July 2021
CLASS OF 2021 GRADUATION
Spartanburg Day School is pleased to welcome the newest class of Griffin alumni! Congratulations to the class of 2021! Learn more about the class on the SDS website, and check out a livestream of the graduation ceremony here.
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CAGGIANO AWARD PRESENTATION TO JAY WAKEFIELD '80
by Billy Blackford '75
I am glad to be here, as a graduate in 1975, and as a parent of two daughters who went all the way through, as well. They loved SDS and benefitted from their experience. Whenever, I'm here, I think about our school and how long it's been here…..64 years, same as me. Then I think about which one looks better; It's not me !
The Caggiano Alumni Award recognizes an alumnus who always keeps SDS in their heart, who contributes, who comes back, who gives back, & who embodies what it means to be a lifelong Griffin.
Today's recipient spent 12 happy years at Spartanburg Day. Going back, his dad used to drop him off in those early days at the old Lower School in Drayton. He loved SDS so much that he sent three children here.
You see, today's recipient has a committed love for our school. A willingness to do whatever it takes to help the Day School win and excel. He supports our alumni. If he didn't, why would he take the NBA League pass and watch all of Zion Williamson's basketball games, all 72 this year. I'll admit it. I did, too. Often with him.
Today's recipient is active in the Spartanburg community. When there was no junior lacrosse program in Spartanburg, he single handedly founded one, nurtured it and continues to contribute to its' success today.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Caggiano Alumni Award for 2021 goes to our friend, Jay Wakefield
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GRIFFIN ALUMNI WITH GRADUATING SENIORS
It is an honor to recognize these special alumni who had children graduate from SDS this year. Congratulations to Lamar Baehr, Eliot Stone, Anna and Justin Converse, Laura Henthorn, and their children!
Lamar Baehr and his son, Ford Baehr.
Eliot Stone and his daughter, Elizabeth Stone
Justin and Anna Converse and their daughter, Marianna Converse
Laura Henthorn and her daughter, Abby Henthorn
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SPECIAL THANKS FOR A JOB WELL DONE
We cannot thank Ricky Richardson and Susan Dunlap enough for their service to the SDS Alumni Council. They didn't even hesitate to say "yes" when asked to serve not one, not two, but three terms, and they both served as president during these past few years. We will miss their advice and involvement more than we can say, but we will always continue to seek out their wisdom and support in the years ahead.
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YOUR SDS GOOGLE ACCOUNT
A message from Director of Technology Services Celia Cooksey
Hello, Griffins ~ as I wrap up my time here at SDS as the Director of Technology Services, I want you to have plenty of notice that, as of August 1, your SDS Google account (which includes Gmail and Google Docs, at al.) will be suspended — please note: it will be suspended, not deleted.
Because we want to maintain high levels of security, it's pretty important that our accounts that are mostly inactive be kept locked, so to speak, especially when it's really easy for you to regain access again with just a request. (That said, please do give our new Director of Technology plenty of notice if you need access.)
So, if you need to retrieve a message or a document after this July, please just send an email to sdsTech@sdsgriffin.org with that request, including for about how long you'll need access to your account, before it's suspended again. Thank you!
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SHARE YOUR NEWS IN OUR SKYLYNER MAGAZINE
We love sharing your good news in the Alumni section of our annual Skylyner magazine. Please send all your wedding, graduation, baby news and photos to sally.spencer@sdsgriffin.org so we can be sure to include them.
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
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Hank Barron '19 - The Journey from SDS Spartacus to Xavier University Musketeer
At my last game as the mascot for the Day School, I can remember people asking me, "Are you sad that your time as Spartacus is over?" I always replied that I was not that sad because I was excited to attempt to make the next step by becoming a college mascot. Ever since I had made the decision that I was going to be Spartacus my freshman year, my dream became to be a professional mascot.
After I made my college decision of attending Xavier University, I immediately reached out to a member of their mascot team and found out what was physically required to be the musketeer. That summer I worked with Coach Cooper at SDS who helped me prepare for the team tryouts in the fall. By the end of the summer, I was prepared for tryouts and fully confident that I could manage anything that was thrown at me during tryouts.
During my tryouts, it suddenly dawned on me how extremely lucky and fortunate I was to go to Spartanburg Day School. This moment of revelation came at the point of tryouts where they had us act out a scenario in the mascot suit with the scenario being, "Xavier just had a fastbreak dunk - what are you going to do?" My immediate thought to this was, "Wait a minute, I have acted this scenario thousands of times as Spartacus at Day School games - this is easy." I immediately leapt into action, and I am convinced that my performance in this scenario secured me a place on the team.
Thanks to the supportive community of SDS, I was able to hone my skills as a mascot for four years. Looking back at old videos from my time as Spartacus, some of my performances were rough, but throughout it all, the Day School community always supported me and shaped me into the person that I am today. I am going into my junior year at Xavier, and have already started to make the next steps to achieve my end goal as a professional mascot. But no matter what mascot I am I will always remember where it all started, and will forever be a Griffin.
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Update your info
We want to hear from you! Visit our website to update your contact information, or email us with your important news – graduation, awards, marriage or a new baby. Remember, you are forever a Griffin!
Spartanburg Day School
1701 Skylyn Drive • Spartanburg, SC 29307
www.spartanburgdayschool.org
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