School Life

List of 8 items.

• Book Buddies

  Middle School students read to younger students once a week. This time-honored program gives the younger students a chance to bond with an older student. Book Buddies also help their personal friend in JK and K during Holiday Shopping.

• Cross-Grade Connection

  CGC is an informal weekly discussion group that allows 8-10 students in grades 5-8 to interact and learn from one another while discussing topical issues. CGC groups are led in tandem by a junior peer leader and a Middle School faculty member. Students remain in the same group with the same faculty leader throughout their 4 years of Middle School.

• High School Clubs

  Clubs in the High School are student-run and generated and faculty-supported. An 80 minute period is devoted to clubs once a week on Lab Day; clubs can always arrange additional meetings. Current offerings include Improv, Writing, Photography, GirlUp!, Adventurous Audiences, Student Ambassadors, Students Active for Gender Equality (SAGE), Glee, Debate & Rhetoric, Culinary Arts, Casino, and World Issues, among others.

• Lunch Prep & Service

  Grade 9 students participate by advisory, on a rotating basis, in a month-long lunch preparation course with the school's chef, where they learn everything from kitchen hygiene and knife skills to proper chopping techniques and how to follow a recipe. Grade 10 students help serve lunch to their peers and faculty on a rotating basis.

• Middle School Clubs

  Students in the Middle School may choose from a variety of activities that meet during the school day to complement their classroom learning. Previous offerings have included: Photo Club, Makerspace, Debate Club, and Current Events, among others.

• Middle School Electives

  Elective courses are non-graded and enable students to interact across grades and build new relationships. Students choose from a long and varied list of elective courses, and participate in electives each of the three trimesters.

• Peer Leadership

  Peer leadership is a 2-year program at Grace that begins in 11th grade and continues through the 12th grade year. Junior peer leaders lead the 5th-8th grade weekly discussion group “Cross Grade Connection (CGC),” along with one faculty member, once a week, allowing students of different ages to interact and learn from one another while discussing topical issues. Juniors begin to formally explore the concept of leadership by practicing self-awareness and effective communication skills while moderating groups, and by following a course in student leadership.

  In 12th grade, these same peer leaders pair up to lead 9th graders by advisory independently in weekly groups, which are intended to ease the transition to high school and provide positive role models within the community. Senior peer leaders continue to follow a formal leadership course, that they help create, on Lab Days throughout the year.

   

• Student Government

  Middle School Student Government:  Students in fifth through eighth grade elect representatives each year who work with the Assistant Head of School to carry out food drives, student carnivals, and special events.  Meeting weekly, students develop and implement community building projects and practice leadership skills.

   

  High School Student Government:  High School students designed their own "Student Committee" in our inaugural high school year, focusing on collaborative leadership.  The Committee elects officers to our Town Hall-style government each fall.  Students work to identify the needs of the high school student body, share service and school spirit opportunities, and organize events, such as dances, for classmates.  They practice leadership and communication skills while discussing school issues with classmates via their own school-hosted website.