Linton Hall School Class of 2011 Heads to College

Members of the Linton Hall School Class of 2011 at their eight grade graduation.

By Stacy Shaw

This year, 100 percent of students who graduated from Linton Hall School as eighth graders in 2011 are headed to college at the end of the summer.

Linton Hall School, located in Bristow, is a preschool through eighth-grade Catholic school, that is a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia.

In 2011, eighteen eighth grade students graduated from Linton Hall School. Those graduates went on to attend challenging high schools in the area, including Highland School, Wakefield, John Paul the Great, Paul VI, Patriot and Battlefield. There, many of them participated in rigorous academic programs.

“In general, what we see when our eighth graders go on to high school is that a large percentage of them end up taking honors classes, or classes like the I.B. Program or the Cambridge program,” said Director of Admissions for Linton Hall School, Maren Finkel.

At a reunion gathering this school year, 2011 alumni told Finkel how their experiences at Linton Hall School helped prepare them for the rigorous academic challenges they faced in high school.

Aly Prouty of Haymarket, a 2015 graduate of Paul VI High School, believes her time at Linton Hall School well prepared her for high school academics. Overall, Prouty explained that the difference between herself and many of her peers was her ability to work independently, accomplishing difficult tasks.

Eighth-grade class photo of Linton Hall School Class of 2011.

Prouty said that her Linton Hall teachers taught her not only the curriculum, but also how to learn. Consequently, she entered into her ninth grade year knowing how to take notes during a lecture. Though it seems elementary, Prouty said most of her high school classmates entered high school without this necessary skill.

She also said she was more than prepared for her advanced Spanish II class after taking Spanish I at Linton Hall School. Not only could she memorize and conjugate Spanish words, but she also had the ability to write essays entirely in Spanish.

Prouty attributed much of her success in high school to the accelerated classes she took at Linton Hall School. The school offered both accelerated and grade-level curriculum in certain subject areas. And, where the private K-8 school does not offer two levels, the curriculum is more similar to a public school honors level curriculum.

“We have a strong language arts curriculum that focuses heavily on writing,” said Finkel, “and, we have a math curriculum that is differentiated so that students who excel at math can move ahead.”

Linton Hall School Class of 2011 alumni visit the school during their senior year of high school.

Finkel believes students who attended Linton Hall School have also been given multiple opportunities to obtain leadership positions through participating in extra-curricular activities.

“I think within that setting they gain a lot of confidence, and because of the small community, they have more opportunities for leadership positions through service organizations, Leo Club and safety patrols. We have a lot of opportunities so a larger percentage is able to take advantage of those opportunities,” Finkel said.

After assuming those roles during their K-8 experience, many teenagers are more confident to pursue similar leadership positions in high school.

Prouty can testify that her participation in extra-curricular programs in her primary and junior high years made a difference. When she attended Linton Hall School, she was on the honor roll and participated in drama productions. In high school, she continued those pursuits qualifying as both a member of the National Honor Society and the International Thespian Honor Society.

Prouty was also prepared for the Catholic curriculum at Paul VI as well since Linton Hall School aligns its curriculum with that of the Arlington Catholic Diocese while providing its own additional curriculum beyond the diocese’s requirements.

Class of 2011, now high school seniors, pose together at Linton Hall School during a reunion event.

The administration and staff at Linton Hall School are proud of the class of 2011, and their many accomplishments.

Below are the colleges and universities that Linton Hall Class of 2011 alumni will be attending in the fall.

Arizona State University (1)

Catholic University ( 1)

Christopher Newport University (1)

Eastern Carolina University (1)

Elon University (1)

Furman University (1)

George Mason University (1)

Hofstra University (1)

James Madison University (3)

Marquette University (1)

Northern Virginia Community College (1)

Penn State (1)

Pratt Institute (1)

Virginia Commonwealth University (1)

Virginia Tech (2)

Photos were provided by Linton Hall School. 

Visit Linton Hall School on the web, or make an appointment for a tour, by calling 703-368-3157 or emailing lhs@lintonhall.com.