STUDENT Experiences
At Rocky Hill Country Day School, innovation begins with creating a culture of risk-taking and where mindset and skillset produce meaningful learning. It’s not just about gadgets in the classroom. Rather, it’s about designing authentic learning experiences that integrate content and skills across disciplines, with the habits of mind necessary for success in a rapidly changing world. Together, students and faculty identify and attempt to solve some of the planet’s most challenging problems.
See some real-world learning in action!
Below are some examples of the kinds of experiences Rocky Hill Country Day students are exposed to throughout the year.
Meg Stowe
Director of Innovation
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BS, Denison University
M.Ed, Lesley University
Real-World Research
Students gain experience learning alongside experts to identify, measure, and apply the scientific method to problems ranging from the natural environment to social-emotional wellbeing.
Students in the Lower School helped a local startup, Sproutel, prototype a next generation companion product to help those experiencing stress and anxiety.
#innovator #critcalthinker #citizen
Student-Led Events
Students collaborate with peers to create and produce experiences that can be shared with classmates or the public, bringing student ideas to life.
Students designed and produced Rhode Island’s first ever statewide Social Good Hackathon.
#navigator #communicator #globallyminded
Public Speaking
Students engage in critical conversations, local and national narratives, and have the opportunity to develop powerful and effective public speaking skills at all grade levels.
Isabella ’20 delivered a personal narrative to a packed TEDxURI audience. Selected among hundreds, Bella was the only high school student selected to share her story.
#innovative #criticathinker #communicator
Cross-Grade Collaboration
Applying communication and critical thinking skills, students work with classmates across divisions. At RHCD, learning happens best with diverse perspectives and life experiences.
Groups of students in 6th-8th grade united to solve a challenge somewhere in the world in a week-long, rapid prototyping and pitch challenge.
#communicator #selfaware #citizen
Interdisciplinary Learning
Students broaden their understanding across disciplines, making connections to their passions and interests.
English and Biology students explored the human side of healthcare, the genetics of cancer, and the importance of building empathy while learning.
#criticalthinker #navigator #communicator
Civic Engagement
Students make learning personal and relevant as they work to benefit a community, a cause, or the world. Students ask: What can I do with what I know?
4th grade students impacted the museum experience through their collaboration with Smith’s Castle, as well as their critical work to uncover and confront RI’s history of slavery. In recognition of the project, teacher Charlie Laurent received The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation Teacher Innovator Award Grand Prize.
#ethical #globallyminded #selfaware
Senior Internships
Combining individual passions and talents, our students practice self-advocacy, navigate uncharted territory, communicate through a variety of media, and build skills while contributing to their personal growth and their communities.
Serving as a TA at the French American School of Rhode Island, Faythe ’19 interned with the art teacher. Fully immersed in a French-speaking environment, Faythe worked with students ranging in age from three to fourteen, planning and preparing lessons, and designing and painting sets for the school’s year-end dramatic productions.
#selfaware #communicator
Social Innovation
Students focus their passions on building a better future for all, understanding that their efforts can have a direct and positive impact on the world. Social innovation is the intersection of Impact, Value, & Growth of an idea or organization.
The Empty Bowls Project delivered value from student learning to develop a replicable service that can grow. Students generated impact for a local food pantry by developing nutritious recipes for those utilizing the pantry in this interdisciplinary study of poverty and food insecurity. Art teacher, Rachel Armentano received the Rhode Island Art Education Association’s Middle School-Level Art Educator of the Year for 2015.
#citizen #criticalthinker #ethical
Service Learning
Both critical experiences of a Rocky Hill Country Day education, students participate in and develop their own community service goals, however, embedding service as an outcome of projects generated in the classroom allows for deeper learning for all.
After learning about the nutritional, social support, and enrichment needs of sanctuary parrots, the 3rd grade students made toys for the birds out of recycled materials. The sanctuary, Foster Parrots, is using their creations to support the healthy development of their animals.
#citizen #ethical #communicator