RE Log - Fall 2022

2 Ransom Everglades LOG FALL 2022 From La Brisa The stories are everywhere. Ransom Everglades School boasts more than a century of stories that engage us, inform us, inspire us and – most importantly – connect us. Many of you called RE home during adolescence. Others entered this community as parents, faculty members or trustees. We all understand that this special place has been an anchor in this important city for more than 100 years, a source of hallowed traditions, remarkable history and endless stories that bring us together. Our students often do not fully realize the impact of their education and the RE community until after they depart. They will lean on their former classmates as they take on new challenges and enter new worlds. They will fondly recall their teachers and activities. And they will join their alumni peers in telling and re-telling (and eventually embellishing) stories from way back when. It is what we do. We all yearn for good news and interesting tales; the RE Log offers a place we can find both, building community as we celebrate our community. The magazine’s cover story documents the arrival of three incredible additions to our senior leadership team, including the homecoming of new Chief Operating Officer and Interim Head of the Upper School David Clark ’86 . “This is my home. This is where I have grown up. This is what made me,” David said about Ransom Everglades. Many of our alumni know David as “Mr. Clark” from his days as a young math teacher and dean of students at RE. You will enjoy the story of his return, which begins with an important message from our board chair Jonathan Fitzpatrick and vice chair Elana Oberstein-Harris ’93 on page 7, and is followed by pieces on new Executive Director of College Counseling Jason Locke and Head of the Middle School Eric Boberg. You will also enjoy a wonderful essay on the latest gem on our upper school campus, the La Brisa house that opened as the administrative center of the school just a few weeks ago and which carries a fascinating history. English teacher Matt Margini brought this history-rich house to life by sharing a real-life tale that begins on page 12. That is followed by my favorite piece in the magazine: A feature on legendary faculty members Don Kappelman, Joe Mauro, Greg Siegler and Karen Thompson, who have served at RE for a combined 152 years. As the story says, their energy and enthusiasm match their experience; I will add excellence to that tally. There is no question that, as this school leaps into the future, we rely fervently on the wisdom, guidance and institutional knowledge of this incredible quartet of educators. Guided by Stories As we leap into the future, we are grounded in the past Ransom Everglades School boasts more than a century of stories that engage us, inform us, inspire us and – most importantly – connect us.” “ Photos by Carl Kafka and Suzanne Kores