The Peak – Spring 2024

Eighty-six students in Ms. Moss and Mr. Tresnan’s classes participated in the National Latin Exam, a standardized Latin test for high school students. Students taking Latin 7, Latin 8, Latin I, Latin II, CLIII, and Latin V Advanced classes took this exam in late March, along with students across the country and around the world. Williams had 26 students that scored high enough to earn an award from the ACL. All of these students earned a score that is higher than the national average on this exam. Congratulations to everyone!

Link to ACL List of Williams Achievers

Great job to the following Williams students for their success in recent math competitions!

American Math Competitions

• Ken Wang ’26 – Scored in the top 1% and qualified to compete in the American Invitational Mathematical Competition (AIMC) competition.
• Harry Chen ‘27
• Lu Lucht ‘25
• Calvin LaFrance ‘26
• Bill Qi ‘25

Center for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC)

• Calvin LaFrance ‘26 – Earned certificate
• Yuran Li ‘26 – Earned medal for his score on the Cayley test
• Ken Wang ‘26 – Earned medal for his score on the Galois test

Purple Comet Math Competition

Team Competition – Overall Ranking – 531 out of 1153, United States Ranking – 198 out of 334, CT Ranking – 2 out of 5

• Calvin LaFrance ‘26
• Bill Qi ‘26
• Yuran Li ‘26

NEC (National Economics Challenge)

The following students’ combined scores placed them first in Connecticut, qualifying them to compete in the semifinal round. 

• Aarav Patidar ‘24
• Bryce Bennhoff ‘24
• Yuran Li ‘26
• Ken Wang ‘26

Link to PDF

A Middle and Upper School Student Collaboration

Throughout the year and culminating this trimester, students in Mrs. Hannon’s Local History class and Mrs. Marvel’s Advanced U.S History and American History classes collaborated on The Witness Stones Project, honoring Adam Jackson (c. 1700-1764). The Witness Stones Project is a non-profit educational initiative whose mission is to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities. Students created artwork and written essays commemorating the life of Adam Jackson and presented them as part of an on campus ceremony with representatives from The Witness Stones Project, the Hempsted House, and city of New London. The stone will be placed at the Hempsted House in New London during an installation ceremony taking place this summer.

Congratulations, Hudson!

Link to video of Award Ceremony

Immersed in Spanish Language

Students in all levels of Senor Cohen’s Spanish classes participated in unique activities this trimester. Juniors in Spanish IV Honors presented their publicity projects with each group creating a magazine ad for a particular brand or product using formal commands. Spanish III students presented their LAB projects which were nonprofit charitable organizations and fundraising events that they created. Spanish I students concluded their unit on food and beverage with a Almuerzo Espanol (Spanish luncheon) where each student prepared a dish from a Spanish-speaking country. ¡Aprender español es divertido! (Learning Spanish is fun!)

“Humans as Makers of Their Realities” 

Professor Bailey P ‘30 from Connecticut College recently spoke to Mrs. DeLaurentis’ Marine and Environmental Science class. Professor Bailey explored the concept of  “Humans as Makers of Their Realities.” As an artist and individual who is concerned about humans’ negative effects on the environment – primarily climate change – he shared examples of his sculptures and his experience watching the climate change debate unfold.

According to the Connecticut College website,  “A unifying theme in Greg’s work seems to be the interconnectedness of the environment and the self. His work utilizes a variety of materials and imagery and he continues to expand his repertoire in his recent work with installation, where he transforms the environment of galleries.” 

This 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones follows two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt into falling in love by pretending to feud. Audiences during all three nights of the performance were entertained by our amazing cast of thespians.

Link to Program

Spring Arts Night was held during Spring Alumni Weekend this year, which allowed alumni, parents, and friends the opportunity to enjoy a plethora of student art exhibits and the popular Radio Essays.

Thank you to all our amazing student artists!

This year the Spring Concert was held during an all school assembly, which allowed the entire student body,  faculty/staff, and many parents to be treated to performances by the Jazz Band, the Eighth Grade Choir, Vocal Lab Choir, and a variety of additional musical numbers performed by talented students — all under the leadership of Music Teacher Mr. Cregeur.

Students in the Portfolio Development class curated a student art show at The Lyman Allyn Museum in early April, presenting their own art as well as works they selected from students in Art I, Art II, and Art III. A special reception was held at the museum on April 11th.

Students in the Portfolio Development class: Jaidyn Cote ‘24, Thanasi Georgiadis ‘24, Sophia Guinan ‘25, Rachel Hambly ‘24, Scarlet Kane ‘24, Brendan Li ‘24, Luke Legein ‘24, Maria Morant ‘24, and Abigail Potts ‘24. 

Students from Art I, Art II, and Art III that had their works included: Marlee Anselmi ‘25, Julia Battista ‘26, Harry Chen ‘27, Angelina Georgiadis ‘27, Alexia Georgiadis ‘27, Hailey Greenberg ‘25, Liam Kelly ‘27, Jay Lui ‘25, Rowan McGrath ‘24, Annabel McKillop ‘25, Kiki Poulard ‘27, Sarah Steffian ‘27, and Jadiel Thomas ‘26.

Students taking The Isms in the 19th and 20th century class completed their trimester of art history with a field trip to The Florence Griswold Museum, where they learned about American Impressionism, Florence Griswold, and key figures of the art movement, along with a brief history of Old Lyme. Museum educators gave a tour of the American Impressionist permanent collection and a current exhibition on Pop Art sculpture. They also sat by the Lieutenant River for a painting session “en plein air.” 

Nearly 90 Connecticut high schools participate in the Halo Awards, which celebrates and rewards students for their work in all aspects of theatre: acting, technical theatre, directing, and more. Congratulations to all Williams performing arts students who received nominations and to Skye Nugent ‘24 for capturing Best Comic Female Performance in a Musical for her role as Mortimer/The Man Who Dies in The Fantasticks.  

Nominations

• Best Props Design: Thomas Carpenter ‘27 for Almost, Maine
• Best Stage Management: Thomas Carpenter ‘27 for Almost, Maine
• Best Program Art: Emma Tanabe ‘25 and Sebastian Knoop ‘25 for Almost, Maine
• Best Male Standout Performance in and Ensemble Production: Tobias Adler ‘24 as Phil in Almost, Maine
• Best Performance by a Couple or Dynamic Duo in a Play: Sadie Susskind ‘26 and Sydney Caplan ‘26 as Deena and Shelly in Almost, Maine
• Best Comic Male Performance in a Musical: Tobias Adler ‘24 as Henry/The Old Actor in The Fantasticks
• Best Comic Female Performance in a Musical: Skye Nugent ‘24 as Mortimer/The Man Who Dies in The Fantasticks
• Best Performance by a Couple or Dynamic Duo in a Musical: Zara Asim ‘26 and Maria Carseli ‘24 as Hucklebee/The Boy’s Father and Bellomy/The Girl’s Father in The Fantasticks
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Classical Musical: Sebastian Knoop ‘25 as El Gallo/The Narrator in The Fantasticks
• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Classical Musical: Nova Frink ‘25 as Luisa/The Girl in The Fantasticks
• Best Classical Musical: The Fantasticks

Varsity Team Accolades — CONGRATULATIONS!

• HVAL Champs – 3 years in a row!
• MaxPreps – Ranked #25 out of 116 in the state of CT (public and private) – first time in the history of the program!

Varsity Individual Accolades

• • Offensive MVP – Brendan Li ‘24
  • Defensive MVP – Henry Gallagher ‘25
  • Coach’s Award – Tyler Gagliardi ‘24
  • Most Improved – Dylan Polidori ‘24
  • MVP Championship Game – Brian Li ‘25

• All NEPSAC

• • • Henry Gallagher ‘25
    • Tyler Gagliardi ‘24
    • Brendan Li ‘24

• All NEPSAC Goalie of the Year, District 3

• • • Henry Gallagher ‘25

• All NEPSAC- Honorable Mention

• • • Henry Champagne ‘26 
    • Brian Li ‘25

• All HVAL

• • Brendan Li ‘24
  • Henry Gallagher ‘25
  • Henry Champagne ‘26
  • Tyler Gagliardi ‘24

JV/MS Individual Accolades

• Offensive MVP – Marek Soboleski ‘27
• Defensive MVP – Shawn Decastro ‘28
• Coach’s Award – Andrew Squillacote ‘27

Varsity Team Accolades – CONGRATULATIONS!

• Ended regular season first place for HVAL league
• Achieved 2nd place in HVAL tournament

Varsity Individual Accolades

• Offensive MVP – Ally Iacobellis ‘26
• Defensive MVP – Katelyn Harvey ‘24
• MVP – Skylar Frost ‘24
• Coach’s Award – Brooke McLoughlin ‘25 and Mickayla Marcus ‘24

• All NEPSAC
  • Katelyn Harvey ‘24
  • Skylar Frost ‘24
  • Ally Iacobellis ‘26

• All NEPSAC – Honorable Mention
  • Brooke McLoughlin ‘25
  • Marlee Anslemi ‘25
  • Sophia Guinan ‘25

• All HVAL
  • Elle Reid ‘29
  • Skylar Frost ‘24
  • Katelyn Harvey ‘24
  • Ally Iacobellis ‘26
  • Brooke McLoughlin ‘25
  • Sophia Guinan ‘25

JV/MS Accolades

• Offensive MVP – Alexa Pesarik ‘28 
• Defensive MVP – Maggie Keenan ‘27
• Coaches Award – Kiera McKillop ‘28

Individual Accolades

• MVP – Emilia Leeming ‘30
• Most Improved – Jonathan Patton ‘28
• Coach’s Award – Sadie Rotolo ‘27

Individual Accolades

• Coaches Award – Liam Boland ‘25
• Coaches Award – Carlie Burke ‘27

Congratulations to Jadiel Thomas ‘26, and thank you to AD Heather DeLaurentis and Cross Country Coach Sarah Jennings for all the support of Jadiel’s dreams and accomplishments. There’s a great future ahead for Jadiel and the program.

See link to The Day article on Jadiel’s drive, determination, and success!

New this year was the introduction of a Racquet Sports program at Williams. Led by Coach Amy Keane (Math teacher), students came together in the gym to play pickleball, badminton and tennis. Racket sports equipment was donated by Professional Pickleball Player, and alum, Anton Gudz ’11.  Fun competition offered a great learning experience and many fun afternoons in the gym. 

Spring Spirit Week was filled with team spirit and celebration. Each theme day gave Classes a chance to compete and shine with Super Mario kart racing, faculty vs. student dodgeball, and a lip sync battle. The week ended with a Spring Arts Show and Spring Sports Days (Friday and Saturday), the Williams Athletic Hall of Fame Induction, as part of Alumni Weekend, and the Blues Bash Auction Night.

Over forty colleges from across the United States attended the College Fair in April. This annual event, organized by Director of College Counseling Mrs. Clark, allows Upper School students and their parents the chance to meet representatives from a variety of schools. Mini break-out sessions were offered on a variety of topics including: Application Tips & Tricks, Big School Benefits, and What Does Test Optional Really Mean. Thank you to Mrs. Clark for organizing such an informative and helpful event. 

In April, the Williams community opened its doors to all newly accepted students for Fall ‘24. The event allowed students and parents to attend classes, panel discussions on our Academics, Athletics, Arts, and Community, and performances by talented William’s vocalists and dancers.

We look forward to welcoming all new students beginning their Williams journey in August!

The annual Friends of Harkness Plant Sale took place on May 18th. Associate Director of Marketing Ms. Walsh was joined by a group of Student Ambassadors and alum Charlotte Steffian ’22 who spent the day assisting with the sale. Despite the rain, many people came out to purchase the famously scented heliotrope flower and the students were a huge help. 

In May, Williams welcomed back alumna Gabby Seidel ’21, for a special A cappella concert by Yale University’s SOBs in our Daren Performing Arts Center. Gabby and The SOBs delivered an unforgettable performance, showcasing their impressive vocal harmonies and dynamic stage presence. The evening was a memorable celebration of music, community, and the enduring connections between Williams and our alumni.

Thank you to the Seidel family and many other members of our community for participating in this wonderful event.

Nearly 200 members of our community collectively raised a remarkable total of $208,983 making our 5th Annual Day of Giving at Williams a resounding success and a giant step toward meeting our $500,000 goal for this year’s Annual Fund. This is a testament to the unwavering commitment of our community to uphold the core values of scholarship, character, and community that define Williams.

We were delighted to welcome back alumni to campus for Alumni Weekend! The Class of 2014 was well represented as they  gathered in the HUB to celebrate their 10-year reunion. It was a great couple of days filled with reminiscing, reconnecting, and making new memories back on campus. 

We proudly hosted our second Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony, celebrating the induction of Robert Kenyon ’90 and Charlotte Gotfredson Rosenblum ’09 into the Williams School Athletics Hall of Fame this April. The ceremony took place on our turf field at The Williams Athletic Complex, with a supportive home crowd cheering as we honored the outstanding achievements of these remarkable athletes and alumni.

On the evening of Saturday, April 27th, the Williams community came together with such energy and dedication for our Blues Bash & Auction Night at the incredible Saltwater Farm Vineyard. The event was a smashing success, and was filled with delicious food, great music, and a shared commitment to supporting our students and faculty. Special thanks to Tom Gagliardi P ’24 for keeping the excitement high during our live auction, and to all those who participated, volunteered, and/or donated to this amazing event.