The Avalon School

The Avalon School is a private independent day school for boys currently in Bethesda, Maryland, with plans to move to Clarksburg, Maryland, in the United States. It is associated with the Brookewood School, a private school for girls in Kensington, Maryland, and the Thomas Moore Institute, an umbrella program for homeschoolers. Started by Richard McPherson and Kevin Davern in 2003 with a group of teachers from The Heights.

Houses

The Avalon School has four houses inspired by the old English houses, or families. The Houses at avalon are:

CALVERT HOUSEGeorge and, later, Cecil Calvert (the First and Second Lords Baltimore) established Maryland as a colony in which Catholics and Protestants could enjoy mutual religious freedom - a concept of tolerance that would be shared by neither England nor her other colonies until the establishment of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. With both the Colony of Avalon and the establishment of Maryland, their efforts represented not only a spirit of adventurous courage, but also a sense of Pilgrimage to a land which might afford men the free practice of their faith.

In honor of Maryland's founding family, Avalon's Calvert House bears on its arms the Ship, symbolic of the Ark and the Dove which brought Maryland's first colonists, and the Shell as a traditional symbol of pilgrimage. This house is distinguished by the color GREEN, which according to tradition was borne by King Arthur in his own coat of arms, and is symbolic of Ireland, where the original Baltimore that gave the Calverts their title is located.

CARROLL HOUSEThe Carroll family, an early and influential Catholic family from Colonial Maryland, supplied not only a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, but also the first American Bishop, John Carroll. Both of these men provided regional and national leadership before, during and after the Revolutionary War, and John Carroll's influence is credited with having helped to insure the religious liberties enshrined in the new Federal Constitution, when only four of the thirteen States had chosen to do so in their own.

In honor of this family which so strongly contributed to the forming of Maryland as a State, and to the very character of the Nation, Avalon's Carroll House bears in its coat of arms the Double Headed Eagle (the embodiment of one eagle symbolizing the Gospel of John, and the other the American Eagle), and the Star (a symbol of Christian Hope), emblazoned on a background of BLUE (the color of loyalty, peace, and the heavens).

STEWART HOUSEThe Stewart Dynasty, which ruled England, Scotland and Ireland, oversaw England's first successful colonies in the New World, and their names have been enshrined from Jamestown, through the Carolinas, to Annapolis. James I (Stewart) knighted his former Secretary of State, George Calvert, as the First Lord Baltimore, and granted him permission to found the Colony of Avalon in Newfoundland. The next Stewart, Charles I, granted the Charter for Maryland to Cecil Calvert, the Second Lord Baltimore.

In honor of these Royal Founders, Avalon's Stewart House bears on its coat of arms the royal Lion Rampant (from the flag of Scotland where the dynasty first began), the Horn (as a call to battle or the hunt), and is distinguished by the color RED (the fierce color most traditionally reserved for royalty).

WASHINGTON HOUSEThough not from Maryland himself, George Washington had close ties with some prominent Maryland families, including the Carrolls, which contributed to the formation of the character that so formed the nation itself. His friendship with John Carroll was demonstrated on a number of very public occasions and, in light of their quite distinct backgrounds, can perhaps be seen as a symbol of the new unity which both men were helping to forge out of the former colonies. Washington's influence on all of the newly united States, in any case, can hardly be overstated, and his decision to place the new Nation's Capital on land given by both Virginia and Maryland has only further underlined the influence that he had and continues to have on the State of Maryland.

In his honor, then, Avalon's Washington House bears on its arms both the Sword (to represent strong and stalwart leadership in battle), and the Right Hand (for open, sincere, and just rule in peace), emblazoned on its distinct color of SILVER (betokening purity and justice).

Relations to Montgomery County Schools

They follow their snow day closings, delayed openings and early dismissals.

The Avalon School Website

www.avalonschools.org

External links

* [http://www.avalonschools.org/ School website]