Upper School
The Gill St. Bernard’s Upper School is an exciting place to be. We are the largest division in the school, yet we work to retain a strong feeling of community every day of the week. The eventual outcome of the Upper School experience is strong college preparation, and all of our students work with College Guidance to find a suitable college that will serve them well, but we hope to accomplish a whole lot more along the way.
The Upper School is a place where we expect commitment in many different arenas. First and foremost, our students are committed to their academics. We offer a broad range of classes from standard to honors to Advanced Placement. We encourage all of our students to take challenging courses, including some of our 15 Advanced Placement courses, prior to graduation. At the same time, we help students to maintain balance in their schedule so that they achieve academically, but also preserve time to pursue interests outside the classroom that add to a well-rounded Upper School experience.
The Upper School is also intensely committed to co-curricular activities. Our athletic program and performing arts programs are outstanding; winning awards, championships and entertaining us all. Our students and faculty are committed to activities such as community service, robotics, Literary Magazine and Model UN. Above all, the Upper School is a place where the experience of coming to school every day is an enjoyable one. Laughter is heard often and academics are more about learning together and collaborating, rather than getting a better grade than someone else. We are a community that applauds the achievements of our students and also recognizes the need to support each other through the processes that lead to those outcomes.
Warm regards,
Sue Petrone
Sue Petrone been teaching and working at independent schools for the last 25 years. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Haverford College, Haverford PA and a M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA. Prior to accepting her current role as Upper School Director, in 2008, Sue served as an Assistant Dean of Students, Dorm Head, science teacher, and Science Department head at three other independent schools. She is married to another independent school educator and has two children currently enrolled at GSB, a son in the Middle School and a daughter in the Lower School.
