Commonwealth 101
Ask anyone what makes Commonwealth, well, Commonwealth, and you’re bound to hear similar responses: the teachers, Hancock, recess, cubbies, the Jobs Program, Project Week. But how much do you know about these cultural touchstones? Read through this handy guide to learn everything you need to know about our untraditional traditions and uncommon community.
Our Cozy Home
Commonwealth’s building is the quintessential Boston brownstone. It looks and feels like a home because it once was, renovated to accommodate classrooms, science labs, art studios, and more. In such a unique space, we take advantage of every nook and cranny. A common hangout spot is the Dartmouth Lobby, where students fill the benches and couches for conversation and homework.
More beloved spaces include the art studios. Year after year, graduates list time spent in one of our three art studios (for photography, painting/printmaking, and ceramics) among their favorite Commonwealth memories. Perhaps you’ll find your niche there, too.
And, of course, there’s the Cafegymnatorium. Everything happens here! As you might’ve picked apart from the portmanteau, it’s a cafeteria, gymnasium, and auditorium all in one. Just remember, before you leave: chairs against the wall.
Related: Take a Virtual Tour of Commonwealth School
Recess
A daily ritual. Every day around 10:00 a.m., the entire school flocks downstairs into the Cafegymnatorium for recess. The Head of School rings the bell, quiets the crowds, and engages in our particular way of conducting school announcements.
Visitors to recess tend to be impressed by the spirit in the air: anyone—student, teacher, or staff member—can stand up and speak extemporaneously. They might recognize a birthday, ask for help with a project, remind the crowd about an upcoming event, or recite a poem. You’ll see hands raised and hear animated announcements for myriad club meetings taking place that day: Politics in 3E, Sisters in 4A, Evil Genius Club outside on the Commonwealth mall.
Filled with banter and the requisite playfully ominous “ooOOoohs!” when a teacher asks a student to come see them after class, recess is a place for gathering, for being on the same page, and for sharing good news, interesting updates, and your individual passions.
Assembly
Few Commonwealth fixtures stand out more than assembly, where invited guests present on any number of fascinating topics. It’s a time to share knowledge, ask hard-hitting questions, and learn something new from experts in their field. And now, with the ubiquity of video calls, guest speakers can join us from anywhere in the world.
Each year also brings the cherished holiday assemblies. The “Harvest Celebration” assembly before fall break is filled with notes of gratitude, seasonal reading and poems, and, of course, a rousing rendition of “Bringing in the Sheaves.” The “Celebration of the Season” assembly before winter break features wintry-themed readings and music. And the Valentine’s assembly includes cupcakes, romantic readings, and anything remotely related to love.
Related: See Past Assembly Speakers
Hancock
Hancock is more than a twice-yearly camping trip. It’s discovering you have the same favorite author as the teacher leading your hike. It’s bonding with your new classmates as you crack 300 eggs. It’s laughing at your new friends’ gift of gab during the talent show. It’s twilight canoe rides and impromptu soccer games and chatting late into the night. It’s the whole school gathering to enjoy each other’s company and unplug from the busy pace of school life.
Talk to anyone who has come through Commonwealth, and they’ll point to these storied weekends as the time for community building, when you start to connect with those outside your grade and meet friends. Students and families get lots of detailed information before the events. In the interim, Director of Athletics/“Hancock Czar” Mr. Elliott '10—or really anyone else who has been to Hancock—can answer any questions.
Skate Out of Exams
Since 2001, the whole Commonwealth community has walked to the Boston Common Frog Pond rink for skating and hot chocolate once a year, once upon a time to "Skate Into Vacation" and, now, to "Skate Out of Exams." For twenty years, former Head of School Mr. Wharton was famous for his signature “whoosh” motion to symbolize the event, so don’t be surprised if you see students, faculty, and staff doing some nostalgic “whooshing” of their own.
Jobs
Through our Jobs Program, students help clean the lunchroom, serve as head waiters, and do other essential chores that keep our building orderly and remind us of our shared responsibility. Students take pride in the work, eventually taking on leadership roles. The Jobs Program is also a huge part of what makes Hancock special, as the weekend is all student-driven and student-led.
Questions? Seek out Chef Dethie Faye and math teacher/Jobs Program Coordinator Mr. Letarte.
Athletics
An unexpected phenomenon occurred in the spring of 2021: On Fridays after school, impromptu flag football games started popping up. Suddenly, all four Commonwealth grades were involved in a battle for sporting supremacy. It all culminated in an epic showdown at Hancock-in-the-City, where even Mr. Wolff, Dr. Lasker, and Dr. Eagle got in on the action, while fans cheered from the sidelines. The whole affair captured Commonwealth athletics: deeply supportive and fueled by personal passion for the sport.
Although students are required to participate in athletics every year at Commonwealth, the flexibility of our programs means they get to engage in the sports that speak to them. As a result, we have a motley blend of dancers, fencers, soccer players, and more, as well as hard-working teams that compete in the Massachusetts Bay Independent School League. And, of course, our fantastic coaches lead the way.
Take a look at our athletic teams, find schedules for sporting events, and contact Director of Athletics Mr. Elliott with any questions.
Homework Project
Commonwealth’s culture is rooted in peer-to-peer and teacher-to-student support. A perfect manifestation of this ethos is Homework Project, a lightly proctored study space where students can be and work together. Even if you’re not toiling on the same assignment, you might find doing your homework alongside someone else improves accountability and productivity, too. Our Homework Project Coordinator is humanities teacher Mr. Conolly.
Museum Day
What’s that one museum you’ve been meaning to visit in Boston but have never found the time? Museum Day is your chance to get inside! The annual event is pretty self-explanatory: students and teachers head off to a handful of museums for an afternoon of discovery and discussion. Boston stalwarts like the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Science are perennial favorites, but don’t overlook gems like the National Center for Afro-American Artists, or the Museum of Medical History and Innovation.
Project Week
Astrophysics, state politics, antique violin restoration, computer programming, etymology, Italian architecture, chocolate-making: the possibilities are endless during Project Week.
Simply put, you can do whatever you are most excited about during this week, which falls in January. Start thinking now about possible organizations, companies, and mentors you want to partner with in and around Boston. Many alumni/ae frequently point to Project Week as a launching point for their careers and further studies.
Project Week Coordinator and math/science teacher Ms. Moss is your go-to for more information. You can also read about some recent projects and learn more on the Projects section of our website.
Diversity Day
Diversity Day is Commonwealth’s annual celebration of the varied backgrounds and perspectives of our community. With thought-provoking keynote speakers, and student- and faculty-led workshops, we as a school explore the various facets of diversity, equity, and inclusion and come to a shared understanding of why the work is so important. Read through this recap of a recent Diversity Day to get a better sense of what it’s all about.
Passing the Clay
Commonwealth has an elevator now, but in the school’s earlier days, getting the annual shipment of clay up to the fifth-floor ceramics studio was quite the ordeal. To lighten the load, students formed a chain winding up all five flights of stairs, passing lumps of clay all the way up like a bucket brigade. The tradition continues today, a reminder of what we can achieve together.
Study Abroad and Exchanges
Every year, students travel and participate in cultural exchanges (often in conjunction with Project Week). Long-standing trips include France, Peru, Italy, Spain, and China, all of which bring language studies to life, produce lasting memories, and impart new global perspectives. Our loquacious language teachers can help introduce you to these opportunities.
Devices
Phones may be ubiquitous practically everywhere you go—but once you enter our building, prepare to put yours away and focus on the learning at hand. You might be surprised how freeing being untethered feels!
Student Organizations
Commonwealth has a long tradition of student-run clubs and teams. They always enrich the atmosphere of social and community engagement at the school. Some student groups, like Debate Team, Model UN, the student newspaper, and Math Team are long-standing fixtures at the school. Others, like Environmental, Football, and Philosophy Clubs, as well as affinity groups for many shared identities, were created more recently to reflect growing student interests. Every year, new clubs are added to the list as students create spaces to discuss and engage in all their favorite subjects.
Related: Explore Student Clubs and Organizations
Community Service
We believe our students have a social responsibility. Our community service program helps them realize they can make a difference and gives them the tools to do it, gaining practical experience along the way. Commonwealth students must also meet community service requirements to graduate, though many students far exceed the minimum.
Academic Honors...
...don’t exist at Commonwealth. Our students love learning—and they’re very good at it. Accordingly, we emphasize collegiality over hierarchy, encouraging our students to focus on the joys of intellectual inquiry instead of class rankings, end-of-year awards, or Cum Laude societies.
City of Boston
The city is our campus, and Commonwealth students graduate feeling like real Bostonians, comfortable traversing the city, tapping into its resources, and probing its history. Our immersive City of Boston curriculum, required of all students as part of our Ninth-Grade Seminar, helps expedite that process. Filled with walking field trips across city neighborhoods and deep discussions, this course examines how cities change and who should decide how they do.
Open-Door Policy (Really)
Students spend plenty of time in our Head of School’s Oxford-esque office when they take the required Head of School senior seminar. Our Head of School, Jennifer Borman ’81, draws upon her life’s work, discussing the role of education in society in her class. But students should also feel free to speak with Ms. Borman whenever those immense mahogany doors are open (and they usually are). Whether it’s discussing school policy or catching up on the Red Sox, Ms. Borman is eager to connect with students, faculty, and staff.
Graduation
Typically held on an early Friday in June, Commonwealth’s graduation ceremony celebrates our senior class much as you’d expect—but we differ in several key ways.
Rather than deferring to GPAs to choose a valedictorian and salutatorian, our faculty and staff deliberate (usually for weeks!) in choosing two senior graduation speakers whose Commonwealth journey best represents the school’s mission. Invariably, they share wisdom and insights beyond their years.
Traditionally, and despite our being a secular institution, we hold the ceremony at First Church in Boston, a beautiful space only a block away from our main building. No caps or mortar boards here; graduates may wear whatever they want—though we typically recommend choosing something they’ll be happy to see in pictures many years from now! Our entire student body is also invited to attend graduation to celebrate their friends and classmates. And we end the year just as we began it: singing “The Spacious Firmament,” by Franz Joseph Haydn.
Cubbies
Be careful where you step: Commonwealth students are known to gather in every nook and cranny of our building's upper floors, especially the cubby spaces. You'll find students sprawled and squeezed into these alcove spaces, hanging out, doing homework, or puzzling their way out of some philosophical or mathematical dilemma together.
Sage Wisdom From Commonwealth Veterans
Don’t just take it from us: listen to the students who came before you! Every year, a small group of seniors are tasked with reflecting on their Commownealth experience during our Art Show and Senior Speeches. Whether they discuss the joys of failing, the interplay of STEM and humanities, or the challenges of embracing your true identity, these speeches demonstrate the myriad paths students take throughout their years Commonwealth.
While 2,500 words could never capture the whole of Commonwealth’s culture, we hope you found the summary above helpful. Now it’s your turn to explore. And the Commonwealth community is there to guide your way.