The Beacon S e m p e r a d L u c e m 541 Long Beach Road

St. James, New York

School Knox

June 2009, Issue 7 Special Points of Interest

Spring Musical Poetry Slam 8th Grade Graduation Photography Show International Fair Honor Roll 2009 Awards Ethnic Pen Musical Ride Senior Sing Prom National Honor Society Senior Projects 2009 Commencement College Placement

Dear Friends, The school year came to a momentous close with The Knox School Commence-ment Ceremonies on June 6. Now, the campus is quiet and empty with the students and most of our faculty gone on vacation. The end of the academic year was filled with numer-ous delightful activities and events for the entire Knox community. Though much celebration marked this time, the Knox family suffered a heart-breaking loss with the untimely and tragic death of Kaeli Sara Kramer, our 2008 valedicto-rian. The Knox family, as well as Kaeli’s teachers and classmates from The Waldorf School and Centenary College celebrated her life at a memorial service held on campus on June 4. In her short time on earth, Kaeli touched the lives of so many individuals and truly had a positive impact on us all. The summer affords us the time to make improvements around the campus. Work has begun to replace the old tennis courts. When the renovation is completed in early August, the new courts will look exactly like the U.S. Open courts in Flushing, NY. The new school year will bring new additions to the Knox family. The four new teachers that were hired for the 2009-2010 academic year are as follows: Stephen Chu Lauren Bernet Columbia University St. Joseph’s University B.A., Mathematics B.A., English New York University St. John’s University M.S., Mathematics M.L.I.S., Library & Information Science State University of New York at Stony Brook Doctorial Candidate in Mathematics Katherine Faigen Bryan P. Williams Bryn Mawr College University of the South—Sewanee B.A., English; Creative Writing B.A., English & Mathematics Artist Christian White will once again be returning to campus as an Art and Digi-tal Art Teacher. Christian is a well known local artist and his art work can be found in nu-merous art galleries throughout Long Island. Christian is also the husband of Laura White, Chairperson for Performing and Visual Arts. The Senior Class of 2009 has undoubtedly left their mark on Knox and will chal-lenge the Class of 2010 to strive to build upon the legacy that has been left for them. I know that Class President, Jenna Hardy, and her classmates are up for the challenge! In conclusion, Lucy and I would like to truly thank everyone for their loyal sup-port over the past school year. We extend to you our best wishes for a rewarding and pro-ductive summer.

Sincerely,

Summer Time

Living is Easy

P. 1 P. 1 P. 2 P. 2 P. 3 P. 4 P. 5 P. 6 P. 7 P. 7 P. 8 P. 9 P. 9 P.10 P.11

June 2009 The Beacon

Gareth Williams (Bedstone) as Seymour

Little Shop of Horrors

Kat Barry ’10 as Audrey, Nick Reina ’10 as The Plant, Frank Sohn ’09 as Dr. Orin Scivello and Gareth

Williams (Bedstone) as Seymour

Melissa Fenik ’09 as Crystal, Emily Gladstein ’10 as Mrs. Mushnik, Taylour Dickerson ’12 as Ronnette, Ellen Ma ’11 as

Chiffon and Derek Fearon ’10 as Bernstein The voice of The Plant was done by Youn Chang Seo

Poetry is a Slam As part of the class’ study of the sounds of poetry, the

seniors in the Poetry elective developed a fondness for slam poetry as practiced by Def Poetry Jam and The Poetry Lounge. As a culminating part of that unit the students wrote their own slam poems and performed them in the Upper Dorm Lounge.

It was not just the writing that was great, it was the performances as well. All of the students brought very different things to the table in terms of writing and performance. Many students chose to focus on political themes, others discussed personal relationships, memories, and realizations about them-selves and life. Some students acted out their poems while oth-ers memorized part or all of their 500 word poems. Students from other classes attended, creating a party-like atmosphere and giving the performing students a good audience. Some students chose to drop by to do repeat “slamming” during their free periods. This poetry slam was a great way to end the string of exciting and educational things that the students have been engaged in.

- David Vibert, English Teacher

Joe Lee ’14, Peter Krulasik ’13, David Vibert, Paul Lee ’13 and Frank Cassata ’14 Get in the

Poetry Slam Mood

Bianca Gracie ’09 Rocks the Poetry Slam

Annual Performing Arts Awards

The Oberon: Gareth Williams Presented to the student who has demonstrated

outstanding potential in the performing arts.

The Terri Rose Richard III Award: Bianca Gracie Given for outstanding contribution to

technical theater at Knox.

The Elsa Trophy: John Boyd & Melissa Fenik For the student who sacrifices the most to ensure the success of the school’s dramatic performance.

The Jane Bagley Award: Emily Gladstein

The student who gives the best performance in a play.

The Linda Shephard Cup: Emily Gladstein Awarded to the student who gives the best

performance in a Musical Theater production.

The Performing Arts Award: Katherine Barry

Semper ad Lucem

The Photography classes’ works were recently exhibited at foto foto Gallery located at 372 New York Avenue in Huntington. The show ran May 1-31, 2009 and featured thirty-three of the student’s images. Stu-dents that participated in the exhibit were Portfolio Photography students John Boyd ’09, Cameron Gil-hooley ’09, Kara Elwood ’09, Channell Campbell ’09 and Frank Sohn ’09. These seniors are also advanced students completing their third year in Photography. Other photographs featured in the show were by Pho-tography I students who are also seniors: Kelvin Kong ’09, Lauren Biello ’09 and Alex Burst ’09. Sara Davis ’12 and William Zhu ’11, who are one semester Intro-ductory Photography students, were also represented. The reception held on Sat. May 2nd, 2009 was well attended by the community as well as many local professors from many Long Island colleges. Seven im-ages were purchased the night of the reception. The exhibit will also travel back to The Knox School where it will be hung alongside Impressionist paintings from Ms. Staebler’s Studio Art classes for graduation week, June 1-7, 2009.

- Patty Colombraro, Photography Teacher

Photography Students Recently Displayed Works In Gallery

Patty Colombraro, John Boyd ’09, William Zhu ’11, Channell Campbell ’09, Kara Elwood ’09, Lauren Biello ’09, Kelvin Kong ’09 and Cameron Gilhooley

Sara Davis ’12 Alex Burst ’09

Eighth Graders Join the High School Community

Middle School Subject Awards

The Middle School History Award: Tiffany Ye Presented to the student who displays a high level of interest, inquiry

and achievement in the study of history.

The William Turner Shoemaker Middle School Mathematics award: Tiffany Ye Given to the student, who best demonstrates accomplishments in the field of mathematics.

The Middle School Science Award: Jason Kim Presented to the student who best demonstrates accomplishments in the field of science.

The Middle School English Award: Aaliyah Picanso Given to the student who demonstrates excellence through written expression,

creativity and literary scholarship.

The Middle School World Language Award: Scott Lee Given to the student exhibiting a sincere interest and effort,

in learning a language, and serving as a leader to others in class.

Elsa Eriksen Middle School Performing Arts Award: Aaliyah Picanso Recognizes the student who best demonstrates the enthusiasm and perseverance

essential to excellence in theatre or music.

The Middle School Visual Art Award: Scott Lee Given to the art student who demonstrates extra effort and uses time

wisely to make creative works.

Jason Kim, Lulu Dong, Heyn Hwang, Aaliyah Picanso, Peter Krulasik, Sa Rang Koo, Paul Lee, Holly Kang, Scott Lee, Tiffany Ye

Middle School Core Value Awards

Integrity: Joe Lee

Kindness: Aaliyah Picanso

Courage: Holly Kang

Respect: Tiffany Ye

Responsibility: Scott Lee

Scholarship: Tiffany Ye

Photos on this page taken by Patty Colombraro

June 2009 The Beacon

Annual International Fair is a Huge Success

Carmen Osman P’09 and her daughter Sheriffa Osman ’09 dress English Chair Linda Butler in traditional

Sudanese Dress

Aaliyah Picanso ’13 and John Boyd ’09 Model Traditional Clothing

Edward Zhang ’10 and Laura White, dressed in Scottish clothing, enjoy the Taiwan Table

The 2009 Knox International Fair was held on April 21st and was a wonderful success. The event began with a talent show in the Bancroft Phinney Gymnasium, with many diverse acts performed by students and faculty. Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Haitian songs were sung by groups, duets, a trio and soloists. Students from French classes per-formed an original skit, and two students, Angel Valdes ’12 and Macarena Vera Esquiva ’09, performed a traditional Spanish dance from Seville. In addition, there was an impres-sive demonstration by the Tae Kwon Do club, choreographed and led by Ryan Shin ’10, and William Zhu performed a nunchucks routine. Finally, faculty member Sylvie Aristilde and the Fashion Club dazzled the audience with a fashion show of international outfits from countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Spain, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, and Sudan. The second half of the International Fair was held in Senior Tuck, where display booths, exhibits and lots of food awaited everyone. Students learned about many different cultures from around the world, and had the chance to prac-tice calligraphy, get a Sudanese hemp tattoo, taste delicious, spicy Korean food, try a

French crepe, join a soccer juggling contest, and drink traditional Chinese tea. Parents and students prepared food from countries such as Austria, Turkey, Mexico, Sweden, Korea, China, Israel, Spain, Jamaica, Cuba, Guyana, Puerto Rico and France.

- Brenda Pigou World Language Chair

Angel Valdez ’12 and Macarena Vera Esquiva ’09 Show off their Dancing Skills

Kim Sanichar ’09 and Tali Levin ’12 represented Guyana

The Tae-Kwon-Do Club Shows What Their Made of!

Yuri Tago ’09 Models Traditional Japanese Dress

Photos on this page taken by Matt Frageau

Semper ad Lucem

Some of the Middle School students as well as several of the 11th grade elective students recently accompa-nied Mr. David Vibert to the Ethnic Pen Youth Writer’s Conference. This conference is held annually in Bay Shore, NY at Bay Shore High School. The nationally recognized conference has hosted such keynote speakers as Frank McCourt, Julia Alvarez, and Naomi Shihab Nye. Schools from around Long Island send students and teachers to the conference, and this year Nikki Perales ’14, Aaliyah Picanso ’13, Skyler Blackwood ’10, Frank Cassata ’14, Jenna Hardy ’10, Jesse Thompson ’10, and Mr. David Vibert drove down to participate. The group got to see keynote pres-entations by Def Poetry Jam poet Roger Bonair-Agard; Iraq war poet Brian Turner, author of “Here, Bullet”; and the

Hafiz family, authors of “The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook.” The group also attended two poetry-writing workshops, one an invitation-only event with Brian Turner and another with a 19-year old disabled poet from Mexico. The group also saw a presentation by the Ghetto Film School from the Bronx. The conference was specifically de-signed to engage high-school students. For the group, this was an eye-opening experience as they were exposed to writing and situations far from their normal lives. For many, this was their first time attending any kind of organized event centered on writing.

- David Vibert, English Teacher

Students Participate in Annual Ethnic Pen Conference

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Despite the almost endless rain, we had a very eventful conclusion to the school year. In late April we had a very successful International Fair, complete with ethnic cuisine and performances by some very talented Knox students. The following week, science students presented their science fair projects in Tuck. The projects were informative and many students also prepared detailed explanations of their research for project reviewers. The spring musical, “Little Shop of Horrors”, which debuted on May 8th, showcased the theatrical and musical talents of our students. The students involved in the production worked tirelessly to put on a top-notch per-formance. Kudos for a job well-done!

Preliminary course requests will be sent home shortly for parental review. Please take time to review the course requests as well as curricular offerings for the 2009-2010 academic year posted on Edline. There have been a few changes for 2009-2010: All 9th graders will be scheduled for Conceptual Physics. AP Statistics and AP Computer Science have been added to the Advanced Placement offerings. Modern Cultural Geogra-phy will replace Geographical Cultures as the 9th grade history course. Eleventh grade students will sit for Comparative Religion pushing United States History into the 12th grade offerings. There are also term electives in Astronomy, Oceanography, and Current Topics in Science for those who have completed their lab science requirement. Eleventh graders will now complete two terms of American Literature (English III) and twelfth grade students will complete two terms of British Literature (English IV). The English department will offer term electives in the spring open to upper level students.

We wish all students and their families a restful and safe summer and look forward to seeing everyone in September.

Regards, Sharon L. Lawrence Assistant Head of School

The Musical Ride is an annual equestrian event that is set to music. The students orches-trate the entire event by choreographing and se-lecting the music for the ride. This year, Brianne Sullivan ’09 was the Riding Club President and in charge of heading this project. All of the riders worked very hard! This was an especially meaningful Musi-cal Ride for the veteran riders as their friend and previous fellow rider had recently passed away. The group took time off to mourn her death but soon rallied together to make the ride a success and tribute to her. For Lauren Biello ’09 and Brianne Sulli-van ’09 this Musical Ride held a special meaning for it was their last time participating. This per-formance marked the end of their time in the Knox riding ring. They will be missed in the barn but their great example of what it is to balance being a student and a rider will be carried on by their teammates.

June 2009 The Beacon

Annual Musical Ride is a Success

Senior Sing is Emotional for all in Attendance

Seniors sing the Spring Song before starting in on their musical selections for the event.

The Annual Senior Sing program is a turning point for the school. While the faculty and staff try to instill the last pieces of advice and life skills to seniors from September through June, this is the event where the school is reminded that the seniors are soon to be on their own. As the seniors grace the audience with their songs of choice, the lyrics often remind the school that their time at Knox is coming to an end. The songs sung this year were, “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly, “Graduation Song Friends Forever” by Vitamin C and “Time of Your Life” by Green Day. The lyrics were powerful to hear and were meaningful for the students singing them. Emotions were evident on the seniors’ faces as they realized it was their turn to give this last gift to the school. It was a beauti-ful gift indeed.

The class of 2009 lines the inside of the tent during their Senior Sing

The Senior Sing is the last event before graduation

The Musical Ride Group as part of their performance Photo Taken By Bruce Lawrence

Photos of this event taken By Jenna Skarda

Semper ad Lucem

2009 Prom The 2009 Prom took place on May 15, 2009 at the Sunken Meadow Pavilion. Invitations were given to Knox faculty and all of the high school students. The event was a big success! The venue was beautiful, the DJ had everyone up dancing and the students looked amazing in their formalwear.

Sheriffa Osman ’09 and Jake Sommers ’09 Grace Sun ’12 and William Zhu ’11 Henry Tao ’11 and Lexi Maughling ’12

Grace Sun ’12 and Angel Valdes ’12 Kat Barry ’10, Edward Zhang ’10 and Guest Sherry Cui ’12, Echo Zhou ’11 and Ellen Ma ’11

Matt Behar ’12 and Brianne Sullivan ’09 Julian Davis ’09 and Tracey Howard ’08 Connor Hardy ’09 and Guest

Keenan Koff ’09 and Brianna Malone ’09 Collin Lee ’10 and Jenna Hardy ’10 Maggie Comneck ’12 and Tali Levin ’12

Photos on this page taken By Jack Hundley

June 2009 The Beacon

Senior Projects Leave an Impression on Knox

Senior Projects

Bianca Gracie Indashio Fashions in New York, New York

Brianna Malone Mid-Ship Chartering Company in Istanbul, Turkey

Melissa Fenik Smithtown Township Arts Council in St. James, NY

Jason Zhou McLaren Engineering Group in Nyack, NY

Jake Sommers Wind-up Records in New York, New York

John Boyd Nassau County Legislature in Nassau County, NY

Sheriffa Osman Mygoma Orphanage in Sudan

Alexandra Burst Red Hills Provincial Dining in Oregon

The Class of 2009 Senior Projects were very well executed. Students maintained daily online journals or blogs, submitting 10 blogs over the course of their project or internship. The online journals provided fellow project partici-pants, advisors and committee members with the opportunity to keep up with the projects, offer comments, pose questions, and provide support to the project participants. It was an exciting and often inspiring two weeks as we followed the progress of our seniors. Upon their return, the entire school community watched their final PowerPoint presentations. Two projects were exemplary and recognized at the Upper School Academic and Character Awards Ceremony: Alexandra Burst’s project at Red Hills Provincial Dining and Sheriffa Osman’s project at the Mygoma Orphanage in the Sudan.

- Sharon Lawrence, Assistant Head of School

Knox Opens A National Honor Society Chapter The Knox School is proud to have become a part of the National Honor Society! Knox opened a National Honor Society Chapter named “Semper ad Lucem” and has inducted its first two members. Jes-sica Wen ’10 was the first student to participate in the induction ceremony. Jason Zhou ’09 was the other student to be inducted into the Semper ad Lu-cem Chapter of the National Honor Society, but he could not participate in the ceremony because he was in the middle of his senior project. Criteria to become a member of this elite so-ciety is rigorous. A student must maintain a grade point average of 87 for three consecutive terms. The four areas a student must demonstrate excellence are scholarship, leadership, community service and character. The school looks forward to watching this society grow in the coming years.

George K. Allison, Headmaster, Brenda Pigou, World Language Chair, Jessica Wen ’10, Sharon Lawrence, Assistant Headmaster,

John Staebler, History and Italian Teacher

Jake Sommers ’09 gives his presentation to the school on his experiences

Jason Zhou ’09, Jake Sommers ’09, Brianna Malone ’09 and Shariffa Osman ’09 wait

to give their presentations

The school and project judges wait to hear the next student’s presentation

Photos on this page taken by Jenna Skarda

Semper ad Lucem

Top Row: Wenyu Jiang, Channell Campbell, Keenan Koff, Bryan Kim, Frank Sohn, Macarena Vera Esquiva, Heyn-Jib Hwang, Brianna Malone, Connor Hardy Middle Row: Melissa Fenik, Jake Sommers, Yurie Tago, Youn Chang Seo, Bianca Gracie, Julian Davis, Kimberly Sanichar, John Boyd II, Lauren Biello Bottom Row: Dana DiDonato, Clyde Owusu, Alexandra Burst, Kelvin Kong, Brianne Sullivan, Jason Zhou, Jamie Kim, Cameron Gilhooley, Kara Elwood

Commencement Awards

Carolyn Fell Award John Boyd

The Stewart Bowl Kelvin Kong

The Clifford K. Eriksen Headmaster’s Award

John Boyd

Brewster Lawrence Award Bryan Kim

The Semper ad Lucem Plaque Bianca Gracie

2009 Commencement

Bianca Gracie collects her Semper ad Lucem Plaque

John Boyd II reads the Senior Poem

Clyde Owusu and Sheriffa Osman walk to their seats

Dana DiDonato and Julian Davis walk to their seats

Bryan Kim walks back to his seat after

receiving the Brewster Lawrence Award

Kara Elwood and Cameron Gilhoo-ley spend time together before Graduation

Brianna Malone and Keenan Koff walk to their seats

Bryan Kim and John Boyd II chill out before Graduation

Channell Campbell, Dana DiDonato, Kim Sanichar and Yurie Tago before Graduation

Jason Zhou and Kelvin Kong hang out before Graduation

Photos on this page taken by Patty Colombraro

June 2009 The Beacon

Dear Class of 2009, I have written four other versions of this letter and

each one did not incorporate my admiration for your class. We all arrived on campus at the same time in the fall of 2005. We all were a bit unaware of how to properly execute our passions and talents. Over the course of the past four years we have all learned from each other. You taught me how to be patient, most of the time. You taught me how to be a better teacher, mentor, and friend.

There were tears, there were smiles, there were break-ups, hookups, smiles, pranks, F’s in class, A’s in class, awards won, games lost, teachers and students who left, new additions, and of course amazing memories. I will never forget Kelvin starting class meetings senior year; Keenan, Connor, Jake, and Julian playing basketball and baseball every free moment; Frank and Jib leading on the soccer field; Youn Chang being “the voice”; Cameron and Kara constantly taking picture of me; JB’s poems during morning meeting; Bri and Lauren rid-ing with grace each afternoon; Sheriffa leading the basketball team; Channell and Kim always together and always smiling; Dana laughing at almost anything and everything; Bryan’s courage to try new things each year; Yurie making everyone around her laugh with her stories; Jason and Francis helping new students adjust to Knox; Macarena’s and Brianna’s arrivals, although later, still inspiring; Burst’s afternoon chatting sessions in my office; Clyde getting hit with the baseball each spring; Melissa’s constant smile; Sheriffa always striv-ing for the perfect grade; Jamie singing in Vocal Ensemble; and Bianca’s leadership and compassion.

These moments and more are things I will never forget. You will always hold a place in my heart. You may wonder why I never really said ‘good-bye’ on graduation day; it is because I know we will all see each other again. Good luck next year and remember to visit often. You always have a friend at Knox and a home beside the shore.

Much Love, Always,

Ms. Kerri-Anne Alexanderson

Seniors Leave the Falcon’s Nest

College Placement for the class of 2009 Lauren Biello

Savannah College of Arts and Design

John Boyd New York University

Alex Burst Culinary Institute of America

Channell Campbell Pace University

Julian Davis New York University, Tisch School of Music

Dana DiDonato Dowling College

Kara Elwood Rollins College

Melissa Fenik Savannah College of Arts and Design

Cameron Gilhooley Sarah Lawrence College

Bianca Gracie Northeastern University

Connor Hardy Quinnipiac University

Jib Hwang Emory University

Francis Jiang Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Bryan Kim University of Wisconsin, Madison

Jamie Kim University of Wisconsin, Madison

Keenan Koff Miami University, Ohio

Kelvin Kong University of Washington, Seattle

Brianna Malone Fairfield University

Sheriffa Osman Emerson College

Clyde Owusu Syracuse University

Kim Sanichar Hofstra University

Youn Chang Seo University of Hartford

Frank Sohn University of Wisconsin, Madison

Jake Sommers The University of the Arts

Brianne Sullivan Bridgewater College

Yurie Tago Adams State College

Jason Zhou University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Top Row: Conner Hardy ’09, Jake Sommers ’09, Alex Burst ’09, John Boyd ’09, Jason Zhou ’09, Melissa Fenik ’09, Dana DiDonato ’09, Sheriffa Osman ’09 Bottom Row: Keenan Koff ’09, Bianca Gracie ’09, Jib Hwang ’09, Kelvin Kong ’09, Clyde Owusu ’09

Photo Taken By Alyssa O’Brien

The memorial service for Kaeli was held in Bancroft-Phinney Gymnasium on June 10, 2009.

Students, Faculty and Kaeli’s friends from college had an opportunity to pay their respects.

Semper ad Lucem

Sweet and friendly, kind and generous, intellectually curious and respectful, Kaeli Sara Kramer embodied the Knox Core Values. She was one of our most esteemed graduates and the recipient of numerous permanent faculty awards, including the Poise Cup for “a student embodying graciousness and dignity of character” which she received as a freshman. Kaeli was valedictorian of her class and in her senior year, she was awarded the school’s highest honor, the Semper ad Lucem Plaque. Kaeli had a special way of spreading light wherever she walked and her email address – especiallysunny – seemed to describe her perfectly. She had a positive and inspirational affect on all whose lives she touched. She will be missed greatly by her Knox family, but her legacy of light will endure.

Kaeli Sara Kramer 1990-2009

With Love and Sadness, Knox Remembers Kaeli Kramer ’09

Our Hearts Go Out to Her Parents

Knox School 541 Long Beach Road

St. James, New York 11780

The Beacon Semper ad Lucem

Thank you Horn Family for the Ice Cream!

The Horn Family made it possible for

all of Knox to enjoy ice cream!

It was a fun end to final week!

Summer Adventures Camp

NOW IN SESSION

To learn more, visit us at www.saak.org.

Enjoy Your Summer