The Mysteries of Beaver: The Stained Glass Windows

MADDY KIEFER ‘08

Atop the two main staircases in Beaver, flanking the McElwain Studio, sit two stained glass windows: a knight and a king. They seem a little out of place, and I often wondered how and why they got there. With a little digging, though, it becomes clear that they are actually emblematic of a big part of Beaver history.

Back in the 20s and 30s, the “Arts and Crafts” movement was slowly beginning to wind down, but its influence on Beaver’s curriculum remained. Until the 1950’s, students at Beaver had majors, each of which had its own set of specific classes. For art majors, classes and activities included bookbinding, printmaking, metal work, costume and set design, and so on. Many of these classes required a final project for every student, and the stained glass windows are likely a result of that.

The window of the knight was created by Sylvia Van Ness Martin, class of ’37. Sylvia was the daughter of Beatrice Whitney Van Ness, Beaver’s first Art Department Head, who actually designed McElwain studio. It is unclear who made the window of the king, and whether it is in any way associated.

The Beaver archives include pictures of many of these activities, and even samples of students’ creations. Shown here are just a few. The attic holds an even more tangible relic: an actual manual printing press, albeit lacking the expensive type fonts needed to start printing again.

While work of this sort has largely disappeared from Beaver, and art projects have perhaps turned more abstract than practical, traces of that era remain in the cross-curricular creative projects Beaver students still undertake. For evidence, drop by the 8th graders’ annual CSP fair on Friday, May 30.

Special thanks to Ms. Boylan, Mr. Gow, and Toph Tucker

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The Breakdown

We'll have more on this later, but for now post your thoughts in the comments.
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Faculty Spotlight: Middle School Counselor Chris DeFilippo

EMILY BELOWICH '11

Chris DeFilippo, otherwise known as Ms. D, started her journey here at Beaver eight years ago, while she was attending the graduate school at Boston College. While working here as an intern, students often asked, “Are you coming back next year?” Though Ms. D. was hesitant to answer that question, something about the kids here at Beaver sparked her interests and she began working as a full-time middle school counselor the subsequent fall. She says that even now, after being here for nine years in total, her favorite part about teaching at Beaver is the “relationships with the students that build over time.”

Growing up, Ms. D. moved from place to place. She lived with her younger brother, John, her younger sister, Mary, and her parents, Ann and Gene. Though she was born in Ohio, she also lived in Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and then finally settling in Massachusetts. She attended Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Kentucky and moved her senior year and attended Radnor High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Her favorite thing to do was to play basketball, and in her senior year she was recruited to play Division I basketball at Villanova University. Though basketball was a huge part of her teenage life, she also enjoyed being with her friends.

I was very curious to know what incited Ms. D’s interest in counseling. In an interview with her, she mentioned that moving from place to place was very hard for her, especially transitioning so quickly and making new friends. However, she noted that the teachers at the school, in particular one teacher, made the transition a lot easier for her. She noted that this one teacher always came to her basketball games, and always encouraged her to make new friends. She quickly learned from this experience that she wanted to be that person for other kids, that role model, that guide they could go to, and she also learned that she actually did enjoy being in a school setting.

Ms. D’s favorite foods are pizza and hamburgers, and she enjoys listening to all kinds of music including R&B. Her favorite television shows are Grey’s Anatomy, ESPN Sports Center, and The Hills. Her favorite movies include Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, ET, and all of the Tyler Perry movies. One thing that you may not know about Ms. D. is her love for the song “One Shining Moment.” This song is the written by David Barrett about the Men’s College Basketball Championship. It is played every year at the end of the championship game. She says, “Every year, I wait up until the end of the game to hear this song, and every single year, I cry.” This inspirational song is played while the winning team’s players cut down the nets, and while they feature highlights throughout the NCAA tournament.
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Beaver planning to beef up Internet connection

TOPH TUCKER ‘08

It’s a common complaint: the computers at school are just too slow. Sometimes it may be an issue with the computer itself, although the school is constantly upgrading the machines. More often than not, though, what students are noticing is that the connection to the internet is slow.

Anyone fortunate enough to have been on one of the computers when the school is mostly deserted will have noticed that when you get it all to yourself, the connection is great. The issue is so many students doing so many bandwidth-intensive things at once.

In a couple months, Beaver plans to remedy that with a new connection 30 times as fast as our current one. While you aren’t likely to get much use out of it this year, we thought we’d give students a look at what’s to come. We spoke with Pat Ausman, Director of Technology, about the changes.

What is our current internet connection?
We currently have a T1 connection. It was installed 7 years ago. (Ed. note: hey, that’s when I came to Beaver! –Toph) It has a speed of 1.5 MB/sec. Some would equate this to the speed of what you have with a cable modem at home. It really is better than that because we have the full 1.5 MB/sec reserved while at home you share your cable speed with others on the same node.

What are we upgrading to?
We are going to install a T3 connection. It is rated at 44 MB/sec. We are also upgrading the main router and firewall networking boxes to make sure they can handle the additional potential load.

Why are we doing this?
At certain times of the day we are using 100 percent of our bandwidth. Last year at the same time we were using about 80 percent at peak times. With the explosive growth of video available on the web we needed to be able to better support our BCDS business processes that use outside database resources and provide more robust access to all types of web products for use in the classroom. We looked into various solutions, such as just getting an additional T1, but decided that a T3 connection would give us over 30 times the bandwidth for about 3 times the cost of what we spend now. We wanted more than just a one year solution.

When will it happen?
The physical connection of a T3 connection is different than a T1 so a new router has been ordered. The order for the line has been placed. Sixty days is not unusual for installation, though you can never tell. “The last mile”—which is the connection between our building and our service provider's nearest point of presence—is only handled by the local phone company, not our service provider. This tends to be the most unpredictable factor in determining the timeline. Also, there will be some delay once all the pieces are here and installed to allow the switchover to occur in a non-critical time. (Ed. note: that probably means “not before summer break.”)

Should students be able to see a noticeable improvement?
Yes.

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Thanks to Ms. Ausman and the Tech Department for keeping things running smoothly, and for keeping us in the loop.

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A CALL TO ARMS: The Missing Vending Machine

MICHAEL FIRER ‘09

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
- Thomas Paine

My friends, I’m sure I need not remind you of the travesty that took place recently. A great misfortune has befallen us, as someone has felt the need to deliver a shockingly underhanded blow to all that is good and respectable. I speak, of course, of the missing vending machine that once resided along with its brothers in the basement annex adjacent to the student lounge. This respected member of our beloved community had for years served up various goods to the people, including even, at one tumultuous time in its life at Beaver, cheese danishes. Without ever so much as uttering a single word, this colorful dispenser of confectionery delights managed to worm its way into our hearts.

However, it would appear that the machine had made several an enemy, for one seemingly uneventful morning I approached the corner in which it normally lay, a crisp Mr. Washington in my hand, and received a shock incomparable to any I had ever had. The barren space left by the machine was but a mere echo of the one in my heart. Nothing remained but a large wooden board and a stain of questionable origin.

Naturally, I blame the school. It was clear that my compatriots have more honor than to commit such a flagrant disregard for fundamental human decency, but the reason for my accusation extends beyond that. Let us take a look at the hard facts that are immediately present. Who else would stand to benefit from the sudden absence of the machine in question, and then be willing to move all roughly 880 pounds of it to achieve said absence? The fat cats at the top have a known history with this sort of thing. Who can forget the depraved theft of the furniture from the student lounge that sparked a sit-in of epic proportions? Well, needless to say, the furniture was returned, and although a formal apology was not issued and proper reparations were never paid, it was a step in the right direction.

The people have been pushed aside for too long. We can no longer sit by and do nothing as the bureaucrats at the top slowly crush us in their ever tightening grip. The time is now, my friends. We must do the only sensible thing possible, and take up arms against the Goliath that is the Beaver Country Day School. It will be a long, bloody fight, and I have no doubt that many will be lost before any semblance of victory is reached, but what great cause has ever been achieved without sacrifice? Consider this an ultimatum, Beaver. Until that machine is returned and my people can again enjoy their Doritos, Cheetos, and other assorted “eetos” with ease, the onslaught will not end.

Oh, wait… hold on. Turns out that they’re just replacing it with a new one. That makes sense, I guess. The old one broke a lot. Ooh. Uh… so… don’t do all that stuff I said… but… uh… never give up the endless struggle! The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph! The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph!

More information coming soon about the new and improved snack machine. How's that for investigative journalism!
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The Mysteries of Beaver: The Bloomberg Benches

MADDY KIEFER ‘08

During spring break, the school underwent a minor transformation. Walls were painted, mailboxes suddenly had numbers, and there were these random decorated benches in the Bloomberg Plaza. One honors the Patriots, one honors the Red Sox, one depicts Fenway Park and one proclaims “Curse Reversed.” At first, I thought that some art class might have painted them. After looking twice though, I figured that, as good as our art program might be, none of our students are quite that talented. So where did they come from?

It turns out that, at the suggestion of parent Peter Schneider, Beaver purchased them from a nonprofit organization called Seats of Consciousness. The idea goes back to when Nancy Johnson (director of Fair Foods, a company affiliated with Seats of Consciousness) noticed the waste of materials such as wood and paint from large companies like Home Depot. Instead of letting these materials go to waste, she decided to recycle them by creating benches and tables and selling them to fund her organization. Since 1988, Fair Foods has transported truckloads of food to low-income communities in Massachusetts, and buying these four benches has helped fund that cause.

The reaction so far seems to be positive, and Mr. Hutton says, “We may order more in the future for different areas of the campus.”

Further reading:
More information on Beaver’s new paint job and additions
Seats of Consciousness website
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Student Council Update: Fundraisers

LIZ COBB '08

Student Council reunited this week after our two week vacation. The main topics of discussion were issues and hindrances relating to Student Council’s plans for the spring. The administration’s cooperation, as usual, is limited and slowing some of Student Council’s progress. However, we are working to find ways to compromise with the administration to solve the problems that were brought up at the meeting. The rest of the meeting was dedicated to brainstorming ideas for fundraisers. Though there is still money after the recent Fun Day, the senior student council members have no desire to leave next year’s group fiscally limited. We are planning to sell Beaver clothing and paraphernalia later this month.

As always, Student Council would love to hear your ideas. Please tell a member of Student Council if you have any suggestions or grievances, or come to our meetings at 8:00 on Tuesday mornings.

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BREAKING: Student government deemed illegitimate and unconstitutional; splinter group establishes government in exile

Early this morning, a splinter group calling itself “OCDS” announced its intention to challenge the legitimacy of the existing student government. It claims that the Wilmot administration has flagrantly ignored several crucial tenets of the Student Council Constitution. On these grounds, OCDS has declared the existing student government illegitimate, and moved forward with establishing a government in exile.

Among the claims made by OCDS in their press release are the following:

1. Article Five, governing modification and amendment of the Constitution, states: “Every year the current Student Council must review and vote to re-approve this constitution so that it remains an active document.” OCDS claims to have evidence that yearly reviews and re-ratifications are not taking place. The fact that the Constitution was drafted by the Student Council of the 1995–1996 school year and modified just once by the Student Council of 2002-2003 supports their position.

2. Article Five also states: “A copy of this document will be given to each member of Council at the start of the school year.” OCDS claims to have evidence that this is not happening.

3. Article Five concludes with: “Additionally, a copy will be posted prominently on the bulletin board of the main hallway of the school so the student body may view the rules and regulations their elected officials are subject to.” Even since far before the repainting, there appears to be no posted copy of the Constitution. (It is also inappropriate to end the sentence—and thus the entire Constitution—in a preposition.)

4. OCDS is furthermore adamant that the existing system of voting for student representatives, as laid out in Articles III and IV, is generally weak and suffers from a serious transparency deficiency, particularly concerning the meaningfulness of second- and third-place votes.

The press release asserts that these issues are not particular to any single administration, but endemic in the entire system.

In addition to rectifying the above grievances, OCDS has outlined several other goals:

1. To reverse the trend toward use of the initialism “BCDS” in place of “Beaver.”

2. To explore a strategic alliance with Beaver’s traditional ally the Chestnut Hill School in order to counteract Brimmer and May’s recent construction of fortified underground bunkers.

3. To increase funding to groups such the Science and Engineering Club for use in weapons and defense research projects.

While the provisional government currently lacks a head of state, OCDS has nominated minor celebrity and Beaver expatriate Rob Kotzen.

The current student government has yet to respond to the statements made by OCDS.
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Missing tennis courts found at 44° N, 69° W, altitude of 248 ft.

TOPH TUCKER ‘08

After reporting on the mysterious disappearance of the Beaver tennis courts last September, we are happy to announce that Beaver Reader investigators may have located three of the four courts in a lonely neck of the woods eighteen miles north of Augusta, Maine. (For satellite imagery of the courts-in-hiding, click here.)

The courts’ motive remains unclear. Witnesses deny that the courts ever expressed any discontent or displeasure with Beaver, although at least one close friend admitted that certain portions of the courts were “depressed… and thus prone to poor drainage.” The courts are thought to be working in concert with a green backboard, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

It is also our sad duty to report that the fourth court may have suffered a fate too terrible to comprehend. It was last seen struggling to cross the Piscataqua River Bridge by stunned commuters on I-95. “The current there is pretty strong, and tennis courts aren’t known for their ability to swim,” stated one investigator, who asked to remain anonymous.

If anyone has any information regarding the disappearance or whereabouts of the courts or their associates, please contact The Beaver Reader at our Missing Courts Hotline: 1-888-548-0034.
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