Kit Fisher '21, Kate Freedlander Fisher '91, Barkley Smith Booker '93, Tayah Ratcliff '21, Ella Ratcliff '22 during 2019 Fall Family Weekend Dear Fellow Oldfields Alumnae,
When describing Oldfields, one of our students recently said, "Every day is like Thanksgiving dinner, the kind where all the extended family show up!" As we turn the calendar to November, I can't think of a better way to describe the feeling on campus! The students, faculty, and staff are amazing, and the atmosphere is electric. Having just spent two and a half days at Oldfields for board meetings, it was a heartwarming reminder of how lucky we are to be part of such a caring community.
Besides our meetings, some of us got to cheer on the Oldfields field hockey team as they battled Indian Creek School. I couldn't help but smile as Carol Hubbell Engebretson '72 and I heard Miss Herky loud and clear in our collective brains…things like "move your feet," "go around, not through your opponent!", and, of course, "my grandmother can run faster than you"! Our Oldfields girls somehow knew all of this, and I am happy to say, they won in overtime! Bottom line, if you haven't paid a visit to Oldfields recently, put it on your to-do list now. You won't be disappointed!!
While November is a big change in terms of temperature and daylight, it is also a wonderful reminder to be thankful for the gifts we have received. All of us were so lucky to have someone in our lives who valued a good education. Many of our parents made sacrifices big and small so that we could attend a school like Oldfields. It wasn't just the academic challenges that our parents wanted for us, but the emotional and social growth as well.
Courage, Humility, and Largeness of Heart have been a part of me for almost 50 years. It got me through a summer at KFC in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with classmate Kate Fleming Pistor '72, as well as 35 years in a television news room! However, it wasn't until 2004 that I really leaned heavily on my Oldfields gifts. That is when my brother Jim underwent a stem cell transplant in his battle against leukemia.
So why am I talking about my brother in an Oldfields note? His Oldfields connections go beyond mine…in the early 1960s he and his Eaglebrook classmates were under the tutelage of our beloved Hawley and Wendy Rogers! Anyway, Brother Jim will celebrate his 15th transplant birthday on November 23, and like our field hockey team, he has battled through and continues to win. And, since I was my brother's donor, he too is an Oldfields girl, at least on the inside!
So no matter what your connection is to Oldfields, take a minute to be thankful for everything this community has given you. The School has always been there for you, and I hope you will always be there for Oldfields. Your donations, big or small, will help pave the way for more young women to experience the gift that is Oldfields, and I can't think of a better way to pay forward the gifts we received.
Stay in touch, and let us know why you are thankful for Oldfields.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, Lulu Laubenstein '72
Join us in Washington, DC! Please join Head of School David G. Perfield and members of the Oldfields community at the Washington, DC Gathering on Wednesday, December 4, 2019, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. This event is graciously hosted by Trish and Jamie Peva P'20. If you would like to attend, please contact Director of Alumnae Affairs Joan Carter '81 P'15 at CarterJ@OldfieldsSchool.org or 443-662-1018.
Alumnae Spotlight Sarah Walker '02 Shows Her Largeness of Heart Sarah Walker '02 has followed a career path giving back to the community in which she lives as the Director of Friends of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Sarah says Oldfields instilled in her the ethos of giving back as a result of the influence of "the strong female teachers and leaders, Betsy Isaacs, Dennie Doran, Ansley Smithwick, and my mother, Deetzie Dance Walker '71. They were strong and compassionate women who set a high bar and a lifelong example of how to give back to the community."
Dedication of Alumnae Gifts to the Riding Program Beau Cole; Lana's niece, Ginny duPont Cole; Diane Trefry; Lana's sister-in-law Caroline Johnstone Prickett '60, and Sarah Colenda Students, alumnae, and friends gathered on October 24 for the dedication of two wonderful additions to the Riding Program from alumnae who took their feelings of love for Oldfields and turned them into action.
The Lana duPont Wright '57 Riding Arena
The Lana duPont Wright '57 Riding Arena was spearheaded by a challenge gift from a classmate who has long felt Lana should be honored on the Oldfields campus. Not only was Lana an inspiration to her fellow riders as a student, but was also the first woman ever allowed to compete in the Olympics Three-Day Eventing. She won a team silver medal, along with her male teammates, at a time when when eventing was considered too strenuous for "the fairer sex." Lana made history and paved the way for all the female eventers who have followed her. Read more here! Sydney Freiberg '20 and Head of School David Perfield The Anna Austen McCulloch Barn
When Emily Ford Embrey '76 was at Oldfields, the barn was her haven, a place that has a prominent place in Emily's heart to this day. Her time spent at the barn was when she "refilled her bucket" each day. "Being able to ride for four years at Oldfields was such a joy to me! I always felt so excited to head for the barn after classes."
Emily stays in close contact with Director of Riding Amy Phillips, so when she learned of the project to build an addition to the barn which would echo the style of the original barn while providing more stall space and an area to store hay, equipment, and a place for the riders to meet, she and her mother, Clare Glassell P'76, stepped right up to make the lead gifts to fund the construction.
Teaching Teens About Embracing Stress In a recent faculty meeting, Oldfields' teachers and staff participated in a professional development workshop on a topic so integral to our students becoming college-prepared young women, we just had to share it with our community---how to teach our teenagers to cope with stress. Director of Academic and Programmatic Affairs Joe Doherty shared an article that appeared in the New York Times by Lisa Damour (psychologist and the author of the New York Times best sellers Untangled and Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls) titled "How to Help Teenagers Embrace Stress." It is a must-read for any educator or parent. Here are a few takeaways from the article:
Stress has gotten a bad rap---it is a normal and healthy part of life and is instrumental in growing and learning. Our culture has created kids who are "stressed about being stressed."
Parents and educators should NOT try to provide a "stress-free" environment, but rather model and teach coping behaviors. Research shows that people who make it through challenging life circumstances build emotional strength and resilience.
Oldfields Magic Why Oldfields? Watch this video, and you will begin to understand the magic that is the Oldfields experience. If you know a girl who would benefit from the Oldfields Experience please share our information or have them RSVP to our Open House on November 11. Click here to watch!
Sons of Serendip Return to Oldfields How did you spend your Friday night? Here at Oldfields, we were treated to an incredible concert by the one and only Sons of Serendip as seen on America's Got Talent.
Click here to watch as they perform with three of our own Oldfields girls: Daejarie Jones '20, Hadley Bell '22, and Kendall West '20.
Thank you to International Humanities, Inc. for the grant that makes events like this possible for our community.
Let us Know What You're Up To! Submit your Class Note for the 2020 Winter Magazine Have you moved across the country? Gone on the trip of a lifetime? Changed careers? Gotten together with your Oldfields pals? Tell us all your latest news! We want your photos too!
Every Gift Matters! Funds raised through annual giving benefit the program Oldfields girls experience every day. Show your support of our students and faculty by making your gift to The Oldfields Fund today!
©2016 Oldfields School |