<p>Are there any current students or parents that have visited or are interested in attending Dana Hall in Wellesley, Mass?</p>
<p>We visited and know a few girls who attend. I think it is an excellent school. It was originally a feeder school for Wellesley College. Do you have any specific questions?</p>
<p>One of my teammates on the riding team at my college went to Dana Hall and she was very happy there.</p>
<p>I am the parent of a 7th grader, and she and I have started looking for a school for her high school years. She has an older brother at Exeter, and as much as it is the perfect place for him, it would be a disaster for her to matriculate in an environment like Exeter's. Her strengths are in the arts and humanities - nearly to the exclusion of math and science. She is at a progressive k-8 school, and standardised testing is a rare occurrence. Needless to say, I am a bit worried about how she will fare on the SSAT's.
My husband and I would like her to stay within 1 1/2 hours of coastal NH.
I have started looking at girl's schools, as I think they may provide a structured, yet nurturing environment. Other posters have sung the praises of single sex education, and I am starting to think this is a good option.
I do worry, though, about how a child who is not really wealthy would fit in at a place where only 18% of the students are on FA. We are really struggling to give 4 kids a great education - there is no way we would not need some help. I also wonder about the horse culture that certainly exists. If you don't ride, do you still have friends? A long time ago she chose ballet over horses, and at 6 days a week plus Nutcracker rehearsals, she has time for little else. It is hard to tell from their website - but is there a place for a visual artist and dancer to fit in at a relatively small school?</p>
<p>Check out Stoneleigh-Burnham. It's in the Deerfield/NMH area and all girls. They have riding AND dance as alternatives to sports.<br>
Added a middle school component a few years ago as well.
Might be worth a look.</p>
<p>I LOVE Dana Hall. I have a very close relative who went there for Middle School, and I know many girls now there at high school, and many parents there. It's not a riding culture at all, though for riders it's great. Girls do all kinds of things, coming from all kinds of socioeconomic backgrounds, and have many opportunities to participate in theater, dance, etc even if they haven't done it before. And there seems to be a good integration of boarders and non-boarders. Strong academics, great school spirit, and located a short walk from a very sweet town.</p>
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I also wonder about the horse culture that certainly exists. If you don't ride, do you still have friends? A long time ago she chose ballet over horses, and at 6 days a week plus Nutcracker rehearsals, she has time for little else. It is hard to tell from their website - but is there a place for a visual artist and dancer to fit in at a relatively small school?
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<p>I doubt you'll find a problem with that. I went to Stoneleigh (another small girls school with an excellent riding program that Linda S mentioned) and you most definitely had friends if you weren't a rider! Not everyone rides - there's gotta be girls to fill up sport teams and dance programs. And even if you are a rider, you're not just friends with the riders. Everyone mixes together, though you are often very close friends with the other people in your sport. One of my friends last year was an advanced dancer and she and her dance girls were very tight but they all had other friends, too. I'm sure it's probably the same way at Dana as well. I'm happy to talk about Stoneleigh over PM, as well :) I'm always happy to share my experiences there.</p>