Girard College

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to the incredible educators in our academic and residential programs! Thank you for your strength, your passion, and your commitment to the students of Girard College.

Girard College was recently awarded a generous grant from the William B. Dietrich Foundation to preserve the marble entablature and pediments of our #NationalHistoricLandmark, Founder's Hall. The work will continue through the summer and bring out the natural beauty of our campus jewel!

The 50 States Quiz was a long-running spring event in the elementary school in the 1980s and 1990s. These throwback photos are from 1999. We'd love to know more about this tradition, so share your memories in the comments. #tbt #girardhistory

The Community Garden received a much-needed makeover last weekend under the charge of Brock Lyles '21, who completed his Eagle Scout project with the help of a team of current students, alumni, Scout Leaders, faculty and family. The group built new raised beds and cleaned up the overgrowth that had accumulated over the past year. Excellent work, and thank you to all involved!

Happy #earthday. This 1970 Girard News recaps and celebrates the events of the first Earth Day in Philadelphia, while lamenting that Girard students were not allowed off campus to attend the April 22 gathering on Belmont Plateau that drew tens of thousands to hear Senator Edmund Muskie and other guests including Allen Ginsberg, Frank Herbert, and " a hermit from the park." #tbt #girardhistory

Margaret Conteh '21 was recently featured in a Philadelphia Inquirer article about the effect of the pandemic on student-athletes. Like her peers across the country, Margaret has had to work extra hard to attract interest from colleges at a time when scholarship monies and even athletic programs are uncertain. By staying focused on her sport and her studies, and with support from her coach, college counselor, family and teachers, Margaret is determined to take the next step in her educational and athletic journey.

Girard College is happy to be included in the Taste of Fairmount book recently published by our friends at the Fairmount CDC. They have done an amazing job of supporting the community during the pandemic, and by purchasing this commemorative book, you can help our friends, neighbors, and local businesses too!

On behalf of our students, families, and staff, THANK YOU to all who participated in #GivingTuesday! Keep an eye out for more stories of courage and compassion throughout this season of gratitude. Hail Girard!

The Founder's Hall museum wants to hear from you! We are conducting a short survey to see how we can improve our public museum experience. Your feedback on topics that interest you, museum accessibility, and questions you have about Girard will help us plan how to better serve the community. Even if you've never toured the collections, please take a moment to share your thoughts! Take the survey: https://forms.gle/5dXnAytmZb27PiHW6

We are proud to announce that Girard College has been awarded a project grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage! Be Holding is an original performance that will have its world premiere at Girard College. Using poet Ross Gay’s book-length poem Be Holdinginspired by Philadelphia basketball champion Julius Erving (a.k.a. Dr. J)as its libretto, a musical performance will incorporate a creative process that engages Girard College’s first-through-twelfth-grade studen...ts. The commission will explore themes of Black genius and beauty in the face of racial violence and inequities. The school will host Gay, composer Tyshawn Sorey, director Brooke O’Harra, and musical ensemble Yarn/Wire in a multi-year residency to develop the multidisciplinary performance work. The project grant is for $257,100 with an additional 20% ($51,420) provided in unrestricted general operating support. Girard College is a first-time applicant and recipient of a Center grant. Read the full release on our website:

Predictions are for a mild winter in Philadelphia this year, but the winter of 1978 was the 4th snowiest on record, with two storms that dropped over a foot. #tbt #girardhistory

Fall flashback. These October images date from 1944 and 2003. As the 21st-century images indicate, not everything in the Historical Collections is old. Founder's Hall actively collects and preserves records of Girard College life up to the present, alongside the older materials. Happy Archives Month. #archivesphl #girardhistory #tbt

There's still time to participate in #GivingTuesday, a global day of generosity! It's easy to support the students of Girard College Text GCHero to 855-735-2437 to make a gift or visit our page at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/gchero

Did you know the Girard Ginger was included in the first Betty Crocker Picture cookbook in 1950? This week's dip into the archives highlights a few other historic Hum Mud documents and photos in our collection. Happy Archives Month. #girardhistory #archivesphl #fbf

October is Archives Month, so here's a glimpse way back to a pair of Girard schedules from the 1870s. We can date these based on their coming from Henry Arey, who served as Vice President. from 1877-1880 after decades of service in other roles. They were intended to hang on the wall, as evidenced by the rings at the top. Check out more treasures from the archives on our Archives Month live virtual tours on October 15 and 29. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/archives-month-live-virtual-to #tbt #girardhistory #archivesphl

The Virtual Beyond the Wall 5K is in the books! Thank you to everyone who participated over the past two days! Race results can be posted through Monday and donations are still being accepted. The Girard community really showed up to support our students! Special thanks to the following folks who showed true Team Spirit! - 1st Grade Boys for kicking off our welcome video... - 2nd and 3rd Grade Girls for rocking Zoom-ba - High School Students and Paul Eaton for creating an awesome playlist - Girard Staff - Maria for leading Zoom-ba, Kathy for touring Founder's Hall, Laura for leading Yoga and Corey for rallying the High School runners - Our Alumni and Family Teams We had a blast and hope you did too! #Girard5K

Let’s hear it for all the Race Teams participating in the #Girard5K! We appreciate your support! Don’t forget to tag us in your photos and upload your results to the website. There’s a few hours left to get active and have fun!

The Beyond the Wall #Girard5K wouldn't be possible without the support of our incredible sponsors. Thank you to Faegre Drinker, Girard College Alumni Association, Jess Crate Furniture, 4Ward Designs by Ria and Independence Blue Cross!!

Participants in the Virtual 5K and Fun Walk need to do their miles between between 6:00 a.m. on October 1, 2020 and 6:00 p.m. on October 2, but here are some historical running photos to inspire you. Did you know that our track team dates back at least to 1905? Hail Girard and thank you to all 5K participants! #tbt #girardhistory

Staff and students kick off the 2020 Girard College Beyond the Wall 5K in this welcome video! Anyone can run or walk at the location of your choosing Thursday and Friday, October 1-2. Register at www.girardcollege.edu/5K All proceeds benefit student programming and activities at Philadelphia's only full-scholarship 5-day boarding school. Thank you for supporting this year's event!

Today's #Girard5K activity is a guided virtual tour of Founder's Hall, including the personal collection of Stephen Girard! Join Kathy Haas, our Director of Historical Resources, today at noon via Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us//tZArde2orj0sGtUWfoVXNEaOcYcjl0SrU

We’re kicking off a week of #Girard5K activities with I Love Girard Day. Post some of your favorite Girard photos and tag us @girardcollege to be featured on our channels!