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The residential program strives to create an atmosphere for the student that is structured yet caring. The Academy wants dorm parents who have the ability to strike an appropriate balance between the two. It is important to the Academy that the dormitories are as "homey" to the students as possible.
Dorm parents go through a two-day in-service at the start of every school year where the Dean of Residential Life and his staff review the student handbook, review the residential handbook, talk about situations that could arise in the dorm, discuss emergency procedures, and do "role plays" (among many other activities) to get the residential staff prepared for the school year.
During the year, the staff meets once a week with the Dean of Residential Life to discuss the activities of the previous week and share information with one another to ensure that the dormitories are run with consistency and that problems are resolved and questions are answered.
Students are responsible for daily dorm chores in the dormitory, which keep the dormitory clean, tidy, and neat. They are also responsible for cleaning their own rooms every day, making their beds, and vacuuming their floors. We believe that this instills a sense of responsibility in the student and a sense of pride in their surroundings.
After the school day, students are expected to study for at least two hours from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Students who struggle academically are sent to a large room to be proctored by a faculty member whose job it is to ensure that the students have a quiet atmosphere in which to study. Students who achieve "honor roll" status are permitted to watch television, use their computers, use the phones, or visit with another "honor roll" student in the dormitory. All other students are relegated to their dorm rooms where they are expected to be studying and doing their homework.
The residential staff plans activities for each dormitory to do together to ensure that students are given ample opportunity to form different relationships, and these activities also give the students something to do a little different from the normal schedule. Dorm parents are encouraged to invite the students into their apartments or offices just "to chat", as well as, to make them snacks or to provide little gifts around holiday times.
The residential staff at Montverde Academy works extremely hard to provide a structured, warm, and family-like atmosphere for its students. The rigorous academic and activity schedule during the week is quickly forgotten, however, when the weekend arrives at 3:00 p.m. on Friday
Dormitories
Three dormitories house students from over 27 countries. Arnold Hall houses up to 60 boys in grades 10-12. Carpenter Hall is able to accommodate 30 boys in grades 7-10. Koivu-Patterson Hall is a three story building which can house 80 girls. Each of the boy's dormitories and each floor of the girls' dormitory have recreation rooms where students can spend time together playing ping pong or a video game, watching television or a DVD or socializing. There are coin operated washers and dryers for doing the laundry. The dormitories are kept clean by the resident students and dorm parents who take pride in their 'second' home. |
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