The Gunston School celebrated its 110th commencement this past Saturday, June 12, honoring the Class of 2021 with a waterfront ceremony overlooking the Corsica River, as family and friends looked on. The procession began with Bagpiper Robert Wallace, followed by school faculty and staff, and then the graduating seniors. Senior Class President and Valedictorian Lydia Periconi, who is headed to Penn State Schreyer Honors College to study veterinary and biomedical science, greeted the audience and her peers before each graduate shared their senior quote aloud.

Photo: Front row, from left, Lillian (Lilli) Ward, Sydney Nittle, Lydia Davis, Adison (Adie) Parish, Glynis Gardner, Lydia Periconi, Kayla Flood, Reagan Gessford, Marion Riddle, Lily Berntsen, Emily Ryon. Second row, from left, Helen Boone, Avy Aubin, Phebe Wood, Hannah Worth, Olivia Hershey, Hannah Beckman, Isabella (Bella) Adams, Erin McDonald, Emma McClary, Erika Lee. Third row, from left, Yongah (Jonathan) Choi, Brianna (Brie) Barrett-Kennedy, Henry Shifrin, Orion (Rion) McCluskey, Charles (Charlie) Shifrin, Colin Ward, Sean Riley, Carter Janney. Standing, fourth row, left to right, Assistant Head of School Christie Grabis, Head of School John Lewis, Ethan Nuessle, Samuel (Ranger) Hightower, Maxmillian (Max) Brady, Christian Walker, Campbell Parkhurst, Severin Schut, Zachary (Zack) Anderson, Graduation Speaker Ben Dize, Chair of the Board of Trustees Patrick Shoemaker ’03. Fifth row, left to right, Aidan Myers, Joseph (Brennan) O’Connor, Henry Sheets, James Fordi, Jack Pigman, Owen Santora, Connor Reichardt, Kylee Rushton and Joshua (Josh) Sanford. Not pictured are Suah Choi, Hyunseok (Luke) Lee, and Yi (Lily) Zhang.

Head of School John Lewis then introduced the commencement speaker, Mr. Ben Dize, a retiring faculty member who has spent just over 50 years teaching, with the last 22 spent at Gunston as the chair of the art department. “Born in Crisfield, Maryland as the oldest of three children, Mr. Ben Dize spent his formative years living a true Eastern Shore childhood from a bygone era,” began Mr. Lewis. “Immersed in the waterman culture, and without a television until the 9th grade, he was part of a small graduating class of 58 at Crisfield High School. From there, he migrated to College Park, Maryland, graduating in 1968, and then earning his Master’s degree at Towson in 1974. He started teaching in the Kent County Public School System in 1969 before coming to Gunston in 1999. For 22 years, he’s been a fixture as a teacher and advisor, seeing the school through growth and change.”

Mr. Dize posed the question “What is it about Gunston that makes it special? Every senior here probably has a slightly different answer. For some, it’s the lifetime friendships that were made here. For others, it’s a certain teacher who saw in them something they did not see themselves. It might have been the freedom to be an individual, or the chance to be a leader. Whatever your path has been, Gunston has played a role in your becoming. Gunston changes lives, alters attitudes, opens doors to self-discovery, challenges ways of thinking, and makes written communication an essential part of an individual’s educational journey. For all of us, the past 15 months has been a time of historic challenges and changes. We all have a shared story here—shared loss, shared pain, shared disappointments. But there are things I would like you to remember: BE KIND. As our parents used to say, ‘it doesn’t cost you anything.’ And, as a teacher colleague of mine used to say, ‘Do not mistake kindness for weakness.’ REMEMBER TO THANK PEOPLE. You didn’t get here by yourself.  Also, don’t wait until it’s too late. BE GENEROUS. You’ll probably run out of time before you run out of money. I love quotes, and perhaps my favorite is, ‘Life is not about getting and having, it is about being and becoming.’ This is your time to be and become.”

Mr. Lewis and Gunston’s Chair of the Board Patrick Shoemaker ’03 then presented each graduate with their diploma, individually handcrafted by faculty member Michael Kaylor on an antique letterpress. This year’s senior class had a successful college admission season and worked hard to earn $7.3 million dollars in merit scholarships. The graduates are listed here with the honors presented to them the day before on Friday, June 11 during the school’s Green & White Awards Ceremony. Student government and team captains are also noted.

Isabella Webster Adams (Captain of Green Team), Zachary Richard Anderson (Moore Award for Improvement), Avy Rose Aubin (Sandra Slacum Spears English Award, State of Maryland Merit Scholastic Award), Brianna Ranae Barrett-Kennedy, Hannah Eve Beckman, Lily Marie Berntsen, Kenneth Charles Bonuccelli, Helen Abigail Boone (Science Award), Maxmillian Xavier Brady (Captain of Green Team), Suah Choi, Yongah Choi, Lydia Marie Davis, Kayla Irene Nicole Flood, James Philip Fordi, Glynis Paige Gardner, Reagan Olivia Gessford (U.S. Naval Academy Prep School, Class Representative), Olivia Louisa Hershey (Environmental Stewardship, Student Government President), Samuel Ranger Hightower, Carter Watts Janney, Erika Uta Lee, Hyunseok Lee, Emma Katherine McClary, Orion Timothy McCluskey (Senior Paradigm, Diversity Leader Award, 2021 Van Hollen Public Service Award), Erin Ann McDonald, Aidan Thomas Myers, Sydney Gail Lorraine Nittle (Anita Gruss Athletic Award, U.S. Naval Academy Appointment, Class Representative, Captain of White Team), Ethan Nathaniel Nuessle (Computer Science Award, Mathematics Award), Joseph Brennan O’Connor, Adison Dryden Parish, Campbell Hawkins Parkhurst (Capt. John P. Vest History Award, Captain of White Team), Lydia Grace Periconi (Valedictorian, State of Maryland Merit Scholastic Award, Spanish Award, Science Award, Senior Class President), Jack Ryan Pigman (The Gunston Award), Connor Kevin Reichardt, Marion Somervell Riddle (Faculty Award), Sean Patrick Riley (Class Treasurer), Kylee Whitman Rushton (Anita Gruss Athletics Award), Emily Catherine Ryon, Joshua Seth Sanford (Engineering Award), Owen Edward Santora, Severin Suhaili Schut (Theatre Award), Henry Bennett Sheets IV, Charles Robert Shifrin (Faculty Award), Henry William Shifrin (Art Award, Leadership Award, Class Vice President), Christian James Walker, Colin James Ward, Lillian Taylor Ward (Hila C. Ferguson Literature Award, Marguerite Thomas Community Service Award, Class Secretary), Phebe Lace Wood (Music Award), Hannah Margaret Worth (Senior Paradigm, Art Award), and Yi Zhang.

Along with Mr. Dize, two other beloved faculty and staff retired this year including Mrs. Weixing Shepardson, who spent 19 years teaching mathematics at Gunston, and Mrs. Becky Schmier, who spent 16 years as the school’s business manager. Additionally, Gunston’s Board of Trustees honored three long-serving board members who are retiring and include Mrs. Betsy McCown, a former parent and Bay Studies Partner who served for a decade and provided invaluable leadership on the Chesapeake Watershed Semester advisory committee; Mr. Mark Freestate, a former Gunston parent and great champion of the school who completed his third tour on the Board and has also served as Chair; and Mr. Jim Wright, who leaves the board after serving five terms since 2008, having served as board chair, helped to bring both Horizons and the YMCA summer programs to Gunston and this past year, and served on Gunston’s COVID response team.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information.

On Wednesday, April 28, Gunston students and faculty celebrated Earth Day (rescheduled from last week due to adverse weather conditions). The day began with a presentation from keynote speaker (and Gunston’s assistant girls’ lacrosse coach) Imani Black. Ms. Black is the founder of Minorities in Aquaculture (M.I.A), an organization that promotes the benefits and sustainability of aquaculture, both in the Chesapeake Bay and worldwide, and works to educate and encourage minorities to pursue careers in all aspects of aquaculture.

Ms. Black told her story of wanting to escape the small town she grew up in (nearby Chestertown), her difficulties navigating college life as a division one student athlete with a heavy class load, with anxiety and depression and self doubt, and the story of how she ultimately discovered and then realized her dreams, despite constant discouragement and setbacks. During her time at Old Dominion University, she was advised to switch to a communications major, and “take a job as a movie theater manager.”

“I was crushed,” she recalled. Despite the bad advice, she continued on with her studies and graduated with a degree in marine biology. After securing an internship with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, she fell in love with aquaculture.

“There is an overwhelming calm about being out on the water,” she explains.

In her first job after college, she was not being paid enough to financially support herself and had to move home. She applied for her dream job of lead hatchery technician on Hooper’s Island and was hired. “And then came what I like to call ‘2020: the year of redirection.’ I was fired from my dream job and I really began to examine how being the only Black person in my various spaces had really affected me. How did you get here? What happened? I wrote down every hurtful thing that had ever been said to me, and then I asked myself which ones are true? And by the end, I had this list of all these things that people said I’d never accomplish, but I did. I also took an inventory of all the mistakes and failures and once I took ownership of them, I felt empowered to move on.”

She continued, “That girl who left a small town, who was never going to graduate college, who should have majored in communications, who didn’t belong where she was headed, the one that should have been a movie theater manager […] when I look at my photo now, on the cover of Aquaculture, North America, I don’t see that 17 year old girl anymore. I see more than my setbacks, my previous immaturity, the times I let people down, and I say ‘I didn’t need to be perfect, I never needed to be, I just needed to be myself.’”

When asked what is one thing students can do to help encourage sustainability, “Make sure the seafood you’re eating is sustainably raised and/or caught. Know where your food is coming from and support the aquaculture industry,” she advised.

After the keynote address, students participated in workshops on Gunston’s campus in art and music, took turns helping with trail clean-ups, recycling, garden projects, and more. The day also included canoeing, sailing, and fly fishing, ending with a “Photo Safari”campus-wide scavenger hunt. The winning team was “JEKZ” (Josh Campbell ’22, Ethan Nuessle ’21, Kallena Kemp ’22, and Zack Anderson ’21) with the “Super Swag Seniors” (Kylee Rushton, Max Brady, Marion Riddle, Olivia Hershey, Emma McClary, Bella Adams, Reagan Gessford, Kayla Flood, and Hannah Beckman) as the runner up.

“Gunston’s annual Earth Day offers us the opportunity to live our mission to the fullest, amplifying our connection to the Chesapeake Bay and learning to become environmental stewards” said Emily Beck, director of environmental programs. “The day builds off of the authentic integration of sustainability in our classes and allows our student leaders to shine in presenting the action-packed day for their peers.”

“The Gunston School has a long history of not only encouraging, but requiring all students to take environmental, sustainability, and climate science courses in order to graduate,” adds Head of School John Lewis. “We’re not just preparing students for a future crisis, but a crisis that is occurring as we speak.”

The school’s signature Chesapeake Bay Studies Program, now in its 26th year, is held annually in May. Additionally, the Chesapeake Watershed Semester (open to any 11th or 12th grade student within commuting distance) is back after a hiatus in 2020, and taking applications for spring 2022.

“Our annual Earth Day celebration, specialized environmental curriculum, the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Watershed Semester—it’s all a part of our strategic goal to expand our capacity as a regional and national leader in environmental teaching and learning,” explains Mr. Lewis.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information.

On Saturday, April 24, the Gunston School hosted its first-ever Mid Atlantic Interscholastic Sailing Association (MDISA) Bronze Sailing Regatta at its waterfront campus on the Corsica river. Seven teams came to compete and included Severn School, Annapolis High School, Stone Ridge, Key School, Saints Peter and Paul (SSPP), Severna Park High School, and Patuxent High School.

“The regatta was simple windward leewards in both W2 and W4 configurations, with eight races total,” explained Tom Chafey, Gunston’s head sailing coach. “With less than a knot of wind out of the north east at the time of the first race, and with up to six knots of wind out of the south east for the last race, it was a very light day.”

Each school brought two teams of two sailors each, sailing in ‘A’ and ‘B’ races. The format races ‘A’ teams from all eight schools and then ‘B’ teams. Each team was then awarded points based on finish with the lowest score winning the event.

Sailing in the ‘A’ division for Gunston was Helen Boone ’21, Hannah Worth ’21, Robbie Wilmer ’24 and Ian Kissel ’23. With the ‘B’ division consisting of Charles Shifrin ’21 and Cy Johnston ’23. Gunston students Julia Buchanan ’23 and Grace Anne Phillips ’23 filled in for SSPP’s ‘B’ division.

“With multiple second place finishes, and with almost every race in the top half, our Herons were evenly matched and did exceptionally well. Coming in second place overall with a total of 26 points, the Herons beat out 3rd place by 7 points and trailed first place by 16,” recalls Chafey.

Taking home first place was the Severn School Admirals, followed by Gunston Herons in second place, followed by (in order) the Annapolis High School Panthers, Stone Ridge, Key School Zags, SSPP Sabres, Severna Park Falcons, and the Patuxent Panthers.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with how well the day transpired,” adds Carter Law, Waterfront Director. “While the lack of wind early in the day made things lead to a slow start it did not slow down all of the athletes motivation to compete. All in all, it bodes well for the future of Gunstons home regattas!”

Gunston’s sailing team next competes on May 22 in Middle River, Md.

Follow @gunstonathletics on Instagram to keep up with the sailing team as well as other Gunston athletic teams.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information.

On Tuesday, April 20, The Gunston School inducted 34 students into the National Honor Society (NHS) as parents, faculty, and fellow NHS members watched. The outdoor ceremony was held near Gunston’s waterfront between two cherry trees in full bloom. Founded in 1921, NHS is a prestigious organization for high school students in upper grades who have met the rigorous national and school standards in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character.

Photo: The Gunston School inducted 34 students into the National Honor Society in a ceremony on Tuesday, April 20th. (Top row, l-r) Sofia Angarita ’22, Lucy Bamford ’22, Hannah Beckman ’21, Maxmillian (Max) Brady ’21, Gracie Callahan ’22, Yongah (Jonathan) Choi ’21, Charlotte Cook ’22. (Second row, l-r) Benjamin (Ben) Cunningham ’22, Isabella (Bella) De Leon ’22, Ashley Escobar ’22, James (Jimmy) Fraser ’22, Nina Friedman ’22, Georgia Gillespie ’22, Evelyn (Evie) Hagan ’22. (Third row, l-r) Paige Holmes ’22, Colin Lang ’22, Neva Lawrence ’22, Samantha LeCrone ’22, Hyunseok (Luke) Lee ’21, Rui (Spencer) Liu ’22, Abigail (Abbey) Miller ’22, Magdalena (Maggie) Miller ’22. (Fourth row, l-r) Alexandrea (Lexi) Norman ’22, Ethan Nuessle ’21, Jack Pigman ’21, Marion Riddle ’21, Sean Riley ’21, Emily Ryon ’21, Summer Salos ’22. (Bottom row, l-r) Leonardo (Leo) Santoboni ’22, Matthew Sharpless ’22, Danielle Simmons ’22, Jude Smith ’22, and Lillian (Lilli) Ward ’21.

Head of School John Lewis addressed the inductees first, recalling the story of Bernie Madoff. The “greatest financial fraudster in history, […] he embodied three of the four NHS values. He was a scholar, by all accounts an excellent student, he was (on the surface) dedicated to service, giving major grants to universities, charities, and cancer research, and he was a leader, politically involved, a trustee, and the head of important financial association boards. The value he lacked, of course, was character, and I speak about this tonight because induction into NHS is often seen as primarily an academic achievement, with the other values perhaps being seen as “helpful” […] To me, it’s actually character that is the most important NHS value, since the other values are rendered meaningless without it. As my mother used to say to me, ‘It’s more important to me that you’re a good person than a good student, but it doesn’t hurt to be both.’”

Mr. Lewis then introduced the evening’s keynote speaker, the Honorable Harris P. Murphy, P’24 and Judge of the Circuit Court of Kent County, Md. Judge Murphy recalled various academic and personal struggles throughout his young life and well into college. He offered a much repeated adage, “Good judgement is the result of experience, and experience is the result of bad judgement.” As he recounted his experience learning how to waterski, he admitted, “It is hard. And you fail a lot. One of my instructors said something that I’ve always kept in mind—and while we are here tonight to celebrate your accomplishments, and they deserve to be celebrated—I hope you always keep in mind the benefits of stretching yourself and not being afraid to fall or to fail. My instructor said to me, ‘If you’re not trying hard enough to fall, you’re not really learning anything or getting better.’ So keep succeeding, keep achieving, but also, keep falling.”

To highlight the core qualities of the NHS, four candles were lit by current members as NHS President Reagan Gessford ’21 spoke about the meaning of each value. NHS Secretary Erin McDonald ’21 read each inductees’ accomplishments as they came up one by one to receive a certificate, pin, and rose, and to sign their names into the registry. Current NHS members pinned the inductees with a pin bearing the NHS logo, and together, they recited the NHS pledge, becoming official members.

NHS advisor Mike Kaylor congratulated the newest members on their hard work and dedication, despite a challenging world-wide pandemic, also thanking their parents for instilling these values in their children.

This year’s NHS Chapter Officers and Inductees include:

Officers: President Reagan Gessford ’21, Vice President Lydia Periconi ’21, Secretary Erin McDonald ’21, and Community Service Coordinator Olivia Hershey ’21.

Inductees: Sofia Angarita ’22, Lucy Bamford ’22, Hannah Beckman ’21, Maxmillian (Max) Brady ’21, Gracie Callahan ’22, Yongah (Jonathan) Choi ’21, Charlotte Cook ’22, Benjamin (Ben) Cunningham ’22, Isabella (Bella) De Leon ’22, Ashley Escobar ’22, James (Jimmy) Fraser ’22, Nina Friedman ’22, Georgia Gillespie ’22, Evelyn (Evie) Hagan ’22, Paige Holmes ’22, Colin Lang ’22, Neva Lawrence ’22, Samantha LeCrone ’22, Hyunseok (Luke) Lee ’21, Rui (Spencer) Liu ’22, Abigail (Abbey) Miller ’22, Magdalena (Maggie) Miller ’22, Alexandrea (Lexi) Norman ’22, Ethan Nuessle ’21, Jack Pigman ’21, Marion Riddle ’21, Sean Riley ’21, Emily Ryon ’21, Summer Salos ’22, Leonardo (Leo) Santoboni ’22, Matthew Sharpless ’22, Danielle Simmons ’22, Jude Smith ’22, and Lillian (Lilli) Ward ’21. The ceremony is available to watch here.

Current Members: (Seniors) Isabella (Bella) Adams, Avy Aubin , Lily Berntsen, Helen Boone, Lydia Davis, Kayla Flood, Glynis Gardner, Emma McClary, Orion (Rion) McCluskey, Sydney Nittle, Adison (Adie) Parish, Campbell Parkhurst, Connor Reichardt, Owen Santora, Severin Schut, Charles (Charlie) Shifrin, Henry Shifrin, Christian Walker, Colin Ward, and Hannah Worth.

The Gunston School will be holding a spring fundraiser, Golfing “fore” Gunston II, on Monday, May 3, 2021 at Prospect Bay Country Club in Grasonville, Md. The day begins with a continental breakfast on the patio overlooking the greens before teeing off with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Refreshments and food will be served throughout the day, with opportunities to “Rent a Pro” for a little extra help. An awards ceremony will follow with prizes for First Place, Longest Drive, Closest to the Pin, and “Last Place” winners. Golfers will be vying to win prizes such as a Bat-Caddy X3R Remote Control Cart, Yeti Golf Bag, Under Armour gear, Pro Shop gift cards, and more. This year’s event includes activities such as lunch and tennis with a pro for those who may not golf, but would like to show their support by connecting with other members of the Gunston community.

Additionally, beginning on Friday, April 30, the Gunston’s Biddersnest online silent auction will go live, offering the chance to bid on items such as dinner for four and a golf simulator session, a full day Gunston Watershed Experience for a family of 4-6 plus lunch, professional photography sessions, a basket of gift cards to area restaurants, and a weekend getaway. Auction winners will be announced at the golf awards ceremony on May 3.

The inaugural Golfing fore Gunston in October 2020 was a sold-out event, with many asking for a second tournament in the spring. “Normally, we wouldn’t have two golf tournaments in the same year, however this has not been a normal year,” explains Head of School John Lewis. Gunston’s annual fall Bull & Oyster Roast provides $100,000 toward bridging the nearly $4,000 gap between tuition costs and what it actually takes to deliver the “Gunston Experience.”

“This year we were not able to have our signature event, so we are working to close our funding gap in non-traditional and atypical ways—like having TWO golf tournaments! In a year where indoor events are out of the question and outdoor gala events involve a myriad of restrictions, hosting TWO golf tournaments makes perfect sense,” Lewis adds.

Sponsorships and donations allow Gunston the ability to offer more than 60% of its students financial aid, as well as provide opportunities for students and faculty to travel to leadership conferences, robotic competitions, environmental trips, and more.

Golf registration is $175 per player or $700 per foursome. Sponsorships are also available and include the opportunity for businesses to get their name and logo in front of the entire Gunston community of students, parents, alumni, and local community members.

Tournament sponsors include Riggo Productions (The Pocock Family, P ’23) and Fred Frederick of Easton (Janell & Jeffrey Frederick, P ’23).

Visit https://www.gunston.org/golf21 to register for the outing or a sponsorship (or both!), or call Event Director Lynda Scull at 410-758-0620, ext. 1101 or email lscull@gunston.org.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information. 

The Gunston School will host Critical Conversations: Educating Youth About Climate Change, a virtual presentation that is free and open to the public on Wednesday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. featuring Elizabeth Rush, Tom Ackerman, and Gunston’s Head of School John Lewis. The panelists will discuss the importance of educating today’s youth about climate change and best practices in environmental education for all ages.

Elizabeth Rush is the author of Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction, and Still Lifes from a Vanishing City: Essays and Photographs from Yangon, Myanmar. A lecturer at Brown University, Rush’s work explores how humans adapt to changes enacted upon them by forces seemingly beyond their control, from ecological transformation to political revolution. Rush’s essays have appeared in the New York Times, Harpers, Granta, Creative Nonfiction, Orion, Guernica, Le Monde Diplomatique and others.

Photo: The panel features author and Brown University lecturer Elizabeth Rush (top), Head of School John Lewis (middle), and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Vice President for Education Tom Ackerman (bottom). 

Tom Ackerman is the Vice President for Education for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and has been instrumental in the founding and direction of several key organizations including the National No Child Left Inside Coalition, Maryland Environmental Literacy Partnership, and the National Advisory Panel on Environmental Literacy. Ackerman has partnered with some of the largest school districts in the United States, establishing over a dozen systemic environmental curriculum programs.

John Lewis, Gunston’s Head of School, will discuss Gunston’s commitment to climate science education, including a first-in-class climate science graduation requirement. Lewis’s work spans direct engagement with students during Gunston’s Chesapeake Bay Studies program and his climate science course, to consulting with peer institutions and running the summer conference, Environmental Leadership for Independent School Leaders.

“We’re not preparing students for a future crisis, but a crisis that is occurring as we speak,” says Lewis. “Education has not made adjustments to the reality and the scope of the challenge.”

To register for the virtual panel on Wednesday, April 14, 7:30 p.m. event, visit http://bit.ly/GunstonPanel21.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information.

The Gunston School recognized 149 students for earning High Honors and Honors for the second quarter of the 2020-2021 academic year. To earn a place on the High Honors list, a student must have an academic average of 93 percent or above and effort grades of satisfactory, “S” or above. To earn Honors, a student must achieve an 88-92.99 average and effort grades of “S” or above.

High Honors Grade 12:  Isabella (Bella) Adams, Avy Aubin, Brianna (Brie) Barrett-Kennedy, Lily Berntsen, Helen Boone, Maxmillian (Max) Brady, Lydia Davis, Kayla Flood, Glynis Gardner, Olivia Hershey, Hyunseok (Luke) Lee, Emma McClary, Orion (Rion) McCluskey, Ethan Nuessle, Adison (Adie) Parish, Campbell Parkhurst, Lydia Periconi, Marion Riddle, Sean Riley, Emily Ryon, Charles (Charlie) Shifrin, Henry Shifrin, Christian Walker, Lillian (Lilli) Ward, and Hannah Worth.

Honors Grade 12:  Zachary (Zack) Anderson, Hannah Beckman, Kenneth Bonuccelli, James Fordi, Reagan Gessford, Samuel (Ranger) Hightower, Erika Lee, Aidan Myers, Sydney Nittle, Joseph (Brennan) O’Connor, Jack Pigman, Joshua (Josh) Sanford, Severin Schut, Henry Sheets, Colin Ward, and Yi (Lily) Zhang.

High Honors Grade 11: Sofia Angarita, Lucy Bamford, Joshua (Josh) Campbell, Charlotte Cook, Benjamin (Ben) Cunningham, Jian (Daniel) Dang, Isabella (Bella) De Leon, Ashley Escobar, James (Jimmy) Fraser, Nina Friedman, Georgia Gillespie, Evelyn (Evie) Hagan, Paige Holmes, Aidan Ireland, Colin Lang, Juyoung (Ju) Lee, Rui (Spencer) Liu, Abigail (Abbey) Miller, Magdalena (Maggie) Miller, Adam Papadopoulos, Summer Salos, Matthew Sharpless, Danielle Simmons, Jude Smith, and Andrew Steele.

Honors Grade 11: Curtis (Andrew) Baughman, John Brady, Gracie Callahan, Anastasia Clair, Robert Crow, Ava Duvall, Nora FauntLeRoy, Morgan Garner, Kallena Kemp, Neva Lawrence, Samantha LeCrone, Alexis (Lexi) Meiklejohn, Alexandrea (Lexi) Norman, Leonardo (Leo) Santoboni, Tessa Schut, Nicholas (Nick) Scribner, and Ashton Seaman.

High Honors Grade 10: Nicholas (Nick) Abell, Zachary (Zack) Adams, Madilyn (Maddie) Algier, Olivia Amygdalos, Thomas (Tom) de los Reyes, Jennie LaTorre, Zacharia (Zach) Mozher, Elizabeth (Lane) Parkhurst, Damian Rene, Isabelle Requena, Andrew Rich, Brielle Tyler, and Yining Wei.

Honors Grade 10: Kelby Booth, Julia Buchanan, Katelyn (Kate) Campbell, Nicholas (Nick) Ceruolo, Charles Evans, Alanna Grace, Catherine Hansen, Natalie Henry, Cooper Hightower, Sarah (Eli) Ireland, Paget Kellogg, Paige Kroncke, Julia McClary, Carl Melander, Nathan Porter, Julia Reed, Mekonnen Sahle-Selassie, Finnegan (Finn) Theeke, Liam Thomas, Autumn Watson, Oliver White, and Jiacheng (Jason) Ye.

High Honors Grade 9: Zoe Buzzelli, Allie Fitzgerald, Trevor Green, Colin Hallmark, Jessica Hammond, Abigail Houseknecht, Samantha Jayne, Maren Kneeland, Lucas LaFleur, Madison (Madi) Lutz, Frederick (Wil) Mertes, Caitlin Myers, Tilghman Overton, Joanna Riley, Ava Runz, and Jessica White.

Honors Grade 9: Turner Day, Liam Dickey, Caeden Harrison, Samantha (Sam) Keith, Arnold (Ben) Lutz, Anna Jayne Murphy, Joshua (Josh) Nuessle, Lilah Paddy, Katherine (Kate) Porter, Kayla Raley, Luke Roser, Jonah Smith, Isabella Taylor, Arielle Tyler, and Jackson Wood.

The Gunston School in Centreville, Md. recognized 149 students for earning High Honors and Honors during the second quarter of the 2020-2021 academic year. Students are pictured left to right in the order listed above.

Last February, Washington College (WC) senior Ellie Byers interned with Dr. Sarah Lipchock at The Gunston School in Centreville, MD and worked with 10th grade students to test a lab she designed for her senior capstone experience (SCE) —a green chemistry experiment involving blue cheese slurries and biomimicry.

Ellie recently got in touch with Dr. Lipchock to send an article and lab based on her SCE that was published in the most recent issue of Chemistry Solutions, the peer-reviewed periodical from the American Association of Chemistry Teachers, entitled “A Green Chemistry Guided-Inquiry Lab: Designing Biomimetic Songbird Preen Oil from Waste Cooking Oil” by Eleanor (Ellie) Byers and WC professor Anne Marteel-Parrish.

“I want to thank you again for all your help as I was interning at Gunston and your openness to trialing my SCE in the spring. I am halfway through my student teaching and master’s program and I often draw from my experiences at Gunston,” said Ellie who graduated WC in the spring of 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and is currently working toward a master’s of education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland.

“Ellie’s SCE project aligned perfectly with some of Gunston’s key initiatives with regard to educating for sustainability and Mind Brain Education,” said Dr. Lipchock. “As part of her internship, Ellie read Neuroteach: Brain Science and The Future of Education and I was really impressed with her ability to internalize MBE strategies and help guide students as learners in my classroom. She connected with students of all levels and they really enjoyed learning about biomimicry in a hands-on way.”

“Green chemistry is a relatively new field in chemistry and is not covered by textbooks or as part of the national high school standards,” explains Dr. Lipchock, “but it serves as a great real-world application for students and it dovetails nicely with Gunston’s goals for educating for sustainability.”

Green chemistry asks not just “What can I do with chemistry?” but also “How can I do it in the most sustainable way?” Last fall, Dr. Lipchock’s honors chemistry class completed a green chemistry lab, so at the time of Ellie’s activity, students were already familiar with the 12 principles of green chemistry.

According to the article’s summary, “in this guided-inquiry lab, students will design and test a procedure reacting waste cooking oil in a blue cheese slurry to create a substance that mimics songbird preen oil, which is both antibacterial and hydrophobic. Students will convert the fatty acids in waste oil to methyl ketones, thought to be the principal antibacterial component of preen oil, using the P. roqueforti mold found in blue cheese. Students will expand their knowledge of biomimicry, inherent properties of preen oil, and chemical synthesis by applying the principles of green chemistry. They will also assess their own process through higher-order problem solving and building on their scientific research skills.”

“Adding this activity allowed students to see the green chemistry principles in action and provided a tangible application for the concepts we had learned. Having them design their own experiment to use repurposed cooking oil from the Washington College dining hall made those sustainability principles stick in a way that reading an article or watching a video cannot. Guided-inquiry and real world applications are great examples of MBE strategies that help students be more effective learners,” adds Dr. Lipchock.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information, or register for our upcoming open house on January 31, 2021.

The Gunston School is pleased to welcome 34 students to the National Honor Society. Each fall, membership to NHS is offered to those students who meet the required standards put forth by the national office in four areas of evaluation: scholarship, leadership, service, and character. For the scholarship criterion, a student must have a  cumulative grade point average of 88 (B+) or higher.

Students who meet this criterion are invited to submit a comprehensive resume that outlines their activities, achievements, leadership, and service. To evaluate a candidate on the national criterion of character, a student’s school records are reviewed, and each candidate selects four members of the faculty to provide their professional reflections on the candidate’s citizenship, leadership, activities, and personal conduct.

Head of School John Lewis shared, “Induction into the National Honor Society is an enormous honor, and it reflects a multi-year dedication from these students to some of society’s most important values.”

This year’s newly selected members for Grade 12 include Hannah Beckman, Maxmillian (Max) Brady, Yongah (Jonathan) Choi, Hyunseok (Luke) Lee, Ethan Nuessle, Jack Pigman, Marion Riddle, Sean Riley, and Emily Ryon.

Photo: (Top Row, L-R) Hannah Beckman, Maxmillian (Max) Brady, Yongah (Jonathan) Choi, Hyunseok (Luke) Lee, Ethan Nuessle, Jack Pigman, Marion Riddle, Sean Riley, and Emily Ryon. (Second Row, L-R) Sofia Angarita, Lucy Bamford, Gracie Callahan, Charlotte Cook, Benjamin (Ben) Cunningham, Isabella (Bella) De Leon, Ashley Escobar, Jimmy Fraser, Nina Friedman. (Third Row, L-R) Georgia Gillespie, Evie Hagan, Paige Holmes, Colin Lang, Neva Lawrence, Samantha LeCrone, Rui (Spencer) Liu, Abigail (Abbey) Miller. (Fourth Row, L-R) Magdalena (Maggie) Miller, Alexandrea (Lexi) Norman, Summer Salos, Leo Santoboni, Matthew Sharpless, Danielle Simmons, and Jude Smith. Lillian (Lilli) Ward.

New members for Grade 11 include Sofia Angarita, Lucy Bamford, Gracie Callahan, Charlotte Cook, Benjamin (Ben) Cunningham, Isabella (Bella) De Leon, Ashley Escobar, Jimmy Fraser, Nina Friedman, Georgia Gillespie, Evie Hagan, Paige Holmes, Colin Lang, Neva Lawrence, Samantha LeCrone, Rui (Spencer) Liu, Abigail (Abbey) Miller, Magdalena (Maggie) Miller, Alexandrea (Lexi) Norman, Summer Salos, Leo Santoboni, Matthew Sharpless, Danielle Simmons, and Jude Smith. Lillian (Lilli) Ward ’21 was selected in the fall of 2019, but was studying abroad at the time and will be formally inducted this year.

“The inductees are to be commended for their dedication and their success in maintaining the highest level of performance while navigating the challenges of attending school during the pandemic,” said Assistant Head of School Christie Grabis. “We look forward to the time when we can share their accomplishments in person with their families and the school community.”

A formal induction ceremony will be held on campus at a date later to be determined, depending on COVID restrictions and guidelines.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information.

The Gunston School’s Heron Hustle 5K/1M Virtual Run was held on November 21 & 22 with more than 140 participants hitting the pavement (or their treadmills) to raise more than $7,000 for the Heron Annual Fund and compete for fun prizes and accolades.

The top three winners for the men’s 5K include Woody Granger (17:50), Bobby Stephenson (19:26), and Aidan Trautman ’23 (21:09). Women’s top three placements for the 5K  include Katherine Rene, P’23 (24:25), Georgia Gillespie ’22 (25.22), and Zoe Buzzelli ’24 (25:45). The men’s mile winner was Aaron Sanderson ’23 (6:15) and the women’s mile winner was Jennifer Runz, P’24 (8:57). Special recognition goes to Victoria Windmiller, who completed a 15 mile run.

Additionally, recognition for the fastest freshmen went to Zoe Buzzelli ’24 and Colin Hallmark ’24 (23:59), the fastest sophomores were McKinsey Brown ’23 (29:28) and Aiden Trautman ’23, the fastest junior was Georgia Gillespie ’22, and the fastest senior was Charlie Shifrin ’21 (25:40), with the titles for fastest male junior as well as female senior going unclaimed (for now!).

Prizes for top overall winners include personalized Gunston merchandise and medals. For Gunston students, prizes include breakfast/snack cards and (for eligible drivers), the opportunity to snag Head of School Mr. Lewis’s parking spot for the rest of the year.

Participants received a limited edition Heron Hustle t-shirt designed and individually hand-pressed at Skybridge Studios by Gunston alumna Alison Hansford ’96 who volunteered her time and services.

“A huge thanks to everyone who participated in the Heron Hustle — the event raised thousands of dollars for the school, and it helped to connect us virtually across the region and multiple states,” said Head of School John Lewis. “We are so grateful for our event sponsors, parents, past parents and alumni who continue to support Gunston.”

Gunston’s Heron Annual Fund bridges the $4,000 gap between tuition and what it actually costs to give each student the highly personalized experience Gunston is known for.

The Heron Hustle’s premier sponsor included Oath Pizza and the Kellogg Family, P’20 & ‘23, awards sponsor Wise & Blitzer, Attorneys at Law, and Mara Schmittinger, P’16 & ‘19.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information.