philanthropy Archives

Legacy Society Profile: Jane C. Shipp

By renbrook | June 19, 2023

Jane Shipp was Renbrook’s Headmistress for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010. Only Florence Greene, our founding Headmistress, served the school longer. Mrs. Shipp preferred the title Headmistress because she saw her role as head teacher, the first among equals. She left a lasting imprint on the school and is remembered fondly by former students, parents, faculty, and staff. Although she has scrupulously kept her distance since retiring, she watches our doings with keen interest and speaks with great conviction about her love for the school and its mission.

GIFTS AT WORK: Manafort Family Plaza

By renbrook | June 12, 2023

Trudging up the hill to the Upper Athletic Fields used to mean emerging on the verge of Edith P. Gengras Field on a muddy pathway under the Sills Family Tennis Courts, squishing through puddles to reach the soccer and field hockey fields. Now, the trudger is greeted by an elegant stone plaza and a stone wall proudly proclaiming “Renbrook School.” The first field is now dedicated to Bruce J. Irving, and beyond it is the new Gengras Family Field.

GIFTS AT WORK: Gengras Family Field

By renbrook | April 17, 2023

Athletic Director Peter Reynolds beamed as his familiar, raspy voice rang out at the dedication of the Gengras Family Field. What a difference our beautiful new turf field will make to our students! A reliable playing surface for our teams to practice and compete on, regardless of the weather. A dry outdoor classroom for physical education classes. “Our athletes will have a new, stronger sense of pride as they wear the blue and walk onto this field,” he boasted.

Eighth-grader Savanna Singh featured on We-Ha.com

By renbrook | March 21, 2023

An eighth-grader at West Hartford’s Renbrook School is holding a jersey drive to benefit children in developing countries and also to help keep textiles out of landfills.

Maggie Doyne, Author and Philanthropist Visits Renbrook School

By renbrook | October 26, 2022

Maggie Doyne speaking at Renbrook School

Last week, Renbrook welcomed humanitarian and author, Maggie Doyne. Maggie is the founder and CEO of the BlinkNow Foundation that funds a children’s home, health clinic, women’s center, and K-12 school in Surkhet, Nepal. Maggie met with our Lower and Upper School students for a spirited and inspiring conversation about her life’s work. She also joined us for an evening parent event to discuss her new book, Between the Mountain and the Sky: A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, Healing, and Hope.

Renbrook Student is Making His Mark in Caring for the Environment

By renbrook | February 22, 2022

CJ Glooch is an eighth grader at Renbrook School and a budding environmentalist. CJ is part of the Trustee Scholar program at Renbrook and chose to make a difference in his community and in the world by doing something good for the planet. The Trustee Scholar Program is student-initiated service learning designed to fulfill an identified need within the school or the community while fostering personal growth and leadership for the student. Students in the Trustee Scholar Program must choose a project, make a proposal to the Board of Trustees, volunteer a minimum of 15 hours with the organization, and deliver a final presentation about what they learned from the project to their peers and the Board of Trustees.