Right at Home Finishing Faculty Housing on Oates Lane
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MiddlesexFall 2019 Right at Home Finishing Faculty Housing on Oates Lane MIDDLESEX FALL 2019 i From the Head of School Building Relationships One of the best parts of my morning during can. I make my way out to athletic contests term time is from 7:45 to 8:00. That is when I on Wednesdays and Saturdays and eat my greet students coming from breakfast or from meals in Ware Hall with students and col- the parking lot, heading to their first-period leagues. I’ve found that the porch of Eliot class. Standing outside for those 15 minutes, Hall, with its Adirondack chairs and lovely under the oak tree between Eliot and Peabody, view of the sun setting behind the Chapel, gives me a chance to spend a few moments is a particularly good spot to engage students catching up with a student who just got her in conversation. In all these places and “boot” off after an ankle injury, or ask another situations, students tell me that they love the student how things went at the Friday recital, challenges the program presents to them and or exchange a few friendly words with the camaraderie they experience with their colleagues who are themselves off to class. peers. They feel deeply the care, expertise, Greeting the students is a pleasure, to and support they receive from their teachers, be sure, but it is also part of a larger project in and out of the classroom. to get to know the School and the students as I know what the teachers here at Middle- quickly and as well as I can. In my first week, sex know: that investing in relationships, back in July, I spent three days with our COO and connecting with students as persons with Matt Crozier walking through every nook many dimensions, frees kids up to be a little and cranny of the buildings, from the rickety more adventuresome than they might ordi- Middlesex ladder going up to the bell tower to the lower narily be. When students know, in their bones, Fall 2019 reaches of the Rachel Carson Center, where that they are in the company of teachers who Head of School the geothermal heat exchange machinery truly care about them, they blossom and are David J. Beare does its quiet work. Now that school has less afraid to make mistakes. This is when Director of Development Heather Parker begun, I have been fascinated to watch the teachers can begin to engage those open Director of Advancement ways in which we inhabit those buildings and minds with true rigor, and students can make George Noble Editor witness how well-designed spaces contribute substantial rather than superficial progress. Maria Lindberg to student learning and social connection. Middlesex teachers do this exceedingly Design Of course, it is the people, the program, well, in the classroom, on the field, in advisor NonprofitDesign.com Photography and the relationships fostered here on this meetings, and in the Houses. And sometimes, Joel Haskell beautiful campus that make Middlesex so these relationships start with a simple “hello” Robert D. Perachio Tony Rinaldo distinctive. As a way of getting to know these on the way to class on a Thursday morning. Letters to the Editor Letters to the aspects, I have been sitting in on as many editor are welcome and may be edited for clarity and space. Please send your classes, evening programs, club meetings, and letters to Editor, Middlesex Bulletin, spikeball games on the Circle as I possibly 1400 Lowell Road, Concord, MA 01742, or e-mail [email protected]. Alumni News We welcome news from alumni, parents, and friends of Middle- sex School. Please send your news and labeled photographs to Alumni News, Middlesex School, 1400 Lowell Road, Concord, MA 01742, or e-mail alumni@ mxschool.edu. Address Corrections Please notify us of your change of address. Write to Middlesex School, 1400 Lowell Road, Concord, MA 01742 or e-mail alumni@ mxschool.edu. Parents of Alumni If this magazine is addressed to a son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please advise us of his or her new address. Thank you! Contents Mission Statement Features 14 Alumni Weekend Middlesex School is an independent, non-denominational, residential, This year’s event featured a full schedule that college-preparatory school that, for included dedication ceremonies and tours of new over 100 years, has been committed spaces, giving alumni and their families plenty to excellence in the intellectual, to do together while enjoying their reunions. ethical, creative, and physical devel- opment of young people. We honor 20 Graduation the ideal, articulated by our founding On a beautiful spring day, the class of 2019 Head Master, of “finding the promise” crossed the Circle to Eliot Hall, received their in every student, and we work well-earned diplomas, and officially joined together in an atmosphere of mutual the ranks of Middlesex alumni. trust and shared responsibility to help students bring their talents to 24 A Meditation on the Ideal fruition as knowledgeable, capable, New Head of School David Beare shared his responsible, and moral citizens hopes for the Middlesex community in the year of the world. As a community, we respect the individual interests, ahead during his All-School Opening Chapel strengths, and needs of each stu- in early September. dent. We also value the rich diversity of belief and experience each of 26 In the Bass Arts Pavilion: us brings to the School. Opening the Kaye Theatre A musical comedy combining show business We expect that each student will with Shakespeare, Kiss Me, Kate was a great bring his or her best efforts to the choice for the first main stage production shared endeavor of learning and in Middlesex’s impressive new theatre. that the School, through its faculty, will engage and encourage each student’s growth, happiness, and well-being. We aspire for all Middlesex students to develop Departments personal integrity, intellectual vitality and discipline, and respect for themselves and for others. 2 Life 360 We expect each student to engage The Ethics of Opportunity; Rethinking energetically and cooperatively in the Classics; New Colleagues; Serving the the life of the School, and we seek Community; Searching for Permanence; to inspire in all students the desire Heroes & Icons to seek understanding of them- selves and the larger world, 8 Middlesex People both now and in their futures. Pathfinder Patricia Melton ’77; Celebrating Six Decades of Diversity; New Trustees; DJ Williams ’16 Counters Hate with Education On the Cover Three new duplexes were 12 Team Highlights completed along Oates Tennis and Track Tackle New England Lane this summer, thanks Championship Competition to an anonymous challenge that was quickly and 28 Alumni Notes and News generously responded to Class Notes; In Memoriam by alumni, friends, and parents, particularly those 48 Back Story of graduating seniors. Photo by Joel Haskell. MIDDLESEX FALL 2019 1 360° Life on the Circle disadvantaged families in Boston. Mr. Finley traced the roots of his career back to Groton School, where he began to find his “faith and entrepreneurial spirit,” applying both to setting up a recycling program that, in turn, funded community service efforts. Later, at Harvard, he helped establish and run a homeless shelter after a man froze to death in Cambridge. “I had a great Harvard experi- ence,” Mr. Finley remarked, “but the shelter was the most meaningful part of it.” A Powerful Epiphany His faith and inclination to work with people eventually led to the idea of found- ing an Episcopal school. With a mission to “never give up on a child,” Epiphany selects students by lottery and is a “full-service school” that offers a comprehensive academic program and provides personal support for each student and family. Since Epiphany’s A charismatic and motivating founding in 1997, he has helped launch speaker, the Reverend John Making the Most of dozens of other schools like it. Finley drew a crowd of students after his talk and stayed to Opportunities To students wondering about their own continue discussing with them future paths, Mr. Finley offered three pieces the work of Epiphany School. What advantages do some people enjoy that of advice: Be yourself; ask for help; and never may not be available to everyone? How do give up. Inspired by his work, students had these opportunities—or lack thereof—affect many thoughtful questions about Epiphany. a person’s experiences and path in life? Can, “I drove out here because I do believe that or should, someone who benefits from having Middlesex is a special place,” Mr. Finley opportunities try to share them to improve concluded. “I hope your lives reflect the the situation of others? values that you hold. Life is short, and we These are among the questions being have so little time to gladden the lives of pondered by members of the Middlesex com- those who are here with us. So, be quick munity this year as they consider the theme to love; make haste to be kind.” of the “ethics of opportunity.” Approaching the idea of the All-School “Read” with a Lending a Hand variety of media, students and their faculty The community gathered the next morning advisors were asked to meet and review to hear from John Hamilton, who serves as selected TED Talks, podcasts, and websites vice president of economic opportunity for that might spur their thinking about oppor- the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund. tunities and how a lack of them can give Founded in 1983, the Fund provides loans, rise to inequalities and injustices in life.