Meet Belmont Finds A New Home At Day School’s Gym

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Photo: Meet Belmont is happening at the Belmont Day School.

One of the many unintended consequences of the construction of the new Belmont Middle and High School is the loss of the school’s cafeteria for out of school activities. And one of the casualties was Meet Belmont, the end-of-summer communal get together for new residents and long-time townies.

But thanks to scrambling by the Meet Belmont Planning Committee, the annual event has a new home for 2019 as the 17th Meet Belmont Community Information Fair will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Belmont Day School Gymnasium, 55 Day School Ln. off of upper Concord Avenue.

This event brings together Belmont’s nonprofit/volunteer organizations, Town government and local officials, and new and settled residents in a fully accessible and friendly environment.

You can expect to:

  • Meet local government and nonprofit leaders—approximately 80 organizations have registered as exhibitors to date
  • Discover recreation and arts programs
  • Find community organizations, volunteering and other activities
  • Participate in our democracy—register to vote
  • and support the Belmont Food Bank with your contribution of nonperishable items

This is an ideal event for anyone interested in our schools, enrichment programs, other local nonprofits, volunteering and town government. The committee encourage you to attend.

 

Race On To Improve Roads In Underwood/Hittinger Area Before High School Reopens

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Photo: The location of the multi-use path along Underwood.

With about seven weeks before the start of the school year, the town is playing catch up with plans to improve travel along the new travel corridors to Belmont High School as the Belmont Board of Selectmen/Select Board unanimously approved a contract to renovate the streets and sidewalks adjacent to the school.

With the permanent closure of the roadway that ran from Underwood and Hittinger streets to Concord Avenue due to the building of the new Belmont High and Middle School, most vehicles traveling to and from the high school will soon take Hittinger to and from school’s parking lot.

With a significant amount of added traffic anticipated in the surrounding neighborhood, the town sought to provide some relief to the residents and people heading to and from the school which is also an active construction zone.

The approved project – which is the product of recommendations from the High School Traffic Working Group and residents – will include constructing new sidewalks and curbs treatments (including closing 200 feet of the existing curb cut adjacent the Purecoat Building along Hittinger) along neighborhood streets as well as building a multi-use path on the western side of Underwood Street to provide bike and pedestrian access to the high school campus.

The roads under construction include:

  • Underwood Street from Concord Avenue to Hittinger Street,
  • Trowbridge Street from Concord Avenue to Hittinger Street,
  • Hittinger Street from Brighton to Underwood streets,
  • Baker Street from Concord Avenue to Hittinger Street.

And while the Office of Community Development wanted to have all the work done before the school year begins in the first week of September, delays due to a greater number of public hearings and other process issues.

“We had hoped to to be under construction in mid-June so we’ve lost essentially a month just due to factors that were beyond our control,” said Glenn Clancy, OCD director.

The bidding on the job was not completed until the final week in June with the winning bid accepted on July 11 before being presented to the Board of Selectmen/Select Board on July 15.

Only two bids were received and the winning (low) one, $1,080,242, by Belmont-based Tasco Construction, was a significantly higher – by nearly $100,000 – than the $920,000 estimated by the town.

“I was not happy with the final number,” said Clancy, who blamed the timing of the bid – most construction firms have scheduled their work before the summer – and the strength of the local economy.

While there was some talk of rebidding the job in the winter of 2020 to attract more firms, “the reality is that come September [2019] this neighborhood is going to be the entrance and exit for the high school,” said Clancy.

Clancy said the new schedule is for the multi-use path along Underwood to be completed by September 1 while work along Trowbridge and Hittinger will be done in late September/October. Clancy said that Baker Street could be deferred until the Spring if the weather or work on the other streets is delayed.

Construction Underway At New Middle and High School

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Photo: The first heavy equipment on site at Belmont High School.

A friend of Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee member Pat Brusch called shortly after 7 a.m. on Tuesday, June 18 to tell her that she could hear from her home the cacophony of beeping warning sounds from trailers bringing bulldozers and other equipment to the field adjacent Belmont High School.

For Building Committee Chair Bill Lovallo, who relayed the story to the committee on Wednesday, June 19, it was nice to hear that the $295 million school building project was getting underway “right on time.”

The first day of the summer recess for Belmont Schools on Tuesday morning coincides with the start of four-plus years of construction to build the new Belmont Middle and High School.

While the demolition of the brick gateway and sidewalk leading to the now decommissioned Brendan Grant Field along Concord Avenue is the most visible demonstration of work being done on the site, the most significant workout is occurring inside the Wenner Field House where the second floor – the location of the small gym – is being ripped out and reconfigured to include temporary locker rooms. Major work related to the Higginbottom Pool has also started.

Lovallo thanked Belmont Superintendent John Phelan along with interim High School Principal John Brow, Steve Dorrance, director of facilities, Athletic Director Jim Davis and the town’s Department of Public Works for “prepping” the field house and the former playing fields so construction could take place on day one, “all while students were still in the building.”

In other news

The committee approved W. L. French Excavating Corp. of North Billerica to perform all the pile foundation work with the first piles driven in the ground outside the field house in August with an ending date in late October.

The building committee also approved hiring a contractor to record precondition of the exterior of approximately 70 homes within 500 feet of the construction site. Those residents will begin receiving notifications in the next few weeks.

“We just want to make sure we have it documented, not that we are expecting any issues,” said Lovallo.

Belmont High’s Firth Wins NE Pole Vault Championship With PR Effort [Video]

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Photo: Belmont sophomore and New England Champion Sarah Firth.

This year, Sarah Firth has been seeking new heights to climb … and to fall from as the Belmont High student has been turning heads as the one-time pole vaulting neophyte added not just inches to her best mark but by feet.

And at the biggest meet of the year, the sophomore defeated a slew of the region’s best pole vaulters to win the crown at the New England High School Track and Field Championship Meet in Saco, Maine, on Saturday, June 8.

Firth’s winning vault, 11 feet, 9 inches, was a 3-inch personal best from her 11’6″ effort that captured the MIAA All-State meet held a week earlier where she defeated 2017 All-State champion senior Haley Lightbody of Reading.

“This is the first time I have won either All-States or New Englands,” said Firth. “The help of all my coaches is really what made my win possible. Without their support, I wouldn’t have been able to relax and just go for it.”

A former gymnast who credits her bar training with giving her a familiarity with the turning and flipping nature of pole vaulting, it was Firth’s mother who suggested taking up the sport as a ninth grader.

Training at Harvard and at a club in Westborough, it took Firth time to master the skill of sprinting as fast as you can down a 30-meter runway, sticking a long, heavy fiberglass pole in a metal box which launches you high in the air as you attempt to twist and turn your body while upside down over a bar and then fall backwards from the height of a second-story window. At the end of her freshman year, Firth had vaulted a modest 8 feet.

It was during the indoor season this year that Firth said she finally began to understand the technique required to allow the pole to do the work and her improvement was eye-opening. She finished second with a 10’6″ in the MIAA State Division 2 championships, trailing only Lightbody. At All States, Firth improved her vault by a foot to defeat Lightbody by 6 inches.

At Saco, Firth, ranked the number 1 seed (her 11’6″ was the best of all the state championship marks from the week before), faced several champions and outstanding vaulters with higher personal bests; Austin Prep junior Emily Hickey (11’7”), Lightbody (11’6”), and Connecticut juniors Paige Martin (12’0”) and Elise Russell (11’6”).

Since a pole vault meet can take hours to complete, Firth was out on the track early Saturday along with 34 competitors. “My first few [practice] jumps were not like the greatest, but it was OK,” said Firth. But once she made her first vault at 9’9″, “everything felt right.”

The meet came down to Firth, Hickey and Martin each making 11’3″. But since Firth had attempted more jumps to clear the height, she would finish third if everyone missed their final vaults.

Austin Prep junior Emily Hickey (left) and Belmont’s Sarah Firth.

“[Third place] would still be good but my goal was to jump a personal best,” said Firth, who stayed relax between jumps talking to the other athletes “because we all know each other.”

“I knew that I could [make 11’9″] if everything fell into place, if I could get my run right and do it like I had in practice,” said Firth.

Despite feeling a little fatigued jumping in sunny warm weather, everything fell in place with Firth clearing the bar and came down a champion.

The one disappointment was Firth missed an invitation to the New Balance Outdoor Nationals by a mere three inches.

“Hopefully next year I can qualify for both Indoor and Outdoor Nationals,” she said.

BEA Scholarship Awarded To Student Who Recognizes HS Educator As Inspiration

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Photo: Belmont High’s Ciara Lally (left) will major in Elementary Education at Merrimack College this fall.

The Belmont Education Association awarded its annual scholarship to Ciara Lally at Belmont High’s Senior Awards Assembly in May.

The scholarship was created to support a graduating senior who has been inspired to pursue a career in education by one of his or her Belmont Public Schools educators. Donations from BEA members help to sustain the scholarship.

Lally was motivated by Belmont High teacher Erin McCarthy to pursue a career in education.

“I met Ms. McCarthy freshman year of high school; she has been with me for all four years of my high school career. Being a teacher has always been a thought in my head since I was a little kid. I’m very grateful for everyone that has helped me along the years and it has made me want to help kids that are struggling. I want to be able to show them they are capable of,” said Lally who will attend Merrimack College this fall majoring in Elementary Education.

“With her help, I learned to be a determined student and what I was actually capable of. I want to be an elementary school teacher because I love to work with children and I want to help them to be the best they can,” said Lally.

“One day I hope I can help my students to achieve their goals like I have achieved mine.”  

Caps, Gowns and Beach Balls: Belmont High Class of ’19 Graduates 305

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Photo: Thumbs up on graduation, 2019.

As of 5 p.m. Sunday, June 2, the ranks of Belmont High School alumni grew by 305 when the Class of 2019 were proclaimed graduates of their new alma mater by Superintendent John Phelan.

In a packed and plenty warm Wenner Field House filled with family and friends wielding phones and cameras to capture the moment, the scarlet-robed graduate received their diplomas amidst cheers, speeches, motor boards thrown high in the air along with numerous beach balls that gave the ceremony the feel of a day in the Fenway Park bleachers.

Interim Belmont High School Principal Thomas Brow

The program began with Interim Belmont High Principal Thomas Brow recalling an incident with a small tree and an unnamed mischievous student when he was an assistant principal at the Chenery Middle School where he first met the class of ’19. In resolving the act of preteen vandalism in a quiet and private manner, Brow hoped the graduates will learn that “as you go on your life’s journey, you will have conflicts and challenges. The moral is it’s not the conflict that’s importanty, it’s how you handle it.”

“Please take that message on with you as you do great things with your life,” he said.

Brendon Hill, 2019 Belmont High School Class President.

The first of three student speakers, Class President and presenter of each graduate Brandon Hill celebrated achievements and events in the class’ shared history.

“There were a lot of memorable events the first day of freshman year. Showing up 20 minutes late to your Spanish class, and then claiming tp\o your teacher you thought you had a free.”

“Later on in life. When you think back to high school, and all the friends and memories that you created. Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile, because you’re a part of something special,” Hill said.

Vassilios Kaxiras, recipient of the School Committee Award for
Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship

Vassilios Kaxiras, recipient of the School Committee Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship, the first of two academic honorees,

Speaking about “my knowledge of the people around me widened … every day I came to school. All 305 of us have was wildly different backgrounds as personalities,” Kaxiras said. “As a result, I’ve met countless people who shattered my stereotypes of countries I know visited. And I found a lot of interesting things I didn’t know anything about before. So just keep up. Perhaps because of this diversity, I’ve also found to be incredibly welcoming,” he said.

“Sometimes the best way to find your place in an unfamiliar world is to jump right in.”

Lara Zeng, recipient of the School Committee Award for
Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship.

The second academic speaker, Lara Zeng, recipient of the School Committee Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship, reflected on the now and the future to come.

“I’ve heard it said that when adults ask us what we want to be when we grow up, it’s because they themselves don’t know what the future holds. And they’re looking for advice and guidance from us because they’re just as lost as we are. This side of it might be scary. It’s a testament to how our lives are never set in stone,” Zeng said.

“But I think it’s empowering to remember that we will always have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves. We can always grow into whoever we want to be. We know who you are right now; students, athletes, artists, musicians, siblings, friends. Like the adults, we don’t have all the answers. We don’t know who we’ll be in the future. But I hope we never stopped learning.”

“Our high school experience has prepared us for whatever lies ahead. I am so honored to have grown up with you all and I can’t wait to see what you accomplish next,” she said.

After the speeches, for an hour each now former student attending the ceremony strode up to the podium, shook Phelan’s and a School Committee member’s hand, received their diploma from Brown before walking towards a new part of their lives.

And then hats were thrown in the air (along with four beach balls) when Phelan proclaimed they had satisfied their requirements to graduate before heading out of the field house and into the bright sunshine of a Sunday afternoon.

Belmont Baseball Captures Third Middlesex Title After Outpitching Lexington

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Photo: Belmont High Marauders; 2019 Middlesex League co-champions.

Third times a charm as Belmont High Baseball used another outstanding pitching performance by junior Mike Brown who outdueled Lexington High ace Grahan Seed for a 2-1 victory and secured a third consecutive Middlesex League Liberty title for the Marauders on Saturday, June 1.

Belmont shares the league crown (the first time Belmont has strung three in a row) with Woburn by winning the final regular season game vs the Minutemen in what was likely the last high school game ever played at Brendan Grant Field which will become part of the construction site of the new Belmont Middle and High School.

“I’m proud of you guys. You guys are freaking awesome today. The bench, the starters, everything,” said long-time Belmont head coach Jim Brown to his charges after the game.

Belmont, at 12-8, waits until Tuesday, June 4 to see when and where they’ll be playing in the Division 2 North Sectionals. And Brown has high hopes for his team this postseason.

“Yeah, they’re a scrappy team,” said Brown about the Marauders. “They’ve won games one to nothing, two to one, two to nothing. They back up their two starters [Brown and senior Martin Marintchev] in the field better as the season went on.”

And Saturday’s matinee kept to Belmont’s season-long script as the Marauders dug up a pair of runs in the fourth and relied on Brown’s dominating performance on the mound to take home the win. The junior southpaw struck out 15, gave up more hit batsmen (2) than hits (a lone single) with the only run against him unearned.

Mike Brown on the mound.

After both teams could do little the first time through the line up against each pitcher – Brown struck out 10 and Seed K’d four in the first four innings – before Belmont struck for their two in the bottom of the fourth.

A hard-earned walk by leadoff batter David Pergamo was followed by a deep double to center right by Marintchev. After an intentional walk to Brown to load the bases, Matt Brody ripped an RBI single up the middle to score Pergamo. After a fly out to the outfield, Justin Rocha hit a hard grounder to third that drove in Marintchev on the fielders choice.

Lexington scored in the top of the sixth without the benefit of a hit and seeing a mere four batters come to the plate. With one out, the number 8 hitter second base Noah Sevigny walked, stole second and while attempting to steal third came home on a throwing error. Belmont got out of the inning as Brody threw out Minuteman’s Matt Favazzo heading to third during the play.

Lexington made it interesting in the top of the 7th when Brown hit two batters who ended up in scoring position. But a lazy fly to Joe DeStefano playing right ended both the threat and the game.

With two pitchers – Brown and Marintchev – who Brown call’s league all-star caliber and just enough offense when it counts, “you guys can do some damage in the tournament,” Brown told the team.

Rokosz Hurls Javalin to Division 2 State Title

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Photo: Alex Rokosz on the pitch for Belmont High.

Belmont High Senior Alex Rokosz brought home a state championship medal from the Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships held on a breezy Saturday morning, May 25, at Merrimack College.

Seeded fourth coming into the meet, Rokosz took the title with a throw a personal best of 167 feet, 6-inches beating back the efforts of Central Catholic teammates Brendan Cesati (165’9″) and top seed Lewy Baez-Troncoso (162’9″).

Rokosz now heads to the All-State Meet on Thursday, May 30 at Westfield State University.

Alex follows in the footsteps of his older sister, Katrina Rokosz, who took third in the javalin in the Division III meet and then threw at the National meet in 2016.

Both Rokosz’s were outstanding soccer players for Belmont High School.

Blacker Senior Thesis Prizes Will Be Presented Wednesday, May 15

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Photo: Lillian Blacker

The Belmont High School English Department will present the annual Lillian F. Blacker Prizes for Excellence in Writing on Wednesday evening, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. in the Peter Holland Library at Belmont High School. This year, we will honor seniors Abigail Mohr (first place), Cameron Anderson (second place), and Alexander Park (third place) for their outstanding writing. 

Belmont residents are cordially invited to attend.

This year’s ceremony will begin with an exhibition of the creative projects produced by some of the 80 seniors who participated in the pilot Capstone Project. A dozen of those students will be presenting their work, science-fair style, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the library. If the Capstone program is adopte by the Belmont School Committee, it’s likely that most students will move towards creating projects instead of a senior thesis though AP students will still do the traditional thesis.  

Family and friends established the Blacker Prizes more than 20 years ago in memory of Lillian F. Blacker, a longtime Belmont resident who was active in community affairs and was director of the Harvard Medical News Office. She is remembered by the school and the community as a true lover of literature and language.

The Blacker Prizes are presented each year to three seniors for outstanding writing ability on their senior theses.  Each senior reads, researches, and writes a lengthy thesis paper investigating a literary topic. English faculty members determine the winners after an extensive reading process.

At the awards ceremony, the three Blacker Prize winners will read from their papers and discuss the evolution of their ideas. A panel of seniors will discuss their topics and the senior thesis process. Teachers, parents, administrators, and friends are invited. Underclassmen are encouraged to attend the ceremony to learn more about the senior thesis process. Refreshments will be served.

Final Night Of ‘One Acts’ Saturday, May 11, 4 PM, 7 PM

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Photo: The poster of the show

The final night of the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s student directed “ONE ACT PLAY FESTIVAL” will be held on Saturday, May 11 with a matinee at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the High School’s Little Theater.

Join BHS-PAC for the annual Student Directed Festival of short plays. Featuring 10-minute plays directed by PAC Members, the One Acts are a mix of comedy, drama and everything in between.

TICKET INFO:
7 PM SHOWS: ADULTS $12 / STUDENTS $5
SATURDAY 4 PM SHOW: ALL TICKETS $5

WHERE TO GET TICKETS:
Tickets are now on sale online and at Champions in Belmont Center

The plays are:

MURDER BY MIDNIGHT By Jeff Goode
Directed by Alice Turner and Grace Christensen
Dick Piston is a world-renowned hotel detective. A guest at the hotel comes to him, distressed by the murder of her husband. Hilarity and chaos ensue.

THE BEST DADDY By Shel Silverstein
Directed by Jacob Makar-Limanov and Sam Lubarr
It’s Lisa’s birthday and she’s getting a pony…
Or is she?

THE WEDDING STORY By Julianne Homokay
Directed by Liz Biondo and Sri Kaushik
An innocent attempt at a bedtime story quickly goes astray after the tale’s characters begin to inform the storyteller that she has got the facts all wrong.

THE MIME CRIME By Jonathan Yukich
Directed by Alyssa Bodmer and Megan Bodmer
A seemingly ordinary mime appears to have a connection with recent mysterious murders in a park.

‘TIS NOT ME SHE LOVES By Steven Stack
Directed by Alyssa Allen and Zoe Armstrong
The feud between the Hatplains and the McCroys has been in a slump for some time now, but perhaps a forbidden love between Romero McCroy and Julia Hatplain can get things going again.

THE GAME By Louise Bryant
Directed by Nathan Miller
Life and Death play a game of dice to decide the fates of two young people.

THE ZERO SUM MIND By Stephen Gregg
Directed By Sammy Haines
A group of people deal with the implications of the revelation that every time they learn something, they forget something else.