During Tuesday’s Spirit Assembly, Head of School Than Healy and Menlo’s student council announced a new “house” system. Upper School students will be placed into one of four houses, a move intended to promote inter-grade bonding and spirit. Menlo students are sorted into houses based on their advocacy, and their advocates will join them in their assigned house.
The houses are named for important figures in Menlo’s history. Douglass (color: green/mascot: otter) is named for the owners of Menlo’s land prior to the founding of the school. Halverson (red/bear) is named for the late Fred Halverson, who served as Assistant Headmaster and Dean and spent 49 years at Menlo.
Warren (yellow/panther) comes from the name of the all-boys school that preceded Menlo, the William Warren School, and its founder and namesake, William Warren. Finally, Lapolla (blue/owl) honors Tony and Cindy Lapolla, a husband and wife duo that worked at Menlo for decades until their retirement in 2021.
The first house meetings will be on Friday, Sept. 6. A more detailed story with student opinions on this new system will be released in The Coat of Arms’ next print edition, coming out on October 3.