The Form of 2017 Plaque

The upper left corner of the 2017 plaque features the Isthmian shield to celebrate their win of the Club cup competition. The upper right corner features the democratic donkey and the republican elephant butting heads, to reflect the contentious 2016 election and the partisan politics that has followed. The center ribbon is inscribed with the form word “resilience”, assigned to the Form of 2017 when they began school as 3rd Form students. The lower section of the plaque presents a scenic view of the back of the Friedman Community Center, complete with Hank the heron fishing in the Turkey River. The bottom of the plaque is bordered with the alphabet, with a mortar board in the center, to represent the first time the graduation procession was assembled alphabetically instead of using gender binary pairs.

2017 Plaque Progress: Plaque Completed

The Form of 2017 plaque is now completed.  The detail photograph above shows a sample of the painted finish on the plaque –  A section of the scenic view of the back of the new student center, complete with Hank the heron fishing in the Turkey River.

The completed framed plaque will be presented on June 2nd  during Anniversary Weekend – at which time photographs of the finished plaque will also be published online.  Thank you to the representatives from the Form of 2017 for their help with this project – make sure to stop by the Friedman Community Center to see your plaque if you are visiting that weekend!

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.

2017 Plaque Progress: Design Completed

The design stage is complete for the 2017 form plaque. I worked with representatives from the Form of 2017 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 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
• 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

I will be posting photos of the carving process here on the Form Plaque Project blog and on the Form Plaque Project Facebook page when I begin working on the carving process of the 2017 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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2009 Plaque Progress: Design Complete

The design stage is complete for the 2009 form plaque. I worked with representatives from the Form of 2009 to come up with a list of events, and the following were chosen by them to represent their 6th Form experiences at SPS:

• 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 Earth Day event

I will be posting photos of the carving process here on the Form Plaque Project blog and on the Form Plaque Project Facebook page when I begin working on the carving process of the 2009 plaque.

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The Form of 2001 Plaque

Here is a photograph of the completed plaque for the Form of 2001.  It is being dedicated on June 2, 2012 and hangs in the Middle Dining Hall of Coit (The Upper) above the panels that contain the names of all the members of the Form of 2001.  Below the photo is the description of the elements incorporated in the plaque design.

The central design of the plaque is the November 2000 presidential election, and shows a ballot from Florida – complete with hanging chads – being claimed by both the Democratic Donkey and the Republican Elephant. The shield in the upper center of the carving features an element from the coat-of-arms from the Henley-on-Thames Town Hall, and represents the crew team’s trip to England that June to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta. The crossed sword and torch represent the Form’s senior prank, inspired by the movie Braveheart.   The Blass Clubhouse is carved at the bottom center of the plaque and represents the re-design of the original clubhouse that was built in 1893. Lord Fermoy’s clock is in shown in front of the clubhouse.

2001 Form Plaque Progress: Carving Complete

The following photos are of the carving process for the 2001 Form plaque:

This first photograph shows the prepared basswood carving blank ready to begin:

After using a router to rough out the background levels:

Cleaned up from the router and background levels established, with a little of the initial rough carving done:

The finished carving:

Detail of the Democratic donkey:

And of the Republican elephant:

The carving at this stage is ready for the final painted finish to be applied.

Note: Painting was completed during the second week of May, and now the plaque is drying and awaiting the final sealing finish to be applied in time for Anniversary on June 2nd.   I will be posting photos of the finished plaque after that date – stay tuned!

2001 Form Plaque Progress: Design Complete

The design stage is complete for the 2001 Form plaque design.  After working with the Form Director and reaching out to Form members, a list of events was chosen to illustrate the 6th Form experiences of the Form of 2001:

• The design includes a central theme of the November 2000 presidential election, and shows a ballot from Florida – complete with hanging chads – being claimed by both the Democratic Donkey and the Republican Elephant.
• The shield in the upper center features an element from the coat-of-arms from the Henley-on-Thames Town Hall representing the crew’s trip there that summer.
• The crossed sword (William Wallace’s sword) and torch represent the Form’s senior prank, inspired by the movie Braveheart.
• The Blass Clubhouse is shown at the bottom center and represents the re-design of the original clubhouse that was built in 1893 . Lord Fermoy’s clock is in shown in front of the clubhouse.

I will now begin working on the carving process, with the plan to have the finished plaque to present at Anniversary weekend in June this year.  Photos of the process will be posted on the blog, so stay tuned for more information.