Waynflete School

Infobox_Private School
name=Waynflete School
established=1898
type = Private
head_name = Head of School
head = Mark W. Segar
state=ME
country = USA
enrollment = 584 total 183 Lower School

156 Middle School

245 Upper School
class = 12 students
faculty = 144
ratio = 4:1
city= Portland
colors=Green and White
motto = 'Vincite, Virtute, Vera'
nickname=Flyers
homepage = [http://www.waynflete.org/ www.waynflete.org]
footnotes=

Waynflete School is a private day school in Portland, Maine, located at 360 Spring Street in Portland's West End. Waynflete was founded in 1898 by Agnes Lowell and Caroline Crisfield and is one of two notable independent private schools in the greater Portland area, the other being North Yarmouth Academy. The school has been recently raising money for a multi-million dollar arts center, which began construction in the fall of 2007.

The current head of school at Waynflete is Mark W. Segar with Betts Armstrong as the President of the Board of Trustees. The director of the Lower School is Cinda Joyce, the director of Middle School is Divya Muralidhara and the director of the Upper School is Lowell Libby.

Waynflete currently has 584 students, starting in preschool through grade 12. The Lower School (Preschool through grade 5) has 183 students, the Middle School has 156 students and the Upper School has 245 students. The average class size at Waynflete is 12 students.Recent graduates have matriculated at several prestigious colleges and universities.

History

Waynflete School was founded in 1898 by Agnes Lowell and Caroline Crisfield. They had come from the Ogontz School in Philadelphia and had been interested in British statesman and educator William Waynflete, after whom they named the school. When the school opened, it had 49 students and was a day school. Waynflete started as an all girls school. It was not until 1950 that boys beyond grade 4 were admitted and in 1967 when boys were admitted into the high school.

In 1912 Lowell and Crisfield bought the Horace Dudley estate located between Danforth and Spring streets in Portland due to growth at the school. The carriage house and stables were turned into classrooms and the lawns and gardens provided a playground for students.

Lowell and Crisfield retired from Waynflete in 1924 after 27 years of service to the school.

New additions have been added to the school since then; the Marjorie Robinson Thaxter Library in 1962, the Gymnasium in 1973, the Berle Center in 1993, the Upper School Science Center in 2001, and the first phase of the Waynflete Arts Center in 2002.

http://www.magd.ox.ac.uk/history/pics/large_crest.gif

Campus

The campus is made up of old townhouses, all modified for school use, as well as newly constructed buildings. In total there are 11 buildings in the campus, which includes the two housing units that Waynflete owns that are not for educational use.

Waynflete also makes use of its off-campus sports complex located nearby, on the Fore River.

Buildings:

Emery - Located between Emery Street and Storer Street, this building houses the majority of the High School classes as well as the library, the computer lab, the cafe, the student center and the new science center.

Cook Hyde/Morrill - Located on the corner between Spring and Storer Streets, this building contains Middle School as well as Upper School classrooms. The two buildings are connected by a new addition.

Founders Hall/Hewes Wing - Located in the middle of the campus, between Fletcher and Storer Street, these buildings contain the Lower School classes and are connected to Daveis Hall.

Daveis Hall - Attached to Founders and the Hewes Wing, this building contains the arts center and theater.

Hurd House - Located on Storer Street, this building contains Middle School classrooms.

Thomas House - Located right on Spring Street, this building houses the administrative offices of the school; no classes are held here.

Gymnasium - The gymnasium is located in the corner between Fletcher and Spring Street; it was built in 1973 after the previous gym was converted into a theater.

Unnamed Arts Center - A new Arts building had its groundbreaking ceremony in the fall of '07 and is now under construction. It will be attached to Daveis Hall. The new building will include a new theater with improved capacity, and classroom space for the chorus and Jazz Bands.

Athletics

Waynflete's Athletic Program offers a variety of competitive and recreational sports. Students are required to participate in one athletic program per season, including both competitive sports and alternatives such as yoga and dance. Students are also able to apply for an Independent Athletic Program (IAP) which allows students who play sports outside of school, or play sports which are not offered at the school, to gain credit for those activities.

The coaches for Middle and Upper School sports are both teachers at the school and professionals from the surrounding area.

Waynflete makes use of its sports complex for both Middle and High School sports. This sports complex currently has tennis courts, two soccer/lacrosse/field hockey fields, and a baseball field. In addition to its own facilities, Waynflete makes use of local gyms, facilities, and fields.

The Athletic Director at Waynflete is Ross Burdick.

Notable Alumni

*Liv Tyler (Actress, Armageddon and Lord of the Rings) Did Not Graduate, Changed Schools.
*Christopher Fitzgerald (Original Broadway Cast "Wicked", Original Broadway Cast "Young Frankenstein") Class of '91
*Eric B. Martin (Novelist) Class of '87
*Abner Willis (Adult Film Star) Class of '07

References

* [http://www.nais.org National Association of Independent Schools]
* [http://www.waynflete.org Official School website]
* [http://www.usm.maine.edu/~lsavage/UrbanGeographyProjects/Flete/HISTORY.HTM Brief architectural history of Waynflete School] by Jason Fifield, Department of Geography-Anthropology, University of Southern Maine.

External links

* Google Maps image of the school's main [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=43.646304,-70.269333&spn=0.00172,0.003605&t=h&om=1/ campus] .