Convocation: Celebrating the Life of
Helen Dixon Convocation began early on September 15, as Steward seniors walked hand-inhand with kindergartners through the colonnade and into the Athletic Center. This year’s Convocation marked an important milestone in the School’s history, as we celebrated the life of the School’s founder Helen Fowlkes Dixon. Headmaster Ken Seward began Convocation by welcoming 126 new students. Assistant Head of School Carolyn Brandt followed with her fond memories of Helen Dixon. Ms. Brandt remembered the twinkle in her eyes, her selflessness, her humor, and her spunky, warm, and gracious nature. Ms. Brandt then stated that her own 30-year commitment to The Steward School has been grounded in her love of the School’s mission. That mission, Ms. Brandt believes, evolved out of the passionate dreams of Ms. Dixon. She said, “From the very beginning, Helen Dixon had a sense of what this new school’s mission should be. It should be a caring school, a school that stays small so that teachers develop a personal relationship with their students, and a school where teachers discover, encourage, and celebrate each child as unique.”
“From the very beginning, Helen Dixon had a sense of what this new school’s mission should be. It should be a caring school, a school that stays small so that teachers develop a personal relationship with their students, and a school where teachers discover, encourage, and celebrate each child as unique.” –Carolyn Brandt, Assistant Head of School
Resolution No. 510, which celebrates the life of Helen Dixon. A Senate Resolution, Senator Stosch noted, is a statement that honors an individual who has contributed greatly to his or her community and who the Senate holds in great esteem. The resolution outlines pinnacle moments in Ms. Dixon’s life and her work to establish The Steward School. The resolution now hangs outside the headmaster’s office.
Final words at this year’s Convocation came from Mrs. Brandt, “As a Steward family, we are all here to care for one another and to help one another reach our dreams. So, believe in yourself and your dreams. If we do that, we keep Helen Dixon’s dream alive.”
Don DeLaney, Board of Trustees Chair, then shared with the students more about Ms. Dixon’s early life. She was a native of Mobile, Alabama; graduated from Murphy High School in 1935; was the 1938 Queen of the Mobile Mardi Gras, and founded Miz Dixon’s School on Monument Avenue in Richmond. Mr. DeLaney explained that her hard work and dedication to teaching led to Miz Dixon’s School evolving into a preschool, daycare, summer camp, and eventually into The Steward School in 1972. The highlight of this year’s Convocation came when Senator Walter Stosch presented the School with Senate Joint Crossroads
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