By now, you’ve received the fall 2024 issue of Kent Place magazine. Haven’t had a chance to dive in just yet? Don’t fret! We’ve put together a guide to help you navigate this issue. No matter how much time you have to enjoy it, you’re sure to be amazed.
Home
Empower Girls.
Advance The World.
Empower Girls.
Advance The World.
Leading The Way
Kent Place School empowers girls to be confident, intellectual, and ethical leaders who advance the world. That’s our mission statement: sixteen words that can change the world. We bring our mission to life every day, on an inspiring campus, in a diverse community. Our students grow into brave and brilliant girls, ready to create a brighter future.
5
Things That Make Kent Place Kent Place
- We’re rooted in relationships
- We celebrate your whole self
- We stand for ethics and leadership
- We love to learn
- We’re built to serve girls
We’re rooted in relationships
Lifelong friendships, inspiring faculty mentors, a comprehensive Advisory Program, shared traditions — they’re all part of our diverse, inclusive, empowering community.
We celebrate your whole self
We see your brilliance, we cultivate your courage, and we amplify your intelligence, in all its forms: emotional, social, academic, artistic, and physical.
We stand for ethics and leadership
We lead with conviction and purpose — in arts and athletics, in classes and labs, in our Ethics Institute and our Girls’ Leadership Institute.
We love to learn
If you embrace positive challenges, seek out new ideas and perspectives, and find joy in discovering new skills and talents alongside inspiring friends—we’re here for you.
We’re built to serve girls
The entire KPS experience encourages your ambitions, enhances your strengths, and expands your vision of what’s possible.
Behind The Scenes
An Uncommon Tour of an Extraordinary School
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MABIE HOUSE LOBBY
Welcome! The first stop for all prospective families is our Mabie House lobby, where you will be welcomed by Ms. Willyard before you meet with a member of the Admission team.
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GREEN KEY TOUR GUIDES
More than 100 students in Middle and Upper School work with the Admission team to be Green Key guides who are excited to introduce prospective students and their parents to Kent Place life.
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Head of School's Office
Dr. Galambos' main office is located in the Mabie House. Twice a week she spends time in the Head's Study in the Center for Innovation so she can engage in the daily life of the students. You may even meet Cooper, Dr. Galambos's Golden Doodle, who stops by on occasion!
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ADVANCEMENT
You'll find the Advancement Team building and maintaining relationships with alumnae, parents, parents of alumnae, and many more to advance the mission of Kent Place through volunteerism, fundraising, events, and connections.
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Archives
The Kent Place archives hold more than a century's worth of material. Interested students, in partnership with the Advancement Office and Upper School English teacher Ms. Cohen, spend time throughout the year organizing and cataloging the school's artifacts.
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THE LAB
The Teaching and Learning Lab lies on the perimeter of the Center for Innovation lobby adjacent to the STEM Innovation Lab, the Ethics Institute, and the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. It's where students (and teachers, too) can take advantage of a variety of resources to assist them in navigating the Middle and Upper School years.
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THE WRITING CENTER
Staffed by members of the Upper School English Department, the Writing Center has for decades been a source of support, in any academic discipline, for Upper School students. It also provides ample space for student to work individually or in small groups with faculty.
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Learning support Coordinator
The Middle and Upper School Learning Support Coordinator guides students in the areas of organization, time management, executive functioning, and learning strategies. Although her specific expertise benefits students with learning differences, all KPS students and their parents may use her as a resource.
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ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL
The chief academic leader at Kent Place, the Assistant Head of School oversees the entire academic program from Preschool through Grade 12. She works in collaboration with the division directors, the Upper School Academic Dean, and all department chairs to implement Learning with Purpose — a pillar of our Strategic Plan — and to ensure a cohesive, responsive, challenging, and relevant academic experience for all students.
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Registrar and Academic scheduler
Responsible for student attendance, academic scheduling, and transcripts, the Kent Place Registrar encourages students to stop by with questions as they navigate the Middle and Upper Schools.
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THE LOBBY
Welcome to the Primary School! The lobby is the entryway to a warm, bright, and welcoming space for our students in Preschool through Grade 5 full of dynamic classrooms, a library, an art studio, a music room, and indoor and outdoor play areas.
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Computer scIENCE & ENGINEERING LAB
Up the stairs, you'll find our Computer Science & Engineering Lab, where students use their STEM skills to ideate, prototype, and iterate designs to solve problems.
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OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
From Math Lab to Hummingbirds Chorus, we offer a full slate of clubs and performance groups. We also offer an adventurous selection of after-school enrichment programs.
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AFTERCARE
Kent Place Kids gives busy families a hand, offering supervised special activities and homework help from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on school days.
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OPPORTUNITIES TO LEAD
Daily leadership opportunities — along with Morning Meeting, classroom presentations, class trips, computer science, world languages, and more — give our girls the tools and self-confidence they'll need to navigate the years beyond Primary School.
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Ping Pong, Anyone?
The Middle School Student Lounge is located in the Middle School Classroom Building and has fast become the place for students to gather between classes, hold an informal club meeting, or play an impromptu game of ping pong with a classmate or teacher.
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CLUBS and activities
During designated periods of the week, Middle School students scatter to our many communal spaces around campus to meet with clubs, plan publications, engage in community service and student government, and more. All students are invited to lead or join clubs of interest during three club cycles each year, and our clubs reflect the diverse interests of our students.
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ADVISORY
Our Middle School’s culture of inclusion and belonging is fostered by an advisory program built on the guiding principles of connectedness, mindfulness, and support. Often described by our students as their home away from home, Advisory is a cornerstone of every Middle Schooler’s experience. At the start of each year, every student is carefully placed into an advisory group that consists of seven to ten students and is led by one faculty advisor.
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CONVERSATION NORMS
These guidelines are for every member of our community: students, faculty, staff, and families. Each addresses the individual’s dual role as both speaker and listener. They are used in all spaces on campus from the classroom to the lounges, and beyond.
- Speak your truth and listen to understand others.
- Understand impact versus intent.
- When possible, seek to “call in.”
- Consider when to step forward and when to step back.
- Show leadership by taking positive risks and practicing empathy.
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A PLACE TO GATHER
The Great Room is located in the Upper School Classroom Building and is rarely empty. Walk on by, you'll be sure to see Morning Meetings, performance, cultural events, students studying, traditions, dances, you name it, this space has seen it all.
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MORNING MEETING
Twice a week, Upper School girls lead their own meetings and set the agenda as well. Each class is designated a spot in the Great Room. It's a quick chance to share what's going on in the Upper School before the first class begins.
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ACADEMIC SYMPOSIUM
The Upper School community celebrates the academic achievements of our Bioethics Project, Student-Designed Research, and Independent Study students each spring. This highly anticipated event showcases our students' intellectual curiosity and dedication, providing a platform for them to present their findings and take part in meaningful discussions with peers, faculty, and guests.
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ADVISORY
Every Upper School student has an advisor who will nurture relationships within her small group for all four years. Advisories meet weekly for conversations and activities regarding academics and their four-year plan, as well as school values, such as leadership, honor, service, and inclusion. Advisory meetings might also be the best place to have a fun snack or two!
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MENTORSHIP
At Kent Place, we invest in each other and aim to foster a strong sense of sisterhood. Students in Grade 12 mentor students in Grade 9, Upper School students mentor Middle School students, and our vast network of alumnae support all of our students by creating internships, passing on career wisdom, and volunteering for panel discussions.
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The Great Outdoors
Located in the heart of Summit, NJ, our 26-acre campus provides countless opportunities to get outside. It's not uncommon for our students to grab a blanket with some friends to study or eat lunch on the lawn. Outdoor play areas, a log cabin, archaeological dig site, a butterfly garden, gaga pit, and more — we love to be outside as much as we love to be in our classrooms!
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AMPHITHEATER
Teachers regularly use the Graduation Lawn to hold classes and meetings. A few steps away is our amphitheater, which is a wonderful space to hold performances. It's also the spot where our seniors take their final photo together as a class during graduation.
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COMMUNITY EVENTS
Our Diversity and Equity Parent Group, in partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, is known for throwing wonderful cultural celebrations throughout the year, utilizing both indoor and outdoor spaces. In the fall, our annual LatinX Night Expo brings the school together for a lively evening event. A live DJ was brought in to play tunes during Primary, Middle, and Upper School lunch, creating a big community fiesta!
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COMMENCEMENT
There are many traditions that we hold dear at Kent Place, but Commencement has been one of the oldest, carried down for more than a century. At the ceremony, the junior class holds a chain of daisies to symbolically guide their older classmates toward their futures. The next step of each graduate’s future—the more than 225 colleges and universities for which Kent Place alumnae have been uniquely prepared — demonstrates the wide array of opportunities and challenges to which our graduates enthusiastically progress.
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A DYNAMIC HUB
Our Middle & Upper School Library is a dynamic hub of discovery, creativity, and connection. Far more than a place from which to borrow books, it's a vibrant space where knowledge comes alive.
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THE STAFF
Our two Middle and Upper School librarians are also instructors, teaching information-literacy skills. In addition to showing students how to use catalogs and databases and access information in other ways, they provide instruction on research, evaluating sources, citations, and related skills such as paraphrasing and how to organize information.
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A QUIET PLACE
The Middle and Upper School library, open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., is where students like to get work done when they're on campus. By their request, it's a quiet place for study, homework, and make-up assessments. Rooms are available for students who need a collaborative space in which to work.
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RESOURCES
Both our Primary School and Middle and Upper School Libraries offer a vast array of resources in addiction to print: 1,300 eBooks and 300 audiobooks via Sora, access to more than 250,000 academic titles through EBSCO's eBook Academic Collection, and streaming services such as Kanopy and Swank's Digital Campus, which features everything from Disney movies to documentaries. Comics Plus has a wide selection of graphic novels and maga, the databases JSTOR and EBSCO's Academic Search Premier provide access to journals.
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GO DRAGONS!
About 75 percent of our Upper School students participate in one of our 16 varsity sports. In Middle School, students in Grades 7 and 8 can join any of our 10 inclusive interscholastic teams; more than 90 percent of them choose to do so. They all play to win — and they learn to see winning as something bigger than a score. At Kent Place, it’s about communication and collaboration, discipline and teamwork, personal responsibility and collective achievement.
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PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASSES
Every day you'll see the Field House active with Physical Education classes in each division. In the Primary School, for example, Physical Education courses feature confidence-boosting games and dances, healthy eating, and Mini Dragon Athletic Clinics in selected sports — an inclusive, high-spirited introduction to playing together.
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OPENING CONVOCATION
Our school flower remains a powerful symbol of growth and plays an important role in many of our ceremonies and special events. At Opening Convocation, held on the first day of school in the Field House, every student is handed a daisy. Our "Lifers," those seniors who came to Kent Place in Preschool, Kindergarten, or first grade, walk down to the Primary School to talk to our youngest learners.
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ON-SITE TRAINERS
The Athletic Department maintains two on-site, certified and licensed athletic trainers to provide quality support to all students, whether or not they're on an athletic team. The athletic trainers work with the Physical Education Department to ensure that our students increase their understanding and knowledge of the many aspects of health and wellness throughout their Kent Place careers and beyond.
Brave and Brilliant Voices
Reports and Reflections from Alumnae Who are Advancing the World
Begin Your KPS Journey
Preschool (Coed)
Ages 3–4
Primary School
Grades K–5
Middle School
Grades 6–8
Upper School
Grades 9–12