In May, Grade 10 students had the opportunity to hear from Isaac Jack Trompetter, a Holocaust survivor and an artist. The Grade 10 curriculum includes learning about the Holocaust through reading and discussing Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus, in which Spiegelman chronicles his father’s story as a Holocaust survivor. After studying the subject in class, an opportunity to hear first-hand testimony about the Holocaust was particularly powerful.

On Tuesday, June 3, the Class of 2029 marked a significant milestone with their last day of classes and Grade 8 Portfolio Night—a cherished tradition that celebrates students’ growth and signals their transition from the Middle School to the Upper School.

This spring, Sophie Lane’s Advanced Photography class experimented with cyanotype printing—an early photographic process recognizable for the distinct blue color of the prints. The students coated paper with UV-light sensitive cyanotype chemistry and exposed their prints in the spring sunshine on campus.

On May 20, Grade 6 students gathered in Benson Gymnasium to present their water projects, the final piece of a yearlong world and water unit in the Grade 6 humanities curriculum. With these projects, students took a deep dive into the environmental, economic, and societal forces impacting global freshwater systems.

Spirits were high as the community gathered to celebrate the Class of 2025 on Friday, May 23. Though the day was unseasonably chilly, the sun made an appearance just in time for the 92 graduates to process into the tent on Lank Quadrangle.

Stop by the science department on the second floor of The Revers Center for Science and Visual Arts, and you’ll find a space filled with energy and innovation—3D printers humming, students deep in conversations over their imaginative projects, and faculty members guiding learning with infectious enthusiasm. This Digital Fabrication space is one location for the Grade 10 STEM Seminar program, where students are empowered to explore science with a hands-on approach.

Global Fair, an annual Rivers tradition, kicks off senior week for graduating students and serves as a celebration of the many cultures that make up the Rivers community through a combination of home-cooked dishes, interactive activities, and performances. The event is sponsored by the BRIDGE club (Building Real Intercultural Dialogue to Generate Engagement) and the Upper School affinity spaces and is supported by the Equity and Engagement team.

Last week, heartfelt performances transported audience members from the Black Box Theater into the magical world of the Middle School spring musical, Frozen Jr., directed by librarian and drama teacher Diane DeVore P’22, music directed by Head of Middle School John Bower P’31, and produced by Grade 7 Dean and French and drama teacher Julia Auster-Hogan ’06.

Only a few years after moving up to Class B, Rivers girls’ varsity tennis made history with their first-ever New England Class B Championship title. Entering the playoffs as the #2 seed, the Red Wings began their postseason with a 5-0 sweep over #7 Dana Hall on Saturday at St. George’s. Only a few hours later, they battled ISL foe Middlesex, leaving the courts with another 5-0 victory to advance them to the championship.

The Rivers School community is deeply saddened to share the passing of Jim McNally P’15, ’18, who served as the director of athletics from 1996 to 2016. Jim passed away peacefully on May 12, 2025, surrounded by his family. His legacy at Rivers is defined by more than two decades of leadership and athletic excellence, helping to shape Rivers athletics into the successful program it is today.

Students in Andrea Villagrán’s Spanish V class recently participated in an interactive escape room, using teamwork and the Spanish language to crack codes and “escape.” The experience immersed students, both in the Spanish language and in themes from the course curriculum. And the class didn’t even have to leave the Rivers campus—decked out with candles, props, mood lighting, and mysterious music, the classroom space was totally transformed.

What happens when motivated students come together with a shared purpose of making change? Here at Rivers, the answer is Rivers Givers—a student-driven philanthropy club with a proud history spanning over two decades. At the annual check presentation ceremony in early May, this year’s cohort proudly awarded $10,000 in grants to three local nonprofit organizations—Circle of Hope, Dress for Success Boston, and High Spirit East Community—representing the culmination of a year of learning, fundraising, and hands-on engagement in philanthropy.

The Rivers community celebrated the achievements of the Community Engagement Fellows (CEF) during all-school assembly on May 5, when eight Rivers juniors presented their year-long projects. Their shared reflections mark the success of the new program at Rivers, the lasting and meaningful impact on local communities, and the foundation laid for future fellows at Rivers.

Despite chilly temperatures and rainy skies, nearly 80 golfers turned out for the 23rd Annual Rivers School Community Golf Tournament at Charter Oak Country Club in Hudson, MA. The event welcomed Rivers alumni, parents and caregivers, grandparents, and members of the professional community for a day of connection, friendly competition, and school spirit.

The most selective class on record will begin their Rivers journey in the fall of 2025. These newly enrolled students stood out from a pool of nearly 800 applicants, setting an unprecedented acceptance rate, which reflects Rivers’ rising popularity in Greater Boston.

On the evening of Tuesday, April 29, Middle School Theater Arts students took to the Black Box stage to present a series of imaginative and dynamic short plays. This performance marked the culmination of a yearlong journey through the performing arts curriculum, which all Middle School students participate in three times a week during a dedicated performing arts block. Theater Arts is one of several offerings and is taught in three sections by Julia Auster-Hogan ’06, Diane DeVore, and Ellie Strayer.

The Rivers School officially kicked off its next chapter in athletics with the arrival of incoming Director of Athletics Kristin Cannon. Cannon, who begins her new role July 1, spent a full day visiting Rivers spaces and meeting with students, faculty, and coaches, who gave her a warm welcome at a reception at the athletics pavilion on Wednesday.

Jordan Haims ’25 has been volunteering with the Heated Lions, a Special Olympics basketball program, for about nine years. Back when he started in the 2015–16 season, the connection between Rivers and the Heated Lions was mostly just that the team practiced in the Haffenreffer Building—Haims himself was not even a Rivers student yet. But through his leadership, the relationship has grown. Now, the majority of Heated Lions volunteers are Rivers students.

The Rivers Athletics Department will honor an exceptional winter sports season during the annual Winter Varsity Awards celebration at an upcoming assembly in Kraft Dining Hall in late April. Upper School students, faculty members, and coaches will gather to celebrate the achievements of the varsity teams.

If you really wanted to make a book come alive, how would you do it? What would it sound like, taste like, smell like? Students in the Grade 9 English seminar answered these and other questions one afternoon in early April at the Living Libraries event, when Haynes classrooms were transformed into multisensory experiences of a selection of books.

This April, Rivers welcomed 17 students from Lycée International Georges Duby in Luynes, France, as part of a longstanding French exchange program. Over the course of two weeks, the visiting students became part of the Rivers community, staying with host families, attending classes, and exploring Boston–a unique firsthand experience with American culture.

An incredible honor has been awarded to Rivers School freshmen Carter Meyer ’28, Finn Sears ’28, and Sam Pandolfo ’28, who were selected to represent the United States as members of the elite USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) U-17 team. This prestigious selection placed them among the top young players in the country. And for this talented trio, it’s a dream years in the making.

Rivers' Counseling and Wellness Department, in partnership with the Mental Health Collaborative (MHC), hosted its fifth annual senior lunch presentation on Friday, March 28, delivering Mental Health 101 programming tailored to graduating students. Customized session programming was developed by Rivers School Counselor and Head of Wellness Programming Megan Delano and two skilled clinicians from the MHC: Alyssa Johnson (LICSW) and Carrie Prisco (MEd in Special Education, MEd in Literacy).

Combine the determination and commitment of competitive athletes with philanthropy and you have A Shot For Life (ASFL), an organization that uses sports to raise funds for the Mass General Cancer Center. Since its founding in 2011, ASFL has raised over $1,000,000 to aid brain cancer treatment and research. Current students and numerous alumni in the Rivers community have demonstrated their athletic skills and dedication to the ASFL–with the goal of raising as much money as possible for brain cancer research and having some competitive fun while doing it.

Chris Love, a Rivers visual arts faculty member, pioneered an Editorial Cartoon unit at Rivers that has Middle School art students thinking critically about the world around them. Tailored specifically towards his eighth-grade art students, Editorial Cartoon is a brief yet impactful exercise designed to engage students in social and political discourse through artwork. The primary objective is to create a platform for students to reflect on the causes they care about and find a way to voice thoughts and opinions through art.

On a sunny morning in early March, The Rivers School welcomed award-winning author, sociologist, and scholar Dr. Anthony Abraham Jack as the speaker for The Hall Family Speaker Series. The series, which brings thought leaders to Rivers to address civic and community engagement, was organized by the school’s Equity and Engagement Team (EET) in collaboration with trustee Alison Hall P’19 as the third in a series of workshops and discussions surrounding the theme of the year: “Engaging in Citizenship Together.”

Each year, Rivers hosts four student art shows: a fall all-student exhibition showcasing Upper and Middle School artwork from the previous spring, an Upper School student show at the start of the second semester highlighting fall semester work, a Middle School art show in May, and a senior show running concurrently. On February 18, a gallery reception introduced a variety of student work across a wide range of mediums that span the entire arts curriculum, including the Foundation courses, Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Mindfulness in Drawing, Ceramics, Sculpture, Photography, and Identity and Reality: Cinematic Production and Critical Studies. The exhibit, on display in the Bell Gallery and the Baldwin Family Art Commons through April 17th, is a vibrant and inspirational experience.

Rivers Hockey is making headlines with a remarkable 18-5-1 record this season. Their success has been driven by impressive performances, including three of the top scorers in all of New England prep hockey and an unstoppable freshman line. Coverage in The Boston Globe and New England Hockey Journal have put a spotlight on the team.

At Rivers, students have the opportunity to express themselves through a variety of creative outlets, from writing to visual arts. This creativity was recognized when the Massachusetts results of the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition were announced on January 29. Competing at a high level in this prestigious program, Rivers students created memorable works that exemplify the Awards’ core values: originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. Thirty-nine works of visual art by Rivers students were honored this year, along with five pieces garnering awards in the writing categories.

On January 30, Rivers hosted a dynamic Lunar New Year celebration, bringing together over 200 attendees for an evening of cultural appreciation, performances, and traditional festivities to honor the Year of the Snake—a Chinese Zodiac symbol of intelligence, mystery, and renewal. The Lunar New Year, celebrated by millions of people across the globe on the first new moon of the lunar calendar, began on January 29, with festivities continuing in an All-School assembly and in Mandarin language classes surrounding the date.

Corey Campbell, who took over the reins as executive chef at Rivers at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, takes pride in his approach to culinary invention. We recently caught up with Chef Campbell about his career in the culinary industry and his inspiration for the Rivers kitchen.

On January 15, the Parents’ Independent School Network (PIN) hosted a virtual heads of school panel to discuss the topic of teams: “Being Our Best Selves: A Team Approach.” In addition to Rivers’ Head of School Ryan S. Dahlem, the event featured heads of school from three other Massachusetts independent schools: Derek Boonisar from Fenn School in Concord; Judith Guild from Brimmer and May School in Chestnut Hill; and Mark Stanek from Shady Hill School in Cambridge.

The Class of 2025 at The Rivers School is off to an impressive start with college admissions. As of mid-November, 94 percent of students who submitted Early Decision, Early Action, Restrictive Early Action, or Rolling Admission applications have been accepted to at least one college.

On Monday, January 13, 2025, the Rivers community gathered to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with an assembly featuring guest speaker Col. Marshalee Clarke, a former Boston resident and distinguished leader in the U.S. Marine Corps. While not speaking in an official military capacity, Col. Clarke drew upon her impressive leadership experience to speak about Dr. King's legacy and inspiration, encouraging students to reflect on their purpose and embrace the importance of principled leadership and action.

We may think of the world of emotions as very separate from biology or the process of learning and the brain, but Mary Helen Immordino-Yang would have you know that those processes are deeply linked. Following the winter break, The Rivers School welcomed back Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a distinguished neuroscientist and professor of education at the USC Rossier School of Education, as a guest speaker for a day of professional development, and in a later session for parents, caregivers, and alumni.

At the final professional community meeting of 2024, Head of School Ryan S. Dahlem added some extra cheer by presenting John Bower P’31, head of Rivers’ Middle School, with a Commitment to Excellence Award. This external award, presented by Borislow Insurance, recognizes and celebrates educators, administrators, and staff at independent schools nationally who “go above and beyond to enhance the quality of education and positively impact the overall student experience.”