THE GLOBAL CITIZEN - Wilbraham & Monson Academy

NEWS FROM THE HILL
SINGING THEIR WAY ACROSS EUROPE
Hye Young Chyun ’07 and Wilson Kao ’06 joined the United
States Youth Ensembles Chorale for a 19-day six-country
European tour in July. Hye Young says, "The tour was amazing,
riding in gondolas in Venice with friends, experiencing
cultural beauties of other countries, singing in the Cathedral
of Notre Dame in Paris. The most touching concert was at
Dachau. Because singing embodies feelings, there was a huge
difference in the way we sang after experiencing the strong
emotions that Dachau evokes."
View of the
gymnasium
expansion from
Faculty Street.
GREENHALGH
EXPANSION UPDATE
Excitement mounts at the Faculty Street
construction site as masonry exterior walls
go up to form the perimeter of the new
building extension, making it easy to see
the dimensions and magnitude of the new
structure. The goal of the construction personnel
is to get the building “buttoned up”
before the cold weather so that work on the
interior can continue through the winter.
Some of the work you can’t see is the following:
all underground utilities have been
set in their final resting places and the “slab”
has been poured in its entirety; steel roofing
materials are now “on site” and ready to go; decisions about
interior finishes, color schemes, wood tones, tile patterns,
locker configurations, and the like are in process. Sprinkler
pipes have been hung and painted in the existing gymnasium
for future tie-in to the new required fire protection system for
the entire gymnasium.
A NEW LOOK ON RICH II
It’s remarkable how much difference paint and tasteful wallpaper
can make. There is a distinctly welcoming and comfortable
atmosphere on Rich II thanks to the superb craftsmanship and
exacting efforts of members of our maintenance staff, William
AUTHOR-PHOTOGRAPHER
FELTON
R. Todd Felton, a member of the WMA
English department from 1995-2004, and
its chair from 2000-2004, published his first
book last spring through Roaring Forties
Press as part of their ArtPlace Series. A study
of the transcendentalists, their connections to
one another and to New England, A Journey
into the Transcendentalists’ New England,
was well received. In his review of the book,
Chris Bergeron of the Daily News Staff praised
FPO
Ciosek, Gary Provost, and Earl Racine. A big “Thanks!” from
the boys on Rich II.
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR WMA
STUDENTS
Josh Binney ’07, Ian Carlin ’08, and Elizabeth Wright ’08
attended two People to People Leadership Summits held this
summer on college campuses. Elizabeth attended the theatre
and the arts summit at the University of California at Los
Angeles, while Josh and Ian spent the first half of the international
diplomacy summit in Washington D.C. at George
Washington University and the second half at Columbia
University in New York. In each of the programs, students
focus on developing their leadership skills and increasing their
awareness of their leadership styles to become more effective
in their present roles on campus and those they will undertake
in the future. Josh and Ian are both Bicentennial Scholars and
class representatives on the Student Senate this year. Elizabeth
was president of her class last year and will continue to be a
valuable committee member for class projects this year. Josh
said of his summit, “The People to People Future Leadership
program allowed me to interact and work with student leaders
my age from all over the country; it was a stimulating and
enjoyable experience.”
LATIN TOUR DRAWS A CROWD
From the radiant oculus inside Rome’s Pantheon, to Greece’s
Argolid plains and mighty Mycenae, across the Aegean to
ancient Ephesus in Turkey, our students were given the opportunity
of a lifetime this past March. This tour was one of
superlatives, as WMA was very well represented on the Latin
it as “an essential Transcendental travelogue
that explores connections between writers and
the places where they lived and how that interaction
shaped New England culture.” Todd,
who also does much of the photography for
his books, has two more in the works, one on
Irish writers in Dublin during the Irish Literary
Revival and another on writers in the British
Lake District. Felton was on campus Saturday
morning, October 21, Parents’ Weekend and
Homecoming, for a book signing.
WMA 2 · FALL 2006 · THE ACADEMY WORLD
Hye Young (back row, left) and Wilson (front row, right) performing
as members of Mosaic Harmony at the spring 2006 concert.
Todd Felton signs copies
of A Journey into the
Transcendentalists’ New
England for Liz Mitchell ’04
and Andrew Lindberg ’04.