NFA World
by Geoff Serra
NFA’s beautiful cherry
blossoms have delighted us with their color, Memorial Day is here, and end of
the year activities are upon us. For
specific information about senior activities visit the NFA Website. Click on
the “Class of 2008 Graduation Information” icon on the home page. Also, find the final examination schedule
for all students on the “Calendar and Schedule” tab.
A wildcat apology for
overlooking talented senior drummer and percussionist Nate Hogg and his
participation May 2 in “Jazz on the Sound” in “Waterford.
The Norwich Art School announces the 118th
Student Exhibition on display in Converse Art Gallery until June 1, open
Tues.-Fri. 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and weekends, 1-4 p.m.
The Art School Awards program was held May 9; both Melissa
Smith, Director of the Art School, and Mark Cohan, Head of School, were present
for greetings and introductions. The
exhibition displays the work of the entire NFA student community, and especially
focuses upon the work of seniors graduating from the fine arts program. Fine arts
seniors represented in special displays are Carolyn Depot, Patrick Fernald,
Jillian Freyer, Suntasy Gernhard, Rebecca Hnatiuk, Katherine Hoyt, Myles
Luboff, Bridget Marien, Jasmine Stroud, and Kayla Wainwright. Portfolio seniors are Jessica Lance, Barbara
Peterson, and Amanda Rigatti.
At noon on May 18 in the NFA café a group of 160 boys and
their moms, grandmothers, aunts, or other female guardians enjoyed a delicious
brunch including quiches, pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries, fresh
fruit, bacon, sausage, and orange juice.
The annual Mother-Son Brunch, sponsored by the Student Activity Board,
is an opportunity for good food, fun, and quality time for NFA’s young men and
their female caretakers.
World language teacher Maria Civano’s Successful
Hispanics’ Alliance (SHA) has become a whirlwind of activity on campus. On May 8th, 15 members went to Sheltering
Arms to help the Director of Recreation collect information from
residents. For two hours each student
sat with a resident and filled out a nine-page questionnaire about childhood
memories that will be used to create memory books for the residents’
families. On May 10, the group raised
$400 at a car wash, half of which was donated to the victims of the Peachtree
apartment fire. The group has plans for
an upcoming dance and conference.
Project Outreach Director Jodi Vara is pleased with the turnout at the
Larry Pontbriant Fun Run May 17: 180
runners or walkers age 3 months to 72 years young raised $2,572 to purchase
AED's (automated external defibrillators) for the community. Uppers Evan French
and Tom Teixeira coordinated the event; Larry's friends, family and teammates
along with NFA Faculty and staff were on hand to help.
NFA’s Varsity 'N' Club has taken their pledge of service to heart in
their 1st annual "Butler for a Day" raffle. For 50 cents, students and faculty bought raffle chances to win
one of ten senior volunteer athletes “servants.” Ten lucky winners will have a butler for the day at their beck
and call. "I think it is going to
be a lot of fun," said varsity athlete and "butler" volunteer
Anthony Trammontozzi. “I know that who
ever wins me will have me do a few things, but all in good fun.” Senior Varsity 'N' Club president and butler
volunteer Lindsay Makowicki said that she's a “little nervous,” about what she
will have to do for her lucky winner, but it is all for a good cause.
Other Varsity 'N' Club members donating their service as butlers are
Meegan Joly (Vice President), Bensey Schnip (Secretary), Amy Loser, Melody
Pothier, RJ Evans, Stephen Lampkin, Peter Fabian, and Casey McGarvey. Over $200 was raised for the Larry Pontbriant Fund.
The NFA History Department held its annual Senior Honors Thesis project
on May 12-14. Western Civilization teacher Gerrie Donahue’s students conduct extensive individual research and participate in
intensive tutorial sessions to write a formal thesis paper. In a public defense of their papers before a
panel of faculty readers, students demonstrate their expertise in serious
discussion and questioning. This year’s
Senior participants and the titles of their theses were Abigail Brenker (‘The Influence of Film on Western Society”), Rebecca
Exley (“Hitler and the Inevitability of World War II”), Rachel Lambert, (“An
Inequitable World in a Stagnant System”), Kevin Lee (“Godless Deism? The Rational and Moral Roots of Modern British Atheism”), Merlynda Sol (“The Progression of Capitalism from
the Protestant Ethic to Present”), and Nathan Wheeler (The Expansion of the English Kingdom through Genocide). Over 25
faculty members volunteered to serve on these panels.
NFA’s Instrumental Music Department
presents the 2008 Spring Concert, 7 p.m., May 29, in Slater auditorium. The
orchestra, combined orchestra and jazz, and concert bands will perform a
program that includes Holst’s Second Suite in F for Military Band,
Zdechlik’s Chorale and Shaker Dance, Sousa’s El Capitan,
Newbold’s Fire Dance, and Balmages’ Point Lookout. Senior musicians will receive recognition,
and orchestra members from the Integrated Day Charter school will be perform
with NFA’s musicians. The performance
is free and open to the public.
The NFA Parent Council has half the
required adult supervision for the Senior Post Prom Party. Ernie Marvin, President of the Parent
Council, is issuing a Wildcat plea for volunteers for the event, which will ensure the safety and well
being of our graduating seniors on prom night, June 6. A mandatory meeting will be held 7pm June
5th in room 6109 in the Library.
Volunteers can e-mail Marvin at ernestmarvin@yahoo.com.
Latham Library will be open 9 a.m.–2p.m., Saturday, May 9.
Japanese poet and master of the haiku,
Kobayashi Issa, reminds us that “In the cherry
blossom's shade there's no such thing as a stranger.”
Geoff Serra teaches English at NFA. Reach him at serrag@norwichfreeacademy.com
