girl centered

girl centered

At Forest Ridge School, we are girl-centered. Since 1907, Forest Ridge has been a place where young women are educated to think critically, embrace challenges, model resilience, confront injustice, seek equality, and lead globally in the pioneering spirit of our foundress, St. Madeleine Sophie.

Middle school is a time of much change and growth in young women. We know how difficult adolescence can be – so we strive to guide our girls into a path of lifelong confidence, both academically and personally.

Collaboration, communication, creative and critical thinking skills are the foundation of our Middle School program that helps girls from 5th through 8th grade develop. We encourage our students to develop a passion for learning that they can take with them for the rest of their lives. With technology integrated into our education program, girls learn essential 21st century skills that will prepare them for the real world.

We stress the importance of working with others towards creative, positive solutions to problems and challenges. Ultimately, we prepare our Middle School girls for the rigors of high school while giving them strong foundational skills and knowledge.

www.forestridge.org

it’s the little things

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Girl Talk

It all comes together in high school. We teach girls independence while providing a backbone of community and support. Girls come in ready to learn and leave young women prepared to take on the world.

It’s a matter of choices in high school. Freshmen and sophomores follow a core program which includes religious studies, English, History, Science, Mathematics, an international language, physical education, and fine arts. During the first semester of sophomore year, each student and her parents must meet individually with the Director of High School and the Grade Level Coordinators to consider her options for junior and senior years. Students choose from the Global Seminar program, the International Baccalaureate program, or a combination of the two. We stress building community through academics and extra-curricular activities. Our graduates go on to excel in college and beyond. www.forestridge.org

the upper handHIGH

SCHOOL

Girl Talk

Engage in a variety of activities. That’s exactly what your daughter will be doing on the weekend including attending professional sporting events or engaging in cultural activities, private music or art lessons, or community service at local organizations. At Forest Ridge, we know it’s a big step to attend high school far away from home. Over time, your daughter will learn to depend on herself under the careful guidance of our Residential Life staff. Dorm meetings are held regularly for important schedule updates and for learning and discussing new skills such as etiquette, personal health issues, adjusting to a new part of the world, making friends far away from home, and discussing day-to-day or world events. Her dorm sisters will become dear friends and they will learn to depend on one another.

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home away from home

RESIDENTIAL LIFE

When your daughter lives on campus she will find herself in a warm and safe environment as a member of a diverse community of sisters who come to Forest Ridge from as nearby as Bellevue and as far away as Bangkok. It will be a place where she can be herself, learn, grow and succeed. She’ll be at home.

Girl Talk

Girl Talk At Forest Ridge, we believe that education is more than just educating the mind – it’s also about nourishing the heart and spirit. A strong sense of community is the heart of the Forest Ridge experience. It’s what our foundation is built upon. Our tight-knit but welcoming community fosters relationships that last long after students graduate.

We honor the traditions of our mothers, ,

grandmothers and the larger Sacred Heart Network. . But

we also build our own traditions through our community.

All of these time-honored traditions are treasured parts of

a Forest Ridge education.

Convocation: The opening ritual of each school year at Forest Ridge. Our tradition honors the age-old commitment at Schools of the Sacred Heart that each student, teacher and staff member is called by name and receives the year’s holy card with the school motto for the year.

Conge: Surprise! No school today. Instead, you’ll do everything from a school-wide scavenger hunt at the Space Needle to a middle-school rodeo in the gym.

Frosh Daze: Our way of welcoming the freshmen into the high school. Each freshmen is paired with a senior, who designs a hat for her freshmen to wear the whole week. Expect lots of fun activities all week long and plan to make long-lasting friendships across grade-levels.

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the Forest Ridge experience

community

communityAt Forest Ridge, your daughter will be well-prepared because a Sacred Heart education is uniquely focused on educating girls by nourishing the mind, heart and spirit. More than that, however, is the development of her place in a strong, connected community that is part of the Forest Ridge experience. It’s the kind of community that fosters relationships that last long after students graduate and leave their Forest Ridge home. www.forestridge.org

We have something for everyone, whether your daughter wants to throw clay on the pottery wheel or learn the art of photography. Not only do we have an extensive list of art classes to choose from, we also have a number of art-based extracurricular activities as well. Your daughter can choreograph a routine for the annual Dance Company show, travel to Ireland to perform with the Chamber choir, or design sets as part of the Drama Tech Crew. At Forest Ridge, the skills we teach in Fine Arts are essential not just for art education, but also for life.

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fostering creativity

THE ARTS

We firmly believe that fine arts education is essential to the well-rounded development of our students. We continue to expand our Fine Arts Program to allow girls to express their creativity in a multitude of different diciplines.

Girl Talk

“Girls who play sports have a more

positive body image and experience higher states of

psychological well-being than girls who

don’t play sports.”

–Women’s Sports Foundation

22 TEAMS

6 SPORTS

BasketballGolf

SoccerSoftballTennis

Volleyball

Forest Ridge girls study hard, but they play hard, too. We have multiple teams for all skill levels, so your daughter will feel included whether she’s a serious athlete or wants to learn a new sport.

In an all-girls setting, students possess greater confidence to test their physical limits. We see athletics as another way to build community and school spirit through shared experiences. It is also a way to teach our girls lessons applicable both on the court and in life – such as honoring commitments, leadership, sportsmanship, responsibility, and most importantly, teamwork. Everyone is encouraged to participate, and we have a no-cut policy so that girls can feel free to try any sport they wish. This doesn’t mean that our teams don’t succeed, however – we’ve won state championships in everything from tennis to volleyball, and many of our girls go on to play sports in college.

At Forest Ridge, you can play on any of 22 teams in nine different sports from middle school to high school. The way we compete reinforces the goals and criteria of Sacred Heart Schools, and allows each girl to perform to her fullest potential.

bump, set, spike!

ATHLETICS

www.forestridge.org

Girl Talk

Faith is a part of our everyday life at Forest Ridge. We educate our girls to develop a personal relationship with God, while coming together as a community of faith. We incorporate community service into our curriculum at all grade levels. At Forest Ridge, we inspire girls to transform our world through love, compassion, respect and generosity.

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her journey

SPIRITUAL LIFE

We are a Catholic school where each’s student’s faith is respected…whatever it may be. We believe in the importance of fostering an environment of acceptance, love, and diversity.

Girl Talk

At Forest Ridge, teaching girls leadership is one of our top priorities. We want our

students to succeed long after they graduate – so we encourage them to find ways of leading in many different arenas. Some girls choose to run a club or run for student government. Others go on community service trips around the world or lead the school in prayer during a liturgy.

Women as Global Leaders is the lens through which we do everything at Forest Ridge. It’s not just visiting other countries. All of our classes, our in-classroom experiences, our extracurricular activities and the way our school is guided by the Goals and Criteria are focused on one outcome: cultivating girls and young women to become leaders in their global community. Our global exchange program has sent girls everywhere from Jerusalem to Japan. Girls can study abroad in a different country at another Sacred Heart school, or can take a community service trip over Spring Break. The possibilities are endless – it’s just up to your daughter to decide how she wants to become a globally-minded individual.

women as global leadersLEADERSHIP

Girl Talk

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At Forest Ridge you get to know each other and we have that great school SPIRIT and sense of community. So, if you walk down the hallway, you will know everyone by name. —Kat Shepherd, ’14, Wake Forest

“ “An all-girls school is an awesome place to grow and become your own woman. Students here want to do their best and are very INTELLECTUALLY COMPETITIVE. —Olivia Cero, ’14, Villanova

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Forest Ridge helped me expand my global and social perspective. Now, I’m aware and involved. I feel completely PREPARED to take on the world after coming here. —Nebiat Gebre, ’15, Saint Martin’s University

I love my school! From the amazing teachers, to the amazing community, you really can call these girls your sister. These are FRIENDSHIPS that will last a lifetime. —Louisa Haslam, ’15, Loyola University Maryland

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it all starts here…Girl Talk

We take our academics serious, but we have a lot of FUN. A Forest Ridge woman is not afraid to leave her mark on the world. —Sesana Allen ’14, University of Pennsylvania

Forest Ridge EMPOWERED me to find my passion to make a difference in people’s lives by finding injustices and looking at ways policy impacts my community. —Elizabeth Horsley, ’05

FR kindled a PASSION for learning in me. I don’t think that fire and enthusiasm will ever die out because the teachers try very hard to make the classes engaging active & fun. —Justina Wu, ’15, Pomona College

Forest Ridge is a welcoming community that provides academic CHALLENGES, and gives you supporting teachers, and classmates to help each girl succeed. It’s definitely had a huge impact on my life. —Annie Hines, ’16

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My education at Forest Ridge taught me to speak my mind with CONFIDENCE. I feel really prepared for everything the world has to offer!” —Christine Shoemaker ’14, Pomona College

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Forest Ridge admits students without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to the students of the School.

Learn More 425.641.0700www.forestridge.org4800 139th Avenue SE Bellevue, WA 98006-3015

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“Enrolling our two daughters at Forest Ridge has been the best parenting decision we have ever made.”–Current Forest Ridge Middle and High School parent

apply today

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4800 139th Avenue S.E. Bellevue, WA. 98006-3015