Commonwealth School

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Commonwealth School is a small independent high school of about 145 students located on Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Commonwealth School
Established 1957
Type Private coeducational secondary
Founder Charles Merrill, Jr.
Headmaster William D. Wharton
Students 155 (normally 145)
Grades 9–12
Location Boston, Massachusetts USA
Website www.commschool.org

Contents

[edit] History

Charles Merrill Jr., son of the founder of Merrill Lynch, founded the school in 1957, locating it in Boston's Back Bay to "restore good secondary schooling to the city". He encouraged Commonwealth students to be "decent, socially responsible, generous people," actively engaged in public affairs. Merrill returns to the school once a year to give a speech on a topic of his choice, and his books are on display in the school library alongside those of Commonwealth alumni.

Merrill insisted that the school had only one rule: "No rollerskating in the halls," — an exhortation that students should not "...act like a damn fool, but think about your actions and how they affect others".

Merrill retired in 1981.

[edit] Symbols

The school's symbol is a mermaid with a sword and shield, derived from the coat of arms of Warsaw, Poland. This symbol appears on the school flag, publications, and the outside of the building. Because the school has no official sports mascot, the mermaid is sometimes used as one and the school's sports teams are sometimes referred to (partly in jest) as the "fighting mermaids".

There is no official school song, but "The Spacious Firmament On High" (Joseph Addison, Franz Josef Haydn) is sung at every graduation ceremony.

[edit] Headmasters

The headmaster since 2000, William D. Wharton joined the faculty in 1985 as a teacher of history, Latin, and Greek.

There have been five headmasters:

[edit] Clubs and activities

Student-run clubs and groups at Commonwealth include:

Each year, the senior class elects two non-voting representatives to Commonwealth's Board of Trustees.

[edit] Performance

In 2004, the school was recognized by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program as having the best Physics curriculum in schools of its size range (less than 500 students) in the country, based on the performance of students on the AP Physics C exam. Most junior year classes prepare students to take a corresponding AP test.

[edit] School events

[edit] Assemblies

Commonwealth holds an assembly every Thursday. Over the past few years speakers have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Ted Sorensen, the late Michael Kelly of the Atlantic Monthly, Harvard Law Professors Charles Fried and Lani Guinier, author Samantha Power, biologist Doug Melton, philosopher & bioethicist Frances Kamm, poet Louise Glück, former ambassadors Peter Galbraith and Charles Stith, Mary Beth Cahill, and various musical groups. Students petition the headmaster to invite speakers they would like to hear.

Special assemblies are held for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the end of the school year. It is tradition to sing "Bringing in the Sheaves" (by Shaw and Minor) every Thanksgiving assembly, and for students and teachers to recite from the poem "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas every Christmas assembly. In May the seniors run an assembly where they perform skits that parody their teachers and themselves.

[edit] Hancock

When Charles Merrill was headmaster he started a tradition of twice-yearly trips to his family's farm in Hancock, New Hampshire. These would happen every fall and spring. The school continued to go up to the farm every year until the mid 1990s. The "Hancock" weekend eventually moved in 1997 to Camp Winona, a summer camp in Bridgton, Maine, but the old name remains.

[edit] Activities

On two mornings during each trip, students and teachers organize activities to do, and each student signs up for an activity.

In the afternoons, students are free, and activities such as swimming, boating, various sports, and hiking are offered.

On the last night of Hancock, there is a talent show prepared jointly by the students and staff. There are also two dances: the "Long Dance" the night before the talent show, and the "Short Dance" after it, both organized by the students.

[edit] Jobs

The responsibility for Hancock is shared among faculty and students. Faculty oversee various tasks, such as cooking or sports. Students can sign up for jobs such as cooking meals, running the talent show and dances, and being a bike messenger. For the most part, cleaning bathrooms, collecting trash, tending fires, and other tasks are also led and staffed by students.

[edit] Jobs program

The jobs program at Commonwealth is a system whereby students are responsible for setting and cleaning up lunch and the recess snack. Each student works one shift either every week or every other week. The savings created by having students perform these tasks instead of additional paid staff pays for three full scholarships. In addition to the cost savings, the program is believed by many of the faculty and students to have the benefit of teaching students a sense of responsibility for the community; thus the program is often concisely described as "building character."

[edit] Paid jobs

There is also a paid jobs program, whereby students are hired by the school to perform additional tasks such as run the bookstore, staff the front desk, and assist at school events. Because students perform these tasks at lower cost than additional paid staff, this program creates sufficient savings to pay for another one and a half scholarships.

[edit] Publications

There are several student-run publications at Commonwealth. They include:

  • Yearbook: Each year, the senior class (and a few juniors in training) produces its own yearbook.
  • Literary magazine: The literary magazine club, with the school's funding, publishes a literary magazine, which accepts many types of literature and art, including poems, short stories, photographs, drawings, and paintings. It is often known as Litmag but has come out under different names on occasion.
  • The Leek: The Leek is the school's satirical newspaper.

The school administration also writes several publications.

The school has a website where teachers can post web pages that provide students with course-related information. The school website also provides student access to searchable databases of online resources such as magazines and newspapers.

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] External links

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