Largest Belmont High Freshmen Orientation Wednesday at 5 PM

The largest entering freshman class in recent Belmont High School history will have a chance to tour the halls and learn more about their next four years at Freshman Orientation today, Wednesday, Aug. 27 beginning at 5 p.m. at the High School. 

Approximately 325 incoming ninth graders will learn from upperclassmen how to get around the school before the first day of school in one week’s time on Sept. 3. 

In addition, students will have group meetings with guidance counselors, get a tour of the building and join current students for a pizza dinner.

Parents are welcome for the opening panel from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Turning the White Field House from Dank to Swank

For generations of Belmont High School athletes, the White Field House was known for being a dank and dingy building where the lockers were old and narrow and the interior dark and smelly.

What a difference a summer of hard work – and approximately $100,000 in contributions and in-kind contributions – can do.

Through the efforts of parents of current athletes and past players, craftsmen and contractors, the interior of the nearly 83-year-old brick building on Concord Avenue has been transformed into a welcoming place for student athletes when school and town officials toured the Belmont School District-owned site on Monday, Aug. 25.

“Before you might have walked in and said ‘When are we going to tear this place down?’,” said Frederick Jones, who led the effort in renovating the site.

“The hope is that this will be an inspiration. Let’s make this the beginning of a commitment,” he said.

The walls in nearly every room in the two-story building are now lined with newly-installed lockers, the entire interior was thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned (for the first time in years), layers of paint stripped and replaced with a white coat, light fixtures replaced and modernized as floors were repaired and refurbished. Soon there will be an internet connection at the field house to allow the teams to review game film.

And the bronze memorial for James Paul White, a 19-year-old Belmont resident who died in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, was cleaned and polished, sparkling was it did in 1948 when the building was named in his honor.

“The good story is that at the beginning of the season, the town has a renovated White Field House and Harris Field, which are both town assets,” said David Kale, Belmont’s Town Administrator.

Led by Woodfall Road’s Jones, a small committee made up of Larry Christofori, and Bob Delhome and Eric Aulenback –both former Marauder football players and Belmont High graduates – spearheaded the work with both cash contributions and using their contacts to solicit both volunteers and contributions to the cause.

“There was a lot of sweat equity by the members of this group,” said Jones. Christofori said the monetary and the in-kind contributions – which totaled $100,000 – worked hand-in-hand in bringing the project to completion.

“There is leverage when you come up with $50,000 in cash contributions. People see that we had the wherewithal, and it attracts a whole lot more people. They see it being successful, and they want to be part of it,” said Christofori.

He pointed out a few individuals who took on the challenge: Bob Aiello of JDC Demolition took care of all demolition, absorbing that cost; Gene Vetrano, owner of EJ Vetrano Painting and Wallpapering, put in more than 400 hours of labor into the project with top-of-the-line material at substantially below his actual cost; and John Rumley, owner of Rumley Electric, took care of all electrical work, new lighting and safety lighting at substantially below cost.

In addition, Dennis Rocha of D.Rocha Construction, Tom Ferraro of Northeast Industrial Tech and Jon Baldi provided “jack-of-all trade” services on small, but challenging job when needed.

The group also took a look at the renovated Harris Field and Track, the main playing surface for multiple teams in Belmont. The project, financed by the continuation of a bond approved by a special Town Meeting in 2013, cost about $850,000, approximately $100,000 less than originally estimated, said Peter Castanino, director of the Department of Public Works. Besides a state-of-the-art padded artificial Turf field, the field has a new track surface, fencing and padding. New drain covers will be coming soon.

And it will be the athletes who will benefit from the improvements.

“Coming off the back of a difficult season last year, we’re very blessed to have these two new spaces and very grateful to all the people who did this out of the goodness of their hearts,” said Belmont Head Football Coach Yann Kumin.

Harris Field ‘On Schedule’ for Mid-August Return

Belmont High School Athletic Director Jim Davis’ list of things to do this summer has one item that is underlined with a series of stars next to it.

Harris Field Renovation!! ★

In the past two weeks since work began on Belmont High’s field and track adjacent to the Skip Viglirolo Skating Rink and the White Field House on Concord Avenue, Davis’ summer project is going to plan. An excavator has been parked on the barren field having removed the turf to the foundation as huge white bags of plastic pellets and sand are stationed next to the pitch.IMG_1407

“They are on scsedule,” Davis said of the work by Quirk Construction of Georgetown, Mass. which submitted the win bid of $815,300 in March. 

“They have removed all the old turf and trucked it away and now they are drilling the anchors for the fence,” said Davis, who meets each week with the school’s consultant, Activitas, on all aspects of replacing the original synthetic field installed in 2001.

“It’s being helped with all the good weather we’ve had so far,” said Davis, who is confident the turf field and track will be refurbished by Aug. 18, just before training for the fall sports season begins.

Next up for the crew is to clean the drainage around the field and placing a cushioning padding on which the artificial “grass” will rest, with the hope that serious tumbles on the surface will be softened and prevents injuries. In addition, the drainage around the track has been checked and cleaned.

The job in which the synthetic turf “carpet” will be replaced, fencing and walkways repaired and the track resurfaced and relined was authorized by the special Town Meeting in November 2013 for $960,000 with funding from an extension of bonding that purchased the uni-vents at the High School. 

The work so far succeeded in uncovering the electrical conduit on the field once thought lost, said Davis.

Belmont Community Summer Band Seeking Musicians for July Concert

Summer is the season for being outdoors.

And if your are a woodwind musician or percussionist, you can still enjoy being outside and perform with some of your neighbors with a new group, the Belmont Community Summer Band.

According to Arto Asadoorian, the Belmont Public School’s Director of Fine & Performing Arts, the band is open to wind and percussion players ages 14 to “too old to ask.”

The BCSB will rehearse three times in late July:

The culminating performance will take place at Payson Park in the evening on Thursday, July 31 at 6 p.m.

Anyone interested in signing up can do so by completing this Google Form or go to the link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1rBglA3Pwyvmu2Gd8uDkDl5N7OI3bq7zO7PT-xGYUe-U/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link

For information about the Belmont Community Summer Band, contact Asadoorian at aasadoorian@belmont.k12.ma.us.

Belmont High’s Harris Field Closed Until August

Belmont High School’s Harris Field and its running track at the Concord Avenue Athletic Complex, a favorite destination in Belmont for youth teams, runners and for pickup games, are now officially “closed” for long-anticipated renovations beginning today, Monday, June 16, according to Judi Carmody, business manager of the Belmont Department of Public Works. 

The work is expected to last until Aug. 15, a week before the beginning of practice for the fall High School sports season. 

The $960,000 job, in which the synthetic turf “carpet” will be replaced, fencing and walkways repaired and the track resurfaced and relined, was authorized by the special Town Meeting in November 2013. The funding is coming from an extension of bonding that paid for the uni-vents at the High School. 

“We regret any inconvenience that these improvements may cause,” said Carmody. Residents who have any questions can call the DPW at 617-993-2680 or email at BelmontDPW@belmont-ma.gov

Normile Delivers With High School Theater Award

Belmont High School senior Tyler Normile delivered the goods as “Kyle, the UPS guy” in the Performing Arts Company’s Screen Shot 2014-06-11 at 3.07.18 PMproduction of “Legally Blonde,” Belmont High’s spring musical.

His role received the ultimate recognition by winning the best feature actor category at the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s Musical Awards held on Monday, June 9 at a ceremony at the Cutler-Majestic Theater in Boston. 

“It’s a great honor, not just for Tyler, but for all of the students who were nominated to be recognized for their excellent work,” said Ezra Flam, “Legally Blonde’s” producer and director.

Belmont’s four other nominees were:

  1. Best Supporting Actress:  Caralyn Aufiero
  2. Best Supporting Actor:  Sam Korn
  3. Best Specialty Ensemble:  Julia Regier, Helena Kim and Isabelle Luongo
  4. Best Sound Design:  Greg LaBombard, Kadra Lindmeier, Michelle Kornberg, Anna Makar-Limanov, Princy Sundurakar and Sam Casey.

 

Jones Races in Finals in All-State 200 meters

Belmont High School junior Max Jones raced home to a seventh place finish in the finals of the 200 meters in 22.57 seconds in the MIAA All State Outdoor Track and Field Championships held on Saturday, June 7 at Bridgewater State University. His time was a personal best this year, beating his 23.05 which was ranked 20th before the meet.

Jones gained the finals by placing 7th in 22.72 in the qualifying rounds earlier in the day.

Jones’ placement gave Belmont its only two points of the day.

Fellow junior Ari Silverfine finished in 21 in 2:01.14 in the 800 meters.

Freshman Julia Cella finished in 10th in the 100 meters in 12.62 – a season’s best – and 15th in the 200 meters in 26.08 in her two individual events.  Belmont’s 4×100 meter relay squad finished in a best time 50.53 which placed the team in 15th.

Belmont High Runners Heading to Saturday’s All-State Meet

After coming off impressive placements and times at the Eastern Massachusetts Division 3 championships this past weekend, four Belmont High School runners and a girls’ relay team will be heading to Bridgewater on Saturday, June 7, to compete in the MIAA All-State Championships.

After finishing second in both events, Marauder freshman Julia Cella is ranked 14th in the 100 meters in 12.74 seconds and 17th in the 200 meters in 26.09 going into the meet in which the top athletes in all division levels will compete at Bridgewater State University.

She will also lead Belmont’s 4 x 100 meter relay team, made up almost exclusively by fellow freshmen and sophomores, which is ranked 15th.

Junior Max Jones, who also placed second in “the duce” in the divisional meet, is ranked 20th in the 200 meters in a time of 23.05 while fellow junior Ari Silverfine is pegged at 21 in the 800 meters having run the two lapper under two minutes with a best of 1:59.20.

Harris Field Resurfacing Starts on June 16

It’s official: Belmont High School’s Harris Field and the running tack at the Concord Avenue Athletic Complex will be closed for its long anticipated renovations beginning on Monday, June 16, according to Judi Carmody, business manager of the Belmont Department of Public Works. 

The work is expected to last until Aug. 15, a week before the beginning of practice for the fall High School sports season. 

The $960,000 job, in which the synthetic turf field will be replaced and the track will be resurfaced and relined, was authorized by the special Town Meeting in November 2013. 

“We regret any inconvenience that these improvements may cause,” said Carmody. Residents who have any questions can call the DPW at 617-993-2680 or email at BelmontDPW@belmont-ma.gov

2014 Class Act: Belmont High Graduates Seniors into the World

Salutations, speeches, songs and even a selfie. The 2014 graduating class of Belmont High School was feted in a myriad of ways at the final ceremony of – for many of the graduates – 13 years of education in the Belmont school system.

On a brilliant late spring day, the 265 graduates – one of the largest senior classes in recent history – had to cool their heels upstairs in the “little” gym before descending into a hallway with faculty, staff and School Committee members just outside the Wenner Field House. Inside were parents, relatives, siblings and friends, many with cameras, iPads and smartphones at the ready to help remember the celebration.

Leading the way in was Belmont School Superintendent Dr. Thomas Kingston whose three-year long “interim” tenure heading the district is coming to an end on June 30. It also marked the end of an active career as an educator of nearly half a century.

“All graduations are a bit bittersweet,” said Kingston, who said he had been to so many in his career his academic robes had become frayed.

And a few minutes after 3 p.m. – not that many people were worried about being tardy – the graduation possession proceeded with Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” by the school’s Symphonic Winds.

The ceremony’s highlights were the exceptional speeches from three outstanding graduates.

Class President Tyler Normale – or as he was known, “El Presidente” – said he is the 32nd member of his extended family to have graduated from Belmont High School, a school in what is more than just a small town; “it is a community … a place to be together, and a place where everyone knows everyone.”

Speaking of the activities his classmates had in common, Normale said it took a “thick skin, hard work, perseverance and countless sleepless hours with nothing but caffeine” to move through the four years of high school and to be seating in the Field House on this day.

Normale, who will be attending Stonehill in the fall, asked his classmates to turn around and give those nearby a hug, a high five and a handshake before turning around himself to take a group selfie of himself and his classmates, a gesture leading to a standing ovation from this classmates.

The two graduation speakers, honored with the School Committee Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship, saw their classmates as having

An accomplished violinist and outstanding academic – her senior thesis was honored with the Lillian Blacker Award – Aldis Elfarsdottir said while they praise those who helped shape us such as parents, family, teachers and friends, she asked her classmates to think of those “you only glancingly saw” in hallways and classrooms; “those you probably known by name but have never really spoken to.”

“You might be one of them,” said Elfarsdottir, who is matriculating at Harvard.

“All around us, there are people we don’t really know, who we take for granted to always act in certain ways” – Elfarsdottir never got to know the young man who had the locker next to hers through most of High School – which can change quietly or with a burst of friendly charm.

“Whether or not we choose to burst our with friendliness as we bump into new people in the future depends on ourselves. It is up to us … [to] bring out the compassion and goodness in ourselves and others of our global community,” she said.

Yuansi Amy Zhang admitted being a perfectionist from the time when she had to answer all the “Mad Minute” questions correctly. So given the opportunity to write one of the graduation speeches, she was flooded with excitement and anxiety “as the intrinsic need for fiction coursed through my body.”

Joining Elfarsdottir at Harvard, Zhang – a first-class scientist and four-year volunteer education aide – said she soon realized the speech need not be perfect but have some long-lasting impact on her classmates, a speech “tinged with permanence.”

“I believe that an individual, like a good speech, should strive to have style, substance and a permanent impact” one achieved through hard work, perseverance and practice, she said.

Asking her classmates to think of what, over the past 13 years, helped shape their character and their own quest for permanence, Zhang said she believed the class of 2014 remain in control of that goal “because we can choose what impact we make on the world.”

“We cannot be the future until we make the conscious decision to become part of the present,” said Zhang.

And for the next 45 minutes, that present was for each of the seniors to receive their diplomas, toss their caps into the air and then walking out into the warm afternoon newly-minted alumni.

Soon, several young men continued the recent tradition of lighting up a “victory” cigars – this year joined by a few young women – while classmates gathered for photographs, handshakes and hugs.