the magazine

Volunteeringthe art of

summer 2010

Mission Statement

1501 NE 62nd Street Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334Tel: 954.492.4100 Fax: 954.492.6651

2700 St. Andrews Boulevard Boca Raton, FL 33434Tel: 561.852.2800 Fax: 561.852.2832

To offer a challenging academic experience

complemented by excellence in the arts

and athletics; to develop the character,

independence, and leadership of each

student; and to provide a nurturing learning

community that prepares students to meet

the global challenges of our future.

Pine Crest Magazine Summer 2010 3

Editor-in-ChiefToni Marshall954.492.4105 [email protected]

PhotographyToni Marshall, Nick Crisafi, and Judy Reich

Contributing WriterToni Marshall and Nick Crisafi

HighlightsToni Marshall and Nick Crisafi

Class NotesCandace Moore

FacebookCandace Moore

ProofreadersNick Crisafi, Susie Ledbetter, and Laura Deane

Layout and DesignMilan De Vito Designs

PublisherPine Crest Magazine is produced by the Pine Crest School Advancement Office

| 10 | Annual Fund

| 11 | Diane La Monica

| 12 | Farewell to the Falbeys

| 14 | Retirees

| 14 | Pat Damoorgian

| 15 | Toy Story

| 16 | Highlights New Buildings Grab Gold Certification,

Sister School in Haiti Receives Tents, and a series of notable achievements

| 20 | Graduation – Class of 2010

| 26 | Athletics

| 30 | Arts

| 34 | Alumni A closer look at Teresa Smith de Cherif

’78, Bob Lynch ’52, Brian Foley ’80, and several outstanding young alumni

| 40 | Unforgettable

| 42 | Gatherings

| 46 | Facebook Memories

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The Art of VolunteeringVolunteers help Pine Crest faculty and students in immeasurable ways. 6

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Pine Crest Magazine Summer 20104

ALUMNI CALENDAR 2010-11Welcome to the Future

The $23 million Upper School Academic Center is scheduled to be completed within 18 months. Following the Academic Center’s completion, a new administration complex will involve enhancing offices located under the School’s symbolic bell tower.

FALL 2010• Legacy Breakfast

We gather to celebrate the enrollment of the next generation of Pine Crest alumni families.

– FortLauderdaleThursday, September 2 at 7:30 a.m., Panther Café

– BocaRatonTuesday, September 28 at 7:30 a.m., Bernstein Family Commons

• Regional Alumni Gatherings – New York and Washington D.C.

Dates to follow

• All-Alumni Holiday Gathering– FortLauderdale

Wednesday, December 15 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Mai Kai Restaurant

WINTER 2011• Alumni Night at the Musical

Followed by post-performance “Talk Back” with the cast, directors, and musicians and Founder’s Council Reception.

– FortLauderdaleFriday, March 18, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.

SPRING 2011• Alumni Reunion Weekend: April 8 & 9

It’s time to celebrate with your PCS classmates, share wonderful memories, reconnect and reminisce with old friends, and have fun!

50th: 1961 40th: 1971 30th: 1981 25th: 1986 20th: 1991 10th: 2001

Reunion Committees are forming now. Help plan the best reunion ever.

If you would like to be a Class Agent and help us find/contact your classmates, please contact Alumni Director Susan Ledbetter

at 954.492.6602 or [email protected].

Board of TrusteesWalter Banks ’61, ChairMichelle Cibene ’84, Vice ChairMarc BellLourdes Cowgill, Ph.D.Jean FindeissRobert FishmanMark Gilbert ’74Daniel GoldbergJeff HollanderDavid KantorArthur Keiser ’71, Ph.D. Albert “Sonny” KotiteEdward PozzuoliHiromi PrintzKevin QuinnDouglas Reynolds ’75Jeff RobertsSheri SackKaren SchlesingerDan SheinbergAna WaldmanPeter WittichJordan Zimmerman

Emeritus DirectorsRobert Friedman, H ’77Theodore Friedt, H ’81William H. Grimditch, Jr. H ’67Richard InghamJohn Leech ’56William J. McMillan ’45Paul RoepnackHenry H. Wheeler

Alumni CouncilMarcie (Berman) Bour Patron ’80Elizabeth Camp ’94Charles Cobb ’93Lucy Friedt Dublin ’72Norma Martin Goonen ’65Jeffrey Keiser ’73Lara Osofsky Leader ’93Ashley Palmer Lindsay ’99Sara Regensdorf ’97Jon Wiley ’79

summer 2009-10


Pine Crest School – a College Preparatory School

1501 NE 62nd Street Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334Tel: 954.492.4100 Fax: 954.492.6651

2700 St. Andrews Boulevard Boca Raton, FL 33434Tel: 561.852.2800 Fax: 561.852.2832

Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in

the biography of souls.- Early American writer David Thomas (1776-1859)

thePresident’s

message

A few months ago, I had the privilege of speaking for Pine Crest at two amazing gatherings. I call them amazing because representing Pine Crest, I thanked our numerous and highly regarded parent volunteers on both campuses during brunches in their honor. Surveying this sea of remarkable volunteers, I took the opportunity to voice my deep appreciation for the time and talent each brings to our School. “You are irreplaceable; we couldn’t find anyone like you if we tried,” I told them. Throughout my years at Pine Crest, it is the parents who have added the extra “umph” to our educational experience. “You have no idea how significant your time and talents are to the success of our institution,” I said. “What makes you special is that everything you do is from the heart.”

I could go on about the activities and projects of our volunteers, but our magazine feature, “The Art of Volunteering,” will illustrate the depth and scope of volunteering at Pine Crest. What I want to underline is the character and dedication of our volunteers, and the effect they have on our student population.

Across both campuses, there are literally hundreds of parents giving freely of themselves. It is one thing to care about one’s own child, but to consistently extend that care and dedication to an entire school community speaks volumes. On a grander scale, this volunteer presence at Pine Crest gives our students a close-up view of what it means to unselfishly give to others in a meaningful way. It impresses upon them the importance of seriously thinking about others, which promotes one of the most important Pine Crest educational goals: strong character development. The parent volunteer becomes one of the strongest and most influential models for his or her child, and also plays a significant role for other students.

At the conclusion of the brunch in Fort Lauderdale, we also took a moment to recognize one long-time volunteer, Vernice Huff, a former Pine Crest parent and grandparent, who has volunteered in the Lower School library for more than 20 years. As the mother of Pre-Primary Director Shelley Huff Schultz ’70, and grandmother of Alec Schultz ’98 and Mara Lyn Schultz ’03, Vernice’s two decades of volunteering make a wonderful legacy to pass on to future generations!

Sincerely,

Lourdes M. Cowgill, Ph.D.

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BY NICK CRISAFI AND TONI MARSHALL

They bring with them the wisdom of parenthood. Add to that an arsenal of experienced professionals with dossiers dotted with Fortune 500 companies and careers which include finance, law, education, marketing, medicine, and a multitude of high-powered occupations. Some take a break to stay at home, while others juggle career, family life, and Pine Crest. “We have an amazing group of parent volunteers,” remarks Pine Crest President Dr. Lourdes Cowgill. “It is these volunteers who really keep us going and help our faculty and students in immeasurable ways.” Parent volunteers can be found any time of the day on both Pine Crest campuses. From serving seconds in the dining hall to helping out with art projects, members of this dedicated corps often log nearly as many hours as a working professional. Why do they do it? “I was fortunate to be asked to join the MUSPA [Middle & Up-per School Parents’ Association] five years ago and have not looked back,” says Rosa Levy (Alan ’12, Andrea ’14), President of MUSPA on the Fort Lauderdale campus. Levy graduated from Georgetown University, worked for Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, pursued an MBA at Columbia University, and started a furniture company in Venezuela with her husband. She relocated to Miami in 2001 and continued working long distance for a number of years. She decided to go back to school to pursue her passion, interior design, at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She’s a part-time designer, a full-time mom, and a full-time volunteer. “I spend countless hours volunteering in and out of school because I like working with people and feeling connected to where my kids spend most of their day,” she says. “More importantly, our work is always in high demand and greatly appreciated; we do make a difference,” she adds.

“My philosophy is let administrators administrate, teachers teach, and students soak it in. Our role as volunteers is to roll up our sleeves and take care of all the fluff in between that helps solidify the magnificent social and academic experiences of our children, parents, and staff.” Volunteers like Levy are not the exception, but the norm on both cam-puses. They are “uber” organizers of many events throughout the year. In Fort Lauderdale, a few of their responsibilities include the Spirit Store, Country Fair, Book Share, Festival of the Arts, the College Fair and Symposium, and Cyber-bullying Conference. This year four parent volunteer groups – the Pre-Primary and Lower School Mothers’ Club, the Middle & Upper School Parents’ Association, the Fathers’ Club, and the Founder’s Council – organized the Online Auction and Studio 75, a fundraiser and celebration to launch the School’s next 75 years. Mem-bers of the Founder’s Council, this year chaired by Erica Crissy ’88, also are responsible for the Student Cultural Arts Series. Fort Lauderdale’s outgoing Pre-Primary and Lower School Mothers’ Club President Franci Leon has been a parent volunteer since her chil-dren, Jake ’16 and Madison ’18, started pre-k. She joined the Mothers’ Club Board in 2005. The former emergency room social worker, who is a graduate of the University of Miami and holds a master’s degree from Barry University, co-chaired the Supplies Committee and later became a Spirit Store co-chair. “The purpose of all my involvement is quite simple. As I stated in my speech when I took on the position of the PPLSMC president, ‘I am passionate about my children and their incredible School, and it is those passions that bring us together striving toward the same goal – to give our children the best educational experiences and the best memo-ries of attending a school that enriches their lives every day.’”

n As I look out, I see a room filled with successful businesswomen, Ph.D.s, lawyers, teachers, and stay-at-home moms who never stay at home, but, instead, give of their time and energy to help make their children’s experience at this incredible School even better.– Jennifer Snyder (Benjamin ’17 and Rachel ’20), Fort Lauderdale Pre-Primary and Lower School Mothers’ Club President-Elect at the Board Turnover Luncheon.

The Art of Volunteering


“They bring with them so many skills and so much craftsmanship that all of their projects are run like successful businesses. It’s an incred-ible process to watch,” adds Dr. Cowgill, who recently thanked all the parent volunteers at appreciation brunches on each campus. Fort Lauderdale kindergarten teacher Carol Hughes looks forward to parent volunteers in class, especially during the times when she focuses on other countries and cultures. “Many of our parents relay culture and history as well as any textbook,” Hughes notes. “It’s also an extra set of hands with the children,” she adds. “It’s important for families to see how the classroom is run, which I think is positive for the School.” The culture of volunteerism thrives on the Boca campus as well. There seems to be no shortage of individuals wanting to help Pine Crest achieve its goals. “Dr. Cowgill and I attend conferences and seminars around the country,” notes Head of School Dale Smith, “and what we hear is that volunteering is down across the board. However, that’s not the case at Pine Crest. Here, our parents can’t wait to jump in and are eager to be involved.” The reason, according to Boca An-nual Fund Chair Debbie Jacobs, is simple. “I think parents are so willing to volunteer because they’re invested in their children and want to make their experience at Pine Crest as enriching and as fulfilling as possible.” Jacobs, the mother of Matthew ’16 and Mitchell ’22, recently completed her second year as Annual Fund Chair and witnessed first-hand what Smith men-tioned in regard to parent involvement. “Even in this economic environment, we had a great year – the Annual Fund was up 10 percent from last year, and I think that’s symbolic of the kind of parents we have at Pine Crest. They know how im-portant their children’s education is.” At a school that prides itself on devel-oping the whole child, the administration relies heavily on the strength of its parent body to complement the unparalleled education provided by its faculty, instructors, and coaches. On the Boca campus, that strength is best exemplified by its parent organizations. With more than 100 volunteers providing their time and talents to 24 committees, Boca’s Parents’ Association is sleek, smooth, and efficient. The organization is humming with life and energy that seemingly has a hand in everything around campus, from preparing delicious brunches for the faculty and providing school supplies for the students to running the annual auction and even proffering gifts and well wishes to those in the School community who are ill, having a baby, or preparing for sur-gery (it’s appropriately called the Sunshine Committee). In fact, the PA is so proficient that Band Director John Aiello often states those involved “would have no problem running IBM.” At the end of every year, the PA generously presents a check to the School as a result of the funds raised primarily through the Annual Spring Event auction. This year, PA President Rosa Feeney was happy to give Smith and Dr. Cowgill the organization’s largest auction-derived offering to date. The Boca Raton campus raised $480,000; the Fort Lauderdale campus netted $105,000.

According to Feeney, however, this is just an expression of the grat-itude the parents feel toward the School. “It was wonderful to present our check this year because we know the money is going towards benefiting our children and their teachers – it’s a direct investment in their future.” Just as the administration sees the parent body as an integral part of the overall Pine Crest experience, Feeney sees the PA as a facilitator of the School’s goals. “We’re there to help enhance whatever the School is trying to do. I think the PA creates a feeling of community amongst the parents and generates hospitality, goodwill, and inclusion.” Boca’s Fathers’ Club is also finding itself successful amongst the campus’s dads in much the same way. An organization which has fo-cused on father/child trips where fellow dads and their children could bond is now expanding into the field of philanthropy and community service. This year the club held a fundraiser for the Daniella K. Fol-leco Scholarship Fund which was established in honor of 12-year-old Fort Lauderdale student Daniella Folleco. She passed away in 2007 due to complications stemming from her battle with bone cancer, and

her scholarship benefits deserving stu-dents who otherwise would not be able to attend Pine Crest School. Boca’s Fathers’ Club raised $19,000 during the January event which brought families from both campuses together. The organization also partnered with the Giving Tree this past holiday season. Working with nine charitable agencies, the Giving Tree helped fill the needs of hundreds of underserved children and the elderly over the winter. Through the Fathers’ Club’s efforts, the Pine Crest community purchased more than 300 children’s gifts and collected more than $20,000 in cash. The pro-ceeds benefited children, elderly individ-uals who are on a fixed income, and the homeless in the community who can’t afford food and basic necessities such as toiletries and blankets.

“This is new territory for the Fathers’ Club,” said second-year Presi-dent Adam Bloch. “But we wanted to start giving back to the commu-nity and the School, not only to help those in need, but to be an example to our children. They need to understand that they are blessed and need to help those who are less fortunate.” For the Fathers’ Club, their partnership with the Giving Tree allowed members’ children and other Pine Crest students to have a hands-on experience in the initiative. “The kids were wrapping gifts, filling hygiene kits and candy bags, moving boxes, and picking out the toys for the children,” explains Bloch. “So it gave them something tangible that really allowed them to connect to the people they were helping.” Alma Powell, co-chair of America’s Promise and wife of Colin Powell, famously said, “There is no better investment of time and money than in the life of a child. They are the future.” It seems to be a motto silently echoed through the actions of the parents, teachers, and administrators who make up our Pine Crest community. Because of their leadership, character, and service, the strength of our School and the future of our students seem as solid as their willingness to give of themselves.

SuppliesLeft to right: Rosa Feeney, Anne Koch, Colette Kassal, and Kobi Kassal inventory Boca’s new school supplies at the beginning of the year.


11. Boca Left to right: PA President Rosa

Feeney, Fathers’ Club President Adam Bloch, and Boca Raton Annual Fund Chair Debbie Jacobs led this year’s volunteering campaigns on the Boca campus.

2. Fort Lauderdale Volunteers Rosy Levy, President of the

Middle & Upper School Parents’ Association; Franci Leon Pre-Primary and Lower School Mothers’ Club President; Erica Crissy ’88, Founder’s Council Chair; and Kari Angelo, Fort Lauderdale Annual Fund Chair

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n An ice cream social closed out a year of sizzling soliciting by Pine Crest Fort Lauderdale Annual Fund volunteers. The fund surpassed its goal of $1.3 million with more than $1.4 million raised, a remarkable feat especially during a time when the economy has taken a toll on purses and savings. “The commitment of our volunteers this year went far beyond expectations,” says Director of Annual Giving Alisa Karten. “It was an amazing effort.” Amazing, yes! With overall charitable donations down nearly 6 percent according to a Chronicle of Philanthropy survey, and educational fundraising gifts falling as low as 9 percent as reported by Giving USA, our 2009-10 figures are impressive. Why is this important? Read any piece of literature, listen to the speeches, and yes, you will hear that the Annual Fund “provides those dollars needed for supplemental programs and need: athletics, the arts, and financial aid.” Realistically, it kicks in a whopping 15-20 percent! All independent schools like Pine Crest depend on annual giving to support their operating budgets. Annual Fund gifts do not go to capital projects like new buildings. “We try to get a high participation rate from all of our constituencies,” adds Karten, who joined the Annual Fund in the fall of 2009. “We are elated that people are giving despite their economic circumstances. The fact that people are still contributing whatever they can, even small amounts, helps in the long run,” Karten says. “Money that comes in today is used today.” This year alumni giving was up 20

percent, and Karten feels optimistic that number will increase. “We are seeing more alumni participation in a number of things we are doing,” says Director of Alumni Relations Susan Ledbetter. “We have reached out with Facebook, push pages, receptions, and on-campus alumni activities, including men-toring workshops and a speaker’s bureau. Our alumni are becoming better connected, resulting in more gifts to the Annual Fund. We are forging closer connections.” At the start of the 2009-10 school year, Karten and Annual Fund Coordinators Laura Deane and Jane Salimbene galvanized more than 100 volunteers to kick off the giving season. These parents spend hours making calls to the Pine Crest community. It’s not an easy job. The goal is to get as high a participation rate as possible. Fort Lauderdale Annual Fund Chair Kari Angelo and her Boca Raton counterpart, Debbie Jacobs, added the auxiliary power needed to motivate volunteers and donors throughout the year. “It was a lot of hard work. I am so proud of our volunteers,” remarks Angelo, whose “Coffee with Kari” became a twice-a-month gathering for strategizing and pick-me-ups. “We are gearing up for a great 2010-11 season,” she says. “Everybody counts,” adds Jacobs. “It’s not just about the families who give $10,000. The families who give $100 are just as vital to the life of the School. When you support the Annual Fund, you’re investing in the most important commodity you have – your child’s future.” Pine Crest thanks all of those who made 2009-10 a productive giving season. We hope to have as much or more success in 2010-11.

BY TONI MARSHALL

Annual Fund Surpasses $1.4 Million

Reaching the Goal1: Fort Lauderdale Annual Fund Chair Kari Angelo. 2: Annual Fund Volunteers call potential donors. 3: Director of Annual Giving Alisa Karten (center) scoops delicious ice cream during the social.

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n Bestowing kindergarten keepsake scrapbooks upon graduating seniors’ has become a tradition for Fort Lauderdale teacher Diane La Monica. So when a few Upper School students drop by one afternoon to get one last familiar hug, La Monica gives them an extra squeeze – an extra tug – it’s a final embrace for all of her Pine Crest students. She is retiring after 20 years. This time it is her goodbye. “We love you Mrs. La Monica!” the students chime. “One of the beauties of Pine Crest is you can watch them grow. Even as seniors you see the same characteristics as in kindergarten. They are just big-ger bodies,” notes La Monica, who says she is retiring while she’s still healthy. “I’ve wanted to do some things left unfinished – work on some projects. There are a lot of things at church I’d like to do, too,” says La Monica, a member of First Baptist Church of Pom-pano Beach. She’ll have time to ready things for herself and her husband, Joe, who teaches science at Driftwood Elementary, once he retires in a few years. Room D3 holds both distant and more immediate mementos of La Monica’s Pine Crest years.

It’s where she has always taught kindergarten at Pine Crest. Surveying the space dotted with insect studies, maps, and children’s projects, it is a bitter-sweet moment for this lady who has launched a generation of burgeoning doctors, attorneys, engineers, politicians, teachers, and other professionals. Looking back, La Monica reminisces over her early years as a teacher and her journey to Pine Crest School. She quickly flashes past a score of Thanks-giving shows, two decades of kindergarten graduations, and more than 1,000 weeks of math, history, and reading instruction. “There are very few of us left,” remarks La Monica, noting the universal lack of longevity for educators these days. La Monica hails from Chey-enne, Wyoming, and attended John Brown University in Arkan-sas. Following graduation, she headed to the Bahamas to teach at a Christian school; her tenure was cut short because the island nation was achieving its indepen-dence and experiencing some unrest. She moved to Florida and taught at Second Presbyterian on Federal Highway. Ironically, Assistant Middle School Head Joey Walters ’95

was one of her pre-k students at Second Presbyterian. He later enrolled at Pine Crest. Had La Monica stayed at Pine Crest a few more years, she may have taught two generations from one family as Walters’ daughter, Leah, enters pre-k this fall. “I remember her as a warm, loving, and passionate teacher who cares deeply for those who are lucky enough to have her as an instructor,” says Walters. “Now in my eighth year as an educator, I recall the memories of my own teachers who remind me of why I chose to go into this wonderful profession. We have the unique opportunity to make an impact on the lives of those for whom we serve: our students. Mrs. La Monica has never forgotten why we teach,” he adds. “Recently, she informed me that she was in possession of several pictures of me from my days at Second Presbyterian. I can’t believe she still has a picture of me from so long ago! I’m amazed, like many of the graduating seniors, that she has such keepsakes. It is truly a testament to her charac-ter and the passion that she has for her students.” Second Presbyterian was changing directors so La Mon-ica figured it might be time to make a move. She heard of an opening at Pine Crest. As luck would have it, then Pre-Primary Director, Lisa Dalzell McMillan, visited Second Presbyterian and heard her playing the piano. The rest is history. La Monica has worked through three directors – McMillan, Linda Fanning, and Shelley Huff-Schultz ’70. “She has touched the lives of so many kindergarten students” remarks Huff-Schultz. My memories surely must mirror their memories. They traveled across America and marveled

at the richness of our country. They learned the customs, habitats, and cultures of Native Americans. They discovered butterflies and insects and their importance to our world. Her calm demeanor and guidance helped to enrich their lives during an integral and formative year in their development. The Pre-Primary Division will miss her, but we wish her joy as she begins a new life adventure.” La Monica’s lessons have been legendary over the years. From her Wyoming roots, she brought her knowledge of the Native American culture to the classroom. She introduced the Superkids reading program. Students learned “Fifty Nifty,” and she also integrated music with learning. Her students trav-eled the world. They would take imaginary trips, make suitcases, and cut out paper cameras. Alumnus Sean Udell ’08 remembers it all. “I remember just loving kindergarten. I thought kindergarten was the best place on earth. I had Mrs. La Monica, and school was great,” said Udell during an earlier interview about his years at Pine Crest. “Mrs. La Monica had saved pictures of our class and different things we had done and made a scrapbook and gave it to us during our senior luncheon. That was incredible, and I was really touched that she was so sentimental.” La Monica can move forward with the knowledge that she has touched so many students in immeasurable ways. “The biggest blessing about working here is the ability for the teachers to be allowed to use our strengths, and having the opportunity to expand ideas that we have,” says La Monica. “I have also been blessed with my team-mates; through the years they’ve been one of the biggest joys.


Diane La Monica:A Pre-Primary Legend RetiresBY TONI MARSHALL

FarewellKindergarten teacher Diane La Monica helps students with their work while her husband, Joe La Monica, stops in to share some of his science knowledge.


n Married for 38 years and colleagues at Pine Crest for 24, it’s nearly impossible to think of Geoff and Jennie Falbey apart from one another. Well, this tandem, which has shared so much together over so many years, issued its final act of professional solidarity this spring in retiring from Pine Crest School. “It’s just time,” says a wistful Jennie. “It feels right, and Geoff and I know we have some years ahead of us to do the things we want to do and enjoy life. We’re looking forward to it.” The only Athletic Directors the Boca Raton campus has ever known began their tenure in 1986, before the campus was even a part of Pine Crest School. Back then it was known as Boca Raton Academy and possessed a full-fledged high school. “When Pine Crest came into the picture in 1987,” recalls Geoff, “a lot of the PE instructors and coaches left because they wanted to coach or teach at the high school level. So,” he adds with a laugh, “because we stayed, we were handed the reigns [of co-athletic directors] by default.”

However, it seems like it was meant to be. Over the next two-and-a-half decades, the Falbeys hired a capable, knowledgeable corps of coaches and physical education instructors who bolstered the School’s athletic program and allowed the boys’ and girls’ teams to be competitive in every sport. Under their leadership, the campus captured 50 league championships in a number of different sports, including basketball, flag football, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball. They also organized the entire league schedules in nearly every sport for more than 15 years, a void that many coaches around the league are sure to feel heading into the 2010-11 school year. Between them both at Pine Crest, Geoff and Jennie have coached more than eight different sports, compiled more than 600 wins as head coaches, and have overseen the integration of successful tackle football and lacrosse programs at the Middle School level. What has made the couple truly successful, though, will never show up on the stat sheets. Geoff, affectionately known as “The

BY NICK CRISAFI

Farewell to the Falbeys

Together ForeverGeoff Falbey coaches his last game on February 11, 2010 (a loss to our Fort Lauderdale campus in the league championship) and, as always, Jennie is right there by his side.

13Pine Crest Magazine Summer 2010

Commander” among his coaching staff, leads with a soft-spoken resolve, and he is a master at planning and surveying any situation. Jennie is fiery and passionate – one who can rally any platoon of troops and endlessly inspire her players. Together, they’ve always made a great team. “The sportsmanship that our players exhibit is a direct result of the tone set by Geoff and Jennie,” explains Brian Harvey, one of Boca’s long-time physical educational instructors and coaches and the campus’ new Middle School Athletic Director. “Along with their coaching, they talk to every team every year about bench behavior and how to act when you score a goal or make a good play. I remember one year we had a soccer team and one of our players scored and then did a cartwheel at midfield. Geoff immediately took him out of the game and talked to him on the sideline.” Coach Harvey remembers how the Falbeys also took him under their wings when he began at Pine Crest as a young man 20 years ago. “They would give me all sorts of advice, from wearing sunglasses and sun screen to saving for retirement.” He is also quick to note the Falbeys’ selfless and supportive nature. “I started as Jennie’s assistant coaching girls’ basketball, and she saw that I knew a lot about the sport and said to me, ‘Next year you’ll be the head coach, and I’ll be the assistant.’ There was never any ego involved – they just did what was best for the program.” Along with the championships and accolades they received for coaching and overseeing the athletic program, the Falbeys have made an indelible mark on the spirit and culture of the Boca campus. They began Field Day more than 20 years ago, a campus-wide event that allows students in grades pre-k through eight to be teammates as they compete in two-straight days of spirited sports and games. The event is always one of the highlights of the year as the students battle for the right to have their team color fly high atop the campus’s flagpole. Jennie also introduced the campus’ Jump Rope for Heart initiative nearly 20 years ago, a nation-wide activity sponsored

by the American Heart Association that encourages exercise while raising money and awareness about heart disease and other heart-related illnesses. During its span on the Boca campus, Jennie and the Pine Crest community have raised nearly $100,000 in support of the program. “Geoff and Jennie are not just great friends, they’re great people,” says Assistant Head of School Scott Wing, who also began at the Boca campus in 1986, the same year as the Falbeys. “Their professionalism, enthusiasm, and commitment to the students and the athletic program have just been phenomenal.” Adds Coach Harvey, “They are just two people who have tremendous character. Because of that, they have always had the respect of their coaching staff, the students, and their players.” At the campus’ last Community Building Assembly, the Falbeys were honored on stage in front of the entire School. For Jennie, the moment was fittingly ironic. Presenting her with flowers was seventh grader Brittany Paris, the daughter of Dr. David Paris whom Jennie had taught at Howell High School in Farmingdale, NJ more than 30 years ago. “When David graduated in 1979,” remembers Jennie, “he gave me a red carnation at his graduation and told me how much he looked up to me and wished more teachers could be like me. So here is a student who gave me flowers at the beginning of my teaching career and his daughter, Brittany, was giving me flowers at the end of it – I couldn’t believe it!” For Geoff, the moment was an emotional one. Standing at the podium, he struggled to hold back tears as he addressed the crowd. It was a side of him very few of his colleagues or students had seen, but it not only confirmed the presence of the tender heart within this well-respected man, it aptly expressed the love he and his wife share for Pine Crest School. “It’s bittersweet,” confesses Jennie. “We’ll miss all of the people who have made this place such a family – the kids, the parents, the teachers, and the coaches.” “I’d talk about it but I don’t want to cry again,” jokes Geoff. Don’t worry, it’s okay to shed a tear – Pine Crest will certainly miss you, too.

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Falbeylous1: Ever proud of their players and program, the Falbeys were and always will be Panthers through and through. 2: At the campus’ last Community Building Assembly, Jennie accepts flowers from Brittany Paris ’15, sharing a moment with the daughter of the man she taught in NJ more than 30 years ago. 3: An emotional Geoff Falbey thanks the students, faculty, and staff during the May 25 assembly on the Boca campus. 4: Always known for her ebullient personality and connection with her players, Jennie has a laugh here with soccer player Lindsay Brown during a match in 2007.


Pine Crest Honors Retiring Faculty and Staffn Along with the Falbeys and Diane LaMonica, four others retired from Pine Crest at the

end of this year. On the Boca campus, fourth-grade teacher Windie Fleming, a Pine Crest veteran for 16 years, has decided to take her leave. Fleming, the wife of former Boca campus Headmaster DeHaven W. Fleming, will always be remembered for the way in which she

cared for and nurtured her students and the friendship and support she offered her col-

leagues. In speaking of Fleming, Boca’s Assistant Head of Lower School John Kranstover had this to say: “Theodore Roethke, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, once said, ‘Teaching is one of the few professions that permit love.’ This was evident in the way Mrs. Fleming ap-proached each of her students. As she moves on from Pine Crest, we are assured that those lives she touched will be better for knowing her and having learned from her.” First-grade teacher Isolde Gates also leaves the campus after 14 years of dedicated service. A longtime substitute at Pine Crest before her official hiring in 1996, the German-born former stockbroker looks for-ward to traveling and visiting her daughters and grandchildren. “I have family in Ottawa, Los Angeles, North Carolina, and Germany, so I hope to spend

some time with them, perhaps play some golf, and maybe do some tutoring.” Mrs. Gates, beloved by her students and respected by her colleagues for her commitment and profes-sionalism, will be dearly missed by her Pine Crest family. Finally, Linda Zipkin, R.N., the campus’s full-time nurse for the past 11 years, has retired as well. After beginning her career in a New York City emergency room, she eventually came to Pine Crest where she treated everything from headaches and stomachaches to bloody noses and broken legs. “Before com-ing to Pine Crest,” she says, “I had never worked at a school before, and the camaraderie, teamwork, and ability to watch the students grow over the years has been very special to me.” Her gentle, caring nature and ability to comfort both students and parents are gifts the School

won’t soon forget. On the Fort Lauderdale cam-pus, transportation’s Ken Kline re-tired after more than 20 years. As a youngster, Kline actually helped his father upkeep the School’s grounds with, if you can believe this, a pushmower—not the kind powered by gasoline! Kline’s longevity on the transportation team has been a great inspiration for other PCS employees, and he will be sorely missed. He’s off to Georgia to enjoy his retirement. Pine Crest wishes all of these retirees the very best and thanks them deeply for their years of dedication, enthusiasm, and wonderful work.

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Thank You for your Service1: Windie Fleming is looking forward to some relaxation and time with her two young grandchildren. 2: Isolde Gates 3: Nurse Linda Zipkin leaves the Boca campus after 11 wonderful years. 4: Ken Kline retires in rural Georgia.

Pat Damoorgian: New Community Service CoordinatorBY SARA GANZ ’10

n With a palpable enthusiasm and insatiable desire to help oth-ers, Patricia Damoorgian is thrilled to lead the community service efforts on the Fort Lauderdale Campus. After the retirement of Chaplain Ani McKee last year, this involved Pine Crest past parent, teacher, and Mothers’ Club and Parents’ Association volunteer has seamlessly taken over as Community Service Coordinator. A Pine Crest parent for more than 14 years, Damoorgian’s role at Pine Crest has evolved from helping in the classroom or library to working as a substitute teacher for the Pre-Primary and Lower School. Damoorgian is now responsible for entering and keeping track of all community service hours, meeting with

students interested in organiz-ing projects, and managing or coordinating various events. Currently there are about 15 community service organizations on campus. The most active be-ing Assisting Kids in Need, AKIN, UNICEF, TOMS Shoes, Soles-4Souls, Teens Team Up Against Cancer, and Daniella’s Journey. These organizations have been involved in collecting books for Jackson Memorial Hospital’s pediatric ward, food for the Coop-erative Feeding Program and Food for the Poor, dresses for a prom for cancer patients, school supplies for a school in Colombia, textbooks to be sent to Africa, food and towels for the Humane Society, supplies for the soldiers overseas, and socks for needy children. AKIN, through frequent bake sales, has raised enough

money to support two impover-ished students from disadvan-taged areas (Juan from Honduras and Romina from Chile). Looking to the future, Damoorgian states, “I would love to have the students out in the community more helping others, stocking pantry shelves, feeding the poor, helping at the animal shelters, working with children at a child care center, etc. More ‘hands on’ experiences for our students is my goal. I am look-ing at different ways to com-municate with the students on campus to make them aware of projects in the community, events that need their help, and ways they can help themselves.” As Aesop once said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Damoor-gian, as the current Community

Service Coordinator, propa-gates this message through the various service projects that she oversees. Damoorgian brings genuine excitement and compas-sion to her work and our School, the Pine Crest campus as she strengthens and expands the community service opportunities.

Creating New OpportunitiesPatricia Damoorgian


n All kids love toys, but not many have the opportunity to experience first-hand what it’s like to create one from start to finish. That all changed this year for the kindergarten students on our Boca campus. Thanks to Pine Crest parents Jay and Karen Foreman (Ethan ’22), each of the kindergarten classes was able to design its own plush toys with pencils, crayons, and mark-ers, and then have the drawings shipped off to China where Mr. Foreman’s employees at The Bridge Direct manufactured the characters the students created. Current CEO of Bridge Direct and a founding partner/former president of Play Along – one of the most well-respected companies within the children’s consumer product business – Foreman has been involved in the toy industry for 25 years. He came up with the idea of this student-driven project after allowing his son to design his own toy creations. “My visit was so close to the holidays that it just seemed like a good idea,” says Foreman. “Plus, my family and I were heading to Hong Kong for the month for Toy Fair, so [my wife] Karen and I decided to offer the children this opportunity to become toy designers. Ethan has been lucky enough to have received a number of custom-designed toys over the years, and he has always cherished them.” Initially, Foreman visited the kindergarten classes in Decem-ber to talk to the students about how toys get made and explain the various steps involved. At the end of the presentation, he surprised the kindergartners by telling them of his plan. To begin the process, the stu-dents in each class created their own designs and then, with the

help of their teachers, chose one design they liked the best. From there, the students in each of the four classes worked together to create their final concept draw-ings, resulting in one “mascot” design for each class. Then, ac-cording to Foreman, it was off to China. “We brought all four of the designs with us during our trip to Hong Kong. Ethan presented them to the toy factory’s repre-sentatives and, based on the concept drawings, the initial pro-totype samples were created in the toy factory’s sample-making department. Once the prototype samples were perfected as per the specifications given by each class, the toy factory produced enough toys for the children and their teachers.” The children soon were able to see their imagined characters leap from the page and come to life as each of the plush toys were delivered in March. There was P. Sea the Underwater De-tective (Mrs. Anderson’s class), Magic the Bear (Mrs. Mehl’s class), Sonny the Snowman (Mrs. Purdo’s class), and Dipper the Do-Good Dolphin (Mrs. Sungenis’s class). However, the students’ adven-tures with their new friends were just beginning. To incorporate the project into the curriculum, each class created a book, written and illustrated by the kindergartners, featuring the class mascot saving the day through some creative storytelling. “It was a real kick to see the children’s reactions,” recalls Foreman. “I think Ethan was proud of me too because I was able to offer something fun and special for the classes. It was very rewarding to see how engaged all of the children were throughout the process and how happy they were with the final products.”

Toy StoryBY NICK CRISAFI

Toy Time!1: The cover of the class book created by Susan Anderson’s students. 2: Jay Foreman makes his presentation to the students. 3: Left to right: Elizabeth Zambuto, Erin Gotlieb, Arden Jefferds, and Ethan Foreman display their initial design for P. Sea. 4: The Foremans pose with the kindergarten classes.

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HighlightsNOTEWORTHY

n Pine Crest School’s Lower School build-ing on its Boca Raton campus and chiller plant on its Fort Lauderdale campus recently earned LEED for Schools Gold Certification from the United State Green Building Council (USGBC). These facilities are the first LEED buildings for Pine Crest. The 59,000 square-foot Lower School building, built by James B. Pirtle Construc-tion Company of Davie, FL, is comprised of 28 classrooms and provides an eco-friendly learning environment for approximately 650 students in grades Pre-k through five. De-signed by Zyscovich Architects, Inc., the proj-ect earned 50 LEED points through various green features such as photovoltaic panels, solar hot-water panels, cisterns, the use of materials with high-recycled content, a strict indoor air-quality plan, the use of low-emitting materials, native landscaping, lighting shelves, and water-efficient plumbing features. “This gold certification lends further sup-port to our commitment to being a leader among schools in the areas of conservation and environmental awareness,” says Pine Crest Head of School Dale Smith. “It also lets our students and community know that

we are serious about educating our future generations about the importance of environ-mental stewardship.” The new chiller plant in Fort Lauderdale, built by State Contracting and Engineering Corporation of Hollywood, FL, employs two rainwater cisterns, a photovoltaic system, and a chemical-free termite protection sys-tem. The two 4,900-gallon steel cisterns use rainwater collected from the roof to irrigate the plants and trees surrounding the building via drip irrigation. As a result of these new facilities, Pine Crest is already making the grade with green power. Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmen-tal Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the School as one of the largest green-power purchasers among primary and secondary schools. According to the EPA, Pine Crest is purchasing nearly 500,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually for its new Lower School building. This is enough green power to meet 77 percent of the building’s purchased electricity use.

In addition, it is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of more than 60-passenger vehicles per year, or equal to the amount of electricity needed to power more than 50-average-American homes annually. Pine Crest is generating solar electricity on-site and buying renew-able energy certificates (RECs) from Carbon Solutions Group. According to Neyda Otero, Director of Project Management and Construction at Pine Crest, there are several advantages to the new buildings. “These beautiful new facilities pioneer a new direction for schools in the nation and elevate Pine Crest School as one of the first entities to facilitate a project-based learning methodology within the development of a LEED Gold certified facility,” she explains. “The school’s commit-ment to a more sustainable building program will reduce first-time costs and operating expenses, preserve the environment, and improve the performance, comfort, health, and safety of our students.”

New Buildings Grab Gold Certification

Collecting RainPine Crest students run past the water-collecting cisterns located outside the new Lower School building.


NOTEWORTHY

n The seniors of the International Relations Club (IRC), along with their advisors Nancy Sollitto and Dan Snyder, recently hosted the 20th Annual Pine Crest Model United Na-tions in the ICI Auditorium. This year the IRC simulated the First Committee of the General Assembly, Disar-mament and International Security (DISEC), wherein two students from each delegation represented 47-member states. This session of DISEC focused on establishing an inter-national response to natural disasters, an issue with urgent global significance. Natural disasters have captured news headlines around the world, from earthquakes in Haiti and Chile to volcanic eruptions in Iceland. Delegates did research on their respective nations, wrote position papers, and represented their nations before the General Assembly. Secretary General David Manella officiated the conference along with fellow IRC senior members Meredith

McGowan, Nathan Hardy, Megan Smith, Jacqueline Cox, Gillian Sternheim, Elizabeth Etter, Meredith Brown, and Trent Uthe. During the simulation, Uthe presented the delegates with two crises: first, a magnitude 9.6 earthquake struck Cuba, followed by a second crisis where that quake was about to cause imminent tidal activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The earthquake would send swells and tidal surges towards the United States and Mexico. Louisiana and the United States were about to face grave consequences due to the oil slick polluting the Gulf. Not only would these predicted tidal waves cause devastating flood damage to the coastal region, but they would also be carrying gallons of oil into the delicate delta/estuary ecosystem. Due to the leadership and guidance of the IRC seniors, many of the delegates were able to join together and pass a resolution offering possible solutions to the crises at hand.

Model United NationsStudents address natural disasters at the 20th Annual Pine Crest Model United Nations.

Model UN Challenges Today’s Ecological Crises

n Pine Crest is happy to report that our sister school, Three Little Flowers (TLF), received a number of tents on Friday, April 23 as a result of our school-wide fundraiser. Responding with compassion immediately after Haiti’s devastating earthquake, our School community sold bracelets and baked

goods for several weeks to help raise funds for the 100 families whose children attend the small school in Petit Goave, Haiti. Our

families, faculty, and members of our staff and administration also donated funds, sup-plies, and their time to the cause. The result was approximately $46,000 given to the relief agency Food for the Poor on March 17. Of that amount, $11,000 was used to purchase dozens of eight-person tents for the families of TLF. Now children and their families have a place to take shelter away from the sun, insects, and rain. Three Little Flowers liaison Wilhel Jean-Louis and TLF founder Dr. Yves Dejean (no relation to Pine Crest School Director of Diversity, Karla Dejean) said they are thankful the Petit Goave community has a special partnership with Pine Crest School.

Sister School SupportThree Little Flowers’ students attend class in makeshift building. Pine Crest raised funds for 100 families.

Sister School in Haiti Receives Tents


n Junior Logan Stone was recently recog-nized by the Florida Academy of Sciences

for his paper titled “Interaction of Fluorouracil with Mesoporous Silica in Zeloites.” His findings investigate the use of a drug-

delivery system in administering chemotherapeutic drugs more effectively in the body. His research was done at the University of Iowa’s Student Science Training Program in the Department of Chemistry under the mentorship of Dr. Sarah Larsen.

Logan Stone Recognized by Florida Academy of Sciences

n Congratulations to Matthew Gibstein ’11, this year’s Coleman Prize winner. This academic honor pays a substantial amount of a student’s senior-year tuition and is not based on financial need. Matthew plays varsity football, is the editor-in-chief of Type I, a copy editor for the Crestian, and a staff writer for South Florida Teen Week. As if that’s not enough, Matt also keeps busy by running his business, Tech Trackr.com – http://techtrackr.com/. Matt and a small staff of writers review and write about emerging technology and new gadgets. “It’s a combination of what a ‘techie’ voice and the industry are saying. Even if someone is not into technology, he or she could understand our reviews.” Matt says he has about 40-50 boxes of technology equipment and gadgets at home. He would love to grow his small staff to roughly 20 stu-dents. He can’t pay right now, but students do get the perks of having the equipment.

Coleman Prize Winner is Tech-Testing Guru

D’Almeida Earns Impressive Distinction in the Field of Science

n Matthew Arkin ’12 recently was recog-nized as a Microsoft Most Valuable Profes-

sional. The Microsoft MVP Award is an annual distinction that recogniz-es exceptional technol-ogy-community leaders worldwide who actively share their high quality, real world expertise with users and Microsoft.

There are fewer than 5,000 awardees glob-ally throughout more than 90 countries. By sharing their knowledge and experiences and providing objective feedback, they help people solve problems and discover new capabilities every day. MVPs from around the world get the opportunity to meet Microsoft executives, network with peers, and position themselves as technical community leaders.

Arkin Named Microsoft MVP

ACHIEVEMENTS

n Nicole Rosenberg ’13 started to collect shoes for Souls4Soles as part of a commu-nity service project. She involved the Lower School Physical Education teachers, and they asked students to donate used shoes. Jordan Shiff ’21 heard about the shoe project and asked her parents if she could encour-age her friends to donate one new pair of shoes instead of giving her birthday presents. She was inspired by Nicole and felt she could do something to help others. Her friends donated more than 50 pairs of new shoes, thus spreading the importance of giving to others. Nicole asked Jordan to help her next year and so the two plan to work together on other community service projects.

Solemates: Rosenberg and Shiff

n Although he’ll be studying film at the renowned School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, Anthony D’Almeida ’10 will always have a promising career in science to fall back on should his Hollywood ambitions fail to pan out. Prior to graduating from Pine Crest School

in May, D’Almeida worked full time last summer at Massachu-setts General Hospital’s Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Re-habilitation. There he conducted research on the analysis of an

injected bio-gel to treat cancer-related disor-ders of the larynx. Because of his substantial

contribution to the project (which included the creation of three-dimensional larynx recon-structions), he was named co-author of the resulting manuscript titled, “Assessment of Canine Vocal Fold Function After Injection of a New Biomaterial Designed to Treat Phona-tory Mucosal Scarring.” In addition, D’Almeida’s research helped the project win the 2010 Broyles-Maloney Award given by the American Broncho-Esophagological Association. A 2009 finalist in the 54th State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida, D’Almeida even received a glowing letter of recommendation from Dr. Steven Zeitels, the lead surgeon on the project and the Eugene B. Casey Professor of Laryngeal Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Remarkable achievements for a young man and, at the very least, perhaps great fodder for a film some day?

BY NICK CRISAFI

Science WatchScience Research Program Director Jennifer Gordinier with Pine Crest junior Logan Stone.


ACHIEVEMENTS

Silver ScienceSuper volunteer Paige Finkelstein uses science to help in the community.

n Senior Paige Finkelstein re-ceived Honorable Mention in the

Science category at this year’s prestigious Silver Knight Awards. The Mi-ami Herald Silver Knight Awards are given to exceptional high

school students who also make a difference in their communities through their volunteering efforts. Paige volunteers at the Florence Fuller Childhood

Development Center in Boca Raton, participating in numerous fundraising events for the center (including hosting the recent Erg-a-Thon that raised $750). She also has been a vol-unteer at Delray Community Hospital, a runner in Race for the Cure, and has participated in numerous volunteer projects over the past few years, often incorporating her science work. Paige has received numer-

ous awards and honors for her scientific achievements, includ-ing recognition as a semi-finalist for the Siemens’ Competition in Math, Science and Technology, a finalist for the Intel international Science and Engineering Fair, and the speaker finalist for her presentation at the Junior Sci-ence, Engineering and Humani-ties Symposium at the University of Florida. Paige is also the cap-tain of the Pine Crest crew team.

Finkelstein Grabs Honorable Mention at Knight Awards Ceremony

n He’s beginning to be known as the piano man, recently playing at Pine Crest’s Senior Send-Off Luncheon and the School’s Volun-teer Brunch. Max Gleber ’12 also recently competed in a statewide competition this year at the Very Difficult level in the Federation Music Competition held at the University of North Florida. Fifty-two musicians from around Florida were pre-qualified by re-ceiving a Superior rating to advance to the state finals. Max represent-ed Pine Crest School by performing from memory “Cantico Iberico” by Eugenie Rocherolle. These days, Max easily shifts from competi-tive classical to contemporary standards as he makes his mark as one of the area’s most talented pianists. Max also was featured in a The Miami Herald article on teen volunteers. He raises money for the Lighthouse of Broward, an organization that assists the visually impaired, through sales of popcorn donated by the Velvet Crème Popcorn Company. The above photo shows Max giving a check to Elly du Pre’, the executive director of the Lighthouse of Broward.

Max Gleber Emerges as Popular Pianist; Fundraises for Area Charity

n Pine Crest senior Naimonu James is one of 52 students in

Florida to be awarded the prestigious Gates Millen-

nium Scholarship administered by the United Negro College Fund. “I am honored to be a Gates Millennium Scholar. It is a program that expects of its scholars academic excellence, integrity, community service, and leadership,” says James of Pompano Beach. “I am happy that I have been able to meet those criteria at Pine Crest and hopefully in the future.” The nation’s largest minority scholarship program is awarded to only 1,000 students repre-senting 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the three U.S. territories: American Samoa,

Federated States of Micronesia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. James, Pine Crest School’s first Gates Millennium Scholar, was recognized as a finalist for the award at the School’s aca-demic achievement assembly just a few weeks prior to her receiv-ing word of the scholarship. “We are so proud of Naimonu,” says Pine Crest President Dr. Lourdes Cowgill. “This prestigious award recognizes the many fine qualities in Nai; she is strong, smart, and a shining example of dedication, hard work, and perseverance.” A member of the School’s cutting-edge Science Research Team, James will attend Harvard University in the fall with a double major in chemistry and physics. She has been a member of the School’s crew team and works with Breakthrough Fort Lauder-dale, overseeing the program’s marketing and financial aspects. “Being the first Pine Crest student to receive this honor means a lot to me because at Pine Crest everyone is special and everyone gets so many awards! I am looking forward to making the Pine Crest com-munity proud of my accomplish-ments on and off campus.” The scholarship can be used to pursue degrees in any under-graduate major at the college or university of the recipient’s choice.

Naimonu James is Pine Crest School’s First Gates Millennium Scholar


“...As George Burton Adams, a Yale history professor and the man behind the first modern historical journal, wrote: ‘There is no such thing as a “self-made” man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.’”

“This year, with Mrs. [Susie] Led-better’s help, the senior class will be saving one brick column from the soon-to-be demolished S building. This column will be adorned with hand-painted tiles representing the Class of 2010, and a time capsule with per-

sonal mementos from our grade will be placed underneath the column. As the alumni this year came back for their tenth and twenty-fifth reunions, we, too, will come back. I firmly believe in the truth of the last line of the Pine Crest School song which we sang as Lower Schoolers dressed in our green and white blazers: ‘As years go by, we’ll love you more.’”

“...As the first decade of the twen-ty-first century comes to a close, our world is in crisis. We find ourselves with diminishing natural resources and an endangered environment while our cities grow bigger, produce more pollution, and become overpopulated. The definition of the modern family is

changing before our very eyes, while the institution of marriage is being debated and litigated in courts all over America. Social, political, and economic problems in other countries have sparked a nationwide debate regarding immigration. The safety of dem-ocracy is being threatened every day by acts of terrorism through-out the world, while domestically we have concerns about our own security. We are faced with nuclear proliferation by countries like Iran and North Korea, and the seemingly irresolvable prob-lems in the Middle East continue to plague our politicians and foreign diplomats.”

“Back at home, some of our family and friends have lost their life savings due to fraud and criminal activities, while others have lost jobs and incomes due to the economic recession. Finally, those graduating college are faced with an extremely difficult job market. This is the reality we face as we leave high school. Thinking about all these problems can be overwhelming. But I am optimistic.”

“As I think about the potential solutions to these problems, and then look out to our Class of 2010, I realize the solutions are right here in each of you, in each one of us.”

“I know there are those in our class who will go on to tackle our environmental issues; the very same students who sat in Mr. [Glen] Pierson’s and Mrs. [Michelle Smith] Santarelli’s sci-ence classes in the H building. I know there are those in our class who will go on to debate

the meaning and interpretation of our constitution and laws; the very same students who sat in Mr. [Philip] Consuegra’s Gov./Pol. class in the ICI. I know there are those who will go on to become politicians and public servants, who will speak their minds and improve our country; the very same students who sat in Mr. [Dan] Lewis’s debate classroom. Some in our class will go on to become business-men, stock brokers, and econo-mists, and will help find a way to reestablish our economic pros-perity; the very same students who sat in Mr. [Andrew] Kash-dan’s [micro./macro.] classroom. There are some who will go on to excel in the arts, improving the quality and richness of our lives; the same ones who have painted, danced, acted, and performed in the fine arts build-ing. And finally, there are those who will go on to defend our country in the armed services, as well as students who will fight for gender and racial equality.”

“...Fortunately for us and our world, youth is not easily dis-couraged. Youth, with its clear vista and boundless faith and optimism, is uninhibited by the thousands of considerations that always bedevil man in his progress. The hopes of the world rest on the flexibility, vigor, capacity for new thought, and the fresh outlook of the young.’ Dwight D. Eisenhower.”

“I am hopeful. I am optimistic. The opportunities are ours to take; the problems are ours to solve. I look forward to watching the Class of 2010 achieve great-ness. Thank you.”

GraduationCLASS OF 2010

Commencement SpeechGreg Weiss delivers his stirring graduation speech.

Congratulations to the Class of 2010! Below is an excerpt from Student Council President Greg Weiss’ Commencement Address:


n They’ve excelled in academ-ics, athletics, the arts, and many hold great achievements across some or all of these disciplines. They also leave a legacy of high volunteerism – nearly 42,000 hours over four years. The Class of 2010 graduated 196-strong at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale. At Commence-ment Exercises, Pine Crest President Dr. Lourdes Cowgill, Head of School Dale Smith, and Upper School Head Dr. Todd Huebsch presented several awards to outstanding seniors, an administrator, and two faculty members:

Academic AwardMarcus Comiter, Emmanuelle Genoyer, Sharla Grass, Brandon Jaffe, David Manella, and Ryan Pyle Mae McMillan AwardDavid Manella Service Award Nathaniel Braffman, Jacqueline Cox, Hannah Itzler, Naimonu James, Ivana Masimore, and Meredith McGowan Leadership Award Marcus Comiter, Faith Connor, Samuel Doniger, Trent Baren Uthe, Lauren Herstik, and Greg Weiss Esprit AwardSara Ganz, Samantha Goldberg, Brandon Knight, Omar McKenzie, Jacob Schwartzwald, Pernell Myers, and Samantha Taylor Principal’s Award Joseph Arduini Honorary Alumna DiplomaUpper School Guidance Counselor Estes Carns

The Richard Palmaccio AwardUpper School Math Teacher Julie Venne The Di Capua Family AwardLower School Science Teacher Mary Beth Graf

CLASS OF 2010

Graduation Goodbyes1: Tomorrow’s leaders 2: Upper School Head Dr. Todd Huebsch bestows awards. 3: Pine Crest President Dr. Lourdes Cowgill 4: Students receive scholastic, humanitarian, and service awards from Head of School Dale Smith.5: Upper School Guidance Counselor Estes Carns receives her Honorary Alumna Diploma. 6: Processional7: The Class of 2010 8: Students gather at War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale for Commencement Exercises. 9: Students paint ceramic bricks for the 2010 commemorative column. 10: Samantha Goldberg works the “brick” table. 11: Students gather items to be included in the 2010 time capsule.

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Presenting the Graduating Class of 2010Andrea C. AbtahiAlexis Nicole AcerneseEmma Winslow AdelmanKristina Elizabeth AllenCheyenne Eden AllenbyBlake A. AndersonSaad Kamal AnjumJoseph Robert ArduiniJosé Manuel ArrillagaTamezKatherine Marie BakerBrooke Ann BalJoseph Nicholas BeckerJonathan H.BedaMatthew Lawrence BedickJeremiah Emanuel BellTatiana Souza BergerNathalie Frida Annigjen BijlsmaMaxim BjelosEric M. BlumbergAndrea BogarinTaylor BraccoNathaniel Repola BraffmanCaroline Rose BrandHarrison Louis BraunMeredith Anne BrownAlyxandra Stefanie BuhlerKyle Anthony BurgsJohn Randolph BurksBrett BuzzardAlana Brooke CainNadia Maria Cajale BustamanteChristopher R.CamastraHanna Sara Besner ColinMarcus Zachary ComiterCandis Jená ConeyFaith Elizabeth Kosche ConnorMatthew Riley CorbanJacqueline Arely CoxHarlyn Justine CrolandErika A. CuculizaHarry Lee CutlerAnthony J. D’AlmeidaBethina Maria DaglarisSiena Bianca DeVenutoNicole DeVereLawrence David DeVosAntonio Tomas DocalSamuel J. DonigerRobert Drury Dowd

Isabella DreyfussErik Thomas ErtonJustin Edward EtcheverryElizabeth Exa EtterJacqueline FierrozAllison Bernice FindeissPaige Erin FinkelsteinRobert Graham FosterJacob Ross FrantzErica Lanae FreedlandLeah Gabrielle FriedAlexander Daniel FriedmanBenjamin Robert FrostSara Rachel GanzEleyna K. GarciaEmmanuelle Sophie GenoyerKathryn Briel GillespieAllison Victoria GlennieDylan Earle GoldbergSamantha Erin GoldbergAmanda Paige GoldenJacob Thomas GordonRachel Ann GrafSharla Harrison GrassChelsea Anne GrimméNathan Ellis HardyChase Michael HelschienLauren Anne HerstikAdam M. HigerGabriella Emma HollanderJake Edward HoustonRafay V. ImtiaziHannah Corinne ItzlerBrandon JaffeNaimonu A. JamesNatalie Shae JohnsJames Allen Jordan, Jr.Gavriele Jule KantorJacob Aaron KatzJessica Anne KazminAriel Morgan KendallMichael A. KentonKatherine H. KerbisNeeraj S. KhiyaniBrandon Emmanuel KnightJacqueline Tracy KolbertJaclyn Michelle KwalAnum S. LalaniSabine Laurane

Emily Sara LazowickJason Sean LeeJonathan Ian LeeAlan David LeeserLeon Thomas LegotJeffrey Andre LeibowitzKyle Scott LeMontangDylan Adam LesniakGabriel LevyAlexander Gabriel LewittAndrew Malcolm Green LoganChelsea Joy Danielle LunnAndrew B. MackDavid Charles ManellaAdam Joseph MannJacobo ManoplaDavid MarcusIvana Reyna MasimoreDavid Franklin Matthews, Jr.Hardev S. MattuJordan Andrew MayaAmanda McFarlaneMeredith Anne McGowanOmar McKenzieRebecca Amy MendelsohnPreston MicalizioAlexander Matthew MigdallMatthew James MilkEli MlaverAaron Jacob MondshineJuliana Gabriel MusheyevPernell Vandyke Myers, Jr.Liza NagodeMatthew William O’ConnorMaria Pia OrmacheaTulio Vicente OspinaNatalie Eva PancerJordan Charles PaulJohn Alexander PerezIsabella PolitanoAlise PopovaSamantha Leigh PowersAlexis Briana PrattRyan Matthew PyleStephen Ray RalphSydney Raquel ResnikSophia Helena RobertsAaron Moses RobinJoel Gregory Rosen

Jaclyn Shae RosenbergZachary Harrison RoutmanBrooke RubinsteinRobert A. SamiChristopher Ryan SchallerDanielle Nicole ScheerJacob Harrison SchulmanJacob Ian SchwartzwaldJennifer Louise SeibertMatthew Aaron SeskinDamish A. ShahLauren Margaret ShamonArjun Kumar SharmaIonso Y. SheinbergShelby Marissa ShenkmanEric Matthew SmithMegan Elizabeth SmithAshley Lauren SouthardAlexander Hayden SperberIan Andrew StahlGillian Erica SternheimMarissa Sandler SuvallMary SzeTammy TabushRyohei TakatsuchiDaniel J. TaubmanGianMarco TavernaSamantha Marie TaylorPranav H. ThakkarDanielle Sandra ThompsonRebecca Michelle TopperMark Raymond Trouville IIFrank TumminelloTrent Baren UtheRoberto S. VargasValentina G. ViertelAlexander Roig WaldmanHannah Rachel WallaceRachel Lauren WallachSean Patrick WalshMikela Sarah WarmanWilliam Stewart WeiheMara Lancey WeinerGregory Jordan WeissMorgan Rachel WeissShane Patrick WigginsBryan Yamhure SepúlvedaMorgan Sarah YoungWyatt Lowell Zeller

CLASS OF 2010


Class of 2010 College Acceptances as of May 2010

CLASS OF 2010

Amherst CollegeArizona State UniversityAuburn UniversityBabson CollegeBates CollegeBenedictine CollegeBoston UniversityBrown UniversityBryn Mawr CollegeButler University

Carnegie Mellon UniversityColgate UniversityCollege of the Holy CrossColumbia UniversityCornell UniversityDartmouth CollegeDavidson CollegeDuke UniversityElon University

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n During spring break, Pine Crest Swim Camp was invited to Bahrain to put on a swim clinic

for St. Christo-pher’s School. Coach Jay

Fitzgerald, Coach Kim Farrell, and Patrick Fitzgerald gave the swimmers five days of instruc-tion while promoting this sum-mer’s Pine Crest Swim Camp. There were 36 swimmers, 8-16 years-old, who took part in the clinic. The coaches placed the athletes into three groups and conducted a daily schedule that is similar to how swim camp is organized at Pine Crest during the summer. The coaches spent a great amount of time work-ing on the swimmers’ skills and administering drills while helping develop their fitness. The pro-gram ran daily from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the campus of St. Christopher’s School, which is modeled after the British school system. The families were all “ex-pats” from England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, and the United States who were living and working in the banking or oil business in Bahrain. Each day following swim camp, our coaches toured the surrounding area with one of the families, observing all of the

construction in progress as Bah-rain’s cities and towns attempt to transform and adopt modern culture. One afternoon they went to the king’s camel ranch where they saw hundreds of camels – from newborn to old – and each of the coaches even took a short ride! In addition to the camel ranch, they also checked out local shopping venues, including a pottery factory where all forms of clay products are made and put on display for sale. Even though Bahrain is a large desert area, it was interesting for the coaches to see an older neighborhood right next to a modern com-mercial business area with large skyscrapers and beautiful, green, landscaped surroundings. On the way back from Bah-rain, the coaches stopped off for a day in Dubai, one of the most architecturally amazing cities in the world. It has one of the larg-est indoor shopping malls which not only features a number of high-end stores, but even has an indoor ski park complete with mounds of snow! Our coaches are happy to report that several of the swim-mers who attended the clinic in Bahrain signed up for our Pine Crest Swim Camp this summer.

Pine Crest Swim Travels to Bahrain

SWIMMING

Athletics

Pine Crest First: Lady Panthers Medal at Scholastic Regattan For the first time in the history of our crew program (established in 1994), Pine Crest qualified and medaled at the Scholastic National Regatta in Saratoga, NY. Our Lady Panthers’ junior fours crew, com-prised of Katrina Bertrand, Calla Cissel, Natalie Eisner, Steph Hyatt, and Jessica Izhakoff (coxswain), finished second in the grand final.

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Desert Swimming1: Coach Kim Farrell at the king’s camel ranch 2: Pine Crest coaches instruct “ex-pats” from England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, and the United States whose parents work in banking or the oil business.


ATHLETICSn In a fitting end to an outstanding career at Pine Crest, Brandon Knight ’10 was named the 2010 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year at a luncheon prior to the Espy Awards in Los Angeles. He then attended the awards ceremony that evening with his trophy in hand. Brandon had already nabbed Gatorade’s Basketball Player of the Year twice, this year and during the 2008-09 season. At the luncheon, Brandon shared the stage with Chiney Ogwumike of Cypress, Texas, also a basketball player who was awarded the 2010 Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year. Reviewing Gatorade’s list of previous “top prep” winners, Brandon is the first Florida ath-lete to receive this honor and joins past win-ners such as LeBron James, Greg Oden, and Peyton Manning. In addition, Brandon recently was named to Florida’s All-State team and heads off to Kentucky soon. Brandon’s home city of Coral Springs also recognized him for his outstanding academic and basketball career at a recent City Commission meeting.Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Brandon Knight is “Top Prep” Player

Burks Wins Piccolo Awardn Senior John (Jake) Burks recently was awarded the prestigious Brian Piccolo Award by the National Football Foundation and Col-lege Hall of Fame, Inc. The award recognizes students with good character, academic and athletic dedication, and benevolence. Jake will be attending the University of Florida in the fall.

n Congratulations to varsity lacrosse player Emily Becker and the team’s head coach, Ei-leen Pliske, for their recent accomplishments. Becker, a sophomore, was selected first team all-district, first team all-league, and first

team all-county by The Miami Herald.She also was named All-American Honorable Mention. This year she led the Lady Panthers to the second round of the FHSAA State Finals. Her season stats include 35 goals, 20 assists, 62

ground-ball controls, and 6 interceptions. “Emily is without a doubt the most com-posed player I’ve ever coached,” says Coach Pliske. “A perfect example of that is when we were down 12-7 to Park Vista in the state

finals. Emily scored four straight goals to get us back in the game and keep it competitive.” In addition, Emily was selected for the South Florida Lacrosse team which played in the National Tournament in Baltimore, Maryland over Memorial Day Weekend. This was her second consecutive year playing for the team. Coach Pliske was awarded Coach of the Year honors by the South Florida Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse. This is the second consecu-tive year she has won the award and third overall (2003, 2009, and 2010). In 2008 and 2009, Coach Pliske was selected as The Miami Herald Coach of the Year and was also named The Sun-Sentinel Coach of the Year in 2009. Coach Pliske joined Emily on this year’s South Florida team that participated in the national tournament as the squad’s head coach. She also received this honor in 2007 and 2009.

Girls’ Lacrosse Player and Coach Earn Accolades

n Steven Wenguer ’11 captured the silver medal in both the men’s foil and junior’s foil

(under 19) competitions at the Southeast Sectionals Fencing Tournament recently held in Greensboro, North Carolina. The event was the South-east qualifier for the Summer

Nationals Championship Tournament being held in Atlanta. Steven, the second-highest ranked junior foil fencer in the Southeast, has won numerous state-wide tournaments in addition to garnering medals at national tournaments.

Wenguer Medals in Junior Foil Competition


n Pine Crest’s tennis program had an outstanding year in 2009-10. The boys’ varsity team was undefeated during the regular season, with an 11-0 record, and reached the regional semifinals. The girls’

team advanced to the regional finals while compiling a 10-1 record during regular season play. All starting members of the girls’ team and four out of five starters for the boys’ reached the district finals in their respective positions.

These achievements are more impressive considering that the lineup for the girls’ team included two seventh graders while the boys started two sophomores, two freshmen, and one eighth grader. Junior Lindsay Graff and sophomore Blaine Willenborg won dis-tricts at the number one position which qualified them to compete in the state tournament. Lindsay reached the state finals in the individ-ual competition. Blaine won both the individual and all-around state title at the number one position which also earned him the selection as Broward Player of the Year by both The Sun Sentinel and The Miami Herald. The Pine Crest varsity players displayed team spirit and sports-manship in competition while having fun. We look forward to contin-ued success and accomplishments from these outstanding student-athletes under the guidance of Director of Tennis Kasey Hamaway (’91) and coaches Farhan Malik and Brett Kurtz. In addition, under the leadership of Head Coaches Dean Kadera and Nasha Simic, Boca’s Middle School teams both won the Gold Coast League Championship. The boys recorded a perfect season (11-0) and the girls were nearly just as stellar (10-1). It was the ninth overall league title for the boys and sixth for the girls.

Pine Crest Tennis Shines

ATHLETICS

n Pine Crest sophomore Marisa Stelnicki participated in the 2010 World Championship for All-Star Cheerleading: The Cheerlead-ing Worlds. For this competition, Marisa – also a cheerleader at Pine Crest – was a member of the Miami Elite team from Davie. The event was held at the Athletics Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. She competed in the Small Senior Limited Division which is for teams composed of 20 mem-bers or less. In that category, her squad finished 18th in the world! Only the most select teams around the country were offered the opportunity to go. More than 2,000 teams competed; 125

teams came from other coun-tries, including the UK, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia. Marisa is looking forward to once again helping Pine Crest compete next year at the high school level.

Stelnicki Goes to World Cheerleading Championship

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Pine Crest Aces1: Front row (left to right): boys’ varsity members Farhan Malik (Coach), Alex Fields-Lefkovic ’12, RJ Bogdan ’13, and David Leibowitz ’13 Middle row (left to right): Alex Jaffe ’12 (Co-Captain), Ryan Rizzo ’13, Roberto Vargas ’10, Carlos de Bracamonte ’12 (Co- Captain), Benjamin Battle ’13, Zac Britton ’11, and Matt Arkin ’12 (Manager) Back row (left to right): Robert Zebrowski ’11, Roy Lederman ’13, and Blaine Willenborg ’12

2: Front row (left to right): girls’ varsity members Lindsay Graff ’11, Leah Fried ’10 (Co-Captain), Samantha Taylor ’10 (Co-Captain), and Jackie Kwal ’10Middle row (left to right): Anastasia Novak ’13, Ella Wurth ’13, Abby Seelinger ’11, Kaely Malik ’15, Ines de Bracamonte ’15, Lauren Celentano ’11 (Manager), and Sibel Odabas-Yigit ’12 Back row: Brett Kurtz (Coach)

n Sophomore Blaine Willenborg was named the Florida Dairy Farmer’s 2A State Tennis Player of the Year. Blaine also recently was named Broward County’s Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year, an achievement he most likely secured via his tremendous play in the Class 2A No. 1 singles state championship. During that championship match, Blaine defeated Miami Gulliver Prep senior Raleigh Smith 6-1, 6-1 to capture the 2A all-around number-one singles state championship in Casselberry, FL. Making the feat that much sweeter was the fact that Blaine avenged an earlier regional loss to Smith. Prior to his losing to Blaine, Raleigh Smith held a perfect 38-0 mark in district, regional, and state competitions!

Blaine Willenborg is Florida Dairy Farmer’s 2A State Tennis Player of the Year


Master of Sports Awards (varsity letter in three sports):Alexis Acernese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Volleyball/Basketball/SoftballCheyenne Allenby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Weightlifting/Lacrosse/Diving-SwimmingMatt Corban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Soccer/TrackEleyna Garcia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Volleyball/Basketball/LacrosseAaron Mondshine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Football/Weightlifting/TrackJohn Perez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Soccer/LacrosseMark Trouville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Soccer/TrackIsabella Dreyfuss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Weightlifting/TrackEmily Lazowick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Weightlifting/TrackWyatt Zeller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soccer/Lacrosse/Volleyball Top Scholar Athletes in the Senior Class:Bryan Yamhure Sepúlveda . . . . . . . . Cross Country/SoccerTulio Ospina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CrewIonso Sheinberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VolleyballAndrew Green Logan. . . . . . . . . . . . . Soccer/TrackBrandon Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BasketballJohn Perez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Soccer/LacrosseJeffrey Leibowitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/TrackMatthew Corban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Soccer/TrackJacob Katz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soccer/VolleyballMark Trouville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Soccer/TrackShane Wiggins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BaseballEmily Lazowick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Weightlifting/TrackSophia Roberts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soccer/LacrosseLeah Fried . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TennisKatie Baker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SoccerSamantha Taylor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/TennisCheyenne Allenby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Swimming/Diving/Weightlifting/LacrosseIsabella Dreyfuss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Weightlifting/TrackMariaPia Ormachea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . GolfMarissa Suvall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TrackNatalie Pancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CrewMeredith McGowan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross Country/Lacrosse/

FallBoys’ Swimming and Diving– 3rd in State Meet

Girls’ Swimming and Diving– 2nd in State Meet

Boys’ Cross Country– Qualified for States

WinterGirls’ Weightlifting– State Qualifiers:

Bethina Daglaris & Alexis Pratt

Boys’ Basketball– State Runners-Up

SpringGirls’ Tennis– Lindsay Graff: State Singles,

Runner-Up

Boys’ Tennis– Blaine Willenborg: Overall State

Champion, No. 1 Singles

Boys’ Track Team – Qualified for States

Girls’ Track Team– Qualified for States

Boys and Girls’ CrewQualified for Nationals;– Boys’ Frosh 8, Girls’ Varsity 8,

and Boys’ Varsity 4

The 2010 Broward County National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (Brian Piccolo Chapter) Scholar-Athlete Award:Jake Burks

The Miami Herald Female Scholar Athlete of 2010:Emily Lazowick

The Miami Herald MaleScholar Athlete of 2010:Brandon Knight

The 2010 Pine Crest Nominee for The Sun-Sentinel Scholar Athlete:Andrew Green Logan

Wendy’s Heisman Scholar-Athlete Award (top male/female junior athlete):

Chad Ginsburg and Lindsay Graff

Bill Rousseau Award (top male/female senior athlete):

Brandon Knight and Sophia Roberts

Bill Munsey Scholar-Athlete Award (overall top athlete):Brandon Knight

Scholar Athletes 2009-10 Front (left to right): Cheyenne Allenby, Brian Yamhure Sepúlveda, Tulio Ospina, Emily Lazowick, MariaPia Ormachea, Leah Fried, Natalie Pancer, Lindsay Graff, Isabella Dreyfuss, Sophia Roberts, Katherine Baker, Marissa Suvall, Meredith McGowan, and Ian Stahl Back (left to right): Aaron Mondshine, Jacob Katz, Shane Wiggins, Wyatt Zeller, Jeffrey Leibowitz, Andrew Green Logan, John Perez, Mark Trouville, Matthew Corban, Chad Ginsburg, Alexis Acernese, Eleyna Garcia, and Brandon Knight. (Not pictured): Ionso Sheinberg and Samantha Taylor

College Recruits 2009-10Front (left to right): Jimmy Jordan, Brandon Knight, Erik Erton, Nick Becker, Jeremiah Bell, Frankie Tumminello, Leah Fried, Ian Stahl, Paige Finkelstein, Emily Lazowick, Jose Arrillaga Tamez, Eleyna Garcia, Tatiana Berger, Siena DeVenuto, and Megan SmithBack (left to right): Wyatt Zeller, Matthew Milk, Robert Dowd, Blake Anderson, Eli Mlaver, Caroline Brand, Nathan Hardy, Brett Buzzard, Jason Lee, and Aaron Mondshine

SCHOLAR ATHLETES

The following teams and student-athletes were recognized for their accomplishments at the 2010 Athletics Award Assembly:


ArtsMUSIC

Fort Lauderdale Middle Schoolers Perform at Carnegie Hall

n The Fine Arts Department on the Boca Raton campus transported our Pine Crest community to two very different worlds this spring with its renditions of The Lion King ballet and Grease musical. Based on the classic family-friendly tale, Pine Crest’s ballet production of The Lion King featured more than 80 students in grades four through eight who brought the story to life through their elaborate, colorful costuming and effortless, elegant dancing. The performance also benefited from some well-executed special effects, beautiful music, narration, and even some impressive aerial dancing from hanging nets! Grease, on the other hand, was a fantas-tic ’50s flashback that employed more than 100 Middle School students who brought back Rydell High’s Class of 1959 in this rol-licking rendition. Included in the show were many of the production’s famous songs: “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightning,” “Hand Jive,” and “We Go Together.” The Parents’ Association Performing Arts Center was packed for both performances which not only welcomed our Pine Crest community, but the public as well. Members of our surrounding retirement communities and local Girl Scout troops were in atten-dance and thoroughly enjoyed the many talents of our students. The leadership of Director of Dance Kim Vicek as well as Fine Arts Chair Larry Mellone, and Drama Director Debra Blakely made this year’s shows undeniable hits.

The Lion King Roars and Grease Electrifies

n Admired for its beauty and superb acoustics, Carnegie Hall has long been the concert hall that every musician aspires to. On Sunday, June 13, several Lower and Middle School Chorus students made that

dream a reality. Lead by Performing Arts fac-ulty members Gretchen Fasulo and Christo-pher Fitzparick, 43 talented Fort Lauderdale singers traveled to New York City to be part of the National Children’s Festival Chorus. Inspired by their dynamic guest conductor, Elena Sharkova, students in the 275-mem-ber ensemble worked together to “change

the world – one beautiful note at a time.” Sunday’s program nearly sold out the 2,784 seats of the Issac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. The superb performance even earned a standing ovation from the

crowd. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sing at Carnegie Hall,” eighth grader Arielle Rozencwaig said. “I’ll never forget it!” In addition to the per-formance and rehearsals, students toured midtown Man-hattan sights, participated in a choral clinic, and performed an impromptu concert on Rock-efeller Plaza. “The best part about the trip was seeing Mary Poppins... and the Central Park Zoo... and oh, yes - singing

at Carnegie Hall - how could I forget that!” sixth-grader Hailey McEwan exclaimed. The National Children’s Festival Chorus selects several choruses each year to create one large ensemble for the Festival concert. Pine Crest School was selected out of more than 350 choruses from across the country that auditioned.

In the Big Apple1: Students realize a musician’s dream at New York’s Carnegie Hall. 2: The New York trip included an excursion to the Central Park Zoo. Students also saw Mary Poppins on Broadway.

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MUSIC

n The year’s musical took the audience back in time with Rod-gers and Harts’ Babes in Arms. Billed as the original High School Musical, our Upper School per-formers rekindled memories of classic songs such as the croon-ing ballad “My Funny Valentine” and the jazzy standard “Johnny One Note.” Simple but carefully designed sets created the per-fect background to anchor the acting abilities and singing of our talented students. It was a great show for the young, the elderly, and the in between. This musical marked the final performance for many of

our seniors, including Nathaniel Braffman (sound technician/Dinner Gong Guy), Faith Con-nor (Jennifer Owen), Sara Ganz (Susie), David Manella (Val), Ivana Masimore (Bobbi Sue), Juliana Musheyev (Phyllis), Pernell My-ers (Gus), Steven Ralph (Steve Edwards), Jake Schwartzwald (Seymour), and Gillian Sternheim (Bunny). Other cast members included Cristian Abello (Apprentice), Carolyn Aguirre (Ann), Braudie Blais-Billie (Apprentice), Mar-tinia Fouquet (Apprentice), Hayden Grove (Don), Anna Kerr (Terry); Valerie Novakoff (Libby),

Elizabeth Pekarskaya (Press Agent), Russell Pollack (Lee), Taylor Roschman (Apprentice), Noam Rosenthal (Peter), Starlite Stromer (Apprentice), Nakura Stout (Apprentice), Kacey Suchocki (Apprentice), Isabelle Vrod (Betty), and Bea Walter (Apprentice). Following the Friday night performance, alumna Sara Walters ’96 moderated the “Talk Back,” and the Founder’s Coun-cil hosted a lovely reception.

Babes in Arms: A High School

Musical

Captivating PerformanceA scene from Rodgers and Hart’s musical, Babes in Arms


Spring Scenes Captures Humor: Embraces Classical Theatern Spring Scenes maintained its tradition of raucous humor, mak-ing fun of both pop culture and Pine Crest culture, but this year also brought a distinct nod to theatrical tradition. Anton Chekhov wound up in a Spring Scene as Nathaniel Braff-man ’10 and Alexander Waldman ’10 fearlessly broke the barrier with a funny but nonetheless classical theater piece in their rendition of The Bear. Also, while you may remember Shel Silverstein from his children’s books such as Where The Sidewalk Ends, were you aware that he can be a downright, adult-themed playwright? Stephen Ralph directed the somewhat dark The Best Daddy to prove it. A world premiere performance of Best Friends – a new play by Jenny Lyn Bader, a rising star in the world of theater – was directed by Drama Director Jim Patrick. There was also some original work performed by our students. An Epic Journey by Ian Stahl ’10 called upon Greek myth, while 747 to Heaven by Anthony D’Almeida ’10 and Sophia Roberts ’10 parodied celebrities. Rounding out the show were a few variations on comedy skits: Last Will and Temperament, directed by Preston Micalizio ’10;I Am Your Mother by Faith Connor ’10, David Manella ’10, and Gil-lian Sternheim’10; and High School Musical IV: Pine Crest Edition, directed by Jen Seibert.

THEATER

Divine Comedy1: Spring Scenes showcases dramatic performances by Pine Crest actors.Left to right: Patrick Boyle ‘13, Sam Korntner ‘13, Ian Stahl ‘10, and Russell Pollack ‘112: Kacey Suchocki ‘12 and Pernell Myers ‘10 draw a standing ovation fromthe audience.

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n Members of our Lower School Concert Choirs from both campuses joined students from three other schools during an uplifting choral concert on our Boca Raton campus on April 20. The students met at noon to begin rehearsals as they sang for one another, received constructive criticism from the directors, and performed together in a massed choir of almost 200 voices. Hundreds of guests from surrounding schools were in attendance for the evening concert which was led by Boca’s Fine Arts Chair Larry Mellone and Fort Lauderdale Director Bonnie Jacobi.

ARTS

International DanceDancers enjoy a variety of classes at the festival.

n Seventeen Upper School dancers attended the National High School Dance Festival held in Miami from March 18-21. They participated with more than 1,200 students from all over the world. Their days were filled with classes in every type of dance imaginable while their evenings were spent attending performances at the charming Gusman Theater. Three of our senior dancers attended the audition class and all three were chosen for different summer programs from the audition. Morgan Weiss was chosen for the White Mountain Summer Dance Festival; Meredith Brown was chosen for the Syracuse University Summer Program; and Shelby Shenkman was awarded a full scholarship to the BalletMet Summer Intensive. Although tired and sore, they all agreed that it was a wonderful experience!

Dancers Make an Impression at Dance Festival

Boca and FTL Choirs Join Forces

n The following are the 2009-10 Student Cultural Arts Series Fine Arts Awards recipients flanked on the left by Dr. Lourdes Cowgill and on the right by Founder’s Council Chair Erica Crissy ’88:

The 2009-10 Student Cultural Arts Series Fine Arts Awards Recipients

Fine Arts Award WinnersLeft to right: Sara Ganz ’10, Excellence in Musical Theater; David Manella ’10, Excellence in Musical Theatre; Lauren Herstik ’10, Excellence in Art; Trent Uthe ’10, Excellence in Instrumental Music; Faith Connor, Excellence in Vocal Music; Pernell Myers ’10, Excellence in Drama; and Meredith Brown ’10, Excellence in Dance.


Alumni

n El Cerro -The announcement was made in early May 2009, and Dr. Teresa Smith de Cherif ’78 was already in the small village of Tifariti in Western Sahara on the west coast of Africa for the beginning of a two-month mis-

sion to provide health care for the people of the desert region. Smith de Cherif was among a group of 20 exceptional humanitarians named as Outstanding New Mexico Women by the state’s Governor.

The infectious disease specialist has lived and worked in 15 different African countries before coming to the University of New Mexico in 2002. Soon after, she found eight acres on El Cerro Loop that was calling her

name. With enough room for some sheep and alfalfa, Smith de Cherif was home. But her experiences in Africa called her back again. In a country that has experienced civil unrest, massive refugee camps, and a “brain drain” that has left only 15 doctors working within the health system, Smith de Cherif knew there was a need to reach out and help the nomadic people living in the region. A concept called “fikelela,” which means “reaching out,” is something that has driven Smith de Cherif in many of her decisions, and also helped her accomplish many of her goals. “The concept of fikelela is what made my trip possible, in that if people here didn’t help me, then I couldn’t have left my farm,” Smith de Cherif said. In her absence, friends and neighbors stepped up to run her farm. They also donat-ed a camping stove and kitchen supplies for

the trip as well as much needed medicines, Smith de Cherif said. Her mother, Maureen Smith, donated frequent flyer miles to get Smith de Cherif and her son, Tariq, to Western Sahara, while another sponsored their overnight stay in Paris. A friend also sponsored their overnight visit to Algiers. In addition, friends of Smith de Cherif from across the country donated money to sponsor African batik-inspired scrubs for each of the remaining 15 Sahrawi medical doctors and four Cuban doctors working in refugee camps. While working in Western Sahara 13 years before, Smith de Cherif was introduced to the beautiful, brightly colored, hand-dyed fabrics made by women in the villages and refugee camps. She liked the fabric so much that she started using African hand-dyed batiks to make dresses, but the idea to make scrubs out of the material didn’t come to her until she was in her first year of medical school at the University of Miami, in 1999. The African Scrubs project also helped her in South Africa. Following a 2001 trip to Cape Town, South Africa to deliver Christ-mas stockings from Pine Crest students to six orphanages housing children with HIV/AIDS, Smith de Cherif decided to direct fu-ture efforts toward jobs creation, rather than gift delivery. To help support one of these orphanages, the Fikelela Children’s Centre in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, Smith de Cherif decided she would try to sell African scrubs to nurses, technicians, and doctors in the United States. “I am very grateful to be part of the com-munity. I am grateful for the spirit here for the work in Western Sahara,” Smith de Cherif said. “And the African Scrubs Project is putting fikelela into practice.” “It has helped small communities help themselves,” she said. “People can make a difference in the world. You would be surprised how many people will step up and help you.” A decade-and-a- half of war beset West-ern Sahara after Spain ended its colonial ad-ministration of the area in 1975. On one side, Morocco claims the Western Sahara is part of its kingdom; on the other, the Sahrawi people and their leadership, the Polisario, claim sovereignty over their native homeland.

Smith de Cherif ’78 Named among Outstanding New Mexico WomenThis article was reprinted with edits from the La Vida section of the January 14 edition of the Valencia County News-Bulletin. Dr. Teresa Smith de Cherif ’ 78 returned to Jennifer Gordinier’s AP science classes at Pine Crest last year to teach about AIDS in Africa and the socioeconomic determinants of health. Dr. Smith de Cherif appreciates the support of her work in Africa from many of her Pine Crest teachers and friends, including Upper School Librarian Mary Ann Deidesheimer (Mrs. Dee), Lisa Krasne Hayden ’78, as well her son, Tariq Cherif ’07.

BY JULIA M. DENDINGER, News-Bulletin Staff Writer


Despite a ceasefire that began in 1991, the land dispute was never resolved. The result has been decades of tension and uncertainty, thousands of deaths from violence and poverty, and a humanitarian crisis that goes on to this day. Right now, more than 100,000 people live in the refugee camps near the border in Tindouf, Algeria. It was in this divided land that Smith de Cherif spent May and June (and February and March 2010), east of the Moroccan line, traveling among the refugee camps and inside the Western Sahara liberated zone, administering medical care with the limited resources on hand. A great deal of her time was also spent at the medical clinic in Tifariti. “A lot of the medications had expired. We sometimes didn’t even have the basics,” she said. “We had to make do, and do what we could.” One of the challenges facing Smith de Cherif was communicating with her patients. In Western Sahara, Arabic and Spanish are the primary languages spoken. While she was able to speak Spanish with many Sahrawis, sometimes she was on her own with the Arabic-speaking patients. “I knew enough Arabic to get their name, age, and location; basic information– but when I asked them what was wrong, they started going on an on, and I would have to stop them,” she said. “It was kind of confus-ing because they think I can speak Arabic, but I’m trying to explain, yes, but only a little.” “When people heard me speaking Spanish, they thought I was from Spain. I grew up in south Florida, and everyone in my family is bilingual.” Because Western Sahara has spent so much time at war, Smith de Cherif said part of the recovery for the small country is starting some type of industry. To begin that process, Jeanne Carritt, a very active member of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, who retired to Valen-cia County from a career in medicine in Los Alamos, donated her family silver for a jewelry project. It was melted down and forged into silver jewelry traditional to Western Sahara. Smith de Cherif is working to make the jew-elry available in the United States. Another local sponsored a solar water heater project for the people of Western Sahara. The water heaters were made from inner tubes and a few pieces of plumbing

hardware. Former owner of Luna Mansion in Los Lunas, Earl Whittemore sponsored the project. With an average temperature of 102 degrees, the water is actually too hot to use in the middle of the day, Smith de Cherif explained. Whittemore’s solar hot water project also enjoyed the support of many tire companies in Valencia County. In an attempt to utilize the ever present sand dunes in the region, Smith de Cherif’s son managed to transfer his love of snow boarding into a “sand boarding” class. “This will give the youth something to do. When European friends and relatives would visit the area, there’s no recreation,” she said. “These micro-enterprises are a great way to help. If you look for things that are locally available, it stays within the people, bringing more enter-prises and economic independence.” The sand boarding school was sponsored by Smith de Cherif’s son, Tariq ’07, and his best friend from Sandia Prep in Albuquerque, Willie Simon, who works at the Center for Ageless Living in El Cerro de Tomé. Between practicing medicine and surfing the dunes, Smith de Cherif formed a friend-ship with the men stationed at the nearby United Nations compound. The base com-mander was from Brazil, and spoke English and Spanish. Other members of the unit were from Argentina, El Salvador, and Honduras. “They were concerned I was there alone. They made me feel welcome,” she said. “The light from their compound was the last thing I saw before I slept. They were these really wonderful people from all over the world and really cared about me as an individual.” “I felt a true esprit de corps. They really inspired me to complete my service there,” she said. “We were each on a humanitarian mission, and they all kept me going. But they told me I had it all wrong. They said ‘You in-spire us.’” When people lined up out the door at the medical clinic, Smith de Cherif thought about the unit at the UN compound. “They were my ray of sunshine and helped me renew my mission,” she said. “I plan to write each of the 10 embassies and tell them how wonderful their personnel were to me. They are wonderful examples of their countries.” Such was the bond between the doctor and the UN unit, they began a Satur-day night tradition, each taking turns cooking

a meal from their native country. After moving to New Mexico, Smith de Cherif said she was struck by the similarities between the two desert communities. “Both have a lot of knowledge living and working in desert agriculture,” she said. “I’ve learned how the land is intimately acquainted with water and people’s lives. In Valencia County, that message is all around if you care to see it.” Because of her experiences in West-ern Sahara, Smith de Cherif says she has become involved with issues in the county such as the zone change to allow a bulk fuel station in the community of San Clemente. In the legal battle that followed the rezoning for the fuel station, Smith de Cherif drafted a “friends of the court” brief in an effort to persuade the court to overturn the County Commission’s decision. “That was an environmental justice issue,” she said. For more information for humanitarian efforts in Western Sahara, write to: [email protected]

Building Bonds1: Smith de Cherif assesses a patient in a village in the Western Sahara. 2: Smith de Cherif enjoying a sand-boarding class on the dunes.

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ALUMNI

n Bob Lynch was among the 15 total graduates in the Class of 1952. He has bragged for years about the $100 scholar-

ship presented to him by Pine Crest founder Dr. Mae McMillan. That scholarship allowed him to attend the University of Florida and still have money left in his pocket (the tuition at that time was just $75/semester).

“Aside from having the distinction of being a National Honor Society and Beta Club member at Pine Crest, I was wide-eyed and anxious as I began my quest for a career in journalism [at UF].” Dr. Mae’s emotional support of Lynch continued through college. He went on to complete his journalism degree at the University of Florida (Class of ’56) and was delighted to have her accompany his mother to Gainesville for his college graduation. “I am proud that she had enough interest in

Memoir from a Member of the Class of 1952This year Pine Crest introduced the Half-Century Club for all alumni who graduated 50-plus years ago. Bob Lynch ’52 talks about the influence Pine Crest had on his life, the friendships he forged, and the memories he still cherishes...

“In January of 1949, my mother and I arrived in Florida from Ohio. For the next two winters, I boarded in the boys’ dormitory at 1515 East

Broward Boulevard, attending several six-week terms of ninth-grade classes. My mom assisted my aunt, Winnifred Gorsuch, the administrator

at Pine Crest’s Hillsboro Beach facility. My aunt and her husband, Robert, enjoyed a long

friendship with Mae McMillan.”

– Bob Lynch ’52

Class of 1952Front row: Patricia Hoyt, Nancy Hoft, Sally Wingate, Sue Spavin, Jo Anne Lassen, Bonnie Denivell, Judy Weber, Anne O’Donnell, and Sally MacLean.Second row: Pat Bias and Margie Evans.Third row: Mrs. DiSimone, Bob Lynch, Jim Burnett, Jane Barlow, David Harding, Emile Mouhot, Augusto Perez, Bill Shearer, Dick Alexander, and Mario Pena


ALUMNI

the success I achieved as a University of Florida graduate. It was four years since she handed me that $100 scholarship gift on the Broward Boulevard campus stage.” Lynch spent the next month as a sports staff intern at the Fort Lauderdale News, then began U.S. Army basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. In his final semester at Florida, he embarked on a six-year Reserve commit-ment, the first two of which were active duty. Following basic training, he spent 10 weeks at Fort Belvoir, VA, and then was assigned to Fort Totten, NY for 19 months. He married his wife, Joan, on the evening of December 26, 1957 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale, not far from Pine Crest’s Broward Boulevard campus. “PC alumni were selected to help me exchange my bachelor badge for wedded bliss,” Lynch recalls. Bill Shearer ’52 was best man while Alex Dow ’51 and Michael Wherry ’53 were ushers. As students at Pine Crest, Lynch, Shearer, and Wherry were golf rivals on the fairways and greens at the Fort Lauderdale Country Club while Dow pursued pre-law classes as a freshman at Florida. “Thirty years later, Alex handled the legal settlement of my mother’s estate. Wherry was a judge in Pennsylvania when we chatted in 2002, and Shearer has been pro Miami Hurricanes forever! The wedding book Joan and I have retained for more than 52 years reflects gifts from Mrs. McMillan, Bill McMillan, and Leo and Patti Vincenti.” During the early 1960s, Lynch worked on the Fort Lauderdale News sports desk, covering football, boxing, and high school sports. As a writer for the Gold Coast Mara-thon, he even reported on a classic round-trip boat ride on the Intracoastal Waterway between Miami and West Palm Beach. To earn extra money, he became a Florida advertising representative for the national weekly Golf World publication until 1966. Lynch’s job connected him with several Pine Crest alumni as he remained in South Florida. His journalism career also intro-duced him to some interesting and note-worthy people. He met golfer Jack Nicklaus at Hollywood’s Orange Brook Country Club. “I’ll never turn professional,” Nicklaus told him. “Not even a good offer from a sporting goods company would make me change my mind, unless I got desperate for money. And I think pharmacy makes a pretty good career.” He reported Nicklaus’ words and more in an article he wrote for

his publication which headlined: “Nicklaus Says ‘No’ to Pros.” He says he and Nicklaus have laughed over the “verbal gyration” for decades. He also became acquainted with comedian Woody Woodbury when he was doing shows at the Bahama Hotel on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Woodbury’s ex-wife, Sue Spavin ’52, was a Pine Crest alumna. Lynch and Woodbury continue to exchange friendly e-mails, talk on the phone, and visit one another from time to time. Lynch even arranged bookings for the comedian from 1981 through 2007. Lynch’s career soon took off as a sports-writer. In 1964, he was at the Coral Ridge Country Club when Nicklaus was presented with a blue blazer, symbolic of his 1963 Masters and PGA championships. The 1963 U.S. Open king, Julius Boros, also attended this event hosted by pro Lee Worsham (1947 U.S. Open winner). As a local golf writer, Lynch and other media were able to partici-pate in a question-and-answer session with these esteemed golfers. That year Lynch covered the Masters, Buick Open, and U.S. Open along with several other headlining golf events for the Fort Lauderdale News. Later that year, he resigned as the paper’s sports editor to explore career opportuni-ties elsewhere. Letters from Dr. Mae and his newspaper mentor helped him to land a posi-tion as news editor at the University of Florida. In March of 1965, Lynch wrote his first article for the Pine Crest Alumni News titled “From Touchdowns to Molecules... From Three-Foot Putts to Nuclear Reactors.” The piece described his transition from daily

newspaper sports copy to interpreting the university’s programs, people, policies, research, and growth. Shortly after publishing that article, his boss left the University of Florida for a posi-tion in Alabama. Lynch took on his duties until he was promoted from interim to full-time director. By March of 1968, Lynch had written another Pine Crest Alumni News story, “Ste-phen C. O’Connell: A Part of Pine Crest’s Past and Future.” O’Connell graduated from the University of Florida law college in 1940 and frequented City Judge Al McMillan’s personal library. He also lived at Pine Crest’s Broward Boulevard building where the judge’s wife, Mae McMillan, was principal. “I ate breakfast and supper there in exchange for teaching tennis and boxing in my spare time,” O’Connell told Lynch. “After he be-came UF’s leader,” Lynch adds, “I reminded O’Connell I had slept in the same dormitory in 1949 and 1950 en route to my eventual 1952 graduation.” During the 1970s, Lynch furthered his ca-reer in the newspaper business. He was the Editor of the Southern Beacon in Statesboro, GA and the General Manager of the Cam-den Chronicle in Camden, SC. From 1978 to 1981, he was Vice President and Public Relations Director for Nissen Advertising, Inc. in Lakeland, FL. From the early 1980s to the late 1990s, he was President of Lynch & Associates and Lynch & Lynch, Inc. In 2002, his wife’s South Broward High School Class of 1952 held a 50-year reunion program. Lynch used that opportunity to contact friends from his class and set up a reunion at a restaurant on the 17th Street Causeway. “Joan and I were joined that night by Nancy Hoft, Sally MacLean Lambert, David Harding, Mario Peña, Bill Shearer, and their spouses or guests. Sue Spavin Cook was unable to attend, but Joan and I did meet Sue and Nancy the next morning at our hotel.” Bob Lynch resides in High Springs, FL. He is the author of Glitz Capsule, a nos-talgic narrative on famous athletes, sports developments, and changes impacting Florida and the nation during the ’60s and ’70s. Released in 2002, the book focuses on interviews and relationships with legend-ary golfers Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, and Julius Boros, as well as heavyweight boxing champions Muhammad Ali, Rocky Mar-ciano, and Ingemar Johansson.

n The aroma of French fries and fried fish could entice anyone into a restaurant or pub. In the university town of Orono, Maine, however, residents are salivating over the smell emitted from, of all things, a car. “People will be standing in their front yards or walking through downtown, and suddenly smell French fries and look around to see me driving by,” says Brian Foley ’80. Fortunately, Foley doesn’t have a line of hungry people chasing him around, but for the past few years, driving his vegetable-oil-powered jalopy has been pretty interesting. A petroleum geologist by trade, Foley has always been interested in alternative energy sources and conservation projects. He’d been searching for a car project to start when a friend of his contacted him to help create a car fueled with vegetable oil. After his friend lost interest, he purchased the 1979 Mercedes Benz diesel wagon for $500 and completed the conversion. “When Rudolph Diesel invented the diesel engine, he designed it to run on peanut oil,” says Foley. “So, using vegetable oil was a natural thing to do,” says the graduate of the University of Texas, El Paso. Foley is now a facilities engineer for the University of Maine Facilities Management Complex. Foley could have used a commercial conversion kit, but he pieced the car together using parts from hardware and automotive stores. “It’s really simple. It’s not like converting a soap box into a drag racing car; it’s really a dual-fuel system. All we had to do was add an extra fuel tank, fuel line, and mechanism for switching.” If he ever runs out of vegetable oil, he can switch to diesel as a backup.

The car has saved him loads of money on gasoline. He takes it on his many fishing trips throughout the state. The jalopy can get up to speeds as high as 80 mph in some instances, but acceleration isn’t one of its strong points. He gets about 15 percent less miles per gallon than other cars, averaging around 18-20 miles per gallon. “The most important thing is that it is free, and the whole process is carbon neutral. I’m not generating a net increase in the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.” The car does not require any complex chemical treating. In the end, it gets Foley where he needs to go without him having to fork out money for gasoline. After all, he has a relationship with a pizza restaurant and his favorite pub in town; he gives them his business, they give him their spent oil. He gets the oil in fryolator jugs. He picks up about 20-25 gallons a week. “All I do to filter the oil is remove the French fries and breadcrumbs and dump it in the car. It’s not just like pulling up to a pump and filling up for free; it does take some extra time,” he adds. A vegetable oil tank sits in the cargo area of the station wagon, an addition which required him to cut a hole in the car’s roof. “When people see me pouring oil in the top of the car, I get a lot of funny looks.” His children, Katie, 20, and Carson, 15, love the car. In fact, his daughter recently helped him paint it. His wife of 23 years, Corinne, appreciates how the car is not harming the environment, “but is embarrassed to be seen in it,” he laughs. Foley is exploring buying a diesel genera-tor that he could use to power his home with vegetable oil. “My house could smell like Burger King!”


ALUMNI

French Fries on the Go!BY TONI MARSHALL

n When Daniel Rashbaum ’93 walked onto the stage in Stacy Auditorium, he joked

about how Pine Crest had changed over the years. “To give you an example of this, I played on the basketball team,” he said, referring to his height – well below the aver-age height of most basketball

players. But that’s where the joking stopped. Rashbaum joined Dr. Sameer Hinduja, an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, to talk to Pine Crest stu-dents about social networking, sexting, and cyber-bullying. The School’s Middle & Upper School Parents’ Association has been spon-soring ongoing workshops on this topic. Rashbaum is an experienced trial lawyer who received a BA from Northwestern Uni-versity and graduated magna cum laude from Cornell Law School. He is currently a principal at Kobre & Kim, L.L.P, with offices in Miami, New York, Washington D.C., and London, where he focuses on white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations, regulatory enforcement, and complex civil litigation. His knowledge base comes from serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the South-ern District of Florida. “I’ve tried more than 30 federal cases, specializing in violent crimes, crimes against children, and national security cases.” Prior to working at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he served as trial counsel in what was, according to the New York Law Journal, one of the “Top Cases of 2004.” In addition, Rashbaum has also appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Eleventh Circuits on numerous occasions. As a federal prosecutor, he explained how his office had prosecuted 175 cases in 18 months. He cited examples of teens who had gone beyond virtual meetings and agreed to meet with “chatters” they had met online, only to discover they were pedophiles. Rashbaum spoke of several cases where law enforcement set up sting operations, posing as juveniles to lure suspected pedophiles. The number of accounts drew gasps from students. Not all cases were grim, but the assembly shed light on this new scene that is growing exponentially. Rashbaum wasn’t there to scare students away from these sites, but asked kids to use them “with caution.” He warned that the more personal info posted and chatted about gives predators an open window.

Alumnus Cautions Students about Social Networking


YOUNG ALUMNI

n Travis Henry ’06 returned to Pine Crest for a few weeks to help out at a summer basketball camp. The 2010 Yale graduate and football star wants to go into Sports Law. Following basketball camp, he’s head-ing to Missouri to work as an intern for a sports firm. He couldn’t have gotten this far if it were not for Pine Crest and the Buck Scholars program. “I think the Buck Schol-ars program is the best thing in the world,” says Henry. “It gives kids the opportunity to achieve who are incapable of funding a private-school education.” In 1990, Robert Buck, a widowed, retired businessman from Cleveland, Ohio, set up an endowment for African American/black students at Pine Crest. Mr. Buck, who re-sided on the Galt Ocean Mile, had amassed a sizeable fortune when he merged his busi-ness with a large public corporation nearly a decade earlier. He wanted the bulk of his estate to be given to local charities. He selected Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami as the primary recipient and asked his trust officer and attorney, Wilson Greaton, for suggestions

for the balance of the gifts. His Trust Officer suggested the Oral School at Nova Univer-sity, and Greaton suggested a scholarship fund for African American/black students at Pine Crest. However, in the early 1980s Pine Crest did not have the diversity that it now has. So, the fund was not created at Pine Crest until 1990 when Mr. Buck died. “We have had an opportunity to meet some of the recipients at our annual meet-ing, and the character and intelligence of these students are impressive,” says Grea-ton. The scholarship is based on both merit and financial need. “The requirements are that the student be African American and an above-average student whose family needs a large percentage of tuition supplemented to pay for school,” says Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid Elena Del Alamo who awards the scholarship. Once a student is a Buck Scholar, if he or she continues to meet the requirements established by the donor and the endow-ment administrator, Pine Crest tries to give the award to those same students each year until graduation. The number of students varies depending on the size of the award each one gets and on the draw -down amount from the endowment. “Roughly 150 to 170 awards have been administered, but some have been given to the same students for several years. About 80 to 100 students have received the Buck Award,” says Del Alamo. The School reaps the benefit in many ways. “It benefits not only the family with financial aid but also oth-ers. At a place like Pine Crest, it is all about exposure,” says Henry. “It allows people from different socioeconomic levels to be exposed to one another on an even playing field. Everyone learns.” For Cory Johnson ’07, the Buck Scholar-ship helped him meet his educational goals. Johnson, unsatisfied with his local elemen-tary school, sought out Pine Crest when he was in the fifth grade. As a youngster, he researched several schools in the area and decided that Pine Crest would provide the best education. “Even though my parents also saw me frustrated by lack of excitement in school and wanted the best education for me, paying the tuition would not have been a financially responsible choice for my family. So, long story short, I think being a Buck Scholar added much fulfillment to my life while at Pine Crest,” Johnson says. “Being at a very academically rigorous

school definitely took some adjusting, but once I adjusted, I felt so happy. I played sports, I played music, and I joined more clubs than I can even remember. I was on the diving team the last four and a half years of my time at Pine Crest, and diving was not something I ever imagined I would be doing.” Skipping to the present, the experience Johnson had at Pine Crest still impacts his experience at Harvard, where he is starting his senior year. Johnson is the director for a hip hop dance company at Harvard; an advocate for Project HEALTH, a non-profit organization that provides basic, essential needs (e.g. housing, employment, utili-ties shut-off protection) to the low-income patients of Boston Medical Center; and he volunteers at a variety of hospitals and clinics in the Boston area. “I knew how to adjust from what I learned at Pine Crest. Like at Pine Crest, I am still trying new things and exploring new opportunities,” says Johnson. “In the long run, being a Buck Scholar has taught me two things: take chances and you will find yourself doing things you never thought before, and doing something of service with your education is more important than having one.” For more information on the Bucks Scholarship program, call Elena Del Alamo, Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid at 954-492-4103.

BY TONI MARSHALL

Scholars and Gentlemen1: Cory Johnson ’07 is a director of a Hip Hop dance group at Harvard and volunteers at many Boston area hospitals. 2: Travis Henry ’06 returns to Pine Crest to help burgeoning basketball stars during summer camp.

Buck Scholars Program Helps Students Achieve Educational Goals

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UnforgettableCLASS NOTES

1984Jennifer Spar Brafman ’84 married Keith William Staffen on April 10, 2010 at the Ritz

Carlton in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Jennifer is the Director of SaaS Strategic Busi-ness Services for Ultimate Software in Fort Lauder-dale. She gradu-ated from Tulane University School of Engineering and received a master’s

degree in Business from the University of Florida. Keith is the Talent Management Solutions Lead for Ultimate Software in Fort Lauderdale. He graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania Business School with a degree in Business Marketing.

1988Bethenny Parisella Frankel ’88 married Jason Hoppy on March 28, 2010 at the Four

Seasons Restau-rant in New York City. The newly-weds welcomed their daughter, Bryn Casey Hoppy, on May 8, 2010. Bryn arrived five weeks early and weighed only 4 lbs. 11 oz. Bethenny told People Magazine,

“We’re so thankful and lucky to have a healthy baby,” and that she’s looking for-ward to strolling around the Big Apple with Bryn. “This is the new me now.”

1991Lorann Birr Davis ’91 welcomed second son, Marshall, on October 17, 2009. Lorann said, “My sons, Mitchell and Marshall, are so much fun! I’ve definitely got my hands full but it is so worth it.”

1994Jennifer Platz Bruda ’94, her husband Mike, and son, Glenn Turner Bruda (age 6), welcomed Margaret “Maggie” Alice Bruda on September 14, 2009. Maggie weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 19.5 inches long.

1995Alexander Guyott ’95 married Megan Eliz-abeth Ortiz on April 23, 2010 in Charleston,

SC. PCS alumni Andrew Weten-hall ’94, Daniel Reiter ’95, and Juan Sanabria ’95 also attended the wedding. The newlyweds cur-rently live in Santa Monica, CA.

Jamie Marx Atlas ’95 and her husband, Jordan, were blessed with their first child,

Harper Leonard Atlas, who was born on May 4, 2010 at NYU Medical Center in Manhattan. Harper weighed 6 lbs. 12.8 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. The happy family lives in New York City.

1994Gregory Lakin ’94 married Margaret Hamm on November 28, 2009. Adam Bond ’94 and Ian Tussing (attended PCS

’82 - ’86) were groomsmen. Next year Greg will be chief resident in plastic surgery at the University of Rochester. He recently completed a two-year plastic surgery research fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of

Philadelphia where he won several national grants and awards for his basic science research on cleft and craniosynostosis biology. Margaret is in the master’s program at the University of Rochester studying to be a nurse practitioner.

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1996Cristina Martin Dawson ’96 married Raffi Dawson at the Lauderdale Yacht Club on

February 27, 2010. Many PCS alumni attended the wed-ding. Cristina has been working at Spear Street Capi-tal, a real estate investment firm in New York City, since she gradu-ated from Wharton in 2007. Raffi, also

a Wharton graduate, is a VP at GE Capital. The newlyweds reside in Stamford, CT and visit Ft. Lauderdale often.

2002Elizabeth Berkowitz Tobak ’02 married Marc Tobak on October 25, 2009 in NYC.

Rachel Berkowitz ’05 was maid of honor, and several members of PCS Classes of 2001 and 2002 attended and were in the wedding party.

Elizabeth complet-ed a graduate cer-tificate in Museum Studies at Tufts in

2008, and recently completed her MA in Modern Art: Critical Studies at the Colum-bia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She will begin her Ph.D. in Art History at the Graduate Center at CUNY in the fall. Marc, a 2008 Harvard Law School graduate, clerked for Federal Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum, and is now an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell in NYC.

CLASS NOTES

n“I would very much like to thank all of those associates, students, and peers of mine from my many years at Pine Crest for their kind words, thoughts, and

memories follow-ing the death of my daughter, Sara Bry-ant Smith ’90, last September 30. She was a remarkable young woman who took her Pine Crest background and

forged a creative and successful career. She surrounded herself with loving, car-ing people who will never forget her ready smile, whimsical ways, and her cour-age. So many of you had a hand in her becoming who she was, so many have expressed condolences in myriad ways. She remains in our hearts always, and she made me proud that I was her father. Thank you, thank you.”

Leon Bryant H ’92Retired Pine Crest Fine Arts Department Chair; 1967-2006

A Special Thanks from Leon Bryant H ’92

Summer Class Notes 1: Mr. and Mrs. Keith William Staffen 2: Bethenny Parisella Frankel ’88 and Jason Hoppy 3: Bethenny Parisella Frankel ’88 and Bryn Casey Hoppy 4: Mitchell and Marshall Davis 5: Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Lakin 6: Mike Platz, Glenn Turner Bruda, Jennifer Platz Bruda ’94, and Maggie Alice Bruda 7: Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Guyott ’95 8: Jamie Marx Atlas ’95 and Harper Leonard Atlas 9: Mr. & Mrs. Raffi Dawson. 10: Cristina Martin Dawson ’96, Raffi Dawson, Julie White Higdon ’96, Kittiya Namkunee Greenberg ’96,

Todd Harrell ’96, Amir Arison ’96, Darren Powell ’96, Aaron Ever ’96, Trey Morgan ’96, Sara Walters ’96 (maid of honor), Brooke Auclair, Alexia Rouquette Mays ’98, Lauren Powell Beyer ’98, and Lauren Stender ’98.

11: Mr. and Mrs. Marc Tobak

Please keep us updated on the latest happenings in your life by e-mailing Class Notes, pictures, news,

and features to [email protected] or via U.S. mail to:

Alumni Office, Pine Crest School, 1501 NE 62nd Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334

Read the latest alumni news online atwww.pinecrest.edu/alumni

Alumni/ae News Is Important to the Pine Crest Community!

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Gatherings

n More than 200 alumni returned to Pine Crest for Alumni Weekend in April. The events kicked off Friday, April 16 with “Class-es without Quizzes” where former students visited some of their favorite teachers. Also on Friday, seven superior athletes and two former coaches were inducted into the 2010 Athletic Hall of Fame. Established by the Board of Advisors in 1983 to com-memorate Pine Crest’s 50th anniversary, the Athletic Hall of Fame honors former student-athletes who made outstanding contribu-tions to the School’s athletics program. Congratulations to this year’s recipients: Michael Averett ’01 (swimming), Marshall Godschalk ’03 (crew), Rick Ramirez ’02 (lacrosse, soccer, and football), Brittany Ross ’04 (volleyball and basketball), David Schect-er ’02 (lacrosse and football), Lee Skidmore Wenthe ’59 (swimming), and Kyle Zeller ’02 (baseball and soccer). Special recognition awards for coaching were given to Richard Bond and the late John Cain, Jr. ’95. Friday evening the distant and recent past converged at an all-alumni reception in

Findeiss Auditorium where students from the musical All Shook Up provided live entertain-ment for our guests. Saturday proved that some things never change. During our Back to the Ballet Barre event, eight of Brenda Gooden’s former students went through their opening routine

to the same music – it was as if time stood still. For these eight alumni, it was a special opportunity to come back to the dance stu-dio and, amidst gales of laughter and delight, share some of their favorite moments with their beloved ballet teacher all over again. That afternoon also marked the debut of the Half-Century Club. Created by the PCS Alumni Association, this Club recognizes alumni who graduated 50+ years ago. Our first group celebrated this year with a luncheon on Saturday followed by a gathering at the Founder’s Circle on campus to present a floral tribute in honor of our founder, Dr. Mae McMillan. Those gathered shared marvelous stories that included memories of Dr. Mae’s leadership and strong, positive support during the early years. A special lapel pin has been designed for this distinguished group of alumni which were presented at the luncheon and the dinner/dance that evening. The dinner/dance also welcomed members from the following classes: 1960, 1970, 1980, 1985, 1990, and 2000. They all gathered at the Hyatt Pier 66 for a wonderful night of reunion dinners, dancing, and plenty of reminiscing.

ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND 2010

Back to the BarreLucy Henderson’85, Heather Geronemous ’97, Cara Lakin ’00, Cara Zeidman ’00, Sarah Svendson ’95, Marnie Memmolo ’90, Sarah Walters ’96, and Samantha Goldstein ’00

Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees (top photo)Back (l to r) Kyle Zeller ‘02, Michael Averett ‘01, Marshall Godschalk ‘03, Coach Richard Bond, David Schecter ‘02, and Rick Ramirez ‘02 Front (l to r) Britanny Ross ‘04, Dr. and Mrs. John Cain


Pictured:1: Half-Century Club2: Class of 19603: Class of 19704: Class of 19805: Class of 19856: Class of 19907: Class of 2000

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Friday Night Reception

1: Barney Stein ’80,Valerie Berwanger ’81, and Nick Fluehr ’80

2: Dan Carlson ’85,Greg Beesch ’85, and Amy Knorr Haight ’85

3: David Nigen ’00, Coach Karl Hop, Kern Saxton ’00, Paul Germain ’00, and Andy Litinsky ’00

4: Jeff Roschman ’79,Pine Crest President Dr. Lourdes Cowgill, and Lee Banks ’85

5: Jim and Lee Skidmore Wenthe ’59

6: John Harrington ’55and wife, Sandy

7: Kern Saxton ’00and Tony Jaswinski

8: Lorie Austin, Kristin Haffizulla ’00, and Mike Gelety ’00

9: Miles Medrano ’90and Keith Simon ’90

10: Virginia Lawrence Buckley ’60, Skip Heydt ’60, and Sally Lawrence Davis ’65

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Saturday Dinner and Dance

1: Amber Bianchini Leach ’90, Kim Donaldson Friedman ’90, Jaime Mayo ’90, and Chip Yemm ’90

2: Amy Jensen ’85,Lara Weiss Smith ’85, Thalia Lewandowski ’85, and Drew Bertagnolli ’85

3: Andy Litinsky ’ 00 and Andrew Lieberman ’00

4: Anne Benjamin Green ’80 and Nancy Hill Travis ’80

5: Cara Rosenthal Zeidman ’00, Mark Zeidman, Samantha Goldstein ’00, Vanessa Alegre ’00, and Matthew Parrish

6: Jaime Mayo ’90,Mia Mayo, Paola and Evan Rosen ’90, and Pine Crest President Dr. Lourdes Cowgill

7: David Nigen ’00, Jared Mellin ’00, Paul Germain ’00, Adam Singer ’00, Louis Friedel ’00, Victor Orihuela ’00, Jonathan Palermo ’00

8: Nick Fluehr ’80,Paco Santana ’80, Linda Hamburger ’80, and Michael Boyd 80

9: Jared Mellin ’00, Alumni Director Susie Ledbetter, and Adam Singer ’00

10: Anita Ahrens Garcia ’47 and Judy Chapman Doering ’59

11: Joel Samuel ’55and John Harrington ’55

12: Karl Nitowski and Katie O’Connel Nitowski ’00

13: Katie Plachter Donahue ’85, Craig Dorfman ’85, and Gus and Barbie Doolittle Ray ’85

14: Les Byron ’80,William Thompson ’80, Joseph Polito ’80, and Robert Serrano ’80

15: Lucy Hodges Weber ’70, Dianne duPont Brundage ’70, John Kagan ’70, and Dona Meyering Spain ’70

16: Sandy Harrington, Former Pine Crest President Bill McMillan ’45 and Lisa Dalzell McMillan

17: Sarah Sacks ’00,Christine Hughes Pontier ’00 and Ryan Pontier

18: Steve Grover ’85and Mark McGowan ’85

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To make your tax-deductible gift, please use the enclosed envelope. You also may call Alisa Karten, Director of Annual Giving, at 954.776.2177; give on our secure Website: pinecrest.edu/giveonline; or welcome a call from of our dedicated volunteers.

The race is about to begin for the 2010-11 Annual Fund...

Get a head start with your gift today!DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND!

Remember every gift counts toward reaching our goal – securing the future for our children.

Career Symposiums and the Career Stories DatabaseWe are working with College Counseling to organize Career Symposiums for the upcoming school year. Our goal is to present three alumni-panel career discussions where students can partake in a Q & A with the panel. If you would be interested in helping to organize the Career Symposiums, or if you are interested in being on one of the panels, please contact Alumni Director Susie Ledbetter at 954-492-6602 or [email protected].

We also are expanding the PCS Alumni Database to make it an even more useful tool for our alumni. Everyone has helpful stories and information about college, graduate work, internships, and their careers. Imagine all of the connections! The objective is to enter your career stories into the alumni database – accessible to alumni via the password-protected alumni section of the school Web site. This has the potential to be an invaluable resource for career exploration, connections, and even relocation information for our alumni. Please send your stories to [email protected].

Join Our College Connect NetworkThis new program aims to connect our alumni college students with current PCS juniors and seniors and their families looking to learn more about various colleges and universities. We hope you will volunteer to be a resource via e-mail or when PCS students and their families come to your campus for a visit. If you would like additional information, please e-mail Alumni Director Susie Ledbetter at [email protected].

ALUMNI:WE NEED YOUR HELP!

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A New BeginningScheduled to open in January 2012, the three-story LEED- certified Upper School Academic Center will consist of an atrium, three adjoining buildings, and a central courtyard. It will be a complete learning center. Areas outside the classroom will be set up to provide learning areas for students. Hallways also will be learning areas. There there will be conference spaces and a Student Union.

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