Solid pitching has been key to NBS Softball’s success in 2013.

The Nashoba Brooks Varsity Softball team added up another win to the victory board against Meadowbrook on 5/1. Kaity Goodwin held Meadowbrook to three scoreless innings, while Brennan McCormick and Lauren Mazza completed the shutout victory through the 4th and 5th innings. Each pitcher had quick 1-2-3 innings! Rachel Lawrence had two solid hits including a single and double. She was also responsible for an excellent catch in left field, diving for the ball on her knees to make the first out in the 4th. Dani Wurster-Parnes also showed some amazing fielding skills throwing out two batters at first. The first double play of the season was made by Goodwin and Mazza when Goodwin caught a high line in a “snow-cone catch” and doubled-up the runner at first with a throw to Mazza. Overall it was a great team effort. Nashoba had no errors and threw out eleven runners. Everyone on the team either made a hit, fielded an out or in some cases both! The final score was 10-0. Stupendous job, Nashoba!

On Friday, 5/3, the Nashoba Varsity Softball team won their sixth straight game of this undefeated season against Fay.  The Nashoba team adapted to the Fay school rules and Lauren Mazza, Kaity Goodwin, and Zoe Kane stole four bases.  Rachael Lawrence took advantage of the drop third strike rule and sprinted off to first.  Nashoba’s bats came alive in the fourth inning with base hits from Zoe Kane, Hanna Hassara, and Dani Wurster Parnes. Meanwhile, Lauren Mazza stole second and third after being hit by a wild pitch.  Nashoba showed that they had a good eye on the ball and were walked eight times.  Kaity Goodwin was the starting pitcher and struck out six batters.  In the end, Nashoba held Fay off to win 7-5.  Go Nashoba!

The Nashoba Brooks Varsity Track and Field team had a great week with two action packed meets! At the first meet they ran, jumped and threw against the Fessenden and Fay teams. The day started off at Fenn with the field events. At all the events Nashoba excelled.  Emi Short scored 3rd in the long jump with a solid jump of 11 feet.  At high jump, Julia McClellan, Kate Sotir, and Kaylin Engerman won first (4’), second (3’10’’) and third place (3’10’’).  In shot put, Anika Dixon blew our minds with her third place finish (19’ 7”).

The day went on and soon it was time for the track events.  We started off strong with Kaylin scoring an amazing first place for the mile with a time of 6:19.  In the 100 meter Alexandra Loumidis got an unbelievable first place with a time of 14:74.   Anika Dixon got 2nd in the 400 meter with a time of 1:08.8 seconds. The events continued to go well for the rest of the afternoon and while the NBS team presented strong competition, the Fay team did as well and it was a close meet.  If you would like to see some amazing photos from this meet check out the Nashoba Brooks Facebook page!

The second meet of the week on Friday was with Worcester Academy. The meet started off with a very successful round of field events. Julia McClellan won the high jump (4’) with Kaylin Engerman (4’)  and Kate Sotir (3’ 10”) in second and third.  Kimmy Schuster leaped her way to third place in the long jump with a jump of  10 feet 10 inches. Meanwhile, the Nashoba team showed fierce competition and spirit in the shot put with Shannon Pyne (24’) in first place with Anika Dixon (22’ 2”) and Claire Reiss (15’ 8”) close behind in second and third. The track events were also outstanding, starting off with Kaylin Engerman winning the mile (6:17), and Julia McClellan (7:19) taking second.  With strong starts and finishes, the 200 meter runners sprinted their way to a strong finish with Emi Short taking second (34:35).  The last event, the 4×200 also went very well with the two NBS teams scoring a close second and third with times of 2:21 and 2:30.

Written by team captains!

Maya Turner Singh, a 1999 graduate of Nashoba Brooks School, is using theatre to empower international social change.  Singh is the Director of Development and a professional teaching artist for the Global Empowerment Theatre (GETheatre) program, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts.  GETheatre leads English language literacy and dramatic activities workshops for underserved teenagers in Bangalore, India and Zanzibar, Tanzania.  Since these teens have limited educational resources, GETheatre aims to expand their learning, build their confidence, and narrow the achievement gap between students who have access to private education and students living in poor, underprivileged communities.

Workshops in Bangalore and Zanzibar typically run for two weeks at each school, where a group of 20-25 students write and perform their own work and explore current issues in their societies that they would like to improve, such as poverty, safety, and gender inequity.  According to Singh, “Everyone has a voice.  Everyone has something to say, but not every student enjoys the right to exercise this voice.  We’re providing them with a platform.”

Current and former Nashoba Brooks faculty are thrilled to have an opportunity to learn from Singh firsthand when she returns to the school for the annual Ellis Lecture on May 14th.  Her presentation, “Empowering the Voice of Youth: Using Theatrical Techniques to Create Global Citizens”, will be the featured lecture of the event, which was established in 1988 in honor of Patricia A. Ellis, Director of Nashoba Brooks from 1972-1992.  To learn more about Singh’s fascinating work, check out the Nashoba Brooks Winter Bulletin.

Presently, GETheatre is in full swing planning the 2013 GETZanzibar program, which will run from the end of May through the beginning of June.  They look forward to bringing theatre and English literacy workshops to Latin America in the near future and are also looking for schools and other organizations to partner with in the New York City area.  To learn more about GETheatre, visit www.getheatre.org.

D’Lynn Jacobs, Director of Diversity at Nashoba Brooks School, understands the value of sharing varied viewpoints.  In her current role, Jacobs works with numerous school groups: parents and faculty in SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity), parents in FEED (Fostering Empathy, Equity, and Diversity), families of students of color, and student and faculty affinity and diversity groups.  She also leads faculty diversity training.  “At Nashoba Brooks, we make time for diversity work as a faculty, developing a common language and understanding, listening to different perspectives.”

This is Jacobs’ first year at Nashoba Brooks, and she says her most important job is recognizing the “Big 7”—race, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, and religion.  “Some are invisible.  We don’t want to privilege any of these traits; we want to look at our differences equally.”  Affinity groups encourage students to advocate and share stories.  Nashoba Brooks also has a student diversity committee comprised of fifteen students in Grades 6-8.  According to Jacobs, “Students speak out about poverty, girls’ education, privacy and privilege access, and international human rights.”

Earlier this year, Jacobs traveled to Houston to attend the national People Of Color Conference—“a safe space for networking and a professional development opportunity for people who, by virtue of their race or ethnicity, comprise a form of diversity termed ‘people of color’ in independent schools.”  She returned from Houston having forged new friendships with local and national colleagues dedicated to diversity.  Said Jacobs, “the conference illuminated many of the beautiful ways that our Nashoba community is diverse.”

Jacobs has also encouraged her colleagues to engage in service learning.  A particularly successful opportunity has been the Promising Pal Program, which paired several Nashoba faculty with pen pals from the James P. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury.  “Personally, I think it is really validating to have my co-workers participating in this program as mentors for students in Boston,” Jacobs reflected. “It has added value to our institution as it has expanded perspectives and appreciation for all types of students.”

For more information on how Nashoba Brooks strives to create a school environment that is welcoming and affirming to all, visit http://www.nashobabrooks.org/diversity-middle-school/.

As winter finally relinquishes its frosty grip on New England, the Nashoba Brooks School of Concord is eager to embrace the warmth of spring and demonstrate its commitment to environmental education outdoors.

On Wednesday, April 24, Nashoba Brooks hosted its First Annual Earth Day Celebration.  The samba-style Carnivale parade traveled around the campus featuring music and giant salamander and skunk puppets generously loaned to the school by the Musketaquid Arts and Environment program.  Students of all ages then gathered for a presentation of words and songs about the environment at the final stop of the parade route, which is the future site of the Nashoba Brooks Garden.

The event served as a symbolic kickoff for the garden, which will be prepared over the summer for use next school year.  The garden will be designed so that each grade will have its own plot to help integrate next year’s school theme, sustainability, into their curriculum.

The Nashoba Brooks Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) Action Team has been working hard on a few upcoming events of its own.  The group will participate in the Musketaquid Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 27.  The event lasts from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM and features a river ceremony, street parade, and an arts and environment festival at Emerson Umbrella.  The team will be constructing an all-natural float for the river portion of the celebration.

The ACE Action Team has also spearheaded the effort to organize the first Nashoba Brooks Green Week, running from April 29 to May 3.  Each day will focus on sustainability, starting with “Minimize Water Monday” and culminating with “Forever Do One Thing (DOT) Friday”.  The team hopes to bring about positive change in school and at home by educating the community about basic solutions to the many environmental problems facing our planet.

From fast starts to far jumps, the Nashoba Brooks Track & Field season has started strong. On April 17 Nashoba had its first meet of the season against Meadowbrook at the Emerson Track.  Nashoba proved to dominate in field events.  Kate Sotir had an impressive jump to win herself first place in the high jump.  Julia McClellan was close behind, while Alexandra Loumidis brought home a strong third place finish.  Anika Dixon proved that shot put was her event, blowing peoples minds with her first place finish.  Close behind, Jesse Cahill’s powerful throw put her in second.  The team showed their encouraging spirit at the long jump while Hillary Umphrey placed third with a jump of 11 feet 5 inches.

Nashoba stayed motivated as they drove from Fenn to Emerson Track to start the track events.  In the first track event of the day, Kaylin Engerman had a strong start and fast second place finish, proving that the mile was her race.  Hillary Umphrey scored an amazing second place in the 400, getting the team psyched.  Emi Short showed strength in the 200 as she scored second, with Kate Sotir right behind finishing third.  As the last event of the day, the relays had two strong performances leaving Nashoba with second and third. Overall Nashoba was quite satisfied with their meet against Meadowbrook and are pumped for their next meet on April 24 vs. BC High and Fay.  We will keep you posted on the outcome of our season!

Two weeks ago, the Nashoba Brooks Lacrosse team traveled to Dedham for their second game of the season. The team entered the game energized and ready to play. Brynn Kennedy played goalie for the first time and did an outstanding job, blocking a large percentage of the shots. Chandlee Gustafson headed up the defense doing an outstanding job of keeping them out of the eight meter. Amelia Slade took Kennedy’s place during the second half and had two major saves that kept Nashoba in the game. Siggy Fitzgerald did an amazing job during the second half of bringing the ball up the field to the offensive end. The game was close but in the end Nashoba lost 5-3. Next game the team will have to work on their shooting skills and passing around the twelve meter. Great job lax!

On April 17, the lax team was fired up to take a road trip to Lexington Christian.  Julia Royal played goalie during the first half and made a lot of critical saves. Nashoba got off to a great start and scored 7 goals in the first half. Clemmie McKeown did an outstanding job getting open on attack when the ball was being brought out of the defensive end. Caroline Hughes took Royal’s spot in goal for the second half where she blocked all but one shot fired on her! Lilly Harvey and Siggy Fitzgerald scored their first goals of the season leading Nashoba to an 11-2 win.  Overall, an outstanding job!

Nashoba Brooks Softball’s first game of the season started off great! The team was in tremendous shape to play one of the hardest teams in the league, Milton. Kaity Goodwin, a returning pitcher, kicked off the first inning with a 1-2-3. Lauren Mazza kept the good vibes going with a hard grounder to shortstop earning her a single. Rookie Brennan McCormick did a wonderful job pitching in the 5th, as it was her first time pitching for the team. Hits followed from Hannah Hassara, Grace Capofreddi, and Goodwin. Overall, Nashoba did a great job at their first game of the season winning 12-6. Well done, Nashoba!

Nashoba Brooks added yet another win to their record on Thursday against a solid Dedham Country Day School team. Brennan McCormick debuted as the starting pitcher. She pitched the first two innings and did an outstanding job by only letting up one run. Kaity Goodwin stepped in to pitch the remainder of the game holding DCD to one run.  Meanwhile, Grace Capofreddi hit a speeding grounder down the first base line and Zoe Kane quickly followed by hitting a line drive at laser speed towards second base.  However, the highlight of the game was Kaity Goodwin blasting a ball into deep left-center field, over the outfielders’ heads, for a two run homer.  In the end, Nashoba pulled off an exciting 5-1 victory.  Go Nashoba!

Hiding in Sunshine, co-authored by Stuart’s father, explores cyber warfare and virtual world threats. Stuart credits her Nashoba Brooks teacher Anne Shaughnessy with helping to hone her craft and inspiring creativity. “Miss Shaughnessy introduced me to creating a personal voice, which I’m still working on. She spent a lot of one-on-one time with me. At Nashoba, I gained confidence in my writing.”

When asked how it feels to publish a novel at the young age of seventeen, Stuart replied, “It’s a really humbling experience.” She plans to write a sequel and is currently trying to persuade her father to collaborate with her again. Learn more about how Stuart and other members of the Nashoba Brooks community are finding their voice by checking out the Winter Bulletin.

Nashoba Brooks School is thrilled to announce the introduction of a Nike Summer Sports Camp to be hosted at the Nashoba Brooks School in the summer of 2013. Faculty member Alexandra Turner has coordinated with Nike Sports Camps to facilitate a partnership that aims to utilize the Nashoba Brooks School facilities during summer months and provide opportunities for summer programming for members of the Nashoba Brooks Community as well as the greater public.

Camp registration is open to the public.  There will be two Nike Camps hosted at Nashoba Brooks School this summer. There will be a Nike 10 & Under Tennis Camp as well as a Nike Multi-Sport Camp for two age groups (K – Grade 2 & Grade 3 – Grade 8). Details on these camps are outlined specifically below, and links to registration are included within each camp’s description. Camps run from June 28 – July 26, with a one week break for the July 4th Holiday. The duration of each camp is one week, with hours and times varying based on age level.

The Nike 10 & Under Tennis Camp at Nashoba Brooks School offers a 10 and Under Tennis program, featuring the USTA’s successful new teaching format. This is an exciting new way kids 10 and under are learning to play tennis as well as compete. The courts are smaller and balls are low-compression so they are easier to hit, allowing kids to get to the ball and develop optimal swing patterns. It all makes it easy and fun for them to hit, play and score from the start, while developing skills that will last a lifetime. To learn more about how to join the fun and whether this camp is a good fit for your child, click here.

The Nashoba Brooks Nike Multi-Sport Camp, a co-ed day camp for young athletes, specializes in Soccer, Basketball, and Flag Football. Each sport offers professional instruction by top coaches and college-level players. The Nashoba Brooks Nike Multi-Sport Camp is broken down into two groups: Kindergarten through Grade 2 and Grade 3 through Grade 8. To learn more about how to join the fun and whether this camp is a good fit for your child, click here.

If you have any questions about the camps, please feel free to contact Alexandra Turner at aturner@nashobabrooks.org.

At an assembly last fall, the Nashoba Brooks School of Concord, MA was visited by the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE).  The dynamic presentation undoubtedly had an effect on students and teachers alike, who together formed the school’s first ACE Action Team led by faculty member Kim Birge-Liberman and supported by colleagues D’Lynn Jacobs and Polly Vanasse.  The Team meets twice each month to continue their climate education and to implement strategies for positive change in three phases: individual action, Nashoba action, and community action.

One particular ACE Action Team initiative has had significant impact on the Nashoba community.  The Do One Thing (DOT) campaign is a grassroots effort to promote individual action against global climate change.  Every student and employee, as well as a number of parents, pledged one thing they could do individually to reduce the impact of climate change and created a “DOT” to display in the school’s gallery.

“DOT is the best way I know to change the environmental awareness of our students,” remarked Vanasse.  “By concentrating on one thing, I can be successful and know that I am making a difference.”

Through this exercise, students have been able to collaborate and learn new ways to reduce their carbon footprint, like using less water or writing on both sides of the paper.

“It is moving to see how much the kids have taken ownership over this project and how many other projects are spiraling out of this one,” reflected Jacobs.  “I think the greatest part of this project is the way the students involved the entire community to take action in a personal and meaningful manner.”

Do One Thing is not the only initiative the ACE Action Team has in the works.  They will arrange and promote the Nashoba Green Week this spring, during which each day will have a specific environmental theme.  The Team also continues to explore a long-term goal of having earth-friendly energy sources at Nashoba Brooks School.

Nashoba Brooks School Inauguration

Eighth Graders and faculty from Nashoba Brooks School in Concord, MA traveled to Washington, D.C. on January 20 to attend the Presidential Inauguration. They awoke at five o’clock on Monday morning, Martin Luther King Day, and stood outside for seven hours straight to watch the event unfold from start to finish. “That was the most amazing moment of my life!” remarked student Abby Lawrence to teacher Patti Murphy as they filed away from the United States Capitol building amidst a crowd of nearly one million.

The Nashoba Brooks eighth graders enjoyed the Inaugural poem “One Today” written and read by Richard Blanco, the youngest and the first Latino and openly gay Inaugural poet.  According to Murphy, “It was especially powerful when President Obama referred to the very issues students had spent weeks researching for their C-Span documentaries”—short videos that ranged in subject from energy resources to healthcare to gay rights, which the students entered into the national “Message to the President” C-Span documentary competition.  The competition asked students to think seriously about issues affecting their communities and the nation by answering the question, “What’s the most important issue the president should consider in 2013?”  After the Inauguration, Nashoba Brooks’ students joined other middle school students from around the country at the 8th Grade Inaugural Ball sponsored by Education First and the Smithsonian.

While in the nation’s capitol, Nashoba Brooks’ students and teachers spent three more very full days exploring museums and monuments.  They first toured the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, where highlights included all of the former First Ladies’ inaugural dresses and the original American Flag.  Next, they visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, where they viewed and discussed etched quotes from Dr. King on the eve of the holiday to honor him.  Other highlights from the trip included Washington’s home in Mount Vernon, the International Spy Museum, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery, where students spent time at the Kennedy Memorial and marveled at the precision with which the changing of the guard is executed.  On their final day in D.C., students toured the Library of Congress and visited Capitol Hill before heading to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, where they received a private tour and talk from Director Kirk Johnson.  According to teacher Lauren Funk, “It was an amazing opportunity to go behind the scenes…Kirk was so knowledgeable and gracious with the girls.”

The four-day Nashoba Brooks visit to Washington, D.C. was an extension of the school’s 8th grade social studies course “Implementing Change in an Imperfect Democracy,” which explores the election of America’s founders, civil rights, and contemporary social movements.  Not only did the experience in the capitol “dovetail perfectly” with the curriculum, but also it was truly “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a chance to make history come alive,” exclaimed Funk.  “Being there at such a monumental event allowed the girls to actually be a part of history.”

Why should you consider Nashoba Brooks School?

• Rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum
• Small class sizes
• Outstanding faculty
• 30-acre campus with large playgrounds

Nashoba Brooks is a co-ed Preschool and Lower School and an all-girls Middle School.  Please contact the Admission Office at 978-369-4591 for more information and to schedule a visit.