Author: Christos J Kolovos

One Trusted Adult

I recently read Brooklyn Raney’s One Trusted Adult. A longtime independent school teacher, coach, and administrator, Raney surveys the research – and provides page after page of colorful anecdotes drawn from her experience in schools – about how critical it is that an adolescent feels a connection to at least one trusted adult mentor outside […]

Our Seniors

Last night, the faculty and staff gathered with our seniors and their families to celebrate the Class of 2023. It was an intimate moment before Monday’s public commencement ceremony. We heard an emotionally powerful reflection by senior Lizzie Seward, laughed along with a funny address by alumni relations director and fan favorite Mr. Stone, and […]

Teaching is about Relationships

Last Saturday, we celebrated this school’s 30th year with a wonderful celebration at the Museum of Fine Arts. Early in the program, we all watched a video featuring teachers past and present, parents, alumni, and others talking about their BUA journeys. Every time a teacher appeared on the screen, the audience spontaneously erupted in applause […]

“Look What I Started!”

I recently attended BUA’s first-ever Shark Tank-style business plan competition. Our students pitched their entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of judges – everything from sustainably sourced protein powders to an organizational app for students to keep track of homework and other assignments. There were quite a few pitches, and the room was filled with student […]

Listening to Students

I just finished up lunch with a 9/10th-grade advisory group. Over pizza, the nine students told me about what their day-to-day is like; what they love about BUA; what’s hard; and what they wish was different. A few pieces were news to me. Most were things I had heard about before, and the conversation gave […]

Finding Your Passion and Changing Your Mind

This week, our seniors presented the results of their senior thesis projects to classmates, friends, family, teachers, and mentors. The breadth of topics was as stunning as the depth of the exploration. I heard about correlations between green spaces in Boston, race, and socioeconomics; irreducible polynomials over finite fields; depictions of witches in literature from […]

The Things Teachers Say

Long-time history teacher Dr. Jim Davis gave a masterclass last night to a group of parents and alums exploring existentialism, which is also the topic of a popular senior elective he has taught for many years. As he discussed Søren Kirkegaard and Frantz Fanon, BUA graduates who took the class years ago started to engage […]

A Community That Helps You Be Yourself

Over a span of five days, our community hosted two wonderful events. One was our Be Together multicultural potluck dinner. Families of students from all grades gathered together, each bringing a dish reflecting their family’s identity and traditions. Several students also performed that night in the same spirit – from Indian classical dance to Greek […]

Trying Something New

I popped by a volleyball practice in the gym earlier this week. Picture two nets set up across the gym, with two dozen players on the courts and about a dozen more on the sidelines waiting to rotate in. There were spirited celebrations for points won, along with quick support for a teammate’s mistake. Intensity […]

Students Finding Purpose through Action

What does it take to convince Town Hall to start a bike-to-school day? On Tuesday, one of our seniors gave a talk at our all-school meeting about his year-long quest to make change in his town. Motivated by his passion for combating climate change and inspired by models from other countries, he began reaching out […]