Lower School / Nest Preschool-5
Exploration, discovery, and play define our early learning experiences.
A joyful place to learn, create, and excel
At Wheeler, we build curiosity, confidence, and critical skills—and instill in each student a lifelong love of learning. We welcome students and families from every background to join our inclusive, diverse, energetic community.
Middle School / 6-8
The right balance of support and challenge brings out every student's best
Upper School / 9-12
Challenging and engaging coursework tailored to your interests equip students to become critical thinkers and thoughtful global citizens
Hamilton School / 1-8
A school-within-a-school, skilled faculty meet students’ learning differences with the individualized instruction that leads to success
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We help each student learn by doing and collaborating, explore new interests and grow their passions, build self-awareness and confidence through leadership and service, and develop to be thoughtful, curious, and contributing citizens of the world.
Read about WheelerIn the City
The hub of our dynamic N-12 community, Wheeler's campus at the top of College Hill in Providence, offers student-focused learning spaces designed to encourage discovery, collaboration, play, and achievement.
In the CityOn the Farm
Our 120-acre farm in nearby Seekonk, MA provides students with state-of-the-art athletic facilities. It's a pastoral counterpoint to our urban campus—and is a living, hands-on laboratory for a range of unique programs.
On the FarmSee Our Stories
“How is an ice cube like a crayon?” Let’s spend a little time with a group of 2nd-graders who are exploring that question with Hamilton Science Teacher Katie Belida P’41.
“Before trying to ask young students to understand solids and gases, it’s important for them to understand material properties and how they can change,” Ms. Belida says. “First I wanted to get them separating material from property and connecting property to function and use. We used plastic because it’s waterproof, but it’s also light, and the best way to help them internalize that, make space for the language, and make it sticky in their brains, particularly for dyslexic learners, is to give them experiences with it.”
Ms. Belida likes to start with open-ended lessons such as this one, where students can explore questions like, “How does clay change when you heat it up?” and consider whether the effects of heating and cooling are reversible or irreversible. “We spend time describing what they’re seeing,” she says.
“This is like the foundation of chemistry in 2nd-grade,” Ms. Belida adds. “Today the students got to experiment with some cool materials with different properties to unlock some of that knowledge. So when they are looking at the ice on the screen, and I’m asking them how it’s changing and whether we can undo that process, they just had that physical experience and can answer that question.”
So, how is an ice cube like a crayon? Ms. Belida explains, “Both are meltable and both went from a solid to a liquid in the presence of heat. And unlike clay, which gets harder and cannot be reversed, you can reverse that change so you can harden that melted crayon and you can still write, and you can still refreeze that ice and it will still be of use to you. Thinking about these things [and discovering the answers] are already in our students’ brains, they just haven’t named it.”
Sep 17
![“How is an ice cube like a crayon?” Let’s spend a little time with a group of 2nd-graders who are exploring that question with Hamilton Science Teacher Katie Belida P’41.
“Before trying to ask young students to understand solids and gases, it’s important for them to understand material properties and how they can change,” Ms. Belida says. “First I wanted to get them separating material from property and connecting property to function and use. We used plastic because it’s waterproof, but it’s also light, and the best way to help them internalize that, make space for the language, and make it sticky in their brains, particularly for dyslexic learners, is to give them experiences with it.”
Ms. Belida likes to start with open-ended lessons such as this one, where students can explore questions like, “How does clay change when you heat it up?” and consider whether the effects of heating and cooling are reversible or irreversible. “We spend time describing what they’re seeing,” she says.
“This is like the foundation of chemistry in 2nd-grade,” Ms. Belida adds. “Today the students got to experiment with some cool materials with different properties to unlock some of that knowledge. So when they are looking at the ice on the screen, and I’m asking them how it’s changing and whether we can undo that process, they just had that physical experience and can answer that question.”
So, how is an ice cube like a crayon? Ms. Belida explains, “Both are meltable and both went from a solid to a liquid in the presence of heat. And unlike clay, which gets harder and cannot be reversed, you can reverse that change so you can harden that melted crayon and you can still write, and you can still refreeze that ice and it will still be of use to you. Thinking about these things [and discovering the answers] are already in our students’ brains, they just haven’t named it.”](https://www.wheelerschool.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
What happens when a 1943 photograph meets a return visit to Wheeler more than 80 years later? 📸 In 1943, Miriam Graves Kenney ’53 was photographed arriving at Hope Building as a seven-year-old. This spring, she returned to our Providence campus and walked those same steps again with her sisters, Nancy Graves Wilson ’62 and Carol Graves Cimilluca ’59.
The result? A pretty special recreation of a moment from Wheeler’s past with Mary C. Wheeler Historian and Archivist Bob Martin P’05, P’10. You can read the full story at the link in bio! 💜💛
Sep 16
Members of the Wheeler community wrapped up the week last Friday with an evening of food, music, conversation, and plenty of dancing at the Community Celebration of our Families with Children of Color in Miller Courtyard. 🎉
With delicious food from our Dining Services team @CulinArtatWheeler and music in the air, the evening was a chance for students, faculty, staff, and families to simply enjoy being together. Attendees even got a surprise dance class led by Middle School Counselor and Wellness Educator Claude Michelle Oliveira!
Director of Equity, Community, and Belonging Princess Bomba P’16, P’18 says she left the evening with “a sense of fulfillment primarily from seeing the vastly diverse groups of students, faculty, staff, and families joyfully personifying the ‘One Wheeler’ concept.” She adds, “It was a perfect embodiment of our community values in the most festive and celebratory of ways.” ♥️
We’ll come together again in the courtyard this Friday evening for our Community Welcome Celebration of our LGBTQ+ Families. Everyone at Wheeler is invited 💌! You can RSVP, if you haven’t done so already, via the link in last week’s e-newsletter.
Sep 14
🔍Here’s a closer look at the Pen Texture Study art project with 7th-graders! Students are exploring value through repetition, texture…and a little patience. 📄✏️
Sep 14
