Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall
Headmaster | Edward J. Shanahan |
---|---|
Established | 1890 |
School type | Private |
Religious affiliation | None |
Location | Wallingford, Connecticut, U.S. |
Enrollment | 850 |
Faculty | 120 |
Campus | Suburban |
Mascot | Wild Boar |
Colors | Blue, Gold |
Choate Rosemary Hall (commonly referred to as Choate) is a New England preparatory school for students (who call themselves "Choaties") in grades 9-12, known as the third through sixth forms at the school. With both boarding and day students (who make up nearly 25 percent of the student body), the school has been co-educational since 1973. Today, students come from nearly all fifty states and twenty-four countries, with students of color making up approximately 30 percent of the student body. The admission rate is approximately 24 percent. Nearly 30 percent of the student body receives financial aid to pay the substantial tuition, and the average amount of aid given is 70 percent of the tuition. Choate is located in Wallingford, Connecticut, fifteen miles north of New Haven, Connecticut.
Overview
Choate is part of The Ten Schools Admissions Organization. Member schools include Deerfield Academy, The Lawrenceville School, Loomis Chaffee, The Taft School, The Hotchkiss School, St. Paul's School, The Hill School, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Phillips Academy.
Choate offers courses in English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, history, ethics, political science, economics, and a range of electives. In addition, the school offers a concentration program in the arts and a science research program. The Capstone Project during senior year allows students to focus on one type of academic area (such as the Capstone for Creative Writing).
Choate also offers a range of extracurricular activities, including eighty-one interscholastic teams in thirty-two sports (the school has a traditional athletic rivalry with Deerfield), academic clubs, and student-run publications.
The campus encompasses a blend of architectural styles from Colonial homes and Georgian buildings to dramatic modern structures designed by noted architect I.M. Pei. 116 houses, dormitories, and classroom buildings grace the 400 rolling Connecticut acres. As of the summer of 2007, the school's endowment was approximately $235 million.
Benefactors
Choate benefits from a prominent group of benefactors who over the years have contributed financially to the school's development. The buildings and programs benefiting from successful alumni and parents of alumni include the Paul Mellon Arts Center, the Mellon Library, the Icahn Science Center, and the Icahn scholarship program.
Traditions
There are many traditions kept by Choate Rosemary Hall. Among them are President's Day, Deerfield Day, the Physics Phlotilla, the Last Hurrah, the Garden Party, and Commencement
President's Day is a day off from classes, declared by the headmaster on the night before. It is during the winter term and is the subject of much speculation.
Deerfield Day, held on the last day of fall term, marks the end of the fall sports season. It culminates in matches between Choate and Deerfield in varsity girls and boys soccer, varsity boys' football, varsity girls' volleyball, and varsity girls' field hockey. Choate hosts a bonfire and pep rally the night before. During Deerfield Day, the whole school dresses up in blue and gold to go cheer on the Wild Boars.
Another tradition, the Physics Phlotilla, takes place during the spring term. Students gather on the banks of the Science Center Pond to race makeshift cardboard boats, testing the principles of buoyancy and often sinking.
The Last Hurrah, the year's last formal social event is similar to a high school prom. Seniors prepare for the event by taking Senior Dance Lessons, where they learn ballroom dances. Each year, there is a dance contest, where students compete in the dances they have learned.
Garden Party, which is a Rosemary Hall tradition, takes place in the spring. Senior girls invite a junior girl and a faculty member. They exchange flowers, take pictures, and pass on Rosemarian traditions to the class of rising senior girls A slideshow is also presented. Boys in turn, have created a makeshift "Garden Party" and have recently been included for the slideshow portion of the event.
Commencement, or graduation, is a ceremony in which the Class President speaks along with an invited guest speaker. From 2006-2007, these have been Senator Christopher Dodd (presidential candidate) and Brian Williams (television anchor). Scripts of the speeches can be found on the website.
Weekend activities
On the weekend (which goes from Friday evening–Sunday, with the exception of the few Saturday classes per year), many students can use the opportunity to hang out around campus or enjoy the weekend trips offered by the Student Activities Center (SAC). The John Joseph Activities Center, more commonly known as the SAC, has the Tuck Shop (snack bar), mail room, school store, and cyber cafe. It is also home to pool, foosball, and air hockey tables, and video games, TV, a PlayStation, and a dance floor used every Saturday for the weekly dances.
COSA (Committee on Student Activities) runs all weekend activities at the SAC. The SAC hosts many formal balls, dances, and festivals each year.
There are weekend trips (day) to New York City, Boston, and Newport, and excursions into New Haven, Hartford, and Middletown. Going to the movies and the supermarket is also an option.
Special trips include ski trips, deep sea fishing, going to the NYC Opera, movie viewings, and pumpkin picking.
Sports
Choate offers a wide array of sports. Most sports are offered in varsity, junior varsity, and thirds sections. Thirds sections are for newcomers or first-timers to a sport.
Competitive fall sports consist of cross-country, field hockey, football, soccer, volleyball, and boys' water polo. Crew in fall is considered an intramural sport. Competitive winter sports are basketball, ice hockey, squash, swimming and diving, and wrestling. Intramural winter sports include dance, senior weight training, girls' strength training, yoga, winter running, rock climbing, and senior volleyball. Spring sports include co-ed archery, baseball, crew, golf, lacrosse, softball, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and girls' water polo.
Extracurricular activities
Since its founding, students at Choate have established certain organizations within the school that are student-run with a faculty adviser. These include many clubs, ranging from spiritual organizations to music ensembles. Below are the separate categories
Academic Groups
- all language groups (Russian, Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Chinese)
- Art Club
- Classics Club
- Debate Society
- Math Team
- Theater club
Community Service
- Big Brothers/Big Sisters (pair up with child in Wallingford)
- GLOW (Giving Love to Others in the World)
- Homeless Survival Kits
- Interact
- Make-A-Wish
- UNICEF
Cultural
- Asian Students Association
- Choate Afro-Latino Student Alliance
- Choate Indian Association
- Choate Korea Friendship Association
- Hispanic-Latino Forum
- Native American Club
- Young Muslim Students Association
Media
- Beyond Choate
- The Brief (Yearbook)
- Choate Entertainment Television
- The Democrat
- Horizons (Historical Review)
- The Lit (only literary publication)
- The News (major publication at Choate; weekly newspaper)
- The Right Side
- WWEB Radio Station
Music Ensembles
- Festival Chorus
- Chamber Chorus
- Handbell Choir
- Lilith (female a cappella group that performs at a number of community service locations)
- Maiyeros
- Milagros
- Whimawehs
- Orchestra
- Chamber Orchestra
- Concert Band
- Jazz Band
Performance
- ACDC (Asian Cultural Dance Club)
- Choate Shakespeare Players
- Dance Company
- Step Squad
Political and Advocacy
- Amnesty International
- Crossfire Society (political debate club)
- Environment Action Coalition
- SMASS (Sexual Minorities and Straight Supporters)
- Students for a Free Tibet
- Young Democrats
Special Interest
- American Sign Language Club
- Boar Pen
- Chess Club
- CAAA (Choate Association for the Appreciation of the Arts)
- Choate Model UN
- Choate Writing Workshop
- COSA (Committee on Student Activities)
- Diplomacy Club
- Fencing Club
- Investment Club
- Lives of Leaders
- MAC (Movie Appreciation Club)
- Pholio
- Skiing and Snowboarding Club
Spiritual
- Alternate Spiritualities
- Catholic Community at Choate
- Christian Fellowship
- Hillel
- LOTUS - Buddhist Student Organization
- COW - Choate Onion Worshipers
Facilities and buildings
I.M. Pei, the prominent architect, designed two buildings on campus, the Paul Mellon Arts Center (known as the PMAC) and the Icahn Science Center. These buildings are both near each other.
Other main buildings on campus include Hill House Dining Hall, Paul Mellon Humanities Center, St. John's Chapel (pictured above), St. John Hall (mathematics building), and Archbold (admissions building and upper form dormitory).
Freshman year, students are generally housed in dorms next to each other, separated by gender. Girls are put into Nichols, and boys into "Mem" (Memorial). Because of the influx of girls last year, freshman girls spilled over into Squire Stanley and Pitman and a very few are being put into Squire in 2007-2008.
Prominent alumni
- Edward Albee, playwright
- Lauren Ambrose, actress (did not graduate, left after her sophomore year)
- Chester Bowles, Governor of Connecticut, Undersecretary in the Kennedy Administration
- Arne H. Carlson, Governor of Minnesota
- Dov Charney, founder of American Apparel
- Julie Chu, Olympic hockey player
- Glenn Close, actress
- Jamie Lee Curtis, actress
- Bruce Dern, actor
- John Dos Passos, writer
- Michael Douglas, actor
- Caterina Fake, founder of Flickr
- Paul Giamatti, actor
- Philip Gourevitch, journalist, editor of The Paris Review
- Amanda Hearst, heiress
- Buck Henry, comedian
- Kim Insalaco, Olympic hockey player
- Hamilton (“Tony”) E. James, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Blackstone Group
- Bob Kasten, U.S. Senator
- John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States
- Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., brother of JFK and RFK
- Whitman Knapp, federal judge
- Herbert Kohler, president of the Kohler Company
- Alan J. Lerner, songwriter
- Alan Lomax, folk musicologist
- Ali MacGraw, actress
- Paul Mellon, philanthropist
- Tift Merritt, singer/songwriter
- Robert Mosbacher, Secretary of Commerce
- Nicholas Negroponte, founder of MIT Media Lab
- Victoria Nuland, permanent U.S. Representative to NATO
- Angela Ruggiero, Olympic hockey player, competitor on hit T.V. show The Apprentice
- Bill Simmons, sportswriter
- Tom Dey, director
- Adlai Stevenson, Governor of Illinois, UN Ambassador
- James Surowiecki, author, New Yorker staff writer
- Ivanka Trump, fashion model and businesswoman
- Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuk, Prince of Bhutan
- The fictional character of Charles Emerson Winchester from MASH listed Choate as the prep school he attended before gong on to Harvard Medical School.
External links
- Articles needing cleanup from September 2007
- Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from September 2007
- Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from September 2007
- Preparatory schools in Connecticut
- Private schools in Connecticut
- High schools in Connecticut
- Boarding schools in Connecticut
- Educational institutions established in 1890
- Wallingford, Connecticut