A joyful place to learn, create, and excel

Moments like these — shared on a baseball field, in classrooms, and along the coastline — defined Wheeler’s recent Global Experience in the Dominican Republic. 🇩🇴✈️🌎

Over Spring Break, several Upper School students and faculty members partnered with Caritas Smiles, a Dominican Republic–based organization focused on community engagement and education, to take part in hands-on service learning. From working with local schools to supporting environmental efforts such as coastal cleanups and shoreline planting, students learned alongside community members — building relationships that extended far beyond the scope of a single trip.

As Manny S. ’28 reflected, the experience was “so powerful,” while Claire E. ’28 highlighted the joy of connecting even across language barriers. For Upper School Administrative Assistant and chaperone Lynne Bell ’83, P’19, it was “gratifying, humbling, and transformative” — a reminder that these experiences are rooted in reciprocity: what students give, and what they receive in return. 💞

These moments reflect what defines Global Experiences at Wheeler — and continue to shape what’s ahead. Japan, Iceland, and Guatemala have been announced as the 2027 destinations, each offering new opportunities for connection, exploration, and learning beyond the classroom. 🔗 You can read the full story at the link in bio!

Wheeler was very well represented on the Rhode Island MATHCOUNTS team that made some state history at Nationals this year!

“For the first time in Rhode Island MATHCOUNTS history, our team won the Team Spirit Award at the national competition!” shares Coach Jiyeon Kim P’24, P’30. “This special award recognizes a state team for its enthusiasm, camaraderie, and positive attitude throughout the national event.”

The Rhode Island team that competed at the May 9-11 competition consisted of three students from Wheeler, Quenton F. ’32, Abby S. ’30, and Emi W. ’31, along with Barrington Middle School student Thea W. Each of them earned their place on the team by finishing in the top four at the earlier state competition.

The three Wheeler students were also cast members in last week’s Middle School production of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” Ms. Kim notes. “They are talented singers and dancers in addition to being exceptional mathematicians. What impressed me most was not only their mathematical ability, but also how well-rounded, kind, social, and fun they were. These students truly represented Rhode Island with heart, energy, and teamwork!

“This year’s national theme was ‘Superheroes: MATHCOUNTS Saving the World…One Problem at a Time,’ and I genuinely believe these students will go on to solve real problems and make a positive difference in our world.

“This year was also personally special for me,” Coach Kim adds. “I have attended the national competition four times as a parent, and three times as a coach. This was the first year I wore both hats at the same time, as my daughter Abby competed on the national team. It was an unforgettable experience and a moment of great pride for me both as a coach and as a parent.

“I cannot wait to see what Abby, Emi, Quenton, and their teammates accomplish in the future. To me, they are real superheroes.”

We agree – and we include Coach Kim in that super group!

@mathcountsfoundation

When two of our teachers from The Nest, Mohammed Abdalah and Jennifer LaPreste, recently attended a nature-based education conference near Concord, MA, it also served as an opportunity to connect with our history at a local cemetery.

Mr. Mo was presenting about how the Nest, our preschool program at Wheeler Farm, was created during the pandemic. “Grounded in The Nest’s approach, participants from nature-based schools across New England explored how careful observation and reflection can deepen learning, while also using nature as both a ‘mirror and window’ for engaging with unity and diversity concepts,” he says. “Attendees left with practical strategies and renewed inspiration for their own teaching practice.”

“Inspired by the setting – and its proximity to Concord, the childhood home of our school’s founder, Mary C. Wheeler, we followed our curiosity on an adventure,” he continues. “Our journey brought us to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where literary and philosophical giants like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott are laid to rest.

“Walking those grounds, we felt a powerful connection between place, history, and story. It was a privilege to visit the historic resting places of these figures who are all major, interconnected literary and philosophical figures associated with the 19th-century Transcendentalism movement that was based in Concord.”

Mr. Mo and Ms. Jen also visited the burial sites of Miss Wheeler and family member Charles Stearns Wheeler, who were both influential in the Transcendentalist circle and the cultural life of Concord. As Mr. Mo explains, “Charles Stearns Wheeler was a scholar and friend of Thoreau and Emerson, aiding in the development of the intellectual landscape of the area.”

The teachers’ day concluded with a quick bite at the Colonial Inn, a historic site tied to the earliest moments of the American Revolution. “Like the children we teach, Jen and I were reminded that meaningful discovery often unfolds unexpectedly,” Mr. Mo reflects, “and that sometimes, if you’re open to it, you can get shown the light in unexpected places.”