Remembering Taft's Third Headmaster, John Cushing Esty, Jr.
 
The Taft community mourns the loss of John Cushing Esty, Jr., who assumed the mantle of Taft's third headmaster in 1963. Esty died on October 22 in Concord, Mass., from complications related to stroke. He was 87. Esty, notes Headmaster Willy MacMullen '78, "...with his boldness and his restless intellect, took a school of the 1950s and ushered it into the modern era. A product of several great and traditional schools (Deerfield, Amherst and Yale), John was a non-traditional thinker." Read more...

 
Taft's 21st Annual Day of Service
 
Taft students, faculty, and staff fanned out across the greater Waterbury region for Community Service Day on October 19. Tafties did outdoor work at dozens of sites including Watertown's new greenway, a number of area churches, Flanders Nature Center, Southbury's Bent of the River Audubon Society site, and Waterbury's Brass City Harvest. Many groups traveled to area schools, including Watertown's Polk and Judson, and to Taft's longtime partner, Waterbury's Childrens' Community School. Many area students visited the Taft campus to learn to play squash, have fun with science, indulge their interest in reading and engage in creative writing. Read more and view photos...




 
Bringing Beauty Back: Martin Health Center, Bingham Auditorium, and HDT Renovations
 
The Martin Health Center, HDT dormitory, and Bingham Auditorium were among the Taft spaces getting fresh looks and functional improvements over the past few months. The Martin Health Center (pictured above) was completely gutted, redesigned, and rebuilt. HDT also underwent substantial renovation, though less obviously so: Much of the work done in the living space was groundwork for the massive facelift the dorm will get next summer. The Summer '15 project with perhaps the broadest impact was the refurbishment of Bingham Auditorium. Read more...

 
Morning Meetings - Online! 
 
The 2015-16 year started off with a powerful group of Morning Meeting speakers. So far this year, Taft has hosted an artist (Jessica Wynne '90), an activist (DeRay Mckesson), an African debate team (iDebate Rwanda), an astronaut (Rick Mastracchio), and an author (Hillary Jordan) as Morning Meeting speakers. Assistant Headmaster and science teacher Rusty Davis also gave an inspiring presentation about imagination and technology. Videos of most Morning Meeting speakers are available on Taft's Vimeo channel.



Taft E-Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 1
October 2015

 

October 30 - November 1

Fall Parents' Weekend

 

November 14
Taft-Hotchkiss Day (at Hotchkiss School) 
 
For more information:
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Campaign for the Second Century
For 85 years, Bingham Auditorium has been home to some of the most important moments in the life of Mr. Taft's School. Generations of students have met each week in the auditorium for Vespers (now called Morning Meeting) and for special presentations and assemblies, where they have heard new voices and been introduced to new ideas. Students have rehearsed, performed, listened to, and spoken before their peers in Bingham. And they have met there in times of loss, as they did on December 7, 1941 - the day Pearl Harbor was bombed - and again immediately following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. In many ways, Bingham Auditorium is a sacred space for the Taft community.

Over the summer, Bingham was renovated in preparation for the next 125 years of Taft students.


One of the major goals of the Ever Taft, Even Stronger Campaign is to secure Taft's endowment at a level that will adequately support ongoing upkeep of the school's facilities and campus.

In appreciation for future gifts of $1,000 or more to the endowment from now through the close of the campaign on June 30, 2016, Taft will honor donors with a plaque on one of the auditorium's new seats. Make a gift online
As of September 30,
we've raised $161 million toward the Campaign goal of $175 million.
Help fill the T!

For more information about Taft's Campaign for the Second Century, visit

 
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