With this in mind, we do our best to provide a family-like atmosphere for all students in our dorms. There is close interaction between students and dorm parents, fostering an atmosphere of care and mutual understanding. Dorm parents are faculty members who live in the dormitories and who are responsible for the well-being of residents and the implementation of dormitory policies. There are at least three dorm parents in each dormitory. Dorm parents are always visible, available, and approachable.
Student Prefects assist in dormitory supervision. These older students provide good role modeling, experience, and leadership for the younger students.
Dormitories range in size from 10 students in the smaller dorms to 76 students in the largest one. Ninth graders have separate dormitories that are structured for younger students. Each student has at least one roommate. Students are assigned roommates at the beginning of the year, with student requests for roommates given careful consideration. Students are encouraged to decorate their room with pictures, posters, plants, and personal objects. In addition, each student receives a phone voice line in his/her room for telephone, fax or computer use. The phone service includes voice message box and call forwarding features.
After dinner, quiet time is maintained in the dorms so students may complete their homework. Quiet Hours coincide with evening Room Study. Curfew is 10:00 PM from Sunday to Friday. Lights-out is at 11:00 PM for freshmen and sophomores and 12:00 AM for juniors and seniors. On Saturday nights, curfew is 11:00 PM. There is no lights-out policy on Saturday nights.
With a little time, the dormitory becomes a comfortable and friendly "home away from home", no matter where a student is from. At first, however, the new surroundings and strange faces can be intimidating and overwhelming. Following are some practical tips on ways to make adjusting to life at Idyllwild Arts more pleasant for your child.
Send Letters!
If you can, send the first letter before your son or daughter leaves home. You might also alert grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters that the first month away is a good time to keep those funny cards and letters arriving. If you live outside the U.S. be sure to send things air mail and to calculate the slow international mail.
The address for students at Idyllwild Arts Academy is:
P.O. Box 1758,
Idyllwild, CA 92549
Make That New Room "My Place"
When packing, be sure your son or daughter includes a favorite poster, stuffed animal, scrapbook, dresser ornaments, choice possession... whatever decorates the room at home. Those bare walls and serviceable furnishings at school need to be converted to the student's own special place as soon as possible. It is also nice to send along a starter-fund of extra allowance for a few new posters or an inexpensive bedspread. If you are coming to registration it never hurts to be an "interior decorator" for a few hours with your son or daughter.
Allowance
Be sure that allowance funds are arranged with great care. There seems to be a more psychological dimension to the monetary situation in boarding school than at home. At school, feeling safe, secure and independent partially depends on having enough money. Feeling happy can often mean being able to buy a pizza when one more dining hall meal is one too many. Buying a new Mozart tape can be important, and joining a group taking a friend out for a birthday dinner can become imperative.
And More Allowance
Your son or daughter will probably ask you for extra funds for relatively good reasons... new instrument parts, Christmas presents, more canvas for a special painting, soap for the laundry, leotards.... You know how endless the string of requests can be. School supplies, art supplies and toiletries can be charged at the student bookstore. Trips to the Business Office or calls to you to ask for extra money for shampoo, toothpaste, and notebook paper are not in order. Some students feel that allowances are strictly fun money and that necessities should come from their parents, whose role is now carried on by the school. Students also need to understand that since some weeks will drain their funds more than others, planning ahead will help them prepare for those extra demands on their budget. It is not advisable to send cash through the mail. The Dean of Students can release extra funds if there is a true need.
Auditions
During the first days of orientation almost all students are involved in auditions for class placement levels. These are real auditions. The student must perform for the Theatre faculty, dance for the Dance department, or play for the conductor. We do our best to prepare the students for this experience and to support them if they are disappointed, but audition time is always a time of great stress for students - whether or not they are sure of their abilities.
Auditions occur throughout the year, and it is best to be sensitive to your son or daughter's casual comment that "I'm auditioning next Saturday for that part in the play." If he or she gets the part, you will be treated to one of those great delirious and positive phone calls. If he or she does not get the part, you might not get a phone call at all or you might be talking with a severely disappointed son or daughter. Call them if they do not call you, and if they have been disappointed give them your support and encouragement for the next chance. As artists, the students must learn to work through the disappointment of not being cast in the fall theatre production or the spring dance concert. It is a difficult but necessary part of their education.
Travel
The Department of Student Services along with the Transportation Office coordinates travel plans for all students during the fall break, winter break, spring break and end-of-the-year travel days. Parents are asked to observe the actual travel dates listed on the school calendar. The Transportation Office must have copies of all student itineraries for travel, even those who are being picked up by parents or taking public transportation. Please convey all plans for travel, including requests for school transportation during vacation periods, to the Student Services Administrative Assistant at extension 2228. During other times of the year, please direct all requests for “away permission” to the Associate Dean of Students at extension 2232. Please make travel arrangements ahead of time. If you wait until the last minute you may pay more or the student may not be able to travel on the listed dates. Missing classes can be detrimental to a student’s grades.
Storage
Students may leave their belongings in storage over the summer. There is a fee for summer storage. Specific instructions regarding the summer storage option will be provided by the Director of Residential Life during the fourth quarter.
Family Weekend
We encourage you to join us for Family Weekend in October. This day allows you to communicate with us in the most direct way possible about what your child has been doing. It is also a day of class visitations, performances, friendly conferences and get-togethers.
Parents' Association
Parents eager to play an active role in the Idyllwild Arts community should contact Alison Yates, Parent and Alumni Relations Officer at (951) 659-2171 x2331 or by email