‘Prepared To Be Shocked’: Take A First Peek At Belmont’s New School [Video]

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Photo: The high school wing of the Belmont Middle and High School is just days away from opening.

First it was years. Then months, followed by weeks. And now the high school wing of the new Belmont Middle and High School is just days away from the opening of the school year on Sept. 9.

This week is when the town is expected to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) that officially transfers the ownership of the structure from the Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee to the School Committee. And while many in town have followed the progress of the exterior construction – from putting up steel, installing the bricks and windows and the landscaping – there has only been a few chances to witness what has been going on inside.

Last week, in a pre-tour before the building committee gets its opportunity this week, a small group got a glimpse at what has been developing on the inside.

”Be prepared to be shocked from the last time you were here,” said Building Committee Chair Bill Lovallo as he led the group into the just-about done school.

And Lovallo didn’t disappoint with his announcement; the interior is an exceptional educational space with an eye-catching design (by architectural firm Perkins+Will) that incorporates natural light to support the function of the building.

“It really is beautiful,” said a tour participant.

As recently as six months ago, the wing’s interior was just bare walls and floors, a few rooms filled with a jumble of tools and workers everywhere. And while there is still a fair share of material that still needs to be installed and unpacked, the tour introduced a building that is impressive, modern and waiting for students to start learning in.

“It has been a tremendous transformation,” said Lovallo, noting the work of the Building Committee which has meet for more than 125 meetings to keep the project pretty much on time and within the project budget at this stage of construction.

Many of the classrooms are only waiting for the furniture to be unwrapped, electronics to be plugged in and floors washed. But the paint is dry, the internet is up and running and the air conditioning works, using geothermal technology to pump in the cool air.

Work will continue after the school opens: The spacious theater needs the acoustic wood panels, carpet and chairs installed, the tiles for the Higginbottom pool just came in while the new turf field – dubbed the Rugby Field – is just waiting for a few days without rain so workers can lay down the carpet. All should be done by mid-October while the new locker rooms in the Wenner Field House is just now getting under construction.

And while there is growing excitement for the high school’s opening, the building project is a little more than half finished with the middle school segment just getting underway with the demolition of the original high school. Only in the fall of 2023 with the completion of the 7th-8th grade wing and athletic fields and parking will the “job be done,” said Lovallo.

Belmont’s Ellie Shea Rocks High School Track Nationals With Stunning Record Breaking Run [VIDEO]

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Photo: Ellie Shea is a really fast Belmont High runner.

Just how fast is Ellie Shea? OK, head down to Harris Field and step onto the track. Ready? Now start running. Keep a steady pace in which it will take you just about 71 seconds to complete a full lap. Whew, that took your breath away, didn’t it! But don’t stop! Do the same lap time for an additional three times around to finish in around 4 minutes and 44 seconds for the mile.

Yeah, Ellie’s is that fast. In fact, after this past 4th of July, the 15-year-old Belmont High student was the fastest freshman running the middle distances in the entire country.

“I like racing [against runners who] can push me to get a (personal record),” she told the Belmontonian in late May as she began her record-setting assault.

Shea demonstrated her growing prowess this spring and summer by clocking a series of outstanding times not just for freshmen but all high school runners including an out of nowhere 4:45.4 mile (on the roads) in her very first race against big time competition at the Adidas Boost Boston Games in May and then breaking the Massachusetts high school two-mile record running a 10:10.5 in early June.

Her half year of successes – she didn’t run cross country and participated in just a handful of “indoors” races during the Fall 2 Season – was so impressive that Shea was honored with the 2020-21 Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Track & Field Player of the Year award, just days before she would make a name for herself nationally on the July 4th weekend across the country in the Pacific Northwest.

Shea’s times and talent earned her way into the National Scholastic Athletic Foundation’s Outdoor Nationals – the equivalent of a high school national championships – where she had qualified to run three middle distance events (1 mile, 2 mile and 5,000 meters) on July 3 against top-ranked prep athletes at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene.

But the nationals would have to wait until after Shea raced the mile at the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle on July 2, her first major national track showcase. She held her own against older and taller prep runners – Ellie’s a slightly built 5 foot-2 inches, 98 lbs. – to set yet another personal standard by nearly two seconds, a 4:43.7 which is better than any ninth grader in the country has run the distance this year.

With little sleep and after a four and a half hours drive from Seattle to Eugene, Shea decided to compete in the 5,000 meters (3.12 miles), a race she last competed in seventh grade.

“I wanted to give it a shot after running a couple of fast two miles,” she said during an interview in Eugene. “The five K is intriguing and I want to see how it goes” with the additional benefit it was being run at 9:30 a.m. during Oregon’s historic climate-influenced heat wave.

Wearing the same spiffy blue framed polarized sunglasses she wore the day before in Seattle, Ellie latched onto the prohibitive favorite, junior Caroline Wells from Winter Springs, Florida (who finished one place ahead of Shea at both the Brooks meet and the Boston Games) from the start and wouldn’t let go, maintaining a stride-distance behind Wells lap after lap.

The final stretch as Ellie Shea powers to the victory in the 5,000 meters at the 2021 Outdoor Nationals.

After the two front runners dropped Shea’s club teammate, Margot Appleton, with a mile remaining, the pair kept logging in 78-second laps until about a kilometer to run (“two-ish laps” as Ellie put it) when Shea surged past Wells. But her move nearly went terribly wrong as she stumbled after hitting the inside railing. But Shea quickly righted herself to run about two seconds per lap faster than Wells, who had no answers to her rival’s surge.

Crossing the finish line a national champion

Down the final straight, Shea powered home to a sensational 16:10.7, obliterating the 41-year-old freshman national outdoors record by 29 seconds (her time is also under the existing sophomore mark), recording the fastest time ever by a US 15 year old while running the 9th fastest high school 5,000 in history. As of July 4, Shea’s time ranks her third among women under 18 years old worldwide, trailing only two 16 year old Ethiopians.

“I just wanted to go out fast and get in a good spot and race with some really fast girls,” said Shea after the race.

The Hayward 5,000 meters was a simply a remarkable performance just in itself, made the more so coming from a young runner who seemingly came out of nowhere in the past four months, not that she hadn’t shown promise before 2021 having won the 2019 Boston Mayor’s Cup cross country event for girls’ 11-14. Since the late spring, Shea’s times have fallen faster than the value of bitcoin. Coming into the year with a mile best of 5:17.9 (recorded when she was a 7th grader in 2019), Shea took off nearly half a minute off her PR while dropping her two mile best from an 11:23 set in 2019 to her current 10:10.5 in early June.

She credits her rapid improvement on focusing on a single sport. Before the pandemic, “I did a lot of sports,” said Shea. Besides town lacrosse and soccer, there was rock climbing, tennis as well as several years as a competitive alpine and nordic skier out of New Hampshire’s Cranmore Mountain.

But as COVID-19 closed down many sports and venues, “I made [running] my priority” and was able to train more consistantly. Shea also joined Emerging Elites in the spring of 2020 which concentrates on designing training programs for young runners. When asked by track commentator Larry Rawson at the awards ceremony about her training regiment, Shea said she doesn’t run too much compared to the high mileage other do. “I like to focus more on quality over quanity.”

What gives Shea an added advantage is natural competitiveness. Shea’s mom, Jamie – a Belmont High teacher and a member of the Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee – said Ellie has been “super competitive” at every venture she’s competed in. Jamie recalls when Ellie was a tee-ball player when an opponent hit the ball, she ran in from the outfield, dove into the scrum, and ended up with the ball.

“I really like pushing myself, pushing through pain … see how fast I can go and how good I can be,” Ellie said. That drive is also demonstrated in the classroom where she holds high honors. But there’s While she enjoys the sciences, “I don’t like physics so I’m excited for next year.”

In her near future, Shea is eager for a return to cross country “to have fun on trails” after being away for two years. Beyond the coming fall season, “I just want to keep racing in the big invitational meets.”

And while it’s clear that Ellie has found a home in running, the spark of another challenge for her is always there. Jamie Shea, a collegiate swimmer at Princeton who ran a 21:38 5K at the Friends of Belmont Education Apple Run in 2019, said recently Ellie saw the girls’ rugby team practice and told her “that looks exciting!”

Get Ready For Friday’s HS Furniture ‘Give Away’ By Knowing The Rules Of The Road

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Photo: It’s yours, that’s if you can carry it home.

On Friday, July 2, from 9 a.m. to noon, Belmont residents will have the opportunity to come to the Belmont High School building and take furniture that cannot be used in the new high school wing or other school or town buildings.

Over the past year, the Belmont School Administration and the Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee conducted a thorough inventory of furniture and equipment to determine what could be used in the new building and what needed to be replaced. All of these items, as well as teaching and administrative materials, will be moved to the Skip Viglorolo (The ‘Skip’) skating rink for storage during the summer while construction on the new high school wing is completed.

Next, other schools and town departments will have an opportunity to go through the high school building to identify surplus furniture that can be repurposed to meet their needs. Other school districts will also have an opportunity to tour the building and take fixtures, like lockers, that they need for their schools. (Actually, this is how Belmont acquired lockers as our student population grew.)

Finally, on Friday, July 2, just before the site is turned over to the contractor to be demolished to prepare the site for the 7-8 grade Middle School building, any remaining surplus furniture will be made available to Belmont residents. 

Surplus items, after the redistribution to other departments, could include:

  • student desks and chairs,
  • file cabinets,
  • round and rectangular tables,
  • office chairs, and
  • display cases.

So here are the rules of the road for this Friday!

  • All surplus furniture is free; no money is required or will be accepted.
  • Surplus furniture will be distributed on a “first come, first served” basis; items cannot be held for pick-up at a later time or date.
  • Participants are responsible for carrying items out of the building; movers will NOT be on site to assist.
  • This opportunity is only available on Friday, July 2; the district cannot accommodate alternative days or times.
  • During this event, building access will be restricted; available surplus furniture will be displayed in several first floor spaces; these days are not to be used for a final nostalgic tour of the building.

Belmont High’s Sarah Firth Takes Consecutive All-State Pole Vault Titles [VIDEO]

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Photo: Belmont High’s Sarah Firth (third from left) and the other medalists at the 2021 MIAA All-State Track and Field meet (courtesy photo)

Despite a pandemic and a more than a two-year wait, Belmont High Senior Sarah Firth vaulted to consecutive MIAA All-State pole vault titles clearing 11-feet, 6-inches at the event held in Westborough on Wednesday, June 23. Firth’s victory came 747 days after she won her first state title jumping 11′ 9″ in June 2019. The 2020 outdoor track season was cancelled.

“I think having to wait so long to compete again made this victory extra sweet,” Firth told the Belmontonian.

Firth beat out Westborough High sophomore Melinda Haagensen who equaled the 11′ 6″ mark but Firth made the height on her first attempt. In fact, she cleared all her vaults on the first try.

Belmont High School’s Sarah Firth’s winning vault (11′ 6″) at the 2021 MIAA All-State Meet. (Courtesy video)

“The competition was the cleanest I’ve ever had. Even though I didn’t make a personal best at 12 feet like I wanted to, I didn’t miss any jumps the entire meet,” said Firth. “Overall, I felt the best I’ve felt all season. At the North Division 1 meet last week [she retained her 2019 sectional title with an 11 foot vault] I hadn’t jumped my best due to the heat and humidity. However, at All-States, every jump felt really light and springy, and I felt ready to go,” she said.

“There were a lot of people there, so I was also feeding off the crowd. The next two competitors, Haagensen and Megan Frazee [third place from Westford Academy], both had excellent days as well. It’s more fun to win when there are great competitors spurring you on,” she said.

“Although the second state meet was definitely a lot more stressful than the first because I had higher expectations for myself going in, it was still a great way to end the season. I’m glad I was able to finish my high school career on a high,” said Firth.

Unlike many high school athletes affected by COVID-19, Firth not only couldn’t compete, she lost a year of high-level training.

“The missed year definitely impacted me because I had to work to get back to where I had been sophomore year, instead of pushing forwards. I had qualified for the High School Indoor Nationals in 2020, but the meet was cancelled the night before due to COVID-19, and I wasn’t able to train regularly until about March of this year,” she said.

Belmont High School’s Sarah Firth at the Middlesex League Championships in 2021. (Courtesy photo)

Notwithstanding all the hurdles that stood before her, Firth said the past two years taught her that “hard work combined with passion can help you reach new heights, both literally and figuratively.”

Firth’s athletic career will continue in the coming academic year as she’ll take her skills on the runway and in the classroom four-and-a-half miles up the road to Tufts University where she’ll add running the 100-meter hurdles to her track resume.

“It was difficult to decide where to go school, especially since I wasn’t able to go on any visits to meet the teams and coaches or check out the facilities in person until after I had to commit. I also struggled for a long time to make the decision whether to do Division 1 or Division 3 sports, because all of the other schools looking at me were D1. Ultimately, however, I just felt most at home at Tufts, and I knew it was the right decision after I committed,” she said.

“I’m really excited to become a Jumbo next year, and to hopefully compete at NCAA Nationals!”

Waverley VFW Post Bestow Scholarships To Belmont High Seniors

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Photo: Chantal Dunn and Kenneth Teng with their scholarship certificates

A pair of Belmont High School 2021 graduates were named co-honorees of annual scholarship from Belmont’s Waverley VFW Post 1272.

Chantal Dunn and Kenneth Teng were presented the Post’s scholarship certicates by John Kuterbach, a life member of the VFW who served in Afghanistan and currently a member of the Post color guard.

Dunn and Teng wrote about their experience and achievements while at Belmont High.

“I will be attending Wesleyan University in the fall. During high school I performed with the Performing Arts Company and enjoyed dancing and acting in musicals such as Little Shop of Horrors,” said Dunn. “I also love to sing, and was an active part of groups like Chamber Singers, the Madrigals, and Senior a Cappella. Every spring, I was a varsity sprinter on the track team and this year I had the opportunity to be an Outdoor Track captain.”

“I spent many years involved with the music program. I played the saxophone and was lucky enough to be a part of the Marching Band for four years,” said Teng. “I also worked at the BASEC program at Burbank Elementary School as a teaching assistant and taught English lessons online to students in China. This fall, I will be attending Northeastern University. I greatly value my time at Belmont High School but I am also very excited to see what the future holds for me”.

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No One Puts The Marauders In A Corner As Belmont High Grabs ‘GBH High School Quiz Show Championship On The Final Question [VIDEO]

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Photo: The champion Belmont High School team winning the 12th edition of ‘GBH High School Quiz Show

In a thriller between last year’s finalists, Belmont High School overtook returning two-time winners Boston Latin on the final question of the match to eke out the most slender of victories, 1070-1060, to be crowned champions of the 12th season of GBH High School Quiz Show.

With Belmont trailing Latin by 10 points – 990 to 1,000 – the final question of the match asked by long-time host Billy Costa in the lightning round was which 1980s film does Patrick Swayze say ‘Nobody puts Baby in a corner”: Dirty Dancing or Sixteen Candles?

As viewers of a certain age were likely screaming “Dirty Dancing!!!!” at their televisions, computer screens or smartphones, the Belmont quartet punched in more collective right answers to pull ahead of the Latin squad to grab the championship at the buzzer.

Belmont was represented by four talented seniors: Tor Metelmann, Margo Danahy, Bennett Mohr and Nathan Sheffield.

In a tight match from the start, the two teams could never pull away from the other during the several segments – Toss-up Round, Head-to-Head, Category Round, and Lightning Round – of the quiz. But in the end, it was the strength of Belmont as a team that will bring the coveted High School Quiz Show trophy to the new trophy case in the high school wing of the Belmont Middle and High School when it opens in September.

High School Quiz Show is Boston public media producer GBH’s award-winning, fast-paced academic competition for Massachusetts high school students. Aside from Jeopardy!, High School Quiz Show is the most popular academic quiz show on American television. 

Marauders Enter Spring Playoffs With A Pair Of Belmont Favorites At Division 1 North Track Championships

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Photo: Belmont High athletes and teams are in playoff and championship action this weekend

A pair of Belmont High field performers and a powerhouse Marauder team will be headlining the return this weekend of sports tournaments and championship meets sponsored by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Senior pole vaulter Sarah Firth will attempt to take the Division 1 North title while junior Sofia Hospodar has the co-longest triple jump in the division this outdoor season at 36-feet, 6-inches. Firth, who won both the All-State and New England titles in 2019, has the best height in the state of 11 feet, 6-inches. Firth will also run the 100-meter hurdles at the meet held in North Andover.

This season marks the return to the pitch of Belmont High Rugby, out to defend its 2019 Division 1 state title. The 4-0 Marauders is the second seed by way of a coin flip with fellow undefeated Milton, the two-time state Division 2 champions who were promoted into the top league this year.

Belmont will host three-seed Boston College High, whose only loss this season was to Belmont, in a semifinal match on Wednesday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m. on Harris Field.

Belmont Boys’ Lacrosse (5-7) will take on hosts North Attleborough High (6-7) in an 8-9 match-up on Friday, June 18 art 4 p.m., with the winner having the tall task of visiting first ranked Medfield High School (14-1) on Monday.

Belmont High Baseball, ranked 21 (3-8), will have a long trek on Friday, June 18, as they hike up to Haverhill to play 12th ranked Whittier Regional Vocational Tech (7-6) at 1 p.m.

Belmont Boys’ Tennis travels to Concord Carlisle at Noon, Friday, June 18, as the hosts, ranked 6th, will challenge number 11 Marauders.

In competition in the D1N meet completed on Thursday, June 17, Belmont junior Jackson Coelho took 4th in the 800 meters in 1-minute, 57.04 seconds while senior Colby Woo cleared 11-feet, 6-inches in the pole vault for 5th.

At the D1N outdoor track championship meet, Belmont Girls’ will be represented by seniors Leya El-Chanati (100, 200 and long jump); Isabel Burger (1 mile), Rachel November (400 hurdles), the 4×800 relay; while seniors Samantha Lim and Knar Krafian joins Firth in the 100 hurdles.

In Rematch, Belmont High Takes On Current Champ Boston Latin In ‘GBH’s High School Quiz Show Finals On Saturday

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Photo: Here are your Belmont High team in the finals of the 12th season of High School Quiz Show

The Marauders will once again face off against the Wolfpack to earn the title of being really wicked smart.

After defeating Advanced Math and Science in last week’s semi-finals, Belmont High School will take on two-time defending champions Boston Latin School for the title of the 12th season of High School Quiz Show on Saturday, June 19 in a repeat of last year’s championship match.

The finals episode of the academic competition produced by Boston’s ‘GBH will premiere at 6 p.m. on GBH 2 and will also stream at the same time on the High School Quiz Show YouTube channel. 

High School Quiz Show is Boston public media producer GBH’s award-winning, fast-paced academic competition for Massachusetts high school students. Aside from Jeopardy!, High School Quiz Show is the most popular academic quiz show on American television. 

For this year’s competition, the show was produced using a new, innovative hybrid model with students competing remotely and long-time host Billy Costa emceeing from GBH studios in Boston.

High School Quiz Show is endorsed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education and the Massachusetts PTA. Questions on the show are aligned with the Massachusetts high school curriculum standards in subjects that include literature, history, civics, science and math, as well as current events, and general knowledge.

Major funding for High School Quiz Show is provided by Safety Insurance. Additional funding is provided by the Museum of Science, Massachusetts Teachers Association, XFINITY from Comcast, Eastern Bank, Emerson College and Subaru of New England.

Biggest Moving Give Away Ever! Belmont High’s Surplus Furniture Up For Grabs July 2

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Photo: It’s first come/first serve for surplus Belmont High furniture

The biggest moving give away ever in town history will occur on Friday, July 2 as Belmont residents will have the opportunity to take away surplus furniture from Belmont High School on a first come/first serve basis on Friday, July 2 from 9 a.m. to noon.

The give away will allow former students to retrieve their old desks for their apartments, designers who long for 1990-era furnishings to grab some vintage items or bargain hunters to stock up on hidden treasures.

And be prepared to take and carry: Items must be removed from the building during the give away, there is no holding of furniture, and there are no resources available to move the furniture so everyone must come ready to take the furniture by their own means.

The access area will be limited to spaces on the first floor of the high school; all other areas will be secured from access as the building is not be open for tours. Preliminary work on demolishing the circa-1970 building will begin in July to make way for the middle school portion of the new school and new playing fields.

Belmont Honoring Retiring AD Jim Davis At Harris Field, Wednesday, June 2

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Photo: Jim Davis, retiring Belmont High AD

The Belmont School District will honor Jim Davis who is retiring as Director of Athletics & Physical Education for the Belmont Public Schools after serving the district for 19 years.

The celebration will occur on Wednesday, June 2 at halftime of the Belmont vs St. John’s Prep boys’ rugby match. The game between the state’s two top rugger squads will begin at 7 p.m. at Harris Field. The estimated start time of the 10-minute celebration will be 7:45 p.m. Sarkis Asadoorian, Belmont High School’s longtime athletic trainer and high school educator, will be the main speaker.