Alumni News!

Destination: Success!

What a great reunion it was! On Dec. 9, guest speakers at WMS included Alexa Pierce-Matlack (Class of ‘05), Mary Hirschbiel (mom of Cate, Class of ‘96), Chris Holbrook (dad of Austin, Class of ‘04, and Justin (Class of ‘00), Nancy Nemecz, (mom of Amanda Class of ‘03 , JJ, Class of ‘01, and Maggie, Class of ‘06), Lois Torgerson (mom of Jenny, Class of ‘97), and Shawn Stevens (dad of Maria, Class of ‘01). We heard about students who went in different directions after graduating from WMS—some to public school, some to private, some to parochial. They have been doing so many exciting things, including teaching math, preschool, and classes for disabled children, acting, studying library sciences, organizing charitable events, traveling abroad, and so much more! As each spoke about their WMS experience, there was an obvious theme: every graduate was acknowledged and respected as an individual, encouraged to develop their unique gifts and talents, supported in their studies and allowed to progress at their own speed, and left Montessori feeling prepared and confident. These were the kids who not only did well academically, but also found their way onto sports teams, choruses, theatrical productions, science, literature and math competitions—their accomplishments are too numerous to list! Alumni parents enjoyed being invited to talk about their Montessori kids, and while they acknowledged that tuition absolutely impacted the family budget (one family having three children in the school at the same time!), each spoke with certainty about the value of their investment and the importance of seeing Montessori education through to graduation. Recalling the traditional “birth and life” celebrations (during which the birthday child walks circles around a model of the sun, globe in hand, to represent the number of years they have been alive), one parent remarked: “It was at WMS that my child learned to carry the Earth gently. She was always at the top of her class academically in middle school, high school, and college, but Montessori taught her how to be empathetic and gave her the skills to form respectful relationships. You just don’t find that at any other school.” Many thanks to Leslie Connor for coordinating this informative evening.

Alumnus in Business
According to the article that appeared in the News Journal on Nov. 17, Elizabeth Nolan (Class of 2001) has been smiling nonstop since she and three other bakers started “Maggie’s Waggies,” a gourmet dog biscuit business. The company was founded last year with the goal of providing employment for those with intellectual disabilities, “empowering them to become productive contributors in society.” Since then, the company has grown, adding four more bakers. Elizabeth is proud of her company’s success, and we are proud of her! To learn more about Maggie’s Waggies, visit www.waggies.org.


National Merit Scholarship Program Recognizes WMS Alumni: Bob Lutz, a senior at Friends School and WMS alumnus, is a simifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Alumni Julia Roberts and Nathan Squire have been recognized as commended by the Merit Scholarship Program for academic accomplishment.

Alumni in the Arts
Check out the cast for Friends School’s upcoming performance of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum:” It’s a “Who’s Who” of WMS alumni! Stars of the mainly Montessori cast include Bob Lutz, Daniel Potter, Erin Conces, Sara Coughlin, Alexa Pierce Matlack, and Jenny Lowe. As if that weren’t impressive enough, this play is being directed by Sherry Goodill, a mom of two WMS alumni! Special congratulations to our music teacher, Kelly Rhodunda, who gives students many opportunities to develop and practice their performance skills. You are welcome to attend “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at Friends School on Friday, Nov. 14th at 7:30 pm, or Sunday, Nov. 16th, at 2:00 pm. (Please be aware that this is a PG 13 show.) Our alumni shine in so many areas!

Those who attended the Arden Club Theatre’s September 08 production of Kiss Me Kate were treated to performances by WMS alumni. Jenny Torgerson (Class of ‘97), played the second lead, and Sara Coughlin (Class of ’05), was a featured dancer. Oh, those talented WMS kids!

Briannah Kelly, (Class of '08), lit up our stage with her considerable talent while she was with us, and she continues to practice her theater craft now that she has graduated. She will be performing in The New Candelight Theater production of "The Music Man" in November and December. For ticket information, you may visit http://www.newcandlelighttheatre.com/. Break a leg, Briannah!


Newsworthy Alums
WMS alumni currently attending Friends School were mentioned several times in the Sept. 18, 2008 News Journal High School Report. Sophomore Erin Conces was recognized for having received a grant from the U.S. State Department to attend a two-week Arabic language and cultural immersion summer camp (See "WMS Alum to Study Arabic", below). Senior Bob Lutz is providing leadership for the Business Meeting (based on a form of community government), while Junior Claire Goodill is serving as treasurer. Bob is also an editor of the student newspaper, and Senior Julia Roberts is a copy editor. Julia is also the editor in chief for the school yearbook. Our alumni are always “doing us proud!”


WMS Alum to Study Arabic
We were so pleased to learn that Erin Conces, Class of ’05, received a STAR Grant from the U.S. State Department to attend an Arabic Immersion camp at the Concordia Language Village in Minnesota this summer. High school students from around the U.S. will be attending this camp in order to have a two week full immersion experience in the Arabic language and learn about many of the cultures where Arabic is spoken. Concordia is one of only a handful of programs in the U.S. offering Arabic at the high school level. Erin is very excited about attending, and we are very excited for her!


Prize Winning Alum
Congratulations to Patrick Quinn for winning the Grand Prize in the Get Up and Do Something video contest sponsored by the office of the Lt. Governor of Delaware. Patrick and a partner co-produced a 30 second commercial promoting the health benefits of a more active lifestyle. In addition to sharing a $1000 prize, their winning video will be adapted and aired for the 2009 state-wide campaign and they will have the opportunity to co-direct the commercial shoot. Patrick, who attended WMS from age 2 to 10 years, is a senior at Friends school. For his service project he is working with Serviam Media’s Media Mentors program which introduces disadvantaged youth to the fields of film and media. Patrick loves writing and directing films and plans to major in film making. He is just starting his college search and his dream is to study at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Patrick’s prize-winning video may be viewed at http://www.getupanddosomething.org/TV_video_contest_about.htm

Our alumni shine in so many areas! Here are just a few:

Music
Cellist Zoe Dobbs (Mt. Pleasant HS), WMS Class of 2004, for making All State Orchestra. Only the top instrumentalists from area high schools are invited to participate. Congratulations to the following WMS alumni who were invited to become members of the All State Junior Chorus: Zachary Chao (Tatnall), Sophia Schmidt (Tatnall), Abigail Wahlig, (Cab Calloway), Daniel Potter (Friends), Evan Budischak, and Eric Brown (Cab Calloway).

Math
Among the highlights of this year’s Math Night at Wilmington Friends was a presentation about minimizing distance by Connor Juers (sophomore) and Bob Lutz (junior), both of whom attended WMS.

Writing
Savannah Strange, Class of 2007, is currently attending Hanby Middle School. She was a semi-finalist in the 2008 Delaware Young Playwrights Festival sponsored by the Delaware Theatre Company. Her play The Chicken or the Egg was chosen from 523 entries.

Kudos to WMS Alumni!

Academic Honors

Perry Brown, WMS Class of 2006, is currently an 8th grader at Springer Middle School. He was on the honor roll for the entire 7th grade year in the honors program, and began this year with all A’s. Perry is pictured in the middle of the action on the football field, and is active in volleyball and softball, as well.


Zion Thomas graduated from WMS last year and received all A’s during his first trimester at Tower Hill. Pretty impressive!

Community Service
We are so pleased that alumnus Adam Brown, currently a senior at Charter HS, has chosen to partner with WMS in his pursuit of the rank of Eagle Scout. He has been working with our Grounds Committee for several months on a project to make our wooded areas more beautiful and accessible.

Daniel Potter, Class of 2006 (Friends), is also demonstrating leadership skills as a den leader in WMS Cub Scout Pack 1313.

Congratulations, Alumni! We’re so proud of you!

Recent Graduates - Leslie Wason

Leslie Wason, WMS Class of 1997, recently graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in communications, and we couldn’t be more happy for her! The first week in June, Leslie will launch her career in broadcasting by beginning an internship with Nancy Karibjanean and WHYY’s Delaware Tonight news show. She expects her duties to include setting up and conducting phone interviews and writing, and hopes to find herself out in the field in pursuit of news events. Leslie is looking forward to being involved in the field of broadcasting, and loves that every day brings something new and exciting. She particularly enjoys the “rush” of dealing with a fast-breaking news stories and short deadlines!

Her studies are not the only thing that has been keeping Leslie busy. Throughout her high school and college career, she has been very involved in indoor and outdoor track and cross country running. She was particularly pleased to have received the 2007 Team Sportsmanship Award, an honor given by the members of the University of Delaware Track team. During her Senior year, Leslie also received the Ray E Keesey Award. This award is made on the recommendation of the Department of Communication to the outstanding senior major each year. Well done, Leslie!

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Recent Graduates - David McNamee

David McNamee

Congratulations, Graduate!

We were so pleased to hear that David McNamee, Class of 1997, just graduated from American University with a degree in marketing and communications. His "dream job" would be to manage talent in the field of sports or entertainment. We wish you all the best, David!

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Awards, Honors, & Accomplishments - Jenny Torgerson

Jenny Torgerson, currently a senior studying drama at the Tish School of the Arts at New York University, was accepted to The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London to study for the winter/spring 2006 semester.

Jenny’s professional acting endeavors have kept her busy. She was seen in the M. Knight Shamalan movie The Lady in the Water, and (for Bollywood fans) she also appeared in Quarter Life Crisis.

Jenny is a great example of the realization of our goals as a school. In our mission statement, WMS promises to “empower children to be knowledgeable and responsible contributors to the global community.” Jenny has used her talents as an actor to enhance the lives of the children of the Sunflower Orphanage in Huayllabamba, Peru. Last year, she organized and directed “The Sunflower Benefit Cabaret,” an evening including entertainment that raised nearly $2500 for Southern Cross Humanitarian, a Utah based charity that supports the orphanage. Funding was used to provide animals for the dairy, a new generator, and a year of support for a child. Jenny organized another benefit for the Sunflower Orphanage that was held on July 14 at Archmere Academy.

We are proud that WMS alumni are making a difference!

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Awards, Honors, & Accomplishments - Alexa Pierce-Matlack

Alexa Pierce-Matlack, an eighth grader at Wilmington Friends School, headed a team that presented a research project at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Philadelphia. These students were the only middle school students in the country to have their proposal accepted for presentation, and were in the company of students from Brown University, Rice University, Carleton College and the University of California. The presentation grew out of a science project on Hurricane Katrina. Using a controlled experiment, the students investigated how long a levee would last during a flood before it eroded and collapsed. They have been invited to present follow-up research at a future meeting. Alexa turned her paper into a poster for the annual Science Expo at Friends. The final poster and presentation was entitled, “Hurricane Katrina: Using a Stream Table to Investigate the Role of Levee Base Width on Failure Time During Floods.” We are proud that Alexa used her abilities and strong sense of social consciousness to achieve such an accomplishment. Those of us who know Alexa are not surprised that she was the organizer of her team and had the courage to compete with college-level students. Congratulations, Alexa!

Update: Alexa is now a high school freshman at Friends, and is still enjoying academic success. Right now, she is excited about participating in field hockey and the percussion section of the school band, playing the queen in “Once Upon a Mattress,” and attending the Homecoming Dance. You go, Alexa!

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WMS Alumni have the Keys to Success!

We are constantly reminded of how very talented our students are! Cab Calloway School for the Performing Arts recently awarded students “keys” for outstanding achievement in creative pursuits. Floriane Miniscloux (junior), won a silver key for her film, Liz Schaeffer (junior), won three silver keys for graphic works and painting, and Emma Dambach (sophomore), won a silver key for drawing and merit for mixed media.

Alumni often tell us that they felt empowered to follow their interests while at WMS, encouraged to try new things, and appreciated for their special qualities. They take these gifts with them as they leave us, and go on to achieve great things. That’s success!

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