From the desk of Shawn Rhoads, Director of Residential Life:

Last week I talked about how excited we all in Residence Life are about some of the new improvements in the Boarding Program.  Among the new physical improvements there is also a new program that we are launching called Boarding Buddies.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched kids and parents part in tears days before school begins.  It can be really heart rending, especially for those families who are leaving their child for the first time at boarding school.  The reality is that these precious kids are spending three times more time with us here at Brook Hill than they will spend with their families over the course of the year.  We become their family on so many levels.  And while we have some awesome House Parents to care for the needs of our eighty boarding kids, all our students could use an added touch of home and intimate family experience while away from their own home and family.

This is why we have created Boarding Buddies.  What better place to be away from your family as a student than Brook Hill?!?!  We have so many loving, hospitable, caring families who are willing and ready to step up and become a Boarding Buddy family.  This is not to be confused with host homes.  Those are also vital to a thriving boarding program such as ours.  But Boarding Buddies is different in that it does not involve hosting a boarding student.  What it does involve is attending a particular student’s performance, or cheering for them at a game they are competing in.  It could include bringing them lunch from Sonic one day, or inviting them to church one Sunday.  Giving them a birthday gift on their special day or having them over for pizza and a movie with the family.  Really the sky is the limit.  Families can do all sorts of wonderful things with their Boarding Buddy student that will make them feel special and know that Brook Hill is the best place that they could possibly be.  Already 56 of our boarding students have been matched up with 51 loving  Brook Hill families who are now official Boarding Buddies!  I big thank you to our new Boarding Buddies who have already started making a huge difference in the lives of our incredible boarding students.

Stay tuned next week for more news from the Brook Hill Boarding Village, where the world converges for Christ-Centered, College Prep, World-Class education.