THE NATION'S OLDEST NOW ON THE WEB! COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL http://record.pingry.org NEWSPAPER VOLUME CXXXI, NUMBER 5 The Pingry School, Martinsville, New Jersey JUNE 12, 2005 COMMENCEMENT 2005 Seniors Break from Mr. Neiswender CLASS OF 2009 Classes for ISPs in May Leaves Pingry for GAINS 50 NEW on drums, and Rutgers freshman tracks. Both Lehrhoff and Keil TUDENTS IN By DARINA SHTRAKHMAN Rohan Matthew on piano. have varied musical talents North Carolina S ’05 (III) with HALLIE BIANCO Cara Sogliuzzo recorded ranging from singing to the gui- (III), JENNA DEVINE (III), and a few tracks on CD in order tar, and both have been involved By CATHERINE CHONG (IV) 135 TOTAL IN GRADE EVAN ROSENMAN (III) to hear her musical progress in the schoolʼs Jazz Ensemble. as a singer. Rebecca Ng also In 2000, John Neiswender Carolina, where he earned a Beginning May 2, 94 seniors By CHANTAL BERMAN (V) furthered her love of singing Visual Arts joined the Pingry community Masters in teaching. During dropped their classes in order to and NADINE REITMAN (V) by recording five songs and Jacquie OʼConnor and with 30 years of educational graduate school, Mr. Neis- pursue their interests through preparing for her performance Vanna Stone believe that the experience under his belt and wender was picked as one of This school year, the ad- Independent Study Projects of O Luce di Questʼanima on highest form of education is a clear vision for the school. only two graduate assistants missions of- (ISPs). Seniors experimented ISP night. Both also performed experience, so they explored After five years as head- that were permitted to teach fice admit- with everything from art and a classical voice recital at school art through field trips to mu- master and math teacher, he actual classes. ted 50 new internships to research and vol- to culminate their musical ca- seums in New York City and “I taught freshman Cal- eighth grade unteer work, many presenting is leaving for The OʼNeal reers at Pingry. Philadelphia. students, who their projects on June 8 at the School in Southern Pines, culus that year, and I fell Michael Page and Edward Christina Denitzio experi- annual ISP night. North Carolina. in love with teaching right will join the Suh recorded a CD of 1960ʼs mented with adding paintings away. Itʼs great fun, and I 85 returning music and explored the art to her photography. Her goal ARTS was good at it,” said Mr. students to form next yearʼs of digitally layering different was to compose ten original Music Neiswender. “Teaching and freshman class, the class instrumental tracks by using works utilizing both mediums, Hoping to explore many learning with the students of 2009. The new students personal equipment as well as drawing inspiration from the musical genres, Mike Stuzyn- keeps you young.” were picked from a group of Pingryʼs recording studio. works and styles of Andy War- ski compiled a CD of twelve In 1970, Mr. Neiswender roughly 225 applicants, with Josh Leight and Jonathan hol, Robert Rauschenberg, and eclectic tracks ranging from 56 percent of those accepted Roberts performed a hand- Jasper Johns. took a job as a math teacher jazz to funk to alternative pieces. matriculating. ful of tracks which included Donald Castle, inspired by and coach at the AC Flora Stuzynskiʼs most important The 50 new students come original compositions as well art classes with Mr. Richard High School in Columbia, objective was to explore the di- as creative renditions of an array Freiwald, explored techniques South Carolina. from 25 different schools and versity of his influences and how of previously recorded tracks. for sculpture and throwing pot- After four years at AC represent 47 different com- they have affected his musical They created a unique sound tery on a larger scale. His goal Flora High School, he be- munities. Of all 25 middle career as a trombonist. stemming from their musical was to emulate artists such as came an Associate Professor schools, 66 percent are pub- Ben Rosenthal and Andrew tastes by utilizing their skills at Pablo Picasso and Paul Soldver of Mathematics and later lic, 26 percent are private, Young had a month-long “jazz various instruments, singing, and create a diverse group of In 1969, Mr. Neiswender Mathematics Department and six percent are Catholic. experience” by forming a band and song editing. sculptures. graduated from Furman Uni- Two percent of the new stu- and recording eight jazz songs Chair at Erskine College in Mike Lehrhoff and Noah Brad Fechter experimented versity with a B.S. in Math- dents were previously home- of different styles and tem- Due West, South Carolina. Keil recorded “Hell Help Us ematics. He then went on pos. They played together with – The EP,” a CD of five original to the University of South Young on keyboard, Rosenthal Continued on Page 14 Continued on Page 8 Continued on Page 15 SENIOR REFLECTIONS SENIOR AWARDS CLASS OF 1902 EMBLEM SCHOOL NEWS SPORTS P. 2—3 P. 6 P. 4—5 P. 12-15 P. 16 2 THE PINGRY RECORD REFLECTIONS JUNE 12, 2005 EDITORIAL: Everything I Know About Pingry, I Learned from Chip Beall CORRECTIONS We All Owe “Pingry, we love ya, but youʼre a bit pedantic.” rd Thanks to Pingry So went the favorite maxim of Mr. Chip Beall, the head judge and chairman of last monthʼs 23 The staff of the Annual National Academic Championship – for laypeople, Quiz Bowl Nationals. Despite the fact Broken Wreckord that the two Pingry teams, fairly new to the competition in comparison to most other teams, were Reflection: Danielle Peretore (VI) the opening of performing exceedingly well, Mr. Beall felt it necessary to single us out among the competition apologizes for any what an inter- my eyes to the as Satan incarnate. article in our last is- esting word. As SENIOR REFLECTION things that Pin- Such animus resulted from our inability to accept Chip Beallʼs word as gospel, since his word sue that might have I see it, refl ection can mean the gry has given was often very wrong. For example, Chip referred to the album of Ray Charles duets sold on the given offense, par- process of looking back over me over the past four yearsm counter of every Starbucks on Earth as “Misery Loves Company,” not “Genius Loves Company.” my past, or it can simply mean that I have been able to settle the “…Um, itʼs actually ʻGenius Loves Company,ʼ Mr. Beall,” weʼd say. ticularly the article the image staring back at me in score on my own. “Unsportsmanlike behavior,” Chip would reply, because not only were we correct, but he was on diversity hiring. my mirror. There is simply no denying wrong, and oversized egos donʼt appreciate being wrong. We questioned his authority, and we paid Therefore, in this, my senior that I am who I am as a result of the price – thus, Pingry was “pedantic.” Our intention in that piece was to satirize refl ection, I can choose to talk my four years here at Pingry. No- What Chip didnʼt realize, though, was that even his choice of pejorative was wrong. Rather about my past, or I can talk about where else have I been so chal- than “pedantic,” perhaps better adjectives would have been scholarly, analytical, or probing. Other the administrationʼs my present as it literally stares lenged, and yet so rewarded. options include inquisitive, rational, curious, and questioning. So maybe we were even a tinge record on hiring back at me. Yet the deeper I push, Nowhere else have I been defi ant, bold, principled, or forthright — but perhaps we were just correct. people of color. Our the more I realize that I simply forced to rewrite papers three Taken together, these twelve italicized adjectives form the true picture of Pingry, and one that, cannot discuss the image I see times, but so too, nowhere else fi ve days before I graduate from this place, I can tenderly say Iʼll miss. hope was to draw in the mirror without discussing have I been so proud of a fi nal As I write this piece for my fi nal issue of the Record, I feel as though we seniors are in a unique attention to the issue the events of the past four years product. place – too near the end to see through the eyes of an underclassman, and not yet detached enough and encourage the which have shaped its form. Nowhere else have I been to look back as an alumnus. The nostalgia already colors the past six years of my life with some school to improve It would be a lie to say that forced so quickly out of my com- sentimentality and even a little preachiness. But most importantly, for the fi rst time in my Pingry I have always loved being a fort zone, but so too, nowhere career, Iʼm seeing the big picture – and itʼs one that even those twelve adjectives canʼt do justice diversity recruiting. Pingry student. But it would else have I learned just how to. We learned, how- also be a lie to say that I have strong I can be on my own. There is something unique, rare, and truly incredible about this school that singles its students not always been proud of being Nowhere else have I been out from the others. That something is the Pingry faculty, for they have cultivated in me those ever, that there are a Pingry student. so pushed to my absolute limit, adjectives that Chip Beall didnʼt see in the Pingry quiz bowl teams.