INSIDE THE BUBBLE
Past Four in Review: Growth in a Time of Upheaval
By Mary Zheng ’25 Editor-in-Chief
It was the toughest of times; it was the sweetest of times. It was a time of social distancing and online learning; it was a time of acai bowls on Friday mornings.
Over the past four years, Porter’s has weathered its share of upheaval, from a global pandemic to a series of internal curriculum and policy shifts. Through it all, the community continued to send away graduating classes and welcome new members. As the class of 2025 prepares their path to a new life beyond Porter’s, I’d like to look back on some of the changes they witnessed during their time on this campus.
Academic reform has been front and center – for students and faculty alike. The fall of 2021 was the first time Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminars (AIS) were taught instead of APs, leaving students feeling a mix of skepticism and relief. The new courses are more flexible in their syllabi and less expansive in their content. They offer a departure from the rigid test-prep model of APs in hope of encouraging deeper, more creative learning.
Despite a trimester schedule, yearlong math and language courses were still up and running. Back then, students sat through 40-minute language blocks, half the length of what they are now. The aftermath of COVID-19 lingered. Morning Meetings consisted of online all-school Zoom calls (no tech issue too great for a quick restart). Students gathered in the library with take-out lunches to grind through summatives. For ninth-graders things were a little lighter: for the first time, their classes were graded pass/fail.
Then came the two-block classes – Global Intensives. Juniors flew to Costa Rica, France and Germany amid rooming mishaps and inevitable friendship drama. Working in groups of three or four, teachers seem to have learned more than students about how to work better in a team.
2022.
Outside the classroom, Student Life has worked hard to make Porter’s more parent friendly. No more plastic bags or tomato pranks for German, fearing backlash from New Girl families. Little Meeting is now for “a family audience.” Any suggestive dance moves risk immediate removal from the event. Full impersonations of “Alejandro” and “SexyBack” may soon be little more than legend to the Class of 2029.
Traditions weren’t the only thing scaled back – so were phones. Starting the fall of 2024, cell phone use is no longer allowed during the academic day. Besides their teaching job, faculty have now picked up the side-hustle of (unpaid) bounty hunting – for phones.
In the meantime, disposable utensils were removed from the servery as an attempt to encourage more frequent in-person interactions during mealtimes. This decision was met with grumbles but soon became routine. A bigger change in the dining hall is a catering company switch up. FLIK started off strong in 2022, replacing Brock with more popular entrees and diverse fruit choices. The upgrade was well received. Ice cream and bao buns at the create station became instant favorites.
Leadership structures also saw major reshuffling, which provoked much nerves and anticipation. Gone are the dual roles of Head of Main and Head of New Girl. In their place, the Nova Nine introduced two new positions: Head of Academics and Head of Day Students. Additionally, each student is now limited to holding three leadership positions – a change that sparked much contention about opportunity and burnout.
Despite the friction, one thing is clear: Students have learned to adapt. If nothing else, the seniors may have just really become the informed and resourceful global citizens Porter’s hopes to cultivate. Not all learning happens on a trimester schedule – some of it takes four years and a front row seat in fickle high school politics.
Mary Zheng ’25 (right) posing with friends at her ring ceremony in
Mary Zheng ’25 (right) posing with New Girl at Singing in the Garden in 2025.
Porter’s Songs Foster Lasting Connections
By Charlotte Kronholm ’25
Outside the Bubble Arts
During Welcome my first year at Porter’s, I was struck by the entirely insync chanting of my peers taking over Brooks Field. When looking back on my time here, I’ve seen how the traditions are essential to what it means to be a Porter’s student and a Porter’s Ancient.
As I’ve experienced traditions throughout my time here, I’ve especially noted how the songs we sing, and how we sing them together, shape our community – while we’re here as part of the learning community and after we move on.
I now often think about singing in the garden, about practicing songs, old or new, and about how the connection when carrying out a tune unites classes and students. I’ve loved flipping through the pages of my song book, searching for “Ashe Grove” as quickly as possible, and attempting to match the Perhilettes.
Especially as we hold hands and sing “Moonbeams,” I am reminded of the connecting power of music and songs. Because it’s not only the lyrics of connection within the Porter’s community that tie us to each other; it’s also the sound of our voices. Our voices together are clear, resounding, LOUD. We are ready to go out into the world; we are ready for the world to hear our voices. And all of your voices here at Porter’s will ring in my ears and sing in my heart long after graduation.
Helen Shearon ’25 (bottom left), celebrates the ring-turning ceremony with friends. Courtesy of Helen Shearon.
and Travel Section Editor
A Conversation with My Freshman Self
By Helen Shearon ’25 Guest Writer
If I could have a conversation with my freshman year self, I’m sure she’d ask a million questions about things that don’t even cross my mind anymore.
She’d nervously play with the hem of her shirt as she asked if I finally felt comfortable in the dining hall. I’d answer yes, it’s where so many special memories were formed. She’d ask if I finally felt comfortable with my clothes – not worried I was too dressed up or too informal. She’d be surprised to hear it only takes 15 minutes from waking up to walking out the door. She’d ask if I could finally find my way to Olin without a map. I’d laugh and say it’s really not as hard as she thinks.
And then she’d ask the one question that still does cross my mind. Did you make the right decision about where to go to high school?
I’d pause for a second, not because I’m unsure, but because I’d want to answer her right. I’d tell her yes. Not because of anything I learned in a classroom but because of the people I met. The people here are the ones who stayed up with me in the common room the night before a big exam, not to study, but just to talk and laugh until we forgot to be nervous. The ones who show up to my sports games and cheer louder than any ref’s whistle. The ones who call my favorite rom-com “predictable”
and “boring” but still watch it with me after a hard day. The ones who cook when the dining hall serves something I don’t like. The ones who help me pick an outfit for spring traditions, even if it means we’ll both be running late.
I’d tell her here she’d meet the friends who feel more like family and the teachers who see potential even when she doesn’t. I’d tell her that I no longer measure my time here in trimesters or report cards but in late-night conversations, school traditions and inside jokes.
Athletic Camaraderie Forged Competitive Spirit
By Kat Cokeley ’25 Sports Section Editor
It is the spring of 2022, and I am on Brooks Field. The sun is pouring down, the smell of fresh cut grass, and the overwhelming screaming from 300 teenage girls.
There is one chair left in Musical Chairs, the deciding factor of whether Minks or Squirrels will win that Spirit Day. I have never concentrated on a plastic chair that much. The music stops, and I sit down, winning the spirit day for the Minks. Whether it was positive or negative, the entire school erupted in screaming and cheering. That was the flame that set the fire inside of me for competitive school spirit and pride.
Within these four years, I have learned and participated in sports, finding my most competitive self on the erg and had those girls by my side the entire time. Whether we were cheering on a Morgan’s Message dedication game, scoring the last point in a five-set volleyball game, or going head-to-head against other Founder’s League boats at regattas, I have had the pleasure of having these girls by my side. Yes, some moments define what made me a competitive athlete or person, but more than those moments were the people who picked me up and helped me through, win or lose.
Flash forward to me now, the year of 2025, preparing for my final Spirit Assembly. From participating in one of the activities my freshman year to attempting to lead the Minks to another win, I can safely say that Miss Porter’s School has shaped me into the competitive spirit I am today.
Charlotte Kronholm and Dilara Khan after singing in the garden during senior tapping tradition 2025. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Kronholm.
Kat Cokeley, second from left, recently led the Minks in a Spirit Assembly competition. Photo courtesy of Miss Porter’s School.
