Here are some of our most frequently asked questions by boarding students or their families.
What is 5-day boarding and 7-day boarding?
5-day boarding: Students live on campus from Sunday night through Thursday night, and are picked up on Fridays after school to go home for the weekend and return back by 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. If a 5-day boarder cannot be picked up for leave on Friday or wishes to stay in the dormitory for the weekend, the parents/guardians of the student will be charged a fee per night.
7-day boarding (most common): Students from all over the world live on campus every day throughout the semester and go home during long school breaks.
How safe is campus?
Farragut is a gated community in a family-friendly neighborhood with 24/7 campus security. All gates are locked at night. The dormitory has alarmed doors between the male and female dorms.
What is the daily schedule?
Visit our Day in the Life of a Boarding Student page to learn more!
What time is wake-up call?
On a school day, boarding students are woken up at 6:30 a.m. by what is known as “Reveille.” Reveille is a bugle call, trumpet call, or pipes call most often associated with the military. The name comes from “réveillé” (or “réveil”), the French word for “wake up.” Boarding students are required to wake up, turn on their lights, and stand outside of their dorm room so the Wing Leaders can confirm they are awake.
During the weekends, boarding students can sleep in. Brunch is from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and dinner is from 5:00-6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
What time is lights-out?
During the school week, boarding students have lights out at 10:00 p.m. by what is known as “Taps.” Taps is a musical piece sounded by the U.S. military nightly that signals it’s time for lights out. Boarding students are required to stand outside of their dorm room so the Wing Leaders can confirm they are present.
During the weekends, Taps is played at 10:00 p.m.
When is study hall?
All boarding students are required to attend evening study hall unless they are away because of a sporting event or have permission to be elsewhere. Study hall is Sunday-Thursday from 7:00-8:30 p.m. If a student has failing grades, they will be placed in mandatory study hall located in the Student Center.
Students may study in their dorm room at their desk, in the Cadet Union (also known as Calvin’s Lounge), a teacher’s classroom, or in the Student Center.
Do boarding students have to keep their room clean?
Everyone’s rooms must be clean at all times. During the academic day, the dorms are closed to all boarding students and rooms are inspected. Rooms will also be inspected during the weekend if the boarding students wish to go on Leave or Liberty. If boarders fail room inspection there are consequences such as not being able to leave campus or attend events. See the Upper School Cadet and Residential Life Handbook for more info. Bathrooms are cleaned by our cleaning staff once a week by wing
What is there to do on the weekends?
We go to tons of places in St. Petersburg and the surrounding areas!
What is REACH and how do parents use it to approve boarding students to leave campus?
REACH is the boarding school software that our Residential Life team uses. Parents really don’t need to do anything at all, other than approving or declining a boarding student’s request to leave campus. Residential Life asks that all students have their REACH requests in the system before Thursdays at noon.
Below is a REACH flow chart to understand how it works.
Can boarding students leave campus during the day?
What we call “Liberty” allows boarding students to leave campus for the day after approval from the parents and administration.
During the week: Special liberty (dining out liberty) may be granted to eligible boarding students for special events between 4:00-7:00 p.m. during the school week, but they are required to be in attendance for study hall.
During the weekend: Boarding students may go on general liberty but must remain within the Pinella County limits. These boarding students may use public transportation to and from their destination and they often choose to visit places like the beach, mall, movie theater, or go out for lunch or dinner. First general liberty begins at 12:00 p.m. and check-in is at 4:00 p.m. Second general liberty begins at 4:30 p.m. and return times are based on grade level.
Return times for grades TBD as per the handbook.
Can boarding students spend the night off campus?
Yes, with parent/guardian permission, host permission and Residential Life/Administration permission in that order.
Can boarding students have a car on campus?
Boarding students are only permitted to have a vehicle on campus if they are in 11th or 12th grade with a valid license. All sets of keys must be left with Res. Life. They can only use the vehicle to go home on leave from campus.
How are medical needs handled?
A Registered Nurse is on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Trained staff are available after office hours to collaborate with the School Nurse for emergency care as needed.
Medications are dispensed by the School Nurse after breakfast, during lunch, or by Residential Life in the evenings as needed. No student is allowed to have medication in the dorm without prior approval of the Student Health Center at Farragut. This includes any vitamins, dietary supplements, prescription, over-the-counter or herbal medications.
What are boarding students allowed to wear?
Depending on the uniform of the day, students will wear travel gear consisting of khaki shorts and an Admiral Farragut blue polo shirt, naval uniforms or physical training uniform consisting of physical education type shorts and t-shirt. For travel gear and PT uniform days, tennis shoes (blue, black, white or gray) are required.
- After school day hours, boarding students on campus are expected to be in casual Farragut gear.
How do boarding students do their laundry?
Laundry to be cleaned must be dropped off by 0730 on Wednesday and Saturday. Boarding students may drop off laundry in the holding area the night before. Laundry picked up by the cleaner on Wednesday is returned on Saturday. Laundry picked up by the cleaner on Saturday is returned on Wednesday. NSU days are Tuesdays and Thursdays so cadets should plan accordingly. Uniforms in the laundry is not an excuse to not be in the correct uniform.
Do boarding students have to cut their hair?
All students must maintain a proper military haircut. Boys are not allowed to have mustaches. See this handbook for full instructions.
Can boarding students have a fridge and food in their room?
Boarding students are allowed to one fridge per room as long as they are plugged into a power strip. Snacks are allowed but they must be stored in sealed plastic containers.
Can boarding students order take out food?
With permission from a member of Residential Life, food may be ordered and delivered to campus on Friday after the academic day has ended and all day Saturday and Sunday up until 9:00 PM.
Contact Us
For More Information
When it comes time to choosing a school, especially one that will be a home away from home, Farragut gets it. If you have additional questions, you should find them in our handbook. If you can’t find your answer, please email reslife@farragut.org or call +1 (727) 384-5500 ext 382.