24 minute read
Student safety is paramount
from Ravenscroft Viewbook
by Ravenscroft
— LOWER SCHOOL STUDENT
A world of wonders
Building science foundations is a magical experience— especially when fifth-grade students get to combine mandrake tears and gillyweed extract in an exciting, colorfilled experiment.
In the Harry Potter-themed “Potions Lab,” they emulate the book and film series’ young wizards by following directions, measuring precisely and recording their observations. “They have to follow the steps correctly to get the surprise result,” teacher Liz Morgan says. “They quickly learn what happens when you do it right or when you do it wrong.
“We do a lot of hands-on activities and labs to teach them how to work in the science classroom,” Morgan adds. “They learn how to infer and use data and information in a different way. Changing classes for science every day also gives them a taste of what’s to come, building excitement for the transition to Middle School.”
Morgan’s students agree. “I like the labs and experiments,” one fifth-grader says. “I think I have started to develop a lot of new skills.”
“It’s really fun to do labs!” a classmate adds. “When I saw those colors change, I was like, ‘Wow! I hope the whole year is like this!’”
RAVENS ON THE MOVE
EXPLORING HISTORY, FORGING CONNECTIONS
One of my favorite highlights of Lower School was the trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. It was a lot of fun spending time with friends, learning about historical sites and developing our collaboration skills.
The Governor’s House was one of my favorite places to visit because when we walked in we saw interesting artifacts displayed on the walls. The main thing that stuck out to me most was the backyard. It had a beautiful courtyard with colorful flowers arranged around a gravel walkway.
Another highlight was experiencing team-building ac- tivities with my classmates and friends. We did ropes courses and other fun activities at our lodge.
It was a great time, seeing how people used to live and finding new ways to bond with friends now.
— VALERIE ’26
MIDDLE SCHOOL (Grades 6 – 8)
Learning to fly
Middle School is both an entry point and a bridge. At one end, Lower School students are eased into the sixth grade with all its exciting changes and new independence. At the other end, eighth-graders have gained the confidence and skills to cross over into high school.
Classrooms are busy with activity—both physical and mental—with energetic students engaged with the material, with each other, and with their teachers.
Go into any classroom and you’ll see active, joyful learning. We encourage hands-on practice
and experimentation in not only the science
labs and the playing fields, but also in our many electives such as art journaling, creative writing, and classical mythology.
RAVENS IN ACTION
WORKING TO CHANGE YOUR WORLD
For my eighth-grade Ravens in Action project, I explored an issue I have been passionate about for as long as I can remember: the environment.
When the project was introduced, I knew immediately that my focus would be the declining health of the Earth. While most of my project consisted of picking up trash in my neighborhood and nearby parks, my family also “adopted” a section of the Honeycutt Creek Trail, which has since become a major part of my Upper School community service.
The Ravens in Action Forum— where we presented our projects—was definitely a highlight, because I was able to present my newfound expertise on single-use plastics.
The reactions of my audience showed me the impact I had made on them, creating a unique and empowering experience. Ravens in Action showed me how following my passions and hard work can change my surroundings, which caused me to realize—despite the relatively minimal impact of my individual project—that everyone, even children, can make a difference in the world around them.
— SOPHIE ’23
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electives offered in the Middle School
The Keim Center for Innovation and Research is a hive of activity with labs, flexible workspaces, and a cafe.
In our small community, everyone is known
There’s a place here for everyone Small advisory groups and classes
Friendships are forged that can last a lifetime
Building Blocks
Our choice of
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electives is comprehensive
STEM+ courses at many levels
Hands-on work in MakerSpace Students develop passions in video editing, art journaling, folklore, and more
Classes are
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tailored to individual interests
Varied levels of math and language arts offered per grade Student-centered learning that is inquiry based Daily tutorials, study halls, and math lab available
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The world opens to our students
Language courses introduced early, including Mandarin
Global studies explored across the disciplines World travel programs enhance the curriculum
Out of sight
When teachers talk about ideas taking flight, they’re usually speaking metaphorically. But not in Think It! Design It! Make It!, a projectbased course where students’ imagination and persistence—guided by their growing knowledge of STEM—literally launch rockets into the sky.
Students follow the Ravenscroft Design Process: discover a problem, imagine solutions, test and evaluate ideas, receive and consider feedback, refine their design and share results.
One student says of her work, “My biggest challenge was constructing the rocket and evaluating the length and number of fins because I had to guess what would help the rocket get off the ground and stay in the air.”
Between launches, they make adjustments that will allow the rocket to stay aloft longer—a step, teacher Janet Vande Berg notes, they “can find difficult, but it is essential to the process.”
Students learn from one another as well as from their own results. “Usually when somebody launched their rocket it would fly all over the place,” another student says. “I added paperclips in the fins of my rocket so it would fly straight upward.”
“Students become really engaged from their first launch,” teacher Scott Ringenbach adds. “They realize it is possible to use one piece of paper to create something that can be launched high enough in the air that they lose sight of it.”
RAVENS DESIGN
FROG IN THE BUCKET, DING DONG
Their task for the Science Olympiad— a science elective—is to flip a plastic frog into a bucket using a rolling item, a ramp, and a moving part. One group in Janet Vande Berg’s Middle School science class designed a hair-raising course: A marble drops through a tube and goes around a dog collar, through a switch pipe, and up an incline plane, where it knocks over a row of standing dominos, which hits the bottom of a cup, upon whose rim Froggie sits, and ribbit—he flies into the bucket.
Sounds easy, right? No. The kids start the experiment and giggle and jump with excitement as the marble follows their course. But when it hits the bottom of the cup, instead of propelling the frog into the bucket, the cup topples over and jams the tube. “OOOOHHH!” exclaims the little group of intrepid scientists. They regroup and come up with another approach.
Okay, back to the starting blocks, which takes repeated attempts as the dominoes keep tipping prematurely, and then it’s back to square one.
But square one is finally reached, the marble drops, and hallelujah! Everything goes like clockwork—the frog is knocked into the bucket and the bell rings. Victory!
Putting the pieces together
For many Middle Schoolers, figuring out how everything they’re learning fits together can be challenging! When Ravenscroft sixth-graders approach literature and history in a combined and coordinated approach, they are able to more easily connect their knowledge across subjects.
“Humanities 6 is our interdisciplinary approach to language arts, history, and geography,” teacher Amy Tomblinson explains. “It explores themes of identity and community in a variety of historical and contemporary contexts.”
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faculty and staff
In one unit, students learn about important topics in American history—such as westward expansion or immigration—and read a related novel, then do additional research on their own.
“I read ‘Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy,’ which connects to migration,” one sixth-grader says. “Exploring the history of the time period definitely helped me understand the story better.”
To wrap up the unit, students put all their information together on a paper dodecahedron—a 12-sided sphere—with each panel examining a different aspect of their study.
“We have requirements for each part and there is also room for creativity,” the student added. “All the panels are connected one way or another.”
“Students build strong research, writing, speaking, and critical-thinking skills in this course,” concludes Ms. Tomblinson, “which helps students in every class they take.”
— GREG ANYSZ, Middle School Dean and History/Social Studies Teacher
35 Honors courses
25 AP courses UPPER SCHOOL (Grades 9 – 12)
Taking to the sky
Life isn’t about being tested for the answers. It’s about developing your own answers.
It’s true, we do wonderful things with very motivated students. They are offered numerous AP and Honors-level courses and electives and benefit from the mentoring of outstanding teachers and the guidance of skilled college counselors. The sheer breadth
of our academic offerings allows students to pursue their interests wherever they lead them.
But we do wonderful things with all students. There are many roads to success, and we help guide our students to find the one that is the best fit for their own unique talents and ambitions.
One of the hallmarks of a Ravenscroft education is that our students graduate remarkably well prepared for college. But it’s not all about the outcome—it’s also about the journey and what we learn along the way.
RAVENS INNOVATE
PROBLEM SOLVING AND COLLABORATION IN ACTION
In robotics we learned how to build, wire and program our robot. I have become better at problem solving, compromising and working with others.
Our team had a lot of fun at the FIRST Tech Challenge regional tournament! We programmed our robot to autonomously drop down from a hook and place a 3-D printed marker in the corner of the field. Then, in remote-controlled mode, it picked up objects and placed them in a box and then latched on to the hook again for a pull-up.
We knew we wanted our robot to be able to do a pull-up because of how many points we could earn. We definitely faced a lot of trial and error, and it took us a few months before we were ready to compete.
During the competition, our robot couldn’t do the pull-up— which was weird because we’d never had that problem before! We began troubleshooting, changing out one of the gears for our arm and adjusting the programming so the robot wouldn’t pull up too fast. We also put duct tape on our hook to give it more grip. That allowed our robot to do a pull-up in every match.
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science labs
— KAT BELK, Senior Dean and Mathematics Instructor, Upper School In addition to their classroom teachers, Upper School students enjoy a close relationship with their advisor, who is assigned to them in ninth grade. Through the bonds of this four-year connection, students grow in confidence and are gradually prepared to advocate for themselves, now and in college.
Making connections beyond the page
Imperialism might be the subject of history class, but the rich and diverse literature that explores its legacy is also powerful and relevant today. In Colby Bogie’s senior English elective, students grapple with societal dynamics and the role perspective plays as they read post-colonial literature such as “Things Fall Apart,” which chronicles pre-colonial life in southeastern Nigeria and the arrival of Europeans during the late 19th century, and “The God of Small Things,” which explores the remnants of cultural repressions in India.
“I enjoyed the open, discussion-based structure of the class,” one student says. “It encouraged us to explore interesting and vibrant topics, both in the literature itself and how our modern world relates back to colonial roots.”
Students finish the course with a research paper exploring self-selected topics connected to colonialism—such as rugby’s role in exporting British culture to its colonies, the use of mapping strategies to bolster indigenous land rights, and the influence of post-colonial themes on contemporary artists of color.
“To advance my knowledge on post-colonialism,” another student says, “I wrote about how rapper Nicki Minaj exemplifies post-colonial artists by portraying her Afro-Trinidadian roots in her music.”
Our range of classes is comprehensive
25 AP courses available
Electives like Entrepreneurialism, Innovations, Robotics, Sports Medicine and Honors Engineering
Award-winning literary magazine and other student publications
Building Blocks
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Tailor your own academic journey
Independent study allows for individual choice
More than 50 clubs and affinity groups to choose among
Study halls promote time management and flexibility
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Academic advisors support success
Faculty advisors help guide journey
Students stay with their advisor for four years
Advisors know their advisees well and have daily contact
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College preparation is part of the package
Experienced college counselors have a great success rate matching students with appropriate, “right fit” colleges
Breakout boxes break the ice
When a group of exchange students from Spain joined Jessica Yonzon’s Global Issues class, all of the students broke the ice—and the language barrier—by working together to solve puzzles and open up a series of locked containers.
Within minutes, students who’d never met before were bent over the puzzles (some in English, some in Spanish), using dictionaries, calculators, and other tools to figure out the answers that would unlock another container and, ultimately, get them to their prize.
“These puzzles require higher-level thinking. They are not easy,” Angela Finn, Ravenscroft’s director of library services, says. “It’s great practice in problem solving and vulnerability, as there are a lot of failed attempts.”
The activity, known as Breakout Boxes, is a creative approach to research and learning designed by Finn.
“It was great—it allowed us all to use the same work ethic to achieve our goal,” says one student. “We had to be strategic to obtain the clues and solve the puzzle.”
“Eventually, talking about the challenge turned into casual conversation about each other and our experiences,” another student adds. “I had never actually spoken Spanish to someone from Spain before, so this experience was very eye-opening.”
Fine Arts
If you can read this, thank your music teacher.
The message on this bumper sticker resonates with David McChesney, Director of Fine Arts, because it says a lot about the goals and philosophy of the fine arts program at Ravenscroft.
“We want to develop the next generation of people that value the arts within society,” he explains. “Art is
integral to everything we do here. It is part of the fabric of life on campus.”
Fine Arts exploration begins Day 1 at Ravenscroft. All kindergarteners take violin lessons, and from then until senior year, students’ music, theater, and visual art choices are considerable. The breadth of the program, across all disciplines, is further enriched by the contributions of Artists in Residence and Visiting Artists.
Many students take advantage of the private lessons offered in a host of instruments and in voice. This program allows students to explore their talents and refine their skills, perfect for participating in the many musical and theatrical groups Ravenscroft offers—some of which compete on the national stage.
Ravens have been known to gather and hide shiny objects, leading scientists to wonder if they enjoy beauty and seek novelty.
MUSIC ENSEMBLES
Band Choir Strings Private lessons
VISUAL ARTS
Foundations
Drawing & painting
Photography
AP studio art
DRAMA
Acting Stagecraft Play writing Improv
RAVENS PLAY
STRINGS OF LEADERSHIP
Orchestral music demands discipline, coordination, teamwork, and personal accountability—to a conductor, to your stand partner, to your section, and to the ensemble as a whole. The music does not sound beautiful unless everyone takes leadership of their own performance.
The Ravenscroft strings pro- gram provides many opportunities to develop and demonstrate these skills. As a result, I have witnessed great leadership from our upper- classmen, and I hope to follow their example to help make our music beautiful in the years to come.
Some leadership opportunities in the orchestra are visible, such as sitting in the first chair of a section. Other aspects of leadership, such as performing with dynamics and working with the surrounding musicians to create a blended sound, are more difficult to see. This leadership, however, is show- cased in the beautiful sound of the orchestral music.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow as a leader while exploring the fine arts at Ravenscroft. The integration of Lead From Here into the strings curriculum has enriched my experience and helped me feel more confident and prepared.
— HEIDI ’22
Being a part of drama productions and the performing arts at Ravenscroft has pushed me as a performer and as a leader. I love participating because it is a way to step out of my comfort zone, and I feel it has helped me grow greatly as a person.
Mr. Sharp goes above and beyond for every show he directs. I really appreciate all the time and effort he puts into helping the students get the best out of their performances.
I like art because it lets me share my interests in a different way. I’m passionate about STEM, and when we made cyanotypes (artistic “blueprints” created from a photographic printing process) I took a picture of my dad’s keyboard and some code I had written and brought in a networking cable. I created “Code Blue” to share how important it is for girls to be involved in STEM.
Athletics & PE
The satisfaction taken from sports goes far beyond winning a game or a season, though Ravenscroft’s athletes have many championships under their belts. It is also about learning cooperation and common purpose; training the body and the mind; being gracious in both victory and defeat. There’s a reason why sports play such an important role in our culture: they teach us about life.
At Ravenscroft, our students’ physical well-being is as important as their intellectual growth.
In the early years, physical activity—both in the classroom and at recess and in regular PE classes—is a key part of most days for students. By seventh grade, students can go out for one of 25 sports and 53 teams.
Student-athletes form life-long friendships
with teammates and can develop meaningful and important relationships with their coaches, whose role is not only to teach them skills in their sports at the highest level but also to guide them as people and arm them with skills for success in life.
Ravens are acrobatic fliers, often doing chases, dives, rolls, and somersaults in the air. daily PE for students grades 1-9
RAVENS COMPETE
PUTTING LEARNING INTO PRACTICE
For Sports Medicine III students, when there is an in- jury during a game or practice we get to put all of the training and practice we’ve learned into action.
I got the chance to do just that during an away game in the fall of 2019. Close to the second half, a player from the other team took a hit and was knocked out cold for a few seconds. The next thing I knew, I was running behind Coach Savage onto the field. When we got to the athlete, Coach Savage immediately got down onto his knees and gripped the athlete’s helmet with both of his hands. I recognized what Coach was doing from the training we had earlier in the year. It was for evaluation of a spinal injury.
The possible severity of the situation hung over me while we were waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
Kneeling on the ground, I was able to observe and learn a lot. I saw all of the tests the athletic trainers perform on a motionless athlete, and I also saw how Coach Savage kept the athlete calm by telling him what was going on. When EMS arrived, they asked me help lift the athlete onto a backboard and then a gurney.
For some reason, through the whole ordeal, I wasn’t nervous at all. It was like an instinct kicked in and I was there to help do what needed to be done.
The experience has fueled my interest in medicine. Learning in the classroom is one thing, but to gain hands-on experience I highly recommend the Sports Medicine classes.
— ALEX ’20
ATHLETIC FACILITIES
Aquatic Center, 6 lanes and upper-deck viewing Fitness and weight training 4 gyms 3 lighted stadiums 6 lighted tennis courts 8-lane rubberized track 2 training rooms (indoor and outdoor) 2 wrestling practice facilities Softball field Cross-country trail Practice fields 2 team meeting rooms
SPORTS TEAMS
Baseball Basketball—boys and girls Cheerleading Cross Country— boys and girls Field Hockey Football Golf—boys and girls Lacrosse—boys and girls Soccer—boys and girls Softball Swimming—boys and girls Tennis—boys and girls Track & Field—boys and girls Volleyball Wrestling
State Championships since 1974
My coach taught me that respect, reliability, and communication are the three most important pillars of a wellfunctioning team.
— TED ’20
Beyond the Classroom
SERVICE
Never too young to help
Nearly everyone at Ravenscroft gets involved
in service learning of some kind. Last year, Ravenscroft students contributed more than 23,000 hours of community service.
By helping others, students learn to look beyond themselves, develop empathy, and take an active role in positively shaping their community and the larger world around them. These are part of our core values—teaching students what it means to be a responsible citizen and nurturing them through our Lead From Here initiative to take a leadership role in making their world a better one.
One of the highlights of the year is the annual Special Olympics of Wake County. More than 650 athletes compete each day during the event, and Ravenscroft’s students, faculty, staff, and parents are involved in every facet of volunteering.
— PARENT
GLOBAL EDUCATION
Citizens of the world
At Ravenscroft, we place a premium on preparing young people for an increasingly interdependent world. Through our Lead From Here initiative, we help students build valuable skills to help them take their place in a new economy built on interconnectivity and global perspectives. As research and data from the Center for Creative Leadership show, these are increasingly vital skills in our world.
Ravenscroft is committed to instilling in its students an awareness of their place in this complex world and to help them see themselves as global citizens. This is evident in all aspects of life at the school.
Our global programming is woven into all three of our divisions and includes academic studies, cultural immersion, language proficiency, research opportunities, and service learning. It also includes many travel and study opportunities for Middle and Upper School students, which can offer profound lessons and can help shape and expand their worldview.
For students passionate about global issues, we offer an International Diploma—a distinction awarded after completion of academic and extracurricular requirements that demonstrate a mastery of, and commitment to, global issues.
PEOPLE ARE JUST PEOPLE
I lived in Mexico for a few years
when I was younger, so I love speaking Spanish, and I have hosted an exchange student from Spain three times.
Something that really struck me
about my trip to Spain was the rich history that they have. One weekend, my host family took me to visit Ávila, which is the last walled city in the world with its wall completely intact. My host’s grandmother was actually from that city, and they gave me a history lesson on the city dating back hundreds of years.
What I got from the experience, and I know that it will sound kind of cliché, is that everywhere you go, people are just people. Even though their country has a much longer history than ours and their culture is different, they were still just regular people.
I still keep in touch with my most recent exchange student Fernando and several of the other students from when I went. We text each other in a mixture of Spanish and English, so it is a good way to keep up my Spanish vocabulary. I’ve noticed that holding a conversation in Spanish in my Spanish class is much easier now that I’ve gone to Spain and been completely immersed in the language.
— KOBI ’18
COLLEGE
The right fit for you
Through our broad curriculum and strong academic program, informed as it is by our core values and the Lead From Here initiative, students have been encouraged to think creatively, take on leadership roles, and collaborate with their peers. This makes them very attractive to colleges and prepares them for their adult lives as informed and responsible citizens.
Our college acceptance list is compelling evidence of the preparation of our students and their readiness for the next step in their educational journey.
Starting when students begin ninth grade, our three full-time college counselors support them and their families in preparing for college, encouraging students to consider a broad range of options to best suit their abilities and academic goals.
One teacher called our counseling program “a huge jewel in our crown.” An outside reviewing agency agreed, naming Ravenscroft’s program
“one of the best college counseling departments in the country.”
Ravenscroft School admits students of any race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin, or any legally protected status in the administration of the school’s admis- sions, financial aid, or scholarships; or of its educational, athletic, or other schooladministered programs, policies, or plans.
Come visit!
There’s no better way to learn about Ravenscroft than to come in person. Walk the hallways, chat with our students and teachers, stroll around our 135-acre campus, and visit a class or team practice. Visit our website to see tour dates and information sessions.
www.ravenscroft.org
Or give us a call at 919-848-6470.
7409 Falls of Neuse Road Raleigh, NC 27615 919-847-0900 www.ravenscroft.org
