U.S. Poet Laureate Selects Prize-Winning Poem

When Ted Kooser, the United States Poet Laureate recently visited Kent, one of his activities was to select his favorite poem from among those which students had written for the occasion. All of the student work was in the form of responses to Mr. Kooser’s poems. The winning poem, Ceramicist by Patrick Ortali ’08, was a response to Mr. Kooser’s poem, “Skater” which you may read here.

As to what drew him to this particular poem, Joan Beattie, Chair of the English Department at Kent, related that Mr. Kooser “liked one very strong metaphor/image in the center of the poem.”

Ceramicist
Patrick Ortali ‘08

It doesn’t feel the same as the other clay;
the waxy smooth, stiff porcelain
is not so uncomplicated,
this child of the earth,
unwilling to be tamed.
Still it rises and falls,
transformed by its own caprice
as much as it is molded by my hands.
Slowly the gray-white clay
lifts, thins, and widens.

The ceramicist now wears
tight gloves of wet porcelain,
and the shapely mound on the wheel
takes the delicate form of a sloping bowl.
Despite its gentle curves and relative perfection
I know that when I see it next,
it will have fallen into disrepair,
the even, slender edge breaking,
recreating the bowl as a scallop,
perfectly suited to some use
yet undiscovered.

AP Art History Class Spends Spring Break in Cairo By Vicky Ahn, courtesy of Kent News

Ms. Lynch, Kent School Art Department Head, and students from her AP Art History Class, Do Hyun Kwon ’08, Elaina Chai ’08, Paul Kim ’08 and Vicky Ahn ’09, spent a week during Spring break in Cairo, Egypt. The initial purpose of the trip was to study its wealth of art, but the students ending up learning so much more. This trip was suggested to the entire AP Art History Class by Ms. Lynch as an exciting way to supplement the knowledge of the historical sites that they had acquired in class through their texts. What intrigued the students the most about the trip was the chance to be able to see an Islamic culture first hand and, as Ms. Lynch hoped they would, “form their own opinions” and break down walls of misunderstanding.

The group’s itinerary was very dense. The days were structured “to provide a chronological approach from 2700 BC through the 19th century.” The group toured various pyramids of the Pharaonic period, rode camels and visited a papyrus school. In nearby Alexandria, they visited The Greco Roman Museum, catacombs and the vast modern library of Alexandria. In the Coptic quarter of Cairo, El Girgis, the group saw Coptic churches, the Coptic museum and, in the same day, they visited the overwhelming Egyptian Museum. The group was also able to learn a lot about Islam during a tour of several mosques by Ms. Lynch’s “devout friend, Noha.” From Hassan, their tour guide, they learned the thoughts of a young Muslim fiancé; from the hotel receptionist, the frustration of being a French law major in Egypt; and from children on their own school trips, friendliness and warmth.

Apart from the sites, what made the trip extraordinary were the people that they met and the things that they learned about the culture. The trip participants decided that it would be best for all to wear loose, covering clothing and for the women to wear hijabs, the Muslim women’s head scarf, in order to blend in. Elaina reflected on how much of “a hassle it was to put on”; however, I personally found it comforting as it made me feel part of the local society, together in their powerful statement of “submission” to a higher power; I particularly enjoyed it as a new fashion accessory. During the trip Do Hyun fell in love with the beautiful calligraphy of the Arabic language and soon was able to read some of it. Back at Kent, he is doing an independent study on Arabic, and Elaina is putting together an ‘Original Works Artist book’ with Ms. Lynch based on the things that they saw in Cairo. Paul has been provoked to start thinking about a lot of things of which he has written about in a separate column in this edition. All of the travelers are grateful for this opportunity to have “drunk from the river Nile” made possible by Ms. Lynch, the school, the Partridge Fund Grants and to Mr. Schmitt ’44 and Ms. Richards who funded the trip through the Christie’s auction.

Kent Takes First in GE Computer Science Contest

Kent Computer Science students took first place in the team competition of the General Electric Computer Science Contest held at GE Headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut.

The team of Soravit Changpinyo ’08, Aidan Coyne ’09 and Frank Huang ’09 represented Kent. Kent also distinguished itself in the individual competition. Frank placed first overall, Aidan placed Second overall and Soravit finished tied for fourth place. Frank earned a college scholarship for winning the competition and all three students received cash awards from GE. Their combined efforts won for Kent the State Championship.

Mr. Kevin Saxton of the Mathematics Department, who teaches the AP Computer Science course, coached the team since the fall in preparation for the Contest.

The GE Contest aims to test the material covered by the AP Computer Science exam administered by the College Board which includes an introduction to JAVA programming, algorithmic thinking and data structures. Part of the Contest requires an ability to solve problems related to a large-scale computer programming case study.

All high schools in the State of Connecticut -- public, independent and parochial – are invited to participate in the GE Contest.

Musician Spotlight: Katie Shefrin By Michelle Bennett, courtesy of Kent News

Katie Shefrin ’08 has been playing the oboe since she was in elementary school. The oboe is a beautiful and distinct instrument that is more difficult to play than most band instruments and Katie plays it beautifully. This is Katie’s fourth year playing in Connecticut Regional Band and her third in the Connecticut All-State Band. These groups both require an audition in which each student has to play a chosen piece in front of a panel of judges. After playing the piece, the judges request that you play a certain scale, unknown to the student beforehand. Both of these groups are highly competitive and only the best musicians in the state are chosen to play with them. Only five oboe students out of forty who audition are invited to play with the band. Katie has also been selected to play at Independent School Music Festival; a concert with students from private schools in the area, with a similar selection process as the other ensembles.

Katie enjoys playing the oboe regardless of the arrangement, but her favorite is Mozart’s concerto in C minor for oboe and strings. Her extensive experience, years of practice, and love of music have made her one of the strongest members of both the Orchestra and Concert Band here at Kent.

Tenor, Joseph Kaiser ’95, Returns for Special Performance

Acclaimed lyric tenor Joseph Kaiser ’95 returned to Kent for an intimate recital in Mattison Auditorium. Mr. Kaiser performed a variety of works including pieces by Handel, Liszt and Tchaikovsky accompanied by pianist Craig Rutenberg.

Mr. Kaiser credits Kent for not only igniting his passion for singing but also providing him with the knowledge to pursue and achieve his goals. “The foundation for my entire career; my determination, inspiration, and professionalism started here at Kent,” he says. “I learned so many life lessons, throughout the entire school, that taught me a lot about what it is to be a professional and to go after something with determination and dedication.” He also noted that he was honored to return to Kent to sing.

During intermission, Mr. Kaiser was inducted in to the Kent Music Honor Society, a program of the National Association for Music Education. “This Society recognizes musicians of Kent School community who actively support our music program and demonstrate a genuine appreciation for music,” notes Jennifer Hobbs, teacher and director of the String Program and Orchestra. “Students, faculty and alumni are selected for membership based upon scholarship, character, service, leadership and musical devotion.”

Joseph Kaiser has appeared in both the concert hall and operatic stage performances including the role of the First Prisoner in Beethoven’s Fidelio, the starring role of director Kenneth Branagh’s film of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and the role of Lensky in Tschaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Most recently in October Mr. Kaiser made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Romeo in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette. For this role, he received enthusiastic reviews, one of them written by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times. His upcoming performances include the role as Narraboth in Salome at Covent Garden, Mao-Tse Tung in Nixon in China, and Jonas in Saariaho’s Adriana Mater at the Santa Fe Opera.

Former Kent Trustee, Ambassador Thomas C. Foley ’70, Promotes Philanthropy at Home and Abroad

Ambassador Foley is a member of the Kent Class of 1970 and holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Ambassador Foley's State Department biographical information is available here

Good morning and welcome to ‘A Dialogue on Philanthropy’ – a day of discussion I have been looking forward to for sometime.
We are here to explore what we can take from the American experience with philanthropy as Ireland builds its own philanthropic model.
A good place for me to start is to take a stab at defining philanthropy. I am often asked what the difference is between philanthropy and charitable giving. I describe the difference as ad-hoc check writing versus sustained giving with a defined goal. If Trinity College needs a million euros for a new biology lab and finds a donor to fund it, that’s generous but it isn’t necessarily philanthropy. It would be philanthropy if the donor’s gift is part of a program to build more biology labs for the purpose of curing a disease, for example. This would be a sustained effort to solve a problem that serves the public interest. Within the arena of philanthropists, participants vary from people with vast resources looking for a public interest to serve, to people with a strong impulse to address a problem looking for vast resources, to, in the best case, a person with a strong impulse to address a problem and vast resources.
For philanthropy to thrive, five things must be present – a generous culture, financial capacity, philanthropic infrastructure, supportive public policy, and supportive public attitudes. That is why we are here today. Generosity and capacity are already very much present in Ireland. Philanthropic infrastructure is developing rapidly. The challenge we hope to address today is what initiatives can be undertaken to design policies and develop public opinion in ways that will best support growth of philanthropy in Ireland. Complete opening remarks pdf linked here.

Girls Basketball Takes 1st New England Title!

Three time Founders League Champions Kent Girls Basketball took their game to Dedham, MA for the Class A New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Championship. Kent dominated the first half of the game with an early double digit lead over number three seed Nobles and Greenough. Kent was led by senior Nickie Smye, who had 14 points and senior Abby Kelly who had 10 points in the game. Junior Jayde Bennett was a force on both ends of the court, doing whatever could be done to get the ball into Kent hands. Sasha Dosenko, the tournament’s MVP, also finished with 10 points, 6 blocked shots and 5 steals. It was a great culmination of four years of teamwork for Kelly and Dosenko. Sasha will be playing next year for Dartmouth College.

This was the first NEPSAC championship won by a Kent School Girls Varsity Basketball team. “This was truly a great experience for the girls, lots of smiles and tears” said Coach Wayne Walton, He went on to say, “The girls worked hard throughout the whole season and winning the championship made for an exceptional year.”

Kent completed the 2007-2008 season with a stellar 20 wins and only one loss.

In the class A semi-final, Kent overcame the first-seeded Tabor -- the most exciting game yet. The two teams played to a 30-30 tie at the first half which saw the lead change teams numerous times. The second half commenced at a furious pace with Kent up when Sasha Dosenko picked up her fifth foul and left the court about halfway through. The girls rallied nevertheless, extending their lead to as much as thirteen. But Tabor battled back and with less than a minute to play went up by one on a three-pointer. Things looked grim as Kent failed to score on their following possession. With fewer than thirty seconds remaining, Jayde Bennett forced a turnover, Kent moved the ball up the court to Abby Kelly who pulled up and sank a resounding three-pointer and then broke up the Sea Wolfs' inbounds play to seal the victory. It was an astounding effort from all the members of the team who really rose to the occasion.

Earlier in the week, Kent hosted the first round of the Class A New England Girls Basketball Tournament at the Magowan Field House. This is Kent’s 3rd consecutive trip to the tournament and 3rd straight Founders League title. The team, under the direction of head coach Wayne Walton has lost but one regular season game in the past two years and made it to the semi-finals of last year’s New England tournament. Earlier in the week, Kent won their action-packed first round game against Loomis Chaffee to continue on to the semi-finals at Pomfret.

Kent Students Gain Appreciation of Their Place in the World

Kent community service clubs in collaboration with the dining hall hosted a Hunger Awareness Dinner, an effort to raise awareness of the issue of global hunger.

The interactive dinner allowed students to experience first-hand how food is distributed throughout the world. Upon entering the dining hall, tables were randomly assigned a class; “first world,” “second world,” or “third world.” These classes determined what type of meal students seated at each table received. The proportion of tables mirrored the proportion in the world population. Only two tables represented the “first world,” or high class, and were served a full multi-course meal. Four tables made up the “second world,” or middle class, and had less variety of food options. The remaining tables represented the “third world,” or lower class, which had only one option.

Megan Solkonicki, Associate Director of Admission and leader of many of the community service efforts at Kent, noted even though the students had different experiences, all had a “healthy and filling meal” and that the dinner’s purpose was to “highlight in a meaningful way the differences and hardships that people around the world face every day.”

Hosting clubs included:

* REACH
* FABB (For a Better Beginning)
* KIN (Kids in Need)
* Habitat for Humanity
* Environmental
* My Soldier
* Animal Rights
* Mission Committee
* Diversity and Culture
* STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur)

Musician Spotlight: Kyle Brine By Hilary Flack, courtesy of Kent News

Kyle Brine ’08 began playing tuba in the fourth grade as a second choice to the drums. Kyle requested tuba as a second option for his instrument because “it was big and had a funny name.” After a year and a half of playing, Kyle grew fonder of the instrument. Since then, his interest in the tuba had grown immensely. Kyle is currently the president of the Concert Band and a member of the Music Honors Society. He has played in the Dixieland Band and the Brass Ensemble, and also performs solos on his tuba several times a year. This past year, Kyle took part in the Connecticut Northern Regional Music festival, The Connecticut All-State Music Festival and the New England Music Festival. Kyle is taking the music theory course in order to enhance his skills of classical composition and jazz improvisation. Kyle and Lucille, his tuba (named for B.B. King’s guitar) continue to grace Kent school with Kyle’s musical talent.

Flutist Wins First Place in Scholarship Competition

Kent fifth former, Eun Sun Choi, won first place in the winds division of the Musical Club of Hartford's 32nd Scholarship Competition at the University of Hartford. A flutist, Ms. Choi performed the "Syrinx" by Debussy and the "Concerto in e minor" by Mercadante.

Ms. Choi is a member of Kent School's Concert Band, Orchestra, and Flute Ensemble. Having studied flute for ten years, she has participated in the concert bands of the Connecticut Northern Region and All-State Music Festivals. A soloist in several local recitals, Ms. Choi was a finalist in the 2007 Danbury Symphony Orchestra Concert Contest.

In honor of her most recent achievement, Ms. Choi was invited to present the Concerto in the Winners Concert at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Hartford in January 2008.

A Summer Trip to Africa By Sophia Stitch, courtesy of Kent News

One Monday last year, Ms. Mangum stood up in morning meeting to announce her intention of going on a trip to Africa over the summer. Since I love to travel, I sent her an email that day and found her a few nights later to talk about the trip. I expressed my enthusiasm, but a few weeks later I was disappointed to discover that the trip had been cancelled due to lack of faculty volunteers. She explained that she was still going on the trip and asked if I wanted to come with her, two of her friends from home and two teachers from Kent, Mr. Diehl and Mr. Carey. We talked throughout the rest of the year about our equipment we would need to climb Kilimanjaro, the orphanage and our expenses. Before I knew it, I had bought my plane tickets and paid for my part. I was going to Africa.

Getting off the plane in Africa I didn’t really feel like I was half way around the world. I was still surrounded by all of the white tourists from U.S. and Europe who all spoke English. That changed in 10 minutes. After we passed customs, we were bombarded by dozens of taxi drivers. I began to feel out of place when I realized I was driving around Africa at one o’clock in the morning. Arriving at the Annex Hotel in Tazania’s second largest city, Arusha, I felt even more out of place. As the only blond, white, pale girl in the street, I stuck out like a sore thumb.


The first week we climbed Kilimanjaro along with sixteen porters and guides. It took four days total to get to the summit. We started at 10,000 ft. and hiked to the summit at 19,340 ft. The top of Kilimanjaro was beautiful and we were all lucky enough to celebrate Mr. Diehl’s birthday the morning we summated. Despite the altitude sickness that we all felt, we found the glaciers which are amazingly white with a tint of blue they are incredibly beautiful. Ms. Mangum began to cry when she realized that she had accomplished one of her life’s goals of climbing one of the seven summits. None of us will forget the moment when we first saw the sunrise while hiking up the side of Kilimanjaro.

After hiking, we went to live with the Kimaro family and to work at the orphanage, Living Waters Children Center. For almost two weeks we all helped out in the class rooms, played in their dirt yard, and became extremely close with the children. With thirty-one children to take care of, the Kimaro family isn’t able to give the individual attention that the children need at their young age, so the kids were always asking to be held, to be played with, and to be listened to as they read. Mr. Carey took the liberty of creating a song which was not only learned by heart by all the children but was heard for the entire time we were there.

My most unforgettable memory was our last Saturday in Africa. Every so often the Kimaro family would have the children come over to watch a movie, which almost every time was The Lion King. As a going away present I thought it would be nice to have pizza and watch a movie with the children. Sitting there with the Queen, the youngest of the children, and the other thirty-one little kids all over the living room gave me relief, because by being in that orphanage they have the opportunities to create a better future while leaving behind their past.

Kent Students in International Mathematical Modeling Contest

Three teams of Kent School students volunteered to participate in the High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM), an international competition sponsored by The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP), a non-profit organization with the goal of improving mathematics education. Each team of four students was allowed to work for a 36-hour period on a real-world problem involving the ideal placement of fire extinguishers and sprinklers in a home. Students researched topics such as the rate at which fire and smoke spread through various types of homes in order to develop mathematical models for the best possible placement of the devices. They worked together to research, develop, test, and explain their models, and produced final solution papers over 40 pages in length. Their papers were submitted to COMAP for judging, and in January we learned that one of our teams earned a “Regional Outstanding”, scoring in the top 10% of 270 teams from around the world. (View the "outstanding" Summary Brochure submitted by team #1742)

Sarah Tredennick jumps toward Olympics By Michelle Bennett, courtesy of Kent News

Sarah Tredennick ’08 is a competitive and dedicated equestrian whose riding interests lie in show jumping. She hopes to show jump in the World Cup and in the 2016 Olympics. These goals may sound far fetched, but based on her current progress, there is no reason that Sarah will not be an Olympic show jumper in eight years.

Sarah travels all around the country to compete in shows year round. In the fall, she rides in the Northeast; in the winter, she trains in Florida; and she spends part of the spring in Kentucky. During the summer, she works out in Colorado. She has been jumping at the grand prix level since the fall of 2006. In her first season of grand prix, she placed 4th in Estes Park 25,000 class. The following winter at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, she pinned in many junior jumper classes (one level below grand prix). This past summer, she began showing grand prix consistently and had impressive results. In Nashville, she placed 5th at the $25,000 Music County Grand Prix. In Colorado Springs, Tredennick finished 5th and 6th in two different grands prix. Sarah’s best accomplishment thus far is her performance at the Young Riders International Championship, which is the Junior Olympics of show jumping. This competition includes five different jumping courses and the competitors must follow the FEI rules, the same rules used in the Olympics. Tredennick placed 5th overall.

Sarah has led a unique lifestyle to get to such a high level of riding. She says, “I have to be a part time student. I have a very small group of close-knit friends because I travel so often, and because of that, my friends are dispersed across the world. I love my life, but it is hard to be a normal teenager. I was forced to grow up very quickly.” Tredennick currently plans to spend the winter in Wellington and compete successfully in grand prix and junior jumpers. She plans to go to college next year in Colorado and spend her college years training a horse to ride in the World Cup and Olympics. Tredennick believes she has come so far because she works well with her horse. She says: “We have formed an incredible team and have exceeded both our expectations. Through training together, and growing together, we have become better than ever. She is amazing.” Sarah’s accomplishments are an inspiration to the riders of Kent’s equestrian team. KSET wishes her the best of luck in her coming competitions.

KENT wins Christmas Hockey Classic

The Boys Varsity defeated the #1 and #3 ranked hockey teams in New England on the way to the 4-0 undefeated performance in the 25th anniversary Christmas Hockey Classic. A victory over St. Pauls School set up the shot at the title.

Coach Matt Herr said, "The kids played their hearts out... They did all the little things that make a winning team... sacrificing their personal interests for the team."

Kent wins GOLD for KENT: 100 Years!

CASE has awarded Kent a GOLD for our Centennial book entitled KENT: 100 Years.

Kent received advance notice of the forthcoming honor from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The judges commented, “Excellent legacy piece… Well done!”

Congratulations to Joan Beattie (left), author of the book, for this special honor recognizing Kent's history.

Kent Energy Prize Announced

The headmaster has announced a new competition -- the KENT ENERGY PRIZE:

“This competition is open to students, faculty and staff of the School and begins immediately.

The purpose of this community-wide Prize is to turn ideas into action, specifically in the field of energy use here on campus, action resulting in greater efficiency and cost savings to the School. Such cost savings could be applied to sustainability initiatives, educational improvements, and to help make a Kent education more affordable.

We are looking for ideas from individuals -- or small groups working together -- which, when translated into action, will effectively help the School conserve energy or use alternative forms of energy.

A small panel of judges consisting of representatives from the Faculty, the Business Office and the Maintenance Department will review submissions on a monthly basis and recommend recipients for the Award.

The Energy Prize will consist of awards of up to $1,000 (one thousand dollars).

Please "start your engines" and think about innovative ways that we at Kent could save energy or effectively use alternative sources. Your ideas may run the gamut from behavioral changes to technical solutions.

Ideas -- carefully thought out and with as much supporting evidence as needed to make your case -- should be submitted in writing (by email) to Mr. Joe Wolinski, Plant Superintendent (wolinskij@kent-school.edu).

Thank you and good luck to all participants!”

Artist Profile: Pon Saropala By Kathleen Jaramillo, courtesy of Kent News

Thailand native Naris Saropala ’08 (more commonly known on campus as “Pon”) is one of the most talented painters at Kent School. He began painting at twelve years old in Australia, and since then Saropala has developed his passion of painting portraits and landscapes. Vincent van Gogh’s work and unique brushstroke technique has had the strongest influence on Pon’s art and has taught him to make every stroke count. As Pon works on his AP portfolio during his last year at Kent, he is not only continuing to develop his talent but also using his art as a form of escape from the daily stresses of school life.
In addition to van Gogh, Pon says that Thailand’s “artistic culture” has greatly influenced his work, with its unique and “beautifully crafted” temples and statues. Saropala’s love of painting landscapes originated in Thailand, though his most recent work at Kent School has been portraits. His favorite piece was created at a beach in Newport, Rhode Island, where he says that he felt “really connected” to the landscape and to his paint. The reason that Pon has most recently preferred to paint portraits is that he enjoys “capturing” the emotion of his subjects. He creates about two paintings a week, a discipline that he doesn’t see as work but rather as time well spent.
Pon simply states that “art is the only thing that I can concentrate on.” Painting has become a form of relaxation for the young artist. Not only does it help him to relax, but art is the only thing that allows Pon to escape the boundaries of Kent School. With a wide variety of influences, Naris Saropala has developed his own unique and rare style of painting as well as used art as an outlet of personal growth.

Dr. Ilhi Synn ’58 delivers the Cyrus Vance Lecture By Ellen Blanchard, courtesy of the Kent News

Dr. Ilhi Synn, a Kent Graduate of the class of 1958, is President Emeritus of Keimyung University and currently Chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees. He delivered the Cyrus R. Vance ’35 Lecture on Monday evening, October 29 in Mattison Auditorium.

The Vance Lecture series was established in 2003 to address the topic of the prevention and resolution of violent conflict in our world today and is named after the late Cyrus Vance ’35, who served as Secretary of State in the Carter Administration and was one of the leading American statesmen and peacemakers of our time.

After graduating from Kent, Ilhi “Ted” Synn attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, earning a B.S. degree (cum laude) in 1962. He was a Fellow at Heidelburg University in 1965. In 1966, he was awarded a Ph.D. in German Literature from Princeton University and from 1988-2004 he served as President of Keimyung University in Daegu, Korea. A very accomplished man, Dr. Synn is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and numerous other honors in Korea, Poland, Sweden, Russia, Japan, Taiwan and the United States. From 1995-97 he was president of the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia. Notably, in 2007 Dr. Synn was awarded the National Award of Korea for Lifetime Achievement.

Despite his enormous successes and achievements, Synn said he was “deeply humbled” when asked to return to Kent and give a lecture to the students. Upon his return, he had feelings of anxiety and uneasiness, but did not know where these emotions came from. Nothing was different; the ambience and scent were still the same and there was an “inescapable presence of the past.” Synn said that his nerves disappeared when he saw the audience. He felt at home at his beloved alma mater.

When Father Schell visited Dr. Synn in Korea, he mentioned the Vance lecture. Synn already intended to come back to Kent this year as it was his jubilee year (50th anniversary), so he decided to combine a visit to Kent with the Vance lecture. He decided that he would speak on the history of the awareness of human intellect.

The lecture, entitled “Pilgrim’s Progress” traced the evolution of human consciousness over 20,000 years. According to Synn, there are five stages to man’s awareness of his own existence, which can each be summed up in a simple expression. First: “I fear; therefore I am.” Second: “I conquer; therefore I exist.” Third: “I believe; therefore, I exist.” Fourth: “I think; therefore I am.” Fifth: “I rebel; therefore, I exist.”

This fifth stage is the most relevant to present day. Synn discussed suicide-terrorism and how in present day, the expression “I rebel; therefore, I exist” is a contradiction. He said, “Here lies the paradox…suicide terrorism means: ‘I rebel in order to exist. But my rebellion destroys existence, including my own. Therefore, I do not exist.’” He also suggested that “man has tirelessly struggled to become more humane and more ideal…the human will to strive to retain humanity, to seek peace and freedom, to find a new utopia, and not yield to violence, war and terrorism is eminently present.”

Synn stated that his lecture was more of an extended question addressed to the Kent community: “You are the pillars of the future, what is your conviction? What do you think?” Some students shouted love, peace, change, and understanding. There is no right answer; you must create a new value system that will both sustain you personally and humanity as a whole.
When asked if he had any inspiring words to the students at Kent, Synn responded, “Make use of everything that surrounds you: the environment, community, and friends. Don’t get lost simply in quizzes. This is a rare and valuable experience.”

Theater Club Trip to Les Miserables

The Kent Theater Club took advantage of an open Sunday to travel to Broadway and see Les Miserables.
“It was amazing!” was the most used phrase on 44th street outside the Broadhurst Theater by the nearly thirty students following the show.

The day began with a special chapel service from Father Voorhees, chaplain, who brought out the universal themes embodied in Victor Hugo’s work that have made it important in the 21st century and have helped make the musical the longest running in Broadway history. It was a beautiful day, so after the train ride, the group walked to the theater with window shopping and some actual shopping and lunch along the way. The return trip on the train found some students studying, others talking about the show or catching up on sleep.

A faculty chaperone said, “For us at Kent, New York is close but just far enough away from campus that we get the best of both worlds. You can take a group to the theater, a museum or a concert, but when you come home you’re in Kent.”
Or as one of the fifth form students put it, “We get sushi. We get to go to the theater. What could be bad about that?!”

No matter which continent Kent’s Andy Ng ’08 is on, he finds a way to help those in his community. Inspired by a walkathon he initiated in China last spring, Andy decided to rally fellow Kent students to raise money for local organizations.

Andy worked with his committee over the summer months planning “Just Walk for Kent”. The September event successfully raised over $6,000 to benefit the town’s Emergency Medical Technicians and the Kent Children’s Center.

The committee’s decision to distribute the donations between two organizations came from a local resident who helped with planning for the event. The Kent Children’s Center was an easy choice for the students. “The Kent Children’s Center provides for our faculty kids, and the faculty provides for us,” says Andy.

Andy explains that the idea to give back to the local community developed when the school fire alarm went off during the very early hours one morning. As local volunteer emergency services personnel arrived to ensure the overall safety of the campus he realized he wanted to do something for those who help others.

“We wanted to repay this community that we often take for granted,” he says.

Girls Varsity Soccer – Champions Twice

The Kent Girls Varsity Soccer team was chosen by the Western Connecticut Soccer Officials Association for their annual Sportsmanship Award in recognition of their “outstanding sportsmanship displayed throughout the 2007 season.”

Coach Jesse Klingebiel responded to the tribute, “It is a tremendous honor to receive this award as it recognizes that the highest level of competitive sports need not sacrifice honor and respect for the game. The girls have competed with great spirit all year and represented Kent School in marvelous fashion.” This is actually the second time in the past three years that the regional officials association has selected the Girls Varsity Soccer team to receive this prestigious award.

This team is indeed competing at the highest level. On the windy afternoon of Spoon Day, the ladies from Kent played with incredible focus, determination and grit and beat the mighty Pelicans 1-0 to clinch Kent School’s first ever girls soccer Founders League title. With the epic victory the girls close out the regular season with a 12-3-1 record. Their 6-1 record is tops in the Founders League and they earned a berth in the New England Class A Tournament. Seeded fourth, the Lions face fifth seed Andover in the opening round. For a complete summary of the game, click here.

Cindy Merritt (right), S.P.C. Kyle A. Merritt of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division (top center), brother of Ralph Merritt '09, and the My Soldier Club at the Field of Flags.

Kent Students Support our Troops Students from My Soldier Club participated in the Field of Flags, a memorial to remember fallen American soldiers. Small American flags were placed on the lawn of the hosting church for each soldier killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003. Cynthia Merritt of the Dean’s Office and coordinator of the memorial, noted that not only did each flag represent a soldier’s life lost, it also represents the loss to their family and community. My Soldier Club members participated in the reading of names of each of these soldiers and one non-member came to sing the National Anthem. My Soldier Club was organized by Kent students to show their support for the U.S. troops abroad without taking a political stand either for or against the war, and raising awareness of their cause around the campus. The club’s activities include raising money by holding dress down days, bake sales and t-shirt sales to send care packages to the troops and writing supportive letters to “adopted” soldiers including Kent alumni/ae. But the Field of Flags memorial brought the Club’s cause closer to home. “This year the members wanted to be more locally-focused,” says Jessica Watkin, a math teacher and the club’s faculty advisor. “This event was a great connection between Kent School and the community around us.”

Dispatches from China – A Kent Summer Journey

A group of Kent students travelled to China this summer to develop their Chinese language skills and soak up the culture of the rapidly growing and evolving nation. The trip was organized by Dr. Ann Meng, holder of the Harlan W. and Rita S. Newell ’36 Teaching Chair in Modern Languages with support from the Reverend Cora Cheney Partridge Fund. Any student may go, those studying Chinese are particularly encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity. Dr. Meng expects the five week trip to be an annual event. Here are several observations emailed half way around the world by Sarah Gillam ’09:

Picture a place where millions of people reside, where the sun rarely breaks through the smog of industrialization and where most employment consists of remodeling and demolishing creaking old buildings in order to beautify said city for a world-wide event.

This is Beijing. Its grandeur is much like that of New York, yet one gains an intimate familiarity with the city quickly. Our group, which has only been in this majestic city for a week, feel somewhat xi guan, or accustomed to, Beijing.

However, the awe does not stop at the construction on each city block and the vendors invading the streets yelling in both English and Chinese. This past weekend, we went to two wonders of this country. Saturday we went to Chang Cheng, the Great Wall. Though we wished to stop countless times before we even reached the peak of the hill where the ancient bricks were laid, we finally arrived and had our breath taken away from both exhaustion and the allure of this wonder. When we reached the point where tourists were no longer allowed to tread, we simply stopped, turned around, and gaped open mouthed at the length of this portion of Chang Cheng.

For more from Kent in China including the Forbidden city and Tian'anmen Square, bartering on the Silk Road, stone-faced warriors and many other adventures, look for the full story in an upcoming issue of Kent Quarterly.

Sufi Spins in St. Joseph’s Chapel

Sheikha Khadija, a Sufi Muslim, visited Kent to share her beliefs, the poems of Rumi, 13th century founder of Malawi Sufism and to demonstrate the singular practice that distinguishes her faith – whirling or spinning. It made for an out of the ordinary Thursday evening service.

Afterwards, sixty students and faculty gathered in the gymnasium to learn more about this ancient prayer technique and practicing the different types of turns and bows. Khadija explained that Sufi believe that whirling is a way to be fully present in gratitude and that whatever thought you hold while whirling will intensify and radiate out to the world.

(Photos: Erin Reilly)

KENT’S First Major Concert of the Year

The first major concert of the year included the Kent School Concert Band, Orchestra and String Orchestra, Choir, Kentettes, Dixieland Band and Jazz Band on Saturday night of Parents Weekend at 8:30 in Mattison Auditorium.

Charles Emerich, head of the Music Department and holder of the Centennial Teaching Chair in Music, noted that the students worked very hard to prepare an ambitious and varied program in a short period of time – only a couple of weeks. The selections show the breadth of the music program at Kent. One of the particular challenges is that it is unusual for a school of our size to have three major ensembles.

Included in the ensembles are students preparing for the CT Northern Region Music Festival in January several of whom have won honors in previous years.

You may listen to the concert here.

 Kent “Mathletes” Strong Showing in WPI Invitational

Kent School was one of the leading student teams in Wooster Polytechnic Institute’s Twentieth Annual Invitational Mathematics Meet.. Kent ranked fourth out of 85 competing schools, according to Math Team advisor Dr. Ben Nadire. Dr Nadire, head of the mathematics department and holder of the William G. Carey III ’52 Teaching Chair noted that we have a particularly strong team this year. The last few years have seen Kent’s “mathletes” finish in the top ten of this prestigious competition. This year’s fourth was a leap up from last season’s ninth and even bettered the previous year’s fifth place finish.

The highly competitive event features both individual and team matches, which include challenging questions based on the secondary mathematics curriculum up to but not including calculus. Students have only a pencil and paper with which to solve the timed problems which increase in difficulty. Here are some of the problems.

Congratulations to the math team for an outstanding achievement.

Joel A. Danisi, M.D., Kent School's doctor and a member of the Faculty since 1985, was recently honored as a recipient of the American College of Physicians Laureate Award in the state of Connecticut .

The American College of Physicians grants the Laureate Award to physicians who set a high standard for the profession. The ACP is the nation’s largest medical-specific society with an aim to better the medical community by encouraging excellence in patient care, education, research and service. The Laureate Award is selected through a peer-review process. Dr. Danisi received the honor at the Chapter’s Annual Meeting in Middletown, Connecticut on October 3. For more information on the American College of Physicians visit www.acponline.org.

KENT Alumna visits White House

Carly Traub ’05 was honored by President Bush at the White House in September 2007 at a ceremony recognizing National Champions from across the United States.

President Bush congratulated Traub and her teammates in the Brown Women’s Crew as: “ the winningest women's crew program in the history of the NCAAs.” The president continued, “I also appreciate the fact that we've got Academic All-Americans and National Scholar Athletes on this team as well. Congratulations on achieving excellence on all fronts...”

“My team and I were excited to be honored by the president along with the other National Champions,” says Traub. “Kent introduced me to rowing and opened up all of these great opportunities and experiences that I have had in the last few years.”

Haiku Writing Contest Winners

"Nature Lady" by Seo Yeon ("Liz") Yang (First Place)

"Utterance" by Yeon Gyu Jeong (Second Place)

A crow in distance
cries across the field of rice,
each grain in full flight.

"End Scene" by Ha Yeon ("Vicky") Ahn (Third Place)

It is colder now
The autumn wind is blowing
Gentle finale