Living in a dorm is a lot of things. It’s a taste of independence with the safety net of dorm teachers and prefects. (Two-thirds of faculty members live on campus.) It’s late-night debates about Salinger vs. Shakespeare, pizza vs. sushi, and the meaning of life. It’s about learning responsibility and time management and about being understood and accepted for who you really are.
Mostly, dorm life is about making friends. As corny as it sounds, boarders often describe their dorm as their second home and their dorm-mates as brothers and sisters. It’s an apt comparison. You learn to live alongside people different from yourself, and you grow from it. The relationships you build change you for the better and last for good.
Boarding is many things and anything but boring.
At George School, Cecilia has pushed herself out of one comfort zone and into a new one.
Each of our residential halls has a personality all its own. For the girls, there’s Westwood, with a lovely wooden porch complete with rocking chairs, and Main, one of the oldest school buildings and, as the name suggests, still the campus headquarters.
For boys, there’s Campbell, farthest from the center of campus (but closest to a quick hoagie and fries), Orton, expanded a couple of times but still old and cool, and turn-of-century Drayton, which is right by the campus clock and Red Square.
There also is Brown House, where eight students, sometimes boys and sometimes girls, learn to live (almost) independently.
George School students celebrated the Lunar New Year with festivities starting on Monday, February 4, 2019 and lasting throughout the week. Events included a day-long celebration in the Barash Room, a community celebration in Main Lobby, and a trip to Philadelphia’s Chinatown.
Wacky adventures, worldwide friends, and around the clock support have allowed me to feel at home in every dorm I’ve lived in at George School.
Being away from home has taught me many things, but being an international student has taught me that everyone is different and not everyone will think like you. George School does an amazing job of making you feel at home.
Our COVID-19 dashboard is updated weekly to inform the community of the number of COVID-19 positive cases on campus. George School is a mask-friendly campus; masks are encouraged, but not required in most campus buildings. Masks are required inside the Student Health and Wellness Center.
Happy Lunar New Year from the George School community! May this new year bring great joy and happiness.
Here’s what’s happening this weekend to celebrate:
SEASU (Southeast/East Asian Student Union) will treat us to a foodie celebration of Lunar New Year with an Asian Food Street Festival! You can also pen a lantern with your New Year wishes to decorate Red Square and light a sparkler to celebrate on Saturday.
Congratulations to Abby Kaufman ’26, Kentaro Bauer ’25, and Marcus Huang ’25 who were selected to play in the PMEA Student Orchestra! Support them and enjoy a great performance on Friday night.
PMEA Orchestra Concert
Friday, January 27
Where? Perkiomen Valley Middle School East
When? 7:00 p.m.
Referring to people by the gender and pronouns they determine for themselves is a basic part of human dignity.
GENDER SPECIFIC PRONOUNS
Gender-specific pronouns are the ways we refer to each other in the third person. Anyone has the right to change pronouns at any time and use whichever sets of pronouns they are most comfortable with. We also have the right to share pronouns with people who we want to know them. Some of us might use different pronouns with different people depending on who we are comfortable using them with.
GENDER NEUTRAL PRONOUNS
Some folks use gender neutral pronouns such as they, them, theirs, Ze, hir, xe, zie, and more. Gender neutral pronouns do not specify along the binary of female or male. If you are not sure what pronouns to use, always use the person’s name, and don’t assume pronouns based on your perceptions.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THE ADULT COMMUNITY
Faculty and staff hold positionality and are in a position of power. Asking students pronouns and consistently using them correctly helps students feel seen, affirmed, and respected.
WHAT IF I MAKE A MISTAKE?
If you make a mistake, say sorry. Apologize and move on. It can be tempting to explain your mistake, but please don’t! This then puts the person who has been misgendered in the uncomfortable place of feeling awkward and now needing to comfort you for your mistake.
WHAT TO DO IF I HEAR SOMEONE BEING MISGENDERED?
If you hear someone using the wrong pronoun for a friend or peer, you might want to approach the person who has been misgendered and let them know that you noticed them being misgendered. You can ask if it is OK for you to take the other person aside and remind them about the correct pronouns. Remember that you might know pronouns for a person that they haven’t shared with others, so having a private conversation about this might be appreciated.
HOW CAN I MAKE A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER?
SHARE!
If you feel comfortable doing so, share your pronouns. Sharing pronouns is a nice idea but not a requirement. It is a great way to create and normalize space for people to share their pronouns if you first share your own. It is also a great way to disrupt the normalization and privilege of assumption. You can share pronouns on your zoom screen, in your social media bios, in email, resume, and when you meet someone new.
ASK!
You cannot tell someone’s pronouns just by looking at them! Asking about and correctly using someone’s pronouns is a basic way to show respect.
RESPECT!
If someone takes the time to let you know their name and pronoun, use and respect it. It is not up to you to decide if you want to use the pronoun or not. Never refer to a person as “it” or as “he-she”. This is offensive and considered slurs against transgender and gender nonconforming individuals.
PRACTICE!
If you have difficulty using someone’s pronoun and name, practice.
Thanks so much to everyone who came out to hear Emma Condori speak about climate change and food security in Bolivia yesterday! She really enjoyed her time at GS, thanks to you all! As those who attended her presentation know, her community is struggling to have enough food since their potato crops have been destroyed by climate change-caused drought. Potatoes are their main food source as well as their main source of income, so losing this harvest has many devastating consequences.
But we can help!! Emma and her organization, Friends International Bilingual Center, are working to provide families with food and seeds for next year’s crop. GS will be having a fundraiser to help raise money for this critical cause. LASO and Climate Action will also have a fundraiser on Thursday, January 26 and Friday, January 27 with raffle tickets (for a Botanical Lego set) and a bake sale. Cash donations are also accepted. There will be options to pay in cash or via Venmo. The funds will go to the Centro Internacional Bilingue Amigos to help fight food insecurity in Bolivia!
Here’s a link to Emma’s organization’s website if you’d like to learn more about them. https://www.centrobilingueinternacionalamigos.org/about-us (The website features an awesome film by a former GS student about Emma’s past initiatives.)
Parents/Guardians: Please join us for the upcoming Parent and Guardian Association (PGA) meeting on Wednesday, February 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the MDA Library Conference Room. You can also join virtually via Zoom. The meeting link is on the Parent Portal.
The roster for 2023-2024 for service trip courses has been finalized. All of these have service components that will fulfill a student’s graduation requirement. You can find descriptions for each course, as well as costs here.
If a student would like to register for one of these trips, they must submit a Parental Consent Form to Meredith Baldi, Service Learning Coordinator by Monday, January 30. (Please note that consent to register just pre-approves a student for the course, it does not guarantee them a spot in the course).
Contact Service Learning Coordinator Meredith Baldi with questions at servicelearning@georgeschool.org.
Valentine’s Day is swiftly approaching, and you know what that means…
IT’S CARNATIONS TIME! 🌹
Student Council will be selling flowers💐 for the community to purchase in the Main lobby during lunch, and will personally deliver to anyone of your choosing. Our delivery options are mailbox or TO CLASS ON VALENTINES’ DAY!!! 💘 (also known as cupids). You can buy carnations for your friends, teachers, advisors, prefects, or partners. Cash and student ID (for people with the proper permissions) are accepted.
Flowers only (Mailbox)
Cupid Delivery fee: $3 delivery fee (to be added to the total cost of flowers)
Special discount for faculty!
See you at lunch in Main lobby!
Vantage Points, formerly Courageous Conversations, invites our global community of parents/guardian together virtually to discuss various topics that impact our society.
Joined this year by neighboring Pennswood Village residents, attendees actively engage in discussions in an effort to broaden our perspectives and viewpoints. Meeting virtually, the community comes together in small group conversations around topics such as world literature, global economics, and international media and culture, and influences in education.
2022-2023 Vantage Points sessions:
*The final session for the school year will be held in-person at MDA Library.
Sophomores, juniors, and their parents/guardians are welcome to join us as we partner with our college admissions colleagues for a Case Studies Program where students and families will read applications and serve on an admission committee! This virtual event is on Wednesday, January 25 at 6:30 p.m. Registration is not closed; contact Director of College Counseling Beth Ann Burkmar (baburkmar@georgeschool.org) if you have questions.
Parents/Guardians: Please plan to join us for Advisor Meetings on Thursday, February 9. This is a time where students, parents/guardians, and advisors can discuss students’ academic progress and any questions they may have. All meetings are virtual. There are no in-person meetings. Scheduling is now open and will close on Wednesday, February 1 at 8:30 p.m.
Reminder: There are no classes on Thursday, February 9 or Friday, February 10. Classes resume at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, February 13 for the start of Term 5.
A Canvas course planning tile containing resources for 9th graders will be available to them on Monday, January 23. They should watch the presentation and complete the survey contained in the tile prior to the Q&A sessions scheduled for the week of January 30.
Congratulations to all approved clubs for the 2022-2023 school year! Students, please see the email from Student Council for the list of club officers and meeting days.
Amnesty International
Anthropology Club
Argo
Art History Club
Astronomy Club
African Student Association
Biochemistry Club
Book Club
Chess Club
Climate Action Club
ComEngineering
Cooking Club
Curious George
Fencing Club
Film Club
French Club
Fùtbol Club
Goldfish ‘n Java Club
Havurah
History Club
Interact Club
Investing Club
Japanese Media Club
Jazz Club
Joy Reflected
LASO
MedForum
Model UN
Saga
Percussion Club
GS Plant Club
Plastic Model Club
Popping Club
Psychology Club
Rugby Club (Touch Rugby)
SAMOSA
Science Olympiad
Ski Club
Southeast/East Asian Student Union
Standing Room Only (SRO)
Table Tennis Club
Tabletop
GS Thrift Club
UMOJA
UNICEF Club
Women’s Empowerment Club
On Monday, January 16, we celebrated and honored the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy with special programming. Students gathered to reflect on the framing question of the day—“What does the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message mean to you?”
Watch recordings of the special programming below:
In our ongoing efforts to assess and improve campus safety, our access control system will be expanded to include all classroom buildings beginning Thursday, January 26. All students, faculty, and staff have been provided access (“prox”) cards. Prox cards will be needed to access all classroom buildings beginning Thursday, January 26.
All families receiving financial aid are required to reapply each year. The Financial Aid Office sent all returning families who are currently receiving financial aid a detailed email about the process. If you haven’t completed your financial aid, please do so immediately as the deadline was January 15.
Case Studies Virtual Program. Sophomores, juniors, and their parents/guardians are welcome to join us as we partner with our college admissions colleagues for a Case Studies Program where students and families will read applications and serve on an admission committee! This virtual event is on Wednesday, January 25 at 6:30 p.m. Register here by Friday, January 20.
Attention Parents/Guardians of Juniors: On December 16, you were sent an email containing the name of the College Counselor your student has been assigned. Your student must complete their Junior Survey in order to schedule their first college counselor meeting and parents should complete this questionnaire at their earliest convenience.
College Counseling Seminars. Juniors will begin attending weekly college counseling seminars on Tuesday, February 14 to provide them with tools needed throughout the college planning process.
College Application Review Deadline. Seniors must complete the “Class of 2023 Application Submission Form” after they submit every application. Your file will remain incomplete at colleges if this form is not submitted. This is the only way College Counseling will know where to send application materials on the student’s behalf.
College Visits. As Accepted Student Days and other college events approach, seniors must submit a “College Visit Absence Request” via REACH at least two school days prior to the absence. This policy is noted on page 39 of the Community Handbook.
Join us on Friday, February 3, 2023 for the Great Green Give and let’s show the George School community what a difference a day makes!
The Great Green Give, George School’s annual day of giving, is an opportunity for the entire community–alumni, parents/guardians, faculty/staff, students, and friends–to come together and create meaningful impact.
We are looking for parent and student volunteers who want to have fun while helping to make calls during our phone-a-thon. We have shifts throughout the day on Friday, February 3, so come support the Great Green Give and make a difference! Sign up here.
2022–2023 GRADES AND COMMENTS SCHEDULE
Both grades* and comments are released midway through each term. End of term grades include comments as indicated below. All grades are released to the portal at 5:00 p.m. on the date indicated.
*Please note that grades are always course-to-date grade, incorporating work in previous mods as well as the current mod. For example, the midterm grade given during the second mod of a course will be based on work done in the first mod and the first three weeks of the second mod. Ultimately, a student’s transcript will show only the cumulative grade given at the end of each course’s final mod.
Term 4:
Term 5:
Term 6:
Term 7:
Do you know any families interested in joining the George School community? Prospective families and students can learn more about the application and interview process here. The deadline for financial aid is January 15, and the application deadline is February 1.
Day Student Attendance Policy. If your child is ill, has a doctor’s appointment (doctor’s note required), late to class, or will miss a class or classes for any reason, parents/guardians must email Attendance Supervisor Laurie Moyer, or call 215.579.6593 , to notify her of the excused absence the day before or by 9:00 a.m. the morning of the absence. Your child must also check-in and out with Laurie in the Deans’ Office if they arrive late or leave early for the academic day.
Boarding Student Doctor Appointment Policy. Parents/guardians should let the Student Health and Wellness Center (SHWC) know 24 hours in advance if their boarding student is leaving campus for a medical appointment with them. Students are required to sign out and back in through the SHWC. If the student has an off-campus appointment that requires the use of GS transportation, parents/guardians must give the SHWC 48 hours notice to secure transport. Contact Administrator of the SHWC Indira Rodrigo with questions.
This initiative is to encourage George School students to develop new proposals for improving the environmental awareness and enhancing environmental education on the George School campus.
Participants will have six weeks to develop and submit proposals (January 6 – February 17). The submission deadline is midnight, February 17. All Proposals are to be submitted to Robert Kleimenhagen, Jr. at rkleimenhagen@georgeschool.org. Finalists will be notified by February 24 and will have from February 25 to March 11 to prepare oral presentations. From March 13 to 15, finalists will make oral presentations at a panel of Trustees and Faculty members of the Environmental Stewardship Oversight Committee (ESOC), Finance Committee, and Physical Plant Committee (PPC). Winners will be announced at Assembly on March 31.
HOW?
Students are invited, as individuals or groups, to submit proposals. Proposals should include:
DETAILS
This new evening service operated by our CulinArt dining team is open Monday-Thursday from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. with offerings such as salads, burgers, fries, pizza, chicken tenders/sandwiches, and more. Orders are placed through the Nutrislice app with payment by credit or debit card. Students can customize their order and choose their pickup time.
Orders must be placed by 8:30 p.m. and picked up after Study hall. No orders will be allowed to be picked up during Study Hall.
Benefits of Dorm Dash? No delivery fees, service fees, markups or gratuities.
