Letters Compliments I had the opportunity to watch a play that was performed by the students of Springside and Chestnut Hill Academy this weekend. The piece was called The Laramie Project. The topic was the murder of a young man in Laramie, Wyoming, because he was gay and how the community reacted to the "event". The students did an excellent job portraying the range of emotions and personalities that were apart of this tragic story. The music and direction were fitting and nicely done. I wanted to also mention the decision by the schools to perform this play, especially in the light of some of the adverse publicity that arose last year. It would have been the easy way out to select a piece that would not rock the boat. Letting everyone thinking about how quaint and attractive our little part of Philadelphia is and avoid topics that require introspective thought. It is invigorating when your community schools are willing to ask the hard questions and let the students search for the answers. CHA and Springside have handled the topic with compassion and respect and should be complimented. Personally, I believe
a school needs to awaken a student’s social consciousness
and their thirst for knowledge.
The two schools are on that path and it is a pleasure
to have them in our community. Self-introspection? Best-kept
secrets The Inquirer certainly
gave positive press coverage on the village of Chestnut Hill
[Philadelphia Inquirer, December 10]. The statistics,
photos and articles were informative and impressive. However,
I was disappointed and dismayed that Norwood-Fontbonne Academy
was not mentioned anywhere in the report. After reading
and reflecting on the articles, I was reminded of a conversation
with another Chestnut Hill resident last spring. We were
sitting in Jenks School auditorium waiting for the annual
Five Plus Us (the six schools in Chestnut Hill) concert to
start. The woman began the conversation by saying, "This
school is Chestnut Hill's best kept secret." I responded,
"If Jenks is the best kept secret, then Norwood-Fontbonne
Academy is the second best kept secret." I would like
to state that in the supplement neither school received its
proper place in the history or contributions to the Chestnut
Hill community. Norwood-Fontbonne,
a private Catholic elementary school established and sponsored
by the Sisters of Saint Joseph has provided educational services
since 1920. The student population reflects ethnic, racial,
religious and geographic diversity. Located on two campuses,
one on "the Avenue" and the other on Bells Mill
Road, NFA boasts numerous historic buildings. The main building
on the Norwood campus, a gothic revival villa, was built about
1850 and designed by the noted architect, James C. Sidney.
The Fontbonne campus, formerly the home of Samuel and Barbara
Strawbridge Morris, was an estate built in 1853. Norwood-Fontbonne Academy
is dedicated to the continuing heritage of excellence in education
that has prevailed for more than 80 years in Chestnut Hill. NFA
offers a curriculum that includes a Montessori program for
preschool through third grade students and an interactive
program for kindergarten through eighth grade. The integration
of a fully developed service-learning curriculum with the
existing religion program began in 2001. As part of the
immersion experience, students engage in meaningful activities
at service learning sites in Flourtown, Willow Grove, Kensington,
Ambler, Camden, Center City Philadelphia and Darby. Multiple and varied
co-curricular and enrichment programs exist to develop “the
whole child.” Students participate in semi-annual
drama shows, Community Service Corps, oratory, band, choir,
monthly outreach projects and more. The academy is a
member of the Catholic Academy League and participates at
the varsity and junior varsity level in basketball, field
hockey, football, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and cross country. NFA’s
teams are very successful. The varsity soccer team has
won the CAL title the last four years. We count on the Local
to share “the secret” of Norwood-Fontbonne
Academy in the future. P.S. As a member
of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and a graduate
of Chestnut Hill College, I couldn’t believe that there
also was no mention of these two prominent and faithful institutions
on the edge of the village of Chestnut Hill. A
tribute Thank you, truly, for your piece on The Laramie Project and for taking a lead in
getting the story out there. You did a great job capturing
the soul of the project. I went to the show last night and, in
front of a full house, those kids did something so poignant,
so powerful, so important. The Laramie Project
is both a tribute and a testimonial to the artistic, creative
talents within our two school communities. Equally, it is
an important conversation starter not only for our school
communities, but for our larger one, Chestnut Hill. Lighting
up lives Once again the Fountain
Plaza was set aglow by the Light Up a Life celebration. Not
only do the tiny white lights represent those who light up
the life of loved ones. But, I believe, the lights also signify
the work of the Wissahickon Hospice staff to light up lives
of patients and their families. It is an honor for the Friends
of the Fountain Plaza Board of Trustees to provide this space
and a pleasure to work with Joe Magarity and his committee. |
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