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What's Happening on Campus?  On Wednesday, September 12th the Blair community officially began its 160th year with its annual Convocation ceremony. In the midst of preseason athletic practices and move-in day, returning students reunited with many friends and new students were welcomed with open arms into the Blair family. The following Saturday most students participated in their first athletics constests of the 2007 season which culminated with nighttime soccer games against local rival North Warren High School. The events of the weekend continued on SuperSunday, the first Sunday of the school year, which saw a myriad of fun activities, including the famous "Grease Slide". |
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Blair On Stage 
With the beginning of a new academic year, there are many exciting aspects of Blair life for students and families, including several theatrical and musical performances scattered throughout the fall. The events begin with 'Blair on Stage' in October, a preview of performing arts at Blair over Parents' Weekend. The fall will also feature the Blair Academy Players in a performance of Dracula over Halloween (how appropriate!) as well as a mid-November concert by the entire music department in a varied program of modern and ancient masterworks. This year Blair has also expanded its performing arts with the addition of two dance instructors, Clarissa Newby-Phillips and Lian Wang. As the director of the dance-in-education program, Clarissa will lead the dancers to perform showcases throughout the year, demonstrating the thematic experiences of dance by tying it into productions that include theatre, art and music. |
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Athletes in the Spotlight
 Midway through the spring rowing season, USRowing - recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the U.S. - invited Matt Gallira '08 (right) and JP Bowditch'08 (left) to attend Junior National Team Selection Camp last summer. JP started rowing as a freshman at Blair whereas Matt began as a new sophomore, and both boys competed in the first varsity boat this past spring. Coach Blodgett explained, "Only the very top athletes in the country are invited to compete for a spot on the junior national team. It is very competitive but also a great honor. Both JP and Matt are among the best in the country, and we are very proud that they represent Blair and hopefully our country." |
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A Closer Look at the Community
15 Reasons in Focus... 
From riding bicycles atop China's "Ancient City" wall, to visiting an elephant orphanage in Kenya, to experiencing an artisan workshop in an indigenous Andean community of Ecuador, Blair students encountered a fair number of "firsts" this summer. Blair offers students and faculty the opportunity to travel to foreign lands - a wonderful way to study what has been learned in the classroom and to gain a sense of the world at large. This past summer, history teacher Quint Clarke led a group to Africa, while Chinese teacher Susan Kramer traveled with Blair students to China and Taiwan. Spanish teacher and foreign language department chair Don Morley directed the inaugural Blair Summer School in Ecuador. Not only were these travelers wonderful ambassadors for Blair Academy, but they returned to campus eager to share their international experiences with the Blair community. This fall the Ecuador travelers will lead a Chapel service in which they will recount stories and photos from their South American adventures.
Blair by the Numbers...
Countries Represented: 23
States Represented: 21
New Students: 159
New Faculty: 13
New Pets on Campus:6
Student Siblings: 30
Pairs of Student Twins: 2 |
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Measures of Excellence 
The Blair Academy Players' winter production of Urinetown garnered eight Freddy Awards nominations and won in two categories. The nominations included Gabriella Zlocki '07 (Featured Ensemble Member); Lighting Design: Dylan Evans '08 (Supporting Actor); Scenic Design; Stage Crew; Tina Tozzi '08 (Featured Performance by an Actress); Todd Lewis '08 (Outstanding Performance by an Actor); and Overall Production by a Smaller School. Craig Evans, the play's director, who also chairs Blair's performing arts department, exclaimed, "We did it! The Blair Players had a great night at the Freddies - we won two awards - our first acting awards ever, one for Outstanding Performance by a Featured Ensemble Member to Gabriella Zlocki for her role as Little Sally, and Overall Production by a Smaller School!" |
