Horace Mann - Winter 2012 - (Page 4)

Head of School letter from the head of school inter, 2012: As the world embraced a new calendar year, Horace Mann School students returned to campus following their winter break ready to continue the studies and activities that so deeply engage them day, week, and year after year. I am humbled by such milestones, and by this passage of time, for this year at Horace Mann, time is very much on our minds. Horace Mann School is observing the 125th anniversary of our founding throughout the 20112012 school year. The address of our school has changed since the first four children walked through Horace Mann’s doors in Lower Manhattan back in 1887, but the quality of our students has not, nor has the central idea of our school. Those original students came from families who saw education as an adventuresome enterprise, and were willing to be the first in line at a school that aimed to engage children intellectually, athletically, artistically, and ethically, with a sense of community being of paramount importance. Those students were instructed by teachers seeking to learn, themselves, by engaging young minds, under the guidance of the master educators of their day. Over the ensuing century and a half this powerful combination of questing students and inspired teachers helped Horace Mann School refine its mission into the one we pursue today—a mission of preparing “a diverse community of students to lead great and giving lives.” In this issue of Horace Mann Magazine you will read about a handful of alumni from Horace Mann School’s past who are living our mission of realizing “great and giving lives,” by turning experience gained through personal challenges and triumphs into efforts on behalf of others, and toward the greater good. Each of these alumni credits some aspect of their Horace Mann School education for endowing them with the resources to pursue their giving lives. You will read about HM’s present, in articles on initiatives new to our school. One is our Office of Institutional Research and Enrollment. Emerging from the foundation of Horace Mann School’s long tradition of excellent education, this Office is already providing information critical to our continuing efforts to strengthen the school for the diverse community of students it serves. You will also read about our future, in a synopsis of the document “Strategic Thinking: 2012 & Beyond” we recently presented to members of the Horace Mann School community. This document grew out of directions we identified for the school to pursue, based on the self-study we undertook in preparation for our recent ten-year review by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), and in response to the recommendations contained in the NYSAIS accreditation report. The document offers a roadmap to assist us in fulfilling our mission, and to guide our efforts to ensure our school’s strength for milestones to come. When I reflect on Horace Mann School’s past, present, and future during our 125th year, the topic of time obviously emerges. My focus is not only on time, but on the quality of time—of how time teaches, and transforms. For, at Horace Mann School, we value the lessons learned each day of our 125 years. Among the thoughts I, personally, bring to our commemorations, are reflections of the days just before our winter holiday break, when I joined our youngest students counting pennies and wrapping presents for others in need, and watched our older students entertain at our annual Sanctuary for Families dinner, or teach children at the nearby neighborhood center where our students regularly work. I swell with pride over our students who were recently recognized at the nation’s highest levels for their accomplishments in music, science, math, athletics and journalism, both individually and as members of teams. These good works demonstrate how fully our students live in the moment. But, our school’s history tells us that such experiences are part of the preparation for their future of great and giving lives. Finally, at Horace Mann School, time is a value, for we continue to grow through the legacies of the teachers who taught here, the alumni who learned here, and the engagement of all of you who are committed to our school today and to its future. Please join us on campus for events and special programs celebrating HM’s 125th year, and visit www.horacemann.org to learn all of our latest news. Let us celebrate our milestones together, now and in the years ahead. W Dr. Thomas M. Kelly P ’18 Head of School With best wishes, 4 Horace mann magazine Winter 2012 http://www.horacemann.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Winter 2012

Horace Mann - Winter 2012
Contents
Letters
Greetings from Dr. Tom Kelly
Greetings from Melissa Parento ’90
Horace Mann School’s 125th Anniversary Observances Begin
Strategic Thinking
New Initiatives in Institutional Research and Admissions
HM's New Director of College Counseling
Timothy HO and Monica Merlo are 2011 Tina and Dave Bellet Teaching Excellence Award Winners
Langfan Oratorical Contest, 2011
Horace Mann School Graduates 178 in June, 2011
Alumni Council Corner
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials
Philanthropy and You

Horace Mann - Winter 2012