April 27, 2023

On Monday, fourth and fifth graders completed the annual Patriot Run around campus. Students have been training for the 2-mile run in Health and Wellness class; an enthusiastic crowd of parents and students in grades JK-3 were on-hand to cheer on the runners. Congratulations to Owen Bedel on his first-place finish! View more photos.

Sixth Graders Bring Home Awards in the Sertoma Club’s National Heritage Essay Contest

Congratulations to the 2023 Sertoma Club of Broad Ripple's National Heritage Essay Contest winners. One of the many contributions the club makes to our community is its sponsorship of this contest for participating sixth-grade classes in the Indianapolis area. Sertoma is an acronym that stands for Service to Mankind, and we have the good fortune of working with the most successful Sertoma Club in the nation. Ava Button, Sarah-Lielle Moser, Ava Downs, Oliver Hulka, and Eric Wang were each recognized with the classroom winner's award. PT students worked in their sixth-grade history class with teacher Bethanie Cosman to contemplate the meaning of freedom and to answer the question, "What does freedom mean to me?" Students considered the freedoms they and others have and do not have, as well as limitations within and outside of our control. The judges remarked that they were impressed with the Park Tudor sixth-grade students for their ability to think outside the box. We are so proud of all students for their thoughtful submissions.

US and LS Students Participate in March Mammal Madness

March isn't just for basketball. Students from all over the country filled out brackets, but it's not what you think. For the last ten years, scientists from Arizona State University have run their own version of the battles...with a twist. March Mammal Madness is an annual tournament of "simulated" combat competition among animals. Scientific literature is cited to substantiate likely outcomes as a probabilistic function of the two species' attributes within the battle environment. Attributes considered in calculating battle outcome include temperament, weaponry, armor, body mass, running speed, fight style, physiology, and motivation. Students and teachers are invited to research each years' competitors, fill out their brackets, and follow the battles. If their picks are right, they just might earn bragging rights for the year. This year's winner was the mighty Wolverine! 

Both Lower School classes and Upper School classes competed. In the Lower School, classes who scored more than 70 points earned a popcorn party, grade level winners earned a “children’s choice” dress day, and the overall winner - Mr. Williamson’s class - earned an ice cream party. In the Upper School, one lucky student in each of our science classes won a behind-the-scenes tour of the veterinarian hospital at the Indianapolis Zoo. This year, the tour was led by the head vet, Dr. Jeff Proudfoot. We could not have asked for a better day to reward our overall winners.

Students in the News

* Environmental Science students took a field trip last week to Rosehill Farm in Bloomington to learn about sustainable agriculture and local farming. As part of their trip, they enjoyed lunch at The Owlery, a locally sourced and sustainable vegan restaurant. On Earth Day this past Saturday, members of the Environment Club met up to crochet plastic bags that are otherwise not recyclable.

* Sophomore Luke Alberts has been accepted at Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to attend its Summer School Program. Students in the program attend Harvard classes taught by Harvard professors and receive college credit for their courses. Admission to the program is highly selective. Luke was accepted based upon his “strong academic record and thoughtful application.” Luke’s coursework in the program this summer will focus on history, law, and economics.

* Last week The Zone Extra on WISH-TV featured a segment on Park Tudor's track team and recent successes. View the video here.

Sports News

Boys Volleyball: The boys volleyball team is currently 6-4 for the season after bouncing back from their loss to #5-ranked Westfield Thursday night with a 3-0 sweep of #6-ranked Heritage Christian on Tuesday. Freshman Alex Cheng made his varsity libero debut. This Thursday, the Panthers will head across town to take on #7 ranked Brebeuf starting at 5:30 p.m. They will celebrate Senior Night on Tuesday, May 2 here at PT vs. Shortridge at 5:30 p.m.; please come out and support the seniors!

Baseball: The baseball team is off to a 12-0 start and is currently ranked #4 in class 2A. The Panthers picked up a few more wins this week and are heading to the Wapahani Invitational at Wapahani High School this Saturday. In game #1 the team will be matched up against the Patriots from Jay County High School. If victorious the team will either face GCA or Wapahani in the championship game at 4:30 p.m. The consolation game is set for 2:00 p.m. The team has a busy week next week as they will take on Shortridge on Monday, Heritage Christian on Tuesday, Guerin on Wednesday, and then Ben Davis on Friday to start the Marion County Tournament.

Girls Tennis: We hosted the PT Invite on Saturday, April 22. This was a flighted tournament by position with teams from Brownsburg, Columbus North, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, Jasper, Lawrence North and St. Joe; the Panthers finished in 5th place overall; following are singles/doubles results:

1.Singles: Marissa Benge, 4th place

2.Singles: Annamaria Ebersole, 5th place

3.Singles: Anastasia Ebersole, 7th place

1.Doubles: Ria Tandra & Kate Fryburg/Caroline VanWinkle, 7th place

2.Doubles: Katie Pavlack & Ria Tandra, 6th place

On Tuesday, the Panthers took on Center Grove; varsity won 4-1 and JV won 6-4. Varsity results:

1.Singles: Shreya Mallela won 6-1, 6-2

2.Singles: Annamaria Ebersole won 7-5, 6-4

3.Singles: Khushi Shah lost 6-1, 6-1

1.Doubles: Marissa Benge/Caroline VanWinkle won 6-4, 6-0

2.Doubles: Katie Pavlack/Natalie Whitacre won 6-1, 6-3

The team will face Guerin Catholic on Friday before ending the week in the Brebeuf JV Doubles tournament on Saturday.

Boys Lacrosse: The Boys Lacrosse team is 3-4 after splitting a doubleheader in snowy South Bend on Saturday. Rookie Charlie Held earned the game ball in both contests for his crucial contributions while the team was short-handed. Currently, senior attack man Jack Sturman leads the team in scoring with 36 points. Senior Jack Anderson leads the team with 39 ground balls. Junior goalie Yoav Ehrlich is saving 55% of shots against him. Senior specialist Anthony Peng has won 51% of the faceoffs he has taken this season. The team hosted Lawrence North last night and is in action again this Friday night at Bishop Chatard at 6:00 p.m. Next Wednesday the team will play at local rival North Central at 7:00.

Girls Lacrosse: The girls lacrosse team has continued their winning streak and are currently ranked #1 in class 1A and #12 overall in the state with a record of 9-2. they have three more regular season games before heading into the playoffs. Over the last week, PT defeated Homestead (Fort Wayne) 15-3 and Roncalli; varsity won 19-4 and JV won 18-3 with more than 12 different players racking up goals. The Panthers will play Chesterton at home on Saturday at 4:00 p.m., and Senior Night will be Thursday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Track and Field: Last Friday the track team participated in the Chatard Invite. Jasiah Rogers broke his own school record in the 100 (10.68) and also broke a 32-year-old school record in the 200 (21.92). That same night Gretchen Farley and Sophia Kennedy participated in the Carmel 3200 Distance Showcase. They both broke the meet record and our school record, and they both are ranked top 25 nationally among high school girls in the 3200. At the meet Gretchen placed 3rd with a time of 10:13.86 and Sophia Kennedy placed 1st with a time of 10:07.28. Watch a video of the race.

On Monday the track team participated in the Brebeuf Invite, and tomorrow (Friday) the team hosts the PT Invite. Festivities kick off at 5:15 p.m. with Middle School track team introductions, Senior Night recognition. Food trucks will be available at the meet, and we will host the Dominguez Panther Dash at 5:30 p.m. All JK-grade 5 students are invited to participate. This race is in honor of former Lower School Director Debbie Dominguez, an educator at Park Tudor for 24 years and advocate of track and field. HC/LS students will run a half lap (200 meters) around the track for fun. NO REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED – if you are interested in participating, report to the middle of the football field at 5:25 p.m.



Chatard Invite (4/21) Highlights

Boys:

100: Jasiah Rogers 1st (new school record) and Donovan Pitts 4th

200: Jasiah Rogers 1st (new school record) and Donovan Pitts 4th

400: Hayden Souza 4th

1600: Spencer Hughes 4th

4x100: DJ Gordon, Jonathan Harris, Donovan Pitts, Jasiah Rogers 1st

4x400: Spencer Hughes, Sam Mulvey, Cason Ritz, Hayden Souza 3rd

4x800: Sean Gregg, Spencer Hughes, Cason Ritz, Dan Mukhin 2nd

Girls:

300H: Isabella Wilburn 3rd

400: Dominae Butler 2nd

4x800: Avi Holden, Lulu Holden, Lizzy Miller, Abby Moyers 4th

High Jump: Anna Supe 2nd

Pole Vault: Kate Weigand 2nd

Complete results

Brebeuf Invite (4/24) Highlights

Boys:

100: Donovan Pitts 1st

200: Jasiah Rogers 1st and Jonathan Harris 2nd

800: Sean Gregg 2nd

1600: Spencer Hughes 1st and Miles Wiley 2nd

4x100: DJ Gordon, Jonathan Harris, Donovan Pitts, Jasiah Rogers 1st

4x400: Jonathan Harris, Jasiah Rogers, Hayden Souza, Miles Wiley 1st

4x800: Dan Mukhin, Cason Ritz, Spencer Hughes, Sean Gregg 1st

Girls:

100: Dominae Butler 1st

200: Simone Hall 1st

400: Dominae Butler 2nd

1600: Gretchen Farley 1st

300H: Isabella Wilburn 1st

4x400: Gretchen Farley, Simone Hall, Lulu Holden, Nia Breaux 2nd

High Jump: Anna Supe 2nd

Pole Vault: Kate Weigand 1st

Complete results

Boys Golf: The boys golf team competed in the PAAC Conference Tournament on Saturday and placed 2nd overall, shooting 373 as a team. Congratulations to junior Atticus Caress who placed 2nd individually with an 82, which earned him PAAC All-Conference honors. The team then competed in the Marion County Golf Tournament on Monday and placed 4th overall out of 16 teams. The team will be in action again next Tuesday, May 2 vs. both Noblesville and Guerin at Pebble Brook Golf Course.

Global Scholars Presentations

Seniors in the Global Scholars program will continue presenting their independent research projects through April and May. Students in the program have worked diligently on their personally-chosen topics for the past year and have recently completed a dissertation-length paper documenting their analysis. They are now ready to deliver their findings to the community. The topics are wide-ranging in their scope and convey the individual passions and interests of the scholars. We are so proud of their efforts and hope you will join us to listen to them demonstrate their knowledge and expertise in their chosen fields.

PTPA News: Please Vote on Officer Slate by April 27 

The PTPA is proposing the following slate of officers for the 2023-2024 school year. Please vote on the slate via this link.

Co-President Elect: Spring Rouhana

Spring has one child in Lower School. She has served as the Treasurer and Fall Festival Co-chair for PTPA for the last two years.

Co-President Elect: Tiffani Taylor

Tiffani has three children at Park Tudor, two in first grade and one in JK2. Tiffani is a health care attorney and currently works as in-house counsel for a non-profit health system. Tiffani served as the Recording Secretary for the PTPA for the 2022-2023 school year. In addition to her responsibilities for the PTPA Board and as Recording Secretary, she regularly volunteers in the Lower School to help with teacher and staff projects.

She has also served in leadership roles on other non-profit boards and community organizations, including as a past Executive Committee member of the Junior League of Indianapolis, and she currently serves a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for Metropolitan Indianapolis Public Media, Inc. as well as a member of that Board’s Finance and Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Committees.

Co-Events Coordinator: Nikki DuRussel

Nikki has a current sophomore at Park Tudor. She has co-chaired Faculty Staff Appreciation Week for the last 4 years and Teacher Treats for the past year. Previously, she was on the PTA at her daughter’s schools in Brussels & London and served as a board member on the American Women’s Club in both locations as well.  

Co-Events Coordinator: Kimberly Schaming

Kimberly, and her husband Billy, have a sophomore (Turner). She is committed to helping the Park Tudor Parents Association and increasing parent engagement.  

Kimberly's background is in Information Technology, she started in consulting and then moved on to a startup e-commerce platform. Upon becoming a mom, she shifted her focus to raising her son Turner. She has also served as a Sunday school teacher for ten years and from that experience has passion for education and supporting the school community.

Media Coordinator: Mark O’Malley

Mark has a son at Park Tudor, currently in JK2. Mark has previous experience with focus groups and Teacher Board groups during his 11 years as an elementary teacher. Mark is passionate and committed to volunteering his time to his son’s school.

Recording Secretary: Tiffany Sanders

Tiffany has three children in the Park Tudor family, one in the LS, one in the US, and a recent graduate. Tiffany has served on the PTPA Board in the past as a Co-event Coordinator and comes with additional board experience. Tiffany currently serves on the First Baptist Athletics Board and is a parent representative on Indiana’s Special Education Advisory Council. She has served on numerous DEI and special needs advocacy committees and groups throughout the community. Professionally, Tiffany has been participating on the School Board for the Indiana School for the Blind and VI for the past twelve years.

Treasurer: Christopher Wilburn

Christopher will have two children in the US next year. He currently serves on the board for Reach for Youth. Christopher will bring a wealth of experience and diversity to the board and wants to give back for all the wonderful things Park Tudor has given to his children.

Second Annual PT Book Drive Another Record-Breaking Success

In this year's all-school book drive, the Park Tudor community donated more than 8,000 books for Indy Book Project. Indy Book Project Board Member, Amanda Hines, expressed her sincerest appreciation for the generosity of the Park Tudor community and shared that our 8,000 book donation is the largest donation since our record-breaking donation last year of 5,000 books from the Lower School and Hilbert Center.

Special thanks to sophomore Owen Warner, who organized the event for the second year; the directors of all three PT divisions, who supported the drive; and all of the faculty and staff that helped collect, count, organize, and box the 8,000 books.

Sophomore Owen Warner with donations from this year's Book Drive.

Registration for the Summer Experience at Park Tudor 2023 is Now Open!

Our summer programs are open to all Central Indiana students from pre-kindergarten to grade 12, and offer a great introduction to the extraordinary opportunities available at Park Tudor. From Cub Camp for 3 & 4 year-olds to options for high school students, Park Tudor summer programs offer something for everyone – arts & crafts, sports, performing arts, science, literature, Spanish language immersion, chess & gaming, and more!

Registration is now open on www.parktudor.org/summer/all-camps.

Purchase Tickets for Park Tudor at The Cabaret on May 16

The Park Tudor Fine Arts and Development Departments proudly present:

Park Tudor at The Cabaret!

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Show begins at 7:00 p.m.

The Cabaret

924 N Pennsylvania Street

Indianapolis, IN 46204

Individual tickets: $35

Food and drinks will be available for purchase from the Jazz Kitchen.

For questions or additional information, please contact info@parktudor.org.

Shop and Donate Through Kroger

You can also link your Kroger Shopper’s card to Park Tudor School through the Kroger Community Rewards program. Then all you have to do is shop at Kroger and swipe your Shopper’s Card for the rewards program to donate to the PT Annual Fund based on the shopping you do every day! For more information and to link your Shopper’s Card, visit the Kroger Community Rewards website. 

If you'd like to donate directly to the Park Tudor Annual Fund, click here. All gifts help to support Park Tudor's exceptional educators and extraordinary opportunities.

Upcoming Events

Upper School Instrumental Concert

Thursday, April 27

6:30 p.m.

Ayres Auditorium

Upper School Choir Concert

Thursday, April 27

8:00 p.m.

Ayres Auditorium

Alumni Weekend: Distinguished Alumni Dinner

Friday, April 28

6:00 p.m.

Clowes Commons

Join us for a special evening honoring 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients Carolyn “Lyndi” Hutchison Balven Tudor Hall ’67 and David Casey ’86, as well as 2023 Young Alumni Impact Award recipient Micah Johnson ’09.

Alumni Weekend: Fifty-Year Club Lunch

Saturday, April 29

11:30 a.m.

Ayres Auditorium: Dr. Marianne Williams Tobias ‘58 Lobby

The Fifty-Year Club celebrates all Park Tudor, Tudor Hall and Park School alumni who graduated in 1973 and earlier.

Alumni Weekend: Reunion Reception

Saturday, April 29

4:30 p.m.

Clowes Commons

All alumni are invited to attend, with special recognition for classes ending in “3” or “8.”

Janet Flanner Visiting Artists Series Presents an Evening in Concert with Melissa Sondhi '11

Saturday, April 29

7:30 p.m.

Ayres Auditorium

Park Tudor at The Cabaret

Tuesday, May 16

5:30 p.m.: Doors open

7:00 p.m.: Performance

The Cabaret, 924 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, IN 46204

Purchase tickets

Senior Breakfast

Friday, May 19

8:15 a.m.

Clowes Commons

Upper School Awards Presentation

Friday, May 19

9:30 a.m.

Jeffrey and Jennifer Kittle Gymnasium, Irsay Family Sports Center for Health and Wellness

Senior Serenade and Cagle Gate Walk

Friday, May 19

10:45 a.m.

8th Grade Celebration

Friday, May 19

1:00 p.m.

Ayres Auditorium

Commencement

Sunday, May 21

4:30 p.m.

St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St., Indianapolis, IN 46260