Contributed Photos
The celebration featured maypole dancing.
Andy Bromage of the Foote School sent in the following report. (Here’s a previous story about the school’s milestone and history.)
The Foote School celebrated its centennial on May 13 – 15 with a weekend of festivities and learning opportunities for alumni, faculty, parents, students and friends. Nearly 1,000 people attended the three-day celebration, traveling from as far away as Canada, England and China to ring in the school’s 100th birthday
The weekend offered music, food, family fun, singing and dancing, sports and alumni-led mini-courses on a range of topics. Students and adults joined together to dance around a maypole, a Foote School tradition dating back to the 1920s.
Alumnus Clinton White ’82, who gave a talk about his work as a USAID diplomat, with aunt Gloria Williams and son Reece.
The oldest alumna in attendance, Eugenia Whitney Hotchkiss, Class of 1935, recalled attending “Mrs. Foote’s School,” as it was known then, in a converted stable on St. Ronan Street. The youngest alums were graduates from the Class of 2015, who finished ninth grade last year. Also attending were two former heads of school and two former Chinese guest teachers from Yali, Foote’s sister school in Changsha, China, who flew around the globe to join the celebration.
Head of School Carol Maoz said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and gratitude for the school and its teachers.
“To watch students thanking teachers who changed their lives, to hear the laughter and conversation, to see the inter-generational friendships — it made for an unforgettable experience,” Maoz said. “Foote has made a difference in the lives of so many people and we are grateful that so many of them came back to campus to celebrate this incredible milestone.”
Alumna Eugenia Whitney Hotchkiss ’35 (left) and daughter Polly Boynton Hotchkiss.
Foote School was founded in 1916 as a home-based school at 58 Huntington St. and moved among several family homes in the East Rock neighborhood before settling at 315 St. Ronan Str. in 1923. In 1958, the school moved to its current location at 50 Loomis Place, with students forming a parade to carry books and supplies up the hill. Today, the independent school has 480 students in kindergarten through Grade 9.
Head of School Carol Maoz (second from left) with Chinese guest teachers Chen Guangwen and Huang Qiong, and China Program Coordinator Deb Riding (right).
To match the school’s mission of inspiring lifelong learning, the centennial weekend featured a number of stimulating mini-courses led by faculty members and alums. Science teacher Tim Blauvelt led a course on rocketry, in which participants built and fired off handmade rockets. Maoz led a talk on the future of education. Jazz bassist Ben Allison, Class of 1982, presented a talk on the art of improvisation. Miya’s Sushi chef Bun Lai, Class of 1984, and his siblings led a course on sustainable sushi. Dr. Will Silva, Class of 1966, talked about his career as the sole physician on an Antarctic research station. And Diana Smith, class of 1973, shared insights from her career as a charter school administrator in Washington, D.C.
The weekend ended Sunday morning with brunch and a gathering to remember deceased members of the Foote community, led by longtime drama teacher and administrator Rev. Bob Sandine and the Rev. Kate Bigwood Atkinson, Class of 1970.
