Beaver Country Day School

Infobox Private School
name = Beaver Country Day School


established = 1920
motto = "Mente et Manu"
(With Mind and Hand)
religion = None
type = Private
campus = 17 acres
head_name = Head of School
head = Peter Hutton
city = Chestnut Hill
state = MA
country = USA
tuition = $31,450
class = 15
ratio =
mascot = Beaver
colors = Blue & Gray
year =
SAT =
athletics = 13 sports
conference = Eastern Independent League (EIL)
faculty = 88
enrollment = 419
homepage = http://www.bcdschool.org/|

Beaver Country Day School is an independent, college preparatory day school for students in grades 6 through 12 founded in 1920 and located on a 17 acre campus in the village of Chestnut Hill, in Newton, Massachusetts, near Boston. Recently the school has been moving toward calling itself only by its initials, "BCDS," although this is a somewhat controversial move within the student body. [cite web
url = http://www.projo.com/opinion/columnists/content/projo_20050203_03mitt.1d6c091.html
title = Dum and dummer
author = David A. Mittell Jr.
date = February 3 2005
publisher = The Providence Journal
accessdate = 2008-05-13] BCDS is a member of the Cum Laude Society and the National Association of Independent Schools, an affiliate of the Coalition of Essential Schools, and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

History

BCDS was incorporated as an elementary school and an all-girls' high school in 1920 by a group of parents who were interested in progressive education and the Country Day School movement. The school took its name from "The Beaver", one of the ships of the Boston Tea Party; the ship (a Nantucket trading vessel owned by Joseph Rotch) in turn was named for the North American beaver, the rodent whose pelt was valued in Europe as a source of felt for high-quality hats. The first head of school was Eugene Randolph Smith, a prominent progressive educator and a follower of the educational reformer John Dewey. Many founding families had been involved with a school for younger children situated near downtown Boston on Beaver Place. The school opened in a facility in Brookline, and moved to the present Chestnut Hill campus in the mid 1920s. Over the years the school has tried to remain true to its progressive roots while evolving with the times. The school adopted coeducation in 1971.

Students

BCDS offers grades 6 through 12. Current enrollment (2007-08) is 419 students, of whom 300 are in the upper school (grades 9–12). Classes average about 15 students; one hundred percent of Beaver graduates go on to four-year colleges and universities. The school community is diverse, with students coming from 45 towns in the metropolitan Boston area and speaking 20 languages besides English at home. About 26% of students and 20% of faculty are of color. Currently 26% of students receive financial aid.

Programs and facilities

BCDS prides itself on offering challenging, student-centered academics as well as in offering programs to inspire and engage the creative spirit and the body. Nationally regarded for professional development, BCDS trains all teachers in advanced elements of curriculum and assessment design as well as best practices for addressing individual student learning styles. The college preparatory curriculum, which emphasizes writing, includes advanced courses in mathematics and the sciences as well as the opportunity to do honors-level work in all disciplines; in recent years an increasing number of students have elected to do independent study in pursuit of active intellectual interests that fall outside the curriculum. BCDS also requires two full years of study in the visual and/or performing arts for graduation, and students must pursue an interscholastic sport or fitness activity each year as part of an extensive afternoon program.

The school's facilities complement the program. The main classroom building, dating from the 1920s, has been continuously upgraded to meet expanding curricular demands, and the science wing includes a fully equipped biotech laboratory. The comprehensive arts program is largely housed in the three-story Visual and Performing Arts Center, opened in 2004. The school integrates community service and social responsibility into its curriculum and extra-curricular program through its recently endowed Anne Hiatt Center for Social Change.

A new athletic center, completed in 2007, fulfills the second of the two major needs identified by the school's Strategic Plan of 2000. (The first was the Visual and Performing Arts Center.) The building consolidates athletics in one space and adds:

*24,700 s.f. to the existing gym (which remains in use)
*2 new full-size playing courts (for a total of 4 courts)
*Expanded, separate locker rooms for middle school & upper school athletes
*Fully-equipped fitness & strength training room
*Offices for athletic director, trainer, and coaches
*A new common courtyard between middle school wing & athletic center
*Additional parking spaces and improved traffic flow

BCDS fields interscholastic teams in soccer, field hockey, golf, cross country, basketball, fencing, volleyball, wrestling, baseball, softball, tennis, ultimate frisbee, and lacrosse and is part of the Eastern Independent League.

School song

Stand we now to hail thee, Beaver,
loyal and united.
By the guiding spirit may our hearts and
minds be lighted.
May we know through rightful living
And the light of friendship true:
Ours the right to claim the motto,
Mente et Manu.
Stand we now to hail thee, Beaver,
loyal and united!

Notable persons who have attended Beaver Country Day School

*Dr. Tenley Albright, physician and winner of the 1956 Olympic Gold Medal in Ladies Figure Skating
*Jane Alexander, stage and film actor and former chair of the National Endowment of the Arts
*Eliza Dushku, actress most noted for her role as Faith in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel"
*Lucinda Franks, journalist and winner of a Pulitzer Prize
*Temple Grandin, college professor and expert on humane animal slaughter
* Joyce Ballou Gregorian, 1963, author
*Tammy Grimes, noted stage and film actress who originated the title role in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" on Broadway
*Phil Lipof, television anchor and reporter for Channel 7 News in NYC
*Susan Lyne, CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, former CEO of ABC Entertainment
*Matt Selman, writer and producer for "The Simpsons"
*Gretchen Dow Simpson, artist whose paintings have been on the cover of "The New Yorker" magazine 58 times
*Wayne Turner, former University of Kentucky basketball star and professional basketball player
* Jeffrey Finn, Broadway producer, nominated for 2005 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for "On Golden Pond"
* Jan Miner, a stage actress who gained fame as Madge, the manicurist in Palmolive television ads
* Sgt Chris Richards, Dive Master, USAF Special Operation Division, War Veteran

Notes

External links

* [http://www.bcdschool.org/ Beaver Country Day School web site]
* [http://newspaper.bcdschool.org/ Beaver Country Day School student newspaper]
* [http://radio.bcdschool.org/ Beaver Country Day School LiveWire radio station]
* [http://bsec.blogspot.com/ Beaver Science & Engineering Club blog]