Health and Safety
We believe that a student will have the best learning experience if she is functioning at her optimum health level and feels safe and secure in her school community and at home. Chapin is committed to providing its students with a safe environment and the best possible medical care and supervision. In addition, the life skills curriculum addresses health-related topics that are of special concern to girls and young women:
Healthy Eating
The life skills program is dedicated to addressing the issue of healthy eating. Our culture and media place immense pressures on girls to look and eat a certain way. For many girls, this can be damaging to their self-esteem and eventually to their bodies. Chapin has implemented a multi-source approach to promote healthy eating. A combination of media education, involvement from in-house and outside professionals, and small-group discussions helps us to get this message across to the students. Drop-in sessions with a licensed nutritionist give girls privacy and support as they navigate the challenges of maintaining a healthy diet and body image.
Sex and Sexuality Education
For Classes 4 and 5, there is no formal sexual education program. The focus for girls in those age groups is on learning about puberty and the body changes that accompany it. In Classes 6 and 7, students move on, through their science courses, to discuss human anatomy and physiology and human reproduction. In Class 7, they begin to look at the more complicated factors that accompany physical intimacy, readiness and relationships.
Students in Classes 8 through 12 work with an outside consultant to shape each year's sexuality-education program according to their needs. Topics include discussions about contraception, what actually constitutes sexual behavior, how to make appropriate decisions about sex, and what feelings are involved in situations where one may feel pressured to have sex. Classes 10 and 11 attend seminars on women’s health and sexuality that are conducted by local physicians who specialize in adolescent medicine.
Substance Use/Abuse
We offer a variety of programs to educate students and their families about good decision-making regarding alcohol and drugs. Our media-education curriculum focuses on the types of seductive advertising that entice young people to drink. Class 7 works with the Freedom from Chemical Dependency Foundation, which provides a full week of workshops and meetings to both parents and students. Chapin also has a partnership with the Manhattan-based Freedom Institute, an organization that focuses on preventing drug and alcohol abuse. A Freedom institute counselor comes to Chapin one day each week to conduct drug and alcohol education for students and adults and is available for confidential meetings with students.
Stress Management
Stress management is a key tool in a young woman’s arsenal of life skills. Our Middle School program emphasizes time-management techniques to prevent students from becoming overwhelmed in a challenging academic environment. In the Upper School, faculty members increase the emphasis on handling stress and offer students techniques for doing so. It begins in Class 8, when students start their Upper School careers with a three-day immersion in how to use quiet, stillness, breathing and meditation to increase their energy, reduce stress and be more productive. In another Upper School program, called DEAR (Drop Everything And Relax), students choose among 10 to 15 stress-management workshops, including board games, yoga, meditation, drumming, drawing, dance, storytelling and even napping. Chapin has expanded this model to include working with students in small groups in the faculty-student advising program. The practice of yoga is also earning greater popularity among Chapin students each year as an effective way to manage stress. In all of Chapin's programs of this nature, the goal is to give students the tools they need to deal with pressures they face in life.
Last updated 05.21.08
This page overseen by the Director of Counseling Services
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