Mooreland Hill Class of 2011
Eighth Grade Gift to the School
May 24, 2011: From the desk of the Headmaster…
Greatness
When greatness is the norm it becomes easy to overlook it. Mooreland Hill School is a great school, not only because of our reputation, secondary school placements or athletic prowess, but also because of the people who are invested in it. Investiture comes in many forms, and it is the preponderance of these forms that make for a unique community. Several events of the past week come to mind that exemplify the point.
Last week, we had two students, an eighth grader and a seventh grader, who took charge of the school schedule in a manner that was creative and non-disruptive to the learning process. The initiative they took is to be admired. The change to the routine was just what the student body needed to keep spirits up in a week during which it rained steadily four out of the five days.
On Friday evening we were all treated to a wonderful fine arts night. As I said that evening, it is noteworthy that each of our students participates in all programs at our school. The art was representative of our entire student body, and the musical performance exemplified their abilities and, for some, their willingness to stretch beyond their comfort zones for the good of the school.
On Saturday, a crew of volunteers converged on the campus to work on the raised flowerbeds adjacent to the Art Studio. Hamish Clark’s Eagle Project is coming to completion. He has done a fine job of organizing and planning for this project, and during the course of it has learned a great deal. So have we: hard work, perseverance and planning can make ideas come to life.
This morning (Monday), I arrived on campus mentally preparing for the day. I walked to the Old Building with Jack King who nodded at the flagpole and asked if I had noticed a difference coming up the driveway. I admitted that I had been deep in thought and did not. He directed my attention to the flagpole. I saw standing tall a newly painted white flagpole with a flowerbed at the base, a gift of the eighth grade class. This is a special gift, more valuable than a purchased item. In it, I see classmates and students, citizens of our school community, taking care of their school.
Acts and events like these are the norm here at Mooreland, and they serve to underscore the true nature of our community. We give of ourselves for the good of the whole, and we learn by doing as much as we learn in the classroom studying. Mooreland Hill is a great school.
Our fourth annual Poetry Recitation Night was held recently held in the school gymnasium. Mooreland students presented memorized, published poems of different genres in a formal setting. It was a memorable evening to become reacquainted with the way poetry was meant to be shared.
In March, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade Latin students participated in the 2011 National Latin Exam. The Latin Exam is a prize examination administered to over 150,000 middle and high school Latin students from all fifty states plus twelve countries including Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, England, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Zimbabwe, and, for the first time, Iran and Malaysia.
This spring, the National Exam Committee recognizes five Mooreland Hill School students for their outstanding performance on this year’s exam. Mooreland seventh graders Peter Hoyle, West Hartford, Robert LeConche, Farmington, Carter Neubieser, New Britain, and Briana Lugo, Plainville, all received Certificates of Merit on the Introductory Level exam. Seventh grader Brian Tomasco, Southington, received a gold medal distinction of Summa Cum Laude on the Latin I Level exam.
Donald R. “Pete” Hart, Jr. ’33, 1918 – 2011, A Mooreland Treasure – The oldest
Mooreland Hill School alumnus, Donald R, “Pete” Hart, Jr. ’33, April 17, 2011. One of the first four students in the little school founded by his mother and friends, Pete Hart began a 78-year history with Mooreland Hill School (nee Shuttle Meadow School, from which he graduated in 1933. He prepped at Avon Old Farms School (classmate and dear friend of folksinger Pete Seeger), spent his college days at Amherst College, studied at la Sorbonne in Paris, master 13 languages, taught French, German, Spanish and Latin and headed the Language Department at Avon Old Farms.
Pete was truly a man for all seasons. Drafted early in World War II, he was one of a select group of individuals who founded the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) now the C.I.A. During his time of service, he handled French sabotage operations in France, ran a spy transit station and captured Nazi collaborators in Paris after its liberation, all for which he received the prestigious and coveted Legion of Honor medal from the French Government. From 1983 to 1999, he and his wife Vera volunteered fro the disaster program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), working at more than 30 disaster sites.
His Mooreland Hill connections were also legion: student, graduate, alumnus, parent, Board member and volunteer extraordinary. During his Mooreland years he often rode his horse to school “parking” him in the school’s red barn, now the site of the Robert C. Vance Center. For as long as can be remembered he annually attended Mooreland graduations along with his sister Mary Jane Hart Clark ’35 and was often a guest speaker for special campus events. During the school’s 75th anniversary celebration he was unanimously selected for the Volunteer of The Century Award.
A Special note is Pete’s stint as an editor. With the help of Mooreland friend and cousin Norman Eddy ’34, Pete created a neighborhood mimeographed weekly Current Events of the Week, while he was a Mooreland student. The paper was filled with gossip, school news, creative writing and sold for five cents a copy. It was a total moneymaker; all of the proceeds paid for a cruise to Bermuda for the young boys, all by themselves. In the 1980’s Pete resurrected the newspaper as Current Events of the World, compiling news from a cadre of 200 family members and friends for over 20 years.
In addition to his wife Vera and sister Mary Jane, Pete leaves behind a wealth of family and friends including his brother Dr. David L. Hart “33, and his children Peter R. Hart, Christine H. Hart ’68, and Philip D. Hart.
The obituary of Donald R. “Pete” Hart, Jr. closed with” a direct quote from a ‘self obit’ he wrote a few years ago: ‘Now you have read quite enough, and so I bid you all adieu.’”
