Life on Lowder Street Blog

The juniors and seniors had a blast at the Prom on Friday, May 10, dancing the night away at the Great Gatsby-themed soiree. See photos of all the fun here!

Spring has sprung at UA! Flowers are in bloom and the trees are green. The classroom windows are open and physical education class has officially moved from inside the gym to the field. Students are even having their lunch outside in the sunshine on new picnic tables. Enjoy these photos of our beautiful campus in springtime:

On Sunday, May 5, the Ursuline community gathered to celebrate the Class of 2013 and their parents at the Senior Parent Brunch.

This wonderful Ursuline tradition is hosted each year by the junior class and their parents. The Senior Parent Brunch offers an opportunity for the graduating seniors to thank their parents for their love and support. Each senior parent is presented an orchid by their daughter, and the seniors receive Ursuline keychains that mark the first step in their transition into alumnae of the Academy.

Mary Beth Hunt McMahon '82 returned to campus to give the keynote address at the brunch. Mary Beth is the President and CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts and truly lives the Ursuline motto of Serviam each day. Watch Mary Beth's remarks from the brunch:

The Senior Parent Brunch is also a celebration of the generous donations to the Senior Parent Gift.This year the parents of the Class of 2013 surpassed their fundraising goal of $35,000 with 82% participation! They raised $35,400 to refurbish the lobby of the school. Many thanks to the co-chairs of the Senior Parent Gift, Peter & Deborah Canning P '13 and Martin & Susana Fantozzi P '13 '17, for all their hard work. The renovations to the lobby will take place over the summer and the new and improved space will be ready when school starts in the fall of 2013.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this special day possible! Thank you to the dedicated junior parents on the Senior Parent Brunch Committee, and their co-chairs, Julie Lynch P '14 and Sharon Baryluk P '14. Special thanks to Millie Borodic P '13 for creating the exquisite flower centerpieces for the brunch.

If you drove down Lowder Street during the week of April 8-12, you might have noticed a conspicuous bus parked in the UA parking lot. But it wasn't your average school bus: it was the Boston University Mobile CityLab!

UA biology students had the opportunity to act like real scientists when the BU Mobile CityLab spent a week parked right here at Ursuline Academy. The Boston University Mobile CityLab is a 40-foot long traveling science laboratory operated by the Boston University School of Medicine. The CityLab's mission is to increase community access to modern-day biotechnology and is specially designed for grades 7-12 teachers and their students to participate in hands-on laboratory experiments.

Each class got a chance to go inside for a few hours and do an experiment. The state-of-the-art materials in the Mobile CityLab enabled our students to do lab experiments that they would not otherwise have been able to do in our labs here at UA.

The students used their knowledge of DNA structure and function to help solve a fictional crime scene and also learned new laboratory skills, including how to use micro-pipettes, gel electrophoresis boxes, centrifuges and more. The girls also got a chance to see how DNA fingerprinting can be used in crime scene investigations and historical discoveries.

Watch some of their lab experiments in action in this photo slideshow:

Special thanks to science teachers Mrs. Lisa Collins and Mrs. Taryn Surabian '03 for helping bring the Mobile CityLab to Ursuline.

Suzanne Brownell guides the 9th grade through a breathing exercise.

"Talk yourself through stress and empower yourself."

"Even though I feel overwhelmed and stressed...I love and accept myself and how I feel."

"Cultivate a positive attitude--an attitude of gratitude!"

These are just a few of the tips that Suzanne Brownell, a local health and wellness expert, gave the 9th graders during a presentation about managing stress on Friday, April 26. The Guidance Department arranged for this special presentation for the Class of 2016.

Brownell showed the students breathing techniques for relaxation and stress relief, as well as yoga and meditation practices. Some were simple, unobtrusive breathing exercises that can easily be done at a desk before a big exam; others involved patting the limbs and head or massaging the ears and are perhaps better suited to outside the classroom. No matter the method, each of the techniques that Brownell demonstrated had an immediate impact on the students, who eagerly followed her instructions for each exercise.

Jaimie O'Neill '15 has asthma and said, "I felt it really helped my breathing, and I felt more relaxed."

Classmate Alia Spring '15 agreed, saying, "It was fun! I am definitely going to practicing the breathing before tests."

Brownell also talked to the students about the importance of eating healthy, calling it "mood food" and reminding the girls that "you are what you eat." Each student received helpful handouts with healthy recipes and descriptions of the stress relief exercises, as well as links to more information on Brownell's website, healththyself.com. You can visit Brownell's site for videos, classes and recipes for living healthy.