Important Admission Dates
February 1st:
Application deadline
February 6th:
National SSAT testing
March 10th:
Decision letters mailed
April 5th and 9th:
Admission Office Revisit Days for accepted students |
February 12th, 13th, 14th in the performance gym:
Boys' Basketball MAPL Championship at Blair
February 18th, 19th and 20th at 7:30pm in Armstrong Hipkins Center for the Arts:
The Blair Academy Players will be performing one of musical theater's most beloved musicals, Once Upon A Mattress.
February 23 at 7pm in Armstrong Hipkins Center for the Arts:
Jean Hanff Korelitz, author of Admission will deliver skeptics.
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 Happy New Year and 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 the January issue for the 2009-2010 school year, and please contact us if you have any questions.
The Blair Admission Team
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What's Happening on Campus
 On January 16th, the Blair community enjoyed the multi-cultural excitement of International Weekend, an annual event celebrated both on and off campus. The weekend kicked off with a special Friday school meeting where Kent '12 performed a selection on the traditional Chinese flute while Nuoya '13, Christina '11 and Melody '12 performed a dance routine accompanied by two students on the piano and violin. On Saturday evening, dining on foreign dishes, sumo wrestling, playing games and  watching an international fashion show were among the activities that took place in the Romano Dining Hall. Faculty members accompanied students to nearby restaurants for sushi, mexican, italian and dim sum. From Israel to Spain, Africa to China, boys and girls from nearly two dozen countries attend Blair. International weekend gives students a chance to share and celebrate their culture with the rest of the Blair community. |
Measures of Excellence
 History teachers Dr. Marty Miller and Jason Beck accompanied a contingent of Blair students to the 2010 Columbia Model United Nations Conference and Exposition (CMUNCE) at Columbia University, January 14-17. During the course of the program, students solved crises presented to them in committee. Dr. Miller is pleased to report that the following are recipients of Honorable Delegate Awards: Dom '12 (FIFA World Cup 2010), Soomin '11 (Sepoy Rebellion 1857: British Cabinet/Joint Crisis Committee), Rebecca '11 (Ukrainian Cabinet), and Lauren '10 (The Onion News Network/Press Corps).
On January 6th, Edwidge Dorelien, teacher of French and Spanish languages as well as a Hatian native, delivered a moving chapel about the devestating earth quake that struck his home land. He also introduced a program he started with former Blair Chaplain, Peter Amerman, called CCE (Caribbean Culture Experience). CCE is a leadership program created to expose high school and college students to life in the developing world and to help them learn and develop their leadership skills by engaging in community service  projects. This program seeks to strengthen the students' penchant for volunteerism. The program is based in a small village in the mountains of southern Haiti called La Vallée de Jacmel. It will give students the opportunity to experience a rich and diverse culture stemming from a plethora of cultural and religious influences. Besides community service projects, students will participate in lectures on the history of Haiti, including the Haitian revolution, and they will also have the opportunity to expand their language skills through interaction with local people. |
Blair on Stage
 The Blair Academy Players have been working feverishly on this year's winter musical, Once Upon a Mattress, scheduled to be performed February 18th 19th and 20th in DuBois Theater of Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts. Once Upon a Mattress is the musical version of the fairytale the Princess and the Pea. The actors are excited to display their talents for the entire school as well as the Blairstown community. Senior Chris '10 stated that the musical is a great time for some students to find talents they "never knew they had." Many are discovering their musical gifts for the first time. Everyone in the community is looking forward to a terrific performance!
 A group of Blair students enjoyed the Broadway musical production of Hair over the weekend, thanks to The Mazza Student Life Fund. The money generated each year by this fund is used at Mr. Mazza's discretion to support projects or activities related to improving student life at Blair. Faculty members Micki McMillan and Judith Kampmann organized the trip. Students were thrilled to join the cast on stage at the end of the play, which won a Tony award for Best Musical Revival.
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Athletes in the Spotlight
On their way to their best start in recent memory, the girl's JV basketball team beat Peddie on January 13th for the first time in MAPL history. The Peddie Falcons got off to a quick start and led 13-4 after the first quarter, but the Bucs outscored them 11-4 in the second quarter to take the lead. The stacked Blair defense held Peddie to only 8 second half points on the way to a 31-27 victory. With wins over Hun, Lawrenceville, and Peddie, the girls' record stands at 4-2 heading into the Long Weekend. |
A Closer Look at the Community
As part of the Society of Skeptics lecture series at Blair, actor Fred Morsell returned to Blair for a third performance of his one-man show on the life of Frederick Douglass, the famed 19th century escaped slave, abolitionist, journalist and champion of equality. His program coincided with the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Morsell visited  the school several years ago, and many in the audience were impressed with his delivery, animation and charm as a performer.
Acclaimed across the United States for his portrayal of Frederick Douglass, Morsell performed at many of the nation's Frederick Douglass centennial celebrations, most notably as the performer of choice for the National Park Service Celebrations in Washington, D.C., he was featured on PBS' Bill Moyers Journal, delivering Frederick Douglass' last great speech, "The Lesson of the Hour." Of that performance, The New York Times wrote, "Even 100 years later, sadly enough, the speech goes right to the very heart of the black experience in America." |
We hope this edition of "Around the Arch" provided you with an informative glimpse into the Blair community. We have an outstanding group of applicants this year, and we are looking forward to reviewing each of the files in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Mr. Pagotto, Mrs. Eckert, Ms. Paul, Ms. Machabanski, Mr. Smith, Mr. Clavel, Mrs. Klein and Ms. Costantino
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