October
1902

Katharine Thompson brings Soul Cake to Buckingham

Spring
1951

The first Lower School Circus takes place at Buckingham

May
1978

The first annual Grandfriends' Day takes place

Spring
2007

The first One School One World event is held

February
2023

Upper School students revive Community Day

Community Traditions

The BB&N calendar is full of annual community events and traditions, some more than a century old and others started in the last decade. The events highlighted on this page are arranged by the three seasons of the academic year, and while not all of them are still celebrated today, they all serve to bring the school together in celebration and community.

Fall

Fall is a time for orientations, and while Bivouac might be the one most mentioned, the Ice Cream Social is an important welcome to the Middle School campus for students and their families. Students relax and chat with a sweet treat, and families have a chance to meet their students' advisors and see the campus. Before the event focused on ice cream, it included hot dogs fresh off the grill.

Below: on the left, a photo of the 1981 Middle School orientation barbecue; on the right, students hang out at the Ice Cream Social, 2007.

A black and white photo of students at a barbecue event on the grass, with trees rising behind them. Smoke is rising from the barbecue in the center.

A color photo of a group of Middle School students, leaning together in a group and smiling for the camera. They are outside, and a student in the middle is holding up a bowl of ice cream.

A black and white photo of Lower School girls in dresses, standing in a line in the attic performing the Soul Cake song.

A photo of Lower School boys in white button-up shirts standing and singing in a line in the attic, with black cat paper cutouts hanging on the wall behind them.

Above: on the left, students sing the Soul Cake song in traditional dresses, 1983; on the right, students perform in front of black cat decorations, 1999.

Right: students play instruments at Soul Cake, undated.

One of the oldest traditions at BB&N was Soul Cake, which came from an English tradition brought to Buckingham around 1902 by Head of School Katharine Thompson. Every year since, the 5th grade sang the "Soul Cake" song in October, with the students wearing homemade dresses they designed. After the merger, music teachers Kathleen DeVore, Debbie Slade, and Howard Worona added percussion, orchestral instruments, and recorders to the program, which also expanded to include other related songs. Before the musical performances, librarian Heather Lee told the story of Halloween and the Soul Cake song. While the tradition was recently retired, it remains a fond memory for many alumni.

A black and white photo of students playing xylophones for Soul Cake, with black cat cutouts hanging on the wall behind them.

A color photo of a table in Dr. Price's house, with a red and gold tablecloth on it and windows in the background. In the center of the table is a decorative turkey, and spread across the table are various plates with desserts. Each plate has a label standing up beside it.

One of BB&N's newest annual events comes the following month in November: Pie Day. Head of School Dr. Jennifer Price started the tradition at BB&N when she joined the community in 2018, but Pie Day comes from a long-standing Price family tradition. Every year around Thanksgiving, Dr. Price and her wife Katya welcome members of the community into their home for a slice of pie and a warm drink.

Left: the Pie Day spread, November 2019.

The Fall season at BB&N features a number of large events that serve as core parts of the community's yearly calendar. Chief among these are Homecoming and the Head of the Charles Regatta, when students, alumni, faculty, staff, and families come out to cheer on BB&N's athletes and celebrate as a united community. In 2023, the Homecoming and Head of the Charles weekend expanded to include the Vanguard's 50th anniversary party, a reception for "lifers" and their families, BB&N's first all-school pep rally in many years, and the Golden Alumni Luncheon, an annual event for alumni who have already celebrated their 50th reunions to return and reconnect.

Right: Julia Kennedy '91, Laureen Gage, and Brendan Mernin '83 celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Vanguard, 2023.

Below: alumni from Buckingham and Browne & Nichols gather at the Golden Alumni Luncheon, 2023.

A color photo of a group of alumni gathered together in the Upper School community room and smiling at the camera.

A color photo of three alumni in the Upper School community room, standing beside a large printed poster of a Vanguard front page on an easel.

Over the decades, BB&N has held a number of community-wide celebrations to mark important school milestones and bring the community together. These have included a 1999 celebration of the 25th anniversary of the merger of Browne & Nichols and Buckingham; community events in the 2000s celebrating our faculty, retired faculty, and financial aid; and two "Night of Knights" celebrations in 2010 and 2011 to mark the final year and conclusion of the Opening Minds Campaign.

For 9th grade students, Bivouac is a key tradition at the start of the year, but for many years the Fall also brought 5th graders to Camp Marienfeld for an annual camping trip. Known as Project REASON (Resource and Environmental Awareness through the Study Of Nature), the trip was designed to enhance students' environmental education by bringing them out of the city and into a place where they were surrounded by nature. Project REASON trips lasted for four days, during which students engaged with activities in a variety of ecosystems, experienced living together away from home, and hiked Mount Monadnock with naturalist Dan Leary.

Below: on the left, students learn about shepherding, undated; on the right, from left to right, Duchess Adjei '07, Eve Goldminz '07, and Ashia Wilson '07 at Project REASON, Fall 1999.

Winter

The months after Winter Break in December bring a number of events, some of which include the entire community. Every January since 1978, BB&N has gathered together to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. This celebration has included assemblies, and continues to take place as a breakfast for students, families, and alumni.

Right: the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event program, January 15, 1979.

Below: students lead the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day assembly, 1994.

A black and white photo of students on stage at the Upper School, standing in a line and singing or reading from folders they're holding in front of them. Behind them is a large projected photo of Martin Luther King, Jr.

A program for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day assembly on January 15, 1979, printed on blue paper. The program includes a schedule and lyrics for "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

For Upper School students, the winter brings a number of curricular events. In mid-January, sophomores dress up and take part in the annual Sophomore Debates, in which small teams of students are assigned a topic and a stance from which to debate against their classmates. The weeks leading up to debates are a flurry of research, and representatives from each English 10 class take part in the culminating All-Star Debate. In the math department, February marks the annual Integration Bee. Started by teacher Chip Rollinson in 2014, students compete to solve calculus questions to take home the coveted "Grand Integrator" title.

For a number of years, January also saw the Panathenaic Festival, an annual banquet held to celebrate the end of an interdisciplinary course on Ancient Mediterranean Studies. The first festival was held in 1996, and involved costumes, food, students showing their projects, an ancient world "Jeopardy game," a recreation of the experience of a Sibyl, and other similar presentations.

Below left: the 2024 Integration Bee champions, from left to right: Annie Zhu '26, Grand Integrator Fitzie Hung '25, and Adrien Tabor '24.

Below right: students cover the chalkboard outside the Upper School library with art created for Community Day, 2023.

A color photo of three students standing in front of a whiteboard and smiling at the camera. Each one is holding a certificate for their winning place in the Integration Bee, and the winner in the center is wearing a yellow baseball cap that reads "Grand Integrator".

A color photo of colorful square-shaped student drawings hanging up on the blackboard wall in the Upper School.

In February, the Upper School community comes together for Community Day, an entirely student-led day of programs. After a hiatus of four years, Fatmata Sesay '23 brought the event back in 2023, working with an organizing committee of more than 50 students, faculty, and staff. In the words of DEIG practitioner Maria Graciela Alcid, the goals of Community Day are "to get the whole school together to have fun and good conversation that will leave people feeling seen, valued, and heard and for students to leave the day feeling like they learned with and from one another." In addition to Community Day, February also brings 100 Knights Til Graduation, a celebration for seniors looking forward to their upcoming graduation.

Spring

Spring ushers in a wide variety of events as the weather warms up and the academic year comes to a close. In April, students on all three campuses welcome their families for Grandfriends' Day. Started in 1978 as Grandparents' Day, the day is now extended to all Grandfriends, and students excitedly show off their work and classrooms to their older family members.

A black and white photo of students showing their grandfriends their science experiments. In the center, a grandparent is smiling at a student in the midst of pouring chemicals into a test tube.

A black and white photo of a grandparent smiling down at a student, who is cradling a bunny in her arms.

Students and their families on Grandfriends' Day: above left, at the Middle School, 1987; above right, at the Lower School, 1978; below left and right, at the Middle School, 2001.

A black and white photo of a student standing at a table in class looking at his notebook, while his grandparent looks at the notebook beside him.

A black and white photo of a student and his grandparent sitting at desks in a classroom, both looking out of frame.

April also brings Eco Bash to BB&N, an all-school day of programming created by student environmental groups, their peers, and faculty and staff. The Upper School Eco Reps describe the event: "The purpose of the day is for students to learn about the environment—both its beauty and purpose, as well as the dangers it faces—to engage in conversations and activities, and to be inspired to take action in support of the environment."

Below: Eco Bash, 2023; on the left, Upper School students and faculty advocate biking to campus; on the right, students welcome spring by planting large pots.

A color photo of students and faculty standing in the courtyard by April's Garden, each standing with a bicycle.

A color photo of students gathered around planting pots in April's Garden. In the foreground, two students are in the middle of putting new plants in the large pot.

May is a busy month in the BB&N calendar, and two memorable Buckingham events were traditionally held in this month. The first was Maypole, in which students performed songs and danced maypole dances at the Lower School. Buckingham alumnae from the Class of 1962 recall the event: "For May Day, we performed a maypole dance, weaving long strips of ribbon together. Everyone brought in flowers, since lilacs and flowering fruit trees were in bloom." Later on, the event was expanded to include spring dances from non-English traditions in order to reflect an increasingly diverse community. The event is no longer held, but remains a fond memory for many alumni.

Below: on the left, students weaving the Maypole; on the right, teacher Jack Denny-Brown leads the dance from the center; both photographs undated.

A black and white photo of students in dresses, in the middle of a maypole dance. The maypole ribbons are only just starting to be woven around the pole.

A color photo of students doing a maypole dance, with an audience gathered in the background. Standing by the pole itself is Jack Denny-Brown, who is wearing a top hat and reaching one arm out.

The other long-standing May tradition to come from Buckingham is the Lower School Circus. Started by a parent in 1951 and now run by the Parents' Association, Circus became an annual fundraiser and celebration with rides, games, performances, food, and a parade.

Circus invitations, clockwise from upper left: 1980, 1987, 1990, 1988, 1976, 1986, 1974, and 1983.

An event flyer for Circus, with blue text and an illustration of three horses prancing in the middle, with large feather headresses on.

An event flyer for Circus, arranged horizontally with blue text in the middle and student drawings of clowns in rows above and below the text.

An event flyer for Circus, with red text and a student drawing in red ink of a lion jumping through a ring of fire.

An event flyer for Circus, with the details written around the border and a black and white drawing of people on campus at Circus in the middle.

An event flyer for the Circus, printed on red-pink paper with a drawing of a clown on the front.

An event flyer for Circus, with large blue and red text in the center and a red diagonally-striped border

An event flyer for Circus, with a student drawing of an elephant with a red graduation cap on the front.

An event flyer for Circus, with white text printed on a green background. The event title and date are in the center, with attractions written around the border of the card.

Below: on the left, students lead the way in the Circus parade, 2010; on the right, students race through the bouncy challenge course, 2019.

A color photo of students, faculty, and family members walking in the parade. Many students are wearing yellow shirts with red text on them, and in the middle is a faculty member in a rainbow clown outfit.

A color photo of two students emerging from holes on a bouncy obstacle course, both running forward.

Spring also brings a newer BB&N tradition: One School One World. A biennial event started by Lewis Bryant in 2007, One School One World is "an all-school gathering celebrating the diversity of cultures represented at BB&N." The event includes sharing food, dances, and traditions from the many cultures that make up the school community.

Below: students performing at One School One World, from 2008 (left) and 2023 (right).

A color photo of a tudent performing a ribbon dance on stage in a red and pink outfit, with an audience standing and watching in the gym.

A color photo of two students holding hands in traditional clothing, both holding microphones and standing in front of different countries' flags hanging on the wall behind them.

The end of the school year also brings with it academic milestones. At the Upper School, 11th grade students complete the Junior Profile, in which they interview and observe someone from outside the immediate school community and write a journalistic profile of that person. For seniors, the last trimester shifts from a regular class schedule to the Senior Spring Project (SSP). First created in Spring 1965 by Buckingham Head of School Elizabeth Stowe to "cure the spring doldrums of senior year," SSP has evolved and expanded over the years into a cohesive capstone program. The current program is described: "Students design their own experience, fueled by their interests and emerging passions. While students have the freedom to choose activities to complete their final trimester, the structure provided by the four SSP pillars allows every senior to create a program that shares the same central values: Intellectual Engagement, Community Engagement, Wellness, and a New Experience."

A black and white photo of Marina Keegan sitting at a desk in class, resting one elbow on the desk and smiling slightly at something out of frame.

As the end of the year approaches, many students prepare for community service projects over the summer. In 2013, BB&N awarded the first Marina Keegan Summer Fellowship to honor the memory of Marina Keegan '08, a student noteworthy for her wide-ranging involvement with political causes and standing up to injustices, both global and individual. The Keegan Summer Fellowship is awarded annually to Upper School students interested in pursuing their own projects focusing on either artistic pursuits or activist causes, as Marina did both at BB&N and after her graduation.

Left: Marina Keegan in class at BB&N, c. 2008.

After all the academic work is finished, the end of year celebrations come all at once. At the Upper School, "lifers", or seniors who have attended BB&N since the Morse Building, get together for the annual Lifer Party to commemorate their journey together as a cohort. Each spring, alumni from all over the world have returned for Strawberry Night, BB&N's celebration of milestone reunions that originates from a Browne & Nichols tradition. For many years, Strawberry Night was also an opportunity for alumni to see their senior tiles, which each graduating senior created every year. Students on all three campuses celebrate the last day of school with Closing Ceremonies, where speeches and awards are given. And last but certainly not least, the senior class graduates and departs BB&N for the next chapter in their lives.

The gallery below contains photographs from closing ceremonies, graduations, and reunions.