Boarding Program

Traditions and celebrations spice up campus life and create lasting memories for members of the campus community.

Pre-Holiday Dinners: The dining hall prepares a banquet-style feast for the boarders and campus families. Students dress up and eat together in a "fancy" but comfortable atmosphere, reminding each other to be grateful for the opportunities they have been given.

Halloween: Everyone dresses up in costume and the boarders go trick-or-treating at the homes of campus families, ending with a party at the head of school's house. Earlier in the evening, the younger campus residents trick-or-treat in the dorms, receiving candy and the occasional surprise from the boarding students.

Winter: Students can choose to take part in a variety of festive activities, like making gingerbread houses, drinking cocoa with their campus families, watching It's a Wonderful Life in the lounge, making cards for their secret elf, and much more.

Snow Days: The dorms are a great place to be on snow days. Students spend time sledding with the campus residents on McDonogh's sloping hills, watching movies in the Klein Lyceum, and participating in other fun activities.

Evenings at the Head of School's House: Every couple of months, the Head of School and his family open their home to the boarders for a relaxing evening of good food and camaraderie in front of a roaring fireplace. Students spread throughout the living areas and enjoy the company of their peers. 

Coed Events: R-L Leaders plan a couple of events each term to give residents of the girls' and boys' dorms the opportunity to interact. Past activities have included bonfires complete with s'mores, volleyball games, pizza and movie nights, foursquare tournaments, snowball fights, Oriole games, bowling tournaments, trips to a trampoline park and nighttime flashlight tag games.

Boarder Birthdays: Every boarder with a birthday during the school year knows that part of the day's festivities will be a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" during boarder dinner in the dining hall. Often, friends will buy a cake and start a small birthday party that will grow to include the whole dorm and the dorm faculty, starting after study hall and running until bedtime.

Seniors’ Last Night: On their last night in the dorms, the seniors gather with campus faculty in the dorm quad for a bonfire with their friends. A crab feast, music and s'mores accompany the reminiscing as the soon-to-be graduates prepare themselves to leave McDonogh. It is a beautiful way to bring an end to a year spent in the community they have grown to love as a second home.