by Julie Gowel ·
Friday, April 4, 2025
With only two months to go until members of the Bromfield School Class of 2025 receive their diplomas, the seniors and staff met at the net in the gymnasium on Wednesday, March 26, to play volleyball and raise money for the Harvard Educators Association scholarship fund. The annual staff vs. senior event raised $1,200, a decline from previous years, but it still kicked off the excitement for students in preparation for commencement.
The evening began with the seniors being introduced, running down a line of teachers representing the elementary, middle, and high schools. Sporting personalized T-shirts that looked like the branding to Dunkin’, with “Bromfield Class of ” in pink and orange writing and the coffee company’s signature cup with “25” on the front, and nicknames of players on the back, such as “Bagel B,” “Zaza,” and “A-Train,” seniors brought the heat to the court, defeating the staff soundly by the end of the game.
In attendance, but not on the court, was Bromfield’s Principal Kim Murphy. “Nobody needs to see me playing,” she said, laughing. “Dancing is more my speed than sports, and I go all in on the lip sync battle!” Although she was rooting for the seniors, when it came to predicting the fiercest competitors, she had her eye on both sides. “Mr. Tabor’s team is strong; he takes volleyball very seriously. On the senior side, Isaac [“TheExuster”] Xu’s team is ready. He came to win.” Murphy had been dropping into free periods throughout the week to watch the seniors take on underclassmen in preparation for the game.
It took some time before the ball was actually volleyed, with many serves going rogue. Once, senior Robyn “Bird8Bacon” Douglas packed a bit too much punch into her serve and lodged a ball in the rafters, eliciting cheers from the seniors and spectators. Staff members dove and attempted to spike, but their efforts weren’t enough to beat the upcoming graduates.
Senior Savannah “Pinkfeather” Senykoff may not have brought the intensity of Xu, but following the game, she was pleased with the results. “We didn’t practice much as a grade beforehand. We definitely expected Mr. Thurston [6’4” tall math teacher at Bromfield] would be a challenging opponent, and we were not surprised when he carried the teachers’ team. My favorite part of the game was beating the teachers and scoring a mean point against Mr. Lynde [Bromfield social studies teacher]!”
Senior Lucy “Goofus” Feltz said she didn’t anticipate the feelings of sentimentality she experienced at the game. “Until I was there, and all the seniors’ names were called, I hadn’t really thought of it as a graduation event. It was emotional to see so many of my past teachers. The event also emphasized for me a sense of connection to my entire class that has been lost or hidden for a while. I think it hit a lot of us that high school and our time together really is coming to an end.”
It was an emotional night for parents as well. Susan Balicky, mother to Elena, “E-Bizzle,” a graduating senior, recalled this time last year when she dropped Elena off to watch the staff-senior basketball game. “I thought, oh my gosh, that’s going to be you in a year,” she said. “[Elena] is our oldest, so getting ready for the last few months of school is bittersweet.”
Hildreth Elementary School health teacher Erin Sintros and grade 6 math teacher Amy Bassage shared the sentimentality of the occasion. “I remember the kids from when they were eight, third-graders,” said Sintros. “Seeing them bonded to one another and coming into their own people is pretty cool. They’re at the point where they appreciate the moments they have together.” Bassage added, “They’re such a strong, kind, funny class. I love seeing them all together like this.”
According to event organizer and middle school ESL teacher Lauren Crittendon, the event was not as well attended as those in the years before the pandemic. She hopes to bring the community back out to what will be the 57th annual staff-senior game next year. Past fundraising yielded over $5,000 for the HEA scholarship fund, and Crittendon looks forward to meeting or exceeding that number in the future.
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