The Need for Music to Brighten Our Darkest Days
By Brendan Largay,
Head of School | December 13, 2024
“If music be the food of love, play on.” – Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare Excuse the Shakespearean allusion right off the top. I am in the thick of teaching Shakespeare to our seventh graders, and nothing speaks more to the season and how winter, music, food, and love are connected than the Bard of Avon’s […]
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Well, That Didn’t Work: Failure, Embarrassment, and the Painful Path to Better Teaching
By Trinity Johns,
Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and Grade 7 Social Studies Teacher | December 06, 2024
Have you ever embarrassed yourself in front of forty-five 12-year-olds? Since starting my teaching career, I’ve been in that fiery and uncomfortable spot plenty of times. And I’m entirely certain I’ll be there again. What they don’t tell you when you begin teaching is how often your lessons can just plain fall flat. Whether it’s […]
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Gratitude In Connection
By Brendan Largay,
Head of School | November 22, 2024
Few heads of school have the regular opportunity to share what is on their mind with their community. I am grateful to have this privilege and consider it a meaningful way to foster connection with the school’s parents, faculty, and friends. As Thanksgiving break and the winter holiday season approaches, I invite you to consider […]
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The Associate Teacher Program: Learning, Teaching, Inspiring
By Anthea Lavergne,
Director of Curriculum and the Associate Teacher Program | November 15, 2024
In a short walk from this morning’s Fall Sports Assembly in the Barn to Mrs. Bettinelli’s music room in the Schoolhouse, the impact and importance of the Associate Teacher program at Belmont Day School were on full display. At the assembly, John O’Neill, our director of athletics and a former associate teacher at BDS, ran […]
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Our Helping Hands
November 08, 2024
Stepping through the front door of the Schoolhouse this month, our students, faculty, parents, and guests are being greeted by a growing gallery of colorful hands. From afar, the hands wave together joyfully to welcome us to the community. As we get closer, the hands beckon us to take a closer look. From both perspectives, […]
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Certainty in an Uncertain Time
By Brendan Largay,
Head of School | November 01, 2024
I was “Deep in the Heart” at the 2024 Elementary School Heads Association (ESHA) Head’s Retreat earlier this week in Austin, Texas. I gathered with fellow heads of school in that big state to consider the big ways that school leadership, the upcoming presidential election, and the post-pandemic state of the world intersect. The four […]
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