Important Admission Dates
Sept. 2008 - Feb. 2009: Campus Tours and Interviews.
Feb. 1: Application & Financial Aid Deadline
** Online Application
Mar. 10: Decisions Mailed |
Oct. 24-25:
Parents Weekend
Oct. 30, 31, Nov. 1:
Inherit the Wind
Nov. 8:
Nov. 21:
Fall Concert | |
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 Welcome to Around the Arch, Blair's monthly admission newsletter aimed at giving you - the prospective student - a peek into the daily life of the Blair community. In the newsletter, you will learn about recent and upcoming events as well as student achievements throughout the various realms of Blair life. It is our hope that you find Around the Arch both exciting and informative. Enjoy October's news and please contact us if you have any questions.
The Blair Admission Team
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What's Happening on Campus
What an exciting time on Blair's campus! On Thursday, October 9, the doors opened to Blair's new fitness center, the most recently completed section of the school's student activities center. A bright, airy space with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the outdoor athletic complex, the fitness center features the latest cardio equipment and weights.
The athletic section of the facility remains on schedule to be completed by the end of October. The boys' and girls' locker rooms and the training room opened in mid-September; the field house will open in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, work steadily progresses on the renovations to Walker Gymnasium as it is transformed into the new student center. Crews have installed energy-efficient windows across the front of the building and are adding finishing touches to the interior. When complete at the end of 2008, the activities center will include our student lounge, new bookstore, a college counseling suite, and a renovated performance gym. |
Measures of Excellence
On Monday, October 13, the Society of Skeptics lectures featured a presentation by Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Child Soldier. Ishmael spent the entire day on campus, speaking with students and faculty, playing soccer with the varsity boys' squad, and joining the community for formal dinner before speaking that evening. According to Ishmael's Web site, his book is "a gripping story of a child's journey through hell and back." The Web site adds, "There may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s, in more than 50 conflicts around the world. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. He is one of the first to tell his story in his own words... At the age of 12, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By 13, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, he struggled to regain his humanity and to reenter the world of civilians, who viewed him with fear and suspicion."
The Society of Skeptics has been in continuous existence since 1977 and is one of the premier high school lecture series in the country. The series was an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1962, and has served as a forum for the discussion and debate of important national and international issues. Over the past 25 years, under the tutelage of Dr. Martin Miller, the weekly lecture series has featured a wide variety of speakers who are engaging, accomplished in their respective fields, and often controversial. One thing is certain: they all succeed in generating healthy discussion in the Blair classrooms and around campus. Please visit the Society of Skeptic website (click here) and take a look at our past and upcoming speakers (click here). |
Blair on Stage
The Blair Academy Players open their 2008-09 season with Inherit The Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. Based on the events of the famous 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, Inherit the Wind has remained one of America's most celebrated dramas, according to Director Craig Evans.
Mr. Evans enlisted the support of talented group of students for this production, including student director Lauren '10. Senior Lotte plays the main character, cynical reporter E.K. Hornbeck (modeled on the actual reporter H. L. Mencken), while another senior, Nathan, plays the teacher at the center of the debate who is defended by the Clarence Darrow-like lawyer, Michael '09. Prosecuting against the teaching of evolution is the character based on William Jennings Bryant, played by Eric '09. Filling in a human interest is the teacher's girlfriend, played by sophomore Rebecca, who is torn between her affection for the defendant and the dogmatic stance of her reverend father, played by Andrew '09.
"As the country debates the teaching of evolution every decade, this play never loses its timeliness," says Mr. Evans. "From the Scopes Monkey Trial to the Dover School Board case wherein the viability of teaching evolution versus intelligent design made the headlines, Inherit the Wind continues to provoke its audiences. We chose the play as an example of the American democratic process in a presidential election year; we had no idea that one of the major candidates would raise the issue of creationsism herself." Please join us for performances on October 30, 31, and November 1 at 7:30 pm in the Dubois Theatre of Blair Academy's Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts. General admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students (free to Blair community members). No advance reservations are required. Visit the Performing Arts homepage (click here) to learn more about our upcoming events! |
Athletes in the Spotlight
This month two Blair Bucanneer teams rose to the top echelon of their respective Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) sports. During the past four years the Hun School football team dominated the MAPL, and was, at times, the only team to defeat Blair. On October 11th, however, Hun visited the Blair campus, and the Bucs turned the table with an impressive 49-20 win. Dion '09 led the Bucs to victory as he scored a remarkable five touchdowns, and Max '10 added two to Dion's tally. Dion accumulated 198 yards rushing and recovered a fumble. John '09 also contributed to the win as he ran for 100 yards, and Dave '09 led the offense as quarterback.
A week later, the Blair girls' cross country team traveled down to the Lawrenceville School. The Lawrenceville girls' cross country team has always fielded very impressive runners, and it boasted an undefeated history in MAPL school competition. Well, the Lady Bucs achieved a milestone by defeating Lawrenceville with strong performances by Heather '10, Quinn '11, Ruthie '09, and Christelle '09 who finished first, second, fourth, and fifth, respectively. Claudia '12 joined these efforts as she recorded her personal best time while securing an eighth place finish. Coach Browse and Coach Eckert are very proud of the varsity team's performance but are just as excited with the girls on the junior varsity level. They too ran their hearts out, finishing with many personal best times of their own. This bodes well for the Lady Bucs in the years ahead. |
A Closer Look at the Community
Blair art teacher Kate Sykes presented her M.A. Thesis Show in NYU's Washington Square East Galleries at the end of July. She now celebrates the conclusion of her master's degree with an on-campus show in the Romano Gallery in the Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts, now through November 1. Earlier this month she enjoyed an artist's reception, joined by Blair students and faculty as well as Mrs. Sykes' friends and family.
Mrs. Sykes' exhibit features works in clay and glass, as well as photographs. In her artist's statement she notes, "I use clay to explore various surfaces and forms that are inspired by nature. I find the process of using a transformative material like clay full of endless possibilities; it appears paper-thin yet strong, solid yet stressed, and sturdy - even as it is tearing. I use the firing process raku because it mimics the coloring of nature. The way the air and smoke hit the pieces when they are being fired provides opportunities for great variation and more flowing swaths of color." Mrs. Sykes adds, "I hope that viewers will discover and recover a bit of their own experience in nature by looking at my art work." At Blair, Kate teaches Ceramics, Graphic Design and Sculpture.
An art exhibit by Dan Finaldi will be on display in the Romano Gallery from November 3-29, with an artist's reception on Friday, November 21, 7-9 pm. | |
We hope this month's edition of "Around the Arch" provided you with an informative glimpse into the Blair community.
Remember to call our office at 908-362-2024 or email admissions@blair.edu to schedule your visit!
Sincerely,
Mr. Pagotto, Mrs. Eckert, Mr. Posner, Ms. Machabanski, Mr. Clavel, Mr. Pearce, Mrs. Findlay, and Ms. Constantino |
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