Retired/Former Employees
Posted February 6, 2012
CHRISTINE FERNSLER, A TRUE FRIEND
By Lana Shea, January 2012
Some relationships profoundly influence the direction of our lives, and my friendship with Christine Fernsler is one that serves as a testament to the power of an individual to positively impact those around her.
Our first meeting was during my interview process. Richard Lodish shared with me that I would interview with a beloved teacher who had been at Sidwell Friends for many years. Moreover, he stated unequivocally that this teacher embodied Quaker values, had a deep understanding of children, and was truly gifted in the classroom. I recall feeling a bit intimidated at hearing all of Richard’s praise for Christine. In hindsight, Richard knew Christine well and the picture he painted of her stood the test of time. We left Richard’s office and walked to the Grade 2 classroom together to meet with Christine.
I have often remarked that the moment I entered the Grade 2 classroom that day, I wished for nothing more than to call it my own. It was as though I had arrived home after a long journey. Why did the classroom resonate so much with me? Quite simply put, the classroom was the visible manifestation of Christine’s teaching ethic. Christine believed in the power of creating safe, loving, and accepting spaces for children and adults. The space exuded warmth and a calm unusual in a classroom lived in by young children. I stood in the center of the room and marveled at the attention to detail and the clear value of the aesthetic that created a community of learners, for learners.
I was impressed and excited to meet the person responsible for creating such a wonderful environment for children. I was not disappointed. Christine was warm and engaging, welcoming and enthusiastic. We sat for hours that afternoon discussing our teaching philosophies, our greatest hopes as educators, our understanding of children and child development, and our hopes for the future. I was impressed by Christine’s candor, her understanding of children, and her deeply-held conviction that children needed to feel safe in order to take risks. At that time I had no way of knowing that we would become partners, or that in the months and years to come we would also forge a relationship as compatriots, confidants, and most importantly friends, but those initial moments hinted at the possibility.
In truth, I wasn’t looking for a mentor, but I found an incredible one when I became Christine’s teaching partner. I taught side by side with Christine for five glorious years, and I feel deeply fortunate for the honor. Christine let her life speak through her teaching, and in so doing positively influenced the lives of her students and her colleagues. In her presence, I witnessed a master teacher at work, and my own teaching improved as a result. It doesn’t surprise me that through her continual encouragement and support Christine guided me to grow, learn and improve as a teacher. After all, in our years together I watched her work that same magic with the students in our class.
Christine had a true understanding of the precious nature of childhood, of the importance of creating a safe harbor for the children in her care, and of the role of connections and relationships in empowering others. She valued the power of metaphor in teaching young children, watching her lilies come into full bloom each year. She also understood the importance of classroom ceremonies and traditions in creating community connections for her students. She had great faith in her students and what was possible for them to accomplish. More importantly, she recognized that holding high expectations for students wasn’t enough. Students needed to be supported academically and emotionally if they were to meet those expectations.
Christine understood that the oft-overlooked details mattered greatly in setting the classroom tone. A classroom party was better with the cloth tablecloths (which often needed to be pressed), the class punchbowl, and a tasteful centerpiece. The artifacts displayed for our Theme Study needed to be selected with care to set the stage for learning. Her dedication to her students was visible in the attention to detail and the effort she put into each and every lesson and unit. It was visible in the care she took to create a beautiful classroom and learning space. It was visible in the gentle manner in which she spoke with her students and colleagues.
Arriving at Sidwell in 1970, Christine was deeply committed to the school, her students, her colleagues, and the community at large. A Quaker herself, Christine beautifully interwove the testimonies into the learning environment, making the Quaker values come alive for her students. She served as the inspiration for the creation of the Quaker tapestries, which now adorn our Lower School halls. Moreover, Christine was deeply passionate about the power and importance of service in the Lower School, working tirelessly to ensure that the service opportunities afforded our students would positively impact the community while also engaging the students to put forth their energy, effort, and hearts in the endeavor.
For me, it is impossible to wander our Lower School, or stand in the midst of my classroom, without acknowledging the debt owed to Christine. Christine taught me many lessons in our time together and I found her motivation, vision, and energy to be truly inspiring. Her values, her steady presence, her wisdom and her compassion deeply influenced so many in our community. While we miss you, dear friend, your legacy lives on in those whose lives you have touched so graciously.
MANY THANKS, ELE CARPENTER AND PEGGY KANE!
by Carol Borut, January 2012
“Communities need both magnets and glue. They must have magnets that attract a flow of external resources . . .to broaden horizons. Communities also need social glue—a means for social cohesion, a way to bring people together to define the common good, create joint plans, and identify strategies that benefit a wide range of organizations and people in the community.” ~ Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard professor who specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change.
Schools provide the magnets that build communities. It takes the glue to bring us together and to support an ongoing connection with the community in which we have worked through the years. That is just what Ele Carpenter and Peggy Kane have done since 2002 by continuing and further developing the Sidwell Friends Retired/Former Faculty and Staff connection. The primary purpose of this tribute is to say a very special thanks to both Peggy and Ele for their dedication and caring attention to enhancing channels of communication between the school and us former colleagues. Denise Terry and I are grateful to Peggy and Ele for asking us to partner with them and for being our coaches and mentors as we “learn the ropes” of honoring retirees and collecting news from all of you, our members. Both Ele and Peggy will continue to keep us informed of events and important news updates through their e-mails, while Denise and I will organize and publish the on-line newsletters that are available on the SFS website.
In exploring the history of this organization with Ele and Peggy we discovered that we have many people to thank. This endeavor was initiated in 1989 by Harvey LeSure, an Upper School history teacher who got the go-ahead from Head of School, Earl Harrison. Earl in turn asked 5th grade teacher Jeanette Levin to help set up a network of retirees. At this time there was no central list of those who had retired. For three years Jeanette collected names and addresses from various lists and by asking others whom to contact, organized semi-yearly luncheons in the Zartman House Drawing Room for retirees in the area, and mailed out two to three newsletters each year. There followed a period of seventeen years when the organization lay dormant.
We are grateful to Elaine O’Regan, Earl’s executive assistant, who started keeping a central list of retirees, included each year in the Faculty/Staff Directory. Elaine’s own illness and death, of which many of her former colleagues were unaware, spurred Ele and Peggy in 2002 to meet with Bruce Stewart, then Head of School, to explore ways of improving communication between the School and not only retirees, but all former faculty and staff who had been employed by the school for at least ten years (this latter criteria was dropped shortly thereafter). Bruce invited Liane Faermann, then Director of Human Resources, to sit in on this meeting. Liane, and later Laurel McIntyre, the school archivist at the time, understood the importance of such an organization and together with Bruce gave it their total support. Liane immediately began identifying when someone had retired or had left the school. Fortunately, the widespread use of e-mails and the emergence of SFS’s website made it much easier to keep in touch with members.
When Ele and Peggy first took on the leadership of this organization, they spent a lot of time tracking down people and encouraging them to help locate others whose contact information they did not have. They were given a small room with a computer to use in the basement of Zartman House where they worked with diligence and frustration, plowing through hours of learning the mechanics for publishing newsletters on the SFS website. They set their goals high by initially issuing a newsletter every month, making it seem as though they had taken on a full-time job until they cut back to three issues a year. Thanks to the generosity and expertise of Lori Hardenbergh, Sidwell’s archivist, they were eventually saved from puzzling technical difficulties when she kindly offered to post the newsletters on the web for them as well as to locate photos when needed. Ele became the newsletters’ official photographer, taking photos of retirees at the end of each school year to accompany website tributes. She also sent copies of the web articles to those who did not have e-mail and started a scrapbook of articles about retirees which is kept in the Zartman Drawing Room for the perusal of visitors. Peggy edited the articles and news items for publication and developed and updated the Directory. Keeping track of retirees and former employees continued to be much more manageable with the help of Courtney Peterson, the current director of Human Resources, and her assistant Kim Lampkin. We have many colleagues to thank!
We are grateful to Peggy and Ele for arranging our annual spring luncheons and tours of newly built and renovated facilities. For about a year former colleagues gathered once a month to discuss books they had read under the leadership of Val Parsegian, former Middle School English teacher. Last year Tom Farquhar, our current Head of School, invited us to join the faculty in a showing and discussion of Davis Guggenheim’s documentary, “Waiting for Superman.” Our dynamic duo, Ele and Peggy, have worked with the school to insure that we would feel valued and welcomed whenever we return to campus and participate in events. We are grateful for their caring and sensitive style that insures that we stay in the loop with their informative e-mails.
So indeed, it does take a village—a community—to support new and expanding ventures. Sidwell, our “magnet”, has supported this organization from its beginning, and Peggy and Ele, our “glue,” have made major contributions by encouraging the school to recognize the importance of the Retired/Former Faculty and Staff Group through improved communications and opportunities to stay connected to SFS and with each other. Ele and Peggy, we all thank you
OUR FALL TOUR
by Denise Terry, October 25, 2011
On a beautiful October afternoon, Retired and Former Faculty and Staff toured the newest addition to the Wisconsin Avenue campus, the Robert Smith Quaker Meeting Room. Head of School Tom Farquhar greeted us with a talk on “what’s new at Sidwell Friends” at a reception in the Zartman House drawing room. We began the tour walking across a new porous brick courtyard, featuring porches allowing all-weather gatherings at the entrances to the Arts Center and the Meeting House.
The latest structure to be revitalized on the Wisconsin Ave. campus is the David Kenworthy Gym (the “old gym”), built in the 1950s and described by Tom as having become “shabby chic.” The gym has been a workhorse during its history—an arena for basketball and volleyball and a space for Meeting for Worship, but also the site of dances and Bloodmobiles; a theater for plays, lectures, and concerts; and a “rain check” for Upper School graduation. Today the building lives on, transformed into a large (650+ seat) Meeting Room embedded in a building filled with arts resources: rehearsal spaces for chorus and instrumental music, and workshops for pottery, photography, and studio art.
The Robert L. Smith Quaker Meeting Room is at the center of the campus, built of wood from Montgomery and Frederick County barns. The thoughtfully designed lighting and acoustics offer simplicity and serenity. Voices can be heard clearly from every corner of the room. Tom recognized his predecessor, Bruce Stewart, who raised the funds and worked out the design details of a building that has already received the AIA “Honor” and “Divine Detail” awards. The building is expected to receive a platinum LEED rating. Underlying all of the renovation is a primary focus on educational values.
Tom explained that the school has made a cultural shift in its use of the new Meeting Room. Upper School students now enter the room silently, creating a peaceful oasis as each person crosses the threshold. The natural light, and special air exchange system make the room comfortable and conducive to a meaningful experience. Even the safety features are clearly present, yet tastefully tucked into the ambiance.
The Meeting Room can also be adapted to use for concerts and films, since it is fitted with a projector, screen, and audio panel. There has already been a wedding and a memorial meeting held here. On October 29 the space was open to a reunion of the Civil Rights Association at which time retired government attorneys reenacted the important court battles relating to civil rights with Upper School American History students participating. Sidwell Friends hopes that this space will serve the larger community in ways that are supportive of the school’s mission.
Steve Sawyer took over the tour, but not before Tom played some American jazz on a Steinway grand in the chorus room (one of five new pianos on campus). Steve was able to describe in depth the building materials, as well as help the group understand the geography of this renovated space (“You are now standing in the former girls’ shower.”). The group gasped when we entered a computer lab dedicated to the arts—18 large Mac monitors, and two special printers! There are small rehearsal spaces, offices, and an elevator. Before ending our visit, those of us who had not seen the new Athletic Center went to see this impressive facility with Steve.
The campus is now very cohesive; views of the football field and the Middle School appeared frequently as we toured. There is a lovely outdoor porch as well as large indoor gathering spaces in this building. What Steve called “Pigeon Alley,” a narrow stairwell that had led Middle School students and faculty to the Arts Center, is gone, replaced by accessible indoor passages.
Present for the tour were: former librarian Jane Howard; former Middle School teachers Peggy Kane, Elena Marra-Lopez, Linda Schafman, and Denise Terry; former Upper School Assistant Principal, Ele Carpenter; former Upper School teachers Walter Burgin, David Mog, and Terry Parmalee; former Admissions Officer Felicia Taylor-Lewis; former bookstore manager, Wilma Schneiberg; and recently retired Lower School teacher, Christine Fernsler.
We are very grateful to Tom Farquhar and his assistant, Cynthia Sealls, along with Steve Sawyer for their welcoming and informative presentations. We are also grateful to Ele Carpenter and Peggy Kane for arranging this tour.