On Monday, June 4, Dana Hall will host the seventh annual Golf and Tennis Open, featuring the Summer Kick-Off Celebration, at the Dedham Country and Polo Club.

The Dana Hall School Art Gallery will conclude the 2011-12 season with the exhibit Alumnae Art Show 2012 through June 16. An opening reception is scheduled for Tuesday, May 15 from 5 to 7:30 p.m., with a special alumnae opening during Reunion Weekend Saturday, June 9 from 6-7 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

This year’s alumnae show features realistic and abstract paintings by talented alumnae Diana Cunningham Bunting ’62, Meg Brown Payson ’72 and Deborah Adams Wilton ’72.

Dana Hall School, along with students from Belmont Hill School, will present the musical Legally Blonde at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19 in Bardwell Auditorium. The performance is open to the community and admission is $10.

On Sunday, May 13, Dana Hall students, faculty, staff, parents and alumnae will participate in the second annual Amor Caritas Day. Amor Caritas Day was created to honor Dana Hall’s long tradition of service by connecting constituents through community projects around the world.

Nine members of the Dana Hall Middle and Upper School Equestrian teams competed at the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) National Finals, which took place April 20-22 in Syracuse, N.Y. At the end of the weekend competition, the Upper School team took home the Reserve Championship, placing second overall, and the Middle School team placed eighth.

Eight members of the Class of 2012 and 10 from the Class of 2013 were inducted into the Dana Hall Cum Laude Society on Monday, April 23. 

On Friday, April 27, Dana Hall School hosts its annual Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day. The day gives grandparents and special friends of students the chance to attend classes at Dana, eat lunch together, meet Head of School Caroline Erisman and cheer on students at athletic games.

On Wednesday, April 18, the Dana Hall Chamber Singers performed the National Anthem at Fenway Park prior to the Red Sox game against the Texas Rangers.

For the second year in a row, members of the Dana Hall community knitted and crocheted hats, scarves and other warm accessories to donate to newborns. Students, faculty and staff members used their free time after school and during weekend activities to make the items that were given to Cradles to Crayons in Brighton, Mass.

This Friday, April 20, Dana Hall’s Performing Arts Department will host its annual spring concert. The concert will include choral and instrumental work, featuring numbers from Broadway musicals, pop songs and world music.

The Dana Hall School Art Gallery will feature an exhibit of work from members of the Class of 2012 April 13 through May 4. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

On Saturday, March 31 and Sunday April 1, Dana Hall Middle and Upper School Equestrian teams competed in the Zone 1 Finals at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. At the end of the weekend both Dana teams were named Zone 1 Champions.

Dana Hall’s Model UN team attended their third competition of the year Friday, March 30-Sunday, April 1 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. The team competed against students from 32 different schools from 10 states. Topics at the conference ranged from how to address the growth of slums in developing countries, to a recreation of the 1971 Bangladeshi War for Independence. In the end, the Dana team took 10 individual awards and placed first overall. 

On Saturday, March 31, Dana Hall will host the one-day Gospel Music Workshop REJOICE! For the past 11 years REJOICE! has brought together high school choirs for a day inspired by and modeled after gospel music workshops, seminars and conventions from the early days of gospel music.

Dana Hall School welcomes musical group The New Black Eagle Jazz Band as the final guest of the 2011-12 Wannamaker Lecture Series. The band will perform for the Dana Hall community on Monday, April 9 at 7 p.m. in Bardwell Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

On Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4, Dana Hall Middle and Upper School Equestrian teams hosted the Regional Finals for Zone 1 Region 2. After competing in and helping run the shows, both the Middle and Upper School teams were named Champions.

Dana Hall School is preparing to welcome newly admitted students to Dana Days and Discover Dana. The programs are designed to share the Dana Hall experience with girls who have been accepted for the 2012-13 school year.

It was an exciting Super Tuesday on the Dana Hall campus when Wellesley residents cast their votes in the Shipley Center and Dana students volunteered to help manage the voters on campus.

On Monday, March 5, the Dana community enjoyed the annual International Assembly, which featured dances, videos, traditions and photos from the home countries of Dana Hall’s international students.

On Saturday, April 21, Dana Hall will host a forum on women and leadership called She Sails: Inspiring Dana Hall Women. The goal of the event is to create connections among all constituencies, learn from one another, share stories, and encourage one another to be bold and dream big.

Dana Hall’s winter athletic teams concluded the 2011-12 season by recognizing teams and individuals for their dedication and accomplishments. 

Varsity Basketball ended its season with an overall record of 8-8 and an Eastern Independent League (EIL) record of 8-5. The team placed 5th in the EIL and 5th in the EIL Tournament. EIL All-League honors went to M. Murphy ’12 with M. Grip ’12 receiving an honorable mention. Grip and Murphy also shared the team’s Most Valuable Players honor; A. Nectow ’13 was named Most Improved Player; and A. Bremer ’13 was the recipient of the Coach’s Award.

The Dana Hall School of Music in Wellesley will host the Chamber Music Institute March 29 - April 1. The Chamber Music Institute offers a fun and unique learning opportunity for students of all abilities.

The Dana Hall Middle School will present the musical A Year with Frog and Toad at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7 and at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 8 in Waldo Auditorium. The musical is open to the public and free of charge.

The Dana Hall School of Music continues its monthly faculty showcase series on Sunday, March 4 at 3 p.m. in Beveridge Hall with a concert featuring cellist Susanne Friedrich. Friedrich will perform works by Beethoven, Schumann and Britten with pianist Ana Popa. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Dana Hall Dance Department presents FLUX: An Evening of Dance on Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will take place in Bardwell Auditorium. Admission is $8 for the public and free for members of the Dana Hall community.

Twenty-five Dana Hall students stood out from thousands of entries and received awards and honorable mentions in the 2012 Massachusetts Scholastic Art Awards. Each piece of artwork was reviewed by a panel of arts professionals for originality, technical skill and emergence of personal vision or voice.

The Dana Hall School Art Gallery is showcasing sculpture and installation art by artist Elizabeth Alexander. Still Life: a Fabricator’s Banquet will run February 13 through March 10. An opening reception will take place on Tuesday, February 21 from 5-7:30 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

For the first time in the history of Dana Hall Squash, the varsity team traveled to Connecticut to participate in the Squash High School Team National Championships Friday, February 3 to Sunday, February 5.

January 26-29, Dana Hall’s Model UN team attended their third competition of the year at the University of Pennsylvania Ivy League Model UN Invitational.  The program hosted students from 118 schools from 12 countries on six continents.

For the second year in a row, Dana Hall’s Sustainability Committee, also known as The Green Team, will lead the Dana community in The Green Cup Challenge. The Green Cup Challenge is a national competition against other schools to see which can reduce their energy consumption by the greatest percentage for a month.

Through February 14, students, faculty and staff will be turning down heat, turning off lights, switching to energy-saving bulbs, unplugging unused appliances and chargers and other tasks that reduce energy use in hope to become the greenest school in the Northeast Boarding category.

Last week Dana Hall honored the many cultures that make up the Dana community with the annual International Week celebration. The week, organized by Dana’s International Student Association (ISA), opened with a Venezuela themed Community Dinner on Tuesday, January 17. Festivities continued on Wednesday morning when students and faculty gathered in Waldo Auditorium to take part in the Parade of Flags. The flags represented more than 30 countries including Saudi Arabia, Canada, France, South Korea and Venezuela.

The Dana Hall Middle School will host its annual Valentine’s Day Tea on Tuesday, February 14 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. All Middle School grandparents and Wellesley senior citizens are invited for an afternoon of entertainment, refreshments, music and dance.

On Tuesday, January 17 the Dana Hall community honored the life and actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. assembly.

The assembly is organized by the student group S.H.A.D.E.S. (Sisters Honoring All Diasporas and Enlightening Society). Students shared videos, songs and poems all inspired by Dr. King.

Dana Hall School presents its 7th annual Choral Concert on Saturday, January 21 at 7 p.m. The concert, a choral tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John, will feature the Upper School Chorus, the Chamber Singers and special guests the Belmont Hill B-Flats. The show is free and open to the public.

From December 1-3, Dana Hall students A. Baez ’12, K. Ellis ’12, F. Kaba ’12, C. Pina ’12, A. Putri ’12, V. Robichaud ’12 and A. Waye ’13 attended the National Association for Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference in Philadelphia, Pa. The theme of the conference was “We the People: Painting Our New Mural of Community.”

The Dana Hall Art Gallery is showcasing photographs by Boston-based photographer Paula Lerner. Afghan Stories will run through February 3. An opening reception will take place on Tuesday, January 10 from 5-7:30 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, January 4, Dana Hall welcomed six alumnae to Dana’s fifth annual Middle School Career Day. The alumnae spoke to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students about their experiences in school and the workplace. Tracy Spiegel Fox ’96, founder of FoxCraft, Laurel Kagan ’04, Candidate for Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University, Kat Lafferty ’02, Genetic Counselor, Emily Ostroff ’04, Team Leader for AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, Alyssa Rotman ’03, Designer at Payette Associates, and Jane Monti Young ’98, Art Gallery Director and Owner, spoke to the students about their careers.                    

Dana Hall welcomes alumna Virginia (Ginny) Gilder ’76 as the first speaker in the 2011-12 Wannamaker Lecture Series. Gilder, principal of her own investment business and president of one of her family’s philanthropic entities, will speak to the Dana Hall community on Thursday, January 12 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Dana Hall’s Revels play was first performed by faculty and students from Dana Hall, Pine Manor and Tenacre in 1921. On Friday, December 16, the Dana community gathered once again to watch the Class of 2013 perform one of Dana’s most time-honored traditions.

Dana Hall’s Model UN team, currently ranked second in New England for all high schools, attended their second competition of the year on Saturday, December 10 at St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, Mass. Students from more than 20 different schools attended the one-day conference. In the end, the Dana Hall team saw six of their seven resolutions pass and took home six awards.

The Dana Hall School Art Gallery is featuring an installation created by four members of the Class of 2012. Architecture II students A. Carlin ’12, E. Geremia ’12, T. Houston ’12 and K. Zack ’12 will show their structure through December 16. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Dana Hall’s Varsity athletic teams completed an exciting fall season with individual athletes being honored for their hard work and dedication. 

For over 25 years, Dana Hall has participated in Thanksgiving Sharing with the Union United Methodist Church in Boston. Last week, advisor groups creatively decorated a cardboard box called a “Turkey Box,” which they filled with food they collected. The boxes were delivered to the church on Tuesday, November 22 following Dana’s annual Thanksgiving Convocation.

The Dana Hall Admission Office will host two information sessions in December for parents of prospective Dana Hall students. On Tuesday, December 6 from 9-10 a.m., parents of prospective Upper School students are invited to join administrators and parents for refreshments and the opportunity to learn more about Dana Hall’s academic programs and student life. Prospective Middle School parents are invited on Wednesday, December 7 from 9-10 a.m.

The Dana Hall Upper and Middle School Equestrian teams competed in their first home show of the season on Saturday, November 12. The Upper School team placed second and is two points away from qualifying for Regionals, while the Middle School Team came in first and secured their Regionals spot.

After clinching first place in the EIL (Eastern Independent League) with an undefeated league record of 9-0-1, Dana Hall’s Varsity Field Hockey Team won the EIL Tournament over the weekend defeating Portsmouth Abbey in the first round 5-0, and Pingree in the second round with a final score of 1-0.

Dana Hall’s Varsity Field Hockey team has clinched first place in the EIL (Eastern Independent League) with an undefeated league record of 9-0-1. Varsity Volleyball is in a three-way tie for first in the EIL with an impressive record of 7-1-0. Both teams, along with Varsity Soccer, will travel to Pingree School in South Hamilton, Mass. on Saturday, November 12, to compete in the annual EIL Tournament.

On Sunday, November 6, 16 delegates from Dana Hall’s Model UN team attended their first competition of the year at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H. The team finished strong, winning multiple awards and passing three of their resolutions.

Seven Dana Hall students and four Dana alumnae were among more than 200 riders from throughout New England who participated in the New England Equitation Championships October 20-23 in West Springfield, Mass. The competition is regarded as the finest regional medal finals in the country.

The Dana Hall Middle School will present the play Girls Like Us: A Festival of Short Plays about Growing Up at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 16 and at 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 17 in Waldo Auditorium. The play is open to the public and free of charge.

The Dana Hall School Art Gallery is showcasing pieces by Visual Arts Department Head Michael Frassinelli through November 23. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Frassinelli’s displayed work, made from piano parts, is part of a series he has worked on for the past seven years titled The Legend of the Pianistas. While on sabbatical from Dana Hall January 2010 through June 211, Frassinelli was able to dedicate more time to his pieces, as well as travel around the country visiting with Dana alumnae. His visits included tours of galleries, speaking about his work, and updating alumnae about what projects Dana art students are involved in today.

Dana Hall will host Parents’ Weekend beginning Thursday, October 20 with a reception and dinner for all parents at 6:30 p.m. in the Shipley Center. Parents’ Weekend gives families the opportunity to meet their daughters’ teachers and connect with other parents.

Dana Hall School, along with students from Roxbury Latin School, will present The Madwoman of Chaillot at 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5 in Bardwell Auditorium. Admission is free for Dana Hall students and staff and $10 for members of the community.

The Dana Hall School of Music will hold its first annual Halloween Open House with Musical Trick-or-Treating Sunday, October 30 from 3-5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Dana Hall seniors J. Kim ’12, JA. Kim ’12 and E. Yu ’12 had plenty to tell their classmates at the beginning of the school year. Each of them had individual art exhibitions over the summer while at home in South Korea.

The Dana Hall Upper and Middle School Equestrian teams competed in their first show of the season on Sunday, September 25 at Evenstride in Byfield, Mass. The athletes kicked off the season with both teams placing first in their divisions.

The Dana Hall School Admission Office will hold its fall Open House on Sunday, October 16, from 1 to 3 p.m.

Dana Hall’s Sustainability Committee, also known as the Green Team, is running a week-long carpooling campaign beginning Monday, September 26. The Green Team, made up of members of the Dana community who are focused on environmental concerns as they apply to decision-making at Dana Hall, organized the campaign, which coincides with the annual international day for climate change led by the group 350.

The Dana Hall School Varsity Soccer Team is partnering with three-time Olympic medalist and two-time World Cup Champion Kristine Lilly. Lilly, a 23-year veteran and former captain of the U.S. National Team, will work with the team as a consultant through 2013. A Needham resident, Lilly is looking forward to not only helping with the Dana team, but teaching private lessons and clinics on Dana Hall’s Wayside Field.

The Dana Hall School Art Gallery kicks off its 2011-12 season with an exhibit by mixed media artist Courtney Jordan. Constraints & Constructs will run from September 13 through October 9. An opening reception will take place on Tuesday, September 13 from 5-7:30 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Dana Hall began its 131st academic year on Tuesday, August 30 with Opening Convocation. Students and faculty gathered in Bardwell Auditorium where Head of School Caroline Erisman greeted new and returning members of the Dana community.

The Dana Hall School of Music will host an Open House on Saturday, September 10 from 2-5 p.m. The School of Music runs programs for musicians and music enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds. 

Ten new faculty and staff members have joined the Dana Hall community for the 2011-12 academic year.

The Dana Hall School of Music is accepting registrations for its fall session. The School of Music offers private instruction and group classes for children and adults of all ages. Private instruction is available for classical piano, pop/jazz piano, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, guitar and voice.

Registration is open for Dana Hall School’s Community Rock Climbing and Community Dance programs, with sessions beginning in September.

The inaugural session of Dana Hall’s Girls Summer Leadership Program (GSLP) is in full swing, as 32 have girls arrived for the six-day, five-night program. Thanks to a generous grant from the Margaret Hall Foundation, the GSLP is able to welcome nationally-acclaimed author and psychologist JoAnn Deak, Ph.D., who is running workshops with the participants on self-esteem and how and why girls lead differently.