dorm life

At 9:00 p.m., when study hall ends, many students head for their dorm parent's apartment where they might find a variety of their favorite freshly made snacks such as quesadillas, warm cookies, or mexican dip. Students might join in a rousing game of Taboo, watch their favorite TV show, or talk about news at Westover and beyond. Some girls also use this time to make phone calls, IM their friends, shower, and get ready for bed. The time between study hall's end and in-room is a bustling time in the dorm. At "in-room" time, dorm parents and proctors begin making rounds saying "goodnights" to each student. Some nights there are corridor meetings where dorm parents and proctors meet with the girls on their corridor to plan dorm activities, talk about improving living conditions, or celebrating a girl's birthday. Working together to live happily in this community is always a priority.

CORRIDOR EVENTS

Several times a year special events occur in the dorm, such as corridor dinners, where girls cook and eat dinner in their dorm parent's apartment. Another favorite corridor activity is progressive ice cream sundaes; where a girl can travel to each of the eight dorm parents' apartments to get a different topping from each to complete a delicious evening snack. Girls love decorating the door of a birthday girl and making a cake for the after study hall snack. On holidays the dorm parents sometimes have a surprise activity planned for after study hall, such as pumpkin carving for Halloween.

DORM PARENTS AND PROCTORS

Eight dorm parents, who are either single, married, or married with children, live in the dorm with the students. The work the dorm parents do in the dorm is the largest part of their work at Westover. These dorm parents provide Westover's "home away from home". They also serve as advisors to individual students and sometimes advisors to clubs. They can be counted on to have a Bandaid for a blister, an egg for making cake, advice for a broken heart, compassionate critique, and a hug when needed. Each dorm parent is on-duty 3 nights each week, and they are on-duty every other weekend. The time that dorm parents spend with students makes the Westover residential program unique.

Proctors are junior or senior students who are elected by students and selected by faculty to act as support and mentors to their corridor of girls. Proctors live on corridor with their girls and assist the dorm parent with "check-in"," in-room", and "goodnights". Many students go to proctors to find help with roommate conflicts, to talk, or just to "hang out"!