Boarding at Menaul School
Since its founding in 1896 Menaul School has offered the ultimate value added in a college preparatory school, a residential program. Boarding school instills self-reliance, independence and expanded horizons in a protected environment.
Menaul school attracts boarding students from outside the Albuquerque area in New Mexico, other states and overseas. Boarding at Menaul School is the first time for many of our students to live away from home. Our main goal in residential life is to make the residence halls feel warm and welcoming so that all of our students can call Menaul School their 'home away from home." While living on campus means being away from family and what is familiar, it also supplies a great opportunity for students to learn and grow in social and living skills.
Whether it is attending classes, participating in our athletic or arts programs, or living on campus, our students have opportunities to meet and interact with one another and with the adults in our community on many different levels. Our boarding curriculum strives to guide students to live with a roommate and share space, to ask their advisors and teachers for help or support, and to become more independent by learning to be responsible and accountable for their own actions.
During the week the focus is on campus classes and activities. Each night boarding students check into their halls at 7:00 p.m. and start doing dorm jobs, which are typical household chores. Once those are complete, students clean rooms and attend study hall. Study hall is two hours spent working together or individually on homework assignments. Many nights dorm parents allow students to play games in the gym or "surf the web" once the students have shown proof of completion of their assignments.
The weekends are activity-filled, and plans take advantage of Menaul Schools™ beautiful Southwest location as we venture into the surrounding areas: University of New Mexico, the Sandia Mountains, the museums of Santa Fe or Albuquerque, outdoor activities in the desert or mountains, the ski slopes of Santa Fe and Taos, Feast Days at local Native American Pueblos, Art Festivals, the International Balloon Fiesta, and concerts with world-renowned performers. Everyone participates in four special community getaways each year, on other weekends; students who live nearby may choose to go home.
At Menaul School, students build strong relationships with the faculty and staff as well as their peers. Students get to know the adults in the community not only as their teachers but also as their coaches, their trip leaders, their dining mates, and their co-workers. Alumni frequently cite this as one of the best things about their Menaul School education. When they graduate they are comfortable with relating to adults and being able to ask adults for what they need. This is a significant skill both for college and for life.
