Mar 25, 2018 | Arts, School News
By Udochi Emeghara (V)
On Monday, January 22, the Drama II class held their annual drama assembly showcasing the skills they have worked on throughout the year. This year, the class performed “Appropriate Audience Behavior” by Mr. Ian McWerthy. This play spoofs behaviors that are deemed unacceptable by the theatre community, such as eating during a show or speaking loudly during a production. While this play spans many topics, there were many parts that stood out. Highlights included Stuart Clark (IV) bringing spaghetti on stage and proceeding to eat it and laugh uncontrollably; James Raincsuk (IV) complaining about his tax dollars being spent on terrible chairs; Maddie Pilla (IV) ranting in annoyance at the actions of her peers; Corby Elliot (IV) cheering rambunctiously; Kelsey Ransom (IV) preaching pretentiously; and Helen Baeck-Hubloux (IV) melting down at the end of the play. These are just a few of the moments that made the show so spectacular. The commitment to the art of acting was impeccable and was clearly seen in Josh Thau (IV) and Jessica Hutt’s (IV) portrayals of old people and the way Alexandra Weber (IV), Amy Composto (IV), Julia Guagliardo (IV), and Sonia Talarek (IV) stayed in character throughout the show.
In spite of time constraints, the Drama II class put on a stellar performance. According to Mr. Alan Van Antwerp, the Drama II teacher, the group started rehearsing after winter break: this is customary as Mr. Albert Romano, the former Drama II teacher and head of the Drama department, had always followed this schedule. Since winter break started a week later this year than in the past, this left the Drama II students only five rehearsals to learn all their lines and stage the play.
As it was his first production, Mr. Van Antwerp described the process as nerve-wracking, especially when showing the work to his peers. Still, he said he was lucky to have such talented students who were able to pull off this production. In addition, Mr. Romano was in the audience and congratulated the Drama II students and Mr. Van Antwerp on a job well done. All in all, it is clear that this assembly was received well by the community and that the Drama II class has made the Arts Department very proud.
Mar 25, 2018 | School News
By Felicia Ho (V)
Weaving through the packed audience, the Form II Chinese class opened up the Lunar New Year Assembly with a lively performance of a traditional dragon dance. Dragons are recognized as auspicious creatures in Chinese legend and symbolize good luck for the New Year. The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, begins on February 16 of the Gregorian Calendar, or the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. It lasts around 23 days according to old folk tradition, ending on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the New Year. Based on the Chinese Zodiac twelve-year cycle, this year also marks the arrival of the Year of the Dog.
Brian Li (IV) and Natalie DeVito (II) served as the announcers for the assembly, setting the tone for the rest of the program by noting that the Lunar New Year is an important time of reunion and celebration.
First, Ethan Chung (VI) on the cello and Rebecca Lin (VI) on the violin performed a duet entitled “Swan Geese.” DeVito described the meaning of the title as “swans migrating home as spring approaches… as do so many people around the world as they return to their families during the Lunar New Year.” To bridge the gap between old traditions and new ways, Lin and Megan Pan (VI) performed an excerpt of the popular K-pop song “Tomorrow, Today” from the JJ Project. B. Li explained the song as “telling the feelings of youth and highlighting the difficulty of making decisions about the future.”
The Taiko Drumming Club delivered a rendition of “Matsuri,” a piece often played at Japanese festivals. The performance featured solos by Michael Gallagher (V), Pan, and Justin Li (III). Although Taiko drums are widely known as Japanese percussion instruments, they have Chinese and Korean roots, having been introduced to Japan in the 6th century CE. In closing, to celebrate the diversity of the Chinese people, the Purple Swans Dance Troupe, a performing arts group dedicated to spreading Chinese culture that features many members of the Pingry community, performed a dance entitled the “Delicate Beauty of the Hui Maiden.” This dance represents the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in north-central China, a region that is home to a large indigenous Chinese Muslim population.
Before dismissing the assembly, B. Li and DeVito wished everyone “Xin nian kuai le,” which in Mandarin means “Happy New Year!” Gong xi fa cai and have a prosperous New Year. Welcome to the Year of the Dog.
Mar 25, 2018 | School News
By Ketaki Tavan
On Friday, January 26, Pingry held its annual Career Day, an event during which Form V and VI students have the opportunity to speak with diverse panels of Pingry alumni to learn more about potential career options.
The day began with a presentation from keynote speaker Dr. Jennifer Hartstein ’88, a psychologist who helps children, adolescents, and their families with a wide range of psychological diagnoses. On the executive board of Active Minds, a national organization devoted to decreasing the stigma surrounding mental health in young people, Dr. Hartstein is also a “Self-Esteem Ambassador” for Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign.
During her presentation, Dr. Hartstein discussed the effects of developing technology and increased social media usage on today’s youth. She also shared stories about how her interest in psychology developed during her time at Pingry.
After the keynote presentation, students attended three separate industry-focused sessions, assigned based on preferences they indicated a few weeks prior. The sessions covered a broad range of fields, inlcuding engineering/architecture, entrepreneurship, finance, law, management consulting, marketing/advertising, media/communications, medicine, nonprofit/public-service, performing arts, visual arts, psychology, and science. Each session featured two or three alumni panelists who shared their experiences in their current fields and answered any questions students had for them.
Ms. Maureen Maher, who organized Career Day, commented on the value of these panels, saying, “The guidance and life lessons that our returning alumni share with our students on Career Day are invaluable, and the Pingry alumni network is an amazing resource that continues to get stronger every year.” Jackie Chang (VI), who attended the medicine panel, was led to an ISP opportunity through the alumni network that Ms. Maher refers to. “At the medicine panel, I got to meet Dr. Matthew Chow, who is actually going to be my ISP mentor. If I hadn’t attended the panel and met Dr. Chow, I never would’ve had my current ISP project,” Chang said.
The media/communications session featured panelists from the industries of publishing and media, including Jonathan Karp ‘82, the President of publishing company Simon & Schuster. Participants discussed the ways in which these fields are changing due to technological advances such as social media news coverage and self-publishing companies like Amazon. Miro Bergam (V) commented that “seeing Jonathan Karp, who’s one of the biggest names in publishing, and hearing his story not only spoke to the amazing connections we have at this school but also really helped me see the wide range of careers you can have success in.”
Vicky Chen (V) attended the entrepreneurship panel, where panelists shared the various ways in which they channeled their creativity, ambition, and love of excitement into entrepreneurial career paths. Chen said the entrepreneurship panel was “very encouraging.” “I really appreciated how the panelists emphasized the fact that there isn’t just one prescribed path to success when it comes to entrepreneurship. It got me thinking about all of the different places my interests could take me,” she added.
When asked what she hopes students take away from Career Day, Ms. Maher replied, “The career journey is not always a direct flight. What interests someone today might be very different from what interests him or her in 5-10 years—but that’s OK. The paths our accomplished alumni have taken throughout their professional lives are just as fascinating as their current roles and responsibilities, and yesterday’s failures have often played an essential role in today’s success. If our students ultimately find a rewarding and fulfilling path in life as a result of someone they met on Career Day or something they heard during one of the breakout sessions, well, that’s the gold medal.”
Overall, Career Day was a great success. The day’s events gave students the opportunity to learn about an array of industries and to begin thinking about how their interests might inform their future careers.
Mar 25, 2018 | School News
By Darlene Fung ’19
On Saturday, January 27, Upper School students enjoyed a night filled with friends, fun, and food at Snowball, the annual winter dance. Starting at seven o’clock, students filed in through the glass doors clad in an array of formal outfits, from party dresses to jumpsuits to bowties to button-downs.
Due to the Dolce Hotel in Basking Ridge being sold to new ownership, Ms. Kent, Ms. Weinberger, and Dean Ross decided on the Westin Governor Morris in Morristown as the new venue for Snowball.
Initially, students were unsure about the change in venue. “I had never been to the Westin before, so I didn’t really know what to expect,” Hannah Gruber (V) said. “I liked Snowball at Dolce, so I was hoping that the new place would be just as good.”
Luckily, most students agreed that the venue was a great place to host Snowball. The Westin features a large marble lobby, where students were able to check their coats before heading upstairs to the main floor. “I really liked how we could check our coats on the first floor, and the actual dance was all happening on the second floor,” said Aanya Lall (V).
Chase Barnes (V) added, “There was plenty of parking, and the place itself was beautiful.”
Tables set up all around the dance floor provided ample seating. A large variety of food was served, including pasta dishes, Asian dumplings, mini sliders, and plenty of fruit and desserts. Soft drinks and Starbucks coffee were also available throughout the night.
Commenting on the cuisine, Lall said, “The food was great, and I especially liked the layout of it. Everything was organized so that it was easily accessible to all. However, I do wish there was ice cream like they served at Dolce.”
Students also enjoyed the music. Some of the songs played included pop songs like Bruno Mars’s “Finesse” and throwbacks like Dexys Midnight Runners’ “Come on Eileen.” Songs produced by Pingry students were also featured on the dance floor, including “Phoenix” by Melissa Tungare (VI) and “Maybe I’m Crazy” by Brandon Rosen (VI).
Barnes said, “The music selection was really good this year. All the songs were ones we knew and could sing and dance along to, and I love how they played songs that our peers wrote and sang. It made Snowball extra special!”
Overall, Snowball was a night enjoyed by all. Student Body President Michael Weber (VI) said, “The Westin exceeded all expectations. Everything from the food to the decor was fantastic, and the student body really had a great time.”
Student government faculty advisor Ms. Colleen Kent added, “The feedback we’ve received from students has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve decided to book it again for next year.”
Mar 25, 2018 | School News
By Annaya Baynes ’19 and Udochi Emeghara ’19
On January 12, 2018, Sarah Collins Rudolph and her husband, George Rudolph, came to the Basking Ridge Campus for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Assembly. Mrs. Rudolph is the only survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing of 1963. On Sunday, September 15, 1963, Klu Klux Klan members placed a bomb outside of a window at the 16th Street Baptist Church and it exploded, killing four young African-American girls: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carole Denise McNair. Mrs. Rudolph is the younger sister of Addie Mae Collins; at the time, she was only twelve years old. She suffered a series of burns and was blinded in one eye after the bombing.
During the assembly, Mrs. Rudolph answered a series of questions about subjects ranging from her life immediately after the bombing to how her religion has shaped her. She detailed the events of that day, from her parents rushing her and her sisters, to her and her sister’s reluctance to go to Sunday School, and finally their decision to go to the bathroom to freshen up. As the four girls were getting ready, the bomb went off, shooting debris into the room. The noise was so loud that her future husband, who was across town in another church, could hear the explosion clearly. Mrs. Rudolph immediately started calling for her older sister, Addie Mae, but she did not receive a response. A deacon, Samuel Rutledge, saved her, and she was rushed to the hospital. It was there that she learned of the death of all the girls who had been with her. After the bombing, the perpetrators bragged about their actions and how many children they had killed, while Sarah Collins Rudolph had to go back to school with an eye missing and the death of her sister haunting her. She described her frail emotional state at the time and the incessant panic attacks that plagued her.
As she grew up, she eventually reconnected with her religion; she detailed the role God has had in her life following this traumatic event. She and her husband spoke about the need for forgiveness in this day and age. Mrs. Rudolph spoke about her personal journey to forgiving the bombers despite their indifference and even pride in their actions. She refused to continue being bitter or to allow the event to have a negative impact on her life. Eventually, she married her high school sweetheart, who helped her after the bombing. When asked if she had ever considered leaving Birmingham, she said that she had never thought of leaving.
All in all, Mrs. Rudolph and her husband sent out a loud, clear message to the student body: Forgiveness is key. Her story of loss, faith, and kindness personified the legacy of love in the face of hatred that Dr. Martin Luther King left behind.
Mar 25, 2018 | School News
By Noah Bergam ’21
On Friday, February 23rd, Upper and Middle School students joined together in Hauser Auditorium for the 2018 Robert H. LeBow ‘58 Oratorical Competition. The competition, held annually and open to juniors and sophomores, was founded in 2005 by William Hetfield ‘58 and the Class of ‘58 in memory of Dr. Robert H. LeBow. Dr. LeBow, a renowned public speaker, traveled through developing countries with his wife, providing medical services to underprivileged communities.
Organized by Spanish and French teacher Mr. Richard Karrat, the assembly featured four-and-a-half- to six-and-a-half-minute-long speeches from six juniors who had qualified in the initial round.
The contest opened with a speech entitled “The Pingry Story” by last year’s runner-up Avery Didden (V). Didden celebrated the Pingry community for its members’ unique passion for learning. She illustrated this point with the trivia game show HQ, noting that, while people she knew from other schools slowly forgot about the game, Pingry students continue to play. Pingry students understand, she explained, that the game is about more than just its prize money, and they embrace the spirit of trivia and learning the game promotes.
The next speech was “Thank You” by Jonathan Chen (V). Chen began the speech by reminiscing about the childhood days when his father and mother cheered him on at soccer games and swim meets. He then transitioned into the memory of his parents’ divorce and the devastation of seeing his parents split, as he regarded them as the “best team.” Despite the feelings that came with the divorce, Chen recognized the “endless love and support” his parents continue to provide him; his final message was to “thank your parents” for all the hard work that they do.
Rashida Mohammed’s (V) “A Trust Fall” followed. Mohammed opened the speech with an anecdote about a friend confessing to her about having an anxiety disorder. Later on, Mohammed confessed, “That friend I mentioned—that was me.” She offered inspiring words as she spoke about living with the disorder. Near her conclusion, she recognized that “having any form of anxiety is on a spectrum” and highlighted the importance of representation.
Then, in traditional Chinese dress, Alisa Chokshi (V) opened her speech, “Let Your Spark Ignite,” by singing “Chengdu” by Zhao Lei. Chokshi shared her life-changing experience as a member of a Chinese language immersion program, through which she resided for six weeks last summer in the city of Chengdu. As an American, Chokshi spoke about recognizing her inner ethnocentrism, the “viewing [of other cultures] with the bias of one’s own culture,” and how her perspective changed while living in China.
The penultimate speech was “Breaking Brand: Looking Past Brands for the Better” by Miroslav Bergam (V). Bergam opened the speech with a story about how his family overlooked a cookout in South Carolina summer after summer due to its lack of branding. Bergam deconstructed the illusion of branding all around our lives and community, from cereal to computers to clubs at Pingry. He went on to highlight the “dark side” of branding: the exclusion and subsequent elitism between those who are “in on the brand” and those who are not. His final message was to be wary of the impact brands have on our lives and personalities.
The final speech was “How Media Makes Us Smarter” by Ketaki Tavan (V). Tavan questioned the ways that television, movies, and other forms of visual media are seen by our culture. She challenged the assumptions that “TV rots your brain” and “hampers creativity” by arguing that one can “consume visual media” with as much critical analysis as one can with literature. Tavan continued by analyzing Mudbound, a 2017 movie involving race relations on a farm in the Mississippi Delta, and Shameless, an ongoing television comedy about a dysfunctional family living in South Side, Chicago.
As the assembly drew to a close, Mr. Karrat named Mohammed the runner-up of this year’s competition and then announced Bergam as the winner. Everyone in Hauser walked away enriched and though-provoked by the six fantastic speeches they had heard.
Mar 25, 2018 | Arts, School News
By Meghan Durkin ’21
On February 22, 23, and 24, Pingry’s Drama and Music Departments presented this year’s winter musical, The Addams Family, a quirky comedy written by Andrew Lippa. Following the members of the infamous clan known for their dark and twisted outlook on life, the musical takes place over one wacky night filled with exposed secrets and new revelations.
The plot focuses on what happens when Wednesday Addams (Dorothea Miller, V), the oldest child and only daughter of Gomez (Lucas Vazquez, V) and Morticia Addams (Isabel DeVito, V), finds love with a normal Ohioan named Lucas. When Lucas (Leo Zhu, V) and his parents come to the Addams’s house for what they believe will be a simple dinner, instead they experience an unusual night of bizarre family traditions and meddlesome potions.
When Wednesday decides to tell only her father of her recent engagement to Lucas, Gomez, as a loyal husband and father, struggles to keep this secret. At dinner, while playing the family’s time-honored game, “Full Disclosure,” in which everyone must confess an untold secret, Wednesday’s brother Pugsley Addams (Katerina Deliargyris, V), attempts to stop the marriage.
However, this plan goes awry. In a dramatic fashion, Morticia learns of their plan to wed. Both families in shambles, the lovers, both new and old, must learn to forgive and to find their way back to one another. As the musical progresses, viewers watch both Wednesday and Lucas, Morticia and Gomez, and Lucas’ parents, Mal (Andrew Cowen, V) and Alice (Maya Huffman, V) come to accept their differences and reaffirm their undying love for one another. The clan’s elders, hoping for love to triumph, cheer on the lovebirds throughout the show.
Director Mrs. Stephanie Romankow brought a creative, and spunky take to this twist on the classic family. When choosing this year’s musical, Romankow decided on The Addams Family because it “allowed all students to practice some acting, singing, and dancing,” while it “speaks to all types of love” as well as family life and forgiveness.
Proud to see everyone “coming together” and “collaborating,” Mrs. Romankow said that her favorite moments in the rehearsal process were when “two actors would find a moment when they connect dramatically.”
As the director, she was elated by the “giant puzzle” the students, teachers, and parents put together.
“It was an honor “to spend time with people who care about this musical,” she said.
To create a complex and beautiful set, Mrs. Jane Asch and Mr. Christopher Abbott worked long hours, along with students and parents. Mr. Alan Van Antwerp served as the lighting and technical director, while Dr. Andrew Moore, as the pit orchestra conductor, directed student musicians throughout the show. Stage managers for the musical included Allison Matthias (V), Udochi Emeghara (V), and Quarida Benatia (VI).
Like many of her fellow performers, Sydney Stovall (III), a student involved in the production, considered participating in The Addams Family an opportunity to explore “my talents and other people’s talents, and to venture outside my comfort zone.”
Dec 24, 2017 | Featured, School News
By Ryan Fuentes (VI)
After the introduction of eight chickens to campus this summer, the Farm Team has been working hard to take care of them and make coop improvements over the past several months. As they adapt to their new home and prepare for winter, the chickens have become an important group within the community, both as lovable animals and as tools to teach students about sustainability.
The overall project has been implemented thanks to former art teacher Mr. Delman, who now holds the title of Pingry’s first Sustainability Coordinator. He worked with alumnus and architect Scott Loikits ‘90 to design several projects for a green campus last year, including a farm. The first students to work with the chickens were part of a one-week summer course, “Excursions in a Green World,” in which the students learned about current campus sustainability initiatives.
Led by faculty advisor Ms. Tandon, Farm Team was formed at the beginning of the school year to manage the continued care of the chickens by students. Most recently, it has focused on building a winter coop for the chickens. The previous coop functioned as a place to lay eggs, but the new one also provides a place to perch and rest at night, which is especially important during the winter months.
As far as student-chicken interactions go, Ms. Tandon described how the chickens are friendly and accustomed to working with humans. Among themselves, it may be another story, as they have established a clear pecking order. “Grenda is at the bottom,” noted Ms. Tandon, but she explained that the coop was big enough that each had enough space to prevent real conflict.
Ms. Tandon brought the chickens with her when she moved from Brooklyn, where she first got involved in sustainable farming through volunteering at a local community garden. Now, she is “really interested in teaching students about where food comes from.” The chickens’ eggs have been a feature at the Garden Lunch, which is run by students and faculty.
With the winter coop completed, Farm Team is presently focusing on feeding and managing the chickens. Ms. Tandon sees a lot of potential for the large amount of unused land within the school. In the long term, she hopes not only to expand the coop itself but also to dedicate more fields to growing crops. As Nick Ladino (VI) said, “Farm Team is great. I love going back to nature and taking care of my chickens!”
Dec 24, 2017 | Featured, School News
By Ketaki Tavan ’19
On Wednesday, November 8, Namita Davey (VI) hosted a showing of the film CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap in Hauser Auditorium after school. The event was open to Upper School students and garnered over 15 attendees.
The documentary, as explained on its website, “exposes the dearth of American female and minority software engineers and explores the reasons for this gender gap. CODE raises the question: what would society gain from having more women and minorities code?”
Davey first viewed CODE at the Girls Who Code Summer Program, where she noted that the film was “not only on an important topic, but also really well done in that it highlighted the most important aspects of the issue of the gender gap in tech fields.”
At the summer program, Davey also had the opportunity to attend a question-and-answer session with the film’s director, Robin Hauser Reynolds. During this session, Davey was most impacted by Reynolds’ sharing that what inspired her to make CODE was the fact that her daughter did not have the option to learn computer science in school.
“Many schools don’t have a computer science curriculum because there is a serious lack of computer science teachers,” Davey said. Inspired by CODE’s message and execution, Davey sought to bring it to Pingry.
When asked what effect she hoped CODE would have on the Pingry community, Davey said, “For students, especially females, I hoped that it would make the subject and field of computer science less intimidating. It’s often seen as a ‘man’s’ field, and I think the movie does a really good job of disproving that.” She added, “I hope that showing the movie at school was a step in the direction of dispelling the myth that men are better than women at computer science, and that as a result, more girls will become interested in computer science at Pingry.”
Jackie Chang (VI) attended Davey’s showing of CODE, commenting, “The movie really opened my eyes about the gender gap in the technology industry.” She added that the movie prompted her to consider the gender gap that exists in the broader world as well. “It was inspiring to see both women and men talk about this issue,” Chang said.
When discussing computer science at Pingry, Davey noted, “I am so fortunate to have a female computer science teacher and a class that is split rather evenly in terms of gender distribution.” She then drew the connection that “there are a lot of people in other schools who don’t have this same privilege.” She added, “The movie does a good job of reminding people that the gender gap in tech fields is still a very real problem, popping the Pingry bubble that we sometimes live in.”
Dec 24, 2017 | Arts, School News
By Grace Wang (III)
During the week before Thanksgiving break, four of the school’s musical groups performed in this year’s Ensembles Concert. The concert consisted of the strings ensemble, the Buttondowns, the Balladeers, and the jazz band.
The concert took place in a transformed senior area, where the senior couches were replaced with chairs and benches for the audience. Faculty, friends, and family stood and sat from the library balconies all the way down to the senior area.
The strings ensemble set the tone for the concert, beginning with “Ashokan Farewell” by Jay Ungar with strings teacher Ms. Vera Izano playing alongside her middle and high school students. A few select students performed Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 4, namely, Rebecca Lin (VI) and Felicia Ho (V) on the violin, Ethan Chung (VI) on the cello, and Ms. Izano and Jessica Li (VI) on the viola. The strings ensemble then finished off their performance with an arrangement of Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms, with Head of the Music Department Dr. Andrew Moore accompanying on the piano.
The strings ensemble was followed by a combined performance by the Balladeers and the Buttondowns. The two groups joined to sing a moving rendition of “Over the Rainbow” arranged by Mark Hayes and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” arranged by Kirby Shaw.
The Balladeers continued the performance, wearing their signature black dresses and purple sashes around their waists. The Balladeers’ performance was coordinated by music teacher Mr. Jay Winston. The a cappella group arranged themselves in a semi-circle and sang “The Sound of Silence” arranged by Balladeers president Maya Huffman (VI). Ashana Makhija (IV) sang the starting solo, and Nicole Gilbert (IV), Isabel Devito (V), and Anna Wood (VI) joined in with their own solos throughout the song. The Balladeers then sang “The Seal Lullaby” by Eric Whitacre and ended with “Fireflies,” also arranged by Maya Huffman, with soloist Nina Srikanth (IV).
Following the Balladeers, the Buttondowns continued the concert with the traditional Korean folk song “Arirang,” arranged by Brad Printz, with guest soloist Alyssa Chen (VI) on the flute. The group then took on the pop song “Just the Way You Are,” arranged by former Buttondown James Robertson ’17 and the current Buttondowns president Jonathan Huang (VI), with strong solo performances by Rajeev Doraswamy (V) and Ian Dugan (V). They then concluded their part of the concert with “Death of a Bachelor” by Panic! At the Disco, arranged by Jonathan Huang, who also was the featured soloist. Alex Kaplan (III), Nolan Baynes (III), Ian Dugan (V) and others took on supporting parts in the song.
The performance concluded with the jazz band directed by music teacher Mr. Sean McAnally. The ensemble performed the songs “Red Clay” by Freddie Hubbard, “Stop” arranged by Sean McAnally, and “Better Get It In Your Soul” by Charles Mingus, all of which frequently featured improvisations by different members of the group.
