Principal's Back to School Letter
July 25, 2012
Dear Upper School families,
This has been a tremendously exciting and unusual summer. While I have enjoyed some time away, I think I have taken equal enjoyment from monitoring the progress of the new Upper School building. As I write this, the steel has been put into place and the building is truly taking shape. The temporary buildings are also ready to go and while they are clearly lacking in aesthetic beauty(!), they are roomy, air-conditioned, carpeted, and generally quite suitable for teaching classes. They are literally occupying every square inch of terrain from the east side of Schotters Music Building to the west side of Chowdry Middle School. I will be moving from my summer home in the library to the administrative temporary building this week. You can find me there; my e-mail address and phone number remain the same.
Also coming to that section of the temporaries will be my new administrative assistant, Andrea Eckler. Andrea joins us on a permanent basis after doing a superlative job of filling in since March. She brings a range of experience, including work with young people in camps and coaching, and a tremendous ability to multitask--a must for this position! I think you will find her to be friendly, knowledgable and well informed on all matters of the Upper School. Please join me in welcoming Andrea to the school.
Five new teachers will be part of the scene this academic year as well. Mike Davis has sent out a separate document with more biographical information, so here I will just provide names and assignments: Katie DePonty, college counseling; Holley McBroom, science/math; Chris Roads, science/math; Martha Smith, science; Tom Thorpe, English. All of these full-time hires will also be advisors. These folks bring a breadth of experience and expertise to their positions and will enhance our already strong faculty.
For Upper School students, the driving and parking scenario will remain much the same despite the ongoing construction. Seniors will park in the Froelicher Theatre lot and juniors will be situated along the North Road. These students will be able to select parking spots in a first-come, first-served lottery process on Saturday, August 25. Sophomores who will be driving to campus should contact Steven Hammer, one of our two deans, and he will assign you a space along the North Road in the westernmost parking spots. For those parents who drive students to campus, the drop off area will now and forever more be in the same place it was at the very end of last school year: directly in between the main entrances to Newton Gymnasium and Smith Administrative Building.
As always, I will be positing an updated Student and Parent Handbook on the Upper School portal of our website. The Handbook outlines expectations of behavior and Upper School policies. Please take a moment to review this document, paying careful attention to the sections on Attendance, Plagiarism, and Tutoring. The posting will be on the website on or before August 13.
Other upcoming dates of note: students involved in fall team sports will begin practice on August 13. Coaches will be sending out their own communication regarding specifics; boys' golf begins a week earlier, on August 6. Student schedules will be sent home sometime mid-August. Students with questions or concerns about their schedules should call, e-mail or visit Sheila Chennell, our Upper School Registrar.
Obviously this will be a year of change and there will be a certain amount of feeling unsettled until we get into our new space in January. Even then we will be adjusting to a new home, which always takes time. I think the mantra for the year will be "Let's roll with it," and make the best of what comes our way. We are intentionally creating some new and fun activities, such as weekly senior breakfasts in the Campus Center and student social gatherings and games, just to help everyone stay positive, flexible and to enjoy each other's company. I know once we get established in our new and permanent home in January, we will fully appreciate all the amazing things our new building will offer.
Enjoy the rest of the summer and we will see you soon!
Jonathan Vogels
Upper School Principal
Back
Dear Upper School families,
This has been a tremendously exciting and unusual summer. While I have enjoyed some time away, I think I have taken equal enjoyment from monitoring the progress of the new Upper School building. As I write this, the steel has been put into place and the building is truly taking shape. The temporary buildings are also ready to go and while they are clearly lacking in aesthetic beauty(!), they are roomy, air-conditioned, carpeted, and generally quite suitable for teaching classes. They are literally occupying every square inch of terrain from the east side of Schotters Music Building to the west side of Chowdry Middle School. I will be moving from my summer home in the library to the administrative temporary building this week. You can find me there; my e-mail address and phone number remain the same.
Also coming to that section of the temporaries will be my new administrative assistant, Andrea Eckler. Andrea joins us on a permanent basis after doing a superlative job of filling in since March. She brings a range of experience, including work with young people in camps and coaching, and a tremendous ability to multitask--a must for this position! I think you will find her to be friendly, knowledgable and well informed on all matters of the Upper School. Please join me in welcoming Andrea to the school.
Five new teachers will be part of the scene this academic year as well. Mike Davis has sent out a separate document with more biographical information, so here I will just provide names and assignments: Katie DePonty, college counseling; Holley McBroom, science/math; Chris Roads, science/math; Martha Smith, science; Tom Thorpe, English. All of these full-time hires will also be advisors. These folks bring a breadth of experience and expertise to their positions and will enhance our already strong faculty.
For Upper School students, the driving and parking scenario will remain much the same despite the ongoing construction. Seniors will park in the Froelicher Theatre lot and juniors will be situated along the North Road. These students will be able to select parking spots in a first-come, first-served lottery process on Saturday, August 25. Sophomores who will be driving to campus should contact Steven Hammer, one of our two deans, and he will assign you a space along the North Road in the westernmost parking spots. For those parents who drive students to campus, the drop off area will now and forever more be in the same place it was at the very end of last school year: directly in between the main entrances to Newton Gymnasium and Smith Administrative Building.
As always, I will be positing an updated Student and Parent Handbook on the Upper School portal of our website. The Handbook outlines expectations of behavior and Upper School policies. Please take a moment to review this document, paying careful attention to the sections on Attendance, Plagiarism, and Tutoring. The posting will be on the website on or before August 13.
Other upcoming dates of note: students involved in fall team sports will begin practice on August 13. Coaches will be sending out their own communication regarding specifics; boys' golf begins a week earlier, on August 6. Student schedules will be sent home sometime mid-August. Students with questions or concerns about their schedules should call, e-mail or visit Sheila Chennell, our Upper School Registrar.
Obviously this will be a year of change and there will be a certain amount of feeling unsettled until we get into our new space in January. Even then we will be adjusting to a new home, which always takes time. I think the mantra for the year will be "Let's roll with it," and make the best of what comes our way. We are intentionally creating some new and fun activities, such as weekly senior breakfasts in the Campus Center and student social gatherings and games, just to help everyone stay positive, flexible and to enjoy each other's company. I know once we get established in our new and permanent home in January, we will fully appreciate all the amazing things our new building will offer.
Enjoy the rest of the summer and we will see you soon!
Jonathan Vogels
Upper School Principal
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