The Berkeley Carroll School

Lower School Music Teacher Carolyn Sloan’s latest book, Welcome to Jazz, is now a multi-award winner! Ms. Sloan’s picture book exploring the history of jazz won a Northern Lights Book Award for best children’s music book, a Nautilus Gold Award for best children’s nonfiction picture book, and a Skipping Stones Award for best children’s multicultural book!

Kindergarten students didn’t have to worry about their snow people melting! They made their own snow puppets and then performed a show for friends and family over Zoom!

Congratulations to our latest Senior Speakers, Charlotte H. ‘21, Ceci R. B. ‘21, Harry J. ‘21, and Mira P. ‘21! Charlotte told the audience that art had always been a crucial part of her identity, but in high school she found her creative faucet had run dry. Charlotte shared how she learned to let go of perfection and rediscover carefree exploration. Ceci has always been someone who is seen as fearless, and she attributes that with her love for hiking. Ceci said that after c...onfronting a bear in the wilderness, things like a math test just don’t seem as scary. Harry has long been passionate about the environment and environmental justice, and he shared with the audience how recently reading the book Braiding Sweetgrass has made him even more aware of how the earth shows love for all living creatures. Mira has been at BC since she was 4-years-old and said the school is really like a second home for her. Mira talked about her long BC history and shared some of her favorite moments, from new hairstyles to Halloween celebrations.

Happy Holidays, BC! Wishing you all a wonderful winter break and a joyous and healthy New Year!

Congratulations to BC 4th grader Zoe ‘29 who is appearing alongside Broadway stars in TWO productions this month! Zoe appeared with members of Broadway and Radio City Music Hall in the Broadway Star Project Family’s Holiday Special, and then joined an all star cast for a full length virtual production of Annie!

BC celebrated the end of a successful first semester and the start of Winter Break at this year’s virtual divisional Candle Lighting ceremonies! In the Lower School, faculty read student hopes and wishes for the new year and Head of School Dr. Lisa Waller lit a candle for each grade. In the Middle School, Isabel C. ‘28, Lexi S. ‘28, Molly G. ‘27, Sydney R. ‘27, Mark Z. ‘26, Austin F. ‘26, John P. ‘25, and Leah B. ‘25 lit candles for their grades, the Orchestra and Jazz Band performed, and Middle School Humanities Teacher Mike Wilper gave the faculty address. In the Upper School, senior advisory groups lit candles and students and faculty performed a variety of holiday songs as part of their new tradition, "One BC"!

Learning Lunch welcomed Upper School Librarian Anna Murphy for a talk on holiday book recommendations! Ms. Murphy shared some of her favorite books of 2020, and also gave recommendations for books to read over winter break as well as tips for choosing age-appropriate books for holiday gifts!

Congratulations to our latest Senior Speakers, Nate H. ‘21 and Charlie H. ‘21! Over his years in the Upper School, Nate H. has worked hard to build his identity. Nate shared that participating in an Outward Bound program the summer before his junior year pushed him beyond his comfort zone and helped develop his strong sense of self. Saturday mornings are all about pancakes and jazz for Charlie H. Charlie shared his passion for jazz music and in particular the great trumpet player Roy Hargrove, who has been an inspiration for Charlie’s own study of the saxophone.

From rooftop music rehearsals to community building games in Prospect Park, BC students and faculty continue to find creative ways to explore their intellectual and artistic passions during hybrid learning! #golions

Thanks to the BC Spirit Squad for leading a fun and energetic Upper School Spirit Week! Students and faculty showed off their super fandom, came dressed in disguises, pajamas, and as their favorite fictional characters, and even brought their pets in on the fun!

Watch this trailer for Tuesday's performances by the Upper School Orchestra and Upper School Jazz Ensemble! We are so proud of our student musicians and faculty who, during the past months of remote-only and hybrid learning, have gone beyond their usual dedication to their craft, displaying extraordinary resourcefulness to rehearse and practice together remotely at home, together outdoors on NYC rooftops, as well as in person in our socially-distanced Performance Space at Sterling Place, as you’ll see in this mini-concert. The show will premiere on Tuesday, Dec. 15th at 7pm, streamed via YouTube here: https://bit.ly/2VVe8hB

Happy Halloween! Lower School students celebrated by dressing up as some of their favorite characters, having spooky classroom dance parties, and even took on a scary engineering challenge to build the tallest popsicle stick structure to fly a paper bat! See more photos here: https://bit.ly/3kGEtKW

See what BC students and faculty have been up to recently on campus during Hybrid Learning! #golions Hybrid Learning Photo Gallery: https://bit.ly/2W3Q8IY

Hear some of our Upper School students and recent alums talk about "My BC Experience" and how they discovered and pursued their interests through a diverse range of courses and electives--progressing from foundational courses to more options and electives at each grade level, from world languages to advanced math classes: https://bit.ly/2HE4qfT

The Berkeley Carroll Theater Department is proud to present this year’s original Upper School play, The Hope Project. The show will be performed live and streamed on YouTube this Saturday, December 12th, at 7:00pm. Written in collaboration with playwright, activist, and actor Daniel K. Isaac (Showtime’s Billions), and following in the tradition of documentary theater, The Hope Project tells the story of 2020 through the voices of real Americans from all walks of life. T...hroughout the fall, students virtually interviewed doctors, teachers, activists, and more, about the major events of the year through November 2nd, from COVID-19 to Black Lives Matter to the presidential election. Those conversations became the script for The Hope Project, and each Upper School student will portray a real life interviewee to take the audience on a journey across America on the path from fear to hope during these tumultuous times. Stream the show on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/jymUMSnezKY

Show your BC Spirit! With the winter holidays rapidly approaching, the best way to purchase BC gear is on the BC online store! Current inventory includes BC sweatshirts, t-shirts, winter hats, water bottles, travel mugs, and more. All holiday orders must be submitted by 3:00pm on Thursday, December 17, for pick-up only at BC facilities by 3:00pm on Friday, December 18. Shop the BC store here: https://bit.ly/3qG5CRs

BC Alums Crystal Hudson ‘01 and Sarah Margon ‘94 virtually visited the Upper School to discuss their own journeys into political careers and encourage students to get excited about politics! Crystal is the former First Deputy Public Advocate for Community Engagement and Chief of Operations to the New York City Council Majority Leader and is currently a candidate for New York City Council in Brooklyn’s District 35. Sarah is the Director of the Foreign Policy team at Open Society Foundations, and was previously the Washington Director for Human Rights Watch.

11th grade Upper School students Ryan I. ‘22, Simon K.M. ‘22, and Leo I. ‘22 shared their recent American Studies engagement projects during Learning Lunch! Ryan discussed the recent history of police corruption in Nigeria; Simon shared his research about racial bias in criminal justice technology; and Leo spoke about how to be an ally for people with craniofacial disabilities.

Students and faculty welcomed Laguna Pueblo author Dr. Lee Francis IV, Tongva artist Weshoyot Alvitre, and Director of Research and Public Programs at the Library Company of Philadelphia Will Fenton to Learning Lunch! The group spoke about representation of Native American people in modern media, and discussed their graphic novel Ghost River, which depicts the massacre of 20 unarmed Conestoga Native American people in colonial Pennsylvania in December 1763.

It has been a busy and successful stretch of competition for the Speech and Debate team! Noa B. ‘22 placed 2nd in Original Oratory at the BQCFL Tournament. Aidan K. ‘21 advanced to the final round of Dramatic Performance and took 2nd place at the Villiger Tournament. And at the Little Lex Debate Tournament, Alexa B. ‘24 and Oliver K. ‘24 were undefeated and placed 3rd in Novice Public Forum Debate while June F. ‘21 and Simon H. ‘22 finished with a winning record of 3-2!

Congratulations to Asa K. ‘22 who was named a Fiction Winner in the Scribe Writing Contest! The Scribe Writing Contest is a free, online high school creative writing contest open to students from all over the world. Asa’s story was selected from nearly 900 submissions from teens in 17 countries, spanning six continents! Read more about the contest here: https://bit.ly/3mfjO0L

Women’s soccer writer Meg Linehan, whose work has appeared in Sports Illustrated Online, Vice, and The Athletic, recently spoke to Upper School students in the Social Justice in Sport class about the barriers to diversity in U.S. women’s soccer, the U.S. Women’s National Team’s lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, as well her book on soccer star Megan Rapinoe!

Upper School History Department faculty led a morning assembly on some of the main questions and controversies surrounding the upcoming election, providing students key information on issues like mail-in voting, the electoral college, and the history of voting rights!

Congratulations to our latest Senior Speakers, Michael K. ‘21 and Andreas W. ‘21! Michael K. has many interests, from hiking to running a small business, but most of all he is a serious piano player. Michael has performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and for his Senior Speech, he virtually performed Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin and Melody by Arno Babajanyan. Andreas W. shared that he has always been inspired by the American composer Charles Ives. When Ives suddenly stopped writing music later in life, it made Andreas think about what it would be like if he lost the ability to do something he loves. Andreas virtually performed the third movement from the Concord Sonata by Ives.

BC welcomed Neal Suidan, a former data analyst for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, to Learning Lunch! Neal, who was also a field organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, spoke to students and faculty about how COVID-19 has changed this year’s presidential election, from virtual campaigning to record-setting early voting.

Kindergarten virtually welcomed award-winning children’s author Kentrell Martin! Mr. Martin incorporated American Sign Language into his reading of his fun-filled book Shelly’s Outdoor Adventure. Students had a chance to ask questions and learn several signs themselves, including yes, no, the alphabet, and even some weather signs!

Congratulations to Upper School History and American Studies teacher Ashley Finigan who was asked to speak at her alma mater, Amherst College, during their virtual Career Diversity Day! Ms. Finigan spoke with current students at both Amherst and Williams College about her own experience, including teaching and working as a doctoral candidate in History at the University of Chicago, and gave advice on discovering a career path.

Congratulations to our latest Senior Speakers, Rowan J. ‘21, Brandon K. ‘21, Aniesha D. ‘21, and Jonathan B. ‘21! Rowan and Brandon presented a joint senior speech to talk about how they co-founded their own company to resell shoes and how they have used technology to build a successful small business. Aniesha shared why now it is more important than ever to take time for the things you love while also discovering new passions. Aniesha shared how she recently learned to ski a...long with friends. Jonathan told the audience that reflecting on your past experiences is important because it can provide wisdom or, at the very least, a good laugh, and Jonathan shared some of his favorite moments while at BC.

Last week the Class of 2020 each received a care package from the Berkeley Carroll Office of Alumni Relations! Inside was a letter of encouragement and some goodies, including a reusable BC water bottle, hand sanitizer from Soapbox, a company who, for every item purchased, gives a bar of soap to someone in need in the US or abroad, and a copy of Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by late Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis.

The Middle School Speech and Debate team had some great results at their first tournament of the year! Congratulations to Lucy B. ‘28 and Olivia B. ‘28 who took first place in the novice division of public forum debate. Olivia B. ‘28 also won the first place speaker award, with Lucy B. ‘28, Gabe M. ‘28, and Tobey I. ‘26 coming in second, third, and fourth places, respectively. At the first online Brooklyn-Queens Catholic Forensic League tournament of the year, Upper School Speech and Debate team members Alexa B. ‘24 and Oliver K. ‘24 won first place and a half-qualification for the State Tournament in Public Forum! Thanks to BC alums Lisette McShane ‘19, Victoria Sotomayor ‘19, and Renate Bourin ‘20 who served as judges.

Our students are taking full advantage of hybrid learning to practice and perform together, whether in person on campus or virtually! Here are excerpts of the Upper School Orchestra playing Rainbow Connection, the Upper School Jazz Ensemble playing Autumn Leaves, and the Middle School Orchestra playing A Million Dreams from the film The Greatest Showman. To hear the complete performances, visit The Berkeley Carroll School Arts Department or the BC Arts Instagram page here: https://bit.ly/33EK262