Loomis Chaffee - Review #30

The school campus is very well organized and very well kept. One of the finest features of the school is its quad and Loomis' concept of the senior path, which is a tradition understood by all who attend or work at Loomis. The school places importance on community through work jobs and group meetings as well as all-school convocations and I believe the school still defines a motto or mentality for each year that portrays some sort of moral lesson that the students and teachers are meant to focus on throughout that year.

I grew enormously as a person at Loomis, and therefore slid into college much easier than anyone I met at UPitt. Loomis not only builds an educational foundation but also life skills as well. Cooperation, team-work, friendship, independence and obedience are traits that can often be missed in public school, but are emphasized at Loomis Chaffee. My fondest memories are of Saturdays in the spring when I was free to roam the porch of Warham Dorm in the sun and spend time doing whatever I felt like.

At times I think back to my Loomis experience and think that I should have been more outgoing. But I will always know I spent my four years there the way I should have, and I extracted the morals and lessons that I would think a student from Loomis is meant to have for life. Boarding school isn't just about education, it's also about advanced living, and getting comfortable in an unfamiliar environment (such as what most college freshmen go through), and it's also about self-discovery, which is always necessary at some point in life. Loomis helps students achieve all three of those things.

What I liked most about Loomis are the non-educational lessons I learned. How to take responsibility for my actions, how to treat peers in an enclosed environment, how to exercise self-discipline, use of prioritization, and willpower.

Grilled cinnamon buns are awesome there. And get to know the campus, there are secrets on that campus that you can only find out if you decide to explore, and not just in buildings. And I will always be partial to Warham dorm, I dreamt of it as a freshman, and lived it as a junior and senior, when I was there Warham wasn't just a dorm, it was a lifestyle. As a student at Loomis, dorms often represent lifestyles as well depending on the people that are placed there (Loomis tends to regulate by placing certain types of kids go into certain dorms, so no doubt Warham has changed since I have been there).

The academics stressed free thinking as well as maintaining a disciplined working environment. As a student progressed through the years the class options become more and more diverse and more creative. For example as a freshman I took an Algebra class, a Spanish class, and an English class, which were straightforward. As a senior I took a philosophy, a Professor Andrians wonderful 60's class, and a Calculus class, all of which pushed me to think creatively instead of follow a set plan.

The athletics programs are excellent. My experience (solely with Soccer and Lacrosse) taught me the value of teamwork and leadership at the lower levels and on the varsity level the importance of the finer points of the game. The varsity practices are intense, the games are always important, and the atmosphere was always electric at a game, especially for lacrosse and soccer. The school requires each student to participate in some sort of sporting activity each semester, so, for a person like me who has no abilities in the winter sport, I was able to run with former Boston Marathon runner Bear Bartlett in the winter as part of an advanced winter running group, which was just one of many possible options of sports to participate in each semester. I also as a senior elected to forego a final year of playing lacrosse and instead became a senior assistant coach of the freshman lacrosse team.

I had 4 years of experience with the music program as a cellist, and loved every year of it. The orchestra is excellent at Loomis and, although small, has a powerful sound and boasts many skillful performers. The conductor in my time, Ms Miller, had a wonderful feel for the music she chooses for the performances and also possesses great knowledge of the technique of each and every instrument necessary to operate a full orchestra.

There are a slew of extra activities from community service to clubs to student government. I was part of the Peer Counseling group, and it was probably the single greatest experience of my career at Loomis. We met weekly and discussed methods of helping peers through tough times at school. We also were known to the student body as students that could be approached with problems that possibly were not appropriate for the advisors or teachers to answer, or that fellow students could better relate to.

Dorm life resides in 3 story dorms, consisting of around 30-40 kids, each floor has a teacher that stood as a floor resident and each dorm also has a dorm head that usually lives on the first or second floor. The dorms are gender segregated and there are steadfast rules for study times and also curfew times for boarding students. I enjoyed the dorm functions the most, such as cookouts and outings. I remember Kravis dorm (a freshman boys dorm) usually spent a weekend on a hiking trip or also had dorm events such as the Kravis Olympics and K-Ball, which are taken much more seriously than one would think.

The dining arrangements consist of one large dining building with 2 dining halls, the new side usually populated by the freshmen and sophomores, and the older side by the juniors and seniors. The boarders have a "family style dinner" once every week which is a special sit down dinner complete with coat and tie dress code. Loomis also has a hang out area called the SNUG that has a small grille that cooks anything from egg sandwiches to grilled cinnamon buns (which is my favorite).

Windsor has a small center but a very large community. Loomis is situated in the downtown area and it's about a 10 minute walk to the grocery store, donut shop, and some restaurants. My recommendations, if they are still there, are Jay's Grill and Giovannis for breakfast and dinner respectfully.

Loomis population stands at around 750 strong with about 400 boarders, so it's small enough for everyone to know everyone else without having to look twice. The community on the whole cooperates very well and friends are very easy to find since there's always someone to relate to. Social life consists of lots of impromptu activities (I once as a senior decided to have an unplanned cookout for the freshmen at Kravis on a weekend, not exactly allowed, but no big fuss either), and also planned activities such as dances, trips, and especially sporting events. A big part of the Saturday plans are going to see the Soccer/Hockey/Lacrosse game that day should any of the teams be home. But probably the best thing about Loomis, is that someone is always doing something when there is free time.