A Place to Belong is brought to you by Shady Hill’s Advancement Office, Marketing and Communications Office, and the Alumni Board. Now, more than ever, we are committed to sharing news that reminds us all how vibrant and innovative Shady Hill continues to be, while forever embracing the mission and values you hold so dear.
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DASH & TTC Hosts Ekua Holmes '70 |
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Celebrated artist and illustrator Ekua Holmes ’70 led inspiring Zoom conversations with three different Shady Hill audiences on Thursday, February 17. During the day, she connected with students in Grades III and IV, and with apprentices, and that evening, she presented to an enthusiastic audience of alumni, parents, and faculty. In her evening talk, Ekua spoke of the importance of the arts as a powerful source of expression, creativity, and activism. Drawing largely from her recent one-woman show at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, Ekua screen-shared beautiful collages of diverse images and people who find community, love, and peace in the Roxbury neighborhood where she grew up and still calls home. Ekua reminisced about her time at Shady Hill, where the first thing that caught her attention was the art studio. Among the many gems Ekua shared was this: "There's more than one way to look at things. If you hear someone out, they may open up your world."
Ekua's presentation was a glorious reminder of why the biennial Alumni Art Show is such a popular event. After two years of pandemic postponements, the Alumni Art Show is slated to return next spring. Mark your calendars now for Wednesday, March 23, 2023 for the highlight reception.
Check out these photos from her presentation.
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Lunar New Year Celebrations |
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Under the energetic leadership of Mandarin teacher Sara Fromme and Director of Equity and Inclusion Laniesha Gray, and with backing from a few parent volunteers, Shady Hill reimagined the community celebration of the Lunar New Year.
Mandarin language students made a "Hongbao" (red envelope) for each and every one of the 540 students in the School. The festive Hongbaos contained traditional Chinese candies, as well as a bookmark with a New Year's wish calligraphed painstakingly on rice paper.
Grade V performed songs and dances in celebration of Lunar New Year with Music Teacher Darin Goulet. They played instruments like xylophones, gongs, and drums. They also learned the history behind the songs. Check out the performance videos here.
To cap off the festivities, all students were treated to a Lion Dance performance by a local martial arts academy.
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Valentine's Day Greetings |
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As part of Shady Hill's Valentines greeting campaign, Alumni and Parents of Alumni were invited to write heartfelt notes to Shady Hill teachers who made a lasting impact on them. Over 120 messages were delivered around campus and sent to former teachers. Messages from recent alumni included:
- "I miss being in your class and seeing you on the path every day. I want to thank you for changing my life for the best and I feel more prepared in English and history because of you. But not just these classes. I feel I have somewhat of an advantage over my peers because of all of the valuable lessons you taught me."
- “Always thankful for having you as my teacher. It is not a coincidence that I now teach 5th grade. It was always my favorite and that was because of you."
Parents of alumni also shared some thoughtful messages:
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“Happy Valentine's Day! We just wanted to let you know how appreciative we are of you and your efforts to make this year a fun and productive one for the kids. We are very grateful for everything you do."
- “We love you!! You've made a lasting impact on our family.”
Nothing lifts the spirits of hardworking teachers more than touching messages like these.
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Shady Hill is sad to share news that retired teacher Jonathan Evans passed away on February 14 at the age of 72. Jonathan taught math and coached soccer at Shady Hill for 25 years, from 1973-1998.
A former student, Kabir Sen '92, TTC'07 (now a longtime music teacher at Shady Hill), considers Jonathan one of his most inspiring teachers. "I distinctly recall Mr. Evans and his kind nature in my first week as a fifth grade student at Shady Hill. He knew I had just moved from England and went out of his way to reach out to me and talk about English soccer. Over the years he continued to be a source of great support for me as a student at Shady Hill, and his math classes were always fun, memorable and exciting. I was happy that I got to see him relatively recently. He was a wonderful, kind person, a source of strength and friendship for so many, and he will be greatly missed."
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Jonathan's wife Jo-An shared, “Shady Hill meant so much to Jonathan. Intellectual rigor plus so much fun and dedication added up to profound joy. Jonathan cherished his time at Shady Hill and the lifelong friendships that came out of it.”
Jonathan was so involved in the civic life of his retirement city, Aventura City, FL, that the town flew its flags at half-staff to mark his passing. It is no exaggeration to say Jonathan lived an exemplary life and will be greatly missed. His full obituary is online here.
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TTC Alumni Making a Difference |
On Thursday, March 3, an impressive group of TTC alums came together to discuss the ways they are carrying forward their education in the lives of children. Click here to watch– and be inspired!
TTC welcomes applications for next year's program. Apply online here to become an educator focused on social justice and anti-bias education.
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Shady Hill's Alumni Board is dedicated to fostering engagement between alumni and the School, and among the alumni themselves. They meet four times a year (these days by Zoom) to plan and carry out various projects, ranging from this very e-newsletter to the biennial Alumni Art Show, from the beloved Slush Booth at the Shady Hill Fair to Class Notes. New members who are interested are welcome to join!
For more information visit here.
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Save the date for Shady Hill's in-person return of the fair on Saturday, April 30 at 10:00 AM, rain or shine!
Celebrate all your favorite parts of the Fair from the refreshing Alumni Slush booth, the petting zoo, and so much more. Alumni are invited to volunteer at the slush booth. Email Meg Grossman for more information or to sign up for a 1/2 hour shift. Click here for updates on event details and volunteer opportunities.
Have you held onto a past Fair T-shirt? The Fair Chairs would like to see your old Fair T-shirt designs to display! Send your T-shirt photo to [email protected].
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On Wednesday, March 2, Grade VIII had a fun time getting together for a night of skating and socializing at Canal District Kendall Rink, hosted by Student Board. |
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Are you following the Shady Hill Alumni Spotlight series on social media? We welcome nominations! Whether their work relates to social justice, environmental activism, or any other pressing issue, email your suggestions to [email protected] or submit your nominations here.
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