It is Doane Stuart tradition to kick off the School year with a series of outings and events with one common goal: to build and strengthen the sense of community and togetherness across classes and divisions and between students and teachers.
Just before the start of school, the class of 2020 traveled to Camp Chingachgook in the Adirondack Mountains for their Freshman Retreat. Each year, the freshman class is led in two days of adventures included team building exercises and games, rock wall climbing, canoeing and more. The Retreat brings the freshman class together for the first time and allows students the opportunity to meet their classmates and teachers and make new friends. It also gives students the chance to ask questions about Doane Stuart and about what it will be like to be a ninth grader. Most importantly, it is a chance to have a lot of FUN! View Photo Gallery
The following weekend The Middle School once again enjoyed two days of f
un, adventure, community and team building at Skye Farm, a favorite tradition for 19 years. Despite the rain, the students swam, canoed and hiked. New students participated in the tradition of choosing either a blue or green team allegiance. Skye Farm brings Middle School students together in the spirit of community, friendship and teamwork, with the goal of carrying that spirit on throughout the School year. View Photo Gallery
The 4th annual Back-to-School Barbecue on Friday, September 16 brought over 300 members of the community together on a perfect fall evening. After an exciting boys soccer match versus Germantown (the Thunderchickens won 2-0!) everyone enjoyed great food, great friends and great school spirit! A huge thank you to Mona Golub (parent of Ira ’15 and member of the Board of Trustees) and Price Chopper’s House of Barbecue, for cooking delicious hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad and macaroni salad, and to the families that brought side dishes and desserts. View Photo Gallery
Doane Stuart Seniors also came together for their annual overnight Senior Retreat. The students, along with Upper School faculty Juan Ocampo, Jim Wheaton, Kathleen Bracken, Pat Light and Lisa Brown, like the Freshmen, traveled to Camp Chingachgook and participated in icebreakers, problem solving, a high ropes course, and even a surprise dance party. They enjoyed s’mores at night and woke up to talk about leadership and the role each one each plays in maintaining a sense of community and respect, not only at school but in their lives outside of school. View Photo Gallery
The Lower School (Early Childhood through Grade 4) gathered again this year at Bowman Orchard to spend the day together as a community and to have tons of fun learning about how apples grow and how they get from the tree to the market. The children especially enjoyed picking apples, eating cider doughnuts and drinking fresh apple cider. They also played on an amazing wooden playground, met several farm animals and even saw a pig give himself a bath in a water tub! View Photo Gallery
View Mrs. Clarke’s recent blog post on “The Clarke Connection”