The Alleynian 706 2018

VALETE

Laurie Hindley

Jane Scott

Fernando Nieto Almada F ernando’s relationship with the world of languages and his teaching is somehow summed up by one of his typically enthusiastic, bilingual responses: ‘¡Me encanta! I love it!’ As a most impressive polyglot, Fernando has always expressed his fascination in learning new turns of phrase, whether in his mother tongue or not. His open-mindedness as both a learner and teacher has shown both colleagues and students that knowledge and learning are limited only by the individual’s desire to pursue them. Fernando came to Dulwich from Holland Park School, where he taught a variety of languages, both ancient and modern. In his first year, he immediately made a great impact on the department and excelled in the classroom, putting the Spanish Early Takers through their paces, resulting in a full house of A*s and a really strong uptake post-GCSE. Given his excellent grounding in Ancient Greek and Latin and his BA in History, Fernando has been the department expert on all topics related to the evolution of language and its cultural influences, and has shown this passion through his many contributions to the MFL Department. He relaunched and revitalised the Lower School Spelling Bee challenge, which culminated in a fascinating final assembly competition between the top Year 7 Spanish students. He has also enriched the experience of Upper School Hispanists through regular practice in the Michaelmas term ahead of the Year 13 debating competition. The Year 11 and 12 boys who went on the Pamplona trip particularly enjoyed his company, and realised that it would not be wise to challenge him to arm-wrestling in future. He has also assisted with the Year 7 French trip to Vic-sur-Cère, and led the Year 7 Boulogne trip in June. We will miss Fernando’s cheerful presence and polymath expertise, and wish him every success for the future. Alex Iltchev

L aurie Hindley, graduate of Princeton University and formerly a teacher, joined us as Director of Development in March 2016 from the American School in London, where she was Director of Major and Planned Gifts. Everyone who worked with Laurie agreed from the outset that she was a consummate professional and a warm and supportive colleague. With her daughter at DUCKS, Laurie joined the Dulwich community seamlessly both as a parent, and as an experienced and conscientious fundraiser. She worked alongside the Master and the Governors, the Alleyn Club and OAs, Friends of Dulwich College and parents, colleagues and boys to establish a network and growing culture of philanthropy. Under Laurie’s watch, the fundraising target of £5.9m for The Laboratory was not only reached, but exceeded. Laurie’s strong leadership of the Development team enabled them to advance the membership of the 2019 Society to within striking distance of its final target of 2019 members, and raise the quality and profile of the alumni and networking events programme. With an unexpected family relocation to New York, Laurie resigned from the College reluctantly, and was quickly snapped up by Hewitt School, an independent girls’ school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, as their Director of Advancement. Laurie has a special mix of incisive intellect, modesty and generosity; we miss her and will follow her career with keen interest.

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