Academics

Internships
(offered to Juniors and Seniors)

Independent Studies
(offered to Juniors and Seniors, must submit a proposal)

Wingspan Programs

• Exploring The Big Apple:
  • Join us on a trip to the Big Apple (NYC)! We will be visiting museums (American Museum of Natural History; The METropolitan Museum of Art; Whitney Museum of American Art; Museum of Mathematics) and exploring all the city has to offer.
     
• Exploring Boston:
  • Students in this Wingspan program will learn about the rich culture and history of Boston, Massachusetts. The program will include some time at SBS and in Boston for a three-night trip to visit the city in person! Activities may include visiting different museums, walking the Freedom Trail (and visiting sites along the way), visiting Chinatown, taking a college tour, taking a harbour or other tour, sampling local cuisine, and spending some time at Faneuil Hall and in the Newbury/Boylston Street area. Evening activities might include movies and/or a Red Sox game.
     
• Natural History on Cape Cod:
  • Investigate the natural history of Cape Cod, including evening observatory visits and daytime exploration of a variety of ecosystems. Activities include telescope observations with the Harwich astronomy club, visits to beaches, a short hike at Pamet Roads, and visit to Provincetown to learn about the dunes, a walk at Brewster flats, and an investigation of water chemistry and organisms.
     
• SBS TEDxWomen:
  • Be a part of an official TEDxWomen event at Stoneleigh-Burnham ! For speakers at the event, and others who are interested in helping to create the event, including experience with community outreach and technical support. Also featured will be coaching for the speakers, and a small research project on the history of TED talks, especially the type called TEDxWomen.
     
• From Seed to Feast: A Culinary Exploration:
  • Are you passionate about all things food-related? In this class, you will approach food with all the enthusiasm and joy it demands. You will grow your own ingredients in the greenhouse, create delicious dishes and enjoy them together, and hear from fascinating guests who have devoted their lives to writing about food, cooking, and growing what we eat. Join us for a hands-on journey through the complete food cycle - from soil to plate to community. 
     
• Secret Codes and Large Primes:
  • The history of secret codes, the mathematics of primes, and how computers encrypt information.
     
• Outdoor Adventure and Education:
  • Join us for a fun, informative, and gritty week of outdoor adventures! We will engage in outdoor activities like hiking, rock climbing, high ropes course, and learn skills for you to safely and conscientiously be out of doors (fire safety, how to pitch a tent, basic first aid, and fireside cooking). Outdoor ed topics will include “Leave no trace”/responsible stewardship, and conservation. 
     
• The Road Less Traveled:
  • Are you a poet, philosopher or lover of nature? Together we will explore all three. We will go on a pilgrimage to Walden Pond and Concord.  In the day this was where the action happened. Transcendentalism. The River Valley, where we live was/is the home of many literary giants. We will read Emily Dickinson poetry.  We will visit her home in Amherst.We will write poetry of course. 
     
• Love-All: A Tennis Intensive:
  • Do you love tennis? Take a deep dive into the world of tennis! Get outside for daily drills and singles/doubles matches on all three surfaces (hard, clay, and grass). Explore tennis history at the Hall of Fame. Raining out? No problem—check out some indoor table tennis! Learn about up-and-coming young players as we watch some of the Roland-Garros (French Open) qualifying matches! Have fun designing and developing our own SBS tennis tutorial series!
     
• Outdoor Theater:
  • Are you ready to try your hand at putting on a theater production in an alternative performance space,  outdoors? Join this Wingspan to learn about acting, staging, and everything that goes into putting on a show!

Internships
(offered to Juniors and Seniors)

● Baystate Franklin Medical Hospital
○ 3 spots, 3 different departments
○ Shadowing doctors and surgeons
○ Observe surgery, patient care and connect with patients

● Looky Here: Art Studio and Maker Space
○ Participate and plan workshops
○ Work with the general public to create works of art

● Regenerative Design Group: Architectural Landscape Design
○ Shadow and help with current projects
○ Final project: create a landscape design of the SBS courtyard

● Learning Knoll: Daycare and Preschool
○ Work directly with children in the baby room, toddler room and preschool
○ Design developmentally appropriate activities for the classes

● Greenfield Public Library
○ Learn the ins and outs of library technology
○ Help plan community events and workshops

Independent Studies
(offered to Juniors and seniors, must submit a proposal)

Wingspan Programs

● Twitch Streaming

● Dance Project

● Cultural Immersion in Montreal:
Students in this Wingspan program will learn about Montreal, Quebec's rich culture and history, including Native, French Canadian, and immigrant communities. After a day of researching and discussing Montreal, we will depart for a three-night trip to visit the city in person! Potential activities include visiting a Native culture exhibit, taking a guided tour of a historic site in French, sampling local cuisine, and viewing some of Montreal's famous murals. Students will be expected to keep a journal of their experiences and observations, which will provide the basis of their reflective work during the final two days of Wingspan. 

● In-Sight Photography:
This Wingspan program is an opportunity to learn and practice analog photography. Students will work with an instructor at In-Sight Photography in Brattleboro, VT, and use 35mm film cameras to learn the basics of analog photography. Participants will use In-Sight's cameras to shoot, process, and develop their film, then print their own work using the studio's darkroom. We will spend the mornings at In-Sight's studio and afternoons taking photographs around campus and the greater Greenfield area and looking at historical examples of analogy photography and its broader applications in contemporary art practices. Students will also learn to mat (paperboard frame) their photographs for display and curate a group of photos along with an artist's statement to present for community viewing.

● Our SBS Pond:
Have you ever wondered about the pond on campus as you walk, ride, or drive past it? What animals and plants live in and around the pond? Why is there so much algae? If the pond was human-made, when was it constructed and why? These are some of the questions we will seek answers to, along with questions posed by you, the participants, in the Wingspan project, Our SBS Pond. We will explore the science and history of the pond, and end with inviting local elementary school students to come learn from you what you have learned about the pond.

● Sports Science & Leadership:
This Wingspan project will investigate Women’s sports dynasties (UConn Basketball, Stanford Volleyball, UCLA Softball, for example) and how they have inspired not only their school community but all women in sports. We will review SBS Athletic history and work to celebrate the accomplishments of Owls alumnae by reimagining the SBS Wall of Fame. Planned events: visits to Volleyball and Basketball Hall of Fame, girls sports clinic.

● Theatre Workshop: Murder Mystery Dinner Theater
Bring the Stoneleigh-Burnham School community an evening of theater and suspense they won’t soon forget! Students will have the opportunity to develop compelling characters and master improvisational skills for suspects, victims, and investigators; learn staging and blocking techniques; turn a simple script and create a visually captivating and suspenseful performance; dive into theatrical design and technical elements to bring the production vision to life in a found space. At the end of the program, students will stage and perform their murder mystery at dinner for the Stoneleigh-Burnham School community and encourage the audience to identify WHODUNIT!

● Astronomy:
In this Wingspan project, you will study the motion of the Moon and the planets in the solar system. Making observations with a telescope during nighttime and understanding the concept of a system of reference. Desmos modeling of orbits & the solar system.

● Tracing our Roots Through Food:
In this Wingspan project, you will explore and showcase who you are by tracing the culinary traditions that connect you to your family, community, country, and land. Through a hands-on approach, we will work on a collective interactive cookbook that will compile meaningful family recipes. You will research and document a recipe of your choice and will write a personal essay exploring the stories behind it. Why is this dish so relevant to my family? How can I trace the footsteps of my ancestors through this food? What do its ingredients tell me about the history of my country? By answering these and many other questions, you will learn to think like a food historian, while also getting acquainted with the rudiments of the personal essay as a creative writing genre. Finally, we will also engage in cooking sessions, adding a practical dimension to our exploration, and we will chat with local cooks who offer diverse perspectives on food and identity, enriching our understanding of these complex intersections.

● Board Games & Puzzles:
For this Wingspan project, we will explore various ways of playing board games and solving puzzles. We will do an escape room during the seminar, play board games, and do a puzzle hunt. We will look at all types of puzzles including crossword puzzles and sudoku. We will play board games from Candyland to Wingspan. Bring your thinking caps and a sense of whimsy! Final project options: Design your own escape room! Create your own board game! Design a puzzle hunt! Turn your art into a jigsaw puzzle!

Our Stoneleigh-Burnham Student Internship program is a school-year-long program that offers students work experience within some of the different departments in the school. Each department in the school has the opportunity to offer internships that are meaningful to them, as well as to the students they choose. These internships will offer SBS students a chance to work alongside professionals to learn new skills, provide valuable experience, training, confidence and the chance to be involved in something of interest. Students will spend their time working on relevant projects and completing tasks assigned to them by their supervisor.

Current On-Campus Student Internships:
● Marketing & Communications
● Visual Arts
● Admissions
● Alumnae Relations
● IT Office
● Barn Proctors
● Health & Wellness
● Student Life
● Counseling Center
● College Counseling
● School Bookstore