The Upper School year is divided into six, six-week modular terms, or “mods.” How a school allocates its time is a statement of its values. At St. Anne’s-Belfield Upper School, we believe our students deserve a schedule and a school that is nimble and responsive to the changing needs of adolescents.

Chapel is the oldest continuous tradition of St. Anne’s-Belfield School, reflecting the history of the School’s founding by the Episcopal Church in 1910. The School is independent of any specific faith, and while our Chapel program is rooted in the Episcopal tradition, our community is inclusive of all faiths, backgrounds, and beliefs.

All St. Anne’s-Belfield School community members share the common experience of attending Chapel services. Students and faculty gather around a personal reflection from a community member that opens a window into the diverse perspectives and experiences of others, inspires introspection, sparks thoughtful dialogue, or offers a moral lesson. Student-centered voice, in developmentally-appropriate ways, lies at the heart of the Chapel experience.

Advisory is an intentional program designed to foster community and belonging in small, mixed-grade-level groups of students and an adult who will get to know them well and guide them through their years in the upper school.

A Capstone Thesis counts as a yearlong, full-credit, graded course, designed by the student under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Students are encouraged to enrich their study through participation in conferences and workshops, as well as through consultation with local or regional experts. Students convene regularly as a cohort to discuss progress, share ideas, and help each other overcome obstacles. In addition to learning more about their chosen topic and developing their research, analytic, and writing skills, students also report incredible personal growth and increased self-awareness as a result of their scholarship. 

Each senior is required to enroll in and pass one senior seminar. Many seniors elect two seminars. Enrollment is based on student choice and scheduling.

The main objective of each senior seminar is for students, with the teacher(s), to co-create a highly engaging and interactive learning experience that builds on the interdisciplinary and academic habits developed in earlier grades and expands on them to incorporate a wider variety of disciplines and competencies. Together, students, faculty, and experts in the field collaborate in a yearlong experience that emphasizes exploration of multiple perspectives, research, critical thinking, and the creation of one or more works that contribute to the betterment of the field of study and the St. Anne’s-Belfield community.

**All students who have not previously enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) Seminar may may elect to pursue AP Seminar credit. All senior seminars teach the skills required for success in the AP Seminar course. Students electing to follow this pathway will complete differentiated assessments including both individual and team presentations and two major written papers. Students are expected to submit a portfolio of their work and sit for an exam either at the School level or for the College Board. Students will be required to commit to this pathway no later than the 3rd week after the start of the course in order to earn this designation on their senior transcript.

The acquisition of the following skills and habits will be at the heart of each seminar experience: 

• Interdisciplinary dialogue
• Analysis of divergent perspectives
  • Synthesis of information from a variety of sources
  • Collaboration
• Formulating and defending one’s own views in writing and oral presentations

Examples

The 21st Century Citizenship Senior Seminar centers around the levels of citizenship we each maintain in relation to the environment around us. Students will leave this class with a strong understanding not only of the world they inhabit, but more importantly the skills and habits necessary to be impactful citizens locally, nationally, and globally.

Students in the Environmental Studies Advanced Senior Seminar are part of an ongoing five-year research project that has been contracted with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). Students in this class will continue to study the federally endangered James River spinymussel, which was discovered in a local watershed by previous students in this class.

Student researchers enrolled in our Biotechnology and Ethics Advanced Senior Seminar delve into current scientific processes and techniques in biotechnology and the related ethical issues impacting society. Building upon topics from biology and chemistry curriculum, students will work on collaboratively — and individually — designed projects. Students will use techniques such as polymerase chain reaction, gel electrophoresis, and bacterial transformation. The outcome of this course is to gain a greater appreciation for uses of biotechnology in society while also acknowledging the societal and ethical issues related to advances in this field. 

In the Comparative Religion Senior Seminar, students learn how worldviews have shaped the vast numbers of humans in history, and their influence continues to greatly affect the contemporary world. This seminar course provides students an opportunity for a more in-depth exploration of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Students also take field trips including Satchidananda Ashram Yogaville and Our Lady of Angels Catholic Monastery. The outcome of this course is deep engagement with religious philosophy across five religions and the creation of a multimedia guidebook on contemporary religious communities in Central Virginia.

We believe in offering students freedom and independence with developmentally-appropriate support. We want our students to know School as a safe place to test ideas (and fail sometimes!), to follow their passions, and to try new interests.

“I’m a teaching assistant for the Computer Science Principles class. The teachers and I have been focusing on how many opportunities students have to create their own projects. So at the end of every week now, we just say, ‘Make something, whatever you want, so long as you include what we’ve learned about for the past week.’ Students make games. They tell stories. Some will find a popular algorithm and recreate it themselves. There are so many different ways that we try to input student creativity and student direction into the lesson plans.” — Nia R. ’22

In addition to choice and independence built into all our curriculum, here are some formal ways students may direct their own learning:

• Senior Capstone
• Intensives
• Teaching Assistant Program
• Independent Study
• Internships

We talk a lot with students about what it means to lead in this moment. What it means to ensure others feel safe and that they belong in a community. Not only in the St. Anne’s-Belfield, but in Charlottesville and beyond. 

Our inclusive community appreciates diversity, and we expect our students to treat everyone in our community with respect and kindness. 

Finally, we believe that stepping out of our comfort zones allows us to become better, more engaged, and more empathetic citizens. 

With the above in mind, we intentionally create moments for our students to engage with each other and the community to exercise citizenship and grow in their capacity for leadership. While this is woven into our daily life, it is also part of the all-school Civic Engagement Initiative, and curricular programming such as: 

• Senior Seminars — community engagement opportunities
• Grade-based experiential learning focused on community engagement
• Affinity and student leadership groups like Step Up! bystander awareness, Active Minds mental health awareness, Peer Mentors, Greenway Guides and student government.

Both day and boarding students are enriched by learning beside students from across the country and the world. Our home in Charlottesville, Virginia, next door to the University of Virginia and only two hours south of Washington, D.C., is abounding with opportunities for new experiences, internships, adventures outside of your comfort zone, and growth as an individual, student, and community member.

Students in the Pathways Program earn a special credential on their diploma in Arts Management, Civic Engagement, or Environmental Studies. Through demonstrating personal growth, technical skills, and civic engagement, students in the program, called “pathfinders,” explore their passions, get hands-on experience, and gain invaluable skills for their futures.