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WYVERN TALES
A Newsletter for the Alumni Community
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Beloved KO faculty member, Dick Caley, passed away on December 17. Known by many as simply "Caley," he began his lifelong relationship with our school as a member of the great class of 1962 and came back in 1970 to begin a 37-year career teaching science alongside his beloved wife, Carol.
Those who knew him as a classmate, teacher, and friend will remember Caley for his humor, enthusiasm, dedication, and amiability. He will be greatly missed, and our deepest sympathies go out to Carol, his children (Josh Caley ’91, Jessica Caley Rice ’94), son-in-law (Bob Rice ’93), grandchildren, and all of his many friends in the Kingswood Oxford School community.
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Tayari Jones Visits KO as 40th Baird Symposium Author
New York Times best-selling author of An American Marriage, Silver Sparrow and other works, Tayari Jones visited KO as the 40th Warren Baird English Symposium guest. Leading up to the event, symposium students read and worked with Jones’s books, dissecting, discussing, and analyzing them in preparation for her visit. Jones was a warm and impactful presence on campus during her time, workshopping with the symposium class and sharing her story with all Upper and Middle School students during the culminating assemblies.
Her message was heartfelt and genuine, laced with delightful humor and, like her stories, a storyline that drew you in and kept you listening intently. While she acknowledged her story was about how she came to write novels, it was much more. “My message really is about following your dreams,” said Jones. “I know this is something you hear a lot, but it is something you can’t hear enough.”
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For 60 years, the Frosty Francis Kingswood Invitational Tournament (known to all as the KITs) has been the place to be for KO students in the first week of December. Students, alumni, teachers, and families crowd the Hewett and Soby gyms to cheer on our girls and boys basketball teams, both trying to keep the championship trophies in our case.
This year, both teams showed heart and hustle and came away with a Second Place result for the girls' team, and a first place victory for the boys! Congratulations, Wyverns!
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On December 10, 2022, thirty-three students and faculty traveled to New York City for a day of experiential place-based learning, reflection, and joy. The trip was a result of the collaboration between the History and Creative Arts Departments and the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. The theme of the day was Sankofa, a Ghanaian word meaning that it is not too late to go back and re-examine something that has been overlooked, return to your roots, or re-tell a story in a new way. The first stop was the African Burial Ground Memorial and Museum, the final resting place for nearly 15,000 free and enslaved Africans between the 1630s and 1790s. After the experience at the Burial Ground, students attended a matinee of the Broadway revival of 1776, a musical about the historic decision of the American colonies to declare their independence from England. The trip exemplifies KO’s Strategic Vision to ‘engage students in real-world and interdisciplinary learning opportunities by expanding the classroom beyond our campus.’” Students were encouraged to discuss how museums, public art, and theater can be transformative in telling the stories of the past.
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Form I Learns about the Power of Water | |
This semester Form I’s interdisciplinary study on the Power of Water wove together watersheds, rivers, indigenous populations, industrialization, and refugee experiences to uncover how water has the power to connect us through time and various communities. Last Friday’s event at the Cornerstone Pool in West Hartford was another case of the KO Middle School doing what the KO Middle School does best – mixing learning and levity, exploration and exuberance.
One unit of the class had students consider how, in some refugee experiences, homemade boats are utilized as a means to flee and are often built with just the materials available, and in science class, student teams designed and built a boat using only cardboard and duct tape.
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Kingswood Oxford launched a newly updated website this week. The new site is designed to be more user-friendly, to better represent who we are and what we do, and to showcase our strengths as a day school. Feel free to take a look around! | | |
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ARCHIVISTS CORNER
with Brenda Semmelrock
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Thinking of Snow
Happy New Year to all!
Winter is here and so far, only a bit of snow has fallen on CT. Let’s go back a ways-Remember the Blizzard of ‘78? If you were around back then, how could you forget it?! It started as flurries on February 5th, but quickly turned into one of the worst blizzards in state history. In some places, up to 2 feet of snow and very strong wind gusts. The snow drifts were incredible. Governor Ella Grasso ordered all roads and highways in the state closed to all motor vehicles (except for snow plows and emergency vehicles). According to Mr. Kyff, Headmaster Bob Lazear closed school at noon on that Monday, February 6. He and his wife, Dotsy, hosted a number of middle school students for dinner until their parents could make it to the school to pick them up. Kingswood Oxford was closed for several days. For those who were students here at that time, I would love to hear your memories of Storm Larry.
I happened to be in Mexico studying for the semester so I missed that storm. I found out about it weeks later in a letter (snail mail back then - no phones) from my roommate at UConn. From what she told me, my dorm was a popular one for sledding...out the 5th-story window on food trays from the cafeteria!
For now, please enjoy beautiful photos of our Kingswood Oxford campus in the winter!
Brenda
semmelrock.b@kingswoodoxford.org
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Let's Celebrate!
Thanks to the support of our Annual Fund donors during the first half of this fiscal year, we have reached 68% of our budgeted goal!
These gifts to KO have strengthened our programs and provided this year's students with incredible opportunities to grow.
Thank you to all who continue to lead the way for this generation of Wyverns!
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KO Big Thinkers Blog
KO Faculty, Administrators, and Staff are passionate about helping students to succeed and become stronger, more confident individuals. The KO Big Thinkers Blog shares their thoughts on how they navigate that path with their students.
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A Note from Admissions
KO Campus is abuzz with tours and interviews!
Help us spread the word about our school - refer a Wyvern to us here in this form!
For more information on KO and the Admissions process, visit our website!
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