The Fessy Den Blog

3 Things to Look for in a Junior Boarding School’s Weekend Program

Leave a Comment | March 28, 2018

When considering a junior boarding school, most parents and students review academic, athletic, and artistic programs under a microscope. Beyond the core programs, people often evaluate the facilities during a campus tour, ask about faculty-to-student ratios, and glance at a typical boarding student’s schedule. But what actually happens outside of the classroom? It’s important not to overlook the importance ...
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3 Questions Admissions Counselor Will Ask When You Apply to Their Pre-Kindergarten Program

1 Comment | March 21, 2018

Like most private elementary schools in the Boston area, at The Fessenden School, our process for creating a pre-kindergarten class involves interacting with our young applicants as well as their families. So the time you and your spouse spend on our campus is extremely important to us. This is our best chance to get to know each other. You won’t be grilled during your campus...
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Fourth Grade: Fuel a Desire to Learn During this Critical Year

Leave a Comment | March 14, 2018

Fourth grade is a critical year in a student’s academic journey. As children become some of the oldest students in elementary school, they find themselves caught between two worlds: a warm, nurturing environment and an increasingly stimulating setting in which they encounter rich social and academic adventures. Fourth graders still need hands-on support and guidance, but they are also becoming more curious, ...
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3 Things the Fessenden School Looks for in Its Kindergarten Applicants

Leave a Comment | March 07, 2018

At the Fessenden School, one of the most important steps in the kindergarten admissions process is the small group visit. This critical visit gives our team the best chance to see what your son is like in a classroom setting. As your son makes his way from activity to activity, what are teachers and admissions staff looking for? For an insider’s view, we spoke with...
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3 Ways to Turn Your Fourth Grader into an Avid Reader

2 Comments | February 28, 2018

In a world where technology is ubiquitous, games and entertainment are available at our fingertips, and attention spans are shrinking, is there a sweeter sight than your child engrossed in the pages of an actual book? Fourth grade is one of the most critical years for your developing reader, and this year can make a significant impact on your child’s academic future. During this time,...
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How Our School Got Second Graders Excited About Research

Leave a Comment | February 21, 2018

Given how radically the world of information has changed in the past decades, and how it will continue to change, your child can’t expect to spend much of his time pouring through the indexes of densely-printed books, jotting down notes quietly on index cards, compiling them and rewriting them in his own words. If this is your idea of how research is done, says Fessenden...
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How Innovation and Boarding Schools Go Hand-in-Hand

Leave a Comment | February 14, 2018

What do boarding schools and marshmallow-powered jetpacks have in common? Resources and innovation. Just ask Fessenden alumnus Charlie Schlager, a self-proclaimed tinkerer. As a child, Charlie liked to take things apart to see how they worked. And, as much as he liked to break things, he was driven to create. “I wanted to build things, and I’d have these elaborate ideas, like marshmallow-powered jetpacks,” ...
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More Than Academics: Three Things to Look for When Evaluating Private Schools for Your Kindergartner

Leave a Comment | February 07, 2018

If you’ve started searching for a private kindergarten for your son, you’ve probably already realized, the differences between schools are not always very clear. Most private kindergartens have strong academic programs, especially those that are part of larger elementary and middle schools. So academics can’t be the only area you look at when you compare schools. What else should you look at, then? First, ...
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Boarding Schools: When Structure Actually Prevents Growth

1 Comment | January 31, 2018
boarding school schedule

When people think about boarding school, they often think of structure. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Attend classes. Play sports. Study. Sleep. Repeat. While this is true of most schools, and there is great value in providing structure to young learners, there is also great value in adding a little mystery to children’s lives. According to a 2014 study conducted by The University of Colorado at...
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When All A’s Are All Too Easy: 3 Tips for Parents of Gifted Middle Schoolers

1 Comment | January 17, 2018

Your child zips through his tests, spending hours every week fidgeting at his desk while waiting for his classmates to catch up. He’s read chapters ahead in his textbooks and by the time the rest of the class reaches him, he could practically teach the lessons. And, he’s bringing home all A’s. It’s every parent’s dream, right? Parents of gifted middle school students understand that...
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