<p>SPS is basically a black hole in regards to AT&T cell coverage. I gather Verizon has better service on campus. One of the nice things about not using your cell phone outside of your dorm is that everyone is engaged with one another/focused on interacting with who they are with right then. It is refreshing to not see anyone on cell phones as they walk the paths, go from class to class, etc.</p>
<p>@futureboarder: Although my child does not go to SPS, there is a similar policy in place at St. Andrewâs. As mayhem noted, what I think they are trying to guard against are kids texting on the pathway or even in classes (which I know must/does happen at some schools without no-phone policies in place). At my daughterâs school, you can use your phone in your room (though service isnât great) or in a designated area behind the dorm. Iâm pretty sure using your phone in a public area (pathway, common room, etc.) is a disciplinable offense at SASâŠmeaning you could receive marks/demerits, which could lead to a detention. My advice is to, within the first few weeks, identify a time of the day/day of the week where youâll know you have free time and let your friends/family know that that time is the time youâll be calling home/free to take calls.</p>
<p>Two more thoughts:
- I would caution you to balance how much you stay in contact with friends and family vs. engaging with the the school community you have chosen to join. Feelings of homesickness could be enhanced (not reduced) by calling home too frequentlyâŠespecially early on.</p>
<ul>
<li>Iâm puzzled by incoming students who are âvery disappointedâ by school policies/rules that by and large are unchanged year to year. This applies to dress code issues as well. Iâve read several matriculation students ask about dress code over the past two yearsâŠand how strictly it is enforced, etc. In my opinion, none of this should be a surprise to kids serious enough about a school to apply and accept.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>On a related note, from my parental POV, none of these issues are worth stressing about anywayâŠare you going to a school for the academics or to use your cellphone/wear clothes that are non-dress code compliant?</p>
<p>Thanks everyone â this was very helpful. I had gotten the wrong impression from the website that cell phones were not allowed anywhere on the grounds, including dorms. Of course it is important for phones not to be in class, but I think itâs also important to be able to call home from time to time. Anyway, thanks again for the clarification :)</p>
<p>futureboarder - You will find that you also have a dedicated phone line within your dorm room for your landline phone - you will have a telephone number assigned just for you.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if thereâs a summer reading list? We havenât heard. The one mailing we received from the school suggested we log in to complete health forms online⊠But to my knowledge we donât have a log in. Just wondering when we will hear from the schoolâŠ</p>
<p>I just checked the site and only found last yearâs list when I did a site search, which was was posted on 6/24/11.</p>
<p>Thereâs a mailing coming sometime toward the end of the month and it should have summer reading in it. I think it will also have our parent logins.</p>
<p>My D is the only one she knows who hasnât already gotten a summer reading list, so for now she is choosing books from her friendsâ schoolsâ lists. I have heard that SPS usually assigns The Odyssey to third formers, but that the reading for fourth formers varies more from year to year.</p>
<p>Hello! Forgive me if this has already been asked, but does anyone know when my daughter (an incoming III former) can expect to hear about her dorm, roommate, and class schedule? Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Roommate info will be online in early August. You will find out the dorm- and can figure out who the other 3rd formers are in the dorm from the directory info- a few days before the notification of the roommate assignment. Parent passwords to the website came last summer in early July.</p>
<p>The dorm info is what my D really wants. She wants to live in Coit so that itâs easy to get breakfast before Chapel.</p>
<p>Iâm backâŠwe just received the packet with the new forms. Regarding the weekend permission, my inclination is to require permission before each weekend overnight. Is there some reason to give the blanket permission for weekend overnights at any time instead? Iâm not especially concerned about her going to someoneâs house overnight but I do want to know about it if itâs happening.</p>
<p>Iâm sorry if someone had previously asked this because there are tons of pages on this forum. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is there to do in free time?</p></li>
<li><p>How much homework do you get a night?</p></li>
<li><p>Is there a study hall or quiet hours or is it all on your own like how exeter (maybe andover) run theres. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>We got our packet, too :-)<br>
As my son will only be a 3rd former (and is only 14 years old), I feel like going to high school 800 miles from home gives him plenty freedom/independence. Especially for the first year, I donât see why he would want to leave campus a lot, and I want to know where heâs going and who heâs with. I checked the box requiring permission, and on the driversâ permission, I said he could go with SPS faculty/staff, other SPS parents, and his own family members. Iâm sure other situations will come up, but he/they can seek special permission for that. There arenât any day students, but there are probably some local folks with a big brother, etc., and I just didnât want him leaving campus in the cars of inexperienced/unknown drivers. That sort of stuff seems more appropriate for a Junior or Senior (oops, 5th or 6th former) to me⊠but everyoneâs different.</p>
<p>@anywherehopeful: If you are serious about the school, itâs worth doing a search using the advanced search tool regarding your questions. And it wouldnât be a total waste of time to scan the entire thread. I made the time to read it all a few years ago and it definitely gives you a good picture of things you can expect.</p>
<p>@IndyMom4</p>
<p>If you feel that your son should not be riding in a car with local folks or older brothers/sisters, make sure you express to him your thoughts as he is really the only one that is going to be policing what cars he gets into. </p>
<p>Believe it or not, students donât exactly ask their advisor if they are allowed to leave campus with so and so. All they have to do is get in the car and be back by check and they are off. Make sure that your child knows your viewpoints. The school canât police everybody!</p>
<p>Just something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>I noticed in the student handbook that there is chapel and piano on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (correct me if the days are wrong). These appear to take up two hours each evening. Is homework reduced on these nights?
And what exactly happens in chapel?</p>
<p>If Chapel is still the way it was in my SPS days, the basic components are some kind of talk or presentation, announcements, a hymn, and a prayer. It ended up being a good way to spend 25 minutes sitting still before the day really got going. </p>
<p>You sit by class in assigned seats (that way the teachers know who didnât show). 3rd and 6th formers sat at the far end in âsleepy hollowâ with all of the newer teachers. 5th formers who had perfect attendance might get a coveted balcony seat - no teachers and a gorgeous view in winter when the chapel was decorated for Christmas. There were always the last few people scurrying down the aisle in front of the rest of the school already seated, and then if you were late you sat in back. </p>
<p>The presentation was a speech by a student, teacher, or visitor, or sometimes it was a performance. There are some Chapel talks in the media section of the school website if you want to see them.</p>
<p>Every term there is a surprise holiday, and it was often announced by the Rector telling us to open our prayer books to a certain page, which everyone knew was the prayer for the holiday. Cue the general pandemonium (followed afterward by people blaring Madonnaâs âHolidayâ out their dorm windows- hey, it was the 80s).</p>
<p>Chapel is M, T, T, & F. 8:00 am in the fall/spring and 8:20 in the winter. There are no afternoon classes on W and S because of sports contests. I think SPS is reworking the schedule for next year, but to answer your question, I do not think there is ever reduced homework. Like FM says chapel is a way for the school to come together as a community and make announcements, etc. Donât want to be redundant.</p>
<p>Our son is looking at SPS for the fall of 2013. He wants to transfer from a private day school north of Boston. His Freshman GPA was 3.45 and he is working to get that up.</p>
<p>He is an above avg football and baseball player who is interested in playing both at St Paulâs. In fact this weekend we are driving up to see the campus and meet both coaches.</p>
<p>My question is : In your experiences will football and baseball help his chances of acceptance ?
Are there cases of students who play sports or the arts better their chances and actually get into SPS ?</p>
<p>Thanks Guys</p>