Headmaster: Peter J. Caldwell Head of Upper School: Darren Burns Morristown-Beard Director of College Counseling: Noreen L. Cassidy Associate Director of College Counseling: Lindsay Johnson Associate Director of College Counseling: Keith Vassall School College Counseling Assistant: Heather McClanahan Profile: The Class of 2017 CEEB Code: 310845 Within a culture of support and collaboration, Morristown-Beard School students discover and develop their individual pathways to academic success and personal fulfillment while becoming enlightened, morally responsible citizens of the world. The School Community teaching backgrounds, before being authorized by the School. The seminar Morristown-Beard is an independent, coeducational day school serving format promotes critical thought and discussion, requires students to work students from over 80 communities and nine counties in northern New independently and is flexible enough to encompass a broad range of course Jersey. There are 562 students in grades 6-12, with an Upper School themes. In all Advanced Seminars, the level of reading, writing and critical enrollment of 422. There are 100 faculty members, of whom 66% hold discussion equals that found in a first-year college course. Seminars are small advanced degrees, of which 16 are doctoral. The School is accredited by and enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Please note: Advanced the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the New Jersey Seminars were previously given an “honors” designation; however, Association of Independent Schools and is approved by the New Jersey beginning this fall, they will be designated with the prefix “AS,” more State Department of Education. accurately denoting their level of rigor comparable to AP. Curricular Philosophy Earned Honors Model MBS has fully embraced the “new” or “21st Century” paradigm for In keeping with the idea of a growth mindset and the awareness, secondary education, as articulated by such thinkers and researchers as the definitively established by research, that intelligence is not fixed but capable late Grant Wiggins, Sir Ken Robinson, Tony Wagner, and many others. of continuous growth in the proper learning contexts, we have created an Despite the challenges this new model poses to many traditional secondary “Earned Honors” model in many classes whereby students are not pre- school assumptions and practices, its focus on skills over content, on critical slotted as “honors” or “regular” but are placed in heterogeneous classes and creative thinking over mere absorption of information, on critical and given the opportunity to earn honors on the basis of the work they reading and writing in all disciplines, and above all its foundation in a produce. The honors distinction is not based on quantitative factors (i.e. “growth” as opposed to “fixed” mindset, is supported by a wave of cognitive “more work”), but is measured by the qualitative rigor and analytical depth research and emerging best practices. Our academic program has been of the tasks undertaken to earn honors. steadily evolving for the past decade along these lines, and we are justly proud of the progress we have made in preparing our graduates to succeed Humanities Program in higher education and in the social landscape of the future, both of which The Humanities approach to the study of English and history in grades are themselves in the midst of complex, rapidly evolving change. Our 9-11 merges the traditional subject areas of these departments to create a students, therefore, need to be understood and assessed in the light of these richer and more engaging experience of both literature and history. An principles, as outlined in our Statement of Curricular Philosophy: integrated curriculum, organized thematically and global in perspective, allows students to make new and surprising connections among different The Morristown-Beard curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, problem cultures, works of literature and time periods, while enhancing a common solving, independent thought, and intellectual risk taking. It supports cross- set of critical skills. The program relies heavily on analytical writing, disciplinary connections and a holistic view of knowledge. It encourages critical and creative thinking, discussion-driven classes, close reading and integration of habits of intentional speaking and writing so that students may oral presentation. It is also a model of cross-disciplinary collaboration for develop and articulate their ideas. The curriculum is process-oriented, and both students and faculty. teachers’ assessment of student work reflects the means by which a student creates and learns in addition to final product. The curriculum at Morristown-Beard Writing Across the Curriculum esteems the qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions of learning and Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) is a pedagogical movement that supports students’ making connections to other areas of intellectual thought and values writing as a method of learning across all fields, not merely in the the larger world. traditional areas such as English and history courses. When students are given frequent opportunities for WAC, they think more critically and creatively, Signature Programs engage more deeply in their learning, and are better able to transfer what Advanced Seminar Program they have learned from course to course, context to context. In 2011, MBS In an effort to provide a rigorous alternative to the standardized curriculum established a comprehensive Center for Academic Writing (modeled closely and testing of AP courses, we have created a menu of Advanced Seminars on the writing centers found in every college and university) led by a trained for seniors and selected juniors that equal or exceed AP courses in terms of composition specialist who has helped to establish a robust writing program conceptual challenge, complexity of material, development of critical skills at the School. Transformative assignments have been integrated into and overall preparation for college academics. They are therefore among Science, Math, Wellness, Foreign Language, History, and Performing Arts the most academically rigorous courses we offer. These courses, which are departments. In 2013 we created a junior elective designed to train students either one semester or full year, are proposed by faculty with a particular to be peer tutors in composition. Students engaged in academic writing at interest and expertise in a given field and are subject to a thorough peer- MBS are supported through a variety of writing workshops, feedback from review process, overseen by a committee of experienced teachers with college faculty and peers, and other services offered by the Center. 70 Whippany Road • Morristown, NJ 07960 • Tel: 973.539.3032 • Fax: 973.539.1590 • www.mbs.net Curriculum Notes Class of 2017: Advanced Placement Program Students must fulfill required prerequisites and have Junior Year Grade Distribution departmental approval in order to enroll in any of the 12 AP * Semester Courses courses offered. With the exception of those taking Chemistry and United States History, the majority enrolled in AP classes Grades are seniors. In addition to courses offered, recommended juniors A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- may also sit for the English Language and Composition exam. Humanities English 11 * 14 37 43 42 9 1 1 Independent Study Humanities English 11 (H) * 8 21 22 8 Our Independent Study program encourages students to English Electives * 1 1 2 4 4 explore areas of interest that fall outside the traditional English Electives (H) * 1 7 3 course catalog. Under the guidance of selected faculty members with a special expertise or interest in the field, Humanities History 11 2 7 11 19 9 3 students work side by side to develop a scope and sequence Humanities History 11 (H) 1 11 4 19 5 1 curriculum, create authentic class specific content and create US History (AP) 2 3 5 1 original assessments. Independent Studies are ideal for European History (AP) 1 motivated, high-achieving students. Current topics include History Electives * 1 6 2 4 Acting Shakespeare, Audio Sampling, Civil Engineering, History Electives (H) * 1 6 8 2 Digital Journalism, Entrepreneurship, Mandarin, Music Composition, Pharmacology, and Vector Calculus. Intermediate Algebra 1 Algebra 2 5 3 9 6 5 Graduation Requirements Pre-Calculus 1 14 12 8 8 4 The School utilizes a modified block schedule. Classes meet Pre-Calculus (H) 10 8 8 10 4 2 seven times in a 10-day cycle including a 30-minute workshop Calculus 2 1 period designed for students to step outside the traditional Calculus AB (AP) 2 2 structures of the classroom and find creative, student- Calculus BC (AP) 1 1 centered ways to engage in their discipline. The academic Business Math * 1 1 year is divided into two semesters during which a minimum Discrete Mathematics * 3 1 academic load is six courses. While a total of 24 credits is Statistics and Data Analysis * 1 2 1 required for graduation, we encourage students to pursue Probability Theory * 2 2 their academic interests by going beyond the minimum requirements of: English 4 years Biology 3 12 18 11 9 3 3 1 Biology (H) 12 10 9 7 Mathematics 3 years Quantitative Chemistry (H) 1 History 3 years Chemistry (AP) 5 1 Science 3 years Environmental Science 1 1 World Language 3 years Environmental Science (H) 2 Performing/Visual 1 year Advanced Physics 1 * 1 1 1 & Digital Arts Advanced Physics 2 * 1 2 Anatomy and Physiology* 1 Test Scores (Class of 2016) Forensic Science * 1 1 Middle 50% Mean Genes and Society* 1 1 1 SAT Sports Medicine * 1 3 2 2 2 Critical Reading 530-640 588 Math 530-640 581 Writing 520-650 585 French 3 1 3 4 ACT French 3 (H) 1 Composite 24-29 26 French 4 2 French 4 (H) 1 6 1 Junior Year GPA Distribution French (AP) 3 (103 students) Latin 3 3 2 3.75 – 4.00 22 3.00 – 3.24 20 Latin 3 (H) 1 1 2 2 3.50 – 3.74 38 2.75 – 2.99 2 Spanish 3 3 4 6 6 5 1 2 1 3.25 – 3.49 20 2.50 – 2.74 1 Spanish 3 (H) 1 1 1 1 Spanish 4 2 13 6 6 2 Grading System and Class Rank Grade point averages are unweighted and calculated based on the system Spanish 4 (H) 3 2 1 below.