Furey Hall was the place to be this weekend for the performances Friday and Saturday night of The Giver. The Seventh Grade actors performed to packed houses both nights and the reviews were great! Thank you for a wonderful performance, and to Director Meg Agnew and the many parents and volunteers who worked to make the evenings so successful!

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Sprague

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Sprague

Every November, students and alumni look forward to Thanksgiving Soup. Here is a little history of one of BCD’s most beloved traditions:

The idea of Thanksgiving Soup emerged over 25 years ago, when former faculty member Rachel Hennick and her second grade class were asked by then Head of School Peter Buttenheim to create a Thanksgiving assembly that brought the entire school together. The book Stone Soup influenced the early concept, but what emerged was and continues to be uniquely BCD.

When Soup first began in the early 1980s, the second grade class was charged with brainstorming what vegetables would be good for the soup. Once they picked their “favorite” vegetables, the students handwrote a letter to each class, asking them to contribute a particular vegetable for the soup. The students then delivered the letters to the various classes, which, according to Mrs. Hennick was “a rather a big deal, especially when the second-graders had to visit the ‘big kids’.” As the vegetables came in, the students brought them to the second grade homeroom, where along with parent volunteers, the second-graders spent the day before Soup chopping up vegetables and simmering the soup.

In the early years of Soup, the main kitchen was located in Albright Hall, off of the library. As the event approached, pots of soup would be strewn all around the school, volunteers dashed around with hotplates using any outlet they could find that would not blow a fuse, and everyone tried to avoid accidentally burning themselves on the old gas stove. The smell of soup permeated the buildings and anticipation continued to build. The assembly was held in Furey Hall in the years before Fitzpatrick Hall was built, always with the older students serving the soup. The assembly varied in the first few years, including mixing the ages of the students at each table so young intermingled with old(er), adding bread or pumpkin bread to the meal, and singing a few traditional songs. Of course, it was always followed by eating the soup. 

The process of getting ready for Soup has evolved over the years, with each generation of students adding their touch. For one thing, handwritten notes are a thing of the past; now, families are notified of their needed contribution via MyBCD. We’ve also moved the preparation of soup off-site to the kitchen down the road at BUTI, which provides ample space for parent volunteers to dice, slice, and sauté the ingredients needed to make soup for over 400 students, alumni, and guests. Another exciting addition to Soup is BCD’s new organic vegetable garden, planted two years ago behind Fitzpatrick Hall. BCD’s garden now provides such ingredients to the soup as potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and herbs, making our soup that much tastier and special.

As much as things change, some things remain the same. Thanksgiving Soup continues to attract young alums that look forward to this opportunity to return to the BCD campus to catch up with their friends and the faculty. This past November, over 80 alums returned for Soup (often skipping classes to do so!). We also continue to use the occasion of this gathering to say thank you to members of our community, and acknowledge the many ways students have raised money in support of others and our community causes. And, we continue to end this special day by coming together as a community to sing “Over the River” and the BCD song. After all these years, Thanksgiving Soup continues to be a favorite tradition among students, faculty, parent volunteers and alumni. See you next year at Soup!

BCD’s Bid for Education Auction to benefit the financial aid program will go live this Monday at 8:00 a.m.  Take a sneak preview of the over 100 items to be auctioned off. Thank you in advance for your support for this important school fundraiser.

Starting on Monday, February 8 at 8:00 a.m., BCD will be holding an online auction to raise money for the School’s financial aid program. Twenty-nine percent of BCD families receive some financial aid to help make their education here possible.  As you can imagine, the need is greater than ever. How can you help? Bid for Education and spread the word!

We have assembled over 100 fun and unique items for you to bid on, from fine art to signed books, artisan jewelry, items for the home, toys and experiences for children and families, gift certificates to area restaurants and businesses, tickets to upcoming area shows, personal services, and some opportunities you won’t find anyplace else.

The goal of this auction is to make a BCD education possible for every qualified family. Please show your support for our school and financial aid mission by bidding often and bidding high!

Take a peek at what your winning bid can get:

Spa Renewal Day at Canyon Ranch

A Family Vacation in June to Smugglers' Notch

Premium Shed Tickets for Two to James Taylor & Carole King at Tanglewood, July 3

Passes for 4 to Sesame Place

Student Council members warmed up a 7-degree night by hosting an Upper School Dance for Haiti in the gym last Friday evening.   Council members supplied refreshments and arranged all the music.   In addition to dancing, students played ping-pong and did a bit of hula-hoop.  Since the students supplied the music, all of the $5 cover went to the school Haiti fund.  Students raised $505.  Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. Pitcher-Hoffman, and Mr. Perkins chaperoned the dance.  Mr. Perkins can hula-hoop.  Who knew?   Also, special thanks to the sound equipment brought in for the dance and to our DJ for the night.  Kudos to Student Council!

At a combined Middle and Upper School morning meeting last week, Dr. Pier Boutin spoke about her experiences in Haiti over the past 2 weeks. The stories she describes in the video below are powerful and sobering, and illustrate just how dire the situation in Haiti really is. Note: This is a large video, so please be patient. Click here for the direct link.

The Pioneer Valley Classical Association held its annual Classics Day at Mount Holyoke College on January 21, and Berkshire Country Day School was one of eight schools in attendance.  Eugenie Fawcett, head of BCD’s Latin Department, accompanied the school’s fifty-one Latin students in grades seven, eight, and nine.  An annual tradition, all the students enjoyed participating in workshops and contests with their peers from Amherst, Belchertown, Lenox, Williston, and three Pittsfield schools: Herberg, Reid, and Taconic.  BCD students received the following awards:

ART CONTEST

Sculpture: 1st) Ivy C. (9) & Ginger C. (7); 3rd) Harrison N. (8) & Skylar W. (8)

Drawing/Painting: 1st) Julia R. (8)

Mosaic: 2nd) Victoria F. (8) & Blake W. (8)

Military: 2nd) Estevan V. (7)

In the following contests, BCD placed in every level in which a student or team was entered:

COSTUME CONTEST

1st) Zia PH. (7) as Persephone

3rd) Ace B. (7), Ayla H. (7), Nicole S. (7) as Cerberus

ORAL INTERPRETATION

Advanced Poetry: 1st) Grace R. (8)

Intermediate: 1st) Julia R. (8)

3rd) Camellia F. (7)

Novice: 1st) Isabelle R. (7)

2nd) Ginger C. (7)

3rd) Zia PH. (7)

CERTAMINA (TEAM CONTESTS)

Novice/Latin I: 1st) BCD: Helena B. (8), Julia R. (8), Grace R. (8), Jasper CK. (7)

Myth: 1st) BCD Gold: Halina P. (8), Isabelle R. (7), Michael W. (9), Ben W. (9)

2nd) BCD Black: William B. (8), Julian M. (8), Abigail S. (7), Nick S. (7)

Last week, the BCD student body came together to plan and execute bake sales and coin drives that raised almost $3000, which is three times the original goal for the week!  The funds will be split between two groups: Doctors Without Borders and Partners in Health.  For three days last week, students in the Middle and Upper schools collected change, baked, ran the bake sale, and rolled and counted change. The Second Grade did a lot of the rolling and counting of change, too. Lower School and Pre-kindergarten students also contributed in many ways last week, as well as their families who sent donations of baked goods and change.  All over the school one could feel the students’ care and empathy for those suffering in Haiti.  We all felt like we were really doing good in the world and that we were doing it together! Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.

The Student Council is hosting a dance on Friday, January 29 for 7th, 8th, and 9th graders.  They are asking for a $5 minimum contribution, with all the money to be donated to Haiti.

This past November, BCD Teacher Kate Meyer attended a “Mind, Brain, Education” conference in Cambridge, MA co-hosted by Harvard and MIT. Over 1,000 people from all over the world attended the three day conference, including teachers, psychologists, and neuro-scientists. MyBCD sat down with Kate to find out what’s on her mind and how this information may have changed her understanding of how teenagers think and learn:

“I’ve always had a lot of interest in science – my father is a scientist – and there have been so many advances in brain research and the nexus between brain research and current educational practices. For example, there is some very interesting research on physical activity and cognition. There seems to be a link between daily exercise and the ability to learn. Also, they’re learning a lot more about reading; it requires a coordination of circuitry in your brain. It is not specific to one area. The more you read, the stronger the circuit gets.

This conference has definitely made me revisit how my students read and how I read with them.  I’m hoping to use some of the advisory periods to engage  kids in some good physical activities as well. The information I took away from the conference will help me better understand and fine-tune my teaching all the way around.