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WEEK of March 10, 2008
@BFS! archives

Who’s Counting? The Upper School Is.

Students Celebrate 100 Days and 100 Years

by Jeffrey Stanley

“Why aren’t you screaming for me?” Head of School Michael Nill asked in mock sorrow as he took the stage to address the Upper School students and faculty in the Pearl Street Meeting House on February 19. He had a tough act to follow: a Guitar Hero smackdown marking the end of Spirit Week. Guitar Hero, a musical videogame in which players press colored buttons on a plastic replica of an electric guitar to try to keep up with fast-moving stream of colored notes onscreen in order to play classic rock, may as well have been a gladiatorial contest. Part theatre, part rock concert and part sport, the game had been projected onto the large screen onstage as pairs of competing students from various grades stood on either side trying to outplay each other to a roaring crowd. The players were finalists from the previous week’s contest.

The ruckus marked not only the end of Upper School Spirit Week but the 100th anniversary of the Upper School’s founding, and the 100th day of the school year. “Freshmen, how does that feel?” asked Upper School Head Roxanne Zazzaro. “Does it feel like more than 100 days or less?” A resounding and predictable “More!” was their response.

“High energy and spirit in the middle of the winter is sometimes hard to muster in schools,” Roxanne explained later. To counter the doldrums, Spirit Week, this year a two-week affair at BFS, is “a time to show school spirit and to brighten up what could be the dull days of winter.” During the first week students engaged in a mainstay of spirit weeks in high schools all across the nation, dress-up theme days. The second week included friendly competitive events during the school day including games of dodge ball and Guitar Hero.

Student Senate President John Vielot elaborated on the two-week spirit week initiated by the senate in honor of the Upper School’s centennial year. On theme days students wore pajamas, superhero costumes, celebrity-icon outfits, dressed as twins, and looked back to the 1980s. Points were awarded to grades based on the largest participation. The grade with the most school spirit was awarded a doughnut party. The second week kicked off on February 19, the 100th day of the school year, with the Guitar Hero competition. “Major eye-hand coordination is needed,” explained John. “Seniors competed against ninth graders and juniors against sophomores. The winners of the two separate battles faced off in the Meeting House assembly for the ultimate title of Guitar Hero. The juniors won.”

The Upper School was born in 1907, 40 years after the original school was founded, and Dr. Nill reminded the students of the anniversary’s import. “We’re going to spend some time today talking about history,” he said, stressing that continuity, Quaker values, and a sense of community at BFS have been constant over the years. He described a time in the 1940’s when the historic Schermerhorn Meeting House and Brooklyn Friends School were set to be condemned and demolished by the city to make way for a new jail. The community launched a letter-writing campaign that saved both. Dr. Nill linked this effort to the school’s current Letters for Change program, an ongoing community service project in which middle school advisories research societal ills at the local, national and global levels and launch letter-writing campaigns in an effort to reach out to those in power.

John also addressed the gathering and spoke about the Upper School’s 100th birthday. “I’m proud to see us all here today to celebrate this legacy. We are a talented group of athletic, creative and free-thinking individuals.” He then introduced a slideshow put together by the Student Senate featuring BFS students during spirit week and BFS students and faculty from over the past hundred years. Earlier in the day a group of juniors and seniors also spent time in the kindergarten and first grade classes reading to the students and sharing frosted “100 Years” cookies at snack time.

The celebrations weren’t just for the students. Upper School faculty got in on the act as well, coming in costume on dress-up days, wearing “100 Years/100 Days” buttons and even helping out with a Friday night dance, the first to be held at BFS in six years. “The faculty supported it, stayed until midnight, helped with set-up, and rumor has it some of them even danced. We also invited students from other schools,” said Roxanne, congratulating the faculty for their hard work and “great spirit.” John also pointed out that a portion of the proceeds from the school dance will go to Keep a Child Alive, an organization fighting childhood AIDS in Africa.

“I was extremely proud of the Upper School students,” said Roxanne. “The energy, enthusiasm and sense of community they have exhibited are phenomenal. This is why I come to school each day.”

Photos, from top: A “100 Years” cookie; “Guitar Heroes” and Student Senate President John Vielot; dressing up for Superhero, Character, and Twins Days; and (at left) Upper School administrative assistant Stephen Kelly sporting the “100 days/100 years button”