2015 Revisit Day Experience

dreamcatcher3
Wed, 08 Apr 2015 18:16:23 +0000

Loomis Chasffee Revisit 2015 (Parent’s Perspective)

Basic format/schedule of your revisit day

Registration between 8:00 - 8:30 (missed this as out Taxi was 20 minutes late!). Kids and adults split off. Parents met in the Chapel and heard talks from both Sheila Culbert (Head of school) and Erby Mitchell (Director of Admissions). Really liked both…they have been really working to take Loomis in a great direction. One of the things mentioned was bringing the Boarding/Day ration to 70/30. There is another new dorm under construction that will open Fall 2016. Parents then went to a curriculum meeting (which was fine) and to lunch. We met up with the kids at the activities fair and then went to dorm meetings. The day ended with a round up in the performance all with an amazing Acapella from the choir.

Did the revisit confirm your interest in the school or did it dissuade you from matriculating?
Greatly confirmed our interest.

What specific things about the revisit pushed you in either direction?
Loomis has a warmth that I have not seen/felt at most of the schools we visited. The administrators and teachers I came in contact with were easy going, helpful and passionate about Loomis. The kids were incredibly friendly. My DD and I got a little lost and ended up at the wrong meeting place and one girl immediately offered to take us there. DD really enjoyed her “shadow” guide. I also LOVE the dorms. The dorm moms were amazing…I would feel very comfortable with my daughter being placed in either Richmond or Carter. I also love, love, love the dorm birthday celebrations. Each kids birthday is celebrated by the entire dorm…basically “Queen for a day”. They also encourage parents to participate by sending treats, etc for the dorm on your childs’ birthday. Art department is top notch…studio facilities are open almost around the clock and kids are encouraged to hang out there whenever they would like.

Did you learn anything new/surprising about the school?
Yes…I thought that Loomis had a very large incoming Sophomore boarding class. It turns out that there are only 15 new 10th grade boarders of each gender. I thought this was perhaps an anomly, but the D of Admissions says that this has been the case for the past few years.
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Something you wish you had learned which you didn’t
Nothing really.

How was the food?
Parents lunch was delicious. DD said her burger was just OK…though the soft serve ice cream machine made up for that. Loomis’ Dining Hall is probably my least favorite of all the schools we visited.

How were the classes you sat in on?
I sat in on Freshman Bio. Teacher was darling (from Canada and peppered her lesson with lots of "EH"s. Kids were seated around an “L” shaped table. All were very engaged, asked/answered many questions and seemed to enjoy the class. DD loved the AP Euro History. She also felt great that she knew the answer to one of the teacher’s questions that no one in the class could answer. The other class she went ti with her shadow were just fair, but that was because her shadow is a math wizard (taking differential Calculus) as a sophomore and DD is just in Honors Geometry…EVERYTHING was over her head. I would have liked to have her shadow either Lit or Chinese, which she didn’t, as these are areas of specific academic interest.