<p>We also LOVED Avon Old Farms. The facilities are wonderful. The folks there were so warm and professional. It was one of our best interviews/tours ever, and we have had several children go through the process. The school has a great reputation among educators. However, we did receive the same caution about how very, very sports oriented it is. Even our doctor went out of his way to remind us of this factor.</p>
<p>While at Loomis, did they talk at all about their Writing Workshop? It sounds very impressive. I like the idea they focus on the science of good writing, not only how to write well. Do other schools offer this type of program?</p>
<p>That is interesting about Avon and sports. Our placement counselor has not mentioned it. Alhtough maybe she hasn't because our son is an athlete (although we don't know how good because current school is not a strong athletic school, he's probably the most athletic 9th grader but that doens't really mean much...). </p>
<p>I have heard Salisbury is a big sports school. Do you think some people outside the schools just assume they are because they are all boys?</p>
<p>Well, on the one hand, I think these two schools do put a strong emphasis on sports and athletics. It certainly is one way to keep a high energy group of boys focused and exercised! Traditionally the prep schools were big into sports -- with everyone required to play on a team every season of one sort or another. </p>
<p>On the other hand, there's definitely other things going on at both schools, including music, art, and theater. </p>
<p>I don't think a boy needs to be a top D1 college sports candidate to be happy at Salisbury or Avon. I do think that enjoying athletics and sports at some level including spectating would be the best fit.</p>
<p>Yes, they did talk a little bit about their writing program. Their science program was also very impressive. They have kids who spend the summer at Harvard doing research. This school definitely met all my son's requirements.</p>
<p>Many schools on our list require a sport every term, not just the 3 all-boys, but I will be interested to see the comparisions between them and say Cushing that we know to put a strong emphasis on sports and NMH who last year all they talked about at my son's school during the admissions info meeting was sports. To see if it is different. </p>
<p>Warriorboy: you mentioned that everything really clicked at Loomis, but your post about Avon sounded great as well. Just curious, which did your son like better? Which did **you **like better?</p>
<p>I am linking here to the Salisbury website athletic page. The athletic director is discussing the athletic requirements ....</p>
<p>
[quote]
Salisbury students are three-season athletes. Whether a boy has been playing football for years or is learning the basics of tennis, he is part of the Crimson Knight tradition. Salisbury offers more than 30 interscholastic sports at a variety of levels and a number of recreational activities in which students can compete and, hopefully, develop a lifelong appreciation for fitness.</p>
<p>Faculty members serve as coaches to our athletic teams. These adults teach important lessons both on and off the field and these close-knit relationships are the core of the Salisbury experience.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Many (most?) of the boarding schools have a similar philosophy regarding sports.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Many (most?) of the boarding schools have a similar philosophy regarding sports
[/quote]
Exactly, which is why I wonder how come the all boys schools get the reputation for being "sports schools." Is it because people just assume boys are athletic? Or you wouldn't go to an all-boys school unless you wanted to play sports? I certainly don't think that's the case, but maybe the "general public" does...Just wondering...</p>
<p>I believe in that philosphy and feel it helps kids in all areas of life to experience being part of a team. Lots of studies also show that daily structured athletic activity makes you better in the classroom. It's one of the reasons our kids are in a private school now. PE is the first thing to be cut. They went from one 45 minute class a week at the public school to daily. It makes a huge difference.</p>
<p>Avon or Loomis. Which school he liked better is a more difficult decision. We didn't actually compare them side by side because they are so different. He liked both of them for different reasons. If he was accepted at both with the same aid package (I can dream) my preference would be Loomis. Loomis has great athletics, and great classes (there is no chance of not being challenged).</p>
<p>Avon had a great sense of community. The feeling that boys were being boys, if that makes sense. We did not see any classes so that may be why Avon didn't seem as academic. The person that we interviewed with did talk about the fact that they have some top students and the school will meet the needs of every student. One nice thing that Avon has is a learning center for students to receive special help. </p>
<p>At this point we are looking at each school as a seperate entity. We discussed the pros and any cons that we thought of and then he made decision to apply or not. He decided to apply to both.</p>
<p>The big problem will come if he finds that he likes too many of the schools and wants to apply to them all.</p>
<p>Our next two visits are Andover and Governor's. Then St Paul's and Exeter.
It may be that as we visit more schools, my s will change his mind.</p>
<p>That's why I asked, becasue they are SOOOO different. Thank you for your insights. I think it is interesting to have done them on the same day and I'll let you know what we think if you'd like.</p>
<p>PS
you confused me with the differnet user name...biokid=warriorboy? right?</p>
<p>I think the athletic opportunities for kids of all levels is wonderful at BS. Very rarely could you start a sport as a freshman and get to play on a team. My son doesn't have a winter sport and at BS he would have the chance to explore.</p>
<p>I just realized that one of my kids must have become a member and I was posting my replies under his name!! Sorry all the Loomis/Avon stuff is from warriorboy648 rather than biokid.</p>
<p>No problem, that's what I thought (about the user names).
When we were setting up visits, we thought about doing 2 of the boys schools int he same day and then decided to seperate them. So it's interesting to hear that both Loomis and Avon meet your needs but just in different ways.</p>
<p>Linda S
Have you gone on any visits?</p>
<p>We went to Kimball-Union. It was a rainy day, so from the campus perspective it is hard to say. My son liked it and said he could see himself there, so that's good. We were greeted warmly, they were waiting for us. They had arranged for a former school-mate and lacrosse team member of my son's to drop in and say hi to him. We got a great tour guide who really answered a lot of our questions. They are building a new student center and the old one will be made into a new library. New turf fields went in over the last few years. We were not impressed with the dorms. Very "college-like" and not very homely. I think he would be fine academically - they have enough honors and AP classes, and athletically they have a good lacrosse program and he wants to try football so that would probably work too. </p>
<p>From an acceptance point of view, I think this is his "safety." Since we need FA as well, who knows.</p>
<p>It's really hard because it was our first visit. So we'll see what our thoughts are after others.</p>
<p>Do you know who Kimball Union plays in lax? What other visits do you have planned?</p>
<p>
[quote]
**Do you know who Kimball Union plays in lax?
[/quote]
**</p>
<p>If you look on Kimball Union's LAX webpage on their website, you can see their schedule from last year. They have 3 boys teams and 2 of the teams show their entire schedule. Each team played entirely different schools.</p>
<p>They play "up" in a lot of sports. Meaning they are a smaller school than most of the teams they play. We were impressed that out of a schol of around 300 they had 60 boys play lacrosse. </p>
<p>In addition to our Avon and Loomis visits, we are going to NMH, Salisbury, Canterbury, Trinity-Pawling, St. Paul's, Deerfield, and Cushing (in that order I think, not that it matters).</p>
<p>At this point, pre-visits, his first choices are Trinity-Pawling and St. Pauls. Sounds funny I know because they seem pretty different. We'll see after the visits.</p>
<p>Linda,
It is too bad it was raining when you visited KUA. I don't know anything really about the school, as we never looked at it, but my son did have a soccer game there a few weeks ago and it was a beautiful, fall day. The campus, and architecture, were gorgeous. Rain ruins everything.</p>
<p>Just a thought, as well, regarding sports teams. Most of the schools play a mixed bag of opponents and schools of widely varying sizes (unlike public school where you always play in your size class). Also, while bs do put a lot of emphasis on sport, they are not really the best place to perfect your sport or make it to D1. My son aspires to this level in soccer and we know that we are taking our chances and maybe sacrificing a bit in the soccer department by letting him attend bs. The best way to make it to the top in your sport is to be with a very strong club team.</p>