Foxcroft School - Review #9

Foxcroft School is unique in that it provides an all-girl educational environment that allows girls to freely express themselves without having to worry about what other boys might think. Girls are encouraged to become leaders in all aspects of life, whether inside or outside of classrooms.Girls at Foxcroft also develop skill sets needed to succeed in college and beyond. At Foxcroft, students became independent, learned how to communicate with peers and teachers, developed critical thinking skills, enjoyed serving others and learned to respect different cultures and point of views.

The best thing that happened to me was that I found my best friend here at Foxcroft. Living together with girls that care for each other and support each other in all aspects of life allowed friendships to grow and blossom.At Foxcroft, I also developed critical thinking skills and felt comfortable to speak up in class, which I was not able to when I was back in middle school in Taiwan. The small classroom setting allowed me to express myself more freely and an all-girl environment enabled me to speak up and present different point of views.

Boarding school is truly an experience that you will remember for a lifetime. It will help you become more independent and you will cherish more about the events and the people you encounter in life. I would advice any students who are looking into boarding school education to be prepared to take on challenges in life. Living away from home is challenging at first but is inevitable in life. And by coming to a boarding school at a younger age, when there is still supervision and support around you, you will be able to develop your own characteristics and grow up more readily to face challenges in life.

I very enjoyed the close-knit environment Foxcroft provides. Every girl gets to know girls from all classes very well in a boarding school environment. The faculty members are very much involved with student lives and are excellent mentors that advice and encourage girls to become better at being themselves. At Foxcroft, girls develop social, communication, leadership, critical thinking skills among many other important skill sets. Girls at Foxcroft also have strong school spirits and a sense of belonging.

I would advice incoming students to be open to try new things, and to walk out of your comfort zone to interact with people from different parts of the world. At Foxcroft, I participated in a play for the first time, discovered my interest in volleyball playing, and played golf for the first time. These are just some of the experiences I had among many other discoveries. But these would not have been possible if I did not take the initiatives and allow myself to be a little bit fearful in trying new things, yet, at the same time, acknowledging that the rewards will be plentiful. Therefore, go explore and be courageous.

Academics at Foxcroft are rigorous and rewarding. Because of its small-size, every student and faculty members know each other. Everyone knows everyone in the school. This allows faculty to give attention to every student inside and outside of the classrooms. Many faculty members live on campus which make them accessible to students at all times. Students can arrange meetings with faculty members after-school to discuss any unanswered questions.A variety of AP courses are available as well. Students who wish to take AP classes are encouraged to do so. These classes help prepare students for the AP exams in May and as teachers are very accessible, students can easily reach the teachers for any questions. Most teachers even hold extra sessions with students a couple months before the AP exams to help students strengthen their knowledge about the subject and the test.Second-language classes are mandatory for students whose first language is English. It was not mandatory for me as English is already my second language, I still had the flexibility and opportunity to take more language courses as I wished. I took Spanish and French because of my own interests. Many international students also took advantage of this opportunity and learned another language as well.

Every girl has to participate in one sporting activity or a health maintenance course in each season. For those who are interested in team sports, different options are available in each season, in both Junior Varsity and Varsity levels. As for girls who enjoy activities that are less rigorous, classes such as dance and yoga are in their options as well. For me, I had been in JV field hockey, JV volleyball, golf, yoga and dance class. I was the captain for JV volleyball, one of the sports that I discovered my love of at Foxcroft.Foxcroft is well-known for its equestrian programs as well. Many girls at Foxcroft know how to ride a horse, and many of them compete in local and national level.

Girls are also required to take courses in arts, music, or theater during their time at Foxcroft. I was in Basic Acting class, participated in a few musical productions and took some guitar lessons.I enjoyed being in plays, another interest that I discovered at Foxcroft. The student body is small, so everyone gets a chance to play a role if she wishes so. I also had the opportunity to compete in a local level in piano performance. All these experiences were unique to me and every girl can explore their interests and try out new things at Foxcroft.

Foxcroft highly values leadership development. Because of the small-size of the community, every girl has the opportunity to become a leader in different fields. You can be a dorm leader, a head of a student organization, a sports team caption, a campaign fundraiser, a head representing the student body, etc. The sky is the limit. There really is a lot of opportunities for you to lead and to serve the community. You can even found a new organization. My friend and I founded Chinese Language Club for students who are interested to learn more about the Chinese language and culture. I was also a co-leader of the International Club. Your involvement will be noticed and rewarded at Foxcroft. Being a leader allowed me to look at issues differently from different perspectives and become more thoughtful when making a decision.

Foxcroft dorm life is very different from that of other schools. There is a sleeping porch that stretches along the hallway. Girls get their "study room + bathroom" shared with other girls on one side of the hallway, and on the other side is the sleeping porch. Every girl has a bed in a bunk bed in the sleeping porch, and the sleeping porch houses around 10 sets of bunk beds that all the girls in the opposite side of the hallway sleeps at. This set-up allows minimum disturbance for those who wish to rest, and for those who wish to study, they can be free to talk.In every dorm there is a house mother, who are excellent bakers, counselors, mentors and friends. House mothers also host snack parties, gatherings and different activities to keep the students involved and rested.

Dining at Foxcroft is buffet style. There is served-lunch twice a week when all new students at Foxcroft are assigned to serve a table for the rest of the semester. Each served-lunch table has at least one faculty member and a senior to keep the conversation diverse. The purpose of served-lunch is also to get the students and faculty members to get to know each other better. Girls also learn how to serve others.There are usually three to four options for entree and a full salad bar. Drinks and desserts are available as well.

Foxcroft is surrounded by mountains and forests. The nearest town is a quaint town called Middleburg, which is about ten minutes drive away from the campus.I mostly stayed at school because it was not that easy to get around without a car. The school provided transportation at a certain cost on weekend trips.My favorite spot in the surrounding of campus is "Goose Creek," the river that runs along the outskirts of school. Girls can shout out loud by the river, swim in the river and sunbath on a floating lodge. However, it takes some trails and errors to get to the creek. I can clearly recall one time when I got lost in the forest with my friend while trying to get to the creek. I was seriously convinced that we would need a helicopter to rescue us out as the sun was slowly setting down. Luckily, we found another way out, and of course, without reaching the creek.

Foxcroft is a part of a league with other boarding and day schools in the area. These schools rotate to host Semi-formals and Mixers throughout the year. Students can also sign up for weekend outings during the week. Activities included trips to malls, Kings Dominion, movies, etc. Students can also organize gatherings with other schools.Girls at Foxcroft become very close to each other because most students live on campus, and even day students have their own room shared with other boarders. Day students are allowed to stay a couple days a week. This maximizes social interactions among all student bodies.