The Fessy Den Blog

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

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...
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How Innovation and Boarding Schools Go Hand-in-Hand

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,...
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Boarding Schools: When Structure Actually Prevents Growth

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...
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3 Insider Admissions Tips for Junior Boarding School Hopefuls

Your son’s report cards boast all A’s. His resume is brimming with volunteer experience. His elementary school teachers are standing by to make glowing recommendations. He’s shown prowess on the soccer field or a budding virtuosity on the clarinet. That should be enough to stand out to a top junior boarding school, right? Not exactly,...
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3 Places a Gifted Middle School Athlete Can Play at a Top Level

When you’re a gifted middle school athlete stuck in an area where there are few opportunities to compete at the highest levels, life can seem agonizing. You may have the fastest serve in town (among 11-year-olds, anyway) but before you can really test your mettle against elite competition, you have to wait two or three...
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3 Cures for Your Gifted Middle Schooler’s Academic Boredom

Are your son’s middle school classes uninspiring? Is his homework just so much drudgery through which to suffer? When classwork is too easy, many gifted students disengage. They coast on their natural abilities, acing their exams but failing to develop the intellectual habits that will sustain them when they reach the greater academic challenges of...
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