News
HOS Blog: Helping Without Being Asked
Earlier this week, I walked down to our gym right before lunchtime. We recently created some new lunch protocols, given the omicron wave and knowing from the research that mealtimes pose higher risk of transmission: we are asking students to spread out at 20 long tables spaced across the gym. The trick is that we need to set up and strike those tables daily. For the first few days after break, a group of my colleagues went to the gym before lunch and enlisted some student volunteers to help with the setup. When I went to the gym before lunch early this week, all the tables and chairs were already in place. I asked two students about it; they told me they had some extra time so they had come to the gym early to do the work themselves, and that several of their classmates had joined in. No adult... More
HOS Blog: Staying Focused on DEI in the Pandemic
We will be away from school on Monday in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year, we will begin a new tradition: an annual MLK Day Speaker Series. I’m delighted to announce that our inaugural speaker will be Angela Onwuachi-Willig, the dean of BU School of Law. Dean Onwuachi-Willig’s fascinating research explores the intersection of race and law, and she will be addressing our students, faculty, and staff at an all-school meeting on February 8. As challenging as things are right now, the pandemic can’t distract us from the other critical work we do in school. This school, like many others, has a mission commitment to inclusion and preparing culturally competent citizens; that is not a luxury, it’s a promise. Our 9th and 10th graders are all engaged in a weekly seminar exploring identity, stereotype, bias, and privilege. Our alums work with our students in race-based affinity spaces. Students and... More
BUA Senior Named 2022 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar
BUA senior Zoe Xi '22 was named one of the top 300 scholars in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. Zoe's project, entitled "Approximation Algorithms for Dynamic Time Warping on Run-Length Encoded Strings," focuses on dynamic time warping (DTW) distance algorithms under the guidance of Bill Kuszmaul, an MIT computer science PhD candidate advised by Professor Charles Leiserson. She writes: "DTW is a well-known similarity measure for comparing strings that encode time series data. DTW distance was first introduced by Taras Vintsyuk in 1968, who applied it to the problem of speech discrimination. In the decades since, it has become one of the most widely used similarity heuristics for comparing time series in applications such as bioinformatics, signature verification, and speech recognition. One of the most fundamental questions concerning DTW is how to compute it efficiently. The classical algorithm for computing DTW... More
HOS Blog: Schoolwork with an Audience
I had the pleasure of watching BUA’s annual Concerto Competition on Tuesday. Three students competed, one on saxophone, one on clarinet, and one on violin; they played challenging pieces from Villa-Lobos, Debussy, and Mozart, and did so beautifully. This language appeared at the bottom of the program: “[T]he winner will play their concerto movement with the BUA Orchestra at the Spring Concert on May 6 in the Tsai Center for the Performing Arts.” There was no grade, no course credit, no trophy — just the chance to play again on a bigger stage to a larger audience. Later this spring, our seniors will present their theses to peers, teachers, and families on a dedicated symposium day. We have juniors working with a teacher on analytical papers for submission to the Concord Review. 10th graders recently shared their chemistry video projects over lunch with friends and teachers in the lab. Decades of studies... More
Captain Lydia Hill ’11 Gives ASM Remarks on Military Service, Mental Health
This Tuesday morning, in honor and recognition of Veterans Day, Captain Lydia M. Hill '11 addressed more than 250 BUA students and faculty at our weekly All-School Meeting in BU's Morse Auditorium. Captain Hill graduated from BUA in 2011 and went on to the United States Air Force Academy, where she received her commission in 2015 as a distinguished graduate. Pursuing a career in the Air Force, Captain Hill served as the Wing Executive Officer for the 375th Air Mobility Wing, and has deployed on assignments worldwide, including in the UK and South Korea. Currently, she is pursuing an MA in Psychology at San Diego State and will become an instructor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the Air Force Academy. In her remarks, Captain Hill talked openly about mental health issues, LGBTQIA inclusion, and leading a life of service. She reflected on BUA as being “the first... More
HOS Blog: Why I Visit Classes
One of our long-time teachers recently asked me why I visit classes. My practice is to pop in for 10-15-minute observations of each teacher at least once per quarter, followed by a short sit-down for me to get more context, offer praise, and ask questions; our Associate Head of School, Dr. White, follows the same pattern. The teacher shared that he really appreciated the investment of time and the collegial conversations. But he wondered what I saw as the value of these visits when no one person can possibly offer expertise in every subject we teach. A good question. For many years, independent school classrooms were closed-door cultures. Not here. Observing a teacher in action, talking with them about their practice, and offering specific praise means that they feel seen — something we all deserve. It gives me a chance to ask how they want to grow and align our professional... More
HOS Blog: What Sports Can Do
Last Friday night, the girls’ soccer team won the league championship in a hard-fought 2-0 win. It was a cool 45 degrees on the metal bleachers, but the excitement, camaraderie, and ample pizza kept our parent and student spectators warm. The newly-formed pep squad led the cheering, and the girls on the field provided the inspiration. That experience came at a time when we most needed it, after our community suffered the tragic loss of one of our teachers last week — one that we will be feeling for a long time. As I looked around the stadium, I was struck by what sports can do for a community. Last night’s game brought us together. For ninety minutes, we cheered our student-athletes, reveled in school spirit, and just enjoyed being together. We were a family. Sports are also one of the few places in school life where we allow students real... More
BUA Girls Soccer Takes Home League Championship
Congratulations to the BUA Girls Soccer team, whose 2-0 victory over the International School of Boston in last night's game earned them the title of Girls Independent League champions! Co-captain Casssandra Swartz '22 sends in this recap of the championship game: "On November 5, the BUA Girls Soccer team departed to face off against International School of Boston (ISB) at Hormel Stadium for the Girls Independent League Championships. We played ISB for our first game of the season, and suffered a 0-2 loss. We were determined to redeem ourselves and secure the title of champions. The game began as an even battle, the ball shifting back and forth between both sides of the field. Time was running out in the half, and the score was still 0-0. Luckily, we gained an opportunity through a free kick right outside of the penalty area. Susanna Boberg '23 capitalized on this, and shot past their... More
Remembering Dr. Jennifer Formichelli
Boston University Academy English teacher Dr. Jennifer Formichelli passed away in a tragic accident near her home in Mattapan on the morning of October 26. She touched so many lives in our school community, and her loss is profoundly felt. Jennifer will be remembered as a thoughtful, highly intellectual scholar of English literature; a champion of social justice, deeply committed to equity and inclusion in and out of the classroom; a trusted advisor; a warm and loyal colleague and friend; and, most of all, an engaged and dedicated teacher who loved her students. Through her work at BU Academy, she shaped the lives of hundreds of young people. She was a cherished member of our school community and will be deeply missed. BU Today published this moving remembrance of Jennifer Formichelli on the day of her passing. A candlelight vigil for Jennifer Formichelli will be held on Thursday, October 28 at... More
HOS Blog: Homer with a Side of Humor
I visited a ninth-grade English class yesterday. The group was discussing an early passage in Homer’s Odyssey where Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, was expressing frustration about the bad behavior of the suitors, who were vying for his mother’s hand in his father’s long absence during his return from Troy and shamefully taking advantage of the hospitality of the household. One of the students offered, with a wry smile, “Telemachus could just do what Oedipus did and marry his mother — that would solve everything!” The teacher replied, with a wink, “And how did that work out for Oedipus?” The class had a good laugh and went right back to the task at hand. Humor in the classroom does more than lighten the mood. It creates an emotional bond between teachers and students, and an atmosphere of emotional safety that is critical to learning. We know from decades of research that teaching and... More