On June 29 and 30 at Roxbury Latin, fifty teachers from Boston’s public schools attended professional development workshops led by instructors from i2 Learning. Why were these teachers here right after the end of the school year? To prepare to lead STEM projects with their sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students next fall during the second annual Boston STEM Week. In mid-August, more than 100 more Boston teachers will undergo the same training on Roxbury Latin’s campus.

As it did in 2016, Boston STEM Week (October 23-27, 2017) will transform middle school classrooms in Boston into learning labs, where students will work in teams to solve real-world problems that encourage hands-on experimentation and critical thinking. Regularly scheduled classes in the participating schools will be replaced with immersive, hands-on STEM curriculum developed by MIT and other leading STEM organizations. (“STEM” is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.)

i2 Learning and Boston STEM Week are both the brainchildren of RL alumnus Ethan Berman ’79, who believes that the school-age years are crucial to the development of children’s skills and interest in STEM disciplines. Mr. Berman approached Roxbury Latin back in 2012 as a partner in his vision for a camp. The following summer, i2 Camps launched in Boston, New York, and New Jersey. Today i2 Learning has expanded to include summer camps in 23 locations across the US as well as Jordan and Kenya, and STEM immersion weeks in more than 60 schools, with more joining each month. Mr. Berman served on RL’s board of trustees from 2010 to 2016.

Headmaster Kerry Brennan was re-elected President of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition at its recent conference at Baltimore’s Boys’ Latin School. The IBSC, founded in 1995, includes 266 schools representing 250,000 boys in twenty countries.

On 18 June, RL’s 2017 valedictorian, Siva Emani, was presented with his Presidential Scholarship Medallion at a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C. He was accompanied by his RL sponsor, Dr. Peter Hyde. Since the United States Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, Siva is the fourth RL boy to receive this prestigious award.

Presidential Scholarships recognize the most distinguished graduating seniors for their accomplishments in many areas: academic success, leadership, and service to school and community. In May, Siva received word that he had been selected as one of just 104 students nationwide to receive a United States Presidential Scholarship (every year, at least one boy and one girl are selected from each state, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico).

Candidates for Presidential Scholarships are originally identified by their SAT or ACT scores, and they progress through the selection process based on an analysis of their essays, high school transcripts, recommendations from teachers, personal characteristics, leadership, service, and extracurricular activities.

At Roxbury Latin’s Closing Exercises on 3 June, just prior to presenting Siva with the William Coe Collar Award, Headmaster Kerry Brennan seized the opportunity to sing Siva’s praises: “This year’s winner is the ranking scholar in his talented class. He is a remarkable listener. He is a thoughtful questioner. He is a talented includer of others and their ideas. He is indefatigable, persistent, patient, hardworking, kind, and caring. He quivers with energy and excitement; he deflects credit and freely offers compliments to others; he offers friendship generously and collaborates with patience and delight. This is a remarkable person, a young man of unwavering integrity and noble aspirations.”

Click here to read Siva Emani’s Valedictory Address.

A message from Headmaster BrennanDear Friends:

I am sorry to share the sad news that David Frank died today.  He had been battling cancer and various complications over the past several weeks.

David gave thirty-four years of his life to RL, its mission, and the fortunate boys who were in his various English classes and plays.  As Director of Drama, David brought great imagination, energy, and a unique sense of possibility to each theatrical event.  He was a force behind the creation of the Smith Theater – an ideal venue for schoolboy theatre.

David was a brilliant polymath.  He could have taught anything (and tried his hand at Latin and music classes during his time at RL), but principally he was a devoted, effective teacher of English.  His students encountered a rare intellect in David.  While many of us who have taught for a while would rely a bit on past years’ work for our lesson plans and assessments, not David for whom each quiz or test presented a new, delicious opportunity to create anew.  What mini masterpieces all of these were!  David was also a warm, generous colleague – a pleasure to know and a continual inspiration.

We mourn his loss and celebrate the great and good impact he had on scores of RL boys and many of us over the years.  David and I started our RL careers on the very same day in 1978 and worked together for many years on various musical productions.  I will miss that collaborative spirit and that remarkable mind, and especially David’s capacity for friendship.  

We will work with David’s family in order to plan a fitting memorial service in the Smith Theater on a date to be named later.  Please keep David and his family in your prayers.

Sincerely,

Kerry P. Brennan

Headmaster

On Tuesday, May 23, the boys in Class II completed their final exams a week early. Then, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week, all 50 boys in Class II kicked off the new “RL@Work” program by visiting alumni, parents of alumni, current parents, and friends of RL at their work places in Boston. RL@Work will conclude next Tuesday, May 30.

Led by Director of Studies Andrew Chappell, RL@Work is designed to give Class II boys a chance to reflect on key themes of leadership, collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking; to see the ways our alumni are applying the lessons they learned at RL in their work lives; and to give accomplished alumni and friends of the School a chance to share life insights with current RL students.

Each morning, the boys ride a bus to their first workplace destination, then they enjoy a variety of engaging, informative presentations, activities, and case studies at various locations before returning to RL at the end of the day. This week, the boys have received wonderful advice about how to find purpose in life, being open to new ideas, following one’s passions, staying connected with other RL alumni, working hard, leading with integrity, and serving others.

We thank all those alumni, parents of alumni, current parents, and friends of RL who helped make the first RL@Work so successful. The full schedule of workplaces, alumni, and activities is below.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Law, Justice, Politics

  Morning Activities Dan Cloherty ’84 and Greg Noonan ’94, Collora  Dave Giordano ’96, Giordano and Chavous Bob O’Connor ’85 and Paul Evans ’03, DLA Piper Tim Silva ‘88, WilmerHale

Afternoon Activities Adams Courthouse and Moakley Courthouse – Tours and Observation

Dan Conley PP’14, Rob Arcangeli ’00, Matt Fitzgerald ’00, Peter Pasciucco ’01, Rob Settana ‘01, Frank Kanin ’06, and Ramon Pascual ‘07 – Office of the Suffolk County District Attorney Evening Activities Sam Kennedy, President of the Boston Red Sox/Fenway Sports Group

Mike Regan ’04, Steve Kelley ’09, Zach Markell ’10 Red Sox vs. Rangers game at Fenway Park

Thursday, May 25, 2017 Entrepreneurship

  Morning Activities Gareth Cook, P’20, New York Times Magazine, Contributing Writer

  Dave Grossman ‘97 and Jake Grossman ‘00, Grossman Companies Gavin Murphy ‘98, Annkissam Greg Schmergel ‘86, Nantero

Afternoon Activities

John Werner, P’21 along with 25 leaders in innovation/entrepreneurship at MIT Media Lab

Friday, May 26, 2017 Entrepreneurship

Morning Activities Bing Broderick and Bettina Scemama, PP’15, Dudley Dough Dave Grossman ‘97 and Jake Grossman ‘00, Grossman Companies  Chris Mitchell ‘89, Spectrum Equity Gavin Murphy ‘98, Annkissam

Afternoon Activities ISP Presentations at Roxbury Latin, and Class Meeting

Tuesday, May 30, 2017 Medicine/Science

  Morning Activities:Harvard Medical School, MEDscience Simulation Lab

Paul Weitzel ‘86, Boston Sports and Shoulder Center, New England Baptist Hospital Andrew Eyre ‘02, Stratus Center and Emergency Department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Afternoon Activities Dan Driscoll ’74, Effi Hochberg ’88, and Gene Lambert ’87 – Panel Discussion and Tour of The Ether Dome at Mass General Hospital

  Cookout and Games at Roxbury Latin

Roxbury Latin’s track and field team won the 2017 New England Division III Championship on Saturday, narrowly defeating second place Portsmouth Abbey by just two points. 527 total points were available in the meet, and Roxbury Latin scored 65 to Portsmouth Abbey’s 63. Pingree finished third, with 43 points. With the win, Roxbury Latin has now won 10 of the last 13 New England Division III Championships in track and field.

Approximately one-third of RL’s points were claimed in the pole vault, where Milan Rosen (Class III) took first place with a jump of 11 feet, Ian Kelly (Class I) finished second, and Evan Lim (Class II) tied for third. Another one-third of the team’s points were scored by Tim McCarthy (Class I), who finished second in three separate events (110-meter high hurdles, 300-meter intermediate hurdles, and the triple jump) and also anchored RL’s 4×400-meter relay team, which finished fifth overall.

Other highlights included Hamilton Coiscou’s second place performance in the 200-meters. After suffering a torn ACL in the fall while playing football, Coiscou (Class I) rehabbed all winter and spring and missed three-fourths of the track and field season. His race at the New England Championship was only his fifth of the spring.

Rohan Sheth (Class III) ran a personal best of 9:44.7 in the 3,000-meter race, fast enough to claim sixth place.  And Brendan Gibbons (Class III) snagged third place in the javelin with a throw of 149 feet, four inches – a full 22-feet further than his previous personal best and only eight inches shy of first place. 

Roxbury Latin’s track and field team is coached by Erin Dromgoole (head coach), Chris Heaton, Jamie Morris-Kliment, Arturo Solis, Nick Poles, and Bruce Lynch. Click here for full results of the meet.

On Friday, May 19, RL’s varsity tennis team beat St. Mark’s to finish the regular season undefeated in league play (14-0), clinching the ISL title. On Saturday, May 20, RL hosted the New England Class B Tournament quarterfinals on its new home courts (the first time RL has hosted a tournament). In front of the home crowd, RL continued its winning streak, defeating Greens Farms Academy by a score of 4-0 and then beating ISL foe BB&N in the semifinals by a score of 4-1. In the finals on Sunday, May 21 at Taft School in Connecticut, RL lost to a tough Hopkins School squad, finishing second in the Class B New England Tournament to close out a superb season. The varsity tennis team is coached by Ousmane Diop.