School News

Amy Meislin Pollack, Class of 1970 and a children’s-book author, returned to the place where she was first inspired to write — the Kent Place Primary School. Amy visited the fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms to read from one of her books and lead writing workshops to foster creativity and explore the art of storytelling.

Kent Place is delighted to announce that it has earned four 2022 InspirED School Marketers Brilliance Awards — two for its redesigned website and two for the winter/spring 2022 issue of Kent Place Magazine.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 16, Kent Place School was closed to honor the civil rights leader. The community, however, decided to make this day off “a day on.” More than 200 volunteers — students, parents, staff, faculty, and their families — came together to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King through acts of kindness and generosity. 

Kent Place’s student-athletes bring an immense amount of pride to our school community. As the honors and awards from the 2022 fall athletics season have now been announced, we wanted to take a moment to recognize the athletes and the teams.

Kent Place School’s brand-new website — which you’re visiting right now! — is officially an award-winner. We’re excited to announce that our website has earned a Silver Level Award from Vega Digital, which highlights pioneers in an ever-changing digital landscape.

The Ethics Institute at Kent Place School has selected its Upper and Middle School teams to compete in the 2023 Regional Ethics Bowl Competitions and defend our state winning title.

The Kent Place community has been celebrating the winter season with beautiful music, traditional performances, and holiday cheer.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Neisha Payne as our Director of the Middle School, effective immediately. A member of the Kent Place community since 2010, Ms. Payne was Middle School Dean of Students, working closely with the Middle School faculty, students, and families, from 2017 to 2022. Since June, Ms. Payne has served as Interim Director of the Middle School. 

Now’s the time to plan for summer 2023, and Kent Place has you covered. We’ve put together an exciting lineup of programs, all offered on the school’s beautiful campus. As of December 9, registration is live, with an early-bird discount available until February 1. Read on for more information, and don’t wait to register, as the number of spots is limited!

Established in 2020 as a creative option to bring music into classrooms during the pandemic, the Drum Project, as envisioned and led by Primary School music teacher Ruthanna Graves-McQueen, continues to be an academic, musical, and multicultural staple of the Primary School experience for students in Junior Pre-K through first grade.

Kent Place is proud to announce that Yale senior Sophie Huttner — Kent Place Class of 2018 — has been named a 2023 Rhodes Scholar. Sophie, a global affairs major, is one of just 32 students out of a competitive pool of more than 2,500 selected for the prestigious academic program, which is hosted by the University of Oxford.

Kent Place Gallery will present the solo exhibition “Puno”, by artist Katrina Bello through Friday, January 6, 2023.  

On Wednesday, November 9, 2022, Kent Place School hosted a ceremony to witness six senior Dragons sign NCAA Letters of Intent to play Division I athletics at the collegiate level. Student-athletes were joined by family, friends, coaches, and Kent Place faculty and staff to honor their achievements.

Kent Place’s Performing Arts Department is pleased to present the Upper School musical, Chicago - High School Edition, live in the Hyde and Watson Theater on Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12, at 7:30 p.m. The musical is open to the entire Kent Place community and the general public.

Kent Place is pleased to announce that seniors Nupur Ballal and Katherine Lyon are Semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. Seniors Charlotte Betz, Lindsay Hausman, Elina Kapur, Victoria Ng, Jessica Park, Seema Parmar, Lola Possick, Ella Schestag, Sneha Shirhattikar, Ishani Wadhwa, Caitlin Williams, Sophie Williams, Kristine Yang, and Serena Zheng received commendations. Ninety students have been honored by the College Board in recognition of their college-level achievement on Advanced Placement (AP) examinations taken last spring.

At KPS, it’s not uncommon for lessons to take place outside of the classroom. To complement the ecology and ecosystem unit in their science class, our fifth-grade students visited the New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC) for a day of learning, exploring, and bonding. 

The mission of the STEM Program at Kent Place School is simple: to empower and inspire girls by igniting their curiosity, fostering their interests, and enhancing their proficiency in the natural sciences, computer programming, engineering, and mathematics. From engineering mazes for Bee-Bots in Kindergarten to designing experiments in AP Physics, students in all three divisions are involved in hands-on, real-world STEM learning — it’s part of the core of their KPS curriculum.

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States each year from September 15 through October 15, and there’ll be no shortage of activities at Kent Place to mark the achievements of Hispanic Americans. Students, staff, faculty, and the community partake of the rich cultural history, from personal anecdotes to family traditions and favorite meals and from music and dance to integrating the Hispanic culture into lesson plans.