School Mottoes

If you are thinking about a boarding school for your child, you will probably end up exploring the TABS site. The site has many useful features, among them the Admission Application Form.

What's involved?

The Boarding Schools Admission Application aims to simplify the application process. Back in the 90s, each member of TABS had its own application process and forms. As a result, if you applied to three schools, you had three completely different sets of applications to complete and submit. TABS identified the forms which most boarding schools commonly used. Thus was, the Boarding Schools Admission Application Form created.

The manner in which individual boarding schools use the admission application package is up to them. The application package consists of the following forms:

• General Information
• Applicant Questionnaire
• English Teacher Recommendation Form
• Math Teacher Recommendation Form
• Head/Principal/Counselor Recommendation Form

Some boarding schools will use the entire set of forms. Others will just use the Recommendation Forms. And so on. Check with each school's admissions office to find out how they want their application prepared.

What's next?

• Download the forms. You can also view the forms online. They are all in Acrobat's PDF format, which is viewable using the free Acrobat Reader.
• Determine the forms for each school you are applying to by contacting the admissions offices.
• Determine the additional forms individual schools may require as part of their admissions application package.
• Make a list of admissions application deadlines.
• Make a list

As you begin to refine your boarding school search, you will find yourself circling back to identify the schools that offer the programs your child wants and needs. Don't forget to discuss your wants and needs with your child. She needs to buy into the idea of going off to boarding school. That way, you will end up with a child who is enthusiastic about going to private school and feels involved in the decision-making process. It will be her idea. Choose your time wisely for these essential conversations. Be an active listener. Avoid jumping in as she expresses her thoughts. Choose a relaxed, informal setting for this important conversation. Chatting with your daughter while out shopping or driving around town will be a much less confrontational experience for her than having a formal discussion.

Unlike the limited options you will find in most public schools these days, private schools offer a rich array of programs. Let's look at a few.

Foreign languages

Mandarin, Spanish, French and Italian are the most common languages offered in private schools. You will find these most often at the high school level, but they are increasingly common in the primary grades. If you want to kick it up a notch, several private schools teach everything in French, German, and Hebrew, for example. Review the curriculum section of school websites to determine which language courses they offer. You can find schools quickly by inputting "chinese language" as a search string on this site.

When I was a youngster, sometime around Victoria Day weekend my parents moved the family out to a cottage near the village of Chateauguay on the banks of Lac St. Louis. We were there until Labor Day. (In those days school opened after Labor Day.) My brothers and sister and I enjoyed swimming and sailing lessons, the occasional dance as we got older, and the usual organized summer activities. Dad worked in Montreal and came out to the cottage in the evenings. Mother stayed at home and supervised us.

When we were bringing up our daughters, it was a bit trickier. We both worked. We had to find things for them to do, both to keep them occupied and to keep them from getting into mischief. A trip, a keyboarding course, and even some tutoring helped make those long summer days in Connecticut move along at a good clip.

Nowadays depending on where you live and the plans you have for your child's education, you have a variety of options to choose from. Let's look at some of them.

Day Camp

Basically, the idea behind a day camp is that you drop your children off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon. The routine is similar to what you had when school was in session. The advantage to a day camp is that it is usually a local operation. If you are lucky enough to have an established day camp in your area and your children are

An eReader makes reading a very convenient pastime because you can take dozens of books with you just about anywhere you go. Most of these titles can also be downloaded from your local library in eReader format. Happy reading!

Non-fiction

The Best of the Best: Becoming Elite at an American Boarding School by Ruben A. Gaztambide-Fernandez
This is a serious book written by a Harvard education student who spent 2 years embedded in an American boarding school.

Black Ice by Lorene Cary
Lorene Cary recounts her experiences as the first African-American female student at the prestigious St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.

Perfectly Prep: Gender Extremes at a New England Prep School by Sarah A. Chase
The author is a professional anthropologist who examines gender in all its manifestations in boarding school.

Preparing For Power: America's Elite Boarding Schools by Peter W. Cookson Jr, Caroline Hodges Persell
The authors are New York University sociologists. As a result, Preparing for Power offers a documented, well-research look at private schools and the how's and why's of their success in positioning leaders of business, professionals, and government.

Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul's School by Shamus Rahman Khan
The author attended St. Paul's School, in Concord, New Hampshire. His book offers a window into the school's community which is still a privileged one though much more diverse.

Fiction
Goodbye Mr Chips by James Hilton

This 1930s novel about an English boarding school teacher still brings a tear to the eye.

Old School by Tobias