First-time visitors to Poly are always impressed by the beauty of the school's two campuses: the immense Middle and Upper School campus in Bay Ridge and the grand Lower School mansion in Park Slope. Poly students and families will attest to the extensive facilities at both locations: renovated libraries, classrooms with new technology, spacious dance and art studios, new athletics fields and outdoor play areas, and the Upper School's striking entrance oval, ponds, and Quad. Visitors to Poly Prep immediately recognize the school's distinguishing, expansive space, which allows Poly to offer students an unusually wide range of activities during and after the academic day.

Within this comfortable learning environment, students constantly stretch the boundaries of their academic, cultural, social, and athletic worlds. At Poly, academics, arts, athletics, and extracurricular activities coexist and coincide. A student might dance in the morning, run a student government meeting at mid-day, debate in an afternoon class, and play soccer on the back field after school. This is the Poly experience, one that broadens horizons for young people, encouraging them to try everything, and giving them the space to do so.

Upper School Student Life
Chapel meetings two mornings a week offer Upper School students the chance to gather as a community to honor fellow students, learn about Poly activities, and hear guest speakers. Last year, speakers covered a wide range of topics, including online safety, civil rights, the environment, Veteran's Day, and sexual orientation.

Poly students are engaged in improving the world around them, which is exemplified in the numerous community service opportunities that students participate in on and off campus. Each year, Upper School students teach each other leadership, work as a school to raise money for worthy causes, sponsor a variety of charitable drives, and raise awareness for causes ranging from breast cancer to literacy. Students also have the opportunity to connect to the global community through yearly travel abroad programs, including the Argentinean Exchange Program.

Learn more about Upper School student life by reading articles from head of Upper School Bud Cox here.

Middle School Student Life
The entire Middle School community meets for assembly twice a week, where students hear from students, faculty, and guest speakers on a variety of topics, ranging from civil rights to the honor code to online safety. In these important formative years, Middle School students interact with Upper School and Lower School students to build community, learn from older students, and serve as role models for younger students.

Poly students are engaged in improving the world around them, which is exemplified in the numerous community service opportunities that students participate in on and off campus. Each year, Middle School students work as a school to raise money for worthy causes, sponsor a variety of charitable drives, and increase awareness for causes ranging from breast cancer to literacy. Students also have the opportunity to connect to the global community through yearly travel abroad programs.

Learn more about Middle School student life by reading articles from head of Middle School Larry Patton here.

Lower School Student Life
Lower School students gather as a community for assemblies focused on special events and guest speakers throughout the year, discussing topics ranging from civil rights to bullying. Weekly Community Time activities bring students of different ages together for buddy time, and children learn about other classmates' traditions in holiday celebrations. Students also have the change to interact with Middle School students, offering them a glimpse of life at the Upper School campus through older students.

Poly students are engaged in improving the world around them from a young age, which is exemplified in community service opportunities beginning in the Lower School. Each year, students work as a school to raise money and sponsor charitable drives, supporting worthy causes ranging from hunger to literacy.

Learn more about Lower School student life by reading articles from head of Lower School Launa Schweizer here, or read "How to Have the Best School on the Planet," a project created by the Committee on Community Ethics in which students articulate and illustrate the rights and responsibilities of young children.