Fall Mid-Terms, Required Study Halls, Fall Break, & Immersion Deadlines

Friday, 30 September 2011

Greetings Upper School Parents:

This e.mail is to confirm that that mid-term comments, grades, and effort/work habit marks for the Fall Trimester are now available via MyBackpack.  Students reviewed, discussed, and jotted notes on their mid-terms during Advisory this morning.  As you review the Fall Trimester mid-term comments, recall that they reflect the initial academic status of your daughter or son for this first term. Please take a moment to read through the written comments, work habit marks, and estimated academic grades, preferably with your daughter or son present, praising successes and strategizing towards areas for further improvement. In considering your child’s mid-term comments, seek emerging themes among her or his over-all academic performance.

Since mid-term comments reflect, in many cases, a “snap shot” of your child’s current course work, it is appropriate to consider the grades and work habit marks accordingly.  Major assignments or assessments might be due soon after the mid-term comments were written, thus grades have the potential to fluctuate between now and the end of the term. Having reached the mid-term mark, time remains for students to implement new study strategies, heeding the advice provided in the teacher comments and indicated by the effort marks. The end of the first trimester is Monday, 31 October, followed by first trimester exams, from 1-3 November.

Required study halls will begin this Tuesday for students needing additional time management and support in achieving stronger academic performances.  Study halls will be scheduled during available student free periods and should be considered as an assigned class; attendance is mandatory.

Next Friday, 6 October, is Fall Break.  Classes will conclude at 12:noon; there will be neither extended day nor lunch available.  To add to the relaxation of Fall Break, the weekend is designated as a “no homework weekend!”

Immersion applications are due Monday, 10 OCTOBER by 3:30PM in the upper school office.  Immersion deadlines are firm; applications submitted after a deadline will be placed at the bottom of the selection process, regardless of the student’s grade level.  The link to all forms, procedures, and program descriptions for Immersion 2012 are available on the “School Announcements”section of the upper school homepage.

And finally, I extend a hearty Happy New Year’s to members of the Jewish community.  Please visit and comment at my MVS Blog http://wagnersmvsblog.blogspot.com/ for reminders, up-dates, and “Articles of Interest” from the Upper School.

With sincere regards,

Sam Wagner

Head of Upper School