2020 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

 

The carving for the Form of 2020 plaque is now completed. The representatives from the Form of 2020 chose the following events to be illustrated on the plaque:

• The center features the COVID-19 virus  – the most significant event of the 2019/2020 school year
• The top of the design shows a flock of flying pelicans, representing the distance learning that was a result of COVID-19, and that “pelicans fly together”
• The bottom left is the open book with the initials of 14th Rector Kathleen Carroll Giles, representing the beginning of her term as rector
• The bottom right features a horseshoe magnet and a door to represent the magnets that were added to the doors in the dorms
• In the 3 lower corners of the quatrefoil are three books to represent the three rectors that served in the four years that the Form of 2020 was at SPS – the book on the left has the Roman numeral XIII to represent the 13th Rector Hirschfeld, the book on the right has the Roman numeral XIV for 14th Rector Giles, and the book at the bottom has the letter “I” for interim rector Richards

Now that the carving process is completed, I will apply a painted finish to the plaque to have it ready to hang in it’s permanent place in the Friedman Community Center. Stay tuned for updates on the completion of the plaque!

Upper left: One of the pelicans in flight.

Upper right: Pelican flock together.

Bottom left: The open book with Rector Giles’ initials.

Center: The COVID-19 virus over Interim Rector’s book.

Bottom right: Magnets added to the doors in dorms.

2000 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

 

The carving for the Form of 2000 plaque is now completed. I worked from the approved design drawing in this post to create a carved plaque illustrating the following events:

• Center: An oak tree represents the 2000 class gift of an oak tree, planted near the chapel
• Upper Left: A nutcracker represents the 20th anniversary performance of the Nutcracker Ballet, which was choreographed by Lisa de Ribère
• Background: The crossed crew oars with a “W” pennant flag represent the victories at the Worcester Regatta by both the girls and boys crews
• Center Right: Two Roman numerals “MM” (2000) represent the beginning of the new millennium

Now that the carving process is completed, I will apply a painted finish to the plaque before it is displayed in its permanent place in the Middle Dining Hall of Coit. Stay tuned for updates on the completion of the plaque!

A nutcracker represents the 20th anniversary performance of the Nutcracker Ballet, which was choreographed by Lisa de Ribère.

The crossed crew oars with a “W” pennant flag represent the victories at the Worcester Regatta by both the girls and boys crews.

The crossed crew oars with a “W” pennant flag represent the victories at the Worcester Regatta by both the girls and boys crews.

Two Roman numerals “MM” (2000) represent the beginning of the new millennium.

The carved Form of 2000 plaque, ready for the painted finish.

2019 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

 

The carving for the Form of 2019 plaque is now completed. The representatives from the Form of 2019 chose the following events to be illustrated on the plaque:

• Upper left: Shows a shirt with a multi-gender symbol on it, representing the updating of the school dress code to apply equally to all students regardless of gender identity.
• Upper right corner: Shows a rose window, representing the catastrophic fire of Notre Dame cathedral.
• Upper center: Shows the Hugh Camp Cup, with Roman numerals III, IV, V, VI, representing that the cup was won by a member of the Form of 2019 each of their four years.
• Lower left: A football celebrates the 8 – 0 winning season for the football team.
• Lower center: A closed book with the School shield, with a bookmark bearing the initials A C R, represents the service of Amy C. Richards as Interim Rector.
• Lower right: A female symbol stylized into the letter S and C, represents the first time in SPS history that both the President and Vice President of the Student Council were female.
• Lower background: Shows crossed oars from the new rowing tanks that opened during the 2018/2019 school year.

Now that the carving process is completed, I will apply a painted finish to the plaque to have it ready to hang in it’s permanent place in the Friedman Community Center. Stay tuned for updates on the completion of the plaque!

Upper left: Shows a shirt with a multi-gender symbol on it, representing the updating of the school dress code to apply equally to all students regardless of gender identity.

Upper center: Shows the Hugh Camp Cup, with Roman numerals III, IV, V, VI, representing that the cup was won by a member of the Form of 2019 each of their four years.

Upper right corner: Shows a rose window, representing the catastrophic fire of Notre Dame cathedral.

Lower left: A football celebrates the 8 – 0 winning season for the football team.

Lower center: A closed book with the School shield, with a bookmark bearing the initials A C R, represents the service of Amy C. Richards as Interim Rector.

Lower right: A female symbol stylized into the letter S and C, represents the first time in SPS history that both the President and Vice President of the Student Council were female. Lower background: Shows crossed oars from the new rowing tanks that opened during the 2018/2019 school year.

2019 Plaque Progress: Design Completed

The design stage was completed for the 2019 form plaque early last summer. I worked with representatives from the Form of 2019 to come up with a list of events, and the following were chosen by them to represent their 6th Form experiences at SPS:

• Upper left: Shows a shirt with a multi-gender symbol on it, representing the updating of the school dress code to apply equally to all students regardless of gender identity.
• Upper right corner: Shows a rose window, representing the catastrophic fire of Notre Dame cathedral.
• Upper center: Shows the Hugh Camp Cup, with Roman numerals III, IV, V, VI, representing that the cup was won by a member of the Form of 2019 each of their four years.
• Lower left: A football celebrates the 8 – 0 winning season for the football team.
• Lower center: A closed book with the School shield, with a bookmark bearing the initials A C R, represents the service of Amy C. Richards as Interim Rector.
• Lower right: A female symbol stylized into the letter S and C, represents the first time in SPS history that both the President and Vice President of the Student Council were female.
• Lower background: Shows crossed oars from the new rowing tanks that opened during the 2018/2019 school year.

This design has been used to create the wood carving of the 2019 form plaque. I will document the carving process in an upcoming post.

2017 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving for the Form of 2017 plaque is now completed. The representatives from the Form of 2017 chose the following events to be illustrated on the plaque:

• Upper left corner: Features the Isthmian shield to celebrate their win of the Club Cup competition
• Upper right corner: Shows the Democratic donkey and Republican elephant butting heads – to reflect the contentious 2016 election and the partisan politics that have followed
• Center: A ribbon is inscribed with the form word “Resilience” – given to the Form as they began their 3^rd Form year
• Lower:  A scenic view of the back of the new student center featuring the dam in the background and the patio with fire pit and chairs
• Bottom border: An alphabet border- reflecting the change in the traditional gender-binary graduation procession to an alphabetical one

Now that the carving process is completed, I will apply a painted finish to the plaque to have it ready for presentation at the 2018 Anniversary Weekend at the beginning of June. Stay tuned for updates on the completion of the plaque!

The completed carving for the 2017 plaque.

Upper left corner: Features the Isthmian shield to celebrate their win of the Club Cup competition.

Upper right corner: Shows the Democratic donkey and Republican elephant butting heads – to reflect the contentious election last fall and the partisan politics that have followed.

An alphabet border- reflecting the change in the traditional gender-binary graduation procession to an alphabetical one.

A scenic view of the back of the new student center featuring the dam in the background and the patio with fire pit and chairs.

2007 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving for the Form of 2007 plaque is now completed. The representatives from the Form of 2007 chose the following events to be illustrated on the plaque:

• Upper left corner: The Henley shield, commemorating the boys and girls crew team trip to England to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta
• Upper right corner: Commemorating the release of the first iPhone
• Center: The earth, shown enveloped in the arrow symbol for recycling, represents the beginning of the Environmental Stewardship program at SPS
• Lower: Hargate is shown with an “Open” banner on the roof, commemorating the reopening of the building after extensive repairs from the damage caused during the Mother’s Day flood of 2006
• Center left and right: Initials “X” and “C” commemorate the success of the girls and boys cross country teams that year

Now that the carving process is completed, I will apply a painted finish to the plaque to have it ready for presentation at the 2017 Anniversary Weekend at the beginning of June. Stay tuned for updates on the completion of the plaque!

2009 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving for the Form of 2009 plaque is now completed. The representatives from the Form of 2009 chose the following events to be illustrated on the plaque:

• The upper left corner has the Democratic donkey symbol with President Obama’s initials to represent his win of the 2008 General Election
• The upper right corner has the Lion Capital of Ashoka to represent India Week
• Across the bottom edge is the arrow representing the cross country team’s win at the New England championships
• The center of the design features a polar bear supporting the earth to represent the Environmental Stewardship/Environmental Values Statement that were adopted that year as well as the school-wide Earth Day event

Now that the carving process is completed, I will apply a painted finish to the plaque to have it ready for presentation at the 2017 Anniversary Weekend at the beginning of June. Stay tuned for updates on the completion of the plaque!

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2016 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving for the Form of 2016 plaque is now completed. The representatives from the Form of 2016 chose the following events to be illustrated on the plaque:

• Upper Left: Puzzle pieces with the letters “SPS” represent the first SPS Puzzle Hunt day
• Upper Right: A baseball bat, a section of track, and a hockey stick, spell out the letters “ISL” to mark the decision to end membership in the Independent School League after the 2016-17 school year
• Center: A Bald Eagle and a Cuban Trogon bird (the national bird of Cuba) perch together on an olive branch to represent the normalization of relations between the governments of Cuba and the United States
• Bottom Left and Right: Tuck and Hargate, shown with a double ended arrow between them, represents the renovations begun this spring that will result in the exchange of functions between these two buildings

Now that the carving process is completed, I will apply a painted finish to the plaque to have it ready for presentation at the 2017 Anniversary Weekend at the beginning of June. Stay tuned for updates on the completion of the plaque!

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2002 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving is completed for the 2002 form plaque. The photos below show details of the completed carving with descriptions of the events illustrated.

Upper Left: The Stanley Cup representing the visit it made to SPS in November of 2001.

 

Upper Right: Lower School Boathouse and dock which was torn down that year.

 

Lower Left: One of two NH songbirds (Nuthatch) on either side of the design representing the donation of SPS land to the Audubon Society for use as a bird sanctuary. Below the bird is the left half of the Manhattan skyline with the World Trade Center towers intact, to commemorate the September 11th terrorist attack.

 

Lower Right: One of two NH songbirds (Chickadee) on either side of the design representing the donation of SPS land to the Audubon Society for use as a bird sanctuary. Below the bird is the right half of the Manhattan skyline with the World Trade Center towers intact, to commemorate the September 11th terrorist attack.

This plaque will receive a painted finish, and when completed, will be on display in the Middle Dining Hall in Coit (New Upper) for Anniversary 2016/17 next June.

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1991 Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving stage is completed for the Form of 1991 plaque. Below are some photos of the plaque, carved to illustrate the following events:

• Top Outer Edge: A ribbon bearing the inscription “O Ye Fire and Heat” from the Powerhouse – this inscription was revealed when the ivy was removed during building maintenance that year
• Upper Left: A shield with a map of Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia representing the Gulf War
• Upper Right: A women’s symbol with “XX” in the center to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of coeducation at SPS
• Upper Center: A bald cypress tree representing the program called “Cypress Trees” of poetry, music, and drama reflecting the emotional journey of women of color at St. Paul’s – produced and directed by members of the Form of 1991
• Center Horizontal:  The Rector’s ruler with the initials of the Reverend Dr. Charles Halsey Clark, Ninth Rector of SPS, celebrating a talk he gave to members of the 6^th Form in which he used the ruler to illustrate his message
• Bottom Left and Right:  Ohrstrom Library, which was dedicated in April of 1991

Now that the carving is completed, I will stain the wood to match the woodwork in the Lower Dining Hall, where it will hang when it is done. The finished plaque will be on display for Anniversary Weekend, June 3rd & 4th, 2016.