50p
Campus Kids
At Brentwood, nearly 60% of our teachers live on campus. It is a bit confusing for new students at first, especially those coming from schools where teachers were seen as creatures who arrived late, departed early and were, in many cases, the enemy. Here at Brentwood College School, we work together, play together and live as one village. It takes some time to get one’s head around it. Teachers here are kind of like…dare I say it… extended family.
Then there are the children. Babies, toddlers, ankle-biters, pre-teens, ‘tweens’, teens and young adults. These are the children of the faculty. A few, like my daughter, are members of our day student population, but mostly they are Brentwood-wannabes. They come to all the special events and interact with the students on the fields and in the boarding houses. They know many of our students by name, line up for autographs after performances and cheer them on during games. A campus kid becomes the little brother and sister to everyone.
To be honest, the students at Brentwood love having these mini-humans around our campus. They make it feel more like home. Campus kids, with their numerous pets and their scraped knees make it real. Many students beg to have the opportunity to babysit the children of our campus faculty. This allows them to pick what goes on the TV: getting the remote control at a boarding school is magic!
At least two teachers and their families live in each of the eight boarding houses /student residences. They have a vested interest in creating a safe, caring and meaningful experience for all of our students and their children! And as their own children eventually become Brentonians, these teachers can also relate to other Brentwood families as parents of students.
Campus kids bring energy. They help create a gentle, nurturing environment and they make life at a boarding school ‘real’. As teachers living on campus, our lives become deeply entwined with those of all the students. They become an extension of our own families. It is a rich and rewarding way to raise a family and, conversely, for our students, it makes being away from their own homes so much easier.
Then there are the children. Babies, toddlers, ankle-biters, pre-teens, ‘tweens’, teens and young adults. These are the children of the faculty. A few, like my daughter, are members of our day student population, but mostly they are Brentwood-wannabes. They come to all the special events and interact with the students on the fields and in the boarding houses. They know many of our students by name, line up for autographs after performances and cheer them on during games. A campus kid becomes the little brother and sister to everyone.
To be honest, the students at Brentwood love having these mini-humans around our campus. They make it feel more like home. Campus kids, with their numerous pets and their scraped knees make it real. Many students beg to have the opportunity to babysit the children of our campus faculty. This allows them to pick what goes on the TV: getting the remote control at a boarding school is magic!
At least two teachers and their families live in each of the eight boarding houses /student residences. They have a vested interest in creating a safe, caring and meaningful experience for all of our students and their children! And as their own children eventually become Brentonians, these teachers can also relate to other Brentwood families as parents of students.
Campus kids bring energy. They help create a gentle, nurturing environment and they make life at a boarding school ‘real’. As teachers living on campus, our lives become deeply entwined with those of all the students. They become an extension of our own families. It is a rich and rewarding way to raise a family and, conversely, for our students, it makes being away from their own homes so much easier.