GEORGIANpublication of george scho ol, newtow n, pennsy lvania

INSIDE

JANUARY

2014

01perspect ives Exploring the Impact of Fitness on Learning

Vol. 86 No. 01

18supporting george schoolThe Hayden Family Legacy

bu i ld ing for a sustainable futureThe Fitness and Athletics Center

20survey results worth shouting aboutThe Remarkable Value of a George School Education

22

TABLE OF CONTENTS Vol. 86 | No. 01 | JANUARY 2014

GEORGIAN

PHOTOS: Inside Front Cover: Joe Kinsey ’15 works with Source coach Mike Rothwell to develop a daily exercise routine that helps improve memory, brain health, and physical fitness. (Photo by Bruce Weller) Front Cover: Image “Genius Boy” (Illustration from Mustafa Hacalaki at iStockphoto)

01 PERSPECTIVES Exploring the Impact of Fitness on Learning

02 New Lessons on Learning

04 Where the Mind Goes, Will the Body Follow?

06 Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

08 Mindfulness: Students Slow Down and Unplug

09 eQuiz Highlights

12 FEATURES

12 History of Athletics at George School

18 Supporting George School: The Hayden Family Legacy

20 Building for a Sustainable Future

22 Survey Results Worth Shouting About

26 CAMPUS NEWS & NOTES

30 ALUMNI TELL US

46 IN MEMORIAM

GEORGIAN | 1

PERSPECTI V ES

The new Fitness and Athletics Center that is cur-

rently being constructed on George School’s cam-

pus is located on the corner of Farm Drive directly

across from the Mollie Dodd Anderson Library and

catty-corner to the meetinghouse. The proximity

of these three buildings is symbolic in many ways.

Linking past, present, and future, the buildings also

reflect the important connection between “mind,

body, and spirit” that has long been held to be the

ideal in education.

Today we are coming to understand that

connection in new and very exciting ways. While

George School has a long commitment to educating

the “whole child,” for generations we, like educators

world-wide, have viewed the mind, the body, and

the spirit as three separate and distinct parts of the

whole. Today, thanks to groundbreaking research

in neuroscience, we are beginning to understand

how closely integrated these aspects of our being

really are.

In this edition of Perspectives, you will learn

about how the George School faculty is incorporat-

ing this new research. You’ll learn about the work

of neuroscientist Emily Falk ’99, who studies ways

that verbal messages (mind) influence physical

behavior (body). You’ll be introduced to the ways

that healthy eating and regular exercise (body)

help graduate Jessie Price ’91, and former faculty

member Ed Ayres to keep their minds more focused

and engaged throughout the day. Finally, gradu-

ate Jeffrey Mann ’88 and current faculty member

Michael Lo Stracco will introduce you to the

spiritual practice of mindfulness meditation and

the ways in which this practice is being incorpo-

rated into the George School curriculum to help

faculty and students stay focused (mind) and

healthy (body).

Whether seen as distinct and separate or under-

stood, as they are today, to be fully integrated, the

three pillars of “body, mind, and spirit” continue

to symbolize George School’s commitment to the

whole student.

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Exploring the Impact of Fitness on Learning

HEAD OF SCHOOL NANCY STARMER takes a walk with Freesoul El Shabazz-Thomspon ’15, Isabelle Oppenheimer ’16, and Sydney Denmark ’14 on a sunny fall day.

Perspectives EDITED BY LAURA LAVALLEE

2 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

Perspectives

BY ANDREA LEHMAN

Over the last decade, neuroscientists have been

uncovering evidence of the important relation-

ship between exercise and learning. Advances in

imaging are revealing the effects of exercise on

areas of the brain responsible for cognitive func-

tion. Studies on mindfulness are demonstrating its

impact on emotional health and executive func-

tioning. And educators are taking note.

At George School, our faculty members are

exploring the implications of these new discoveries

on curriculum and pedagogy. Leading the inquiry

is George School’s Foundational Skills Committee,

an “action research” team designed to help faculty

learn how to teach the skills, strategies, structures,

and dispositions common to all learning. Together

the committee read Brain Rules: 12 Principles for

Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School

by John Medina, and presented their findings to

the entire faculty.

In Brain Rules Medina points to a number of short-

and long-term exercise-induced effects on cognitive

function, including increased blood f low, which

stimulates the creation of new blood vessels.

Exercise “allows more access to the bloodstream’s

goods and services, which include food distribu-

tion and waste disposal,” he says in Brain Rules.

“Imaging studies have shown that exercise literally

increases blood volume in a region of the brain

called the dentate gyrus…a vital constituent of the

hippocampus, a region deeply involved in mem-

ory formation.” In addition, “early studies indicate

that exercise also stimulates one of the brain’s most

powerful growth factors, BDNF,” which stands for

brain-derived neurotrophic factor. “BDNF exerts

a fertilizer-like growth effect on certain neurons in

the brain.”

Other researchers concur. Clinical psychiatrist

and Harvard professor John Ratey, author of Spark:

The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the

Brain and A User’s Guide to the Brain: Perception,

JERRICA BAUER ’16 AND NOELLE LUCIEN ’16 review pond water to identify microscopic life forms including protozoans and small animals.

New Lessons on Learning

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Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain, has

also shown that exercise can optimize learning.

Exercise results in the production of neuro-

transmitters such as norepinephrine, dopamine,

serotonin, and endorphins as well as BDNF and

can lead to new brain cells in the hippocampus.

Benefits range from increased motivation and bet-

ter attention and self-control to improved planning

and organization.

Medina “would have treadmills in our class-

rooms,” quipped Scott Spence, associate head of

school, and though George School has eschewed

that option in favor of building a new centralized

fitness and athletics center, he anticipates a simi-

lar payoff. “Strong scientific evidence supports the

connection between exercise and improved exec-

utive functioning, including long-term memory,

problem-solving, reasoning, and attention—all so

critical for adolescents to manage the high school

experience. It’ll be great to have a facility that will

enable our students to more readily take advantage

of this knowledge.”

This research is also proving the soundness of

existing George School programs and approaches.

According to Scott, “It underscores the importance

of our physical education requirement—that stu-

dents should be in after-school sports or take a PE

class in order to get the aerobic exercise they need.

When schools focus so much on standardized test-

ing that they cut recess and other physical activity,

it’s not good for students.” It’s a policy indicative of

the school’s longtime focus on educating balanced,

well-rounded young people.

And the benefits of fitness on mental acuity

are not just limited to young people. Co-author

of The Alzheimers Prevention Program Gary Small,

M.D., discusses a new body of compelling research

that favors physical activity for mental acuity.

“When people exercise, the areas that control

memory, thinking, and intention increase in the

brain,” he said. “Regular exercisers have less of the

abnormal protein deposits in the brain that have

been linked to Alzheimer’s.”

In a 2013 study published in the Journal of

Aging Research, the authors found that aerobic

exercise and strength training impact the brain

differently—underscoring the importance of both

types of exercise. While both types of exercise are

beneficial to improving spatial memory, cardio

alone is capable of improving verbal memory. In a

2012 study from the Archives of Internal Medicine,

women in their seventies who practiced strength

training improved associative memory.

Mindfulness, or the process of careful, attentive

presence, is another intriguing area of research.

A new study from the University of California,

Santa Barbara demonstrated that mindfulness

training can improve cognitive abilities and even

raise test scores. The study showed that students

who practiced two weeks of mindfulness training,

including forty-five minutes of formal meditation

practice four days a week, boosted their Graduate

Record Examinations (GRE) results by an average

of 16 percent.

A new program at George School offered

by faculty member Michael LoStracco offers the

George School community weekly opportunities

to practice mindfulness. “Offering a space, a ref-

uge, where students can slow down and unplug and

be away from the screen, to know themselves and

be themselves, and practice being human for forty-

five minutes is incredibly important,” says Michael.

(See “Mindfulness” story, page 8.)

“The focus on new areas of brain research

has encouraged committees and individual faculty

members to study trends, attend conferences, and

synthesize and apply research on an ongoing basis,”

explains Scott. “We are striving to develop a body

of knowledge that suggests new areas to pursue

while providing support for what the school has

long done right.”

“ When people exercise, the areas that control memory, thinking, and intention increase in the brain.”

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JANUARY 2014

BY ANDREA LEHMAN

Just as health and fitness can have a positive effect

on brain function, new research is exploring

whether persuasive messages—and the way these

messages are processed by the brain—can have a

positive effect on health and fitness. The latter is a

primary focus of neuroscientist Emily Falk ’99 and

her lab, the Communication Neuroscience Lab at

the University of Pennsylvania. Their research is

yielding valuable insights about the impact of com-

munication on healthy, and unhealthy, behaviors.

Through imaging like functional MRIs, Emily’s

team studies neural responses to messaging, par-

ticularly health messaging. They look at the parts

of the brain that are active when messages are

received, concentrating on areas concerned with

self-related processing, such as the medial prefron-

tal cortex.

How do we behave in response to the messages

all around us? What makes successful ideas spread?

How can we predict whether persuasive messaging

—to stop smoking, wear sunscreen, or exercise,

for example—will actually get people to institute

positive change? How do the responses of individ-

uals and small groups translate to those of larger

populations? These are the questions being tackled

by Emily and her team. Some of their work is pure

scientific inquiry, published in scientific journals.

Some is more applied, often in partnership with

public health agencies.

“We think it’s really important to learn about how

behaviors become contagious,” said Emily. “Obesity

can spread almost like other diseases spread. We’re

trying to understand that from a neuroscience

perspective.”

For example, participants in one study were

exposed to messages to increase their sunscreen

use. The team looked at people’s brain responses

and stated intentions to change, and compared

them with data about people’s actual sunscreen use

behavior in the weeks before and after the study.

Brain response proved to be a better predictor of

whether people would actually alter their behavior.

The team then found the same results for smok-

ing behavior (neural responses to ads designed to

help smokers quit predicted behavior change above

and beyond people’s stated intentions to change).

The team is now looking at whether this is true

for physical activity behavior measured using

accelerometers.

Another project of the lab is research-

ing the adolescent brain’s sensitivity to neural

cues. In concert with the University of Michigan

Transportation Research Institute, Emily’s team is

looking at why teens are so susceptible to risky peer

influences that lead to fatal automobile crashes in

the first year of being licensed. They’re examin-

ing what teens’ brains look like when they’re being

included or excluded from a group and relating it to

behavior in a driving simulator.

Reflecting on her own teenage years, Emily

is thankful that her George School teachers,

Perspectives

Where the Mind Goes, Will the Body Follow?

NEUROSCIENTIST Emily Falk ’99 studies neural responses to health messaging.

GEORGIAN | 5

PERSPECTI V ES

especially advisor Sam Smith, provided perspective

when she herself was a teen. And she credits George

School with instilling the value of collaboration:

“In order to do science in an effective way, you need

a really strong team. A lot of the Quaker values that

influence how you approach other people are

different than standard approaches to running a

lab. One of the things I’m really proud of is the way

people in my team support each other.”

Emily has recently returned to the Philadelphia

area, having been invited to move the lab from

the University of Michigan to the University of

Pennsylvania. Now an Assistant Professor at the

Annenberg School for Communication, she is

enjoying being back and spending more time with

George School classmates and her family, including

sister Lily ’15, a George School junior.

Busy setting up the new lab, Emily continues to

receive grants and accolades. Last year, she received

the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s

New Innovator Award, which provides funding “to

study things in a more open-ended way for high-

risk, high-reward research.” In September, the lab

was awarded another NIH grant for a new study

that continues looking at strategies to reduce defen-

sive responses to health communications and to

promote physical activity. According to the grant

abstract, “Our core hypothesis is that the balance

of neural activity in regions associated with self-

related processing versus defensive counter arguing

is key in producing health behavior change,

and that self-affirmation (an innovative approach,

relatively new to the health behavior area) can alter

this balance.” The ultimate goal is to “improve our

capacity to design and select interventions that

successfully alter such behaviors.”

Emily sums it up simply: “Our work is really

fun. We’re doing good basic science and also

applied work to make people healthier, changing

norms and values for the good of society.”

How Your Brain Helps Ideas Go Viral

Have you ever wondered how to predict if an

idea or a photo will go viral on Facebook or

Twitter? Emily was the lead author of a study

published in July 2013 Psychological Science

that identified for the first time, the areas of

the brain that are associated with the suc-

cessful spread of ideas. The study was con-

ducted by a team of University of California

Los Angeles scientists while Emily was a UCLA

doctoral student.

“We’re constantly being exposed to infor-

mation on Facebook, Twitter, and so on,” said

senior author and UCLA professor Matthew

Lieberman, explaining the study’s rationale

in a UCLA news release. “Some of it we pass

on, and a lot of it we don’t. Is there something

that happens in the moment we first see it—

maybe before we even realize we might pass it

on—that is different for those things that we

will pass on successfully versus those that we

won’t?”

It turns out, the study suggests there is.

The scientists found that the students who

were especially good at persuading others

showed significantly more activity in a brain

region known as the temporoparietal junc-

tion, or TPJ, at the time they were first exposed

to the ideas they would later recommend. The

more activated the TPJ region of the students’

brains were, the more they wanted to share the

idea, even when it wasn’t something they found

interesting themselves.

“Before this study, we didn’t know what

brain regions were associated with ideas that

become contagious, and we didn’t know what

regions were associated with being an effec-

tive communicator of ideas,” said Emily. “Now

we have mapped the brain regions associated

with ideas and in the future, we would like to

be able to use these brain maps to forecast what

ideas are likely to be successful and who is

likely to be effective at spreading them.”

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6 | GEORGIAN

BY LAURA LAVALLEE

Every day we are bombarded by information on

how to stay healthy. Eat less of this and more of

that, exercise every day, eat smaller portions, lower

your stress levels, get more sleep, separate work

and home—sometimes it seems like becoming a

little bit healthier could be a full-time job. George

School community members Jessie Price ’91,

former faculty member Ed Ayres, and Jeffrey

Mann ’88 shared their own experiences with eating

healthfully, staying fit, and practicing mindfulness.

Jessie Price ’91 has been eating well since

childhood. Growing up in a home with a wood

burning stove in the kitchen, the kitchen was the

warmest place in the house and the best place to

hang out.

“I was always drawn to fresh fruits and vege-

tables,” said Jessie who is now the editor-in-chief of

EatingWell Magazine. In this role, Jessie is charged

with executing the mission of the magazine: help-

ing people make delicious and healthy food at

home.

“Eating healthfully came sort of naturally to

me but I’ve learned so much more about it since

I began working at EatingWell,” she shared. “We are

lucky to have several registered dieticians on staff

and they are the real experts on nutrition.”

According to Jessie there are several “big picture”

things you can do to eat more healthfully on a day-

to-day basis.

“Choose whole grain foods instead of those

made from refined f lours. Add more vegetables

to everything—for example, add shredded zucchini

to your chili, it will melt right in and you won’t

even realize it’s there,” she said.

Choosing lean meats and eating them in

appropriate portions is important, too. “Three

ounces is the right serving size for meat—and

when most people see that on a plate they think it

looks tiny.”

For Jessie, eating healthfully helps her to stay

focused and engaged throughout the day. “I feel

better when I am well-nourished and my brain is

humming along—which happens after I eat my

fruit, yogurt, and a few nuts each morning. It’s like

everything just comes together.”

She has been a contributor to at least seven

cookbooks and is also the author of the James

Beard Award-winning cookbook The Simple Art

of EatingWell.

But eating isn’t just a means to keep her body

going. “Eating is such a pleasurable part of life,”

shared Jessie. “The most important thing about

food is to enjoy it. Yes, I love healthy food but the

most important thing is that it tastes great.”

Perspectives

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

HEALTHY EATING, STAYING FIT, AND MINDFULNESS PRACTICE are important parts of the lives of Jessie Price ’91, Ed Ayres ffac, and Jeffrey Mann ’88.

GEORGIAN | 7

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Ed Ayres, a former faculty member, finds running

to be one of the most pleasurable activities.

At seventy-one years old he is training to run an

ultramarathon—and even as he trains for it, run-

ning an average of at least fifteen to twenty miles

each day, he will tell you that running still feels as

good as it did at 16.

“For me, running isn’t just a sport—it con-

nects me to my world,” he shared. “I usually start

each day with a run. It’s essential. It helps me get

in sync with myself. It has taught me that if I want

to get things done as soon as possible and as well

as possible, I need to slow down.”

The idea of slowing down to get ahead is one

that Ed discusses in his book The Longest Race:

A Lifelong Runner, An Iconic Ultramarathon, and the

Case for Human Endurance. The book is an account

of the second time Ed ran the JFK 50 mile ultrama-

rathon—at sixty years old.

“The first mile, like a scene from an old

Western, is just get out of town…but the next

two miles are a fairly steep climb to the South

Mountain pass, where you leave the road and enter

a thirteen-mile segment of the…Appalachian

Trail (AT). The conundrum is that on one hand

you want to get to the trailhead before the horde

does…On the other hand, going up the South

Mountain road, it would be a big mistake to go too

fast. It’s a tricky thing to balance…”.

Ed considers this—the idea of slowing down

and clearing your mind in order to accomplish

your goals—essential.

In fact, he believes it is counter-intuitive to

human nature that our culture moves so quickly.

According to Ed our ability to complete endur-

ance competitions, is closely tied to our ability to

achieve a state of calm before we begin.

“The guy with the bullhorn announced that

we had thirty seconds, and then at 6:59:50 he

began a countdown: ‘Ten, nine, eight…’. It was

time to let my mind go blank, Zenlike. This was

important,” he wrote in The Longest Race.

The benefits of running are tied to more than

just good health. Ed has spent years looking at the

connection between running and brain develop-

ment through his work at Running Times magazine,

which he founded with a George School alumnus.

Citing a Swedish study that explored how

active cardiovascular exercise impacted IQ scores,

Ed shared that running is critical to his ability to

write and think.

“I probably spend about as much time running as

I do writing. When I was working at George School

I sensed there was a connection and later when

I was editing the magazine I was writing about this

connection. Running wakes you up and oxygen-

ates your brain. People often say they have found

connections between their ability to solve problems

and running.”

Jeffrey K. Mann ’88 has also found a connec-

tion between thought and physical activity. When

he began practicing martial arts in college it was

for the physical activity. When he later learned

about mindfulness, his martial arts practice

reached a new level.

“Mindfulness is a passive awareness of every-

thing you can perceive,” said Jeffrey who began

practicing mindfulness during his daily martial

arts training a few years ago.

“In practicing a physical discipline you are

cultivating yourself and becoming a productive

member of society,” said Jeffrey. “Practicing mind-

fulness improves my abilities as a martial artist.”

A professor of religion at Susquehanna

University and author of When Buddhists Attack:

The Curious Relationship between Zen and the

Martial Arts, Jeffrey has found that his work in

mindfulness has carried over into his teaching and

it helps him strive to be the best teacher he can be.

“I need to engage and challenge students for

long periods of time, lecturing them about a sub-

ject which is usually outside their chosen major.

I am at my best…when I am the most present with

them,” he said. “The mindfulness that Zen artic-

ulates, and that I seek to cultivate through medi-

tation and…martial arts, is what helps me make

progress toward becoming more of that kind of

teacher.”

And mindfulness isn’t limited to the practice

of martial arts. “In Zen meditation, one attends to

the moment and is present with oneself and all that

is in one’s environment. This has obvious benefits

for people engaged in innumerable physical

disciplines. The goalkeeper cannot afford to be

distracted by memories of the last game she

played…[and] the runner cannot forget to breathe

for the last 100 meters of the 300 meter hurdles—

a lesson I learned at GS.”

“Mindfulness is the idea of learning one thing

so you can do 10,000,” says Jeffrey, and it’s this

process of focusing his mind on the moment that

has helped him to achieve greater connection to the

martial arts he practices.

8 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

8 | GEORGIAN

Mindfulness is another intriguing area of research

on learning and the brain. Generations of George

School graduates have attested to the benefits

derived from centering themselves in meeting for

worship. More recently, varied meditative practices

have been taught in the religion curriculum, espe-

cially in its new freshman and sophomore courses.

Though these experiences have an attendant spiri-

tual dimension, mindfulness practice—directing

one’s attention to the present moment experience,

intentionally, repeatedly, and without judgment—

need not.

According to English and religion teacher

Michael Lo Stracco, “There has long been anec-

dotal evidence that mindfulness practice supports

and strengthens emotional regulation and helps to

reduce stress and anxiety, but in recent years there

have been many scientific research studies to sup-

port that.” Using his personal interest as a spring-

board, Michael has studied mindfulness and is

sharing both the research and the practice with

the George School community.

For the former, he cites two studies. In one con-

ducted at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard

Medical School, MRIs revealed that participation

in a program of mindfulness-based stress reduction

“is associated with changes in gray matter concen-

tration in brain regions involved in learning and

memory processes, emotion regulation, self-

referential processing, and perspective taking.”

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

demonstrated that “brief mindfulness training

significantly improved visuo-spatial processing,

working memory, and executive functioning.”

Bolstered by this evidence, Michael began

offering weekly mindfulness practice sessions

to the George School community this fall. Partici-

pants learn exercises to focus attention and reduce

stress in a continual process of noticing and redi-

recting that strengthens attention like one would

strengthen a muscle. Michael sees the practice as

particularly useful to adolescents, whose fast-paced

and pressure-filled lives are filled with social media

and technology. “Offering a space, a refuge, where

students can slow down and unplug and be away

from the screen, to know themselves and be them-

selves, and practice being human for forty-five

minutes is incredibly important.”

With faculty approval, the sessions are being

offered as a choice for students caught up in the

minor discipline system as an alternative to a

Tuesday evening Teachers’ Convenience (TC) study

hall. Michael proposed it as a way “to disassociate

discipline with punishment and make it more

instructive, more powerful. It’s a way of getting at

those behavior patterns that lead to TC study hall

and other forms of discipline, to teach students

not to impulsively react. Mindfulness practice

really does help with decision making and plan-

ning, preparing them for decisions with weightier

consequences.”

MICHAEL LO STRACCO leads a mindfulness practice session for students including Savannah Merritt ’17 and Maanav Patel ’17, helping them to slow down and unplug.

Mindfulness: Students Slow Down and Unplug

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Perspectives

The August eQuiz asked alumni to share their

thoughts on the connection between physi-

cal fitness, mental acuity, and overall wellness.

Recent research has shown that the mind-body

connection is strong—regular exercise helps

relieve stress, increase information process-

ing, and improve memory functions. Some of the

responses to the eQuiz are highlighted here.

The Body-Mind Connection

1950 | Paul Craig

Exercise and brain; brain and exercise… If I don’t

exercise I can’t think. Exercise lets us make contact

with the mind-body problem. It helps us “get in

the moment.” Those moments are the most satisfy-

ing we experience. When we’re so involved with an

activity that time vanishes, we’re at our most pro-

ductive and our most human.

1952 | Headley S. White Jr.

We need massive education of the American pub-

lic on the positive effects of regular exercise of the

body and brain and the negative consequences of

the lack thereof.

1961 | Margaret Uehlein Suby-Dorney

I always feel both physically better and more alert

after exercise. On days when I do not exercise or

have much to do, I am noticeably “duller” mentally

and can feel the pull of just sitting and staring.

1966 | Rachel A. Eisenhard Cartwright

A three-mile walk every day—walking over hills on

back roads or in parks—relieves stress immediately,

and promotes a feeling of well-being and definitely,

for me at least, raises mental acuity. Swimming is

another way to promote a feeling of well-being and

later in the day, increased alertness.

1973 | Daphne P. Taylor

I make time to walk wherever I am an hour a day

just to clear the mind and help the stress.

1979 | Todd Rutstein

I am fascinated by the ways in which exercise stim-

ulates the thought process. It often seems that

the most interesting ideas are generated during

a workout. In light of this, I am inclined to think

of exercise as another aspect of professional devel-

opment—indeed, human development. It is much

more than just about enhancing physical well-

being. I was the kind of person—still am—who

would never have been able to sit still in class if I did

not have the promise of the glorious physical outlet

destined to appear at the end of the school day.

1980 | Kevin J. Klenner

Exercise gives me the stamina to get through

many a twelve-hour work day and keep a calm and

patient façade in challenging circumstances.

1985 | Christina N. Raymond

I find while I’m exercising that ideas pop into my

head, new perspectives occur, and affirmation

of direction or goals happens.

1986 | David Biester

Exercise relieves stress and makes me feel as if I

have more energy. Plus I sleep better, which is nice.

1991 | India F. D. Ennis

I am fascinated by how powerful what we consume

is relative to how we function and how overlooked

it is by everyone. I hope I can help to spread the

word that good food is fuel for our brain and our

soul.

1993 | Jeremiah S. Burns

As an educator who is interested in helping students

become more engaged in the lessons I teach,

I have found it helpful to read about the ways

movement and learning are connected.

1995 | Ann St. Claire

As a pre-natal yoga teacher I help my students

understand the connection between mind and body

and the importance of breath to calm, energize,

and focus the mind.

2003 | Nicole Grennbaum

Physical activity helps calm me and restores my

cheerfulness.

eQuiz Highlights

10 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

You were a competitive swimmer for many years. How did that factor into other parts of your life, especially your academics?I started swimming seriously in the eighth grade.

While at George School, I took a heavy course load.

It was similar when I got to Berkeley. I was follow-

ing a challenging path, academically and in the pool.

I fell into economics, and it was a great fit. By my

senior year, I was tutoring other student-athletes and

working as a research assistant for a professor. I did

better when I had a full plate and needed to focus—

like at George School, which wants you to have a well-

rounded experience.

After the Olympic trials in 2004, I “retired,” and

I didn’t really have a direction fitness-wise. I didn’t

have the structure of training goals. I went to the gym

occasionally, but I found myself worrying about my

work from the minute I got up to the minute I’d go

to bed. That impacted how I felt about myself until

I started getting back into a routine and training for

triathlons. Now I typically do five or six a year.

Now that you’re working, what benefits do you get from your fitness regimen?When I finished college, I worked at the Brookings

Institution for three years before getting my Ph.D.

in economics from Columbia University. Now I’m at

the Federal Reserve and taking time for fitness is still

important. I do better when I can step away, go for

a run, stop actively thinking about every little

piece. When I return to work, I start fresh and see

it more broadly. That’s what works for me. Fitness

allows me to have balance and be effective in every-

thing else that I’m doing.

What advice would you give to scholar-athletes pursuing excellence on both sides of the hyphen?Focus on each one in the moment. If you’re going

through a bad period in one area of your life, let

positive experiences in the other provide confirma-

tion that you can get through the difficult times.

Build on successes to bridge the gap. Having that

balance creates a healthy mental state that enables

you to be successful in all aspects of your life.

Alumni Profile: Alice Henriques ’98

2004 | Lindsay L. Stephenson

I work out every weekday before work and this

helps me stay focused throughout the day. I also get

up and walk around my f loor when I find myself

getting sleepy at my desk.

Sports and Culture

1938 | John F. Cadwallader

I have often thought that if every child between

K-12 was required to exercise from one to two

hours every day there would be less drugs and obe-

sity in the world. All athletic endeavors at public

and private schools should be distributed for the

benefit of all students and not just the school jocks.

It would be a different world!

1952 | William G. Nelson

One common thread among almost all walks of

life and almost all levels of society happens to be

sports. Thus I could strike up a conversation with

almost any one from a cab driver to a CEO by talk-

ing about sports.

Lessons Learned at George School

1968 | Pat K. Kramon Pincus

The model we learned from Anne LeDuc for

healthy living—fresh air, regular exercise, and good

eating habits—affected my future choices and life-

habits!! Many of us learned important life lessons

about living a healthy, well-balanced life (in all

ways) from Anne.

GEORGIAN | 11

PERSPECTI V ES

What made you choose to study how the mind works?I originally started studying biology, first at George

School and then at Penn State. But I found that my

real interest lay in behavior and explaining behavior.

Initially I wanted to study animals in the wild, look-

ing at group behavior—which ones were dominant

and which ones subordinate. But in grad school at the

University of Michigan I switched over from apes to

human children. Now I look mainly at preschoolers.

That age is fascinating. My field is social cognition,

and the part that I study is called “theory of mind.”

Specifically, what do you research?I’m looking at when children know that other people’s

behavior is caused by internal states and not necessarily

by the external state of affairs. As adults, we know that

behaviors are driven by what you believe. For example,

if you want to find something, you look where you

think it is. Three-year-olds don’t get that. By five, chil-

dren are pretty sophisticated. I’m curious about how

they get from reality-based to thought-based behavior

and what contributes to the change. In my research,

I’ve found that children with better language skills do

it earlier and children with more siblings do it earlier.

They’re confronted with other people’s expectations.

As psychologists, we try to predict what people will do

in certain situations, and we’re really good at it. That’s

why psychology is considered a science—the

science of human behavior.

Do you enjoy being a professor at Bard College?I love Bard. It is so much like George School. It’s a small

interdisciplinary community. People in different fields

have discussions all the time. Choosing to spend my

life at a small liberal arts college provides a quality

of life I really prioritize. I love working in a culture

of ideas.

Alumni Profile: Sarah Dunphy-Lelii ’96

1969 | Ann Heimlich

I learned to try new physical challenges such

as field hockey and even cheerleading. It was a

combination of overcoming innate shyness and

perfectionist tendencies. You really can’t learn

how to do something new without taking risks

and making mistakes. You just have to learn from

those errors and not make the same mistake(s)

over and over.

1973 | John B. Hoffman

One of the things I most loved about George School

was the equal emphasis on academics, athletics,

and the arts.

1978 | Marta Ernst

George school helped me value routine exercise.

1979 | Tracey Holliday

George School allowed me to play team sports

which introduced me to a love of sports, physical

activity, team work, and discipline.

1986 | Laura Grontkowski James

When I was at GS, I started an exercise program

that I have continued thoughout my whole life—

I started running. At 44, I just completed an

83-mile hike across England. I’ve exercised for my

weight, my joints, my f lexibility, and my mood and

stress level. It is one of the “Four Cornerstones”

as I say to my patients (I’m a doctor) that are essen-

tial for good health: exercise, diet, sleep, and stress

management.

1998 | Annemarie R. P. Poniz Haar

I think GS generally taught us the importance of

exercise and how it helps shape us both physically

and mentally.

2004 | Daniel Suchenski

I think the GS approach to whole person develop-

ment was an incredibly formative experience in my

life.

Responses might be edited due to space limitation

and Georgian style guidelines.

12 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

1893. George School opens with 155 students.

Its mission is “to offer that physical, mental, and

ethical culture which we have seen producing

such excellent results.”

1895. The first gym is constructed with the

goal of “exhausting the students physically.”

Other facilities include six tennis courts and two

earthen-floored playrooms in the east and west

Main basements. The ring road around Main

is used for relay races and Eyre Line is used for

sprints.

1895. Mary Esther Sawyer is hired as director of

gymnasium, teaching physical education for both

boys and girls. A specialist in gymnastics, her

student exhibitions are open to the public and an

early feature of campus life.

1898. Curtis Eves, Class of 1898, is hired upon

graduation to supervise activities with the stu-

dents. He would later be described as the father

of athletics at George School.

ATHLETICSat George School

HISTORY OF

GEORGIAN | 13

FEATURES

1900. Curtis Eves arranges the first interscho-

lastic athletic contest, a basketball game against

Friends Central, which George School wins, 55-4.

1902. A quarter-mile running track is con-

structed on the grounds in the location of the

present Cougar Track.

1903. The area surrounded by the running track

is graded, named Sharon Field, and put into use

for soccer, baseball, and intramural football.

1909. A modest, fifty-foot swimming pool is

added to the gym.

1913. The boys’ athletic program includes inter-

scholastic teams in soccer, basketball, swimming,

tennis, track, and baseball. There had also been

one trial interscholastic football game and several

seasons of lacrosse.

1920. George School Committee, the school’s

board of trustees, authorizes interscholastic

competition for girls in hockey, basketball,

and tennis. Grace Thwing (Thwingie) is hired as

director of girls’ physical education. Thwingie’s

biographer wrote, “She has proved through her

work that the training of the body can be as

beautiful and sensitive a process as the training

of the mind; that character development through

the intimate acquaintance with the mind, heart,

and spirit is as much the ideal of physical educa-

tion as of any other education.”

14 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

1922. Stanley Sutton is hired as director of

boys’ physical education. During the Thwing-

Sutton years, there is a simple clarity in the lives

of George School students. Between the end of

classes and dinner, your body, heart, and soul

belonged to the Athletic Association.

1923. Stanley Sutton starts football as an

interscholastic sport and adds wrestling, cross

country, and swimming during his tenure as

director. He also founds the George School Cross

Country Invitational.

1925. George School expands its athletic facili-

ties to add a soccer-baseball field (Alumni Field)

in place of a former corn field, and below South

Lawn, a hockey field and six tennis courts are

added for girls. George School’s catalog at the

time outlined the virtues of competition, which

would “produce fun, thrills, physical benefits,

mental discipline, self-control, fairness to others,

and good sportsmanship.”

1928. Heath Point is a girls’ physical education

program designed for students with little prospect

of earning a varsity letter in a team sport.

Requirements include a brisk morning wake-up

routine—either a cold shower or a walk around

Main before breakfast—and no eating between

meals. The major activity was hiking with a sub-

stantial mileage (one 1930’s graduate recalls it as

150 miles) required over the length of a school year.

1938. George School Committee establishes sets

of rules and regulations governing coed tennis,

badminton, deck tennis, volleyball, swimming,

and golf.

1951. Alumni Gym is built for boys. The girls

gain exclusive use of the more convenient

old gym.

GEORGIAN | 15

FEATURES

1952. Robert Geissinger (Geiss) comes to

George School as assistant director of physical

education. He serves as the director from 1962

until he retires in 1990. He expands the athletics

program during his tenure to include interscho-

lastic lacrosse, cross country, and golf.

1962. Anne LeDuc joins George School as direc-

tor of the girls’ athletics department. During

her tenure, soccer, cross country, track, softball,

cheerleading, equestrian, and golf are added to

the list of competitive sports. Her philosophy is

to “place the emphasis on teaching more than

coaching. The purpose is to equip our girls ath-

letically and psychologically, to learn skills and

achieve fitness, to enhance self-esteem, to solve

problems, to deal with stress, and to pursue excel-

lence by performing to the best of their ability.”

1964. In the Georgian, Geiss describes the pri-

mary emphasis of the athletic program as the

healthy development of the individual. Plenty

of vigorous exercise causes the athlete to rest

better, eat more, breathe more deeply and rap-

idly, and enjoy better circulation and better use

of all bodily systems. The boys’ athletic program

involves 180 of 228 boys on twenty competitive

athletic teams at three levels of skill—varsity,

junior varsity, and cub—in 167 contests.

1965. George School selects the cougar as the

school mascot through a student opinion poll.

Purportedly, cougars won by a large margin over

the other choices: bobcats, wildcats, dragons,

huskies, rams, and bulldogs.

1967. The varsity football team has an

undefeated season.

16 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

1971. Girls hockey team travels to the

Caribbean. A trip to England follows a year later.

1977. Worth Sports Center and Marshall-Platt

Swimming Pool open. The facility becomes the

girls’ “turf,” and the site of the girls’ athletics

department offices.

1983. The equestrian program begins on the site

of the former pastures of the school’s dairy farm.

1986. Nancy Zurn Bernardini, a legendary

coach of field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball,

and girls’ assistant athletic director since 1978,

succeeds Anne LeDuc as girls’ athletic director.

1990. David Satterthwaite ’65 becomes boys’

athletic director. Basketball, cross country,

lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track are

offered for interscholastic competition for boys

and girls separately. Football and wrestling are

offered for boys while field hockey and softball

are offered for girls. Four team sports are offi-

cially coed: diving, riding, cheerleading, and golf.

1996. George School adds an interscholastic

coed winter track team and later, an interscholas-

tic girls’ volleyball team.

1999. George School adopts the colors of green

and white, replacing the original school colors

of buff and brown which are increasingly difficult

to find in standard uniform options.

GEORGIAN | 17

FEATURES

2009. George Long, Jr. returns to George School

as boys’ athletics director.

2010. George School expands and renovates the

former weight room of the Alumni Gym, adding

a performance and wellness center managed by

the Source Institute, a strength and conditioning

company that emphasizes personal development

through physical activity, athletic performance,

and optimal health.

2010. The two outdoor riding rings are resur-

faced as the first part of the upgrades to George

School’s equestrian program. The following

year, the tack room is substantially renovated to

increase storage space for equipment and to add

individual locker rooms for boys and girls, com-

plete with ventilated lockers. Planning begins for

enhancements to the equestrian program includ-

ing an indoor riding ring.

2011. The original cinder track and athletic field

are replaced with a new all-weather running track

and a synthetic turf field. The field is dedicated

in honor of coaches Bob Geissinger, Anne LeDuc,

and John Gleeson ’65. The track is dedicated in

honor of David Satterthwaite ’65.

2012. The soccer field that generations of

athletes have played upon is dedicated in honor

of Russ Weimar ’48 and Paul Machemer ’65.

2013. In March, construction begins on a

100,000 square-foot fitness and athletics center.

The new facility will include a performance gym,

a multipurpose field house, fitness center,

swimming pool, exercise and movement studio,

a wrestling room, locker and training rooms,

offices, and classrooms.

18 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

BY ANDREA LEHMAN

The Hayden family’s connection to George School

began in 1998, when Sarah Hayden Hall ’02 was a

freshman. The time since may be relatively short

by family legacy standards, but the school’s impact

on the Haydens and theirs on the school are any-

thing but.

Sarah is the first of four Hayden children to

attend, followed by Steve ’04, Scott ’08, and Becca

’14. When Becca graduates in the spring, parents

Marilyn and Don will have been at George School

for fourteen of the last sixteen years. During that

time, Don worked as a Bristol-Myers Squibb exec-

utive and more recently with small pharmaceuti-

cal biotech companies while Marilyn kept home

and family running smoothly while also engaged in

a variety of community activities. They also found

time to be active participants in the George School

community.

Like other parents of day students, Marilyn

and Don cheered from the sidelines and stands,

brought goodies for cookie and candy drops, and

served as chaperones, chauffeurs, and off-site inn-

keepers for classmates. “Our children’s lives and,

by extension, our lives were a mixed day-boarding

experience,” notes Don. “Our children spent a lot

of time on campus, and boarders spent a lot of time

at our house. It was a particular benefit to get to

know their friends.”

When you watch four children spend their

formative years at an institution, you get a clear

picture of what the school does well. For the

Haydens, it is accommodating and nurturing

diverse people. “The school was a different expe-

rience for each of the children,” says Don. “They

were able to find a set of experiences that they made

unique to them. From an academic and curriculum

standpoint, they were each able to find paths and

teachers that maximized their development, and

they put together extracurricular activities to suit

their own interests and capabilities.

“One of the things about the school that we

find attractive is that diversity is multidimensional,

Supporting George School:The Hayden Family Legacy

THE HAYDEN FAMILY — Don and Marilyn Hayden; Steve Hayden ’04 and Shannon Farley; Peter, Emerson, and Sarah Hayden Hall ’02; Scott Hayden ’08 and Becca Hayden ’14.

GEORGIAN | 19

FEATURES

not just in terms of race, ethnicity, and religion, but

in ways of thinking. All of that goes into the wealth

of experiences students can take advantage of dur-

ing their time at George School. What we see in our

children now that’s attributable to their experience

then is that they’re broadly prepared to participate

in the world around them. They’re prepared to be

successful professionally, to be socially involved, to

be f lexible, adaptable, and open-minded.”

It’s the school’s complete education—its mul-

tifaceted impact on multifaceted people—that has

led the Haydens to become involved in ways above

and beyond the typical. Longtime supporters of

the Parent Annual Fund, they’ve provided energy

as well as funds by serving as solicitors and donors.

“We’ve contributed to the general fund to enable

the school to best direct dollars to where they will

do the most good,” says Marilyn.

In 2004, the Haydens got involved in efforts

to build the new Cougar track and field—the

early stages of what would become the Fitness and

Athletics Capital Initiative: Fit for the Future. They

had seen other capital projects create wonderful

facilities for students’ academic and social benefit,

but they knew the athletics facilities were lagging

behind. Though their children all played varsity

sports, their reason for contributing “wasn’t our

kids’ involvement so much as the school’s need,”

says Marilyn. “The facilities really had to catch up.”

“George School does a wonderful job of get-

ting you involved and then finds a way to get you

more deeply involved,” jokes Don. After joining the

campaign committee, he became co-chair along-

side David Bruton as the campaign turned to a new

Fitness and Athletics Center. Don is eager to get

other families involved, too.

Thanks to George School’s “whole-person

approach to the development of children,” the cen-

ter, currently under construction, will be not just

for varsity teams but for everyone. That appealed

to the entire Hayden family, who discussed their

support for the project and the community. A fully

equipped 4,000-square-foot fitness center on the

second f loor will be named the Hayden Family

Fitness Center in their honor. It was a gift in keep-

ing with family interests and values, nurtured at

George School.

Today Scott works for a New York philan-

thropy and fundraising consulting firm called

Changing Our World. He sees it as the natural out-

growth of his interest in social service and social

justice, whose seeds were planted both at George

School and at Loyola University Maryland. In the

new fitness center, he sees facilities not just for

building muscle, but for building community.

“At George School, playing sports forces people

to connect with one another. The new fitness center

will be a place for people to interact, where people

can come together and talk as well as work out.”

Where Scott’s focus is more on communica-

tion, Sarah’s is on wellness. She manages a wellness

facility that takes a global, whole-body approach,

encompassing chiropractic, fitness training and

classes, massage therapy, meditation, and nutri-

tion counseling. “I used to go work out in the base-

ment of the Alumni Gym before its renovations.

I remember the cold concrete f loors,” she ref lects.

“A lot of people have to feel comfortable to

build a routine.” She sees the new facility as doing

just that. “Providing people with an opportunity to

improve their health is wonderful.” She looks for-

ward to seeing her son, Emerson, use it when and

if he attends the school around 2026, as the whole

family hopes.

Steve, who works for an IT consulting firm,

has also built off of experiences at George School.

He is involved in several community organizations

and supports the George School Annual Fund.

Don and Marilyn plan to stay involved at

George School even without a child or grandchild

there. Meanwhile, Don notes that Becca, Scott,

Steve, and Sarah all “take their place in the com-

munity seriously.” Becca continues to be involved

in varsity sports and a variety of organizations,

while Scott, Steve, and Sarah stay in touch through

ongoing personal contacts and active roles in their

reunions. Clearly, the Hayden family is deeply con-

nected to George School now, and for a lifetime.

“ At George School, playing sports forces people to connect with one another. The new fitness center will be a place for people to interact, where people can come together and talk as well as work out.”

20 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

BY LAURA LAVALLEE

Sustainability is an important part of life at George

School. Our on-campus organic garden provides

fresh produce to the dining hall. The dining hall

then composts food waste to be used to enrich the

soil in the organic garden. The recent renovation

of McFeely updated the building to feature high-

tech, eco-friendly classrooms. The LEED gold

certified Anderson Library has a green roof to help

with drainage and irrigation. George School’s latest

example of sustainability, our new Fitness and

Athletics Center, is rising behind the trees at the

south end of campus.

The new Fitness and Athletics Center will

feature a number of green components to help

reduce our overall environmental footprint. From

water-wise landscaping to energy-efficient radiant

f looring, the building is being built with the intent

to achieve LEED certification—no easy feat when

constructing a building of this type.

“As you may know, the LEED rating system

attempts to evaluate the environmental perfor-

mance of a building project from a ‘whole-building’

perspective and seeks to provide a definitive

standard of what is a ‘Green’ building,” said Stuart

Billings, one of the lead designers from Bowie

Gridley Architects, the firm that designed

Anderson Library and the new Fitness and Athletics

Center.

New construction earns credits in six major

categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency,

energy and atmosphere, materials and resources,

indoor environmental quality, and innovation and

design process.

Despite many known obstacles to achieving

LEED certification in a building of this size and

type, George School is committed to achieving

LEED certification.

“We aren’t working toward a specific level [of

certification]” said Mike Kosoff ’56, George School

trustee and local project executive, “but we are

Building for a Sustainable Future:George School’s New Fitness and Athletics Center

THE RADIANT HEATING SYSTEM is installed in the f loor of the field house, the southwest quadrant of the center, which will feature two courts for training and competition. The radiant f looring is designed to provide an energy-efficient heating system in areas of high use.

GEORGIAN | 21

FEATURES

doing everything we can to be as environmentally

sustainable and thoughtful [as we can] about the

construction.”

Mike lists the green roof as being critical in

earning energy and atmosphere credits—which

encourage building better energy performance

through innovative strategies. The rain gardens

and the abundant insulation throughout the build-

ing will also help George School earn credits in this

category.

“People won’t see many of the green aspects

in the building,” said Mike. “One [thing people

won’t see] is the durable f luid air and water barrier

that we applied to the block work before the exte-

rior bricks were placed on the façade.” The building

also boasts twenty-seven linear feet of solar panels

on the roof which are designed to heat the potable

water for the building.

In addition, the building will feature water

efficient landscaping to eliminate the need for

irrigation and measured service shower fixtures

and lavatory faucets as well as low f low toilets

and urinals to reduce water consumption.

Another aspect of LEED certification requires

that more than 75 percent of project waste must

be diverted from landfills. Through August 2013,

more than 98 percent of the waste created during

the demolition of Worth Sports Center was recy-

cled. The rubble—including brick, block, concrete,

and masonry—was separated on site and hauled

to a quarry where it was processed into a variety

of fill products including sub-base and road-base.

Commingled waste was sent to Revolution

Recovery, a Philadelphia-based recycling center

that aids in the recycling of construction site waste.

Constructing a building of this size is a sig-

nificant undertaking and ensuring the build-

ing achieves LEED certification poses an even

greater challenge. By working to ensure that the

new Fitness and Athletics Center is LEED certi-

fied, George School continues our commitment to

sustainability.

“Green buildings save energy and water,

produce fewer carbon emissions, cause less waste,

and create healthier environments for the com-

munities they serve,” says Head of School Nancy

Starmer. “This new project is another step towards

our goal of a leadership position in environmental

sustainability. We are counting on all of you to

help us finish the fundraising campaign for this

remarkable green building.”

To learn about naming opportunities within

the building, including the sustainable green

roof garden, please contact Tessa Bailey-Findley,

stewardship and donor relations coordinator,

at 215.579.6572.

ATOP THE GREEN ROOF, construction workers install an exterior brick wall with slate trim over the durable f luid air and water barrier coating the building. The building also boasts twenty-seven linear feet of solar panels on the roof which are designed to sustainably heat the potable water for the building.

THE RUBBLE FROM THE DEMOLITION—including brick, block, con-crete, and masonry—is separated on site and hauled to a quarry where it was processed into a variety of fill products including sub-base and road-base.

“ Green buildings save energy and water, produce fewer carbon emissions, cause less waste, and create healthier environments for the communities they serve.”

22 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

OUTSTANDING OVERALL SATISFACTION➤ The alumni score for their overall satisfaction with

George School hit 4.6 on a five-point scale.

This achievement was matched by only two other

schools of the many schools whose alumni

completed surveys tabulated by LMI. ★➤ The parent score of 4.3 for satisfaction topped

the 4.2 average score among 112 parent surveys

done by LMI.

➤ The student score of 3.9 matched the average

among the 57 student surveys conducted by LMI.

Note: Over the past several years LMI has given

300+ surveys to about eighty independent schools.

Each school's perceived value survey was unique, but

when the questions were the same, LMI was able to

compare our outcomes to theirs.

GEORGE SCHOOL PREPARES ALUMNI TO STAR IN THE REAL WORLD➤ GS provided me with well-rounded preparation

for life 4.5 (new high score for surveyed schools,

the average is 4.1). ★★

➤ GS prepared me well for living in a world

of socio-economic diversity 4.4 (new high score,

the average is 3.6). ★★

ALUMNI MATCH THE BEST OF THE BESTGeorge School scores matched the highest among the

many schools whose alumni completed LMI surveys.

➤ I found my time at school to be transformative

4.5. ★

➤ I felt encouraged to express my opinion 4.3. ★

➤ My school experience instilled in me a love

of learning 4.3. ★

Survey Results Worth Shouting About

In summer 2013, George School surveyed students, current parents, recent parents, and alumni

from the classes of 1992 to 2012 to get their feedback on how well the school prepares students for

college and for life in general. The survey—administered and tabulated by Lookout Management,

Inc. (LMI), a firm which specializes in conducting surveys for independent schools—produced

results that attested to the remarkable value of a George School education.

BY ODIE LEFEVER, ILLUSTRATIONS BY GARY CLEMENT

GEORGIAN | 23

FEATURES

MISSION STATEMENT RATINGS ARE OUT OF SIGHT Alumni, parents, students, faculty, and staff

applaud the school’s adherence to the nine

components of the mission statement with

an overall average of 4.2:

1. Quaker tradition as its touchstone,

2. academic excellence at its core,

3. development of citizen scholars,

4. openness in the pursuit of truth,

5. service and peace,

6. stewardship of the earth,

7. treasuring learning for its own sake,

8. using that learning to benefit a diverse world, and

9. letting their lives speak.

F INANCIAL A ID SOARS HIGHER THAN MOST SCHOOLS➤ 58.4% of GS respondents received financial aid.

That’s more than three times higher than the

18.5% average of other schools surveyed. ★★

➤ George School gets high praise from parents for

the availability of information about financial aid

during the admission process 4.2.

➤ Millions of dollars in need-based financial aid are

granted to almost half of the GS student body

each year.

ALUMNI PICK THE TOP SCHOOL L IFE ELEMENTS➤ Sense of Community 4.6.

➤ Acceptance of cultural differences 4.5. ★★

This 4.5 score was a new high score among measured

LMI schools.

ALUMNI ARE MOST GRATEFUL FOR GAINING THESE ATTRIBUTES AT GEORGE SCHOOL ➤ Compassion for the needs of others 4.6.

➤ Intellectual curiosity 4.6.

➤ Working independently 4.6.

➤ Leadership skills 4.3.

THE COLLEGE PROCESS➤ Alumni agree that they were intellectually well

matched to the college they selected 4.0.

➤ Alumni rated their satisfaction with their selected

college 3.9.

➤ Seniors rate their satisfaction with the college

they plan to attend 4.3.

ALUMNI ABSOLUTELY READY FOR COLLEGEAmong the other schools who asked about these skills

in their surveys, George School matched the best

of the best with these high scores.

➤ Creative thinking skills 4.5. ★

➤ Social skills 4.4. ★

➤ Working in a group 4.4. ★

➤ Critical thinking skills 4.4. ★

➤ Coping with peer pressure 4.3. ★

STUDENTS RATE THEIR PREPAREDNESS FOR COLLEGE➤ Working independently 4.3.

➤ Intellectual curiosity 4.2.

➤ Test taking strategies 3.5.

24 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

THE STRENGTH OF THE ATHLETICS PROGRAM➤ Student satisfaction with interscholastic athletics

rated 3.4.

➤ Parent satisfaction with interscholastic athletics

rated 3.8.

➤ Alumni satisfaction with interscholastic athletics

declined from a high of 4.3 in 1995 to 3.4 in 2012.

These scores confirm the importance of our

current emphasis, enhancing our athletics and

physical education program and building a new

100,000 square-foot fitness and athletics facility.

➤ 40.7% of alumni respondents reported partici-

pating in varsity or intramural athletics while at

college.

SOCIAL SERVICE➤ By the time students graduate they have com-

pleted an off-campus service project, volunteering

for at least 65 hours.

➤ By the time freshmen graduate they will have

served George School by providing about 130–

150 co-op hours, starting with shift in the kitchen

their first year and engaging in shift or other work

on campus each term thereafter.

➤ 80.7% of alumni have engaged in community

service since they graduated from college.

STUDENTS RATE TOP SCHOOL L IFE ELEMENTS➤ Relationship with and support from their

advisor 4.1.

➤ Arts facilities 4.0.

➤ Sense of community 3.9.

GEORGE SCHOOL PARENTS ARE ALMOST TWICE AS HAPPY AS OTHER PARENTS.➤ Parents evaluated the quality and accessibility

of communications with their child’s advisor,

teachers, the dean of students’ office, the head

of school, and the associate head of school.

➤ All of 10 communications ratings (100%)

achieved or exceeded the 4.0 threshold.

The average of other schools was 6 out of 10.

TRUSTED ADULTS➤ Alumni rated the presence of at least one adult

at GS to whom they could turn at 4.6 ★ (match-

ing the highest score among the other schools

surveyed).

➤ Students rated the presence of at least one

trusted adult they can talk to at 4.1 (a slightly

higher score than the average score of schools

surveyed).

This is good news because GS has always recognized

the critical relationship between adults and students.

Our consultant confirms its importance in cross

tabulations that reveal that those who report the

presence of at least one trusted adult at the school

report much greater overall satisfaction. They also

feel treated as individuals, more encouraged to speak

up and share their perspective, and more emotionally

safe while at the school. They also rate themselves as

more confident and better prepared for self-advocacy

and coping with peer pressure.

GEORGIAN | 25

FEATURES

ALUMNI RATE THEIR BOARDING EXPERIENCE➤ Overall boarding experience at 4.4.

➤ Relationships with other boarding students at 4.5.

➤ Caring dormitory staff at 4.3.

➤ Study time requirements at 4.3.

STUDENTS RATE THEIR BOARDING EXPERIENCE➤ Overall boarding experience at 3.9 (the average

of other schools is 3.6).

➤ Quality of relations with other boarding

students is high at 4.2 (the average of other

schools is 4.0).

➤ Caring residence staff at 4.0 (the average

of other schools is 3.7).

➤ Study time requirements at 3.8 (the average

of other schools is 3.4).

PARENTS GIVE HIGH SCORES TO BOARDING ELEMENTS➤ Overall boarding experience for my child 4.1.

➤ Quality of care my child receives from the

student health center 4.1.

➤ Assistance my child and I receive with travel

arrangements 4.1.

ALUMNI CONNECTION TO GS➤ 18.2% have been GS volunteers.

➤ 76.6% of those who have never volunteered at

George School expressed an interest in doing

so (332 yes or maybe).

➤ 69.2% reported they made a financial

contribution to GS.

➤ 88.6% expect to make a financial donation

in the near future.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER➤ 96% of graduates reported that GS faculty or

staff members had a strong and positive impact

on their lives.

➤ Graduates report that they are proud to say they

attended George School, with a high score of 4.7.

➤ Graduates reported that when they were students

they were treated as individuals with unique abili-

ties and needs, with a strong score of 4.4.

HIGHL IGHTS OF FACULTY RESPONSES➤ I feel free to be innovative in the classroom 4.6.

➤ I feel strongly that it is my duty to care for the

wellbeing of students beyond the classroom 4.5.

➤ I constantly look for better ways to do my job 4.4.

➤ I identify strongly with the school’s mission 4.4.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SURVEY AT WWW.GEORGESCHOOL .ORG/VALUEGo to georgeschool.org/value to read more

about the responses of alumni, students, parents,

faculty, and staff.

You can also view the list of schools whose survey

results provided comparative scores for questions

in common across measured schools.

We are grateful to the hundreds of students,

parents, alumni, faculty, and staff members who

completed these surveys. Their perspectives have

helped us provide a report card on past perfor-

mance, produce a baseline against which to

measure future progress, and inform our strategic

planning process that will begin in 2014.

26 | GEORGIAN

JANUARY 2014

We are launching a new feature called “Sweetheart Stories” and we can’t wait

to hear from you. Did your eyes meet across a crowded classroom? Was it love at

first sight? Maybe you found the love of your life at a reunion.

To share your sweetheart story and add a photo, just go to future.georgeschool.org,

and click the “Share Stories & Photos” tab on the far left of the home page to share

your own photograph and story in the George School Compendium.

It’s simple to do. If you have questions, call Tessa Bailey-Findley at 215.579.6572

for help.

Submit your George School sweetheart story and wedding photo to our website

Got Stories?

Cori and Scott met at George

School in 1987. They married

in June 2004. Cori wrote,

“We are beyond grateful for

the gift our parents gave us by

sending us to George School

and for the love and support we

got from the community

as students and that we still feel

as adults. George School is

a place filled with love, and

definitely where I found mine.”

Learn more about their story on

future.georgeschool.org.

Select Explore Stories & Photos

and 1990-1991.

GEORGIAN | 27

CAMPUS NEWS & NOTES

Campus News & NotesBY LAURA LAVALLEE AND SUSAN QUINN

Students Learn Ecology First HandTwo groups of students visited the

Stone Harbor Wetlands Institute in

Stone Harbor, New Jersey. With guid-

ance from the institute and George

School teachers Polly Lodge and

Michael Eareckson, they learned

about invasive species, food webs,

and migration as they performed

water analysis, soil comparisons,

and seining.

Queen Bee and Hive RescuedMembers of the George School

Beekeeping Club rescued a queen

bee and her hive from a damaged tree.

Club members cut the hive from the

tree, captured the queen, and relo-

cated the hive to the school’s apiary

located near the organic gardens.

This particular hive is interesting

because of its natural ability to

survive in the wild.

Athletic UpdateThree varsity boys’ soccer players,

Jay Koh ’14, Adian Greer ’14, and

Timofei Kharisov ’15 were named

to the Friends League All-Star Team

and participated in the Thanksgiving

Classic, dominating the game and

winning 6-0. Jerrica Bauer ’16 won

the George School Invitational in a

new course record time of 18:27:25.

Jerrica was also named to the second

all-state team for cross country,

a first for George School.

Three students were named top

hitters in baseball last spring. Luke

Haug ’16, George Long ’13, and Mike

McGinnis ’14 were all recognized for

their achievements at bat last season.

The varsity equestrian team also had

a successful season earning champion

and reserve champion titles at

Blessington Stables in Furlong, PA.

Several George School athletes were

also named all-league for the spring

2013 season. Twenty-one athletes

representing baseball, golf, boys’ and

girls’ lacrosse, softball, boys’ tennis,

and boys’ and girls’ track were hon-

ored by the Friends Schools League.

Updates Planned for Equestrian CenterConstruction on the new environmentally sustainable, state-of-the-art Fitness

and Athletics Center is well underway, and plans for the equestrian program

are being discussed in preparation for the next phase of improvements to the

fitness and athletics program at George School.

A committee—composed of faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and students

—compared eight potential plans for updates to south campus. Goals include

building an indoor riding ring with viewing area, team rooms, locker rooms,

and storage; converting the alternative energy center to be ADA accessible;

and improving the organic garden.

JANUARY 2014

28 | GEORGIAN

Students Think DifferentlyMore than 130 members of the sopho-

more class gathered in the Anderson

Library to present the results of

their individual Thinking Across

Disciplines (TAD) projects. Students

were asked to look back on two

assignments they had completed in

two distinct subject areas then com-

pare and contrast the ways of think-

ing and learning they had used in

the process of completing each of the

assignments. Inspiration for the proj-

ect grew from the curriculum review

the school recently completed, which

established the Foundational Skills

Committee. That group was charged

with ongoing curriculum review and

identifying ways of helping students

build critical thinking skills.

George School Eliminates Sale of Bottled Water Big changes occurred over the course

of the last year at George School,

where a decision was made to ban the

sale and distribution of bottled water

beginning fall 2013. TERRA, George

School’s chapter of the Sierra Student

Coalition—a broad network of high

school and college-aged youth from

across the country who work to pro-

tect the environment—successfully

urged the passing of an initiative

which will improve the quality and

availability of on-campus water foun-

tains and ban the sale and distribu-

tion of bottled water. The George

School Board of Trustees, students,

faculty, staff, and administrators were

all involved in helping to pass the

initiative.

Students Successful in Scholastic Art ContestMore than fifteen George School

Painting and Drawing students

received accolades from the regional

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

competition. Their work was on

display at Gershman Hall at the

University of the Arts in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. Among those honored

were Maggie Chen ’15 and Emily

Sohn ’14 who received Gold Key

awards for their work, the highest

recognition offered in the regional

competition. Many other students

received silver key awards and honor-

able mentions.

IB Chemistry Class Conducts Design Lab Students in Alyssa Schultheis’s IB

chemistry class used chromatography

to compare the types of dyes used in

various popular candies. Some stu-

dents were testing the color composi-

tion of two similar candies, and oth-

ers were testing which dyes were used

to create the color for one specific

candy. These experiments were one of

several design labs that the students

complete each term. “About once a

month we come in and do night labs

and design our own experiments,”

said Katie Ward ’14. This is the sec-

ond time students had completed a

lab using chromatography. In the first

lab, they separated a mixture of three

food dyes using two separate solvents.

Math Contest Winner Visits CampusIn the March 2013 Georgian, readers were asked if they could solve the math

problem posed by teacher Travis Ortogero to his class: “What is the remainder

when 20122012 is divided by 11?” The correct answer is “1.” James Michener ’61

was selected from among the individuals who submitted the correct answers to

receive a George School sweatshirt. Congratulation to all of our math geniuses.

GEORGIAN | 29

CAMPUS NEWS & NOTES

Pictured above are some of the photos submitted with class notes for earlier editions of the Georgian. With your help, we will transform the spring 2014 Georgian into a digital publication of awesome photographic proportions. Send us your pictures…weddings, babies, grand-babies, anniversaries, gatherings of George School friends. You name it. Just email your high resolution digital photographs to classnotes@george-school.org. Add a caption that identifies the people and describes the event it captures. We are counting on you to make our next edition of the Georgian a photo-extravaganza (of modest Quaker size).

T H I S S P R I N G

Upcoming Georgian expands to add alumni photo galleries.

>> Lauralee Lightwood-Mater ’07 joined the Peace Corps in Paraguay where she is working closely with small-scale farmers to increase farm productivity and crop diversification.

>> Judith McIlvain Lewis ’64 cel-ebrated daughter Kim's wedding and her 40th wedding anniversary to her husband Donovan.

>> Jenny Sorel ’84 shared a photo of her son Dulio in a George School sweatshirt vacationing in Martha's Vineyard with several other George School alumni.

>> Stafford A. Woodley Jr. ’94, Jamil Brown ’95, RaShawn Woodley ’98, and Jaron Shipp ’98 traveled to Myrtle Beach SC for a mini reunion and a weekend of golf.

GOES ONLINETHE GEORGIAN