PEA Community Celebrates Academy Life Day
As the clock struck nine on Monday morning, the unmistakable smell of pancakes wafted up the stairwell of Dunbar Hall. Yawning students gathered in common rooms all over campus to begin their day free of classes, club meetings and homework assignments. This Monday marked Exeter’s annual Academy Life Day, a day off that gives Exonians the chance to relieve their stress and grow closer to their immediate communities.
Each dorm took part in varying activities over the weekend: Dunbar held a henna and T-shirt decorating session and cooked breakfast together, Wentworth played in a dodgeball tournament and had a cookout, McConnell and Bancroft went apple picking, Soule Hall played soccer, some advising groups went camping and much more. Several residents such as Langdell, Webster, Will House and Cilley traveled to different beaches across the area to enjoy a day of sandcastles and football in the sun.
McConnell students spent the day apple picking at Cider Hilla Farm in Brentwood, New Hampshire. Throughout the afternoon, they scaled trees and posed for pictures on pumpkins while munching on apple cider donuts. Proctor and senior Emily LaRovere described the sentiments she felt returning to the same place as her Academy Life Day prep year.
“I think it’s important because it’s nice to give people a break from school. I know it’s difficult for boarders when they can’t really leave campus easily, so it’s nice to go out and see the area.”
“It was fun to be with the other four year seniors and reminisce about our time there prep year,” LaRovere said. She was excited to return to the same place this year with the new and younger girls in her dorm to make new memories. As they finished apple picking, McConnell students went back to the dorm for a flatbread pizza picnic. The girls were very pleased with having the day off to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather.
After two intense weeks of Saturday classes, wearying quizzes and late nights, many students felt the most rewarding thing about Academy Life Day was simply the chance to relax, even if only for an extra day. “I was really happy to get a break from classes and let the wind blow through my hair,” upper Daisy Tichenor said. David Kim, a prep in Wentworth, agreed with Tichenor about the importance of Academy Life Day, as it “gives students a nice day off, but also builds a sense of community within the dorm.”
Prep and day student Eva Carchidi went to Boston and walked the Freedom Trail with her advising group. She noted that especially for boarders, it’s a special treat to travel off campus and explore a new area with close peers.
“I think it’s important because it’s nice to give people a break from school. I know it’s difficult for boarders when they can’t really leave campus easily, so it’s nice to go out and see the area,” Carchidi said.
Every year, Academy Life Day typically serves the purpose of building dorm spirit and providing real opportunities for new and returning students to spend time familiarizing with one another.
Tichenor traveled to Jenness Beach in Rye with Langdell Hall on Monday. “I found myself thankful to be in a dorm of girls with whom I can connect with so easily,” she said.
Prep Johanna Martinez, who lives in Dunbar, saw the value in getting to know the older students in her dorm, who she plans to later seek for support and advice.
“It definitely gives you the opportunity to bond more with people in your dorm and become closer so that in the future if you need help, you can seek out the people you made connections with before,” she said. “I really enjoyed connecting to the new Langdell preps too.”
Each and every prep likely now has a story of an older dorm-mate seeking him or her out and making conversation, an experience that can be unique and meaningful to new students still trying to find their ground on campus.
Bennett Levy, a senior in Wentworth Hall, echoed Tichenor’s sentiment, describing Academy life day as “a great way to encourage dorm bonding, especially...so early in the school year.”
This year marked Levy’s last dodgeball match, a particularly important event for him since dodgeball is held as a well-loved tradition in Wentworth.
Fortunately, Levy’s team prevailed with a win for the first time in his four years playing, which he described as a a “great way to go out.”
Levy also mentioned the other positives of his Academy Life Day, “We got to work together in teams and establish great relationships through such a simple event,” he said.
In interviews conducted by The Exonian, negative feedback was sparse to none. Whether it be atop a mountain, on the sand or in the orchard, Academy Life Day once again seemed to achieve its goal of relieving stress, strengthening student relationships and uplifting the Exeter community.