Table Of Content2013-2014 ANNUAL REPORT SUMMER-FALL 2014
THE PUBLIC PURPOSE MODELING GOOD THE STATE OF ADMISSION
OF PRIVATE EDUCATION DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP IN 2014
P. 04 P. 25 P. 70
BLAIR BULLETIN A
On E xhibit
Rendering, Representing & Revealing
Artists: Harry I. Naar, Mel Leipzig & Judith K. Brodsky
November 4 to December 13, 2014, in The Romano Gallery
On the Cover: Ollie Durling ’15 was one of more than 100 Blair students who volunteered at Blairstown’s Sycamore Park on the
School’s inaugural Day of Service on May 16. Despite dreary weather, students and faculty members embraced their work with energy
and enthusiasm as they helped to construct a brand-new playground for local kids. Photo by Douglas Benedict of Academic Image.
IN THIS ISSUE: SUMMER-FALL 2014
02 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
04
03 HEAD OF SCHOOL NOTE
22 IN THE NEWS
Alum Inducted into
Wrestling Hall of Fame
NBA Star Recognized for Citizenship
Investment Trailblazer Lauded as
‘Business Titan’
Veteran Teacher Responds to a
New York Times Op-Ed
28 THE ARTS
Arts Calendar for 2014-2015
A Look Back at Spring Events
Year Concludes with Exhibits & Shows
33 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
38 ACADEMICS
Faculty Update The Public Purpose of Private Education
Mythbusters Club
In this series of articles, Blair students and faculty members talk about the strength of Blair’s
AP Psychology Course
longstanding community service program and how the School is expanding its offerings with a
43 FROM THE ARCHIVES wide range of experiential learning opportunities.
50 OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
Craig & Kaye Evans
Introducing Blair LEADS
54 AROUND THE ARCH 18
Welcome, New Faculty!
ACTA Dedication
A Look Back at
Years of Service Recognized
Commencement
34
60 ATHLETICS
Spring Championship Titles
The Class of 2014
More W’s for Coach Stone
Goes to College
Coach Mantegna Puts ‘Cause Over Self’ 37
Modeling Good
Exceptional Student Athletes 25
Livestreamed Athletic Contests Digital Citizenship
Grads Reconnect at
Instagram & Peddie Day 2014
Adolescent and childhood psychologist Alumni Weekend
44
Catherine Steiner-Adair, EdD, came to
69 ALUMNI EVENTS
campus this fall to talk with students, parents
Loyalty Celebrated at
74 ADVANCEMENT and teachers about utilizing technology and
Leadership Dinner
Dormitory Update social media in ways that foster connection 57
Family Legacies and learning.
New Chief Advancement Officer
Trustee Spotlight The State of Admission
70
in 2014
79 PLANNED GIVING
Reflecting on Blair’s most selective
82 ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2013-2014
admission year ever, Assistant Head of
114 CLASS NOTES School for Enrollment and Communications
Peter G. Curran talks about why the School
141 IN MEMORIAM continues to attract the best applicants.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
SHOSHANA GELLER ’16
Shoshana captured “Chasing the Sun” while in Sarasota, Florida, over Winter Long Weekend in 2014. As part of an
independent study photography assignment that asked students to pick their favorite song and shoot photographs that
could be used as the album cover, Shoshana took this picture to go with her selection (“Hey Brother” by Avicii).
Staff
EDITOR: ATTENTION:
Volume LXXXlIl, No. 2 Suzy Logan ’99 Send address changes to Blair Academy Bulletin,
Summer-Fall 2014 P.O. Box 600, Blairstown, NJ 07825
HEAD OF SCHOOL:
PUBLISHED: Chris Fortunato NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY:
January, March, Blair Academy does not discriminate on the basis
June & October CLASS NOTES EDITOR: of sex, age, creed, race, color or national and
Colleen Smarth
PUBLICATION NUMBER: ethnic origin in the administration of its education
USPS 057-760 CONTRIBUTING policies, admissions, scholarships, loans or other
PHOTOGRAPHERS: school-administered programs. Each Blair student
PUBLISHER: Douglas Benedict is afforded the rights, privileges and social,
Blair Academy Melissa Collins ’09 academic and athletic opportunities that are
Blairstown, New Jersey 07825 Shoshana Geller ’16 generally accorded or made available to students
Cassi Gerdsen of the School.
Suzy Logan ’99
DESIGN BY:
Colleen Smarth
Snavely Associates, Ltd., State College, Pennsylvania
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
PRINTING BY:
Melissa Collins ’09
J.S. McCarthy Printers
Peter G. Curran
This magazine is printed on recycled paper.
Suzy Logan ’99
Joanne Miceli
Sharon Merrifield
Colleen Smarth
Lisa Whitmore
“Upon their return from service trips, each student recalled stories
of friendship and fellowship that left indelible marks and a sense of
long-term personal stakes in the lives of those they sought to help.”
about helping others, but are in fact shore or deep in the Andes. As our
scholarly in nature, are smartly woven students returned over the course of
into our curriculum and every aspect of the spring and summer from partnering
our community and, most importantly, with local students and adult hosts in
capitalize on our core philosophy of Peru, Costa Rica, Kenya and California,
knowing people for who they are across as well as in and around Blairstown,
cultures, ideas and experiences. the thematic focus was universally the
In September, I visited the first same: Each student recalled stories
Meaningful public service,
class meetings of Blair LEADS, our of friendship and fellowship that left
that is impactful and lasting, is ultimately new leadership and communication indelible marks and a sense of long-
driven by the authentic relationships course, in which more than 20 of our term personal stakes in the lives of
forged among all involved. After all, faculty, across all disciplines, are team- those they sought to help.
public service, or as I might term it, teaching the entire sophomore class in As you read this issue of the Bulletin,
public leadership, is about people. the areas of global citizenship, ethical and feel the same pride about how
While that may seem painfully obvious decision-making, team-based problem personally our students take their
to many of us, our students are growing solving and public speaking. I listened commitment to good work, I offer my
up at a time in which seemingly with pride and delight as teams of deep appreciation to all who have
contradictory realities co-exist. On the students and faculty wrestled with how over Blair’s history nurtured the ethos
one hand, technology has connected to most aptly define “leadership” and of teamwork, selflessness and an
people across the globe and has helped to identify both who they deem to be authentic desire to know others for who
to amplify philanthropy and service in the most effective communicators and they genuinely are. I overheard one of
a way that few could have imagined the specific reasons for their choices. our students respond to a gesture of
even a decade ago. However, at the As they critiqued videos of speeches thanks as he worked diligently and with
same time, many in positions of power, and debated the attributes and actions good humor alongside his classmates
including our political leaders (meant to of true leaders, one of the groups during the “monsoon-like” rain that
be the quintessential “public servants”) arrived emphatically at the place where greeted us for the first Blair Day of
are widely perceived to be disconnected this note began—namely, that great Service. “This is what we do,” he said.
from those whom they represent and leaders are great relationship builders, And he is exactly right.
who need them to truly be the humble, that despite the oft-heard phrase in I would like to add a final note of thanks
yet confident servant leaders that our our society “Don’t take it personally,” a to each alumnus, alumna, parent and
complex world demands. leader makes a difference by focusing friend who has established a personal
These realities provide unique on people and having a personal stake stake in the success of Blair’s service
opportunities for Blair, where our long- in the well-being and success of others. program, and in the School as a whole,
standing commitment to relationship- So, as we embark on the expansion through your financial support. The 2013-
based learning and serving others are of our commitment to engage our 2014 Annual Report, included in this
cornerstones of a superior academic students in scholarly and impactful issue, is a testament to the strength of the
and personal experience and place us public leadership, we will move beyond Blair family, its enduring connection to the
ahead of the curve in how we position a sense of checking a community School and one another, and to the good
our students to be the scholars and service box on a college application we can do together.
change agents they wish to become. to challenging our students to even
Thus, as we build upon our proud legacy further bring the best of Blair, our
of service, we will continue to craft an commitment to relationship-based
array of experiences that not only make learning, beyond the hilltop and to the Christopher Fortunato
our students and faculty feel good rest of the world, whether to the Jersey Head of School
BLAIR BULLETIN 03
T H E
P U B L I C
P U R P O S E
O F
P R I VAT E
E D U C AT I O N
BY SUZY LOGAN
04 SUMMER-FALL 2014
Blair Expands Its Commitment
to Service with Wide Range of
Experiential Learning Opportunities
G
iven that “beyond self is happiness” is one of the
School’s foundational principles, it is no surprise
that serving others has become a central pillar of
learning at Blair. With a student body that becomes
increasingly service-minded as the world shrinks and
becomes more interconnected, you might say that helping
others is in Blair’s DNA, as evidenced by the many alumni who
have made service a priority in their lives after leaving campus.
Over the last two decades, Blair has built on its long tradition
of service by almost doubling the number of yearly projects
tackled by students and faculty, even incorporating service into
this year’s opening-of-school orientation. And, in recent years,
as passionate kids identify new causes and work with teachers
to bring their ideas to life, the community service program at
Blair has become largely student-led.
In the last year, Blair, not being an institution to rest on its
laurels, has also purposefully begun approaching service from
scholarly and curricular angles, developing new hands-on
opportunities, making existing projects more experiential and
tying field work to classroom study.
“There is extraordinary learning value to acquiring knowledge
in the classroom and using it in ways that meaningfully affect
others,” said Head of School Chris Fortunato, a passionate
public servant who many on campus credit with further
elevating the profile of community service at Blair. “The
public purpose of a private education is taking the gift of the
BLAIR BULLETIN 05
Blair experience and using what you mission, tackle agricultural sustainability poverty?’ and feel empowered to work
learn to help others across content, and rural education projects in Costa on ideas and possible solutions that can
continents and cultures. We are creating Rica, and engage with local non-profits make a difference right now.”
an awareness of the joy found in service as part of the School’s inaugural Day Taking this hands-on approach
to others. And we are showing kids of Service, which united Blair family is especially meaningful during
that they can invest their most valuable members from around the world with the adolescence, when a commitment to
commodity—their time—and have an common purpose of helping others (for helping others can take root in very
immediate impact.” more on these projects, please turn to pages important ways and serve as a foundation
To make students’ service work as 12 and 14). for the experiences students will create
meaningful as possible, faculty are now With so many new initiatives coming for themselves in college and later in life,
integrating School-sponsored service together during his first year as Head of added Associate Head of School Ryan
with in-class preparation designed to School, Mr. Fortunato has been gratified Pagotto ’97. “This generation is very
help them better understand the issues to watch public service act as a learning service-minded, and students like putting
associated with given projects, as well as vehicle and springboard for signature the phone aside and getting their hands
engage in post-project analysis. Blair programs that promote global dirty to solve problems,” he said. “In
“I think what sets Blair’s program engagement, ethical decision-making, general, teenagers are pretty idealistic and
apart from our peer schools is that we effective communication, relationship- feel like they can change the world. And
emphasize service as an intellectual building and problem-solving. our community service program gives
exercise, as well as a hands-on one, “By connecting public service to them the sense that, in some small way,
encouraging students to learn about what in-class learning, we are encouraging they are doing just that.”
they are doing before going out into the students to maximize their impact and In the series of articles that follows,
field, and then reflect on it afterward,” reflect on the work they are doing in Blair students and faculty members
said Assistant Head of School for ways that are personally meaningful talk about the growth of the School’s
Enrollment and Communications Peter and allow them to contribute to causes longstanding community service
G. Curran. “We order the experience this about which they care,” Mr. Fortunato program, the success of the inaugural
way so that students learn to solve real- said. “Although the world will not likely 2014 Day of Service, how public
world problems and place their learning in change overnight in dramatic ways service helps to build an important
context of what they are doing in class.” because a school community spends array of leadership skills, and how these
Over the last year, this has led students dedicated time volunteering, engaging combined efforts are a key component
to pilot sustainable devices for rural in work like this exposes students to in Blair’s overarching plans to ramp up
villages in Africa, engage in environmental important issues and allows connections its focus on effective communication
stewardship activities in California, travel to form. I want students to wonder: and leadership competencies with a new
to Peru on a cultural immersion service ‘how can I make a difference in urban program called Blair LEADS. o
06 SUMMER-FALL 2014
AN EXCITING TIME FOR
COMMUNITY SERVICE AT BLAIR
the program and teamed
up with the Rev. Peter
Amerman, then chaplain at
To say that the School’s community service program has Blair, to forge relationships with local non-profits, food pantries,
grown by leaps and bounds in the last 20 years is almost an homeless shelters and counseling centers.
understatement. Today, students and faculty engage in more than Noting that many of Blair’s community service partnerships
three dozen service projects each year, and teachers are actively have come to fruition because of a parent or alumni
working to infuse service into all aspects of Blair’s curriculum. connection, Mrs. Evans has a carefully cultivated list of area
To put this growth in perspective, when veteran faculty member organizations that could benefit from Blair’s assistance. Over
Kaye Evans first came to Blair in 1994 after having overseen service the years, she has worked to sustain existing relationships in
efforts at the Tilton School in New Hampshire, there were few the School’s surrounding communities in rural New Jersey and
School-sponsored activities other than building compost boxes Pennsylvania, as well as to reach out to new partners to keep
and caroling during the holidays. She quickly set about expanding the program vibrant and growing.
BBLLAAIIRR BBUULLLLEETTIINN 0077
THE PUBLIC PURPOSE OF PRIVATE EDUCATION
Many kids come to Blair with a passion for community service and are motivated to put
projects into motion. My role has shifted from coming up with the ideas to guiding and
supporting students as they implement their own.” — Kaye Evans
The Rise of Student-Led Projects
decision-making, problem-solving and consensus-building
In the last 15 years, Blair faculty members have been pleased skills. “Being part of a team and working together to accomplish
to see an increasing number of students step into leadership a goal teaches our students how to be good leaders and good
roles when it comes to serving others. “One of the most unique followers—essentially, figuring out what their role is and
aspects of our program is that students can take the reins where their strengths lie,” said Associate Head of School Ryan
and watch their ideas come to life,” explained Mrs. Evans, Pagotto’97. “Are you the planner who is conceptualizing the
who oversees the Community Service Club with religion project and asking how are we going to do this? Or are you
department chair the Rev. Cindy Crowner and history teacher the doer, the one who spearheads the first steps? Or both? By
Joanne Brandwood. “Many kids come to Blair with a passion engaging in this kind of work, students are learning how they
for community service and are motivated to put projects into best contribute, as well as identifying skills they wish to develop.”
motion. My role has shifted from coming up with the ideas to For day student Bryan Uzbay ’15, volunteering for on-
guiding and supporting students as they implement their own.” campus service initiatives and traveling with Blair faculty
This includes Mrs. Evans’ favorite project to date, Relay for members to engage in hands-on work in Delaware and
Life, which was initiated in 2010 by Jack Januszewski’13, California have made it clear he excels most as a project leader.
Abigail Vacheron ’13 and Caterina Gleijeses ’13, and has For the past three summers, he has coordinated a charity
since raised more than $100,000 for cancer research and whiffle ball tournament in his hometown of Columbia, New
elevated local awareness about the disease. Other recent Jersey. Among the causes the tournament’s proceeds have
student-generated initiatives include Daniel Geller ’14’s supported are the Wounded Warrior Project and the Goryeb
Family Fun Day for children with special needs, the Arts in Children’s Hospital in nearby Morristown.
Kenya fundraiser spearheaded by Kay O’Connor ’16 and the “Mr. Fortunato’s enthusiasm for service is inspiring, and with
annual Kenya Triathlon founded by Becca Merrifield ’10 and him leading the way, we are going to see an even bigger desire for
continued by her brother, Graham ’14. service opportunities amongst the student body,” said Bryan, an
Because students act as project leaders, the community experienced Habitat for Humanity volunteer who also traveled
service program at Blair has become a good forum for practicing to Yosemite National Park this summer on an environmentally
08 SUMMER-FALL 2014
Description:service box on a college application to challenging our students to even further bring the best of Blair, our commitment to relationship-based learning
