Bolles assistant swim coach Jon Sakovich appeared on the September 1 edition of Swimming World TV’s The Morning Swim Show.  Sakovich discussed the program’s recent success which led the boys’ team to being named Swimming World Magazine’s male high school team of the year.

Richard Gowen ’96, a Bolles alumnus and son of Whitehurst Campus administrative assistant Beckie Gowen, appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on August 10.  Gowen is a drummer for singer and songwriter Robert Francis. 

Gowen has toured with Francis for two years including travel to Europe seven times in the past seven months. Francis’ song “Junebug”, from the album Before Nightfall on Atlantic Records, went to #1 on the charts in France, Germany, and Switzerland. 

Gowen’s successful career didn’t happen overnight and is well-deserved.  A 2000 graduate of the University of North Florida with a B.A. in Jazz Performance, Gowen has been studying drums since he was 10 years old.  He will be playing with Francis at Farm Aid on October 2 in Milwaukee along with Neil Young, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews Band, Norah Jones, and other popular recording artists.  The band will also be opening for musician Jason Mraz in September and October throughout the U.S., before they start recording their second album at a studio in Woodstock, New York, in late October.  Following their recording sessions, the band will be going back to Europe in November and December to headline their own shows.

The Lower School Advantage Program on the Whitehurst Campus is sponsoring the “Marathon of Miracles”.  The program’s proceeds will go to the charities of participants’ choice with special focus on Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Cystic Fibrosis.

The program is for students in grades 1-5 who would like to run to help others. Participants will run two miles per week, around the track on the San Jose Campus. Activities will also include a Popsicle Run, Scavenger Hunt, Beat the Grandma, and many other activities. All runners will receive a t-shirt to run in and will get a star on the back for each mile completed. The last run will be a celebration 2.2-mile run to complete the marathon.

Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus students are participating as well and the program is open to students in schools throughout the community.

For more information and to sign-up, download the registration form here.

The senior class gathered for the annual senior breakfast on August 24, the first day of school.  Senior parents Paige Hakimian, Linda Salem, and Tammy Demetree hosted the breakfast, held at the Hakimian’s home.  As per tradition, the girls wore black dresses and tiaras for the day and the boys wear black and white attire as well.  The event kicked-off this memorable year for the Class of 2011.

View more photos from the Senior Breakfast here.

Students returned to all four Bolles campuses on Tuesday, August 24. The annual first-day senior breakfast was held off-campus before school, the senior girls wore black dresses and tiaras, and many of the senior boys wore black and white attire. They joined the rest of the upper school students on the San Jose Campus to start the 2010-11 school year. The middle school students filled the halls of the Bartram Campus. Lower school students on the Ponte Vedra Beach Campus were greeted by new principal Julie Hudson, while the Whitehurst Campus lower school students eagerly arrived with smiling faces despite a few raindrops to start the year.

Upper School

View more first day photos of upper school students here.

Middle School

View more first day photos of middle school students here.

Lower School Whitehurst Campus

View more first day photos of Whitehurst Campus students here.

Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus

View more first day photos of Ponte Vedra Beach Campus students here.

Bolles alumna Courtney Johnston ’07 is highlighted in a recent article in The Daily Tar Heel. The article states that Johnston is the UNC volleyball team’s leading returner in blocks and that she was named to the preseason All-ACC team. She is also pictured in the article, available on-line here.

While Bolles students typically post impressive pass rates on Advanced Placement exams, students taking the 2010 exams in which they were enrolled in the class exceeded the School’s historical average with an overall pass rate of 97 percent.

“Passing” is a score of three or higher on a scale of five. Additionally, 51 percent of the students scored the highest grade of five, 29 percent scored a four, and 17 percent scored a three. Pass rates for Bolles students in the last four years range from 88-91 percent.

The average score in 2010 was 4.28, while the previous four-year averages ranged from 3.92-4.02. Associate Head of School/Academic Dean Scott Smith emphasized that the recent results are a tribute to the teachers and students. He also noted that the School’s approach to placing students in AP classes last year followed the administration’s typical philosophy.

“These results show an amazing achievement for these students and are a tribute to the quality of instruction provided by their teachers,” Smith said. “There was nothing different in terms of access to the courses. We register students into AP courses based on an assessment of being successful in the year-long course.”

The Bolles School is one of only 10 growing companies earning national acclaim for maintaining its commitment to offer employees extraordinary benefits, despite a challenging economy.

An independent judging panel of employee benefits experts named The Bolles School as one of the 2010 winners of The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security, citing exemplary medical and retirement benefits.

“The Bolles School faces the same challenges as other businesses. What makes them extraordinary is the priority they place on employee financial security,” said Luke Vandermillen, vice president at The Principal Financial Group. “They pay 100 percent of medical premiums and match 10 percent if the employee contributes that much into the 403(b) plan. The Bolles School understands the direct connection between strong benefits, a strong workforce and a strong bottom line – in the best and worst of times.”

The Principal sponsors the national program, which is now in its ninth year. It honors growing companies for their commitment to their employees’ financial security.

“The judges selected the Bolles School for their well-rounded benefit program which includes multiple medical plan offerings, including an HRA,  the offering of long-term care and and outstanding retirement program,” said Angelo Nardi, 10 Best judge and executive vice president, Gallagher Benefits Services, Inc.

Bolles engaged employees in brainstorming ideas on how to save money in order to maintain benefits.

“It’s a terrific honor to be selected as one of The Principal 10 Best Companies,” said John E. Trainer, Jr., Ph.D., President and Head of The Bolles School. “We believe that our benefits are one of the hallmarks of the organization, even in these difficult times. Our employees are our greatest asset. Benefits are and have been one of the last things we look at in terms of cost saving adjustments.”

Vandermillen and other representatives from The Principal Group visited the San Jose Campus on August 17 to present the award to the School during a faculty and staff meeting.  Dr. Trainer accepted the award and reaffirmed the faculty and staff’s importance to the mission of the School.  Bolles Board of Trustees Chair Rodney McLauchlan and Immediate Past Chair Jeremy Smith also addressed the faculty and staff to reiterate the Board’s commitment to the School’s employees.

Bolles was nominated for this recognition by Gabe Hynes with the Bailey Group, who consults with the School on its employee benefit program.  A summary of best practices from Bolles and other winners will be published and available in January 2010 at www.principal.com/10best.

As part of the recognition, The Principal awards a donation to a charity selected by each winning company. Bolles chose the Honor Flight Network—First Coast Honor Air to receive the $2500 donation. The Honor Flight Network’s mission is to fly America’s Veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their sacrifices.  In presenting the donation to First Coast Honor Air representative Rick Trayner, Dr. Trainer explained that it was in honor of the School’s military history and the numerous Bolles alumni, faculty, and staff who served or continue to serve in the military.

The Principal placed a congratulatory ad that appears August 24 in the Wall Street Journal and in the September issue of Inc Magazine.  The Principal also distributed a press release to several national media outlets. Vandermillen appeared in a live interview about the winners on FoxBusiness.com on August 24, speaking extensively about Bolles. View video of the interview here.

An article has run on plansponsor.com, which also appears in that publications daily electronic newsletter to tens of thousands of advisors, business leaders and benefits specialists. An article was posted August 25 on freeERISA.com, an employee benefits web site.
View the article here. Locally, the Florida Times-Union published a story on August 25, available on-line here.

The 2010 Winners

• American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Washington, DC
• Clif Bar & Company, Berkeley Calif.
• Davidson Technologies, Inc., Huntsville, Ala.
• Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb.
• Franklin International, Columbus, Ohio
• Red River Credit Union of Texarkana, Texas
• RLI, Peoria, Ill.
• The Bolles School, Jacksonville, Fla.
• The Delp Company, Maumee, Ohio 
• The Graham Company, Philadelphia, Pa.

To learn more about the winners and the judging process, visit www.principal.com/10best.

Bolles’ benefit highlights include:

• 100 percent  employer-paid medical insurance premiums for employees
• 401(k) plan with a 100 percent employer match when the employee contributes 10 percent of pay; average employee deferral of 10 percent
• 100 percent employer-paid premiums for short- and long-term disability insurance

About The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security
The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security is a national program that recognizes small– and medium– size companies that excel at giving their employees a financial edge. Entrants must:

• Have between five and 1,000 employees
• Be based in the United States
• Have provided a broad range of employee benefits for at least five years
• Offer traditional employee benefits such as retirement and health, life and/or disability insurance

Bolles Athletic Director and Wrestling Head Coach Matt Morris was one of six 2010 inductees into the Florida Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Morris was recognized during the state wrestling tournament in Lakeland on February 20 and formally inducted at the Class of 2010 Honors Banquet on August 7 at Disney’s Regal Sun Resort in Lake Buena Vista.

In his 28 years as a wrestling coach, Morris has guided the Bolles program to two state titles, one regional title, and seven district titles, as well as 12 individual state champions, 20 state finalists, and 36 state place finishers. Morris also spent five years at Nease High School in between his time at Bolles, initiating the wrestling program and leading the Panthers to a district title.

Several of Morris’ former wrestlers, teammates, friends, family, and fellow coaches attended the induction ceremony.  From his best friend in high school to his college roommate to his recent wrestlers, the black-tie affair and entire weekend provided Morris the rare opportunity to reflect upon and visit with many of the meaningful people from throughout his career. 

“It was a great honor to be recognized by the National Hall of Fame and Florida Chapter,” Morris said.  “The most meaningful part was the process itself; reflecting back on several years and reconnecting with so many coaches, athletes, and friends that had an impact on me and me on them.  It’s so special for me, but I hadn’t taken the time to reflect.”

“I’m honored because I was fortunate to be with good people who had success,” Morris added.  “What honored me the most was all the people who sent a note or attended the ceremony.  That was the awesome part.”

Upper school science faculty member Kristin Wilson, through an Ottenstroer Fellowship, traveled to Namibia, Africa, to participate in an Earth Expeditions program offered through Project Dragonfly (funded by the National Science Foundation) and Miami University, learning about cheetah conservation, ecology of top predators, and ecosystems of Namibia.  Wilson is kept a blog about her experience, with photos, here: http://web.me.com/kwsmarty/adventures.

Stone also created photo galleries on-line through Picasa.

When you click on the link, a window will open showing thumbnail size photos in the album.  On the right side of the page is a description along with a list of subject areas.   Stone identified many photos with possible use in World History, Art, Theater, Mythology, Latin, English and, of course, Math History.

Under most of the photos, there is a caption and several have more detail written out in a comment below the photo.  View the photo galleries at the links below.

Athens - The Parthenon & Arcaeological Museum

Island of Samos – birthplace of Pythagoras, Eupalinos Tunnel and oldest Temple to Hera

Ephesus, Turkey – City of Ephesus and Temple of Artemis one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World

Island of Delos – mythological birthplace of Apollo and home of the Delian Problem (doubling the cube)

Archimedes Museum – photos of replicas and detailed description of his War Machines

Syracuse, Sicily – Archaeological areas of Syracuse and Ortygia – Greek & Roman Theater – Ear of Dionysius, Eurialo castle

Mt. Etna – highest active volcano in Europe

Rome – Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain

The Vatican – St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Museum, Sistene Chapel, St Peter’s Chains, Michelangelo’s Moses

Upper school Social Studies faculty member Allison Chandler, through an Ottenstroer Fellowship, toured China with “Asia for Educators,” a U.S.-China Education Council program. She kept a blog about her experience, with photos, here: http://uncoveringchina.wordpress.com/.

Upper school English faculty member Beth Curran, thanks to an Ottenstroer Fellowship, toured Paris and London, then attended an Oxbridge teaching seminar at Westcott House, one of Cambridge University’s colleges. She kept a blog about her experience, with photos, here: http://literarytraveler10.wordpress.com/.

Bolles sophomore Ryan Murphy won the 200 meter backstroke at the 2010 Speedo Junior National Championship, held August 9-13 at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, California.  His winning time of 2:00.81 was just shy of the meet record of 2:00.50.  Murphy also placed sixth in the 100 meter backstroke final.

Murphy’s performance at the meet qualifies him to represent the United States at the 2010 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, held August 26-30 in Maui, Hawaii. On-demand coverage of the event is available on Swimnetwork.com.

The Pan Pacific Championships provide swimmers age 13-18 who have not competed in the Olympic Games, prior Pan Pacific Championships, or the World Championships the opportunity to gain the experience of international competition.  The U.S. team will be comprised of swimmers from the National Youth Team roster.  Many former National Youth Team members have gone on to qualify for the National Team, attend World Championship meets, and represent the U.S. in the Olympics.

View video of Murphy’s 200 backstroke final on swimnetwork.com here.

View video of an interview with Murphy about his performance on swimmingworld.tv here.

The Wilson Family has requested for people to carpool to the church and to the reception immediately following at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club due to parking constraints. In addition, the family is also requesting that people wear teal, McKenzie’s favorite color, and white.

Thank you.

In order to allow our Bolles community to attend the funeral services of McKenzie Wilson, the Sixth Grade Orientations for the Bartram Campus will be changed.  The Orientation will now be from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Friday, August 20.  Thank you.

In order to allow our Bolles community to attend the funeral services of McKenzie Wilson, the Lower School Orientations for both the Whitehurst Campus and the Ponte Vedra Beach Campus will be changed. The Orientation will now be from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Friday, August 20. Thank you.

Oliver Rosenbladt has been named Director of Rowing and Waterfront at Bolles.  Rosenbladt will be responsible for the continued development of Bolles’ year-round, competitive rowing program encompassing scholastic, youth, and adult programs at all levels, as well as the management of the School’s waterfront facilities including the new, state-of-the-art Peyton Boathouse and Rice Family Crew Complex.

Rosenbladt offers 25 years of rowing experience as an athlete, coach, and administrator.  In addition to a successful collegiate and national-level rowing and sculling career, including participation in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Trials, he has coached at the club, scholastic and collegiate levels. He holds Level III certification by the US Rowing Association.

Rosenbladt comes to Bolles from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts where he served as the head coach of girls’ crew for the past 10 years. He guided the girls’ crews to a 187-79 record in dual meet competitions, 13 medals at the New England Championships, and top-five team rankings in New England in six of the ten years. His athletes were invited to participate in the US Junior National Selection and Development Camps and the Canada Games. Alumnae of the Deerfield program under his tutelage have gone on to row at Brown, Harvard/Radcliffe, Yale, Princeton, and other college programs, and have been members of multiple NCAA championship teams and crews.

Rosenbladt’s prior coaching experience also includes sculling technique at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center and Black Bear Sculling in Vermont and New Hampshire, serving as a coach and administrator with the Rivanna Rowing Club in Charlottesville, Virginia, coaching the elite lightweight women at the Riverside Boat Club in Boston, novice and competitive adult sweep rowers and scullers at Community Rowing in Boston, and serving as a volunteer assistant coach to the men’s freshman rowing team at Northeastern University.

Rosenbladt’s competitive career includes seven years of competitive sweeping and sculling at the national and international levels, winning nine national championship medals and four senior national titles, as well as national and Olympic team trials and selection from 1993 through 2000.  He represented the U.S. in international regattas at Lucerne, Switzerland, and Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1995. Rosenbladt was a member of the top-five nationally ranked Men’s Varsity Lightweight Eight at Rutgers University, where he served as a team captain and earned male scholar-athlete of the year honors.

Rosenbladt earned an M.A. in English from Northeastern University and a B.A. in English from Rutgers.  Originally from California, Rosenbladt is a graduate of Santa Clara High School in Santa Clara.  He and his wife, Melissa Brown, have two sons, Nikolai (6) Alexander (2).

“I am pleased and excited that Oliver and his family are joining our Bolles community,” President and Head of School John E. Trainer, Jr., Ph.D. said.  “His strong academic background and prior work at an academically rigorous boarding school made him an outstanding fit for us.  He brings national and international connections to our crew program, a natural evolution of the outstanding program started by our own Mark Frampton just 16 years ago.  His associations with crew programs at some of America’s elite colleges and universities will be valuable to our graduating seniors.  He brings a deep interest in students to the campus, and has already expressed interest in supporting student clubs, and even in teaching English at some point in the future.”

Dale Porter has been named Head Age Group Coach of The Bolles School Sharks swim club.  Porter brings more than 20 years of competitive coaching experience to the Sharks program. 

Porter comes to Bolles from the Spartan Aquatic Club in Orange Park, where he has served as the program’s head coach for the last six years.  During his tenure with SPAC, Porter has coached swimmers to number one rankings at the local, state, and national level.  His swimmers have posted more than 20 Top-16 National Age Group times, competed at the US Swimming Junior National Championships, and repeated as winners of Jacksonville’s River City Championship the past two seasons.  Porter also served as the head swim coach for St. Johns Country Day School, where he also taught Physical Education, since August 2004.

Porter’s prior coaching experience also includes 13 years as an assistant coach with the Lake Erie Silver Dolphins in Ohio, one of USA Swimming’s Gold Medal Clubs.  Porter served as a coach at the Hawken School in Chesterland, Ohio, as well.

“Dale’s experience is only equaled by his enthusiasm for teaching and coaching,” Head Coach and Aquatics Director Sergio Lopez noted.  “An established and highly respected coach in Florida Swimming, he is regarded for his outstanding coaching, depth of knowledge, leadership, enthusiasm, and humility.  He is sure to create an exciting new dynamic on the Bolles Sharks coaching staff and within the team itself.”

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