History

So Grows the Tree

This is a story with more than one beginning. Although Nashoba Brooks School is 26 years old, its roots go much deeper. The Brooks School of Concord, on Elm Street, began as a school for young boys and girls in 1928, when an educator named Gladys Brooks acted upon her belief in the importance of early childhood education. Thirty years, later, Nashoba Country Day School for girls only was formed when Concord Academy discontinued grades four through eight.

The two schools merged in 1980, allowing Brooks to say farewell to its leaky Victorian buildings and join the Nashoba facility, on 20 acres of farmland and woods, to expand. Today’s Nashoba Brooks campus includes (in addition to classrooms and offices) two gymnasiums, a dining commons; a dedicated creative arts facility, two technology labs, a state-of-the-art science center for the upper grades and an age-appropriate science facility for lower grades, and spacious playing fields that include a tennis court.

The student structure in place at the time of the merger – co-educational, Age 3-Grade 3, and all girls in Grades 4-8 – has been kept intact. For young students, the school’s developmental approach focuses on the personal growth of boys and girls at ages when many factors in society complicate that growth, especially for boys. For girls in the upper grades, the single-gender environment supports rigorous study, strong leadership, and a commitment to service.

The story of Nashoba Brooks is really the story of three schools. There is a theme, though, that resonates throughout: the importance of good habits of learning and good habits of character from the very beginning of school life. Gladys Brooks, the earliest of our founders, put it this way: “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.”

History of a Song

With the assistance of its music teachers and input from faculty, Head of School Kay Cowan commissioned composer Joanne Hammil to write a school song that reflects the Nashoba Brooks Mission.  As the first school song in the history of the school, it is now a feature of many school assemblies and events.

Nashoba Brooks School Song
Words and Music by Joanne Hammil
copyright 2003 JHO Music

(Start by singing Part 1 alone, then Part 2 alone, then both parts together)

Part 1:

Verses:

1. Many voices, many different ways
Making choices, growing through our days – at….

2. Classes and the arts, challenging our minds,
Sports and friendships – we’re learning all the time – at…

Ending: The learning has its seeds in me and you.