Congrats Class of 2012! 6/8/2012 Photo courtesy of Jay Gorodetzer Photography.   White gowns, check. Flower bouquets, check. Diplomas, check. Our newest graduates finished the year in style in a commencement ceremony at the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church on June 7. Congratulations Class of Blue!   Click here to view photographs from the special day.

Kaylah Kleczka Honored with White Blazer Award 6/5/2012 Kaylah Kleczka was honored with the White Blazer, Baldwin’s highest athletic award, at the annual Athletic Association Banquet.   The White Blazer is awarded to a student-athlete who has played on at least two varsity sports in her senior year and who represents the best qualities of sportsmanship: the ability to win and lose gracefully, act with integrity, take criticism willingly and try to benefit from it, be a loyal teammate in winning and losing and, after the game, show interest in teams other than one on which she is playing. This award is voted on by student-athletes who have played on a team in Upper School.   Kaylah also received the Ruth Davidon Elite Athlete Award for her outstanding performance as a national competitor in Crew. She is also the only senior to receive the Margot Cunningham Sports Commitment Award this year, presented annually to student-athletes who played three sports for four years in high school. At Baldwin, Kaylah played Varsity Volleyball and Crew for four years and Varsity Basketball for three. She served as co-captain for all three teams her senior year and also earned MVP awards, as voted on by her fellow teammates, in Volleyball and Crew. She has earned All Inter-Ac and All Main Line honors in both. Kaylah also played on the JV Soccer team her freshman year.   In the fall, Kaylah signed a National Letter of Intent and accepted a scholarship to row at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. At UMASS Amherst, Kaylah plans to study Sports Management.

Student-Athletes Honored at Athletic Association Banquet 6/5/2012 More than 200 student-athletes, parents, faculty and staff gathered for the annual Athletics Associations Banquet in honor of Baldwin student-athletes. Head of School, Sally Powell shared opening comments including the fact that a quarter of the class of 2012 would continue their athletic careers in college, participating on an NCAA team.   Athletic Association Head, Tiffany Hau and Director of Athletics, Deb Surgi served as master of ceremonies. Current co-captains shared comments about their teams and introduced next year’s captains. Varsity coaches announced the teams’ Most Valuable Players, as voted by the teams. Tiffany’s video was shown, which highlighted the 2011-2012 academic year in sports.   Ms. Surgi presented 25 seniors with the traditional wool, monogramed Baldwin Athletics blankets. Following the senior presentation, Ms. Surgi presented the major awards, including the White Blazer to Kaylah Kleczka.   photo: (back, l to r): Tiffany Hau '12, Tina Roak Award; Marina Crowe '12, Lois Harlos Award; Valerie Yoshimura '15, Olympic Trial Qualifier; (front l to r): Arden Simone '13, Pat West Award; Kaylah Kleczka, White Blazer Award, Margot Cunningham Sports Commitment Award, Ruth Davidon Elite Athlete Award; Nicole Wells, Ruth Davidon Elite Athlete Award; Madison Noteware, Ruth Davidon Elite Athlete Award; missing: Kaitlyn Hobson, Alice Comly Award; Julia Smith, International Polo MVP

Maddie Noteware to Row for MIT 6/5/2012 Senior Madison Noteware has committed to row at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology beginning this fall. At the recent Baldwin Athletics banquet, Maddie received the Ruth Davidon Elite Athlete Award for her outstanding performance as a national competitor in Crew. She was also named the US Rowing Honor Roll (HM) this year.   Maddie has earned numerous medals at elite crew regattas during her Baldwin career including: Silver Medal, Scholastic Rowing Association of America's Championship, Varsity Double;Gold Medal, Stoesbury Ltwt 2x; Gold Medal, Stotesbury Freshman 4x; Gold Medal, SRAA Nationals; Gold Medal, New Jersey State Champions Ltwt 2; Silver Medal, Junior Nationals Ltwt 2x; and Silver, Cities Ltwt 2x.   At Baldwin, Maddie was also a four-year member of the Varsity Swim Team and a three-year member of the Varsity Cross Country team, the later which she co-captained her senior year. She also played Varsity Soccer at Baldwin.

Laura Jarin-Lipschitz to Fence at MIT 6/5/2012 Laura Jarin-Lipschitz, Class of 2012, will join fellow classmates Marina Crowe (Sailing and Squash) and Maddie Noteware (Crew) as an athlete at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but Laura will compete on the Varsity Fencing Team.   Laura has been fencing for more than six years at the Fencing Academy of Philadelphia. She has achieved multiple top-32 finishes in cadet and junior national tournaments, including Junior Olympics and USA Fencing Summer Nationals.

Marina Crowe to Play Two Varsity Sports in College 6/5/2012 Senior Marina Crowe will play not one, but two varsity sports at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology beginning this fall. Marina has committed to participate on the Sailing and Men’s Squash Team (there is no women’s team) for the Engineers, which compete in the NEWMAC Conference.   At Baldwin, Marina was a four-year varsity member of the Varsity Soccer and Varsity Squash teams; she co-captained both teams her senior year. Marina was named All Inter-Ac in Squash and All Main Line in Soccer. The 2011-2012 Varsity Squash Team finished 3rd at the US Squash High School Nationals, captured Gold at MASA, and won their third consecutive Inter-Ac title.   Marina was also the recipient of the Baldwin Athletics Lois Harlos Award.

Alexa Tzarnas to Play Squash at George Washington 6/5/2012 Senior Alexa Tzarnas has committed to play Division I Squash at George Washington University, a member of the Atlantic-10 Conference.   Alexa served as co-captain of this year’s #3 nationally ranked Varsity Squash Team and was a four-year member of the Varsity squad. She was named to the All Inter-Ac Second Team this year. Alexa also played Varsity Soccer throughout high school.   At GW, Alexa will study Political Science/International Relations.

Liz Asch to Row for Union College 6/5/2012 Senior Elizabeth Asch has committed to be part of the Varsity Crew team at Union College beginning in the Fall of 2012. Liz was a four-year member of the Baldwin Varsity Crew team and co-captained the team this spring. She also was elected co-MVP for the 2012 season.   While at Baldwin, Liz won numerous medals including the Gold at the PRSA City Championship and Stotesbury Regatta, Silver at the Stotesbury Regatta, Gold at the Turn & Burn and Bill Braxton Regattas, and Bronze at the New Jersey Scholastic Rowing Championship.   Liz also participated on the Varsity Soccer Team at Baldwin.

Maina Crowe '12 to Compete on Two Inter-Collegiate Teams 6/5/2012 Senior Marina Crowe will not only play one, but two varsity sports at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology beginning this fall. Marina has committed to participate on the Sailing Team and Men's Squash Team (MIT does not have a women's-only team). MIT is a member of the NEWMAC conference.   At Baldwin, Marina was a four-year varsity squash and soccer player and captained both teams her senior year. She was also named to the All Inter-Ac Squash Team and All Main Line Soccer Team. The Varsity Squash Team finished the 2011-2012 season with a #3 national ranking, captured Gold at MASA, and won the Inter-Ac title for the third consecutive year.

Math Olympiads 6/11/12 Grade IV (l to r): Lindsey Brodsky, Alexa May Richards, Emily Seltzer, Saachi Singh, Frances Wilson, Aleeha Banerjee, Armina Emami, Alexandra Holgren, Erica Kent, Natalie Pansini, Menal Siddiqui, Vivienne Evans, Baylee Huang, Margaret Fleischner, Torrie Smith, Jordyn Allen, *Bradleigh Bell   Grade IV - V student ‘mathletes’ were recognized in the Lower School assembly on Friday, June 1, for their voluntary participation in the Math Olympiads.   The 17 students from the Grade IV class, and 18 students from the Grade V class, each received an official Math Olympiad certificate of participation in addition to a Math Olympiad t-shirt for their efforts. Students who scored in the top 50 percent of all participants nationally and internationally also received an embroidered felt patch. Simi Bleznak ’20 and Baylee Huang ’21, the highest individual scorers on their respective class teams, were awarded with trophies for their standout achievements.   Patch recipients:   Grade IV: Baylee Huang, Saachi Singh   Grade V: Simi Bleznak, Joanna Fisch, Celia Page, Zoya Siddiqui   The Lower Schoolers were amongst nearly 150,000 students in more than 30 countries to get involved in the Math Olympiads, marking the first year of Baldwin’s involvement in the program. Over the course of a five-month period, the girls got busy attending weekly practice sessions and taking part in a series of monthly math competitions under the coaching of Lower School Math Specialist Julia Kornienko. Intended to improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills, the experience has proved both challenging and rewarding for these budding mathematicians.   Grade V (l to r): Alexis Shatzman, Natalie Sgro, Savannah Sanford, Taylor Trapp, Simi Bleznak, Andrea Coler, Alexa Diecidue, Joanna Fisch, Skye Jackson, Azzaya Johnson, Julia Kait, Alexandra Phelan, Makayla Pratt, Celia Page, Sydney Parmet, Zoya Siddiqui, *Isabella Tyminski and Sneha Roy   * Indicates students absent from photo

Baldwin Flutists Bring Music to our Ears 6/5/12 Row 1 (Back) Sherrie Li '15, Rachel Zachian '15, Angela Yang '18, Jessica Palmer '17, Kaitlyn Kang '17, and Alexis Mosley-McLemore '17, Emma Sass '17; Row 2: Jasmine Bell '21, Amber Hawkins '20.   The silvery sounds of flutes filled the Residence Assembly Room on Sunday, June 3, as nine Lower, Middle, and Upper School student musicians from Grades II-X delighted audiences with a spectacular end-of-year recital.   Featuring a medley of musical numbers that ranged from ‘First Duet,’ and ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,’ to the works of renowned composers like Haydn, Bizet, Schubert, Vivaldi and Beethoven, the student flutists demonstrated mastery of their instruments and left much to look forward to for the upcoming academic year.

Digital Photography Class Captures Baldwin From Above 6/4/12 Remember the aerial photography project pioneered by the Upper School Digital Photography class in November? Twenty three still frames were extracted from the video that was captured during the camera's flight over campus. The class wove the photos together seamlessly, creating a panoramic photo that now hangs in the Upper School office.

"Felicitations" to Baldwin Language Star 6/1/12 Rachel Coler ’15 ranked #8 locally of 2,700 students who took the National French Contest/Le Grand Concours. This annual competition is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. This year, more than 10,000 students nationwide in grades seven through 12 participated. An awards ceremony was held on May 17 at Chestnut Hill College to recognize and honor all of the students in the Philadelphia chapter who participated in this contest   Rachel has been studying French formally in school since the first grade. Her mother says, "Rachel is a true francophile! Her love of French began when she was very young with all things Madeline - we read all of the Madeline books, watched the films, played with Madeline dolls, etc. She plans to do at least a minor in French in college."