A m e r i c a n F o u n d at i o n
NEWSLETTER
2012
Gordonstoun
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal hosted a gala evening at Buckingham Palace for families from the US who have
generously donated funds to Gordonstoun. Guests arrived at Buckingham Palace and entered by the Grand Entrance.
They were privileged to view Her Majesty The Queen’s private picture gallery and Lucy Whittaker, Keeper of the Queen’s
Pictures, talked enthusiastically to guests about some of the wonderful paintings. This was followed by a champagne
reception and an opportunity for guests to meet Her Royal Highness. Dinner was served in the magnificent State Dining
Room after which Her Royal Highness thanked guests for their generosity and spoke fondly of the school and the Summer
School. A particular thank you is due to Gwen and John Deakle for their tireless work in the US in support of the function
which helped to make the evening the tremendous success it was.
GAF at
Buckingham
Palace
‘Plus Est En Vous’
I
was the littlest at eleven years
of age. Looking up at a wooden
wall that must have been more
than twice as high as I was tall, I
simply couldn’t fathom how any of
us were going to get to the other side,
let alone how all of us were going to
get to the other side! Then I heard it:
“There’s more in you than you think.”
Thankfully, my job on the team was
simply to be lifted up by the big boys
at the bottom and thrown to the other
side by the big boys straddling the
top. Piece of cake; hurdle conquered.
Who knew that hurdle would change
my life. Who knew that years later I
would be looking my own daughter in
the eye, almost eleven herself, as our
family decided to conquer Mars Time,
telling her, “You can do it sweetheart.
There is more in you than you think.”
I
first met that wall, and the entire
Gordonstoun
campus,
while
attending
the
Gordonstoun
International Summer School in
the 1980s. I stayed in Hopeman. I
learned French. I lived on a boat. I
went rappelling (abseiling). I loved
rappelling! I learned so much, met so
many new people from all around the
world, and gathered memories that
would last a lifetime.
eventually marry. With him, I would
canoe the lakes of Canada and hike
the Rocky Mountains. Who knew the
Bentrant from Los Angeles, terrified
of Exped, would someday set out on
expeds of her own.
F
ast forward several years. I had
worked for Apple Computer,
joined a Silicon Valley start-up,
and founded Bryn Oh Consulting. I
began raising three children, moved
across the country, and embraced the
motto: “There is more in you than you
think.” Now the five of us live in Los
Angeles, and my husband is at NASA’s
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and
is the Lead Flight Director of the
‘Curiosity’ rover which landed on the
planet Mars in August. If you haven’t
seen the video of the landing sequence,
you must Google; “Curiosity Seven
Minutes of Terror”. It’s absolutely
worth your five minutes! I’ll wait.
T
he planet Mars rotates more
slowly on its axis than Earth. It
takes 24 hours for Earth to spin
all the way around; we call it a “day”.
It takes Mars 24 hours and 40 minutes;
we call it a “sol”. The rover calls home
every Martian morning at 10am for
orders from Earth, and the engineers
at JPL have to be ready to send those
orders. So they follow Mars time
instead of Earth time. This means
adding an extra 40 minutes to every
Earth day. It doesn’t sound like much,
but after only two weeks it means one
is awake at night and sleeping through
the day. It’s like jumping a time zone a
day, and going all the way around the
world in a month.
I
knew that my husband would be
on Mars Time for three months. I
thought about the days and nights
he would be away from us. I worried
how I would keep the kids quiet when
he needed to sleep. But mostly, I was
concerned what it would do to our
family. I didn’t want his schedule to
come between us. So I championed
F
our years later I became a
“Bentrant”, a 6B entrant,
studying Maths and Physics
and Chemistry. I couldn’t get enough
of all the opportunities available at a
place like Gordonstoun. I joined two
different services, two orchestras and a
choir. I starred in a play and a musical
and even debated whether Scotland
should be its own country against a
half dozen other Scottish schools! I
studied two and eventually three
instruments. I took cooking classes
and started a club. And I studied for
four A-Levels, too. I just kept waiting
for someone to say, ‘No, you can’t do
that’. For better or for worse, no one
did.
F
rom there I went to the
Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology (MIT) where I got
a degree in Mechanical Engineering
and another in Music. Because of
my musical training at Gordonstoun,
I received a scholarship to study
voice where I met the man I would
Bryn with her husband David and their three children.
C
razy, isn’t it? There’s really no
other word for it. On the night
of August 5th, 2012, thousands
of JPLers, family, and friends gathered
at the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) to witness a drama far more
intense than any reality television has
ever portrayed. Could this system
possibly land successfully? To our
relief and amazement, it did! After
tears were shed and hugs were given, I
turned to my children and said, “This
is it. We’re going on Mars Time.”
the idea of the whole family joining
him on Mars Time, and my kids agreed
to make the attempt.
If any OG knows of any
deserving boy or girl
who would benefit from a
Gordonstoun Experience please contact
Jenny Needham
(needhamj@gordonstoun.
org.uk) for a Scholarship
application form.
O
ur family spent months
preparing.
We fashioned
blackout shades for all of the
bedroom windows. We cancelled all
non-essential activities and warned
all of our friends. We developed
spreadsheets to plan when to wake
and eat and sleep. We placed an 8
foot long mirror in the middle of our
house to act as whiteboard and master
schedule. We had clocks that ran on
Earth time and clocks that ran on Mars
time. We had lists of activities and lists
of all-night diners and lists of what to
do when the adventure got difficult.
We reviewed results of previous Mars
time studies and gathered advice from
those who had tried it before us. We
learned it was hard. We learned that
people got cranky and tired. We
learned that no one had ever tried
doing it with kids. Some people called
us crazy.
M
y teenage son was excited to
try it. What teenager doesn’t
want to stay up late and sleep
in every day? My eight year old was a
night-owl, too. But my daughter went
to sleep at 9:30pm every night like
clockwork, even in the din of a cabin
of twenty Girl Scouts. This was going
to be hard. But it would be worth it.
GAF - Thank You
Gordonstoun
International
Summer School
S
o I found myself, twenty-some
years after GISS, looking at my
daughter in the eyes and saying,
“You can do this. There is more in you
than you think.” And she did it, and
had one of the best months of her life.
M
y oldest son chronicled
our journey in a blog at
marstimr.tumblr.com. There
are pictures, links to us on national
and international television and
radio stations, and even video of my
eight year old learning to ride a bike
at one o’clock in the morning. It was
a fantastic adventure following the
Curiosity rover on Mars and exploring
Los Angeles at night. And it was a
wonderful discovery to find more in
all of us than we thought.
I
was the recipient of a GAF
scholarship, and I continue to
support the Foundation. Please
consider giving to the Gordonstoun
American Foundation so that other
American students enjoy similar
opportunities.
Bryn Oh (Mowry)
GAF Scholar
Gordonstoun (Windmill 1991)
Dates for 2013:
Course No. I
Friday, 5 July - Monday, 29 July
Course No. II
Friday, 12 July - Monday, 5 August
For full details contact:
Jenny Needham, Director
GORDONSTOUN INTERNATIONAL
SUMMER SCHOOL
Elgin, Moray IV30 5RF
Scotland UK
Tel: +44 1343 837821
Fax: +44 1343 837825
Email: [email protected]
Dear Gordonstoun American Foundation
Thank you so much for the opportunity
you gave me to go to GISS Course No:
I, 2012. It was the best 3 weeks of my
life. I don’t know how to describe how
much fun it was. At GISS I made some
really great friends who I am sure will
always stay in touch. These special
people will play a big role in my life and
in my heart wherever I go from here.
I honestly don’t know what was the best
part of GISS? I can’t say everything
was exactly as I imagined because
it was 1000 times better. Between
the discos, to just hanging out and
spending time with my new friends
and roommates, to going to technology
classes and, especially, the trip to the
West Coast and Kilbowie and sailing
on the boats. It was just an amazing,
beyond believable summer and the
best that anyone could ever wish to
experience. I will never forget summer
2012 as it was a great one.
I would like to say a really big’ thank
you’ to you all for awarding me the
GAF scholarship, you have really made
a big difference in my life and for my
future.
Yours sincerely,
Savannah Sullivan
New York and Chicago ‘Get Togethers’
In the spring the GAF
held a function in New
York where guests
met
Gordonstoun’s
Principal, Simon Reid
and his wife, Michèle,
on their first visit to the
United States.
This was followed by
a dinner in October
hosted by the GAF
in Chicago. We look
forward to meeting up
with alumni in 2013.
Pupils and staff from Aberlour and
Gordonstoun from the USA, or
who have links with the US joined
together to celebrate Thanksgiving.
The school’s refectory produced a
splendid meal and Principal, Simon
Reid, is pictured receiving the turkey
from chef, Adam Ralph.
Gordonstoun
celebrates
Thanksgiving
!
GORDONSTOUN AMERICAN FOUNDATION
Please remember to support the Gordonstoun American Foundation before the end of the year.
Your generous contributions go towards the GAF Scholarship fund, which enables deserving boys
and girls from the United States to attend the Gordonstoun International Summer School.
NAME: ...............................................................................................................................................................
ADDRESS .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Email: ..................................................................................................................................................................
.I enclose my check for: $100
$200
$300
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Checks should be made payable to Gordonstoun American Foundation and sent to:
Stewart K. Mattson, 2708 Fairhauser Road, Naperville, Illinois 60564
Our PayPal account is currently being set up. If you go to www.gordonstoun.org.uk and click on to the Gordonstoun American
Foundation and then GAF news you will be able to donate directly by clicking the
Donate
button.
The Gordonstoun American Foundation is a ‘Not for Profit’ corporation TAX I.D. Number: 022-2535233