Some activities from today included watching the sunrise, play time with students, arts and crafts, and amazing and inspirational talks with the mothers involved with Safe Passage. Take a look at the photo gallery below where the pictures will tell you the whole story!
Tomorrow we will be teaching 2-6 year olds all day!
Blog by Hayli Poisson ’17
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Today was project day at Safe Passage. Team Gould organized activities at the Jardin Infantil, also known as Hanley’s Garden for 2-6 year olds. We provided stations for the kids with activities such as balloons, bubbles, chalk, watercolor and stickers. The game of tag was also very popular among the children at recess time, so we definitely got some exercise in! Below is another photo gallery, enjoy!
Tomorrow we have a day off and we get to hike the volcano named Picaya. Rumor has it we can roast some marshmallows at the top too. Be looking for more details and pictures from Guatemala in tomorrows blog!
Blog by Hayli Poisson ’17
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Today was a free day for Team Gould here in Guatemala! We woke up early and hiked Pacaya, a volcano located 2 hours from Antigua. We saw some incredible views. Some horses and dogs tagged along with us on our adventure to the top. We were able to roast marshmallows in spots where the heat from the lava underground filtered through to the surface. A shop close to the top sold items that incorporated the lava. The sale of these items supported the Mayan people and their heritage. Take a look at the photos below to get a sense of what an amazing adventure today was!
Tomorrow we will be heading to a waterpark with the top 2 students from each grade to help them enjoy time away from their everyday lives!
Hayli Poisson ’17
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Today was our final day in Guatemala, which we spent most of the day at the waterpark. We swam, slid on the slides, bobbed in the wave pool and laughed beyond belief! Take a look at the gallery below, where the pictures will tell the whole story of our final full day in Guatemala!
Tomorrow is our travel day home so I am going to write the final blog tonight. For tonights debrief, we were asked to pick a card with a symbol on it and connect the symbol to three words that sum up the trip as a whole. For me personally, I chose a fist clutching a lightening bolt. The three words that I chose to represent the trip are powerful, eye-opening, and inspirational.
Powerful: The strength of the lightening bolt is meant to resemble the idea of how powerful all the children are in the program. The fact that each child is able to have the strength to smile, laugh and be unconditionally kind despite their unimaginable home life. As powerful as the children are, their moms are the backbone behind the whole family. They are the ones that get the kids to school, may work in the dump during the day, and scramble to find food to put on the table.
Eye-Opening: When I feel that I am having a tough day, or being ungrateful in my everyday life, I forget to think of all the other billion people in the world who may have things a lot tougher than I do. This trip was eye-opening in the sense that most people in this country don’t have running water, don’t know when their next meal will be, if they are going to make it through the night, and what the next day will bring them. This trip has helped open my ears, heart and, eyes to the lives of others instead of just my own.
One school we visited bordered this shanty town where tin shacks occupy every square foot around the school walls.
Inspirational: Watching the children play, smile, laugh, and want to learn is truly inspiring. In addition to the children, the moms are inspirational by showing the passion and drive they have for their children to always be the best version of themselves. Through their positivity and kindness it has inspired me to continue community service work and possibly major in education to become an elementary school english teacher for students living in countries where poverty is prevalent.
For me this trip was without a doubt an inspiring, powerful, and life changing experience, so thank you to all the parents who helped make this happen. If you are reading this blog, I strongly encourage community service work either locally or globally as a must do, because I guarantee it will change your outlook on your everyday life in a positive way.
Team Gould 2016. L to R: Julia, Caroline, Hayli, Molly, Noah, Luke, Celia. Faculty (not pictured here) Ms Andreozzi and Mr Hayward.
Hayli Poisson ’17
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Brandon Baldwin, of the Civil Rights Team Project, led our faculty in a powerful afternoon of training to help us reach the ideal of being a place where everyone feels safe, welcome, and respected for who they are. No exceptions!
Kudos to the Attorney General’s office for putting a teacher in charge of the Project. Brandon is phenomenal…thought-provoking, fun, and absolutely dedicated to this important work.
From the Project’s website:
The mission of the Civil Rights Team Project (CRTP) is to increase the safety of elementary, middle level, and high school students by reducing bias-motivated behaviors and harassment in our schools.
The CRTP accomplishes this by supporting student civil rights teams in our schools. The CRTP and the student civil rights teams are active in identifying and addressing issues of bias in our school communities, especially those related to:
- Race and color
- National origin and ancestry
- Religion
- Physical and mental disabilities
- Gender
- Sexual orientation
We believe that bias-based behaviors are especially damaging to targeted individuals and create a hostile school climate that is not conducive to learning. Because of their unique nature, bias-based behaviors warrant specific preventative efforts.
Gould is a strong community but we can always do a better job, as individuals and a community, making students feel safe, welcome, and respected.
Next steps:
Thanks to Pete Hedden, Director of Community Life, for bringing this important program to Gould.
Go Huskies!
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Student elected speaker Will Harvey and Valedictorian Edison Yi address the Gould community during the 2016 Commencement Ceremony.
Watch Will Harvey’s take on life to understand his call to “action and passion and appreciating the moment because you know damn well you’re not going to get that moment back” and his modern take on the adage “Go West.”
Watch Edison Yi’s reflection on a mother’s wisdom, an emperor’s myopia, and understanding the relationship between wisdom and humility. Edison calls on us to avoid the “zombie plague” of adulthood that may narrow our horizons and to “remain curious, wonderful, and made of awesome.”
Inspiring.
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Congratulations to Alejandra Pardos ’16 who won 1st place in the Bill Taylor essay contest for the Camden Conference for International Affairs last month and to Eli Kurtz ’16 and Cole Lusk ’16 who tied for 3rd place.
Dr. Brad Clarke, Associate Dean of Academics and History Department Chair brought four of his students to the conference which attracts speakers from all over the world every February and is held in Camden, Maine.
Dr. Clarke’s AP Comparative Government students wrote their essays focusing on one specific challenge that confronts Sub-Saharan Africa today, taking the people, the planet and economic viability (politics, environment, society & economy) into consideration. The essayists were challenged to make a recommendation to resolve the issue.
First place Winner: Alejandra Pardos Lopez-Blanco
Envision a billion begging palms turning into a billion rising fists. This is the symbol of Pan Africans as they celebrate the unification of their land. It is the proclamation of the rebirth of a silent continent after many centuries of slavery, colonialism, and economic instability. Pan Africanism has set in motion the renaissance of the African continent as a whole by challenging the status quo of colonial traditions. Its social, economic and political models are the driving forces for this change. In the past centuries the African continent has suffered from the Read More
Cole Lusk Tied for Third Place
Philipus A. Paracelsus once stated, “Once a disease has entered the body, all parts which are healthy must fight it: not one alone, but all.” This statement portrays how our respective bodies respond to disease, but also provides insights into how our societies should respond to disease. One action humanity can not afford to take is to detach itself from humanitarian need. Just as our immune system works within our bodies to eliminate disease unilaterally, we as a society must develop methods that fight for those not healthy enough to fight. Read More
Eli Kurtz Tied for Third Place
As a continent, Africa is fast approaching a critical point. What remains to be seen however, is whether it will be a tipping point, or a crisis. Democratization, economic stability, human rights, and other key topics are springing up fast. But, much like a house, there needs to a be a strong foundation if anything is to be built in the future. Food and water are some such foundation issues, and securing them is an objective that needs to be confronted immediately. The continent is predicted to have a 23% decrease in annual rainfall by 2100 Read More
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Roxanne Quimby P’96, founder of Burt’s Bees, made an epic act of philanthropy by donating 87,000 acres of land to the National Park Service. President Barack Obama declared the land, by executive action, a new national monument just one day before the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary. The National Park Service Director says,
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the centennial and underscore our mission than by adding this extraordinary piece of Maine’s North Woods to the National Park System,”
The Katahdin Woods and Waters monument is the 413th park unit in the National Park System. Quimby’s children, Lucas St. Clair ’96 and Hannah Quimby ’96, played an integral role in the campaign for the monument. For the last several years St. Clair has served as president of the board of the Elliotsville Plantation Inc, the organization formed to manage the family’s land in Maine, while Quimby has served as the Executive Director of the Quimby Family Foundation.
The new monument is full of Maine wildlife including iconic bald eagles, moose, coyotes, black bears, deer, snowshoe hares, bobcats, fisher cats, and Canada lynx. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says, “Through this incredibly generous private gift for conservation, these lands will remain accessible to current and future generations of Americans, ensuring the rich history of Mainers’ hunting, fishing and recreation heritage will forever be preserved,”
In recognition of their work on the monument and other conservation efforts, the Quimby/St. Clair family will be presented with the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) Conservation Leadership award at the NRCM’s Conservation Leadership Awards event on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 in South Portland.
This is the second year in a row Gould alumni have been honored by the NRCM. Phil Coupe ’86 was the recipient of the 2015 Conservation Leadership Award for his extraordinary contributions to the conservation of Maine lands and Bonnie Pooley P’81 was chosen for the 2015 People’s Choice Award for her outstanding success in engaging young people in the work of protecting Maine’s environment.
The post 87,000 Acre Gift from Roxanne Quimby P’96 Creates a National Monument in Maine appeared first on Gould Academy.
Dick’s Sporting Goods sponsored a fantastic short film of Kaitlyn McElroy ’03 that was shown at the Tribeca film festival last April.
Join Kaitlyn MCELROY ’03 on campus for Alumni Weekend, September 23-25!
Kaitlyn McElroy was born in Northhampton, MA and started Nordic skiing at age three. Despite living with chronic pain as the result of congenital back condition from birth, Kaitlyn skied competitively at Gould Academy and Bates College. During her time at Gould she earned a spot on the New England Junior Olympic team four times, the Maine State team twice, and took first and second place wins at the NEPSAC Championships.
At Bates she continued competing in skiing as well as track and field. During her four years there, she made the NCAA Division I team, the US Junior Worlds team, and placed 4th in the World Junior Olympics. In 2005, she had an accident that ended her career as she knew it.
Although no longer able to ski competitively, Kaitlyn heroically moved from the woods to the water and began a new career in kayaking. Within her first year of picking up the sport, she made the US National Team. She went on to make the US National Team eight more times, took the podium five times at the World Cup with silver and bronze medals, was a two time medalist at the Pan American Games, a three time silver medalist at the World Dragon Boating Championships, and was a twelve time US National Champion. She has continued her professional athletic career competing in four sports and winning over 25 international medals.
The post What was Kaitlyn McElroy ’03 Doing with Dick’s Sporting Goods at the Tribeca Film Fest? appeared first on Gould Academy.
“The simplicity of it is awesome, I want for nothing and need for nothing living in this space.”
Jimmy Catlin ’07 was quoted from a recent article written by Casey Butler for Grind TV, Butler asks Catlin and his wife Jorie Ohlson ’06, “Is tiny house living all it’s cracked up to be?”
Click here to read the entire article
Tiny Living is a social movement where people are choosing to simplify and scale down the space they live in. The most common reasons people are choosing to live tiny is to reduce their environmental footprint, have more time and freedom to live their lives outside of the house, and to create a more affordable lifestyle. Typically, tiny houses are less than 1,000 square feet.
The “tiny house” movement can be traced back at least as far as Henry David Thoreau who said, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,” Thoreau wrote, “to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
The post A Gould Alumni Couple Decided to Build and Live in a Tiny House… What Happened Next? appeared first on Gould Academy.
Kelly Hood is a new member of the English Department at Gould this year. She is the Head Field Hockey coach, and lives in Gehring Hall.
Kelly Hood engages with ninth graders on the first day of classes.
Hood was a standout athlete at Dartmouth College, breaking several records as an All-American Field Hockey player (including single season and career goals). But while playing against Yale during her junior season she suffered a season-ending injury. “Before my injury, I had been playing some of the best field hockey I would play during my entire career, scoring 18 goals in 13 games,” says Hood. “The injury forced me to step outside of myself and my own achievements and direct my energy toward my teammates. As my role shifted, I learned how to better appreciate the people around me, recognizing that the success of a team is dependent upon the unique contribution of each and every player.”
Hood pushing herself and the ball while at Dartmouth.
“Teaching students about how to thrive in, appreciate, and care for the natural world is at the center of my philosophy as an educator.”
Kelly and her mom on top of the world.
And the challenges didn’t stop after college. She recently completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Having grown up in Berlin NH in the shadow of the trail, it has long been a goal, and one she prepared for by summiting all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000 foot peaks. This love for the outdoors is one of the aspects of Gould that Hood finds so attractive. “Gould’s curriculum is one I wholly believe in,” say Hood. “From orientation trips to an eight day winter backpacking trip for the junior class, teaching students about how to thrive in, appreciate, and care for the natural world is at the center of my philosophy as an educator.”
Name: Kelly Hood
High School: Holderness School
College and Degree:
Dartmouth College: B.A. in English, Minor in Education and Human Development
Coaching Philosophy:
My goal as a coach is to create a culture where athletes love every part of the game of field hockey. There were too many times in my career where personal accolades felt empty and going to practice became a job. We too often forget that sports have so much more to offer than what can be quantified on a scoresheet or resume. With the right combination of hard work and team camaraderie, it’s possible to develop a space that thrives off of an intensely focused fun. Once this mindset is consistently brought to every practice and game, winning takes care of itself.
Fun Fact:
I started taking flight lessons last year and hope to earn a private pilot’s license in the future.
Favorite book: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Movie I would recommend: Crash (2004)
Best piece of advice I ever received:
My mom told me to listen to the call of the mountains whenever I need strength. Nature has yet to fail me. It has given me more than I will ever be able to give in return.
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Presidential elections create an incredible learning opportunity for our students. This morning at assembly, I talked about how this is done at Gould. No surprise, it all comes back to core Gould principles: kindness, respect, and inclusion. You can read the text below.
Thanks to Pat Donovan, Tom Whittington, Denise Manning, Brad Clarke, and Pete Hedden for their help in crafting this message.
Good morning.
We have an incredible opportunity over the next few months.
Whether you are from the U.S. or abroad, you have the opportunity to observe, discuss, and engage in the selection of the next leader of the United States and the peaceful transition of power from one leader to another in a major world power and republic.
Election season is a time when we test our ideas in public and have a responsibility as citizens to take positions and ultimately make a choice. This is an exciting process that demands our best thinking.
We haven’t been together during such a momentous election, so it seemed like a good idea for us to talk about how this happens at Gould.
First and foremost, this is a community based on kindness, respect, and inclusion. No matter how big or small the issue. No matter the circumstance, our words and deeds must abide by these principles. There is no exception.
Unfortunately, out in the world, we see these principles violated daily, in every country and on every political front. In words and sometimes horrible deeds.
Such violations have no place here because we’re a family. We live together. Learn together. Work together. Each of us has a responsibility to ensure that we live these principles. Just as Sam challenged us in his assembly on Saturday, each of us has a responsibility to say something when we see something wrong.
Now, let’s talk about how this will work for us.
In your conversations, seek understanding not victory. People of good will can disagree. How you respectfully handle ideas that you don’t understand or agree with is a mark of your character and the quality of your intellect. Any closed mind can argue or take a position. Only open strong minds can bridge divides and create understanding.
In studying the issues, read and listen to the best thinkers on both sides of a matter. Open your mind and seek to have your own assumptions challenged. Don’t fall into the trap of only getting information from those who agree with you. Don’t get trapped in your social media feed.
Know when to engage, know when to disengage. If people are getting upset, the time for learning has passed. Stop the conversation and help others stop. This builds trust that lays the foundation for further conversation and understanding.
Know that you have a right to your thoughts and to express them. You don’t have a right to an audience. It’s OK for people to walk away from a political conversation. If someone walks away, don’t follow. They don’t want to talk.
Don’t be rude.
And, at Gould, all forms of expression – speech, writing, clothing, drawings, social media – must comply with our code of conduct and values. It doesn’t matter what the source is. The bar is always kindness respect, and inclusion.
So, what’s next?
We’ll take time in advisory to talk about this and we’re lucky that the History Department has planned three assemblies and a mock election to help us become educated political thinkers. We’ll have one assembly on the Maine election, its’ referendum question, ballot initiatives and statewide races. We’ll have another assembly on the U.S. general election and electoral college, and a post-election assembly to review the results of the U.S. and Maine elections as well as the Gould mock election.
I’d like to close with thoughts inspired by a 1959 interview of mathematician, philosopher, and Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell. I think he captured both the intellectual and moral sides of our values of kindness, respect, and inclusion.
Intellectually, always seek the truth and don’t be diverted by what you wish to be true. Look at the facts and the truth that the facts bear out.
Morally, know that love is wise and hatred is foolish. In these interconnected times that amplify our voices and amplify our capacity to do good and harm, we have to learn to understand each other.
Let’s take this opportunity to engage with each other and the great questions of the day.
Let’s show the world how young people can lead from a principled place of kindness, respect, and inclusion.
Finally, approach all matters with an open mind, an open heart, and the deepest humility.
That is what great minds do.
That’s how we do it here.
Thank you.
The post Navigating a School Through the Political Season appeared first on Gould Academy.
Dr. Clarke in action around the Harkness table. Bonus points if you can identify the records featured on his wall.
One of the first things you notice when you step into Dr. Brad Clarke’s classroom are the records. He has shelves packed with vinyl spanning genres and eras. But this isn’t just some window dressing or off-limits collection. It is a teaching tool. “I look for music that will relate to philosophy, government, history, whatever it is I’m teaching,” says Clarke. “An artist like Bob Dylan has written dozens of songs that are political commentary, social commentary, and that can help students understand history and a perspective on history. Bob Marley wrote a song called ‘Exodus’ about migration, and that is one of our themes we are studying in Comparative Government. A lot of kids will get excited about bringing music into that.”
“An artist like Bob Dylan has written dozens of songs that are political commentary, social commentary, and that can help students understand history and a perspective on history… A lot of kids will get excited about bringing music into that.”
Clarke (or DC as he is affectionately known by a generation of students) has been teaching at Gould for 20 years. He still remembers his first piece of advice as a new teacher at Gould. “When I got hired at Gould I was at a BBQ for new faculty members and making small talk with some of the older teachers,” Clarke remembers. “Lucia Owen, who was the English Chair, said ‘I’ll give you one piece of advice. If you are going to teach at a boarding school, you have to love the kids as much as your discipline.’ I hadn’t interacted with high school students since I was in high school, but here I am twenty years later and that is what brings me back every year.”
Thanks, DC, even though The Times They Are A-Changin’ you stay Forever Young!
Name: Brad Clarke
High School: Westford Academy
College/Grad School:
B.A. University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Ph.D. Brandeis University
Proudest Achievement: Raising three great sons and a very special daughter
Dr. Clarke with his family after Gould’s Commencement Ceremony in 2015. Pictured from left to right: Dr. Clarke, daughter Livy ’20, wife Beth, and sons Aiden ’15, Jeb ’12, & Caleb ’16.
Last book I read: EM Forster, A Passage to India
My soundtrack is: Europe ’72 (Grateful Dead)
Movie I would recommend: Darjeeling Limited
Favorite food: Coffee ice cream
One word that describes me: Calm
Best advice I ever received: “Follow Through” by my son Aiden
Why Gould?
Teaching and coaching Gould students is a blast, and I get to work with a pretty chill faculty.
What’s the last thing you crossed off your bucket list?
Hiking all 48 of the NH 4000 footers
“DC” & Beth check #47 off the list of 4,000 footers at the summit of Mount Carrigain in the White Mountain’s Pemigewasset Wilderness.
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When you listen to students in between classes, you start to hear how they frame learning:
“Did you do all the work last night?”
“I think I did the math wrong.”
“I think I am totally lost.”
“I can’t figure out what the teacher wants.”
And when you listen to teachers in between classes, you hear how they frame learning:
“I found how they approached that problem really ingenious.”
“That discussion engaged their connection to the story.”
“They worked really well together to solve that challenge.”
“They had great questions about the homework.”
The gap between intention and perception is expected—the teenage brain and the adult brain don’t sync up— and the gap invites dialog and reflection about not just what we teach, but also how we teach. Gould’s commitment to the IDEAS Center is a great facility upgrade, and a strong indicator that we are exploring new paradigms of teaching and learning. Enter design thinking as a foundational approach for the 9th grade seminar.
We challenged six groups of six students to design a foundation for the new Gould ninth graders that extends beyond schedules and planners to all the elements of a successful year. With the time clock on, 16 faculty guided the students in a rapid design sprint—encouraging participation and transparency in exploring what their needs are.
Brainstorming on the white boards in the IDEAS Center
Brainstorms turned into design drivers that turned into sketches of prototypes, which were turned into realities with concept statements.
Design thinking intentionally challenges idea development with time constraints and creativity with how materials are used. And minds love it! Creativity gets unlocked, imagination fires up, and possibilities discovered. All the type of ignitions switches we want to go off in all classrooms.
Here is the concept statement and prototype from a group:
“The general concept of our foundation is to show the area of Bethel. We have a river representing the Androscoggin, and the water we need to drink. We have the trees with eyes to represent our safety. We have mountains to represent our mountainous area. We have Bethel itself and the dorms and homes of our community. Our learning materials and a table with silverware show we all have equality in resources. And the plane proves that Gould lets our ideas fly.”
Ideas turn to prototypes during the Design Thinking process.
Design thinking invites collaboration and creativity where students and teachers leave saying, “That was fun! I feel that way too.”
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Alumni Weekend at Gould is a remarkable event every year. We recharge and get re-inspired by witnessing firsthand the lifelong relationships that are nurtured here, and by observing countless examples of alumni who are living out the mission of the school.
They are independent thinkers who are living lives of purpose and action. They are artists and athletes, teachers and coaches, entrepreneurs and philanthropists. They are compassionate, global citizens, and they are making the world a better place by being engaged with it.
Alumni Weekend is an opportunity to catch up with old friends and a chance to make new connections, but the ultimate benefit is seeing the extraordinary results our exceptional faculty and caring community has produced. This is why we do what we do.
Here are a few powerful examples we saw this weekend of graduates who are living the Gould life.
Angus Graham ’01 displays his art work in Owen Art Gallery on Alumni Weekend 2016.
Angus is a potter and ski instructor living in Carbondale, Colorado. Angus was back on campus to celebrate his 15th reunion and as a featured artist in the Owen Art Gallery. On Saturday morning, he addressed the community at assembly and passed on some wisdom to current students.
“It’s the willingness to risk. Explore, and risk, and try everything so you can find your passion. That quote on the wall that says, ‘To Thine Own Self Be True’ is not about the ego. It’s about the real ability to say ‘This makes my heart sing, and this is what I need to do.’ That’s where passion comes from. That’s where joy comes from. That’s where life comes from.”
Luba Lowery stands next to our newest husky with her Athletic Hall of Fame plaque.
From Ken Remsen’s ’67 introduction at the Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony:
Luba Lowery spent the first four years of her life in a Russian orphanage outside Moscow before being adopted by an American family and joining them in Cumberland, Maine. At age 8 she lost a leg to her congenital bone defect but continued skiing as a sit skier. She was an Alpine Skiing Junior National Disabled Champion in both her tenth and eleventh grade years at Gould, and later went on to represent Team USA skiing both slalom and giant slalom at the Paralympic Games in Vancouver, Canada in 2010.
“From my very first day as a Sophomore, this was a place that helped me grow. As an athlete I learned that if you surround yourself with people who push you, you will become a better person, and the best version of yourself. I’m incredibly grateful that during my time here at Gould, I was surrounded by great staff members and coaches, including my advisors Ms. Wilkerson, and the Whittingtons who helped me to balance my academic and athletic goals.”
Sarah gets a few laughs during assembly. Don’t ask her to do any Algebra.
Sarah travelled from Brattleboro, Vermont to celebrate her 35th high school reunion this weekend. While admitting that Algebra might not have been her strong suit, she challenged Gould students to drop the identities that may have already been assigned to them, and not be afraid to reinvent themselves while they are here.
“One of the first and greatest gifts that Gould gives us is the opportunity to reinvent ourselves under our own terms. To do that, I’d suggest that you leave yourself open to exploring other passions and identities by going WAY outside your comfort zone. If offered an opportunity to try something that truly terrifies you – always say yes. At the very least, you are guaranteed an excellent adventure, and I’m pretty sure you’ll discover something that awakens a piece of your heart and soul you never knew existed.”
If you’re a Gould graduate following your passion, don’t wait until the next Alumni Weekend reunion year to visit. You strengthen and enrich our community. Come back and share with current students and faculty how you are embodying the spirit of Gould’s mission, and what makes your heart sing.
There were many more wonderful moments over the weekend, some of which we captured. Photos from Alumni Weekend 2016 can be found here.
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Alpine Coach Jeff Lathrop ’09
As an athlete, your worst fear is getting injured. When a student-athlete has the “athlete” section of their identity taken away, how do they respond? At Gould Academy, we pride ourselves on preparing our elite student-athletes – many with hopes of Division I or even professional careers – for more than just their sport. Just ask faculty member and ski coach Jeff Lathrop ’09.
“It was getting injured at Bates that forced me to take a step back from skiing and really became a tool for perspective; not only towards skiing, but life in general,” says Lathrop. “I’m confident that the experiences and education I had at Gould were an important factor in making sure I could still be a productive member of the Bates community after my injury.”
Coach Lathrop with Gould student-athletes on the hill.
Now, having returned to Gould after graduating from Bates in 2013, Lathrop gets a chance to work with student athletes like himself both on the hill and in the classroom — this past spring he began teaching a psychology class.
“I really enjoy working with kids who are not only dedicated athletes, but also use their intelligence and skills from the classroom to help themselves on the hill,” Lathrop says. “If Gould has taught me anything, it’s that [academic and athletic success] are closely linked. To be successful in either, it takes a strong work ethic and problem solving skills.”
In the class and on the hill, we are proud to have Jeff Lathrop as a coach, a faculty member, and an alumnus.
Name: Jeff Lathrop
High School: Gould Academy
College/Grad School: Bates College
Proudest Achievement: Using skiing as a means to be accepted at a college that was an academic reach.
Last book I read: Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
Movie I would recommend: Crash (2004)
Favorite food: Lobster
Best advice I ever received: All that matters is the happiness of those you love.
Why Gould?
To share my experiences and expertise with motivated young people in hopes of having them develop into their best selves.
What’s the last thing you crossed off your bucket list?
Being able to use my degree in everyday life
Classic photo of Jeff as a member of the Gould Academy Competition Program in 2007.
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Dylan Rivard ’20 & Brenna Myles are the Athletes of the Month for September 2016.
Each month at Gould, coaches nominate outstanding members of their teams for Athlete of the Month recognition based on work ethic, leadership, and results in their discipline. Dean of Athletics Kristina Stevens and a committee of faculty evaluate the nominations and select a boy and girl student-athlete who are living out the mission of our school, and exhibiting passion and sportsmanship on the field, court, course, park or trail. Each recipient gets a unique Gould pullover and a months-worth of bragging rights.
We’re proud to announce that the Athletes of the Month for September 2016 are field hockey midfielder Brenna Myles ’18 and mountain biker Dylan Rivard ’20. Keep reading to hear thoughts from their coaches that were shared with the community at assembly on Wednesday morning.
Gould field hockey midfielder Brenna Myles ’18 proudly dons her new Gould garb.
“I hesitate to put Brenna’s monthly stats at the beginning of this nomination. She is worth more to our team than any defined number. A defensive stalwart and offensive powerhouse, Brenna is a must-have on the field. As a center midfielder, her job is to do everything and more. Brenna handles this position with confidence, poise, and fierce competitive instincts. She gives more than what is asked of her in every second of every game. She is our go-to on attacking corners, terrifying the other team with the speed of her shot. She is our constant in the middle of the field, keeping control of the game in her own quiet but tenacious way.
Not only does Brenna play to the best of her ability in every game, she brings this level of intensity to every drill in practice. When I jump into drills to try and model skills for the entire team, Brenna makes me work harder, forcing me to become a better player and coach as a result.
Her persistent desire to control the ball is frustrating to play against—it’s this part of her game that makes her so great. Brenna is a quiet role model. She is the engine that keeps all of us going. We thank her for all of the time and energy she puts into bettering herself, her teammates, and her coaches.”
Learn more about Field Hockey at Gould
Mountain biker Dylan Rivard ’20 poses with his new Athlete of the Month pullover.
My entry for athlete of the month is Dylan Rivard for his determination every single day! That kid has worked so hard to get back to Gould Academy and back in the saddle of his mountain bike.
His race times are not why he’s nominated. It’s his true grit and passion for biking that make him athlete of the month. That kid is a fighter.
Learn more about Mountain Biking at Gould
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At Gould, we often say that “or” is easy, but “and” is hard. Many of our students embrace that and reject being labeled as a student who is this “or” that.
Our faculty are the same way.
Most of our students know Rebecca Lowe, new to Gould this year, as their math teacher, or maybe as their assistant field hockey coach. But they are less likely to know that Lowe is a competitive cyclocross racer, has competed in Ironman Triathlons, and won three national championships in lacrosse at the University of Maryland.
“A desire to learn, to constantly improve, to set and achieve goals is what drives me as an athlete,” says Lowe. “The fact that Gould values development through athletics which translates directly to academics makes it a perfect fit.”
With her husband an officer in the United States Navy, Lowe has lived and worked in several locations and seen a lot of schools. But when she arrived on campus this summer she noticed something special about Gould.
“Gould is a kind, welcoming, and professional community,” says Lowe. “I was amazed at the facilities and programming that Gould offered for only 250 students. As a teacher, coach, and mentor at Gould, I believe the potential for personal and professional growth are endless and I intend to make the most of it.”
Rebecca crosses the finish line at the 2015 Ottawa Early Bird Triathlon.
Name: Rebecca Lowe
High School: Broadneck High School (Annapolis, MD)
College/Grad School: University of Maryland/University of Phoenix
Proudest Achievement:
Finishing my first Ironman, marrying my wonderful husband, earning my Master’s Degree, winning the National Championship for D1 Lax
Last book I read: When We Were the Kennedy’s by Monica Wood
My soundtrack is: Elton John – Rocket Man
Movie I would recommend: Caddyshack (1980)
Favorite food: Sushi
One word that describes me: Enthusiastic
Best advice I ever received:
To always do your best, have fun, & be safe. Practice like you want to compete.
Why Gould?
Opportunity to grow professionally & to be apart of an active, engaged, caring & growth-mindset community
Rebecca during the cycling stage of the 2015 Ottawa Early Bird Triathlon.
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Today at assembly faculty member Colin Penley shared his reflections on National Coming Out Day. The standing ovation that followed was well deserved. His words are powerful, emotional, and important.
The best teaching is modeling. Colin did that for all of us.
Read the text of his talk below which embodies our core ideals of purpose, action, excellence, and compassion.
Mr. Penley stands at the board in his Mandarin I class.
Yesterday, October 11th was National Coming Out Day. A day to celebrate visibility of LGBTQ+ people and remind everyone of an invisible minority.
But today is a different day. Today is not a day to celebrate. Today is a much sadder day. Today is the anniversary of two events which National Coming Out Day stands in direct opposition to.
Today, October 12th, is the 18 year anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death. Matthew Shepard was a gay man from Laramie, Wyoming. He was beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die because he was gay.
Today, October 12th, is also the four month anniversary of the shooting rampage at the Pulse Night Club in Orlando, Florida – June 12th, 2016.
June 13th, sitting on the floor of my apartment, crying, I wrote a Facebook post. I want to read it to you with a few small edits:
Our power is in never stepping down and in our tears as we take the next step forward. I cry and I hope, unrealistically unfortunately, that I will never need to cry again.
Because words are power: I am gay. I. Am. Gay. I am here. I am gay.
This past fall, Mr. Liff and I directed and produced The Laramie Project. We talked about the death of Matthew Shepard in the past tense. While his death was almost 20 years ago, the issues are still present tense. I am lucky. I live in a supportive environment. I have parents who love me.
But that is not enough.
Until we live in a world where holding hands isn’t an act of courage, kissing an act of defiance, love an act of risking, I will not be free. Until the day that all of this is past tense, I will live and love looking over my shoulder.
Orlando was a tragedy for all of America, but more than that, it was an assault on queer/LGBTQ+ people. Dance clubs have long provided safe spaces for LGBTQ+ citizen who were disowned by the their families, cursed by their churches, bullied and harassed in their school, and fired from their jobs. A club was a space where everyone saw the true you and you could safely take off all the masks you needed to protect yourself in your daily life.
To deny this aspect of the attack is to silence generations: those attacked by McCarthyism, those who fought in the Stonewall Riots, those who were lost because Reagan’s inactions, those who survived Reagan’s inactions, those who sewed the AIDS quilt, those who stood up for equality, those who lived their truths.
Last fall, during rehearsals for the Laramie Project, Tarin McLaughlin struggled with and found voice in Zubaida Ula’s words: “Everyone needs to own it. We are like this. We ARE like this. WE are LIKE this.”
I say:
America, this is not a lone wolf not an Islamic extremist, we ARE like this.
Until my right to be safe is not a political discussion, we ARE like this.
Until my students don’t fear the reaction of their peers and their parents when they come out, we ARE like this.
Until faggot is not the insult of choice for young men, we ARE like this.
Until a woman’s body is treated with equal respect as a man’s rather than being seen as a piece of meat, we ARE like this.
Until my black friends can walk down the street and drive their cars without fearing the police, without fearing that they will be killed, we ARE like this.
Until everyone can use a public bathroom regardless of their gender presentation, we ARE like this.
Until everyone can dance and celebrate themselves without risking being shot (and Orlando is just the most recent in a long string of attacks on queer safe spaces), we ARE like this.
I hope one day we will shift that present tense “are” to the past tense “were”. I wish and pray for this for all American children: LGBTQ+, straight, or anything else. We MUST be better. And until then, I will not be silent.
And that is where my Facebook post ended. But today, I want to end on a note of hope.
We live in a nation where our highest courts wrote: “It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.” We are ALSO like this.
We live in a nation where people of all walks of life stand up and proudly proclaim their position as LGBTQ+ citizens and their allies. We are ALSO like this.
We live in a nation where my friends – Black, Latino, Asian, and White – are standing up and peacefully proclaiming that black lives matter. We are ALSO like this.
We live in a nation where people chose to risk getting shot to stand, and dance, in defiance of hatred. We are ALSO like this.
Holding these positives as truth, I repeat: We MUST be better. And until then, I will not be silent.
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To say Peter Southam leads a busy and varied life doesn’t do him justice. Yes, he’s the Science Department Chair, and yes, he is the head coach of the road cycling team at Gould. He built the mountain biking team, from the ground up, into one of the most successful programs in New England. But it doesn’t end there.
He is Vice Chairman of the Bethel Board of Selectmen, is involved with both Mahoosuc Pathways and the Bethel Outing Club, and he plays the baritone horn in the Mahoosuc Community Band in his spare time.
Always environmentally conscious, Pete drives an electric car, and he and his wife Sarah live in a home they built themselves, complete with a solar array. This list is not exhaustive, and yet, he also managed to raise two children, both graduates of Gould, Samantha ’12 and Max ’15.
Mr. Southam’s biology class takes a hands-on approach to science, looking at forest health indicators in a long-term environmental study.
When asked “Why Gould?” for himself, and his family, he had this to say:
“Gould is a really fun place. It is a school that embraces the outdoors, the active, and the intellectual without letting any one upset the balance. I have taught at several other independent schools, and of all of them, I am happiest that my own children got to go to Gould.”
He has a reputation among his students for being something of a mad scientist. The real world questions he dreams up and poses to his classes are both infamously hysterical and notoriously insurmountable:
How many bricks does it take to build the field house?
How much paper is lost from wood chips that blow out of the back of a truck in transit?
How much money could be saved if Bicycle stopped including the jokers in their decks of cards?
Students may feign apathy, but they continue to surprise him with creative solutions that he himself would have never thought of.
In the end, whether in the classroom or in the saddle, it’s all about working with students.
“When it comes right down to it, wherever I am on campus, it’s [about] working with kids. I love walking into my classroom, the kids are there, and we can just start a discussion. It’s an awful lot of fun. They’re really interesting people.”
Name: Peter Southam
High School: Pomfret School
College/Grad School: B.A. Dartmouth College | M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Proudest Achievement: Getting my children through to adulthood.
Last book I read: McDonalds, Behind the Arches by
My soundtrack is: Elvis Costello and pretty much anything from the 80’s
Movie I would recommend: The Blues Brothers (1980)
Favorite food: Chinese, or whatever I happen to be eating especially if it contains sugar and chocolate.
One word that describes me: Curious
Best advice I ever received: Don’t eat anything bigger than your head.
What’s the last thing you crossed off your bucket list?
Strangely enough, it was buying a bucket truck. Now I can install solar panels on every roof in Maine in my spare time.
Mr. Southam and his son Max ’15 at the conclusion of the Tour Divide, a 2,700+ mile bike trek spanning from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.
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