Stone Ridge Lower and Middle School Preview Book

IA FAITHFUL AM FRIEND. A CREATIVE MIND. A LEADER.

Lower & Middle School

PREVIEW BOOK

SR www.stoneridgeschool.org

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Life in the Upper School

GOAL II: A deep respect for

intellectual values.

GOAL I: A personal and active faith in God.

GOAL III:

A social awareness which impels to action.

THE 5 GOALS

of Sacred Heart Education

GOAL V:

Personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom.

GOAL IV: The building of community as a Christian value.

Historic Hamilton House, the heart of Stone Ridge since 1947. www.stoneridgeschool.org

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Welcome to Stone Ridge... where innovation meets tradition.

Stone Ridge is the only school in the greater Washington area that brings together the Goals of Sacred Heart, girls’ education, and innovative teaching and learning for a new era.

Stone Ridge is proud of its Sacred Heart identity. The five Goals and the Mission of Sacred Heart education inspire young women to lead and serve, through lives of purpose that integrate faith, intellect, community, social awareness, and personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom. Our all-girls setting allows even our youngest students in Preschool to grow as purposeful, selfdirected learners intent on developing their unique gifts. With an educational technologist in each division, technology is one of many important tools used to foster our students’ creativity, research and communication skills, as well as critical thinking.

Under the guidance of our Director of Educational Technology and Innovation, the Middle School Robotics team of 12 students uses sophisticated software and hardware, and builds and competes with a robot of their own design. Recently, the team had the unique opportunity of visiting the Prosthetics Lab at the neighboring Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The girls were able to handle, observe, and examine various prosthetic limbs as well as visit spaces used for training patients to walk with their new prosthetic limbs. Therobotics students are currently working on two innovative projects, both of which involve prosthetic limbs.

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Our Sacred Heart Identity 6

Life in the Upper School

Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart is part of an international family, rooted in a 200-year tradition. The Goals & Criteria of Sacred Heart education unite the 24 member schools of the Network in the United States, yet the schools also proudly benefit from an even wider affiliation with the people, schools, and institutions associated with the Society of the Sacred Heart in 41 countries around the globe.

Our students, as part of this international f a m i l y, s h a r e i n e x p e r i e n c i n g a n education characterized by seriousness of purpose, love of learning, creativity, beauty, and loving relationships. This truly international character of Sacred Heart education helps to foster an important global awareness in our students as they strive to build a more just world.

“Stone Ridge is an extra special place because we are a Sacred Heart school.”

Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States and Canada

Mary, Grade 4

The Sacred Heart School of Montreal Sacred Heart School of Halifax

BC

AB

SK

MB

WA OR

ID

WY

NV

WI

SD IA

NE

UT CA

MI IL

CO

OK TX

LA

VA

NC

TN

AR

AZ

WV KY

MO

NM

Forrest Ridge School Bellevue, WA

OH

PA

SC MS AL

GA

NS

ME

NY

IN KS

QC

ON

MN

ND

MT

NB

CT

Newton Country Day School Newton, MA Convent of the Sacred Heart Greenwich, CT

NH VT MA RI

NJ DE MD

Academy of the Sacred Heart Bloomfield Hills, MI

Sprout Creek Farm Poughkeepsie, NY Convent of the Sacred Heart New York City, NY Stuart Country Day School Princeton, NJ Princeton Academy Princeton, NJ

Country Day School of the Sacred Heart Bryn Mawr, PA Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart Bethesda, MD Josephinum Academy Chicago, IL Sacred Heart Schools Chicago, IL Woodlands Academy Lake Forest, IL Carrolton School of the Sacred Heart Miami, FL

Schools of the Sacred Heart San Fransisco, CA

FL

Sacred Heart Schools Atherton, CA Duchesne Academy Houston, TX

Academy of the Sacred Heart St. Charles, MO

The Regis School Houston, TX

Villa Duchesne/Oak Hill School St. Louis, MO

Network Schools Provisional Member Associated with the Network

Academy of the Sacred Heart New Orleans, LA Academy of the Sacred Heart Grand Coteau, LA Duchesne Academy Omaha, NE

Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, or any other class protected by law in the administration of its educational policies, employment practices, admission policies, scholarship loan or financial aid programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

“The diverse faculty and student body at Stone Ridge creates a lovely tapestry of community woven into the Goals of Sacred Heart and its traditions.”

Middle School parent

“Coming to a Sacred Heart school, you have entered into a family and have come to a home...You come as you are and are cared for with great love.” — An excerpt from Life at the Sacred Heart

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Lower School at a Glance 8

Middle School at a Glance

Life in the Upper School

176 students Educational Technology

Average Class Sizes: 14-18

208 students

French language instruction, beginning in Preschool

Interactive whiteboards in classrooms

General Facts Mascot:

Faculty: 27 Faculty with advanced degrees: 14 Average teaching experience per Lower School faculty member:

12 years

Student/Faculty Ratio: 6:1

Average teaching experience per Middle School faculty member: 18 years

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1-to-1 iPad program: Grades 2-3

iMac Computer Lab

Faculty with advanced degrees: 12

Average Class Sizes:

iPad library: PreK-Grade 1

1-to-1 Chromebook program: Grade 4

Faculty: 28

Colors: Blue & Gold Amount of financial assistance and scholarships granted to Stone Ridge students in 2014-2015:

$2.6 million

about SR 35 acres 3 Gyms Aquatic Center Chapel 3 Libraries New Turf Field

Educational Technology 1-to-1 ThinkPad program:

Grades 5-6 (integrating Grades 7-8 in 2015-2016)

1-to-1 iPad program: Grades 7-8 Interactive whiteboards in classrooms

Students receiving financial assistance:

28%

Student/Faculty Ratio: 8:1 Sample Lower School Daily Schedule 8:00 am Morning Meeting 8:15–9:45 am Language Arts 9:45–10:00 am Goûter (morning snack) 10:00–11:30 am Mathematics 11:30-12:30 pm Lunch and Recreation 12:30-1:15 pm French or Physical Education 1:15-2:00 pm Visual or Performing Arts 2:00-3:00 pm Science, Social Studies, or Religion 3:00 pm Dismissal 3:00-6:30 pm Extended Day/Afterschool Campus Options

To learn more about each grade level, please visit the Lower and Middle School pages of our website, under Academics:

www.stoneridgeschool.org

A typical day at Stone Ridge

o p en s w i t h mor ni ng As s e mbl y, a c h e r i s h e d t i m e o f t h e d ay w h e n s t u d e nt s g at h e r a s a school community to lead prayer, share reflections, and celebrate accomplishments. www.stoneridgeschool.org

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Life in the Upper School

The Strength of an

Stone Ridge celebrates a balanced offering of academics, fine arts, and athletics, rooted in a tradition of excellence, faith, social awareness, and personal growth.

All-Girls Environment At Stone Ridge, our students collaborate, lead, mentor, and learn from each other. A girl occupies every role: classroom leader, actor on stage, speaker at Assembly, leader at Morning Meeting, soloist in the choir, elected office holder, and Team Captain. These many avenues for self-exploration and development empower our students to become self-assured, independent thinkers and leaders.

Joyful Growth

Here, each girl’s unique gifts are recognized and celebrated by peers and faculty alike. In this supportive and joyful environment, students are encouraged to develop their personal voice and are comfortable pursuing new passions, taking risks, and expressing “As a college professor, I could themselves with clarity and conviction. identify students from girls’ schools The girls take pride in their own with a 90 percent accuracy rate accomplishments and those of their on the first day of class. They were the young women whose hands peers, and together they form strong, shot up in the air, who were not life-long friendships. afraid to defend their positions, and who assumed that I would be interested in their perspectives.”

Robin Robertson, Ph.D. (National Coalition of Girls Schools)

“The best part of being at Stone Ridge i s m y t e a c h e r s .”

— Elizabeth, Grade 2

At Stone Ridge, cross-divisional projects in the arts and science allow our younger learners to collaborate with and be inspired by our high school students.

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Life in the Upper School

“Music is one of my favorite times in the schedule.

I s i n g i n C h or u s , b ut we also learn about the history of music. I am excited to perform in the Middle School musical!”

— Caroline, Grade 5

Arts Orchestral ensemble Band program, with 6 different instruments Strings program Choral instruction Dance class 2 theater productions (fall and spring)

Athletics Grades 7-8: 10 teams competing in the Independent School League (ISL); Club teams in ice hockey, equestrian, and golf Grades 5-6: Physical Education classes Grades 5-8: Blue/Gold competitions throughout the year

“I love competing on SR sports teams.

We have spirit, great competition, and fun coaches. We also build stronger friendships with classmates off the field.”

— Catherine, Grade 7 www.stoneridgeschool.org

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Life in the Upper School

Stone Ridge Celebrates a

Long History of Traditions Blue/Gold Spirit: The School colors are blue and gold. Each student is assigned to either the Blue or Gold team for her time at Stone Ridge. The Blue & Gold teams compete throughout the year through athletic events and extracurricular projects. Spirit Days throughout the year allow girls to show their Blue/Gold pride and Gator spirit!

Congé: Congé, a tradition shared among all Sacred Heart schools, comes from the French “to take leave,” and refers to a surprise day for the students when classes are cancelled, and the School focuses on building community through games and play.

Eighth Grade Trip to NYC: After Memorial Day, the Eighth Grade travels to New York, where it spends two days and one night exploring the City and enjoying a Broadway show.

Feast of Mater Admirabilis: Feast of Mater Admirabilis is observed every October to celebrate the miraculous fresco of the Virgin Mary depicted by a young religious of the Sacred Heart in 1844.

Feast Wishes: Feast Wishes is an all-school gathering during Advent, where students present the gifts of song and cards to every member of the administration, faculty, and staff.

Father-Daughter Field Day: Field Day is a celebration of Blue/

Grandparents Day: Grandparents or Special Friends Day is hosted every year in the Lower School

Gold on the first Monday of June for the Stone Ridge community — Grades 1-12. Activities include races, a tennis tournament, a cookout lunch, music, and prizes.

on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day. The day opens with a light breakfast and a musical concert, followed by activities in the classrooms.

Parent/Daughter Liturgies: A special mother-daughter Mass and brunch are held for each class.

Goûter: From the French for “to taste,” goûter is a daily snack served in the Lower School, and a snack on special occasions, feast days, and holidays.

The Eighth Grade hosts a special prayer service at the beginning of the year for the fathers.

Primes: Primes, is the formal Lower School assembly held on Monday mornings, attended by the Head of School, where the faculty recognizes the ways students have lived out the Goals by awarding medals.

Prize Day: Prize Day is a formal assembly at the end of the school year for the distribution of certificates and awards recognizing special achievement.

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Afterschool CampUs Offerings Extended Day offers time for play and a snack after dismissal, followed by quiet homework time supervised by a Lower School teacher.

Supervised Study allows MIddle School students to have quiet time after dismissal to work on homework and prepare for projects, with snacks provided.

A sampling of afterschool activities and extracurricular offerings: Cartooning Creative Drama by Imagination Stage Dance Fab Lab Guitar Lessons Junior Chorus Middle School Musical (Fall) & Play (Spring) Piano Lessons Gourmet Chefs by Tiny Chefs Girls on the Run by GOTR Robotics Team Suzuki Violin Lessons Swimming Spanish Tae Kwon Do

“Your example, even more than your words, will be an eloquent lesson to the world.�

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart

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Just as prospective Lower School and Middle School families are looking to place their daughters in an environment where they will thrive, experience success, and make a seamless transition, our College Counseling team will be there to assist when it is time to look for their next home after high school. We congratulate the Class of 2014!

College Acceptances and Matriculations

Below is a sampling of college acceptances for the Class of 2014. Names in bold are schools attended by members of the Class of 2014.

Highly Selective Amherst College Bard College Barnard College Boston College Bowdoin College Brown University Bucknell University California Institute of Technology Carleton College Carnegie Mellon University Colby College Columbia University College of the Holy Cross College of William & Mary Colgate University Cornell University Dartmouth College Duke University Emory University Georgetown University Georgia Institute of Technology Hamilton College Harvard College Haverford College Johns Hopkins University Kenyon College Massachusetts Institute of Technology New York University Northwestern University Pomona College Rice University Skidmore College Swarthmore College Syracuse University Tufts University University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of Michigan University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Southern California University of Virginia Vanderbilt University Vassar College Villanova University Wake Forest University Washington University in St. Louis Wesleyan College Williams College Selective American University Arizona State University Auburn University Baylor University Beloit College Boston University

Case Western Reserve University Clemson University College of Charleston Denison University DePaul University Dickinson College Drexel University Duquesne University Eckerd College Elon University Fairfield University Fordham University Franklin & Marshall College Furman University Gettysburg College Guilford College High Point University Hobart & William Smith Colleges Indiana University Ithaca College James Madison University Kalamazoo College Lafayette College Lehigh University Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Chicago Loyola University New Orleans Loyola Marymount University Marquette University McDaniel College Mercer University Messiah College Miami University, Oxford Mount Holyoke College Mount Saint Mary’s University Muhlenberg College Northeastern University Occidental College Ohio Wesleyan University Pennsylvania State University Philadelphia University Pitzer College Providence College Purdue University Reed College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rhodes College Rollins College Saint Joseph’s University Saint Louis University St. John’s University St. Mary’s College of Maryland Salisbury University Salve Regina University Santa Clara University Sarah Lawrence College Scripps College Sewanee: The University of the South Southern Methodist University Spring Hill College Stetson University Stonehill College

Susquehanna University Temple University Texas Christian University The Catholic University of America The George Washington University Towson University Trinity College Tulane University Union College University of Alabama University of Colorado at Boulder University of Connecticut University of Delaware University of Denver University of Georgia University of Kentucky University of Maryland, Baltimore County University of Maryland, College Park University of Miami University of Mississippi University of Pittsburgh University of Richmond University of Rochester University of San Diego University of South Carolina University of Tennessee University of Texas at Austin University of Vermont University of Wisconsin Ursinus College Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Wofford College Xavier University Historically Black Colleges and Universities Hampton University Howard University Morgan State University Spelman College International Schools Concordia College McGill University Queen’s University University of British Columbia University of Toronto University of St. Andrews University of Edinburgh Art Schools The Art Institute of Chicago Maryland Institute College of Art Pratt Institute Rhode Island School of Design Savannah College of Art & Design

“Let us respect childhood; let us honor the soul of that small creature of God who can already make choices of the best if we take the time to awaken her reason and make her use her judgment.”

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart

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Empowering leaders to serve with faith, intellect, and confidence.

9101 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20814

Part of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools

WWW.STONERIDGESCHOOL.ORG

Visit our website for more details, or call Admissions at 301.657.4322 x321.