Moving Day

Some families move once, maybe twice in a lifetime. Not satisfied with such a mundane existence, the Brookfield Academy family is moving twice in six months. In January, the entire Upper School moved from Freedom Hall to the new Patriots Hall.

Today the Middle School is moving from Liberty Hall into the newly remodeled Freedom Hall. The "new" Freedom Hall has undergone extensive renovation and movers are now bringing semi-truck loads of desks, tables, chairs, computers, and books into the new Middle School.


Once the equipment is moved into the building, teachers, administrators, and administrative assistants will get to work setting up their new classrooms and offices.



And, yet, there is still one more move to make! Eventually the recently vacated Liberty Hall building will become home to the Level 3-5 Lower School. Before that move takes place, though, Liberty Hall will undergo some significant renovations and changes in order to better prepare it for life as an elementary school building. All this movement is the culmination of the campus-wide capital campaign project that has seen Brookfield Academy double the amount of space available to students in all three divisions. While there are some short-term headaches, all agree that the long-term benefits are worth the hassles.


Mr. Ricci, Head of the Middle School, "dreaming" of life in the new building.

It was Bruce Barton who said that "When you are through changing, you are through." After a summer of change, blogger thinks Barton will excuse BA if it decides to take a change break.

State Champs!

The BA Boys’ Track team cruised to the first boys’ state championship in school history, with a dominating performance at the WIAA Division 3 State Boys Track Championship on Saturday, June 4, at UW-La Crosse's Memorial Stadium. The Blue Knights scored 80 points, well ahead of Webster and Burlington Catholic Central, who tied for second place with 30 points each. The point total matched the third highest earned points in history for all divisions.

Junior Fred Willis led the way with a first in the 100-meters (10.88) and the 200 (22.23), a second in the high jump (6 feet, 7 inches), and the anchor leg of the winning 800 relay team. Sophomore Ethan Jaynes took second in the 100 (11.06) and the 200 (22.88). Sophomore Max Wrenn and senior Taylor Davis joined Willis and Jaynes in winning the 4x200 relay race (1:39.86).

Senior Nate Heppe seized gold in the 800 (1:55.67) and was fifth in the 1600 (4:29.94). Heppe anchored the 3200 relay team which finished third (8:05.17). Seniors Neil Warren and Taylor Davis and junior Vikram Purewal joined Heppe on that team.

Senior Troy Huff was third in the high jump (6 feet, 6 inches).

The boys’ track team joins the 1987 girls’ tennis team and numerous Field Hockey teams as the only state champions in school history.

Congratulations to Coaches Jaynes, Malloy and Olizia for their dedication and commitment to the team and the track program. And to the track athletes, BA Blogger joins the entire BA community in congratulating you for this magnificent achievement.

The state championship caps an extraordinary year of athletic accomplishments in the Upper School. Listed below are some of the major highlights of the sports year:

· Football--Co-Conference Champs and WIAA State Playoffs

· Boys’ Cross Country—Seventh in state, Div. 3

· JV Girls Volleyball--Conference Champions and MCC Tournament Champions

· Girls Swimming—Two-Time Individual, Sectional & State Champion, Journal-Sentinel Swimmer of the Year, WIAA Swimmer of the Year

· Boys’ Basketball--Conference Champions (Freshmen, JV and Varsity), WIAA Regional Champions

· Boys’ Swimming--Individual & Sectional Champions, Individual Second in State

· Girls’ Soccer—WIAA Regional Semi-Finalist

· Boys Track--Conference Champion, Sectional Champion, State Champion

· Conference Player-of-the-Year in Football, Boys’ Basketball, and Boys’ Baseball

· 26 First Team All-Conference Players in boys’ and girls’ sports

BA Blogger is posting a blog by Chad Gunnelson that is on Wisconsin Sports Network www.wissports.net. This blog was posted on 5/30/2010.

Division 3 Boys Team Projections (20 or more points)

Brookfield Academy 61, Whitehall 31, Oshkosh Lourdes 27, Iola – Scandinavia 26, Lena / St. Thomas 23, Edgar 21, River Ridge 20

Brookfield Academy and head coach David Jaynes look to run away with the Division 3 team title this year. Behind the legs of top sprinters Fred Willis (JR) and Ethan Jaynes (SO) who look to go 1-2 respectively in the 100M and 200M they should easily outscore the field. Brookfield Academy should also get points from Nathan Heppe (SR) in the 1600M, Troy Huff (SR) in the high jump, and their 800M and 3200M relays. Also look for strong showings from Whitehall and Oshkosh Lourdes who should round out the top three teams in the D3 field this Friday and Saturday.

This year has passed far too quickly; the calendar shows that it is almost time to say goodbye to our seniors. They graduate on May 16! We will surely miss this extraordinary group of students. Colleges often ask how students impact their school community. With this class it is easy to say: “At every turn of the way, they have made a difference in our school.” They have broken athletic records, earned championship titles in academic competitions, performed with talent and grace in drama productions, led student government with wisdom and humor, created award-winning art work, and nurtured lasting friendships with their peers and their teachers.

They have earned acceptances from colleges all across the country. Some will head to the east coast to attend schools such as George Washington University, Princeton University, Grove City College, Brown University, University of Maryland, West Point, and University of Pennsylvania. Others will go south to such places as the University of Miami, Trinity University, Texas Christian University, Bob Jones University, University of Dallas, Vanderbilt, Southern Methodist University, University of Tampa, and Emory University. The Midwest will keep those who have chosen to attend colleges such as Illinois Wesleyan University, Mt. Mary College, Drake University, Macalester College, University of Wisconsin campuses at Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Waukesha, and River Falls, University of Minnesota, St. Norbert College, St. Louis University, North Central College, Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Art and Design, University of Notre Dame, Beloit College, University of North Dakota, Kenyon College, and Washington University. One will venture all the way to University of Hawaii and one will be at the opposite end of the U.S. at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

These colleges and universities are proud to have our students become their students. We all look forward to hearing about the accomplishments these young women and men will earn in the years ahead. They are well prepared! We are excited for them and we are very proud of them!

The BA Blog is honored to welcome guest blogger Cristina Zeppos, Class of 2010.

When I’m asked, “Where did you go to high school?”—an almost daily question—I’m proud to answer, "Brookfield Academy." As a “lifer,” I have memories from Level A through high school. In Level A class, reciting the poem “Ten Apples” was the first of many challenges I would face in the next 14 years. For a five-year-old child, standing in front of an assembly of students and parents was a daunting task. By Level 5, though, I confidently recited a poem on my own with the entire Lower School as an audience.

Middle School was stimulating, and I learned the skills needed to succeed in the Upper School. Writing lessons, language classes, and history lectures prepared me for high school. Having the Head of School as basketball coach when we won the league championship was a highlight, too!

My early years at BA gave me wonderful childhood memories, but the Upper School provided the opportunity to flourish. I picked classes where I had an interest and enjoyed new subjects, such as the graphic design class. Serving as co-captain, with one of my senior classmates, of this year's girls varsity basketball team--and achieving our best record in four years--is a great memory.

With graduation now a memory, I have moved to the next stage of my life: Vanderbilt University. It will be a challenge, but Brookfield Academy prepared me well. With hard work, amazing teachers and wonderful parents, I am ready to go to the next level, and I have the confidence that I can and will succeed.

Thank you, BA!

It has been an exciting and rewarding year for development efforts at Brookfield Academy. The excitement began in August when the Soar with the Stars capital campaign achieved its goal of 12.5 million dollars. (That seems like years ago!) The opening of Patriots Hall in January was perhaps a once-in-a lifetime event for the school. Strong donor support for projects across the entire campus has allowed us to speed up the renovation project timelines for Freedom Hall (new Middle School), Liberty Hall (Lower School 3-5), and Constitution Hall (Lower School A-2.) The establishment of two new endowed scholarships and record-level support for the scholarship program in general are signs that the BA community values people as much as bricks and mortar.

There is no great mystery to a successful development effort. The results are largely dependent on the dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work of the people responsible for making the ideas, values, and beliefs of the BA mission work. Led by an exemplary Class of 2010, BA has experienced an extraordinary year of academic and extracurricular achievements. Winners in the classroom, on the athletic field, and on the stage, the efforts of students, teachers, coaches, and directors have created a level of expectation and achievement that gives donors confidence in the fundamental values and beliefs of Brookfield Academy. Simply put, people are enthusiastic about supporting a winning organization.

As a BA fan, Blogger can unequivocally say that this has been a winning year for Brookfield Academy. Whether it is numerous National Merit finalists, athletic conference championships, or sold out theater performances, students have achieved it an unparalleled level this year. It has been an honor to be part of the success!

Solsrud Receives Marquette University Alumni Award

Dr. Robert E. Solsrud, Grad '73, Grad '03

Congratulations to Brookfield Academy Head of School Dr. Bob Solsrud who recently received the Educational Policy and Leadership Achievement Award from Marquette University. The following announcement is on the Marquette University website:

Achievement Award - Dr. Robert E. Solsrud, Grad '73, Grad '03

Dr. Bob Solsrud has been on a mission — an educational mission for more than 40 years. As head of school at Brookfield Academy since 1993, he also has taught, coached and been athletic director. Along the way, he developed a real commitment to independent education, which he says, "provides the freedom to define a mission and pursue it with unbridled energy and enthusiasm."

Bob credits his Marquette education with giving him the leadership skills and virtues necessary to enhance the educational climate and culture at Brookfield Academy.
Along with helping ensure the educational success of pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade students, Bob set his sights on an even bigger goal: the largest capital campaign in Brookfield Academy history. Despite the troubling economy, a 110,000-square-foot Upper School for 320 students just opened.

Others are taking notice of the academy's success, too. The Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce and BizTimes Milwaukee last year recognized it as a Top-10 Small Business.
Bob's personal mission in life — which he says is "living a life reflective of God's goodness and mercy and using my God-given talents to the best of my ability" — takes him beyond his educational efforts. He is engaged in his community, where he visits nursing homes for Bible study, helps with his church's food pantry and coaches middle school basketball.

A Semester at Sea - An Experience for a Lifetime

Katie Kohls '07 spent the fall semester in the Semester at Sea program through the University of Virginia. For four months, Katie traveled the world on a ship, attending class on board and disembarking for adventures at many different ports of call. During her journey, Katie was one of three students chosen from the more than 650 students on the trip to write a blog which was posted on the Semester at Sea website. On one of her adventures, Katie spent a week in Ghana. A portion of one of her posts from this part of her journey is re-blogged below. To read more about Katie's adventures at sea, visit her blog at http://kjo-adventure.blogspot.com/

Ghana: Befriending Locals in a New Habitat

The third morning came early with the timely sunrise. Since Ghana is so close to the equator, the sun rises and falls year round at almost exactly six o’clock. At sunrise, I was on a bus headed to Kyebi, a town on the slopes of the Atewa Mountain Range. Our bus stopped three hours later on the side of a dirt road. Looking out my window I saw a green mountain shrouded in low clouds and there appeared to be nothing but thick jungle on the other side. We were lead through the density to a village opening. It was a picturesque reality of poverty.

My team and I set to work, continuing the brick laying work that preceded us. These clay bricks had been molded in wooden frames and laid to dry. We made mortar, by combining concrete sand with water and mixing with a shovel. Alternating the brick pattern for fortitude, we worked quickly to spackle before our mortar dried.

Our other job was to fill a ditch with dirt so that it could be walked over. But where’s the dirt? Spencer was handed a large pick and was shown the answer. Create the dirt. So he swung away at the land and I shoveled the dirt five feet to the left to fill the ditch. Manual labor in Ghana is hot, not attractive but blazing… literally. Randomly, our Ghanaian supervisor started a brush fire in the area directly between the house and me. Random fires I found through the many bus rides are actually quite frequent. There is much garbage, but who is going to come to this jungle village and come get it? So here and many other places they just light the garbage on fire- no big deal. Careful where you throw your trash.

We sat in the shade and ate lunch that the village people provided for us. Missy and I laughed at the nonchalant fashion that chickens, baby goats, and children ran around the area. We decided to pass on the chicken dish. After lunch a local boy stopped me asked to see some of the pictures I had on my camera. He laughed when he saw a picture of himself. I wondered if this was the first time he had seen one. He was delighted when I allowed him to play photographer. All of his friends came out and posed for him. He directed them and gave them props. It was fun to watch and even more fun to look through his artwork alongside him.

In the end we had only added a few layers of brick and done odd jobs, but it was a nice to think we contributed to someone’s home. Wow, how my definition of what a home can be has changed.

I Am Free!

"Liberty" is more than the name of a campus building for Elfie and Ned Gallun, long-time supporters of Brookfield Academy. It is a tangible concept that makes even the air smell sweetly different.

As a teenager in 1951, Elfie Gallun made an incredible and courageous journey from communist East Germany to the free West. To this day, she and her husband, Ned, do not take personal or political liberty for granted.

Ned and Elfie have embraced Brookfield Academy for its philosophical focus on the precious, priceless, and perishable nature of freedom. Their son, Martin, graduated from BA in 1988, and Ned served on the Board of Directors from 1986-1988. Over the years, the Galluns have continued to generously support the school. To recognize their exceptional commitment to the ideals of Brookfield Academy, an informative display honoring Elfie Gallun's escape to freedom has been installed in the Liberty Hall foyer.

This educational exhibit uses pictures and narrative to tell the story of Elfie's remarkable journey during World War II and the years following from Danzig, Poland to the United States of America, where she was awestruck by her first sight of the Statue of Liberty.

Read Elfie Gallun's full story in the upcoming issue of Knights Notes.

A Letter Home

Dear BA Community,

I am writing this “letter home” to give a brief update on life post-BA. I am in my fourth year at the University of Chicago, majoring in economics and international studies. Usually, students with these majors go on to do graduate work or pursue a career in finance. I have been thinking about doing a mixture of the two—possibly in a development context.

In a lot of ways, I think that the path my college career has taken was the next step in a process that started back at BA. After all, spending a week studying in the library is normal for anyone who ever took AP Bio. My BA economics courses still rank among the most enjoyable and thought-provoking I have ever had, even in a university department known for its Nobel prize winners. I believe BA trained me well and I am grateful to all my teachers there who worked so hard to do so.

During the past four years, I have had the chance to observe students from a large variety of educational backgrounds and I am convinced that the people who have the most success are the ones whose education will allow them to pursue whatever field they like. This is to say that, upon arrival at University, the students who are most prepared by their high schools have the greatest advantage with regard to their course of study.

While my own career at the U of C has not been without challenges, I think that the success I’ve had is due to the preparation I received at BA, and I am very grateful for that.

All the best,

Robert Reavis ’06

The Future Is Bright

On Jan. 31, the new Upper School home, Patriots Hall, was officially dedicated with much fanfare and celebration.

As has been the case since Patriots Hall opened on Jan. 4, we all felt joy and pride in the accomplishment of so many "dreamers" who made the dream a reality. Today, our Upper School is housed in a magnificent building that permits us to deliver an education second to none.

We have the classroom and lab space to provide a high quality college prep experience; we have extensive art and computer graphic art rooms; we have a spacious and beautiful library with room for quiet study; we have a state-of-the-art fitness and weight room and field house providing complete support for all our athletic programs; we have a very large music and drama room for practice and future performance; we have an inviting and spacious cafeteria/student commons area for relaxation and conversation. In short, we have a wonderful, secure home for Upper School programs.

But the dedication, and the mission of the Upper School, is much more than the steel and bricks and mortar of a new facility. The building houses the people who deliver a special program with passion and enthusiasm. Our programs intend to take all students and guide, teach, and direct them to achieve personal excellence and prepare them to make a positive change in our world.

Our graduates are doing that now, and many have come back to tell us about what they are accomplishing. This is a special time for the Upper School and for Brookfield Academy as a whole and the future remains very bright for all of us fortunate enough to be part of this enterprise.

Dan Davis, Head of Upper School

A Dream Come True

If you think watching the ball drop in Times Square is the best way to start the new year, you should have been at Brookfield Academy on Monday, Jan. 4 when everyone was having a ball celebrating the opening of the new Upper School, Patriots Hall.

Upper School students - genuinely excited to return from a two-week vacation - met in Freedom Hall for a final assembly.

Then they took a brisk, ceremonial walk to their new home in Patriots Hall, passing between throngs of Lower and Middle School students waving American flags and cheering them on.

Upon entering Patriots Hall, students experienced their first assembly in the new field house.

Bob Solsrud, Head of School, welcomed them by sharing some impressive facts about the amazing new Upper School facility:

* At 110,000 square feet, Patriots Hall is double the size of Freedom Hall
* More than 1,000 donors contributed to the capital campaign that funded the construction
* The campaign raised $12.5 million, plus another $2.5 million in estate gifts
* More than 250 volunteers gave of their time and effort to serve on committees and to solicit gifts

Most importantly, Dr. Solsrud told the students, Patriots Hall symbolizes the goodness and determination of the human spirit, accomplishing this worthwhile endeavor for others regardless of the sacrifices involved. What is clearly evident, more than a beautiful building, is the enthusiastic and committed philanthropic spirit that made this dream a reality.

What a glorious way to begin 2010.

Happy New Year!

You can find more photos from this historic event on Brookfield Academy's Flickr account.