Portledge School celebrated its eighth annual Founders Day on Saturday, September 24, 2011. Although the forecast called for rain all day, the weather cooperated and the activities went on as planned. The festivities began with Spirit Week and a Pep Rally, organized by the Student Council, on Friday afternoon. Upper school students decorated their class floats, which were a highlight of a parade on Saturday that featured students from pre-nursery through grade 12 along with current and past members of the Board of Trustees. Speakers at the Opening Ceremony included Steve Hahn, Head of School; Terri Austin Keogh ‘85, President of the Board of Trustees; and Eracles Diamataris ‘12, Upper School Student Council President. In his opening remarks, Mr. Hahn said, “Communities provide support, and communities have traditions. The tradition of Founders Day began so that we could have an all-school gathering at the beginning of the year in which the families of the entire community, from students and teachers to parents and alumni and current and former trustees could participate. The goal has been to have a great time together, to spend a few moments reflecting on the history of Portledge and how our school has grown to what it is today, and then to enjoy the range of activities with people of all ages interacting.”
Last year, at the first Founders Day of the new decade, a new tradition was introduced. One division each year will add items to a time capsule that will be opened on Founders Day 2020. This year the third, fourth and fifth graders worked together to determine what items they would like to put into the capsule. Caroline Espinal ’20, Gabby Kirikian ’20, Macy Lewis ’20, Christen Luongo ’21, Zoe Meshel ’19, Ashley Oden ’19, and Claire Weis ’20 explained the three tokens to the audience of over 500 people: the Portledge Code of Conduct and Promise signed by every lower school student; a poster showcasing the use of technology and how it has become an integral part of learning at Portledge with the use of SmartBoardsTM, computers, and i-pods; and a photograph of the entire lower school and faculty.
Founders Day Chairs, Carolyn Mott and Kate Callan, created a day everyone will remember for years to come. Children of all ages enjoyed the variety of rides and games, highlighted by Euro Bungee, Rapid Fire, Extreme Slide, photo booth, rock climbing wall and the Arts & Crafts tables with ceramic painting, sand art, face painting and more. Everyone stopped for a bite to eat at “The Grill,” complete with hamburgers and hotdogs, meatball heroes, coleslaw, chips; plus there was popcorn and Portledge Pride, a unique ice cream flavor the middle school students created with the folks at Gooseberry Grove.
Soccer was the sport of the day. First, students in fifth through eighth grade participated in coed Blue/White soccer games. Afterwards, the Portledge Varsity Girls and Boys soccer teams played Lawrence Woodmere Academy. The girls won 7-0 and the boys tied 1-1. The last soccer game of the day was a competition with alumni, faculty and parents.
As Mr. Hahn stated in his speech, community involvement continues to be a large part of Founders Day. Non-perishable food items were collected and donated to The INN (Interfaith Nutrition Network), whose volunteers operate 19 soup kitchens throughout Long Island.
The Portledge School spirit shined through all week and especially on Founders Day. It was certainly an enjoyable and memorable day for everyone!
Thank you for supporting our efforts and spending the day with us! We hope you enjoyed yourselves. We’d like to thank our sponsors, supporters, faculty and parent volunteers who gave so much to make the day a success.
Special thanks to our stalwart Chairs, who did a fantastic job once again!
Founders Day Chairs: Carolyn Mott and Kate Callan
Arts & Crafts Chair: Sarah Blundin
Breakfast Chair: Margherita Yoder