Bement

Deerfield, Massachusetts

94 Old Main Street, PO Box 8 Deerfield, Massachusetts 01342

Junior Boarding at Bement

Located on 30 acres in Deerfield, Massachusetts, The Bement School is known for the quality of care our students receive in a warm, nurturing, multi-national community. Bement serves students of all genders in kindergarten through grade 9. Boarding starts in grade 3, however boarding students are typically in grades 5 through 9. This, along with excellent secondary school preparation in small classes and with individual attention, is a hallmark of a Bement education.

Bement seeks to attract an inclusive student body, paying close attention to the intellectual, artistic, athletic, and personal strengths of candidates. We seek students who will contribute to our learning community not only through academic curiosity and work ethic, but also through generosity of spirit, kindness, and compassion. The academic curriculum is rigorous and designed to stretch and support students. Our celebrated fine arts department encourages creative expression through the study of music, art, and drama, while the school’s varied athletic program preserves a sense of play while empowering students through competitive sports. Each day, in everything we do, we are committed to the school’s four core values: Compassion, Integrity, Resilience, and Respect.

Enrollment

225 Enrolled

Grades Offered

Enrolling: Grades K-9

Boarding: Grades 3-9

School Mission

The Bement School provides an education based on time-honored school traditions and values for children in kindergarten through ninth grade, day and boarding. From the classrooms to the dorms, we live and learn as a family, while encouraging responsibility for our own work and actions. Bement actively seeks an academically diverse, international, and multicultural student body. Students and adults at Bement work together to create a climate of acceptance, kindness and challenge which nurtures each child intellectually, creatively, physically, and emotionally.

“When I came to Bement I was deciding between two different schools. My deciding factor was because of the teachers: you can tell that they really want to be here teaching and that’s what they love to do.”

Grade 9 Student

Junior Boarding at Bement

School Facilities

Our campus features a dining hall for family-style meals, a library with a diverse and inclusive collection of 10,000 print titles, two classroom buildings for grades K–2 and 3–5, our upper school building for grades 6–9, and an arts building. All grades enjoy Pine Hill, a 12-acre outdoor education center that includes an indoor classroom, low ropes course, hiking trails, and vernal pond. We also have use of Deerfield Academy’s athletic facilities. Our five dorms each house ten students.

Academics

Our academic program builds each year, giving students a succession of skills and experiences that challenge and inspire them. Students benefit from small classes where they form supportive relationships. Our goals are to foster a love of reading, curiosity about the natural world, strong problem-solving abilities, and analytical skills. While our students pursue knowledge, they also develop self-awareness, confidence, and resilience—life skills they will take with them anywhere they go.

Athletics

Lower school students build motor skills, strength, and hardiness in daily physical education classes. We believe that everyone has athletic potential, and students who don’t normally consider themselves athletes build confidence during these formative years. At the same time, we prepare athletes to compete in high school and beyond at the highest level. Sports include soccer, tennis, field hockey, golf, alpine skiing, swimming, squash, Ultimate, track and field, mountain biking, and dance.

Arts

All students participate in the arts each year, all year. Our program begins with daily visual arts classes—studying master artists and completing projects in drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture—and vocal music in the lower school. From third grade on, students learn to play a musical instrument, starting with the recorder and progressing through a full offering of band and strings. Every student finds their voice on stage in annual drama performances.

Signature Program(s)

Ninth Grade: As a capstone experience filled with beloved traditions, this year is designed to challenge and inspire our oldest students with opportunities to shine as leaders, leap forward academically, and transition to adolescence in a supportive setting. This year also gives students and families time to focus on the secondary school admissions process with the support of Bement’s placement team. Across our programs, students hone skills in leadership, team building, and time management.

Summer Programs

Each summer we host nearly 150 campers. In addition to our day camp that provides a more traditional summer camp experience, we also offer many enrichment camps focusing on science, performing arts, music, sports, and more. We also offer an English Language and American Culture Program and Camp, which gives international students the opportunity to improve their English skills, and two camps in partnership with local outdoor recreation center Berkshire East: Mountain Biking and Adventure Camp.