The Vanguard Volume 53.2 by BB&N

Kathy Newell has been ‘living the dream’ for the past 41 years

“She believed in so many kids. If you think about all the students that she has believed in over her 41 years, I mean, she’s changed lives,” Head of School Jennifer Price said, describing Associate Athletics Director Kathy Newell’s impact on the Upper School (US) community after 41 years. Ms. Newell will retire this June.

Ms. Newell’s career began in the Lesley/BB&N Master’s Degree Program, a studentteaching internship program. She worked in a classroom and taught physical education before moving to the US Athletics Department. She started coaching on her first day at the school and has been ever since.

When Ms. Newell first started at the US, the girls’ hockey program didn’t exist.

“I had grown up playing hockey. I went to the Nobles and Greenough School and played hockey there. I went to Skidmore, played hockey there, and it just made sense to have a hockey team. So, I just approached the athletic director. He said, ‘If you can find the kids, I’ll support you.’”

Ms. Newell knew that, if given the chance, girls at the US could share her passion, she said.

“Luckily enough, a bunch of people took a risk, and that’s how it started. It was this novelty of like, ‘Oh my God, girls play hockey?’ But now it’s a norm. A lot of kids live for it.”

One of Ms. Newell’s favorite memories from her career has been watching Girls’ Varsity Hockey (GVH) win the New England Preparatory School

Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Large School Championship this season, she said.

“Watching the Girls’ Hockey win their NEPSAC championships was really kind of a full circle moment because when we first started the program, it was a goal to be as good as you could be.”

From “winning league championships” to “seeing a kid jump on the ice for the first time,” the most valuable part of her career has been the relationships she’s built, she said.

“Everybody had a role in shaping how things went during my career, and it speaks for itself in a way: to be here for 41 years, something must’ve gone right. It’s just a fun job. I got to do what I loved for 41 years, so living the dream.”

Continued on Page 10

To go or not to go: Students skip special programming days

Eco Bash suffers scarce attendance

ayana Karthik Off Campus Editor

Advanced Placement exams, the junior profile, the ninth grade research paper, and countless tests and projects are just some of the things weighing on students’ minds this time of year. When you add sports and other extracurriculars, spring can be one of the most hectic times of the year.

On special programming days, like the Eco Bash or Community Day, many students aren’t showing up to the Upper School (US). Whether they’re staying home and actually studying or just taking the day to sleep in, around 100 students were absent on Wednesday, April 24, the day of the Eco Bash, raising broader concerns about student attendance and engagement.

Assistant to the Dean of Students Kerri Anne Shea said on a typical day, only a small number of students are late to or absent from school.

“On a normal school day, I probably get somewhere between 15 to 30 calls or emails for kids coming in late, who are going to be absent, or people who are getting dismissed early.”

Ms. Shea has observed lower rates of attendance on special programming days. Parents exacerbate the issue, as many are easily persuaded by their kids to call in and excuse them on community days, she said.

Continued on Page 4

Photo Courtesy of Alex Mohsen

From left to right: Beth McNamara, Kathy Newell, and Paige Kemezis celebrate Ms. Newell’s 41 years after the US at a softball game at Grove Street.

Mimi Shaywitz Contributing Writer

Acknowledging the complicated legacy of Peter Gunness

Peter Gunness was the headmaster of Browne & Nichols when it merged with the Buckingham School in 1974. To mark the 50th anniversary of the merger, The Bulletin, BB&N’s official magazine, printed an eight-page spread honoring the work of the former headmaster and discussing his legacy, describing it as “both accomplished and complicated.” Mr. Gunness had an “accomplished” 23-year tenure at the Upper School. However, his time at BB&N had a “complicated” ending: Mr. Gunness was charged with failure to report child abuse.

Edward Washburn, an English teacher who taught at the Middle School during Mr. Gunness’ time at the school, admitted to Gunness that he sexually abused students at the school. Mr. Gunness failed to report the abuse, breaking Massachusetts’ mandatory reporting laws. Washburn later was convicted of raping his 13-year-old nephew, who was not a student at the school.

Despite this history of hidden abuse, one would have to carefully search the extensive spread in The Bulletin’s Spring 2024 issue to uncover the truth. To put the length of Mr. Gunness’ feature in context, his spread was one of the longest pieces in the entire issue, second only to the “Then-to-Now” timeline of BB&N since the merger.

The spread on the late headmaster raises a pertinent question: how do we honor those with complicated pasts? One cannot deny that Mr. Gunness played an instrumental role in merging the Buckingham and Browne & Nichols schools, and the numerous notes attesting to his accomplishments and character from his colleagues prove that he positively impacted the school community.

Still, it would be wrong to overlook the abuse that he allowed to persist in his school community. The Bulletin article did not completely avoid the topic but addressed Mr. Gunness’ crimes in only one paragraph out of the entire eight-page spread.

The singular paragraph dedicated to discussing his “complicated” legacy described the situation but used excessively confusing legal terminology, which seemed to bury what actually happened. The paragraph presented as more of a checked-box rather than a full attempt to explain the history of abuse in our school.

As a community, we claim to be a diverse and inclusive space. But what diverse, inclusive, and accountable community shies away from talking about a negative part of the past?

The section about this dark stain on BB&N’s past followed a paragraph explaining that Mr. Gunness was the one to write our school’s motto: Honor, Scholarship,

Buckingham Browne & Nichols School 80 Gerry’s Landing Road Cambridge, MA 02138 vanguard@bbns.org, vanguard.bbns.org (617) 547-6100 Ext. 2171

Volume 53, Issue 2

Editor-in-Chief Chloe Ta

Projects Editor Beckett Dubovik

Opinions Editor Lea Freiin Von Hilgers

Editorials Editor Kate Rice

On Campus Editor

Gabe Cooper

O Campus Editor Ayana Karthik

Features Editor

Yancheng Zhao

Sports Editor Matthew Walsh

Managing Editor Emilia Khoury

and Kindness. The abrupt transition from accrediting Mr. Gunness with a motto we still follow today, to a discussion of his silence about abuse at the school is abrupt, to say the least.

To acknowledge the trauma that persists from the abuse in the school, the article states, “To this day, more than 30 years later, survivors of abuse at BB&N continue to experience considerable suffering. In addition, memories across the entire alumni community are complicated by what some remember as a ‘sink or swim’ attitude that characterized the school during that era.” This is the entirety of the article dedicated to addressing how the abuse of the school’s past still lingers to this day. It feels inadequate and incomplete to describe the immense trauma of the survivors as “considerable suffering,” and the culture of silence perpetuated at the school as having only “complicated” memories.

We are not saying that we cannot honor a man who did a lot of good in our community despite the bad, because we believe that exploring complicated legacies is important work. However, if we are going to honor his legacy, we must be able to talk candidly about our wrongdoings in the past in order to move forward and progress as a school community.

A comprehensive guide to AP season!

Dear juniors, some seniors, a growing number of sophomores, and I hope no freshmen,

Hello! I heard many students whispering about the prestigious AP tests, and I feel it is my responsibility to set the record straight.

The most important thing for you to know about these tests is that they are completely optional. You do not have to take any AP test if you don’t want to. A fair warning should be given that picking this path might result in stilted, back-handed compliments from your classmates applauding your decision to abstain from test taking before they recite the 30 standardized tests they have elected to participate in.

Digital Media Editor Doug Zhang

Audio Editor Will Benjamin

Production Manager Kathryn Martin

Asst. Production Manager Charlotte Garrity

Asst. Production Manager Carl Chen

Photo Editor Krishna Patel

Arts Editor

Sonja Peetz-Larsen

Asst. Photo Editor Olivia Richter

Faculty Advisor Kim Whitney

e Vanguard’s mission is to examine and engage the school community by providing news and information about events affecting it and by featuring the diverse range of people and perspectives that comprise it. We strive for fairness and accuracy in our content, and we strive to present that content with integrity and respect.

e Vanguard is the o cial student newspaper of the Buckingham Browne & Nichols Upper School, which has 524 students, 81 faculty members, and 59 sta members. A liated with the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the paper is a forum for di ering views and welcomes comments from its readers in the form of Letters to the Editor. No anonymous letters will be printed. e Vanguard reserves the right to edit all letters for length. e Vanguard publishes eight issues per annual volume and prints between 600 and 900 copies of each issue. About 200 of those are mailed out; the rest are distributed around campus.

Sta Writers:

Fitzgerald Hung, Aparajita Srivastava, Alex Lev, Tillie Fischoeder, Hailey Jiang, David Xiong, Lucy Song, Annie Zhu, Finn Konary, Christine Tao, Scarlett Hawkins

Sta Photographers: Quentin Higgins, Emilia Khoury, Gil Cavalieros, Keenan Billings, Caroline Kovacs, Ash Surati, Ashleen Pierre, Hailey Jiang

Sta Artists: Victoria Nassikas, Isabel Doricent, Kate Rice

And even though signing up for the test may be optional, changing your mind is strictly discouraged. Oh, did no one tell you that you have to decide which APs you would like to participate in by early November? Don’t worry at all. You will definitely know which May exams you want to take when you are barely two months into school. And even if you don’t, there is only a $40 fee for deciding you no longer want to participate.

Will anyone tell you which ones you should take? No. But you’ll just know. People say it’s like falling in love. When you scroll through the list of offered tests and lock eyes with the AP English Literature and Composition Exam, it will feel like fate. Past students have described the decision to sign up for a test like a magnetic pull, completely uninfluenced by any parental or collegiate pressures.

If you are having trouble making a decision, ask an upperclassman who has already taken the exam. Hearing someone who has blocked out the stress and mental exhaustion from their mind tell you, “It was fine!” or “I got a five without studying!” is just the input you need to make an educated decision.

Once you make the plunge into the nearly $100 commitment, you have the pleasure of forgetting about AP tests for the next six months. Well, in all honesty, that depends on what class and teacher you have. Some might spend the entire school year drilling you with nothing but rhetorical devices and sample free-response questions, while others might never speak of the tests until the night before.

For those of you who are in an AP-designated class, the weight that the letters “AP” add to your transcript is enough, so don’t even worry about the test. Unless you are taking it, then you should probably worry. Oh, especially if you are in AP Physics because I heard that it’s the hardest AP test ever and, like, everyone fails. Or AP US History, because I heard that unless you read the 560-page course review, you are going to fail and embarrass yourself. But no pressure!

To all of those self-studiers out there, I’m here to provide you with a comprehensive list of tried and true study plans that will lead you to success:

1. Study hard for the exams—they will get you into college.

2. But don’t study too hard; they don’t actually matter and are useless.

3. All you need to do is sleep well the night before the test.

4. I’d also advise cramming until three a.m. since you haven’t learned half of the material yet. And to the teachers and administrators, please do not offer us any more guidance! We thoroughly love making these decisions blindly. And, most of all, make sure that every teacher prepares us for the tests completely differently. You always make sure to keep us on our toes.

I hope this proved helpful and cleared up all of the contradictory advice flooding our school about these tests. But, if you learned nothing from this, please remember the most important part of the entire process: It is imperative that immediately after taking the test, when asked how it went, you respond, “not bad at all.”

College Counseling Office prepares for change as Ms. Selinger leaves Ms. Dailey Thompson and Ms. Kobus to become co-directors

Emilia Khoury Managing Editor

Juniors are experiencing an abrupt change amidst the beginning of their college processes. After 20 years, Amy Selinger will depart the Upper School (US) for a teaching, coaching, and college counseling job at Lawrence Academy. In her place, US College Counselors Sharonda Dailey Thompson and Julia Kobus ’05 will become co-directors of the College Counseling Office.

“In the College Counseling Office, we have a student-centered approach that meets each student where they are, and that will remain the same as Ms. Kobus and I take on our new role,” Ms. Dailey Thompson said. “I look forward to partnering with my colleagues to brainstorm new and interesting ways to bring more ease and excitement to the experience.”

Ms. Dailey Thompson has learned from Ms. Selinger, she said.

“Ms. Kobus and I are fortunate to overlap with Ms. Selinger as it allows us to meet regularly and learn the ins and outs of the codirector role,” she said.

Through outside factors such as the change in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, this year has been challenging, Ms. Selinger said.

“The whole timeline has been a little bit of a scramble because of this one change. Now, instead of trying to decide where they’re going to go by May 1, some people have May 15 deadlines and June 1 deadlines.”

As the summer approaches, the College Counseling Department is in the final stages of hiring the fourth college counselor who will be taking over Ms. Selinger’s caseload, Ms. Selinger said.

“In our profession, it is common for new counselors to begin mid-process. Because we operate as a team, the person who joins us will have the benefit of direct mentorship and support from everyone in the College Counseling Office, and I’m confident that the transition will be smooth. In addition, the school has robust programming for new faculty, which will support the new counselor in getting to know all things BB&N.”

The College Counseling Office has scheduled meeting times with Ms. Selinger to discuss her caseload.

“When we hire that person, we will build in time for me to meet with them to go over every single student in my current caseload

May,

and say, ‘this is where we are, this is what we’ve talked about, or are thinking about,’” Ms. Selinger said. “Additionally, there are some things I will work with that person on to help with the counselor letter or the counselor statement that goes in with the application,” she said.

Every year, at the end of May or the beginning of June, the whole College Counseling Office meets to talk about each student in detail.

“We look at their lists, what they’re interested in, and we all work together to say, ‘Have we forgotten any colleges? Is this list balanced appropriately? What comments should we make on the list?’ That structure allows for a change in counselor to be supported going forward.”

Depending on the new hire’s schedule, they may attend the full office meeting in addition to the individual meeting with Ms. Selinger.

“Whoever’s new will walk into a place where the students are already known and their processes are already known.”

The College Counseling Office has faced transitions before, such as Ms. Kobus’s arrival in 2022 and Ms. Dailey Thompson’s several years prior, or counselors who’ve gone on maternity or medical leave, so they have experience transitioning the office and mitigating the effects, Ms. Selinger said.

“Even though to the students and families moving through it at this exact moment, it feels wonky and weird, to us it’s something we do, and we’ve done a lot as a whole group,” she said. “We know where the sticking points are, and we’ve already adjusted for that, like spending the extra time talking about my students, making sure we have that overlap, pre-populating the counselor statement.”

For current juniors, college counseling will add some additional meeting times in late August or early September. Ms. Selinger’s caseload of students will have extra time built-in to ensure they can have a longer initial meeting with the new person.

Although the transition is planned to be smooth for students, it still is daunting, Aanika Mohta ’25 said.

“I feel like there’s a lot of different steps in the college process already, and having to transition to a new counselor in the middle of that is definitely nerve-racking, but I also feel confident that whoever comes next after Ms. Selinger will be a great addition to this

community,” she said.

Ms. Kobus is not worried about the transition, she said.

“Ms. Dailey Thompson and I have both transitioned to new schools a few times at this point in the college process, so we are wellequipped to support someone going through the same thing,” she said.

As co-director, Ms. Kobus hopes to find new ways to support students through their process, she said.

“I am excited to continue the great work that our office has been doing in supporting students and families in the college process,” she said. “The college process can sometimes feel complicated and stressful for students, so Ms. Dailey Thompson and I are eager to think about new ways to support and counsel students as they navigate this exciting next step in their educational journey.”

For Ms. Kobus, Ms. Selinger has been a presence in her life for a long time, she said.

“I have known Ms. Selinger since I was 18, and she has been a constant source of inspiration and support in the 20 years since. She has taught me to be strong, to be kind, and to be unafraid in standing up for what you feel is right and best for the students in your care.”

Richelle Chang ’24, one of Ms. Selinger’s counselees, reflected on her impact.

“Throughout the scary college process, she trusted me so I could trust myself,” Richelle said. “She provided so much support throughout my entire college application process and continues to be one of the faculty at BB&N with whom I will always spark a conversation. Ms. Selinger has been a crucial part of college counseling and of our community for many years, so I know lots of students and faculty will miss her.”

“ AAPI month means a time of the year to celebrate my culture and heritage and feel appreciated. SASA has celebrated AAPI month by organizing food celebrations with AASA and talking with our club about what they like about SASA and what makes them proud of their culture. ”

—Niyam Badani ’25

“ It was nice to show that we’re all together versus drawing a line to separate into, ‘there’s us, and then there’s them.’ We wanted to make sure that, especially in a time where there is a lot of separation between groups of people we could connect and show that there’s not really a separation in the two groups. ”

—Amelia Shaywitz ’25

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

Members of the College Counseling Department gather together in their office.

Staff Photo by Olivia Richter

This

three affinity groups, the Asian American Student Association (AASA), the South Asian Student Association (SASA), and the Jewish Cultural Club (JCC), celebrated both Jewish American Heritage month and Asian-American Pacific Islander month by collaborating to make a decorative board outside the Almy Library. SASA and JCC leaders spoke about what this collaboration means to them.

Future of Eco Bash is uncertain Students skip, disappoint US students and organizers

Continued from Page 1

“It is funny seeing how some of the parents call in because some of the parents will say ‘Oh, it’s Eco Bash they don’t have to come in,’ or some will say their kids have appointments all day or are sick,” she said. “And granted, some of them might have appointments or be sick, but with the amount of absences we’re getting, that’s usually not always the case.”

Ms. Shea thinks consequences for missing special programming days could improve attendance, she said.

“I think it’s hard because Eco Bash is a day where students are not necessarily missing a class that they’re going to get behind on, so they feel like they can use it as a catch-up day,” Ms. Shea said. “Maybe if it was a day where we had some sort of different schedule for Eco Bash and Community Day, but also had classes where kids felt like they were going to be missing something if they didn’t show up, that might make attendance a little better for those days.”

Abby Brown ’26 said she attended the Eco Bash this year because she appreciates the effort put into the day. “I think that even though it’s not a regular academic day, people still put a lot of effort into it, and it’s nice to show up and see what’s been organized.”

For Abby, special programming days achieve the goal of community building for those who show up.

“I like how many of these days we have now and think that these days build community, bring us closer together, and help us to learn a little bit,” she said. “People skipping these days is counterproductive to the day’s goal because you feel like part of your community doesn’t want to be there.”

A junior, who requested anonymity to

protect his reputation, decided to skip the Eco Bash because of how hectic the spring trimester has been, he said.

“This is a really busy time, and I have a lot of extra work and stuff that I can use the day to catch up on since I’m not missing any classes.”

Other students likely skip special programming days for similar reasons, he said.

“People skip probably for the same reason as I did, or because they’re super burnt out and tired, and they just want to rest or sleep in.”

He said that his choice to show up heavily relies on his workload.

“My choice to attend depends. If I don’t have any pressing things to do, I’ll definitely come to hang out with friends or do nonschool related stuff, but if I have more important things to do, then I’ll stay home.”

English Department Head and Faculty Advisor to the Eco Reps Ariel Duddy felt disappointed with the high number of absences at this year’s Eco Bash.

“I thought the attendance this year was terrible. Either students and parents don’t place value on the day, or they don’t understand what it’s about. We aim to increase our marketing for the event next year so people understand what it is and why it’s important.”

Members of the Upper School who stay home on days like the Eco Bash miss out on opportunities to build community at the Upper School, Ms. Duddy said.

“From our perspective, we designed a day that was for students, run by students, that was meant to be about doing fun activities

Science Department introduces new AP policy Fewer sophomores to be enrolled in AP sciences next year

Yancheng Zhao Features Editor

Advanced Placement (AP) Physics 1 and AP Chemistry joined the ranks of AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Biology, and the many other science electives offered in the 20232024 school year. Sophomores and juniors populated AP classes together, solving problems, working on labs, and preparing for tests with their peers across grades. Next year, sophomores will be a rarer sight in either course: the updated program planning guide now designates AP Physics 1 and AP Chemistry as third-year science courses.

Upper School (US) Science Department Head Rachel Riemer explained the logic behind the department’s decision.

“Last year, when we started to look at the AP courses, our original thought was that they really should be junior-level courses.”

Data collected by the AP science teachers this year showed that juniors were generally more prepared for the class, Ms. Riemer said.

“We’re finding that the juniors are more prepared for labs, more fluid in the way they work in the labs, and have a better set of selfadvocacy skills,” she said. “We felt like for a majority of the students, having a second year of physical science that’s more lab-based is really in service of being ready for the pace and the depth of an AP course.”

These observations prompted the department to reconsider the required prerequisites for students taking AP classes, Ms. Riemer said.

“The standard should be two years of science, and the exception should be going into an AP without that second year.”

US Science Teacher Stephanie Guilmet said that students taking an AP science in their sophomore year often face a more drastic jump in expectations than those who have already experienced a year of physical science. Changing the wording of the requirements for AP courses allows potential students to be more aware of this shift in expectations, she said.

“The requirement gives the population— the parents, the students—the information

that this course is taught at a level that we are expecting XYZ of skill sets,” Ms. Guilmet said. “We’re saying, ‘the people that succeed at the highest level in this class are ones that have had two years of science already, that have had that skill development, that lab experience, that math experience.’ It’s to establish that the course is taught to that level of student.”

The new system will account for exceptions. If the department deems a student to be at such a level, they will still allow the student to take an AP class, Ms. Guilmet said.

“We worked hard, as the current AP teachers, with the current ninth-grade team to identify a group of skills that we felt were necessary to succeed at the AP level, and then we used that as criteria to recommend students for different levels.”

Even if a student isn’t initially approved to take an AP class, there are still ways to move up, such as during the seven-week add/drop period at the start of the school year, Ms. Guilmet said.

“We really are proponents of selfadvocacy. If you want to advocate for yourself that you think you can handle that level, then that’s a conversation you have with your advisor, your family, and ultimately the chair of the department.”

As scientists themselves, the department will continue to collect and analyze data, she said.

“We’re going to continue to get feedback, collect data, and sit down and look at the trends that are happening and see if we need to continue to modify the policy,” she said. “It’s going to be a constant learning process for us, for you, for families. We’re really trying to do what we think is best for the collective well-being of the students.”

Grant Du ’26, who is currently taking AP Physics 1, understands why the department felt the need to amend the policy, he said.

“I don’t think the changes are very unreasonable, as they were experimental in the first place,” he said. “I think it would be nice to still give 10th graders the option to take an AP science if they really desired it.

with friends, and if those aren’t good enough reasons for someone to attend, I can’t really account for that choice.”

According to Ms. Duddy, Eco Bash is meant to provide a change of pace while still being informative and productive.

“I think that the goal for the Eco Bash, in particular, is to bring the community together to learn more about the environment and climate, and to also have a different style of day and walk away feeling more aware and knowledgeable,” she said.

While the day is meant to be fun and engaging, Ms. Duddy knows that pleasing everyone is an unrealistic objective, she said.

“I’m not aiming for 100% happiness because it’s impossible to please everybody,” she said. “No matter how wonderful a day we plan, there are always going to be people who don’t feel like it was meaningful or don’t get much out of it.”

Ms. Duddy also added that there has been talk surrounding the future of special programming days after this year’s low turnout.

“While the administration presented the idea of alternating years, my understanding is that both days will happen every year so long as the student leadership decides they want to do so,” Ms. Duddy said. At the moment, both Eco Bash and Community Day will stay at the school, that decision could always change, and what is to come for school traditions like these is uncertain.

Overall, I’m very glad I took AP Physics 1.”

Even though Sofia Egan ’26 is currently taking six academic classes, she said she doesn’t regret taking AP Chemistry this year.

I would be learning so much less in a non-AP class, and I think that this is a much better ﬁt for me.

While Salar Sekhavat ’26, a student in AP Chemistry, acknowledges the Science Department’s concerns, he fears that the new policy may feel unfair to the vast majority of rising sophomores who will be unable to take an AP course, he said.

“I feel like it creates a sense of disillusionment where rising sophomores feel that they’re disadvantaged because the opportunities that we had have been shut off from them.”

David Guo ’27 is glad the department will still consider some sophomores for AP classes, he said.

“Some 10th graders would have the capability to complete those labs and succeed in an AP course in 10th grade,” he said. “It’s probable that more rising juniors would be more qualified, but I still feel that some rising 10th graders are still qualified.”

Photo courtesy of Krishna Patel Hale McGivern and Krishna Patel (both ’25) make crafts at the Eco Bash.

Knights prepare for life beyond school Masterclass Club invites industry professionals to host talks

Lucia Longstreet-Lipson Contributing Writer

“We’re limited by the fact that this is a high school. We want to supplement the curriculum with stuff that people are interested in.” For Finn Weigand ’25, a co-founder, that idea—supplementing the Upper School’s (US) curriculum—is the goal of the Masterclass Club. Before the club was founded, US students had little exposure to what life beyond the school could look like. Finn, alongside Rohan Jayaraman and Kenneth Tsay (both ’25), founded the club earlier this year to address that concern after applying for and receiving an innovation grant.

The club evolved over time. In fact, Finn said that the club started off as a completely different idea, eventually transforming into the current Masterclass Club.

“We were also thinking of another club called ‘life skills’ club where we would teach people how to do their taxes and stuff, but then we found out there

Teachers head

was a senior seminar that does that,” he said. “We first started the club as an idea, because I saw an ad on YouTube for the Masterclass website.”

For the group, after coming up with the original idea, the process going forward was fairly simple, Finn explained.

“We had to fill out the club form, and in terms of having our first meeting we just sent out cold emails. We had to get the speakers approved by the administration.”

And just like that, the Knights Masterclass club was born.

The club aims to showcase professionals from a variety of fields through talks at the US. The founders try to pick relevant and interesting fields, such as artificial intelligence or cybersecurity. So far, the Masterclass Club has hosted Joe Kennedy, a United States representative, and David Cohen, the Deputy Director of the CIA, among others.

The club tries to hold talks once or twice a month. Rohan described the act of convincing speakers to come to the US as more of an “art.”

“Working, connections, getting someone you know to introduce you to someone they know, those are big steps for setting up these things,” he said.

The club’s leaders encountered difficulty trying to contact Joe Kennedy, one of their first speakers. Since then, the process of recruiting guests has become much easier, Rohan said.

“Name-dropping helps a lot to be honest, and using the ‘I know this person’ just to create some sort of

back

to school

with

connection, even if it’s a really surface level connection.”

Rohan said he found that alums of the school were much easier to approach.

“It’s a lot easier to get people who are connected with BB&N,” he said. “I had to organize another panel of purely non-BB&N people, and it takes a while versus people who are alumni or parents of BB&N students who are much more willing to come in.”

Upper School Director of Development, Micheael O’Brien, helps contact many of the alum speakers. He, like the founders, is specifically interested in reaching out to those who are at the top of their respective fields.

“More often than not, the presenters accept,” he said. “And they make time to come speak at the US.”

The club’s leaders have aspirational goals and hopes. According to Mr. O’Brien, the club is “facilitating the connection between the BB&N of today and the BB&N of yesterday,” solidifying the club’s legacy for years to come, he said.

Fitzgerald Hung ’25, who has attended four events, understands that the Masterclass Club provides a rare opportunity.

“The speakers are very unique people,” he said. “It’s an experience that we shouldn’t take advantage of.”

In particular, he said that Moungi Bawendi’s P ’20 speech resonated with him.

“It’s such an international thing, and it’s really amazing that someone in the BB&N community is a Nobel Prize winner.”

faculty

shadowing

Faculty spend the day with students to gain new perspectives

Mr. Chapman also recognized the importance of providing breaks throughout the day for students to relax and recharge.

With a backpack slung over her shoulder and a notebook tucked under her arm, Upper School (US) Spanish Teacher Carrie Rose joined Tommy Bressler ’27 for a day of classes on April 1 to kick off the second year of the US faculty shadowing program. The program, created by US Dean of Teaching and Learning Michael Chapman, US Director Jessica Keimowitz, and US Assistant Director Katrina Fuller, aims to provide a unique opportunity for faculty members: being a student for a day.

In the fall, Mr. Chapman reintroduced the program and provided an opportunity for all interested teachers to shadow a student for a day. At the conclusion of the program, the 11 teachers who shadowed this year submitted reflections that will be shared with the rest of the faculty.

Mr. Chapman founded the program to encourage faculty development on teaching methods through an immersive experience, he said.

“One of my roles is to really think about how we can continue to grow and develop as faculty members. Sometimes, you don’t need to go to a professional development conference to be able to grow and gain some perspective.”

He took inspiration from a similar experience that resonated with him as a young teacher, he said.

“I was inspired by a program I did back in 2014 as an early career teacher where I shadowed and took notes on a student’s experience, which helped me see things from a student’s angle.”

After receiving feedback from the program,

“We want to be able to highlight breaks for students as being just as important as the critical thinking that we want you to do,” he said. “Your brain needs breaks from time to time to be able to recover and rejuvenate, so that you are able to jump into high-level problem solving.”

Mr. Chapman noted that during the program, teachers learn about and later employ their colleagues’ teaching strategies in their own classrooms, he said.

“I think that we have so many great things that our teachers are doing in their classrooms and sharing those with each other and lending some time for more people to be adventurous and try something new with the classes can really be beneficial.”

Ms. Fuller shadowed James Ferreira ’26. She was impressed with the students’ interest in their classes and found that she was excited to learn throughout the day, she said.

“Most of the classes were interactive and relying on pen and paper. I was also really surprised by how curious I was about all of the topics. I thought the teachers did an excellent job of keeping the interest level high, and the students seemed to be really engaged and interested all day long.”

US History Teacher Jessica Stokes shadowed Brett Riley ’26, noticing that students spent the majority of their day sitting, which encouraged her to include more interactive, physical activities in her classes, she said.

“I was surprised by how much sitting you do as a student. I went to Chemistry during a lab and Dance, but I still felt that we were

Around 50 faculty members and students attended Mr. Bawendi’s speech, which was a relief to the founders. Kenneth, Rohan, and Finn were nervous about the attendance rates for their events, but it ended up working out, Kenneth said.

“Thankfully, our club advisor, Dr. Spring, got the history program to give out extra credit to the people that came, so a lot of people showed up,” he said. “I think it was a good event.”

Kenneth also hopes that the wide breadth of people that the club hosts can continue to educate and inspire people at the school.

“Our goal as a whole initiative is to educate BB&N on the different career paths and career fields that they can pursue,” he said.

He also acknowledged the lasting impact he and his co-founders want to have.

“We want to educate BB&N on the different paths that these different successful professionals have taken, and see what we as students want to mimic,” he said.

In the future, the Knight’s Masterclass is hoping to expand their audience and impact on the US. No guest is considered out of reach for the club, as they hope to host extremely well-known speakers, that would grab people’s attention.

“When the club started, the first person we reached out to was Obama,” Kenneth said, adding that the former president would be his dream guest to bring to the US.

program

sitting most of the day. Going forward, in my classes, I would like to get my students out of their chairs more often because it’s a long time to sit every day.”

The experience allowed Brett to get to know Ms. Stokes and discuss with her what he enjoys doing at school, he said.

“I enjoyed the experience because I had never talked to Ms. Stokes before, and I got to learn more about her and her interests. The day wasn’t too different from my day-to-day schedule, but I got to share what I like to do for athletics, arts, and during CABs with her.”

While shadowing Charlie Bradshaw ’27, US English Teacher Taneem Husain observed that students could use moments to relax and reflect upon their day after abrupt class transitions, she said.

“My biggest takeaway is the idea that you have to switch gears so often during the school day. And even during your free periods, it’s not necessarily a time to relax because you also have to work on schoolwork, so it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of times where you’re able to breathe.”

Lauyanne Kouame ’26, who was shadowed by Eve Ferber, a leadership intern at the school, said she enjoyed having a teacher experience her intense daily routine.

“School is academically rigorous. There are lots of tests and homework, but it provides structure for my life. I wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn time management and how to be organized and study effectively, so I appreciate having this schedule, but it can be a lot sometimes.”

The school plans to continue the faculty shadowing program next year, offering more teachers the opportunity to experience the US through the day of a student.

Staff photo by Krishna Patel

The Knights Masterclass Club visits the MIT Media Lab.

Gabe Cooper On campus Editor

When walking by the Almy Library this April, you might have noticed a display on the chalkboard celebrating neurodiversity month. The chalkboard, put together by Ash Surati ’26 and Maria Zacharia ’25, was just one part of the initiative to highlight neurodiversity at the school and educate the Upper School (US) community. The Vanguard sat down with Maria and Ash to learn more about their efforts to raise awareness about neurodiversity, as well as the surrounding stereotypes.

Why is it important to highlight neurodiversity at BB&N and beyond?

Ash: To me, it’s important to celebrate neurodiversity because around the world, there are tons of people who are neurodiverse. Statistically, there’s got to be at least some people in our school who are part of the neurodiverse community. A lot of the time, people have been shamed for being neurodiverse, and so I think it was really important to ﬁnally highlight this part of the student body and the fact that we are unique, special, and really cool!

Maria: Right now, there are a lot of stigmas about the neurodiverse population. If you look at prison populations, around 80% of people are dyslexic or illiterate, and making people aware of the stigma around having dyslexia or having another type of neurological disability and acknowledging that is one step forward to celebrating neurodiversity.

What did you do to celebrate neurodiversity month during April?

Ash: For the book display, we put a ton of books up that had neurodiverse characters or authors or that had to do anything with neurodiversity. The hope was that if someone didn’t know much about neurodiversity, these books could allow them to have exposure to the neurodiverse world that is all around them.

Maria: Although we would have liked to do more, we did create a blackboard outside the library and also a book display in the library. We wanted to show well-known people who also struggled with neurological disabilities such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was dyslexic.

What was the goal of highlighting neurodiversity month?

Ash: It’s really important to sort of learn about different people and how they experience the world. And we want to create an environment where it’s really safe if you feel uncomfortable to share how you experience the world. So that was one of my missions personally.

Maria: I have been here for the past three years, and I can only speak to the past few years, but there hasn’t been much awareness. It’s kind of like a hush hush topic at BB&N, and that’s why we wanted to do it, because it hasn’t been done.

What was the response to neurodiversity month like?

Ash: I feel like through what we did, I think at least we got people to see what was going on and that this was an effort trying to be put out.

Maria: There wasn’t really much of one. The school, while we were trying to plan it, offered us a $500 budget to organize things. But life got in the way, and we weren’t able to organize things, but we had a lot of things planned. We would have liked to have an assembly block, but the school did not give us one. We would have brought in a neurodiverse person, Paul English, to talk about his bipolar disorder and how that has helped him and also hurt him in his very successful entrepreneurship career. But life got in the way. This is our ﬁrst year organizing it, but we didn’t have that much time leading up to it.

Do you think the culture surrounding neurodiversity here is accepting?

Ash: I‘ve seen a lot of students who just think, “It’s super easy to get these accommodations. They’re useless, and anyone can get them.”

Maria: It’s 50/50. There are teachers who say, “We’ll do everything to try to make sure that you are accommodated to the point that you feel comfortable, and I will make sure that you are always able to have that extended time.” But there are teachers that are not accommodating, and I guess it’s the same with students that say, “You just got diagnosed because you wanted an unfair advantage on the PSAT or the AP exams.”

What can we do to change the culture? What can students, teachers, and administration do, respectively?

Maria: The goal at the beginning was to make people aware of neurodiversity and what it is, and the overarching goal for the next couple of years will be to emphasize the fact that having accommodations for people who are neurodiverse is not an unfair advantage, which is a stigma that I personally have faced quite a bit. Some people are like, “Oh, you’re dyslexic, you’re getting accommodations? Oh, how unfair,” and it’s not unfair. It just makes me able to perform on a standardized testing level as everyone else. It doesn’t mean that I am also not as smart as everyone else. It just means that my brain functions a bit differently than the neurotypical one. I also don’t like that term because nobody is neurotypical, everybody’s brain is different.

Has the month been celebrated before? Why or why not, do you think?

Ash: This is my 11th year at BB&N. Until now, not many people have spoken about neurodiversity. I was very scared to talk about it. When I was younger, I sort of knew about my neurodiversity, but I was scared to tell other people about that. Since it’s so hush hush at BB&N, I was really, really scared to be different. That was deﬁnitely a struggle.

people who are neurodiverse is not an unfair advantage, which is a with

I think one thing we have to wrap our mind around generally as a society, not just here at BB&N, is to not stereotype an autistic person as a little boy who’s obsessed with trains or a dyslexic person as somebody who can’t read. Moving away from stereotypes can deﬁnitely help the understanding of neurodiverse students in general.

Maria: Acknowledge that it’s a thing. It should be a celebrated thing because everybody is different. A lot more people fall into the neurodiversity umbrella than we think. 10% of the population in general is dyslexic, for example. It’s the most common type of neurodiversity. So, acknowledging that it’s a thing and then implementing ways to make it less of a hassle to get those accommodations that we’ve described and making it so that students don’t have to sit in a room with the teacher and have to take a test. Let the teachers split the test in half, if needed. It’s not cheating, but you still have that time that you’re allowed.

—Douglas Zhang ’25

Photo Courtesy of Maria Zacharia

‘Only God Was Above Us’

“Keenan, why are you reviewing a Vampire Weekend album?”

“Keenan, why focus on hyper privileged indie music, beloved only by upper-middle class white wine consumers?”

“Keenan, why not review Taylor Swift’s new album?”

“Keenan, can you explain the Kendrick and Drake beef instead? I have no interest in this album!”

While preparing for this review of Vampire Weekend’s “Only God Was Above Us,” I was bombarded with these questions from my many skeptics. In fact, I chose to review this album because “The Tortured Poets Department,” the only large-scale release this month other than Dua Lipa’s “Radical Optimism,” an album rife with neo-europop synths, was missing the acoustic soundscape I desired.

After receiving mixed reviews for my piece on Kanye West’s “VULTURES 1,” I have decided to switch gears and challenge my ears along with my pen.

I also don’t like Taylor Swift.

“Only God Was Above Us” is Vampire Weekend’s fifth studio album and third collaboration with producer Ariel Rechtshaid. Reichstad is a longtime friend of Ezra Koenig, the band’s lead man and de facto creative director. The album signifies a turning point for Vampire Weekend, which formed nearly two decades ago at Columbia University’s Battle of the Bands competition. Since then, they have become the only act in history to debut an album at number one on the Billboard charts independently, without being signed to a major label.

Keenan Billings

Keenly Attuned

In “Only God Was Above Us,” Vampire Weekend takes a deep dive into their own musical catalog while remaining true to their current selves. On the ethereal “Capricorn,” Koenig makes meandering but profound reflections about the passage of time: “Can’t reach the moon now/ can’t change the tide/the world looked different when God was on your side.” While Koenig croons, Chris Baio strums out a lonely, harmonious bass line, reminiscent of eponymous-album era slow jams like, “I Stand Corrected.”

At the same time, though, “Only God Was Above Us” sporadically presents the listener with a soundscape completely different from any of their previous work. The opening track, “Ice Cream Piano,” utilizes heavy autotune and jazzy elements, a sharp contrast to the Afropop-infused music their early, blog-following fans might expect. This blend of old and new on the same project echoes Vampire Weekend’s wish to reckon with their urban past while remaining culturally relevant. Koenig also clearly sees himself as representative of a generation that is being passed by time. On “Gen-X Corps,” he raises his voice to be heard over an acoustic whirlwind: “But in my time/you taught me how to see/ each generation makes its own apology.”

The album is an unapologetic love letter to a now changed New York City. It has an elegant grittiness, evoking a romanticized image of the metropolis that only exists in urban myths and B-side Velvet Underground tracks. The cover art depicts the inside of a NYC subway car with a white-sneakered character reading a newspaper in the foreground. In the background, a second, denimclad character stands sideways on the wall. The fact that there are no visible faces and the inherently unrealistic subject matter all add to the album’s allure. It’s music about empty subway cars, forgotten aqueducts in the Bronx—see “The Surfer”—and the glue of time that holds a city together after being trodden down by chapter after chapter of humanity.

“Only God Was Above Us” is a powerful reckoning regarding personal growth and maturity. The combination of Koenig’s songwriting, which utilizes themes of urban decay and a bygone past, and Reichstad’s production, which infuses new sounds into an old soundscape, allows Vampire Weekend to achieve a rare thing in the indie rock scene: aging gracefully while maintaining a profound sharpness and cultural relevance.

And yes, Mom. I’ll listen to “Oxford Comma” again.

Shakespeare’s the man

This summer, my best friend Eliza Cohen ’25 introduced me to the quintessential movies of the early 2000s. Our cinematic journey included hits like, “Miss Congeniality,” “Mean Girls,” and our favorite, “She’s the Man.” Starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum, “She’s the Man” is more than a typical early-2000s rom-com clad in low-rise jeans and bedazzled flip-phones—it’s a modern twist on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”

At first glance, “She’s the Man” delivers all the hallmarks of its era, including buzz-cut Channing Tatum. However, beneath the surface of high school antics and mistaken identities, the film serves as an easy communicator of Shakespeare’s timeless themes. Shakespeare can often be more daunting than delightful, especially during dreary eighth-grade dissections of soliloquies. I’ve often questioned the relevance of his 17th-century plays in our modern curriculum: Is Shakjespeare really the genius that our English teachers tell us he is?

“She’s the Man” answered all these questions. The film reimagines Viola, masquerading as her twin brother at a new school, setting the stage for a series of comedic and chaotic love triangles. Instead of a shipwreck, it’s set in a boarding school, and rather than soldiers, Viola joins the boys’ soccer team. Both “Twelfth Night” and “She’s the Man” deal with themes like complex identity, blurring gender lines, and passion. Both works brilliantly explore love, betrayal, and pain through a comedic lens.

“She’s the Man” not only makes Shakespeare more accessible, It enhances the universality of his insights into human emotions and social interactions. The fact that his characters can go through the same journey in two completely different settings and centuries says a lot about his talent in writing. Fantastic 17th-century writing is all well and good in the 17th century, but when you bring these plays into every 21st-century English classroom, there must be a good reason. “She’s the Man” represents how Shakespeare’s writing truly transcends time. The emotional struggles of his hundred year old characters’ are still the ones we face today. Whether it is in the aftermath of a shipwreck or homecoming, we all feel love, confusion, desperation, and pain. Shakespeare was able to convey these timeless aspects of human nature, unfortunately proving all of our English teachers right: He is kind of cool.

This movie also highlights the creativity and talent of currentday actors, directors, and writers. Even though it follows a readymade plot, the movie takes a lot of artistic license when reimagining classic scenes, such as having Viola meet with Duke at the carnival. Reinventing classics is one of my favorite ways to interpret them because it allows for writers and directors to explore their interpretations of well-known works. There are a lot of classic interpretations, such as “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “West Side Story,” that not only do justice to their original work but now have a following and fan base of their own.

Aparajita Srivastava Spoiler Alert!

It’s so important as a writer to know that it’s possible to honor the amazing stories and writing that came before us while still telling new stories. Young writers often get the advice to adhere to a certain narrative or write from a specific perspective, but movies like “She’s the Man” show that we can be creative with our interpretations and make three-hundred-year-old stories our own.

Now, when I read Shakespeare, I can see his comedies and tragedies as commentaries on human nature. They are so much more than the passage analysis and character write-ups. We have braved the oceans, built great big cities, and ventured into space since Shakespeare’s time, but we haven’t forgotten how we love, hurt, and passionately fight for what we believe in.

Shakespeare’s work is so interesting because his phenomenal plays were accessible to a wide variety of audiences in the 1600s, but also to me and my best friend watching “She’s the Man” one summer evening.

The upside of a dinner disaster

On a crisp Saturday night in January, I stumbled upon an unexpected life lesson: the undeniable value of always keeping Tostitos Hint of Lime chips at the ready.

My birthday celebration was planned with precision—a 7:45 reservation for dinner with friends at Barcelona in the South End. However, upon arrival, we found our table was not ready. The restaurant was brimming with people. The crowd near the door waiting for a table was so large that it was impossible to force our way through, so we withdrew outside the restaurant to wait until we could be seated.

As we stood huddled on the sidewalk, it began to snow. Not just a light dusting, but a dumping of snow. After 15 minutes of freezing on the sidewalk, I ventured back inside for an update. The hostess estimated another 30-minute delay with a dismissive shrug. My stomach panged with hunger, and my disappointment gnawed as I relayed the bleak forecast to my friends.

As snow continued to layer, our frustration and hunger deepened into a collective hanger. As 8:30 finally rolled around, I eagerly dashed back inside to claim my table. Yet devastatingly, the previous party clung to our table with no intention of leaving soon. At that point, my appetite had reached a threshold beyond what I could bear, and I could no longer endure the wait.

Less is more

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past,” writes George Orwell in “1984.” This omnipresent sense of control, where even the past becomes malleable, forms the foundation of the dystopic novel.

The most potent way of controlling the past, present, and future, however, is through language. As a generation with an alternate dialect on social media— last year’s Oxford Word of the Year was rizz—our influence on language feels increasingly relevant. I especially started questioning our relationship with language after reading “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Margaret Atwood’s novel is essentially a pseudo-dystopia; there is nothing in it that has not already occurred in history. Her narrative and consequent approach to language especially contrasts with that of “1984,” which is fabricated more futuristically. So how is language, or rather its absence, used to disarm people in these two dystopias, and are the examples they set a looming possibility for us?

Most dystopias, like “1984,” take place in a completely imagined future. The world of “1984” is ruled by three superstates in a perpetual state of warfare against one another: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Life in Oceania is governed by a war that might be a fabricated reality used to keep its people permanently unified, mobilized, and scrutinized.

At my limit and feeling faint from hunger, salvation came in the form of my friend Clare, who suggested a quick detour to CVS. There, I acquired a bag of Tostitos Hint of Lime chips, and we returned to our chilly outpost.

Nestled on the curb, chips in hand, the absurdity of our situation struck me. Chomping on my delicious snack, I could not help but laugh—my predicament was nothing short of comical. Suddenly the wait didn’t seem so intolerable. My friends and I were all doubled over, cackling at the position we had found ourselves in, and I completely forgot about the table waiting for us inside the warm restaurant.

Finally seated, the restaurant staff, recognizing our lengthy ordeal, presented us with a complimentary charcuterie board. The rest of the night, my friends and I ate delicious food and laughed about the night we had.

This entire experience could have been entirely negative. I could have focused only on the bad parts of my situation, embraced my hunger, and complained incessantly about how cold I felt. Instead, somewhat accidentally, I put a more positive spin on my circumstances, and ended up looking back on them quite fondly. This lesson is something I strive to apply to my life generally. Things don’t always go my way, but if I can take everything in stride and see the good in something that could feel frustrating, I can live a life filled with more joy and laughter.

My birthday dinner taught me not only the importance of anticipating hanger by making sure to always have a snack handy, but to embrace the unexpected with humor and grace. On that snowy night, with a bag of Tostitos in hand, I learned to find laughter in even the most frustrating moments. This lesson has proved useful in many endeavors. During the doldrums of the winter, for example, in the midst of basketball season, I could have been defeated by the long season awaiting me. Instead, I took daily trips to Starbucks with my friends. I laughed, drank countless matcha lattes, and found the good in an otherwise mundane, tiring time.

In Oceania, citizens use “Newspeak,” a fictional language classified into three vocabularies: a) for the functions of daily life, b) for political purposes, and c) for technical and scientific terms. Newspeak is the only language that destroys words instead of creating new ones. Words like “democracy,” “freedom,” “lie,” and “thought” have been removed altogether. The alleged “political” words are instead expressions like “goodthink,” meaning orthodoxy, or “bellyfeel,” meaning blind acceptance. Negative words are created with a simple prefix, like substituting “ungood” for “bad,” and all words are interchangeable, like using “knifed” as a verb instead of “cut.”

I was recently reminded of Newspeak after seeing pending Threads friend requests in my Instagram notifications. Threads, a new social media platform under Meta, functions similarly to Twitter. The app allows users to share short pieces of text, photos, videos, or links. Yet the word “short” now carries a much more relative and ambiguous meaning: is it a novella? An essay? A paragraph? A word? Even 20-minute YouTube videos have been replaced by 15-second TikTok ones, which also feel tedious to watch all the way through. Is our increasing need for brevity because we have less language to express ourselves like a minor version of Newspeak realized, or because we are holding back?

In the world of “1984,” “holding back” is impossible to begin with. The Party uses Newspeak as a power tool, limiting people’s ability to articulate abstract concepts or think critically altogether.

Although a different type of dystopia, this state of limitation is better represented in “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Holding up a mirror to the Puritan societies of the past, the novel takes place in the Republic of Gilead. The state is ruled by a new restrictive theocratic dictatorship where women are stripped of their freedoms and assigned rigid roles in society. This hierarchy among women is not meant to be subtle, as each role is displayed publicly through the color of their clothing: green for Marthas, blue for Wives, striped for Econowives, brown for Aunts, and red for Handmaids. Offred, the narrator, belongs to the diminishing group of fertile women turned into Handmaids, whose task is to procreate with male government officials and give up their children to their wives.

ruled by a new restrictive theocratic dictatorship where women are stripped of is not meant to be subtle, as each role is displayed publicly through the color

In “The Handmaid’s Tale,” there is a lack of language. Offred uses glaringly ordinary English in her internal monologue and thinks like any one of us would in her situation. Despite the complexity of her thoughts, however, she never actually speaks her mind. Offred and her fellow Handmaids remain silent for most of the novel, desperately attempting to decipher others but making no communicative effort to do so. Unlike “1984,” there is a stark contrast between the words she thinks and those she says.

In our generation, we are steadily moving away from the Offred characterization. Being outspoken, verbal, and expressive is now an expectation rather than a liability. Our classes are gathered around oval tables instead of lined-up desks, where class participation is encouraged.

On today’s social media, most users are also unafraid to argue against opinions or post their own opinions, reaching millions around the globe with a single click. We are not facing a shortage of opinions or a fear of expressing them but a lack of words. Like the evolution of Newspeak, the media we consume is constantly getting shorter and more succinct. On platforms like Twitter and Threads, a single word is enough for a post, and on TikTok, creators need only 15 seconds worth of words for a video. When it comes to language, “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “1984” are two parallels of this dichotomy where we have more opinions to express but remarkably fewer words to do so.

Martha Balson Moments with Martha

Diba Demir Words with Wings

Upper School says goodbye to departing faculty

Leaving faculty members reflect on their time at

the school

Whether you have taken AP Human Geography, been placed in his United States History class, attended a practice of Speech and Debate Club, or simply just walked by the history office, you’ve probably exchanged a smile or a friendly “hello” with Upper School (US) History Teacher Steele Sternberg. Mr. Sternberg will be leaving the US in June to teach at the Noble and Greenough School.

Mr. Sternberg came to the US from the Hackley School, a private school in upstate New York, to be closer to his now wife, a librarian at Nobles. He joined the History Department during the 2020-21 school year.

Beyond teaching, Mr. Sternberg has led a reaccreditation committee, served as an advisor to a group he will “really, really miss,” acted as a Senior Spring Project mentor, facilitated workshops on creating effective and interesting field trips, and led the school’s debate team.

The students have made Mr. Sternberg’s time at the US rewarding, he said.

“You, the students, you’re by far the hardest thing to leave. You guys are just interesting. You’re motivated. You come from cool backgrounds. You aren’t the normal sort of private school kid. That is by far and away my favorite thing about this place.”

He said he has found a supportive environment of teachers and colleagues here.

“There’s way fewer teachers here who phone it in than other schools. Everyone here really tries hard every day to do a good job. In general, that has been very positive for my professional development.”

The best compliment Mr. Sternberg has ever received about his teaching came from a former student, he said.

“Caroline White ’23 said, ‘You know, Mr. Sternberg, the thing that makes your classes so great is that [they] end up feeling like a community.’ That felt very good.”

Mr. Sternberg will continue to teach U.S. History as well as a World History class similar to the US’s Case Studies course while at Nobles.

US Head of College Counseling Amy Selinger has done it all over her 20 years at the school. She co-founded the Marina Keegan ’08 Fellowship, was a member of the Senior Grade Team and the Senior Spring Project Committee, served as a faculty representative on the Board of Trustees, taught history, and coached Middle School lacrosse.

“It’s hard to identify what memories are my favorites because I feel like I have so many different memories,” Ms. Selinger said. “I’ll take away, in terms of memories, moments where laughter and joy were present, moments of triumph big and small. Like an advisee, who reported to me that they spoke up in a class discussion where it was really scary, or somebody who got into a college, or who landed a role in the play, or who had a great summer job experience, or even graduates who report back that something amazing has happened, and there’s a seed of something that we planted together. Those are the things that my memories have in common.”

She will also miss her colleagues, she said.

“A great thing about working at BB&N is that we’re on a team. I never feel alone like I’m trying to do anything by myself,” she said. “The fact that you can walk into a building and know that you have people on your side who will push you, listen to you, cheer for you, give you grief, and all those are wonderful things.”

Next year, Ms. Selinger will return to Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, where she previously worked.

“I talk to students a lot about how sometimes when you’re walking toward something, you might feel uncomfortable and the newness of it might feel scary, or like you’re taking a risk, and that’s where growth happens: when you’re trying something new. So, for me, after 20 years, I feel like changing it up might be a good thing for me.”

She is excited about the variety of her role at Lawrence Academy, she said.

“As an empty nester, I’ll have time again to do college counseling, which I love, teach a section of history, which I love, and coach basketball, which I also love. I’m taking a step away from the administration side of things that will allow me time to do those things that I’m really excited about.”

Agnes Voligny first joined the US community as a math teacher in the fall of 2019. Since then, Ms. Voligny has done a little bit of everything: acted as a US advisor, a member of the US Service Learning Team, a member of the Senior Grade Team, and the faculty advisor to the Asian American Student Alliance (AASA).

Reflecting on her time at the US, Ms. Voligny has enjoyed seeing her advisees grow both as scholars and as people and watching AASA deepen their impact on student life. She is grateful for the camaraderie and support from her colleagues in Room 162.

To Ms. Voligny, it’s the collaboration between students and teachers that has made her time at the US great, she said.

“I know that BB&N students are smart, motivated, and ambitious. As a teacher, I realize the talent, hard work, dedication, creativity and compassion of my colleagues. Together, we make this a special community.”

Ms. Voligny has high praises for the communities she has been a part of, including the rest of the US Service Learning Team for their “can-do” attitude and the Senior Grade Team for their tireless efforts towards senior graduation.

She said she hopes to have left a lasting impact on the US community.

“I hope my students know that I cared about each of them and am grateful for the relationships we built. I hope my colleagues know that I admire them and the work they do to help each student grow.”

Ms. Voligny looks forward to spending more time with her parents in Thailand and to her future adventures, wherever they may be.

On other campuses...

How long have you been at BB&N?

I started teaching at BB&N in September of 2008, which makes this my 16th year.

What has been your favorite part of working at BB&N?

There isn’t one particular favorite memory I could think of, but my favorite experiences at BB&N are the moments when I connect with students through something I’ve taught, whether it clicks for them academically or we connect outside the classroom. These connections create a genuine sense of belonging that is meaningful both for me as a teacher and for the students involved. When a student grasps what they’re learning, they feel more connected to the material, which enhances their sense of belonging as a student. These authentic connections are what make teaching so rewarding, and I am proud to have created opportunities in my classroom that made a lasting impact on so many of my students.

How long have you been at BB&N?

I joined the intern program at the Lower School in the fall of 1985 and a year later was hired to teach second grade. I taught second grade for four years before moving to fourth grade where I stayed most of my time at BB&N. Seven years ago, I accepted a position as the math specialist for first and second grades.

What has been your favorite part of working at BB&N?

My favorite part of working at BB&N has been being a part of the community. I have had the opportunity to learn from many talented colleagues and to work with wonderful kids and their families.

What’s one speciﬁc memory that feels special or noteworthy from your time here?

One of the highlights of working at BB&N was collaborating with Lynda Dugas when we created the immigration curriculum for the fourth grade. A favorite aspect of that work was exploring Chinatown together and creating an annual field trip to the neighborhood for our classes.

Any exciting retirement plans?

I’ll be living full time in Provincetown with my husband, Michael, and we plan to take a few months each year to travel to places in the world we haven’t seen yet and return to some of our favorite spots.

Photo Courtesy of Mr. Sternberg

Photo Courtesy of Ms. Selinger

Photo Courtesy of Ms. Voligny

Mr. Sternberg

Ms. Selinger

Ms. Voligny

Photo Courtesy of Berhane Zerom

Berhane Zerom

Photo Courtesy of Bill Hritz

Bill Hritz

‘You will be incredibly missed:’ School reﬂects on Althea Cranston’s retirement English and Latin teacher to step down after 35 years

Scarlett Hawkins Staff Writer

Few people in the Upper School (US) community appreciate language as much as US Latin and English Teacher Althea Cranston. She served as the Head of the English Department prior to pursuing her position as a teacher of both Latin and English. After 35 years in the US, Ms. Cranston announced her plan to retire at the end of the school year.

Through her many experiences at the school, students remain the center of her teaching experience, Ms. Cranston said.

“Students are the core: engaged, hardworking, and funny. I love my interactions with them. Getting to know

my students in different ways is the best part of the day. It’s all the interactions in the classroom.”

Ms. Cranston’s main objective as a teacher was to push her students to learn and succeed while still having fun, she said.

“I had a student once come up to me after teaching them and say: ‘You proved that you can work hard and have fun at the same time, that they are not two separate items.’”

Over her 35 years in the US, Ms. Cranston has formed bonds with many of her colleagues. US English Teacher Beth McNamara is a colleague and friend of Ms. Cranston. Ms. Mac admires Ms. Cranston’s teaching abilities, she said.

“I always appreciate that she has had a business-like but fun class. Books are open, kids are talking, everyone knows they need to speak up. They’re listening to each other, and yet her classes always have inside jokes or class cultures that make people fond of Ms. Cranston and ready to learn.”

Ms. Mac has learned many things from Ms. Cranston, but what stands out most is the legacy she will leave behind in the US, she said.

“She has helped set policy as well as a strong example, and she will have a sea of fond students that will know her from both Latin and English,” she said.

“We will miss her desperately.”

Haley Hicks ’25, a current student in Ms. Cranston’s Latin 3 honors class, has felt supported and challenged by Ms. Cranston, she said.

“She values hard work, but by pushing you through with a wholehearted belief that you can do it.”

Haley described Ms. Cranston’s teaching abilities and constant empathy toward her students as exceptional.

“She just listens. She shares her adventures and experiences like seeing bears, and I cherish these memories because she was a teacher who would listen. She brings with her this air of confidence that she knows what to do. For any situation, she knows how to read the class, teasing us if we are tired, shifting the class for what the class needs. It’s this unnoticeable thing that makes her class enjoyable and special.”

Andrew Johnson ’27, a student of Ms. Cranston, said his learning was aided by Ms. Cranston’s teaching style.

“She plays games with us, makes us laugh, and the concepts she teaches everyone understands and sticks to in the future.”

She could make every class hilarious, he said.

“Whether it was her jokes about her students’ translation abilities, playing interactive games, or simply

41 years of impact: Kathy Newell to retire School celebrates GVH

Ms. Newell said she is looking forward to her next chapter.

“BB&N has been my life for 41 years, so I’m actually looking forward to seeing what else is out there,” she said. “I’m actually moving to Rhode Island. I’m going to be closer to family and closer to the beach. So, I’m looking forward to that change, and I’m just looking forward to having time for hobbies and having a freedom in my schedule.”

However, the change will be bittersweet for Ms. Newell.

“I’ll miss BB&N. You miss the connections. You miss the kids. It’s hard to think about getting

putting their feet on the furniture, she made them laugh every time. These simple anecdotes and actions made Ms. Cranston’s time and legacy at BB&N unique and memorable.”

For Ingrid Schrag ’26, Ms. Cranston has made Latin worth learning, she said.

“She is the only reason I am still doing it. She has made Latin not torture.”

Ingrid went on the Latin trip to Sicily with Ms. Cranston during spring break, a memorable and exciting experience that she was grateful to share with Ms. Cranston, she said.

“We created lasting memories and connections with her.”

Lexi Mack ’26, one of Ms. Cranston’s advisees, elaborated on Ms. Cranston’s ability to be both a teacher and an advisor.

“Ms. Cranston takes off the teacher’s hat and puts on her advisor’s hat, allowing us to get different perspectives of her, where you can really talk to her in a safe manner,” she said. “She helps solve problems and issues while being transparent and hilarious.”

Lexi, along with the rest of the US community, will miss Ms. Cranston come this fall, she said. “Ms. Cranston, you will be incredibly missed, and we hope you enjoy your retirement!”

founder and Associate Athletic Director’s experience

out of bed and being like, ‘all right, now what am I going to do today?’ But that’s a good thought.”

To future students and athletes, she has one piece of advice: “Take some risks, try something new, be there for your teammates, and try to remember to have fun.”

GVH coach Ed Bourget ’96 now leads what Ms. Newell built. To him, her impact “cannot be measured in words,” he said.

As a friend and colleague, US English Teacher Alda Farlow said she admires Ms. Newell’s coaching philosophy.

“She believes in providing students with opportunities to compete to the best of their ability without losing their joy for the sport.”

Elizabeth Smith ’90, one of many athletes Ms. Newell coached, described her as “the best coach ever.”

“She taught me what it meant to be a teammate and an athlete. To practice, work hard, compete fairly, lead with integrity, to take the losses, and celebrate the wins.

Kathy made it all—and so much more in my life—possible.”

Annie Brewster ’86 was another athlete who appreciated being coached by Ms. Newell.

“Ms. Newell was a role model in showing us how to advocate for ourselves and make things happen,” she said.

For former GVH Co-captain Alexsa Carson ’24, Ms. Newell made the team a “second home.”

“None of the hockey girls would be here without her. She really started our program, and let it be our second home, at least for me for the last five years.”

Ms. Newell has been an inspiration “for those female athletes that are coming up and realizing they have the potential to be something amazing,” Alexsa said.

Alexsa said she will miss Ms. Newell’s ever-present support.

“You can always hear her voice, being supportive, pushing you to be your very best,” she said. “The impact that she had on other people and not just me, that’s who I want to be when I grow up.”

Tish Biggar P ’82, the former assistant athletic director, said she admires Ms. Newell’s loyalty and humility.

“She has a loyalty that should be bottled! She does things for others in a quiet way, and I don’t think being thanked ever crosses her mind.”

Director of Health and Fitness

Henri André befriended Ms. Newell in their shared office, he said.

“For many years, we shared a dim storage room converted into our ‘office’ without a view. Kathy’s presence was the true light in that office. That’s where we forged our lasting collegiality and friendship.”

Staff photo by Krishna Patel Ms. Cranston displaying her signature swag as she leaves school in her sunglasses.

Photo courtesy of BB&N Archives

Ms. Newell and the Girls’ Varsity Softball team in the ‘90s.

Photo courtesy of BB&N archives.

Ms. Newell with the Girls’ Varsity Hockey team in the early stages of the program.

Recent BB&N Wins!

First annual Spelling Bee held at US

US Dean of Teaching and Learning Michael Chapman and US English Teacher Talayah Hudson organized the first annual Spelling Bee, which took place on April 25. After undergoing an initial entrance exam, 12 students progressed to the finals where they fought for the top spot and a $50 Amazon gift card.

Bradford Kimball ’24 took the win, with Keenan Billings ’25 coming in second and Caroline Dudzinski ’26 in third.

The experience was low stakes and high reward, part of what contributed to the students’ nonchalant attitude, You-Yan Wang ’26, one of the finalists, said.

“I thought it was just a fun way to learn some new words and spend a CAB block with some friends. I thought Ms. Hudson and Mr. Chapman did a great job organizing and facilitating the event to make it as chill as possible.”

Soomin Kung ’26, another finalist, agreed with YouYan’s sentiments.

“I just did it for fun, and I did the qualification test just to see how many I could do, so I didn’t really feel much pressure or have too many expectations about it. This made it more like friendly competition rather than a tryhard tournament.”

—Sonja Peetz-Larsen ’26

Latin club wins Holy Cross Certamen

Led by Upper School (US) Latin Teacher Walter Young, two teams from the US Latin Club traveled to the College of the Holy Cross on April 11 to compete at the Holy Cross Certamen. The B team won the intermediate division, and the A team placed fourth in the advanced one.

At the competition, the students were tested on their knowledge of Latin culture, mythology, history, literature, and syntax. Leading up to the event, the Latin Club prepared with practice questions and buzzer simulations during Thursday CABs.

Justin Hildebrandt ’27, who was the top scorer on the winning B team, said that his Latin class helped him retain and supplement the information he learned during the club’s practice sessions.

“I think our practice definitely paid off, especially with training reaction time. The school’s Latin curriculum is really great, too, which helped with the language questions.”

Knights finish second at CubeSat competition

Their mission was simple: create an under 10x10x10 cm satellite which would detect power outages and then, if launched, provide the appropriate information to first responders in the given area.

Sofia Egan, Yancheng Zhao, Salar Sekhavat, Carl Chen, and Diego Abadie (all ’26) competed at MIT’s BWSI Build a CubeSat Program on April 13. With coaches US Science Department Chair Rachel Reimer and US Math and Computer Science Teacher Amelia Mattern, as well as MIT-provided mentor Ben Nahill, the five set out to complete coursework followed by the final project: the CubeSat.

Their satellite, known as KnightSat, downloads satellite images taken by NASA and compares them to those it takes itself. The image then gets sent to DALL-E, Open AI’s Image AI software, which processes the image. Photos are then printed and photographed by KnightSat.

Despite facing a variety of immense challenges, the team of five placed second out of 34 teams, falling short of the top spot by only a single point.

The team gained a variety of valuable skills, including learning how to fully plan and design various systems of a spacecraft.

“It was an incredible glimpse into designing spacecraft systems and thinking about the relationships between every little piece of the project,” Salar said. “It gave us an appreciation for the people at spaceflight companies who spend months designing documents for their missions.”

—Sonja Peetz-Larsen ’26

Ms. Hyland places 24th in Boston Marathon

With a final time of 2:40:24, US Spanish Teacher Rachel Hyland crossed the finish line of her fifth Boston Marathon on April 15. She ran in the Professional Women’s division and placed 24th overall and sixth out of American women.

“This year’s Boston Marathon was very warm,” she said. “Temperatures got up to low 70s, and the sun was beating down on us for 26 miles. I ran pretty well in the heat but had to adjust my time goal significantly. On a cooler day, I likely would’ve tried to run under 2:35.”

While she might never beat her experience in 2018, when she finished fourth, each Boston Marathon is unique and special in its own way, she said.

—Gabe Cooper ’26

“This year, I got to give my kids and my husband a high-five at the 30k mark just before Heartbreak Hill.”

It was tough preparing for the marathon while recovering from the Olympic Trials Marathon in February, she said.

“I’ll be taking a long break from the marathon now!”

—Yancheng Zhao ’26

On Saturday, May 11, Avery Hart ’25 was awarded the Most Valuable Player Award in the Independent School League (ISL). Additionally, Leila Blake ’27, Scarlett Hawkins ’27, Zoe Li-Khan ’25, and Maddie Gaynor ’24 all won accolades.

“As a team, we’ve definitely gotten better and closer,” Avery said. “Now, the team chemistry is a lot better, we’re more friends with each other, and it’s just a lot more fun to be a part of a team even though it’s an individual sport.”

Although the team is bonded, they still face challenges, she said.

“As a whole, the track program, we’re getting there and getting some visibility, which is good, but at the same time, it’s hard when you don’t have a track. It’s also hard when people don’t want to go to watch the track meets because it takes all day.”

Scarlett is very proud of the team’s accomplishments, she said.

“It truly is amazing that Girls’ Track has been able to do so well this season, especially at ISL Championships because our team is extremely tiny and around 15 people,” Scarlett said. “If your team is small, it is at a huge disadvantage, and that is why I am extremely proud of our team this year to be able to have such a good performance that we defied the odds.”

Scarlett attributes the team’s success to the environment.

“I give props to the captains and our two coaches Saleena and Mo, because they have fostered an environment where we can all have fun while pushing through the mental and physical battles that track brings. I believe that is the main reason we were able to place third in the ISL.”

—Emilia Khoury ’25

Photo Courtesy of Graham Lee

The Latin Club holds up their ﬁrst place trophy.

Photo Courtesy of Talayah Hudson

From left to right: Keenan Billings ’25, Bradford Kimball ’24, and Caroline Dudzinski ’26, who ﬁnished second, ﬁrst, and third, respectively.

Photo Courtesy of Yancheng Zhao

The group of five hold KnightSat satellite after giving their final presentation.

Photo Courtesy of Rachel Hyland Ms. Hyland braves the sun to run in her ﬁfth Boston Marathon.

Photo Courtesy of BB&N Athletics Avery Hart ’25 displays her Most Valuable Player plaque.

Off Campus

Still ‘Simply The Best?’ US Quiz Show team returns to ﬁnals stage Team takes home second place on High School Quiz

Matthew Walsh Sports Editor

“It was brutal! The late, great Tina Turner was our downfall,” Upper School (US) Quiz Bowl Team Coach and Math Teacher Chip Rollinson said about the 2024 High School Quiz Show finals. The returning champions, this year’s US Quiz Bowl Team was comprised of Team Captain Bradford Kimball, Ana Chrysa Maravelias, Henry Kirk, and Aaron Rai (all ’24) and coached by Mr. Rollinson and US English Teacher Sam Crihfield.

Filmed in late January, the team’s televised journey began on February 17 with a first-round win over Saint John’s. Next came a victory over South High Community School on April 6 and a rematch of last year’s final against Mansfield in the semifinals on May 4. Their season culminated in a final match on May 18 against Lexington High.

Each matchup in the High School Quiz Show is made up of four unique rounds: the “toss-up” round, the “head-to-head” round, the “category” round, and the “lightning” round. After a category round that didn’t go their way, the US team was ultimately defeated by Lexington in the finals.

The first category the US team selected was “You Had Me at Guten Tag” and answered four out of the five questions correctly. For their second category, the team chose “Simply the Best.” However, the category wasn’t what the team had expected, Mr. Rollinson said.

“Our team thought it was going to be questions about best pictures or other award-winning things, and it wasn’t. It was questions about Tina Turner, a music icon who

passed away last year. We quickly learned that high school kids don’t know too much about her, so that category was like quicksand, any team that picked that would have just sunk in it, and we did.”

Mr. Rollinson explained that luck is sometimes part of the game.

“If Lexington had picked ‘Simply the Best,’ we might have won; so there’s a luck aspect of it, and that’s the way the game’s setup—a bit of luck of the draw.”

Bradford Kimball had a different perspective, he said.

“Look, good teams and players don’t need luck; they make their own luck. Fundamentally we got a little unlucky, but it was my mistakes, my category selection, and some decisions I made about whether to submit answers or not that ultimately led us to the point where bad luck could take us out.”

Bradford was proud of the team’s second-place finish but didn’t meet his own expectations, he clarified.

“We are a program that has established a tradition of winning, and when you win a title and you don’t win it the next year, that’s a failure. I’m proud of how we did, but we did not achieve our goals. Lebron James would say the same about losing in the finals.”

A new addition to the team, Ana Chrysa, turned pressure to succeed into confidence, she said.

“I think some pressure came from the people on the team ourselves,” she said. “I think that’s the case in most circumstances; expectations are self-inflicted. I think Bradford and Henry felt it more because they experienced the success of last year. It was most evident when we were trailing in a

Show

round, but because the team knew we could succeed, we had the push and the drive to do better.”

The team, a tight-knit group of friends, helped Ana Chrysa grow this spring, she said.

“I don’t think it’s just our trivia knowledge,” she explained. “This year and last year, it’s been such a close group of friends, which has made communication and trust so easy because we have it intrinsically by being friends. That’s helped us in our practice, especially for me because I’m someone who likes to be certain in myself, but they made it OK to be uncertain and challenged me to embrace that.”

Aaron mostly felt internal pressure to help the team, he said.

“We won last year, and you don’t want to be the reason that the team loses,” he said. “You just want to do your job, as Bill Belichick says. You want to win, and you want to win just as much every year.”

To Aaron, the team’s secret to success this year and last was not only their diverse areas of expertise, but their buzzer skills.

“It’s about doing the little things right. You can’t account for talent too much in a couple of months [of training], but you can account

for how you play the game. Our attention to detail was definitely among the best in the state.”

Mr. Crihfield is proud of the team’s success these past years and, with open spots to fill, is excited about what the future of the team holds, he said.

“The future of the team is kind of wide open to the new generation. I’m excited by that because I think Bradford and Henry, and everyone else on the team, have created this legacy and gotten everyone interested. I think the composition of the team could be completely different from here on out.”

Trying out for the team is half the battle, Mr. Crihfield said. He encourages every rapt student to audition, stressing the importance of having a multifarious team.

“There’s no one profile of a ‘trivia person.’ A strong trivia team is composed of people who have strengths in different areas. One thing that we’re hoping and looking for next year and beyond is getting people with complementary strengths. Don’t be intimidated or feel like you need to know everything to participate; if you have deep knowledge in one or two particular subjects, that could be super useful.”

Gold Key Silver Keys

Rose Fahy ’24 - Humor

US students honored with Scholastic Awards

Kelly Diaz ’24 - Poetry, Kevin Winschel ’24 - Personal Essay & Memoir, Shane McCauley ’24 - Journalism, Nicole Resnick ’24 - Personal Essay & Memoir

Daisy Simboli ’24 - Portfolio Category (Writing), Caroline Dudzinski ’26 - Personal Essay & Memoir, Caroline Dudzinski ’26 - Flash Fiction, Amy Tang ’27 - Critical Essay, Hailey Jiang ’26 - Poetry, Hailey Jiang ’26 - Personal Essay & Memoir, David Xiong ’26 - Journalism, Richelle Chang ’24 - Critical Essay, Richelle Chang ’24Personal Essay & Memoir, Kobi Balsam ’24 - Humor, Tia Reddy ’26 - Personal Essay & Memoir, Nicole Resnick ’24 - Personal Essay & Memoir, Nicole Resnick ’24 - Humor, Christine Tao ’27 - Journalism, Joshua Curhan ’25 - Personal Essay & Memoir

New podcast alert! “Allergies at BB&N” by e Bard

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

The High School Quiz Show team confers during the ﬁnals.

Off Campus

Team of US students places second at FIRST Robotics World Championship Boston Lions Alliance competes in Texas

Lorenzo Blackston Contributing Writer

The crowd cheered. A robot whizzed and whirred. Fluorescent orange notecards flew through the air. With a final score of 63-33, a local team of students from several schools, including five Upper School (US) students, advanced to the final round of the division playoffs in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics World Championship. From April 17 to April 20, the US students joined over 600 high school teams from around the world who competed at the event in Houston, building and programming robots to score goals on the arena’s special playing fields.

US students Max Conine, Spiros Gerogiannis, Adrien Tabor, Charlie Winikoff (all ’24), Alexia Gerogiannis ’25 , and Quinn Conine ’27 competed with the Boston Lions Alliance along with students from schools in New England and California. In their division of 75 teams, the Boston Lions placed fourth in the qualifying round, advancing to the final round where they placed 16th overall. Max, in his fifth year of competing in FIRST, said he became interested in pursuing robotics after working with Legos.

“In sixth grade, I started off in Lego League, which is the competition where you build Lego Mindstorm robots. I wasn’t really into robotics when I did Lego League, but as my team grew out of

Lego League, we transitioned to the FIRST Robotics Competition.”

Over their first three years working together, the Lions continued to improve, learning how to build better robots through more robust mechanical systems and programming, he said.

“When we started competing in the FIRST competitions in eighth grade, we were total rookies,” Max said. “Our first year, we were trying to shoot dodgeballs, and the challenge for us was just to make a working robot. The second year was canceled due to the pandemic, but by the third year, we were able to shoot basketball-sized balls into agoal.”

The Lions began preparing for the FIRST competition in January, formulating ideas together before building and testing their robot ahead of the competition.

“We work basically non-stop. After the competition details are released on January 6, we brainstorm and figure out what type of robot we want to build,” he said. “The week after, we prototype and build and program our drive base for the robot. I put in 12 hours a day on the weekends and two hours every school day preparing for the competition.”

US Math Teacher Joe Cyr, one of the faculty advisors for the school’s VEX robotics team, has coached the US team for three years. The team meets after school four times a week for two hours to design robots for VEX, a competition in which participants build and design

a robot for a game-based challenge against another team.

While VEX and FIRST utilize different technologies, the teams both compete in special yearly challenges, Dr. Cyr explained.

“While the VEX and FIRST competitions are totally different competitions, they are similar in basic setup, as the organizing body comes up with a game for the year and everybody has to build a robot to compete,” he said. “However, the FIRST Robotics robots are significantly larger than the VEX ones. Both VEX and FIRST Robotics involve hands-on work, cutting pieces, and problem solving.”

VEX Robotics Team Member Diba Demir ’25 appreciates that the various leagues provide different competition experiences, she said.

“Max’s team competes in FIRST, which is a different type of robotics competition than VEX that’s a little more industrial,” she said. “I think it’s great that there are different types of robotics opportunities offered to students apart from our own team.”

First sophomore dance is a roaring success

Diba recognized the dedication of the VEX team members and recognized that participants can gain valuable experience in just one season, she said.

“I think that there are a lot of hardworking and dedicated people on the school’s VEX team. Even if you don’t have any experience, you can usually end the season with a robust knowledge of robotics.”

Charlie Winikoff, who is a member of both the Boston Lions and the school robotics team, said the team that attended the FIRST competition differs from the VEX team due to their commitment and experience with robotics.

“The school team doesn’t have a ton of resources, so we haven’t done nearly as well as with FIRST because we don’t have a lot of longevity and motivation to get really good with VEX,” he said. “With FIRST, people have been on the team for a while and have been practicing online modeling and coding and have been really motivated for longer.”

The other teams at the FIRST competition were supportive, helping each other problem solve their robots. Charlie was also impressed by the team’s success, he said.

“Everyone was super kind. If something wasn’t working on a robot, everyone was willing to help each other even though you were competing against them. At the competition, we did way better than expected, which made my time there very enjoyable.”

Students are transported back to the ’20s in a night filled with music, food, and fun

Olivia Richter Assistant Photo Editor

As upperclassmen enjoy junior and senior prom, two highly anticipated traditions that mark important moments in the high school journey, underclassmen have patiently awaited their turn. But this spring, the Class of 2026 took matters into their own hands, organizing one of the first sophomore dances in recent Upper School (US) history on April 14.

The Tenth Grade Student Council and the Dance Committee, along with US Sophomore Grade Dean and English Teacher David Scrivner, planned and organized the event, raising funds and deciding on a theme: “The Great Gatsby. “

Dr. Scrivner gave all credit for the dance’s creation to the tenth-

grade student government, he said.

“The Student Council knew they wanted to have a dance. It was one of the first things we talked about. I think a lot of members in leadership ran on the idea of a dance last year, and they wanted to deliver on that promise.”

The council members proposed the idea of creating a dance committee, which was instrumental in the success and efficiency of planning the event, he said.

“The thought of having a dance committee was entirely their idea, and I think it was integral in having the dance operate so smoothly.”

Although the idea needed approval on multiple levels, Dr. Scrivner said the process was easier than anticipated.

“It honestly didn’t take much to get the dance signed off on. The school was really happy to help. I ran this by US Dean of Students Rory Morton, and he was excited and immediately said, ‘Yes, let’s make this happen.’”

The sophomore dance could not have happened without the help of a few other people, Dr. Scrivner said.

“The dance really highlighted the work that so many US faculty members put into their job every day. In this instance particularly,

Catering Coordinator Deborah Laing, Facilities Event Coordinator Diane Cannata, and Assistant to the US Director Rachel Efstathion devoted so much time and energy.”

Although the administration approved the Student Council’s plans, the Dance Committee was not given funding, so the sophomore class raised money in a variety of ways.

“There were some early bake sales that the sophomores ran, the Celtics fundraiser raised a ton of money, and the dance tickets sold themselves,” Dr. Scrivner said.

Dance Committee Member Denali Weaver ’26 saw a sense of uncertainty and lack of excitement from her classmates leading up to dance, she said.

“I think a lot of students ended up having a great time at the dance, but they weren’t really sure about how fun it would be with this being the first sophomore dance and school dances having a bad reputation in general.”

The Dance Committee only had one month to plan for the event, which gave them a lot to do without a lot of time, Denali said.

Because the dance was the first of its kind, there were no guidelines for what it should look like, so the committee decided to create a

theme, Denali explained.

“We debated a ton of different themes, and a lot of the ideas felt basic and overused, so someone came with the idea of ‘The Great Gatsby’ because that was something that all tenth graders read, and I think that it ended up being a good choice.”

As the term of the former student government members comes to an end, the Class of 2026 appreciates the dedication and time put into making a memorable experience for the tenth grade, she said.

“Whether people helped organize the dance or not, I think the Student Council really did everything to make a great experience for our grade. I think this is going to be one of those events that leave a lasting impression on the Class of 2026.”

Staff Photo by Keenan Billings ’25

Students take advantage of the photo booth, run by Keenan Billings ’25.

Photo Courtesy of Rose Fahy ’24 Sophomores enjoy conversation at their dance on April 14.

Photo Courtesy of Alexia Gerogiannis

The Boston Lions pose with their silver medals.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC CONSEQUENCES YOU FEAR WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON’T GET INTO A “GOOD COLLEGE?”

“I WON’T HAVE AS MANY GOOD JOB OPPORTUNITIES, AND I WON’T BE ABLE TO GO AS FAR IN MY LIFE AS I WISH TO.” “DISAPPOINTMENT FROM MY PARENTS AND NOT LIVING UP TO WHAT THEY HAD PLANNED. ALSO, FALLING SHORT OF WHAT MY BROTHER ACCOMPLISHED.”

“Everybody asks what grade you got on a test or how many points you scored at your last game. People debate whether your art is a good enough class for admissions or sign up for clubs in hope to have a better transcript rather than based on interests.”- Anonymous Student

The High School

SOPHOMORE YEAR

TAKE PSAT GET INVOLVED IN MORE EXTRACURRICULARS COURSE SELECTION FOR JUNIOR YEAR

AS AP SEASON ARRIVES FOR JUNIORS AND SOPHOMORES FAMILIAR FEELING HAS BEGUN TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE DECIDED TO DETERMINE JUST HOW PREVALENT THIS OF THE COLLEGE PROCESS–AS OUTLINED BY THE COLLEGE OPINIONS ON THE COLLEGE PROCESS TAKE ON NEW LEADERSHIP ROLES MAKE YOUR SUMMER MEANINGFUL

CONFIRM COURSE SELECTION

CHOOSE COURSES FOR SOPHOMORE YEAR

GET INVOLVED IN EXTRA CURRICULARS

How often do you compare yourself to your peers?

JUNIOR YEAR

PREPARE TO TAKE THE SAT TAKE THE PSAT

TAKE THE SAT AND/ OR ACT

COLLEGE WORKSHOP FOR JUNIORS AND PARENTS COMPLETE COLLEGE COUNSELING QUESTIONNAIRE

TAKE THE SAT/ACT AGAIN

COLLEGE COUNSELING APPOINTMENTS BEGIN

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School Journey

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Brown University struck a deal on April 30 with the protesters, who agreed to dismantle their encampment in return for having their demands considered by the university. Do you think such negotiations positively or negatively impact the overall campus environment?

I think it’s good that the administration actually responded to the protesters and struck up some sort of deal because I know a lot of other colleges have just allowed the protests to keep going, and it’s gotten even more hectic and violent. So I think it’s good that Brown is going to have a vote on it. I think that this goes with the community the school is trying to create, where there’s a lot of inquiry and an activist culture. I know the Brown administration is known for being hated by the students. So it was actually kind of surprising for me to see that they actually agreed to do something, and I think it’s a step in the right direction, even though I’m sure the students’ demands will be di cult for Brown to actually follow through with the actual programming of the event itself.

What are the protesters demanding? Divestment:

is is the most common demand from protesters, and it would involve a university withdrawing investments from any companies associated with the Israeli military. It should be noted that some students have requested for divestments from companies that operate in Israel as a whole, such as Google, Airbnb, and Amazon. Disclosing of investments:

is would be the act of making the universities’ investments public, theoretically allowing for proof that they are not invested in companies associated with the Israeli military. is is essentially a continuation of the divestment demand, and it would serve as insurance to protesters that the universities are sticking to their agreements to divest.

Cutting research ties:

is would be the act of a university refusing to participate in research with Israeli institutions, both educational and governmental. is demand has not been common across most protests, with its only notable mention coming from MIT student protesters.

Support for a cease re and humanitarian aid: is demand is more general and is a request for the university to pressure the companies they hold stock in, many of which are instrumental to the Israeli military, to pressure the Israeli government into a cease re in Gaza.

April 17

Dozens of student protesters set up an encampment in Columbia’s southern campus quad, announcing on Twitter that they want Columbia to divest from the Israeli military.

on Israel sparked a large-scale conflict in the Middle East, having already claimed the lives of over 35,000 people, most of them civilians. Due to this war, a parallel conflict in the United States spawned, which was especially visible on college campuses, which are hot spots for diverse thought and strong activism. This conflict began to intensify on April 18 after over 100 Columbia students protested on campus and were subsequently arrested. The crackdown at Columbia incited students at universities across the country to stage similar demonstrations, creating encampments on large green spaces within university campuses. As of May 10, over 2,900 protesters had been arrested on 140 college campuses across the U.S.

April 18

More than 100 Columbia student protesters are arrested by campus police, kickstarting a wave of encampments at universities across the country.

April 21

Why are protesters being arrested?

Trespassing: If a university does not grant students the right to occupy an area of the campus, than any who do so can be arrested and charged with trespassing. Most of the protesters at colleges around the country have been arrested for trespassing, given that no university has directly granted protesters the permission to set up an encampment or occupy a building. However, universities still can determine what is classi ed as trespassing on their campus; as such, they can choose not to charge a protester with trespassing.

Unlawful Entry: Many non-student protesters have been charged with unlawful entry a er being arrested. Since school buildings are o -limits to non-students, most of the non-student protesters who have occupied campus buildings have been charged with unlawful entry. Assault: In a few cases, protesters have been charged with assault for attacking other protesters or resisting arrest. is charge is o en unrelated to trespassing charges and is much more serious, as universities cannot dismiss the charge. In a few cases, such as protests at UCLA, protesters have been assaulted by counter-protesters.

Protests begin at colleges across the U.S. 150 students are arrested at New York University and 45 students are arrested at Yale. Columbia cancels in-person classes as protesters rebuild the encampment.

April 24 at Columbia University

University of Southern California (USC) closes public access to its campus amid large scale student protests, calling in police, who subsequently arrest 93 protesters. At the University of Texas at Austin, riot police clash with protesters, arresting 79 of them.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons Hamilton Hall during the 1985 protests against South African Apartheid.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons Student Protesters at UCLA create a rudimentary barrier around the encampment, blockading the entrance to Royce Hall.

Interview with Shane McCauley ’24, who is heading to Brown University next fall

The October 7 Hamas-led attack

and beyond...

College Protests

Interview with Shane McCauley continued

Do you think it is important for students to be able to protest on campus in any way, even disruptively, as long as it stays non-violent?

I think it depends on how disruptive it is. If students are occupying a building, it makes sense for the university to be upset about that. But if it’s just something that’s causing a bit of noise outside on the quad or something, I don’t think it’s a big deal. When I went to revisit Brown on April 19 there were actually a lot of student protests happening during lunch on the green. I know some of the kids I just met were kind of annoyed at it, which is understandable because they were just trying to revisit the school, and the protests are kind of disruptive. I didn’t mind it too much because I know that’s what the Brown students are like. And since they were on the street, they weren’t interfering with the actual programming of the event itself.

How do you think the outcome of the recent negotiations will shape Brown University’s reputation?

Connection to previous college protests: In 1985, from April 4 to April 25, Columbia students staged a protest against Apartheid in the nation’s and Columbia’s investments in the South African white-run government. Led by the Coalition for a Free South Africa, students blockaded Hamilton Hall—renaming it Mandela Hall in honor of the South African freedom ghter—and eventually led a march through Harlem on April 25, marking the end of the protests. Immediately a er, Columbia established a panel of six trustees. In August of the same year, they voted to divest from the Apartheid government, noting that it was not only the moral thing to do, but also economically viable. On October 7, the university o cially began to divest from South Africa, marking the rst instance of a university being pressured by its own students to divest from a particular group.

April 25 April 30

Encampments begin at Northeastern University, Brown University, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). USC cancels its graduation ceremony amid safety concerns. UCLA tightens security a er physical altercations occur between protesters and counter-protesters.

Sources: ZinnedProject, ABC News, FindLaw, AP Reuters, Aljazeera, National SJP, NPR

Brown is known as more of a protest-driven activist university. I think the protests will solidify that reputation. I’m kind of unsure as to if anything will actually come of it. If they were just to stop the protests for now and don’t actually agree to divest, then it would obviously cause more protests. But I think it might show that there’s a way forward for these protests to lead to actual debate and change. ey don’t have to be such a divisive thing. ey’re just a call for these universities to reevaluate what they’re supporting.

NOTE: For clarity, “protesters” in this spread is referring to pro-Palestian protesters, while counter-protesters is referring to pro-Israel protesters. It is important to remember that this topic is extremely complex, and there are not just two sides in the con ict. However, in almost every college protest that has erupted over the last few weeks, those building the encampments were student coalitions that expressed support for Palestinians in Gaza and denounced Israeli military actions within Gaza. On both sides, there have been disruptors, both students and non-students, who have attempted to create more con ict and are not representative of the majority of protesters.

May 1 May 6

Protesters at Columbia occupy Hamilton Hall, barricading the entrance to the building using furniture. Later, the NYPD enter the building making 122 arrests. Brown University strikes a deal with the protesters, agreeing to hold a divestment vote.

Physical altercations occur between proPalestinian and pro-Israel protesters at the UCLA encampment. Riot police are brought on to campus to help disperse protesters, leading to 209 arrests and 300 voluntary dispersions.

Columbia cancels its graduation ceremony. Across the country, protests begin to end through either agreements or police intervention.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

Brown University student protesters celebrate administration’s acknowledgement of their demands.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons Protester encampment located on the west side of the southern quad at Columbia University.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

Photo of a NYPD bus used to transport arrested students.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons NYPD uses an armed vehicle to transport riot police into Hamilton Hall after it was occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Aggie Grant Contributing Writer

The word “competition” is usually associated with athletics, but there is a whole other side that the school has never explored, until now. On Saturday, April 17, the Upper School’s a cappella group, the Knightingales, hosted Pitch In, their first-ever a cappella charity “smackdown.”

Organized by Sophia Stafford ’25 and Nikki Minsky ’24, the event included performances from the Knightingales and three groups from Concord Academy, and was judged by Tufts University’s The Amalgamates. The winning school got to donate all the funds, raised through self-selected ticket prices, to a charity of their choice.

Sophia said she and Nikki came up with the idea because they were looking for a way to give back to their community.

“Between all countries, continents, and nations, music is something that unifies everyone,” Sophia said. “I wanted to bridge the concert with something to raise money for charity.”

The two students started by contacting private schools in the greater Boston area. A cappella teams from Winsor and Concord Academy replied. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication regarding timing, Winsor was unable to attend the competition and ultimately was not a part of the event.

Concord Academy Choral Director Michael Bennett said they were more than happy to participate.

“Concord Academy has attended some events like this in the past, but not since Covid. So, this was our first big interscholastic outing since the pandemic.”

Each group sang three to four numbers, all featuring soloists. The Knightingales performed “Traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Send My Love” by Adele, and “Lift Me Up” by Rihanna. The three

groups from Concord Academy performed five songs in total, including hits like, “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” by Elvis Presley. To finish it off, the Tufts Amalgamates performed their set, comprised of “Stop This Train” by John Mayer, “Starman” by David Bowie, and more.

Knightingales member Abby Brown ’26 described Pitch In as a huge success. There was an added element of competition that impacted the singer’s nerves, she said.

“I think at the beginning, it was kind of stressful because it’s not just a performance but a competition,” she said. “Obviously, it’s all for a good cause, so everybody kind of wins here, but still, you want to represent the school well, especially when we’re performing on our stage.”

Abby described her overall experience as extremely positive despite her nerves and said she would “absolutely do it again.” She added that seeing a collegiate-level performance was inspiring to many of the Knightingales, as it showed them what a future in a cappella could look like.

One moment from the invitational stood out more than any other, Abby said. After the winner was announced and the judges gave their feedback, the Knightingales led the groups in Anna Kendrick’s “Cup Song.” The school’s own singers had put together harmonies for this piece beforehand; the Concord Academy singers, the Amalgamates, and some of the audience members joined them seamlessly.

“That represented the event as a whole because even though it was a competition, the goal was to have a greater positive effect,” Abby said. “If everyone had not come together like they did, the event wouldn’t have worked.”

It wasn’t just singers that enjoyed the competition. Friends and family in the audience showed up to support the singers and enjoy the performances.

Aparajita Srivastava ’25, who was in the

audience, appreciated watching a show dedicated to just a cappella, she said.

“The majority of times when people see a cappella is in parallel to something else. To have something just focus on that group of really talented people was very nice.”

Being independent from other parts of the music department, like the orchestra and jazz bands, highlighted the singers’ talent, Aparajita said.

Through ticket sales and money made at a bake sale, the Knightingales were able to surpass their target of $1,500. Most of the money came from pre-purchased tickets online, which brought in $823. At-the-door ticket sales added another $605, and along with the bake sale’s $441, the event raised $1,869 in total. The winners of the competition, the Knightingales, plan to donate the funds to Doctors Without Borders, an organization that provides medical attention across the world to those in need.

Co-founder Nikki explained that in the future, as they have more time to prepare, the final product will be smoother. Ultimately, Sofia and Nikki hope that this will become an annual tradition at the school. They imagine the event expanding to collaborate with more schools and raise even more for charity.

Photo Courtesy of Sophia Stafford

The singers are all smiles after a successful Pitch In a cappella competition.

Harvard Square is frequented by students and faculty alike—it’s where many of us go to grab a snack with friends after school, food before a game, or dinner with friends on weekends. No matter the occasion, pizza is always a solid choice. To provide the Upper School (US) community with accurate information on the top restaurants in Harvard Square, The Vanguard sent Assistant Production Manager Charlotte Garrity and Off Campus Editor Ayana Karthik (both ’26) to sample pizza from three restaurants and see which one was truly Harvard Square’s best, as reported by Ayana. To keep the rankings fair and accurate, they ordered a simple yet delicious cheese slice at all three locations.

Joe’s

Joe’s is a Harvard Square staple, famous for its pizza as well as its feature in “Spider-Man 2” (the New York City location, unfortunately). Is the pizza overhyped, or does it really live up to its reputation?

The pizza came out piping hot, and the service was pretty quick. Our pizza was ready within five minutes of ordering it. The first thing I noticed as soon as I took my first bite was that the cheese-to-sauce ratio was pretty even, but one downside was that the sauce was quite acidic and noticeably a little sour.

While it was my first time eating at Joe’s, Charlotte had been there many times before, and she noted that the acidity of the sauce was a common occurrence all the times she had dined there. Some major strengths of the slice were the perfectly crispy and thin crust and the generous portion size. The value for a slice is decent at $4 a slice.

In regards to the restaurant itself, the place is pretty iconic, and the counter seats looking out on a bustling downtown Cambridge are undeniably a great way to people watch.

Overall, the pizza itself does the job, and the great food, coupled with the ambiance and price, makes for an ideal snack or meal for any pizza lover.

Pinocchio’s Otto

Even though we ate a simple cheese slice, Otto is known for their unique topping combinations such as their mashed potato, bacon, and scallion pizza. Compared to the other two places, the restaurant is much smaller, with only a few counter seats, although there is outside seating during warmer weather. The place is pretty cramped, but for how small it is, the space is used well.

What it is lacking in space, Otto makes up for in hospitality and flavor. This pizza, by far, had the most flavor of all three slices and stood out to us from the first bite. Despite its initial wow-factor, the cheese and sauce were scattered in blobs throughout the slice, resulting in some bites with no sauce and some bites with no cheese.

The slice here was the largest of all three places and also had the best value at $3.75. In addition to pizza, Otto serves salads and desserts, including tiramisu and chocolate chip cookies. Look no further for your post-dinner sweet treat.

While this pizza wasn’t perfect, we would definitely return for quality pizza at a great price and the convenience of having a meal and dessert all in one place.

The ambiance of this restaurant is cozy and intimate and feels more authentic, with the kitchen staff speaking Italian as they prepare your food. The restaurant offers more options, including regular-style and Sicilian slices, plus other main dishes like chicken parmesan. There was also a much longer line at Pinocchio’s, but it didn’t impact the efficiency of the kitchen, as our pizza came out just as quickly as at other places.

When it came to the slice, there was a noticeably higher cheese-to-sauce ratio, and the pizza was greasier. While it had its faults, the flavors stood out and were much more prominent in comparison to Joe’s. Sadly, the portion size was smaller, and the price was higher at $4.50 a slice. Pinochio’s biggest fault is that they only sell Pepsi drinks.

Overall, the taste of the pizza was much better in comparison to the competition, but the texture and crunch just weren’t as satisfactory. Charlotte and I would definitely come here again, especially with a larger group, but just beware that you will only have a Pepsi to wash down your pizza.

While all three restaurants had their strengths and weaknesses, one really stood out to both Charlotte and me and was the clear winner against some very strong competitors. That restaurant is… Joe’s! While some may say that it is overhyped, Joe’s definitely lives up to its reputation, and people continue to go there for a reason. The quick, efficient service and undeniably delicious pizza make for the perfect bite in any circumstance. That, and the fact that they have ice-cold Coke to accompany their delicious pies.

—Ayana Karthik ’26

Photo Courtesy of Ayana Karthik

While Pinocchio’s is tucked away on a hidden side street, it has hosted many celebrities, which is obvious when looking at the adorned walls.

Photo Courtesy of Ayana Karthik

How ‘junior’ are JV sports? Players reflect on JV teams

Sonja Peetz-Larsen Arts Editor

Michael Jordan, one of the world’s greatest basketball players, was on his high school’s junior varsity (JV) basketball team until his sophomore year. Does that mean JV sports at the Upper School (US) should be taken seriously? Or do they just exist to fulfill a graduation requirement? Is the next Michael Jordan hiding in one of the US’s many JV teams?

Emma Kirk ’26 is a member of Girls’ JV Hockey for two reasons: completing her athletic requirement and having fun, she said.

“I do JV hockey to get my sports credit. It’s a nice way to enjoy a sport without having to be stressed and worried about it. I can still be involved in the sport even if I’m not that good.”

Emma also rows for a competitive crew team outside of school, a 16-hour-perweek commitment. She struggles to balance playing two sports at once and being on JV helps, she said.

“It’s a pain sometimes with having to do two sports. I really like the JV hockey team because there are no expectations, and attendance is flexible.”

She said she feels lucky to have found a team that is accommodating, a luxury not all JV athletes have.

“I think the level of seriousness depends on the coach and the people on the team.”

Lexi Nicholas ’26 agreed that it is the coach who determines the team’s commitment to their sport, which she has experienced playing for both Girls’ JV Hockey and Lacrosse, she said.

“The two JV teams I played for were completely different experiences. One of them, we did nothing, and it was really fun,” Lexi said. “The other is more like a varsity sport, a lot more on schedule with specific goals we have to achieve. A big factor is the coach of the team.”

She thinks JV teams at the Upper School (US) are respected, especially by players with varsity aspirations.

“JV sports are taken seriously, especially if everyone on the team has goals of making varsity.”

But not all US athletes agree. Most JV practices and games are sparsely attended or just “not taken seriously,” Iris Fahy ’26 said.

“On JV teams, attendance is not very great. I feel like the only thing holding JV teams back from practice being more intense is the numbers.”

JV sports are a valuable environment for developing foundational skills, she said.

“The purpose of playing a JV sport is to work on basic skills and improve your overall game.”

To Robbie Baker ’25, a member of JV Boys’ Baseball and Hockey, JV sports help to foster comfortable surroundings.

“It’s a lot more relaxed generally. In my experience, I’ve had a lot more fun on JV teams. It’s just a good environment.”

The benefits of playing a JV sport outweigh just physical exercise, he said.

“I encourage people to do JV sports because it’s a great experience. It shouldn’t be seen as something negative. The physical activity doesn’t just keep you in better health physically, but also mentally.”

Brianna Smith ’10 has had an overall positive experience coaching JV Girls’ Field Hockey, Basketball, and Softball, she said.

“It is rewarding to see students improve their skills, grow as a student athlete, and, for some, make varsity. Coaching can be the highlight of my day and a change of pace that I enjoy.”

However, a lack of attendance or motivation have posed major issues throughout her coaching experience, she said.

“With students playing other sports outside of school, there is a lot of conflict in attending practices and games. If they don’t think that they will ever have a chance to make varsity they may not give their full commitment or potential to the sport.”

Mr. Crihfield, the coach of JV Boys Soccer and Girls Varsity Tennis, agreed that varsity aspirations impact the level of dedication on the team, he said.

“I think JV sports are taken somewhat seriously, but it depends on the sport and whether the JV team is a true feeder program to the varsity or not.”

However, Mr. Crihfield does not deal with a divided level of seriousness on JV Boys soccer, he said.

“I would say that most of our players aspire to make varsity, and usually at least 3-4 move up from JV to Varsity every year. Even those who don’t aspire to make varsity are usually doing more than just filling the sports requirement they are committed soccer players who enjoy the game and care about competing at a high level.”

Despite the dedication of the soccer team, Mr. Crihfield does recognize that JV sports are often surrounded by a negative stigma. It is important to change this, he said.

“I would love to see JV sports get a little more recognition overall. One idea I have suggested to the Athletic Department is having a ‘Coaches’ Cup’ for JV teams in addition to varsity teams. It would be nice for JV coaches to be able to recognize players who have contributed significantly over the course of the season.”

Daigo Hotta skates across borders Sophomore plays for Japanese U18 National Hockey team in Denmark

Ethan Moran Contributing writer

Some athletes get the opportunity to explore more than just new fields, rinks, or courts. One Upper School (US) student and member of the Boys’ Varsity Hockey (BVH) has had that chance: Daigo Hotta ’26 explored foreign cultures and new countries, not just rinks, as a member of the Japan National Under-18 (U18) Hockey Team. Daigo and his teammates played in the secondhighest league, Division 1 Group A, at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s U18 tournament this past April.

At age 7, Daigo joined his town hockey team in Cambridge. The physicality of hockey attracted Daigo to the sport at a young age, he said.

“I started playing hockey when I was in first grade, when I was 7 or 8, for my town team. I’ve always loved speed and physical sports and it was a pretty new sport because I came from Australia, so I wanted to try it out and I just stuck with it.”

Since coming to the school in eighth grade, Daigo has played for BVH and said he has aspirations of winning a championship for the school, even though they haven’t had a winning season in many years.

“You know it’s a rollercoaster ride, mostly downs, not too many ups, but that’s part of the road, you know. You just got to stick with it. Hopefully, one day the program will win a championship but we just gotta get better.”

A highlight from his time with BVH was an overtime win against The Roxbury Latin School during his freshman year, he said.

“My favorite moment… this is a little selfish, but probably when I scored the overtime goal winner on senior night against Roxbury Latin,” he said. “It was probably the first time I saw the NAC packed to watch a hockey game, so it’s a good moment.”

In 2022, Daigo was scouted by coaches for the Japan National Team, who were impressed with his skills, he said.

“I went to this shooting clinic where one of the assistant coaches for the Japan team was coaching and did pretty well, so he invited me to the under-20 camp because there was no under-18 camp at that time. They called me back for their U18 team. I’ve been there since.”

Daigo has played on Japan’s U18 Division 1A team for the past two years. He said that this year’s team had a harder time than last year’s, as some key players aged out of the category.

“Last year’s World Juniors in April was my first official tournament with Team Japan. That was in France, and I went again this year to Denmark,” he said. “Last year we got the bronze medal. And this year we struggled a bit because all our ’05 players left to play U20, so we didn’t get a single win this year, we got last place.”

Daigo said he has enjoyed representing his country. Playing on the Japanese team has helped him connect to his identity, he said.

“It’s nice to be able to represent your country; It’s different from playing for your school or your region,” he said. “It’s nice to meet Japanese kids my age and to talk to them in Japanese. I never got a chance to meet a lot of Japanese kids my age because I haven’t gone to school or lived in Japan for a long time.”

However, playing for Japan has meant that Daigo has missed multiple weeks of school for the past two years—a commitment that hasn’t made his school life easy, he said.

“It’s pretty hard because while I was in Denmark, we had two practices and sometimes a lift every day until the tournament and games start,” he said. “I don’t really have time to do my work and now that I’m back, I’m meeting with teachers and making up tests, quizzes, and papers. It’s pretty overwhelming.”

For BVH Head Coach and US Science teacher Anthony Moccia ’10, Daigo is a key factor in the team’s success.

“Daigo is a special player. He’s a high-skill defenseman who sees the ice well and was a huge part of our point production. He’s a passionate player and cares a lot about his and the team’s performance.”

Mr. Moccia also sees Daigo as the kind of player who is constantly trying to become better, he said.

“I enjoy coaching Daigo because he wants to improve every shift of every practice and game. He listens well and tries to understand each and every situation he is in.”

Mr. Moccia sees Daigo’s opportunity to play internationally as a unique honor.

“It’s an honor to play for one’s country, and very few players get a chance to do it,” he said. “To play for Japan, as they are trying to build their hockey program at the country level, is even more special, as Daigo gets to be a part of the growth of hockey in Japan and around the world. For the past two years, Daigo has competed against players from around the globe who are some of the top players to play the game of hockey.”

Jack Williams ’27, one of Daigo’s BVH teammates, described Diago as an essential player on the school’s team.

“Daigo Hotta is a great teammate because he is a cornerstone of our offense and defense,” he said. “His skills get everybody going in games and practices.”

Sta photo by Lea VonHilgers Boat 6V of the Girls’ JV Crew Team.

Photo Courtesy of Daigo Hotta

Daigo Hotta ’26 playing for the Japanese U18 National Team.

SPRING SEASON SPORTS CARDS

The Back Page

The Eco Bash was a blast

NotaBle QuotAbleS

“My dad said it was the ﬁrst time he had ever seen me try at school.” —Kate Martin ’25 on her father’s reaction to her AP studying

Jokes, insults and the joy of being an only

child

At 4 or 5, I took my first stab at comedy. Though I hardly recall the details, my mom and dad won’t let me forget.

“Mommy and Daddy, can I ask you a joke?” I exclaimed.

“Okay, Potato!” they responded.

“How many penguins does it take to change a lightbulb?”

“I don’t know. How many?”

“A SQUASH! Get it? Get it?”

Their eyes met, filled with either pity or remorse–I couldn’t tell. I remember shoving my head really close to their faces because of the awkward silence. Their following laughter was painfully forced. But my little 4-year-old brain didn’t understand the forced laughter as anything other than pure, unadulterated joy.

If you couldn’t tell, I wasn’t very good at telling jokes when I was younger. As much as it pains me to say it, I’m still not very good at telling jokes. I’m not very good at insults either. As much as I loathe to admit it, in early elementary school, my dad created one of the best diss tracks of all time. It went something like this:

My name is Miley,

I am a Piley,

And I like to poop all day!

I like to poo-poo

That’s what I doo-doo

Lah-de dah-de dah-de day!

In my naïveté, I would retort with a speech long enough to be a filibuster about how I was not, in fact, a “Piley” and I did not, in fact, “poop all day.” Then, I would harumph and act like I was above it all. My dad would just smirk and sing the song again.

I blame my lackluster jokes and insults on the fact that I don’t have a sibling. From what I’ve heard from friends and family, siblings are both your best friend and the devil incarnate, making them a perfect partner for insultslinging.

only them

Sometimes, I wish I had a sibling for other reasons. When your parents live separately and you only see one of them at a time, it’s tough to play three-player games like Catan, and Texas hold ‘em is just plain boring. Things were especially tough during Covid when there were only ever two people in the house.

I was in third grade when insultwars with my friends began. I lost badly. On the ride home from school, I think my dad pitied me because he gave me a crash course on, in our opinion, the two best insults: “your mom” and “your face.” No need for clever tricks or wordplay; they were straight to the point. Like the menace I was, I abused my newfound power, especially against my dad:

My dad would say, “My name is Miley—”

I would immediately interject with: “Your face!”

“You suck!”

“Your face!”

“You’re such a butt!”

“Your mom!”

“It’s just a loaf of bread.” —Max Conine ’24 in response to the question: “Is it a baguette?”

“We are off to see the wizard!” -Mr. Williams on his way to an English department faculty meeting “Down the middle solves the riddle!” —US Math Teacher Ellie Schmucker on the best way to beat your opponent in tennis

My dad made me promise to never use “your mom” again after that.

Eventually, we started using the phrase so much that every insult ended the same way, always some variation of: “Your face,” “No, your face,” “No, your face,” and on and on. Although the insult lost its potency, my dad and I were never tired of its ridiculousness. After each salvo, we’d either be laughing or groaning with a smile on our face.

Much to my dismay, I’m still not good at telling jokes or insults. I’ve gotten better, but most of my jokes are corny puns, and I still haven’t found an insult more effective than “your face!” However, I do have a different view on wordplay and siblings.

To me, jokes and insults are a way to make memories. Some jokes are deemed worthy of genuine praise, while others, like the penguin-squash, are enshrined as legendary failures that make our hearts a little warm and fuzzy. So no, I don’t need a sibling to practice my word-slinging–the memories I’ve made with my parents are irreplaceable.

I’m lucky enough that my mom and dad are still each other’s best friends. We play family games more often now. Sometimes we’ll play Catan, and we laugh about how twelves and twos come up the most often. Sometimes, in a game of Texas hold ‘em, I’ll go all-in on a terrible hand, but we’ll all smile as my dad hollers, “And Miley does it again!” Sometimes I still think about what it would’ve been like if I had a sibling. But then, I think of all the times I was the center of my parents’ attention, all the times we laughed and smiled. I wouldn’t change that for the world.

Photos Courtesy of Krishna Patel, Olivia Richter, and Ciel McGivern Students participate in interactive workshops and view local artisans’ displays during the Eco Bash.

Miley Chen Miley’s Mayhem

The Vanguard Volume 53.2

Kathy Newell has been ‘living the dream’ for the past 41 years

To go or not to go: Students skip special programming days

Acknowledging the complicated legacy of Peter Gunness

College Counseling Office prepares for change as Ms. Selinger leaves Ms. Dailey Thompson and Ms. Kobus to become co-directors

Future of Eco Bash is uncertain Students skip, disappoint US students and organizers

Science Department introduces new AP policy Fewer sophomores to be enrolled in AP sciences next year

Knights prepare for life beyond school Masterclass Club invites industry professionals to host talks

Teachers head

back

to school

with

faculty

shadowing

Faculty spend the day with students to gain new perspectives

program

What was the response to neurodiversity month like?

‘Only God Was Above Us’

Shakespeare’s the man

The upside of a dinner disaster

Less is more

Upper School says goodbye to departing faculty

Leaving faculty members reflect on their time at

the school

On other campuses...

41 years of impact: Kathy Newell to retire School celebrates GVH

founder and Associate Athletic Director’s experience

Recent BB&N Wins!

First annual Spelling Bee held at US

Latin club wins Holy Cross Certamen

Knights finish second at CubeSat competition

Ms. Hyland places 24th in Boston Marathon

Off Campus

Show

Gold Key Silver Keys

US students honored with Scholastic Awards

Off Campus

Team of US students places second at FIRST Robotics World Championship Boston Lions Alliance competes in Texas

First sophomore dance is a roaring success

Students are transported back to the ’20s in a night filled with music, food, and fun

The High School

SOPHOMORE YEAR

JUNIOR YEAR

School Journey

!

spring

SENIOR YEAR

Advice from College Counselors

College Protests

Interview with Shane McCauley continued

Joe’s

Pinocchio’s Otto

How ‘junior’ are JV sports? Players reflect on JV teams

Daigo Hotta skates across borders Sophomore plays for Japanese U18 National Hockey team in Denmark

SPRING SEASON SPORTS CARDS

The Back Page

The Eco Bash was a blast

NotaBle QuotAbleS

child

Articles inside

The Vanguard Volume 53.2