Viewbook 2019-20

OWN YOUR journey.

ARE YOU

To demonstrate honesty, integrity and respect

To take personal responsibility

To embrace intellectual curiosity

To care beyond oneself

READY ?

To learn with passion and perseverance

To work hard, take risks, become involved

During the next few years, you’ll have the chance to find out who you are. You’ll try new things. Your imagination will be stretched. Your learning curve may be steep but it’s time to push yourself, to take responsibility, to achieve.

You’ll be tested. You’ll make mistakes. But you won’t be alone. The faculty and staff will guide you. So will your fellow Wyverns.

They’ll help you reach your potential. KO is a place where you can grow and learn alongside students who are as motivated as you are.

The values you’ll learn and the bonds you’ll create within this welcoming community will last a lifetime.

60

JUST THE

%

FACTS

510 44

Faculty with more than 10 years at KO

5

%

Students enrolled

Minutes it takes to walk to Blue Back Square

30

%

Student diversity

Students who receive need-based tuition support

62 Towns served

100 Percentage of students who attend a four-year college

64

%

Faculty with advanced degrees

100 11,312 91 Percentage of seniors who write a thesis paper

%

Students who enroll in at least one APÂŽ class before graduation

1272

Community service hours performed by the graduating class

Average class size

%

Recent graduates hold leadership positions on their college campus

ESSENTIAL

RELATIONSHIPS

Students, Advisors, Parents A Community of Connections

Strong, Supportive Relationships Students achieve great success at KO due in part to their highly interactive partnership with an advisor who serves as an advocate for the student and family. In addition to overseeing a student’s academic progress, advisors provide informal and personal guidance in all areas of school life. They meet regularly with faculty about advisees and they serve as a liaison between parents and the school.

Guidance throughout the KO Journey In many ways, advisors function as “life coaches” — they see what happens in the hallways, on the sports field, in the classroom, and more. They use this big picture perspective to guide and support all aspects of a student’s life: academic, athletic, social, and extracurricular.

Bridging the Gap between School and Home The biggest advantage of a day school is the close connection KO establishes with its parents. We want to hear from you and see you on campus. Throughout the year our dynamic Parent Association, faculty and staff continually strengthen the parent-home relationship with regular check-ins, forums with education specialists and mental health experts, casual coffees and special topic movies. And if you can’t make those meetings, just pick up the phone and tell your parent representative, advisor or administrator what’s on your mind.

“My son started at Kingswood Oxford as a 10th grader and it was a big change for him: from a small school where he was class president to KO where he didn’t know anyone. His advisor was a godsend and made his transition seamless. She got to know him and helped him integrate into the community.

By his junior year, he was elected president of his KO class and had a great high school experience.”

Michelle Gibson, Parent

EXERCISE YOUR MIND

Engaged Liberal Arts

Communicate Effectively, Think Critically At KO, we don’t just teach what to learn, we teach you how to learn—and how to think, write, speak and question. As you grow, you’ll find satisfaction in being challenged to do your best.

Through our broad-based curriculum, you’ll learn methods for creativity, risk-taking and growth in small classes enlivened by give-and-take among peers and teachers. In this collaborative environment, you’ll learn active listening as well as ways to develop and support your ideas. Extended class schedules allow for thoughtful, deep analysis, not mere recitation of facts and figures.

Develop public speaking skills through: •Middle School “Shark Tank” projects •Middle School Geography Bee competitions •Eighth grade speeches at Middle School assemblies •Seventh grade public speaking course •Middle School and Upper School mock trial teams •Weekly school-wide assemblies •Competitive and club debate program •Model U.N. •Tenth grade Speakers Forum •Harkness Table discussions Senior Thesis The thesis is the culmination of the longrange objectives of the English program at KO. It teaches students to apply all their acquired reading, writing and thinking skills in an independent research paper with a substantial literary component. An assigned thesis advisor works with a small group of students in class to cover topic selection, methods of research and technical procedures, while the student pursues his or her independent research and writing.

“KO taught me to write well and to formulate my thoughts. In particular, the Senior Thesis allowed me to see the bigger picture of writing on a broader scale.

I was well prepared for college.”

Noah Stanton, Class of 2017, Vanderbilt University, Class of 2021 National Senior Thesis Winner by the National Cum Laude Society 2017

•2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 KO Forensic Union students advanced to worldwide Forensic Union competition in Lithuania, Hong Kong, Sydney, Australia and Cape Town, South Africa • 2016, 2017 National Thesis Winners by the National Cum Laude Society • Best Delegate at Russian Model U.N. (2017) and Best Delegate at Yale Model U.N. (2018)

College Advising

Student-Centered and Individualized At KO, college advising is another step in a student’s journey of self-discovery. Our students benefit from a student-centered four-year college advising curriculum, which working in conjunction with our general advising program, allows our students, from early on, to continually ask, “who am I?” and “what do I love to do?”

During their sophomore year, students and families are assigned a college advisor who supports them with the college search process, curriculum planning, and testing plans.

Our goal is to help students become their best selves, to guide them in discovering and fulfilling their greatest potential.

ALL THE

SUPPORT YOU NEED

College preparation includes:

Build Long-Term Success

• Participating in VQV–“Vincit Qui Se Vincit” (One conquers by conquering oneself)– college advising classes which cover a range of topics related to the college search and application process

College advising at KO reflects the school’s holistic approach to student success: student participation in the college search and application process reinforces the habits and skills needed for longterm success. In short, our advisors focus as much on preparing students to succeed in college as they do on getting them into college.

• Meeting regularly with a college advisor, both individually and with parents • Identifying a range of potential colleges and universities • Working on application materials, including the college essay • Taking the PSAT and Pre-ACT and developing a standardized testing plan • Meeting with admissions representatives from more than 100 colleges/universities who visit KO annually

“KO’s college advisors introduced me to new ideas and helped me discover what I wanted to do.

They were always there to provide options and opportunities. The strong relationships I formed with my teachers and advisors prepared me—once I was in college—to recognize when I needed help and how to get it.”

Gabrielle Ruban, Class of 2018, Emory University, Class of 2022

O

DIG

DEEP

For over 30 years our Baird Symposium Writer Series has invited notable writers-in-residence—like Arthur Miller, John Updike, Tony Kushner, Jonathan Safran Foer, Tim O’Brien, Colson Whitehead (pictured here)— to workshop with seniors and address students about the writing craft.

Community Garden: Rose’s love of the outdoors and her desire to have fellow students disconnect from technology inspired her to create the Red KOw Community Garden whose produce is used in the dining hall.

Wyverns in Space: Connor had a novel idea to launch the school mascot, the Wyvern, into near space. Why? Why not? With an intrepid team, some fundraising, a weather balloon and a GoPro, the Wyvern reached 83,000 feet.

On the Grind: With their entrepreneurial spirit and quest for great coffee, Jack and Ryan opened a profit-making coffee stand serving strong cups of java.

Electric Car Showcase: Matt and the Robotics Team hosted an Electric Car Showcase to promote the conversion to sustainable electric vehicles and STEM education. Proceeds from the event supported newly resettled refugees in the area and taught these underserved youth about robotics and STEM.

One person (you) can make a difference.

Real World Connections

Learn in and out of class At KO, learning happens in and out of the classroom. It takes place during conversations and activities, whether on the Green or in the cafeteria. Forums led by world-class writers, scientists, activists, and athletes help you examine various disciplines and prepare you to be an informed global citizen.

Each year, KO hosts a distinguished speakers series where students hear about big ideas from the best and the brightest through the Goodman Banks Visiting Artist Series, Stroud Science Symposium, Composer Colloquy Visiting Artist Series, Warren Baird English Symposium, and the Harry E. Goldfarb Speaker Series.

Go Global Change your perspective without a passport. KO is a member of the prestigious Global Online Academy, a worldwide consortium of 50+ schools that adds to the vitality of KO’s curricular offerings. Bioethics, gender studies, game theory, medical problem-solving, Japanese, to name a few. While learning with students from around the world, you’ll develop confidence, independence and self-advocacy.

Experience Beyond Model U.N. and Debate teams have traveled to Russia, England, Australia and Portugal to compete with other students.

June term – two-week, travel study experiences, such as the faculty-led trip to the Island School in Eleuthera, Bahamas, to deepen understanding of environmental issues.

Team Tobati 70% of KO’s Upper School students participate in this signature service-learning opportunity in Paraguay.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned in my time at KO has been that you can’t let fear stop you from taking advantage of the many opportunities offered you; you have to step out of your comfort zone and take risks...

This is a school where our differences are embraced and celebrated. KO will gladly support any student’s unusual idea.”

Claudia Petrie, Class of 2019, Bates College, Class of 2023

“Being a Wyvern has given me the space to pursue my ambitions and interests and learn lessons that I can take past school as I affect change in the real world.”

Juanita Asapokhai, Class of 2020

The Margaret E. and Henry R. Roberts Center for Leadership A Systematic Approach to Leadership Development

Many ways to learn in many settings • Community Engagement: In workshops and clubs, you develop programs as part of the wider community.

• Internships: Help you develop diverse skills and a better understanding of–and exposure to– possible career fields.

• Global Experiences: You will better appreciate the world through travel and hands-on learning.

• Required programs for school leadership positions: As prefects, senior advisors, members of student government, club leaders and sport captains, you and your fellow students learn about yourselves as leaders and how best to serve your community, class or team.

• Lunch and Lead: These are informal sessions in which you learn about the journeys of alumni leaders in a variety of fields.

• VQV (Vincit Qui Se Vincit) program: You’ll learn to reflect on and develop your own ideas, choices and actions as well as identify your own leadership style.

• Monthly Workshops: You’ll learn to address relevant, real-world topics like networking, Budget 101, interviewing skills, managing stress, professionalism, public speaking, and etiquette.

• Peer Tutoring and Wyverns Helping Wyverns: Through our Upper School peer tutoring and our Wyverns Helping Wyverns for our Middle School students, students gain confidence and develop stronger peer relationships as well as reinforce their own learning by instructing others.

FIND YOUR

VOICE Tap Into a Powerful Tool The Margaret E. and Henry R. Roberts Center for Leadership complements our dynamic academic program by offering outside-the-classroom learning.

Each student is given the means to develop his or her own principlecentered leadership style. KO will cultivate your potential so you can make a real difference in the world around you.

“One of my favorite things about KO was how we were encouraged to try new things. I never thought of myself as a singer until my freshman year advisor suggested I try out for the girls’ choir. I was nervous so the choir director offered to meet with me before the audition and that really calmed my nerves. I loved my experience in the choir.”

Abby Eberle, Class of 2018, St. Lawrence University, Class of 2022

Embrace Your Inner Artist

NO LIMITS

That means you

Don’t limit yourself. It’s time to discover and take advantage of what you didn’t know you had in you.

At KO, you’ll find all kinds of opportunities to create, collaborate and think outside the box. The arts extend the possibility of innovative thought across disciplines. If a calligraphy class inspired Steve Jobs to create beautiful typography on the Mac, how might a printmaking class inspire you? You won’t know until you try.

35 Arts Courses, including: • Music • Instrumental, Vocal (Ensemble and a cappella), Digital • Theater • Acting, Dancing, Public Speaking, Stagecraft/Theater Design • Visual Arts • Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Printmaking, Ceramics • Media Arts • Photography, Filmmaking, New Media • Two major theater productions • Halo Awards (2019) for Best Dancing and Best Featured Dancers for Chicago: The High School Edition • Literary magazine, student newspaper, yearbook • Black Box Theater performances • Digital art • Photography • Goodman Banks and Composer Colloquy Series • Artists of national and international stature participate in residencies that illuminate the creative process and demonstrate how it fits into daily life.

One of two a cappella groups performs at the sold-out Wyvern Invitational A Cappella Festival, one of the largest high school a cappella festivals in New England.

“ As a studentathlete it can be hard to find the balance between sports and academics. But, my advisors, teachers and coaches helped me manage my time and organize myself.

Everyone believed in me, and it was because of their help I was able to confront my challenges and knew what I needed to do to improve.

I learned to be disciplined and work hard. It wasn’t always easy, but it has paid off.”

Matt Lord, Class of 2017, University of Virginia, Class of 2021, UVA Men’s Tennis Team

FEEL THE

SPIRIT

Wyvern Nation Building Commitment and Camaraderie

Each one of us is a Wyvern studentathlete. We offer 33 interscholastic teams, including 23 varsity teams, as well as a rich array of intramural and noncompetitive teams. On the playing field, that’s where you’ll see the KO ethos—perseverance, commitment and teamwork—come alive. It’s more than winning; it’s learning.

KO participates in the Founders League, Fairchester League, and Evergreen League.

KO students regularly earn honors such as: • All New England and All State Athletes • 2016 Football New England Champions • 2016, 2017 and 2018 Boys’ Swimming and Diving New England Champions • 2016, 2017 Girls’ Track and Field New England Champions • 2016 Boys’ Tennis New England Champions • 2016 Girls’ Tennis New England Champions • 2017 Boys’ Basketball NEPSAC semifinalists • 2017 Golf Peddie Cup • 2018 Boys’ Basketball Paul “Frosty” Francis KIT Tournament Champions • 2019 Boys’ Squash New England Champions • 2019 Girls’ Squash U.S. High School Team Squash Championship • 2019 Football Mark Conroy Bowl NEPSAC participant

20%

of our graduates go on to play sports at the Division I, II, or III level compared to the national average of 4%

Come visit and discover your potential.

Push beyond what you think you can achieve.

Contact us at 860-727-5000 or admissions@kingswoodoxford.org to schedule an interview or campus tour.

KO admits students of any race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of these characteristics in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, financial aid programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

A college preparatory co-ed day school • Grades 6–12 170 Kingswood Road • West Hartford, CT 06119-1430 860-727-5000 • www.kingswoodoxford.org