1. 2014
SUMMER
The
Falmouth Academy
GAM
*
GAM: “a social meeting of whaleships… with all the sympathies of sailors
[and] all the peculiar congenialities arising from a common pursuit.”
*

2. Head of School
Starting the conversation, a new ‘gam’
W
HEN I RECEIVED MY FIRST COPY OF THE GAM VIA EMAIL, I MUST ADMIT I
ASKED THE QUESTION: “WHAT’S A ‘GAM’?”
Even English majors don’t know every
word…
Then I consulted my trusty Webster’s
Dictionary, and was
rewarded with a
delightful definition:
“a visit or friendly
conversation at sea
or ashore especially
between whalers.”
And thus it was that
my vocabulary was
newly expanded,
with the vernacular
of Falmouth Acade-
my. I’m learning the
language of my new
school. After being
here for more than a month now I’m
beginning to feel quite at home. Those
qualities that initially attracted me to
Falmouth Academy are readily evident,
even though school is not officially in
session — a close community, intellec-
tualism, creativity, passion, endeavor....
Even in the summer, these qualities suf-
fuse my conversations with faculty, staff
and trustees, with the students who have
dropped by to introduce themselves,
with the actors and interns and play-
wrights at the Cape Cod Theater Project,
which just concluded its month-long
residency at Falmouth Academy.
It’s exciting to be new, and a little intim-
idating, as well. I sometimes feel like
our new seventh grade students, walking
into a place where everyone knows each
other already, but I have yet to forge the
kinds of close relationships that I know
are coming. I take comfort in knowing
they’re not too far off, but for now I must
rely on the kindness and generosity and
professionalism of an extraordinary
collection of dedicated school personnel.
So far nobody has sent me to collect eggs
from the chicken coop!
Still, it’s a little quiet around campus. I’m
looking forward to the start of the school
year, and the energy that our students
will bring when they fill the hallways and
classrooms once more.
Actually, it’s not really all that quiet.
Summer programs are in session, and
My vocabulary was expanded... I’m learning the language of my new school.
2

3. there’s a steady, percussive thrum of construction
out back. Progress on our new Meeting Hall is
moving along quickly, and we anticipate comple-
tion in the spring! When finished, the Meeting
Hall will hold our daily All-School Meeting, and
our students will be able to sit shoulder to shoul-
der in amphitheater-style seating for other gath-
erings as well — readings, lectures, performances
and other events will all occur in our new facility,
which will accommodate up to 250 people.
The GAM itself is taking a new direction. It will
now be published four times a year, and the focus
will be on telling the stories of what’s happening
around school, with plenty of colorful photo-
graphs. Over the coming months, in addition
to the GAM, you’ll see a weekly newsletter sent
out electronically (The Mainsheet), an evolving
website, and a greater presence on social media.
These are all ways we plan to enhance our com-
munication to the extended Falmouth Academy
community.
As we prepare to begin a new school year filled
with great potential, we hope that you’ll enjoy
reading, and perhaps join us, in the friendly con-
versations that make a gam, and that abound at
Falmouth Academy.
Stephen Duffy
Head of School
3
From the Head of School 2
FA Profile: Olivann Hobbie 5
Q&A: Kurt Achin ’87 8
Around the Table 10
Beyond the Class 12
Admissions Notes 16
On Campus 17
Alumni News 20
The Calendar 25
Uniquely FA 26
In Their own Words 27
In this issue
Stephen A. Duffy
Head of School
Matt Donahue
Director
of Development
Olivia Riddiford
Assistant
to the Head of School
Michael J. Earley
Asst. Head of School,
Director of Admissions
Patricia A. Pronovost
Editor
Dir. of Communications
Barbara Campbell
Associate Editor
Alumni Director
Falmouth Academy
The GAMPublished quarterly for the community of Falmouth Academy
7 Highfield Drive • Falmouth, MA 02540
508.457.9696
falmouthacademy.org

4. C
onservation and climate
change are at the forefront
of scientific study. A cut-
ting-edge program offered
for the first time at Falmouth
Academy, had students working
hand-in-hand with scientists in
these fields.
The new Falmouth Academy Sci-
ence, Engineering and Technolo-
gy Scholars (FASETS) Program,
brought 27 students from Fal-
mouth Academy and other high
schools together for week-long,
high-level research with science
mentors.
The group researched endan-
gered species management with
conservation biologists Ian Ives
from Mass Audubon and Bryan
Windmiller of Grassroots Wildlife
Conservation. They performed
ecological census techniques and
got their hands dirty tracking and
performing habitat restoration for
the spadefoot toad. They recov-
ered turtles, installed tracking
devices, assessed possible future
vernal pool locations to provide
adequate new habitats, and met
species management experts to
discuss their work.
The second week-long study
with Jenny Arbuszewski from
the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution tested the ocean’s role
in climate change over the last
22,000 years. Students used a
marine sediment core to count
the relative abundance of a spe-
cies of planktonic foraminifera,
a single-celled organism which
prefers certain oceanographic
conditions.
The summer immersion program
is part of the year-long FASETS
program. To help with their
Science Fair projects, Falmouth
Academy students are matched
with mentors in the Woods Hole
community. Students whose
interests are piqued by
science fair and class work
can ask to be matched with
specialists for internship
opportunities at nearby lab-
oratories, local technology
companies, and conserva-
tion nonprofits.
FASETS was made possi-
ble by donor support and
a $50,000 challenge grant
from the E.E. Ford Founda-
tion.
FASETS deepens class-
room understanding
by enabling students
to work alongside
celebrated scientists
and engineers.
Studentsstrengthen
skills,immersing
themselvesin
biotechnology,coastal
ecology,marine
microbiology,and
engineering.
FASETS serves as an
inspiration for
students’ academic
interests and passions.
FASETS: A professional layer to science study
4

5. T
he great 14th-century poet
Geoffrey Chaucer, describing
the pilgrims as they set off on
their delightful journey to the
shrine at Canterbury, sums up
the art of teaching in a
memorable phrase when he introduces
his “Oxford cleric” — “And he would
gladly learn, and gladly teach.”
FAProfile
‘Why I teach.’
Like the cleric of Oxford, and, I believe,
like all teachers who love their profes-
sion, I teach because it gladdens me. I
hope that the joy I take in teaching, which
of course, as Chaucer implies, means
constant learning, will communicate itself
to my students. I want them to envision
for themselves a life of an unquenchable
search for both knowledge and under-
standing. They should want to delve,
both broadly and deeply, into ever more
facets of our amazing world. Like Terence,
writing in the second century B.C., the
students should come to feel that “nothing
human is alien to them.” And today they
should also feel that nothing in the natural
world is alien to them.
By Olivann Hobbie
Falmouth Academy founding teacher Olivann
Hobbie’s vitality, vigor and vivacious teaching
style won her many, many fans — faculty
and students, alike. With her retirement in
June 2014, we asked Mrs. Hobbie to reflect on
what the vocation of teaching means to her.
continued, page 6
5

6. From acquiring such knowledge
and understanding they will
develop a mature sense of respon-
sibility. Again and again in the
young adults I have been privileged
to teach, I see this desire to make a
difference, to take responsibility for
some part of the world. They want
to use their gifts not only for their
own satisfaction but for the good
of others. We teachers here always
rejoice when we learn that one of
our students has chosen to become
a teacher. We have shown them,
we feel, the deep satisfactions that
come in such a life.
I aim to give my students some
tools to develop their gifts. One of
the greatest injustices we can com-
mit as parents, teachers, or citizens
is to rob youth of the possibility of
growth. In the opening scene of
Shakespeare’s wonderful pastoral
comedy As You Like It, the young-
er brother, Orlando, upbraids his
older brother, heir to nearly all of
the father’s fortune, who has denied
him the father’s wish, “to breed
[him] well: “My father charged you
in his will to give me good educa-
tion. You have trained me like a
peasant, obscuring and hiding from
me all gentlemanlike qualities...
[A]llow me such exercises as may
become a gentleman...” In frustra-
tion, desperation, and hope, Orlan-
do betakes himself to the Forest of
Arden, where he discovers his inner
wealth. This determination, that all
young men and women get a “good
education” and discover their “gen-
tlemanlike qualities,” inspires me
with fervor in the classroom.
I teach also because of the sat-
isfaction that comes from the
synergy that can arise in a class-
room. Such synergy comes from
intellectual curiosity and pursuit
but also from the sense of trust
that pervades Falmouth Academy
classrooms. This trust—that we,
teacher and students, will be hon-
est, will be kind—is a necessity for
our open exploration of ideas. In
this atmosphere, it is both exciting
and fulfilling to see students in-
spire each other, to see imaginative
ideas — a burst of insight, of new
possibilities—arise out of class dis-
cussion. At the same time as I have
watched students seize excitedly on
some idea, I have also insisted that
they learn that developing any idea
demands patience and meticulous
attention to detail.
They thus learn, I hope, that
any kind of growth requires dis-
cipline. Perhaps because I have
played the piano since I was six
years old, I have an unshakeable
belief in the satisfaction and devel-
opment that does come with steady,
focused effort.
One of the great satisfactions
that has come to me as a teacher is
One of the great injustices we can commit... is to rob youth of the possibility of growth.
Hobbie: Developing gifts in others
continued from page 5
6

7. All of these model teachers exemplified a basic truth
about education: “The more one knows,
the more one realizes there is to know.”
to see some of my students take a
seed planted in our classroom and
grow it into a passion, a life’s work,
or simply a lifelong interest. Sever-
al students, after their year in the
World Cultures class, have decided
to spend part of a college year in
Japan or China or Korea or India.
They have come back to share
their experiences and their deeper
understanding of Asian cultures
with the current group of students.
They have thought more deeply
about the demands in our egalitari-
an American culture for individual
liberties and the demands in more
hierarchical Asian cultures for
respect for the wishes of the family
or the group.
I became a dedicated writing
teacher — some of my students
would say obsessive — because I
didn’t learn to write until I was
almost thirty. It was a shock to
me when I got to graduate school
to realize how little control I had
over how I expressed myself. Even
though I had always been a “good”
student, I simply had never ac-
quired the tools needed to write
effectively. After I became a better
writer, I always pushed my students
to a full realization that they were
responsible for the quality of writ-
ing. All of the humanities teachers
at FA make an effort to give stu-
dents the techniques used by good
writers. But until student writers
become thoughtful critics of their
own words, their writing will fall
short until they learn to ask a few
questions as they read aloud their
own work: “Have I written with
such clarity that the reader will never
become entangled? Did I know
what I wanted to say, and did I say
it clearly, directly, thoughtfully?
Will the reader enjoy the rhythm
and melody of my sentences?”
We hope that our students
become part of a community of
learning, a community similar to
that which we have at Falmouth
Academy. To do that, students
must learn to listen. Attentive lis-
tening is, at base, a profound form
of respect. I teach thus because I
want students to be in a classroom
that is a model for the kind of
listening to others that the world so
sorely lacks today.
I teach because it is fun! When
the classroom atmosphere is one of
respect, when each individual feels
valued and accepted by the teacher
and the other students, there will
be lots of opportunity for humor,
for some gentle teasing — usually
about a strength one student often
amazes the rest of us with — for
shared laughter over some ridicu-
lously pompous pronouncement by
an obtuse leader somewhere in the
world. And humor teaches other
qualities I want my students to de-
velop: a sense of proportion and of
perspective, a degree of humility.
I teach because of a few
remarkable teachers I had in my
youth: a music teacher who opened
the world of books and ideas to me
when other girls wanted to become
cheerleaders; a Mills College music
history teacher who made me
marvel at Bach; a scholarly political
science teacher who led us fresh-
women through the works of some
of the great philosophers. And all
of these model teachers exemplified
a basic truth about education: “The
more one knows, the more one
realizes there is to know.”
I teach because I want to help
students at this seeking, formative
period of their lives develop their
gifts to the fullest, both for their
own joy and for the good of
continued, page 10
7

8. Kurt Achin ’87 was a producer of CNN
International’s World News in Atlanta
before moving to Hong Kong to launch the
pan-Asian technology magazine eBizasia
and Talk Asia. He was a reporter, editor
and producer for CNN International in Hong
Kong and opened the Seoul bureau for Voice
of America before going to New Delhi, India,
as Bureau Chief for Voice of America.
He returned to freelance work in 2013.
Q&A
eporting from Asia: Kurt Achin ‘87R
Q: Q:Q:
A:
A:A:
What are you
working on now?
Was there any-
thing you did at
FA that may have
spurred your
interest in Asia?
I have recently filed
video stories for the
Wall Street Journal
online and collabo-
rated with a visiting
reporter from the
New York Times
on South Korea’s
adoption of Broad-
way-style musical
theater. I have also
produced and host-
ed an international
news segment for
local English-speak-
ing radio, and I am
launching a podcast
for a news website.
The FA teaching en-
vironment laid down
the groundwork
for curiosity about
international affairs
that would eventually
get me over to Asia.
Deborah Bradley’s
encouragement to
study French at a
brisk clip got me very
interested in foreign
languages. Lalise
Melillo’s emphasis
on reading with a
pen may well be the
I have always had an
attachment to the issue
of human rights prob-
lems in North Korea,
and the personal stories
that North Korean ref-
ugees have to tell. There
are big questions about
how flexibly the North
Korean government
can adapt to changing
times, and whether it
will turn to ever more
desperate measures
to ensure it stays in
control.
What are some of
the most interesting
stories you’ve ever
worked on?
By Elie (Swain) Harmon ’88
8

9. All my FA teachers
were tiles in a sort
of mosaic
that underpinned
the idea that
looking outward
to the world was a
very positive thing.
— Kurt Achin
Q:
A:
Where is your
favorite place that
you have lived or
visited?
Hong Kong will
always have a special
place in my heart.
The most wonderful
thing about Hong
Kong is that it is both
everywhere and no-
where. You can have
a western-style day
of mall shopping and
cappuccinos by going
others; to find joy in expanding
their horizons and thus to feel not
only comfortable in seeking out
challenges but eager to do so. My
last senior class, the Class of 2014,
gave me a bumper sticker — the
first one I’ve ever put on a car —
with an analect of the Chinese sage
Confucius, whose sayings they had
memorized in September. Con-
fucius, through advice like this, laid
the foundation for the Asian respect
for teachers and for learning that
we see so clearly today: “Learn as if
you were following someone with
whom you could not catch up, as
though it were someone you were
frightened of losing.”
But I would add to that wise
admonition an idea that express-
es my belief that teachers and
students are joined in a shared
undertaking. The fine English
novelist E.M. Forster wrote in
Howard’s End: “Only connect! . .
. Only connect the prose and the
passion, and both will be exalt-
ed, and human love will be seen
at its height.” When students
and teachers connect in a joyous
atmosphere, they connect as well
to the deepest parts of the human
spirit.
Humor teaches other
qualities I want my
students to develop:
a sense of proportion...
a degree of humility.
single most useful ca-
reer skill I ever kept
in my quiver, as a
broadcast journalist.
And Olivann Hob-
bie’s deep interest in
Chinese history was
quite contagious,
even back then. All
of my FA teachers
really were tiles in a
sort of mosaic that
underpinned the idea
that looking outward
to the world was a
very positive thing.
15 minutes in one
direction; you can
have a Chinese-style
day of snake soup
and acupuncture
by heading in the
other. A massive
concrete jungle
of neon and elec-
tronics is only a
half-hour away
from a deserted
mountainside where
wild monkeys will
surround you.
continued from page 8
9

10. I
t’s not every day that teenagers
play with toys. Sure they may have
games, video or otherwise, but not
real metal and plastic, rainbow-col-
ored, swirling, clanking rolling-car
toys.
A child’s rainbow-colored xylophone,
marbles running down it; a Slinky;
a stuffed Felix the Cat — these are
all tools of a sort — the construction
materials of elaborate machines built
in Peter Conzett’s physics class.
The Rube Goldberg Project combines
calculus, math and physics in a hands-
on weeks-long assignment.
“It’s the combination of engineering
and creativity that we have a pretty
hard time mixing together, in general,”
he said.
Mr. Conzett’s annual physics proj-
ect — once an exercise in building
wooden bridges — is now inspired by
the drawings of Rube
Goldberg, an Amer-
ican cartoonist who
satirized the country’s
fascination with tech-
nology, sketching out
drawings of intricate,
elaborate machines
that were designed to
complete inordinately
simple tasks.
Teams of seniors build individual
pieces of the machine that are ul-
timately linked together to form a
massive, Goldbergian creation.
Wooden dowels are taped, screwed
and tied together. A plastic Hot
Wheels ramp turns its end up to shoot
a car into a bucket.
Glitter poofs in a cloud and bells tinkle.
There’s a faint smell of sawdust. Stu-
dents creep around the tables with
slow, careful movements, bending
Around the Table
(Rube Goldberg was here)
ip, Bang, Pop!Z
• Machine must have at least 5
stages
• Must include a rubber band, a
mousetrap, a coat hanger and a
balloon
• Must have an 80cm vertical
distance of kintetic energy
• There must be spinning in some
stage with a radius larger than
seven inches
• May use battery power in only
one stage
• There must be some motion whose
principle purpose is sound
• You must use all the items in
your drawer*
“Goldbergian” requirements
10

11. Constraints — in
design and materials
— lead to creativity.
The photos below
show three different
approaches to using a
coat hanger, required
as a building material.
At top, it spins on a
motor. At middle, it is
pushed mechanically,
revolving to propel
another object in line.
At bottom, it serves
as a guardrail along a
curve of track.
*The drawer is a bag a random items. It has a few items that are “Oh, wow!”
and an item, like a sponge, that are “How am I going to use this?” — Peter Conzett
down and
peering up at
their creations,
their piece of
the Rube Gold-
berg machine
that must work
in perfect con-
cert with all the
others to create
a chain-reac-
tion dance of
movement and sound that finishes
with a balloon pop at the end.
“Aesthetic beauty was not our
main goal, just functionality,” said
Cody Baker ’14. “We tried to in-
corporate materials from the class
and around the house.”
“It’s hard to think abstractly about
these things. You just have to
fiddle with them.”
Mortimer the Penguin glides
across a zipline, sometimes a little
faster than anticipated. He trips
Felix the Cat, who pops a balloon.
“He’s the centerpiece of every-
thing.”
Cody confesses that he and his
teammates may not have “engi-
neering minds” but that was a fun
and valuable assignment.
When the project started, the
students came in with heaps of
possibilities and little know-how.
A lot of tape was used in the early
stages, Mr. Conzett said, but it
took only a short time before
more sophisticated methods of
construction like sawing and
drilling were employed.
There are some constraints to
what students must exploit
creatively: A rubber band, coat
hanger and balloon are among
the required materials. Not only
must the machine work, it must
also create sound.
The project is a recent departure
from Mr. Conzett’s traditional
build-a-bridge exercise. In its
second year, the Rube Goldberg
machine has become an event
seniors eagerly anticipate. Once
the teams’ machines are con-
nected at All-School Meeting for
all the community to see, it’s less
about whether they work to pop
that final balloon than about a
group exercise in creation. And it
is a clanking, twirling, whirring
success.
Precision
meets creativity
11

12. Tasha Garland (’16) was part of Falmouth Academy’s journey to Belize
in 2014. What came out of her experience was a series of photos that captured
the life around her. Here is a sampling of the photos she took
for her show “A Distant Shore.”
“I don’t really know what I
was expecting, but I
returned home impressed
by the different cultures,
the vibrant colors
everywhere, and the
natural beauty of Belize.
Our adventure began in the
Blue Creek Village
Rainforest where we visited
a local Mayan school and
home. The kindness of the
locals and their willingness
to welcome us into their
homes impressed me. After
we had our fill of scorpions
and tarantulas, we moved
to South Water Caye, a
small island just off the
coast. While on the caye, I
had the unique opportunity
to go SCUBA diving, which
allowed me to swim with
turtles and capture some
underwater scenes.
In my show, I hope to
provide a glimpse into the
diversity of light and life in
Belize.”
Beyond the Class
“A Distant Shore”
12

13. “A Distant Shore”
by Tasha Garland
Class of 2016
13

14. he future begins todayTNew Meeting Hall
will be the heart
of a thriving school
and community
The new Meeting Hall will allow students’ voices to be heard.
Phase I
Meeting Hall
• Community space at the center
of the school
• 3,600 square feet, seating
for 250
• Technology for presentations
• Community space for lectures,
performances
• Kitchen lends support to school
and community events
• An efficient, new HVAC system
• Bright, open space for
gatherings
• Basement for theater
and school storage
A new addition is being built in
the center of Falmouth Acad-
emy; a space that’s equidistant
from each end of the school.
When it’s done, it will serve as
a daily gathering spot for our
community, the figurative heart
of the school — a New Meeting
Hall.
Since construction started on
June 23, JK Scanlan Company
has excavated the basement
level, built concrete forms and
poured the foundation of what
will be an amphitheater-style
hall that will host All-School
Meeting, class presentations
and community events.
The building is the first of a two-
phase Campaign for Falmouth
Academy to provide space for
the needs of both the school and
the Falmouth community.
Designed by Eck MacNeely
Architects, the Meeting Hall’s
components are a reflection of
the school’s teaching mission:
a curved seating arrangement
that allows students to see each
others’ faces and allows their
voices to be heard in the daily
All-School Meeting and in other
gatherings. Its design is shaped
by the input of the faculty and the
school’s Facilities Committee, led
by Trustee Mark Hutker.
14

15. With music, poetry and a shovel or two
of dirt, Falmouth Academy students
and trustees broke ground on a new
Meeting Hall at the school’s last All-School
Meeting of the year.
Students Emma Rogalewski ’14 and Sam
Colt-Simonds ’19 read the poem “To Be of
Use” by Marge Piercy. Student Council offi-
cers from grades 7-12 each turned a shovel
of earth, while a group of student musicians
played “Come Together” by The Beatles.
Board of Trustee Chair Beth Colt, Cam-
paign Co-Chairs Susan Morse and Cynthia
Feldmann, founding teacher Olivann
Hobbie, Trustee Mark Hutker, architect
Paul MacNeely, interim Head of School
Mark Segar and new Head of School
Stephen Duffy also turned a ceremonial
shovel of earth.
The ceremony was closed by Samuel
Perry ’19, who gave an invocation to the
Greek god Dionysus to aid the new ven-
ture – an appropriate blessing as seventh
graders were performing in the Greek
Drama Festival on the front lawn of the
school following the groundbreaking.
Students held a home-spun groundbreaking
• 6,300 square feet, seating for 300
• Improved lighting, acoustics
and sound system
• New, quiet AC and heating system
• A dedicated music room
and rehearsal space
• A workshop for scenery building
and storage
• Fully equipped control room, tech
classroom
• Inviting lobby, gallery and balcony
areas
• Redesigned backstage facilities for
artists
Phase II
Preforming Arts
Center
The result will be 3,600 square feet
of bright, open space and wide,
stepped seating for 250 people.
The new building will also house a
conference room with an adjoin-
ing teaching kitchen, a microwave
bank and counter space for student
food preparation.
“The Campaign was derived from
strategic planning done by the
Falmouth Academy community in
2007,” said campaign co-chairper-
son Susan Morse. “And it prudent-
ly sets forth goals that allow the
school to continue to meet its stu-
dents’ and teachers’ needs — and
to offer its facilities as a resource
for the community.”
“This building is a crucial de-
velopment for the school,” said
campaign co-chairperson Cynthia
Feldmann. “As both a Trustee and
a parent, I see this space as a signif-
icant boost for our programs.”
Once the Meeting Hall is complete,
the school plans to finalize designs
for Phase II — a new Performing
Arts Center to meet growing school
needs and respond to requests from
local arts organizations.
Phase II will mean renovation and
expansion of the school’s perfor-
mance hall, with an added music
room, a scene shop and storage
area, new lobby, gallery, and bal-
cony entrances for the theater, as
well as a new control room and
tech classroom. Renovations will
include a new, quiet HVAC sys-
tem, better acoustics and lighting
systems, and updated backstage
and green room areas.
15

16. Admissions Notes
Several years ago, the Metropolitan Muse-
um of Art in New York completed brand
new spaces to house their collection of
Greek and Roman art. They felt they
needed a more modern,
compelling way to present
the timeless.
This summer, those of us
who work through the
summer at school have
enjoyed watching the
rapid growth of our new
meeting space, which will
house our equivalent of
Greek and Roman art,
All-School Meeting. In
this brand new space, our
community will do what it
has always done. Students
(even the newest 7th grad-
ers) will speak in front of the entire school
community for the first time. We will thank
each other for kindnesses extended to the
community. We will learn about birthdays,
the election of new class officers, and the
high scorer in yesterday's game. We will
make goofy announcements. We will make
sad announcements. We will applaud each
other. We will ask for help. We will take a
few moments each day to be together as a
community.
Whether you are a prospective parent in-
terested in learning more about the school,
a current parent, or just a curious friend,
consider attending All-School Meeting.
You will see a strong and distinct school
culture that stands as an alternative to
modern popular culture. If you are free
at 10:30 on any weekday and you'd like to
join us, please call the Admissions Office to
schedule a visit.
While we cherish what is timeless about
our community, we also
know that, like any living
thing, we must adapt and
grow in order to thrive.
Much is new here. Our
Head of School Steve Duffy
began work on July 1,
bringing with him more
than 25 years of experience
working in independent
schools. We’ve joined the
Cape and Islands League
and will be playing main-
ly local public schools in
sports for the first time this
fall. And our new meeting hall, which will
house modern audio-visual presentations
as well as All-School Meeting, will help the
school become even more of a nexus of the
cultural life of Falmouth in the future.
What a great time to work in admissions
at this remarkable school. As we prepare
to begin work this fall enrolling the Class
of 2021, Sarah Knowles and I look forward
to introducing prospective new families
to both the timeless and the modern here
at Falmouth Academy. As always, we are
eager to speak with you if you'd like to
learn more about the school for your child
or if you know a family who might like to
consider enrollment.
Finally, I invite any curious minds to join
us for our Open House on Saturday,
Oct. 25 from 2-4 p.m.
fresh take on timeless traditionsA
Mike Earley, Director of Admissions
16

17. Founding Faculty member
Olivann Hobbie retires
Olivann Hobbie was Falmouth
Academy’s first teacher. And after
37 years spent
molding stu-
dents’ minds
and shaping
Falmouth
Academy’s
identity, she
retired in June.
Mrs. Hobbie
was hired to
teach English
– then later
taught algebra
and histo-
ry – and, for
two years, was
assistant headmaster. She was
a constant presence and guide
during the school’s growth from a
serious but fledgling operation to
a successful and nationally recog-
nized institution.
Jessie Gerson-Nieder ’00, herself
a teacher, pondered Mrs. Hobbie’s
influence and spoke at Mrs. Hob-
bie’s retirement celebration.
“I have worked in education now
for ten years, and in my practice, I
strive towards the things that Mrs.
Hobbie made seem as natural as
breathing – knowing her students
deeply, treating them with respect
while holding them to high stan-
dards, knowing her content with
depth and passion, and pushing
students to investigate the world
with exacting and real curiosity.”
For more than 30 years, Olivann
taught a World Cultures course
that introduced seniors to Chi-
na, Japan, India and Russia. She
organized drama productions and
volunteer efforts
and helped estab-
lish the school’s
recycling program.
“Olivann Hobbie
is fascinating and
hard to pin down,”
said Jenny (Olson)
Putnam ’83. “She is
always surrounded,
not only by a halo
of flying papers,
but by activity,
laughter and inter-
esting people.”
When the school
moved to its permanent campus
in Falmouth in 1989, Olivann
began her reign as chair of the
arts department, ensuring that
art and music remain integral to
Falmouth Academy’s curriculum
and to the school’s position in
the community.
“Her imagination and energy
pushed Falmouth Academy to
become a little giant school,
throwing off the accomplishment
and energy of a school three
times its size,” said Bruce Bux-
ton, Falmouth Academy’s former
headmaster. “And her vision en-
couraged the school to push out
into the community — to identify
Falmouth Academy as a place for
art, thought, community service,
music, and theater — a place of
interest.”
“She unflaggingly modeled a
thoughtful, authentic, kind, and
clear-eyed way of navigating the
world,” said Ms. Gerson-Nieder.
“Her high expectations and ex-
cellent example suggested that we
could and should do the same.”
Girls’ lacrosse wins title;
Falmouth Academy joins the
Cape and Islands league
In a very impressive season
culmination, the Falmouth
Academy’s girls’ and boys’ varsity
Retiring teacher Olivann Hobbie with fellow
founding faculty member Susan Brinckerhoff
On Campus
17

18. lacrosse teams played for their
respective league championships.
The girls’ team record for the
regular season was 12-3 with one
tie, after having won nine straight
games. The boys’ team also had a
banner season with a 12-1 record
and 10 consecutive wins.
After hosting the Williams School,
the girls claimed the Southeastern
New England Independent School
Athletic Association league cham-
pionship with a decisive 16-7 win.
It was the first girls’ varsity lacrosse
title since 2003.
The boys’ team also played in
their league championship against
the Hyde School in
Woodstock, CT.
Starting in the fall, all
Falmouth Academy
Mariners teams will
move to the MIAA
(Massachusetts In-
terscholastic Athletic
Association) Cape
and Islands League,
where they will have
a chance to compete,
for the first time, in
the state tournament.
In an article in the
Cape Cod Times,
Athletic Director
Rob Wells said, “It
is the right time to
move into the C & I.
With travel expenses
mounting and the competition
within the SENEISAA growing
due to private schools recruiting
for athletics, it’s not the same
league we fought to join back in
1988. At that time, there weren’t
any public options that were the
same size or even close to the size
and scale appropriate for Fal-
mouth Academy.”
Student art
recognized in
regional, national
competitions
Falmouth Academy
students won 12 awards,
including a Gold Key
and five Silver Keys, at
the 2014 regional Scho-
lastic Art and Writing
Awards, sponsored this
year by the School of the Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston.
Jane Earley ’18 (piece above) won
a Gold Key for photography and
her work was
exhibited at Bos-
ton City Hall in
March. Silver Keys
were awarded to
Carlo Bocconcelli
’14, photography
portfolio, Martha
Clark ’18, acrylic
painting, Me-
gan Iverson ’18,
photography, Alex
Kania ’16, draw-
ing, and Helena
Oldenbourg ’14,
painting.
Honorable men-
tions were earned
by Catherine
Aviles ’14, paint-
ing, Stephanie
Aviles ’17, sculp-
ture, Martha Clark ’18, photogra-
phy, Tasha Garland ’16, ceramics,
Julia Guérin ’15 (left, bottom),
photography, and Cassidy Reves-
Sohn ’14, painting.
Four Falmouth Academy students
were also honored in the Con-
gressional Art Competition this
year. Cassidy Reves-Sohn earned
a first-place for painting. Tasha
Garland, Julia Guérin and Eliza
Van Voorhis ’17 (left, top) earned
honorable mentions for photog-
raphy. Sponsored by the Members
of the House of Representatives,
this competition provides an op-
portunity for members of Con-
gress to encourage and recognize
the artistic talents of their young
constituents. The Falmouth Acad-
emy student art will be displayed
in U.S. Representative William
Keating’s Massachusetts district
office for a year.
German students earn
accolades for their
language skills
Dr. Ehrenbrink’s German IV and
V students were honored in two
competitions this year – including
an international contest.
Seven Falmouth Academy stu-
dents received a gold award at
the 2014 Massachusetts Chapter
of the American Association of
Teachers of German award cere-
mony, including Lucas Johns ’14,
Lily Patterson ’14, Helena Old-
enbourg ’14, Nicolas Pingal ’16,
Alaina Plueddemann ’15, Char-
lotte Van Voorhis ’16, and Samuel
Graber-Hahn ’17. Lily Patterson
also received an Austro-American
Association Award and Nicolas
Pingal received a Deutsche Son-
18

19. nabendschule Award.
Students from these same classes
submitted a music video they cre-
ated to a contest sponsored by the
Goethe-Institut to win a trip to
Hamburg and visit with the band,
‘Tonbandgerät.’ The Falmouth
Academy video, “Nach Hamburg
gehen,” was one of 18 chosen to
go into the next round. The com-
munity was asked to vote, but,
alas, we did not win.
Mademoiselle
Bonnafoux becomes
Madame Claydon
Best Wishes to French teacher
Emmanuelle Bonnafoux for her
marriage to John C. Claydon on
May 31, 2014. Sunny weather
graced the wedding, held at Spohr
Gardens in Falmouth. Congratu-
lations to the happy couple.
Students present
to the Human
Rights Academy
Four Falmouth Acad-
emy students, mem-
bers of the Human
Rights elective, pre-
sented their service
project at the annual meeting of
the Cape and Islands chapter of
the Human Rights Academy.
Students Cassidy Reves-Sohn
’14, Maddie Primini ’16, Liz
Drinkwater ’15 and Phoebe
Long ’15 discussed their proj-
ect to assist children in need
in Falmouth by raising money
to donate healthy snacks to the
Morse Pond School. By making
and selling jewelry from recy-
cled materials and gathering
donations from students who
“paid” to wear jeans to school,
they were able to make several
significant donations to provide
snacks to children who wouldn’t
otherwise have them during the
school day.
Elenita Muniz, former Direc-
tor of Publications at Falmouth
Academy, is the Cape and Islands
Human Rights Academy director
who hosted the all-day event in
Hyannis, which was attended by a
number of area schools.
Graduates name
college destinations
Congratulations to our recently
graduated seniors, all of whom
will have bright futures at the
colleges of their choice:
Boston College (2)
Brown University
Cape Cod Comm. College (2)
Clark University (2)
DePaul University
Fordham University
Harvard University
Lesley College
Loyola University Chica-
go
Maine Maritime Acade-
my
Macalester College
Occidental College
University of King’s
College Nova Scotia
Washington University
St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Whitman College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Brigham Young University
Greek Drama tradition
continues for 7th graders
The seventh graders performed
in the annual Greek Drama
Festival on the front lawn of the
school. They acted out fables and
19

20. Alumni News
Andrew Maggiore ’95 and Jeremy
Hayes are thrilled to announce
the birth of their daughter Audrey
Evana on June 27, 2014 in Roanoke,
Virginia. She weighed in at 6
pounds 5 ounces (2863 grams) and
was 18.75 inches (58 cm) long.
Congratulations to Braden Goyette
’05, who was promoted to Senior
Editor at The Huffington Post.
Nicole Fleury ‘10, graduated
cum laude from Texas Christian
University in Fort Worth, Texas this
past May with a degree in Business
Administration focusing on Supply
and Value Chain Management. She
recently accepted a position
in the Leadership Development
Program for Integrated Supply
Chain Management with Textron
Inc. While participating in this
program, she will complete four,
six-month assignments, across
various business units both
domestic and abroad, gaining
hands-on experience in her field.
Her first rotation will be in Fort
Worth, Texas at Bell Helicopter
in the Environmental
Health and Safety
Department.
Congratulations to
Alyssa Gantz ’03,
who was promoted to
Associate Producer of
This Old House.
Shaun Sellers ’97 filed nomination
papers to represent Monteagle
Ward on the Hastings Highlands
Council in Ontario, Canada.
The election is October 27. On a
Facebook page that she set up for
her campaign, Shaun said, “I think
many of the challenges we face in
Hastings Highlands are also our
strengths: our small population,
our rural history, our distance from
a major city, and our abundance
of natural resources.” Shaun,
who is an organic chocolatier,
would join other FA alumni who
serve in public office. Heather
(Mastromatteo) DiPaolo ’90 and
Jay O’Hara ’00 are both members
of the Bourne School Committee.
Good luck to Shaun and we
invite you to visit and like her
page: https://www.facebook.com/
shaunsellersformonteagle
Congratulations to Jules Buccino
’10 on her graduation from
Vanderbilt University in May.
She received a bachelor of arts in
Medicine, Health and Society. As
part of a five-year program, she will
also receive a master degree next
year upon completion.
The Class of 2004 enjoyed a 10-
year reunion hosted by Matthew
Waterbury ’04. Pictured here are
attendees (back row) Ali Baker,
Katy (Hickman) Prosser, Leslie
Bullis, Matt Waterbury, Joey Smith,
Nat Shaver and Oliver Moore. In
the front row are Mike Kowalski,
Evan Sipe, Lauren (Sasaki) Boscoe,
Karl Duane, Julia Wagner, Tristan
Wickersham, Christa Hulburt and
Sean O’Neill.
The Class of 2009 got together at
Tim Wadman’s house for its five-
year reunion. Pictured here after a
rousing game of Corn Hole are Taza
Vercruysse, Kenny McCormack,
20

21. Alumni News
Max McGurl, Alex Gundersen, Tim
Wadman and Christina Johns.
Congratulations
to Kristen and
Perry Raulerson
’01 on the birth of
their son William
David (Liam)
Raulerson, born
March 21. He
joins big sister
Emily.
Robert Silvers
’86 designed a
photomosaic of the
Happiness Flag, sponsored by Coca-
Cola and which debuted at the FIFA
World Cup opening ceremony. Once
a canvas painting was completed,
Coke sent a digitized version to
Robert, who recreated the colorful
flag design with fan photos posted
to HappinessFlag.com — more
than 140,000 — and shipped the
finished product, section by section,
to a digital printing company in
Rio de Janeiro. After all 192 panels
were printed, they were stitched
together. The Happiness Flag spans
3,600 square meters of printed
nylon fabric. “When viewed from a
distance, it looks just like the original
artwork,” Silvers explains, “but when
you come up close you can see the
people that formed the image.”
Shelby Walker ’90 was named
director of the Oregon Sea Grant
College Program run out of
Oregon State University. She was
previously the strategic planning
team leader for the Office of
Policy, Planning and Evaluation in
NOAA’s Office
of Oceanic and
Atmospheric
Research.
Shelby was
responsible for
the agency’s
research and
development
planning
efforts. She was
also associate
director for
the NOAA
RESTORE
Act Science
Program, an initiative funded
through civil penalties resulting
from the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill that aims to increase scientific
understanding of the Gulf of
Mexico ecosystem and improve
the region’s sustainability.
Kristen Roupenian ’99 graduated
from Harvard in March with a PhD
in English.
She teaches
in the History
and Literature
program there.
Her fiancé,
Schuyler Senft-
Grupp, is
originally from
New York, and
finishing up a
PhD at MIT in
environmental engineering.
“Mr. Lamb,” a short film starring
Hanlon Smith-Dorsey ’99 was
accepted into at least eight film
festivals around the country since
2013. The film won the Audience
Choice Award at the Williamsburg
Independent Film Festival and
Best Costumes at the Chicago
Comedy Film Festival. The film
has also appeared at the Dallas
International Film Festival, the San
Francisco IndieFest, Woodstock
Film Festival, Big Apple Film
Festival and Boston Underground
Film Festival.
Jana Pickart ’05 will join the Arts
Politics M.A. program at NYU’s
Tisch School of the Arts where she
looks forward to doing a creative
thesis on how to use poetry as a
peace-building tool in the adult
education classroom. Jana read
one of her poems at The Bowery
Poetry Club with the NYC-based
performance group, Poets in
Unexpected Places. She is also
in the process of establishing
an “Emerging Writers” open
mic night at Baba Cool Cafe in
Brooklyn.
Under the name 3V3T3A and Eve
Tea, Sonja Todorovich ’05 self-
released an EP called WWW. It’s
available on iTunes and Google.
Visit www.3v3t3a.com or tweet
@3V3T3A to download and check
it out.
21

22. Alumni News
Sara Dilegge ’06 graduated from
the Tufts Cummings School of
Veterinary Medicine in May. She
received her Doctor of Veterinary
Medicine and is off to Bath Maine
where she joined Bath Animal
Hospital. Here she is pictured with
her mom and step-father, Ginny
Edgcomb and Richard Sperduto.
In May Julie Taylor attended the
wedding of Stephanie Pommrehn
’07 to Matthew Marshall, which
took place
in a 14th
century
church in
Hundon,
Suffolk,
England.
Suzka Sottova ’08 completed
her undergraduate studies in
the UK (International Relations
and French), and is receiving a
Masters diploma from Central
European University in Budapest
in International Relations and
European Studies. “I am currently
looking for job/internship
opportunities, and have applied to
several NGOs on the East Coast
(mainly NYC, DC and Boston) in
the field of international relations
and development. Both Juraj (Sott
’10) and I have very fond memories
of the time we spent at FA; it was
a truly life-changing experience,
both in terms of academics as well
as personal growth.”
Isabel Stearns ’09 had a
photography exhibit at the Maine
Farmland Trust Gallery in Belfast,
Maine. Isabel’s exhibit features
portraits of farm apprentices in the
Penobscot Bay area. Each portrait
is accompanied by a statement that
begins with: “I farm because…”
“The inspiration was my
admiration and wonder for the life
of an apprentice. I hope to share the
beauty I see in their work,” she said.
The exhibit was on display at the
Blue Hill Coop, where these farms
sell their produce.
View Isabel’s work at
http://ifarmbecause.
weebly.com/
Seeing her students
experience flashes
of comprehension
in the classroom is 2009 alumna
Bene Webster’s favorite thing
about teaching. A member of
Teach for America, Bene is
teaching third grade at Akili
Academy in New Orleans. A
recent staff spotlight article,
features Bene and her reflections
on being a teacher. Check it
out: http://crescentcityschools.
org/2014/05/07/staff-spotlight-
bene-webster/
Congratulations to Clea
Baumhofer ’10 who received the
Civil Engineering Award for the
Whiting School of Engineering at
Johns Hopkins University. Clea has
been very involved with Engineers
without Borders, and did a service
project in Guatemala this spring.
Elliot Camarra ’10 served up her
senior illustration show at the
Rhode Island School of Design
in April. Her etchings covered
one wall and she used another
to project a film she produced,
22

23. Alumni News
starring a friend and her sister
Isabel ’13, who is also a student
there. Additional FA visitors to
her perspective included photo
teacher Susan Moffat, who took
Elliot’s picture, Annie Stimson
’11, Gina Camarra and Jill
Neubauer.
Juraj Sott ’10 completed his
year abroad in St. Petersburg,
Russia. Next year he will be back
in Sheffield, UK, at his home
university, finishing his bachelor
degree in History and Russian.
An article featuring Allisa Dalpe
’12 appeared in the Norwich
Bulletin commending her
achievements in the net for the
Connecticut Varsity Women’s
Lacrosse team. Check it out:
http://www.norwichbulletin.
com/article/20140418/
Sports/140419436
Congratulations to Morgan
Peck Opie ‘12 on being one
of 14 recipients in the United
States to win a one-year
Churchill Scholarship to study
at Cambridge University for a
year. Having just graduated from
the University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Morgan majored in
physics and mathematics. At
Cambridge, she will seek a
Master of Advanced Study
degree by completing Part III of
Cambridge’s Mathematical Tripos,
a centuries-old examination
famous for its difficulty and
history.
Alumni vs. Varsity
Soccer Game
Alumni College
& Career Networking Day
Friday,
Nov. 28, 2014
1 p.m.
Rain or Shine
Friday,
Dec. 19, 2014
9-12 p.m.
In the Library
23
Save the Date
Send your Alumni News to Barbara Campbell, Alumni Director, at bcampbell@falmouthacademy.org

24. Our biggest fundraiser of the
year was a great success! “A
Derby Ball & Auction” was held
on Kentucky Derby day and was
the inspiration for the wearing
of fancy hats and sipping of
mint juleps. Ticket sales, silent
and live auctions and Fund-
a-Need receipts were among
the highest ever for Falmouth
Academy. A net total of $51,000
was a welcome addition to the
Annual Fund, which supports
the school’s daily operations and
financial aid program.
Special thanks to our volunteers,
led by Parents Association chair
Anna dos Santos P’16, to our
auctioneer John Schofield P’01
from Eldred’s Auction Gallery,
and to our staff, who spent
many hours making this event a
success.
erby Ball and Auction put FA in the winner’s circle
Falmouth Academy received $26,600 in Fund-a-Need donations from generous donors.
D
15
Buy it now items
16
Live auction items
46
Fund-a-Need donors
146
Silent Auction items
206
Bidders
$51,000
Net proceeds
Pictured (clockwise, from top left) are Heather
Stewart, Anna dos Santos (Parents Association
Chair) and Shelley Devine, wearing their
finest Derby-style hats; Ben Allen, hoisting his
bid in the live auction; and Stephanie
Mastroianni, faculty member and school
counselor, waving her bid card in support of
Falmouth Academy.
The Falmouth Academy Annual Fund goal was ex-
ceeded in mid-June thanks to a gift from an anon-
ymous foundation, an alumni challenge, and 100%
participation on many fronts.
There were many opportunities to give to Falmouth
Academy:
The Annual Fund, benefitting operational costs and
financial aid.
FASETS, the new Falmouth Academy Science, Engi-
neering, and Technology Scholars Program, with
gifts doubled by a $50,000 matching grant from the
Edward E. Ford Foundation.
The fund to honor retiring faculty member Olivann
Hobbie, which included an alumni-created matching
pool to inspire giving to support financial aid in her
name.
The Senior Parent Gift Fund, which benefited from
100% participation to support professional devel-
opment for the faculty. A senior parent committee
funded six faculty workshops or projects that will
enhance their teaching.
This year, 100% of our faculty and staff participated
in the Annual Fund. And 82% of the senior class
donated to the Annual Fund after being inducted as
alumni at the Senior Launch.
We received 787 gifts in the last year, and 12 donors
took advantage of the school’s monthly giving pro-
gram, increasing their capacity to give by spreading
gifts in installments.
Annual Fund goal exceeded, thanks to your generous support
24

25. September
Mon. 1: Labor Day (holiday)
Tues. 2: Orientation for new stu-
dents and new parents
Wed. 3: First day of classes
Fri. 5: Registration deadline for
SATs
Fri. 12: Yearbook picture day
Fri. 19-Mon. 22: Junior class trip
to Mt. Monadnock
Mon. 22-Tues. 23: 9th grade trip:
Cape Cod Sea Camp
Wed. 24: All-School Trip to Mar-
coni Beach
Tues. 30- Oct. 1: 8th grade trip to
Mt. Monadnock
October
Thurs. 2: Registration deadline for
Nov. SATs
Sat. 4: SATs
Wed. 8: 8th grade Watershed
Project
Fri. 10: Grandparents’ Day
Mon. 13: Columbus Day (holiday)
Fri. 17: Progress report writing day
(no classes)
November
Sat. 1: SATs
Fri 7: Registration deadline for
SATs
Fri. 7-Sat. 8: Fall play
Mon. 10: Professional develop-
ment day (no classes)
Tues. 11: Veterans’ Day (holiday)
Fri. 21: Fall concert
Tues. 25: Last day of first trimester;
Thanksgiving Break begins at 2:30
December
Mon. 1: School resumes after
Thanksgiving Break; first day of
second trimester
Sat. 6: SATs
Fri. 12: Dance
Fri. 19: Alumni Day; school closes
for Winter Vacation at 2:30
January
Mon. 5: School resumes after Win-
ter Vacation
Fri. 16: Progress report writing day
(no classes)
Mon 19: Martin Luther King Day
(holiday)
Sat. 24: Scholarship Exam and
Faculty Forum
Fri. 30: Gala
February
Fri. 6: Registration deadline for
SATs
Fri. 6-Sat. 7: Middle School play
Mon. 16: Presidents’ Day (holiday)
Thurs. 19: Falmouth Academy
Science Fair
Fri. 20: No school
Tues. 24: 10th grade history trip
Thurs. 26: Midwinter concert
Fri. 27: Professional Day (no classes)
March
Fri. 6: Last day of second tri-
mester; school closes for March
Vacation at 2:30
Mon. 23: School resumes after
March Vacation; first day of third
trimester
Fri. 27: Dance
April
Mon. 13-Fri. 17: Spirit Week
Sun. 19: Prom
Mon. 20: Patriots’ Day (holiday)
Thurs. 23: 9th grade history trip
Fri. 24: Progress report writing day
(no classes)
May
Fri. 1-Sat. 2: State Science Fair
Sat. 2: Spring fundraiser
Sun. 3: Honor Society induction
Fri. 8: Registration deadline for
SATs
Fri. 8-Sat. 9: Spring play
Wed. 13: 8th gr. drug/alcohol
forum
Fri. 15: Spring Arts Evening: Fine
Arts Show and Concert
Wed. 20: Athletic Awards Night
Fri. 22: 8th grade Declamation Day
Mon. 25: Memorial Day (holiday)
Thurs. 28: Talent Show
Fri. 29: Greek Drama Festival
Fri. 29: Capture the Flag
Fri. 29: Dance
June
Wed. 3-Tues. 9: Exams
Wed. 10: Exam make-up day
Fri. 12: Return Day (classes meet)
Sat. 13: Graduation
(For a more detailed Calendar, please visit www.falmouthacademy.org.)
The Calendar
25

26. Uniquely FA
What I hadn’t known, but
gradually realized, was that I
looked forward to coming to
school, not because everyone was
smart and interesting, but because
the culture of Falmouth Academy
was very specific and deliberate,
unusual in its air of respect and
trust, of generosity and kindness.
I say “deliberate” because this
culture didn’t happen by accident.
It was created and continues to
be fostered by teachers who know
that no matter how smart they or
their students are, and no matter
how carefully they design their
classes, their most important
job is to set the expectations and
demonstrate the kinds of behavior
that make a challenging but safe
place for students and adults to
thrive.
Here, students, teachers and staff talk together,
laugh together and sometimes struggle together,
because they value the work they do together. You
feel that energy and breathe that culture.
Why are students willing to stand by themselves
and introduce a guest to the whole school at All-
School Meeting?
Why will Cassidy Reves-Sohn dress in vegetables
and lead the seniors in Captain Compost
announcements?
What does Will Kraus know before he stands
to ask for a moment of silence in honor of the
victims of the Boston Marathon bombings?
What do the 8th
graders expect when they dress
Henry Jones in a chicken suit; or Nick Russell
when he dons a pink dress and sings “I am 16
going on 17” during Spirit Week?
The answer is always that they can trust this
community to cheer them for their
efforts and listen to them with respect.
None of this is easy. Most of it
requires thought and courage. And
it all requires a living, breathing
culture that expects generosity and
kindness.
It’s so important not to take
something so meaningful for
granted. A culture as unusual as this
needs to be nurtured. It requires
attention from all of us, because
mean spirits from any quarter spread
poisonous fumes.
As Captain Compost says: “We are
all responsible for our environment.”
After breathing this Falmouth
Academy culture for many years, I
leave the school wiser than when I
arrived, because I’m stunningly aware
now of the life-affirming effects of
making the generous choice over the
self-serving one, and the kind response over the
clever one. Every day in this community, we see
dozens of examples — large and small — of these
wise and sometimes difficult choices.
And I leave with a deep admiration and
appreciation for the adults and students who take
care to foster this culture and who have been
learning — and breathing — along with me.
This column was an excerpt of a speech Ms. Clark gave at the 2014
National Honor Society induction ceremony before her retirement
in June.
It is a living, breathing culture that expects generosity and kindness.
Tucker Clark was part of
the FA community for 25
years as an administrator,
fundraiser and
communicator. With her
typical acuity, she defines
what makes Falmouth
Academy unique.
W
hen I first came to work at Falmouth
Academy, I knew I’d be in a community
of smart, interesting people who wanted
to teach and to learn. I was right, but
only partly.
26

27. In their own words
What is your hope for the new Meeting Hall?
“It’ll feel like
we’re closer
and more involved.
We’ll be able
to really hear
each other.”
Stephanie Aviles ’17
“I hope that people
like it as much as
the meeting hall we
have now and that it
becomes a new part
of our community. It’ll
be more relaxed and
comfortable.”
Coralee LaRue ’18
“I hope the new
meeting hall
provides everyone
with a greater
sense of
community.”
Robert Eder ’15
“I hope it allows more
students to come
to the school.
Maybe
I’ll eat more,
pay attention more.”
Samuel Graber-Hahn ’17
“I hope it’ll be more
of a space,
not for specific
activities, but for
less-official activities
and socializing.
A space that’s warm
and welcoming.”
Eliza VanVoorhis ’17
Coming to Falmouth Academy
“Lend me your ears”:
Shakespeare for Adults
continues in September
Lalise Melillo will offer her popular
Shakespeare course for adults this
fall, on five Mondays from Sept.
22-Oct. 20, from 5-7 p.m., at Fal-
mouth Academy. This year’s study
will be “Julius Caesar.”
“In this play, Shakespeare uses and
reshapes the material of history as
he presents events that took place
in the ancient world but that were
of intense interest to his Elizabe-
than audience,” said Ms. Melillo.
The play, written in 1599, is a
tragedy, a classification that may
seem strange since Caesar is killed
at the beginning of Act III, and
Brutus’s role as a tragic figure is
ambiguous. Ambiguity is, in fact,
both a technique and a theme in
the play.
The use of rhetoric is especially
striking in the play, and the course
will look at the patterns of persua-
sion that contribute to the momen-
tum of this drama. Selections from
a film of the play will be viewed
and discussed.
Ms. Melillo has taught English,
history and rhetoric at Falmouth
Academy for more than 30 years
and has offered the adult Shake-
speare class since 2006. The cost
is $195 and space is limited. To
register, contact Lalise Melillo at
(508) 540-1195 or at lmelillo@
falmouthacademy.org.
Cape Symphony concert series
at FA begins September 13
Falmouth Academy is proud to host
a new concert series “The Titans”
performed by Cape Symphony’s
exciting new chamber ensemble Nth
Degree, conducted by Jae Cosmos
Lee.
“The Titans” is a four-part concert
series held in Falmouth Academy’s
performance space that features a
five-piece ensemble playing the mu-
sic of Brahms, Mozart and Beetho-
ven, the geniuses of classical music.
Performances will be followed by
a reception with the performers.
For tickets, visit Cape Symphony at
www.capesymphony.org or call the
box office at 508-362-1111.
27

28. Construction has started!
Falmouth Academy’s New Meeting Hall is
underway. Visit us for a peek at the building
of this new heart of the school and home to
All-School Meeting.
Read about Falmouth Academy’s
expansion plans and the Campaign for
Falmouth Academy on page 14.
Falmouth Academy
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