The Unquowa School :Our School
Annual Events
Founders' Day
Founders Day was established to recognize and celebrate our school's original founders and those individuals who have maintained the philosophy and integrity of the institution through the decades. At the dedication ceremony in October 2005, the library - which was first dedicated in memory of Herman Beach, Sr. - was rededicated in honor of his son, Herman Beach, Jr. and his wife, Georgianna Brewer Beach, members of Unquowa's first kindergarten class. The "east wing" became the John F. Roy Wing to recognize the amazing contributions of Mr. Roy, who served as Board Chair from 1993-2000. Other dedications in recent years have included the Butterfly Garden in memory of David Sayles, father of Reagan Sayles, Class of 1999 and an espaliered pear tree in memory of Todd Montanaro, Class of 1990.
Founders' Day also serves as an alumni weekend, which draws alums as young as our newest graduates and as revered as those who attended our school in the earliest decades. The event included a Farm to Fork Barbeque with seasonal food from Connecticut farms, children's activities, and a friendly Upper School vs Alumni soccer game.
Field Days
The school has two half-day field days, one in the fall and one in the spring, on which students participate in outdoor games that are designed and executed by the seventh and eighth graders. Students participate in green and white teams, made up of children from each grade and led by eighth grade students. The day always ends with a friendly tug of war. Parents are welcome to attend.
Halloween Parades
As part of our Halloween celebration, Lower School students parade through the school's gym to showcases their costumes. Parents are encouraged to watch, and Upper School students join the audience and share in the excitement.
Family Math Night
Family Math Night involves parents and children working together to problem solve, experiment, and discover mathematics as more than just computation. Families will use manipulatives, calculators and computers to explore a variety of activities in estimation, measurement, number patterns, reasoning, geometry, fractions, and decimals. Upper School Math Counts members set up the event and participate in running it.
Thanksgiving Banquet
The school provides its own version of a Thanksgiving banquet with some students in the Lower School dressed as either Native Americans or as Pilgrims. Students in grades four through eight, while not in costume, do dress up and the eighth graders not only set the tables but also serve the elaborate feast, which is cooked by our school chefs. Each student makes a favor for someone at the feast and all students place a leaf on the Thanksgiving Tree to say what they are thankful for. Unfortunately, this is one event which parents are respectfully requested not to attend; we simply do not have the physical accommodations. However, one family is invited to be our guest for this event, having won it at the previous year's school auction. As a memento of the event, the Thanksgiving tree is planted at the guest family's house.
Winter Festival
Scheduled for the Thursday before Winter Break, Winter Festival recalls the winter solstice celebrations of medieval times with music, drama, costumes and elaborate sets. The pageantry of this event is the result of weeks of preparation in drama, music and art classes, the volunteer efforts of many parents and the technological savvy of the Upper School tech crew. While the plot and script change each year, the ritual of becoming a knight, a jester, a wizard, etc. provides benchmarks that children look forward to and traditions that alumni return to participate in. Morning and evening performances occur, with a sumptuous buffet befitting the occasion following the evening performance.
Science Fair/Academic Fairs
The Unquowa Science (grades four and five) and Academic Fair (grades six through eight) are student exhibitions which represent weeks of guidance, planning, preparation and work by students with their teachers. Academic Fair project disciplines and theses are chosen by students themselves and all work—research, writing and visual display—is done in class under the supervision of the discipline advisor and the English teacher. In both cases, the culminating event is a fair where students of all ages and their families can spend the evening visiting each student's project and chatting with them about their research results.
Earth Day
While our school community works diligently all year to maintain our designation as a National Wildlife Habitat and to provide a regional, seasonal dining program that focuses on nutrition, environment and ethics, Earth Day at Unquowa is emblematic of our year-round practices and acknowledges the importance of keeping them at the forefront of our daily habits in a celebratory manner. Children rotate through numerous presentations by The Audubon, The Kellogg Center, The Maritime Museum, etc., covering a wide range of environmental topics.
May Day
In keeping with a tradition that is as old as our school, Unquowa celebrates the coming of Spring with dancing around the Maypole and choral performances by the Lower School grades. Parents and friends are invited to this morning of music and celebration at 8:50 a.m. Performances begin in the gym, after which we all walk to the playing field to see the weaving of the May Pole. Uniforms are abandoned for this day and students dress in their best spring clothes for this event.
Annual Meeting & Dinner
The Annual Meeting is an event where the slate for the Board of Governors is ratified, UPA officers are elected and the Annual Report of the school's financial state is discussed.
Art Show
As a culmination to a year of serious studio work, student work from PreK 3 through eighth grade in all media is exhibited in our school's gym for other students and families to view. While small exhibitions run throughout the year In our school gallery, this culminating show is truly a clear picture of the ongoing efforts of our students in the visual arts throughout the year—efforts that required time and developed skills and creativity.
Closing Ceremonies and Commencement
All Unquowa parents are invited to the annual Closing Ceremonies and Commencement in June. Academic and athletic awards are presented to students during the morning Closing Ceremonies and seventh grade students move into the eighth grade seats as a concrete gesture of their moving to the highest grade in the school and assuming the privilege and responsibility that such a move suggests. The ceremony closes with the current eighth grade receiving hugs, high-fives and tearful farewells from lower classmates and faculty.
That evening, the graduating students receive their diplomas during a brief but beautiful Commencement ceremony. All families are welcome, and seventh grade students and their parents host the reception that follows.
