|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Athenian School is commemorating a milestone anniversary all school year long, and the festivities kick off with a Golden Jubilee Celebration at the Danville campus this weekend.
The private school opened Sept. 12, 1965, founded by Dyke Brown, who had the goal of creating an environment “where students would flourish both academically and personally,” according to Eric Niles, Athenian’s current head of school.
“Far ahead of his time, Dyke realized the importance of intellectual exploration, multicultural and international understanding, environmental stewardship, education for democracy, outdoor adventure and community service as integral parts of a strong academic curriculum,” Niles said in a statement.
“Fifty years later, these ideals have become a model for education in the 21st century,” he added.
The Athenian School is an accredited college preparatory private boarding and day school for just under 500 students in sixth through 12th grades at a 75-acre campus at the base of Mount Diablo in eastern Danville.
The campus is hosting a day of activities for its Golden Jubilee Celebration on Saturday.
The morning will feature an oral history of the school presented at 11 a.m. by former heads of school Eleanor Dase and Steve Davenport, along with former faculty member Munzer Afifi.
Saturday afternoon activities will include a Main Hall Celebration Ceremony, an “equity and inclusion” panel discussion, campus tours, program demonstrations, crafts and activities for children of all ages, a Robotics Showcase and Makers Studio tour, community art project, bulb planting and musical entertainment.
The daylong event wraps up with a golden jubilee reunion dinner under the stars Saturday evening.
School officials have scheduled a variety of other events throughout the 2015-16 school year in honor of the 50th anniversary.
On the docket are an “Alumni Wilderness Experience” next month, the “Why Athenian” roundtable series in November, February and May, a 50th celebration gala April 9 at Ruby Hill Winery and an art exhibition in the spring featuring works of faculty, staff and former students.
Brown, a Yale Law School graduate, was vice president of the Ford Foundation when he founded The Athenian School in 1965. According to school officials, Brown envisioned a school with the goal of Periclean Athens: the full development of each citizen.
The campus had an enrollment of 66 ninth- and 10th-graders in its opening year. The school now educates 490 students, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1 and an average class size of 15 students, according to school officials.
“Intellectual growth, fitness of body and character, commitment to humane values, aesthetic sensitivity and readiness for adult citizenship and leadership are Athenian’s objectives for each student,” they officials said in a statement.
The school takes a hands-on, experiential and interdisciplinary approach to rigorous academics, officials said, pointing to programs such as its Athenian Wilderness Experience, international interim trips, a robotics collective and student-built airplane project.
The Athenian School has also received green initiative awards, including a Green Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education.
The campus is located at 2100 Mt. Diablo Scenic Blvd., about four miles east of downtown Danville. It is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the California Association of Independent Schools.
-
The Athenian School in Danville is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. (Photo courtesy of The Athenian School) -
The aerial photo depicting The Athenian School in its first year in 1965. (Photo courtesy of The Athenian School) -
A modern aerial shot of the boarding and day school at the base of Mount Diablo. (Photo courtesy of The Athenian School)
