THE GOOD LIFE AT ABS
WHERE WOULD I LIVE?
Welcome to Community Life at the American Boychoir School. Our job is to make ABS feel like a second home to all our families. We have two dorms for the boys to live in. 4th-5th graders stay in Grace Lambert Cottage. Cottage also houses their school classrooms and two houseparent apartments. There is a living room for watching TV, hanging out with friends, and playing games. The shady front porch is also a great place to relax.
Ettl Dorm is where the 6th-8th graders live. This dorm also has a great living room with a TV, smaller rooms for board games and even a room with a piano! Upstairs is the rec room. The health office is located here along with apartments for houseparents and the Dean of Student's family.
In both dorms 2-4 boys live in each room. There are community bathrooms just down the hall with plenty of showers, bathroom stalls, and sinks.
Outside we have a great courtyard, benches under the trees, and a playground. There is also lots of room to ride bikes, a soccer field, tennis courts with basketball goals, and the oldest swimming pool in New Jersey! Several of the houseparents have pets to share with all the boys. If you want a quiet place the Formal Gardens are perfect.
WHAT DO I EAT?
Everyone who lives at ABS eats in the beautiful dining room in Albemarle. Some mornings you can look out the French doors and share breakfast with a family of deer! There is always fresh fruit available for snacks in a cooler in the dining room. Milk, juice, and water are also easy to find.
For all chocoholics and snack attacks the boys are allowed to keep snacks in the "Snack Closet" at Ettl. If you will share, the houseparents will usually let you grab a snack in the evenings or on weekends. If you like to cook there are several Community Life staff who love to share their kitchens and cook with boys. Brownies, cookies, and popcorn are the usual favorites.
WHAT DO I DO FOR FUN?
In the evenings after supper ABS students get to choose between going to Clubs, the Tech Lab, or a quiet time Study Hall. If you are learning to play an instrument this is a great time to practice. Our Clubs are really fun and interesting. You can chose Boy Scouts, Guitar Lessons, Speaker's Corner, Strategic Games, Creative Writing, and Art. If there is something you are interested in, talk to the Dean of Students and maybe we can start a club!
On weekends there is free time, study time, sport activities, night games (a favorite at ABS), and at least one planned activity. Some of the activities include going to the beach, ice skating, movies and the mall, cool museums, trips to NYC and Philadelphia, and exploring local places of interest.
CALENDAR OF COMMUNITY LIFE EVENTS
MEET THE BOYS - Malcolm Newman
Malcolm Newman is in 7th grade at ABS. He lives in Trenton, NJ with his parents and two younger brothers. Malcolm had some interesting answers to our questions.
- What is your least favorite food? Eggplant.
- What has been your favorite book so far? The Hobbit.
- What do you like to do in your free time? Watch movies.
- Tell us something interesting about where you live. Trenton is home to the Trenton Thunder who is the AA affiliate to the NY Yankees.
- What is one thing you would change about the world. No starvation.
- If you could travel anyplace where would you go? Sweden, because it's part of my heritage.
- What one super-power would you pick for yourself? Shape shifting.
- What's your favorite thing to do with friends? Play video games together - like a multiple person game.
- If you could have dinner with anyone from any time period, who would it be? Genghis Kahn, because I'd like to see his table manners.
- If you could live anyplace in the world where would you live? London, England because it has interesting sites and cool museums.
