About Boarding
Monte Vista Christian School Resident Life Program.....
As a member of our Resident Life program you will live our Core Values of:
• Faith
• Integrity
• Excellence
• Community
• Partnership
• Global Outreach
Monte Vista Christian School is the largest Christian co-ed boarding school in the western United States. The cornerstone of Monte Vista for eighty years, the resident life program brings students, staff, and faculty together in a supportive and nurturing environment.
Our Resident Life Program helps you reach your full potential. How? Students have daily and purposeful contact with faculty and resident life staff. The bottom line is this – we believe that Monte Vista teaches during the day, but the education continues well into the night in our resident community.
We take great care to assist our students in developing:
• Skills that support effective study habits for successful life-long learning.
• Opportunities and ability to contribute responsibly and ethically to the school, dorms, etc.
• Skills that allow for feelings of self-worth and effectiveness as students deal with daily
responsibilities and challenges.
• Social skills that allow for positive relationships with peers and adults.
• A knowledge base and skills that encourage positive, safe, healthy, moral behaviors.
In Monte Vista’s resident program, the expectation to rise to the school’s academic rigors is matched by the growth that comes with boarding students living and learning on their own. The boarding experience in itself gives boarders a head start on the challenging transition to higher education, providing them with the opportunities to become more independent, self-confident, better experienced at time management and study habits, and better prepared to make decisions on their own.
Every resident life staff member encourages and nurtures each individual student to strive for excellence in all areas of life. Whether helping a student with her or his homework, playing basketball in the gym, or counseling a student, the resident life staff continuously works to develop each student’s potential.
Students are very involved in the leadership of their dorms:
• Dorm council meets weekly to discuss issues affecting boarding students, and student committees assist the boarding staff in planning weekend activities and special events.
• Senior Prefects work with the boarding staff to maintain the academic and spiritual aspects of the program, and provide a link with the boarding students.
• Ambassadors are focused on service to the MVCS dorms, especially in hosting prospective dorm students.
Students are very involved in the life of their school:
• Athletics – Boarding students are well represented on our athletic teams – GO MUSTANGS!
• Performing Arts – Band, orchestra, choir, handbells, drama – none would be the same without the participation of our boarding students.
• Student Government – From ASB President to various ASB and Class officers, boarding students are involved in the life of their school.
• Community Service – Not just a graduation requirement, but a passion of many boarding students.
A typical school night is structured to provide the students with ample time for study and other activities. Every night before a school day, study hall and independent study is held from 7:00 – 9:00, with additional time from 9:30 – 10:30 provided to complete school work. Study hall is supervised by resident life staff and faculty, and it provides each student with the discipline necessary to succeed academically. The Writing Center is open during study hall to assist student with drafts, essays, college applications, and reports. The dorm lobbies have PC computers which are available after school, during study hall and on weekends, and both residence halls have wireless internet.
Weekends are a special time for the boarding students, when they can participate in activities, sports, visit family and friends, and enjoy the Monterey Bay, San Jose, and San Francisco metropolitan areas. Monte Vista provides interesting activities every weekend for its boarding students, such as mixers, trips to various athletic events, and visits to cultural and educational sites. In addition, as a Christian School our students attend Church either in town or on campus each weekend.
Our two residence halls house forty-eight girls, and eighty boys. Each residence hall is equipped with a kitchen for student use, laundry facilities, telephone stations, wireless internet, and a comfortable lounge/lobby with big screen TV, piano, PC computers, and game tables. All girls will have a roommate, and all boys will have one or two roommates. Depending on the makeup of the resident population we attempt to assign roommates from different countries, to encourage the development of English language skills.
