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By HELEN KAPLUS

It is February 2007 as I write this, seated at my desk inJupiter, Florida. It has finally gotten cold in New Jersey,but it remains in the 60s even on a “cold” day here! My

tour of Far Brook begins in December, since I knew I wouldbe in Florida during January and February, the time of myusual visits. I hope you enjoy reading about Decemberevents as much as I loved being at Far Brook and seeing thecolorfully painted classroomwindows as they emerged fromthe clear glass and blossomed into holiday ornamentation. Imust admit that it is difficult being away from Far Brook asI write The Tour. This must be how some alumni and theirparents feel when theyfirst leave the ShortHills campus and moveon to high school. Thetime of transition can bea little painful. So nowreturn with me to FarBrook and immerseyourself in the winterglow of the “little redschool.”

DAY 1 –DECEMBER 4

When I left myhouse in Warren in themorning, light snowflurries greeted me, butby the time I reachedShort Hills the sun was

peeking out between the clouds. The forecast was for thelow 40s. After dropping my purse off and grabbing theschool camera and extra rolls of film, I headed out the officedoor, wondering what would draw my attention first. In thestone-covered courtyard between the Junior High andLower School buildings, four FIRST GRADERS were inthe cold sunshine with assistant teacher Nancy Ring, makinga ten-foot wide spiral on the ground. It was in its beginningstages. The spiral was marked on the stones by a thin line offlour, and the children were carefully scraping the stonesaway with their fingers to thicken the line and then fillingthe section they had worked on with birdseed. Nancyexplained that she had introduced earthworks,

environmental art that ismeant to erode anddisappear, to thechildren to enrich theirstudy of patterns. All 26First Graders would geta turn to work on aportion of the spiral. Iasked these four whatthey thought wouldhappen to the birdseed.One responded with theexpected, “The birdswill eat it!” The otheranswer, which brought abig smile to my facewas, “The seeds willgrow!”

It was very windy inthe courtyard, and I

Winter at Far Brook

SUMMER 2007VOLUME XX

for far brook alumni and families near and far

Reports

Class of 2007 in Costume for The Tempest

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thought it to be very appropriate weather for the beginningof December. We had gotten used to warmer than normaltemperatures in November and little did I know at the timethat it would get warmer again. My fingers were gettingcold, and I was glad to follow the group of First Gradechildren into their classroom. There was lots of activity inteacher JoanAngelo’s warm classroom. The door was openbetween the two First Grade classrooms, and the childrenwere moving freely between them. Some children were bythe sunny windows, beginning to draw the outlines for theirholiday designs on the glass. At one table, a small groupwas doing “reading work” with Joan. She was dictatingwords, and the children were writing them on wide-ruledpaper, “trick… track… sip… sap… .” She stopped to helpone little boy write the letter “P” and suggested, “Make onesmooth stroke without lifting your pencil.” She helpedanother with her backwards “D”s. Then she asked them totake their favorite color marker and go over all the lettersthat “say ‘A’.”Afterwards, the children traced the letter thatmakes the “I” sound with another color. Over by the backwall, First Grade teacher Emily Otner was working withone student at the computer as he dictated a story to her. Inthe other room, First Grade teacher Linda Josephson wasoverseeing a dictation lesson with some of the students inher class. Linda was using the words in sentences. I lovedthis one, “Chunk, I love the chocolate chunk cookies!” “Saythe word,” she recommended. “What makes the ‘ch’sound?” While the children wrote their words, Lindawalked between the tables, making suggestions andcomplimenting the children on their work.

Next door in the KINDERGARTEN, the children ofboth classes were helping to make latkes (potato pancakes),a traditional Chanukah food. They worked in groups,

washing the potatoes at the sink, then grating them intolarge bowls. There were lots of volunteer moms assisting.Teacher Leslie Penny was explaining to the children one ofthe holiday-themed activities of the day. Each child was tohelp Simeon the Maccabee avoid the enemy soldiers andwild animals and return safely to his brothers in themountains by leading him through a maze drawn on paper.They were all familiar with the Chanukah story. I watchedas they first traced the right path through the dangers withtheir little fingers and then with a pencil. When this groupwas finished, it was their turn to wash their hands and gratepotatoes. At other tables, teacher Donna Deltz and assistantteachers Debby Richardson and Emi Ithen were assistingthe children with various activities. At two tables, thechildren were playing a phonics game by identifying smallline drawings of items that begin with the letter “L” (lion,lock, lawn mower, etc.) and coloring them in with brightlycolored markers. At another table, two boys were up to thenext step, cutting out the pictures and gluing them ontoanother sheet of paper that had a drawing of an electric“latke” frying pan! The Kindergarten teachers do enjoyfinding ways to be innovative, while incorporating thesethemes into creative activities for the children. I lovedwalking around and offering my help to find the “L”pictures, and the boys and girls are always so eager toexplain what they are doing! Then it was time to eat. Thelatkes had been fried in the kitchen by the moms, and whilethe children sat in a large circle waiting for the pancakesand applesauce to be doled out, they sang songs with theirteachers. I was offered some latkes, too. How could I resist?After cleaning up, the Kindergartners put on their coats andwere off to the playground.

I stood in the brisk courtyard, my hair whipped by thewind, and studied the newly completed spiral in the stones.

Nancy Ring assists First Graders toadd bird seed to the spiral.

Donna Deltz shows Kindergartners the maze.

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Junior High students were walking in the back door ofteacher Sally Chernoff’s ’57 science and math room. Ithought perhaps I would go to extremes – after visiting theyoung students, I might observe the oldest Far Brookstudents. There was no class in session, but several studentswere painting their holiday windows, while others were stillin the design stage with large drawings spread out on the labtables. I passed through the locker area into teacher EdSolecki’s room, where students were also hard at work ontheir windows, drawing fluffy white sheep, luminous stars,flaming candles, turbaned wise men, winged angels, or talleight-branched menorahs. Latkes, applesauce, and sourcream awaited hungry children on a stainless steel tray onone side of the room. The balance of the students was atMasque rehearsal.

I dashed out behind two Eighth Grade boys who invitedme to join them in the technology lab. They sat beside eachother in the sleek, red desk chairs in front of a shared PCand logged in. They were preparing a ten-minute PowerPoint presentation of the origins of Christmas for MorningMeeting and were researching old styles of Christmas treesand Santa Clauses. They explained to me that the project,completed in their spare time, was organized by new Headof School, Murray E. Lopdell Lawrence, who came into theclassroom every day to talk with them. This was a way forhim to get to know them in small groups and for them to getto know him, as well. We were joined soon after, by anotherpair of students who would present another holidaytradition, Divali, the very next morning. Their work wassupervised by computer teacher, Heather Chaffin ’92,though these students were extremely competent. Time in

the lab was short and they went back to class. On my wayout, I passed through the empty Middle School scienceroom.All was quiet except for the footsteps from the FourthGrade classroom above. Nursery children were on theplayground now, all bundled up. The cold didn’t seem tobother them!

Once up the stairs, I entered the SIXTHGRADE roomwhere teacher Valerie McEntee greeted me with a surprised,“We’re not up to the barbarian tribes yet!” (Remember, Iusually tour the School in February when Sixth Graders arelearning about the migration of people through Europe andthe Middle East.) I was glad to join her class while theywere reading Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,something I had not experienced yet. I was really enjoyingbeing at Far Brook in December. Valerie asked her class towrite a one-sentence summary of the chapter in theirjournals and spoke about what goes into writing a summary.“It needs to answer the questions: Who? What? Where?Why? And How?” she reminded them. The room grewsilent as the students wrote. As they composed theirsentences, I noticed sketches of their holiday windowdesigns spread out on a long table in the center of the room.These drawings were inspired by frescoes, mosaics, andilluminated texts. They were lovely. Several students readtheir summaries aloud, and Valerie critiqued themaccording to her described guidelines. Then she led theclass in a discussion of the scenes in Stave 2 (chapter 2) andthe incidents that the Ghost of Christmas Past showsScrooge. Their homework assignment had been to markthose scenes in their books in preparation for thisdiscussion. A few students admitted that they did notunderstand some of the language, and Valerie assured themthat they would go over it all. One of the girls began to readfrom the text, and Valerie stopped her now and then to

A Seventh Grader fills in her angel.

Sixth Graders read Stave 2 of A Christmas Carol.

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explain, in detail, words and concepts that pertained tonineteenth century England. As the reading progressed,Valerie chose other students to read. I looked at my watchand was sorry I had to leave in the middle of the chapter.Once I get involved in a Far Brook class, it’s hard to dragmyself away to the outside world.

DAY 2 – DECEMBER 5The orange digital numbers on my car’s dashboard read

25 degrees at 8 a.m. this morning, and the forecast called forsun and temperatures in the high 30s. My goal was to arriveat Far Brook in time for Morning Meeting. I settled myselfin the back of Moore Hall and watched quietly as thechildren filed in and sat down on the shiny linoleum floor.Murray introduced the first in a series of presentations givenby Eighth Graders on the celebrations of the holiday season.Divali was the topic. Three students took the stage clad inlong, flowing Indian costumes. The two girls wore salwarkameezes and the boy a kurta. They explained that Divali,the celebration of light over darkness, is celebrated byHindus all over the world, and with the help of the PowerPoint projection on the screen behind them, they talkedabout the Hindu gods, the meaning of the holiday, and thewearing of a sari. Ending with “Namaste,” palms heldtogether, the students thanked Murray for the opportunity toshare their new-found knowledge with the rest of thestudents of the School. Murray thanked them in turn andasked for questions from the student audience. As is thecase in most Morning Meetings, Director of Music AllenArtz next led the students in song. Meeting drew to its end,with the sound of exotic sitar music accompanying the exitof the students. Murray was the last to leave, watching overeach child as he or she passed by him. I walked beside himas he returned to his office and re-introduced myself to him.

I had only met him once, on Education Night two monthsbefore. How could he possibly remember me when he hadso many other new faces to remember?

I crossed the windy circle at the top of the driveway onmy way to the gym for SPORTS. Inside Kindergartnerswere running around playing some fun game. Director ofAthletics Nancy Muniz and athletics teacher GregBartiromo joined me to let me “in on the secret game.” Thisversion of the ever-popular game of tag was based on thestory of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and is not onlyfun but also teaches the children to work together. Twochildren were chosen to be Who family members, and theyhad to rescue those who had been tagged by the Grinchwhile running around on the white lines (the streets ofWhoville) marked on the polished wooden floor. TheWhoshad to remain free, or no one would be safe from theGrinch. TheWhos had to keep moving, and so did everyoneelse!At the “freeze” command given by Nancy or Greg, theaction stopped and other children got to play the Grinch andthe Whos. I’m not sure who was having a better time – thechildren or the teachers! Time was up, and the little ones ranto get their coats. They were soon replaced by the nextgroup of energetic Kindergartners. One bouncy girl ran upto tell Nancy that she had gone home and watched themovie. Before beginning, Nancy reviewed the game rules,chose the players, handed out pinnies, and soon they wereoff running aroundWhoville again! I went back out into thecold.

My shadow and I crossed the upper driveway again toenter the Junior High building. I checked the schedulehanging on the wall by the lockers and noted that aMasquerehearsal and a SEVENTH GRADE ENGLISH CLASSwere in session. As I entered Ed Solecki’s room he wasreciting a descriptive poem about a panda to his class. Then

Eighth Graders prepare their PowerPoint presentationsin the tech lab.

Nancy Muniz hands out pinnies for a special game of tag.

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the students tried to guess who the author was. Ed readanother poem entitled “Sunset” and another, “The Hike.”On the board behind him were the names of the students inthe class and that of Tang Dynasty poet Tu Fu with a tallyof votes next to each one. Most of these poems were writtenby the students in the style of the Chinese poet, and a fewwere written by the master himself. The students’ missionwas to see if they could identify which was which. (Thisseemed mildly familiar to me. I think one of my childrenhad an assignment similar to this one.) “I don’t see these aslesser poems,” Ed commented. “There’s something in themthat tells me they’re not from the eighth century.” Ed wentover each poem with his students and asked why they“voted” the way they did. They were eager to participate inthe conversation. One poem “sounded Chinese” to one ofthe boys and another “sounded the best.” In anotheropinion, “the language sounded authentic,” and in anotherthe poem in question was “not about nature.” But were allTu Fu’s poem’s about nature? Not really. “Tu Fu neverrhymes,” added one of the girls in the front row. It wasclearly difficult to express what made the master’s poemsunique. Ed suggested that it is perhaps the “sad, lonelyquality of the lines” written in the simple present “with littleornamentation.” Ed complimented the Seventh Graders ontheir poems and offered to use some of them in the FarBrook Journal compiled at the end of the year. When theclass was over, the Seventh Graders quickly vacated theroom, and Eighth Graders entered for a history lesson.

I headed over to the LIBRARY just across the way,where librarian Sandy Blackwood had a fire roaring in thecorner fireplace. She was preparing for the arrival of FifthGraders, with the help of a parent volunteer, by taking alltheWorld Almanacs out of the back room and placing themon the tables.When the students came in, they quietly sat onthe carpeted steps facing the fire in the cozy, informal area

of the library. Mrs. B (that’s what they call her!) introducedthe lesson: to learn to use the World Almanac by findingterms in the indexes – the general index in the front of thebook and the quick reference index in the back. Thestudents split up to work in pairs, grabbed the chunky redbooks and began to look up the words on Sandy’s list. Theybegan with Denmark, presidents, and latitude, then wrotethe subcategories listed under those headings and the pagenumbers on which the subjects could be found. They weretruly fascinated. I sat down with one group of boys andlistened as they softly shared their findings with each other,reading other subject names along the way. Sandy walkedaround the bookshelves with another pair of students,familiarizing them with the location of the various subjects.They began at the top shelf – trivia and computer books.Sandy pulled several books out of their slots as she gavethem the tour. One was about magic and another aboutenchantment. Her eyes gleamed, her mouth turned up insmiles as she tried to convey her love of books to herstudents.As the end of the class session drew near, all of theFifth Graders were encouraged to choose books to takehome for the week. I left while they were browsing theshelves and making their decisions.

Another group of Fifth Graders had some free time, soI offered to watch them play Red Rover on the cold fieldbelow their classroom windows so their teacher EllenMaddrey could run an errand. They were soon gleefullyjoined by their classmates returning from the library.Although I enjoyed watching the children running aroundand having fun, I got chilled standing in one spot and wasglad when Ellen relieved me. I walked into the warmth ofthe Middle School building. There, the designs for theholiday windows are not painted directly onto the glass, buton transparent paper, which is taped onto the windows later.Four bright paintings lay drying on tables in the hallway –a large green wreath with a red ribbon and ornaments, aA Peek into Ed Solecki’s Seventh Grade English Class

Fifth Graders learn library skills.

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golden menorah, a gray donkey, and a large red candletopped by a yellow flame against a light blue sky. In theThird Grade room, more paintings lay drying. MiddleSchoolers were all getting ready for lunch, so I went out insearch of a class in progress.

Allen Artz was hurrying off to lunch in the kitchenadjacent to the Hall and invited me to come to the musicroom at 12:30 for “Angel practice.” Ed Solecki passed, sawme with my pad and pen, and asked if I was writing in thestyle of Tu Fu!! What a laugh! Kitchen coordinator MelissaStampoulis now makes lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays,a nice break for the faculty and staff members whootherwise bring their own lunches. As a part-time staffmember, I was eligible to dine with them, though many tooktheir salad and broccoli with cavatelli back to theirclassrooms. I sat on a stool in the kitchen by the centerisland, listened to the school banter, and watched everyonestream in and out, including Nursery teacher and Director ofLower School Paula Levin and the Head of School MurrayLawrence. I even got in a short chat with caretaker ArtGannon. A few children wandered in. They had forgottentheir lunches. Not to worry, Melissa lovingly made themgrilled cheese sandwiches.

Soon I heard voices in the Hall, and I was drawn intothe next room to watch a rehearsal for THE MASQUE, amusical rendition of the seasonal medieval dramaperformed each year during Morning Meeting and for twoevenings before school closes for the December vacation.Director of Drama James Glossman gave stage directions asthe action continued. He paused to explain to me that thiswas the actors’ last chance to practice without the music andangels accompanying them. This was the part of the play

where the characters are introduced to the audience. “TheThree Kings,” announced the Narrators. Jim hummed themelody while the players practiced walking with a staff orswinging an incense burner. The sheep were portrayed bytwo cute little Second Graders. This is the tradition. All theother parts are played by Middle School and Junior Highstudents. The Rooster and the Raven spread their wings andspoke their lines. The Ox bellowed, and the Donkey rearedup its legs and hee-hawed. Mary and Joseph joined the cast.Jim and the actors continued blocking the rest of TheMasque. They repeated each line and each move, makingsure their stage positions were right. I had never viewed thisbehind-the-scenes preparation before, only the wonderfulfinished product with its costumes, a chorus of angels, andbeautiful music.

I rushed off to see if the angels were still singing in theMUSIC ROOM of the Laurie Arts Center. Mr. Artz wasplaying a recording of a Masque song sung by aprofessional early music group and played on authenticinstruments of the medieval period. He asked the children

to listen to the different instruments – the bells and thedrums. Mr. Artz was excited about the music, and hisenthusiasm was contagious. “We are singing a moremodern version of ‘Personent Hodie,’ arranged by Holst,”Mr.Artz informed the members of the chorus. He played hispiano, and they began to sing. He urged them to roll their“R”s and to “purify” their “O”s, to sing with Latinpronunciation. The 18 angels stood on the risers in themusic room and sang a variety of pieces. Some Irecognized, but not all. Mr. Artz has changed a few over theyears. One piece is in French, another in English, others inLatin. One is about the birth of Jesus and another written forthe Huron Indian tribes. I closed my eyes and got lost in themusic. The “signature tunes” lulled me and brought me

James Glossman (far right) directs a rehearsal ofThe Masque.

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back to the days when my daughter was a Doorway Angel.“Diction,” Mr. Artz would stress while they were singing,“Louder.” “Crescendo … energy,” he directed. And then itoccurred to me that Jim and Allen were endeavoring toachieve the same end – to urge the students to producewords and actions that can be fully understood by theiraudience. Both men give criticism when it is due and praisewhen it is deserved. Theirs is a most adult treatment of thesubject at hand, whether it be music or drama. The JuniorHigh angels were given a five-minute break before joiningthe rest of the cast in the Hall.

Right next door in the LOWER SCHOOL MUSICROOM, Lower School Music teacher Jeanné Brown wasseated at the piano helping four Sixth Grade girls improvetheir singing skills to enable them to audition formembership in Group, Far Brook’s chorus. They weresinging “If I Know.” I recognized that from MorningMeeting! Then the girls turned to “Cloud Ship,” a Tyrolesefolk song, in their Song Books and sang not the words, butthe syllables Ta-Ta for the notes. Jeanné reminded them tosit up straight and to take a big breath before beginning. Thegirls first sang together and then on their own, as they mustduring the audition. “Stay on pitch – it’s important!” Jeanneadvised them. Each began tentatively, quietly. Then as theyrelaxed, their singing improved. “That wasn’t too bad,” oneremarked, happily relieved. They only had one more weekto practice. Next week they would sing without pianoaccompaniment.At the end of the session, I wished the girlsgood luck and headed homeward.

DAY 3 – DECEMBER 7I skipped a day and returned to school on a lovely,

sunny 45-degree morning. All was quiet. Everyone was inthe classrooms. The only sound was that ofArt Gannon andhis leafblower tidying up the parking lot macadam. Insidethe Middle School building, I found THIRD GRADERS

in their classroom sitting on the rug in a large circle, beneaththe sunny windows, following along in their books asteacher D’Ann Ippolito read the last pages of DylanThomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales. The reading of thisshort classic is a Third Grade tradition. I remember mychildren reading it, too, a long time ago. (Could it be 19years?) I also remember the High Tea that follows, when thechildren bring teacups from home and drink tea and eatscones, jelly babies, fudge, ice cakes, allsorts, dried fruits,hard boileds, and toffee to celebrate the holiday season,English style. But I am getting ahead of my story. Aftercompleting the book, Mrs. Ipp reviewed the story scene byscene with the children. “Who were the first characters wemet?” she asked them. “Snowball the cat!” childrencheerily replied “And what were they going to do?” ThirdGraders raised their hands eagerly and called out theanswers as Mrs. Ipp pointed to them. “Then we met anothercharacter,” she led them into responding with, “Mrs.Prothero… hitting the dinner gong.” It is such a lively storythat Mrs. Ipp had the students act out some of the scenes.The children volunteered to play the firemen with theirhoses from one scene and the Old Lady and the cocky boyfrom another. Everyone enjoyed the action includingteacher JoAnn Tutino, who was correcting math homeworkat her desk. I borrowed a copy of A Child’s Christmas inWales from JoAnn and was invited to join them all for HighTea on Monday.

In the adjoining room, FOURTH GRADERS weremunching on apples and oranges, while listening to a student

The chorus of angels rehearses for The Masque.

D’Ann Ippolito reviews A Child’s Christmas in Waleswith her Third Graders.

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read his humorous story featuring the antics of Big Head, a152-foot-tall character from another planet. Apparentlyeveryone had written a “creature story,” and I was there intime to hear the last one to be shared with the class. TeacherRebecca Campbell explained that the assignment followedthe reading of the Scottish tale The Water Horse of Barra. Inthis story, the horse is a magical creature that changes into ahuman being. In the students’ creative stories, their creaturesalso had to go through a change.Writing skills were stressedand the children were asked to include leads to their stories,support for their main ideas, and similes to enrich theimages. Teacher Marnie Stetson worked with one student ona book review that was to be added to the ever-growingnumber of reviews available to the Fourth Graders for extrareading. The class was going on a field trip to the NewarkMuseum to look at the Ancient Egypt galleries shortlyafterwards. Before getting on the bus, the students weregiven time to run around and play in the spring-like weather.The boys gravitated toward the field to play soccer, and thegirls played “hurricane” by joining hands and twisting like agiant whip or sat on the swings. Rather than running out thedoor myself, I examined the holiday images that covered thewindows. The designs were inspired by The Masque, but inthe Fourth Grade the focus is on creating images that exhibitthe students’understanding ofAncient Egyptian art. So, theirwindows displayed characters from The Masque as theymight have appeared on an Ancient Egyptian tomb wall.

DAY 4 – DECEMBER 8It was an extremely bone-chilling Friday, much colder

than a normal early December day. First I dropped off AChild’s Christmas in Wales in the Third Grade. It is not an

easy read. First published in 1945, it is a child’s view ofChristmas in a time and place different from ours. “It’s allabout language,” said Mrs. Ipp when I handed her the book.

Across the hall is the Fifth Grade room. I went in thefront door and out the side door, following the studentsdownstairs to the MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE room.There was a lot of excitement building there, and the roomsmelled like dessert! Each year Fifth Graders study thehuman body, and they were learning about cells. Thestudents were seated at black lab tables with their ediblemodels of animal cells in front of them, waiting to beexhibited. Then teacher Debbie Snyder gave the studentsone minute to stand in front of the room and describe theparts of their cells: the cytoplasm, nucleus, lysosomes,mitochondria, golgi complex, vacuoles. Their cells wereas diverse as their imaginations. There was a largebrownie, a custard pie with fruit, a chocolate cake withlicorice, Jello with M&Ms for the nucleus, and Twizzlerribosomes. A super huge sugar cookie cell had gummybears, marshmallows, and a large jawbeaker for thenucleus. There was one red blood cell with no nucleus atall. At last the feast began. Both Jim Benz (Director ofUpper Schools) and Murray were invited to join the FifthGraders, and, of course, they couldn’t resist the fun.Murray stayed till the very end of the class, helping to dishout the yummy cells and talk with the children. Aftercleaning up, the students dashed back upstairs to take aquiz on the Mycenaeans and Minoans. I planned toobserve them in their room at another date.

Into the warmth of the FRENCH room I went next.There, too, the windows were painted with colorful bells,angels, and stars. French teacher Alice Fournier and fourJunior High students were awaiting the arrival of ThirdGraders for a combined activity. They appeared shortlyFourth Graders enjoy the spring-like weather in December.

Murray Lawrence doles out the edible cells during aFifth Grade science class.

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afterwards with the Lower School French teacher CatharinaGreenberg and received a cheery “Bienvenue” from Alice.She explained that the Third Graders had sketched self-portraits in their French class and had written simpledescriptions of themselves in French – their sex, age, hairand eye color, etc. The Junior High students were to try tomatch the picture and description with the student. In smallgroups, the Third Graders stood, a little nervous, holding thesketches before them and read the sentences, not of theirown, but of their classmates. How else would they challengethe older students? Each short bio ended with “jem’appelle___________.” Some of the voices were so quietand timid. Some of the children had a little trouble with theirpronunciation. It was so cute to watch. Though the childrenare introduced to the French language in Kindergarten, whenthey are in Third Grade it is the first time they write inFrench. And after the activity? There was another feast, ofcourse! Chocolat chaud avec madeleines, the typical Frenchcookies. Two moms provided the surprise snack. Thechildren wished each other “bon appetit” and Alice told thechildren the difference between une tasse, a cup, and un bol,the large bowl from which hot chocolate is drunk in France.I left the sounds of munching, sipping, and conversingbehind me. It was time for me to go home.

DAY 5 – DECEMBER 13It was cloudy and misty, and the forecast called for the

mid-50s – in December!! All was quiet on campus as Imeandered over to the Hall where The Masque was inprogress. It was dark inside and I was just in time to see theangels process out through the rear door. Enthusiasticapplause followed the players. I had missed theperformance!! After all the rest of the students emptied outof the Hall to begin their school day, the players returned to

speak with woodshop teacher Pam Rosenberg about anyproblems they might have with their costumes and to placetheir costumes in the closet until the evening performance.As for me, I had classrooms to visit.

Outside it was beginning to rain lightly, and I worriedabout the camera that hung over my shoulder and about mypad with four days worth of notes written on it. Fortunately,it was a short distance to the FIFTH GRADE room. Mathbooks were open on every desk, and the students were in themidst of a lesson on fractions and equivalent fractions. Allthe children were chatting amiably, helping each other withthe work before them. It is a Far Brook belief that if you canexplain something, you really understand it. Teacher EllenMaddrey and assistant teacher Sarah Beck, were circulatingamong the children, as well, and they went over all theanswers with the whole class afterwards. When a classmatesuddenly entered the room, all the Fifth Graders stoppedwhat they were doing, applauded and congratulated her onher portrayal of the Raven in The Masque. They were sosupportive. Then there was another swift change. All mathbooks were stowed, and the children readied themselves forwhat I was told was Reader’s Theatre. Despite the fact thateveryone was excited about vacation in two days, there wasmore work to be done. The students had been paired up toread a book and then to be ready to reenact one of thescenes. The first pair read Pictures of Hollis Woods byPatricia Reilly Gif. They grabbed their scripts, copies of afew pages from the book, while the rest of the class drewtheir chairs up to the front of the room where the stagingwould be. The skit began with a summary of the events inthe book which lead up to the scene, and continued with theaction of the chosen scene itself. The scene I observed was

Third Graders drew self portraits in French class.

Fifth Graders act out a scene from a book.

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about the memory of a trip to the top of a mountain. Wewere all enthralled. The “audience” was encouraged to askquestions about the book, and they asked, Why? Why?Why? I left as the next pair was assembling for their re-enaction of a scene from A Week in the Woods.

It was raining hard, and I ran back to the administrationbuilding for my umbrella. Protected by the arc of fabricabove me, I made it to the far end of the Junior Highbuilding and teacher Sally Chernoff’s room where theSeventh Grade SCIENCE students were seated on theirhigh stools at the lab tables. They were facing Sally and alarge screen with a projected photograph of Bylot Island inBaffin Bay, Québec, Canada, north of the Arctic Circle. (Iam so lucky to be able to see this stuff!) Sally was showingthe class photos taken at 15-minute intervals from 12:25p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on July 25-26 – in perpetual daylight.Another image was of the Earth, its tilt, and the sun’s rayson the Earth. It’s not only the length of the day, but the angleof the sun’s rays that is different in the various seasons, sheexplained to her attentive students. “Why do you think thelight is pale in the winter?” Sally asked them. They hadalready studied energy and understood that it is due to theslant of the sun’s rays. The energy is spread out, and thelight appears more pale. “What do you see [in the picture]?”Sally asked. One student observed, “The South Pole hasnight all the time.” Another added, “The North Pole haslight all day.” Sally pointed out the angle of the sun’s rayson the South Pole and asked in what location are the raysperpendicular? The answer: “At the equator.” Next, theycompared how the sun’s rays fall on the Earth as seen inslides taken at the spring and fall equinoxes. The lesson wasover, and Sally asked her students to be prepared for a quizon energy conversion during their next meeting.

The room was empty for a few minutes, then EighthGraders took their places at the lab tables for a PHYSICALSCIENCE lesson. I sat at one of the tables with an emptystool. Sally first reviewed by asking her students what thepoint of their last experiment was. “To see that pressure canbe equal in two containers of different sizes even when theyhold different weights of oil,” responded one of the girls.Sally drew pictures of two partially filled containers ofdifferent sizes on the SMART Board in the front of theroom. A dotted reference line connecting the tops of theliquids was drawn across both of the containers. In theexperiment, oil was placed on top of the water in thecontainers, and Sally added another line to the diagram onthe Board. She spoke about the weights of the oil beingproportional in the two cylinders. The dialogue continuedabout the size of the containers, the area of the containers,and the ratio of the pressure and the areas. I cannot explainthis lesson very well, but the students were obviouslyunderstanding the concepts. I asked one of the students if Icould follow along in the book.

Pressure = weightarea

Each pair of students had worked on the lesson during aprevious class, taking measurements of the liquids and thecontainers and calculating the pressure. During this class,they all shared their findings, and the ratios were about thesame. Sally collected everyone’s lab books to see theconclusions drawn after the experiment. In this way shecould be sure that they all understood the lesson. Class wasnot over yet. They continued to talk about density, weight,volume, and mass. (You should see my notes!) I was trulyamazed at what Eighth Graders are learning today!!

Seventh Graders study about adaptation inbiological science class.

Eighth Graders study pressure and densityin physical science class.

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A little later I moved to the SECOND GRADE room,just across the courtyard. Multiple activities were in motionin this spacious room. Math teacher Jill Bauer was workingwith a group of children, incorporating the introduction ofthree-dimensional shapes with the creation of holidayornaments. I asked one of the little girls what shapes she wasmaking. She was pleased to tell me that the Kwanzaa candlewas a cylinder with a crumbled tissue paper flame, thedreidel was a cube and a square pyramid, and the Christmasornament was a cube. The cube was decorated with thewords Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love on its sides. All thechildren would have a chance to make holiday-inspiredshapes out of paper, color them, and glue them together.Other children were reading an article in the NationalGeographic Explorer magazine about “Tiny Invaders”(germs) and answering questions about the ways that germscan enter the body. Of course, they had to answer in fullsentences. Two boys were on the floor, working diligently onplanet posters. The planets were drawn to scale. One wasdrawing the rings around his Saturn. They told me that theplanets were in order. “What does that mean?” I asked them.“In the order of the universe,” I was told matter-of-factly.Several other children were working on their posters in therear room. Teachers Joan Rabinowitz and Sue Levensonwere circulating around the rooms helping wherever theywere needed – gluing the edges of the shapes together,answering questions, or encouraging artists at work.Completed posters hung on the walls around the rooms andthe windows were painted with cheery holiday images.

DAY 6 – DECEMBER 15Was this really December 15? It felt like May!! It was

almost 50 degrees when I began my day and it was slated togo up to 59! The sun was shining, and Fourth Graders wereoutside playing with their sweatshirts tied around theirwaists. In the Nursery room, the children had just finishedmaking cookies and were off to the sandbox or to the artroom. Naturally I stopped to take pictures. They are thecutest!

I headed over to the Laurie Arts Building with the soft,warm wind on my face. In the ART room, art teacherNancy McIntyre was demonstrating how to glue glitter onpaper to five Nursery children. This would be the finishingtouch to their clay turtle projects. I sat at one of the tableswith the children, and they enthusiastically told me abouttheir turtles. First, they shaped the turtles out of clay, then,after they dried, they painted them, and then “Nancy putthem in the oven like cookies.” They all chatted away withme, loving to tell me all about their turtles and about otherstories, too. In preparation for this meeting, Nancy hadadhered each turtle to a sheet of purple paper with velcro.Next came the glitter. Nancy poured out a pool of liquidwhite glue, and the children smoothed the glue withwooden popsicle sticks onto their own paper “pond” wherethey wanted the glitter to go. They had a choice of green,silver, or multi-colored glitter and they knew exactly whatthey wanted and where they wanted it. Nancy applied theglitter for them (to avoid an enormous mess, I guess) andshook the excess off. The “ponds” were glistening in notime!! Nancy explained that the children had been learningabout turtles with teacher Bill Deltz in the Nursery, and thelittle ones quickly chimed in about the turtle and fish that

Second Graders show off their planet posters.

Sticky Nursery Fingers! Look carefully and you will seethe turtle in the pond.

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they have in their classroom. Soon teacher Kate Achilarrearrived to bring the next group of Nursery children to artand to collect the first five. She took special care in helpingthem carry their ponds back to their room so the glitter andturtles wouldn’t fall off. The new arrivals took their seats atthe table, and Nancy began to tell them about the use ofglitter on their purple “ponds.” This was a quieter group ofchildren, very intent on their work of spreading glue ontheir paper, and picking glitter colors. When they werefinished, they carried their ponds to Sports with Kate’s help.

It was so beautiful out. Across from theArts Center, thedonkey was braying in the corral and a black cat sat on thehill facing the sun. The Junior High students were havingtheir lunch outside on the bleachers by the green, grassysports field. I rested on the bench in front of the Junior Highbuilding in my shirtsleeves! It must have been 55 degrees.Behind me, the holiday windows were also basking in thesun. The images there were a sign of the diversity at FarBrook – dreidels, Jewish stars, and menorahs next to anativity scene and an angel with widespread wings. Therewere scenes from The Masque – a rooster, fruit, a brightstar, and bells, all executed in brilliant colors. Then SixthGraders burst forth from the Middle School door at the end

of the walkway. They, too, would get a chance to be outsidein the unusual weather. They headed for the playground,and I followed. Some of the girls pushed Kindergartners onthe swings, others chatted in groups by the trees. Still otherschose to play some kind of tag with the boys in the lower,flatter section of the playground where there is room to run.On my way to my car, I passed Fifth Graders sitting on thestairs outside of their classroom, also enjoying the sunshineon this last school day before December break.

DAY 7 – FEBRUARY 27Yes, you are reading that right!! I went off to Florida to

enjoy the weather there and didn’t return to Far Brook untilFebruary 27, right afterWinter Break and a snowstorm. Theconstant sound of drip, drip, drip greeted me as I walked upthe stairs from the parking area. The melting snow wasrunning down the downspouts and dripping from the eaveseverywhere. Shouts of joy were coming from the snow-covered play area where Fourth Graders were rolling overand over, down the hill in their snowsuits and boots. Iquickly retrieved the school camera from the Second Graderoom where it had been used to take photos of “familysharing,” when parents join the class and talk about theirspecial interests.

I followed several Second Grade students who werepassing by into the WOODSHOP below. Sabrina, theblack “shop cat,” was curled up in her box on teacher PamRosenberg’s desk. The children got right to work. Threebegoggled boys and girls were energetically filing away onrough pieces of wood held in vises, chatting as they worked.They quickly corrected me. They were rasping, not filing!At another table, Pam helped one of the boys saw straightdown with a coping saw following the line he had traced on

Sixth Graders team up with Kindergartnerson the playground.

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his block of wood. This would take the shape of a lion verysoon. (There are green footprints painted on the floor, whichI had never noticed before, to show the students where tostand while they work.) At another table, Pam aided adifferent student by gluing the wings onto his airplane’swooden fuselage. In the far side of the large L-shaped room,two girls were wearing smocks while painting animals fortheir “big farm,” named Wilbur’s Farm. They, and a fewother girls, had made owls, pigs, a dog, and other animalsfor their cooperative project. The pig was being painted abright pink, and the owl was getting finishing touches –white eyes and yellow ears. Some of the other animals weredrying on another table. The boy with the airplane joinedthem and began to paint his plane bright green with a graytail. Back on the other side of the room, the raspers weresanding. “Why?” I asked them, loving to talk to with thestudents. “Sanding eliminates the rasp marks” and “It givesit a nice, soft texture,” were some very satisfactory answers!All of a sudden it was time to clean up, and we were all outthe door.

My last class to visit was theNURSERY.All the littlestFar Brook students were sitting in a circle on the rug withteachers Bill and Kate. They were talking about local birds.Kate held a soft model of a bluebird (you know, like astuffed animal) and pointed to its white and pink belly andblue coloring. Did they know the difference between a bluejay and a bluebird? They raised their hands and answeredwhen called on. “A blue jay has a crest,” one little girlanswered. One boy explained that a crest is the hair on thebird’s head, gesticulating toward the top of his own head.Kate helped him to remember that birds have feathers ontheir bodies, not hair. “Bluebirds sing,” remarked anotherboy, and when Kate squeezed the bluebird, it sang. One ofthe boys placed the bluebird in the middle of the circle.Then Bill asked the children, one by one to reach into the

“nest” hanging from the wall, to retrieve a bird, and toidentify it. The first little boy pulled out a tufted titmouse,carefully squeezed it to release its whistle, “Pete, pete, pete”and placed it next to the bluebird sitting on the rug. The nextbird was a sparrow, which tweeted like a house sparrow.The red cardinal with its crest was next. The next little girlpulled out a blue jay. When it was squeezed all the childrencalled, “Jay, jay, jay” together. Next, a black-cappedchickadee was retrieved from the nest. “Is that the one thatclimbs down a tree?” one asked. “No,” a chorus of voicesanswered. And so the Nursery children continued pullingout birds from their “nest,” identifying and squeezing them,sometimes adding extra information, until the mourningdove, hairy woodpecker, red breasted robin, starling, anuthatch, and a big black crow were lined up on the floorwith the array of other colorful birds. I could not identify allof those birds, but these little children could. Every once ina while Bill asked one of his students to count the birds infront of them, and in the end there were 13. Then it wasstory time, and Bill called on the children, one by one, andasked them to give some information about any one of thebirds before they got up and moved to the other side of theroom where Kate waited for them with a book on her lap.

I ended my day as I began it, in the Second Grade room.I had returned the camera after taking two rolls of film of thechildren around the campus. I was just in time to partake inthe donut-eating celebration of one of the girls’ birthdays.The sky never brightened and it drizzled a little. TheKindergartners came out to play, sledding down the hill,screaming and laughing as they careened toward the bottom,just before the end-of-the-day bell rang. I walked back downthe stairs, past the dripping snow, toward my car, as thechildren ran by me on their way to the buses or to car pool.

Finishing touches are added in paint in the woodshop.

A Nursery child counts the birds while the others look on.

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Winter has thawed into spring as I complete my winternotes in early April. The weeping pink cherry tree is inbloom, and the other flowering trees are in white profusion.Nancy Muniz is on the sports field with the Middle Schoolgirls, warming the team up for a softball game with Gill St.Bernard’s School. Eighth Graders are arriving in the Hallfor The Tempest rehearsal. Seventh Graders are outsideburying seeds in the sand to increase their understanding ofthe study of adaptation in science class. (Think camouflageequals survival.) The Nursery children are frolicking in theplayground. First Graders are passing around a large yellowdaisy and practicing the phrase “Donne la fleur a [the nextperson’s name].” The end-of-the-day bell rings and theNursery boys and girls are the first to line up for pick-up,soon to be followed by the rest of the students. The softballgame is in full swing on the field. Murray E. LopdellLawrence is well ensconced in the Head of School office,and life at Far Brook is good.

Florence Givelis married Mike Stratas

BOARD OF TRUSTEES2007-08

Jeff Kronthal, PresidentAlice Davison, Vice PresidentMary Sue Fisher, SecretaryBarbara Pagos, Treasurer

Murray E. Lopdell Lawrence, Head of School

Donna ChahalisBusiness Manager andTransportation Supervisor

Caroline L. SargentDirector of Advancement

Patricia LawlerDirector of Development andPublic Relations

Mary MurphyDirector of Admissions andPlacement

Jim BenzDirector of Upper Schools

Paula LevinDirector of Lower School

Dorothy O'NeillDirector of Finance

Marcela FigueroaAdministrative Assistant to theHead of School / AdministrativeAssistant to the Directors ofLower and Upper Schools

Kathy IkeAdmissions Assistant

Peggy FawcettDevelopment Associate

Janice O’SheaDevelopment Assistant

Janet FurchakReceptionist / School Secretary

Melissa StampoulisKitchen Coordinator

Arthur GannonCaretaker / Maintenance

Rachel FilzerSchool Nurse

Joseph Baker ’62Carol Chartouni

Kevin CoxDonna DeLorenzo Deltz

Lisa Dworkin

Suzanne GlattKathy Hatfield ’81Tom Kligerman

Kate LeeJohn Park

Dan ReisenGina StrainAmy ZiebarthJohn Zweig

ADMINISTRATIONMurray E. Lopdell Lawrence, Head of School

OTHER NEWS

Florence Givelis, former Far Brook First Gradeassistant teacher, was married to Mike Stratas on June 10,2007. The wedding was held at St. Constantine GreekOrthodox Church in Orange, NJ, with her sister, formerDevelopment Office Assistant Helen Savas, as her maid ofhonor. The couple honeymooned in Greece. Florence andher husband, a high school teacher, will live in Alabama,where she hopes to get a teaching job.

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By HELEN KAPLUS

This past fall, Education Night was held onOctober 18, 2007, and as always, the Hall was filledwith current parents who wanted to be informed

about their children’s lives at Far Brook. For many, it wastheir first opportunity to hear our new Head of School,Murray E. Lopdell Lawrence, speakabout his vision of what Far Brookwould become under his watch. Forme, it was an exciting moment.

Murray, as he prefers to becalled, needed no introduction, butstood patiently by the podiumwaiting for the buzz of the audienceto die down. When he called themeeting to order it was in severallanguages, “Buenas noches, bonjour,guten abend, and kia ora” (Maori).

Murray, using no microphone,spoke with ease and authority, andonly referred to his notesoccasionally, especially whenquoting sources. I recognized somesort of British accent, which I nowknow is from New Zealand. He firstdedicated the evening to retiredteacher and Head of Lower School,Carol Silver, who had passed away afew days earlier on October 13. Thenhe thanked our “gem of acommunity” for welcoming him twoshort months before that night and acknowledged that, afterreading four of Mary’s past Education Night speeches, hewould be briefer than her famous addresses to the parents.He quoted Mary’s 2005 speech in which she exhorted thecommunity “to HOLD FAST to the unique and inspiringvision of Far Brook: to TREASURE the mission of FarBrook, to KEEP ALIVE the overreaching purpose of FarBrook and its Magic; to NOT ALLOW Far Brook to becompromised by passing fads or fancies, to MAINTAIN thedistinctive excellence which sets this school apart, and toMAKE SURE that future generations will be able to say, asmany graduates of the past have said, ‘Far Brook is thegreatest gift my parents ever gave me.’”

Murray chose the theme for his speech and for his firstyear at Far Brook from the title of a conference he attendedyears ago, “New Vision: Enduring Values,” and he spoke atlength about those values, which he calls the Three “R”s of

Education – Relevance, Relationships, and Rigor.The Relationship ingredient encompasses the Far Brook

community, “a group of individuals bound together by amission.” In what he called his “short knowledge of FarBrook,” he declared that he was struck by an underlying FarBrook premise expressed by its founder Winifred Moore inher book Roots of Excellence, “Far Brook seeks not

imitation, but a community ofinspiration.” He was – and still is –impressed by what Far Brook doesto inspire the children – aninspiration that lasts a lifetime. It isthe “craft of our teachers,” hecontinued, which is so important tothis school. They make possible theprocess as much as the product.They are concerned with the journeyour students are on and its enduringRelevance for their lives. Anotherimportant ingredient is theRelationship the children have witheach other. Far Brook has alwaysencouraged them to help and learnfrom each other.

Relevance is another of theThree “R”s. Murray spoke oflearning that it is not just an exercise.Children must learn how things fittogether in a meaningful way andsee why they are Relevant to theirlives. This is why Far Brook teachesby themes. Themes integrate

concepts into an understandable whole. Teaching cyclically,for example, learning about the Middle Ages in theKindergarten and again at a more intense level in SixthGrade, enables knowledge to sink into the children’sawareness. Murray told us about a study that shows that bythe time most students leave high school only 2% of whatthey have learned will be relevant for the rest of their lives.A “Learning Pyramid” diagram best shows the Relevance ofvarious teaching methods. The lecture method results in a5% retention level, but the Far Brook preferred methods ofteaching others and practicing by doing have proven 90%and 75% retention levels respectively. So what is FarBrook’s objective? To inspire the students to become excitedabout learning and to the use the arts as the base of apowerful and Relevant Far Brook education.

The third “R” is Rigor, and discipline is also part of FarBrook’s mission. Murray believes that Far Brook’s children

Murray E. Lopdell Lawrence’sNew Vision of Far Brook

New Head of School Murray E. LopdellLawrence leads his first Thanksgiving

Processional.

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learn how to work and to extend themselves, to develop andrealize satisfaction from their work. They learn to enjoy theeducational journey they are on and to value excellencethrough their teachers and each other as role models. Yes,there is a product as well as the process and it is self-discipline, developed throughout the years of a Far Bookeducation, that helps students to reach their goals.

Murray spoke about the power and importance of FarBrook’s passionate group of faculty members and, as histalk drew to its conclusion, introduced each one and askedhim or her to stand and be recognized by the admiringparent body. Murray ended with this quote from WinifredMoore’s Roots of Excellence, “From the murmur and thesubtlety with which we vex one another, give us rest. Makea new beginning and mingle again the kindred of nations inthe alchemy of love. And with some finer essence offorbearance temper our mind.”

The Fifth Grade Play,Sophocles’Oedipus at Colonus

The Fourth Grade Play,The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor

DevelopmentAt Far Brook

By LISADWORKINChair, Development Committee

Congratulations once again to the Far Brookcommunity for a successful 2006-2007 philanthropic year!

The Annual FundIncredible support for the Annual Fund continues to

grow. The 2006-07Annual Fund will be the most successfulever, having already raised over $430,000, and the finalresults are not yet in! The School relies on theAnnual Fundfor nearly 10% of its budget to support day-to-dayoperations. The continued success of the Fund enables FarBrook to competitively compensate our faculty and staff,provide innovative materials and programs that support astimulating classroom environment, maintain Far Brook’scampus facilities, and more. With outstanding currentparent participation of 94%, and with many of these gifts atthe level of Fair Share ($1,575 per student) or greater, ourresults surpass many schools of our size and age. TheSchool also received many generous gifts from alumni,parents of alumni, grandparents, faculty, and staff. Suchparticipation and giving clearly demonstrate sharedcommitment to this extraordinary institution and thecreative and remarkable education it offers our students.

The success of this year would not have happened if itweren’t for the dedication and efficient guidance of awonderful Annual Fund team of leaders – Carol Chartouni,Kathy (Van Deusen) Hatfield ’81, Nanette DiTosto, andMichele Iverson. Their leadership – and the generousresponse of Far Brook donors – has meant success for ourteam of Annual Fund solicitors and a banner year forFar Brook!

Endowment and Capital GivingLast year, in honor of long-time Head of School, Mary

Wearn Wiener, the Board challenged the community toraise over $1,000,000 in additional Endowment funding intwo years, in lieu of the previously projected three. As acommunity, we did, indeed, meet this challenge by raisingover $1 million ($1,033,977) in gifts and pledges by earlyJune 2006. As of June 2006, Far Brook’s endowment hadreached an impressive $3,662,856!

This year, there are a number of projects that needour attention.

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Special ProjectsWe are now engaged in a 2007 Special Projects effort

to raise $300,000 as follows:� $100,000 to renovate our beloved Old Library,

built by the children in the 1930s� $50,000 to purchase a Student Laptop Cart, with

24 to 30 laptops� $150,000 to restore ourmarsh/wetlands area and

to construct a Boardwalk observation deck for thestudents

Carol Chartouni is chairing the fundraising effort forthese special projects, along with fellow Board membersLisa Dworkin, Suzanne Glatt, Amy Ziebarth, BarbaraPagos, and several other volunteers. We have startedmaking visits to talk with parents, alumni, and other friendsabout these special projects.

And there is some very exciting news to relay aboutTheHyde and Watson Foundation, which has supported FarBrook generously over the years. They contributed two giftsof $100,000 each to the renovation of Moore Hall. Theyhave committed $50,000 toward these three projects. We arethrilled with this news. We are now at over $90,000 towardour goal of making these important projects a reality.

EndowmentFar Brook’s Endowment, just a little over $25,000 in

the early ’80s, is growing. With payments coming in on FarBrook’s first seven-figure gift – an anonymous gift from aFar Brook alumnus – our Endowment will top $4 millionthis year, for the first time in the School’s history.Endowment will continue to be an important priority andarea of growth for Far Brook over time. Approximately 4%of Far Brook’s Endowment supports all areas of ouroperating budget each year, including faculty benefits,scholarships, and special funds. Here are some of theinventive ways members of the Far Brook community arehelping Far Brook.

The James E. and Elizabeth Hughes EndowmentScholarship is now fully funded, and we look forward toawarding this scholarship for the fall of 2007. Thisscholarship endowment fund was created by alumnusJames E. Hughes (Jay), Class of 1956, in honor of hisparents, Betty and Jim Hughes, who were foundingmembers of the Far Brook community. His father wasPresident of Far Brook’s Board for five years in the ’50s,and his mother was very active in Far Brook life.

The Fredda S. Leff Special Projects Endowment Fund– This fund was created in memory and in honor of FreddaS. Leff, an alumni parent and Far Brook Trustee from 1992-97. This fund was created in Fredda’s memory in 2005 byher husband, Bruce, and their children, Far Brook alumni

(Continued on page 25)

The Sixth Grade Play, Epidicus by Plautus

The Seventh Grade Play, George Bernard Shaw’s St. Joan

The Eighth Grade Play, A Drop of Ashes,from the writings of Edgar Allan Poe

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Grand Friends Morning – April 27, 2007Grandparents and Other Special Adult

Friends Visited Far Brook

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By HELEN KAPLUS

Carol Silver, a much loved and respected part of theFar Brook community, passed away on October 13,2006. Carol was hired as a part-time Nursery

teacher by Far Brook founder Winifred Moore and laterbecame the full-time Third Grader teacher. One of her giftsto Far Brook was the integration of the theme of Child andUniverse into the daily lives of her students through herlove of literature and poetry. It is now the core of the SecondGrade education. Carol’s second gift was the NativeAmerican curriculum, developed with Mary Wearn Wienerwhen they taught the Second and Third Grades together.That core-study remains intact in the Third Grade today. Asthe Head of Lower School, Carol supported and advised theteachers in Nursery through Third Grade. After 23 years ofteaching, she retired from the classroom in 1993 to give herfull attention to her role as Head of Lower School. She alsobecame involved in the screening of candidates for theKindergarten program. In an interview in 1994, I askedCarol if she missed having her own class. She replied,“Now I have all the classes … I’m excited about being ableto work with the children more. …What engages me mostis seeing the children become involved in intellectualpursuit … knowing that I have touched the lives of childrenand teachers in some way.” Her gift was her love for FarBrook, her love for “being part of all that’s happening here.”When she retired from teaching, the Board of Trusteesgifted her by creating The Carol Silver Endowment forStudent Scholarships to honor her outstanding years ofteaching and mentoring. In 2000, Carol retired from herposition as Head of Lower School.

Murray E. Lopdell Lawrence became the new Head ofFar Brook in the summer of 2006, and after meeting withthe faculty members it became “abundantly clear” to himhow important Carol was to the School. “Every teacher inthe Lower School mentioned her as a major influence intheir lives and their teaching.” He got the sense that Carolwas one of the “triumvirate of woman – Winifred Moore,Mary Wiener, and Carol Silver – who made Far Brookeducationally successful.” She trained so many of theLower School teachers and inspired them. “They carry herflame,” he concluded.

�I recently sat in the Third Grade room and reminisced

with D’Ann Ippolito about Carol Silver. D’Ann taught withCarol in the Third Grade for 17 years. These are some of hermemories:

D’Ann met Carol when D’Ann’s son, Chris, was in Far

Carol Silver’s Bequest

Brook’s Nursery. Carol was the Nursery teacher then. Carolwas the Third Grade teacher when Chris was in ThirdGrade, so he spent another year with her. D’Ann remembersthat Carol was one of his “all-time favorite teachers.” Christold Carol that there would always be a place for her in hishome for Christmas.

D’Ann considered Carol her “very dear friend” and hermentor, as she was to many others. “She was a teacher’steacher,” according to D’Ann. Carol always said they madea terrific team, that they complemented each other. D’Anntold me that after working for so many years together, Carolwould start a sentence, and she would finish it!

Carol was very proud of being the Head of LowerSchool and endeavored to create a special atmospherewhere learning could be exciting for the teachers as well asfor the children.

Carol brought out the best in teachers, especially asHead of Lower School. She was very warm, patient, andthoughtful, and she was well-respected.

D’Ann recalled that Carol was very enthusiastic aboutlearning herself and never stopped yearning to know more.She loved language, music, plays, films, poetry, andliterature. She used to say to D’Ann, “Let’s go into the city.I’ll drive.”And off they’d go to the theater, a museum, or anart gallery. Sometimes [Kindergarten teacher] Leslie Pennywould go with them, too. And it was a tradition for Carol togo with D’Ann, Leslie, MaryWiener, and Mary’s mother tosee a theatrical production of A Child’s Christmas in Wales

Mary Wiener with Carol Silver in theFirst Grade Classroom

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and have dinner in Montclair each December. Mary readDylan Thomas’ book at Morning Meeting each year over afew mornings, and D’Ann still reads it with her ThirdGraders each year. It is from the book A Child’s Christmasin Wales that the High Tea, celebrated by Third Gradersevery year, originated.

Carol was also a fabulous cook. According to D’Ann,her lemon pound cake was “to die for.” Her dinner partieswere fabulous, too, and she loved to entertain the LowerSchool teachers every year.

Carol took unusual care to honor the children’s work.She was the first to take time to make sure their artwork andpoems were lovingly hung on the wall to show respect forthe young artists. She believed that the displays had to makesense to the children and to classroom visitors. “I want yourroom to sing,” Carol would say to the teachers. It wasimportant that from the moment you stepped inside, theclassrooms conveyed the feeling that exciting things weregoing on.

Carol cared deeply about Far Brook, its traditions, andits teachers. Far Brook was her family. She always said theteachers are its greatest strength, and she spent a lot of timenurturing the new faculty members. She was alwaysavailable to help them.

In her later years at Far Brook, Carol spent more andmore time in the other Lower School classrooms and lessand less time in the Third Grade, making it an easytransition for D’Ann and her students. Carol felt that shehad left the class “in good hands.”

D’Ann says she “loved Carol dearly” and misses her.There is so much around Far Brook and in the classes thatreminds her of Carol.

Carol always seemed to find the perfect book for eachgrade. D’Ann gave me a copy of one of Carol’s favoritepoems to include here. It is one of four poems which wereread at Carol’s funeral. Our Children

by Nancy Wood

Our children are like flowers to us.Each one different.Each one beautiful.Each one growing strong with us.

Our children are like stars to us.Each one sparkles.Each one moves through the universe.Each one closer to the heat of us.

Our children are like life to us.Each one precious.Each one unpredictable.Each one having to let go of us.

Third Grade Boys Enjoying High Tea

Second Graders create imaginative aliens as part of theirChild and Universe core curriculum.

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�

Former Far Brook HeadMaryWearnWiener shared hermemories with me, too. She spoke again and again abouther love for Carol Silver as a woman and as an educator,using lists of laudatory adjectives: “She was so vital, soalive, so funny, and so generous of soul and spirit.” Maryloved Carol and considered her to be “the most magnificentwoman” who became her role model.

Mary and Carol met when Carol was teaching Nurseryfor Director Winifred Moore, but Mary really got to knowCarol when they taught together for two years before Marybecame Far Brook’s Director in September 1979. Mary hadbeen teaching in the Fourth Grade for ten years whenDirector Peter Babcox asked her to consider a move into theLower School. Mary remembers looking across thecourtyard into Carol’s room and loving what the childrendid. She wanted to learn more, so she and Carol launchedinto a “mutual, rich learning experience” that would last foryears. Mary wondered what it would be like to work soclosely with the Head of Lower School. She learned rightaway how accepting and supportive Carol could be whenshe asked Mary which class she would like to teach. Marylearned later that she and Carol were “revered” and“considered mythical teachers” by parents and facultymembers, and so the “stars” were joined together to form aclassic relationship and curricula that still shine today. WithCarol in the Second Grade and Mary in the Third, changeswere afoot. The Second Grade did not have a corecurriculum at the time and Child and Universe was taughtin the Third Grade. They decided to give those grades ashared curriculum for the full school year and to alternatebetween two core studies. They began to develop the NativeAmerican core curriculum at the suggestion of Far Brookart teacher and intellectual Bill Johnson. Bill was right, the

subject was rich in possibilities and that first year gave birthto the Thanksgiving Feast still celebrated each year at FarBrook.

Mary returned to other memories of Carol, citing manyinstances of Carol's generosity of spirit. Even years afterCarol retired, Mary said she came back to Far Brook to visiteach Lower School teacher in the beginning of September.To start the year off, Carol would bring a beautiful gift toeach teacher “to feed” them and “keep them going.” Theywere gifts to inspire. Mary believes that Carol was “alwaysa giver, never a taker.”

“What a fabulous person she was!” exclaimed Mary asshe got out her tissues to wipe her teary eyes. Sheremembers that when she was 35 and Carol was 50, shethought to herself, “If I can look like that and be that vibrantat that age, I’ll be thrilled. She is my role model!”

After being diagnosed with lung cancer in the summerof 2005, Carol “faced her illness very bravely.” Her“nobility of spirit” never faded. Whenever Mary and herhusband, Louis, took her out for dinner, Carol would rest allday, so she would be fun to be with. Later, when Carolcontracted leukemia, she courageously stopped thetreatments when they caused more problems than shewould tolerate. Carol told Mary that she wanted to live tothe fullest. In fact, she threw a party in NewYork in June of2006. Mary admired Carol's straightforwardness, eventoward the end. Carol asked Mary to read a poem at herfuneral. And, of course, Mary was honored to fulfill thiswish for a long-time colleague and friend.

Again Mary reiterated her admiration for Carol and herlife. “Her taste was unerring and she was artistically andintellectually discriminating. … And she knew how toconnect with children. They loved her because sherespected them. … She embodied the essence of FarBrook!” Mary remembers going into Carol's room “for acharge” when she was having a problem and needed to “get

Kachina Masks Made by Third Graders While They AreStudying The Southwest Native Americans

Mary and Carol at Mary’s 60th Birthday Party

23

in touch with the heart of Far Brook.”Carol’s sons and family were a great source of joy and

pride. Her sons are amazing, accomplished people. Jon is apsychiatrist in New York City. Sandy is a researchoncologist affiliated with the University of Michigan atAnnArbor and lectures all over the world. Carol loved hergrandchildren whom she often brought to Far Brook whenthey visited her.

Mary summed up her love and esteem for Carol Silver:“She was one of the finest people I've ever known, in everysense of the word.”

�

I also interviewed Paula Levin, long-time Nurseryteacher and the Director of Lower School since 2004. Herfirst words about Carol Silver were, “She was an amazingteacher! She was mymentor.” I smiled and nodded my headwhen I heard Paula repeat those now familiar words. Caroland Paula taught in the Lower School together. Paula firsttaught in the Kindergarten, then in Nursery, while Carol wasin the Third Grade room. Paula said she was excited aboutteaching before having met Carol, but Carol “ignited [her]interest. … It was amazing to be in her presence.” Carolcould sit and talk about the children all day. She reallyunderstood them. She always asked herself, how dochildren think? How do you motivate them? Her firstteaching experiences were with Nursery children and sheloved the open-endedness in the Nursery classroom. Shetranslated that learning environment in the Nursery into theother Lower School grades. She discovered the means toexcite children through integrating art as part of thecurriculum and encouraged teachers to use art and music in

unique ways. She showed them how to honor the children’sartwork by properly and meaningfully displaying it. Paularemembers going into Carol’s Third Grade classroom at theend of the day and looking at the children’s work on thewalls. She could tell exactly what Carol was teaching bywhat the walls told her.

Carol was constantly learning and loved to go tomuseums where she found inspiration and curriculum ideas.She believed in the power of poetry and loved bringingpoetry into the children’s lives. Carol also understood thebeauty of geometry, symmetry, and patterns. She foundways to use art to connect and integrate all areas of thecurriculum. She further developed the Child and Universecurriculum, created the Native American study with MaryWiener, and more recently initiated the study of patterns inFirst Grade.

“Most importantly,” Paula emphasized, “Carol was amentor to our teachers.” Carol “empowered them to do theirbest” through her never-ending support and her ability tohonor the work each teacher did with the children. “Shehelped articulate how young children learn and gaveteachers and parents a framework for understanding earlychildhood education.”

“Carol was truly an innovative educator. Paulaconfirmed that Carol made the Lower School what it istoday. “Her imprint is still here.”

Murray Lawrence shared this moment in a condolenceletter to Carol Silver’s family: “… I was so pleased to meetCarol … on the first morning of this new school year. Carolknew that morning would be my first Morning Meetingand, I believe, she wanted to see into whose hands FarBrook’s future had been placed. I was so moved that sheopenly embraced and shared her approval.

“I remember, and cherish that moment, the momentwhen she touched my cheek and affirmed that all would bewell for this next chapter in Far Brook’s journey!”

�

Ed. Note: The last time I saw Mrs. Silver was lastsummer while I was doing the layout for this publication. Iwas in the conference room working at the large table, andI heard her voice as she was making her rounds, sayinghello to whomever was still at school after classes were out.She came in with a big smile on her face and that same oldmischievous twinkle in her eye that was an integral part ofher persona. She was dressed in jeans and sneakers andwore a bandana around her neck. She had a young, bouncystep. That is how I will remember her.

As Head of Lower School, Carol worked with Nurserystudents, Kindergartners, and First Graders, too.

24

Dance DayBy HELEN KAPLUS

On May 30, 2007, Far Brook students enjoyed aspecial Dance Day made possible by the Fredda S.Leff Special Projects Endowment, created in

Fredda’s memory by her husband, Bruce, and their children,Far Brook alumni Matthew ’94 and Fara ’98. Far Brook’sdance teacher Lydia Johnson and members of the LydiaJohnson Dance Company presented a lecture/demonstrationon choreography and dance.

Four young women and three young men dancersdressed in rehearsal clothes stood before the seated LowerSchool students in the bare gym when I entered. There wasno stage, just a shiny wooden floor and a few chairs. Whata rare opportunity for the children to be so close toprofessional dancers!

Lydia spoke to the children about counterpoint. Then,when the four women began to dance, they did not dance insynchronized steps, as you would expect; they weredemonstrating counterpoint. They moved gracefully thougha series of postures “in canon,” on and around the stationarychairs with the music. Lydia called them “phrases incanon,” like singing a song in canon (in a round), andexplained to the children, step-by-step, the elements of thecounterpoint dance. “The movement must always go withthe music, and the movements must go together,” Lydiadetailed.As she described the shapes the dancers made withtheir bodies, the young dancers went through the briefmovements involved in a particular section of the piece sothe children could see the separate elements of the dancebefore it was put together and danced in its entirety. Lydiaalso spoke about the music by Philip Glass, a contemporarycomposer many of the students were already familiar withfrom her classes. The children raised their hands inrecognition of his name. Then they watched the piece with

all the smaller “phrases” put together to create the larger,complete dance.

The next piece was a classical one danced by twowomen to Beethoven’s String Quartet in A Minor. Lydiaasked the children to look at the “dance sentences” andcount the shapes as the dancers “wove together the shapes,”while she counted out the beats in the music so the childrencould easily follow the timing. This was done without themusic, and when the piece was performed again with themusic, Lydia asked the children to listen for the change intempo and to watch the dancers speed up.

“Let’s look at what the men can do.” Lydia nextintroduced young three men and another piece of music,three songs by Ray LaMontagne. First, she counted out the26 movements of the powerful leaps and spins for thechildren and then asked for volunteers to join the dancers.Nine Second and Third Grade boys offered to jump acrossthe gym floor with four big preliminary steps. They jumpedinto the air as high as possible at Lydia’s request. Theaudience enthusiastically applauded them as much as theyhad the dancers. Next, women dancers demonstrated anelegant split-like jump, and many girls volunteered to tryemulating it. Lydia assured the rest of the children that theycould all do leaps in their dance classes at a later time. Thegirls leapt across the gym like young deer.

Lydia spoke about another type of dance “where thedancers touch each other,” and her dancers danced acharming pas de deux for the children. Lydia stressed theincreased need to practice when dancing in pairs. When awoman jumps up, she needs to be confident that the man

Lydia Johnson explains the elements of a danceto the children.

25

will be there to catch her so that she can concentrate onexpressing her movements. Were there any volunteers to belifted by the men dancers? You know it! Lots of girlswanted to try. Three students were lifted in turn by thedancers and agreed that it was not as easy as it looked,especially when Lydia asked them to add raised arms to themovement. “Choreography is like writing,” Lydiaexplained to her rapt audience. “First you write thesentences, join them to make paragraphs, and then you havea whole piece.” Lydia’s preparatory demonstration ensuredthat the students were ready to watch the complete piece.“Don’t worry about the story,” she advised, “just relax.”Weall watched the movements come together to create a wholedance/story, one that would inspire the students to make uptheir own dances in their classes with Lydia and toappreciate the elements of dance whenever they view aperformance.

After a short break, Lydia and the dancers presented asimilar program for Fourth and Fifth Graders and later still,Junior High students witnessed a program whichculminated with a dance to the entire Beethoven piece.

��Lydia Johnson has a master’s degree from Brandeis

University and has studied at SUNY Purchase, the AlvinAiley American Dance Center, and with numerous dancestudios in New York. She has received special grants andawards for her work, including a Monticello FoundationAward from The National Association of Regional Ballet.She receives funding from the New Jersey State Council forthe Arts.

“Lydia Johnson is a true original whose choreographyrepays close attention.” – Jennifer Dunning, The New YorkTimes, March 2004

(Development, continued from page 17)Matthew ’94 and Fara ’98, to enable Far Brook to havespecial learning opportunities that fall outside of dailyclassroom experiences. In 2005-06, the School enjoyed aPercussion Day. [See article on page 24 on this year’sDance Day.]

The Faculty Endowment Fund, is a growingendowment that supports summer faculty projects. A grantwas awarded last year to Jill Bauer, math teacher for GradesSix through Eight and math enrichment teacher. Sheconstructed curriculum mapping software specifically forFar Brook.

We also received lovely gifts this year in memory ofCarol Silver, who passed away in October 2006. The CarolSilver Endowment for Student Scholarships was createdby the Board at the time of her retirement. Carol was a long-time teacher and Head of Lower School at Far Brook for atotal of 30 years. [See article on page 20.]

Several other funds are growing every year, includingThe Elliott Averett Family Fund for Teacher Benefitsand The Hite Scholarship, which assists scholarshipfamilies with the necessities of school life that fall outsideof traditional financial aid awards. The OpportunityScholarship Fund for Excellence will be awarded nextyear.

JJ KK

Sincere thanks to Far Brook’s Development staff team –Carol Sargent, Director of Advancement; Patricia Lawler,Director of Development; Peggy Fawcett, DevelopmentAssociate, and Janice O’Shea, Development Assistant – whowork with all our volunteers in these exciting fundraisingchallenges.

Thank you to everyone who participated in giving thispast year.

Note: This article is updated from the DevelopmentReport at the May Annual Meeting.

26

LETTERS

August 8, 2006Thank you for including so many alumni in the notice

of Mary Wearn Wiener’s retirement. She was a pillar of theschool even when I was there 20 years ago! (Did I really saythat?) I was also quite interested to see The Star-Ledgerphoto of myself [in the Far Brook Star, June 2006] (whichat the time I hadn’t even been aware of) playing Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Also – now that I myself am in the independent schoolracket [Director of Communications, Colorado RockyMountain School] – it’s great to see a reminder of FarBrook’s values in my mailbox as I consider how I landedwhere I did in my own journey.

Hello to any teachers who are left from the ’80s.Jeremy Simon ’87Carbondale, COjsimon@crms.org

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November 2, 2006I attended Far Brook from Nursery though Second

Grade in the 1970s. Although I went to a number of differentschools afterward, Far Brook was always with me. Readingyour Web site I now see that Far Brook determined who Iam in a very significant way. It gave me an appreciation ofmusic, art, tradition, and made me the kind of learner thathas enabled me to become a scientist [biologist]. I alsobelieve that Far Brook is responsible for enabling me to findso much joy in life.

Thank you,Tina Takacs-Vesback ’82Albuquerque, NMcvesbach@unm.edu

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November 2006Gretchen [Wolpert] is 93 years old and living in an

assisted living residence in Arizona … She will always loveFar Brook and its many happy memories for her over thepast 50 years. …

[Ed. Note: Gretchen was the mother of Carolyn and ofRobert Wolpert ’62, who was Far Brook’s Junior HighFrench teacher 1980-82. Mrs. Wolpert died on May 7, 2007.See “In Memoriam,” page 45.]

Carolyn Wolpert HallockArizona

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Bottom and the Mechanicals in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, 2006

December 4, 2006Carol [Sargent],

Hi! The Kopliks are all fine and still miss our Far Brookdays. Hope you are doing well. We know Far Brook isdoing just fine. It’s fun to still be included in the updates.

Although Rick and I can’t make it to meet the newHead of School on December 14, we do wish you all thehappiest of holiday seasons.

Rick and Dannie KoplikNew York[Alumni Parents]

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December 18, 2006Carol [Sargent],

Thanks for a lovely message. I will follow up with Peter[Wiley ’57] tomorrow. Interesting that I was thinking of himthe other day when you mentioned that Brad [Wiley ’54]and [his wife] Linda were coming to school. Peter and I metat Far Brook in the first grade and found we were bothliving in Chatham. Eventually, we lived only a few blocksfrom each other. After he left to go to Pingry in the sixthgrade I caught back up with him when I went there. Wewere classmates for a long time. I haven’t seen him in many,many years. I did hear his voice and knew it immediately ina wonderful history he wrote about Admiral Perry and theBlack Ships at the time of the opening of Japan. I wonderhow many others of us from the early years at Far Brookhave become published authors. I suppose that with[teacher] Mrs. Dodds, [teacher] Mrs. Wright, and [formerDirector of School] Mrs. Moore, the apples couldn’t fall farfrom the tree.

Thank you for your reverie on The Masque. I re-readmy hand-made block print copy annually just to remember

27

The Raven takes center stage in The Masque.

The Angels of The Masque

the wonder of it and all the parts I played. A shepherd; theass; Joseph (with, as you know, Sally [Adams Chernoff’57]); a king – I can’t remember which one, but I thinkBalthazar; and the Narrator. Truly a life changingexperience.

Christus natus est!Best Back, Jay [James E. Hughes, Jr.] ’57Aspen, CO

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December 2006Thanks for contributing to the world by continuing with

a very good tradition! I have very good memories of school– still vivid – now long ago!

Ava Bry Penman ’58Brookline, MA

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December 2006We are sending our two children Aviva (7) and Lev

(4 ½) to an art-based Jewish school next year, partlybecause it reminded me of Far Brook.

My company, The Ariel Group, just started a non-profitthat will seek to build leadership capacity for social justiceby delivering Ariel Group’s theater-based programsthroughout the world.

The kids and I are starting to be able to sing rounds –Far Brook lives on in our family!

Belle Linda Halpern ’76Boston, MA

March 1, 2007Hi there!

I’ve heard from a few folks that you published a nicenote in Reports about the passing of my mom, Mimi, andher contributions to Far Brook. …

I’ve been in touch with alums Sally (Fryberger) Braley’74 and Noah Miller ’75, and along with Vicky Turner ’75,we are hoping to pull together a mini-reunion of folks fromour era this coming summer. We’ll keep you posted!

Janet Berkow ’75Seattle, WAjberkow@real.com

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March 10, 2007My name is Judith Zub. I attended Far Brook starting in

1949 or 1950. My name was Judith Lee Porter. My brother,Kenneth Andrew Porter ’58, also attended. I am veryinterested in finding some of my classmates … our days atFar Brook were by far the most formidable of our lives. Westill talk of the Thanksgiving Processional singing “WeGather Together.” There was the “Christmas Play,” and theannual Shakespeare play of either A Midsummer Night’sDream or The Tempest. I can still quote from those frommemory. I remember [sports director Stewart Richardson]Ritchie Rich, Mrs. Dodds, [music director emeritus]

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Thanksgiving Processional

Mr. Finckel, and Anna Maria Perrott Rose Wright. There are so many memories that I am sure those who arethere now, do not know … Mrs. Moore was the Head of theSchool at the time.

I have been searching for Jill Siccardi ’59, Bebe(Elizabeth) Graves ’58, Karen Minich ’59, Susan Fish ’59,and a few others. Send out my e-mail address.

Thank you, Judy Porter Zub ’59Foxboro, MAJUDYZUB@aol.com

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March 26, 2007Hi Pat [Lawler],

All is well in Arizona. A few years ago I went back toschool for my masters and my Ed S (Educational Specialist)degree in Special Education. I am still working at theTucson Hebrew Academy. I am the Educational Consultant.I work with students who have learning disabilities. I alsowork with teachers and parents. I have been teaching at thisschool for nine years. I also teach classes for PimaCommunity College. I bought my first house two years agothis April. It has been very fun decorating it, painting it, andmaking it my own. Last summer I went to Barcelona andMadrid. This summer I will be traveling the East coast,spending time with family and my four nephews.

Please tell [Jr. High teacher and Head of Junior High] Ed Solecki that I say hi. After all these years, I still thinkabout him and Far Brook. I have the best memories frommy Far Brook years.

Hope all is well with you and the School.Warmly,Rebecca Cohen ’85Tucson, AZrcohen@thaaz.org

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April 9, 2007To Carol [Sargent],

It was great seeing you as well!!! Always brings out awarm feeling when I get over there! I want so badly for myson to have the same experience that I had growing up atFar Brook. I don’t know how many people could say theyused to share sardine sandwiches with their art teacher [BillJohnson] in elementary school!

All the best, Sara Guryan Galkin ’86Brooklyn, NYgalkinsara@mac.com

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29

May 2, 2007Hi Carol [Sargent]!

… I was always touched by my mom’s loyalty to andcontinuing involvement with Far Brook. As a formerteacher herself, she understood what a rare and preciousthing it is in a particularly deep and personal way. … Mydad worked a little something about Far Brook into Mom'smemorial service. I know she would have wanted that.Speaking of which, I was thinking of making a special giftto FB in my mom's honor. I was thinking about books orsomething library-related since that is something especiallynear and dear to her heart. … We'll definitely have to writesomething up for Reports about this reunion. … Noah[Miller] ’75, Sally [Fryberger Braley] ’74, and I have beene-mailing back and forth . …

Love,Janet Berkow ’75Seattle, WA

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May 15, 2007I had the pleasure of attending the gala for Mary

[Wiener] last June. Having been away from Far Brook formany years it was truly amazing to see how my FourthGrade teacher has transformed the School. And while FarBrook has grown and changed in so many ways, I am happyto see that the spirit, mission, and music have not.

My husband, Adam, and our three-year-old twin girlslive in New York City. We are planning on moving to thearea this summer.

Elyse Post ’78New York, NYenpost@rcn.com

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June 5, 2007Dear Pat [Lawler],

Billy ’01 just came back from a semester in Galway,Ireland – we think he majored in beer and ale tasting, notinternational finance. Krissy ’03 is excited to be going to theUniversity of Pittsburgh, which, of course, means that wehave a significant big east rivalry going on between Pitt andVillanova. Krissy will also be attending school for the firsttime in 14 years without Alex Snape ’03, but they willdefinitely stay in touch.

Lisa SchultzSummit, NJ[Alumni parent]

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June 16, 2007Dear Carol [Sargent],

It was so nice to be included in the luncheon forteachers and staff and I enjoyed meeting the new Head andmeeting a few of the new teachers.

Bruce and I would like to make a contribution towardthe renovation of the “old” library where I spent so much ofmy time in the ’80s.

Please keep in touch with us in our new home –Windsor Meads, 4715 Shotley Way, Williamsburg, VA23188.

Fondly,Althea MacWhorterWilliamsburg, VA[Former Librarian]

Parents of alumni: If this issue is addressed to your sonor daughter who no longer maintains a permanentaddress at your home, please notify the Development

Office of the current mailing address.

30

Alumni GatherAfter The MasqueDecember 14, 2006

Sing-along

Emily Solecki ’04, Ryan Stevens ’05,Anna Meiring ’04, and Kaitlin Stevens ’04

Nikhil Sawhney ’07 and Rose Koven ’06

Heather Chaffin ’92 and SegunAboaba ’96 with Murray Lawrence

Murray Lawrence, Sally Chernoff ’57, Linda and Brad Wiley ’54, and Jeff Kronthal

Ed Solecki, Will Koven ’04, and Max Arnell ’05

Farah Chaffin ’95, Abby Angelo ’97,and Heather Chaffin ’92

Zachary Filzer ’04, Rebecca Gallick’04, Lauren Kronthal ’04, and

Duncan Fisher ’04

Margarita Ortega ’01, Robert Koven ’01,Jasmine Thurmond ’01, and

Danielle Kane ’01

31

ALUMNI NEWS

ARTHUR GILLETTE ’53Attended: The Pitney School; Harvard University ’61;University of Massachusetts ’76

Congratulations to Arthur, who became a grandfatheron April 18, 2006. Arthur is still living in Meudon, France,and continues to guide strolls for the Paris Historiqueorganization (mainly for Parisians) and privately (generallyfor Americans or Brits). His pieces on life and adventures inFrance appear on www.franceonyourown.com and in thehard-copy monthly France Today. Last summer Arthurupgraded English teachers’ training at the Ting Yi LanguageSchool in Nanning in the western Chinese province ofGuangxi.

GEORGIA DIEHL VAN RYZIN ’76Attended: Skidmore College

Georgia has her own design business where sheproduces handmade fleece softwears – stroller blankets,hats, jackets, scarves, dolls, and ponchos. In 2006, Georgiaparticipated in many area art fairs and craft sales. You canview her colorful work at vanryzindesign.com.

JULIE BICK WEED ’79Attended: Newark Academy ’82; Cornell University ’86;University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business ’90

Julie is living in Seattle, Washington, with her husbandand three sons, ages 10, 8 and 6. She is “trying to inject abit of Far Brook” into her children’s lives. Her older boysare learning Far Brook songs on the piano from an old copyof an Ed Finckel book. The version of the Christmas storythey know comes straight from The Masque, complete withLatin-speaking animals. Julie continues to freelance for TheNew York Times Business section. Check out www.JulieBick.com.

SUZANNE SNYGG ’80Attended: Montclair Kimberley Academy; University ofCalifornia

Suzanne lives in England. She is working full time andgetting a master’s degree in environment and government atKings College in London.

LAIRD JOHNSON ’61Attended: Morristown-Beard ’65; Ohio Wesleyan ’69;Northwestern University

Laird retired in January 2007 after 26 years withContinental Airlines, flying as a Boeing 737 captain.

DAVID FINCKEL ’67Attended: Manhattan School of Music

David, alumni parent Phil Setzer, and the othermembers of the Emerson String Quartet have won theireighth Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music for the CD“Intimate Voices” anchored by a quartet by Sibelius. Davidplays the cello, and Phil is a violinist with the quartet.

Arthur Gillette ’53 (center) with John and Kelly Lawler(family of Director of Development, Pat Lawler)

David Finckel ’67 (right), Phil Setzer (left), and the Other Members of the Emerson String Quartet

32

CHARLES MILLER ’81Attended: Millburn High School ’84; University of Colorado;Alfred University ’89; Arizona State University ’94

Belated congratulations to Charlie and his wife, MonaBoewe, on the birth of Cole Hudson on June 22, 2006.Charlie is currently an assistant director for AcademicAffairs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences atArizona State University. He is also a faculty associate inthe Department of Religious Studies at ASU.

SPENCER SNYGG ’83Attended: Essex Catholic High School; New YorkUniversity; Rutgers University

Spencer lives in Pennsylvania and teaches film atDeSales University.

ANDREW EPSTEIN ’84Attended: Haverford College ’92; Columbia University ’00

Andrew lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with his wifeKara Gross and their daughter, Casey (5), and son, Dylan(2). He is the director of undergraduate studies for theFlorida State University English department, where heteaches 20th century American literature and poetry. Hisessays and poems have appeared in numerous journals, andhis first book, Beautiful Enemies: Friendships and PostwarAmerican Poetry, was recently published by Oxford Press.

MEREDITH FISHER ’85Attended: Choate – Rosemary Hall ’89; University ofPennsylvania ’93; New York University

Meredith wrote, produced, and directed a documentaryfor the History Channel entitled “Cannibalism: ExtremeSurvival.” It was aired in September 2006.

DWIGHT SCHULTHEIS ’89Attended: The Pingry School ’93; Kenyon College ’97;Babson College ’04

Dwight married Lauren Heller in Cape Porpoise nearKennebunkport, Maine, on September 16, 2006.Congratulations! In attendance were Jonathan ’90 andDavid ’90 Wolfe and their family. The newlywedshoneymooned in Greece for two weeks and are living inWaltham, Massachusetts. Dwight owns aMENity, a men’sshaving cream and grooming company based in New YorkCity. Check it out at www.getamenity.com

Charlie Miller ’81, his wife, Mona Boewe, and Cole

Erik Schwartz ’84 Frolicking with His Children

Dwight Schultheis ’89 and Lauren Heller on their Wedding Day

33

MATTHEW MANDELBAUM ’90Attended: The Pingry School ’94; University ofPennsylvania ’98; New York University

Matthew and his wife, Jamie, are living on the UpperEast Side of New York City. He is finishing his secondmaster’s degree, an Ed.M., with a dual certification inprimary education and special education from Bank StreetCollege. He teaches second grade at the Gaynor School, aschool for special needs students, in New York City.

JACOB LEVIN ’91Attended: Phillips Academy Andover ’95; PrincetonUniversity ’99; University of Pennsylvania’s WhartonSchool of Business

Jake is living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and works forSunTrust in the commercial mortgage finance group.

ALEXANDER BROUNSTEIN ’92Attended: The Pingry School ’96; Emory University ’00;Emory University Law School ’05

Alex left his law practice job and then traveled to Africafor three weeks in June. Upon his return, he will spend amonth in New York City working with friends Andy Zwick’96 and Arjuna Sundarum on their business-class hoteldevelopment project in New York City. Alex is helping tosolicit investors. In mid-August, Alex will be returning toAtlanta to embark on a new career in real estate consulting.His new firm is Robert Charles Lesser and Company.

DAVID HOROWITZ ’93Attended: The Pingry School ’98; Duke University ’02

David is a consultant for Accenture and lives in NewYork City.

LEILA KAPLUS ’93Attended: The Pingry School ’97; Georgetown University’01; Boston University School of Law ’07

Leila has graduated magna cum laude from BostonUniversity School of Law this spring. In July, Leila will besitting for the Bar exams in New York and New Jersey andhas planned a trip to Mexico in August to celebrate once itis over. She will be working at Arent Fox LLP in Manhattanbeginning in the fall, splitting her time between the healthcare, intellectual property, and real estate practices.

NOAH LEVIN ’93Attended: University of Michigan ’01; Lewis and ClarkLaw School ’06

Noah is working as an environmental lawyer and hiswife, Cay Yanca, is an environmental scientist. They bothwork and live in Portland, Oregon.

THOMAS BRADSHAW ’94Attended: Newark Academy ’98; Bard College ’02;Brooklyn College ’04

A reading of Tom’s play Purity was included in theCUNY Graduate Center’s 2006 Prelude Festival lastSeptember. The annual festival and symposium focuses onworks by some of New York’s most distinctivecontemporary theatre artists and companies. His play,directed by Yehuda Duenyas, also premiered at P.S. 122Theater in January 2007. His plays Strom Thurmond Is Nota Racist and Cleansed were produced on a double bill forfour weeks in February and March at the Brick Theater inNew York. He is proud to announce that Purity, StromThurmond Is Not A Racist, and Cleansed are beingpublished by Samuel French, Inc., this year. Samuel Frenchalso published his play, Prophet, in January 2007. Tom isalso the head of the undergraduate playwriting programs atBrooklyn College and Medgar Evers College.

BETSY SACKS ’94Attended: Millburn High School ’98; Skidmore College

Congratulations to Betsy and Jared Gell on theirmarriage on May 12, 2007. The wedding was held inManchester, Vermont, and Betsy’s maid of honor wasfellow Far Brook alumna, Rachel Haynes ’94. The couplewill honeymoon in Scotland in September. Betsy currentlyworks in fundraising at the Harvard University GraduateSchool of Arts and Sciences, where her colleagues includeFar Brook alumnus Matt Kernkraut ’94. She says she “loves[her] career in fundraising and would love to lend a handand some professional expertise to the Far Brookfundraising effort.” Betsy and Jared live in Somerville,Massachusetts.

Betsy Sacks ’94 with her Groom, Jared Gell

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ALISON WOOD ’94Attended: The Pingry School ’98; Harvard University ’01

Alison has been busy working in the music industry andpursuing her own music career since her graduation fromHarvard. Her acoustic guitar CD, At Arm’s Length, wasreleased in 2006. Alison has been playing concerts mostlyin the Boston area, where she resides, and occasionally, inNew Jersey and New York City. You can listen to samplesof her music at www.myspace.com/alisonwood. She sendsgreetings to friends and wonderful faculty!

AMY BROUNSTEIN ’95Attended: The Pingry School ’99; University ofPennsylvania ’03

Amy has just completed her second year of a three-yearmaster’s program in marriage and family therapy and ineducation (two degrees) at Seton Hall. She has also becomeinvolved in an organization called Team in Training, whichraises money for cancer research, specifically leukemia,lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and myelomaleukemia.Amy will be running in the Marine Corps Marathon, one oftheir fundraising events, which takes place October 28,2007 in Washington, D.C. She is living in West Orange,New Jersey.

JARETT KAPLUS ’95Attended: The Pingry School ’99; Georgetown University’03: New York University School of Continuing andProfessional Studies ’06

Jarett has been working at Roseland Property Companyin Short Hills since February 2006. He has been working onmany exciting development projects in the area, includingthe Livingston Town Center, the Epstein's redevelopment inMorristown, Port Imperial in West New York andWeehawken, as well as on projects in New York City,Westchester, and in the Greater Boston area. Jarettcontinues to live in New York City and reverse commutesto work each day.

SARAH KEIL ’95Attended: The Pingry School ’99; Brown University ’03;Northwestern University ’05

Sarah graduated from Northwestern with a master’sdegree in speech-language pathology. She is now living inNew York City and working at Blythedale Children’sHospital, a pediatric rehabilitation hospital. She says it’s a“wonderful place to start [her] career.”

MAXWELL MOORE ’95Attended: The Pingry School ’99; Northwestern University’03

Congratulations to Max and his bride, Kellie Farrah,who were wed on May 12, 2007, in Puerto Vallarta,Mexico. Classmates Mike Chernoff, Sarah Keil, and ScottKoplik flew down to join the festivities. Kellie is fromSydney, Australia, and she and Max met there during Max’sjunior year abroad. Max has founded his own business,MCM Consulting, LLC. He designs custom Webapplications and line-of-business tools. The couplecurrently lives in Portland, Oregon, and is planning to buytheir first home back east this year.

Mike Chernoff ’95, Sarah Keil ’95, Max Moore ’95, and Scott Koplik ’95 at Max Moore’s Wedding

Max Moore ’95 and His Bride, Kellie Farrah

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NICOLE POULIOT ’95Attended: Blair Academy ’99; Philadelphia University(formerly Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science)

Nicole has completed the internship program at thePrinceton Center for Teacher Education and is certified bythe American Montessori Society. She currently leads thetoddler after-school program and assists in two dayprograms at Princeton Montessori School. She feels that theMontessori philosophy has a lot in common with Far Brookand loves the creative environment. Nicole lives with herlong-time boyfriend, Frank McEntee, in a townhouse inNorristown, Pennsylvania, and is learning about the trialsand tribulations of home ownership.

LAURA GASSMAN ’96Attended: Philips Exeter Academy ’00; University ofPennsylvania ’05

After working for nearly a year with AmbassadorRichard McCormick at the Center for Strategic andInternational Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based bipartisanthink tank, Laura has relocated to New York City. SinceAugust 1, 2006, Laura has been working as a researchassistant as part of the ML Investment Banking ExecutiveClient Coverage Group at Merrill Lynch.

ARIANNA PAPASIKOS ’96Attended: The Pingry School ’00; University of Virginia’04

Arianna is completing her third year of dental school atUMDNJ and is applying for admission to dental specialtyprograms. Arianna lives in New York City.

ABIGAIL ANGELO ’97Attended: Livingston High School ’01, Rider University’05

Abby recently became engaged to Brad Palitucci ofGlen Ridge. Abby is currently finishing her teachingcertification at Caldwell College, where she has beeninducted into Kappa Delta Epsilon, a fraternity for honorstudents who serve others. Brad, an environmental scientistby degree, has chosen to follow the career of police officer.The wedding is planned for August 23, 2008.Congratulations to the young couple.

JORDAN MOORE ’97Attended: The Pingry School ’01; University of SouthernCalifornia ’05

Jordan is living in Los Angeles, California, working forthe Orange County Flyers (formerly the Fullerton Flyers), aminor league baseball team. He was previously a broadcastjournalism major and uses his skill on the radio and internetfor the Flyers.

MICHAEL HOROWITZ ’98Attended: Millburn High School ’02; Duke University ’06

Mike is a corporate analyst for Citigroup in New YorkCity, where he is living with friends.

BESS LEVIN ’98Attended: Livingston High School ’02; Amherst College ’06

Bess is writing for an online magazine, DealBreaker,and living in Manhattan.

AMANDA RICHARDSON ’98Attended: The Pingry School ’02; Amherst College ’06

Amanda joined the Far Brook faculty as a substituteteacher during the 2006-07 school year. She plans to attendColumbia University Law School in the fall. This summershe is working on an organic farm in Ireland.

JACY PAPASIKOS ’99Attended: The Pingry School ’03; University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill ’07

Jacy recently graduated from UNC at Chapel Hill andplans to travel in Europe before starting at the University ofPennsylvania Dental School in August.

ALEXANDER SPRINZEN ’99Attended: Summit High School ’03; New York University ’07

Alex has graduated from NYU this spring as asociology major. He’ll be working as a corporate paralegalfor Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, a law firm in New YorkCity. He was nominated by NYU for the RhodesScholarship in the fall, though he was not among thosefinally selected in this highly competitive process.

Abby Angelo ’97 is engaged to Brad Palitucci.

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DIANE ABRUZZINI ’00Attended: Newark Academy ’04

Diane currently attends Boston University. For eightweeks this summer, she will be participating in aWorldTeach program, volunteering in a school in Namibia.

JAMES LYNCH ’00Attended: Cincinnati Country Day School; AlbanyAcademy; School for Creative and Performing Arts

James completed his junior year at Beloit College inWisconsin, where he is a classical civilization andphilosophy double major. He is the singer with a heavymetal band, and he writes songs and plays guitar and drumsfor another band called Kohima. Next year, James willorganize Beloit’s rock festival, Vortex, and he is involvedwith the school radio station.

JEFFREY LYNCH ’00Attended: Cincinnati Country Day School; AlbanyAcademy

Jeff has finished his junior year as a theater major atNorthwestern University, where he is also interested inballet and jazz and contemporary dance. James organizedand choreographed his own spring dance shows for the pasttwo years.

JONATHAN WINNERMAN ’00Attended: Montclair Kimberley Academy ’04

Jon has completed his junior year at PrincetonUniversity. Continuing to pursue his interest in archeology,this summer he has been working on an excavation at theTemple of the Goddess Mut at Karnak in the southernEgyptian city of Luxor, under the auspices of JohnsHopkins University. Mut was the wife of the great nationalgod of Ancient Egypt, Amun, whose central temple atKarnak is the largest existing religious complex in theworld. In August, Jon may join another archeologicalproject in Turkey.

CHRISTINA CAPATIDES ’01Attended: Newark Academy ’05

Christina was a finalist in the 2006 Song of the YearContest sponsored by VH1’s Save the Music Foundation.Her song, “Speechless,” was entered in the folk category.The competition included singer-songwriters from all overthe world. Her debut album is entitled “Good MorningLove,” and its music is described by Christina as “modernfolk.” The 12 songs were written, played, and recorded byChristina after she took a course given by Sanjay Mishra,her professor at Georgetown University, where she ismajoring in English with a minor in psychology and music.Her album is available on iTunes, CDbaby.com, and allScotti’s Music Shops. Christina also wrote the music andlyrics for the Georgetown winter musical, Swimmy andOther Stories, based on the life and some of the works ofLeo Lionni (“Swimmy,” plus three other stories). Sheperformed in the three-piece ensemble accompanying theplay during the six performances in February. This summer,Christina will be working in the production department ofSesame Street in New York. She hopes, one day, to writesongs and scripts for children’s television.

EMILY ABRAMOWITZ ’02Attended: Kent Place School ’06

Emily has completed her first year at GettysburgCollege as an economics major with a political scienceminor. She is thinking about pursuing a pre-law degree.Emily is doing volunteer tour guiding at major eventsthroughout the year, as well as playing on intramural soccerteams. Her most exciting news is that she came into contactwith her birth family a few months ago and met them inTexas in May. She has two older siblings and a younger halfbrother. Over the summer, Emily is working in therestaurant at Bloomingdale’s in the Short Hills Mall, whereshe worked last summer and during her school breaks.Jonathan Winnerman ’00 in Luxor, Egypt

Christina Capatides ’01

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AFUAH AMPONSAH ’02Attended: Orange High School ’06

Afuah is attending Drew University, where she is apolitical science and linguistics major. She is in Kuumba, apan-African club, and Arielle, which is a Latin organization.Afuah plans to go into politics in the international sector,maybe the foreign service. Her ultimate goal is to work onthe economic and political progression of West Africa.

THAYER CASE ’02Attended: Phillips Exeter Academy ’06

Thayer has completed her freshman year at GeorgeWashington University. Her goal is to become an Englishmajor and go to law school. One of the reasons Thayerselected George Washington was to join the dance team. Itis called the “First Ladies.” They perform at basketballgames throughout the season and go to the A10championship with the team and the NCAA! The wholeseason they work toward the NDA (National DanceAlliance) competition in Daytona, held every spring.Thayer is also interested in environmental science and plansto work this summer for the Campaign to Save theEnvironment. Also this summer, Thayer plans to “go hometo England,” where she will teach children’s dance classes.

MICHAEL DESOUZA ’02Attended: Delbarton School ’06

Mike is currently attending Brown University, where heis an economics major. He plays intramural sports and is anactive member of the Filipino Alliance, a cultural group.

DEVON MCINTYRE ’02Attended: Kent Place School ’06

Devon attends Colby College in Maine.

JACLYN STRELL ’02Attended: Newark Academy ’06

Jackie is a student at the Universityof Hartford, where she is a psychologymajor. After catching soccer fever at FarBrook, Jackie was the leading goalscorer in the history of NewarkAcademy. She won county and statehonors and was Conference Player of theYear during her senior year. For herinternship project for Newark Academy,she worked with the head athleticdirector for the New York Red Bullssoccer team at Giants Stadium. NowJackie plays Division I varsity soccer atHartford, and her team made it to the firstround of NCAA play against Rutgers.

ZACHARY OPPERMAN ’05Zak is attending Montclair Kimberley Academy. He

believes that Far Brook prepared him well for high schooland that Far Brook will always be a part of him.

Rachel Terry ’06 and Sarah Fletcher ’06 at Fall Family Day

Class of 2006 in Costume for A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Alumni MemoriesBy JANET BERKOW ’75

On the weekend of June 23 and 24, an unofficial FarBrook alumni reunion took place, instigated by theclass of ’75, and attended by members of the

classes of ’73 – ’77, along with partners, spouses, children,and teachers. There’s a deep tie that binds us to this placeand to each other, and even after so many years away, it feltstrong and joyful to be back.

When you begin a round there is just one voice. Then the second comes in and then the third voice at just the right time, and sometimes a fourth after it,

all singing the same tune in their own time.Sally [Fryberger] Braley and Noah Miller (both ’75) had

talked for years about a reunion. Conversation between afew ’75 alumni grew into a plan and the invitation to gather.As word got around and “lost” friends were rediscovered,our eagerness and curiosity bubbled up. E-mails flew aroundthe country and overseas, as we shared stories and sorted outour collective memory. Noah and his sister, Jeni ’77, bothFar Brook parents now, started a friendly competition forclassmate RSVPs. While many of us planned to attend, therewas disappointment from those who couldn’t, so wepromised to share photographs and stories.

At last June arrived. We traveled from Michigan,

France, California, Washington D.C., and Washington state,and up and down the East Coast. As our cars rolled down thewinding road, we approached with a mix of emotions. Butonce we’d said our first hellos and realized that we still looklike us (just older), the welcoming laughter and warmthembraced us. What’s always connected us surfaced, and wefound that though we’d been on separate roads for a longtime, we really hadn’t traveled very far from each other atall. When you learn your part in the round and can sing with

confidence, the music transforms your voice intosomething much bigger, something timeless and beautiful.

This wasn’t a typical reunion – we knew that before wearrived. There was a lot of catching up to do with the 10people who’d been part of our class of ’75 (six from ourgraduating class of 12.) Our Second and Fourth Gradeteachers came too – D’Ann Ippolito and Mary Wiener, laterFar Brook’s long time Head of School. And meeting thechildren was astonishing. It was disarming to see themcarrying the spirit and spark of our friends so beautifully.With such warm connections between the grown-ups, thekids seemed to feel comfortable, too. Then there was themusic. Noah’s kids, Rachael ’08 and Brian ’12, begansinging with Jeni’s daughter Grace [Schwartzstein] ’11, afew of us joined in, and the Far Brook song book appeared.

Back row: Jamie Paddon ’75, Kris Erickson ’75, Jeff Miller ’74, Jon Pine ’74, Sue Warhaftig ’74, Tricia Muehsam ’74,Billy Bossert ’77, Scott Fleming ’73, Cindy [Hall] Steffens ’77 Middle row: Cynthia Post ’74, Jeni Miller ’77,

Sally [Fryberger] Braley ’75, Kate Paddon ’77, Jenny [Nadler] Wright ’75, Janet Berkow ’75 Front row: Renu Bery ’77,Vicky Turner ’75, Noah Miller ’75, Mark Thomas ’75, Elinore Morin ’75

Stuart Lederman ’75, Jay Gluck ’74, Will Rogers ’77, Heather Chaffin ’92, Elyse Post ’78, and Matt Cooper ’77 had left before the picture was taken.

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Once the singing started in earnest, everyone drifted into thecircle as we stumbled through “Summer Is A’Cumin In,”with all of the mead growing and seed blowing and animalsstarting and leaping. We sang all the songs we could thinkof, then the songs in the book that were common to bothgenerations, and found we remembered the words and theharmonies! One song we sang as a round was “Dona NobisPacem.” As we sang this simple request for peace, I wasenchanted by the sound of the kids’ voices mixed with ourolder ones, and everyone’s genuine delight in singing.

Once the round finds its rhythm and all voices are raised, it comes alive. There’s a moment when you realize there’s no beginning or end anymoreunless someone decides to stop singing.

It could go on forever. Nearly everyone stayed longer than they’d planned to,

but eventually it grew late, and good-byes had to be said.We promised to continue the conversations and stay intouch. It wasn’t entirely over yet though, as a group of usplanned to meet the next morning to visit Far Brook whereMurray E. Lopdell Lawrence, Far Brook’s Head of School,and Carol Sargent, Director of Advancement, hadgenerously agreed to host a tour of the campus.

There have been changes at Far Brook, but much hasstayed the same. We walked over the hill to visit ourbeloved Swamp first, then Mrs. Moore’s house, the oldJunior High, the woodshop (which smells exactly thesame), and then the Hall, the real heart of Far Brook. Manyof us remembered sitting in the front row at MorningMeeting, then traveling over the years to the very back row,as we became the big kids the rest of the school looked upto. We were grateful to find the Hall still felt right, withtradition singing from the old rafters. We continued touringthe classrooms, and after visiting the original Nursery andKindergarten, we gathered for a photo in the sandbox,where some of us first played together over 40 years ago.Nobody mentioned it, but we all felt the intensity of whatties us together, what’s lasted over time, grown smooth andpolished and familiar as a favorite stone in the pocket. Themusic and the language and memories of traditions, butmore deeply than that, we felt our roots, the ones Mrs.Moore used to talk about.

There are some basic truths about rounds. You can’t sing them by yourself,

they are simple with well-defined parts, and the last part fits perfectly with the first, so the song can be repeated over and over

without stopping. There’s a desire in many of us to give back to the

School in a meaningful way now, and time will reveal thenature of those gifts. For my own first gift, I wanted to writethis piece: to honor our class and the good people we’ve

become; to celebrate our grown-up understanding of ourparents’ commitment to us and to Far Brook; to honor mymom, Mimi Berkow, the founding editor of Reports; and togive current students and parents a glimpse of what FarBrook looks like in a child 40 years later. Our lives asdoctors, architects, parents, artists, teachers, builders,scientists, community leaders, and friends have growndirectly out of our Far Brook roots. I marvel at the waythings form a circle, and how by gathering together againwe remain Far Brook kids forever, souls shaped by theraising of our voices in song.

A round is a circle of music where one voice follows another,

singing the same tune but starting at a different time. When we get to the end we begin again.

Alex Winkler ’06, Marty Schwarz ’06, and Rose Koven ’06

Elizabeth Mazzarisi ’05, Darlene Curtis ’06, Rose Koven ’06, Donna Deltz, Zach Filzer ’04, Bill Deltz,

Duncan Fisher ’04, Tristan de Fontenay ’04, and Neel Sawhney ’04

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IN MEMORIAM

Kees Van Baaren, alumni parent, passed away onTuesday, April 11, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Valerie;daughters Noelle Rashida ’97, Michele, and Irene; son,Wouter; brothers Alexei, Peter, Freek, Michael, and Arthur;and four grandchildren.

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Franklin Lincoln III ’60 died on July 19, 2006. Hewas 61. Mr. Lincoln was born in Washington, D.C., andlater moved with his family to New Jersey. After highschool, Mr. Lincoln served in the Navy in the Vietnam War,then graduated from Northland College in Ashland,Wisconsin. He received a master’s degree from MontclairState University in 1974. He was a teacher for 17 years anda football and track coach at Irvington High School. He wasalso a long-time coach of the North vs. South All-Stars ofNew Jersey football game, head of the Craigmeur SkiSchool, member of the U.S. Ski Patrol, and a drum majorwith the Essex Shillelagh Pipes and Drums Corps. He issurvived by his wife, Anne; son, Franklin IV; daughter,Aileen; and sister, Carol Concors ’59.

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Daniel Isaac Cooper, alumni parent, died August 3,2006, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, following a heart attack.He was 80. He was a graduate of the Massachusetts Instituteof Technology, where he earned a Ph.D. in nuclear physics in1952. He later served as managing editor of Nucleonics. Hewas then publisher of International Science & Technologybefore starting Cooper Communications in 1973. He was theauthor of Enrico Fermi and the Revolutions of ModernPhysics. A navy veteran, Dr. Cooper is survived by his second

wife, Doris Tanner; his sons, Jonathan and Matthew ’77; adaughter, Ellen Epworth; and four grandchildren. He waspredeceased by his first wife, Bette.

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Richard Blinder, alumni parent, passed away onSeptember 7, 2006, in Shanghai, where he was working ona theater complex. He was 71. Mr. Blinder grew up in NewYork and earned his master’s degree in architecture at theHarvard Graduate School of Design in 1960. He started thearchitecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle with his partners in1968, and they developed a specialty in historicpreservation. The firm is best known for its renovation ofGrand Central Terminal and the Ellis Island ImmigrationMuseum. Mr. Blinder was the lead architect for the RubinMuseum of Art in the former Barney’s store in Chelsea and

Photos included here were taken in September 2006during the Junior High trip to Pok-O-MacCready

in the Adirondacks.

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for cultural projects like the Center for Jewish History andthe Henry Luce III Center for the Study of AmericanCulture. He also oversaw a renovation of the Japan Societybuilding, designed a new wing for the Montclair ArtMuseum, and helped found the Seventh Regiment ArmoryConservancy. Most recently, Mr. Blinder spent half his timein China planning a theater complex in Shanghai’s Luwandistrict. He is survived by his wife, Ellen; his daughter,Karen ’76; his son, Michael; and a grandson.

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Alfred Mann, husband of deceased past Far Brookmusic, drama, and history teacher, Carolyn Owens Mann,died on September 21, 2006. He was 89. Mr. Mann wasborn in Hamburg, Germany, and studied music at the MilanConservatory and at the Berlin Hochschule fur Musik,where Kurt Thomas and Max Seiffert were among histeachers. After teaching at both schools, he came to theUnited States with his mother as a refugee from the Nazis.He continued his education at the Curtis Institute of Musicand Columbia University. Mr. Mann held professorships atRutgers University and the Eastman School of Music inRochester. He was also editor of American Choral Review.Mr. Mann is best known for his translations of andcommentary on the works of the Austrian composer andmusical theorist J. J. Fux (1660-1741). His special interestwas how past eras thought about music theory and howfugue was taught in the 18th century. As a professionalperformer, Mr. Mann played the recorder and the doublebass and was a choral director. He is survived by his sons,Adrian ’64, John ’69, and Tim ’82; his sister, Louise Sierau;and six grandchildren.

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Bernard Karp, alumni parent, passed away onNovember 15, 2006, in Overlook Hospital in Summit. Hewas 80. Born in the Bronx, Mr. Karp received a bachelor ofarts degree in business administration from New YorkUniversity. He served with an artillery battalion at the battleof Monte Cassino, Italy, during World War II. After the war,he was stationed as a guard at a prisoner of war camp. Mr.Karp was a partner with his brother, Leonard, and vicepresident of Best Provisions in Newark, a family businessstarted by his father in 1938. He was a member of the AzureMasada Lodge number 22 F and AM in Cranford andTemple Sha’arey Shalom in Springfield. Surviving are hiswife, Charlotte; his children, Jonathan ’78 and Gregory; hisbrother, Leonard; his sister, Ruth; and five grandchildren.

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William Bardusch, Jr., alumni parent, passed away onFebruary 3, 2007, at Overlook Hospital, Summit. Born inMount Vernon, New York, Mr. Bardusch served in theArmy during World War II. He graduated from PrincetonUniversity in 1939 and from Columbia Law School in1941. He was an attorney with Dillon, Bitar & Luther,formerly Johnson & Bardusch, of Morristown for 65 years.Mr. Bardusch was a member of the Morrow MemorialUnited Methodist Church in Maplewood and of theAlgernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation in Mississippi. Hewas predeceased by his wife, Staunton, who died in 1997.Mr. Bardusch is survived by his children, LinwoodKenneally, Edward, and Staunton Snyder ’72; and fourgrandchildren.

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Charlotte V. Pendergrass, alumni parent, passed awayon May 9, 2007. She was 46. A teachers assistant at JohnHoward School of Excellence in East Orange, Mrs.Pendergrass is survived by her mother, Rose Harris; herbrother, Anthony Harris; her husband, Nicholas; and herchildren Jamilah Harris, Cassie Nichol, and Nicholas(Matthew) Pendergrass ’00.

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Carol Silver, beloved Far Brook Lower School teacherfor 23 years, passed away on October 13, 2006. Mrs. Silverreceived her B.S. degree from Mills College and continuedgraduate level work at Northwestern University inLiterature and Drama. She came to Far Brook in 1970 fromIllinois, where she had been the head of a nursery program.She first taught in Far Brook’s Nursery and then became theThird Grade teacher. As Head of Lower School, she had aprofound impact of the nature and quality of the LowerSchool programs. When Mrs. Silver officially retired fromteaching in 1993, the Board of Trustees created The CarolSilver Scholarship Endowment Fund to honor heroutstanding years of teaching and mentoring. She was oneof its frequent contributors. Mrs. Silver remained forseveral years as Head of Lower School and as a member ofthe admissions team. She retired completely in 2000. She issurvived by her children, Samuel (Sandy) and his wife,Nancy; Jonathan and his wife, Orli Etingin; and fivegrandchildren. [Please read “Carol Silver’s Bequest” onpage 20.]

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Richard R. Snape, alumni parent, died on March 1,2007, at home in Morris Township. He was 52. Born inAustin, Texas, Mr. Snape lived in Pennsylvania beforemoving to New Jersey. He graduated magna cum laudefrom Yale University in 1976 and had been co-chiefexecutive officer at Bridge Information Systems, presidentof Bankers Trust Financial Services Information Systems,and vice-president of sales and marketing at TelerateSystems. Mr. Snape had also directed an operating unit aspresident of SunGard Market Data Services. He had beenthe executive officer of BT Radianz since 2004. He was anavid skier and hiker and loved the New York City Ballet. Heis survived by his wife, Annette Teta; his son, Alex ’03; hismother Elizabeth Macht; his sisters Carolyn, and KatherineFox; his brothers Ian and Scott; half-brother, Paul Macht,Jr.; and half-sisters Becky Forman and Martha Sliwinski.

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Margaret Proctor Howarth, alumni parent, died onMarch 6, 2007, at the Merry Heart Health Care Center inSuccasunna, New Jersey. She was 92 years of age. Shegraduated from New York University in 1935 and was amath and Latin teacher with the Denville Board ofEducation in the late 1930s and early 40s. Mrs. Howarthwas a member and past president of the Women’s Club ofMillburn and past president of the Seventh District PastPresidents Club. She was elected district vice president andstate recording secretary, served on the State Board ofDirectors for eight years and then as president of the StateEX Club, later known as the Phoenix Club. She was aprofessional registered parliamentarian of the NationalAssociation of Parliamentarians and was president of three

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units, as well as president of the state association. She wasalso past president of her branch of the AmericanAssociation of University Women, past stateparliamentarian for the Society of the Daughters of theAmerican Revolution, and for the N.J. State Association ofParliamentarians. She served on the Board of Trustees ofthe Yard School and was a founder and charter member ofthe Pilgrim Church in Warren. Mrs. Howorth is survived byher son, Rod ’59; two granddaughters; and three great-granddaughters.

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Gretchen Court Wolpert, alumni parent, passedaway peacefully on Monday, May 7, 2007. She was 93.Mrs. Wolpert was born in West Chicago, Illinois, Shegraduated from Stephens College, Missouri, in 1932, fromDrake Secretarial School, New Jersey, in 1933, and fromParsons School of Design, New York, where she wassecretary to the director of the education department. Shelived most of her life in New Jersey, where she wasdedicated to the love of nature, particularly ornithology, toeducation, and to the cultural arts. Mrs. Wolpert waseducational director for several nature organizations inNew Jersey, and for 10 years she was secretary to thedirector of religion at Chautauqua Cultural Institution,New York. She was also an instructor of italic calligraphy,as well as director of the Madison-Chatham Adult Schoolin New Jersey for 17 years. She was a winter resident ofPhoenix, Arizona, for 12 years and most recently lived inColumbia, South Carolina, before moving to FountainHills, Arizona, in May 2006. She is survived by a daughter,Carolyn Hallock; a son, Robert Wolpert ’62; and threegrandsons, Thomas John Wolpert, Peter Odintsov, andScott Hallock.

Rose Segal Jacobs, alumni parent, died on June 6,2007, after a brief illness. Mrs. Jacobs was born in Newarkin 1911. For 50 years, she and her late husband, Dr. AlanJacobs, resided in Union. Mrs. Jacobs was a state tennischampion in the 1930s. She was a strong advocate of civilliberties. She remained active throughout her life. Mrs.Jacobs is survived by two daughters, Dr. Nancy Goldenberg’62 and Stella Jacobs ’63; and two grandchildren.

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David Noah Dubrow, 63, alumni parent, died on June13, 2007, at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston,following a long illness. Born in Newark, Mr. Dubrow wasa longtime resident of South Orange and Maplewood. Hegraduated from Columbia High School and DartmouthCollege. He received his law degree from RutgersUniversity and a masters in taxation from New YorkUniversity. An attorney practicing in New Jersey for over37 years, Mr. Dubrow was a founding partner of theMaplewood-based law firm, Stern, Dubrow and Marcus,and more recently was in a private practice and of counselfor the law firm of Stieber and Veloric in Livingston.Among his many contributions to the community, Mr.Dubrow served as a board member of the South MountainYMCA for many years; he was a recipient of the YMCAMan-of-the-Year Award. He was a champion of Achieve, atutoring initiative of the South Orange-Maplewood Boardof Education and was recently honored by the Board ofEducation with a lifetime achievement award. Passionateabout culture and the arts, Mr. Dubrow was anaccomplished pianist and recorder player. He is survivedby his wife, Francine; his sons, Aaron and Richard ’82; hissister, Marsha; brother, Alan, and grandson, Isak Leo.

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Presorted StandardU.S. Postage

PAIDNON-PROFITShort Hills, NJ

07078Permit No. 33

Address service requested

Far Brook School52 Great Hills RoadShort Hills, NJ 07078

ReportsFar Brook School (973) 379-3442 52 Great Hills Road (973) 379-6740 (Fax)Short Hills, New Jersey 07078

E-mail: plawler@farbrook.orgWeb Address: http://www.farbrook.org

Editors: Helen KaplusPatricia Lawler

Editorial Assistant: Peggy Fawcett

Principal Photographers: Helen KaplusWill Winburn

Special thanks to photographer Will Winburn for his commitment to chronicling events at

Far Brook.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Winter at Far Brook..............................................................1

Board of Trustees / Administration.....................................14

Other News ........................................................................14

Murray E. Lopdell Lawrence’s New Vision of Far Brook.......15

Development at Far Brook.................................................16

Grand Friends Morning ......................................................18

Carol Silver’s Bequest .......................................................20

Dance Day .........................................................................24

Letters ................................................................................26

Alumni Gather after The Masque.......................................30

Alumni News ......................................................................31

Alumni Memories ...............................................................38

In Memoriam ......................................................................40Wait ’til you see what we’ve got cookin’ for Far Brook’s 60th Anniversary!

The Medieval Feast was a royal success.