| Walnut Hill School for the Arts | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Natick, MA, USA | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private, boarding, arts |
| Motto | Non Nobis Solum Not for ourselves alone |
| Established | 1893 |
| Head of School | Antonio Viva |
| Enrollment | 300 |
| Campus | 45 acres (180,000 m2) |
| Color(s) | Historic: Gold and White Modern: Crimson and Chartreuse |
| Tuition | (boarding) $44,125, (day) $33,455 |
| Website | http://walnuthillarts.org/ |
Walnut Hill School for the Arts is a private boarding school for the arts located in Natick, Massachusetts.
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Walnut Hill was founded in 1893 as a college preparatory school for women and a feeder school to Wellesley College. It became coeducational and arts-focused in the late 1970s. Students at Walnut Hill major in one of five arts disciplines: ballet, music, theatre, visual art, and writing & publishing. With the exception of voice students, music students at Walnut Hill take their weekly private lessons at The New England Conservatory in Boston. The New England Conservatory at Walnut Hill program is led by Maestro Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Youth Philhamonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic. Admission to Walnut Hill is by academic application and artistic audition.
The mission of Walnut Hill is to educate talented, accomplished and intellectually engaged young artists from all over the world. The School does so in a diverse, humane and ethical community.[1]
Walnut Hill has an extensive summer program. National and international students come for between two and five weeks for intensive study in their arts discipline. Programs are offered in dance, theater, opera, and creative writing. Additional programs include Summer Youth Dance, for pre-high school dancers, Summer Youth Visual Arts, and the Chinese Performing Arts Academy.
The summer dance and theater programs consist of a full five weeks in residence. The opera program spends a shorter amount of time at the Natick campus before traveling with their faculty to Italy, where they continue taking classes and tour areas historically associated with opera, and perform.
Walnut Hill also features the Academy program, a non-boarding afterschool arts program for students residing in the vicinity.
Mountain Day This tradition takes place in October and serves as a community-building event for the senior class. The entire class ascends one of the most hiked mountains in the world, Mount Monadnock. This event gives the students a sense of accomplishment and class spirit.
Class Night In early October, a special dinner honors seniors as they assume responsibility for leading and serving the School. After a reception, the entire School, seated by class, dines together. Seniors are served first. The Senior Class President and the Community Council President give speeches stating their goals and expectations for the year. Then, to symbolize their willingness to serve the community, seniors serve dessert to the entire School. Proper dress is required.
Senior Privileges Each November, seniors make their request for specific senior privileges through the Senior Class President. Typically, several of these are approved by the administration. Senior privileges are extended on the assumption that seniors have attained a level of maturity and self-discipline that will allow them to exercise their privileges wisely. If these privileges are abused, they will be revoked. Seniors whose grades fall markedly may have senior privileges rescinded by the Academic Dean.
Boar’s Head Procession/Holiday Dinner During December, Walnut Hill observes several holi–day festivities. These culminate in a formal dinner and Holiday Party the night before Winter Break begins. The dinner begins with a medieval ceremony, the Boar’s Head Procession, performed by leadership students. A senior—chosen by the faculty and senior class in recognition of his or her character and contribution to the School—leads the procession and sings the Boar’s Head song. Students are seated by dormitory. Proper dress is required.
Tree Day On a spring day, seniors invite faculty and students to participate in the Tree Day ceremony. The class tree is planted along with a penny with the year of the graduating class. The tree itself symbolizes the growth of the seniors within the School and their continued growth, contributions, and achievements after they leave the School. The Senior Class President reads a poem, and another class year is inscribed on the Tree Day shovel.
Ring Day One spring evening, the senior and junior classes meet for the Ring Day ceremony. At that time, the seniors pass the keeping of the School to the junior class. The seniors form a circle around the juniors, and one by one the juniors are called to take the place of the seniors, each receiving their School ring or pin. The Community Council President reads a poem, and seniors and juniors exchange places in the circle. Seniors are then inducted into the Alumni Association. Proper dress is required.
Senior Class Day All seniors in good standing are excused from classes one day in the spring so they can participate in a local group activity. Senior Class Day allows them to begin the process of separating from Walnut Hill while enjoying their final class trip of the year.
Candlelight Service Two days before Graduation, at dusk, the entire School assembles in the field by class—girls dressed in white, boys in all white as well for a candlelight ceremony. Seniors are the last to extinguish their candles, as one by one they say farewell to the School and to one another after singing the senior song. New Gold Key members are announced. The Community Council President and the Senior Class President speak.
Awards Night The evening before Graduation, the entire School, parents, and guests are invited to attend a presentation of new officers and the academic, arts, and character awards. Foremost among these are the Hester Davies Citizenship Cup, the Friendship Award, and the Arnold C. Taylor Award for Academic and Artistic Achievement.
Graduation Dance Following Awards Night, the Parents’ Association sponsors an all-School dance to allow an opportunity for community celebration.[2]
The Walnut Hill campus has thirteen buildings. Stowe, Eliot, Highland, Clark, New Cottage, Westerly, North House and Elizabeth Bishop Hall are the school's dorms. The campus also holds the Academic and Technology Center, the Dance Center, the Keiter Performing Arts Center, the Office of Admission and Placement, and the Head's House.
Eliot is the largest building on campus; its second and third floors serve as a dormitory. It contains Boswell Hall, the Keefe Library, the dining hall, the student campus center and the school bookstore. The offices of the Dean of Students, the Director of Residential Life, and the Assistant Dean of Students are also housed in Eliot. Highland contains the offices of the Music Department and practice rooms (both regular and soundproof), the Visual Art studios, Pooke Gallery, Amelia Hall and Highland Dormitory. Stowe, in addition to being a dormitory, is the location of the switchboard and many administrative offices, including the Head of School's office, external relations and facilities.
Elizabeth Bishop Hall is the most recent addition to the campus. It began construction in the 2006-2007 school year and was completed in November of the 2007-2008 school year. This structure includes a dormitory as well as faculty apartments.