Avon Old Farms
| Avon Old Farms School | |
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"Aspirando et Perseverando"
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| Location | |
| 500 Old Farms Road Avon, Connecticut, United States |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private, single-sex (all-boys) boarding & day |
| Religious affiliation(s) | None |
| Established | 1927 |
| Headmaster | Kenneth H. LaRocque |
| Faculty | 60 teachers |
| Enrollment | 406 students (9–12, PG) 81% Boarding |
| Average class size | 12 students |
| Student to teacher ratio | 6:1 |
| Campus | 1000 acres (4 km²) |
| Color(s) | Maroon and Navy Blue |
| Athletics | 15 varsity interscholastic sports teams (36 interscholastic teams total) |
| Mascot | Winged Beaver |
| Rivals | Deerfield & Salisbury |
| Average SAT scores | 1835 (2011) |
| Acceptance Rate | approx. 33% (2011) |
| Website | www.avonoldfarms.com |
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; 81% of them are boarders.
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[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. The official school mascot is the Winged Beaver with "winged" being specifically pronounced "wing-ed".
Avon is also best known for its ice hockey program, which has won a record eight Division 1 New England Championships (four between 2004 and 2008) and produced NHL players such as Hockey Hall of Fame member Brian Leetch, as well as Jonathan Quick, Chris Higgins, and others. Coach John Gardner is in his 32nd season as the team's coach and been with the team for all eight championships. He currently has a record of 603–178–29.[1] On December 21, 2009, Avon played Taft School in the first ever hockey game played at Fenway Park.[2] Avon won its eighth Division 1 Hockey New England Championship on March 7, 2010, beating Northfield Mount Hermon 4–1.
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).[3] Since Coach Flanagan left the school Ted Garber was the coach and again brought great success to the program. Coach Flangan returned as the Winged Beaver's lacrosse coach in the spring of 2010 and the Winged Beavers were nationally ranked as high as 6th during the season and finished 12th in the nation.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Deon Anderson, NFL Player, fullback for the Miami Dolphins.
- Cam Atkinson, NHL Player, forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- Nick Bonino NHL Anaheim Ducks forward.
- Kristian Bush, musician; member of the country music duo, Sugarland.
- Jared DeMichiel, Led RIT Ice Hockey team to first Frozen Four in their history. Currently in ECHL
- Niko Dimitrakos, Hockey player for Skelleftea AIK in the Swedish elite league Elitserien.
- Brian Farrell, professional hockey player.
- Jeff Hamilton, Hockey player for HC Lugano, & Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL.
- Chris Hetherington, NFL player.
- Christopher Higgins, former assistant captain for the Montreal Canadiens, currently playing with the Vancouver Canucks.
- Brian Leetch, NHL, played for the New York Rangers and inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
- John Gillespie Magee, Jr., Aviator and poet, famous for his poem High Flight.
- Juan Nieves, former major league baseball pitcher, pitched the only no hitter ever for the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Jon Quick, NHL Los Angeles Kings goalie, 2010 U.S. Olympic team member.
- 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.
- Richard Yates, author of Revolutionary Road and of A Good School.
[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.
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 school's yearbook. It has won awards several times from the ASPA (American Scholastic Press Association).[4]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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