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Belmont Hill the bulletin for belmont hill school

summer | fall 2019

features

letter from the head of school

commencement 2019

belmont hill archives

general mark milley ’76, voted chairman of the joint chiefs of staff

departments

always character always together

chapel speakers

arts on the hill

coaches’ corner

new faculty biographies

corporation news

alumni & family events

alumni reunion weekend

class notes

faculty & staff news

in memoriam

our mission statement Belmont Hill School educates boys in mind, body, and spirit to develop men of good character. Our community encourages and challenges students to discover and pursue passions, seek excellence, and face adversity with resilience. We cultivate critical thinking and creativity, teamwork and competition, hard work and reflection, tradition and innovation. Valuing our differences and working together, we embrace camaraderie, compassion, and service to others. Our school strives to instill in each boy ethical judgment, a sense of common humanity, and a lifelong love of learning.

On front cover: Commencement 2019. Inside front cover: Ben Guenther ’24 as Seymour Krelborn in the Middle School play Little Shop of Horrors. Correction: In the listing of Alumni Award recipients on page 43 of the last Bulletin, we omitted the name of Dr. John G. Brooks III ’60 who was the Alumni Award recipient in 2016. We regret the error.

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letter from the head of school

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear Belmont Hill Community, It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to another inspiring year at Belmont Hill with the arrival of our latest Bulletin. For me, it has been such a gift to have a year of experience to appreciate more fully all that makes this community so special. During my opening comments to parents, I spoke about gratitude. The people of Belmont Hill have had such an impact upon me: faculty and staff, trustees, alumni, parents, and— most importantly of all—the students. The arrival of the boys in late August brought this campus back to life in short order. Summer also offered me the chance to travel to my first International Boys School Coalition (IBSC) Conference, which was eye-opening and affirming. It helped me to truly value the incredible international network of boys schools in places like South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. We are a learning community that unapologetically celebrates all that is wonderful about being a boy in a world where messaging about maleness can be complicated and challenging. Research presented at the conference validated the power of relationships in driving educational outcomes for boys, confirming once again the impact of the teacher-coach model at Belmont Hill.

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These summer experiences left me even more invigorated about our mission of developing young men of good character. I am eager to continue thinking about our programs in this context so that we can demonstrate how we do this work in the future. I believe Belmont Hill’s emphasis on character is the umbrella under which so many of our goals fall: excellence, leadership, diversity and inclusion, and community service all come to mind. This conversation has coincided with the design of new Admission materials, and we are excited to emphasize this theme. We know that character is an evolving concept that requires dialogue, evolution, self-awareness, and humility. We also believe that the pursuit of character is more relevant today than ever. Beyond our desire to develop young men of integrity who are prepared to succeed in the world of higher education, we aspire to graduate leaders who will change the world for the better. As you dive into the variety of stories in the pages that follow, I hope you will find inspiration for your own exploration of character. I look forward to seeing many of you on campus in the days ahead. Until then, I hope these pages might offer you an engaging glance into the purposeful focus of Belmont Hill. Sincerely yours,

Gregory J. Schneider Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School

“

Faccum id quam re vendia nonsectur sunt ut eos enem.

Commencement 2019

Faccum id quam re vendia nonsectur sunt ut eos enem. Faccum id quam re vendia nonsectur sunt ut eos enem. Faccum id quam re vendia nonsectur sunt ut eos enem.

”

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Senior Dinner

senior dinner

Robert Griffin, Francis Seldorff, Payton Privitera, Benjamin Ward, and Antoine DeRosa.

Michael Hayes, Andrew Hart, Andrew Herrera, Justin O’Neil-Riley, Diego Pereira, Julian Wambach, and Keven Querido.

Shane Rockett, Colin Vallis, Michael Glauniger, Liam Durbin, Luca Pontone, and Teddy Morrow.

Michael Glauniger with faculty member Tim Wood ’71.

Benjamin St. Peters.

Casey Bobo’s advisees toast faculty member David Greer on his retirement.

Faculty member Dr. Elizabeth Davis with her advisees. Seated: Robert Griffin and Hunter Anderson. Back row: Matthew Goguen, Thomas McEvoy, Teddy Morrow, John Guadian, and Jared Ravech.

Back row: Brian Gleason, Francis Seldorff, Andrew Hart, Lawson Morris, and Teddy Wynn. Seated: Jack Flynn, Walker Coppedge ’94, and James Eysenbach.

Greg Schneider, David Hegarty, William LaFarge, Teddy Morrow, William Neissa, John Gaudian, and Board President Jon Biotti ’87.

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Prize Day

prize day 1.

Kerby-Louis Roberson ’19 accepts an Ensemble Award from Greg Schneider.

Greg Schneider presents the Hampers Lyceum Award to John Hadley ’19.

Students congratulate Prize Day winners.

Shane Rockett ’19 received the Charles F. Kenney ’06 Prize from Anne Detmer and Charles Kenney. This prize is given annually to a Form VI student who has lifted his teammates and coaches by his spirit, encouragement, leadership, and inspiration.

Barry Gallup ’06 presented the Darren D. Gallup Three Sport Athlete Award. Pictured is Michael Piazza, James Eysenbach, Andrew Herrera, Shane Rockett, Barry Gallup ’06, and Payton Privitera.

Middle School prizewinners.

Upper School prizewinners.

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Faculty & Staff Recognition

faculty & staff recognition For 35 Years of Service Ted Martellini For 25 Years of Service Steven Kaplan ’83 Michael Thompson Kevin Young For 20 Years of Service Christopher Butler Eileen Foley Juan Herrera Shelly Kroll Betsy Parrot Cynthia Richardson Evi Tejada

For 15 Years of Service Ann Iandiorio June Schmunk Paula Wright For 10 Years of Service Stephen George Grayson Holland ’05 For 5 Years of Service Rebecca Beltz Elizabeth Davis Marie Donahue Lora Farkas Kerry Friedman Michael Jones Jean Robison Jeanne Tift Charles Wade

Ted Martellini.

Grayson Holland ’05 and Stephen George.

Ann Iandiorio and June Schmunk.

Casey Young, Steve Kaplan ’83, and Michael Thompson.

Shelly Kroll, Eileen Foley, Juan Herrera, and Betsy Parrot.

Jeanne Tift, Rebecca Beltz, Lora Farkas, Elizabeth Davis, Kerry Friedman, and Marie Donahue.

Evi Tejada.

Michael Thompson with Greg Schneider.

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commencement 2019

Baccalaureate Address

BACCALAUREATE ADDRESS Address delivered by David Greer on June 2, 2019

Headmaster Schneider, family and friends, and especially the Class of 2019, I am honored to be speaking to you today. I am especially honored to be the last Baccalaureate speaker in this beautiful chapel as it currently exists; next year at some point it will have been expanded to accommodate the entire student body as well as the entire faculty. No longer will faculty have to cram into the vestibule, but it also means their attendance or absence will be a bit more obvious. Seniors, this is your last time sitting in this building as a class; perhaps you might reflect briefly on your experiences here over the years, from your time as nervous First Formers upstairs to seasoned Sixth Formers trying to con your way in past Mr. Bradley at 8:05 on Monday morning (or Tuesday or Friday). The Class of 2019 and I do share one thing in common—we

are both leaving Belmont Hill, you after six years or less and I after 41 years. I’d like to begin with a bit about my history at BHS. Some have asked why I didn’t retire last year after my 40th year. That’s easy, I didn’t want to steal Dr. Melvoin’s spotlight; certainly his 25 years pale in comparison to my 41 years. This is actually my 49th year teaching, so again some have asked why I didn’t stay one more year to finish with 50 years. Half a century—that would make me really old! (No offense, Mr. Martin!) At the same time I don’t want anyone to read anything into the fact that my retirement coincides with Mr. Schneider’s first year. Nothing could be further from the truth; in fact, I have known Greg since he was in the seventh grade with my daughter Danielle at Nobles. Speaking of Danielle and Nobles, I would be remiss not to thank our Trustees

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Baccalaureate Address

for instituting the Tuition Subsidy program for faculty children just in time for Danielle’s first year at Nobles. Both my daughter, Dina, and my son, David, also benefitted from that program. As I thought about this speech, I began with the thought that as an English teacher I needed to impart some great educational wisdom, replete with important quotations from equally important people. If that is your expectation, then you are going to be disappointed. I want to make it more personal than that. So here we go. After finishing basic and advanced training as a medic in the Army Reserves in 1970, I was hired by Woodstock Academy in Woodstock, CT, to teach English and coach varsity baseball and junior varsity basketball. At the tender age of 23, I had my dream job. Eight years later, married to my best friend, Dolores, and father of our two daughters, Danielle and Dina, I was hired by Roger Duncan who was serving as interim head of school before the arrival of Chris Wadsworth the following year. I was actually hired at the very end of August in 1978, two weeks before school began; yes, that’s correct, school began AFTER Labor Day, in fact, the week after Labor Day. Mr. Martin and Mr. Sherman remember those days; perhaps former students Chris Sweeney and Steve Kaplan do as well. I will never forget that first semester as I was up most nights after midnight just trying to stay 50 pages ahead of my students. When I arrived in the fall of 1978, the School was in the most capable hands of legendary teachers Roger Duncan, John Henry Funk, Herb Mattlage, Jack Myers, Jack Fisher, Kim Bassett, and numerous others. I also joined three contemporaries: Eddie Gallagher, who was in my class at Roxbury Latin for two years until he saw the light and came to Belmont Hill School, Cliff Goodband, whose children grew up with mine, and Ken Martin, against whom I competed in high school and with whom I have coached eighth-grade football for many years, as well as one memorable baseball season. But let me go back further in my personal history. As I just stated, I attended Roxbury Latin where I struggled to survive academically but enjoyed some athletic success. The school was quite tough in those days, but more significantly it was a cold place. I began in a class of 50 boys in the seventh grade, and we graduated 24, one of if not the smallest graduating classes in its modern history.

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Of those who left, nine went to Harvard, including Mr. Gallagher. Did I mention it was a cold place? From there I traveled south to the University of Virginia, where I watched many football games in short sleeves, attended exciting ACC basketball games (need I mention that they were NCAA champs this year?) and played baseball for four wonderful years. Does that sound like an enjoyable prospect, Evan? I hope you will keep in touch, and please know that I will track your progress with great interest. An English major, I decided during my junior year that teaching and coaching was what I wanted to do with my life, a decision that I have never regretted. So, you seniors and I are transitioning from this wonderful school. For you, I’m sure there are mixed feelings: excitement and anticipation certainly, but I hope a bit of sadness as well to be leaving the place you have called home for a number of years and, more importantly, the people with whom you have shared the experience, both classmates and teachers. For some, perhaps there is also anxiety and even fear to be leaving the safe “bubble” that is Belmont Hill for the larger world out there. I share many of those same sentiments. Your parents are also experiencing this transition. Many of you will be watching your first child go off to college. While you, too, may be feeling some of these emotions, you should trust that your sons are well prepared for this next stage in their lives. We on the faculty have made them work hard; if we have done our jobs, they have experienced success and failure and have proven themselves most resilient. Parents, between us we have worked hard to produce young men of good character, so we need to trust that they will make smart decisions when necessary. Perhaps some of you parents will be sending your last child off to college. Congratulations! You may be already anticipating the end of tuition payments. For you seniors, these next four years will be filled with challenges and adjustments: no more milk and cookies after your first two classes, no more Mrs. Hamilton or Mr. Bradley recognizing your birthday at lunch, and no more Mr. Martellini affectionately calling you “Big Dummies!” Recognize that even if you will attend a small liberal arts school in Maine, it will be a larger world than you have been accustomed to. You will have to work a bit harder to make friends and to get to know your professors, but I am sure that you will. Be confident that you have been well prepared to handle the academic rigors. If you will be playing a sport, understand

that even at a D3 school the time commitment will be significant. If your athletic careers will not continue in college, find other ways to engage actively in school life, just as you have here. As I looked over the senior class list, I realized that I taught roughly half of you in English 4 and American Lit. One of the few things I have regretted in my teaching career here is not teaching seniors, as, selfishly, I would have enjoyed being more involved in your college process. I also coached a number of you in Fourth Football where in a preview of things to come we went a strong 7–1, our only loss suffered to St. Sebastian’s; you made up for that loss this year. Two years ago, I coached some of you in JV baseball where we went 9–2, with a team batting average of .335 and a team ERA of 1.35. Yet another preview of things to come this spring! To those of you I taught, I hope I had a small impact on your appreciation of good literature as enhanced by our Harkness table discussions, many of which you led, and that you feel your writing improved. Students often ask me to identify which book I enjoy the most. How can I choose from such classics as The Great Gatsby, 1984, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Moby Dick, or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Perhaps the two most important skills you will take with you are your abilities to write and to work for sustained periods of time, ignoring the numerous distractions you will encounter. And believe me, there will be distractions! Many of your new classmates will find it difficult even to begin a paper, never mind produce 5–10 pages of clear, intelligent writing. This will be a relatively easy task for you. Others will panic with the arrival of lengthy mid-term or final exams, but you will not. I hope you remember my classroom as a comfortable place where you were encouraged to find your voice at the table, where the orange quiz gods announced reading quizzes, trivia questions provided opportunities for extra credit, and the New York Times crossword puzzle allowed for some fun on long block days. (Brian Gleason and Ned Whelan challenged me often, but I don’t believe they ever finished ahead of me.) I hope you can now appreciate the care I took with your writing: my focus on the need for choosing better verbs, being better proofreaders of your writing, and finding the right support for your theses. Recently after my retirement was announced, I received a lengthy email from an alum, essentially congratulating

me on said retirement, and noting at the end, proudly I’m certain, that not once in the email had he used the verb “to be” as a primary verb. You know that made me smile! I have been passionate about this job for nearly 50 years, and my greatest hope for all of you is that you become equally passionate about whatever field you choose to pursue. After enjoying the relatively care-free college years, you will work for probably the next 40 years. I can’t imagine anything worse than working simply for a paycheck. I hope some of you might even return one day as teachers to your alma mater, as 10 of our current faculty did. In fact, three more alums, David Cunningham, George Sullivan, and Chris Bracken, will join the faculty next year. Combine that with the fact that there are 18 faculty members who have been teaching here for at least 20 years and you begin to have an idea of how special this place is. For the final part of my address I want to encourage you to follow your dreams. As Henry David Thoreau said, “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” As you pursue your dreams, be amenable to change. When I went to Virginia, I had my heart set on playing third base, but I learned that the only player trying out for the freshman team with an academic grant (they didn’t give baseball scholarships in those days) was a third baseman. So, I switched to pitcher, and, as I said earlier, I played for four years. My favorite baseball anecdote about one’s willingness to change involves the son of one of my teammates who desperately wanted to play where his dad had played. After only receiving interest from D3 schools, he enrolled at UVA anyway. After walking on for fall tryouts, he was told that he would not make the team as a shortstop; his glove was good but he didn’t hit well enough. However, the coach said they liked his arm and would he consider pitching. He worked hard all winter, but did not make the travel squad for the spring trip. During that week, he received a call from one of the coaches who told him they were running out of arms and would he consider joining them at Georgia Tech. Of course, he jumped at the chance. His first opportunity came late in a game in relief. He struck out the three batters he faced: perhaps you have heard of them— Jay Payton, Nomar Garciaparra, and Jason Varitek.

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Baccalaureate Address

To sum up what I’ve been trying to say about perseverance, transition, and dreams, I offer Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem “If”: If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son! In closing, I want to thank my students past and present who have made this such a rewarding career, my colleagues whose dedication always inspired me, and most especially my wife, Dolores, who has put up with me for nearly 50 years. And to the Class of 2019, as Mr. Schneider said at the Senior Banquet, take the time to thank those who have helped you along the way, especially your parents. Congratulations, and best of luck. Thank you.

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commencement 2019

Commencement Address

COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS Address delivered by David E. Kelley ’75 on June 3, 2019

their wrath and getting them to throw a baseball at the target, hitting the target, and dunking the clown in the water. Well, who else but Mark Milley donned that rubber nose and polka dot suit and climbed into that contraption. I will tell you over the years, living on the West Coast, where not everybody has heard of Belmont Hill and they say tell me “Where did you go?”, “What was your high school like?” I say, “Oh, it was a fine school. It turns out many, many great men…but even the clowns go on.”

Wow! This is something. I am looking at Kenny Martin over here. My hockey coach, my Latin coach. He taught me hockey and he taught me Latin, but he taught me mostly be prepared, so I brought notes. It’s my honor, it’s my privilege to be here. I’m not sure it’s my right. Commencement speakers, they’re usually people made of bigger stuff. I know you recently heard from Mark Milley, a change agent, a hero who really did affect people’s lives and changed the world. I don’t do that. I’m a television writer and a producer and we’re a varied and diverse breed, us Hollywood folks, but if there’s one thing I can say that we all have in common, is we have no business following a five-star general up to the podium. I will tell one story out of school, out of this school, out of Belmont Hill School. When I was a senior here, I ran the charity carnival right here on this lawn with prizes and goods and booths and food. You may still do it. But my brother, Mark Kelley, and a few other students, they decided to build one of those “dunk the clown in the water” contraptions. You’ve seen them, probably, at county fairs, state shows. A clown comes in a steel cage, insults people walking by, incurring

Today it’s your day to go on and I remember it, 1975 just like it was yesterday. I remember going to college like it was yesterday. I went to Princeton. I went with a fellow Belmont classmate named Frank Brosens. We drove down there and on our second or third day we went to go visit another Belmont Hill classmate named Clint Furnald who’s sitting out there somewhere today. Clint was an upper classman so Frank and I figured we could go and get some tips and advice as we embarked on our college careers. We went up to his dorm the second night we were there. We had taken two steps inside the dorm when this 300-pound behemoth, tree trunk—I later learned that he played on the football team—all muscle, including his head, he picked us up and said, “Freshmen!” and he opened a closet door and threw us in the closet and said, “You just stay there. If I see that door so much as open up a crack, you are dead.” Frank and I stood there in the darkness and we had the same thought coursing through our head. Belmont Hill did not prepare us. Where was the Chapel Talk about getting thrown into the dark closet? That was our introduction and looking back, I would say the beginning of our education in college. You’re about to go into a bigger world, a slightly harsher world. Not always supportive. Sometimes full of dark, cavernous places where the social problems might be tricky to navigate. Most of you, in fact all of you, you’re going to be fine with the academic hurdles you face. Belmont Hill has prepared you for that. And I can see some of you looking back at me right now going, “No, no, Mr. Kelley.

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Commencement Address

You don’t understand. I’m the fraud here. I’m the one that faked my way through. I don’t belong at Belmont Hill.” You all belong and you all go forward. And, if you work hard, you will academically thrive. The trickier part will be the social, emotional disturbances. Those bumps that you face. You’ve all seen the data. The rates of stress, anxiety, insecurity, the sense of being overwhelmed in college. There is an explosion of those issues on college campuses. You should be aware of that. Prepare for it. But you should also look forward to it because in the mess, in the muck, therein is where you will find the growth. You think you know who you are. Some of you might. But really, you are only at the beginning of the beginning of the beginning of discovery itself. Especially your generation, the Facebook generation. You guys are masters at presenting versions of yourselves that you think others want to see. You might have even done it on your college application, too. Where do I want to go? What are they looking for? Let me draw that picture. We all have different versions of ourselves. Different variations depending on the prism that we’re being viewed through. It’s normal, it’s natural, but it’s also an artificial construct. That center will not hold. I had an actor, a lead, the star of my show. Gifted man, talented man, Emmy winner, and a wonderful man. I got called once by production and they said, “Michael’s not coming out of his trailer. We can’t shoot the scenes because he is not coming out of his trailer.” I went up there, I went in, and I said, “Michael, what’s going on?” He said, “I’ll tell you what’s going on. This is a very difficult scene. This scene needs to be perfect. I wasn’t getting it perfect and it was frustrating. And the more frustrated I got, I started to take that frustration out on my fellow actors. They started to begin to get angry with me and I looked at myself through their eyes and I see their point, I take their point. I know why they don’t want to work with me and I’m telling you right now, I don’t want to work with me either. I am staying in this trailer. I will not work with me.” And I said, “Michael, your issue is not getting along with others. You need to get along with yourself.” He looked at me like I was from the planet Pluto. “Get along with me? I don’t even know me. One of the reasons I became an actor was so I could hide and disappear behind other personas. If I have a successful, fruitful career; if I’m lucky, I could spend my whole life and never get in a room with me.” Now, this actor was an extreme case. But, we all have that fear of looking within, looking at ourselves for fear of seeing the fault lines. And we all have the fault lines. Every single one of us. In California, we build our

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houses on those fault lines. We have to retrofit them to make them earthquake-ready because if the big one hits, if you’re not foundationally sound…well the same is true for your personal constitutions. Which makes the next four years so exciting and so thrilling because aside from the academic pursuits, you’re going to get the opportunity to discover who you are. Sadly, many of you will squander it because you are so hard wired to achieve—to find academic achievement, to find success—instead of looking around, branching out, reaching out, you’re going to feel an inclination to pick your lane and drive that lane as fast and hard as you can so you can get further than the next guy. I have very few rules I live by as a writer. But one of them is don’t lose the plot. You guys are going to college. Remember the plot. It’s to find growth, it’s to discover who you are, it’s to make yourself ready for life. Do not worship the alter of the G.P.A. at the expense of that personal growth. And it happens. I had a student when I taught at Princeton once, she came to Princeton—her plan was to go to law school—but she came to Princeton because it had one of the best astrophysics departments in the country with the leading experts. And she loved astronomy, she loved that part of her life. She never took a course in astrophysics. I asked her why and she said, “Well, you know, it was filled with other majors from that field and I didn’t figure to do well. They grade on a curve here, so I thought if I took that course, my G.P.A. would go down and I might not get into law school. She picked her college to pursue a passion and chose not to pursue it because she feared that it would compromise her G.P.A. She lost the plot. I lost the plot. When I went to school, I was a hockey player. I actually picked courses that were compatible with my hockey schedule. I took one course in Homeric literature because it was only one class a week, 100 plus students, the professor didn’t take attendance. It was what we sort of called a “gut course” that made time for hockey. I lost the plot. There was a 10-page paper due on a Friday. On Wednesday, I had not started it, but what made matters worse is on Thursday, we were getting on a bus to Harvard to play Harvard in a pair of games. So, I had to write a 10-page paper on a Wednesday night and hand it in before I got on the bus. And I decided to shape-shift the prompt a little bit and I turned the paper into a play. Why? Well, I didn’t like writing dialogue. But mostly, when you write dialogue, you can devote one whole line. So, if Sophocles said “What?” That was one whole line. And if Plato said, “Come again?” That was another whole line. The 10 pages turned into 15

and I turned it in and figured I would have to redo it and I got on the bus and went to Harvard. This teacher only had one rule. Turn the papers in on time and go to class. If you don’t go to class, you’ll get docked a whole grade. But she didn’t take attendance. Up we come to Harvard. We lost. We must have played well enough because our coach gave us the Monday off. And because I am from here, and my friends and family, I decided to stay up here for a few days. Now, that course in Homeric literature, that lecture, where the professor did not take attendance was on Monday. I took my chances only to find out that she read the paper, she cast the play with fellow faculty members and preceptors, and she put on the play during that Monday class. And then after, she asked that author to rise. And the author was not there. And the author was docked a full grade. I went to her to make my case and I said, “Now, wait a minute. I realize I didn’t go to class, but I gave you something and you didn’t have to write that lecture.” No, I was docked a grade. As I was leaving the office, she said, “By the way, do you take any creative writing classes? Are you doing any of that?” And I said, “No.” And she said, “Why not? You seem to have an ear for it and having read this, it seems that you liked it.” And I said, “Well, the truth is, that wasn’t really on the menu. It didn’t occur to me.” She said, “On the menu? There’s no handbook here to tell you what you love. There’s certainly no roadmap. When you go to college, it’s the excavation of you and

who do you think has to do the digging?” I walked out of there, and even though I had lost the plot, I was lucky enough that a faculty member had reconnected and planted the seeds of writing that stuck with me. When I went on with my own writing career, my literary hero was Robert Frost. The thing that he said, and the thing I try to remind myself before every project I ever do, he said, “No tears for the writer, then no tears for the reader.” What he meant is, if you don’t feel it, don’t expect your reading or viewing constituency to. You need to get in and feel it every day. e. e. cummings, he also had a line similar. Another one of my favorite authors, he said, “When we think, when we believe, when we know, we are actually a collection of many people. But the moment you feel, that moment, you’re nobody but yourself.” If I could encourage or instruct you to do one thing every day over the next four years, try to feel every day. Keep an emotional diary, if you have time. If it serves no other purpose, it will remind you what matters to you, what brought you joy, what gave you a lift, where you found meaning. It’s a tough battle, digging into one’s being. It’s not a comfortable battle. One of the problems you guys might face is it’s a battle you might not have to wage. Your own talent could stand in the way because you might do well in the classroom, you’re smart, or on the athletic field. Your social skills may be good.

Greg Schneider with Commencement speaker David E. Kelley ’75 and Jon Biotti ’87.

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Commencement Address

You could live right on the surface and be very happy and very successful and you could say to yourself, “Why dig deep down, why drill down? I might find fissures and fractures that will only shake me.” Well, those fractures are going to present themselves at some point in your life. Heartache, loss, failure. It’s there for all of us. Our best armor, our best defense, our ability to withstand, is our personal constitution. Our mental and emotional toughness. But, in order to draw on yourself, you’ve got to take the time to get to know yourself. It takes courage to grow up and become who you are so I would say be brave, start being brave right now. Don’t wait for the dark closet. Part of me didn’t want to give this speech partly because I did not think I was equipped, but another part, I don’t really believe in speeches. One person telling another person, much less a room, how to be, what to do. When I was captain of the hockey team for Coach Martin, he’ll tell you, I never gave a speech in the locker room. It was just not my style. My example of leading was by doing. As a father, the same thing, parenting—less about talk—show them what you do and lead by example. But the notion of somebody from my generation facing your generation and saying, “Look what we did! Do as we did!” It’s obscene. Because when you look at the erosion of honesty, integrity in so many of our institutions. You look at our leaders, many who are selfish, who lie on a daily basis. Whether it’s big pharmaceutical companies, even universities today, what’s going on in Washington—I’m not going to list names or offenses—but it’s enough to say that I don’t think our generation has quite earned the trust of yours and maybe not the respect. When I was at Belmont Hill, and members of the faculty were here back then, there was a saying: “If you have integrity, nothing else matters. And if you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.” They were words to live by. Unfortunately, so many people choose not to live by them today. You can lie and still succeed. You can promote hatred and still be hugged. You can be mean and be celebrated. I promise, in my industry, networks and studios aren’t coming to me and saying, “Hey, can you give us a series about a kind person who tells the truth and treats people with respect?” They all want the anti-hero, the bad guy. But in all my shows I think on my best days, and most of my shows do have anti-heroes and flawed characters with a lot of demons, but when we do our best work, we drill down on those characters to discover what they love, what they feel, what makes them human. Because I still believe that our hope derives from our humanity.

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So, when I say to you today, drill down on yourselves, look within, look deep within, it’s really not so much a piece of advice, but rather a plea. Because our country’s best hope—maybe our only hope—is for its citizenry to reconnect with its humanity, its compassion, its kindness. And if you guys look within yourselves and dig down and you tap into that humanity, if you feel it, if you live it and you touch those around you with it, that’s a good start. I don’t know you boys, I should say young men, but if you carry a fraction of the integrity of the faculty and the student body I knew when I was here, that’s hope. That’s real hope. I’m going to leave you with one story, unfortunately I cannot source it because it has been passed down through generations. It’s not mine but it’s applicable. It was about a wise, old elder and an arrogant, young kid. I think he went to Nobles. And, this kid decided he was going to expose the wise, old man. Make a fool of him and bring about his undoing. And his way of going about it is he was going to grab a small bird and go to the wise old man and say, “What am I holding?” And if the man guessed correctly, he would say, “Is the bird alive or is the bird dead?” And if the elder said the bird was alive, he would break the neck and open his hand and show him the dead bird. And if the elder said the bird is dead, he would open his hands and let the bird fly away. Either way, he was going to expose that elder as a fool. So, he did that. He went into the bushes and captured a small bird and went up and said, “Wise old man, what am I holding?” And the man looked down and said, “There’s a bird in your hands.” He said, “Yes, but is the bird alive or is the bird dead?” And the wise man looked down and said, “Son, the bird is in your hands.” Class of 2019, the future and the bird are in your hands. Go show us the way.

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Commencement Photos

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Class president Shane Rockett.

Donnell Patterson leading the B-Flats.

Members of the Class of 2019 listening to Commencement speeches.

Newly elected Cum Laude Society members Jack Vander Vort and Michael Wade are congratulated by Greg Schneider.

Greg Schneider and Benjamin Awtrey.

The Class of 2019 await their diplomas.

A new tradition following commencement, faculty offer graduates a final word of personal congratulations.

Jacob McOsker, Andrew Holland, Andrew Hart, and Jaylen Bailey.

Lawson Morris ’19, Taylor Morris ’14, Callen Morris ’16, and Bennett Morris ’18 .

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Cum Laude Society member and Margaret B. Lawless Memorial Prize recipient Colin Vallis with Greg Schneider.

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commencement 2019

College Choices

COLLEGES ACCEPTING MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 2019 Amherst College

George Washington University

Princeton University

Assumption College

Georgetown University

Providence College

Babson College

Hamilton College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Bates College

Harvard College

University of Rhode Island

Boston College

Haverford College

University of Richmond

Boston University

Hobart and William Smith

University of Rochester

Bowdoin College

College of the Holy Cross

Saint Anselm College

Brandeis University

Johns Hopkins University

University of San Francisco

Brown University

Kenyon College

Sewanee: University of the South

Bucknell University

Lafayette College

Southern Methodist University

Butler University

Lake Forest College

St. Lawrence University

University of Chicago

Mass Maritime Academy

Syracuse University

Colby College

UMass Amherst

University of Tampa

Colgate University

UMass Lowell

University of Texas

University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Miami

Trinity College

Connecticut College

University of Michigan

Tufts University

Cornell University

Middlebury College

University of Vermont

Dartmouth College

Morehouse College

Villanova University

Davidson College

New York University

University of Virginia

Denison University

Nichols College

Wake Forest University

Duke University

Northeastern University

Wesleyan University

Elon University

Northwestern University

College of William & Mary

Emory University

University of Notre Dame

Williams College

Florida Institute of Technology

University of Pennsylvania

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Fordham University

Pepperdine University

Yale University

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belmont hill archives

FROM THE ARCHIVES By Caroline Cushman, School Archivist

Welcome to “From the Archives”! This newest addition to the alumni Bulletin will delve into the history of Belmont Hill and the contents of our school Archives. Each issue will focus on a different subject or topic about the School and happenings on campus. I’m sure one of your first questions might be, “We have school archives?” Why yes, we do. From the very beginning of our school’s history, materials have been collected, which mainly included publications, scrapbooks, and photographs. The materials were housed in the main office. In 1970, Margaret Densmore Whitney became the Library Director of the Snelling Library, located where the MacPherson Room is now. At that point, the archives moved from the main office to the Snelling Library, and from there Mrs. Whitney started an initiative to collect more materials and founded the Belmont Hill School Archives. Since then, Harold Prenatt, now a retired faculty member, has managed the Archives, collected materials throughout the school year, and taken on the role of School Historian. The Archives moved from the Snelling to the William H. Byrnes Library, and then moved to the basement of the Alumni House, where they have resided for the past 12 years. So, what’s been recently going on with the School Archives? For the past two years, I’ve been surveying the materials in the Archives and around campus as well as planning and creating an infrastructure for the Archives, both physically and intellectually. The new physical locations, both of which are more centralized to campus, include a research room in the Byrnes Library and a climate-controlled storage space in Robsham, which includes compact shelving and a fire suppression system. I’ve also created an organizational structure, mainly by records groups and types of materials, for better accessibility to the materials, which will be my reference point as I delve into processing the materials in the coming years.

Margaret Densmore Whitney, Librarian and Founder of the Belmont Hill School Archives, and Harold Prenatt, retired Faculty member and former School Archivist. (School Archives Photograph Collection)

What does the future of the School Archives look like? The initiatives of the School Archives for the next five years include: • Outreach to classes, student organizations, and alumni events • Exhibitions of materials in the library and other locations on campus • Digitization of photographs, publications, school logs, and audiovisual materials • Preservation of materials • Creation of an online portal accessible to community members near and far This is an exciting time for the School Archives as we will shortly reflect on the 100 years of our history. I look forward to bringing that history to life and connecting the community with it. To begin “From the Archives,” we’ll take a brief look at the Howe House. I think it’s only fitting to start this column where the campus began. For any archives inquiries or visits, please contact me at cushman@ belmonthill.org. Archives history courtesy of Harold Prenatt.

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belmont hill archives

History of the Headmaster’s House

Headmaster’s House as seen from the view of Prospect Street, 1923. (Belmont Hill School Log, 1923–1925)

An honored tradition of Belmont Hill...a faculty member enjoys some fun on the hill in front of the Headmaster’s House. (Belmont Hill School Log, 1923–1925)

Construction of the Shaler Wing between the Headmaster’s House and Bolles House, 1924. (Belmont Hill School Log, 1923–1925)

Saunders House, an annex to the Head’s residence, was dedicated in 2019.

Construction of the Museum, 1924. (Belmont Hill School Log, 1923–1925)

It’s been 100 years since the Headmaster’s House was built. We’ll take a brief look at the Headmaster’s House, now known as the Howe House, from the early documentation of our history and throughout the years as our campus developed. The Headmaster’s House was the epicenter of activity when Belmont Hill School was established in 1923. The house was renovated before school began and for Reginald Heber Howe, the first headmaster, and his family before their arrival. The Howe family and students occupied the second floor living spaces, while the bottom floor served as office, eating, and meeting spaces. The house was named the Shaler House, after Nathaniel Southgate Shaler, a 19th-century Harvard figure. Shortly after the establishment of the School, wings were added to both sides of the Headmaster’s House in 1924. These wings included the Shaler House wing addition between the Headmaster’s House and the Bolles House and the Natural

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An original pennant from 1923 donated by the Cate family.

View from the bottom of the hill, c. 1960s. (School Archives Photograph Collection)

History Museum annex on the opposite side. Currently, the Shaler House wing holds the MacPherson Room, Dining Hall, Administrative Offices, and faculty apartments. The Natural History Museum annex is now the Saunders House. Dedicated in 2019 in gratitude for the generosity of Donald L. Saunders ’53, the space includes two faculty offices. Another expansion occurred in 1966, with the addition of a larger dining hall and an infirmary. Once the Howe Building was demolished in 2013 for the Melvoin Academic Center, the Headmaster’s House was renamed for Howe. Historical information courtesy of Belmont Hill School 1923–1998, An Anniversary Album by Harold Prenatt.

View from the bottom of the hill, 1999. (School Archives Photograph Collection)

View from the Prospect Street side, near Morse and Howe Buildings, c. late 1980s. This view includes the wing expansion (1966) and Byrnes Library & Lynch Center (1987). (School Archives Photograph Collection)

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GENERAL MARK MILLEY ’76

GENERAL MARK MILLEY ’76 Voted Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff On July 25, 2019, Mark Milley ’76 was confirmed in a senate vote as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Milley becomes the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking and senior-most officer in the United States Armed Forces and the principal military advisor to the president. “One can’t help but feel inspired after spending time with General Milley,” says Greg Schneider, Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School. “I say that as a grateful American but also as a leader at Belmont Hill. General Milley’s example of integrity and leadership continually reminds me that our mission of developing young men of character is more relevant than ever.” While attending Belmont Hill, General Milley distinguished himself as an outstanding student and athlete, who was also vice president of the student council and an editor of the School paper. General Milley was awarded the Belmont Hill Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015. The School’s highest alumni honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award

recognizes men who have exemplified in life those qualities that the School seeks to instill: honesty, excellence, integrity, respect, and caring for others. In speaking to the Belmont Hill boys during his visit to campus to accept the award, he told them, “At the end of the day, in the dark of the night, when no one is around you and things aren’t going well, it is your character that holds you together…. Reflect on how privileged we are as Americans to have the freedoms we have and never forget how we got them, who paid for them, and how they were bought.” General Milley’s hockey coach at Belmont Hill, Ken Martin ’65, says he is immensely proud of him. “He is well respected by the other generals, and he is very thoughtful about his men and women who serve our country,” says Mr. Martin. “He commands respect whenever he speaks, and he thinks deeply about the future. He and his wife, Hollyanne, make a great team and they understand what an honor it is to serve our country.”

“At the end of the day, in the dark of the night, when no one is around you and things aren’t going well, it is your character that holds you together…. Reflect on how privileged we are as Americans to have the freedoms we have and never forget how we got them, who paid for them, and how they were bought.” —General Mark Milley ’76

General Mark Milley ’76 during a visit to campus, fall 2015.

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chapel speakers

CHAPEL SPEAKERS Belmont Hill has the great fortune to welcome many distinguished speakers to campus each year. For additional information about each of the speakers, please visit our website.

tommy vee March 8, 2019

Faculty, staff, and students were treated to a special guest before spring break. Hypnotist Tommy Vee presented a stage demonstration with a few willing volunteers that astonished the audience.

tim buckley ’87

May 10, 2019

Tim Buckley ’87, chairman and CEO of Vanguard, spoke at the annual Michael Sherman Lecture. Vanguard is the largest mutual fund company in the world with 20 million investors and over $5 trillion in assets. Mr. Buckley delivered a fascinating speech about his work, prefacing it by stating that he would talk about a Belmont Hill education as the foundation for the students’ future success. Pictured with Tim Buckley ’87 is Ken Martin ’65 (left) and Michael Sherman.

hicham alaoui

May 13, 2019

The 2019 edition of the Kageyama-Hunt Lecture Series featured speaker Hicham Alaoui, the son of the late Prince Moulay Abdallah, who was the son of King Mohammed V of Morocco. As a public policy advocate, Mr. Alaoui has worked for the United Nations in Kosovo, for the Carter Center as an international observer for elections in Palestine on two occasions, and in Nigeria in this capacity as well. In a talk he entitled: “Between Conscience and Education: A Life of Dissent,” Mr. Alaoui focused on ethical choices, courage, and transitional moments.

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Arts on the Hill Julian Dalziel ’21, viola, and Timothee Simonin ’22, cello, performing at the Spring Concert.

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arts on the hill

Will Lawton ’22, photography.

The B-Flats perform at the Spring Concert.

Liam Durbin ’19 designed and built a bedside table in a woodworking Independent Study that earned “Best in Show” at the spring Art Awards Chapel.

Jeremy Eaton ’23 and Benjamin Guenther ’24 in the Middle School spring musical Little Shop of Horrors.

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arts on the hill

Daniel Cho ’23 playing the cello at the Spring Concert.

Ryan Griffin ’22, created this display of ceramics.

Jack Luehrman ’24 plays the French horn at the Spring Concert.

Recognized for his work in Advanced Photography at the spring Arts Awards Chapel, Will McGaughey ’21 won first place for his book.

Kevin O’Neill ’19 and Jackson Stone ’19 performing at the spring Coffee House.

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10.

“Best Print in Show” recipient at the spring Arts Awards Chapel Wyatt Barlage ’21 for Advanced Photography.

11.

Jacob Czarnecki ’22 sings at spring Coffee House.

12.

Greg Schneider and Michael Sherman play a duet at the spring Coffee House.

13.

William Seward ’22 won first place for drawing and painting in the student Art Show.

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Coaches’ Corner

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coaches’ corner

Alpine Skiing STEPHEN FELDMAN, Head Coach

The 2018–19 season for the Belmont Hill Alpine Skiing Team was one of the best in recent years. The boys started strong, winning the first three out of six races, guaranteeing the team at least a share of the ISL title. Throughout the first three races, the team had been closely battling with Middlesex, and this battle would continue as Middlesex showed life, winning the next two races and making it imperative that Belmont Hill win the last race to win the league outright. The boys did just that. With big performances from the top to the bottom of the running order, the team won the race with a commanding 19-point lead. It is easy to say that the roster this year was the deepest in recent memory with a long list of strong athletes. The varsity team had racers from each grade in the Upper School, with no seniors on the team, and each one of them pulled their weight. The team was anchored by All-ISL skiers Sascha Gannon ’20, Jack Theberge ’21, Quinn Richards ’20, and Danny Crowley ’22, along

with Conner Willett ’21 and Anton Schmitt ’22 not far off from All-League. Sascha Gannon earned League MVP along with Boston Globe All-Scholastic honors, and Jack Theberge earned All-New England honors in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom following a great day at New England Championships at Sunapee, NH. All team members are returning next year, so the future is looking bright for Belmont Hill Alpine Skiing. The team will be looking to repeat its success this season next year with a strong returning roster. While the team did not have great success at New Englands this year with skiers not finishing in both disciplines, they are hoping next year will be a different story. They are hungry for not only another ISL championship, but also are hoping to bring a New England championship back to the Hill. With returning leadership in captains Sascha Gannon and Quinn Richards, and senior Jack Olton, along with great support from parents and coaches, the team is confident 2019–2020 will be a year for the books.

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coaches’ corner

Basketball AL MURPHY ’98, Head Coach

The 2018–19 Varsity Basketball team finished 8–15 overall, 7–9 in the ISL, a ninth-place finish. After a large turnover, this year’s group took a few games to find its groove. After the first eight games, the team was winless, including two overtime losses. But there was potential there, and every game the team was making strides to put it all together. The team finally broke through with a win over the Wheeler School where four players, Kevin O’Boy ’19, Josh Baldwin ’21, Luke Bobo ’21, and Max Hall ’21, scored in double digits. From this point on, the team played well and finished the season 7–7. Over that span, there were some memorable moments. In a 67–59 win over Groton, Casey Rockett ’21 took three huge charges that proved critical. Josh Baldwin led the team with 25 points. Martin Wilson ’22 controlled the tempo and made some big free throws late to secure the victory. The following game, the boys played in front of a packed crowd in the Fritz Gym. Kevin O’Boy led the team with 18 points. Ysael Porro ’20 and Nick Perrotta ’20 each hit a three pointer that sent the crowd wild. During the next game, the boys played an exciting back-and-forth game with Lawrence Academy. Josh Baldwin, Greg Desrosiers ’20, and Kevin O’Boy paced the team with double digits. In a home game against St. Sebastian’s, the gym was standing room only, and the game was intense. Led by Kevin O’Boy’s 19 points, the team was in control late. Mike Piazza ’19 played inspired defense as well as chipping in seven points. Max Hall hit some big shots late that looked like they might seal the game. Unfortunately, some missed free throws and some big shots by St. Seb’s resulted in a 60–59 loss. The team went 2–2 over the next four games with losses to Roxbury Latin and Tabor Academy, but big wins over

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St. Mark’s and Thayer. Harry Lodge ’22 played really well over that stretch. In the victory over Thayer, Kevin O’Boy led the team with 20 points and Josh Baldwin chipped in 12. Greg Desrosiers played lock-down defense that helped give the team one of the more impressive wins of the season. In the next game against Brooks, the league champs played inspired defense and the game was tough sledding. Kevin O’Boy scored his 1,000th point on a free throw. It was a great accomplishment for our senior captain. A week later was senior night. After a nice ceremony and a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem by the B-Flats, seniors Kevin O’Boy, Mike Piazza, Jared Ravech, Hunter Anderson, and Tommy Smith led the team out on the floor. Jared Ravech put on a show scoring nine points in the first few minutes of the game and Hunter Anderson pitched in five points. Kevin O’Boy led the team with 18 points. Ysael Porro came in late scoring eight to put the team over the top. During the final week of the season against St. George’s, Josh Baldwin’s 21 points and Kevin O’Boy’s 17 points led the way for the visitors. The team represented the School well, and for that we will always be grateful. Good luck to the seniors. You will be missed. Thank you to Mr. Chin and Mr. Garvey for your care of the players. Thank you to Mr. Tahan for your work in the athletic offices. Thank you to Mr. Negron and Mr. Wade for support and dedication. Thank you to Coach Cofield. Your tireless work and humor are appreciated. Thank you to Coaches Kimball, Anderson, Collins, Fritz, Musler, Greer, Martellini, and Sullivan for your work with our younger players.

Hockey JEREMIAH MCCARTHY ’94, Head Coach

The varsity hockey team had great senior leadership in 2018–19. The seniors were the backbone of this team: tri-captains Andrew Holland (Winchester), Robert Radochia (Woburn), and James Perullo (Revere) were joined by Joe Goguen (Weston), Robby Griffin (Norwell), Michael Hayes (Burlington), and John High (Plymouth).

McGuire ’21 (New Canaan, CT), Tyler Rubin ’21 (Natick), Drew Blackwell ’22 (Haverhill), and Tom Goguen ’22 (Weston). The team managers were Payton Privitera ’19 (Arlington), Matt Goguen ’19 (Lynnfield), Bennett Teceno ’20 (Osterville), and Abe Tolkoff ’21 (Brookline).

The underclassmen were Brett Bliss ’20 (Chelmsford),

This team was spirited and passionate throughout the season and a pleasure to coach. The boys stayed positive through adversity and competed every day at the rink. Season highlights were the Lawrenceville Tournament and the Nichols-Belmont Hill Tournament in Buffalo. These tournaments were great for team bonding. On Senior Night versus Tabor Academy, the final home game of the season, Belmont Hill rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period, with crucial goals from Andrew Holland and Ryan McGuire, to send the game to overtime. On the powerplay, Brett Bliss scored the game-winning goal to punctuate an incredible last home game for the seniors.

Liam Kelly ’20 (Natick), Luke Khozozian ’20 (Lexington), and Zephan Kraus ’20 (West Barnstable), Paul Halloran ’21 (Milton), Michael Hauswirth ’21 (Lincoln, RI), Will Killoran ’21 (Charlestown), Charlie Lambert ’21 (Concord), Grant Litchfield ’21 (Sudbury), Ryan

Thanks to the seniors for a great season. Thank you to coaches Kevin Fleming, Robert Wright, Ryan Flanigan, and Brian Phinney. Extra special thanks to everyone who supported the team, including faculty and staff, family and friends, Athletic Director George Tahan, Asst. AD Al Murphy, The Winter Loop, Mr. Negron, Mr. Wade, Mr. Chin, Mr. Garvey, Mr. Carey, Mr. Anderson, and the staff at Jordan Athletic Center and Cleary Rink.

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coaches’ corner

Nordic Skiing JARED COURTNEY ’97, Head Coach

The 2018–19 varsity Nordic Skiing Team completed a winter season for the history books, winning the School’s first-ever Lakes Region Championship and placing a historic second place in the NEPSAC Championships. Seeing the first Nordic Skiing banner raised to the rafters of the Jordan Athletic Center was a significant moment for the team, and was a fitting completion to a season of historic firsts. The team began the season with enthusiasm and determination, logging kilometers on the roads with rollerski sessions and training at Harvard Stadium. As soon as the cold could sustain man-made snow at Leo J. Martin golf course, the team began focused and enthusiastic training. New this year was the diversity of ages on the team, ranging from two Form I students to experienced Form V and VI skiers. Each skier contributed to the team in important and memorable ways. To begin winter break, the team took its annual trip to Craftsbury Nordic Center, where skiers trained with a 50km ski, followed by a classic sprint race. On that trip, the team set its sights on the daily training it would take to attain team excellence. Cumulatively, the early-season work laid an excellent foundation for the Lakes Region racing season. Continuing to train over winter break and attending several Saturday optional races in upstate Vermont, the team was excited to see its competition. Through the regular season, Belmont Hill was in a duel with Proctor Academy for first place in the league, besting perennial skiing powerhouse schools like St. Paul’s, Dublin, and

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Vermont Academy in the process. At the Lakes Region Championship at Proctor Academy, entering the race in second place, the team faced a difficult task in besting Proctor. In an incredibly memorable race, Belmont Hill eked out the win, which also secured the distinction of Lakes Region Champion for the season. The next week, the team finished in a close second place to NEPSAC Championship host Dublin School. At the NEPSAC Championship, Aidan McGaugh ’20 earned a podium spot, finishing as the third-place skier overall in the Prep School League. In addition to the League championship, the team placed four skiers on the Massachusetts State Team, distinguishing them among the top 24 skiers in the state: James Eysenbach ’19, Aidan McGaugh ’20, Charlie Donahue ’20, and Christiaan Eikeboom ’21. James and Christiaan chose to compete on the New England Team in Bethel, ME, and Fort Kent, ME, in early March. With a rising crop of motivated young skiers and a talented group of upperclassmen, next year’s team hopes to continue the excellence of the 2018–19 team. To be sure, the remarkable success and positive attitude of this year’s team will not soon be forgotten by the coaches, the athletes, or, indeed, the School.

Squash ROBERT BROWNELL, Head Coach

Varsity squash finished a tremendous season as ISL champions, eighth in the nation, and fifth at New Englands. Along the way we enjoyed an exhilarating 4–3 win versus Andover early in the season, and concluded the year with a decisive 5–2 victory at Milton to clinch the ISL. Arguably our most exciting match was against Avon at the first round at Nationals, where we pulled a significant upset to win 4–3. Our regular season record of 13–1 speaks for itself and demonstrates our team’s depth and resolve. Our Achievements: ISL Champions Eighth-place U.S. Division 1 Nationals 13–1 regular season record Fifth-place team New England Interscholastics Captain Jack Winston ’20 and our most improved player Doug Conigliaro ’21 shared #1 honors and both performed brilliantly all season. The field of #1’s was extremely strong this year and virtually every match represented a formidable challenge at that level. Captain Andrew Lee ’20 and Julian Wambach ’19 alternated at the #3 and #4, and they proved to be pivotal for our collective success. Andrew came back from two sets down to win at Andover, and Julian won the decider against Milton to put Belmont Hill’s name on the trophy. Julian has enjoyed a marvelous career at Belmont Hill and his shoes will be difficult to fill.

Englands were simply sensational, and Josh should remember them for a long time to come. He finished third in his flight and almost won it. We shall miss him dearly next year. As always, I am truly grateful to Guillermo Moronta, our co-coach, and to our parent group for their tremendous support all season. Guillermo keeps us organized, and I cannot express how hard he works behind the scenes. I am forever appreciative of his unheralded efforts and, most importantly, his daily friendship. I also cannot adequately thank George Tahan and his entire athletic staff enough for their unconditional help. Most importantly, I thank the boys for their herculean efforts. I shall remember this group fondly, and I sincerely hope the boys will look back upon this year’s championship season in the same light.

We are counting on Dietrich Jacobs ’22 to step up and rise to the challenge for the team next year. Sam Freed ’21 and William Okurowski ’22 both held the #5 and #6 positions at various intervals and enjoyed terrific seasons. With impressive performances by both athletes, William earned third place at New Englands in his flight, while Sam finished seventh. Josh Fairman ’19 was our stalwart #7 and, as always, he plays the most five set matches of anyone. His epic wins at Nationals and New

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coaches’ corner

Wrestling DON BRADLEY, Head Coach

Led by senior captains, Matt Smith, Colin Vallis, and Luca Pontone, the Belmont Hill varsity wrestling team enjoyed a historic season. With great depth and skill apparent early on, the team set its sights on winning the ISL, the Graves Kelsey, and New England tournaments as well as earning more All-Americans at the National Preps than any year before. By season’s end, those goals had been accomplished.

The lone blemish on the season was a two-point loss to Northfield Mount Hermon in late January, but it was one avenged by a tie for the team title at the New England tournament and the top finish by Belmont Hill of any New England team at the National Preps.

This impressive success was accomplished with five Middle School boys in the starting lineup and the absence of two of our best wrestlers due to sickness and injury— Hamza Shemsu ’20 and Brian Gallucci ’22. Jimmy Harrington ’22 at 106, was a Graves and New England champion as well as an All-American. Alex Gavronsky ’23 at 113, Daniel Bittner ’22 at 120, and Adam Figler ’22 at 126, all placed second at the Graves Kelsey. At 138, Kailen Richards ’23 was a Graves Kelsey champion.

nized with the William “Bingo” Emerson Award for being our “Most Improved” wrestler, and Colin Vallis and Luca Pontone—four-year Varsity starters and New England place winners—were honored with the Gilbert S. Jordan Award for having made the “Greatest Contribution” to the team.

Sreetej Digumarthi ’21 also wrestled at 106 and Jason Wolf ’20, Harrison Shapiro ’20, Tim Brown ’20, and Jack McHugh ’20 competed at 152, 182, 220, and 285, respectively, and all qualified for New Englands. Harrison Shapiro placed first at the Graves Kelsey and New Englands and earned All-American status at the National Tournament. Other athletes seeing significant action were Jack Curtin ’20, Charlie Mullaney ’20, and Colin Trueman ’20. This year’s senior class has been the nucleus of four consecutive ISL and Graves Kelsey championship teams and New England Champions in three of the last four years. Matt Smith at 132 was a Graves Kelsey champion as were Luca Pontone at 170 and Shane Rockett at 195. Journeymen stalwarts Mike Wade and Andrew Herrera were rock solid at 145 and 285, and Bryce Anderson was always ready to step into the lineup at 170 when needed. At the Graves Kelsey, Luca Pontone was named the “Outstanding Wrestler” of the tournament, and he went on to win New Englands and place third at Nationals to be an All-American for the second time.

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At the closing banquet, Sreetej Digumarthi ’21 and Jack McHugh ’20 were honored for their sportsmanship with the Henry B. Sawyer Award. Shane Rockett was recog-

With a number of veterans returning and an outstanding Middle School program, next year looks to be another good one, this time under the leadership of captains elect Hamza Shemsu and Harrison Shapiro. I close with great thanks to fellow coaches Dave Leonardis, Todd Davis, Steve Kaplan ’83, and Phil Conigliaro ’18.

one run and nine hits with 20 strikeouts in 21 innings of play for victories over Milton Academy, Brooks School, and rival BBN.

Baseball MIKE GRANT, Head Coach

The varsity baseball team concluded a wonderfully successful season, capturing the league title with a 13–2 ISL record, and finishing as the second-ranked team in the New England Baseball Journal coaches’ poll. This was the program’s 16th league title, the most of any ISL school, and the first league title since 2014. In the last 10 years, Belmont Hill baseball has finished first or second in the ISL in each season, winning four ISL championships in the process. This year’s team was surely defined by its deep reservoir of resilience, team-first attitude, and grinding, competitive play. The season started slowly, with seemingly endless rainouts, and a 1–1 league and 1–3 nonleague records. Nevertheless, the boys persevered and rebounded, finishing the year by winning 12 of their last 13 league games with the lone loss coming in a thrilling 13-inning affair with the Nobles Bulldogs. In that stretch, the squad avenged both of their losses from the previous year, earning a key victory against then top-ranked and undefeated St. Sebastian’s 1–0 and dominating a good St. Mark’s team 6–2. The league title wasn’t earned until the final week of the season, when Ben Reyes ’20, Jake McOsker ’19, and Patrick Walsh ’19 strung together three consecutive complete games surrendering just

The time-tested formula of good defense, timely hitting, and outstanding pitching was truly the story of the season. The team sported the best defensive outfield in all of New England, with left fielder Jaylen Bailey ’19, center fielder Evan Sleight ’19, and right fielder Gabe Peckler ’19 repeatedly defining games with their wide range and outstanding throwing ability. The pitching staff was dominant throughout the year, striking out 126 batters in league play and sporting a combined ERA of just .955. The staff held ISL opponents to two runs or less in 11 of their 15 contests—here Ben Reyes, ERA .630, Jake McOsker, ERA .316, and closer Patrick Walsh, ERA 2.15, formed one of the most formidable league staffs in the ISL. The team was led by the outstanding defensive play of catcher Mike O’Brien ’19, who threw out over half of would-be base stealers and finished the season without a passed ball allowed. With such a successful squad filled with talented players, Belmont Hill garnered much-deserved recognition from the ISL coaches. Jaylen Bailey, Evan Sleight, Ben Reyes, and Jake McOsker were named to the ISL All-Conference team, while Patrick Walsh, Mike O’Brien, Bryce Anderson, and Richard McNamara earned second team All-Conference. On the strength of his league-leading ERA and key offensive contributions throughout the season, Jake McOsker was selected as the ISL MVP. The team also honored four players at our year-end Athletics Award Chapel. Jaylen Bailey won the Langdon Prouty Jr. Baserunning Trophy, John Hadley ’19 and Patrick Walsh were honored with the Henry B. Sawyer Sportsmanship Award, Bryce Anderson ’19 was recognized for his tireless work ethic with the Most Improved Baseball Plaque, and Evan Sleight and Jake McOsker shared Team MVP honors. This talented and deep senior class will surely be missed by the baseball program next year. This was a team defined by its perseverance, talent, and steadfast support for one another. We undoubtedly thank Bryce Anderson, Hunter Anderson, Jaylen Bailey, Jack Flynn, John Hadley, Jake McOsker, Mike O’Brien, Kevin O’Neill, Gabe Peckler, Evan Sleight, and Patrick Walsh for all of their contributions to baseball at Belmont Hill.

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coaches’ corner

Crew CHRIS RICHARDS, Head Coach

The 2019 Belmont Hill crews had a great season, characterized by fantastic team spirit and undefeated records for most of our boats, and culminating with a NEIRA team championship and a third-place finish at Youth Nationals for the 1V4. Our spring began with a productive training week at Stetson University in Deland, Florida. The boys returned to the Charles fit, confident, and excited for what lay ahead. Our early-April scrimmage against Exeter and our perennial rival Deerfield was encouraging, as were a couple of impressive team efforts on the ergometer. April racing commenced with successive sweeps against Dexter, Middlesex, CRLS, and BBN. In the Bassett Cup, the 2V4-&V4 dispatched their competition, while the 1V4 did not have their best race and came up just shy to a determined Nobles crew. We then headed to Lake Waramaug for the Founder’s Day Regatta. The BHS crews raced exceptionally well there, sweeping the 3V4, 4V4, and 5V4 events. The 2V4 fell victim to an equipment issue, while the 1V4 finished second to a strong Deerfield first boat. After Founders, the team went on to defeat Brooks, Groton, Choate, and St. Mark’s over the next two weeks, while the 3V8 and 7V4 continued to race strongly as well. The crews finished their “regular season” with a truly remarkable win-loss record. At NEIRAs, the 4V4, 3V4, and 2V4 all won gold in some incredibly tight and exciting racing. The 1V4 almost made it a sweep, but as at Founders could not quite keep pace with Deerfield, and took second. With three golds and a silver, the team scored 47 of a maximum possible 49 points, and we won our thirteenth New England team championship since 2003. The 1V4 then headed to Youth Nationals in Sarasota, FL. Following up on strong rows in the time trial and semifinal, the guys raced a terrific final, leading the field for most of the distance, but were ultimately unable to match the furious sprints of two strong Club crews (Saratoga and Mercer) and took third. We did, however, avenge our two prior losses to Deerfield!

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The leadership of our senior captains, Teddy Danziger, John High, and Jackson Stone, was outstanding, and our coaching roster of Steve George, Gregg Stone, Ray Parejo, Brian Ford, Nick Plaut, and Scott Malcolm was simply the best. Next year’s team will be led by captains Jack Curtin ’20, Luca Foschi Walko ’20, and Charlie Stevenson ’20.

Golf CHARLIE DOAR, Head Coach

As is the case every year, Belmont Hill’s golf team had very high expectations going into the 2019 season. With an overall record of 20–2 and 17–2 in the ISL, Belmont Hill ultimately finished the regular season second in the league. Two regular season losses to our rivals from Needham were avenged on May 20 when Belmont Hill earned a decisive victory at the Kingman Tournament at George Wright Golf Course, earning a share of the League title. With a team score of 292, Belmont Hill bested the second-place finishers by 10 strokes. Additionally, Bobby Manion ’20 took home medalist honors with a 1-under par round of 68, earning him the Patty Whitney Trophy, named after Belmont Hill’s beloved former golf coach. Highlighting our depth, our highest individual score was a 78—quite impressive considering George Wright’s challenging layout. Additionally, for their play during the regular season and at the Kingman, Conner Willett ’21 and John Broderick ’22 earned All-League recognition, Conner doing so for the third consecutive year. Charlie Donahue ’20 was a quiet, accountable presence for our squad and was an outstanding captain, which he will serve in the same role next year. Jared Ravech ’19 joined the team this year and was a consistent matchplay force, going 16–1–4. We thank him for his contributions to the golf program and wish him well as he brings his game down the road to Tufts. With a relatively young team of talented, hungry players, the future looks bright for Belmont Hill golf.

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coaches’ corner

Lacrosse TIM SULLIVAN, Head Coach

Finishing the season with a 14–2 record, the 2019 varsity lacrosse team battled its way through an especially intense and challenging ISL schedule to finish in second place. Captains and four-year letter winners Brodie Rayment ’19 and Joe Goguen ’19, along with Ben Awtrey ’19, Rishi Banerjee ’19, Thatcher Formisano ’19, Andrew Holland ’19, Cade Nagahama ’19, Robert Radochia ’19, Matt Savage ’19, and Teddy Wynn ’19, all worked together to provide outstanding leadership, character, and dedication to the team throughout the season. This remarkable senior class not only graduates with a four-year record of 55–8 to go along with two ISL Championships, but also a lasting legacy of positive spirit, teamwork, and friendship. On the field, the 2019 season was punctuated by an extraordinary number of come-from-behind victories and close games as 10 of the team’s 16 contests were decided by three goals or less. Following a 9–8 victory over perennial national power Avon Old Farms in a game where at one point the team trailed 5–1, Belmont Hill began its 2019 ISL season with consecutive comefrom-behind one-goal victories over Thayer Academy and Roxbury Latin. Matt Savage would score the game winner against Thayer off a feed from Joe Goguen, and Goguen would net the game winner against Roxbury Latin. In their next game, Belmont Hill powered its way to a 9–3 victory in a Friday night lights matchup against longtime rival Governor’s Academy. The team was led offensively by Cam Rubin ’20 (4g, 2a) and Brett Bliss ’20 (1g, 1a) and defensively by Andrew Holland, Trey Brown ’21, Grant Litchfield ’21, Teddy Wynn, Robert Radochia, Quinn Richards ’20 (12 saves), Blake Brookes ’20, and Ben Awtrey. Following yet another come-from-behind one-goal victory over Tabor Academy with the winning goal netted by Zach Travaglini ’21 off an assist from Joe Goguen, the team played its most complete game of the year against Milton Academy. Captains Brodie Rayment (2g, 4a) and Joe Goguen (2g, 1a), along with Dylan Brown ’20 (3g, 1a) and Sascha Gannon ’20 (2g), led the team to a

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17–4 victory. The back half of the season was punctuated by come-from-behind overtime victories as resilience and poise under pressure during tight games defined this team. In a back-and-forth battle versus the Rivers School, outstanding team defense and opportunistic offense set up Dylan Brown (2g, 1a) to score the game winner off a feed from Zach Travaglini (3g, 2a) to seal the victory. Not to be outdone, the team repeated itself in front of a large crowd on Alumni Weekend as Brodie Rayment (2g, 3a) assisted Zach Travaglini for the game winner in a double overtime victory over Middlesex. Quinn Richards was awarded the Team MVP. Matt Savage and Teddy Wynn earned Team MIP and Rishi Banerjee ’19 earned the Henry B. Sawyer Sportsmanship Award. Brodie Rayment, Cam Rubin, and Blake Brookes were named All League, and Joe Goguen, Quinn Richards, Dylan Brown, Trey Brown, and Grant Litchfield received All League Honorable Mention Honors. Next year’s captains Blake Brookes, Quinn Richards, and Cam Rubin, as well as a strong nucleus of 17 returning letter winners, will lead the team in 2020.

Sailing DAPHNE LYMAN, Head Coach

The varsity sailing team completed an excellent season capturing Massachusetts and Maine Championships in fleet racing and posted an overall team racing record of 10 wins and 4 losses. In fleet racing, Belmont Hill dominated in the Downeast Invitational Regatta in Castine, ME, winning six of nine Division A races and three of nine in Division B. After 18 races sailed over two days, Belmont Hill placed first in the 19-team fleet and took home the Jim Modisette Memorial Downeast Regatta Trophy, beating Marblehead High School by 36 points. This year’s regatta drew 14 Maine teams and five teams from New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, and also serves as the Maine State Championships. At the conclusion of the season, the team won the Massachusetts State Championships, competing against 19 other teams on the Charles River. The event was hosted at the MIT Sailing Pavilion. The first day of the State Championship started with a weak shifty wind that filled in with a 10–14 mph easterly. Four races were held in each of the two divisions, using the double trapezoid courses: A in FJs and B in Fireflys. At the end of the first

day, Belmont Hill was in first, ahead of Marblehead by only six points. The second day of racing brought back the big breeze: sustained wind speeds of 15–20 mph with gusts over 25 mph. Challenging conditions led to some capsizes in nearly every race in the B Division (Fireflys), but none for the intrepid and experienced Belmont Hill sailors. Each division held six races, using the double trapezoid courses. It was a stressful competition, with Marblehead nipping at the toes of the boys all day, but smart tactics and good boat speed led to consistent top-six finishes in both divisions and allowed us to stay on top to become Mass State Champions. The boys worked very hard to recover from some disappointing losses early in the season, and they deserve this. They are a talented and dedicated bunch, and I am very proud of them. At the Spring Sports Awards School Meeting on May 23, the following boys were recognized for their contributions to Belmont Hill Sailing: Most Improved Sailing Award—Ned Whalen ’19, The Sailing Trophy—Francis Selldorff ’19, and the Henry B. Sawyer Sportsmanship Award—Peter Wade ’19.

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coaches’ corner

Tennis NICK CARY, Head Coach

The varsity tennis team finished the 2019 season with an ISL record of 12–3 and an overall record of 13–4, which included a semifinal run in the Class B New England tournament. Despite losing number one position player Danny Tsyvin ’18, who has played the last year at Colby College, the team was able to improve across all areas in 2019, which culminated in a top-four finish in the end-ofyear league standings. The guys came into March eager to reestablish Belmont Hill as a top-tier tennis program. With captains Thomas Smith ’19 and Andrew Lee ’20 at the helm, it was clear from the first two weeks of practice that this group was energized about the season ahead and willing to work hard in order to achieve the desired results. Thomas McEvoy ’19 and Rush “Chip” Lincoln ’20 were welcomed additions to the 10-man roster, and all seven upperclassmen displayed strong leadership and contributed to the positive dynamic of practices and matches. The team split the first two matches of the spring with a 6–1 win over Thayer and a 7–0 loss to title favorite Roxbury Latin. After convincing wins over Governor’s and Tabor, the team then pulled out a 5–2 away win over Milton, with Thomas Smith and Robert Cooper ’23 sealing the doubles point in a tiebreak, and Aaron Belluck ’21 clinching the match overall with a win at the six singles position. Belmont Hill would then beat St. Sebastian’s, St. Mark’s, and Lawrence while only dropping one match overall, which included impressive doubles play from Matthew Drucker ’20 and Rush Lincoln, as well as scrappy singles wins from William LaFarge ’19. A nail-biter 4–3 win over St. George’s came down to Chetan Shukla ’20 as the last court on, who won his super-breaker 10–7.

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The next stretch of matches would see the winning streak reach 10 with a 4–2 win over rival Nobles and a 7–0 score against Rivers with Thomas McEvoy and Andrew Lee producing at key moments. Despite a 6–1 loss to Groton, the progress shown over the last month was significant, with each player displaying exemplary spirit and resolve. At the Class B New England tournament, hosted at Roxbury Latin, the team defeated an impressive Green Farms Academy (CT) squad before losing to eventual winners, RL. Aiming to finish strong with three matches over five days, the boys lost a 4–3 heartbreaker to New England’s runner-up, Middlesex, then rebounded with a win against Brooks on Senior Day and a finale 6–1 win over BB&N. Impressively, it was our two Middle School players, Robert Cooper and Jarrett Chen ’22, who sealed the victory, both in dramatic super-breakers. Regardless of the win-and-loss record, this team could not have been more enjoyable to work with, and it is the grit they displayed during these tough matches that I am most proud of. All three departing seniors were awarded with season-ending distinctions: Captain Thomas Smith, who is heading to Davidson College next year, was a co-team MVP and earned All-League Honorable Mention with an overall record of 23–3–3; William LaFarge (University of Chicago) and Thomas McEvoy (Bowdoin College) each received the Henry B. Sawyer Sportsmanship Award for their commitment to their teammates and demonstration of amazing competitive character. The three distinguished graduates leave the group in good hands as co-team MVP Andrew Lee and Most Improved Award winner Matthew Drucker will captain the 2020 roster. To the Belmont Hill Athletics Staff, Middle School and junior varsity coaches, parents, and team supporters, thank you for a unique and incredible spring season.

Track ADAM HARDER, Head Coach

For the third consecutive year, the Belmont Hill track squad captured both ISL and New England Championships, and also produced two national qualifiers for the New Balance National Outdoor Championship meet in Greensboro, NC. During the regular season, the team compiled a stellar 15–1 record, losing only to Roxbury Latin right before the league meet. That loss, while putting a blemish on an otherwise undefeated season, did serve its purpose, however, because the BHS squad was fired up to perform at its best at the ISL league, and perform they did! The team scored 104 points to second-place Thayer’s 91 points, and had top-six finishes in 13 of the 17 events. Leading the way at ISLs were Greg Desrosiers ’20 (win in the 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, anchor for the winning 4 x 100-meter relay team, second place in the triple jump) and Isaiah Gomes ’20 (win in the discus, second in the shot put). Our two senior 400-meter specialists, Robert Griffin and Keven Querido, provided crucial points at the midpoint of the meet with their second- and third- place finishes. In spite of a sore hamstring, senior Justin O’Neil-Riley earned second in the long jump and a gutsy sixth- place finish in the 100-meter. Senior Josh Fairman captured second place in the pole vault, and senior thrower Gabe Peterkin was third in the discus.

Greg Desrosiers was named boys’ MVP of the New England meet, and he also won the Coaches’ Award for the ISL meet, and Boston Globe All-Scholastic recognition. Isaiah Gomes and Greg Desrosiers competed at New Balance nationals in early June, with Desrosiers earning second place and All-American recognition in the decathlon. Over the two-day, 10-event competition, he notched several personal or decathlon personal bests, scoring over 6,500 points. Isaiah Gomes narrowly missed a spot in the finals for the Emerging Elite discus competition, and certainly competed with poise and great focus at his first national-level competition. Under the leadership of captains-elect Greg Desrosiers, Isaiah Gomes, Charlie Richards, and Adil Kassim ’20, the 2020 squad will once again look to defend its two titles.

Heading into the New England Championship meet, we knew that Thayer was eager to avenge their regular season and championship meet losses to us, and sure enough the meet was a close one with the final outcome not determined until the last race, the 4 x 400-meter relay. With three events remaining, we needed to cut into Thayer’s substantial advantage. In the 300-meter hurdles, Charlie Richards ’20 had a huge personal record and third-place finish. Then, in the 3000-meter race, Nick Daley ’19 eked out a sixth-place finish by less than a second. Provided we could stay within two places of Thayer in the 4 x 400-meter race, we would clinch a tie for the championship. Our boys ran a great race, finishing in fourth-place; and with Berkshire School, with whom we tied for the championship last year, nipping Thayer in a photo finish for first, we finished up the day tied with Thayer at 85 points apiece. With the win, Belmont Hill ran its streak of New England titles to six. www.belmonthill.org

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new faculty biographies

NEW FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES

sarah d’annolfo

christopher bracken ’15 Mr. Bracken graduated from Yale College in May 2019 where he double majored in History: Politics and Law and in Classics with a focus on Ancient Greek. He was also a staff reporter and sports editor for Yale Daily News. While at Belmont Hill, Mr. Bracken founded Model United Nations and The Podium, a social sciences journal. Mr. Bracken teaches History, AP European History, and Form III Middle East and China. He also helps coach fourth soccer.

Ms. D’Annolfo teaches English and coaches Middle School cross country and track. She holds a B.A. in English from Dartmouth College where she also was the captain of the women’s lacrosse team. In addition, she holds an M.A. in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. Ms. D’Annolfo comes to Belmont Hill from Tufts University, where she was Associate Director of Residential Education and ran a comprehensive, year-round residential education curriculum for 110 student leaders serving 3,500 undergraduates living in residential spaces. Before her role at Tufts, she was the Dean of Students at the Taft School in Watertown, CT, where, in addition to teaching English, she was a leader in building an inclusive community through the designing of a curriculum focused on ethics, wellness, and leadership skills geared toward 9thand 10th-grade students.

robert gilmore david cunningham, jr. ’12 After graduating from Belmont Hill in 2012, Mr. Cunningham attended Amherst College where he received a B.A. in English and where he also played baseball and hockey. He is currently working on a Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership at Mount Holyoke College. Since 2017, Mr. Cunningham has been an English teacher, advisor, coach, and dorm leader at the Williston Northampton School, where he also coached hockey and baseball. Mr. Cunningham teaches Middle School English and coaches varsity baseball, hockey, and Middle School football. He is also part of Belmont Hill’s residential life team.

Mr. Gilmore teaches U.S. History and Government and is an assistant coach for varsity football and varsity track. Mr. Gilmore graduated from Harvard College in 2019 with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in African American Studies. He was also a member of the varsity football team as a defensive lineman. During the summer of 2018, Mr. Gilmore taught students ages 3–8 English, and engaged students ages 9–14 in Model United Nations at the Uniwise Bilingual School’s annual cultural immersion Harvard summer camp in Guangdong province, southern China.

maya jarostchuk Ms. Jarostchuk comes to Belmont Hill from the Lawrence Public Schools where she taught biology. In this role, she planned and implemented curriculum-based differentiated lesson plans for 9th-grade biology students, served as a mentor, and coached cross country. In 2017, she was named “Mentor of the Year” by Lawrence Public Schools for mentoring two at-risk students by providing academic and

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social-emotional support. Prior to teaching in Lawrence, Ms. Jarostchuk spent a year with Teach For America. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a minor in Russian from Dartmouth College and was a member of the varsity cross country and track and field teams. She is currently studying for a Master of Curriculum and Teaching at Boston University School of Education. Ms. Jarostchuk teaches Middle School science and biology and is an assistant coach for varsity cross country and varsity track.

graham masiiwa Mr. Masiiwa joins Belmont Hill as an Assistant Director of Admission. In this role, Mr. Masiiwa will focus on community outreach and creating pathways of access for families from diverse backgrounds. In addition, he will be advising students, leading fitness and weight training, and contributing to work in diversity and health and wellness efforts. Prior to joining Belmont Hill, Mr. Masiiwa was an Admissions Counselor at Dana Hall School, a 10th-grade class advisor, and coached volleyball. In addition, as a Certified Personal Trainer, he coordinated Dana Hall’s strength and conditioning program. Prior to Dana Hall, Mr. Masiiwa was a portfolio account analyst with Putnam Investments. He holds a B.S. in marketing and management from UMass Lowell.

anna mcdonald Ms. McDonald comes to Belmont Hill from Dexter Southfield School where she was chair of the English Department and an Upper School English teacher. Ms. McDonald has deep experience in community service developed through her role as a community service coordinator organizing and implementing Dexter Southfield’s annual Day of Service. In addition, she served as Assistant Dean of Students and has coached varsity soccer. At Belmont Hill, Ms. McDonald teaches four sections of English and coaches Middle School soccer and Middle School basketball. Ms. McDonald holds an M.A. in English from Bread Loaf School of English and a B.A. in English from Middlebury College. Prior to Dexter Southfield, she taught English at Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, CA.

tobias mcdougal Mr. McDougal returns to Belmont Hill to teach four sections of Latin and English as well as coach crew and basketball. After serving as a substitute Latin teacher at Belmont Hill School from 2014 to 2018— as well as running a private tutoring business with instruction in Latin, Ancient Greek, and writing— Mr. McDougal was a faculty member at Middlesex School where he taught Latin, Greek, and English. Previously, he taught Latin and Greek at Groton School. He holds an A.B. in Classics from Harvard College where he was a member of Harvard’s Glee Club and the varsity heavyweight rowing team.

george sullivan ’07 After graduating from Belmont Hill in 2007, Mr. Sullivan attended Williams College where he majored in Political Science. He also spent a summer at the London School of Economics where he participated in its finance program studying market efficiency, the Capital Asset Pricing Model, and other aspects of corporate finance and capital markets. Mr. Sullivan comes to Belmont Hill from The Pingry School, where he taught financial literacy to freshmen before he transitioned to a grade-seven history teacher. In this role, he developed a curriculum based on student-centered, discussion-based learning, citizenship, and historical thinking. Mr. Sullivan teaches U.S. History, Economics, and Government and coaches Middle School wrestling and crew.

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corporation news

CORPORATION DINNER April 25, 2019

Sean Rockett ’85, Joe Curtin ’80, and Casey Bobo.

Walker Coppedge ’94, Jinane Abounadi, and Nancy Montanaro.

Jeff Fast and Bob Gaynor ’59.

Caleb Collins ’93, A.T. Desta ’05, and Bob Puopolo ’76.

Don Bradley, Greg Paul ’09, and Tyson Trautz.

10.

Carl Dawson ’72 and Tagg Romney ’88.

Lauren Hamilton, Anne Ogilby, and Ruth Sweeney.

11.

Eric Smith and Dave Boudreau ’96.

Zach Toth ’03 and Chris Butler.

12.

John Carroll ’89 and Sarah Pelmas.

Meredith Hall, Martie Fritz, and Amy Schneider.

13.

George Lynch ’88 and Ted Martellini.

Chris Richards and David Weinstein.

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2018–2019 COMMITTEE ON TRUSTEES Taggart M. Romney ’88, Chair

Jason H. Hurd ’90

Jon M. Biotti ’87

Emmett E. Lyne ’77

Marsha Feinberg

Carl J. Martignetti ’77

John T. Grady, Jr. ’66

Gregory J. Schneider

Danielle A. Heard

Margaret M. Wade

At the Annual Corporation Dinner and meeting on April 25, the School elected one new Board of Trustees member and eight new members of the Corporation.

TRUSTEE

WARREN CROSS, JR. ’83 P ’17, ’20 Warren Cross, Jr., is a member of the Belmont Hill Class of 1983. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Richmond, where he also played on the men’s tennis team, and earned his Executive M.B.A. from Northeastern University. Warren lives in South Natick with his wife, Kristin. Their children include Kendall (Cross) Armstrong, who graduated from Dana Hall School and Lynchburg College; Warren Cross III ’17, now a sophomore at Babson College; and Cal Cross ’19, who will be attending Boston College in the fall. Warren and Kristin are also the proud grandparents of Kaylee and Myla Armstrong. Warren is the president and CEO of Cross Services Group, which he started in 1989. Cross Services Group has six service companies under its umbrella. Warren owns a number of commercial buildings in the Natick Business Park, and is the owner and founder of Cross Courts Squash and Fitness Center in Natick. He was formerly a trustee at Dana Hall School and Lynchburg College, and is currently a trustee at Tenacre Country Day School and co-vice chair of the Board at Babson College, where he also co-chairs the Facilities Committee. At Belmont Hill, he was elected to the Corporation in 2014 and has served as Class Agent, a Reunion Committee member, as well as a member of the Parents Fund Committee, the Henry B. Sawyer, Jr. ’32 Golf Tournament Committee, and the Facilities Committee. Besides enjoying time with his family, Warren’s hobbies include working out, tennis, paddle tennis, and spending time at their homes in Jackson, NH, and Osterville, MA.

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corporation news

CORPORATION MEMBERS

SLOANE S. AWTREY P ’19 Sloane Awtrey is a resident of Lincoln, where she lives with her husband, Christopher, Belmont Hill Class of 1986; their son, Benjamin, Belmont Hill Class of 2019; and their daughter, Schuyler, a student at Newton Country Day School. Sloane earned a B.A. at Middlebury College and is pursuing her M.A. at Boston University in American and New England Studies. She is the owner of Round Hill Resources, a historical research, curatorial, and appraisal business. At Belmont Hill, Sloane was president of the 2018–2019 Parents’ Council and a member of the Parents Fund Committee. She has served as co-chair of the Better Buy Sale and as a Parents’ Council class representative. Her community and civic interests include graphic design for the Waban Library Center, Cystic Fibrosis Xtreme Hike for a Cure Committee, Parish of the Good Shepherd, Waban Auction, and Convent of the Sacred Heart Alumnae Development Committee. Sloane’s hobbies include hiking and cross-country skiing.

JAMES D. COADY ’88 James Coady is a member of the Belmont Hill Class of 1988. He lives in Larchmont, NY, with his wife, Sarah; son, Owen, who is a student at the University of Pennsylvania; daughter, Selia, who attends Loomis Chaffee School; and daughters, Brynn and Nola, who attend Rye Country Day School. After graduating from Belmont Hill, Jim graduated from Harvard College, where he majored in English and was a member of the hockey team. He earned his M.B.A. at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1997. Jim is a partner at the private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners and specializes in lower middle-market private equity investing. Before joining Sentinel, he was an associate at First Chicago Equity Capital and an analyst at Alex Brown & Sons. Jim is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Harvard Club of New York City. At Belmont Hill, he is a member of the alumni networking program, a Class Agent, and a Reunion Committee member. Jim’s hobbies include fly fishing and hockey.

KEVIN P. CONNORS ’97 Kevin Connors is a member of the Belmont Hill Class of 1997. He lives in Dedham with his wife, Jamie, and their children, Ryan, Austin, and Dylan. Kevin currently works as a project manager at the real estate firm Corcoran Jennison. Previously, he owned Woodshed Entertainment, a company that developed and produced motion pictures for theatrical release. Kevin graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in English literature and earned his M.F.A. in film and television production from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is a trustee at the Chewonki Foundation, a camp and school for environmental education in Wiscasset, ME. At Belmont Hill, Kevin is a Class Agent and Reunion Committee member. His hobbies include cooking and travel.

MILLIE GONZÁLEZ P ’20 Millie González lives in Framingham with her husband, Hector Reyes; daughter, Sophia, a student at Westfield State; and son, David, Belmont Hill Class of 2020. Millie earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts at Hamilton College, and an M.B.A. and an M.L.I.S. from Simmons University. She is currently the interim chief diversity inclusion officer at Framingham State University. Previously, she was emerging technologies and digital services librarian and served as chair of the University’s Diversity and Inclusion Council. Millie is a board member for Access Framingham TV, a member of the Human Relations Commission of the City of Framingham, and a member of numerous other organizations, including the National Association for Multicultural Education; the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity; and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. At Belmont Hill, Millie is a co-chair of Parents Fostering Diversity. She spoke at Diversity Day 2019, and has led numerous parent discussions.

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GREGORY C. PAUL ’09 Gregory Paul is a member of the Belmont Hill Class of 2009. He lives in Long Island City, NY. Greg graduated from Columbia University, where he majored in Financial Economics. He is now a business development director at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. At Belmont Hill, Greg is a co-director of the Multicultural Alumni Partnership (MAP) and a member of the alumni networking program. While a student at Belmont Hill, he was the co-head of Students Actively Fostering Equality (SAFE), and his parents, Chantal and Lucien Paul, were co-heads of Parents for Diversity. His civic interests include Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Young Patrons Circle, Robin Hood’s Philanthropic Young Things, and iMentor. In his free time, Greg enjoys mentoring, volunteering, and supporting the arts.

NORBERT S. UNGER III ’97 Norbert Unger is a member of the Belmont Hill Class of 1997. Norb lives in Winchester with his wife, Kelly, their daughter, Abigail, and son, Norby. He is a son of the late Norbert S. Unger, Jr. ’67, brother of Christopher M. Unger ’01, and brother-in-law of Thomas J. Flynn ’95. Norb is a graduate of Boston University, where he earned a B.S. in Business Administration and Management, graduating in 2001. Currently, he is senior vice president, private client advisor at Bank of America Private Bank. He is also on the Board of Overseers at Mt. Auburn Hospital. His civic activities include the 100 Club, the Travis Roy Foundation, and the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation. At Belmont Hill, he is a Class Agent, Reunion Committee member, and member of the Henry B. Sawyer, Jr. ’32 Golf Tournament Committee. In his free time, Norb enjoys coaching youth hockey, golfing, swimming, cooking, and spending time on Martha’s Vineyard with family and friends.

JOHN W. VANDER VORT P ’19, ’21 John Vander Vort lives in Weston with his wife, Alison; sons, Jack and Paul, Belmont Hill Classes of 2019 and 2021, respectively; and daughter, Kate, who attends Newton Country Day School. He is a managing director at Pilot House Associates, a Boston-based organization that provides services to the Barr Foundation and a family investment office. Previously, he was a managing director and chief operating officer at Charlesbank Capital Partners and at MPM Capital, and a director in the Private Markets Groups at DuPont Capital Management. Prior to that, John was a general partner and co-founder of BlueStream Ventures and a managing director at Dain Rauscher Wessels. At Belmont Hill, he serves on the Investment Committee. John earned his B.A. from Amherst College, where he was captain of the varsity hockey team, and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

FIELD M. YATES ’05 Field Yates is a member of the Belmont Hill Class of 2005, and currently lives in Boston. After Belmont Hill, Field graduated from Wesleyan University, earning a B.A. in Psychology. At ESPN, Field is an NFL Insider and Fantasy Analyst who covers the league on a variety of platforms, including NFL Live, Fantasy Focus Football podcast, and Fantasy Football Now, and makes frequent appearances on SportsCenter. Previously with the NFL, Field worked for two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and interned for four summers with the New England Patriots. At Belmont Hill, Field is a Class Agent and a Reunion Committee member. He has spoken regularly to students about his career as part of Belmont Hill’s Form VI Things You Should Know (TYSK) program. His hobbies include golf, tennis, skiing, and travel. In June of 2019, Field married his fiancée, Chapin Duke.

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corporation news

AN EVENING TO COMMEMORATE THE RONALD M. DRUKER ’62 HEAD OF SCHOOL CHAIR May 1, 2019

Members of the Belmont Hill Corporation and current and former faculty were invited to celebrate the naming of the Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School Chair. Photos and brief excerpts from the program are presented here.

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The new plaque commemorating the Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School Chair now hangs in the main office. Its inscription continues, “Given by Julie and Ronald M. Druker ’62 in honor of Richard I. Melvoin in recognition of his quarter-century of distinguished service to Belmont Hill School and his leadership in the world of education. Established December 2018.”

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Bebe Stockwell, Camille Stockwell, Ron Druker ’62, Julie Druker, Annie Stockwell, Pel Stockwell, and Kim Druker Stockwell.

Rick Melvoin, Ron Druker ’62, and Greg Schneider.

Karen Dawson, Elisabeth Wilder Richards, and Ann Marie Wilkins.

Bunny Melvoin, Steve Karp ’57, Ruthanne Fuller, and Carl Martignetti ’77.

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Ken Martin ’65 with Ann and Tony Ryan.

Mitali Prasad, Margaret Wade, Jill Shah, and Niraj Shah.

Eric Bradlee ’62, Bill Lynch ’62, Nancy Lynch, George Lynch ’88, and Melissa Lynch.

Don Saunders ’53 and Ron Druker ’62.

“Tonight, we honor Julie and Ron Druker ’62 for a transformational gift that has inspired the entire Belmont Hill community and will serve as a catalyst for the School as we plan for the Centennial. In one of Rick Melvoin’s Chapel Talks he says, ‘The most important measure we have for our students is a measure of their character.’ Ron demonstrates that very character each and every day in his service to Belmont Hill.” —Jon M. Biotti ’87, Board of Trustees President

“I am grateful—more than that, I am honored—to be able to play a part in this celebration of what Ron and Julie have done for the School. I am beyond honored—I am humbled—to be a part of how Ron and Julie have framed their endowed chair for the Head of School: words cannot tell you how much this means. But, as someone who was charged with the stewardship of this school over the last quarter-century, I mostly want to offer thanks to Ron and Julie—from all of us—for what you have done. This represents the largest single gift in the history of the School. It raises sights for everyone as the School heads into a vital Centennial Campaign. It points the School brightly forward as it moves toward new challenges and new needs in a new century. One more important dimension is intensely personal. On the theory that the Head of School is in fact a member of the faculty, this new endowed Head of School chair reminds us yet again that at the end of the day, a school—this school—is about people, about students and teachers, and that the magic of this school comes in never forgetting that fundamental truth. Ron and Julie, you have changed this school forever.” — Richard I. Melvoin, former Ronald M.

“Ron’s name is a reminder of all that is possible when relationships between faculty and students are given the right conditions to blossom. There is no more important charge for a Head of School than to nurture and support that culture in the face of whatever new challenges may emerge in the years ahead. I look forward to our continued partnership, and on behalf of the entire faculty—I want to thank you for all that you have done, and continue to do, for this incredibly special school for boys.” —Gregory J. Schneider, Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School

“I came to this campus as a nine-year-old fifth-grader in 1954 when the School was just 31 years old. A lot has changed, but not the basic values of the School as it heads toward its Centennial celebration. Here we are today, with a history of terrific, dedicated Heads of School and faculty. Both Rick Melvoin and Greg Schneider inspired my gift to Belmont Hill. Rick took our school to a new level during his tenure, never compromising on its established core values, but rather enhancing and improving, making the School more relevant as it became more diverse in both its student body and faculty, reinvigorating the arts, and softening our edges while maintaining our core commitment to excellence in the classroom and on the playing fields. And, when we as the members of the Search Committee made our decision, we had no doubt that Greg was the right person to assure Belmont Hill’s future excellence. We are all fortunate to be associated with such a fine, very fine, institution which has been led by committed, dedicated, and decent leadership. Thank you, Rick and Greg. I am truly honored and humbled to have my name associated with yours.” —Ronald M. Druker ’62

Druker ’62 Head of School

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Alumni & Family Events

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alumni & family events

peggy corbett Valentine’s day Luncheon February 14, 2019 In memory of Belmont Hill science faculty member, Peggy Corbett, this annual luncheon brings together mothers of alumni with mothers of Form VI students. The BFlats, led by Donnell Patterson, performed, and this year’s featured speaker was Greg Schneider. The next event will be held on Thursday, February 13, 2020. Contact the Alumni House at alumni@belmonthill.org to register.

Heidi Driscoll, Tricia Blank, and Heidi Cheris.

Margaret Pulsifer, Karen McIlhenny, Nancy Repucci, and Marie Rudzinsky.

Andrea Ricci, Caren Zakon, and Katherine Warming.

Gabrielle Bercy-Roberson and Melanie Griffin.

The B-Flats perform.

Greg Schneider at the podium.

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alumni & family events

new york city Reception Hosted by Alicia and Philmore Anderson ’82 February 21, 2019 1.

Alicia and Philmore Anderson ’82.

Greg Paul ’09 and Zack Farkas ’13.

Mike O’Donnell ’08, Sam Klemmer ’07, Sam Choate ’08, Kyle Gordon ’07, Greg Schneider, Ian Fenwick ’07, and Mac Carroll ’06.

Ken Meister ’69, Eric Schorr ’78, and Jack Olive ’67.

Caleb Collins ’93 and Colin Hutzler ’06.

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new york city Reception (continued) 6.

Hooper Brooks ’63, Sam Page ’03, Mike Kitsis ’73, and Jim Reynolds ’74.

Zander Farkas ’04 and Matt Kane ’04.

Chris Kolovos, Michael Gangemi ’10, and Caleb Collins ’93.

8 florida Reception Hosted by Barbara and Charles Gulino in Vero Beach March 12, 2018

Hosts Mr. and Mrs. Gulino with Greg Schneider.

Greg Schneider, Marybeth Andrews, and Alan Stanzler.

Melissa Lazor, Andrea Mackey, Barbar Gulino, Charles Gulino, Carla Conigliaro, and Doug Conigliaro.

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alumni reunion weekend

alumni reunion weekend may 17 & 18, 2019 The Belmont Hill community was honored to recognize retiring faculty members Dave Greer and Tim Wood ’71 on Friday, May 17. Alumni, faculty, and parents celebrated the 77 years of teaching and coaching at Belmont Hill. In addition to remarks by Greg Schneider and faculty colleagues Don Bradley and Chris Richards, two alumni, Frank Yunes ’90 and John Carroll ’89, also added to the program tributes.

Dave Greer and Tim Wood ’71 Retirement Celebration May 17, 2019

Dave Greer and his wife, Dee.

Tim Wood ’71 and his wife, Tara McCarthy.

Ken Martin ’65 and Anne and Hans Wachtmeister.

Harry Lewis and Marlyn McGrath.

Roddy Moon ’89 and Emily Cashman.

Lyn and Tod Rodger, Fran Kirby, and Chris Richards.

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“I am humbled and so pleased to have the chance to say a few words about Mr. Greer as we celebrate his retirement. Congratulations on a career so very worthy of celebration. Forty-one years! What does that say about the man and the School? It tells me that the fit was just right. In September 1986, nearly 33 years ago, you picked me up on my first day as a student at Belmont Hill. You took me on many trips up Route 128 in the station wagon with the faux wood. Those rides in and of themselves were a learning experience. During those years, I got to know a man who listened carefully. A thoughtful man who counselled and consoled. You set a serious tone, without ever taking it all too seriously. Later, I got to know a man who cared deeply about our success. I remember being embarrassed with the trouble I was having in a particular class. ‘Belmont Hill is hard,’ you said to me. That has stuck with me all these years because it seemed from my perspective to come so easy to so many people. It was a relief to hear someone say that out loud. Yes, it was hard. But having a compassionate ear made it easier. Speaking for the thousands of people whose lives you have impacted in a positive, meaningful way, I’m going to give you some vocabulary words, Dave. The words that make us think of you, and the words that embody a 41-year career. Commitment. Integrity. Compassion. Class. Competitor. Teacher. Mentor. Friend. Happy retirement, Mr. Greer. Congratulations on a career well done. May your retirement years bring you fulfillment and solace knowing that your influence reaches out well beyond a grateful Belmont Hill community.”

“I am honored to be here today to say a few words about Coach Wood, but I also want to take a moment to acknowledge Mr. Greer. Although I never had him as a teacher or a coach, in typical Belmont Hill fashion, he regularly stopped me in the hallway to check in and see how I was doing. He offered support and encouragement when I needed it and for that I am truly grateful. Coach Wood is not one for big speeches. Instead, he planted these little seeds of wisdom, and then reinforced those values by the way he lived each day. Being around Coach Wood, you soaked up his lessons over time, at times unaware of the impact he was having on you. But I can tell you that 34 years out, that impact was big. Here are just three Coach Wood lessons: number 1–be present in the moment; number 2–understand the true meaning of competition; and number 3–be persistent and push through. With these and other lessons, Coach Wood helped us stand on our own two feet. In high school, boys struggle to find balance between needing guidance and support from parents and teachers...and loosening those ties to move toward greater independence. When Coach Wood instilled in us the knowledge that true competition is not about the other guy, it’s about you and pushing yourself to do your best, we moved a little closer toward being our own men. Coach Wood, your energy, your focus, your wisdom, and the example you have set in the way you have lived your own life have left a mark on all of us. I, for one, will always be grateful for the time I have had with you as my coach and my friend.” —John Carroll ’89

—Frank Yunes ’90

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alumni reunion weekend

Weather did not deter a hearty group of golfers at the annual reunion outing from enjoying 18 holes at Belmont Country Club.

1984 classmates Brian McCarthy, Joe Tully, Adam Krinsky, and Jon London.

1979 classmates Lawrie Pinkham, Rick Putnam, and Mark Coakley.

The Mallick family: Meera, Rob ’94, and Bridgette.

Rob Brown, Greg Schneider, and Aman Shah ’10.

The Walsh family enjoyed Saturday afternoon activities: Mike ’04 (holding Annie), Alison, Ed, Ellen, and Paddy.

Greg Schneider visited with alumni at the Grand Reunion dinner in the Alumni House.

Front row: Doug Wolf ’84 and Greeley Summers ’69. Back row: Dan Ronan ’94, Greg Schneider, Tim Fulham ’74, and Andrew Corkin ’04.

The Sovie family: Kenneth, Aliya, Nicholas ’99, Christina, and Kimberly.

10. Bridgette and Alex Snickenberger ’04. 11.

Shannon Duffy, Scott Ribich ’94, Heather Davidson, Jeff Oppenheimer ’94, Sharon Shaff, Eric Shaff ’94, Eric Lev ’94, and Michelle Lev.

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alumni reunion weekend

Steve Sheehan ’74, Pam Sheehan, Pete Carey ’74, and Mary-Jo Monusky.

1974 classmates Jim Reynolds and Dan O’Connell.

1969 classmates Mark Cancian, Brad Kopp, Jay Siegfried, Bill Spring, and Jon Lee.

2014 classmates Jim Hatton, Robert Sayegh, and Jimmy Troderman.

2009 classmates Pat Diaz, Jack McNamara, and Kyle Duke with Bobby Avakian ’10.

Brian Fleming ’94, Dan Ronan ’94, Rob Mara ’94, Christina Ronan, Katy Fleming, and Liz Mara.

2009 classmates Ben Kramer, Zach Bernstein, Jack McManus, Ryan Ganong, Henry Meyer, and John Leddy.

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Class Notes Tim ’71 and Ned Wood ’71 at Tim’s retirement reception at Belmont Hill on May 17, 2019. www.belmonthill.org

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class notes

ALUMNI, FACULTY, AND STAFF: We would love to hear from you and share your latest news with the Belmont Hill School community. Please email your notes and photos to alumni@belmonthill.org. Length and content are subject to editorial approval; some submissions may appear as excerpts. The deadline for the Winter/Spring Bulletin is January 6, 2020. CORRECTION: In the Winter/Spring Bulletin, the 1950 Class Note for Gerry Maloney ’50 was incorrectly transcribed. The note misidentified the name of former Mexican President Calderón. The note should have read, “Ambassador Marilyn McAfee and I spent a few days and evenings entertaining former Mexican President Felipe Calderón while he visited here.”

GRAND REUNION–

MAY 8–9, 2020. CLASSES OF 1945 ∙ 1950 ∙ 1955 ∙ 1960 ∙ 1965 AND ALL ALUMNI WHO HAVE CELEBRATED THEIR 50 TH REUNION.

1942 Congratulations to tennis player STEVE PARSON ’42, who is in the USTA Top 10 nationally ranked players in the men’s doubles 90 age group.

1953 TONY FLETCHER ’53 writes, “Short bio since graduation: Four years at Princeton, Class of 1957, graduated cum laude, two varsity letters for lightweight crew, 1956–57. My boat won the Thames Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in England. Belmont Hill introduced me to the sport, I spent two years rowing Harvard Crew, stroked by my Belmont Hill classmate, LARRY CABOT ’53, and managed to win. Enlisted in the US Army Infantry 1957–59; served at Fort Benning, GA, and Schweinfurt, Germany, in the shadow of the Iron Curtain; honorably discharged. Spent most of my time teaching review arithmetic to soldiers seeking high school equivalency certificates. 1959–62, Harvard Law School; come summer I worked for Goodwin, Proctor in Boston. 1962 began my legal career in NYC; Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett, Conboy, Hewitt, O’Brien and Boardman—merged into Hunton and Williams. I jumped into Fish and Richardson P.C. in New York, made the Best Lawyers in America list a few times before retiring in 2015 when I turned 80.

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John Middleton ’44 celebrating his 75th Reunion.

Grand Reunion dinner attendees. Standing: Nancy Doherty, Dee Shane, Paul Doherty ’54, John Shane ’50, Joyce Sargent, Pete Stevens ’54, John Middleton ’44, Reg Howe ’58, and Jim Tillotson ’47. Seated: Charlie Goodell ’54, Trelawney Goodell, and Anne Collins.

John Welch ’60; Jack Dyer, grandson of Claude, incoming to Form III; and Claude Welch ’57 on an Alaskan Cruise, June 2019.

Class of 1959–60th Reunion. Seated: Jane Hogan, Judith Solar, and Michele Banker. Standing: Bill Hogan ’59, Dave Perkins ’59, Jim Banker ’59, and Barry Solar ’59.

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Bob Gaynor ’59 and son, Sam Gaynor ’04, celebrating their Belmont Hill reunions together.

Greg Schneider and Dave Perkins ’59, Reunion Weekend.

Chance meeting on a South African safari: Christy and John Brooks ’60 and LuAnn Ohanian P ’03.

Birding with Grampy: Tom Warren ’60 teaching Logan, age 5, and Grey, age 3, about birds and nature.

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Class of 1964–55th Reunion. Standing: Kent Parrot ’64, Miles Fletcher ’64, Paul O’Conor ’64, Jeff Palmer ’64, and Ed Chase ’64. Seated: Alan Rice ’63, Gail Rice, and Jannie O’Conor.

10. Charlie Osborne ’67 and John Grady ’66 on the occasion of Kevin Michael O’Boy ’19’s (Charles’ godson) Belmont Hill graduation. 11.

Steve Forte ’68 shared this photo of Scott Anderson ’68 and himself on the top of Pulpit Rock in Nelson, BC. Steve has a small organic farm in British Columbia and Scott came to visit and help. Steve added, “All those from the Class of ’68, who haven’t been to British Columbia, please don’t hesitate to come out for a visit. I have plenty of room.”

About the only thing I am doing now that in any way resembles work is singing in my church choir. I have written numerous articles for the Trade Reporter (which I edited for two years). One article won the Best Article of the Year award. The subject was ‘Paradody’ trademarks and was rather funny. As Porky Pig used to say, ‘That’s all, folks!’ P.S. One wife (not my only one), three daughters (with my first wife), and six grandchildren—not counting my wife’s grandchildren.”

1960

60 TH REUNION

1965

55 TH REUNION

MAY 8–9, 2020

1966

Belmont Hill School will be honoring longtime Board of Trustee member JOHN GRADY ’66 with the School’s Alumni Award on December 12, 2019. Contact the Alumni House at 617-9935208 or alumni@belmonthill.org for more information or to register.

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class notes

Len Edgerly ’68.

Belmont Hill 1969 classmates heading to Russia to play hockey: Gary Osmond, Chet Homer, Bob McManama, Leeds Burchard, and Dave Sullivan.

Sumner Andrews ’69 and Bob Porteous ’69, Alumni Weekend.

Laurie Shahon and Jay Broadhurst ’69, 50th Reunion Dinner.

Rick Holton ’69, Farnell Holton, and Dale Miller ’69, 50th Reunion Dinner.

Sylvia Smith, Harry Powers, Anita Rowley, Sumner Andrews, Greeley Summers, Chip Rowley, Jay Siegfried, and Bambi Siegfried at the Alumni Weekend luncheon.

Chet Homer ’69, Shirley Homer, Barbara Spring, and Bill Spring ’69.

1968

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LEN EDGERLY ’68 visited Belmont Hill in February to talk about the technical and creative side of podcasting with DR. TIFT’S creative writing students. Len was the editor of the Panel, graduated from Harvard in 1972, had a career in journalism, and, after an early retirement, earned an M.F.A.

Ken Meister, Sumner Andrews, and Randy Greene during the Class of 1969 50th Reunion Dinner.

Cory and Chris Woodcock ’69 with Ken Martin ’65 at Alumni Weekend.

10. Class of 1969—50th Reunion Seated: Bob Porteous, David Weeks, Barry Lamont, Mike Nash, Ken Meister, Peter Brodie, Annette Brodie, Jon Lee, and Harry Powers. Second row: Terri Davis, Jay Siegfried, Bambi Siegfried, Lisa Nash, Laurie Shahon, Cory Woodcock, Chet Homer, Mary Shasta, Shirley Homer, Farnell Holton, Susan Elliott, Dale Miller, Chip Rowley, Anita Rowley, Sylvia Smith, and Jay Broadhurst. Back row: Bob Davis, Brad Kopp, John Chobanian, Chris Woodcock, Greely Summers, Sumner Andrews, Ted Shasta, Rick Holton, Mark Cancian, Jeff Hill, Randy Greene, Leslee Greene, Tom Burley, Bob McManama, Peter Littlefield, Bill Spring, and Barbara Spring.

1969 in poetry from Bennington College in 2003. His weekly Friday podcast “The Kindle Chronicles” about books, the Kindle, and all things Amazon, began in 2008 and has twice featured Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Portions of the class visit were included in his podcast. Check him out at: www.thekindlechronicles.com.

JOHN SHAW ’69 writes, “A friend once told me: ‘Who you are at age 18 is who you will be the rest of your life.’ After graduating in 1969, I attended the Woodstock Music Festival with TED EATON ’70 and DAVID SINGER, whom I have not heard from since. (Where are you?) Reflecting the Woodstock influence, I remain very involved in music as a member of a long-

time band and as a composer/engineer in my recording studio. I was also introduced to human service work through Belmont Hill’s Educational Enrichment Program and have remained in that field to this day and have no plans to retire. After four years in Denver attending DU (with BILL SPRING), I dreamt of the life of the hippie in San Francisco but settled for

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class notes

hanging in Massachusetts, opting for a night job at McLean Psychiatric Hospital in Belmont. What a fascinating job! I had developed skills in the Educational Enrichment Program that served me well in the psych hospital setting I found so interesting. Four years there led to enrollment at Boston University for my Masters in Social Work and started my 40+ year career in human services. I moved through direct care into administration, from there into program design, worked as a bureaucrat for the state and, finally, I served as CEO of the local mental health center serving the state capital catchment area. For the past 20 years, I have ‘retired’ to direct care again. I opened a private counseling practice, where I still work three days a week. In my 20s, I lived with NICK DOWNES and TED EATON (fellow Concordians, Class of ’70). Nick started his successful career as a cartoonist then. I still see Ted regularly. Until I met my first wife, I lived in Wayland with my band, The Pumps. My day job was as a supervisor at the country’s first specialized foster-care program while, at night, our struggling band flailed around in the basement. We peaked with an appearance at The Channel and a 45 recorded at a ‘real’ studio in Boston.

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All of that was left behind when I met my first wife, Peg, a fellow social worker who would extricate me from the struggling artist lifestyle. We settled in Topsfield, bought a house, and started to raise a family when we were offered an opportunity to move to Maine into an historic family manse that was going begging after the death of my great aunt. We took a flier and I left my job, Peg left hers, and we moved! I was lucky enough to find a job as director of licensing for the State of Maine Department of Mental Health, and we set about rehabbing the giant ark of a home we had adopted. Out of the blue, a very bad thing happened. A young man, who had worked at our house, kidnapped my wife and children out of our home while I was handcuffed in the basement. He took them to a nearby field and shot my wife to death, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. Really, really bad. The only way through this, I found, was focusing on raising my children and trying to create a loving, stable environment for them and myself. I was very lucky; lots of community, friends, and family support, a good therapist, the discovery of a wonderful nanny, and eventually meeting my new wife, Kim, were all part of how I was able to piece my life together again. It’s been 30 years now.

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My father told me, ‘Sometimes the things you think are the best turn out for the worst: and the worst sometimes turns out for the best.’ I have three wonderful children, all with significant others that we love and all with interesting careers. The youngest is Xander who wouldn’t be part of our lives if this horrible thing hadn’t happened. Kim and I are in our 27th year of marriage and enjoy both our ‘money pit’ historic house as well as our more modern mountain house with its 35-mile uninterrupted view of Mt. Washington. The trees are flowering lime green in the valley, and there is still snow on the peaks. What a great view!” BARRY LAMONT writes, “For the 2009 and 2014 reunions, I provided a lengthy narrative of the years I had just lived through, though I gather the 2014 tale wasn’t printed with the other Reunion stories. This time around, to my relief (and perhaps yours as well), I have little to report. I have been enjoying my de facto retirement, sudden and unplanned though it was. I have taken a few interesting trips, particularly to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, in 2013 to see the Aurora Borealis, and Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, in 2015—by train—to go snorkeling with beluga whales. I am also spending more and

Class of 1974—45th Reunion Front row: Dan Peirce, Jay Harvey, Beverly Peirce, Brad Rowell, Abbe Ross, Leigh Quinn, Renee Quinn, Peter Carey, Mary-Jo Manusky, Dan O’Connell, Steve Weeks, Rick von Turkovich, and Tim Fulham. Middle row: Pam Sheehan, Steve Sheehan, and John Mazzone. Back row: Dave Foster, Gita Foster, Tony Green, Debby Green, Myra von Turkovich, and Jim Reynolds.

Leigh Quinn ’74 and Steve Sheehan ’74 at the Reunion Golf outing at Belmont Country Club.

Ron Druker ’62 and Tony Green ’74 at a Belmont Hill Corporation event commemorating the Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School Chair in May.

Daniel Stedman ’97, Jim Reynolds ’74, Sheila Puopolo, and Bob Puopolo ’76 at the New York City reception in February.

Class of 1979—40th Reunion Front row: John Cannistraro, Tracey Cannistraro, Andrew Botti, and Lesa Botti. Second row: Ted Farnham, Paul Casey, Mark Coté, Mark Coakley, Ken Chipman, and Bob Croston. Third row: Rob Porell, Bob Fitzpatrick, Marianne Fitzpatrick, David Edlin, Rick Putnam, and Lawrie Pinkham. Back row: Mary Beth Mahoney, Randy Mahoney, Jim Leavitt, and Carlos Salib.

John Cannistraro ’79, Tracey Cannistraro, and Jeff Fast on Reunion Weekend.

Mark Coté ’79 with his mother and retired Belmont Hill staff member Ann Coté on Reunion Weekend.

Peter O’Brien ’79 with his nephews, James Eysenbach ’19 and Ben Eysenbach ’13, at Belmont Hill’s Commencement on June 3.

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class notes

Bill Cleary ’81 and Bob Brownell at the faculty retirement reception on May 17.

Warren ’17, Cal ’19, and Warren Cross ’83 at Cal’s graduation in June.

Susan Rock Tully and Joe Tully ’84, Reunion Weekend.

Class of 1984–35th Reunion. Front row: Theresa Murphy, Ian Levine, Joe Tully, Sue Rock Tully, Doug Wolf, Sherri Wolf, Marlayne Brace, Rick Brace, Anne London, Jon London, Caroline Ren Jackson, Todd Jackson, Wayne Fitzpatrick, Theresa Fitzpatrick, Adam Krinsky, Brian McCarthy, Randy Catlin, Bruce Wimberly, Kristin Martines, and Mark Martines. Back row (center): Chip Hamann, Jon Smollen, LeeEllen Jones, and Bob Jones.

Mark Martines ’84 with sons, Ryan and Matt ’22, Reunion Weekend.

Reunion golf outing, Class of 1984 members Adam Krinsky, Brian McCarthy, Joe Tully, and Mark Martines.

Sean ’85, Shane ’19, and Rhonda Rockett at Shane’s graduation.

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more time in my sweet little bungalow in North Carolina, and have started referring to myself as ‘bi-Dixal’ (having houses both above and below the Mason-Dixon line, analogous to ‘bicoastal’), despite the odd looks I occasionally receive from people who are no doubt misinterpreting the term. 1

In response to an email last year from our new Head of School, Greg Schneider, I shared a number of humorous stories of my own days at Belmont Hill. A 50th Reunion is a fine time for looking back; however, I thought that it might be appropriate for me to attempt a more concise reunion note, and so did not include those stories here. I’m hoping that they end up available somewhere, for others to enjoy.”

1970

50 TH REUNION

1975

45 TH REUNION

1980

40 TH REUNION

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1981 WARREN Q. FIELDS will be taking over the CEO title and responsibilities at Pyramid Hotel Group, effective June 1, 2019. Warren has been a chief investment officer since co-founding Pyramid in 1999. 5

1985

35 TH REUNION

1990

35 TH REUNION

1995

25 TH REUNION

MAY 8–9, 2020

Payton ’19 and Phil Privitera ’86 at Payton’s graduation in June.

In attendance at the April Corporation Dinner Meeting: Ted Madden ’88, George Lynch ’88, Jason Hurd ’90, James Coady ’88, Sean Rockett ’85, and John Carroll ’89.

Thomas ’19 and David Smith ’86 with Chris ’86 and Benjamin Awtrey ’19 at Commencement in June.

Will Averill ’87, Michael Sherman, Tim Buckley ’87, and Jack Markis ’87. Tim addressed the School as the Sherman Lecture Series featured guest in May.

Class of 1989–30th Reunion. Front row: Jan Matuska, Elizabeth Carroll, John Carroll, John Fahmy, Ajay Zutshi, David Hack, Paresh Patel, Nirva Patel, Megan Olson Pelis, and Marty Keane. Back row: Conan French, Michael Mills, and Jon Paine.

MAY 8–9, 2020

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class notes

Monica and Frank Yunes ’90. Frank spoke at Mr. Greer’s retirement reception during Alumni Weekend.

Josh Goldfine ’94 and wife, Amy.

Alex Fish ’97 and Philmore Anderson ’82 at the New York City reception in February.

Class of 1994–25th Reunion. From left to right: Brian and Katy Fleming, Shannon Duffy, and Scott Ribich, (back: Dan and Christina Ronan), Amy and Josh Goldfine, Jon Mugar, Sharon and Eric Shaff, Mike Haven, (middle: Jeremiah McCarthy; back: Matt Rupley), John Tatum, (back: Jon Callanan; middle: Liz and Rob Mara), Ron and Bridgette Mallik, (back: Jim Eysenberg), Seth Cargulio, Chris Senna and Sam Johnston, Walker and Jill Coppedge, Eric and Michelle Lev, and Heather Davidson and Jeff Oppenheimer.

Class of 1999–20th Reunion. John Tocco, Jessica Tocco, Tim Whelan, Jessica Bragdon, Chris Bragdon, Ed Chaglassian, Lerna Chaglassian, Adrienne Segalini, Justin Segalini, Kish Parella, Rich Parella, Justin Ward, Jay Tuli, Bindi Tuli, Ryan Tipping, Nate Richards, Gwen Chan, Chun-Fai Chan, Derry Lahey, Caroline LaQuaglia, Rob LaQuaglia, and Alan Topalian.

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1999 JONATHAN EIRICH writes, “Gentlemen, I am deeply saddened to be missing the 20-year reunion but unfortunately the timing couldn’t be worse. My wife, Daria Cercek, and I are due with our second child (another boy) just days after the reunion, so it’s just impossible to get back to Boston from Los Angeles...and then coupled with that, I have a movie I produced coming out that weekend as well, Disney’s live-action musical adaptation of Aladdin, so it was a bit of a double-whammy that meant I would have to miss this momentous 20th year. That said, I really do miss ‘The Hill,’ especially now that I have a three-year-old son, Phineas, and I’m really starting to think about the question of how to raise a responsible and ‘good’ young man these days. (Incidentally, the name comes from the fact that my wife was just as big of a fan of A Separate Piece as I was, so if we didn’t think there were practical applications to life for 10th-grade English class, well, we were wrong.) Anyway, just as a quick update on me, I left DreamWorks after a nine-year run as a studio executive there in 2015 to partner with a producer, Dan Lin. We changed his company name to ‘Rideback’ last year, and we have four movies coming out this year, The Lego Movie 2, Disney’s Aladdin, the sequel to Stephen King’s It, and The Pope, a film about the relationship between Pope Francis and Pope Benedict, starring Anthony Hopkins and directed by the City of God director Fernando Meirelles. It’s been a very different life on the producing side...much of the job is the same as what I was doing before, only now one is required to be on set and run the production during shooting as well. I lived in London in 2017 to oversee prep and shooting of Aladdin and then was in Rome in the spring of 2018 living there for The Pope film, so the change has at least opened up the opportunity for a lot of travel. It’s been tricky to balance that with life as a parent but at least I know I’ll be at home all summer as we welcome baby number two at the end of this month. I still end up seeing a

number of Belmont Hill grads out in Hollywood, from COUPER SAMUELSON ’98 to KEVIN WALSH ’93 to JON ARDREY ’10... and then ADAM BEER ’99 is right down the way from me in Newport Beach running a hotel there so we still see each other often as well. I would have loved to have caught up with everyone but hopefully I’ll see you guys soon enough...and if not, then the 25th Reunion it is! All the best to our Class of ’99.”

Liz and Vinny Marino ’99, Reunion Weekend.

Jay Tuli ’99 and his wife, Bindi, Reunion Weekend.

Madigan Catherine Cotter, daughter of Emily and Chris Cotter ’01, was born on March 14, 2019.

Rob LaQuaglia ’99 with his wife, Carolyn, and son, Robbie, Reunion Weekend.

Lydia and Chris Bucci ’02 welcomed Luke William Bucci on May 14, 2018. He joins his big brother Brady.

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class notes

Greg O’Brien ’03 and Sam Page ’03 at the Alumni New York City reception in February.

Alby Coombs ’03 and Caleb Collins ’93.

Aaron Sawitsky ’04 and Denice McClure, Reunion Weekend.

Class of 2004–15th Reunion. Front row: Jeff Hadzima, Anna Hadzima, Xiujuan Yuan-Salzman, Andrew Salzman, Estee Fleischman, Alex Brustowicz, Peter Evans, Matt Kane, Erica Molé Kane, Denys Levin, Bridget Snickenberger, Alex Snickenberger, Yanik Bababekov, Alden Reid, Chuck Sheehan, Andrew Corkin, and Caroline Corkin. Second row: Joshua Accomando, Candice Peak, Julianna Syron, and Louise Levin. Third row: Stephen Dilanian, John Meyer, Freya Meyer, Brendan Syron, Matt Giles, Aaron Sawitsky, Denice McClure, Matt Tosto, and Meghan Tosto. Back row: Mike Walsh, Alison Walsh, Sam Gaynor, Nora Dunn, Scott Dunn, and Colin Burke.

Candice Peak and Josh Accomando ’04, Reunion Weekend.

Isabel Michele Hadzima, daughter of Anna and Jeff Hadzima ’04.

Congratulations to Erica and Matt Kane ’04 on the March birth of their daughter, Fiona Poppy.

Maren Leader, daughter of Courtney and Nick Leader ’05, was born on January 19, 2019.

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Jack Antonelli, son of Katey and David Antonelli ’06. Jack was born on April 18, 2019, and joins sister Ryan, 3, and brother Charlie, 17 months.

Barry Gallup ’06 and Chris Butler during Prize Day.

Thomas Wucherpfennig ’11, Sam Baker ’07, and Andrew Cornelia ’08 bumped into each other during a 13.5-mile group trail run in Mill Valley, CA, in June.

Congratulations to Rachel and Ian Fenwick on their May 5, 2018 wedding. Belmont Hill Class of 2007 members in attendance included Mark Wachtmeister, Tyler Brace, (Rachel and Ian), Brian Alexander, Chris Simard, and George Sullivan.

Congratulations to Skylar and Liam McAlpin ’07 on the March birth of their daughter, Tallulah Rayne.

Congratulations to Brigette Shea and Jimmy Ramsey ’08 on their December 29, 2018, wedding. Front row: Matt Egan ’08, Jeff Goodman ’08, Sam Choate ’08, Mike O’Donnell ’08, Stanley Twarog ’08, and Al Minahan ’08. Back row: Jack McHugh ’20, Colin Quirk ’08, Sam Peabody ’08, Mike Smith ’08, Dan Ramsey ’13, Paul Shea ’10, and Nick Delhome ’17.

Class of 2009–10th Reunion. Front row: Jack McManus, Henry Meyer, Tim Mee, Groom Dinkneh, Ben Kramer, Sam Duker, Patrick Diaz, Will Grey, Zach Bernstein, JJ Swartz, Dan Martin, and Jack McNamara. Second row: Sam Singer, Matt Cannistraro, Dan Kenary, Doug Arnold, and Greg Paul. Third row: Sam Millham, Woody Klemmer, and Jack Dunphy. Fourth row: Kyle Rosse, Dawson Luke, Kevin Tarbell, John Leddy, and Gene Williams. Back row: Kyle Duke, Ryan Ganong, Drew Canniff, and Eric Hailer.

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class notes

Colette Chrétien and Sam Duker ’09, Reunion Weekend.

Perpetua Charles and Matt Cannistraro ’09, Reunion Weekend.

Dara Alizadeh ’11 (holding trophy) celebrates with his team following the Cambridge University Boat Club’s win of The Boat Race over Oxford in April, 2019.

Class of 2014–5th Reunion Alexander Vazquez, Sean Fahey, James Troderman, Mihir Gulati, Charles Hill, Robert Sayegh, Greg Plumb, Matt Ryan, Harold Roberson, Nolan Brennan, Tyler Granara, John Sutherland, Kyle Parsons, Drew Morrissey, James Hatton, Danny Kelly, John Curtin, Tucker Hallowell, Taylor Morris, Tom Kenary, Joey LaLiberte, Alex Haigh, Matt Murphy, Will Golonka, Jared Linsky, Matt Melanson, Henry Dodge, Ryan Bathon, Alex Bailey, Ryan McConnell, Sam Stack, Mac Manion, Kyle Washburn, and James Ulfelder.

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Harry Roberson ’14 and Tyler Granara ’14, Reunion Weekend.

Don Bradley, Alex Afayen ’16, and Hans Wachtmeister, Alumni Weekend.

Class of 2017 members Marshall Knight, Jacob Whitney, Ben Rush, and Peter Knowlton at the John Williams’ Film Night Tribute at the Boston Pops on May 29, 2019.

In May, the Landau Gallery was the site for an alumni woodworking show curated by Steve Kaplan ’83. The show featured work by Andy Davis ’07, Cole Durbin ’14, Josh Fischer ’15, Matt Gordon ’06, Kyle Gordon ’07, Greg Karelitz ’09, Chris Morrissey ’05, Drew Morrissey ’14, Todd Paratore ’97, Christo Wood ’96, and Peter Yanofsky ’10. Mr. Kaplan noted that there were many other artists who could not be part of the show for logistical reasons but whose work is equally extraordinary.

Standing: Steve Kaplan ’83, Drew Morrissey ’14, Andy Davis ’07, Cole Durbin ’14, Greg Karelitz ’09, and Todd Paratore ’97. Seated: Chris Morrissey ’05 and Matt Gordon ’06.

Coach Richards submitted this great photo of a rowing reunion at the college championships at Lake Quinsigamond on May 19, 2019.

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class notes

2011

Cliff Goodband ’97 with his son, Connor ’25 at Belmont Hill orientation day, August 27, 2019.

Samantha Granatell and Barry Gallup ’06 were married on April 20, 2019.

2000

20 TH REUNION

MAY 8–9, 2020 Congratulations to JEB TREDENNICK ’00 on his March 30, 2019 marriage to Alicia Meyer. After reconnecting this past spring in Charleston, SC, CHIP GIBSON ’00 and RYAN TIPPING ’99 launched a new venture, GRIP HR Consulting. The company will work closely with Deland, Gibson Insurance to provide human resources outsourcing, M&A due diligence, and project-based HR strategy. Chip and Ryan’s friendship first formed over 20 years ago in the halls of Belmont Hill and more specifically on the blue-line playing JV Hockey for Mr. Fleming.

2003 DR. ALBY COOMBS ’03 visited campus in February to talk to students about his time at Belmont Hill, his college experience, and his career in the dental profession. While at Kenyon College, he studied molecular biology and played football (earning team MVP and performing as captain). From there, he attended Tufts University School of

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Dental Medicine where he earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) in 2011. Alby is currently an associate fellow with the International Dental Implant Association. Following his passion for serving at-risk patient populations, he developed and co-founded Smile Services with Dr. Kevin Granger. Smile Services is a community outreach program focused on oral health education in underserved populations throughout Washington, D.C. Since 2012, this program has provided more than 2,000 free patient exams, taught a variety of classes from oral cancer education to career mentorship, and has donated dental supplies to elementary schools, churches, and homeless shelters throughout the region. In 2015, along with Dr. Granger, he launched a private practice, Smile Services DC, where they continue to provide care to patients in the Washington, D.C. area.

2005

15 TH REUNION

Cambridge Boat Club President DARA ALIZADEH ’11 is in his second year at Hughes Hall where he is studying Education, Policy, and International Development. He was in the 4 seat of the victorious 2018 Blue Boat. Before Cambridge, Dara rowed for Penn University and spent the 2017 season coaching at Winchester College in the United Kingdom. When asked to reflect on his start at Belmont Hill, he said, “It’s where it all began! I still remember to this day talking to Mr. Richards on the stairs of the old Howe Building about giving rowing a go (and retiring my intramural tennis stardom), and then going downstairs in Howe to tell Mr. Wood that I decided to give rowing a try. Wasn’t long before I was sitting in the Bassett 4+, with Mrs. Sweeney trying to explain to me how to set the boat when I wasn’t rowing! After that, the three years on the varsity with Mr. Richards really helped my development as a rower, particularly toughness and the racing mentality, as well as making me love rowing. I remember each 2K Tuesday in the Wrestling Room, 2x1500 on Wednesdays, and Ultra-heads on the Charles, which were less than pleasant. But I also remember beautiful sunny afternoons on the Charles, the water perfectly flat, and just thinking there was nothing I’d rather be doing than rowing in this fast boat. We also had some other incredible coaches with Mr. Richards, such as Coach Stone, Coach George, Kip McDaniel, and Chip Gibson ’00, each of whom taught me a lot. Finally, whatever tough racing situation I’m in, I always draw on some wisdom Mr. Richards would give us at the beginning-of-season meeting, about when an Olympic champion was asked how to get as fast as he was, and the response was simple: ‘Pull harder.’ Rowing can get complicated sometimes, but that solution tends to work.”

MAY 8–9, 2020

2010

10 TH REUNION

MAY 8–9, 2020

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2015

5 TH REUNION

MAY 8–9, 2020

faculty & staff news

FACULTY & STAFF NEWS

At their annual summer luncheon, seated: ROSS ROBERTS and GEORGE SEELEY; standing: MICHAEL SHERMAN, BOB ARNOLD, and DON STEWART.

Faculty member CHARLIE DOAR and his wife, Anita, welcome their daughter, Bridget Mary, on August 15, 2019. Bridget joins big brother, Mac, and big sister, Shay.

Staff member TANIA GLINSKI and her husband, Daniel Moy, welcome their daughter Violet born on August 17, 2019. Violet joins big brother, Benjamin.

Faculty member JOHN MCALPIN welcomed his first grandchild, Tallulah Rayne McAlpin, on March 8, 2019.

On the Saturday of Reunion Weekend, May 18, 2019, retired and former faculty members and their guests gathered for brunch in the MacPherson Room to reconnect and to meet the new Head of School. Seated: PATTY WHITNEY, GEORGE SEELEY, BUDDY BATES, and BOB CRESSEY. Standing: TRAVIS WOOLCOTT, JOHN MACLEAN, SUE SEELEY, WHITEY MORANGE, HOLLY GETTINGS, ANN COTÉ, JAN STEWART, DON STEWART, KEVIN FLEMING, ROSS ROBERTS, liaison to former faculty MICHAEL SHERMAN, HANS WACHTMEISTER, LAURA ADAMS, TOD RODGER, and LYN RODGER.

Congratulations to former faculty member CHRIS KOLOVOS (Belmont Hill Faculty 2004–2013). Mr. Kolovos will return to Boston from Green Farms Academy to become head of Boston University Academy, BU’s private high school, starting with the 2020–2021 academic year.

Faculty member ERIC SMITH and wife, Kaitlin, welcome their daughter, Edith “Edie” Caroline Smith, born on May 27, 2019.

Long-time Belmont Hill Assistant Coach PAUL SULLIVAN was recently inducted into the Cambridge Athletic Hall of Fame. Mr. Sullivan also coached the “Metro” Bay State Games, and served as an assistant baseball coach at Harvard. His son, Darren Sullivan, graduated from Belmont Hill in 1987.

Former faculty member GEOFF WEMYSS with faculty member TED MARTELLINI. Twenty-nine years ago, Ted exchanged jobs with Geoff, who was a teacher from Scotch College, Melbourne, Australia. Geoff and his wife, Robyn, spent three weeks in the Boston area hosted by faculty members MICHAEL SHERMAN and JOHN MCALPIN.

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faculty & staff news

Dr. Hans F.E. Wachtmeister Classroom Dedication On June 2, family and guests assembled at Belmont Hill for the formal dedication of the DR. HANS F.E. WACHTMEISTER classroom in the Science Center, a gift from Ms. Beverly W. Keyes whose sons (Nicholas Keyes ’93 and Stephen Keyes ’95) greatly admired and benefited from Dr. Wachtmeister’s warm, compelling, and charismatic teaching. “I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this honor than Dr. Hans Wachtmeister, who unselfishly gave of himself to his students and the Belmont Hill community,” said Ms. Keyes.

Nick Keyes ’93, Sebastian Keyes, Greg Schneider, Anne Wachtmeister, Hans Wachtmeister, Rigley Keyes, Beverly Keyes, Steve Keyes ’95, and Kristen Keyes.

The plaque in the Science Center recognizing Dr. Wachtmeister.

Steve Keyes ’95, Hans Wachtmeister, and Nick Keyes ’93.

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“Nicholas Keyes ’93 and Stephen Keyes ’95 left a lasting impression on me. Both brothers ended up in my AP Biology class. They found Belmont Hill challenging, but met all expectations. These warm and hard-working brothers were well-rounded young men—socially engaged, talented athletes, and diligent students. The Keyes family stayed in touch over the years. It felt like being part of their extended family as I watched Nick and Steve mature

“I am delighted to make this gift to Belmont Hill School in honor of Dr. Hans Wachtmeister, whom I consider a prince of a man. ‘Doc Wacht,’ as he was affectionately known, was not only a compelling role model but also a fantastic teacher who encouraged excellence, hard work, but most of all character and integrity. My sons, Nick and Steve, respected and wanted to emulate him. They have never forgotten the positive impact he has had on their lives. I have

into the men they are today.”

never forgotten.”

—Hans F.E. Wachtmeister

—Beverly W. Keyes

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belmont hill memorabilia

For your convenience, credit card orders are accepted by phone. Contact Eileen Foley at 617.993.5202 or stop by the Alumni House at 19 Marsh Street.

Vineyard Vines Silk Belmont Hill Neckties $85 Call for available colors and patterns.

Belmont Hill School Captain’s Chair Golf Balls

Cross Pen

Titleist ProVI Golf Balls with Belmont Hill Sextant. Package of three. $20

All-chrome ballpoint pen with Belmont Hill Sextant. $45

Cufflinks

Ladies’ Wallet

Sterling silver, hand-engraved. $350

Ladies’ Leather Zippered Credit Card Wallet. $30

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Solid hard rock maple captain’s chair with cherry arms and back with laserengraved Belmont Hill logo makes a meaningful gift anytime. Shipped directly to your home or office. $475 plus $35 for basic shipping. $19 for one line of personalization. Please allow 4–6 weeks for delivery.

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In Memoriam 78

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in memoriam

coast. He and his wife were active members of the Union Congregational Church in Wakefield, NH.

BRUCE N. LEVIS ’48

His loving wife of 64 years, Judith (Sanborn) Levis, preceded him in death. He is survived by his five children and their spouses, Bruce N. Levis Jr., Richard Campbell Levis and Robin Fimlaid, Edward Stevens Levis, Ronald Rae Levis and Bonnie Liu, and Brenda Elizabeth Levis; and three grandchildren, Emily Mouracade, Kenalei Mouracade, and Amy Levis.

Mr. Levis and his wife, Judy, owned and operated Maplevale Farm and Orchard in East Kingston, NH, for 38 years assisted by their five children, family, and neighbors. He developed his own strain of turkeys, the Maplevale, recognized for its greater meat yield. During the farm’s production peak, they hatched the most turkeys in New England. Prior to having his own farm, Mr. Levis was general manager of sales at Cuddy Farms LTD in Ontario, Canada, the largest turkey hatchery in the world. After selling their farm in 2001, the couple moved to Sanbornville, NH, where Mr. Levis planted another orchard and took up painting. In addition to being an accomplished furniture maker, he was an avid sports fan, dedicated to his Boston teams. He loved animals, nature, and drives along the sea-

After spending a lifetime in New England, Mr. Moore moved to Denver for the last year of his life, to be closer to his daughter. He was ecstatic to get to live near NOAA, and he fell in love with prairie dogs. He was also thrilled to return to the same mountains where he once had the opportunity to ski with Stein Eriksen. He is survived by his loving wife, Diane (Beehler) Moore, of Denver, his daughter, Dr. Katharine (Katie) Moore, of Denver, his numerous nieces and nephews, and by the frogs, rainforests, and lands that he fought so hard to protect.

Bruce Nicholson Levis, of Exeter, NH, died on April 25, 2019. He was 89. Born in 1929, in Cambridge, MA, Mr. Levis was the son of the late Charles E. and Ruth (McPhee) Levis. He grew up in Belmont, MA, graduating from Belmont High School in 1947 and completing a post-graduate year at Belmont Hill in 1948. He then went on to the University of Massachusetts, where he earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in 1952 and 1954, respectively. In addition to studying poultry science and genetics, he played varsity football and hockey.

family on Cuttyhunk Island, MA. He passionately worked to cultivate the Cuttyhunk Historical Society and the Cuttyhunk Library.

JOHN S. MOORE ’50

John Sheldon Moore, of Denver, CO, died on July 26, 2018. He was 86. Born in 1932 in Cambridge, MA, to the late Robert and Eleanor (Turner) Moore. Mr. Moore was the youngest of four children, including his late brothers, Robin Moore ’44 and Billy Moore ’47, and his sister, Marcia. He went on to graduate from Harvard University in 1954, received his J.D. degree from Stanford University, and became a member of the New York, Massachusetts, and California bars. After serving in the U.S. Navy, his career as an environmental lawyer began. Even into his early 80s, he traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby for the environment. Mr. Moore was never happier than when he was boating, fishing, and spending time with friends and

JAMES S. GILL IV ’51

James Seel Gill IV, of the Hideout, Lake Ariel, PA, died on August 12, 2019. He was 86. Son of the late Thornton M. and Mildred D. Gill, Mr. Gill was born in Waltham, MA and went to Yale University graduating with a B.A. in Architecture. He also completed the R.O.T.C. course while at Yale. Upon graduation from Yale, Mr. Gill was commissioned a 2nd LT in the Marine Corps. He served in the Far East for two years, primarily stationed on Mt. Fuji, Japan as an artillery officer. He then attended M.I.T. for

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in memoriam

graduate courses in Structural Engineering. Mr. Gill followed his beloved brother-in-law Vincent Lanigan into the flexible packaging industry as a sales representative and sales executive for various companies including Reynolds Materials, Rap-In-Wax and Bemis. In 1970 he began a career in real estate as one of the original employees of Boise Cascade in both sales and marketing at the Hideout. He was twice salesman of the year for Boise and remained in real estate until retirement working for Woodloch Springs, Davis-Chant, and Sperry Homes, where he was also General Manager. Mr. Gill was an avid golfer, known for his booming drives, a downhill skier, and tennis player. He was invited to the training camp for the 1956 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team but was unable to attend because he was stationed in Japan. In addition to his wife of 57 years the former Madeline Loeffler, Jim was preceded by his sister, Elizabeth Lanigan and her husband Vincent and his brother William T. (Bud) Gill II ’43. Surviving are a son James Seel Gill V and his wife Susan; a daughter Pamela Byrne and her husband David; grandchildren James Seel Gill VI, Samantha Gill, Rachel Byrne and Casey Byrne; his nieces Susan Slocum and Christine Gill; his nephews William T. Gill III and Peter Lanigan.

PETER W. BEACHAM ’56

Peter W. Beacham, of Rockport, MA, died on March 21, 2019. He was 82. Born in Wayland, MA, Mr. Beacham was the son of the late Harold R. and Maxine (Wesselhoeft) Beacham. He went on to Lehigh University and then began his career in 1960 at Peabody Office Furniture, where he spent 28 years and rose to become senior vice president. In 1986, Mr. Beacham and a small contingent founded Office Environments of New England, where he served as executive vice president in charge of customer development. He retired in 1995. Building on his expertise in style and design, in 1976 he opened Woodbine Antiques, catering to clientele who desired contemporary office design augmented with traditional aesthetics. In doing so, he was able to turn his passion into his vocation. Upon retirement, he and his wife, Janice, made Woodbine their full-time calling. Following their storefront opening in Rockport, MA, in 1994, they traveled extensively, seeking to build a business that reflected their unique style and taste. Mr. Beacham is best known for his active leadership within the communities in which he lived. He led, served, and contributed on multiple town committees in both Topsfield, MA, and Rockport, MA, including as president and director of the Rockport Chamber of Commerce, board vice chairman

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at Hebron Academy, and president of the Rockport Rotary Club. Over the course of his community involvement, he received many commendations, including Rockport Businessman of the Year and the Paul Harris recognition from the Rotary Foundation. Among his proudest accomplishments was his leadership of the economic initiative to permit the sale of alcohol in Rockport and the instrumental role he played in re-establishing Boy Scout Troop 20. He was the loving husband of Janice (Mills) Beacham. In addition to his wife, with whom he shared 55 years of marriage, he is survived by his daughter, Debra Bloomingdale, and her husband, Peter Hall, of South Portland, ME; his son, Peter W. Beacham Jr., and his wife, Colleen, of Needham, MA; five grandchildren, Andrew Bloomingdale and his wife, Sarah, Molly Bloomingdale, Thomas Beacham, Caroline Beacham, and Grace Beacham; and his brother, Harold R. Beacham, and his wife, Ceelie, of Westport, MA and Aiken, SC.

JOHN E. PAGE II ’56

John Eben Page II died at his home in Joplin, MO, on July 15, 2019. He was 80. Mr. Page was born in Boston in 1938 to Elizabeth (Fowle) and John Page ’32. He went on to Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1960. Mr. Page was a lifelong teacher and coach. He began his career at Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro, ME, and continued teaching and coaching at The Christchurch School in Christchurch, VA; Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School in Powhatan, VA; and The Patterson School in Lenoir, NC. He was a founding father of the Alternative Education program in Brunswick, ME, and will also be remembered for the lives he touched as a teacher, coach, and mentor to members of the Hyde School community in Bath, ME. Mr. Page recently earned his 40-year sobriety chip. Readers who feel the need to explore a 12-step program can do so using him as an example. He proved it is possible to live a full and rewarding life for many decades, hand-in-hand with sobriety. He had a way of making friends and connections everywhere he went and had a wonderfully humble, yet larger-than-life persona that had one laughing and feeling good about one’s self while thinking deeper about how to be a better human being. At his best when teaching and

coaching, Mr. Page challenged every student, peer, and parent he encountered to be their best with an integrity that will forever be part of his legacy.

enjoyed so much. Mr. Pusey loved the smell of farmland and often took family and friends around the local farms, stopping to pet all the horses and cows he could find.

He is survived by his former wife, Sheryl Page; three children, and their families— Michael and Teri Whitmore with granddaughters, Kiersten, Kimberly, and Katherine of Denver, CO; Marcia Himes and Jason Cannon with grandson, Dominic, and granddaughters, Ashley and Kaylee, of Joplin, MO; and James and Angela Page with grandsons, Ethan and Phillip, and granddaughter, Amelia, of West Chester, OH. He is also survived by two children from a previous marriage.

He inspired his students to think, discuss, and write with an open mind. Exceptionally fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Mr. Pusey served as an interpreter for the U.S. State Department to establish relations with China in the 1970s, and later helped locally whenever needed. He was always writing, and published a handful of books. After his retirement, he stayed involved in campus life, and was an avid fan of Bucknell football.

JAMES R. PUSEY ’58

James Reeve Pusey, of Lewisburg, PA, died on May 21, 2019. He was 78. Son of the late Anne (Woodward) Pusey and Nathan Marsh Pusey, the 24th president of Harvard University, Mr. Pusey went on to study at Harvard, where he was president of the glee club and captain of the fencing team, and where he later earned his Ph.D.

During his 47 years in Lewisburg, Mr. Pusey devoted his time to diverse activities, directing the St. Andrews Episcopal Church choir, singing in the Susquehanna Valley Chorale, and serving as the town bagpiper. He enjoyed hiking, canoeing, and boating in Maine over the summers, and was delighted to continue fencing with the West Branch Fencing Club until just a year or two ago. He guided his family with a strong moral compass and a love of adventure, leading multiple trips across the country and around the world. Mr. Pusey modeled respect and appreciation for cultures different from his own and for people who had less than he did. He taught them to be brave and curious, with a sense of idealism, kindness, and justice. Mr. Pusey is survived by his wife, Anne; his daughter, Jennifer; his son, Drake, and daughter-in-law, Alyssa; his grandchildren, Rook and Keen; and his brother, Nathan Pusey, and his sister, Rosemary Hopkins, and their families.

Mr. Pusey became a professor of Chinese history, philosophy, and language at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, where he taught from 1972 until his retirement in 2010. He loved Lewisburg, and turned down job offers that would have taken him away from the town, campus, and countryside that he

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in memoriam

children. He will be remembered for his smile, quick wit, and willingness to reach out to help others. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Karen Nickels; his daughter, Beth Carroll, and her husband, Brendon, of Pocono Pines; his daughter, Catherine Berger, and her husband, Derek, of Harrisburg, NC; and his four grandchildren: Emily and James Carroll, and Allison and Jared Berger.

ROBERT R.D. NICKELS ’60

Robert R.D. Nickels, of Delaware Water Gap, PA, died on April 26, 2019. He was 76. Born in 1942, the son of the late Frederick and Gwendolyn Nickels, Mr. Nickels grew up in Belmont, MA. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree at Northwestern University, where he met his future wife, Karen. Mr. Nickels continued his education at Harvard Business School, earning his M.B.A. in 1966, after which he entered the U.S. Army Reserves. He went on to a successful career in business and became well known for his work in the steel industry, first with Carpenter Technology, then moving to business strategy consulting with Chase Econometrics and Kepner-Tregoe. Upon retirement, Mr. Nickels revisited his passion for teaching as an adjunct professor at DeSales University, where he taught in the M.B.A. program and was highly respected by his students. Mr. Nickels was a lifelong singer—in church choirs, barbershop groups, and the Pocono Choral Society. A devout Christian, he was an ordained deacon and elder in the Presbyterian Church USA for more than 40 years. He was a skilled bridge player, earning the title of a Life-Master in the American Contract Bridge League. Mr. Nickels also loved traveling, history, photography, and technology, and was devoted to his grand-

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WILLIAM H. LYNCH ’62

William “Bill” Henry Lynch, of Chestnut Hill, MA, died on September 2, 2019. He was 76.

GEORGE L. KELEHER JR. ’61

George L. Keleher Jr., D.D.S., of Somerville, MA, and formerly of Needham, MA, died on November 29, 2018. He was 75. Dr. Keleher was a retired professor at Boston University Dental School and conducted a private dental practice in Sherborn, MA. He was an avid hiker with the Appalachian Mountain Club. He was the beloved husband of Katherine (Flannery) Keleher. He is also survived by his daughter, Maura Polombo, of Grafton, MA; two sons, Michael Keleher, of Tampa, FL, and Thomas Keleher, of Waltham, MA; his brother, James Keleher, of Taunton, MA; and six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Carolyn (Pytel) Keleher.

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After Belmont Hill, Mr. Lynch graduated from Boston College and had a long career in investment management sales and marketing. He was an active member in many communities important to him. He was a member of the Belmont Hill School Corporation and former member of the Board of Trustees, serving as the Alumni Council President. He is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Cape Anne Museum, Gloucester and Gore Place, Waltham. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Nancy B. Lynch; his children, George W. Lynch II ’88, Martha L. Kopanon, and Matthew N. Lynch; six grandchildren, Ava M. Lynch, John W. Lynch, Camilla J. Kopanon, Jasper M. Kopanon, Brooke T. Lynch, and Aria S. Lynch; his sisters, Margaret B. Pearson and Marietta E. Lynch; and his great aunt, Doris T. Lynch. He was predeceased by his brothers, Michael F. Lynch and Nicholas F. Lynch; and his parents, Dr. George W. Lynch and Margaret F. Lynch (for whom Belmont Hill’s Lynch Center is named).

with the world and all that could be learned from exploring it. He had strong opinions and looked forward to a good debate, and those who knew him could always count on enjoying his stories, quick wit, and peerless sense of humor. All will miss his playfulness and whimsy, his endearing silliness and jesting, so often delivered with a broad and loving smile.

KENNETH W. LITTLETON JR. ’70

RICHARD E. THAYER ’72

Kenneth W. Littleton Jr., of Lexington, MA, died on June 15, 2019. He was 66.

Richard Ellsworth Thayer, of Boulder, CO, died on June 10, 2019. He was 65.

The son of Maria (DiGiacomo) Littleton and the late Kenneth W. Littleton. Mr. Littleton grew up in Belmont and went on to Williams College, where he earned his B.A. degree in 1974.

Son of the late L. Harrison Thayer and Eugenia Sherrill (Smith) Thayer, Mr. Thayer grew up in Chestnut Hill, MA, and spent summers in Wolfeboro, NH. He went on to Amherst College, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity and received his B.A. with honors. He then enrolled in Boston University School of Law, where he earned his J.D. degree.

Mr. Littleton excelled at athletics and was a devoted fan of all teams Boston. He was a wonderful story teller and possessed a colorful sense of humor and an unwavering spirit of adventure. He is survived by his children, Jennifer Lee Belcher and Daniel Kenneth Baker, and his grandson, Connor Daniel Belcher, all of Ontario, Canada; his sisters, Suzanne Littleton Fournier, of Hooksett, NH, and Lesley Maria Kennally, of Holliston, MA; his mother, Maria Littleton, of Watertown, MA; and by his many nieces and nephews.

At the time of publication, the Bulletin learned of the August 29, 2019 passing of W. Blair Brooks ’71 of Norwich, VT. He was 66. His obituary will appear in the next edition.

He is survived by his loving wife of 35 years, Jaclyn Thayer; his children, Alexandra S. Thayer, of Long Island, NY, and Rhett E. Thayer, of Fort Collins, CO; a brother, L. Harrison Thayer III ’70 of Orlando, FL; two sisters, Lynda Thayer, of Lafayette, CO, and A.S. Thayer, of Dublin, NH; and eight nieces and nephews.

After law school, Mr. Thayer worked as associate general counsel at State Street Bank in Boston, then left to become general counsel and chief commercial counsel for AT&T in Jacksonville, FL. He concluded his last years of practice as associate general counsel at Level 3/Comcast Communications, Broomfield, CO. He served the community as a board member for the Boulder History Museum from 2010 to 2015 and was secretary of the board from 2014 to 2015. Mr. Thayer was also a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board from 2009 to 2014 and served as board chair from 2013 to 2014. He loved life and adventures of all kinds and had a passion for travel and learning. From attending Woodstock as a teenager to studying in Paris as a young man to traveling through Europe, Asia, Egypt, and Israel later with his family, Mr. Thayer was fascinated

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2019–2020

Belmont Hill School

Board of Trustees Jon M. Biotti ’87, President William F. Achtmeyer ’73, Vice President Gregory J. Schneider, Secretary Anthony W. Ryan, Treasurer Jinane Abounadi Dewey J. Awad Mark D. Chandler ’74 Gretchen R. Cook-Anderson Roy F. Coppedge III Warren Cross, Jr. ’83 Carl D. Dawson ’72 Jeffrey D. Drucker ’90 Ronald M. Druker ’62 Jean C. Egan William A. Forde ’05 Scott A. Gieselman ’81 John T. Grady, Jr. ’66 Christopher J. Hadley Danielle A. Heard Jason H. Hurd ’90

Gerald R. Jordan ’85 Stephen R. Karp ’57 Jonathan A. Kraft ’82 George W. Lynch II ’88 ex officio Emmett E. Lyne ’77 Amy B. Madden ex officio Carl J. Martignetti ’77 Kirk D. McKeown ’95 Sarah H. Pelmas Taggart M. Romney ’88 Jill M. Shah Brian J. Shortsleeve ’91 Margaret M. Wade Herbert S. Wagner III David B. Wilkins honorary trustees John M. Connors, Jr. John A. Pike ’49

350 Prospect Street Belmont, MA 02478 617.484.4410 www.belmonthill.org We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please address all correspondence to the Bulletin Editor at the above address, or email us at communications@belmonthill.org. managing editor Bill Mahoney editors Amy Hirsch Leslie Ouellette class notes & in memoriam Eileen Foley Harold Prenatt photography John Gillooly, John Gillooly IV, Kristie Gillooly Dean, Neal Hamberg, Tom Kates, Bill Mahoney, Scott Matthews, Adam Richins, Matt Risley, Paul Rutherford, and the Belmont Hill School Archives ©2019 Belmont Hill School. All rights reserved. Design by: amn brand + design amnbrand.com

alumni reunion weekend may 8–9 · 2020 Whether this is a reunion year for your class or you just want to catch up with friends, we welcome all alumni and their families back to campus every spring for a weekend of special events.

For more information or to RSVP, contact the Alumni House at alumni@belmonthill.org | 617.993.5208 Visit us online to register www.belmonthill.org/reunionweekend

350 Prospect Street Belmont, MA 02478-2662

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belmont hill school alumni and community events calendar 2019–2020 please check the school website for updates, registration, and additional information.

2019

2020

Henry B. Sawyer, Jr. ’32 Golf Tournament Monday, September 23, 2019

MAP/SAFE Breakfast Thursday, January 9, 2020

Multicultural Alumni Partnership Dinner Friday, September 27, 2019

Peggy Corbett Valentine Luncheon Thursday, February 13, 2020

Homecoming Saturday, September 28, 2019

Annual Corporation Meeting and Reception Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Admission Open House Saturday, October 5, 2019 Head of the Charles Regatta Sunday, October 20, 2019 Better Buy Sale Saturday, October 26, 2019 Katharine Wrisley Atkins Women’s Series Thursday, November 14, 2019 Alumni vs. Varsity Basketball Game Friday, November 29, 2019 Recent Alumni Boston Gathering Friday, November 29, 2019 Holiday Hill Shop Thursday, December 5, 2019 Alumni Award Holiday Dinner Honoring John T. Grady, Jr. ’66 Thursday, December 12, 2019 MAP Basketball Game Saturday, December 28, 2019

Katharine Wrisley Atkins Women’s Series Spring Event Thursday, April 30, 2020 Alumni Reunion Weekend May 8 and 9, 2020 Grandparents and Honored Guests Day Monday, May 11, 2020 Prize Day Thursday, May 28, 2020 Alumni vs. Varsity Lacrosse Saturday, May 30, 2020 Baccalaureate Sunday, May 31, 2020 Commencement Monday, June 1, 2020