Marvelwood School
Encyclopedia
The Marvelwood School is a college preparatory private
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
located in Kent, Connecticut
Kent, Connecticut
Kent is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, alongside the border with New York. The population was 2,858 at the 2000 census. The town is home to three New England boarding schools: South Kent School, Kent School and The Marvelwood School. The Schaghticoke Indian Reservation is also located...
, USA. Marvelwood was founded in 1956 by Robert A. Bodkin and Ian Hanna in Cornwall, Connecticut
Cornwall, Connecticut
Cornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,434 at the 2000 census.In 1939 poet Mark Van Doren wrote "The Hills of Little Cornwall", a short poem in which the beauties of the countryside were portrayed as seductive:The town was also home to the Foreign...
. The co-founder, Robert A. Bodkin, remained Headmaster until 1981. He was succeeded by Peter B. Tacy until 1989, H. Mark Johnson until 1997, Anne Davidson Scott until 2005, and Scott E. Pottbecker until 2011. Arthur F. Goodearl is the current Headmaster.
The co-founder of the school, Ian Hanna, named the school after his relative Donald Grant Mitchell
Donald Grant Mitchell
Donald Grant Mitchell was an American essayist and novelist.-Biography:Mitchell, the grandson of politician and jurist Stephen Mix Mitchell, was born in Norwich, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale College in 1841, where he was a member of Skull and Bones and studied law, but he soon took up...
, an American novelist who was best known under the pseudonym Ik Marvel. The family owned a 600 acres (2.4 km²) estate also called Marvelwood in New Haven, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1979/3/79.03.01.x.html In 1924, the family donated a portion of their estate to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, which is the current site of the Yale golf course
Yale golf course
The Yale golf course, owned and operated in New Haven near the West Haven border by Yale University, is a fine example of early American golf course design, with large, deeply bunkered greens and narrow rolling fairways challenging the golfer; it is considered one of the best collegiate golf...
.
About Marvelwood
Marvelwood founded in 1956 in Cornwall, ConnecticutCornwall, Connecticut
Cornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,434 at the 2000 census.In 1939 poet Mark Van Doren wrote "The Hills of Little Cornwall", a short poem in which the beauties of the countryside were portrayed as seductive:The town was also home to the Foreign...
, on a campus previously occupied by Rumsey Hall School
Rumsey Hall School
Rumsey Hall School is a coeducational boarding and country day school for kindergarten through ninth grade located in Washington, Connecticut. As of 2005, the school enrolls approximately 300 students and employs 54 full- and part-time faculty members. Thomas W. Farmen, the school's fifth...
. Marvelwood is a small private school for students who are willing to get involved in their own education and committed to the challenge of preparing for college. In 1995, Marvelwood moved from its cramped campus in Cornwall to the former Kent School
Kent School
Kent School is a private, co-educational college preparatory school in Kent, Connecticut, USA. The Reverend Frederick Herbert Sill, Order of the Holy Cross, established the school in 1906 and it retains its affiliation with the Episcopal Church of the United States.Students at Kent come from more...
girls' campus about 10 miles (16.1 km) away on Skiff Mountain in Kent, CT. Built in the early 1960s, the campus has gone through a number of renovations, and is being updated to meet the needs of its students and faculty. The school recently completed a capital campaign to build a new gymnasium and has begun a new campaign to renovate the campus. The Marvelwood campus itself is relatively isolated and is surrounded by conservancy lands, under the jurisdiction of the Kent Land Trust and Sharon Land Trust.
Though the school opened in 1956, Marvelwood had no athletic mascot for many years. In 1991, Marvelwood students voted on the school's first-ever mascot and chose the Pterodactyl
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
in an effort to stand out from other schools.
Academic Programs
Marvelwood is the only high school in North America to participate in bird banding. Its weather station enables the students to take exact readings when birds are captured. Locally, Marvelwood works with the Sharon Audubon Society and Institute for Bird Populations. Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
's Feeder Watch http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/ survey also uses Marvelwood's weather data. Marvelwood also has an annual science department trip to Panama. The trip includes bird banding, insect and mammal research, and community service in villages in the rainforest. The majority of the trip takes place in the rainforests of Panama.
In an effort to go green and help increase the use of alternative energy throughout Connecticut, Marvelwood was recently selected as a test site for two wind turbines that will be installed on campus. The wind turbines will help determine which source of renewable energy is the most efficient for the state of Connecticut to use, as well as provide energy for the school. Former Headmaster Scott E. Pottbecker said, "the turbines are more of an educational opportunity than a source of power for the school." http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2008/10/27/news/374668.txt,http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20129261&BRD=1657&PAG=461&dept_id=13476&rfi=6
One of the school's core values, Service to Others, is the cornerstone of the campus-wide Community Service program. All students participate in two hours of community service every Wednesday morning. Placements range from on campus jobs like recycling, to clearing land for the land trusts that surround the campus. However, the main goal of the program is, and has always been, helping those who are less fortunate. The placements off campus include working in nursing homes, daycares for low income families, farm work, assisting elderly in their own homes and working in the town's volunteer fire department. It is the school's hope that their students continue the habit of helping those less fortunate after they graduate.
Campus Organizations
Established in 2006, the Women of Marvelwood group brings together female students, faculty and staff members for the purpose of exploring a variety of gender-specific concerns and issues, including self-esteem, nutrition and healthy eating, relationships, etiquette, the portrayal of women in the media, and the roles and responsibilities of women in cultures around the globe. The goal is for Marvelwood's young women to become empowered, informed and confident about themselves and their place and potential in the world. The group meets regularly on campus and enjoys/sponsors a variety of activities, including the “Candid Conversations” series, handbag sale fundraisers, “Pretty in Pink” make-up parties, dinners, self-defense classes, jewelry-making, holiday parties, movie discussions and “lock-in” slumber parties.Marvelwood is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...
(NEASC) and is a member of The National Association of Independent Schools
National Association of Independent Schools
The National Association of Independent Schools is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1963, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boarding, and day/boarding schools; elementary and secondary...
(NAIS), The Connecticut Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS). Marvelwood is a member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council
New England Preparatory School Athletic Council
The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council was founded in 1942 as an organization of athletic directors from preparatory schools in New England.-Member schools:* The Albany Academy* American School for the Deaf* Applewild School...
.
Notable alumni
- Nick Benson - Owner and Creative Director of The John Stevens Shop http://www.johnstevensshop.com/index.php
- Ted Bohnen - Vice president of retail innovation at Structural Graphics http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/business/media/25adnewsletter3.html?8seia&emc=seia
- Jake Burton - Founder of Burton Snowboards
- Robb Demarest - Lead investigator of the Sci-Fi channel program "Ghost Hunters International" http://www.scifi.com/ghi
- Lucien E. ForbesLucien E. ForbesLucien Forbes is a US-based entrepreneur Mr. Forbes has developed projects across the globe in a range of industries including communications, shipping, and energy.Mr...
- Chairman, CEO of Forbes Group http://www.forbesgroup.us - John P. HammondJohn P. HammondJohn Paul Hammond is an American blues singer and guitarist. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as "John Hammond, Jr.".-Background:...
- Blues singer and guitarist - Arthur LeveringArthur LeveringArthur Levering is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Rome, Italy....
- Modern composer of classical music http://www.arthurlevering.com/ - Daniel Palmqvist - Head chef at Hamra Krog on the Swedish tourist resort island of GotlandGotlandGotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
in the Baltic SeaBaltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0808/S00140.htm - Craig Rider - President of The Rider Group http://www.ridergroup.com/
- Philip Sprayregen - Principal at Byrnam Wood http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/nyregion/27eastman.html?pagewanted=all
- Sidney Torres IV - Founder of SDT LLC Waste and Debris Services, entrepreneur, and real estate developer http://www.sdtwds.com/index.html
- Laura Tyson Li - Former correspondent for the Financial TimesFinancial TimesThe Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
and author of "Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, China's Eternal First Lady" http://www.lauratysonli.com/