Parent Plan-It

Announcements

Enrollment Choice Form. It is important that we know exactly who will be on campus in March. Please confirm your plans, if you have not done so already, in the March Return form. A member of the Admission and Enrollment team will work with you on any changes requested. Please contact Elizabeth Schwartz with questions.

Seniors Parents Meeting. Parents of seniors are invited to join Head of School Sam Houser for a meeting on Thursday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. More details and a link will be available soon.

AP Exams Update. Due to the restrictions that Covid-19 has placed on our community, we have made an informed decision to choose Testing Administration #2, (Tuesday, May 18 – Friday, May 28). All exams offered digitally during this administration will be taken at home, or in dorm rooms. Exams with only a paper option during Administration #2 will test in-person on campus. Here is a PDF of the testing schedule for Administration #2. If a student plans on remaining a distance learner after spring break and cannot test on campus, they will need to contact Test Coordinator Chelsie Tuttle with a request to test digitally (when possible) during Administration #3. Learn more.

Presentation for Parents: Managing Parenting Stress in the time of COVID. Join Psychologists Stacy K. Hunt, Ph.D. and Mark J. Ludwig, MA, LMFT, MS, ICAADC, on Wednesday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. for a virtual presentation on how to support yourselves and your children during this time of uniquely high stress and anxiety. The session will be moderated by George School’s Director of Counseling Services Caroline Bruss. Registration details will be available soon.

Parent Inclusion Committee Meeting. The next meeting is on Wednesday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. EST. Contact Clerk Cynthia Vandenberg with any questions.

Zoom Magic Show. All community members are invited to join us for a fun Zoom magic show with Philadelphia magician Randy Shine on Thursday, March 4 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. before Spring Break. The event link will be available soon.

Senior Portraits. Senior Portraits will take place on Wednesday, March 31. Stay tuned for more information.

Reminders

Day Student COVID Testing. One-half of the students will be tested each week. Students arriving in the morning will be tested between 10:45 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Students arriving in the afternoon will be tested between 1:30 and 2:15 p.m. Testing will take about 15 minutes. Students should not eat, chew gum, or drink 30 minutes before the test.

If a student does not show up for testing, they cannot come to campus until the next round of testing. Additional information about testing is available on the George School COVID Testing FAQs webpage.

Testing Schedule:

Students assigned to FAC study spaces: Monday, March 1.

Day Student Arrival Time. Day students may only arrive on campus at two times—between 7:15 and 8:30 a.m. or between 1:30 and 2:15 p.m. Afternoon students with PE classes may have a different arrival time and will be notified by email. All day students must stay on campus through their final obligation of the day once they arrive.

College Counseling

JUNIORS:

Juniors MUST Meet With Their College Counselor. Juniors should complete their Junior Student Survey in Cialfo and schedule their first one-on-one meeting with their college counselor. Please encourage your student to do so now if they have not done so already. It would be great to meet before Spring Break! Parents/guardians should complete this questionnaire (also found on the portal).

Spring Break Virtual College Tour. College Counseling is hosting a free, three-day virtual college tour during Spring Break from Thursday, March 11 – Saturday, March 13. We will visit a diverse group of colleges and universities ranging in size, type, selectivity, and location. Each day will offer a different regional focus including the West Coast, Midwest, and Southeast. Juniors and their families were sent registration information. Please contact Catherine Box with any questions.

HBCU Event. College Board is excited to be hosting a two-night Real Talk: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Edition. Students will be able to connect with HBCU admissions representatives from around the country! Topics covered will include academic offerings, student organizations, career paths, Greek life, financial aid, and more. Each night will cover different universities and information. The event is on Wednesday, March 3 and Thursday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. Register here.

Compass Education Group Presentation. Sophomore and junior families are invited to attend Admission Testing and the Surging Test Optional Movement hosted by Compass Education Group on Wednesday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Please join us for a thoughtful and pragmatic discussion of college admission testing that will be useful to students and parents alike. Register here.

SOPHOMORES:

Course Planning. We are meeting with sophomores now to help them with their course planning and answer any questions they may have about the college process. An email was sent to your student with details on how to schedule an appointment with a college counselor.

IB Activities Update

Exam Update:

IB has confirmed that George School is “considered unable to administer examinations” for the May 2021 session and that our students’ results will be awarded using the alternative non-exam model.

Depending on the registration(s), the student will be awarded a Diploma or a Course Certificate which reflects their standard of work. This is based on a student’s coursework and the established assessment expertise, rigor, and quality control already built into the program. A letter was sent to all IB Diploma Program students and their families last week.

As we move into the next few months, students will be submitting their final Internal Assessments (IAs) in their IB classes. It’s crucial that students prepare for IB assessments as instructed by their teachers, and complete and submit assigned IB work by the deadlines.

Students should also complete work for the IB core requirements. Failure to complete these IB core requirements according to the guidelines will jeopardize a student’s eligibility for the diploma.

Class of 2022:

The next CAS check (15 reflections total) is due on Friday, March 19. Students who do not submit these checks must immediately contact IB Coordinator Kim McGlynn to ensure that they are on track to complete this core requirement for the diploma, especially as this work must be tracked and authenticated over time.
On Monday, February 22 students submitted their interim Reflection #2. Students who did not submit their latest draft or reflection, or who have been contacted by Marion Wells (EE Coordinator), must be in communication with her to ensure that they are able to advance to the next stage of the process. The deadline for the Extended Essay in full is Monday, April 12. Students should finalize their work on this major essay over spring break.

Class of 2021:

There was a CAS check on Wednesday, February 24. Students who did not submit these checks must immediately contact Kim McGlynn. The next CAS check is on Wednesday, March 17.

Students should contact EE Coordinator Marion Wells or IB Coordinator Kim McGlynn with any questions or concerns.

Parents Association Updates

Parent Book Club. The March book is How To Be an Antiracist (Ch. 1-9) by Ibram X. Kendi, Ph.D. The next meeting is on Thursday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. EST. Contact Clerk Erica Crenshaw with any questions.

Parents Association Portal Page. Find general information, resources, committee details, and clerk contacts on the GS Parent Portal. Contact Maureen Petrosky or Kristy Swartz to learn about volunteer opportunities.

Committee Clerk Contacts:

Commencement Flowers – Maureen Petrosky or Kristy Swartz
Admission Ambassadors – Kimino Rutherford
GS Love – Kristy Swartz or Giselle Torres-Toala
Bookstore Volunteers – Rebecca Mitchell
Opening Days (August 2021) – Giselle Torres-Toala or Chris Holmes
George School Fund – Meg Peake ’03

Ideas or Questions? Please email Stephanie Connolly (PA Clerk), or Maureen Petrosky, (PA Programming Clerk).

Support George School

Thank you to the George School Parents who contributed to the George School Parents Fund for the Great Green Give! Your gifts helped surpass our giving day goals and are being put to work right away to benefit all our faculty, staff, and students.

Monika and Shrutep Amin P. ’22
Ping Bai and Xiaotian Zhang P. ’23
Adam ’91 and Stephanie Barea P. ’21
Sheena A. Bediako P. ’22
Ari ’98 and Shauna Betof P. ’24
Sonali and Debasish Bhattacharya P. ’24
Susan and David Birnbaum P. ’24
Nance Bowers and Fabio Fontes P. ’24
Drusilla and Dave Buscemi P. ’22
He Tian and Baoquan Chen P. ’15, ’18, ’22
Shannon Clarke Anderson and Richard Anderson P. ’22
Tamara Cole P. ’22
Stephanie and Evan Connolly P. ’20, ’22
Jonell and Dennis Copeland P. ’24
Carol Della Penna P. ’19, ’23
Gloria and Dave Denoon P. ’23
Zhimin Ding and Minhua Shao P. ’24
Xia Feng and Hongwei Zheng P. ’23
Jack ’93 and Kimberly Ford P. ’14, ’21
Bradd ’93 and Randee Forstein P. ’23
Keely Glasse P. ’21
Abra and Bruce Gorby P. ’23, ’23
Christine Graham-Rawlings and Brian Rawlings P. ’22
John ’73 and Lucia Hoffman P. ’17, ’24
Lauren and Kenneth Holmes P. ’22
Andrea Houghton and David Mottershead P. ’22
Towada and Shoji Ito P. ’23
Bella and Navdeep Jaikaria P. ’12, ’14, ’22
Chipo and Kern Jolibois P. ’21
Ah Na Ko and Yuan Xi Wang P. ’24
Deepti and Srinivas Kotha P. ’22
Zhen Wang and Zhifei Liu P. ’21
Ping Lu and Tao Luo P. ’22
Saldene and Peter Lyte P. ’22
Kimberly and John T. Major P. ’23
Jennifer and Scott Marshall P. ’24
Theresa Menders and Daniel Huang P. ’22
Dianna E. Miller P. ’22
Rui Min and He Huang P. ’22
Hongmei Ai and Suojun Ning P. ’24
Emily Fleschner Norton ’86, P. ’21
Maggie and Travis Ortogero P. ’23
Csilla and Michael Palladino P. ’19, ’23
Irish and Clyde Penn P. ’22
Patricia and Todd Perry P. ’23
Christina and Nelson Peterson P. ’24
Xiaoying Qi and Libin Dai P. ’23
Feng Qiu P. ’22
Corissa ’91 and Scott ’90 Seraydarian P. ’24
Nataliia and Kostyantyn Sharpylo P. ’22
Yongmei Shen and Liangzhong Chen P. ’24
Tyieashia Skipper P. ’22
Brenda and Warren Sklar P. ’21
Miriam and Lee Stockhammer P. ’20, ’22
Yan Sun and Qing Yang P. ’23
Kristy and David Swartz P. ’21
Jingmei and Zhenyu Wang P. ’23
Yihong Chen and Jun Wang P. ’24
Inis Ward P. ’23
Jill C. Wilkens ’80 and Michael Goldman P. ’21
Tennille and Corey Williams P. ’21
Jennifer Sparks and Mark Woodford P. ’20, ’22
Yu Wu and Yuchen Xi P. ’21
Haiyan Lu and Wei Xia P. ’23
Xiaoqian Tan and Feng Xu P. ’22
Karen and Jon Yerkes P. ’22
Yingshu Yu and Zhizhong Li P. ’23
Xiaolan Zeng and Wenchuan Ding P. ’23
Chunhui Zhang and Shaohua Zhou P. ’23
Fan Zhang P. ’23
Hongling Zhang and Gonghu Wang P. ’23
Wenyan Zhang and Sen Wang P. ’24
Lan Wu and Zhongge Zhang P. ’22
Li Zou and Jianliang Qi P. ’23
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Please consider joining your fellow parents with a gift to the George School Parent Fund today!

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Resources

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The Parent Plan-It is designed to inform parents about campus events and deadlines. It is published weekly on Thursdays when school is in session. It is a must-read resource for parents about important dates and school procedures. Please contact editor Katharine Sipio with comments, suggestions, and news at 215.579.6576 or by email at ksipio@georgeschool.org.