House System

House systems are common experiences for students in boarding schools, especially in the United Kingdom, but also in the United States. Bear Creek's House System was founded in fall 2018 and provides numerous benefits for students. Including:

  • A strong sense of tradition
  • A feeling of identity and belonging
  • More leadership opportunities along with the ability to mentor young leaders
  • A spirit of striving to do your personal best to help the competition between the Houses
  • A supportive environment of accountability
  • The cultivation of Christian community and virtue
students holding House flags

House Leadership

Each House is led by both faculty and students. These positions include:

  • House Deans are faculty who take overall leadership of the Houses and help facilitate all activities and student leadership within the House.
  • House Faculty are the faculty who work at-large within the Houses and also facilitate a same-gender Mentor Group of about 10 – 13 students.
  • House Heads are two student leaders who have applied for and been selected by House Deans to take primary leadership of their respective Houses.
  • House Leaders are additional students selected by House Deans to participate in the House leadership teams and help to implement House events and programs.

2024 – 2025 House Heads

  • Athanasius House: Lucy Gilchrist and Levi Marshall
  • Hildegard House: Anhui Ang and Avery O’Gara
  • Lewis House: Addie Chinn and Rory Norris
  • Meitner House: Caylin Bennetsen and Calvin D’Souza
  • Robinson House: Jacob Clark and Marie Morkos
students racing on bikes

Robinson House Challenge

 

House Placement

The Dean of Students and the House Deans place freshmen and new transfer students into Houses in a way that maintains a strong, balanced mix of students in each House. Each House acts as a microcosm of the school; therefore, we seek to represent a diverse mix of personalities, passions, and strengths.

House Activities

  • House Meetings—Typically business or planning meetings for House activities, as well as time to build morale or address topics related to virtue or school culture.
  • Mentor Groups—Each House has four mentor groups (two groups of boys, two of girls) which meet together with their House Faculty. These small groups are ideal for relationship and discussion on topics relative to Chapel and faith formation. The groups and mentors remain consistent throughout all four years of high school.
  • House Feasts—On these special days each House puts on a feast for its namesake, enjoying fellowship and inviting alumni, parents, and siblings to attend.
  • House Challenges and Viking Games—Activities are focused on competition between the Houses for the annual House Cup.
students on stage with trophy

Lewis House won both the House Cup and Viking Hammer in 2024

 

House Descriptions

One of the unique things we have at Bear Creek is the House System. It's a nice opportunity to interact with people in different grades and to compete for House points, which adds a lot of spirit.

~Kate, senior and Hildegard House Head

2024 – 2025 House Induction

Viking Games