PenningtonSpring 2012 drama in the ALUMNI WEEKEND social media spotlight MAY 18 AND 19, 2012 at pennington J12-0347 pennmag_spring2012.indd Sec1:1 12-03-28 8:36 PM Parents Association Sip N Bid: April in Paris ington nn Sc e h P o e Grandparents Day o h l T S c c h i s o s Mary Kline Classic l a a l rs C hip Golf Alumni Weekend Seventeenth Annual Pennington School Scholarship Baccalaureate Golf Classic Senior/Parent Dinner Dance The Bedens Brook Club Commencement June 11, 2012 Middle School Graduation All proceeds benefi t scholarships for disadvantaged students att ending Th e Pennington School Seventeenth Annual Golf Classic Th e Seventeenth Annual Golf Classic will be held on Monday, June 11, 2012, at the Bedens Brook Club in Skillman, NJ. Proceeds from the Classic will provide fi nancial assistance to disadvantaged students Edinburgh Fringe Festival att ending Pennington. Th e Page and Ott o Marx Foundation has challenged Pennington to match their gift of $60,000! Th e Golf Classic is a great opportunity Homecoming for the entire Pennington community to share a great day on the links! Golf Classic Committ ee members: JenJen Green P’14 Chair, Jon Bowden ’91, Jordan Gray ’91, Jim Hyman,Hy Chris Long ’91 P’12’17, Michael Jingoli ’85 P’11’15, Wally Kyle P’05’08’11, Rich Simkus P’14 To volunteervolun for the event, or if you are interested in learning more abouta the many sponsorship opportunities available, contactco Rob McClellan at [email protected], by phone at 609–737–6126, or visit our website at www.pennington.org/alumni/golfclassic. Th ank you to our Gold Sponsors! J12-0347 pennmag_spring2012 corr.indd Sec1:2 12-04-03 12:20 PM Pennington MAGAZINE On the Cover Spring 2012 Volume 53, No. 1 HEAD OF SCHOOL Stephanie G. Townsend DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Joanna K. C. Storrar EDITOR A. Melissa Kiser Director of Communications (609) 737–6116 [email protected] CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jaclyn A. Immordino ’03 COPY WRITER A. Melissa Kiser CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jemima Attanasio, Julia Meneghin, Joanne McGann, Patrick Murphy ’80, Joanna K.C. Storrar 18 PHOTOGRAPHER THE YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR Jaclyn A. Immordino ’03 Alex Kline ’12 has gained respect in the college basketball recruiting world with his website and Twitter feed, but he also uses his connections for a good cause. CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Jemima Attanasio, Anna Gregg ’13, Jim Inverso, A. Melissa Kiser, Joanne McGann, Julia Meneghin, ALUMNI WEEKEND 2012 Patrick Murphy ’80, Joanna K. C. Storrar All Pennington alumni are welcomed back CLASS NOTES 23 for a weekend of reunions with friends and Ashley Foltiny opportunities to see the Pennington of today. (609) 737–6121 Classes whose numerals end in 2 or 7 will have [email protected] special celebrations of their milestone reunions. CONTACT INFORMATION CHANGES Mary Ellen Erdie (609) 737–6122 [email protected] THE PENNINGTON SCHOOL 112 West Delaware Avenue Pennington, NJ 08534 Note (609) 737–1838 www.pennington.org PRINTING News Cox Printers All materials copyright ©2012 by Also Inside Arts The Pennington School unless otherwise noted. The cupola device, circular logo, 11 MEET THE SOCIAL MEDIA COMMITTEE and split P are registered trademarks Athletics of The Pennington School. Opinions Students tweet to keep fellow students, expressed in Pennington Magazine are parents, and alumni connected. those of the authors, not necessarily Happenings those of The Pennington School. 14 SPOTLIGHT ON DRAMA THE PENNINGTON SCHOOL Scotland-bound Pennington Drama presents Notes The Winter's Tale and The Sound of Music. TPS_NEWS TPS_SPORTS Pennington 31 JAE HEO '08 AT AMHERST ON THE COVER Alex Kline ’12 manages the Varsity Boys’ Basketball team, but his wider knowledge Pennington soccer standout returns to of regional high school basketball has brought college after military service in Korea. national news media to the Pennington campus. WWW.PENNINGTON.ORG 1 J12-0347 pennmag_spring2012.indd Sec2:3 12-03-28 8:36 PM nington What is the recipe for a successful school? en F P u e n h d T We start with great children. The students at Pennington are all individuals with one thing in common: a deep desire to explore their own potential. Supporting a diverse student body takes resources. The enningtP on Fund P provides 5 percent of the cost of our financial aid program. 20 2 11 201 We add great teachers like biology teacher Dr. – David Hauser. “I teach the students excellence and set the bar high. When they clear a hurdle— that’s what gives them self-esteem.” Th e Pennington Fund is crucial, paying 5 percent of each teacher’s salary. We mix in a full rainbow of activities from athletics to art and music. Th e Pennington Fund contributes 5 percent of the cost of these essential ingredients. We add one more ingredient: YOU! Tuition provides only 86 percent of our operating revenue, and the Pennington Fund helps bridge the gap. Your annual support helps this great school grow even stronger and more successful. To make a gift to the Pennington Fund, contact Rob McClellan at rmcclellan@ pennington.org or (609) 737–6126. 2012 Graduates Get a Taste of What Being an Alumnus Means On January 5, recent Pennington graduates Andrea Ricketti ’11 and Ben Colalillo ’11 returned to campus to speak to the Class of 2012—Pennington’s future alumni. Building relationships and staying connected were common themes as Ricketti and Colalillo reminisced warmly about their experiences at Pennington. Ricketti spoke about her senior-year internship at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, arranged through the Horizon program With their Pennington cupcakes are Ben Colalillo '11, Director of Alumni Relations at Pennington, and how it has led to an Joanne McGann, Head of School Penny Townsend, Director of Leadership Giving Jemima opportunity working in public relations at Attanasio, and Andrea Ricketti '11. Judith Ripka in New York City. Meanwhile, Colalillo credited his abilities to converse with his college professors, connect with older students, and talk with alumni to the strong relationships he had with his teachers at Pennington. Ricketti and Colalillo were joined by Director of Alumni Relations Joanne McGann and Director of Leadership Giving Jemima Attanasio. McGann and Attanasio spoke to seniors about the importance of staying involved and connected, once they graduate, in order to maintain the many close relationships that they have built over their years at Pennington. They demonstrated the importance of annual giving with a graphic of Pennington’s annual budget as a cake, explaining that without the support of alumni, parents, and friends, there would be a large piece of that cake missing every year. The seniors then received a Pennington cupcake to thank them and encourage their future support. We think Colalillo expressed it best when he urged the seniors to "take pride in your school. Go out and represent Pennington in its finest light, and give back in whichever way you can." Well put! J12-0347 pennmag_spring2012.indd Sec2:4 12-03-28 8:36 PM from the Head of School Welcome to the Spring 2012 issue of Pennington Magazine. I hope that many alumni are making plans to join us in May for Alumni Weekend, which the Alumni and Development Offi ce has been working toward since last year. We especially look forward to seeing those of you who are celebrating a milestone reunion this year. No matt er how long ago you graduated, you will fi nd much at your beloved alma mater that is familiar. Old Main, the Lodge, Lowellden, Lake Lowellden, and many of the athletic facilities—as well as the wonderful town of Pennington—are ready to greet you. For those of you who haven’t returned to campus in many years, you will see some changes. What makes Alumni Weekend so special, however, is the people, and although they may not all look the same, they will be immediately familiar. You will fi nd that they really haven’t changed. You will have ample opportunity to catch up with great friends, spend time with some of your favorite teachers (many of those who have retired will be returning for the weekend), and explore and hear about what is new at the School. Head of School Penny Townsend shares a laugh with Weijia Tang '14, Rejoice Ijeh '13, Philip Pecora '12, and Geena Molinaro '12. Th e fundamentals of Pennington haven’t changed—great relationships between In this magazine you will read about how Offi ce to use social media to reconnect young teachers and students and parents—and you senior Alex Kline brought together his love of alumni with the School community. Th rough will be amazed by how easy it is to reconnect the game of basketball with an understanding Twitt er, Will and his classmates give their with friends and mentors from a crucial period of the potential of Twitt er to carve out a niche followers a fl avor of School life, from the fun of in your life. Relationships forged at Pennington for himself as a media-savvy, dynamic talent a student-faculty dodgeball game, to the beauty last a lifetime. scout. His tweets about promising high school of the campus aft er a snowstorm, to the joys of Pennington is continually evolving, basketball players and their college prospects the Varsity Girls’ Basketball team’s winning the however, and this magazine tells you a litt le are followed by over 18,000 people, including playoff s, to students’ wishing each other luck about that, too. We are taking greater advantage many college basketball coaches all over the on exams. Th e liveliness of this fl ow of tweets of the world around us, not only to enrich the country.