CANDLE LIGHTING CEREMONY HIGHLIGHTS  

There were so many fun and beautiful moments at today's Candle Lighting Ceremonies! Watch the Lower School Chorus sing crowd favorites "Hey Ho, Nobody Home" and "Ding Dong." 

Upper School Science Chair Scott Rubin gave a powerful and heartfelt speech about his past work in the Peace Corps, where he met his wife who is Kenyan, and how his perspective and identity as a white person has evolved because of these experiences. His talk deeply moved and resonated with the audience. The transcript is here. The Upper School Chorus also sang a breathtaking version of "Angel Breathing Out" which you can watch here.   Photos from both ceremonies are here.



 

WINTER CONCERT HIGHLIGHTS 
Thursday night's Annual Winter Concert was a grand success with talented musicians and singers from all 3 divisions of the school performing for a packed house.  Watch excerpts from these performances:
THIS WEEK'S SENIOR SPEAKER
This senior speaker spotlight was on Will Bellamy this week, who shared an important insight he learned about daily life: that it should be full of 'gas stations' -- small, fun actions or events that fuel you, especially during your busiest or most harrowing days. He also called these 'momentum-izers," noting that this term (which he coined) appropriately contains both the words 'momentum' and 'moment,' which we should cherish!


OUR 8TH GRADE HONORS MATH CLASS VS. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SENIORS?
Math Quiz: Rather than asking them to memorize a formula, Math Chair Tom Jameson challenged our 8th Grade Honors Math class to solve for and find the general inverse of a 2x2 matrix... And they did!  When University of Michigan Chemistry Professor Kevin Kubarych, a BCS alum, read about this on our Facebook page, he commented, "Excellent! ... I have to teach senior undergraduates how to find the eigenvalues of a 2x2 matrix even though these BCS students are already doing it!" 



3RD GRADERS WORKING IN A 'SWEATSHOP'?
No, of course not. But this week, our 3rd graders dressed as new immigrants via Ellis Island, singing and selling (in Spanish) to the Lower School community from a pushcart, the goods they created in a "sweatshop" --including foreign language greeting cards, paper flowers and baked goods. The proceeds will go to help real newly arrived immigrants. More photos. Video is here.



ATHLETICS UPDATE
To close out 2014, we had 2 big sports competitions. The Varsity Swim Team competed against Packer and Grace Church and came out on top in one of the most exciting meets of the season - breaking several school records and setting many personal bests along the way! 

The Varsity Girls Basketball Team made it to the Finals of the Brearley Tournament, having beaten Brearley in the Semi-Finals the day before. They played a solid championship against a a veteran Nightingale Bamford squad but fell short.  Read more about the Swim Team and Varsity Girls Basketball.  

We're so proud of both teams and all of our student athletes for their dedication and great game play this year. Go Lions!


WORLD AFFAIRS BREAKFAST CLUB
As Americans, we look for our elected officials to make wise laws, appoint good people, and investigate evil-doers. But we also want them to be available to us, to listen to our protests and ideas. At this week's World Affairs Breakfast Club Park Slope Councilman Brad Lander met with 50 Berkeley Carroll students, faculty and parents to discuss the crisis in police community relations in our city and our country. Read more.



LOWER SCHOOL STUDENTS STUDY AIRPLANE DESIGN
Lower School Students are studying airplane design in their Integrated Learning Block class! They selected the paper and design they thought would work the best and then launched the airplanes from "Brooklyn" (the highest borough) to the other boroughs. Learn more and see photos.
 

WINTER ART SHOW 

 Middle and Upper School students displayed their artwork throughout campus this week. More photos here. 

 

 

 

BERKELEY CARROLL AT DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

BCSers were among the crowd at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Indianapolis! 

 

 

 

MAKE YOUR ANNUAL FUND GIFT BY DECEMBER 31ST
To receive a tax deduction for an Annual Fund gift in 2014, please remember to make your donation by December 31st. Thank you for your support of Berkeley Carroll!


NEW ISSUE OF ALUMNI MAGAZINE
The Winter 2015 Issue of the Alumni Magazine is officially in the mail and on its way to you.


Have a Happy New Year! Enjoy Winter Break!