Public Information Officer of the New
York Court of Appeals, which has televised its cases since
1987, argues that “the more the public can learn about what
leads to a decision, the more willing they are to accept it.”
By televising its proceedings, the court would create wellinformed voters who would be less swayed by the partisan
rhetoric of politicians, thus creating a better democracy.
Even if Justice Scalia were right, even if for every 10,000
people who caught a misguided glimpse of the court, there
were only 10 who watched the entire case, then there would
be 10 more educated Americans than before. Ten more
Americans who might be inspired to do great things for their
country. That’s nine future Supreme Court justices plus one.
If there is a risk of sensational reality TV, that is because
our democracy is a living, breathing thing; it can be dirty and
dramatic. Shouldn’t “we the people” be able to see that for
ourselves? Let the cameras into your courtroom, justices. As
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Information is the currency of
democracy.” Inform the American people, justices, and you,
like the author of our independence, may usher in a new
generation of democracy.
The Lower School enjoys their
annual Field Day at Asphalt
Green on June 7, 2012.
22 TH E B L UE DO O RS
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Reunion 2012
On May 18–19, alumnae gathered at the schoolhouse
to celebrate Reunion 2012. The weekend began with a
memorial service to honor the life of Audrey Goode '39;
those in attendance heard beautiful songs from the Upper
School Chorus and stirring words from Patsy Gilchrist Howard
'62, Susie Heller '69, Emme Levin Deland '72, Anne Liebling
'72, and Lisa Goode, Audrey's niece. The Class of 1962,
celebrating their 50th reunion, gathered over lunch and had
a chance to meet with their Class IV penpals, comparing
experiences at Nightingale five decades apart.
At the annual Founders’ Day assembly, we honored two
of our most devoted alumnae, Juliet Rothschild Weissman
’93 and Hillary Johnson ’76, with distinguished alumnae
service awards. Juliet has served Nightingale in a variety of
roles, ranging from Alumnae Board president and chair of the
Alumnae Fund to teacher of mathematics. Hillary—in addition
to her roles as class agent and Alumnae Board member—
has been a constant presence in the schoolhouse as Parents
Association secretary and a representative for her daughters'
classes. (At the same assembly, Hillary's daughter Hannah was
inducted into the Alumnae Association as a member of the
Class of 2012.)
Friday evening provided an opportunity for alumnae to
thank and honor Dorothy A. Hutcheson for her 20 years of
contributions to the Nightingale community; one highlight
of the evening was a surprise performance of “Seasons of
Love,” Ms. Hutcheson’s favorite song, by a chorus comprised
of alumnae and members of the Class of 2012. Saturday,
all Reunion classes were able to reconnect over brunch.
!
e
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Reu
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ae
lumn lasses end
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7–18,
May 1
24 TH E B L UE DO O RS
or 8s
4
5
1
2
6
7
1) Laura Donaldson ’11,
Millicent Hennessey ’12, Karen
Joseloff ’11, Ivanna Gaton ’11,
and Katherine Lipman ‘12; 2)
Alexandra Lebenthal ’82 and
Odette Cabrera Duggan ‘83;
3) Miriam Paterson Alexandre
’97, Athena Hill ’97, Korin Mills
’97, Lillane Mair ’95, and
Damaris Wollenburg Maclean
‘97; 4) Ingrid Deming '02,
Megan Kilzy '02, Rachel
Schloss '02, Elisabeth Sacks
'02, Cordelia Zukerman '02,
Dana Liljegren '02, Lesley
Chung '02, Emily Warner '02,
and Kim Ash '02; 5) Dorothy
A. Hutcheson saying thank you
and farewell to the alumnae;
6) Joan Umpleby Salm ’62
and Laurie Davis Gilkes ‘62;
7) Barbara Farley Heller ’62,
Sarah Kildea Gentry ’62, and
Deborah Everts Behling ‘62
3
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8
12
9
8) Alexandra Stanton ’87, Kirsten Meisinger ’87, Meg MacCary ’87,
Patrice Gammon ’87, Crystal Ortiz ’87, Stephanie Rappoport
Wahlgren ’87, Hilary Neff Crevier ’87, and Dana MacGrath ‘87; 9)
Jean Klingenstein ’60, Cornelia Wadsworth Robart ’57, Jill Hyde Scott
’57, and Phoebe Sherman Sheftel '60; 10) Melissa Elting Walker '92;
11) Alexandra Koeppel '82, Christina Schlank Gaffney ’82, Beth
Stubenbord '82, Deborah Guiher Chamblee ’82, Jenny Maas Jones
’82, Tanya Traykovski ’82, Cristina Roig Morris ’82, Rosamaria
Caballero Stafford ’82, Melinda McIntire Krigel '82, Susan Hoffman
Hyman '82, Brooke Eaton ’82, Sarah Tuttle Horner '82, Bettina
Shapiro Cisneros ’82, Pamela Saunders ’82, Dianne Lewis Battista '82,
and Tanya Hernandez '82; 12) Victoria Lynch Spellman ’77, Elizabeth
Latshaw ’77, Lisa Tomaino Zemann ’77, Catharine Guiher ’77, Jill
Hamilton ’77, and Maggie Noble ‘77; 13) Patsy Gilchrist Howard '62,
trustee and chair of the head of school search committee, with new
Head of School Paul A. Burke; 14) Christina Schlank Gaffney '82 and
Dianne Lewis Battista ’82.
10
13
14
11
26 TH E B L UE DO O RS
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Ha llways
Stories and photographs
from around the schoolhouse
Class of 2012
Congratulations to the 40 girls in the Class of 2012,
seen here walking to their graduation ceremony on
June 14, 2012. After a summer of internships, travel,
and—yes—relaxing, the class will be matriculating
at the following colleges and universities this fall.
Bard College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Bucknell University
University of Chicago
Colgate University (2)
Connecticut College
Cornell University (2)
Dartmouth College
Dickinson College
Hamilton College (4)
Hampshire College
Harvard University (2)
Middlebury College (2)
Muhlenberg College
New York University
New York University (Tisch School of the Arts)
Northwestern University (3)
Oberlin College (2)
The Ohio State University
University of Pennsylvania
Pitzer College
University of Southern California
Swarthmore College
Wake Forest University
Washington University in St. Louis (2)
Williams College
Yale University (2)
28 TH E B L UE DO O RS
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math competition equals success for nightingale
community service program
wins national award
Five students from Classes VII and VIII competed
last March in the Middle School Mathematics
Tournament, a rigorous competition of calculation
and computation sponsored by the Museum of
Mathematics. The tournament featured teams of
seventh- and eighth-graders from 25 independent
and public schools going head to head in an
afternoon of intense problem-solving. Sumiko
Neary ‘16, Sarah Palmer ‘17, Grace Zhang ‘16,
Katherine Ottenbreit ‘17, and Christina Stebbins ’16
middle school student
honored for service
Emma Contiguglia ‘19 was recently awarded the
national “Barbie I Can Be...” award from Mattel
and the White House Project, in honor of her
service to the WARM Center, a not-for-profit that
serves the hungry and homeless in Westerly,
Rhode Island. She was presented with this award
at the White House Project’s EPIC Awards
ceremony on April 5, 2012, and is seen at right
with the evening's host, Geena Davis. This wasn’t
the first award recognizing Emma’s outstanding
commitment to service; prior to this, she had been
honored with the WARM Center’s volunteer-of-theyear award and the Girl Scout Council of Greater
New York’s Bronze Award, the highest honor that
can be bestowed on a Girl Scout of Emma’s age.
30 TH E B L UE DO O RS
represented Nightingale well and concluded the
day with an impressive team showing, landing
third place overall.
In addition to the team’s achievements,
several girls received individual accolades:
Katherine Ottenbreit ’17 and Sarah Palmer ’17
won the award for the second- and fourth-highest
seventh grade individual scores, respectively,
and Grace Zhang ’16 was awarded first place
among the eighth grade individual scores.
As director of community service, longtime teacher
Kristen Mulvoy has grown our service learning
curriculum into a celebrated and vibrant part of
daily life at Nightingale. Most recently, she
developed and taught our new Civic Engagement
and Social Leadership class, a required course for
all ninth-graders. This past spring was Ms. Mulvoy’s
last at Nightingale, as she and her family moved
to New Jersey, but in the weeks before her
departure, the program that she built was awarded
second place in a nationwide competition
sponsored by the Center for Spiritual and Ethical
Education (CSEE).
Each year, the century-old nonprofit dedicated
to ethical leadership honors two institutions
that best exemplify a specific quality related to
community outreach. This year, the organization
looked for schools that built outstanding
relationships with community organizations and
recognized Nightingale students for their ongoing
work with students at the Sisulu-Walker Charter
School in East Harlem, a partnership built out of
the Civic Engagement and Social Leadership class
that Ms. Mulvoy developed.
In the course’s inaugural year, Class IX students
spent each Friday morning with fourth- and
fifth-graders at Sisulu-Walker working on math
skills, a Harlem history assignment, and an
advocacy project for a local food pantry. Our girls’
outreach work at Sisulu was supplemented with
classroom study, where they reflected upon
their experiences and discussed concepts such
as civic engagement, philanthropy, and social
entrepreneurship. After four months of immersive
learning, Ms. Mulvoy gushed that she “couldn’t
be more pleased with the result. [The girls were]
engaged, enthusiastic, and actively thinking of
ways they can help the school and the students
there, in a way that is beneficial both to them and
the recipients of the service.”
In their monthly newsletter, CSEE aptly
described Ms. Mulvoy’s class as a program that
“create[s] a meaningful relationship between the
older Nightingale and younger Sisulu students.”
The organization recognized our girls not only
for the bonds they built through tutoring and
collaborative projects, but also for “being role
models for younger students, and learn[ing] more
about a neighborhood only a few blocks away
but rich in a tradition that most of them are
insufficiently familiar with.”
Congratulations to our girls for their hard
work this year! We honor Ms. Mulvoy for the great
work she did, and we look forward to watching
our community service program grow even
more under the guidance of our new director of
community service, former Nightingale teacher
and alumna Damaris Wollenburg Maclean.
when nighthawks tweet
We’re pleased to launch a new Web presence to
support our athletic teams. Visit http://athletics.
nightingale.org to see athletic news, updates,
scores, and schedules. You’ll also be able to see
our new @nighthawksnyc Twitter feed, which you
can follow for up-to-the-second results.
Go Nighthawks!
FAL L 2012 3 1
Keep Nightingale Close
Wherever You Go!
track athletes excel at states
Download the free Nightingale Alumnae
app for your iPhone or Android device
and have instant access to the latest news
and photos from Nightingale. You can
stay abreast of our students’ work and
see photos from all of our events, search
the alumnae directory and find the most
up-to-date contact information for your
fellow alumnae, or simply share a photo
with other classmates.
For more information,
visit nightingale.org/alumnae
At the end of a successful spring season, several
members of Nightingale’s varsity track team
competed at the New York State Federation
Championships in June. This marked the first time
that Nightingale track athletes advanced to this
elite level of competition!
The meet, which gathered public, parochial,
and private schools from across the state of
New York, was divided into only two divisions,
Group 1 for large schools and Group 2 for small
schools, and Nightingale was one of the smallest
schools represented. Our girls faced off against
32 TH E B L UE DO O RS
the best athletes from the statewide leagues and
conferences.
Nightingale’s athletes performed with
distinction: the 4 x 400m team of Sarah Van der
Elst ‘12, Katie Lin ‘12, Charlotte Diamond ‘14,
and Anna Jurew ’15 earned an impressive seventh
place in Division 2 and set a new school record
with their official time of 4:05.53; Katie Lin ’12
scored a personal best with her 16’7.75” jump
in the long jump, placing her 14th in Group 2;
and Anna Jurew ’15 earned the title of fastest
New York State freshman!
nightingale students
win awards at computer
science conference
Six Nightingale students attended the New York
City Girls Computer Science and Engineering
Conference in May and took home two awards for
their teamwork and innovative problem-solving.
Sponsored by NYU, Princeton, and Google, the
conference gave young participants a taste of
computer science and engineering through a
series of lectures, demonstrations of ongoing
research projects, and an engineering design
competition. Attendees had the opportunity to
learn from leading women in the field what it
means to pursue a career in computer science
and engineering and how these jobs can make
a marked difference in our world.
Olivia Barnhill ’15, Arlene Casey ’15, Gretty
Garcia ’14, Ellie Lipe ’15, Nina Naghshineh ’14,
and Hanna Park ’14 joined over 200 girls from
25 schools who attended the day-long event,
dividing their time between hearing personal
experiences from professors and graduate
students and participating in a conference-wide
challenge to create structurally-sound towers
using only gumdrops and spaghetti sticks. The
girls not only left with a better understanding
of how an education in computer science and
engineering can lead to a variety of fulfilling
careers, but they also took home the award for
Best Designed App and a second place honor
for Highest Pasta/Gumdrop Tower.
FAL L 2012 3 3
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 e-mail them tobluedoors@nightingale.org.
Special note from
Joyce Waley Morton ’46
So often I have been meaning to write, and now it seems
appropriate following a visit from DeeGee Bancroft Gowin ‘46
with whom I have been in contact over the many years since I was
at Nightingale in the class of l946. She has visited us in London
five or six times in the last 70 years, and I am also in close contact
with Marin Jones Shealy ‘46, with whom I, and some of our young,
have exchanged visits in the past. Before her death, Virginia Black
also visited a number of times.
My sister Rosemary Waley Sassoon ‘48 and I were at
Nightingale for three and a quarter years from l940 till early l944,
and we both agree these were the best of our school years.
DeeGee is still very active, country dancing with a group on
her European travels! I can’t match that, but I remain well and busy
and involved in community and charity organizations, as is my
husband. We have four children and six grandchildren; our son,
a mining engineer, lives in Australia, with whom we have just spent
a seven-week holiday in the sunshine of Perth. Our girls and their
husbands all live in the UK, so we meet often.
A strange coincidence happened a few years ago, when a
young American girl who had stayed in our house many years
before, appeared with her husband from California. A Nightingale
magazine was lying around on my desk and it soon appeared he
was the son of Miss Ball (Mrs. Davis), whom [my sister] Rosemary
in particular remembered fondly from her school days!
My eldest daughter, a lawyer, visited New York some 25 years
ago and visited the school, and right now—missing our really
wonderful jubilee celebrations—my middle daughter is in New York
City with her family for a week and she hopes to walk past 92nd
Street and look upon our old school.
Joyce Waley Morton ‘46
London, England
June 2012
34 TH E B L UE DO O RS
60s
30s
Regan O’Connell Burnham ‘65
moved to Asheville at the end
of July and is finishing her sixth
year of flute study. She writes,
“Fred and I are busier than ever.
So much for slowing down!”
80s
Susan B. Walker ‘83 recently
received the Fresh Fruit Festival’s
2012 Fruits of Distinction Award
for Best Actress in a full-length
production for Duncan Pflaster’s
The Wastes of Time. Susan will
also be appearing as a librarian
in an episode of this season’s
Boardwalk Empire, “thanks
endlessly to the encouragement
I received during my Nightingale
days.”
Celene E. Domitrovich ‘86
started a new job in Chicago
as the Director of Research
at a non-profit called the
Collaborative for Academic,
Social, and Emotional Learning.
Rhetta Wiley ‘86 was ordained as
a priest in the Episcopal Church
on June 9, 2012, at St. Patrick’s
Episcopal Church in Dublin, Ohio,
with the Right Reverend Thomas
E. Breidenthal presiding.
Leslie Wolff Culhane ‘86 moved
to Houston from Mill Valley, CA.
She writes that “the change
has been cushioned by Liane
Weintraub ‘86! Our elder son
is headed to middle school next
year and our younger is going
to be in second grade at a
Mandarin immersion school.
I am looking forward to learning
about Houston’s wildlife. I am
volunteering at the Wildlife
Center of Texas and managing
our house.”
Christina Kirk ‘89 was the
feature of a glowing article
written by Hilton Als on
The New Yorker Web site.
In part, he writes that “[Kirk’s]
performance gives us something
richer than any award. Kirk
reminds us why theatre matters:
it’s a world of impressions no
camera can accurately capture,
including the lens of memory.”
You can read the full review by
visiting www.newyorker.com/
online/blogs/culture/2012/06/
christina-kirk.html
Nadia Lubow Smith ’95 sent these delightful photos of her daughter and a familiar Nightingale face, shortly after they moved to Switzerland.
“We took Nightingale Bear down to inspect the lake our first day here. I think we were all thoroughly impressed with the view!”
90s
Brooke Brodsky Emmerich ‘91
married Brian Emmerich on
May 18, 2012 in Rye, NY.
Juliet Rothschild Weissman ’93
and husband Matt welcomed son
Jonas Jacob on May 31, 2012,
weighing 8lbs 8oz.
Louise Havens ‘94 moved with
her husband and chocolate
lab Maia to Quito, Ecuador,
in August 2012. Her husband
Spencer accepted a position to
teach math at an international
school there. Brooke plans
to take full advantage of this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
take a sabbatical from working
and focus on the adventure that
lays ahead! If anyone is in the
area, please feel free to drop her
a line on Facebook to connect.
Kimberley M. Mascoe ‘96 is a
network support specialist for
the Department of Education.
00s
Carolyn Vine ‘02 married
Donald Goodson on June 3,
2012. “Two Nightingale girls
were in my bridal party:
Rachel Schloss ’02 and Kristin
Bunton ’02!” The couple met
at Oxford, from which they
both received master’s degrees.
She is an associate manager in
the fundraising department at
the Robin Hood Foundation in
New York.
Francesca Campbell ‘02
graduated from Columbia Law
School in 2012 as Kent Scholar,
where she also served as
editor-in-chief of the Columbia
Journal of European Law. She will
start as an associate in corporate
law at Davis P Astrid T. Hill ‘03
received a graduate degree from
Christie’s master’s program in
modern art, connoisseurship, and
contemporary art markets last
December, after writing a thesis
on John Baldessari’s seminal work,
the “Cremation Project.” She
writes, “I am moving in a more
entrepreneurial direction and just
recently founded an art advisory
business, Monticule Art. The
business focuses on providing
art advisory services (strategic
planning on building and
managing modern art collections,
with a focus on identifying those
artists that are undervalued in
the market).”
Moraiah N. Luna ‘08 started
graduate school at the University
of the Arts in Philadelphia this
summer. She writes, “there are
nine students in my program,
so I am pleased to have gotten in.
I hope for the best!”
Chevelle Dixon ’03 will be
moving to Zambia, Africa,
in September 2012. She will
be working at the American
Chamber of Commerce,
focusing on economic policy
and infrastructure. She is
excited for the opportunity,
but sad to miss her Nightingale
class reunion in May 2013!
FAL L 2012 3 5
Louisa Conrad ’00
Recognized for Creating
Nation’s Best Confection
PROFILES
In Their
Own Voices
Louisa Conrad ’00 and her husband Lucas Farrell received the prestigious
gold 2012 sofi™ award in the Outstanding Confection category for their
handmade goat milk caramels. (Their goat Junebug is
pictured at left with the award.)
Two years ago, Ms. Conrad and Mr. Farrell founded Big Picture Farm,
a “Vermont goat dairy and farmstead confectionery,” in Townshend,
Vermont, where they raise goats, make their award-winning caramels
and small-batch artisanal cheese, and simultaneously pursue careers in
art—Ms. Conrad works in multiple media (photography, drawing, and
installation, to name a few) and Mr. Farrell is a poet.
To the extent that they can, Ms. Conrad and Mr. Farrell have said
that they are trying to combine their art and farm chores with the goal
of generating a living archive of the farm over the course of its
life. This is already evident in the beautifully spare hand drawings of
their goats on their Web site (bigpicturefarm.com, where you can also
purchase their award-winning caramels), on their caramel boxes, and on
their blog at farmweather.tumblr.com.
So how did a Nightingale girl become a Vermont farmer? “I ask
myself that a lot too!” says Ms. Conrad. “It is a lot of endless hard
work, so Nightingale definitely taught me how to do that. More than
anything, though, going to Nightingale provided me an environment
that encouraged trying new things. Having a faculty that encourages
you to go outside of your limits to see new perspectives has definitely
widened the scope of what matters to me and what seems possible.”
As part of an admissions project this last
year, we asked a number of Middle and
Upper School girls to offer their thoughts
on the Nightingale experience. Their words
and photos form the heart of the Middle
and Upper School viewbooks we share with
prospective families, and here we share
just a few of the girls' voices with you.
faculty
and staff
notes
Classics teacher Jeff Kearney
married Kathleen Brennan on
August 4, 2012.
Daphne Schmon ’05
Co-Creates and Directs
Award-Winning Documentary
Shira Sand, co-head of the
mathematics department,
gave birth to Shoshana Fass
on June 28, 2012.
I am getting a phenomenal
education in a supportive
environment. Nightingale is
helping me become not only
a well-rounded student, but
a well-rounded individual.
Going from a co-ed school
to Nightingale allowed me to
become more focused and
independent.
Audrey W.’13
Middle School Dean of Students
Nancy Wheeler and her husband
Elliot welcomed Eloise Scott
Dickson on July 24, 2012
English teacher Bradley
Whitehurst married Alan Salz
on July 15, 2012—the 18th
anniversary of their exchange of
wedding rings—in an interfaith
service co-officiated by the
Reverend Brenda Husson and
Rabbi James Ponet.
Avid windsurfer and professional filmmaker Daphne Schmon ’05 took
home the 2012 Audience Award at the Aruba International Film Festival
for her documentary Children of the Wind. The feature-length film tells
the inspiring story of three boys from the Caribbean island of Bonaire
who journey from humble beginnings to international fame in the sport
of windsurfing. Their 15-year struggle transforms not only their island
but also the face of the sport worldwide.
The film took nearly three years to make, and Ms. Schmon credits
Nightingale with helping her to develop the tenacity necessary to
bring the project to completion: “Without a doubt, my Nightingale
education gave me the strength to believe in myself as a leader and
to persevere through the most difficult situations.” Following its world
premiere in Aruba, the film is now being entered into bigger festivals
around the world, with the hope that it will ultimately gain semi-theatrical
distribution and be broadcast on television. A DVD release in early
2013 is also planned.
36 TH E B L UE DO O RS
FAL L 2012 3 7
My favorite thing about
Nightingale is the people.
Everyone is welcoming,
funny, smart, and friendly.
And no matter where we live,
how we act, or whom we are
friends with, somehow we
are all able to relate to one
another. Being a Nightingale
girl means I can follow
whatever dreams I have,
while knowing that there
will always be someone
there for me.
Sara C. ‘16
Upper School opened doors
I didn’t know existed. It has
all of the strong community,
great friendships, and
supportive teachers that
existed in Middle School,
but now all of that is
supplemented by sports
at a whole new level and
seemingly limitless clubs
and extracurriculars.
Athletes are performing
in plays and musicians are
on varsity teams. I have seen
so many friends and peers
find new passions and
others become even stronger
in their chosen pursuits.
Being a Nightingale girl
doesn’t just mean wearing
a uniform every day, taking
tests, or even working hard
to get that report finished.
It means walking through the
blue doors every day with the
pride of knowing that every
one of those struggles makes
you stronger and makes you
the best person you could
possibly be.
Summer C. ‘16
When I came to Nightingale,
I immediately felt welcomed
by the faculty and students
in every grade. The energy
was always high, and I could
see the passion each student
had for Nightingale. I wanted
to be a part of a place where
students were not only driven
toward success, but toward
building a vibrant and lasting
community in which all can
take part.
Alexandra S. ‘13
Hannah C. ‘12
38 TH E B L UE DO O RS
FAL L 2012 3 9
I could never stop being a
Nightingale girl. Nightingale
was the first time I had
experienced a school with so
many things to offer, from
athletics to academics to a
fantastic community. I chose
Nightingale because it was
the only place I could actually
see myself flourishing. Now,
being able to put on my skirt
every day and march around
New York as a Nightingale
girl is a great feeling. It’s
something that can never
really go away.
Christina R. '12
Head of School
Paul A. Burke
Board of Trustees
Nina Joukowsky Köprülü ‘79, President
Lisa Grunwald Adler ‘77, Vice President
James D. Forbes, Treasurer
Martin Frederic Evans, Secretary
Clarissa Bronfman
Paul A. Burke, Ex-officio
James S. Chanos
Brenda Earl
Brooke Brodsky Emmerich ‘91, Ex-officio
Blair Pillsbury Enders ‘88
Douglas Feagin
Rebecca Grunwald, Ex-officio
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss ‘93
John Hall
John J. Hannan
Patricia Gilchrist Howard ‘62
Elena Hahn Kiam ‘81
Steven B. Klinsky
Paul Lachman
Curtis Mewbourne
Gregory Palm
Renan Pierre
Debora Spar
Mary Margaret Trousdale
Honorary Board Members
Jerome P. Kenney
Susan Hecht Tofel ‘48
Grant F. Winthrop
PARENTS ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
Rebecca Grunwald, President
Valerie Margulies, Vice President
Julie White, Secretary/Treasurer
40 TH E B L UE DO O RS
ALUMNAE BOARD
Brooke Brodsky Emmerich ‘91, President
Zoe Settle ‘00, Vice President
Elizabeth Riley Fraise ‘98, Secretary
Mary Richter ‘93, Chair, Alumnae Fund
Paul A. Burke, Ex-officio
Elizabeth Victory Anderson ‘88
Elizabeth Boehmler ‘94
Sage Garner ‘04
Daphra Holder ‘03
Hillary Johnson ‘76
Amie Rappoport McKenna ‘90
Elizabeth Friedland Meyer ‘89
Palmer Jones O’Sullivan ‘94
Melissa Providence ‘02
Arden Surdam ‘06, Ex-officio
Melissa Elting Walker ‘92
Samantha Wishman ‘06, Ex-officio
OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL
ADVANCEMENT
Sue Mathews
Director of Institutional Advancement
Kate Ahner
Advancement Services Director
Vinnie Bauer
Campaign Manager
Mary Allison Belshoff
Director of Annual Giving
Darrel Frost
Director of Communications
Amanda Goodwin
Director of Alumnae Relations
Jessie Page ‘03
Advancement Associate
Nicki Sebastian
Director of Digital Communications
Susan Tilson
Director of Publications
Lisa Wein
Director of Special Events
FAL L 2012 4 1
The Nightingale-Bamford School 20 East 92nd Street
www.nightingale.org
42 TH E B L UE DO O RS
New York, NY 10128