January 22, 2021

Dear Lower School Families, 

Today was “Hot Chocolate Day” in the Lower School! Students were surprised with hot chocolate either inside or outside this morning depending on their grade level. For those who were enjoying Forest Friday, it was a pleasant way to warm up with a cup of hot cocoa on a cold morning. We will be coordinating special days like this with the Dining Hall throughout the rest of the year and surprise students with fun little culinary treats.

Report Cards will be distributed online on Tuesday, January 26th, at 7:00 p.m. For quarters two and four, report cards are both narrative and checkboxes. I recommend you sit down with your children and ask them to talk about how they feel about progress this quarter and share the comments with them. Questions such as “What are you most proud of?” and “What areas do you think you need to focus more attention in?” can be positive ways to start conversations with your children. If you have any questions about report cards, please contact your children’s teachers directly.

Please make sure your children have extra face masks in their backpacks. We have been distributing many disposable masks to students who don’t have an extra one at school and need one, and many students do not find them fitting as comfortably as the ones they bring from home.

Students are encouraged to wear red or pink to school on Thursday, February 11th, because that is the day we will celebrate Valentine’s Day. Lower-schoolers may "dress down" that day if their clothes reflect the spirit of Valentine's Day. Friday, February 12th, is a professional development day for our faculty so students will not be on campus.

The Parent Book Club finished discussing “The Power of Showing Up” last week. Our new book by Dr. Michael Thompson is entitled Best Friends, Worst Enemies. We will meet on Tuesday, February 9th, from 7:00-8:00 p.m. to discuss chapters 1-5. Please complete this form if interested in joining.

This week’s parenting article is from The New York Times and is entitled “The Psychology Behind Sibling Rivalry.” It can be found using this link.

For your planning purposes, please look at our upcoming events listed below for days when the Lower School is not in session.

Upcoming Events
  • January 26: Report Cards distributed in the Lower School
  • February 11: Valentine’s Day Celebration
  • February 12: Professional Development day for faculty (NO SCHOOL)
  • February 15: Presidents Day (NO SCHOOL)
  • February 24: Faculty Collaboration Day (NO SCHOOL)

Be well,

Head of Lower School