Dear Harbor Families,

In preparation for Saturday’s Golden Gala, we have been looking through old photos, memory books, and artifacts such as Harbor Highlights newsletters from the early 90s, Spiral tee-shirts from over the years, and school publications from years past. Spending time diving into these artifacts from the past has been such a validating and meaningful experience; it becomes clearer with every memory box we unpack that Harbor’s mission and impact on the community and with individual families and students has been consistent throughout the years. 

As part of this year’s 50th celebration, we have reconnected with alumni families, hearing stories of their Harbor experience and updates on where they are now. We even have a member of the Harbor faculty from the late 70s serving on our auction/gala committee! Hearing stories of fond memories of their Harbor days, from former faculty and staff, Board members, and families that span our fifty year history, has been exhilarating, and again, validating that the Harbor program is unique and has served students in ways that stand the test of time!

We look forward to seeing many of you at the Golden Gala on Saturday evening, as we celebrate this important milestone for the school! In case you are wondering, dress for the evening can be described as cocktail attire. Parking information is available as a slide on the main page of the website. The menu for the evening includes passed hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour, a mixed greens and pear salad, herb roasted salmon, chicken piccata, fried green tomatoes with tofu, rosemary fingerling potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and petite dessert shots- and of course an open bar. The final details and set up for the event are coming together, including a display of items representing the rich Harbor history we share, displays of the silent/online auction items, and student projects from the nautical Spiral theme we shared this year - perfect for our theme of A Nautical Night. (If you decide you want to join us on Saturday evening and haven’t registered, we do have a few spots for late registrations.)

Whether or not you are able to join us on Saturday evening, we hope that you will bid on items in our silent auction! There are a variety of items (which you can sort/filter by category), including gift cards to restaurants you may already frequent or some you may want to try, educational and enriching experiences for your children, fitness and spa packages, and much more. The class artwork serves as special keepsakes of this moment in time for your child, and the class baskets are chock full of great items related to each theme. Items that are listed as "uniquely Harbor" include a day with Archer, VIP pick up for dismissal for next year, a ride to school on the Harbor bus, an opportunity to name the multipurpose room, and front row seats to upcoming Harbor events. Finally, don’t miss your opportunity to sign your child up for a very special outing with their teacher (or another Harbor teacher, including our specials teachers!) - an experience they will always remember! These are first come, first serve, and some are already filling up!

If you are interested in bidding on the three live auction items (tickets to a Commanders game, a large bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, and the opportunity for your child to be the Head of School for a day), but won’t be attending the event, please reach out to us at administration@theharborschool.org and we can put you in touch with someone who can bid on your behalf.

We are also asking families to take this opportunity to help us get closer to our goal of $100,000 for the Fund for the Future, by raising your virtual paddle for financial aid. A contribution on the auction website will count towards our participation goal of 100% by the current community, in our 50th year. 

We are so excited to celebrate our 50th with you all in the coming days with the auction and Golden Gala. Thank you, as always, for your support and engagement in the Harbor community!

Warm regards,

Leah Musico

Head of School