Student Activities
From the simplest ride into Sorrento’s in Concord to Senior Prom at Gillette Stadium, student activity never stops. There are the programmed activities, like the Random Dance, the Benefit Ball, and Spring Carnival. But then there are the activities that seem to just materialize on a Thursday: the Red Sox game on Mother’s Day (make sure Mom understands), the van to your art teacher’s favorite Sushi place, the sudden plan to attend a book-signing in Cambridge.
To find out more, you can look at our weekend activities list. But since student activities is about experiences more than lists, perhaps indulge a few more descriptive sentences:
It’s Friday night before a long break, and you feel a different kind of energy around campus. Students (virtually the whole school, it seems) and a few brave and/or interested faculty converge on the Terry Room, sometimes referred to as “our living room.” Where generations of Middlesex students have assembled before, this generation of students arranges itself on couches, chairs, and floor to listen. “FOS” is about to happen.
Like many other student activities on campus (and suggested in the name of the event itself), Freedom of Speech has both an air of formal preparation and utter spontaneity. To call it a “coffee house” would miss the sense in which the whole community expects something memorable, personal, and authentic to happen. The next event on campus will erase all but the most stirring chords or words from memory, but the feel of community, excitement, and talent made visible will linger. And we’ll pick right up on that FOS energy the next time.
Explore a few of our favorite activities on campus:
Fall Field Day
Sure, it’s officially known as “Field Day,” but its moniker among students–Dorm Wars–is is a more accurate label. Glory and honor are at stake as each dorm (including day student teams) battle for supremacy in high-stakes events like the potato sack race, and the tug-of-war.
Square Dance
The first dance of the year is under the stars in the Bancroft Courtyard. Don’t know how to square dance? No problem. Neither does anyone else, and the band’s caller gives you directions as you go. Did we mention there’s a Nacho Bar at the Square Dance? Because there is.
Casino Night
For decades Casino Night has been one of the School’s most cherished semi-formal events. Ware Hall transforms into an exquisite casino, and though the money is fake and the bowties are (mostly) clip-ons, the excitement leading up to the night is real and contagious.
Spring Carnival
For one Sunday each May, the entire school gathers on the Circle to celebrate all the best parts of spring: slushies, hot dogs, face painting, cotton candy, Slip-N-Slide, and inflatable bouncy castles, to name a few. The cute faculty puppies and toddlers are icing on the cake.
