Janet Hartwell, Head of School, Introduces Sarah Ostermueller for Von Kohorn Speaker – Dec 8th 2009.

Several years ago, the Greens Farms Academy Board of Trustees established the annual Von Kohorn address, to be given by a faculty member chosen by the Head of School, to honor former Board Chair, Honorary Trustee and past parent, Henry Von Kohorn. Over the many years of his connection with GFA, Henry has given wise and measured counsel to three Heads of School, and consistent and prudent management at the Board level, always with the current and long term health of the school as a guiding principle. Furthermore, he has never wavered from his belief in GFA as a school with strong academics, intellectual rigor and a vibrant faculty and student body. I would like to welcome Henry and his wife Meredith to this year's Von Kohorn address.

The best way to ensure and maintain these qualities at GFA is through recruiting and retaining the best possible faculty, another of Henry's deeply held convictions, and GFA is fortunate to be able to hold this annual lecture series to celebrate the strength and uniqueness of the GFA faculty.

This annual lecture is also an opportunity for students to listen to a respected faculty member speak on a topic that would not ordinarily be covered in her classroom and whose talk will enhance both faculty voice and student enlightenment at GFA, a school that has long fostered close and intellectually enriching faculty and student relationship.

Sarah Ostermueller, or Ms. O, as she is affectionately known, has a long connection with GFA. Her father, Thomas Ostermueller, served for three years on the Board of Trustees, alongside Mr. Von Kohorn, and both Sarah and her two older sisters Amy and Lisa were students at GFA, with Sarah graduating in 1994. A serious student and strong athlete, and an especially talented field hockey goalie, Sarah went onto Colby College, and after graduating, she then taught for a year at a boarding school in North Carolina, followed by teaching at the Hun School, near Princeton, New Jersey, and then Northfield Mount Herman, a boarding school in Massachusetts. We are very happy that Sarah exchanged boarding for day school and came to back to her alma mater, GFA.

Ms O is the real deal. She teaches middle school math, is a middle school Dean, and a three season coach; Sarah understands how schools work and what is important in the life of a school, which is all about working with students, both in and out of class. When not teaching the finer points of Algebra, she is giving extra help, talking to a students about life as a middle schooler, being a compassionate listener, giving extra help, or just passing the time of day with students in the forum. Sarah combines a passion for math with a passion for teaching, and her students benefit from both her passions.Sarah is a tremendous role model for all of us, both faculty and students, and she exemplifies the strongly held GFA belief of creating and inspiring life long learners. It is my pleasure to welcome Sarah Ostermueller as the 2009 2010 Von Kohorn faculty speaker:

On Saturday November 21st eight alumni and thirty-six GFA students volunteered to work in homeless shelters and soup kitchens in the New York City area.

Every year the junior class participates in a program organized through a non-profit called the Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP). They take the train into the city on Friday evening and spend the night at the Quaker Friends Seminary in Manhattan which houses a homeless shelter. This year alumni were given the opportunity to meet up with the juniors on Saturday morning and help them prepare meals together and serve them to the homeless. The students and alumni involved helped feed over 900 people that weekend.

A special thank you to the alumni who participated: Prash Akkapeddi '92, Rebecca Brock Dixon '95 and her husband Adam Dixon, Nikhil Ramchandani '95, Sarah Hoffman '95, Andrew Grosso '92, Karima Hassan '92 and Sirisha Akkapeddi '00.

The Dragons capped off an exciting season, one that included a League Championship, by defeating The Masters School (CT) 3-0 in the finals of the New England Tournament to capture the first title in school history. The team began their journey through the New England's with a 3-1 win over Watkinson in the first round of the tournament at home on Wednesday. On Saturday, the first game of the afternoon saw the Varsity squad come out strong against a hard hitting KING team. After two games the score was knotted at 1 game apiece, but GFA took control of the match taking the next two games and upsetting the #2 seed. In the finals, GFA faced the #1 seed and home team Masters. After their thrilling dispatch of KING, the Lady Dragons came out focused, hitting on all cylinders, and determined to put the match out of reach early. GFA was successful on all fronts, ultimately defeating Masters as they had so many other teams this season, by way of a 3-0 shutout.

The victory was a total team effort; each game had big plays and great efforts from different players.  "I could not be any more proud of the girls, it was a fantastic season," say coach Paul Groves.