I’m writing from a conference of heads of school from leading independent schools around the country. Among the roughly 100 attendees are a half-dozen heads – some active, some retired – whom I am lucky to call mentors. Two are former supervisors, and the rest are people I’ve met along the way. They all, at […]
I visited several classes this week. Even on these cold, gray January days in the aftermath of a snowstorm, the energy and engagement were high. One special moment stood out. A geometry teacher asked a group of his students who happened to be taking ancient Greek to work through and present on Euclid’s proof of […]
In the depth of winter, we are experiencing a blossoming of the arts. The hallway walls are a riot of color – filled with student drawings, paintings, photographs, and digital graphic design work from the first semester. The technical excellence of the pieces is as impressive as the broad range of styles and perspectives, and […]
One of the things that is especially fun about the first weeks back from winter break is that our college-aged alums come back to visit, since their semesters have often yet to start. They pop in on their teachers and friends – catching up on their college fall semesters and on what’s been happening at […]
As we do every year, the faculty started the semester a day before the students. All teachers and advisors sit together for a full day. The topic? Our students. Over the course of the day, we talk through each student – reviewing academic performance, engagement outside the classroom, and social connections. It’s a chance to […]
Today is the last day of BUA classes. It has been a very good semester, and students’ attention has understandably turned to preparation for next week’s exams. We believe that exams play an important role. They provide students the chance to practice synthesizing months of material and to demonstrate long-term retention of key ideas. Exams […]
In place of our usual all-school meeting this week, leaders from our Student Council organized community-wide town hall meetings. StuCo representatives led sessions of about 25 students each to hear about their experiences and solicit ideas for how we can further strengthen the BUA community; we’ll review those ideas together later this winter and report […]
With Thanksgiving days away, we turn our attention to gratitude. Brimming donation boxes from the 9th-grade food drive adorn the lobby. Tuesday’s all-school meeting will feature short talks by a handful of juniors and seniors who will tell the community about something they are grateful for. It is good for the soul to pause, reflect, […]
We paused as a community on Tuesday to mark Veterans Day. There are a number of alumni of this school who have devoted their careers to serving our country in branches across the military. Several have returned to BUA over the years to speak to our students and share their journeys. We are grateful for […]
BUA’s Alumni Council met recently. The group is made up of 22 graduates from across the decades of the school’s life who volunteer to help build community among fellow graduates, encourage alumni engagement with the school, and offer advice and perspective on today’s BUA. We are grateful for their leadership. At one point in the […]