Spring 2021 Brooks Bulletin

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BROOKS BULLETIN • SPRING 2021

Toward A New Day

Kathryn Duane ’22 (foreground) and Newell Hale ’23 use snowshoes to explore the snowy Brooks campus as part of biology faculty Peter Federico’s class in February 2021. The class takes a trip outdoors every week and records its observations in its nature journal. “This was our first nature journal trip of the semester, and the students made a lot of great comparisons between what the Brooks landscape looks like in February compared to what it looks like in November,” Federico explains.

B OA R D OF T RU ST EES President Steven R. Gorham ’85, P’17, P’21 Ipswich, Mass.

Vice Presidents John R. Barker ’87, P’21, P’23 Wellesley, Mass.

Whitney Romoser Savignano ’87 Manchester, Mass.

Secretary Craig J. Ziady ’85, P’18, P’20, P’22 Winchester, Mass.

Treasurer Valentine Hollingsworth III ’72, P’17 Dover, Mass.

TRUSTEES Cristina E. Antelo ’95 Washington, D.C. Iris Bonet ’90 Houston, Tex. Peter J. Caldwell Morristown, N.J. W. J. Patrick Curley III ’69 New York, N.Y. Peter V. K. Doyle ’69 Sherborn, Mass.

Cheryl M. Duckworth P’22, P’23 Lynnfield, Mass.

Paul L. Hallingby ’65 New York, N.Y.

Juliane Gardner Spencer ’93 New York, N.Y.

Booth D. Kyle ’89 Severna Park, Md.

Alessandro F. Uzielli ’85 Beverly Hills, Calif.

Zachary S. Martin P’15, P’17 Wellesley, Mass.

Meredith M. Verdone ’81, P’19 Newton Center, Mass.

Brian McCabe P’18 Meredith, N.H.

A LUMNI T R UST E E S William E. Collier ’11 Chapel Hill, N.C.

Diana Merriam P’08, P’11 Boxford, Mass.

Sally T. Milliken ’88, P’22, P’24 Byfield, Mass.

Anthony H. Everets ’93 New York, N.Y.

John R. Packard Jr. P’18, P’21 Head of School North Andover, Mass.

Nancy C. Ferry P’21 West Newton, Mass.

Daniel J. Riccio P’17, P’20 Los Gatos, Calif.

Shawn Gorman ’84 Falmouth, Maine

Belisario A. Rosas P’15, P’21 Andover, Mass.

H. Anthony Ittleson ’56, P’84, P’86 Green Pond, S.C. Michael B. Keating ’58, P’97 Boston, Mass.

Frank A. Kissel ’69, P’96, P’99 Far Hills, N.J. Peter A. Nadosy ’64 New York, N.Y.

Ikenna Ndugba ’16 Boston, Mass.

Peter W. Nash ’51, P’81, P’89 Nantucket, Mass.

T R UST E E S E ME R IT I William N. Booth ’67, P’05 Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Cera B. Robbins P’85, P’90 New York, N.Y.

Henry M. Buhl ’48 New York, N.Y.

Eleanor R. Seaman P’86, P’88, P’91, GP’18 Hobe Sound, Fla.

Steve Forbes ’66, P’91 Bedminster, N.J.

David R. Williams III ’67 Beverly Farms, Mass.

James G. Hellmuth P’78 Lawrence, N.Y.

B CONTENTS B U LLE TI N •S P RI N G 2 0 2 1

Head of School John R. Packard Jr. P’18, P’21

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Director of Institutional Advancement Gage S. Dobbins P’22, P’23 Associate Director of Alumni and Parent Programs Nicole Mallen Jackson ’95 Associate Director of Alumni Relations Carly Churchill ’10 Director of Admission and Financial Aid Bini W. Egertson P’12, P’15

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Director of Communications and Marketing Dan Callahan P’19, P’20, P’23

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Director of Publications Rebecca A. Binder

FEAT UR ES

D E PA RTM E N TS

Design Aldeia www.aldeia.design

20 T he Class of 2020: Part Two

02 M essage from the Head of School

Alumni Communications Manager Emily Williams Director of Digital Communications Jennifer O’Neill

Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Opinions expressed in the Bulletin are those of the authors and not necessarily of Brooks School.

Correspondence concerning the Bulletin should be sent to Editor Rebecca A. Binder: mail Editor, Brooks Bulletin 1160 Great Pond Road North Andover, MA 01845 email rbinder@brooksschool.org phone (978) 725-6326

© 2021 Brooks School

This year-long, two-part feature honors each member of the Brooks class of 2020, and reflects on the ways in which each graduate contributed to campus life. The second half of the class is included in this issue; the first half was included in the fall 2020 issue.

03 News + Notes 45 Brooks Connections 50 Class Notes

28 A Day in the Life

Brooks offered both boarding and virtual options for students this fall and winter, and students attended school from campus, from homes across the country, and from homes across the world. The Bulletin highlights four students and asks them each to take us through a Monday at Brooks.

38 Teachers as Learners

This year, Brooks teachers were asked to teach to both on-campus and virtual students at the same time, and with a greater grasp and use of technology than ever before. They rose to the challenge, thought carefully about their pedagogies and curricula, and worked together to deliver a meaningful educational experience in this turbulent academic year.

ON THE COVER: Spring at Brooks brings rebirth to campus as the school continues to find its way through the COVID-19 pandemic.

A MESSAGE FROM JOHN R. PACKARD JR. HEAD OF SCHOOL

Emerging with Possibility

“ [W]e must leverage what we have learned as we emerge from the pandemic’s shadow in pursuit of new possibilities and an even better Brooks.”

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As the spring and our final stretch of this distinct 2020–2021 school year hits full stride, we are finding more and more to be excited about every day. While April in North Andover can sometimes feel more like winter than spring, we have enjoyed better-than-usual weather and have taken advantage of all 270 acres we have at our disposal. In stark contrast to our empty campus last year at this time, we have had scores of students engaged in and out of classrooms, in activities they are passionate about and with friends who mean the world to them. Our campus is more full and alive than it has been at any point since the pandemic began, and we continue to move closer to being with one another here at 1160 Great Pond Road in ways that have been beyond reach since last March. We are steadily emerging from all the cumbersome restrictions that have been with us for more than one year now, and it feels good to be looking ahead to possibilities we are eager to explore.

I shared my view with prospective students and families through their decision-making process that there will perhaps never be a better year to be at Brooks School than the 2021–2022 school year. We will shake free from COVID-19’s grip and explode out of this pandemic as grateful as we have ever been to be here and living without the restrictions that have been in our way. We will have opportunity to apply the wisdom and experience we have picked up over the past year-plus and do much more than simply return to what we were forced to leave behind. I do not know that there has been a time in any of our 94 school years with more reason to feel profoundly confident in our ability to confront obstacles and find ways forward.

In this year, we have taught and learned differently in person, on screens and while

doing both at the same time. We have operated with constantly evolving schedules. We have engaged in new and broader efforts aimed at growing our cultural competency and fostering full belonging and inclusion for all members of our community. We reimagined afternoon programs in ways that brought an incredible breadth of opportunity to students. Our collective facility with technologies that have kept us connected while physically apart has grown exponentially — even I have learned how to live-stream an event! And, we have managed to stay remarkably healthy in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

We have also learned a great deal from what we have lost and missed. We cannot re-create games against other schools that were never played, or plays and concerts that were never performed, or services in Ashburn Chapel that would have brought all of us to our feet. There is no substitute for being shoulder to shoulder as a school in all of the settings that reveal the talent, courage and passion in our midst. It is exciting to know we will feel and appreciate these experiences more than ever as they return to our lives. They make us whole.

My hope is that a new and continually evolving normal will take hold on our campus as we move through the spring and summer and into a new school year. The past 15 months have provided a laboratory of sorts for trying new approaches and understanding more fully what we do not want to live without. If we are to properly honor the spirit and grit our students, faculty and staff brought to this very challenging year of learning anew and doing without, we must leverage what we have learned as we emerge from the pandemic’s shadow in pursuit of new possibilities and an even better Brooks. We will do just that, and what exciting work it will be.

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NEWS + NOTES IN THIS SECTION 04 News from Campus 08 Campus Scene 16 Athlete Spotlight 18 Athletics News

Colorful birdhouses, like this one nestled in a tree near the campus flagpole behind Thorne House, were prominent around the Brooks campus this spring. Students in the school’s stagecraft carpentry class made birdhouses as a class assignment.

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Continuing the Work Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Brooks continue with a combination of communitycentered events and raising awareness, as well as administrative and faculty work.

Brooks is committed to the work of diversity, equity and inclusion, and to working toward becoming an antiracist institution. Among other ongoing initiatives and efforts, the winter session at Brooks featured the following: Restorative Justice Training Brooks partnered with the Center for Restorative Justice at Suffolk University to introduce restorative justice concepts at Brooks. To date, 24 administrators and faculty have

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begun training through the center’s programming.

Restorative justice is a social movement that focuses on normalizing peaceful and community-based approaches to harm and problem-solving. Restorative justice centers and reinforces the value and strength of community through processes that preserve the safety and dignity of all individuals within that community. By engaging in restorative justice, communities establish mutual responsibility for

constructive responses to wrongdoing: the process centers values of inclusion, democracy, responsibility, reparation, safety, healing, reintegration and, essentially, respect.

One feature of restorative justice work that Brooks faculty have already begun introducing into their daily work with students is “circles.” These circles are discussions that take place among groups of Brooksians in a choreographed way that ensures that each participant has an equal opportunity to speak and to listen to others.

Faculty have used circles in class to engage in thoughtful class discussion; advisors have implemented circles into work with their advisees when grappling with current events; and affinity spaces have used circles to provide a welcoming and accepting space for community members. Faculty have also used circles in faculty meeting to discuss charged and emotional issues — for example, the January 2021 Capitol insurgency — in an open and supportive way.

Bias Grievance Protocols The school continues to develop and put into practice bias grievance protocols. The protocols are meant to address incidents of bias, discrimination, microaggression and macroaggression between students, between adults, and between students and adults. The protocols help assess whether a behavior, event or action may be related to bias; assist in ensuring that appropriate policies, procedures and protocols are applied; help the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) team address incidents in a timely and comprehensive way; and aid in communicating to the school community about the incident and related concerns.

Community members who experience or become aware of a possible bias incident will be asked

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to report the incident to a trusted adult or fill out a form that will be easily accessible in OnBrooks, the school’s learning management system. Those who report will have the option to do so anonymously or confidentially. Once a report is filed, documentation of the incident will begin, and the DEI team will engage in intake, fact-finding and complaint resolution.

Along with providing a standard, consistent process for receiving, investigating and resolving reports of possible bias incidents on campus, the introduction of a bias grievance protocol will help the DEI team identify and develop additional areas of programming or training for students and employees. “When a bias incident occurs, our goal is not to police and punish those involved,” explains Director of Multicultural Affairs and Outreach Kenya Jones. “Instead, we want to educate and provide the Brooks community with the tools necessary for self-reflection and meaningful discussion. The fact is, we live in a world where microaggressions occur daily. Our goal is to identify when they occur, hold each other accountable and further our work toward being an antiracist institution.”

Continued Diversity Leadership Council Subcommittee Work The Diversity Leadership Council continued its work this winter by forming several subcommittees.

Each subcommittee is charged with measuring whether an area of school life meets the standards for equity published by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Subcommittees are also responsible for making recommendations on how their assigned area of school life could further match the equity standards. At press time, the subcommittees were in the data-gathering phase of their work,

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which is expected to last through the remainder of the school year and into the summer.

A Schedule Shift When winter session began, the school made a slight adjustment to its weekly schedule with an eye toward intersectionality: Instead of making space for every affinity group to meet at the same time every other week, the school alternated affinity groups by week, with half of the affinity groups meeting each week. This makes it more likely that students and employees who identify with more than one affinity group will be able to attend meetings for both. “We want to become more equitable, and we need to acknowledge the intersectional identities of our students,” says Dean of Community Life Ashley Johnston. “Our students fall into multiple identities, and we need to give them time and space to explore as identifying members and allies of all our different affinity groups. It’s important that all our students should need to worry about is showing up, being there and being present.”

Celebrating Black History Month Brooks dedicated Chapel time in February to reflections and talks that honored Black History Month.

Students recited poetry; guest speakers ignited thoughtful discussions in advisory, classrooms and across campus; and Kenya Jones spoke openly and frankly about his experiences as a Black man in America and at Brooks.

Faculty Development In early March, the Brooks faculty attended a talk by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, a noted American author, professor, antiracist activist, and historian of race and discriminatory policy in America. Kendi is the author of seven books, including

The cover of “How to be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi. Brooks faculty were required to attend an AISNE webinar with Dr. Kendi in March.

2016 National Book Award-winner “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” and the New York Times bestseller “How to be an Antiracist,” which was tabbed by the Times as “the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.”

The hour-long webinar, which Brooks faculty were required to attend and Brooks staff were invited to attend, was sponsored by the Association of Independent Schools in New England and was attended by employees from many independent schools. The webinar was followed by member-facilitated community conversations and affinity spaces.

“ We want to become more equitable, and we need to acknowledge the intersectional identities of our students.”

AS H L E Y JO H NSTO N, D EAN O F CO M M U N I T Y LI F E

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the students at Bellesini Academy. I was in one of their English classes making small talk with the girls about what they wanted to be when they grew up. They were talking about awesome careers, but I noticed that none of them said anything within a STEM field or engineering. So, I started researching ways to expose the Bellesini girls to engineering, and I found the EngineerGirl program. I was happy to get accepted into the program in May 2020.

2 Nikki LaPierre ‘21.

Fast 5 // Q+A Sixth-former Nikki LaPierre has a passion for engineering, and she’s worked to bring engineering to girls at Bellesini Academy, a school for grades five through eight in Lawrence, Massachusetts, as an EngineerGirl ambassador.

The Bulletin asked LaPierre about the national program designed to expose girls with little access to engineering to the subject.

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The National Academy of Engineering’s EngineerGirl Ambassador program trains and supports 20 female high school students as they design, develop and implement projects in their local communities that expose younger girls to the field and encourage them to think about pursuing careers in engineering. How did you become involved in the program? It started when I took the Winter Term course “Passion to Pass it On” in January 2020. The course focused on philanthropy, and we spent a few days working with

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Why is it important to you that girls become exposed to engineering and other STEM fields? Being a woman in engineering has always been difficult. Women are consistently underrepresented in STEM fields. I’ve had to navigate the engineering field by myself, and I’ve learned that women have to be powerful and know their worth to succeed in this field. Engineering can lead to so many opportunities in life and can set you on a really good path. Engineering can also teach you self-confidence: Engineering teaches people how to be leaders. So, I see that engineering goes hand-in-hand with important things that I think every little girl should learn.

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You’ve designed an eightmonth program for the Bellesini girls that you hope, you’ve said, will teach the girls that they can apply engineering to almost every aspect of life. Tell us more. I started biweekly training sessions with the other ambassadors through the National Academy of Engineering in August 2020, and I started my program in January 2021. In my program, I meet with the Bellesini girls monthly.

Each month focuses on a different type of engineering. For example, in our second month, we talked about chemical engineering. We looked at recipes for three different types of cookies, and we discussed how, for example, adding butter to a recipe changes the cookies.

Then, I had the girls figure out which recipe was for thick cookies, which was

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for thin cookies, and which was for soft cookies. Finally, I asked the girls to chemically engineer their own cookie recipe: If they wanted chewy cookies, how could they do that? The girls were so excited that they made their own cookies, without even realizing that they were doing chemical engineering.

Then I presented the basics of chemical engineering to them, and they were able to connect the cookie recipes to what I had just taught them. It’s really them learning for themselves; I want this to be their journey with engineering that they have a personal connection with.

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You engaged in the experience at Apple, Inc., through Students on the Forefront of Science at Brooks. How are you using that experience to enhance your EngineerGirl program? It’s similar in that, at Apple, we also did a lot of learning for ourselves coupled with lectures.

My mentor at Apple, who I think is amazing, is going to try to come talk to the girls. I’ve also reached out and spoken with a lot of women engineers who are in the professional field, and they’ll also come in and talk to the girls.

H EARD IN CH AP EL

“ When you look back five, 10, 20 years from now — when you reflect on this time — what will you say you did to affect change?”

DR. CHARMAIN JACKMAN, addressing the Brooks community at Chapel on February 15, 2021.

Jackman delivered a talk on racial trauma and antiracism, and she encouraged Brooksians to engage in antiracism work at school. Jackman is a psychologist with more than two decades of experience in her field. She is the founder of InnoPsych, Inc., an organization on a mission to disrupt racial disparities in mental health.

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Did you expect that your time in “Passion to Pass it On” would result in you leading an engineering program at Bellesini?

I’ve always had a connection to engineering and also to helping out with my community; I didn’t expect to find a way to merge those connections in Winter Term, but I’m really happy to have been able to. Last year, I took a computer science class and a poetry class at the same time, and what I wrote about in my college essays was the combination of my love for poetry and my love for computer science, because both are writing in art form. That’s been pivotal to my Brooks experience. Right now, I’m taking an engineering class and a poetry independent, and it’s very interesting how those have always gone hand-in-hand for me.

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Lunar New Year Lindsay Feng ’22 painted this piece to celebrate Lunar New Year, which occurred in February 2021. The event marks the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar traditional to many East Asian countries. The days-long celebration is marked by feasts, festivals and family reunions. “This piece in particular is an expression of my vision of comfort food and what it means to my family in various gatherings and cultural traditions,” says Feng. “The combination of family and food is vibrant and reminiscent of many of my own memories growing up, and I hoped to translate those feelings into something spirited that would connect with a viewer.”

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NCEWS C AE M P US A M PFRO US SMCEN

The Brooks campus in April 2021. The school is building a new south entrance to campus, which is visible here. The new south entrance extends from Great Pond Road (bottom right) over part of the existing driveway to the property located at 1116 Great Pond Road, which the school acquired in 2017, and over the crest of Observatory Hill to Chapel Road toward the admission parking area. Trees and stone farm walls will line the drive and frame views of important campus buildings. The concrete road of the old south entrance, meanwhile, will be removed and the land underneath returned to meadow.

Along with treating campus visitors and community members to a stellar view of the Brooks campus and also improving campus safety and security, the project will have a positive environmental impact on Lake Cochichewick, which serves as the reservoir for North Andover.

Moving the driveway away from wetlands that feed directly to the lake will improve the quality and cleanliness of stormwater runoff and, ultimately, the quality of the lake’s water. The project also calls for the addition of rain gardens and water quality drainage structures to clean water from Great Pond Road and the new drive itself. The project began over Spring Break and will be completed this summer.

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A Schoolwide Effort for LLS A group of Brooksians raised money in the fight against cancer by energizing the entire school community.

Four Brooks students joined forces to do good and fight cancer under the banner of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Students of the Year program. LLS is the world’s largest nonprofit health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. It is dedicated to curing leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers. The Students of the Year program is a philanthropic leadership development program within LLS for exemplary high school students. It teaches participants professional skills such as entrepreneurship, marketing and project management while they raise funds for the organization’s efforts.

Tvisha Devireddy ’23 started the team, which Amy Mojica ’22, Sarah Benjavitvilai ’23 and Laura Kahu ’23 quickly joined (along with two other high school students who do not attend Brooks). The group had a goal of raising $10,000 for LLS within four weeks.

Together, the group planned and executed several fundraising drives at Brooks. They asked for donations via a QR code that they sent to the community via email and posted in strategic locations on campus. They arranged a fundraiser through the North Andover location of Chipotle Mexican Grill; dozens of Brooksians placed orders through the fundraiser, which directed a percentage of profits from the orders to LLS. They also organized an inter-dorm competition (virtual students counted as a dorm) for donations, with a pizza party prize to the dorm that raised the most money. The school’s community service funds supported the pizza party for the winning dorm.

The team finished the fundraiser strong, raising a total of $7,256.51 toward its goal.

“The Brooks community has been absolutely amazing in supporting me with this fundraiser — they’ve exceeded any expectations I had,” says Devireddy. “I am so grateful for all of my friends and teammates who’ve encouraged and helped me throughout the campaign. Additionally, the extended community’s support delighted me. The participation in the

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Chipotle percentage-back fundraiser was particularly big. What surprised me the most was that there were adults and students whom I’d never really spoken to who weren’t just willing, but actually wanted to help me, and that meant so much.”

Devireddy says she’s learned a lot through her participation in the Students of the Year program and the fundraiser her team organized. “I’ve learned so much about being a true leader, I’ve been pushed out of my comfort zone in every way imaginable and I discovered the truly special bond of the Brooks community,” she says. Part of Devireddy’s growth came from the task of having to announce fundraising events in front of the entire school. “I was pushing myself in a way that I’ve never really done before,” she explains. “Through those moments, I’ve stumbled and stuttered and fallen and failed, but most importantly, I’ve grown.

This growth also showed me the very special bond of the Brooks community; it was something that I never understood until this fundraiser. I’ve started to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance that’s come with the support given to this campaign. There is a place for everyone at Brooks, and the way we genuinely support and encourage each and every one of our fellow Brooksians is so, so beautiful.”

“ What surprised me the most was that there were adults and students whom I’d never really spoken to who weren’t just willing, but actually wanted to help me, and that meant so much.”

TVISHA DEVIREDDY ’23 (pictured in inset above)

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BROOKSIAN’S BEST FRIEND

Model UN delegates from Brooks set up shop in the Science Forum during the annual conference in February. They used the Science Forum for the opening and closing ceremonies and decamped to classrooms and other campus spaces for committee work.

Model UN Goes Virtual Brooks students dove in to a virtual conference in February.

This year’s Model United Nations team prepared and studied for the annual BosMUN conference from around campus and around the world, before participating in the virtual event over a February weekend. Nineteen Brooks students embraced the international aspect of the exercise in global diplomacy. They tuned in using Zoom and Discord from spaces on campus, and also from their homes from New York to Shanghai.

“While we were disappointed to not be debating in person, the virtual conference captured the drama, debate and compromise of Model UN,” team advisor and Chair of the History Department Michele Musto wrote in an email to the Brooks community. And this year’s team, as the Brooks contingent has in years past, took home multiple awards for its success in the competition. Melanie Kaplan ‘23 won a Verbal

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Commendation, Hungary, DISEC; Shalini Navsaria ’23 won a Verbal Commendation, Hungary, SPECPOL; Natalie Ho ’23 won Best Position Paper, Yemen, Electronic Frontier Foundation; and Caroline Samoluk ’21 won Honorable Mention, Moira McGuigan, British Monarchy.

“While we all missed the fun of traveling to Boston, we still got to enjoy debating politics and history,” Musto says, calling BosMUN “an extremely intensive weekend, and possibly more so virtually.”

This year, students represented Yemen and Hungary in the General Assembly and Economic and Social Committees. For Specialized and Crisis Committees, they debated topics ranging from the Trojan War and the Battle of Culloden to futuristic crisis committees on the state of the British Monarchy after Elizabeth II and North Korea after Kim Jong-Un.

Dog walking was a popular addition to the winter session’s afternoon activities slate. Six days a week, a troop of Brooks students circled the campus, collecting dogs from campus residences and taking them on long walks. The students enjoyed the opportunity to spend time outdoors safely with friends, and the campus dogs universally and jubilantly enjoyed the opportunity for treks with new and exciting human pals.

Activity leader Wendy Brennan explains that the idea for dog walking emerged out of an original idea to take advantage of the Brooks campus for winter walking. “The addition of dogs to the mix has been fun for both the campus dogs and the students,” she notes.

“Students seem to love seeing their canine friends after a long day of classes. The dogs are excited to see the students, providing unconditional affection and probably some stress relief.”

Participant Racquel Baldeo ’21 agrees and notes that she was able to stretch her legs and be outdoors after a long day of in-person and virtual class sessions.

“I chose dog walking for multiple reasons,” she says, “and I would be lying if I said that spending time with cute dogs was not one of them! During the semester, it was hard to be away from family, and it was hard to find normalcy. I looked forward to spending time with Winnie [Johnston-Wyffels]. She looked forward to it, too. She would wait by the door and run out when she saw me!”

Dog walking was offered as one of several innovative afternoon activity options during the COVID-19 pandemic’s halting of traditional interscholastic sports and other afternoon activities. Please turn to page 18 for more information on the full slate of afternoon activities that Brooks offered this winter.

Fifth-formers Isaiah GiestaPinto (left) and Jack Brown with canine friend Shadow Hajdukiewicz.

Participants who were on campus gathered as a team in the Science Forum for the opening and closing ceremonies. For the committee sessions, though, students joined the conference on their laptops in the library.

All in all “it was a busy weekend,” reflects Musto.

“Papers were sponsored.

Resolutions were signed.

Ideas were debated. We virtually travelled through time; craziness ensued, and fun was had by all.”

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Behind the Numbers AP Statistics students created a casino night that put their mathematical skills to the test.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed and challenged almost every assumption of academic life at Brooks, including best practices in how teachers should assess their students’ knowledge and mastery of content.

AP Statistics teacher Tote Smith planned a February assessment for his class that went way beyond a traditional test: He had his class demonstrate its knowledge and skills by asking students to develop, plan and host a casino night for the Brooks community.

Each of the seven students enrolled in the class designed their own casino-style game of chance to investigate and test probability models, odds and expected value. Then, on a Friday night, the students invited their peers to play each game in an hour-long virtual casino. Each participant was supplied with $100 in hypothetical currency to start, and participants were free to visit different Zoom breakout rooms, each of which hosted a different game. At the end of the hour, the amount of currency a participant held determined their chances of winning a real-life prize.

“Designing, analyzing and modifying a game of chance to meet certain outcomes for the casino synthesizes a large swath of the ‘probability’ unit of the AP Statistics curriculum,” says Smith. “And although the project had several large deliverables — analytical presentations, an oral presentation to a casino operator and the operation of a one-hour casino itself — I hoped the ownership they felt for their game was an incentive to make sure their analyses were correct and meaningful.”

Each student spent four weeks planning and designing their game. They each also created a spreadsheet that modeled all of their game’s possible outcomes, along with the value and probability of each, and estimated the profit the casino could expect from their game being played for an hour based on theory and on simulation. They then presented their games and findings to Smith, along with ideas about how to market their games. The group also had an opportunity

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“ Everything that went into this project had to do with the underlying statistics we learned, from selecting the price to play to understanding and shifting the casino advantage.”

to spend a class meeting over Zoom with Guy Renzi, vice president of gaming operations at Oneida Nation Enterprises’s Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

ABBEY CHARLAMB ’21 Abbey Charlamb ’21 says that the casino project was her favorite class project at Brooks because it connected to the real world and allowed her to see her work come alive in a unique way.

“Everything that went into this project had to do with the underlying statistics we learned, from selecting the price to play to understanding and shifting the casino advantage,” Charlamb says. Classmate Mario Yang ’21 says that he enjoyed the process of creating an addictive game: “Mario’s Skyfall Adventure,” a pinball— Pachinko-style game.

Another real-life lesson the students learned was the unlikelihood of making money through gambling.

“This project has made us recognize the player mindset and what drives players to keep playing even after losing,” says Charlamb. “We tried making our games as enticing and almost addicting as possible so that they enjoyed themselves and we would ‘make money’ in the end. I definitely understand how the casino makes money now, and I will be wary about this in my future.”

All in all, Smith, the course teacher, considers the statistics assessment “one of the most authentic projects I’ve seen the students take all the way to fruition,” he says. “It’s rare that we actually get to see whether theory will hold in such a short timespan.”

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SCHOL ASTIC

Art & Writing Award Winners Brooks students participated enthusiastically in this year’s national competition.

Noela Chung ’23 submitted this fashion piece, “Maskerade,” to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

“Maskerade” won “Best in Category” for fashion. Chung won multiple Gold Key honors across the art and writing competition.

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In February, Brooks was notified that its students took home a number of regional art awards and regional writing awards in the 2021 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition. The national competition is presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a non-profit organization whose mission is to identify students with exceptional artistic and literary talent and present their remarkable work to the world. According to the alliance’s website, the awards competition gives students opportunity for recognition, exhibition, publication and scholarships. Last year, students from across the country entered nearly 320,000 original works in 28 different categories of art and writing.

The art awards were given to 11 Brooks students total.

The Gold Key winners included Heewon Noela Chung ’23, who won two Gold Key awards for two separate fashion submissions; Tvisha Devireddy ’23, Lindsey Feng ’22 and Tri Nguyen ’22 for photography submissions; and Jack O’Brien ’22 for a painting submission.

The Silver Key winners included Devireddy and Nguyen, along with Ginger Perry ’23, for photography submissions; and Lauren Zion ’22 for a sculpture submission. Honorable mention recognition went to fifth-formers Hongru Chen and Nicole Jin for drawing and illustration pieces; and to Devireddy, Feng, Perry, Ava Finegold ’22 and Lindsey Stafford ’24 for photography submissions.

Chung also won a “Best in Category” award for a fashion piece titled “Maskerade.”

Ten Brooks submissions were awarded writing honors by the alliance, also. Two submissions — a short story

by M. D. Olaoye ’23 and a critical essay by Chung — took home Gold Key honors. Franklin Dong ’22 won three Silver Key awards for his poetry, joined by Julianna Rivera ’21 and her critical essay submission. Dong also won an honorable mention for another poetry submission, and he was joined by two poetry submissions from Chen and a critical essay from Chung.

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A Return to Brooks A Brooks alumna returns to campus as part of her journey toward becoming a nurse.

“I think it’s funny that I came back here, because here is where I decided I wanted to go into nursing,” says Nicole Rivera ’17, who spent the winter session engaging in her senior preceptorship at the Brooks Health and Wellness Center. She’s enrolled in the nursing program at UMass Lowell, and she credits Brooks with helping her prepare for the rigors of the competitive program. “I owe a lot to Brooks,” Rivera says. “I think Brooks prepared me well for what I’m doing now. I found the workload at UMass Lowell not easy, but doable.”

As part of her program’s requirements, Rivera has completed clinical rotations through different nursing specialties, from time spent in a psychiatric unit to, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, time spent examining pediatric case studies in an online rotation. Now, in her last semester, she’s completing her senior preceptorship — her first stint as a qualified nurse — at Brooks. “I spoke with my counselor at UMass Lowell, and she suggested that I reach out to Brooks,” Rivera says. “I emailed [Director of Health Services] Tracey Costantino to see if we could make something work, and we did!”

“When Nicole asked me to do her senior preceptorship here at Brooks, I was so excited,” says Costantino. “I love the nursing profession, and to be able to share it with one of Brooks’s alums makes it extra special! I often have conversations with Brooks students about the many opportunities in nursing and remember having conversations with Nicole about the profession when she was in high school. I look forward to providing her with positive experiences here at Brooks and helping her to grow in her ability to be the best nurse she can be — and I have no doubt that she is going to be great!”

“I was super happy, and super excited to be back,” Rivera says. “It’s cool because this is where I decided I wanted to be a

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nurse, so being able to be here in this setting, and do it, and put it into practice is really cool — it’s exciting!”

Rivera enjoyed having a chance to see her old stomping grounds, and recalls touring the campus when checking the school’s installed Automated External Defibrillators. “I hadn’t been here since I graduated, and I was so excited to go into the dining hall, the Classroom Building and the Center for the Arts, which is new to me!” she says. She also ran into science faculty Laura Hajdukiewicz, who taught Rivera honors anatomy and physiology. “I told Mrs. H. that I loved her class, because we got to see open heart surgery,” Rivera says. “She asked me if her class helped me in college, and I said, ‘Yes, it really did.’”

Hajdukiewicz was happy to see Rivera, also. “As an educator, there’s nothing more rewarding than learning that your former student has entered into a field that they were introduced to in your class,” she reflects.

“Nicole was a motivated student who also was empathetic and kind — wonderful traits for a future nurse!”

Rivera’s preceptorship allowed her to experience day-to-day life as a Brooks nurse while also working on her educational requirements. For example, Rivera was required to engage in a case study on one patient; she was also a familiar face at the school’s routine COVID-19 test site. She didn’t volunteer to current students that she is a Brooksian herself, but she did hope to connect with current students.

“My goal is to get at least one of them to talk, get to know them, and to help them get through any physical or mental health issues they may be having,” she says. “That would be really cool and meaningful for me, I think, at the end of this.”

Nicole Rivera ’17 returned to the Brooks Health and Wellness Center this winter.

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AN ORATORY EVENT

WINTER FUN

ICE RINK

The school’s oratory class kept a vibrant tradition of public speaking alive at Brooks while adjusting to the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students at Brooks are encouraged to practice their public speaking while at school, where they can rely on the supportive and caring environment of their friends and the faculty, and where they can enroll in oratory, a semester-long course dedicated to mastering the art of public speaking.

Tradition holds that oratory students deliver their final speeches to a packed Ashburn Chapel at the end of the fall semester. Due to safety concerns and restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s oratory students had to break new ground while maintaining that tradition: They delivered their capstone speeches to an appreciative virtual audience of fellow students and faculty.

“There is a long and proud tradition of the oratory students delivering their speeches to the entire Brooks community,” English teacher and Associate Head of School for Faculty Affairs John McVeigh wrote in an email to students and employees before the first remarks were shared in December. “While everyone wishes we could gather together in person to hear them, all are welcome and encouraged to watch them in real time on the livestream.”

Fifteen students crafted their roughly 10-minute orations — which can address any topic of a student’s choosing — for weeks, following a study of the “foundational elements of a great speech,” according to the course description. They also spent time practicing their delivery style, and offering peer feedback and constructive criticism of each other’s speeches.

“The speeches are wonderful, and they all provide a bit more insight into each of our speakers: who they are, what they’ve been through and what is meaningful in their lives,” says McVeigh.

But sharing thoughts and feelings is just one of many reasons why Delia Johnson ’21 was excited to share her thoughts with an

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Clockwise from top: Sixt h-formers Courtney Pappas, Aida n White and Andres Rosas deliver their oratory capstone speeches in a virtual format.

audience. The main reason she chose to take oratory, she says, is “because public speaking is a really important skill to have, but it is something that makes me really nervous. I knew that if I took this course I would feel more comfortable getting up and talking in front of people.” Johnson reports that, although she had “butterflies” before delivering her speech, she was proud of the extent to which her hard work paid off.

Even though each student gave their speech alone, McVeigh credits the time they spent working together, in class, as key to each student’s individual success with their final presentation.

“These students have found the perfect balance of helping each other improve their work while also providing support and confidence,” says McVeigh, who also commends the group for its positive energy and work ethic. “Those connections are particularly important at a time like this. Five of our students were online this fall, but this group was able to stay connected and cohesive in its approach.”

McVeigh acknowledges that “the virtual experience does not quite capture the energy and connection that usually happens in the chapel. This is particularly true when the speech ends, as there is no virtual way to replace the standing ovation or the line of people waiting to hug you when you finish.” He explains, though, that students benefitted in a different way. “The virtual format,” he continues, “does allow people from all over the world to witness the speech live, and it has helped our students to connect with many people from outside

Brooks installed an outdoor ice rink on the tennis courts over Winter Break, and students were delighted to find it waiting for them on their return to campus in January. The outdoor rink hosted pickup hockey games and skating, as well as a variety of weekend activities. One weekend activity (below), “human curling,” asked dorm teams of two participants to compete with other teams for Winter Olympics glory.

One teammate sat on a milk crate, and the other teammate pushed the crate across the ice toward a target. The dorm team closest to the target — in this case, Merriman House — won.

P OND HOCKEY Brooks girls take to the pond by the school’s North Entrance for a game of pond hockey in February.

This matchup pitted one dorm against another, as one of a series of events in the school’s Winter Olympics celebration.

of the Brooks community.”

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Christy Lau ’21 A Yale-bound squash phenomenon says that her time at Brooks taught her valuable lessons, both on and off the court.

Christy Lau ’21 is many things — and Yale University-bound squash phenomenon not the least of those things — but what she should, perhaps, most be known as is courageous. Lau arrived at Brooks from Hong Kong four years ago.

She explains that a family friend, Samuel Chu ’80, first told her about and encouraged her to go to Brooks, and Chu’s suggestion stuck. “I don’t know why, but I wanted to give it a try,” Lau says. “So, I gave it a go, and I ended up going to Brooks.”

Lau makes it sound easy, but her transition to Brooks required a lot of thought. Lau considered her options and had dinner in Hong Kong with a group of Brooksians that included Alissa Wong ’19 and Doris Wong ’19. “They told me about Brooks,” Lau recalls. “They said that it was so fun at Brooks, that the people were really nice and that you could try a lot of different things. So I thought, okay, maybe I’ll try it.”

This is where the courage part comes in.

“I didn’t know anything about Brooks or America,” she says. “I had never been to America before. The first time I was in America was the August right before my third-form year.” When Lau finally arrived on campus, she faced a language barrier that she calls “terrifying.

I spoke only Cantonese. I had been taught in English, so my reading and my writing skills were fine, but not my speaking

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skills.” Lau calls herself a shy person, and explains that even the new student orientation activities, which are meant to help the newest Brooksians feel welcome and make friends, were difficult for her.

At first, Lau relied on other Cantonese-speaking students.

“I forced Doris Wong to speak Cantonese with me,” Lau says.

“Doris helped me a lot.” Lau also found familiarity in squash, and quickly found friends in her teammates. “It was good that I play squash,” she says. “That helped me to know some of the other students.”

Lau speaks particularly fondly of Vicky Haghighi ’19. “Vicky helped me out a lot,” Lau says, “and then, after my first semester, Brooks felt more comfortable for me.”

“During her first year at Brooks, Christy’s teammates were very welcoming, and Christy forged a strong bond with her teammates,”

Christy Lau ’21 shortly after winning the 2019 NEISA Girls Class A Tournament.

says girls 1st squash coach Kihak Nam ’99. “As a co-captain during her fifth-form year, Christy spent a lot of her time helping build the team. She would often practice with players who were relatively new to the sport during the practice time and in her free time. I think this kind of leadership contributed to helping young players feel at ease and helped them grow as more competitive squash players. For this kind of contribution, I awarded Christy with the Coaches Award two years in a row.”

Lau, extremely modestly, notes that she is “kind of good at squash,” and explains that she enjoys feeling as if she is in her element.

“At Brooks, I feel good,” she says.

“People know I play squash, and then when I play squash with someone we’ll end up talking. It helps me.” Lau says that she had only played in individual squash tournaments and not team tournaments prior to her time at Brooks: “I never thought of squash as a team sport, and I think it’s really interesting to have teammates,” she says. “We support each other, and when we’re playing as a team I want to win more because I don’t want to disappoint them. It feels like we’re all in this together.”

Lau supports her teammates at practice, and says she has worked with her more novice teammates on skills such as footwork and clearing from the backcourt. “I feel happy when they get better; I feel like part of the community,” she says. “Everyone is so nice, and I just want them to get better and love squash.”

This year, Lau is studying virtually in Hong Kong. She’s had difficulty finding court time because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. She was able to resume playing in February, and she’s

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Christy Lau ’21 N E WS + inNaction OT ES for the Brooks girls 1st squash team.

THE TROPHY SHELF Christy Lau ’21 built a dominant squash career at Brooks. Here are just a few of her many accomplishments: Third Form: • NEPSAC Class B Finalist (Individual at #1 position) • NEPSAC Class B Champion (Team) • US Junior Open GU17 #25-32, lost to #1 seed in 5 games • ISL All-League Fourth Form: • NEPSAC Class A Champion (Individual at #1 position); Demer Holleran trophy recipient • US Squash High School Nationals Division III Finalist (Team) • US Junior Open GU17 6th place • US Squash All-America Team • US Squash Scholar-Athlete Award • Boston Globe Athletes of the Year, All-Scholastic • ISL All-League • ISL MVP • Brooks School Coaches Award • Undefeated season • HEAD Hong Kong Junior Squash Open GU19 5th place Fifth Form: • US Squash High School Nationals Division IV Champion (Team) • US Junior Open GU19 #10 • US Squash Scholar-Athlete Award • Boston Globe All-Scholastic • NEPSAC 1st Team All-League • ISL All-League • ISL MVP • Brooks School Coaches Award • Undefeated season (including both regular season and nationals) “ Christy is probably the most underrated player in the high school squash world. She is very humble, and she does not seek fanfare. After consulting Doug Burbank, a longtime squash coach at Brooks, we believe Christy is probably the best female squash player Brooks has had in its history.”

Girls 1st squash coach KIHAK NAM ’99

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trying her best to keep up her game and her level of physical fitness in preparation for her next step: She will play for Yale next year. She’s never visited Yale, but she chose it for the same reason she chose Brooks: She likes the people she’s met. (And, she confesses, she likes Yale’s signature blue.)

“I really appreciate my time at Brooks,” she says. “I like being at Brooks. Brooks has made me learn a lot of new things and try a lot of new things: I’ve been to dances; I’ve been to some parties; I’ve learned how to play guitar. I’ve met people from all different countries. Brooks has made me brave.”

“ When I saw Christy play, I knew she had great potential. I’m glad she decided to go to Brooks. She has a great personality, she’s incredibly hardworking and humble, and I’m very proud of her.”

SA MU E L CH U ‘80, who encouraged Christy Lau ‘21 to pursue squash at Brooks.

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NEWS + NOTE S

AT HL ET I CS N EWS

A Flexible Program Brooksians embraced a winter full of options, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to broaden the possibilities of the Brooks afternoon activities program.

Above: The Brooks girls crew stays sharp over winter session.

Crew, along with other fall and spring sports, was offered as a winter afternoon activity option this year. Right: Dean of Academics and girls basketball coach Susanna Waters (right) works with Maeve Gaffney ’23.

Students were able to engage in traditional winter offerings while also trying their hand at new activities.

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This winter’s collection of afternoon activities at Brooks resembled no other, and, as they have all year long, Brooks students welcomed the opportunity to learn new skills, to spend time together safely and in new ways, and to stretch the limits of old assumptions. The school’s winter afternoon activities programming worked around the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a fun, productive and meaningful experience for on-campus and virtual students.

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NEW ACTIVITIES

The following new activities were offered, in addition to fall and spring sports, as two-day activity options to supplement traditional winter offerings: • Broomball • Dog walking • Environmental art • E-sports • Learn to skate • Music appreciation • Pickleball • The Power of Positive Living • Small-sided soccer • Winter running • Yearbook

what they want to do, six days a week. Others are taking advantage of learning a new sport, because it’s a low-pressure time to do that, or seizing the opportunity to play their spring sport two days a week and prepare for that.” No matter what, she adds, “We’re trying to make a lot of people happy.”

“We’re using every inch of three basketball courts, for up to four different activities in each time slot, every afternoon,” says Director of Athletics Bobbie Crump-Burbank.

Brooks facilities were in use until 9 p.m. each night in order to give each student the opportunity to have 75 minutes of time at their activity. “It’s been a lot of work to put together,” Crump-Burbank says, “but we’re proud of all who pitched in and got flexible and creative to put our winter program together.”

The Independent School League (ISL) did not offer a slate of interscholastic games this winter, similar to the fall season, and both the ISL and the New England

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Preparatory School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) relaxed their rules regarding out-of-season coaching. As a result, Brooks was able to implement a varied and flexible program that centered on a traditional winter “base activity” supplemented by options to engage in two-day activities for part of the week. The two-day options included fall sports, spring sports and new, unique offerings. Virtual options were available to students who attended the winter session online.

“For some students, their winter sport is what they do and most enjoy,” explains Crump-Burbank.

“We have a large group of ice hockey and basketball players, and that’s

“ We’re proud of all who pitched in and got flexible and creative to put our winter program together.”

Director of Athletics B O B B IE CRU MP - BU R BAN K

W MORE ONLINE: Please visit the Brooks athletics website at www. brooksschool.org/athletics for more information on your favorite Brooks team, including schedules, game recaps and up-to-date news.

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Last year’s graduating class wasn’t able to engage in the usual pomp and circumstance that marks spring at Brooks because of the COVID-19 pandemic that caused the campus to close in March 2020. The class bid farewell to Brooks through a virtual ceremony held in May 2020. The school looks forward to welcoming the class of 2020 back to campus for the Prize Day ceremony it deserves. In the interim, in this special, year-long, two-part feature, members of the Brooks community offer thoughts on the graduates, and on the ways in which their individual contributions to life at Brooks collectively made the school a better place. The Bulletin includes the second half of the class of 2020 in this issue; the first half was included in the fall 2020 issue.

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Isabela Miller

Jennifer Mills

Kelsey Moody

John Moore

Joel Moya

Judge Murphy

Maya Neckles

Alex Nemon

“ [He] is one of those special kids who made every group he was a part of at Brooks better.”

WILLIE WATERS ’02 ON JOEL MOYA ’20

A Note: The quotes included in this piece were collected from Brooks employees at the end of the 2019–2020 academic year.

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Isabela Miller played field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse at Brooks, and tutored at Bellesini Academy in Lawrence, Massachusetts. “Isa is one of those three-sport student-athletes who can’t be stopped,” says lacrosse coach Carly Churchill ’10.

“Her dedication to her craft, her natural ability and her awareness of her team’s needs were all key to her immense success. I’m just glad I was there to be a part of her Brooks experience and guide her ever so slightly here and there!”

Jennifer Mills was at home in the limelight, starring in fall plays and winter musicals. The CAB prefect was also at home on the fields and courts, competing in soccer, squash and softball at Brooks.

“In the classroom, on the stage and on the field, Jen constantly shines,” says softball coach and advisor Andrea Heinze. “Her commitment, dedication, thoughtfulness and care for others is obvious in all that she does.”

Kelsey Moody, a soccer and squash player, participated in community service for three years running at Brooks. “Kelsey is a competitor on the soccer field!” says coach Kerry Baldwin. “Her drive and determination are some of her many strengths as a student-athlete. She will be missed.”

John Moore participated in advanced jazz band and community service, and played football, squash

and baseball at Brooks.

“John is bright, caring and has a contagious sense of humor,” says baseball coach Andy Campbell. His advisor, English faculty Mel Graham, adds that “in his time on campus, John went from not saying a word in class to being known as ‘JMo’ to the population at large. He

embraced Brooks, and Brooks embraced him. We wish we had more time with him.”

Joel Moya “is one of those special kids who made every group he was a part of at Brooks better,” says boys soccer coach Willie Waters ’02 of the school, dorm and admission prefect who played

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<< As fourth-formers, the class of 2020 engaged in team- and trust-building activities at a high-ropes course at the University of New Hampshire in September 2017.

basketball and tennis and participated in yoga. “He was a four-year member of student government who volunteered to do everything that was needed and was the best soccer manager I have had in my time at Brooks — to the point that I felt he was an assistant coach. He left his mark in so many ways. We

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will feel a void at Brooks without Joel.”

Judge Murphy played ultimate frisbee, ice hockey and lacrosse and was a School Meeting prefect. “Judge always started our advisory meetings by asking me how I was doing,” says advisor Willie Waters ’02. “It was refreshing to speak with a young

man who genuinely cared how other people were feeling. He was a leader in many areas of campus while also being a star lacrosse player. I wish we had him at Brooks for more than just two years.”

Maya Neckles was a sustainability prefect who also participated in sailing and ice hockey, and who studied abroad. “She was an amazing ambassador for the Exchange Program during and after her trip to Morocco,” says program director Lisa Saunders.

Music teacher Claudia Keller describes Neckles as “simply the best: a very thoughtful, bright, mature, irreverent and strong young woman.”

Alex Nemon played football and baseball and wrestled at Brooks. The dorm prefect was also president of the scuba club and a tour guide. “Alex always advocated for his classmates through his work in student government,” says his football coach Pat Foley.

“What will stick with me most, though, is the way in which he motivated the team before every game.

He brought the energy!”

Krirk Nirunwiroj was Brooks’s Thai Scholar. He played squash and participated in the music afternoon activity group, Asian

Krirk Nirunwiroj

Maddie O’Brien

Olu Oladitan

Casey O’Neill

Sean O’Reilly

Charlie Paras

Zach Pearce

Melanie Pestana

“ Although softspoken and modest off the tennis court, Sean transforms into a fierce competitor on it.

He is one of the most talented players Brooks has had in the past 10 years.”

DOUG BURBANK ON SEAN O’REILLY ’20

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Ashley Picard

E. B. Plumeri

Jack Quinn

Sophia Ranalli

Daniela Reyes

Dan Riccio

Cam Riley

Sydney Robinson

“ She is an accomplished and dedicated student and an even better person. Daniela is incredibly thoughtful, bright, mature and selfless.

Brooks is a better place for having her.”

KENYA JONES ON DANIELA REYES ’20

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American Association and math team. “Krirk was an excellent resident of Peabody House,” says dorm parent Rebecca Binder. “He led by example, pitched in enthusiastically for activities, and loved hanging out with and getting to know other residents. We’ll miss him!” Music teacher Claudia Keller will also miss his drums and bass playing. “It was so fun to hear,” she says. “He has a good ear.”

Maddie O’Brien played soccer and squash, participated in the fitness and hammock clubs, and studied abroad in Spain during her time at Brooks. Girls soccer coach Kerry Baldwin calls O’Brien “relentless on the soccer field,” adding that “her teammates admire this quality.” Her advisor, science faculty Justine Rooney, admires O’Brien’s adventurousness. “While at Brooks, Maddie pushed herself to experience everything this community has to offer,” she says. “I am so proud of her and will miss her laugh, sass and thoughtfulness.”

Olu Oladitan was a school and School Meeting prefect. He also played football and basketball.

His algebra teacher Moira Goodman recognizes his tenacity. “In that class, I grew to admire his perseverance,” she says. His football coach Pat Foley adds, “Olu is a team-first guy who was an incredibly smart, dedicated and talented member of the football team.”

Casey O’Neill played field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse at Brooks. “I was so fortunate to coach Casey for five seasons at Brooks,” says lacrosse head coach and field hockey assistant coach Carly Churchill ’10. O’Neill, who also served as a day student prefect, “was a selfless teammate, a tough lacrosse defender and above all, a kind person.

Her presence on the turf and across campus will be missed dearly.”

Sean O’Reilly played ultimate frisbee and ice hockey and was a guitarist in the rock band, but it was in tennis that he dominated. “Although soft-spoken and modest off the tennis court, Sean transforms into a fierce competitor on it,” says his advisor, Doug Burbank.

“He is one of the most talented players Brooks has had in the past 10 years.”

Tennis coach Alex Skinner ’08 calls O’Reilly “one of the best teammates I’ve ever coached,” and adds, “He always put his teammates before himself. We will miss his leadership in a big way.”

Charlie Paras was a lacrosse player who also participated in ultimate frisbee and fitness club at Brooks. “He is one of the best lacrosse goalies ever to play at Brooks,” says lacrosse coach and English teacher Dean Charpentier, “but Chuck’s legacy will be as a kind, friendly and supportive community member well-liked by all.”

Zach Pearce has an “optimism and smile that will be missed on campus, but I know that he will check in often and will always be a part of this community,” says soccer coach Willie Waters ’02 of the soccer and lacrosse player. “Zach is one of the best captains in the history of Brooks soccer. No one wanted to let him down, and he did all that he could to help his teammates.”

Melanie Pestana was a dorm prefect and member of Alianza Latina who played squash and soccer and participated in yoga and sailing. She also contributed to “Still Waters,” the school’s literary journal. Associate Head for Academic Affairs Lance Latham says he “really enjoyed watching Melanie grow as a writer and scholar during her time at Brooks.” It is her friendliness, though, that her dorm parent Leigh Perkins ’81 treasures. “I’m so grateful for her help with the third-formers in Gardner House,” she says.

“Her kindness made their year so much better!”

Ashley Picard was a dorm prefect who participated in cross-country, ice hockey and crew, as well as who contributed to Brooks’s literary journal “Still Waters.” “I have really enjoyed being her advisor,” says Lillian Miller. “She is such a warm young lady who always supported the members of our advisory well by

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giving great advice and leading by example. We will miss Ashley!”

E. B. Plumeri’s “authenticity and resilience make her a standout,” says her advisor, Steph Holmes.

“She is a deep thinker and speaks her mind with conviction on issues that matter to her.” The artist and athlete, who played field hockey and ice hockey, Holmes adds, “will be missed!”

Jack Quinn was a dorm prefect who participated in ultimate frisbee, fitness club, basketball, football and lacrosse during his time at Brooks. “He has a unique talent for making an atmosphere comfortable and encouraging others along,” says Academic Dean Susanna Waters.

“Considerate, kind and with a smile that lights up a room, Jack’s engagement in my class raised the bar for everyone.”

Sophia Ranalli was a student wellness prefect who served as a head of the a cappella group Serendipities and as a head of Room X. She also acted and sang in student musicals, and participated in sailing, yoga and crew.

“Sophia is enthusiastic and all-in,” says her advisor Lisa Saunders. “A fierce competitor in the classroom and on the field, she puts all of herself into everything she does.”

Daniela Reyes was a school and Chapel prefect who co-headed Alianza Latina and Room X while also participating in choir,

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Serendipities, Bishop’s Bells, school musicals and soccer. “Daniela is an excellent leader,” says club advisor Lillian Miller.

“She gets things done!”

Advisor Kenya Jones agrees, adding, “She is an accomplished and dedicated student and an even better person. Daniela is incredibly thoughtful, bright, mature and selfless. Brooks is a better place for having her.”

Dan Riccio “can light up a whole room with a quick wit and joyful energy,” says Nurse Leader Stephanie Savarese of the student who acted in the school’s musicals each year, plus the spring play in 2019, and who also participated in soccer, cross country, yoga and dance at Brooks.

“Dan is always ready to share thoughts and experiences with the younger students in our group, and it is always helpful,” adds advisor Lisa Saunders.

“Dan is incredibly caring and thoughtful of others.”

Cam Riley was a member of the Brooks investment club and an athlete who participated in sailing, wrestling and fitness club.

“I remember the first time I met him, during orientation in Ashburn Chapel, when he was a bit timid starting out at Brooks,” says his advisor Steph Holmes. “And to think now of the confident young man he’s grown into. It’s just amazing how far he’s come.

I’m really proud of him.”

Sydney Robinson was a dorm prefect and co-head

of the Black Student Union who played volleyball, basketball and lacrosse at Brooks. “Sydney’s competitiveness really came out in games; she was a force at the net,” says volleyball coach Chelsea Clater. “It was especially fun to watch her deadly serves. I’m so happy she was a part of the inaugural team, and I’ll miss her smile coming off the court after a tough match.” Robinson’s advisor, Steph Holmes, adds, “People are drawn to Syd’s wonderful sense of humor, and I will miss her contagious laughter!”

Madeline Saunders was an arts prefect who not only performed in school musicals, but who also managed the tech behind the scenes for two other productions. She also participated in soccer and crew. But it is her thoughtfulness that her advisor, Kristin Moody, will remember most.

“Madeline could always be counted on to motivate our advisory group and make plans to celebrate the big and the small occasions,” she says. “She has a sarcasm that hits us all at the time when we need a good laugh. She is smart, kind, creative, multi-talented, and she has made the most of her time at Brooks.”

Catherine Scher was a three-sport athlete at Brooks, playing field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse. “Catherine is a sweet, kind, creative young woman whose empathy knows no bounds,”

Madeline Saunders

Catherine Scher

Annie Serrao

Caroline Sheehan

Vanessa Shipley

Tobey Smith

Parker Sondag

Carly Stefanini

“ Janelle has been willing to take risks: coming to Brooks all the way from California, going abroad to Spain — she has taken advantage of every opportunity that has come her way. I am so incredibly proud of her!”

WENDY BRENNAN ON JANELLE UMANA-LIMON ’20

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Nicole Sun

Sam Thomson

Janelle Umana-Limon

Jose Victorino

Henry Warzecha

Erika Wilson

Fritz Wright

Skyler Zheng

Claire Ziady

“ Henry’s work at the intersection of data, finance and economics has been extraordinary.

[He is] an economist in the making.”

TOTE SMITH ON HENRY WARZECHA ’20

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says her advisor, Laura Hajdukiewicz, who adds that Catherine cares deeply about her friends and has a love for animals and art. “She has a smile,” adds the science teacher, “that lights up a room!”

Annie Serrao was a member of the investment club who also participated in CAB and prom committee, as well as field hockey, basketball, squash and lacrosse during her time at Brooks. “Annie is a determined, powerful woman,” says field hockey coach Tess O’Brien. “She pursues athletic and academic endeavors with grit and kicks butt in the face of adversity.”

Caroline Sheehan participated in soccer, yoga and tennis, and Academic Dean Susanna Waters says that she will “miss Caroline’s endearing candor. I always appreciated her willingness to share her insights in class and out.” Her advisor, Claudia Keller, says what she’ll miss is Caroline’s kindness: “Seeing her smile, her thoughtfulness and care for her friends on campus always made me so happy!”

Vanessa Shipley was an admission prefect and head of the Haute Binger fashion blog. She also participated in cross-country, field hockey and fitness club. Her advisor, Mary Jo Carabatsos, calls Shipley “a quiet leader.” She “leads by example and looks out for others with care, concern and compassion,”

Carabatsos says. “She will be missed!”

Tobey Smith “is a remarkable young man,” says English teacher John Haile, advisor to the squash player and crew captain. “He has always embodied a cool, calm, rational approach to life that will allow him to weather life’s storms with equanimity and see through the fogs of emotion and rhetoric that cloud us and keep us from pursuing the vision of something better.” He certainly made classes better, says Latin teacher Deb Davies. “Tobey has a sharp intellect,” she adds.

“He always brought focus to any class, with deep knowledge and a drive to get the details right that pushed class discussions to the next level.”

Parker Sondag was an ice hockey player and golfer who “is a giver, not a taker,” says his advisor, Ryan Dobbins. “Whether on the ice, putting together clips for Good Looks Brooks or adding tremendous value to classroom discussions, what he invested in Brooks did not go unnoticed.” That goes for the golf team, too.

“Parker is a hard worker who clearly loves the game,” says his coach, Dan Callahan. “Most importantly, I could always count on him to conduct himself well, and with great humor, even when he found himself in almost every bunker at Haig Point Golf Club.”

Carly Stefanini led by example, her advisor, Justine Rooney, says. The student wellness prefect and athlete who played volleyball, ice hockey and softball is “thoughtful, kind and pragmatic,” says the science teacher. “More than anything, though,” Rooney continues, “I will miss her laugh and sense of humor.” Ice hockey coach Lori Charpentier agrees, adding: “Carly is a very skilled player who hit 100 career points, which is a huge accomplishment, but more than that, she is a great teammate. She’s been a big part of Brooks hockey, and she will be missed!”

Nicole Sun was a leader for Asian American Association who also participated in Students on the Forefront of Science, volleyball, basketball, softball, acting, art and dance.

“It can be challenging to keep up with Nicole’s positive and creative energy,” says Kristin Moody.

“She is smart, funny and always offers a bit of the unknown.”

Sam Thomson is “someone his peers look up to, and not just because he’s tall!” says Academic Dean Susanna Waters. “He is kind and genuinely interested in others. They don’t come nicer than Sam.” The school and dorm prefect played basketball, and his coach, John McVeigh, calls him “an exceptional leader on and off the court.” Sam is “one of the most humble, positive and selfless

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students I’ve worked with,” says McVeigh.

Janelle Umana-Limon served as a dorm prefect and participated in volleyball, cross-country and tennis. Advisor Lillian Miller describes her as a dedicated co-head of Alianza Latina who inspired its members.

Umana-Limon inspired college counselor Wendy Brennan, too. “Janelle has been willing to take risks: coming to Brooks all the way from California, going abroad to Spain,” she says.

“She has taken advantage of every opportunity that has come her way. I am so incredibly proud of her!”

Jose Victorino “has a quiet, observing nature, and it has been my pleasure to get to know more about who he is inside,” says Kristin Moody of the student-athlete who participated in cross country, ultimate frisbee, tennis, squash and crew, as well as choir, during his time on campus. “Jose has a lot to share, and I hope that he leaves knowing that he always has another home here at Brooks. He has been an outstanding dormmate, friend and competitor.”

Henry Warzecha was president of the investment club and a golfer. “Henry’s work at the intersection of data, finance and economics has been extraordinary,” Tote Smith says of his advisee, adding that Warzecha is “an economist in the making.” He was also a wonderful Peabody House dorm prefect, says dorm parent Rebecca Binder.

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“He set a strong example of leadership and citizenship for the younger residents,” she shares.

Erika Wilson was a Chapel prefect and “an amazing ambassador to the Exchange Program,” says program director Lisa Saunders. Wilson made an impact on campus activities, including Alianza Latina, BSU, crew, interscholastic digital magazine “The Tavern,” theater, poetry club and yearbook. “She had such a positive attitude and respect for her classmates,” says music faculty Claudia Keller, “and such a smile.

It lit up the room!”

Fritz Wright “brought genuine warmth, unflagging effort and undeniable class to everything he did at Brooks,” says advisor Randy Hesse of the football, ice hockey and crew athlete, who also served as a Chapel prefect and jazz band member. Crew coach Tote Smith adds, “Fritz has been an invaluable leader on the team. We will do our best to foster the great traditions of hard work and team spirit he has furthered as our captain, but he leaves behind some very large shoes.”

Skyler Zheng, a Model UN head and sustainability prefect, “has so much passion for everything she tries,” says her advisor, Lisa Saunders. “From coding to Model UN to arts to sciences, her interests are as diverse and unique as she is. It has been a complete joy to be her advisor.”

Skyler — who participated

in dance, squash, tennis, yoga and photography club at Brooks — has been a bright light in the classroom, too, says French teacher Andrea Medved: “She is an amazing, smart, sensitive young lady, with so much potential!”

Claire Ziady played field hockey and ice hockey and participated in community service at Brooks. It was her courage, though, that made a lasting impression on English teacher John McVeigh. “I was so proud of Claire’s work in oratory class,” he says. “She worked hard to overcome some early nerves and delivered an amazing speech. Her positive energy and resilience made our classroom a much better place!”

As third-formers, the class of 2020 spent a day together on campus in fall 2016, where they got to know each other and began to build an identity as a class.

“ I was so proud of Claire’s work in oratory class. She worked hard to overcome some early nerves and delivered an amazing speech. Her positive energy and resilience made our classroom a much better place!”

JOHN MCVEIGH ON CLAIRE ZIADY ’20

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A Day in the Life

Brooks students have been attending class, going to afternoon activities and doing their best to engage with life at the school in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic this year.

In the fall and winter sessions, all students chose to either board on campus or attend school virtually, which they did from across town, from across the country and from across the world. The Bulletin asked four Brooks students to diary and photograph a Monday in February at school. Here is a glimpse into how they experienced this winter of their Brooks experience. The school was happy to also open campus to day students this spring; 36 students chose to remain virtual students for the spring term.

BY R E B E CC A A . B I N D E R / P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y O F T H E S T U D E N T S F E AT U R E D

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← Boarding

JACK FRI ME T ’ 21 North Andover, Mass.

Eastern Standard Time

↓ Virtual

HARRY ZHU ’ 21 Shanghai, China China Standard Time (thirteen hours ahead of North Andover)

↓ Virtual

SAISHA PRABHAKAR ’ 22 Andover, Mass.

Eastern Standard Time

← Virtual

N AO MI WELLSO ’ 22 Denver, Colo.

Mountain Standard Time (two hours behind North Andover)

[Ed. Note: At the time these students diaried their day at Brooks in early February 2021, afternoon activities had not yet begun. Please read more about our winter session’s afternoon activities offerings for on-campus and virtual students on page 18.]

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A DAY IN T HE LIFE

[BOARDING]

JACK FRI MET ’ 21

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. (EST)*

7:45 A.M. (EST) Wake up, brush my teeth and get dressed.

Since the school relaxed its dress code this year, I don’t have to get up as early to put on a “real outfit.” I live in a triple in Thorne House with two other sixth-formers.

7:58 A.M. (EST) Arrive at the Classroom Building for my 8 a.m. class. In order to help keep us safe, the staircases are one-way now; my class is on the fourth floor, and I have to use the designated “up” staircase. I reclaim my seat in my advanced history capstone. This is a skills group, so only half of the class is meeting. The seats are six feet apart, and they all face the same way now — gone are the days of tables arranged in circles. Skills groups are useful for getting one-on-one help from teachers. We can really focus on editing a paper, for example. [Ed. Note: Skills groups schedule half the class to meet once a week, which allows each on-campus student to attend two of three weekly class periods in person.]

8:44 A.M. (EST) Walk down the “down” stairs and to Wilder Dining Hall for breakfast. It’s open until 9 a.m., and now that we have 15 minutes of passing time between classes, I have time to grab a muffin from the dining hall before I head back to my 9 a.m. economics class.

[Ed. Note: This year’s schedule creates 15 minutes between classes to give classroom teachers time to thoroughly clean and disinfect their classrooms between classes.]

11:03 A.M. (EST) After my Self in Community class, taught by Mr. Packard, I go to my dorm room to watch Chapel and meet in my advisory online.

Chapel is livestreamed on Google Meet this year. I miss seeing the whole school together and belting out some hymns, but I do appreciate that I can have some snacks while I watch!

11:33 A.M. (EST) When the Chapel service ends, I log into Zoom to meet with my advisory. It’s been hard meeting the new students in my advisory over Zoom this year, but my advisor, Mr. McVeigh, always makes our meetings entertaining.

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*Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Jack Frimet (foreground) walks from Thorne House to the Classroom Building for his 8 a.m. class. → ← Jack Frimet’s advanced history capstone skills group meets with department chair Michele Musto.

Jack Frimet (top row, center) meets with his advisory over Zoom from his dorm room after Chapel. →

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A DAY IN TH E L IF E

← Jack Frimet (left) and friends walk the fire trail that borders a frozen Lake Cochichewick.

11:53 A.M. (EST) I get lunch from the dining hall and bring it back to my dorm room to eat. All our meals are grab-and-go at the moment, and we are allowed to eat only in our own dorm rooms or outdoors. My classes are over for the day, so I have a lot of free time this afternoon. I do some English homework and watch some Netflix.

2:18 P.M. (EST) I walk the fire trail with some friends who live in other dorms. Normally in February, we would hang out indoors; now, though, students who live in different dorms can’t gather indoors together. Lake Cochichewick is frozen!

4:00 P.M. (EST) I head to the athletic center for my scheduled COVID-19 test. This is the third of our three intake tests; throughout the semester, students are randomly chosen for testing also. When my test is complete, I head back to my room and more time with my roommates. At 5:30, we grab dinner from the dining hall and bring it back to our room to watch Netflix together.

↑ Jack Frimet (right) at his third of three intake tests for COVID-19. All students and on-campus employees complied with a rigorous testing protocol.

Jack Frimet (left) and friends enjoy a sledding session behind Thorne House.

The school provided sleds for use by students, and sledding became a popular pastime on campus. →

❝ We get tired of being in our room, so we get some friends to go sledding with us on the hill behind Thorne. The snow was coming down hard, but we had a good time. ❞

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6:00 P.M. (EST) We get tired of being in our room, so we get some friends to go sledding with us on the hill behind Thorne. The snow was coming down hard, but we had a good time.

8:00 P.M. (EST) Check in for study hall in the dorm. We can’t gather in the common room for check-in, so our dorm parent goes door to door to check us all in. It’s convenient, but I miss having conversations with the rest of the kids in my dorm at check-in. The library is closed, so we have study hall in our room until 10 p.m. and another check-in.

10:00 P.M. (EST) The students coming back to Thorne from structured study hall in the Science Forum track snow inside, so a few of us shovel out the path in front of the dorm.

11:00 P.M. (EST) I brush my teeth and go to bed.

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A DAY IN T HE LIFE

[VIRTUAL]

SAISHA PRABHAKAR ’ 22 ANDOVER, MASS. (EST)*

7:30 A.M. (EST) Wake up, brush my teeth, shower and get ready for the day. Showering in the morning really helps me wake up for class. It also gives me a little bit of a routine to start my day, which helps me to be alert.

7:55 A.M. (EST) Drink some water (I like to drink a lot of water, so I always have my water bottle with me) and get ready to take my 8 a.m.

English class from my desk in my room.

We’re discussing Beat Generation poets (specifically Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”).

This is a concurrent class, so some students are in Mr. Charpentier’s classroom and some are virtual. I really enjoyed this class; the technology and my participation felt natural even though I was virtual.

*Eastern Standard Time (EST)

→ The day begins for virtual student Saisha Prabhakar.

8:45 A.M. (EST) FaceTime Lindsay, a Brooks friend who is in Hong Kong. I normally FaceTime Lindsay in between classes, before she ends her day to go to bed.

← Saisha Prabhakar (top, inset) has a FaceTime call with a classmate who is in Hong Kong.

9:00 A.M. (EST) Concert Chorale class. It was a little more difficult to see my in-person peers in this class, and I miss singing with them a ton.

9:45 A.M. (EST) Eat some yummy pizza my mom made and make my daily to-do list while listening to music. I try to make a to-do list every day; it helps me feel more accomplished and motivated to complete my work and other tasks.

10:00 A.M. (EST) My AP United States history skills group meets. A skills group is half of a concurrent class, and we meet once a week. I feel much more comfortable speaking and more engaged in the smaller group.

We were all virtual today, and we talked about Black History Month and practiced answering the AP test’s “short answer question” format. I really enjoyed our discussion on antiracism, and it was great to have a meaningful conversation.

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❝ I try to make a to-do list every day; it helps me feel more accomplished and motivated to complete my work and other tasks.❞

↑ Saisha Prabhakar attends Concert Chorale class virtually.

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A DAY IN TH E L IF E

Saisha Prabhakar (bottom) and Naomi Wellso (top) catch up after an Outreach Club meeting. ↓

↑ Saisha Prabhakar heads outside for a screen break between classes and Chapel.

3:00 P.M. (EST) After the club meeting, I have a really good conversation with Naomi (hi, Naomi!) until she leaves to go to the dentist.

10:45 A.M. (EST) I head outside for some fresh air and a little dance party break. Then, back inside for Chapel at 11. We’ve been observing Black History Month in Chapel, and I really enjoy the opening Amma Boamah-Appiah ’21 delivered.

6:00 P.M. (EST) I eat dinner — uthapam, an Indian dish.

It’s like a dosa: a flat, savory pancake filled with tomatoes, onions and some other veggies!

11:35 A.M. (EST) I have advisory with Ms. McDonough and Taylor, another student who is virtual this year. I love advisory! My entire advisory is virtual this year, and I like having this small group to go to; we have a wonderful support system as well as a safe space to engage in really important and thoughtful conversations. Today, we continue to discuss Amma’s Chapel opening.

12:00 P.M. (EST) AP Spanish quiz.

12:50 P.M. (EST) Eat lunch — pulav, which is rice with some veggies and spices — and drink some delicious orange-peach-mango juice.

1:30 P.M. (EST) Prepare some questions for a math review session I have scheduled with Mrs. Schenkel at 2. I FaceTime with my cousin at 1:40. She got new glasses, and we talk about a music group we both like.

2:30 P.M. (EST) Outreach Club meeting. We organize sending cards to COVID-19 patients and a video asking other students to participate.

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7:00 P.M. (EST) We have a Family FaceTime call every night with our cousins and grandma.

↑ Pulav and juice, which Saisha Prabhakar eats for lunch.

Saisha Prabhakar studies for a math quiz scheduled for the next day. →

8:00 P.M. (EST) I start studying for tomorrow’s math quiz. I get into a super-focused study mode by putting my phone away and playing some lo-fi beats.

10:00 P.M. (EST) I wash my face, do skincare, brush my teeth and start winding down for the night.

10:30 P.M. (EST) Finish up studying for my math quiz by watching a few math videos before saying goodnight to my parents.

11:30 P.M. (EST) I use the Ten Percent Happier app on my phone to do some mindfulness meditation before falling asleep.

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A DAY IN T HE LIFE

[VIRTUAL]

NAOMI WELLSO ’ 22 DENVER, COLO. (MST)*

7:45 A.M. (EST) 5:45 A.M. (MST) I wake up in Denver, get dressed, get coffee and water, and get ready for my 8 a.m. biology class. Because of the time zone difference, it’s sometimes hard to get up in the morning when it’s cold and dark out, but I do enjoy my classes ending so early in the day. I have so much of the day left to do what I want with!

*Mountain Standard Time (MST) (two hours behind North Andover) ↑ Naomi Wellso attends her biology class, in which she delivers a presentation with a classmate.

8:00 A.M. (EST) 6:00 A.M. (MST) I attend my hybrid biology class virtually, and I present my project on organelles to my class. I was on campus in the fall, and I think being virtual while other kids are in the classroom will take some getting used to. It’s still dark out when class ends, so I take a break to get some juice, play with my dog and read a few pages of my book (“The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho — it’s so good!).

9:00 A.M. (EST) 7:00 A.M. (MST) In AP Studio Art, the class took turns presenting on our favorite works from a recent exhibit we explored together. Halfway through class, the sun comes up. This is a concurrent class that the entire class attends. When I was in person in the fall, art was my favorite class because of the other students in it. Now that I’m working alone in my room, it feels different and I miss being with them.

↑ By 7 a.m., Naomi Wellso is in her second class of the day.

Canine friend Gigi enjoys a trip outside with Naomi Wellso during a break in Wellso’s day. →

10:00 A.M. (EST) 8:00 A.M. (MST) My Self in Community class talks about current events, including Reddit’s influence on the GameStop stock price and COVID-19. After class, I head outside for a few minutes with my dog.

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A DAY IN TH E L IF E

Naomi Wellso takes time to read a few pages of “The Alchemist” when she is done with class for the day. →

11:00 A.M. (EST) 9:00 A.M. (MST) I log back in for Chapel and advisory.

12:00 P.M. (EST) 10:00 A.M. (MST) In math class, my teacher had every student join the Zoom, regardless of whether they were in person or virtual.

That feels better to me, since I can see and hear them all more clearly and it feels like we’re all in the same mode.

12:45 P.M. (EST) 10:45 A.M (MST) I’m done with classes for the day, so I take a break to walk with Gigi, play with the neighbor’s dog and read some more of my book.

Saisha Prabhakar (bottom) and Naomi Wellso (top) catch up after an Outreach Club meeting. ←←

2:30 P.M. (EST) 12:30 P.M. (MST) I have an Outreach Club meeting with Saisha. Afterward, Saisha and I (hi, Saisha!) hang out and talk until I leave to have lunch and go to the dentist.

5:00 P.M. (EST) 3:00 P.M. (MST) After my appointment at the dentist, I read, watch some TV, work on my art project and play chess before dinner. My art project depicts the different stages of sleep and how I feel when I’m falling asleep.

9:40 P.M. (EST) 7:40 P.M. (MST) Once dinner is over, I read a little more, shower and get ready to go to bed. I did most of my homework for tomorrow over the weekend, so it’s a relaxed night.

11:30 P.M. (EST) 9:30 P.M (MST) I get in bed and finish my book before falling asleep.

↑ Naomi Wellso has an appointment with her dentist.

❝ My art project depicts the different stages of sleep and how I feel when I’m falling asleep.❞

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↑ A project in progress that Naomi Wellso is working on for her AP Studio Art class.

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A DAY IN T HE LIFE

[VIRTUAL]

HARRY ZHU ’ 21 SHANGHAI, CHINA (CST)*

10:24 P.M. (EST) (SUNDAY) 11:24 A.M. (CST) (MONDAY) I wake up to get ready for my Monday day at Brooks.

10:40 P.M. (EST) (SUNDAY) 11:40 A.M. (CST) (MONDAY) I cook my first meal of the day (breakfast, but really, it’s lunch), and I look at my phone while I eat it.

12:00 A.M. (EST) (MONDAY) 1:00 P.M. (CST) I return to bed for some extra sleep.

*China Standard Time (13 hours ahead of North Andover)

↑ The view from Harry Zhu’s window in Shanghai includes a shopping mall and a pedestrian shopping zone.

12:30 A.M. (EST) 1:30 P.M. (CST) My power nap is over, so I get started on my assignments for biology and AP United States history.

1:30 A.M. (EST) 2:30 P.M. (CST) I eat a quick second meal of the day.

3:00 A.M. (EST) 4:00 P.M. (CST) I take a break from studying to eat my third small meal of the day before I head to the gym to work out.

Harry Zhu embarks on his AP United States history assignment. →

4:00 A.M. (EST) 5:00 P.M. (CST) At the gym, I do an hour of strength training and then a Thai boxing session.

Then, I do my physical therapy treatment before I head back home to shower and eat dinner.

← One of the meals Harry Zhu eats in the course of his day as a virtual Brooks student in China.

7:40 A.M. (EST) 8:40 P.M. (CST) I have some free time before class, and I try to reserve this block of time for gaming.

Harry Zhu takes time to work out at his gym in Shanghai before heading home to attend class. →

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A DAY IN TH E L IF E

9:00 A.M. (EST) 10:00 P.M. (CST) I log into my first class of the day at Brooks, my AP United States history class taught by Mr. Latham. We have 15 minutes between classes this year, which I use to rest.

10:00 A.M. (EST) 11:00 P.M. (CST) My second class of the day, honors anatomy with Mrs. Hajdukiewicz, meets.

↑ Harry Zhu attends his honors anatomy and physiology class with faculty Laura Hajdukiewicz.

HARRY ZHU ’21 reflects on attending Brooks from a time zone that is 13 hours ahead:

❝ After getting used to the schedule, it’s simply become a normal schedule in my mind. Now, my normal bedtime is 3 a.m., and usually, I couldn’t go to sleep earlier even if I wanted to.

Waking up at lunchtime simply means pushing all my meals backwards a bit and does not have a tremendous impact on my daily life. I am very thankful that the school adopted a shortened schedule day. Without it, us virtual students in Asia probably would not be able to attend all our classes. The hardest thing about studying virtually is simply not being at school. Not feeling the environment of studying is really abnormal for me, but I am slowly getting the hang of it. ❞

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11:00 A.M. (EST) (MONDAY) 12:00 A.M. (CST) (TUESDAY) I log into Chapel through the Google Meet livestream, and then I meet virtually with my advisor, Mr. Hesse.

11:45 A.M. (EST) (MONDAY) 12:45 A.M. (CST) (TUESDAY) My classes are over for the day, and I spend some time working on my school assignments and gaming. My current favorite game is Rainbow Six Siege. I game with my friends a lot, which helps us all be social during the virtual learning days.

1:30 P.M. (EST) (MONDAY) 2:30 A.M. (CST) (TUESDAY) I wash my face, brush my teeth and start to get ready for bed.

2:00 P.M. (EST) (MONDAY) 3:00 A.M. (CST) (TUESDAY) I go to bed. My classes and commitments were over two hours ago, but I try to go to bed at the same time every day so that I don’t get tired on the days when I have classes that are scheduled later in the day at Brooks.

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TEACHERS AS LEARNERS

Mastering the demands, techniques and pedagogy of hybrid learning.

BY REBECCA A. BINDER

Brooks has always been proud of its dedicated, enthusiastic and effective faculty. Teachers at Brooks take pride in their craft, in the depth and thought they put into their lessons and courses, and in the close relationships they form with their students. The COVID19 pandemic forced Brooks to move to a fully virtual mode in March 2020. The school reopened this year in a hybrid model that was heavily dependent on technology and the internet. Classroom teachers were asked to teach in-person and virtual students at the same time, and Brooks teachers rose to the challenge: Veteran teachers relied on the instincts they honed over decades of work; younger teachers brought fresh ideas and new skills to syllabi and lesson plans; and the faculty pulled together as a group to share wisdom and resources in service to Brooks students. Here, four Brooks teachers reflect on how working with technology across different learning modes changed their teaching and their work with students and colleagues.

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CHEMISTRY FACULTY

LEO LAFOND Brooks chemistry teacher Leo Lafond knows what he’s doing in a classroom: He’s been a teacher for almost five decades, and he joined the Brooks faculty in 2008 following an extensive career in the Andover, Massachusetts, public school system.

Lafond has confidence in his classroom because he’s earned it: He’s an expert teacher who is supremely comfortable with his course content; who knows his syllabus and can predict how students will fit different topics together; who knows how to teach to groups of students who are individuals with different learning styles, strengths and interests.

Being in a classroom with students is invaluable to Lafond’s teaching. He relies on clues in a student’s body language, mood and affect to know if that student understands the lesson. “As a veteran teacher, you can stand in the front of a classroom and you can read the class,” he explains.

“You can see who might be struggling, who might be having a difficult time, who might not be getting it, who might not be paying attention. All of that registers with you.”

Then, the world changed in March 2020, and Lafond found himself in uncharted waters as Brooks moved all its classes to a virtual mode for the remainder of the spring.

“I was really nervous,” Lafond says, recalling logging on for his first virtual class in March 2020, his students appearing in boxes on his laptop screen instead of at lab tables in his classroom. “When you see 14 faces in boxes on a Zoom screen, you don’t get the same feedback. I think that today, that’s my biggest challenge, not being able to read faces as well as I could if they were all sitting in front of me.”

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Lafond has regained his confidence since last March. He’s always liked to integrate technology into his classroom and his lessons, and he credits his colleagues with helping him. “I think by far the most helpful person for me has been [Dean of Teaching Initiatives and Learning] Mary Jo Carabatsos,” Lafond says. “Especially early on, when I was working my way through some of the different programs we’ve been using, she was especially helpful.”

Teaching in a hybrid mode has caused Lafond to revisit his lesson plans. For example, he has shifted to using virtual labs that the entire class engages in that are focused on building skills, like following directions, working together and analyzing data; he feels this is more equitable and effective than asking virtual students to watch their in-person peers conduct traditional lab experiments from afar. “You really need to have a dual focus, and you need to be very aware of the fact that not all the kids are sitting in front of you,” he says. “That might mean moving through the content more slowly; it might mean being aware of where you’re standing in the classroom, and whether your virtual students can see and hear you.”

“Even though I have to have a dual focus, I still love having some of the kids in my classroom,” Lafond says.

“I know it’s more work to be in a hybrid mode, but I wouldn’t swap that for all-remote.”

Lafond is optimistic about the future. “I think we’re all going to come out of this better teachers,” he says. “In fact, I’m sure of it, from the lessons we’ve all learned.

We’re all going to be better for it.”

“We’re all going to come out of this better teachers.”

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HISTORY FACULTY

AMANDA NASSER “Teaching in this hybrid mode and having one fewer class period a week has made me really think about what is essential for my kids to know, and what the essential skills are that they need to learn how to do,” says history faculty Amanda Nasser, an eighth-year teacher who is currently pursuing a doctorate of education concentrating in curriculum, teaching, learning and leadership from Northeastern University. “I’ve become more attached to the essential knowledge the students need to gain and on helping them figure out ways to apply that essential knowledge. Research is huge for us, as is writing, argument development, putting history into context and defending our arguments with evidence.”

The school’s move to a hybrid mode caused Nasser to crystallize the what and the why of her syllabus, but the idea of teaching history in the internet age isn’t new to Nasser. In fact, Nasser’s doctoral dissertation will focus on, she says, “the purpose of history in the age of Google.”

“It’s a lot to do with civics, experiential learning and student voice,” Nasser continues. “You can just use Google to find out the dates of a war or the facts of someone’s life; knowing that, how do we engage students in historical inquiry?”

In Nasser’s courses, students focus on major themes, on historical trends and on making connections between the two. For example, she explains, her students engage in a unit on revolutions in the modern world: They learn about the American Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, focusing on making thematic connections between them and the ways in which they influence the world we live in today.

Since the pandemic began, Nasser has noticed the benefit of the technology she’s come to rely on; in many ways, it’s helped her students connect with each other and with her in new ways. Zoom breakout rooms, which she uses to replace the small group collaborative work that took place before the

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pandemic, make it easier for students to ask for help — instead of seeking her out in person, they can press a button to ask her to join. The breakout room format also allows her to rotate through the groups to check on students and their progress much more efficiently. Nasser says that students’ ability to use the chat and reactions features on Zoom helps them show their agreement or disagreement with a classmate’s point without needing to wait to be called on in discussion. She also speaks highly of Parlay, a Google Chrome extension app that allows students to submit comments on a topic online and then read and comment on each other’s thoughts easily.

Nasser also finds that students are more willing to sign up for extra-help sessions or writing conferences with her if they are held online, rather than in person. “They don’t have to come over to the Classroom Building and climb up to my classroom on the fourth floor,” she says. “They can just quickly check in, share their screen, and it’s low-stakes.” She misses what she calls “the buzz of the classroom when kids are doing collaborative work,” but she’s also considering continuing to use technology to facilitate that collaborative work and to meet with students individually. “I think that might be a way to get them to keep signing up to meet with me,” she says.

“I do miss the in-person interaction a lot,” she says. “I don’t think I know my students as well as I did in the past, because I just don’t see them as often in class or around campus. The kids are really resilient and are making do in this really hard time, but I miss them being in my classroom.”

AN INTENTIONAL SCHEDULE

Brooks courses typically meet four times a week. During the course of this academic year, students met with their teacher three times a week instead: Twice in typically sized “concurrent” class meetings, which students alternated attending in-person or virtually; and once in a “skills group” meeting, in which half the class met. Typically, on-campus students attended two of the three weekly class meetings in person.

This arrangement allowed students to lower their cognitive load by introducing more free time into their schedules; allowed students to attend class in person most of the time while still allowing for physical distancing in classrooms; and allowed teachers to work with each student in a small-group, skills-based setting once a week.

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“I’ve become more attached to the essential knowledge the students need to gain and on helping them figure out ways to apply that essential knowledge. Research is huge for us, as is writing, argument development, putting history into context and defending our arguments with evidence.”

TEACHING HISTORY IN HISTORIC TIMES

How does one teach history in historic times? “I make a bad joke with my students,” history faculty Amanda Nasser says. “I tell them that we all need to write in our journals because historians later on are going to be using them as primary sources for the AP exam. We need to write everything down, or take a lot of videos,” she laughs. “I also tell them,” she says, growing serious, “that these are historical events, but that I’m getting tired of continuously having to live through these historical events.”

Nasser’s approach to teaching history while history is happening focuses on how to find good sources of news and information. “We spend time looking at news articles together, and we use the ‘CRAAP test’ to evaluate them,” she says. “Is this article current? Is it relevant? Who is the authority? Is it accurate? And, what is this article’s purpose? I have my students look up different articles on current events, and then we bring them all together and evaluate them as a group.”

Nasser also gives her students space for the personal impacts of current events. “We talk, for example, about how each of us is experiencing the pandemic a little bit differently, and also how it’s impacting our society,” she says.

“The kids bring their personal experience to the discussion.

I leave space for kids to share, and room to talk about it if they want to.”

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BEYOND THE TEXTBOOK

Science faculty Justine Rooney makes a point of teaching her third-form physics students about physicists who are typically underrepresented in the field. Rooney’s students research and present on physicists who are female, LGBTQ, a person of color or a person living with a disability.

“The way I put it is that when I look through a physics textbook, which was probably written before my students were born, there is not a single person represented who looks like me,” Rooney says. “I say that as a cisgender white woman.

That’s an issue for me, so we start there.”

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PHYSICS FACULTY

JUSTINE ROONEY This year, science faculty Justine Rooney taught four sections of third-form physics instead of the three different courses she typically teaches. This move, she says, was intentional. The science department decided to allow teachers to focus on single subjects in order to give faculty more time to focus and prepare for the challenge the department faced: teaching laboratory sciences in a hybrid format.

“We teach conceptual-based physics classes, so we’re lab-heavy,” says Rooney.

“Every week in the past, I’d have kids dropping things off the balcony in the Science Center, releasing motorized cars, building egg traps — all of the physical, hands-on experiments. And this year, in the beginning, we weren’t allowing students to touch anything. They were each in their seats, and then there were kids who were virtual. I really had to think about how to teach a lab science without doing labs.”

Rooney reworked her lessons. She de-emphasized traditional classroom experiments and labs to focus more on the ways in which physics manifests in the world. Rooney points to a series of projects she asks her students to research and present to the class on — for example, students debunk the outrageous physics of Hollywood movies (“We talk a lot about why cars can’t actually do what they do in the ‘Fast and Furious’ movies, and why sound doesn’t actually transmit in space like it does in ‘Star Wars,’” Rooney says); they look at the physics of different sports; they examine the physics of musical instruments. “So instead of relying on traditional labs,” Rooney explains, “we’re manipulating our content to have students look at the world and see how physics fits into it. We haven’t reduced our content; we teach the same curriculum. What we’ve done, though, is figured out how to continue to engage our youngest students and make them realize that physics is part of their daily lives.”

Students in Rooney’s classes are trained to make observations as they climb stairs; they learn about kinematics, and consider the design of bathrooms and the height of chairs. “They can stand in a room and observe how high the counters are, where the door handle is,

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whether the chairs have lips on the backs of the seats,” Rooney says. “All of these were designed to fit the human body.

This actually helps us think and talk about equity in a way that feels comfortable.

We think about how that room feels for someone who is not of a typical height, for someone who doesn’t see colors in the same way most people do, for someone who is left-handed. I’m trying really hard to make physics feel real and approachable.”

Rooney adapted easily to the school’s necessary embrace of technology, which she chalks up to being a younger teacher who has always been comfortable with

adapt to these technologies and help them feel more comfortable in the digital world. It feels nice.”

Rooney also has insight into the nuances of how to teach well digitally because she is also a current digital student. She is studying for her master’s degree in urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University. “I sit in Zoom classes,” she says. “There’s an advantage to being in a master’s program right now, because I’ve watched my own professors teach. I understand the importance of allowing virtual students to feel engaged and connected to the classroom.”

“ I’m excited that the faculty had an opportunity to rethink our pedagogy and teaching. We’re talking about the different skill sets that we each bring, and how those are useful, and what our vulnerabilities are, and how we can help each other.” technology. “The interesting thing for me is that my generation already felt like all this technology was at our fingertips,” she says. “In many ways, this embrace of technology feels to me like the way things should always be.” She says that her generation of teachers — Rooney is a Millennial in her early 30s — was ready and willing to help older, veteran teaching colleagues learn and adapt. “I’ve walked older teachers through how this all works, and I’ve showed them how to connect an iPad to a monitor, for example,” she says. “There has been a collegiality that I’ve appreciated. As a young woman and a newer teacher, when I first got here I didn’t often feel like I had a lot to bring to the table. This makes me — makes us — feel like we have a lot to contribute. My older and more experienced colleagues have contributed so much wisdom and advice to my teaching and my classroom management. I am so happy to help them

In the future, Rooney plans to hang on to some of what she introduced to her course this year. For example, she’s planning to use an iPad projected onto a monitor to write on in class, instead of the whiteboard in her classroom. She says she feels lucky to have the support, technology and resources that Brooks provides. “I’m excited that the faculty had an opportunity to rethink our pedagogy and teaching,” she says. “We’re talking about the different skill sets that we each bring, and how those are useful, and what our vulnerabilities are, and how we can help each other.”

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ENGLISH FACULTY

JOHN HAILE

“ I think necessity is the mother of invention, and necessity is what we were really faced with.”

FAREWELL TO MR. HAILE

English faculty John Haile plans to retire from his long and notable career as a classroom teacher and administrator at the end of this academic year. Haile plans to move to Woolwich, Maine, with his wife, Sue. He’s excited to visit with his children and grandchildren, and he’s also excited to extend his love of teaching into a different field: Haile has had a passion for kayaking for many years, and he is working toward his certification as a Maine-licensed kayak instructor.

“I am just incredibly grateful for what I’ve been able to do with my life,” Haile says. “I cannot, honestly, imagine a better life than I have had. I think that’s really true at Brooks. Living in a community where you have colleagues you really get to know well and share purpose with has been a delight. I so value what Brooks has given me and allowed me to do. There are really good people here, and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”

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English faculty John Haile has held several administrative posts in his career, but he’s always made time in his schedule to teach classes. “The experience of being in the classroom has always been the thing that got me through the hard days,” he says. “It was being in the classroom with the kids that was always closest to my heart.”

Since he left his post as dean of faculty to serve Brooks as a full-time classroom teacher, Haile has taught third-form English, courses on poetry and Shakespeare, and AP English. He calls himself a “traditionalist” who typically uses four classroom materials: a pencil, paper, a book and his voice. Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, his idea of using technology in the classroom was playing a compact disc recording (on a 1990s-era boombox) of BBC actors performing “Macbeth.”

“The idea that I was using actors reading the play, as opposed to just reading the play aloud in class,” he says. “That felt to me like integration of technology into the classroom. The stuff that we were faced with last spring just terrified me.”

What got Haile through the unfamiliarity of virtual teaching last spring, and what has continued to help him through the new technology and teaching methods the school introduced this year, he says, was assistance from his colleagues. “I can’t even tell you how helpful they were,” he says. “I mean, I had no clue about how to do this stuff. My colleagues in the English department, the IT department; Susannah Donoho [who is the youngest member of the English faculty] would spend time helping me try different setups. It just blew my mind.”

Haile was able to put together a technology setup that, he says, purposefully preserves the traditionalist elements of his teaching. “I don’t think I teach much differently now,” he says. “I made a conscious decision to not use other apps. I still believe in pencil and paper and voice, and I try to replicate that as much as possible in the technological medium.” Breakout rooms in Zoom, he’s found, are a natural substitute for the one-on-one writing conferences he typically holds with students regularly.

I think necessity is the mother of invention,” Haile says, “and necessity is what we were really faced with.”

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BROOKS CONNECTIONS IN THIS SECTION 46 Alumni News 50 Class Notes 81 In Memoriam

Neil Maciejewski P’22, a Cape Codbased artist who specializes in stained glass, created this version of the Brooks shield this winter as a birthday present for his son, Zach Johnson ’22.

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The Most Successful Giving Day Yet! Giving Day totals shattered previous records on February 25. The Brooks community stormed past the school’s target of 750 gifts, contributing 1,008 gifts and a total of $432,420 to the Brooks Fund in one day. “In this remarkable year, the Brooks community truly stepped up for Giving Day and exceeded all expectations,” says Director of Annual Giving and Donor Relations Mary Merrill. “We are especially grateful to our dedicated team of class agents, as well as to the donors who issued our two matching challenges. Messages of appreciation and support poured in as alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty and students took this annual opportunity to celebrate Brooks.”

Donors met each of three incentivizing challenges on the way to the record-breaking day. First, the “Brooks Gives Back Challenge” allowed Brooks to donate acutely needed school supplies and learning tools to the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence (BGCL), an organization that the school has partnered with for decades (see accompanying article). Each gift to Brooks, up to 750 gifts, triggered a donation to the BGCL. Second, the 10 youngest alumni classes were able to double their giving impact through the “10 for 10 Young Alumni Challenge”: A generous donor matched, up to $10,000, the total dollar figure collectively donated by the school’s youngest alumni. Third, a generous family formed the “Brooks Together Challenge,” and matched up to $25,000 in gifts given by current parents on Giving Day.

English faculty Leigh Perkins ’81, P’14, P’18 works with BGCL club members in 2014, continuing the legacy of her mother, faculty emeritus Maureen Perkins H’81, W’56, P’81, P’83, GP’14, GP’18.

A Decades-Long Relationship One of the three challenges issued on Giving Day provided donations of needed school supplies and learning tools to the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence (BGCL).

The BGCL serves children and teens from more than 11 public schools in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It supports the club members in their schoolwork; provides activity and sport breaks; and

provides children with a safe place to go in the evening.

Brooks has maintained a close relationship with BGCL for years. The community service afternoon activities program regularly brings Brooksians to the club to mentor, guide and get to know the children who spend time there. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, community service program

“ I’m grateful for the wonderful people I crossed paths with at Brooks, the strong sense of community and beloved traditions, the beautiful campus, and the countless opportunities I had to explore my interests and learn and grow in new ways. I think of Brooks not only as a place I went to, but also as a place I came from. I donate to the Brooks Fund so that Brooks can continue to grow and develop in every area in order to provide students with meaningful educational experiences for years to come.”

EMMA DAWSON ’ 18

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participants reported to BGCL weekly to help club members with their homework, for example.

Opened more than 125 years ago — first as a boys club, before a girls club was created in the 1990s and connected to it through a shared gymnasium, then reimagined in an entirely new co-ed building in 2007, thanks in large part to a gift from former member and Brooks alumnus Bill Perocchi ’75 — the club has long been a mainstay in the Lawrence community.

“The work that is done at the club is so critically important to the youth of Lawrence and the surrounding areas,” says Associate Head for Faculty Affairs John McVeigh H’16. “For many kids, it is the most important thing in their lives. It’s where they eat, study and play each day. It’s where they learn the skills that will help them in school and in life.”

McVeigh is a great example of the impact BGCL can have on its members: He belonged to the club and attended its former Academic Basketball Awareness summer camp throughout his own high school career. He then received a scholarship from BGCL that made it possible for him to attend college. He returned to the club to coach at the camp each summer for more than 25 years.

Brooks is proud of its history of involvement with BGCL, which McVeigh says was personified by the work of faculty emeritus Maureen Perkins

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The Brooks Fund typically accounts for 12 percent of the school’s operating budget. This year, those costs were exacerbated by the school’s ongoing battle to stay in session during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. This graphic reflects those costs as of February 25, 2021, Giving Day.

A N D T H E W IN N ER IS . . .

The class of 1975 took honors again this year, with more than 60 percent of its members participating in Giving Day. The classes of 2006 and 1985 tied for second place with just under 56 percent participation, and the class of 1973 came in a close fourth, with just over 54 percent participation. The class of 1973 contributed $29,835, the highest class total dollar amount.

H’81, W’56, P’81, P’83, GP’14, GP’18. Perkins, who founded and headed up Brooks’s community service program for years, spent decades working to keep Brooks and BGCL connected and ensuring that everyone involved grew from the experience. Maureen Perkins’s daughter, English faculty Leigh Perkins ’81, P’14, P’18, has continued her mother’s support of and involvement with BGCL. Dean of Community Life Ashley Johnston, who currently oversees the school’s community service program, describes the school’s work with BGCL as “a pillar” of the afternoon activity. “Our

Brooks was able to donate school supplies — from pencils and notebooks to calculators and markers — and fun activities ranging from puzzles to hula hoops to BGCL, as well as practical storage buckets, crates and other solutions.

students have thoroughly enjoyed afternoon tutoring, inviting BGCL students to Brooks campus for a basketball game and donating gifts to families for the holidays,” she says. “We hope to continue this amazing partnership for many more years, and we feel very fortunate to be able to partner with such a wonderful organization.”

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A LUM N I N E WS

ALUMNI BRIEFS On October 1, 2020, leading climate scientist Dr. Peter deMenocal ’78 assumed the role of president and director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. deMenocal was the founding director of the Center for Climate and Life at Columbia University, where he also previously served as dean of science. His work and career were featured in the fall 2017 issue of the Bulletin, in which deMenocal described his earliest encounter with Woods Hole: In a life-changing turn of events, a young, “rumpled” deMenocal was dropped off in front of Woods Hole as he hitchhiked his way toward Falmouth, Massachusetts; he entered the facility in search of a washroom and encountered Dr. Charles Hollister, a pioneering marine geologist who sparked deMenocal’s interest in the field.

Documentary filmmaker Marquis Daisy ’01 directed a film called “The March on Washington: Keepers of the Dream,” which debuted on the National Geographic channel in February. The documentary traces the ongoing journey of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of the heroes who marched for justice and equality in the 1960s, and the experiences of those on the front lines of the current fight for racial equality. “The March on Washington: Keepers of the Dream” is also available on the streaming service Hulu. Daisy previously won an Emmy for his work producing “30 for 30” films for ESPN; he also directed “Rand University,” a film about the NFL star Randy Moss.

Jayda Pounds ’15 launched a series of events for Black business owners in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, over the past several months. She says that “after witnessing all of the racial injustice and economic disparities unfolding in the world around me, I decided to make a change and do what I could in my community.” Pounds hopes that her “Buy Black Expo” is a chance to “regain some economic justice.” Through these events, Pounds has connected with more than 30 entrepreneurs, including a set of young entrepreneurs through January’s expo, which focused on giving young entrepreneurs a chance to debut their businesses. “My goal is to continue to provide opportunities to uplift and empower Black entrepreneurs as we continue this fight forward,” Pounds says. “As my mum [Nekima LevyArmstrong ’94, P’15, P’17] always says, racial justice and economic justice go hand in hand.”

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Brooksians Meet Up Online The school sponsored a series of informative and entertaining online alumni events this spring.

Brooks helped its alumni connect despite the restrictions placed on the school by the COVID-19 pandemic this spring. The alumni office hosted virtual events that targeted specific topics, each of which attracted an invested and robust set of participants.

Howard Rossbach ’73, owner of Erratic Oaks Vineyard and Citation Wine in Issaquah, Washington, walked more than 40 registered Brooksians through a wine tasting on March 11. Rossbach, who has been involved in the wine industry in Washington and Oregon since 1975, led the group through a tasting of his Oregon and Willamette Valley wines while discussing the winemaking and wine-selling business. The Zoom event was moderated by alumni board events committee member Brittanye Mackey ’07.

The Brooks Alumni Literary Society presented a talk by Jess Kapadia ’04 on March 25. Kapadia, who is senior food editor at Food52.com, led a discussion centered around the book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan. The book, published in 2006, elaborates on the relationship between food and society. Kapadia guided the engaged group of Brooks alumni to think through the various parts of our existing food system, including agriculture, nutrition, politics and technology.

Please visit www.brooksschool.org/alumni/events for information on upcoming events for the Brooks community.

Brooksians connected over the course of a virtual wine tasting led by Howard Rossbach ’73.

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Alumni Board Update The Brooks alumni board had a successful year engaging school alumni, and it looks forward to continuing its work into the future.

The Brooks School Alumni Board has a mission of bolstering the ongoing relationship Brooks alumni have with the school and each other. Successes by the board’s committees have inspired the board to do even more in the next fiscal year under the leadership of current alumni board president Sally Milliken ’88, P’22, P’24. Please visit www.brooksschool.org/alumni/alumniboard to learn more about the alumni board and to nominate a new board member (including yourself!).

A Note From Board President Sally Milliken Happy Spring! Thank you for supporting Brooks and each other through this difficult time. As always, we aim to help alumni be active and engaged members of the school. We are also working to ensure that the alumni board reflects the amazing diversity within the alumni body. We have exciting plans, and we’d love to have your involvement in carrying them out.

Fiscal Year 2021 Accomplishments The nominating committee vetted and welcomed new members to the alumni board.

The class volunteer committee communicated with fellow alumni and encouraged their involvement in virtual programming.

The career advisory committee developed plans to host career panels and networking events in person or virtually.

The giving committee increased involvement in Giving Day 2021, which is crucial to the success of the Brooks Fund.

The events committee planned, managed and executed its first ever virtual 5k during Homecoming@ Home in November. It also helped

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facilitate other virtual events including a wine tasting and book discussion.

What’s Your Passion?

Do you have specialized knowledge, a passion or a career that you think other Brooksians would find interesting and want to learn more about?

The alumni board wants to hear from you! We’re hoping to host a series of events, either in-person or virtually, for alumni on topics of general interest. If you’d like to explore speaking opportunities, please email Associate Director of Alumni Relations Carly Churchill ’10 at cchurchill@brooksschool.org.

Looking Ahead In June 2020, the alumni board met virtually to discuss the school’s ongoing work toward becoming an antiracist institution, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the ways in which the board can support Brooks students and alumni as the institution continues its work in diversity, equity and inclusion. The alumni board will work in alignment with the school to ensure that necessary conversations and actions occur as this work proceeds.

2020–2021 BROOKS SCHOOL ALUMNI BOARD Sally T. Milliken ’88, P’22, P’24 President Career Advisory Committee Matthew A. Godoff ’01 (chair) Leland B. Berman ’07 Catherine E. Cannon Francis ’96 Jason D. Fraser ’90 W. Alexander Haughton ’95 Jacqueline L. Murphy ’14 Lowey Bundy Sichol ’92 Class Volunteer Committee Albert D. Nascimento ’10 Allison P. Barry ’13 Geoffrey M. Fulgione ’77, P’14, P’19 Abigail D. Skinner ’14 (DEI liaison) Kingsley P. Woolworth ’00 Events Committee Nicholas R. Ziebarth ’95 (chair) Lowell C. Abbott ’10 Thomas L. Armstead ’89, P’22 John M. Greata ’00 Jessica S. Kapadia ’04 Brittanye J. Mackey ’07 Giving Committee James G. Begen ’05 (chair) Phillip W. Field ’05 Joseph R. Malarney ’06 James T. O’Connor ’99 Katie Rogers Taylor ’92 Nominating Committee Matthew Cascio ’91 (chair) Sean P. Nagle ’99 Emma M. Parkinson ’07 C. Stow Walker ’71, P’06 Emeritus John A. McKallagat ’66, P’96, P’00

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TIMO P L AT T ’ 73

A New Frontier A Brooksian’s contribution to the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and the future of digital privacy.

Timo Platt ’73 is the founder and chief executive officer of technology company PoKos Communications Corp. PoKos has found the solution to a pressing issue: How can public health authorities conduct effective, universal COVID-19 contact tracing through mobile phones without infringing on individuals’ privacy and data security?

Dig in to your mobile phone’s settings, and chances are you’ll have the option to turn on an “Exposure Notification” setting.

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the technology giants Apple and Google came together to help develop a national system for combating the spread of the coronavirus through mobile phone-based contact tracing. If you enable the “Exposure Notification” setting on your phone, your phone will exchange anonymous identifier beacons with other nearby phones — and, since people tend to keep their phones with them, the beacons serve as a proxy for other people you’ve been near. If you also download a contact tracing application, this record allows public health authorities and governments around the world to find and alert you if you have been in close contact with someone who has also enabled exposure notifications on their phone and has tested positive for COVID-19.

“Contact tracing is one of the essential tools (in addition to mask-wearing and physical distancing) that governments have

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to fight the pandemic,” Timo says.

“If we can automate part of it, and make it more accurate and realtime, we don’t impose the human resource burden and the delays in identification that would otherwise necessarily take place.”

Mobile phones are key to the contact-tracing effort, Timo says, because they’ve become so universal. The Pew Research Center’s data confirms how common mobile phones are: By February 2021, 85 percent of American adults owned a mobile phone, up from 35 percent a mere 10 years ago. A

contact-tracing system, Timo says, that operates in the background and across devices regardless of their manufacturer — that would allow an Apple iPhone to recognize and communicate with a Samsung Android device, for example — should prove extremely helpful to slow the growth of any new highlyinfectious virus.

A universal, automatic contact-tracing system powered by mobile phones naturally raises privacy concerns, and that’s where the PoKos technology comes in.

“The most important thing is

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that we need to be able to ensure anonymity, especially when we’re dealing with something as sensitive as health information,” Timo says. “The old-fashioned ways of tracking people — phone numbers, email addresses and cookies — have all been discredited because they don’t ensure privacy and anonymity, and they expose people all the time.”

PoKos’s exposure notification technology (“ENT”) helps ensure that the data collected during contact tracing is protected and anonymous. PoKos’s ENT assigns a random “key” — a multi-digit code — to phones as they move with their owners. The phones use Bluetooth to transmit a beacon derived from their key to nearby phones and receive the beacons from phones near them (see sidebar).

Digital privacy and anonymity are paramount. Each phone’s key is unique and changes every 15 minutes. The beacons each phone generates and receives are stored on the phone itself. If a user receives a COVID-19 diagnosis, they can opt-in to uploading their own location beacons to a server hosted by the local public health authority. “By virtue of the way the beacons are encrypted, the public health authority cannot sell, share or mine that data for any other purpose,” Timo says, “and the beacons are shared on an opt in basis by the user.” Even if the data does fall into malevolent hands, Timo says, the beacons do not reveal any health

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A CLOSE CONTACT Here’s an example of how PoKos’s exposure notification technology works by using random beacons transmitted over Bluetooth: Two people, Amy and Barbara, stand in line at a store at the same time. They have both opted in to use the ENT on their phones. During their time in line, both Amy’s phone and Barbara’s phone generate random keys. Using Bluetooth, both phones transmit their beacon out to, and also receive beacons from, nearby phones. Each phone also stores a list of the beacons they receive from nearby phones.

One week later, Amy is diagnosed with COVID-19. She confirms her diagnosis in the app developed by her local public health authority, and she consents to uploading all the beacons her phone has used for the last two weeks to a central server. These beacons are uploaded to the central server without including any of Amy’s personal information or location data.

Barbara’s phone then downloads a list from the central server of beacons associated with people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and compares it to the list of beacons that have been stored in Barbara’s phone. Because Barbara’s phone received and stored Amy’s beacon when the two were in line together, a match is made. Barbara receives a notification that she has been in contact with someone who was diagnosed with COVID-19, along with information on what to do next.

or other personal information, are “not traceable to a person,” and even with respect to a phone, “are traceable only to the beacons stored on that phone, rather than the phone itself.”

In July 2020, the Association of Public Health Laboratories reported that it would support the national enterprise by hosting on its secure servers the keys uploaded by users who have opted in to the system. Timo notes the importance of that development, which allows for different public health authorities to use the same data across state and local borders.

It lets users benefit from exposure notifications even as they travel.

“What we’re about at PoKos is providing infrastructure capabilities to ensure privacy and anonymity in communications,” Timo concludes. “We’re under the hood; we’re not an app, and nobody’s going to see PoKos’s name anywhere on contact tracing. But if they really go in and see how it all works, they’ll see PoKos inside, trying to make digital communications a better, safer place.”

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D R. TEERAWAT W IWAT PA N IT ’07

Scientific Advancements Dr. Teerawat Wiwatpanit ’07 has engaged in groundbreaking research on the transmission of the Zika virus, and his team’s work could pave the way for future medical research breakthroughs.

Dr. Teerawat Wiwatpanit ’07 arrived at Brooks from his native Thailand as a participant in the Royal Thai Scholars Program. The government-supported program sends Thai high school graduates abroad to continue their education through the completion of doctoral programs. Following the conclusion of their education, the scholars are expected to bring innovative ideas back to Thailand to aid in the country’s technological and economic development. The program supported Wiwatpanit through his

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sixth-form year at Brooks, and then through Bowdoin College and a doctoral program in life sciences from Northwestern University.

Wiwatpanit completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern as well, in the university hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department. In that fellowship, Wiwatpanit noticed what he calls “an imbalance” on research dedicated to women’s health and also the health of children and fetuses.

“That fellowship opened my eyes to thinking about women’s health

research, and the fact that not much research focuses on women’s health,” he says. “Our department was big on expanding the research to focus more on women’s health and make scientific research on women’s health more accessible.”

Now a research scientist in Thailand, Wiwatpanit is contributing to his country’s — and the world’s — understanding of and battle against the Zika virus and other, similar mosquito-borne viruses.

Wiwatpanit leads a team of doctors and researchers in a collaboration

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between Thailand’s National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center and Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok. The team is trying to discover a way to block transmission of the Zika virus from an infected mother to a fetus.

Wiwatpanit’s research is notable not just for what it represents — a treatment to prevent Zika transmission during pregnancy — but also for its process: His team conducts its research by building organoids (organ-like tissue culture or “mini organs” grown in a dish) and then combining them into a system.

If Wiwatpanit’s team is able to successfully combine organoids into systems, future biomedical researchers would have broadened experimental capabilities for any variety of research topics.

Fighting the Zika Virus In February 2016, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The Zika virus, which saw local transmission in the United States in 2016 and 2017, is transmitted primarily through mosquitoes. While those infected with the Zika virus are generally asymptomatic or show only mild symptoms, a pregnant adult can transmit the virus to the growing fetus. This transmission can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations and neurological complications, and is also associated with pregnancy complications including preterm birth and miscarriage.

The Zika virus has been recorded in 87 countries and territories across the world, and outbreaks

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have become more frequent over the last two decades. In Thailand, cases of Zika virus have been reported for the past 16 years in low numbers.

Wiwatpanit points, though, to the ripe conditions in Thailand for a full-blown Zika epidemic. “We have all the factors here in Thailand,” he says, “and it’s better to be prepared.”

Wiwatpanit’s team uses samples of cells from a uterus to create what he calls a “mini organ” in a dish.

This organoid mimics the layers of cells in the uterus. The team is also able to cause the organoids to mimic different stages of the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. Then, the team infects the organoids with the Zika virus at various stages of the menstrual cycle and pregnancy to study at which point the uterus is most likely to become infected.

Wiwatpanit’s team, he says, is also attempting to engineer a system that mimics the placenta, so that it can study the transmission of the Zika virus across the placenta from mother to fetus.

The team’s work also looks at a specific class of antibodies that have been shown to neutralize the Zika virus in other systems, like kidney cells. “Those systems are not directly relevant to mother-child transmission,” Wiwatpanit explains, “so this would be the first time that we look into how to use this antibody to neutralize the process of mother-to-child transmission.”

“We’re hoping that we can use this knowledge to develop future treatment for the Zika virus,” Wiwatpanit says. “Can we apply this antibody to the mother to prevent transmission? Can we even develop vaccines? Can we treat the

mother to protect the fetus? This research will be the base for the development of a bunch of therapeutics for the Zika virus.”

System of Organoids Another exciting aspect of Wiwatpanit’s research is the potential to combine an organoid mimicking the uterus and an organoid mimicking the placenta into a combined system. Wiwatpanit notes that most diseases affect multiple systems in the body. “We [the bioengineering research field] have mini brains now,” he says.

“We have intestines, we have the uterus. I think the field is moving in the direction of putting different types of organoids together to see how they interact with each other.”

If Wiwatpanit is able to culture cells from a placenta and create a two-organoid system, his team will be able to study both the maternal compartment and the fetal compartment moving forward. This, he says, will enable disease modeling or drug testing.

“If we can engineer a system that mimics the placenta with the maternal and fetal compartments all together, this can be used to research more than just the Zika virus,” Wiwatpanit explains. “We can also use this system to study other diseases that are capable of being transmitted from mother to child, like HIV. We can also use this system as a platform for drug testing, or to develop therapeutics intended for use during pregnancy.

We can do toxicology studies to see if substances, or drugs, or even nutrients or supplements can be transmitted through the placenta from mother to child.”

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BR BROOKS OOKS CONNECT CO N N ECT I O N S

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P ING H WA O. O KO R IE ’ 1 2

An Entrepreneur With a Purpose A Nigerian swimwear brand strives for a global reach and honors the founder’s home.

Ping Hwa O. Okorie ’12, pictured in a piece from Salt and Sunscreen’s upcoming collection.

ON THE WEB Visit Salt and Sunscreen’s website at saltandsunscreen.com, or check out the collection on Instagram at @saltnsunscreen.

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Ping Hwa O. Okorie ’12 hails from Lagos, Nigeria. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Salt and Sunscreen, a swimwear brand that caters to a global market through bold prints and colors, eye-catching designs, and a fit that celebrates the different shapes of women’s bodies across the world, and especially Black bodies.

Okorie’s Salt and Sunscreen pieces are sophisticated and feminine, and Okorie strives to fill a niche she found herself searching for as a young girl in Lagos.

“Growing up in Lagos, it was hard to find swimwear that I loved and felt comfortable in,” she says. “I wanted to create something that was soft on the skin and that was high quality and sophisticated — and that’s how Salt and Sunscreen was born.

As a beach lover and traveler, I’m always looking for pieces that are fashion-forward and chic. Now I can bring that beauty and style into pieces for all women.”

The brand’s pieces accentuate the beauty of what Okorie calls the African woman, with a feminine physique and accentuated curves.

Salt and Sunscreen pieces are meant to fit all body types with maximum comfort. “I think it’s more of a global issue,” she says. “A lot of countries look to the United States and American fashion as a symbol of how things should move in the future. But for me, when creating swimwear, I felt as if there was a lack of pieces that would fit the body correctly. Nigerian women, Black women here in general, they might be fuller on the bottom than

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on the top or vice-versa, and they might have a smaller waist. I wanted to create pieces for these kinds of bodies that would flatter them and fit them properly. I chose to focus on pieces that are adjustable so women of various shapes and sizes can adjust the pieces to their comfort.

That’s what I chose to focus on.”

Okorie’s instinct to push the boundaries of what’s possible stretches back to her own time at Brooks. She journeyed to North Andover for school from her childhood in Lagos, following her sister, Hauwa Okorie ’06, to Brooks.

“When I was applying, of course, Brooks was one of the schools on my list, and I visited and obviously fell in love with it,” Okorie says. “I felt that Brooks was a small, close community. Of course, it’s far up in the Northeast, a freezing place!” she laughs. “But I didn’t mind. I loved that there were a lot of activities that we weren’t forced to try, but encouraged to try.”

At Brooks, Okorie tried activities ranging from soccer to basketball to the school musical, and she appreciates the opportunity to have spread her wings. “I definitely tried different things before I found out exactly what I wanted to pursue in college,” she says. “I think that’s why I loved Brooks. It was a very wholesome community that pushed me to try many different things.”

She matriculated at The George Washington University, where she put the ideal of trying different paths into practice. She began in the school of arts and sciences, and then transferred to the business

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school, where she learned the basics of business, accounting and finance.

She then focused on hospitality, and held positions with several prominent hotel chains after graduating college. “I liked hospitality because I was doing work that helped the community and helped customers,” Okorie says. “I love building brands, and hospitality also exposed me to accounting, to finance, to sales. I found my interest in marketing and learned about the digital marketing landscape, which is a big portion of how I push my brand today.”

When Okorie moved back to Lagos in 2017, she saw a booming Nigerian tourism industry with only a few swimwear brands to meet demand for Nigeria’s warm, tropical tourist destinations. “You could probably count the number of brands that made up the swimwear industry in Nigeria on one hand,” she recalls. “This was a market that I knew I could fill.” Okorie saw her chance and began her market research and design process, focusing on creating an affordable, locally inspired brand with “pieces that actually fit people.”

Salt and Sunscreen’s first capsule has three collections; each collection calls to Okorie’s identity and family history. “I picked solid colors first, before working my way to prints,” she says. “It’s bold and fierce depending on how you style

it.” She uses a lot of yellows that, she says, evoke the warm weather and the sun in Lagos. The green in her pieces calls back to the nature and natural beauty of her home.

The deep red that’s prevalent in Salt and Sunscreen pieces evokes images of Okorie’s father’s village in the eastern part of Nigeria. “It’s almost like the color of the sand, the deep red,” she says. “So there are little things that tie back to who I am as a person.” Okorie is also introducing new colors and a set of prints, she says: stripes that flatter different body types and abstract designs that call to flowers that are native to Nigeria.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged Okorie’s efforts toward Salt and Sunscreen in many ways; still, she pushes on. She’s taken steps to expand her customer base outside Nigeria and into the rest of Africa and the world: She’s ordered fabric and arranged for local tailors to sew her pieces; she’s expanded into beachwear to accompany her swimwear; and she’s continued to promote her brand on social media.

“I want to pave my own path to what I want to do,” she says. “I hope to create a brand in the future that is not only for people in Nigeria, but for people across Africa. I want people to be able to buy an African brand, and not have to buy from outside the continent.”

“ I want people to be able to buy an African brand, and not have to buy from outside the continent.”

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PARTING SHOT

The crew shell Thomas “T. J.” Baker pulls away from the Brooks dock and into its maiden voyage on Lake Cochichewick at sunset on October 15, 2020. Baker taught English at Brooks from 1998 to 2014. The crew team christened the new shell at the boathouse with a speech by English faculty John Haile, who called Baker “first and foremost, a gentleman in every way,” and noted that Baker “loved dressing properly for every occasion, was scrupulously polite and a lover of fine things.” Haile also noted that Baker was “a truly gentle soul” who enjoyed rowing and sailing, and who worked extensively with the Brooks crew during his time on the faculty. Baker, Haile said, was passionate about teaching and particularly loved working with “The Great Gatsby.”

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B RO O KS BULLET I N

Third-formers and students arriving on campus for the first time engage in orientation and team-building activities on Anna K. Trustey Memorial Field at Brooks in spring 2021.

This year of challenge has also been a time of innovation, opportunity and collaboration. As we all excitedly anticipate a return to a more traditional school experience next fall, the community has also been expressing its appreciation for everyone’s efforts this past year.

I am so appreciative of my Brooks experience. This is my home away from home, and I’ve loved it so much. Thank you.”

DA E L LY OSO R I O ’22

Teaching at Brooks has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my career. I love the students’ eagerness to learn and the warm community built to support them. Students here care greatly about learning, but they also care about growing as an individual and fostering lifelong relationships with their peers and teachers, and that is one of my favorite aspects of teaching and living here at Brooks.”

K E N N ET H G R I F F I TH, arts faculty and director of choral and chamber music

I wish to thank John Packard for his leadership and the entire team of faculty and staff at Brooks for upholding the tradition and the values of Brooks School. Under the severe challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooks has been able to extend extra care, love and attentive culture to every and all students, including those who are thousands of miles away attending classes virtually. We all, the students and the parents, can feel the warmth and the personal care from every faculty and staff member.”

L I N CO L N Y I N G ’75, P’23

B RO O KS SCHOOL BROOKS FUND

Your support of the Brooks Fund directly benefits the day-to-day experience of our students, faculty and staff by providing vital funds to support our program. Please consider your own gift this year as we strive to reach our $2.4 million goal by June 30.

Thank you!

Four easy ways to give: Credit Card — Check — Stock—Venmo.* Visit www.brooksschool.org to make your gift. *Venmo: @Brooksschool. For more information, contact Director of Annual Giving and Donor Relations Mary Merrill at mmerrill@brooksschool.org.

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Please visit www.brooksschool. org/alumni/events for an updated schedule of alumni events. We look forward to seeing you soon!

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