2015-16 Forest Ridge Big Book: Girl Centered

girl centered

girl centered

At Forest Ridge School, we are girl-centered. Since 1907, Forest Ridge has been a place where young women are educated to think critically, embrace challenges, model resilience, confront injustice, seek equality, and lead globally in the pioneering spirit of our foundress, St. Madeleine Sophie.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

it’s the little things

Girl Talk Middle school is a time of much change

and growth in young women. We know how difficult adolescence can be – so we strive to guide our girls along a path that inspires lifelong academic and personal confidence.

Collaboration, communication, creative and critical thinking skills are the foundation of our Middle School program. Our 5th-8th grade students develop a passion for learning they will carry throughout their lives.

With technology integrated into our education program, girls learn essential 21st century skills that will prepare them for a rapidly changing world.

We stress the importance of working with others towards creative, positive solutions to problems and challenges. Ultimately, we prepare our Middle School girls for the rigors of high school, giving them strong foundational skills and knowledge to ensure academic success.

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HIGH SCHOOL

the upper hand

It all comes together in high school. We Girl Talk

teach girls independence while providing a backbone of community and support. Students enter as girls who are ready to learn and leave as young women prepared to take on the world.

It’s a matter of choices in high school. Freshmen

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and sophomores follow a core program which includes religious studies, English, History, Science, Mathematics, an international language, physical education and fine arts. During the first semester of sophomore year, each student and her parents must meet individually with the Director of High School and the Grade Level Coordinators to consider her options for junior and senior years. Students choose from the Global Seminar program, the International Baccalaureate program, or a combination of the two.

We stress building community through academics and extra-curricular activities. Our graduates go on to excel in college and beyond.

RESIDENTIAL LIFE

home away from home When your daughter lives on campus, she will Girl Talk

find herself in a warm and safe environment. As a member of a diverse community of sisters, coming from as nearby as Bellevue and as far away as Bangkok, Forest Ridge will be a place where she can be herself, learn, grow and succeed. She’ll be at home.

Engaging in a variety of activities.

That’s exactly what your daughter will do on the weekend: or attending professional sporting events, engaging in cultural activities, private music or art lessons, and community service at local organizations. At Forest Ridge, we know it’s a big step to attend high school far away from home. Over time, your daughter will learn to depend on herself under the careful guidance of our Residential Life staff. Dorm meetings are held regularly for important schedule updates and for discussing etiquette and personal health issues, adjusting to a new part of the world, making friends far from home, and discussing day-to-day or world events. Her dorm sisters will become dear friends, and they will learn to depend on one another. www.forestridge.org

the Forest Ridge experience

Girl Talk We believe the Forest Ridge experience should

educate the mind and nourish the heart and spirit. A strong sense of community is both the foundation and the heart of Forest Ridge. Our tight-knit, welcoming community fosters relationships that last long after students graduate.

We honor the traditions of our mothers, grandmothers and the larger Sacred Heart Network. But we also build our own traditions through our community.

All of these time-honored traditions are treasured parts of a Forest Ridge education.

Convocation: The opening ritual of each school year at Forest Ridge. Our tradition honors the age-old commitment at Schools of the Sacred Heart where each student, teacher and staff member is called by name and receives the year’s holy card with the school motto for the year.

Conge: Surprise! No school today. Instead, girls will do everything from a school-wide scavenger hunt at the Space Needle to a middle-school rodeo in the gym.

Frosh Daze: Our way of welcoming the freshmen into the high school. Each freshman is paired with a senior who designs a hat for her freshman to wear the whole week.

Expect lots of fun activities all week and plan to make long-lasting friendships across grade levels. www.forestridge.org

commu

unity A Sacred Heart education is uniquely focused on educating girls by nourishing the mind, heart and spirit. More important than that, however, is the development of her place in a strong, connected community. The Forest Ridge community fosters relationships that last long after students graduate and leave their Forest Ridge home.

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THE ARTS

fostering creativity We firmly believe that fine arts education is Girl Talk

essential to the well-rounded development of our students. We continue to expand our Fine Arts program to allow girls to express their creativity in a multitude of disciplines.

We have something for everyone, whether your daughter wants to throw clay on the pottery wheel or learn the art of photography. Not only do we have an extensive list of art classes to choose from, we also have a number of art-based extracurricular activities. Your daughter can choreograph a routine for the annual Dance Company show, travel to Ireland to perform with the Chamber Choir, or design sets as part of the Drama Tech Crew.

At Forest Ridge, the skills we teach in Fine Arts are essential not just for art education, but for life.

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“Girls who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls who don’t play sports.”

–Women’s Sports Foundation

ATHLETICS

pass, set, hit !

Girl Talk Forest Ridge girls study hard. They play

hard too. We have multiple teams for all skill levels so your daughter will feel included whether she’s a serious athlete or simply wants to learn a new sport.

In an all-girls setting, students possess greater confidence to test their physical limits. We see athletics as another way to build community and school spirit through shared experiences. It is also a way to teach our girls lessons applicable both on the court and in life – such as honoring commitments, and fostering leadership, sportsmanship, responsibility, and teamwork. Everyone is encouraged to participate, and we have a no-cut policy so girls can try any sport they wish. This doesn’t mean that our teams don’t succeed, however – we’ve won state championships in everything from tennis to volleyball, and many of our girls go on to play sports in college.

At Forest Ridge, girls can play on any of the 22 teams in nine different sports from middle school to high school. The way we compete reinforces the goals and criteria of Sacred Heart Schools, and allows each girl to perform to her potential.

22 TEAMS

6

SPORTS Basketball Golf Soccer Softball Tennis Volleyball

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SPIRITUAL LIFE

her journey

Girl Talk We are a Catholic school where each student’s

faith is respected‌whatever it may be. We believe in the importance of fostering an environment of acceptance, love and diversity.

Faith is a part of our everyday life at Forest Ridge. We educate our girls to develop a personal relationship with God, while coming together as a community of faith. We incorporate community service into our curriculum at all grade levels. At Forest Ridge, we inspire girls to transform our world through love, compassion, respect and generosity.

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LEADERSHIP

women as global leaders At Forest Ridge, teaching girls leadership Girl Talk is one of our top priorities. We want our students to succeed long after they graduate – so we encourage them to lead in a variety of arenas. Some girls choose to lead a club or run for student government.

Others go on community service trips around the world or lead the school in prayer during a liturgy.

Women as Global Leaders is the lens through which we do everything at Forest Ridge. But it’s not just visiting other countries; our classes, in-classroom experiences, extracurricular activities and our adherence to the Forest Ridge Goals and Criteria focus on one outcome: cultivating girls and young women to become leaders in their global community. Our global exchange program has sent girls everywhere from Jerusalem to Japan. Girls can study abroad in a different country at another Sacred Heart school, or they can take a community service trip over Spring Break. The possibilities are endless – it’s up to your daughter to decide how she wants to become a globally-minded individual. www.forestridge.org

Girl Talk it all starts here…

—Kat Shepherd, ’14, Wake Forest

Saint Martin’s University

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Forest Ridge helped me expand my global and social perspective.

Now, I’m aware and involved. I feel completely PREPARED to take on the world after coming here. —Nebiat Gebre, ’15,

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An all-girls school is an awesome place to grow and become your own woman. Students here want to do their best and are very INTELLECTUALLY COMPETITIVE. —Olivia Cero, ’14, Villanova

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At Forest Ridge we get to know each other and we have that great school SPIRIT and sense of community. When you walk down the hallway, you will know everyone by name.

I love my school! From the amazing teachers, to the amazing community, you really can call these girls your sisters. These are FRIENDSHIPS that will last a lifetime. —Louisa Haslam, ’15,

Loyola University Maryland

FR kindled a PASSION for learning in me. I don’t think that fire and enthusiasm will ever die out because the teachers try very hard to make the classes engaging active & fun.

—Jordan Holman Clark, ’09, Seattle University

University of Pennsylvania

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Forest Ridge EMPOWERED me to find my passion to make a difference in people’s lives by finding injustices and looking at ways policy impacts my community. —Elizabeth Horsley, ’05, American University

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My Forest Ridge education is one of my most valued experiences. FR is a welcoming community that provides both academic challenges and a SUPPORTIVE environment to grow. Each girl is given what she needs to succeed, both in school and beyond.

—Samantha Totton, ’09, University of Oregon

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We take our academics seriously, but we have a lot of FUN. A Forest Ridge woman is not afraid to leave her mark on the world. —Sesana Allen, ’14,

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Pomona College

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My education at Forest Ridge taught me to speak my mind with CONFIDENCE. I feel really prepared for everything the world has to offer!” —Christine Shoemaker, ’14,

“Enrolling our two daughters at Forest Ridge has been the best parenting decision we have ever made.”

–Current Forest Ridge Middle and High School parent

Forest Ridge admits students without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to the students of the School.

apply today

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Learn More

425.641.0700 www.forestridge.org 4800 139th Avenue SE Bellevue, WA 98006-3015

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4800 139th Avenue SE Bellevue, WA. 98006-3015