Renbrook School
Bringing Learning to Life
Welcome to Renbrook Home to more than 435 of the most creative, independent, and engaged students in New England. Renbrook is a school for students from pre-K to grade 9, where student-centric, collaborative, experiential learning is part of a transformative education.
It’s an education that expands minds, inspires discovery, emphasizes character and leadership, and values family, community, and service.
From the cockpit of a helicopter that, moments earlier, landed on the lawn in front of your school, you touch the controls, feel the power of a flying machine, meet the pilot, and ask him about propulsion, aerodynamics, air pressure, and torque in action.
This is Flight Day, when our students experience first-hand the excitement, the science, and the wonder of flight.
This is Renbrook Bringing Learning to Life
A Transformative Education How does a child grow to fulfill his or her potential? At Renbrook, we believe it starts with a small, close-knit, safe community where students take appropriate risks and identify and cultivate their own strengths. We believe that active learning, engagement in service, and opportunities for leadership foster the optimal growth of children during their most formative years. From the Beginning School’s Responsive Classroom— a research-backed model of academic learning within a context of social and emotional development—all the way through the Upper School and its myriad personal-growth experiences, Renbrook is committed to educating the whole student intellectually, socially, and ethically.
This is Renbrook,
where there are no benchwarmers— not in sports, not in the classroom, not in the community—a school with all of the elements to create a transformative education for each child.
Discovering Knowledge Renbrook is a dynamic, intellectual community where learning is rigorous, student-centered, collaborative, experiential, and applied. History takes on new meaning when our eighth graders recreate a Civil War encampment as Connecticut Volunteer Infantry regiments, modeled on the actual companies that marched into battle. Math empowers when our sixth graders build a 3D scale-model building, keep a checking account, pay bills, and conduct other transactions for fictional businesses as part of their “Math Town.” Holistic and multifaceted understanding comes to life in our Lower School’s interdisciplinary thematic units. Our third graders examine American westward expansion through library research, reading and writing about pioneer fiction, and learning to square dance. Students simulate the Oregon Trail by traversing the woods and streams of campus with heavy wagons, overcoming logistical challenges with ingenuity and cooperative problem solving along the way.
These active academic experiences bring learning to life, forever changing a child’s perception of education and of self. With the guidance of dedicated teachers, Renbrook students become drivers of their own learning and empowered seekers of knowledge.
Developing Key Skills At Renbrook, students develop and hone their skills as readers, writers, and speakers at every stage of their learning. As part of their weekly “Story Explorers” workshop, Junior Kindergarten students listen to a book read aloud and respond to it through discussion, writing, and drawing. As part of their interdisciplinary study of ancient history, sixth graders write and present their own “Greek” play. After using Renbrook’s Pond Sanctuary for ecological studies, seventh graders make digital presentations about their research on a related topic. Across the curriculum and at every grade level, Renbrook helps students become active and inquisitive readers, clear and sophisticated writers, and confident speakers and presenters. Students put these skills into practice beyond the classroom as well. Leading the Upper School’s Morning Meeting, volunteering as a student ambassador, competing in a state-wide world language poetry recitation contest, writing or editing submissions for the literary magazine, performing at a school-wide assembly— these and other opportunities help transform Renbrook students into more practiced and accomplished readers, writers, and speakers.
Learning Spaces, Learning Tools At Renbrook, the campus and its innovative facilities provide the perfect setting for active learning. Students learn leadership, trust, and collaboration on our ropes course, and art students embrace and explore their creativity against the backdrop of our 75-acre campus. Science classes at Renbrook use both the laboratory and our natural pond to inform research and experimentation. Renbrook’s campus affords many outdoor venues that complement our facilities. The school’s 11 buildings include classrooms, art studios, band rooms, two theaters, three computer labs, four science spaces, and a 16,600-square-foot Library and Technology Center. Renbrook’s unique middle school Math Center features innovative
technological tools. In the center’s computer laboratory, students use programs such as Geometer’s Sketchpad, advanced interactive software that helps students visualize geometry, in keeping with Renbrook’s hands-on, studentcentered model for learning. Throughout the divisions and across all disciplines, Renbrook capitalizes on technology that catalyzes learning, whether using iPads to teach reading to young children, employing voice thread technology to improve listening and writing skills in a world language, or incorporating music composition software as part of a music class.
Renbrook offers the best of both worlds: unmediated contact with the subject at hand and the use of technology as tools and resources that enhance communication and information literacy skills.
Putting It All Together Renbrook’s varied educational environment and dynamic approach to teaching and learning give students the experiences they need not just to learn, but to excel.
Renbrook students regularly place in the top tiers of regional MATHCOUNTS and New England Math League competitions; score high marks on national language exams in French, Latin, and Spanish; and attain a high number of places in audition-driven select regional music ensembles. In the secondary schools where they matriculate, Renbrook students are well represented in high-level courses, on high honor rolls, and among the ranks of academic prize winners.
Learning by Doing I’ve had a fascination with the natural world since I was very young. I’ve been a student at Renbrook since fifth grade, and my favorite subject is science because it gives me an understanding of how the natural world functions. I also really like English, especially last spring when all the eighth graders were assigned the American author project. We were able to choose our authors according to the books we wanted to read. There was amazing freedom in the process, and the presentation allowed for a lot of creativity. I’m involved in many activities at Renbrook. I play on the field hockey and softball teams, and I play in the Jazz Band. I also have the honor of serving as a student ambassador for the school. Last year I joined the Renbrook Navy student club. We helped to build a 22foot-long “St. Ayles skiff” for competition against other schools. When I first saw the boat, one year into construction, it didn’t seem like there was much left to do. But I was so wrong! It was a year-long process. We did a lot of sanding, and we applied epoxy and helped paint the boat.
These seemed like small tasks, but in the end they were very important. It was our job to fill tiny holes to make sure the boat stayed afloat. The entire experience taught me the value of patience.
Character & Leadership A first grader helps to clean up a campus playground. A sixth-grade lacrosse player demonstrates how to win and how to lose gracefully. A ninth grader models respect and good citizenship for a kindergartner in the year-long “buddy” program. At Renbrook, we nurture the development of character, leadership, and responsibility by giving students guidance, encouragement, and safe contexts in which to grow. In the Beginning School, children learn about caring for self, others, and the environment. As they progress through the Lower School, students build on this foundation, developing self-awareness and increasing cooperation skills. Finally, in the Upper School—and especially during ninth grade, the “Freshman Year at Renbrook”—students contribute to team efforts, distinguish themselves in an area of interest, mentor younger students, initiate student clubs, and take on positions of leadership.
This is Renbrook, where students develop confidence in their strengths and aptitudes in a setting that is both challenging and supportive.
Cultivating Leadership Renbrook plants and nurtures the seeds for student leadership from the earliest ages. Courses for seventh and eighth graders teach leadership in a more formal way. Students explore such topics as the characteristics of a good leader and develop a number of related skills, including active listening, conflict resolution, and decision-making. Our Student Ambassador program features a group of outstanding students who are selected to represent Renbrook to prospective students, their families, and the community at large. Ninth graders at Renbrook enjoy all of the challenges of high school-level academic work as well as key leadership opportunities and responsibilities as the eldest members of the student body. Demonstrating a commitment to scholarship, developing service learning initiatives, leading sports teams, and organizing school activities, ninth graders serve as role models for all.
Requiring dedication, teamwork, perseverance, stamina, compassion, and sportsmanship, athletics provide an excellent context for personal development.
Character In Context At Renbrook, the cooperative endeavors and noncompetitive physical education activities of younger children pave the way for a sports program for grades six through nine that emphasizes group trust, mutual support, conditioning, and development of a lifelong love of physical activity. At Renbrook, we give every child a chance to grow. That’s why every team member plays in every game. Most sports have a varsity and junior varsity team. Fall sports include football, soccer, field hockey, cross country, physical fitness, and the Project Adventure ropes course. In winter, students may choose the ski team, snowboarding, ice hockey, basketball, gymnastics, squash, physical fitness, or Project Adventure. Spring sports include softball, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, physical fitness, and Project Adventure.
Learning Through Leadership I attended Renbrook from kindergarten through eighth grade, and I’m now a student at Choate Rosemary Hall. I have always loved art, and I’m considering a visual arts concentration in high school, but my two favorite academic subjects are French and math. My French class at Renbrook was taught almost entirely in French, and we were constantly posed with the challenge of speaking and conversing in French. Math was also a favorite because of the challenging yet enjoyable environment in which we learned. My math teachers turned math into as much an art as a science. Teachers at Renbrook highly value independence and responsibility in the classroom. They instill these values in students not by hovering over their every deed, but by encouraging and helping them to develop their organization, study scheduling, and time management techniques. Students learn to take responsibility for these matters and to control them independently. Outside of the classroom, being a member of the MATHCOUNTS team had the most impact on me in the past couple of years.
I learned to become an active and helpful member of a team, and the leadership position I held last year as team captain required me to teach the other members of the team by showing them various strategies and methods that I had learned. As a result, I became more outspoken and more involved.
d n a e i z n y k c M m ’ I . k o o r b n e R y m s i s i th
Art Experiences to Grow On Experimentation, cooperation, self-expression, creative problemsolving, observation, critical thinking, and discipline-specific skill-building are all central to art experiences. At Renbrook, music and the visual and performing arts are part of the curriculum for all grades and levels. In the Lower School, endeavors in art and music classes are often highly integrated with the classroom curriculum and thematic units of study. In the Upper School, students take arts courses—in music appreciation, studio art, and woodworking—and also have co-curricular options. Renbrook has four choruses, a Concert Band, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Band, Chamber Ensemble, and a coed a cappella singing group. The annual school musical and other productions give students the opportunity to act, stage manage, perform in the pit orchestra, work props, and run sound and lighting. Renbrook proudly participates in Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.
Family, Community & Service Informed. Involved. Integral. At Renbrook, education is a shared enterprise of home and school. Families play an active and supportive role in the life of the school and feel welcomed, valued, and connected. The involvement of parents—who organize activities, volunteer at events, and support our students in their academic, athletic, and arts endeavors—enhances our school life. Students learn to play a role in the extended community through a variety of service activities that begin in Junior Kindergarten and continue through the ninth grade.
This is Renbrook,
where family, community, and service are integrated into a holistic and fulfilling school experience.
Service Learning The Renbrook Roadrunners began as an after-school club in 2010. Since that time, more than 100 students have enjoyed runs on Renbrook’s trails and the roads of West Hartford. In 2013, the Roadrunners, led by faculty members Jane Johansen and Carrie LaSpada, began a morning runners’ group. Over eight weeks, students ran 25 miles with the goal of running the last 1.2 miles in The Hartford’s Run for Something Better Marathon, which supports free school-based running and fitness programs for children in Connecticut. Service learning at Renbrook instills strong values in our students and teaches children about the world in which they live— empowering them to make a difference in the lives of others. All divisions of the school participate in service activities. Beginning School students prepare hundreds of sandwiches for local soup kitchens. Lower School classes sponsor annual events, including the Fifth Grade Read-In for the March of Dimes, tutor preschoolers from their buddy classes at Head Start, and gather clothing, books, and gifts for those in need. Seventh and eighth graders may join the Junior Service club to plan projects, conduct fundraisers, and volunteer in the wider community. All ninth graders participate in Service Learning Days, volunteering at local community organizations. Members of the Ninth Grade Service Committee also lend their leadership to projects at school. Ninth graders who combine academic excellence with volunteer service— both on campus and off—receive recognition as Trustee Scholars, one of the most prestigious honors at Renbrook.
A Place for Families At Renbrook, we see parents as key partners in the education of each child, and communication between classroom teachers and parents is just the beginning. Many parents become involved as “class parents� or as members of the Parents Association. The PA sponsors multiple events each year geared toward literary, artistic, and cultural enrichment for students, and also sponsors campus lectures by renowned writers, educators, and other experts.
Giving of their time, energy, and dedication, our parents clearly strengthen our community. Ask Renbrook parents, and they will say that Renbrook is their school too.
d n a n a v I’m E . k o o r b n e R y m s i s thi Challenged to Serve and Lead Renbrook has been my home away from home since I was 3 years old. I completed ninth grade at Renbrook last year, and now I’m a sophomore at Berkshire School. Renbrook held the key to unlocking confidence I never knew I had. I played football, basketball, and baseball for Renbrook, and I served as Student Council president when I was in ninth grade. I never would have pictured myself as a leader of the student body, and without the words of encouragement from various members of the Renbrook community, I’m not sure that I would have even considered running for the position. In the classroom, perseverance, determination, and the constant need to challenge oneself are highly valued at Renbrook, and students display these qualities on a regular basis. Renbrook gave me a stellar education, the ability to both lead and follow, and above all, a true community that served as my second home for the past 12 years.
Renbrook’s caring and nurturing environment shaped me into the person I am today. It will serve as a great foundation to whatever may lie ahead of me.
A Mom’s Perspective When we chose to send Evan to Renbrook, he was 3 years old. We knew that Renbrook would be an excellent nurturing environment that focused on teaching the whole child. And Renbrook has had a huge impact on shaping Evan into the person he is. The teachers, coaches, staff, and fellow students embraced him and encouraged him to step outside his comfort zone to take chances. Renbrook also instilled in him responsibility, accountability, and charity. It’s impossible for me to pick my most rewarding or fulfilling experience with the school. From Evan’s first day, I felt welcome at Renbrook and encouraged to be a part of his education and the Renbrook experience. I was fortunate to serve as part of the Parents Admission Network for more than 10 years, and I served as a class representative for three of Evan’s grades and as a member of several Parent Association committees. Renbrook is a true community that welcomes the entire family.
It is simply the best investment you can make for your child. Not only will each child receive a top-notch education, they— and their parents—will leave as better people.”
I ’m Jod ie, Evan’s mom, and t h i s i s m y R e n br o o k .
An exciting, active, transformational education that brings learning to life, instills values, shapes character, and develops leaders.
This is Renbrook. To learn more, please go to our web site, www.renbrook.org, where you will find curriculum guides specific to each division, information about current news and events, and details about the admission process. The Admission Office is also happy to assist you. Please call them at 860.236.1661.
Renbrook has approximately 435 students. A small community, Renbrook is a
place where each child is known as an individual.
Small class sizes ensure maximum interaction with teachers. The average
Beginning School class size is 16 students (with 2 teachers). Average class size is 16 for the Lower School and 12 for the Upper School.
Renbrook’s 75-acre campus is an ideal educational environment.
Learning at Renbrook is not limited to the classroom. With a ropes course, woods, trails, sports fields, and cultivated gardens, our campus is a safe, varied and beautiful outdoor classroom and learning laboratory.
Design: © Peapod Design, New Canaan, CT; Photography: Michael Fiedler and Peapod Design
Student diversity is valued. Renbrook families reflect the cross-cultural richness of the Connecticut River Valley. Students of color make up 28 percent of our school, and we welcome children from more than 30 towns in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and even a small number of international students. Learning alongside classmates from different cultures and traditions enables our students to gain a deep understanding and appreciation of different perspectives. Renbrook offers a balanced education.
At the heart of a Renbrook education is the meaningful relationship that takes place between our accomplished and deeply committed faculty and our inspired and engaged student body. Renbrook School is synonymous with academic and intellectual rigor in all aspects of our challenging and ever-evolving curriculum. In addition to core subjects of English, mathematics, science, and history/social studies, Renbrook students learn French or Spanish (beginning with our 3-year-olds) or Latin (in the Upper School) and participate in athletics, music and the visual and performing arts.
Renbrook provides an education that prepares students for selective secondary schools. In a typical year, these include: Avon Old Farms School Berkshire School Cheshire Academy Choate Rosemary Hall Cushing Academy Episcopal High School Ethel Walker School Phillips Exeter Academy Holderness School Kent School Kingswood Oxford School Loomis Chaffee School Miss Hall’s School
Miss Porter’s School Northfield Mt. Hermon School Northwest Catholic High School Pomfret School Salisbury School Suffield Academy Tabor Academy Taft School Watkinson School Westminster School Westover School
2865 Albany Avenue West Hartford, CT 06117 phone: 860.236.1661 www.renbrook.org