News at Renbrook School | Top Private Schools for Academic Success

Students Participate in COLT Poetry Contest

April 8, 2019

From left to right in group photo:
Andrew L., Dora L. , Adriana B. , Manu N. , Griffin S., Robert H., Simone R.

Photo with medal winner: Simone R. – Silver Medal for French Middle School 2

Seven Renbrook students participated in the 2019 Connecticut Council of Language Teachers Annual Poetry Recitation Contest, which was held on Apr. 3 at Rockville High School in Vernon.
Griffin S. (French MS 1)
Robbie H. (Spanish MS 1)
Andrew L. (Latin MS 1)
Adriana B. (Spanish MS Heritage Speaker)
Simone R. (French MS 2)
Manu N. (Spanish MS 2)
Dora L. (Mandarin MS Heritage Speaker)

Since January, these students perfected their recitation of poems from well-known poets of their languages of study. The seven participants won the in-class and all-school run-offs. At the statewide contest, approximately 600 students from 50 schools competed in 16 languages. Poems for Middle School had between 10 – 20 lines. Students were judged in four areas: memorization, diction, interpretation, and body language. Latin poetry had to be recited according to the classical meter. All students received a certificate of participation. Simone R. won the Silver Medal for the French Middle School 2 category! We are proud of their dedication and courage!

Renbrook Family Day at the Community Farm of Simsbury

April 8, 2019

Renbrook Family Day at the Community Farm of Simsbury. Families volunteered on Saturday, April 6 to help prepare the farm for planting new crops, clearing fields, cleaning and filling flats for seeding and of course taking care of the animals! Thank you to all the Renbrook families who joined us! And a huge thank you to farm manager Paul and farmers Jim and Vi for showing us how it all gets done.

6th Graders Keep Tradition of Greek Play

April 8, 2019

Another great performance by our sixth graders for the Renbrook tradition of the Greek Play. More pictures on the Parent Resource Board under Photos and Videos.

West Hartford Historians Visit Grade 5

April 8, 2019

West Hartford historian, Tracey Wilson, and her colleague Liz Divine visited the fifth grade as part of their final history unit this year. They are studying slavery in West Hartford; and will use primary and secondary sources to learn about the context of slavery in Connecticut. They’ll discuss the legal and political systems that kept slavery in place, and examine the lives of enslaved individuals who lived in West Hartford. Throughout the unit, they will examine and discuss the injustices of slavery; and also examine the ways in which enslaved individuals resisted slavery’s dehumanization. As a note: any study of slavery in the United States necessarily involves difficult, but incredibly important, discussions.

Spelling in Nature

April 5, 2019

The 2nd grade went outside to practice writing their spelling words using things found in nature.

5th Grade Creates a Spanish City

April 2, 2019

5th grade Spanish students learn about Spain and the different businesses that can be found in a Spanish city or village. They created their own city complete with stores, restaurants, hospitals using Spanish dialog.

Renbrook Students Selected for Northern Region Middle School Music Festival

April 2, 2019

11 upper school students were accepted to the Northern Region Middle School Music Festival this year. Participating students were Paige (violin), Jayden (alto saxophone), and 9 vocalists: Sahil, Tessa, Robbie, Devin, Alice, Manu, Simone, Kayla, and Harshil. Listen to them rehearsing “Sisi Ni Moja” with over 200 middle school singers!

Renbrook’s Eleventh Head of School Appointed

April 2, 2019

On March 25, Renbrook School announced the appointment of Mr. Matthew Sigrist as the school’s eleventh Head of School, succeeding the current Head, Mr. Scott Hutchinson. Mr. Sigrist will start on July 1, 2019. Matt comes to Renbrook from Norfolk Academy in Norfolk, VA, a 1-12 independent day school with 1,232 students. He has worked in administrative roles since 2007 and served as Middle School Director at Norfolk Academy since 2014. In that role, Matt is responsible for 350 students in grades 7-9. Prior to Norfolk Academy, Matt served as Head of the Upper School at the Peck School in Morristown, NJ for seven years.

“We’re excited to welcome Matt, his wife, Kathleen, and their four daughters to the Renbrook community. Matt’s natural leadership abilities are obvious, and his past experiences have prepared him well for this Head of School role. Matt’s hiring begins a great new chapter for Renbrook.” says Head of School Search Committee Chair and Renbrook’s Board of Trustees Chair Eric Daniels ‘77.

During his time at Norfolk Academy, Matt advanced many areas of the Middle School. He developed the division’s Mini-mester Program and its relationship-based Advisory Program. During the school’s recent strategic planning work, Matt contributed broadly to the effort, and he has led important committee work on faculty growth and excellence focused on faculty learning communities. Throughout his career, Matt has enjoyed the opportunity to teach, coach, and lead school divisions in K-8, 7-12 and 1-12 grade schools in large and smaller markets and in different parts of the country. He served as Upper School Director at The Peck School (Morristown, NJ) and as teacher, coach, and Middle School Moderator at Delbarton School (Morristown, NJ). Each of the schools where Matt has served shares traits and goals similar to Renbrook: student-centered, empathetic mindset, academic excellence, a focus on character education, and clear mission identity. He has taught and coached throughout his career, and he continued to teach math and economics and coach baseball at Norfolk Academy. At Norfolk Academy, Matt’s current Head of School, Dennis Manning, appointed Matt to the Finance Committee, the Parents Advisory Council, and the Strategic Planning Committee. Matt has also participated in annual fund and capital campaign initiatives.

Matt earned his Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership at Columbia University, Teacher’s College, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Williams College, where he was captain of the baseball and football teams. Matt’s wife, Kathleen, was the former Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Newark Academy (Livingston, NJ) as well as an Admissions Reader at Williams College and the College of William and Mary. Matt and Kathleen have four daughters ages 12, 10, 7 and 4.

Upon receiving the Board’s offer, Matt stated: “Kathleen, my girls, and I are thrilled to join the Renbrook family! I am humbled and honored to be entrusted with the awesome responsibility to serve the children, families, faculty, and staff of this wonderful school, and I look forward to opportunities this spring to visit campus.”

Meteorologist Visits Renbrook

April 1, 2019

Kaitlyn McGrath, a meteorologist from NBC Connecticut came to visit students today at Renbrook School in West Hartford. She brought the NBC branded Snow Monster with her so the kids could learn all about its multiple cameras and ground and air temperature gauges. Student got to ask Kaitlyn questions about how she forecasts weather and how Snow Monster is a key asset to the Department of Transportation during snow storms. There was no shortage of questions about life on television and Kaitlyn answered them all with a smile. Sixth grade students were especially inquisitive as they are studying weather right now in their science curriculum.

Changing Lenses

March 28, 2019

Changing Lenses
by Julie Schlossinger
Lower School Head

Third Grade Immigration Day Projects

March 5, 2019

Immigration Day is the culminating event of the third grade study of immigrants coming through Ellis Island in 1908. Leading up to Immigration Day, students read non-fictional and fictional accounts of Ellis Island and traveled to the Connecticut Historical Society to learn more about the reasons immigrants left their home countries to come to America.

Liquids, Solids and Gases

February 28, 2019

JK learned about liquids, solids, and gases today. Demonstrations included mixing baking soda and vinegar to create CO2 gas, how candles, (like people) need oxygen to keep going/burning. A few of our young learners tried using air power to move a ball from place to place.

Black History Month

February 28, 2019

In honor of Black History Month, Renbrook enjoyed a concert from the Bloomfield High School Gospel Choir! Thank you for sharing your talents with us!

Eight Grade Gets a Visit From NBC Connecticut’s Max Reiss

February 28, 2019

Eighth grade history students started a “Shero” PSA project to honor Women’s History Month on notable women from various areas. They’ll make a short video about their achievements and humanitarian work. NBC CT’s @MaxReiss explained how to take info and condense it down to a smaller piece.

Third Grade Has Talent!

February 28, 2019

A job well done for our third grade students who showed off their talents in the Variety Show!

Jeopardy!

February 28, 2019

Fourth grade students playing Black History Month Jeopardy with Mrs. Flynn.

Learning About Seeing Eye Dogs

February 28, 2019

Renbrook 7th graders welcomed Steve Famiglietti from The NEAT Center at Oak Hill this morning. Thank you for sharing how the K9 dogs get trained in a development center to help the blind! NEAT is Connecticut’s largest private provider of services to people with disabilities.

March of Dimes Kick-Off

February 28, 2019

5th graders kicked-off their March of Dimes Read-A-Thon with a visit from a March of Dimes representative. Thank you for visiting and sharing the inspiring stories of your organization!

Kindergarten Students Make Rube Goldberg Machine

February 19, 2019

The Worry Cycle

February 12, 2019

The Worry Cycle
by Kara Ashley
Upper School Head

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