Head of Fenn School Jerry Ward is the 2018 Ellis Lecture Guest Speaker
On Tuesday, April 3, Nashoba Brooks School hosted its annual Ellis Lecture with guest speaker Jerry Ward, Headmaster at The Fenn School. Jerry addressed School employees and recounted lessons learned during his long and distinguished career in education and two and a half decades at Fenn. His words shed light on the education of boys, the shared missions of both institutions, and the contributions of his wife Lorraine--his partner in life and at Fenn--who passed away last year.
Jerry talked about the importance of teaching, the at-times “arduous” profession of shaping lives. Comparing teaching to the challenging role of parenting, he pointed out that with teaching it takes faith to know that one’s efforts are indeed making a difference even when the effects are not yet known.
Jerry also talked about the benefits of a single-sex education. “In a single sex school we get to understand in greater depth who these boys and girls are,” he said. This perspective is one he shared with his late wife Lorraine, a former class dean at Wellesley College. Single sex schools give both boys and girlsthe chance to take time out from each other.
Employees enjoyed listening to Jerry talk about the emotional complexity and distinguishing characteristics of boys: their physical energy, delight in being comrades, appetite for competition, eagerness to help in urgent situations, their quickness to move on from slight or injury, and of course, their delight in and thirst for what is fun and funny.
Forty years into his career as an educator, Jerry Ward continues to engage and inspire educators.
As part of interdisciplinary work across science, humanities, writer’s workshop, and transliteracy, Grade 4 students engage with the Invention Convention which provides a hands-on opportunity for students to creatively solve a novel problem. With the timeliness and acknowledgment of National Engineers Week, this STEM, invention, and entrepreneurship program starts with our students exploring their lives, and the lives of others, to identify a problem they are passionate about solving.
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.
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.