APRIL 2, 2020
Helpful Links
Having trouble locating a document or piece of information in your inbox? We know the volume of information you have received might feel daunting at times! See below for direct links you can bookmark to have on hand for easy access . . .




Thank You from the Admission Office
Sending a heartfelt thanks from all of us in the admission office to so many parents who helped connect with prospective families! We have received great feedback about our outreach -- even from those who have turned us down. We are so appreciative of the time that current parents have taken to connect with those who were newly accepted. Your support and willingness to help make such a difference. Thank you.
Stay Connected: Will You Share Your Thoughts?
In an effort to maintain the “we are all in this together” mindset, please share your ideas in this short survey about ways to keep our community connected and optimistic during this challenging time. We would love to hear from you and look forward to sharing your ideas in the upcoming weeks! 
Music Lessons Have Moved Online!
Students should have received an email with information from their teachers last week. If your child is currently enrolled in music lessons, please be sure to check that they have communicated with their teacher and set up a new schedule. If you are looking to start new online lessons please contact Music Teacher Claudia Keller for more information.
What's the Buzz on "The Hive?"
As John Packard referenced in his video , The Hive is a student and faculty run micro-site (shown below) that aims to maintain our strong school community while we have to be apart. It is an accessible, dynamic site that will hold content reflecting Brooks' mission and values and contains four main sections: B Connected, B Inspired, B Healthy and B Creative. It's a great way for your child to stay connected -- Ask them to show it to you! 
College Counseling Updates

Sixth-Form Families :

  • The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) is carefully tracking the activity of colleges with regards to closures, online resources and deposit deadline extensions. Please utilize this "College Admission Status Update" link as a resource. You may search by a college or university to retrieve information. This may be very useful when weighing your options. 
 
  • Brooks' class of 2020 is facing important college choices, yet traditional accepted student events and chances to revisit college campuses this spring are unavailable. The College and Alumni Offices have partnered to reach out to young alumni, encouraging them to be available for conversations about their college experiences. Thus far, 90 alumni from the classes of 2014-2019 have volunteered to be contacted and are looking forward to hearing from your sixth-former! The College Office will share the contact information of these alums with 2020 students and families by Friday morning.

  • April 1 was to be MEFA's presentation of "After the Acceptance" at Phillips Andover. (MEFA is the Commonwealth’s authority on planning, saving, and paying for college). While the event was not held as planned, MEFA will be hosting additional webcasts on this topic this month. An experienced MEFA representative will provide an overview of the college payment process, including the details of financial aid award letters, using payment plans, different financing options, and how to minimize debt. If you are interested please see this link with further details. 
 
Fifth-Form Families : Beginning next week, the College Office will continue one-on-one meetings with students. Meetings will be set up during flex periods and office hours. Many appointments are already on the calendar and we look forward to reconnecting with the students. While there is currently a lot of confusion in the realm of higher education, we are as excited as ever to partner with you to navigate this venture. Please be in touch with your students' college counselor with any questions you may have.   
 
Fourth-Form Families : On April 13, the College Office will be hosting a webcast, "An Introduction to the College Search Process" at 7 p.m. Mark your calendars! Registration and other details will be provided next week.
New Deans' Den Blog Posts
Academic Dean Susanna Waters just shared four new posts on her Deans' Den Blog . Check it out to look back -- and see inside a couple of classrooms prior to Spring Break -- and to look forward, now that distance learning has begun.
Are You a Member of the Brooks Parents Facebook Page?
Click here to join the 150+ parents who are already part of the group; an especially useful tool as we now look to connect and share virtually! 
Vaping Webinar
Ashley Hall, the Program Manager of the Northeast Tobacco-Free Community Partnership who spoke at Brooks in February, is offering a free Vaping webinar for parents, guardians and other caregivers on April 7 at 4:30 p.m. Click here for details about the Zoom session .
Scenes from Distance Learning . . .
Chair of Arts Department and Visual Arts Teacher Babs Wheelden shares this photo of a recent Painting and Advanced Painting class and their three-minute blind contour drawings. "The students could not look at their paper, only the camera on their devices," she reports. "We did a guess who reveal after. Lots of giggles. So happy to see these smiling faces again!" 
Stay in touch: Follow Brooks on social media for news, photos and more!