Spring 2019

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bulletin Spring 2019

01000001010001101000011000011 0100100101000100011010000000 001CHARLES MORRISSEY ’52:010 010010JOHNNY APPLESEED011011 010110010100OF THE00001100001 0100010INFORMATION AGE010100 0100100001010001000000110010 01000001010001101000011000011 0100100101000100011010000000 0010011001010000000001100100 010010011010101000000110011011 0101100101000000000001100001 0100000101000100001001100100 0100100001010001000000110010 01000001010001101000011000011 0100100101000100011010000000 0010011001010000000001100100 010010011010101000000110011011 Inside this issue:

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Faculty and Staff Reach Beyond BB&N Community

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Gabe O’Malley ’91: Raising the Bar in Public Service

28 Former Faculty Profile:

Minnie Walcott

bulletin Events Calendar May Friday, May 3-Sunday, May 5 Strawberry Night & Reunion Weekend BB&N Campuses & Harvard Square, Cambridge Saturday, May 4 Circus Lower School Campus, Cambridge

J une Wednesday, June 19 BB&N in Boston Summer Networking Reception

Spring 2019

Letter From the Head of School Dr. Jennifer Price

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Director of Communications Joe Clifford, Editor

Dr. Price provides a glimpse into the details of what actually happens at the school on a Professional Day

Communications and Website Coordinator Hadley Kyle, Editor

Community News 4 MLK Jr. Luncheon, Winter Sports, Upper

School Musical, Fourth Grade Renewable Energy Study, and more

Features 14 Charles Morrissey ’52:

BB&N’s Johnny Appleseed of the Information Age

B&N’s little-known footprint at the genesis of personal computing in the ’60s

and Staff Reach 18 Faculty Beyond BB&N to Serve the Community

The dedication of BB&N faculty and staff extends beyond the school through literacy programs, fighting hunger, and building bridges between the incarcerated and their children

26 Gabe O’Malley ’91: Raising the

Bar in Public Service

Class of ’91 alumnus is a public protector with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by day, and the owner of the local Cambridge institution The Plough and Stars by night

28 Former Faculty Profile:

Minnie Walcott Advancing Our Mission 30 100 Knights ’til Graduation Celebration, For more information about alumni/ae events, visit www.bbns.org/events For more information about on-campus news and events, visit www.bbns.org/news-events Note to Parents of Alumni/ae: Please help us stay in touch with your child!

Update mailing addresses and contact information online at www.bbns.org/updateinfo, email alumni_programs@bbns.org, or mail the update to Alumni/ae Programs, Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, 80 Gerry’s Landing Road, Cambridge, MA 02138

Spirit of Marina Keegan ’08 Inspires Student Art Auction

Associate Director of Communications Andrew Fletcher, Senior Editor

Contributing Writers Joe Clifford Cecily Craighill Davis Andrew Fletcher Lori Ferguson Sharon Krauss Dr. Jennifer Price Kate Radlauer Janet Rosen Connemara Wadsworth Kim Ablon Whitney ’91 Contributing Editors Cecily Craighill Davis Janet Rosen Tracy Rosette Brianna Smith ’10 Alumni/ae News & Notes Cecily Craighill Davis Tracy Rosette Brianna Smith ’10 Design & Production Nanci Booth www.nancibooth.com 781-301-1733 Photography/Artwork/Design Joe Clifford Andrew Fletcher Eric Nordberg ’88 Shawn Read Adam Richins Janet Rosen Roger F. Stacey Joshua Touster Kim Ablon Whitney ’91

Board of Trustees, 2018-2019 Officers Charles A. Brizius, Chair Erica Gervais Pappendick, Vice Chair/Secretary Bob Higgins, Vice Chair/Treasurer Members Leslie Ahlstrand ’08 Jake Anderson-Bialis ’98 Carmen Arce-Bowen Pam Baker Jeff Barber Jimmy Berylson ’00 Margaret Boasberg Agnes Bundy Scanlan Bihua Chen Tim Cohen Louisa Connaughton Mary Beth Gordon Christine Gross-Loh Jason Hafler ’00 Rachel Kroner Hanselman ’89 Kathryn Kargman Holden ’01 Freddie Jacobs Ken Lang Peter Levitt ’84 Bridget Terry Long Tristin Mannion Jennifer Price Leslie Riedel Micki Rowaan Emma Sagan ’10 Matthew Sidman ’90 Stephen Spaloss David Thompson ’85 Head of School Dr. Jennifer Price 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

Alumni/ae News & Notes 32 Alumni/ae News and Notes 47 Boston Art Weekend 49 BB&N in Los Angeles 54 BB&N in San Francisco 60 Milestones : FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT : www.bbns.org

Head of School Dr. Jennifer Price Dear BB&N Community, Have you ever wondered what actually happens when we close school for the day to hold a Professional Day? Well, I thought I’d take a moment to give you a glimpse into our most recent such day, held on February 19th. The day offers a useful lens into the exciting stuff taking place across our campuses as well as how we collaborate to best position the school moving forward.

The first important thing to know about our Professional Days is that both faculty and staff are invited—having all hands on deck embodies the “uKnighted” theme that defines our community.

After everyone filed into the Nicholas Athletic Center gymnasium that morning, we opened with an update from Dr. Tara Gohlmann, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, on the budget and the financial health of the school. Budget managers were asked to submit their 2019-20 requests three months earlier than in the previous process. The benefits of this accelerated schedule are significant, as it allowed us and the Board to determine tuition increases, compensation increases, and financial aid commitments in a much more informed, strategic way. The school is in very healthy financial shape, with tuition revenue continuing to cover approximately 80 percent of our costs, while the remainder is accounted for by fundraising, endowment income, and additional programming such as our summer camp.

Dr. Gohlmann also brought us up to speed on the progress of the campus master plan work, which has been taking place since the summer and which we expect will result in a truly transformative proposal to the Board this May. Continuing on the theme of “very healthy shape,” we moved next to a quick update about the Admission season. BB&N enjoyed its strongest season ever as far as the interest level from strong prospective student candidates, with schoolwide applications up 12 percent. Also, thanks in large part to the budgeting process mentioned above, we were thrilled to be able to increase both the quantity and the quality of our financial aid offers this year.

Decisions were mailed out on March 10, meaning we’re currently in the important “yield” phase until the April 10 deadline. So, if you happen to see a family revisiting during the next week or two, be sure to say hello and let them know about your BB&N experience!

Next, we provided an update about the professional development process, an essential tool in equipping our teachers and staff members to be at their best. We developed a comprehensive internal website to compile the impressive range of development opportunities available at BB&N. These opportunities include diversity/equity/inclusion work, global education-focused programs such as the Round Square Teacher Exchange, technology launch grants, travel grants, and urban connection grants.

Our faculty/staff audience was eager to hear the next presentation, Building a Pathway to Inclusive Communities, by Leila Bailey-Stewart, special assistant to the head of school.

When Leila joined us this past summer, she was charged by the Board to study the state of diversity, equity, inclusion, and global 2

education (DEIG) throughout the BB&N program, and to report back her findings and recommendations. Her assessment was compelling: There has been a noticeable, positive shift in the community’s embrace of DEIG initiatives over the past 20 years, and progress has been made on all fronts. Nevertheless, much work remains in front of us in this landscape, and one big takeaway for all of us was the clear need to dedicate more resources to these efforts.

Based on Ms. Bailey-Stewart’s findings, our Board of Trustees has already given its enthusiastic approval to the two primary recommendations emerging from her report: 1). Establish a more robust, well-resourced office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Global Education, which includes the new position of community outreach and engagement specialist, as well as increased responsibilities for DEIG practitioners on all three campuses.

2). Adopt “Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Communities” as one of the principal objectives in our school’s strategic design process.

An in-depth, printed report from Ms. Bailey-Stewart will be shared soon with the entire school community. I’d recommend everyone read it: we’re all partners in this crucial initiative for BB&N. We then broke out into groups for our next important session: a hands-on exercise in which we asked our faculty and staff to contribute their ideas to the school’s strategic design process.

We asked folks to brainstorm and prioritize specific initiatives beneath each of the five “big picture” strategic objectives that the Board had approved at its March meeting:

1. Exceptional Student Experience 2. Outstanding Faculty and Staff 3. Innovative and Relevant Educational Programs 4. Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Communities 5. Strategic and Efficient Resource Allocation

By the time the exercise had ended, we had accumulated 1,094 separate sticky notes—each with an idea written upon it that potentially could transform the BB&N experience for students.

From here, the strategic design process will move to its next important phase in April, in which we’ve invited more than 200 members of our community—faculty, staff, trustees, students, parents, and alumni/ae—to join one of our 14 Strategic Initiative working groups. These groups will collaborate to: 1) refine its goal; 2) propose short, medium, and longer term actions to meet this goal; and 3) develop a targeted plan for the 2019-

20 school year. After collating the work of all 14 groups, we will present a draft of the strategic plan to the Board at its May 16 meeting.

For the afternoon portion of the Professional Day, we focused on campus safety. We started with a visit from Deputy Superintendent Stephen Ahern of the Cambridge Police Department, who provided us with helpful, individual-focused advice to align with our training around the ALICE protocol (Alert/Lockdown/Inform/Counter/Evacuate) for armed intruder scenarios. Following his talk, faculty and staff returned to their respective campuses, where they conducted ALICE drills and tabletop exercises.

When the 3 o’clock bell finally rang, we all looked at each other with a mix of exhaustion and satisfaction. We asked folks to fill out a feedback survey: “informative,” “transparent,” and “insightful” were the three tops words they used to describe the day. For

my part, I can absolutely confirm that we all emerged from the day energized by where we’re headed and excited to think about how we could translate everything we discussed into a better experience for our 1,011 students. Thank you to our families: we really appreciate the time you give us all to do some adult learning, modeling as best we can what your children are doing here every day!

Wishing you all a wonderful Spring!

Best,

Jennifer Price Head of School 3

Community News BB&N Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Annual Luncheon

Middle School Geography Bee Puts Students on the Map

Members of the BB&N community gathered at the Upper School on MLK Day for the 35th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

Featuring speakers, music, discussion, and food, the event brought the school community together in the spirit intended by Dr. King.

You have fifteen seconds to answer each of the following questions.

Good luck.

Reflecting on Dr. King’s influence on his life, BB&N senior Jaylen Smith eloquently addressed the gathered attendees as the keynote speaker, and guests were also treated to a musical performance by singer and guitarist Morgan Minsk.

2. The Strait of Malacca links the South China Sea to which ocean on its west?

1. The Balkan Peninsula is part of which continent that borders the Mediterranean Sea?

Henry Kirk ‘24 and Gabrielle Martin ‘23 were all smiles after the competition ended.

Many of us know about Dr. King’s mission to end segregation in the South and to restore human dignity to “Negro” citizens. Did you know that Dr. King also fought for voting rights, educational equality, and economic justice among other social ills? This year’s celebration [offered] a “Teach In,” where attendees [explored] different dimensions of Dr. King’s life and work. BB&N faculty members [led] workshops using video footage of speeches and interactive activities, followed by a lively discussion.

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The “Teach-in Sessions” focused on the following topics, and offered insight and reflection on the impressive spectrum of Dr. King’s work.

• Youth Workshop • Letter from a Birmingham Jail • Montgomery Bus Boycott • War and Vietnam

The Geography Bee has been taking place at BB&N for more than a decade now, and continues to be a student and faculty favorite.

For those interested in discovering the inside scoop on the latest trends and topics in science and technology, there are several websites and magazines that Upper School science teacher Leah Cataldo might have suggested checking out. But more likely, Cataldo would have simply recommended a visit to the Upper School on the evening of January 22nd for the school’s twelfth annual “Current Topics & Research in Science and Technology Symposium.”

• Voting Rights • Christian/Religious Influence on the Movement

PICTURED x 1 x Keynote speaker Jaylen Smith ’19 speaks about Dr. King’s influence on his life. x 2 x Assistant Director of Alumni/ae Programs Brianna Smith ’10 helps lead a youth workshop. x 3 x Singer and musician Morgan Minsk performs at the MLK Luncheon. x 4 x BB&N’s Director of Multicultural

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When Henry Kirk ’24 named Sweden as the most populous country in Scandinavia, he narrowly defeated Gabrielle Martin ’23 in the finals, rendering him eligible to take a written test and qualify for the state finals of the National Geographic GeoBee, a country-wide competition.

Student Symposium Explores Current Trends in Science and Technology

• Musical Influence on the Movement

• Integration

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This winter, 12 Middle Schoolers (and three intrepid sixth graders) matched wits in the Big Room, bolstered in their efforts by a supportive and excited crowd. Answering a variety of geography questions ranging from international locales to U.S. state capitals, and even critical thinking exercises, the students impressed through several rounds until only two were left standing.

(Answers: 1-Europe; 2-Indian Ocean)

This year’s program also offered new opportunities to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, described below by event coordinator and BB&N’s Director of Multicultural Services, Lewis Bryant.

If you answered these questions correctly, you too might have had a chance at winning the annual Middle School Geography Bee. (Answers upside down at the bottom.)

Services Lewis Bryant and Head of School Dr. Jen Price.

It was an informative and fascinating evening, giving those who attended serious food for thought. See below for a full list of students and their topics.

• Food Allergies: The Unexplained Disease Overtaking America Leyla Ewald ’19 • Ant-Man Breaks the Internet, The Intersection of Quantum Physics and Quantum Computing - Sam Gloss ’19 • Squishing the Stomach Bug - Matt Keating ’19 • A Shocking Solution to Parkinson’s Disease - Gabriel Levis ’19

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The symposium featured students from Cataldo’s Current Topics and Research in Science and Technology class presenting informative deep dives into issues at the forefront of the science community. Using PowerPoint slides and persuasive, engaging research to explore each topic, the seven seniors presented on a wide array of issues, running the gamut from understanding and defeating the stomach bug to the intersection of quantum physics and quantum computing as seen in the movie Ant-man.

• Insights on Cancer Immunotherapy - Spencer Solit ’19 • Space: The Next Frontier - Lana Tilke ’19 • Cryptocurrency and the $200,000 Pizza - Andy Xu ’19

2 PICTURED x 1 x Lana Tilke ’19 presents on her topic, “Space: The Next Frontier.” x 2 x Andy Xu ’19 expounds on the fascinating world of cryptocurrency.

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Community News

PICTURED x 1 x Middle School math teacher Jesse Sarzana ’93 and his father introduce students to the Italian language.

x 2 x Middle School math teacher Richard Chang stamps student passports after discussing the politics of Korean pop music.

x 3 x English teacher Nicole Kahn introduced wary students to the malodorous world of French cheeses.

Middle School Broadens Student Horizons with Global Gathering

AP French Students Create Audio “Galerie”

Middle School students spent their last community time before winter break traveling the world from the confines of their own campus. With passports for stamping in hand, students chose from more than 15 different informational sessions held by Middle School faculty, learning all about different cultures—and having quite a bit of fun in the process!

When Upper School French teachers Cécile Roucher-Greenberg and Candie Sanderson began outlining plans for the virtual gallery of French artists that their AP class puts together each year, they were hoping to find a twist to enhance the project.

A plethora of intriguing topics came to light through the expertise of faculty, including: • Science teacher Michael Ewins bringing students up to speed on British slang;

“Candie was terrific and found ‘Vocaroo,’ a website that let students record their voice, save it on the internet, and use a QR code for others to listen to with any cell phone QR reader app,” Roucher-Greenberg explains. The result was an audio-guide to comment on the various French arts displayed in the two teachers’ classrooms.

“Each student chose a piece of art, recorded a comment/analysis in French, printed the QR code, and brought it to class along with a print or reproduction of the chosen art.”

• Math teacher Richard Chang dissecting the surprisingly political landscape of Korean pop music; • English teacher Nicole Kahn introducing Middle Schoolers to the wonderful, malodorous world of French cheeses;

Students from all French levels enjoyed the experience, roaming the classroom “galerie,” scanning the QR codes, and experiencing a peer-led exposition of the art on their phones or mobile devices.

• Stephanie Moon highlighting the differences between Korean and American snacks.

The brainchild of English department head Rachel Jamison and world languages department head Lourdes Fernandez, the event was a raging success, and one that brought students and faculty together in an appreciation of global culture and customs.

“We’d been looking for a way to make community time more interactive for the students,” says Jamison.

“And this was a really fun way to do it…the teachers were able to bring some great concepts to the sessions, pulling from their own cultures or expertise.”

Whether it was the sound of gazpacho being handmade in the kitchen, the shouts of students learning about rugby from the green outside, or students attempting to speak Italian, Arabic, or Irish Gaelic, the campus came alive. And with passports fully stamped, students headed to their cars and buses for one final trip after having traveled the world in one afternoon.

Using a QR app, scan the below QR code to hear Talia Mirel ’20 discussing Claude Monet’s 1884 painting, “Les villas á Bordighera.”

French 5 honors student Lily Brown ’19 enjoys the audio gallery put together

by AP French students.

1 Family Science Saturday Brings Lower School Families Together Lower School students and parents gathered at BB&N this February for another Family Science Saturday. For 18 years now, the program has been allowing students to explore different aspects of science with their families under the expert tutelage of faculty who are passionate about making science accessible and fun.

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This winter’s event saw students exploring physics in the MakerSpace, learning about birds of prey in the gym, and getting hands-on experience with programming in the computer lab.

Past events have featured trips to Duxbury beach to explore sea life, egg-drop experiments in collaboration with Upper School students, and “green” focused environmental projects.

“I feel like the real benefit of this program is the community aspect, for parents and kids to be learning together,” says Lower School science teacher Carol Fine. “Even if it means coming to school on a Saturday!”

Debbie Stein of Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary introduces a hawk during an exploration of birds of prey at Family Science Saturday.

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Community News Middle School Tackles Broadway Musical Hit “13” The Broadway production 13 came to life on the Big Room stage this winter when Middle School students donned their thespian hats for the annual musical. The show tells the tale of a middle schooler transitioning from New York City to a small school in the country. Navigating the many trials and tribulations of such a change, the performance tackled issues relevant to adolescence, social circles, and simply finding one’s place in school and life.

Upper School Musical Tackles Broadway Favorite BB&N theater students chose a tough act to follow when they took the stage for their winter musical production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; the original 1961 Broadway production garnered seven Tony awards and eventually prompted a 1995 reboot that enjoyed a long run, as well as a 50th anniversary run in 2011.

Clearly, director Mark Lindberg felt his troupe was up to it, and as delighted audiences will attest to, the students were. The story follows the plight of an ambitious young man, J. Pierrepont Finch, who cleverly works his way up the ladder of a large company with the help of a book, the titular How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Through a series of comical shenanigans, plot turns, and musical interludes, the play watches Finch finagle his way to corporate success, finding time to discover true love in the process.

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PICTURED

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x 1 x Sandro Benmayor ’23 (center stage) delivers a line during the musical. x 2 x Sandro Benmayor ’23, Timothy Guan ’23, Hannah Curhan ’23, and Matthew Cohen ’23 (front row)

Fifth Grade Brings Fairy Tales to Life with Story Stew Picture a world where the old woman who lived in a shoe, Old Mother Hubbard, Jack and Jill, Little Red Riding Hood, and all of your fairy tale favorites live simultaneously in an enchanted forest. Visitors to the Brick Building community room this winter witnessed this enchanted scenario in person when fifth graders performed a fairy tale revue, Story Stew.

Featuring comic turns and daring drama, the students brought down the house with their own spin on the hijinks that ensue when you mix fairy tale magic with carefully choreographed acting.

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PICTURED Students in 5M during a pivotal scene in Story Stew

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x 1 x Seamus Doyle ’21 (standing) and Aurash Vatan ’19 belt it out during a comedic number. x 2 x Tina Kulow ’20 and Myles Nadeau-Davis ’20 (front row) feel the music. x 3 x Cordiana Cozier ’19 and Seamus Doyle ’21 profess their love. x 4 x Kira Bierly ’19 and Max Ambris ’19 x 5 x Cecily Chung ’22, Priya Devavaram ’21, and Laila Shadid ’19

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Class Notes 1

A year-long exploration of nature, the environment, and energy burst to fruition before spring break when fourth graders hosted a renewable energy open house. Packed full of parents, teachers, and students, the Lower School Pokross Room became ground zero for innovative thinking about environmentally friendly energy options.

In social studies and language arts, students researched their energy source and reported their findings in notes and essays. In science, students built working models and learned how each form of energy works and how it is used.

On a chilly Wednesday morning the week before Spring Break, students trudging off a bus at the Middle School were delighted by the surprising figure greeting them at the entrance.

Appropriate for a year that has carried the phrase “uKnighted” as its unifying theme, a life-size knight mascot paced animatedly up and down the front walkway on the Middle School campus. Decked out in blue and gold and carrying a shield with the BB&N logo, the helmeted mascot waved cars into drop-off spots and high-fived every student who passed its path.

Fourth Grade Thinks Forward with Renewable Energy Open House

During an integrated study leading up to the event, teams of students were each assigned a renewable energy source—solar, wind, hydro, or fuel cell—to investigate.

BB&N Welcomes Colorful New Community Member

“That’s the one I voted on!” said one student excitedly, referring to the”choose our mascot” poll that students had filled out before winter break.

“Who’s under there?” asked several other students, who were receiving no helpful hints from the mascot itself, which was remaining perfectly quiet.

After delivering approximately 160 high fives at the Sparks Street campus, the knight strode off purposefully to the Lower School campus, where it playfully welcomed gleeful students and parents at Buckingham Gate, and then briefly popped its large, blue-plumed, golden-masked head into several classrooms in the Brick Building, New Wing, and Morse Building.

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“A knight!!! Awesome! Can I touch the shield!”, yelled gleeful students when the knight stopped by at the start of the day in Sylvia Elmer’s second grade classroom.

Outside of a first-grade classroom, a young girl offered her opinion to her classmate friends: “I think the knight is Dr. Price,” she said, “I can just tell.”

The mascot, silent as always, could neither confirm nor deny the student’s guess. Instead, Dr. Price, rather, the knight simply raised both of its four-fingered hands in the air in the universal “I don’t know” gesture. Later in the week, the knight also made its first Upper School appearance at senior skit night. The spirited new member of our community will make a number of appearances at future events this year and beyond. See the inside back cover to help us “name that knight.”

In addition to working, scale-model wind turbines, hydrogen fuel cells, solar panels, and hydro facilities, this year also featured striking student art pieces inspired by nature. There was truly something for everyone, and a promise of renewable energy for the next generation.

PICTURED x 1 x Students learn about wind turbines as a renewable energy source. x 2 x Mimi Perkins ’27 makes an adjustment to her team’s fuel cell car. x 3 x Linus Goulthorpe ’27, Charlotte Hanselman ’27, Mimi Perkins ’27, Francisco Santos ’27, and Lindsay Kwon ’27

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PICTURED x 1 x Owen Dowden ’23 exchanges a high-five with BB&N’s new mascot. x 2 x Beginner students meet the new mascot during recess.

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Community News 2

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1 Boys Basketball (Record: 9-16)

BB&N Winter Sports BB&N athletes filled the season with excitement as usual this winter. See below for the highlights.

Girls Hockey (Record: 15-8-2) 3

Wrestling (Record: 7-11) 6

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This team’s stellar season resulted in their best winning percentage since the late ’90s.

Highlights included a 2-1 win over powerhouse Andover and a four-goal comeback tie against New Hampton.

All League: Molly Griffin ’20, Maya Mangiafico ’20, and Mia Biotti ’21 Honorable Mention: Rei Halloran ’19 Cup Winner: Rei Halloran ’19

Co-Ed Fencing (Girls Record: 8-1; Boys Record: 4-6) 7 •

An outstanding year for the girls’ squad featured a bronze- medal finish at the State Championships, women’s sabre placing second at the Squad Championships, and women’s epee winning first place at the Squad Championships.

Cup Winners: Eileen Rhie ’20 and Kevin Ye ’19

Despite an inability to fill a full lineup, this squad had great success come tournament time. At the Graves-Kelsey ISL league championship Phil Melki ’19, Alexi Melki ’21, and Ines Levy ’21 placed, and Will Jarrell ’19 repeated with his second championship.

All League: Will Jarrell ’19 All New England: Will Jarrell ’19 Cup Winner: Will Jarrell ’19

Girls Basketball (Record: 7-13) 2 • This squad saved their best for last, closing the season with a dramatic overtime win against Lawrence Academy led by a 25-point effort from Sarah Leder ’19.

All League: Sharon Pongnon ’20 Honorable Mention: Sarah Leder ’19 Cup Winner: Sarah Leder ’19

• Featuring the largest roster in the ISL (18 student-athletes), this team recorded strong victories versus St. Mark’s, Middlesex, and Groton.

Honorable Mention: Anthony Lamonica ’19, Julius Nagin ’20, and Ryan Stewart ’21 Cup Winners: Justin Albee ’19 and Jaylen Smith ’19

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Facing the challenges of a rebuild year, All-League-honors winning goaltender John Day ’19 led the way for this team. Day played more minutes and faced more shots than any goalie in the New England Prep. Division, and kept the Knights in every game.

All League: John Day ’19 Cup Winners: Christopher Chen ’19, Matthew Corrieri ’19, and John Day ’19

Co-Ed Squash 5 •

The BB&N squash team was a young group that spent the season bonding and building on key technical fundamentals. Highlights included a third-place finish for the boys’ team at Nationals, capped off by Ben Wiegand ’20 tearing back from down 4-10 to win his final match 12-10.

Cup Winners: Samuel Gloss ’19 and Hannah Sarnak ’19 12

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Boys Hockey (Record: 0-24-2) 4

PICTURED x 1 x Ty Harding ’22 finishes off a fast break. x 2 x Hattie Hung ’22 dribbles by a defender. x 3 x Mia Biotti ’21 unleashes a slap shot. x 4 x John Day ’19 gets low to block a shot. x 5 x Mike Remijan ’19 plays a shot from a full stretch. x 6 x Cole Grevelink ’20 attempts to pin his opponent. x 7 x The girls’ epee squad was all smiles following their gold medal finish at the Squad State Championships.

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CHARLES MORRISSEY’52: JOHNNY APPLESEED OF THE INFORMATION AGE

BY LORI FERGUSON At his graduation from Colby College in 1956, Charles Morrissey ’52 listened with rapt attention as celebrated American poet Robert Frost delivered the commencement address. “I was graduating with a degree in American literature and fancied myself the next Frost,” he recalls with a chuckle. “But the following day, my stint in the Air Force began and I suddenly found myself sitting at a radar site in southern Louisiana and thinking, ‘What the heck just happened here?’” Morrissey had been assigned to work on the Sage System, which was the foundation for ARPANET, the network that became the basis of the internet. “I found it fascinating,” he recalls, “and that’s how I became a techie.”

A techie, indeed. Just 10 years later, Morrissey would find himself the vice president of TimeShare Corporation, a company founded to promote the computer language BASIC and the concept of computer time-sharing. “We were the Johnny Appleseeds of personal computing,” says Morrissey with a chuckle. “We were educating people on personal computing a decade before personal computers arrived. Bill Gates was just eight years old when we were developing our company.”

Admittedly, Morrissey’s journey to TimeShare was somewhat circuitous. Following his three-year tour of duty in the Air Force, he completed his M.B.A. at Harvard Business School and began working in mergers and acquisitions in New York City. Then in May of 1964, he received the phone call that would change the trajectory of his career.

“My friend Dick Bueschel called and was very excited,” Morrissey recalls. “He had attended a Dartmouth College presentation by Mathematics Professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz in which they introduced the new programming language they had invented— ‘Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code,’ or BASIC—together with the concept of computer time-sharing. Kemeny and Kurtz believed that computer literacy would prove to be essential in the coming years, and they wanted Dartmouth students to understand the technology.”

It was the birth of personal computing, says Morrissey, and the potential it represented was staggering.

Within days, Morrissey was in Hanover, NH, to see a demonstration as well. “After the demo, Kemeny told Dick and me that as part of his grant from the National Science Foundation, he was required to export the technology to the world. He turned to us and said, ‘Would you like to do this?’”

The answer was yes. In 1966, Bueschel left his job at Honeywell and launched TimeShare Corporation in Hanover. He hired Morrissey as his vice president and asked two members of Honeywell’s internal programming group, Doug Whitney ’57 and former B&N faculty member Andy Stevenson, to join the team as well.

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Charles Morrissey ’52, former vice president of the TimeShare Corporation.

“At the time, I was exploring my options,” Whitney recalls. “I had seen computer time-sharing starting to develop and told Dick Bueschel, my boss at the time, that I didn’t see how Honeywell was going to get into that space, so I needed to consider my alternatives. He called me a short time later and said he was starting a company on time-sharing and would like me to join him. I couldn’t believe it.” Andy Stevenson also saw a chance to grow. “I enjoyed programming and especially liked debugging things,” he recalls. “Dick was my manager and we got on well, and Doug and I had worked together on several projects, so I decided to join them.”

In the early years, the TimeShare team was simply working to find jobs and build capital. Morrissey called on corporate clients who might benefit from the computer time-sharing technology, while Whitney and Stevenson carried out contract work in mainframe programming to generate revenue. “At one point, I was hired by the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth to develop machine code on Dartmouth’s time-sharing system, working shoulder to shoulder with Kemeny and Kurtz,” says Whitney. “I created a language called LAFF, ‘Language for the Aid of Financial Fact-Finders,’ which was used by Tuck students to do online research to develop business cases using financial data. It was an exciting time.”

Whitney led management seminars as well, demonstrating BASIC and familiarizing companies with the concept of computer time-sharing. “In the late ’60s/early ’70s, I even gave a presentation on the checkless society to the American Bankers Conference,” he recalls with a smile in his voice. “We’re still not quite there yet, but we’ve come a long way.”

The TimeShare team also worked tirelessly to show math and science teachers the potential of BASIC and computer time-sharing when applied in the classroom. The going wasn’t always easy, Morrissey concedes. “I remember traveling to the 1968 New York State math teachers’ meeting to give a presentation I grandly dubbed ‘The Computer in the Classroom,’” he recounts. “No one came. There were at least 100 math teachers at the conference and not one showed

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up for my talk.” Morrissey later asked a few attendees why they had shunned his presentation. “They told me, ‘You can’t fit a computer in the classroom!’ And technically they were right; computers in those days were the size of three refrigerators. I realized I had a lot of educating left to do and I needed to change the title of my talk.”

Whitney, too, encountered his share of skepticism while on the road. “One aspect of my job was to give training sessions to teachers on how to use computers in the classroom. I would show up with an 81-lb. teletype in one suitcase and an acoustic coupler in the other. I’d connect to a phone line, we’d develop programs on the blackboard, type them into the computer and then I would show teachers the results.” Initially many of the teachers resisted the technology, fearful that they would be replaced by computers, he says, but over time they began to embrace the concept.

As TimeShare grew and knowledge of BASIC and computer time-sharing spread, Whitney and Stevenson realized there was one market that was particularly receptive to the company offerings: math textbook publishers. In 1972, the TimeShare team secured a meeting with the CEO of Houghton Mifflin, which at that time had 65 percent of the high school math textbook market. “He told us that Houghton Mifflin was thinking of putting out a workbook to go with its textbooks,” recalls Morrissey. “We explained that through computer time-sharing, they could have a workbook sitting on a computer system that could be called up anytime, anywhere. They loved the concept and we began working together.

Four years later, they bought our company. Browne & Nichols was a beneficiary of the stock transaction.”

Doug Whitney ’57, who coincidentally found himself working alongside Chuck Morrissey ’52 at TimeShare Corporation, introducing BASIC to the wider world

Although Morrissey remembered the school when TimeShare was acquired, he confesses that he worked alongside Whitney and Stevenson for nearly three years before discovering their shared B&N connection. “I don’t even remember how we finally stumbled onto it.” Yet neither he nor Whitney evince surprise that they ended up collaborating in such a forward-facing industry. “B&N faculty always encouraged me to challenge myself and taught me the importance of discipline, something that has served me well throughout my professional life,” says Whitney.

“In computer programming, you have to dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s, something I learned to do at B&N, in my three years of engineering courses at Brown University, and in my business courses at Babson College where I earned by bachelor’s in business administration.” Morrissey concurs. “The faculty at B&N were always encouraging us to broaden our horizons.”

Both have carried that lesson across their careers. Whitney concluded his career in computing in 2000, retiring as the head of internal programming for DartmouthHitchcock Medical Center shortly after stewarding the institution successfully through its Y2K conversion. After selling TimeShare, Morrissey initially returned to the business world, advising venture firms’ portfolio companies, then in 1984, he joined the University of California, Irvine to develop and teach an entrepreneurship and information systems program. In 1989, he moved to Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management to teach strategy and simultaneously began work on a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems at Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Management. His dissertation topic: the impact of computing on secondary education.

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A view of the Dartmouth Kiewit Computation Center in the 1960s, showcasing the size of computers at the time Dartmouth mathematics professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz (left and center) in the Dartmouth Kiewit Computation Center during the 1960s, shortly after the two invented the BASIC programming language.

Morrissey ’52 was approached by Kemeny in May of 1964 to help shepherd this new programming language into the greater world.

Photos courtesy of Dartmouth College Archives

Morrissey went on to develop the ideas from his dissertation into study.net, a joint venture with Harvard Business School Publishing that provides online course materials to management students.

“The research that Kemeny and Kurtz did at Dartmouth was the key to personal computing, and the first step toward eLearning,” says Morrissey. “It foreshadowed personal computers by 10 years. It was fascinating to be a part of it all.” v

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CHANGING LIVES THROUGH LITERATURE

by Sharon Krauss

FACULTY AND STAFF

REACH BEY ND BB&N TO SERVE COMMUNITY

BB&N’s faculty and staff impact hundreds of lives daily through their work at the school, but when laptops close and students have gone home, some feel that their work isn’t finished. Whether combatting recidivism in the prison system through literature, giving the hungry hope through a meal, or connecting incarcerated dads with their children through books, the following pages shed light on faculty and staff who take time outside of school to serve the community.

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Sitting at Commencement in June 2017 and savoring the first whiffs of summer’s respite, English teacher Jean Klingler was closing the book on a demanding school year when she suddenly realized she was eager to take on a new assignment.

In that moment, the parent speaker, First Justice of the Cambridge District Court Roanne Sragow Licht P’12, ’17, was urging the graduates to make improving the world their lodestar purpose in life.

“I remember,” Klingler says, “that Roanne used the phrase ‘tikkun olam,’” a Hebrew concept that literally translates to “repair the world.”

Judge Sragow Licht went on to mention Changing Lives through Literature (CLTL), an alternative sentencing program offered in her court that uses the transformative power of reading and group discussion to “help keep defendants on probation out of the criminal justice system and put them on the track to living fuller, more stable lives.”

week CLTL course, and Jean Klingler and Alda Farlow are currently meeting their group this spring. All of us have felt the opportunity was tailor-made for our specific skill set—engaging students in discussion about literature— and have been curious about using it with a population very different from BB&N’s.

“It’s so rare that someone says, ‘MY GOD! We need an English teacher! Is there an English teacher in the house?!’” Zoe Balaconis says. Raising her hand, she continues archly, “Actually, yes.” She adds with a laugh, “That fulfilled a small fantasy of mine.”

BB&N English teachers and First Justice of the Cambridge District Court Roanne Sragow Licht P’12, ’17: from left, Althea Cranston, Sragow Licht, Alda Farlow, Sharon Krauss, Zoe Balaconis, Jean Klingler, Sarah Getchell, and Beth McNamara

At the reception afterward, Klingler approached Sragow Licht and said, “If there’s any way to become involved in that, I’d be interested.”

Klingler, as it happens, was not alone. Discovering that the same spark of interest had simultaneously jolted a number of us in the English Department, she soon organized a group meeting with the judge. Since then, English teachers Sarah Getchell, Althea Cranston, Beth McNamara, Zoe Balaconis, and I have taught the six-

More seriously, Balaconis notes that some of her interest in teaching the course stems from her place in the larger community.

“Roanne is our county’s judge, and I knew that the people in the class would be my neighbors, essentially, in the Cambridge and Somerville area. I was excited by the chance to feel more connected to the local community in a way.”

A former lawyer, Sarah Getchell sees “a lot of room for improvement in our attempts in the U.S. to rehabilitate people who have been convicted of crimes. I love having this opportunity to put my money where my mouth is,” she says. “Programs like this lower recidivism rates and make communities safer, healthier, and stronger for all.”

Indeed, a 2011 study, undertaken 20 years after CLTL’s inception, found that the program had “a dramatic effect 19

ABOVE: Judge Sragow Licht is thrilled that the BB&N teachers want to continue teaching CLTL. “They have raised the level of this class enormously,” says Sragow Licht. “The amount of knowledge they bring to the table—and the personalities, sense of humor, ability to interact with people from different socio-economic and educational levels—is amazing.”

BELOW: Alda Farlow, left, and Zoe Balaconis chat about the CLTL experience with the group. “I liked the departmental momentum around becoming involved with CLTL,” says Balaconis, “and it’s been a fun experience to work on together, an interesting, different way to collaborate.”

in reducing recidivism.” Upon probationers’ completion of the program, arrests declined severely and were for less serious offenses. Since Sragow Licht resurrected the program eight years ago after it had lain dormant for a while in the Cambridge Court, it has graduated approximately 115 probationers, and only one has reoffended. “Only one—that’s huge,” she stresses. “The overall recidivism rate for convicted criminals is very high. Also, as a result of this class we’ve had people go back to school, which is amazing.”

Balaconis recalls that “guilt week”—each week’s reading and short reflective writing assignment focused on a different theme, such as love or perseverance—was particularly powerful for the students. “They spoke a lot about their own thought processes after conviction,” she says. Her co-teacher, McNamara, adds, “We had a very animated discussion of Carver’s ‘So Much Water So Close to Home’—of the character’s decision-making all the way through that story. Where did it go wrong? Where was the moment?”

Sragow Licht handpicks defendants she considers to be good matches for this voluntary program, which seats 10 to 12 of them at a table with her, a probation officer, and a teacher or two. Successful completion of the program rewards students with reduced probation time—a minimum of three months shaved off a year’s probation—and the waiving of probation fees, which run $50 to $65 per month, as well as some court costs. But less tangible benefits also come to the participants in ways and measures that are often surprising to them.

While we English teachers may try to impress upon our teenage students that reading and discussing literature help us all set our personal moral compasses and prepare us for life’s challenges, that abstract idea doesn’t always fully register with them. Balaconis observes, “It was rewarding to see that the probationers could immediately understand the application of the story’s lesson that they would use going forward.”

“The true beauty of this program,” wrote one participant, “is in rectifying that belief in us who have had a downturn in our lives, for whatever reason. It is in showing us that our opinions, thoughts, and beliefs are valuable, and thus we are valuable. When you engage intellectually, you begin to gain confidence in yourself and…a new understanding of yourself.”

Althea Cranston recalls one day when a student arrived early for the class she and I co-taught only to receive word then that a family situation required him to miss class. “He was almost tearful in telling us he had to leave.

He wasn’t thinking ‘If I’m not here, I’m not going to get credit for the course.’ He wanted to have that hour and a half in that room doing intellectual stuff, atoning in whatever way, getting outside of himself.”

At the first class she and Balaconis co-taught, Beth McNamara says they were eager to get underway.

“People were still trickling in, and at 3:10 we floated the idea of starting, but one woman was quick to say, ‘Everyone deserves a second chance; let’s wait.’

That struck me very powerfully as the theme for the experience of the course.” As a former CLTL student put it, “Sometimes we go astray. That doesn’t mean we can’t be found and guided back down the right path…. I truly am moved by this experience.”

Collectively, we teachers, too, have found the CLTL experience touching, thought provoking, and rewarding.

“I found it extraordinary, a little gasp inducing, that they shared such personal stories with us, especially in writing,” says Cranston. “Sometimes they would say, ‘I’ve not told anybody else this.’ I think that’s due to having people who are listening carefully to them.” One week, handing back their written pieces, I heard a student say to the air, “I love reading what they write back to us.”

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“When you engage intellectually, you begin to gain confidence in yourself and a new understanding of yourself.”

That faith in literature’s relevance to real life first inspired this course, taught in a dozen states over the last 28 years, and it fuels Alda Farlow’s belief as she heads into the CLTL classroom this spring. “The idea of transforming lives matters to me,” she says, noting that one of her favorite authors is on the syllabus. “I wholly believe in Frederick Douglass’s narrative as a potential spark to change people’s lives. I’ve seen what it does for my students, and I’m so curious to see how his message can help adults transform their lives, too. I’m excited about learning from them, about testing my own mettle as a teacher.”

It’s a testament to the collaborative nature of education that we CLTL teachers, as well as the students, feel inspired by our efforts. In one more way now, thanks to this CLTL experience, our lives, too, have been changed through literature.

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SERVING THE COMMUNITY ONE MEAL AT A TIME

by Andrew Fletcher

Feeding people is a passion for chef Keith Jones, which may explain why for the past 17 years, BB&N’s director of dining services has quite literally made it his job. Both colloquially and respectfully known as “Chef” to many, Jones and his staff feed more than 750 people every day from the kitchen at 80 Gerry’s Landing Road. Add in two months of summer camp and special functions at the school, and that equates to more than 130,000 meals annually. But for Jones, it’s still not enough.

“Nobody in this country should be hungry. Nobody.” Jones doesn’t offer this as an opinion, it’s a fact. And, for the past 14 years, he’s backed up his words through selfless work on his own time in the greater Boston community.

“I got my love of cooking from watching my grandmother and mother,” Jones says. “I was around 10 years old when I started helping them cook for church events back home in New Jersey…my first introduction on how to cook for large groups. I was hooked after that; I was cooking full family meals at 11 years of age.”

Partly from that passion, and partly out of the earnest belief that everyone should give back what they can, Jones began volunteering as a cook at the Chelsea Community Kitchen 14 years ago. When the director left, Jones stepped up to take over the operation, and spent the next seven years running the kitchen and food pantry that served East Boston, Chelsea, and Revere.

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OPPOSITE PAGE: (Left to Right) Chef Keith Jones at the Chelsea Empty Bowls event, along with dedicated volunteers, the late Ruki Amereskie and Chef Rafael Soto ABOVE: Student volunteers at the Williams School in Chelsea proudly display their bowls.

Operating first from a church, and then at Roca, a local non-profit that “helps transform young lives to disrupt the cycle of incarceration and poverty,” Jones became a stalwart of the community and an essential resource for those in need of a homecooked breakfast or lunch.

“I was there every Saturday and Sunday,” Jones notes. “I was cooking, doing pick-up from the foodbank, supporting Project Bread (which was our major supporter), doing the Walk for Hunger, fundraising and all that goes along with that, corralling volunteers, and the paperwork for recertification…. It was like another full-time job.”

Under his guidance, Chelsea Community Kitchen became more than just a place to cater to the hungry. “It was kind of like a ‘Cheers’ thing,” Jones says. “People came for the social aspect along with the food…and they weren’t homeless all the time. They were working hard with two or three kids and having trouble making ends meet. We were

a place where they could relax for a bit, have a meal, see friends. It was humanizing.”

That last piece was key to Jones, who learned from his predecessor that standing in line for a soup or meal handout can be a blow to the ego. All of Jones’ volunteers were instructed to act as waitstaff, invite people to sit down, get them a drink and some rolls, even join them for some conversation.

“I loved the connections with the inner-city folks…you quickly realize that they’re families just like us, worrying about the same things in different ways.”

But it was a true labor of love, and when Jones’ mother became ill eight years ago, he knew he had to reprioritize. “Unless I could find consistent volunteers to take over some of the day-to-day pieces, it was just too much.” But asking someone to take on all of the roles Jones was filling proved impossible, and he realized he had to move on.

In typical Jones fashion, he stayed involved in the community, working with area non-profit The Chelsea Hunger Network on fundraising concepts, and pitching in when he could. Looking for a new idea to help feed those in need and get the community involved, Jones found inspiration one year while attending the BB&N Middle School’s annual “Soup Bowl” event.

“I brought it up in a meeting with the president of The Chelsea Hunger Network, Ron Fishman—‘at my school they do this thing where they make soup and they make bowls for the soup. So, the unique thing is, when you buy your ticket you get a meal but you get to keep this handmade bowl as well….’”

Shortly thereafter, “Chelsea Empty Bowls” was born, an event that Jones has overseen with Fishman for eight years now. Cooking out of BB&N’s kitchen, Jones brews up roughly 20 gallons of soup (three to four different

varieties), before transporting them to the Williams School in Chelsea.

pantries and soup kitchen would not have happened.”

“Our bowls are made by the students of Salem State College and Bunker Hill Community College, and then painted by volunteers at The Salvation Army, elderly organizations, and churches,” Jones explains. “We’re selling close to 200 tickets…and the mayor, police commissioner, and other law enforcement officers will paint their own bowls which we auction off at the event. Those guys actually get quite competitive with their bowls!”

Fishman recounts an example of Jones’ contributions: “Before last year’s event, a chef from a member’s soup kitchen who supplied the chili and clam chowder dropped out of sight. Without hesitation, Keith saved us by offering to supply them himself—an offer that would double his work. He suggested that from that point on, he supply all the offerings to avoid us having to scurry around to find other donors.

This was the only logical thing to do in Keith’s mind. As it turns out, the quality of Keith’s chowder and chili surpassed the originals, which were excellent!”

The community aspect of the event— pulling together students, volunteers, and residents—has hit all of the right notes, and Jones has been a key ingredient to its success.

“Keith has never said no and he never asks anything for himself. He sees what is needed and supplies it,” says Fishman. “Without Keith, we wouldn’t have Chelsea Empty Bowls, and more than $80,000 of donations to the

It’s an unsurprising anecdote, mirroring Jones’ selfless concern for others.

“You look at our country…and you hear heartbreaking stories,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. “You’d like to think that hunger is the last thing anybody should have to worry about.”

It’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.

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BOOKS BEHIND BARS: CONNECTING INMATES WITH THEIR CHILDREN

by Andrew Fletcher

The letters kindergarten teacher Ben Goldhaber receives from inmates at the Concord Northeastern Correctional Center come in all different forms—some brokenly scrawled, some carefully constructed in beautiful penmanship, some effusively long, and some brief. All of them, however, share one thing in common, a sincere tone of gratefulness One inmate’s letter reads: “This program was great and means a lot to my fiancé and me. We are young and our children are very young. We don’t get to see each other very much because of the distance. But thanks to you guys, my kids will have the chance to see my face and hopefully remember it until I can physically be there. Thank you…this program means a lot to men and their families.”

To Goldhaber, such sentiments are the perfect reminder of why for the past 10 years, he has been the lead organizer and volunteer of the “Read to Me” program, a part of the Concord Prison Outreach non-profit, helping incarcerated fathers stay involved in their children’s lives.

Each year, Goldhaber oversees two five-week sessions with 10 to 15 male inmates at Concord’s minimumsecurity prison, teaching them literacy as a way to connect to their children.

“The program’s all about introducing these men to different children’s books,” Goldhaber explains. “Teaching them about the importance of reading and reading to kids specifically, and then helping them pick out a book or two that they’re going to practice reading with us and with each other.”

Once the inmates are comfortable with their book, the magic really begins. Goldhaber brings in a video camera and films the men, one by one, reading to their children.

The final video is then sent to their families along with a copy of the actual book.

“Some of these men are in frequent touch with their children, but others haven’t seen them in years, or have children that were born after they were incarcerated,” Goldhaber says. “It means so much to them to find a connection, and hear how much their kids love the videos.”

Goldhaber smiles at a thought, “I’m always hearing the joke, ‘my kids are wearing out the DVD at home watching the video so much!’” The program is a serendipitous partnership, the fruit of an interest that he had held for many years.

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“During college in St. Louis, I had always been interested in rehabilitation and inequalities and unfair treatment of incarcerated men and women,” says Goldhaber. “So, when I moved back to Boston to start my teaching career, I knew I wanted to get involved in volunteer work in that area.”

While researching opportunities online, Goldhaber came across the website for Concord Prison Outreach, a non-profit founded by residents to help out the local prison community. “I found ‘Read to Me’ and I thought, ‘This is a perfect match for a kindergarten teacher who’s interested in helping out inmates.’”

When Goldhaber enquired about the program, he discovered it had been discontinued, but was put in touch with a retired woman, Win Wilbur, who had run the program years before. “Win was incredible, she was still so active in the community and excited about bringing the program back with me.”

According to Wilbur, Goldhaber has been a godsend.

“What a special person Ben is, he’s really carried this program on through,” says Wilbur. “We think of men in prison as being scary, angry, violent people, but when you meet them, they are very caring and eager for their children to have happy lives. They’re negotiating how their child is being raised, and there is an understandable tension…Ben has helped them find ways build connections to their families, and to bring them closer to their children.”

Wilbur chuckles, thinking back on their first few times running the program. “I think the inmates were wondering, ‘What are this old lady and this young guy who looks like a teenager doing here?’ But, Ben was so comfortable in his own skin…he could look at these guys and say, ‘I don’t have children but I teach kindergarten,’ and these guys accepted him right away.”

Wilbur notes that one of Goldhaber’s many strengths is helping inmates select the perfect book for their child, something that caters specifically to their child’s age and interests. In many cases, inmates will enroll in the program over a series of consecutive years, choosing new books for their children each time. “It’s a way for the inmates to track the growth of their child by knowing what they are reading, what they’re interested in,” Goldhaber says. “And it becomes a valuable touch point for communicating…a resource for them to stay in touch with and feel a part of their family.”

Beyond the clear benefits to their families, Goldhaber has seen the “Read to Me” program transform inmates themselves.

Having a focus outside of the prison empowers them, and allows them to feel like a “normal” dad, even if only for a little while. “For the video, we set up a room to make it look nice, and they don’t have to wear their prison badge. We encourage them to get their haircut how they like it, shave their beards, whatever it might be,” he says. “Oftentimes, they’re very nervous, and we always say, ‘If you’re nervous about something, that means it’s important to you, and that’s a good thing.’”

Goldhaber’s favorite moments are when inmates get creative. Sometimes the men will personalize their story, adding an “I love you, I miss you,” to the text, singing a song, or embarking on a non-sequitur their chosen book calls to mind—perhaps a childhood memory of their own father, or an experience they had with their children before they were imprisoned.

“We had one guy reading the children’s classic We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,” recounts Goldhaber. “He renamed each of the children in the book after his own kids…and because he wanted it to be a bedtime story, he had worked it out with one of the guards to wear a bathrobe and he had a plate of cookies and a coffee cup of milk. That was really great.”

The end experience is as rewarding for Goldhaber as it is for the inmates. “I hear time and time again that ‘just because I’m behind bars doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to connect with my kids.’ That special connection, it’s really our entire goal.”

ABOVE: BB&N kindergarten teacher Ben Goldhaber with a few of the books used in his “Read to Me” program RIGHT: Goldhaber with Win Wilbur, his partner and mentor in prison volunteerism

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GABE O’MALLEY ’91:

Raising the Bar in Public Service

by Kim Ablon Whitney ’91

Washington, DC, has Bullfeathers and The Capitol Lounge—two well-known watering holes where politicians grab drinks after grueling days on Capitol Hill. Beacon Hill has the 21st Amendment.

In Cambridge, we have The Plough and Stars.

“Food and drink are central to who we are and have always been, but politics, music, and literature are The Plough's holy trinity,” explains Gabe O’Malley ’91, the current owner of the Plough.

Politics in particular are also central to who the O’Malleys are. The Plough and Stars was founded in 1969 by O’Malley’s father, Peter O’Malley, and his uncle, Padraig O’Malley. The O’Malley brothers came from Ireland in the mid-’60's, helped open the Plough, and became part owners shortly thereafter. Peter O’Malley managed the Plough in the 1970s and the O’Malleys have been more or less involved in the running of The Plough ever since.

Although its square footage is small, the Plough’s reputation stretches far. Over the years, many notable musicians, poets, and politicians have frequented the bar. Rumor has it that Van Morrison wrote parts of Astral Weeks while hanging out at the Plough.

Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, was also once a regular. With Dewitt Henry, Peter founded the literary magazine Ploughshares over beers.

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Both Peter and Padraig O’Malley worked for former Boston D.A. Newman Flanagan. Padraig also worked for the late South Boston Congressman, Joe Moakley.

Padraig, an author and professor at UMass Boston, went on to have an extraordinary career in international conflict resolution, beginning in Northern Ireland. His work has taken him to powder-keg locales such as Bosnia, Kosovo, Nigeria, and Iraq. He is the subject of the recent awardwinning documentary film, The Peacemaker.

In 2005, Peter and Padraig had less time to oversee the bar and it closed temporarily while they mulled over options. Rumors spread online and many began mourning the loss of a landmark. At that point, Gabe knew he had to step in.

“I care about the City of Cambridge. I couldn’t let this place close,” he says.

“In New England we can be cold as a people, but bars often have a warm spirit. This bar is just one room. It’s a small American/Irish bar. People in here have no choice but to bump elbows and start talking. The warm spirit is the reason people keep coming back.”

With excitement and a little trepidation, Gabe became the majority owner. He still had his own burgeoning career as an attorney to think about, and he

knew he needed help with the dayto-day running of the business. At the time, O’Malley was working as an attorney at Ropes & Gray. Soon after, he transitioned to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office where his job focused on saving people’s homes from foreclosure during the subprime mortgage crisis of the 2000s.

At the A.G.’s office, Gabe found his professional calling—defending those down on their luck from being exploited. He identified with the victims of this insidious whitecollar crime—perhaps because of his experiences over the years at the Plough, where he got to know people from all walks of life. “If someone is misled about the terms of a loan, or is provided a loan they cannot repay, the A.G.’s office is one of the few things standing between the consumer and real harm.”

Gabe found a top-notch general manager for the Plough, which would come in even more handy when he decided to move to Washington, DC, to work for the newly-formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Moving from the A.G.’s office to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was a natural evolution.

Like both his father and his uncle, working for the public good is in Gabe’s veins—whether it’s through keeping a community gathering spot running or fighting for the common man.

LEFT: O’Malley in his DC, office at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau RIGHT: Gabe O’Malley ’91 outside The Plough and Stars

“I was going to be doing the same work that I had been doing on a state level on a federal level with jurisdiction over the whole country,” he says. “This kind of work is what had driven me to go to law school in the first place,” Gabe explains. “At the time there weren’t a lot of private protections for consumers and the Bureau was the new, leading voice in consumer protection.”

Another reason to move to DC was Gabe had just proposed to his future wife, Candice Delmas, who was a professor at Clemson in South Carolina. With the move, they would only be an hour plane ride away.

When Delmas was hired at Northeastern, she and Gabe faced another decision. Boston was definitely where both Delmas and O’Malley

“I care about the City of Cambridge.

I couldn’t let this place close....”

wanted to live and raise their twin boys, who were born in 2014. Yet, Gabe had found a rewarding career with the Bureau. “I really wanted to keep doing the consumer protection work I was doing,” he says. “But I also wanted to be with my family.”

Gabe began commuting to DC during the week. Currently, he spends Tuesday through Thursday in DC and works from home on Monday and Friday.

On his home days, he can take his boys to their preschool and check in on the Plough. Sometimes, all three generations of O’Malleys convene at the Plough.

“I love that all of us are involved in different ways,” says O’Malley. “And the fact that my boys can come here and have brunch on Sunday brings everything full circle.”

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F O R M E R FAC U LT Y P R O F I L E b y C o n n e m a ra Wa d s w o r t h *

The Hear t of the Bric k Building: Minnie B. Walc ott 1

PICTURED: 1: Minnie Walcott 2: Minnie in 1994 with her trademark smile

During her 26 years of working at BB&N (1985-2011), Lower School administrative assistant Minnie Walcott was a pivotal part of the community. Her generous spirit, equanimity, and forthrightness still stand out to the many lives she touched during her tenure. Whether receiving notes from classrooms, staying with a child waiting for a parent during dismissal’s chaos, or greeting a harried teacher, Minnie’s patience, sincerity, and lilting laugh set people at ease.

2 Minnie first came to BB&N as a parent seeking sound scholarship for her daughters within a group of intelligent and creative peers. She stood by her daughters, her colleagues, and they, in turn, stood by her. “My three daughters—Gina ’84, Irja ’89, and Dinora ’98—all received an excellent education at BB&N and the name alone served to open doors for them that would probably have been closed otherwise.”

As an active participant on the Lower School Diversity Committee, Minnie added a clear, reasoned, and important voice to the committee’s work. Her presence in the Affinity Lunch Group offered not just a strong role model for students of color, but a gentle camaraderie. She acted as a pointperson or emissary whenever parents, especially parents of color, were thinking of sending their kids to BB&N, as well as helping with Lower School Admission.

take her to breakfast, then school, and returned her at the end of the school day…what an incredibly loving and caring friend!” And Barb says of Minnie, “When we taught the Civil Rights unit and showed Eyes on the Prize, Minnie would always dip into my classroom so that the few children of color had someone who looked like them, someone they loved as they watched the beatings, hosings, and raw racism that was visited on their forbears.”

Minnie’s oldest daughter, Gina Y. Walcott, came to BB&N in third grade, graduated from Wellesley College, matriculated at BU School of Law, and is a practicing lawyer. Irja WalcottJarvis, a BB&N Lifer, went to Syracuse University, and graduated from Lesley College with a double Master’s in education and special needs. She is a teacher and ceramic sculptor. Minnie’s youngest daughter, Dinora Z. Walcott, is a Lifer as well and graduated from UMass Amherst. Now a singer and actress in Los Angeles, she was the only person from Massachusetts that year to have been accepted into Harvard’s American Repertory Master’s Program in Fine Arts.

All accomplished women now, Gina and Irja will celebrate their 35th and 30th reunions at BB&N respectively, while Minnie will celebrate a milestone of her own in 2019: 35 years of attending the BB&N Circus. “Yes, as you can tell, I’m a very proud mother!”

Of her dual role, Minnie says, “Being there to support teachers, students, and parents was very important to me.”

She adds, “That was a fun time for me, as I bonded with faculty, staff, parents, and especially with the Lower School students! I remember, for example, little Joe Kennedy III ’99 as a first grader, who would stop by my office every day to say hello. Now he is Congressman Joe Kennedy III!” She fondly remembers former Lower School parents Yo-Yo and Jill Ma inviting Dinora and her to many of his concerts, which led Dinora to take cello lessons. “My children and I were so incredibly blessed to be at BB&N.”

“Minnie is a woman of hope, unbounded kindness, and abiding faith. She has always had the gentleness of heart to see a person for the human being that person is. She holds no grudges and believes mightily in the good any person can do. She is brave. Minnie works through care and all who come to her are worthy; whether it was adults who came to unburden themselves in the chair at her desk, or the child who simply wasn’t feeling well, her trust in you could help you see what was right and give you the courage to do it.”

Minnie made many lifelong friends at BB&N. “My good friend Barbara Post (faculty emerita) is an angel!” When Dinora was in Barbara’s sixth-grade class, Minnie was recovering from surgery. Barbara drove to Allston to pick up Dinora,

BB&N graduate and former Lower School administrative assistant Nastaran Hakimi ’07 enthusiastically notes, “When I think of BB&N, I always think of Minnie. I spent many days and hours after school in her office…and she always welcomed me with a smile and made me feel comfortable.

In many ways, she was the linchpin of the Lower School and the heart of the building.”

Though retired, Minnie stays busy, “lending a helping hand however, whenever, and wherever needed. Now, I guess you can say that I’m bi-coastal in a sense,” as Dinora lives in California. She cares deeply for her extended family, spending time and helping with her four grandchildren (one of whom is a BB&N sixth grader) when she can, sometimes on short notice. She shares a home with Gina and her grandson, Anthony, in Belmont. Minnie’s daughter, Irja, her husband, Channing, and grandchildren, Jaden and Dakota ’25, live nearby in Waltham. Beyond her family, Minnie’s active life includes her many friends, and her church, where she teaches in the “Children’s Church” at Western Avenue Baptist Church in Cambridge. At The Cambridge Homes she is a “Friend” and “Associate,” which involves visiting with residents.

“Her presence is all balm. Truly she is the quiet force of righteousness and love at work on God’s earth,” says Barbara Post. Yes, Minnie has a deep optimism and faith in life. Her actions are consistent with what she believes is right. This is how she raised her daughters and what she gives to her friendships and associations with others. No wonder so many students and adults at BB&N enjoyed, and still enjoy, Minnie. * With input from Gina Y. Walcott, Esq. ’84

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Advancing Our Mission

100 Knights ’til Graduation On Wednesday, February 27th, the Class of 2019 had their 100 Knights ’til Graduation celebration. The senior class enjoyed breakfast, a slideshow of photos from their freshman year at Bivouac, and started writing letters to their future selves to be stored in a time capsule (and opened at their five-year reunion!) It was a special day for the class to begin thinking about their transition to becoming BB&N alumni/ae.

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Spirit of Marina Keegan ’08 Inspires BB&N Senior to Organize Art Auction in Her Memory The second-floor Upper School art gallery came to life last month with an altruistic exhibit featuring student work from BB&N and several other ISL schools. The exhibit was the brainchild of BB&N senior Annabel Kiley, who sought to raise money through a silent auction of the art to honor the memory of Marina Keegan ’08, whose life was tragically cut short in 2012.

Thanks to Annabel’s vision and efforts, nearly $1,300 was raised in one week in early March for the Marina Keegan Memorial Fund. Since 2013, the Keegan Fund has awarded a Summer Fellowship to two or more BB&N students interested in pursuing their own projects focusing on either artistic pursuits or activist causes, as Marina did both at BB&N and after her graduation, with the hope that the experiences funded through the Fellowship will reflect Marina’s spirit and ideals.

In her thoughtful essay, Kiley explains the inspiration behind her idea.

“At this year’s Senior Dinner in September, Head of School Dr. Jennifer Price charged our class to ‘leave BB&N better than you found it.’ It was these words that led me to reflect on the legacy of BB&N alumna Marina Keegan ’08, who has been a constant source of inspiration throughout my experience at BB&N. “When I first learned about Marina’s story during my freshman year, I was instantly compelled to learn more about her. Her drive and passion for the arts and activism captivated me. Everyone spoke so highly of her, and it has been a goal of mine to live as she did.

“I’ve read her book, The Opposite of Loneliness, multiple times and love to absorb her words and way of seeing the world. She was definitely a strong presence while writing my junior profile and I think I speak for my whole class when I say she inspired us to write as well as we could. She also served as inspiration for parts of my college essay, exploring what ‘the opposite of loneliness’ means to me.

PICTURED

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x 1 x BB&N seniors get into the spirit of the celebration. x 2 x Upper School English teacher Rob Leith, Upper School librarian Sandy Dow, and Upper School Science teacher and football coach Mike Willey

“In organizing an art exhibition and auction, I knew I wanted to include other schools so that Marina’s legacy could go beyond just BB&N. I reached out to the art department head at every ISL school and a few of my own contacts in the art world and received contributions of paintings, ceramics, drawing, photographs, and more.

“This project has strengthened my connection to Marina and her accomplishments by bringing her presence to BB&N once again. It has inspired me to leave BB&N, and the world, a better place and to pursue every passion that I have. I cannot wait to see what fellowship projects are to come from this amazing community in honor of Marina.”

- Annabel Kiley ’19

Marina Keegan ’08 Summer Fellowship Recipients 2013

2017

David Markey ’14

Elijah Davis ’18

Rachel Strodel ’14

Emory Sabatini ’18 Sophia Scanlan ’18

2014 Molly Murphy ’15

2018

Michelle Zhang ’15

Jayanth Uppaluri ’20 Maia Pandey ’20

2015 Katie Massie ’16

2019

Isabel Ruehl ’16

Emily Plump ’20 Samantha Savitz ’20

2016 Julie Peng ’17 Sophie Smyke ’17 Annabel Kiley ’19 (left) and Tracy Shoolman, mother of Marina Keegan ’08, at the closing reception of the exhibit which raised nearly $1,300 for the Marina Keegan Memorial Fund.

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[1] BB&N’s 2018 grade six production of Alice in Wonderland Jr. is the leading contender for the school’s “most-colorful-costume-and-setdesign-ever award!”

Things About BB&N:

[2] The Upper School tech crew outdid themselves in the Spring 2007 production of Noises Off, building an enormous set on wheels that could rotate 360 degrees to show a faux front and back stage of a Broadway play.

Theatre Facts

[3] This circa 1960 performance of Oklahoma! was a joint effort between Browne & Nichols and Buckingham staged in the old B&N gymnasium (built in 1952 and closed in 1997).

[4] The 2017 Middle School Theater production of OMG (Opposite Machine Gadget) featured impressive props with blinking lights and cool sound effects—all handmade by students in the school’s MakerSpace.

[5] This 1950 production of Yeomen of the Guard features Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominated actor Anthony Perkins ’50 (right) alongside Ellery Woodworth ’50.

[6] Theater teacher Mark Lindberg notes: “Animals have been a challenge for BB&N theatre. We’ve featured two birds, a rabbit, a cat, three dogs (all live), and five chickens and a lamb (all dead). The lamb was carried

by Sarah Bowman ’01 in our production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. A recently passed law stipulated that meat could not be sold with the fur/wool, so my visits to area butchers were unsuccessful. Our BB&N chef ordered a whole lamb from his food supplier and I dressed it in two small sheepskin vests (our costumer refused to dress it). Sarah draped it over her shoulders and carried it onstage until the Saturday performance when it had become too ripe.

(Most cast members wouldn’t go near it.)

Two coyotes were spotted dragging the carcass, vests still buttoned on, out of our dumpster and into Cambridge Cemetery.”

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BB&N WELCOMES A COLORFUL NEW ADDITION TO THE COMMUNITY! Help “Name That Knight,” visit www.bbns.org/name-that-knight

Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Worcester, MA Permit No. 2

Buckingham Browne & Nichols School 80 Gerry’s Landing Road Cambridge, MA 02138-5512 www.bbns.org

REGISTER TODAY! Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

STRAWBERRY NIGHT & REUNION WEEKEND MAY 3-5, 2019

All Alumni/ae Welcome!

Celebrating the reunion classes of 1969 | 1974 | 1979 | 1984 | 1989 1994 | 1999 | 2004 | 2009 | 2014 PLEASE VISIT BBNS.ORG/STRAWBERRY FOR MORE INFORMATION