The Arch of Excellence: An Educational Legacy
In the peaceful town of Faribault, on the Straight River in southern Minnesota in the USA, lies an elite academic institution with a legacy brought forth from generations past to present. Shattuck-St. Mary’s School is a prestigious American boarding school with roots deeply entrenched in 160 years of educational expertise. What started out as Shattuck Grammar School, a boarding school for boys, evolved into a military school and later merged with St. Mary’s School for girls and St. James’ School for younger boys to form the present-day co-educational preparatory school.
An iconic arch, engraved with the word “Shattuck”, sits on the freshly trimmed lawn, framing the school from its entrance. Named the Whitney Memorial Arch, it was constructed from the same limestone blockades that formed the famed Shattuck and Whipple Halls, and is the most well-known part of the Shattuck-St. Mary’s School campus, proudly represented as the school logo.
World-class musicians, Olympic-level athletes and prominent politicians and world leaders from all corners of the globe have been educated here, passing through its hallowed halls to triumph in the world ahead, each making a difference in their own way. Yet the one thing that all Shattuck-St. Mary’s School students have in common is the life-changing Arch experience. Standing before it upon beginning their journey at the school, alumni as well as current and future students are united by the sentiment of walking under the majestic Whitney Memorial Arch.
The Arch is more than just a physical structure. It is an experience. As students pass under the Arch, they don’t just enter the school premises; the Arch becomes a symbol of the genesis of their greatest adventure in self-discovery, transforming the way they see the world. They will leave from under the Arch, refined and ready to take on the world before them and beyond.
The symbolic Arch sitting at the helm of Shattuck-St. Mary’s School is ingrained through thousands of vivid memories in the lives of students, past and present, the world over. It is now set to become a pivotal point for all students entering Shattuck-St. Mary’s Forest City International School in Johor Bahru.
According to Head of School Graham Gamble, “We are creating the education of the world; we are making the scholars of tomorrow in the city of the future!” As students of Shattuck-St. Mary’s Forest City International School walk past the Arch, they can be assured that they are in for a life-changing experience.
Shattuck-St. Mary’s Forest City International School is the first educational institution in Forest City, an intelligent eco-city comprising four man-made islands in the south of Peninsular Malaysia. Registration for its Fall 2018 intake in August is currently ongoing.
