Portledge Profiles

 

Pat Glover
Middle and Upper School computer teacher and Student Council Advisor

In December, 2007, Pat Glover, Middle and Upper School computer teacher and Student Council Advisor, attended the NAIS People of Color Conference in Boston and summed up her experience as eye-opening.  The conference brought together nearly 3,400 professionals and students from independent schools all over the country.  It was designed to celebrate the ties that exist among affinity groups ranging from Native Americans and African Americans to Asians and Indians.  It was also intended to help participants explore the successes and challenges of being part of an independent school community while also striving to attract a diverse student population. 

Pat participated in positive discussions that focused on seizing opportunities to make things better.  She realized how comfortable she had become at Portledge where diversity is one of our strengths, but now sees that we can be doing so much more.  Perhaps the greatest reward was the opportunity to watch the three Portledge students who joined her truly embrace the mission of the conference as their own.  Jessica ’08, Sarah’08, and Sonali ’08 immediately took a leadership role in sharing their new found knowledge with the Portledge community.  They experienced first-hand that the greater the understanding of what diversity is, the greater the levels of acceptance and sensitivity and have since led  discussions and interactive exercises with students across Lower, Middle and Upper School.

 

Eric Nystrom on Winning His First Goal in the National Hockey League on October 31, 2007 (as reported on www.calgaryflames.com)

Eric knew all he had to do was keep his stick on the ice. The puck was coming from his buddy, David Moss. He just needed to tip it. Which is exactly what happened as the rookie scored his first goal in the National Hockey League Tuesday.

"It's awesome. Once we had the two-on-one, I knew the play. That's a play we had used a lot in the minors. I knew, going to the net, I just had to put my stick down and Mosser was going to find it. He put it right on my tape. The net was wide open so I just tapped it in," said Nystrom. "I've wanted to do that my whole life," he said. 

The Flames went on to defeat the Nashville Predators 5-1.  Not lost in the post-game activities was a pie in the face for Nystrom while he was being interviewed on television about his first NHL goal. Teammate Eric Godard delivered the pie perfectly.  "Right in the face. On television. I didn't feel it," laughed Nystrom.

 

Patricia Baehr
Head of the Music Department

Patricia Baehr has been an instrumental music teacher at Portledge for eight years and has six years of teaching experience in the Freeport public schools.  She discovered a passion for music early on, as a preschooler watching a pianist on television.  “I had this visceral reaction to the piece being performed and remember thinking that an ability to play the piano was the most exciting thing in the world.

At some point in Baehr’s elementary school years, an insightful aunt presented her with Leonard Bernstein’s book about his Young People’s Concerts.  “I played the five records that were included with the book over and over again—Bach, Haydn, Prokofiev, Debussy, Copland.  Fourth grade was a longed for year because it meant I was finally old enough to play an instrument in school.  And something else wonderful happened that year too.  My school went to Carnegie Hall to see Leonard Bernstein conduct the New York Philharmonic.  I can still remember how I felt, sitting high up in that vast hall to hear the musicians.  It was pure magic.

Her own experiences have convinced Baehr of the important role schools play in bringing music into the lives of children.  “Happily, all Portledge students do have the chance to play or sing in a performing group.  But Portledge students also need the opportunity to hear great musicians and be exposed to important music.  While the Lower School does plan an annual trip to Lincoln Center, her focus since being named head of the Music Department is to bring great musicians on campus.  Last year it was the Calder Quartet for a Middle and Upper School and this year it was the Grammy-nominated Imani Winds.  She is counting on students hearing a piece of musical magic just like she did back in fourth grade!

 

Alexa “Lexy” DePasquale Steps Out!

“Lexy,” a 2007 graduate of Portledge, deferred acceptance to the University of Pennsylvania for one year to concentrate on her passion to become a performing artist.

Since graduation Lexy has been busy. She's participated in a number of NYC (soon off to LA) “showcases” where she performs in front of audiences and representatives from the likes of Jive Records, Artemis Records, SLR Records, SONY Music, Images Model & Talent and TC Music, among others.

Lexy has written the lyrics and just finished recording her first three songs … Body Jumpin', Get Gone and SuperStar, which will debut on the Internet and can be downloaded from iTunes. She is studying and training with vocal coach, Don Lawrence, who has trained Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston and Lenny Kravitz. She's taking acting lessons in NYC starting in January.

Lexy has been actively involved in theatre productions on Long Island, including the The Music Man through Star Playhouse and as Princess Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin through the Cultural Arts Playhouse in Bethpage.

To keep in foot in academia she has taken Micro-economics and Psychology at C.W. Post. Lexy is pursuing her dreams with gusto!

Jenna Fox
School Psychologist

As a recent arrival at Portledge, I have experienced first-hand what we mean by an inclusive community. 
 
The most gratifying part of this job is being able to watch a student, over time, develop the skills and confidence to overcome a challenge.  My interest in the field of school psychology stemmed from a desire to work with students holistically, not focusing on just one area of development.  I feel it is important to consider the whole child, as well as the environment the child is learning and growing up in to best determine how to help 
As in any profession, I strive to always advance my own learning.  I recently read a book titled, The Myth of Laziness, by Dr. Mel Levine.  It addressed the issue of students being labeled as "lazy" in the classroom and discussed the idea that people have an innate drive to produce.  For most students, low productivity, often looking like laziness, is caused by genuine dysfunctions that can be addressed and improved.  The book encourages parents and educators to build on student strengths rather than solely concentrating on their weaknesses.  I am also an admirer of the work of Beth Doll, a school psychologist, who has focused much of her research on developing classroom environments which foster academic and social competence of students.

In my first year here,  I have spent time working to help formalize the current Child Study Team model to support students struggling academically, socially, emotionally, or behaviorally.  I also meet weekly with small groups to promote positive self esteem and coping skills including stress management and conflict resolution.  In the Middle and Upper Schools, I consult with teachers to help brainstorm ways in which we can support students in various learning and social situations.  

I love the energy of the Portledge environment and I feel especially energized by the opportunity to work with students from Pre-Nursery all the way through high school.  

 

Sheena Schlegel
Fifth Grade Teacher

Sheena proudly joined Portledge ten years ago and has been teaching fifth grade ever since.  She says "It is quite a responsibility to be the homeroom teacher for a year in the life of a child but it is also energizing, often surprising, and very rewarding.  What is perhaps most rewarding for me is that I am able to watch my students progress through to high school and that I have the thrill of watching them graduate.  It is one of the special qualities about a PreN through 12th grade school that I think also holds sentimental value for our students and parents.  

I was born, raised and educated in Scotland. My first teaching position was in a small rural school in the highlands where I taught next door to a wonderful and experienced teacher from whom I learned so much.  Every new teacher should be fortunate to have such a mentor!  I went on to teach elementary school for ten years before becoming an assistant principal, and eventually principal, of a school similar to our Lower School. 
           
Of all the valuable sources of professional development I have been exposed to, I believe the most influential was my volunteer work with the Girl Guide Association, which is similar to Girl Scouts in that it provides non-formal leadership education for girls and young women. 

So what brought me to the United States and Portledge?  During my last year of high school I had begun a “pen friendship” with a Boy Scout in New York.  We corresponded for many years, meeting for the first time when I spent a year in upstate New York as an exchange teacher.  We continued to write, meeting from time to time on either side of the Atlantic.  Eventually we decided to marry and I moved to New York.  For a time I worked at Futurekids, an after school computer center which was great for my technology experience but I longed to return to the classroom and was delighted to be offered the opportunity to teach at Portledge.  In 2000, I earned by Master of Science in Computer Education from CW Post in order to stay abreast of the rapid impact technology is having in the classroom. I look forward to watching many more of my students graduate from Portledge!

 

Phil Hills
Portledge Athletic Director

(An Excerpt from www.heyhills.blogspot.com) Sometimes you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. There was an air of anticipation floating over Portledge the night before the state soccer playoffs were scheduled to start.  The Portledge Varsity Boys team was to take on Lycee Francais School of NYC on Sawyer Field.  Thus, the field needed some preparation and care before we called it a day and went home.  So Mr. Coope and I filled up the paint machines with some environmentally friendly field marking paint and headed up to the pitch. It was late and had turned very cold as the darkness descended over Portledge, however, to my surprise there were sounds coming from the field.

As we came closer we realized that it was a lone athlete taking shots at the far goal. We couldn't make the player out at first, but soon we saw it was Senior Ray Wienmann. Ray is the captain of the boys soccer team and he was getting in some final prep for the big game that was to come the next day. Somehow, as it became darker and darker, and I watched the young man shoot the ball into the goal and retrieve it for another attempt, I found myself oddly jealous of his focus and commitment. You see, Ray was playing the game in his mind a full 24 hours before kick off and all of a sudden it became so clear.

There it was... the enthusiasm, optimism and opportunity of youth. Whatever the next day's result would be, Ray was going to have a real experience participating, and the day would probably create a memory that would always stay with him. Fond memories of my own playing days quickly rushed through my head.  Eventually, I thought about the games I had played on this very field, and a kind of peace settled over my contemplations. With a wry smile I remembered something someone had said not too long ago while I was attending a ceremony honoring past accomplishments. The speaker was discussing life, when he uttered the phrase, 'always look back, but never stare.'

So I regained focus on the task at hand, made a mental wish of good luck to Ray, and began thinking about the opportunities the future holds for all of us.

 

Holly Schuessler
Department Head, English

Lisa Cermak, Director of Lower School shared these remarks at Founders Day 2007  in honor of Holly Schuessler, Department Head, English, for her 25 years of dedication to Portledge:

Good golly, it’s Holly!  It’s fitting that I begin talking about Holly by quoting, sort of, song lyrics.   Music has been such an important element in Holly’s life, from her own talents to the talents of her husband and her son.  For those of you who don’t know, Holly is an outstanding flutist, who often performed in our plays and concerts.  Not only were her musical talents significant, but her contributions to all areas of theater at Portledge were above and beyond what anyone could have hoped for.  She was the Stage Manager for more productions than I can list, and those of us who worked on Auntie Mame, and there were many of us here today, will always be grateful for the way she managed to ”dress Mame” into no less than  26 costumes!

But above and beyond those “extra curricular” contributions, Holly has been a colleague, a fellow administrator, a teacher of my children, and, of course, a friend.  She is one of the most solid people I have ever met, and I’ve always admired her sense of order, her level headedness in stressful situations, her keen intelligence and her clear understanding of what is fair and just, whether it be for a student or a colleague.  It goes without saying that she is a superb teacher.  She has inspired students for more than 30 years to do their best, and has kept the bar high. always supporting them while encouraging them to take academic risks.

Her kindness and compassion with children, teachers and parents, is an enduring legacy and a continuing inspiration.  As an advisor to Xanadu, she never missed a dealine, and produced exciting anthologies of student writing and art work.  As a member of one of our first accreditation steering committees, she was diligent in her commitment, never failing to correct our mistakes, wordsmith our sometimes lazy language and help prepare a document that clearly and concisely represented our program and our values.  As in interim director of Upper School, while no one could really fill David Hoyler’s shoes, she maintained the good order and professionalism that David has made a hallmark of Upper School management.  She commented to me recently that the reason she stayed at Portledge for so long is that Portledge has given her the opportunity to grow as much as it has given that opportunity to her students.  She is calming, gracious,  and is always the first one to volunteer a helping hand.  Holly is a rarity.  She is 100 percent, one hundred percent of the time.  She richly deserves to be honored today.  So, to use the music metaphor again,  let’s deck the halls with plaudits for Holly.