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 21, 2020
A few weeks into Milton’s remote-learning program, math teacher Phil Robson started getting headaches—if the additional time on video calls, email, and creating online instruction plans was affecting him, he figured, students may feel the same way.
To offset the added screen time, Robson instituted “no-screen math” in his precalculus and statistics courses. He offers students a game or activity they can complete entirely off-line.
“There are math games and puzzles they can work on with their parents and siblings, or by themselves,” he said. “I give them different options; they’re not all mandatory, they’re fun.”
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 18, 2020
Despite the upheaval of the past two months, Katharine Millet ’00 has worked to create some regular touchpoints for her students. She begins each week with video tutorials explaining what the class will cover and shares helpful resources to guide them.
“They’ve come to expect these weekly orientation videos, and I share resources that they can access on their own time,” she said. “The routine has been helpful.”
Millet teaches two Class IV history courses, Ancient Civilizations and Modern World History. As Milton prepared to go into a remote-learning program, Millet and the other History and Social Sciences faculty members who teach the freshmen classes decided to extend the deadlines on students’ research papers when classes resumed after spring break. Their papers were due today.
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 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
Emma Bradley ’20 and Kiran Biddinger ’20 wanted to perform a “complicated” lab experiment for the Honors Biology class they took as juniors. One year later, their findings have been published in a scientific journal.
“It was really difficult to figure out what we were going to do,” Bradley said. “We were in the lab all the time, for weeks straight.”
Their report, “Temperatures of 20°C produce increased net primary production in Chlorella sp.” was accepted by the Journal of Emerging Investigators, a monthly publication that features the work of middle school, high school, and college students. The work must be sponsored by a faculty member—the duo’s sponsor was Science Department Chair Julie Seplaki—and undergo an extensive editing process before it can be published.
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
The Winter Dance Concert represents the best mix of creativity and physical prowess at Milton, says Nyla Sams ’20, a dancer and choreographer in this year’s performance.
“It combines music, culture, athleticism, and beautiful visuals into two entertaining hours,” she says. “Also, everyone is in dance concert! You have die-hard theater kids and football players on the same stage. Everyone is there to support one another and have fun, so the energy is just amazing.”
Feb 28, 2020
Respectful disagreement is essential in a functional democracy, Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Jim Lyons told students.
“The best way that we can do what is best for our citizens is to have open and frank discussions about what we need to do,” said Mr. Lyons, who spoke at the Conservative Club assembly. “We can disagree and respect one another. We don’t have to be angry about the things we believe in, but we should stand up for what we believe in.”
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 24, 2020
Using research conducted on three continents, Jana Amin ’21 has been working for nearly two years to deepen the understanding of a twentieth-century Egyptian princess whose story was only partially told.
Princess Fawzia Fuad, at one point the queen of Iran, received worldwide attention for her beauty—she was often compared with Western movie stars—during the glamorized coverage of her 1939 political marriage to Iran’s crown prince, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
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
Straus Library will be filled with song this Friday night as the annual Gospel Explosion unfolds with performances and praise.
Gospel Explosion started when Lami Olatunji ’10 approached Gospel Choir Director Lori Dow with the idea of celebrating gospel music in coordination with Black History Month. Over the years, the program has evolved, with some events featuring performances by outside groups, and others featuring combinations of Milton’s musical ensembles. Last year, Milton’s chamber singers and orchestra musicians collaborated on some pieces.
“Every single year, the program changes,” Lori explains. “We’ve had great parent participation and support, and we’ve had alumni come back to perform with us. It’s always been about more than just Milton’s Gospel Choir. It’s about taking this love of gospel music and sharing it with the whole community.”
Feb 12, 2020
When Maxwell Seelig ’22 auditioned for his role of Theodore “Laurie” Laurence in the Wheelock Family Theatre’s production of Little Women: The Broadway Musical, he was worried that his self-described clumsiness would make him a bad fit. After all, actors like Christian Bale and Timothée Chalamet have portrayed Laurie as a suave and worldly member of nineteenth-century society.
“I was one of the youngest people there, and there were actors from the Boston Conservatory auditioning, there were professionals from New York auditioning, and so I thought ‘This has been fun. I will not be getting this part,’” Max says. “But they told me they were looking specifically for a kind of quirky, awkward teenage energy.”
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.
Jan 31, 2020
In a sunny room at the top of Warren Hall, students gather around the Harkness table to discuss Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Teacher Abby Cacho reads two passages from the novel, then the students write reflections on what they’ve heard. Water for tea warms in an electric kettle, and Sade provides some background music.
Big questions emerge from the reflections, sparking thoughtful debates: “In a relationship with God, or in a relationship with another person, where do we draw the line between commitment and submission?” one student asks.
Another continues the thought, asking,“Is there ever a relationship completely devoid of a power dynamic?”
Jan 29, 2020
Samantha Bevins ’21 testified before the Joint Committee on Election Laws at the Massachusetts State House on H.4161, her proposed legislation to allow young people who are 17 to vote during primary elections if they will turn 18 in time for general elections.
“We are simply trying to give those of us old enough to vote in the general election the right to pick the candidate for whom we will ultimately vote,” said Sam, who spent hundreds of hours researching and gathering support for the bill. Sam is a day student who lives in Hingham, Massachusetts.
Ben Simpson ’21 and Josie Vogel ’21 also testified with Sam, surrounded by classmates, a map showing the 24 states that already allow this, and the bipartisan support of Democratic State Representative Joan Meschino and Republican State Senator Patrick O’Connor.
Jan 29, 2020
The boys’ varsity squash team opened their season with a big win (7–0) against Phillips Exeter, setting the stage for a strong undefeated (5–0) winter season so far. “It was so exciting to start off with a bang with such a resounding victory,” says co-captain Andrew Willwerth ’20.
The top eight players on Milton are four seniors and four juniors, which brings some solid depth and leadership to the team.
“A lot of students have stepped up as leaders this year, more than ever in my four years on the team,” says co-captain Zac Ibrahim ‘20. “I don’t mean just the captains, but all the kids. There is an interest and passion from everyone to get better.”
Jan 22, 2020
“How would you engage in your life if you knew you were wonderful just as you are?” Dr. Adia Gooden asked Milton students. “I want you to think about what you would have the courage to do if you knew you were worthy.”
Dr. Gooden, a licensed clinical psychologist, visited campus as this year’s Talbot Speaker. She is the director of community programs and outcome measurement at the Family Institute at Northwestern University. She spoke with students about the issues of imposter syndrome and low self-worth, things that make even the highest achievers feel as if they are unworthy in their day-to-day lives.
Jan 21, 2020
Biology and climate solutions educator Eben Bein spoke to students last week about current climate legislation in Massachusetts. Mr. Bein, the New England Coordinator for Our Climate, was on campus as a speaker for LORAX, a student environmental club.
Mr. Bein discussed current bills at the Massachusetts State House, including the 2050 Roadmap Bill and H.2810, “an act to promote green infrastructure and reduce carbon emissions.” He also discussed the Transportation Climate Initiative and how to effectively lobby legislators for climate legislation.
Jan 17, 2020
A series of events this week celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Organized by the Student Multicultural Programming Office, the theme is “Silence is Complicity!”
On Tuesday, students were invited to swing by the Schwarz Student Center to “take a stance” and take a photo with the commitment that speaks most powerfully to them. Director Ilan Rodriguez said the photos will be arranged into a collage similar to last year’s MLK student-made handprint collage.
Jan 16, 2020
Four visiting students from Shanghai, China, spent their first day at Milton touring the campus, meeting with Lori Dow in the Admission Office, and having lunch with Head of School Todd Bland. The students attend the No. 2 High School of East China Normal University and are staying with student host families for their two-week visit.
The exchange program, in its second year, was organized by Shimin Zhou, a modern languages faculty member. Other plans include visits to Boston sites, such as the M.I.T. Museum and Robotics Workshop, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and Faneuil Hall. The students will also tour the campuses of Boston University and Harvard University and spend time attending classes with their student hosts.
Jan 8, 2020
Over the first weekend of 2020, boys’ varsity hockey took to the ice against strong opponents in Tabor Academy’s New Year’s Tournament. On the first day, they beat St. George’s 4–2 and then Winchendon 6–3, setting them up for the championship game against Pomfret.
In an exciting game, senior forward Tyler Crist shot Milton’s two goals against Pomfret—one shorthanded to start the scoring and one on the power play to make it 2–0. Pomfret scored with 1:20 to go in the third period but Milton held on for the win (2–1). Milton also saw some stellar goaltending by junior Chris Demers, who turned back 26 of 27 shots that he faced.
Milton is now 6–5–1 for the season. This is their second Tabor Tournament Championship in the last three years.
Dec 13, 2019
For boarding students, the winter holidays at Milton are a time to celebrate, have fun, and bond together in the houses and as a boarding community, culminating in a boarder dinner just before break.
Each house has its own way of making the season special. “It really brightens the shortest days of the year and gives students an opportunity to give to one another,” says Millet House head Linnea Engstrom of the holiday traditions.
Wolcott boys decorated right after Thanksgiving, house head Joshua Emmott says. Tradition holds that Class IV students put up wreaths, while seniors string lights in the shape of a “W.” Perhaps not surprising to parents of teenage boys, a significant amount of food is involved in Wolcott’s celebrations.
Dec 6, 2019
Raúl the Third, an illustrator, author and painter, found his first artistic inspiration in a library.
Born Raúl González in El Paso, Texas, the artist explained that his mother—frustrated with staying in a tiny apartment with three young boys—dragged the family to a public library. Mr. González recalled two sensations he would love forever: air conditioning and the smell of books.
He and his mother got to know the librarians, who would recommend books that helped them learn English. One time, a librarian asked Mr. González to describe a book.
“She said, ‘If you can’t tell me what your favorite part was, why don’t you draw it for me?’” he recalled in a talk with visual arts students during the Nesto Gallery assembly. “From that point on, every time I read a book, I created an illustration for it.”
Dec 5, 2019
It is okay to take risks, get outside one’s comfort zone, and make mistakes, Deidre Dunn ‘95 told students during the Investment Club and Invest in Girls Assembly. Deirdre is managing director and co-head of global rates at Citi.
Deirdre said that even though she considers herself an introvert and dislikes public speaking, returning to campus to talk about her career was an easy decision.
“But not insignificant in my decision is something that I used to do by accident, but now I do on purpose. I pursue things that make me uncomfortable. You could almost say, I have gotten really comfortable being uncomfortable. And it has been incredibly powerful for me.”
Nov 22, 2019
New York City’s vulnerability to rising sea levels and storms goes back to its earliest days, historian Ted Steinberg told history students during the 2019 Heyburn Lecture. Mr. Steinberg is the Adeline Barry Davee Distinguished Professor of History at Case Western Reserve University, and his work focuses on the intersection of environmental, social, and legal history.
Although, many residents were caught off guard by severe flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Mr. Steinberg said the “seeds of New York City’s expansion at the expense of the sea had been planted in the early years.”
Nov 21, 2019
Boys’ varsity soccer had an exciting and standout season. The team was undefeated in the ISLs (12-0-3) clinching the ISL championship title in the game against Noble and Greenough, another undefeated ISL team that came into the match with a one-point advantage in the standings.
“Winning that game was the most incredible experience of my time here,” says David Walley ’20. “In those last five minutes of the game, we were tied and I felt it was going to be like other years, with us coming in second, every time.” But in the last minute of the game, Aidan Farwell ’21 scored the winning goal and the home crowd was exuberant.
The beginning of the season (overall record 13-2-3) started off a bit sluggish for the team.
We had high expectations at the beginning of the year,” says Noah Jackson ’20. “We thought winning would just come to us. But a couple of early losses opened our eyes. We had a team meeting about expectations versus reality. We changed our approach to focusing one game at a time and then went on to be undefeated in the next 15 games or so.”
Nov 20, 2019
When an act of legislation ends legal discrimination, it does not automatically end oppression or abuses of power, scholar and activist Jamal Grant told students.
“It’s not enough to change bad laws and bad leaders,” said Mr. Grant, who spoke at an assembly hosted by the student clubs SIMA (Students Interested in Middle Eastern Affairs) and Amnesty International. “We have to change the systems that keep bad leadership in power.”
Nov 15, 2019
Spreading out across the 20-acre grounds of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, students from visual arts faculty member Martin McDermott’s Advanced Sculpture class studied and sketched works by renowned modern and contemporary artists.
Nov 13, 2019
Nick Morton ’02 was a few weeks into his senior year at Milton when the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, stirred in him the need to serve. Before graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve—and began a lifelong military career.
Now an Army Captain, Nick was the 2019 Veterans Day speaker.
“We spent the days and months trying to process what had happened” after the terrorist attacks in 2001, he said. “I can’t speak to what my classmates felt at that time, but for me, it began to synthesize this sense that I wanted to become part of something bigger than myself. I started wondering if I had something to give, if I could be of value.”
Nov 11, 2019
Two minor characters from one of the most well-known tragedies in theater history take the comedy spotlight in this year’s fall play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. The 1966 Tom Stoppard play follows the story of the title characters, messengers from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, who are bewildered by the events around them.
“The entire play is from their point of view, and tries to explain who they are, but they don’t even know,” says performing arts faculty member Darlene Anastas, who is directing the show. “They don’t get their names straight. They know they’ve been sent for, but they don’t know why. You ponder life and death with the characters, but it’s really very funny.”
Nov 7, 2019
“Everyone is going to get something different from a poem, so I just have fun with it and let the world take it from there,” said Pulitzer prize-winning poet and memoirist Gregory Pardlo, who was “street testing” some new work during the Bingham Visiting Writer assembly.
Mr. Pardlo’s new poems explore ideas of faith. His visual, at times humorous, writing explores the death of a professional wrestler, the highs and lows of a long marriage and the personal relationship between father and son. After finishing with a couple of older poems from his collection Digest, Mr. Pardlo answered students’ questions about his writing process.
“I don’t believe in writer’s block,” said Mr. Pardlo. “When I feel myself saying I’m blocked, I’ll say that’s BS. It means there is something I want to say, but I haven’t given myself permission to say it yet.”
Nov 4, 2019
Two birds in flight, a swimming shark and a fanged fish are just a few of the sculptures that make up the “Creatures Great and Small” exhibit outside of the Art and Media Center (AMC). Each of the eight pieces is done by a different artist in materials such as bronze, granite, steel and resin. Pamela Tarbell of PR Tarbell Fine Art curated the exhibit, which is on display throughout this school year.
One of the pieces, “The Understudy,” by local artist Bob Shanahan, is housed inside the AMC. The sculpture, built out of natural materials such as bark and twigs, depicts a Diatryma, a dinosaur that roamed New England millions of years ago.
The other pieces line up in front of the AMC. Morris Norvin’s “Piscator II” is the largest —steel, painted gray and bent into the shape of swimming shark. The smallest is the sleek “Epoxy Cheetah” by Wendy Klemperer. New visual art faculty member and Netso Gallery director Shirin Adhmai says a favorite of the younger students on campus is “Toothed Fish,” composed of granite and quartz by artist Thomas Berger.
