C.W. Henry Centennial meeting Jan 25

C.W. Henry School's Centennial will run from fall 2006 though spring 2008, celebrating 100 years of excellence. The inaugural meeting will be

Wednesday, January 25
7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Lovett Library

(Germantown Avenue & Sedgwick)

All current families, alumni, families of alumni, and interested community members are welcome to attend to hear about the initial plans (still in formation), or to volunteer to help.

Centennial defined
The original school building, closest to the corner of Carpenter Lane and Greene Street, was under construction from 1906 to 1908. The first students attended in 1908. Therefore, the Centennial will run 2006 through 2008.

Activities and Events
October 18: Charles Wolcott Henry Day
Beginning October 18, 2006, the school celebrates C.W. Henry Day to focus on the history of the school, the neighborhood, the state, and the country on the date of Charles W. Henry’s birth: October 18, 1852. Initial plans include bringing in local historians, re-enactors, etc., from local organizations such as the Johnson House, to help students and the community understand local life in the year of our school’s namesake’s birth.

Henry Reunion
In 2006 and 2007, the event will reconnect Henry with alumni and their parents/grandparents, and previous faculty/staff.

C.W. Henry Centennial Celebration…the big event
In Spring 2008, we host a major event. The Big Event. The culminating event of the centennial. The event will include the inaugural induction into the Charles Wolcott Henry Hall of Fame, which may include former students, faculty, staff, parents, and community members who: (a) since graduating, have become models of the values and excellence embraced by Henry School; (b) as previous or current faculty/staff, have gone to extraordinary measures for the students and/or parents of Henry; or (c) as parents or community members, have gone to extraordinary measures to improve Henry.

Committees
Centennial Steering Committee
The Centennial Committee establishes the overall themes, plans, activities and goals for the three-year centennial, with approval of the Home and School Association. This committee recruits and oversees the other committees, below. The steering committee comprises: Home and School President or co-Presidents, Principal, Alumni Chair, Centennial Celebration Committee Chair (to be appointed), Henry Day Chair (to be appointed), and the Steering Committee Chair.

Alumni Committee
The Alumni Committee locates and recruits Henry alumni to events and committees. Comprising alumni, this committee is the voice of Henry to past students. We’ll need a range of generations to effectively reach out to Henry’s wealth of alumni from 1908 to present.

Charles Wolcott Henry Day Committee
With the bulk of the work focused on 2006, this committee will work with current faculty/staff to schedule school-day and evening activities to celebrate the history of C.W. Henry: the man, his time, and the school that bears his name. After 2006, this committee will remain active but shouldn’t need to put as much time/energy after creating the event in 2006.

Henry History Committee
The History Committee works with faculty/staff, students, and community-based historical organizations to research and report the history of C.W. Henry – the man and the school – the community, students/alumni, faculty/staff, parents, etc., for use in school and centennial communications, public relations, and events. This committee produces articles for the school and for local newspapers, etc., beginning in Fall 2006.

Centennial Celebration Committee (big event in 2008)
The celebration committee focuses exclusively on the 2008 culminating event, including logistics, invitations, fundraising, etc.

Charles Wolcott Henry Hall of Fame Committee
The Hall of Fame Committee defines the criteria under which a former student, faculty/staff, or parent/community member may qualify for induction into the Hall. This committee selects the inaugural inductees, creates a book/booklet honoring the inductees, and a permanent wall display in the school with photos of the inductees. After 2008, this committee will induct one new person, annually.

Branding Committee
The Branding Committee will work with graphic artists and marketing professionals (to be recruited as volunteers, ideally from among Henry alumni), along with the Henry Art Teacher and students, to create an appropriate and effective Centennial logo, tag line, and description of the Centennial. These Branding materials will be used in printed materials (e.g., articles from the History Committee, invitations & ads for the events, newsletters, etc.). Branding materials will be ready by the end of school, in June 2006, for use throughout the Centennial, beginning with the inaugural C.W. Henry Day in October, 2006.