Buffalo Seminary

The Buffalo Seminary

(optional)
Location
205 Bidwell Parkway, Buffalo, NY
US
Information
Type private, all-girls
Established 1851
Songs Alma Mater and Jerusalem
Head of School Jody Douglass
Faculty 34
Number of students 223
School color(s) Red and White
Mascot Red-Tailed Hawk
Website www.buffaloseminary.org

Buffalo Seminary (SEM) is an independent, private, all-girls college preparatory day and boarding school in Buffalo, New York, United States. SEM is nonsectarian and non-uniform.

History

Founded in 1851, SEM is Western New York’s oldest college preparatory school for girls. The school was originally named The Buffalo Female Academy, and has maintained all-female attendance. Its original and unflagging mission was to provide an exceptional education to young women. Originally, it offered education for young girls from kindergarten through sophomore year in college and had boarding. In 1889, the school adopted its current name, The Buffalo Seminary. Graduates of the Seminary founded the Twentieth Century Club in the late 1800s.[1] one of the oldest private women's clubs in the United States. The school changed its policy in 1899 to teach only grades 9 through 12 after merging with the Elmwood School. In 1908, the school moved from its initial founding address on Johnson Park to the current address on Bidwell Parkway. That building, completed the following year, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.[2] In 2009 SEM added back its boarding program which has now expanded into a campus of five renovated historic homes next door to the school building, staffed by faculty "parents." It continues to grow, in 2014-15 it includes girls from Bermuda, China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. As an independent school, SEM is not confined by the guidelines established by the New York State Board of Regents.

Facilities

SEM's school building is located at 205 Bidwell Parkway. It was designed by Boston architect George F. Newton, who also designed the Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. It was completed in 1909, in the Tudor Revival style, the school's building features buttresses, terra cotta sculptures, Gothic style arches, and limestone ornamentation. The interior of the building features a library with a fireplace, traditional chapel for all school gatherings (while called "chapel," it is more an auditorium - the school is not religious and never has been), numerous Harkness table classrooms, skylit art studio, computer and science labs, and Smartboard technology. A contemporary Performing Arts Center, MAC lab, darkroom, squash courts, and a fitness and erg room ensure an outstanding school experience. Additionally, the building features the West-Chester Hall, now used for meetings and classes. SEM's campus includes six historic homes renovated for the head of school and student residences, and Larkin Field at 101 Lincoln Parkway.[3] Larkin Field

Sports

The Buffalo Seminary Red-Tailed Hawks are part of the Monsignor Martin Girls Athletic League. The students compete with other schools in the league as well as other local and regional high schools in various sports. The school offers three seasons of sports in which the girls may participate at either the Varsity and Junior Varsity level. They range from bowling and golf to basketball, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, squash, sailing, and crew. Notably, SEM regularly sends boats to the US National Scholastic Rowing Championships in Camden, NJ and the Head of Charles in Boston. While the team was once named the Seminary Sirens in reference to Greek myth, they are now called the Red-Tailed Hawks.

Traditions

Honor Code: "One choice. Honor. Three advantages: respect, integrity and trust." Each student, faculty and staff member literally signs this Academic and Social Honor Code at the beginning of the school year. The Code is then prominently set upon an easel for all to see throughout the year. Academic honor requires respect for intellectual and artistic property. “I pledge my honor that I have neither given nor received assistance,” is written and signed by students on all class tests, papers, examinations, and other work which a faculty member designates as an honor assignment. Social Honor requires consideration for others, honesty in all matters, courtesy, and respect for differences.

Harkness Learning: SEM has six Harkness classrooms used primarily by the English and history departments. These classrooms are centered on a Harkness table - a large, wood, oval table where which students gather around to learn collaboratively. At a Harkness table teachers facilitate and mediate topics and discussion, no student is not seen, and everyone has the duty and opportunity to speak.

Morning Meeting: Every morning the entire school assembles for "morning meeting." While other high schools may begin their day with an assigned homeroom for students, at SEM, all students gather in the chapel first. Morning meeting is led by the president of the Student Government Association, and typically opens with the entire student and faculty body singing SEM's alma mater or the anthem "Jerusalem." Announcements and awards are then made by students and faculty. Throughout the year, senior class students make their formal, required "Senior Presentation," at morning meeting - they are often accompanied by media or a live musical performance.

Hornet/Jacket: One of the school's prominent school life traditions is the Hornet and Jacket competition. It originates from a time, over one hundred years ago, when girls were forbidden to participate in organized sports. The students of SEM organized themselves into these two teams so girls could compete amicably. Today, after admission to the school students are sorted into either team on the festival-like Hornet/Jacket Day http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/next/buffalo-seminary-students-find-out-if-they-are-jackets-or-hornets-20131003. Faculty too is either Hornet or Jacket. Family members are what their first SEM student was - it is a legacy. Sisters, mothers, aunts, and grandmothers are always the same team. Throughout the year, academic, and festive (often holiday themed) contests are held and the teams compete against the other. Points are accrued and awarded to the winning team, and at the close of the school year, the points are tallied, and the winning team is engraved into the "Cup."

Graduation: SEM graduates its seniors at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Graduates wear long, white dresses and carry bouquets of long-stemmed red roses. The graduation speaker is always a SEM alumna. It 2014 it was Nicole C. Lee '94, a human rights lawyer and immediate past president of the venerable nonprofit TransAfrica, she was also its first female president.

Cultural References

In City of Light by Lauren Belfer, a novel exploring the cultural mores of old Buffalo wealth, The Buffalo Seminary serves as inspiration for the Macaulay School for Girls, of which the main character is Headmistress. Lauren Belfer is herself a graduate of the school.

See also

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ History - Twentieth Century Club, Buffalo as an Architectural Museum website
  2. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places listings for May 20, 2011". National Park Service. May 20, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  3. ↑ Jennifer Walchowski and Daniel McEneeny (October 2010). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Buffalo Seminary". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2014-10-14. See also: "Accompanying 11 photos".

4. "From Johnson Park to Bidwell Parkway and Beyond: A Short History of Buffalo Seminary" by Gwen Ito. Western New York Heritage Magazine.

External links

Coordinates: 42°55′28.041″N 78°52′30.04″W / 42.92445583°N 78.8750111°W