"boarding school orientation"
How One School Connects New Students and Faculty to Their Shared Past
Part of every boarding school’s orientation and new school year is connecting new students and faculty to the school’s history, story, and beliefs- bringing everyone into the fold. Learning to become part of a community larger than oneself is one of boarding school’s great unwritten lessons. Everyone needs to know, internalize, and commit to practice [...]
Read MoreStarting the Year Off Right: Communicating with Your Roommate
Celeste Brooks at Randolph-Macon Academy has posted, “Boarding School: 12 Ways to Ease into Living with a Roommate, Part 2,” the second half of her school arrival piece. Again, she’s hit some topics that we haven’t paid quite so much attention to in our writings. This second installment looks directly at strategies, and ways, to [...]
Read MoreA Successful Year Begins with Successful Communication: Tips from Randolph Macon-Academy
Thanks to Cleseste Brooks of Randolph-Macon Academy for making us think on this front. She penned her first installment of “Boarding School: 12 Ways to Ease Into Living With a Roommate, Part 1,” where she puts more emphasis on the personal, and interpersonal, parts of arriving to school in the fall. We’ve written extensively over [...]
Read MoreBoarding School Packing: Don’t Bring Too Much Stuff
With many of our readers preparing to head off to school after the coming Labor Day weekend, it’s time for a quick revisit of what, and, what not, to bring to school. DON’T BRING TOO MUCH STUFF Remember school is about doing things, not having things. You don’t need, nor should you have, all your [...]
Read MoreGrads Recommend Savoring Every Second of Your Boarding School Orientation
As the late afternoon shadows begin to lengthen, and Labor Day nears, it’s time to focus some attention to the first few days of school- especially orientation. Many of you- students and faculty- will begin school in earnest just after Labor Day. That means new student orientation followed by the arrival of returning students and [...]
Read MoreA Terrific Example of Showing Boarding School Traditions: Lowell Whiteman School Orientation
Camping in the Colorado wilderness has been part of Lowell Whiteman School orientation since 1957 and this impressionistic, free-form, flowing video shows the action, and feel, of one the LWS’ long standing orientation traditions. Viewers see students beginning to live and work together- building the bonds that will from the foundations of school life for the [...]
Read MoreMom & Dad Have a Role to Play at Boarding School Drop-off: Hint, It Doesn’t Include a Vacation in the Area for the First Few Days of School
The New York Times ran a piece on Sunday; The title says it all, “Students, Welcome to College; Parents, Go Home.” Colleges are now in the business of planning and scripting parent departures after dropping off their (usually) first year students. Closure periods and departure times are now de rigueur for parents. Hovering, mindful, involved [...]
Read MoreAre You Packed and Ready for School?
Labor Day weekend means that it’s just about time to head-off to boarding school and it’s time to conclude our packing series. Make sure to run through our suggestions and your school’s packing list. Pick-up any last minute items and make sure you have everything everything. Your packing at this point should be a process [...]
Read MoreDorm Room Living: Building Relationships for the School Year
We’ve written a fair amount about boarding school orientation- complete involvement, etc. Today, an article by Jess Zielinski of USA Today (How to survive your first college roommate) and a study out of the University of Michigan reminds us of something worth mentioning from my days as a dean of students. I’ve argued- for years- [...]
Read MoreWelcome Back!
Most boarding schools open during this week after Labor Day, welcome back (returning students) and welcome and congratulations if you’re a new boarding student. If you haven’t read our article that suggests some strategies and approaches to boarding school orientation, we urge you to do so. A positive & engaged orientation can ground you in [...]
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