- Bentley School
Infobox_School2 | name = Bentley School
motto = Scire Desidero
"(I desire to know)"
established = 1920
type = Private
head_name = Headmaster
head = Richard P. Fitzgerald
faculty = 88
students = 352 (lower school)
325 (upper school)
mascot = Phoenix
city = Oakland (lower school) Lafayette (upper school)
state =California
country =United States
website = http://www.bentleyschool.netBentley School is a coeducational private day school with campuses in Oakland and Lafayette,
California .History
Lucy Soule and Edith Ainsworth founded the school in 1920 as an all girls elementary and middle school; boys were admitted from the early 1930s. Originally called the Margaret Bentley School in honor of Soule's grandmother, the school changed ownership and principals a number of times in the 1940s, eventually landing in the apt hands of Esther Branch. In 1970, the school moved into the mansion formerly owned by helicopter mogul
Stanley Hiller, Jr . This estate rested on the border of Oakland and Berkeley. However, this compound burned down in theOakland Hills firestorm of 1991. After spending a year at a disbanded high school in Berkeley, the school rebuilt its original blueprints and reopened in 1992. For this reason Bentley's mascot is the Phoenix, a mythological creature that self-cremates at old age, and then is reborn from the ashes of the fire. In 1998, Bentley expanded, opening a high school in Lafayette,California .=Arts=Students experience the Arts at Bentley through two strong departments: Performing arts, including Music and Theater, and Visual Arts. Music includes Chamber Chorus Ensemble, Chamber Music, AP Music Theory and two Jazz Ensembles. Theatre at Bentley is one of the school's high points, producing many challenging musicals and plays, inclusive of Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Threepenny Opera, Assassins, Dido and Aneas, and assorted modern and Shakespearian plays. The theater department's 2007-2008 season produced 10 plays, with many being student directed. Visual arts includes drawing, painting, ceramics, photography, film, and AP Art History.
Athletics
Bentley Upper School offers junior varsity and varsity
basketball ,volleyball ,tennis ,baseball ,softball ,golf ,swimming ,soccer ,lacrosse , and cross country. The school is one of ten schools in theBay Counties League - East .Bentley Middle School offers junior varsity and varsity
basketball ,volleyball ,tennis ,softball ,soccer .Tuition and Financial Aid
For the 2007-2008 school year.Tuition for Kindergarten through Grade 5 is $18,960.This includes childcare at no additional charge before school from 7:30 AM and after school until 6:00 PM.
Tuition for Grades 6 through 8 is $20,255.This includes childcare at no additional charges before school from 7:30 AM and after school until 6:00 PM.
Tuition for Grades 9 through 12 is $24,835.The Lafayette Library is open at 7:30 in the morning for students and after school until 5:30 PM except on Fridays. Bentley School offers financial aid to students whose families demonstrate financial need.
External links
* [http://www.bentleyschool.net Bentley's Home Page]
* [http://www.firewise.org/pubs/theOaklandBerkeleyHillsFire/ Information on the Oakland firestorm and fire safety]
* [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2004-05-19/news/bottomfeeder.html]
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