US Update 07.28.23

Upper School

Hi Upper School Students and Families,

As you are all enjoying your summers, I wanted to send an update with a list of key dates for this fall and a look at what some faculty members have been up to this summer. Keep an eye on your inbox for event invites which will include more details in the coming weeks.

Mark your calendars

To help you prepare for Upper School, I want to share and highlight some dates and important events coming up (and a handful later in the fall).

➡️ Looking for your schedule? The Registrar’s Office is hard at work building your class schedules and will be sharing them in early August.

Athletics

I hope all of you had a chance to read through the Athletics Summer Update. For those of you who are participating in Fall Athletics, please mark your calendars with these dates:

August 21-25: Optional pre-preseason, 5:00-6:30 p.m. (Sign up here)
August 28-September 1: Preseason tryouts (mandatory)
August 29: Fall Meeting for Families, 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Welcome Event & Opening Advisor Meetings

August 30

1.) Welcome Event, 12:00-1:00 p.m. or 4:00-5:00 p.m.*

Join us for a who's who in the Upper School. At this event, you will hear from Head of School Kim Samson, myself, and the Deans.

2.) Opening Advisor Meetings, 12:00-5:00 p.m.

20-minute meetings with your child and their advisor. Information to sign up for a time slot will be sent from the Registrar’s Office in August.

*You can attend whichever Welcome Event (12-1 p.m. or 4-5 p.m.) works best with your scheduled conference time.

First Friday

September 8, 9:00-2:30 p.m.

We will welcome students back to campus by building connections and relationships within each grade through a series of on and off-campus activities specific to the grade level.

Roadmap to Senior Year

September 12, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Parents/caregivers of 12th grade students will gather to learn more about the key events and important dates regarding senior year. Sadie Weinberger and Joe Robinson, 11th & 12th Grade Deans along with Danielle da Silva, Director of College Counseling, will help provide more clarity about what awaits seniors and their families.

Open Studios

September 28, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Upper School parents/caregivers will meet their child’s teachers to learn more about their current classes and connect with different departments in the Upper School. This year will have a different format than previous years (which we'll share more about later!) so we hope all of you are able to join us.

Grade Level plans on October 10

October 10

The 10th and 11th grades will take the PSATs.
9th grade will go off-campus together for a class trip.
12th grade can use the day to work on their college applications or do college visits.

Parent/Caregiver-Teacher Conferences

Conferences provide families with the individual opportunity to connect with their child’s teachers to learn more about how their child is doing in class.

The dates for this year’s Conferences are:

Fall: October 23 & 24
Winter: January 22 and February 1
Spring Advisor Conference: May 20

Classes are not held on conference days and students are highly encouraged to attend. Registration for each conference day will be sent by the Registrar’s Office closer to the date. Of course, if questions or concerns arise during a term, families are welcome to contact their child’s teacher, advisor or reach out to me.

Summer Highlights

While you may think campus is quiet during the summer months, it's the complete opposite! It's pretty amazing to see our campus transform into BVR Summer Camp and to see so many Upper School students (and faculty!) as counselors and program leaders. Whether it's playing soccer, lifeguarding, singing songs and preparing dances for the campers, or many other activities, it is fun to see the roles our students contribute to the success of camp.

Now let's take a look and what some faculty have been up to so far this summer.

Kate, Yolanda, and Ghilman with ISEEN Executive Director Shoshanna Sumka.

Yolanda Wilcox González, Global History and Social Sciences Department Head and Ghilman Brock Upper School Math, along with Middle School Math Teacher Kate O’Dowd traveled to Boulder, CO to participate in the ISEEN Summer Institute. Yolanda was the facilitator for one of the cohorts so she had the chance to support History faculty from around North America who wanted to collaborate on their curriculum and pedagogy.

Lydia Fash, Upper School English is taking a class around supporting students with their creative writing and how to develop the structure that leads students to write their own novel.

Melinda Ching, Upper School Math and 9th & 10th grade Class Dean and Ms. Ashley Garcia, Upper School Counselor and Academic Support are participating in AISNE’s Leadership for Racial Justice to learn more about the systems and protocols in independent schools that can create a more just community.

Lisa Brown, English Department Head and Lesley Colognesi Director of Academic Support are at the Big Bang Conference on student-centered learning in Kansas City hosted by Big Picture Learning.

I hope this information helps with your back-to-school planning. I'll be checking back in with you in just a couple of weeks as we get into August, so until then, please return to your summer plans! As a reminder, keep checking the Back to School page for updates.

Chai Reddy

Director of Upper School