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Fast Facts

Founded in 1866, Fay serves 475 students in Pre-K through grade nine on its 66-acre campus in Southborough, Massachusetts.

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Mission & Philosophy

The mission of Fay School is to educate each child to his or her full potential through a broad, balanced, and challenging program that establishes a solid foundation for a productive and fulfilling life.

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The Power of Tradition

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Welcome

Fay's admission team is available to help you with every step of the admission process. Find out more here.

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Applying

Click here to read about the steps for admission to our Primary, Lower, and Upper Schools.

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Admission Events

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Secondary School Counseling

Fay's graduates are coveted by secondary schools, who welcome our students' strong skills, interests, and commitment to their communities. Find out how our secondary school counselors help each student find a school that's the right fit.

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Effort Grades

A unique hallmark of Fay's program is our system of effort grades, which emphasizes focus, determination and follow-through.

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Distinguished Faculty

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Athletics Facilities

Take a virtual tour of Fay's athletic facilities, which include a 36-acre athletic campus, gym, batting cages, basketball courts, and more.

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Coaches

Fay’s coaching staff is composed of faculty and staff as well as outside specialists, who are committed to supporting our athletes in an atmosphere of challenge and fun.

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Everyone Plays

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The Spirit of Creativity

Fay students build creativity and confidence through courses in art, music, drama, and dance.

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Arts Facilities

See our studios, classrooms, practice spaces, and performance venues.

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Visit our Virtual Gallery

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Character Matters

Fay students learn and grow in a community that emphasizes responsibility, respect, inclusion, empathy, and effort.

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Global Community

Fay welcomes students from across the United States and 20 countries. Find out what it's like to be part of a global community.

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Circles of Connection

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Diversity and Inclusion

At Fay, diversity is an asset, an experience, and a process. We believe that a broad range of experiences and viewpoints enhances learning and enriches life.

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After-School Programs

Fay offers an extended day program until 6:00 pm and a rich array of after-school clubs for music, art, athletics, science, and more.

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Leadership

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Living on Campus

Boarders at Fay enjoy busy days that are structured and well supervised, but also full of friendship, warmth, and fun.

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Meet Our Dorm Parents

Our dorm parents are Fay faculty, staff, and coaches - all specially trained to meet the needs of middle school boarding students.

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Why Boarding at Fay?

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The 2016-17 Fay Fund

The Fay Fund makes up 8% of Fay's annual operating budget and helps fund educational programs, facilities, and books and supplies. Give now!

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Ways to Give

There are many ways to help Fay continue to provide an extraordinary educational experience for every student

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Give Online

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Fay School Blog

Three Key Study Skills That Every Student Should Have

Posted by Fay School on Feb 13, 2019 2:05:38 PM

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While there are always one or two students in every class who just seem hardwired to excel in school, the reality is that most kids have to learn the organizational skills, test-taking strategies, and executive function skills that will make them strong students. Schools that explicitly teach their students the study skills and habits of being a successful student provide their students with a distinct advantage.

At Fay, we believe that academic excellence can be a learned behavior, and our seventh graders begin the year by taking a comprehensive Study Skills course in the fall term that prepares them for the rigors of Upper School and beyond. “So many students think that they just need to work harder,” says  Fay’s Head of Upper School Sarah Remsberg. “We want to teach them to work more effectively.” Here are some of the elements of a good study skills course:

Executive function skills

When it comes to academic success, strong executive function skills are arguably more important than innate intelligence. Strong students excel in these self-management skills: task initiation, organization, planning and prioritization, goal-directed persistence, and time management. At the beginning of the course, each Fay seventh grader takes a quiz that identifies his or her individual executive functioning strengths and weaknesses and then spends time examining how these manifest in their daily academic lives. For example, a student with weak organization skills might have difficulty finding an assignment in the wads of paper spilling out of their notebook. Armed with this valuable information, students set personal goals for the year and share them with the class. The students’ goals tend to range from specific action items like “I want to estimate how long homework assignments will take so I can make a plan,” to metacognitive goals like “I want to understand how I think and learn to learn better.”

Organization

Getting and staying organized can be a challenge for middle schoolers, and throughout the course, students have to periodically check and evaluate their binders and notebooks to ensure that materials are neat and easy to access. “This is a skill that students need to be explicitly taught,” says Fay’s Director of Learning Services Sally Supinski. “Some students need help determining what to keep, what to throw away, and how to organize it all.”

Organizing time can be equally daunting. In class, students talk about “time on task” and how that affects their ability to manage their workloads. Each student completes a worksheet estimating how much time is devoted to evening activities: eating dinner, doing homework for each subject, getting organized for the next day, and getting ready for bed. At home, students track how long they actually spend on these tasks, with eye-opening results. “Sometimes kids get overwhelmed by the amount of stuff they have to do,” says Sally. “ It’s good for them to see that if they are spending an hour on math homework, maybe they need to go in for some extra help.”

Managing stress and anxiety

Seventh grade is a Fay student’s first experience with a traditional end-of-term exam period. Anticipating this event, teachers work with students on how to study efficiently, calm exam anxiety, and be ready to perform their best on test day. “We give students clear strategies for how to prepare for a test, figure out what the teacher is going to ask, and study and retain that information,” says Fay Learning Specialist Liz Williams. “We want to help students figure out which strategies will work best for them.” Drawing on ideas familiar from Fay’s Wellness Classes, Study Skills also incorporates mindfulness exercises to help students calm, clear, and focus their minds before beginning an exam.

Want to ace your next test? Take a look at Fay’s Study Skills exam prep checklist that our students use to make sure they are prepared, organized, and ready to put their best effort into every assessment.

 
Want to learn more about Fay School? Let us know!

 

 

 

Topics: Middle School Learning, K-9 Learning

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