June 2017 (66, 2)

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Volu m e 6 6 , Issu e 2

Ju ne 5 , 2 0 1 7

A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill School

THE END OF AN ERA Dr. Wachtmeister Retires After Thirty Years At Belmont Hill

By Charlie Donahue ‘19 and Charlie Booth ‘19 Panel Staff It is with a heavy heart that at the conclusion of this school year we say goodbye to a staple of the Science Department for over three decades, Dr. Wachtmeister. When Doc joined the faculty in 1987, Reagan was president, gas cost 89 cents per gallon, and biology was still taught on blackboards. Despite this, Doc has changed very little and has been a constant presence on campus who has guided generations of boys in the same thoughtful, intuitive, and caring manner. In preparation for his campus visit on March 5, 1987 for an interview, a colleague in Virginia sent Headmaster Wadsworth a letter of recommendation which read, “He has always been well liked and respected by his students, and has a reputation of really knowing the material. Probably his greatest strength is his love of teaching. He really cares about his students and works hard to help them achieve success.” Twice his student, I can confirm that this holds true today, maybe even more so than it did then. With every class it is more and more evident that he loves teaching. Beloved colleague Mr. Goodband called Doc a “scholar of teaching,” which in my opinion sums up what makes him so good at it. Despite knowing the material like the back of his hand and practically being able to recite the textbook, Doc arrives at school every morning before 5:30 to brush up on the day’s lesson. This desire for improvement and perfection even after thirty years speaks to his personal-

Photo (left) by Johhn Gillooly and (right) from Harvard Business School

ity and work ethic. If there is one thing I know for certain: the Science Department will not be the same next year without its Charles Darwin lookalike at the helm.

As many people know, Doc grew up on a beef-cattle farm in Fauquier County, Virginia. His dad purchased the farm in the 1940s and it is where Doc will retire. Many of the stories that he tells as part of his lessons come from his childhood

“on the farm.” According to Mr. Trautz, “Doc is a master story teller...On one particular day I visited [his class], he started by telling some interesting stories to the boys about cattle reproduction, castration of bulls, and his beloved bull John Henry.

This somehow segued into getting ‘the talk’ from his dad back in the day on the farm.”

Doc often uses these stories to help his students understand

the material. As he explained to us: “One thing I love about teaching is it’s like being an actor. You get to act out different things, or use stories or metaphors to help kids remember the material. We all need positive reinforcement and when I do I just ask the class a question knowing that someone will have the answer. When they do it makes me feel good about what I do.” continued on Page 2

Back to Back to Back: Lacrosse Wins 3rd Consecutive ISL Title Tribute to the Artists

By Brian Antonelli ‘18 Staff Writer

By Austin Kwoun ‘18 Panel Staff

On a warm and clear-skied Friday night, the entire season hung in the balance for the varsity lacrosse team. After a key victory against Nobles, the team faced a dangerous Rivers team who arrived to Danehy Park with a world class goalie and a potent offense. However, the boys from the Hill refused to back down. After Belmont Hill scored the first goal of the game, Rivers answered with two quick ones before Christian O’Neill, as he has done all season, tucked one past the Rivers goalie to tie the game at 2-2.

Belmont Hill took control as they went into the half up 10-3. At that point, the boys in white had confidence and there was no turning back. As Rivers tried to claw back into the game with a goal to make it 12-6 midway through the third quarter, senior long pole Zach Shpilner plunged a dagger into the heart of Rivers with a

Where do the renowned artists of Belmont Hill’s senior class go after they’ve passed on?

Rumor has it, there’s a promised land for the legends of BH theater, visual art, and music, a Valhalla of hearty prose, sculpture and song. In this special haven, the orchestra’s Vice President and longest tenured member Andrew Kaneb determinedly pulls the bow across the strings of his violin in the final bars of the Violin Fantasy for Orchestra and Chorus and Piano (may it Rest In Peace, until next year); his aggressive tremolo comes under the watchful eye of the piece’s conductor and composer Armin Thomas. President Armin never had a chance to conduct his finest composition as a Belmont Hill student, but the “stunt piece” is a smash hit in Senior Haven. Horns blare continued on Page 10

goal to make it 13-6. Rivers would never recover as Belmont Hill finished off the game with a 15-7 victory. The win was a real statement in the league, as Rivers had recently beaten St. Sebastian’s, who Belmont Hill had fallen to earlier in the season.

Another notable game of the season was against Middlesex, which would be the last time the seniors would put on their

Look Inside The Panel

Sports 5 4-Peat: Track & Field Wins 4th NEPSTA Title

Special 6-7, 12 Prize Day & Matriculation Lists

As per tradition, The Panel presents the official 2017 Prize Day and Class of 2017 Matriculation Lists.

News 4 Class of 2017 Leaves Enduring Legacy

An endearing look back at the accomplishments and memories that defined the Class of 2017.

navy blue uniforms and trot out onto their beloved home field. The game started out with everything going Middlesex’s way. Belmont Hill could not buy a goal until once again Christian O’Neill got Belmont Hill on the board. After that, it was all Belmont Hill.

Stellar defense and a very productive offense led the team past Middlesex and into the continued on Page 5

The team also captured the ISTA title, breaking a 6-year dry spell.

Sports 8 Athlete of the Issue: Evan Ricci ‘17 “While most of the athletes covered in Athlete of the Issue have spent many years perfecting their craft, Evan Ricci ‘17 started running the hurdles less than two years ago...”

Arts 11 Sister Act Impresses The third annual Senior Talent Show impressed faculty and students alike.

Belmont Hill NEWS

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In case you missed it...

Th e Pan el

Dr. Daley Visits as Sherman Series Lecturer - (May 2)

Jeremy Rogalski Speaks at Chapel - (May 16)

Rwandan Genocide Survivor Comes to Campus - (May 18)

Mrs. David Honored at Women’s Table - (May 22)

Students Awarded in Woodworking Contest - (May 23)

Varsity Football Receives their Rings - (May 24)

Student Art Show Opens in Robsham - (May 25)

Dr. George Q. Daley, Dean of HMS, talked to students about exploring new opportunities in a time of change.

Jeremy Rogalski, a statician for the Bruins, illustrated how math and technology guides his hockey research and analysis.

Chantal Kayitesi spoke about her survival story and involvement in survivor’s organizations to students on campus.

The Women’s Table honored Mrs. David for her work on the Turkey Drive with the “Connecting Neighbor to Neighbor” Award.

6 Students received awards from the NE Student Woodworking Design Competition.

Belmont Hill also won “Program of the Year.”

Members of the Varsity Football Team receives rings after winning the ISL and New England Championship in the Fall.

A student art show featured the work of students from various classes from Conceptual Physics to Advanced Ceramics.

Returning to his VA Farm, Doc Bids Farewell to Belmont Continued from Front Page Doc’s own education influenced him tremendously which is reflected in the way he teaches. He attended Salisbury School, an all boys boarding school in Connecticut.

His dissection of a fetal pig during his tenth grade year there fostered his lifelong love of biology. He vividly remembers his biology teacher under whom he did the dissection. This teacher had Doc make a number of drawings to remember the parts of the pig, something he still does today with his AP Bio class. It was his high school biology class which encouraged him to further pursue bio in college at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). There he had a number of teachers who influenced his own desire to teach, including Dr. Carroll, Colonel Reeves, Colonel Pickerell, and Dr. Heisey. What Doc remembers most about “Doc Carroll” is that he had one arm and chewed tobacco in class, often missing his spittoon and littering the floor. Doc Carroll told stories to help kids learn the material, something Doc Wacht does to this day. Doc says, “Doc [Carroll] taught by telling stories, which I found out helped me remember the material. I assumed they were all true.

He made a huge impact on my life and how I teach.”

D o c Wacht’s teaching career before Belmont Hill was actually much different than you might imagine.

Originally he wanted to attend medical school and become a medical doctor.

Directly after college he got married and had two kids relatively quickly.

In addition, he pursued a master’s degree at the College of William and Mary for one year. During this time he realized that with two kids and a wife, medical school was a less viable option, so he decided to go to work. At that time Doc did not know whether h e

wanted to continue doing research or go into teaching. He ended up finding a job teaching science at the Augusta Military Academy in Fort Defiance, Virginia, where he stayed for two years. Once he had finished his graduate degree work at William and Mary, he was hired to teach biology at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach. Doc spent fifteen years at Tidewater teaching science courses in Biology and Chemistry and working as an administrative dean.

He vividly remembers his time there. He recalls, “During that time I got my doctorate from Vanderbilt in higher education and administration. I was also a dean at the community college and being trained to be a higher level administrator. As soon as I got my doctorate I said ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ I wanted to get back into teaching full time.” His desire to return to teaching brought him to Cape Henry Collegiate School, a private school in Virginia Beach. Despite wanting to teach classes again, Doc ended up becoming the Headmaster. After a one year headship, he was hired by Belmont Hill to teach Biology and Science 1, which he has been doing ever since.

For thirty years now, Doc has been changing the lives of generations of Belmont Hill students. There is no finer example than Dr. Andrew A. Hack ‘91, who spoke about Doc at his retirement party on campus earlier in May. After Belmont Hill, Dr. Hack graduated from the University of Chicago, the Pritzker School of Medicine at UChicago, and later earned a PhD in molecular biology.

Despite having taken classes with some of the most renowned doctors and professors in the country, Dr. Hack said, “I can say without a moment of hesitation, or an ounce of reservation, that NO teacher, professor or clinician has had as big an impact on my trajectory in either school or in life, as Dr. Wachtmeister.” He also went further as to explain the reasons why Doc was such a great mentor

for him, saying, “In the end, I think it was two things. First, Dr. Wachtmeister clearly loved biology and loved teaching biology. I think everyone who ever spent any time in his classroom knew that immediately, and second, and maybe more importantly, he was willing to bet on me. Two seemingly simple things, but such a powerful impact.”

“I can say without a moment of hesitation, or an ounce of reservation, that no teacher, professor, or clinician has had as big an impact on my trajectory in life as Dr. Wachtmeister” - Dr. Hack Hundreds of students, myself included, can attest to the exact same thing. When I sat down with him a few weeks back, Doc said, “What really makes me feel good, more than anything else, is every year boys in 9th grade kids sign up for AP bio and then we sit down and go through the list. Sometimes an advisor or teacher then recommends that a student who signed up not take the course. I convince them otherwise, and I encourage the boy to stick with the decision anyway.

Usually, he ends up getting excited, and really doing well, and performing well on the AP and the subject test, even when someone said he couldn’t do it a year ago. In 10th

“From physics all the way down through teaching the little guys we are in great shape and I think we are stronger now than we’ve ever been” - Dr. Wachtmeister grade you have to give these boys a chance.

Sometimes even if they don’t have the ability but you get them excited, they’ll do great.”

This philosophy is what makes Doc such an exemplary and transformative educator.

Because of the bet he took on a young and timid Andrew Hack, Hack has gone on to win international awards for his PhD dissertation, founded a biotech company out of medical school, and is now the CFO of a company pioneering in biotechnologies like CRISPR which aim to change people’s DNA. Without Doc, hundreds of stories like this literally would never be possible.

As Doc transitions into his well deserved retirement “down on the farm,” there are certainly things he will miss about Belmont Hill; the main two being his students and the other his science department colleagues. As Dr. Melvoin remarked, “Hans is a man of great passion, of strong beliefs, and of clear direction.” For fifty years Doc’s calling as a teacher and his passion for biology have diverted time from his other great love, the farm. For the first time in many years he will have an opportunity to focus solely on one endeavor: spending time with his cows. In reflecting on the state in which he leaves the Science Department, Doc says, “If you talk to any teacher, they’ll say their department is the best but I really do feel our science department is a very special group of people. We are close knit and everyday we laugh and laugh and laugh. Most of that is due to Trautz who is probably the funniest guy I ever met. My favorite thing is that there are no ‘egos’ in this department, none!

That makes it so easy to work with people.

From Physics all the way down through teaching the little guys we are in great shape and I think we are stronger now than we’ve ever been.” Although he would never say it and probably does not think it, much of that is due to Doc. His tireless efforts over the last thirty years have made the Science Department and Belmont Hill a much better place, and I know I speak for all of us in thanking him. Thank you, Doc Wacht! ☐

From the archives: Doc Wacht teaching a biology class.

Jun e 5 , 2 0 1 7

Belmont Hill NEWS

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Mr. English Departs for Master’s Degree

and building expenses. A summer job at Upward Bound, a government-sponsored educational program that aids low-income, After joining Belmont Hill’s faculty first-generation students in their preparain 2015, Mr. English will leave to pursue a tion for college, similarly inspired English master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate to seek a position as a Physics teacher at the School of Education next fall. Having spent Forman School the year after his graduatwo years as a science teacher, art instruc- tion. Ties to Bowdoin’s football program tor, football coach, lacrosse coach, and an and experience as a teacher at the Forman overseer of the iLab, Mr. English departs School in Connecticut both led English to Belmont Hill having fully utilized the full Belmont. When Mr. English was hoping breadth of his talents and interests for the to relocate from his position at the Forbetterment of students and the School itself. man School in early 2015, he reached out Most Belmont Hill students are un- to Mr. Butler, a fellow alumni of Bowdoin’s aware that a print of Mr. English’s is fea- football program. Mr. Butler, also a memtured in the Melvoin Academic Center’s ber of the Science Department, encourfirst floor faculty room. Simple but striking, aged Mr. English to apply for an open pothe print was collected by Mrs. Doherty last sition in the department, and he excitedly year when she organized a faculty art col- accepted the position when he received it.

Aside from art and athletics, Mr. lection. Mr. English, one of a few teachers English has primarily served as a faculty who have produced a collection of visual member in the Science Department. The art, majored in both Physics and Visual Arts Physics component of his unique double as a 2014 graduate of Bowdoin College, major has allowed him to teach Physics and was thus given the chance to showcase to seniors and Engineering to third formhis work at a Bowdoin gallery during his ers, while skill with coding and “Maker” final year as a student. The print that reeducation provided Mr. English with the mains in the Melvoin faculty room, a rembackground to instruct Computer Science nant from that senior show, and Mr. Eng1 this past year.

A mushrooming expertise lish’s general passion for printmaking and painting speak to his well-rounded nature. in the application of technology to science In addition to teaching Middle education coincided well with his position School art in his two years at Belmont as a faculty overseer of the iLab, where he Hill, Mr. English has coached both 4th la- would advise Middle School Robotics and crosse and 5th football. A talented athlete help students code, 3D print, and use other at a secondary school more than quadru- advanced machinery in the innovation lab.

Due partially to his experience in the (L to R): Jack Daley ‘17, Andrew Kaneb ‘17, Brian Tanabe ‘17, and Jimmy Melican ‘17 ple the size of Belmont Hill, Council Rock iLab, Mr. English intends to concentrate in High School North in his hometown of the interest and understanding of their audiTechnology, Innovation, and Education as Newtown, Pennsylvania, English played

By Liam Durbin ‘19 ence. They were also quite adept at answerbasketball, lacrosse, and football. Follow- he pursues his master’s degree (M.Ed.). AfStaff Writer ing any and all questions asked by those that ing his high school graduation in 2010, ter completing his master’s, Mr. English is Each year, eight to ten rising juniors visited the event, ranging from the simpler, are selected from their class to participate more general question to the more complex in Advanced Science Research, a program questions from science faculty members headed by Mr. Courtney to allow a select such as Mr. Courtney. Each boy seemed to group of students who have a vested interest truly enjoy what it was he had researched in research and science in general to gain lab and displayed this interest through his obexperience. Each student finds their own lab vious enthusiasm for the project while exwith a mentor to aid them in their project, plaining it. All this was achieved by the seand then spends the next two years of their niors despite the complexity, intricateness, Belmont Hill career, including lab time dur- and long-term nature of their projects. The ing the summer, working on their indepen- dedicated attitude of all of the seniors was dent research project. The experience culmi- clearly summarized by Armin Thomas, who nates in the publication of the student’s work arrived at Belmont Hill for his poster dein a scientific journal, as well as the entry of fense with a surgical mask and a cold sweat, their work into the Regeneron Science Tal- having to sit in a chair while he defended his ent Search, a nationwide competition. One poster as he fiercely battled an unknown illkey portion of this program’s endgame is the ness in order to attend. The posters them“poster defense.” Each senior must present selves were also quite impressive, effectively A collection of Mr. English’s work can also be seen on The Panel Online (bhpanel.org) his project in MacPherson for two hours, conveying the necessary information pertiexplaining their work to whomever may nent to the subject, but at the same time reMr. English went on to play four years entertaining the possibility of designing an stop by to see them. I had the pleasure of at- maining easy to comprehend to the average of college football as a TE at Bowdoin. online educational platform that develops tending this year’s poster defense, and I was reader. This year was also very successful in It was also at Bowdoin that English coursework and tools to help teachers teach extremely impressed by the professional at- terms of the Regeneron Talent Search, with first grew interested in mentorship and edu- engineering, coding, and maker science to titude, depth of understanding, and overall two of the seniors, Jack Daley and Andrew cation. Joining the Residential Life team at elementary through high school students.

As with so many of his projects at Bowdoin enthusiasm displayed by the ASR seniors. Kaneb, making it to the semi-finals, a feat Bowdoin during his sophomore year, Mr. and Belmont Hill, such an effort would com- Each student was happy to explain their that few Belmont Hill boys have achieved in English became involved in helping first- bine the best of Mr. English’s skills with sciproject at any level of depth and to any de- the past. Overall, the ASR poster defense was year students acclimate to college. Becom- ence, art, and education. The entire Belmont gree of understanding, and could clearly and a great success for this year’s seniors, and I ing a Head Proctor during his senior year, Hill community wishes Mr. English luck in succinctly convey whatever it was their proj- congratulate them for their success, dedicahe managed a first-year dorm and handled graduate school and in this ambitious, but ect pertained to, all the while maintaining tion, and enthusiasm for their projects. ☐ residential conflicts, as well as budgeting extremely valuable potential endeavor. ☐

By William McCormack ‘18 Panel Staff

ASR Seniors Defend Their Research

First-Annual Belmont Hill Short Film Festival a Smashing Success

By Josh Fairman ‘19 Staff Writer

The Belmont Hill Short Film Festival was a major success, showing thirteen short films by mostly freshmen in the Digital Video Class. The program was as follows; “Wrestling” By Max Peterson, “Narrated”

by Tim Brown, “The Suburbs” by Jack Winston, “The Game” by Mauricio Rodriguez, “Admissions” by Dylan Brown, Brady Chitkara, Griffin Hamilton, and Jack Henehan, “My Home” by Ysael Porro, “Looped” by Dan Madden, “Hawaii” by Brady Chitkara, “Flashback” by Max Peterson, “China” by Dylan Brown, “Stranded” by Jake Pappo, Tim Brown, and Brady Chitkara, “Hockey”

by Payton Privitera, and finally “BHPD”

by Liam Peterson, Jake Pappo, Joe Romney, and Jack Weldon. “Wrestling” and “Ho ckey” both provided film of practices here at Belmont Hill.

“Wrestling” looked at a 3rd Wrestling practice, with narration

by Dr. Davis. “Hockey” looked at a JV Hockey practice, with savvy editing by Pay-

ton Privitera. “Admissions” was a funny skit that took Mr. Carr’s speech about the type of boy that represents Belmont Hill, and juxtaposed it with the laughable stereotypes of a nerd, prepster, theater kid , and athlete. “Hawaii” was a funny edit made of all the shenanigans that went down on the Hawaii trip led by Mr. Trautz and Mr. Leonardis over Spring Break. “China” similarly

was an edit of the China Spring Break trip, however, this film made use of quick cuts to skillfully convey the entirety of the trip to the audience. “BHPD” was by far the highlight of the festival. This was a seven minute film starring Jack Weldon as a grizzled cop and Jake Pappo as a booksmart rookie. These two had incredible comedic timing and a hilarious relationship onscreen, as the cop had to “toughen up” the rookie. Overall, the Film Festival was an awesome experience and I cannot wait to go again next year. ☐

Belmont Hill NEWS

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Th e Pan el

Mrs. Hacker Bids Farewell to Belmont Hill After Six Years

By John Markis ‘18 Panel Staff After six years assisting both the admissions department and financial aid students, Mrs. Hacker is leaving Belmont Hill to care for her two sons. Many of the younger students may not know her as well, as she has not been in the classroom for three years; however, she has helped many students over her tenure, whether as a teacher, advisor, coach, or the Director of Financial Aid. Once she graduated from Williams College in the early 2000’s, Mrs. Hacker worked at Deerfield for a few years, where she honed her skills in admissions. She then transitioned to Milton Academy, where she coached the girls’ varsity lacrosse team. As a former college athlete, Mrs. Hacker took pride in her ability to impart her knowledge of the game, and the team found great success. After both enrolling in the Harvard Graduate School of Education and meeting

her future husband, she began her current occupation: a member of Belmont Hill’s faculty. Mrs. Hacker did not join varsity lacrosse’s Mr. Sullivan, a Williams alumnus himself, on the sidelines due to the differences between the two sports, but she handled a taxing schedule nonetheless, teaching tenth grade English, advising, and coaching Middle School lacrosse and soccer superbly.

Mrs. Hacker noticed the healthy student-teacher relationships on her first day, and she believes that aspect creates a unique school environment; she relished the opportunity to foster meaningful bonds with each student, a task much harder at a larger school like Milton. Indeed, many of her former

advisees, such as Gavin Colbert ‘18 and Nick Carroll ‘18, remember their time with her fondly, a testament to her effectiveness.

Mrs. Hacker assumed a reduced role when her first son was born; beginning in the fall of 2015, she no longer taught but instead focused on other elements of the School. She aided financial aid students tremendously, introducing innovative ideas such as free tuxedos for prom; furthermore, she sifted through hundreds of applications, conducted dozens of interviews, and helped prospective families understand the fine print of the financial aid forms.

Although she could not engage in daily interactions as often, she remained an in-

tegral part of school life for many boys.

With the arrival of her second son, Mrs. Hacker decided to leave the workforce to spend time with her family. While her career can be put on hold, she reasons, her sons will not be small forever. To keep her mind occupied, she will continue to participate in various boards, such as her former summer camp’s and her sons’ schools’. Just as Mrs. O’Connor, yet another Williams graduate, did this past year, Mrs. Hacker may return to Belmont Hill eventually when her sons find more independence. She plans on a reappearance at some educational facility, even if not Belmont Hill; for instance, Steppingstone, an urban program which prepares less fortunate students, has expressed interest in her services, where she would become an instant asset. Obviously, Belmont Hill has massive shoes to fill to replace her, but we hope Mrs. Hacker both enjoys her well-deserved break and visits as much as possible! ☐

BH’s tradition of excellence, as the lacrosse Knowlton, Varun Shah, and Ben London program captured its third straight ISL title assisted in elevating the quality of Bel(and fourth in five years), while varsity track mont Hill’s school productions, showcascruised to a fourth straight NEPSTA win. ing their talents as actors, vocalists, stage In music, members of the Class managers, and even directors. Knowlof 2017 participated in a wide breadth ton and Shah guided the production of of student groups. Musicians like Armin “Of Mice and Men” this past February.

Thomas, Andrew Kaneb, Scott Jackson, JP In extracurriculars, boys from Champa, Marshall Knight Mack Perry, as the Class of 2017 reinvigorated several key well as multi-talented vocalists like Sebas- clubs on campus. Brian Tanabe, Henry tian Themelis, Seamus Clair, Jacob Whitney, Moukheiber, and William Hintlian led a reand Bennett Rush have blessed Belmont Hill vival of Belmont Hill’s robotics program, utiwith the joys of song and lyric. For the past lizing the new iLab to substantially increase couple years, ‘17 boys have been the driv- participation in both the middle and upper ing force behind musical events like Coffee school. Tanabe would also extend the imHouse, the Winter pact of Belmont Hill Concert, and Spring “There is truly no place like this robotics to the Butler Concert, as well as Elementary School in school.” - Ray Hunt ‘17 groups like the BBelmont, where he Flats and Jazz Combo. When asked to com- led a group of boys each week to teach third ment about the Class of 2017’s impact on graders robotics and coding. Alex Czarmusic at Belmont Hill, Armin Thomas re- necki, Dan Zakon, Jason Fischman, Bradley sponded, “In performances of every vein, Hart, and Hunter Present helped resuscitate from traditional concerts to stand-up Cof- the School’s debate team. Present became fee Houses, the Class of 2017 will have left the first Belmont Hill boy to earn a spot behind an indelible legacy. Their departure on the US debate team in a quarter-centuwill signal the end of a musically prosperous ry, and he travelled to Sydney, Australia in era and hopefully the dawning of a new one.” April for the 2017 World Individual DebatIn art, seniors like Will Ryan helped ing and Public Speaking Championships.

Belmont Hill get recognized as Program of Gus Lamb inspired students with his duo of the Year by the New England Association poignant speeches, one about an infamous of Woodworking Teachers. Owen Green- friend named Jack and the other about sea wood excelled in ceramics and also helped turtles, to win the 2016 Fall Woodbury Pubto teach wheelworking to adults in the lic Speaking Contest. Bennett Rush created Belmont community with special needs. Boys of Faith, a discussion group open to stuIn theater, seniors such as Peter dents of all religions and beliefs that sought

to increase Belmont Hill’s awareness of spirituality. Sam Hesler continued Belmont Hill’s longstanding tradition of visiting and interacting with senior citizens at the Meadowgreen Nursing Home, while William Stonestreet spearheaded BH’s Work Crew program. Tomás Paris and Armin Thomas struck the school community with both fear and awe as they grew the Government Code and Cipher School. Finally, Michael Armstrong, Jack Daley, and Andrew Kaneb, leaders of Belmont Hill’s Sustainability Club, completed a successful effort to install solar panels on the roof of the science building.

Outside the confines of Belmont Hill’s campus, members from the Class of 2017 pioneered the School’s global education efforts, as seven students spent at least part of their fifth form year studying away from Belmont. Gus Lamb spent a semester at CITY Term in New York City, while Lebanos Mengistu spent a semester at SEGL in Washington DC. Five students spent an entire year abroad with SYA: Seamus Clair Moahammed Osman, and Owen Greenwood in China, James Cardichon in Spain, and Sebastian Themelis in Italy.

“All in all, we will miss Belmont Hill greatly, and while the future holds exciting prospects, there is truly no place quite like this school,” Hunt concluded. Addressing his final words to younger students and encouraging them to fully engage in aspects of school life as well as members of the Class of 2017 did, Ray continued, “Enjoy your time here; you can’t get it back.” ☐

Alistair is intrigued by the visual arts for a number of reasons. Firstly, he learned how to tell stories through filmmaking. This skill is crucial in both creative work and other professional fields; Alistair also learned of the challenges of writing, shooting, and editing while making a film. He enjoys tackling these problems in creative ways in order to produce the best film possible. Secondly, he is fascinated by the domination which images have in our lives today. From walking down the street to opening your phone, images are nearly impossible to avoid. Mr. Debling told me that he believes learning the art of images is important to our understanding of today’s world, stating “I think that in the

opening in the Arts department which fit his interests was open, and he applied immediately. At Belmont Hill, Mr. Debling taught a number of film and photography classes, both opening the door to visual arts for boys who would never have considered working in the field and guiding and improving the skills of those already interested. My class in particular showed incredible progress in cinematography, storytelling, and filmmaking over the course of one short semester. Next year, Mr. Debling will be earning his MFA in visual arts at the University of Oxford, and hopes to stay involved in the arts and education. Although we are sad to see him go, we wish him well for the future and thank him for the work he has done at Belmont Hill.

Class of 2017 Leaves Enduring Legacy Throughout Campus

By William McCormack ‘18 Panel Staff For members of the Class of 2017, today’s Commencement ceremonies mark the end of their Belmont Hill careers. Although they will be alumni of rather than students at the School, their myriad list of accomplishments will continue to impact future waves of Belmont Hill students.

“Whether it be in the classroom, in athletics, on stage, in the robotics lab, or in all the other endeavors we have taken on,” Ray Hunt, class president of the Class of 2017 for six consecutive years, commented, “we have surpassed expectations and set new standards.”

In the realm of academics, the Class of 2017 has been noted for its success in Advanced Science Research. Andrew Kaneb, who did research on whole exome and genome sequencing of central neurocytoma, and Jack Daley, who examined maturation of the endoplasmic reticulum translocon complex in stem cell derived beta cells, were both recognized as two of only eight semifinalists from Massachusetts in the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search.

In athletics, varsity football captains Ray Hunt ‘17, Pete Tamasi, Zach Geddes, and Nate Miller led the team to a coISL championship and a decisive victory over Wilbraham and Monson to win the New England championship. Cross country similarly captured an ISL title, while seniors on varsity wrestling, varsity squash, varsity lacrosse, and varsity track continued

After Successful Year, Mr. Debling Departs for MFA at Oxford

By Jack Weldon ‘20 Panel Staff Alistair Debling, a new addition to the Belmont Hill faculty, grew up in Bristol, England. His first experience with the visual arts, his area of expertise, occurred when he was in elementary school. He was given disposable cameras to use on trips, and commented that, “[viewing your photos] was always an exciting moment, going through a stack of new prints - often it had been awhile since I’d taken them, so you get to relive your good memories.” Furthering his passion for film, Alistair took art classes throughout his high school education, primarily photography. His first experience with moving images was in his senior year, when he made animations using cut-up photographs and drawings. At Harvard, he focused more on the art of film, taking fiction filmmaking classes and majoring in Visual and Environmental Studies, while pursuing interests in theater and military theory on the side.

21st century, more than ever, being able to think critically about images and produce your own are two very important skills to have.” Seeking to share and teach his passion for the visual arts to others, Mr. Debling turned to a career in teaching.

This year was Mr. Debling’s first year of teaching. He had always considered teaching as a career, and knew of several prep schools in New England which had openings for recent graduates to teach. As he and Mr. Sundel, another teacher at Belmont Hill, knew each other from Harvard, our school was brought to his attention. When Mr. Debling looked to see the available job opportunities, an

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Belmont Hill NEWS & Sp orts

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An Engaging Track & Field Dominates With Impressive ISTA, NEPSTA Wins Diversity Day for the Community

By Arnav Prasad ‘18 Panel Staff On May 15th the Belmont Hill community gathered for its annual school-wide Diversity Day, a day of community-driven reflection with no classes for students and faculty. The event offered a special confluence as national and local conversations on race, religion, gender, and class converged with a focus on Belmont Hill’s history and its connections to slavery.

The film “Traces of the Trade,” which was screened in separate locations to the school, served as a catalyst for discussion throughout the morning and afternoon. The director, producer, and narrator of the film Katrina Browne, who was active during the day’s sessions, brought a theme of the day-the legacy of slavery--to the forefront of school discussion. Browne is a descendant of the DeWolfe family, which profited from the slave trade from their hometown of Bristol, Rhode Island. Ms. Browne encouraged students to begin to reckon with the school’s past. She urged students and faculty alike to research and re-evaluate Belmont Hill’s own connections to slavery, such as the bell which stands tall outside the dining hall without any indication of its origins from a plantation in Cuba that was owned by the Atkins family, one of the founding families of Belmont Hill.

This spring semester, Mr. Hegarty taught a senior independent study examining Belmont Hill’s ties with the Atkins Family and their sugar plantations in Cuba.

The seniors, James Cardichon, Gus Lamb, Lebanos Mengistu, and Sebastian Themelis, delved deeply into Belmont Hill’s history.

The group ultimately connected Belmont Hill’s emergence as a local yet elite school to the much needed financial support of the Atkins Family, much of whose wealth was derived from Cuban plantations. As Lebanos mentioned during his portion of the Diversity Day presentation, “by 1886, the Atkins family had also bought the Soledad plantation with 177 patrocinados, candidly referred to as esclavos, or slaves.”

However, the group hypothesized that, without the Atkins’ family support, the school may have been unable to cope with the departures of faculty and students alike during World War Two. During his portion of the presentation, Mr. Hegarty quoted the words of Mr. Prenatt, our school archivist, that Mrs. Atkins, matriarch of the Atkins family for many decades, was the “guardian angel of the school. There have been many builders of this institution over the years, and she is one of them.”

The group opened the community to complex, yet relevant facets of Belmont Hill’s historical identity. As the school reckons with its past, the extended community will begin to address how the school moves forward in its endeavors.

The newly created course Advanced Historical Research will continue investigating Belmont Hill’s history next spring.

Dr. Melvoin believes “that Diversity Day this year represented a particularly important and valuable day for the school.

For one thing, in seeing the film Traces of the Trade and discussing it, both as a full school and within advisor groups, every student confronted more deeply the complex legacy of slavery in this country. For another, to learn that Belmont Hill is another New England institution that is not exempt from the legacy of America’s past is an important lesson for us all. We still have more to learn, and perhaps to do as well, but as a school we have taken a big step forward.” ☐

By Quin McGaugh ‘18 and Matthew Smith ‘19 Panel Staff As the school year draws to a close, the Belmont Hill track and field team finished out an impressive season in their two championship meets, ISTAs and NEPSTAs. After facing defeat at the hands of Exeter, the team was eager to bounce back. Seeded first in both competitions, Belmont Hill was poised for a commanding victory over even their closest opponents, including Tabor and Thayer. After a solid week of training, the athletes were poised for success. Journeying down to Tabor for the ISL champi-

onship, Belmont Hill battled intensely for every point in every event, eventually winning by a margin of 44.5 points. Notable performances included F.A.T school records by Isaiah Collins ‘18 in the 100-meter dash and

by Evan Ricci ‘17 in the 300-meter hurdles.

Following up their victory with another week of grueling practice, the Belmont Hill Track and Field Team then made the onerous trek to Williston Northampton in western Massachusetts for the Division II NEPSTAs. Once again, the boys in blue would prevail, attaining a whopping 53 point lead by the end of the meet. This massive lead was thanks in part to exceptional performances by John Pappo ‘18 and Quin

McGaugh ‘18 in both the 800 and 1500 meter races. In an exciting twist, Belmont Hill’s 4x400-meter relay team, comprised of all seniors, closed out its season with a third place finish, 4 places above its seed.

The win marked Belmont Hill’s fourth consecutive year with the title, shadowed only by an impressive 20th straight victory at NEPSTAs by the Thayer girl’s team. Furthermore, after doing some calculations, Ray Hunt and Evan Ricci concluded that Belmont Hill would have won Division I NEPSTAs as well. The dominance of the 2017 Belmont Hill track and field team was truly special and may be unreplicatable in the years to come. ☐

Golf Team Caps Off Another Successful Season on the Links

By Matthew Goguen ‘19 Panel Staff

After a strong 2016 season, Coach Doar and the golf team had high hopes heading into the 2017 season. With a team composed of middle schoolers and upper schoolers, the golf team came out of the gates looking for an ISL championship. New additions including Connor Willett (’21) and Charlie Donahue (’20), bolstered the golfing attack. The team opened up winning its first 9 out of 10 matches. This included two narrow 4-3 victories against Milton Academy and Rivers.

The team had great contributions from the seniors, Marshall Knight and Jack Neely, as well as junior captain Oisin Treanor. On Monday May 15th, the golf team competed in the ISL Kingman Tournament, which would determine the ISL champion of 2017.

The team competed well against powerhouses such as Buckingham Browne and Nichols, and finished 4th in the cutthroat field.

With a successful season, captains Maahin Gulati and Oisin Treanor look for a successful 2018 campaign for the Belmont Hill golf team. ☐

Varsity Sailing Rebounds From Slow Start

By Jack Murphy ‘18 Staff Writer The Belmont Hill sailing team is coming to the end of a challenging season in 2017, succeeding in both formats of high school sailing. One of these formats, and the more common in the world of sailing, is called fleet racing. This is where the boats, typically around 20 in high school regattas, race every boat for themselves, competing to finish ahead of as many boats as they can. A number of races constitute a regatta, which usually lasts all day, or on some occasions, all weekend. The sailing team had a very successful year in fleet racing. The team qualified for New England’s, held at MIT, for the first time in over a decade, after a strong result in the most competitive of the four regional qualifiers in Marblehead. The team also went up to Castine ME for the Downeast Regatta, a two-day where the sailors stayed over in the Maine

Maritime barracks. The team finished sec- ship award. Stephen Pellegrino will join ond overall, while winning A fleet. This past Jack Murphy as captains next year. ☐ week the team competed at Mass States, on the Charles River, finishing third overall.

The other format of high school sailing is team racing, which is almost exclusive to high school sailing. This is where two teams face off on a race course, each with three boats, and try to position their boats so that they cross the finish line ahead of the other team’s boats. So instead of trying to finish ahead of as many boats as possible like in fleet racing, in team racing a boat winning the race may need to come back in order to help their other teammates get ahead of a boat on the opposite team.

The team had a slow start in team racing, losing two very closes matches against Moses Brown and BC High, but were able to finish the season with a winning record.

Sailing loses 2 seniors this year, Jacob Whitney, the top crew on the team for over 4 years, and Bennett Rush, recent winner of the sportsman-

Prize Day 2017

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Th e Pan el

Extracurriculars & Arts B Flats Music Awards

Philip L.W. Bailey, Seamus K. Clair, Peter Knowlton, Benjamin L. London, Bennett P. Rush, William T. Ryan, Varun M. Shah, Sebastian Themelis, Jacob T. Whitney, Daniel E. Zakon

Choral & Vocal Prize

Varun M. Shah, Daniel E. Zakon

Instrumental Music Prize

Scott L.R. Jackson, Armin M. Thomas

Ensemble Award

Michael T. Armstrong, John Paul Champa, Scott L.R. Jackson, Marshall J. Knight, Andrew A. Kaneb, Tomás E. Paris, McAlister J. Perry, Brian M. Tanabe, Armin M. Thomas

Diversity Leadership Award

James W. Cardichon, Augustus H. E. Lamb, Lebanos G. Mengistu, Sebastian Themelis

Woodbury Public Speaking Prize

Augustus H. E. Lamb (Fall), John E. Daley (Spring)

Hayden Gaylord Coon Drama Prize

Peter F. Knowlton (Acting), Varun M. Shah (Technical)

The Paul J. Zofnass ‘65 Environmental Award

John E. Daley, Andrew A. Kaneb

Hampers Lyceum Award

Alexander W. Czarnecki, Jason S. Fischman, Bradley K. Hart

Edward M. Burt Community Service Award

James W. Cardichon, Cameron D. Hall, Samuel P. Hesler, Lebanos G. Mengistu, Henry M. Moukheiber, Zachary J. Shpilner, Brian M. Tanabe, Andrew W. Berg, Jacob T. Carter, Brady P. Chikara, Matthew A. Drucker, Duncan S. Grant, William J. McCormack, Luca J. Pontone, Thomas A. Ryan, Abraham B. Tolkoff, Colin A. Vallis, Coleman P. Walsh

Warburg Community Service Award

Lebanos G. Mengistu, Brian M. Tanabe

Panel Carving Prize

Daniel J. Griffin IV

Angelo Togneri Art Prize

Thomas A. Ryan

Thomas Photography Prize

Donavan D. Payne

Global Citizenship Award

Ishaan Prasad

Babe Ruth Sportsmanship Award

Athletics

Michael T. Armstrong, William T. Ryan

Red and Blue Key Society

John D. Ablon, Seamus K. Clair, Jason S. Fischman, Peter G. Flaherty, Jonathan P. Folsom, Cameron P. Gordon, Daniel J. Griffin, Varun M. Shah, Armin M. Thomas, Ugo B. Anuonyemere, Adam L. Batchelor, Patrick G. Connor, Maahin Gulati, Artemy A. Ivanov, Jovan A. Jones, Austin J. Kwoun, Grant W. Litchfield, Daniel M. Milmoe, David I. Mitchell, Lawson B. Morris, Liam C. Murphy, Stephen J. Pellegrino, Gabriel C. Peterkin, Thomas A. Ryan

Darren D. Gallup Three Sport Athlete Award

Michael T. Armstrong, John E. Daley, Cameron D. Hall, Gifford R. Metz, Peter D. O’Connell, William T. Ryan, Patrick J. Shea, John M. Sommers, Robert P. Williamson

Charles F. Kenney ‘06 Prize

Michael T. Armstrong

The Independent School League Award of Excellence

William T. Ryan

Classics

Maureen O’Donnell Book Prize

John E. Markis, Jeffrey C. Price, David J. Paine, Arnav Prasad, Antonio B. Ubeda

Carter Drake Goad Award

Alexander W. Czarnecki, Raymond W. Hunt, Andrew A. Kaneb

Jared Waterbury Scudder Latin Prize

Ishaan Prasad

Modern Language Spanish Prize

Gavin I. Colbert, Duncan S. Grant

French Prize

Gabriel A. J. Raffa, Dan Schwartz

Raymund A. Kathe Prize

Coleman P. Walsh, Mohammed A.M. Osman

Prize Day 2017

Jun e 5 , 2 0 1 7

Pa g e 7

Middle School Middle School Public Speaking Prize

Colin C. Trueman (Fall), Liam M. Kelly (Spring)

Middle School Drama Award

Ryan D. Cannistraro (Acting), John P. Henehan (Acting), Jalen C. A. Walker (Technical)

Prospepctor Prize

John K. Weldon

Bell Award

Chetan C. Shukla

Newell Howes Morton Award

Nicholas V. Castellucci, John R. McHugh

Middle School Award of Merit - Form I

Christopher J. Aufiero, Luke J. Carroll, Charles D. Cave, Braden M. Reilly, Henry Wyatt Schmidek

Middle School Award of Merit - Form II

Wyatt P. Barlage, Ryan D. Cannistraro, Grant W. Litchfield, Jalen C.A. Walker

Middle School Award of Merit - Form III

Matthew A. Drucker, Andrew J. Lee, Daniel M. Milmoe, Liam A. Peterson, Max G. Peterson, Ysael Porro, John K. Weldon

Gregg Citizenship Award

Jacob A. Czarnecki

Helena Weister Funk Award

John R. McHugh

Math

Mathematical Association (AMC) of America Award

Massimo Aufiero, Matthew A. Smith

N.E. Mathematics League Award (NEML)

Massimo Aufiero, Antonio B. Ubeda

Rensselaer Mathematics & Science Medal

Massimo Aufiero

Maxwell Mathematics Prize

Johnathan P. Folsom

Thomas G. Walters Mathematics Achievement Prize

Armin M. Thomas

Science Henry S. Robinson Physics Prize

John E. Daley, Andrew A. Kaneb

Frederick C. Richardson Chemistry Prize

Antonio B. Ubeda, Jacob T. Carter

Clifford Goodband Biology Prize

Matthew A. Smith

Staehle Downes Geology Prize

Jack B. Vander Vort, Zachary D. Geddes

Thomas G. Walters Mathematics Achievement Prize

Armin M. Thomas

English Willey Sextant Prize for Creative Writing

Gabriel C. Peterkin, Henry M. Vettel

Brown Book Award

David J. Paine

Henry S. Robinson English Prize

Alexander W. Czarnecki, Mohammed A.M. Osman

History Monaco American History Prize

Jacob T. Carter, William J. McCormack

Downes History Prize

Alexander W. Czarnecki

Form V Awards Book Prizes

Massimo Aufiero (Harvard), William J. McCormack (Harvard), Ishaan Prasad (Williams), David I. Mitchell (Yale)

Belmont Hill Sp orts

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Athlete of the Issue: Evan Ricci ‘17 A Strong Season for Varsity Tennis

By Thomas Smith ‘19 Staff Writer

By Matthew Smith ‘19 Panel Staff While most of the athletes covered in Athlete of the Issue have spent many years perfecting their craft, Evan Ricci ‘17 started running the hurdles less than two years ago.

Joining the Belmont Hill track and field team at the start of the 2016 season, Ricci quickly took to the hurdles and, under the guidance of Mr. Kirby, soon found major success. During that initial season, Ricci placed at both ISTAs and NEPSTAs, scoring much needed points for Belmont Hill and coming within seconds of both school records.

Now, in his second year of hurdling, Ricci has exceeded all expectations. A regular contributor of points, Ricci has played a crucial role in the track and field team’s near perfect season. By around midway through the season, Ricci had broken hand-timed school records in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles. At ISTAs, Ricci won both his events, setting a F.A.T record in the 300-meter hurdles. Then, at NEPSTAs, Ricci once again crushed the competition, taking home two more 1st place medals to add to his rapidly growing collection.

Ricci will attend Boston College, where he will potentially run track. ☐

Led by senior captains Jack Ablon and Owen Greenwood, the 2017 varsity tennis team had a stellar season after losing 4 team members from the 2016 ISL championship run. The whole team has performed at a high level throughout the entire season, particularly 3 seeded Danny Tsyvin, who is yet to drop a set in ISL play.

The team experienced some heartbreaking losses to Roxbury Latin and Brunswick, but also won some key games including an 8-7 thriller at Groton and a 14-1 rout of an undefeated Milton team.

With the final match of the season approaching rapidly, the team looked to finish the season on a high note with a match against BB&N, after recently de-

feating Brooks 14-1. BB&N and Belmont Hill shared 2nd place in the ISL, with each team having only one loss. BB&N was looking for revenge on their home court, after Belmont Hill defeated them to win the ISL title last year. Unfortunately for BH, the Knights bested them in the last match of season; nevertheless the squad is more fired up than ever to avenge their defeat next year.

The BB&N match was the last match in a Belmont Hill uniform for seniors Jack Ablon, Owen Greenwood, Scott Jackson, and Jack Daley, all of whom have greatly contributed to the tennis program throughout their time at Belmont Hill. Despite the departure of 4 seniors after the season, the team aspires to remain near the top of the ISL in years to come with the help of current middle schoolers: Andrew Lee, Matt Drucker, Aaron Belluck, and Jarrett Chen. ☐

Successful Season for BH Varsity Crew

By Luke O’Hare ‘18 and Richie Kendall ‘19 Panel Staff Despite many injuries, uncooperative weather, and other various obstacles throughout the spring, this year’s varsity crew team has enjoyed similar success as past seasons. The team remained undefeated in team racing with only a few boats losing singular races throughout the season. The rowers and coxswains took home the Ducey Cup, Bassett Cup, and won the Wayland Weston Regatta yet again. The boys had a strong showing at the NEIRA Regatta at the end of May. Historically, Belmont Hill Crew has won more gold medals at this regatta than all other schools combined.

As the New England Championship regatta fast approached, the top four boats all looked to win New England titles. The first boat went into the regatta as a second seed behind Deerfield. With a lineup consisting of Henry Thomas, Andrew Berg, Eric Whitehead, and Sean Mannion, the crew looked to avenge Deerfield’s 2016 win, but narrowly missed the mark with a 3rd place finish. The

second boat – rowed by Captain Pat Shea, Jackson Stone, Spenser Nuzzo, and Robbie Warming – entered NEIRAs as the first seed and continued their more than decade-long win streak (beginning in 2006). Captain Will Ryan, Teddy Danziger, Michael Glauninger, and Jack “yah der” Vander Vort rowed in the third boat, which was third seed going into NEIRAs. Finishing above their seed at 2nd place, they avenged their losses to CRLS earlier in the season. The fourth boat, which consisted of Colin Vallis, Luke O’Hare, Nick Wilkins, and Ben St. Peters, entered NEIRAs as a first seed, but fell just short in a 2nd place finish to Deerfield. Coming in at second place, just behind Deerfield, BH looks to recapture first place in 2018.

Overall, it has been a successful season and the rowers and coxswains would like to thank Coaches Richards, George, Stone, Sobstyl, Parajo, and McDougal for their continued dedication. As the seniors head off to college next year, the team would like to thank them for their leadership and wish them luck as they prepare to graduate from Belmont Hill. ☐

Varsity Baseball Completes Another Successful Season with 14-5 Record

Rohrer, Jake McOsker, Peter O’Connell, and have all committed to their respective colDevin O’Donovan have combined for a re- leges, hoping to pursue a future in baseball. markable six shutouts, holding Groton, St. The team ended its season strongly, George’s, St. Mark’s, Milton Acadbeating Brooks in a close 6-5 game at home As the spring season comes to a close, emy, St. Paul’s, and Roxbury Latin our varsity baseball team, coached by Mr. to a combined zero runs. Even so, Grant and Mr. O’Leary, has managed the team has certainly had to deal with to put together another very sucadversity along the way, suffering disapcessful season. After securpointing losses at the hands of perening key victories down nial tough opponents in Governor’s the stretch against Academy and Lawrence Academy. opponents such as Amidst a fabulous roster, there St. Sebastian’s, Milton certainly have been standout performAcademy, and Roxbury Laters.

Fellow teammates have identified in, the team stands with a curEvan Sleight, Brendan Rocha, Sam rent record of 12-5. Members of Rohrer, and Robbie Cronin as playthe team attribute their success ing a key roles to this year’s team. to effective practices, which take Furthermore, as a testament to the place both in the batting cages team’s talent and success, several as well as out on the spectacuplayers have already made plans lar varsity diamond, where to play on at the collegiate level. teammates typically break Evan Sleight, (Univeroff into position groups sity of Virginia), in order to hone David Conforti, defensive skills.

(New York UniOf course, versity), Pethe team’s success ter O’Connell has been due, in (Bowdoin), large part, to steland Robbie lar pitching. The Cronin (Trinity), pitching staff of Sam

By Thomas McEvoy ‘19 Panel Staff

and thrashing BB&N 8-2. A solid group of fifth formers will gain leadership of the team next Spring, and Belmont Hill baseball looks forward to continued success in 2018. ☐

Jun e 5 , 2 0 1 7

Belmont Hill Sp orts & More

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Varsity Lax

Continued from Front Page final week of the season. Now all that stood in their way of a third consecutive ISL Championship was Brooks and BB&N. Brooks looked like a more than capable team as they lost to a strong Governor’s Academy team by only one goal. However, Belmont Hill had no trouble against the team from North Andover as they rolled to a 16-4 victory.

Now all that was left was BB&N. Belmont Hill played hard the entire game and was able to beat BB&N and capture their third ISL Championship in a row and their fourth in the last five years. A dynasty has been created by the incredible coaching of Tim Sullivan and Chris Butler who have now won five ISL Championships together. Congratulations to the whole lacrosse team on yet another excellent season. �

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Belmont Hill Arts

Th e Pan el

From Broadway to Belmont:

Selections from “Hamilton” Performed in Hamilton Chapel during Spring Concert

By William McCormack ‘18 Panel Staff On the afternoon of Sunday, May 7th, five student music groups convened in the Hamilton Chapel for the 2017 installation of Belmont Hill’s Spring Concert. Entertained by an hour and a half of instrumentals and vocals, parents, other Belmont residents, faculty members, their families, and other students enjoyed a beautiful afternoon of music and melody.

Directed by Mr. Fiori and Mr. Patterson, the concert featured the majority of Belmont Hill’s music troupes.

The Middle School Jazz Ensemble, Upper School Jazz Combo, Upper School Jazz Ensemble, and all-school Orchestra supplied the instrumental portion of the afternoon, while the B-Flats bridged instrumental performances, singing over eight songs in the middle of the concert’s lineup.

Performing an innovative spin on Bruno Mars’s pop hit “Treasure,” the Middle School Jazz Ensemble began the concert, their strong performance bolstered by solos from Artemy Ivanov ‘20 on the alto saxophone and Kevin Jiang ‘22 on the clarinet.

Subsequently, The Upper School Jazz Combo, sporting white shirts and sharp blue ties, took the stage to perform two tunes. “All of Me,” a classic jazz piece, was played first by the group’s core sixth form members: Brian Tanabe’ 17 on the tenor saxophone, McAlister Perry ‘17 on guitar, Armin Thomas ‘17 on the piano, Marshall Knight ‘17 on the alto saxophone, and group president Scott Jackson ‘17 on drums. Knight soloed on the song, smoothly commanding his alto sax. The group welcomed B-Flats member Seamus Clair ‘17 to provide vocals for their second song, “Cold Sweat,” a

Jacob Whitney ‘17, Philip Bailey ‘17, and the rest of the B-Flats perform “Lord of All”

groovy James Brown tune; Clair surprised the audience with an impressive rendition.

Sampling a wide variety of musical genres, Belmont Hill’s B-Flats performed third. The group began by singing “True Colors,” Cyndi Lauper’s famous 1986 hit that has been readapted several times, most recently by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick on Disney’s Trolls. Solos from Varun Shah ‘17 and Philip Bailey ‘17 preceded a duet performed by Theo Why ‘18 and Seamus Clair ‘17. Following “True Colors,” the group sang “Au Joli Jeu,” a traditional French love song, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” for which Bennett Rush ‘17 soloed, and “Good News,” an exciting spiritual hymn. Fifth on their tracklist was “Lord of All,” a rousing gospel jam that Mr. Patterson had taught to a group of independent school students at Groton’s annual Gospelfest in April. Jacob Whitney

‘17 played the role of exhorter, leading a call-response routine among the B-Flats.

The B-Flats’ final set of music, selections from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton: An American Musical,” was arguably the most anticipated component of the Spring Concert. Popular with both the audience and members of the B-Flats themselves, songs performed from “Hamilton” included the play’s introduction, “Alexander Hamilton,” Aaron Burr’s “Wait for It,” King George III’s “You’ll Be Back,” and Alexander Hamilton’s, “My Shot.” Peter Knowlton ‘17 sang Burr’s emotional soliloquy on “Wait for It,” while Ben London ‘17, Sebastian Themelis ‘17, and Philip Bailey ‘17 sang an assortment of roles on “Alexander Hamilton.”

Theo Why ‘18 beautifully executed “You’ll Be Back,” a song that demanded strong, steady vocals and individual poise, while Owen Pickette ‘18 admirably handled Lin-

Manuel Miranda’s very difficult rap on “My Shot.” Meanwhile, the chorus complemented soloists nicely, especially during “My Shot,” in which other members of the B-Flats belted out a resounding “AL-EXAN-D-ER-WE ARE-MEANT TO BE,” to accompany Pickette’s rap. Strong vocals were supplemented by Mr. Patterson’s rendition of Hamilton’s melody on the keyboard, Marshall Knight ‘17 on guitar, Scott Jackson ‘17 on drums, and Armin Thomas ‘17 on the timpani, a special percussion instrument donated by Frank Epstein.

The Upper School Jazz Ensemble followed the B-Flats, playing three jazz pieces: Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story,” Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood,” and Frank Foster’s “Blues in Hoss Flat.” Marshall Knight ‘17, John Paul Champa ‘17, Patrick Connor ‘18, James Eysenbach ‘19, and the “Croatian Sensation” Filip Puljiz ‘18 all soloed.

The Orchestra ended the concert. A medley from the Pirates of the Caribbean, a piece violinist Andrew Kaneb ‘17 had been waiting his entire Belmont Hill career to play, pleasantly stunned the engrossed audience, the song’s ferocious undertone providing a backdrop to the piece’s subtle individual melodies. Kaneb and Austin Kwoun ‘18 performed incredibly, each on the violin.

The Spring Concert also served as the last performance for many graduating seniors. Although some, like Armin Thomas ‘17 and members of the B-Flats, would perform again in Chapel and at the Senior Talent Show, many ended their Belmont Hill music careers that Sunday afternoon.

The Spring Concert represented the perfect culmination of their efforts and talents. ☐

A Tribute to Graduating Senior Artists

Continued from Front Page ...and percussion thunders as the violins continue their tremolo: it’s Mike Armstrong and Scott Jackson! “Third in command” of the orchestra, Mike’s night of performance ends with the stunt piece, but Scott’s night has just begun. Scott will play for the Jazz Band and Jazz Combo too, a stalwart on the drums as always. Scott isn’t the only drummer in this arbitrary arts community; versatile Gus Lamb boasts drum skills to go along with his ukulele prowess and his presence in the theater, where he shone in Of Mice and Men (alongside Jackson!). Speaking of the senior-directed play: even months after the show, those who had the privilege of being in the audience can still sense the powerful innocence of Seamus Clair’s character, Lennie Small. Bennett Rush’s southern drawl, Sebastian Themelis’s fiery disposition, and Marshall Knight’s cold rationality still ring true to audiences as we reflect on the graduating seniors’ final official production. The residents of this Senior Haven ooh and ahh at the new members of their thespian community. And of course, nothing would have been possible without the senior directors, Varun Shah and Peter Knowlton. Shah is a veteran of the tech booth, and Knowlton has himself starred in a number of BH theater productions. Nearly all of the cast members double

as singers in the B-Flats, Belmont Hill’s resident a capella guys. Clair, Themelis, Shah, Knowlton, and Rush are all in the Flats; so are Dan Zakon, Jacob Whitney, Phil Bailey, and Will Ryan. The boys will sing for their fellow men tonight. Among them, Will enjoys the spotlight with the Flats, but he also has experience behind the scenes, directing the tech crew for many a theater production. You all saw Phil tear up the stage at the senior talent show, singing Chris Brown’s “With You” alongside the clearly very multi-talented Gus Lamb. Phil and Gus shared the stage with the seniors of the Rock Band, which included Clair, Knight, Jackson, Kaneb, Cam Hall, and Mack Perry. Mack and Cam have made their presences felt at Coffee Houses; Kaneb is also a frequent flier. Everyone knew Andrew could play a mean fiddle, but who knew he had a voice like silk? All the residents of this Senior Haven will revel in it for a long time to come. And speaking of the Coffee House, it was here that Armin compounded his indelible and unique impact on the BH arts. Not just Armin; all of these artists dramatically changed our community and our Belmont Hill experience for the better.

We’ll miss our guys as they move on to bigger and better things. May they ascend in peace. ☐

Executive Editor Arnav Prasad ‘18 Arts Editor Austin Kwoun ‘18 Sports Editor Thomas McEvoy ‘19 Photo Editors Duncan Grant ‘18 Donovan Payne ‘18 Back Page Editors Lawson Morris ‘19 Leighton Dolan ‘19

Editors-in-Chief Ishaan Prasad ‘18 William McCormack ‘18

Faculty Advisors David Hegarty Juliette Zener

Copy Editors John Markis ‘18 Richie Kendall ‘19

News Editor Charlie Donahue ‘19

Assistant Editors Chetan Shukla ‘20 Jack Weldon ‘20 Nick Daley ‘19 Charlie Booth ‘19 Matt Goguen ‘19

Opinion Editor Gavin Colbert ‘18 Online Editor Matt Smith ‘19 Graphics Editor Bennett Morris ‘18

The Panel, founded in 1953, is the official school newspaper of the Belmont Hill and Winsor schools. The Panel is the voice of the student body. We publish articles that are of consequence to the students, as well as the school communities. The views expressed in The Panel belong solely to the authors and editors and do not necessarily represent the student body, faculty or administration of either school. Any comment about the content should be addressed directly to the editors.

The Panel encourages responsible opinion in the form of Letters to the Editor. We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length and content. Copyright 2013 The Panel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the Editor-in-Chief. Published by the Belmont Printing Co., Belmont, MA 02478.

Belmont Hill Arts

Jun e 5 , 2 0 1 7

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Belmont Hill Actors Shine in Sister Act: A Divine Musical All

pictures

by

Adam

Richins

By Theo Why ‘18 Staff Writer

All photos by Adam Richins

Owen Pickette ‘18

Curtiss, Joey, and TJ performing (Peter Knowlton ‘17, Donavan Payne ‘18, and Theo Why ‘18) “When I Find my Baby” during the Thursday night dress rehearsal for Sister Act

This spring, members of the Dana Hall and Belmont Hill Theater departments put together Sister Act: A Divine Musical by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner and composed by Alan Menken.

The show starred Dana senior Ellease Creer as Deloris Van Cartier, a sassy, vivacious, up-and-coming Philadelphia club singer turned impromptu sister of the Holy Order of the Little Sisters of Our Mother of Perpetual Faith. After witnessing a murder committed by her criminal boyfriend, Curtiss (played by our own Peter Knowlton ‘17), Deloris

seeks help from the police, specifically Officer Eddie Souther (Owen Pickette ‘18). Being a witness to the crime, Deloris is hidden away at the “safest place in Philly”, the sister’s convent. Unfortunately, Deloris is faced with only more challenges as the head of the convent, Mother Superior (Meaghan Robichaud), does not condone of her rowdy antics and extravagant music. Nevertheless, Deloris would inspire the sisters of the convent to strive for spiritual freedom and stand strong in the face of adversity.

The musical featured numer-

2017 Senior Talent Show Impresses

By Austin Kwoun ‘18 Panel Staff The atmosphere was electric in the Hamilton Chapel as students and faculty alike eagerly anticipated the start of the third annual Senior Talent Show. The judges’ panel, boasting esteemed educators like Mr. Leonardis, Mr. DiResta, Dr. Tift, and Mr. Schneider, settled into their seats as Peter Tamasi stepped onto the stage.

The first act of the evening was a fitting and memorable one. Armin Thomas performed for the last time, putting forth a sensitive and articulate rendition of Friedrich Chopin’s Ballade No. 1, Op. 23. Though the piece ate up a considerable chunk of time and logistically complicated the morning, nobody seemed to mind; the applause was thunderous, an echo in the Chapel that signalled the end of a musical dynasty.

Next, Cam Hall, Seamus Clair, Marshall Knight, Mack Perry, Scott Jackson, and Andrew Kaneb (a.k.a. the Upper School Rock Band) gave an impassioned and basically unintelligible performance of “Come on Eileen,” which, in their defense, nobody actually knows the words to. Kaneb stayed on stage and was joined by Gus Lamb (drums) and Sebastian Themelis (piano) for the Zac Brown Band’s “I Play the Road.” Kaneb’s vocal reminiscence about his daughter was moving, and the performance blew away both the crowd and the judges. As an audience member, the trio’s showing was compelling and easy to appreciate. More of an acquired taste was the next act, a solo performed by Gifford Metz. Gifford soldiered through the lyrics to cult song “All Star,” but sang them over the back track of fellow cult song “Wake Me Up.” The audience reveled in his uniqueness and applauded deftly. The performance notably lacked Gifford’s signa-

ture calisthenics; perhaps that might have pushed him over the edge of a winning act.

Then, out of the blue, the crowd rose as “300 Violin Orchestra” blared over the loudspeakers, prepared to witness either the pinnacle of human achievement or its rock bottom.

Nate Miller stepped center stage, wielding a water bottle half-filled; what was a music stand moments before became a platform for a moment to end all moments. Nate flipped, the bottle landed, and the Hamilton Chapel erupted in wake of his victory. The football team’s hype machine kept churning as Will Stonestreet and Ray Hunt stepped to the stage, the former carrying his paints and his brushes with his muse in tow. Stonestreet’s body painting act was completed to the Killers’ Human, and by the end of their show, Ray had emblazoned on his chest 29-19, the final score of the football team’s fall defeat of St. Sebastian’s.

If Stoney and Ray’s performance provided something of a throwback to the fall sports season, Dan Zakon and Jamie Feinberg brought it to a level of Jurassic proportions.

Whistling the Jurassic Park theme song with a dramatic dinosaur-conflict backdrop, they brought a new creativity to the Senior Talent Show. The Show turned to The Ukulele Club to finish the morning with a bang, and Gus Lamb and Phil Bailey did exactly that.

Their rousing rendition of Chris Brown’s “With You” plucked at ukulele and heartstrings alike. Bailey’s harmonies brought tears to many an eye, and Gus showed us that his talents stretched far beyond the drums.

In the end, Kaneb, Lamb, and Themelis not only played the road; they played everyone else, too, and took home the Senior Talent Show trophy. Congratulations to all the performers and thank you to the judges and to Peter, our gracious host! ☐

ous showstoppers from the Belmont Hill boys, including “When I Find My Baby”, a number contrasting hilariously dark lyrics with an upbeat tune and tempo starring Peter Knowlton, “I Could be That Guy”, a ballad of hope and lost opportunity sung by Owen Pickette, and “Lady in the Long Black Dress”, a ridiculous romantic R&B duet performed by comic-relief henchmen, Joey and TJ played (respectively) by Donavan Payne ‘18 and Theo Why ‘18.

However, the show shone brightest when focusing on the bonds

of sisterhood, a subject that strongly resonated with both the Dana cast and audience. Crowd favorites included “Fabulous Baby,” “Take Me to Heaven,” “Sunday Morning Fever,” and, of course, the bittersweet melody of “Sister Act” that effectively left numerous Dana students across all grades in tears as they reminisced over their years together as both a community of students and sisters.

Sister Act: A Divine Musical was performed at Bardwell Theater on Friday, April 12th and Saturday, April 13th. ☐

Schoolhouse Rock Live!

Excites Kraft Theater Audience

By Owen Pickette ‘18 Staff Writer Schoolhouse Rock Live! was a resounding success, featuring classic Schoolhouse Rock hits such as “I’m Just a Bill” and “Conjunction Junction.” Directed by Ms. Robison and Mr. DiResta, the show faced huge adversity when low numbers at auditions left the directors scrambling for actors.

E v e n t u a l l y, they managed to rally a group of students willing to put their hearts and souls into putting on the best possible show. “It was challenging to get a cast to do a musical review in the middle school,” said Mr. DiResta. “But they did an awesome job, and it was heartening to see the effort they all put in.” Despite a rocky start, the cast managed to give Belmont Hill one of its most exciting musicals in recent memory.

Starring Form II student Ryan Cannistraro as Tom, a teacher worried about his first day on the job, the show is about a group of iconic Schoolhouse Rock characters emerging from Tom’s television to boost his confidence with songs and dances about different school subjects. Singing and dancing with confidence and enthusiasm, the cast had the

audience humming their favorites right along with them. Mrs. Kaplan designed a stunning raised set with various fun props and set pieces to go along with the intricate backdrop. Schoolhouse Rock Live! was an excellent close to the Belmont Hill theater season, leaving everyone who saw the show excited to see what shows can come to life in the Kraft Theater next fall. ☐

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Matricul ation List

Th e Pan el

Senior Destinations As of June 1

Jack Ablon..............................................................................Colgate University Tejas Agnihotri............................................................................Trinity College Michael Armstrong.................................................................Williams College Philip Bailey ...........................................................University of San Francisco James Bell..............................................................................Dartmouth College Drew Bowser.............................................................................Amherst College Matthew Bracken..................................................................Colgate University James Cardichon..........................................University of Southern California John Paul Champa..................................................................Brown University Seamus Clair...............................................................................Kenyon College David Conforti..................................................................New York University Robert Cronin..............................................................................Trinity College Warren Cross...............................................................................Babson College Alexander Czarnecki..........................................................Harvard University Evan Daddario..............................................................St. Lawrence University Jack Daley.............................................................................Harvard University Nicholas Delhome...........................................................University of Virginia James Feinberg..........................................................................Pomona College Jason Fischman.......................................................................Brown University Peter Flaherty..............................................................College of the Holy Cross Jonathan Folsom...............................................................Saint Anselm College Henry Forcier..............................................................Northwestern University Zach Geddes......................PG Phillips Andover, then Georgetown University Cameron Gordon......................................Washington University in St. Louis Owen Greenwood..........................................................................Bates College Daniel Griffin.................................................................Georgetown University Henry Griffin...................................................Washington and Lee University Cameron Hall..........................................................................Davidson College Bradley Hart.........................................................................Dartmouth College Brendan Hennessey..................................................................UMass Amherst Sam Hesler............................................Interim Year, then Dartmouth College William Hintlian...................................................................Cornell University Raymond Hunt....................................................................Harvard University Scott Jackson..................................................................................Colby College Robert Jahrling............................................................................Yale University Andrew Kaneb...................................................................Princeton University Christopher Kingston.................................................................PG Hill School Marshall Knight.........................................................................Tufts University Peter Knowlton........................................................................Williams College Alexander Kurtin..........................................................................Colby College

Gus Lamb................................................................................Skidmore College Connor Laracey.......................................................University of Notre Dame Benjamin London....................................................................Tufts University Kyle Maxwell.........................................................................Tulane University Jimmy Melican........................................................................Amherst College Lebanos Mengistu........................................................................Bates College Gifford Metz........................................................................Dartmouth College Nathaniel Miller....................................................University of Pennsylvania Henry Moukheiber....................................................Northeastern University Cole Nagahama.........................................................College of the Holy Cross Jack Neely.................................................................................Pomona College Peter O’Connell......................................................................Bowdoin College Devin O’Donovan.........................................................PG Cheshire Academy Matthew O’Leary.........................................................Wake Forest University Christian O’Neill..............................Interim Year, then Princeton University Mohammed Osman..........................................................Stanford University Tomas Paris...........................................................................Haverford College McAlister Perry........................................Washington University in St. Louis Hunter Present...............................................Georgia Institute of Technology Evan Ricci....................................................................................Boston College Brendan Rocha...........................................................................Trinity College Bennett Rush..............................................................................Boston College William Ryan...................................................................Columbia University Varun Shah...............................................................................Tufts University Patrick Shea...............................................................College of the Holy Cross Zachary Shpilner.........................................................Georgetown University John Sommers........................................................................Colorado College William Stonestreet...........................................................Dartmouth College Peter Tamasi............................................................................Williams College Brian Tanabe......................................................................Stanford University Sebastian Themelis...............................................................Boston University Armin Thomas..........................................................................Yale University Julien Toulotte.............................................................................Union College Robert Warming..........................................................Georgetown University Jacob Whitney..........................................................................Tufts University Ryan Williams................................................................................Interim Year Robert Williamson.....................................................................................MIT Bret Willis...............................................................................Skidmore College Daniel Zakon................................................................University of Michigan