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Message from the Alumni Board
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Fellow Alumni:
North Cross School started its 71st year of operation on August 31, 2015 and the school is pleased to report that enrollment has increased and has met its growth goal for the year. In particular the Lower School added 25 new students which is a great sign for the future at North Cross. I am beginning my fifth year on the Alumni Board and am happy to be serving as the New Alumni Board President. My wife, Leigh Ann Hamlin, has taken a new position at North Cross as the Director of Counseling and I am looking forward to spending more of my time back on campus as well. The Alumni Board has a big year ahead with lots of exciting plans to keep the Alumni involved with their alma mater.
- A big thank you to Sarah Boxley Beck ’98 who served as President last year, Brandon LaCroix ’98 who has served as the Mentoring Committee Chair for multiple years, and Barney Hammond ’82 who served as President three years ago. All three of these Alumni Board members have served a great deal of their time and we are extremely appreciative!
- Your Alumni Board is growing! Three new members have joined the board for the 2015-16 year for a three year term. Please help me extend a warm welcome to Ainsley Revercomb ’05, Quinn Graeff ’88, and John Prillaman ’95.
- The Alumni Party will take place the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Oyster Roast Alumni Party will be immediately following the Alumni Soccer game on Friday November 27, 2015. All Alumni and their families are welcome and encouraged to attend the Alumni Soccer game. Child care will be provided in the Carter Athletic Center for children during the party that follows at the Headmaster’s home. Details about the party will be distributed to you all soon. If you’re in town October 24, come see the current Raiders teams play soccer, field hockey, volleyball, and football, or come to our annual meeting on October 24th at 10:00 a. m. in Lemon Dining Hall. It’s open to all alumni.
- Last year the Alumni Association created the new Award, The Distinguished Alumnus (a) Award, that recognizes an alumnus or alumna who has made distinguished and outstanding contributions to his or her profession or field of interest and has brought benefit to the community or humanity and honor to North Cross while embodying the values and spirit of the school. It is awarded during Founder’s Week and last year’s recipient, Katherine Fulton, helped North Cross start a great tradition and we look forward to continuing it. This year we have four highly qualified candidates. We will be announcing the winner of the award soon.
- Last February, the North Cross School Alumni Association approved the establishment of the Dehart/Grayson Alumni Merit Scholarship. To date we have raised over $60,000 for this scholarship and we look forward to offering a scholarship to our first student soon. If you’d like more information or want to make a gift to this scholarship, contact Chris Moore ‘71, cmoore@northcross.org
North Cross School is making all the right moves these days, so please try to find time to make a trip back to campus to see all that has been accomplished by so many hard working individuals. In the meantime keep up with the school through Facebook or Twitter and read Crossties. Please keep us updated with the milestones in your life: weddings, births, career changes, awards, etc. by sending this information to your class agent, a member of the Alumni Board, or Rebekah Bradley rbradley@northcross.org . We all want to thank you for continuing to help North Cross develop and grow.
Jack Hamlin ’03
President, North Cross School Alumni Board |
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Introducing the Crossties Blog
Launched this past summer, the Crossties Blog is now the place to find out what is happening on campus each week. Teasers for the last three stories posted to the blog can be found on top right side of the home page. Click the title of the story to link directly to the full post.
By posting stories and photos to the blog each week, visitors will have a place to get timely updates from campus and share comments with other readers. We hope you enjoy this new feature on our website and we invite your comments on the stories that appear in the Crossties Blog.
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 New Event Sign
The Class of 2015, inspired by the Class of 2005, made their gift to North Cross School this summer.
Click to read more on the Crossties Blog.
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Convocation
After a brief blessing by former faculty member Gates DeHart in the CAC, Dr. Proctor rang the very same bells that Margaret “Billie†Northcross used 70 years ago to signal the start of the school year. Upper School SCA President Jane Ward ’16 addressed the students, and lower school students received their class assignments for the upcoming year.
Click here to view photos from the first day of school on our Facebook page.
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Condolence Card
The upper school students signed and sent a condolence card to WDBJ7 a few weeks ago. Members of the WDBJ staff took time to pose with the card earlier this week to say thanks to our students. From left are Joe Dashiell, Amanda Kenney, Leo Hirsbrunner, Kimberly McBroom, and Noell Saunders.
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 Lower School Garden Featured in WSLS 10
During the summer, students helped build and prepare the new Lower School Garden and outdoor classroom. Students in the lower and middle schools helped build and install the beds, while upper school students helped fill the beds. The garden will be used by each grade level in the lower school as part of their curriculum this year.
Click to watch the Education Matters segment that aired on WSLS 10. Betsy Cook, Director of Outdoor Education, and Lucas Arnold ’17 were interviewed for the segment.
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 Summing up the Summit
This past June, a group of Global Studies students traveled through Barcelona, Nice, and Lake Como on the way to Davos, Switzerland to participate in a 3-day Educational Summit conference with students from countries around the world. A few weeks ago during morning assembly, the students shared their travel experiences, special memories, educational experiences, and plans to act on what they learned.
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Thirty-three Earn “AP Scholar†Designation
Last May, juniors and seniors "sat" for Advanced Placement Exams. Thirty-three North Cross School students, representing the Class of 2015 and 2016 combined, earned recognition from the College Board for their positive results on their cumulative exams while in secondary school.
Click here to visit the Crossties Blog to read the full list of names. Students are listed with their graduation year and grade when they enrolled at North Cross School (in parentheses).
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New Show in Logan Gallery
​The ArtVisions show, including “Just Dandy†by Whitney Brock in photo, is currently on display in Logan Gallery. Art Visions Gallery & Studio was formed by a group of artists to share artistic ideas, visions and actively participate in the local art community. The show is on display in Logan Gallery until October 30. ​
Click here to learn more about the show. |
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 First Middle School Tennis Match
The inaugural season of the Middle School Tennis team began this fall. The new team is led by coaches Tracy Schaefer and Jennie Vogel, wife of George Vogel ’93. For their first match, the team took on Breckinridge Middle School. The Raiders compete in the Roanoke City Middle School Tennis League.
Click to visit the Crossties Blog to see photos and learn more.
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 Craig Sees Bright Future for Volleyball
This summer, Terri Craig (in photo) was brought in to help bring new life to the North Cross volleyball program. A 2004 graduate of Ferrum College, she set the career record for assists. Since then, Terri has coached volleyball throughout the Roanoke Valley.
Click to learn more about Terri on the Crossties Blog. |
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 Former Kindergarten teacher Virginia Paitsell passed on July 28, 2015. She taught kindergarten at North Cross for 29 years before she retired in 1991. Her daughter, Dawn Hollandsworth, followed in her mother's footsteps and has worked at North Cross for over 30 years. Mrs. Paitsell's grandchildren, Ken Teeter ’97, Charles Lukens ’02, and Fara Lukens ’07, attended North Cross from kindergarten on.
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 Louise Restrepo Patterson passed away on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Ms. Restrepo was a well-loved English teacher in the 1970s at North Cross. Aside from her time here, she taught at two independent schools in South America, and in the Roanoke city school system. She is survived by her husband William.
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Class News & Notes
Please send your updates for Class Notes to Rebekah Bradley at rbradley@northcross.org. If you wish to include a photo, please attach it to your email.
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 The new landscaping outside Slack Hall was donated by Anne Lee Stevens, SA to honor her mom, Dottie Stevens. Dottie was a long-time North Cross receptionist who passed away earlier this year. Anne Lee (right in photo) was accompanied by husband Pete Ostaseski and Dottie’s niece Nancy McAngus.
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 Will Dichtel ’96, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University, was recently selected as a 2015 MacArthur Fellow. The MacArthur Fellows Program offers genius grants to 20-30 individuals nationwide who show exceptional creativity and self-motivation in their intellectual pursuits. Recipients of the award include scholars in a variety of fields, ranging from human rights to astrophysics.
Click here to visit the Crossties Blog to learn more and watch a video.
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 Katherine Kelly ’98 (left in photo from 1998 yearbook with Whitney Watson Nicholas ’98) worked in the Admission Department at North Cross since 2012, and helped lead our resurgent varsity field hockey team the last few seasons as the head coach—taking them to the state championship last fall. Katherine is moving on to the next phase of her life in Washington, D.C. Amy Jackson, Director of Admission, said that having an alum of the school in the department was a great asset. “Katherine has a real love of the school, and she shared that passion with our families as we welcomed them to our community,†she said. Chris Moore echoed Amy’s statement. “As an alum, her passion, experience, and knowledge lent instant credibility to everything she said to a prospective parent,†he said.
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William Kaufman ’02 completed his residency in dermatology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in June 2015 and is currently practicing in Wilmington, NC, with Dermatology Associates, PA.
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 Katey Houk ’05 married Ryan McBurney on October 3, 2015 at Sundara in Boones Mill, VA.
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 Margaret Walker Vagts (in photo), daughter of North Cross second grade teacher Alison Vagts ’03, was born on Friday, September 4 at 1:54 a.m. She was 7 lbs. and 19.5 inches. Alison reported that everyone is doing well. “We are getting settled into our new life as a family of four. Olivia is loving being a big sister. Thank you all for your support and well wishes!â€
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 Headmaster Chris Proctor caught up with Jimmy Coles '14 (left) and Edwin Saunders '15 (right) at UVA-Notre Dame game on Saturday, September 12.
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Avery Sturm ’15, Miami University (OH) freshman field hockey player, was named Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Week in September
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Kennedy Nwabia ’15 was named to the Preseason All-Rookie team in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Kennedy is currently playing for the Dayton Flyers soccer team.
Click to read more. Photo from daytonflyers.com.
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