Campus Voices
Upper School
When I spoke in early April to the accepted members of next year’s Upper School class, I shared with them the following document. I am certain you will agree that its contents present persuasive evidence of what makes BB&N Upper School the special place that it is—a school offering a full-service program of excellence that has a serious commitment to diversity, takes advantage of the geographical advantages that accrue from its location, and is mindful of the changing nature of the knowledge base that will be necessary in the world of tomorrow.
LIFE AT BB&N UPPER SCHOOL SINCE SEPTEMBER 2009
• Ten of 117 seniors (8.5% of the Class of 2010) were named as National Merit Finalist.
• 61% of the Class of 2010 who applied to a college or university on an Early Decision basis were accepted; 64% were accepted on an Early Action basis.
• Three student-athletes were given Letters of Intent by Virginia, Penn State, and Boston College; an additional six student-athletes were sent “likely” letters from Harvard, Cornell, Middlebury, Colby, Dartmouth, and Bowdoin.
• A new center for tutors and our learning specialists is under construction and scheduled to open in September.
• Our Arabic class Skyped with friends in Cairo and Damascus over the celebration of Ramadan.
• BB&N hosted students from School 1232 in Moscow, one of the longest-enduring exchange programs with a Russian school in the country.
• At the end of the school year, BB&N students will travel to Beijing to establish the first exchange link with the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.
• A student group toured Turkey during Spring Break.
• The BB&N choral group will tour Slovenia and Italy at the end of the school year with concerts scheduled in Ljubljana, Trieste, and Rome.
• Four students, representing Pakistan and Bolivia, won best delegate awards at the Model UN conference at Duke University.
• The theater department staged Execution of Justice (about the assassination of Harvey Milk in San Francisco) and Bye Bye Birdie to standing-room-only crowds. The production for the spring is Animal Farm.
• The “Arts Bash,” held the Wednesday before Spring Break, was a great success featuring student recitals, a one-stroke painting competition, and cake decorating.
• Six students, the maximum allowed, attended the People of Color Conference in Denver.
• BB&N has developed “All School Characteristics of Success” as a result of our achievement study. Accompanying this is a commitment to support “students in the development of these qualities and skills.”
• Three BB&N community service projects won excellent awards from the Parents Independent School network. Included was a cash award to support the Tobin After School Science Club.
• During the Green Cup National Challenge competition in February, BB&N reduced energy consumption by 7% compared to last year, with student leadership directed at turning off lights and computers, the elimination of trays at lunch, and the purchase of local foods. The “Trashion Show,” with students wearing clothing made of recycled materials, was a success at assembly.
• Twenty-eight BB&N students won Massachusetts Writing Awards; three went on to win gold and silver prizes in the national competition.
• The Vanguard, the school newspaper, was awarded the Gold Medal for Overall Excellence by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
• The varsity football team completed a 17-game winning streak and compiled a record that included only three losses in four years.
• The varsity soccer team played through to the New England semifinals.
• The girls varsity ice hockey team played an exhibition match at Fenway Park against Thayer Academy.
• A BB&N varsity wrestler placed fourth in the national competition.
• A BB&N senior is a semifinalist in both the Siemens and Intel competitions based on her research at Mass General on the ways in which blood flow to the brain affects memory.
This list is not intended to be at all inclusive. It is only a representative sample of what an academic year at BB&N may entail.
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