It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Paul J. Cameron, a former Modern foreign language faculty member in the 1960's and 1970's at BLS. A graduate of Boston College, his career spanned more than 30 years as an educator and administrator in the Boston public school system. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

Boston Latin School tied for first place with Philips Exeter and The Lexington School at the American Invitational Mathematics Examination contest based on their performance on the American Math Contest.

Samantha Nam-Crane '11 tied for 2nd place in the 6-8 grade grouping in the League of Women Voters essay contest. Students and teachers were honored and the winning essays were shared at the Making Democracy Awards ceremony in Faneuil Hall on April 29.

Advanced Placement Art and Advanced Placement Music Theory courses both demonstrated an above 80% pass rate by BLS students. This represents the best overall fine arts department AP scores in our history. Program Director Paul Pitts '73 reports that Masters Ryan Snyder and Stephen Harris "have both done an outstanding job in preparing our students for these rigorous exams."

BLS Jazz Ensemble received third place at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival that was held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston in March. Jake Sherman '08 received the superior musician award for Division II in recognition of his outstanding piano playing.

On March 25, the BLS Jazz Band received a gold medal at the MA IAJE State Finals, a regional competition sponsored by the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE). Jake Sherman '08 won the Most Valuable Player Award in the A Division for the state of Massachusetts. They will be performing at the Hatch Shell on the Charles River on Saturday, May 19, at the IAJE Gold Medal Showcase.

The BLS Symphonic Band received a silver medal and the BLS Concert Strings received a gold medal at the MICCA Concert Festival held on
April 1.

BLS Jazz Ensemble received a gold medal at the Cape Cod International Association of Jazz Educators District Festival. This qualifies the band for the state finals for the 7th year in a row. Outstanding musicianship awards were given to Kyle Miles '07 (bass), Jake Sherman '08 (piano) and Fang Yuan '08 (trumpet).

The BLS Drama Guild production of "Kid Simple" has qualified for the semi-finals in the Massachusetts State Drama Guild Festival which will be held at Drury High School in Fall River, MA.

Two BLS musicians were selected to perform in the MENC Eastern Division Honors Ensembles. The concert took place in Hartford, CT at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the home of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Six hundred of the most talented high school musicians from the eastern section of the United States were selected by committee to perform in the Honors Ensembles. The concert was an incredible experience for our two outstanding musicians David Whitaker '07 (vocalist) and Shuang Wu '07 (violinist).

The South End News reports that Joe Higgins '07 (double bass) walked away the champion and Matt Hull '10 (trumpet) took third place (junior level) at the 13th annual David Lapin Competition held
April 1, at the Community Music Center of Boston. The musical competition drew approximately 37 contestants in the senior and junior competitions. Higgins played two movements from a sonata written by Henry Eccles. Hull performed, from memory, "Ceora," by Lee Morgan and a sonata by Arcangelo Corelli.

Athletic Director John McDonough reports that 306 student athletes are busy playing on 13 teams in seven sports this spring.

The Boston Globe and Boston Herald recently recognized Dual County League All-Stars. Kudos to BLS student-athletes: Caroline O'Loughlin '07, Jane Cui '08, Olivia Grant '10, Suzi Lu '09 and Sara Hicks '10 (Girls' track); Peter Rice '08 (Boys' track); Greg Maneikis '07 and Robbie Walton '08 (Boys' basketball); Ben Spiecher '07 (wrestling); Colleen Doogan '07, Ann Marie Elvin '08, Siobhan Elvin '10, Stefani McGrath '09 and Kathleen Roche '08 (Girls' hockey).

Three Latin School athletic events will be hosted at Harvard University's Soldiers Field facilities to the excitement of many Latin student-athletes, parents and alumni. Come out and support the Wolfpack on Thursday, May 24, at 4 p.m. as BLS baseball and softball teams play Boston Latin Academy and the Girls' tennis team takes on Bedford High School.

Two BLS students, Nayab Ahmad '11 and Andres Simpson '11, were honored as Will McDonough Writing Contest winners at a ceremony at TD Banknorth Garden on April 13.

Viacom and CBS chairman Sumner M. Redstone '40 has made a gift of $105 million to fund research and patient-care advancements to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston; FasterCures/The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions, based in Washington, D.C.; and Cedars-Sinai Prostate Cancer Center in Los Angeles. "Advancements in research and medical science are creating a better world and a higher quality of life for all of us," Redstone said in a prepared statement.

Dr. Alan Stone '46, the Touroff-Glueck professor of Law and Psychiatry at Harvard, recently took part in a mock trial to determine whether Hamlet was competent to stand trial for the murder of Polonius; this set up a legal framework for the question of Hamlet's sanity, with Justice Anthony Kennedy presiding. It was reported on the PBS "NewsHour" show. A transcript of the TV program is available through the PBS "NewsHour" link above.

The late Rabbi Isadore Twersky '47, was the subject of a "Memorial Minute" in February by Harvard University's Arts and Science faculty. He was credited, as a founding director of Harvard's Center for Jewish Studies, with "nurturing the relationship between Judaica scholarship in the United States and Israel, indeed, throughout the world."

John F. Dobbyn '55 has published a new novel, "Neon Dragon," which brings to life the legal detective team of Michael Knoght and Lex Devlin, who have been featured in a dozen short stories in such publications as Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Dobbyn is a professor of law at Villanova University and author of numerous legal books and short fiction.

On April 12, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Michael Contompasis '57 was honored by the Discovering Justice organization for his more than 40 years of exemplary work as a public school educator. Proceeds from the event, held at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, benefit the educational programs sponsored by Discovering Justice, including justice-based and good citizenship programs that take place in some of Boston's elementary schools. Contompasis was introduced that evening by attorney Dickens "Deke" Mathieu '83, a board member and volunteer for Discovering Justice. For more information on the program, click here.

Francis Tirella '65 and Daniel Puopolo '75 of 24 Productions are working with a number of BLS and Harvard graduates to develop a studio or independent film based on the life and times of the late Andrew Puopolo '73. E-mail Francis Tirella to share your thoughts and comments.

The Boston Globe reports that word from Hollywood is that Oscar winning actor Sean Penn is considering a role playing former White House counter-terrorism expert Richard Clarke '68 in a movie based on Clarke's bestseller "Against All Enemies."

Veronica (Codrington) Cazeau '87 was recently appointed the new dean of the middle school at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, CA. Harvard-Westlake is an independent, coeducational college preparatory day school for grades 7-12. 

A couple from Roslindale gushed over their "dream kitchen" in the Food section of the Boston Globe recently. It was renovated by none other than best friends Josh Levine '89 and Henry Yglesias '89. The article mentioned that a few months ago, these builders decided "that at the end of a project, if everything had gone well, they would cook for their clients…A few years ago, Yglesias took a break from the kitchen to work for Levine…Now he wants to pound nails during the day and moonlight as a personal chef."

Nigel Furlonge '90 has been appointed as the new academic dean of The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Furlonge will be responsible for the curricular and other academic aspects of the school beginning July 1.

Results of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation's 83rd annual United States and Canadian competition have been announced recently in a news release by Foundation President Edward Hirsch. New fellow Kenneth Eng '94 is a filmmaker and film director/editor with Projectile Arts, Inc. The 2007 Fellowship winners include 189 artists, scholars, and scientists selected from almost 2,800 applicants.  "It's truly an honor," said Eng. "It will enable me to launch a film which I will shoot in China." Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishments.

Zachary Trayes-Gibson '04, a third-year biology student at the University of Chicago, foiled a recent robbery attempt on Carol Moseley Braun, a 2004 presidential candidate and former US senator, with the help of a fellow student. The Boston Globe reported that, "The attacker fled when they approached. As McFadden knelt to check on the woman, Trayes-Gibson chased the mugger for a block. Trayes-Gibson said the mugger threatened him. 'I saw the steel of the knife blade in the street light,' he said. 'He came at me with it, I threw up my hands, took a couple steps backward and that seemed like it was enough for him.'"