May 15, 2008

Dear BCD Parents and Friends,

This will be my last ABCs letter to you before the end of the 2007-2008 academic year. I want to thank all of you for your support during my fourteen-year tenure at BCD. I have loved working here with wonderful children, supportive families and incredibly hard-working parent volunteers, and highly talented and dedicated colleagues. I shall miss you and will think of you often. In my final ABCs communication, I want to highlight a new BCD tradition and share with you some of the personnel changes at BCD for the coming year. Although it is always hard to say good-bye to good friends and talented teachers, it is also exciting to welcome new people to this special school community.

I am filled with gladness that a new BCD tradition will be inaugurated Friday and Saturday evenings of this week. Last June Drew Bridges, one of our ninth grade students, passed away due to complications resulting from cystic fibrosis. During the four years he was a student at BCD, he made us all laugh with his wonderful sense of humor, he was a determined contributor to our sports teams, he was an honor roll student who read voraciously and learned enthusiastically, he was a great friend to his classmates, and he especially enjoyed watching and discussing films with his parents, his friends, and his teachers. This weekend the community will be honoring Drew's memory as it sponsors The Drew Bridges Memorial Film Festival, fondly named, "The Drew." The spring film class will premier the student filmed original movie, This is George, and four short films produced by students in the Upper School Arts Block. This event is sponsored by the Brook Farm Student Council and the film students and is a tribute to Drew's lasting legacy at BCD. The BCD community loved and admired Drew beyond measure. None of us who knew Drew will ever forget the courageous and selfless battle he waged against cystic fibrosis, enduring years of painful treatments and very difficult and serious health conditions. The shows begin at 7 p.m. at the Winthrop Theater both evenings; don't miss this significant premier that gives us the chance to honor Drew Bridges and to spend an evening watching student produced films and enjoying these students' accomplishments.

Four BCD teachers will be leaving the school in June to either begin work at new schools or to begin a new phase of life as a "retired teacher." Marcia Jones is retiring after fifty years as a teacher, thirty-six of which were at BCD. Marcia leaves a distinct legacy as one of our beloved educators. Each year at BCD, Marcia introduced our students to the love of the classics with her sixth grade Latin class. In addition to teaching Latin, Marcia taught math and history at various times during her tenure at BCD. Her classes were vibrant and stimulating, and her love of children and understanding of their learning styles were her hallmarks. She was one of the first teachers at BCD to integrate technology into her teaching when she used a software program that she designed to introduce her young Latin students to correct verb tenses in a playful format. Marcia has been beloved by generations of young scholars and her presence in the classroom will be greatly missed next fall. Fortunately for BCD, Marcia will remain an active member of the BCD community as a tutor of students who need additional support in the study of Latin or study skills.

Marjorie Pollard is leaving BCD after nine years to teach at the Morris School in Lenox. She is thrilled with the opportunities ahead of her at Morris yet she is deeply saddened to leave her music students and her colleagues at BCD. With BCD since 1998, Marjorie has developed three exceptional choruses, dynamic Middle and Upper School band programs, coached many talented and motivated singers and musicians on a one-on-one basis, assisted David Librizzi with Middle School drama productions, and served as a fourth grade and kindergarten homeroom teacher. Her Early Childhood students benefited greatly from her excellent introduction to music that instilled an enduring love of this art form. I wish Marjorie all the best in her next endeavor. Her enthusiasm and boundless energy will be truly missed by all the BCD children and by her all her colleagues, especially those in the Arts Department.

Catie Gillespie who worked this past year as our Pre-Kindergarten assistant teacher has recently been hired as the second grade teacher at Pine Cobble School in Williamstown. I am thrilled for Catie as she will now experience the joy of creating her own classroom environment and will be able to avoid the 45-minute commute to Lenox from Williamstown each morning. Catie is a born teacher and her teaching skills and love of young children are true gifts. Catie's perpetual smile and happy demeanor will be truly missed in the BCD Early Childhood division. I wish her all the best in her next adventure.

Gini Peterson will be joining me at The Oakwood School in Greenville, NC. For fourteen years she has taught English to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in the Middle School, and served as a seventh grade homeroom teacher. I know better than anyone how much she will miss her students and colleagues at BCD, her lesson planning and teaching, and her room in Ryan Hall which to her, was an extension of our house.

We have hired two teachers, John Dreger and Rachel Siegel, to replace Marcia and Gini, respectively. John is a fourteen-year veteran teacher who started his career at the Fessenden School in Newton, Massachusetts. After a one-year stint at the school, he moved to the Marymount School in New York City where he taught Latin in the Middle and Upper Schools. Since 1997, John has been teaching Latin at the St. Thomas Choir School in NYC. John graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and then earned his M.A. in Classical Studies from Harvard University. A talented linguist with knowledge of Latin and Greek, John is fluent in German and French and conversant in Italian. John has a strong background in film having worked as a videographer and is studying to be a practitioner and teacher of Iyengar yoga.

Rachel Siegel will be joining Jim Fawcett, Kate Myer and Sarah Pitcher Hoffman in the English Department. Rachel is a graduate of BCD and a former student of Jim's. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard and an honors diploma from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Rachel spent many years in NYC pursuing an acting career, was a member of the film department faculty at The School of Visual Arts, and most recently transitioned to a teaching career working at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn. Rachel is a talented playwright, actress, singer, and is fluent in French and German, and conversant in Italian

Paul Frantz is conducting the search for Catie's replacement. He has narrowed an extensive candidate pool to four semi-finalists who are returning to BCD to spend a morning in our Early Childhood division working with our students and meeting with Ellie Atwater and Andrea Patel. We hope to fill this teacher vacancy in the coming week. Carmen Dockery Perkins is coordinating the interview process for Marjorie Pollard's replacement. We have a growing list of qualified candidates and hope to name her successor before the end of the year.

The BCD calendar is filled with many exciting and important events during the last weeks of school. We have many parents and friends of BCD participating in our Third Annual Fore the Love of Education Golf and Tennis Tournament Monday, May 19. This is always a great event, with the money raised going to support BCD's Financial Aid Program. Students are looking forward to Field, Fun, and Fair Day scheduled for Wednesday May 28 (weather permitting). The week prior to this spirited and fun-filled day, the coaches will work and train our fourth through ninth graders, who will participate in various track and field events representing their "Blue" or "White" teams. The End of Year Assembly and Family Picnic is another beloved BCD tradition. The whole school gathers at 11:30 a.m. in Fitzpatrick Hall on Thursday, June 5 to thank the many parent volunteers who have made our 2007-2008 school year so special and to say good-bye to some friends who will be leaving BCD for new schools. The assembly ends with the ringing of the school bell to officially bring the year to a close. A family picnic in the courtyards follows the closing assembly. The Awards and Graduation Ceremony for the Upper School is the following week on Friday afternoon, June 13. Please consult the BCD calendar weekly to keep abreast of these and other events in which your children will be participating during these last busy weeks of the school year.

The 2007-2008 school year has been a wonderful one for the school and its 202 students. At the end of the school year, I will pass on the reins of this incredible school to Paul Lindenmaier who is eager to begin his tenure as BCD's twelfth Head of School. Again, I thank you for the productive and wonderful partnerships we have had over the years, and I wish all of you and your families a summer holiday that offers a change of pace and some time to rejuvenate.

Sincerely yours,


Robert R. Peterson
Head of School