Monday, March 11, 2019

Winter Term Report Card - 2019

To the Great Class of 1969:

The Academy let out for Spring Break on Saturday following some strange fluctuations in the normal weather for the time of year.

News of the Academy

Within months of the announcement that the Head of King's Academy would be decamping to Deerfield, King's Academy snared a Deerfield teacher while on sabbatical to be its new Head of School. In case it slipped your mind, Margarita Curtis's predecessor (and the Academy's ONLY alumnus since 1797 to serve as Headmaster), was also the first Head of School at King's Academy.

A cursory review of The Scroll revealed a surfeit of articles on the genders but no information for those who devoted the time to answer the endless questionnaire as to how, if at all, the dress code will change. In a throwback to the 60's, the former head of the Weather Underground (NOT to be confused with the weather service of the same name) was invited to speak on campus. A review of the Pocumtuck from the '40s through the '70s by The Scroll revealed compromising photos of students posing as racial caricatures.

A member of the Class of 1993 generously donated the hockey rink which replaced the Barn, and the results of the upgrade were gratifying. For the first time in recent memory, the Boys Hockey team compiled a winning record, finishing the season 15-9-3. In other sports, Boys Swimming had its best season since 2014-2015, going 9-2 with its only losses to Exeter and Andover. Girls Squash, a perennially strong program since the new squash courts were built in 2007, ended a 12-3 season with a second place finish in the New England Championships. Things look promising for Boys Squash next season on account of the JV's 16-0 record. Could any of this success have something to do with the fact that the position of "Captain Deerfield" is being shared with a girl for the first time this year?

News of the Class


Clough, Carter, Squires, Young, Louis, Berkowitz
A week ago Rusty Young provided the tickets and Richard Berkowitz supplied the spread for the motley group to the left at the fourth and final mini-reunion before the main event, June 6-9. The six of us were in Fort Lauderdale for a concert by the Fab Faux, the foremost Beatles tribute band for the past twenty years.

Our quinquennial Attendance Chair Lacey has put the finishing touches on a communique encouraging you to register which should go out this week. There's no good reason to procrastinate as the price only goes up as the date approaches. As of Friday, 33 Classmates had registered. The list of attendees is updated each Friday afternoon, and you can find it by going to Who's Coming.

In other news, Margarita Curtis has been making her final tour as Head of School before her formal retirement on June 30th. Doug Arnstein and Ben Walbridge were among the attendees at a Deerfield event in San Francisco last week which was billed as a celebration of her legacy, and I attended a similar gathering in Palm Beach the week before. John Mills recently attended a "DACONNECT" networking discussion in Washington, DC where he volunteered to provide career counseling to recent graduates. John is one of NINE Classmates who will be making presentations at the Reunion. A detailed invitation describing the program for the Reunion is scheduled to be sent at the end of the March.

Please mark you calendars for June 6-9 and register for the Reunion now. Lacey's feeling the pressure to deliver a record turnout which seems within reach.

Best wishes to all.

DWS