National Cathedral School (NCS) is an independent Episcopal private day school for girls located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by philanthropist and suffragist Phoebe Apperson Hearst and Bishop Henry Yates Satterlee in 1900, NCS is the oldest of the institutions constituting the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation.
The school
NCS has about 580 students in grades 4 through 12. Its mascot is the eagle. Its brother school, St. Albans, and the shared coeducational elementary school (K-3), Beauvoir, are also located on the 57-acre (230,000Â m2) Cathedral Close in Northwest Washington near the Washington National Cathedral. Kathleen O'Neill Jamieson is the Head of School. The school motto is "Noblesse Oblige" ("Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required," St. Luke XII, 48).
Traditions
As the National Cathedral School is chartered by the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, and is a selective Episcopal School, it holds a mandatory chapel service for Upper School students on "G" days, and on "C" days it holds a morning service in the National Cathedral for all students. Graduation is held in the Washington National Cathedral. However, students of various religions attend the school, and the chapel services are generally ecumenical in nature.
Flag Day, when academic awards are given to students, is held the day before commencement. The ceremony is held on the northwest lawn of the Cathedral grounds, next to Hearst Hall. Graduating seniors wear white dresses or pantsuits and carry a bouquet of roses as they process into the outdoor ceremony. The final award, given to the graduating senior with the highest grade point average, is an American flag.
The school's patron saint is Hilda of Whitby.
The school has charity functions and music and choral performances.
Final Cathedral services for the year include the induction of seniors into the Alumnae Association at the Alumnae Service and a "Senior Service" in which the graduating seniors plan and run the service.
NCS also has two school hymns, one dating back to the beginning of the school, and one for the school's centennial celebration composed by Richard Wayne Dirksen, former director of the National Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys.
Extracurriculars and clubs
Extracurriculars include student government (grades 7-12), two student newspapers, literary publications (including Half in Earnest), Mitre (a yearbook), and more than 30 different clubs, including the BSU (Black Student Union), GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance), Model U.N., Vestry, Chorale, Madrigal Singers, Choristers, and Service Board.
Students from classes 7-12 can serve as acolytes for the school's cathedral services.
NCS students also have the unique opportunity of participating in the Whitechapel Guild to learn traditional change ringing on the cathedral bells.
Notable alumnae
- Judith Barcroft, actress, All My Children and other soap operas
- Esther Brimmer, foreign policy expert and past Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs
- Beverly Byron, '50, U.S. Congresswoman (D-Md.), 1978â€"93
- Liz Clarke, sportswriter
- Kate Collins, actress
- Ethel Roosevelt Derby, civil rights spokesperson
- Karen C. Fox, science writer
- Kristin Gore '95, author and Emmy-nominated screenwriter
- Karenna Gore Schiff '91, author, journalist, and attorney
- Libby Fischer Hellmann, mystery writer
- Katharine Holmes, Olympic fencer at the 2016 Summer Olymics
- Alice S. Huang, biologist, former president of AAAS
- Naomi Iizuka, Japanese-American playwright, professor at UCSD
- Luci Baines Johnson,'65, daughters of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson
- Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, '62
- Kara Kennedy, filmmaker and television producer
- Heather Langenkamp, actress, A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Jenny Lin, Taiwanese-American pianist
- Maya MacGuineas, political writer and President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
- Caroline Adams Miller, coach, speaker, and author
- Queen Noor of Jordan, née Lisa Halaby, writer, activist
- Michelle Nunn, non-profit executive; former political candidate
- Cristina Odone, Italian journalist, editor, writer
- Alexandra Petri, op-ed columnist and writer of the ComPost Blog at the Washington Post
- Brenda Putnam, sculptor
- Stephanie Ready, professional and college basketball broadcaster; first woman to coach US men's professional basketball
- Helene Reynolds, actress in the 1940s
- Susan E. Rice, National Security Advisor; former United States Ambassador to the United Nations; former foreign policy advisor to Democratic Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D.-IL); former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
- Sandra Scarr, former chair of the psychology department at University of Virginia
- Trish Sie, music video, commercial, and feature film director (Pitch Perfect 3)
- Caroline Thompson, screenwriter, Edward Scissorhands
- Elizabeth Walton Vercoe, musician, educator, and composer
- Robin Witt, theater director
External links
- National Cathedral School
- Washington National Cathedral
- Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation
- Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington
References
