Last week, the Fieldston community joined together at the Ethical Culture Society for its first complete, in-person Founder’s Day in three years. The energy in the building was evident even before the procession when students had the opportunity to reconnect with some of their old teachers on the roof of the building. “It’s always great to catch up with your old teachers,” said Rohann Moresky-Madhavan (Form IV). “It made me feel proud and, honestly, a bit emotional to visit the place I grew up in.”
The ceremony opened with the procession of the Class of ‘23 into the hall, welcomed, one by one, by deafening cheers from the crowd. Over the next few hours, we would sing along to our beloved school songs, listen to performances by Fieldston musicians and hear the impassioned messages of our Head of School, Board Chair and incoming and outgoing student body presidents.
Perhaps the most wholesome moment of the procession was the sing-along of our school songs. As soon as the first chords of Fieldston Lower’s “There’s a Place in the World For Me” were played, my fellow Lower alumni and I shot up from our seats and belted out the lyrics of our anthem with pride and nostalgia.
Soon after the sing-along, Joe Algrant walked onto the stage to deliver his first Founder’s Day oration as our Head of School. He spoke about all the different ways Fieldston is special, from the annual fashion show, which showcases students’ creativity, to the Special Olympics club, which highlights students’ empathy and commitment to helping others. He emphasized that, if Felix Adler were alive today, he would doubtless be proud of how his school turned out.
Algrant capped off his speech by acknowledging three staff members who are retiring at the end of the school year, whose combined years at the school add up to 104. He shared heartfelt memories of each of the three compiled by colleagues, thanked them for their years of service and bid them a grateful farewell on behalf of the Fieldston community.
He first recognized Bob Cairo, who worked in the Science Department and as an Assistant Principal of Student Life for 23 years. “Bob is gentle yet principled, selfless but not mushy, a wonderful teacher and a supportive colleague!” remarked Algrant. “I wish that he could stay on as Mr. Fieldston!” Indeed, Mr. Cairo was a staple of the Fieldston community throughout his tenure with the school, and we will surely miss him.
He then acknowledged longtime Fieldston admissions officer Teri Hage, saying, “She is a Sustainer of the school. She embodies the values and spirit Felix Adler set forth all those years ago.” Truer words could not have been spoken. Ms. Hage worked tirelessly in the Admissions office for 36 years, processing tens of thousands of applications, scheduling interviews and dealing with millions of questions and concerns per day — all with a smile on her face and a contagious sense of humor. She is truly the personification of the Fieldston mission and the embodiment of our founder’s values.
Finally, Algrant recognized Mark Stracke, who has worked at Fieldston for 46 years, 35 of those as chair of the Visual Arts department. Mr. Stracke’s legacy at Fieldston cannot be overstated; over his four decades with the school, he has been, amongst other things, a photography teacher, advisor, cross-country coach and member of the City Semester team. As chair of the Visual Arts department, he shaped and expanded the program to cover not just photography, but all media, including digital artwork and graphic design. “Mark is… a skilled technician,” noted Algrant, “able to fix almost any camera or enlarger, mix chemicals with his own secret formulas, and navigate his way through any problem that might arise in the darkroom. He is fearless in the face of overly excitable eighth graders and overly relaxed second-semester seniors.” To this day, I fondly remember Mr. Stracke’s 8th Grade introductory photography class, in which, despite the isolative ambience of school during the Covid-19 pandemic, he found a way to inspire me to put forth my best work.
The festivities ended with yet another sing-along, this time of our Upper School song, “Iam Canamus.” As students and faculty exited the building to the sound of celebratory music, taking pictures with friends outside the building to commemorate the moment, I thought to myself, “Despite his flaws, we must thank Felix Adler for creating such a special community.”
