 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
One of the first activities of the school year is Mountain Day, followed by a Candlelight Ceremony at night. On Mountain Day, the entire School gets together for a picnic and then goes together to climb nearby Skinner Mountain. This day always fosters a great spirit of cooperation and friendship within the entire MacDuffie community.
The Candlelight Ceremony is one of the most important and cherished events in the school year. It is a solemn, beautiful ritual that marks the point when new members of MacDuffie stop being "new" and join their classmates and colleagues as full-fledged MacDuffie School participants.
| "Mountain Day...is a great day to get to know the community, to get to know everybody who's new, and people who you haven't seen all summer. And then for Candlelight, we come back here, have dinner, and then out on the Tifft lawn, we have this huge fire, and it's beautiful." - Beth Markens, '05 |
With the campus in darkness, the School processes in silence to gather around a bonfire. The Head of School lights a candle from the bonfire and passes the flame to the candle of the President of the Student Body, who transfers it to the candles of the Presidents of each class. The flame gradually spreads from candle to candle until every candle is lit. Student leaders from each class make brief welcoming remarks, followed by a musical selection. The evening ends with singing of the Magnolia Song, our alma mater.