The Fessy Bear's Den

Winter Grey & Fallin’ Rain…..Resi-Life Winter 2012

wtuttle — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:26:54 +0000

The boarding boys of Fessenden are experiencing a rare New England phenomenon; a Snow-less Winter! Typically the winter brings numerous ski trips, sledding opportunities, snow-fort building, and all the like. However, this winter, boys have been enjoying the chance to play outside when the opportunity presents itself. On the few occasions that the campus has been blanketed with snow the boys have made the most of it. We have had a few sledding trips and thanks to the snow making capabilities of many of the local mountains, ski trips have been continuous. At this rate, the pool might be open in March! As the winter drags on the boys find themselves competing in “dorm vs dorm” dodgeball tournament. Mr. Howe structures a dorm dodgeball league that competes twice a week for twelve weeks. Tuesday will feature the two ninth grade dorms, Hart House and Sanderson, pitted against one another for the school championship and dodgeball immortality.

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As the winter wears on, the boys at a Fessenden will continue to come up with creative and fun ways to stave off the cold weather blues. Speaking of dodgeball, this weekend will feature an epic dodgeball marathon of 25+ boys battling it out until they can no longer throw. As usual this time of year there will be ski trips to various mountains. With a forecast of snow for tomorrow, perhaps a sledding trip or two will happen this weekend.

Winter Weekend Trip Slideshow

GREAT READS: Courage (Fessenden Word of the Month for February)

wtuttle — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:05:49 +0000

Drop by the Fessenden library to check out these books about bravery.

LOWER SCHOOL

Buffalo Soldier

by Sherry Garland
A fictionalized story of one Buffalo Soldier, former slave who heads West and fights in the Spanish American War.

Facing West

by Kathleen Kudlinski
Heading out on the Oregon Trail in 1845, Ben wonders whether he can overcome all the odds, including his debilitating asthma.

Hooway for Wodney Wat

by Helen Lester
Rodney can’t pronounce his Rs–they come out sounding like Ws. When the class bully follows his directions in a game of Simon Says, Rodney discovers that his voice is something to celebrate.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Portraits of African-American Heroes

by Tonya Bolden
Presents twenty outstanding African Americans in words and pictures.

Gregor and the Code of Claw

by Suzanne Collins
When 12-year-old Gregor learns that an ancient prophecy foretells his death, he must gather his courage to defend the land of Regalia from the army of rats, take his mother and sister home safely, and fight his own dark side. (fiction)

Profiles in Sports Courage

by Ken Rappoport
Profiles 12 athletes who have faced and overcome significant challenges in their personal and professional lives.

UPPER SCHOOL

The Hero Project : 2 Teens, 1 Notebook, 13 Extraordinary Interviews

by Robert Hatch & William Hatch
Two teens set out to interview accomplished people in a variety of fields, ranging from musician Yo Yo Ma to film star Jackie Chan.

The Right Stuff

by Tom Wolfe
Portraits of brave astronauts Chuck Yeager, Pete Conrad, Gus Grissom, and John Glenn.

Overboard

by Elizabeth Fama
Escaping from a sinking ferry in the waters off Sumatra, 14-year-old Emily fights for survival for herself and a young Indonesian boy, who draws courage from his quiet but firm Islamic faith. (fiction)

Profiles in Courage

by John F. Kennedy
This Pulitzer Prize-winning collection explores the meaning of courage through stories of integrity in the face of overwhelming opposition.

Fessenden’s Amazon.com link
Use this link to make any of your purchases through Amazon.com and support Fessenden’s Wheeler Library–at no extra cost to you.

GREAT READS: Honor (Fessenden Word-of-the-Month for January)

wtuttle — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:50:27 +0000

Come by the Fessenden library to check out these books on honesty, fairness, and integrity.

LOWER SCHOOL

A Day’s Work

by Eve Bunting
When a young boy makes a mistake by lying, his grandfather teaches him the importance of acting honorably.

The Barefoot Book of Knights

by John Matthews
Through their courage, honor, strength, wisdom, patience, and humility, the knights in these stories illustrate what it takes to be a great knight.

Lou Gehrig : The Luckiest Man

by David Adler
Traces the life of the Yankees’ star ballplayer, focusing on his character and his struggle with the terminal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World

by Ken Beller and Heather Chase
Brief essays on Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Anderson Sa, Mother Teresa, Thich Nhat Hanh, Colman McCarthy, Oscar Arias, Bruno Hussar, Desmond Tutu, Riane Eisler, the Dalai Lama, Henry Salt, Albert Schweitzer, Astrid Lindgren, Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, David Suzuki, Nadar Khalili, and Wangari Maathai.

The Ballad of Sir Dinadan

by Gerald Morris
Though he would rather pursue his talent as a musician, Dinadan is forced to become a knight, and he finds that while minstrels sings of heroic deeds, honor is often found in simpler, quieter ways.

The View from Saturday

by E.L. Konigsburg
Four students develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to have the honor of represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl competition. (fiction)

UPPER SCHOOL

Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty
Peter Collier; photography by Nick Del Calzo

“Paints 116 portraits of men whose incredible bravery in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam is the embodiment of the very term hero.” (from dust jacket)

Crooked
by Laura and Tom McNeal

Two ninth graders, Clara and Amos, suddenly find their lives turned upside down by their families, by each other, and by the two meanest brothers in town. They discover that honesty may be the answer, but it’s hard to find. (fiction)

Desmond Tutu: Fighting Apartheid

by Samuel Willard Crompton

A biography of the South African cleric and civil rights activist who fought against apartheid and was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

Fessenden’s Amazon.com link

Use this link to make any purchases through Amazon.com and support Fessenden’s Wheeler Library.

The Bear Paw Vol. I

wtuttle — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:16:05 +0000

The Bear Paw

Vol. 1

An interview with Fessenden’s new headmaster, Mr. Stettler

An interview with Fessenden’s new Latin teacher, Mr. O’Donnel

NFL Season Review Through Week 10

Red Sox Year End Review

The Jelly Awards

A look at Halloween

The Fessy Boy Fashion Column

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” Movie Review

‘Unknown’ Movie Review

“The Blind Side” Movie Review

Legend of Fire

Getting Ready for Winter

wtuttle — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:31:15 +0000

The Fessenden School–November 16, 2011 The Fessy boys are enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures for this time of year. They have found plenty of activities and amusement outside and around campus. However, the N.A.P trips are starting to take on their annual holiday theme. This most recent weekend the boys were happy to enjoy a three-day break as Friday was Parent Teacher Conferences. The Fessenden boarding community was in full motion from Friday morning on through Sunday night. Mrs. E, ever the contrarian, bucked the holiday theme and invited a group of Fessy boys to the indoor water park, Cocoa Key. The water soaked all-day adventure was a huge hit.Click to view slideshow.

For the Fessy boys who were gearing up for the holiday season Ms. Westman offered a trip to the Freeport Outlets, in Freeport, Maine. Ms. Westman’s bargain hunting crew had the entire day to enjoy L.L. Bean and the many new stores and renovated outlets Freeport has to offer. During the same weekend Ms. Westman found the time to

bring a lucky group of Fessy boys to the Tazo Chocolate factory for a tour. The sweets did not stop there, Ms. Printzlau offered an apartment evening where the boys relaxed and learned how to make Apple Crisp. Not to be outdone, Mr. Fawcett offered a Fessy favorite, Go-Karting.

Halloween at Fessy!

wtuttle — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:29:53 +0000

Fessenden celebrated Halloween in a big way this week. The holiday fell on a Monday this year, so the weekend before saw a string of Halloween related trips. The boys had a great time choosing from trips like a halloween make-up tutorial, costume shopping, haunted cornfields, and the annual favorite, Mr. Lyons “Fright Night.” The recent snow flurry did not discourage the boys from coming out in full force to celebrate Halloween all weekend and right into Monday night. As cold as it was, the boys put together great costumes and had an even

better time trick ‘o treatin’ around campus. Over 40 faculty members opened their doors and handed out candy around campus. As this tradition went on, other unheralded traditions continued as well, like Mr. Howe’s handout of choice, Cup of Noodles. The boys went back to their dorms with plenty of candy and good stories to share, many of which now look at Fessenden in a different light, thanks to Mr. Lyons stories of the haunted bygone eras of the school. As old stories are told, new ones were emerging this week, and it looks like the unexplained remained that way, seen here in Mr. Murphy’s photo from the headmasters office. Who knows what happened, but let’s hope Mr. Stettler is ok.

There were pink gorillas, super heroes, goblins, ghouls, and all the like skulking around campus Monday night. The festivities were initiated at dinner on Monday night. There was a wonderful Halloween dinner laid out for all in attendance by our own friendly Fessenden food service staff. Everyone came to dining hall in costume and ready to trick o’ treat. The boys were not the only ones in costume, the faculty came out in everything from drag to star wars.

What a great weekend and celebration of Halloween. This turned out to be a great community wide event. Fessenden families, staff, faculty, and friends came together to have fun and enjoy themselves. The gallery below has many of the photos and activities that the boys joined. Next weekend is a cultural weekend and the boys are back to their regular routine. More will be on the way, as well as exclusives on the weekday routine of Fessenden residential life. Please enjoy and comment!

Click to view slideshow.

Resi-Life Weekend #5!

wtuttle — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:39:22 +0000

This weekend found the Fessy boys having a grand ol’ time. With no classes on Monday, there were plenty of trips to choose from. The weekend got off to a great start on Friday night with a ping pong tournament, Cheesesteak and Movie apartment evening, Haunted Hayrides, and more.

Thankfully this weekend had great weather and allowed the boys to go mountain biking at Highland Park. With the NFL season in full swing some of the Fessy boarders found themselves at the “Patriot Place Museum,” honoring the New England Patriots.

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While some boys were checking out their favorite football team, others were checking out their favorite sports cars at the Lars Anderson Auto Museum.Click to view slideshow. The day was not complete without a trip a Corn Maze with Mr. Hansen, with that in mind has anyone seen Mr. Hansen lately? Saturday night saw one the boys favorite trips, “Fessy Minute to Win It!” based on the hit show “Minute to Win It”

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The other featured trip that day was the Boston Tap Dance Show. The boys had an opportunity to watch the most talented tap dancers in the area.

Sunday was another beautiful day, the boys enjoyed a variety of off campus trips. One of the most talked about trips that day was the “Monster Food Truck Festival”. Since the boys had a day off from classes on Monday it was another opportunity for great trips. The boys signed up for the Museum of Science, Pitch and Putt Golf, Harvard Square, Legacy Place, and they addressed the need for many overdue haircuts. All in all, it was a fantastic three-day weekend; no doubt the Fessy boys would agree!

Resi-Life Weekend #4 “Cultural Weekend”

wtuttle — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:40:38 +0000

Weekend four is what we call a “cultural weekend” here at Fessenden. The trips offered need to have some cultural value. Normally, this is the weekend the boys do something entirely different, and for the faculty it is an opportunity to offer a trip that may not normally go when competing against the mall or movies. Following the weekend Fessenden Director of Residential Life, Ken Howe, assessed the trips and opportunity as follows, “Thanks for a fabulous Cultural Weekend! The boys did stuff this weekend that they will talk about for days (weeks/years for some of them!). Everybody learned something! Everybody did something (or went somewhere) they have never done before! As a parent, this is a great gift.”

Some of the places these boys went, as well as some of the things they did were truly unique. Some of the highlights include a Polo match, whale watch, Hindu apartment evening, Peabody Essex Museum, Crepes French Breakfast Morning, discovering a desert in Maine, and much more!

Click to view slideshow.

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Resi-Life Weekend 3!

wtuttle — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:32:58 +0000

How does Fessenden follow up the second weekend of amazing activities? The easy answer, a third weekend of even more amazing activities and adventures for the boys of Fessenden.

FRIDAY

Friday night featured a great line-up of activities:

SATURDAY

On Saturday the Fessy boys were busy with a number of different trips:

The Fessenden Varsity Football Team had a scrimmage at the Williston Northampton School.
Sleep-in Bagels and Board Games, Sleep-in breakfast, as well as a Sleep-in donuts and indoor soccer trip.
For those boys who were early risers, there was apple picking at Belkin Family Farm in Natick, MA.
The boys who were looking for an outdoor adventure were able to find it with a mountain biking trip to Gunstock Mountain in New Hampshire.
Rounding out the day trips on Saturday was a footballfan van
to the Newton North vs. Framingham.

Saturday night featured more games, of both the video and board variety. There was also a trip to see the highly acclaimed movie, Moneyball. Saturday night boasted a classic Fessy trip, karaoke, a true fan favorite among the boarders.

SUNDAY

Finally, Sunday found the Fessy boys all over the place. There was an NFL apartment evening, a shopping adventure to the SoWa outdoor market, and a Mexican Celebration!

Residential Life Weekend 1!

wtuttle — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:00:12 +0000

As the first week of school comes to an end, the boarding portion of the school to come to life. Fessenden offers a bounty of fun and exciting trips for boarding students every weekend. The boys have the opportunity to choose excursions throughout Boston, errand vans to the mall, pharmacy, or Target, there are apartment evenings featuring the cooking of faculty members, movie trips, tours of Fenway Park, recycling trips, local sporting events, on campus fun and games, and that’s just one weekend. The first weekend adventures of the year featured a classic Boston sightseeing tour; Duckboats. Mr. Sanborn and Mr. Tuttle brought more than a dozen boys on a Duckboat tour of both the city and

Charles River. Not only were the boys able to see a different side of Boston, some were lucky enough to drive the Duckboat in the river. The Duckboat rides were a huge hit and the boys had a great time, even the poor few who were still jet lagged. The boys were able to see many of the best landmarks of Boston. Some of these landmarks the boysvwere seeing for the first time included, the State House, The U.S.S. Constitution, Old North Church, the Bunker Hill Memorial Monument, and many more. Thanks to the great work of the residential life at Fessenden, the boys are afforded opportunities that anyone would be lucky to experience.