It was wonderful to have so many alumni come back for our 31st Winter Fest! The Alumni Reception before the show was attended by alums from the 1940’s through the class of 2011. The library was buzzing as they reconnected with former classmates and teachers and poured over old yearbooks. Their special reserved alumni seating section for the show gave them a great view of this year’s show, “A Winterfest Carol”. As always, during the traditional holiday songs at the end, alumni enthusiastically joined in the singing and dancing.

Erin Daly ‘98, is conducting research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN as a postdoctoral research associate in the department of chemical biology and therapeutics. Previously she spent six years at the University of Notre Dame conducting research for her Ph.D. which involved studying natural products that are similar to Taxol, a known breast cancer drug.

While at Notre Dame, Erin received several fellowships to support her research, including the American Chemical Society Pre-doctoral Fellowship. In June 2011 she defended her Ph.D. work and received her degree in August.

Erin’s dissertation contains a special thank you to Mrs. Haseltine and the other Unquowa School faculty and administration who “taught me that confidence in oneself and in one’s own abilities are key components in any good education and to success in life.” Congratulations, Erin!

Chris DeSanctis ‘82 is the new Headmaster of The Grace Christian School in Stamford. He has worked in the fields of education, non-profit, and public service.

Chris lives in Fairfield with his wife, Deneen, a speech language pathologist, and their three young children.

Check out all the alums who came back to Founders’ Day this year. They had a great time catching up with each other and  visiting with (and dunking!) their former teachers.  After the ribbon cutting to officially open the new playing field, many of the alums joined in the intense alumni-student soccer game.

Archie MacAllaster, former Treasurer and member of the Unquowa Board of Governors and father of David ‘73, passed away in September.

Mr. MacAllaster served for four years in the U.S. Navy and then began a career in investment banking. He was one of the original members of Barron’s Investment Roundtable and Chairman of MacAllaster Pitfield Mackay.

He was an active volunteer and supporter of many organizations in the Fairfield community. Our condolences to his family and friends.

Jesse Alpert ‘05 is a Marine Biology major at the University of Miami in Florida. His studies have focused on coral and ocean reefs.

Jesse has spent recent summers in Egypt and Mozambique working on his underwater photography and scuba diving while studying local marine life.

Alex Madsen ‘03 graduated from Roanoke College in May. He just completed an internship at an advertising agency in Boston and has recently returned to the Fairfield area.

Alex is pictured here with his mom Nealy, former Unquowa Board President, during a recent visit to the school.

Axel Wallenberg, former member of the Unquowa Board of Governors and father of Martina ‘03, Axel ‘05 and Camilla ‘08, passed away in September.

Axel was an international entrepreneur and philanthropist. Our condolences to his wife Anna and their children.

Krissy Sabol Ponden ‘95 was married this summer in Santorini, Greece to Tim Ponden.

Krissy teaches Upper School Art and Graphic Design at Unquowa following in the footsteps of her former teacher and mentor, Alison Gray.

Congratulations to Krissy and Tim!

Norman Morse ‘33 passed away in August in Scarborough Maine. Norman was born in Pittsfield, MA. His family moved to Southport, CT when he was a child and lived there for many years before moving to Maine later in his life.

Norman joined the U.S. Army after the Pearl Harbor bombing and led a radar company in General Patton’s assault on Germany. For much of his business career he managed real estate investments for the Astor and Whitney families in New York City.

Norman was a generous philanthropist and an avid sailor. He had a lasting commitment to social justice and progressive ideals and maintained a wonderful sense of humor throughout his life.

In recent years Norman visited Unquowa regularly and took great pride and interest in his old school. Our condolences to his friends and family.