A Day in the Life of a Day Student
Introduction to Sophia – Sophia is a poised and mature 10th grade student leader who brings a calm and refreshing energy to the barn, classroom, and Student Ambassador program. Being a school that offers both boarding and day opportunities to our students and families, Sophia thought that it would be helpful to share what her schedule looks like from the day student perspective. Her blog post offers our local prospective families an opportunity to put themselves in Sophia’s shoes and imagine life as an Oldfields day student!
Sophia '23 and Mia '23
Studio I Art Class
After School Riding
Oldfields is a special place for each and every student, whether they live on campus or not. However, you can probably guess that there are a few key differences between the daily lives of boarding and day students on campus. Here’s an overview of what you can expect as a day student on a typical day at Oldfields.
A day student will typically start their school day around 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. at check-in. This is when day students arrive on campus before classes and can go up to the dining hall to enjoy a nice breakfast. Then it’s off to classes which begin at 8 a.m. You have three 80-minute classes a day, and which classes you have vary depending on the day of the week. Each student takes six classes, and each class is assigned a letter to distinguish which period that class is. You have A, B, and C classes in one day and D, E, and F classes the next. The days alternate in terms of which classes you have and the order of those classes. Some days you have an ABC schedule, but the next time you have ABC classes they will be in the order of CBA. The same goes for DEF classes. After your first class you report to Advisory or Morning Meeting, depending on the day. This is where you go to spend time with your peers and learn about what is going on in the upcoming days. Then you have “extra help” time. This is a 40-minute period where you can start on your homework or go see your teachers about questions you may have in your classes. After extra help you have your next class, and then lunch. This year, due to COVID-19, lunch lasts for roughly two hours to stagger the times that everyone eats. Next you have your final class of the day and then a 40-minute break before afternoon activities.
Now it’s time for sports! Each Oldfields student is required to participate in sports during all three seasons. The sports differ from season to season, with the usual team sports like basketball, track, etc. in addition to other activities like yoga, dance, theatre, and fitness conditioning. The exception is riding, which is offered year-round. Sports typically last from about 3:40 to 5:40 p.m.,though the time may vary depending on the sport. After sports you have officially made it through your day! You can either choose to stay and have dinner at school, which begins at 5:55 p.m., or you can go home and finish the homework you were assigned during the day. Then, we wake up and do it again the next day.