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Guiding Grade 8 Students Through the Secondary School Search
Guida Mattison, Nashoba Brooks School's director of secondary school placement, wants to remove as much stress as possible from the high school application process that Grade 8 students go through each year.
"In the final trimester of seventh grade, we provide them with an individualized binder that provides all the information families need to get a head start on applications," Ms. Mattison explains. She has designed and run the placement program for more than five years, with the primary goal of "finding the best fit high school for each student and family—whether public or independent, day or boarding." She developed her program to support students and families so that they do not feel like they are going through it alone.
With this objective in mind, Ms. Mattison coordinates teacher recommendation inquiries, arranges practice interviews, holds individual planning and check-in meetings with each student, provides general and specific essay writing guidance for students, and offers information sessions for parents. As a part of this process, Ms. Mattison asked English teacher Mr. Stephens, who has been on admissions committees at schools where he previously taught, to attend her first writing workshop for Grade 8 students. Gathered together in the Sureau Family Discovery Barn, Ms. Mattison and Mr. Stephens walked through questions students might encounter, discussed narrative writing techniques, gave students time to write, and critiqued the work that each student produced. "Writing essays for applications is akin to answering questions in a job interview,” says Mr. Stephens, “It's a style of writing that might be slightly foreign to students, so I was happy to help when Ms. Mattison asked me to come down and share some insight."
Demystifying the application process for students and their families in these ways helps students to manage all of the steps with greater self-assurance. As students gathered their things at the end of their essay workshop, Lilly, one of the Grade 8 co-presidents, expressed with confidence: "I feel so much better about these essays now!"
What a bee-autiful sight! The Nashoba Brooks beehives have been buzzing all summer and have produced their first batch of honey! With the help of Mel, our apiarist partner, Grade 1 students were able to extract a few jars of honey from one of our hives. Students will further explore this wonder of nature during science class this year as they learn more about the natural world and our local environment.
Grade 3 students participated in a favorite Nashoba Brooks tradition: a Sharing of Understanding. This event hosted family members to listen and learn about what their students have been working on at School, including a recorder recital and in-depth explanations of multiple indigenous peoples.
It was a packed weekend on the Nashoba Brooks campus for Fall Weekend!
Thank you to all the parent volunteers, student ambassadors, faculty members, and all other roles who contributed to making this weekend so memorable for our School.
After weeks of hard work, Grade 3 students had the opportunity to present their Community Hero projects to their families and their interview subjects!
The Nashoba Brooks School campus was bursting with excitement Friday, November 4, through Sunday, November 6, as we celebrated our annual Fall Weekend.
After almost a year of research, school visits, interviews, self-reflection, and essay writing, the Grade 8 class is enjoying a variety of excellent high schools to choose from.
Alongside the book fair and poetry month, April has been a wonderful time for literature at Nashoba Brooks School. Sharon Draper and Jen Campbell, two celebrated authors, left their mark on the community over the past few weeks.
More than 75 parents responded to this year’s annual School survey and numbers were well balanced across all grade levels. The results of the survey are impressive and the feedback the parents offer to the School is glowing.
As Black History Month comes to a close, students and faculty alike celebrate diversity, acknowledging that a school is not only classrooms, gymnasiums, and fields, but also the people within these walls. Each year and at every grade level our students contemplate the presence and importance of different backgrounds, experiences and beliefs. And this month provides community members with an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be Black in America.
Rachel Adams graduated from Nashoba Brooks School in 2001. She went on to study at Lawrence Academy followed by Maine College of Art and Design. Now living in Portland as a successful artist, textile designer, entrepreneur, wife and mother of two, Rachel shares her journey from student to full time artist.
Situated on a beautiful 30-acre campus in historic Concord, Massachusetts, Nashoba Brooks School enrolls all genders in Preschool through Grade 3, and students identifying as girls in Grades 4 through 8. Nashoba Brooks is an independent school designed to build community, character, and confidence in its students.