May 1-2, 2026, marked the official beginning of The Hill School’s yearlong 175th Anniversary celebration and the launch of the School’s Strategic Plan: The People, The Place, The Journey.

Founded on May 1, 1851 as The Family Boarding School by the Reverend Matthew Meigs, the weekend was the perfect way to celebrate the School’s history and the guiding values in accordance with our motto, “Whatsoever things are true.”

During this weekend’s kickoff events, students and faculty gathered for a special formal seated lunch on Friday afternoon. Board Chair Jim Alexandre ’75 visited campus to share a “Thought of the Day” with students and faculty in the Dining Hall. He said:

It is an honor to recognize the 175th year since Hill’s founding. Here’s to Matthew Meigs for promising that a school on a hill in Pottstown would meet the highest standards and be measured by the difference its graduates have made in the world. Famous names in the arts, elected officials, a Secretary of State, a White House Chief of Staff, a CEO of JP Morgan, a president of Microsoft, and groundbreaking engineers driving the technology we use, top doctors, lawyers, educators, and those who have touched lives in so many ways started on their paths right here.

Today, I would like to recognize another essential group in Hill’s illustrious history. It is all of you, faculty and students. The heartbeat of this place is right here. Not many things survive for 175 years, let alone keep thriving. Why has The Hill become stronger with time, a rarity in the natural order? It’s because the School, with its beautiful campus and thousands of alumni, is itself forever young. We lose one-quarter of our community every spring and welcome a whole new cohort the next fall. Seniors set sail for college and leave to all of you who follow the job of sharing traditions and expectations with the new arrivals. Year in and year out, you do it well because you care, and because it matters.

Hill will change and evolve in many ways, which is essential. However, the standards and

values we embrace here have endured because they are the essence of “Whatsoever

Things are True.” When you’re here, you feel as if you’re being prepared for college. When you look back one day, you’ll realize how well Hill has prepared you for life. 

That is why we celebrate The Hill School, 175 years young. 

Jim’s touching remarks were followed by a special prayer offered by the Reverend Anne Confer Martens ’02, Hill Chaplain and Director of Spiritual Life:

As we begin our celebration of The Hill’s 175th anniversary, we gather today in thanksgiving for the voices from the past that still speak their challenge to us. We remember Matthew Meigs, who had the vision to begin our school, and his son John, who had the vision to build it so the foundations would stand.

 May the good we celebrate in this 175th year endure through and beyond this year of celebration, inspiring those who will come after us to carry The Hill into the future.

 God, bless the thousands of hands that have labored long to bring us to this moment.  Bless the hands that prepared this meal, and bless us, too, in our eating and drinking and gathering and sharing.  May we taste and see the goodness all around us.  Amen.

Friday evening, Hill’s student musicians, vocalists, and dancers brought down the house with their Annual Spring Performing Arts Festival! The Festival featured an original composition by Max Yang ’27 and Liam Mpofu ’26, “Legacy”, a tribute to the generations of alumni, performed by a String Quintet, as well as an energizing grand finale performance of Kool and the Gang’s hit “Celebration”, by all ensembles, complete with a surprise visit by Blue the Ram, Hill’s mascot, and confetti!

On Saturday, May 2, the on-campus celebration continued with Blue’s Birthday Bash, a party for students and employees featuring an all-school cookout, student bands, games, crafts, and food trucks.

A Year of Celebration: May through June 2027

Following the Founder’s Day kickoff anniversary programming, May 1-2, The Hill will continue its celebration throughout the 2026–2027 academic year, including on-campus and off-campus alumni events, special exhibits, and opportunities for the extended Hill (Pottstown) community to engage with the School’s history and future.

For more information about The Hill School’s 175th Anniversary celebrations, please visit: www.thehill.org/175