January 6, 2023
Dear Upper School (US) Families:
I hope that this note finds you doing well and having enjoyed a change of pace over the December holidays. The children certainly seem recharged after the break and I know that many of our faculty enjoyed the break as well. I hope that you’ll read through this note carefully as it contains a lot of useful information about life in the Upper School these days.
As I explained in my December communication, all Upper Schoolers will be taking semester exams during the week of January 17th. I have included a basic schedule below as there have been a few small changes to the time of certain exams (not the date) since my December note. Also, please know that you can find a comprehensive list of all exams being given, and their dates and times, on the resource page of MyDE. As I said last month, we know this can be a demanding time for students. With that in mind, we have several things planned for next week including optional workshops on managing test anxiety and a designated “zen” space for students to unwind a bit. Finally, please see my December letter for more specific information about policies and procedures during exam week.
That all said, I realize that given the fact that we haven’t had a January exam week since 2020 there are likely a lot of questions that are easier to answer “live”. So, next week I will be holding two Zoom Drop-In Sessions to answer any questions that folks have about exams (or other US business). These sessions will be informal Q&A opportunities to help folks feel better prepared to support their students through exam week. The first session will be on Tuesday, January 10th from 8-9pm and the second will be on Wednesday, January 11th from 12:30-1:30pm. Dr. O’Malley will be joining me for the Wednesday session as well. Here is my zoom link for those that would like to drop-in.
I am sure that many of you are familiar with the chatbot ChatGTP and the various concerns that many have about its implications for student learning. If you aren’t familiar, ChatGTP (and other services like it) is a publicly available tool that allows users to enter a prompt into the app and the technology will create a response that mirrors one created by a human being. The technology is very powerful and allows the user to customize the response by age level, topic, length, complexity, and so on. As you can imagine, we will be having a lot of conversations at school about this technology – its potential and risks. As we work to better understand this new technology, and its implications, it feels important to state very clearly that work generated by these bots and submitted as a student’s own violates our rules and expectations surrounding academic honesty. I have great faith in the integrity of our student body but it’s nonetheless important to restate our commitment to maintaining a learning environment rooted in honest and authentic intellectual engagement.
And finally, just a few odds and ends:
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We had several wonderful semester school programs present to the 9th and 10th graders this week. We have students each year who decide to spend a term learning in a new environment and they’ve always reported having had fantastic experiences. If your student is interested in one of these programs, please note that they should only plan to pursue this opportunity during their junior year; ideally second semester.
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To clarify, the trip that some of our seniors take over spring break to the Bahamas is not a school sponsored trip. We have no affiliation with the company that organizes and profits from the trip. Furthermore, we have always communicated to families our deep concerns about the format and structure of this event.
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Junior families: please be sure to join us on campus for Junior Parents’ College Orientation on January 12th at 7pm!
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Please be reminded that the College Counseling Office will be holding a virtual College Roundtable on January 19th from 4-5pm. This event is open to all US families and can be accessed by clicking on this link.
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Mark your calendars for Curriculum Night on February 13th from 7-9pm. This event is designed for caregivers (only) to learn directly from their student’s Dean about the scheduling process for the 2023-2024 school year. The event will be held on campus and grade-specific slides will be made available in liu of a streaming option.
Sincerely,
Kim Lalli
Interim US Principal
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