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Leadership Blog

Blank Walls Transformed By Student Art, In a BIG! Way

By Jen James, Assistant to the Head of School; Registrar; Director of Special Projects | March 29, 2024

No doubt about it. This week has been dark, drab, and dreary outside our walls. It seems there are only shades of gray on Mother Nature’s palette as we say goodbye to March. Thankfully, inside our walls, we’re surrounded by a growing gallery of the vibrant colors we seek from spring.  From our school counselor’s […]

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Brendan Largay

At Belmont Day, the FOMO Is Real

By Brendan Largay, Head of School | March 22, 2024

As a head of school, you learn that when you take a bit of time away, there is never a “perfect” week for your travels. Something is always happening at school, something special that you will miss, a moment of learning, sharing, caring, and joy that you wish you had experienced firsthand. The school is […]

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Rachel Starks Chaves

Changing How We Talk About Math Adds Up to Positive Results

By Rachel Starks Chaves, Grade 8 Math Teacher | March 14, 2024

In my first teaching position, one of my seventh grade math students was a colleague’s son. The colleague regularly connected to assure me that her son was getting by okay in math, saying things like, “I don’t expect him to get great grades.” and “I always tell him: ‘I’m not good at math, and it’s […]

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Liz Gray, middle school head

The Quiet Power of Narrative Nonfiction

By Liz Gray, Middle School Head; Grade 7 Social Studies Teacher | March 08, 2024

Last week, I attended the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) conference in St. Louis (my hometown!), where the theme was “thrive.” Speakers, presenters, and attendees like me found renewed joy and inspiration in the work we do in independent schools. The most profound lessons from this great conference came from a talk by a […]

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Where Art Thou, Mr. Largay? Teaching Shakespeare!

By Brendan Largay, Head of School | March 01, 2024

Over the summer, Jen James, my assistant and masterful keeper of my calendar, asked me: “So, are you planning on teaching Shakespeare again this year?” As with most questions Jen poses, she already knew the answer. In this case, it was a resounding “yes!” Now, in my twenty-fifth year in independent schools, I have taught […]

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Connie Yepez

Accountability: A Key Ingredient for Growth, Learning

By Connie Yepez, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging | February 16, 2024

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou As human beings, we are fallible; we are imperfect. At some point, we will all make mistakes that hurt others or that we wish we could take back. Our core values of honesty and responsibility are […]

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Brendan Largay

By Brendan Largay, Head of School |

December 16, 2023

As we look ahead to bidding 2023 a fond farewell, I want to thank this community for how we have grown, shared, and cared for one another through this first half of the school year. This poem, written by Sudeep…
Jessica Halton

By Jessica Halton, Director of Development |

December 8, 2023

“What Does Philanthropy Mean to You?” I posed this question to my colleagues at a faculty meeting in September. The responses varied along quite a spectrum, from the skeptical (robber barons) to the altruistic (helping others.) As we celebrate and…
Jessica Halton

By Jessica Halton, Director of Development |

November 17, 2023

November is always a roller coaster of a month for me. Deep down, I do appreciate the variety of New England’s four seasons. Still, my mind has a hard time adjusting to the abrupt changes this month brings: the extended…
Brendan Largay

By Brendan Largay, Head of School |

November 3, 2023

The upcoming State of the School is a favorite event of mine because it allows me to discuss features of Belmont Day’s curricular philosophy now, and look forward to the future our students will inhabit. As I prepare for that…
Betty Chu Pryor

By Betty Chu Pryor, Lower School Head |

October 27, 2023

Most Wednesday mornings, as school opens, the Erskine Library is a quiet, tranquil space. However, this Wednesday was buzzing with activity—a staging ground for our fifth graders as they dropped off piles of sleeping bags, boots, duffle bags, flashlights, toiletries,…
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