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Lawrence Academy Groton, Massachusetts
L A CAMPUS
Lawrence Academy recognizes you for who you are and inspires you to take responsibility for who you want to become.
Lawrence Academy fosters a powerful opportunity to shape both individual lives and the greater community. Founded in 1793, Lawrence Academy is one of the oldest independent schools in the United States. Situated in picturesque Groton, Mass., our 140-acre campus lies just 35 miles northwest of Boston, in the heart of New England, and is home to 395 students. Turn the page to learn more about our community and get a sense of all that LA has to oer, from a rigorous academic curriculum to an award-winning arts program, championship athletics, and much more.
L A ADVISORY
GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT
Campus Core e advisor system is at the heart of the LA experience. In its most basic sense, an advisory is a group of six to eight students and one faculty advisor who monitors the students’ welfare and academic progress. But oen, an advisor’s role grows into one of guidance, motivation, and friendship as the group evolves into a close-knit unit, providing a strong structure of support that gives students the confidence and inspiration necessary to step outside their comfort zones. ree mornings a week, advisor groups meet for 15 minutes before the start of the academic day; the other two mornings, they sit together at 15-minute all-school assemblies. ough it may seem short in the grand scheme of things, this time together builds the relationships and trust that create what students have called one of the most important components of their years at LA.
L A ACADEMICS
CURIOSITY
AND
E X P L O R AT I O N
What It All Means Student-centered learning is essential to academics at LA. is focus is built on a trusting relationship and open dialogue between students and faculty. Framed by the belief that intelligence is not fixed, our courses take into account that:
Quick Facts: • 13 students in an average-sized class • 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio • 140 academic course offerings
• learning is driven by our students’ interests; • knowledge and skills are learned when they are needed; and • meaning is derived through experience.
• 40 advanced- and honors-level courses
So pick up a paintbrush; inspect a crime scene in Forensics; voice your ideas; write a story. Across the curriculum, our students are encouraged to build off of their own knowledge as they navigate waters that may be entirely new to them, and learn that casting off from the safe harbor does not mean you have to lose sight of shore.
• Understand failure and strive for success
Focus: • Work independently and collaboratively • Value structure and exercise creativity • Articulate personal views and develop empathy • Pursue curiosity and practice reasoning
L A ACADEMICS
SEMINAR-BASED LEARNING
Active Learning In seminars, students demonstrate how well they prepare for — and participate in — a class discussion devoted to exploring assigned questions, topics, or texts. Success in a seminar depends on learning from teachers and, more importantly, from peers how to better listen, speak, use evidence, formulate thoughtful responses, and conduct yourself respectfully. Seminars prize discovery and discussion over debate, and collaboration over competition, as students take responsibility for their own progress, and the progress of the entire class, in understanding a topic. Along the way, seminars reinforce the skills that are critical to student-centered study: active learning, keeping an open mind, and careful analysis of evidence — all with a seriousness of purpose and a spirit of experimentation.
A Sample of Course and Elective Offerings: • Conflict and Change in Society • Marine Science • Honors U.S. Government • Honors Physics • Mythological Literature • Honors Visual Art • The World of Dance • Anatomy and Physiology • Linear Algebra • Modern Chinese
L A INDEPENDENT IMMERSION PROGRAM
O U T S I D E L A’ S W A L L S
Year-Long Immersive Education
Summer at Johns Hopkins
Have you ever wanted to design your own program of study and work independently? rough LA’s Independent Immersion Program (IIP), you can. e more-than-40-yearold program is unique among independent schools and well-known by colleges and universities across the country. Students who are accepted into the program work with the program director and a faculty mentor to create their own unique course of study, which can include internships and working with professionals.
Another opportunity available to junior LA IIP students is the chance to participate in summer programs at Johns Hopkins University, where students can enroll in undergraduate courses, reside on campus, earn college credit for their work, and even take master classes.
What LA Students Have Researched LA students have studied Film/Video, Marine Biology, Visual Arts, Performance eatre, International Affairs, Creative Writing, Music Composition, Special Effects Make-up, Ethnomusicology, and Voice (in some cases for two years) in the IIP.
L A WINTERIM
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Your Adventure Is Out There If you happened across an LA student inspecting wildlife in the heart of the Amazon, riding a horse on a ranch in Colorado, farming in the Waipio Valley in Hawaii, or painting on the beaches of Portugal, you’d have some questions. But those are just a small sample of the many opportunities offered during Winterim, a two-week mini-term during the month of March. Based on a belief in the value of experiential learning, Winterim offers students a variety of local, domestic, and international intensive courses, ranging from volunteering as a classroom teacher at Head Start in Lowell, Mass., to learning to sail in the Caribbean, to digging at an archaeological site in Italy. In groups of 8 to 16, students and teachers immerse themselves in the world outside the classroom through service opportunities, travel, and more.
L A COMMUNIT Y LIFE
Quick Facts:
• 9 student residences
• 195 boarding studen 200 day students
• 16 percent internatio students
CAMPUS CAMARADERIE
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Our Diverse Community of Learners
A Home Away From Home From the history-laden walls of Bigelow Hall to the sprawling green lawn outside Elm Tree, dorm life at LA will make even the student who has traveled farthest feel right at home. Like their advisory group, a student’s fellow residents form another community within a community, strengthening the sense of camaraderie on campus. Each dorm has at least one faculty residence, as well as student proctors, to provide care and leadership. Along with dinners, cook-outs, and other activities organized by dorm parents and proctors, students can sign up for at least 12 activities every weekend to change things up and have some fun off campus.
Across the LA campus and in every part of school life, Lawrence Academy seeks to encourage the voice of every community member and invites a spirit of education as a means of celebrating diversity. In this effort, the school aims to acknowledge each individual’s unique qualities regardless of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, ability, religious affiliation, and political views. Along with the organization of several student clubs focused on these efforts – such as Girl Up, the Gender Sexuality Alliance, and Umoja – LA also has a program called L.A.M.P. (Lawrence Academy Mentorship Program), which provides support for students who self-identify as underrepresented and have expressed interest in receiving additional support. rough the combination of clubs, L.A.M.P., and our academic programming, there are a variety of experiences that foster conversation with students about various diversity, equality, and inclusion topics that resonate directly on our campus and in the greater world outside of LA’s walls.
L A TRADITIONS
A LOVE
OF
TRADITION
Year After Year Rest assured, tradition at LA is anything but boring; in fact, we’re a place that likes to mix the old with the new. Some traditions are just emerging, while others have been mainstays for years. Here are just a sample of some of the time-honored events that take place on our campus:
Mountain Day Some take their time to reach the top; others run to climb it twice. Every September, the entire school takes a break from the classroom for a day and travels to New Hampshire to hike the trails of Mount Monadnock. One of LA’s oldest traditions, the day includes a cookout, gorgeous views, and an all-school photo at the summit — in short, the perfect way to kick off the school year.
The Judith French Poetry Recitation Each year, the junior English classes hold three rounds of competition, during which students choose a poem to recite in front of their classmates. If they’re selected to move on to the next round, they compete in a class-wide semifinal, and from there, nine or ten juniors are selected for the honor of reciting their poems in front of the entire student body in the championship round.
L A TRADITIONS
VISITING SCHOLARS
J. William Mees Visiting Scholar Program
Spirit Week
In October 2014, three months before the debut of his hit play Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda came to LA to visit classes and engage with students, thanks to the J. William Mees Visiting Scholar Program. Established in 2010, the fund’s purpose is to bring professionals to campus to give Lawrence Academy students a first-hand opportunity to learn what they do and how they have been successful in their fields. Along with Miranda, past visiting scholars have included poet Taylor Mali, science professor Dr. Peter M. Groffman, singer/songwriter Dar Williams, nationally acclaimed author Andre Dubus III, and educator, author, and founder of the Moral Courage Project Irshad Manji.
It’s never been more fun to dress up than it is at LA during the last week of October. emes may include Pajama Day, Twin Day, Pink-Out for Breast Cancer Awareness, Spartan Spirit Day, and, last but not least, Halloween. Each day brings a host of surprises and creative attire, but one thing’s for sure: You’ll be doing double-takes all week.
Spoon Hunt An annual week-long, school-wide game of tag. Both students and faculty can sign up, and at the start of the week, everyone receives a spoon with their own name written on one side and someone else’s on the other. e premise is this: Tag the person on your spoon during the academic day while you’re outside. Whether you’re running aer your quarry or hiding from whomever is trying to tag you, Spoon Hunt includes ample amounts of excitement, strategy, and fancy footwork.
L A ARTS
DISCOVERY THROUGH EXPRESSION
Arts at LA
LA Dance at the Fringe Festival
An integral part of the curriculum at Lawrence Academy, the arts department offers an assortment of programs on multiple levels in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. Whether you’re drawing a still-life, developing film, or navigating the freeform flow of improvisation, arts at LA are always in motion as students explore the possibilities of artistic expression.
Offered as both an academic class and a sport, LA’s dance program has been invited to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a world-renowned international theatre event, in recent years. But you don’t have to travel that far to enjoy an LA dance production; all dance students participate in performances in the Black Box studio at the end of each term, an event that never fails to draw a packed audience.
L A ATHLETICS
# G O L A S PA RTA N S
The Teams “…To love the game beyond the prize.”
The League “To set the cause above renown…” All LA teams belong to the 16-member Independent School League (ISL), as well as the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC). A strong and fiercely competitive league, the ISL values honorable representation, proper conduct, and good sportsmanship.
LA athletics offer a range of activities for students of all abilities. From our varsity teams to junior varsity and thirds, students can compete intensely in their favorite sport and are encouraged to branch out and try a sport that might be entirely new to them. And, just as our teachers do in the classroom, our coaches train, motivate, and guide their players to an understanding of the importance of investing your energy in the little things in order to build off of your own work as well as your teammates’ — in other words, if you put the effort into practice and warm-ups, you’ll be prepared for the game.
L A ATHLETICS
S PA RTA N N AT I O N
#GoLASpartans At LA, athletics are as fun on the sidelines as they are on the field. Avid fan sections, led by the Spartan Spirit Club, are out in full voice at many home games throughout each season.
Recent Titles Varsity Football: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 ISL Champions 2014, 2015, 2017 NEPSAC Bowl Champions Varsity Boys’ Hockey: 2012 NEPSAC Champions 2018 NEPSAC – Small School Champions Hockey Night in Boston News 2012 Awards Banquet New England Prep Private Elite Division Team of the Year 2012 NEPSAC Elite Tournament Champions 2009, 2017 ISL Keller Division Champions Varsity Girls’ Field Hockey: 2008 ISL (Undefeated) Champions 2017 NEPSAC Quarter Finalists Varsity Girls’ Basketball: 2014 NEPSAC Quarter Finalists 2015, 2016 NEPSAC Semi-finalists Varsity Boys’ Soccer: 2015 NEPSAC Finalist 2014 ISL & NEPSAC Class-B Champions 2013 ISL (Undefeated) Champions & NEPSAC Finalist Varsity Girls’ Soccer: 2011-2012 NEPSAC Class-B Finalist 2002 NEPSAC Class-B Co-champions Varsity Boys’ Baseball: 2011 ISL (Undefeated) Champions Varsity Boys’ Basketball: 2010 ISL (Undefeated) New England Class-C Champions Varsity Girls’ Skiing: 2011 New England Class-C Champions Varsity Boys’ Skiing: 2008-2009 New England Class-C Champions Varsity Girls’ Volleyball: 2017 NEPSAC Semi-finalists 2016 NPSAC Quarter Finalists
BRIGHT FUTURES AHEAD
L A COLLEGE COUNSELING
Quick Facts: • In 2018: 95.6 percent of our seniors were admitted to one of their top three choices for college. • In 2018: 93 percent of the senior class were admitted to 50 percent or higher of the schools to which they applied.
The Right Fit Right now, college might look like a dot on a distant horizon. At LA, we recognize the importance of being able to focus on your high school experience while also staying informed about the next step. e College Counseling Office begins working with students during the fall term of their junior year in one-on-one meetings and group gatherings, and through written correspondence home. Your college counselor gets to know you as a person, student, and member of the LA community, and helps you identify colleges that fit your individual talents. Some day, college will seem a lot closer, and your plan will start to take shape, but in the meantime, our college counseling team is there to help you find a balance between enjoying your time at LA and preparing yourself for the next step. Most of the time, though, the two go hand in hand.
W W W. L AW R E N C E A C A D E M Y . I N F O 26 Powderhouse Road • P.O. Box 992 • Groton, MA 01450 • Admissions: 978-448-1530 • admiss@lacademy.edu