Communication Office

What is the absolute likelihood for a continuous random variable to equal an exact value?

As they listened to their peers present their group projects, students in emily bargar’s Accelerated Calculus class agreed that the answer is zero. This was just one facet of Phoebe Mugford ’21 and Allison Reilly’s’ ’20 impressive presentation titled “Probability Density Functions and Radioactive Decay.” After an overview and examples of probability density functions, the two presented their findings on the probabilities on how particular atoms will decay at given times.

Ms. bargar said all of the projects had to involve something about integrals, using their textbook as a starting point for ideas. For their project, Noah Lippa ’22, John Matters ’22 and Charlie Volpe ’20 used integrals to find the center of mass of shapes. They built three shapes—a 2D plate, a pyramid shape, and a complex 3D shape—and then found their center of mass, showing the resulting formulas as well as photos of the shapes balanced on the top of a standing whiteboard marker.

Using research conducted on three continents, Jana Amin ’21 has been working for nearly two years to deepen the understanding of a twentieth-century Egyptian princess whose story was only partially told.

Princess Fawzia Fuad, at one point the queen of Iran, received worldwide attention for her beauty—she was often compared with Western movie stars—during the glamorized coverage of her 1939 political marriage to Iran’s crown prince, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

It’s been an impressive season for the girls’ swim team, who have won their last five meets. This past weekend at the Eastern International Swimming and Diving Championships in Pennsylvania, the team placed 12th out of a field of 28. Team captains Mary Howley ’20 and Leydn McEvoy ’20 both placed in the top 8th in their individual events–Mary with 2nd in the 100 butterfly and 4th in the 100 backstroke and Leydn with 6th in the 500 free and 8th in the 200 IM.

Both the girls’ and boys’ teams are often out of the spotlight, practicing and competing off campus throughout the winter season. These dedicated swimmers spend long hours in the water, working hard to improve their form and times. So Mary and Leydn make it a point to instill some fun into the practices and meets.

“This year, to get our team members more excited to do well at meets, we started offering candy prizes,” said Mary, who competes in the 100 backstroke, 100 fly medley and the 400 relay. “Everyone who swims the 500, the longest race, gets a ring pop. And after every meet on the bus ride home, we choose an MVP for boys and girls, and there are more prizes.”

The student one-act plays are a venue for student directors and actors to showcase their wide-ranging talents on and off stage. This year there are three one-acts, completely directed, performed, and tech-supported by students.

Brie Lewis ’20 and Eloise Maybank ’21 are directing No More Mister Nice Guy featuring four actors: Owen GwinnLandry ’23, Alex Paulino ’21, Talia Sherman ’22, and Nancy Tao ’23.

Eloise said the play is centered on the character Sheldon Grimes. “He is the pinnacle of goodness, but he finds himself in serious trouble with the law, his crime being this very virtue of kindness. Sheldon must work to rectify his behavior, with help from two cops and a ‘professional.’”

Eloise said that the dystopian society reflected in the play, which is written by Jonathan Rand, “not only lends itself to hilarity but presents underlying commentary on corruption within today’s justice system plagued with profiling. It begs the audience to ponder what truly is good—the law or what you personally believe to be right. We chose this play because of this nuance and, of course, because it made us laugh really hard. We hope everyone enjoys it!”

Straus Library will be filled with song this Friday night as the annual Gospel Explosion unfolds with performances and praise.

Gospel Explosion started when Lami Olatunji ’10 approached Gospel Choir Director Lori Dow with the idea of celebrating gospel music in coordination with Black History Month. Over the years, the program has evolved, with some events featuring performances by outside groups, and others featuring combinations of Milton’s musical ensembles. Last year, Milton’s chamber singers and orchestra musicians collaborated on some pieces.

“Every single year, the program changes,” Lori explains. “We’ve had great parent participation and support, and we’ve had alumni come back to perform with us. It’s always been about more than just Milton’s Gospel Choir. It’s about taking this love of gospel music and sharing it with the whole community.”