MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

Message from the Head of School & the Chair of the Board of Trustees

As we begin the 2020-2021 school year, things look different at our historic campus due to health and safety protocols, universal mask wearing, and smaller class sizes. What has not changed is the excitement and focus of our students and teachers as they come together to learn and grow.

Unlike previous summers where there was time for reflection on the year just ended, this summer our Administrative Team immediately transitioned into preparations for the fall and its complexities. We are energized by these efforts, including weekly Administrative Team meetings, an expanded commitment to professional growth in both diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) matters as well as hybrid teacher trainings, and the work of committees including leadership from various members of our Board of Trustees.

Some highlights of the 2019-2020 school year in the Upper School include: another outstanding year for college placement; an impactful Bissell Grogan Symposium on Environmental Stewardship and Impact featuring keynote speaker Jake Auchincloss, Newton City Council; several varsity team championships, including Varsity Boys Soccer winning the MBIL Championship; the Gator Robotics team reaching the quarterfinals at their regional competition; the Class of 2020 graduating in a slightly different way due to the pandemic; several students traveling with faculty to the NAIS People of Color Conference; and Neuroscience students creating and modeling their own Brain Hats that identified different regions in the brain.

In the Middle School, Carl Vallely, Middle School Head, along with some faculty continued work they began in Greece in the summer of 2019 with Anatolia College. This partnership connects students and faculty for curriculum building and collaboration as we continue our focus on global relationships. The Middle Schoolers committed another year of Community Service with frequent visits to the Boston Food Bank. In the science classrooms, students used Bridge Designer software to test and optimize bridge models before construction, and in the arts students were highlighted in May Chorale, Middle School Band, and onstage in Women Who Weave. All throughout the year, including in the winter months, students harvested lettuce and more from our indoor Tower Gardens.

In the Lower School, our faculty launched several new programs. For example, inspired by Youth Climate Summit, Grade 5 students took the initiative to consider what the world will look like in 2050 and what they might do about it; all grades learned and experimented with the augmented reality sand table in the Design Lab; there was excitement on the court as fourth and fifth graders competed interscholastically in basketball; insect robots and Mindstorm rovers roamed through Grade 3 and Grade 5; and Kindergarten students explored endangered animals and Earth’s unique land and water forms.

As we look forward to the year to come, we wish to thank all members of our community—faculty and staff, parents, alumni, alumni parents, grandparents, friends and Trustees—for the extraordinary generosity and incredible support that continues to make Brimmer a place for students to learn and thrive. During this past fiscal year alone, more than $2.4 million was donated to Brimmer through Annual Fund gifts, Playground Fund donations, payments on Realizing the Vision campaign pledges, and new capital and major gifts. In addition, Brimmer was able to raise a special Brimmer Community Fund, which enabled the School to provide specific aid to families who were particularly impacted by the pandemic. The Annual Fund exceeded its goal of $850,000, raising over $975,000! We are confident that our community will rise to the challenge again this school year to reach our Annual Fund goal of $900,000.

The goals we set for Brimmer in our recent “Call to Action: Disrupting Inequities and Institutional Racism” are ambitious. We have redesigned the DEI Task Force under Director of Equity and Inclusion Jessica Christian’s leadership in order to meet the needs of all three divisions of the School. We are excited for the work ahead as we delve deeply into the systemic racism our country and community faces and look for solutions to this problem. In addition, our recently published Strategic Priorities 2020 and Beyond presents several challenges to the Brimmer community at large. In response to parts of this strategic plan, we opened this fall with a new Lower School Playground and Outdoor Learning Space where students can explore, play, and learn. This would not have been possible without the support of several committed donors.

As you know, Brimmer has a rich history as a PK-Grade 12 school and we expect this year to be a continuation of reinforcing our guiding principles: creating lifelong learners who are inspired to learn, encouraged to explore, and empowered to lead. We are aware that the continued excellence of fulfilling Brimmer’s mission is a direct result of the generosity of all of our donors— past, present, and future. Thank you for your continued confidence in our programming and commitment to providing a strong, healthy school today and for future Brimmer students.

Judith Guild Head of School

David P. Kreisler President, Board of Trustees