Horace Mann - Spring 2010 - (Page 5)

Director of Development letter from the director of development I t is hard to imagine that another Horace Mann School year is drawing to a close. As I walk through campus to attend assemblies and events the excitement of the students we see throughout the year and the energy that teachers apply to their students’ learning are in as high gear now as they were at the school year’s beginning. Among the alumni and parents with whom I work in the Alumni House and Development Office nothing ever slows down. We have just experienced the annual HM Parents Association Benefit held at Yankee Stadium. A fabulous event, it also significantly supports Horace Mann School. Following that is the HM Alumni Council’s Spring Benefit “A Night at the Races plus Casino Fun”—a lively affair that annually raises funds to enhance the lives of current HM students. Being part of the support systems for such events is a source of fulfillment. Yet, it is harder still to imagine that as we, in the Alumni House, also plan for Homecoming 2010, the event will include my own Class’ 20th reunion. Twenty years. That’s the definition of a generation. Has a generation passed, and a new generation grown up since my friends and I read our Norton Anthologies in Mr. McCutcheon’s class, captured a girl’s field hockey championship, and produced “Pirates of Penzance”? It’s hard to imagine. Perhaps this milestone seems to have come upon me so swiftly because I remain in touch with many of my classmates. How could we not be in touch, when the days we spent at HM united us in so many ways? The result is that life since Horace Mann seems part of a continuum. In a way it is, for, over the past “generation” as each of us have pursued our education, and gone on to immerse ourselves in our professions, we’ve heard voices of support from our HM friends. While some of us have started companies, written books, produced music, pursued scientific discovery, and begun raising families, starting a new next generation of our own, we’ve been there for one another—whether in person, with a phone call, or a silent smile while flipping through the pages of a classmate’s novel. As you know, my own journey brought me back to Horace Mann, to work on behalf of the School that gave me so much. There were many adjustments that first year, but one thing didn’t change. As soon as I returned to Horace Mann, I returned to a life of learning. However, this time I was not learning the enhanced studies we all experienced in our classrooms, but what it takes to enable so vibrant an intellectual experience, and maintain and expand upon the enriched offerings in the arts, athletics and co-curricular activities we benefited from, and that is HM’s legacy for current and future students. I learned what it takes for a school to evolve, as HM is constantly doing. A recent example is the renovation of the John Dorr Nature Laboratory toward becoming an environmentally-sustainable campus, as described in this issue of Horace Mann Magazine. The issue also discusses the many other initiatives toward sustainability that Horace Mann School is pursuing, including our own office’s effort to help protect the environment our students will inherit, by providing you with a “green” option of receiving the magazine in its online edition. Access to the online edition is available through emailed links, and through links displayed on www.horacemann.org/alumni/Horace Mann Magazine, on HM’s Facebook page, and Twitter feed. If you decide to receive the magazine online rather than in print, please let us know your preference by emailing magazine@horacemann.org and writing “online only” in the subject line. I’ve also learned what it means for a community to come together in good times, and in times of need, as Horace Mann School was forced to do this past February upon the loss of our beloved teacher and mentor Dean Randal Castleman. And, I’ve learned what it means for a community to remember his inspiration, so that we can continue to thrive. Homecoming will take place this year on Saturday, October 2, 2010. It’s an event the entire Horace Mann School community enjoys. Reunions are scheduled for classes from years ending in “0” and “5”. I hope to see you there. Sincerely, Melissa Murphy Parento ’90 Director of Development Horace Mann Magazine Spring 2010 5 http://www.horacemann.org/alumni/Horace

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Spring 2010

Horace Mann - Spring 2010
Contents
Letters
Greetings from Dr. Tom Kelly
Greetings from Melissa Parento
Toward a Sustainable School, and a Sustainable Society
News of the School
Alumni Council Corner
Alumni News
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials
Philanthropy and You

Horace Mann - Spring 2010