Greenwich Academy is an independent, college-preparatory day school for girls and young women in Greenwich, Connecticut. Founded in 1827, it is the oldest girls' school in Connecticut. Greenwich Academy's motto is Ad ingenium faciendum, "Toward the Building of Character."
The current Head of School is Molly H. King. The current Head of Lower School is Jon Ross-Wiley. The current Head of Middle School is Becky Walker. The current Head of Upper School is Tom Sullivan.
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History
Greenwich Academy was founded by members of the Congregational Church in 1827. Until the turn of the twentieth century, the school admitted both girls and boys. Then, in 1900, a Greenwich Academy English teacher founded the Brunswick School for Boys. In 1913, the Greenwich Academy Board of Trustees formally approved the decision to accept only girls in the Middle and Upper Schools, and Greenwich Academy was reconceived as a day school for girls.
The newly chartered school was led by strong female educators, including Ruth West Campbell, who shaped much of the mission and philosophy of the school. Succeeding heads--Katherine Zierleyn, Alexander A. Uhle and Patsy G. Howard--oversaw impressive growth in the facilities and student body and expanded the academic and extracurricular offerings. In July 2004, Molly H. King, an educator firmly committed to modeling excellence and sustaining the school's strong tradition of female leadership, was appointed as head.
Greenwich Dance Studio Video
Campus facilities
Greenwich Academy is located on a 39-acre campus in central Greenwich, approximately 25 miles from New York City and 47 miles from New Haven. Campus facilities include Ruth West Campbell Hall, buildings for the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools, and the Ridgeview Avenue Campus that accommodates the Pre-Connecting and Connecting (Pre-K and Kindergarten) classes.
Ridgeview Avenue Campus
Pre-Connecting and Connecting Class students are housed at our Ridgeview Avenue Campus that features four classrooms, a large playground and a soccer field.
Lower School
The Lower School includes 8 classrooms for students in Groups I-IV. There is an art studio, computer lab, music room, science lab and library. Additionally, there are support spaces for tutoring and counseling, as well as a large playground.
Middle School
Renovated in 2009, the Middle School was awarded LEED Silver certification from the US Green Building Council. Green features include photovoltaics and daylight harvesting in which lights automatically adjust based on amount of sunlight entering through windows. There are 23 classrooms, three science labs, an art studio and a computer lab in the Middle School.
Upper School
The Patsy G. Howard Upper School includes 20 classrooms, 5 science laboratories, a student center, a 20,000-volume library with space and technology to serve both the Upper and Middle Schools and various support spaces, conference rooms and offices.
Ruth West Campbell Hall
Ruth West Campbell Hall (RWC) is named after the school's headmistress from 1925 to 1955. In 1950, Greenwich Academy purchased the old Rockefeller estate at 200 North Maple Avenue, its current location, and renamed the newly acquired building Ruth West Campbell Hall. The building houses administrative offices, admissions, meeting space, and the school store.
Wallace Performing Arts Center
The Performing Arts Center (PAC) contains Massey Theater a four hundred seat theater, a choral room, a dance studio, and practice rooms. The theater complex contains a scenery shop and a costume shop. Also in the theatrical complex is a small studio theater, nicknamed the Black Box Theater. The Black Box has computerized sound and lighting systems, a sprung floor and can accommodate one hundred seats. It is usually used for dance and theatrical productions.
The Jacobs Lobby is an exhibit space for art works. Just off the Jacobs Lobby is the Luchsinger Art Gallery, the setting for exhibiting the work of students, faculty and visiting artists.
Libraries
Greenwich Academy offers students and faculty a comprehensive program of library and media services in two facilities: the David W. Wallace Library for PC through Group IV, and the Jean and David W. Wallace Library for Groups V through XII. The print collections of the two libraries number approximately 30,000 volumes. In addition, access to a broad range of carefully selected web-based resources is also provided.
Athletics
The Raether Athletic Center is home to two full courts for basketball and volleyball, as well as five international squash courts with stadium seating. Raether Athletic Center also is home to a 2600 square foot fitness facility housing cardio and strength equipment. The fitness center overlooks our outstanding outdoor facility, which is home to field hockey and soccer in the fall, and lacrosse and softball in the spring. These teams train on FieldTurf surfaces that are optimized for each sport. Adjacent to these fields is a 3-lane, 200 meter track, a high jump apron, long and triple jump pit and discus and shot put throwing circles.
The recently renovated Ramsing Gymnasium provides additional full-court space for basketball and volleyball, and is now home to 1500 square feet of space that houses studios for rowing, spinning and yoga.
GA has six tennis courts as well as a natural grass field adjacent to our Ridgeview Avenue Campus. Gator sailing keeps its fleet at Indian Harbor and our crew team is housed in Cos Cob at the Brunswick Boathouse. Ice hockey teams play on two full-sized rinks at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, and the swim and water polo teams utilize the Olympic sized pools Brunswick and the Greenwich YMCA. We have established relationships throughout the area enabling our golf and track and field teams to train and compete at quality facilities.
College Counseling
As a college-preparatory school, Greenwich Academy is committed to preparing young women to thrive in any college setting. Starting junior year, students are assigned a college counselor that will work one-on-one to develop a personalized college counseling process. Comprehensive workshops are also offered for both parents and students.
Robotics
Greenwich Academy launched its Robotics program in the Middle School in 2008. While the program started off small, the Greenwich Academy robotics team won the Champions Award at the CT state tournament in 2011 and won second place in First World Festival. Greenwich Academy now hosts ROBOnanza! and the Gator Bowl that allows students to express their creativity and showcase their skills. The robotics program has expanded into the Upper School, creating the competition team RoboEpic 5017. The Lower School now also has two robotics team.
Signature Programs
Greenwich Academy offers a number of signature programs including the GAINS Network, Global Scholars and Expedition courses. The GAINS (Girls Advancing in STEM) Network was founded by Greenwich Academy to provide an online social platform for young woman with a passion for science, technology, engineering and math. The Global Scholars program was launched in 2010 and prepares students to be active and engaged members of an increasingly global community. Greenwich Academy's Global Scholars complete at least two weeks of study or project work outside of the United States and a senior capstone project. Expedition courses also allow students to learn through immersive trips. Past courses have included Experiential Biology in the Peruvian Amazon and English XII: New York State of Mind in New York City.
Notable alumnae
- Jane Fonda, two-time Academy Award-winning actress, political activist, and fitness guru
- Ethel Skakel Kennedy, wife of Robert F. Kennedy
- Marissa Mazzola-McMahon, wife of Shane McMahon
- Lauren Redniss, Visual Storyteller and MacArthur Fellow
- Kelly Rohrbach, model and actress
- Allison Williams, Actress, HBO's Girls.
Media
Miranda Wells, the fictional protagonist of the Dragonwyck (novel) attended the school.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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