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Volume 73, Issue 6
January 30, 2025
A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill School
Department Chair Recipients Honored in The Chapel By Jaiden Lee ’26 Panel Staff On Friday, January 10, five teachers were publicly celebrated after last year’s induction as endowed chairs: Mr. Cunningham ’12 as the Centennial Chair in Character, Mrs. Gorman as the Thomas R. Fuss Chair in Science, Ms. Iandiorio as the Trustees’ Chair in STEM, Mr. Kaplan ’83 as the Byrnes Family Chair in the Humanities, and Ms. Schmunk as the Donna S. David Chair in Health and Wellness. During the Chapel, Form IV Class President Alex Chen ’27 and Form V Class President Grant Hanser ’26 conducted an interview with the five chairs. Each teacher answered various questions about their respective journeys to Belmont Hill and their experiences on the Hill in front of a live student chapel in the Hamilton chapel. Mr. Cunningham elaborated on his experience in transitioning into a teacher role after graduating as a student from Belmont Hill himself and detailed how much he enjoyed the aspects of brotherhood and community at the school. On the other end of the spectrum, Mrs. Gorman explained her beginnings at Teach For America and getting out of her comfort zone to teach at an all-
Parking
Chair Recipients in The Chapel boys school, stating how different of an atmosphere it was for her. However, she quickly realized how welcoming the school was and shared a few funny anecdotes of her Form I students asking incredibly quirky questions. Ms. Iandiorio also spoke about the all-boys school experience, explaining how her childhood experiences with numerous older brothers allowed her
Lot
By Liam MacLean ’27 Panel Staff Over the past few months, the parking lot has undergone several new updates. Since construction began, the maintenance team, under the leadership of Mr. Matos, has worked tirelessly to ensure that the updates to the parking system have gone smoothly. After lots of hard work, the project has improved daily parking for students in the main lot, and for faculty across the street. There is now plenty of room for special events and athletic competitions when there will be an elevated number of vehicles needing to park, with little to no cars needing to park on the street. There is also now sufficient room in the upper lot, for emergency vehicles to pass through even with cars parked along the curb. The area running along the sidewalk from the Jordan to the dorms has now been made into a designated dropoff zone, with extra room for cars to pass, and students to safely exit their cars. Mr. Matos said that the loud noises that went on in the weeks prior were most likely the sledgehammering that was necessary for the construction of the new maintenance building across
JJ Pena ’26 (Staff Photographer) to understand the “boy code,” making the transition to the school an easier one. She also mentioned how much she enjoyed the specific humor and enjoyment her students displayed, maintaining constant energy during their classes. Mr. Kaplan further added on the teacher-student dynamic as well as the strong bonds formed between players and their coaches on the athletic fields as
well; like Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Kaplan noted that his experiences as a former Belmont Hill student held a significant impact in his life. The bonds that he had formed with his teachers was something that he aimed to replicated as a teacher. Finally, Ms. Schmunk talked about her memorable experiences of boys opening up to her and being vulnerable with their emotions; she expressed that she wished to continue to become a figure for students where boys felt comfortable approaching her and participating in intimate conversations. Junior Jack Ramanathan ’26 said of the Chapel, “I went into the Chapel not expecting much, as I assumed it would be a short presentation of the new chairs, but I actually really liked the student-led interview format of the event. It was a cool way of getting to know more about the teachers’ backgrounds and their journey in coming to Belmont Hill.” Classmate Griffin Vail ’26 added, “I thought the interviewers, Grant and Alex, did a pretty good job coming up with questions that allowed the teachers to open up comfortably about their experiences and what the chairs meant to them.” The Panel would like to congratulate the five new chairs and hopes for their success in the upcoming years with the school community! ☐
Update Senators Support DOVE
the street. Along with improving and maximizing the parking on campus, the team has also made efforts to improve the flow of traffic through the school. With students now parking in the main lot, there are no longer large groups crossing the street in the morning and afternoon, eliminating traffic build-up and and safety for students. In response to whether the team had any challenges throughout the process, Mr. Matos responded by saying, “The job went quite well, although we had some delays with the town in getting approval.” Having overcome the time delay with the town’s approval, the maintenance team provided their full effort in getting the lot ready for us. Mr. Matos, regarding what the response has been like from the school, explained, “I have not heard much from students, but faculty and staff are quite pleased with the campus improvements.” Though they have nothing big on their agenda following the completion of this project, they will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our campus runs smoothly and the development of the parking lot will be completed. The Panel extends great thanks to Mr. Matos and his team for everything they do! ☐
A Look Inside The Panel Page 2: Trudeau Steps Down James Keefe ’25 discusses Trudeu’s resignation and its implications for Canadian and American politics.
Page 8: The Best Panel Carvings Jack Ramanathan ’26 determines the five best panels on campus as another panel carving season begins.
Page 3: Northeastern Senior Districts Jaiden Lee ’26 highlights four Belmont Hill musicians for making it to the Northeastern Orchestra Senior Districts Festival.
Page 9: AOTI: Alex White ’25 Declan Woolbert ’27 highlights Alex White’s ’25 contribution and leadership on the Varsity wrestling and crew teams.
By Nathan Zhang ’26 Panel Staff On Tuesday, December 10th, the Form V Senate organized a Christmas-themed dress-down day to support the DOVE - Domestic and Other Violence Emergencies - children’s toy drive, raising $2,000 as a result of a successful dress-down donation push in which nearly 400 students and faculty participated. The following day, student leaders used the funds to purchase various toys for children in need. DOVE, a Massachusetts-based organization, provides shelter and support to victims of domestic violence, including children. In the past, Belmont Hill hosted DOVE toy drives every winter, but the tradition was put on pause in recent years. This year, the Form V Senate revived it, donating all the toys to one of DOVE’s pop-up holiday shops. These shops offer a chance for families affected by domestic violence to select donated toys, ensuring a brighter Christmas for their children. Form V and VI Senate members headed to Target in Watertown the day after the dress-down. Splitting into three groups, they filled four shopping
Toy Shopping
Grant Hanser ’26
carts with toys. Senate members subsequently delivered the gifts to the DOVE store in Quincy. Reflecting on the experience, Form V President Grant Hanser ’26 said, “It was super meaningful to bring the school together to support a community less fortunate during the holiday season. The school did a great job in helping raise money, making for a successful and really fun event.” The school senate hopes that the DOVE drive will return permanently after its short hiatus. If readers are intersted in the program and want to learn more about DOVE, they can visit their website online. ☐
Letter from the Editor: Welcome to the sixth issue of Volume 73 of The Panel! As the school community embraces the heart of winter, we centered this issue around all of the Winter happenings on the Hill. The News section features articles on this month’s MLK and Faculty chair chapels alongside a piece on Trump’s inauguration. Meanwhile, the Sports section offers updates on the winter sports teams’ sea-
sons and discusses the Boston sports teams’ situations. The Arts editors celebrate some Belmont Hill musicians for their accomplishments, and, in honor of the seniors beginning their panel carvings at the start of Semester 2, the Opinions section rates some of the best panels on campus. Lastly, you will find some photos from the past month in the Centerspread. We hope you enjoy! ☐