History
In 1958, Spencer P. Kennard became the first headmaster of a brand-new country day school in Saint James. Among his many tasks was to create a symbol for the school, and rather quickly he and Mrs. Kennard, along with the board of trustees, selected the scallop shell as the school's symbol.
The scallop shell has special, layered meanings. It evokes our proximity to Long Island Sound. It is a symbol of the town of Saint James, and is the state shell of the State of New York. Thus it strongly suggests a connection with our locale and our local history. But it means more as well. It has been a powerful symbol going back at least to the Middle Ages, when it became associated with the figure of Saint James, and thus came to symbolize the virtue of charity, as well as the pilgrimage or journey—in our case, the journey of education. The scallop shell has also been used in heraldry, and appears on the family crest of none other than Winston Churchill. In one of the school's first formal documents, the scallop shell was hand-drawn - not once, but four times!

Soon after, Mrs. Kennard incorporated the scallop shell into a crest that would embody the school's nature and aspirations. She chose a shield, which suggests tradition, and an open scroll, which connotes learning, on a deep forest-green field. It's a safe bet that Mr. Kennard chose the Latin motto, Sine labore nihil - Without work, nothing, which generations of Harbor students have taken to heart. Thus Harbor's shield, with its Latin motto, its scallop shell, and its parchment scroll, together suggest tradition, charity, hard work, and the journey of education. It has been closely identified with Harbor for five decades.