Fall 2012 News for the Allendale Columbia School Community Beyond the www.AllendaleColumbia.org Birches Yearly collaborations between Carson Cooman ’00 and faculty member Randy Northrup invigorate AC’s Lower School drama program. Continued on page 4... Carson Cooman ’00 Inside this issue Letter from the Head of School Letter from Head of School ..........2 Mick Gee Letter from Alumni Association Dear Allendale Columbia Community, President ............................................3 I hope this letter finds you having a wonderful start to Lower School Drama the fall season. I am thrilled to be at Allendale Columbia, Collaboration ............................... 4–5 and my family and I are thankful for the warm welcome Student Work from Muse ...............6 we have received. Congratulations Class of 2012 ......7 I have been looking forward to the start of the school year since I was appointed last November History Book Reviews ...................8 and it feels great to get started. This letter includes a brief update Recently Published Books on several new initiatives as we by AC Alumni ....................................9 begin the academic year. Canoeing through Europe .....10–11 With the start of the school year, we are delighted to open Allendale Columbia’s new Getting to Know Mick Gee .........12 international residential house. The house on Allens Creek Road Annual Fund Donor Report 13–19 was retrofitted from a single-family home to a comfortable residence for ten students.We are pleased to announce that this new residential option is completely enrolled and we have Photo Flash ...............................20–21 welcomed ten international students, in addition to our family hosted international students, to the AC community. We have also welcomed Ellen Meranze, our new Dean of International AC Photo Contest ..................20–21 Programs to lead this initiative. We look forward to the unique perspective all of our international students bring to our community. In addition to the strong demand we’ve seen Reunion 2012 ..................................22 for our program, we have also seen a significant increase in our day-student enrollment. One important step to continuing our positive momentum is the launch of our new branding Other Recent Alumni Events .......23 platform. After a comprehensive process which began early last school year and involved input from representatives of the AC faculty, staff, current AC parents, prospective parents, trustees, Reunion Giving Challenge ............23 and alumni, we have developed a campaign that will help us tell the AC story to the Rochester community and beyond. We’d like to thank those who participated for your input and Save the Date! .................................23 encourage you to keep an eye out for our exciting new marketing and communications materials throughout the coming school year. Allendale Columbia Upcoming Included in this issue of Beyond the Birches is our Annual Fund donor report. I am impressed Events ................................................24 and touched by the generosity of our entire Allendale Columbia community. A great deal of the success I mentioned above is made possible by your generosity. Whether you have Distinguished Alumni Award ........24 donated a monetary gift(s), your time, or both, I am grateful for your dedication to Allendale Columbia School. Thank you again for your warm welcome as I begin my new role at AC. Class Notes ..............................25–26 I look forward to meeting and getting to know you throughout the year. Best, Class Representatives ...................27 Board of Trustees ...........................27 Michael D. J. Gee Viewpoints ......................Back Cover Head of School 2 | Beyond the Birches Fall 2012 Letter from the Head of School Letter from the Alumni Association President Michael Gee Diana Clarkson Holl ’99 Welcome back to Beyond the Birches! The Alumni Association has been working very hard to continue fostering that very special relationship between alumni and Allendale Columbia School. Hopefully you have had an opportunity to experience our renewed efforts to personally connect with you over the past few years. Reunion experienced beautiful For those of you who are not in Rochester, never fear, we have weather and excellent attendance not forgotten you! The Alumni Association hosts a networking and due, in part, to our supplemented reconnection event outside of Rochester each year. This past year a schedule of events. To kick off the very successful cocktail party was held in NYC. Past years have seen weekend, the Alumni Association is events held in Boston, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. If you have now hosting a luncheon on Friday an idea for where we should host or, better yet, if you would like to to recognize the year’s recipient of help coordinate our next event, we would be happy to hear from you. the Distinguished Alumni Award. If you have an interest in nominating While our events are a great way to reconnect with your fellow an alum that you know for this alumni, one of the Alumni Association Board’s primary functions year’s award, please visit continues to be to maintain the connection between alumni and allendalecolumbia.org/alumni. Allendale Columbia School. We have had great success in finding members from each of your classes to serve as Class Representatives. Saturday’s activities now begin mid-morning with an ultimate Frisbee This “Class Rep” is your primary contact person, operating with the game and coach Ted Hunt’s alumni soccer game, played in honor Development Office’s support, for Reunion, class notes, and other of Mark von Bucher ’08. A picnic lunch is served to all alumni and events throughout the year. If you have questions about who your tours of the school’s newly renovated buildings and state-of-the-art Class Rep is, please see page 27. In addition to our continued support technology are available. The evening is, as usual, concluded with of the Class Rep program, we have strengthened our presence in social the ever popular cocktail party and class dinners. We hope that you media on Facebook. The school also continues to update its own have been able to reconnect with your fellow classmates and former website and alumni page, which can be found at allendalecolumbia.org. teachers during this event. As a reminder, it is never an “off year” for If you have not had a chance to visit, please take a minute to see Allendale Columbia alumni and you are encouraged to come back to exactly what you have been missing! In a time when virtual networking Reunion as often as you would like. has become something of an art form, do not forget all the valuable contacts you have established with Allendale Columbia School alumni. In addition to Reunion, we hope that you are able to attend one of our other events we host in Rochester such as the alumni holiday An exciting new chapter in the school’s history is beginning with the party in December. This celebration is held off-site and has proven appointment of Mick Gee as Head of School and we, on the Alumni to be very successful at bringing together alumni, who happen to be Association Board, certainly hope that you will be able to be a part in town for the holidays. The Alumni Association hopes that you are of the experience. The school has meant different things to each able to join us this year for a cup of holiday cheer with old friends of us, but ultimately it played a unique role in each of our lives. If you and perhaps some new. have not been back on campus in several years, or even if you were just back a few months ago, take a moment and remember what We are, of course, more than a social organization. The Alumni Allendale, Columbia, or Allendale Columbia meant to you and we Association has focused in recent years on bringing alumni together hope to see you soon. to give back to the Rochester community at large. This past spring we hosted a successful volunteer effort at FoodLink of Rochester, Best, sorting through over 25,000 pounds of food to be distributed to food cupboards and other organizations supporting Rochester. We were proud to see Allendale Columbia School alumni coming together to support such a worthy cause. If you have a charitable Diana Clarkson Holl ’99 organization close to your heart that you would like to recommend President, Alumni Association Board for our next volunteer effort, please let us know. [email protected] www.AllendaleColumbia.org | 3 Lower School Drama Collaboration Randy Northrup, AC Faculty The annual Lower School Musical, as we know, began its evolution in 1984 when the Lower School faculty decided to try a full scale musical in order to entertain guests at another great AC tradition, Grandparents’ Day. Goin’ Buggy was a hit and kicked We discuss an outline for the show and determine the appropriate off a string of twenty-eight shows. placement of songs within the action. Carson is a master at creating Eventually, our musicals outgrew a musical setting that matches the flavor and mood we decide is Grandparents’ Day and they were best for each piece. The lyrics of the songs come first and while moved to the second semester Carson is working on the music, I work on the script. I usually say in 1996. that the ideas “percolate in my head” throughout the autumn months. By December the script is formulated up there and often From the beginning, it was important I begin pounding it out on my laptop while sitting by the fireplace to Allendale Columbia to include the day after Christmas, a new holiday tradition for me. I share the every student in each production. script and Carson shares the music, and then things start to gel.