8 minute read
speakers on the hill
BELMONT HILL SPEAKER PROGRAM
Belmont Hill is so fortunate to be able to offer our boys a wide array of distinguished speakers in our historic Hamilton Chapel. Through the years, our Head of School, alumni, and faculty – as well as an impressive list of guest speakers – have presented on a broad range of topics. In our non-denominational chapel, we seek to engage our community, start conversations, and foster a balanced and civil exchange of opinions. Head of School Chapel Talks and the Parents’ Council Speaker Series are made available to parents by video whenever possible. Other talks are shared publicly on occasion, but the primary audience is the internal community of students, faculty, and staff.
kai bynum
October 2, 2020 | Cum Laude Guest Speaker
Dr. Bynum is the current Head of School at Hopkins School in Connecticut. He was formerly an English teacher and director of Community and Diversity at Belmont Hill (2007–2012). Dr. Bynum spoke to the entire Belmont Hill Community, and welcomed and recognized the newest members of the Belmont Hill Cum Laude Society. He spoke fondly of his time at Belmont Hill and urged students to not just be exceptional thinkers but also to apply sound action to leadership in the world today.
harry goldberg
October 9, 2020 | COVID-19 Presentation
Dr. Goldberg joined the Belmont Hill Community at the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year as the chair of the Science Department. In October, he shared a presentation with students, faculty, and staff on COVID-19, focusing specifically on the transmission and physiology of the disease. Describing the science behind the precautions that we were taking on campus, Dr. Goldberg reminded the community about the importance of staying vigilant in using face coverings and social distancing.
michael thompson
October 27, 2020 | Parents’ Council Presents: Modeling Civility, Supporting Community: Parenting Through the Election and Beyond
Dr. Thompson, Belmont Hill’s consulting psychologist and a regular speaker on campus, spoke to the parent community about the challenges of parenting during the pandemic. He addressed parents’ concerns about their sons’ social development, how to manage anxiety in uncertain times, and how to establish guidelines and limits for their teens that work for their family.
caroline randall williams
Ms. Williams is an award-winning poet, young adult novelist, and cookbook author as well as an activist, public intellectual, performance artist, and scholar. She is the author of Lucy Negro, Redux and Soul Food Love, and is currently a writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt University. In June, Ms. Williams contributed a powerful New York Times opinion piece, “You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument. The black people I come from were owned and raped by the white people I come from. Who dares to tell me to celebrate them?” Ms. Williams kicked off the inaugural MAP Speaker Series, which was moderated by Will Forde ’05 and Caleb Collins ’93.
peter flaherty p ’17, ’24
November 2, 2020 | School Meeting: What to Watch for on Election Night: An Insider’s View of the Election
Political strategist and consultant, Mr. Flaherty has advised campaigns nationwide for senate, congress, governor, and president. On the eve of election day, Mr. Flaherty spoke live in the Chapel to a small and socially distanced group while livestreaming to the rest of classrooms across campus. He spoke about what to watch for on election night. One of his main focuses was on key battleground states, such as Pennsylvania.
lcdr daniel w. mcdonald ’05
November 13, 2020 | Veterans Day School Meeting
LCDR McDonald delivered a poignant virtual speech to students providing insight into the true meaning of Veterans Day. He asked students to think about how they define service and left them with his two keys to discovering the answer. “First, you need to align your principles and values to your actions. To do that, you need to consider what your principles and values actually are. Second, you need to put others before yourself. These are both things you can start doing today.” He stressed to the boys, “You have a faculty dedicated to making sure that you become good people.” LCDR McDonald attended the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned as a Naval Officer in 2009. He qualified as a Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer and has since deployed worldwide with Navy, Army, and Special Operations forces. He is currently stationed at MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL.
jim peck ’77, p ’21
November 24, 2020 | Annual Thanksgiving Gratitude Chapel
In the Chapel, before Thanksgiving break, Mr. Peck reminded everyone to seek out and experience gratitude in even the simplest moments of everyday life. He also spoke to the boys about his own Belmont Hill experience and how lucky they are to be at Belmont Hill even in these much different times. A familiar face on campus, this year Mr. Peck has been helping out with the Middle School Office. He is also advising in Form II and coaching Middle School football, hockey, and baseball.
field yates ’05
December 4, 2020 | School Meeting Speaker
Mr. Yates spoke about how much has changed for him personally and professionally since the pandemic began. He reminded students to be grateful no matter what being on campus looked like and that they were a part of the Belmont Hill community. He stressed that the community stays with you long past graduation. Mr. Yates is an NFL Insider for ESPN who contributes analysis, breaking NFL news, and fantasy football insight year-round across the company’s multimedia platforms. On NFL Sundays, he hosts ESPN2’s award-winning pregame show Fantasy Football Now.
joani geltman, msw
December 2, 9, and 16, 2020 | Parents’ Council Presents: “Parenting During the Pandemic”
Ms. Geltman led three interactive conversations with parents geared toward the different developmental needs of our students. In separate talks, Form I and II, Form III and IV, and Form V and VI parents discussed their specific concerns about raising their sons during these unusual times. With her blend of advice and specific strategies, delivered with warmth and humor, she provided a tool kit of tips for parents to try at home. Ms. Geltman is a child development and parenting expert with more than 30 years of experience working with parents, children, schools, and community groups. She reminded the community about the importance of staying vigilant in using face coverings and social distancing.
greg dayton ’83
January 8, 2021 | School Meeting Speaker
Mr. Dayton ’83 (Belmont Hill faculty 1999–2004) talked about his songwriting process, his personal musical influences, and then performed two of his original songs. Mr. Dayton is a singer/songwriter who was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame shortly after the release of his debut solo album, Lonesome Road, in 2016. His follow-up album, Sailing for the Sun, was released in February 2020. He is currently working on his third album.
jessica lahey
January 19, 2021 | Parents’ Council Presents: The Gift of Failure
Ms. Lahey, the author of The New York Times best-selling book The Gift of Failure, led an informative talk for our parent community on the importance of helping children develop their intrinsic motivation. Through a balance of enabling autonomy, encouraging competence, and fostering connection, parents can partner with their children’s teachers to develop these skills and raise happy and confident young adults. Ms. Lahey is a contributor to The Atlantic, Vermont Public Radio, The Washington Post, and The New York Times on the topics of education, parenting, and child welfare. She has taught grades 6–12 in public and private schools.
anna mcdonald
January 20, 2021 | School Meeting Speaker
On Inauguration Day, Ms. McDonald spoke to students about the historic significance and importance of our first female vice president. She talked about how much hope it gave her for herself and her daughter and also what it meant to the greater population. She emphasized that Vice President Kamala Harris is the product of all the hard-working and change-making women who came before her and echoed her promises to lift the next generation. Ms. McDonald joined Belmont Hill in 2019. She currently teaches English, is a faculty advisor for Community Service, and coaches Middle School soccer and basketball.
ibram x. kendi
Dr. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. In a webinar moderated by Will Forde ’05, Dr. Kendi defined antiracism and noted the steps one can take to incorporate this into one’s life. He explained that to be antiracist means to realize that the policies in society are at the root of the problem, as opposed to the people. “We have been taught to consistently see people as the problem, particularly Black, brown and indigenous folk,” Dr. Kendi said. It is important to see, “the actual policies behind the difficulties of certain groups of people.” He took questions from students near the end of his talk.
Dr. Kendi is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor. He is the 2020–2021 Frances B. Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. He is the author of many books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest ever winner of that award. He also authored three #1 New York Times bestsellers, How to Be an Antiracist; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky. His newest books are Be Antiracist: A Journal for Awareness, Reflection, and Action; and Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, co-edited with Keisha Blain. In 2020, Time Magazine named Professor Kendi one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
