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Following a very busy Saturday, Sunday began with Mass and brunch, after which prefects and programmers hurried to board a bus for the Clark Art Institute. In no time, they cruised through the majestic Berkshire Mountains toward Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the museum. The bus ride flew by as students talked, played Imposter and other word games, and prayed the Rosary together. 

After an hour’s ride, they arrived and moved into the museum together to explore its works of art. Tucked into the rolling green mountains of New England, the Clark Art Institute is not only charming on the exterior, but bursting with incredible and varying works of art. Students roamed in groups from room to room, admiring and considering the works of Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, and so many other master artists. One could walk straight from a gallery of silverworks into a hall of sculptures, wondering at the famed Sarah Bernhardt’s Self Portrait as a Chimera to gazing at a stunning Japanese-inspired Bureau Cabinet from the 1700’s. 

Bringing the pieces to life for themselves, a group of students started recreating the sculptures and paintings by positioning themselves like the characters in the artwork. Soon, most of the prefects and programmers were involved, and other museum-goers — as well as the Clark’s staff — grouped around the TACers as they modeled paintings and timeless works of art in the flesh, to the great amusement of their audience.

After hours of enjoying the artwork and everything the beautiful museum had to offer, the group headed back to campus for dinner: pork chops, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and rolls. Then it was down to the library for study hall, where students settled down to enjoy reading Genesis for tomorrow’s class and worked through their Euclid propositions for the next morning. Since students have been studying Euclid for almost a week now, the props are getting progressively more complex and take a little more imagination to grasp. After she finished demonstrating a prop for her study group, Isabel C. smiled, saying, “It seems so easy at first, but now you have to really think about it in order to see the truth in it, and that’s what makes it so amazing!”

Students next made their way to St. Frassati Student Center for a well-earned coffee shop break. They played card games and pool over Shirley Temples and potato chips and practiced their dancing in anticipation of this week’s upcoming semi-formal dance. 

The night came to a very exciting close with Open Mic Night, and everyone relocated to the auditorium in Olivia Music Hall for the show. The room was immediately packed, and prefects and programmers made their way to their seats loaded with snacks and energy. The acts ranged from card tricks to a barber shop quartet, from one student’s original poem on piety — inspired by the Euthyphro — to solos on guitar and piano. The conclusion of every act was greeted with a standing ovation from the excited audience, and the show came to a riotous end as the audience charged the stage for “Sweet Home Alabama,” followed by Cosmos F.’s performance with fire poi outside the building in the darkened evening. 

Finally, after another bursting and beautiful day, prefects and programmers returned to the dorms for consecration and bed. Don’t forget to check the Summer Blog again this afternoon as students return to class after the weekend!

More photos from the High School Summer Program

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