from China. “My wife and I have learned quite a lot fromhosting Cynthia,” says Mr. Church, “and we’re learningmore each day.”

A number of students and alumni come from internationalfamilies or have spent time overseas. Tyler Weiss ’15 regularlytravels to Australia, his father’s homeland. Upper School students Terry ’12 and Jay ’15 Kim are originally from SouthKorea. Alumnus Brian King ’87 and his family have lived several years in Spain and Hong Kong, and David McIlnay‘83 lived and worked in France for many years. “Havinginternational students in class with us brings a new perspective,”says Julia Rogers ’12, “because through these students weexperience their cultural traditions and their approaches tolearning.”

Students at Country Day have many opportunities tolearn about and experience the world outside of their community. In the classroom or spending time with international friends, theytighten their global ties every day and learn to navigate the ever-shrinkingworld.

In this Issue:

In the ClassroomsMartin Luther King DaySportsAlumni NotesMystery Photos

Country Day has connections all around the globe! From

foreign-exchange students to travelingalumni and in-class service projects, students make global connections every day.

Last fall, Lower School students learnedhow much they had in common with children abroad through their CharacterEducation program. Every morning, classes would discussone of Country Day’s core virtues and how people practice it all around the world. Once a month, the entire LowerSchool would meet, and one class would present their ideasthrough skits and other activities.

Seeing this program, the Parents’ Association decided topartner with the fair-trade organization, Ten Thousand Villages,for the annual Holiday Bazaar. The sale was a huge success,raising over $4,400 for Ten Thousand Villages.

In the spring, a group of fifth graders decided to do asimilar fundraiser. “After the children saw what came out of the Holiday Bazaar, they decided to do their own TenThousand Villages,” says Mary Duttera, Assistant Head ofSchool. Lower School students gave up their recesses to makea variety of items, including beaded bracelets, origami andnote cards, to sell at the spring concert. “People were verygenerous,” said Mary Duttera. The sale raised over $1,200for Heifer International and $500 for the American Red Cross.

In addition to reaching out to organizations, Country Dayalso opens its doors to students from other countries. Theschool has a history of welcoming exchange students fromall over the world, most recently Sebastian Chirolae ’11 ofRomania and Robin Broecker ’12 from Germany. Currently,Upper School teacher Asa Church is hosting Cynthia He ’13

Making the Big World

“Small byDesign”A group of international exchange students from

the 1990s.

Winter/Spring 2012

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to pick upyour life and move to a foreign country? David Tuten is

the man to ask.Mr. Tuten graduated from the Naval Academy with a

degree in naval engineering and oceanography. Before comingto York Country Day in 1993, he spent two years as programdirector of the Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center innorthern Baltimore. Now Mr. Tuten teaches 9th grade biology and U.S. math.

In 2002, he and his family packed their bags and set outto experience a different culture. They selected Costa Ricabecause his wife speaks Spanish. They were also attracted toits stable government and its location. For a year, the familylived in Tilaràn, a small town in the Tilaràn Mountains ofnorthwestern Costa Rica.

They brought only what would fit in their suitcases,choosing to leave their TV and car at home. They lived likean average Costa Rican family, sending the kids to localschools, doing errands on foot, and spending time with neigh-bors. “The people there are eager to welcome you into theirhome and teach you about their culture,” says Mr. Tuten.

The Tutens had many memorable experiences during theirstay. They visited the rainforest, volunteered in a national

park and went to the beach withneighbors. One of Mr. Tuten’sfavorite memories is helping afriend drive her cattle down amountain and later butchering adead bull with a pocketknife. “I didn’t have a machete likeeveryone else,” says Mr. Tutenlaughingly, “but I did have mypocketknife with me.”

Mr. Tuten carries his experi-ences over to the classroom,where he teaches students aboutCosta Rica’s goals for sustainable

energy. “Tilaràn produces a lot of hydro-electric power froma nearby lake and also makes 5% of its power from wind-mills,” says Mr. Tuten.

To anyone that plans to travel, he says, “Pack light!” Healso says the visitor must adapt to the country’s ways, notmake the locals bend to your needs. Above all, Mr. Tutenadvises, “Go off the beaten path to live like the locals do.”According to Mr. Tuten, that is how you meet the most people and make the best memories.

David Tuten with daughter Abigail ’14

PreschoolDid you ever dream ofinventing a machine thatcould fly, build bounce houses or put the fizz insoda? Our Kindergartenersdid just that during theirrecent study of machines.The students learned whatdefines a machine and talkedabout machines that arefamiliar to them, those thatthey see in their everyday

lives. Each student then decided what machine they would like to build. They drew a sketch, thought about how itwould work and then built a three-dimensional model oftheir invention out of recycled materials. Their inventions included a trash-carrier machine, a healing machine (for bandaging cuts), a story-making machine and a table-setting machine. At their Machine Day celebration, the students presented their inventions to an audience of parents and friends.

Lower SchoolPostcards are arriving at school from all over the country –really they are. The first grade is completing their study of the U.S. postal system and has requested friends and family to send postcards from as many states as possible.They are coming from as far away as Hawaii and as close as Maryland. At this writing, the class had 39 states represented and had colored a map to show where the postcards had been mailed. Thank you to everyone in theCountry Day community for helping us gather postcardsfrom far and wide.

Upper SchoolAs winter turns to spring, all Juniors’ thoughts turn to – well,the SATs. Three years ago, Country Day began an in-schoolSAT prep class for the Juniors taught by a local SAT test tutor.The goal of the course is not about material, but rather togive our students actual test-taking skills and strategies.Because we do not give the usual quota of standardized

Bringing Costa Rica to the Classroom

2

In the Classrooms…

A Thank You to Mrs. Duttera

If you spend enough time in schools, you will eventually see a poster that says something like,“Integrity is the way you behave when no one is looking.”A master educator, a true believer in the potential inevery child and a reading magician, Mary Duttera is ashining example to generations of students of the waythey should behave when no one is looking. She is interested in everything – a new word, a newly-discoveredbook, an abandoned bird’s nest in the bushes. She celebrates every triumph and perseveres through everychallenge with every student, making their educationaljourney her own. She is a cheerleader, a coach and a task-master, remixing the proportions of each to fit the situa-tion. Her thirst for expanding her own knowledge is neverquenched and her genuine excitement for learning

every day is palpable.For 31 years at Country

Day, she has taught students,faculty and parents lessonsboth in the classroom andoutside of it. She hasbelieved in children andinspired them. She hasbeen a leader in the schoolcommunity, but her mostpowerful lessons haveoften occurred when noone was watching. As sheretires this spring, we justwant to say: Thank you,Mrs. Duttera.

This year, York Country Day said “bienvenidos” toShannon Hess, the new Middle School Spanish teacher.

This fall, she came to Country Day ready to help studentsbecome fluent with the language, as well as fluent withSpanish culture.

After graduating from Eastern University with a degree inSpanish, Miss Hess spent a year in Spain with the Language

and Culture Ambassadors, aprogram run through theSpanish government. She livedin the small town of Quintanarde la Orden, in the region ofLa Mancha.

During the week, Miss Hessworked in the town’s school,teaching English to childrenand adults, as well as translat-ing other subjects into English.When not working, Miss Hesstraveled all around Spain and

its surrounding countries, exploring the streets and talking tothe people. “The best part of traveling is the people youmeet along the way,” she said. “All the people there are sofriendly and love to joke.” She learned so much about theculture and the language, just from spending time with hernew friends. In her travels, she learned Spanish idioms, cultural traditions and even came home with a new accent.

Miss Hess says that if she could, she would love to takeher students all over Spain. To her, not only does immersionmake you more fluent, it also gives you a new perspectiveon the culture.

Her advice for getting the most out of a trip is, “don’t beafraid to ask for help” and “avoid Americans at all cost.”Being totally immersed and letting local people teach youabout their culture will provide the best – and most interesting –experience. Without this openness, she never could have triedfoods like rabbit brain. “Yep,” Miss Hess said, “I watched myfriend scoop it out of the skull and when she said, ‘Do youwant some?’ I said ‘absolutely!’”

Shannon Hess

Learning Spanish Is About More Than Speaking the Language

3

Mary Duttera

Middle SchoolYou might not find Lewis Town or Metro City on a map of Pennsylvania, but the two cities featured prominently in the lives of our seventhgraders this winter. They participated in theFuture Cities program as part of their scienceclass. Two teams used various online tools andcreated three-dimensional models to build cities.As they completed various aspects of the project,they learned about city planning, power sources,renewable energy, infrastructure and city services.Eight engineers from local companies and theYork College Engineering department came inlate January to review the projects and give feedback to the students about their model cities.

tests to our students, they have less practice with “bubble tests” than other juniors who take the SAT. This course, part of our college counseling curriculum,began in January and ran until the week leading up tothe national SAT test date in early March. The coursegave our students additional confidence and practice asthey took the first round of tests, and we hope it willcontinue to help them earn scores that give them plentyof choices as they enter the college application arena.

Martin LutherKing Day

4

On January 18, in honor of MLK Day, Middle andUpper School students spent the day making a differencein York. Students helped at Re-Source York, Habitat forHumanity, Margaret E. Moul Home, United Way, OurDaily Bread, Salvation Army, Camp Pennwood, theLutheran Home of York, and Wellspan’s Reach Out and Read program.

Our younger students heard stories about speaking upfor what you believe, sang songs about friendship, andcreated a people paper chain celebrating our differences.

Well done, Greyhounds!

Instructors always plan an experiential component for thecamp. Over the years, students have grown their own silk-worms, raced dragon boats in Tyler Run Creek and cookedtraditional food with a Chinese chef. Each year, they alsoreceive lessons in Mandarin and calligraphy.

Lisa Hoffman, parent of Grace Foresman ’21, has run the camp since it opened in 2008. She thinks it is a greatexperience for the non-Chinese siblings who attend, as ithelps them to grow closer to their adopted sibling and “givesthem the experience of being the minority.” But, above all,she enjoys seeing the excitement and amazement adopteesshow in class. “I love seeingthem learn newthings and have asense of pride inwhere they comefrom.”

Hoops for HopeWhen Julia Rogers ’12 heard that Nathan

Hiscox, a Country Day Kindergartener andson of Upper School math teacher MichelleHiscox, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’sLymphoma over the summer, she wanted tohelp. Julia and a group of students began planning the Hoops for Hope Benefit to honorNathan and raise money for the Leukemia andLymphoma Society (LLS). On January 6, as partof the varsity basketball games, the stands werepacked and glowing with the lime green t-shirtsand pom-poms that were the theme for theevening. The students donated more than $1,200 to LLS.

Lower School YogaFirst and third graders are learning about locusts, camels and pigeons

— in gym class! As part of an innovative addition to the Lower Schoolphysical education program, first and third graders are learning yogaposes. Under the guidance of yoga instructor and Country Day parentStacy Hammel, the program seeks to improve students’ relaxation techniques, introduce an alternative form of physical activity and improve muscle strength, endurance and flexibility.

Pack the StandsParents, students and teachers came together to Pack the Stands on

January 26 and support the Middle School basketball teams as they hostedThe Christian School of Grace Baptist Church. Our teams did not disap-point! The girls won in a nail-biter that came down to the final shot, andthe boys maintained their early lead to win their game. Go ‘Hounds!

Where are the Greater Khinghan Mountains? What is therecipe for moon cakes? How does a silkworm make

silk? These are only a few of the questions Chinese adopteesanswered last summer at Chinese Culture Camp, hosted byYork Country Day School and run by the group, Familieswith Children from China.

For three days in June, more than 40 Chinese childrenfrom the York area and their siblings convened to learnabout their heritage. Among them were Country Day students Eva Cihak ’21, Grace Foresman ’21, MargotSchaumann ’18 and Florence Schaumann ’22. The camp was open to children of Chinese heritage between the ages of 4 and 13 and also to their non-Chinese siblings.Teenagers, including Country Day student Meg Brace ’12,also participated by helping with the youngest classes.

Lessons included everything from traditional music toimportant Chinese inventions. In the morning, kids beganwith 15 minutes of Tai Chi and then rotated through fouractivities. For lunch, they ate a traditional Chinese meal withchopsticks. In the afternoon, campers attended two longersessions that expanded on a single topic.

Chinese Heritage Embraced at Camp

5

“Mmmm…” in any language.

Development UpdateDouble Your Gift to Country Day?

It’s easy when you take advantage ofthe Anonymous Family Challenge. TwoYork Country Day graduates and their parents have issued the Challenge, agreeingto match any gift made by alumni or pastparents. Time is running out on the secondyear of the Anonymous Family Challenge.Be sure to make your gift by June 30 todouble your money and help us reach our$25,000 goal! Visit ycds.org and click theGiving Back button to make your gift today.

Rutter’s ProvidesScholarships

Rutter’s has joinedCountry Day as a

Scholarship Partner through a generousEducational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC)gift of $25,000. The EITC program allowsPA businesses to receive a tax credit whenthey make a donation to an approvedorganization. Operating under the York Collegeof Pennsylvania Scholarship Organization,Country Day receives about half of eachyear’s student aid budget through EITC.

“Today, more than ever, charities needthe business community’s financial support,”said Scott Hartman, Rutter’s CEO.“Investing in organizations that educatechildren ... make our communities better.”

To learn more about EITC, contact Kelly Arcieri, Director of Development and

Alumni Programs, at 717-815-6713 orkarcieri@ycds.org.

’06 Katie Kinsley and JarodSmith ‘05, who met while studentsat Country Day, were engagedover Christmas. They are planninga September 2012 wedding.

George Hogg is a second lieutenantin the U.S. Army currently deployedto Afghanistan. He married LaurenDeBaugh on September 25, 2011.George graduated from U.S. ArmyRanger School at the end ofAugust 2011.

’04 Becky Sopchak Coatneysays, “My husband Tyler and Iwelcomed our daughter CharlotteElizabeth into the world on

November 29!We are thrilledto have a beautiful,healthy babygirl, and it waswonderful tospend Christmastogether as anew family!”

’99 Ben Leese and his wife,Abbie, welcomed baby Timothy tothe family on October 27, 2011.Proud grandma Sarah Leese teachesfirst grade at Country Day.

’98 Laura McLoughlin sharedthat she graduated Magna CumLaude from New England Collegewith a Masters of Sciences inBusiness Management. She is currently participating in New YorkUniversity’s Global PhilanthropyCertificate program and working as Assistant to the Executive

Director/Manager of BusinessDevelopment for DiasporaCommunity Services in Brooklyn.She is also traveling in Haiti toDiaspora’s health clinic, CentreMedico Social de Port Au Prince.

’95 Ellen Matesevac writes, “Iam currently living in York workingat Manor Care as a DCD (nursingmanagement position). I have goneback to using my maiden name.My son Andres is 10 years old.”

’94 Brian Maher, MPA washired as the Director of Operationsat the North Star AcademyVailsburg Elementary School inNewark, N.J. The Academy’s missionis using the charter school modelto close the achievement gap forstudents of color in urban schools.To that end, Brian oversees thebudget, facilities and daily opera-tions of a 400-student school toensure that every minute of theday is spent on instructional time.Brian is proud to support thisorganization that consistently ranksas one of the top K-12 educationalinstitutions in New Jersey.

’92 Cal Weary of York hasstarted and is directing a new artsprogram that is a collaborationbetween New Hope AcademyCharter School and the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center.The program aims to create a critical mass of diversity and talent,offering training in theater, dance,tech design, videography, andmusic production. Students workwith local and national professionalsto assist them in auditions andsubmissions to schools of higherlearning.

’73 Chris Kegler reports, “Mywife Madeleine and I had a babyin November. His name is MitchellKegler. We live in Gaithersburg,Md., and I work for the StateDept. in Washington, D.C.”

’60 Susan Euler Smith writes,“Baxter and I continue to loveboating in Florida waters as well as

A lumni NotesMs. Shumway fell in love with Chinese

culture early in her college career.While studying religion and Mandarin atMiddlebury College, she took a year off toteach English to Chinese students. Little didshe know that she would end up living inChina for three years. “I went to improvemy Chinese,” she says, “but I stayed forthe love of the culture.”

Ms. Shumway lived in Dalian City inChina’s LiaoningProvince. During heryear of teaching, shesaw many sides ofChinese society. “Itaught in supposedlygood schools wherethere were no com-puters, the recessarea was a square ofdirt and there were 60 children in a class,”she says. “And then

I went to the poor schools, where thingswere a lot worse.” The experience affectedher greatly: “I learned what it means to livein a developing country,” and to see China“as a living, breathing nation.”

After her year of teaching, she decidedto finish her senior year in one semesterand move back to China, where she stayeduntil 2004. “None of my classmates missedChina like I did,” she says. “I had struckout on my own, made new friends, waspart of a community.”

Ms. Shumway has many fond memoriesof Country Day as well. “Country Dayhelped me see myself as more than just oneface in a crowd,” she recalls. “The individualpersonalities of my classmates were nurturedand my enthusiasm for life was encouraged.”Ms. Shumway mentions that many CountryDay teachers hold special places in hermemory, including David Tuten and RalphEisenhart. She cannot distinguish a singleteacher who affected her the most, statingthat “they were all so valuable to me insuch different ways.”

Today, Ms. Shumway resides in YorkCounty with her husband, Yifei, and twodaughters, ages 5 and 1. She is the administrative coordinator for the MontessoriChildren’s House of York. “The educators I was exposed to at Country Day showedme that education was a valuable field toenter,” she says. Ms. Shumway wouldeventually like to attend graduate school,but wishes for little else. “I’m feeling likemy life is pretty perfect already,” she says.

Julie Shumway ’98

Julie Shumway ’98 anddaughter Verona

6

cruises to Mexico and Bermuda onthe big boats! We spend a greatdeal of time with church work andI co-manage The One World GiftShop, which carries cottage industryitems made in Third World Countries.My son, Baxter V (Chip) lives closeby with his significant other (Gina)and his son. He’s a manager atDSW Shoe Store and satisfies mylove of shoes. Our daughter,Jennifer, is a yoga instructor and booksyoga retreats around the world.She will be returning to L.A. and we will miss her and her twoFrenchies, Viggo & Josie. Our 17-year-old grandson, Baxter VI, is autistic and also lives in Tampa.He’s a sophomore on the honorroll and plays the French horn. Wetook Bax to Arusha, Tanzania, on amission trip with Young Life and toIsrael to walk in Jesus’ footsteps.Amazing! I’d love to hear from oldclassmates on Facebook.”

Mike Brendle says, “This is a yearof travel for my wife and I. We justcame back from a two-week cruiseon the Seine River that focused onFrench Impressionism. It ended atthe beaches of Normandy. Thenwe spent four days in Paris – allthis with old friends from graduateschool. Soon, we’ll leave for threeweeks in Scotland to visit our childrenand grandchildren. At Easter, it istwo weeks to spend with themagain in Scotland. In May, we’re offto Germany for a historical tour. In July the English Lake Region andthen another River cruise fromAmsterdam to Vienna with a 4-daystay in Vienna. Then we will stayat home and focus on being retired.River cruising with old friends orcurrent friends is really fun!”

For Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson ’09 globalcitizenry is routine. Since graduating

from Country Day, she has won a RotaryScholarship to study in France, met theFrench ambassador and interned at theFrench Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Miss Corbin-Johnson is currently asophomore at Georgetown University,majoring in culture and politics and minoring in Muslim-Christian understanding.She is also employed by the GeorgetownPublic Policy Institute and the FrenchEmbassy. “My most memorable time waswhen I got to meet the Ambassador ofFrance, Francois Delattre,” says MissCorbin-Johnson, “an amazing experience I never thought would happen.”

Miss Corbin-Johnson recalls receivingmuch support from Country Day. “I’vehad some really great teachers,” she says.Specifically, “Mr. Littlefield and Mr.Eisenhart, who supported me throughmany hard times.” She is also thankful shechose to study French. “Little did I knowthat decision would give me the proficiencyI needed to live in France for a year.”

Studying in France let her experiencethe culture and traditions she had readabout in school. During the year that shewas there, Miss Corbin-Johnson traveledall over the continent, from Germany toItaly. “I went to these places with otherexchange students from all over theworld,” she says, and ended up withfriends from “almost every country.”

Overall, “I had an amazing year and Iam glad I tried something new. It trulychanged my life.” In the future, MissCorbin-Johnson would like to visitPortugal and Norway. She would also liketo do work in Sub-Saharan Africa with the Peace Corps or the Rotary’s Peace &Conflict Resolution Fellowship. “After thatI would like to go to graduate school,travel and eventually run for President!”And it seems that Miss Corbin-Johnson is well on her way.

Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson ’09

Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson ’09and AmbassadorDelattre

7

The Smith family

’59 Linda Strandwitz Dempseywrites, “Bill and I are still inPittsburgh and have finally retired,

although he isstill writing. Bill’slast assignmenttook us toBuenos Aires fora few weeks –an amazing city– then down tothe FalklandIslands. Quite an

adventure. This past summer wespent time in Sweden with mycousin. Checked out Oslo andCopenhagen as well. I love retire-ment! Our daughters are happilymarried, one in San Francisco andone in Manhattan and of courseour granddaughters are the best.Still volunteering at the hospitaland clinic.”

’57 Joanne Just writes, “Mybrother Bill died three years ago(on December 19). I am presidentof my salt shaker collector’s club.Attended my 50th reunion atGoucher College in April. Went toMoab, Utah, in October to paint at a watercolor workshop.”

Can you believe it’s been 50 years?Phil Bender ‘60 organized hisclassmates to celebrate their50th reunion on October 7,2010. The group met at HeritageHills Golf and Conference centerin York for lunch, shared storiesand snapped photos. Thank youto Phil for reuniting the Class of1960!

Not to be outdone, the Class of 1962 will be hosting a 50threunion in 2012. Bill Frey isworking with Kelly Arcieri atCountry Day to contact classmatesand plan activities. If you wouldlike to help, contact Kelly(karcieri@ycds.org or 717-815-6713)or Bill (wfrey893@verizon.net).

MysteryPhotos

Can you identifythese photos—either the people or the stories behind them? Please e-mail your response tokarcieri@ycds.org.

Thank you to everyone who responded and shared memories regarding the photos printed in the last issue of The Post.

The vertical photograph was taken in biology classduring the 1960-61 school year. The picture displaysone of several dissections done throughout the year.Students pictured are Tom Murray ’63 (left) andJennifer Sechrist Wester ’63 (right). In the middle,Mr. Patterson watches the students work.

At bottom, Upper School studentshead to a Model UN conference at Harvard University. The shot,taken in the mid-1980s, features(left to right) Drew White ’87, John LaBounty ’86, Byron Laird ’87,Brian King ’87, Kristen Keeports ’89,Doug Keeports ’87. The two bendingover the suitcase are DougCampbell ’87(left) andChristy Neff ’87(right).

Visit the York Country Day School websiteon your smartphone – instantly!It is so easy. Just download the free app atwww.scanlife.com, then scan your phoneover the code at left.

Lower School Spring Concert..April 26Middle School/Upper School

Evening of Arts and Music ...April 27Middle School Show

Aladdin ..........................May 17-19Horse Show.............................May 20Lower School

Show What You Know.........May 23Middle School/Upper School

Awards Night.........................June 5Commencement........................June 8

Join us for these upcoming events!