Spring 2005

I

Parents’ PostA Newsletter for Parents and Friends of The Thacher School Early Spring 2005

In this season of natural perfume so dense it makes you dizzy, it’s hard to resist the urge to write about orange blossoms and jasmine and wild olive—all having burst forth ahead of schedule by virtue of over 50 inches of rain and a couple of very warm spells. But resistance is easier because another sensation has left its impress (and continues to). It’s all about sound: the rhythmic hammering as the metal roof of the Perform-ing Arts Center has puzzled itself together, the sibilant blow torches, the repetitive A-flats (one per second) from s-l-o-w-l-y backing up trucks delivering materials through the fenced off Pepper Tree Lane, purposeful hollers from one worker to another as the Student Commons grows more real every day. This noise in the center of campus—deliberate, constructive and, let’s face it, loud—gives way to progress of another kind, as you move farther out. It is the sound of water running—the barranca scoring the southeastern side of campus now quieted from its Janu-ary roar (boulders tumbling in its rush) to something more sedate, yet making music all the way down Horn Canyon from its high mountain source. Truth is, it’s all music to our ears.

Dear Parents and Friends of the School:

� :: Parents’ Post

Back to SchoolHHead of School Michael Mulligan returned from

his three-week sabbatical sojourn this winter thoroughly energized by what he learned both as a Columbia Uni-versity Klingenstein Visiting Fellow and as a guest at several East Coast schools. “Being a student again made me appreciate the balancing act that our Thacher kids perform every day,” he said. “Having to hustle hard to do my best work, being completely accountable to each course, my professors, and colleagues—it both took me back to my own experience and drove home the expecta-tions we have for our students.” Along with two dozen other school heads, from South Africa, England, and across the U.S., Michael took classes in Moral Educa-tion, Educational Philosophy, and Educational Research, all of which required working on case studies, writing papers, and doing peer presentations. During and fol-lowing his two-week fellowship, for which he had been selected from an international applicant pool, he visited all kinds of schools—charters, schools-within-a-school, research-based schools, KIPP schools (Knowledge is Power Program)—as well as some outstanding board-ing schools. Michael noted, “One lesson is demonstrably clear in all cases: smaller is better. Schools in which kids are known well and are held accountable by their teach-ers and administrators are, according to the research, far more successful. The factory model of schools has at long last been debunked. Economy of scale is a logical fallacy when it comes to working and succeeding with chil-

dren and teens.” (Which may ex-plain why Michael keeps his posse to just over a dozen when he invites student riders to join him on a trek to town for Sunday brunch. Pictured here after such a

ride this winter: Michael and Logan Morrow, getting an equine smooch.)

Beam Me Up………and into CdeP history. It’s a ceremony called “top-

ping off,” a tradition of Scandinavian origin that has held sway for a dozen centuries or more as the right and proper thing to do when a building’s frame is reaching

completion. With the out-side structural pieces of the Commons and Perform-ing Arts complex nearing completion, it was time to have a bit of a party, and for a few days before the big event in early Feb-ruary, students, faculty, staff and assorted other community members in-scribed their names on the girder while it was still on

the ground (look very closely: they’re there!). Then, from the vantage of the Upper School lawn, they watched as a crane hauled up the beam (festooned with an American flag and a small redwood, symbolic of the building’s having reached the sky without injury or loss of life), then slowly lowered it to its final position. Afterwards, the construction workers played host as those Thacher community mem-bers, usually on the outside of the chain-link fence,

got to see the site from the inside. With cement trucks churning and lumber going from flatbed to roof, it’s all fast becoming

a reality. Caught just after signing the beam: Ariel Wang, Evan Perry, Josephine Chow, Jordan Perry, Justine Robi-nett, Victoria Lowe, Calvin Kim, William Peterson, and T.J. Bermant.

Go, Green!SSeveral faculty members packed themselves off for

San Diego and the National Association of Independent Schools’ annual conference, whose theme this year was Educating for Sustainability: How Far Will You Go? Bo and Julie Manson, Katherine Halsey, Toby Elmore, Emily McCarren and Wei-Ying Lin participated in seminars on all aspects of this topic relative to private education, from protecting the environment in a myriad of ways to educating our faculties and students for eco-

Early Spring 2005 :: �

nomic and social sustainability. They also heard such renowned speakers as conservationist and philosopher Richard Leakey; author and professor Jared Diamond; investigative journalist Eric Schlosser; psychologist, writer, and professor Carol Gilligan; and former Poet Laureate and North American Association of Environ-mental Education “Educator of the Year” Robert Hass; as well as several eminent college and university professors. Upon return, every member of the Thacher contingent felt far more aware of the choices and challenges ahead—and jazzed about ways in which Thacher can think stra-tegically about change and act responsibly to educate our students on the development of sustainability attitudes and practices. “We can’t opt out of the conversation,” said Bo. “In fact, as a school that has historically been a part of the landscape it’s in, Thacher should be leading the way in this issue.”

How’re We Doing?IIt’s a big, comprehensive question, but one we’re happy

to ask, as we strive to provide the best possible educational experience to Thacher students. Two critical ways to answer this question came to bear this year, one voluntary, the other re-quired for the Thacher’s main-taining its accreditation. In the first, we received word from the Pacific Consulting Group on the School’s bi-annual Student and Parent Surveys, which provide anonymous feedback on over 150 aspects of school life. Many of you have already dug into the details in The Thacher News (mailed last month), but suffice to say here, both parents and students re-

main overwhelm-ingly satisfied with the Thacher Ex-perience (though a few more hours of sleep would be nice!): the overall student satisfaction rate, on a scale of 1 to 7, stands at 5.92, while parents give the School a 6.61 on the same scale. High marks from those in the know.

The second approach to the question culminated in four February days when a five-member committee trained and assigned by the California Association of Independent Schools (and reporting to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges) visited Thacher to assess virtually every aspect of Casa de Piedra: phi-losophy and purpose; governance and finance; students, residential life, and the school community; administra-tion, faculty, and staff; health and safety; development; academics and the library; and the physical plant. In the months preceding, both Thacher (via a Self-Study Team comprised of Peter Robinson, Elizabeth Bowman, Roger Klausler, Chris Mazzola and Megan Henry) and the visiting group had done the voluminous home-work necessary to answer the many questions, so that when the smaller m e e t i n g s — w it h students, faculty, staff, administra-tors, and parents—took place, they could get down to brass tacks to dis-cover what deserved commendation and what might be rec-ommended for im-provement. In the latter, three points: that the Board of Trustees and the Head of School implement ways to increase faculty salaries to enable the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel [already part of Thacher’s Strategic Plan]; that the administration and Academic Council provide leadership for inter- and

“The love of excellence looks ever upward towards a higher standard; it is unimproving

pride and arrogance only that are satisfied with being superior

to a lower. No community should rest contented with

being superior to other communities, while it is inferior

to its own capabilities.”Horace Mann, America’s first leader in and champion of public education

in one of the readings required of Head of School Michael Mulligan by the Klingenstein Fellows Program


intra-departmental articulation and incorporation of coherent curricular goals; and that the administration continue to investigate data, strategies, and resources for a deeper understanding of the challenges that face diverse faculty, families, and students, and devise, if appropriate, support systems to aid integration and retention. Under Major Commendations, the Visiting Committee spotlighted

• the Board, administration, faculty, and students, for staying true to the founding philosophy and mission that makes Thacher distinctive as an academic institution;

• the students, for embodying all that is great and good in the Thacher tradition and for integrat-ing these precepts into their daily lives whether at school or as mem-bers of a larger community;

• the faculty, for their outstanding leadership, enthusiastic assumption of multiple responsibilities, and en-during commitment to serving the needs of the students;

• the Board, administration, and faculty, for their continuous commitment to strategic planning and their incorporation of extensive research throughout the process;

• the administration, for furthering the professional growth of faculty by facilitating and funding enriching educational experiences and the sabbatical program;

• the Board and administration, for their long-term fi-nancial planning and strong fiscal and investment man-agement which ensure financial strength for Thacher;

• the Head of School, Board, and Development Office staff, for their successful quiet phase of The Campaign for Thacher, which will increase endowment and provide for facility enhancements;

• the Board and the administration, for assembling a

qualified and experienced team of professionals to over-see facility maintenance and new construction;

• the administration, faculty, and Board, for their commitment to a diverse community through the re-cruitment of faculty and students from diverse back-grounds, thus enhancing the learning experience of the entire community;

• the faculty, staff, and students, for their dedication to the residential program and the development of posi-tive personal relationships, which enable the personal growth of students to flourish.

Arts Alive!AA tradition of at least

two decades, Arts Week-end takes place in alternate years (in the other years, hosted by a different aca-demic department) and is considered by most to be the co-highlight of the month of February, sharing the spotlight and a place in Toads’ hearts with the winter musical. This year’s vibrant weekend launched with a Friday evening per-formance by the inimitable Preston Smith, essentially a multi-genre one-man blues band. Saturday’s morning and afternoon workshops reflected the whole spectrum of artistic possibilities: watercolor, pastel and oil paint-ing, mono-printing, collage and acrylic image transfer, and clay figurative sculpture; West African drumming and dance; improvisational acting; Ukrainian egg art; pinhole photography and contact printing; cooking with chocolate; blues guitar; poetry writing; even the art of the Frisbee (with world champion Chipper Bro on the field doing demos and giving instructions); and music and meditation. By Saturday night, everyone was primed for salsa dancing lessons, then, the dining room properly


steamed up, for a salsa extravaganza with Lorenzo Mar-tinez and the Mar-tinez Brothers, a southern Califor-nia band of widely held repute.

Knowing Their NumbersAAnd operations. And being quick with a pencil or on

their feet. Two pieces of math news this issue: first, four-teen students took the American Mathematics Competi-tion test aimed at 9th and 10th graders, in which Logan Kroloff won Thacher’s in-house contest. Another dozen took the version for older students; there, James Alli-

son won in-school and also quali-fied—along with Coulter Woolf and Ryan Church—for the AMCE, the na-tional mathemat-i c s O ly mpi a d . (Unfortunately,

that contest fell during our spring break, which pre-cluded any Toads from taking part.) Second, Mathemat-ics teacher Dan Henry took eight students to the annual all-day math fest (including a variety of oral and written competitions) hosted by Westmont College. The 9th-10th contingent, comprised of Logan Kroloff, Alex Min, David Phuasiririak, and Simon Wu, bested all the other participating schools in the written exam competition. Upperclass testers were Ellen Adams, Julia Oh, Justine Robinett, and Ariel Wang.

Field Trips (Some Actual Fields)

RRenée Nuñez’s AP Art History classes embarked at dawn one morning this winter to spend time at the Getty and the UCLA Hammer Museums, see-ing both permanent and special exhibits. Dan

Henry also packed up his advisees for a similar outing to the Getty. Aquatic Ecologists in Brian Pidduck’s upperclass science elective have been heading out the gates often this winter. The class is pictured here (Drew Smith, Gabe Yette, Rachel Munzig, Ken-nan Zhong, Julia Oh, So-phia Ouyang, and Marguerite Kissel) at Lake Casitas (nearly full after all the winter precipi-tation), checking on the health of its ecosystem by col-lecting samples from the near-shore zone of one of the reservoir’s inlets. This also allows them more closely to

study the biology of standing water, including plank-ton, emergent and submerged plants, macroin-vertebrates and fish. Some of the gathered speci-mens now live

here at Thacher in the lab; others were returned to the lake.

Off-campus theater and stage productions enjoyed by Thacher students have included the Sara Baras Flamenco Dance Company, Athol Fugar’s Exits and Entrances (a world premiere), Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change, and Aida (Elton John/Tim Rice).

Getting to Know You(rself)TThe Human Relationships and Sexuality series for

sophomores met weekly throughout the winter, cover-ing such topics as language as a reflection of classism, sexism, homophobia, and racism; acquaintance rape; media influence; gender roles, sexuality, and diversity issues. Both outside speakers and faculty facilitators ran the program, meeting in large group and in smaller sections for activities, debate, and discussion. The se-ries concluded with a week in the company (all grades participating) of substance abuse educator and annual guest of the School, Richard Ryan, of the Creative Drug Education Program.

“The specimens give us living examples of what we’re studying and allow students to look at them under a microscope to determine how they fit into the food web

of the reservoir.”Brian Pidduck CdeP 1992, teacher of Aquatic Ecology


HonoredSSo many students won some sort of recognition out-

side of Thacher this winter that their news deserves its own slice of the Post. Joseph Wyatt, a sophomore, was named a member of the Leadership Council of A Better Chance, a national organization that recruits and helps to place and develop talented students of color in inde-pendent day and boarding schools across the country. In this post, Joseph serves as a liaison between the scholars (of which there are 14 presently enrolled at Thacher) and the staff of the regional office in Los Angeles, working on projects to enhance the connection and support. e Arthur Kaneko and Ned Lederer stood up for over 100 Thacher students when the Optimist Club of Ojai invited them as Toadly representatives to the group’s

Youth Appreciation and Recognit ion Dinner. Like many other Ojai young-sters and teens being honored, Arthur and Ned and their Thacher schoolmates helped the residents of a small, east-end neighborhood when

their homes were flooded with water and mud during the storms of early January. “Through your actions, you exhibit the qualities we all hope to find in our friends, neighbors and ourselves,” said the Optimist Club’s Car-men Holland. “We are grateful for the contributions you made to help keep this community strong.” e Recently honored for both her portfolio works (11 pieces) and for two separate, individual entries at the Otis College of Art and Design at an awards ceremony and exhibit was Juliana Ma. Over 250,000 artists in grades 7 through 12 participate in these regional programs, of which 20% typically receive awards. Pictured here, Juliana’s Truth or Dare, a self-portrait, which was the Gold Key winner at the Regional competition (and has now moved on to New York for the Na-tionals); her Lao Hu (Old Woman) took a Silver Key. e Earlier this win-ter, the senior duo of Rena Karefa-Johnson and Mon-tana Caset traveled with Mr. Shagam (longtime

keeper of the keys to all things debate-able at Thacher) to the Wasatch Academy World Championship Quali-fier debate. Each participated in debating, interpretive reading, impromptu speaking, persuasive or after-din-ner speech, in hopes of winning a place in international competition. Montana earned huzzahs for her interpre-tive reading and knowledge of current events, while Rena returned to School as the third best competitor. As this Post goes to press, Rena is taking planes, trains, and automobiles to get to Cypress for the international competition.

Parent-to-TeacherCCovering a wide spectrum of expertise and talent,

Thacher parents often visit campus to lend new perspec-tive in our labs, classrooms, and studios. Several made the trek this winter, to everyone’s great delight and ap-preciation. Pastel artist Elizabeth White (mom of Isabel, Mary CdeP 2003, and Emma CdeP 2001), multi-media artist Carolyn Fox (mother of Anna Reeser) and mono-print master David Reeser (father to same) all offered workshops during Arts Weekend, generously sharing their passion and skill with small groups of students who’d signed up not merely to sit at the feet of the mas-ters but to pick up tools themselves.

Dr. Sarah Beekley (pediatrician and mother of An-jali Joseph) had barely unpacked her suitcase when she arrived at Thacher to bring December’s tsunami into greater clarity for our students. Her slides and talk chronicled her recent several weeks in Barricaloa, a small coastal city in Sri Lanka, where, as part of a team of doctors provided by Kaiser Permanente, she set up outdoor clinics to provide basic medical aid to refugees in four different camps, seven days a week for the dura-tion of her stay.

Esteemed guests in Spencer Stevens’ AP Biology classroom have included Dr. Robert Fa-rese, Jr. (father of Conor) and Dr. Phil Kissel (father of Marguerite, Bennett, and Bianca CdeP 2004). Following students’ learning about cellular energetics and the human digestive system, Dr. Farese, who heads one of the J. David Gladstone Institute’s laboratories in San Francisco, spoke about his research into lipid me-tabolism and energy balance in mice. Dr. Kissel, who has guest lectured in other years, spoke on the peripheral


and central nervous systems, as well as on what it takes to become a neurosurgeon.

Cam Schryver (father of Conner) took time away from Thacher’s Horse Program (which he directs) to speak with Environmental Science students on the topic of rangeland management and meat production—an important issue both nationally and worldwide. Cam ad-dressed the dramatically different effects on the environ-ment of factory farms and of open space cattle ranching, stressing that “the cattlemen and the environmentalist want the same thing: healthy soil, thriving vegetation, and abundant natural animal life.” He urged the students to make informed decisions in their purchasing prac-tices, as well as in their local and national voting when the time comes to exercise that right.

On campus for his annual spring term moonlight-ing gig as a teacher is professional screenwriter J.B. White (father of aforementioned Isabel, Mary, and Emma), who co-teaches a senior English elective in film adaptation.

Kicking Up SandRRecalling with com-

pelling fondness a horse camping trip his own dad (Bruce Oxley CdeP 1954) had taken him on when he was a student at Thacher, David Oxley CdeP 1979 decided he’d make sure his own son, Will, had the chance to do the same before graduation this spring. Thus did Will and his father, joined by six other game souls (Brendan Keane, Martha Gregory, Deirdre Herbert, Adri Ryberg, Sophie LaRocque, Nick Hub-bard—and their steeds), head to Montaña de Oro for a long and memorable weekend by the sea. “To run my horse down the beach, bareback, no reins—it was a life-long dream come true,” said Sophie.

Short TakesYYe t an ot h e r

invention of the endlessly creative Indoor Commit-tee: along the lines of Faculty Favor-ites (classic, cult, and popular films hosted by faculty members in their homes on a Friday evening), Faculty Just Desserts Night. For these, faculty opened their kitch-ens to students for the making, baking, and eating of a host of sweet treats—everything from homemade “It’s Its” to raspberry white chocolate cheesecake. Several fac-

“Waves crashing in as we galloped on the beach, riding bareback into the ocean:

this trip will stay in my memory forever.”Nick Hubbard, of his horse trip to Montaña de Oro

Too Punny for WordsFFor several years, Kurt Meyer (Mathematics,

Technology Coordinator) has tossed out to the com-munity the Annual Tom Swifties Competition. To enter, students and faculty submit witticisms that fol-low a proscribed format. (There are now entire web-sites devoted to this sort of wordplay, so if you can’t figure out the pattern, Google it!) Among the wittiest were these.

“Can I have some more pancakes?” he asked sur-reptitiously. (Anna Teague)

“I’ll replace the burnt bulb in your room while you’re at class today,” said Mr. Torres politely. (Brooke Wharton)

“Surely, you know what HCL is!” said Dr. Vyhnal acidly. (Nick Wiltsie)

“Man, things have changed with a new kid in the house,” Mr. Hooper said apparently. (Coulter Woolf)

“I understand calculus!” the stu-dent shouted victoriously. [Gallia Vickery teaches calc.] (Lauren Bangasser)

“You have no mind for math!” shouted Mr. Meyer discourteously. (Elizabeth Bowman)

“I’m afraid my diaper is wet again,” said Hayden peevishly. (Jeff Hooper)

“Se me perdio todo mi dinero,” lloro el viejo de-safortunadamente. (Emily McCarren, making his-tory with the first foreign language entry)


ulty couples posed this as a “Battle of the Desserts,” ask-ing such tantalizing questions as which is better, apple crisp or apple pie? Strawberry meringue shortcake or chocolate roll? In the end, all were winners—especially those who scarfed up the goodies. e Also a Friday night winner was Clubs Night, on which every interest seemed pretty much to get covered: from martial arts to golf to trap shooting to Korean, Chinese, and Italian and bowling; from scuba diving, surfing, and skiing to Chris-tian Fellowship and break-dancing—in other words, something for just about everyone. e Singer-song-

writer Ellen Adams took cen-ter stage at our local Theater 150 earlier this winter, when she opened for The Household Gods, an acoustic pop band that features two Thacher par-ents—J.B. White and Charlie Bosson. The crowd, needless

to say, went wild for her highly original tunes. We’ll be saying, We knew her when… e Several other musicians treated Thacher to some terrific winter performances on campus: acoustic guitarist (both 6- and 12-string) Chris Proctor, who dazzled with his pieces that lovingly traced folk, jazz, blues, c l a s s i c a l and pop strands in his trademark precision finger-style virtuosity; a rockin’ a capella singing group from Yale Uni-versity; and singer-songwriter Charlotte Kendrick—all “published” performers. e The community warmly welcomed back from Maine Coast Semester in early January Ruth Sawyer, who’d spent her fall on Chewonki Neck, near Wiscasset, Maine. She reports, “MCS was an

absolutely amazing experience: making new friends, hiking in the snow amid different trees, ice sledding, catching chickens, feel-ing the warmth of a very small community [about 3 dozen students], mud-sliding—it re-ally felt like home. Living in a different place and hearing my friends talk about their home

schools also gave me a renewed appreciation for some of Thacher’s most important elements—that is, the

Honor Code, camping, and all of the people I missed while I was away. To uproot and re-root in the middle of the year was a challenge, but I’m most certainly glad I’m doing it here.” e After writing persuasive essays for all to read and going through a first and second round election, three students earned spots on the Judicial Council: Coulter Woolf, Rachel Munzig, and Alexander Krey, who will join the other students—Jaime Luna (as School Chair) and Jordan Reiff—who, with the guidance of two faculty members (this year, Chris Mazzola and Spencer Stevens) adjudicate in student disciplinary cases. e School Chair Jaime Luna started months ago thinking about how to thank the kitchen and mainte-nance staffs for the tireless work they do, day in and day out, for the community. What he came up with was a barbecue lunch during which students did all the preparation, flipped the burgers and cleaned up afterwards. Jaime is pictured here with able assistants Willy Wilder, Alex Herr, Will Oxley, Executive Chef Ismael Martin, Dean of Students Sabina McMahon, and Senior Class Presi-dent Ned Lederer. e New to the “A” Horse Camper ech-elon, as announced by Chuck Warren, are Hazel Ruiz, Rebekah McFarland, Deirdre Herbert, and Martha Gregory. The four had to pass two tests—a written and a practical—after completing several pack trips (some in the role of captain), two or three trips as “B” Campers, assisting teaching new camper trainees, helping keep Patton’s Cabin supplied, and meeting Chuck’s “personal subjective judgment that they are sufficiently mature and ready for the responsibilities.” They’re high hurdles, but these four young women jumped them with plenty of clearance. e The Thacher Pack and Spur Club (in-

cluded newly elected Nick H u b b a r d , A l ex an d er Krey, Brooke W h a r t o n , Ryan Smith, and Sophie L aRocque) r o l l e d u p


their sleeves and grabbed various (and serious) tools to clean up the Thacher Corral in downtown Ojai (behind Libbey Park). With David Oxley CdeP 1978 (father of Will) and Brandon Chase (father of Lauren and MacK-enna CdeP 2004) providing suggestions and example, the crew went to work clearing brush, sawing off low-hanging tree limbs, and raking plant detritus. Less than a week later, the refurbished corral was put to good use by a dozen-and-a-half riders who happily ac-cepted Head of School Michael Mulligan’s Ride-to-Brunch offer. (Pictured here, Quinn Hacker and Adri Ry-berg riding through or-ange trees after waffles and bacon). e Also in the Horses and Camp-ing news, several rid-ers earned “Advanced” standing in the Horse Program this winter: Conor Farese, Cal Jensen, Dal-las Swift, Jedidiah Harris, Brooke Wharton, and Britt Barnard. e The indefatigable Josephine Chow has organized 17 upperclassmen as academic tutors in al-most every subject area. Participating in the program as peer teachers are Coulter Woolf, Julia Oh, Anna Walter, Jo Kingery, Lauren Bangasser, Max Anderson, Conor Farese, Lucy Herr, Kaitlin Walter, Calvin Kim, Anna Moncharsh, Kaja Johnson, Justin Ouyang, Aus-tin Pollet, Keely Walsh, Alex Marlantes, and Arthur Kaneko. e Some awfully avid bikers are heading into the hills or flying out the gates of campus these days, BMXers to mountaineers to long-distance operators. Inaugurating the Century Club (logging 100 km) was Austin Curwen, joined in the circle by Adam Harmon. Stay tuned for more names to be added to the roster in the spring months. (In this fast-action photo, Jeff Har-thorn speeds past in the Toads-Try earlier this year.) e

Director of Food Services Rich-ard Maxwell and his wife, Gin-ger, welcomed Nina Katherine Maxwell (at 6 lbs, 10 oz, 19 inches long) into their lives and, by ex-tension, the life of the Thacher community on January 28. Checking out the little bundle here: Ted Brown, Adri Ryberg, Annie Strachan, and Megan Boswell.

“Bright and Cheery Kids” Don Muckers, Roll Up SleevesWWhen Thacher Creek

raged over its banks a couple of miles east of Ojai in early January, inundating a neigh-borhood with mud and debris, Thacher students and faculty were front and center to help dig out home-owners who’d been hit

by the storm. Although they originally headed down with shovels specifically to dig out a faculty member’s home, the Thacher folk immediately saw the greater need and, for more than a week, fanned out each afternoon to help anyone who could use an extra set of hands. In the end, over a hundred kids and about twenty faculty mem-bers participated in the ad hoc

project. Local resident Matt Kingsley was bemused, but grateful: “Three Thacher girls just showed up. I don’t ac-tually know why they came down, but they just marched into our house and said, ‘Hey, we’d like to help.’ It sure was nice during the chaos of everything to have some-body to pitch in.” Pictured above: James Burton puts

“They lifted our spirits. They cleaned, they mopped,

they took care of my little kid, helped move furniture. Then they went to the back to dig ditches to

create drainage. They were incredibly supportive of us

and of each other. It was a real gift.”Avenida del la Vereda resident

Mary Jo Healy, on the volunteer work of Thacher students in her neighborhood

10 :: Parents’ Post

some shoulder into his mud-slinging; above left: Max Pillsbury and Sophie LaRocque cope with a mud pile; above right: Olivea Callendar-Scott, Rachel Munzig, Lauren Bangasser, Anna Walter, and Belle Bueti take a breather in the sunshine after shoveling inside the home behind them.

In ServiceTThis year, the two senior heads of Community Service—

Max Anderson and Eleni Towns—have spent countless hours establishing and sustaining a year-long focus on sup-porting one receiving organization, UNICEF (the United Nations International Children’s Educational Fund). To that end, they began by raising awareness of the challenges faced by families of the Third World by taking a night in the dining hall to demonstrate the vast discrepancies in various countries’ economic resources—as translated into a typical dinner. From there, it was on to creating specialty academic planners and orchestrating their sale to students and faculty. When the tsunami hit southeast Asia in late December, the two heads joined forces with two other classmates, the School Chair, and a faculty member to pick up the challenge posed by the National Association of Independent Schools—for students in independent schools across the country to gather nickels, dimes, and dollars to contribute to a fund that NAIS hoped would reach $1,000,000. NAIS felt that if each member school could raise $1000, it would send a powerful message of concern and care to the people whose lives had suffered such loss. Of particular interest were the “school boxes”—part of the effort to reestablish the normality of school for the children of the devastated villages and towns. When the dust settled on Thacher’s effort, each dormitory had raised between $300-$1000. Combined with the planner sales and the dedication of Thursday night snack sales,

the UNICEF check totaled $8,635—an extraordinary dollar amount for the size of our school community. Making a special trip to Thacher to receive a check from these student leaders and to present a certificate of appre-ciation was Anne Kelly, Director of UNICEF’s Southern California Chapter. The effort continues, with other proj-ects on the horizon. Pictured here, the movers and shakers: Rena Karefa-John-son, Jaime Luna, Eleni Towns, Jake Jacobsen, Kaitlin Walter, and Max Anderson.

Varsity Girls’ SoccerCoaches: Toby Elmore, assisted by Kara HooperCaptains: Lauren Bangasser and Emma WerlinThe news from Coach Hoop:

“We kicked off our season with a 2-2 tie against Viewpoint, with Rachel Munzig scoring with just four minutes left in the game. In January, we began Condor

“Standards of sportsmanship ‘out there’ are sometimes pretty different from ours.

But home or away, ours do not change: Be loud. Create a lot of energy. Make it all positive.”

Director of Athletics Rich Mazzola, reiterating The Thacher Way of Fandom

WINTERSPORTS

Early Spring 2005 :: 11

League competition with a 3-0 win over Dunn, then tied Laguna twice in the space of three days—0-0 at home and a 4-4 thriller on their turf, where Thacher came from behind twice, and Rachel and Ruth Sawyer combined for three of the goals (including a header by Ruth). We avenged

early season losses to Villanova and Cate by beating the former 2-0 and by tying the latter at home, 1-1 on a goal by Alyssa Tennant. Kathryn Padgett anchored our midfield with her fancy footwork and scoring ability; our defensive unit of Cap-tain Werlin (voted Most In-spirational at the end of the season), Josephine Kingery, Logan Morrow, and Kaggie Orrick was stalwart and dependable all season. Martha Gregory (MVP) dominated in goal, making some eye-popping breakaway saves. Captain Lauren provided

offensive spark at forward. The season ended with a tough 2-1 loss to Wind-ward, a heartbreaker be-cause we played our best soccer of the season in the second half.” Most Im-proved Player was Katie Romanov; Most Inspira-

tional, and captains for next year are Logan Morrow (who won All-CIF 2nd Team honors), Rachel Munzig, and Kaggie Orrick.

JV Girls’ SoccerCoach: Megan HenryCaptains: Emily Love-Platt and Kaja JohnsonDespite the character-

istic monkey wrenches of stormy weather and illness that winter throws into the works, this team grew more and more adept as the sea-son progressed. In the ranks were students from all four classes, including several freshmen who happily traded boots for cleats as often as each program would allow. One highlight of the season (behind a victory against Happy Valley) was surely the squad’s second game against Villanova, where the girls shifted into high gear

after Sarah Brown-C a m p e l l o ( l a t e r named Most Valuable Player) nailed a pen-alty kick. Although the Toads ultimately lost to the Wildcats, it wasn’t without a spir-ited and valiant effort.

According to Coach Henry, another heartfully played game was against Cate on their home field, where the de-fense (Emily Love-Platt at stopper, Alessandra Waste at sweeper and Annie Mul-ligan in goal) did every-thing they could to keep the steamrolling Rams from scoring. Others who scored for the Toads during the season were Kaja Johnson (Most Inspirational), Olivia Jacobsen, and Lindsay Oliver. Earning her team’s vote as Most Improved by season’s end was Annie Strachan.

Varsity Boys’ SoccerCoach: Fred ColemanCaptains: Ben Babbott and Jaime Luna

With a roster that included eight seniors (Ben Babbott, Ed Cahill, Davie Connick, Jaime Luna, Aus-tin Pollet, Conner Schryver, Willy Wilder, and Gabe Yette), this squad had the sort of seasoned leader-ship that, mixed with physical and

mental toughness, made for a historic fifth consecutive Condor League championship. (No small thing, as no Condor League boys’ soccer team has, in its 47-year history, managed five running.) Although the football team’s playoff success in December (which kept several players on that field rather than the soccer pitch) and the January rains slowed the team a bit initially, they were able, according to Coach Derf, “to play well enough to win until we finally arrived at the place we had been working so hard to be during our game against Cate—that is, scoring three goals in the second half. It was some of the most beautiful soc-cer I’ve ever seen.” (And he’s seen some!) In the CIF playoffs, the team won its 1st round game on home turf

1� :: Parents’ Post

against Rosamond, 2-1, then lost in the desert at Mojave. “These seniors have known only one Condor League defeat in their three years of varsity soccer,” said Coach Coleman. “Their departure leaves a void that will be difficult to fill—but

we’ll try!” A trio of guys won the Most Improved Player award: Conner Schryver, Bob Ka-muyu, and Redgie Collins. Austin Pollet earned the Most Inspirational Player award by vote of his team-mates, while Ben Babbott was con-sidered Best Sportsman. The squad’s Most Valuable Player was Jaime Luna, who was also elected to All-

CIF First Team. Additionally, Ed Cahill and Davie Connick earned All-CIF 2nd and 3rd Team spots. Elected as captains for the 2005-06 season: James Allison, P.J. Benner and Bob Kamuyu.

JV Boys’ SoccerCoach: Eric McCarrenStraight from the coach’s

bullhorn: “The talent of this great team came from players of all classes, from freshmen to seniors. Of the latter, Barrett Brown, Sam Felton, Sander Duncan, Charlie Bennett, Arthur Kaneko, Brian Carter, Ned Lederer, and Justin Ouyang were crucial to our unity. Junior Cal Jensen was voted team MVP and played center midfield all season contributing mightily to our 7-1 record. Freshmen Will Oberndorf and Thomas Waltcher were important con-tributors (even if their horses did demand their attention a good deal of the time!). After losing our first game to a strong Carpinteria team in the first week of the season, we regrouped in January and didn’t stop playing soccer despite the heavy rains (even playing on the tennis courts when the fields became ponds). Our opponents scored an amazingly paltry three goals on our outstanding defense led by Billy Irwin. Mark Wolcott, a new sophomore was voted Most Improved Player partially based on his picture-perfect goal in our final game against Cate (assisted by Sander Duncan).”

Third Team Boys’ SoccerCoach: Kevin BuddhuCaptains: Peter Arnold and Zack GrossmanThis team, which wound

up with a split win-loss re-cord of 2-2 for the season, found seniors—the two captains plus, Michael Yun and Parker Lohman on the offensive front and T.J. Ber-mant and Calvin Kim in the backfield—setting the example for boys from all the other three classes. Three 9th graders—Max Pillsbury, William Peterson, and Brannon Cavalier—played whenever they could talk their horses into taking a day off, steadying the midfield and serving as hope for the future; sophomore An-

drew Jordan and junior Josh Cornwell kept company in the task of stopping those advancing for the opposi-tion. The versatile Simon Wu, Jack Eastburn, and Emmo Gates proved more than capable as substitutes

at virtually any position Coach Budd and the team needed their help. “Peter Arnold ably captained the field from his slot in goal,” reports the coach. “His play there was inspirational, as he protected Thacher’s turf in every game.” No surprise Peter earned Most Valuable Player; Calvin won Most Improved.

Varsity Girls’ Basketball

Coach: Derick PerryCaptains: Becky Horton and Erica Puccetti

Despite several play-ers being new to the team, this squad was well-glued together from the start, a bond formed (according to their coach) “with a sense of warmth, of camarade-

rie, of fun that inspired both them and me for the whole season.” (Proof of their spirit: winning the Sportsmanship Award at the Fillmore Tourna-ment, just after the start of the season.) Coach

Early Spring 2005 :: 1�

Perry went on: “I asked them for their best, and they gave it to me. They refused to believe that they were anything other than defenders of the Condor League Championship.” That belief, combined with deter-mination and increasing skill throughout the winter, secured them exactly that prize—the third consecu-

tive League title. In great part, the credit goes to the confidence gifted from the seniors and other vet-erans on the team to the younger players. “I can al-ways guarantee two things for my team,” said Coach Perry during his season’s wrap-up during a late win-ter Assembly. “My players will improve, and they’ll have fun.” Promise fulfilled. Earning Most Improved

was Sarah Eckhardt, while Most Inspirational Player honors were shared by Rena Karefa-Johnson and Becky Horton; Becky was also named Most Valuable Player.

JV Girls’ BasketballCoach: Eliza Gregory CdeP 1999, with guest appearances from Kurt MeyerCaptains: Belle Bueti and Jenny Morrill

“We had an outstanding season,” beams Coach Gregory (herself a varsity hoopster captain during her years at Thacher). With a full bench,

there were lots of players to rotate into the line-up—from rank rookies to seasoned vets. “By the end, they’d all made huge strides in their understanding of the game and in their skills. Everyone contributed.” New to some were hills, line sprints, crunches, and push-ups—but they al l jumped into the action and

wound up with a very creditable 5-2 season record in the Condor League. “In my book, everyone was an MVP,” said the coach.

Varsity Boys’ BasketballCoaches: Jason Carney, assisted by Ted Holden

They were young—and they were scrappy, determined to use the sea-son to learn, to grow, to become bet-ter as individuals and as a team with each game. That they did. “They faced height, experience, speed,

and strength disadvantages often,” reports Coach Car-ney. “But they battled hard every time they headed out onto the court, proving their true Thacher spirit.” Three freshmen, five sophomores, three juniors made up the squad—the nine un-injured made major contributions. Chris Thomas led in scoring and steals; Chris Gordon led in free-throw per-centage; Max Barbakow was “an absolute hustle machine,

an incredible spark plug out there.” Earn-ing the admiration of his teammates by their voting him Most Improved Player was Andrew Fair. Voted captains for 2004-05 were Max Barbakow

and Jordan Reiff. And here’s the best news: every player will return to the boards next winter.

JV Boys’ BasketballCoach: Ben FarrellCaptains: Max Anderson and Toby Nathan“What an amazing year it was

for the Boy’s JV!” reports Coach Farrell. “One of the main goals of the season was for everyone to improve his game—not as easy as it sounds, given the reality that we had twenty-one players suiting up for practice on any given day. But

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1� :: Parents’ Post

numbers were never a problem, thanks to the strong leadership of our senior co-captains Max Anderson and Toby Nathan. The season started slowly, with three early losses, the most disheartening being our fall to Cate. But the boys refused to remain discouraged, determined

instead to improve steadily throughout the season, pulling off a string of five wins in six games. The remainder of the season was spent building to our final game at home against Cate. It was

truly a team victory, with the sixteen guys on the bench cheer-ing their teammates on throughout the game to its winning (for us) conclusion. I can’t imagine a better way to end our winter.” Max Anderson and Marc Fuller won MVP, while Toby Nathan earned the Charlie Hustle Award. Most Improved Player honors went to David Phuasirirak.

Equitation TeamTThacher’s Equitation Team’s been up to lots of good

this quarter, all of it preparatory preamble to their com-peting at the Interscholastic Equestrian League Nation-als this April in Maryland. A little history: the IEA was founded to boost the quality of equestrian competition and instruction available to middle school and high school riders. The tricky and exciting part about IEA shows is that participants ride “host horses”—that is, those in the host school’s stable. There’s a little bit of get-acquainted time, but for the most part, everyone’s on level ground as they work to demonstrate their horse-manship over fences and on the flat. A “pointed” rider from each team accumulates points for the school score, which gives smaller schools with fewer riders equal competitive footing with larger teams.

The first of this semester’s events coincided with the first major winter storm, necessitating an 11th-hour venue switch when Thacher hosted three other teams, two from east coast schools. Fortunately, given the extra hauling

CASTCharlie Brown • Ben Babbott

Schroeder • Sam FeltonLucy • Kaitlin Walter

Snoopy • Isabel WhiteSally • Caitlin WymanLinus • Michael Yun

DANCERSHeather Back

Lauren BangasserMaddie IgnonVictoria LoweAnnie SawyerAubrey Wynn

BANDConcert Master, Violin • Kaja Johnson

Flute • Alex MinDrums • Mr. James Anterez

Piano • Julia OhBass • Mr. John Boyd

Viola • Sarah YunWoodwinds • Mr. Dan Willard

CREWHead Techie • Brendan Keane Stage Manager • Kirsty Mark

Assistant Director • Kaggie Orrick Lighting • Cal Jensen Sound • Peter Thom

Follow Spot • Nick Wiltsie Props • Erika Satterwhite

Wardrobe • Amanda Nonomura, Keely Walsh, and Alessandra Waste

Painter • Arthur Kaneko Head Usher • Erika Satterwhite

Usher • Lilly Haggard

Director • Sandy JensenMusical Director • Greg HaggardChoreographer • Gallia Vickery

continued on back page

Early Spring 2005 :: 1�

Alternately charming, whimsical, and laugh-you-off-your-chair

funny, this winter’s musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, gave its audience many reasons to smile—and to return for another show and another, until the curtain came

down on the fifth and final performance. The players—the inimitable Charlie Brown, his sister Sally and dog Snoopy, and friends Schroeder, Lucy and Linus—were backed up by a sextet of high-kicking dancers, a terrific pit band, a cracker-jack sound and lighting crew, and inspiring directors, whose first stroke of genius was in creating a black box theater out of the Study Hall. We’re sure that somewhere in the rafters, Mr. Thacher was smiling down.

Happiness was.

YOU’RE A GOOD MAN,

CHARLIE BROWN

TH

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THACHER

SC

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1889

The Thacher SchoolParents’ Post5025 Thacher RoadOjai CA 93023-9001

Address Service Requested

AAs most of us know too well, spring at Thacher zooms by at warp speed, the longer daylight hours filled with more ac-tivities than seem humanly possible: the “usual” of classes and sports and riding, Big Gymkhana Family Weekend, Senior Exhibitions, Extra Day Trips, review, exams, Baccalaureate and Commence-ment. In the rush lies the hope, too, of a quiet moment in the sunshine, on the grass, near to those blossoms mentioned on the front cover, irresistible, after all.

Cheers ’til summer’s upon us!

PRODUCTION CREDITS n Editor: Joy Sawyer-Mulligan Design and Production: Tim DitchPhotography: Jane McCarthy, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan Student Photography Assistants: Eli Behar, Eric Elias, Mason Feldman

and handling forced by the deluge, Thacher alums happened to be back in force for Winter Reunion, and all pitched in to get horses and gear to and from campus: Alex Herbert, Katherine Bechtel, Phoebe

Barkan, Rebec-cah Gore-Judd, Walker Cahall, and Brian Keane. Thacher wound up Reserve Cham-pion, with eight riders qualify-ing for the Nat i on a l s :

Deirdre Herbert, Adri Ryberg, Kelly Singco, Keely Walsh, Alex Dotson, Leslie Sligh, Lesley Sun, and Sarah Winters.

Coach Elizabeth Mahoney CdeP 1988 cited as another part of the team’s success “the terrific support of parents who traveled very long distances [Cecilia and Jim Herbert and Claire Ryberg] to cheer on students and steeds—and of all of those who pur-chased Valentines’ baskets during the team’s fund-raiser. Thank you all!”

Non-ProfitOrganization

US Postage PaidPermit No. 17Ojai CA 93023

continued from page 14

“Every time someone doubts what I’m doing or a direction I’m taking, I rethink it with this question in mind:

What would they have urged me to do at Thacher? This helps me to go on with my projects, even when they seem crazy

or impossible—and ultimately, to dissolve the doubt of others.”Tom Crozier CdeP 1977, speaking to the community at Assembly about his singular missionary work in Nicaragua

Spring 2005

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