Cotting sChool’s Alumni newsletter linkUs

Auditorium dediCAted to former teACher

of former Cotting teacher, Louise H. Marr, gathered on Saturday, May 15, as close as possible to what would have been her 100th birthday, to celebrate her life and dedicate The Louise H. Marr Auditorium and Performing Arts Center.

Prior to Cotting, Miss Marr taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Maine, arriving early in the winters to light the building’s wood stove before her students arrived. Always dedicated, Louise joyfully met the needs of her Cotting students for 41 years, greatly impacting their lives.

Bill Carmichael, former Superintendent, shares his memories of Louise Marr as a middle school teacher.

David W. Manzo, Cotting President, thanks Jeff Cory for his committment to fulfilling Louise’s wishes.

In the words of William J. Carmichael, Cotting’s Superintendent from 1955-1984 and her supervisor during her tenure here, she was “a beacon of light in the art of teaching.”

She died at age 99 on May 21, 2009 and left a very generous bequest to Cotting School. Take a minute to view the plaque in her honor next to the auditorium’s entrance.

Louise Marr taught at Cotting for over 40 years and left a lasting legacy.

Fitness Center Fully Funded

Exciting plans to design the new Francis H. “Hooks” Burr Fit-ness Center have begun.

Given by Lucy Burr, longtime Cotting supporter, in memory of her late husband, “Hooks,” a Cotting trustee for 59 years, the Fitness Center will provide students with yet another option for athletic training.

Building on the smashing success of Connelly Field, which opened in the fall of 2009, the Fitness Cen-ter will likely have uses even Dan Cuddy, Adaptive Phys Ed instruc-tor, has not yet considered!

The Francis H. “Hooks” Burr Fitness Center will be located next to the gym.

June 2010

Family and friends

Dan Cuddy, Cotting’s Adaptive PhysEd Instructor, and Sara F. demonstrate a trike.

Alumni vs. Falcons

Featured AlumsColleen Flanagan, ’99runs the Easter Seals Youth Leadership Pro-gram, which provides opportunities for young people with disabilities,

ages 13 to 25, to develop their abilities and expand the possibilities they see for them-selves. The program includes service learn-ing projects, internships and other work experiences, self-advocacy workshops, and youth leadership forums.

As a young adult with a disability, Colleen also mentors the participants. She worked with youth to file a bill at the State House to designate October as Disability History Month, which the Governor signed into law in September 2009. These youth acknowledge that Colleen’s mentorship has helped them become more self-assured as individuals with disabilities, and confident in their abilities to advocate for themselves.

With Colleen’s continued mentorship, they are working with their schools to create activities celebrating disability history and culture during Disability History Month in October 2010.

Collen lives at home with her Dad and is still swimming and will participate in the freestyle event at the Special Olympics at Harvard in June.

Dr. Barbara Hardaway, ’68 will soon conclude a 30-year career teaching English and African-Amer-ican Literature at Gallaudet

University, Washington, D.C. (for the deaf and hard of hearing) and will retire to Guatemala in the summer of 2011.

In July 2009, Dr. Hardaway was in Eastern Europe on a university-sponsored lecture tour; the presentations focused on “Africanisms in African-American Art Aesthetics” in Belgrade, Serbia. The three venues that hosted the lectures were at the Museum of Ethnography, Museum of Af-rican Art and the Federation of the Deaf.

Currently, Dr. Hardaway is on a research sabbatical leave, investigating the lives and works of African-American, female sculptors during the Civil War and the Harlem Renaissance. In addition, she is studying Spanish, Guatemalan Sign Language and is involved with on-going art projects in her home studio.

“Plans are underway to continue my art interests as a collagist and gallery owner in Guatemala,” she says, “and to work with the Guatemalan deaf community in Guatemala City once I am settled into my new cultural home. A retirement dream and exciting adventures are before me. The best is yet to come!!!”

Christine Russo, ’80 is one of six girls and three boys and is used to an active household with lots going on. She lives in Winchester

with her father and the many family mem-bers who drop by frequently, including her thirty-three nieces and nephews. Life is far from dull!

Christine volunteers at the Winchester Library, where she shelves books and works behind the scenes in the office. This past February, on her fiftieth birthday, Christine’s sisters surprised her with a stretch limou-sine and a trip to Maggiano’s Little Italy in Boston for dinner. The sisters celebrated in style with champagne, tiramisu, and lots of laughter. From her Cotting days, Christine remembers Beverly Johnson, Jimmy Hickey, Mike Monette, and Joe D’Amato. She is hoping they will join her at reunion this year!

Alumni strategize before a basketball game against the Falcons.

Naheem Ahmed

Falcon Leah W. and David Newman

Falcon Frank M. and Peter Murray

Esther Greenspan and her father

Suzee Krusinski

Kevin Mahoney and Jim Moore

Matt Wellins

1955 James J. Reilly worked at Polaroid for 32 years. Before Polaroid, he traveled selling magazines for five years in 32 states.

1956 Michael Sansone

1958 Pam McLaughlin is in the process of writing her second book after publication of her first book, Celia, Army Nurse and Mother Remembered. Many of her articles have been recently published in local newspapers and will ap-pear in her second book. Pam has a six year-old grandson who visits her quite often and stays at her home one night a week. Jesse is in Kindergarten and is such fun to be with. Pam takes him bowling on Saturday mornings, and they both loved seeing Disney on Ice this past winter.

1961 Barbara Thompson

1969 and 1974 George and Betty Coughlin are doing well. George is celebrating his 4th year cancer-free. They found a personal trainer to help them move better, and their daughter found a new job in Boston.

1981 Mike Monette has worked for the Department of Mental Health for 28 years. He still lives in Waltham. In his free time he is a Reiki practioner and still enjoys playing the piano, guitar, and more recently, the Native American flute. Mike has a brother, John; a sister, Mary Ann; a nephew, Stephen; and a niece, Carolyn.

1980 Joseph D’Amato met one of his sons for the first time in 20 years, who was adopted into a family in New-ton, MA. Joseph periodically volunteers at a food pantry in Concord, MA and is now living in his own apartment in Woburn. He has MS and uses a power wheelchair to get out and about.

1990 Daniel Cargill enjoys volunteering at New England Rehab in Woburn. This past year he was able to obtain a computer and now enjoys surfing the web and answering emails. Dan looks forward to the warmer weather, attending (continued)

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the Woburn Men’s Softball games and Red Sox games, and going on trips to the Esplanade.

1990 Seth Emery has lived on his own for 14 years, an occasionally rocky road. His recent diagnosis of CDGS (Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation) points to a specif-ic glitch rather than “cerebral palsy,” but there is no known cure and it’s still rare enough to have no path ahead.

1992 Karen George performs at Play Among The Stars Theater group in Salem, New Hampshire, and belongs to Lifeshares in Hampstead, a day program for adults with disabilities. Karen loves playing pogo at www.pogo.com and her pogo name is plyrkege247000.

1993 Michele Adler lives at home and has served as a certified preschool teacher for 10 years. She teaches at the Lenox Children’s Center, which serves more than 70 children, ages infancy to Kindergarten.

1993 Michaela Roche lives in Wausau, WI. She’s going to school to get her GED so she can get a better job. Her hobbies are photography, drawing, painting, and crochet-ing.

2000 James Toolin was hired by PNC as an investment accountant immediately after graduating from Worcester State College in 2008 with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. He attends Worcester Sharks ice hockey games and is a member of the team’s Booster Club. James is happy to say that he stills live with his family in Fitchburg, MA.

2001 Gregory Walsh attends Massasoit Community College and received a Microsoft Office Certificate. At Massosoit, Greg is part of the Helping Hands Club and is a member of Phi Theta Kaapa, a National Honor Society for two-year colleges. In addition

is 69 years old and lives in Woburn, MA. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday he works at the United Cerebral Palsy office in Watertown. In his free time, Michael likes to surf the internet and listen to the golden oldies music from his computer. “I love Cot-

ting School; it shaped my life. Cotting helped me to become independent and stand for myself,” Michael says.

went to Cotting through the 9th grade; in 8th grade, she was voted the second most popular student. She lives in Florida where she enjoys movies, shopping, sports, and spending time in nature in Gainesville’s many parks. Barbara has been published in Christian

magazines, and likes to be busy; this year she is knitting 50 hats to be sent to a school in the Albanian mountains.

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to his extracurricular activities, Greg is also a member of the Partners of Youth with Disabilities, Youth Preparation for Independence, and Mentor Match. When Greg was 18 he was asked to join the Board of Directors of Cerebral Palsy of Massachusetts, where he served on the Personnel and Finance Committees. In August, 2009, October was declared Disability History and Awareness Month for the state of Massachusetts, another amazing accomplishment for him. Greg has taken every opportunity available to give back to his community and to fight for causes he believes in. When Greg is not attending class or a club meeting, he enjoys attending Boston sports games, travelling, being on the computer, watching TV and spending time with friends.

got news or A new Address? Email us at info@cotting.org or call 781-862-7323 ext. 145

The Cotting School 453 Concord Avenue Lexington MA 02421 781-862-7323 www.cotting.org

OUr Mission To enable students with special needs to achieve their highest learning potential and level of independence.

2007 Edward Reyes has been very busy. He works at ASA during the weekdays and joins his Thursday friends at WINARC. He bowls on Saturdays with friends and practices softball and track and field on Sundays to prepare for the Special Olym-pics in June. He has also travelled to the Philippines, Hong Kong and Denver. This summer he plans to travel to Rome.

2008 Kaleena Corriveau volunteers at The Northeast Arc in Danvers taking care of the babies, and at The North Shore Medical Center in Salem pulling patients’ records. She enjoys long walks and is a member of the YMCA in Salem, where she takes Zumba and other classes.

2008 Julie Cummings graduated in May 2010 from Middlesex Community College Transitional Program with a Certificate in Business and Office Support. She com-pleted an internship at Mount Auburn Hos-pital in the mail room and hopes to work there in the future.

2008 Nathan Daigneault sends his best regards to all of the staff who helped him so much and would like them to know that he will be graduating from Milford High School this year. He is feeling much hap-pier these days and is looking forward to attending Jen Walsh’s vocational program within the high school in the fall.

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2008 Devan Maddaluno is attending Riverview School’s GROW Program & Cape Cod Community Project Forward.

2009 Lucy Morse-Fortier is working at Simpson Gumpertz and Heger in Waltham and getting paid!

2009 Emily Cogliano is having a good time at Cape Cod Community College. She enjoys her photography and creative writing classes. She was asked by the Professional Center for Child Development to be the guest speaker at their annual fund-raising gala April 30th.

2009 Abby Tetrault is living on Cape Cod and loves her life! She is studying Basic Retail and Child Care, and enjoys spending time with her friends. She is very indepen-dent and takes taxis around town and a bus to the mall. Abby swims at the YMCA, goes to the gym and out for sushi.

obituaries - former faculty

Louise H. Marr May 21, 2009

Vernon Y. King July 16, 2009 Martin Segal December 27, 2009 Eileen Hart December 20, 2009

cotting school 453 concord avenue

lexington ma 02421

2003 Alana Russo is still working as a personal care attendant Mondays and Wednesdays, and volunteers at Saints Medical Care in the afternoon. She also volunteers at the dances once a month at LifeLinks in Lowell. She just returned from a cross-country trip with her dad. She’s travelled to Las Vegas, California, and Arizona, and at the end of June, she’s going to Disney World.

2005 Joseph Awbrey is currently work-ing at The Fat Cactus in Lynnfield and taking a class at North Shore Community College.

2006 Kathleen O’Donnell works at the Opportunity Workshop in Newburyport, MA. Her job is light assembly work. She recently performed in a recital at Danceworks in North Andover.

2007 Kevin Mahoney graduated from the Transition Program at Middlesex Community College with a Certificate in Business and Office Support. He volun-teers at the Waltham Police Department a few hours a week in the Traffic De-partment. This year he helped out with Cotting’s basketball team; he enjoys dif-ferent sporting activities with AccesSport America. He hopes to find a job using his office skills.