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Alumnae Magazine of Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart
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STUART NEWS 2011A LU M N A E M A G A Z I N E of Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart
Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart serves 475 students in grades pre-K through 12. The school admits students of any race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin to all the rights or privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, schol-arships, or loan programs or athletic or other school-administered programs.
Stuart is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the International community of the Sacred Heart, the National Association of Inde-pendent Schools, the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools, the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the Secondary School Admission Board, the College Board, the Education Records Bureau, the Association of Supervision and Cur-riculum, and the Online School for Girls.
2010-2011 Board of Trustees
James Annarella Thomas Baker
John Beckelman Linda Brady
Debora Russo Dr. Patty Fagin
Carol Haggarty, RSCJMark Johnson Rene Johnson
Nancy Kehoe, RSCJCheryl Lagay Laura Lamke
Melinda LaNasa Pablo LaPuerta
Steve LeMenager Lorraine McGowen Patrick McLaughlin
Maureen O’Halloran, RSCJSuzanne Plambeck Hamilton Potter
Sara Burchell Kestner ’96Cynthia Schumaker ’73
Marguerite Vera Molly Hllenbrand Vernon ’96
Maria Yang
Patty L. Fagin, PhDHead of School
Beth CrutcherDirector of Institutional Advancement
Risa EngelDirector of Communications
STuarT NewS 2011Cover model: Trinity Broughton
Cover photo by Erica Haller www.ericahallerhotography.com
Back photo by John Batkowskiwww. bstyle-photography.com
“Flight” by Susan Dougherty Rizzo ’69
Contents 2 The First Year Dr. Patty L. Fagin, Head of School
A LU M N A E P R O F I L E S
3 The Founding of Burns McClellan Lisa Burns ’74
6 Career Path Susheela Mallipudi ’99
C L A S S O F 2 0 1 1
7 Commencement
8 Class of 2011
10 Senior Class Speech Meredith Souto ’11
12 Senior Awards
13 Off to College
14 Invisible Issues Jennifer Garver Landis ’90
A LU M N A E N E W S
16 Year in Review Cynthia Reiche Schumacker ’73
18 Alumnae Weekend
20 Dialectics: The Interplay Between Image & Words Susan Dougherty Rizzo ’69
24 Happy Birthday: Louise Morse Celebrates 100!
Message
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t has been an incredible first year. I am blessed to have become a part of this very special Stuart community, and I thank you for sharing your Stuart stories as well as your hopes and dreams for Stuart’s future. We have seen many changes this year, and next year promises even more. I know that you will find these to be exciting steps to an even stronger Stuart. Change is an ongoing part of the Sacred Heart story - as St. Madeleine Sophie Barat so aptly noted, “Times change, and we must change too, and modify our views.”
In the ClassroomWe piloted iPads in the classroom and made the decision to be a frontrunner, choosing to be a one-to-one iPad school for grades 6-12 next year in order to give our girls new and exciting learning opportunities. The World Languages Department completed its curriculum review and will share the results of the review as well as our plans for implementing its recommendations in the fall. Our girls developed critical 21st century skills through innovative programming (Sacred Heart Academic Exchange Program (SHAEP), the Class of 2011 Invisible Issues Project, the Middle School Girl Effect Initiative, and On-Line School for Girls) and faculty participated in professional development during the spring and summer to help them develop even stronger programs to prepare our young women for a fast-changing world.
Faculty/Staff UpdateThis year brought changes in faculty as well. We shared our heartfelt appreciation and said goodbye to Mary Kemp, Ronnie O’Connor, Sheila Bodine, Ronnie Muller, and Sally Branon as they moved into retirement. Cheryl Wolf is moving on to new opportunities and Lisa Eckstrom is leaving to become the Head of School at the American Boychoir School.In June, we welcomed Kyle Morse as our new Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Kim Ciarrocca as our new Director of Athletics, and John Leach as our new Director of College Counseling.
Kyle Morse is an independent school admissions veteran, most recently as the Associate Director of Admissions at The Hun School. She attended Douglass College, the all-women’s school at Rutgers University, where she earned a BA in Psychology and Communications and holds a Master’s in Education as well as a Master’s in Educational Administration. Stuart parent, Kathleen Mandzij, will join Kyle as the new Assistant Director of Admissions as Alicia Fruscione Walker ’98 begins maternity leave in September. We know that together, Kyle and Kathleen will immediately impact the admissions programs at Stuart with their experience, ideas and energy.
Kim Ciarrocca (pronounced “shuh-rock-uh”), previously served as the head coach of the women’s lacrosse program at the University of Delaware. Prior to that Kim coached Temple University to national prominence. She had an outstanding two-sport career as both a field hockey goalie and lacrosse player at Temple. With a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration and BA in Health and Physical Education, Kim brings immense expertise to our athletics and physical education programs.
John Leach will be working with Harris Siegel as Harris transitions over the next year into a much-deserved retirement. John has 17 years experience in secondary and higher education, having worked in college admissions, financial aid, teaching and research. John comes to Stuart from Davidson College in North Carolina where he was the Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. John’s outstanding rapport with young adults and parents, combined with his deep knowledge of admissions and financial aid practices at highly selective institutions, will be invaluable in successfully guiding our families through the very important college admissions process. On the FieldTo expand the options available to our girls, we are very excited to announce our Inaugural 2011 Fall
IThe First Year
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FacilitiesThis summer marks the completion of a campus-wide re-wiring project that will improve the overall speed of our computer network, as well as greatly enhance our wireless capabilities both inside and out. Students, faculty and visitors will enjoy access to the Internet from the turf field, to the main building and outside to the stream behind the school, opening up the possibilities for use of our new iPads for both faculty and students.
Thanks to a generous gift from the children of Mary Murray Garrett, the Stuart Little Theatre received a major renovation this past year – a state-of-the-art surround sound system, new LED lighting and flooring have all been added. A new stage thrust and sound booth have been built, the original floating staircases have been exposed, and the stage floor has been refurbished. We can all now enjoy not only a theatre, but a cutting-edge, multi-purpose, 21st century meeting and presentation space.
Strategic PlanningAt my Installation I said that together we would tell the story of our future and that we would
Soccer Season. Head Coach Megan Lipski will field a club soccer team this fall. This will give our girls the opportunity to practice and play against conference and non-conference opponents, and in 2012 the team will compete in the Prep-B League.
In AdvancementIn February, we welcomed Beth Crutcher as our new Director of Institutional Advancement. Beth has a tremendous background in successful fundraising, education experience and an impressive non-profit resume. She comes to Stuart from the Princeton HealthCare System Foundation where for five years she was Senior Director of Development/Campaign Director, responsible for strategic development and implementation to raise $150M to build the new Princeton Hospital. She spent the prior seven years at Princeton University in Leadership Gifts. Under Beth’s leadership this fiscal year, gifts and pledge payments to Stuart processed by the Development Office totaled $1,758,238; including support of the Stuart Fund of $482,395 - a 20% increase from last year! We thank all of our contributors including the record-breaking number of alumnae who made gifts in FY2011.
“Times change, and we must change too, and modify our views.”
— St. Madeleine Sophie Barat
Dr. Patty L. Fagin Head of School
Beth Brown has decided to leave Stuart to take her career in a new direction. We are so pleased to welcome Missy Walker as the new Director of The Stuart Fund and Alumnae Relations. Missy has over 15 years experience in independent schools, including service in alumnae relations, campaign management and annual giving at Marymount in New York, and The Lincoln School in Providence, RI. Polly Ranson has joined us as Director of Development Operations. Polly most recently served as Associate Director of Membership at Stonybrook Millstone Watershed Association. She will oversee the maintenance and strategic application of donor data and research. Missy and Polly will be instrumental in furthering our development efforts to support the exciting, new programs for our girls.
In FinanceWe began the 2010-2011 school year debt-free thanks to the Board of Trustees’ decision to retire the nearly $5 million in bonds purchased for the construction of Cor Unum. In addition, with the Board’s careful management of monies raised in our last Endowment Campaign, and the continued generosity of our donors, we enjoy a record balance of over $11.7 million in our Endowment Fund.
continue to expand our capacity to see options, to visualize possibilities and to imagine. The work of visualizing our future began in earnest as the Board and Administration embarked upon a long-term strategic planning process with Independent School Management this spring. I know you will be so excited when it is presented in the fall.
I thank you all for a wonderful first year at Stuart. I have enjoyed getting to know many of you through your many kindnesses and work at Stuart and alumnae gatherings. Please come home to Stuart this year for our Christmas Cocktail Party and Alumnae Reunion Weekend. I continue to encourage you all to join me on the journey we began last summer. We are going amazing places!
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“How I
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TheFoundingof Burns McClellan
TheFoundingof Burns McClellanBy Lisa Bur ns ’74President & CEO, Bur ns McClellan
eople always ask me how I got started in the healthcare communications field, and I’m very
honest with them. I say, “Someone lied to me.” And it’s true. That’s how my career in healthcare public relations started, and that’s how 12 years later in 1988 Burns McClellan, my own company in healthcare communications, was founded. First someone lied to me, and then I got fired. It’s actually a pretty cool story.
I graduated from Stuart in 1974 (with a barely passing grade in biology … my apologies to Mrs. Soos, who tried her hardest with me). I went on to college (well, several of them, actually), and never took a course in science, but focused on history and literature, thinking I would like to become a writer and/or editor in the publishing business.
After college, and after two years working as a publicist for Stephen King and other authors at the Viking Press and a short stint as a freelancer at Simon & Schuster, I realized that while I loved books and writing, life in publishing wasn’t necessarily for me.
So, I answered an ad in the New York Times, which is how one found a job in 1979, and went to work for a very small advertising agency that had primarily healthcare clients and wanted to start a PR department. I had hoped to handle “consumer” PR with “general” clients. They said, “Sure.”
When I arrived for my first day of work, they told me I already had two clients, pharmaceutical companies that wanted PR. So that was it, really. I had to learn the pharmaceutical and healthcare business. And I did. Really well. And I love it.
But let’s face it. They lied to me.
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“The culture, philosophy and education
I received at Stuart has had a greater
impact on my life and career than any
of the colleges I attended (Princeton,
Vassar and NYU).”
From 1979 through 1988 I worked at three of the biggest PR firms in the world, Burson-Marsteller, Edelman and Fleishman-Hillard, running the healthcare PR division or the national media group, until one day in 1988, June 30th, actually, my boss came in to my office and fired me. He said, “You’re really good at what you do, and you’ve done a great job, but you’re not very good at dealing with being part of a huge system and following protocol and bureaucracy. Today is your last day. You’re fired.”
You’re fired? Wasn’t expecting that.
Over the July 4th weekend, I decided that I would start my own business. I was 31, basically broke, and didn’t really have a Master Plan. I just knew that I loved what I did for a living and wanted to keep doing it. After years of working for large public relations firms who thrived on bureaucracy and formality, I wanted to create a different kind of communications firm, an agency that specialized in healthcare, but also biotechnology. Biotechnology, though a young industry, was beginning to show great promise in creating the next generation of medicines through breakthroughs in science.
So that’s what I did. I started Burns McClellan on June 30, 1988. When I met with my accountant the following week and asked him to incorporate the business, he burst out laughing and told me he’d be filing my bankruptcy papers six months later. June 30, 2011, marked our 23rd year in business.
Through the past 23 years, Burns McClellan has focused on providing both public and investor relations services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We have worked with some of the greatest scientists, CEOs, non-profits and patient advocacy groups in healthcare.
We work in every therapeutic area: cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, central nervous system (CNS) diseases. We represent companies with drugs and technologies that have truly changed the practice of medicine, the quality and length of life and the elimination of certain diseases altogether. We get
to spend our days learning as we do our work; so much of what is going on in science is new, so many boundaries are being broken, and so much exciting research will one day change the diseases we cannot yet treat, like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and the other CNS diseases.
People often ask me how I got started, they ask me why the culture at Burns McClellan is so special, so open and warm with a great deal of hard work and shared humor. And I tell them that I went to this amazing school while growing up in Princeton, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, and that the culture, philosophy and education I received at Stuart has had a greater impact on my life and career than any of the colleges I attended (Princeton, Vassar and NYU).
At Stuart, I was taught to be happy to work independently and thrilled to be part of a team. I was taught that no question was stupid and that you should trust your judgment when you have a strong conviction about something. I was taught that knowledge and imagination together would prepare you for anything. In addition, I was taught to appreciate the opportunities around you as surprises, you never knew how walking through one door might change your life. Also, I was taught there is nothing you should be afraid to try ... What’s the worst that could happen? You’d fail. So what? Really. Most really successful people have failed at least once in their life, in a BIG way. Finally, I was taught that every idea was worth considering and that the greatest gift we receive every day is Hope.
Most of all, Stuart taught me to celebrate life. Stuart taught me that even though there is sadness in life, and at times life is not fair, happiness is a gift — and the more that you can incorporate that philosophy into your life and your work, the more rewarding they will be. And if you are surrounded by great people, of all ages, who share that philosophy, well, then your work life is magic! Since as adults, we all spent a fair amount of time working, that’s a pretty good deal.
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Career PathCareer PathBy Susheela Mall ipudi ’99
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“Stuart gave me the confidence
to step out of my comfort zone
and explore new career options.”
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enty career path has taken several twists and turns since I left Stuart. I left Stuart wanting to reach
for the stars – literally. I wanted to be an aerospace engineer, to work for NASA and to be an astronaut. Two out of three isn’t bad. (I am too short to be an astronaut). What is gratifying to me, and surprising to others, is that despite disliking math growing up, getting C’s in Algebra, and having to take summer school, I still wanted to be an engineer. I had great teachers and a wonderful advisor who encouraged me to keep exploring math.
I continued to feed my interest on airflow during graduate school at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign in aerospace engineering. When I was done with my master’s degree I realized that as much as I loved my research and working for NASA, I was missing something. I wanted to compliment my engineering degrees with business knowledge. I didn’t want to be just an engineer; I wanted to be an engineer with business savvy skills that would make me more flexible to future employers.
Stuart prepared me for my career by giving me the skills needed to succeed. In addition to instruction on academic material, Stuart taught me to consider new ideas, to think and write clearly, to pursue my goals with conviction and to assert myself while working cooperatively. Stuart gave me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone and explore new career options.
I started out solving practical engineering problems for aircraft carriers and now I consult with biotechnology companies to identify market trends while working with health care providers for drugs in development. While it may look like a big change in careers, there are many similarities between engineering and business consulting. Both career paths require motivation to solve complex open-ended questions. However, through consulting I was able to develop my communication, project management and people management skills.
At Case Western Reserve University I majored in mechanical engineering and spent my summer internships at NASA. I took classes that challenged my thinking in ways I could not imagine and forged lasting friendships over late night study sessions. I got to work with “cool toys,” such as the world’s largest wind tunnel and got to create experiments to test out hypotheses.
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ead of School Dr. Patty Fagin, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Steve LeMenager, and incoming Board Co-Chairs Suzanne
Plambeck and Mark Johnson proudly conferred the diplomas on the graduates.
Senior Class speaker Meredith Souto was elected to represent her class and speak to her peers, a tradition at Stuart rather than recognizing a valedictorian or salutatorian. The Commencement Address was given by Anne-Marie Slaughter, the Bert G. Kerstetter ’66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. Dr. Slaughter encouraged the girls to take risks and be open to all opportunities that may come their way.
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Photos from top left:Head of School Dr. Patty Fagin addresses
the graduates. Sung Ha Park turns her Stuart ring. Steve LeMenager presents
Kristen Fasanella with her diploma.
Photos from bottom left:Senior Class speaker Meredith Souto
presents her speech to the senior class. Stuart teacher, Jackie O’Gorman presents her daughter, Shannon, with her diploma.
Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter delivers the Commencement Address.
Amber Bowman leads theprocessional at the conlusionof the Graduation Liturgy.
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31 Young Women of the Class of 2011
Received Diplomas on Saturday, June 11, 2011
Class of 2011
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Lara Anne Ruth AgnewSaira R. BhayatSylvia Marie BouloutasAmber S. BowmanJulianne CarsonWhitney E. CharbonneauElisabeth DarnellBrienna M. DeVlugt
Christina EmileKristen FasanellaShannon FasanellaCherie GuKristen HallowellBethan JohnsonKatherine KeithDabin Lee
Eileen LinTiara LittleBrienna MancusoStephanie MilanoKerry Murphy-SchwartzKatherine S. NeubertShannon O’GormanSung-Ha Park
Robyn SellersJasmine Mone SmarrMeredith SoutoMichelle StefandlMarisa Daniella SuarezColleen TullyOlivia Wiles
Congratulations to the Class of 2011!Best wishes to each of you!
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Professor Slaughter, Dr. Fagin, Board of Trustees, faculty, classmates, family, and friends: Good afternoon. Theodor Geisel once said, “Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to great places! You’re off and away!” Perhaps more recognizable by his pen name, Dr. Seuss, this quotation serves as a theme for our day, just as Dr. Seuss has served as a theme for our class. The class of 2011 is a wonderfully diverse class, with which I have had the privilege of growing up. Our class has an incurable streak of silliness that is the fiber of our beings. We read “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” in our section, wrote out limericks on the white board, invented palindromes in our spare time, put all the British people on one wall in our section, played the guitar and serenaded one another, all the while gleaning wisdom from our strange antics. Deep at the root of our actions and attitudes is a child-like wonder; we are preparing to see the world through new eyes again. “Oh The Places You’ll Go” exemplifies many key parts of our identity as a class and contains the words that we strive to live by everyday.
The very first stanza of the poem reads:
Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
We are silly and loving and we like to think about our future. For people like us, the future is full of wonderful places, and oh, the places we’ll go.
“Today is your day.” Today, June 11, 2011, we are celebrated, acknowledged, and formally released into the world. We have grown, learned lessons, gained friends and gained wisdom; after years of preparation, we are ready. “Today is our day”. This is advice we must never abandon as we leave the places we know for those we will go. Sure, today is our day, but tomorrow is also our day. If we believe this, we have the confidence to make wise decisions. Stuart has taught us that we can do anything, and so we will do everything. We have been blessed with so many opportunities, and we know how to wholeheartedly seize them. We can do everything every day, and when we do… oh, the places we’ll go.
“You’re off to Great Places.” The class of 2011 is a brilliant array of different preferences and talents. However, we are all markedly the same in one aspect, the aspect that has bonded us as a class. We all have enormous hearts. These hearts are large enough to appreciate a variety of humor, to sympathize constantly with one another, and to empathize with the world beyond our township lines. It is for this reason that when we look at our role models, we identify with the record-breakers, the activists, the world-changers, and those who devote their lives to helping others. From these people, we have learned to love in a much greater capacity. We are devoted to service and the benefit of others. And throughout our high school careers, we have turned our interests to many different groups, such as hospital patients, detained immigrants, the children at El Augustino in Peru, the Lakota children in South Dakota, and many more. These passions and desires to knit the fabric of our times must persist as we go forward. Our talents and unyielding love will bring us to truly great places. There is a bright future in store for each of us. Sometimes, it may seem scary. Independence, true independence, is looming around the corner.
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Senior SpeechClassBy Meredith Souto
Photos from top, left to right:Cherie Gu and Katherine Neubert
Brienna DeVlugt and her mother Nakia StokesKristen Hallowell, Brienna Mancuso
and Katherine KeithLara Agnew and Dabin Lee
We have to place our trust in the unknown. Though school has focused entirely on learning and expanding what we know, there is an unspoken school of thought, the things that we don’t know. There is still much for us to learn, but never too far out of reach. So why don’t we discover the unknown for ourselves? We must not fear this upcoming adventure, but instead, revel in its possibilities. But we will always feel stronger when we remember our hearts and the hearts we have encountered in our service opportunities. Our sense of justice will ground us and give us the strength to enjoy the scary feeling of taking the first step. If we can overcome this, then the rest comes naturally, and oh the places we’ll go.
We have “brains in our heads and feet in our shoes.” We can never forget the people who helped develop the brains in our head. For years, we have had the privilege of meeting extraordinary educators. What we did so well at Stuart, which we must carry on in our expanding world, was learn-- in all aspects and articulation of the word. We learned in classrooms. We learned from experiences. We learned from teachers. We learned from each other. We learned how to be uniquely intelligent young women, and how to be properly proud of our intellect. In an age where women are still stepping into the foreground of education, we are destined to shine as what school has made us- women with brains in our head and feet in our shoes. We have the knowledge to tackle anything and the drive to put our plans to action. . The phrase “knowledge is power” is minimal for all of us. Knowledge is not power unless we choose to act on it. If we act on this knowledge, our actions will be powerful enough to cause magnificent change. Dr. Seuss famously said, “Be who you are and say what you want because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” We are not afraid to advocate, demonstrate, or educate, and oh the places we’ll go.
Finally, the poem advises to “steer yourself in any direction you choose.” We must embrace our differences. There is a different path in life for all of us. Some of us are singers, while others are poets. Some of us are scientists, and others mathematicians. We have never been discouraged in our individuality or scorned for our differences. This is an attitude we must hurl into the world. We are all off to great places, and these places are the places that WE want to go to. Our future is our choice. We must be comfortable with who we are. We have discovered part of ourselves in this school, taking four years to nurture our nature and discover what brings us happiness, how we define success, and how we will achieve our goals. Now, we must choose where we want to go, and find the rest of ourselves. Every day, be open to learning something new. Keep steering ourselves in the direction that will bring us happiness and wisdom. Once we do… oh the places we’ll go.
As our beloved Dr. Seuss concluded in the aforementioned poem:
So... be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!
Congratulations to the class of 2011. Good luck with your mountains, and get off tothose great places. Thank you.
Speech
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Senior AwardsThe senior awards were presented to the following seven members of the Class of 2011 at Upper School Prize Day:
Julianne Carson
Olivia Wiles
The recipients of the 2011 Janet Stuart Scholar Award. This award is presented to students who have demonstrated a deep respect for intellectual values and a love of learning.
Meredith Souto
Colleen Tully
The recipients of the Margherita Condell Award. This award, named in honor of a 20-year Stuart educator, recognizes students who have demonstrated a personal and active faith in God, and a social awareness that impels to action, exhibited by their sensitivity to the needs of others and for their service to school and community.
Lara Agnew
The recipient of the Sportsmanship Award. This award is presented to the student who has displayed the community spirit that is essential to teamwork. Lara has supported the athletic program at Stuart with leadership and enthusiasm, has demonstrated mastery of athletic skills and has the ability to work as a team member.
Bethan JohnsonThe recipient of the Alumnae Award. Bethan was selected for this award because she has been instrumental in the building of community at Stuart and has contributed to the evolving tradition of Sacred Heart education.
Jasmine SmarrHas been selected to receive the Faculty Award because she has displayed generosity of spirit in all areas of school life. Jasmine has shown both concern and respect for the members of the entire school community and has shared her knowledge, grace and gifts with others.
Congratulations to each award recipient!
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Off To
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Off To
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Allegheny CollegeBard CollegeBaruch College of the SUNYBoston CollegeBoston UniversityBowling Green State UniversityCornell UniversityElmira CollegeFordham UniversityGeorgian Court University
High Point UniversityHofstra UniversityLehigh UniversityMiami University, OxfordOxford College of Emory UniversityPrinceton UniversityRhode Island School of DesignRutgers, The State University of New Jersey at New BrunswickSewanee: The University of the SouthTemple UniversityUniversity of MichiganUniversity of Notre DameUniversity of ScrantonUniversity of St. Andrews (Scotland)University of TorontoVassar CollegeVillanova UniversityWells College
… oh, the places we’ll go.
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By Jennifer Garver Landis ’90 Upper School Religion Instructor
students researched the issues, developed budgets, created marketing materials and communicated their causes to the rest of the school community.
Each team wrote a grant proposal that was sent to seven members of the wider community who would be acting as members of a philanthropic foundation (as a simulation). The “foundation committee” included: Trisha Thorme, Assistant Director, Community Based Learning Initiatives, Princeton University; M. Roch Hillenbrand, Past President, Commodities Corporation, retired Partner, Goldman Sachs, former Stuart parent and Board Member; Nancy Kieling, President and Executive Director, Princeton Area Community Foundation; Maureen McLaughlin, an attorney and current Stuart parent; Janet Smith Dickerson, retired Vice President of Campus Life, Princeton University; and Isabella de la Houssaye, Stuart parent, philanthropist and volunteer with local, national and international organizations.
This “foundation committee” had five days to read the proposals in advance of the final parts of the project - a presentation and a fair. These last two events were the culmination of the students’ work. On the second to last day, the teams each gave a 10-minute presentation to the foundation committee and fielded questions from the panelists, explaining and defending their proposals. After all of the groups presented, the panelists deliberated to award “Stu-bucks” (our school currency, designed by an 8th grade student) to the top three groups.
The Invisible Issues Fair was held on the following day. Each team set up a booth they had created in the Stuart dining room. All members of the school community; students grades 6-12, faculty, staff, and administration, were given a “Stu-buck” to donate to the group they felt did the best job at raising awareness and demonstrating that the money would be put to good use. The teams campaigned and “worked the room” trying to get bucks from members of the community. After the fair, the bucks awarded by the
tuart Seniors had no time for senior-itis this year. They were completely absorbed in a social
justice challenge called Invisible Issues. Working in teams, they had to identify “invisible” social justice issues, create fictitious non-profits to remedy the needs, and campaign to compete for the “funding” of their organizations. This very complex, problem-based learning project - which incorporated all five Sacred Heart Goals - yielded unbelievable outcomes, including collaboration, innovation, and a real sense of accomplishment for each and every girl.
As a pilot project, I implemented the Invisible Issues program as part of the required Faith and Social Justice class. After learning about seven of the themes of Catholic Social Teaching, including themes of solidarity, rights and responsibilities, dignity of all human beings, and the dignity of work and the rights of workers, the students were launched into the Invisible Issues project, developed by Adam Gold of The Institute for Domestic and International Affairs, a not-for-profit organization well-known for bringing Model UN to schools. IDIA’s Invisible Issues program was a perfect fit with the Senior Social Justice Class.
The girls worked in small groups of 4-5 students and each was charged with the task of developing a plan to become a sustainable non-profit organization working to address an “invisible” issue of human suffering somewhere in the world. Working in these groups, the students identified an “invisible issue.” (An invisible issue is a problem in the world, related to social justice that people are generally not aware of.) Each team had to focus on creating an awareness campaign, writing a grant proposal, developing a presentation and participating in a school wide “global awareness fair,” all aimed at winning real grant money that will be donated to an organization similar to the one they created.
The groups were competing with one another to create the most compelling proposal and campaign for their issue. Over the course of six weeks, the
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Education Generation Combating child labor in Rwanda through education.
Project SHE Cambodia Providing a dormitory at a girls school in Cambodia to help prevent child abduction, trafficking and slavery.
Blinded Mumbai Providing “safe houses” for the children of Mumbai, India to combat the issue of the beggar mafia abducting children.
Project Pure: Fiji Providing access to clean drinking water for the people of Fiji who are negatively impacted by pollution, particularly as a result of the practices of the Fiji water company.
Books Behind Bars Promoting literacy and self-worth for female juvenile offenders in the NY state prison system through book clubs with the hope increasing the GED rate and decreasing abuse within the prisons.
Sustainable Hope Providing a dormitory at a girls school in Cambodia to help prevent child abduction, trafficking and slavery.
Wheels for Women Providing access to a variety of mobility devices for the women in northern Uganda who are disabled either from birth or as a result of civil war so they can access social services like health clinics and police stations.
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foundation committee were added to any bucks acquired at the fair thus establishing first, second and third place winners.
Thanks to a generous donation from one of the foundation committee members, the seniors were given the opportunity to donate a substantial amount of money to three worthy organizations, and seed money was provided for next year’s program. The top group won $2500, which will be donated on behalf of Stuart to SOS Villages, helping the children of Rwanda. The second place group won $1000, which will be donated to the Hope School in Undong, Cambodia, helping educate girls in the village. The third place group won $500, which will be donated to Plan India, an organization helping the children in the slums of Mumbai.
The project was real, purposeful and meaningful for students. They learned about the realities of suffering and injustice in the world and how they could be of help. They also learned how to help solve a problem through creativity and collaboration. After their projects were over and the recipients of the donations were selected, the senior class had the opportunity to Skype with Adekunle Onadipe, a representative from SOS Villages, who was able to speak with the girls and tell them about the work they do and how the funds the girls won would benefit the children of Rwanda.
The Invisible Issues project was a success on so many levels. Yes, it cured senior-itis - but it did so much
more. I was very pleased with how completely this project incorporated all five Sacred Heart Goals. It integrated every learning skill I’d want my students to use: technology, creativity, and previous knowledge to create something new. Invisible Issues provided the seniors with an exciting and compelling project that brought the Stuart community together in a spirit of social awareness that impels to action. It was a fantastic way for the students to finish their studies at Stuart, knowing they can move on to make a real and tangible difference in the world.
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Year in ReviewSeptemberTwo alumnae receptions were scheduled last fall to introduce Dr. Patty Fagin to Stuart graduates. The first event, held at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda was hosted by Marjorie Fitton ’81 and Kristan Kerney Bonavita ’94. Alumnae enjoyed desserts as they listened to Dr. Fagin discuss her vision for Stuart.
Later in September, forty-five alumnae gathered at the Princeton home of Molly Hillenbrand Vernon ’96 and Tyler Vernon for a wine tasting event. The wine was selected by Claire Mille Dofoe ’96, a manager at Sherry Lehmann, and alumnae enjoyed meeting Dr. Fagin and sharing their Stuart experiences.
DecemberThe ring ceremony for juniors was held in early December. In a candlelit service, the girls received their school rings from seniors or from family members who are Stuart or Sacred Heart alums. This meaningful event begins the process of welcoming students into the Alumnae Association.
OctoberOn a cold Saturday, alumnae joined Upper School students on a beach sweep at Belmar Beach. The project was sponsored by Clean Ocean Action and coordinated by Doug Green and Barbara Ann Cagney at Stuart.
It has been an exciting and busy year for the Stuart Alumnae Association. In addition to the regularly scheduled activities, events were planned to introduce Dr. Patty Fagin as the new Head of School. The Board has worked hard to keep in touch with over 1200 alumnae representing forty-five different classes and living in diverse locations.
I am grateful to the 2010-2011 Board for its support, commitment and enthusiasm. It has been a privilege to serve with such a dedicated group of women. The
new officers of the 2011-2012 Board are President Sara Burchell Kestner ’96 (photo center), Vice President Kristin Rodewald Dawson ’80 (photo left), and Secretary Michelle Evaul ’94, (photo right). In addition, Vickie Cacavio Flores ’77, Mibs Southerland Mara ’83, Kavita Matthews ’04 and Melissa Baggitt Scott ’75 will join the Board. I know that the Alumnae Association will thrive under their leadership.
2010
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1By Cynthia Reiche Schumacker ’73
PresidentCynthia Reiche Schumacker ’73
Vice PresidentSabrina Lupero-Reichert ’94
SecretaryKristin Rodewald Dawson ’80
Alumnae DirectorBeth Brown ’80
Board Members Meaghan Byrne ’06Michelle Evaul ’94Francesca Ferrante-Segales ’76Alicia Fruscione Walker ’98Christina Henderson ’92 Convent of the Sacred Heart 91st Street Alumna
Beatrice Chukumba Inyama ’86Judith Subjack Karp ’82Sara Burchell Kestner ’96Roxanne McElroy-White ’79Noreen Mercando ’84Molly Hillenbrand Vernon ’96Carolyn Yoder ’71H. Lydia Zaininger ’79
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Year in Review
JanuaryOn January 4, 2011, young alumnae returned to Stuart to celebrate Alumnae Little Christmas. There was an alumane panel for the 8th grade students. The alumnae shared their Upper School experiences with the current students and told them how Stuart prepared them for the challenges they are facing in college. Later, more than 25 young alumnae joined the seniors and faculty in the Front Hall for lunch.
Later in the month, New York City area alumnae braved the inclement weather and attended a cocktail reception hosted by Sabrina Lupero-Reichert ’94 at the Convent of the Sacred Heart on 91st Street.
MayWomen We Admire DayOn May 11, 2011, Anne Murray Patterson ’76, Molly Hillenbrand Vernon ’96 and Kathleen Gittleman, Stuart Parent ’07 and ’10, returned to Stuart to speak to the Lower School as part of Women We Admire Day.
JuneThe Senior Dinner took place on June 9. This special evening for parents and their daughters serves as an opportunity to welcome the Class of 2011 into the Alumnae Association. Kristen Hallowell and Katherine Neubert were chosen as Class Secretaries, and Christina Emile has been selected as the 2011 Class Agent.
FebruaryFebruary brought the annual 100 Days to Graduation celebration. Seniors, wearing crowns made by pre-school students, paraded with their pre-school companions through the halls of the school.
Later in December, alumnae, parents, faculty and staff celebrated the advent season by attending the Stuart Annual Christmas Party. Attendees enjoyed great food, drink and time with each other.
Alumae return for Little Christmas. Right to left: Sarah Caswell ‘10, now at Hamilton
College, Sarah Schulte ‘10 now at The University of Pennsylvania, Sarah Horton ‘10 and Aishwarya Rajagopalan ‘09, both at Johns
Hopkins University.
Left to right: Alicia Fruscione Walker ’98, Dr. Patty Fagin, Sara Burchell Kestner ’96, and Melissa
Martynenko ’98 at Stuart’s Christmas Cocktail Party in December.
Alumnae weekend kicked off with “Happy Hour” at Metro North in Princeton. Stuart alumnae, along with graduates from Lawrenceville, Princeton Day School and The Hun School, enjoyed seeing each other and reminiscing about their high school days.
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Some of the Stuart contingent at Happy Hour included right to left: Courtney Hodock ’94, Christoff Reichert, husband of Sabrina Lupero Reichert ’94, Catherine Kooser, Jill Jefferson-Miller’94 and her husband David Miller.
The next day’s events began with the Poetry In Motion Run/Walk in memory of Vickie Flournoy McCarthy ’71. Over seventy-five partici-pants gathered on Stuart Road to complete the 5K course. Kevin McCarthy and Caroline McCarthy ’02, along with Vickie’s sisters, Alyson ’75, Lee ’67 and Mary ’73 were on hand to compete and to distribute prizes. The Lies, Light, McCarthy Visiting Author Program at Stuart is the beneficiary of this event. Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri was this year’s visiting author.
The Flournoy-McCarthy Family at the Poetry in Motion 5K Run/Walk
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On Monday, June 27, 2011, Anne Murray Patterson, Stuart Class of 1976, was appointed to New Jersey’s highest court. The State Senate confirmed Ms. Patterson as the next justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court in a unanimous vote of 36-0. She will be sworn in after Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto’s term expires August 31. Congratulations Anne from the entire Stuart Community!
Alumnae then gathered for brunch, and the classes of 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006 were recognized. Following the meal, two special awards were presented. The Class of 2006 received the first award for having the greatest number of classmates return to reunion. Attired in green tee shirts, twenty-three members of this enthusiastic class attended reunion. The second award was presented to the Class of 1975, which had the highest percentage of participation (30%) in this year’s Annual Giving Fund, renamed “The Stuart Fund.” (Update: Since Alumnae Weekend, the Class of 1967 has achieved 100% in honor of Louise Morse’s 100th birthday.) Congratulations!
From right to left: Sara Burchell Kestner ’96, Mary McNealy Czarnecki ’96, Molly Hillenbrand Vernon ’96, Gia Fruscione Loizides ’96 and Carolyn Vernon in front.
Congratulations toAnne Murray Patterson’76Confirmed as New Jersey Supreme Court Justice
Class of 2006 Alumnae
Mass, led by Father Pat Connor, was held later in the afternoon in memory of Delia Mark, “Nursie,” and honoring Michelle Nicastro Stark ’78.
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Dialectics: The Interplay between Image & Word
haiku for the daydreamer
in five parts
I.
sink into yourselfrelease the weight of the clock
succumb to the song
II.
the façade crumblesunder the sheer heft of dreamsthe dreamer is born
III.
a tremendous dreamis caught like fish in a netscooped up for dinner
IV.
languid daydreamereyes sticky with fantasyand heart open wide
V.
the dawn emergesthe daydreamer responds withlaughter and a tear
Susan and Allison at Allison’s graduation in June, 2000; They are the first mother-daughter graduates of Stuart.
On Exhibit October 2 - November 27, 2011 Considine Gallery at Stuart
Opening Reception October 2, 2011 1-3pm
Alumnae Reception November 26, 2011 1-3pm
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Dialectics: The Interplay between Image & Word
ife is a constant exchange of give and take, forward and backward, up and down. Balance is found in
the epicenter of this cyclic and rhythmic movement. It is in this space that Susan Rizzo ’69 and daughter Allison Gratton ’00 collaborated over the course of a year to create an interconnected body of work that explores life’s spiritual and temporal experiences through the relationship between painted image and written word. The exhibit will open in the Considine Gallery on October 2, 2011.
Susan is a figurative and abstract painter. She uses the figure and surrounding atmosphere – created with thick layers of texture – to convey the emotional and spiritual facets of life. Her work has been accepted to the Mercer County Artists show (2005 and 2007), the Trenton Museum’s 28th Ellarslie Open (2010), The Salon show at Artworks in Trenton (2010), and
the 25th International Show at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey (2011), juried by a curator from the Guggenheim.
Among many things, Allison is a wordsmith and poet. She has worked in a myriad of fields including sociology, yoga, living foods cuisine, and biodynamic agriculture and draws upon her life experiences, big and small, to write from a place of truth and beauty and to tear down in order to build up.
What began as a simple conversation between artists to motivate and support one another’s craft, naturally evolved into a sincere collaboration to create works about what we see and what we say, and what we think and what we feel – ultimately leading to a more dynamic understanding of our footing in this world.
LWork by Susan Dougherty Rizzo ’69 and All ison Gratton ’00
Daydreamer
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The afternoon fervor still radiates from the cement block thru my bare soles.
I stand rooted deep in this fossilized solar power, unable to move, drunk in its honeyed heat.
How long did these rays travel to reach my city worn feet?
They say light years.
186,000 miles per second to be exact.
Drama of the nebula, millennia mingling with callused toes.
Effort of light, flashing past bygone eras only known thru history book pages,
yet somehow still shrouded in shadow from our minds.
And thru this all I wonder…
how long does it take an event to reach me?
I thought I was present, thought I knew it all.
But now it seems that my conception of presence is relative to where I am now.
How cliché that thru a blinding light do I comprehend the magnanimity of what happened.
Only in the present do I begin to commune with my past.
So here I stand
palms outstretched, raised upwards in a gesture of reverence.
Of reception.
Ready to relinquish all that bars me
and slowly begin my ascent
in a swirl of grace.
Communion III
Dialectics: The Interplay between Image & Word Work by Susan Dougherty Rizzo ’69 and All ison Gratton ’00
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Communion III
Allison and Susan have published a book with the paintings and poetry included in the exhibition. Proceeds from the book will be donated to Stuart.
Dialectics: The Interplay between Image & Word
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Happy 100!
Right to left: Louise Morse, her daughter Weezie Morse ’67, and
Dr. Patty Fagin celebrate Louise’s birthday. Dr. Fagin presented Louise with a one-of-a-kind charm with an
image of Stuart, engraved on the back with 100th birthday wishes.
Louise MorseMany Congratulations and Happy 100th Birthday to
A Great Friend of the Library,Founders Committee Member and Stuart Parent ’67
ouise Morse has volunteered her time and energy to Stuart for the past 47 years, since she and her late husband Professor Marston Morse, mathematician at the Institute
for Advanced Studies, were members of the Founders Committee. Louise is a graduate of Sacred Heart Schools in Cincinnati and her daughter Weezie is a 1967 Stuart graduate (the first class to graduate). Louise (and now Weezie) has been instrumental in the Friends of the Raissa Maritain Library since its founding with fund-raising efforts and hands-on work. Louise hosted a Library Tea for many years.
In honor of Louise’s birthday, the Class of 1967 has reached 100% participation in the Stuart Fund this year. We graciously thank Louise for all she has given of herself to Stuart and join the Class of 1967 in wishing her a very wonderful and happy 100th birthday!
September 24, 2011 Stuart Fest
October 2, 2011 Exhibition Opening ReceptionDialectics: The Interplay between Image & WordWork by Susan Dougherty Rizzo ’69 and Allison Gratton ’00
October 15, 2011 Stuart Founders Dinner recognizing donors of $1,963 or more
November 1, 2011 Women in Leadership Speaker: Helen Prejean, CSJAnti-Death Penalty Activist and Best-selling Author of Dead Man Walking
November 26, 2011 Alumnae Exhibition ReceptionDialectics: The Interplay between Image & WordWork by Susan Dougherty Rizzo ’69 and Allison Gratton ’00
December 3, 2011 Stuart Christmas Cocktail Party
January 3, 2012 Alumnae Little Christmas
March 29, 2012 Lies, Light, McCarthy Visiting Author: Naomi Shihab NyeAward-winning Palestinian-American Poet,
Writer, Anthologist, and Educator
April 21, 2012Spring Auction
May 19, 2012Poetry in Motion 5K & Alumnae Brunch
June 9, 2012 Graduation
Mark your calendar!
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COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL of the SACRED HEART
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