The Webb School - Review #9

The teachers at Webb really make the school. They truly care about the academic and personal development of their students, even outside of class, and this kindness is what sets them apart. They teach during school hours, but they also mentor, tutor, coach, and simply hang out with kids after school. I have come to see many of my teachers as friends and family, and it's the opportunity for this type of connection that makes Webb stand out. Also, Webb's 140-year-old history and continuing traditions create a special atmosphere. There are countless traditions and rites of passage at Webb, and new ones pop up all the time. Surviving Western Civilizations with Mr. L.R. Smith is one memory alumni cherish, as is hearing his chapel talks and hunting stories. Also, receiving the senior blazer, swinging on the swing in front of the admissions office, saying the yearly declamation, and going on the senior survival trip are just a few of the many memorable traditions at Webb.

The best thing I've done while at boarding school is make so many wonderful friends. I know that the friends I've made at Webb will be life-long friends, even though, after graduating, we'll be spread out all over the world. I have friends all over the United States and even in Switzerland, but I know we'll still continue to build our relationship because Webb is an experience that we all share and one of the most significant experiences of all our lives,so we will always have something to talk about. I know I couldn't have built such great relationships if had been anywhere but boarding school. Because I eat, sleep, and brush my teeth around these people every day, we've built a bond closer to family than friends. It's in this way that I've grown since coming to Webb. Before Webb, I was painfully introverted and scared of people, and, now, I find it easy to talk to people and make friends. Making friends while new at Webb was so easy that, instead of being intimidated by newness, I feel excited about moving to a different state for college and meeting new people. In general, Webb has developed all my good qualities and dispelled many of my bad habits; I've become accountable, responsible, studious, out-going, and knowledgeable.

If I could go back, I honestly wouldn't change a thing. My experience at Webb has been nothing but positive. I've made so many amazing memories by surrounding myself with people my own age. Subsequently, my advice for students going into a boarding school is to forget any pre-conceptions and allow yourself to enjoy such a great opportunity to learn and make friends. The different qualities boarding can teach you, like responsibility and time management, are fulfilling to obtain. Being mature and able to deal with people will really pay off in a college residential environment.

I liked too many about Webb to list. We've been together through four tough years, and I know that I will be a life-long supporter of Webb, whether that be through investing monetarily, sending my own children to the school, or coming back to be a residential teacher. Just the fact that a student would feel this way reflects how great of a school Webb is, and I know many of my friends at Webb feel the same way. More than anything, I loved the unique atmosphere created by the honor code, the traditions, and the academically-focused students. Common concentrations of growing academically, developing our integrity, and upholding the traditions of Webb make it a good thing to be a smart, honest, and loyal kid. This atmosphere rubs off on the kids, making them really cool, good people. The students are sharp, quirky, and simply fun to be around.

I liked too many about Webb to list. We've been together through four tough years, and I know that I will be a life-long supporter of Webb, whether that be through investing monetarily, sending my own children to the school, or coming back to be a residential teacher. Just the fact that a student would feel this way reflects how great of a school Webb is, and I know many of my friends at Webb feel the same way. More than anything, I loved the unique atmosphere created by the honor code, the traditions, and the academically-focused students. Common concentrations of growing academically, developing our integrity, and upholding the traditions of Webb make it a good thing to be a smart, honest, and loyal kid. This atmosphere rubs off on the kids, making them really cool, good people. The students are sharp, quirky, and simply fun to be around.

The academics at Webb are designed to prepare students for the highest level of achievement during college and afterward. Before Webb, I felt unchallenged and bored with the academics at my middle school, and that changed completely as soon as I came to Webb. I found Webb classes to be interesting and extremely challenging, but do-able. The classes are as difficult as you make them: with many classes, you can choose between college-prep, honors, and AP. I chose the most difficult classes at Webb, and I always liked the teachers' willingness to help me outside of class. On a normal night, with no papers or projects or tests, I would have two to three hours worth of homework, and it would take me about two hours to write a project or complete a project. For the hardest classes, like AP Chemistry and AP U.S. History, I would study many times throughout the day, and sometimes this would add up to about four or five hours. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the workload, but understanding on-campus teachers, study hours in the dorm, and after school extra-help sessions relieve much of the stress. It's easy to succeed at Webb if you take advantage of the provided resources. The workload and expectations are weighty, but attending a top college or university and succeeding afterward is certainly worth it.

The athletics program is unique in its flexibility and accessibility. Because the school is so small, teams are open to anyone with interest, which makes the program more democratic: there isn't really that one favored star or an elite few on most of the teams. Despite our size, the teams are full of talent, and several have gone to state tournaments in the past couple years. Although we don't have a football program, we have a large variety of other sports: tennis, lacrosse (including a girls' team!), volleyball, softball, baseball, basketball, golf, cross country, and even a competitive ultimate frisbee team. The coaching is comprehensive and individualized, just like our teaching. The coaches are usually willing to stay after practice and help, if it means one player will improve. Our facilities are top-notch and brand new. We even have our own athletic trainer that lives on campus and attends the games. The gym includes an awesome weight room, an indoor track, and a climbing wall that are open to all students, not just the teams. Also, this gym houses the mandatory after-school athletic program called BASICS. It offers options like yoga, running, and frisbee to students not involved in sports. The program runs from 3:50 to 5:00 during both semesters. I've participated in a BASICS program every year at Webb, and I've always found it to be fun and pleasantly distracting rather than boring and burdensome.

Our visual arts program is an example of our students' originality and talent. We offer seven different visual art classes that include art I, art II, advanced art, photography, photography II, independent study photography, and pottery. Our music classes include piano, piano II, guitar, strings band, choir, and music appreciation, and we also have a drama class and strong theater program. The Webb School Thespians present two plays each year-one in the fall and one in the spring. The school recently added a new Fine Arts Building, which has a giant art room. For a comparison, the room used to hold an indoor pool. It also contains a choir room, a piano room, a strings band practice room, a black-box theatre, and an extra practice gym that can be used for performances. Mr. Quinn, Mrs. Wood, Mrs. Linton, Mrs. Mullen, Mr. Cimino-Hurt, and Ms. Cordell are all fantastic, extremely creative people who inspire student artists daily. I personally enjoyed the visual art classes. The photography class is a film camera class, where I learned to develop and process my own film and prints. I loved this class because I learned an awesome skill that few people have. Also, the art teachers at Webb are wonderful. In all my art classes, I've found them to be positive, thoughtful and open. We commonly discussed many important issues other than art, and the classes gave me the time and tools I needed to express myself creatively.

Students have a broad choice of activities and can create new ones if they wish. We have The Sawney (yearbook), The Oracle (student newspaper), The Muse (student literary magazine), Honor Council, Student Council, Class Council, Green Feet (environmental awareness and recycling club), Feet-to-Feet, Son Will Society (provides tours and services for prospective students), a competitive trap shooting squad, and others. The Honor Council is the most unique club at the school. It is a council of students from each class that enforce and update the honor code. The students judge cases of honor code violations. It is a completely student-elected and student-run council with no campaigning: the student body picks annually the individuals seen as the most honorable and the most responsible. The Honor Council is considered the backbone of the school, an ancient tradition that governs some of the most important standards at Webb.

There are four different dorms at Webb: Chambliss for boys in grades 10-12, Davis for girls in grades 11-12, Cooper-Farris for boys in grades 7-9, and Rand for girls in grades 7-10. Each dorm has at least two dorm parents' apartments, a kitchen, and a commons room. Three of the dorms have suite-style set-ups with a bathroom shared by two rooms of two residents each. Rand has a hallway bathroom with two floors of doubles. The dorms are supervised after school by teachers who live in the dorm. They do rounds for study hours and lights-out. There is an evening snack depot called "fourth meal" in the dining hall. The roommates are selected by the residential faculty, and roommates may be requested. Living in the dorms has been my favorite thing about Webb. I loved getting to meet and hang out with so many different types of kids. The teachers are nice and friendly, and they actually like to hang out with the boarding students.

The dining hall is open for breakfast usually from about 7:00 until the second period of the day because the rotating schedule allows for free periods to occur at 8:00 on certain days. Lunch is served twice: once for middle schoolers at about 12:00 and again for upper-schoolers at about 12:30. Dinner runs from 6:00 until about 6:45. The dining hall offers many options for every meal. There's a hot-line for hot meals, a sandwich bar, a dessert bar, a salad bar, two soup options, and a quick line for things like hotdogs, rice, and potatoes. There is no assigned seating, which, along with the dinner tables and wooden interior, make the dining hall feel less like a cafeteria and more like a giant dining room. The food is diverse and plenty. For example, we have southern cuisine, like fried chicken and mashed potatoes, but we also have Asian cuisine like lo mein and egg rolls. The desserts were my favorite part of Webb School dining: tiramisu, pumpkin and apple pies, cobblers, and the best brownies ever.

The Webb School is situated in the quaint and artsy town of Bell Buckle, TN. It has one fourth of a square, in the form of a line of buildings as you enter the town. You could blink and miss it, but you wouldn't want to pass up the friendly residents and cute, old-fashioned shops. Students regularly take a short walk to the country cafe or the new coffee shoppe. Also, I've always loved stopping by "The Bluebird" to grab a coke in a glass bottle or a one-scoop ice cream cone that is really two and a half scoops. Students can safely access any of the shoppes downtown, as well as the post office: the speed limit in the town is only 25 mph just to accommodate the students. Also, the slightly bigger town of Shelbyville is only about a 15 minute drive away,and and it takes about 30 minutes to drive to the comparatively bustling city of Murfreesboro, which has many of the students' preferred restaurants and shopping areas.

I love the inclusiveness of social life at Webb. At first, I was worried about not fitting in, but I was accepted and made friends immediately. One of the things that maintain this openness is the ethnic and socio-economic diversity. In my senior year, we had students from Moldova, England, Germany, South Korea, China, and Vietnam. Despite the high tuition, all students can receive financial aid and many are eligible for a merit scholarship. By being exposed to people of different cultural and financial backgrounds, students are very open-minded and friendly. Cliques and "popular" groups, aspects common to other schools, don't really exist at Webb. While, in my experience, students will naturally surround themselves with others that share their interests, students at Webb don't ostracize others. My time at Webb was a great break from the bullying and competitions of popularity from my previous schools. Also, the student council organizes some great events for both the upper school and the middle school. We have dances, spirit weeks, and an awesome music festival called Webbstock that showcases student musicians.