Wellesley students named National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists

September 13, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Six Wellesley High School seniors and two from Dana Hall School have been named among 16,000 academically accomplished National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists and are now eligible for part of some $28 million in scholarships to be awarded next spring.

Those qualifying scored high on the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and met other requirements. About 95% of semifinalists will likely make it to the finalist round, and about half of them will earn scholarships, according to the National Merit organization.

Scholarships are underwritten by the National Merit Scholarship Corp., as we as as hundreds of businesses and higher education institutions. Among the scholarships are 2,500 awards worth $2,500 apiece. Winners will be announced between April and July next year.

Congrats to all of the semifinalists.

Dana Hall School

Swann Li
Xiangyi Wang

Wellesley High School

Kaloyan K. Draganov
Lily S. Jin
Lauren H. Kim,
Jonathan I. Liu,
Jackson N. Moss
Alan L. Song

Please send school memos, tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

School events: Dana Hall dance concert, musical on tap; Motivational speaker Steve Pemberton coming to Wellesley Middle School

March 1, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Upcoming school events open to the public in Wellesley:

Dana Hall dance concert, musical on tap

Dana Hall Dance presents its annual dance concert, Rhapsody, on Friday, March 3, and Saturday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m., in Bardwell Auditorium, 37 Cameron St. (note that the auditorium is not wheelchair accessible). The performances are free and open to the public.

This year’s show is a mixture of student choreography along with works from Director of Dance Devon Fitchett and Dance faculty member Mikaela Bradley. Students from all levels of the Upper School dance program will be performing works in modern, musical theater dance, contemporary, ballet, African diasporic dance, jazz, hip hop, and tap. Performing Arts faculty member Doug Feinburg and his Technical Theater students designed lighting for
each piece.

For more information, please contact Devon Fitchett at devon.fitchett@danahall.org.

Separately, the Dana Hall Middle School presents its spring musical, Roald Dahl’s “Matilda the Musical Jr.,” on Thursday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m., in Bardwell Auditorium. The performance is free and open to the public.

Motivational speaker Steve Pemberton coming to Wellesley Middle School

Author and executive (Monster.com, Walgreens, etc.) Steve Pemberton shares on March 6 at 7pm how he overcame tremendous obstacles in his childhood with the support of educators and how simple acts of kindness can have a profound impact. Pemberton’s books include his memoir, A Chance in the World.

This free event, sponsored by Wellesley Education Foundation, will be held at Wellesley Middle School, 50 Kingsbury St. RSVP to event.

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Wellesley school news: Hunnewell groundbreaking; Acatober tix; WHS All-Nationals in choir & band; Dana Hall open houses

October 20, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The latest Wellesley, Mass., school news:

Hunnewell Elementary School groundbreaking

Wellesley town and public school officials last week joined the big dig at the new Hunnewell Elementary School site, same as the old school site. The old school building had been there since 1938, and the new one is slated to open in February 2024. The Wellesley HHU website provides regular updates on the project.

The teardown began over the summer.

While Hunnewell is under construction, students and staff are divvied up among other elementary schools in town.

The new two-story building will boast 18 classrooms and is designed for a modern learning environment.

Hunnewell School groundbreaking — Shiny shovels at the ready for the Hunnewell Elementary School groundbreaking ceremony. From left: Michael Tauer, Permanent Building Committee chair; Melissa Martin, School Committee; Tom Ulfelder, Select Board vice chair; Catherine Mirick, School Committee; Ellen Quirk, Hunnewell School principal; David Lussier, superintendent; Sharon Gray, former School Committee member. Photo by The Swellesley Report

Act now for Acatober tickets

There are still limited seats available for Acatober on Fri., Oct. 21, 7pm and Saturday, Oct. 22, 7pm, at Wellesley High School, 50 Rice S.

Acatober will feature the WHS Choral Department, WHS A Cappella Groups, and guest groups Northeastern Pitch Please, featuring WHS Class of 2021 Alumnae Chloe Cohen, and the Harvard Veritones featuring WHS Class of 2022 Alumnae Eleni Livingston.

To order tickets, scan the QR code on the picture.

Wellesley High music students named All-Nationals

Wellesley High School students Frank Mendes and Isabelle Lee have been selected to perform with the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Choir and Band, respectively.

WHS Choir member Mendes has been recognized through participation in the Massachusetts District and All-State festivals. His acceptance
into the Massachusetts All-State Choir qualified him to audition for the All-National Choir. While excited about this opportunity, Mendes says he’s also really looking forward to this weekend’s Acatober, the first WHS concert of the year.

WHS Band member Lee has also been recognized through participation in the Massachusetts District and All-State festivals. Her
acceptance into the Massachusetts All-State Band qualified her to audition for the All-National Band. She thanked her public school teachers and private lesson teacher.

The NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles take place Nov. 3-6 in National Harbor, Md. The ensembles will meet under the leadership of top conductors in the field.

Michael LaCava, K-12 Director of Performing Arts for Wellesley Public Schools, thanked the faculty for their role in supporting these talented young musicians.

Mr. Steve Scott, Isabelle Lee, Frank Mendes, Dr. Kevin McDonald — Music teachers Steve Scott (left) and Kevin McDonald (right) bookend students Isabelle Lee and Frank Mendes

Dana Hall School Open House events

Dana Hall School, a Wellesley-based independent boarding and day school for girls in grades 5-12 (boarding begins grade 9), has put together a few events to help prospective families learn more about academics, athletics and more at Dana.

Upper School open house: Nov. 5, 9-11 a.m.
Middle School open house: Nov. 5, 1-3 p.m.
Athletics open house: Nov. 14, 5:30 p.m.

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Wellesley schools round-up: MassBay land acknowledgement; we get schooled by school construction managers; Dana’s new project is shovel-ready

September 22, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

MassBay land acknowledgement plaque installed

MassBay Community College last week unveiled a permanent land acknowledgement plaque in a ceremony attended by chiefs of three native tribes. MassBay is believed to be the first community college in Massachusetts to make this public acknowledgement with a permanent marker and a ceremony of reconciliation and healing. During the ceremony the college announced an Indigenous People Scholarship had been formed for current and future MassBay students, for which fundraising has begun.

“Today Indigenous people became visible,” said Chief Ladybug (Croatan) Native Heritage New England and Program Chair for Health Studies at MassBay. “As a Massachusetts indigenous person, today’s land acknowledgement that MassBay Community College campuses sits on land that belongs to the Nipmuc, Pawtucket, and Massachusetts tribes was historic for me, my family, and my tribe. Acknowledgment is the first steps to our tribal healing.”

Nine tribes were present at the gathering including Croatan, Ponkapoag, Mi’kmaq, Mohawk, Cherokee, Blackfoot, Wampanoag, Natick Praying Indians, and the Nipmuc. Chief Black Wolf of the Nipmuc, Chief Eagle Rising (Mi’kmaq) from the Great Lowell Indian Cultural Association, and 8-year-old Sophia Wise Owl (Ponkapoag) all spoke at the ceremony of gratitude for this acknowledgement.

“We are proud to hold this important ceremony and to give proper recognition of the land on which our college sits,” said MassBay President David Podell. “As our plaque reads, we cannot change the past. But what we can do and will do is to is honor the land, the ancestors, and the indigenous traditions as we at MassBay use this sacred land as a communal place to nurture learners to move forward and make a more inclusive world.”

Chief Caring Hands of the Natick Praying Indians summed up the Ceremony by saying, “I leave you with a truth: a people honor themselves when they honor its original people.”

Donations to the MassBay Indigenous People Scholarship Fund can be made by visiting www.massbay.edu/give, using the dropdown menu.

Swellesley editors are residents, but we need to clean up our act

While walking in the Hunnewell School area, we came across a different sort of sign affixed to the chain link safety fencing that encircles the construction site.

Dang, by mid-morning today we’d already used foul language, loitered, and did one other thing on this list, which we’ll leave to your imagination.

Dana Hall groundbreaking

Dana Hall is another step closer to a major renovation of its Upper School Classroom Building, the school’s largest academic space, which dates from 1956.

Dana Hall, Wellesley, construction — Board of Trustees Chair Courtney Caruso ’05; Head of School Katherine Bradley; and Campaign Steering Committee Chair and Manton Foundation Trustee Sandy Niles, break ground on the Upper School Classroom Building project.

“Our students have been at the heart of all our decisions, discussions and desires,” Head of School Katherine Bradley said at the groundbreaking event. “We knew we needed a learning environment that would meet their needs and provide the space where they could explore their interests, engage with new challenges and realize their fullest potential.”

The project, designed by Dario Designs, is being funded by private philanthropy. Last fall, the Dana Hall announced a historic $15 million gift from the Manton Foundation, with $10 million designated to support the Classroom Building. The project’s general contractor, CM & B construction management, estimates a 15-18 month timeline for completion.

Congratulations to Wellesley’s Class of ’22 high school graduates

June 5, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Wellesley High School Class of 2022 was rewarded with a break from the weather on Friday, June 3, for a fine evening to collect their well-earned diplomas.

whs class of 22 — Photo by Colby Stakun-Pickering

More: Wellesley High School Class of 2022—Prom

Separately, Dana Hall School celebrated its 141st commencement exercises on Saturday, May 28. The 76 members of the Class of 2022 pinned flower crowns in their hair, threw pennies into the Pond and entered the tent filled with faculty, friends and family.

Graduates included Wellesley residents Evelyn Booth, Charlotte Brown, Sarah Cole, Cameron Curtin, Halden Dyer, Anna Fattaey, Phoebe Frechette, Jenna London, Isabel Mone, Eleanor Redgate, Matilda Reinhardt, Emma Shaich, Mira Smith, Elsa Stanton, Annika Svedlund, and Sydney Weller.

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Dana Hall fashion show to highlight eco couture

April 21, 2022 by admin Leave a Comment

Eco couture (sustainable clothing) designed by students from Dana Hall, Wellesley College, Babson College, and other local schools will be on the catwalk at Dana Hall School in Wellesley on April 23 at 7pm. Be inspired to look good, while being good to the planet.

Local artists and business owners will also discuss how they address climate change through their work.

Event details:
*April 23rd at 7-8:30pm (refreshments included)
*Waldo Auditorium, Dana Hall School, 45 Dana Rd, Wellesley
*This event is free and open to the public. No tickets are required.

Wellesley colleges and schools welcoming the public back with in-person arts events

March 8, 2022 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

After keeping campus buildings closed to visitors throughout the pandemic, area schools including Babson College and Wellesley College are welcoming the general public back to indoors in-person events.

Babson took the lead last month, opening up the Sorenson Center for a movie screening and other cultural offerings. Going forward, the four-year entrepreneurial school will present the family-friendly (PG-13) feature film, Jungle Cruise as part of their Screening Room Series on Wed., Mar. 23, at 6:30pm in the Carling-Sorenson Theater.

Inspired by Disneyland theme park ride, Jungle Cruise is set in the Amazon, where riverboat captain Frank Wolff encounters English researcher Dr. Lily Houghton, who looks to study a fabled tree with healing properties. As Frank and Lily navigate the risks of the rainforest, they cross a cohort of foes determined to use the tree for nefarious purposes.

Admission is free, but reservations are required. Masks are optional for fully vaccinated individuals. Visitors must be fully vaccinated, and proof must be uploaded during the reservation process.

Information about additional Babson campus events here.

Following suit, The Davis Museum at Wellesley College will reopen to the public on Tuesday, March 8 for the first time since the pandemic-related closure in March 2020.

Visitors are required to register in the Davis lobby, show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, and mask while in the galleries. Once that’s been taken care of, the art-loving public will once again have the opportunity to explore the encyclopedic permanent collections, as well as five new special exhibitions. The exhibitions feature photography documenting mass incarceration, Dutch and Flemish prints, early travel photography of Pompeii, an installation commissioned by the Davis by Komatsu Hiroko, and a video installation by Sondra Perry.

Upcoming events at The Davis include a Mar. 9, 1:30-3:30pm conversation with award-winning Prison Nation curator Nicole R. Fleetwood on mass incarceration, photography, and activism, and a Mindful Meditation event to take place in the galleries on Mar. 17. 11am-11:45 (a virtual option is also available).

The Davis Museum is open with free admission Tues.-Fri., 11am–5pm, and Sat. & Sun., noon—4pm.

There’s lots more in-person artsy stuff going on around town, Some of the venues are clear online about their masking polices, some less so, so contact the venue ahead of time with any questions.

Dana Hall Middle School to thaw out with Frozen

The Dana Hall Middle School will present its spring musical, Frozen Jr., on Thursday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m., in Bardwell Auditorium. The performance is free and open to the public.

Frozen Jr. is based on the 2018 Broadway musical and brings Elsa, Anna and the magical land of Arendelle to life onstage. The show features all of the memorable songs from the animated film, plus five new songs written for the Broadway production.

Bardwell Auditorium is located on the Dana Hall campus at 37 Cameron Street. Please note that Bardwell is not wheelchair accessible. For more information, please call (781) 235-3010 ext. 2731.

Wellesley High School Drama Society presents Mamma Mia

Show dates are Mar. 10, 11, and 12. Tickets, times, and more info here.

On pins and needles at quilt show

Wellesley artist Susan McCraw is showing her work at The Community Art Gallery’s current exhibit, Quilts, on display through May at Christ Episcopal Church in Needham,

McCraw’s designs are inspired by shapes and symbols used in traditional societies around the world. Free admission. Hours: Mon.–Fri, 9:30am–1:30pm & Sun., 9am–noon. Masks are required indoors

An artist’s reception will be held on Sun., March 13, 11:15am at Christ Episcopal Church, 1132 Highland Ave., Needham.

Wellesley Symphony Orchestra causing a Buzz

Orchestra-in-residence at MassBay Community College, The Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Geneviève Leclair, will present Buzz on Sunday, April 3, 3pm, at 50 Oakland St., Wellesley.

Pieces will include Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee; Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D, first movement; soloist: John Matters, 2019 Competition Winner; Traditional: La Cucaracha (arr.); Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Wasps Overture; and Jonathan Peters: Arthropod Suite.

Wellesley arts roundup: Davis Museum not quite ready for the rest of us; Dana Hall shows children’s book art; paintings & collage at Main Library

January 12, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Our round-up of the latest Wellesley, Mass., arts news:

Davis Museum not quite ready for the rest of us

The Davis Museum at Wellesley College will be reopening its galleries to the Wellesley College campus community at the start of the spring semester, come Jan. 25. Among the exhibits: “Picturing Pompeii: Archaeology and Early Travel Photography.”

Virtual galleries remain the consolation prize for the wider community. Thanks, but we’ll pass. We filled our art quota for the month by taking in the Worcester Art Museum (we’ll try to sum up that visit for you soon).

worcester art musum — The big mosaic a Worcester Art Museum

Dana Hall gallery shows children’s book illustrations

The new Dana Hall Art Gallery exhibit called “Children’s Book Illustration and Other Work,” will run through Feb. 11. The show features the art of alumnae illustrators Devin Cole ’06 and Nez Riaz ’14.

Cole is a multimedia artist based in Italy whose work ranges from conceptual jewelry to large-scale paintings. Cole has self-published a children’s book intended to aid in teaching Italian.

Riaz has experience in children’s publishing and editorial illustration as well as educational art for print. She is serving as a sabbatical replacement for Visual Arts Department Head Michael Frassinelli.

Located in the Classroom Building, the Dana Hall Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Due to COVID-19 protocols, please email gallery@danahall.org before planning your visit. The gallery is closed weekends and school
holidays.

Wellesley library exhibits

At the Wellesley Free Library, two exhibits will run through the end of January. In the lobby, Wellesley resident Jae Roosevelt explores collage in her garage studio, which she describes as a “welcoming and creative space.”

Roosevelt, a Boston University Art History graduate, has shown her work in numerous galleries in Washington, D.C., as well as Accra, Ghana, and Nantucket. This is the first exhibit of her collages.

Art, Wellesley, Jae Roosevelt — Jae Roosevelt, collages.

In the Wakelin Room, Small Works, by Michael William, features paintings on a relatively small scale. William’s goal was to not spend more than a few days on each piece, and to choose simple subjects. In an artist’s statement, William says the paintings, “…bring me back to those moments where something often overlooked moved me enough to want to capture it.”

Art, Wellesley Library, Michael Williams — Spring Wedding, 12″ x 16″, acrylic on wood, by Michael William.

More: Seeing the world through Kunal Sharma’s eyes at Wellesley Free Library photography exhibit

Live theatre at Wellesley middle schools: Matilda & A Midsummer Night’s Dream

November 17, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley Middle School this week invites the public to attend Matilda: The Musical Jr. in person from Thursday, Nov. 18 to Saturday, Nov. 20. This will be the first in-person theater performance at WMS since before March 2020.

Ticket are on sale now.

Masks are required for all attendees, regardless of vaccination status. In addition, seating will be assigned to support social distancing.

The Dana Hall Middle School presents its fall play, William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on Thursday, November 18, at 7:30 p.m., in Bardwell Auditorium. The performance is free and open to the public.

Like with Wellesley Middle School, this is the first public performance at Dana Hall since early last year.

In keeping with current protocols on campus, all students involved in the production and audience members will be masked while in Bardwell.

Bardwell Auditorium is located on the Dana Hall campus at 37 Cameron St. Bardwell is not wheelchair accessible. For more information, please call (781) 235-3010 ext. 2731 or visit www.danahall.org .

Wellesley sports update: Hockey & skiing in, hoops out for now; student-athletes sign with colleges

November 25, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley High School has announced that the following sports have been approved to play during the winter season, set to begin in mid-winter (practices start Dec. 14, meets/games on Jan. 4).

Those approved:

Ice hockey
Boys swimming & diving
Alpine & nordic skiing
Gymnastics

Not on the list for now:

Basketball

Basketball, listed as “pending further information” on the School Committee presentation, is challenging in that it relies on indoor facilities at the school that are being used for other purposes during the pandemic. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has approved the sport for the winter season, though it remains to be seen what other local schools do.

As for sports slated to be played, there will be no out-of-league competition or MIAA tournaments.

Dance, track & field, and wrestling have been moved by the MIAA to later seasons.

Congrats to local student-athletes who have signed national letters of intent to play sports in college:

Dana Hall School’s Kate Bossert ’21, a Needham resident, signed a letter of intent to play soccer at the University of
Vermont. She led the varsity team in scoring during her first three years with the Dana Hall team (she wasn’t able to play any games during her senior year due to the pandemic).

Margaux Gryska, a Wellesley High senior, signed to attend Syracuse University and compete on the women’s rowing team (Wellesley High doesn’t offer crew).

Wellesley High senior Grace Donahue signed a letter of intent to attend Holy Cross and play field hockey there.

Congratulations to Grace Donahue who signed her National Letter of Intent to play Field Hockey at Holy Cross. It is quite an accomplishment and honor to receive a Division 1 athletic scholarship.
Way to go Grace! pic.twitter.com/92h36Xhi9b
— Wellesley Raiders (@wellesleysports) November 20, 2020