Holton, NCS, Sidwell, Maret, Visitation or Stoneridge?

[Anonymous]

We just moved to the area from Boston. We have heard good things about all of these schools. Which one is the best for a smart girl who plays field hockey and does sculling?

[Anonymous]

Holton or NCS. Both are great schools for athletic, smart girls.

[Anonymous]

Visitation and Stoneridge are both less academically challenging than the other schools.

[Anonymous]

Do all of these schools even have rowing teams? I know Holton and NCS do.

Also, OP, are you aware (honest question here) that Visitation and Stoneridge are Catholic schools? I think they are both strong, but if you eren't aware, that might be good to know depending on your background.

[Anonymous]

OP: From what Boston school did your DD come? It might help for those of us familiar with the Boston scene to come up with a comparable alternative here.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell does have sculling for high school girls, as well as field hockey. It's a good place for smart girls - no feeling that girls should play down their intelligence. So partly, it's a question of whether your DD wants a single-sex or coed school (and, of course, where she is accepted).

[Anonymous]

PP -- Sidwell is a very fanatastic school -- but the girls sports team leave a lot to be desired. To answer the original question -- what schools are good for a smart girl who plays fh and does sculling? The answer is none of the teams have sculling (rowing is different folks). The club teams do have sculling -- TBC in G'town and PBC (Potomac Boat Club). You can always ask the schools if they're considering sculling...but sculls for individuals are much more expensive on a per person basis than a boat for an 4 or an 8 person team. Stoneridge doesn't even have rowing btw.

If you need to decide on that basis -- NCS or Holton for private; Whitman or BCC for public (but then you'd have to live in the right school district or pay (if slots are open) for out of boundry. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks -- I'm glad someone knew the difference between sculling & rowing. I get the idea we'll have to go to the clubs for sculling opportunities.

[Anonymous]

My dd does orienteering, rock climbing and backpacking.
She also just started kick boxing.
What school would you recommend for me?

[Anonymous]

BCC has the area's best field hockey team if you are near there

[Anonymous]

Rockclimbing = NCS. they have a competitive team in the winter and offer it 3 seasons with their own 3 story climbing wall and 2 coaches dedicated to the program.

NCS is extremely competitive - to get in to and once you are there. if your DD is in high school and does not have an extremely strong work ethic - will do 5+ hrs of homework a night - don't go there.

[Anonymous]

Oh BTW I am the above poster. We are from Wellesley and moved to DC when my DD was in 8th grade. She entered NCS in 9th grade and was WAY BEHIND. Intellectually she was as bright as the other girls but had no idea how to effectively study/write an essay with revisions/do math homework the "NCS way". It was a lot of catch up.

For those who arent from boston wellesley public is probably the equivalent of the bethesda public schools.

[Anonymous]

What class are you applying for? You may not have your pick. And, if not, you will be happy nevertheless.

[Anonymous]

No need to be so negative pp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Visitation and Stoneridge are both less academically challenging than the other schools.

"Stone Ridge" is two words. The original poster is forgiven for the misspelling, because she doubtless picked it up from the Holton/NCS boosters on this board. But if the quoted poster doesn't know the school's name, she probably doesn't know much about its academics.

Holton takes pride in giving its girls five hours of homework a night, so I guess that's the basis for the claim that Holton's more challenging. I looked closely at the curricula of Holton and Stone Ridge last year when our family was choosing a middle school for my daughter. The curricula are remarkably similar, except that Holton teaches the Bible as literature and Stone Ridge teaches the Bible as, well, the Bible. (Stone Ridge's theology is progressive, but it's not atheistic. Many on this board are strongly opposed to Catholic education, and assume its inferiority. But the religious component, at a good school like Stone Ridge, is a sophisticated weave of intellect and faith that broadens a student's vision beyond herself and lays a foundation of healthy values and social consciousness, no matter how the student's religious beliefs may evolve.)

When my daughter visited Stone Ridge's fifth grade, the girls welcomed her warmly and in P.E. class they coached her through her first-ever game of field hockey. Our friend's daughter visited Holton's fifth grade, and her hostesses all swapped name tags and thought it was hilarious every time their visitor called one of them by the wrong name.

From what I've seen, the girls at both schools are very bright. From talking to high school and college students in the area, Holton students have a reputation for competitiveness, while Stone Ridge students have a reputation for niceness.

As for field hockey teams, Stone Ridge went 8-1-1 last year (in the same league with the other schools you're considering) and their captain is playing for Harvard this year.

If it helps give you a frame of reference, OP, Stone Ridge belongs to the Sacred Heart network of schools, like Newton Country Day School. I have no idea how similar those two schools are, but they share a tradition and there could be exchange opportunities if your daughter wanted to visit her home town.

All the schools you're considering are the cream for girls in the Washington area. I'd just encourage you to visit them, meet the families and educators, and then best of luck!