Bulletin Spring 2021

Spring 2021

bulletin THE SHOW MUST GO ON: An Inside View of Teacher Excellence in a Pandemic

Inside this issue:

A scene from the all-outdoor Upper School play/film Oedipus Rex 2021: A Retelling

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Reinvigorated Alumni/ae Council

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BB&N Looks Ahead with Grove Street Purchase

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Soccer Success Tied to Alumni/ae Coaches

bulletin Spring 2021

Students at the Lower School make the most of a snowy break from class. (Masks may be cumbersome at times, but they do keep you warmer during recess in winter!)

PARENTS OF FORMER BB&N STUDENTS: Please help us stay in touch with your child! Update contact information online at bbns.org/updateinfo, email changes to alumni_programs@bbns.org, or send a note to Alumni/ae Programs, BB&N, 80 Gerry’s Landing Road, Cambridge, MA 02138

Letter From the Head

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Director of Communications Joe Clifford, Editor

Dr. Price describes the journey of the school year and the focus on finishing strong.

Associate Director of Communications Andrew Fletcher, Senior Editor

Community News

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Communications and Website Coordinator Hadley Kyle, Editor

Student Wins National History Bee, Re-envisioned Alumni/ae Council Gains Traction, New Trustees Join BB&N Community, Debate Team success, and more

Faculty Adapt to 14 BB&N Teaching in a Pandemic

An in-depth look at educators rising to the challenge through the teaching lenses of Ross MacDonald, Lizzie Rosenberger, and Michael Chapman

Street Purchase a BB&N 22 Grove “Game Changer” Proposed athletic site plan takes shape as BB&N acquires Grove Street parcel

Coach Jesse Sarzana ’93 24 Soccer Takes a Bow

BB&N’s soccer program in good stead with alumni/ae coaching tree in full bloom

Advancing Our Mission

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Parents’ Association’s holiday faculty gift effort, Class of 2021 parents establish new endowed fund, and gift panning updates.

Alumni/ae News & Notes

32 Alumni/ae News and Notes 50 Milestones

Officers Charles A. Brizius, Chair Erica Gervais Pappendick, Vice Chair/Secretary Bob Higgins, Vice Chair/Treasurer Jason Hafler ’00, Vice Chair

Features

Faculty Profile: 26 Former Katie Glick ’85

Board of Trustees, 2020-2021

Contributing Writers Joe Clifford Laura Duncan Andrew Fletcher Roger Fussa Sharon Krauss Dr. Jennifer Price Bill Rogers Janet Rosen Roger F. Stacey Kim Ablon Whitney ’91 Contributing Editors Sufia Jamal Janet Rosen Tracy Rosette Brianna Smith ’10 Alumni/ae News & Notes Tracy Rosette Brianna Smith ’10 Design & Production Nanci Booth www.nancibooth.com 781-301-1733 Photography/Artwork/Design Joe Clifford Andrew Fletcher Wally G. (Creative Commons) Ian Kaplan ’21 Sharon Krauss Amie Margolis Adam Richins Joshua Touster

Members Leslie Ahlstrand ’08 Jake Anderson-Bialis ’98 Eliza Appleton ’09 Carmen Arce-Bowen Jennifer Winn Aronson ’92 Pam Baker Jimmy Berylson ’00 Margaret Boasberg Tim Cohen Alexi Conine Alexis Boyle Egan ’93 Alexandra Epee-Bounya Christine Gross-Loh Rachel Kroner Hanselman ’89 Jeff Hawkins Freddie Jacobs Lisa Kerrigan Peter Levitt ’84 Marjorie Lichtenberger Bridget Terry Long Tristin Mannion JK Nicholas ’85 Shep Perkins Leslie Riedel Jesse Sarzana ’93 Ila Shah Fan Wu ’98 Adam Zalisk ’03 Head of School Dr. Jennifer Price Front cover: Upper School students rehearse a scene from the play/film Oedipus Rex 2021: A Retelling.

(Photography by Sharon Krauss, Upper School English teacher.)

Correspondence may be sent to: Office of Alumni/ae Programs (alumni_programs@bbns.org or 617-800-2721) or the Office of Communications (communications@bbns.org or 617-800-2403), 80 Gerry’s Landing Road Cambridge, MA 02138-5512

: FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT : www.bbns.org

Head of School Dr. Jennifer Price

Dear BB&N Community, People who have been around me in recent months are well aware that I have found it reassuring to think of this school year’s journey as if we were running the Boston Marathon. With all the uncertainties around navigating a school year amid a pandemic, it has kept me energized to think of this year in terms of important milestones on the journey, about successes achieved along the way, and about making sure everyone finishes strongly.

Coming out of Winter Break, I wrote to the community that it felt as if we had just made the mile-17 turn from Route 16 onto Commonwealth Avenue in Newton. A lot of taxing miles were behind us, and the most demanding hills awaited us in the few miles ahead. And now, eight weeks beyond that moment and two weeks before our students and teachers go on a well-deserved March Break, it feels like we’ve begun the climb up the race’s fiercest obstacle: Heartbreak Hill.

This is absolutely a point in the race where we should also feel proud to take stock of how much we’ve already accomplished along the way. To start, I am so proud of the way every member of our community has stepped up this entire year in the shared commitment to keeping each other healthy and safe. This team effort has been by far the most important factor toward keeping school open for our students all year. And keeping our campuses open—full-time at the Lower School and in hybrid mode at the Middle and Upper Schools—has made all the difference in the world for our students.

I am equally proud of the way our community supported each other throughout this difficult year. I have always said that hard times bring out the best in the BB&N community. Last spring we launched the uKnighted Community Fund to allocate as needs arose for our community members—ranging from financial aid, to assistance with access to food, to computers for students who are working remotely. To this point, more than 400 donors have donated $785,000 to the Fund. As a result, not a single family had to leave our school due to the financial impact of the pandemic.

It’s a shining example of BB&N values at their finest.

And, of course, a third point of pride has been the incredible quality of the education that our BB&N teachers are continuing to deliver, even despite the many obstacles presented by the pandemic. You can read about a few specific instances in this issue of the Bulletin, though it’s important to note that it would take at least a 1,000-page magazine to list all the examples from this year. So much has been asked of our teachers, advisors, coaches, and staffers this year and they’ve met that challenge heroically.

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As marathon veterans know, not only does the crest of Heartbreak Hill mark three quarters of the way through the race, it also starts to put runners into the mindset of looking ahead. Similarly, my senior leadership team, the Board of Trustees, and I are keeping our eyes focused on BB&N’s horizon. I noted in my recent State of the School address (bbns.org/StateofSchool2021) that I’ve always appreciated this quotation from Rahm Emanuel, spoken when he was President Obama’s Chief of Staff: “Never allow a good crisis go to waste. It’s an opportunity to do things that you never thought you could do before.”

True to that sentiment, just one year removed from the development of the Strategic Plan for BB&N, I am pleased to report that we’ve made significant progress across all five of our objectives: 1. Elevating the Student Experience: Our acquisition of the 6.1-acre lot on Grove Street in Watertown (see page 22) will introduce new playing fields that will enhance the student experience for generations to come. And our purchase of the 197 Coolidge Hill property plus the lease of the St. Peter’s Annex behind the Middle School allowed us to introduce two additional facilities dedicated to academics.

2. Empowering Our Educators: BB&N’s commitment to professional development for faculty and staff has never been stronger, as we have doubled down on supporting our faculty to adapt to the challenges of teaching and learning in this new reality.

3. Broadening Our Academic Experience: Our recently formed Learning Leadership Team, spearheaded by Chief Learning Officer Jed Lippard, has begun working on the BB&Novation Hub: a center for research, development, and best practice in service of student and adult learning.

Much more to follow on this, but look for it to center around interdisciplinary, project-based curricula, community engagement, and shared learning.

4. Promoting a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Community: Our nation has not only confronted a public health pandemic this past year but also one of continuing racial injustice. While BB&N has made strong strides in recent years toward becoming a more equitable and inclusive community, we still have work ahead of us to become a truly anti-racist institution. The student and alumni/ae members of Masks@BB&N presented the BB&N administration with a thoughtful, multi-part proposal earlier this year and we are working hard to implement these suggestions in a meaningful way throughout our policies, practices, and governance schoolwide.

5. Leveraging the Power of Our Community: The newly founded Alumni/ae of Color Network (see page 8), which includes a plan to mentor students of color, is a great example of how we can best fulfill BB&N’s mission by mobilizing the engagement and expertise of our community members.

So, many exciting things are happening at BB&N, but what feels most important right now is to launch our students toward the Boylston Street finish line in the best way possible. We are excited, once we return from Spring Break, that we will be able take advantage of opportunities to get our Middle and Upper School students on campus more frequently, while observing our established safety protocols. And while it is too early to make any decisions, hopefully we will be able to enjoy end-of-year ceremonies in a manner that is both safe and joyful.

In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful and healthy spring, at whatever milepost you might be in your own personal race through this year.

Best, Best,

Dr. Jennifer Price Head of School

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BB&N’s Kimball ’24 Wins National History Bee In early December, Bradford Kimball ’24 became the first BB&N student to win the National History Bee, which was delayed six months this year and held online due to COVID. He competed against more than 70 eighth graders from across the country, beating out a student from Florida and a student from Maryland by one and two points, respectively, in the final round.

BB&N recently caught up with Kimball to speak with him about his amazing victory.

So, history must be your favorite subject?

Yeah, history is my favorite subject at school (sorry to all my nonhistory teachers). I find it so incredible how close history is to us. For example, my grandmother’s grandmother lived in the 1800s, which feels ancient, but yet I get to interact with my grandmother, who knew someone who lived through that period in history. History shapes all of us, and it’s the most human subject, because it’s just about people and their stories.

Do you study for the Bee? When I competed in Nationals in 2019, I had a pretty rigorous study plan, but this time around I didn’t really have one. With the Bee being moved from June to December, I actually didn’t realize it was happening until about two weeks before. Most of my studying in those two weeks was watching Crash Course history videos and reading through some of the study guides I made two years ago, which ended up helping immensely. Though studying has helped me with the Bee, I would say that I’ve acquired most of my history knowledge just by reading and watching the news.

Do you get nervous before the event or have any superstitions that bring you good luck?

No, I don’t really get nervous before competing, or have any routines that I do. The only thing I try to do is to approach each round with a blank mind, not preoccupied with any sort of thoughts other than the questions at hand.

What was it like having the Bee virtual this year?

Doing the Bee online was weird, and at times very stressful. I had two close calls with technology during the final round, which could have cost me the win. The first was that my laptop almost died, but I Bradford Kimball ’24 with his first-place plaque from the National History Bee. 4

What’s next for you in terms of competing?

The next step is to try to start a Quiz Bowl team here at BB&N! Quiz Bowl is like the History Bee, but it contains questions about all general knowledge. A few of my friends and I are looking to try to start one, so if anyone reading this is interested in joining, or helping to organize it, please reach out!

Think you could excel in the National History Bee? Try your luck with a few sample questions from the competition. (Answers upside down below.)

1: What party held all but three seats in the Massachusetts legislature following the 1854 election?

2: What Roman consul was targeted in the Catiline Conspiracy?

2: Cicero

Kimball started competing as part of a group organized by former Head of the Middle School History Department and Faculty Emeritus Bill Rogers. Kimball joined the group in seventh grade and competed in the New England Regionals before moving on to the Nationals.

was able to retrieve my charger fast enough to not miss too much. I was using two computers, one for the Google Meet, and one for the buzzer, so the really scary moment was when the computer I was using for my buzzer crashed. Fortunately, there was a long debate about scoring that was happening while my computer crashed, and I was able to get it back up and running in time.

1: The Know-Nothings

The National History Bee is a buzzer-based history quiz competition for individual students. Students must first take a qualifying exam and then compete at the regionals to earn a spot at the nationals.

Community News Middle School Expands Programming Space The Middle School made an exciting, strategic addition to its facilities this fall with the lease of the Annex space from neighboring St. Peter’s School.

The acquisition allows the Middle School to expand its programming in a safe fashion, particularly for the visual arts program.

“This new space allows our eighth graders to enthusiastically learn the skills of making cylinders on the pottery wheel,” says ceramics teacher Sasha Bergmann.

“Seventh graders are also actively working in clay as they hand-build mugs based on the UN Goals, and also carve vases.”

A Middle School ceramics class in the Annex led by Sasha Bergmann

Head’s Challenge Brings Valentine Joy to Senior Citizens When Head of School Jennifer Price announced a snow day on February 2, she knew the day would leave many Lower School students sitting idle and many parents pushed to their limits once again.. Without the pre-COVID fallbacks of playdates or outings, many parents are understandably out of the energy and ideas to keep their kids busy. To remedy this, Price had the idea to partner with Saffy Patel ’22 of Letters for Isolation. Together they put out a call for students to create Valentine’s Day cards for senior citizens living in the Neville Center, a rehabilitation and nursing facility in nearby Fresh Pond.

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Last spring, Price pioneered the idea of Head’s Challenges, where for several weeks toward the end of the school year, when morale was running low due to COVID, she asked students to take photos of themselves tackling various community-building activities. These challenges ranged from students helping their parents or caregivers with the dishes, to cleaning their rooms, to making artwork thanking essential workers.

Once again, families embraced this new Head’s Challenge. The result was a beautiful array of cards in various hues of red, offering warmth and joy for seniors who are unable to have their family and friends visit them.

Yes, the challenge gave students something to do—but more importantly it also gave students a way to give back and connect with a world beyond their own.

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PICTURED x 1 x Hailey Zhao ’28 x 2 x Nathaniel Jurkauskas ’30

“Charlie was able to make four cards today and is excited to bring them to school so they can be passed on to the Neville Center,” said one parent of a first grader in an email to Price thanking her for the inspiration. “This also led to a fantastic conversation about the meaning of community.”

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Alumni/ae Council Gains Traction as Resource to BB&N Community In years past the BB&N Alumni/ae Council has served as a valuable asset to the school, serving a variety of functions. Recently, the council has been re-envisioned and launched anew. Consisting of a geographically, individually, and professionally diverse group of alumni/ae leaders, the Alumni/ae Council is committed to increasing alumni/ae engagement and participation, strengthening the alumni/ae network, and supporting the school’s strategic goals and priorities.

The Bulletin recently caught up with Chair Adam G. Zalisk ’03 and Vice Chair Joelinda Coichy Johnson ’07, to learn about the exciting work on the horizon.

What was your motivation for joining the Alumni/ae Council (AC) and why did you take a leadership role?

JOELINDA: BB&N has always meant a great deal to me. The school and the people in it have shaped me profoundly through many seasons of my life, as a student, as an alum, as part of the staff, and as a member of the faculty. Serving on the Alumni/ae Council has been personally and professionally meaningful. It has been a way for me to integrate all the different facets of my relationship with the school into a role that gives back and helps to strengthen the school.

ADAM: Same here—at a personal level, BB&N played such an important role in shaping who I am today. It was an incredible community to grow up in. More broadly, I really believe in the school’s aspiration to be a national model of principled engagement. And it has all the ingredients to achieve that goal: an urban location; the fact that the school spans Beginners to Grade 12; its exceptional faculty, staff, and incredible leadership.

What has been the most gratifying accomplishment during your tenure, and the most challenging?

JOELINDA: The growth and development of the AC structure. Through the hard work of the Alumni/ae Programs team and the dedication of alums who have served, it has been gratifying to see the AC grow and morph over the past four years. Over the past year, we have been building on the work of the Alumni/ae Programs team to create a structure that will be sustainable and effective for allowing alumni/ae to connect with and serve the school.

ADAM: I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to bring so many committed volunteers together—and to focus on bringing together voices across the alumni/ae community, including reengaging members of our community who haven’t been involved in the school for many years. A thriving, connected, inclusive alumni/ae community can be an important source of energy for any institution—BB&N’s new strategic plan makes strengthening the alumni/ae community a priority.

JOELINDA: As part of the Alumni/ae Council leadership team, it is a joy and challenge to steward the hard work that has been done to grow the Council: not merely in numerical terms, but also in terms of creating vehicles for alumni/ae to be able to engage meaningfully and sustainably with 6

BB&N. Additionally, the work we’ve prioritized around helping BB&N become an antiracist institution has been incredibly challenging but especially transformative and gratifying.

ADAM: I think that we’ve adopted a structure that enables all alums to engage, whether they have a couple hours a year to give or—for some of our most dedicated alumni/ae—much more time!

I agree with Joelinda that defining the Alumni/ae Council’s role in supporting BB&N’s journey to being an antiracist institution—and taking deliberate action towards that set of goals—has been the most challenging but also the most important work.

What are your near and long-term goals for the Council?

JOELINDA: Helping alumni/ae of all backgrounds reconnect with BB&N. It seems to me that there were several seasons in BB&N history during which students became disillusioned with the institution and wanted nothing to do with the school once they left.

In the BB&N alumni/ae community, this disconnection cuts across race, class, gender, etc. I believe BB&N can mend this disillusionment by continuing to take responsibility for its history and sharing the ways the school is changing for the best. This is hard work, but it is essential in order to more fully engage the BB&N alumni/ae community. And, it is a long-term goal for the AC to be a crucial part of this vital work.

ADAM: So well said. And, I’d add that doing that work—and building a more engaged, inclusive alumni/ae community—is a crucial part of BB&N achieving the aspiration of its mission. We have a lot of work to do, but we also have tremendous momentum. BB&N’s alumni/ae community exemplifies the value of ‘principled engagement’ through its impact on the world. Our hope and goal for the years ahead is that the experience and perspective of our alumni/ae becomes an ever more important source of support and guidance for the present and future of the school.

Is there anything else you would like to share with the Alumni/ae Community?

JOELINDA: Come join us! There is room for you! Join one of our four subcommittees and attend virtual events being offered this spring, including Virtual Strawberry Night and Reunion Weekend.

ADAM: Yes, and there are so many ways to get involved. A great first step would be to join one of our regular Alumni/ae Council calls!

Visit www.bbns.org/alumni-1 to learn more and get involved.

Community News 2020-21 Alumni/ae Council Executive Committee Members Adam Zalisk ’03, Chair, New York Joelinda Coichy Johnson ’07, Vice Chair, Boston Kathrene Tiffany Bell ’99, Alumni/ae Awards Committee Co-Lead, Boston Ariane Schwartz ’01, Alumni/ae Awards Committee Co-Lead, Boston Rob Warner ’06, Engagement Committee Lead, Los Angeles Milyna Phillips ’99, Alumni/ae of Color Network Chair and Inclusion Committee Co-Lead, Washington, DC Eun-Joung Lee ’91, Inclusion Committee Co-Lead, Oakland, CA Meredith Coburn ’03, Student Support & Mentorship Co-Lead, New York

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Salim Khanachet ’02, Student Support & Mentorship Co-Lead, Boston

Members at Large Michael Abrams ’05, Los Angeles Felicia Aikens ’09, New York

x 1 x Alumni/ae Council Chair Adam Zalisk ’03

Eliza Appleton ’09, New York

lives in New York and leads corporate strategy at Amplify Education, where he is a Senior Vice President.

Emily Bliss ’10, Boston Maggie Brelis-Farrell ’10, Los Angeles Jared Cohen ’04, Boston

x 2 x Alumni/ae Council Vice Chair Joelinda

Caroline Schaefer Del Col ’91, Boston

Coichy Johnson ’07 is the Assistant Director for Orientation, Leadership and Student Engagement in the Office of First Year Experience at Boston College.

Sam Duboff ’06, New York Carrie Ardito Fanlo ’93, Boston Nastaran Hakimi ’07, Boston Kathryn Kargman Holden ’01, Boston Kaeghan Kelly ’10, Boston Robert Krentzman ’11, New York Mark Leeds ’83, New York Sarah Montgomery Lewis ’01, Boston Brendan Mernin ’83, New York Lyndia Personnat Moravia ’10, Boston Ed Murphy ’85, Los Angeles Betsy Osborn ’89 P’34, Boston Leeds Pierce ’08, New York Jeannine Privitera ’82, Boston Robert Reiskin, ’84, Boston Laura Saltonstall ’92, Boston Peter Savarese ’11, New York Scott Schlager ’08, Boston Abbie Smitka ’07, Boston Jenny Duval Souza ’93 P’27, Boston

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Emily Wang ’07, New York Pete White ’50, Virginia Alix Wozniak ’10, Boston 7

BB&N Alumni/ae of Color Network Makes Strides in Supporting Diversity Founded in September 2019, BB&N’s Alumni/ae of Color Network (AoC) was formed in order to create a space where alumni/ae of color can build community through networking opportunities. The Bulletin recently caught up with the Founding Director of the AoC, Milyna Phillips ’99, to learn more about this exciting program as it begins to establish itself in the school community.

HOW DID THE AOC COME TO EXIST? My relationship with BB&N has not been linear. I had been disengaged with the community for many years. I knew that there were other alums who had similar experiences—feeling as though the institution’s outreach never was aimed toward them, and could benefit from an affinity type of network that highlighted them and their experiences. People who come from families of privilege often have the ability to leverage their networks for internship and job opportunities, references, and general life hacks. First-generation college graduates, children of immigrants, and those that don’t occupy the upper echelons of socioeconomic status often do not have access to built-in, well-connected social networks. I thought it would be fun to create one. Now we have a community of interconnected folks who are willing to volunteer their time and to make a positive difference with the BB&N community and support it in becoming an antiracist institution.

HOW DO YOU ENVISION THE AOC HELPING THE BB&N COMMUNITY? AoC works to re-engage and establish relationships with alumni/ae who haven’t traditionally felt welcomed within the greater alumni/ae community. One of our goals is to let folks know that regardless of their experience while attending BB&N, they have a home within AoC where they still have access to a brilliant network of alumni/ae of color. Another pillar of AoC is to support current BIPOC students and faculty through a myriad of methods including: mentoring current BIPOC students, community outreach and partnering with faculty for professional development opportunities, and other community-wide events.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT AS SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN SO INTEGRAL TO GETTING THE AOC UP AND RUNNING? ARE THERE SPECIFIC PIECES OF IT THAT YOU ARE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF OR EXCITED ABOUT? As the Founding Director of the AoC, it has been an exhilarating experience to witness a passion project metamorphose into an organization that is focused on building community and advocating for sustainable antiracist change within the institution.

More specifically, I am proud of all of the work AoC’s steering committee has accomplished in such a short amount of time,

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and their commitment to ensuring that current and future students and alumni/ae all feel heard and experience a more equitable, less traumatic, and antiracist version of BB&N. We are in the process of establishing an intranetwork that will create a mentorship mechanism within AoC as well as a way to seek internships and job opportunities across the country.

Every month we feature an AoC Spotlight on our website, highlighting the powerful impact alums are having in their own communities—we are able to amplify these narratives throughout our presence on social media platforms. We are working with the Advancement Office and the DEIG Office to establish a fund that supports students of color programming.

Finally, we are in constant outreach mode—most recently, learning about the exciting work that the DEIG ad hoc committee is accomplishing at the Board of Trustees level. We also have monthly check-ins with the chairs of the Parents of Black Students affinity group. Growing our membership and building authentic relationships with other alumni/ae of color has been such a rewarding experience for all involved—we look forward to welcoming the Class of 2021 members into the community in June!

I REALIZE IT’S A NEW PROGRAM, BUT HAVE YOU SEEN ANY PROGRESS ALREADY? ARE THERE ANY EXAMPLES OF THE NETWORK WORKING IN WAYS THAT YOU HAD HOPED? Our growth in membership has provided us with so many insights on where to focus our attention and how to drive the network forward. We’ve connected people with their classmates and friends who they may have lost touch with or only have a social media connection with. There are professionals joining the mentorship program that can help guide students of color in new and exciting ways that they may not have thought about or had the confidence to pursue.

We’re also seeing a lot of alumni/ae foster friendships with people in other class years who they may never have had occasion to get to know in the past.

The AoC Spotlight has given us an opportunity to highlight our members and provide them with a platform to share their work. Some of them have published books during the pandemic, and another created an app with a fellow BB&N alum that is available on the iOS app store. Some of us are mentors to current students, others have volunteered for the

Community News

Alumni/ae of Color Network Founding Director Milyna Phillips ’99

members; these have resulted in some exciting collaborative events which we’ll be announcing soon!

We have a wealth of knowledge that can produce meaningful, sustainable changes that will benefit not only students, faculty, and alumni/ae of color, but will enrich the experiences of the entire community.

alumni/ae of color speaker series, held listening sessions as the country was reeling from the murders of so many Black people over the summer, and held space for each other to be in community with one another—we even include Lewis Bryant, recently retired Director of Multicultural Services in our events as an honorary member. The pandemic forced us to be more creative in developing these spaces and hosting events, but the challenge has had its benefits. The most exciting is relationships we have established with faculty

ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL WAYS YOU HOPE THE PROGRAM WILL GROW IN YEARS TO COME? We hope to partner with broader constituencies within the BB&N community and be more involved in improving the everyday lived experience of current and future students and faculty members.

Being in alignment with BB&N’s strategic plan, we look forward to partnering with the Admission Office to broaden outreach to future BB&N families and with the senior leadership to help with the recruitment and retention of faculty of color.

As far as long-term goals, the AoC has endless possibilities. We want to harness the alumni/ae voice as a powerful conduit in connecting the administration and the board to the lived experiences of students, and give alumni/ae of color a seat at the table. We have a wealth of knowledge that can produce meaningful, sustainable changes that will benefit not only students, faculty, and alumni/ae of color, but will enrich the experiences of the entire community.

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BB&N Community Gathers Virtually to Honor Dr. King

In a year that has witnessed dramatic and challenging social upheaval, BB&N’s annual MLK Luncheon felt more prescient than ever this winter as more than 200 community members gathered virtually to celebrate the day that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Organized by BB&N’s DEIG Office (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Global Education), the program invited attendees to reflect on the legacy of Dr. King and the continued movement for social justice and civil rights.

The program opened with a presentation by BB&N DEIG practitioner and teacher Simone Miles Esteves highlighting five lesser known activists who contributed notably to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s alongside Dr. King’s efforts: • • • • •

Georgia Gilmore, a leading activist and organizer in the Montgomery bus boycott Jo Ann Robinson, president of the Women’s Political Council Hosea Williams, a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference whom Dr. King considered his “chief field lieutenant” Bayard Rustin, an integral leader who helped organize the March on Washington among other initiatives Fannie Lou Hamer, an inspirational orator who was an early advocate for the right to vote

The program then segued to an impressive slate of guest speakers including BB&N alumna Rachael Rollins ’89, District Attorney of Suffolk County.

Speaking via Zoom, Rollins expressed her hope for continued headway in social justice: “We need different people at the table. I’m on team justice, team change, team transparency, and team progress.”

Participants then shifted to virtual breakout rooms, where the guest speakers helped facilitate conversation around the topics of the event.

Other guest speakers included: • • • • • •

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Darrin Korte, Executive Director of the Cambridge Community Center Dr. Ivory Toldson, President and CEO of Quality Education for Minorities E.S. Sulakshana ’13, Energy Finance Campaigner for the Rainforest Action Network Tammy Tai, Deputy Director of King Boston David Min ’22, President and Founder of Boston COVID Tutoring Graham Bateman ’23, Vice President of Boston COVID Tutoring

ABOVE: Guest speakers contribute their expertise to the Zoom panel.

BELOW: Simone Miles Esteves presents on activists in the Civil Rights movement.

Community News BB&N Welcomes Sufia Jamal as Director of Alumni/ae Engagement and Giving BB&N is excited to introduce our alumni/ae community to Sufia Jamal. As she settles into her new environs, Sufia will be taking the lead of the school’s alumni/ae programs and helping to keep our many “knight” alums connected and up to date with the latest happenings at their alma mater.

Sufia comes to BB&N from Wellesley College, where she was the Senior Associate Director of Parent and Family Giving and Engagement. Prior to working at Wellesley College, Sufia spent eight years as Associate Director of Development and Alumni Relations Associate at the Fayerweather Street School in Cambridge.

“Throughout my professional career, I've been drawn to mission-driven organizations,” notes Sufia in talking about what interested her in working at BB&N. “The school’s motto Honor, Scholarship, Kindness very much resonated with me. Also, having worked in the independent school arena for more than a decade, I was familiar with the school’s reputation for graduating thoughtful, engaged leaders. I wanted to be a part of the magic.”

Among her priorities at BB&N will be to support and bolster the work of the Alumni/ae Council, an important step in engaging the alumni/ae community at large. “Representing every decade, I’m thoroughly impressed by this group’s commitment to the BB&N community and their desire to give back to an institution they attended during a formative part of their life. Our alumni/ae network spans across the globe with more than 6,800 members, and we need to provide meaningful opportunities where they may gather, connect, and network. Creating programming such as an alumni/ae speaker series, providing a space for alums to share professional expertise with students, and providing a space for alumni/ae affinity groups to convene are just a few of the many ideas that are percolating. The possibilities are truly exciting!”

When she isn’t busy connecting alums with their school, Sufia lists various hobbies as her interests: playing the cello, painting, Irish step dance, musical theater, and travel. “I also enjoy flexing my culinary skills, in particular, cooking Indian dishes. But mostly because I don’t have to measure anything, as that’s how I was taught by my mother. Lastly, I’m a huge fan of music and have a vast collection that includes many genres—though I’m partial to Broadway tunes!”

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BB&N Sets American and School Records at International Debate Championship The Upper School’s speech and debate team made history late this fall with a couple of remarkable firsttime achievements at the four-day International Independent Schools Public Speaking Competition. Now notched in the annals of the 39-yearold championship, BB&N is the first American team ever to win the 1st Place School trophy, and Alexi Melki ’21 is the first American competitor to earn 1st Place Individual Overall, a title determined by the total points achieved in three categories of speech and debate performances.

Also contributing to BB&N’s stellar final standings, Elise Hawkins ’21 was awarded 3rd Place Individual Overall, Julia Shephard ’22 won 1st Place After-Dinner Speech, Alexi won 1st Place Persuasive Speech, and Alexi and Jack Lichtenberger ’21 walked away with 1st Place Cross-Examination Debate Team after addressing this timely topic: “Has COVID-19 done more harm than good toward multilateralism?”

ABOVE: Alexi Melki ’21, the first American competitor to earn 1st Place Individual Overall in the International Debate Championship.

BELOW: BB&N’s debate team, the first American team ever to win the 1st Place School trophy: (L to R) Elise Hawkins ’21, Laura Cox ’22, Julia Shephard ’22, Daniel Katz ’22, Alexi Melki ’21, Jack Lichtenberger ’21, Advisor Sarah Getchell

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Speech and Debate Team Coach Sarah Getchell attributes the successes of the six-person Internationals delegation, which also included Laura Cox ’22 and Daniel Katz ’22, to the entire team’s hard work and collaboration. “The competitors tested their speeches and debated the tournament debate topic in front of the whole team.

They received helpful feedback from everyone—from novices to alums!”

Schools from around the world took part in this online meet, one of the two largest international independent school

tournaments of the year—and the one BB&N hosted live last year.

“Finding ways to set yourself apart at such a high level of competition doesn’t come in a few weeks; it takes years of losses, focused effort, and experience to be a prominent speaker at Internationals,” Alexi says.

The caliber of the world-class field awed Elise. “I was not expecting to place as high as I did because there were so many wonderful debaters,” she says. “In my crossex (prepared) debate, Julia and I faced a very clever Canadian team that made me realize how high the level of competition in the tournament was going to be. I was ecstatic to learn that I placed third!”

For Alexi, the 1st Place Individual win was a testament to his resilience, patience, and dedication. “When I opened the results, the first thing I thought of—after jumping in joy, of course—was ‘This was my moment. This is what I worked for. This just made all the losses worth it.’” Mulling some deep disappointments along the way, Alexi says, “I thought of giving up at times, but this win has given me trust in the process—that if I put full effort into perfecting even the most minute aspects of my work, I could be setting myself up for a chance to win.”

Alexi’s efforts paid off in yet another exciting way: with his achievements at Internationals, he also qualified for the World Championship of Independent School Debate, to be held in South Africa, pandemic permitting, in early summer 2021.

Community News BB&N Welcomes New Trustees 1.

1 ELIZA APPLETON ’09

Eliza is a BB&N Lifer who joins the Board this year as the Young Alumna Trustee.

Formerly an Investment Associate with the Neuberger Berman Trust Company, Eliza is attending business school at the University of Virginia. She volunteers as a mentor with Beginning with Children and iMentor, and as a Young Wall Street Ambassador to the UJAFederation of NY. Eliza is a member of BB&N’s Alumni/ae Council.

2 JENNIFER WINN ARONSON ’92, P’31, ’33

Jennifer resides in Cambridge with husband Eric Aronson and their daughters.

She is the Associate VP for Programs at the Boston Foundation and has served on the Boards of the JCC of Greater Boston, the Lenny Zakim Fund, the Anti-Defamation League, and The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network. Jennifer has also volunteered at BB&N in many capacities.

3 ALEXI CONINE P’22, ’24, ’27

5 LISA KERRIGAN P’22, ’25

Alexi resides in Boston with her husband Steven and their three boys, all of whom attend BB&N. She has served in multiple roles at the school including Upper School Vice President for the 2019-2020 school year and Grade 9 Class Representative during 2018-2019. She has also served as the LS Circus Chair, among many other roles. Alexi is Chair of the Board of the Esplanade Association and a founding board member of Slate Valley Trails.

Lisa resides in Cambridge with husband Jeff and their two children.

She is President of the BB&N Parents’ Association and is the Parents’ Association Representative to the BB&N Board of Trustees for a one-year term during 20202021. Lisa has volunteered extensively on all of BB&N’s campuses.

4 ALEXIS BOYLE EGAN ’93, P’25, ’28, ’30, ’31

Alexis resides in Boston with husband Chris and their four children. She is serving as the MS vice president during the 2020-21 school year, and has volunteered in many other roles as well. Alexis is a senior advisor at Providence Strategic Growth, a leading private equity firm specializing in media, communications, education, software, and services. She is a member of the Boston Children’s Hospital Trust Board.

6 JK NICHOLAS ’85, P’17, ’19, ’23 A 1985 BB&N alumnus, JK is the father of two BB&N graduates and a current sophomore. He serves as Managing Director of Ithaka Partners, an early-stage investment management company. He also serves on the Board of Visitors of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University. Additionally, JK has served in many roles as a parent volunteer at BB&N.

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Ross MacDonald: Upper School Theater

by Sharon Krauss

BB&N Faculty adapt to teachiNg iN a paNdemic “In 2020, I can’t say anything is normal.”

NICO BERGER ’22 Beginning with that indisputable premise, how have teachers used this strange hybrid model of school to provide the excellent teaching they still expect of themselves? Perhaps at its most basic, teachers’ key challenge has been keeping students, whose propensity for magnetic flocking has never been more apparent, appropriately and safely distanced while also, contradictorily, getting them to lean in, to engage with them, with each other, with the material even while masked or siloed in little Zoom boxes. Nobody—not students, not teachers—is saying this has been easy, but here’s a look at just three Upper School teachers who, together with their students, are adapting, innovating, and preserving the ordinary in these extraordinary circumstances.

Considering their options for the 2020–2021 play season from mid-lockdown last April, theater teacher and director Ross MacDonald, along with his colleagues scenery and lighting designer Eugene Warner and costume designer Louise Brown, ticked through the many pandemic-imposed restrictions.

“I couldn’t do Romeo and Juliet or something contemporary, where so much intimacy is required,” MacDonald says. “I also wanted to address what was happening in the nation. So, I thought... social-distant performance, outdoors, face masks, political upheaval....

Well, it’s got to be the Greeks!”

And so it came to be that MacDonald revived Sophocles’ best-known Theban tragedy in Cambridge, imbued it with 21st-century significance, and adapted it to pandemic requirements. Needing an outdoor venue, he chose to stage OR21 Oedipus Rex: A Retelling at “the mansion,” the abutting Pechet House property BB&N acquired five years ago. Filmed instead of performed before live audiences, the production created collaborative opportunities for film and video teacher Chris Gaines and his students, who manned the cameras, and for Nicky Tao ’21, who, with input from orchestra director Elliot Cless ’02 and MacDonald, composed a soundtrack of electronic textures and acoustic strings to accompany the filmed adaptation.

Writing the script of OR21, MacDonald faced a kaleidoscope of shifting challenges: to incorporate as many students as possible, accommodate their splitby-grade on-campus rehearsing schedules, and create a piece that would work on camera and could be filmed outdoors in November. He beefed up certain roles and made the Chorus and its leader emblematic of protest movements across the decades. While the weather gods tested the troupe’s mettle—treating them to rehearsal in late-October snow and to filming on a 30-degree day— MacDonald armed them with thermal under-layers, fleecy hooded capes for off-set time, hand-warming packets, and vats of hot chocolate, not to mention frequent injections of his can-do spirit.

“Honestly, I didn’t see it as a problem,” MacDonald says. “I saw the situation and asked myself, what are we going to do? And I tried as best as I could to lead by example.” He relied on his British Army company commander’s expression—“Don’t give me problems; give me solutions”—and is grateful for school support of his efforts to provide a quality experience for the students, “to give everyone a chance to shine individually but work collectively,” he says.

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MacDonald on set directing Oedipus Rex 2021: A Retelling

Another favorite saying of his—“Improvise, adapt, and overcome”—became so familiar to his students that a late-rehearsal rallying cry elicits mock groans, eye rolls,

and laughter. “You did NOT just say that, Mr. MacDonald!” says assistant director CC Chung ’22, unable to hide her smile even beneath a mask.

my castmates made the production process. I think that the weirdness of the situation actually enhanced my feeling of unity with the cast.”

Time and again, the students brought their youthful exuberance and flexibility to the daunting situation. “They’ve never complained, they’ve just embraced it, and they work really well together as a team because there are no egos. I told them, most sincerely, that even including some professional shows I’ve been involved in, I’d rather be with them. They’re incredibly bright and articulate, genuinely brilliant young people,” MacDonald says.

Also a student in MacDonald’s Advanced Theater Studies course, Andrew values the hybrid combination of interacting with his peers in a tent on the baseball field or in the courtyard, as well as working individually with MacDonald on remote-learning days.

The students, in kind, appreciated MacDonald’s work. “Our cast has a group chat,” says Julia Shephard ’22, “and on the night that we finished filming, we sent probably 3,000 messages about how fortunate we felt to have a fall play experience and how much everyone—Mr. MacDonald, Ms. Brown, Mr. Warner, Mr. Gaines, film students, costume designers, set designers, actors— contributed to making that possible. Almost everyone sent an emotional paragraph-length text about how worried they had been about Art in the fall and how instrumental Mr. MacDonald was in making this play happen. It’s been incredible to have a theater teacher and director who has really supported the students at every step.”

While teaching remotely last spring, MacDonald seized the opportunity to augment the course’s curriculum beyond its focus on acting. “I modeled it somewhat on the British school syllabus of all the elements that go into creative theatre— acting, designing, directing—and used tools like Padlet so that students had something that they could work with on their own.” With those tools in place, MacDonald appreciates that the hybrid model allows him to do physical acting exercises and scene work with both his Advanced students and the freshmen in Theater Studies 9.

Sophomore Alexandra Fabbri notes, “Mr. MacDonald pushed us to act in different styles than we were used to. Even working outside, six feet apart, under a Greek mask and COVID mask, I honestly think I learned more from this production than I would have in a typical play.”

On the last night of filming, under a waxing crescent moon and rigged stage lights, student actors wearing toga-like robes materialized from a smoke machine’s mist. Visible beneath colorful face-molded masks, their black COVID masks mirrored the black gauze draping the stone fountain and terrace railings, both referencing dire disease afflicting the masses. In parallel fashion, too, both the students and their characters were persevering, making their way forward amid trying circumstances.

Andrew Zhao ’21, who played Oedipus, says, “Mr. MacDonald has recreated the joy of performing in a pre-pandemic show. He’s an amazing teacher and director. What I’ll also take away is how great

“I hope that we’ve dealt with it in a way that is creative, which is what we’re meant to be,” says MacDonald. “Creative problem solving: that’s what theater does.”

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When “Come on Eileen,” the infectiously upbeat 1982 hit by Dexys Midnight Runners, starts playing in the background and prompts approving exclamations, Chapman says, “Whoever put this on my playlist, thank you.”

by Sharon Krauss

Science teacher Michael Chapman stands before an iPad mounted on a tripod and speaks to his four Honors Chemistry students doing today’s lab remotely—three at home and one, an on-campus senior, who Zooms in to this class of junior-cohort students.

“I heard lots of joy, so I assume you saw something happen?” he asks.

“Yes! I got one reaction,” says Sammy Krem ’22 from his Zoom box.

Hearing their remote classmate, several in-person students call out in quick succession: “I’ve got two reactions so far!” “I’ve got one!” “I’ve got three!”

“I’ve possibly got bubbles, but it’s also possibly just me moving things around,” says Gemma Gifford ’22, eliciting some laughter from others.

“This one is really fun! Try Na3PO4 and CaCl2,” says CC Chung ’22.

Chapman surveys his masked, goggled, and rubber-gloved students as they pipette liquids into well plates, stir with toothpicks, and continue the excited chatter. He smiles behind his transparent face mask and says to no one, “Oh, I love this lab.”

Determined “to exercise students’ inquiry muscles,” Chapman says, he and his Science Department colleagues have tackled “the logistical nightmares of how to make the labs work, how to ensure that we’re maintaining social distancing within the science classrooms.” They made individual lab kits and sent them home to remote students. Now, it’s clear that their efforts have paid off in a few ways.

“Especially when a lot of classes right now are centered around listening and taking notes because of the pandemic, labs have offered us an opportunity to learn in a more engaging way,” Eli Waisburd ’22 says. Additionally, he appreciates “being able to interact with one another, which we don’t often get to do in a normal classroom setting nowadays. It’s so hard to find times to connect with people.”

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Each of his classes has a playlist, which anyone can contribute to—an example of how “Mr. Chapman creates a welcoming and lighthearted learning environment,” Grace Lang ’22 says, “that makes it easy to participate in the class and ask questions if you are confused.” She also likes using their individual whiteboards to practice concepts during game-like challenges and the frequent partner work, which enliven class. Eli values the variety of techniques—slide shows, YouTube videos—Chapman employs, and Sammy appreciates that Chapman “is a really knowledgeable teacher who is willing to spend time to cater to everyone’s needs including the remote students.”

While admitting that the juggling act of hybrid teaching is a challenge, Chapman adds, “But I think it has the potential to be pedagogically good for us.” He has applied his mantra, “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you,” to his teaching.

“The hybrid model required me to change how I do things. I’m very hands-on in my teaching, and hybrid doesn’t allow for that as much, so we had to get creative.”

Similarly, Chapman applied some innovation and risk-taking to the Scientific Ethics class that he co-developed and is co-teaching for the second year with fellow science teacher Anthony Moccia ’10. “Anthony and I had to think critically about what the major pieces of our course are and how to translate them into this new environment,” he says. For one thing, they changed from point-system grading to a competency-based model and have found that the seniors are now more cognizant of the changes that they go through while taking this course.

“Just because we’re in the hybrid model, that doesn’t mean we’re not trying to push the pebble forward. We want to make this course as inspiring as possible.”

Siena Lerner-Gill ’21 says, “It’s challenged me to think individually about my values, what I care about, what I prioritize when I’m making an important decision. It also addresses equity and injustice a lot: how can we design the system to help people who have fewer privileges and to create more equal opportunity? It’s one of the most real-current-world classes that I’ve ever taken. I love it.”

Mehdi Epee-Bounya ’21 says, quite simply, “Scientific Ethics makes me a better person.”

Chapman and Moccia believe that this course is ideal for coteaching because they get to model what they are asking of their students: to present and listen to differing viewpoints, to trust that it’s a safe space in which to do so.

“Mr. Chapman and Mr. Moccia are a power duo! Their chemistry is really infectious!” says Mehdi. “The class feeds off of how much energy they bring to the table each day. I can also tell that they are really passionate about what they do. Overall, they make loving learning fun and cool.”

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, the in-person students head

y can scatter across the turf field on ovember afternoon and begin or upcoming debates on cloning xtinct or endangered mammals back to life, and therapeutic cloning of humans. Wanting to give their students some ownership of the course, Chapman and Moccia had their seniors choose some units—this year, including cloning and the death penalty—to study after starting the term with foundational units in decision-making, ethical theories, and cognitiveenhancing drugs.

During each unit, Chapman explains, “They consider their own values, the societal context of that issue, the scientific content behind that issue, and the ethical theory backbone to accentuate that point.” Each ends with a project, such as these debates or, in the case of the last unit, writing a memo to a university president about student use, both legal and illegal, of cognitive-enhancing drugs, such as Adderall or Ritalin, on their campus. Noting the assignment’s purposeful requirement of the students to be active, concerned citizens of the world, Siena says, “It was one of the coolest projects I’ve ever done.”

In turn, Chapman is greatly impressed with “the level of thought the students are bringing, their willingness to share and to follow the Zoom norms that we established for ourselves—making sure that we’re giving each person our full attention, building off each other’s ideas,” he says. “Our seniors have just hit it out of the park.”

Thanks to these collaborative efforts between teachers and students, home runs are still possible even in a pandemic.

Chapman in action during an honors biology class

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recalls Rosenberger. “Apparently this book had been passed around among many of the students, because they all were very interested to learn more.”

by Andrew Fletcher

Lizzie Rosenberger: Lower School Science Teaching science to first and fourth graders can be challenging in the best of times—attention spans vary, complex concepts need to be distilled to a palatable level, and experiments can get messy quickly. Add a pandemic into the mix, and it becomes even trickier. But like so many of her colleagues at BB&N this year, Lower School science teacher Lizzie Rosenberger has flipped the challenges into opportunities—and those opportunities can come from surprising places.

New to Rosenberger’s daily schedule this year is overseeing each of her first graders’ handwashing. Ensuring proper sanitizing and physical distancing have become focal points, and that quiet minute or two alone with each student has allowed Rosenberger a welcome moment to “check in” with each one, and get a feel for how they’re doing. One such “check in” with Benjamin Brunet ’32 led to a fascinating project for the whole class.

“Benjamin was reading a book from the Morse Building library about the Titanic, and he asked me if we could learn about it,”

Looking to build off of her class’s excitement, Rosenberger adapted the first-grade study of water to include shipwrecks and engineering by designing a project around the Titanic. Students learned about the Titanic and another shipwreck, the Endurance, as well as the S.A. Agulhas II, a scientific vessel that travels to Antarctica to conduct experiments and search for the Endurance using submersible robots.

“I introduced some scientific concepts,” notes Rosenberger. “How might a shipwreck be different in a polar environment versus the Atlantic, or with a wooden ship (like the Endurance) versus a steel ship (like the Titanic)? And, we learned about the ecosystems that spring up underwater around abandoned wreckages.” Using their research, students then designed and built their own version of the Endurance and tested their designs in water.

For a special treat and aid to students’ research, Rosenberger arranged for a Zoom visit from members of the RMS Titanic, Inc., the only company legally allowed to dive the wreckage. Students spoke with Rory Golden, a researcher who dives the Titanic in submarines, as well as his colleague Jeff, who presented many artifacts that have been recovered from the debris field.

The Zoom was a highlight for her class, and illustrates one of the silver linings of the challenging year. “The whole world has had to shift to remote, so people are willing to help out…there’s a real ‘we’re all in this together’ mindset,” Rosenberger says.

“Professionals can, and will, Zoom more readily—the Titanic experts were in Ireland and Georgia when we spoke with them!”

Unexpected benefits have manifested in Rosenberger’s fourth grade science class as well. In anticipation of a focus on sustainability and activism, fourth graders engage in a nature

Students in Rosenberger’s class participate in a Zoom with Titanic researcher and diver Rory Golden.

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study. “You can’t decide you want to take action unless you love something,” says Rosenberger. “So, to help build an appreciation of nature, we typically go on a hike and do walking tours of different local areas to examine them deeply.”

cameras around the world. “Of course, we miss getting out into nature ourselves, but instead of walking around Cambridge, students were observing elephants in Kenya and experiencing environments from all over the globe.”

With those options off the table due to COVID, Rosenberger was forced to get creative. “I wanted kids to feel like they were outside, even though they weren’t outside,” she notes. Utilizing her past experience as a National Geographic Student Expedition Leader, Rosenberger tapped into a global network, posting an invitation for other expedition leaders around the world to record and post virtual nature walks for her students.

Using the virtual nature walks as a template, Rosenberger then asked her students to create their own. With school iPads in hand, they spent a week with someone in their family collecting images and video. “I asked them to tell a story as they did it, and then taught them how to use iMovie to create the finished product.”

The response was incredible. Rosenberger was able to create an interactive map allowing students to click on links around the world and be transported to a virtual wilderness experience in that country.

“One was a farm in South Africa—you click on the link and play the video, and this farmer takes us on a nature walk with her dog,” Rosenberger explains. “There’s one in the Florida Keys that’s a snorkel nature walk under water, and we also went into the mountains of Paro District, Bhutan—that one was very cool as it allowed us to take a snowy walk to the top of a mountain above the clouds.”

Other locations included Thailand, Germany, and various spots around the U.S., and students were also given access to trail

The result was a series of Google slides, each similar to a storybook cover, describing the nature walk and including a link. “Links were made available to the entire class and their families across cohorts,” says Rosenberger. “A surprising perk of the project was how excited the kids were to connect with students outside of their own cohort.”

Projects such as these highlight the dynamic learning that is still taking place despite the limitations COVID has wrought, and Rosenberger loves the creativity borne of the pandemic. “The kids have been resourceful as well, using pool noodles to play socially distanced tag at recess and things like that…we’ve all adapted.”

In thinking about the cool projects she’s been able to oversee this year, specifically the Titanic study, Rosenberger laughs. “It never would have happened without the handwashing!”

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ve ive year despite the challenges presented by the pandemic. The following snapshots capture the vitality of our campuses through the year.

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PURCHASE OF GROVE STREET PARCEL A

“Game-Changer” FOR BB&N

On the snow-blanketed porch of the St. Anne’s House in late January, Head of School Jennifer Price—with a BB&N snow cap pulled over her ears—signed the ream of papers signifying completion of the purchase of a 6.1-acre lot on Grove Street in Watertown. After signing the final document, Dr. Price looked up, smiling, and said, “Well, this might just make a bit of a difference for our students, don’t you think?”

The understatement was lost on none of her colleagues watching the occasion. The acquisition of the parcel, just one mile away from the Upper School campus, as Director of Athletics Chuck Richard puts it, “is an absolute game-changer for BB&N.” As Dr. Price noted in a letter to the community when the purchase was first announced in late November, “This purchase not only unlocks a myriad of future opportunities for our students and campus master plan, it also advances BB&N’s strategic vision of principled engagement with our neighboring communities.”

The plan for the Grove Street property is to build state-of-the-art playing fields that will accommodate multiple athletic programs.

Phase Two of the project will include the construction of a fieldhouse on the site.

Concurrently, the school has also entered into a joint-use agreement with the Town of Watertown that allows BB&N to use the two fields located at Filippello Park, a 14-acre, town-owned park adjacent to the Grove Street lot, after school each day. In return, BB&N will grant the Watertown community access to its new fields on Grove Street, when the school is not using them.

“The addition of these fields embodies our commitment to the health and well-being of our students while also vastly increasing opportunities to build community schoolwide,” said Dr. Price. The new fields will not only provide a superior experience for BB&N student-athletes, but also provide much-needed scheduling flexibility that will make a big difference in the busy lives of students and families.

Importantly, the Grove Street property also allows campus master plan possibilities to emerge longer-term that will benefit the entire BB&N community for generations to come.

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Construction of the playing fields is planned to begin as soon as fundraising goals have been met.

In a related development, BB&N also negotiated a deal in which the City of Cambridge acquired the school’s Buckingham Field property located on Fresh Pond Parkway. The proceeds of this disposition offset nearly half of the Grove Street purchase while at the same time providing much needed open space for BB&N’s community partners in Cambridge. As part of the deal, the school can lease usage of the former Buckingham Field in the timeframe before the Grove Street fields are completed in late January.

Head of School Jennifer Price braves the elements to sign the closing paperwork for the Grove Street purchase.

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SOCCER COACH JESSE SARZANA ’93 TAKES A BOW,

Leaving his Coaching Tree in Full Bloom Following 21 outstanding years at the helm of BB&N’s boys’ varsity soccer team, Jesse Sarzana ’93 removed the whistle from around his neck this fall for the last time at the Upper School. As a student at BB&N in the fall of 1992, Sarzana helped lead his squad to the Class B New England Championship, and as a coach he relished giving that same championship opportunity to his players; something he did with great regularity.

by Andrew Fletcher Under Sarzana’s tenure, boys’ varsity soccer regularly competed at the top of the ISL and within New England divisions, winning three ISL titles and a Class A New England Championship along the way.

“Jesse put his heart and soul into the program,” says Director of Athletics Chuck Richard. “During his tenure, he established the team to be one of the most respected programs in New England. His holistic approach to coaching and mentoring BB&N students has been exemplary for all BB&N’s teams and coaches.”

Sarzana was also an outstanding player as former teammate and Middle School English teacher Ethan Rossiter ’93 recalls: “Jesse was explosive and dynamic—a true goal scorer who could always find the back of the net and was so smart and crafty with the ball on his foot. A big part of our Class B NE Championship was Jesse’s play—I think he had 22 or 23 goals that season.”

Beyond his mastery on the pitch, Sarzana has been an integral part of the BB&N community in many ways: as a trustee, an alum, Middle School math teacher, and parent. He will continue to teach and coach at the Middle School level, but 24

looks forward to spending more time with his children.

“I’d just like to thank everyone who supported me over the years,” says Sarzana. “Coaching the BB&N boys’ soccer team has been a real thrill in my life. I really enjoy working with people, and getting the entire team to respect one another while trying to compete at the highest level was always the goal.”

It will be strange to see “coach” on the sidelines as a spectator at the Upper School next season, but his legacy on the soccer program will be felt for years to come as both the boys’ and girls’ varsity programs are left in the able hands of Sarzana’s former players, Graeme Blackman ’10 and Kaeghan Kelly ’10.

(Both were members of Sarzana’s 2007 and 2009 ISL championship teams.)

Kelly, who in recent years served as associate head coach to the boys’ varsity team, will be assuming head coaching duties next season. As he looks to continue the team’s success, Kelly notes the impact Jesse has had on him and their players.

“One of the things that made Jesse such a fantastic coach was how deeply he cared

about each one of his players. I was able to experience this firsthand as a player and then witness it when I was coaching alongside him. The passion and love he brought for the game are going to be what I miss the most when I am on the sidelines next year without him.”

Blackman has already been using Sarzana’s mentoring to achieve incredible results for the past five seasons as the girls’ varsity head coach.

Since taking over the program in 2016, the team has made four consecutive New England Class “A” Tournament appearances, progressed to the NEPSAC Quarterfinals (2016), Finals (2017), Semifinals (2018), and won the Championship for the first time since 1996 in 2019. Following the 2019 season, Blackman was named the United Soccer Coaches Massachusetts Prep Coach of the Year and the New England Soccer Journal’s Coach of the Year.

Accolades indeed, but Blackman is happier about his team’s mentality than their results. “I am most proud of our players’ culture,” he notes. “They’ve bought into the concept of having a ‘team-before-self’ mentality, and every new player realizes that the ability to have individual success will be directly

1 influenced by a desire to see the team succeed before themselves.”

Blackman also credits Sarzana as being a huge influence on him. “To this day, I feel incredibly fortunate to have been identified by coach Sarzana as a student-athlete who might be a good addition to the BB&N community,” notes Blackman. “He taught me the importance of hard work, the power of sacrifice, and what can be accomplished when you never give up. I have always considered him one of my biggest role models and someone that I look up to.”

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As BB&N soccer speeds into the future with two alums at its helm, the advantages of that stability are numerous. Of course, there is a familiarity with the program and a consistency to approach, but as Blackman notes, the less quantifiable factor of understanding school culture is a huge bonus.

“The largest benefit of being an alum coach is the ability to empathize with the pressure and hard work that is expected of my players in the classroom on a daily basis. It gives me a more nuanced lens to assess my players’ readiness for practice and tailor training to meet them where they are both physically and social-emotionally.”

BB&N soccer fans can sleep well with the knowledge that Sarzana’s coaching tree will be bearing fruit for years to come.

1. | Jesse Sarazana ’93 2. | Boys varsity soccer head coach Kaeghan Kelly ’10 3. | Kelly ’10 as a player on the 2019 ISL championship squad 4. | Girls’ varsity soccer head coach Graeme Blackman ’10 5. | Blackman ’10 as a player on the 2009 ISL championship squad 25

F O R M E R FAC U LT Y P R O F I L E b y B i l l Ro g e r s , Fa c u l t y E m e r i t u s

I first met Katie Glick when we both were new to BB&N in 1974, the year of the merger. Katie was a new third grader, and I had arrived to coach and intern with the legendary first grade teacher Helen Landess on the Lower School. I was just making it up as I went. Katie was the kind of kid who seemed to be making it up as SHE went, too. I enjoyed her kooky good nature and her fierce willingness to play Four Square and Suicide with the most rough-and-tumble kids at recess. She was fun to be around.

Katie appeared on my class list three years later in sixth

Sandy always pushing her to dig deeper and to be more

grade. According to her own admission, she had decided to

precise in her language use. His belief in her gave her a

become a “mean girl” in the fifth grade, and teacher Connie

growing faith in her ability as a writer and interpreter of

Cavanaugh, who had just invented what would become the

literature. She loved his lively class discussions, more than

BB&N/Lesley Teacher Training Program, spent some time

one of which caused Sandy to walk out in mock protest.

with me that year persuading Katie that there were other

Katie loved his passion for writing and communication.

avenues for success. She was bright, outgoing, enjoyed drama and sports, and had many friends. I remember

At the Upper School, Katie identified with the athletic

Beth Whitlock, Sarah Hodder, Kate Gunness, and Sara

crowd, particularly enjoying success in volleyball and

Strasburger, to name a few.

lacrosse. She was often the goal-scoring option in the latter, and she recalls then Assistant Athletic Director and Coach

We both moved to the Middle School the next year at the

Tish Biggar placing her at wing one day and exhorting

same time. Katie blossomed in Middle School. She earned

her to “stay farther out” and, Katie felt, away from the

a supporting role in The Music Man and loved working

action. In protest, Katie finally moved so far out that she

with Jay Rogers and Paula Plum, who, as music and drama

was standing in the trees at the edge of the field. With her

teachers, inspired many kids. Katie professes that her

usual sense for the dramatic moment, she yelled, “Is this

future interest in both teaching and drama were strongly

far enough, coach?!” That creative humor may be what

influenced by this talented pair. Katie also remembers a bus

many remember as Katie’s trademark at BB&N. She recalls

trip to sports one day when she said something that made

Mark Lindberg passing her in the hall one day and telling

the entire load of kids laugh out loud. It was an epiphany

her to try out for the upcoming production of Threepenny

for her that she could command an audience, and she

Opera. She did and was hooked by drama, though most of

never forgot the feeling of that moment. She also grew

her friends and teachers warned her that she would have

to love English in Sandy Wieland’s class. She remembers

to choose between athletics and the stage. She didn’t, of

26

Ka t i e G li ck ’ 8 5 , An I nfe ct i o us E m bra ce of L i fe BELOW: Glick at the BB&N Middle School in 2007

course, and continued to star as a thespian and athletic

advisor to adolescents. I watched her humor and insight

standout, but she also spent more time with intellectual

engage kids and help many navigate the rocky years

kids, and teachers who fed her love of literature and ideas.

which she, herself, had travelled in the same building twenty years before. It was a joy to reconnect with her.

After BB&N, Katie spent four wonderful years at Bryn

Unfortunately, a tragic accident which took the life of her

Mawr, scrambling with the challenge of combining theatre

brother John, Class of ’88, spurred her to seek a change

with her highly successful lacrosse career. She loved the

of scene, and she left BB&N, briefly teaching drama

sisterhood, which she fondly credits with fostering her

and working offstage at the A.R.T. (American Repertory

pride and identity as a woman. Following that, she earned

Theater). In 2014 she moved to the country in Wells,

her Master’s Degree in Human Development and Theater

Maine, where she currently lives.

Education—a program which she invented at Wheelock College. Katie taught pre-school and middle school in

The last eight years have clearly been wonderful for Katie.

Maine, and then signed on to do a one-woman show,

She began walking in the woods and taking photographs,

called The Yellow Dress, which examined dating violence.

and her website (www.katherineantinphotography.com)

The drama company was based in Woburn, but she

shows an impressive artistic eye. She has found her calling

travelled the country and did 138 performances from Key

teaching in a special needs pre-school which has been

West to Peoria, and as far north as the Canadian border.

powerfully rewarding and full of love. She lives in a small

She reflected that the show was emotionally powerful and

inter-connected community with her feline “Wonder Cat”

never grew old to her.

and her fiancé, David. They are building a house together, but it seems clear to me that Katie has already found

Katie reappeared at BB&N as the Middle School drama

her true home. She is a woman of many talents who has

teacher in 2002. During the next seven years she proved

embraced the power of peace and love in her life.

herself to be not only a skilled director, but also a gifted 27

Advancing Our Mission

Parents’ Association Holiday Gift Effort Demonstrates Families’ Deep Appreciation for Faculty and Staff For the BB&N Parents’ Association (PA), providing avenues for parents to express their appreciation to faculty and staff is always one of the highlights of the year. At the Lower School, faculty and staff are treated to special breakfasts and a monetary gift around the holiday season. The Middle School PA previously provided not one, but two, monetary gifts to faculty and staff—one in the holiday season and the second at the end of the school year—as well as various appreciation luncheons and breakfasts. The Upper School PA organizes a grand faculty and staff appreciation luncheon at the end of the year featuring incredible raffle prizes.

During a time when parents are not allowed on campus to facilitate appreciation events, and food safety protocols limit traditional appreciation meals, the PA faced a challenge: how would they provide a meaningful opportunity to recognize the incredible hard work and dedication of BB&N’s faculty and staff in this extraordinary year?

“Thank you for being so mindful of the challenges we've faced this year, and for working so hard to put smiles on our faces.

Your generosity and kind words have been HUGELY appreciated.”

LOWER SCHOOL FACULTY

After much discussion and advocating by both PA leadership and individual parents, the answer presented itself in the form of an all-school, online initiative to raise funds for a holiday appreciation gift. In close partnership with the Business Office and the Advancement Office, the PA facilitated the collection of anonymous contributions to be distributed equitably to faculty and staff members during the holiday season.

The response to the launch of the PA Holiday Faculty and Staff Appreciation Effort was immediate: within 24 hours, nearly $15,000 had been contributed. The enormous outpouring of support from the parent community continued steadily until the winter break, resulting in a total of $171,371 received from 362 families. This allowed the PA to provide each full-time BB&N faculty and staff member with a gift of $525 on their final paycheck of 2020. A happy new year indeed!

“Wow! So amazed by the generosity of the Parents’ Association! Your gift enabled me to give out some extra gifts while supporting some local businesses this year and I am so grateful! BB&N has gone above and beyond to keep the school open while keeping everyone healthy! I am so proud to be a member of this community and will continue to do the best I can to help keep everyone safe.”

FACILITIES STAFF

“Thank you very much for your incredible support during these past few months.

The Faculty and Staff Appreciation Gift was a special surprise and I am touched by the generosity of the parent community.

I feel very fortunate to be part of such a kind, caring, and thoughtful community!”

LOWER SCHOOL FACULTY 28

“Thank you to all our families for your thoughtful generosity and working together to recognize the extraordinary efforts of ALL our faculty and staff to keep our school open for your children.”

MARY DOLBEAR, MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTOR

“They say that in times of crises, the leaders have the opportunity to shine. BB&N has taken this opportunity to shine. Thank you to the entire BB&N family—the teachers, administration, donors, food service, environmental service, athletics staff, and any others that are hidden heroes in the wings—for doing your best to keep everyone safe while championing the best from the educators and students. We are profoundly impressed and grateful.”

THE FAMILY OF COLIN MICHNA ’22

“The grace, kindness, and unconditional support with which the BB&N faculty and staff have approached this unprecedented school year is hard to put into words. We are so grateful for all of you and the big and small actions you take every day to give our kids the joy and love for learning that is even more precious during these times.”

“A BIG Thank you to all the BB&N faculty and staff.

This year truly demonstrates your care and commitment to developing the future citizens of Our world. O ur children are very fortunate.”

THE CONINE FAMILY

THE SHAH FAMILY

“Thank you for your generosity and for thinking of us with your gift! Your students have all done such an amazing job and are the inspiration that I need every day.”

“Thank you so much to every teacher, administrator, and staff member. It has been so important to have some in-person school, and it is such a testament to the fantastic community that it is safe and well run.

We understand and appreciate the work and caring involved. Thank you.”

THE PARKER-SARTORI FAMILY

UPPER SCHOOL FACULTY

“We are so grateful that we have such an involved group of parents and families! We are a very lucky community and we are thankful for your support!”

LOWER SCHOOL FACULTY

“Your generous gift was so appreciated. As I spent a good part of my winter break doing the extra work that is needed this year, it was a lot easier knowing how much these efforts are appreciated. Thanks!”

UPPER SCHOOL FACULTY

“Thank you! I am new at BB&N, and it was such a wonderful surprise to be recognized with such a generous and thoughtful gift! Thank you for confirming that I made the right choice to join this faculty!”

UPPER SCHOOL FACULTY

“Thank you so much to the incredible teachers, staff, and administrators for your tireless efforts this fall. Attending school in person has provided much-needed stability and a sense of normalcy. We are especially grateful for the patience, flexibility, grit, and grace that you have modeled for all of us and for our kids. We could not feel more fortunate to be part of such a supportive, creative, hard-working community.”

THE CORNWALL/FARBSTEIN FAMILY 29

Advancing Our Mission

Class of 2021 Senior Parents Establish Endowment Fund for a uKnighted Community Amidst the many adjustments that our seniors will make this year, it is important to hold on to the traditions that make the senior year special. One such tradition is the Senior Parents’ Gift campaign. Every year, senior parents come together in their support to leave a legacy gift to the school. It is a way to celebrate the BB&N experience and to say “thank you” to the faculty and staff.

This year’s Senior Parents’ Gift Committee has enthusiastically endorsed two priorities for the designation of this year’s Senior Parents’ Gift: The BB&N Fund and The Parents of the Class of 2021 Endowment Fund for a uKnighted Community.

Inspired by the impact of the uKnighted Community Fund, Class of 2021 parents have established this new fund to provide income to support BB&N initiatives aimed at ensuring that all members of the community—students, current parents, faculty, and staff—can continue to participate in the full BB&N experience, even in challenging times when unanticipated needs may surface.

Primary focuses will include additional resources for families, faculty, and staff in areas such as financial aid, technology, food security, and transportation. The resources provided by this endowed fund will allow BB&N to respond to emergent needs so that the community can remain whole, connected, and uKnighted.

Thank you to this year’s Class of 2021 Senior Parents’ Gift Committee!

30

David and Andrea Attisani

Alasdair Halliday and Diane Vetrano

Andrew Bernstein and Jackie Shoback

Jeff and Christa Hawkins

Chuck and Kate Brizius

Bill and Jen McKinley

John and Jennifer Cassedy

Vikrant Raina and Pratima Abichandani

Arup Datta and Madhuleena Saha

Pat and Kathleen Scanlon

Sam and Alex Epee-Bounya, co-chairs

Guhan Subramanian and Helen Clement

Oliver and Negin Ewald, co-chairs

Nick and Tricia Winton

Karen Fabbri

Folk-Man and Monera Wong

David and Christine Gross-Loh

Erik Yesson and Karen Kalina ’81

If you would like to request a BB&N banner for a wedding photo, please email alumni_programs@bbns.org and provide the wedding date and best mailing address.

If you would like a BB&N baby t-shirt for a photo, please send us your birth announcement!

Alumni/ae Programs looks forward to including the images in this section.

Weddings & Commitments

1993

1

Sari Eisendrath & Seth Green December 3, 2020

2010

Joe Bradlee & Emily Crandall September 12, 2020

2013

Brendon Kerrigan & Meaghan Merullo October 9, 2020

Birth & Adoptions

2000

Mary McManmon & Robert McManmon Liliana Marie McManmon September 5, 2020

2003

Madeline Adams & Evan Sherwood Zoe Lee Sherwood May 31, 2020

2 PICTURED Weddings & Commitments: x 1 x Seth Green ’93 marries Sari Eisendrath x 2 x On October 9, 2020, Brendon Kerrigan ‘13 proposed to high-school sweetheart Meaghan Merullo ‘13 at Piers Park in Boston. x 3 x Joe Bradlee ‘10 shares an embrace with his father Ben Bradlee Jr. ‘66 as his best man Alex Farkes ‘10 looks on. Births & Adoptions: x 4 x Liliana McManmon, daughter of Robert McManmon ’00 x 5 x Madeline Adams ’03 holding her new daughter Zoe

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Milestones 3

4

5 51

In Memoriam Katherine Edwards Rust Hurd ’43, a lifelong resident of Groton, MA passed away at home on February 16, 2020.

She was the wife of the late Leon Hurd, whom she married in 1946. She leaves her daughters, Lee Hurd and Sandra Hurd. Her parents were Marion Edwards Luce Rust and George A. Rust.

Katherine attended the Buckingham School and Groton High School where she made lifelong friends. She drove a taxi during WWII, transporting telephone operators to work at Fort Devens from their residence at the Groton Inn. After their marriage, Katherine and Leon began an involvement with stock car and sports car racing that would last for decades.

Their restored racers hold pride of place at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the National Corvette Museum, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

Katherine led an active life. She was a life member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, having spent the night on Mount Monadnock with her parents when she was six months old. She took great care of her horses, who lived to be 37 years old in great comfort, and she loved her daughter’s dogs. Animals and birds of all kinds were of great interest, and she enjoyed reading and learning about the many species she could observe on her property. She loved being outdoors, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. She and Leon took many snowmobile trips to Alaska, Canada, Iceland, and destinations in the U.S. Of special delight later in her life were the ski trips she took with friends to Norway, Iceland, Canada, and America’s Far West. Katherine was a self-taught and enthusiastic photographer and that hobby enhanced her enjoyment of these vacations. She always looked forward to any sail she could take on the Silver Lining out of Perkins Cove, ME. 52

Joseph L. Brent III ’45, age 91, passed away January 21, 2020 from lung cancer. Dr. Brent was an historian who published the first biography of American philosopher and “father of pragmatism” Charles Sanders Pierce. Dr. Brent was also a long-time civil rights activist and was one of the founders of Federal City College (FCC), the U.S. capital’s first public four-year liberal arts institution, which later became the University of the District of Columbia.

Born in Baltimore, MD on May 9, 1928, the son of a career diplomat, Joseph spent his early youth living overseas in Cairo, Paris, Jerusalem, and Istanbul, before studying at Princeton University, and then obtaining a Ph.D. in history from UCLA after serving in the Korean War. As a boy, he also cherished summers spent in East Blue Hill, ME. After teaching at Louisiana State University, the College of William & Mary, and the University of Maryland-College Park, Dr. Brent became the founding history department chair at FCC, which was established in 1968, and later merged with DC Teachers College and Washington Technical Institute to form UDC. He was a tenured professor of history at UDC until retiring in 1995.

Brent’s biography of Pierce was published in 1996. In his spare time, Joseph was an avid outdoorsman, sailor, tinkerer and classical and jazz music aficionado. He is survived by wife Ann M. Garfinkle, sons Duncan, David, and William, grandsons, Malcom, Eli, Theo, Elliot, and Julian, granddaughters Katie, Eva, and Alma, and brother Robert Brent ’48.

Ruth “Rusty” Hadley Dunbar ’47, age 90, of Andover and North Andover, MA died at Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln, MA. Born in 1930 to Thomas and Lilian Hadley of Cambridge, MA, she was the youngest of four, predeceased

by Helen, Thomas, Jr., and Hugh, and her beloved husband of 59 years, Douglas M. Dunbar. She is survived by daughter Amy K. Dunbar and husband Ted Hester, daughter Jean D. Knapp and husband David Knapp, grandchildren Emily Hester, Erin and Dewey Knapp, step-grandchild Bret Hester, his wife Andrea and children Daisy, Cal, and Eloise Hester. Rusty

graduated from the Buckingham School and Wells College.

Prior to marrying Doug and moving to Andover, she was a grader at the Harvard Business School. For 32 years, she managed the Thomas Hadley Real Estate Trust in Harvard Square. During her stewardship, she managed multiple commercial and residential properties in Cambridge. Her greatest challenge was redesigning and rebuilding a commercial building in the heart of Harvard Square after it was destroyed by fire in 1972. In 2010, she received the Harvard Square Business Association’s Centennial Award acknowledging the family’s charter membership and 100 years of stewardship in Harvard Square. Rusty was active in Andover town government serving many years on and chairing the town’s Finance Committee and the Trustees of the Andover Public Library. She was President of the League of Women Voters in 1963.

Rusty and Doug were co-recipients of the 2007 Virginia Cole Community Service Award. Upon moving to Edgewood Life Care Community in North Andover, she became involved in the association’s Finance Committee, and shared the community with many longtime Andover friends. She was an avid reader and walker, often seen hiking the grounds with friends.

She loved her summers in Duxbury, MA as a child, and more recently sharing time with her daughters’ families at Spectacle Pond in Lancaster, MA. Paul Weiss ’48 passed away June 9, 2020.

Raymond P. Beaudette ’49, age 88 passed away April 20, 2020. He was born July 27, 1931 in Boston, MA the son of the late Joseph and Ruch (Gallagher) Beaudette, also preceded in death his brother Joseph Beaudette, Jr. Raymond is survived by his brother Charles Beaudette of ME; his loving companion June Ludwig and her two children, Kathy Markus and Nancy Holland. Raymond was a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan College with a degree in music, he was a Korean War veteran having served in the Air Force and was stationed in Japan. Raymond worked as an FDA Food Inspector until his retirement.

Milestones Peter W. Packard ’51, son of Frederick C. Packard, Jr. and Alice Mansur Packard, was born in Cambridge, MA on December 7, 1932. After a long battle with Alzheimer’s, he died in Topeka, KA on January 14, 2021. He graduated from B&N and from Dartmouth College in 1955. He spent eight years serving in the U.S. Air Force, moving his growing family to his assignments in Texas, Mississippi, and Kansas. While working full-time, he attended the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, graduating in 1964 with a master’s degree in social work.

In 1988 he moved with his wife Betsy to their dream home at Bethel Point in Harpswell, ME. From that ocean side house, they developed a booming bed & breakfast business welcoming guests from around the world.

Survivors include his brother, John, his wife and beloved companion, Elizabeth “Betsy” Knapp Packard, whom he married in 1954; six children, Alexandra “Sandy” Cahill, Johnathan “Jon” Packard, Christopher “Chris” Packard, Lisa Schneider, Steven “Steve” Packard, and Josephine “Josey” Packard; 15 grandchildren and 15 greatgrandchildren. Also surviving are cousins and their families, nieces, and nephews from all corners of the U.S. as well as around the globe. Peter’s family is thankful for the strong loving support of their immediate and extended family. Peter was preceded in death by his parents; his sister Penelope “Penny” Strand, his brother-inlaw Robert “Bob” Strand; and his son-inlaw, Dave Schneider. To leave a special message for the family online, visit www.

DoveTopeka.com.

In 2008 Peter returned to Topeka, KA to live out his retirement years.

He occasionally returned to Maine for summer vacations. With an unconditional compassionate embrace, Peter welcomed everyone he met with his can-do attitude and boisterous smile.

No one was a stranger to Peter and he was always willing to help family, friends, and anyone in need with their projects and problems. As his mother and father taught him so well, and throughout his long life, eloquent poetry and song were treasured methods of communicating.

On July 24, 2020, Ridgway Macy Banks ’54 passed away peacefully with his loving wife Margret by his side, at his residence in Boulder Creek, CA. He was also cared for by his daughter Zoe, her husband Micah, and was provided the delight of their two daughters Mia and Zadie, as well as his son Samuel (Amy, daughter Louise).

He worked as a social worker in various employments but mostly at the VA Hospitals in Topeka, KA and Augusta, ME. Even though working full-time as a social worker, he was able to help run the family business of a B&B from their home at the ocean’s edge in Harpswell.

In addition, he enjoyed working with his hands, including home and auto repair.

He received his greatest pleasures from his work, his family, his participation in church and community choir, competitive swimming, community theater, and last but certainly not least, his times of being on the family island in Maine. Later in life, even with a challenged memory, he had a remarkable ability to remember poetry and song, joyously entertaining those around him.

Ridgway was born on July 14, 1936 in South Weymouth, MA, the eldest son of Talcott Minor Banks (Ted) and Kathleen Macy Hall (Kasha). His brother Oliver ’58 passed away in 1991. He is also survived by his dear devoted sister Helen ’65 and first wife Caroline, mother of Thomas (daughters Carolina, Hannah and Fiona) and Daniel ’80 (Dhyana).

Ridgway Banks ’54

discovered the energy potential from a peculiar metal alloy named NITINOL, which led him to design and fabricate engines powered by its properties of shape memory. The development of these engines was his principal focus as the owner of RM Banks and Associates.

In his career, he developed numerous generations of the Banks Nitinol engine, eventually holding 12 patents from the U.S. Patent Office.

Ridgway Banks and the spirit of his work was featured in Zoe Banks ’09’s documentary, The Individualist, which played at film festivals the following year. The film can be viewed online at Vimeo.com.

He was raised in Cambridge, MA, and studied at Browne & Nichols, Williams College (BA cum laude ’58) and University of California Berkeley. His professional life had multiple rewarding chapters. As a composer in his early years, he wrote various works for solo, chamber, and orchestral ensembles, eventually studying in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He returned to Massachusetts and taught at his alma mater B&N, serving as chairman of the music department.

Before moving to Boulder Creek, Ridgway and Margret spent 12 years living in sunny Crockett, CA. They hosted family gatherings, welcomed grandchildren, and enjoyed each other’s company after more than 40 years of marriage.

In his decade as a technical associate at Lawrence Berkeley laboratory, he

James B. Studley ’54, #1 Stud lived 170 years in his 85 years of life. As friends

Ridgway will be deeply missed by the family and friends that loved him well.

He inspired us with his creativity, his brilliance, and his optimism. Our lives are all better for having known him.

53

would agree, he both was a character and had character. James Butler Studley of Shalimar, FL and Orleans, MA passed away on December 3, 2020 leaving this world a little more boring.

Jim was born April 10, 1935 in Boston, MA, son of Linnell E. and Katherine L. Studely. Jim was raised in Newton Highlands, graduated from Browne & Nichols and Trinity College. He received his Air Force commission through ROTC and was immediately stationed in Japan and Maine. He met his true love Carole “Corky” Lindemann at the Captain Linnell House and they married in 1960. They were a perfect match—she was colorful, while Jim and his many yarns were often off-color. Anything for a good laugh. Jim graduated from pilot training and was a rescue command pilot with more than 10,000 hours flying time. His family was stationed in AL, TX, CA, Bermuda, FL, and HI while he had remote tours in Thailand, Vietnam, and New Zealand. Jim, or #1 Stud as he was known by all, was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses for heroism in Vietnam and eight Air Medals.

After retirement from the Air Force, Jim worked for over 20 years in sales in the southeast for Imtra, a marine equipment company. Like his many birds, he migrated to Cape Cod for five months a year where his family has had a place for several generations. There he followed his passion for sailing, fishing, hunting, and boating of any kind. Jim was a member of the Order of Daedalians, the Quiet Birdman, the Shalimar United Methodist Church, The Fort Walton Yacht Club, and the Orleans Yacht Club. His countless friends will forever remember his Cape Cod porch parties, Nantucket red pants, patriotism, and nightly sunset cannon ceremonies. He was a lover of good jokes, a strong rum, the Red Sox, and an evening spent with friends.

He is predeceased by his wife of 59 years, Corky, and survived by his son Jeffrey L. 54

Studley and his wife Suzanne Morris of Florida; daughter Elizabeth S. Bently and her husband Nigel Bently of Acton and East Orleans, MA; four grandchildren; his loving sister Barbara Barnetts and four nieces and a nephew. A celebration of Jim’s life, with the firing of the cannon, will be held at the family boathouse in East Orleans. Burial will be with full military honors.

Alan R. Emery ’57, age 79, passed away quietly on May 15, 2019 at his home in Palm Springs of pancreatic cancer, with his husband of 24 years, Daniel Parker, at his side.

Born in Wayland, MA, and the second of four brothers, Alan did graduate training in psychology at Boston University, completed his doctorate in California, and had a career in psychology marked by community service, program development, and mentoring of many younger psychologists.

An early director of mental health services at the Provincetown Drop-In Center, in the Bay Area in the 70s Alan co-developed mental health programs for prisoners at San Quentin. When the AIDS epidemic began in SF where he lived, Alan played an early and leading role as chair for eight years of the Stop AIDS Project; and then as a developer through the AIDS Foundation of the AIDS Workplace Program, resulting in his book, Managing AIDS in the Workplace in 1986 with Sam Puckett. He followed this with more than 10 years of HIV training, program development, and consulting in Brazil, Indonesia, India, Egypt, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, and HIV consulting nationally to city and state governments, and major corporations. With his then partner Nicholas Carter, Alan became an early gay foster parent to foster son Neil Rasmussen, before losing Nicholas to AIDS in 1993.

In Palm Springs, Alan had for some years a successful real estate practice, before moving at age 66 with his husband Dan to Australia, where they lived from 2005-2015. He returned to psychology practice and supervision at the University of Western Australia and at Relationship Australia, making new, close colleagues

and friends, and becoming a dual Australian/U.S. citizen in 2008.

Alan is survived by his husband Dan; his brothers David Emery ’53 and Don Emery ’58 and many others including his nephew Peter Emery ’89.

In a life summary, Alan was remembered as a teen wanting a life full of adventure.

Alan felt that as he neared his 80th birthday his life had indeed been rich in that; in great love and wonderful friends; and a psychology career he loved. For these reasons, Alan felt he would leave his world with deep sadness but blessed and with few regrets. He is and always will be deeply loved and profoundly missed.

Walter McKay, Jr. ’62 passed away peacefully after a long battle with Multiple Myeloma on July 30, 2019 with his wife, Pat Schindeler, and daughter, Meredith McKay at his side.

Galen R. Trull ’70 passed away January 5, 2021.

Christopher Demetri Horner ’86, age 52, passed away peacefully at home with family by his side on December 28, 2020 following a courageous 16-month battle with Pancreatic Cancer. Chris was the youngest child of Matina and Joseph Horner and grew up in Cambridge. He attended BB&N, then Harvard College, graduating Cum Laude with a degree in Computer Science. Chris was a selfdirected learner from birth, learning to read by the time he was 18 months old by watching Sesame Street. In April 1990, the Harvard Gazette wrote, “When Chris Horner was 3 years old he astounded a friend of the family by correctly reading aloud the complete menu at Brigham’s Ice Cream Parlor. Not long afterward, he picked up the Wall Street Journal and read several stories aloud without faltering.”

He loved an intellectual challenge and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.

He went on to earn a JD from Boston College Law School, and both an MBA and a Master of Science from MIT, where his thesis at the Media Lab was an innovative audio news browser that anticipated the rise of online media. Chris was one of

Milestones several authors who received a patent for this work. Chris worked as a web site editor and program manager at Microsoft in Seattle, and later as a consultant at Corporate Executive Board in D.C. Despite an accomplished professional career and a wide range of interests, Chris cared most deeply about his family and friends, and his first priority was always his relationships. He retired at a young age to devote himself to caring for his father during his own battle with cancer until he died in 2008. Chris remained committed to helping his family and doing volunteer work until the end of his life.

Chris lived a full life, true to his core values. He was a true Renaissance Man: a gentleman, a gentle man, and a scholar.

His quiet humility and generosity were both touching and inspiring and will be forever missed. His legacy of kindness and character will endure well beyond the time he shared with us.

Chris leaves behind his mother Matina Horner, his brother John ’85, his sister Tia ’82, his nephew, niece, aunts, uncle, and goddaughter, along with many beloved cousins and lifelong friends.

A lovely tribute to Chris can be found at: https://www.brownandhickey.com/ obituary/Christopher-Horner

Friends of BB&N Maureen Baker November 2, 2020 Former Faculty Mother of Paul Baker ’77, Amy Baker ’82, Anne Baker Atwood ’84, and Nathaniel Baker ’92 Dorothy Brown October 16, 2020 Mother of Ina Brown Frye ’76 Grandmother of Varonica Frye ’01 Leo H. Dworsky, Former Trustee September 17, 2020 Father of Alisa Dworsky ’83 Stepfather of Sandra Hughes ’69 Judy Earl September 14, 2020 Grandmother of Hadley Earl ’24 John Gould February 12, 2020 Father of Allison Gould ’16 and Katherine Gould ’21 Frank “Dick” Jacobson December 20, 2020 Husband of Beth Jacobson, Faculty Emerita

Father of Eric Jacobson ’90 and Scott Jacobson ’91 Kevin T. Keane June 10, 2019 Grandfather of Owen Dowden ’23 Great Uncle of Marin Lang ’16, Christopher Lang ’18, Julia Lang ’20, Grace Lang ’22 Edward Merrill, Former Trustee and Honorary Trustee August 6, 2020 Father of Anne Deb Merrill ’74 and Francis Merrill ’77 Elizabeth J. Reny September 15, 2020 Grandmother of Danielle C. Reny ’11 and Gillian S. Reny ’13 Mindy Smollen Dec 31, 2020 Mother of Rachel Smollen Carter ’81, Grandmother of Will Carter ’20 and Lilly Carter ’22, Sister of David Smollen ’50

Charlene Colgan Upper School Receptionist BB&N is heartbroken to note the death of Charlene Colgan, an ever-present beam of sunlight who kept the pulse of the Upper School from her central spot at reception. On September 26th, Charlene passed away at home, accompanied by her son and two daughters, following a nine-month battle against lymphoma.

“Charlene joined us in 2016 as our Upper School receptionist and from the first moment she sat at the Fishbowl she became an integral part of our community.

She was smart, funny, helpful, and compassionate. Whether you were a teacher, staffer, student, parent, or visitor, it was always a wonderful welcome to the Upper School to be greeted by Charlene’s warm greeting once you passed through the front doors,” recalled Head of School Dr. Jennifer Price in her letter to the school community.

In her more than five years at the school, Charlene became an essential and beloved part of the school community. She will be missed very much.

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Fenn remained active until his death. He taught at Harvard for 56 years, recently holding his class at the Kennedy School Executive Management Program by Zoom this past June. He mentored thousands of students over his many years and was one of the most popular teachers well into his 90s. He also taught courses at Tufts, Baruch College, American University, Wharton, University of Virginia, Boston University, Brandeis, and University of Washington.

Fenn spearheaded the building of the Kennedy Library and Museum at Columbia Point and helped make it one of the most popular presidential libraries by orchestrating programs for young people and exhibits that brought government and politics alive to audiences from around the world. Fenn felt it important that President Kennedy’s belief that “government and politics was a noble profession” be communicated through the library.

Fenn served as Staff Assistant to the President from 1961-1963 and put together what is now the modern-day Presidential Personnel office in the White House. One of the highlights of President Kennedy’s administration was to attract distinguished Americans from all walks of life to serve their country – “to ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”

Dan H. Fenn Jr. ’40 BB&N is very sad to report the passing of Dan Fenn. Dan had a very long and distinguished career touching many areas of government, higher education, and local town politics. He served invaluably as a member of the Browne & Nichols Board of Trustees from 1959 to 1961 and never lost his love for BB&N as his regular attendance at reunions and Golden Alumni/ae events demonstrated.

Dan H. Fenn Jr. ’40, founding Director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and one of the last surviving senior members of President Kennedy’s White House staff, died at the age of 97 on August 14, 2020 in Cambridge, MA. He is survived by seven children, 14 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.

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Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He was also president of the Harvard Crimson, the daily paper, prior to going off to war in 1943.

For his service to Harvard, Dan Fenn was awarded the Harvard Medal at commencement in 2019.

Fenn was a longtime resident of Lexington, MA, where he served two terms on the school committee and two terms on the select board. He has been a Town Meeting member for nearly 60 years, a proud member of the Lexington Minute Men for three decades, president of the Lexington Historical Society, founding president of the Lexington Education Foundation, as well as serving on many boards and committees in town. For his service, he received the Lion’s Club White Tricorne Hat award in 2000 and the Minuteman Cane Award in 2011, given to an active senior citizen over 80 years of age. When he passed away the flags on the Lexington Battle Green were lowered to half-staff.

After his service in the White House, Dan Fenn was appointed as Vice Chairman and member of the U.S. Tariff Commission from 1963-1967.

Prior to going to Washington in the early 60s, Fenn was a faculty member of the Harvard Business School, Assistant Editor of the Harvard Business Review, and Editor of the Harvard Business School Bulletin.

He also was the Executive Director of the Boston World Affairs Council in the late 1940s and early 1950s, with the support of Eleanor Roosevelt.

After returning from WWII, where he served in the U.S. Army Air Force as a Warrant Officer in Italy, Fenn finished his studies at Harvard and became Assistant Dean of Harvard College from 1946-1949.

Fenn was in the class of 1944, graduating

Richard Alan Smith ’42 It is with great sorrow that BB&N reports the passing of Richard (Dick) Smith. Dick left a lasting legacy at BB&N through his service and philanthropy, sitting on the B&N and BB&N Board of Trustees from 1972-1980. In

Milestones 1981 he was named an Honorary Trustee (a lifetime distinction). He and his family have been very generous donors and benefactors of the school over many years which has been recognized with named spaces at both the Middle and Upper School including the Richard and Susan Smith Science Wing at the US; the Smith Family Atrium, Reception Area, and Theater Foyer at the US; and the Smith Foyer at the MS. Boston has lost a captain of industry and a leading light in philanthropy. Richard Alan (Dick) Smith, born November 1, 1924 to Philip and Marion Smith, died peacefully in his Chestnut Hill home surrounded by family, on September 9, 2020. Richard was raised in Brookline, MA. He attended the Runkle School, Browne & Nichols, and graduated from Harvard College in 1946 with a B.S. in civil engineering in two and a half years as part of the naval program.

Subsequently, he joined his father in the family business, Midwest Drive-In, later called General Drive-In. When his father died unexpectedly in 1961, Richard was thrust into the CEO role at the newly public company, which would be renamed General Cinema Corporation (GCC) in 1964.

Richard guided the focus of the company toward movie theaters in shopping centers, which was then a novel idea.

Under his leadership, General Cinema built the nation’s first shopping center theater in Framingham, MA. Sensing the opportunity, Richard built the company throughout the 60s and 70s into the nation’s largest chain of movie theaters, with more than 400 locations and 1,200 screens. In search of diversification from the theater business and having shed the company’s foray into fast food by the mid-1960s, Richard made a series of transformational investments, building what ultimately became three NYSE public companies: General Cinema Corp, the Neiman Marcus Group, and Harcourt General. His first important acquisition was in 1967, the American Beverage Corp. of Ohio. This Pepsi Cola bottling franchise became the cornerstone of 22 years acquiring and building the nation’s largest independent bottler of Pepsi, Dr Pepper, and 7-Up, launching the Sunkist brand of soda along the way.

In the 80s, in the spirit of further

diversification, he led a series of significant investments in other public companies and ultimately acquired a position in Carter Hawley Hale. While profitably divesting his earlier stakes, it was the position in Carter Hawley Hale, acquired initially as a white knight in 1985, which was spun into the controlling interest in the newly created Neiman Marcus Group in 1987. After selling the beverage operations in the late 80s, Richard sought another large operating opportunity for his portfolio. In 1991, he acquired the Harcourt Brace Jovanovich publishing and information businesses. Richard developed a well-deserved reputation for savvy timing and astute insight. He focused on strategy, acquisitions, and investments and led a talented team of executives. In the 90s, the holding company structure was split into three separate public companies. He then began a process to opportunistically take the family’s interests private. He proved to be an exceptional seller of businesses for record prices.

His record was extraordinary; he was recognized in the book The Outsiders for his exceptionalism. When he finally retired from active involvement in business, he said with a gleam in his eye, “we all just had so much fun.”

Richard was a leading figure in Boston philanthropy. As he stepped back from his active public company life he concentrated more of his efforts on philanthropy. He was valued for his wisdom, acumen, and mentorship as he served on several boards.

Guided by a philosophy of engaged philanthropy, he led by example and gave generously of both his valuable time and financial capacity, leaving his community and family an extraordinary legacy. Among his proudest accomplishments is the gift he left to his children, grandchildren, and their families—the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation. Today, multiple generations work together on the foundation board, along with its professional staff, to guide the strategy and grant making of the foundation.

Richard was a lifelong believer in the power of biomedical research to transform the human condition. As an

early supporter of Dr. Sidney Farber, he joined the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Board of Trustees in 1962. Along with his wife and partner in life Susan, he became Dana-Farber’s largest individual donor. Additionally, he served on the Joslin Diabetes Center’s board, the Beth Israel Hospital board and the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation.

He was a significant supporter of leading institutions such as Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and early career biomedical researchers throughout New England. He believed fervently in the importance of America’s leading universities and their unique role in the country and the world, and first among these was his alma mater Harvard University. He served as a Fellow of the Harvard Corporation from 1991-2000.

The Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center opened in 2018 and is a testament to his dedication and decades of service to the University as a whole.

He was also a trustee at Buckingham Browne & Nichols, Beaver Country Day, and the Park School, and a supporter of Tufts University. He received honorary degrees from both Harvard and Boston College. He gave generously to Jewish causes, chairing the CJP Board of Managers and serving as Vice Chair of Temple Israel in the early 70s. He served on the Boston Symphony Orchestra board and was made a lifetime trustee. In his later years he served on the board of Year-Up. While most of Richard’s civic leadership was in the not-for-profit sector, he also served on a few corporate boards.

Richard is survived by his three children and spouses: Amy Smith Berylson and John Berylson, Robert A. Smith ’77 and Dana Smith, and Debra Smith Knez ’78; eight grandchildren: Jennifer Berylson Block ’97 and Jonathan Block, James T. Berylson ’00, Elizabth Berylson Katz and Robert Katz, Andrew Knez ’07 and Jessica Knez ’05, Madeleine, Ryan, and Jackson Smith; six great-grandchildren; his sister Nancy Lurie Marks, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his beautiful, devoted wife of 63 years, Susan Flax Smith in 2016 and son James A. Smith in 1970.

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word. She was a wonderful listener, who seemed to appreciate each person in the room as their unique selves!”

“Whenever some child would run up and say ‘Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Baker, Johnny just hit me!’, Maureen’s daughter Amy adds, “my mother would nod sympathetically, then ask ‘Now, tell me, what happened right before Johnny hit you?’ and then marvel as the answer would come without guile: ‘Oh, I took his toy.’ To this day that’s how I approach conflict: look for context.”

Maureen Baker, Lower School Faculty Emerita

by Roger F. Stacey, Faculty Emeritus Retired Lower School teacher Maureen Baker passed away peacefully in her sleep early on the morning of November 2nd, 2020 in Middletown RI, where she and her husband Jim, who survives her along with their seven children and their spouses, had moved to be near family.

A longtime resident of Cambridge, Maureen taught for more than 50 years, 42 at BB&N. She ran her classroom with warmth and a firm hand, bringing quiet and order with a soft voice, sharing her love of reading and poetry with generations.

Former colleague Alexandra Hawley recalls how “Maureen Baker had the extraordinary skill of turning basic everyday activities into fascinating events.

Children were spellbound while learning, and her love of teaching shone through whatever she did. She also had a wise calm that revealed things to people about themselves, without her even saying a 58

Her soft-spoken demeanor belied extraordinary organization and widespread commitment. Baker was a lifelong Red Sox fan who never turned off the broadcast until a game was won or lost.

She loved the Boston Symphony; the Olde Cambridge Shakespeare Association, where she is remembered for her thoughtful insights into the Shakespeare parts that she read; the Boston Athenaeum; the Saturday Morning Club; and the Mothers’ Discussion Group; and London. She was a valued board member of the Cambridge Historical Society and a co-founder of the Parents Nursery School. She and her family spent 52 summers in a cherished house in Blue Hill, ME, where she was devoted to the Blue Hill Library and a great supporter of the Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club junior sailors.

“When my youngest brother, Nathaniel, was due in February 1974, my mother was determined to miss as little school as possible,” her daughter Emily recalls. “She

went to school with mild labor pains and taught the full morning, then called the Upper School to get TJ and me out of class.

We arrived at the Morse Building just as Maureen was shaking the hand of her last student. Then it was off to the races! On the way, she said ‘Dear, if no one is coming, go through all the red lights!’ We got to the hospital with about 10 minutes to spare.”

Former Board Chair David Roberts ’67 recalls how “Maureen, who was friendly with the three remaining sisters at St Anne’s Convent—especially the Red Sox-loving Sister Natalie—learned that a developer planned to convert 15 Craigie Street into a large congregate housing project overshadowing the Lower School.

She rang the alarm and urged us to make a proposal that we had not yet devised and had no immediate way to fund. We came to an agreement that provided life tenancy for the three Sisters, preserved the historic convent (now the Head’s residence), and most importantly, created the playfield at the Lower School. To appease their anxiety about the agreement, Maureen and a small group were named the Trustees of St Anne’s to act as a liaison with the Sisters.

After 36 years, it is difficult to imagine the Lower School without the fields.”

Maureen was revered by the parents of the children she taught, adored by the children themselves, and admired by fellow teachers. The Maureen Baker Lower School Language Arts Fund, established when she retired, still supports the Morse Building language arts faculty and programs.

Milestones Sandy Dow: A Legacy of “Pure Joy”

By Laura Duncan, Upper School Librarian

On January 8th, 2021, Alexzandra Dow, Faculty Emerita and the former Library Director at the Upper School, passed away from a sudden illness. Better known as Sandy, she and I worked together in the library for five years. Sandy was my boss, my mentor, and most importantly, my friend. It’s not an exaggeration to say that she was one of the strongest and most loving people I’ve ever known, as well as the most dedicated librarian.

An endless source of energy, laughter, and encouragement, Sandy showed up to work every single day with a smile. She loved helping students, whether it was on a history research assignment or kindly sewing up a pair of their ripped jeans; and she was always willing to advocate for students who were struggling or needed extra support. Among the numerous qualities that made Sandy so special was the sincere delight she took in other people’s successes. She lit up upon hearing someone’s personal good news and could always be counted on to wholeheartedly celebrate another’s victories, big or small.

Amy Selinger, Director of College Counseling, shares, “Sandy was pure joy—with a dash of sparkle in her eye that might mean she was up to something. She made even the most mundane tasks fun, often throwing her head back with a full laugh that reminded everyone not to take ourselves so seriously. Sandy took the time to get to know the students— she was truly student-centered. Her capacity to love was admirable and will sustain those of us lucky enough to have known her.” Indeed, Sandy loved others exuberantly. She loved the students whom she taught and encouraged for 25 years (and they absolutely adored her) and she cherished her family and friends. Her greatest joy was being a mom, and she was an absolutely wonderful mother to her daughter, Isabelle Dow ’05.

A woman of a thousand talents, hobbies, and passions, “Sandy was a seamstress and craftsperson par excellence—and gave several SSP mini-classes on sewing and knitting. She guided several girls in making their own prom dresses. She was the costume designer for countless musicals,” recounts faculty emerita Louise Makrauer, “and she was the faculty advisor for the Jewish cultural club, making latkes and chocolate matzohs in the Commons, encouraging and supporting the Jewish students, teaching about Jewish history and traditions, and so much else.”

Since her retirement in 2019 Sandy and I had stayed in good touch, and I loved reading her email updates throughout this dreadful pandemic. She had become a volunteer for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) in her retirement and was a tireless, thoughtful, and loving advocate for the teenager with whom she was working.

Sandy was an institution at BB&N, but she was entirely humble about her work. When she retired, I asked students and alumni/ae to share notes with me as part of a surprise for Sandy, and I was inundated with replies. I’ll conclude with a piece from one of those letters to Sandy, which sums up her many gifts so well: “I walked into BB&N as a young girl who was really trying to figure everything out. High school was filled with many uncertainties for me, but the one thing I am certain of is that having you as my advisor was my miracle. You were the person I ran to in order to share good news, bad news, or just talk to after a long day. You filled my head with dreams and never doubted my abilities. You always had this limitless faith in me—it was as though you could see the future version of myself that I could not see at the time. I look back on it now and THANK YOU for believing in me. There were moments in college that other advisors tried to take dreams away from me, but I held on to them tight because you always told me to. Having an amazing advisor can make a world of difference in someone’s life, and you truly were a light in mine. Thank you for being the firm (yet loving) woman of grace that you are.”

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From the Archives

BB&N is proud to announce that we finally have a dedicated website for the archives, at https://bbnarchives.wixsite.com/archives. The site includes a number of new features, including an interactive timeline, searchable research guides, and information on our collections. Keep an eye out for our upcoming blog as well, where we’ll dive into ongoing projects and go behind the scenes in the archives. but most K-12 schools don’t. Public schools’ historical records are kept by government archives, and independent K-12 school records usually end up being kept by local historical societies or larger archives.”

Why do archives matter? What role do they play in the preservation of history?

MEET THE ARCHIVIST, ESME RABIN Shawnee Sloop from the Upper School Library recently interviewed Esme Rabin, who started as the archivist in February of 2020. Here are some excerpts from that interview:

“Archives are vital to our understanding of history. Because archival collections document the experiences and events of the past, they are a main source of information for historians. A great example here might be a historian researching what it was like to live during the 1918 flu epidemic (can’t imagine why that’s on my mind!). By reading letters, looking at photos, studying medical documents, and poring over newspaper clippings from that time, a historian can piece together not only the facts of the epidemic and its spread, but also the experience of living through it for people from all walks of life. Part of what makes history so

How would you describe your job/role to other people?

“I usually describe my role with a series of verbs: I collect, organize, preserve, and provide access to records. Now let me break that down a bit!

“First, I figure out what historical materials we want to collect in the archives, and I seek them out to add to our collections. Once we have items in our collection, I have to figure out how to organize them so a researcher can actually use and understand them. Then I preserve items, which might include putting photos in acid-free storage. And finally, I provide access to the records, because after all, there’s no point in keeping historical materials if no one knows they’re there!

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WELCOMING WINTER IN THE ARCHIVES! We have a number of photos in the archives that have not been identified yet. If you know anything about the stories behind these two

Do all schools have archives?

photos or recognize any

“BB&N is actually pretty lucky to have an archives! A lot of colleges have them,

faces, please reach out!

fascinating is the human experience, and archives provide a sense of connection with that experience alongside factual and documentary evidence.

“If archives didn’t exist, it’s likely that a number of documents and records would still survive, kept by the people or families who created them. Unfortunately, that would mean everyone would hold only a tiny piece of the puzzle. Archivists bring all those puzzle pieces together in one place so the whole image can be put together.”

Get involved!

We love to hear from you! You might reach out to ask us questions about school history, request digitized copies of photos, donate school-related materials you have lying around, tell your stories, or help us out with identifying mystery photos—we welcome it all! You can use the contact button on the website homepage or email us at archives@bbns.org.

NATALIE ZERVAS ’01: Nurturing Lifelong BB&N Relationships and Planning Her Family’s Future To get something done, it is sometimes said, ask a busy person. Natalie Zervas, Ph.D. is busy: psychological counselor/ wellness educator at Phillips Academy, mother of a four-year-old, and member of her 20th BB&N reunion committee.

Last fall, she found time to create a will when BB&N offered alumni/ae a free, quick and easy online tool.

Natalie’s BB&N journey began in the seventh grade, and her many BB&N highlights include doing a Bivouac Solo, traveling with the Chorale to Spain, and captaining the girls’ varsity crew and basketball teams. After BB&N, Natalie rowed on Duke University’s varsity crew team and majored in psychology. At St. John’s University, she earned a master’s and doctorate in clinical psychology.

At BB&N, Natalie grew in a supportive community where all the teachers knew her. English teacher Carol Strasburger

“I want to make it possible for other people to benefit from [BB&N] in the future and want to help make sure that it will be there.”

supported the seventh grader’s confidence as a writer and encouraged her creativity.

Then Natalie did not know how important writing would be in a future career. Now she finds Ms. Strasburger and other English teachers helped to prepare her for a lifetime by teaching her how to develop and share another person’s narrative. “That is much of what I help people do as a psychologist— learn how to take the facts of their life and retell their narrative so it is helpful for them,” she observes.

Natalie talks about “flash bulb” memories from BB&N. In noting faculty who shaped her and close ongoing friendships with classmates, Natalie believes her adolescent memories inform her empathy for today’s teens. “Even though their lives are different,” Natalie reflects, “that sense of being a teenager lives in me pretty strongly.”

Managing the pandemic’s new normal, Natalie decided to use BB&N’s free online tool to create a will. “Since having our son, my husband and I had talked a lot about how we needed a will, but it was one of those things that we kept putting off,” she comments.

“When I learned about BB&N’s partnership with FreeWill I said, ‘I trust BB&N. This is important. I don't think it's going to take a lot of time. And this is something that we can absolutely do.’ And the cost obviously was a factor as well—that there wasn't one.”

Natalie also used the free tool to leave BB&N in her will. “I would not be the person I am today, or have pursued the paths I've had, or even had access to pursue those paths, without BB&N,” Natalie notes. “I feel a sense of obligation but mostly just gratitude toward the school. I want to make it possible for other people to benefit from [BB&N] in the future and want to help make sure that it will be there.”

To learn about FreeWill or other ways to join The Almy Society by including BB&N in your estate plans, visit giftplanning. bbns.org or contact Roger Fussa at rfussa@bbns.org or 617-800-2722.

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