Fall Trimester Comments, Grades, and Advisor/Parent Conferences

Tuesday, 17 November 2009

Dear Upper School Parents,

Amazing to see that we have already completed the Fall Trimester of the 2009-10 school year! We are now in an exciting transitional period, balancing the reflection upon first term accomplishments while establishing a solid foundation for second term goals. This e.mail serves as official notification that the comments, work habit/effort marks, and grades illustrating your daughter or son’s Fall Trimester academic performance are now available via My Backpack, accessible from the MVSchool website.

My Backpack also allows you to check and up-date your personal contact information for accuracy, so if you have revised contact information (including phone number, e.mail, or mailing address), please do so via My Backpack.

In composing narrative comments, teachers have been attentive to commend the highlights, make pertinent suggestions in areas needing additional attention, as well as providing a reflective overview of the course content covered during the first term. In reviewing the end-of-term teacher comments and grade reports, please carefully read through the written comments, preferably with your daughter or son, praising accomplishments while strategizing towards areas that would benefit from additional support and improvement. In considering the “larger picture” of all of your child’s comments and grades, search for emerging patterns and themes, specially in preparing for the fall conference with your child’s Academic Advisor, which occur next Monday (afternoon/early evening) and Tuesday (morning), 23 & 24 November.

Since for many of us there has not been a direct contact between Academic Advisor and parents since Upper School Parent Information Night back in September, we look forward to having the opportunity to meet again and discuss your child’s first term accomplishments (academic, extra-curricular, and others). Your child’s Academic Advisor has no doubt already contacted you to confirm a convenient meeting time during the scheduled advisor conferences. The fall advisory meeting is an opportune time to discuss matters of academic performance, extracurricular involvement, as well as monitoring the status of various graduation requirements (including service learning/community service hours, physical education credits, and others). Should you need to discuss a matter regarding a specific course, please schedule a meeting with that teacher after the Thanksgiving break, seeing as all upper school advisors are also classroom teachers.

On behalf of your child’s teachers, Academic Advisor, and me, we extend our best wishes to you and your family towards an enjoyable, peaceful, and safe Thanksgiving break.

With sincere regards,



Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School