Festivals

Fundamental to the life of Hawthorne Valley School is a commitment to the celebration of the rhythms of nature through the days, weeks, months, and seasons. This commitment manifests itself in many ways, such as in the attention given to the beginning and ending of the school year. On the first day of school, the opening assembly acknowledges all the children’s arrival, with special emphasis on the entry of first graders into the life of the school. The little ones are greeted by the twelfth graders, who themselves are acknowledged as beginning their outward path. This relationship between first and twelfth is echoed at the school’s closing assembly in June. There are many internal assemblies in the course of the school year, and there are also assemblies and/or presentations for parents and friends just before Thanksgiving break and at several other times during the school year.

Themes for the year are related to the flow of the seasons through Michaelmas, Christmas, midwinter, Easter, and Whitsuntide. Within these grand themes lie special moments reflecting particular days, including Halloween, the St. Martin’s Pageant (K through third grade), a visit by St. Nicholas, Advent Gardens, Chanukah celebrations, Paradise and Nativity plays, and a May Day celebration.

In the winter and late spring, the school hosts fairs that are festivals first, and fundraising events second. These fairs, which feature high-quality crafts, games, creative activities, and fine foods, are moments when people gather from far and wide to celebrate together the existence of this school. Parents and faculty share in preparation and staffing for success of the fairs. Along with the fairs, our Open House events are opportunities for friends and family alike to see the students’ work in progress through demonstrations and exhibits.

In the larger rhythms of the life of the school, individual events characterize the pedagogical themes appropriate to the grades. Class plays are festive moments for the parents and children that present in dramatic pictures the many ideas with which the children have been working. Into this larger scheme also come week-long practica, which take place in the third, ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades, and many day trips that accent the academic subject being studied at that time. By middle school and high school, outreach into an ever-widening community includes seasonal choral concerts at local schools, nursing homes, and churches.