Taft School News

Author, Author

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Author Jhumpa Lahiri spoke in Morning Meeting today, and also attended classes. Her novel, The Namesake, was chosen as Taft's all-school read last summer.

Lahiri was born in London and raised in Rhode Island. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and author of two previous books. Her debut collection of stories, Interpreter of Maladies, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the PEN/Hemingway Award and The New Yorker Debut of the Year. The Namesake was a New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist and was selected as one of the best books of the year by USA Today and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her latest book is Unaccustomed Earth.

You can read more about her here.

Dance Ensemble to Jamaica

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Philip Sherlock Center for the Creative Arts International Festival concludes with Jamaica Dance Umbrella on March 5-6 at the Center. The event features several dance companies such as: NDTC, Movements Dance Company and Stella Maris.

On Sunday, March 7, the Junior Dance Umbrella is "a mini-cultural exchange through movement" and presents performers from several local junior dance groups as well as dancers from Taft's Dance Ensemble. This show is free and open to the public.

For more information and tickets please contact the Philip Sherlock Center for the Creative Arts at 876-927-1047.

While in Kingston, the Taft Dance Ensemble will also be doing dance outreach at local orphanages and homes for abused or neglected children. The Dance Ensemble Outreach program promotes the arts and brings arts education directly to underserved children in local and surrounding communities. This provides an educational program for youth to learn new skills and improve their quality of life through dance. This outreach will combine dance performance and community service.

Under the direction of Director Meredith Lyons, the Taft Dance Ensemble will develop a program consisting of a lecture-demonstration, or "lec/dems," and a performance piece with original music and costuming. The homes the students will be doing their outreach is the Children’s Orphanage on Dillsbury and the Worthy Home for Girls Orphanage in Kingston, Jamaica. Both of these orphanages have never had the opportunity or chance to see live dance performance and engage in a lecture/demonstration. These two orphanages are working under extreme budget restraints, and do not have funds available for arts in education.

"The Taft Dance Ensemble Outreach serves a dual purpose," says Lyons, "it serves audiences that rarely see dance or any live arts programming and it provides many varied performance opportunities to the Taft dance students. Our ultimate goal is to make dance accessible to people everywhere."

San Fran

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You are cordially invited to
two performances featuring
Taft Collegium Musicum
Bruce Fifer, conductor
Paul Halley, guest organist and composer

Grace Cathedral
1100 California Street, San Francisco
Sunday, March 7, 2010

11:00 a.m. Episcopal Service
3:00 p.m. Concert

Please join Callie & Hank Brauer '74, P'08,'09,'10
for a reception honoring Collegium
immediately following the concert at
InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel
One Nob Hill, San Francisco

RSVP for the reception to
Ledlie Mosch or 800-959-8238

Click here to download the invitation.

Dance Concert

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

TAFT ANNUAL DANCE CONCERT
choreographed & directed by Meredith Lyons
Guest Choreographer Annie Kloppenberg, Professor of Dance Colby College

February 26 & 27 at 7:30pm
The Taft School
Bingham Auditorium

More than 20 dancers/crew members are part of the show, which runs about one hour.
Please come and show your support!

Tree Tapping

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Uppermiddler Ujal Santchurn has long enjoyed the open spaces of Woodbury's Flanders Nature Center and has volunteered there for the past two sugaring seasons. This winter, he had to idea to transfer some of what he has learned to the Taft Campus, by inviting two instructors from Flanders to come to Taft and show students the proper method of harvesting sap from sugar maples to distill into maple syrup.

"Ujal gathered the materials and volunteers and fed everyone donuts and hot chocolate (with the help of his delightful mother Kaveeta)," says environmental science teacher Jim Lehner. "Then, we repaired to the copse of woods between the campus and the Fifers' home on North Street and proceeded to drill, tap and gather. It was a great experience and one that I hope will be successful this year and in years to come."

The group met on Monday afternoon--a combination of students, teachers (Jim as the scientist/environmentalist, and Tom Antonucci as the maple sugaring expert because his family does it big time), parents (Ujal's mother, Ellie Boyd, and Eve Li), and two experts from Flanders. Grounds director Vern Lenz worked with Ujal to identify the trees he wanted us to tap. Flanders will come to collect the sap twice a week.

"This is a chance to help Flanders Nature Center," says Volunteer Program Director Baba Frew, "by contributing to their supplies. Maple syrup is a big fund raiser for them. It's also great opportunity for our students to learn about a traditional and valuable New England activity."

No word yet on how much sap the trees have delivered, but thewarmer days and still cold nights of March are perfect weather to getthe sap flowing.

Formal Fun

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Formal is always a highlight of the winter term at Taft. As in recent years, the event (Taft's closest thing to a prom) was held at a hotel in Farmington. New this year was a game room, instead of the traditional casino room. The game room featured foosball, ping pong, rock band, Ms. Pac Man, Street Fighter, and an action figure hockey setup. "It was a big hit," says activities director Sam Routhier, "and saw no decline in traffic over the course of the night."

Some other highlights--in keeping with this year's Winter Olympics theme--include an ice sculpture of a skier that was surrounded by a huge shrimp cocktail display. The dessert room was also a huge hit, adds Routhier, and featured a chocolate fountain, mini cheesecakes and eclairs. The menu also featured international favorites to go with the theme. The band, Charisma, was "awesome," playing classics like "Twist and Shout," and "Respect."

MODEL UN

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

On the afternoon of January 21, a red toaster bus toting 14 Tafties and their adviser, Mr. Adams, headed to Yale for the weekend to attend the 36th session of Yale Model United Nations. Joining more than one thousand students from across the globe, Tafties, representing the United States, participated in over 16 hours of committee meetings moderated by Yale students.

After weeks of preparation and research on their topics, Taft delegates debated and lobbied with delegates representing many countries about numerous humanitarian and economic issues, including human trafficking, cyber-terrorism, and the Afghan drug trade.

Although many novices traveled to Yale, Taft brought some cultivated talent as well. Doug Shuffman '11 won "Outstanding Delegate" in the United Nations Development Program, a committee focused on the redevelopment of African nations ravaged by armed conflict. There were also highlights outside, and sometimes even inside, the seemingly endless committee meetings, such as the Delegate Dance or the showing of the movie "The Great Debater."

On the last committee session, some Yale undergrads even put on their own show in the committee they were moderating. In a memorable moment, Adam, one of the Model UN chairs, danced to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance."

The Yale campus and surrounding New Haven proved to be an ideal location for everyone to have some fun. Ultimately, not only was Model UN a learning experience, Tafties bonded and also made lasting friendships amidst the jam-packed schedule.

For a taste of what Tafties did over the four days of committee sessions this year, look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC8MzCBRsXg&feature=player_embedded

-Lauren Laifer, Edited by Chantal Yuen

And the Other Is Gold

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Comparable to the Eagle Scout award for boys, the Gold Award is the highest achievement a girl scout can earn and often takes two to three years to complete.

For her award, uppermiddler Meghan Boland logged more than 130 hours refurbishing and decorating a nursery room at a local recovery center and also helped plan and run summer activities for the center's new family residence for homeless or addicted mothers. To decide on her project Meg researched three separate communities and found a common theme: struggling women and their children.

"It is often difficult for single mothers to raise their children and provide a stable living environment while remaining in control of their own lives," says Meg. "The Recovery Center and Hope Residence at Eva’s Village aims to provide these mothers with training and lessons in order to help them create a stable life. Therapists, addiction counselors, and teachers help instill the skills and confidence these women need. The nursery I created offers a safe place for their children to stay while their mothers are taking classes and receiving life-changing treatment. This will give the mothers the feeling of knowing their children are safe and being taken care of, allowing them to focus on their studies and or getting better."

Meghan chose to step outside her own affluent community when she saw so much need in nearby Patterson, NJ. She spent the previous summer helping indigenous women in Costa Rica. "A few adult friends had challenged me, 'Why go to Costa Rica again whenthere’s plenty of need only 20 minutes away.'"

"I also knew I wanted a project that required real work and getting messy," adds Meg. "I loved it, especially the painting. I realized that I am a good leader--not too bossy--with a lead-by-example style. I believe people will help you because they like you and see your enthusiasm and dedication."

MATHletes

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Thirteen intrepid Taft mathletes made the trek up to Lakeville on Sunday to take on the Bearcats and the Kent Lions in what FIFA would refer to as a "friendly." There were both a varsity and a JV competition. "Everything ran smoothly and the contests were demanding but not too difficult," says adviser Ted Heavenrich, "thanks to the great work of several Hotchkiss faculty who spent weeks planning, writing problems, and organizing the logisitics."

First off, there was a 45-minute individual test consisting of 10 problems that gradually increased in difficulty and value. Then, after a 15 minute break, the teams engaged in a spirited GUTS round of 45 minutes, which combined teamwork, time pressure, and quick value judgments about when to turn in the solutions.

Our varsity team--consisting of Toan Phan, Brian Jang, Xiaowen Chen, Mariet Kenkovova, Brian Chung, and Julie Nam--won both the individual competition (with an AVERAGE of 29/60 compared to 20 and 21 for the other teams) and the GUTS round 137:126:118.

Our JV team--consisting of Cathy Chen, Mai Nguyen, Wai Srifa, Jessica Jiang, Claire Wilson, Chantal Yuen, and Michelle Chang--also won both competitions (average of 24:22:16 and GUTS 92:86:76).

Individual honors at the varsity level included Toan and Xiaowen placing in the top three, and at the JV level Mai and Wai took first and second respectively.

"We are now gearing up for the American Mathematics Competition," says Heavenrich, "which is a week from today (Tuesday, 2/9). I still have room for a few more competitors. We're also making plans to attend the Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament on February 20."

Manhattan String Quartet

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12

7:00 p.m. in WALKER HALL

The MUSIC FOR A WHILE series PRESENTS

The MANHATTAN STRING QUARTET

Critically acclaimed as one of America's leading ensembles,
The Manhattan String Quartet is celebrating its 39th season. Hailed by Michael
Steinberg of the Boston Globe as a national treasure, The Manhattan Quartet has
appeared throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico and South
America. Their one hour program will feature Mozart's String Quartet in d
minor, K421, and Mendelssohn's String Quartet in a minor, Op. 13. During a performance of the Mozart
string quartet, Joseph Haydn commented to Wolfgang's father Leopold, "I
tell you before God, as an honest man, that your son is the greatest composer
whom I have know personally or by name!"

This promises to be a extraordinary concert - don't miss it!

NO TICKETS REQUIRED

THIS CONCERT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

For more information, visit ManhattanStringQuartet.com

Nancy Friese in the Gallery

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

January 29 to March 5
Tremendous Trees, Bending Skies and Greenswards

Nancy Friese's landscapes reflect nature's forms using colors, lights,
textures and spaces from a chosen view and a specific place. Since
earning an MFA from Yale in 1980, Ms. Friese's paintings and prints
have been exhibited in more than twenty-five solo shows and 170 group
shows, nationally and internationally. The recipient of several
prestigious competitions and awards, Ms. Friese has received three
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, (including a residency in
Japan). She was granted a Lila Acheson Wallace Giverny Fellowship, a
Blanche E. Colman Award, Pollock-Krasner Foundation funding and a
George Sugarman Foundation Grant for painting. She is represented in
over 20 public and museum collections and has been lauded in leading
newspapers and arts magazines for the painterly precision and
everyday-to-exotic transformational quality of her work. Her work –
whether a foot square or six-by-nine feet – is equally grand and
gestural, blending a mutual respect for both the European landscape
traditions of form and color, and the stylistic freedom of Abstract
Expressionism. Ms. Friese resides in Rhode Island and North Dakota and
teaches at Rhode Island School of Design.

For more information on the Mark W. Potter Gallery at Taft, pleast visit
www.taftschool.org/pottergallery

For more information, please visit:
www.nancyfriese.com