The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 202
A Veritable Potpourri
Dear Wheatley Wildcats and other Interested Persons,
Welcome to The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 202.
Go Fund Me Appeal
(Submitted by Susan Davis Pereira, 1973)
Sally Danto, Class of 1973, was in a terrible bicycle accident at the end of last August, and her recovery from traumatic brain injury has been slow and arduous. Her family has set up a GoFundMe page and will be deeply grateful for any help you can offer. Here’s the link:
Sally Danto (1973) Go-Fund-Me Page
Faculty - About Some Others
Alan Peterson (1975) Writes - “In the past few Newsletters, I've seen lots of recollections of English teacher Mr. Edward Ouchi. Having made my journey through Wheatley in the early 1970s, there was a fistful of teachers I recall vividly only because they did not seem to hang around very long -- at least, it did not seem that way.
From the Science Department came Christian H. Lavoie and Dr. Rinehart Baron. A bit down the hall in the Social Studies cluster was Miss Bourgeois. There may have been others, but those three were conspicuous 1970s standouts to me.
Many Wheatley faculty members were there for a good number of years, so they just seemed to be fixtures of the place.
When someone took off after a short stint, there had to be a reason (bad fit, better job waiting in the wings, they wanted to try teaching for only a short while, early retirement ... ?). Did anyone else have a teacher experience that seemed to end way too soon? And whatever happened to them afterwards?
Graduates
1965 - Ronald Judkoff - Out of Africa
Ron Writes - “Thanks, Art, for forwarding the comments. I'm glad some people are enjoying my Peace Corps memoir. I am in contact with a number of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) through an organization called RPCV4EA (RPCVs for Environmental Action). I'll reach out to Ellen Solow Holzman (1964) about her Peace Corps Volunteer student. I'm glad that Peter Quandt (1966) liked the piece. I recently got Sylvia Kay (1966) to give a great talk on plastic pollution to the RPCV4EA group. Sylvia did a lot of work for the Sierra Club on that topic. My wife (Carolyn Stoloff, 1965) and I are planning on attending the Class of 1965 reunion in October…..if the rivers don't rise and no vital body parts fail.
Suzanna Gleason Guiliano (1962) Writes - I thoroughly enjoyed Ron Judkoff's account of his Peace Corp experience, and I look forward to reading more.
Bob Halper (1965) Writes - “Ron Judkoff’s story about building wells in West Africa was excellent — well-told and insightful.”
Ellen Solow Holzman (1965) Writes - “I very much enjoyed Ron Judkoff’s piece on his time in the Peace Corps. He might like to know about another Wheatley alum who also served in Africa, in Mali, West Africa, Abra Morawiec (2004). She was a student of mine in School within a School at Wheatley, She is now a quail farmer in upstate New York. I found out about her current business when, a number of years ago, I went to the North Fork (Long Island) farmers’ market and heard someone call my name and then come running to give me a hug. At that time, her farm was on the North Fork. Her stories about life in Africa sound very much like Ron’s.”
Peter Quandt (1966) Writes - “Great story by Ronnie Judkoff (1965), whom I remember well.”
Claude Levy (Exchange Student from France, 1966) Writes - “In case it can be of any use, the engraved words on the top of the water well read: ‘Ce puits était fait par,’ i.e. ‘This well was made by…’”
N.B. - Ron Judkoff’s name engraved on the lower right.
1967 - Jill Simon Forte - "Wow…..Some Wheatley graduates have enjoyed amazing lives.”
Andrea Goldberg Kaufman (1969) Writes - “I especially enjoyed reading Ron Judkoff’s piece!”
1968 - Tom and Jill Silvering Glaser
On April 21, 2025, Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), the Vermont House of representatives recognized Tom for speaking in schools about the Holocaust. After hearing about his lectures, the legislators gave Tom a standing ovation, which he later learned ‘is rare.’
Start the following video at 14:30.
Vermont House of Representatives Recognizes Tom Glaser
Tom in the Balcony of the Vermont House Chamber
The Vermont House Members Giving Tom a Standing Ovation
1968 - Todd Strasser - Diana Noble Rubinger Responds - “Todd, thanks for reminding us of our unique experiences at Wheatley!
First - I still don't get Football.
Second - I never used Trig after Wheatley until very recently, when I was ‘asked’ to present a talk on AI, even though I had close to no idea of the intricacies of AI. When I gathered enough information to begin to put together a presentation to my over-65-year-old audience, the question became how to engage them in this discussion? I decided to bring a bag of ‘tools’ that the women would be familiar with, which would then transition to AI as a tool. The tool that caused the most amount of laughter was the slide rule, which many of us used in Trigonometry. Some of the ‘younger’ women never saw one, and most of us who had used it couldn't remember how to do so. Thanks to taking Trigonometry in High School, almost 60 years later, I was able to use a tool that made it possible to explain AI to a Women's Club.
Third - French is not my favorite language, but I still remember how to say grapefruit in French, and when I stream a French series, it doesn't sound like Greek to me.... should I should use AI to translate?”
1975 - Steve Witkoff - Man in the News
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin greets President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff before their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday (4/25/2025). Credit...Pool photo by Kristina Kormilitsyna
1980 - Adam Goldstein - “Hi Arthur! I went to the University of Arizona for two years after graduating from Wheatley in 1980, and I graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1985. I spent most of my career in public relations and special events promotion. I still dabble in public relations, mostly gratis for local sports and charity events. I've held many other jobs, including forklift operator and liquor store manager.
I'm in no way retired - I'll be 63 next month. When I read it, it sounds like a done deal. It's just a very rough job market here. There are so many skilled semi-retired people down here. The insane cost of living here has driven many back into the job market. And wages are below the national average. But I'm still in the fight and keep busy in between real jobs (Door Dash, pet care, rides to/from airports and volunteer work with the local Chabad).
I lived in Manhattan from 1985-2001. I moved to Atlanta six weeks before 9/11. I moved to Lake Worth, FL (Palm Beach Co.) in 2019. There are many of us Wheatleyites here in the PBC area, including my brother Robert Goldstein (1977), Mitch Teisch and Amy Metzger (both 1980), and Alyssa Black (1981).
P.S., Cat Davis was not my football coach. He was the Athletic Director by then, and Daniel Walsh was our Head Coach (he was also very successful as the wrestling coach).”
Bonus Photo - 1967 Graduation - The Girls Enter
Fan Mail
1962 (Suzanna Gleason Guiliano) - “Thank you for your Newsletters, Art, and for all the time and energy you put into them.
1964 (Ellen Solow Holzman) - “I want to echo what so many have said, about what a pleasure the Newsletters are. Thanks again for doing this!”
1965 (Jeffrey Orling) - “Great read. I shouldn't be amazed at the Wheatley grads... but I am. You don't know what you’vem got ‘til it's gone. Thank you, Art!”
1966 (Diana Noble Rubinger) - “Thank you for making the Newsletter so much fun to read! I look forward to each edition.”
1969 (Andrea Goldberg Kaufman) - “Great edition! Thanks for all your hard work!!”
1973 (Susan Davis Pereira) - Thanks, as always, for the amazing job you do with the Wheatley Alumni Newsletter. I truly appreciate it!”
The Official Notices
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In the first 24 or so hours after publication, Wheatley Alumni Newsletter # 201 was viewed 2,758 times and was liked two times. In all, 4,737 email addresses received Newsletter # 201.
The Usual Words of Wisdom
Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 201 Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at
The Wheatley School Alumni Association Website
Also thanks to Keith is our search engine, prominently displayed on our home page: type in a word or phrase and, wow!, you’ll find every place it exists in all previous Newsletters and other on-site material.
I edit all submissions, even material in quotes, for clarity and concision, without any indication thereof. I cannot and do not vouch for the accuracy of what people tell me, as TWSAA does not have a fact-checking department.
We welcome any and all text and photos relevant to The Wheatley School, 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568, and the people who administered, taught, worked, and/or studied there. Art Engoron, Class of 1967
Closing
That’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 202. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.
Art
Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967
646-872-4833
I was shocked to learn that Steve Witkoff went to Wheatley. How awful!