This is an informal e-communication from the Hyde-Bath campus, intended to share highlights, signs of growth, issues that are being addressed, and moments of joy. Its purpose is to bring the Hyde-Bath parents and the larger community into the school culture.
Songwriter’s Workshop 2014
For the tenth consecutive year, Hyde School in Bath hosted a five-day music workshop starting on January 28. The Songwriter Workshop invited a group of processionals in the music industry to work with aspiring student musicians to perfect the students’ craft in writing and producing songs. Some comments from the students include: Diamond Brown ’16, “It was a great experience getting to know other people and recording in the studio.” Omar Harris ’14, “I learned a lot through collaborating versus doing it solo.” Talin Rowe ’14, “Recording in the studio made me feel like Drake, except with deeper vocals.” Music Director Matt Newberg says about the workshop, “It was another great success. Returning facilitators Lisa Redfern, Mark Radcliffe, and Tim Mercer did an outstanding job working with the students. We were also joined by newcomers Paul Freeman and Georgia Hurd, both of whom added a tremendous amount to the week. It was exciting to host the showcase in the newly renovated Chocolate Church Arts Center’s Curtis Room, and we look forward to holding more Hyde events there as a way of interacting with the Bath community. As always, I was blown away by the students’ writing and thoroughly entertained by their performances.” Check out photos and the final performance at http://www.hyde.edu/2014/02/03/news/student-songwriter-showcase-celebrates-10th-year/
Hyde Phoenix Soar to South Portland to Share in Art & Community
On January 30,the Hyde Phoenix dancers traveled with a 70 foot long dragon to the Roots and Fruits Education Center in South Portland. Despite the fact that a significant portion of the members were either participating in the Songwriter’s Workshop or suffering from illness, the rest of the team made a strategic plan on the bus ride down and pulled the show together.
Senior Carlye Morota and Freshman Abbie Jo Ward ’17 each quickly learned a new dance routine the day before in order to cover for the teammates who were unable to perform, an impressive demonstration of discipline and “happy to do it” attitudes. Senior Cailin Darling ’14 amazed the audience by incorporating difficult gymnastic maneuvers into her portion of the performance. A group of young and impressionable minds (4 and 5-year-olds) were thoroughly convinced Ferina Li ’14 and Sabrina Wang ’14 were goddesses from China because of their elegant dance movement. Also, in order to create enough time for dancers to change, Seniors Melissa Mahon ’14, and Carlye Morota, Junior Zeyuan Tang ’16 and Freshman Abbi Jo Ward ’17 put together an interactive ribbon dance workshop for the young attendees. At the end of the performance, the founder of Roots and Fruits Education Center invited the Hyde dance team to be part of an education conference which involves teaching other schools in Maine how to work with students with different cultural backgrounds through performing arts.
The next performance will be on February 8th in the Westbrook Performing Arts Center at 10:00AM. The team will partner with students from Cheverus High School and CAFAM Chinese school of Portland to put on a show. CLICK HERE for the web link to the event.
Hyde Hosts 2014 Northern New England Wrestling Invitational
On Saturday the Hyde-Bath Phoenix hosted the 2014 Northern New England Invitational which brought together 16 teams to compete for team and individual weight class titles. The “Boys from Bath” took to the mat with spirited tenacity, and Hyde advanced six wrestlers into the Championship semi-final round with an additional four alive in the wrestle-backs after one loss.
Highlights include sophomore Louis Liu and junior Ryan Moran who captured their first wins of the season. Junior Zac Messina wrestled his way back from the consolation round and into the final where he lost to his Milton Academy opponent by decision to finish 4th. Captains Jake Deutschlander ’15 and Jared Jensen ’14 both amassed several takedowns against their opponents
In the Championship Finals, Hang Zhao ’15 wrestled a tough opponent from Philips Academy and after trading takedowns and escapes, got caught in a headlock which he couldn’t scramble out of. Hang suffered just his first loss of the season in the finals against 18 victories and counting. He is excited for the rematch, and we are excited at his growth, power, and poise in just his second full season of wrestling!
In the most anticipated bout of the evening, Jared Jensen (ranked #3 in New England) stepped into the circle with Philips Academy’s #2 ranked Palmer at 170 pounds. Jared hit a slick takedown early in the match and followed it with a tilt to score near-fall points. In the second period, Jared reversed his opponent straight to his back for five points and a commanding lead. When the dust settled, Jared Jensen put on a tactical show and defeated last season’s New England Prep runner up by the major decision score of 11 – 3! Congratulations, Jared!
In the team race, Hyde-Bath finished just 3.5 points shy of 3rd place Landmark School in 4th behind tournament champion Philips Academy. Lawrence Academy finished as the runner up, and Lexington Christian Academy rounded out the top 5.
The Phoenix head into the post season on Saturday, February 8, at Loomis Chaffee School in CT for the 2014 Class A League Championships. Top four finishers in our League tournament earn berths in the New England Independent Schools Wrestling Championships!
In the words of Coach Kidwell: Dreaming Big, Working Hard, Hyde Wrestling.
Click HERE for photos from Northern New England’s.
Hyde Celebrates the Chinese New Year
On January 30, Chinese New Year’s Eve, 35 international students cooked New Year’s Eve family dinner together in the Merritt House. Ferina Li ’14 and Zeyuan Tang ’15 said, “Cooking with my peers and teachers helped me not feel homesick that much on this important holiday.”
The biggest surprises are Bill Lyu ’16 and Elliot Wang who turned out to be the most skillful cooks in the room. Senior Ferina Li showed great leadership by organizing students who rarely did much housework at home into a fast-moving, dumpling-making streamline. Each person was given a task that fits their skill level. Wrestler Charles Chen ’14 and Eliot Wang ’14 were in the dough-rolling, wrap-making crew, which requires a lot of physical strength. Sabrina Wang ’14 and Zeyuan Tang ’15 did all the chopping and mixing. Ferina then led a small group of students on the final procedure – wrapping dumplings. While Alan Wu ’16 used his humor and spirit to cheer all the kitchen workers up, Dean Tian ’15, Leo Wang ’15, and Alex Sun ’14 played an authority role outside of the kitchen to keep everyone on their best behavior. Other highlights are Becky Zeng ’15, Gigi Chen ’15 and students who joined the clean-up crew at the end. From shopping, planning the menu to clean up, everyone contributed to the dinner with great enthusiasm. It was a great night.
No Case of the Mondays This Week!
Well, at least here at Hyde. After a weekend chuck full of events and excitement from the wrestling tournament to the Super Bowl, our Head of School called a holiday on Monday! Students and faculty alike were thrilled to have an opportunity to relax or take hold of the day and have some fun. Many faculty members ran trips for the day which students had the option to attend. While others were sleeping in before brunch, some students got an early jump start to their day, grabbed their skis and gear, and hit the road up to Sunday River for a beautiful day on the slopes. Faculty member Rich Truluck joined the trip and had a blast. “I loved skiing with the kids; we had so much fun. The kids and faculty all skied together along with parent Robert Bristow who can really shred the ‘nar!”
A large group of students went down to the Portland Mall to shop till they dropped, grab a bite in the food court, or just catch up on the latest with their friends. Another group of kids hit the IMAX Theater to see “I Frankenstein.” Those who were looking for a little more action in the day went to Go Karting and raced against their peers.
Some of the girls went with a couple of the faculty for an hour and half to Wiscasset for a hot yoga class to stretch it out, breathe, and get centered! Another group of girls went over to Mrs. Kidwell’s house to bake cookies, do nails, and chit chat.
Both the Varsity basketball teams had an away game all the way up in Bingham, Maine. Before the game however, players and coaches boarded a bus and headed to Augusta to the movies to catch a flick. It certainly was a good day for the athletes since both teams really brought the energy and had hard-fought battles against the competitive Valley Bingham squads. The boys walked away with a win while the girls’ team lost by a mere two points in a game that came down to the last minute.
Faculty member John Romac was a HUGE help in putting together and organizing most of these trips. His “happy to do it” attitude set a tone for a positive day on and off campus! It was a well-deserved day of fun for all and one that we hope propels us though the rest of the Winter Term!