Monica Kendall Visits St. B's
by Virginia Tracy
On Friday, September 30, Monica Kendall, the granddaughter of St. B’s founder, visited the school for a day filled with activity. In June Ms. Kendall attended the gathering the school held in her hometown of London and she decided to return the favor by stopping by during her trip to New York City. Ms. Kendall was in town for some sightseeing and this was her first visit to 4 East 98th Street since 1977. She was very excited to show us a guide book of New York City, which listed St. Bernard’s as a destination on her map!
On Friday, September 30, Monica Kendall, the granddaughter of St. B’s founder, visited the school for a day filled with activity. In June Ms. Kendall attended the gathering the school held in her hometown of London and she decided to return the favor by stopping by during her trip to New York City. Ms. Kendall was in town for some sightseeing and this was her first visit to 4 East 98th Street since 1977. She was very excited to show us a guide book of New York City, which listed St. Bernard’s as a destination on her map!
Ms. Kendall arrived in time for Friday assembly and she was immediately overwhelmed by the warm welcome she received from the boys and the headmaster. Mr. Johnson unveiled an archival photograph and asked the boys if they knew the identity of the man in the picture. Ms. Kendall was thrilled to witness the number of hands shoot up in the air—just about all the boys recognized that the man was our first headmaster (and her maternal grandfather), John C. Jenkins.
Ms. Kendall was treated to a fine assembly; Ms. Loree took us on a tour of Japan with a wonderful slide show of her recent travels there. Ms. Kendall commented that she was impressed by our cohesive community and the positive energy felt in the room that morning. Breakfast in the faculty room was followed by a tour of the school. In some ways the school had changed quite a bit since 1977, and in others, it was very much as she had remembered it almost thirty-five years ago. Ms. Kendall’s visit was capped off by attending Mr. Bowcock's entertaining English class as he worked with the eighth grade boys on this year’s Shakespeare play, As You Like It. Ms. Kendall is looking forward to returning to New York again soon.
