Swain School marks 86 years
At its recent annual founder’s day celebration, The Swain School faculty, staff and students celebrated the 86th year of the school’s founding by D. Esther Swain.
The day’s events included a program in which Pat Wood Beldon, of Allentown, was honored with the annual Trustee Award for Community Service.
The award is given in recognition of service to the greater community by a member of The Swain School community.
In addition to serving the Swain community as a trustee from 2000 to 2008, Beldon is a founding member and former president of the Women’s Leadership Council of the United Way, an organization that raises and donates funds for educational opportunities for women and children. Beldon’s service projects include serving as a board member of the Community Bike Works. She is a past board member of The Program for Women and Families.
Beldon supports the Empty Bowls Committee, an annual fundraiser for Second Harvest Food Bank and Bountiful Bowls Committee, which raises funds for Meals on Wheels in Lehigh County. She also holds membership in SOTA, the volunteer and fundraising arm of the Allentown Art Museum and is a member of the planning committee for the Girl Scouts’ annual Take the Lead dinner event.
Following the award presentation, all kindergarten students and all students and faculty new to Swain this year received an honor pin as part of a special pinning ceremony.
In addition to student performances, the annual founder’s day ceremony included the annual tree planting ceremony.
The ceremony was first held Oct. 24, 1951 at the school when D. Esther Swain organized the planting of a dedication tree in honor of United Nations Day.
This year’s tree was donated by the family of Dr. Jonathan and Jennifer Shingles of Hellertown, in honor of their children Luke, Class of 2017, Rose Class of 2019 and Jake Class of 2021. Jonathan Shingles is a member of the Class of 1988.
Representatives from each of the school’s preschool through eighth grade classrooms assisted Interim Head of School David Hursty in the tree-planting ceremony.