Resource Guide
NMH Farm
From the school's founding, the farm has been an integral part of NMH. Early on, students fed and cared for horses, cows, chickens, and pigs; ran a large milking operation; cleaned stables; hayed; gardened; grew and harvested apples, corn, and potatoes; and drove and repaired farm machinery. Today's farm offers work job students fields of lavender for distilling and crops such as asparagus, broccoli, pumpkins, and raspberries to tend. Milk from the small dairy is used in the dining hall and made into cheddar cheese. Several students each year spend spring break sugaring, and the resulting 650 gallons or so of maple syrup is sold. Teachers bring their students to the farm for hands-on lessons about science and the environment, while students and faculty children come to pet the cows and ride the horses. Tools, equipment, and hay are stored in a new post-and-beam barn.
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From the school's founding, the farm has been an integral part of NMH. Early on, students fed and cared for horses, cows, chickens, and pigs; ran a large milking operation; cleaned stables; hayed; gardened; grew and harvested apples, corn, and potatoes; and drove and repaired farm machinery. Today's farm offers work job students fields of lavender for distilling and crops such as asparagus, broccoli, pumpkins, and raspberries to tend. Milk from the small dairy is used in the dining hall and made into cheddar cheese. Several students each year spend spring break sugaring, and the resulting 650 gallons or so of maple syrup is sold. Teachers bring their students to the farm for hands-on lessons about science and the environment, while students and faculty children come to pet the cows and ride the horses. Tools, equipment, and hay are stored in a new post-and-beam barn.
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The Curriculum
NMH provides an innovative and challenging curriculum that offers more than 200 major courses, advanced placement classes in each academic department, and interdisciplinary classes and collaborative teaching. Advanced technology both in and out of the classroom helps lay a strong academic foundation. The results? A stimulating educational environment that challenges students to think critically and ethically, and prepares them for college and beyond.
Click on the links to each department for more information on each discipline.
- Computer Science
- English as a Second Language
- Humanities (English, History and Social Sciences, and Religious Studies)
- International Studies
- Mathematics
- Science
- World Languages
Major Courses
Students are offered a combination of required core classes and electives. Classes last 90 minutes, allowing in-depth investigation into the subject matter and plenty of give-and-take among teachers and students. Homework load varies with the level of difficulty of the class; students can expect to spend between 45 and 90 minutes per day on homework for each course.
The Arts
The new Rhodes Arts Center, opening in fall 2008, is home to dynamic programs in dance, music, theater, and visual arts. Ninth-graders are required to take Arts Foundation, a class that imparts to students the language of creating art as well as of analysis of artistic works.
Physical Education and Athletics
The Physical Education and Athletics Program at Northfield Mount Hermon is integral to students’ development. The curriculum offers each student, regardless of ability, the opportunity to experience meaningful growth and success. Through both competitive and noncompetitive athletics, students create a personal physical fitness program that will help establish a lifelong pattern of daily exercise, learn to move skillfully and effectively, and develop self-confidence and sportsmanship.
See athletic requirements.
NMH prepares students to be successful college athletes. Athletes compete against the top teams in New England, receive a balanced academic and athletic experience, and find the right college match—be it Division I, II, or III.
International Education
Northfield Mount Hermon School is committed to developing cultural competency in each student. The internationally diverse student body, faculty, and staff, as well as the Center for International Education, guarantee a program that creates global interconnectedness. Study abroad opportunities allow students to absorb language skills and immerse themselves in other cultures. Destinations have included Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Turkey, and Uruguay.
Student Life Curriculum
The student life curriculum represents NMH’s continuing commitment to providing students with a comprehensive learning environment, one that encourages them to reach their full potential in nonacademic as well as academic pursuits. Through house-centered sessions and school meetings, the student life curriculum provides a formal setting for discussions that promote the health of adolescents and of the community. The program emphasizes personal support, accountability, recreation, service, leadership, community-building, and spiritual development. Guest speakers address relevant topics.
Work Program
The work program helps students develop practical skills and constructive behaviors and emphasizes the value of self-reliance and service to one’s community. This program adds to the distinctive quality of an NMH education. Our students provide the majority of work for the school’s essential services, including the dining, custodial, administrative, academic, and technological departments. Through supervisory coaching and graded evaluation of performance in every work context, the program dovetails with the student life curriculum in providing students with opportunities for personal support, leadership, and accountability.
Advising
At Northfield Mount Hermon every student has an advisor, known as a DL (a reference to our founder, Dwight Lyman Moody). DLs provide support and advice to their advisees. The DL is available to help the student make choices, navigate difficulties, and grow in a healthy way. DLs oversee the course selection process for their advisees and play an important role as the point person for parents.
Financing an NMH Education
The cost for boarding students for the 2008-09 school year is $41,700 plus $1,690 for mandatory fees. Day students pay $29,300 plus $1690 for mandatory fees. International students pay $41,700 plus $2,390 for mandatory fees. The costs of tuition refund insurance and health insurance (both required in most circumstances), text books, a computer, and miscellaneous living expenses should be factored in, as well. Read more about fees and expenses.
Limited financial aid is available for families who demonstrate a measurable level of need. Currently 40 percent of students at NMH receive more than $6 million in grants and $200,000 in long-term, low-interest loans. Read more about financial aid.
Families who don’t qualify for financial aid may want to consider payment plans that spread the cost of tuition over ten installments, or loans. Read more about financing options.
College Counseling
The college counseling office at NMH provides expert guidance for families and students throughout the college search process. Beginning in their sophomore year, students learn strategies for standardized tests and begin to assess critically their curricular choices. During junior year, each student takes a college counseling course, complete with an 80-page workbook that helps them find their unique set of criteria for selecting possible colleges.
NMH on the Web
Northfield Mount Hermon School One Lamplighter Way Mount Hermon, MA 01354 phone: 413-498-3000 e-mail: info@nmhschool.org