The Quarry Lane School

Infobox School


caption = The official school logo
name = The Quarry Lane School
type = Private
established = 1991
grades = Pre-K - 10
president = Dr. Sabri Arac
faculty = 40
students = 277
mascot = Cougar
location = 6363 Tassajara Rd.
Dublin, CA 94568
country = USA
website = www.quarrylane.org

The Quarry Lane School is a private college preparatory school that offers education for students from preschool to their sophomore year in high school. It is owned by Dr. Sabri Arac, who presides over the school as Head of School. Mrs. Meredith Olson currently resides as Lower School (Pre-K through 5th) Director, with Mr. Samuel Beltran as Upper School (6th through Sophomore year) Director, and Mrs. Liz Paz-Rumore as Dean of Students.

Mission statement

The mission statement of the Quarry Lane School is:

History

The Quarry Lane School was founded in 1991 by Dr. Sabri Arac as an infant/toddler preschool and was expanded into an elementary school at its original Pleasanton, California campus. In 2000, Dr. Arac opened a campus in Dublin, California to accommodate the elementary school that was rapidly growing. The Pleasanton campus was open only to preschool students, while elementary students studied at the Dublin campus. In 2004, Dr. Arac opened the second Pleasanton preschool campus, the Pleasanton West campus. After repeated plans to build an additional building on the Dublin campus to support a high school, the ground was finally broken for the construction of the high school in 2005. Though not finished for the next year because of construction issues, in 2007 the newly facilities were opened. The newest facilities include an indoor gym, three science labs, a computer lab, Art studio, Library, outdoor sports field, tennis court and 33 additional instructional classrooms. Unfortunately, this expansion has placed legal and financial burdens upon the school, including several mechanic's liens on the Dublin property (these legal issues are publically disclosed on the Alameda county clerk and courts websites). Quarry Lane School currently offers college preparatory, honors and AP classes. The School is currently an International Baccalaureate Candidate for the 2009-2010 school year.

Awards and recognition

The Quarry Lane School has been accredited by NIPSA and WASC and was also voted to be the "family favorite" in the Bay Area Parent magazine Hall of Fame. Students have won awards in the Exploravision contest, the Optimist Speech Contest, and the Reader's Digest National Word Power Challenge. Over 75% of students qualify as gifted and talented, and over one half of the middle and high school students were on the honor roll, with a Grade Point Average of 3.5 or higher.

tudent involvement

The Quarry Lane School has a lot of student involvement in the Upper School (grades 6-10). Both the middle school and high school have their own student council, and leadership is a required class for the Upper School.

Clubs and activities

Current clubs include band, chess, drama, leadership and various other clubs are planned for this school year or the next.

Robotics

Quarry Lane Robotics offered after school for elementary through high school students. Elementary and middle school students discover robotics and develop their engineering skills using the LEGOs NXT robotics system. They plan to compete in a future FIRST LEGO League (FLL) competition. For middle school and high school students, they enhance and challenge their robotics invention skills using the more challenging VEX robotics kit. In their first year, 2007, Quarry Lane Robotics Team 212 competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge in the Northern California Region. Team 212 placed 4th in the qualifiers with a record of 4-1-0, and finished as NorCal Championship Semi-Finalists.

Competitive sports

With the new gymnasium, tennis courts, and playing fields, Quarry Lane is planning to expand the sports program to include basketball, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, and golf for the Upper School. This year basketball, golf and soccer were offered to the middle school, but only men's basketball is offered to the high school students. No women's sports are foreseen in the near future, as the female student population is still too small to support a sports team.

Leadership

Leadership is a required class for all Upper School students. Leadership class is currently headed by Mrs. Liz Paz-Rumore, Dean of Students, for the high school and Mr. Samuel Beltran and Ms. Abigail Daane for the middle school. Unlike other schools, leadership is not focused only on performing service or leading activities. Leadership, especially for the high school, is more focused on improving one's self and college admissions. In grades 6-8 the goal is to develop critical thinking, teach organizational skills, and instill social and moral values. In grades 9 and 10, the class is focused primarily on college admission. Students draft a version of their college application essay in this class, learn vocabulary for the SAT or ACT tests, and also learn about what colleges look for in an application. Leadership class also focuses on practicing leadership skills by requiring every student to plan and run an event during the year, such as a school sponsored social event or a community service project.

tudent council

Student council is a central element to the Quarry Lane Upper School. The student council was designed by students to bring up issues that are bothering them. The structure of the student council has changed over the years, but the high school student council hopes to pass a constitution this year that will give the council stricter organization than last year.This plan, however, totally fell through and it's still a mess.

External links

*Official Website- [http://www.quarrylane.org/]