Fall/Winter Bulletin 2020

Fall/Winter Bulletin 2020

The Art of Personal Excellence

B OARD O F TRUSTE E S 2019–2020 Jason Robart PRESIDENT

Kiki Shilling VICE PRESIDENT

Vincent Lorusso TREASURER

Irene Todd SECRETARY

René Russo GOVERNANCE CHAIR

Danielle Heard HEAD OF SCHOOL

Jeffrey Bruce Matthew Burr TG ’89 Anne Elton Jay Fritz Lindsey Gund Rick Hardy Kirsten Kester ‘01 Sarah Khetani Agnes Lubega Thomas Mazza Kyle Rusconi Patti Satterthwaite Adam Sureau Charlotte Whitmore Alice Flint, TRUSTEE EMERITUS John Moriarty, TRUSTEE EMERITUS

C ORE VALUE S INTEGRIT Y

We act with honesty, sound judgment, and strong character to build a culture of trust.

COLLABORATION

We build partnerships, foster teamwork, and encourage camaraderie.

INCLUSIVIT Y

We celebrate and affirm all aspects of individual identity and global diversity.

EMPATHY

We seek to understand the feelings of others, value multiple perspectives, build meaningful connections, and inspire ethical action.

RESILIENCE

We value persistence and pursue excellence through continuous learning and growth.

Top: Grade 8 students display their vegetable harvest during their class trip to Chewonki.

Above: Lower School students enjoy the fresh snow on the playground!

200 Strawberry Hill Road Concord, Massachusetts 01742 978.369.4591 nashobabrooks.org

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Danielle Heard Head of School Colette Porter Executive Director of Marketing and Communications Quincey Katz Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications

View South from Balcony - Nashoba Brooks Discovery Barn

FALL/WINTER BULLETIN 2020

C O N T EN T S 2

From the Head of School

4

The Pursuit of Personal Excellence Striving for Growth, Not Perfection

Nicole Chan Annual Giving

10

Spotlight on our Fall Teams

Amy Sagalyn Alumni Relations

12

Nashoba Brooks School Unveils Shilling STEAM Lab

Jacqueline Waters Editorial Consultant

16

Fall/Winter Community News

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State of the School A Conversation with Board of Trustees President Jason Robart

22

Class Notes

26

Alumni Leaders in STEAM

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Winter Weekend

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Discovery Barn Raising

Carole Allen-Scannell Development

Nicolaus Czarnecki Photography Kirsta Davey Photography Carly Gillis Photography Nashoba Brooks School Archives Photography

MIS SION Nashoba Brooks School educates children for a life of continuous learning, accomplishment, and leadership in a diverse and changing world. The School nurtures students’ growth and character, while fostering the development of each child’s personal excellence in academics, athletics, and the arts. © 2020 Nashoba Brooks School

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“Excellence and perfection are not the same. If you focus on perfection, you either get it or you don’t. Perfection is a fixed mindset. Excellence is a continuous pursuit.”

–Head of School Danielle Heard

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The pursuit of personal excellence Look around the hallways at Nashoba Brooks School and admire the “works in progress” you encounter at every turn—projects underway and unfinished, yet beautiful in their potential. This Fall/Winter issue of the Bulletin highlights our commitment to the concept of “personal excellence” that is central to our mission— the belief that there is no single path to excellence and that each student is empowered to find their own path to mastering foundational skills, engaging their own curiosity, taking risks, and pursuing goals that challenge and inspire them to achieve ambitious dreams, knowing that the joyful pursuit of continuous learning–not perfection–is the goal.

At Nashoba Brooks we believe that excellence is a product of perseverance and resilience. The most valuable learning comes from the exploration and effort that happens on the way to the final outcome. By making the process–not just the product–of learning visible, all members of the community are able to celebrate the growth that happens along the way.

From Grade 6 students rehearsing for an upcoming performance of Shakespeare in Tucker Auditorium to the first outlines of a student’s self-portrait displayed for all to see, our students embrace the creative process and discover that it is okay to struggle, rebound, and continue in their pursuit.

In the newly opened Shilling STEAM Lab, which has become one of the busiests spots on campus since the start of school this fall, students learn the art of resilience in projects large and small. Whether using the CNC router for a Latin project, recording in front of the green screen, or programming a uniquely designed robot for competition, students engage in the iterative design process, knowing that they will rarely achieve their desired outcome on their first attempt. In this issue we look back on the unveiling and dedication of this incredible new space as a key milestone in The Campaign for Our Future. It has been exciting to see students at every grade level engage with integrated curriculum through the STEAM lab, and we look forward to more great work in this space in the months and years ahead.

Of course, learning at Nashoba Brooks School has always extended beyond the traditional classroom.

This was certainly the case during our annual Winter Weekend celebration in January. In addition to a full weekend of activities, participants had the opportunity to learn through play as our students do every day.

At S’mores & More, current families and friends participated in interdisciplinary learning challenges between trips to the s’mores station and hot chocolate bar. Three days of activities including the 80s Dance Party, S’mores & More, and the family skating party added warmth to the season and brought many generations of our community together. Students, parents, grandparents, and alumni joined in the fun.

This fall we welcomed many of our graduates back to campus. It is always a joy to see our alumni and hear stories of how they stay connected with each other well beyond their time here. We are delighted to share highlights from their work, their accomplishments, and their positive impact on their communities in our class notes and alumni spotlights. Be sure to contact us to share your news! We are so proud of our graduates and the many ways they are contributing to our world.

Also in this issue, we recap highlights from the State of the School meeting, which honored the service of Board of Trustees President Jason Robart. Jason shares reflections on his years as a Trustee and his family’s experience at Nashoba Brooks. We thank him for his service, vision, leadership, and legacy which will have a lasting impact on our School for many years to come.

We are fortunate to have so much to celebrate at Nashoba Brooks School. I am grateful each day for everyone who creates this community—our parents, employees, alumni, and especially our students. The spirit, joy, and care you bring to this community are unique, powerful, and inspiring.

Warmly,

Danielle Heard Head of School

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THE PURSUIT OF PERSONAL EXCELLENCE STRIVING FOR GROWTH, NOT PERFECTION

by Jacqueline Waters

IN ENOUGH AS SHE IS, author Rachel Simmons devotes an entire chapter to ‘The Cult of Effortless Perfection.’ “At the very schools where discipline and achievement are everything, students are increasingly expected to appear as if they’re not really trying,” writes Simmons, who explains that in today’s world, “trying too hard codes as a sign that you are uncool, even incompetent.” It is no wonder that student anxiety, stress, and depression continue to rise as young people attempt to meet often unattainable expectations, all while trying to make it look easy.

At Nashoba Brooks School, we aim to steer clear of a ‘cult of effortless perfection.’ Hard work, effort, and persistence are admirable, and recognizing our imperfections is invaluable. In our School community, we celebrate genuine effort and wrong answers because we want students to take risks and make mistakes. We know that doing so is critical to the continuous process of learning, which involves setbacks and builds resilience. Learning is not effortless, and we are not perfect. All of us— students, teachers, parents—improve by making mistakes and problemsolving. Each of us is a work in progress. Together, we value the pursuit of

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personal excellence and debunk the myth of perfection.

“Excellence and perfection are not the same,” explains Head of School Danielle Heard. “If you focus on perfection, you either get it or you don’t. Perfection is a fixed mindset. If you focus on creative problem solving, you are more likely to persist and build more skills.

Excellence is a continuous pursuit.

Given the pace of change in our world today, there has never been a more important time to be flexible and creative, with our thinking, and to respond to adversity with resilience.”

Fueled by this idea of personal excellence in their pursuits, Nashoba Brooks students seek creative solutions to complex challenges. In math classes, they are routinely asked to find more than one way to solve a problem. In English classes, their first draft of an essay is certainly not their last.

And in the School’s new Shilling STEAM Lab, students learn that the products they design and build do not often work in their first iteration. Teachers expect that students will need to tweak, revise, and improve their work.

“We try to model the importance of process,” explains Instructional Technology Fellow Rachel Parker.

“We say, ‘Let’s look at why it didn’t work and use that to move forward.’” In the Stop-Motion Lego Club, Parker works with some of the School’s youngest students, Kindergarten through Grade 2, as they learn to accept that their creations do not always turn out the way they’d imagined them.

“At the beginning of the year, they were frustrated. Every single child dropped their LEGO project on 6 | NA SHOB A BROOK S S CH OOL BU LLE T I N

the floor and melted down when it broke. They had to put it back together. This continued to happen every class, but they only cried that first day. The projects didn’t stop breaking; the students just accepted that it would happen and learned they could rebuild it. They had the resources, knowledge, and resilience to carry on. The process was great for developing selfregulation skills,” said Parker.

When students face setbacks and don’t succeed at first, they learn to try again. They learn to look at what did not work in order to improve.

“My mind tells me what to create.

If something goes wrong, I will fix it and then keep moving forward," says Mingus, a student in Grade 3. She says she has to overcome challenges, problem-solve, and use her imagination. “When I try something new, it gets easier and easier...with practice. I like to try something new everyday. I love testing and trying new things. And in the STEAM Lab, I can do that."

Another student, Keira in Grade 5, is equally enthusiastic: “In the STEAM Lab, I learned I can be creative,” she exclaims. “When I grow up, I want to be a coder!”

Miller, in Grade 1, explains how he’s learned to be flexible: “One time, I was trying to build a house, but I couldn’t because I couldn’t find the right materials,” he shares.

“Sometimes in the STEAM Lab, I have to change my idea. The STEAM Lab helps me problemsolve.”

This process of problem-solving is continuous, and the process— as teachers at Nashoba Brooks are quick to point out—is more important than the product. They recognize that it is important

to normalize process and help students understand that they can, and should, revise. Parker often says to students: “You have to be done working on this because we don’t have any more time, but that doesn’t mean it’s finished. Nothing is ever done, it’s just ready to share.”

All over the School, we see examples of works in progress. Ongoing student work is displayed not only in the STEAM Lab, but in the hallways throughout the School. Art teachers often hang paintings in progress on the bulletin boards outside of their classrooms, and anyone passing by Tucker Auditorium can hear musical pieces in development as students practice, compose, and improvise. “We love to show the struggle, not just the end result,” remarks Dina DeMayo, piano teacher.

DeMayo notes that at the School’s Open House, the play is always introduced as “a work in progress.”

By celebrating process, and encouraging students to take risks and share works still in progress, Nashoba Brooks is creating a culture where students acknowledge that learning is not effortless; it’s hard work. Teachers here encourage students to keep going, to be okay with struggle, to persevere because the process builds

resilience. Students need to know they are capable and have teachers who believe in them.

When Assistant Head of Lower School Tim Croft recently popped into a Kindergarten class to observe group learning, he heard the teacher say, “Kiss your brains!” As Croft notes, “You have to love the way you think to be able to persevere through struggle.” Everyday, children take risks in a group setting; they offer up responses that may be right, but may also be wrong.

Mistakes are a part of any good process, so modeling problem-solving and teaching students to look for ways to learn from their mistakes is crucial to building confident children who love the way they think. As Croft explains, one challenge is creating a paradigm shift in how we view excellence. He advocates for “empowering students to embrace the essence of yet” and acknowledges the struggle that’s inherent in learning. “Our job in creating community is not boxing in any student and allowing for all of the exploration, embracing the skill of forgiveness, and forgiving oneself.” Rather than wallowing in a mistake, students need to ask What did I learn from this to move forward?

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Hank Bryant, director of educational technology and innovation, advocates for modeling one’s own mistakes and works in progress as an educator. “That’s something we do well here: modeling and celebrating mistakes!” notes School Counselor Liz Joyce.

Reflecting on a recent workshop with Rachel Simmons, Danielle Heard notes, “It is so easy for middle school girls to focus on unattainable perfection...Individuals can create a different persona in social media—a perfectly curated, selective identity free of and far from the imperfections of reality. These images can cause girls to believe that everyone else is perfect.” Middle School mathematics teacher Sarah Thomsen adds,“Middle school girls hold themselves to high standards...Simmons spoke with students and parents about personal growth— your own journey versus comparing yourself to your peers,” a message that resonated with everyone in the audience.

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At Nashoba Brooks, we are making a conscious effort to honor mistakes and value effort, as we help students strive for personal excellence. “Students are taught that they are valued. They can be themselves. They don’t have to fit into a box. They can be multidimensional,” DeMayo says,“I tell students to work hard; that’s the quality you need in any profession: a work ethic. Hard work here is celebrated. Growth mindset and enthusiasm is what keeps the students working hard.”

“Technology, science, and engineering are not neat or linear. They’re messy,” Parker adds. “Creation is not linear. It’s a continuous cycle.” The same can be said of our pursuit of personal excellence. It’s not linear.

At times, it can be messy. And it most certainly is continuous. Having embraced challenges and taken healthy risks, our students will be confident to seek creative solutions to future problems. And they will know they can because they are enough.

Summer Leadership Academy Grades 4-7 Through creatively designed group and individual activities, students will learn and develop leadership skills in this program.

Activities include public speaking exercises, navigation, canoeing, and design projects.

Physical education teacher Ryan Wonsor will be leading the Summer Leadership Academy and is looking forward to two exciting weeks of learning and fun.

Week One: June 15-19 Week Two: June 22-26

Get Ready for Summer!

Open to current and newly enrolled students for the 2020 school year.

To learn more, email Kerry Stevens at kstevens@nashobabrooks.org.

Summer Bound Grades PS-3 During this two-week program, children will be guided through exciting outdoor and fun-filled activities from water play and art to music and coding.

Former teacher Lizzie Baird will be leading the Summer Bound program and is excited for another fun-filled summer!

Week One: June 15-19 Week Two: June 22-26 SPRFALL/ I N G/ SU ER 2019 | 9 WIMNM TER

SPOTLIGHT ON OUR FALL TEAMS VARSITY SOCCER The Nashoba Brooks School varsity soccer team enjoyed another outstanding fall season. Captained by A. Dong ‘20 and A. Haines ‘20, the team started and ended the season with strength and confidence. Comprised of 12 players from Grade 8, the team had an amazing sense of familiarity and strong teamwork that they have carried as a team since they started playing together in Grade 6. Finishing the season with a winning record of 8-1, demonstrated how hard these players worked to make this season a great one. Above all, each player showed amazing dedication to sportsmanship and support of one another on and off the field.

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JUNIOR VARSITY SOCCER The Nashoba Brooks School varsity soccer team had a great season of camaraderie and opportunities to learn and celebrate success. Team captains H. Patton ‘22, C. Nagtegaal ‘22, and A. Shen ‘21 took turns motivating the team to four wins and four losses. Halftime feedback included messages of working together and everyone doing their part. Teammates often led by example and displayed flexibility as they enjoyed the process of finding their place on the team by playing different positions.

The team is already looking ahead to next year.

CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING The Nashoba Brooks School cross-country running team had a phenomenal season. Led by captains A. Happ ‘20, E. Wonsey ‘20, and A. Ata ‘22, the team of 18 runners worked hard to improve a little bit every week. That hard work paid off, with every runner improving by at least 1 minute, 48 seconds from the first home meet of the season to the last. The team’s average improvement was an incredible 2 minutes, 41 seconds. The Jim Munn Invitational, the largest middle school cross-country meet in the United States, was the highlight of the season. We will miss the leadership of our Grade 8 runners but look forward to next year with our younger runners who consistently strive to achieve their personal best in each race.

VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY The Nashoba Brooks School field hockey team completed an outstanding season, finishing with nine wins, two ties, and one loss. The team had an incredible group of Grade 8 students, each of whom contributed to a cooperative and supportive team spirit. Our captains G. Weaver ‘20, T. Renyi ‘20, A. Gregory ‘20, and E. Sohn ‘20 modeled sportsmanship, dedication, and a love of the game which was spread to the newest players on our team. With a broad span of playing experience, this group did an unbelievable job of working together and drawing from each other’s strengths to set a firm foundation for future teams to follow.

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NASHOBA BROOKS SCHOOL UNVEILS THE NEW SHILLING STEAM LAB, A BEACON OF LEARNING AND INNOVATION

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NASHOBA BROOKS SCHOOL officially opened the new Shilling STEAM Lab at the start of school. The stunning new space is an innovation hub “where learning comes together,” to advance the School’s ongoing commitment to the strategic directions of innovation, inclusivity, and impact.

Working with a dedicated team from C. E. Floyd, Nashoba Brooks began and completed construction over the summer, just in time for the return of students this fall. Through a brilliant redesign of existing underutilized space, the Shilling STEAM Lab is now directly connected to the Denault Library through a renovation that has transformed these spaces into flexible, forward-thinking learning zones to advance integrated curriculum, exploration, and innovation for the entire community from Preschool through Grade 8.

The evening both unveiled the new space and celebrated the Shilling family—Kiki Shilling, campaign steering committee co-chair, and Drew Shilling—for their generosity and support in bringing the bold vision of a STEAM Lab to life. Attendees included members of the Shilling family as well as Board of Trustees, Board of Visitors, leadership donors, alumni, and employees.

Alumni parent Drew Shilling captured the significance of the STEAM Lab for the Shilling family, as education in science, technology, and engineering becomes more and more important.

“To get kids more interested in the hard sciences and integration of the hard sciences with the arts is what this STEAM Lab is all about.” He noted that “there will be kids whose paths through life will be transformed by the experiences they have at an early age, and that is what this project will allow.”

Board of Visitors Chair Carl Kester talked about the impact of Nashoba Brooks on his children, referring to the School as a place ”where the world of discovery was first opened to them.” He talked about how the new space was designed to create “the habits of mind that will be essential for the 21st century, fostering technical literacy, creativity, patience, and perseverance.”

Head of School Danielle Heard thanked donors for their early leadership and spoke about the impact the lab will have on students now and in the future. She also reflected on the importance of the timing of this work. “It is time for us to have an opportunity to reimagine the future of Nashoba Brooks. It is time that we have spaces that match the creativity and the imagination and the tenacity of our students, our teachers, FALL/ WI N T ER 2020 | 13

and our program. It is time for us to celebrate the impact this will have for generations to come,” Danielle stated.

The Shilling STEAM Lab has been integrated into the curriculum at every grade level, unlocking opportunities for hands-on learning and multimedia projects, and is currently one of the busiest spaces on campus. The new space provides a centrally-located, open and flexible area, surrounded by several smaller, specialized spaces.

Director of Educational Technology and Innovation Hank Bryant, who played a key role in planning for the new space with Concordbased DSK Architects + Planners explains, “Students now can work in small and large groups, spreading out as they collaborate, with access to two sound studios to create audio recordings, brainstorm ideas, and problem solve.”

A third multimedia studio includes a wraparound green screen that is perfect for high level videography. A fabrication studio equipped with high and low tech tools ranging from hammers

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and sewing machines to 3D printers and laser cutters will allow students to move their ideas from ideation to creation to iteration—essential stages in the design and learning process.

“Our integrated curriculum provides the platform from which students build and explore information literacy, media literacy, digital citizenship, computer science, critical thinking, independent investigation, and collaborative iteration—essential skills for their learning at Nashoba Brooks School and beyond,” said Head of School Danielle Heard.

We express our sincere gratitude to the Shilling family for their generosity. Their support makes possible the bold vision for Nashoba Brooks School and advances the commitment to our strategic directions, creating inspired education through innovation, inclusivity, and impact.

What’s happening in the Shilling STEAM Lab 1.

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1. Students working on a design for the laser cutter 2. Grade 5 working on their solar system model project 3. Grade 1 students painting the frame of their bee houses 4. A student-designed math game created with the laser cutter 5. Using the green screen room 6. Citizen Science Club members fabricating enrichment tools for the rehabilitation of animals at Drumlin Farm.

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Lynn Lyons at Concord Academy

Turning the soil in the School garden

FALL/WINTER

COMMUNITY NEWS Lynn Lyons, LICSW, Presents on Managing Student Anxiety TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

NASHOBA BROOKS SCHOOL employees and parents gathered early this fall in Concord Academy’s Performing Arts Center for a powerful and timely presentation on understanding and managing anxiety by author and psychotherapist Lynn Lyons, LICSW: Beyond Calming Down: Shifting the Anxiety Paradigm from Avoidance to Action.

Lyons talked about the spike in anxiety rates, and how unmanaged anxiety has the ability to usurp daily routines, schoolwork, bedtime, and recreation. Lyons pointed out that many “accommodations” that are designed to alleviate immediate symptoms of anxiety, may lead to encouraging worry instead of addressing the skills that lead to the reduction of anxious thoughts.

Lyons walked attendees through tangible strategies for handling uncertainty and encouraged taking an offensive stance against anxiety. Her advice for parents and educators alike is to not remove the worries for children. In fact, “when worry arrives, allow, acknowledge, and pivot.” By changing our relationship with worry from avoidance to action, students build a toolkit to help manage immediate anxiety, uncertainty, and discomfort for longer-term positive outcomes.

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Nashoba Brooks School Reduces Environmental Impact through Composting THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF science teacher Kelly Western and School Chef Sean-Michael Tantinarawat, Grade 3 students spearheaded an effort this fall to lower the School’s environmental impact: composting at lunch.

“Food in landfills creates methane gas, which contributes to global warming,” explained Western, who conducted experiments with students in class, so that they could see decomposition in action. By adding apples, paper, and yogurt containers to soil, Nashoba Brooks students observed the breakdown of various types of waste as temperatures rose. They learned how the waste humans generate impacts climate change.

Since sorting can be confusing, volunteer guides, along with posted signs, help sorters through the process as they learn what can and can not be composted. After the lunch waste is collected, twice per week, the Black Earth Compost company picks it up and turns it into nutrient rich compost for backyard gardens and local farms.

With students leading the way, Nashoba Brooks hopes to extend composting to all School events, and inspire others to reduce waste at home and in the local community as well.

Grade 7 during the Boston scavenger hunt

Start of Year Trips: Exploring Place Beyond Our Space WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019

DURING THE START of the School year, students engaged in a number of exciting field trips, giving them experiential learning opportunities to stretch their thinking in ways both broad and deep.

Grade 8 students headed to Chewonki in Wiscasset, Maine, this August to make the great outdoors their home for four days. This partnership with the School has been in place for the past 40 years, fostering team building, bonding, and leadership.

In mid-September, Grade 7 students ventured into Boston for a scavenger hunt, where they navigated their way from Alewife to Copley Square and Harvard Square using the T. It was a beautiful day discovering the sites and history of Boston and Cambridge, including the Boston Women’s Memorial and Harvard Yard. Students learned more about our local history and put their navigation and independent problem-solving skills to work.

Grade 2 students visited Joppa Flats, the bird banding station on Plum Island. Students observed the habitat of birds, learned about their migration cycle, and even learned how to band birds—in connection with their study of birds in science.

In September, Kindergarteners embarked on their first of two scheduled excursions to Wingaerskeek Beach.

This field trip is a highlight of their integrated unit, connecting literature, environmental science, art, and more. Students explored tide pools, collected samples, made observations, and captured artistic renderings of the natural environment.

Think:Kids

Think:Kids Presents from Conflict to Collaboration: A Parent Framework That Brings Out the Best in You and Your Child MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2020

NASHOBA BROOKS SCHOOL HOSTED Dr. Stuart Ablon and Ben Stich from Think:Kids, a program based in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), for a professional development session with employees followed by an evening presentation for parents and the broader community.

Participants in both sessions explored the power and potential of the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS)® model, designed to help address challenging (and common) child and adolescent behaviors in a way that empowers individuals, builds important interpersonal skills, and enhances healthy relationships.

The Collaborative Problem Solving approach focuses on the idea that kids “lack skill, not will.” As a result, attempts to address motivation through traditional external rewards and punishments have limited success because they fail to help children build the essential skills kids need to feel confident and engage constructively. Collaborative Problem Solving is designed to help identify lagging skills— the most common being flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem-solving—and begin to teach them in increments kids can manage. As a result, children build essential, transferable skills that will bolster their ability to solve problems, learn, and engage productively in a variety of settings. To learn more, visit thinkkids.org.

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STATE OF THE SCHOOL A CONVERSATION WITH BOARD OF TRUSTEES PRESIDENT JASON ROBART ON JANUARY 9, the Nashoba Brooks School community—parents, employees, and members of the Board of Trustees and Board of Visitors— assembled in the Achtmeyer Gallery for the annual State of the School meeting. Head of School Danielle Heard announced that current Board of Trustees President Jason Robart would be completing his term at the end of this academic year.

She also shared the wonderful news that current parent and Board Treasurer Vincent Lorusso would step into the role of president this spring.

Danielle opened the meeting by acknowledging Jason’s service and innovative vision as signature elements of his leadership on the Board. Danielle moderated a Q&A “conversation” to reflect back on “where we have been during Jason’s tenure, and to look forward to where we are headed” in the context of the advancement of our strategic directions.

Jason started by asking attendees to share what is on their minds as we consider the future of the School.

The audience shared questions including “What keeps you up at night?” and “Can you outline three immediate priorities of the School?” These questions and more were addressed throughout the evening.

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Jason shared the story of his journey to Nashoba Brooks and how he came to the decision to enroll his daughter Sophie.

“We lived in Stow at the time. [Our kids] were getting a great education but weren’t overly challenged,” Jason reflected.

Jason’s family visited an open house at Nashoba Brooks. Though he was not initially seeking an all-girls middle school for Sophie, a forty-minute conversation and follow-up with a faculty member who shared links to articles about the benefits of a single-sex education, led him to “the best decision we could have made...and the rest is history.”

Throughout his daughter’s adolescent years, the benefits of being at Nashoba Brooks were clear. “One morning, we were driving to School and listening to Imus,” Jason said. “Sophie expressed a very strong and a very lucid opinion. During the twenty-minute drive she was listening to and interpreting what he was saying and was able to express an opinion with confidence.”

Danielle asked Jason to identify what achievements

stand out the most for him over the last ten years.

Programmatically, Jason talked about innovation being at the top of the ladder. “We were the first to talk about digital citizenship. It was something that was critically important and it was a critical stepping stone for us moving forward.” This was not something that was at the forefront of people’s minds at the time, Jason noted, but the School was proactive in its foresight around this issue. This innovative thinking was also evident in the rollout of one-device per student, the arrival of the Portal, and the creation of the Shilling STEAM lab.

demonstrates the School’s commitment to meaningful DEI work. He noted that this work, and the conversations around it, is something we should all be proud of.

While it still is a regular occurrence for Danielle and Jason to have 5:00 a.m phone calls, there are things that keep him up at night, including the increased competition in the independent school market and the future of education on a macro level.

“Think about that set of innovations over a relatively short amount of time. All of these things have been transformational for the School,” said Jason. “And the results are clear!”

Jason notes that students also face scheduling challenges as they juggle numerous activities, goals, and commitments, and this, in turn, can put more pressure on the School. “Anxiety is an area where we as a country are falling behind. There is a level of anxiety about performance that is putting pressures on schools to address and support those students.”

While not a proponent of standardized testing, Jason noted that Nashoba Brooks students are at or above percentiles at independent schools, suburban schools, and public schools in every category.

Jason is excited about the future of Nashoba Brooks School. He notes the transformational impact that the discovery barn will have on our School and our students’ learning experiences.

Another area of progress is on the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) work that has taken place under the leadership of Danielle Heard. Thinking back to Sophie’s experience, she “did not have a teacher of color during her 6 years here.”

We are grateful for Jason Robart for his service, vision, and leadership.

Jason added that the Glasgow study, which would have been a reactive measure 10 years ago,

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Est. 2019

Sunday, May 3, 2020 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Gather your friends and come to campus for the 2nd annual Nashobapalooza—Nashoba Brooks School's music and arts festival. Free and open to the public!

Activities for all ages including musical performances, community art, STEAM activities, tie dye, and more!

Free samples from local restaurants including:

and more to come!

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CONNECTING THE DOTS Under the guidance of art teacher Lisa Stanley, artists in Grades 4 - 8 took on the 50 DOTs challenge where they beautifully illustrated that there are innumerable ways to creatively problem solve. Students, working in small groups, collaborated and pondered two essential questions: How can artists work collaboratively to expand the creative process? How can artists generate artistic ideas to produce art?

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Class

NOTES

MOLLY BRANIGAN ’19 is president of the ninth grade class at Concord-Carlisle High School. Thanks to her experience on the Nashoba Brooks Speech Team, Molly and her partner won their first debate tournament.

AMAYA BENZAQUIN-MAGILL ’17 is a junior at Lawrence Academy, where she enjoys pursuing her passion in music and sports. One thing she misses from Nashoba Brooks School: performing in Mary Poppins.

MADELINE CAREY ’16 and EMILY (LILY) FAUCETT ’16 were the head tour guides for Deerfield Academy’s parents’ weekend.

LAUREN MAZZA ’15 started Kenyon College at the end of August and is loving her challenging classes such as English and women's and gender studies. She is a member of the ultimate frisbee team, which is something new for her.

CLAIRE PARTRIDGE ’19 is currently a freshman at Concord Academy. She joined the ski team and enjoys running before the mountain opens. Claire paints whenever she has time, and has started painting scenes from Ramayana (an assignment over school break for her history class). Her love for English has only grown, in part because of Grade 8 English class at Nashoba Brooks School with Mrs. Rabb. Claire returned to Nashoba Brooks for the young alumni reunion this fall and reports that the School “looks amazing.”

Natalie Slade ’15 at the Freeride Junior World Championships.

NATALIE SLADE ’15 received 4th place in the 2020 Freeride Junior World Championships held in Kappl, Austria.

Anne Averill ’18 playing varsity hockey at Andover.

ANNE AVERILL ’18 made the varsity hockey team at Phillips Academy Andover, a place she “absolutely loves.”

SOPHIE KNOBLOCK ’18 was recently named a Brine All-American for the Class of 2022 and competed on the Deerfield Academy varsity lacrosse and swim teams as a freshman. She was on the honor roll for all three trimesters during her freshman year.

EMILY (EMMY) McCORMACK ’18 is in her sophomore year at Concord Academy where she is a member of the Junior Youth in Philanthropy Board. She is involved in many clubs, and notes that Womensorg, feminism/women's empowerment club, is her favorite.

She is also involved in many after-school activities and found a new passion: biology.

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TALYA KRAMER ’10 is currently a second-year Ph.D. student in biology at MIT. Her research looks at the cellular and molecular processes involved in sensory integration and decision making in the microscopic worm known as C. elegans. She is enjoying being back in Massachusetts and is excited to have her brother DANIEL KRAMER TG ’08 in Boston as well for an internship this winter.

MAGGIE SHILLING ’10 works in Dr. Karen Adolph's Infant Action Lab at NYU, where they study infant and toddler motor development. She will work at NYU for two years in the hopes of eventually going to medical school. In essence, she gets to “study and play with babies all day, which is so much fun!”

WALKER DAVEY TG ’09 is currently a freshman at Boston College and hopes to double major in finance and business analytics. He also participates on the men’s soccer team at Boston College.

operations, and works closely with suppliers. Prior to Wayfair, she was working in sales at Procter & Gamble where she managed product categories at specific topcustomer teams. She resides in downtown Boston and is currently training for the Boston Marathon this April.

Sophie Robart ’09 with her dog, Hagrid.

SOPHIE ROBART ’09 spent her last summer of law school in Washington DC working in the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. After graduating from Wake Forest University School of Law in May, Sophie (and her sweet puppy, Hagrid) will be moving to New York City to begin her career as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Daniel Kramer TG ’08 rowing this fall.

DANIEL KRAMER TG ’08 is currently a junior at Dartmouth College with a double major in government and quantitative social science. He is on the varsity heavyweight rowing team, does research in the government department, and is a tour guide. This winter, he is interning at Summit Partners on the Growth Equity Team, and this summer he will be an intern at PJT Camberview, specializing in corporate governance.

SASHA KRAMER ’08 is a Ph.D. candidate in marine science at the University of California Santa Barbara studying phytoplankton ecology and the ocean carbon cycle. While most of her work is on the computer, her favorite part of her job is doing field work—she spent over ten weeks at sea in 2018 and looks forward to spending six weeks onboard a research vessel in the North Atlantic Ocean this spring to collect more data for her dissertation.

PATRICIA MANENT ’07 is currently an Account Manager at Wayfair and has been with the company for two years. She works in the fulfillment network

TANDY BRYANT ’06 is currently in her second year working in the admission office at Nashoba Brooks School. It has been wonderful for her to be back on campus and helping to welcome new generations of students into the community. In addition to admission work, she also has the pleasure of being an advisor to students in Grade 6 and a coach for both the soccer and basketball teams.

SARA DAVEY GILLIS ’06 is currently the Director of Enrollment Management at Lawrence Academy. She and classmates NINA DENISON '06, FIONA HASLETT '06, and GRETCHEN WILLIAMS '06 spent a weekend together in Maine over the summer. Nina and Sara met at Nashoba Brooks School when they were in Kindergarten.

Perin Adams’ ’05 dog, Bean.

PERIN ADAMS ’05 is living in Newton, Massachusetts, with her fiancé, Alex, and their 3-yearold Aussie/Collie mix, Bean. She is working at Vendr, a tech startup in Boston, and she recently received her real estate license.

SILVIA MANENT '04 is currently the Founder of Manent Capital, a Boston-based boutique investment and money management firm that serves ambitious women in their 30s and 40s. Away from the office, you can find Silvia playing tennis and attempting to try every tapas restaurant in Boston (reach out if you would like to join)!

SOPHIE EVARTS LOCKWOOD ’04 lives in Boston with her husband, John Lockwood, and they are expecting their first baby this June. Sophie is working towards her Ph.D. in the Biological Sciences at Harvard University where her thesis work is focused on cancer biology.

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Class

NOTES

(CONT.)

Hannah Gallo ’02 at her wedding with her wife, Livia Capaldi.

Formation at First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. She was ordained to the Unitarian Universalist ministry on December 1, 2019, at First Parish of Concord, which is the church she was raised in. Her parents still live up the street in Concord so she gets to keep tabs on Nashoba Brooks School when she is visiting them.

Kelley Crowley Jammal ’03 with husband, Jared Jammal TG ’98, and their daughter, Evie, on Cape Cod.

KELLEY CROWLEY JAMMAL ’03 and her husband, JARED JAMMAL TG ’98, welcomed their first baby Evaleigh “Evie” Crowley Jammal on June 12, 2019.

EMILY (TISDALE) MOWER ’03 recently received her Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University and is now working as the Director of Data Science at Concentric, a predictive analytics firm based in Cambridge, MA. Rachel Manley Adams ‘01 with husband Ryan, and their children, Norah and Zoe Adams.

RACHEL MANLEY ADAMS ’01 and husband Ryan Adams recently expanded their family with Norah who was born on September 13, 2019. She joins big sister, Zoe.

E.B. Bartels '02, Meredith Brooks Davis '02, and H. Tucker Rosebrock '02 at Meredith's wedding this past fall.

E.B. (ELIZABETH) BARTELS ‘02 along with H. TUCKER ROSEBROCK ’02 were ring bearers in MEREDITH BROOKS DAVIS’ ’02 wedding to Mark Yelinek on September 21, 2019.

HANNAH GALLO ’02 married her longtime partner on September 21, 2019. Classmate JEVAN JAMMAL ’02 was at her wedding. Hannah currently lives in Philadelphia where she is the Minister for Faith 24 | NA SHOB A BROOK S S CH OOL BU LLE T I N

CATHERINE DOWN ’01 is a food, humor, and travel writer who launched Edible DC magazine before moving to Paris. She has written for The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, and Tasting Table, among others. Catherine’s essay Need to Find Me? Ask My Ham Man was featured in the Modern Love podcast and has recently been nominated for a 2019 James Beard Foundation journalism award.

REBECCA LEMAITRE ’97 and her husband, Tim, and children (Travis, 5 and Veronika, 1) moved back to Concord in July after 13 years in New York. They have enjoyed “rediscovering” the town and reconnecting with friends and familiar faces.

Jackie Marchand’s ’01 children, Liam and Vivienne.

JACQUELINE (JACKIE) D. MARCHAND ’01 and her husband, Luke, welcomed their second child, Vivienne Lena Ann, in October. She joins her big brother Liam, in the Marchand family. All are doing well and clearly Liam is taking his new responsibilities as a brother very seriously!

Emily Cohen ’98 and Sophie Lockwood ’04 at their annual co-lab retreat at Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith, New Hampshire.

EMILY COHEN ’98 is finishing her postdoctoral degree in cancer biology at Harvard Medical School and is applying for scientist positions in the biotech industry. She has also had fun reconnecting in the lab with SOPHIE EVARTS LOCKWOOD ’04, a Harvard Ph.D. student. They are both executive leaders of the Harvard Biotech Club, which organizes educational initiatives in biotech-related fields for the Harvard lifescience community.

ALISON MILLERICK ’93 lives in Concord with her husband Chris and their two children Emerson (Emmy) and James. She feels fortunate to be an active part of the Nashoba Brooks community for a second time as the current Parents’ Association president and as a parent to her daughter Emmy, a current Nashoba Brooks Grade 5 student. She reports that while Nashoba Brooks is fortunate to expand its footprint and add new learning opportunities like The Shilling STEAM Lab, the consistent values and emotional scaffolding the School provides its students continues to encourage confidence and nurture the spirit. Alison also spends time at Emerson Hospital, serving on several committees and volunteering in their cancer center.

Drew Jameson TG ’90 with daughter, Alice ’29.

DREW JAMESON TG ’90 after many years of teaching in the Boston area is proud to return to the Nashoba Brooks School community after graduating from the third grade in 1990, now as a member of the teaching team. He currently teaches fourth and fifth grade reading and writing, and co-teaches Grade 4 homeroom. Drew’s daughter, Alice ’29, is having a great second year in Preschool Discoverers at Nashoba Brooks.

Share your news!

Hey, alumni! Please share your news for the class notes section of the Spring 2020 issue of the Bulletin.

Have you graduated or started a new job? Recently gotten engaged or married? Have you added to your family? Traveled to exotic places? Made an impact in your local community? Have you gotten together with Nashoba Brooks friends? We want to know. Drop us a line and be sure to share a photo!

Send your news or update your contact information by emailing alum@nashobabrooks.org.

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ALUMNI LEADERS IN

In this section, we honor our alumni and their accomplishments in STEAM fields. Many have talked about being inspired and transformed by their early experiences of discovery that took place in the classrooms here at Nashoba Brooks School, which fostered literacy in science, technology, engineering, and the arts. We invite our alumni to share their work, discoveries, and successes with us. Together, we go boldly into the 21st century.

SARAH FLINT ‘03: PURSUING PASSIONS FOR DESIGN AND SHOES ALUMNA SARAH FLINT’S LOVE of design can be traced to her elementary years at Nashoba Brooks School. “I absolutely loved art and design—ever since I fell in love with my first pair of patent leather tap shoes at age 5,” she recalls.

Sarah took that passion from her childhood and, at age 25, started her own shoe design business in 2013. Today, she has earned international recognition as the go-to brand admired by celebrities and royalty alike.

Sarah’s line is grounded in a design ethos centered around “style without sacrifice,” making women feel both empowered and at ease.

“My hope for the future is to build out a new kind of customer-first luxury brand where women can still find an original, designer product of the highest quality that is actually comfortable,” she says.

She has her own strong network within her family, too. Her mother Alice Flint, trustee emeritus at Nashoba Brooks School, and her three sisters—all Nashoba Brooks alumni, including drama teacher and current parent Hannah Flint, who are all avid Sarah Flint promoters!

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KIRSTEN KESTER '01: TAKING THE LEAD IN BIOTECH AFTER GRADUATING FROM HARVARD College (as a biology major) and then finishing her MBA at Harvard Business School, Kirsten merged her work in both science and business to land in the field of immunotherapeutic cancer research.

When she speaks about her current work at Obsidian Therapeutics, a startup biotech in Boston for immunotherapy and cell therapies, she recalls her introductory biology lessons. “You learn about your white blood cells, your little army from within,” Kirsten explains.

Kirsten’s Nashoba Brooks School experience, which started in preschool, has been a strong thread throughout her life, starting with early days of discovery in science class. She recalls early experimentation, such as looking at pond samples under a microscope and, in Grade 6, creating a model of a cell in the form of a pizza with toppings.

She is a big proponent of her all-girls educational experience. “It’s this magical, trusting environment, where girls feel comfortable taking risks but that is also rigorous. We worked very hard and were a self-driven group.”

Kirsten now serves on the Board of Trustees at Nashoba Brooks, which provides the opportunity to return to campus often!

SASHA ‘08 AND TALYA ‘10 KRAMER: SISTERS LEADING IN SCIENCE SASHA, A PH.D. CANDIDATE in Marine Science at UC Santa Barbara, conducts marine science and oceanographic research. Her work includes using optical methods to study phytoplankton ecology on the ocean’s global surface. Her love of science started in third grade at Nashoba Brooks, with hands-on learning and fun experimentation.

“At Nashoba Brooks, I was interested in marine science and oceanography.

In sixth grade we had to each pick a scientist to speak with. I picked a dolphin behaviorist,” Sasha recalls.

Talya, a Ph.D. student in biology at MIT, recalls fun experiments of her own in second grade. “In class, we made stomachs using plastic bags...We learned that this is how digestion works.”

Talya’s own scientific research has her uncovering the science of decision making by studying worms on a molecular level.

Both sisters credit their time in an all-girls middle school for helping find their voices in a field still largely dominated by men. For Talya, who describes herself as a formerly “very shy and quiet” middle schooler, her experience at Nashoba Brooks helped shape the person she has become.

To read more about our alumni, visit nashobabrooks.org/newandnoteworthy. Have a story you would like to share? Contact Amy Sagalyn at asagalyn@nashobabrooks.org.

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WINTER WEEKEND 2020

DANCE PARTY THE '80S DANCE PARTY on Friday night began with a pizza dinner and continued with a DJ who played the greatest '80s hits. Many students (and parents) showed off their best retro fashions and dance moves!

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S’MORES & MORE CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS enjoyed visiting the different stations, including storytime by the fire, a wintery photo booth, drama workshops, STEAM activities, and a hot chocolate bar. The event ended with a performance by Nashoba Notes.

SKATING PARTY

THE WEEKEND ENDED with a skating party at Middlesex School’s rink.

Families enjoyed an afternoon skating on the ice, catching their balance, and finding their rhythm.

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/19

DISCOVERY BARN RAISING The keystone of The Campaign for Our Future, the discovery barn will be a breathtaking, flexible space designed for performances, events, learning, and connection. This new space will be a hub for the Nashoba Brooks School community, built and designed to match our students’ evergrowing love of learning, insatiable curiosity, and vast potential.

View 30South from Balcony Nashoba Brooks Discovery Barn | NA SHOB A BROOK S S CH OOL- BU LLE T I N

“The construction of our new discovery barn will be an exciting and transformational moment in the School’s history. This important addition to our existing learning and performance spaces will advance and accelerate the School’s ongoing commitment to the strategic directions of innovation, inclusivity, and impact.”

-Head of School Danielle Heard

Did you know?

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The barn will support activities that enhance connection with the natural environment, support and inspire before-, during, and afterschool activities, as well as summer programs in academics, athletics, and the arts.

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The new flexible performance space will accommodate audiences up to 150.

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The barn has been designed to be a net-zero energy building, including a solar array on the roof.

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A porch will be utilized as outdoor learning space to enhance the natural environment as an extension of our classrooms.

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A covered connector, made of timber with open sides, will provide a safe passage from the barn to the main building.

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Anticipated opening: fall of 2020.

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IT ’S TIME FOR T HE SPA C E

THAT MATCHE S OUR SPIR IT IT’S TIME TO BUILD A PLACE THAT’S AS CREATIVE AS WE ARE. It’s time to make room for more collaboration and more creativity, to match our students’ ever-growing love of learning, insatiable curiosity, and vast potential. It’s time for The Campaign for Our Future.

Join us as we bring a brilliant new vision for Nashoba Brooks to life.

To learn more, visit reimagine.nashobabrooks.org.

N A SH OB A BR O O K S S CHO O L

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200 Strawberry Hill Road Concord, Massachusetts 01742 978.369.4591 NASHOBABROOKS.ORG If this publication has reached you in error or should be addressed to additional members of your family, please notify the advancement office so we may update our records. Thank you!

978.369.4591 or info@nashobabrooks.org.

2020 UPCOMING EVENTS Nashoba Brooks School & The Fenn School Musicals Thursday, March 5 • 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 6 • 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 7 • 11:00 to 12:30 p.m. & 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.

Hobby Fair and Variety Show Tuesday, March 10 • 5:00 p.m. (Hobby Fair) and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Variety Show) 2020 Spring Soirée: Cocktails & Coordinates Saturday, May 2 • 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Nashobapalooza Sunday, May 3 • 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Grandparents’ & Special Friends’ Day Monday, May 11 • 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Grade 3 Graduation Monday, June 8 • 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Closing Day for Grades 4-8 Monday, June 8 • 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Grade 8 Graduation Tuesday, June 9 • 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.