Craig Carter joined South Kent School in 2023, quickly making an impact as a leader and advocate for student-athletes. With over 24 years of coaching experience, including 15 at the NCAA Division I level, Craig brings a wealth of knowledge to the Prep Basketball program. A former Rutgers University player and team captain, Craig earned All-Conference honors in the Atlantic 10. His commitment to student development and leadership earned him the role of Dean of Students, solidifying his place as a key figure in South Kent’s basketball legacy.

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A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Carter made a name for himself as both a player and coach. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, where he also played for the University’s Division I basketball program. Craig played in the NCAA Tournament with Rutgers in 1989 and 1991, was a four-year letterwinner for the Scarlet Knights from 1987-91, and was a two-time team captain, earning an Atlantic-10 All-Tournament Team selection in 1989.

After College, Craig served as an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn for two years and worked for Chase Bank and GE as a financial analyst in foreign exchange. While teaching, he started his coaching career at the high school level and has since garnered twenty-four years of basketball coaching experience at various colleges and universities across the country on both the men’s and women’s sides. In that time, he spent over fifteen years coaching at the NCAA Division 1 level and spent two years as a Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Massachusetts and the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

In his most recent positions prior to joining South Kent School in 2023, Craig was the Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Florida State University (under Coach Sue Semrau and Coach Brooke Wyckoff) for two years and the Associate Head Coach of Women’s Basketball at the University of Wisconsin (under Coach Jonathan Tsipis) for five years. His former Head Coach, Sue Semrau, spoke highly of Craig: “It’s a privilege to be able to work with Coach Carter. He is a coach with integrity and extensive experience. He is “fluent” in the game of basketball, having hands-on experience in every area. He is also versatile, having served in corporate America and as a teacher. As a former player at Rutgers, he understands the needs and the challenges of the athletes we coach.”

Prior to coaching women’s college basketball, Craig spent fifteen years assistant coaching men’s basketball at institutions such as Cornell University, Longwood University, Skidmore College, Siena College, Elizabeth City State University, and his alma mater, Rutgers University.

Coach Carter has become known as a top-notch recruiter and his player development abilities have been evident over the years in both men’s and women’s sides. In the 2018-19 year, Wisconsin’s Marsha Howard earned second-team All-Big Ten honors under Craig’s guidance, averaging 14.7 points. Fellow Badger teammate Cayla McMorris became a two-time Honorable Mention Big Ten performer under his watch as well in 2017 and 2018. Craig also assisted with the development of notable Siena Alum Kenny Hasbrouck, who became one of the best players in program history with 1,917 career points and 248 steals.

Outside of coaching, and in his short time at South Kent, Craig has already proven himself as a tremendous school leader and student advocate. His commitment to South Kent, its Mission and Values, and his enthusiasm for investing in and developing student-athletes both on and off the court has helped earn him the promotion to Dean of Students this past summer.

South Kent is lucky to have Coach Carter take over its legacy premier basketball program from the esteemed former Director of Athletics, Director of Basketball, and Head Coach of Prep Basketball Raphael Chillious, who recommended Coach Carter for the position.

“I have been at South Kent for nine wonderful years and two different stints. I can truly call the Hillside home and the basketball program, it’s like one of my kids. I have known Coach Carter for over 20 years, and I am honored to leave this program and these talented players in his capable hands. He will assuredly continue to recruit great student-athletes who will continue to keep South Kent on the map as one of the country’s premier prep programs.”

Craig’s wealth of experience, passion for the game, and deep commitment to the development of young men will undoubtedly benefit the School’s basketball program and enhance the overall athletic experience for the student-athletes. With the support of his daughter, Amber, and grandson, Ellis, the School is excited to have Craig guide the exciting next chapter in South Kent Basketball.

Please join us in congratulating Coach Craig Carter on his new role. We look forward to his continued leadership both on and off the court.

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The process begins by each coach selecting 1-3 students on their respective teams that have performed at a high level while displaying unwavering leadership, helping teammates reach their team’s collective goals. After the athletes are selected, each student is evaluated based on their academic performance throughout the month, gaining insight from respective teachers through quantitative and qualitative data. From there, a decision is made by administration and the communications department, picking a single winner.

For the first representative in January, Brock Potter was chosen as Cardinal of the Month. While tallying 7 points over a 7 game stretch, Brock was a role model in the classroom with A’s in two courses. His professors mention how Brock is a joy to teach, showing an innate ability to take instruction and run with assignments. We look forward to uplifting more student-athletes for their continued devotion to seeking knowledge and serving as ambassadors for the community at large.

Check out more hockey news here.

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18U Hockey Senior Day is February 17th and AAA Hockey Senior day is March 2nd.

Chase Hennessy #1- Lake Forest, IL

Luc Schaefer #2- Hume, VA

Drew Jenson #3- Skaneateles, NY

Ben Robertson #4- Halifax, NS

Jude Hunt #5- Toledo, OH

Mason St. Onge #8- Stone Ridge, VA

Shawn Laperriere #10- Montreal, QC

Elias Greenwood #11- Toronto, ON

Kamil Rohal #12- Humenne, SVK

James Marshall #13- Boston, MA

Will Hughes #14- Ottawa, ON

Connor Ihaia #15- Denver, CO

Ben Kovac #18- Pittsburgh, PA

Carson Mitchell #22- Valmeyer, IL

James Chase #23- Williston, VT

Connor Broderick #29- Spring Valley, OH

AAA Team

Alfie Jefferies #1- Rhoose, Wales

Mattew O’Connor #2- Melrose, MA

Sam Turkowitz #3- New York, NY

Duke Nower #4- Wethersfield, CT

Sam Brande #5- Wayland, MA

Luca Alderson #7- Bromley, UK

Vilho Lahtela #8- San Jose, CA

Colin McCarthy #9- Kodiak, AK

Ben Rascati #10- Durham, CT

Richie Gaskin #13- Somerville, MA

Eric Santospago #15- Natick, MA

Killian Wright #19- Arlington, MA

Mike Yang #20- Beijing, China

Logan Warfield #25- Arvada, CO

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As a child, Jack’s life was largely defined by the Second World War which broke out the day after he turned two. His father served in British Intelligence for six years and the family was moved often for their safety. Following the end of the war the family emigrated to the United States in 1948, when Jack was 11. The next decade was what he called “the hard years,” defined by frequent moves and scarcity (14 homes in 10 years, and six schools attended). Fortunately, Jack and his brother Francis were admitted to the South Kent School in Connecticut which had a stabilizing and formative influence on both. Education proved to be a central theme of his life.

A graduate of Princeton University, Jack took a hiatus after his junior year, from 1958 to 1965, during which he volunteered for several years on Mackinac Island then joined the Army in which he served four years as a medic from 1962 to 1965. He fondly recounted spending his leave bicycling about parts of Europe visiting family friends, exploring, and taking photos.  He said the structure of the Army served him well, and he returned to Princeton, graduating in 1966.

Jack met his wife of 55 years, Roxane Yourd, in graduate school at Harvard University in 1966.  Married in 1968, they spent several years living in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and later in Aniak and Shishmaref, Alaska following Jack’s receipt of his PhD in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts in 1975. Following the birth of their daughter Elizabeth in 1977, Jack and Roxane settled in Philadelphia, where daughter Hannah was born in 1982.

Jack taught history at the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia for 26 years, retiring in 2006. He was quite a character, remembered by his colleagues and students for his bagpipe playing in the hallways after the school day ended, requiring pushups from any student late to class, and starting exams by firing a miniature cap cannon kept on his desk.

Deep friendship and family connections were invaluable to Jack, as the many letters he saved over the years will attest. He had an impressive number of enduring friendships through the course of his life, spanning many decades. When he said, “stay in touch,” he meant it, and reciprocated in kind. An avid kayaker, with an adventurer’s heart, he loved being on the water, whether helping friends sail their boat south for the winter, paddling the Schuylkill River, or volunteering as a guide for a marathon open water swim event around Manhattan.

Jack was diagnosed with dementia 13 years ago and declined swiftly following his wife’s death in December 2023. His daughters are deeply grateful for the tremendous help and care of Cindy Hamilton who provided good natured care and companionship for Jack in the last few years.

He is survived by his daughters Elizabeth Coleman and Hannah Coleman, his brother Francis Coleman, nieces Rosie Garlapow, Lara Carey, and Lily Coleman-Bondgren, and many cousins.  A Celebration of Life will be held February 24, 2024, at 11am at the church of St. Martin in the Fields in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia.

The service may be watched live, and later as a recording here: https://youtube.com/live/SgUKzriNeFU

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ASPCA.

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“Wore many hats in Kent”

Mr. Robert “Bob” Hallock Bauer, 98, of Kent entered into the Gates of Heaven on Wednesday December 27, 2023 at Candlewood Valley Health & Rehabilitation Center in New Milford. He is the loving husband of Josephine (Cocilovo) Bauer.

Bob was born in Kingston, RI on May 7, 1925, son of the late Frederick and Bertha (Hallock) Bauer. He proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946 during World War II at the rank of ensign (this rank is just below lieutenant and above a non-commissioned petty officer or midshipman) and was the oldest WW II veteran in the town of Kent. He graduated from Yale University in 1948 with a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering. He started his engineering career with Robertson Bleachery & Dye Works in New Milford. In 1957 he advanced to Scovill Mfg. and later Century Brass and in 1979 took a position with Kero-Sun Inc in Kent, the largest manufacturer of portable kerosene heaters.

Bob was active in local government and was elected to the board of selectman in the town of Kent from 1980 to 1988 and he was also chairman of their sewer commission from 1980 to 1992. Bob served as the zoning enforcement officer in New Milford from 1988 to 1993. He was a loyal fifty-seven-year member of the Kent Volunteer Fire Department where he served as Fire Chief from 1975 to 1980. He drove school buses for Region District 1 from 1993 until 2008. He was a member of the St. Luke’s Mason Lodge # 48 and the American Legion Hall-Jennings Post 153 both in Kent. He was a longtime member of the Kent Congregational Church. He was an avid hockey and UCONN Girls Basket Ball fan.

Besides his wife Josephine of 74 years, he leaves to honor and cherish his memory; a daughter, Paula Cicchetti and her husband Joseph of Woodbury; a son, Robert Hallock Bauer, Jr. and his wife Nancy of Flower Mound, TX; two grandchildren, Carla Martinelli-Barry of Oakville and Daniel Barry of Woodbury and Jessica Rollman and her husband Rob of Hickory, NC; three great grandchildren, Gianna Barry, Colin Barry and C.J. Cervantes; and several nieces and nephews. Besides his parents he was predeceased by a brother, Frederick W. Bauer.

Arrangements: A memorial service with cremains present will be celebrated on Saturday February 3, 2024 at 11:00 AM at the First Congregational Church of Kent 97 N. Main Street Kent, CT 06757 followed by military honors. Spring burial will be in Good Hill Cemetery in Kent. Chase Parkway Memorial/The Albini Family Funeral Home has been entrusted with Bob’s arrangements.

In lieu of flowers or just Memorial contributions can be made in Bob’s memory to:

Kent Volunteer Fire Dept., Inc.
28 Maple St., P.O. Box 355
Kent, CT 06757

Or

Tunnel to Towers Foundation
2361 Hylan Blvd.
Staten Island, NY 10306

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Upon being invited to write about our decision to include South Kent in our estate plans, I began thinking about the school and all that it has meant to me.

Such thoughts led me to the SKS website where one of the first categories I saw was the daily menu. And what a menu it is. And a chef who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. Wow. For alumni of my era that’s pretty startling.

Of course, also listed and discussed on the website, are the core values – Simplicity of Life, Self-Reliance, Directness of Purpose. Even in those long-ago days, it was something of a culture shock to find out just how seriously Sam Bartlett took the value of simplicity.

Since our diets were restricted (one box of Milk Duds on Saturday night hardly counts), I think we should be forever grateful that there were those Sunday afternoon teas. Aside from ingesting as much sugar as possible, the caring family atmosphere at the faculty homes gave us some relief from the demands and isolation of life on the Hill.

I’m sure that many remember other examples of the caring faculty that helped us. During Fourth Form, I was failing Wynn Wister’s Latin class. He tutored me at night until I eventually grasped the joys of the ablative absolute. Frankly, I don’t know which helped me more; being tutored by Wynn or sitting afterward in their living room talking with him and Sally.

That summer, I worked on the school’s summer crew with Reuben Lee. Our jobs were basically the same as the student jobs during the school year with one big difference. We had the school jeep.

Evenings and weekends we could drive to Kent or Salisbury or Danbury or wherever. We also met the Kent school summer crew and frequently arranged to get together for nights of teenage fun. In effect, we had freedom.

Absent was the feeling of being locked up. Over the years after graduating, I used to think about whether our isolation was a good or bad aspect of our education. Was the caring, supportive atmosphere of South Kent too much of a warm nest. Were we being properly prepared for our adult lives or was there a reality factor missing?

One answer I found is to look at the core values as the big picture. Like having the jeep that summer. We had our freedom, but we also had to take care of the jeep. Another example from that summer is that Sam Bartlett told me to weed all the dandelions on Fathers’ Field. A few days later, I had to leave before the end of my contract due to a family emergency. I think I may have finished part of the end zone, and I forgot to explain my departure to Sam before I left.

When I returned in September, the Old Man took me aside and asked, “When are you going to finish your weeding job?” What could I say? He was right. It took me a while to see that he was kidding, but being Sam, he was still giving me a lesson in responsibility.

Bonnie shares my love and appreciation of the school and we are pleased to name South Kent as a principal charitable beneficiary. We hope others will do the same.

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Neilson Brown, a second-generation alumnus of SKS (his father, Hobson, ’34), has been an active volunteer of South Kent School for more than 25 years. He is a former chairman of the Board of Trustees. Neilson earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina, and an MBA from Wharton. He believes in planned giving.

He and his wife Mary have included South Kent School in their estate planning. Neilson has established a specific nominal bequest in his will for SKS. Together they have agreed to name the School as a residual beneficiary of his IRA; SKS will receive a significant percentage of the then remaining principal.

Quoting Neilson, “Because of the double taxation of IRA benefits in a decedent’s estate, individuals should look first to their retirement plans, when considering a bequest to South Kent School, and leave other assets to their heirs. It’s almost a no brainer given the tax bite involved otherwise.”

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In 1947 our father was the first minister of The Church of the Good Shepherd in Austin, TX. He knew he would be relocating during the next school year and was reluctant to move while I was a senior in high school. He was considering boarding schools when someone suggested South Kent School. During a phone conversation, Sam Bartlett told my father the school would accept me and my next brother, Doug, ’50, at a tuition my father could set. (I learned this much later, and it cemented my desire to help the school in any way I could.) Thus, I entered the 5th Form (not a common thing then) to repeat the 11th grade; but I only repeated one course in trigonometry. Later our third brother, Rog ’54, attended.

South Kent School played a huge part in my future, preparing me for any number of things – not the least of which was my fascination with the bow ties my roommate, Del Hitch, wore. Del gave me two of his oldest and tried to show me how to tie them. I finally learned after long, arm-tiring sessions before the mirror. I’ve worn them ever since, except for my seven years in the Navy. They’ve been a bit of a trademark.

I recall many new experiences and approaches to life from my time at South Kent School:

• Getting up early to help shovel snow. This was new to me as Texas had little, and I was too small to help when we lived in Arkansas and Virginia.
• Digging potatoes and collecting apples.
• Helping with farming and maintenance one summer.
• Taking the first 10 minutes of an exam to think, plan and organize before putting my pen to paper. (Thanks, Wuz – Lester Wittenberg!)
• As 6th Form truck driver, taking Bill, the cook, home most evenings, and getting the mail daily from the store/post office by the railroad tracks.
• While I am sure I had forgotten the three principles of the school – Simplicity of Life, Self-Reliance and Directness of Purpose – in looking back I feel my life has reflected these, though my wife suggests my parents already had planted these seeds. Either way, these principles undoubtedly guided me.

From South Kent I went to The College of Wooster, majoring in English History. And from there, I entered Cornell University Medical College (now called Weill Cornell Medical College) in New York City, following two uncles and an aunt who went there. I entered the US Navy after one year of residency, completed my surgical training at the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, and spent three years at the Naval Hospital in Charleston, SC. My years in the Navy included overseas tours in the Mediterranean and four months with a surgical team on two ships in Vietnam.

I developed a solo surgical practice for 11 years in Mooresville, NC, relocated to Salisbury, NC, and, 12 years later, added a partner to start Salisbury Surgical Associates, PA. I retired from surgery in the summer of 1999.

I now enjoy my time around the house. I “make a lot of sawdust” in my garage shop and spend more time at church in the choir and with other activities. I’ve served two vestry terms at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Salisbury, and two terms as a trustee for Hood Theological Seminary, where I now am a trustee emeritus.

Long before I had heard about the St. Michael’s Society, I planned for my estate distribution to include educational institutions. My parents gave all four of their children educations, and I felt that, having done the same for my two, approximately 50% of the residual monies in my estate could be distributed to those institutions I/we felt had played – and still play – a role in my life. South Kent tops that list. The remaining monies will be distributed among my ‘other’ charities. This will occur after the second one of us dies. Hopefully, much still will be in tax-deferred IRA accounts and will be distributed directly and hence untaxed.

South Kent School is a great preparatory school. Its mission is very appropriate in today’s world. I am pleased and grateful to be able to continue to support it. I hope others will feel the same way.

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David Coles (SKS ‘81)  passed away on December 21, 2023 peacefully, surrounded by family and friends, following an illness.

David attended South Kent for all four years. David was “everybody’s friend” at South Kent and was a strong student. He excelled academically, particularly in English and Latin. He discovered the sport of rowing while at SKS and he became a passionate and successful coxswain for South Kent’s First Boat.

David went on to graduate from Boston College. His summers (and free time) were spent in Truro, Cape Cod—his favorite place on earth. He later settled in the Philadelphia area where he raised a family and worked there in retail banking.

David later returned to live in Truro and worked in construction management in the Boston region.

David was a loyal son of South Kent School and he served as Agent for the Class of 1981 for many years. He is remembered as a “kind and generous soul—with a good, dry wit.”

Servant well done.

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