On Friday, March 21, three of our Upper School student-leaders (Liz '25, Asha '26, and Emma '25) organized an inspiring panel during Town Hall in honor of Women's History Month, entitled "Women in Leadership" and featuring four of the most influential women we know—who also happen to be Bentley parents. The presenters—Dean Jennifer Chatman P'25, Interim Dean and Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management at the Haas School of Business; Ms. Celessa Baker P'31 & '36, Senior Director of Brand Marketing, Color (Makeup) at Sephora; Ms. Esi Minta-Jacobs P'26 & '26, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Asset Management firm Assetmark; and Professor Amanda Tyler P'25 & '27, Thomas David & Judith Swope Clark Professor of Constitutional Law at UC Berkeley School of Law—came to speak about the trajectory of their educations and careers, tough choices they've made along the way, and how they've overcome obstacles as they pursued their goals. This was a fascinating talk, and our guests were generous enough to spend additional time with students in a small group discussion after the panel. We are so thankful to these four women for coming in to spend time with us; it's a privilege to have leaders like these among us!

The sun came out and shone down on the Hiller campus on Tuesday morning when our Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade friends enjoyed a visit from the Bay Area Discovery Museum’s Try It Truck! This mobile maker space set up shop on the blacktop to give students the opportunity to imagine and create at stations outfitted with materials to build race cars and parachutes and test their cars and parachutes on ramps and in Vornado fan-powered wind tunnels, respectively.

Our students proudly showed off their designs to one another and their teachers and went back to tinkering with their models when they didn't work as expected. In addition to all of the creativity on display, it was wonderful to witness the collaboration and mutual support students showed to one another as a friend’s car made an epic run down the ramp or a classmate’s parachute reached new heights. We hope you have the chance to test out your student’s models with them this weekend or perhaps design some new creations together!

February can be a dreary month, but at Bentley, it features one of our most energizing events of the year: the annual Maker Faire, in which all Upper School math students showcase an impressive array of conceptual, engineering, and design-focused projects that this year explored everything from predicting the spread of a contagious illness to creating and precisely measuring a 3D print-out of a phoenix to calculating how to build stronger, more sustainable bridges. The Faire allows our students to take a deep dive into a concept or study of their choice, and they RUN with it, resulting in a gymnasium positively buzzing with innovation, problem-solving, and creativity.

Earlier this week, our College Counseling Office hosted a cohort of highly respected college admissions deans and officers for a special panel for all of our current and prospective families. Moderated by Bentley’s Director of College Counseling Sonia Ryan, the panel dispelled numerous college admissions myths, talked about what they look for in applications (in short: kids being their authentic selves!), and why a college education still matters. It was an engaging and insightful conversation, and we are so grateful to our visiting deans from UCLA, Santa Clara University, Emory, the University of Utah, and USC for spending this time with our community! 

Last week's fifth annual Dream Symposium, entitled, "The Power of Language," presented an opportunity for our Upper and Middle School students to consider the deep impact that words have—on ourselves, on the community around us, and on the world at large. To help students dive into this work, Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Yancie Davis P'27 & '31 invited his friend Prentice Powell—Oakland native, renowned poet and writer, and Grammy-nominated spoken word artist—to lead our students in a powerful workshop examining how words have been used to both empower them and make them feel less than. Students engaged in personal writing exercises, with some brave students then sharing their reflections and poems with the group (Prentice told the students that for decades, survey results have shown that the majority of Americans fear public speaking more than death, so major kudos to all who faced this fear head-on!).