Brunswick Trust Report – Spring 2025
Spring has brought opportunities for our boys to build relationships — with themselves, with their classmates, with fellow Bruins in other divisions, and with the larger community beyond Brunswick. On campus and far afield, through the auspices of The Trust, boys have had the opportunity to listen, learn, teach, debate, and lead. In doing so, they have cultivated the kinds of respectful relationships that reflect the values of community and service that we cherish here at Brunswick. Thank you for your support of The Brunswick Trust. Enjoy the summer!
Character Connects
Is now really the best time to be alive for a young American?
This was the question up for discussion as The Brunswick Union held its annual debate in Baker Theater in April.
Will O’Reilly ’25 served as moderator. He explained that the goal of The Brunswick Union is to promote civil discourse.
“After hearing feedback from Brunswick graduates who were struggling with how to discuss hot-button issues on college campuses, our school created this program,” O’Reilly said. “Its goal is to model civil discourse for students and encourage seeing both sides of issues in order to find collaborative solutions. In our annual assembly, we feature a live, audience-judged debate on a topic we deem to be relevant. In the past, we have debated issues such as gun control, border policy, and free speech.”
This year, debaters Alex Pombo ’26 and Sayah Trahanas ’25 provided the winning arguments as to why the current era is, indeed, the best time to be alive for young
Americans. Neel Behringer ’26 and Leo Simon ’25 argued against.
“The pro side won the debate, although it was a close call!” advisor Lia Mehos said. “The debate explored issues such as rapidly changing technology, economic opportunity/uncertainty, and declines in mental health, just to name just a few.”
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Character Connects
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An end-of-the-year assembly served as a wrap-up to Middle School Trust Time across grade levels, as well as a chance to showcase and honor student work throughout the year.
“My hope is that you recognize that we are a school that cares a great deal about your academic success, your athletic pursuits, and your artistic achievements,” said Kate Duennebier, Brunswick Trust coordinator. “But hopefully you’ve also realized that we have programming that goes beyond these three big aspects of Middle School. Arguably, it’s what makes Brunswick special.”
Each grade had a different Trust Time theme, with fifth grade lessons designed to deepen their understanding of themselves and their peers.
“The goal was to understand how we can all work together to build relationships through our similarities and differences, fostering a sense of belonging that leads to a thriving community,” teacher Sean Stanley said. “Together, we laid the groundwork for a respectful and compassionate community, ensuring that every student knows he belongs.”
Aquatic adventures are the subject of the Summer Read, with two best-sellers by underwater adventurer Susan Casey on the docket. Brunswick parents, faculty, and Upper School students are invited to choose between one of two Casey books:
• The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogue, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean
• Devil’s Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America’s Great White Sharks
By leaning into adventure, exploration, and knowledge of our oceans, this year’s Summer Read choices have a distinctly sustainable focus, in recognition of the fact that a healthy environment and well-being go hand-in-hand. Cosimo Giovine ’25, Sustainability Council president, and Henry Ginnel ’26, incoming president, were joined by Courtney Spada M.D., director of schoolwide service leadership and sustainability, in a morning assembly in May to discuss the books and generate excitement around a communitybuilding, shared read.
Casey is set to visit Brunswick in the fall to speak to parents and students.
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Character Connects continued from page 2
The Middle School celebrated its first Field Day with the House & Den program — with new games created to allow large mixed-grade Houses to enjoy some rivalry as students vied for a special chance to sink Middle School Head Rob Follansbee in a dunk tank.
Field Day is an annual tradition that brings boys out into the spring sunshine for athletic fun and games on a Friday in the first part of May. It’s an event that sees the whole Middle School take a break from academics, right before buckling down for exams. The day ends with a barbecue.
“What’s fun about this year is we created new events to let the Houses compete,” Duennebier said. “We are building a new tradition, as a culmination of all the House and Den events this year!”
Now finishing its inaugural year, the House & Den program was created to generate new and structured opportunities for inter-grade connection, belonging, and goodold-fashioned fun for Middle School boys. Boys were named to their inter-grade Houses — Grizzly, Kodiak, Sun, and Polar — in a special scavenger hunt assembly in September, when they also learned their new Den.
Among the activities were extended lunch-and-recess days, with fun and connection being one the main goals but also sometimes including a learning focus — like study advice in the days
leading up to exams, or seventh-grade community service projects organized by House.
Technology and social media were the focus of a Middle School Connections visit as 12 junior and senior boys spoke to eighth graders about their digital lives, as well as what to expect from the overall transition to Upper School. The upperclassmen made special note of the technology-free Vermont experience.
“The boys love Vermont because it detaches them from all the tech toys,” said Leslie Anderson, who runs Connections. “While tech is great, it takes you away from real life. Connecting to the world face-to-face is a lot more satisfying.”
Older boys, serving as role models to the younger boys, also took questions about what it feels like to move into the Upper School and more. Another session was planned before the end of year.
Lower School ambassadors held their last meeting of the year in May, wrapping up the year with a review of their activities and initiatives of the last several months. Ambassadors have served as messengers for many Lower School projects, including Welcome Baby and the Marshall Legacy Institute CHAMPS program that trains dogs to sniff out landmines in war-torn regions. For information on these initiatives and more, keep reading!
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Susan Casey: Unraveling Mysteries in the Ocean’s Darkest Depths Podcast
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Building Belonging
ABrunswick senior has been recognized for his work to promote racial justice in his community and his school. Arnez Dowe ’25 was awarded a Racial Justice Scholarship by the Greenwich YWCA during its 2025 Stand Against Racism event, held in April at Greenwich Town Hall.
Alecia Thomas, director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, has known Dowe since seventh grade.
“Congratulations to Arnez!” she said. “He totally exemplifies the Brunswick model of Courage, Honor, Truth. He’s a selfstarter, determined, and resilient. He works really hard.
Brunswick is just the beginning for him.”
Dowe is the second Brunswick student to win this scholarship in recent years.
About 50 Middle School student athletes from Bronx Lacrosse visited Brunswick for a scrimmage and pizza lunch organized by William Connell ’26 and Luke Hall ’26. The young athletes then watched the Bruins 13-9 victory over Deerfield on Cosby Field. Bronx Lacrosse is a nonprofit that seeks to improve educational opportunities and life outcomes for underserved middle school and high school students in the Bronx.
More connections were made as students from Harlem Lacrosse visited with Brunswick varsity lacrosse players on Edwards Campus. Bruins ran clinics and then coached the Harlem Lacrosse players on Cosby Field in an epic battle that came down to the last possession. Everybody won!
Harlem Lacrosse is another non-profit that works to change the life trajectories of youth through lacrosse instruction and “daily wrap-around” academic support, mentoring, and more.
Upper School Diversity in Action has formed a new bond with with the Sacred Heart Greenwich Diversity Club. Eight DIA club members visited Sacred Heart in April to help prepare Easter goodie bags for the Don Bosco Community Center.
Let’s Focus on Community and Belonging served as the theme of a Culturally United Bruins (CUBs) event at 270 Lake Avenue. Pre and Lower School families came together for a late afternoon social gathering complete with a food truck. Community members rolled up their sleeves to plant garden pansies to beautify the campus.
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Building Belonging continued from page 4
About 20 Brunswick families attended Holifest 2025 at the India Cultural Center at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich. The Hindu festival is an annual herald of spring, widely photographed and easily recognized for the joyful celebrants who fling colorful powders about as they hail divine and eternal love.
“It was A-MAZ-ING!” exclaimed Thomas. “The purpose was to reinforce the sense of community and belonging we have! Everyone was happy and getting along.”
A Brunswick trustee served as the mentorship speaker for an Upper School Diversity in Action club meeting in March. Nisha Kumar P ’26 , ’28 , mother of Kiran and Neel Behringer, offered professional and personal testimony of a successful career and life. Kumar has received both the YWCA of Greenwich BRAVA Award and the Harvard College Fund’s Albert H. Gordon Class of 1923 Award, among many other honors.
“She spoke about obstacles she has faced and lessons she has drawn,” Thomas said. “She gave great advice. The boys loved it.”
Lower School boys marked Women’s History Month in March with special DEIB Trust Time readings of A Picture Book of Hellen Keller by David Adler. The biography shares how Keller, who lost both her sight and hearing after a high fever in infancy, overcame her disability thanks to a special and influential teacher and went on to have a successful career. In 1964, Keller earned the President’s Medal of Freedom for her lifelong work bringing hope and love to handicapped people.
“The book highlights a woman who made a difference,” said Thomas. “While recognizing Keller’s contribution, the team wanted to bring a different perspective of diversity with students, not just racial diversity.”
Middle School boys kicked off Jewish American Heritage Month with a special assembly focusing on Jewish Nobel Prize winners. Ten eighth graders spoke, each sharing details of Nobel Prize winners. Student presenters included Ben Sweet, Teddy Sfreddo, Shaurya Gupta, James Gould, Matteo Gonzalez, Austin Schur, Lucas Batres, Paul Kesmodel, Jackson Wurtz, and Will Tortorella. The lunch service also featured Jewish inspired food.
Four Brunswick students were joined by Thomas at the REACH Prep Spring Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich in April. Arnez Dowe ’25, Jordan Chiappetta ’26, Gianfranco Fajardo ’25, Ariel Santander ’27, and Thomas all attended the luncheon, where Miguel Cordona Ph.D., former U.S. Secretary of Education and first-generation college graduate, served as keynote speaker. The luncheon is an annual celebration of the achievements by REACH Prep scholars.
The Rev. Thomas L. Nins, diversity outreach coordinator, served as the Brunswick ambassador to a special luncheon of the Fairfield County Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc . The sorority, a sisterhood of predominantly Black college-educated women dedicated to public and community service, seeks to uplift the next generation of leaders by providing scholarships and youth programs to children in Fairfield County. The local chapter hosted a luncheon, The Jazz Brunch: An Afternoon Soirée!, in support of its programs. Nins said the event was packed with hundreds of people and was a huge success.
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Healthy Listening, Healthy Relationships
Hrishikesh Hirway — a singer-songwriter, producer, podcaster, and television host — visited Brunswick in April to speak with parents and students about how he built an eclectic, successful career as a “maker,” and how learning to listen well became key to his craft.
Hirway, the host of the award-winning podcast Sound Exploder and a flourishing musician in his own right, told Upper School students that he attended Phillips Exeter and Yale University, where he majored in art. It was a path that alarmed his hardworking, immigrant parents.
“My parents would ask: ‘How are you going to make a living?’ Hirway said. “I didn’t have an answer.”
A sensible job doing graphic design followed, but bit by bit over the next 10 years he pursued his music career. He figured out how to connect his passion for music with a strong work ethic and a sense of self determination, releasing four albums by 2011. Then, at 30, writer’s block set in.
“I could not figure out how to make music anymore,” he said.
“Once again, I had to figure out what to do.”
Hirway returned to the same question — What do I love? — that had guided him since college. He combined talents. From his music career, he knew how to put audio together. From his art classes at Yale, he knew how to have conversations with artists about the creative process. These were the sparks that launched Hirway’s award-winning podcast, Sound Exploder.
Hirway’s visit served as the fourth and final installment of the 2024–25 ’WICK Center Speaker Series, which brings leading health-and-wellness thinkers to campus.
Healthy Relationships were the subject of two joint Greenwich Academy/Upper School assemblies in March.
Mike Domitrz, founder of The Center for Respect, hosted the assemblies in Baker Theater, one for junior and senior boys and girls and one for freshmen and sophomores.
“There is definitely a different energy in Baker Theater when our sister school is involved,” said Jon Kaptcianos, dean of student life. “It was an engaging presentation and a real win.”
Domitrz, on his second visit to Brunswick, covered topics like consent, bystander intervention, and supporting survivors of sexual assault — with the goal of equipping young people with critical skills to foster healthy relationships and respect in all interactions.
“We as an institution are preparing our boys for life away from Brunswick,” Kaptcianos said. “That includes knowing the impact of treating every person with the respect they deserve.”
New ’WICK Center student ambassadors have helped bring Health & Wellness learning to Pre and Lower School students this spring. In April, second grade Trust Time featured new lessons in food allergies, epipens, and nutrition labels thanks to Aidan Williams ’27. Williams teamed up with Lower School nurse Emma Eschricht to teach second graders about the nine most common food allergies, signs, and symptoms.
Hirway finally relaunched his own music career in a collaboration on grief with Yo-Yo Ma. His TED Talk, What you discover when you really listen, has well over three million plays. continued on page 7
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“The kids definitely respond to having a big kid help teach, as opposed to just me!” Eschricht said.
Another new ’WICK Center ambassador, John Petrotos ’26, teamed with Director of Health & Wellness Marcie Molloy to bring Stop the Bleed training to the Upper School. The afternoon class for Upper Schoolers was taught by staff from the Yale New Haven Health/Greenwich Hospital.
The ’WICK Center, short for The Center for Wellness, Insight, Courage & Kindness, is the hub of Brunswick’s comprehensive health and wellness program.
Rising ninth grader Bradey Sherman ’29 will collaborate with Upstream this summer after securing a Student Task Force fellowship with the Colorado non-profit. The summer internship will see Sherman collaborate with the Upstream team, participate in seminars, and help Upstream expand curriculum for Middle School students. Meanwhile, all Pre, Lower, and Middle School boys continue to practice the “small yet poignant” health and wellness tools provided through Upstream.
“Upstream lessons can be taught and practiced in less than 10 minutes, which makes it easy for students to learn big and impactful mindfulness tools,” Molloy said.
Common Sense Media produced a webinar this spring on raising children in the age of Artificial Intelligence.
The Future of Work: Understanding AI and Preparing Kids for a Rapidly Changing Economy featured panelists Sophie Wade Ph.D., a corporate futurist and author of Empathy Works: The Key to Competitive Advantage in the New Era of Work; Audrey Wisch, co-founder and CEO of the mentoring initiative Curious Cardinals; and Robbie Torney, senior director of AI Programs for Common Sense Media.
The webinar is billed as a timely look at the skills kids need to develop and to thrive in the future, as well as guidance for parents working to adjust to this new normal. The conversation was recorded and can be found here.
Growth, development, and independence were the topics of a Parent Conversation Circle for fourth grade parents in May. Hosted by Dr. Molloy and Dr. Spada, topics included:
• Physical Growth & Development
• Expected physical developmental milestones in adolescence
• Body image and body comparison
• Correlation of physical stages with social stages
• Embracing Adolescent & Parent Awkwardness
• Teaching through science and your family values
• Vocabulary and questions to start and continue conversations
• Myths & misconceptions
• Opportunities within school, home, and the community that support healthy development and independence
The Pre School hosted its first-ever Little Bruins Safety Day with a visit from Greenwich Emergency Medical Service, which sent a paramedic to give the boys a tour of an ambulance and discuss basic first aid. A Greenwich police officer also attended, arriving on his electric bike.
“Both were ever patient in answering all the questions from the very excited and curious Little Bruins!” said Sue Costello, Brunswick Pre School nurse. “It was a huge success!”
Specific topics covered included:
• Public safety tips
• Basic first aid
• Street crossing
• Identifying street signs
• When and how to call 911
• Bike/helmet safety
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Service Leadership & Spring Gardens
Seventh graders in Sun House have broken ground on a garden at the Upper Middle School. About 20 seventh graders worked building 11 rectangular garden beds, lining each with cardboard and filling them with soil.
“Moving load after load of dirt in wheelbarrows was tough work, but having a rotating crew of students helped to lighten the load,” advisor Tyler Boudreau said. “By the end of the second session with the seventh graders, all of the beds were built and most of them had been filled.”
The garden, once built, will be a part of the Horizons at Brunswick summer curriculum, in addition to being a resource for Brunswick students in the spring and fall.
“It will be a place where students can learn about gardening, work in the space, and take home the fruits of their labor,” Boudreau said.
Much of the garden project has been made possible by the generosity of the Brunswick community. Free-dress fundraiser days at the LMS and UMS raised just over $1,000 for the garden, and donations to the Horizons wish list have also secured many of the tools needed. Gregory Psaki ’30 helped pitch the idea to other students in Sun House.
First graders chose Happy Life Animal Rescue for their community service Trust Time work. Students made posters and held a donation drive before a big event brought some furry creatures to Burke Field House: a first-ever dog and puppy adoption drive.
as adoption coordinator running adoption events for the past eight years. She said Happy Life brought 30 pups aged three months to three years to Edwards Campus, and two were adopted.
“At the end of the day, we smile,” Love said. “We are happy we have found some forever homes for these dogs.”
Five ninth grade boys are mentoring the entire eighth grade in the intergenerational service work at Atria Rye Brook. The ninth graders have also begun visiting Broadview Senior Living at Purchase College, a new retirement community situated right on the college campus and just minutes from Edwards Campus. Boys went to Broadview and prepared conversation-starter questions for the seniors they visited. Their queries included: What’s something you learned the hard way? Who was the best leader you ever knew and what made them stand out?
“It was magical,” said Dr. Spada. “Nobody wanted it to end. Both parties experienced so much joy.”
Michael Marini ’26, president of the newly restarted Upper School Marshall Legacy Institute CHAMPS club, organized a visit by the CHAMPS team and the landmine sniffing Brunswicksponsored dog to the club’s
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talent to 24 projects in Greenwich and all across the area.
first meeting. He also helped Dr. Spada to prepare a video on the United Nation Lend a Leg campaign to present to Lower Schoolers for Landmine Awareness Day, which coincided with Lower School Trust Time in April.
Lower School Student Council boys teamed up with the Children Against Land Mines Program (CHAMPS) of the MLL, and Brunswick has repeatedly welcomed the Mine Detecting Dog Rico Cosby, a retired Belgian Malinois, to campus to demonstrate how specially trained dogs work to clear land mines.
All seventh grade science classes, meanwhile, aligned with CHAMPS and the Middle School Animal Service Club, are studying the science of sniffing in honor of Rico Cosby. According to CHAMPS, dogs have a sense of smell that is 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than human smell. And when dogs breathe in, they use their specialized nostrils and wet noses to trap and absorb scents.
“This is why dogs are so amazing at finding landmines safely,” Spada said.
Nine Upper School Sustainability Council members visited the Lower School on Community Service Day to help plant a garden with first graders. The garden, adjacent to the playground, was enriched with compost created through the Brunswick food waste compost project and will feature a harvest of things like basil, chives, garlic, and peppers that Chef Patrick will tap for luncheon meals come September.
“It’s kind of a full circle moment,” Brett Martell, Lower School science teacher, said.
In all, over 425 Upper School boys fanned out for service work on Community Service Day, lending some muscle and
About 90 boys worked with the Greenwich Department of Public Works to remove debris, clear trails, pull invasive plants, and lay wood chips in Pemberwick Park, Pomerance Park, Helen Kitchell Park, and Greenwich Point. Another 25 boys worked with the Pound Ridge
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Service Leadership & Spring Gardens continued from page 8
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Service Leadership & Spring Gardens continued from page 9
Historical Society to identify and catalogue gravestones dating back to the Revolutionary War.
Also:
• 20 boys worked to prepare the community garden beds in Armstrong Court.
• 50 boys worked to pack 2000 meals at the Filling in the Blanks warehouse.
• 20 boys lent muscle to projects for the Greenwich Land Trust.
• A small but mighty group helped prepare Camp Simmons for the summer season.
• Boys also volunteered in food pantries, including Person to Person in Darien and Neighbor to Neighbor in Greenwich.
Brunswick hosted 21 clients from Abilis with a 1-1 ratio of our boys.
“They played indoor and outdoor games, danced, and had a great time!” said Amy Kerekes, director of Upper School community service.
Sophomore boys in the Gabrielle Sia advisory visited with the Greenwich Conservation Commission to pull invasive phragmites from the pond at Bruce Park. Phragmites are
a threat to native aquatic plants, which provide food and shelter to pollinators. The advisory cleared an entire area on the shoreline, about 100 sq. ft.
Led by Upper School Big Brothers, Trust Time at the Pre School has seen ’Wick’s youngest write poems to submit to the Greenwich Tree Conservancy 2025 Awesome Tree Contest . We wish them luck!
A team of juniors is leading a cohort of underclassmen on new trips to the Pre School each week thanks to Connections, a cross-divisional program that aims to build a deeper sense of community and reinforce the concept that students are responsible for each other and should look out for one another. About 30 Upper School boys are participating in the morning trips to 270 Lake Avenue, where the older boys visit classrooms and play with the younger Bruins. For Pre School boys, it’s a special treat to have a visit from big, older Bruins.
“It’s been wildly successful,” Leslie Anderson said.
Lower School Student Council members came to school early to pack 50 boxes for Welcome Baby USA , the first nonprofit in the country to provide low-income mothers with one package containing all of the items they’ll need for their newborn in the first four weeks of life. The boxes were delivered to three local prenatal centers, where they will be given to new moms in need. Former Lower School teacher Annie Manning connected the Lower School with Welcome Baby, which was founded by Greenwich Academy graduate Sarah Gould Steinhardt.
