Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

OVERVIEW

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SYMBOLS

The School Cheer

Just before the start of each school year, when the prefect team gathers for their weekend retreat, one significant task is the creation of that year’s cheer. Its introduction in an assembly early in September is a much-loved tradition.

School Cheer, 2016–17

Pages from Ludemus , 2001, with the school cheer.

The Uniform

The most obvious emblem of the school is its uniform. As a symbol of the school’s history and values, the uniform fosters a sense of community and helps students focus on their educational priorities. It is also, according to many who would know, very, very comfortable. The uniform has always evoked good-natured debate among students about the pros and cons of particular items—and about the ways they should be worn. On the very rare occasions someone has suggested eliminating the uniform altogether, however, the most vigorous objections have come from students. Those unfamiliar with the school’s history are often surprised to learn that in its earliest days, Havergal students did not wear a uniform. According to Havergal: Celebrating a Century , “[t]he girls wore what their mothers thought appropriate—wool dresses, possibly accentuated with a touch of velvet and a small silver watch-pin, high stiff collars, black stockings and buttoned boots, the most stylish having cloth tops.” 19 Students now might on occasion envy those long-ago girls who got to choose what to wear. However, the school’s history book suggests that there is little about

School uniform items, Ludemus, 2006.

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