Activities

One of Wyncote’s priorities is to provide a stimulating alternative education for high school students by involving them in a rich variety of activities. These activities are scheduled throughout the school year to enhance the academic curriculum and broaden the social scope of the Wyncote community. 

Curricular Field Trips
Academic field trips frequently take advantage of the wealth of cultural and historical venues located around the Delaware Valley. Many field trips also capitalize on the close proximity of Wyncote to other nearby metropolitan areas, such as New York City and Washington DC. 

In Philadelphia, students regularly tour special exhibits at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum, among others. Such trips are incorporated into the academic curriculum through pre-tour guest speakers, classroom presentations, and culminate in private tours of exhibits with museum personnel.

Out of town day trips include New York City visits to the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum, to name a few. Included with these trips are cultural dining experiences in local neighborhoods such as Greenwich Village or Chinatown.

Washington DC trips incorporate visits to the many museums of the Smithsonian Institute, the National Gallery, the Holocaust Museum, as well as the numerous national monuments found throughout the city.

Theater Appreciation Program
During every school year, trips are scheduled to attend theater productions throughout the Delaware Valley and to attend Broadway shows in New York City. Annually, students attend Shakespearean productions at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Center, dramas at the Arden Theater, and student productions at the University of the Arts Merriam Theater. Two trips are scheduled each year to attend professional Broadway musical and dramatic productions. Broadway productions are usually scheduled for matinee performances and frequently include backstage tours or workshops with cast members following the performance.

Cultural Dining Experience
To enhance the social aspects of the Wyncote community and to familiarize students with the cultural opportunities found in the Delaware Valley, a series of sophisticated dining experiences are scheduled on evenings throughout the school year. Each month, students are invited to participate in formal, sophisticated dinners at a variety of local restaurants, representing fine dining in an array of ethnic and cultural settings.

Through these dinners, our students are introduced to the more sophisticated aspects of our cosmopolitan civilization. Evenings such as these allow our students to experience the pleasures of good conversation, fine food, civilized behavior, and good manners. We believe these evenings help weld our student body into a consensual community – a community at ease with all of its members.

Students who participate in these dinners learn about the appropriate attire for formal and semiformal events, as well as the social expectations of participating in such occasions. Each dinner is chosen to reflect a specific dining style or ethnic cuisine. Past dinners have included authentic Mexican cuisine at Las Casuelas, Indian food at Karma, and Italian dining at Café Ernesto.
 
Recreational Trips
To promote the social community at Wyncote Academy, pleasure trips take place each semester. Ski trips to the Poconos, deep-sea fishing excursions, white water rafting, and outdoor challenge weekends are typical of such trips.

School Activities
A host of extracurricular activities take place as part of the Wyncote community. The yearbook is planned by all interested students with guidance from the coordinating instructor. Students take part in all aspects of yearbook production, including literary, photographic, design, and business functions.

An annual literary magazine is published each spring. All students and faculty members are encouraged to submit poems, short stories, and other forms of creative writing, as well as photographs and drawings for the publication. A committee of students and faculty members design, edit, and produce the publication for distribution in June.

The Wyncote Academy Student Store is operated by a group of student volunteers who manage all business aspects of operation, including inventory, purchasing and ordering, cleaning, and serving students. The store sells food and snacks during lunch each day, as well as placing orders for deli sandwiches and pizza delivered to the school from local restaurant on two days each week.

Students also participate in traditional school activities such as the annual prom. The school prom is held each spring and is open to all students in grades 9-12. Students work with advisors to select locations, menus, themes, music, decorations, and all aspects for the events of the evening.