Belmont Hill News

Student Senate Hopeful of Return to Pre-Covid BH

By Luke Carroll ’22 and

Joe Puglielli ’23 Contributing Writers

In the last Full Senate meeting before the newest representatives from Form I joined us, we discussed a variety of topics that could benefit school life. Form VI is seeking approval for a student Coffee Bar and expects good news soon. Seniors are also exploring possibilities for a “real” Camp Cody experience this coming Spring. The Boo Chapel this year earned (what is said to be) a record number of costume-wearers who were featured in front of the Chapel. Look forward to a similar documentary-skit sometime in December and an action-packed holiday Chapel! Party with a Purpose will be returning full force, and our newly-assembled BH team will be officially partnering with Dana Hall, NCDS, Rivers, and Winsor. Think Pink, a fundraiser toward breast cancer research, was successfully executed this year. Shout out to Form V Senator Dan Moran and his amazing team. The Senate is also eager to work on this year’s Thanksgiving Drive led by Form III students and their class officers (Evan Dresser, Sam Caulfield, and Chris McEvoy). We’re now only about a month away from Belmont Hill’s 99th year. While there’s much to be grateful for in returning to normal (family-style lunches, panini presses, Chapels, mask-free life, and many other features of a regular year), much of the talk in the Student Senate has been about what can be new. New also might mean the Belmont Hill Textbook Exchange (belmonthill.winsor.club)--thanks Winsor!--or a sports season waiver for seniors. And more often than not, it means the simple stuff, like changing the schedule for Strength & Conditioning or getting a new table in Goodband Commons. But class officers are happy to do “new” whether big or small, and that’s been the focus of our work these past three months. New also means student coffee, an outdoor ice rink in the Winter, brand new LOOP merch (under the leadership of Tommy Madden and Shane Kelly), or even just new food. This is where the Student Senate is putting all its energy, and as always we welcome new ideas from anywhere and everywhere to put to work. Belmont Hill is likely to partner with DOVE (Domestic Violence Ended) again this year, which is a domestic violence center that serves victims of domestic abuse. Last year, each advisory adopted a person to fulfill their Christmas wishlist, and we’ll be looking to do something similar to that as we gear up for the holiday season. Form V representatives (John Goguen, Daniel Drucker, Joe Puglielli, and Dan Moran) are taking the lead on these service initiatives. Form IV had a successful class tug-ofwar event (the first of its kind at Belmont Hill) just a few weeks ago, and they look to schedule an event like it in the near future. Form II had a Kahoot form-bonding activity, which was a big hit and an exercise in connecting peers together, and they will look for class-wide activities in the coming months. Form II representatives Will Achtmeyer and Nathan Zhang continue to send out frequent newsletters to their form on all things Student Senate and what’s next for their class. And while it’s not yet the New Year, everybody in the Student Senate is starting to look ahead toward Spring 2022. Seniors are organizing venue options for their class for Prom and Form IV representatives (James Mullowney, Nolan Bibbo, Zach Khozozian) are putting together the first grades 9-10 Semi-Formal in years. Optimism is running high for the next few months, and we’re all excited to see where the year takes our school—Happy Holidays from your school Senate! ☐

Chickens Return to BH Woodbury Returns to Chapel

By Cooper Nelson ’23 Panel Staff

After a long hiatus this summer, Belmont Hill’s resident family of chickens has returned to campus. Taken care of by the Farmers Club, these chickens have been proud members of the BH community since 2017. The three chickens live outside the science building in their own newly renovated coop. They supposedly do have replied, stating that the chickens were, in fact, alive, alongside a completely unrelated stock photo of four chickens enjoying the summer weather. Upon their return this fall, Dr. Goldberg graced the schoolwide email with more stock photos and thanked Ms. Ruys for hosting the chickens. The Farmers Club feeds the chickens, keeps their coop clean and well-maintained, and collects the eggs that the chickens lay daily. The eggs serve as the farmers’ reward for the hard work of sus-

The BH Farmers Club chickens Luke Trevisan ‘24

names, but no members of the club can come up with them. A Panel article from 2017 named the chickens Cutlet, Parm, and Nugget, but an email from former club leader Henry Moses last spring named them as Karen, Felicity, and Cynthia (KFC). The chickens spent the summer with Ms. Ruys, but their disappearance caused quite a stir last spring. The farmers sent a vaguely threatening email to the school asking for information on the chicken’s whereabouts. Later that day, Dr. Goldberg taining the chickens. Most of the farmers prefer their eggs scrambled and I am told that Nugget/Cynthia lays the best eggs. In addition to providing for the chickens, the farmers are also experimenting in crop farming, attempting to grow carrots. The Farmers Club is an extremely rewarding group to participate in whether you are interested in farming or not, and will yield delicious eggs as a reward! We look forward to a growth in the farmers club’s portfolio of offerings. ☐

By Mac Bobo ’23 Panel Staff

Every year, Belmont Hill offers upper school students two opportunities to practice their public speaking skills in the Woodbury Speaking Contest. The Woodbury’s are a time when the school community is brought together to hear from multiple students offering a wide range of perspectives. In the semi-final of the Woodbury contest this fall, six speakers, representing each form in the Upper School, presented their speeches with a wide range of topics. In the first Woodbury chapel, junior Cam Connell gave an insightful speech about the importance of fiction and its potentially impactful role in each of our lives. Nate Voss gave a hilarious speech about his misadventures in his previous middle school and the lessons he learned about the privileges of teenage boys compared to their female peers. With the last speech of the first chapel, junior Jack Abbrecht gave a thought-provoking speech about the im-

portance of asking questions and being comfortable with not knowing something. The first three speeches proved an auspicious start to the fall Woodbury season. Following the first chapel, the second group of speeches in the semi-finals were equally compelling. The first speech from senior David Carter detailed his time as a Boy Scout and his adventures hiking in the mountains. Second came junior Luca Mezzanotte, who spoke eloquently about the trials of his grandparents and his dad’s fight with cancer. Lastly, junior Josh Houston-Davis spoke about his often-meandering creativity and how that impacts his life experiences. Three Woodbury finalists BH Communications In the finals, Jack Abbrecht, David Carter, and Cam Connell all reflected on the importance of slowing down and enjoying the day to day of life at school and beyond. Ultimately, Cam was declared the winner. Ms. Zener offered “congratulations to Cameron and the finalists for a wonderful round of speeches.” If you are interested in future public speaking opportunities at Belmont Hill, reach out to Ms. Zener for more information. ☐

Belmont Hill Welcomes Koame Kota from Capetown

By Lev Tolkoff ’24 Panel Staff

Belmont Hill has the fortunate opportunity to welcome Koame Kota to Form IV through the school’s student exchange program. Koame joins us from Bishops School in Capetown, South Africa, where he is a student, athlete, and musician. For his first weeks in Massachusetts he lived with Sam Davis ’24 and Lucien Davis ’26; over Halloween weekend he moved to live with Alex Behn ’24 prior and will return to South Africa prior to Winter break. An excellent musician, Koame plays a wide range of instruments such as piano, clarinet, the djembe drums, ukulele, and marimba. Koame also has a passion for singing; he has joined the B Flats and has already made a significant impact. His musical passion started at the age of 4 when he learned Koame Kota, middle BH Communications how to play the piano. Aside from his musical talents, Koame is also a talented soccer player and had a great season with the JVA team. When Koame is not in the music building or on the soccer field, he can be found in a wide range of classes. He is taking both AP European history and US history. He hopes to learn more about American history while he is here. Koame has many aspirations during his time in America, “I am hoping to just have fun… because that is what it is mainly about, I hope to learn a lot more, but the most important thing is to just make friends”. Overall, Koame is an extremely outgoing person and wants to make the best out of his time in America. When asked for a final comment, Koame responded, “My goal is to meet as many people as possible, so please just come up to me and introduce yourself. I would love to meet you.” Welcome to the community Koame! ☐