Should Milton Mirror the Intensity Around Us?
In theory, learning is fun. Plenty of learning, though, comes as a result of struggle and frustration. Every spring, our seniors remind us about the effect of fun on their motivation, commitment and achievement. Their senior projects show us, in living color, the power of self-designed learning, as they develop and carry out projects to culminate their Milton experiences. Senior projects span a range of efforts, from making movies to researching in science, from interning in medical institutions to writing poetry, from creating code to caring...
read moreToday’s Trainers Support the “New” Student-Athlete
On an unusually hot and humid spring afternoon, assistant athletic trainer Nicole Hall stands on the sidelines and keeps a close eye on the girls’ varsity lacrosse game. She already introduced herself to the opposing team coach, set down water and a cooler of iced towels. Now she is laser-focused on the athletes, from both teams, watching out for collisions or hard hits, or if any player is limping or showing signs of struggle. Nicole notices one student wheezing when she runs off the field and goes to check on her. Fortunately, that’s the...
read moreHey faculty, what space made your day?
“I learned how to read in a set of two faded, outdated, and deliciously comfortable floral armchairs that were the foci of the living room in my childhood home. My parents generously let me take these beloved chairs to college, where they served as my daily workspace. Unfortunately, I had to abandon these chairs during final move-out; I will forever hope they found a good home.” Olivia Robbins (English) “Withington Room, on campus. Not only do I enjoy solitary working lunches, but I also overhear passionate and thoughtful conversations...
read moreBook: The Boys of Dunbar: A Story of Love, Hope, and Basketball, By Alejandro Danois ’88
The Boys of Dunbar: A Story of Love, Hope, and Basketball By Alejandro Danois ’88 The Boys of Dunbar is the true story of a high school basketball team that, during the drug and crime epidemic in 1980s Baltimore, brought forth four NBA players and gave hope to a city. Dunbar High School’s basketball program was one of the most successful in the country, and the early 1980s Dunbar Poets were arguably the best high school team of all time. Four starting players—Muggsy Bogues, Reggie Williams, David Wingate, and Reggie Lewis—would...
read moreMusic: Sélébéyone, By Steve Lehman ’96
Sélébéyone By Steve Lehman ’96 Steve Lehman’s album Sélébéyone was selected as a Top 10 CD of 2016 by NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times Popcast. The ensemble Sélébéyone—“intersection” in Senegal’s Wolof language—includes two emcees from different continents, two composer-saxophonists, and three supporting players with strong jazz pedigrees in a jazz-rap collaboration. As a Pitchfork review describes, “What they come up with feels both legitimately new and surprisingly approachable.” Described as “a...
read moreMusic: The Chief, By Jidenna Mobbison ’03
The Chief Jidenna Mobbison ’03 After his 2015 hit single “Classic Man,” Jidenna follows up the Grammy Award-nominated track with a debut album titled The Chief. Unleashing powerful lyrics and visuals with tracks “Long Live the Chief” and “Chief Don’t Run,” Jidenna says the debut album is a nod to his roots. “This story is from the point of view of a first-generation Nigerian-American in different cities, places and communities, that has ever been told in this way,” he has said. The album blends a unique and enticing...
read moreBook: About the House, By Jenny Slate ’00
About the House By Jenny Slate ’00 Jenny Slate, acclaimed comedienne and actress, joined her writer-poet father Ron Slate to create About the House—a collection of essays revolving around their family home in the Town of Milton. The rooms and corners of a rambling Colonial built in 1898, and purchased by the Slates in 1980, set the stage for Ron and Jenny, in alternating chapters, to share memories attached to the spaces, weaving an intimate and compelling family memoir. Jenny and Ron chose Concord Free Press as their publisher, an...
read moreArt: Timekeeper, by Sarah Sze ’87
Timekeeper Sarah Sze ’87 Sarah Sze’s latest work, Timekeeper, is an experiential piece whose projections chase one another around the walls of the Foster Gallery at Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum. Video footage that includes digital clocks, running cheetahs, splashing liquids, and buildings being demolished is projected from dozens of whirring devices situated on a structure created from an unexpected and inspired collection of objects and elements. Timekeeper addresses how we measure time, countering actual clocks with more...
read moreFilm: 72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story? By Raafi Rivero ’95
72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story? Raafi Rivero ’95 Based on a short film by Bilal Ndongo, Raafi Rivero’s 72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story? follows 18-year-old Caesar Winslow, a restless, ambitious and charismatic Brooklynite facing the decision to leave his neighborhood for a full scholarship at a prestigious university. Told over the three days before he’s scheduled to leave, the film chronicles events and choices that unravel his confidence and force him to question everything: His girlfriend breaks up with him and the “woman of his...
read moreBook: The Crisis of Classical Music in America, by Robert Freeman ’53
The Crisis of Classical Music in America: Lessons from a Life in the Education of Musicians Robert Freeman ’53 The Crisis of Classical Music in America discusses solutions for the many American classically trained musicians who face diminishing opportunities for full-time employment. An experienced observer, Robert Freeman asserts that schools training future instrumentalists, composers, conductors, and singers need to equip students with the communication and analytical skills to succeed in the rapidly changing music scene. His book offers...
read moreEmbedded. In the Lives and deepest hopes of the Arab Spring protesters, Robert Worth’s stories illuminate an inaccessible world, Robert Worth ’83
Looking professorial in a soft blue shirt and unstructured corduroy sport jacket, Robert Worth speaks quietly and intensely. Robert’s book, A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to Isis, was published in April 2016 to significant acclaim. He is both erudite and unpretentious, answering questions with patience. Imagining Robert perched in the back of a pickup truck among exuberant Libyans who are shooting into the air and hurtling at top speed across a “debris-strewn” desert is a stretch. Likewise, you must work...
read moreLove Plying the Sky. Already a pilot in Class I, Nancy Harkness Love founded the World War II Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, Nancy Harkness Love ’31
by Mary McCutcheon ’65 Imagine enjoying a beautiful autumn afternoon on the Quad. Suddenly your tranquility is shattered by an airplane descending perilously low over the chapel and rattling off the top of one of the crenellations. This happened one Sunday in the fall of 1930. The usual suspects were the daredevil Fuller brothers, both of whom had pilot’s licenses. But, to the astonishment of the administration, the culprit proved to be a girl! It was the demure and pretty senior, Nancy Harkness. I remember my Class I year at Milton. It...
read moreIs He Othello Today, or Romeo, or Joseph Asagai? Jason Bowen ’00
“The key is understanding my character’s humanity—his relationships, faults, feelings, choices,” Jason Bowen starts. A stage actor, Jason depends on his ability to engage hundreds of people, radiate energy, and elicit buy-in from the start. “I need to recognize my character and also understand what other characters think of him, are saying about him—how he affects what’s unfolding, even when he’s not onstage. Attaching real emotions to the words—that’s how you make a character come alive.” Acting ability might have been...
read moreElbow to Elbow with Urban Neighbors: Making cities that work, John Marshall ’86
An assistant professor of law and an urban development lawyer, John Marshall “never ever” wanted to be a lawyer. Helping revitalize a city devastated by one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history was equally outside what John might have predicted for his future. But every story has roots, and John traces his to the family’s Oldsmobile station wagon. On excursions to visit friends and family in cities up and down the East Coast, John’s architect father and educator mother infused their children with stories about the past and...
read moreOn A Frontier, at 18 Years Old
What happens when you take your energy and your passion as far as you can? Many teenagers are driven by a talent or a recently discovered fascination, to pursue new exposure, and follow any lead that opens up. Gabrielle Fernandopulle, Alex Iansiti, and Elina Thadhani, all Class I, are three such adventurers. Rooted in Milton life, they have at the same time sought and seized every opportunity to expand and test the intrigue they feel for math, programming and science. Their personal passions emerged when they were very young, and each has been...
read moreGrowing on Garden Hill
Working in teams, Milton’s fourth graders were assigned a straightforward task: Using toothpicks and mini-marshmallows, develop and execute a plan to build the tallest possible structure in less than five minutes. It sounded easy enough. But halfway through the process, Robert Lightbody, director of multiculturalism and community development in Milton’s Lower and Middle schools, began shaking things up. He reassigned students, which forced the groups to bring their new teammates up to speed and consider novel approaches. The exercise came...
read moreMilton Mentors Lead Girls Who Code Teams at HUBweek Hackathon
“The change in stereotypes about computer programming and coding is heartening,” says Jessica Wang ’18. In the fall, Jessica—along with several female classmates and friends—mentored fellow coding enthusiasts during HUBweek’s Girl Hackathon in Boston. The program, which provides middle- and elementary-school girls an introduction to coding, is a signal of forward momentum that Milton faculty member Chris Hales hopes will increase girls’ participation in computer programming. The Milton students were team leaders to the younger...
read moreLetitia Chan Wins International Poetry Award
Letitia Chan ’17 is one of 15 student writers to win top honors in the 2016 Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award for her poem “Making Glutinous Dumplings with My Mother.” Letitia’s poem was selected from among 10,000 entries submitted by 6,000 students from around the world. “Making Glutinous Dumplings with My Mother” is a piece Letitia developed in last spring’s Advanced Creative Writing class with Lisa Baker. She learned about the Foyle Award competition, which is hosted by The Poetry Society of London, from her mentor at Adroit...
read moreSurgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy Delivers 49th Alumni War Memorial Lecture
On November 29, the United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, spoke with students, faculty, parents and grads as Milton’s 49th Alumni War Memorial Lecturer. Both in Straus Library, and later in the Fitzgibbons Convocation Center, Vice Admiral Murthy answered students’ questions about his role and about some of the most pressing public health issues facing America. “I came here today because I believe you, young people, are the best shot we have in this country of overcoming the challenges that we face,” said Dr. Murthy....
read moreRestoration of the Robert Saltonstall Gymnasium Columns
Workers made a special delivery to the Milton campus, as the restoration of the four white, wooden columns in front of the Robert Saltonstall Gymnasium (RSG) began last summer. The crews carefully removed the building’s historic columns and replaced them with replica structures that hold true to the building’s century-old design. The existing columns were original to the RSG, which was built in 1921. After 95 years of supporting the building’s entrance and portico, they were in need of replacement, says Jim Selman, Milton’s associate...
read moreThe Robotics Team Rolls Onto Advanced Competition
The Robotics Team’s robot, named Tokyo Lift, won the robot skills competition, the excellence award, and the championship at the VEX Robotics Qualifier Tournament in Hopkinton this winter. Milton entered two robots into the competition, and the winning robot moves on to the state competition this spring. Truman Marshall ’18 and Tommy Elliott ’18 were the leads on Tokyo Lift. “We knew we had a good design,” says Truman, but the team was “pleasantly surprised” by their success. The “Starstruck” competition is played on a...
read moreGrace Connor ’17 Has the Scoop on Building a Business
After trekking through a snowstorm to deliver her first pints of Little G Ice Cream to a specialty grocer in Boston, Grace Connor ’17 had a flash of doubt. “I was putting it into the freezer and thinking, ‘What did I put all my time and money into?’” she remembers. “After a week, they called and told me that all my ice cream sold out, and they wanted to order more.” This was in January 2016, six months after Grace landed a spot in the start-up food production space CommonWealth Kitchen at the age of 16. “I didn’t have much...
read moreA Silver and a Bronze for Milton Magazine
Milton Magazine is “filled with really interesting stories that are not just ‘news and notables’ but clearly reflect what the school values,” according to one judge of the 2016 Brilliance Awards from InspirED School Marketers. Milton and Stoltze Design received two awards in the Printed Magazine category, with the Spring 2016 edition of Milton Magazine earning silver and the Spring 2015 edition receiving bronze. In their remarks, judges celebrated the design as well as the written content. One judge noted of the Spring 2015 issue:...
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