At the beginning of the school year, our 7th – 12th grade students spend three days in the mountains at the Upper School Retreat. The retreat is a function of our House system, which groups upper school students into six “houses.” Upon arrival at the retreat, the incoming 7th grade students are inducted into their new house and welcomed into this “community within a community.” The remainder of the retreat is spend setting goals and expectations for the year, and bonding students together through friendly house competitions and games.
Back at school, this classical system of intramural activity that began in boarding schools provides excellent leadership and camaraderie across grades. Juniors and seniors lead and mentor underclassmen in a spirit of kinship. We believe these upper classmen engage in a broader and more realistic form of student government than class-based student government because their responsibility stretches across a broader constituent base– the entire 7-12 population.
Our houses are named after great American theologians: George Whitefield, William Bradford, William Tennent, John Winthrop, Jonathan Edwards, and Francis Schaeffer.
Students meet at lunch and hold intramural competitions, and after school hours for community service projects. Some of the competitions include:
- Flag football
- Soccer
- Basketball
- Handball
- Dodgeball
- Academic Bowl
- Service projects
- Each year, the Headmaster’s Cup is awarded to the house receiving the highest total score from all the house activities.
