Residential Life

Life at HIS

Living at HIS is all about learning how to live well. It is more than just a place to stay—it is where students learn to coexist with others, learn to be self-sufficient, and learn life skills that empower them in this stage of their lives and beyond. It is a home away from home.

At their new home, students will learn about cooperation, independence, taking responsibility, and the joy of sharing life’s moments with friends and their proxy families. They’ll be on a journey to find a balance between academics, social connections, personal responsibilities, interests, and well-being. Learning how to live well is no easy feat, but it’s the adventure of a lifetime, and a better one when shared.

  • Students live in doubles or triples, each with their own en suite. Each dorm room is equipped with a bunk bed, desk, and dresser, as well as space for hanging clothes.

  • Our roommate pairing process is a discussion between our admissions team and heads of dorm. We pair students based both on personality and living preferences.

    In addition to this, we require students from different cultural and lingual backgrounds to live together in order to promote cultural fluency and english language learning.

  • Dorm parents host weekly gatherings in the dorm commons room to update students on the weekly agenda and provide opportunities for students to discuss community living.

  • Each weekend during the Fall and Spring terms, two weekend activities are provided by guides on duty. These activities include apple picking, tiramisu making, seeing the latest box-office hit, and visiting the local cat cafe, the list goes on.

    During the Winter term, one weekend activity is offered in addition to supervised skiing, which is offered every Saturday and Sunday.

Our first dormitory building, called simply The House, opened in August 2022 after an extensive renovation of a traditional Japanese inn. It includes a Boys Wing and Girls Wing with space for approximately 35 students and three faculty residents.

The House includes a commercial kitchen where a chef prepares delicious, wholesome food that is locally sourced from Farm Hakuba. The House also offers a dance/workout room, a Dining Hall, study space, and a public field directly adjacent. It is a five-minute walk from Mont Bien, our first classroom building, and a short walk from the 9-acre land parcel that is being developed into the long-term HIS campus. 

At The House as with other areas of HIS, students play a leading role and are trusted with high levels of responsibility. Students form committees to help make decisions for the operations of the House, together with our residential leaders. During after-school, evening and weekend time, students can participate in a range of activities and clubs of all kinds, or can use the open time to relax, study, and connect with friends.

HIS is currently developing an additional dormitory property to open for the 2023-24 school year.