Keystone Magazine Keystone Magazine 5th EN | Page 20

Cover Story
Friends-for-life in the making.
Dorm meetings is one way to keep
life in the residential halls in check.
things better. It is important to be willing
to accept one’s mistakes even if they are
unintentional and apologize to maintain a
good relationship and eliminate gaps between
people.” It is admirably mature of Leo to
understand what it means, and what it takes
to make a place a home. Goleba Lefatshe, a
residential student from Botswana and Leo’s
cohort, agrees that it is important to know
how one’s actions affect others. She asserts
that “one should not expect teachers to
always ‘command’ them to do what is needed.
Rules, such as check-in and appropriate use
of technology, demonstrate that with rights
come the responsibility to act in ways that are
conscious of, and considerate to the people in
the community.” cared for, supervised and supported by a team
of four dorm parents. Of the four teachers,
one is the dorm head for a specific floor.
Each floor also has dorm proctors that are
leadership positions filled by boarders for a
period of one year. There are also middle and
high school teachers living on campus who
are not dorm parents. However, irrespective
of whether a residential teacher is a dorm
parent or not, boarders can always rely on
any teacher living on campus for support.
So starting with one’s roommate, dorm
proctors, and dormmates, to dorm parents,
dorm heads, and teachers, Keystone boarders
have an entire social system and network of
support, supervision and security that is their
campus home.
G o l eba i s r ig ht , a s are h e r p eer s , i n
understanding and imbibing the social norms
and culture that not only make Keystone a
home, but also a community. But before we
get into what this community means and
stands for, let’s take a look at the people who
guide, guard and nurture the adolescent
residents of this community. In addition to guiding boarders through
the daily practicalities of coexisting – from
cleanliness to camaraderie – the residential
faculty are an influential part of these
students’ growth as individuals. Student
counselor and dorm parent, Catherine Powell
feels that her role is personal: “I find that
my role as a dorm parent is very crucial. My
connection with the girls on a personal level
gives them a feeling that there is someone
they can go to if they have problems or
concerns. We celebrate birthdays and talk
about some of the issues that come up. Living
away from home, sharing personal space,
studying for tests, etc. can cause anxiety. My
role is to help them cope with all these things
and more.”
The PEOPLE that Make
Keystone Home
A well-known spiritual leader once said,
“Whoever gives you love, that’s your parent.”
Keystone’s boarders are fortunate to be
surrounded by the love, guidance, and care
of not only their own parents when they
go home, but also their dorm parents while
their home is on campus. “I feel the role of
the dorm parent is critically important to
monitoring the students, acting in place of
the parents, and providing pastoral care,”
remarks high school Math teacher and dorm
parent Gregory Barnes. As a dorm parent for
boys in grades 10 and 11, Mr. Barnes feels
that “having a team of dorm parents on every
floor is an important part of supervising and
supporting the boarding students.”
There is a proper system of adults and peers
to supervise and support the students. Each
floor of the residence buildings has students
from specific grades and gender who are
20 The Keystone Magazine
Dorm parents are a pivotal part of residential
life. However they not only take on the role
of campus parents with upmost sincerity
and deep responsibility, but they also ensure
that they create spaces and opportunities for
students to grow into their own, become their
own person – strong, independent and self-
discovered.
“I think boarding is beneficial because it
allows students to become more social.
They have to interact with different people
from different backgrounds and cultures.
They learn self-control, and self care. While