Residential Life

Boarding at CRMS is the first time for many of our students to live away from home. Our main goal in residential life is to make the residence halls feel warm and welcoming so that all of our students can call Colorado Rocky Mountain School their “home away from home.” While living on campus means being away from family and what is familiar, it also supplies a great opportunity for students to learn and grow in social and living skills.

Whether it be attending classes, participating in our active program, or living on campus, our students have opportunities to meet and interact with one other and with the adults in our community on many different levels. Our boarding curriculum strives to guide students to live with a roommate and share space, to ask their advisors and teachers for help or support, and to become more independent by learning to be responsible and accountable for their own actions.

At CRMS, students build strong relationships with the faculty and staff as well as their peers. Students get to know the adults in the community not only as their teachers but also as their coaches, their trip leaders, their dining mates, and their co-workers. Alumni frequently cite this as one of the best things about their CRMS education. When they graduate they are comfortable with relating to adults and being able to ask adults for what they need. This is a significant skill both for college and for life.

Each night boarding students check into their halls at 7:30 pm and start doing dorm jobs, which are typical household chores. Once those are complete, students clean rooms and attend study hall. Study hall is two hours spent working together or individually on homework assignments, followed by our famous “brush and flush” and lights out. Many nights dorm parents allow students to play games in the gym or “surf the web” once the students have shown proof of completion of their assignments.

While many high school students need to call friends on the phone and ask for homework help or wait until the next day in class to ask the teacher, our boarders are able to work together on assignments and ask their classroom teacher to re-demonstrate what was taught in class. Having our teaching faculty as dorm parents is a huge help to students and their academics; it also provides an opportunity to get to know one another on different levels. Living, working, and playing together promotes a family atmosphere for dorm parents and residents.

Dorms
Sitting on a 300+-acre working ranch near the base of Mount Sopris, Carbondale is a magical setting for our boarding students and faculty. We have plenty of open space to roam and are right at the confluence of the Crystal and Roaring Fork rivers, which creates a wonderful and calming atmosphere.

Our six residence halls are divided by gender and grade level, making personal connection and bonding easy as students live with their peers. Our six residence halls include two for girls and four for boys in addition to one freshman boys’ dorm and one underclassman girls’ dorm.

Crystal: The Crystal dorm is our underclassman girls’ dorm, which houses up to 22 girls. The Crystal is located on the North end of campus, set away from our busy central areas to allow for peace and quiet. Each room is complete with two lofted beds, two desks, and two open closets to provide the essentials one needs to feel comfortable. The common room is one in which many girls take pride, complete with three cozy couches, a dining room table, and a complete kitchen. The north laundry room is located in the Crystal dorm and is used by faculty and students that are of Holden Citizen status.

Roaring Fork House: The Roaring Fork House is home to our incoming freshman boys and houses up to 20 students at one time. It is located across the bike path from the Crystal dorm on the North end of campus, which allows for fun get-togethers, barbecues, and games between the girls and boys. Each room in the Roaring Fork House is supplied with two lofted beds, two desks, and two open closets for comfortable living. The common area includes a TV with a VCR and DVD player as well as video-game connections, two couches, a refrigerator, microwave, toaster, and kitchen sink.

New Boys Dorm (NBD): The New Boys Dorm, or NBD, is our largest hall, housing up to 35 sophomore and junior boys at any one time. It is located near the main entrance of campus and close to all of our main school buildings, creating easy access to recreation, academic resources, and our dining hall. The NBD has four loft rooms, built to create a more independent roommate experience with separate space for all within the same room. All other rooms are complete with two lofted beds, two desks, and two open closets, making it easy to keep organized. This dorm has three common areas; one is the upstairs common with a table and chairs for studying and playing board games; the second is the downstairs common area with a coffee table and benches perfect for lounging; and the third is the main common complete with a TV, DVD/VCR player and video-game hookups, three couches, and a microwave.

New Dorm: The New Dorm was named simply for the order in which it was built and houses up to 12 students, typically junior and senior boys; the rooms are usually singles. The common room is complete with two couches, a microwave, refrigerator, TV, DVD and game hookups, along with a beautiful view of Mount Sopris. Each room in the New Dorm comes equipped with two beds, two desks, and two open closets. The furniture in this dorm is movable and can be arranged to the students’ desires.

Lodge/Solar: Our Lodge and Solar dorms are dedicated to our senior boys and girls, and each houses up to 14 and 16 students, respectively, at one time. Like the New Dorm, these two halls are complete with portable furniture consisting of two beds, two desks, and two stationary open closets. These senior dorm rooms are a little larger than those of the underclassmen, allowing more freedom for the students to enjoy their space. Each common area is complete with a microwave, multiple couches, TV, DVD, video-game hookups, and wonderful views of Mount Sopris. These dorms are located in the center of campus, allowing for quick access to the Bar Fork, cafeteria, gym, and classrooms.

Dorm Times
Following are the check-in times for all boarding students Sunday through Thursday. Failure to check in with the faculty or student dorm head results in disciplinary action. Boarding students cannot go off campus during the evening academic program, and all visitors must check in with the faculty member on duty.

Yearly Schedule
Visitors must depart at 7:15 p.m.
  7:30 Check-in time at dorm for dorm jobs and meetings
  7:45 Dorm study and study assist begin
  9:45 Dorm study ends
10:00 Lights-out (freshmen)
10:30 Students in own rooms (11:00 for seniors)
11:00 Lights-out (12:00 for seniors)

Weekend Activities
Following the academic day on Friday, weekends commence at 3:00 pm. All weekend activities are created, organized, and sponsored by the faculty on-duty team with suggestions and help from the student body. Weekend activities include a range of many different options including bowling, skiing, snowboarding, swimming at the hot springs, art shows, movie buses, gym games, climbing, biking, kayaking, baking, arts and crafts, mall runs, hiking, and much more. We even have off-campus trips, such as our hut trips in the winter and our Wild Women’s Weekends in the fall and spring. All activities are announced and presented to our students at our all-school meetings during the week.

Students can get around the Roaring Fork Valley by using our local public transportation or getting permission to ride with a day student and parents. All boarding students are required to sign out prior to departure from campus for any reason and must sign back in upon returning. Students are allotted a four- hour period per sign-out, unless they prearrange a longer period of time with the faculty on duty and have a face-to-face check-in upon their return. Boarding students frequently are invited to spend weekends with day students and their families. Parental approval and submitting a weekend form to our Weekend Form Coordinator by noon on Thursdays is required for this to occur.