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Belmont Hill School

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Coordinates: 42°24′26″N 71°10′47″W / 42.4073°N 71.1798°W / 42.4073; -71.1798
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Belmont Hill School
File:Belmont Hill School Seal.png
Address
Map
350 Prospect Street, Belmont MA 02478

Belmont
,
Massachusetts

United States
Information
TypePrivate
MottoProvidentia, Studium, Fidelitas
(Foresight, Zeal, Loyalty)
Religious affiliation(s)None
Established1923
HeadmasterRick Melvoin
Faculty66
Enrollment440
Student to teacher ratio11:1
CampusSuburban, 32 acres (130,000 m2)
Color(s)Maroon, Blue & White    
Athletics16 sports
57 teams
Athletics conferenceIndependent School League (ISL), NEPSAC, NEIRA
RivalsRoxbury Latin, St. Sebastian's, B.B.N
Websitebelmonthill.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. Most of the students are day students, but a few enroll in the school's five-day boarding program, which starts in the 9th grade year. The school has a rich athletic tradition as a participant in the competitive ISL (Independent School League). Members of the Class of 2010 had been accepted at 42 colleges and universities [1]. Belmont Hill is also a founding member of the International Boys' Schools Coalition, an organization dedicated to the development and education of young men and the faculty who work with them.

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] The trustees quickly set out towards making the school a reality; their first order was hiring Belmont Hill’s first Headmaster, Reginald Heber Howe.

Howe, a member of the faculty at the Middlesex School for 20 years, devoted his energies toward raising 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 dorm, and a single academic building, now named the Howe Building in honor of Howe. The school finally opened its doors in the fall of 1923 to 43 boys (grades 3-9) and four distinguished faculty.[3]

Athletics

Jordan Athletic Center

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 completed the construction of the award-winning, state-of-the-art Jordan Athletic Center in 2000 and most recently 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 intramural team)
  • Alpine Skiing
  • Cross Country Skiing
Spring
  • Baseball (6 teams)
  • Lacrosse (4 teams)
  • Crew (4 teams) New England Champions 2003-2010
  • Track (3 teams)
  • Tennis (3 teams)
  • Golf
  • Sailing

Visual and performing arts

Arts center

Belmont Hill offers both curricular and extracurricular opportunities in visual arts, music and theater. This commitment to education beyond the bounds of the classroom extends to other programs as well. Students are given the freedom to use their own creative license in working on class-related as well as independent projects that range in mediums from 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 extensive and continues to grow in the school’s state-of-the-art Prenatt Music Center. Students are open to joining a number of performance groups including Jazz Ensemble, Rock Ensemble, Orchestra, Glee Club, the B Flats (a select a cappella group), and more. In addition, 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 take place in the school's intimate Kraft Theatre on a regular basis. 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 have included The Bridge to Terabithia, The Curious Savage, The Foreigner, The Music Man, and Rent.

Extracurricular activities

Campus view

As part of the school’s dedication to developing the whole boy, there is time built into the students’ schedule to allow for participation in 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 offers most of the traditional 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. However, new student clubs and organizations are founded every semester based on interest level. Other clubs include:

  • Aeronautics
  • Mock Trial
  • 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 School Improv

Community Service is another integral part of the experience at Belmont Hill. Over 70% of the student body participates in voluntary clubs, service trips, and outreach opportunities. 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. Most recently groups have travelled to New Orleans, Appalachia, and Guadalupe, AZ participating in wide-ranging service projects.[6]

Global education

Belmont Hill encourages students to experience academic life outside of the school through various study / travel abroad programs. 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 15-20 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 4.1[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

References

  1. ^ http://www.belmont-hill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=104296
  2. ^ Duncan, Roger F., The Story of Belmont Hill School, Howard Kirshen Printing Corp., Boston, MA, 1985
  3. ^ Duncan, Roger F., The Story of Belmont Hill School, Howard Kirshen Printing Corp., Boston, MA, 1985
  4. ^ http://www.belmont-hill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=104307
  5. ^ "Independent School League". Milton Academy. Archived from the original on 2006-09-03. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
  6. ^ http://www.belmonthill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=118894&rc=0
  7. ^ http://www.belmonthill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=104292
  8. ^ http://www.belmonthill.org/podium/default.aspx?t=104288
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42°24′26″N 71°10′47″W / 42.4073°N 71.1798°W / 42.4073; -71.1798

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