Volume: VII Issue: 4, June 2025 . SHS Home . Alumni Page . Online Giving. On

A Note from Retiring Director of Development and Alumni Betsy Ginsberg

It has been a true pleasure to serve Shady Hill these past seven years. I will treasure so many memories and relationships and carry them with me as I head into retirement.

One legacy I proudly leave is this quarterly e-newsletter, a team effort launched my first fall on the job. I initially proposed a different name for the publication but was persuaded by others to go with A Place to Belong. In time, I came to see that A Place to Belong is the perfect name -- capturing the sense countless people have related that for them, this is a place of camaraderie, of feeling seen and accepted, of lifelong relationships. I now share this deep affection myself -- Shady Hill has become for me, too, A Place to Belong.

With humility, I invite all who share this love of Shady Hill to act out your admiration by making your gift -- of any size -- to the Shady Hill Fund. The Fund's year closes very soon, so please act now to be counted among this year's donors. No gift is too small; it's the act of giving that demonstrates our enthusiasm and appreciation. 

Graduation Celebration

This year’s Grade VIII graduation was emotional as we said goodbye to the Class of 2025. Head of School Mark Stanek opened the ceremony with words of advice and encouragement for our graduates. For the third year, we continued our newest tradition of having a young alum speak and this year, we welcomed back Alyssa ShenFilerman, Class of 2015 and former Coordinator of Student Programs. (Read Alyssa's speech here). Middle School Head Katherine Taketomo '05 TTC'14, summed up everyone’s feelings by sharing this about the special moments we enjoy at Shady Hill. “The fact that these moments are usual here is unusual. So, when people ask me, why does everyone say Shady Hill is magical? My answer is – you just have to experience it.”  

Click here to view the graduation live stream and click here to view photos from graduation.

Grade VII Career Day

Shady Hill seventh graders took part in a Career Day program earlier this month, in which 15 alumni spoke about their careers and answered questions from the eager students. The alumni represented career paths as diverse as sports marketing, photojournalism, rock music, medicine, business, and more. The program was the brainchild of Middle School Counselor Brooke Mitropoulos, who tapped the Alumni Office's Betsy Ginsberg and Devon Wilson-Hill and Middle School Division Head Katherine Taketomo '05 '14 for help recruiting panelists. Students indicated in advance which careers they wanted to learn about, and had time to attend two Zoom sessions, each featuring one or two presenters. 

Students prepared for the opportunity by writing down questions in advance, and during the sessions written prompts helped them capture their notes. In the business session with panelists Wen Epstein-Fisher '11 and Jonny Snider '02, one student wrote, "Flexibility, creativity, and staying calm is important. I think I could do that!" The law session with Sia Sanneh '94, who works in a social justice nonprofit, resulted in a student commenting, "It really motivated me to go into this field!" while another wrote, "I never thought about law being flexible, but there is a lot of flexibility and care for people."

Big thanks to all the alumni who served as panelists: 

Architecture - Janaya Hart '05 and Hazel Flaherty '16  

Business - Wen Epstein-Fisher '11, Greg Atamian '05 and Jonny Snider '02 

Environmental - Lily Christman Peppers '05

Film - Lila Dupree '95

Law - Sia Sanneh '94

Music - Jonny Koh '05

Medicine - Caley Dickinson '11 and Abisayo Animashaun '11

Photojournalism - Poppy Lynch '05

Sports Marketing - Oliver White '08  

Software Engineering - Ali Eshghi '13 

Social Work - Anjali Lappin '06

A Peek Into Classrooms: Grade VI

Ever wonder what becomes of old maypole ribbons one they're too frayed and faded to serve their original May Day use? This past May Day morning, Grade VI students in Ms. Koerber's studio arts class gave retired ribbons a new lease on life, collaborating to weave them in the round using hula-hoops borrowed from the PE department as the frames. All agreed that the circles, perhaps representing the cycle of the school year or the winding of the maypole itself, made sense. The finished weavings became a mobile that now hangs in the gym lobby -- a wonderful example of repurposing discarded items into creative works of art.

A Peek Into Classrooms: Beginners

The Beginners have spent the year learning about rabbits and last month, put on an incredible performance of The Tale of Peter Rabbit! They filled the room with songs, laughter, and magic as they dazzled the audience with their show.

Shady Hill Pride!

Shady Hill's Graduation speaker, Alyssa ShenFilerman '15, joined 2025 Shady Hill graduates and alumni in the Pride Parade. Maia Ettinger, Lyra Yassa, and Laima Jerome represented the class of 2025. While members of the alumni community and current families displayed their Shady Hill pride in the crowds there was a special connection when alum Lily Mills '13 and reunited with teacher Nandini Roy.

Summer Reading

The Koerber-Nunes family on a hiking vacation

At the annual Evening of Appreciation event, hosted this year by Stephen Frank and Adam Berger, longtime teacher Jake Nunes shared that 32 years ago "I didn’t fully anticipate the profound impact Shady Hill would have on my career as a teacher and the rest of my life." Three decades later, he remains impressed with the way Shady Hill's culture fosters continuous innovation by teachers. "This combination of tradition and innovation is the secret sauce that makes Shady Hill what it is."

To read Mr. Nunes' beautiful speech, please click here.

Shady Hill Fund

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The end of the school year is here; please make your gift today, if you haven't already. Join the current-school-year donor roster, to show your support! 

Truly, every gift counts!