Alumna Rachel Frenkil '04: On Her Love of Learning and Languages
Alumna Rachel Frenkil, currently in her eighth year of teaching Spanish, loves working at Gann Academy.
She credits her early years at Nashoba Brooks School as the spark for her career path in education. Additionally, it was in Grade 4, studying French, when she discovered her natural aptitude for learning languages.
Rachel’s mother encouraged her to learn Spanish at a very young age. When her family adopted her younger brother from Guatemala as a baby, they wanted to have a bilingual home.
“I loved Spanish because of my family but Nashoba Brooks School showed me I could be very successful in languages in general because I was so good at French. It came very easily to me,” said Rachel.
After graduating from Concord Academy, Rachel attended Colby College where she traveled to Buenos Aires for six months to study abroad.
Rachel states, “After graduating from Colby College, I worked at the Pomfret School where they were willing to send me to Spain for a week, Madrid and Barcelona. Then I got my masters in Spanish (with a concentration in literature) from Middlebury College over the course of 4 summers.”
Rachel spent 6 more weeks in Buenos Aires taking more Spanish classes. As a result of her educational and experiential journeys, Rachel’s interests evolved over the years to include Latin American political history, Spanish-language film, and hispanohablante Jews.
Rachel has fond memories of her years at Nashoba Brooks, and shared her love for the Grade 6 Renaissance unit in particular.
“Nashoba Brooks showed me what a rigorous and great education is all about. Looking back [my experience] made me want to get involved in education. I am passionate about using authentic materials and applied grammar to create meaningful and engaging lessons for my students. My classes are communicative and student-centered,” she states.
Since running on the Nashoba Brooks cross-country team in Grade 7, Rachel continued running in high school and in college, and now coaches cross country at Gann Academy. She has completed three marathons, two in Boston. In addition to finishing with a stellar time for Boston (3.31.42), she also raised almost $25,000 for Dana-Farber, and hopes to run it again in the future.
When not teaching, coaching, or training for her next marathon, Rachel is committed to cultivating her interest in Latin dance. She can often be seen at the Havana Club in Central Square, where she enjoys both salsa and bachata (Caribbean partner dances). Looking toward the future, she thinks about her upcoming wedding and looks forward to seeing (and dancing with) many of her former Nashoba Brooks classmates. “At my wedding there will be at least seven women who will be there from Nashoba Brooks,” Rachel says with a smile.
More News
List of 20 news stories.
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Grade 3 Native Peoples
Read MoreGrade 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. -
2024 Book Ball: Eras Edition
Grade 6 students are in their Reading Era!Read More -
Sizing Down the Playground
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Fall Weekend Fun
Read MoreIt 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. -
Grade 8 CSPAN StudentCam Winners
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Grade 1 Belts It Out!
This afternoon our community watched first graders ‘Belt It Out’!Read More -
Grade 3 Community Hero Projects
After weeks of hard work, Grade 3 students had the opportunity to present their Community Hero projects to their families and their interview subjects!Read More -
Visiting Lawrence Academy Alumni
A recent opportunity to connect with alumni attending Lawrence Academy left all in attendance filled with warm memories.Read More -
Family Fun at Fall Weekend!
Read MoreThe Nashoba Brooks School campus was bursting with excitement Friday, November 4, through Sunday, November 6, as we celebrated our annual Fall Weekend. -
2022 Concord Bookshop Day: A Smashing Success
This year’s Concord Bookshop Day was one for the records!Read More -
Students Consider Many High School Choices
Read MoreAfter 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. -
Students Recognized by National Latin Exam
Every year, thousands of Latin students across the United States and the world take the National Latin Exam (NLE).Read More -
Award Winning Authors Speak with Students
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.Read More -
Parents Rave in Annual Survey
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.Read More -
Nashoba Brooks Poets Published
Read MoreAs 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. -
Nashoba Brooks Prioritizes Affordability
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Grade 7 Students Help Local Turtles Thrive
As part of a multi-school initiative to support endangered species, Grade 7 students foster two Blanding's turtles for the school year.Read More -
Reflections from Artist Rachel Adams ‘01
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.Read More -
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.Read More -
Grade 3 Meets Author Christine Day
Recently, Ms. Gaffny and Ms. Keady's Grade 3 students had the exciting opportunity to meet Christine Day, the author of I Can Make This Promise.Read More
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.
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