Friday, March 19, 2010

Post Immersion, Spring Break, and Spring Term

Friday, 19 March 2010

Greetings Upper School Parents:

The halls at MVS are abuzz with the robust energy of finalizing Immersion projects, sharing experiences with friends on other Immersions, and relishing the invigoration that students and teachers derive from four-weeks of hands-on learning. To top it all off, Spring seems to have fully blossomed here in Dayton! I wanted to share a couple details and reminders as we all head into Spring Break.

With the hopes of alleviating traffic congestion on campus and in the surrounding neighborhood, we are making the following adjustments to arrival and departure times, effective after Spring Break:
Arrival/Start of School:

Upper and Middle Schools:
Morning Announcements will now begin at 8:05AM
Lower School: Remains at 8:00AM

End of school/Departure:
Upper and Middle Schools: Remains 3:20PM
Lower School: Will now conclude at 3:00PM

We realize these are subtle changes, yet hope they will ease the flow of traffic in and out of campus; we also hope to avoid making major changes to the upper and middle school academic schedules. If these adjustments do not accomplish our goals, we will discuss alternative strategies later in the spring. As before, thank you for your patience, understanding, and for your continuing cordial relations with our MVS neighbors.

In April, we are convening an ad-hoc committee to review the policies, procedures, and goals of the Immersion Program. Considering the importance of Immersion at MVS, reflecting the apex of our school-wide commitment to experiential learning, the upper school faculty feels it is important to periodically review and affirm its place and role in the curriculum. I will share the findings and recommendations of this committee as they become known.

In preparation for Spring Term, please remind students to purchase books for spring term electives, particularly for English courses for grades 10-12. In most cases, these books should be listed on the MBS Direct website, though some might be listed on teacher web pages.

Please confirm that Immersion Open House is Wednesday, 14 April from 7:00-8:30PM in the Lane Gymnasium. Feel free to bring a neighbor or a friend to share in the students’ celebration of the accomplishments from Immersion 2010.

On behalf of the upper school faculty and staff, best wishes towards a safe and restful Spring Break. We look forward to welcoming students back on Monday, 5 April for the start of the Spring Trimester; recall that Morning Announcements will start at 8:05AM beginning in April.

With sincere regards,

Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School