a glimpse of
The Stony Brook School
look b o o k
The world needs great vision. In an ever-changing world, where today’s innovations will soon be out-lapped by tomorrow’s, we need life-long learners who don’t just wait for answers but keep asking the right questions. We need leaders who transform information into insight. And we need citizens who approach their communities with eyes for the common good.
By cultivating in students both the imagination and wisdom needed to be the leaders of the future, The Stony Brook School is creating life-long learners who lead with vision.
For nearly 100 years, The Stony Brook School has been perfecting the art of intellectual, moral, and spiritual formation. As an independent college preparatory school, we have remained distinguished by our emphasis on integrating rigorous academic preparation with a strong Christian faith—a combination that gives students a competitive advantage well beyond college and into all of life.
Vision is the ability to:
See Beyond.
beyond what’s in front of us
to what’s ahead of us,
beyond information
to application,
beyond what is expedient
to what is wise,
Through a dual lens of wisdom and imagination,
Stony Brook students are learning to see.
A G L IM PSE OF THE S ER VAN T LEADE RS O F T H E STONY B R OOK S CHOOL
CHARACTER BEFORE CAREER “Character Before Career”—our school motto—means that no matter the excellence we can achieve, our chief concern must be for the growth of our character. For without character, achievements are empty and meaningless. We develop the moral, intellectual, and spiritual character of our students, nurturing them as whole people. And when the careers of our students are driven by their character as much as their ambition, great vision is born.
“ P e o ple lo o k at th e o u tw ard appearance, bu t th e LOR D lo o ks at t he heart . ” - 1 SAMUEL 16:7
“I
N EVE R US E D TO TH INK
AB O U T CHA RA CTER ; I WAS J UST TRY I NG T O GE T A HE A D . Before I came here, school was just about getting the grades to get a scholarship to go to college. Now, I’m learning it’s less about getting ahead and more about expanding my knowledge, being open to new topics, and growing as a person.”
STU DENT PRO FI LE
NAME: Emil Vaughn HOMETOWN: Atlanta, GA
A G L IM PSE OF THE AR TI STS OF T H E STON Y B R OOK S CHOOL
ENRICHED BY NEW YORK CITY There are few schools in the world more perfectly situated for opportunity than The Stony Brook School. A direct train runs from our front gate to Manhattan, where students routinely engage in the cultural, culinary, and educational benefits the major global city offers.
WE ARE A S C HO O L BY TH E C ITY A N D A SCH O O L BY T H E S EA. T HE HO RIZON S O F STO N Y B R O O K STUDE N TS AR E EX PAND ED BY B O T H .
“AS
A N A RTI ST, I ’VE DONE
TH IN GS AT STO N Y B R OOK I N E VE R WO ULD HAVE B EFOR E. With Manhattan so close, we’ve gone into the city to see paintings up close. The exposure to abstract art in New York and through the Art Mini Course has made me realize art doesn’t have to look a certain way—the art comes out of you. That’s harder to come up with, but I never would have tried painting like that before.”
STU DENT PRO FI LE
NAME: Anna Brummeler HOMETOWN: Stony Brook, NY
A G L IM PSE OF THE LI FE- LON G LEA RNE RS O F T H E STON Y B R OOK S CHOOL
EXPLORING FAITH + CULTURE From chapel to dorm prayer to service trips, religious life is vibrant and vital to the Stony Brook experience. The capstone of our Bible curriculum is our senior level Faith and Culture in the 21st Century seminar. It is designed to examine human life within a broad historical and cultural context. Through an in-depth scriptural study of the Gospel of John, students engage in a scholarly examination of the person and work of Jesus Christ, investigating Christian theology alongside a comparative study of the major religions of the world. We are challenging students to understand the multivalent reasons why human beings believe the things they do, and thus to become more thoughtful about how they approach answering the significant questions of life.
Why am I here? What does it mean to be human? Is it reasonable to have faith in God?
“ I’ M
L E A RN I N G TO SEE
B EYO N D FA I TH A S ONLY P R IVATE TO S O METH ING I C A N H AVE A CO N VER SATION AB O U T—WI TH A N YONE. In Saudi Arabia, where I come from, I wasn’t allowed to share my faith, so when I arrived here, I was surprised to hear people talking about their faith. Seeing the example of the teachers here, I realized that my life could show the goodness and love of God.”
STU DE NT PRO FI LE
NAME: Martha Edafiaga HOMETOWN: Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia
A G L IM PSE O F THE I N N OVATOR S OF T H E STON Y B R OOK S CHOOL
INNOVATION Our Innovation Lab is a hub of activity and exploration. Through STEM courses, independent projects, and robotics teams, students are not only innovating, but they’re learning to build an ethical framework that will guide the responsible development of technology. From building drones, submersibles, and robots to coding new apps, students are developing the entrepreneurial and technological skills to become the creators of the future.
“Technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hearts sing.” - STEVE JOBS
“I
US E D TO WO RRY AB OU T TH E
FUTURE BE CA US E I HAD NO IDEA W H AT I WA N TE D TO DO. I was adept at a lot of different things, but didn’t know how I would use them. At Stony Brook, I found my passion for engineering. Learning in the STEM Lab, I’ve acquired a lot of new skills—and I’ve become fearless with them. I’m not so worried about what career I will have now; I know I’ll have the ability to adapt to any job society needs.”
STU DE NT PRO FI LE
NAME: Tiger Sun HOMETOWN: Beijing, China
A G L IM PSE O F THE VI S I ON AR I ES O F TH E STON Y B R OOK S CHOOL
DISCOVERING TALENTS + PASSIONS We believe that teenagers can learn to discover the passions and aptitudes that will ultimately inform their career choices. Our Vocational Discipleship program uses a variety of assessment tools including the Myers Briggs Typology test and the Highlands Battery which, coupled with the insight of faculty who care about students, are designed to bring to the surface those aspects of students’ personalities that might be hidden to them. In addition, our mini-course program offers students a wide variety of interests to explore outside the standard curriculum. From improv acting to studying the history of the Netherlands to building drones and submersibles, students get to explore many different topics so that they might have a better understanding of what truly interests them. The cumulative experience allows students to form a confident picture of who they are and a sense of purpose for life after Stony Brook.
“ I’ M
L EA RN I N G THAT A CAR EER WELL
C H O S E N I S O N E TH AT ALLOWS ME TO B E THE PE RS ON I AM. I’ve always known that I’d need to have a career—but I never thought it could involve a job I actually liked. I’ve learned that I can work toward a job that comes from the passions I have, like art and music, rather than just a need to make money.”
STU DENT PRO FI LE
NAME: Ariel Meltzer HOMETOWN: Stony Brook, NY
When wisdom meets imagination,
GREAT
vi s i on IS BORN.
Every aspect of the Stony Brook experience is designed to bring wisdom and imagination together to create life-long learners who lead with vision.
vision
“ W hat i s t he w o rld t hat o u r ch ildre n w il l in he r i t, an d h ow ca n The S t o n y B ro o k S cho o l b e st pre pare t he m fo r it ? ” – JOSHUA CRANE, HEAD OF SCHOOL
We live in a time of unprecedented change, in which we have the unenviable task of preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist. Regardless of where the world is when they are ready to enter the work force, our students will be able to navigate its complexities. But as much as we talk about and prepare students for change, Stony Brook’s greatest virtue is in promoting discussion and exploration of the timeless and immutable qualities of life, so that no matter what transpires in the world, our students have an anchor.
The world needs great vision.