A joyful place to learn, create, and excel

“I’m so ecstatic and grateful to serve my community in this position,” says newly-elected Community Council Co-Head Nico G. ’27. “This is an opportunity to lead the Upper School’s morning meetings and be a bubbly face you see in the morning, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for assemblies.”

At one of those recent assemblies, the current Community Council co-heads, Joy F. ’26 and Philip D. ’26, officially passed the leadership baton to Nico and his fellow incoming co-head, Ada A. ’27.

“We both have worked so hard for this and will continue to do our best navigating the leadership that comes with it,” Nico adds. “I’m beyond blessed to have someone like Ada by my side, and together, we hope to make next year spectacular.”

Ada, who has attended Wheeler since the age of 3, says it is an honor to serve as an Upper School Community Council co-head, and she’s excited to help shape meaningful experiences – and help create meeting memories – for her peers.

“I also hope to highlight the wonderful individuals in this community and bring people together,” she says. “Wheeler is truly a special place, and I’m grateful beyond words to help keep it that way, especially alongside someone as incredible and important to me as Nico.”

🎉 Congratulations to Ada and Nico as they step into these new roles and help shape the year ahead for the Upper School community, and thank you to Joy and Philip for their thoughtful, collaborative leadership this year! 💜💛

In preparation for the upcoming Spring Dance Showcase, “Kaleidoscope,” students in Dance Performance have spent the past few months collaborating with professional dancer and choreographer Adele Walden from Ballet RI to learn an original contemporary piece that will debut this week. 🩰✨

“This was a great opportunity for the Dance Performance students to work with a choreographer in the field of contemporary and ballet,” said K–12 Dance Program Coordinator and Dance Teacher Erin Muccino ’04. “Giving students opportunities to learn from other professionals in the dance community is a great way to help them build many skills. The dancers were expected to learn this dance in four sessions, memorize the material, and ask questions. Adele was an excellent teacher and choreographer whom the dancers quickly connected with and enjoyed learning from. Our dancers were prepared and eager to learn from her, and it was exciting to see their progress both technically and artistically in just four sessions.”

Ms. Adele was equally impressed by the students’ commitment and enthusiasm throughout the process. “They are super fast learners,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like I am struggling to work with them. I am giving them the material and they’re really running with it, which has helped with the process. The piece we’re working on is a three-minute contemporary work, and I want it to show off the dancers’ athleticism and their drive to work hard.”

🤩 We look forward to seeing Dance Performance premiere this piece, entitled “Forte,” which is set to “Horizon” by Christophe Filippi, at this Thursday and Friday’s showcase. Both performances are sold out.

Given today’s hot weather, we felt this was a perfect time to provide you with a peek at our new pool center at Wheeler Farm! 💦

Finishing touches are underway under the dome, but we’ll be ready to dive in at our ribbon cutting on June 8 (following Field Day). We’ll share more information soon about that event, but in the meantime, if these photos have you thinking about summer, it’s not too late to sign up for a Family Pass to enjoy the pool in person (and when the dome will be off)! ☀️

Visit wheelersummercamp.com/family-pass/ for more information.

Eighth-graders recently learned about the impact of redlining on communities directly from someone who has made it her mission to advocate for those negatively impacted by it: Wheeler parent Michelle Davidson P’30, P’30, who is also a senior loan officer at Luminate Bank.

“During the school year, students in U.S. History have discovered how redlining originated during the New Deal and continued to grow in the coming decades,” shared Middle School History Teacher Colin Martin P’24, P’27, P’29. “We have explored how redlining — the discriminatory practice of denying loans and financial services to residents of certain neighborhoods, often based on race — has impacted not only people at the time, but also generational wealth, with the domino effect rippling through decades and generations. Even now, redlining continues to directly impact lives.”

As one recent example, Mr. Martin explained that, in 2023, City National Bank of Los Angeles was fined $31 million for its redlining practices.

During her visit, Mrs. Davidson spoke about her experience as a financial executive hired early in her career by Fleet Bank to address its redlining practices. She went on to transform the lending division at Fleet Bank RI before embarking on a broader career focused on educating and empowering individuals to achieve homeownership — first in Rhode Island and later nationally.

“Her career is an example of how one person can impact the financial wealth of thousands, including subsequent generations, through homeownership,” said Mr. Martin.