EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Professional Exploration Seminars are a semester-long series of guest speakers from various areas of a particular career field. Students network closely with experts in the industry and are exposed to different paths within the field. Students learn about the specific training requirements, opportunities, professional demands, and day-to-day work of each particular role in the field. Past and current seminars include Medical Education, Legal Education, Stock Portfolio, Scientific Research, Sports Medicine, Commercial Music, Psychology, and STEM/Computer Science.

Travel experiences for Middle and Upper School students are connected to curriculum, service learning, and extra-curricular initiatives. Political, economic, social, and environmental systems no longer exist in isolation and as a result cultural competency is a 21st century skill of incredible value. These experiences enable students to understand and appreciate other cultures through immersion and hands-on learning, give them greater knowledge of the world, and are formative moments that shape their beliefs as global citizens.

The lesson of charitable giving and community responsibility is taught early in the Preschool, Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. Students learn the value of helping others, and you see that spirit at work at every age level. Students are encouraged and given frequent opportunities to participate and engage in our school, local, national, and international communities in needed ways.

Students are encouraged to pursue their passions through faculty or community partner-mentored projects. These projects can vary from research, building prototypes, teaching, etc. Students may take an independent research study course; or seek out faculty or community mentors. Celebrating passions and providing outlets for exploration allow students to immerse themselves in deep applied learning that is meaningful to them.

In our Innovation Labs, students have time to participate in hands-on research using Legos, Ardruino boards, modeling, tinkering, coding, robotics, and many other inquiry-based learning projects. Students engage in an abundance of innovative and engaging hands-on learning activities related to a given theme. These labs provide students with an environment to play, research, create, and reflect. They may spend a week, month, or year working on an independent project.