FVS Viewbook 2017—Open UP

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

OPENUP

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GO WEST, YOUN

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

CURIOSITY, INQUIRY, PROBLEM SOLVING and CREATIVE EXPRESSION guide your Fountain Valley School journey.

Learn deeper in classes that challenge you to think critically. Engage in discussions where everyone’s opinion matters.

Fountain Valley’s faculty are innovators and experts in their fields. You’ll find yourself immersed in compelling classes— the astonishing world of neuroscience

• Delving

into the ethos, history, science and art of the American West through FVS’s signature Western Immersion Program

• Expanding

your math competency to the peak of your ability

• Exploring

sword fighting, vocal techniques and Suzuki theater toward becoming an accomplished actor

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• Finding

your writing voice and laying the foundation for your college essay

• Heading

out to Fountain Valley’s 1,100-acre prairie in an interdisciplinary course that examines Colorado’s human and natural history

• Snorkeling

in the campus pond to conduct a wildlife audit

• Singing

your heart out in Fountain Valley’s choir, playing in the School’s string ensemble and band, studying music theory and composition

• Exploring

print-making, wheel-throwing, metalsmithing, painting, filmmaking, illustrating and more in the spectacular Art Barn

The teachers I have been fortunate enough to know at Fountain Valley go above and beyond their responsibilities. They challenged me academically, but what truly sets them apart is their passion for supporting students outside the classroom. On weekends, they helped with college essays in the dorms, baked birthday cakes and engaged in late-night discussions with chai tea in hand. Their commitment to students is what makes FVS what it is.

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

• Discovering

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NO PLACE Fountain Valley School of Colorado

ELSE.

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado offers a combination of experiences you won’t find at any other school.

Set in the Rocky Mountain West, students and faculty embrace the opportunities the spectacular setting offers, as well as the independence, confidence and resilience that living in the West inspires. You’ll find joy in learning through inquiry, problem-solving and creative expression. With students from around the world and across the country, you’ll learn to think and connect globally, making lifelong friends along the way.

FVS gave me a safe space to grow, push up against boundaries, and get to know people from other countries and of all walks of life.

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

Will E. ’18 performing in Poetry Out Loud, a national competition.

Two years in a row, Fountain Valley School won the Colorado competition, sending students to compete in Washington, D.C.

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You’ll become your

BEST SELF. Your True Self.

You can be you at Fountain Valley School. This is a place where individuality is prized. Try something new and you’ll be celebrated for it. Whether you’re in the classroom or the outdoors, on the court or stage, you will be on a journey to discover your true self in a safe place.

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

“ Every time my girls came home I needed to adjust the way I interacted with them. They returned having gained confidence in their decisions and themselves. When I listened to the young adult who came home and I responded to her developing maturity accordingly, our relationship became more fulfilling.”

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

OPEN UP YOUR

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WORLD.

Where Global is COMMUNITY & CURRICULUM. Become a World Citizen You’ll learn, live, play and make lifelong friends with peers from more than a dozen countries around the world.

Fountain Valley students embrace the world beyond campus, beyond borders and beyond mindsets. Through classes, seminars, global opportunities, Unity Day, Interim and exchanges, students move toward genuine engagement as world citizens.

Round Square

FVS’s membership in Round Square offers you opportunities to embark on exciting international exchanges and conferences. Round Square is a network of more than 160 like-minded schools around the globe, and Fountain Valley is one of just 11 member schools in the U.S. FVS students have participated in school exchanges and conferences in South Africa, Australia, Switzerland, Peru and Colombia.

63 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS from 14 COUNTRIES

7.3 PERCENT of alumni are international

NINE STUDENT-LED CLUBS with a global focus

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

Global Scholar Diploma

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Pursue and delve into a global concern that sparks your passion while earning a Global Scholar Diploma. Recent capstone projects include: • Nomadic

Peoples and the Politics of Identity: The Tuareg of the Sahel and the Roma of Europe

• At

the Nexus of Public Health and Human Rights: Immunization Around the Globe

• Solving

Food Inequality: Three Case Studies and an Action Project

20 PERCENT of students annually travel abroad on Interim, many with scholarships

FACULTY HAVE TAUGHT IN CLASSROOMS AROUND THE WORLD and are committed to international professional development

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” Fountain Valley School of Colorado

Learning about other cultures has given me a profound respect and tolerance for diversity… despite our objective differences, we are all very much the same.

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

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FVS grads head to college with confidence – across the U.S. and around the world.

Fountain Valley School’s college counselors are experts at finding the kind of school and community that is the right fit for you. Our two fulltime counselors are deeply familiar with the college admission process, having worked in the admission offices of highly selective colleges. Their experience on both sides of the desk offers students and families a truly 360 view. They know how to guide you through a thoughtful, personal process that begins sophomore year and leads to smart, confident decisions and an excellent school fit.

MORE THAN 70 COLLEGES visit FVS each year to meet with students

“ Both our girls have repeatedly commented on how much they value their Fountain Valley experiences. They feel FVS truly prepared them for college, gave them great life experiences, strengthened their ability to think through situations and events in ways that cause them to ask more questions to form their opinions...they both have said that Fountain Valley helped to shape and strengthen them for their future careers more than their college experience.”

University of Adelaide, Australia

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

University of Southern California

University of California, Berkeley

University of Illinois

University of St. Andrew’s

Carnegie Mellon University

Knox College

University of Texas, Austin

Marquette University

United States Military Academy

Colby College Colorado College University of Colorado Dartmouth College Franklin University Switzerland Georgia Institute of Technology Gonzaga University

New York University University of Pennsylvania Pomona College Pratt Institute Queen’s University, Canada Santa Clara University Sewanee: The University of the South

University of Utah Washington University in St. Louis Wesleyan University Whittier College

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

A REPRESENTATIVE LIST OF WHERE OUR ALUMNI HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS:

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

IT FEELS

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“ HOME

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For me, I chose FVS because it was a place where I felt I was part of a family.

21 student clubs

BOARDING = 68% DAY = 32%

MALE = 52% FEMALE = 48%

More than 30 DOGS live on campus

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

LIKE

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“ Fountain Valley School of Colorado

Dear Mr. and Mrs. M [house directors]: It’s been two weeks at Carnegie Mellon University for me, and I’m doing great here! Last night I saw Ben Snapchat Morgan’s birthday party in the common room, and I was like, ‘Man I really miss that place.’ Now I realize how my three years at FVS prepared me so well for college in multiple aspects, and indeed, a big part of that preparation for me came from you.

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SHARE YOUR LIFE. Your dorm is where you Live like a family, with just 16-20 students in each house ake lifelong friends from all over the world and embrace M new cultural experiences ond with a caring house director invested in your well being, B your academics and your FVS experience ick back, catch up with friends, make a snack, watch a K movie, play a game

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Develop life skills that give you a head start in college and in life

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30 FACULTY KIDS currently growing up on campus

ENROLLMENT = 225

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

Living away from home made me independent and meeting people from so many walks of life helped open my eyes to experiences awaiting me out there in the big world.

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

THIS PLACE

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

It stays with you.

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

Make

COLORADO YOURS. You’ll be calling it “my Colorado” before too long. Pikes Peak is front and center, a daily reminder that adventure is yours for the taking. Colorado’s generous landscape offers endless, breathtaking opportunities.

What will be on your Colorado checklist?

• Heading

out for a weekend pack trip on horseback

• Mountain

biking

• Climbing • Summiting

a few of Colorado’s renowned 14,000-ft. peaks

• A

semester of outdoor education that takes you to the backcountry on weekends

• A

hut-to-hut Interim trip

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how many ski/snowboard days you can get in

FIVE DAYS spent trail building every year for Senior Seminar

20 SKI TRIPS annually

61 HORSES currently live on the ranch

When you are out in the elements, you experience the world differently. When you push yourself physically, you strengthen and fuel your mind. Put the two together and you encounter the space to live out the purest moments of your life.

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

• Seeing

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

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Fountain Valley School of Colorado

YOU CAN PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE

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and be celebrated for trying something new

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

I chose Fountain Valley because I was looking for a new, unique experience.

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16 COMPETITIVE VARSITY SPORTS

1/3 OF STUDENTS are involved in the music program

2 IEA ENGLISH RIDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

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Fountain Valley challenges you, betters you, and prepares you in ways beyond imaginable.

20 SUMMIT SCHOLARS on merit scholarships

$36 MILLION ENDOWMENT

$1.2 MILLION RAISED in 2016-17 from alumni, parents and friends to support the FVS Annual Fund

The Portrait of A FOUNTAIN VALLEY SCHOOL GRADUATE Embraces the joy of learning through inquiry, problemsolving and creative expression.

Approaches challenges with confidence, independence and resilience. hinks and connects globally, while contributing as an T engaged citizen. ontinues to hone individual talents and pursue new C passions. ppreciates natural environments having lived and A learned amid Colorado’s mountains and plains.

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

Boldly pursues self discovery with the pioneering spirit of the West.

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This is Samantha Olvera ’11, a former FVS Global Scholar and bioengineer who is helping to save babies’ lives and improve neonatal care in the southeastern African country of Malawi.

Global Scholar to Rhodes Scholar: Hannah Carrese ’12 is tackling the complex crisis of the vast number of displaced people worldwide due to civil conflict.

With the aim to influence more multicultural urban youth to get outdoors, Ani founded Exposure Film Project. The film features an Atlanta hiphop artist and his producer—neither of whom have outdoor experience—spending two weeks in the Olympic National Park backcountry wilderness.

Ani hopes the film will also increase support for the protection of natural spaces across the United States by engaging a new audience.

Fountain Valley School of Colorado

Ani Yahzid ’16

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OUR CORE VALUES COURAGE

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

SELF-RELIANCE

CURIOSITY

COMPASSION

(719) 390-7035 | fvs.edu 6155 Fountain Valley School Road | Colorado Springs, Colorado 80911-2299