 | Residential Life : Overview St. Paul's School is a fully residential boarding School. There are no day students and all of the School's 535 students and 100 faculty members live together on the grounds. The atmosphere of openness and trust, and the personal bonds it fosters, makes St. Paul's School a remarkably supportive place. It is within St. Paul's School houses that you will form some of your closest friendships—and experience some of your most significant personal, social, and moral growth.
Students who come to a boarding school with apprehension soon learn that making friends doesn't take very long at St. Paul's School. We have support systems in place to help with the transition. Caring adults who live in houses attached to student residences and trained student leaders are just two of the many components of this support system.
These faculty adviser and student prefect systems allow new students built-in structures to help in the transition to boarding school. There is always someone there to help with any problem or issue that may arise. |
By living on the grounds with faculty, you will experience a unique family feeling. Teammates, housemates, and classmates, known at St. Paul’s School as "formmates," become fast friends. Faculty members become trusted advisers and mentors, taking the time to know students well, to understand their experiences, celebrate their successes, and support them. "I know when I enter my house, there always will be someone to laugh with or someone who will listen to me," says one Fourth Form student.
We have 18 residential houses on campus that range in style from the 19th century gothic architecture of Coit to the modern minimalist style of Conover/Twenty. Approximately 30 students live in each of our houses along with an average of three faculty members and their families; in addition, at least two or more faculty advisers are associated with the house and work as advisers and on-duty adults. When you check into your house at night, a faculty adviser or the Head of House welcomes you and asks about your evening.
Each house has its own unique character, but every house is single-sex and populated with students from all Forms, mixing new and old students together. Rooms are single, double, or triple occupancy. In your first year you will most likely be placed in a double room with a roommate. After your first year you will participate in the School-wide housing process, and can decide whether or not you would like a roommate (or two), with whom you want to live, where you want to live, and who you would like your adviser to be.
The vast majority of rooms are single and double occupancy, and we do have several triples. About a third of the rooms are singles, and most of these single rooms are occupied by older students in the School. Most new students are placed in double rooms, paired with another new student. There are, however, some singles available to new students. You will be asked your preference of room size before placement by the Housing Committee.
You can furnish your room to reflect your own personal style. Some items, including a bed, desk, and chair, are already provided for you by the School. A reasonable level of cleanliness is expected, and house and room inspections are carried out regularly during the year. Your room is fully wired for phones, voice mail, and high-speed connections to the Internet and the School’s intranet and e-mail system.
Members of each residence meet once a week, usually for about a half hour. You are expected to respect the rules of study hours, intervisitation, checking in and signing in and out, guests, and upkeep of the house. Houses are spacious and comfortable and offer common areas and kitchens which provide relaxed settings for informal gatherings. A house is treated like a home, and common courtesies such as keeping your room clean, keeping the appropriate noise levels, respecting your neighbors, and introducing your guests contributes to the building of community within the house.
The Prefect Program provides a link between students and faculty within the residences, strives to welcome new members of the student body, and works to ensure the well-being of student members of this residential community. Prefects are Sixth Form residential leaders who are trained and selected in the spring of each year. Several Prefects live in each house, and as leaders in the house, Prefects set the standard for fairness and objectivity and recognize the need to intervene and seek guidance in times of crisis. Their goal is to make your life at School welcome, comfortable, safe, and enjoyable by setting positive examples for all who live and work in the house. |
| | The Residential Life Program is a special curriculum taught in all houses that promotes healthy choices and positive relationships. It provides an open forum in which students and faculty discuss a variety of issues that our students face at St. Paul’s and beyond. Students and faculty discuss topics including, but not limited to, management of time and stress, human sexuality, nutrition, and diversity. In order to address the specific needs of our younger students, there is a special two-term curriculum for Third Formers to help them adjust to our community. In the spring, we offer programming for Sixth Formers who are about to graduate and embark on a new journey beyond St. Paul’s. The Vice Rector for Students office coordinates the program, and the heads of house and faculty advisers implement it. |
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