Important Admission Dates
March 10th:
Decision letters mailed
April 5th and 9th:
Admission Office Revisit Days for accepted students |
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Blair Academy Players present: THE NERD
by Larry Shue
In Armstrong Hipkins Center For the Arts
May 6th, 7th, 8th at 7:30pm
Blair Academy Players present:
THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
by Mary Zimmerman
In The Robert J. Evans Open Air Theatre
May 13th, 14th & 15th at 7:30pm
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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 this 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 late winter 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
 SHARPE TAKES HOME THE TROPHY! During the Headmaster's Games, all Blair students and faculty are divided into four teams named after four former headmasters. The Blair community competed last week in after-school intramural games ranging from water polo to an egg toss, soccer to scrabble. Finally after a week of competition, the teams went head to head in a talent show.  This year we saw great musical performances along with a glow in the dark gymnastics routine. The Headmaster's Games, now in its seventh year, is an opportunity for students and faculty to have fun and compete between Winter and Spring athletics seasons. After the talent show, Headmaster Chan Hardwick awarded the trophy to team Sharpe who won the competition after the closest points race in the history of the games. To view photos from each of the competition days, please click here: Headmaster Games.
 Earlier this February, A Masquerade Ball set the stage for the mid-winter semi-formal, Sadie Hawkins dance. Thanks to the generosity of a dedicated and talented group of parent volunteers who transformed Romano Dining Hall into a Venetian Carnival, students enjoyed an evening of masquerading. Before the dance, Mr. and Mrs. Hardwick hosted mocktails at Sharpe House where the boys receive their boutonnieres and the ladies their corsages. The students then headed through the arch to dinner and dancing in the decked-out dining hall. |
Measures of Excellence
 Kate Sykes, chair of the fine arts department, hosted an overnight visit to Philadelphia for 24 art students over the weekend of February 27. The students were treated to two incredible venues, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pa. Works by Pablo Picasso as well as Marc Chagall, Jacques Lipchitz, Patrick Henry Bruce, and Man Ray, are on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through April 25 in a special show entitled, Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris.
After exploring the Picasso exhibit and enjoying the city of Philadelphia (including food at the Reading Terminal Market!), the students continued onto The Barnes Foundation. Located in a 12-acre arboretum, the Foundation is home to one of the world's largest collections of  Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings, with works by Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne, Renoir and Modigliani, as well as important examples of African sculpture. Despite much heated controversy, the Barnes will move next year from its location in Merion to a new home on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Thus, this weekend art trip provided Blair students with the opportunity to enjoy Mr. Barnes' vast collection in its original space. Kate and the Blair group were accompanied by art teacher Rita Baragona, along with art aficionados Roy Wilson, science teacher, and Melanie McMahon, communications director. |
Blair on Stage
 The Blair Academy Players presented Once Upon a Mattress on February 18, 19 and 20 in the DuBois Theatre of Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts. The musical, with music by Mary Rogers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer, and Dean Fuller, is based upon The Princess and the Pea fairy tale.
Senior Tori played the aspiring Princess Winnifred, who tried her luck to pass the test to be Prince Dauntless' (played by Chris '10) wife. She was challenged by the Queen, played by Asia '10, mischievously assisted by her wizard, played by Jordan '12. Caught in the crossfire was the mute King Sextimus, played by senior Freddy. Young lovers Sir Harry (Tom '11) and Lady Larkin (sophomore Arianna  '12) were forbidden to marry until the prince has done so, thus providing more interest in the prince's latest princess-applicant contestant's success. Narrating the tale was the Minstrel, played by junior Zachary, and providing comic color commentary was the Jester, played by sophomore Jimmy. Pulling for the princess were ladies-in-waiting Kim '10, Nikki '10 and Grace '11. The primary knights of the kingdom were senior Collin, junior Tucker, junior Soomin, senior Celil and junior Sean. The student director was Rebecca '11.
 The Blair Academy Players alternate performing classical musicals with more contemporary works from year to year. Last year the Players performed Preppies, a rarely-done show from the 1980's, preceded the year before by the ever-popular Guys and Dolls in 2008. The Blair Academy Players are proud to be competing in the Freddy Awards, a high school musical competition sponsored by the State Theatre in Easton, Pa.
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Athletes in the Spotlight
 Hayley '10, a four year senior, has been a varsity swimmer since her freshman year. She is now one of the captains of the team that has broken multiple records including the 100 fly, 100 back, and the 200 medley relay.
Hayley has had many accomplishments in the pool, including winning states two years in a row, placing 16th in the nation and qualifying for nationals. Such accolades have not made her a jaded competitor. Hayley still sets goals for herself, working harder everyday to reach specific times. Just last week, Hayley entered two events in the Easterns. She performed her life-time best in both events, breaking the school record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:00.0. She missed getting the long-standing 100 free style school record by 0.02 seconds. Such hard work has paid off as Hayley will be attending Denison University next fall to swim for the powerhouse Division III program. |
A Closer Look at the Community
 Members of this year's marine science class traveled to the Cayman Islands over the long winter weekend, accompanied by their teacher Rod Gerdsen and faculty member Dale Phelps. Rod reports: "Activities on Grand Cayman included a snorkeling tour of Stingray City, a world-renowned location for hundreds of stingrays that gather to be fed by tourist boats; the largest of these monsters measured four feet across! Nearby, we snorkeled on a pristine reef and had a visit from a friendly five-foot moray eel. The group was also able to video some of the excitement. We then went on a tour of the Cayman Turtle Farm where green sea turtles are raised for local island food; we were lucky enough to hold not only the young hatchlings but also  the older ones weighing 100 pounds or more. A new addition to this annual excursion was a kayaking trip through the local mangroves, a 100-acre area of the inner sound that acts as a nursery to juvenile fish and invertebrates. Some of the highlights there included thousands of "upside-down" jellyfish and three-foot iguanas. Students stayed at a hotel on the famous Seven-Mile Beach, allowing them direct access to some of the world's best coral reefs and unlimited snorkeling. They were able to examine the reefs and learn about the island's marine conservation efforts and how the government plans to conserve these dwindling resources." |
We hope this edition of "Around the Arch" provided you with an informative glimpse into the Blair community. We have ejoyed reviewing each of our applicant's files and look forward to seeing many of you during our revisit days.
Sincerely,
Mr. Pagotto, Mrs. Eckert, Ms. Paul, Ms. Machabanski, Mr. Smith, Mr. Clavel, Mrs. Klein and Ms. Costantino
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