Harpeth Hall Admission Viewbook

Where Girls Matter

Harpeth Hall is the place for you because . . .

You want a school that is spirited and dynamic, where it is cool to be smart.

You love teachers who challenge you to think critically through fun and engaging assignments.

You crave a community that wants to know you and help you discover your authentic self.

You try new things — even if you make mistakes — because we all learn best that way.

You believe brave girls and purposeful women can change the world.

Welcome to Harpeth Hall,

where girls matter.

10 Special Things About

Honeybear Nation Our Campbell Plaid

Our distinct uniform connects us to each other.

United in plaid, we embrace our individuality.

Your Advisor

Each student is paired with a faculty advisor who is her advocate and mentor. Your advisory group is made up of eight to ten students in your grade, who gather often to share experiences, ask questions, and celebrate each other.

Our Spirit Clubs

You will be placed in one of four spirit clubs — Angkor, Ariston, Eccowasin, or Triad. The intramural clubs date back almost 100 years and build connections across classes. Wearing your club’s color and waving your club flag, you will compete for the annual Club Trophy by earning points through quiz bowl, song competitions, and other activities.

The Dedicated Faculty

Our teachers cheer for you in the classroom, on the stage, and on the courts. They encourage your endeavors and champion your growth. They show up early and stay late to help you shine.

The Innovative Learning

Our teachers create learning experiences that are hands-on and imaginative. From power tools to telescopes, students learn through doing.

Sometimes, girls dress in togas on the library steps as if they were orators in ancient Rome, and other times students transform their classroom into a giant working cell, breaking through the membrane to the nucleus to experience biology firsthand.

The Traditions That Ground Us and Push Us Forward

Every May since the 1920s, Harpeth Hall girls carry on the tradition of Step Singing. Our juniors and seniors gather together to sing on the steps of the Ann Scott Carell Library. Here, seniors pass on

leadership of the school as the juniors pledge to transmit Harpeth Hall better, greater, and more beautiful than it was transmitted to them.

to upper school. The girls know they will carry the support of their middle school advisors as they begin their future in the upper school.

The Senior House

Our Story

Our Senior House is a special place where girls get to be girls. Each year, the seniors choose a theme and decorate the Senior House. They have spontaneous dance parties on the patio, sign the wall when they make their college selection, and in quieter moments study and read.

Crossing the Lawn

Every spring, our eighth grade advisors gather with their students on Souby Lawn where they recognize each girls’ accomplishments and contributions to our community.

With each remark, our eighth grade students travel step by step across the lawn, symbolizing their passage from middle

From Ward Seminary for Young Ladies to WardBelmont School and now to Harpeth Hall, our story has always been about girls. For 155 years, we’ve held true to the bold idea that girls deserve an excellent education full of possibilities and purpose.

Today, the Harpeth Hall campus comprises nearly 44 acres with enrollment of more than 700 students.

Our Enduring Friendships

With over 6,000 Honeybears across the nation and around the globe, Harpeth Hall graduates look out for one another. Our women support each other through internships, career advice, and lifelong friendships. We are everywhere.

9 Things

You Can Expect

You will join a diverse community.

Harpeth Hall girls represent a variety of states, countries, and backgrounds. There are friends waiting for you here.

You will thrive in an inclusive environment.

Harpeth Hall embraces differences and values the uniqueness that each girl brings to the classroom.

We are a school that honors individuality and where every student uses her voice.

You will expand your knowledge.

Our dynamic faculty designs rigorous, intriguing, and innovative curriculum that engage students’ talents and interests. Harpeth Hall teachers are experts in their fields and passionate about what they do. They care deeply about you!

You will master essential life skills.

In addition to our strong academics, you will gain knowledge of important skills, including collaboration, creativity, and communication.

You will be inspired.

The award-winning artists, authors, scientists, global experts, entrepreneurs, and business leaders who visit our campus will encourage you to imagine your brightest future.

You will find your place.

Here you can burst into giggles or quietly read a good book. Your friends will know you, accept you, and push you to be your best self.

You will participate in all you can imagine.

From sports to dance, student government to robotics, from a musical production to a community service project, there are so many ways for you to discover new avenues and find new interests.

You will surprise yourself.

Every day at Harpeth Hall is an opportunity.

Through the support of faculty and friends, what were once ambitions become accomplishments.

You will laugh.

In the company of other girls, you will be valued for being your authentic self and will find joy in the unexpected. Sharing in the fun of cartwheels on the lawn or an explosive science experiment will fill your days with memorable moments.

8 Teachers

Ready to Inspire You BARBARA BELL • Director of the Center for STEM Education for Girls

Water works: My favorite project is the sixth grade water project. After reading A Long Walk to Water, the girls are inspired to help solve the water shortage challenge in south Sudan. We walk the girls through the engineering design process, and they build prototypes of water catchment systems. As a final piece, students present their projects to a group of STEM professionals.

My home: Traverse City, on the shores of Lake Michigan. I left my small town and went to the U.S. Naval Academy to pursue the adventure of a lifetime. At that time, the law had just changed and service academies were opened to women. We were pioneers in this new era. I earned my engineering degree and became an aviator, then a career naval officer. Now, I’m in my second career with this amazing opportunity to develop the next generation of girls in STEM. Favorite place in Nashville: Radnor and Percy Priest lakes. I renew myself when I’m in nature and near, on, or under the water.

MARQUIS CHAPPELL • 9th Grade Dean and Upper School English Teacher

Fable to fiction: The girls’ favorite assignment in freshman English is writing a flash fiction piece based on a personal neighborhood anecdote (i.e. “the forbidden house down the road,” “the noisy neighbor who never sleeps,” “the house three doors down wherein people always enter but never leave”). They particularly enjoy that the assignment challenges them to fuse childhood fables, the idea of home, and artful writing to create an original work.

My home: I spent the majority of my childhood in Chattanooga, where I enjoyed the burgeoning arts scene.

Between Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Ballet Tennessee, The Center for Creative Arts, and taking years of private piano and violin lessons, I was perpetually surrounded by innovative artists who profoundly and expressively made sense of the world. Chattanooga is also where my maternal grandmother lived, making the city feel like home.

Favorite place in Nashville: Unequivocally Radnor Lake Park. As a nature enthusiast, the flora and fauna lining the trails as well as the lake’s stillness makes me feel whole.

JIM ROMERO • Director of Strength & Conditioning and Head Track & Field Coach

The Strength of Self: The girls set fitness goals and are provided a plan. They are challenged weekly to bring a great attitude, develop great technique, provide great effort, and push themselves outside their comfort zone. At the end of the semester, the fitness test provides the girls with a great sense of accomplishment and realization that they are mentally and physically STRONG young ladies.

My home: I am originally from Southern California. What makes where I grew up special is my home church, Grace Community Church, and teaching pastor John MacArthur.

Favorite place in Nashville: At home with my wife and seven children enjoying time together as a family.

MICHELE O’BRIEN • Middle School History Teacher

Revolutionary rebel: Students experience the revolutionary shift from pre-industrial artisan life to life as a laborer on an assembly line in our hat-making activity. Later in the year, seventh grade students adopt the rebellious persona of a real 19th-century Abolitionist and debate the role of John Brown in their movement. Was he a righteous asset or a liability?

My home: A town about 40 miles west of Chicago called Batavia, home of the particle physics laboratory and accelerator Fermi lab.

Favorite place in Nashville: Equal parts Grimey’s Record Shop and Radnor Lake State Park.

JENNIFER WEBSTER • Upper School Math and Computer Science

Smart stats: Students in honors precalculus take the lead on teaching one another statistical concepts. Using a critical mind, the girls learn to be informed consumers of media-reported statistics and analyze big data.

My home: Hermitage, Tennessee. Nestled between Old Hickory and Percy Priest lakes on the eastern edge of Davidson County, Hermitage boasts beautiful greenways, the home of President Andrew Jackson, and the delicious Hermitage Steakhouse.

Favorite place in Nashville: As an adult, my favorite place to be is on the back porch of my house in Gladeville (Mt. Juliet). The Opryland area is also a favorite of mine, because many of my fondest childhood memories come from summers spent at the Opryland Themepark and family games of frisbee golf at Two Rivers Park.

VANESA WENZ • Middle School Spanish Teacher

Music matters: My students create an original music video in which they teach their classmates a particular Spanish grammar structure (the past tense or ser/estar). They select two songs from a prepared list and write, sing, and act out new lyrics.

My home: Buenos Aires, Argentina, the third biggest city in Latin America. Although I had a four-hour-long commute to go to college, I am happy that I had that experience since it taught me the value of hard work.

Favorite place in Nashville: I love the Warner Parks! It gives me enormous pleasure to have a piece of wilderness and calmness in the middle of the city. I especially enjoy snake and bird watching!

ADAM WILSMAN • Upper School Assistant Dean for Academic Advising and History and Social Sciences Teacher

Life lessons: My predecessor, Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel, designed a life simulation for our economics students, which I adapted and expanded. Now, students are 25 years old on the first day of class and retirement age by the end of the semester, and they must make financial decisions every class day in order to live the kind of life they want. Through that semester-long project, I hope they learn something about how one navigates our world financially.

My home: Buffalo, New York.

Favorite Place in Nashville: As a parent of a 5- and 6-year-old, I have gone to the Nashville Zoo about a hundred times over the course of the last few years. Luckily, it is likely the most beautiful, clean, and enjoyable zoo I have ever visited, and it’s getting better every year. I love going there with my family.

STEPHANIE ZEIGER • Middle School Science Teacher

Brain behavior: One of my favorite projects is the eighth grade neuroscience project where students apply their understanding of chemistry to the brain. The project is based on my days as a neuroscientist when I would visit communities during Brain Awareness Week to explain the importance of brain research. Students choose their neuroscience topic, research the neurochemistry, and then design an activity to do with the public. I love how students use their creativity and become aware of how chemistry impacts their lives. My favorite quote from a student was: “I finally get how my brain works!” She went on to create an activity to inform the public about best educational practices for students with ADHD. An understanding of science is so powerful!

My home: Concord, North Carolina, right outside of Charlotte. When I grew up it was a small town. We would spend all day out in the woods near my house building and creating different things. Many toys did not survive our designs. I think this is why I enjoy engineering!

Favorite Place in Nashville: Cheekwood Estate and Gardens. My family spends a lot of time there in the spring and summer. Being surrounded by all the flowers and plants gives me a sense of peace.

At school, we did a mini project with art around the science of glass making. Visiting the Chihuly art exhibit reminded me of all the beautiful pieces our girls made and inspired me to continue the project.

7 Leadership Skills

You Will Learn at Harpeth Hall Speak so others listen and listen thoughtfully

From a fifth grade classroom presentation about your summer reading to a senior speech given in front of the entire school community, you will be ready to face any size audience and let your voice be heard. Equally important, you will listen to learn. In conversation with both classmates and teachers, you will engage in a vibrant intellectual environment that values diversity of thought and difference of opinion.

Write with force and precision

From middle school research papers to upper school literary analysis and persuasive essays, you will have the ability to tackle any writing assignment.

Solve problems

Whether you are building submarine prototypes in your eighth grade science class, redesigning the soda can in freshman algebra class, or developing multimedia public service projects on infectious diseases in upper school biology, you will develop the skills needed to gather information, identify barriers, explore solutions, and make smart decisions.

Act when you see a need

Living honorably is more than a phrase in our mission statement, it is the cornerstone in how our students learn and grow at Harpeth Hall. Our community is stronger when we lift each other up. Through our Public Purpose program, Act Now student group, and curricular offerings such as the Winterim course on homelessness and academic travel, Harpeth Hall girls transfer their learning to action on campus, locally, nationally, and globally.

Identify when to lead and when to follow

You will have the confidence to lead in your own way, because you will learn that every individual in a community has the responsibility to shape the community for the better.

Embrace diversity and uphold inclusion

You will be part of a school community that fosters academic curiosity, empowers diverse voices, and encourages experiences that prepare girls to challenge themselves as students and as individuals in the broader world. Every girl is developed and celebrated here.

Be confident in who you are

At Harpeth Hall, you can bring your whole self to school every day. In every endeavor, you will be able to make the hard right choice over the easy wrong one. Confidence and capability will define your success.

SABIN NETTLES Class of 2009

Boston College, B.S. in Psychology Washington University, Doctoral Candidate (Ph.D.) in Neuroscience

Sabin embraces initiatives

6 Alumnae Who Are

Changing the World

that promote student development, diversity, and inclusion in STEM fields. She is co-director of a neuroscience outreach program at Washington University called Brain Discovery, which pairs elementary school students in the St. Louis area with university neuroscientists. This program teaches students about the brain and nervous system by having the students engage in hands-on experiments and activities while learning about the scientific process and what it means to be a scientist. Sabin’s mentors at Harpeth Hall and beyond validated her passion for science. Her goal is to do the same for the next generation STEM stars.

Markell Lewis Miller Class of 1999

Director of Community Food Programs, Food Gatherers, Ann Arbor, Michigan Stanford University, B.S.E. in Product Design UC-Berkeley, M.P.H. in Public Health Nutrition

At Food Gatherers, Markell leads

the effort to make sure everyone in her Michigan community has the food they want in order to feel happy and healthy.

In addition to food programs, she directs the food bank’s efforts to partner with health care organizations, advocate for policy changes in Michigan and Washington D.C., and analyze and disseminate data about hunger. Markell is also the proud and busy mother of three young children. At Harpeth Hall, Markell loved math, painting, Latin, and physics, and she has carried with her this breadth of interests.

Kate Goldenring Class of 2015

Software Engineer with Microsoft in Seattle, Washington University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. Computer Science and Economics

At Microsoft, Kate works in the

Internet of Things (IoT), taking ownership of an open-source project that discovers devices and deploys applications to them. At Harpeth Hall, Kate learned to voice her questions and concerns freely — a skill she carried with her to Microsoft, where she is the only woman on her team. Work excites her, but calling on her life balance skills learned at Harpeth Hall she finds that having a hobby that pulls her away from the screen and into nature provides much needed balance. She has been backpacking in the woods of New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and most recently in the stunning Glacier Wilderness of Washington.

Sophia Howard Class of 2017

Spelman College, Comparative Women’s Studies, Minor in Philosophy

As a social justice fellow at Spelman, Sophia

serves as the student leader of The Learning Club, an alternative sentencing program for boys 13-17 at the Fulton County Juvenile Court. She also founded Unlocked Minds, a book club for women in Whitworth State Facility. She is Vice President of Spelman’s URGE (Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity) chapter.

After graduation, she plans to teach abroad and then attend law school with aspirations to be a public interest lawyer and work with the intersections of patriarchy and white supremacy.

Claire Smith Class of 2017

Washington and Lee University, Sociology and Global Politics

At Washington and Lee, Claire runs DIII cross

country, leads the university’s political review, and serves within a Christian ministry group. Her honors thesis in sociology examines the relationship between national identity types and immigration attitudes within the United States. She is applying to law school and hopes to pursue a career in international migration law and human rights advocacy.

Browning Clark Class of 2019

University of Tennessee, Accounting, Haslam Scholar and Smith Global Leadership Scholar

At the University of Tennessee, the Haslam

Scholars and Smith Global Leadership Scholars programs provide the resources and connections Browning needs to pursue a career in business and use her voice to promote gender equity in the workforce and girls’ education globally. Surrounded by peers who push her intellectually, Browning has soared as a student, leader, and critical thinker. She is involved in the UT Student Alumni Association, and her love for the program came from her time as president of Ambassadors at Harpeth Hall and her internship with the Advancement Office at Harpeth Hall. Browning said she is empowered, confident, and engaged because of her Harpeth Hall teachers.

5 Phenomenal

Projects

Freedom School

Using sketchbooks, laser cutters, and 3-D printers, our fifth grade students design and build a school.

Their creations symbolize a “freedom school,� and through the elements of their design, they explain why all girls around the world deserve an education.

Distinguished Women

Maya Angelou. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Dolly Parton.

In sixth grade, students read the biographies of important women in history and then select a woman to study more in depth with the intent of understanding who she was, what motivated her, and her impact on society. Students write monologues from the perspective of their Distinguished Women, create mixed-media portraits, and compose spoken word poetry.

The project culminates with a presentation of their art and research, dressed as the woman they have come to know so well.

Bridges Falling Down

Seventh grade science students build a new bridge for a fictional city. They research the importance and function of bridges, collaborate with real engineers to design bridges using 3-D modeling software, and build Popsicle bridges capable of holding 70 pounds or more.

Illuminated Jellyfish

In ninth grade biology class, students participate in a genetic engineering unit that culminates in the heat shock of a luminous gene from a jellyfish into the genome of an E. coli culture. The result is glowing bacteria.

Grab a Seat

Students in an upper school engineering class conceptualize, design, and build chairs. Girls learn to measure, problem solve construction, and use power tools such as chop saws, drills, and impact drivers.

Creative design ideas and quantitative skills combine, resulting in a new place to sit and ponder.

4 Choices You Will Make

In Your First Year Find your favorite place on campus.

Join student clubs.

Play a sport.

Express yourself.

At Harpeth Hall, the entire campus is yours!

You will choose where to read a book, study for a test, visit with friends, and even eat lunch!

You have the freedom and the responsibility to find your spot on our 44-acre campus.

Want to play something you’ve never tried before? In our Middle School, every sport is open participation and every girl makes a team. In the Upper School, there are 13 different varsity and JV sports, and each season, there is at least one open participation sport. As part of the Honeybear Nation, you will develop strength and wellness and have fun.

Activities are just as important as academics at Harpeth Hall. Through community time, enrichment classes, and student clubs, you will find pieces of yourself that complement what you’re learning and make you whole.

Expressing yourself at Harpeth Hall is natural and doesn’t just happen on the stage. Our girls are dancers, actresses, musicians, artists, poets, public speakers, and that’s just the beginning. In whatever way you choose to show who you are, you will be seen and heard here.

3 Ways You Can

Connect with the World

Winterim

A hallmark of the Upper School at Harpeth Hall, this three-week experiential program in January provides students with opportunities for intellectual exploration and real-world preparation that stretches their perspectives.

Global Perspective

Through our Public Purpose program students participate locally, nationally, and globally in projects that build community and create connections. For example, you can knit scarves and mittens for area homeless, tutor elementary school-age children, and organize an annual sock hop to raise funds to end human trafficking.

Global Scholars expands on that community focus through independent and group inquiry.

The two-year program pushes students to think more broadly about geographic and cultural boundaries to foster open conversation about global challenges and explore solutions to those issues. The program culminates senior year with an independent research project.

SEEK Fellowship

Seventh and eighth graders have the opportunity to participate in an independent, year-long research program called SEEK (Scholars Engaged in Extending Knowledge).

Students work alongside a faculty mentor and with guidance from a professional in their field of study to think creatively and conduct a research project. Through SEEK girls have explored: • Allusions and references to mythology in Harry Potter • The effect of worm farms on organic soil • How music affects the brain • The history of Pop Art • The impact of therapy dogs in schools • Partnerships to support refugee children in Nashville • Feminism and the development of Disney characters • Social injustices during WWII

2 Traditions

You Will Love Living Honorably

At our annual Honor Assembly, every Harpeth Hall student gathers together and pledges to be honest to herself and others, to demonstrate integrity, and to foster a respectful community.

Following the assembly, every girl demonstrates her commitment to our core values by signing the Honor Pledge.

You will be an important part of a community of trust and respect that will strengthen your character and elevate your education.

Convocation

Every school year begins with Convocation, our opening ceremony, which brings the entire student body together to celebrate learning and leadership. The senior class sets the tone for the assembly by introducing their senior theme with music and costumes while student speakers issue a charge to our community to lift up our minds and spirits. Each grade announces its presence through the traditional roll call with cheers and applause. You will love experiencing the energy and excitement of a new start at Harpeth Hall.

The number 1 reason Harpeth Hall is so great . . .

Girls like you!

Harpeth Hall,

where girls matter.

For information on admission and financial aid, please visit: HarpethHall.org/admission Individual campus tours are available. Please schedule by appointment.

HARPETH HALL

A COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS IN GRADES 5–12

The Harpeth Hall School • 3801 Hobbs Road • Nashville, TN 37215 • 615.346.0126 HarpethHall.org