California Boarding Schools

CaliMex
Fri, 26 Oct 2018 18:10:40 +0000

There are all kinds of kids at Thacher. It is incredibly diverse in terms of student interests and backgrounds. What they have in common: They are all incredibly motivated, intellectually curious, kind, and grounded. Thacher kids have a strong desire to challenge and push themselves, but are committed to living by the code of “kindness, fairness, honor, and truth.” These are NOT just words at Thacher. There is strong peer pressure to do the right thing, even when no one is looking.

There is tremendous diversity in the interests students pursue. If she’s at all interested in Astronomy, it is an incredible place to be as the kids get to work and present research at major conferences, as well as write the code that runs the Thacher observatory and the programs that crunch/analyze the data they gather. There is a current senior who is raising worms and insects as part of a project to identify sustainable and affordable sources of protein to combat world hunger without exacerbating climate change! (It is part of her Senior Exhibition capstone project and will culminate in a 30 minute presentation in the Spring.) Lots of nerdy kids find their home doing technical theater, too, for the school’s various performances. When we were in the middle of the application process, we met a girl who went on to study engineering at Stanford after running the tech aspect of most theatrical productions at Thacher.

The horse program is INCREDIBLE and challenges (and bonds!) all the freshmen. Most have never been on a horse before arriving at Thacher. They take full responsibility for another living creature and must prioritize its care over all other commitments. They must conquer any fears they might have about trying new things, riding, falling, or getting bitten. They ALL fall. They ALL get back up. The horse program builds their character and confidence in ways that are hard to describe.

It is NOT fun to get up at the crack of dawn and muck your horse’s stall. It isn’t supposed to be. But it prepares the kids for real life and knits the freshmen class together as they learn to depend on each other to ensure their horse gets fed if they have sports or other commitments that conflict with horse care. The horse program also helps self select a GREAT group of families with solid values. Like any top boarding school, there are some incredibly wealthy families from around the world who send their children to Thacher. But NONE think their princess or princeling is “above” shoveling horse crap every morning We could not be happier with the cohort of kids and families at Thacher.

Hope this helps! @ThacherParent , did I miss anything?