Call it Thanksgiving, or Fall Banquet, or The Harvest Appreciation Meal – regardless of its name it is such a unique time in a the annual life cycle of a boarding school, awkwardly sandwiched as it is between Family Weekend & Fall Break and the much larger/longer Winter/Holiday Break.
It often means a lot of student travel, and logistical gymnastics for faculty engaged with Student Life. It also means shorted weeks of class, or a long break, or both, for teachers who are trying to get through the term’s curriculum before the calendar catches them and catapults them into a new year. Fall Sports are definitely over, and Winter Sports (and other activities, such as dramatic productions or ensembles) have to juggle time off and time away – all to accommodate this unusually-situated holiday.
But there’s often something else that happens around Thanksgiving on a boarding school campus – a pre-travel moment of community, appreciation, reflection, and celebration. The Kitchen/Food Service team goes all out and creates an incredible spread. Students and faculty come together in intentional community to share gratitude and the mindful acknowledgment of others. Many schools also couple this time with community service events – and young people are actively engaged in helping others, often a time of learning. Being on a boarding school campus as it takes the time to slow down and appreciate the uniqueness of its own experience, in real time, is a great moment of pause and reflection – watching young people engage with empathy, gratitude, and that small moment where they step outside of themselves just long enough to see that this may be one of the memorable meaningful moments of their lives at school.
At this time, we, too are Thankful that we are one step closer to getting Elevate compiled! The final list of schools has been chosen, the vast majority of chapters have been submitted, and we have been able to share a working draft of the book with our contributing schools, providing them the opportunity to see their chapter in the context of the other schools being highlighted in this book. Schools will have just under two months to make any final edits or changes to their submission, and then we’ll be moving quickly toward publication in the spring of 2026!
Happy Holidays from Elevate .