Leadership Development

List of 5 items.

• Grade 6: Upper School Foundations

  Upper School Foundations class is led by our Sixth Grade Coordinator and serves as an introduction to essential skills students will need as a middle school student.  There is a strong emphasis on building study skills and learning time management using both myRenbrook’s assignment center and a plan book.  Students learn research skills, how to deliver an effective presentation, and how to communicate effectively with teachers and classmates both in-person and online. Students will begin to curate digital portfolios of their work; a process that will continue through their journey through the Upper School.   

• Grade 7: Digital Literacy

  Digital Literacy class focuses on building skills and tools students need to become responsible “digital citizens.” Digital literacy is “is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills” (American Library Association). A central focus of this course is helping students to become intelligent, safe consumers and creators of online content in all areas of their lives.  Additionally, students will have comprehensive training on using the Microsoft Office suite. Students will continue to curate their digital portfolios as part of this course.   

   

• Grades 7 & 8: Life, Leadership, and Learning (LLL)

  The Life, Leadership, and Learning (LLL) class will help students learn how to identify and improve their communication, interpersonal, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. We will begin by training students to discriminate among facts, opinions, and beliefs, as they identify their core values. Students will examine the different representations of teens in media and the intersection of cultural, societal, and peer norms. Our goals include: teaching students appropriate ways to disagree in person and online, respect for individual differences and self, critical thinking skills when faced with ethical dilemmas. Students will create and communicate core values statements, complete a character skill survey, role-play scenarios in peer leadership, utilize their abilities and affinities to be effective learners, and become more vested members of the communities to which they belong.  
  
  

  Built in to LLL class is a curriculum designed to emphasize health, wellness, and informed decision making surrounding many issues young teenagers face. At an  

  age-appropriate and grade-appropriate level, students learn about puberty and human development, substance abuse issues, aspects of healthy relationships, sexuality, and identity. 

   

  With all topics and units, the emphasis will be on social- emotional learning. Flexibility is built into the schedule to dovetail with the Advisory Program, Human Growth and Development topics, and any emergent issues in the school community.  

• Grade 8: Secondary School Seminar

  Secondary School Seminar is a weekly course created to support students as they make the transition to high school.  Under the guidance of Renbrook’s Secondary School Placement Director, students will learn important skills such as how to prepare a resume, how to interview with an admission officer or potential employer, and how to identify individual strengths and characteristics in order to inform decision-making when applying to secondary school. Students will receive support with essay writing and editing as well as timely information about what to expect at all stages of the application process.    

• Grades 6, 7, & 8:

  All students in the Upper School experience integrated STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) lessons and activities across multiple courses throughout the school year.  In addition, all students have a weekly STEAM class where they can dive more deeply into a topic covered in one of their core subjects or develop solutions to real-world problems.  With an emphasis on design-thinking, students learn to code, build, observe, and create.  Some examples of STEAM activities include: designing polymers for specific use, designing and producing prosthetics for children who have lost limbs, studying mummification, observing how wolves hunt and coding robots to mimic this activity, and designing and building sturdy furniture out of repurposed cardboard.   

   

  Service learning, leadership, and mentoring: 

  Students have service-learning opportunities at every grade level.  Service learning brings learning to life by connecting curricula to community while building relationships, empathy, and altruism. Closer to campus, all students in grades seven and eight participate in our “buddies” program.  A favorite Renbrook tradition, the oldest students in the school are paired with students in our Pre- Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten for a full year of friendship, activities, and learning.  Students in grade eight partner with sixth graders through a series of “bounce back” events.  Eighth graders visit their sixth-grade homerooms to mentor, welcome, support, and encourage their new Upper School peers.  Finally, each eighth-grade student selects a community service role as part of campus leadership; these include working on the yearbook, helping in the library or art room, and assisting any one of many campus offices.