Academic Update, Spring/Summer 2024

Academic Update

As Brunswick strives for the fullest intellectual development of every young man, our academic programs seek to instill in each student a desire to learn, to challenge each boy to his fulfill his unique potential, to foster critical-thinking skills, and to develop the creative and independent qualities of mind necessary to reach intellectual maturity and increased self-confidence.

This e-newsletter, published twice yearly, offers parents a top-line view of the latest happenings and curricular initiatives in selected academic departments. For greater detail, please refer to the Course Catalogue.

Modern Language & Classics Department

PHILOSOPHY & GOALS

Language acquisition and cultural literacy have traditionally been the two primary purposes of the Brunswick Modern Language Department. Consequently, the overall goal of the language program is to lead students to a level of proficiency that enables them to interact effectively with native speakers, with linguistic and cultural accuracy, in one (or more than one) language. Thus, language instruction emphasizes what we call “Brunswick’s Three Cs”: Communication (with an emphasis on speaking); Cultures (with an emphasis on the contemporary world and cultural comparisons); and Curiosity (striving to make our students lifelong learners).

Similarly, the Classics Department’s principal objective is to teach the languages and literature of the Greeks and the Romans; and, by doing so, to develop a deep and genuine appreciation among our student body for the literary, cultural, and historical achievements of the two classical civilizations.

▶ FOUR MODERN LANGUAGES TEACHERS gave a presentation on Artificial Intelligence in the classroom at the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in New York City.

Spanish teacher Alina Hoyos, Italian teacher Lucia Sardi, Spanish teacher Teddy Romeyn, and Arabic teacher Mimi Melkonian presented

“Integrating Artificial Intelligence in World Languages Classes.” The team covered the theory and practical applications of AI in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Their session was attended by 128 people.

“The audience showed great enthusiasm in learning about practical tools to integrate AI in teaching Gen Z and Gen Alpha students in their world language classes,” Melkonian said.

▶ SPANISH AND ARABIC STUDENTS embarked on their annual language program trip to Spain, exploring the rich cultural and historical tapestry of several iconic cities. In Madrid, the vibrant capital, students

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experienced the grandeur of the Royal Palace, the artistic treasures of the Prado Museum, and the bustling energy of Puerta del Sol. Toledo, a city known for its medieval charm, offered a journey back in time with its labyrinthine streets, ancient synagogues, and the magnificent Toledo Cathedral, blending Christian, Jewish, and Muslim heritage.

Seville dazzled with its lively flamenco scene, the stunning Alcázar palace, and the awe-inspiring Seville Cathedral, home to the Giralda tower and the tomb of Christopher Columbus. In Córdoba, students marveled at the architectural wonder of the Mezquita, a mosquecathedral symbolizing the city’s diverse cultural history,

and strolled through the picturesque, flower-filled patios of the historic Jewish Quarter. Finally, Granada captivated with the breathtaking Alhambra, a Moorish palace set against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the charming Albaicín district, offering panoramic views and a taste of traditional Andalusian life.

“This immersive trip provided students with a deep appreciation for Spain’s multifaceted heritage and linguistic richness,” said Melkonian, who chaperoned along with colleagues.

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speaking for half an hour in French and half an hour in English. The meetings offer “a window” for boys to interact with peers in a comparable school in France. Next year, Berrier hopes to set up the connection earlier, giving students more time to practice language skills and get to know one another.

▶ ERIN WITHSTANDLEY, Middle School French teacher, will serve as chair of the Modern Languages & Classics Department starting in September. Jaime González-Ocaña, who has served as chair for 13 years, decided to step down from his duties this year to focus on research and teaching.

▶ BRUNSWICK’S TWO MULTILINGUAL MAGAZINES have again won honors from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. The Orient Express won silver and Babel won gold in the High School Print Literary Magazine category. The awards were presented at the CSPA 100th Spring Convention at Columbia University. Chief editors of Babel and The Orient Express, Gabriel Trahanas ’25 and Sebastian DeAngelis ’24, presented at the conference; the two spoke about how to prepare and compile an award-winning magazine.

▶ UPPER SCHOOL FRENCH STUDENTS have enjoyed a virtual exchange with their counterparts at the Lycée Stanislas in Paris this year thanks to a connection made by their teacher, Mikel Berrier. Berrier has a friend who is an English teacher at Stanislas; he reached out to her to see if students might be able to connect.

The result was a classroom Zoom, which served as “first contact” between Brunswick and French students. After that, students broke into small groups of two to three and met via Zoom on weekends,

▶ MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS continue to show their expertise in Spanish. Results from the National Spanish Exam show high achievement:

• 14 perfect scores (100 on both exams)

• 24 gold medals (95 and above)

• 14 silver medals (85 and above)

▶ EIGHT JUNIORS AND 10 SOPHOMORES were inducted into the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica thanks to their success in Spanish Honors classes, their teachers’ recommendations, and their curiosity about the Hispanic world.

The Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica is an international association of more than 3,500 schools dedicated to recognizing high school achievement in Spanish and Portuguese. The Brunswick chapter was launched in 2022.

In addition, two students won honors for their submissions to the March 2024 edition of Albricias, the biannual student magazine of the Honorary Hispanic Society and the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Subir Garg ’25 won first prize in the prose category, and Sebastian Medina ’25 won third prize in poetry.

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Math Department

PHILOSOPHY & GOALS

The aim of the Brunswick Mathematics Department is to develop in its students strong understanding and skills in the areas of quantitative thinking and mathematics. An understanding of numbers is established at the start of the student’s time at the school, and this is developed continually through the years that follow. The goal of the department is to develop in every student a firm grounding in the basic facts and skills, to extend these skills to advanced topics, and to encourage the initiative required for the solution of mathematical problems. A wide range of courses is offered in order to accommodate all students, including those who need the challenge of high-level content. The department aims to produce students who fulfill their potential in math, having knowledge at their fingertips and the courage and ability to solve problems.

▶ TWO SOPHOMORES are ranked among the best math students in the country after undergoing a ninehour exam over two days during spring break — results that reflect the rising profile of the Brunswick math program and the caliber of its students.

Vikram Sarkar ’26 and Jack Whitney-Epstein ’26 both took part in the United States of America Junior Math Olympiad; they were two of three Brunswick students who qualified to take the highly competitive exam.

Sarkar earned “Top Honors” — which ranks him in roughly the top 10 math students in grades 10 and under in the nation. His performance further qualified him to take part in the Math Olympiad Program, a highly prestigious weeks-long course for the top 60 or so math students (across all grades) in the country. WhitneyEpstein earned “Honorable Mention” — which ranks

him in the top 200 of students nationwide in grades 10 and under.

The pair was among about 250 students from across the nation to qualify for the Junior Math Olympiad exam. Students qualify by doing exceptionally well in the American Math Competition and the American Invitational Math Exam — about 300,000 students take part in the American Math Competition test each year.

“It’s worth bearing in mind that no Brunswick student ever qualified for the Junior Math Olympiad until Andrew Tu ’24 did in 2022,” Michael Allwood said. “To have these two students perform to such a high standard is an extraordinary event.”

▶ MIDWAY through his high school career, Sarkar’s accomplishments go beyond his stellar showing in the Junior Math Olympiad. Last year, he earned a perfect score in AP Calculus BC, one of only 16 students worldwide to achieve a perfect score. According to the College Board website, just over 135,000 students took this exam. Now a rising junior, Sarkar took this course, the equivalent of second-year college calculus, as a high school freshman.

▶ THE UPPER SCHOOL MATH TEAM has earned its second-straight regional crown. The team captured

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the 2024 New England math team championship, placing first in the small school division after earning 87 points as compared to 63 points from the second-place finishers.

Brunswick also surpassed all medium schools in the New England Association of Math Leagues high school mathematics competition held in Canton, Mass. — the highest-scoring medium-sized school earned 78 points.

Thirty-one public and private schools qualified for this final event of the math team year through superior performance in their local and state leagues.

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A LONGTIME UPPER SCHOOL MATH TEACHER

and advisor to the successful math team has received a national award. Michael Allwood was honored as a recipient of the 2024 Edyth May Sliffe Awards for Distinguished Mathematics Teaching in Middle School and High School — awarded by the Mathematical Association of America. The awards are given annually to less than 25 winners nationwide.

Allwood, who has been teaching at Brunswick since 1997 and has served as chair of the department, was nominated by the school’s current mathematics chair, Richard Dobbins.

to study mathematics in college, often in our leading universities.”

Head of School Tom Philip added, “All of us at Brunswick cannot emphasize strongly enough how worthy Michael Allwood is of receiving this award. He has shared his passion for mathematics with so many of our students and devoted so much time, energy, and care to them and Brunswick over the many, many years he has been a part of our community.”

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TWO BRUNSWICK

STUDENTS were crowned state champions in chess after a popular chess tournament brought hundreds of area families into the Middle School for some spirited competition.

“A truly phenomenal teacher, a master of curriculum development, and an experienced math team coach, Michael has overseen the development of an increasing number of accomplished mathematical problem solvers at Brunswick School,” Dobbins said. “Thanks to his tireless efforts over the past couple decades, hundreds of Brunswick students have been introduced to and learned to embrace the delightful challenge of the AMC exams, and an increasing number of these young men have gone on

The Middle School hosted the National Scholastic Chess Foundation state championships, drawing nearly 300 players and family members to campus. A total of 142 students in grades K-12 competed, including 23 Brunswick boys representing each division.

Results for Brunswick were fantastic: Leo Cartellieri ’31 is state champion in fifth grade, while Miles Gillott ’26 is state champion in 10th.

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“Our boys were the consummate hosts and represented the best of Brunswick,” Middle School chess advisor

Sarah Pribyl said. “Due to the collective efforts of staffers Mary Beth Duncan, Matthew Kirby-Smith, Jeff Park, and Santos Vasquez, all facets of the tournaments ran safely and seamlessly.

“Hosting this tournament helped to secure Brunswick’s position as an emerging leader in the scholastic chess community.”

The NSCF has asked Brunswick to host the tournament again in 2025.

“All Brunswick students (novices included!) are encouraged to participate next year!” Pribyl said.

▶ ARJUN LEIH ’28, an eighth grader, represented Connecticut and Brunswick well at the MathCounts

national competition in Washington D.C., finishing in 13th place — the highest result ever for a Connecticut student.

“He’s such a star,” said his teacher, Kevin Landesman. “This has been his dream since fifth grade.”

Leih, who has been captain of the Middle School math team for two years, qualified for nationals after finishing fourth in the state meet. He is one of only four students from the state to qualify for this honor; he follows in the footsteps of Andrew Tu ’24, who was the first ’Wick student to qualify for MathCounts nationals.

▶ A NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL JUNIOR MATH TEAM is finishing up its very first year. Much like a “junior varsity” squad in sports, the team gives fifth and sixth graders some exposure to math competition and meets once a week. These young mathletes had their first match against Greenwich Academy in May. Advisors are Kim Gallagher and Laurie Thompson.

▶ ILLUSTRATIVE MATHEMATICS, a new math curriculum that prioritizes depth over breadth, was introduced as a pilot program in grades three and four this year.

Everyday Math is still being used in grades one and two, where it is meeting expectations well, Lower School math specialist Jean Dobbs said. However, teachers in third and fourth grade were finding they had to work to create their own lessons to address the needs of older students, and so decided to pilot the new curriculum.

“Illustrative math is the hot new math program,” she said.

The curriculum uses visuals of real-world scenarios to get boys wondering about math — students often begin a lesson by viewing a photo and answering the question: What do you notice?

“This makes it very hard for the boys to drift away,” Dobbs said. “The boys are much more engaged. It’s been a delight for me as a teacher.”

The Arts

PHILOSOPHY & GOALS

The Visual and Performing Arts Program at Brunswick is an integral part of the curriculum, with the guiding objective of providing fundamental artistic literacy for every student. It is extremely important to involve the boys in different art forms, not only to develop their talents, but also to encourage appreciation of the aesthetic dimension of the world. Often, our boys display a penchant for music, theater, or the visual arts; others simply enjoy the experience of learning something new about themselves by taking creative risks and experimenting in new media.

At the Upper School level, students have the option to specialize in the visual arts (including computer graphics), instrumental music, vocal music, and/or theater. In addition to pursuing these fields as academic disciplines, students can participate in numerous musical ensembles, theater groups, performances, and clubs. Those with talent, interest, and ambition are given numerous opportunities to achieve excellence.

▶ JOSEPH BRACCHITTA, Brunswick’s long standing director of Middle School bands, is retiring after teaching generations of students. A Juilliard-trained classical percussionist, Bracchitta has taught full time at Brunswick for 32 years, but his affiliation goes back further than that. He started part-time at Brunswick in 1988, making for a full 36 years of connection.

“The change I witnessed has been extraordinary,” he said. Bracchitta said he will devote his time to private clients, and is looking forward to spending more time on his beloved bicycle and playing Brazilian music in his band, Rio Bound.

“Being a musician, you can never really retire,” he said. “The music is in your soul.”

▶ EIGHTH GRADE MEDIA ARTS STUDENTS had the opportunity to learn about Light Painting thanks to

a lesson created by Audrey Onsdorff. Light Painting is a type of photography that uses a low shutter speed to capture light exposure. It was pioneered by Pablo Picasso.

Boys doubled up to create their Light Paintings, with “artist number one” using an iPad on a slow shutter speed to capture images created by “artist number two,” who was wielding the light source, such as a flashlight or glow sticks.

“They changed roles,” Onsdorff said. “Who doesn’t love being in a dark room playing around with light?

“Boys have seen these techniques from famous YouTubers,” she said. “Now they understand the skill and the technical side behind the generation of those types of images.”

▶ THEATER ARTS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL continues to blossom with the addition of a new spring play.

“My focus has been on creating environments in which all students can thrive,” English coordinator Logan Stamey said. “We are growing Middle School Theater Arts to be a program that provides students with tools to be successful in their other classes and their lives. Theater skills enhance personal relationships, build communication and public speaking, and develop empathy.

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Boys staged Bedtime Stories (As Told by Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up) by Ed Monk, in concert with Sacred Heart Middle School.

▶ SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE THEATER ARTS students visited the Pre School to perform puppet shows for their Bruin brothers. The shows were written by students. Teams were made up of a director, writer, dramaturg, stage manager, technical director, and team captain. Dramaturgs (researchers) visited Pre School students prior to the performance to gather research for their puppet shows.

“Mostly, the shows were about being a good friend and teammate,” Stamey said. “One puppet show was about

the solar system, one was about welcoming new students, another was about being kind to others, and another was about trying something new even if it is scary.”

▶ “BRUNSWICK ON BROADWAY” was the theme of the Lower School spring concert on Arts Night. The boys learned about Broadway, watched clips from Broadway shows, and performed songs from musicals.

Some favorite songs were “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (Mary Poppins) and “Hakuna Matata” (Lion King), music teacher Anne Wamunyu said.

“The boys also loved “Seasons of Love” from Rent, which they sang in Spanish — taught by Spanish teachers Chiara Wilson and Denise Shepard.”

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▶ ’WICK ARTS 2024!, also known as Lower School Arts Night, featured over 850 exhibited pieces representing artists in first through fourth grade in a veritable celebration of the arts at Brunswick. Projects filled up space on the walls and tables all around the building, while an all-school jellyfish project draped the Atrium.

“Lower School boys had an exciting year in the art room, chock-full of new artistic experiences and challenges,” Kim Amussen said. “They worked in many different mediums (drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking, collage) and studied and discussed artists from all over the world.”

Among the projects featured were monster portraits, Dali mustache drawings, Picasso guitars, Matisse goldfish, mixed-media wolves, and Mondrian animals.

▶ A COLLABORATION between Lower School Spanish classes and Visiting Artist Greg Lamarche resulted in a mural on display at Arts Night that aptly capped the Lower School “Words Matter” theme of this year.

Con Amor, Paz y Respeto, displayed on the window of the Spanish office, was the result of a workshop Lamarche completed with third graders in February. Lamarche is an artist whose clients include J. Crew; his workshop saw boys work with their very own letter from the

Spanish motto — giving it color, dimension, and more.

Shepard said the inspiration for the project came from a mural she bumped into on social media last summer. She reached out to the artist, Lamarche, and the workshop idea grew from there.

“The boys loved meeting a living artist,” Shepard said. “He only paints words!”

Shepard said the words Amor, Paz, Respeto came in handy from the very first days of school, when she and other teachers worked hard to set up procedures and expectations for learning.

“Courage, Honor, Truth,” she said. “And Amor, Paz, Respeto. Those six things have to be in motion. This is another way of making our values come alive and stand out!”

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▶ EVERY YEAR, key parts of the Brunswick experience are the special assemblies coordinated by the BPA Assemblies Committee.

“They find incredible artists and acts to inspire our boys in all sorts of realms,” Lower School Head Katie Signer said. “The boys particularly enjoyed the Beatboxing group from Academy of Noise. They showcased what it means to take a risk with your voice and were amazing to watch.”

Boys also had the opportunity to learn about Japanese culture through the Taikoza Japanese Drummers, while Chinese acrobat Li Liu wowed students with her strength and dance moves.

“She was an artist and athlete all in one,” Signer said. “Our hope is that these assemblies inspire deeper curiosity in the world beyond us and encourage our boys to follow their interests and dreams. We certainly feel grateful to the parents who help make them happen!”

▶ CALL THEM THE BROADWAY BRUINS — Pre Schoolers in the after-school BASE program proudly presented The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Boys took part in every aspect of putting on a play. They designed their own sets, made their own costumes, and performed their production to the Pre School audience and their families right before March break.

“We even had one boy act as stage manager,” teacher Deb Schwartz said.

The cast consisted of two caterpillars (a tiny one and a large one), a cocoon, a butterfly, and each of the fruits and foods the caterpillar eats through during the story.

“The set was remarkable!” Schwartz said. “The boys made a giant leaf, a backdrop with a large sun and moon, and a title mural.”