Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60During my time at GDS I’ve been the beneficiary of a unique and rewarding perspective – that of a parent for 13 years, a trustee for 7 years, and now board chair, in the third (and final) year of my term. During this time, I’ve interacted with a significant number of GDS graduates in both formal and informal settings, including four alumni who currently serve as GDS trustees. To a person, every GDS graduate I’ve had the pleasure to work with, or just be around, has been so impressive – high IQ, high EQ, strong leadership skills, and a creative thinker. These folks went to a wide array of colleges and universities, and pursued varied fields of study and careers, but there is one common thread – they are Bengals. There is no stronger testament for Greensboro Day School (and its educators) than the consistently great people it develops and sends out into the world each and every year. When the founders of GDS started the school 47 years ago, on ground that at the time was essentially farmland, they could not have known the ultimate scope of what they were creating, or the impact that the school would have. Due to the strong, generous, smart, and caring leadership of the founders, Greensboro Day School has become in many ways a public trust for the region, an asset to the wider community being carefully and passionately nurtured by successor generations of equally strong, generous, smart, and caring educators, administrators, trustees, parents, and alumni. These committed successor generations, whose aggregate passion for Greensboro Day School only increases, will ensure that as much as the school has flourished during its first 47 years, its best days and biggest contributions are still to come. Sincerely, Jack Whitley Chair – Board of Trustees CONTENTS Head’s Corner 1 AROUND CAMPUS Letter from the Chair 3 Campus News 4 Bengal Bites 7 Sports Report 10 Around Campus 14 FEATURES Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at GDS 21 Tim Martin, National Geographic Grosvenor Fellow 24 Discover the Gems of the Fine Arts Program 28 ALUMNI I am a Bengal 35 Alumni News 37 Class Notes 42 Memorials 56 page 14 page 24 Dear GDS Community, Each year the Greensboro Day School Board of Trustees and its board-level committees set goals. The board then monitors progress against those goals throughout the year. One important board goal is ensuring the long- term financial viability and sustainability of the school, for constituencies including students, families, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees. As was communicated in the recent GDS Annual Report, Greensboro Day School is in strong financial shape, and has the strategic flexibility needed to support institutional sustainability for the future. Part of the work required to maintain and grow the financial viability and sustainability of GDS is staying close to best practices for presenting and promoting the school regionally and nationally. To that end, the board enthusiastically supported a recent initiative by Mark Hale and his team to perform an inventory of the school’s existing messaging, marketing, and public relations strategies and tactics. To help support this initiative, an independent communications agency was engaged to lead a collaborative process with school staff, educators, parents, and trustees. Multiple sets of interviews were conducted, as well as additional external research, work sessions, and analysis of all existing GDS internal and external communications channels. While it is beyond the scope of this letter to include the entire promotion and communication plan that was produced, included below are the five core messages that were identified via the work conducted during the research and discovery process: • GDS is the most dynamic, comprehensive Pre-K – 12 academic environment in the Triad. • GDS invests more resources in developing students’ character and leadership potential than any other public, charter, or private school in the Triad. • GDS is the Triad leader in professional development for teachers and staff. • GDS fosters the most caring, trustworthy, and joyful learning community in the Triad. • GDS has a campus with unsurpassed Pre-K – 12 facilities and programs for academics, arts and athletics. As mentioned, each of these five messaging pillars are supported by (pages of) proof points, which were articulated by school staff, educators, parents, and trustees. The proof points are categorized into four groups: academic programs, global perspectives, extracurricular activities, and diversity and relationships, to align with the GDS mission statement and strategic plan. Examples of specific proof points supporting the messaging pillars outlined above include: average class sizes which are significantly smaller than other schools; advanced degrees held by more than 68% of all faculty (in most cases double the percentage at other schools); superior expertise and deep experience in the full range of child and student developmental stages; students challenged to achieve their full potential through immersive and engaging learning experiences; students developed to be leaders through intentional instruction in self-advocacy and confidence; students taught how to think, not what to think; emphasis on important cross-divisional student connections and learning; and each student recognized as a unique individual and encouraged to be authentic and true to themselves. Additionally, the school has a campus and facilities which can be matched by no other area school, comprised of 50 contiguous acres providing superior learning resources including gardens, ponds, woods, playing fields, playgrounds, three gymnasiums, cafeteria, theatre, and multi- purpose rooms. These are just a few proof points from a larger set which will be used in conjunction with core messaging pillars, to present and promote GDS regionally and nationally, and to support the institutional goal of long-term viability and sustainability for the school. Thanks to Mark and his team for their initiative in this area, and for their continued pursuit of excellence for Greensboro Day School in all areas. LETTER FROM THE CHAIR 2 | Winter 2017 GDS Magazine | 3