Katonah- It was a day of great tradition Monday on the campus of The Harvey School in Katonah as students and staff gathered to celebrate Founders Day.
Two sixth-grade middle school students, Andrew Lebowitz of Larchmont and Karina Saxton of Bedford Hills had the honor of being the first to partake in the eating of the celebratory cake when students and staff gathered to honor the independent school’s founders, Dr. Herbert Carter and his wife Mabel. Headmaster Barry Fenstermacher cut the cake and, keeping to the annual tradition, gave the first slices to the two youngest members of the student body, Andrew, the youngest boy and Karina, the youngest girl.
Andrew said he was nervous to get all the attention. “It’s not like I did anything special, but I was glad I was selected,” he said. Karina said, “It was really cool.” When told that her name will be forever recorded as part of the school’s history, she quipped, “I guess I’ll be Harvey famous.” She added, “I’ll be able to look back on this day and feel like someone special.”
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Headmaster Fenstermacher reminded the gathering that the school, founded in 1916, will soon celebrate its centennial. He said Dr. Carter and his wife founded the residential school to help provide an education for their son who suffered from a weak heart. They believed Herbert Junior would thrive in a fresh air environment that a rural setting would provide. The Carters named the school after Sir William Harvey, a 17th century English physician noted as the first to describe the mechanics of blood circulation.
As part of the festivities, the Headmaster also revealed the winner of his challenge. He had asked the student body to identify and describe in 25 words or less what they thought was the greatest invention in history. The 110 responses he received ran the gamut from electricity to the internet, but the Headmaster found the answers from three students to be the most thoughtful.
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The first honorable mention went to 6th grader Jason Lee of Stamford, Conn. for naming prosthetics. Freshman Julia Slater of North Salem was second honorable mention for suggesting antibiotics. The winning suggestion came from Alex Breitenbach of Wilton, Conn. The sixth-grader said language was the greatest invention of humankind, and the Headmaster agreed.
When students went to the cafeteria for lunch later in the day, they picked up a slice of the sheet cake for dessert.
