March 2018 Newsletter Dear Bancroft Friends, I consider your children's safety, and the safety of our faculty and staff, to be a top priority. I am confident in our community and its commitment to the care and safety of everyone in our School. The adults on campus, including the school counselor, are attuned to signs of anxiety or unease, and are working in developmentally appropriate ways to support every student. This is fundamental to who we are and how we operate every day.
Our next shelter-in-place (lockdown) drill is scheduled for Tuesday, March 6th. In April, when we return from spring break, we will provide additional training for faculty and students. And we have instituted more stringent adherence to the visitor sign-in and badging process, so that we know at all times who is on campus. In addition, as I hope you know, we have for the past few years had a security officer on campus throughout the school day and after school until the last students leave (including late in the evening, major weekend events, and during summer programs). Faculty and staff also have a crisis management app on their smartphones, with crisis response checklists and a "hotline" to the campus security officer at their fingertips.
I am working with my leadership team to consider what more we can do. We are taking the time to carefully review all of our health and safety protocols, from campus security and medical response to communication strategy and evacuation routes. We consult with emergency management professionals and law enforcement to understand best practices and evolving recommendations, including shelter-in-place and hide-run-fight protocols. These are complex issues without simple answers. Different scenarios call for different responses, and we want to be prepared.
Your partnership and open dialogue as we continue to explore further protective options is genuinely welcomed and appreciated. Together we are fostering mindful, resilient individuals who enthusiastically explore ways to be part of the solution. Isn't that, after all, why we're here? Best, Trey Cassidy LUNAR NEW YEAR Celebrating Global Cultural Traditions The PreK–12 global learners of Bancroft joined together on February 15 to celebrate Lunar New Year, a very special event for one of our nation's cultural groups! This family-focused holiday is a huge celebration in China and many other Asian countries. Mandarin teachers Jun Chen and Fanfei Kong first proposed the idea for an all-school event at last summer's faculty Think Camp. With approval from the administrative team, and assistance from the Asian Culture Club and their Mandarin students, the teachers brought their vision to life. They set up eight activity stations around the Upper School and library, and the LS and MS teachers brought their students down to try traditional games and activities like Ring-A-Bottle, Paper Folding, Kung Fu Lessons, or the Chopstick Challenge! By providing the time and space for children to participate in and honor these traditions, we create shared memories that make Lunar New Year a meaningful and memorable experience for all. Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! US STUDENT AWARDS Students Garner National & State Recognition Comparing our students' talents with peers across the state or the country, when appropriate, opens up new opportunities for recognition from an authentic audience. In the past month, we received word of major honors among our Upper School student-scholars, -authors, and -artists. Four students are National Merit Finalists, two are Presidential Scholar Candidates, and 29 (including one Middle Schooler) received statewide recognition in the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards. We are incredibly proud of these accomplished students and wish them the best of luck in advancing to the next levels.
National Merit Scholarship Finalists: Nicholas Conroy '18, Lindsay Igoe '18, Karan Mehta '18, and Ryan Polhemus '18 are Finalists for prestigious National Merit Scholarships based on their exceptional PSAT scores, academic excellence, written essays, teacher recommendations, and more.
Presidential Scholar Candidates: Jonathan Conroy '18 and Nicholas Conroy '18 each earned the highest possible composite scores (36) on the college admission ACT tests and were selected as candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: Based on their exceptional artistic and literary talent, the following students were recognized in the state Scholastic competitions. Gold Key work is automatically entered to compete for National Medals. (View winning art entries HERE.) Gold Key Art: Maomao Ding '18, Ken (Lei) Wu '19 Gold Key Writing: Carmen Bebbington '18, Rachel Busby '18, Ruhi Patil '19 Silver Key Art: Ken (Lei) Wu '19 (2) Silver Key Writing: Mikaela Linder '18, Caroline Morgan '18, Afia Somiah '18, Emma Sullivan '19, Weiyi Zheng '19 (2) Honorable Mention Art: Maomao Ding '18, Morgan Adams '22, Henry Osterweis '21, Chelsea Sheldon '18, Bridget Wixted '18, Ken (Lei) Wu '19 Honorable Mention Writing: Carmen Bebbington '18, Esther Boone '19, Annabelle Huffman '19, Bryan Montenegro '18, Philip Onffroy '18 (2) BULLDOG UPDATE Winter Season Bulldog Wrapup Before we turn the sports calendar over to Spring in a couple weeks, we wrap up the Winter Sports Season this week! The Varsity Swim Team will be competing in the NEPSAC Division III Championships on Saturday, March 3rd at Cornerstone Athletics in West Hartford, CT. This follows on the heels of some great performances by the Bulldogs at the the EIL Swimming Championships, held at Simmons College on February 24th. All of our swimmers turned in PR's and several took home ribbons: Jonah Keates '22 placed 8th in the 200 Freestyle and 6th in the 500 Freestyle; Aryan Chaudhary '20 took 5th in 200 Freestyle and 7th in 100 Freestyle; and Ibby Ayyash '19 placed 5th in the 100 Backstroke. The Varsity Boys' Basketball team completed their season by clinching a Top Four spot in the league with an overtime regular-season finale win over rival LCA! Even though the boys lost to the eventual league champion, Beaver Country Day, in the EIL Tournament Semifinals, they showed a lot of grit in grabbing the #4 seed in the EIL Basketball Tournament. The Girls' Varsity Basketball team also concluded their season last week. Coach Jane Gerhardt took a team with only three returning players and incorporated a solid group of young newcomers, who continued to improve with each game. The future is bright for our girls' basketball program, with no seniors graduating this spring! And finally, the Varsity Ski Team finished their season with some great times and personal records at the NEPSAC Class C Alpine Ski Championships at Wachusett Mountain. The girls' team also finished 3rd Overall in the Central MA Ski League, with Kaya Dorogi '20 earning the CMSL Overall Girls Champion!
For the Middle School basketball teams, the Winter Sports season is capped off by their annual participation in the Park School HoopFest Basketball Tournament. This marks the 4th straight year Bancroft has been invited to HoopFest, where our Boys' and Girls' 'A' teams compete against teams from Applewild, Meadowbrook, and Park School, in a round robin tourney format. The Bancroft community always turns out to support our teams at HoopFest! Great season, Bulldogs!
Reminder: US Winter Sports Awards Night will be held on Monday, March 12th, from 6:30-8:30 PM in the Harrington Theatre, and the MS Winter Sports Awards Assembly will be held on Tuesday, March 13th, from 8:15-9:15 AM! And don't forget to follow @SportsBancroft on Twitter for the latest news about Bulldog Athletics! #OnePack MS KINDERBUDDIES MS & Kindergarten Students Buddy Up Once per cycle, our Middle Schoolers step outside of their daily classes to take part in MS Clubs. For those in the popular Kinderbuddies Club, it's a chance to head back to kindergarten and practice their mentoring skills. Middle school is a time when children are craving greater independence and exploring different self-definitions — and being a respected role model can be a powerful confidence booster. Recently we popped in to Maureen Cabral's kindergarten class to find the Kinderbuddies, having spent time on the playground, heading back inside to work together at different stations — writing and reading, crafts, and Play-Doh. As always, the kindergartners adore the chance to work and play alongside the "big kids" in their classroom. But the 'tweens clearly get a lot of enjoyment out of these interactions, too. It's fun to play with those little cuties! Authentic cross-divisional friendships are a hallmark of Bancroft's PreK–12 community, and the Kinderbuddies Club is one of the ways we help forge those bonds. As the club's faculty advisor, Shari Belanger, says, "It's impossible to walk away from a Kinderbuddies session without a smile on your face." 2018 ALUMNI AWARDS Alumni Council Announces 2018 Award Recipients Each year, the Bancroft Alumni Council recognizes members of the Bancroft community who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their careers and community. This year's Alumni Award recipients are listed below. The Alumni Council will honor Charlie, Linda, and Michael with their awards during Reunion Weekend (April 20-21, 2018) and will present Dix with his award at the Out in Front Campaign Kickoff in the fall! Charles K. Aleksiewicz
REMARKABLE MOMENTS
Registration is now open for Bancroft K–12
IMPORTANT DATES March 8-10, US Musical: Cabaret [PG-13] March 9, PFA Community Dinner March 14, New York City Bancroft Gathering March 19-30, Spring Break April 2, Classes Resume April 6, Yard Sale Donation Dropoff April 10-27, US Book & School Supply Drive April 12, Playathon April 13, PD Day – No Classes April 16, Patriot's Day, School Closed April 20, Yard Sale Donation Dropoff April 20-21, Reunion Weekend April 27, Yard Sale Donation Dropoff May 5, Bancroft Community Yard Sale May 10, 5th Grade Play May 18, PFA Spring Social May 28, Memorial Day, School Closed June 5, LS & MS Closing Ceremonies June 8, Commencement June 11, Summer Program Activities Begin Shorelines is produced by Bancroft's Marketing and Communications team. If you have questions or story ideas please contact shorelines@bancroftschool.org. Bancroft School 110 Shore Drive • Worcester, MA 01605 • (508) 853-2640 |