Tuesday, September 8, 2009, marked the official opening of the 159th session of The Hill School. We welcomed a total of 494 students, including 151 new students (84 third formers, 22 fourth formers, 26 fifth formers, and 19 post graduates/sixth formers), hailing from 30 states and 20 countries. Of these 494 students, 372 will reside on campus, while 122 will be day students.
Sixth form student leaders (including prefects and SGA and Honor Council members) returned on September 4 and enjoyed time together before welcoming new students on Sunday, September 6. New students and their parents were welcomed by Headmaster David Dougherty before embarking on an afternoon and evening filled with activities. On September 7, after returning students arrived, orientation activities were in full swing, including a Play Fair where all students participated in a variety of fun “ice breaking” activities. Monday evening was marked by the opening of school cookout on the Quad, all-school photo, and the Convocation ceremonies.
At Convocation, Headmaster David Dougherty welcomed the students and faculty and introduced the new faculty and staff members who join The Hill community this year (Mr. Jay Spencer ’84, instructor of mathematics; Ms. Rebecca Blake ’05, student activities coordinator; Ms. Olivia Ciacci ’01, instructor of English). He also spoke about the theme for the 09-10 school year – “A Common Humanity,” which relates to issues of diversity - and encouraged students on ways they could each give back to the School community.
A group of students entertained the crowd with skits offering an amusing glimpse of life at Hill including an interpretation of the dress codes rules and the importance of staying healthy this year. They also performed a parody of the song “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” from the Broadway musical, Avenue Q, highlighting this year’s academic theme of “A Common Humanity.” View a video clip of the skits performed at Convocation.
The ceremony was capped off by a rendition of “A Thousand Hands” performed by the Hilltones and Hilltrebles. View a clip of the performance.
Classes began this morning at 7:55 a.m. with an abbreviated schedule of 20 minute back-to-back classes to accommodate for an all-school meeting with Dr. James B. Maas, a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, professor and past chairman of the Department of Psychology at Cornell University. Dr. Maas addressed students and faculty about sleep and the importance of being well-rested. The Hill School will again welcome Dr. Maas on Parents’ Weekend in October.
Many thanks to Dr. Charles Garrettson III ’71 for taking the great photos of the weekend’s activities that appear in the above slideshow.