Students rehearsing one of their numbers in the music room.

Young students preparing for holiday fun. (Headmaster Lawrence Emery is in the background.)

A group of students model acceptable dress for the school day.

Students give an open rehearsal performance for visitors.

NBCS is a private school, founded in 1969, for youngsters between the ages of 9 and 14 (grades 4 through 8), and is fully accredited by the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools. School facilities are located at 1016 Broad Street adjacent to Symphony Hall, in downtown Newark and are easily accessible by public transportation and private vehicle.

The NBCS "family" consists of 75 to 85 students and their parents, ten full-time and three part-time staff, alumni, and a board of trustees. The NBCS staff is comprised of highly qualified professionals, each deeply committed to serving the best interests of our students. Most NBCS students live in the Greater Newark area, including Newark itself, Montclair, Union, Maplewood, Irvington and the Oranges.  NBCS is  nonsectarian, interracial and open to any male applicant who meets admission criteria.

NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY

NBCS does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnic background, sexual preference, or disability in admission or access to, treatment of, or employment in its services, programs, or activities.  To that end, NBCS strives diligently to maintain an atmosphere that respects all individuals and that affords each person the opportunity to reach his/her fullest potential.  In addition, NBCS is committed to taking every reasonable measure to accommodate the needs of those individuals with disabilities. 

The Parent Advisory Council (PAC) was instituted as an organized effort to actively involve parents in the total academic and extracurricular experiences of their children enrolled at NBCS. The PAC goes beyond the typical PTA (parent-teacher association) on all fronts.

A new cabinet is elected each school year. The current PAC president is Michelle T. Clanton. Serving as co-vice presidents are Troy Harrison and Godwin Woananu; the secretary is Veronica Mulholland, the treasurer is Ava Wickham. There has been record-breaking attendance at this school year’s monthly PAC meetings.

PAC members regularly support the concerts of the students as well as spearhead their own activities and events. Some of the regular PAC activities are:

• annual family cook-outs: one in June to give awards and bid farewell to graduating students, and one September before classes begin so that old and new students can meet
• annual book fairs to update the school’s library
• family fun nights: movies, bowling, skating, Family Reading Night and a PAC-sponsored holiday concert
• volunteering to serve breakfast and lunch to students
• occasional playground monitoring
• various other monthly fundraisers and "friendraisers"

The biggest fundraising event PAC sponsors is the Ambassadors’ Circle dinner, now an annual affair and second only to the school’s Annual Rainbow Awards Dinner held in April of each year. The 2004 Ambassadors’ Circle dinner-dance event raised $58,000 for the school. (Ms. Clanton was the 2004 dinner-dance chairperson under former PAC president Troy Harrison.) Ms. Clanton was both PAC president and dinner chairperson for the 2005 dinner-dance event.

Other PAC events included a College Funding Night, Family Game Night, a Spring Social, a trip to see The Lion King and an athletic achievement recognition night.

New PAC officers will assume their positions in September.