On 6 April, seniors Joe Nero and Andrew Steinberg traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, as part of the United States team competing at the 2018 World Individual Debate and Public Speaking Championships (WIDSPC). During the five-day tournament, which includes 130 students from around the word, speakers compete in four events: Impromptu Speaking, Parliamentary Debate, Interpretive Reading, and either Persuasive or After Dinner Speaking. Scores from each category are combined to determine the overall World Champion. Joe reached the finals in After Dinner Speaking, and Andrew was one of four contestants to reach the finals in three events (Persuasive Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, and Interpretive Reading). Andrew advanced to the grand final in Impromptu Speaking and was recognized as the tournament’s second place speaker overall.

The 130 WIDPSC competitors represent some of the top high school debaters and public speakers from 12 countries on five continents. Many had to win in regional or national tournament in their home country to qualify, as Andrew did by winning the top speaker award at the St. Paul’s Cross Examination Debate in November. Others qualified through their performance at an international competition, such as the International Independent Schools Public Speaking Competition (IISPSC), as Joe did in October.

WIDPSC describes its mission as being “aligned with the ideals of excellence, identity, and the art of expression—the ability to communicate and gain recognition and respect for one’s ideas and opinions. It targets tomorrow’s leaders—students in a global market who must learn and collaborate with peers from diverse schools, cultural backgrounds and countries.” 

“Andrew’s second place finish is the highest that an RL student has placed at Worlds in the 20 years that I have been at the school,” notes Mr. Stewart Thomsen, history department chair and the team’s faculty advisor. “Most importantly, though, Joe and Andrew’s success at Worlds is a victory for everyone in the program, past and present. It is a tribute to the hard work of these two boys, but it is also a tribute to the RL Debate boys at all levels who listened to Joe and Andrew’s speeches and offered feedback; to the boys from years past who shared what they learned from their own international debate and public speaking experiences; to the RL Debate coaches who teach, guide, and support our boys each year in the RL Debate and Public Speaking Program—Ms. Dromgoole, Dr. Stevens, Dr. Kokotailo, Mr. Hiatt, Ms. Delaney, Dr. Guerra, and Mr. Heaton; and to the RL parents who support our boys in myriad ways, including Robyn Steinberg who chaperoned Joe and Andrew so that an RL teacher would not miss a week of teaching, coaching, and advising. The boys’ success is a victory for all of us.”

Roxbury Latin hosted its annual A Cappella Fest on Friday, 6 April, at 7:30 pm in the Smith Theater. The biggest show of the year for the Latonics, A Cappella Fest 2018 included guest performances by the Yale SOBs (with Ben Kieff ’16), Wellesley High School’s Inchordination, and Dover-Sherborn’s DS Al Coda. As always, Nate Piper and Rob Opdycke appeared with Mr. Opdycke’s group Similar Jones. See photos here.

Collaboration and originality characterized the performances of eleven student musicians in Hall on 10 April. The Tuesday morning performances began with a cello ensemble—Eric Zaks II, Raphael Deykin II, Justin Shaw VI, Cameron Estrada III. Two piano solos (Chris Zhu III, Beethoven, and Milan Rosen II, Debussy) were followed by a string duo (Alex Yin V, violin; Eric Zaks II, cello) and an original piano composition for four hands by Jonathan Weiss III, performed by Weiss and Dylan Zhou I. Ben Lawlor I sang his own original composition while accompanying himself on the piano. Senior Marc deFontnouvelle wrapped up the recital with a bluegrass song and some master mandolin playing. (See photos here)Music has a way of changing the light on the day, and that morning seemed brighter and warmer as we prepared to begin our various school day tasks. Meanwhile, these eleven students were already well into their day—and at the top of their game.

How do you detect irony in someone’s voice? What part of a plant is best for vegetative propagation? What effect does a combination of alcohol and sleeping pills have on water fleas? Over the last couple of months, the Honors Biology students in Dr. Peter Hyde’s class were answering these ques­tions and more, with help from medical professionals and research scientists.

For the fifth year, Honors Bio students spent winter term immersed in their Inde­pendent Research Projects (IRP). Posing questions of their own scientific interest, the boys developed experiment proposals and turned to the professionals for real-time feedback, honing their approaches all the while. Even before the winter break, the students met with their IRP mentors—R.L. parents and alumni who are also research scientists, pediatricians, surgeons, oncologists—in person or over Skype. With the feedback from those sessions, the boys refined their experimental plans, and in January and February they collected their data. The IRP mentors then met with their mentees again to discuss the data and findings, and worked with the students on developing compelling presentations, which were on exhibit after spring break. (See photos here)

Other research projects included the effects of music on reaction time and memory; the effects that the pH level in soil has on plants; and whether bacteria will evolve a resistance to UV light.

Special thanks to our generous mentors, who include:

Dr. Sandip Bose (P ’16, ’23), Research Scientist, Schlumberger

Dr. Margaret Crawford (P ’18, ’21), Framingham Pediatrics

Dr. Sirisha Emani (P ’17, ’22), Boston Children’s Hospital: Surgery

Dr. Andrew Eyre ’02, Brigham and Women’s Hospital: Emergency Medicine

Dr. Leonor Fernandez (P ’18, ’22), BIDMC: General Medicine

Dr. Ephraim Hochberg ’88, MGH: Oncology and Hematology

Mr. Tim Poterba ’09, Research Scientist, The Broad Institute

Dr. Merrill Weitzel (P ’16, ’18, ’20, ’22), Boston Children’s Hospital: Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Scot Wolfe (P ’15, ’18), UMASS Medical School: Molecular, Cell, and Cancer Biology

On 3 April, Headmaster Kerry Brennan welcomed students and faculty back from R.L.’s March break, thus launching the 2018 spring term, and reminding all that our remaining school days with Class I counterparts numbered only 12. Headmaster Brennan set the tone, and the morning’s theme, with a retelling of the myth of Daedalus and Icarus, taken from William Bennett’s The Book of Virtues. He called to mind a famous oil painting titled “The Fall of Icarus” by the Flemish painter Jacob Peter Gowy, which hangs in the Prado Museum in Madrid—a site familiar to those R.L. boys who have partaken in the annual immersion trip to Spain.

As the myth goes, Daedalus—the genius inventor and father to Icarus—conceives of a way for he and his son to escape the imprisonment imposed by King Minos, by developing wings—made of gull feathers and wax—and teaching his son how to ride the wind currents. Icarus, not heeding his father’s warning against the thrill of flying too high where the sun would melt the wax, falls to his death.

“First, I would like to think about what went wrong in this story,” said Headmaster Brennan. “Daedalus not only fashioned a means of escape for he and his son, but he also anticipated what might go wrong. He admonished Icarus ‘not to go too high, and not to go too low.’ In effect, Daedalus was lobbying for moderation, for pursuing a safe path, for avoiding risks that would surely accompany extremes.”

Headmaster Brennan tied the experience to modern-day temptations that adolescent boys face: the pulls of the internet and social media, the rush of driving at irresponsible speeds, the presence of drugs or alcohol at a party, the allure of racking up college acceptances for bragging rights. He then urged students to connect with adults—beyond their parents—who might offer experience, wisdom, guidance, and sound advice: mentors.

“A mentor teaches, but indeed does more than that,” said Mr. Brennan. “The mentor lives a life and helps the mentee to live a life that is meaningful and virtuous. The best mentors I know do not seek to impose their own life journeys on their mentees, but they do freely share lessons they have learned… Throughout literature and films we encounter older, wiser, invested characters who teach and inspire and matter to younger mentees. Think of Merlin and the young Arthur, or the Fairy Godmother and Cinderella, or Alfred the Butler and Batman, or even Yoda and Luke Skywalker, or perhaps most vividly Mr. Miyagi and the Karate Kid.

“A mentor has a different investment in a mentee than a parent has in a child. For starters, the mentor and mentee choose each other… A good mentor is analytical and not judgmental. A good mentor offers inspiration as well as guidance and training. Their relationship is based on free and open communication and is always character based and not about some particular competency. A good mentor is always available—if not at that minute, at least shortly, eager always to be of help, to lend an ear, to affirm.”

You can view Mr. Brennan’s Opening of Spring Term Hall talk below, in its entirety.

A pair of mother-and-son poets, reading from their newly published—and even newer, unpublished—work and representing the same school is, perhaps, a unique event. On Monday, 2 April, Roxbury Latin’s writer-in-residence and member of the English faculty, Dr. Kate Stearns, and her son, Nate Klug, R.L. Class of 2004, read aloud to an overflowing crowd at Newtonville Books, an independent bookstore in Newton, Massachusetts.

Introducing one another, Kate and Nate contextualized and read poems calling up images of home and highway, farm and passenger train, grandparents and babies in-the-womb, headless chickens and “Pokemon Go people,” and, ultimately, love—both just-budding and time-tested.

Kate’s newly published book of poetry, Then & Again, was the winning manuscript in the Slate Roof Press chapbook contest. Her previous book, The Transparency of Skin (New Rivers Press), was a Minnesota Voices Project Winner. Her new poems have been featured in Poetry Daily, Salamander, New Ohio Review, North American Review, and Yale Review. Her work has been anthologized in The House on Via Gambito: A Collection of Writing by American Women Abroad (New Rivers Press), and she has been a recipient of a Dana Award and a Loft-McKnight Award in Poetry. At Roxbury Latin, she teaches senior English and manages the school’s visiting writers program.

Nate Klug grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and graduated from R.L. in 2004. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Chicago and his master’s from Yale Divinity School. He is the author of Rude Woods (The Song Cave, 2013), a book-length adaptation of Virgil’s Eclogues, and Anyone (University of Chicago, 2015). In 2010 he was awarded a Ruth Lilly Fellowship by the Poetry Foundation. A UCC-Congregationalist minister, he has served churches in Connecticut, Iowa, and now California, where he lives in Berkeley with his wife, Kit Novotny.

To learn more about these poets and their work, you can read this recent interview with Kate, from Mass Poetry, and an interview with Nate, from a 2016 feature in The Kenyon Review.

Central to Roxbury Latin’s mission and tradition is tending to the spiritual growth of boys. Since the spiritual life can take many forms—a communion with nature, a foundation in organized religion, a commitment to service, a journey toward strong moral character—we annually bring speakers to campus who represent a range of faiths and religions. On 2 April, Father Geoffrey Piper spoke to the students and faculty about Lent, Holy Week, and Easter—the most important period of the Christian liturgical calendar. Father Piper is rector of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Marion, Massachusetts, where he has served for ten years.

“For our purposes today, we are not talking about sun-up, or marshmallow chicks, or chocolate eggs,” began Father Piper. “We’re talking about the Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus… For Christians who anticipate our own resurrection to eternal life, we, too, hope for a transition from this life, through death, to the life to come… Where do we get this hope? How do we take what we trust occurred with one ancient rabbi on the outskirts of Jerusalem around 33 A.D. and assert that this will be our destiny as well?”

Through spiritual scripture and prayer, through personal experiences, anecdotes and humor, Father Piper walked his audience through the Christian belief of Jesus being both Holy and human; sacrificing for the sins of humanity; and freeing us, through our faith, “to be of God’s own spirit, raised to a new quality of life, even as we’re bound to these earthly bodies.”

“The apostle Paul gives a nice description of that goodness when he writes, ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” Father Piper said.         

Father Piper graduated from Amherst College through which—by way of a Glee Club tour through Central and South America—he landed in the U.S. Virgin Islands where he was drawn to a lively, committed faith in Christ, through “the loving, winsome, joyful witness of the Moravian minister’s family.”        

He began his pastoral ministry as Lay Reader-in-Charge of four congregations in Quebec. In Canada, he studied theology at Bishop’s University and was ordained in 1988. With his wife, Leslie, and their growing family, Father Piper served a total of eleven congregations in three parishes over five years. Since then, he has served a range of congregations—from Easthampton, Massachusetts, to Detroit, Michigan—called and devoted to the mission, scripture and service of the Episcopal Church.

Spring break provides a welcome pause for faculty and students alike between the long winter term and the “home stretch.” It also offers a window for international travel for about one hundred RL boys, whose faculty leaders have developed itineraries that augment and enhance their students’ recent studies.

Class IV boys, with nearly three years of Classics studies under their belts, spent nine days in Italy, taking in not only Rome’s ancient architectural sites but also the Renaissance treasures of Florence, led by Classics and Art History faculty. (Photos and blog)

Ten Class I English students traveled to Paris to experience WWI-era in a trip labeled “Americans in Paris,” in which the boys trace Hemingway’s footsteps, visit the graves of famous American writers and artists in Père-la-Chaise Cemetery, among other explorations. The trip includes a visit to the grave of a member of the RL Class of 1905 at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Chateau-Thierry. (Photos)

Old Quebec, whose history and culture is especially relevant to the early history of the US, was the destination for fifteen Class V French students. The trip provided an opportunity to practice French, and included a walking-guided tour of the city, the visit of the Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec, a tour of the Ice Hotel, dog sledding, snowshoeing, and snow tubing. (Photos)

Finally, the Glee Club toured domestically this year, traveling to Washington, DC; historic Williamsburg; and Charlottesville. They performed in DC churches and at area universities and schools. Highlights included attending an alumni event, taking in a performance of The Wiz at Ford’s Theater, and meeting with Rep. Joe Kennedy’s chief of staff. (Photos)

Head wrestling coach Josh Wildes has been named 2018 Prep School Coach of the Year by the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He will be honored as part of the annual Mass Mayhem awards—“The Massachusetts Braggin’ Rights Classic”—which takes place on Sunday, April 8.

Leading R.L.’s varsity team to a 19-2 season record and a second place finish in the Graves-Kelsey League Championship, Coach Wildes has earned well-deserved accolades and the respect of his players.

“Coach Wildes knows his wrestlers well, and he tailors his approach according to what they need to succeed,” says tri-captain Paul Kuechler I. “For instance, for some guys, he might scream and yell while they’re on the mat competing, because that’s what they need. And for others, he’ll just quietly say, ‘Do this move,’ and there will be silence for awhile, and the kid will do the move, and it works.”

“The best thing about Coach Wildes,” says tri-captain Ayinde Best I, “is that he doesn’t get mad at you if you’ve lost a match, as long as you’ve put in the work and given it your best. I remember last year at the Graves-Kelsey I was beating a kid 4-0, and I tried something different—I got too aggressive, and the kid came back and pinned me. I had just been eliminated. I felt horrible that I’d lost it for us, and Coach said, ‘Don’t worry—you were trying, and I like that.’”

The Mass Mayhem event on April 8 includes an awards presentation, an All-Star dual-meet, and a college fair. Festivities begin at 11 a.m. at Noble and Greenough School. High school wrestlers and their families are welcome to attend. For more information on the event, or to purchase tickets, visit the MA NWHOF website.

On 25 March, Chris Zhu III took first place in the Senior Pianist Division of the 2018 University of Rhode Island Piano Extravaganza Competition. As a premier piano competition, URI Piano Extravaganza attracts some of the best young pianists from the northeastern region. Chris was awarded the top cash prize among all divisions and earned high praises from the competition’s adjudicator, Rasa Vitkauskaite, an internationally acclaimed pianist who plays for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Vitkauskaite noted, “As a very musical and accomplished performer, Chris has a wonderful range of dynamics. He played Liszt’s Concert Etude in beautiful singing tone and exhibited a great sense of character and style in Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata.”

As a violinist, Chris also recently won the top prize from the Roman Totenberg Young Strings Competition. An avid musician in R.L.’s chamber program and frequent participant in R.L. recital halls, Chris has performed at Carnegie Hall and Steinway Hall in New York, and at Symphony Hall in Boston. In addition to performing at these well-known venues, Chris has shared his musical talent with local senior communities such as Newbridge at Charles in Dedham and Deutsches Altenheim in West Roxbury.