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60 Pages·2015·3.61 MB·English

Nobles
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive NON-PROFIT N
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THE MAGAZINE OF NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL WINTER 2015
Playing to Win
Chris Sun ’17 and Matthew
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Salomon ’18, are members
p. 42 H
of the chess team, advised E

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by faculty member Chris
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won its fourth South Shore A
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Interscholastic Chess League I
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championship since it joined E

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the league five years ago.
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Jeff Raider ’99:
A Visionary Guy
PHOTO OF THE DAY
When you make a gift to the Annual Nobles Fund,
you give the gift of creativity and collaboration.
October 5, 2014
Make your gift to the Annual Nobles Fund today.
Girls Varsity Cross Country huddles up before
racing against Middlesex in their last home Visit www.nobles.edu/giveonline or contact
meet of the season. The team won every home
Director of Annual Giving Casey Hassenstein at
meet and went on to finish third in the ISL and
[email protected] or 781-320-7011.
sixth at the New England Championships.
PHOTO BY BEN HEIDER
5 Nobles FALL 2012
contents
WINTER 2015
IN EVERY ISSUE
2 Letter from the Head

3 Reflections
What Nobles folks are saying on
campus and online
4 The Bulletin
News and notes
13 By the Numbers
Baby, it’s cold outside.
14 Off the Shelf
All about the books we read
and write
16 Sports
Recap of the fall varsity season
See story, p. 34
18 Development
Nobles Night 2014 honors grad
for volunteer work; campaign hits
$75 million!
FEATURES
20 Perspectives
A graduate and faculty member
24 Strength and Fragility find inspiration in far corners of
A Nobles parent’s camera clicks—and captures the beauty the world and on canvas
of adolescence
42 Graduate News
28 Cover Story: 20|20 Vision Nobles graduate updates: what,
If a big idea sees you sleepless: listen. when, where, why and how Nobles
grads are doing
34 The Tower Collection
Every collection has a story, and this one was engendered by a 56 Archive
love of letters (typography, that is) and a reading disability. What’s so special about the special
collection? History resonates in
Cover photograph courtesy of Warby Parker the library’s set of rare books.
Nobles
letter from the head
WINTER 2015
Admission Open House
Editor
Heather Sullivan
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Assistant Editors
Kim Neal
EVERY YEAR, ON A SATURDAY MORNING in the middle of ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF
October, Nobles hosts an admission open house. I look COMMUNICATIONS
forward to it. Applications are due in the middle of Janu- Ben Heider
DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCER/WRITER
ary. The admission process is in full and energetic swing
by the beginning of October, so it is the appropriate time Michele Costa-Bell
WRITER AND DIGITAL
to welcome people who are thinking about independent CONTENT MANAGER
schools—and is there a more beautiful time to see the Design
school, or one that is more nostalgically evocative of 2COMMUNIQUÉ
youth, than mid-October, with the leaves turning and WWW.2COMMUNIQUE.COM
the crispness of the fall air seizing the imagination? We Photography
Nora Belal
just pray for a sunny day. And this year was gorgeous, just like the admission office ordered it.
Tim Carey
Hundreds of families visit the campus, and we have well over a thousand guests, all between 9 Michael Dwyer
a.m. and noon. They get tours, visit a curriculum fair, and attend panel discussions on a wide range Ben Heider
John Hirsch
of topics, as we hope they capture the full array of programs and opportunities at the school. Many Leah LaRiccia
students, parents, admission officers and faculty members give their time that morning, enthusias- Rania Matar
Kim Neal
tically welcoming folks and explaining the intricacies of life at Nobles. I host two panel discussions,
which, because they run back-to-back, are really one open forum for anyone to ask me whatever The Editorial Committee
Brooke Asnis ’90
they want about Nobles or my perspective on the full array of challenges in American secondary
Greg Croak ’06
education. In truth, it really isn’t a panel; for an hour and a half, I am sitting alone on a chair on the John Gifford ’86
Tilesy Harrington
stage in Vinik Theatre, while people drop in and fire away.
Bill Kehlenbeck
It is great fun. Some people are there to see what sort of person leads a place like Nobles, trying
Nobles is published three times
to get a sense of my tone, manner, and values. Some are there to try to stump me, delivering ques- a year for graduates, past and
tions they have concocted that they think will leave me flummoxed (but the reality is that there current parents and grandparents,
students and supporters of Noble
isn’t much that hasn’t already come my way over the years). The great majority, however, are there and Greenough School. Nobles is a
co-educational, non-sectarian day
to discuss things that are on their minds about both Nobles in particular and independent schools
and partial boarding school for
in general. While there are certainly a range of queries, from cost and finance concerns to very spe- students in grades seven (Class
VI) through 12 (Class I). Noble and
cific program interests, one core question is posed over and over again, in various shapes and forms. Greenough is a rigorous academic
That is, essentially, “What makes Nobles special, and what is the value proposition that derives community that strives for excel-
lence in its classroom teaching,
from this investment?” intellectual growth in its students
and commitment to the arts,
The answer I give, albeit shaped to respond to the specific question that was posed, is quite
athletics and service to others.
consistent. Nobles is unique because of the remarkable people who work here. They live the mis-
For further information and up-
sion of the school, and they are outstanding role models for young women and men in regard to to-the-minute graduate news,
visit www.nobles.edu.
character and intellect. The most important responsibilities of a head of school are, first, to hire
well, and then to support and inspire the best from those folks. The buildings and resources of the Letters and comments may be
emailed to Heather_Sullivan@
school are certainly a critical component of the experience at Nobles, but they are utterly meaning- nobles.edu. We also welcome
old-fashioned mail sent c/o
less unless utilized by faculty members who can motivate their students to reach goals they could
Noble and Greenough School,
not otherwise have imagined, with the ultimate purpose of inspiring leadership for the public good. 10 Campus Drive, Dedham, MA
02026. The office may be reached
And along the way, we create a community that is at once profoundly purposeful and deeply joyful. at 781-320-7268.
We do that well at Nobles, and have done so for many decades. I like to tell that story, with all the
© Noble and Greenough School
passion and conviction I can muster, to people who arrive brand new to this campus full of skepti- 2014
cism yet eager to understand what makes a great secondary school tick.
—ROBERT P. HENDERSON, JR. ’76, HEAD OF SCHOOL
2 Nobles WINTER 2015
Nobles Want to read more community musings? Go to www.nobles.edu/blogs.
“
You can also follow us on Instagram at instagram.com/nobleandgreenough.
We are left to derive meaning and purpose,
not from death, but from the richness of their lives...
With steady determination, we must affirm our
values and principles as Americans and as human
beings in the face of that most stark and egregiously
violent challenge.
—HEAD OF SCHOOL BOB HENDERSON, IN ASSEMBLY ON SEPT. 11, 2014
In my first year at Nobles, I taught a course,
Please know that teachers understand that being hon-
Education in English, an introduction to what
was going on in the field of education—something est is a learned behavior. It must be learned (rather than
I knew absolutely nothing about. So I assigned being a human’s “default”) because of the times in our
my students to read everything I could find about
evolutionary past when “flight” was the best survival
contemporary education. Our favorite book, was
strategy. We are unfailingly forgiving and assume the
Neil Postman’s Teaching as a Subversive Activity.
Postman’s thesis was that education should work best in all students. Teachers never write off a student
against the mainstream culture, which in the who struggles to react appropriately when confronted.
early ’60s meant having to be “subversive.” I don’t
It is dealt with as an invaluable teachable moment.
think [Ted] Gleason liked the idea of subversion
very much, and he was pleased to be able to chide —JOHN GIFFORD, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL,
me when Postman came out with a new book in HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL, OCTOBER 2014 PARENTS
the early ’70s, Teaching as a Conserving Activity. ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
—FACULTY MEMBER AND FORMER
HEAD OF SCHOOL DICK BAKER
I particularly enjoy preparing the first exhibit
of the year, which outlines the graduating class
of a century ago. Every year, I am pleasantly
surprised by what I find. The Class of 1915 has
been no exception. As the lives of the 32 students
who graduated a century ago unfolded from the
research, I was struck by how much these young
individuals had given of themselves.
—ARCHIVIST ISA SCHAFF,
OCTOBER 8, VIA INSTAGRAM: SEPTEMBER 5, VIA INSTAGRAM:
#Winning feels good. Yay, girls soccer. Taking London by storm IN AN EMAIL TO STUDENTS AND FACULTY
I took the elevator up to the 36th floor of State Street, to a room full of people. Some
appeared to know everyone, and some appeared to know no one, but it didn’t matter,
”
because everyone had at least one thing to talk about—Nobles. Andy Janfaza ’84, one of
the panelists, was the first to recognize the Nobles connection. I had never considered “the
Nobles connection” before, but the more I did, the more I saw it all around me.
—FROM JACK RADLEY’S ’14 LINKEDIN POST, “HOW I CONQUERED
THE FINANCE WORLD 41 DAYS AFTER GRADUATING FROM NOBLES”
WINTER 2015 Nobles 3
the bulletin
NEWS FROM OUR CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
Steven Tejada
“For those of us working with NAIS on
diversity, it’s not just about what’s going
on at your individual school and making
it better. It’s about making independent
schools better overall and sharing what
you’ve been able to do well.”
—STEVEN TEJADA
in their schools.
“What we are providing is the space
for leadership development,” says
Tejada, whose first professional position
related to diversity was at Connecticut
College in the mid-1990s. “The Diversity
Leadership Institute is about helping
schools build a diversity program, under-
stand best practices, and access tools to
address the challenges in diversity work.
“If you have people who are serious
Tejada Takes the Lead
about this work, it’s important that they
are also well-trained. We need to help
them advocate for a place on the senior
How to Make Schools Better
leadership team, get funding for student
programs, and establish institutional
connections to student life, academic
STEVEN TEJADA, dean of diversity initia- Tejada is on the faculty of the departments, admission, hiring, and
tives, works at Nobles—and nationally— Diversity Leadership Institute (DLI), other areas of a school,” Tejada says. The
to advance the programs, structures a National Association of Independent DLI, he says, helps diversity educators
and culture related to diversity issues Schools (NAIS) program designed to articulate the value of programs, develop
in schools. help educators lead and manage change mission statements, and understand how
assembly highlights
to answer the bell. We this legacy to answer Henderson congratu- Roxbury Latin
compete to win but the bell and write the lated veteran fac- for the boys cross
Answer the Bell athletic season with his pride ourselves on do- next chapter.” ulty member and cross country team—their
Director of Athletics dad’s boxing-inspired ing it with class, cama- country coach Bob first win vs. RL in a
Alex Gallagher ’90 fired motto: “In life, you raderie and sportsman- Worth the Wait Kern and his athletes quarter century.
everyone up for the fall gotta be tough enough ship. It is your time in Head of School Bob on a sweet victory over
4 Nobles WINTER 2015 PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER
diversity work is related to other institu- to learn about the vitality of the student
tional functions and priorities. affinity programs, for example.
Tejada and other diversity educa- Tejada studied psychology and sociol-
tors are also developing a more senior ogy at Wesleyan University. At Connecti-
program for leaders who are already cut College, he served as coordinator
immersed in diversity work but who of minority recruitment and assistant
want to develop their skills further. director of admission. He was also direc-
Noah Janfaza ‘20 and
Tejada also serves on the NAIS tor of admission and placement at the his grandfather Stephen
executive committee and on the NAIS Oliver Scholars Program, a nonprofit Weiner and (bottom)
Grace Scott-Hiser ‘17 and
think tank on diversity, which identi- organization that provides a variety
her grandmother Roz Scott
fies related trends inside and outside of services to academically talented
of education. One of the conversations African-American and Latino students
gaining traction is centered on socio- in New York. He then shifted the vehicle
economic diversity. Another focus is on for his work, writing and performing
gender identity and the role of schools in material related to his youth in the South
supporting students and educating com- Bronx, the experiences of students of
munity members. As recently reported color and his experience as a student at
by the New York Times, for example, Fieldston, a private independent school
Wellesley, a women’s college, is grap- in New York. In 2014, Tejada gave a
pling with issues around transgender TEDx talk on education and identity at
students—what happens when students the Spence School in New York.
admitted as women identify as male. Tejada serves on the board of direc-
Tejada acknowledges that schools tors of De La Salle Academy in New
can’t take on every challenge at the same York City, an independent school for
Grandparents Day
time, and he underscores the importance academically talented, economically
of simply getting productive conversa- disadvantaged students, and, through his
tions started. work with NAIS, is a national leader in On September 29, more than 400
“For those of us working with NAIS diversity education. grandparents joined students in
on diversity, it’s not just about what’s “The work I’m doing with NAIS is classrooms and for lunch in the Castle.
going on at your individual school and about a willingness to share resources From those arriving for their first visit,
making it better. It’s about making inde- and develop this incredible network,” he to those who fondly recalled their own
pendent schools better overall and shar- says. “How can we help lead the conver- school years on this campus, all en-
ing what you’ve been able to do well.” He sation provide expertise and contribute joyed a special glimpse into a day in the
says that schools often contact Nobles to the work that others are doing?” life through their grandchildren.
The Ultimate read the same book; gender, identity and Farm to Table the local food move- the conservation of
Book Club this year’s was David human connection, The Environmental ment by showcasing resources, as well as
During Nobles’ annual Levithan’s Every Day. and shared his pro- Action Committee a special Castle buffet ecological benefits,
Community Book Day, In assembly, visit- cess, as well as advice (EAC) collaborated of native produce of consuming food
the school comes ing author Levithan to aspiring writers. with FLIK dining and seafood. The EAC that supports com-
together after having addressed themes of http://bit.ly/1s72BsS services to promote raised awareness of munity agriculture,
WINTER 2015 Nobles 5
the bulletin
SGLI representatives Andy Casamento, Lucy Lyons
and Lexi Vocatura (all Class I) at Pearl Harbor;
Right: Faculty member Amadou Seck participated
in a Global Educator Teacher strand, during which
he set goals and discussed best practices.
Cities on an Island
FROM JULY 20 TO AUGUST 3, 2014, modern a diversity of very rich backgrounds. sustainability, economics and globaliza-
languages faculty member Amadou Of the 100 people involved, 75 were tion, and complete community-service
Seck accompanied Nobles students Lexi students and 25 were faculty, and we projects. Through workshops, discus-
Vocatura, Andy Casamento, and Lucy represented more than 20 countries.” sions and field trips, students design
Lyons, all ’15, to Punahou School’s fourth The SGLI was launched in 2010 social-action projects to enrich their
annual Student Global Leadership Insti- with grants from the Edward E. Ford communities.
tute (SGLI) in Honolulu. It was Nobles’ Foundation, the Education Research In addition to the student sessions,
third year participating, and the theme Initiative, the Freeman Foundation and conference-goers were treated to a luau,
was “cities.” To prepare, they conducted the Luke Center for Chinese Studies. It during which expert speakers on urban
extensive research about Boston. aims to inspire a community of youth development, like Honolulu Mayor Kirk
Seck, who teaches French and also leaders who care about global issues and Caldwell and members from the planning
advises the Model U.N. and debate clubs social change. Students from Punahou commission for the new city of Kapolei in
at Nobles, wanted to be involved. “I knew and partner schools, including Nobles, western Oahu, shared factors to consider
SGLI would be a unique experience with explore worldwide issues including when building a sustainable city.
farming and fishing Tejada shared person- a private school and he said. “This is your Classical known as Bharatanaty-
communities. al stories of growing overcame feelings of school. Take some Indian Dance am. Assembly-goers
up in the South Bronx, isolation with the love ownership. If you don’t Aparna Ramaswamy is were transfixed by a
Hometown Pride with loving parents and support of his feel that way, find renowned for her pro- work in which she
Director of Diversity who valued educa- family. “Be proud of someone to talk to.” motion of the classical depicted the Shiva
Initiatives Steven tion. Tejada entered where you come from,” form of Indian dance Nataraja as a symbol
6 Nobles WINTER 2015
the bulletin
One of the leadership games stu- she valued the intercultural experiences Teacher Strand.” Seck and colleagues
dents played was a simulation called she had with peers: “I had roommates from around the world came together
“City Games.” Within the context of from Jordan, India, and Hawaii. I talked to examine the fundamental qualities of
an urban community, they learned to kids from South Korea about how a global curriculum, and to discuss best
about politics, the allocation of resourc- much time they invested in schoolwork practices in their own schools.
es and the value of intelligent negotia- and academics. Even though we com- Seck was impressed with the moti-
tion and alliances. plain, there are kids who deal with much vation of Nobles students. “They were
During the summit, Vocatura, harder situations.” focused, curious and open-minded. The
Casamento and Lyons also experienced In conjunction with the student cross-cultural experiences they had got
Hawaiian culture through volunteer institute, faculty members partici- them out of their comfort zone; they
experiences and field trips. Vocatura said pated in a weeklong “Global Education made great connections.”
STRESS NOT ALWAYS BAD, FAILURE CAN BE GOOD
Po Bronson, novelist and coauthor of Nurture Shock and Top Bronson, who attended Stanford University after Lakeside,
Dog—books that have changed the conversations about parent- said that neither prestigious institution taught him to write—
ing and success in America—visited Nobles on September 30 that he did, in fact, actively avoid writing and writing classes. As
and October 1. a Stanford senior, however, the oft-heard and annoying query
On September 30, Bronson spoke to parents and faculty of what will one do after graduation rankled Bronson.
about the perceived and real effects of stress on performance “I hated this question because I had no answer,” he said. In
in young people and the population at large. Bronson said that the university newspaper, he published a piece with the pull-
short-term stress can be a positive force, particularly in those quote, “‘Being Po’ is the best term for what I’ll be doing a year
who have the “warrior” gene, which allows warriors to efficiently from now.” The article went the pre-Internet version of viral.
shed the excess dopamine caused by stress. On the flip slide, His friends told him he should become a writer.
excess dopamine for those with the “worrier” gene predominant Bronson catalogued his dreams and
is the equivalent of a car engine with too much gas—it floods the failures of the next decade. “I had a
engine and shuts down operations. compulsive strong itch to do something.
Bronson also put peer pressure into perspective for parents, It’s confusing how to do that…and that’s
citing a study that suggests that peer pressure and empathy okay,” he said. He also cited what he
are positively correlated and that adolescents who balance the called “the fallacy of intrinsic fit.”
need to please with an articulation of their needs are poised to There is, he said, unpleasant work in
become adults with strong relationships. every job. “It’s not what you do. It’s what
At long assembly on October 1, Bronson shared personal you’re working toward,” he said.
stories with students. He said that he attended the Lakeside “Life does not present you with great opportunities. It most-
School in Seattle, a school much like Nobles. He delivered an ly offers you really crappy ones.… It’s important to have lots of
explication of his name, “Po,” which is a not-very-linear deriva- low-cost losing in your life and to learn that that doesn’t stop
tion of his given name, Philip. you. You can have those losses and go on to do great things.”
of the rhythms of the the dance studio and Text Less to-school kickoff, was founded by Milton when she was killed
cosmos. As a guest enlightened History of Live More when everyone shut Academy friends of by a driver distracted
artist for the week, the Human Commu- Nobles student orga- off their phones at Merritt Levitan, an by texting. TextLess
thanks to the Fund for nity (HHC) students on nizers of the TextLess 8 a.m. to focus on 18-year-old scholar- Live More urges us to
Asian Studies, Ramas- the evolution of classi- Live More campaign being present. The athlete who was “disconnect from the
wamy led classes in cal Indian dance. explained its back- multischool campaign biking cross-country virtual world so we
PHOTO BY CHRIS HARDY WINTER 2015 Nobles 7
the bulletin
Artist-in-Residence Jang soon Im
with his installation, “16 April 2014
(Sinking of ferry in South Korea)”
Painting a Painting
“LESS THAN 100 LAYERS.” That’s how artist- Three years after receiving a BFA in the Nobles community to be.
in-residence Jang soon Im articulates oriental painting from Seoul National While the artist-in-residency pro-
the meticulous nature of his painting University in 2003, Im moved to the gram provided him with a comfortable
style. Im, a Korean-born artist, consid- United States and earned an MFA in apartment in the Castle, three meals a
ers himself a painter, even though a large drawing and painting from the School of day and a separate studio space in which
selection of his recent work features the Art Institute of Chicago. Since gradu- to experiment and create his art, Im
digital prints. He clarifies this by saying, ating, he has won numerous awards and immersed himself further in the commu-
“I think about my digital print as a paint- fellowships, and is a veteran of artist-in- nity by attending Asian to Asian culture
ing, because it is not just taking a picture residence programs at the Vermont Stu- club meetings, auditing a U.S. history
and printing it. It is more like making dio Center, Bemis Center for Contempo- class, and teaching a traditional Korean
a collage—digitally manipulating and rary Arts in Omaha, Neb., and the Core painting workshop during David Roane’s
compositing all the components in the Residency Program at the Museum of X-Block open painting studio.
work.” During his residency at Nobles, Fine Arts, Houston. Im came to Nobles Im also welcomed visitors, including
Im returned to classic painting methods and was impressed with the resources fine arts faculty, foreign language classes
using traditional papers and natural pig- available to him. He also appreciated and even the occasional Castle explorer,
ments from his Korean homeland. how welcoming and connected he found into his studio space. Visitors at lunch-
can reattach ourselves teams, engaged in pop stars and ’80s TV Pull for Us Crawford ’20, brother brother’s record this
to the real one.” a hilarious game of shows that predated The Nobles crew team of Aidan ’16. Both are year as the youngest
pop culture trivia the most of the audience, took the stage to plug sons of former Great competitor in the Re-
A Trivial Matter week before midterm students did an im- their races at the Head Britain National Team gatta, when he rowed
The whole school, progress reports. From pressive job banding of the Charles. They oarsman Blair Craw- with his dad in the
divided into random presidential terms to together. also recognized Finn ford. Finn, 11, broke his father-son double.
8 Nobles WINTER 2015