Two Down, Six To Go

This past weeekend BA swimmer Kelsey Hojan-Clark accomplished the rare feat of winning two state titles at the WIAA Division II state swimming meet. Kelsey took first in the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute 50.27 seconds, the second-best time ever behind the state record of 1:49.94 set by Shorewood's Jamie Belfor in 1996. She also won the 500 free on Friday, and her 4:54.18 mark ranks second-best all time behind the record of 4:53.94 set by Belfor in '96. Blogger thinks Belfour better watch out as Kelsey is only a sophomore. In fact, Blogger thinks Kelsey might attempt a Michael Phelps next year and compete in eight events! From what Blogger knows about Kelsey and her teammates, eight gold medals is a strong possibility.

For the time being, though, being named the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Prep Athlete of the Week will have to suffice. Go to http://www.jsonline.com/sports/preps/34620309.html and read about Kelsey.

Grace Paquelet, also a sophomore, placed 10th in the 500 freestyle (5:18.78), dropping her sectional time by 10 seconds. Grace and Kelsey are part of a swim team that has established quite a reputation for excellence, despite the small number of team members and the fact that there is no pool on campus. Those obstacles do not seem to be much of a deterrence.

Congratulations to the entire girls swim team. What a tremendous effort by these girls and what a marvelous reflection of their dedication to their sport and to representing Brookfield Academy.

Toiling in Successful Anonymity

When looking at high school sports results in the sports section, BA Blogger noticed that BA's own Kelsey Hojan-Clark is currently the fastest 500 yard swimmer in the state. At sectionals she beat everyone in Division II by well over 20 seconds. Teammate Grace Paquelet will be joining Kelsey at the state swim meet. Who needs Michael Phelps and Dara Torres when we have Kelsey Hojan-Clark and Grace Paquelet? They are part of a very successful swim team, yet they and their swim team teammates fly (swim?) under the athletic radar screen.

The BA Cross Country team recently competed at the state tournament for the eighth straight year. The cc team has won eight conference titles in nine years and six sectional titles since 2001! This is an astounding record of success and one that is unmatched in BA athletic history. (Except by the equally successful BA track team). Yet their exploits are relatively underreported.

While it is a fact that football and basketball are the most "public" of high school sports, BA Blogger wants to celebrate the efforts and recognize the dedication of student-athletes who compete with little or no fanfare for the good of Brookfield Academy. Removed from the glare of the bright lights, these athletes are in the pool at 6:00 AM or train in relative isolation on the back hills of running courses. When it comes time to compete against other schools, they are surrounded by teammates, family and some students, but the simple reality is that big crowds are not the source of their motivation nor is the adulation of publicity. Yet they have wracked up an impressive litany of accomplishments.

While it is impossible to alter patterns of popularity, BA Blogger salutes BA's cross country and swim teams. Selfless in their efforts and reaching unheard of levels of success, these two teams quietly represent the best in BA athletics.

Concrete Flows!

What's so exciting about seeing a cement truck pouring concrete?

Not much unless it is pouring concrete at the site of Brookfield Academy's future high school. The arrival of concrete signals the start of work on the actual foundation of the building. Construction terms like "excavating foundations" and "footings" and "backfill" are part of the discussion as Patriots Hall construction starts in earnest. BA Blogger is not sure what any of those terms mean, but saying them out loud sounds really cool!

If you want to sneak a peek at building construction progress, click on the Patriots Hall webcam link located to the right of this blog for a live look at the "job site." (Job site, another great term, is construction lingo for the location of Patriots Hall!) You can also follow Soar with the Stars...A Stellar Opportunity capital campaign happenings by going to http://www.brookfieldacademy.org/ and

clicking on Soar With The Stars. BA is dedicated to keeping everyone informed about the progress of Patriots Hall, especially when "underfloor plumbing," "drywall tapping," and "topping slab" occur. Again, BA Blogger is not sure what those construction terms mean, but they sure do sound like progress! If you don't believe the blogger, check out some live action scenes from today's concrete pour.

College Admissions Expert To Speak At BA

While Brookfield Academy's academic program prepares students to compete for admission to the best colleges and universities in the country, providing students and parents with the intellectual capital essential to understanding the college admissions process is a major aspect of the college counseling program.


Students begin this learning process their freshmen year when they take a formal college admissions class, set personal and academic goals, hear from seniors about their personal college admissions process, do a practice PSAT, and meet with teachers to discuss the college recommendations teachers will eventually write for them. Sophomore year, the students become familiar with the College Board website, visit college campuses, and begin to take SAT and ACT practice tests. In the junior year, the focus begins to narrow to the individual student and the process of building a college list begins in earnest. By second semester of the junior year, students are beginning to prepare to formally apply to schools of their choice. All this preparation culminates with the formal submission of college applications during first semester of the senior year.


Parents are partners in the college admissions process. Like their children, the process begins in the freshman year, when parents are invited to college counseling seminars. As they move further into the process, the focus narrows to the individual child and their college admissions predilections.


The BA college counseling approach is intent on taking the complexity out of the process and ensuring that BA students are in the best possible position when it comes to choosing a college of their choice. On Tuesday, November 11, Brookfield Academy further demonstrates its commitment to demystifying college admissions by welcoming Mr. Lee Stetson, recently retired Dean of Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania and a 29-year veteran of the college admissions process. Mr. Stetson travels throughout the United States speaking about the highly-competitive college admissions process and is a leading expert in the field of college admissions; his insight into admissions strategies will be invaluable. This speech is open to all BA families and the college counseling department strongly encourages parents of students in grades 7-12 to attend Mr. Stetson's presentation. It is at 7 pm in the Upper School gym and is free of charge.


The BA college counseling program is a sophisticated response to the highly-competitive world of college and university admissions. The visit by Mr. Stetson is another part of the learning process essential to realizing the goal of admission to the college of your choice. Be sure to join other BA students and parents in taking advantage of another opportunity to prepare for the college admissions process.

The Thrill of Victory...

and the agony of defeat was experienced this past Tuesday night by the Brookfield Academy football team and their many fans. In a game that was talked about in newspapers, on radio stations, and in sports blogs across southeast Wisconsin, the overwhelming underdog Blue Knight football team matched up with Racine Lutheran in the first round of the WIAA state playoffs. The Blue Knights fought its way back a number of times and eventually took the lead with a little over one minute left in the game, only to lose 35-34 on a last play blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone.

Athletic events come and go, but this particular game will live in athletic infamy at Brookfield Academy not because of the final score, but because of the heart and determination exhibited by the football team. Unequivocally, the spectators who witnessed that game were privileged to be part of something special, made so by the gritty effort demonstrated by a bunch of young kids. It was an amazing game and one that truly symbolized all that is good in athletics.

Extracurriculars, whether it be athletics, theater or clubs, provide a great deal of joy, excitement, and sometimes disappointment to the BA community. None of these emotions would be possible without the commitment of the students. Toiling in relative anonymity, the students attend practice after practice in order to prepare to perform for the benefit of others. The BA community becomes the joyous recipient of their effort.

To all the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools students who augment their core academic experience with extracurricular participation, the BA community salutes you. While the final score may not always fall BA's way, thanks to your dedication and drive, BA is always in the game.

Homecoming Festivities

Before over 1,000 football fans, the Brookfield Academy Blue Knights defeated conference rival Lake Country Lutheran 21-17 in the homecoming football game. The victory propelled the Blue Knights into first place in the Midwest Classic Conference and culminated a night of homecoming fun and spirit rarely seen on the Academy campus. Beginning with Upper School service activities and a homecoming pep assembly, the day included a number of sporting events prior to the football game, including victories by the school's field hockey, soccer and volleyball team. Of course, the annual chili tailgate party served as the backdrop to most of the events. Homecoming attendees were able to watch the events on a full stomach!

Homecoming this year also marked the opening of the team room project. Under construction since June, the 2500 square foot addition to the concession stand features home and visiting locker rooms, coaches offices, officials rooms, and plenty of storage. The locker rooms will eventually serve as the official home of the football team, allowing them to vacate the cramped locker room that currently serves them. Thanks to the generosity of the 2007 Dinner Auction, over $325,00 was raised to help pay for the locker rooms.

Of course, no homecoming weekend is complete without the annual Five Star Run. Under bright blue skies, the gun sounded at 12 noon signaling the start of the race and over 250 runners, walkers, gifted dogs, and strollers undertook either a 5k or a one mile challenge. This marks the 28th year the Five Star Run has been held and people are already training for number 29.

Whether it was at the Friday night football game or Saturday's Five Star Run it was great to see many alums returning to campus as well. It was truly a special week for Brookfield Academy and one that spotlighted growing school spirit.

Grandparents Rock

On an absolutely perfect fall day, Brookfield Academy welcomed over 450 grandparents from around the world to its campus for the annual Grandparents Day celebration. This year's Grandparents Day theme was "Grandparents Rock" and each grandparent was given a small rock from the new Patriots Hall building site.

This year's "rockingest" grandparents were honorary Grandparents Day chairs Dr. John and Mrs. Lois Mclario. Long-time supporters and grandparents to ten BA students, the Mclarios still have grandkids in all three divisions. However, the Mclarios are way behind in the grandkid game as it was discovered this year that one of BA's grandparents has 42 grand kids!

The day began with grandparents assembling in the gym for breakfast and student presentations. Grandparent Mary York presented an update on the Patriots Hall building project and the following are some excerpts from her speech.

"GRANDPARENTS ROCK!!!! is the theme of this Grandparent’s Day…and we do rock. Now, I am not sure we rock like Elvis or the Beatles did, or that we sit and rock in rocking chairs but….we sure do rock in many significant ways! "

"Last year you all received a letter from me telling you about our capital campaign, Soar with the Stars, and asking you to join us and to contribute. I am pleased to say, to date we have raised 11.5 M, only $500,000 short of our goal. This is the largest amount ever raised by this school and we are extremely proud of the support received. However, we are still 500,000 short of our goal. Some of you have given and given generously. I am asking you, as we ask our students, to dig a little deeper, to try a little harder, to reach for the stars, and to help us raise the last $500,000. This will benefit all of our grandchildren."

"The Soar with the Stars has been a monumental undertaking. We have received wonderful support…hundreds have worked on the campaign, 100% of the faculty has given (unusual for any school) as well as many many donors for which we are grateful…..but we still need that last $500,000. I am hopeful, as you head off to watch and enjoy your grandchildren this morning, you will consider joining our campaign and help us finish the job we started. You have been the rocks of your family and we need you to be the rocks of BA. Please consider adding to the rocks that will build for the future of your grandchild’s education."

After Mary's presentation, the grandparents were entertained by Lower School poems and songs, and then by the Middle and Upper School chorus'.

After the formal assembly, the real action began. Transported by an army of BA golf carts, the grandparents descended upon their grandchild's classroom for fun and learning. Thankful to have survived the ride, grandparents got a small glimpse of life as a BA student. Indeed, a visit from grandma or grandpa is the highlight of the day for the students.

Grandparents Day is one of BA's best days. Nothing goes wrong when grandma and grandpa are on campus...unless, of course, "grandma gets run over by a golf cart." Fortunately that did not happen this year, thus ensuring a great Grandparents Day at BA.

Take a look at some scenes from BA's Grandparents Day 2008 by clicking on the video below.