Hoosac School

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Coordinates: 42°51′26″N 73°20′39″W / 42.857131°N 73.344051°W / 42.857131; -73.344051

Hoosac School
Address
14 Pine Valley Road

Hoosick
,
New York
12089

United States
Information
School typePrivate
Established1889
HeadmasterDean Foster (as of 2011)
Grades8–12
Enrollment200
Average class size7 students
Campus size350 acres (1.4 km2)
Campus typeRural
Colour(s)Episcopal red and purple    
SportsHockey and others
MascotOwl
Team nameThe Hoosac Owls
NewspaperThe Owlet
YearbookThe Owl
Websitewww.hoosac.org

Hoosac School is a private co-educational Episcopal boarding school located in Hoosick, New York, United States.

History[]

Hoosac school was founded in 1889[1] by Dr. Edward Dudley Tibbits. Facilities are located on the Tibbits Estate, which rests on 350 acres (1.4 km2) near the Vermont border.[2] The school was the first in the United States to host a yearly Boar's Head & Yule Log Pageant.[3] One of the most prominent members of the Hoosac School was Father Sill,[4] who left the Hoosac School in 1906 to found the Kent School.[5]

Academics[]

The student body has an average of 200 students a year. They occupy British style "forms" two through six, roughly equivalent to grades 8 through 12, as well as postgraduate grade levels.[6]

The school has a one-to-seven faculty to student ratio with class sizes ranging from three to 14 students. All dorms contain separate faculty apartments, allowing the teachers to function as dorm parents to the adjoining dorm; most teachers also work in other roles at the school (sports coach, dorm parent, etc.)

The school has half-day Wednesday and Saturday classes, which allow the school to operate using trimesters instead of semesters. The school offers Advanced Placement courses.[7] Students from non-English speaking countries have the option to take ESL courses.[8]

The student body is governed by a series of prefects who are elected by the administration and the previous prefects.

Hoosac School has a 100% college acceptance rate among graduating seniors.[9]

Student body[]

Most of the population is boarding students. Day students make up a very small percentage of the overall enrollment. Normally, the male to female ratio is just less than 2:1. Hoosac continues to draw a diverse student population, with students currently from 34 countries and 15 U.S. states. Students attend from throughout North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. ESL classes are offered in all subjects as a result. Despite the school's sectarian status, students belong to a variety of faith backgrounds or are irreligious.

According to Niche.com, Hoosac School is the 5th most diverse high school in New York.

The students are divided into two houses, the Antonians and the Graftonians.

Campus life[]

Classes run six days a week, Monday-Saturday. Optional breakfast is served every school day including Saturdays, after which students are required to go to a chapel service in the morning before classes.[10]

After classes end on full-class days, students have a period of time to return to their dorms and change before they are required to attend practice for their sports or clubs. On school nights, including Saturday, boarders are expected back at their dorms for "study hall" from 7pm to 9pm, during which time the teacher they live with is available to them to assist with homework and enforce rules. After study hall the students are free to go back out to the sports center, other dorms or the "Squeelary" (the campus rec room below the dining hall).

Students' discipline is administered by a disciplinary committee headed by the dean of students. The majority of offenses result in a student receiving, in order of severity, detention served during what would be their evening free time, being "Campused" (i.e. grounded to campus), or placed on "Category", where they are both campused and required to do labor assigned by maintenance and housekeeping.

Breaks are usually long, to allow foreign students a chance to return home. A Christmas break of three to six weeks is normal.[11][12] There are smaller breaks at the midpoint of each semester, referred to as "long weekends" which last for four days.

Facilities[]

Many buildings on campus are mixed-use. Tibbits Hall[13] contains a dormitory, classrooms, and the administrative offices. Wood Hall houses a dorm, the school library and computer lab, and classrooms. The school has an astronomy dome in the science building which is permanently decommissioned, but a new one has recently[when?] been built behind the Sports Complex. The most recent addition is the wood shop, which was built in the winter of 2009.[14]

Every meal on campus takes place in the dining hall. Below the dining hall is the "Squeelery," a rec room with table tennis, Foosball, and a small shop selling snacks. Sports facilities include a large multipurpose grassy field area, tennis courts, and the Harry Dickie Sports Complex gymnasium with a full-sized basketball court, fitness center, weight room and indoor swimming pool. A hardwood basketball court was installed in September 2018. Near the school's entrance is a large pond which has been used in the past for kayaking and canoeing in warmer weather, and is still used for impromptu recreational hockey and ice skating in winter.

Dormitories[]

Several dormitories are scattered across the campus. A total of ten dorms ranging in size from four to 40 students are in use for either boys or girls. Although the school has a house system, students are not divided by house in the dormitories.

The dormitories on campus are:

For boys: Pitt-Mason Hall (the largest), Tibbits Mansion, Lewisohn House, Lavino House, Dudley Cottage, and Whitcomb Hall.

For girls: Towne Hall, McCullough House, Cannon House, and Wood Hall.

Sports[]

Every student is required to participate in a sports activity in the afternoons, every trimester.

Men's ice hockey at Hoosac School is the flagship sport for which the school actively recruits. This hockey program won the 2007 New England Prep School Division 2 championship.[15] They also won back-to-back Holt Conference championships during the 2015-16 academic year and 2016-17 academic year. In deference to the steadily increasing female student population, a women's hockey team was formed at the start of the 2016-2017 season. At the end of the women's inaugural season, four of five seniors went on to play college hockey. At the end of the school's second season in 2017-2018, all seven seniors matriculated to college hockey programs.

The Men's and women's basketball teams have also enjoyed recent success. The men's basketball team, composed mostly of underclassmen, won the NEPSAC 2011-12 Class D Championship.[16] They now have AAA basketball at Hoosac, the highest level of competition in prep school.

Other sports offered include soccer, lacrosse, basketball, golf, volleyball, skiing, cross country, and flag football. During the winter trimester only, the school also has skiing, which involves daily trips to Jiminy Peak. A private ski slope with a tow rope[17] is open to the entire student body on weekends. Lifeguard training is also available as a secondary course.

The two school houses participate in annual Olympic style games to decide which house has bragging rights for the given year.[18] Each team is coached by a group of randomly chosen staff members of the same house.

Notable alumni[]

References[]

  1. ^ Keegan, T.E. (2007). Prep School Hockey Guide. Athletic Guide Pub. p. 200. ISBN 9781601791030. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  2. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  3. ^ "Hoosac: History". hoosac.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  4. ^ "Kent School Profile - Admissions Data and Profile for Kent School". privateschool.about.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  5. ^ "Education: At Kent School -". TIME. 1927-06-13. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  6. ^ "Hoosac School Profile | Hoosick, New York (NY)". boardingschoolreview.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  7. ^ "Schools.com - Online Schools & Accredited Universities". schools.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  8. ^ "Hoosac: Tuition Information". hoosac.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  9. ^ "Hoosac: College Counseling". hoosac.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  10. ^ "Private Colleges - Learn all about private colleges and universities at Petersons.com". petersons.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  11. ^ "Hoosac: School Calendar". hoosac.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  12. ^ "Hoosac: School Calendar". hoosac.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  13. ^ "I Spy My Hometown - Hoosick Falls, NY - Tibbits' Mansion - Cheney Library". Archived from the original on 2003-06-15. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  14. ^ "The Wood Shop" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  15. ^ "New England Hockey Journal".
  16. ^ "NEPSAC Boys Basketball Finals results - Boston High School Blog - ESPN". espn.go.com. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  17. ^ "Hoosac School". nelsap.org. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  18. ^ "Hoosac: Antonian/Graftonian". hoosac.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.

Further reading[]

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