Moses Brown OPEN HOUSE Winter 2019
HOPE STREET
MS Conversations
Woodman Center Check-In and Campus Tours Matt Glendinning, Head of School
Burnham House LS Science MS & US Open Studio
Walter Jones Library Financial Aid Q&A School Leadership Meet and Greet
Y-Lab Explore the Y-Lab
Studio of the Three Oaks
Friends Hall US Conversations US Teacher Feature
Lower School LS Conversations
Woodshop Lower School Art
ALUMNI AVENUE
Hoffman House
D OY LL E
NU
E AV
Full Day Schedule • 3
Full Day Schedule 1:30–3:30 p.m.
Open House check-in and guided tours Woodman Center
1:30–3:30 p.m.
What Distinguishes Moses Brown? Lower school: Lower school classrooms Middle school: Hoffman House, 1st floor Upper school: Friends Hall, Upper Dwares
1:30–3:30 p.m.
Open workshops in arts and STEM Art studios, LS science classroom, and the Y-Lab
1:45–2:15 p.m.
Financial aid Q&A Hugh Madden, Director of Admission & Financial Aid Walter Jones Library
2:15–2:45 p.m.
Upper School Teacher Feature Brett Ford, math: Pick a Card, Any Card Friends Hall, Lubrano Room
3:00–3:30 p.m.
Head of School Presentation Matt Glendinning Woodman Center
3:30–4:00 p.m.
Meet and greet with school leadership Walter Jones Library
If you have questions during the day, MB volunteers wearing yellow lanyards will be happy to help you!
4 • About Moses Brown
About Moses Brown Moses Brown School was founded in 1784 by a Quaker entrepreneur who partnered with Samuel Slater to launch the American Industrial Revolution in Pawtucket, R.I. Located on 33 acres in urban Providence, the school enrolls 750 students ages 3-18 and sends 100% of its graduates to some of the nation’s most selective colleges and universities. In the two centuries since, Moses Brown has been a place that nurtures the unique talents and attributes of children, urges them on toward new levels of self-discovery and achievement, and always insists on a rigorous commitment to integrity. MB’s academic program is a multidisciplinary liberal arts curriculum that integrates broad-based understanding with strong analytical and communication skills. Every discipline requires students to read with insight, speak persuasively, and write clearly. Socratic and inquiry-based teaching nurtures initiative, self-confidence, and openness to new perspectives. MB’s athletic programs yield teams that are successful on and off the field, and our student-athletes regularly go on to compete at the college level in all divisions. Actors, musicians, and fine artists attend some of the most prestigious arts colleges, and student and alumni writers are frequently published. Moses Brown alumni excel in a broad range of human endeavors—Emmywinning producers, leading technology entrepreneurs, doctors called in to deal with terrible pandemics, and social activists who dedicate themselves to lives of service. We hope you enjoy your time at MB. If you find it as engaging and stimulating as we do, we hope you’ll consider joining our community. Come back for a visit—we’d love to see you.
Quakerism at MB • 5
What makes Moses Brown different? Moses Brown is a Quaker school. Quakerism holds that we all have an Inner Light and are equally deserving of dignity and respect. Since the 17th century, this has afforded a genuine welcome to people of all faiths. The central practice of Friends is Quaker meeting for worship, an extended period of shared silence and reflection. Open to all, meeting invites participants to reflect inwardly and if so moved, to share a message with the community. For two centuries, these beliefs and practices have placed Quakers at the forefront of education with an unwavering commitment to giving and being one’s personal best. Students learn to respect themselves and others, and demonstrate that respect by doing good work and serving other people. In an educational setting this means three things: Everyone matters. Quaker pedagogy insists that we care for each other as a community, hearing and respecting everyone’s voice, and making sure that school is a safe place for every child. Silence matters. A practice of reflection and inquiry is essential to living a life of meaning and purpose. In a busy world, these skills are often overlooked. At Moses Brown, we all make time to reflect, to be thoughtful, and to ask probing questions. Truth matters. For more than two centuries, MB has fostered in students a foundation of personal integrity and respect for others, including the non-violent resolution of conflict and a desire to make a positive difference in the world.
6 • Head of School
Meet Matt Glendinning
Head of School
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Woodman Center Moses Brown has been a leader in American education since 1784. Join Head of School Matt Glendinning to learn how MB prepares children to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Project-based learning and real-world problem solving make academics at MB vital and relevant. TRIPs give students a first-hand look at other cultures, and a way to better understand their own. And as a Quaker school, MB nurtures the Inner Light of each child and helps them tap every ounce of their potential.
Division Leaders • 7
Meet the Leaders 3:30 – 4:00 p.m. Walter Jones Library Be sure to say hello to (left to right) OJ Martí, Jared Schott, and Gara Field, the heads of lower, middle, and upper school! They’ll share the scope and sequence of their curricula, as well as useful insights about child development and school culture.
8 • Lower School
What distinguishes lower school at Moses Brown?
Conversations with MB faculty, parents, and students 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Lower school classrooms
Lower school is where children learn that they really love learning–and that they’re good at it. As a Quaker school, social and emotional growth, mindfulness, resilience, and play have been part of our program for over 234 years, and our classroom teachers are supported by a team of specialists to give students additional support and acceleration. Whether they’re learning to use hand tools in wood shop, engineering a suspension bridge in the Y-Lab, or singing under the lights in the Woodman Center, lower schoolers get to enjoy the full range of opportunities available at Moses Brown. To get a better sense of what school could be like for your family, stop by and chat with teachers who can give you a first-hand look at lower school at Moses Brown.
Open Workshop • 9
Sarah Barnum Lower school art
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Studio of the Three Oaks, upper level Art Smart! Lower School Art Teacher Sarah Barnum will talk about how fine arts are woven into the lower school curriculum. While you’re here, visit several art-making stations with fun activities like origami, beading, cardboard constructions, and drawing!
10 • Open Workshop
Elizabeth Grumbach Lower school science
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Burnham House, B104 Little Chairs, Big Science In Moses Brown’s lower school science lab, children get to exercise their curiosity, explore how the world works, and try things for themselves. Today, you can do likewise! Design your own plumbing system with PVC piping, or make a straw rocket. While you’re here, be sure to make friends with Elmer the Red-footed Tortoise and Petrie our Bearded Dragon lizard!
Open Workshop • 11
Randy Street
Lower and middle school woodshop 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Studio of the Three Oaks, lower level Hammer and a Nail Woodshop is always a favorite class! Explore the woodshop and see creations by our kindergarten–fifth grade students.
12 • Middle School
What distinguishes middle school at Moses Brown?
Conversations with MB faculty, parents, and students 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Hoffman House, 1st floor
Middle school is a time of transition and tremendous growth for children. At Moses Brown, it’s also when they discover that the ‘awkward years’ might be some of the best years ever. Many adults think of their tween years with a shudder. But after seeing middle school at Moses Brown, they often say, “I wish I could go back!” Students dive into academic challenges and new levels of freedom and responsibility. They learn to understand and advocate for themselves with integrity in an environment that is both supportive and challenging. With a collaborative and dynamic corps of expert, innovative educators, students reap tremendous benefits from integrated units that cross academic disciplines, allowing students to learn with breadth and depth. To get a better sense of what school could be like for your family, stop by and chat with teachers who can give you a first-hand look at middle school at Moses Brown.
Open Studio • 13
Kristin Street / Dominique Avila Upper and Middle School Art 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Burnham House, 3rd floor Try your hand making richly textured and patterned paste paper with Kristin. You’ll use brushes and hand tools to work the surface of paper that has been coated with still-wet colored paste. We’ll have lots of marking tools and pre-mixed pastes on hand, and you can also experiment with making your own. Then let Dominique teach you how to use a variety of folding and binding techniques to create your own book. Whether you use it as a photo album, journal, or scrapbook, your creation is sure to find a cozy place on your bookshelf!
14 • Upper School
What distinguishes upper school at Moses Brown?
Conversations with MB faculty, parents, and students 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Friends Hall, Upper Dwares
High school is when children begin to discover their inner selves. They encounter the excitement of electives, where the joy of a favorite subject makes school feel more like a form of intense intellectual play than work. They find out they really love lacrosse, or acting, or stoichiometry, or Latin declensions. Students walk through adolescence with a team of top-notch educators who partner with parents to make sure all students make the most of their school experience. At Moses Brown, it’s not just about what students get–it’s about learning how much they have to give. As students enjoy their classes, clubs, and after-school activities, they’re also reminded that they bear a responsibility to go out and make a positive difference in the world. To get a better sense of what school could be like for your family, stop by and chat with teachers and students who can give you a first-hand look at upper school at Moses Brown.
Teacher Feature • 15
Brett Ford
Upper school math 2:15 – 2:45 p.m. Friends Hall, Lubrano Room Pick a Card, Any Card How can we estimate the average human body temperature? Can we know the average amount of sleep a student gets per night? How can exit polls predict the winner of an election? Many questions like these are answered by making inferences from samples, but how do we know the conclusions are reasonably accurate? Join upper school mathematics teacher Brett Ford for a fun card simulation that quickly (and enjoyably!) teaches the foundation of inferential statistics: the central limit theorem. We will also briefly explore random behavior, expectation, and sampling variability using a few scripts written in Python, a popular programming language.
16 • Open Workshop
Explore the Y-Lab 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Y-Lab
David Husted
Director of Innovation & Design Visit the Y-Lab, Moses Brown’s home for Engineering & Design! Inside you’ll find 5,000 square feet of cutters, routers, printers, industrial sewing machines, and media production tools to make just about anything you can imagine! Explore rapid prototyping of 2D and 3D objects with a desktop CNC wire bender. Watch the laser cutter turn CAD files into custom cut-outs and etching! This versatile tool is fun to watch as it turns a variety of materials into art, signs, and robot parts!
Erika McEnery
Lower school technology / integrator Watch your little one become a computer programmer with Code-A-Pillar! This fun interactive toy introduces preschoolers to procedural programming with colorful, interchangeable body segments that tell Code-A-Pillar where to go. As they write, evaluate, and revise their program, you’ll know that they’re exercising their critical thinking, planning, and problem-solving skills, but they’ll only know they’re having fun! Students will also get to build LEGO® bots with working motors and sensors, and explore cross-curricular, theme-based activities that enhance their STEM knowledge and creative problem-solving abilities.
Beyond the school day: When the school day ends, many Moses Brown students are in no hurry to leave, and it’s easy to understand why. With plays, music ensembles, clubs, enrichment opportunities, a state-of-theart library for quiet study, and plenty of room for relaxing with friends, MB is a great place to be! Whether they buy a snack in the Woodman Café, get homework help from a teacher, use MB studios to hone their artistry, or give their all on the playing field, days are so enriching that they often stretch well past 3 p.m.
Academic Enrichment • VEX robotics
Busy When the Bell Rings The school day officially ends at 3 p.m. at Moses Brown—but it’s understandable if that’s not immediately apparent. On a sunny afternoon, a walk around campus is likely to feature these things all going on at once: Lower schoolers playing on two adjacent playgrounds, exploring woods and bushes, and running around the track, while on the field boys run plays in football practice, or girls practice shooting drills for an upcoming field hockey championship. Students in the Y-Lab designing, building, and programming robots, and testing to see they work. Middle schoolers playing frisbee on the front circle, while upper school students relax with a game of Spikeball.
• Mock trial • Math Olympiad • Studio time • Various academic, service, and interest clubs
Artistic opportunities
A middle school girls’ soccer game in progress, while the middle school boys’ team cheers them on and waits their turn. Lessons and ensembles practicing their instruments in Gifford House.
• Music ensembles • M B in Rep • Open Studios
Study and social spaces • Woodman Café • L ibrary (with academic support) • G rove & Peace Garden
Athletics • Field Hockey
• Squash
• Football
• Ice Hockey
• Soccer
• B aseball
• Tennis
• Softball
• Cross Country
• L acrosse
• B asketball
• Track & Field
• Indoor Track
• Sailing
• Swimming
• G olf
Several dozen children from DelSesto Middle School receiving academic support and learning squash alongside Moses Brown squash team members. Tennis teams practicing for an upcoming match beside a boys’ varsity soccer game (with a huge crowd along the sidelines). Two separate productions rehearsing for MBinRep, with actors and crew playing versatile roles in both shows. Students of all ages and grades enjoying snacks and chatting in the Woodman Café. Upper and middle school students studying quietly in the library. Lower schoolers making art at Three Oaks’ open studios.
18 • Financial Aid
Meet Hugh Madden
Director of Admission and Financial Aid 1:45 – 2:15 p.m. Walter Jones Library Moses Brown offers financial aid to over 25% of students to ensure our community is filled with the very best scholars, artists, and athletes. Join Hugh Madden to learn how the financial aid process works and have your questions answered in person.
How MB Believes will improve your child’s experience at Moses Brown! The Expert Thinking Model is MB’s focus on Project-Based Learning and Engineering & Design. • New upper school courses, an exciting collaboration with Hasbro, and a program in Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation in partnership with the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University. • Lower school coding curriculum includes Creatoverse, Daisy the Dino, Cargo-Bot, Code-a-Pillar, and an electrical circuits curriculum in lower school science. • Vex Robotics clubs in middle and upper school—the upper school robotics team made it to the World Championship to complete against 600 teams from around the world!
TRIPs (Travel, Research, and Immersion Programs) • In each of the last two years, over 400 MB students from all three divisions went on 15 trips—on top of the 40-year tradition of middle school team trips.
MB Believes A CAMPAIGN FOR LEARNING, PEOPLE, AND PLACE
It all started in 2012-13, with a 229-year tradition of educational excellence extended by a visionary head of school leading 42 Discernment Dialogues, with 1,000 community members, resulting in 1 vision for the future of education, with 3 guiding principles, our North Stars: Expert thinking Global stewardship Ethical leadership, and 9 distinct priorities, that inspired a $65.23 million campaign, with
• Recent destinations include: China, Nepal, Kenya, The Hague, Germany, Italy, Spain, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Galapagos Islands, Canada, New York, Colorado, Wyoming, the Pacific Northwest, White Mountains, and Washington, D.C.
3,360 contributors, who have given
• TRIPs-related financial aid is available, making travel part of every student’s education, regardless of financial circumstance.
400 students on TRIPs
Open Access • 100% increase in the financial aid budget over 10 years. • 29% of the student body (215 students) receives some form of financial aid. • Financial aid helps MB fill our classes with bright, dedicated scholars, artists, and athletes, ensuring a dynamic educational environment and a rich cultural mix. • Students of color comprise 23% of the student body, closely reflecting MB’s enrollment area.
$48.7 million, resulting in 60,000 sq. ft. of new facilities 70% growth in endowment (now $37m+)
2X more funding for faculty training COUNTLESS new opportunities for students to be creative problem solvers: Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation Project-Based Learning Engineering & Design Coding, and 2X more students on financial aid!
NEXT STEPS apply online :
mosesbrown.org/admission
SCHEDULE A VISIT Discover how a Moses Brown education develops your child’s inner promise. Call the Admission Office to schedule a campus visit: (401) 831-7350
ATTEND AN EVENT Please register online at: mosesbrown.org/admission
CLASS DAY FOR PARENTS Come discover how we foster creativity and innovation to build confidence and character. At this parents-only event, you’ll spend 25 minutes in two different classes, followed by a question and answer period with administrators and faculty. Pre-registration is required.
Lower School:
Thursday, January 24 8:30–10:30 a.m.
Middle School:
Wednesday, January 23 8:30–10:30 a.m.
Upper School:
Wednesday, January 30 9:00–11:00 a.m.
Moses Brown School 250 Lloyd Avenue, Providence RI 02906 www.mosesbrown.org (401) 831-7350