Nichols School

Nichols School
Nichols School
Location
Buffalo, New York USA

campus = Urban, 30 acres

Information
Type Private, Day, Grades 5-12
Religious affiliation(s) none
Established 1892
Head of School Richard C. Bryan
Enrollment 582
Average class size 14 students
Student to teacher ratio 8:1
Color(s) Green & White
Athletics Football, Soccer, Ice Hockey, Field Hockey, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, Tennis, Crew, Wrestling, Squash, Golf, Lacrosse, Cardio Aerobics, Dance
Mascot Viking
Website

Nichols School is a private, non-denominational, co-educational college-preparatory day school located in Buffalo, New York, USA. The average enrollment is 570 students with an average Upper School grade/class size of 98 students. The average classroom size is 14 students.

Contents

History

Nichols School was founded in 1892 by William Nichols.

Mission statement

“Our aim is to train minds, bodies and hearts for the work of life, and to carry into all we do the highest ideals of character and service.” - Joseph D. Allen, 1909 (second Headmaster of Nichols School)

Accreditation and Honors

Nichols is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and the New York State Department of Education. It received national recognition in the Secondary School Recognition Program and Exemplary Private School Recognition Program. Nichols is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.

Faculty

Faculty, chosen for their expertise, regularly publish in their academic field. 10% have doctoral degrees; 75% have master's degrees; 14% of the faculty are Nichols graduates. They are committed to the school's educational mission and they have an average of 20 years of service. Teachers are involved in student life beyond their classrooms, serving as student advisors, coaches, club advisors and mentors.

Core Values

Pursuit of Excellence- Inspired teachers and students are committed to a quality standard of learning and achievement in all aspects of school life.

Integrity of Character- Tradition and Change- Embrace and value the school's history and heritage. Also recognize the importance of adaptation and innovation as a means of preparing students for the future.

Rigor and Balance- The challenging expectations and structured environment bring out potential. Each student is encouraged to find the balance among academic, artistic, athletic and extra-curricular involvements.

Community- Strive to create a community that reflects the region's neighborhoods and the wider world. In this environment, the students develop habits of tolerance, understanding, and mutual respect.

Nichols School is located on 30 acres (120,000 m2) in North Buffalo, within walking distance of the Buffalo Zoo, Delaware Park, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The Nichols campus includes seven separate buildings linked by tree-lined sidewalks and an indoor passageway. The campus consolidation project, completed in August 2001, joined the Middle and Upper school divisions. Each division has its own separate academic buildings, and shares dining, athletic, and performing arts facilities.

In 2006, the Nichols School Board of Trustees voted to proceed with a $21.3 million "Nichols Future" Capital Campaign. This campaign consists of three major strategies which will alter the appearance of the campus. Strategy #1 calls for the construction of a new sustainable, 26,000-square-foot (2,400 m2), $10.3 million math/science/technology center. Construction began in September 2008 and officially opened for classes on January 4, 2010. Strategy #2 is a commitment to increase the school's endowment fund by an expected $5 million. Under Strategy #3, Nichols reconfigured and increased its current athletic fields, as well as created an outer-ring traffic/parking system. During the Summer of 2008 Strategy #3 will near completion as in October 2007, Nichols completed the construction of two new synthetic turf playing fields. In early April 2008, construction crews began altering the parking/traffic flow of the campus to create the new outer-ring system. This construction was finished in time for the 2008-2009 school year.

Academics

The philosophy of Nichols is to create lifelong learners. Students receive an education that prepares them to operate in the global community and develop 21st century skills necessary for success in their personal and professional lives beyond college. Academics at Nichols drive at preparing students by promoting "Core Competencies." These are:

Classroom-Based Competencies- Thinking and Discerning in Complex Ways We want students to move beyond formulaic responses to a given problem by pushing them to think critically, to draw from a deep and diverse pool of knowledge and resources, to skillfully evaluate the validity and applicability of that information, make creative and authentic connections, and ultimately arrive at either a thoughtful and cohesive solution or a better question.

Community-Based Competencies- Cultural Competence and Global Awareness Students should understand the role that place, culture, religion and language play in how different people communicate with each other and perceive the world. They should be afforded the opportunity to broaden their range of experiences, to increase their exposure to different ideas, and to empathize with different perspectives and viewpoints.

Individual-Based Competencies Personal Resiliency and Adaptability Well-being has a physical component and emotional, mental and spiritual components, including healthy relationships and a healthy perspective on the student’s place in the family, school and other communities of which they are a part. Well-being engenders resiliency, the ability to recover from the major and minor shocks that shake us and our understanding of the world around us. Students must be able to change course, learn new skills, and redefine themselves in the face of rapid change. They must also manage their world’s complexity by managing time and organizing and integrating resources.

In addition to these values, Nichols also promotes Digital Age Fluency. To help achieve this, Nichols has set a technology goal for the student community. The student will be entirely comfortable within the technology framework whether at home or at School; and he or she will be able to maneuver within various modes and access, assess, synthesize and present information retrieved through technological means, whatever venue chosen.

Athletics

The Athletic Department at Nichols is committed to developing successful programs that will provide a challenging, competitive environment in which the ideals of sportsmanship, personal integrity, moral character and teamwork are stressed.

The Upper School conducts an extensive interscholastic athletic program, believing that competitive team experiences contribute significantly to the development of character and to the spirit and pride of the school. Most teams have tryouts, mandatory practices and matches after school hours, and play in competitive leagues throughout Western New York and Canada. The Athletics Program endeavors not only to develop the students’ athletic skills, but also to encourage students to be good citizens, to challenge their intellectual skills, and to teach them the value of teamwork.

In the Middle School, an intramural philosophy dominates. Anyone can be on a team, the number of teams is dictated by the level of interest, practices take place during the daily sports period, and most teams play other local middle schools.

Arts

The School feels that exposure to the Arts is integral to a complete education at Nichols, and has therefore devoted significant resources to the Arts facilities and program. The 480-seat Flickinger Performing Arts Center is the centerpiece of the performing arts department, while new visual arts studios support course offerings in drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video and graphic art.

The Arts are promoted as a serious course of study and the School requires that all students engage in some form of participation. Artistic achievement is highlighted not only in plays and exhibitions, but also in morning meetings, where students often share their talents with the rest of the school.Students are encouraged to use the Arts as a vehicle through which to find their own voices. In addition to studying and performing the work of renowned artists, original student work is featured on the walls of every building on this campus, and on the floorboards of every stage. Students have the opportunity to compose music, write plays, choreograph dances, make their own films or curate their own art opening.

Multiculturalism and International Initiatives

Nichols School endeavors to embrace and sustain diversity of all forms of human identity. It is the School’s desire to foster multiculturalism within the community and to respect, nurture and sustain the unique traits of our constituent members in an institution that is welcoming, inclusive and safe.

Nichols School has four different annual exchange programs for upper school students: Costa Rica, Spain, France, and China. Nichols students host an international student for three weeks, and then travel abroad and stay with that student and their family for an average of three weeks. While abroad, students attend classes at the hosting institution and travel to historical and cultural sites of importance. Living with a host family, rather than in a hotel, provides an in depth view of the culture and nature of every day life. Students may participate in more than one exchange, with many of the Spanish students traveling to Costa Rica sophomore year, and Spain in junior or senior year. The Nichols exchange programs serve to foster a broader world-view and encourage students to see themselves as members of a wider global community. The Nichols dedication to diversity extends beyond the local community, particularly in this day and age when globalization affects our every day lives.

Extracurricular Activities

Nichols provides students with many extracurricular clubs, activities, trips and community service opportunities to enrich their School experience and make them more global individuals upon graduation. Nichols encourages Middle and Upper students to explore their community and a variety of interests, to get involved and discover their passions.

There are more than 22 upper school campus clubs, including: Amnesty International, Anti-Gravity Club, Chess Club, Chorus, Dance Party Club, Gay-Straight Alliance, Global Horizons, Green Key, HEART, Investment Club, Jewish Cultural Awareness Club, Math League, Mock Trial, Model UN, Orchestra, Research Scholars Program, Science Olympiad, SeeArtRun, Ski Club, Spirit Club, SEAA, SUMA, Film Club, and various student publications.

Mock Trial and Model UN participate in local and regional competitions. Anti-Gravity Club, the school's outdoors and climbing club sponsors multiple trips to the Niagara Climbing Center and Niagara Gorge in addition to an annual winter hiking, cross-country skiing and ice-climbing trip to Keene Valley in the Adirondack Mountains. The Research Scholars Program provides students with the opportunity to engage in independent research projects at local institutions. The Science Scholar program works with SUNY Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute. The Humanities Scholar program gives seniors the opportunity to conduct humanities research at SUNY Buffalo. SeeArtRun is an entirely-student run art gallery. Students have the opportunity to display their art in a gallery on campus, and often host gallery openings as popular campus events. SEAA, Students for Environmental Awareness and Action works with organizations dedicated to providing drinking water and promoting environmental initiatives abroad. SEAA also actively promotes environmental programs on campus and in the local community.

Notable alumni

Medical professionals, researchers and more

  • Michael [Roizen, MD], 1963, Chief Wellness Officer at the Cleveland Clinic, Cofounder of RealAge, Inc., TV guest expert and best-selling author
  • Nick Hopkins, MD, 1961, Professor & Chairman of Neurosurgery and Professor of Radiology, University at Buffalo

Artists and personalities

Athletes

External links

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nichols — may refer to: People with the surname Nichols: Nichols (surname) Places: Nichols, California, an unincorporated community Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, California Nichols Farms Historic District, a village within Trumbull, Connecticut. Nichols,… …   Wikipedia

  • Nichols College — Motto Your success is our business Established 1815 Type Private Endowment $12.8 million …   Wikipedia

  • Nichols High School — U.S. National Register of Historic Places …   Wikipedia

  • Nichols Point, Victoria — Nichols Point Victoria …   Wikipedia

  • Nichols Hall — Nichols Hall, Main Entrance Former names Nichols Court General information Type Academic …   Wikipedia

  • NICHOLS, JACK — (1921– ), Canadian painter, draftsman, printmaker, educator. Born in Montreal, Nichols is one of the best known official Canadian World War II artists. Unable to afford traditional schooling, he was mainly self taught. However, he occasionally… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Nichols railway station — Nichols Station Commuter rail Platform area of Nichols station. Above are ramps of the Metro Manila Skyway (wide elevated road in the left side) leading to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport …   Wikipedia

  • School Fees in New Zealand — School Fees is a term that the general public of New Zealand most commonly used to describe a request from schools to parents or guardians for a donation (usually annual) to their child s school.Although this payment is entirely voluntary, some… …   Wikipedia

  • School of Visual Arts — Established 1947 Type Proprietary, For profit President Da …   Wikipedia

  • Nichols Arboretum — The Nichols Arboretum, with the UM North Campus in the distance Nichols Arboretum (123 acres, 49.7 hectares) is an arboretum operated by the University of Michigan located on the eastern edge of its Central Campus at 1610 Washington Heights in… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”