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**Avon Old Farms School**
	Avon Old Farms School
	"Aspirando et Perseverando"
Location
	Avon, Connecticut, United States
Information
Type	Private, single-sex (all-boys) boarding & day
Religious affiliation	None
Established	1927
Headmaster	Kenneth H. LaRocque
Faculty	60 teachers
Enrollment	398 students (9 - 12, PG); 77% Boarding
Average class size	12 students
Student:teacher ratio	6:1
Campus	1000 acres (4 km²)
Color(s)	Crimson and Blue
Athletics	15 varsity interscholastic sports teams (36 interscholastic teams total)
Mascot	Winged Beaver
Average SAT scores	1620 (2008)
Acceptance Rate	44%
Website	www.avonoldfarms.com

Avon Old Farms School

Avon Old Farms is a single-sex boarding school for boys located in Avon, Connecticut. It was founded by Theodate Pope Riddle, an RMS Lusitania survivor and a master architect. It opened in 1927 and closed for a period during World War II to serve as a convalescent hospital for blind veterans. The current headmaster is Mr. Kenneth H. LaRocque, a Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University graduate.

Avon draws its boys from all over the world; 77% of them are boarders.

[edit] Academics

Eighteen Advanced Placement courses are offered in history, English, chemistry, physics, biology, art, French, Spanish, Environmental Science, Government, Calculus, Economics, and other subjects. In order to receive a diploma, students are required to complete four years of English, three years of history, three years of science including laboratory work, three years of math, two years of the same foreign language, two years of electives, and one course in the fine arts. The average class size is 12 students, and the student-teacher ratio is 6:1. 100% of the students matriculate to college.

[edit] Athletics

Avon offers a wide variety of sports in the fall, winter, and spring seasons. Students can participate in various skill levels of soccer, football, cross country, basketball, hockey, wrestling, squash, skiing, swimming, riflery, track, baseball, golf, tennis, and lacrosse.

Avon is most known for its rowdy fans.^{[citation needed]} For a first round playoff hockey game in 2004, the Avon rink held over 3000 people while the school only had an enrollment of approximately 390.

Avon is also best known for its Ice Hockey program, which has won a record 7 New England Championships (4 in the last 5 years) and produced NHL Players Brian Leetch, Jon Quick and Chris Higgins among others. Coach John Gardner is in his 32nd season as the team's coach and been with the team for all 7 Championships. He currently has a record of 603-178-29.^[1]

Avon is also recognized for its soccer program. Soccer at Avon over the last 6 years has become as big as hockey. The Avon Old Farms Soccer team has made the playoffs 6 times consecutively in the last six years setting the school's record for consecutive soccer playoff appearances. In addition, in the last four years the team has won the New England Division 1 championship twice which are also the only two championships in the soccer program's long history. In 2008 the winged beavers lost 2-0 to a very strong Hotchkiss team in the New England Division 1 championship.

Avon has also had a very successful lacrosse program over the years. The program was built by nationally recognized coach Skip Flanagan (coach at the 2008 high school all star game)^[2]. Since Coach Flanagan left the school Ted Garber was the coach and again brought great success to the program. Coach Flangan will be returning as the Winged Beaver's lacrosse coach in the spring of 2010.

[edit] Campus

A new student center and athletic complex was recently completed in October 2006. A 500-seat performing arts center was completed in March 2007. Together, the two facilities cost more than $30 million and are part of an alumnus initiative to improve the campus.

Theodate Pope Riddle, the founder and architect of the original buildings at the school designed all of the original buildings at the school. Most of them still remain in use as dormitories and classrooms made out of a unique reddish sandstone from a local quarry.

[edit] Notable alumni

Deon Anderson, NFL Player, fullback, 6th round draft pick 2007 of the Dallas Cowboys
Kirk Browning, Television director
Kristian Bush, singer- Sugarland (band)
Niko Dimitrakos, fifth round San Jose Sharks draft pick (155th overall) in 1999, playing for Skellefteå AIK in the Swedish elite league Elitserien.
Chris Hetherington, NFL player
Christopher Higgins, first round NHL draft pick in 2002, former assistant captain for the Montreal Canadiens, currently playing with the New York Rangers
Matt Lashoff, NHL First Round Draft pick(22nd overall) by the Boston Bruins, NHL player for the Tampa Bay Lightning
Brian Leetch, first round NHL draft pick by the New York Rangers in 1986(ninth overall), Played the first 17 of 19 Pro seasons for the New York Rangers before playing parts of his final two seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins. Had #2 retired on January 24, 2008 by the New York Rangers for his years of dedicated service to the New York Rangers.
John Gillespie Magee, Jr., Aviator and poet, famous for his poem High Flight, favourite among aviators and astronauts.
Matt Martin, NHL player, Toronto Maple Leafs, retired
Juan Nieves, former major league baseball pitcher, pitched Milwaukee Brewers only no hitter
Michael Nouri, actor, Formerly on the cast of The O.C. as Dr. Neil Roberts
Jon Quick, NHL third round draft pick, current Los Angeles Kings goalie,
David Roberts (ice hockey player), NHL player, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, retired
Pete Seeger, folksinger; inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rutledge Varley, Broadway Actor, currently touring the country as the lead in production of 42ND Steet
Richard Yates, author of Revolutionary Road and of A Good School, a roman a clef based on/drawn from his experiences at Avon Old Farms
Stephen Lash, chairman of the auction house Christie's
Austin Sperry, member of the US olympic sailing team 2008 Beijing
Jeff Hamilton, NHL hockey player, currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, played with Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes

[edit] Publications

The school's student newspaper, The Avon Record has a staff of six editors, two advisers, and over twenty-five staff writers. The Record publishes 8-16 page issues almost every month.

The school's annual literary magazine The Hippocrene highlights artistic and literary works by students.

Stay Tuned is the school's student-run music review magazine. It is publishes about twice a year.

The Avonian is a publications designed specifically for Alumni. Avon also has an alumnus e-newsletter. Both publications are created by faculty.

The Winged Beaver is the schools yearbook. It has won awards several times from the ASPA (American Scholastic Press Association)^[3]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Avon Old Farms School

[0] ttp://www.hockeyjournal.com/Article.php?ArtID=87973

[1] ttp://www.uabiz.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=309070

[2] ttp://www.asan.com/asa/aspa1.htm ASPA awards list

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