The Hornet/Jacket Fund is the new name for Buffalo Seminary's annual fund. It embraces our school's most beloved tradition to inspire participation and support for the school's immediate needs.

No problem! You can contact the Advancement Office at alumnae@buffaloseminary.org, and we'll be happy to look it up for you. If you are a parent or friend of the school, you can choose which team to support!

100% of your gift goes directly to supporting the school's operating budget, which includes everything from faculty salaries and financial aid to classroom technology and athletic equipment. Your gift has an immediate and tangible impact on the daily life of every SEM student.

The Hornet/Jacket competition is one of the most enjoyable aspects of Buffalo Seminary; it's also one of SEM's oldest traditions, dating back to 1916.

Legendary headmistress Miss L. Gertrude Angell organized SEM into two basketball teams in 1916 and it has grown into a school-wide intramural competition for over a century.

Each fall, on "Hornet/Jacket Day," every new student, faculty, and staff member is made a member of one of the teams. For life. Selection is a closely guarded process of the athletic directors and head of school. It may also be an inheritance - team membership is passed on through alumnae siblings and other family members who attended SEM.

Hornet/Jacket Day begins with a freshman sleepover at the school the night before, commences in the morning with a neighborhood costume parade and proceeds to our Larkin Field for group dances and field games. 

When you meet a SEM girl of any age, anywhere, the first thing you should ask is: Hornet or Jacket?

The two teams battle to win points in contests throughout the year - particularly for Spirit Week, Hornet/Jacket Day, the Halloween costume and skit contest, the Hanging of the Greens day's holiday sweater contest, school decorating and Bûche de Noël contest, and finally culminating in the Putting on the Hits contest in June when the winner of the Hornet/Jacket is announced and engraved on the Hornet/Jacket Spirit Cup.