The Hotchkiss School
Hotchkiss Happenings: April 14, 2008
Dear Alumni and Parents,
Pardon us while we catch a collective breath. In the past two weeks we have enjoyed visits by truly amazing lecturers and performers. Renowned humanitarian and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel is one outstanding recent example. Flutist Eugenia Zukerman performed in the Crandall Concert on the same day as Professor Wiesel's talk!
In the weeks remaining in the term, we will be hosting many more visitors and events; keep an eye on www.hotchkiss.org for updates. Meanwhile, here is a selection of more campus news.
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2008 Community Service Award winners honored
On Friday, April 11, Andrew W. Roraback ’78 and Marcel D. Deans ’94 were presented with the 2008 Community Service Award in an all-School Auditorium. Their classmates and families also attended the event, which took place in the Katherine M. Elfers Hall of the Esther Eastman Music Center. A State Senator in Connecticut, Roraback has received many awards for his leadership in preserving Connecticut’s natural resources. Marcel Deans is the Founding Principal of Victory Collegiate High School, a small public high school in Brooklyn, NY, that opened its doors in September 2007.
Since 1992, 47 alumni have received the Hotchkiss Alumni Association's Community Service Award. Recipients are selected by the Nominating Committee of the Alumni Association Board of Governors. Read more about the recipients here.
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Bobby Zhu advances in American Mathematics Contest
Chengming (Bobby) Zhu ’09 is one of just 500 students nationwide who have qualified to compete in the annual USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). He advanced to this level based on his performance in tests that began in February, when some 250,000 students nationwide took the first exam in the series. The nine-hour USAMO exam will be given over two days at the end of April. Bobby was among 11 Hotchkiss students who reached the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), the second round of the competition, this year. Read the whole story here.
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BaHSA earns prize in Race Relations
The Black and Hispanic Student Alliance (BaHSA) of Hotchkiss has been awarded a Certificate of Accomplishment from the Princeton Prize in Race Relations. Patricia Redd Johnson, Senior Associate Dean of Admission and Advisor to BaHSA, learned of the award in March. The Princeton Prize in Race Relations was established by Princeton University to promote harmony, understanding, and respect among people of different races by identifying and recognizing high school age students whose efforts have had a significant, positive effect on race relations in their schools or communities. You will find the full story here.
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Learning and Leadership: The Peer to Peer Program
The Peer to Peer program enables new students to learn more about life at Hotchkiss, while at the same time giving upper mids an opportunity to mentor younger students and to learn leadership skills. The Peer to Peer program was piloted in 2005 and has just completed its third year. Students meet in groups of 12—eight Preps and four Upper Mid mentors—for four evenings in the fall. Mentors help design and implement curricula around four concepts: Communication, Parents, The Discipline Committee System, and Exams. Read more about the program.
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"Runaways" on stage at Hotchkiss
The Hotchkiss Dramatic Association’s spring production is the dramatic musical "Runaways," written and composed by Elizabeth Swados and first performed in 1978 on Broadway. A collection of songs and monologues created from workshops involving primarily runaway children from broken homes, "Runaways" also comments on the larger world in which the children live. Performances will be in Walker Auditorium Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 26, at 2:30 p.m. The Sunday matinee is a benefit for the Housatonic Youth Service Bureau. For ticket information, go here.
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Banners available for some recent class years
Banners are available for sale @ $19.95 for the following class years: 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2006. These are wool felt banners measuring 18” by 36.” You’ll find other items for sale at the online school store.
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Caitlin Cahow ’03 featured in college sports news
Caitlin Cahow ’03 appeared in a feature story in The Boston Globe in March. The story describes how Caitlin has become “the linchpin” of the top-ranked women’s hockey squad at Harvard. In addition, she is an Olympic bronze medalist and a member of the U.S. national team.
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College Night offered for upper mids
The College Advising Office will hold a college night for 11th-grade students on Wednesday, April 23 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. This event will be held in the Field House at the Forrest E. Mars Jr. Athletic Center. Representatives from 130 colleges and universities will be on hand to answer questions and provide information. The fair is designed to be a fun, interesting glimpse into a wide variety of college options, giving students the opportunity to speak directly with college admissions officers. College representatives have been invited to attend classes, tour campus, and attend a dinner program that introduces them to the features of the academic programs offered at Hotchkiss. Students from other area schools are also invited to attend the college night.
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Hotchkiss singing groups perform in the community
On Sunday, April 13, the Hotchkiss a cappella singing groups performed a “Spring Serenade” concert at Noble Horizons in Salisbury in a benefit for OWL's Kitchen, our local soup kitchen. Calliope, a talented group of 15 girls, and the Blue Notes, an accomplished group of young men, sang and performed the percussion, rhythm, and vocals on traditional and contemporary selections.
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We will return next month with more news. If your travels bring you to the Lakeville area, we hope you’ll check our calendar for upcoming events. In the meantime, do visit us online for School news.
Roberta Jenckes
Director of Communications