Reply to Beauvoir - what do you like? What don't you like?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Thanks everyone! If you all are a good representation of the parents at Beauvoir that speaks volumes. This board is notorious for negative Nancy's and someone who always has something negative to say...the fact that has not happened in this entire thread I think say a lot about the schools values truly being reflected in the families it admits.[/quote]

OP, I hope I will not get slammed as a "negative Nancy," but as a parent of two former Beauvoir students, I will offer a slightly different opinion than those previously expressed:  Beauvoir is a fine school, and certainly among the top in this area, but it is lacking in a few areas.  For example, it's simply not as strong as some other schools in such areas as art and music, if that's important to you.  While Beauvoir has a beautiful campus with light-filled classrooms, a nice cafeteria (and good food), and of course that magical playground, I always found it strange that the school lacks a proper theater.  Performances take place in a small multipurpose room or in the Cathedral (where everyone not lucky enough to snag a pew in one of the first rows cranes their necks for a view).  The art classes (at least when my kids were there) were run with a heavy hand - every student produced the same artwork, with slight variations.  My kids (who didn't choose to go to NCS/STA, but instead to other competitive area schools) were not as well prepared for fourth grade as some of their new classmates, particularly in math and Spanish.

Both my kids were generally very happy at Beauvoir.  Most of the teachers were good, although one of my kids had a truly subpar teacher one year- not at all at the level she she should have been for a school of Beauvoir's reputation (and price tag).  However, you will find this uneven level of teaching talent at all the schools in this area.

I hope this is helpful.  Best of luck.

Huh, as a parent of a less artistically creative child, I disagree that  " all the kids artwork was the same".  And, I object to that characterization because of what it suggests about the ownership of the work and the integrity of the creative process. I also know something about this as I was an " art aide" , meaning I signed up to help mount the kids artwork prior to it being put up on display and , at times, this meant trying to determine the creator of unsigned work prior to mounting it for display.  Having had that close look at what goes on,  here is what I would say:

Not only was the art work obviously VERY individualized, with all abilities and talents on display as well as , those who lack same ( like my child, sadly), but when we were stumped for a name on an unsigned work , we would hold it up to the Art teacher and she would  be able to say " that looks like so and so , he always makes the snow on his trees look like that " or " that looks like so and so, he always draws very small at bottom of page, and we have been working with him on that ." The ability of an art teacher to be able to identify the style of 68 individual children speaks to a great amount of attention to them as individuals and respect for their own abilities and growth.

Far from "all the same"  the art medium was varied everything from fired clay pieces, to african masks using cardboard, to leaf rubbing collages, to sketching in Bishop's garden to a life size self portrait in 3rd and painted with tempra paint.

As a mother, seeing the work on display, it was not too hard to come to the one that was my child's once I knew the look of his monochromatic, heaving on the line drawing details.

Beauvoir has a real art program and if you aren't convinced, ask to tour the school the day before " Museum night"

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