Horace Mann Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010-11 - (Page 42)

alumni news the success of the evening to organize more Barnard reunions in the future. A highlight of the reunion was a warm greeting by former Barnard physical education teacher and Coach Neil Berniker who had taught or coached many of the alumni at the reunion. Berniker came to the Barnard School for Boys in the 1963-64 school year, and has never gone far from its playing fields. He became part of the Horace Mann School teaching and coaching faculty when the two schools merged. Forty-seven years after arriving on 246th Street, he continues to teach its students and coach its athletes. Berniker greeted many of the alumni by name, admittedly referring to their name tags to refresh his memory, and recounted stories in which they played a part. The Coach recounted some of the glory days for Barnard’s teams, including one special night when the Barnard Bears got a chance to play at Madison Square Garden. “It was New Year’s Eve, 1968. We were invited to play a preliminary game right before the Knicks game. I think we played New Lincoln,” Berniker recalled. “I guess because it was New Years some of our guys were away, and during the game a couple must have fouled out. At one point, we only had four players on the court. So, we told our mascot, the guy in the Bear outfit, to suit up and play. “Does anyone remember that? Is there anyone here who was on that team?” Berniker asked the dinner guests through peals of laughter. Edward (Eddie) Strauss ’68, a star Barnard athlete in three sports, stood up to a round of applause. Berniker saluted those he taught and taught with who had since passed away, and concluded, toasting memories of “the fine school” of those assembled. With glasses raised, and a few moist eyes, the friends saluted one another. $ Five Decades of Horace Manners Gather at CitiField to Cheer on Alumnus Pedro Alvarez ’05, Pittsburgh Pirates Third Baseman in NY Major League Debut I HM Coach Neil Berniker, who taught and coached at The Barnard School, toasted the Barnard alumni. n the immortal words of Casey Stengel, “There’s three things that can happen in a ball game: you can win, you can lose, or it can rain.” Each of those “things” happened at the NY Mets/Pittsburgh Pirates game at Citifield in New York on September 16, 2010. It rained—hard. The team lost—the visiting Pirates team that is. But the win was a big one for over 150 Horace Manners who braved the storm and gathered at the stadium to cheer on one of their own: Pedro Alvarez ’05. Alvarez, a star baseball player at Horace Mann School who was the number two draft pick in the 2008 Major League Baseball draft while still a student at Vanderbilt, was called up from the minors to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the major league on June 16, 2010. Since that time scores of Horace Mann School alumni, coaches, teachers, and friends have been following his every hit. Some even traveled to Pittsburgh or games in cities across the country to catch him on the road. The chance to see Alvarez in his own home town was a chance for the Horace Mann School community to put aside any team loyalty and root for “our guy.” And so they came. Gathered behind the third base side were Alvarez’ former Horace Mann School Lions teammates, his classmates, coaches, teachers, staff and those HM parents of players who had cheered him from the sidelines alongside Pedro’s parents, just as the Alvarez family raised their voices for their son’s Lions teammates. Horace Mann Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly enjoyed the game with his wife, HM parent Dr. Rachel Kelly, and daughter Emma ’18. Dressed in bright white T-shirts with HM on the front and “Alvarez 17” on the back the 42 Horace Mann Magazine Fall/Winter 2010-11 photo by Ruth Seligman

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010-11

Horace Mann Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010-11
Contents
Letters
Greetings from Dr. Tom Kelly, Horace Mann School Head of School
Greetings From Melissa Parento, Horace Mann School Director of Development
Horace Mann School Today
Dr. Tom Kelly Looks Back, and Forward, with Appreciation
Patricia Zuroski Launches New Diversity Initiative
Marcia Levy is New Head of Nursery Division
News of the School
Alumni Council Corner
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials
Philanthropy and You

Horace Mann Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010-11