Brearleyisms

3 LIVELY PURSUITS Brearleyisms An illustrated, un-definitive glossary of terms and customs

Like many schools we have our Spring Fling, Winter Carnival and Homecoming, but we also have plenty of little traditions complete with a lexicon all our own.

RIVER LINGO Brearley’s location on the East River has led to the school’s many boating references. The Lower School play area is the “Pier,” some of the building’s floors are referred to as “decks” and extra help sessions with teachers are called “floats.” Is that because they keep students afloat or because they sometimes take place outside of class, as teachers and students “float” together in hallways or the library? No one can say for sure.

THE CAF

Conversations are as tasty as the food. The Caf incorporates organic and locally produced foods in a menu designed to appeal to diverse tastes and diets. While serving daily deliciousness, the Caf also educates young palates and minds, advancing food awareness and developing a respect for food and its role in the environment. CLASS MASCOTS Each class in the Middle and Upper School has its own mascot. At the annual Mascot Assembly in May, a tradition that dates back to at least 1923, the Senior Class passes its mascot to the students in Class IV, and both classes sing about their mascot.

Balthazaar the Camel Fridgie the Penguin Tigger the Tiger Socrates the Owl Amelia the Duck Olaffub the Buffalo Jimbo the Elephant Theodore the Bear

DRESS CODE

Lower School girls wear the enduring Brearley tunic, with four red buttons, two pockets and side pleats. Middle School girls have options: the A-line skirt or pants. Upper School: No uniform required “When I finally graduated to Upper School, I folded away my uniform for good in a box, as you might do with a wedding dress; somehow I knew even then, with its rips and paint stains and filthy White Team belt, it would become both a palimpsest of my youth and a touchstone for a way of living life (rigorously, idealistically, athletically) that I hope I’ll never lose.” DOUGHNUT ASSEMBLY Friendship, camaraderie and mentoring between grades and school divisions makes Brearley a close community. Opportunities such as the Doughnut Assembly give Lower School students a chance to get together with the Upper School, creating a circle from youngest to oldest minus the middle. And, yes, doughnuts are served.

FLOATS Floats are very much a part of the Brearley academic culture. Students and teachers welcome these one-on-one sessions, which can be requested by students or initiated by teachers.

FRIDAY FLOWER During the Upper School’s weekly meeting, random acts of kindness by students are recognized with a flower. Students, teachers and staff nominate recipients throughout the week.

HOUSE SISTERHOOD In a newer school tradition, Lower School students are divided into houses (Harry Potter style) named after former Heads of School. Upper School student leaders liked the concept so much that they recently voted to adopt a similar model to join Middle and Upper School students in a house system that connects younger and older students.

GILBERT AND SULLIVAN It’s tradition for Class VII to perform a Gilbert and Sullivan musical each year from among a rotating cycle including Ruddigore and The Mikado. Alumnae often bond by asking, “Which Gilbert and Sullivan did you do?”

Every fall, Classes V through XII venture to Bear Mountain State Park for a picnic lunch, noncompetitive activities and games designed to give students throughout the Middle and Upper Schools a chance to have fun together in a splendid outdoor setting. Many faculty and staff members come along and participate in activities with students, such as hiking up the mountain, walking around the lake and playing facultystudent volleyball.

PIER TIMES

If the outdoor play area is the Pier then it stands to reason students would refer to recess as “Pier times.” What makes these times especially fun is that students from different grade levels can connect and get to know each other.

QUIET ELEVATORS Shhhhh! As we said, Brearley can be a boisterous place, so silence is golden in the elevators that ferry students of all ages as well as teachers, staff, parents and visitors up and down the school building. RED AND WHITE TEAMS The Red and White Teams have been a Brearley tradition since 1923. In Classes V to XII, girls join one team or the other for Field Day competitions. Once assigned a color, that affiliation is kept for life. Middle and Upper School Field Day is

another of Brearley’s eagerly anticipated traditions. It is a day of community spirit and friendly Red and White Team competition, and is one of the few events when the entire Middle and Upper Schools come together for a full day.

BEV The beaver owes its role as Brearley mascot to its inclusion on the school seal. While many schools have the beaver as a mascot, few have carried on this tradition as proudly as The Brearley School. A life-size “Beverly Beaver” cheers on Brearley teams at varsity games and Homecoming, and whimsical line drawings of beavers have been featured in many Brearley publications since the 1930s. The Brearley seal was designed in 1890 and is thought to have appeared in print for the first time on the cover of the school catalogue for 1890–1891. The seal incorporates images of the lamp of truth, the book of knowledge and three beavers. Some believe the beavers have the same heraldic origin as those on the seal of the City of New York, possibly to mark the importance of the beaver fur trade to the economy of early Manhattan.

SCHOOL SONG “By Truth and Toil”

SOURCEBOOKS

Rather than textbooks, Brearley history classes use primary sources curated and annotated by the Brearley history faculty.

SENIOR SPRING As one student said, “The first thing they tell you in Kindergarten is that you can do anything and be anything. This culminates in Senior Spring.” During the Senior Spring semester, each girl has the time and resources to pursue exactly what interests her and to make the most of this freedom (see page 22). 47