Character Matters

A Fay education is about so much more than the academics. At Fay, character matters, and our program is designed to inspire and encourage students to become their best selves—as learners, as friends, and as members of the community. We want our graduates to head to secondary school equipped with all of the tools—social, emotional, organizational—they will need for a meaningful life.

 

We take our motto Poteris Modo Velis (You can if you will) seriously, and we encourage earnest effort by sharing effort marks with parents every two weeks.

 

We are committed to service, and students at every grade level participate in hands-on service learning, from sorting toys and clothes to be distributed to underserved communities, to harvesting food at an organic farm for donation at a local food bank.

 

But it doesn’t end there. Visit our campus, and you’ll see our emphasis on character in action, in small gestures as well as larger ones:

 

• You’ll notice that Fay students hold the door for each other. They learn to shake hands and greet peers and adults with respect.

 

• In the Dining Room, you’ll see community members eating lunch, family-style, with students taking turns serving as waiters.

 

• In the Primary School, you’ll find sixth graders helping at lunch and Upper School students serving as helpers and mentors for the younger students, during math and world language classes, in the garden, and in the lunchroom, just to name a few examples.

 

• You’ll see Lower School homeroom meetings, where students come together in the mornings and afternoons to touch base about the day.

 

• In the Upper School, you’ll see a Community Connections meeting, where seventh, eighth, and ninth graders discuss issues related to diversity and inclusion, both at Fay and in the greater community.