WINTER 2016 Inside: Choosing the 901 WINTER 2015 | 1 Aristotle said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” St. Mary’s students benefit from this wisdom daily in Chapel, the Bridge to Caring, service learning, and the Community Fund. We even find the heart in our exams. If you had been in the Rose Theater for the Juniors’ semester exams, you would have witnessed the newest expression of how our teachers encourage the heart of our students and enable them to find their unique voices. Just before Christmas break, I had the great pleasure of listening to the Juniors each deliver a four-minute speech in the style of a TED Talk. As each student walked onto the carpet and into the spotlight, the audience of parents and teachers heard a confident, compassionate, and courageous voice. The two evenings titled “Voices of St. Mary’s” began as a combined history and English assignment that asked the Juniors to express how the curriculum has educated their heart and not just their mind. English teacher Caroline Goodman, history teacher Holly Hensarling, and librarian Jeanine Akers worked as a team to ask: How do the facts and stories in your courses speak to your own experience and how can that make us better human beings? Students connected Beowulf, Wuthering Heights, Julius Caesar, 9/11, and the Holocaust to their own experiences with fear, racism, stereotyping, courage, creativity, and faith. Listening to these voices, it is clear that St. Mary’s is dedicated to letting each girl pursue her individual potential. It is also clear why our young women pursue the careers of service and teaching, and choose to call Memphis home, connecting to their community. You will find their stories highlighted in this issue. The heart is at the heart of an Episcopal School education. This kind of integrity of mind and soul and body has never been a more important as we prepare young woman for an often polarized, terrorized, and fragmented culture. By not ignoring this vital connection, our students and graduates are able to teach and serve others mindfully and whole-heartedly. Head of School On the first day of the semester, Head of School Albert Throckmorton encourages Middle and Upper School students to focus on the destination while also enjoying the journey. 2 | The Varsity Volleyball team revs up for state competition, capping its best season in school history. Winter 2016 The magazine of St. Mary’s Episcopal School is published twice a year as a service to all alumnae, students, In This Issue parents, faculty, staff, and friends of the school. Head of School 2 Bridging the Gap Albert L. Throckmorton Alumnae invest in educational equality Director of Advancement Leanne Kleinmann 7 Choosing the 901 Director of Alumnae Zina Kumok ’07 chats with five alumnae about why Rainey Ray Segars ’05 they ultimately chose to call Memphis home. Director of Communication / Editor Sally Walker Davies 10-13 College 101 Photography Lisa Buser New faces, new spaces, advice for college planning, and an update on the SATs. Contributors Courtney Shove ’96 Cara Modisett Shari Ray 14 To Be or Not To Be Ophelia Zina Kumok ’07 In the first of a series of essays by St. Mary’s faculty, Owen McGuire Upper School English Teacher Shari Ray explains that there’s no way her students should ever be an Ophelia. Letters to the Editor: Please address all correspondence to: Sally Walker Davies 16-21 Campus News St. Mary’s Episcopal School 60 Perkins Extended Memphis, TN 38117 [email protected] 901.537.1489 Alumnae Unless otherwise noted, all photos, with the exception of select photos in Class Notes, are by Lisa Buser. 22 Honoring Gigi Gould ’70 On the Cover: St. Mary’s alumnae (L-R) Patti Person Ray ’65, Jessica Johnson ’94, Grace Jensen Knight ’05, Courtney Taylor Humphreys ’01, 23 Class Notes and Lucy Foster ’10 are helping build a better Memphis through the Memphis Teacher Residency. 44 Milestones ————————— Parents of Alumnae: If your daughter no longer maintains an address at your home, please notify Director of Alumnae Rainey Ray Segars ’05 at 901.537.1424 or [email protected] /St.MarysEpiscopalSchool The mission of St. Mary’s Episcopal School is to provide a @StMarysMemphis superior educational experience for girls which will encourage and enable each student to reach her individual potential. /StMarysTV St. Mary’s Episcopal School does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, or national origin in the administration of its admission, financial @stmarysepiscopalschool aid, educational, athletic, extracurricular, or other policies. WINTER 2015 | 1 ---------- CHOOSING THE 901 ---------- Bridging the Gap Alumnae invest in educational equality By Courtney Shove ’96 t. Mary’s alumnae are a testament to the value of a good education — something that Sall children deserve, regardless of socio- economic standing. Committed to helping bridge the educational gap in Memphis, a group of alums from across the decades are working to improve public education through the Memphis Teacher Residency, commonly known as MTR. 2 2 || ST. MARY’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL St. Mary’s alumnae (L-R) Patti Person Ray ’65, Jessica Johnson ’94, Grace Jensen Knight ’05, Courtney Taylor Humphreys ’01, and Lucy Foster ’10 are helping build a better Memphis through the Memphis Teacher Residency. WINTERWINTER 20152015 || 33 --------------------------------------- CHOOSING THE 901 --------------------------------------- Founded in 2008, MTR is a faith-based teacher- the challenges that students face in urban schools,” training program that seeks to provide quality educa- Ray said. “The students are exposed to Memphis itself, tion to students in six low-income areas in Memphis. because so many aren’t from here, and the importance After successfully completing a year of graduate of raising the education level.” coursework and an in-classroom internship, residents The bottom line: MTR residents don’t have to go it receive a master’s degree in urban education through alone. They are clustered together in various schools a partnership with Union University. After receiving and even live together in Georgian Woods Apartments. their degree, MTR teachers commit to working three Each cohort also learns about Memphis and its history additional years in a Memphis urban school. So far, the and gets involved in the neighborhoods where they program has 239 graduates (those who have completed teach. the four-year commitment) and 231 teachers currently “The city of Memphis depends on the success of its on staff in Memphis urban schools. public education,” Ray said. “At the root of it all, I’m a teacher, and that’s still what I’m doing.” The Veteran Teacher and Administrator: Patti Person Ray ’65 The Prepared Newbie: Lucy Foster ’10 After spending 25 years of her life working in public For Lucy Foster, living in Georgian Woods last year education, Dr. Patti Ray just can’t quit it. Even during as an MTR resident was unexpectedly significant. Not her 15-year tenure as Upper School Head at St. Mary’s, only was it her first “adult” apartment, but the complex she taught Union University students training to be is also where her grandmother lived when Lucy’s mom public school teachers. Now, though technically retired, she continues to teach in every area of Union’s graduate education program. Since 2009, Ray has been teaching two MTR courses: Sec- ondary Methods and Intensive Content Studies, which are both Patti Person Ray ’65 taught in the first half of the residency. Outside of class, she makes herself available via text message, phone, and email and is delighted that her students reach out to her for ideas and other support. She credits MTR’s extensive support system for the success of its teachers. What sets it apart from simi- lar programs is the common motivation among the residents and their shared Christian call to bring about social justice through education. “MTR offers courses that are enlightening as to Lucy Foster ’10 4 | --------------------------------------- CHOOSING THE 901 --------------------------------------- was born and where Lucy’s mom, Nancy Johnson Foster with MTR in 2012. ’71, had her first apartment after college. “MTR has been a real gift for both of us,” Courtney In her cohort of 67, Foster said only five or six were said. “We have developed friendships with people who “local-grown Memphians.” The rest were from all over didn’t grow up like us, and that has totally enriched our the country. Her roommate was a young woman from lives.” Corona, California, who had never been to the South She supports MTR teachers through regular class- before. room observations and debriefing sessions and pro- Foster, who is in her second year of teaching 7th vides feedback on the residents’ online journals. She grade at Soulsville Charter School, describes the Mem- also teaches a Math Content Methods class to elemen- phis she knows now as “cooler” than the one she knew tary-education residents. Outside of work, she enjoys growing up: “Memphis seems exciting, especially to having them over for dinner and getting to know them new people. A lot of young people are coming here, and better. it feels like Memphis is onto something.” In her mind, the strength of the program lies in its She said she has found tremendous support Christian perspective. Courtney feels good knowing she through MTR and that her mentor teacher, who hap- can tell new teachers that their ultimate worth is not pens to be a Teach For America graduate, was phenom- wrapped up in their students’ test scores or in a failed enal. Foster now teaches on the same team as her men- observation. At the same time, she doesn’t negate the tor, who is mentoring an MTR resident again this year.