Would love to compile info on how different schools approach seated meals.
How often do meals entail assigned seats and are seated meals lunches or dinners?
How many are more formal?
What is the rationale/formula for table assignments?
How often do table assignments change?
Who are the “servers” at seated meals? etc.
Meals are an opportunity for school administrators to be deliberate about setting a tone for school culture and build community (and are also a reflection of both). I’m really curious to hear about the approach at different schools. (This is not always highlighted in view books and websites).
Suffield. 4 formal seated lunches per week. Assignments are changed each week and are randomly done by the computer. Meals are served by students who are servers as their work job.
I seem to recall that at St Andrews, most lunches and one dinner (formal) are seated. Table assignments change every two weeks and every table has a faculty member and one boy & one girl from each grade. @SevenDad@Charger78? Did I get that right?
Can’t remember the details re: Episcopal. I seem to recall each table having a faculty advisor and their advisees to create a sense of family. Tour guide said you could make $5 by serving as wait staff. @i70sband can correct me and fill in details I missed!
Berkshire: In the fall there are assigned “community dinners” on Tuesday and Thursday. You are assigned a table for that week and it’s a really great way to get to meet people in the begining of the year. In the spring there is 1 community dinner a week. Each factuality member (or 2) is assigned a table for the year so you also get to meet more faculty as well. All students take turns servin throughout the year and you are assigned that at random at some point. People help each other out and it makes for a fun night.
At Mercersburg, table assignments include all grades and a faculty member. Most lunches and three dinners per week are seated. Students are assigned to serve on a rotating basis. Mondays and a few special occasions are semiformal and others are in normal school dress. I think they rotate every 2 weeks but am not certain. When we were looking at schools, we decided we did not like the situation at some schools where athletic teams are seated together and do not mix with other students. I would inquire about that, if it matters to you.
I know that the girls wear their school unis to the sitdown dinners at Westover, but not sure how often those occur. (students are assigned as servers, but that is pretty much all I know about it… I’ll ask CameoKid the next time we talk.
Alas, I know even less about seated meals at the other girls’ schools…
Thacher has FOUR formal dinners a week-- Sun, Mon, Tues, and Thurs. Coat and tie (or suits) for boys and dresses or similar equivalent for girls. Tables are a mix of ages with 1-2 faculty members assigned. Table assignments change every 2 weeks. In practice, kids can miss multiple formals a week given that they can be interrupted by sports, advisee dinners, and the like.
Hill: Seated lunches during the week (sometimes on Wednesdays they don’t because of athletics) and seated dinner on Tuesday (except winter term) and I think sometimes one other day. All are formal because of dress code. As far as table assignments…Idk. sometimes I think they set with their advisory, sometimes with their teams. Sometime random computer generated??? I’d send a text and ask, but last I heard it was something along the lines of “ssssooooo much homework…neeeeedddd toooo gooooo.” :))
Cate has multiple seated “formal” dinners a week. Usually table assignments are randomly assigned, in order to mix grades and faculty. I do know that there is a movement afoot to switch some of the dinners out in favor of lunches, because there are so many activities in the evening that pose a conflict (unlike the NE boarding schools, Cate & Thacher are in a league where games are played on any night of the week - so there is less of that Wednesday/Saturday predictability).
Peddie has seated “family style” dinners every Monday night which require a jacket and tie for the boys and dresses (or the equivalent) for girls. They are assigned seats with a mix of grades and faculty. I don’t know the rationale for table assignments or how often the assignments change. Day students can attend if they let the faculty know in advance so they can be assigned a table. That said, it doesn’t seem that many (any?) day students go. The kids are all assigned a job for one term each year. One of the possible jobs is server for family style.
Until this year it was Mon and Thurs. Now Thurs are used for advisory group dinners (seems like 1/month) and maybe dorm bonding? As a result, there is very little flexibility for missing Monday night dinners.
Seated dinners at SPS are every 2-3 weeks (?? - not sure exactly). Formal dress but no high heels allowed. Assignments change now and then (again not sure how often). The servers are seniors. Food is delicious. Sorry, that’s all I’ve been told!
@GoatMama Only every 2-3 weeks now? That’s a shame. It used to be 2 nights per week.
ETA: Actually, per the website it is 2 nights per week: “The St. Paul’s School community atmosphere is the defining feature of Seated Meals, semiformal dinners that take place two evenings a week in Coit’s dining rooms.”
@CaliMex I’ve noticed that the text of several of your posts have been within parenthesis. Can I ask what that’s meant to convey (because I am often dense and sometimes miss the most obvious things!)?
