| Cardigan Mountain School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Canaan, NH, USA |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Private boarding school |
| Religious affiliation(s) | None |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Headmaster | David J. McCusker, Jr. '80 |
| Faculty | 50 |
| Grades | 6-9 |
| Enrollment | 200 |
| Average class size | 12 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 4:1 |
| Campus size | 500 acres (2 km²) |
| Campus type | Township-Woods |
| Color(s) | Green and White |
| Athletics | 15 Interscholastic Sports 33 Interscholastic Teams |
| Mascot | Cougar |
| Website | www.cardigan.org |
Cardigan Mountain School (also called Cardigan or CMS) is a boys-only independent boarding school located on 62 Alumni Drive, Canaan, New Hampshire, USA. It was founded in 1945 on land provided by Dartmouth College.
It is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS). It is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).[1]
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Cardigan Mountain School was founded in 1945 by a group of men who saw a void in educational programs tailored to the needs of boys in the pre-preparatory school years. The founders were prominent New England educators, businessmen, and civic leaders, including Ernest Martin Hopkins (president of Dartmouth College), William R. Brewster (headmaster of Kimball Union Academy), and Ralph Flanders (a U.S. Senator from Vermont). Land for the school’s campus had originally been donated to Dartmouth College by the Haffenreffer family. The founders believed the location to be ideal for a boys’ school: the land and Haffenreffer mansion, which initially housed classrooms and a dormitory, are situated on an arcadian peninsula in Canaan Street Lake with views of Mount Cardigan and the White Mountains to the east and the Green Mountains to the west. The school opened on September 19, 1946 with an enrollment of 24 boys, and its growth was fueled by the merger of the Clark School of Hanover, New Hampshire into Cardigan in 1953.[2]
Cardigan was built upon an educational experience that emphasized rigorous academics and study habits, as well as spiritual guidance, physical training, and social orientation. In order to accomplish this purpose, Cardigan’s program was tailored to each boy so that he made the best possible use of his potential in these areas. Thus, every boy had a balanced and well-rounded life: physically, mentally, and spiritually. This philosophy is the same today as it was in 1945. It sends many of its seniors to prestigious secondary schools such as St. Paul's, Phillips Exeter, Phillips Andover, Avon Old Farms, Loomis Chaffee, Taft School, Groton, Peddie School, Blair Academy, Salisbury School, Lawrenceville School and many more. The school itself has a rigorous academic and athletic program. The varsity teams compete against high school junior varsity teams.
The school has numerous dormitories and houses for boarding students.
The school's principal academic buildings are Hopkins, Bronfman (where science labs are located) and Stoddard (which houses the school's library and the Humann Theatre as well as classrooms). Other facilities include the school's chapel, the Hamilton Health Center, the Hayward Dining Room, the Kenerson Athletic Center, the Charles C. Gates I.D.E.A. Shop (which includes a woodshop), a sledding slope on Clancy Hill, and a boat house with a fleet of boats on Canaan Street Lake. The school used to maintain and run a ski slope on property known as The Pinnacle, but it is no longer in use. The school has an indoor hockey rink known as Turner Arena, located in the Wakely Center, which converts to four tennis courts in the spring.