Red-Blue competition is one of the school's great traditions, enjoyed by the entire community, and remembered fondly through the years beyond Potomac. Fourth though twelfth graders compete for the annual cup with Capture the Flag, 3-legged races, soccer and kickball games, culminating in the great Tug of War. Every child's effort, in every event, counts toward the point total. It's remarkable how close the final tally is, year after year.
Join us in the new Red vs. Blue Challenge. The School is challenging Potomac School Red and Blue alumni to compete to reach the highest percentage of contributions to The Campaign for Potomac's Future. Participation is the goal.
How can you help your team win the Challenge? Send a check today or go to www.potomacschool.org/campaign.
Who will win—Red or Blue—in supporting the largest Campaign in our School's 104 year history? Look for updates in the Campaign Newsletter.
We would like to hear your comments. Send us a note - potomac@potomacschool.org
Red Team
Thanks to Miss Preston we memorized poems and psalms that I remember to this day and I will never forget the wonderful mysterious experience of the Christmas plays and the May Days. Miss Seth Smith gave us great experiences as girl scouts. I also am appreciative of the fact that my sister, who was extremely talented in the arts but not so good in her academic studies, was appreciated for her strengths. I know there were members of my class who didn’t have such a good time as I did, and I regret that, but for those of us who enjoyed the school, it was a marvelous place.
Eliza Kellogg Klose, Class of 1955
My memories as a student of Potomac are best resurrected by employing the five senses: the sound of Jack Langstaff's baritone and of John Hebeler's soft-spoken suggestions as well as the swish one heard when walking through the grass; the taste of Ida May's baked beans and bacon lunch and the sharp tang of the onions we sliced in science to study cellular structure (we ended up eating quite a few of them); the sight of the countryside and the gum trees (three at that time) which we all took almost too much for granted; the warmth of the linoleum floors in the winter which were efficiently heated from under them as were floors in ancient Rome, this in contrast to the blast of cold air as students went outside to move from class to class; the comforting aroma of people, cleaning fluids, old cinder block buildings, damp clothes and frequent infusions of fresh air.
Tom Macy , Class of 1967
Blue Team
I consider my nine years at Potomac the educational cornerstone of my life. It was there, with such legendary teachers as Jack Langstaff, Carol Preston and Imogen Rose, that my love of learning was established, and I first learned that whatever one has to offer, nothing less than the best effort is acceptable! As for autobiographical details, I have had two careers: first, as a teacher and administrator in independent schools (Concord Academy, Milton Academy and Brooks School) and secondly, I had a financial planning business devoted to empowering women with money. I am now retired, am engaged to be married, and love traveling and playing with my grandchildren. I wish they could go to Potomac!
Adelaide (Lolly) MacMurray Aitkin, Class of 1960
Sports were a big part of my Potomac experience and I still play on several teams, including with fellow alum Kim Jerro ‘95. A favorite and triumphant moment at Potomac was scoring a touchdown during recess in 5th grade as the boys always seemed skeptical about letting the girls play. A most unusual educational experience was visiting Mr. Hughes’ potato museum, the world’s only potato museum from what I can recall. I also fondly remember all the ways that Potomac made education an interactive experience.~ For example, we didn’t just read about medieval manuscripts and wonder what it would be like to be a medieval knight or jester or a Greek Olympian, we actually got to enact the experiences in a way that brought them to life much more than would have been possible otherwise.
Antonia Blackwood, Class of 1995
To this day I am a music addict. A music junkie. I almost always have music playing. All kids of music: jazz, rock and roll, classical, kids' artists, new age, reggae, bluegrass, progressive, you name it. And I particularly love live music, all kinds. Sometimes when I listen to music I also play music, the keyboard.~ Why is this? I firmly believe, and answer without hesitation when asked about my intense love of music, that it's a result of my early and ongoing exposure to music at Potomac. Listening to music, making music, reading music, creating music with all sorts of conventional and unconventional instruments as well as with our voices. We learned that music is a means of communication. Whether it was music class, my favorite hour of the day, with Nancy Taylor ‘67 (former faculty Bea Lindston’s daughter),and art class where there was often music playing softly in the background, or one of hundreds of assemblies I attended, music bled into my experiences at Potomac. I took piano, violin, and recorder lessons at Potomac, and learned to play the hand bells for concerts and plays.~ We learned the roots of rhythm and how to dance to the music we made. My Potomac experiences are broad indeed.
Victoria Frankhauser Esposito, Class of 1983