Required Study Halls, PLAN, PSAT, & Senor Retreat

Monday, 11 October 2010

Greetings Upper School Parents:

We reviewed mid-term comments, grades, and effort marks during Advisory Meetings last Thursday. In most cases, after reviewing their marks, students then wrote comments affirming their successes while also setting goals for further improvement during the latter part of the fall term. These notes will provide useful reference when meeting with parents during Winter Advisory Conferences, 22 & 23 November.

Following faculty review of mid-term comments and grades, required study halls began last week for students experiencing academic difficulty. Required study halls, regarded as a scheduled class, are scheduled during student free periods and are proctored by upper school teachers. If your child has been assigned to a study hall, a letter was sent home last Thursday.

A list of Confirmed Dayton Area Community Service Organizations (including contact name, phone number, and website) is now posted on the announcements section of the upper school home page. If students have an interest in seeking on-campus school service during the school day, Mrs. McCallum has a list of available school service needs. A reminder, students need to complete a minimum of 20 hours of service (approved external to community or approved internal service to MVS) for each year of attendance in the upper school.

This Wednesday, 13 October, will be a busy morning of preparatory standardized testing and goal planning: Freshmen will take the PLAN test; Sophomores and Juniors will take the PSAT; Seniors will participate in the Senior Retreat. Colin Dunnigan, Director of College Counseling, has met individually with each grade regarding appropriate preparation for the PLAN and PSAT. Ashwi Birdi, as Senior Dean, is planning with other members of the Senior Team towards the Senior Retreat, which this year will be held at the Dayton Jewish Community Center. All students will attend regular classes in the afternoon.

I hope you have had a chance to review the letter I sent on Friday regarding the revised PE and athletic participation policies. There will be a question and answer session for parents on Friday, 22 October at 4:00PM in the Upper School Commons. If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me.

Since we have now passed the mid-term mark and are heading towards November and exams, I often become concerned about adolescent sleep deprivation and perceive increased stress levels. I have mentioned these concerns to teachers and have already contacted Jeff Wolfsberg, asking him to include this as a focus during his visit to MVS in mid-November.

With sincere regards,


Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School