Academics

Upper School | Gr. 9–12

The Gill St. Bernard’s Upper School provides a rigorous academic program to prepare students for the most competitive colleges and universities. Although our students are engaged in a range of activities, they are first and foremost committed to academic excellence. 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 20 Advanced Placement classes. At the same time, we help students to maintain balance in their schedules so that they achieve at a high level academically, but also pursue interests outside the classroom that add to a well-rounded Upper School experience.

Team Chaos: GSB Robotics

A Day in the Life of an Upper School Student

The Upper School curriculum provides students with opportunities to pursue rigorous academic coursework, choose from dynamic elective options, feel comfortable taking academic risks, and find their own balance between challenge and success. Due to the number of course offerings in the Upper School and the diversity of talents and interests our students bring to the division, daily schedules can vary considerably from student to student. Each class meets four times per week. Depending on the day, students will have five or six classes, ranging from 45-70 minutes in length. Below you will find a sample schedule, indicating what a typical day might look like for a student in the Upper School at GSB.

8:15-9:10 Latin V
9:15-10:10 Portfolio Development
10:15-10:25 Advisory
10:30-11:05 Meeting
11:10-12:20 AP Calculus AB
12:25-1:10 AP European History
1:10-1:45 Lunch
1:50-3:00 Honors World Literature
You may also view a standard PDF of GSB's Curriculum Guide.

Upper School Director

Sue Petrone has been teaching and working at independent schools for over ​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 (Dr. Leo Janas, GSB's history department chair) and has a daughter enrolled in GSB's Middle School as well as a son who graduated in 2016.

Gill St. Bernard's School

Gill St. Bernard’s is a private, coeducational day school for students age three through grade 12, located in suburban New Jersey. Each of the three school divisions provides a vigorous, meaningful and age-appropriate curriculum, and all students benefit from the environmental learning opportunities that exist on our 208-acre campus.