Students, faculty, family and friends welcome to the Blue Ridge Blog. A great way to share what is happening in the BRS community. Take a minute to post a topic or comment. Lets get the converstation started!
Registration season is upon us… already the Blue Ridge School campus has welcomed our football and soccer players, and in just over a week, three more registrations will have the entire student body back in action. Registration days are an interesting mix of excitement, nervousness, happiness, and sadness. It’s only natural that students are excited to start this new phase of their lives, to unpack and organize their new room, and to be a part of the Baron Brotherhood; of course, those feelings are counterbalanced by the uncertainty of who their friends will be, what their roommate will be like, and how much they’ll miss their family.
Blue Ridge is trying to do our part to make this transition easier. First off, all of our registration forms can be found online (www.blueridgeschool.com/studentregistration); completing these forms prior to registration allows families to focus on getting their son settled and to avoid waiting in line unnecessarily. The forms have to be filled out and having them completed early makes the day much less stressful (a lesson we also teach the boys when it comes to projects and papers!). We do our best to get the boys interacting with each other right away; some of the strongest bonds are established in those first few nights of friendship. Football and soccer players head straight to the field, while new students are engaged in fun “get-to-know-you” orientation activities. Once the returning students arrive, the student body is fully blended together in hall meetings around campus, advisee group activities, and sports practices. Freshmen have a special opportunity to bond with each other and their teachers during the outdoor adventure weekend that is held at the end of the second week of school. The students learn to push themselves, to try new things, and to rely on their new brothers in a fun, safe, and challenging wilderness experience. One of my favorite BRS pictures has a student from downtown Washington DC, one from Brooklyn, NY, and another from Manhattan, NY smiling from ear to ear as they sit around the base of a tree after a long hike—there’s nothing better, and nothing more “Blue Ridge” than new experiences and new friends.
This isn’t to say that there isn’t homesickness—there is! Every student experiences homesickness in one form or another. Some students dive right into life on campus and don’t look back, but more commonly our students, at one time or another, miss what is familiar to them—their own bed, dinner with the family, and the easy nature of long-standing friendships. Students are encouraged to call home as frequently as they want to touch base with their family and friends; they are often still a little nervous, afraid of stepping outside of the box, and a little sad. A major part of becoming a Blue Ridge boy is to learn how to self-advocate, so we recommend that parents comfort their sons but not “fight any battles” for them, instead directing them to their hall parent, advisor, or coach (the Admissions Office is always open to the students too!). Paradoxically, this actually hastens the adjustment period and gives them real ownership of their Blue Ridge experience. Every student will adjust in their own way, and no matter what they experience, it has happened before—to students that quickly become true Blue Ridge Barons.
Parents: the faculty and staff of Blue Ridge School are here to help YOU in any way that we can. Please communicate with us about any concerns or worries you have, big or small. We don’t want you losing sleep when we could provide you with the answers and the reassurance you need.
Students: ditto, and more; as one student put it so well in a poem he wrote over the summer, “Barons look after their own.” Go to your hall parent, advisor, coach, prefect, proctor, roommate, teachers, or the Headmaster. All doors are open to you. Ask that question, voice your concern, or speak your mind. As Dr. O’Reilly is fond of saying, “the only stupid question is the one you have but don’t ask.”
Posted
by asmith
on Wednesday September 1 at 09:22AM
Homecoming is less than two months away! As Blue Ridge School begins its next 100 years, we are looking forward to seeing alumni and their families back on campus on October 9 for lunch, afternoon athletic events and an early-evening reception at Battle House. This year’s reunion classes are 1945, 1950, 1955, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005.
Another important Blue Ridge milestone will be reached this year. The 20th Annual Blue Ridge School Alumni and Friends Golf Classic will be help at Spring Creek Golf course on Friday, October 8. Twenty years ago, Ben Hiatt’71 and Jimmy Crocker’72 had a vision to hold an event that would bring alumni together each year at Homecoming for a day of golf and loads of fun. Today, co-directors Willie Nelson ’86 and Bryan Wood ’86 carry on that tradition.
Now is the time to register for both the Golf Classic on Friday, October 8, and for the campus events on Saturday, October 9. If you didn’t receive a registration form in the mail, you may REGISTER ONLINE.
The Alumni Council is putting the final touches on making a clothing line available by way of the website. This clothing line will be available with a special Blue Ridge School Alumni logo. Other items that include the Blue Ridge School Alumni logo will eventually also be available. Look for more information as winter approaches. The plan is to have this up and running in time to do some holiday shopping.
As the summer winds down, Blue Ridge School dorm parents return from their summer travels and look forward to the arrival of our boarding students to campus in the next few weeks. It is a very busy time for the Residence Life office at the School. Returning students’ roommate requests that were submitted in the spring are now being compiled with requests from the new incoming students. Many students embraced this opportunity to select rooms early and begin planning for the fall.
The Res. Life office has also had hall printers installed in the prefect rooms for the convenience of the students on these halls. Maintenance and oversight of the printers will fall on the prefects who are eager to take on this responsibility for the betterment of their halls. We have a very strong group of student leaders this year, and for the first time in years, we have 10 prefects (one more than typical). Our staff members are excited to train this next class of leaders and Blue Ridge.
We have also been working to update the 2010-2011 Online Leave Procedures and Request Forms. We urge parents and students to read the procedures carefully and adhere to the guidelines. You can find the updated info at www.blueridgeschool.com/leaveprocedures
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, over the course of the past year, well known works of art were hung throughout the halls to improve the aesthetics of the dorms. The primary goal of this project was to create a home-like setting in the dorms, but the artwork also serves as an educational experience for students as they pass the paintings and art history summaries each day. The Residence Life Office collaborated with the Alumni Association, Parents Associations, individual donors and the BRS Art Department to bring this project to fruition. As additional funding for this project is secured, it will hopefully be completed early in the school year.
For new students to Blue Ridge and even returning students the transition to boarding school can be difficult. It is normal to some extent to avoid change. We are creatures of habit and why interrupt something that we might feel at the moment is satisfying. Leaving home to live at school can be intimidating and certainly changes daily habits. However, think about it for a moment; think where we would be if we didn’t change, accept change. We might be rubbing sticks together in a cave or wearing pounds of chainmail armor and jousting.
No, change is necessary in order to advance. In order for all of us to grow or mature (especially young men), we must make changes in our lives. Not only is change crucial in our day to day business, but it is necessary for survival. However, that doesn’t mean it is easy. Anytime we make a change in our lives it has an effect. That effect is felt by others around us. The key is to look at what that change has the potential to be.
In order to make successful changes or transitions, we must believe that it is going to benefit us. You must buy into the notion that this next step is going to be one that has a positive outcome. If you go into a change not believing, then you will more than likely see it fail. Perception is a powerful tool that each of us controls within ourselves.
When getting ready to embark on the new experience of boarding school it is important for students and parents to come in with a positive, open mind. It is also important to be well informed so that students have all the necessary tools to make the transition to boarding school. To view some suggestions about how to prepare for boarding school, I have provided a few helpful links:
Life will continue changing, whether we make change in our own lives or not. At Blue Ridge School, we embrace change and assist students on their journey to become young men of character. The focus is on transitioning from a young boy to a young man. The hope is for these young men to become productive role models in society. If you have questions or concerns about the transition to boarding school contact us at info@blueridgeschool.com.
Here are a few quotes that say it all:
“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable.” –William Pollard
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” –Charles Darwin
I’ve been leading boarding school admissions offices for the past decade and have seen a surprising amount of change in the private school industry in that short time period. One such change is the timing of application by prospective families. There has been a shift from the “traditional” fall application timeframe that ends in February to a year-long, “rolling admissions” process that chugs along deep into the summer. This isn’t necessarily true for all boarding schools – many of which still operate under that traditional application timeframe when applicants are notified on March 10th of the admission decision.
At Blue Ridge School, we’ve been part of the shift to “rolling admissions” considering applications year-round. In fact some of our busiest times, in the past 3 years, has been in the summer months for enrollment in the fall. It may seem strange that a major family decision, such as enrolling your son into boarding school, would be made a month before the school year starts, but it has been a growing trend amongst families and private schools across the country. So why are families waiting? Is it just dawning on them in mid-August that “Oh yeah, we’ve got to find a school for Joey”?
So, why the shift in the application process? Here are my thoughts/reasons (backed by zero science or sociological study):
The economy. Parents generally have a perception that private schools and boarding schools are expensive and do not know the extent of financial aid programs aimed to at making a great education affordable to families of all socioeconomic backgrounds. No one would fault a parent for sticking with the (mostly) ‘free’ public school option if it is working for their child. But in the summer months, I hear more and more parents describe how they have held out for one more year in the public school system, hoping that their son would find success in the public school system.
Children, especially teenagers, play a larger role in the decision-making process and there aren’t a lot of teenagers who are proactive in the search for a good private and boarding school. Most adolescents aren’t big on change, especially the kind that involves completely uprooting your life, having to make new friends while adjusting to challenging academic and extra-curricular programs. Now this isn’t to say that these same teenagers don’t “buy-in” to the process once they have visited campus. However, the initial decisions to consider a school change is often nipped in the bud by change-averse teenagers, and parents are involving their children more in this decision-making process.
Modern parents are highly involved in the details and activities of their children’s lives and often fear that a private boarding school will decrease their involvement in their child’s life. They want to remain close to their sons – in proximity and in terms of their relationship. However, in my experience, I have only seen relationships between families and our students strengthened by the attendance of a boarding school. Often I feel that I have fully educated families of how Blue Ridge and many modern private boarding schools involve parents as partners in the educational experience and desire their visits to campus and involvement in school operations. Many of our families live within driving range from campus and see their each other frequently. Those that don’t live as close stay in close touch through email, social media and periodic visits home.
Whichever the reason for late decisions to choose a private boarding school education, I don’t see this trend as a bad sign for parents or for schools. Interest in Blue Ridge (measured by the number of inquiries received in a year) has increased by a compounded average of 15% annually over the past 5 years. I’ve learned from national and international educational organizations that, although overall enrollment has leveled recently (most likely because of the current financial climate) interest in boarding schools has increased steadily in the past decade.
I’ve been leading boarding school admissions offices for the past decade and have seen a surprising amount of change in the private school industry in that short time period. One such change is the timing of application by prospective families. There has been a shift from the “traditional” fall application timeframe that ends in February to a year-long, “rolling admissions” process that chugs along deep into the summer. This isn’t necessarily true for all boarding schools – many of which still operate under that traditional application timeframe when applicants are notified on March 10th of the admission decision.
