M oses B row n S chool Quaker Education Makes a Difference
Helpful Tips from Current Students to New Students •Get to know your advisor, the Director of Student Life, the Grade Dean, the Registrar, and the Head of Upper School as soon as possible. These adults will prove to be helpful advocates. •Seek out your teachers for extra assistance and, if needed, establish a regular meeting time. Getting extra assistance is not a sign of ignorance but, rather, signals to the teacher your earnest desire to learn. Visit the Learning Center after school. •Ask questions in class. If you don’t know or understand something or if you need help finding a solution to a problem, ask your advisor or a teacher. Only by asking can you discern answers to suit your individual needs. •Homework and daily preparation for classes are the keys to success in the upper school. Preparing for class means following up on materials covered in class, reviewing class notes, outlining and taking notes on reading, and mapping out strategies for longer term assignments. •Do not let work pile up. If you find yourself falling behind, seek out your teacher or advisor right away to develop a strategy for correcting the problem. You do not have to feel overwhelmed. •Take time to review the many academic, extracurricular and co-curricular offerings in the upper school, and take advantage of at least one activity. •It is important early in the year to establish good habits and time management skills, so seek to establish a balance between time to relax and socialize, with studying during the day, seeing teachers for extra help or completing homework. Using time wisely is one of the most important skills to manage in upper school.
Signature Academic Programs Freshman Studies
Freshman Studies is a one-semester program designed to expose first-year Moses Brown students to a wide variety of topics to help them better acclimate to the campus community. Every ninth grader takes Freshman Studies. Topics include Friends education, engaged scholarship, social entrepreneurship, health education, leadership, stress management and Naviance training. Each year new topics are integrated into the curriculum.
Freshman Studies classes are also assigned two Peer Leaders, seniors who work closely with each class—as well as the teacher—and serve as role models and student advisors.
Immersion 9th Grade
For ninth graders, Immersion is the culminating experience of their social innovation and engaged scholarship work. Beginning with the ninth grade orientation trip to Maine, students learn about the concepts of social innovation, design thinking and engaged scholarship, and how they connect to the Quaker principles of social justice, community and stewardship. In September, each Freshman Studies class is matched with one of Moses Brown’s Community Partners. Led by the Peer Leaders, each Freshman Studies class learns about its Community Partner and the community issue it is working to address. Classes make one site visit to the Community Partner, read articles and talk with experts, either live or via Skype. Freshman Studies classes present a summary of their first semester learning, as well as their designated challenge for Immersion, to the entire ninth grade class in January.
During Immersion, each Freshman Studies class is partnered with two Moses Brown faculty and one or two Student Leaders (seniors who have applied to shepherd the ninth grade group through their immersion project). Together, they embark on a week of exploration, research and collaborative problem solving that further deepens the class’s relationship with its Community Partner and engages students in our broader Providence community. Immersion ends with each Freshman Studies class presenting its ideas for addressing the Community Partner’s challenge, reflecting their learning and work during the previous week to its Community Partner.
10th–12th grade
The 10–12th grade Immersion program is centered on a basic question: how can we more deeply incorporate experiential learning into our upper school curriculum? MB Immersion seeks to stretch students in new and profound ways through a wide range of offerings called Immersives. These hands-on courses represent an opportunity to explore a wider range of subjects and skills than is otherwise possible in our regular program of classes. Students will grow in new ways through deep inquiry, collaborative problem solving, trial and error experimentation, personal discovery and reflection. Immersives provide a chance to learn in a range of settings and from a variety of professionals. This experience allows students and faculty to break out of their normal routines and “do school” differently.
Why a Quaker School? As a Quaker school, Moses Brown strives to equip every student with the skills they will need to be compassionate, competent and considerate leaders and citizens. In their time at MB, students learn to use reflection and discernment to gather and process facts, solicit diverse perspectives, listen deeply, evaluate choices and make conscious, well-considered decisions. Because they understand the inherent value of every person’s Inner Light, students learn to grow through conflict and to respond to challenges with tolerance and resilience. They learn how individual choices are inherently related to social problems and solutions, and how individual voices can be powerful tools for advocacy and change. And when they leave Moses Brown, students leave empowered—not just to find their Truth, but to live it, with courage and commitment, and to share it with the world.
Senior Project
The senior project gives seniors the chance to purse a new endeavor; continue, in greater depth, to expand their knowledge of a topic studied; or to connect their learning at MB to the larger community. Students will create an independent project that provides them the opportunity to plan their time, choose their own subject of interest, design and implement their project activities and goals and finally, prepare a presentation/demonstration for approval and review by a panel of community members.
TRIPs
At Moses Brown, we believe in bringing the world to our classrooms and our classrooms to the world. MB TRIPs—Travel, Research & Immersion Programs—makes journeying and discovery a pervasive learning paradigm throughout the school. The goal of the TRIPs program, and global education in general, is to create resilient and empathetic global citizens, fostering the next generation of civic engagement and instilling in students the confidence to navigate the world, address issues of inequity and injustice, and connect to the people and organizations working to create improvement. Enriching and extending our students’ sense of discovery and engagement through local and global outreach reflects, as a Friends school, our Quaker commitment to community, equality and stewardship.
Ethical Leadership and Social Innovation: Utilizing Peer Leaders to Foster Community Relationships (open to 12th graders—application required)
The transition to high school is a formative time in students’ lives. As the oldest members of the student body, seniors can play a significant role in welcoming ninth graders to the upper school and imparting the philosophy, culture and values of the Moses Brown community. But how does one become an ethical leader? What are the qualities of an ethical leader? What types of actions do ethical leaders take? Students of this course discuss these essential questions and work to hone the following skills: active listening, asking openended questions, including all members of a group, giving clear directions and fostering discussions. Additionally, Peer Leaders will help administer Ninth Grade Immersion, and introduce ninth graders to the concepts of social innovation and engaged scholarship. Working in pairs, Peer Leaders will practice the activities that they will present to the ninth graders, which will center on topics such as MB school culture, diversity, time management, and decision-making. After leading an activity with their Freshman Studies class, Peer Leaders will reflect on their practice as a group and develop skills for improving as ethical leaders. Through their work with ninth graders, Peer Leaders will model the qualities expected of all Moses Brown students: respect, integrity, acceptance and kindness.
Courses by Department Arts: Performing, Drama
The drama program Fall Semester Electives aims to provide a va- Fundamentals of Design and Fabrication riety of opportunities for students to build Spring Semester Electives performance and writ- Acting and Directing ing skills in theater and film. Drama is an expressive art that requires careful analysis and observation of the self—alone and in relation to others. To study drama is to study what it means to be human in a universal way and what it means to be us as individuals in a very specific way. We incorporate a variety of schools of dramatic thought but are strongly influenced by naturalistic theatre training of 20th-Century American practitioners. During our variety of projects and processes, we build a strong sense of community, support and teamwork.
Performing, Music Yearlong Courses AP Music Theory Chorus String Orchestra String Orchestra w/ Chamber Music The Pianist as Accompanist Wind Ensemble Fall Semester Elective Music Production Spring Semester Elective Introduction to Guitar
The upper school music program offers a variety of courses and performing ensembles that cater to non-musicians, beginning musicians and more advanced students of music. The program emphasizes the practical and performance aspect of music and at the same time provides for academic development within the subject.
Visual
Artistic expression can take many forms, and the Visual Arts faculty offer classes in a variety of media, from foundation level to more advanced courses. Students are encouraged to build technical skills and creative awareness, as well as to develop a vocabulary to discuss and critique work. Students engage in coursework that broadens creative thinking while recognizing different learning styles. Process-oriented instruction, evaluation through participation, critique and exhibition are all part of the learning environment. Yearlong Course AP Art Studio Fall Semester Electives Advanced Studio/ Portfolio Preparation Drawing/Painting* Drawing and Printmaking* Studio Art* Intro. To B&W Photography/Digital Photo.* Introduction to Ceramics* Foundations of Hand Building* Foundations of Wheel Throwing* Textiles and Construction* Spring Semester Electives Drawing/Painting Intro to B&W Photography/Digital Photo* Introduction to Ceramics Foundations of Hand Building* Foundations of Wheel Throwing* Introduction to Sculpture Studio Studio Art* Textiles and Construction* *These courses are taught from beginner level through intermediate and advanced within each semester offering. See course listing details below.
English The English curriculum develops and enhances the skills of close reading, thoughtful writing and respectful speaking and listening. Students practice their critical thinking skills in seminar-like classes, which encourage them to interact in collaboration with their teachers and each other. Harkness discussions (text-based, student-driven dialogues) occur regularly in all classes and require participation by all. Over the course of four years, students encounter a wide range of increasingly challenging literature which, combined with their personal experiences, provide a rich mine of shared experience—the subject matter for the extensive writing they do in each of the rhetorical modes. In a multi-layered process, beginning in the ninth grade with complex thesis construction and culminating with the research and organization associated with the I-Search in the eleventh grade, students develop independence of judgment, mastery in the art of persuasion and familiarity with effective research techniques.
Yearlong Courses English 1 English 2 English 3 (regular or honors) AP English Fall Semester Electives Shakespeare Literature of Empire and Its Aftermath Literature of War Civilizing America: Literature & Legality of Race Metafiction: Fiction About Fiction Spring Semester Electives Fiction into Film Reading & Writing Poetry The Graphic Novel Civilizing America: Literature of Gender & Sexuality Literature of Climate Change
Moses Brown requires students to take four years of English. In the first three years, students enroll in the yearlong course appropriate to their grade level, with the option of applying to the honors program in December of junior year. In the senior year, students may choose among various semester electives or apply for admission to the year-long Advanced Placement course. With guidance from their teachers, students may elect to take the AP exam in either Language and Composition or Literature and Composition in May of either their junior or senior year—or both.
Humanities: History and Social Sciences
These course offerings are designed to provide students with an understanding of history and its legacy for current national and world affairs. In ninth grade, students begin their inquiry with an exploration of how and why Europe emerged as the leading economic, political and military power by the dawn of the 20th century and the consequences of its rise. In tenth grade, students continue with an examination of 20th century global conflicts and struggles for human rights, followed by a study of United States history during their junior year. Beyond those requirements, students are encouraged to pursue advanced study through electives. All courses help students further develop the skills of critical reading, historical thinking, thoughtful discussion and effective writing.
Yearlong Required Courses Why Europe? U.S. History (College Prep, Honors) Semester Required Course Modern World History Yearlong Elective Courses AP Comparative Government and Politics AP Art History Fall Semester Electives Good Neighbors? U.S. Foreign Policy, Immigration and Latin America The Economics of Social Innovation Spring Semester Electives Civics in Action Histories of Troublemakers and Their Times: On Being Brave The Economics of Social Innovation The Math of Inequality
Religion, Ethics and Psychology
As a Friends School, we are committed to teaching about religion, nurturing spirituality in our students and creating space in our curriculum and daily life that allows for pluralistic dialogue about religion. Friends’ testimony of equality invites us to remember that each person is worthy of equal respect. Seeking to understand religions and their practitioners allows us to demonstrate this respect for peoples whose beliefs may be different from our own. For centuries Friends have been letting their lives speak through the everyday practice of living out their testimonies. At MB, we often refer to these testimonies as Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship/Service. Both the study of ethics and psychology allow students to exam the world in which they live and consider the governing personalities and behaviors of human beings as they navigate their way through the world. Through the study of religion, ethics and psychology, we are uniquely situated to help to revive the ancient Greek concept of eudaimonia, or living well, by helping students to develop their own ethical frameworks. Religious Studies is the semester-long required course that introduces sophomores to the academic study of religion. Each year, we offer a variety of electives in religion, ethics and psychology for students in eleventh and twelfth grades (with options for sophomores with permission of the instructor).
Semester Required Course Religious Studies Yearlong Elective Courses AP Psychology Fall Semester Electives Global Medical Ethics Religion, Conflict and Identity in the Middle East Spring Semester Electives Contemporary Ethics Media, Culture and Politics in the U.S.
Mathematics The mathematics program is designed to develop an appreciation for the essential character of mathematics as an intellectual discipline and to foster development of logical reasoning skills in students—both inductive and deductive—and the ability to use these skills in general problem solving tasks beyond the mathematics classroom. Students will also gain a mathematical foundation and master technical skills that will be useful for all levels of further study. Moses Brown offers up to three levels of full-year courses. All students are placed in a level based on the recommendation of their current math teacher. Students are placed into AP courses based on the recommendation of the department. Yearlong Required Courses Algebra 1 Geometry (Regular, Accelerated, Honors) Algebra 2 (Regular, Accelerated, Honors) Algebra 3 Precalculus (Regular, Accelerated, Honors) Calculus (Regular, AB, BC) Multivariable Calculus Linear Algebra/Differential Equations AP Statistics AP Computer Science Principles* AP Computer Science* Fall Semester Electives Introduction to Statistics Macroeconomics The Economics of Social Innovation Spring Semester Electives Python Programming in Discrete Mathematics* The Economics of Social Innovation The Math of Inequality *Note: Computer Science courses are co-listed in the Mathematics and Science departments. Students will receive credit in one of the departments.
Science The science department strives to nurture a spirit of inquiry as we guide students in the study of the natural and physical sciences. Engaging in field and laboratory work and studying scientific literature enriches their study of the natural world. We explore the history of science and consider the implications of science in modern life. Students develop their analytical thinking skills as they learn to apply the scientific method. Students generally enroll in Biology in ninth grade and Chemistry in tenth grade and Physics in eleventh grade. In cases where students may not feel confident about their level of science or mathematics preparation, Conceptual Physics can be taken first followed by Biology and Chemistry. Science electives and AP classes are available to twelfth graders who would like the opportunity to continue their studies in science. These courses are also available to eleventh grade students who have satisfied the necessary prerequisites and are recommended by the science department faculty. Electives may be open to grades beyond eleventh and twelfth. Yearlong Required Courses Conceptual Physics Biology Honors Biology Chemistry Honors Chemistry Physics AP Physics 1 Yearlong Electives AP Biology AP Chemistry AP Environmental Science AP Physics 2 AP Physics C AP Computer Science Principles* AP Computer Science Programming* Fall Semester Electives Human Anatomy and Physiology Marine Biology Forensic Science Engineering Design Organic Chemistry *Note: Computer Science courses are co-listed in the Mathematics and Science departments. Students will receive credit in one of the departments.
World Languages The primary goal of language study is to prepare each student to communicate and to comprehend cultural similarities and differences more effectively in today’s complex and inter-connected world. Modern language instruction gives equal prominence to the language itself and to reading, history and national culture. Classical language study includes the structure of Latin as well as readings in a variety of literary selections. Students are required to complete a three-year consecutive sequence of study in one language. The world language department offers four-year programs in French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Latin. Moses Brown no longer offers a four-year sequence in Italian, though current Italian students will be able to finish their sequence. In addition, juniors and seniors can opt to take a year-long elective in Italian language and culture. The honors program is offered for French, Latin, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish (starting in the second level). This program is a rigorous course of study in advanced grammar and written and oral expression designed for those students who want to study the language intensively and have the recommendation of their current language teacher.
Yearlong Courses French: 1, 2*, 3*, 4*, 5 Italian: Seminar in Italian Language and Culture Latin: 1, 2*, 3*, 4*, 5 Honors Mandarin: 1, 2*, 3*, 4*, 5 Spanish: 1, 2*, 3*, 4*, 5 AP French AP Latin AP Spanish *Note: These classes are taught at college prep and honors level.
M oses B row n S chool
250 Lloyd Avenue, Providence, RI 02906 www.mosesbrown.org
I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AT HAND. AT YOUR DISPOSAL, YOU HAVE COUNTLESS EXTRAORDINARY FACULTY WHO ARE EAGER TO HELP YOU GROW, AS SCHOLARS AND AS PEOPLE. ENGAGE WITH YOUR TEACHERS AND CLASSMATES, AS THE COMMUNITY HERE AT MOSES BROWN IS WHAT MAKES THIS SCHOOL SO SPECIAL. HARRY R., CLASS OF 2020
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