Tuesday’s Middle School meeting was run by Jackie Horvitz ’27, Marwa Murphy ’27, and Allie Martin ’27. You can check out the slides from this week’s meeting here.
This week’s…
BVR STUDENT HIGHLIGHT
Miles Buckley ’27 and Nalu Appleton ’27 presented The BVR Student element Incorporates feedback by reflecting, asking for help, and trying again.
When someone gives you feedback, like the skills rubric we all got, you can use that to make your work better. It’s good to ask for help if you are struggling so you can make sure you are doing the work right. Trying again when you fail will help you succeed.
FEED YOUR BRAIN PICK
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Recommended by Laura Friedman ’27.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK …
“It has a compelling story and characters. It’s a little bit of a mystery, but also has other parts, like a love story and a friendship.”
WHY I THINK YOU WOULD LIKE IT …
“It is a book about a trans man but isn’t all about being trans, and that isn’t a story that is told that often.”
STUDENT COUNCIL REMINDER
Andrew Adamic ’27, 7th grade Student Council representative, presented this week’s Student Council reminder: Is Disciplined with Technology.
I wanted to remind you that apps are made to be addicting and for you to not spend as much time on them. Personally, I can say that I will go on my phone for what I think was 10 minutes when in reality it was an hour. So just a reminder that apps are made to be addicting and for you to lose track of time. Because that is how they get paid. So don’t forget to look up once and a while to check the time and to make sure you are using social media in a healthy way.
LUNCH & RECESS PROGRAMMING
Also happening this week …
Art exhibit in the Griffin Gallery: David Ingenthron, Upper School Visual Arts Department Head, announced Sports Garb/led will open in the Griffin Gallery tomorrow. The exhibit features artist Angela Lorenz’s work and runs through February 18.
Charlie Schaffer ’28 made a video showing how to use “School Time” on the Apple Watch to stay focused in school.
Nate Thompson ’27 and El Strom ’27 announced the Middle School Musical, The SpongeBob Musical, opens next week! The show is Thursday, February 10 and Friday, February 11 at 6 p.m. in Bradley Hall. Tickets go on sale next week. Nate and El also encouraged Middle School students to consider ushering for the show.
The next BVR book club meeting is this Friday, February 4. We are reading Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park. Students can get a copy of the book from the R-Level.
Today in RISE students made pendant jewelry.
Boys A and B basketball had home games today; Thursday the fencing team has a match at 3:45 p.m. in the Green Gym.
Students were reminded to come to the gym today during recess to learn and practice the dance for the You Got In video. This is the video sent to newly admitted BVR students in March. Filming will take place this Thursday.
Leili Singer ’26 announced all Middle School students will take a school climate survey in advisory tomorrow. The survey will ask questions about connections with classmates, teachers, and advisors, and how often students learn about and discuss diverse populations. The last section asks questions about student identity (i.e., gender and race/ethnicity). We ask this so Beaver can make sure we are supporting everyone. Please know the survey is anonymous and teachers and advisors will receive a summary of the results; they will not receive individual answers.
Lauren Wagner ’26 reminded faculty to come to the D-Level tomorrow during 2nd lunch to create their pasta portraits for the yearbook.
MS Social Justice Retreat recap
The Hiatt Social Justice Retreat was a huge success!
Colin Meagher ’26—one of the 80 students who attended the Social Justice Retreat on Friday—led a recap at today’s meeting. First, he shared the keynote presenter’s kind words about her gratitude for performing at BVR:
We had a wonderful time at your school today. Thank you for inviting us! The students representing your community are well-behaved, polite, and attentive. Your administrators and faculty are delightful and proficient. What a joy it was to be there! Thank you for making our day a great experience.
— Deborah Spears Moorehead of Nettukkusqk Singers
Then, Colin explained how all students in Friday’s retreat attended three workshops in the morning. Colin’s favorite was The Future of Fashion “because it opened my eyes to how destructive the fashion industry can be”. Several other retreat participants shared their own experiences:
- Jahbari Dacosta ’26 and Brody Vandernoot ’26 attended Artivism: Awareness Through Art where they made a painting depicting climate injustice.
- Ty Moyo ’27 and Rushi Murrow ’27 attended Storytelling Thru Videography & Journalism and presented a video they made about plastic water bottles.
- Lulu Muwina ’27, Louise Stedman ’27, and Theo Greene ’27 attended Thrift Store Haul Redesign Challenge where they transformed used clothes into new wearable designs.
- Leila Sakoulis ’27 also attended Thrift Store Haul Redesign Challenge. She used paints and patches to create a new shirt.
- El Strom ’27 and Noelle Lee ’26 attended My Home, My Community: Designing A Graphic Novel and drew their own mini graphic novels.
Colin encouraged students to learn about climate justice by checking out the books on display outside the Hiatt Office. He also announced that in two weeks the Hiatt Center will be presenting information about the Hiatt Summer Fellowship program.
The next Hiatt Leadership Institute is Monday, February 28.
Continuing the Conversation
Our Continuing the Conversation section is an occasional callout in our MS Meeting Minutes to help foster an inclusive community. This feature will include a prompt for you and your student to reflect on, discuss, and share.
This week’s topic: environmental and climate justice.
Consider the following questions with your Middle School student:
- Who is affected by environmental and climate injustices?
- What does climate justice activism look like?
- What are some examples of climate justice?
- Can Middle School students make a difference? How?