The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 214
A Gathering, Wheatley Lunches, a Reunion, an Operetta, a Champion, The Gersh Siblings, a Dog, and More!
Welcome to The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 214.
Intergenerational Gathering
L-R - Front Row - Eric Engoron (2010), Daniel Weiss (1975), William Reynolds (1980), Jack Engoron (2016), Josh Dinetz (2016)
Back Row - Robert Danzi (2003), Stacey Engoron (2007), John Danzi (1997), Sara Weiss Danzi Engoron (1973), William Danzi (2007), Art Engoron (1967), Daniel Engoron (1973)
July 5, 2025, Sara’s surprise (and it was) 70th birthday party.
Wheatley Alumni NYC Luncheons Redux
Art Engoron (1967) Writes - Save the date - Friday, October 3, 2025 - More Later
Class of 1988 40th-Year Reunion
Soraya Mosleh-Brooks (1988) Writes - The Wheatley School Class of 1988 40th-Year Reunion planning has begun. Initial planners David Mahaffey, Soraya Mosleh-Brooks, and Maya Sabot have rounded up three of our four Senior Class officers: Co-President David Polonet; Co-President Amy Levine; and Secretary Amy Warman Kates (we are still trying to locate Treasurer Clare Burns). We have already held a few reunion planning meetings.
We want to hear from you! Please complete the forms below.
We are looking for your updated contact info, reunion ideas, and possible venues. You are welcome to participate in Zoom reunion calls and reunion planning. The NYC metro area will likely be the location.
Forms
About Me (Class of 1988 Graduate) Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-Vz8wfBo4eaiy5FllHAOLaX1mD5WVvDOxBdaUsiHGVtx56w/viewform?usp=sf_link
About Me (Teacher) Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB7j9q-uOHX8bIupsASkCOZC7ISHL91H3AXbejzrR5Bpt6gQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
In Memorium Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdkSoSjp8CSGRfiYy9-0HaXTpUarffUfazY-fpP04QIgnw5xw/viewform?usp=sf_link
In addition, we have been using The Wheatley School - Class of 1988 Facebook page. If you’re not a fan of FB, feel free to contact us directly:
Communication/Outreach Committee: Dave Mahaffey at davidmahaffey@yahoo.com, or Amy Warman Kates at amykates@optonline.net
Venue/Travel Committee: David Polonet: dpolonet@gmail.com
Planning Committee: Amy Levine amy.lisa.levine@gmail.com, Soraya Mosleh-Brooks sorayabrooks@icloud.com, Maya Sabot maya311@gmail.com
We look forward to reconnecting with each of you 😊❤️
Kind regards, Soraya
Wheatley Presents an Operetta in 1958
Unearthed by Tim Jerome (1961), son of the operetta’s choreographer, Lillian Jerome.
Parents-Teachers
Keith Rohman (1975) Writes - When I was in School Within a School (“SWS”) at Wheatley (1973-1975), I had a writing teacher, Marty Solow. Marty was a parent in the neighborhood. The Solow kids — Ellen (1964), Peter (1965), Michael (1972), and Steven (1976) — went Wheatley, and Ellen Solow Holzman, ended up teaching at Wheatley. There was a period when Marty came into SWS to teach creative writing. He became a mentor to me in a lot of different ways, and I have cherished his memory and my friendship with his family.
I don’t know if anyone else remembers having Marty as a writing teacher, but he made a big impression on me. Marty loved baseball and he loved writing, so I hope he would approve of my writings (see below).
Graduates
1958 - Barbara Newman - Another Table Tennis Award
Silver Medal (in her age group), Woman’s Singles, US National Table Tennis Tournament.
1966 - Gretchen Gersh Whitman and Alison Kent Bermant - On Vacation
L-R - Gretchen Gersh Whitman and Alison Kent Bermant (Photo Credit Ed Bermant)
Ditto (Photo Credit Dale Whitman)
Ed Bermant (Photo Credit Dale Whitman)
Dale Whitman (Photo Credit Gretchen Gersh Whitman)
Gretchen Writes - “On July 6, 2025, Alison and I, and her husband Ed and my husband Dale, met for lunch at Patisserie Lenox in Great Barrington, MA. Over brioche sandwiches with melted cheese & iced coffee, we enjoyed sharing life stories and plotting to save the world. We followed this with amazing New England ice cream at Soco Creamery and another round of fabulous tales of travel, adventures, and each couples’ 50+ years of marriage. Phew! It must be something in the Long Island Sound and Hudson River water.
Alison and I are both from Roslyn Heights, and Ed and Dale are both from Great Neck. Later, I moved to Old Westbury.
Happy summer days! Gretchen ❤️🦋😎🍉”
1969 - Gerry Gersh - Sunset Over the Hudson
Gerry (1969) and Patty Gersh at Fin & Brew, Charles Point, Peekskill, New York, July 2025. Their 36th Wedding Anniversary is this July 17th.
1971 - Phyllis Orlins Trigg - Deceased
Phyllis passed away on Monday, June 30, 2025. Shiva hours will be at her husband, Wayne’s, condominium, 141 Pond View Dr., Port Washington, New York, on Thursday, July 10th and Friday, July 11th, from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Phyllis had two brothers: Steve Orlins (1968) survives her; David Orlins (1965) predeceased.
1975 - Keith Rohman - “Marty Solow (see above) always encouraged me to continue with my writing, and I think he would be pleased and amused to know that earlier this year, a poem I wrote, Zen and Baseball, was one of the 20 poems recognized at the 2025 National Baseball Poetry Festival. That little boost encouraged me to get more serious about my writing about baseball and other subjects, with my first step being to start a Substack called, The Arc of the Swing: Musings on Baseball, Memory, and the Infield Fly Rule. (Subscriptions are free.)
1988 - Maya Sabot Paveza - With Daughter and Dog
L-R - Maya, Mitzi, Daughter
Mitzi
Maya =)
Bachelor of Science with Distinction, Integrated Social Sciences - Penn State University
Social Media Snark, SEO Content Strategist, Writer and Perpetual Student.
know-it-all topics include:
Twitter, HTML, Epidemiology, Guinea pigs, Teen Daughters, Various useless facts that would make me a great contestant on Jeopardy or Remote Control (once alternate contestant for that show).
* Maya's LinkedIn Profile - LinkedIn.com/in/mayaREguru
Required things in case I say anything about real estate in my email:
Licensed in Delaware
DE Associate Brokers License RA-0020154
1998 - Lindsey Powell - On Facebook
Fan Mail
1965 (Louise Kampa Triano) - “Terrific Newsletter, as usual”
1963 (Donna Kenton) - “I’m happy to hear that you’re bringing back the Wheatley Alumni NYC Luncheons.”
1974 (Laurie P. Cohen) - “Thanks for all of your Wheatley-related work. I love reading the Newsletters.”
1975 (Keith Rohman) - “I admire what you do with the Alumni Association. Having my own nascent Substack account now, I have an even greater appreciation for the work that goes into this. I particularly enjoy the history people share about the neighboring community, including the North Side fire, the Plains of Hempstead, etc. I grew up two blocks from North Side.”
1985 (Mike Ferrara) - “Hi Art – Thanks for all these Newsletters . . . I read every one of them, and they are great.”
1988 (Soraya Mosleh-Brooks) - “Thanks for all your work.”
1988 (Alison Reyher Papalia) - “Thanks for these wonderful Newsletters.”
The Official Notices
All underlined text is a link-to-a-link or a link-to-an-email-address. Clicking anywhere on underlined text, and then clicking on the text that pops up, will get you to your on-line destination or will address an email.
In the first 24 or so hours after publication, Wheatley Alumni Newsletter # 213 was viewed 4,095 times, was liked five times, and was commented on twice. In all, 4,765 email addresses received Newsletter # 213.
The Usual Words of Wisdom
Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 213 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 # 214. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.
Art
Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967
646-872-4833
being a graduate of Wheatley in 1972 I totally enjoy reading about all the classmates, keep up the good work. Susan French Congero.