Every Role, Every Opportunity

3 LIVELY PURSUITS Every Role, Every Opportunity Stepping up to self-government, selflessness and self-discovery

We believe each student realizes her greatest potential when she challenges and understands herself fully as a person and as an active participant in a larger place and purpose. We believe leadership and service go hand in hand. With each year at Brearley, students take on increased responsibility for themselves and others.

From service project coordinator to class president to newspaper editor to theater lighting technician, girls play every role here. They become accustomed to stepping up to the challenges and opportunities before them. They develop a talent for inventing new ways to impact their community in school and beyond. We believe girls’ capacity for leadership is both equal and special. When a girl’s confidence is rooted in her intellectual abilities and in a set of values and life skills learned inside and outside of the classroom, she will dare to test the unfamiliar as she pursues a life of meaning and purpose.

SELF-GOVERNMENT VS. STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Brearley’s Self-Government— as opposed to the more common “student government”—is unique. As the preamble to the organization’s first charter states, “The aim of SelfGovernment is to develop in each individual a sense of responsibility by providing an organization through which students can govern themselves.” SelfGovernment at Brearley has sustained and reinvented itself for over 80 years—and continues to be experienced by students here as a vital demonstration of their confident role in their own education.

“My good friend and I are running against each other in the upcoming Self-Government elections. Obviously, one of us is going to win and one of us isn’t, but it’s not going to affect our friendship. That’s really important. It’s something I love about this school. We don’t put each other down. We motivate each other.” SERVING IS LEADING

From their first years at Brearley, girls experience the satisfaction that comes from helping others. The unity, mutual trust and cooperation that begin on the Lower School playground flow naturally into every aspect of education here. With that foundation, and inspired by the models of community service they see demonstrated by older students throughout the school, girls extend their hearts and minds to serving the wider world around them, see the impact of their collective efforts and realize their power to effect positive change. Formal communityservice programs and requirements for service in school and beyond exist in each division. Students often design service projects for their “Senior Spring.” Over time, exposure to advocacy, activism and philanthropy, in addition to traditional volunteerism, impacts each Brearley girl’s notion of being a contributor to the world. SCHOOL PUBLICATIONS

Upper School students serve as editors, writers, artists, photographers and business managers for the School’s three student-run official publications.

THE ZEPHYR (NEWSPAPER)

THE BEAVER (LITERARY MAGAZINE)

YEARBOOK

SAMPLE OF CURRENT UPPER SCHOOL CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS

ANIME: Enhances understanding and appreciation of anime

ART: Hosts gallery and special exhibits trips and visits to artists’ studios

ASIAN AWARENESS: Open to students of any ethnicity: the only requirement is enthusiasm

BEAC (BREARLEY ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION COMMITTEE): Provides action opportunities and education on environmental issues in and outside of school

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL AWARENESS: Explores topics related to finance, economics and entrepreneurship

CLASSICS: Encourages students to continue their interest in ancient Rome and Greece

CREATIVE WRITING: Offers opportunity to present writing and receive feedback from classmates and a faculty advisor

DEBATE: Participants learn to compete in Lincoln-Douglas debate and Original Oratory

ELLA: Open to all students; discussions focused primarily on the experience of Latina students in the Brearley community.

FILM: Offers seminars, screenings and discussion of current and classic films

Q&A: Open group discussion focusing on local and global issues pertaining to the LGBT community GLOBAL GIRLS: Promotes global gender equality

POLITICAL AWARENESS COMMITTEE: Provides action opportunities and education on pressing issues in and outside of school

SERVICE COMMITTEE: Provides service opportunities within Brearley and its surrounding communities

SUMMER HEART: Raises money to send children from the Exodus House Program to Brearley’s day camp, Summer Start

UMOJA: Open to all students; discussions focus primarily on the sisterhood of the African American and Caribbean American students in the Brearley community

SAMPLE OF MIDDLE SCHOOL AFTERSCHOOL ACTIVITIES

3D Design and Printing The Blue Skirt (Middle School newspaper) Brearley Video Club (filmmaking) Brearley News Channel (film, edit and produce weekly newscast) Carpentry Ceramics Debate Hacklab Photography Poetry Circle Robotics Theatre VIII Drama