In preparation for Henry V, Tech Director Chris Fitz tries out the fog machine on assistant stage manager Lily Reiner and stage manager Caroline Kyros (mostly obscured).  The show opens on Friday, February 27, at 7:00 in Franklin Theater.

I don’t remember the first time we celebrated “Pi Day” in one of my Geometry or PreCalculus classes. But it has been a long time.  The Greek letter “Pi” – used to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle divided by the length of its diameter – is approximated 3.1415926…., making 3/14 the right date for the celebration.  A full generation of Waynflete Alumni likely remember class interruptions, whether they were the interrupters or interruptees (or both), as math classes wandered the halls during class periods on March 14, “caroling.”  Usually met with good-nature but mild perturbation by Upper and Middle School teaching colleagues, the carolers always seemed to have fun, before repairing to their classrooms to dine on a smorgasbord of pies.

It was at least a dozen years ago that I sat down and figured out that 3/14/15 – a super representative date – would fall on a Saturday.  So, I named it ‘Uber Pi Day’ and started inviting all my carolers to come back for an alumni event that day.  With all those invitations having been delivered over the years, it really IS going to happen.

Now that Sue Stein and other fans of “Punxsutawney Phil” have had their chance to celebrate “Groundhog Day” – unfortunately curtailed this year by a snow day – the Math Department and Alumni Office are putting together an Alumni “Pie Bash” on Saturday, March 14^th, 2:30 – 4:30 pm in Sills Hall.  Activities will include a digits of Pi memorization competition, Pi poetry writing and presentations, and, of course, caroling and pie eating!

The first pie will be cut at 3:14 pm.  Ideally we would do this at 9:26 in the morning, but some people don’t like pie for breakfast and since we want young alumni and their families to come, we thought the afternoon might be more conducive.  Current students and families, as well as alumni, are invited.  While everyone is encouraged to bring a pie of some kind to share, be forewarned that many local grocery stores sell out of pie early on the 14^th every year.

We hope to see you in Sills Hall on the 14^th at 2:30 or shortly thereafter.  “It will be fun,” chuckled David Neilan, “this sort of gives a different meaning to ‘be there or be square.’”

Wilderness First Aid Certification @ Waynflete, February 28th and March 1st
Would you like to know how to respond to an emergency in the wilderness? Would you like to build your resume of outdoor leadership skills?  If so, please consider attending this 2-day course taught on the Waynflete campus by SOLO Schools. Waynflete students, parents, and alums are eligible for course discounts. For more information and registration, click here.

Photo credit: iwona_kellie

Henry I/V, an abridged version of William Shakespeare’s Henry V, is in rehearsal now.  The show will go up in Franklin Theater on February 27 and 28 at 7:00 p.m., pitting “two mighty monarchies” in pitched battle.  On March 7, the cast and crew will produce their play again at the regional drama festival at Lawrence High School in Fairfield.

Even after many years of teaching at Waynflete, I am still grateful for the privilege of entering into dialog with my students about important matters. This year, with the inundation of disturbing global and local events, the discussion about the essential goodness of humanity seems more important than ever.

This fall in my Literature of Genocide elective for juniors and seniors, the students approached each day’s discussion with immeasurable respect and honesty. We pondered the seeds of evil that seem to sprout in similar patterns throughout history. The cog of the “genocide machine” spins in a seemingly endless cycle, but the rhythm of its turn was definitely interrupted by the study in our class. Every day I heard students express deep appreciation for the beauty of small acts of kindness as voiced by the authors studied: Paul Rusesabagina’s insistence that it takes only one dissenting voice to spur change and Primo Levi’s plea to remember and live a life of reflection.

But this study can oftentimes be empirical, and the real emotion of experience can elude all of us when speaking in the abstract. Fortunately, we were able to break this impasse by inviting an important speaker to join our class, Mr. Max Slobodski.

Mr. Slobodski is a child survivor of the World War II death camp Auschwitz. Hidden when he was 12 years old by a couple who lived in his town, Mr. S. ventured out one day and was subsequently spied in the square.  He was detained while engaging in a simple act of childhood desire: trying to satisfy his hunger for an ice cream cone. Immediately placed on a transport train, Mr. Slobodski soon found himself victim to the atrocious experiences of Auschwitz.

I watched the faces of my students as they listened to his tale of survival. They marveled at his fortitude and courage. Their eyes were agleam as he stood before us, confident in his will to live. He spoke of his painful return to his homeland and subsequent immigration to the United States.  Mr. Slobodski shared the wonder of becoming a successful businessman, a father and a grandfather despite the shadow of Auschwitz permanently tattooed on his arm and memory.  His voice was the real experience of the power of humanity.

In questions to him by the students, I could hear a renewed vision of hope. Now our study had become a moment to reflect on change, personal values, and kindness. His voice led us to end our semester study by reading William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize speech. Mr. Slobodski is the poet of our class, Faulkner’s representation of the “courage and honor and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. [His voice] need not be the record of man. It can be one of the props, the pillars, to help him endure and prevail.”

I thank Mr. Slobodski and the students in this class for leading me again to this place of deep hope for humanity.

On Saturday, January 10^th, eight students from the Waynflete Robotics Activity traveled to Greely Middle School in Cumberland to take part in a Maine VEX Robotics competition, placing 10^th out of 28 teams. This is the third full year of the Waynflete squad, led by veteran seniors Ali Ghorashi, Sam Frederick, and Seth Atwood. Sophomores Tim Clifford and Owen Gervais played a pivotal role in the design and construction of this year’s robot, and they will assume the leadership of the activity for next year. Freshmen Nick Hagler, Kaya Linen, Nick Wagg and Ryan Bergeron rounded out this year’s group.

Changing of the guard: Senior team leader Al Ghorashi speaks with one of next year’s leaders, Owen Gervais ’17

VEX Robotics competitions are for middle and high school students and take place across the country. Every year a new challenge is introduced, and participants build a robot to meet the requirements of the challenge. This year’s challenge involved building and programming a robot that could stack cylinders to create a tower and then place plastic cubes over the tower pieces. During the actual competition, each team is paired with another team, and the two robots must work together to beat the other alliance.

In the Greely competition, after numerous qualifying matches, we were ranked high enough to choose our alliance partners for the quarterfinal round, where we were eventually eliminated.

It has been a pleasure to watch Al, Sam and Seth – the inaugural members of the team – grow as engineers and as leaders. Every year the design of their robot has improved, and this year they finally hit a balance of symmetry, sturdiness, and simplicity, creating a robot that did exactly what it was designed to do.

According to Tim Clifford, this year the team’s mantra became “Well, that didn’t work…”, exemplifying the trial-and-error nature of engineering and of the team and constituting a core life long lesson that one gains from robotics competition.  The mantra is reminiscent of the theme Al struck in an article he wrote about the robotics meet last year entitled Learning from Mistakes. 

Here is a short video capturing the action during this year’s competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj1M5SyEZpk

On Saturday, January 31, 2015 Berklee’s 47th annual High School Jazz Festival, the largest of its kind in the U.S., hosted more than 200 ensembles featuring 3,000 students from 13 states and Puerto Rico.  Members of theWaynflete Upper School Jazz Ensemble and Combo were thrilled to participate!

The Combo presented tunes by Michael Abene, Johnny Green and George Benson and finished 10th in the Small Ensemble/Combo, Class S4 division.  Jacob Hagler ’15 was recognized as the group’s top performer with the Judge’s Choice Award!

Upper School Jazz Combo Members

Julian Abbott ’18 – Tenor Sax

Chris Bergeron ’16 – Drums

Eliza Cox ’18 – Alto Sax

Ali Ghorashi ’15 – Piano

Jacob Greene ’18 – Baritone Sax

Jacob Hagler ’15 – Guitar

Julia Hansen ’18 – Upright Bass

Julian Ireland ’15 – Tenor Sax

The Upper School Jazz Ensemble played selections by Matt Harris, Jerome Kern and Johnny Hodges and received a score only nine percentage points shy of placing!  Their finish was 13th in the highly competitive Large Ensemble, Class L6 division.

Freshman sensation Julian Abbott ’18 was recognized as the ensemble’s top performer with the Judge’s Choice Award.

Waynflete Upper School Jazz Ensemble Berklee Festival Participants:

Julian Abbott ’18 – Tenor Sax

Chris Bergeron ’16 – Drums

Andrew Clark ’18 – Electric Bass

Eliza Cox ’18 – Alto Sax

Stephen Epstein ’15 – Electric Bass

Matt Foshay ’17 – Alto Sax

Owen Gervais ’17 – Guitar

Ali Ghorashi ’15 – Piano

Jacob Greene ’18 – Baritone Sax

Jacob Hagler ’15 – Guitar

Nick Hagler ’18 – Drums

Sam Harbison ’16 – Clarinet

Julian Ireland’ 15 – Tenor Saxophone

Gavi King ’15 – Alto Sax

Leeza Kopaeva ’18 – Clarinet

Elisabeth Lualdi ’17 – Flute

Sophia Mayone ’17 – Trombone

Liam McNiff ’16 – Piano

Toby Nye ’17 – Electric Bass

Matt Ogwudiegwu ’18 – Drums

Bodhi Small ’18 – Guitar

Nick Wagg ’18 – Trumpet

Alan Wen ’18 – Alto Sax

Atia Werah ’18 – Videographer

At the awards ceremony that evening, Julian went on to receive an Outstanding Musicianship Award as one of the top four performers in the Large Ensemble, Class L6 division!

Some of the students who participated in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern preproduction process: Sarah Heath; Elliot Nye, James Jujareon, Jonas Maines, Caroline Kyros, Mike Rodway

The Waynflete Drama Program is proud to announce the spring show, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead!  The play, written in 1966, follows the existential and absurd misadventures of Hamlet’s childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which allegedly occur in the wings of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, Hamlet. This humorous yet thought provoking tragicomedy follows these two minor Shakespeare characters as they muse upon subjects such as probability, life, reality, and death, phasing in and out of Hamlet’s reality.

The show is to be directed by students Elliot Nye ’15 and Mike Rodway ’15.  We believe that a group of students, with the guidance of experienced, professional director-teachers, learn essential skills that are only comprehensible by doing rather than watching.  Our stage is already a “learning lab” and throughout the school year students have numerous opportunities to participate in all aspects of theater.  Waynflete students are intimately involved in all levels of production, from scenic design and construction through acting, singing, and dancing on stage.  Our productions always have student Technical Directors, for sound, lighting, and set, as well as student Stage Managers, student Costumers, and student Choreographers.

Despite these rich opportunities, in the last several years we have experienced an overwhelming number of requests from students to be Producers and Directors as well.  In response in the past few years, we have opened up the last show of the year, typically in late April or early May, as a Student Show. The students are in dialog with instructors as they take the reins of selecting, directing, and producing a show. This year’s play was selected over several brainstorming meetings attended by a group of committed students and theater faculty. This brainstorming process encouraged students to expand their theater literacy as they read and discussed various plays and developed curiosity about attending performances.

Production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead! begins in early to mid March; performance dates are May 1 & 2.  Information on auditions is coming soon!

Happy Shakes-year!

The Maine Woman’s Fund (MWF) has chosen Waynflete senior Nikki Maines as its recipient of the 2015 Samantha Smith award.  The MWF announced the award this way:

“The Samantha Smith Award recognizes a young woman from Maine who works to promote social change in her school or community, inspires other girls to become active in supporting long lasting change in Maine, uses her voice boldly to influence others and make a difference in her community.”  

“Nicole Maines, who is transgender, has always been an advocate for being who you are. In 2013, Nicole and her family won a long-standing lawsuit against her school after she’d been forced to use a staff bathroom instead of the girls’ bathroom. Maine’s Supreme Court ruled that Nicole Maine’s rights had been violated under the state’s Human Rights Act, marking a historic and landmark victory for transgender rights in the U.S.”

“Nicole continues to play an active role in advocating for her rights: she has spoken on Maine Public Radio to shine a light on what it means to be transgender in Maine; she has appeared before the Maine Legislature speaking to legislators about transgender children; and she was a summer volunteer for Equality Maine.” “

“When we won, it felt like this huge weight was lifted off,” says Maines. “There’s still work to be done and stories that need to be told…. I think [advocacy] will always be a part of my life.””

While an inspiration to so many, Nikki is not one to rest on her accomplishments.  Here is a podcast of an essay Nikki wrote and recorded last year for a class in which she reflects on hiding her identity, overcoming prejudice (including her own), and coming to Waynflete.

Congratulations to Nikki Maines.

Martin Luther King Jr. is a powerful historical figure. I was honored to have been selected to go to the MLK Breakfast hosted by the Portland branch of the NAACP. The six winners of the first annual Spirit of MLK Award represented Waynflete at the breakfast: Karlina Gonzalez, Sarah Daoudi, and Najma Abdullahi from the Upper School; Julia Fiori, Andrew Johannen, and Sarah Acheson-Field from the Middle School. All the speakers at the breakfast were eloquent and had a love for Martin Luther King Jr. that was blinding.

During the breakfast, everyone was asked to write a message on notecards and fabrics that were provided. They will be sent to members that were present when the NAACP building was bombed. That was the first time I heard of the bombing. I hadn’t even seen it in the news. I wrote a message filled with happiness that I hoped would lift their spirits.

The atmosphere was very welcoming. I thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast. Every moment was joyous. I would love to continue to go to these annual breakfasts, and I urge everyone to come to them, too. A truly amazing experience.

Waynflete School has a longstanding relationship with nearby Reiche School, a partnership which you can read more about here.

Tenth-grade student Isabel Canning was recently inspired to organize a Boots and Books Drive when she learned from a teacher whose classroom she volunteers in at Reiche that some students go without a winter coat or warm boots.  “All of us who have worked at Reiche know their love for books and stories,” writes Isabel, which is why she is asking for donations of winter gear and books.

Items can be donated in boxes labeled and placed around Emery.  Her goal is to collect 250 coats and books to share with those who need them.

Michaela Goldfine’s 2nd and 3rd grade students who are studying clay paid a visit to Mimi Olins’ Upper School Wheel Throwing class. Throwing students shared what they have been working on and an informative, fun conversation was had by all!