With the arrival of this year’s batch of Seabury visit days, affectionately known as “Be a Seahawk” days, current students have a chance to look back on their own visitation experiences.
Throughout Seabury’s student body, many express that visit days are a key part of building our school community. Sophomore Gabe Rinnert explains that tour days “[show] the [potential new] students what their experience will be like a year ahead, and it helps them attune [to] the community before they actually come here.”
Eighth grader Genevieve Williams agrees, saying, “[visit days allow potential] new kids [to] get more used to the space and know what to expect on the first few days of school, [making it] less of a new, scary thing.”
This sentiment is not just shared by students; Admissions Director Lisa Leroux-Smith, who helps to run tour days, also reflects on the importance of allowing potential students to integrate in the Seabury community rather than just see it from the outside. She shares that visitors get to “experience … Seabury culture [like] Morning Meeting, and it gives them a really good idea of what being a Seabury student is like, and they also can see themselves as part of the community.”
Students also think that visit days can help break misconceptions about Seabury. Senior Aidan Page explains that people who might think that it is just a “small, preppy school” will “see how nice and inclusive an environment it can be.”
Rinnert also found that one of his misunderstandings about Seabury was clarified while touring, albeit a lighter one. “My most exciting moment [was] PE, because I was scared that after elementary school I wouldn’t get to have PE again,” he says.
Students also have several entertaining moments that they remember fondly from their visit days. Sixth grader Lily Weiss remembers that her visit day took place during last year’s clock stealing advising prank, recalling, “I was in Ms. Lovett’s room, and she wanted to know the time, and then she remembered that someone had taken down all the clocks.”
Seventh grader Zoe Huebner also remembers a great experience from her exploration of Seabury, recollecting, “In Histography, Lady Asher … had the guinea pigs, Matcha and Boba … a funny story about [them] is that now my mom has them in her classroom.”
Students were also excited by their classroom experiences while touring. Ninth grader Evie Goerdel explains that History class inspired her during her visit day: “I really enjoyed watching and listening to the history class. They were doing a mock trial for, I think it was [a] part of the Spanish Inquisition … That was really cool,” she says.
Ninth grader Ella Langham found that English class excited her about Seabury’s academics, sharing, “I expected an increase in the rigor of academics for sure … [Mr.] Pulsinelli’s class was really cool … I was excited for [it].”
Additionally, several students think back to a more literal sweet experience on their visit day. Rinnert remembers that “Lady Asher … gave us those little guava candies, and I was so surprised because none of my teachers before [coming to Seabury] did stuff like that.”
Goerdel recollects similar happy surprise at the array of treats given out, noting, “[Seabury] gave me a ton of snacks. I don’t know why but they were good.”
Besides teachers and classes, Page recalls that his visit day helped him connect with other students too, explaining, “[during] free time in the gym … I remember just throwing [a] football with somebody and that was really fun.”
Along these lines of connecting with visitors as their peers, Leroux-Smith provides a few tips on how any student can help them enjoy their day at Seabury, saying, “I’d like [to see students] be their normal Seabury selves and look people in the eyes; say hello when they see [guests] in the halls; when they see a visitor in their class, introduce themselves and make them feel welcome.”
