Each year at this time, we celebrate our colleagues who have reached significant milestones in their years of service at Belmont Day. Please join me in thanking and congratulating Ellen, Eric, Blair, Barbara, Larissa, Sandra, Susan, and Heather for all they have shared and accomplished over their years at BDS!
Ellen Brandt – 10 Years
Front of house. No phrase or expression better captures the impact and importance of Ellen Brandt to the Belmont Day community than that. A smiling face and deeply invested member of the community herself, Ellen’s ease of connection and the joy she finds in connecting with our students help make the experience of dining at Belmont Day one of the school’s distinguishing features. Indeed, her colleagues know that Ellen will be there with a joke or a smile, and so do the students. Whether you see it in the wide eyes of a first grader at the window, or in the voice of a young alum waxing poetic about whatever it was that Ellen allowed them to sneak away with, Ellen Brandt is a beloved part of the fabric of our school. And as she’ll tell you, Drake Maye isn’t the only #10 worthy of celebration in New England. Congratulations on ten years, Ellen.
Eric Ridoré – 10 Years
Eric’s self-appointed title around here is ‘The Glue,’ which evokes the idea of a superhero, imbued with the ability to bring things together and make them stick. How fortunate we have been to have the real superhero here for these ten years. In pre-kindergarten, after school, PE, fifth grade, Capstone, and more, Eric Ridoré has done more than bring us together; he has held us here with the strong bond that good glue can. Ask the students who have surrounded him for a read-aloud, received the much-loved high-five from him, or played basketball with him in the Barn on a Friday afternoon, and they will tell you that he is what sticks with them at Belmont Day. Congratulations on ten years, Eric!
Brendan Largay – 10 Years
Wait a minute now! That guy’s been here 10 years already!? Hard to believe at times, but yes, I have, and it’s been a wonderful blur. Thank you all for inspiring and challenging me every day. Stop by sometime, and we’ll dream together about the next decade at BDS!
Blair Fross – 15 Years
Fross the Boss. Yes, of course, she is our fearless, innovative, and dynamic director of school year auxiliary programs, but the next time you find yourself in Blair’s office, overlooking the garden-level domain of her and her team’s excellent work, be sure to take a glance at the water bottle or label maker that features her truer title: Fross the Boss. Blair has, for fifteen years, run the show with confidence, enthusiasm, and inspiration, and just as critically, without any shenanigans or nonsense, like a boss. Under her careful guidance, she has nurtured countless excellent educators, found a way to make her staffing both sustainable and adherent to the high standards of excellence at Belmont Day, and she has done it all with compassion and strength. Congratulations, Blair, on fifteen years as the Boss.
Barbara Carey – 20 Years
For twenty years, the Belmont Day community of parents, students, faculty, alums, prospective parents, and even Amazon delivery people has been welcomed to our school by our director of first impressions, Ms. Barbara Carey. Whether greeting a bewildered kindergartner with a comforting, “How can I help, beauty?” or knowingly encouraging a drifting middle schooler to make their way back to the Kiva, everyone has come to appreciate her careful guidance and steady hand. Each of us has likely heard Barbara’s reminder, “You’re a star,” but we have always known who the true star is. Thank you, and congratulations on twenty years of excellence in your service to the school and on the impression you have made on each of us.
Larissa Rochford ’93 – 20 Years
At fifteen years, when we last recognized the excellence of Larissa Rochford, I commented that she has worn every Belmont Day hat available—alum, parent, teacher of multiple grades, associate teacher, coach, Capstone mentor, and faculty mentor. Little did I know that only five years later, we would be able to add Associate Teaching Program coordinator to the litany of titles. Any time spent with Larissa makes it clear that she is Blue and Gold to the core. Larissa’s newest role, helping new teachers find their footing in a caring community, seems like more of a calling than a mere title. Her care for her third grade students and her associate students is evident at all times, and in each of her capacities, her love for her students, colleagues, and school is clear. Congratulations, Larissa, on twenty years of service.
Sandra Trentowsky – 20 Years
When considering the twenty years of excellence Sandra Trentowsky has brought to her work at Belmont Day, the process of mitosis feels like an apt comparison. Consider interphase, growing, and preparing. For twenty years, Sandra has received students just so—growing, preparing, and curious. Then, prophase, or, in middle school terms, organizing the chaos into a structure. Any visit to Sandra’s classroom offers a glance into organized chaos. Metaphase is all about finding balance when the chromosomes line up perfectly. While we’ve yet to see the perfect lineup of middle schoolers, there’s little doubt of the rigor and joy that Sandra balances in her classroom. Anaphase, telophase, and cytokinesis are then about spreading understanding and creating something whole again. Ask any of the countless alums she has taught, and they will tell you that their understanding is deep and they certainly feel more whole because of her good work as an advisor, teacher, and Capstone mentor over twenty years. Congratulations, Sandra.
Susan Dempsey – 25 Years
After twenty-five years of excellence in teaching, the comparison of Susan’s work in the classroom to that of a performer seems obvious. Twenty-five years of theater, chorus, sixth grade teaching, wellness, Capstone mentoring, and caring for the community can often feel like a long-running stage performance that never closes and is never repeated the same way twice: each year, a new production, the curriculum as her script, the classroom as the stage, and students as both her ensemble and audience. Susan shifts between leading from center stage and stepping into the wings, improvising through missed cues and unexpected moments, turning mistakes into discoveries. With time comes instinct and depth, knowing when to guide, when to pause, and when to let students take the spotlight. The true applause for Susan comes not at the end, but in the lasting transformation of voices found, passions discovered, and confidence carried long after the lights fade away. Congratulations, Susan!
Heather Smith – 30 Years
Leading the line at graduation as the longest tenured employee of the school is not for the faint of heart. Colleagues line up behind you and follow your direction. You wear and carry the grace of your time at the school on your sleeve, and make a statement of commitment, endurance, joy, and excellence simply by standing where you stand and being authentically and truly yourself. How lucky are we, then, to have Heather Smith leading us all. For thirty years, Heather has given herself fully to our school and to our youngest and often most vulnerable learners and has done so with the same heart, grace, and elegance for each of her thirty years. A reading specialist who unlocks for her students worlds they will explore for a lifetime, there is no greater responsibility, and no better person to carry it than Heather. Truly, this community is happy and honored to line up behind you. Congratulations, Heather, on thirty remarkable years!