R o l a n d P a r k C o u n t r y S c h o o l [ 1 ]

LeafR o l a n d P a R k C o u n t R y S C h o o l • F a l l 2 0 1 0

Laurel PCS was pleased to pres-ent internationally re-nowned educator, author

and psychologist Dr. JoAnn Deak as the Sarah Crane Co-hen Visiting Scholar in the Humanities at the endowed

Crane Lecture on October 25 followed

by Coffee and Conversation for parents on the morning of October 26 and presenta-tions to students in Grades 3–12. Dr. Deak addressed students by describing The Magic Decade—the time from 10–20 years old when their brains are stretching, growing and informing the

adults they will become. She spoke about the importance of exercise, nutrition and sleep on an adolescent’s grow-ing brain. Sleep, more than anything else, enhances the daily functioning and the long-term growth of the brain.

New, emerging brain research suggests that while character de-velopment happens throughout life, learning to understand others in childhood is the best predictor for happiness and success. Empathy and sympathy are becoming lost in our culture with the advent of social networks, texting and other technologies

that eliminate personal connections. We need to work hard to help our students learn to understand and feel for others.

The Magic Decade

Jean Waller Brune and Dr. JoAnn Deak

Dr. Deak also illustrated the importance of exercise to help girls thrive. Twenty to thirty minutes of high level exercise gives your brain a boost for two to four hours—a perfect com-bination for learning success. A breakfast of protein, fat and complex carbohydrates also fuels the brain in the same way as exercise.

As the brain research be-comes more prevalent Dr. Deak hopes that schools will adapt over time to align sched-ules and curriculum with brain

development. At RPCS we continually reflect on our program, and Dr. Deak acknowledged and praised the exemplary national reputation of both Head of School

Jean Waller Brune and the in-stitution stating, “saying you are from Roland Park Country School will open doors.” RPCS especially appreciated hear-ing from Dr. Deak on ways to teach and reach the girls and young women in our care as we

help them thrive by nurturing and providing aerobics for their brains.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Deak’s new book, Your Fantastic Elastic Brain, is a children’s book that teaches about the brain in a fun and engaging way. It will be available November 26, 2010.

Clearly JoAnn Deak needs no introduction to the Roland Park Country School community. In the past decade Dr. Deak has visited RPCS several times to offer professional development to our faculty on teaching girls the way they learn best through her groundbreaking brain research. In addition, she has held numerous parenting workshops to offer insight into the world of raising confident and courageous daughters. Her updated edition of How Girls Thrive which was one of the RPCS employee summer reading books is particularly compelling and relevant as it discusses social networks and cyber bullying.

Funded by former Trustee and past parent James G. Robinson, the second an-nual Robinson Health Colloquium, A Cyber World of Trouble, was held in Oc-tober. Katie Koestner, Executive Director of Campus Outreach Services and Take Back the Night Foundation, a national expert on student safety and wellness, along with Nancy Conrad, a partner with White and Williams LLP presented to RPCS students, employees and parents.

During the two-day colloquium, it was stated in a variety of different ways and in a variety of different forums, but the message was clear: Everything that is put on the World Wide Web or texted on mobile devices is trackable, trace-able and retrievable and our “digital footprint” may have negative, life-changing consequences.

Katie and Nancy’s presentations encompassed many issues pertaining to the legal and social ramifications of irresponsible use of technology, stressing the importance of maintaining authenticity in online personas. They used real-life scenarios and case studies to relate to the audience. The students delved further

into these case studies in break-out groups, led by Campus Outreach Services presenter April Tatta where they thought about their individual choices and how they may have an immediate impact on the School community.

At the parent lecture and coffee, the presenters emphasized the importance of parent awareness and involve-ment as well as the importance of setting the appropriate example. Parents were encouraged to make use of parental control technology that is available. As Katie explained, “the goal of this program is to keep doors open for students.” Thanks to the generosity of

James G. Robinson, RPCS students have the tools and knowledge to procure a future with limitless possibilities.

Trackable,Traceable, RetrievableTrackable, Traceable, Retrievable

Nancy Conrad, Katie Koestner and April Tatta

About the Sarah Crane Cohen Visiting Scholar in the Humanities LectureThrough the generosity of the late Charles Crane, a Baltimore businessman and philanthropist, an endowment was established at Roland Park Country School in 1993. This fund was created in loving memory of Mr. Crane’s mother, Sarah Crane Cohen, a warm and compassionate woman who possessed a genuine fondness for all people. The Sarah Crane Cohen Visiting Scholar in the Humanities endowment brings a distinguished educator to campus each year.

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Addy Branson, 2021 and Ryienne Peterson, 2021 at the 2010 Jump Rope for Heart

Dr. Deak spoke about the importance of exercise, nutrition and sleep on an

adolescent’s growing brain.

new

S&NoTeSRed Hot Summer Camp at RPCS participated in providing meals this summer to Our Daily Bread Hot Meal Program. The Campers were happy to partici-pate in this worthwhile program which serves over one quarter of a

million meals to the hungry in Baltimore City.This summer, a team of students in the Envi-

ronmental Science Summer Research Expe-rience for Young Women (E.S.S.R.E.) led by David Brock, Upper School Science, was able to demonstrate that the new storm water man-agement system installed beneath the synthetic turf fields has stabilized the nitrogen cycle in the soil in the research site closest to the Ath-letic Complex and that the storm water man-agement system has helped stabilize the native planting on the hillside running down into the backwoods. E.S.S.R.E. is also featured in Chap-ter 11 of Exemplary Science for Resolving Societal Challenges for addressing the issue of nurtur-ing women’s interests in science. David Brock won the first annual “Make My LabWoRx” lesson plan competition sponsored by Astellas Pharma, U.S. for the anatomy and physiology of the human heart. He was awarded a $3,000 gift certificate towards the purchase of scientific lab equipment for the School.

The Juanita Jackson Mitchell Multicul-tural Center’s traveling exhibit, Crusader for Freedom, a collection of personal photographs given to RPCS by the family of Juanita Jackson Mitchell, is on display at the Enoch Pratt Free Library through February.

Addy Branson, 2021 raised $250 for the Baltimore Coun-ty Fallen Fire-fighters Fund, whose purpose is to provide funds for firefighters and their families in times of need.

Fifth grader students Grace Watts, Vivian

Owens and Emma Shaw, along with their teacher Mary Beth Dyer, participated in the Bicycle Survey sponsored by the City’s Transporta-tion Department to document the increase in bike ridership in Balti-more City. Mary Beth Dyer was selected to be part of the timeline in the Gen-erations for Justice exhibit at the new Maryland Women’s Heritage Center that features his-torical and contemporary women working for women’s rights and civil rights.

Congratulations to Anne Holly, 2013 who won the Country Club of York’s Junior Girls Tennis Championship for the second year in a row in September. In the finals, she beat a se-nior in a long, three-set match.

Meghan Fawcett, 2012 spent the month of August as an intern in the lab at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences working with The Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study team on two projects. She assisted on the PoP project (Particulate of Organic Phosphorous) measur-ing phosphorous levels at various depths in the Sargasso Sea. She also assisted a PhD candidate on her Algae Bio diesel project.

Five AP Photography seniors: Jodi Askew, Jinny Kim, Jenné Matthews, Casey Merbler

and Cameron Steadley have work on display at the Yerman, Witman, Gaines & Conklin Re alty Photography Exhibit.

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Addy Branson, 2021

Mary Beth Dyer with students

Casey Merbler, 2011

ach year The Curriculum Ini-tiative (TCI), a Jewish organi-zation that works with schools and their Jewish awareness student clubs to boost cultural awareness, asks a school to build a sukkah and host Suk-kot on their campus. This year,

RPCS was the host. Sukkot, sometimes called the Fes-

tival of Booths, is a week-long harvest holiday during which Jewish people recall their time in the desert after liberation from slavery in Egypt. It is also reminiscent of the biblical fall harvest, and the tradition of living out in the fields to ease the burden of traveling to and from the fields each day of the harvest. To celebrate the holiday which was from sundown on September 22—sundown on Octo-ber 1, Jews traditionally build sukkot (singular: sukkah), temporary huts. RPCS built its sukkah with help from the RPCS community.

During the festival, it is custom-ary to “dwell” (eat—and even to

sleep) in the sukkah. The sukkah is customarily decorated with autumn fruit and vegetables, and the roof is made of branches, providing more shade than sun, but still allowing the stars to be seen at night.

The sukkah is a place of gathering, celebration and learning. In this all school effort, many different RPCS grade levels and groups visited the sukkah and used it in an array of dif-ferent ways. The Kindergarten stu-dents brought their lunches, read a story and discussed what they were thankful for, Middle School students visited the Sukkah during advisory and some Upper School classes were held in it. Students in each division learned about the holiday during presentations by juniors Sasha Fran-kel and Rebecca Band, Co-Presidents of the Jewish Heritage Club, which gave these visits more meaning. Hav-ing the sukkah on campus enabled the entire RPCS community to im-merse themselves in a tradition they may not have been familiar with.

This is what we need to build a sukkah. Wood and branches, hammer and nails.

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Above: The RPCS Community builds a sukkah.Below: RPCS, Bryn Mawr and Gilman Jewish Heritage Clubs

Kent Summer Sabbaticals 2010 ing island. She visited The Bermuda National Library and the children’s library. She purchased several Bermuda-themed books for the Lower School Library, including three whimsical stories from local author Elizabeth A. Mulderig. She looks forward to sharing these, as well as her best photographs, with her enthusiastic readers in the Lower School.

Dana HamiltonSchool NurseDana traveled to Caberete, D o m i n i c a n Republ ic to p u r s u e h e r own personal health and well being. She focused on nutrition, stress reduction and trained for a 10K race. The highlight of the trip was an adven-ture to the 27 Charcos of Rio Damaj-agua. At this national park, she hiked up a mountain on a nature trail and encountered many beautiful species of tropical plants and animals. To return, she slid down the waterfalls, jumped off cliffs and swam in pools etched out of limestone rock. Dana’s passion is to promote health and wellness to students in all three divisions through education, focusing on the importance of exercise, nutrition, sleep and mental wellness.

Maria HamptonMiddle School Dean of StudentsMaria traveled to Beijing, Datong, Chengde, Xi’an, and Huhhot. She walked Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City and enjoyed Chinese opera and a dance performance. She visited Cuandixia (a village preserved from the Ming and Qing Dynasties) with houses built into the rock face of a mountain. In Xi’an, she spent

The Kent Summer Sabbatical Pro-gram was endowed in 1999 by the Kent Family Foundation to support curriculum development, skill and knowledge development, professional renewal and validation of education as a career. The Summer Sabbatical Program was initiated by the Board of Trustees and Head of School in 1996 to provide a focused, enriching experience for those engaged in long-term careers at RPCS.

Kati ColombatUpper School Foreign LanguageKati traveled to Brittany, France to concentrate on three aspects of Breton history and culture. She participated in workshops in the Breton dialect of the Celtic language. She also attended the International Festival of Celtic music in Lorient, France as well as local music festivals where she learned regional dances. Kati visited the huge number of menhirs, dolmen, and tumuli in and around Carnac, France, which date from the Neolithic period (4,000 to 3,000 BC ). She interviewed local resi-dents and tourists about the legends of this region, many of which attempt to explain the origin and purpose of the megalithic structures whose exact pur-pose remains unresolved by historians. Kati is looking forward to sharing the language, dances, history, and legends of this region with her classes this fall.

Beverly EdwardsLower School LibrarianBeverly trav-eled to Ber-muda and explored the beauties and wonders of the enchant-

time at the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum which is still an active archaeological dig. In Hohhot (Inner Mongo-lia), Hongmei Zhang, who taught Chinese at RPCS, was her host. She visited two high schools; met with Hongmei’s colleagues and students; attended a traditional Mongolian wedding; and traveled to the grasslands where she stayed in a yurt and visited Genghis Khan’s Mau-soleum. As a teacher, this experience enables Maria to understand better the increasingly diverse RPCS community.

Rebecca HansonUpper School HistoryRebecca spent several weeks explor-ing many historic sites in Germany in hopes of seeing how events such as the rise of Nazi party and its consequences were remembered and marked. She

e x p l o r e d t h e “Memoria l to the Murdered Jews of Europe” directly across from the Ameri-can Embassy at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the small plaque

in an archway at the old town hall in Munich marking the November 9 Pogrom (Kristallnacht) and the Docu-mentation Centers throughout Ger-many in which the public is invited to examine the historic records in a most literal sense. She also spent time speaking with Germans about how their nation examines its history. As this school year begins, Rebecca has a whole new pocket full of material to explore with her students.

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ODestroyed but not DefeatedOctober 15, 2010 marked the 30th anniversary of the march from the University Parkway campus of Roland Park Country School to the current campus. The fol-lowing, written by Laura Killebrew Finney, 1987 was excerpted from the RPCS Centennial Book, A Place in Our Hearts.

On the afternoon of November 26, 1976, a passer-by noticed smoke coming out of the roof of the new Upper School wing of Roland Park Country School and noti-fied the fire department. By the time the fire fighters reached the scene, the blaze had escalated to a five-alarm fire. It was midnight before the blaze was under control and the new head of the Board of Trustees, Her-bert Witz, was able to assess the situation. Within the new wing, the entire third floor had been destroyed, and there was major damage to the first and second floors. Mr. Witz hoped that the school would be able to reopen some time the next week, but he realized that there was a new imperative for the Board to decide whether RPCS should remain on its present campus. Because the

University Parkway campus was too small to afford any future growth, the Board decided that the school must move and set about a search for property.

In October of 1980, the new school was at last ready for its students. Drawing on some inner strength and the support of the school, Mr. Lenci, brought RPCS to one of its proudest moments. On October 15, 1980, at 12:07 p.m., the bells tolled for the final time at 817 West University Parkway. With banners declaring “RPCS On The Move!” 550 students and 100 faculty and staff pa-raded up Roland Avenue. Each student carried some-thing from the old school. The owners and workers of Eddie’s Supermarket on Roland Avenue stood out on the sidewalk, giving apples to the participants, while

students and teachers from Gilman, Bryn Mawr and Roland Park Public School gathered with signs welcoming the RPCS girls to the neigh-borhood. After so much debate as to whether to stay or relocate and after four years of hard work, Roland Park Country School had a new home at 5204 Ro-land Avenue.

(written on a chalk board the day after the fire)

Ady Pié, 2011 has been selected to be part of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Net-work (GLSEN) Jumpstart student leader team. The Jump-Start program trains students in ways to create positive change by developing their leadership skills and coalition-building abilities.

Angela Leasca, 2011 represented not only RPCS but also the Unit-ed States as part of the International Girls’ Forum at the National Coalition

of Girls’ Schools annual conference in New Or-leans in June. Angela was elected by her peers—ten students from the U.S., Canada and Austra-lia—to lead the International Girls’ Forum.

Alexandra Day, 2011 received a certificate for superior writing from the National Council of Teachers of English Achievement in Writing Program. This school-based writing program encourages high school students in their writing and recognizes publicly some of the best student writers in the nation.

Leah Osterman, 2009 directed Antigone for the Yale Dramatic As-sociation, the largest undergraduate theatre organization at Yale. She also wrote the play, A Silent Duck, which the Footlights Theatre Ensemble performed at the All-School Opening Day Convocation.

Congratulations to Ashley Grebow, 2009 who was accepted into the Kelley Business School at Indiana University and her sister Mel-anie, 2009 who was accepted into the James Scholar Honors Program in the Business School at the University of Illinois.

Kenny Likes, 2009 contributed to Cervical Ribs—A Rare Entity but Clinically Significant, a scientific session that was presented at the 24th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Vascular Society.

Laura Keenan, 2006, Patty Kelly, 2006, Chelsea Kirk, 2006 and Carrie Gamper, 2007 were named to the 2010 Intercollegiate Wom-en’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll.

RPCS connections were present in Baltimore City in September at the 20th Annual Breakfast Meeting of the Baltimore Community Relations Commission. Peggy K. Wolf, Director of Ad-missions and Financial Assistance, serves on the commission with parent Joseph Brown, P’2013.RPCS alumna Diane Hutchinson, 1972, Di-rector of the Mayor’s Office of Governmental Relations and Kim McConkey, 2002, Assistant to the Mayor, also attended.

Kathleen Curtis, Admissions Associate, Kathie Kreiger and Katrina McPher-son, Bear Essentials, completed the Aflac Irongirl Columbia Triathlon. Kathie also participated in the half-marathon at the Baltimore Run-ning Festival in Oc-

tober along with Director of Finance Duncan Booth; Upper School History Eliza McLaren Middle School Head Verna Moore; Assistant Director of Communication Kristin Nicolini; Upper School Science Rod Tiplady and Direc-tor of Technology Phyllis Tripp.

The Sally Nyborg E. Field Hockey Invitation-al is held annually to commemorate the life of Sally Nyborg, 1999. This year, the event raised nearly $2200 for the Hopkins Lupus Research Fund.

In October, 69 people participated in the Race for the Cure on the RPCS team—Chilis for a Cause. The team raised $3,665 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the global leader of the breast cancer movement.

news & notes (continued from page 2)

Angela Leasca, 2011

Leah Osterman, 2009

Kathleen Curtis, Kathie Kreiger and Katrina McPherson

RPCS team members Ellie Murphy, 2011, Jordi Pollack, 2011, Meggie Ramzy, 2011 Nikki Hudson, 2013 and Maddie Muth, 2013

University’s first class of women. Fol-lowing graduate school at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia where she was a Shermet Scholar, Rhona became a Chartered Fi-nancial Analyst and worked at T. Rowe Price Associates as an Assistant Equity Analyst and at Alex Brown as a Se-nior Associate in Investment Banking. From 1998–2000, she was a substitute teacher at Friends and Calvert Schools. Rhona’s philanthropic interests include the United Way, Center for Urban Families, the Nature Conservancy, the Open Society Institute and Teach for America on whose Baltimore Board she currently serves. Rhona completed a one-year term ex officio as co-chair of the 2009–2010 Annual Giving Cam-paign. She is also a member of the RPCS Capital Campaign Committee and is a member of the Kaleidoscope Advisory Board.

Kimberly Mitchell Wolff, 1995 will serve a two-year term, ex officio, on the Board of Trustees as incoming President of the RPCS Alumnae As-sociation. She graduated from Boston University’s School of Management with a concentration in marketing. She earned an MBA at Wake Forest Uni-versity while working at Muzak where, over a ten year period, she served as Di-rector of Marketing, Director of Sales Development and currently Director of Client Relations. Her community service includes the Greater Baltimore Medical Center’s Pet Therapy Team, the Muzak Heart and Soul Foundation and Church of Redeemer’s Parish Day School. Kim has been an active mem-ber of the RPCS Alumnae Board for the past four years.

Carol Witz Hunt, 1976 is the Execu-tive Director of the Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Memorial Foundation and has been instrumental in its philanthropic support for independent schools. Carol was a member of the semiquavers and is a graduate of Grinnell College where

Larry E. Jennings is a Senior Manag-ing Director and one of the founders of ValStone Partners, a private equity in-vestment company. Formerly a principal of Carnegie Morgan Partners, Larry is a former Managing Director and invest-ment banker with Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc. He received a BS in Math-ematics and Economics and an MS in Industrial Administration (MBA) from Carnegie Mellon University, where he now serves on the Board of Trustees and sits on the Investment and Library Committees and previously co-chaired the Math Curriculum Advisory Board. He is Chairman and member of the Investment Committee of the Morgan State University Foundation; a Public Advisor and investment committee member for the State Retirement and Pension System of Maryland; former Chairman of Boys Hope Girls Hope of Baltimore; current chairman of the National Foundation for Teaching En-trepreneurship and on the Board of the Profit Value Funds.

Mary Page Michel worked most recently as a consultant to start-up programs including the Baltimore City Mayoral Fellowship. She taught Entrepreneurship at Loyola University for many years. From 1996 to 2000 she was a senior consultant with Baltimore Advisors, a non-profit consulting firm that worked with high growth potential firms in Baltimore City and also worked for seven years for a national wholesale distributer. Mary Page received a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. She serves or recently served on the Board of the Baltimore Station, the Police Athletic League, the Archdiocese of Baltimore Child Abuse Review Board, the Roland Park Civic League and Stage One of the Baltimore School for the Arts.

Rhona H. Wendler earned degrees in French and Business Commerce as a member of Washington and Lee

she earned a BA in Anthropology, with concentrations in Art and Music. Ear-lier in her professional life, she became the first woman surveyor in the state of Maryland. Currently, Carol is active in her church community and has sung with the Handel Choir of Baltimore for nearly 25 years. In addition to service on the Parents’ Association Executive Committee and as 30th Reunion Plan-ning Chair for the Class of 1976, Carol also volunteers with the Mid-Atlantic German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue as a fosterer and fundraiser. As President of the RPCS Parents’ Association, Carol will serve a one year term, ex officio, on the Board of Trustees for 2010–2011.

Ronald (Ron) O. Schaftel will serve a one-year term, ex officio, on the Board of Trustees as the 2010–2011 Co-Chair of Annual Giving. Ron graduated Presi-dent of his Senior Class from the Balti-more Polytechnic Institute in Baltimore in 1977 and went on to the University of Maryland where he studied engineer-ing and business. In 1983 he co-found-ed the Southern Land Company and was President of the Maryland Home Builders Association, Baltimore Coun-ty Chapter for two years. He was on the Baltimore County Department of Rec-reation and Parks Local Open Space Committee that established standards and procedures to guide the Depart-ment in the creation of a Local Open Space and Greenway system within Baltimore County. He was elected in 2004 to serve as President of the Home Builders Association of Maryland. After serving his tenure, he was honored with the “Builder of the Year” award, in rec-ognition of his outstanding service to the Association and building industry. Ron and his wife Karen served as RPCS Annual Giving Grade Chairs twice, pri-or to joining the 2010 Senior Parents Giving Effort Committee.

RPCS Welcomes New Trustees

RPCS on the Move!

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Kent Summer Sabbaticals 2010

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Ruth MillerUpper School MathRuth traveled to the Goethe Institute in Berlin for two weeks to study German. She lived in a flat in Berlin Mitte and

walked to school every day. She vis-ited many museums and other attrac-tions while totally immersing herself in the German language. Ruth also visited her original host family near Frankfurt, and the teachers at Landrat-Lucas, our RPCS exchange partner in Leverkusen Germany. She went to Dresden to see the Mayan Codex, an original document from the Yucatán Peninsula which includes the Mayan number system (and arguably the first consistent use of a written symbol for zero in the history of the world) and also visited the Arithmetic Museum in Bonn, where she saw a variety of calcu-lating machines, including an Enigma machine, Pascale’s Calculating Engine and a TI 84 Plus calculator. Ruth was able to combine two intellectual pursuits into a wonderful experience learning and talking about math in German.

Rodney RiceUpper School EnglishRodney traveled to Europe to explore the Roman Empire and its influence on western literature, art and architec-

ture. He began in England, starting at Windsor Castle. He then traveled north to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the home of William Shakespeare and the setting that inspired much of his writing. Later, he rediscovered Bath, walked around the Roman ruins adja-cent to the Abbey and imagined how this tranquil setting evolved into a place of restoration and contempla-tion, first for the Romans and then for Britain’s aristocracy. Rodney toured the ancient remains of Stonehenge. He

went to Paris to learn about Veronese’s paintings and the Hammurabi Code at the Louvre before going onto Rome to begin a course examining early Chris-tian art and architecture. He explored relics of temples and synagogues and examined a mosaic tile floor depict-ing sporting events in Ostia Antica. Rodney concluded his sabbatical with a museum tour of Florence and a hik-ing excursion to Cinque Terre on the northeast coast of Italy. Being able to see how history lives on in art and architecture is an experience that will help Rodney engage students in litera-ture from multiple perspectives.

Maggie RogersUpper School EnglishMaggie traveled to Wyoming and South Dakota to research a forthcom-ing senior elective entitled Literature of the American West. She visited Mt. Rushmore, a very literal instance of European Americans writing their history upon the landscape. She took an excursion to Crazy Horse Memo-rial, a huge mountainside carving celebrating the Lakota warrior who defeated Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Maggie also climbed Harney Peak, the highest of the Black Hills. She enjoyed mountain biking on the “open range,” rides which featured sev-eral close encounters with the region’s primary export—cattle. Visits to The Black Hills Institute and The Borglum Museum underscored the dangers fac-ing a uniquely beautiful region that is also rich in uranium, timber, coal and oil. This journey provided a vital way for Maggie to choose the books and frame the questions for an elective intended to explore the spirit and the promise of the American West.

Barrie SiglerLower School HeadBarrie traveled to three National Parks in the Sierra Mountains to see the Giant Sequoias which tower in spe-cific spots according to precise condi-tions. The trees are the largest living thing in the world, attaining heights of almost 300 feet and widths 35–50 ft.

T h e y a r e often long-l i v e d , a s m a n y a s 3,500 years. Barr ie was awed by the magnificence of the natural phenomena in Yosem-

ite Valley. Barrie ended her trip by crossing the San Joaquin Valley to the Coastal Mountains to seek out other Sequoias, the Redwoods. Inspired by her sabbatical, Barrie is looking for-ward to visiting more National Parks and expanding her knowledge of the United States.

Carla Spawn van-BerkumAssistant Head of School for AcademicsCarla traveled to Europe, visit-ing Holland, Germany and Swit-zerland. The first leg was a seven day bike and barge trip through North Holland. Each day, she rode her bike approximately 40–60 km, meeting up with the barge at the next stopping place. The experience was very “authentically” Dutch and the

exposure to sites, culture and food was wonderful. The second part of the trip was a visit to Leverkusen, Germany. RPCS has a very active exchange pro-gram with the Landrat Lucas Gym-nasium. Carla stayed with Mareike, a teacher at Lan-drat Lucas who had s t a yed with Carla’s family while leading a stu-dent group to RPCS two years ago. The third stop was Basel Switzerland, where Carla had the opportunity to explore Basel, take a day trip up to the Alps, and travel to Lake Lucerne. The final stop was Den Haag, Holland, where Carla vis-ited with her aunt and explored places of interest to Carla’s family, including the Indisch Memorial (honoring the Dutch who were interned under the Japanese during World War II) and her grandparents’ house (where Carla spent a summer when she was six). Carla particularly enjoyed seeing how European’s addressed the issue of sus-tainability and looks forward to shar-ing these approaches with the RPCS community.

The Laurel Leaf is published quarterly throughout the school year for the Roland Park Country School community.

Editor/Assistant Director of Communication: Kristin Raneri Nicolini, 1998 Head of School: Jean Waller Brune Director of Marketing and Communication: Nancy Mugele

Design: Brushwood Graphics Design Group Printer: Mount Royal Printing

RPCS news is welcomed and should be sent to nicolinik@rpcs.org.

Jinny Kim, 2011. Photo of Roses Reperatory Dance Company

Did you know that:You can support A Place in Our Hearts, the capital cam-paign, with a planned gift and receive campaign credit for the face value of your gift?

For information, please contact Ginny Wood Delauney, Director of Gift Planning, at (410) 323-5500, ext. 3139 or delauneyg@rpcs.org.