Supplementing our work with Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, fifth formers in Mr. Miller's Advanced English 
V class studied excerpts from Thoreau’s Walden.
Using Thoreau’s ruminations on society and nature, the class was able
to look at Jay Gatsby’s character and the novel as a whole through a
more defined lens. Ultimately, it was our goal to decide whether or not
Jay Gatsby did in fact turn out alright at the end: is Jay Gatsby a
victim of the foul dust that followed in the wake of his dreams? Or, is
Jay Gatsby a morally bankrupt character? We also looked to make sense
of Fitzgerald’s “machine in the garden” motif and the connection between
societies' morals and the natural environment.
Two students from Advanced English V, Meagan McKenna and Jack Lewers,
were the first to take advantage of the opportunity, albeit for only
one night each, to live like Henry David Thoreau did during his two-year
stint at Walden Pond. The overnight consisted of arriving at our
Thoreau Cabin in the evening alone and void of any electronic devices
and then joining the class for breakfast the following morning. A
simple lantern, the necessary books, a journal, and a sleeping bag were
all that accompanied Meagan McKenna and Jack Lewers during their
individual stays in the cabin.
With Meagan and Jack’s time in the cabin juxtaposed against that of
their peers' time in the dorm, the class began to look at the impact
society and material goods have on the environment and an individual’s
morals—both in 1920s’ and today’s society. During her stay, Meagan
wrote: “Finally being in the cabin allows me to think. Just think:
nothing special, nothing complicated. Just reflect on my life, my
choices, and my future.” If only this were what Jay Gatsby decided to
do.
and all-boys prep school outside of Boston, for a 1-day mini-symposium on Student Biomedical Research. The goal was to foster collaboration, communication and community outreach with our students. AMSR students Liza Bernstein '13, Sissi Wang '13, Lars Robinson '13, Elsie Guevara '13, Ernest Yue '13, and Nate MacKenzie '14, gave short talks about their work in the new Bellas/Dixon Math and Science lecture hall. The talks were followed up by break-out sessions where Belmont Hill students described their research projects and students discussed commonalities between the projects and future goals.
245 North Undermountain Road 
