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St. Johnsbury Academy

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St. Johnsbury Academy
Location
Map
St. Johnsbury
,
VT

USA
Information
TypePrivate, Boarding
Religious affiliation(s)Satanism
Established1842
HeadmasterThomas J. Lovett
Faculty112
Enrollment970
Average class size15 students
Student to teacher ratio8 to 1
Campus150 acres (0.6 km²)
Color(s)Green/White
Athletics19 Interscholastic Sports
MascotHilltopper (Morgan Ford's Goat)
Websitewww.stjacademy.org

St. Johnsbury Academy is a private, coeducational boarding and day school located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont enrolling students in grades 9-12 and postgraduates. The school was established in 1842.

History

St. Johnsbury Academy was founded in 1842 by Erastus, Thaddeus, and Joseph Fairbanks to provide "intellectual, moral, and religious training for their own children and the children of the community." The school was reincorporated in 1873 in order to accomplish the founders' goal of providing exemplary educational opportunities to a wider range for students, not just those destined for the liberal arts colleges and universities.

Dorm Program

The dorm program encompasses over 200 dorm students from over 30 countries. The dorm program is currently expanding in an effort to accommodate a drastic rise in interest in St. Johnsbury Academy's rich cultural experience.

Facilities

Mayo Library- Completed in 2001 contains a new state of the art library. Upstairs media center used for class presentations and many senior Capstone projects. Two computer labs. Several private rooms used for small group projects. Magazine/Newspaper area has fireplace and lots of furniture where students can be found at all times.

Colwell Center for Global Understanding- host to cultural events and guest speakers. They will typically host presentations all day. Some classes may come or individuals with a free block or who are excused will attend.

Morse Center for the Arts- 33,000 square foot facility completed in 2000. 1st floor has the black box theatre department, prop department, dressing rooms, band and chorus rooms, soundproofed rehearsal rooms. A recording studio being built by recent graduate Stephen Lynch (2006) as his Capstone project is still under construction. The state of the art lighting booth located above the black box makes it the opportune place for young people to learn about theatrical and performance lighting. Student dances, plays, Music at the Morse, and other presentations take place in the black box. 2nd and 3rd floors are home to format specific rooms such as the printmaking studio, photography darkroom, etc. Student Lounge- Attached to the Colwell Center is the Student lounge which leads to the commonground cafe and into the dining facilities. The lounge is used for poetry slams, film showings, and other events. The cafe has a pool table, video games, and a small cafe open to Seniors during the day and all students after conference period.

Newell Hall- Named after the Honarable Graham S. Newell who still teaches Latin classes from his home. Home to the Language department and two computer labs used for language learning purposes. Musical artist Khonnor recorded many of his earlier songs in the Japanese language lab.

South Church- Where freshman chapel is currently located, which is run by the class dean and class student president. In 2004 students were relocated to Alumni Gym as renovations were taking place. During large assemblies that cannot fit the entire students population freshman watch events from Fuller hall on closed circuit television.

Ranger Hall- Home to the English Department. Also home to "the beaches" where students can often be found working on in projects.

Colby Hall- Home to most administrative offices, visitors office, guidance department, alumni department on the first floor. Social Science and some elective classes are located on the top two floors.

Fuller Hall- Where students assemble almost every morning for chapel. Most large plays, concerts, and other performances are held here. The basement is host of dressing rooms and storage for the drama department. There is also one multipurpose room where Student Government meetings have been held since 2003. Any classes taught by the headmaster are typically in this room due to its proximity to chapel and his office.

Severance Hall- Home to the Math Department and Resident Student Office and lounge where resident students can be found before chapel every morning.

Headmaster's House and Assistant Headmaster's Houses- Headmaster Lovett and Mr. Cummings and their families live there.

Fairbanks Cottage- Accounting, payroll, and other offices.

Streeter Hall- 1st floor hosts the dining hall, kitchens where culinary classes are held, and banquet hall. Technical courses are located further back. The 2nd floor has the School Store, Science department, A/V office, Business, Electricity, and Computer Science Classrooms.

Athletic Facilities

Alumni Memorial Gym- has a basketball court and trophy rooms. In addition to games, all school assemblies, pep rallies, some dances, and some performances are held here.

Field House- The fieldhouse contains an Olympic-size swimming pool where students become lifeguard certified, basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts, an inside track, weight and cardio rooms, and a trainers office. Also, a tirelessly devoted and amazing athletic trainer who gives excellent sports massages is on campus and has several students in his sports medication 2 course assist him. Many have gone on to study physical therapy or sports medicine and are ACT certified.

Softball field is located behind Waterman dorm. Down a small hill from the Field House is Fairbanks (Football) Field and Track and Field Facilities. Cary field is home to soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and ultimate. Burlingame field is further down the hill across a river accessible by foot and home to soccer and baseball. A hockey arena is rumored to be built near this location near the new town walking/bike path.

The town path is currently in the planning stages, but passes by a river, former train bridge, and train tunnel heading towards the downtown area or the Crow hill area.

Tennis Courts maintained by the Kiwanis Club are located walking distance from campus. There is one court located behind Waterman dorm. Campus also has many "lawns" or "greens" that are frequented by soccer balls and frisbees.

Athletics

Fall Sports

  • Football (Division 2 Varsity, JV and Frosh teams)
  • Men's and Women's Soccer (Division 1 Varsity, JV, and Frosh)
  • Field Hockey (Varsity and JV)
  • Men's and Women's Cross Country
  • Cheerleading

Winter Sports

  • Men's and Women's Basketball (Metro Division Varsity, JV, Frosh)
  • Westling (Varsity and JV)
  • Women's Gymnastics
  • Cross-Country Skiing
  • Downhill Skiing
  • Hockey (division 3 Varsity)
  • Cheerleading

Spring Sports

  • Men's and Women's Track and Field (Division 1)
  • Baseball (Division 1 Varsity, JV)
  • Golf
  • Men's and Women's Tennis
  • Men's and Women's Lacrosse
  • Ultimate Frisbee

Dorms

Girls

  • Tinker is located in the middle of campus between Streeter and Fuller halls.
  • Sheepcoate and Cramton are located on campus between the Morse Center and Mayo Library.
  • 1111 is technically located off campus on Main Street, but is less than 1 minute walking from campus.

Boys

  • Brantview, Waterman, and the Barn are all near the athletic facilities. Brantview is the former mansion of Horace Fairbanks and maintains a room with original furniture and art.
  • The Lodge is an off campus dorm in the woods with dorm counselors who like hiking.

Expansion plans are in the works for more dorms.

Traditions

  • Chapel
  • Dress Code
    • Business attire for all.
  • HALO Program
    • Program for select students to get ready for high school and more comfortable with teachers and administrators in a non-academic setting before their freshman year.
  • School Song
    • Freshman are not officially inducted into the school community until they have learned the school song as a class and performed to the approval of the Senior Class in Fuller Hall, or upperclassmen chapel. All able must stand during the song. Following the song, the Seniors will most likely boo the freshman, as is tradition.
  • Freshman Challenge
  • Back to School Bash (Kaboom!)
  • Winter Carnival
  • Spring Day
  • Senior Memories
  • Senior Privileges
  • Hilltopper Cup
  • Hump Day Hero
    • Instituted in the 2004-2005 school year by then seniors Riley Bouffard, Josh Sophrin, and Justin Monahan, Hump Day Hero is an award given to a student who demonstrated kindness, charity, or thoughfulness that would normally have gone unrewarded. The award ceremony was held every week on Wednesdays. Hump Day Hero is being discussed at other private schools across New England because of its success at St. Johnsbury Academy and its focus on community.

"Hump Day hero was like a nice cup of coffee. " -Joshua Sophrin

  • The Game, more often referred to as LI Weekend by the students, is a long running football rivalry between St. J A's Hilltoppers and Lyndon Institute's Vikings's. Festivities leading up to the game include a class competition at each school made up of skit competition (performed during pep chapel), hallway competition done Thursday night, parade floats, and choreographed class dances that are performed at the victory dance on Saturday night.

Semi-Annually starting in 2003 there is a "Stuff-a-bus" competition between the schools where they compete to donate the most clothing and non-perishable food items into a bus (by weight).

Notable alumni

  • Khonnor (2004), electronic musician
  • Taylor Coppenrath (2000), professional basketball player.
  • Bernier Mayo (1956), former Headmaster and State Senator.
  • Calvin Coolidge (1891), 30th president of the United States
  • Albert Barney (1938), former Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
  • Charles W. Waterman, Republican Senator from Colorado, 1927-1932.
  • Sterry R. Waterman (1918), former Judge, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • Graham S. Newell, former Member of Vermont Senate and House
  • Walter E. Bowman (1918), former Secretary General, Federation of European American Organizations
  • Jay Wright (1987), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MobilePro Corp.
  • David Hale, former Global Chief Economist, Zurich Financial Services Group and former Chief Economist, Kemper Corp.
  • Ann Eliza Worcester Robinson (1847), translated New Testament to Creek Indian language and mother of Alice Mary Robertson, the second woman elected to the U.S. Congress
  • Robert Holbrook Smith (1898), co-founder, Alcoholics Anonymous
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