News You Can Use September 2008
Posted by usnl in : News You Can Use, September 2008Please Help Us Welcome…
Ed Foley is in a new position as Associate Director of Boys Athletics, joining Tori Small in her new position as Associate Director of Girls Athletics. A graduate of Penn Charter, Ed has a BS from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and comes to us from a career in business. Ed has been a coach for both boys and girls sports with the St. Philip Neri CYO and for 11 years, the head coach for the Philadelphia Little Quakers.
Michelle Friedman, who served as a long-term substitute last school year, will return to teach 9th and 11th grade English. She has a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA and PhD from Bryn Mawr College. Michelle has also taught at Temple University, Haverford College and Lehigh University.
Mary Bear Shannon will teach Upper School social studies for this year while Sarah Sharp is interim Social Studies chair. Mary has a background in public history; she worked at The Constitution Works and at the Pennsylvania Humanities Council before turning her attention to secondary education. Mary has a BA from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, a masters in history from Temple University and a secondary education certificate in social studies from Widener University.
Antonio Williams is the new Mathematics chair. Previously, Antonio was the math department chair at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn and served in the same position at the Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison, N.J. Antonio holds a bachelor of science from the University of Maryland in aerospace engineering and an MBA in finance from Columbia Business School. Anthony Farrell will continue teaching Upper School math and will be the boys varsity cross country coach.
Other Notable Changes
Kevin Berkoff joins the Penn Charter faculty full time. In addition to his background in aquatics, Kevin holds degrees in environmental science and outdoor education. He will teach outdoor education in the Upper School in addition to various aquatics courses. Kevin will also be teaching Middle School science.
Paul Butler has been named Director of Athletics & Athletic Planning. In this new position, Paul will focus on the development of overarching departmental policies, the recruitment and supervision of coaches, the recruitment of student-athletes, and athletic development projects. The day-to-day management of girls and boys athletics will be managed by Tori Small and Ed Foley.
Catherine Ezzo will be the interim English department chair for the 2008-09 academic year, during which time a full search will take place. Jesse Dougherty, former English department chair, is the new director of the Upper School at Friends Select School.
Debbie Foley is being assisted in the health office by three part-time nurses. Carol Simpson, a staff nurse in the Oncology/ Hematology Clinic in Children’s Hospital, is working two days a week at Penn Charter. Carol has a BS in nursing from the University of Scranton. Mary Elizabeth Mangan is also working two (or more) days a week at Penn Charter. She has most recently worked as a substitute staff nurse in the Upper Merion School District, and has a registered nurse diploma and a BS in nursing from St. Luke’s School of Nursing in Bethlehem. Stephanie Sidlow OPC ’96 will work on Mondays. Stephanie has a BS in nursing from Georgetown University and a master’s in nursing and health care administration from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently a part-time faculty and clinical instructor at Villanova University’s School of Nursing.
Ruth McGee will be moving from Middle School to Upper School visual arts. A ceramicist by training, Ruth will teach ceramics and wheel courses, Digital Art, and she will join the teaching team in Foundation Arts.
Michael Roche will teach half-time in the Upper School while continuing to teach in Middle School. In addition to the theater courses he already teaches, Michael will be teaching filmmaking and animation courses in the Visual Arts department this year.
Sarah Sharp will serve as interim department chair of the social studies department for the 2008-09 school year, during which time a full search will take place. Lee Payton will provide coordination and leadership for a revision of the 10th grade social studies curriculum during the coming school year. Jason Yaffe, former Social Studies department chair, returned to Greenhill School in Addison, Texas, to teach social studies.
Tori Small, Associate Athletic Director for Girls, will be on maternity leave in the fall from her 9th grade teaching responsibilities. Kevin Berkoff and Pam Shannon will share Tori’s class in the pool while Debbie Foley will teach the health classes. Dana Toedtman will serve as the faculty advisor to Tori’s 9th grade advisees. Tori will be in school part-time in her role as girls AD and will return to teaching in trimester 2.
Elizabeth Pago-Taylor, one of our Middle School foreign language teachers, will teach a section of Spanish I in the Upper School.
Improving Communication Around Academic Work
So that students can better manage and plan their academic work, we would like to remind you of two important resources available to students online. First, teachers post on the web or on WebClass course syllabi for all classes that they teach. Syllabi could be weekly, biweekly or for one unit and will contain information about assignments and what is being taught in class. Next, our PC Google calendar system allows students to view the online major assessment calendar for the Upper School. While major assessments for class are listed on class syllabi, this read-only version of the assessment calendar will, we hope, help students plan and manage academic time more efficiently.
Changing Student Leadership Roles
One of the highlights in my first year as dean of students at Penn Charter was working with the Student Council and class officers. Part of our work included taking a closer look at these student leadership structures and how they operate, interact and serve the student body and the broader community. Through a series of discussions we came to consensus around several changes to both the class officer and Student Council structures in the hopes of making them more efficient, effective and responsive.
In an effort to create more equal representation in the Student Council, we decided to elect five representatives from each of the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. Commensurate with their overall leadership position in the Upper School, the senior class will elect six representatives to the council. These elections take place in the spring of the previous school year. The rising 9th graders select three of their representative in the spring of their eighth grade year, and then select the other two representative in the fall of their 9th grade year. We made this last change in order to accommodate the influx of new students in the 9th grade year. While these two slots are not set aside only for new students, we wanted to give them a voice in their student leadership representatives.
Due to the limited scope of their roles, we eliminated the vice president, secretary and treasurer positions from the class officer structure, leaving one president to lead each of the sophomore, junior and senior classes. In keeping with previous years, there is no class president elected for the 9th grade. The class president is a public voice of the class and the point person for all social events and fundraisers for the class. The Student Council representatives will support the class president in these social event and fundraising efforts, and the class president will be a regular participant in Student Council meetings and deliberations. Our hope is that this new structure will create a leaner and more efficient student organization.
One of the major duties of Student Council members and class presidents is to facilitate lines of communication among students, faculty and administration. In our discussions last year, an enduring topic was how to expand and maintain these communication channels. We feel that in order to serve the Upper School, we need to be more accessible and responsive. While anyone is welcome to attend Student Council meetings, we also feel we need to inform the broader community of the topics we are discussing and the projects we are undertaking. In response to these observations and concerns, we are creating an “advisory council” for the 2008-09 school year. Each paired advisory group will elect one student (who is not the class president or already serving on Student Council) to serve on this advisory council. At least once each trimester, the advisory council will meet with the Student Council and the class presidents to bring questions or concerns from their respective advisory groups. Members of the advisory council will also be charged with reporting back to their advisory groups on the current topics and projects of the Student Council and class presidents. This will be a trial year for the advisory council. If we feel that it meets our goals of increased communication and responsiveness, we will consider making it a permanent part of our formal student leadership structure.
I am excited about the changes we have made to the Student Council and to the class officer structure, and I look forward to seeing how these changes will impact the role of student leaders in the Upper School. In the end, our success will be based on how well we serve the student body and the Upper School community as a whole. If you are unfamiliar with the overall structure of student leadership in the Upper School, I encourage you to look at pages 71-72 of the Handbook for Students and Parents. I should add that these pages in the Handbook only address one spoke of a larger student leadership wheel, which also includes near limitless official and unofficial opportunities and positions in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in various clubs and organizations.
Travis Larrabee
Dean of Students
Attendance
A fundamental responsibility of any school is to provide for the safety and security of its students. Accurate attendance is a crucial component of our ability to successfully meet this responsibility. Parents (not students) are expected to call the school by 9:00 a.m. on any day that their child is absent. Parents should call the nurse’s office at ext. 142 for medical absences. Parents should report all other absences to Bridgette Bonner-Fennal in the Upper School office at ext. 264. Also, any student who arrives or leaves campus outside of the normal school opening and closing times must sign out with Ms. Bonner-Fennal at her desk across the hall from the main Upper School office. With the exception of those upperclassmen with off-campus privileges, these mid-day arrivals and dismissals must be accompanied by a note or a phone call from a parent. No student is allowed to leave campus without written or verbal confirmation from a parent. Any tardies or absences not accompanied by this confirmation will be deemed unexcused. We urge you to review our comprehensive attendance policies, which appear on pages 13-18 of the Handbook for Students and Parents. We thank you for your cooperation on this important matter.
Please Buy Wrapping Paper!
Why buy wrapping paper you might ask? The profits from the 2007 – 08 sale provided financial aid for more than one third of the participants on last year’s school trips. Clearly this financial support enabled many students to participate in trips that they would have been unable to afford otherwise.
The trips offered each year in the Upper School are viewed as extensions of our curriculum. This year the students in the Upper School are being presented with four travel opportunities. Over spring break, Joe Fitzmartin will be taking a select choir group to sing and tour in Spain. The group will visit Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca and Toledo. Led by longtime coaches Don Mittica and Rick Mellor, the girls softball and the boys baseball teams will enjoy spring training in Florida. After school closes, the foreign language department will sponsor a trip to the French-speaking island of Guadeloupe in the southern Caribbean. Students will participate in service learning and a homestay while being immersed in the French language. French teacher Michelle Emery will lead the trip.
While we do our best to make these trips as affordable as possible, the profit from the wrapping paper subsidizes financial aid for student participants on all trips. As in previous years, limited financial aid will be available. If you have questions about the details of any of the trips, please contact the trip leader. For questions about financial aid, call Beth Glascott by Oct. 31, 2008.
Technology News
Student USB Drives: Increasingly, students need to work on large computer files on multiple computers to complete assignments. Transferring files between computers using network tools works well for smaller files but not for larger files like digital art and presentations which include pictures, movies and/or music. To help with this, all students in grades 6-12th will receive a one-gigabyte keychain-sized USB drive at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year.
New E-mail System: Recognizing that the Penn Charter WebMail system was running out of both speed and capacity, we identified a new e-mail system in the 2007-08 school year called Google Apps. Along with solving speed and capacity issues, this new system will position the school for success in the future as new means of electronic communication come into educational use. New e-mail accounts have one hundred times more space than the old WebMail e-mail accounts and offer advanced features to support school work.
Please contact me with any questions about these two new technology initiatives.
Michael Moulton
Director of Technology
Student ID Cards
The 2008–09 Upper School student ID cards are printed with the school pictures that were taken on orientation and registration day. Returning students should retain last year’s card. While the school year and photo are changed, the barcode does not change.
Here are some tips if you think you child might lose or damage his or her ID card. When you receive the new 2008–09 ID card, do not discard the 2007–08 card because the old card will still work in the dining hall. ID cards may be photocopied so that you have a back up with the bar code. We will also have copies of all 2008–09 ID cards in the Upper School office so students may obtain a temporary card from Rose Mary Cavalcante.
If your son or daughter loses or damages his or her 2008–09 ID card over the course of the year, a replacement may be obtained by notifying John Burkhart at jburkhart@penncharter.com and requesting that a replacement card be ordered. The cost is $5.00, and the replacement card will arrive in about four weeks.
Penn Charter’s Electronic Parent Mailbag
In an effort to communicate more effectively with parents and to continue our stewardship efforts, we have decided to do away with the biweekly parent mailings and move to an electronic version of these communications. You will continue to receive the important information about Community meetings and activities, class trips or special school events, however, this information will be sent to you every other week via e-mail.
Rebecca Luzi in our Marketing Communications department is coordinating this new e-mailbag with the Community leadership. If you have any questions, please contact Community Co-Chair Laura Bryan at lbryan-pba@comcast.net.
News You Can Use April 2008
Posted by usnl in : News You Can Use, April 2008 EditionSpring Course Planning
All students in grades 8 – 11 received The Upper School Course of Study a few weeks before spring break and have completed preliminary course planning sheets requesting course choices for the 2008 – 2009 school year. Throughout the months of April, May and June, the administration and department chairs will finalize Upper School staffing and Sandy Portnoy, the registrar, will build the Upper School schedule based on student requests and staffing decisions for courses. Department chairs and course teachers will review student requests for advanced, AP and/or oversubscribed classes to select students for these courses. Please contact department chairs if you have questions about their departmental selection processes for courses. As the process moves forward this spring, Sandy Portnoy will be in touch with students who need to resolve conflicts and/or select alternative courses to complete their schedules. It is our hope that students will begin summer vacation with their 2008 – 2009 roster completed for September.
Student Leadership Opportunities
Many Upper School leadership positions change throughout April and May. Student elections for Student Council and class officers will take place in April. In order to get on the ballot for either position, students need to fill out and return a petition form to Travis Larrabee, dean of students, no later than the Monday preceding the election (elections are April 9 for student council and April 16 for class officers). Petition forms are available on the student message board or from the dean of students. Speeches are required; the elections will immediately follow the speeches. The grade advisors will count the ballots and the results will be posted the following day.
Encourage your son or daughter to get involved in extracurricular areas that are of interest to him or her. Please remember, however, that Upper School students are permitted to hold only one major leadership position per year, so that as many students as possible may experience official leadership roles at Penn Charter. If you have any questions about the various options available to students and/or the process used to select student leaders, please contact Travis Larrabee.
Completing Activity Requirements Reminders for the 2007-08 School Year
The Upper School activity credit requirements underscore the belief that extensive involvement in the life of the school is an integral part of a student’s Penn Charter education. All students in grades 9 through 12 are required to participate in one sport per year. All students are also required to participate in a second activity, which could be a second sport or a 40-hour activity. Failure to fulfill these requirements is serious. Returning students who do not fulfill their activity requirement will have them automatically added to their activities requirement the next year (and they will not be eligible for privileges; please see page 17 of the Student Handbook). Seniors who do not fulfill their activity requirement will have to complete the work over the summer and will not receive a diploma at graduation (because graduation requirements have not been met).
Most students have little difficulty meeting the activity requirement. The sport and 40-hour activities are listed on pages 19 to 25 of the Student Handbook. If you have any questions about the status of your child in any of the activities (e.g., how many hours left?), please call the 40-hour advisor listed in the Handbook or one of the athletic directors (for sports). If you have general questions about the activity requirement, please call Travis Larrabee, dean of students.
Summer Reading Book Swap
The Upper School parent community is sponsoring a summer reading book swap. Planned and organized by Jennifer McGoldrick (mother to Eliza, Class of 2011), the idea is to let students share with each other books that they have read from the summer reading list. Students will hand in their books to their English teachers for a ticket. The collected books will be arranged in the library so students can browse through them and take one in exchange for their ticket. The idea is to get students to not only share books with each other but also to talk about the books they have read in the past. The summer reading list will be made public on May 12, so students are meant to bring in their books after that date. If anyone wants to bring a book in earlier, they should bring it directly to Jesse Dougherty, the chair of the English department, in the humanities office on the first floor of the main building. The book swap will occur from May 28 through May 30 in the back of the Gummere library. The more participants the better, so please bring in your books. If you have questions or would like to offer your help, please contact Jennifer McGoldrick or Jesse Dougherty.
Selling Used Books
One of the advantages to purchasing your textbooks through MBS is the option to sell the books back after your student has finished the course. MBS will buy back any book that they can resell at approximately 25 percent of the retail price. The books must have been purchased through MBS. Books will not be accepted with the following conditions:
- Stains of any sort
- Disfigurement due to water/fluid exposure
- Missing, torn or loose pages/cover
- Excessive writing, marking or highlighting
- Broken spine/binding
If you wish to sell your books back, go to http://direct.mbsbooks.com/ penncharter.htm and click on “Sell Books.” You can also go to the MBS site through Penn Charter’s website. You will need to have the books with you so that you can type in the book’s ISBN number. MBS will provide a return label for free shipping and will mail you a check when the books are accepted. Please contact Hal Davidow in the business office if you have further questions.
Teacher Requests for 2008 - 2009
As we enter into the scheduling process for next year, please understand that we would be happy to discuss your child’s academic progress this year and your perceptions of what types of teaching styles might best fit your son or daughter’s learning needs. However, we are unable to honor specific teacher requests from parents. (Asking that your child not have a certain teacher also is viewed as one of those requests we cannot keep!) While you act as your child’s advocate, please recognize that we must put together the best academic program possible for approximately 440 students in the Upper School.
Student schedules and class lists are closely reviewed by department chairs, Sandy Portnoy and Beth Glascott to ensure that we are creating the best learning environment possible for all of the students in the Upper School. If you would like to further discuss your child’s specific learning needs and what type of classroom environment might further enhance his or her learning, please e-mail or call Beth Glascott.
Summer Planning Information for Fall Athletes & Families
Fall sports practices for varsity and junior varsity will begin August 21, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. On the first day, all teams except cross country will practice twice, in the morning and afternoon. Athletes should bring a lunch and plan to be at Penn Charter until 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. Fall sports include cross country (boys & girls), field hockey, football, soccer (boys and girls), tennis (girls), and water polo (boys and girls).
All students in grades 9 – 12 are encouraged to participate in preseason practice. The initial practices are seen as tryouts, and selections for varsity and junior varsity will be announced during preseason. In situations where the preseason schedule creates a hardship for a family, the parents are asked to call the athletic department office and/or the head coach of that sport. In past years, special considerations have been made, especially pertaining to ninth graders or students who are new to Penn Charter. Students who cannot make preseason practice will be placed on the junior varsity team and will join practices starting on the first day of school. Parents and athletes are encouraged to contact the athletic department office with questions about the preseason practice schedule.
Varsity and junior varsity teams are provided for all fall sports. Varsity and JV teams practice together for boys and girls cross country, field hockey, football, tennis, and boys and girls water polo. Boys and girls varsity and junior varsity soccer practice as four separate teams.
Coaches for fall sports will provide more detailed information in August. The following is a list of coaches and their contact information.
Boys Cross Country - TBA
Girls Cross Country
Jim Ballengee
(215) 247-7435
jballengee@penncharter.com
Field Hockey
Natasha Pronga
(610) 368-8634
npronga@penncharter.com
Football
Jeff Humble
(267) 664-6412
jhumble@penncharter.com
Boys Soccer
Robert DiBenedetto
(215) 669-0339
yobobbyd@aol.com
Girls Soccer
Eddie Mensah
(215) 432-0867
emensah@tsf.org
Girls Tennis
Rose Weinstein
(610) 265-7440 prefers phone calls
Boys Water Polo
Charlie Brown
(215) 884-3735
cbrown@penncharter.com
Girls Water Polo
Diana Caramanico
(215) 378-1101
dcaramanico@penncharter.com
For any questions regarding the Upper School athletic program, please contact Paul Butler, Director of Athletics, or Tori Small, Director of Girls Athletics.
Out-of-School Sport or Activity Credit for the 2008-09 School Year
In very rare circumstances, Penn Charter will waive all or part of the activity requirement for students who have demonstrated interests so specialized and talents so extraordinary that they cannot be maintained within the context of our program. Weight is given to the requests of older students. In every case, exemptions of any kind are rare. Our goal is to help students find meaningful ways to stay involved in the school, and students and parents will find Penn Charter’s offerings varied and our programs flexible. Decisions on exemption requests for the current school year have already been made. Proposal forms and instructions for the 2008-09 school year may be obtained from the dean of students. Completed proposals for exemption are due no later than August 1, 2008.
News You Can Use December 2007
Posted by usnl in : November 2007 Edition, News You Can UseCambodia School Project
Many families show their appreciation to P.C. faculty and staff by giving gifts around the holiday season. Although we are appreciative of such gestures and expect no gifts, we respectfully ask that if it is your inclination to give a gift, consider giving to the Cambodia school project this year in honor of that special teacher or staff person. As part of our stewardship efforts, the entire K – 12 community is working to support two schools in rural Cambodia to which we have connections through the organization American Assistance for Cambodia. As part of the Rural School Project, our goal is to raise between $4,000 - $7,500 to help improve these two schools. The projects in which students have expressed interest include funding a full-time trained English/computer teacher, providing school resources like books and computers, and supporting a “Victory” vegetable garden which would provide nutritious school lunches for students.
If you would like to donate to our efforts on behalf of the Rural School Project, please send in a check made payable to Penn Charter. Also, note who the gift is honoring. We will make sure that that special person receives a card noting that a gift has been made by you in their honor to the Cambodia school project. Send donations to Beth Glascott and also direct any questions to her.
End-of-Trimester Attendance Reports
Included with your child’s grade report is an attendance report. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s trimester 1 absences or tardiness, please contact Bridgette Bonner-Fennal, in the Upper School office, in writing. It is much easier to correct attendance errors now; please do not wait until the end of the school year to request changes. Remember that attendance is part of your child’s permanent record and both excused and unexcused absences and lateness are listed on your child’s transcript.
Mid-year Assessments for 9th & 10th Grades Additionally, the grade data from the mid-year assessments did not definitively show that taking these tests helped to improve student performance on final exams. Before the winter break begins, Upper School teachers will announce to 9th and 10th grade students that we will cancel the mid-year assessments scheduled for January and February 2008. Our cumulative final exams are a more traditional type of assessment; we will continue to administer those final exams, and to provide preparation for the tests so students can achieve success.
Following a review of the mid-year assessment process for 9th and 10th graders, we have decided to cancel mid-year assessments this year. The Department Chairs Group - which is, as the title implies, a working group comprised of the chair of each academic department - reviewed the relevant data for the two years during which we administered these mid-year tests. It was the sense of that group that the positive aspects of the mid-year assessment process, which include students getting more practice on large, cumulative traditional assessments or becoming more familiar with the format and language of these types of tests, did not outweigh the challenges. The group identified those challenges as:
Keeping Healthy This Winter
Cold and flu season has begun. It’s 6:00 am. Your family’s morning routine is in full swing. The mad rush to pack lunches, gather books, brush teeth and make the bus or car pool on time has begun. However, your son is not looking, nor feeling, quite well. The morning routine comes to a screeching halt!
Here are some quick guidelines to help you determine if your child should attend school:
- Stay home for acute stomach pains/diarrhea
- Stay home for 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting
- Stay home for 24 hours after the last elevated temperature
(Normal temperature = 98.6°) - Stay home for 24 hours after antibiotics are begun for strep or other bacterial infections
- stay home for persistent cough
The presence of many children with fever, nausea, vomiting, coughing and malaise interferes with the educational objectives of the school. The acutely ill child also has difficulty concentrating and cannot possibly benefit from his or her day of school. There is also an increased risk that other students and faculty may contract your child’s illness.
The best advice to keep your child healthy during cold and flu season is to ensure that they receive adequate rest, eat nutritious meals, practice good hand-washing techniques and stay home when not feeling well. Grandma’s chicken soup may help too!
Debbie Foley, RN, MSN, CPNP
School Nurse
Adolescents & Medication
In recent years there has been increased awareness and information regarding adolescent use of prescription and non-prescription medications for purposes other than prescribed or intended. We felt it was important to provide some basic factual information to families.
According to SAMHSA (Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration) abuse of prescription and non-prescription medications is on the rise in the adolescent population — specifically methylplenidate (Ritalin) and amphetamine (Adderall and Dexedrine). Young people, all across the country, are obtaining these medications from friends and classmates. Why are ADD/ADHD prescribed medications being abused? The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration states that “these medications are sought after by individuals who want them for their psychoactive effects: to get high, to stay awake for extended periods of time to study or party, to lose weight or to mix with alcohol or other drugs to enhance their effects.”
In accordance with the Penn Charter Policy on Alcohol & Other Drugs, no student is permitted to carry or administer prescription or non-prescription drugs while here at school. The exception to this policy is emergency medications such as epi-pens for severe allergic reactions and metered dose inhalers for asthmatics. All other necessary medications are required to be logged into the Health Office and administered by the school nurse. Any student who is found to be sharing or selling prescription medications is in violation of the school’s drug and alcohol policy, as well as breaking the law.
We believe it is important to be clear about the policies and consequences around the issue of all medications, but this is, first and foremost, an issue of student health and safety. For those students who are accurately diagnosed and follow the prescribed use of these medications, they can be beneficial. But for students who abuse these types of medications, the health consequences can be serious. Our hope is that you will take the opportunity to discuss this timely issue with your son or daughter. Any parents or students who have questions or concerns regarding this information should contact one of us.
Elizabeth Coombs, School Counselor
Debbie Foley, School Nurse
Travis Larrabee, Dean of Students
Our New Format
We hope you find this new newsletter format as easy to use as the old paper newsletters. In addition to the main newsletter, you will notice tabs for Division Details and Educational Links:
- By clicking on to the Division Details tab you will find quick access to important Upper School documents like the Course of Study and the Senior Comprehensive Project Handbook.
- In Educational Links, articles of current interest in education have been posted to help educate all of us regarding current issues around curriculum in Upper School. If you have any questions about either section, please get in touch with Beth Glascott.