Dear Upper School Students and Parents, I am writing with an official welcome for upper school families new to PDS and to welcome back returning families, while asking all of you to make note of important information needed for the fall. The upper school will launch the academic year with an overnight trip on September 20 and 21 to Clearpool Education Center in Carmel, New York. We are truly looking forward to this and encourage you to visit the Clearpool Web site. Please note that the required Clearpool forms were enclosed in the recent hard-copy mailing to you. They include a two-page health history and a parental consent that must be completed and returned no later than September 4 to PDS, c/o Sara Morrone, upper school assistant (see below for information on the rest of the usual registration forms). On September 21 we will return to PDS from Clearpool in time for regular dismissal. Keeping in mind that Yom Kippur begins at sundown, we can also arrange to have some students back at school earlier that day if 3:00 p.m. is cutting it too close.

All ninth-graders, new students in grades 10 through 12 and their families are invited to an orientation session on Tuesday, September 4, at 11:00 a.m.; we will begin in Gilkeson and proceed to Kenyon. At that time you will learn more about the upper school program and schedule and meet the advisors. A reminder to all students: the academic day begins at 8:20 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. As always, the fall will be packed with important events and activities, including Upper School Curriculum Night on Tuesday, September 25, at 7:00 p.m. (See below for a listing of all first-semester informational programs.)

We have a new trimester academic schedule in place for the coming year. Our goals in creating this new schedule were to (1) reduce the long classes from an hour to 45 minutes to provide more opportunities for required and elective courses in art, music and physical education and to expand the elective program to include drama in the fall or spring; (2) reduce the conflict between academic classes and early departures for the athletic teams; and (3) reduce conflicts for juniors and seniors who want to continue a foreign language while also taking, for example, art history or AP music theory. English and history courses will continue to be semester-long, while math, science and foreign language courses will run the full year. Except for English and history, which meet daily for classes of varying duration, academic classes will not meet every day, so a student's daily load will feel much like the old schedule.

I am pleased to introduce new faculty members Kevin Lang, who will teach upper school English; Maria Jimena Concha, who will teach middle and upper school Spanish; and Arnie Serotsky, who will teach upper school biology during Tanya Vinogradov's sabbatical. Mark Burns will continue teaching English as a part-time faculty member. You will find information on other faculty new to PDS at the online summer registration site.

Here are additional details about the upcoming school year:

• Summer reading. Please be sure to complete the reading, including the related assignments, by the first day of school. You are also encouraged to work on the required vocabulary list
• Community service. Upper school students must complete an annual community service requirement of at least 20 hours. It is useful to find an organization you want to work with and perhaps even begin volunteering there before school resumes. A form for documenting your community service hours will be available on your return to school and on the portal.
• Advisors. The following faculty members will be advising in the upper school: Bernadette Condesso, Don Fried, Jonathan Heiles, Kevin Lang, Li Pipman Denaut, Arnie Serotsky, Wayne Toepp and Barbara Wood.
• Request for student helpers. We would appreciate the participation of any students who are available to help set up school during faculty planning week (Tuesday to Friday, August 28 to 31) and Tuesday, September 4. If you are interested, please contact Sara Morrone (ext. 100), ) and indicate the hours you are available (time volunteered will count as community service).
• Lateness/absence. If a student is absent or late, the parent/guardian must call by 9:00 a.m. to notify Sara Morrone, upper school assistant ( ext. 100).
• Outside appointments. In the case of a student leaving early or arriving late because of an appointment (doctor, dentist, etc.), a note or phone call from the parent/guardian is required. Please contact Sara Morrone (ext. 100), who will then notify the student's advisor.
• Illness at school. Students who feel ill during the school day must report to the nurse's office. The nurse will notify the upper school assistant if the student is being sent home.
• Online summer registration. PDS's annual summer mailing has gone online! Instructions for accessing the site will soon be e-mailed to families of all new and returning students. Be sure to look for an e-mail with your user name and password. Please complete your online registration so that all required permissions and information reach PDS by Friday, August 17.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). Note: Online registration includes permission for upper school students to be drivers or passengers in student-operated vehicles. Students will not be permitted to leave campus at lunch until the driving permission information has been submitted online. The student health and prescription medication forms will be posted as PDFs that must be downloaded and submitted to your child(ren)'s physician to sign and mail to Judi Siebold, our school nurse by Tuesday, September 4. (NOTE: in accordance with New York State law, all students entering grade 10 must undergo a physical examination.) No student will be permitted to attend school without a completed form on file.
• Please reserve the following dates:
  Upper School Curriculum Night - Tuesday, September 25 (7:00 p.m.)
  Discussion of college application process - Wednesday, October 16 (7:00 p.m.)
  Discussion of college financial aid process - Tuesday, December 4 (7:00 p.m.)
  Second discussion of the college application process - Wednesday, March 12 (7:00 p.m.)
  Note: the list of SAT and PSAT test and registration dates was included in the recent mailing.

Regular and effective communication with PDS families is highly important to us. E-mail is the fastest and most effective communication between parents, teachers and advisors. Faculty do not have ready access to telephones, but they do have access to e-mail and will respond to you within 24 to 48 hours. Upper school teachers routinely use e-mail to alert parents to any difficulties a student may be experiencing; these e-mails, called FYIs, can serve to alert parents to concerns or to significant achievement and progress. Providing your e-mail address as soon as possible ensures that this rapid form of communication can occur from the start of the year.

If you have questions about any of this information, the upcoming school year or PDS in general, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

See you on the first day of school, Wednesday, September 5 (don't forget to return your Clearpool forms), if not before!

Liz Vinogradov
Head of Upper School
845-462-7600, ext. 122