House System
Camaraderie. Competition. Compassion.
The House System is a critical part of our school culture. At Providence we have eight houses: four for the lower school and four for the upper school. Houses are named after historical figures who have embodied our vision by living lives of wisdom, virtue, and eloquence. Lower and upper school houses are paired throughout the year building camaraderie as they work together on service projects and compete in house competitions. In addition, members of the lower school houses are assigned mentors in their paired upper school house who will help guide them through the year with care and compassion.
Throughout the year each house engages in a series of competitions which challenge different intelligences: from our Jugger tournament which tests athletic prowess, to our Literature Festival competition which involves an engineering build, and our academic quiz bowl which sees them put their classroom learning to use—all of which contribute to the final goal: winning the coveted House Cup.
Lower School Houses
Our four lower school houses are House Francis (the Foxes), House Bede (the Badgers), House Patrick (the Snakes), and House Hildegard (the Hedgehogs). Each house is named after a historic Christian figure who embodied aspects of our vision in their life, all while serving and studying various disciplines and arts. Each house is made up of students from PreK to 6th grade, and each lower school student is placed into a new house each year.
The House System is the heartbeat of the Providence community. It provides opportunities for community, friendships, mentoring, and competition. The Houses are part of the dulce domum—the sweet home—of our students’ childhood and adolescence. We want every student to hear, both explicitly and implicitly, the message: “You belong here.”
Upper School Houses
Our four upper school houses are House Augustine (the Venetian Lions), House Alfred (the Dragons), House Albertus (the Phoenixes), and House Athanasius (the Griffins). Each house is named after a historic Christian figure who embodied aspects of our vision in their life, all while serving and studying various disciplines and arts. Each house is made up of students from 7th-12th grades and the houses compete over the course of the year for House Cup.
Upper School
House Council
Each upper school house selects two members to serve as their house captains each school year. House captains lead their houses as they participate in a variety of competitions and meeting during designated house times throughout the year. Our house captains also sit on our house council, which serves the upper school community by being a liaison with administration as well as planning competitions and spirit week. House captains meet regularly with our Dean to plan events and lead the upper school.
Upper School
House Retreat
At our annual upper school house retreat, upper school faculty and students alike spend two days away from the classroom to build relationships. At the retreat, new upper school students are welcomed to the upper school and placed into their houses. We play all sorts of games, from paintball, to boardgames, and ultimate frisbee as we reconnect after a summer away and gear up for the new school year.
