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April 12, 2013

The e-Dubliner

Athletic Schedule

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Newsletter Staff

Editor: Nicole Sintetos

Copy Editor: Jan Haman

Anne Mackey

Student Journalists

Yiran Ouyang: Hope Fowler Phoebe Bride

Photos: Anne Mackey

Nicole Sintetos Donna Stone

Tyson Laa Deng ‘13

Building Community, One Table at a Time

The smell of freshly milled saw dust springs up from the floor of Von Mertens’ Woodshop on the base of Dublin’s campus. As you walk through the chaos of hammers and half built chairs and head to the back, the friendly sight of Mr. Carl Von Mertens (the man himself) and the sound of classical music greet you. Carl, dressed in flannel and wearing a welcoming smile, is working on one of his famous creations: Dublin’s own Harkness table. The Harkness table, a large, oval table which seats 12-18 students, was conceived by philanthropist Edward Harkness who hoped to revolutionize the academic curriculum at Exeter Academy in the early 1930s. Simply, he believed that students needed to be able to see the eyes of their peers when they spoke, that education should be collaborative and not teacher-centered. His solution was to symbolize this relationship between teacher and student by eradicating all tablet desks for the Harkenss table. Since then, both the Harkness teaching style and

the Harkness table have spread to boarding schools across the nation. Today, as a well-loved trustee of the school, Carl is back in the same woodshop

he built with his students years ago. Carl is no stranger to woodworking and has built hundreds of chairs, desks, and bookshelves during his tenure at Dublin. When he began his career, he was a math teacher and each of his students had a small slab desk. He realized this would never do and built long, rectangular tables Soon, all of the faculty began asking Carl for the fruits of his labor for their own classrooms.

Carl’s glossy Harkness table stands almost seven feet long and will reside in a classroom of its own in the coming week. The table — and Carl’s impact —are lasting; one can imagine that many generations of Dubliners will learn to share and create around these beautiful tables.

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Growing up on the coast of California, I became accustomed to celebrity sightings at a young age. By the time I was a freshman in high school, getting a wave from Tom Hanks (filming Turner & Hooch in my hometown) or walking a golf course with Bill Murray (as a student volunteer for a Pro-Am golf tournament) was rather mundane. I must confess, I didn’t even ask Justin Timberlake for his autograph when he stood beside me at an event. I was never star-struck because of the prevalence of famous people who lived on or visited the Monterey Peninsula. Of course, they weren’t visiting me, but, seeing them never really moved me. Hero worship is a tad overdone in our society. Having said that, if I ever have a chance to dodge and weave through speeding traffic to say hello to Betty White on a New York City sidewalk, all bets are off. So imagine my surprise at my unexpected internal reaction when, at Kennett High School in Conway, New Hampshire, early last Saturday morning, I was within arm’s length of Kelly Gallagher and realized I was as quivery as a 13 year old girl backstage at a Justin Bieber concert. What, you may ask, was I doing at a high school in northern New Hampshire on a Saturday morning,

and who, you may ask, is this Kelly Gallagher person? Answering these questions divulges a poorly kept secret about me: I am an unabashedly nerdy English teacher. I bubble with excitement when one of my students inadvertently incorporates vocabulary words into casual conversation. I read books about sentences. I actually counted down

the days to the Don Graves Write Now Conference at Kennett High School. I did this knowing that I would have to awaken at 4:30am to drive more than three hours on a day off for an academic conference. Like I said…nerdy. But there I was, breathlessly gazing at special guest, Kelly Gallagher, too nervous and intimidated to even greet him. Gallagher, an English teacher, author and presenter from Anaheim, California, is a rock star, maybe THE rock star, in the rarified world of helping other

English teachers become better at teaching reading and writing. And I was standing right next to him. I beat a hasty retreat before

my lack of composure and escaping dignity resulted in a scene. I found my seat next to my Dublin School colleagues, Michelle Knapp and Nicole Sintetos, and tried to appear casual when mentioning I had just seen the day’s keynote

Above: Jenny Lai, a student in Ms.

Hammond’s English 9 class, completes a

creative writing assignment atop the ski

hill one snowy afternoon.

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speaker in the hallway. Seeing right through me, they smiled kindly, in the practiced way an adult smiles at an overly enthusiastic toddler. I can’t blame them. I would have done the same in any other situation. I nervously fidgeted in my seat. It was Michelle who introduced me to Gallagher’s work just over a year ago. During our faculty meetings last June, she mentioned his website as a resource for teaching students how to write. For many English and history teachers, effectively teaching, rather than assigning, writing is one of the more elusive challenges of our profession. Debates have raged for years about the best practices in this field and whether good writing can actually be taught. Gallagher’s books, Teaching Adolescent Writers and Write Like This convinced me that it can be. These and his other titles, Deeper Reading and Readicide, immediately resonated with me, providing pedagogically sound and wonderfully practical ideas for an English 9 curriculum. I mean, just re-read those titles – one can see why I was at the very edge of hysteria that morning.

Gallagher’s approach is brilliant in its simplicity and logic. Students today need to read and write much more than they currently do, while teachers should inspire and guide their students through

meaningful practice in the areas that are most difficult for them. Effective writing is not, of course, a skill new to the 21st century. We are becoming increasingly a writing society, though, and writing clearly, with purpose, is more important than ever, perhaps the number one indispensable communications tool for all. By providing “mentor texts” of real world writing that model writing and allows for student to follow, we can help our students

understand good writing as a craft and process rather than a series of assignments or neatly packaged end products for which one may earn a grade, but that are intellectually opaque for the students. Gallagher’s presentation, echoing concepts he explores in his books, stressed teaching literacy through reading and writing real world texts, encompassing a variety of genres and styles, including, but not

“Effective writing is not, of course, a skill new to the 21st century. We are becoming increasingly

a writing society, though, and writing

clearly, with purpose, is more important than

ever, perhaps the number one

indispensable communications tool

for all.”

Ms. Hammond’s English 9 Class writing about winter

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limited to, literary analysis and the five paragraph essay. Are you still with me here? Trust me on this, even though my explanation may be a little dense, when done well, the techniques that Gallagher emphasizes will bring a passion and a more developed sense of competence to even the most intractable writing-phobic teenager. His stuff works, and when it clicks with a struggling student real magic takes place. What resonated with me the most during the conference is the need for teachers to model the writing process for our students and then serve as a “coach” for meaningful practice and development. This is not a new concept for Dublin School; we, as teachers, model and work alongside our students in all realms of our community. Mel Bride and John Adams demonstrate sound skills and techniques on the lacrosse field, then provide meaningful practice opportunities for their players to improve. Earl Schofield models the process of art, helping his students develop sound skills and techniques to help students transform creative imaginings into works of art. Jason Cox codes alongside his programming students, showing them tangible, real-world applications for their work. Choose any facet of the Dublin program and you will find passionate, skilled adults modeling for and mentoring their students. Why wouldn’t I, as an English teacher, adopt this approach? To get my students beyond

the “once and done” mentality, I hope to more extensively model the writing and rewriting process. As Kelly Gallagher demonstrated the mentor text and model concept, I feverishly scribbled notes on my iPad, pausing only to whisper animatedly to Michelle and Nicole after a particularly inspiring idea. The morning session alone lasted two and a half hours, but I was as transfixed as if I had been viewing an award-winning film. Riveting, I tell you. This is what professional development should do: inspire us to hone our craft as teachers and provide specific strategies and techniques we can employ when working with our students. Whether they are

drafting essays, illuminating their insights through poetry, tweeting intelligently, weaving written tales of fact or fancy, or blogging about the boarding school experience, I want them to become lifelong writers who write well.

In the final minutes of the conference, we learned that Kelly Gallagher will be returning to the Granite State next spring, with a focus on teaching our students to become deeper readers. I have March 22nd, 2014 already marked on my calendar. It is unlikely that there will be promotional posters for his 2014 Tour. And I may not be able to pick up some extra tickets on the secondary ticket scalping market. But maybe by then I will have calmed my fluttering intellect and be grounded enough to say hello. I wonder if he gives autographs?

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Congratulations!!!!!!

All 4’s Emily Beaupre

Phoebe Bride

Lilly Campbell

Fiona Johnson

Max Clary

Hope Fowler

Alex Lange

Patrick Nichols

Elaine Ouyang

Brendan Palmer

Zhiyu Pan

Will Utzschneider

Hannah Whitesel

Tatum Wilson

Ningda Xiong

Highest Honors

Emily Beaupre

Jonas Beymer

Phoebe Bride

Max Clary

Peter Dunphy

Molly Forgaard

Charles Imhoff

Fiona Johnson

Patrick Nichols

Elizabeth O'Rourke

Yiran Ouyang

Zhiyu Pan

Reef Rogers

Jillian Steele

Erin Tourgee

William Utzschneider

Hannah Whitesel

Tatum Wilson

High Honors

Lukas Barth

Amanda Bartlett

Emily Bascom

Peter Bascom

Adam Bloom

Wenzhi Cai

Lillian Campbell

Charlotte Caron

Suk Hun Cho

Sydney Clarke

Mekhi Crooks

Elizabeth Davis

Sydney De Tomaso

Michaela Dempsey

Margaret Elliott

Yuan Feng T2G

Jordan Ferreras

Danyell Figueroa

Stephanie Figueroa

Harry Flores

Daniel Fowler

Myles Freedman

Jesse Garrett-Larsen

Yunfan Ge

Harrison Glaude

Maja Hardikar

Daniel Harrington

Grant Holliday

Katharine Houde

Riley Jacobs

Alyssa Jones

Tyler Jones

Tyson Laa Deng

Alexander Lange

Edward Lawrence

Shutong Luo

Bo Ning Ma

Julia Marcou

Woo Jun Nam

Kendall-Brennen Navedo

Brendan Palmer

Benjamin Phillips

Alexander Popov

Colin Rogers

John Scriven

Myles Spencer

Leah Star

Patricia Sullivan

Elizabeth Takyi

Ning Da Xiong

The Dublin School rowing team informally kicked off

their race season this past Wednesday by competing in

an inter-squad sprint triathlon. The three events includ-

ed a 2000 meter row, 3.5 mile bike, and 1.8 mile run.

The rowing took place on the rowing machines inside

the Whitney Gym, while the biking and running portion

took advantage of a 5.3 mile circuit that eventually

looped all the competitors back to the Dublin School

gym.

The girls were the first to go off for the afternoon, with

Alexis Andrus finishing the 2K row first with a time of

8 minutes, quickly followed by Mekenzie Mattheson

with 8:02, and Phoebe Knox with 8:07. Taking ad-

vantage of the top girls’ fatigue and transitioning quick-

ly to the bike, however, was Tatum Wilson, who shot

off into the lead once finishing the row; she completed

the course with an overall time of 46:53. Coming in

second for the girls was Phoebe Knox in 51 minutes

flat, followed by coxswain Anna Rozier with a time of

52:40.

In the boys’ first wave, top rowing finishers were Mark

Porter (7:14.2), Brendan Palmer (7:14.4), and Jesse

Garret-Larson (7:15.4). In the second wave, top erg

times went to Peter Bascom (7:09. 2) and Sasha Popov

(7:25.9).

In the boys’ overall results, however, coxswain Charlie

Imhoff took first place with a time of 44:52! Next for

the guys was Myles Spencer, completing the course in

46:53, and in third was Jesse Garret-Larson with a

47:48. Charlie Imhoff would claim the fastest time of

the day, and was able to accomplish the feat entirely in

dress code!

1st Annual “Truth and Courage Tri”

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Once upon a time there was something called

a "book."

It probably originated with the Chinese, who

seem to have originated everything.

They were writing on silk, perhaps even earlier

than the expat Israelites were sitting at the outdoor

cafes of Babylon, nursing their shots of goat milk

and jotting down on clay tablets every story they

had ever heard, beginning with Cain and his

brother Abel. (Poor Cain didn't realize he

shouldn't have struck Abel so hard: no one had

ever died before.)

Like the Egyptians, the Israelites later switched

to scrolls, which are still in use today (the

Torah). The material for scrolls morphed from

papyrus to parchment to paper, fodder for the 15th

century Gutenberg press and the 20th and 21st

century library in Dublin's little red schoolhouse.

One of the great joys of study hall at Dublin in

my era was a chance to browse through those

books, the first adult books I read.

The first book I had read at home was the first

book Dr. Seuss wrote: To Think That I Saw It On

Mulberry Street, a little masterpiece. A few years

later I moved into the writings of John R. Tunis,

sports novels that also dealt with social and

psychological issues and were later admired in

Philip Roth's American Pastoral.

At Dublin I discovered Hemingway. He was a

family friend (in northern Michigan, Toronto and

Key West) but I had never read him. What

fascinated me was his Biblical understatement,

which packed an emotional punch as powerful as I

would discover more than 60 years later in the

prophet Jeremiah.

Hemingway's dialogue led me to ferret out all

the plays in the schoolhouse library: Shakespeare,

O'Neill, Sidney Howard, Elmer Rice, Karl Capek

and dozens more. I read them all. This in turn led

to a lifelong love affair with the theatre.

I became president of the Dublin Drama Club,

which put on a number of one-acts, including old

standbys like The Monkey's Paw ("It was a dark

and stormy night," which launched Snoopy's

literary career) and The Valiant, on which the old

Paul Muni death row movie was based.

We also put on a play called Submerged by

Clay Shaw, the bizarre New Orleans business

executive who would later be prosecuted by the

equally bizarre Jim Garrison in the JFK

assassination "conspiracy." Shaw was

acquitted. (Tommy Lee Jones won an Oscar

nomination playing him in Oliver Stone's

farfetched film JFK.)

Submerged was the first real Dublin theatrical

triumph. There we were, trapped at the bottom of

the sea, drawing cards to see who would get shot

out the torpedo tube to signal our presence. I was

the coward who drew the high card (I hope this

wasn't typecasting) and my room-mate Bob

Tillinghast '48 played the dreamer (definitely

typecasting) who volunteered to go in my

stead. In the end, Butch Horner '48 and the other

meanies locked me in the last compartment as the

water came surging in.

My experience in the library at the little red

schoolhouse led me to write a play at Michigan

that won a Hopwood Prize (Arthur Miller wrote a

far better Hopwood play) and after the Army I

spent three years at the Yale Drama School. I

came to New York with a play optioned by Edwin

Wilson, the Wall Street Journal drama critic, but

we couldn't raise enough money. So I turned to

writing monologues for a living -- speechwriting -

- which became my career.

It's been rewarding and a lot of fun. And it all

began in the Dublin library.

Next time you're in the study hall (are the

books still there?) pull out some unrequired

reading from the bookshelves. It's wonderfully

transporting and it could well be the start of your

career.

Al Connable '48 rconnable@hotmail.com

The View from ’48

By Al Connable

That First Book

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A Message from Michelle Lange, President of the Parents’ Association

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Parents’ Association is getting excited to host the Dublin

School Memorial Mile on Saturday, May 25th! It would be

wonderful to have you take part; we welcome all ages and

abilities. To make it easier to train for the race, Cathy

Utzschneider, parent of Will’15 has designed 2 training

programs for the Dublin School Memorial Mile. Cathy is a

world class masters runner and Professor at Boston College.

She is the Head Coach of the Liberty Athletic Club in Boston,

USATF Certified Coach and site coach of www.women-

running-together.com

Cathy is a 7X national master’s age group track and field

champion, winning a Gold medal at the World Masters

Regional’s, an American Age Group Record for the 4X 1600

relay, and a Silver medal at the Nike World Masters Games.

Cathy is the author of the book, MOVE!. She is a respected

columnist for National Masters News

and New England Runner. She currently

is working on a new book, Mastering

Running, due out in 2014.

You may find the training programs and

registration for the race by visiting:

www.memorialmile.dublinschool.org

Cathy will be running in the race with

women from the Liberty Athletic Club.

I encourage you to participate! Please

contact me with any questions about the

race, registration or if you would like to volunteer on race day.

Thanks!

Have a great weekend!

Best,

Michelle Lange

April Dates to Remember: Grandparents’ Day Wednesday April 17, 2013. We invite you to join your grandson/granddaughter for the day here at Dublin School on Wednesday, April 17th. Invitations have been mailed and a follow up e-mail message will be sent to the parents. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact, Donna Stone at 603-563-1285 or dstone@dublinschool.org.

May Dates to Remember

Day Parent Coffee Wednesday May 1, 2013. Time: 7:50am – 8:30am.

Please join us for the last day parent coffee of the school year. I hope you can attend!

Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day Tuesday May 7, 2013.

The students will be helping the Parents’ Association honor our teachers and staff on this special day. We will be in contact with the volunteers who signed up through the volunteer survey with more details about the day. Thank you for your help!

Mayfair Weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday May 17 – 19, 2013. The Parents’ Association helps at the Spring Concert, which takes place on the Friday evening of Mayfair Weekend. We provide snacks and baked goods for those attending. On Saturday, parents spend time enjoying the Mayfair activities in the morning and athletic events in the afternoon. Details and registration for the weekend will be posted on the school website at the end of April or in early May.

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We were saddened to learn of the passing

of Michael “Mickey” James ’42 and

Christine Alvardo Camacho ’90.

Michael “Mickey” James, 87, died

peacefully on April 4, 2013. Mickey lived a

long and glorious life. He was the author of

“The Adventure of M. James.” Which is

available in the Dublin School library. A

memorial service will be held this summer

at a date yet to be determined. We will

keep you posted with more information

when it becomes available.

Christine Alvarado Camacho, 41, of

Leander, Texas passed away on April 1,

2013.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Alumni

Office if you have any further questions or

would like to share a memory you have of

Mickey or Christine for the Dubliner.

Beyond the Quad

Beyond the Quad

Michael “Mickey” James ’42

Christine Alvardo Camacho ’90

We had a special Dublin School Maple Day on

March 23rd as part of New Hampshire’s Maple

Weekend. We were excited to have alumni Jamie

Huntington-Meath ’67, Guy Jackson ’67, Ben

Sandri ’05 and Scott Olsen ’07 join us along with a

steady stream of parents, grandparents and friends

coming by to watch the boiling and buy our

delicious Dublin School maple syrup. A special

thanks to Brooks and Emily Johnson, and current

student Matt Coffin ’16 for all there help in making

the day possible.

Maple Day at Dublin

Calling all Alumni!

Keep up with your classmates

professionally and personally. Send us

your promotion, career changes,

marriages, births, publication, etc., and

we will share your milestones with the

Dublin School community.

Please contact: Donna Stone

dstone@dublinschool.org

(603) 563-1285

Carl Von Mertens connects

with Paul Floren ’87

Recently, trustee and former teacher, Carl von

Mertens got in touch with alumnus Paul Floren ’87,

a General Electric executive, who is currently

living in Pairs after a couple years in the Middle

East and China. Paul and his wife Sophie live in a

house outside the city in a small town that reminds

him of Peterborough. Paul has three children,

Magali, 21, who is studying neuroscience and

psychology at University, Henri, 18, and Anders

who is just about to turn three.

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