IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE!!

“Day and boarding students at The Masters School pursue their passionate interests and beliefs with each other through sports, clubs, community service activities, special events, or promoting a cause, “ declares Head of School Maureen Fonseca.  “This exciting interaction occurs during the academic day and on weekends, enriching their educational and social experiences – and their lives.”

            With its unique combination of both boarding and day students, The Masters School offers an exceptionally dynamic and diverse community life.  Students at Dobbs represent a wide variety of nations, customs, and faiths.  Through shared experiences in dormitories, on playing fields, and on the streets of New York City and beyond, students of all backgrounds form lasting bonds with each other as they grow in their understanding and appreciation of different cultures.

            With first hand-knowledge as a parent, Dr. Fonseca singles out the “sport experience” as one example of sharing to which she can relate. “Athletics brings students together as teammates and as friends,” she explains.  “My sons played basketball and baseball and would often have teammates sleep over in our  house or they would stay with one of their teammates off campus.  It is a wonderful blending of day and boarding students, and also helps develop a strong bond between younger and older students.”

            She also mentions the strong connection between day students and boarders who participate in the Phoenix theater group. “In fact, all of our clubs and associations bring day and boarding students together to mutually work, play, and think about the larger Masters School community.  Gone are the years when day students here were called ‘non-residents,’ and they were familiar only with the students in their class.  Now there is a mingling of big brothers and sisters, and day parents, like me, are very pleased with the friendships that are formed.”

            Acting Director of Residential Life Ed Gormley, who lives in Cole dorm with his wife, Nancy, a middle school science teacher, and their three children, suggests that no gap exists between boarders and day students.  “Day students are welcome to hang out in the dorms, and many of them often stay for dinner in the dining hall.  Day and boarding students also work together on group projects in the library in the evening.”

            “Three is camaraderie among the boarders because they live together, but otherwise the interaction between boarders and day students is smooth as silk,” comments day student Nick Brewster ’06.

TGIF…and Saturday and Sunday!

“The Masters School is unusual because unlike traditional boarding schools that have Saturday classes, we don’t,” points out Dean of Students Pricilla Hindley ’66, among the faculty who resides on campus. “So we’ve always looked at what we can plan for the weekend and encourage everyone – students and faculty – to contribute their ideas.”

For Dobbs day students and boarders alike, Friday is the start of a weekend full of games.  Students are given the freedom and flexibility to pursue new interests, develop their unique talents, and plan their own off-campus adventures with their peers. At the same time, faculty and advisors are on hand to provide students the support they need to develop good time-management skills and make good decisions.

            This year, in particular, Friday nights are planned to draw day students and boarders together. “Once a month on Fridays, the Phoenix Coffee House takes place in the dining hall,” Priscilla explains.  “It’s an ‘open mike’ night with students signing up to perform music, recite poetry, sing, or dance.  And it’s been a big hit!  We now have a great group of day students who stay late on Friday nights and even spend the weekends on campus.  After all, this is where their friends are, this is their school, and they are involved.”

Priscilla and her staff also work with various school clubs to sponsor activities that day and boarding students can enjoy together.  Sometimes these events relate to academics. “For example, the French Club will sponsor French film in the theatre and students will dine on delicious crepes afterwards,” notes Priscilla.  “CITYterm also sponsors movies in the theatre for the entire school several times throughout the school year.”

            Planning and overseeing student activities at The Masters School, particularly weekend activities, falls on the capable shoulders of Associate Dean of Students Gillian Crane, a class of 1992 almuna. “I love working with students to find out what they’d like to do and see on the weekends,” she says.  “I have the best job in the world as the ‘Dean of Fun.’ I get to figure out how to make students happy!”  Now in her eight year at The Masters School, Gillian, who I also an admissions associate, says she recalls when Ginger O’Shea ran student activities when she was a boarding student here, and “she made my ‘home away from home’ so much better.” Gillian’s personal mission is to do the same!

Community Weekends: “Mandatory Fun!”

Community Weekends take place six times throughout the school year, and boarders are required to remain on campus.  “These weekends are intended to bring the boarding community together so that we feel like one big family,” says Gillian.  This year, all 148 students (there will be 153 next year) plus residential faculty were given free tickets to Broadway shows (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Jersey Boys, or Hairspray).  Students got to see a Yankees game, had an International Dinner celebration and saw a performance on campus of dual pianists.  A rock singer visited during Fire Pit night, there was a Battle of the Bands, the Winter Formal dance, students hosted Special Olympics, and much more.

            “Community weekends are ‘mandatory’ – but mandatory fun,” offers Ed Gormley.  “In the fall, Survivor Challenge is the most popular, and another example of how day and boarders come together and have a great time.  There are fifteen teams of four kids doing six different challenges, and the winning teams then compete against each other in the final.”

            In Ed’s experience, boarding students love Community Weekends, and, he enthuses, “So do I!  The campus comes alive, and those kids who stay on campus certainly enjoy the benefits.  In May, each dorm takes a trip together as a dorm – they go bowling, or to the beach, or whitewater rafting.  Also, the boys’ dorms have new kitchens and they are getting tremendous use, especially on Community Weekends when they invite girls to cook with them and share native dishes.  In fact, all the students in Cole dorm got together recently and cooked a meal for all dorm parents as a surprise.”

Head’s Diner: The Formal Side of Dobbs

“In the 19902, the School was eager for the students to share meals together, so the Head’s Dinner was inaugurated as a formal dinner in honor of a special even that was taking place on campus during certain weekends, such as a musical performance in the theater,” explains Dr. Fonseca.  “In 2000, the Head’s Dinner became a chance to sit at the table with the Head of School.  There was a special invocation and a student from a Dobbs club would speak to the community about their activities, but it was a very small program.”

            Today, the Head’s Dinner is one of the highlights of Community Weekend and brings the boarding community to “life.”  Each dorm takes a turn hosting it in the dining hall, students dress up for it, and they take it seriously.  Dr. Fonseca meets with the students to help them plan this special event including the menu, entertainment, and how best to showcase their dorm.

Throughout the school year each dorm has an opportunity to get to know the residential students better and for the students a way to sow their gratitude to the School and their peers.  “It is a wonderful way for a dorm’s students to show that Dobbs is their home away from home, and give thanks for everything they have by planning this dinner for the other boarders and faculty,” she notes.  “This is very special for boarders—and we want it to be special.

The format for the Head’s Dinner includes an invocation; a  Head welcome; an elegant buffet; and students sharing poetry, reflections, music, songs, and stories related to the theme.  The students serve as emcees.   The dorm plans the decorations, program, and hosts the diner – there are roles for everyone.   “This is what our school is about,” Dr. Fonseca explains.  “We value the individual who makes up the community and we value his or her special contributions.”  At the conclusion of the dinner, the hosting dorm and faculty who live in the dorm are invited to end the evening with dessert at Park Cottage, where the Head of School lives.  It is tradition.

Never Having to Say You’re Bored

“Weekends at The Master School are great,” says boarding student Lubomir Ivanov ’06 from Sofia, Bulgaria.  “there is always something to do here.  You can go to the student activity center and hang out, watch a play or a movie in the theater, get crazy in the music building and/or in the band room, or take a forty-minute train ride to New York City.  The opportunity to be in one of the best cities in the world – in only forth minutes – is really cool!”

Being a boarder is a weekend continuation of education, but it sure doesn’t feel that way to the students.  Twenty-five new brothers and sisters in their dorm, and a built-in social life with activities most families wouldn’t be able to do on the weekend.

“We do have a special responsibility for boarding students and will plan special trips just for them to the theater or dances on Saturday night to bring everyone together,” confirms Priscilla Hindley.  “In the winter, there is the Winter Formal that takes place at Estherwood.  There are also certain ongoing activities such as a shopping or movie trip, a Starbucks run, or a trip to Cold Stone Creamery.  And there are also lots of community service activities on weekends that bring day and boarding students together.”

Studying biology?  Students can sign up for the trip to go into New York City with a science teacher on the weekend to see “The Bodies” exhibit at the South Street Seaport.  Always wanted to rock climb?  Students can scale heights with out own school physical therapist. Broadway shows, Yankees games, Great Adventure, ballet performances, ice skating, bowling, a school dance, a movie trip, a rock concert, the beach, a trip to Washington D.C., ski trips, our own version of  Survivor or The Price is Right, a hypnotist, New York Rangers game, New York Knicks game, Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, comedy workshop, poetry workshop, SAT prep class, drivers education, car maintenance workshop, Model U.N. Conference……the list goes on!

“The weekend is about connecting what the students have learned in the classroom with the world outside, or just having pure fun!”  says Gillian Crane. “Students love the fact that they are free to make their own weekend plans.  They can just sleep in and watch movies in their dorm, or they can sign up for workshops, special trips, or other off-campus outings.  They offerings are available and they students love that they have control over how they spend their time.  I always tell the, ‘If you can think it up, I’ll try to make it happen.’ This has produced an overnight lock-in sleepover in the dining hall, a deep-sea fishing adventure, a cooking contest, a Great Adventure trip – and the list goes on.  The greatest challenge is not coming up with the activities, but hoping that the students will take advantage of all that is offered.” “This is a very busy place,” says Priscilla Hindley. “Sure, we’re offering students lots of activities that enhance their life and experiences in The Masters School community.  But students also have time to do laundry, homework, sleep in if they wish, and just chill.”

“I’m from the  middle of nowhere in New Hampshire where there was never anything to do,” comments Connie McNally ’06 from Northwood, New Hampshire.  “My favorite thing about boarding is that here I always have something to do on the weekend!”

“The Master School has opened my eyes to many different cultures,” says Vanessa Trinidad ’08 of Piscataway, New Jersey.  “I think the weekends are fun because I’m never bored!  There is always something to do because I get to live with all of  my friends. It’s like camp, but with school.”

A Vibrant Community for All to Call Home

“There’s real value in doing things together, where day and boarding students share experiences on the weekends and during the week, and that includes class trips, MISH projects, orientation trips, and more,” says Priscilla Hindley. “What’s important is that we are building common experiences outside of the classroom that link them together and enhance their experiences as a student at The Masters School.”

Senior Lubomir Ivanov sums it up best:  “Masters is not just a great educational center but also a true community, where students and teachers learn about and from each other in the best possible way – while living and having the best times of their lives together.”