When Meredith arrived as a sixth grader, she had several friends at Dana Hall already; they just happened to be seven feet tall and sleep in the barn.

Growing up three minutes from campus, Meredith had known about the School forever. By the time her older sister was a Dana senior, Meredith, then in fifth grade, started taking classes at the Dana Hall Riding Center. A year later, when she came to choose an independent middle school, Dana Hall was the perfect fit, allowing her to keep up her riding skills and maintain those friendships: "The barn is so close," says Meredith, "that sometimes during break I grab some apples for the horses and just go over there to visit."

Back in the saddle

Now a thriving seventh grader, Meredith rides two afternoons a week. Although some girls board their own horse, Meredith happily rides one of the Dana mounts. "For me," she says, "riding is more a hobby than a passion." At Dana Hall, there is plenty of room for both kinds of equestrians. "You can take a group lesson or a private one," says Meredith, "and you can always take a horse out hacking to get warmed up."

No boys, no problem

Unlike most schools, Dana Hall has horses - and unlike many schools, it doesn't have boys. What was it like to come to an all-girls institution? "It was a hard transition," Meredith says, "but you get used to it quickly. Now I can't imagine having a class with boys. In my old school, I sometimes felt it was hard to concentrate with boys in class. I used to wonder why they liked getting into trouble, even when the teacher told them to stop!" Like most Dana girls, Meredith also finds lots of opportunities to hang out with boys on the weekends, whether at Dana events, community service activities, or dances at other schools in town.

The skills of a serious student

Coming to Dana also required adjusting to the school's academic expectations. "In 5^th grade," says Meredith, "my homework was a couple of worksheets. At Dana Hall, I get about two hours a night." It's a challenge, but the Middle School deliberately teaches you all the skills you need to handle it, from how to manage your time and do research, to how to organize your binders. "Now," Meredith reports, "I never find myself not finding something!"

Time for fun

Even with the demands of schoolwork, she finds time to play a sport each season (soccer, basketball and lacrosse), to take guitar lessons, to play in a youth basketball league on the weekends, and to take ski and snowboard trips with her family. She also loves the familiar rhythm of Dana Hall's many school traditions, like Step Sing: "The whole school gathers on the steps around a little seating area under the Dining Center," says Meredith "And we all sing our class songs in order."  This year, the seventh graders weren't quite sure when they were supposed to sing their piece -- a silly moment that only made the day more memorable and more fun.