Campus Facilities

Overview
The dining hall is a place where the Suffield community spends a great deal of time together. Here, students and faculty can extend friendships, make new ones, and generally relax within a congenial setting. Mealtimes are social events as well as breaks in the day. Students must know which meals they are required to attend. In addition, expectations regarding dress code and suitable grooming vary by meal. Lunches are served family-style during the week [Monday-Friday] and require formal dress, with the exception of buffet lunch on Wednesday. Attendance by all students is required at lunch on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Boarding students are required to attend dinner on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings. Casual attire may be worn at buffet meals. All breakfast meals and weekend meals are served by buffet, and attendance is optional. All students and faculty have assigned tables for family-style meals. Table assignments for students are changed weekly to provide an opportunity for everyone to meet more faculty and students.

Rules
Good table manners, as well as courtesy and consideration, are expected of everyone. The following are some guidelines:

• During lunch and formal dinners, offer food to faculty and guests first; wait until everyone is served before eating; do not clear dishes until instructed to do so by faculty.

• During lunch and formal dinners, direct all conversation to your table; always ask for permission to leave the table or to talk to someone from another table.

• Evening meals are required for all boarding students. Day students are most welcome to attend.

• The periods before and after lunch are excellent times to communicate with the school community. Several modes exist that facilitate efficient and timely communication for students and faculty.

• Students may make announcements verbally at the conclusion of lunch. This is an important tradition at Suffield, but students are reminded to pay close attention to the regulations and spirit of the announcement policies. Careful consideration should be given to the style, content, and appropriateness of announcements.

• No food, drink, or equipment may leave the dining hall.

• Hats worn in dining hall are prohibited.

• No cell phone use [emergency calls may be taken in Brewster lobby].

The Landis Student Union is intended for the use of students and faculty for social purposes. The following rooms, offices, and resources are located in the Union: Dean of Students & Campus Life, Assistant Dean of Students, Cultural Diversity Coordinator, snack bar, faculty members on duty, bulletin boards, bookstore, and mail room. The snack bar is open during posted hours when school is in session.

Every student is assigned a mailbox in the Student Union where incoming mail, including UPS packages, may be picked up. Federal Express packages are delivered to the receptionist in Fuller Hall. Students should check their mailboxes every day. Outgoing mail may be deposited into the slot in the panel at the mailroom door.

Located in the Student Union, the Suffield Academy Bookstore is open Monday through Saturday when school is in session. Students may purchase school supplies, Suffield logo clothing and memorabilia, toiletries, and gift items. As a convenience for students, the bookstore sells U.S. postage stamps. Students may pay for their purchases with cash, personal check, or credit card. Students are expected to purchase all textbooks required for their courses in the first two weeks of the term from MBS [the online bookstore]. Information on this service is sent in August.

The Suffield Academy Library is the school’s major academic resource center. It houses a collection of approximately 20,000 books, audiovisual, and web-based subscription resources.

The library subscribes to approximately 100 magazines and seven daily newspapers. Students have access to the Internet, the school’s email system, via data ports, wireless Ethernet, and Macintosh computers available throughout the library. Audiovisual equipment is housed in the library, and students are encouraged to take advantage of the collection of digital video cameras, digital cameras, projectors, DVDs, videos, online databases, and music CDs. The library’s web-based catalog can be accessed remotely to check for material availability.

The school has unmonitored security cameras in all dormitories and certain other locations on campus. Security camera footage will be reviewed for any safety or operational concerns that arise.