Kindergartners Design “Dream” Playgrounds Kindergarten-North students wowed Head of School Rebecca T. Upham this spring with a presentation on their creative playground models built as part of a playground exploration project. The impetus for the project came from the BB&N-sponsored Family Cooperative daycare’s need for an outdoor playground. “We were conducting a playground study when we learned that the daycare has an outdoor space, but not a playground,” says Kindergarten Teacher Ben Goldhaber. “Therefore, we decided to create proposals (two playground models, built to scale) with the hope that they would be built for the daycare.” With the help of Goldhaber and K-North teacher Maria Barton, students visited playgrounds to conduct research (take notes, sketches, and photos), studied playgrounds from around the world, interviewed experts (architects, playground designers, engineers), and visited the daycare to measure the space, take photos, and interview the daycare kids. After much research and thinking about the importance of play in learning, it was time for the students to create their dream playgrounds. Through their study of important concepts such as friction, inertia, and correct measurements, the kindergartners worked in teams to create intricate models. Some highlights of the models included a decorative tree sculpture, ball pit, and suspension swings. When the models were complete, Upham stopped by to assess the results and was thrilled with what she saw.
Ruby Hoffman ’28 shows Head of School Rebecca T. Upham a playground design.
“It was our job to show Ms. Upham all of the different parts of each playground model,” says Ruby Hoffman ’28. “She was a good listener and asked us interesting questions. I think she really liked it. I hope we get to build it!”
Girls Crew Shell Dedication The BB&N Girls Crew team will have one more boat in their fleet next year thanks to a thoughtful gift by Joe and Lucy Chung P’09, ’11, ’14, ’15, ’18, ’19, ’22. A brand new racing shell, named “Highest Standard,” was dedicated at Reunion Weekend this spring. “It has always been clear to us what wonderful people crew attracts: I think the sport brings out the best in people and attracts the best people to it,” said Lucy in her speech at the dedication. “Crew Coach Adam Holland brought the phrase ‘hold yourself to a higher standard’ into our home during our son Miles’ freshman year and it really became a calling card for him throughout his high school career and dovetailed nicely with our own parenting philosophy.” Here’s to watching the Lady Knights on the river next year with their new, cutting-edge shell! 4
Joe Chung (with dog Nutmeg), Cecily Chung ’22, Nathan Grimshaw ’14, Anya Chung ’19, Lucy Chung, and Eve Grimshaw ’18 at the dedication of BB&N’s new racing shell.
