Thursday, 9 December 2010
Greetings Upper School Parents:
Since we have reached the mid-term mark for the Second Trimester and Winter Break is now in sight (with chilly weather to match), I thought I would send a quick reminder of details and programs at work here in the Upper School.
The Student Government has planned and is facilitating what has now become a mid-December tradition in the Upper School: Charity Challenge! Charity Challenge lasts the full two weeks leading up to Winter Break and unites support for charitable organizations with spirited and creative competitions between students across grade-levels. With activities varying from puzzle solving to Amnesty letter writing campaigns to dodge ball, students compete in support of one of the following four charities: St. Vincent De Paul Shelter, Heifer International, Doctors Without Borders, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Charity Challenge brings energy, awareness, and palpable excitement to what otherwise might be a chilly two weeks.
As follow-up from the parent Cyber Safety and Internet Awareness Program on Tuesday evening, in addition to the articles I have posed on my Blog, our two speakers also recommended the resources provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, specifically in the parent and guardian section.
Due to rumors that continue to circulate from the dance back in November, the Student Government and I have decided not to hold the dance that was scheduled for this Friday. This respite from evening activities at MVS will allow time for the rebuilding of trust between students and teachers. Additionally, I am reviewing chaperone guidelines and expectations with upper school teachers to provide more clarity for future events.
Winter mid-term comments, effort marks, and grades will be available via MyBackpack next Friday, 17 December in the late afternoon: students and their Academic Advisors will review them during advisory meetings at school. Next Friday is also the winter advisory lunch, during which individual Advisory Groups will order-in food for their celebratory lunches. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s Academic Advisor.
The school day concludes next Friday with the traditional All-School Sing at 2:15 in the Lane Gymnasium. If you have not previously experienced it, witnessing the “all-school shout” rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas is an MVS event unlike any other!
Best wishes, stay warm, and hope to see you soon.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
News Articles: Cyber-Safety, Wiki-Leaks, & Facebook
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Greetings Upper School Parents:
The following are 4 recent articles to whet your appetite for Tuesday evening’s Parent Information Program on Cyber Safety & Internet Awareness. I look forward to seeing you there and to sharing in the conversation.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
New York Times; 4 December, 2010: As Bullies Go Digital, Parents Play Catch-Up, by Jan Hoffman
New York Times; 4 December, 2010: Wiki-Leaks Timeline: Cables Depict Range of Obama Diplomacy, by David E. Sanger
New York Times; 29 November, 2010: Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt, by Julie Zhou
New York Times; 7 November, 2010: The Facebook Skeletons Come Out, by Jeremy W. Peters & Brian Stelter
Greetings Upper School Parents:
The following are 4 recent articles to whet your appetite for Tuesday evening’s Parent Information Program on Cyber Safety & Internet Awareness. I look forward to seeing you there and to sharing in the conversation.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
New York Times; 4 December, 2010: As Bullies Go Digital, Parents Play Catch-Up, by Jan Hoffman
New York Times; 4 December, 2010: Wiki-Leaks Timeline: Cables Depict Range of Obama Diplomacy, by David E. Sanger
New York Times; 29 November, 2010: Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt, by Julie Zhou
New York Times; 7 November, 2010: The Facebook Skeletons Come Out, by Jeremy W. Peters & Brian Stelter
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Upper School Snow, Ice, & Inclement Weather Policy
Tuesday, 1 December 2010
Greetings Upper School Parents:
As if on cue for the start of December, we have flurries and chilly weather outside! Anticipating questions regarding future snow, ice, and inclement weather, let’s quickly review the snow policy and procedures for the Upper School. I reminded students and faculty members of these details today during Morning Announcements.
My best advice to you as parents is to follow the guidelines of responsible common sense and peace of mind. If you have any trepidation about the safety of your daughter or son (based upon road conditions, driving experience, or impending storm conditions), please caution on the side of your child’s safety and your comfort as a parent.
If your decision relates to a late-arrival to or absence from school, we ask that you send notice, by phone or e.mail. If arriving late, remind your child to sign-in in the Upper School Office when she or he arrives. If your decision relates to an early departure from MVS, please come into the office to sign-out your child (if picking up) or phone-in your request so we know that your child has permission to depart early from campus. Similar to our existing procedure for illnesses, if your son or daughter wishes to leave school early due to inclement weather, we will phone you directly before allowing a student to depart from campus.
In the event of a school closing or delay in start time, MVS will continue to make use of the “One Call” program, from which an automated message, with the specific details of the delay or cancellation, will call the main contact phone numbers designated on your My Backpack account. Such news will also be included on the MVS website and voicemail system.
Stay warm, be safe, and see you soon,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Greetings Upper School Parents:
As if on cue for the start of December, we have flurries and chilly weather outside! Anticipating questions regarding future snow, ice, and inclement weather, let’s quickly review the snow policy and procedures for the Upper School. I reminded students and faculty members of these details today during Morning Announcements.
My best advice to you as parents is to follow the guidelines of responsible common sense and peace of mind. If you have any trepidation about the safety of your daughter or son (based upon road conditions, driving experience, or impending storm conditions), please caution on the side of your child’s safety and your comfort as a parent.
If your decision relates to a late-arrival to or absence from school, we ask that you send notice, by phone or e.mail. If arriving late, remind your child to sign-in in the Upper School Office when she or he arrives. If your decision relates to an early departure from MVS, please come into the office to sign-out your child (if picking up) or phone-in your request so we know that your child has permission to depart early from campus. Similar to our existing procedure for illnesses, if your son or daughter wishes to leave school early due to inclement weather, we will phone you directly before allowing a student to depart from campus.
In the event of a school closing or delay in start time, MVS will continue to make use of the “One Call” program, from which an automated message, with the specific details of the delay or cancellation, will call the main contact phone numbers designated on your My Backpack account. Such news will also be included on the MVS website and voicemail system.
Stay warm, be safe, and see you soon,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Parent Education Program: Cyber Safety & Internet Awareness
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Greetings Upper School Parents:
In response to on-going questions about cyber safety and the increasing role of technology and the internet in our children’s lives, I have arranged for parent education program on Tuesday, 7 December at 7:00PM in the Truslow Upper School Commons. Upper school students and teachers will participate in a similar presentation and discussion Tuesday afternoon.
We are very fortunate to welcome Vipal Patel (Assistant United States Attorney) and Robert White (Special Agent of the FBI) to lead an informative program on cyber safety and internet awareness. While our speakers have prepared an interactive presentation, they are also looking forward to fielding questions from the audience.
In preparation for this parent education program, I will post some links to recent articles relating to the internet, cyber safety, and recent events in the news on my Blog. An interesting article comes from the recent Sunday New York Times, by Matt Richtel, titled Growing Up Digital, Wired For Distraction
I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, 7 December, and to discussing this important topic.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Greetings Upper School Parents:
In response to on-going questions about cyber safety and the increasing role of technology and the internet in our children’s lives, I have arranged for parent education program on Tuesday, 7 December at 7:00PM in the Truslow Upper School Commons. Upper school students and teachers will participate in a similar presentation and discussion Tuesday afternoon.
We are very fortunate to welcome Vipal Patel (Assistant United States Attorney) and Robert White (Special Agent of the FBI) to lead an informative program on cyber safety and internet awareness. While our speakers have prepared an interactive presentation, they are also looking forward to fielding questions from the audience.
In preparation for this parent education program, I will post some links to recent articles relating to the internet, cyber safety, and recent events in the news on my Blog. An interesting article comes from the recent Sunday New York Times, by Matt Richtel, titled Growing Up Digital, Wired For Distraction
I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, 7 December, and to discussing this important topic.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
MVS Parents' Association Presents: Jeff Wolfsberg, 'A Conversation with Parents'
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Greetings Upper School Parents:
A quick reminder that tomorrow, Thursday 18 November at 7:00PM in the Alumni Theatre, there is an important MVS Parents' Association Meeting, including a "conversation with parents" by Jeff Wolfsberg, our Drug Education Specialist.
Mr Wolfsberg will also make reference to the results from the Student Wellness Survey we conducted back in September.
I look forward to seeing you there.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Greetings Upper School Parents:
A quick reminder that tomorrow, Thursday 18 November at 7:00PM in the Alumni Theatre, there is an important MVS Parents' Association Meeting, including a "conversation with parents" by Jeff Wolfsberg, our Drug Education Specialist.
Mr Wolfsberg will also make reference to the results from the Student Wellness Survey we conducted back in September.
I look forward to seeing you there.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Friday, November 12, 2010
Fall Term Comments & Grades, Advisory Conferences, Techno-formatting Code(?)
Friday, 12 November 2010
Greetings Upper School Parents:
I am not sure why yesterday’s e.mail began with a paragraph of techno- formatting code; the “normal text format” can be read on Wagner’s MVS Blog at: http://wagnersmvsblog.blogspot.com/ .
Amazing to see that we have completed the Fall Trimester of the 2010-11 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.
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 (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 occurs on Monday (afternoon/early evening) and Tuesday (morning) 22 & 23 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). As I mentioned previously, scheduling for conferences is now accomplished via an on-line scheduling program, which is accessible from the Upper School homepage .
The fall advisory conference 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.
That’s all for now. I hope you enjoy the amazing weather this weekend; I look forward to seeing you at an up-coming winter athletic match.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Greetings Upper School Parents:
I am not sure why yesterday’s e.mail began with a paragraph of techno- formatting code; the “normal text format” can be read on Wagner’s MVS Blog at: http://wagnersmvsblog.blogspot.com/ .
Amazing to see that we have completed the Fall Trimester of the 2010-11 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.
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 (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 occurs on Monday (afternoon/early evening) and Tuesday (morning) 22 & 23 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). As I mentioned previously, scheduling for conferences is now accomplished via an on-line scheduling program, which is accessible from the Upper School homepage .
The fall advisory conference 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.
That’s all for now. I hope you enjoy the amazing weather this weekend; I look forward to seeing you at an up-coming winter athletic match.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Wellness Week, Jeff Wolfsberg, Winter Play, & Advisor Conferences
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Greetings Upper School Parents:
To celebrate the summer-like weather outside (November, with temperatures reaching 70!) I’ve officially proclaimed this Friday as “summer in November day,” encouraging students to wear summer colors and attire that better match the delightful delay of winter.
Next week brings Wellness Week to the upper school. Under the careful planning of Christie Kemper (School Counselor) and the robust student members of the Red Cross Club, we have a week chock-full of themed dress days, activities, and purposeful events:
Monday 15th
“De-Stress” Monday
Focus on Emotional and Spiritual Wellness
Students wear “veg” (comfy) clothes
“Battle of the Grades” Jeopardy, during first period
Tuesday 16th
“Social” Tuesday
Focus on Social Wellness and building healthy relationships
Students have a hot chocolate social during lunch
Wednesday 17th
“Working” Wednesday
Focus on Intellectual/Occupational Wellness
Students dress up as what they want to be when they grow up
Student Health Fair 11:00 AM-1:00 PM, in SAC Gym
Thursday 18th
“Going Green” Thursday
Focus on Environmental Wellness
Students wear green
MVS Parent’s Association, featuring Jeff Wolfsberg: 7:00-8:30 PM, in Alumni Theatre
Friday 19th
“Fitness” Friday
Focus on Physical Wellness
Students wear workout clothes
Hoops for the heart, during extended lunch, in the gym
Jeff Wolfsberg (drug education specialist) returns to MVS to meet with all upper school grade-levels Tuesday through Friday, 16-19 November.
Peter Camm announced this week that the winter drama presentation will be The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s: “The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr.” Auditions will be held next Monday and Tuesday; performances are scheduled for 27-29 January.
A reminder that Winter Advisory Conferences are Monday and Tuesday, 22 & 23 November. In preparation for conferences, we have employed a new on-line scheduling service. This service offers real time access to your child’s advisor schedules. You access this system by going to the upper school homepage MVS website, then click on the "schedule your conference" link in the top right hand corner. This scheduling system will be available until Friday, November 19 at midnight. Scheduling slots with Advisors are available on a first-come first-served basis.
I am happy to announce that there will be a Parent Education Program on the evening of Tuesday, 7 December, addressing the sensitive topics of cyber-safety, cyber-bullying, and internet safety. I will provide further details at next week’s evening Parents’ Association Meeting, before Jeff Wolfsberg’s presentation to parents.
That’s all for a busy start to the Winter Term. I look forward to seeing lots of MVS folks at Friday evening’s book fair at Books & Co, from 4-8:PM.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
Greetings Upper School Parents:
To celebrate the summer-like weather outside (November, with temperatures reaching 70!) I’ve officially proclaimed this Friday as “summer in November day,” encouraging students to wear summer colors and attire that better match the delightful delay of winter.
Next week brings Wellness Week to the upper school. Under the careful planning of Christie Kemper (School Counselor) and the robust student members of the Red Cross Club, we have a week chock-full of themed dress days, activities, and purposeful events:
Monday 15th
“De-Stress” Monday
Focus on Emotional and Spiritual Wellness
Students wear “veg” (comfy) clothes
“Battle of the Grades” Jeopardy, during first period
Tuesday 16th
“Social” Tuesday
Focus on Social Wellness and building healthy relationships
Students have a hot chocolate social during lunch
Wednesday 17th
“Working” Wednesday
Focus on Intellectual/Occupational Wellness
Students dress up as what they want to be when they grow up
Student Health Fair 11:00 AM-1:00 PM, in SAC Gym
Thursday 18th
“Going Green” Thursday
Focus on Environmental Wellness
Students wear green
MVS Parent’s Association, featuring Jeff Wolfsberg: 7:00-8:30 PM, in Alumni Theatre
Friday 19th
“Fitness” Friday
Focus on Physical Wellness
Students wear workout clothes
Hoops for the heart, during extended lunch, in the gym
Jeff Wolfsberg (drug education specialist) returns to MVS to meet with all upper school grade-levels Tuesday through Friday, 16-19 November.
Peter Camm announced this week that the winter drama presentation will be The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s: “The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr.” Auditions will be held next Monday and Tuesday; performances are scheduled for 27-29 January.
A reminder that Winter Advisory Conferences are Monday and Tuesday, 22 & 23 November. In preparation for conferences, we have employed a new on-line scheduling service. This service offers real time access to your child’s advisor schedules. You access this system by going to the upper school homepage MVS website, then click on the "schedule your conference" link in the top right hand corner. This scheduling system will be available until Friday, November 19 at midnight. Scheduling slots with Advisors are available on a first-come first-served basis.
I am happy to announce that there will be a Parent Education Program on the evening of Tuesday, 7 December, addressing the sensitive topics of cyber-safety, cyber-bullying, and internet safety. I will provide further details at next week’s evening Parents’ Association Meeting, before Jeff Wolfsberg’s presentation to parents.
That’s all for a busy start to the Winter Term. I look forward to seeing lots of MVS folks at Friday evening’s book fair at Books & Co, from 4-8:PM.
With sincere regards,
Sam Wagner
Head of Upper School
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