NOVEMBER 18, 2021
The Family Weekend photo album is full, now, of wonderful images from our weekend together on campus!
Schedule Alerts

  • Saturday, Nov. 20: Today is an early start. Classes begin at 8 a.m. and end at 10:55 a.m.

  • Tuesday, Nov. 30: Fresh off break, we will follow a Monday academic schedule.

  • Wednesday, Dec. 8: Today will follow a Saturday academic schedule.
COVID-19 Testing
As detailed in Head of School John Packard's Community Letter from late October, we will be testing all employees and all students upon return from Thanksgiving Break: "We will be testing all students and employees during our first week back from Thanksgiving vacation. While we continue to believe that routinely testing fully vaccinated students and employees who are asymptomatic is unnecessary, we do think testing all community members upon our return from the first extended break we have taken this year makes sense -- out of an abundance of caution. We will update this plan in mid-November."

The updates:

  • Boarding students will test on Nov. 29 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the lobby of Wilder Dining Hall.

  • Day students will test on Nov. 30 from 7:30 to 11:15 a.m. at the Health & Wellness Center.

  • If students become symptomatic during the break, or are a close contact with a symptomatic individual, please get them tested and confirm a negative result before they return to campus. Thank you!
Grandparents and Special Friends Day: Date Change
The spring event will be held on April 30, not April 16, 2022.
Tournament Games This Weekend!
Brooks School's boys 1st soccer and girls 1st field hockey teams victories yesterday advance them to the semifinals of the NEPSAC Championship on Saturday at home here at Brooks! Soccer won 3-0 versus Pomfret School and will face Westminster School. Field hockey triumphed 2-1 in overtime against St. Mark's School and will play The Rivers School next. Times for the weekend games are still to be determined but will be shared on social media. We encourage all local family and friends to attend and cheer on our teams!
Coming Soon: "Starbrooks" Hot Chocolate Bar!
With our Starbucks-loving community in mind, the parents’ winter celebration for students, faculty, and staff will take place on Dec. 14 when we will transform the Wilder Dining Hall into Starbrooks! Starbrooks will feature an expansive hot chocolate bar and donuts galore. In order to bring this festive event to our campus, we are asking for parents to please consider one of the following options:



  • Venmo a donation in an amount of your choice to underwrite the cost of the event and the raffles. (Venmo your donation to @Jessica-Kelleher-3.)

Any questions? Please contact co-chairs Joan Ziady P'18, P'20, P'22 and Jessie Kelleher P'24.
Families of Fifth-Form Students: Save the Date
On Jan. 29, 2022, our annual Fifth-Form College Kick-Off will return in person this winter! Parents and guardians are invited for a morning of programming, hosted by the College Counseling Office. The program will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. 
 
As with everything these days, we will be keeping a close eye on CDC guidelines and COVID numbers in Massachusetts, but we are optimistic that we will be able to hold the program fully in person. Attendees must be fully vaccinated and will be required to wear masks. More information will be forthcoming before Winter Break.
Family Weekend Photographer's Photo Album is Here
Be sure to check out the school's Smugmug: brooksschoolphotos.com to see the full folder of Family Weekend photos. This week, we uploaded all of the images from the photographer who was on campus. She captured many great photos of families, athletics, performances and school life.
Health & Wellness Center Questionnaire
While grateful for the current state of our school environment, Brooks nevertheless continues to seek better understanding regarding the well-being of its students. And to help us in our efforts on that front, we are doing a survey with the school survey company Authentic Connections to help us determine the strengths of our school, and areas on which we can improve. Please click to read a letter from Director of Health and Wellness Services Melissa Donais (shown above on left with Nurse Manager Stephanie Savarese) about the student survey.

Health & Wellness Team Update

With holidays and lots of together time upon us, school counselor Steph Holmes shares a resource from social worker Sean Grover that provides strategies on how to quiet your teenager's negative self-talk: "Seven Things Teenagers Desperately Need Adults to Understand," published in Psychology Today. Best wishes for a wonderful break with your family!
Stay in touch: Follow Brooks on social media for news, photos and more!