Arts

At NCS, you will discover your passion in the artistic realm, and you will be encouraged to express your most creative and imaginative self.

Our young artists learn and develop problem-solving skills, collaboration strengths, and the ability to envision scenarios from varying perspectives. Our work is based in both play and experiment.

NCS artists paint, draw, sculpt, take photos, throw pots, make books, ring bells, sing, play instruments, dance, act, and study the great artists of the world.

Visual Arts

We’re proud to offer one of the most wide-ranging and sophisticated visual arts programs in the country. We have breathtaking studio spaces, and our faculty members are working artists. 

Our two-level visual arts studio, fully stocked with creative supplies, is filled with natural light and majestic window views of the Cathedral. We also have dedicated arts studios for our Lower and Middle School students with great space and equipment for creativity to abound. We enjoy sharing these spaces as an artistic community.

We have electric and kick wheels and kilns for ceramics, a large black-and-white photography darkroom, and a digital-art lab with many workstations.

We operate in both hands-on and digital media. Our photo program is part digital and utilizes computers, and we also incorporate technology in ways, such as drawing by using iPads in Middle School and Upper School. The Upper School studio additionally has three 3-D printers, and we have a laser cutter.

Performing Arts 

Our performing arts program similarly fosters our students’ self-expression, collaborative interaction, reflection, growth, and, most importantly, fun. We encourage our students to engage in theater, dance, instrumental music, and vocal groups, and they give public performances regularly. For these pursuits, our students work closely in a Coordinate Program with the St. Albans School (STA) for boys, which is located just on the other side of the Cathedral.

Our students have great opportunities to perform publicly at a high level. Our theatrical offerings range from student-directed one-act plays to full musicals and plays with set design and costuming. For music, our students sing in acapella groups and in large chorus groups, and they also perform in a combined orchestra with STA. 

Arc of Learning Through the Arts Program

Through the arts, NCS students engage in the arc of learning as they mature through each of our three divisions. They experience appropriate brain development through artistic expression relevant to their age group. Over time, our students learn and grow into practicing radical creativity as they also develop their self confidence and challenge themselves. This is more than just an arts program—it is an instrumental component of their creative learning journey as scholars. 

The arts at NCS are an important and intentional part of our planned curriculum. They are embedded in our students’ spiralled development that builds on itself each school year. Our students learn through doing, developing their creativity, intention, and collaboration with their peers and teachers.

Scores of our alumnae go on to pursue their muse professionally as musicians, dancers, visual artists, and actors, all getting their start and grounded footing at NCS.

Find your passion at NCS and make the world more beautiful.