Form of 2020 Plaque

The center of the 2020 Form plaque features the COVID-19 virus  – the global pandemic being 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 shows an 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 three 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.

2020 Plaque Progress: Plaque Completed

The Form of 2020 plaque is now completed. The detail photograph above shows a sample of the painted finish on the plaque –  A section of the central part of the design featuring the COVID-19 virus.

The completed framed plaque will be hung up in the Middle Dinning Hall of Coit, and available for viewing once the school is able to open to outside visitors.

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.

2020 Plaque Progress: Design Completed

The design stage was completed for the 2020 form plaque early last summer. I worked with representatives from the Form of 2020 to come up with a list of events, and the following were chosen by them to represent their 6th Form experiences at SPS:

• 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

This design has been used to create the wood carving of the 2020 form plaque. I will document the carving process in an upcoming post.

The Form of 1998 Plaque

Here is a photograph of the completed plaque for the Form of 1998. It was dedicated on June 1, 2013 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 1998. Below the photo is the description of the elements incorporated in the plaque design.

The New Hampshire State House dome is the central image for the 1998 Form plaque, and represents the march by over 300 community members from St. Paul’s School to the State House lawn on Martin Luther King Day that year. The march was organized to encourage the State to add Martin Luther King Jr.’s name to the holiday, which was called Civil Rights Day at the time. This is represented by the MLK initials carved in the tympanum beneath the State House dome. The upper right corner of the plaque features an open book with the initials CBA carved onto the pages, representing the beginning of the Rectorship of the Right Reverend Dr. Craig Barry Anderson, Eleventh Rector of St. Paul’s School. The book symbolizes the Rural Record, a journal of day-to-day life that was kept at St. Paul’s School from 1857 into the early 20th century. In the upper left corner is a trophy with the Roman numerals IV carved into it. This represents the four sports teams that won New England championships that school year – field hockey, wrestling, boys’ crew, and girls’ crew. In the lower center section of the plaque a shield is carved featuring an element from the coat-of-arms from the Henley-on-Thames Town Hall. This represents the boys’ and girls’ crew teams’ trip to the Henley Regatta – where the girls’ team won the Peabody cup. The lower left and right sections feature four feathers representing each of the newly renovated Quad dorms. Each of the dorms has a stone carving on the building representing a different bird – an owl for Manville, a pelican for Simpson, a rooster for Brewster, and an eagle for Ford – the feathers in the carving are from each kind of bird.

1998 Plaque Progress: Plaque Completed

The Form of 1998 plaque is now completed.  The above photograph shows a sample of the painted finish on the plaque – the center portion showing the New Hampshire State Capitol dome representing the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march.

The completed framed plaque will be revealed on Anniversary Weekend on Saturday June 1st – at which time photographs of the finished plaque will be published online.  Thank you to the representative from the Form of 1998 for your help with this project –  I am looking forward to seeing members of the Form of 1998 at the SPS Anniversary event to celebrate your new Form plaque!

1998 Plaque Progress: Carving Complete

Above is a photo of the completed carving for the 1998 Form plaque.  The photos below show details of the finished carving:

The center of the carving features the State House dome with the initials MLK in the tympanum. This represents the march from SPS to the State House on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (which was then called Civil Rights Day) to encourage the addition of MLK’s name to the New Hampshire State Holiday.

In the upper right corner features an open book with the initials CBA to represent the beginning of the Right Reverend Dr. Craig Barry Anderson’s term as Eleventh Rector of St. Paul’s School.

The upper left corner shows a trophy with the Roman numerals IV representing the four sports teams that won New England championships that school year – field hockey, wrestling, boys’ crew, and girls’ crew.

In the lower center portion of the plaque there is a carving of a shield featuring an element from the coat-of-arms from the Henley-on-Thames Town Hall. This represents the boy’s and girl’s crew teams trip to the Henley Regatta – the girls’ team winning the Peabody Cup.

The lower left and right sides of the plaque feature four carved feathers – each representing one of the Quad dorms that were renovated and re-dedicated on October 3, 1997.  Each of the dorms has a stone carving representing a different bird – an owl for Manville, a pelican for Simpson, a rooster for Brewster, and an eagle for Ford – feathers are shown from each kind of bird.

Once the carving has been sealed with a linseed oil finish it will be ready for the painting process to begin.Check back in a few weeks for a sneak peek photo of the finished plaque.

1998 Form Plaque Progress: Design Complete

The design stage is complete for the 1998 Form plaque. I worked with a representative of the Form of 1998 to come up with a list of events, and the following design elements were chosen:

1998 Form Plaque Design Elements

Plaque designs traditionally incorporate one world news event and three to five School events.

World Event:

• Center: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – the march from SPS to State House to encourage the addition of MLK’s name to the State Holiday. This is shown as the State House dome with the initials MLK in the tympanum.

School Events:

• Upper right: An open book with the initials CBA to represent the beginning of the Right Reverend Dr. Craig Barry Anderson term as Eleventh Rector of St. Paul’s School.
• Upper left: A trophy with the Roman numerals IV representing the four sports teams that won New England championships that school year – Field Hockey, Wrestling, Boys’ Crew, and Girls’ Crew.
• Lower center: A shield featuring an element from the coat-of-arms from the Henley-on-Thames Town Hall representing that the boy’s and girl’s crew teams went to the Henley Regatta – the girls’ team winning the Peabody cup.
• Lower left and right: Four feathers represent each of the Quad dorms that were renovated and re-dedicated on October 3, 1997.  Each of the dorms has a stone carving representing a different bird – an owl for Manville, a pelican for Simpson, a rooster for Brewster, and an eagle for Ford – so feathers are shown from each kind of bird.

I will begin working on carving the plaque next and will post images of the carving as the work progresses.

The Form of 2006 Plaque

Here is a photograph of the completed plaque for the Form of 2006.  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 2006.  Below the photo is the description of the elements incorporated in the plaque design.

The central motif to the plaque is an adaptation of the SPS Sesquicentennial logo with St. Paul in the center surrounded by the four shields depicted in the logo -pelican, book, sword, and Episcopal shield.  A scroll ties them together horizontally in the center with the dates: 1856 – 2006. In the upper left of the plaque is an open book with the initials WRM which represents the beginning of Twelfth Rector William R. Matthews’ Rectorship. The book symbolizes the Rural Record, a journal of day-to-day life at SPS that was kept from 1857 up into the early 20th century.  The upper right corner of the plaque is a carving of the spiral of the storm of Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast just prior to the beginning of the School year.  The bottom corners of the plaque are carved with spiral waves representing the damaging waters of the flood in May of 2006 that resulted in the School closing three weeks early.

2006 Form Plaque Progress: Carving Completed

The carving stage is now complete for the Form of 2006 plaque. Here are a few photos showing the finished carving:

In the center is St. Paul himself, with the elements of the School shield separated around him.  The upper left corner has the open book, commemorating the beginning of Mr. Matthews’ tenure as Rector.  The spiral form in the upper right represents Hurricane Katrina.  The Sesquicentennial dates are shown in pencil on the ribbon behind St. Paul and will be painted in as part of the finish.

The detail above shows one of the waves created to represent the Mother’s Day flood of 2006. The Episcopal shield appears at the base as part of the Sesquicentennial logo.

The next stage of the process involves sealing the wood and adding the painted finish.

From here forward the project will go undercover: The completed plaque – with painted finish and mounted in its frame – will be kept a secret until it can be unveiled during the 2012 Anniversary Weekend celebration in June of 2012.  Details to follow as we get closer to the date.

I will now begin working on the 2001 and 1996 plaques, with plans to complete them both in time for Anniversary 2012. Progress on those plaques will be documented here as with the 2006 plaque, so check back often to see how things are progressing.