What is Student Life Like at the Ecole d’Humanité? Family Evening

When you hear the term Boarding School, you may picture a crowd of posh young people - uniform in dress and background - studying in an old castle under strict tradition and significant academic pressure.

What Boarding School Life is Like at the Ecole d’Humanité

Boarding school life at the Ecole d’Humanité is something completely different! It’s diverse, vibrant, dynamic, and connected!

Instead of living in large, impersonal dormitories, Ecole students stay in charmingly rustic mountain chalets, called Family Houses. In small groups of six to ten, our students live together much as a family does, under the attentive care of dorm parents, or Family Heads.

Ecole Families form the backbone of social life at the Ecole d’Humanité. These small co-ed, multilingual, multi-age, groups of students live together in our cozy student dorms. Families eat together, work together, study together, and of course, have fun together!

Family Evening is a long-held tradition at the Ecole d’Humanité. Each Wednesday, after a day packed with learning and community life, each Ecole Family gathers together to prepare a delicious meal, share conversation, and have fun together.

Family Evening starts with meal prep. Guided by their dorm parents–Family Heads as we call them at the Ecole–students work as a team as they chop, stir, sauté, and serve up a family meal.

Each week, one or two students from each dorm design the evening’s menu. Drawing inspiration from favorite comfort foods, or elaborate dishes representing their country’s culinary traditions, the students are responsible for the meal from beginning to end. They work together to plan the menu, make an ingredient list, and even do the shopping if required. The students practice their kitchen skills as they bring their culinary creations to life.

While the delicious aromas of bubbling sauces or roasting vegetables float through the family kitchen, the students and dorm parents hang out, tell jokes, or challenge each other to an impromptu dance-off. Then, they all sit together at the family table and tuck into a delicious dinner.

The fun doesn’t stop there! After the meal, the students collaborate on the clean-up! They hone their scrubbing skills as they wash dishes and tidy up the kitchen.

As the school year progresses, our students become more comfortable in the kitchen, developing skills that will serve them as they venture out on their own after their boarding school experience. Many of our students take a special interest in the culinary arts, becoming competent cooks with a diverse repertoire of recipes and techniques. And our students’ aptitude for cleaning always expands as they learn to take ownership of their shared living space.

Another highlight of Family Evening is the Family activity! Just as with the meal, the students take on the task of planning an activity to be shared by the whole group. They might hold a fierce match of Tichu, a traditional Swiss card game. Or, plan a more elaborate event, like an evening of sledding under a dusk-blue sky. Sometimes a couple of families challenge each other to an epic game of dodgeball or an evening of stargazing on the Sports Platz.

Family Evening is an important touchpoint in the weekly Ecole rhythm. It donates the opportunity to connect as a community, share traditions, and build a stronger sense of belonging. Family Heads, check-in with their students and share happy experiences that help to build stronger relationships.

The benefits of shared family experiences extend even beyond the dorm and into the classroom. As one student explained, “When I get to know my teachers in the family, it helps me see them as a whole person. Like, with Ben - he’s my family head and my biology teacher. Before the Ecole, I didn’t like science. But because I like Ben as a person, I’m more inspired in his class.”

Family Evening allows students to take on responsibility, which develops a stronger sense of competency and self-worth. As they plan, cook, and serve a meal for the whole group, students see themselves as vital members of the community. They feel a sense of pride in their budding culinary skills. They find joy in creating a positive experience for their friends; they discover themselves to be capable of recovering from inevitable culinary blunders; they develop practical life skills like meal planning, cooking, and, of course, cleaning!

Parents of Ecole students often share their delight when their child comes home from the Ecole ready to share a favorite recipe, and impress their family with a newfound aptitude for kitchen cleaning!