Belmont Hill School
| Belmont Hill School | |
|---|---|
Providentia, Studium, Fidelitas
(Foresight, Zeal, Loyalty) |
|
| Address | |
| 350 Prospect Street, Belmont MA 02478 Massachusetts United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1923 |
| Headmaster | Dr. Richard Melvoin |
| Faculty | 66 |
| Enrollment | 440 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 11:1 |
| Campus | Suburban, 32 acres (130,000 m2) |
| Color(s) | Maroon, Blue & White |
| Athletics | 16 sports 57 teams |
| Athletics conference | Independent School League (ISL), NEPSAC, NEIRA |
| Rivals | St. Sebastian's (main), Roxbury Latin, B.B.&N. |
| Website | belmonthill.org |
Belmont Hill School is an independent boys school located on a 32-acre (130,000 m2) campus in Belmont, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The school enrolls approximately 440 students in grades 7-12, separated into the Middle School (grades 7-9) and the Upper School (grades 10-12), and refers to these grades as "Forms" with a Roman Numeral I through VI. While the majority of attending students are day students, there are some who enroll in the school's five-day boarding program, which becomes an option for students in their 9th grade year. In addition to the school's history of academic prestige, the school exhibits a rich athletic tradition as a participant in the competitive Independent School League. Members of the Class of 2010 were accepted at 42 colleges and universities.[1] Belmont Hill is also a founding member of the International Boys' Schools Coalition.
Contents
History
The school was founded in 1923 by a group of seven incorporators seeking a non-boarding institution for their sons that would allow for small classes and personal accountability. At the time of its incorporation, the location atop Belmont Hill was not yet developed and belonged to the Belmont Hill Trust. With the help of Robert Atkins, an incorporator and member of the Trust, 19 acres (77,000 m2) of undeveloped, rough, and swampy land was purchased in March 1923[2] and Belmont Hill’s first Headmaster, Reginald Heber Howe, was appointed.
Howe, a member of the faculty at the Middlesex School for 20 years, raised money for the necessary facilities. By the fall, renovations to the Headmaster’s house had taken place, along with the construction of an athletic field, a dormitory, and a single academic building, later named the Howe Building. The school finally opened its doors in the fall of 1923 to 43 boys (grades 3-9) and four faculty.[3]
Athletics
Belmont Hill's athletics program offers 16 interscholastic sports, 57 teams, and over 700 athletic contests each year.[4] Almost all Belmont Hill coaches are members of the teaching faculty. Belmont Hill competes in the Independent School League.[5]
Belmont Hill constructed its Jordan Athletic Center in 2000 and later installed two new turf fields used for football, lacrosse, and soccer. "The JAC" also contains two basketball courts, a wrestling room, seven squash courts, a free weights and workout facility, and an Olympic-size hockey rink that is converted into four full tennis courts during the non-winter months. Sports offered for middle school and upper school students at Belmont Hill include:
- Fall
- Football (5 teams)
- Soccer (7 teams)
- Cross Country (3 teams)
- Winter
- Hockey (5 teams)
- Basketball (5 teams)
- Wrestling (3 teams)
- Squash (3 teams)(not including a middle school and upper school intramural team)
- Alpine Skiing
- Cross Country Skiing
- Spring
- Baseball (6 teams)
- Lacrosse (4 teams)
- Crew (4 teams) New England Champions 2003-2010, 2012-2014
- Track (3 teams)
- Tennis (3 teams)
- Golf
- Sailing
Visual and performing arts
Belmont Hill offers both curricular and extracurricular tuition in visual arts, music and theater. Students engage in class-related and independent projects in drawing, painting, digital photography, ceramics, mechanical drawing (architecture) print development, music composition, and theatre productions. Student work is displayed throughout the year in the school's Landau Gallery alongside independent professional artists.
The music program at Belmont Hill is carried out in the school's Prenatt Music Center. Students may join a number of performance groups including Jazz Ensemble, Rock Ensemble, Orchestra, Chamber Group, Glee Club, and the B Flats (an a cappella group). The school has close ties with the Berklee College of Music in Boston, allowing the boys to take individual lessons on campus during the week. Serious musicians often enroll in the program’s advanced courses.
Theatre productions are held regularly in the school's small Kraft Theatre. Belmont Hill puts on a total of seven productions over the course of the school year including three middle school productions, three upper school productions, and a senior-directed production each spring. These performances are put on in collaboration with the Winsor School and/or Dana Hall School, Belmont Hill's sister schools. Performances during the 2009-10 school year included The Bridge to Terabithia, The Curious Savage, The Foreigner, The Music Man, and Rent.
Extracurricular activities
Students' schedules include a variety of different extracurricular activities. These are broken up into Middle School and Upper School organizations, with leadership positions filled by middle or upper school students accordingly.
Belmont Hill has student-run organizations including a school senate, debate team, school newspaper (The Bell for the middle school, The Panel for the upper school), yearbook (The Sundial) and chess club. New student clubs and organizations are founded every semester based on interest level. Other clubs include:
- Aeronautics
- Model UNe
- Investment Club
- Outing Club
- Chinese Cultural Society
- Peer Tutoring
- S.A.D.D.
- S.A.F.E.
- French Film Club
- Young Republicans
- Green Team
- Orbis
- Middle/Upper School Community Service
Over 70% of the student body participates in voluntary clubs and service trips for community service. Groups include SAFE (Students Actively Fostering Equality), Peer Leaders, Reading Buddies in Mattapan, Meadowbrook Retirement Home, and PRIDE. An extension of the community service program includes an annual week-long spring break trip to different regions throughout the United States. Groups have travelled to New Orleans, Appalachia, and Guadalupe, AZ participating in several service projects.[6]
Global education
Belmont Hill has various programs to study and travel abroad. Typically, students who choose to do so will spend a semester or the entire year during their Junior (Form V) year in these programs which range from:
- HMI Semester - Colorado
- CITY Term - New York, NY
- Mountain School - Vermont
- Island School - Bahamas
- China
- Spain
- France
- Vietnam
Enrollment and admission
The application process begins early in the fall, a full year prior to the intended fall of enrollment. Belmont Hill enrolls approximately 50 new students in the 7th grade (Form I) every year, 10-12 in the 8th grade (Form II), and 15-25 in the 9th grade (Form III). On occasion, a few boys may join the school in the 10th grade as well. Graduating classes tend to fluctuate from 60-90 boys, depending on the year, however the school functions with an enrollment of approximately 445 students.
The average AP Exam Score is varies above a 4.0 (2010). In 2010, the average AP exam score for students taking the AP Latin exam was a 4.85.[7]
The application requires ISEE scores (grades 7-8) or SSAT scores (grade 8-10) along with a student and parent application. In addition, applicants are required to visit the school for a campus tour and interview. The deadline for applications has historically been February 1.[8]
Notable alumni
- Kingman Brewster, former president of Yale University, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom
- C. Loring Brace IV, biological anthropologist and Professor at the University of Michigan
- Edmund S. Morgan, historian and Emeritus Professor at Yale University
- Robin Moore, author of The French Connection
- David E. Kelley, television producer (L.A. Law, Ally McBeal), husband of Michelle Pfeiffer
- Mark Fusco, NCAA Hockey Hobey Baker Award Winner
- Scott Fusco, NCAA Hockey Hobey Baker Award Winner
- Bill Cleary, Harvard University Athletic Director
- Bob Cleary, Olympic Men's Ice Hockey gold medalist
- Paul Mara, NHL Player (Montreal Canadiens)
- Ian Moran, NHL Player (Boston Bruins)
- Jonathan Kraft, President of the New England Patriots
- Thomas H. Lee, founder of Thomas H. Lee Partners private equity firm
- Parelius Hjalmar Bang Berntsen, four-time Norwegian parliamentarian
- Tony Maws, award-winning Boston chef
- G. Scott Romney, politician
- Christian Ruuttu, former NHL Player
- Robert Carlock, writer and producer for 30 Rock
- Ted Murphy, 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist in Men's Rowing
- Mark A. Milley, current Chief of Staff of the Army
- Michael Condon, NHL Goalie (Montreal Canadiens)
References
- ↑ http://www.belmont-hill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=104296
- ↑ Duncan, Roger F., The Story of Belmont Hill School, Howard Kirshen Printing Corp., Boston, MA, 1985
- ↑ Duncan, Roger F., The Story of Belmont Hill School, Howard Kirshen Printing Corp., Boston, MA, 1985
- ↑ http://www.belmont-hill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=104307
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.belmonthill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=118894&rc=0
- ↑ http://www.belmonthill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=104292
- ↑ http://www.belmonthill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=104288
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belmont Hill School. |
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Pages using infobox school with unsupported parameters
- Pages with broken file links
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Private high schools in Massachusetts
- Independent School League
- Boys' schools in the United States
- Belmont, Massachusetts
- Schools in Middelesex County, Massachusetts
- Private middle schools in Massachusetts
