Brunswick Trust Report Fall 2024
September found our Brunswick boys and their teachers in some new or newly renovated spaces, each carefully crafted to meet the needs of the Bruins housed there. From the trike track on Lake Avenue to the multi-purpose learning space in Pettengill, our new facilities offer space to explore and engage in all of the learning opportunities ’Wick presents. As we have settled into the routines of our campuses this fall, each division has been intentional about the “focus” on what it means to be a member of our Brunswick community. Our motto of “Courage, Honor, Truth” remains the north star of our programs, and the work of the Trust helps us all to live those words to their fullest each Brunswick day.
Character & Leadership
The true story of three American astronauts who got stuck in space after an explosion — and the science and ingenuity that brought them back to Earth — served as the subject of an Upper School Brunswick Trust assembly this fall. Boys gathered in Baker Theater in October to watch the 1995 film Apollo 13. With a run time of 2 hours and 19 minutes, the film served as a good opportunity for boys to come together for a relatively long period to focus on a single narrative, while also considering Trust themes around decision making, leadership, character, and what it means to be part of a family.
Leadership opportunities at the Middle School have multiplied thanks to a new House and Den program launched in a special assembly this fall. The program was created to maintain and ultimately enhance the
inter-grade connections in the Middle School, unifying the four grades that are now spread out into two buildings on either side of King Street.
“I would like to usher in a new era!” sixth grade advisor Kyle Miller told boys gathered at the assembly. “An era where a fifth grader can break bread with an eighth
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The Brunswick Trust
Character & Leadership
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grader, where sixth graders can feel as brothers to seventh graders, and where one ‘evil king’ divides us!”
“I will name that king by name,” he said. “King Street!”
Boys were invited to solve a three-step riddle and hunt down the location of their new House — Grizzly, Polar, Sun, or Kodiak — where they also discovered their new Den.
The House and Den program will give boys authentic leadership opportunities as it brings students together throughout the year for lunches, community service projects, and special events that will culminate on Field Day in May, said Kate Duennebier, Brunswick Trust coordinator.
“It’s the thing I am most excited about for this year!” Duennebier said.
Fourth grade Big Brothers are focusing on leadership through a new initiative to encourage good table manners in the Lower School dining hall. Big Brothers kicked off the year with a special breakfast gathering, when they brainstormed ideas for lunchroom etiquette and expectations — all in anticipation of meeting with their first grade Little Brothers later that day.
The older boys produced a set of guidelines for table manners that have been posted on tables in the Dining Hall — keeping manners and expectations within easy reach for both Big and Little Brothers as they gather for lunchtime bonding throughout the year.
Middle and Upper School boys reflected on the topics of success, manhood, purpose, community, and vulnerability thanks to themes raised in the 2024 Brunswick Trust summer read, Season of Life: A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood, by Jeffrey Marx.
Originally published in 2004, the book details the life and philosophy of former NFL star Joe Ehrmann, now an ordained
minister who speaks widely on the topic of masculinity, character, and love. The book is a familiar one for many in the Brunswick community; Ehrmann has spoken to faculty and he served as Commencement speaker in 2016.
“This book carries a lot of messages that we care about here at Brunswick,” said Duennebier. “There’s a timelessness to some of it. The goodness of Joe Erhman, as the focus, is something that is resonating with a lot of kids.”
For the second year in a row, varsity team captains were invited to the Pre School on the Friday before Homecoming to run an assembly on leadership, teamwork, and sportsmanship.
Head of Pre School Porter Hill said 10 senior captains visited 270 Lake Avenue for the assembly. Bruins explained that Homecoming is a special time of year when Brunswick welcomes alumni back to campus and the whole community gathers to cheer current Bruins in all kinds of athletic contests.
Bruins also talked about what kind of equipment is used in their sports and introduced new sportsmanship posters. Hill has said sportsmanship serves as a perfect message for Pre Schoolers, whose work includes things like learning to play fair and following directions.
The Brunswick Trust
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
AGlobal Brunswick returned to Maher Avenue in October, drawing about 35 people to the 17th annual all-campus diversity gathering organized and facilitated by the Upper School Diversity in Action club. The discussion topic this year was “Banned Books.”
“People were interested in interacting and being part of the activities and having discussions,” said Marianne Ho Barnum, associate director of DEIB.
A Global Brunswick is an annual event open to the whole Brunswick community and serves as a great DEIB opportunity for Middle and Upper School boys, as well as faculty, staff, and parents in all divisions. The goal, Barnum said, is to develop skills like listening, understanding, and allowing for other perspectives. The event, held in the Upper School dining hall, included a potluck dinner with pizza and culturally significant food.
A legally blind former Division I athlete who played college football spoke to Lower, Middle, and Upper School students in September about how a shift in perspective changed the way he thought about his disability, and ultimately led to the opportunity to play ball at Tulane University.
Aaron Golub — professional speaker, entrepreneur, consultant, and former starter and football captain — began playing football in seventh grade but struggled to have an impact on the field
due to his eyesight. But through his grit, determination, effort — and opportunity — he ultimately became a senior captain and starter at Tulane.
Golub was invited to speak at Brunswick by Alecia Thomas, director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. She said one of the goals was to look at diversity through the lens of disability.
“I wanted to expand what we look at when we look at diversity,” she said. “Diversity is broad.”
Rosh Hashanah served as the occasion for DEIB readings in Pre and Lower School classrooms this fall. Thomas visited classrooms to share A Moon for Moe & Mo by Jane Breskin Zalban. The book is about an interfaith friendship that grows between a Jewish boy and a Muslim boy who live on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.
The boys are mistaken for brothers after meeting by chance at a grocery store, and the friendship that grows between them brings the families together to share traditions.
“We’re connected in so many different ways,” Thomas noted. “Even when we come from different backgrounds.”
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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging continued from page 3
Connection and belonging were the focus of the first Culturally United Bruins (CUBs) meeting in November. Pre and Lower School boys and their families gathered for a shared activity designed to show how community is built from the fabric of many different family traditions. Families were invited to decorate pieces of a puzzle with scenes from their own traditions, and they then got to work to put the puzzle together.
Brunswick students from Pre School through the Upper School celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with special luncheon meals in every division, as well as presentations and displays about Hispanic contributions and heritage in America. At the Middle School, Monday morning meetings featured presentations on Hispanic and Latino culture, including one about Las Amazonas, a Mexican women’s softball team.
At the Lower School, a month-long display showcased Spanish culture and featured a table showing how paella is made. At the Upper School, a Hispanic/Latino club helped plan a special luncheon, giving older boys a chance to sample culturally important cuisine.
About a dozen Upper School Connections students visited the Middle School twice this fall to talk about building community.
Boys brainstormed about what they want their community to look like and came up with ideas to bring that to reality. Ideas included doing the right thing, building trust and respect, lifting others up, building brotherhood, and having the courage to stand alone.
Six students and four teachers will travel to Denver, Colo., in December for the 2024 National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference.
The theme this year is Lifting as We Climb: Elevating Our Schools Through Love and Justice. Thomas travels to the annual conference each year with students. She said it is always a powerful experience for all who attend, but especially for students whose growth she is able to witness after just four days of meetings, speakers, and events.
“Students don’t know what to expect,” she said. “They come out having their own mind, thoughts, and ideas.”
The Brunswick Trust
Health & Wellness
James Nestor, an award-winning science journalist and author, visited Brunswick in early October and spoke to parents and Upper and Middle School students about the art of breathing well.
Nestor is the author of the New York Times bestseller Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. He worked to convey how a host of chronic conditions and even poor test scores can be linked to poor breathing and poor indoor air quality.
Nestor said slow, rhythmic breathing — six seconds in and six seconds out — has been shown to improve memory and decision making and to reduce anxiety.
Indoor air quality also plays a role. Nestor invested in a portable carbon dioxide detector, which he brings along on his travels, and the results inside airplanes, hotels, and even classrooms have been distressing.
The exception, he said, is Brunswick.
“Here in Baker Theater, it’s barely above 600 ppm,” he said, citing the meter. “That’s phenomenal, given there are so many people in the same room!”
Nestor’s visit kicked off the 2024-25 ’WICK Center Speaker series.
Beth Weinstock, M.D., also visited Brunswick in October to speak to parents and Upper School students about the hidden danger of fentanyl. Weinstock lost her son to a fentanyl overdose in 2021; when he died, Eli Weinstock was a thriving
sophomore at American University with good grades and a job in his future. He was 20.
Six months after his death, Weinstock and her daughter founded BirdieLight, which is named after a childhood nickname, to educate on the danger of fentanyl and to distribute life-saving tools to prevent tragedy.
“This gift of information you can take to your families,” she said. Pre, Lower, and Middle School boys continue to practice “small yet poignant” health and wellness tools provided through Upstream, a Colorado non-profit that shares curriculum of actionable, bite-sized tools for student well-being.
“Upstream provides easy, evidencebased tools to help students strengthen resilience, reduce anxiety, and enhance well-being,” said Marcie Molloy, Brunswick director of health and wellness. “Upstream lessons can be taught and practiced in less than 10 minutes, which makes it easy for students to learn big and impactful mindfulness tools.”
At the Middle School, new tools have been introduced this fall with the same general themes of self-regulation, mindfulness, and breath control. Head of Middle School Rob Follansbee said the biggest success so far this year was a “reframing failure activity,” which highlighted some eloquent comments from Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo, responding to a question from a journalist, reframed failure as “steps to success.”
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The Brunswick Trust
Health & Wellness
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Brunswick nutritionist Gianna Masi spoke to Upper School athletes in a series of preseason talks centered on how lifestyle choices can bring higher performance in athletics and academics.
Sleep and caring for your bodies, as well as foods and supplements that promote anti-inflammation and vasodilation to improve blood flow to working muscles, were all discussed.
Masi also used her time to warn students about the use of Zyn nicotine pouches. Nicotine, she said, is a vasoconstrictor, which means it reduces blood flow, directly counteracting efforts to enhance performance and well-being.
“This compromises our ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to muscles, and acts as an additional stimulant on top of other caffeine sources that may be consumed, which could further strain our bodies and put them at risk for short- and long-term health consequences,” she said.
She also discussed supplement safety, noting the difference between a “Nutrition Facts” label and a “Supplement Facts” label. And finally, she discussed how alcohol can negatively affect muscle protein synthesis, impacting muscle-building potential and maintaining current muscle tissue.
Kindergartners enjoyed a special lesson and luncheon prepared with the help of one of Brunswick’s own, Chef Geoff Lazlo ’96 , founder of The Country Table in Glenville. Boys have been studying nutrition in their STEM classes this fall and have been encouraged to try new foods during lunch each day. Chef Geoff visited Brunswick in October and guided students through the process of making tomato sauce for a special pasta lunch.
Students in all four divisions have enjoyed Farmers Markets that FLIK Independent School Dining created in the respective dining halls this fall — boys had a chance to ask questions about how and where the food was grown and to bring freshly picked items home. Herberth Melgar, Brunswick food service director, said younger students were especially excited to learn about produce grown by area farms, while Upper and Middle Schoolers also enjoyed fresh produce showcased in the dining halls.
The first rotation of Trust Time at the Pre and Lower School this fall has centered on how to use breathing exercises as a way to regulate emotions. Counselor Joey Zannino visited every Pre and Lower School classroom with a Hoberman Sphere to demonstrate and practice proper belly breathing, with the midsection expanding and contracting with each breath. Zanino also made the connection between good breathing and high athletic performance.
“As I was preparing for the first lesson of the year one afternoon, there was a college football game on,” he said. “The camera focused on a coach on the sideline, and on the bottom of the screen it shared the coach’s name and identified him as the ‘Breathing Coach.’
“I made this connection between breathing and athletic performance to the boys, which they really grasped onto, and we talked about the different reasons why a college football team might have a breathing coach!” he said.
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The Brunswick Trust
Service & Sustainability
Let’s Focus on Others was the theme of a lively Lower School assembly on community service. The gathering featured talks by a panel of Upper and Middle School students, who shared details on the personal interests and passions that have inspired them to serve. Faculty members also spoke; they introduced the boys to the various causes and ways they participate in meaningful community service. Courtney Spada, M.D., director of service and sustainability, reminded boys how fulfilling it can be to give to others. Among the many projects and community events and causes highlighted were:
• Red Cross Hurricane Relief Bake Sale
• Greenwich Coat Drive — Throughout October, families donated gently used coats to the Greenwich Department of Human Services.
• Halloween Costume Drive for Grassroots Tennis & Education in Stamford.
Lower School boys in every grade are engaging in service projects through Trust Time. First graders are focusing on animal service, and second graders are zeroed in on sustainability. Third graders are supporting Horizons at Brunswick, and fourth graders will be forging a meaningful partnership with the Retired Men’s Association of Greenwich. All will participate in schoolwide service-learning projects coordinated by our Lower School Student Council.
Robert L. Cosby Field was awash in pink thanks to Lower School boys who dressed in pink and then ran laps to raise money for breast cancer research. This was the third Pay to Wear Pink fundraiser held on Edwards Campus since fourth grade teacher Jennifer Spaulding finished treatment for breast
cancer 11 years ago — in all, the Lower School has raised over $8,000 for the Breast Cancer Alliance during this time.
This summer saw the return of an important Upper School outreach project with a small group of boys traveling to Stamford to serve dinner at Pacific House, a men’s homeless shelter and kitchen. Before COVID-19, an Upper School club regularly cooked and served meals at Pacific House.
“This work can be a powerful check-in and reminder of needs in our area,” said English teacher Pete Adams, who led the August visit along with Spada.
Students who visited included ninth graders Giancarlo Cuesta, Alden Elia, Connor Finn, Gavin Kirsch, and Luke Spada. Adams’ 10th grade advisory returned to Pacific House in November as part of the advisory service requirement.
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Service & Sustainability
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Second grade boys are collaborating with Upper School students on the Sustainability Council on a project that saw them grow fresh vegetables on Edwards Campus over the summer. Just before school let out last spring, boys planted a garden in boxes outside the Lower School. This fall, boys revisited the boxes and discovered a plethora of beans, kale, oregano, parsley and more — a haul that the dining hall staff has been using to help prepare lunches.
“These younger guys love working with the older guys, always!” said Brett Martell, Lower School science teacher.
Courtney Spada and Marianne Ho Barnum visited with third graders this fall to give students an opportunity to hone their presentation skills while learning the meaning of the phrase “elevator pitch” in preparing to take part in Horizons at Brunswick’s annual Thanksgiving Pie Sale. Part of the training involved a custom video message to the third grade from Upper School student government president Charlie Tortorella ’25, who shared the work that Horizons at Brunswick does toward educational equity in Greenwich. Spada emphasized that what is important is not to make the most sales but to practice new skills.
Eighth grader advisories have been visiting the Atria Senior Living Community in Rye Brook thanks to a new grade-level community service curriculum. The Friday afternoon visits see boys crafting and playing games with senior residents of Atria. Some students also shared some of the monologues they had prepared in theater class.
“For our eighth grade students, this is an opportunity to practice reaching out and connecting with new people,” said Latin teacher Tyler Boudreau. “They quickly learn that just by being there and providing companionship, they can make an impact on the lives of others. We hope many of the students walk out of this experience feeling confident in their ability to forge bonds and build community, ready to move forward and apply those skills to future volunteer opportunities.”
Community-building will be the theme of new community service projects led by seventh grade students this year. Introduced by science teacher Krista Taylor, the studentled projects will be run by seventh graders in each House; students will select, plan, and execute their projects. Faculty members in charge of each House project are Deanna Smyers, Audrey Onsdorff, Michael Krasnow, and Tyler Boudreau.
“Our seventh-grade trust curriculum focuses on selflessness through community service,” said Taylor. “Our boys will be asked to participate in community service both inside and outside of school. We hope to create a menu of opportunities outside of the Brunswick community, with the hope that every boy can find a cause that he cares about. We will also be asking our seventh-grade boys to think of their own project ideas within the Brunswick community that we will help them execute each year.”
JV1 soccer players have served as assistant coaches at Waterside School in Stamford on Saturday mornings this fall. Bruins helped set drills for players in the 8-12 and 12-14 age range, and also had the opportunity to play with the younger students. Between two and four Bruins turned up on a given Saturday over the fall. “They enjoyed the experience,” coach Jamie González-Ocaña said.
A JV1 soccer game served as an opportunity for Bruins to get to know young people in the Jewish Family Service refugee resettlement program, thanks in large part to Alek Modi ’27. Modi has collaborated with Jewish Family Service this fall, and he organized soccer activities with about a dozen kids in the program before the last JV1 fall season game. Bruins played side games, interacted with the kids (ages 10 to 16), and enjoyed some pizza. “It was a great experience and we used the event to teach the boys in our JV1 team about refugees and the asylum process in the U.S.,” said González-Ocaña.
Brunswick has been supporting the JFS Refugee Resettlement Program for the last year. Earlier in November, students attended a Friendsgiving get-together and also attended the National Refugee Day party at the Stamford Boys and Girls Club.
“Our students have organized pick-up soccer games at each event because we have found that soccer, ‘the beautiful game,’ is the best way to communicate with the children and teenagers who are new to the United States,” said Spada.
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Service & Sustainability continued from page 8
Veterans from the Retired Men’s Association of Greenwich visited with fourth graders on Veterans Day. The men shared their experiences, what it means to be a veteran, and what Veterans Day means. Students also had the opportunity to learn about life as a soldier from a Revolutionary War reenactor.
“It was truly special,” said Susie Foyle, fourth grade teacher. “And students wrote wonderful thank you notes, because that’s what we do as Brunswick boys!”
Brunswick football held its first-ever Lift for Life in August, part of its first-ever Summer of Service in support of community building both on campus and off. The team hit the weight room in support of Uplifting Athletes, a nonprofit that raises money and builds community in support of people impacted by rare diseases. The initiative arose thanks to Harrison Caponiti ’18, who served as vice president of Uplifting Athletes at Princeton and who suggested turning one of the Bruins summer workouts into a community service event.
“We are one of the first high school teams to participate in this event,” Head Coach Wayne McGillicuddy said. “This event was a fantastic demonstration of teamwork and dedication.”
The Middle School Animal Service Club helped raise money for the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary thanks to a partnership with Gavin Spraker ’28, who is a member of the junior council at the sanctuary.
Spraker reached out to his younger schoolmates to see if they would be interested in creating a team to raise funds for their Race for Kindness.
“We did not have the time to dedicate to a 5K, but we did have time for a one-mile fun run during our advisory period!” teacher and advisor Deanna Smyers said. “We created a course that spanned both Upper and Lower Middle School campuses. Forty plus students participated, and in total we helped in raising $2,032!”
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