Foxcroft School - Review #4

Foxcroft has a top team of teachers and administrators to give the attending girls the best and diverse education possible. The STEM/STEAM program is one of the top for all girls schools. Engineering and computers courses are available as classes. There is also a lot of hands on training/teaching in classes and labs as well as extra curricular activities on and off campus.Foxcroft also has a tradition of intramural sports that the entire school participates in. The girls are picked to be either Foxes or Hounds upon their arrival (unless they have a mother, sister, cousin, aunt, grandmother, etc in the family who attended Foxcroft, then they are pre-determined), as are the teachers and administrators for three sports throughout the year. Whether one plays in the sport, is in a leadership role for either side, or just a supportive audience, Fox/Hound is a life long entity that teaches so much more than how to play field hockey/basketball/horseback riding.

I would not be the woman I am today if I had not gone to Foxcroft. I learned what I liked about myself as a person, as a girl/woman. I was not distracted by boys and how to get one to notice me until the weekends when I could socialize with them. I made good friends, I learned a lot in school, I learned how to care for myself and be a responsible person. If I had a daughter I would send her to Foxcroft! I encourage my nieces and friends girls to go there all the time.One of my best friends is one I made at Foxcroft. We still talk at least once a week if not more. We traveled the world together and that would not have been possible if I had not met her at Foxcroft, been encouraged to try anything by my teachers and administrators at the school. I learned about common sense thinking and academic thinking and how to use both to my advantage. I was the one who had to make it happen for me, not my parents or anyone else. I had to do the work and be the force to achieve my goals, and I have done that and taken what I learned at Foxcroft and put it to use in my business and daily life every day.

It seems great to get away from parents at first, but when homesickness hits, don't let it defeat you. You can work through it. Friends are there, whether you know it or not, and you are not alone in your feelings. Hopefully your parents/guardians are supportive but not hovering and will support you while you learn to be on your own in a supportive community.I loved my time at Foxcroft, I wouldn't change anything from those years. Jump in and experience what it has to offer you.

I always felt safe and secure at Foxcroft, which let me feel bold when trying something new or different. I really liked the 15-18 year old I was during that time, which is why I still like me now. I grew up strong in mind, body and heart, and Foxcroft was where a lot of that happened.

Drive around first to see what the campus is like, then walk it. When you walk on the campus, no matter the season, you will feel the happiness, calmness and camaraderie Foxcroft exudes. The people, buildings and the girls make it feel that way for over 100 years.

I can truthfully say I was more prepared for College academics than 90% of the kids in my freshman class at Cornell because of Foxcroft. I had learned to study every night between 7 and 9 pm. I had learned how to write and research a paper with correct bibliography, spelling (this was before spellcheck) and grammar. I went to the Hotel School at Cornell and my freshman Food Chemistry class was almost the exact same course I took my Junior year at Foxcroft, only applied to food. Needless to say I aced that course!It may have been hard at times, I did not do well in all my courses at Foxcroft, but I never felt ignored or left out to sea to sink or swim. There was always someone to talk to, get advice from, or to just listen to what my needs were and help me get to where I wanted to be. It wasn't my parents who wrote my applications to colleges, it was me, and I had a lot to put on those applications because of the encouragement and courses offered by Foxcroft.

I had great coaches during my time at Foxcroft. It is a small school and the talent I got to play with and be taught by was amazing for that size school. In the past couple years Foxcroft has been the top school for Girls Lacrosse in Virginia, winning a couple of titles. During my years, we many not have won titles but we were a very competitive team and usually finished the season near the top of our tier of sports.I loved learning from my teammates how to come together as a cohesive group no matter where we came from or what our skill levels were. Also, we competed with honor and fairness, learning what means to win and lose and how to be a good sport either way.The school upgraded our indoor sports facilities in the last 10 years, which is a huge help with keeping the girls active in a variety of sports. Everyone has PE in some form or other and that is up to what level of play the girl chooses from the listed sports all year long.

I attended more than participated in the Visual Arts, Music and Theater. I had friends who participated in those activities and loved them. Foxcroft is currently upgrading the music building and theater/auditorium, and with an amazing donation from an alumna, offering scholarships for girls interested in the arts.What the school may not offer on campus for some students can be found in the surrounding area of Middleburg, VA. Either the school brings in teachers and speakers/groups on campus for demonstrations or the school will provide opportunity to learn off campus at specific arts based teaching facilities.

I think I belonged to about 5 clubs during my years at Foxcroft. We had a school newspaper that we started, I was the advice columnist. We had an Activities group that came up with on campus things like scavenger hunts, nature walks, trips to town, etc.There are also dances/Mixers with boys schools from near by. Foxcroft will host them and girls can travel in school buses to other boys and coed schools to meet and greet and socialize. Weekends that are closed (no going home/leaving for more than a day on school approved activities) always have something going on.

Foxcroft is known for its sleeping porches. My Mother, who also went to Foxcroft, talks about the sleeping porches. I loved them! Make noise, study, talk, etc in your room. Sleep in quiet on the porch. The school has alarms in all the buildings to wake you up for breakfast and morning meeting, so you don't have to worry about it. Want to get up early to study, go a head because you won't disturb your roommates with lights, noise, etc. Plus the fresh air is great, and they now have heat during the winter.The porches didn't always have heat, carpeting, and other niceties, Miss Charlotte, the founder, did not believe in coddling. She believed in making girls ready for the world with exercise, fresh air and academics. I love that tradition as do most of the alumnae of Foxcroft.

The dining hall is always a tough one since diets and nutrition on a budget are hard no matter the cost of tuition and boarding. Foxcroft always had a good selection of food no matter the meal. Some were better than others, and I could always find a nutritious and filling meal. Salad bar, peanut butter and honey on toast, prime rib on special Sundays, we had great options.

Middleburg is a small town with lovely shops, a central grocery store (very key for snacks in the room) and good restaurants of all price points and types. Near by is Tysons Corner, a huge mall that the school will send a bus to on weekends for diversity. Of course Washington DC is only 45 minutes away for more cultural activities.I liked the fact I could find most anything in Middleburg and find everything a mere 40 more minutes away.

Social life is what you make of it. I could watch TV and zone out or go play tennis or swim, work out in the gym in the activities building, find a nook to read in in the library, or walk in the woods or around the horse track/road if I felt like it. There is a lot to do or nothing at all depending on your mood.I tended to hang out with my sports buddies after practice, watch TV every now and then, read books and go shopping just to get away from the campus for a while. I had anywhere from 1 to 4 roommates during my years there so hanging with my roomies and discussing anything was a lot of what we did. Cell phones were not invented so we actually talked with each other. I am pretty sure that cell phones are allowed now and usage is limited to times after the school day is done or weekends.