News
Service in Boston Schools
Earlier this week, I traveled with ten BUA students and a faculty colleague to a local Boston public school as part of BUA’s pilot service initiative. The idea is to have BUA students volunteer at partner schools in Boston – specifically helping out in the after-school programs with younger students and with anything else those partner schools need. The BUA students fanned out across the school. Some played spirited games of Uno with 3rd and 4th graders; I’m told our younger friends mostly won! Others assisted with math and language-arts worksheets for elementary students and middle schoolers. Some built Lego houses on the gym floor with second graders. Some worked through and organized donated products and other classroom supplies to assist teachers. I got involved too with some math homework help exploring halves and wholes – I couldn’t help myself! That same group of BUA students will travel back to... More
Global Travel: Spring Break Trip Recaps
Over March break, 51 students and 9 adults traveled to Roatán, Greece, and Arizona as part of BUA's Global Travel Program, which emphasizes hands-on, experiential learning, and relevance to the BUA curriculum. View complete photo albums from the 2025 spring break here: Roatán | Greece | Arizona Home base for the Roatán trip, led by BUA biology teacher Dr. Colleen Krivacek, was the Roatán Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS), surrounded by over 30 miles of fringing and barrier reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, and pristine shoreline – a living laboratory and part of the second largest barrier reef system in the world. Student travelers experienced a deep dive (literally!) into marine biology: their classrooms included the Caribbean Sea, with twice-a-day snorkeling sessions, and the wet and dry labs of RIMS. Throughout the week, students had the opportunity to work alongside marine biologists, participating in cutting-edge research projects and conservation programs aimed at... More
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Over the past few days, I have heard so much wonderful feedback from our students who participated in the school’s global trips over break. Some traveled to the Roatán Institute for Marine Sciences in Honduras, where they worked alongside marine biologists and used the barrier reef as a living lab. Some were in Greece exploring the ancient sites they have read about in classics and history, as well as the roots and realities of modern Greek democracy. Some traveled to Arizona where they took in the region’s natural beauty, learned about indigenous history, and investigated climate change and water issues. The programs were chosen and designed by BUA faculty, who added their expertise and learned alongside the students. The guiding vision behind all three trips was to create rich, hands-on learning experiences tied to BUA’s curriculum, but which could only happen outside our walls. Many of the students I’ve talked to reflect... More
School Sports vs. Sports School
As the winter athletic season comes to a close and the spring season is set to begin, I’ve been thinking a lot about sports and how proud I am of our athletic culture. BUA is not a “sports school” according to the conventional meaning of that phrase in New England independent schools. This is not a place students and families choose because our teams will face elite competition and be visited by scouts. We offer a limited menu of two or three interscholastic sports per season, competing against similar-sized schools in the sports our kids are most excited about. As our long-serving athletic director, Mr. Stone, likes to quip, our football team remains undefeated since the school’s founding – because we have never had one. And I wouldn’t change a thing. What we have is precious and increasingly unusual. There is a vibrant and healthy sports culture characterized by joining. Students... More
Celebrating our Cultures – Together
This morning, we were all greeted in the lobby by students in the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association, who had brought dates, figs, and other treats for the community in celebration and anticipation of Ramadan, which begins next Friday. Last week, students from the Black Student Union hosted a fun, cookout-themed evening event, which was open to the whole community and featured personal testimonials by students and some excellent food. In the same week, the Jewish Students Organization organized a beautiful Tu Bishvat seder – an important moment for sharing and connection. All of this was fresh off some lovely and well attended cultural events through the fall and early winter: a Lunar New Year celebration sponsored by the East Asian Students Association, where the gym was filled with a delicious buffet, games, and good cheer; a school-wide breakfast hosted by the Latin American Student Association; a garba... More
BUA Students Compete at Prestigious Harvard MIT Math Tournament
This weekend, seven BUA students -- Alex '26, Shaun '27, Kelsey '26, Isha '27, Clair '28, Daniel '27, and Ben '26 -- competed in the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament (HMMT). The HMMT is one of the most prestigious and challenging high school math competitions in the world, bringing together top young mathematicians to tackle complex problems in algebra, combinatorics, geometry, and number theory. Our students showed incredible perseverance, teamwork, and problem-solving skills against fierce competition
BUA Basketball Defends GIL Championship Title
BUA's Girls Basketball brought home the GIL Championship for the second year running! On February 13, our BUA Terriers beat out BISB 29-21 last night at home, capping a phenomenal season. Special shout out to our seniors -- Celine '25, Mira '25, Rose '25, and Ylan '25 -- on an amazing finish to their BUA basketball careers! Read on for a season recap from Rose '25 and Celine '25: Going into the championship game, BUA Girls’Basketball team was 12-1 in league. They’d given their all every day at practice and it paid off. But the one loss, the enemy in question? BISB. Of course, this made for a thrilling final game, especially backed by BUA’s quest to repeat as league champions. Nerves were high, excitement even higher. It was the Terriers vs the Bulldogs, and believe us, it sure was a dogfight. After a lively announcement of the starting lineups, the game... More
BUA Alum Returns to Alma Mater to Coach MUN Team
Congratulations to our 14 Model UN delegates who attended last weekend's Boston Model United Nations (BosMUN) XXIV conference! This year’s BosMUN was the largest ever, with more than 2,500 delegates from domestic and international high schools. Clair '28 and Nikki '27 both earned third place in their respective committees, The Economic and Social Committee for Asia and the Pacific, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians Crisis Committee, respectively. Alum Ajay Raman '23 coaches BUA's Model UN team and is an instrumental member of the event Secretariat. On contributing to his alma mater in this capacity, Ajay reflects: Coaching the BUA Model UN team has been an amazing journey for me, both personally and professionally. Returning to my old high school has given me the opportunity to give back to the community that shaped who I am, and it's been a joy to share my passion for Model UN with a new... More
Students Attend DC Civic Leadership Summit
On February 4, a cohort of six BUA students and two chaperones traveled to Washington, DC, to attend the Close Up Foundation and NAIS’ Student Civic Leadership Summit. Under the guidance of program instructors, Betty '26, Bella '25, Reeya '26, Lucas '25, Angelique '26, and Lani '26 considered a variety of viewpoints on pressing current issues, learned best practices in community engagement, and continued building the skills of citizenship.
BUA Senior Yiannis Asikis ’25 Serves as Student Representative on MA Board of Education
As the sole student representative and a full voting member on the Massachusetts Board of Elementary & Secondary Education (BESE), BUA senior Yiannis Asikis has an outsize impact on shaping the future of education in the Commonwealth. The mission of BESE is to strengthen Massachusetts’ public education system so that every student is prepared to succeed in postsecondary education, compete in the global economy, and understand the rights and responsibilities of American citizens. Through his work on the Board, Yiannis represents the voices and opinions of all 896,103 K-12 students in public, private, and parochial schools in Massachusetts, and serves as a liaison from the Board to the State Student Advisory Council (SSAC). Yiannis earned his role on the BESE Board through his work on the SSAC, an organization comprised of student representatives chosen by their peers to help make decisions about state educational policy and student rights. Every secondary school in... More