| New
Perspectives
- Apr, 1993 Issue #21 |
SAINT THOMAS
MORE SCHOOL
on Gardner Lake
Oakdale, Connecticut
Peter Wood, Admissions
203-859-1900
Saint Thomas
More School was founded in 1962 as a Catholic College
Preparatory Boarding School for the boy who is an "...underachiever,
a good boy without serious social, emotional or behavioral
problems, who was simply 'lazy with the books.'" The school
"...is based on the belief that teenage boys need structure,
order, clear expectations, close personal attention, and consequences
appropriate to their behavior, if they are to successfully
and happily develop to their fullest potential." Part of Founder
and Headmaster James F. Hanrahan's philosophy is "effective
guidance must include giving direction and encouragement to
young people throughout the day, every day.... [The Goal was
and is] to develop a program that educates the whole man,
with his social, physical, moral, and intellectual aspects."
Situated on a 100-acre
lake, the school size is kept to 200 students with small classes,
with the goal of keeping every student "special". Extra structure
is available, and even mandated, for students doing poorly.
Instructors teach both their subject and "...the Study
Skills essential to mastering academic content." Extra
Help is "a time when all teachers remain in their classrooms
at the end of the day awaiting students" and students doing
poorly are mandated to take advantage.
For students no
up to expectations, there is the Academic Campus,
which is a requirement to stay on campus for the weekend and
attend a two-hour study session for the subject he is doing
poorly at. Any student receiving more than one Warning
Notice must participate in an additional 45 minutes of
Supervised Study each day after school. When the needs
are greater, there is a Peer Tutoring Program which
enlists advanced upperclassmen to help, and private tutoring
can be arranged.
There is an extensive
Postgraduate Program for those students who "...have
been graduated from high school without the opportunity to
attend a good college with a reasonable expectation of success."
Most students enroll
for a September start, but the school can enroll students
throughout the year if their is room available.
Copyright
© 1993, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced
without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper
publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
|
