Montrose School


Montrose School is an independent school for girls in grades 6-12 located in Medfield, Massachusetts, USA.

History

Montrose was founded in 1979 in Brookline, Massachusetts, by a group of parents and educators with a vision of girls’ education inspired by the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and St. Josemaria Escriva. The founders asked the Prelature of Opus Dei to provide chaplains to oversee religious teachings, celebrate mass, hear confessions and occasionally teach. Montrose now has two Catholic priests available to students.
After its initial period in Brookline, the school spent a few years each in the towns of Westwood and Natick. In 2007, Montrose moved to its permanent location inMedfield and in recent years has expanded its campus to include an Arts and Athletics Center

Curriculum

Montrose offers a classical [liberal arts
curriculum designed to position students for admission to four-year colleges and universities, as well as character education integrated throughout the seven-year curriculum through a guest speaker series and daily opportunities for mass or non-academic individual reading.
The upper school curriculum includes four years of English, mathematics, history, science and theology or philosophy, as well as at least three years of foreign language and fine arts. Languages offered include Spanish, French and Latin. During their senior year, students complete and present final capstone projects focusing on social issues or other interdisciplinary questions.
The middle school curriculum has two English classes in grade 6 and 7 and a full year of geography. In 7th grade, the girls study ancients civilizations. In 8th grade, the girls are introduced to the language program by taking a full year of Latin and having a full year of medieval renaissance.
Montrose also offers study abroad trips for students: the "In the Footsteps of Dante" trip to Italy for upper school students. The school has recently introduced an exchange student program for 10 days with its sister school, Rosemont in Ireland. This program will start in the 2019-2020 school year.
Other Activities during School Days
Girls have at least one study period on almost every day. During one day a week they have an all-school gathering which may consist of a speaker, a game, red and white team competitions, or a Big/Little sister activity.
At the beginning of the year, girls are sorted into either the red or white team, each representing one of the school's colors. These teams compete throughout the year in different activities with a winner announced on the annual themed field day.
The Big/Little sister program pairs one or more upper school students and one or more middle school students together to have someone to talk to or ask for advice from during the school year. The program is supposed to bond students across grades and create a cohesive environment.

Extracurricular

Sports

Montrose offers seven varsity sports, plus club sports and other athletic offerings. During fall, soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross-country are offered. Basketball and ski club are offered during the winter season and lacrosse, softball, golf club and track and field club during the spring. In 2015-2016, Montrose's soccer team won the Independent Girls Conference and the lacrosse team was league co-champion. Students are encouraged to start a club if they would like to see another sport on the Montrose campus.
Music and Drama program
The Montrose Players put on three major productions each year: a middle school musical, an upper school play and an all-school musical. There are also two major music productions annually. These concerts include pieces from The Upper School and Middle School Chorus, Tone Chimes, Instrumental Ensemble and the school's a cappella groups. Montrose School has two a cappella groups, the Treblemakers and the Clef Hangers.