Nov 2, 2020
Mastering another language requires careful listening, consistent practice of conversational speaking, close reading of texts, and writing. While some of these fit seamlessly into remote/hybrid learning, Modern Languages faculty need to think creatively about class time and assignments.
“Where we’ve had the most success is leveraging universal tools like Google Slides, Schoology, and Jamboard,” said Mark Connolly, Spanish teacher and Upper School instructional technologist. “Instead of using, say, a prefab language app, teachers are making their own materials using those tools.”
In Connolly’s Spanish 4: Topics in Hispanic Culture and Literature class, students started the year with five different readings in Spanish from different Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya, Mexica, Triqui, and Teotihuacan. For their assignment, students are creating audio tours of their assigned civilizations in Google Slides, combining audio, photography and writing. They looked not only at the historical legacy but also at the ways these cultures combine to define Mexican identity today.
Oct 30, 2020
Milton athletes are working hard this fall season, practicing both remotely and on campus, despite the absence of regular team competition. As all fall teams began the season remotely, coaches had to think of creative ways to keep athletes moving and connected to each other.
Boys’ cross country coach Scott Bosworth said the team “approached this strange season with the same commitment and determination as in past seasons. We had active and engaging Zoom meetings where we talked about the challenges we face with the pandemic, motivational tools to get us through, and the need to stay together and be supportive of each other. We watched videos about Wilma Rudolph and Billy Mills, two athletes who overcame huge obstacles—physical, economic, racial, and substance abuse—to become Olympic gold medalists, and we had lively discussions afterward.”
“The soccer season has been great thus far in spite of the different forms it has been taking,” said Boys’ soccer coach Chris Kane. “We have a large and passionate group of soccer players and we used the remote learning period to build connections across students across the various levels of our program.”
Oct 27, 2020
Maintaining a sense of dorm community is a focus of house heads and faculty as boarding students learn remotely during this phase of hybrid learning. In Wolcott House, Joshua Emmott, house head and history faculty member, runs a weekly scavenger hunt for the students, who are competing by advisory group for the “grand prize” in December. The advisory that has 100 percent participation wins custom dorm gear.
Each week, Emmott posts in CampusGroups a place or item that the student needs to find and photograph. One week was a photo in front of their local post office and another was a local coffee shop. Students post their photos, from places like Beijing, New York, Michigan, and Massachusetts.
Last weekend, the Emmott family hosted a cooking Zoom, featuring “the best cupcakes in the world.” Students received the same recipe so they could cook along with their Wolcott family.
Oct 20, 2020
Comfort food is having a moment and science faculty member Heather Zimmer is showing students how to make it at home on a weekly cooking show. It’s part of the new Opt-In Program, where faculty host casual and fun Zoom sessions such as trivia nights and current event discussions.
The Opt-In Program started earlier in the semester after a few faculty members and student head monitors Eliza Dunn ’21 and Garvin McLaughlin ’21 thought about ways to keep the strong sense of community at Milton while in a remote/hybrid environment.
Zimmer said she and her husband, the head chef at 2nd Street Café in Cambridge, loved cooking with students when they lived in Norris House and this is a fun way to replicate that experience. On their first episode, they taught students to make mac and cheese from scratch.
Oct 19, 2020
Award-winning writer and investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe ’94 spoke with students and alumni about his work, particularly his New York Times bestseller Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. His talk was part of the Milton in the World webinar series.
Radden Keefe said he knew when he was a Milton student that he wanted to be a writer, but it took many years of rejection letters before he began writing professionally. Today, he is a staff writer at The New Yorker, writing long-form pieces that dive deep into a range of subjects, “from the hunt for the drug lord Chapo Guzman to the tragic personal history of the mass shooter Amy Bishop and the role that the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma played in sparking the opioid crisis.”
He said he looks for topics that have a “strong narrative spine. I want it to be a story about people, often people in conflict. It’s through that lens that I approach the bigger issues.”
Oct 16, 2020
Ten Milton students participated in the Harvard WECode virtual conference last weekend. Caroline Wilson ’21 and Dina-Sara Custo ’22 served as Milton’s student ambassadors, and were two of the 21 (out of 80) student ambassadors who received WECode Leadership Awards. Prior to the event, they connected virtually with the Harvard WECode board, as well as other ambassadors from around the world to spread information and help organize.
At the conference, “We had the opportunity to listen to discussions surrounding STEM majors, internships, college admissions, college life, and other opportunities for women in technology,” said Wilson. “Even after the conference, we continued to connect with women in tech from the conference via channels on the platform Slack.”
Other Milton students attending included Samantha Buonato ’24, Sofia Reid ‘’23, Audrey Howley ’23, Ella Walsmith ’23, Emma Petherick ‘’23, Sara Kalra ’23, Karol Querido ’22, and Isabelle Fitzgibbon ’23.
Oct 14, 2020
When planning for this year’s biology classes for both remote and hybrid learners, faculty had to get creative and choose labs that worked at home, said biology teacher Michael Edgar. And while teaching hybrid/remote science is different, he said it’s about “letting go of expectations. When I’m with my students, I like to make the best of it and I have had some really nice moments with my classes.”
In Advanced Biology, a senior elective course, students are growing C-ferns, a regular lab for the class. But this year, students, whether learning remote or hybrid, are growing them at home with kits the biology department put together and mailed out.
Sep 29, 2020
Milton Academy’s newly formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Commission began their work a few months ago. Please see below for their most recent announcement.
We are pleased to write to you on behalf of Milton Academy’s newly formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Commission. This past spring, students and alumni shared stories about racial injustices and inequities experienced at Milton. In response, current and past Milton employees, students, and alumni have demanded change through letters, phone conversations, and social media posts.
We hear you and, with humility, we take our place beside you. With gratitude for your honesty and in line with your passionate call to action, we reach out today to those of you who have spoken out, and to our entire community, to introduce ourselves and open the lines of communication. We seek to partner with you for the betterment of the school community we hold so dear.
Sep 23, 2020
The Community Engagement Shoparound (sign-up fair) starts today! It runs virtually through Friday via students’ Campus Groups accounts. Student co-heads Christian Westphal ‘21 and Nina Kathiresan ‘21 say interested students can take a look and sign up on the Google form if they would like to make a weekly commitment. “Visits” with the 20+ partners will all be via Zoom. Some volunteer opportunities include:
Sep 9, 2020
Although it was a summer unlike any other, many students found ways to do community and social justice work, both remotely and in person. Four students, all Community Engagement board leaders, participated in a virtual seven-week program run by the National Network of Schools in Partnership. Nina Kathiresan ’21, Kayla Mathieu ’21, Conner Hartman ’21, and Jaden Thompson ’23 worked on issues including homelessness, food insecurity with students from across the U.S, who were grouped into task forces. Hartman and Mathieu worked together on the same subcommittee called Demographics in Education.
“We produced the Rezoning Project, which aimed to inform, advocate, and share stories regarding the issues surrounding zoning inequality in public education,” said Hartman. “We were struck by the statistic that, on average, nonwhite districts received about $2,200 less per student than districts that were predominantly white, adding up to $23 billion less overall.”
Hartman said it was “extremely inspiring working with students from all over the country. Unlike Milton, a lot of the schools represented didn’t have community engagement programs. Hearing their experiences of inequality and powerful examples of civic engagement in communities hundreds of miles away from Milton really opened my eyes to the possibilities of what we can do with our program.”
Jul 30, 2020
Two student films were accepted into the All American High School Film Festival in the drama category. Dash Evett ‘21 and Jace Fuller’s ‘21 film, The Grievance, featured Conner Hartman ‘21, Ben Simpson ‘21, and Charlie Volpe ‘20. Evett’s’s film, Guy, featured himself and his brother Spencer Evett ‘17. Normally, the films would be presented at a live festival in October in New York City, but this year it will be virtual.
The Grievance is a story about a man named Liam, played by Hartman, who gets trapped in a supernatural cemetery. A bullying incident from his past comes back to haunt him. Evett and Fuller did all the shooting, writing, music, and editing. “A lot of hours of shooting were outside in the cold, and sometimes in complete darkness,” said Evett. “It was my first time making something with a horror vibe, so it was cool to film in a dark cemetery.”
“One of my favorite challenges in filmmaking is giving the audience a proper scare; one that curdles the blood and raises the heartbeat,” said Fuller. “With a low budget of zero dollars, we both agreed we couldn’t show scary monsters or frightening circumstances. Instead, we had to make a psychological horror that could play with scares without showing anything.”
Jul 21, 2020
This letter was shared with our community on July 21.
Dear Milton Academy Community,
Over the past several weeks, many students and alumni have shared their personal encounters with racism and microaggressions at Milton through direct conversations, letters to administrators, and on social media, including on the @blackatmiltonacad Instagram account. We are listening and we are grateful for the courage and candor with which they have spoken about deeply painful experiences. As School leaders, we apologize for the ways that Milton’s actions and inactions have hurt students and other members of our community.
Black Lives Matter. Milton affirms the beliefs of the BLM movement as we work toward improving justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion within our community. We understand that it is not enough to simply say these words: We must live in this movement every day, be accountable for our actions, and report our progress.
Jul 20, 2020
As a freshman, Jana Amin ’21 traveled on a Milton class trip to Jordan, where the students visited the Collateral Repair Project (CRP), a non-governmental organization that works with refugees on community-building, education, and trauma relief. She was so moved by their mission that she became an “e-learning partner” starting her sophomore year, video-chatting with students to help them learn conversational English. Her first two students were a Yemeni mother of five children and a Sudanese man.
Amin then became an English teacher for a class of 12 CRP students and she has encouraged other Milton students—especially after school switched to remote learning—to volunteer as virtual tutors and to help her with developing an English-language curriculum to use in the classes.
Jun 25, 2020
This letter was shared with our alumni community on June 4th. A similar letter was also sent to current Upper School students prior to graduation.
Dear Alumni and Friends,
These past months have been unlike anything we have experienced together. Most recently, as a nation and within our Milton community, the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and others have caused feelings of fear, outrage, and pain.
In a message to our students, faculty, and staff sent over the weekend, we unequivocally condemned racist violence, systemic injustice, and bigotry. Some of you took to social media to share stories about your own experiences at Milton and implored us to take action to fully live our ideals and mission. Thank you.
Please know this: We hear you and acknowledge that we are not immune to racial inequities and injustices. We can and must do better to foster inclusion and equity throughout our School. We are committed to doing this critical work, as complex and uncomfortable as it may be at times.
Jun 23, 2020
In English and history classes, learning stems from conversations, focusing on discussion with peers, not lectures from teachers. When Milton had to abruptly switch to remote learning in the spring, faculty had to figure out how to shift this experience from in-person to virtual. English Department Chair Nicole Colson said that while being in a space together is the ideal, she found the overall experience to be positive.
“When you build a real community in your classroom, it doesn’t go away when you shift over to remote learning,” said Colson. “Who they were in the classroom is who they were on Zoom.”
Colson said one trick she figured out after a few sessions was to have all the students unmute themselves for the entire class. Some were worried that background sounds from their home life would be disruptive, but Colson felt differently.
Jun 17, 2020
Eighteen teams ranging in size from one to seven students came together via Zoom to participate in MiltonHacks II, an intramural, student-led hackathon. The hackathon took place over 12 hours on May 24, during which students from different schools built projects that were judged by a panel of Milton alumni. Teams competed in six categories: Most Addictive Game, Most Educational, Most Technical, Most Scalable, Best UX/UI, Best Novice Hack, and Best Overall Hack.
Most Addictive Game went to Dina-Sara Custo ’22, who built a social-distancing simulator game where the player must avoid others to advance. “The more people that see the good message the game is promoting, the better the outcome will be,” said Custo.
Oliver Eielson ’21 won Best UX/UI for his app, Busy Beach. Eielsom described BusyBeach as an app that “helps people and governments limit contact and overcrowding at beaches and stop the spread of coronavirus.” He also won the Student Vote award, determined by popular vote at the end of the hackathon.
Jun 4, 2020
The School community gathered virtually this morning to celebrate seniors at the Prize Assembly. Awards recognized overall student achievement as well as achievement in the performing arts, visual arts, English, science, math, classics, computer science, modern languages, history, public speaking, student publications, and athletics.
The Head of School Award honors and thanks certain seniors for their demonstrated spirit of self-sacrifice, community concern, leadership, integrity, fairness, kindliness, and respect for others. Eight students were honored (in photo via zoom): Zaki Ellis M’hammedi Alaoui, Yaneris D’Anique Briggs, Jerry Ducasse, William Conners Livingston, Erinma Adaeze Onyewuchi, Allison Nicole Reilly, Jeanna Yuyang Shaw and Iryna Sobchyshyna.
Congratulations to all of the prize recipients, including a few junior students. Below is a complete list of awards:
Jun 4, 2020
Below is a webcast of the Upper School Prize Assembly on Thursday, June 4.
Jun 1, 2020
Over this past weekend, the following letter was shared with students, faculty, and staff.
May 30, 2020
Dear Students, Staff, and Faculty,
We write today to decry racist violence, a manifestation of pervasive, systemic injustice, and to condemn bigotry in all its pernicious forms. In this moment of separation, when this pandemic renders us unable to gather in person to speak, share, and comfort one another together, our isolation makes it all the more difficult to bear witness to these tragedies—and the countless others they symbolize.
In the face of the injustices around us—including the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and the incident in New York City involving Christian Cooper—we must reaffirm Milton’s long-standing commitment to building an inclusive community, the strength of which rests on our shared appreciation for culture, diversity, and identity. This cannot be a passive commitment. We must each continue to find ways of taking action to live our values. We know this work is essential to fostering mutual respect, responsibility, and empathy in each of us, so we may carry these values out into the world.
May 29, 2020
The Athletics Department celebrated Milton’s athletes virtually during the annual M-Club Gala on Wednesday. Class I students were presented awards for their outstanding performance in athletics.
Caroline Guden, an outstanding athlete in field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse received the Priscilla Bailey Award. The award recognizes an athlete who “has been a most valuable asset to Milton Academy athletics and community, and who demonstrates exceptional individual skills and teamwork as well as sportsmanship.” Guden’s field hockey coach described her as “always giving 100 percent. She empowered her teammates. They could count on her to create a spark and make things happen.”
Football standout Kalel Mullings received the Robert Saltonstall Medal. Over Milton’s history, the Saltonstall has indicated “a distinguished record in all-around physical activity, with emphasis on leadership by example, conscientious training, good body mechanics, and observance of the code of the true sportsman.” In addition to his feats on the football field, Mullings excelled on the basketball court as a defender, and on the track and field team, where he was an impact member on medal-winning relay teams and running the 200M. His football coach said he was the most “kind, considerate, sincere, and friendly player who made it a point to know every player on the roster and made younger players feel important and valued.”
May 28, 2020
Nine students were selected for a Bisbee Prize by their teachers for outstanding research on their U.S. history papers. Although unable to gather in person for the spring tradition, the history department recognized students’ impressive work on topics ranging from the 1994 baseball strike to the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
The Bisbee Prize was established to honor Ethan Wyatt Bisbee, a former history faculty member who retired in 1993 after 40 years of teaching. The Prize was endowed in 2005 through a gift by John Warren, formerly of the history department, and his wife, Laura Warren ’78, former head of Robbins House.
Recipients of the 2020 Bisbee Prize are:
May 27, 2020
The Milton Speech and Debate teams continue to shine in competitions, which are taking place virtually. Over Memorial Day weekend, students participated in the rescheduled Massachusetts Speech and Debate League (MSDL) State Championship Tournament that featured 30 schools and nearly 500 students competing in live, online speech and debate events. Tyler Tjan ’22 was State Champion in Extemporaneous Speaking and Emily Hong ’21 was State Champion in Radio Broadcasting. Miranda Paiz ’21 and Caitlin Waugh ’20 earned second place in Duo Interpretation, Abby Buonato ’22 earned second place in Play Reading, and Nyla Sams ’20 earned third place in Informative Speaking.
May 26, 2020
Newly elected head monitors Eliza Dunn ’21 and Garvin McLaughlin ’21 took up the mantle as school leaders from outgoing head monitors Olivia Wang ’20 and Beck Kendig ’20. Historically, head monitor elections are held in May with a School-wide Q&A and speeches in the Athletic and Convocation Center from each candidate. Despite the circumstances of students being home due to the pandemic, Wang and Kendig worked hard to replicate the process. They hosted a live Q&A with the 13 self-nominated candidates over Zoom. The session was recorded so students had the option to watch it at a later time. Then candidates submitted recorded speeches and those were posted so students could watch them before voting online.
May 19, 2020
Some of Milton’s best student writers and artists gathered virtually on Monday evening for the Laurence S. Persky Memorial Awards. The annual awards are given for the best work appearing in Milton Academy student publications and honors excellence in creative writing, journalism, art, photography, and production.
Guest speaker and alumna Neha Wadekar ’07 spoke to students from Nairobi, Kenya (2 a.m. her time), where she is based as a freelance journalist. She spoke about her non-linear career path and how students can follow their passions and take risks, even in these uncertain times.
“Success comes in many different forms,” said Wadekar. “People who are creative, passionate and flexible are the people who can thrive in any environment. For me, writing is an art. It’s a personal form of freedom and self-expression. It’s a privilege.”
May 13, 2020
In Nicole Darling’s Technology, Media and Design class, students are learning about typography, which is the art and technique of type design, lettering, and calligraphy.
“It is arguably one of the most important components of graphic design. It requires designers to have the ability to make messages readable while expressing, emoting, and projecting concepts to the audience,” says Darling.
The unit consists of three different projects designed to help students develop their sensitivity to type, and increase their appreciation for different type-anatomy and aesthetics.
May 12, 2020
Milton seniors Kalel Mullings and Mitchell Gosner were both recognized as outstanding scholar-athletes by the Jack Grinold Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.
The award honors senior football players who have excelled on the football field, in the classroom and within the school and community. The 45th-annual banquet, which was scheduled for May 17, was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The recipients will receive a plaque and a commemorative program at a later date.
“As football players, Mitch and Kalel enjoyed tremendous careers at Milton,” said Kevin MacDonald, head coach of varsity football. “Both were named all-scholastic and all-state. Additionally, Kalel was a consensus first-team all-American. They were also outstanding leaders, consummate student-athletes, and beloved members of our team both in the estimation of their coaches and their peers.”
Both will continue to play football this fall—Mullings at the University of Michigan and Gosner at Harvard University.
May 11, 2020
Three Milton teams competed in a virtual Independent School League hackathon hosted by Middlesex School. Teams had six hours to collaborate and then develop a working prototype focused on the theme of “creating something that will be beneficial to others.” They presented their projects over Zoom. The winning team was Ben Botvinick ’21, Zack Ankner ’20 and Blake Ankner ’23, who built a fully functional website called Hobbyist https://hobbyist.fun.
“It’s a simple website, where anyone suffering from quarantine boredom can go to find a hobby,” says Botvinick. “Users fill out a quick form about their goals, interests, and inclinations. Then we give them a suggestion for how to spend their time and some video courses to get them started.”
May 7, 2020
Performing Arts Department Chair Kelli Edwards has found creative ways for her Advanced Dance Choreography students to continue to learn and grow as dancers from the confines of their homes. For a recent assignment, students had a choice between creating a tight-space dance or creating a ritual dance.
Alli Reilly ’20 chose the first option, for which the instructions read: Embrace even more your lack of space and make a movement study based on a very tiny amount of space. No more than 3 feet by 3 feet. Your movement must include level change and traveling! And some sort of “big” movement that you would never think could fit in that space.
May 6, 2020
The student Asian Society (AS) turned missed opportunities into philanthropy this spring, donating all the funds they raised for club programming to COVID-19 relief efforts in Boston.
“It feels empowering to have made a tangible difference, and it’s comforting to know that Asians and Asian-Americans in Boston are receiving aid,” said Tony Wang ’20. “We hope Boston’s many communities will support each other in weathering COVID-19 as well as its economic impacts.”
May 1, 2020
Rural, tucked-away places contain rich stories, but they’re not often found on stage in modern theater, playwright and Tony Award-nominated actor John Cariani told Milton performing arts students this week.
Cariani wrote Almost, Maine, a play told through nine stories about love and loss in a remote, fictional Maine town. Milton students performed the show in February; Cariani joined members of the cast and crew—along with others who had planned to put on Milton’s spring musical, Urinetown—via Zoom to talk about the play and his career in theater and television.
Small-town life hasn’t always been ignored—plays from the middle of the 20th Century depicted nuanced suburban and rural lives—but political divisions seem to have created an “us vs. them” rift in American culture, with rural people often depicted unfairly as simple or ignorant in current media.
Apr 29, 2020
Making meaningful differences is the mission of Milton’s Community Engagement Programs and Partnerships (CEPP). And this important work continues despite the pandemic, as students and their families, faculty, and staff have found ways to help others. CEPP has updated a list of ways to help local and national organizations. Even the simple act of students writing letters to residents in local nursing homes and assisted living facilities has continued community engagement connections.
Victoria Fawcett ’22, Ellie Mraz ’21, and Sofie Mraz ’23, made masks for residents at the Village of Duxbury, a senior living facility in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Fawcett first reached out to see what the residents needed and then used social media to ask for helping hands for their project. They said they received great support and collected enough material to sew over 250 fabric face masks.
Apr 28, 2020
Even when they’re fully committed to a character, the best improvisers bring their own personalities to their performances, says Gemma Soldati ’09.
Soldati and her comedy partner, Amrita Dhaliwal, visited improv classes taught by Performing Arts Department teacher Peter Parisi before spring break. The performers shared the joy and connection present in clowning. As students performed—improvising as chickens and horses, and taking audience cues for their characters—they added telling flourishes: a Shakespearean flair, comic movement, and a confrontational “neigh.”
“These things are real, they’re part of who we are,” Soldati told the students. “You have to bring the truth of who you are to the stage. You’re not going to be successful onstage if you’re trying to hide.”
Apr 21, 2020
The question was a daunting one: Could there be a way to repair a congenital defect in a child’s heart that would grow with the patient without requiring additional invasive surgeries?
To answer it, Dr. Jeff Karp, this year’s science assembly speaker, and his lab team broke down the problem—the repair would have to be flexible and adhesive, to accommodate the movement and growth of a beating heart and to stay put despite the blood flow. So they looked to nature, investigating how other living things have evolved over time to thrive in similar environments.
“Everything natural that exists today is here because it solved seemingly insurmountable problems,” Karp told Milton students in March. Karp is a professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and he has more than 100 issued or pending patents.
Apr 13, 2020
For students, the few days before and continuing into the March break were unsettled. John Matters ’22, a talented violinist, was supposed to perform with the Wellesley Symphony after winning a spot in a competition last fall. He was also supposed to tour with Milton’s Chamber Orchestra and continue rehearsals with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. After everything was canceled, Matters looked for another way to connect musically.
“In any big event, music can bring unique power to people, but how could I provide for the community with music?” Matters asked. Then Music Department Chair Adrian Anantawan shared a video of himself playing Bach in a split-screen video and John said he knew what he wanted to do.
“Although members of the Milton community were unable to meet each other in person, we could still stay in contact and play music together in a special way,” he said. “We could let everyone know that although we are separated physically, we can use music to connect together and stay strong.”
Mar 12, 2020
This is the central location for official information and updates regarding emergencies and related matters affecting the Milton Academy community. In the event of an emergency or urgent matter, this page will be updated to keep students, families, faculty, and staff...
Mar 10, 2020
Margot Becker’s ’20 weekly crossword puzzle has become a fun and challenging Friday must-do for many students and adults arounds campus. Individuals and teams of students rush to complete the challenging 15×15 published on the inside back page of The Milton Paper. Becker gives out prizes for a variety of categories and e-mails out the names of everyone who completes the puzzle correctly.
“I wanted it to be that if you send it in and it’s right, you get a reward of some kind, regardless of your speed,” said Becker. “Last week, I started a ‘beautiful completion’ prize for the best looking puzzles (see photos). My whole aim is to encourage everyone to do these, have a good time and get something out of it.”
Becker said she began making crosswords last year on her own, first just sketching some and then making 5×5 puzzles, which are called “minis.” Using a software program called Phil, she progressed to the “midi” size and then to the more difficult 15×15 format, which is the size of The New York Times weekday crossword.
Mar 6, 2020
Two visiting Sengalese artists spent Monday morning with students who study French for an in-house field trip. Zeinixx, a graffiti artist and poet, and Karismatik Diksa, a hip-hop producer and rapper, are both Global Artists in Residence at Arts For Humanity Voices in Boston. The event was sponsored by Milton’s Francine L. Bustin Memorial Fund.
The morning began with a screening of compilations from the “Democracy In Dakar” documentary, which showed how the vibrant music and art scene in the Sengalese city inspired a youth voting movement. Then Zeinixx and Diska spoke in French about the work they do and answered students’ questions in both French and English.
Mar 3, 2020
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Mar 2, 2020
The robotics team is on a roll this year, with three robots qualifying for the U.S. Open Robotics Championship in Iowa in April. Under the leadership of team captains Diego Domenig ’20, Avery Miller ’20, and Tony Tao ’20, the team participates in VEX Robotics, which challenges students to design and build robots that compete against others in a small arena where the robots complete certain tasks for points.
Freshman Ryan Shue, who drives one of the robots, says, “It’s great to work with people who have the same interests as you. And it’s a fun way to apply that interest in and knowledge of engineering.”
Feb 28, 2020
A “remarkable” number of student writers and artists were recognized in the Massachusetts Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the nation’s longest-running competition to identify creative talent among students. Thirty-one students earned 43 writing honors and 19 students earned 34 art honors. Last week, Ms. Baker and Mr. Nobles announced the winners at assembly.
In writing, Anne Kwok ’21 received numerous awards in poetry and fiction including three Gold Keys, one Silver Key, and one Honorable Mention. For her poem “Aubade For My Sister,” she also received an American Voices and Visions Medal, the highest regional Scholastic honor.
“It is one of the more abstract poems I’ve written,” said Anne, who currently takes the creative writing course and the poetry half course. “I’m experimenting with new forms of writing and exploring different poetry forms.”
Feb 26, 2020
What is the absolute likelihood for a continuous random variable to equal an exact value?
As they listened to their peers present their group projects, students in emily bargar’s Accelerated Calculus class agreed that the answer is zero. This was just one facet of Phoebe Mugford ’21 and Allison Reilly’s’ ’20 impressive presentation titled “Probability Density Functions and Radioactive Decay.” After an overview and examples of probability density functions, the two presented their findings on the probabilities on how particular atoms will decay at given times.
Ms. bargar said all of the projects had to involve something about integrals, using their textbook as a starting point for ideas. For their project, Noah Lippa ’22, John Matters ’22 and Charlie Volpe ’20 used integrals to find the center of mass of shapes. They built three shapes—a 2D plate, a pyramid shape, and a complex 3D shape—and then found their center of mass, showing the resulting formulas as well as photos of the shapes balanced on the top of a standing whiteboard marker.
Feb 21, 2020
It’s been an impressive season for the girls’ swim team, who have won their last five meets. This past weekend at the Eastern International Swimming and Diving Championships in Pennsylvania, the team placed 12th out of a field of 28. Team captains Mary Howley ’20 and Leydn McEvoy ’20 both placed in the top 8th in their individual events–Mary with 2nd in the 100 butterfly and 4th in the 100 backstroke and Leydn with 6th in the 500 free and 8th in the 200 IM.
Both the girls’ and boys’ teams are often out of the spotlight, practicing and competing off campus throughout the winter season. These dedicated swimmers spend long hours in the water, working hard to improve their form and times. So Mary and Leydn make it a point to instill some fun into the practices and meets.
“This year, to get our team members more excited to do well at meets, we started offering candy prizes,” said Mary, who competes in the 100 backstroke, 100 fly medley and the 400 relay. “Everyone who swims the 500, the longest race, gets a ring pop. And after every meet on the bus ride home, we choose an MVP for boys and girls, and there are more prizes.”
Feb 20, 2020
The student one-act plays are a venue for student directors and actors to showcase their wide-ranging talents on and off stage. This year there are three one-acts, completely directed, performed, and tech-supported by students.
Brie Lewis ’20 and Eloise Maybank ’21 are directing No More Mister Nice Guy featuring four actors: Owen GwinnLandry ’23, Alex Paulino ’21, Talia Sherman ’22, and Nancy Tao ’23.
Eloise said the play is centered on the character Sheldon Grimes. “He is the pinnacle of goodness, but he finds himself in serious trouble with the law, his crime being this very virtue of kindness. Sheldon must work to rectify his behavior, with help from two cops and a ‘professional.’”
Eloise said that the dystopian society reflected in the play, which is written by Jonathan Rand, “not only lends itself to hilarity but presents underlying commentary on corruption within today’s justice system plagued with profiling. It begs the audience to ponder what truly is good—the law or what you personally believe to be right. We chose this play because of this nuance and, of course, because it made us laugh really hard. We hope everyone enjoys it!”
Feb 13, 2020
The Upper School Parents’ Association hosts a panel discussion on March 3, 2020. Video of the evening’s conversation will be made available on this webpage following the event.
Feb 6, 2020
Three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky discussed his translation of Dante’s Inferno with students taking Founding Voices: Literature from the Ancient World through the Renaissance.
In a free-flowing conversation, an affable Mr. Pinksy answered students’ questions about his translation, which they are reading in class. He explained how his full translation came about after he was invited to translate one of the Inferno cantos for an anthology. He also helped another poet with his assigned canto and realized how much he enjoyed the work.
“I’m very interested in difficulty—a worthy difficulty—not trivial or canned. I realized with this, I had a difficulty that I really loved,” said Mr. Pinsky.
Feb 6, 2020
Feb 6, 2020
Feb 6, 2020
