Parent Plan-It

Announcements

Parent Visitation. Starting this Saturday and Sunday, parents may sign up for 3-hour on-campus visits with their child. No more than two members of the student’s immediate family may join the scheduled-visit to campus. For more information and to sign up to visit this weekend, please click here. Contact the Deans’ Office with any questions.

Missed the Parents Association Meeting? Watch a recording here of the PA meeting from Wednesday, September 23. Speakers included Head of School Sam Houser and Dean of Students Pippa Rex. George School parent and guest speaker Lauren E. Holmes, Ph.D. also presented Anxiety-Recognizing Vulnerability. Cultivating Vigor. Dr. Holmes welcomes all to continue this important discussion directly—contact her at drlaureneholmes@gmail.com.

Anti-Racism Session for Teens. Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Rachel Agosto is partnering with Camp Stomping Ground who are offering anti-racism sessions for teens. The camp’s mission is to partner with young people to inspire the next generation of empathetic decision makers. If a student is interested in registering for the upcoming session from Monday, October 5 to Friday, October 9 they should email Rachel. Sessions run from 5:00-6:00 p.m.

Donate School Supplies for Lebanon. Student Safi Baadarani-Feeney ’22 is collecting school supplies to support children in Lebanon who do not have access to these items and are facing hardships following the explosion that occurred in the city of Beirut. Please consider donating some of the following items: backpacks, pens, pencils, colored pencils, rulers, glue sticks, markers, geometry sets, calculators, iPad computers (used), and erasers. There will be a box where you can donate supplies located in front of the Fitness and Athletics Center. Thank you for any contributions you are able to provide, and for helping us support families in need.

Community Handbook. The 2020-2021 George School Community Handbook is now available on the Parent Portal. Read it here.

Upcoming Events

Virtual Family Weekend. Virtual Family weekend will be held on Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17. There will be an address by Head of School Sam Houser, and parent teacher conferences on Zoom, on Saturday, October 17.

Conference Scheduling will open the week of October 6. We ask that parents be mindful of the time limitations presented by the virtual format and large number of parents who need conferences. Please only schedule conferences with those teachers who are a high priority for you to meet with. There will be another conference date in February, and teachers will be available via email to talk, if you are unable to get a time in the conference schedule. You can also work with your child’s advisor to determine who you should meet with in advance of the schedule opening. Reach out to Elizabeth Schwartz with questions.

Head of School Zoom Meetings. Sam Houser is hosting four upcoming Zoom meetings for parents to talk about how school is going and the needs specific to each group of students this year. The dates and times are as follows. Please check next week’s Parent Plan-It for the Zoom links. All times are eastern time.

Tuesday, October 6, 8:30 a.m. – Chinese parents
Wednesday, October 7, 12:00 p.m. – Distance learner parents
Tuesday, October 13, 6:00 p.m. – Day student parents
Tuesday, October 13, 7:30 p.m. – Boarding student parents

Reminders

Attention Day Student Parents. If your child is on campus this semester, please make sure they have taken their temperature at home before they come to school. George School now has a QR code for day students to sign in with each day. The daily check-in process will move more efficiently if a student has already taken their temperature prior to arriving on campus. Contact the Deans’ Office at deans@georgeschool.org with any questions.

Student Pick-Up and Drop-Off. Please enter campus via Farm Drive when picking up or dropping off day students. Remember that students cannot be picked up or dropped off directly in front of the Fitness and Athletics Center (FAC) because it is a Fire Zone and for the safety of the community. Please be sure to drop off your child at the designated area of the FAC parking lot simply by following the signs for student pick-up/drop-off.

Attendance Policy. If your child is not planning to attend their in-person session on a particular day, they are sick, or have an appointment, email Laurie Moyer or call 215.579.6593 the night before or the day of. Please review the attendance policy update to clarify attendance expectations and procedures to report absences.

IB Courses and Exams

Attention parents of juniors and seniors in IB courses:

Students in IB courses (who are not IB diploma candidates) are not required to sit for IB exams this year due to Covid-19.

These students will not be automatically registered for the IB exam, but may opt to take it if they wish. Shortly, their IB teacher, Val Fusco (Registrar), and Kim McGlynn (IB Coordinator) will be in communication about the registration process. The cost for each subject exam is $119 and the deadline for registration is November 1 after which there are no refunds and any changes will incur additional costs.

Students with learning accommodations must communicate with Minnie Lee (Director of the Learning Center), and Kim McGlynn. Please note that IB will not guarantee the same accommodations offered by George School. All paperwork on learning differences and the request for inclusive access learning accommodations must be submitted to IB by October 1.

IB Diploma Program activities update:

Both the junior and senior IBDP cohorts have had class meetings with the IB Coordinator. All IBDP candidates have registered for IB exams and confirmed these registrations.

Class of 2022 IBDP candidates are beginning to work on IB core requirements. They have been introduced to the Extended Essay (EE) process and are currently selecting EE Supervisors and communicating with Marion Wells (EE Coordinator), as they begin work on this major IB assessment. Shortly, they will begin work on Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS).

Class of 2021 IBDP candidates are focusing on their Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) work. They are also scheduling individual check-in meetings with the IB Coordinator.

College Counseling

Meeting with Juniors. The College Counseling Office will meet with juniors tomorrow, Friday, September 25, to give a preview of the coming months, including the practice PSAT on Wednesday, October 14. The presentation will be available on the Portal shortly.

Senior and Parent Night Program, Part II. The video of the Senior and Parent Night Program, Part II is now available here and in the Parent Portal.

Virtual College Representative Visits for Seniors. George School is hosting virtual college representative visits now through Friday, November 13, 2020. Seniors must sign up in CIALFO to attend. Parents can view the list of participating colleges in CIALFO. Please encourage your student to sign up to learn about these exciting colleges!

Virtual HBCU Informational Workshops & Panel Discussion. The AKA OZO Chapter is offering a great opportunity to meet with admissions professionals from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) on Saturday, September 26 at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The opening speaker is the President of Lincoln University, Dr. Brenda A. Allen. Space is limited so register here soon.

Week Ahead: Parents of Seniors. The first three weekly notices to seniors can be viewed in the Parent Portal in case you missed them. They provide the latest resources and To Do’s for your student.

Support George School

Understanding the CARES Act and Charitable Giving

The CARES Act creates special tax incentives for charitable giving. This law passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic impacts charitable giving in three specific ways:

Creates an ongoing “above-the-line” charitable deduction of $300 per year.
Waives RMDs from IRAs for 2020, but they can still be used for charitable giving.
Greatly increases allowable deductions for larger cash gifts.

New tax laws mean that you can think differently about your giving to George School.

Learn More About the CARES Act

If you have additional questions about the CARES Act, please contact Renée Mayo ’93 in the Advancement Office at 215.579.6574.

Parents Association Updates

GS Online Store: Help Wanted. Did you know spirit wear, gifts, and more are available here? If you are familiar with Shopify, Etsy, or others, we need your help to build up George School’s virtual store. Parents or students with online merchandising experience please contact Maureen Petrosky.

Please join a Committee! Visit the Parents Association section of the Parent Portal for more information or to sign up. Thanks to our parent clerks and all who have already signed up to help. Please look for an email from your clerk later in September.

Committee Clerks:

Book Club – Sarah Buxton (PA VP) p’20, ’21
Bookstore Volunteers – Rebecca Mitchell p’19, ’22
Career Pathways – Amy Karpf p’21, ’23 and Gisela Torres-Toala p’21, ’23
Candy Delivery – Lisa Schaner p’23
Cookie Delivery – Denise Joseph p’22
Commencement Flowers – Maureen Petrosky (PA VP Programming) p’23, ’23 or Kristy Swartz (PA Member-at-Large) p’21
Faculty & Staff Appreciation Luncheon – Janine Baadarani p’22, ’22
Father’s Committee – Bradd Forstein p’23
Opening Days (Fall 2021) – Gisela Torres-Toala p’21, ’23 and Chris Holmes p’24
Parent Inclusion Committee – Cynthia Vandenberg p’23 and Kalpana Sabapathi p’22
Admission Ambassadors – K. Rutherford p’22
George School Fund – Meg Peake ’03

Questions or Ideas? Please email Sarah Buxton p’20, ’21 (PA VP) or Stephanie Connolly p’20, ’22 (PA President).

Resources

Looking for something? Visit our Parent Resources page and the Parent FAQs page for more information.

The Parent Plan-It is designed to inform parents about campus events and deadlines. It is published weekly on Fridays when school is in sesssion. 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.