MiddlesexSpring 2012 Maintaining Middlesex Sustainability on Campus MIDDLESEX SPRING 2012 i From the Head of School Life Cycles Since last August, we have welcomed nine The key, for the school, is not to ask too new faculty babies to our school community. much from our great teachers, coaches, and Perhaps this wave of newborns was an inevi- mentors, and to provide as much support as table result of the round of weddings we’ve possible. The six-day week and living in the enjoyed over the past couple of years; a for- dorm are real filters for us in the hiring pro- mer colleague once told me that weddings cess; we look for expertise where we need it, and babies are great news for schools, a sign affinity with teenagers, and that “big personal that faculty members feel secure and are eager capacity” that defines the kind of person who to bring up families in the community. These can thrive while balancing the demands of babies have brought us great joy, and I am life and work at school. The vast majority sure that part of the great year we are enjoy- of teachers who join us stay to establish rich ing as a school is due in part to the happi- lives as long-term colleagues and friends, ness we all feel for these young families. and we are blessed with a senior faculty that During the past year, perhaps because of models the best of the tradition of teacher as these babies and the ensuing maternity leaves, mentor, both for students and for younger or perhaps because this is Ralph’s and my first colleagues. year with an “empty nest,” or perhaps because These nine babies join more than 60 of some senior faculty members’ upcoming other faculty children under the age of 14; retirements and a few new faculty grandchil- those Mary Mae cottages (see page 22) are a Middlesex dren, I have spent some time considering the welcome relief to the pressing need for more Spring 2012 life cycle of a faculty member. Life as a school faculty housing on campus. It is important Head of School person is highly cyclical; we start anew each to our faculty members and our residential Kathleen Carroll Giles fall, and there is always a new crop of 15 mission that we be able to provide housing to Director of Development Heather Parker year olds to coach through the rigors of those adults who give so much of themselves Director of Advancement adolescence. Young faculty members throw to our students every day. For young families, George Noble Editor themselves into their work with energy and and for veteran teachers with grown children, Maria Lindberg enthusiasm that light up the school and pro- this additional housing will allow us to make Design vide great role models for students. The dan- Middlesex a comfortable home for teachers NonprofitDesign.com Photography ger is that school can be all-consuming, to the and their families. We are tremendously Joel Haskell, Tim Morse, detriment of one’s personal life; finding that grateful to the parents, alumni, and friends Robert D. Perachio, Tony Rinaldo balance is critical to a young teacher’s ability who have answered this call so quickly and Letters to the Editor Letters to the to stay, long-term, and find personal happi- helped us make these new homes a reality. editor are welcome and may be edited for clarity and space. Please send your ness as well as great satisfaction teaching, letters to Editor, Middlesex Bulletin, working, and living with teenagers. 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 12 Maintaining Middlesex Middlesex School is an independent, non-denominational, residential, Thinking about the social, environmental, college-preparatory school that, for and economic implications of sustainability, over 100 years, has been committed the School is focusing first on reducing its to excellence in the intellectual, carbon footprint by at least 20 percent. ethical, creative, and physical devel- opment of young people. We honor 16 A Master of Arts the ideal, articulated by our founding Head Master, of “finding the promise” The Bulletin pays tribute to Russell Hawes in every student, and we work Kettell ’10, a remarkable faculty member together in an atmosphere of mutual who, for 35 years, served his alma mater as trust and shared responsibility to a versatile teacher, coach, and housemaster help students bring their talents to – also managing a second career as an fruition as knowledgeable, capable, authority on early American furniture responsible, and moral citizens and decorative arts. of the world. As a community, we respect the individual interests, strengths, and needs of each stu- 22 A Residential Solution dent. We also value the rich diversity Thanks to a generous grant from the of belief and experience each of Mary Mae Foundation, much-needed faculty us brings to the School. housing is becoming a reality. We expect that each student will bring his or her best efforts to the shared endeavor of learning and that the School, through its faculty, Departments will engage and encourage each student’s growth, happiness, 2 Life 360 and well-being. We aspire for all Middlesex students to develop Exploring a Masterpiece; Video Activism; personal integrity, intellectual Scheibe to Lead Lawrence Academy; Relay vitality and discipline, and respect for Life Returns; A British Backstage Pass; for themselves and for others. Tartuffe We expect each student to engage energetically and cooperatively in 8 Team Highlights the life of the School, and we seek to inspire in all students the desire Fall Season Boasts Three League MVPs; to seek understanding of them- Winter Athletes Take Titles selves and the larger world, both now and in their futures. 25 Alumni Notes and News Class Notes; In Memoriam On the Cover 40 Back Story The early New England spring was evident around Atkins Worlds Beyond House. Photo by Joel Haskell. MIDDLESEX SPRING 2012 1 360° Life on the Circle Classic and Contemporary Calling the work “an odd painting,” Dr. Hirshler pointed out several of the fea- tures that set “The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit” apart from other paintings of its time. A study of light and shadow, it is not a straightforward portrait in which the subjects are clearly depicted, but it is also not a typical genre scene of everyday life. The picture seems to tell a story—and many conjectures have been made about what that story is—yet it does not have a clear narrative. Combining the masterful influence of Velásquez (par- ticularly “Las Meninas”) with the modern composition style of Degas, Sargent’s image was innovative and captivating, provoking criticism and earning praise at the 1883 Salon, then considered most prestigious art event held in Paris. Equally interesting, Dr. Hirshler found, was the story of the Boit family. The girls’ In the Terry Room after her presentation, Dr. Erica Hirshler Exploring a parents, Ned and Isa Boit, were wealthy fields numerous questions American ex-patriots and good friends of from art history enthusiasts. Masterpiece Sargent. This connection, and Ned’s decision to give up a law career to become a painter, In 1882, John Singer Sargent painted a large have led many to wonder if this extraordi- picture of four plainly dressed, American girls nary work was not a portrait commission in the foyer of their parents’ Paris apartment. but a collaboration in which a fellow artist Labeled everything from “a haunting master- allowed Sargent the freedom to create a piece” to “four figures and a void,” it has long dramatic picture for the Salon. been one of the favorite works on exhibit at It is also often noted that the Boits’ Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. What is it about daughters never married, a fact on which “The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit” that Dr. Hirshler wryly commented, “This does continues to fascinate viewers 130 years after not mean that they were not happy!” Rich it was painted? and well-connected, they could choose It’s just one of the questions that inspired to be independent, which was not unusual Dr. Erica Hirshler to write her most recent book, among their social class. Sargent’s Daughters: The Biography of a Painting, which she discussed on April 5 as this year’s An Enduring Image second Hub Lecturer. A graduate of Wellesley In 1919, the Boit daughters officially gave College with a Ph.D. from Boston University, their portrait to the MFA, where—flanked by Dr. Hirshler is the Croll Senior Curator of the actual Japanese vases that appear in the Paintings, Art of the Americas, at the MFA, painting—it draws many admirers today. Boston. She has written and lectured widely After inviting everyone to visit the museum on American paintings of the late nineteenth to explore this and other works in the Art of and early twentieth centuries, particularly the Americas gallery, Dr. Hirshler remained on American Impressionism and the for another hour to answer the many ques- Boston School.