Northfield Mount Hermon School

Northfield Mount Hermon

Seal of Northfield Mount Hermon
Location
Mount Hermon, MA
USA
Information
School type Private, boarding
Motto Discere et Vivere
(To Learn and to Live)
Established 1879
Founder Dwight L. Moody
Head of school Peter B. Fayroian
Faculty 95
Enrollment 650 total
81% boarding
19% day
Average class size 11 students
Student to teacher ratio 6:1
Campus Rural, 215 acres (core campus), 1,565 acres (4.5 km²) (total land holdings)
Color(s) Maroon and light blue         
Song Jerusalem
Athletics 20 interscholastic sports; 67 teams
Mascot the Hogger
Team name Hoggers
Endowment $121 million (as of March 7, 2017)
Website http://www.nmhschool.org

Northfield Mount Hermon School, commonly referred to as NMH, is a highly selective coeducational college-preparatory boarding and day school for students in grades 9–12 and postgraduates. The school is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, with the majority of the campus being located within the towns of Bernardston, Northfield, (West Northfield), and Gill, MA.

Originally two neighboring schools, (the Northfield School for Girls founded in 1879, and the Mount Hermon School for Boys founded in 1881) NMH merged into a single institution in 1972 and consolidated on one campus in 2006.

NMH is a member of the Eight Schools Association, established in 1973 comprising Phillips Academy (known as Andover), Phillips Exeter Academy (known as Exeter), Choate Rosemary Hall (known as Choate), Deerfield Academy, Hotchkiss School, Lawrenceville School, and St. Paul's School.[1]

Present Day

NMH offers more than 200 courses, including AP and honors classes in every discipline. Each semester, students take three major courses, each 80 minutes long, as opposed to five 50-minute classes which are more typical of high schools. This "College Model Academic Program" allows students to spend more time with their teachers and immerse themselves more deeply in academic subjects. NMH employs 102 teaching faculty members, 70 percent of whom have advanced degrees. The average class size at NMH is 11 students; the student-to-teacher ratio is 6 to 1.

Students are required to participate in co-curricular activities every semester; these include athletic teams, performing-arts ensembles, volunteer work on and off-campus, and activities such as working for one of the school's four student publications. Students may join an extensive array of extracurricular clubs, organizations, and affinity groups.

Students involved in visual and performing arts courses, as well as NMH's performing ensembles, are supported by the Rhodes Arts Center. (See more under "Arts Programs")

With more than 60 athletic teams in 20 interscholastic sports, NMH offers one of the broadest athletic programs among secondary schools in the U.S. and currently holds the national prep championship title in boys' basketball and New England championship titles in girls' crew, wrestling, and numerous individual swimming and track and field events. NMH offers an extensive outdoor education program in addition to its competitive teams.

Each student is required to hold a job on campus, working four to five hours a week for a total of 120 hours each school year. This contribution to the operation of the school stems from the school's founder, Dwight Lyman Moody, and his desire for students to understand the value of manual labor.

Traditions

History

The school was founded by Protestant evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody as the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies in 1879 (later called the Northfield School for Girls) and the Mount Hermon School for Boys in 1881. Moody built the girls' school in Northfield, Massachusetts, the town of his birth, and the boys' school a few miles away in the town of Gill. Moody's goal was to provide the best possible education for young people without privilege, and he enrolled students whose parents were slaves as well as Native Americans and people from other countries, which was unprecedented among elite private schools at that time. Moody sent out students who founded schools and churches of their own. For example, a protégé of Moody founded Moores Corner Church in Leverett, MA. Moody viewed Christian religious education as an essential objective of his schools. Under subsequent administrations, the schools grew more theologically liberal and ultimately became non-denominational. Today, NMH offers diverse ways to pursue religious studies and personal spirituality.

By 1913, the schools were operated under the single moniker "The Northfield Schools," but remained separate institutions until 1972, when the two schools merged to become Northfield Mount Hermon, continuing to operate with two coeducational campuses. In 2005, the school consolidated its students and classes onto the Mount Hermon campus. This decision by the board of trustees stemmed from a belief that students would receive the best possible education in a smaller, more close-knit community, and from a desire to focus the school's resources on educational programs and maintain one campus instead of two. Before consolidation, the school enrolled approximately 1,100 students per year; the student body has now settled at 650, making the admission process even more selective.

NMH's current head is Peter B. Fayroian, who joined the school in 2012.

Athletics

View of James and Forslund Gymnasiums

NMH sports programs include:

Fall Teams

Winter Teams

Spring Teams

Arts Programs

Rhodes Arts Center

The 65,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) Gold LEED certified Rhodes Arts Center (at right) opened in fall 2008. The RAC is the home of all of the arts programs at NMH. It houses two concert performance spaces, a black-box theater, two dance studios, an art gallery, classrooms, art studios, practice rooms, and faculty offices. Additionally, the RAC is home to the Class of 1958 Carillon, which was originally installed in Sage Chapel in 1924. The funds to make the move possible were spearheaded by the combined Mount Hermon and Northfield classes of '58. It can be played via an electronic keyboard situated in the bottom of the bell-tower. Memorial Chapel houses the schools own tracker action organ. Andover Organ Company Opus 67, completed in December 1970 and donated by Kenneth H. Rockey is a 2-manual 27-stop, 37-rank tracker organ with a pedal compass of 30, and a manual compass of 56.[3]

Performing groups include:

NMH also produces an annual arts and literary magazine, Mandala, as well as two student-run newspapers, The Bridge and The Hermonite.

Co-Curricular & Extra-Curricular Groups, Classes, and Activities

Many of the activities that NMH students are involved in are considered classes or part of the work program; others are organized outside the curriculum. NMH's Student Activities office provides support, services, and resources for student organizations, including places to meet, materials, and funding.[4] Organizations are listed below.[5]

General Leadership Positions include resident leaders (RLs), who help run the dorms and serve as role models and mentors to dorm residents; international ambassadors (IAs), who mentor international students and work to promote diversity throughout the year; peer mediators, who help settle student conflicts; and Student Congress representatives, who are elected by their peers and work directly with the school administration to propose new rules or improve existing ones.

Clubs and Organizations There are dozens of clubs on campus, many of which are launched by students and which vary from year to year, depending on student interest. These include:

Performing Groups

Literary Groups

Community Affinity Groups

Social Concerns and Social Service

Religion and Spirituality

Other Opportunities

Notable alumni

The following is a sampling of notable alumni of Northfield Mount Hermon School, organized by graduation year. NMH has the largest living alumni population among all boarding schools in America — roughly 30,000.

Images

References

  1. Taylor Smith, "History of the Association," The Phillipian (Phillips Academy), February 14, 2008
  2. Jerusalem. "And Did Those Feet In Ancient Time". Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  3. Lawson, Steve E. "ID7002". OHS Pipe Organ Databse. OHS Pipe Organ Databse. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  4. Student Activities office, NMH website Archived May 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. Complete listing of clubs & organizations, NMH website Archived February 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 "Prominent Alumni | Northfield Mount Hermon". Nmhschool.org. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  7. "Hasok Chang CV" (PDF). ucl.ac.uk. University College London. 2009-12-21. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  8. Josh Sharma

Coordinates: 42°40′02″N 72°29′03″W / 42.667259°N 72.484145°W / 42.667259; -72.484145

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.