SUMMER 2015 Commencement 2015 THE BLUE BLAZER BALL • AVON IN THE COMMUNITY • REUNION 2015 AVON OLD FARMS SCHOOL ESTABLISHED 1927 HEADMASTER Kenneth H. LaRocque ASSOCIATE HEADMASTER John T. Gardner EDITOR Morgan C. Cugell DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Glenn Sieber DESIGNER 2k Design www.2kDesign.com ALUMNI NOTES Lizabeth Abramson PHOTOGRAPHERS The Seshu Badrinath Michael Dembicer Stephen Guglielmo ’15 PRINTER Village Green Benchemark Printing, Inc., Schenectady, NY CONTRIBUTORS Thanks to everyone who contributed to this magazine. Special thanks to Anne Black, Kim Crocker, Sue Evans, contents and Brendon Welker ’91. The Village Green is published for the alumni, parents, and friends of Avon Old Farms School. It is distributed to approximately 8,000 readers. All rights reserved. AVON OLD FARMS SCHOOL 1 500 Old Farms Road Headmaster Avon, CT 06001 www.avonoldfarms.com (860) 404-4100 ADMISSION (800) 464-2866 2 [email protected] 2 14 News and ALUMNI We enjoy hearing from you! Notes Please send us your latest news and notes: The Blue Blazer Ball Commencement Email: [email protected] Phone: (800) 336-8195 Fax: (860) 404-4631 6 EMAIL Athletics Members of the administration and faculty can be emailed by using the following formula: last name + first initial @avonoldfarms.com. The directory on the school website also includes email links. 28 Avon Old Farms School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and The Last activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. Word It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, disabilities, or sexual orientation in the administration of its 20 26 educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs. Reunion The Athletic Hall of Fame Dear Readers, Welcome back! This issue of The Village Green offers a look back at last spring even The as we now prepare for the coming school year. The Blue Blazer Ball, Reunion, Avonian Commencement, and more provided a fitting, celebratory conclusion to what was a Online successful, memorable 2014–2015 school year, and I hope that you will enjoy the words and images that follow. Find past issues of It was my pleasure to fill in as editor for this issue as Morgan Cugell was on The Avonian online at maternity leave—congratulations to her and her husband, Brian Cugell, on the birth of www.avonoldfarms. their baby girl, Maren Grace Cugell, born April 29, 2015! com/avonian As always, your feedback is welcomed. Aspirando et perseverando, from editor the Graham Callaghan ’95 [email protected] Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter 860-404-4299 Cover photo: The 82nd Commencement Exercises. www.facebook.com @avonoldfarms Photo by Michael Dembicer. /avonoldfarms from the Headmaster by Kenneth H. LaRocque Greetings. I hope that this issue of The Village Green helps bring to against cancer. And, on May 6th , we hosted Grandparents life some of the exciting events we enjoyed on campus over Day on campus and enjoyed a record turnout. the course of the past few months. From our Push-ups In the sporting arena, our athletes excelled again this for Patriots program, to the Blue Blazer Ball, to the Relay spring. The varsity baseball team once again won its league for Life, to Grandparents Day, to Alumni Weekend, to championship, as did our varsity lacrosse team, finishing its Commencement, this spring was filled with the spirit of season as the top ranked team in Western New England. tradition that makes Avon Old Farms such a unique and In the arts, we were proud of our actors who put on an special community. Our students, faculty, administration, impressive production of Shakespeare’s Othello early in May. parents, and staff joined together numerous times to host On Commencement weekend, we were equally proud of successfully hundreds of visitors to campus. the creative talent on display at our art show in the Tiernan Among the highlights of the spring term included the Room. Our students’ work with pottery, photography, election of Marty Cole as the Chairman of our Board of architecture, woodworking, painting, and drawing greatly Directors at the spring Board of Directors meeting, and impressed all who stopped by the exhibit. On Saturday inducting Perry Bromwell ’82, Chris Higgins ’01, Jonathan afternoon of that weekend, our Commencement Concert Quick ’05, as well as the tennis team from 2003, the hockey was memorable from every perspective, and moved the team from 2004, and the hockey team from 2005 into our audience to standing ovations on more than one occasion. Athletic Hall of Fame during Alumni Weekend. On April On the picture perfect Sunday morning of May 24th, 25th, the Parents of Avon hosted the annual Blue Blazer on our Village Green, the Honorable Richard J. Leon, Ball, which raised a record amount of money to benefit our United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, Student Enrichment Fund. From Saturday morning, April delivered our Commencement Address to the Class of 2015 11th and continuing for 24 hours, Major John Bourgault and their guests. The festive graduation ceremonies were ’80, Rob Whitty ’87, and Jim Detora led a host of students an appropriate ending to an extremely successful year at and other faculty and staff in our Push-ups For Patriots Avon Old Farms. The 2014-15 school year will read as a rich initiative, and we raised over $21,000 for the Semper Fi chapter in our School’s history and one in which we never Fund to support wounded US Marines and their families. wavered from our mission of building men of character. On May 1st our school community joined with The Ethel Thank you for your continuing interest in and support Walker School and Miss Porter’s School to host our Relay of Avon Old Farms! for Life event, and raised over $40,000 to help in the fight Do you know a possible future Avonian? Please tell him and his family about our fall Open Houses on October 13 and November 3. RSVP information can be found on our website: www.avonoldfarms.com The Village Green Summer 2015 1 News and Notes The Blue Blazer Ball Celebrating AOF Students and Spring he 2015 Blue Blazer Ball was a lively and successful evening, artfully crafted by the Parents of Avon, and led by Co-Presidents Bruce MacMillian P’14, P’15 and Tammy Papadopoulos P’10, P’12 & P’15. TFor the second year, the event showcased the school’s commitment to sustainability and conservation efforts. “A Taste of New England: A Farm-to-Table Feast” boasted seasonal flavors from local growers and food artisans; wine and beer tasting in the Commons Room; a formal dinner in Riddle Refectory; and door prize giveaways. The always-exciting live auction once again provided guests with plenty of opportunities to support Avon, and by the end of the evening, more than $140,000 had been raised for the Student Enrichment Fund. 2 Summer 2015 The Village Green AOF PARENTS ASSOCIATION MISSION STATEMENT With the concurrence of Avon Old Farms School’s Headmaster and the Avon Old Farms School’s Board of Directors, and in accordance with the School’s philosophy, the mission of the Avon Old Farms Parents Association is to promote camaraderie and a sense of community among its families and friends and enhance the academic, athletic, and extra-curricular experiences of the Men of Avon. The Village Green Summer 2015 3 News and AVON IN THE Notes COMMUNITY Prior to the remembrance lap, Vincent Caputo ’16 and AJ Caputo ’17 spoke to the memory of their Relay forLife mother. Always a solemn and touching part of the evening, the silent lap that followed was lit by luminaries lining the Village Green. On Saturday, May 2nd and The Luminary Ceremony appropriately honored the Sunday, May 3rd, Avon hosted memories of those who had lost their fight to cancer, but yet another successful Relay for the evening, too, was a celebration of those who have won Life with The Ethel Walker their fights against the disease, those who are courageously School and Miss Porter’s School. fighting the disease today, and the strong hope for a cure. The three Farmington Valley The collaborative efforts of Avon Old Farms, schools joined forces to raise Ethel Walker School, and Miss Porter’s School made money, awareness, and support for a meaningful event in the spirit of support and for the American Cancer generosity and hope. Society and cancer research. All told, 283 participants formed 35 separate teams and raised over $40,000. Inflatable slides and bounce houses and a dunk tank were among the early-evening entertainment set up on the Village Green as the event got underway under clear, cool skies. Spirits were high as teams gathered and organized. Christian Di Antonio ’15, head of Avon Outreach and lead event coordinator on the Avon side, welcomed everyone and offered some opening remarks of gratitude. From that point forward, the teams walked laps, one representative from each team walking at all times to signify the ongoing search for a cure for cancer. 4 Summer 2015 The Village Green Push-ups forPatriots In an attempt to “keep it interesting” Major John Bourgault ’80 came up with a new twist for the seventh annual Push-Ups for Patriots event. Last year the goal was to do 20,000 push-ups in 24 hours by doing approximately 12 push-ups a minute. This year, Major Bourgault added a running component and moved the event to the Field House so participants could jog a length of the basketball court between sets of push-ups.