Life at St. Stephen's

List of 7 items.

• After-School Activities

  Athletic practices are held daily from 4-6 p.m. with most students participating in at least one sport per year. After school fine arts opportunities and club meetings also occupy time after class ends. Our new 3-8 Program is designed to further integrate our domestic and international student populations, as well as our overall day and boarding communities. The program, which was spawned by the school’s strategic plan, is led by a residential liaison who works with faculty and staff to develop engaging activities for all students to participate in between 3 - 8 p.m.

• Weekends

  With sports and fine arts events just about every Friday night along with a full slate of activities over the weekends, boredom is not an option. On campus, you can hike trails, go off-road biking or scale the climbing wall in the gym. Or you and your friends can go to movies, shopping malls, museum exhibits or music festivals in town. What’s more, almost half of our faculty members and their families live full-time on campus, so academic and social support are always available.

• Study Hall

  Every day, most students have two periods during the academic day to meet with teachers and get homework started. Students can be found in the library or at outside tables working in small groups. The goal is for students to get about half their homework done during the academic day. Sunday through Thursday evenings from 8:00-10:00 students have a required study hall. Some students stay in their rooms, others go to common study rooms in their dorms, to the Student Center study lounge or the library. Oftentimes residential faculty use this time to meet with students individually or in groups. Study groups meet in campus study areas to prep for tests and quizzes.

• Advisory

  Each school day you and a small group of your fellow students will meet with your faculty advisor to check in, discuss challenges and share triumphs. Advisory groups tend to stay together from freshman year to graduation. This daily opportunity for community, continuity and connection is one of the things or students value most.

• Community

  Our teenage years are a time for trying on different personas, for trying to work out who we really are, instead of who we think we’re supposed to be. Do you need to go away to boarding school at St. Stephen’s to figure this out? Maybe not. But thousands of our boarding school alumni will tell you that they’re so glad they took the leap. They describe St. Stephen’s as the place where they learned how to live in their own skin, and express their own unique identities.  And most importantly, they talk about how they were accepted and embraced because of it. Living in a community of inclusion, acceptance, respect and tolerance means you’ll finally have the opportunity to find someone you’ve always wanted to meet: the person you’re destined to become.

• Travel and Adventure

  Every year students and faculty travel the world together for service, educational and performance experiences. Leaving campus allows students to learn about other cultures and experience another way of life. Some recent trips have included Madrigal Choir to Ireland; science research travel to the Peruvian Amazon; service trips to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, and India; a tour of WW I and II European battlefields; West Texas research trips and language study in Spain.

• Traditions

  Every year, intrepid Spartans try some new things, but several traditions are hallmark to the boarding experience at St. Stephen’s. Dorm Olympics pit dorms against each other in field games. Homecoming week has lots of activities with daily themes. Hanging out at the picnic tables during study halls. Ping Pong games after dinner. Lessons & Carols in the Chapel before the winter break. Mardi Gras Parade. Off-campus dorm dinners. Trick or Treating on campus. Holiday meals in the Dining Hall. The much anticipated Senior Retreat is the capstone and a time for reflection and appreciation. Seniors ringing the bell at the conclusion of their last class before graduation.