Brewster Academy
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| Brewster Academy | |
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Meus Dux Sit Veritas
(Let truth be our leader) |
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| Location | |
| Wolfeboro, N.H., United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent, boarding |
| Established | 1820 |
| Headmaster | Dr. Michael E. Cooper |
| Enrollment | 360 |
| Average class size | 12 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 6:1 |
| Campus | Lakeside, 80 acres (0.37 km²) |
| Color(s) | Cardinal, Navy Blue |
| Athletics | 14 sports |
| Mascot | Bobcats |
| Website | brewsteracademy.org |
Coordinates: 43°34′58″N 71°12′27″W / 43.58278°N 71.2075°W
Brewster Academy (also called BA) is a co-educational independent boarding school located on 80 acres (32 ha) in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire USA, two hours north of Boston. It occupies 1/2 mile (800 m) of shoreline along Lake Winnipesaukee. With around 360 students, it serves grades nine through twelve, in addition to post-graduates.
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[edit] History
The school was founded in 1820 by local citizens as a "building for higher education." Once called Wolfeboro & Tuftonboro Academy, in 1887 it was renamed Brewster Free Academy in honor of John Brewster, a benefactor. For sixty years it charged no tuition fee to area residents, and from its inception through 1964, the school served as the only high school in Wolfeboro. (The town began to pay local students' tuition starting in 1947.) During the immediate postwar years it was a popular school with military veterans seeking to improve their credentials for a university education under the GI Bill. In 1963 the graduating class consisted of 60 local students, with 30 additional post-graduate students, who boarded on campus. Many of these were there to increase their athletic prowess, and some, including Milt Morin who played in the NFL, had successful college and pro sports careers. The local students were then shifted to Kingswood Regional High School in town, and Brewster became a private boarding school.
In 1985, Digital Equipment Corporation co-founder Ken Olsen donated a number of Digital personal computers to Brewster. The computers were part of a new lab dedicated to Grace Murray Hopper, whose family had a summer house in Wolfeboro. The lab is called the Grace Murray Hopper Center for Computer Learning.
Since 1995, Brewster hosts the Great Waters Music Festival. This summer festival promotes live musical performances including choral, symphonic, folk, pops, jazz, Broadway, dance, and renowned vocal and instrumental artists. Celebrity performers have included Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck, Arlo Guthrie, Chuck Mangione, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
[edit] Technology
All students and faculty use laptops, and teachers use a suite of software tools to design and teach curriculum, and to ensure constant communication among students, parents and administrators. Through online portfolios, students post their work to be reviewed and evaluated by faculty and shared with parents. Students and parents also have online access to grades and progress reports, which helps students evaluate their progress.
[edit] Faculty
Faculty are prepared and trained at the Brewster Summer Institute, a four-week professional development program designed to assist teachers in accelerating student growth. Each instructor is placed on an eight-member team that teaches and advises students in a single grade. Teams meet three or four times weekly to discuss each student’s progress and performance. Class size averages 12, and the student-teacher ratio is 6:1. In addition to teaching, faculty serve as coaches and dorm parents.
[edit] Athletics
Brewster has a diverse selection of interscholastic sports along with recreational, intramural, and instructional sports during the fall, winter and spring seasons. Among the interscholastic sports, Brewster fields varsity, junior varsity, and co-ed teams, as well as eight- and four-person shells on the crew teams. Games are typically played on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a half day of classes on Wednesdays to accommodate game schedules. During games and during regular practices, an athletic trainer is available to help students. The teams are coached by faculty at all levels. Many faculty live on campus and some are also dorm parents, which allows students to connect more with every member of the community.
Brewster competes in the following interscholastic sports: baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis, sailing, crew, field hockey, soccer, cross country running, ice hockey, basketball, cross country skiing, alpine skiing, and snowboarding. Intramural, recreational, and instructional offerings include: yoga, fitness, advanced strength training, tennis, ultimate Frisbee, equestrianism, outdoor skills, golf, dance and snow sports.
The academy holds numerous New England and Lakes Region League Championship titles.
The boys' varsity basketball team won the 2010 National Prep School Championship. Also, the program had 35 alumni in NCAA Division I programs during the 2009-10 academic year.
Athletic facilities include a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) athletics and wellness center featuring a convertible turf floor, a four-lane, 200-meter indoor track, and a fitness center; six playing fields; nine new tennis courts; a boathouse for dry land training for the sailing and crew teams; an indoor rowing tank; and a climbing wall.
[edit] Arts
In the performing arts, Brewster offers an award-winning chorus, HOWL, which has performed at Carnegie Hall; a drama group that produces musicals, operas, and plays throughout the year; a chamber orchestra, a chorale, a wind ensemble, a jazz band, and dance instruction. An art center is home to ceramics, printmaking, drawing, and painting classes. Multimedia and desktop publishing centers feature the latest computers, industry standard software, and video and digital equipment. Newly renovated Anderson Hall features a proscenium theater with first-rate lighting and acoustics.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Jeff Adrien - basketball player for the UConn Huskies and Golden State Warriors.
- Craig Brackins - basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers
- Daniel Ford - novelist, journalist, historian
- Topher Grace - actor
- James Kirkwood, Jr. - author; his novel Good Times Bad Times is set at Brewster, although the school and its buildings are renamed.
- Thomas Robinson - basketball player for the Kansas Jayhawks
[edit] Residence halls
Students live in 20 dormitories with faculty members and their families. Most dormitories overlook Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire's largest lake, and the Belknap Mountains in the distance.
[edit] Gallery
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Brewster Academy in 1909
[edit] External links
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