Nurturing our Freshmen
Freshman Dorm Heads create a new class to facilitate transition to Thacher
While the freshmen are busy taking care of a horse (most of them for the first time), who’s busy taking care of the freshmen?
The short answer is everyone. From the Head of School, to the faculty, to the staff, to the upperclassmen, everyone on campus is working towards helping the freshmen adjust to life here at Thacher.
This year, Dorm Heads Alice Meyer (Lower School Boys) and Megan Carney (Middle School Girls) created a freshman class during the academic day in which once a week the freshmen had a chance to meet as a group and learn more about the School. While all the topics covered in this class were discussed in prior years during dorm meetings, this new class allowed for time no longer constrained by the time pressure of study hall and sleep.
The first few classes were dominated with questions and answers about the basics of daily life at Thacher. Topics like laundry, lights out, and study hall were high on the priority list in these sessions.
There was a segment devoted to the Student Handbook and the Honor Code in which the students were split into groups that then made presentations to the class on one topic or rule. “Having the students become the teachers and present a topic to the group allowed them to get more out of the experience,” according to Alice Meyer.
The majority of the class focused on how to get involved in the community. Megan and Alice arranged for various clubs on campus to make presentations to the freshmen, explaining the mission of their club and how to participate. This aspect served a dual purpose as it both educated the freshmen and allowed for the new senior leadership program to blossom as the club leaders stepped into their new roles. Some of the clubs that spoke to the freshmen through this class were the Indoor Committee, the Judicial Council, Spectrum, and Community Service.
In addition, some senior leaders led a segment as a precursor to the School’s HR&S (Human Relations and Sexuality) program conducted during sophomore year. Some of the topics addressed were academics, health and hygiene, gossip and speculation, balancing home, friends and responsibilities.
Overall reactions to the program were very positive and Megan and Alice look forward to continuing the course with the class of 2017.
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A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12
Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.