The Student Perspective

My favorite thing about Hewitt is the ease of communication amongst students and faculty. Our teachers encourage us to advocate for ourselves, and it is very simple to contact them either in person or via email to ask questions or arrange meetings. The small community at Hewitt has pushed me to embrace new or uncomfortable situations and helped me grow into a more confident person!

I like that I have something in common with every student, that we can all relate to each other in terms of what it means to be a young woman. Being at Hewitt has given all of us opportunities to pursue our interests and be who we are regardless of our gender, and learning in an environment that is so supportive of girls and young women has allowed me to grow into a confident learner who knows it is OK to make mistakes. 

The school day starts at 8:00 am, though I sometimes schedule a meeting with a teacher at 7:30 am to prepare for a quiz that day or review class material. Every morning begins with an advisory group or upper school town meeting, where we gather to discuss upcoming events or to engage in social-emotional learning activities. Next I have biology and Spanish V, which are each an hour long, followed by a 30-minute break. I can use the break for meetings, extra work time, or to attend a student-run club. At noon, I have lunch in the bistro (Hewitt’s dining room) followed by another free period that I use for meetings or clubs. As a junior, I can also use this free period to go outside for a walk or grab a snack with friends. At the end of the day I have two more classes - calculus and handbells. My final class of the day dismisses at 3:10 pm, and then I either head straight to a rehearsal for one of Hewitt’s productions, to my after-school tutoring job, or to a pre-college art class I’m taking at Pratt Institute.

The amount of homework I have varies from day to day, but overall I find my workload pretty manageable. As an upper schooler, I choose my courses and design my own schedule, so I know what to expect in terms of homework and other assignments. For example, because I know my afternoons and evenings are busy with plays and musicals, I’ve designed my schedule to include free periods during the school day that I can use to get a head start on homework. At Hewitt, we have many quiet study spaces, such as the library and upper school study room, where we can go to work on assignments. Each of these different spaces has its own vibe —  some are quiet and studious and others are much more relaxed and collaborative — and we get to decide which environment will be best for us.  

As a girls’ school, a lot of our learning is centered around exploring themes of gender and identity. I feel our shared perspective around gender makes it easier to engage in sensitive conversations about our other identities, including race and class. Discussions about the role and impact of identity are woven into our curriculum, which means we have many opportunities to explore these topics. For example, this year I’m taking an English class called Race, Religion, and Gender in Literature, which will focus on analyzing texts like Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie through the lens of each character’s intersecting identities. 

We also have opportunities to discuss these themes in the Young Women’s Cooperative (YWC), a space open to all upper schoolers who want to gather for open student discussions about identity, social justice, gender, race, and sexuality. The YWC meets as a whole group and in smaller identity-based affinity groups and is a safe space for students to ask questions, share, and learn together.

I am very interested in the arts, so I spend a lot of time outside of my classes in rehearsal for Hewitt productions and taking pre-college art classes. In my most recent class, I learned all about graphic design. I also make sure I have time to be with my friends, either working on school assignments or getting to hang out and watch shows or go shopping. Something great about Hewitt is the opportunity to join smaller communities within the school and meet new people through theater, sports, music, or writing. Through my involvement with the performing arts department, for example, I have made some very close friends in other grades. 

Hewitt has a few different types of clubs: publications, such as the yearbook or art and literary magazines; discussion-based clubs in which students gather to talk about issues that matter to them; and project-based clubs such as the Student Service Board or International Thespian Society (ITS), which spend the year organizing small events or activities for the upper school. 

Upper school clubs each have a student leader as well as a faculty advisor and meet once a week. Students are able to choose the clubs they want to be a part of, and most students participate in at least one. This year I will be the design editor of our school’s yearbook, The Argosy. In this position, I am in charge of the entire design staff for our yearbook and making sure we create a beautiful memory for the community at the end of the year. As the head of communications and design for the upper school Earth Committee, I assist in our environmental initiatives and create all of our promotional posters. In addition to this, I am also the treasurer of the International Thespian Society and a member of the Young Women’s Cooperative (YWC), where I will be acting as a student facilitator. This year I am also in a brand new club, the Student Equity and Diversity Committee, which is focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion work throughout the school. And finally, I will also be a tour guide!

At Hewitt, students of all ages are encouraged to take on leadership opportunities. As I mentioned above, I made the choice this year to take on several leadership roles in student clubs. In addition to leadership roles in clubs or student council, upper school students help lead grade-wide or upper-school-wide meetings by giving presentations or facilitating conversations about causes, communities, and cultures they are knowledgeable and passionate about. At Hewitt, students who want to take on leadership roles just have to advocate for themselves! 

Communication runs very smoothly at Hewitt. Students can easily reach out to teachers via email, after class, or in the halls. We can also meet with our guidance counselors, advisors, grade-level deans, or the upper school dean of students by scheduling meetings in advance or simply stopping by their offices and classrooms during the day to see if they are available to have a quick chat. I personally find it helpful to meet with a faculty member every few weeks to keep track of my time management. It can be great to meet with a guidance counselor or other trusted adult to receive guidance on a social matter, discuss an academic challenge, come up with new study tactics, ask for general advice, or discuss big picture plans for the year.  

The transition to Hewitt is known to be fairly seamless, and because our grades and classes are small, it is easy for new students to find a friendly face and get acquainted with their peers. Each new student is assigned a buddy to help get them situated during their first few days at school, and Hewitt students tend to be eager to help newcomers feel welcome. No one is ever the odd one out because we are great at making sure new students feel welcome! 

Our advisory program is another great way for new students to get acclimated. Every student is assigned to a small advisory group led by a faculty member. Our advisory groups stay the same from tenth grade through the end of upper school, which means the students and advisor have time to really get to know one another and form meaningful bonds. The peers in my advisory group have become trustworthy friends, and my advisor is someone I rely on for advice and feedback about my academics, co-curricular activities, and anything else happening throughout the year.