As the clock strikes 3 p.m. on a Wednesday, and Mr. Rosenfeld sends out a comprehensive list of weekend runs, you and your friends are shocked to find all the runs completely full the next day. You all foolishly decided to wait another day and ponder which run you wanted to go on, but now there are no more spots!  

You scramble with your friends to figure out a way to get off campus this weekend. Maybe you could walk an hour to the Claremont Village? Or perhaps beg a day student’s parent to drive you off? When all hope seems lost you are amazed to find the newest addition to weekend programming: the Webb Loop! 

The Head Student Leader’s Council, a group meant to provide regular communication between student leaders and the head of school, brainstormed the idea of a Webb Loop to help boarders feel less restricted when adjusting to the Webb weekends.  

Dr. Therea Smith, Head of Schools, recently debuted this new transportation system. The Webb Loop includes a van that goes between Webb, Target, Claremont Village, and Trader Joes in a continuous loop. The idea is that it is an ongoing run that students can jump on and off without any pre-signups, so even if you forget to sign up for a run, you still have a way to get transportation off campus. 

“I think the magic of it was that students could come and go without so much of a schedule, without as many limitations,” Dr. Smith said.  

The first Webb Loop began at 3 p.m. and went all the way until 9 p.m. on Saturday, November 16th. Dr. Smith was the first driver who tested this out, volunteering 6 hours out of her day to drive around the loop. 

Each location had estimated times for pick up and drop off each hour, allowing students the flexibility to decide when they want to leave their location or travel to a different one. Although pre-signups are not needed, students will still need to sign out on Reach and put their destination as “Webb Loop”. 

“I really appreciate this new addition,” said Jarra Jallow (‘25), a student who tried out the Webb Loop recently. “I think it gives students a lot of flexibility to pick how long they want to stay at a location, and I think more students will definitely start trying it.”  

Faculty are still trying to figure out what times work best for both students and the driver running the Webb Loop for the weekend, as driving for 6 hours in an endless loop may not be ideal for the person behind the wheel. They will likely change the loop to run 4 hours instead to help accommodate the schedule for teachers, according to Dr. Smith. 

“We’re in the middle of experimenting, and so through testing out what might not work right now, we’ll be able to learn what changes we should make,” Dr. Smith said.  

Overall, students expressed positive feedback for the Webb Loop. It gives boarders more freedom and convenience to leave campus on the weekends. Looking into the future, the Webb Loop could expand into an even bigger addition with more vans and more locations.