Boarding Program

Boys Division Only

The Boarding Program gives our students the opportunity to prepare; to enter college with the social skills, behavior skills, and study habits necessary to be successful in a college setting or any other educational institution.

The Boarding Program also gives our residents their first experience of living away from home in an academic community. Our primary goals as a staff are to help our students thrive academically, grow spiritually, and develop personally, socially, emotionally, and physically. Through the direction and guidance of the Residence Staff, consisting of the Dean of Residence and Resident Advisors, residents will learn the responsibilities and duties of living in a community environment. The unique opportunity of participating in a boarding program enables residents to take advantage of a “live-in” mentoring system, where they will be in direct contact several times a day with the Residence Staff.

THREE R’s - "The Three R’s" Respect for Self, Respect for Others, and Responsibility, which stem directly from the Honor Code, is the model that the dormitory follows to mold our students into men.

Respect of Self - It is important for all men to learn to respect themselves. “To love your neighbor as yourself,” first implies that the individual first loves and respects himself. Within the Residence Hall, we strive and challenge each student to take pride in his school-work, talents, athletics, and his whole person. During his high school years, all boys go through a stage of development that leads them into manhood. Often during these times, teenagers can experience various pressures that can be positive or negative. Through the Boarding Program, St. Mary’s Preparatory strives to provide “positive peer pressure” and role models that lead our students to respect themselves and to become true men. Through self-respect, one learns the importance of self-discipline and self-mastery, virtues that take more than a lifetime to perfect. Through the Boarding Program, we intend to begin to lay the foundation for virtue and manhood.
Without the other residents, there is no community. Dedication to the Hall and others are vital components for creating a sense of ownership, which fosters community. Therefore, Residents are strongly encouraged to be involved in organizing and partaking in activities, liturgies, events, and extracurricular activities.
Residents must respect one another through courteous behavior which is expressed by following certain codes of conduct, for example, "Lights Out". Residents are also expected to respect all faculty and staff members, maintenance, dining hall servers, and all other members of the Orchard Lake family.

Respect for Others - Living in a communal environment one can only be successful and fruitful to the degree that there is mutual respect for others in that community and for human dignity. Respect for others demands not only tolerance but also hospitality and charity. It is not enough to merely “put up” with other members of the Residence Hall. A communal setting demands sensitivity and respect for the needs of other individuals and the hall as a whole.

Responsibility- A mark of manhood is taking responsibility for one’s actions and the consequences, whether positive or negative, deserving praise or correction, of those actions. This is fundamental to life in a Residence Hall. Residents are expected to be responsible men and will be treated as responsible men. Men admit when they make a mistake, whether intentional or accidental, and accept the consequences for those actions. It is not an issue of failure and discipline, but a matter of admitting his error and acknowledging what he has learned from the situation through the consequences and how he plans to avoid making the same error in the future.

Responsibility also involves ownership. St. Albertus Hall is the home of the residents, both individually and as a community of scholars and men. One of the signs of maturity is passing on what you have learned and experienced, giving back to the Hall, the School, and society. The Boarding Program is a training ground whereby men of the Hall learn the value and importance of serving others and the community. One of the ways that this is encouraged is through involvement within the Hall’s and the School’s activities.

The Boarding Program strengthens and exemplifies the preparatory experience, providing multiple ways for St. Mary’s Residents to develop into men. This program tries to make our students strive for excellence within themselves by utilizing the tools within their home away from home.

Students enrolled in the program receive room and board, which includes three daily meals, a comfortable room, laundry facilities, and close proximity to all the school’s recreational and academic facilities. The residence hall is a modern, three-story building with two wings. St. Mary’s Preparatory uses all three floors of the South wing, known as St. Albertus Hall. Boarding students have access to a recreational hall, complete with pool tables, table tennis, and large-screen televisions. Also available are the school’s athletic facilities and libraries.

Each room is complete with two beds, two desks with shelves and lighting, ample drawer and closet space for two students, a sink, and a mirror. A private bathroom connects adjoining rooms. Students are responsible for the cleanliness of their own rooms and the bathroom. Families and students are expected to provide their own cleaning supplies and toiletry needs including, but not limited to toilet paper, paper towels, etc. Students are responsible for their own laundry. No Residence Hall furniture is to be moved from the rooms. Seniors may place one personal chair in their room.