Summer 2007 Dear Middle School Families, I hope you are enjoying the summer, that students are finding the summer reading assignments engaging and that, like us, you are looking forward to a strong year in the middle school, filled with familiar subjects and fresh challenges for new and returning students. As you know, we are launching a laptop program in grades seven and eight. Beginning this year, all students in these grades will be required to own and use personal laptops at school. Students who have purchased laptops through laptopschools.com should plan to pick them up at PDS on Tuesday, September 4, between noon and 1:30 p.m. All seventh and eighth graders must bring their computers to campus on Wednesday, September 5, the first day of school. Another change this year is our move to a trimester academic calendar in middle school. Families will now receive full narrative reports three times during the school year, with interim reports at the midpoint of each trimester for children who are exhibiting difficulty or a significant change in performance. Seventh and eighth graders will again have a choice of specialized arts classes; course descriptions and registration information will come home with them during the first week of school.

More news: PDS's annual summer mailing has gone online! The new process allows you to update your personal information, provide critical permissions and, in most cases, complete needed forms without having to mail them to school. Instructions for accessing the new online summer registration site will be e-mailed to families of all new and returning students. So be sure to look for an e-mail with your user name and password. Please complete the online registration process by Friday, August 17, so that we have all required permissions and information. Once you receive your password, if you have difficulty accessing the site, please contact PDS technology director David Held; if you have problems entering information on the site, contact infosnap tech support (or 866-986-1601 ext. 260).

The student health and prescription medication forms are posted online as PDFs, which must be downloaded and submitted to your child(ren)'s physician to sign and then mail to Judi Siebold, our school nurse, by Tuesday, September 4. (NOTE: in accordance with New York State law, all new students and students entering grade 7 must undergo a physical examination.) No student will be permitted to attend school without a completed form on file in the Health Office.

Final versions of the 2007-08 PDS vacation calendar and related activities calendar can be viewed and downloaded as part of the online registration. Please review them for dates of importance throughout the year. These include the annual 7th- and 8th-grade Frost Valley outdoor education program, which will take place from Wednesday to Friday, September 19 to 21. Forms for this trip were enclosed with our hard-copy mailing and must be returned, with appropriate signatures, by the first week of school. Please note that a doctor's signature is required for students who require (1) prescription medication or (2) over-the-counter medication such as aspirin or Tylenol. All 5th- and 6th-grade students will be returning to the Ramapo Anchorage Camp in Rhinebeck for a daylong program on Wednesday, September 26.

Please mark these additional important dates on your calendar.

Tuesday, September 4

• 11 A.M. - 12 P.M. - Orientation for students and parents new to the middle school, including all students entering grade 5 and their families
• 12 P.M. - 1:30 P.M - Box-opening celebration, distribution and orientation for laptop computers from laptopschools.com; includes pizza lunch

Wednesday, September 5 First day of school

Friday, September 7 PDSPO Welcome-Back Picnic

Thursday, October 4 Middle School Curriculum Night

Along with many teachers in familiar roles, you will find several new members of our middle school team. I am sure you will be as delighted as I am to welcome them: Kerry Wholey will teach 7-8 history and serve as a 7-8 advisor, Karim Llaja will teach math in grades 5-8 and advise in 7-8, and Damon Banks and Rebecca Coupe Franks will jointly supervise the middle and upper school music program. In addition, Maria Downey will teach fifth-grade Spanish, Maria Jimena Concha will teach 7-8 Spanish and Peter Vinogradov, returned from last year's sabbatical, will teach the Language Sampler classes. In response to increased enrollment, we have added a fourth section at the 5-6 level with PDS math teacher Laura Meiselman taking on the new role of 5-6 advisor. Please see Josie Holford's head-of-school letter for more details on all our new faculty.

A reminder: Regular and effective communication with PDS families is essential to us. Matters of importance are best addressed by phone or during a parent/teacher conference. Teachers can also be reached by e-mail, which is a fast, effective means of parent/teacher communication. It is particularly useful as teachers do not have ready access to phones during the school day. In fact, we prefer e-mail for exchanging short messages or for scheduling a meeting time. Teachers will respond to email within 24 to 48 hours.

I hope you have a wonderful summer. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail or phone with any questions or concerns. You may also contact Kathryn Sharp, our middle school administrative assistant (extension 224).

Warm regards,

George Swain
Head of Middle School
845-462-7600, ext. 222