Happy New Year Husky Community,
Thank you all for the kind words and support as we work hard to shift our COVID protocols to make the campus safe for students, faculty, and staff to return. While this week was not the week back from winter break that any of us were hoping for, it has been nice to work through the ever-changing COVID landscape together.
Looking forward to the new year I want to orient everyone to a few things that occur every year that can feel surprising to the community. The first is that we are going to be sending out re-enrollment agreements at the end of this month.
Re-Enrollment - The process for re-enrollment for 22-23 follows this timeline:
- Week of January 27th Re-enrollment contracts go out to all current families.
- February 3rd contracts must be returned with a 10% deposit.
- February 6th all re-enrollment paperwork goes out.
If your family currently receives financial assistance you will need to reapply every year. The deadline for applying for financial assistance is January 15. For instructions or more information regarding financial assistance, please see the dedicated section directly below this letter.
The second thing that happens every year is that we start to work on staffing for the upcoming year. This means you will likely hear more and more updates around staffing and see us advertising openings. Most independent schools assess needs for the next school year and do hiring from January through April. I share this because I want you to know that it is normal for us to be working on staffing during these months and not unusual for us to be sharing news around staffing.
It is my hope that by sharing openly about things that occur every year around this time that we as a community begin to recognize these things as normal and not see them as unusual.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and I look forward to seeing students, faculty, and staff on campus Monday, January 10!
Warmly,
Amy Hollinger
She/Her/Hers
Head of Schools
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Please note that the following directions are intended for RHP and Renaissance families only and there is not currently a financial assistance option for REACH.
If you wish to apply for financial assistance, the application is due January 15, 2022, by 5:00 PM. Families seeking financial assistance must complete a Parent Financial Statement (PFS) form through School and Student Services (SSS) in order to apply. If your family already receives financial assistance, you must reapply every year and provide current income and financial data to continue receiving financial assistance.
You may access the SSS portal to begin your application by clicking the button below, or by visiting the “Tuition and Financial Assistance Page” of our website under the “Admissions” tab. This process does take time so please make sure you begin the process early and gather any required documentation for your application. Please note that our school code for the application is 6137.
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If you require additional support with the SSS application, you may reach out to them directly at 1 (800) 344-8328 or you may access their user help portal by clicking the button below. Your documents will be handled with the utmost level of security and you may read more about SSS's document security here.
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As we return from winter break I want to let you know about an internal staffing change we are making. Harvey Kitani will be shifting away from the Athletic Director role into an Athletic Development role. In his new role, he will serve as a member of our school advancement team. Harvey and I have been having many conversations about his strengths. In a recent conversation, Harvey brought up the idea of working to serve the school around building revenue for the organization through donations and fundraising efforts both in the area of athletics and in general. Harvey has been instrumental in securing the donation of our new beach volleyball courts as well as many other gifts to our athletics program. This new role feels like a perfect fit for both Harvey and our community. He will continue to be the Head of our Boys’ Basketball Program, be a presence on our campus, and support our schools as we continue to provide a high-quality student experience.
Since Harvey will be shifting his role effective immediately we have already begun the search for a new Athletic Director. This position will be open to internal as well as external candidates. Please feel free to share the position description with anyone you may know who is qualified and interested. In the interim, all Athletic Director inquiries should be directed to our Assistant Athletic Director Lance Hollandsworth at [email protected].
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Parent Coffee with Amy
Special Guest: Christina Morse, Director of Counseling and Wellness
Tuesday, January 11 | 9:30 AM
Hosted Virtually on Zoom
Each Tuesday, our Head of Schools, Amy Hollinger, hosts a recurring parent coffee session to address various topics relating to our schools, programs, and the safety of our students. Christina Morse, Director of Counseling and Wellness, will be a guest for the conversation on Tuesday, January 11.
No RSVP is required for these parent coffees, but we will provide a question form each week in the Friday Letter to allow families to ask questions in advance. Click the button below to ask questions for next week's session.
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Updated COVID Policies and Procedures: All community members were sent an email on Friday, January 7, with updated COVID guidelines. These include policies, protocols, and procedures for COVID safety on campus and within our community. We follow LACDPH guidelines for K-12 schools and they have indicated that changes to isolation and quarantine are imminent. We will continue updating you on any changes.
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Trimester I Head of Schools Lists for RHP and Ren: Each trimester, students with grade point averages above 3.5 are recognized for their achievement in our Head of School lists. Students with GPAs of 3.5-3.99 are recognized with honors and students with GPAs of 4.0 or higher are recognized with high honors. Click the buttons below to access the Head of Schools lists for Trimester I.
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A Midsummer Night's Dream Recordings: Congratulations to the cast, crew, and faculty members who made our outdoor performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream a smashing success! You may watch a short recap video or the performance in its entirety by clicking the buttons below.
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Open call for substitute teachers: We are currently seeking additional substitute teachers to have on-hand for the 2021-2022 school year. The requirements for substitutes are either a four-year degree or prior approval from our Head of Schools. If you know anyone who might be interested, please refer them to Adriana Alejandre in the front office at [email protected]
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Student Family School Directory: The Student Family Directory is live in your Blackbaud account. You can view the directory by logging into your Blackbaud account. Tabs are located across the top of the page (Resources, News, Calendar and Directories). If you click on the Directory tab, a drop-down menu will appear and you can access the Student Family Directory. If you have any questions or problems, please contact [email protected].
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After-School Program Signups Still Available: RHP students may still sign up for ASP by filling out the form linked below. Your tuition account will be billed for the services. ASP is already included in the tuition for upper school Renaissance students. For Renaissance middle school students, there is a separate fee structure, please contact Tanya Henderson at [email protected].
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Family Association: The next Family Association meeting will take place Wednesday, January 19 at 9:30 AM on Zoom. An invite will be sent an hour before the event starts. You may view a recording from our November 17 meeting by clicking the button below. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Sue Mathews at [email protected].
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Sign up for COVID-related updates from LACDPH: The LA County Department of Public Health recently launched a new mailing list for parents of school-aged children. You may sign up for the mailing list by clicking the button below.
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Purchase your yearbook and ads: Don't forget to purchase your yearbook and yearbook ads from Balfour, the company that handles our printing. Additionally, you may purchase class rings and other items from their website.
Seniors - your yearbook is included in your Senior Package! If you would like to purchase a senior ad, please visit the link below.
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Weekly advisor letters are taking a different route this year and will be presented in the form of grade-level announcements in the Friday Letter each week. Please click the buttons below to see the general advisory update document and grade level updates.
Please note that grade-level updates have been consolidated into middle and upper school documents for RHP and Renaissance Schools.
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Dear Parents and Guardians,
Although Covid testing and distance learning may not have been the ideal starting place for welcoming the new year, I hope this finds you healthy, safe and with loved ones. An ongoing topic on campus is mental health, self-care and wellness whether it’s during Advisory lessons or during brief morning meetings. Recently, we were able to share some tips and strategies for well-being during one of our professional development days with our faculty and staff. One of my simple and effective go-to strategies is to take a short or long walk outdoors. Just feeling and welcoming the warmth of the sun or the cool breeze wakes up my senses in a way that is invigorating and refreshing. Savoring these seemingly novel tasks has been a great remedy.
Sometimes when we need more than a brisk walk, it’s good to remind our students that we have a community on campus that cares very much about their well-being. Please let your child know that they are welcome to reach out to someone on the counseling team for a brief check-in, short-term or ongoing counseling support. Our contacts are below:
Christina Morse, Upper School Counselor
Cristina Gacad, Middle School Counselor
Alba Garcia, Visiting USC School Counseling Intern
We very much look forward to seeing your children in person next week.
Warm regards,
Christina Morse
Director of Counseling and Wellness
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We are fortunate to have a very generous donor who is willing to match all 2021-2022 contributions to the Husky Fund! This means that the impact of every gift is doubled, providing more resources for our school facilities, programming, and classroom instruction. Every gift to the Husky Fund is appreciated, no matter the size. Learn more about the matching campaign by clicking the video above, or make your gift today by clicking the button below. |
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or Text GIVE to (424) 282-4228 and follow the prompts. |
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Thank you for supporting our schools! |
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Rolling Hills Preparatory and Renaissance School | RollingHillsPrep.org | RenaissanceSAS.org |
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