Revisit Days

Last week, Tabor Academy welcomed future Seawolves to campus in three annual Revisit Days. These days are a chance for admitted students to return to campus or see it for the first time, and they help these students decide where they will spend the next four school years.

Unlike tours, Revisit Days offer students opportunities to fully experience life at Tabor. They sit in on classes, attend chapel, sit at panels, attend an activities fair, and meet teachers, students and coaches.

Anne Gardiner, chair of the History Department and the faculty member in charge of the chapel, notes that Revisit Days are part of the “second phase” of students selecting schools.

After receiving all of their acceptances, the eighth graders who visit Tabor are trying to discern which school is best for them.

“When you initially tour Tabor,” said Gardiner, “you hear someone describe our facilities and our programs and you are dependent upon your guide’s interpretation of what you are seeing.”

This is, of course, a good first step, but Revisit Days “allow you to embed yourself in the Tabor experience.” It helps prospective students decide if the community is right for them as they meet the kinds of students and the people they’d be living with at Tabor and experience the classes they’d be taking.

“Revisit Days show off our best Tabor,” said Conan Leary, a history and economics teacher. “It allows prospective students to see the community in full action.”

In the end, Leary said, it’s all about the Tabor students and how “helpful, sociable, and welcoming” they were to new students.

Lulu Ward, a senior and Head Tour Guide, agreed. She was on a panel about student life and said that sharing all her favorite parts of Tabor was “incredibly fun.”

Students were in charge of much of the day, as each visiting eighth grader was assigned a freshman or sophomore host. Head tour guides helped organize the day, show families around, and take groups from place to place. All captains or club leaders were present at the Activities Fair, helping students learn about the extracurricular activities that Tabor offers.

What is often not so apparent is how much Revisit Days does for current Tabor students and faculty. Revisit days are a way to “articulate who we are and why we love being together,” said Gardiner.

“We are undergoing cycles of change,” said Gardiner. “The current freshmen were new to Tabor months ago, and now they’re welcoming the future class in. You can already see how much they’ve grown in one year.”

As the seniors prepare to leave and prospective students decide if Tabor is right for them, the school continues the constant process of growth and change.

By Madeleine Gregory

 

Leave A Comment...

*