Graphic by Sesame Gaetsaloe/The Choate News
Strategic Planning Retreat: January 30th-31st
This year, Choate began developing a Strategic Plan for the first time since 2013, outlining the School’s goals in the years to come. To gauge what the community hoped for the School’s future, members of the Choate administration conducted surveys and discussion groups with students and faculty during the fall. Following the period of data-collecting, on January 30-31, a group of 60 people, including the Board of Trustees, administrators, and selected students and faculty went on a retreat in Stamford, Conn., to discuss the Plan in further detail. Caroline Rispoli ’20, Vikram Sharma ’20, Maxwell Brown ’21, and Ula Lucas ’21 were selected to represent the student perspective at the retreat. Retreat participants discussed topics such as the School’s endowment, financial aid, diversity, and student learning. From these discussions, the administration generated a list of goals to include in the Strategic Plan. Once back on campus, a writing committee was assigned to draft the Plan.
Photo Courtesy of The Choate News
Student Council Elections: February 13th
On February 13, Ula Lucas ’21 and Max O’Connor ’21 were elected as President and Vice President of the student body, succeeding Vikram Sharma ’20 and William Robertson ’20 in their respective roles. Prior to the elections, candidates delivered speeches at School Meeting about what they had done to improve student life and their future plans. Some changes implemented by Lucas and O’Connor during their previous time on Student Council include allowing fifth formers to sign out to the fitness center during study hours, giving sixth formers gaming counsel privileges, removing WiFi restrictions for upperclassmen, and re-establishing the weekend activity of inviting Wallingford food vendors to sell on campus (which was set to start in the spring). Proposals that Lucas and O’Connor are hoping to carry out include placing water fountains and compost bins in all dorms, installing charging stations all around campus, reimagining the early check-in and day student sleepover processes, a revamped wellness program, shuttling students from the Wallingford train station to Choate, a WiFi extension for sophomores, and relaxing course graduation requirements so that students can tailor their schedules. Student Council has shown that its main initiative is caring for, and uniting, the Choate community, with Lucas making this clear in her campaign slogan: “A vote for Ula is a vote for you-la.”
Photo Courtesy of Choate Flickr
A MidSummer Night’s Dream: February 13th-15th
Choate students put on A Midsummer Night’s Dream under the direction of acting teacher Ms. Tracy Ginder-Delventhal. Rehearsals for the play started during the winter term, and the show played for three nights. Students seized the opportunity to support the work of their peers while also taking a break from term-end preparations. The play was rooted in the Shakespeare classic but added its own modern twist. Ms. Ginder-Delventhal deliberately assigned roles depending only on which actors she thought were the best fit for each character, without any regard for the gender of the actors. In this way, she challenged the firm role gender plays in our lives and showed that it is not the driving force behind a character’s actions. This exploration of gender in this well-known play demonstrated the ability of art to change people’s perceptions of what is considered normal and create new norms for our times.
Choate Courtesy of Kalya Yannatos
CRHO Performs at Kennedy Center: February 14th
On February 14, this year’s President’s Day, the Choate Rosemary Hall Symphony Orchestra (CRHO) played at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in Washington, D.C. The CRHO was one of four youth orchestras invited to the Capital Orchestra Festival, a distinguished event held by Music Celebrations International to recognize the best youth orchestras in the nation. Choate alumni, faculty, and family all gathered at the Kennedy Center to enjoy the CRHO’s performance of Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5,” which were specifically chosen to celebrate Beethoven and President Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays. At the alumni luncheon following the performance, the Ventre Fund was announced in honor of music teacher and Director of the CRHO Mr. Phil Ventre’s 50th, and final, year teaching at Choate, as well as the 50th anniversary of the CRHO. Organized by trustees Ms. Buffy Cafritz RH ’47, Ms. Jacqueline Mars GP’18, and the Jones family and supported by Mr. Michael Welles ’72, Ms. Mari Jones, and Ms. Leslie Welles, the fund serves to ensure all students will have the opportunity to attend ensemble tours regardless of their financial situation. Mr. Ventre’s legacy and his dedication to the orchestra program lives on in both the Ventre Fund and the hearts of Choate’s musicians.
Photo Courtesy of Global Biodefense
Growing Concerns Over Coronavirus
By February 2020, the coronavirus had spread from China to more than 20 countries, with 30,000 people infected and 900 dead worldwide. Many nations, including the U.S., began to implement travel restrictions limiting or barring international flights.
Following the implementation of these guidelines, Choate decided to cancel the upcoming study abroad program in China. Soon after, all other study abroad programs and spring break trips were also cancelled.
A Model United Nations conference at Yale, attended by students from around the world including 12 from Choate, suddenly ended due to fears that a student from China had contracted the virus.
In addition, the Chinese Club and Choate Public Health teamed up to raise money to support those affected by the pandemic. Their collected funds were donated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Crisis Fund.
