From the Headlines: Belmont High Performing Arts To Stage ‘9 to 5’ As Spring Musical

Photo: The poster for the show.

It is a show ripped from today’s headlines; The Belmont High School Performance Arts Company’s Spring Musical will be “9 to 5: The Musical” with shows performed from March 22 to 24, 2018. Based on the hit 1980 movie, ‘9 to 5’ features music written for the show by Dolly Parton.

“It is upbeat, funny, full of great singing & dance numbers and delivers a message about empowerment that is relevant and important today,” said Ezra Flam, Belmont High’s Theater Specialist and Performing Arts Company Producer/Director.

“The plot centers around three women in the workplace who get fed up with being harassed by their sexist boss and decide to stand up for themselves and turn the office into a place where fairness and compassion prevails. The educational opportunity to have timely and relevant conversations about these issues with so many students is very exciting,” said Flam.

“It’s also a very fun show, with songs that run the range in style from pop to rock to country to contemporary musical theater. It definitely has something for everyone,” he said.

And PAC fans can expect another 

“Auditions are happening now, and this is already shaping up to be another big show for the PAC, with over 80 kids coming out to audition,” said Flam.

Wellington Principal Search Starts In January As Steward’s Named Interim

Photo: Annemarie Stewart, newly appointed interim principal of the Wellington.

Rather than rush the process of finding a leader for one of Belmont’s elementary schools, Belmont School District Superintendent John Phelan has named Wellington Assistant Principal Annemarie Stewart Interim Principal of the Wellington Elementary School, beginning her new role as of Jan. 1, 2018.

She is replacing Amy Spangler who is leaving the Wellington after five years in charge.

The permanent position of the new principal will be posted at the end of January, and a screening committee comprised of staff and parents will be formed after the winter recess. The finalists will be interviewed by the school’s staff and the public before a finalist is selected, with an effective starting date of July 1. 

Stewart matriculated at Villanova earning a BA in elementary education. She holds Masters degrees in education from Lesley and Endicott. Stewart spent nearly 11 years as a special education teacher in the Brookline district before coming to Belmont in September.

‘Play, Music!’: 76 Belmont Student Musicians Earn Acceptance to Senior District Festival

Photo:

The following announcement is from Arto Asadoorian, director of Visual & Performing Arts for the Belmont Public Schools.

This past Saturday, Nov. 18, 132 students from Belmont High School traveled to North Andover High School to audition for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Northeastern Senior District Festival. These students spent weeks and months preparing an audition that required them to perform a piece of solo repertoire and demonstrate high levels of proficiency playing selected scales and sight reading. Auditions are judged by professional musicians, and the highest performing students are selected to perform in the MMEA-NED Band, Chorus, Orchestra, and Jazz Ensemble.

This year we are very proud to announce that 76 students from Belmont High School were accepted in the Senior District Festival. The question I will be asked by many in the community is, “Is this the most students that have ever been accepted?” The answer to that question is, “I really have no idea!”, since we don’t keep statistics like this on hand. What I can say is that I have been writing these e-mails every year for quite a while, and I don’t ever remember typing a number higher than 77.

Along with the students who were accepted, we must also congratulate those who auditioned and were not accepted – some by only the narrowest of margins. There are dozens of students who were one or two points shy of being accepted, which of course tells us that they are well-deserving of a place in the District ensembles.

The fact that so many of our students perform so well at these auditions each year is a direct result of their hard work, the support they receive from their parents, the excellence of the teaching faculty who work with them, and to the high value, our community places on music education in our schools.

Below is the list of students who were accepted to perform at the 2018 MMEA-NED Senior District Festival. Congratulations to these students and their families on this impressive achievement!

Idris Abercrombie Trombone
Rebecca Anderson Tuba
Eli Barnes Chorus
Merrill Barnes Chorus
Sam Bastille Chorus
James Boyle Chorus
Stephen Carvalho Chorus
Alyssa Chen Violin
Jason Chen Clarinet
Jessica Chen Viola
Katarina Chen Viola
Grace Christensen Chorus
Miriam Cubstead Chorus
Eleanor Dash Trumpet
Sylvian Davidson Tenor Saxophone
Tori Dignan Chorus
Emily Duffy Chorus
Garrett Eagar Trombone
Joia Findeis Viola
Mariko Findell Euphonium
Elizabeth Galli Chorus
Mary Galstian Chorus
Christopher Giron Bassoon
Alicia Grassia French Horn
Catherine Graves Chorus
Cameron Gurwell Euphonium
Sammy Haines Chorus
Honor Hickman Jazz Tenor Saxophone
Eva Hill Chorus
Allen Jang Chorus
Seiyoung Jang Trumpet
Wonyoung Jang Euphonium
Ethan Jin Jazz Trumpet
Nate Jones Jazz Trombone
Daniel Joh Kang Violin
Emily Kim Violin
Isabelle Kim Violin
Edward Lee Chorus
Miro Leeb Viola
David Leigh Flute
Meri Lochhead Chorus
Chris Lynch Trumpet
Philip Lynch Trumpet
Raffi Majikian Chorus
Jackson Mann Chorus
Natalie Marcus-Bauer Chorus
Clare Martin Alto Saxophone
Noah Merfeld Chorus
Matthew Miller Clarinet
Sebastian Newell Chorus
Charlotte Nilsen String Bass
Christina Noonan Chorus
Alex Park Jazz Trumpet
Chloe Park Trombone
Jessica Peng Flute
Calvin Perkins Trumpet
Olivia Pierce Chorus
Elisabeth Pitts Chorus
Audrey Quinn Violin
Connor Quinn Chorus
Valentine Reynolds Chorus
Annalise Schlaug Cello
Becca Schwartz Chorus
Lila Searls Alto Saxophone
Walter Shen Chorus
Ian Svetkey Chorus
Jason Tang Clarinet
Will Thomas Chorus
Shankar Veludandi Chorus
Allan Wang Clarinet
Alex Wilk Viola
Amy Wu Oboe
Andrew Xu Bass Clarinet
Alex Yang Cello
Clark Zhang Oboe
Henry Zuccarello Trombone

BREAKING: Teachers’ Union, School Committee Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

Photo: Belmont Education Association logo.

After working without a contract for the past two and a half months, representatives from the union representing Belmont’s teachers and the School Committee told the Belmontonian they had reached a tentative multi-year contract.

While attorneys for both sides are hammering out the final wording, a contract will be presented to the union membership and the school committee members “soon,” said John Phelan, superintendent of the Belmont School District.

“We have come to an agreement,” said John Sullivan, president of the Belmont Education Association on Tuesday night.

A joint press release will be issued with the contract’s details including salary and benefits “before Thanksgiving.”

The contract will cover approximately 500 union members, of which 330 are teachers and educators in Belmont’s six public schools and those working in the district. The BEA employee contract is the largest in the town; at $26.2 million in fiscal year 2018, it just under half of the school budget of $53.0 million. 

The last three-year contract between teachers and the town ended on Aug. 31, just days before the school year began.

Sources said the delay in forming a contract was due to benefits and added responsibilities being asked of educators rather than salaries.

 

BHS PAC Presents Fall Play ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ Thurs.-Sat.

Photo: “Peter and the Starcatcher” runs from Thursday, Nov. 2 to Saturday, Nov. 4

The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company presents the award-winning play “Peter and the Starcatcher” runs from Thursday, Nov. 2 to Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Belmont High School auditorium. Shows begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets are:

Adults: $12 in advance, $15 at the door.

Students/Children: $5 Thursday, $10 Friday/Saturday

Tickets on sale online at bhs-pac.org and at Champions Sporting Goods on Leonard Street in Belmont Center.

A theatrical adaptation of the young adult novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, “Peter and the Starcatcher” was a Broadway hit in 2012, with the stage adaptation by Rick Elice, featuring music by  Wayne Barker, telling the prequel of the Peter Pan story.

 

“[L]ike [one of] my favorite adventure stories, ‘The Princess Bride,’ this play is wickedly funny, filled with wordplay, clever gags and goofy mayhem that appeals to adults and children alike. Like the best works of the genre, it is a play is for all ages. For children, it is a new take on a familiar tale. For older audiences, it is a poignant story of loneliness and finding human connection, packaged inside a comedic gem,” said Performing Arts Company Producer and Director Ezra Flam.

“‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ is one of those stories, mixing fantasy and magic with a heartfelt tale of growing up, what it means to be a hero and the power of wishes,” said Flam.

The play is an adventure story, which tells the tale of how a young orphan boy ended up on a ship carrying a magical trunk full of “starstuff” that’s protected by an apprentice Starcatcher named Molly while the fearsome Pirate Black Stache determines to use the starstuff to become the most fearsome villain of all time. A shipwreck lands all three (along with a crew of pirates and orphan boys) on an enchanted island populated by mermaids and humorously terrifying “mollusk-people.”

A cast of 23 actors is supported by 75 students who are part of the production staff; working on building and painting scenery, making costumes, creating lighting and sound effects and working as production assistants. Under the supervision of an adult design team, these students are responsible for creating everything that appears on stage.

Through the collaborative efforts of the cast and student set crew, led by Scenic Designer Anna Moss and Technical Director Ian O’Malley, a collection of boxes, trunks, platforms and fabric become two ships at sea, a dark cabin below deck, a jungle, an island beach, and an underwater pool. The students on the costumes crew, under the guidance of Costume Designer Lila West, have created outfits for pirates, orphans, mermaids and more.

A Window Into Halloween In Belmont Center

Photo: Third-grader Julia Zipkin with a four-eyed cat.

Kids and their parents brought brushes and watercolors to the fifth annual Belmont Center Halloween Window Painting Contest sponsored by the Belmont Center Business Association on Saturday, Oct. 28. 

Belmont Center businesses up and down Leonard Street saw their windows transformed into pumpkin patches, ghostly havens and other scenes of specters and ghouls by Kids from second to eighth grade – with parents in tow – paid for the privilege to express their scary vision of Halloween on the town’s main drag. 

Halloween-season window painting has a long tradition in other towns – several of Newton’s villages have participated for the past 20 years – and was brought to Belmont with the help of the owners of A Chocolate Dream.

Sponsored by the Business Association, the event’s proceeds were donated to the Foundation for Belmont Education.

Love Learning Science At Belmont High Thanks To Cityside Subaru

Photo: (from left) Belmont Superintendent John Phelan; Belmont High School Principal Dan Richards; Cityside Subaru’s Meagan Taylor; Cityside’s General Manager Richard White; Belmont Schools Science, Health, Technology and Engineering Director Elizabeth Baker. 

Belmont High School’s science program will soon be the beneficiary of a little lovin’ as Cityside Subaru is donating 150 books to the high school’s science program through the Subaru Loves Learning Project, part of the Subaru Love Promise Campaign.

The presentation was made at the Belmont School Committee meeting on Oct. 10.

In partnership with the Science Books & Films (SB&F) Project at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the books will supplement existing curriculum by supporting K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, while also helping to build reading and literacy skills. The ultimate goal of the donation is to engage young learners in the world of science and inspire them to want to learn more.

“Education is very important to us, we spend a lot of time training our people,” said Cityside’s General Manager Richard White to the committee and Belmont Superintendent John Phelan, Belmont High Principal Dan Richards and District Science Director Elizabeth Baker.

“Anytime we can leverage our relationship with Subaru to help bring more money and programs to the community, we are all for that,” said White. 

Cityside’s General Manager Richard White speaking before the Belmont School Committee; Cityside’s Meagan Taylor is at left.

The dealership is located at 790 Pleasant St.

In 2015, Subaru created the Subaru Love Promise Campaign, a pledge to do right by the communities in which local retailers live and work. It is a promise to make a positive impact in the world by focusing on improving our neighborhoods and communities.

Other Belmont and Boston-area charities and non-profits that benefit from the Subaru Love Promise Campaign include:

  • MSPCA, Animal Rescue League of Boston
  • Foundation For Belmont Education
  • Dan Scharfman Memorial 5K race
  • Fenway Health Initiative.

Broadway Night 2017 At Belmont High Friday, Saturday

The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company presents its annual musical theater showcase Broadway Night 2017 at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14 in the Little Theater at Belmont High School.

Students will perform classic show tunes and contemporary works in an evening of song, dance, and storytelling. This year’s production features 23 solo, duet, and group songs, with a mix of humor, heart, romance and high-energy fun. The show will once again feature a dance number, choreographed by the PAC Musical Choreographer Jenny Lifson.

A highlight this year is the addition of a group number, directed by seniors Anelise Allen and Wonyoung Jang, featuring eight 9th-grade students. 

“Having these many freshmen make their PAC stage debut in the first show of the year is a real treat, and the song is going to be a highlight of the evening,” said Ezra Flam, the High School’s Theater Specialist.

Broadway Night represents the core mission of the PAC, with an emphasis on showcasing student work. The performers have selected, staged and rehearsed the songs almost entirely on their own, with just a small amount of guidance from Ms. Lifson. Also, the lighting design is done entirely by students, and the show ends with a student-directed number featuring the whole company, said Flam.

Tickets are $5 for students, $12 for adults and can be purchased online at bhs-pac.org or at Champions Sporting Goods on Leonard Street in Belmont Center.

Nearly 800 Runners Set Record For Scharfman Race

Photo: Elsa Kimberly winning the 2K race at the Dan Scharfman Memorial Run.

A bright cool fall Sunday morning; just the right combination for a road race in New England.

And 784 runners took the opportunity to help Belmont school to best use technol0gy as a record number of entries took part in the fifth annual Dan Scharfman Memorial Run 5K/2K Road Races held Sunday, Oct. 1. 

While the amount was still coming in mid-week, between $25,000 to $30,000 will be raised to fund the Dan Scharfman Education Innovative Fund which supports professional development for teachers and supply technology to all students.

“We were so excited that the 5th annual race had the most pre-registered runners for the 5K,” said Jamie Shea, the chair of The Foundation for Belmont Education which hosted the race that started and finished at Harris Field.

“This was a very very good day for runners and the [foundation],” she said.

Merle Kummer, Dan Scharfman’s wife, spoke to the runners before the race how her husband lived by the phrase; “If not me, who? If not now, when.”

“After Dan died [as a member of the School Committee], it was overwhelming to think about filling his size 13 running shoes. Today, we’ve matched him and raising him thirteen hundred running shoes!” she said.

Race sponsors included Cityside Subaru which also sponsored a pace car for the race, Belmont Savings Bank, Belmont Orthodontics, and Didriks and Local Root, which will be opening stores in Belmont Center in the next few months.

Belmont High senior Zack Tseng powered home to an impressive 16:43 to win the race with Joe Shaw second and Tseng’s teammate James Kitch in third. On the women’s side, Cambridge’s Rachel Henke – who is married to Jonathan Henke, the owner of Didriks and Local Root – won the 5K in 19:34 followed by Heidi Kimberly and Becca Pizzi. Chenery 5th grader Elsa Kimberly won the 2K for women in 8:57 while 15-year-old HaiYaing Peng won the men’s division in 7:30. 

Wellington Principal Spangler Leaving In December

Photo: Principal Amy Spangler

Amy Spangler, the respected and well-loved principal of the Wellington Elementary School, is leaving her position to return to the Pacific Northwest.

“I’m sad to be leaving such a great school and staff,” said Spangler to the Belmontonian at Wednesday’s annual International Walk to School event at the school.

Spangler said her effective resignation date would be in mid-December before the winter recess.

The reason for Spangler’s departure is the same that brought her to Belmont five years ago; she is following her husband as he takes a new corporate position across the country.

“Amy will be missed significantly. She runs an amazing school,” Belmont Superintendent John Phelan told the Belmontonian Wednesday. “She’s all about the students and the families. You could see that before school in the playground and inside the school when she’s with the children.”

Phelan said he is early in the process of finding a replacement for Spangler. He and his staff will first look at possible internal candidates before deciding whether to hire an interim principal or place an outside job posting. 

Phelan would like to have a quick turnover in filling the position so to allow Spangler time to mentor her replacement.

Spangler was hired in October 2012 by then interim superintendent Dr. Thomas Kingston to replace long-serving principal Amy Wagner.