Happy spring! 

As we head into the final laps of the school year, I want to offer a few updates:

At the Upper School, we write individual comments for all students at mid-tri, for the third trimester. These comments will contain details of your student's performance and specific suggestions or observations. If your student’s comments raise questions, please remember teachers always welcome check-ins and parent outreach.

Comments will be published online on Friday, April 22, at 4:00 p.m. Given that we are only at mid-trimester, we will not publish grades. Here are the steps to view your student’s comments:

Mustang Assembly on Friday, April 29, 2022 (F Day): Next week, we will have our last Mustang Assembly of the year (!) and will follow this schedule.

As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if there’s anything we can do to be of help.

 

New Deans (and new adventures for a current Dean):
Lastly, we are delighted to announce that our very own Dr. Camille James and Ms. Ali Kittle have been selected as our new grade-level Deans, after I step down as Ninth Grade Dean, and given the announcement by Steven Hammer (current Eleventh Grade Dean) that he would be returning to the classroom as a full-time teacher starting in the fall of 2022.

It’s important to note that Steven Hammer’s tenure as Dean has been especially rich here at CA; he began serving as a Dean back in 2007 and was a grade-level team leader as far back as 2001. In his 17 years as a Dean, Steven helped found and shape many of our cherished traditions, including the Senior-Kindergarten Buddy Program, our graduation programming, and the scope and shape of Interim. While we will miss Mr. Hammer’s careful and thoughtful approach to student life—and his precise attention to detail!—we are excited he will remain a part of the US faculty as he takes on this new adventure.

Ninth Grade Dean: Dr. James first came to CA in 2020 from Denver Discovery School and brought with her extensive experience teaching math at the middle school and high school levels. At the Denver Discovery School, she served as a senior team leader and an instructional coach for math and science teachers. While at Graland Country Day School, she served as a grade-level team leader, in addition to teaching middle school math. She holds her Doctorate in Education from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minn.; her Bachelor of Science and Master of Education from the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica; and a teaching degree from Shortwood Teachers’ College in Kingston, Jamaica.

Eleventh Grade Dean: Ali Kittle came to CA in 2017 as an accomplished teacher of literature and outdoor education specialist. She has taught English at a variety of peer institutions, including The Hun School of Princeton, and more recently, The Peddie School in New Jersey. Her roots (and enthusiasm!) for outdoor education run deep; she served as a Director at Cheley Camps in Estes Park for nearly 15 years, where she organized counseling and nursing staff; oversaw the scope and sequence of camp programs, and partnered with parents and guardians to support the emotional well-being of her campers. Ms. Kittle received her BA in English from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio and her MA in Literature from Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English in Middlebury, Vt. Ms. Kittle has also served as a lacrosse coach at every school she’s worked at, including CA.

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

Max