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Breakfast and Lunch
Breakfast and lunch are served every day in the dining hall. Breakfast is pay as you go and students are welcome to bring cash or use their school ID as a debit card. The dining hall opens for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Boys are not permitted to buy breakfast after 8:00 a.m. For lunch, we encourage boys to use the Meal Plan. Middle School lunch has two sessions this year. First lunch is from 11:20–11:45 a.m. and the second lunch is from 11:45 a.m.–12:10 a.m. Boys who are not at lunch will attend recess or clubs. All clubs start at 11:20 a.m. and all students attending clubs will attend the first lunch. More information about breakfast and lunch programs can be found in the menu and meal plan section on the website.
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Mid-morning Break
Every day, we will have a mid-morning break for our students. They are welcome to bring a snack to school. Currently, we do not sell any food items during mid-morning break. Occasionally, we sell allergy friendly snacks to raise money for service events. We will communicate with families if and when that occurs.
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Communication/Phone Calls
Please be sure to communicate any concerns you have as soon as possible and encourage your son to do the same with his teachers. If you need to communicate with your son during the school day, please call Mrs. Giovinazzo at extension 1228 as early as possible. Mrs. Giovinazzo. will be sure to pass any message along to your son’s homeroom teacher. Because of sports, we cannot guarantee any messages will reach your son after 2:15 p.m. unless, of course, it is an emergency. Finally, if you call Mrs. Giovinazzo and you get her voicemail, please leave a detailed message and your telephone number if she needs to call you back.
Boys are permitted to use the assigned student phone in the school office in case of an emergency, but they must ask for permission to do so. The school phone should not be used for problems like forgetting a lunch, homework, sports equipment, or where to be picked up after school. These problems do not qualify as an emergency. If a boy is caught using his cell phone for any reason during the school day (7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.) it will be taken from him. It may be returned after he has spoken to either Dr. Greytok or Dr. Rottura or we may request a parent to come and collect the phone. If it is his second offense, we will ask the parents to keep his phone at home for a designated period of time.
Boys are not permitted to call home for forgotten homework. Please remind your sons of this as we try to teach them responsibility and organization.
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Cell Phone and Smartwatch Policy
We appreciate that many of our students have cell phones and smartwatches. However, our school policy has changed this year and we highly encourage our students to leave their cell phone and smartwatches at home during the school day. If your son brings his cell phone or smartwatch to school, it will be collected in the morning when he arrives in our building and returned to him after sports at 3:20 p.m. Cell phone use during the academic day is a distraction from engagement and learning in the classroom and creates the potential for poor decisions. It also removes our students from interactions that we believe are vital to our boys' development and the value we place on building relationships. We highly encourage you to discuss with your son the proper use of his phone and we will do the same. If you need to reach your son during the school day, please call Mrs. Giovinazzo.
Any student caught using or handling their cell phone or smartwatch for any reason during the school day will have it confiscated until the end of the day or longer and may face disciplinary action. Repeat offenders will receive detention and will not be able to bring their phones to school for at least a week if not longer. This policy is also enforced on school related activities. Students are not permitted to bring cell phones or smart watches on school trips with the exception of away sporting events. Boys may collect their phone from the office prior to leaving for an away game.
We want our boys engaged in the classroom, building relationships and engaged in learning. There are times when technology helps in this regard, and we will take full advantage of those times. This year we are highly focused on maximizing our engagement and minimizing our interaction with technology unless necessary for our teaching and learning. We want to teach the boys to use technology properly and set them up for success in high school rather than failure. Please contact Dr. Greytok, jgreytok@haverford.org, if you have any questions. These expectations will be clearly explained to your son the first day of school and need to be reinforced at home.
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Attendance: Absences, Lateness, and Homework
We expect all middle school boys to be in their homeroom no later than 8:20 a.m. Any boy arriving at homeroom after 8:20 a.m. is marked late. Boys who are dropped off by 8:15 a.m. will arrive at homerooms on time. Students must leave the dining hall on time. Boys are not permitted to buy breakfast after 8:00 a.m. Any parent whose son is consistently late to school will hear from us. Any student who is dropped off on time but late to class will be asked to assist in cleaning the dining hall after lunch. If your son is absent, late, or will be leaving early from school, please call Mrs. Giovinazzo as soon as possible. The Middle School Attendance number is ext. 1968. All homework assignments and handouts are available on the school website. The boys will be taught how to access this information and we will send home a specific sheet for the parents in one of our early emails.
PLEASE READ OUR ATTENDANCE POLICY FOR THIS YEAR!
Attendance Policy
Students who are feeling well and do not meet the exclusion criteria for being on campus, are expected to be present in person at school. In the event of illness, a student should remain home until they meet the criteria outlined by our Health Office to return to school.
Short Term Absences
During short term absences/illness (up to 5 consecutive days for a Middle School student), the priority should be on the student resting and recuperating. Parents/guardians must call Mrs. Giovinazzo and alert her to their son's absence. During a short term absence
- Teachers will not be expected to record classes or set up remote learning.
- Academic/missed work will be made up at home and when the student returns to school, although teachers may provide some activities or work via email or Canvas for the student to complete IF they are feeling well enough.
- The teachers and the ELC will work with the student when they return to school to create a plan to complete any necessary make-up work or assessments.
Extended Absences
If a student is planning or recommended for a longer absence (longer than 5 consecutive days in the Middle School) for medical reasons (e.g., surgery, medical intervention/treatment), a family should reach out to Dr. Greytok to discuss learning options during extended absences.
Learning plans for extended absences will not be generated for students who will be missing school for extended holiday breaks or family trips/vacations outside of scheduled school breaks. We strongly encourage families to schedule trips and vacations that align with our school breaks, but understand that there are occasionally times when this is not possible. In the event that a student will be missing school due to an extended weekend or holiday break or a trip/vacation during non-school break times, it is the responsibility of the student to make up missed work/assessments. It is expected that students who miss school other than illness will return to school having completed all missed assignments and will be prepared to make up missed tests and quizzes the day they return.
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Transportation
By bus: If your son is new to Haverford and you would like him to be transported by your school district’s bus, please contact the Lower School Assistant, Mrs. Teresa Touey, at extension 1232. Boys who used the school district busing to and from Haverford last year will automatically be enrolled on the same busing lists this year.
By car: All Middle School students arriving by car are expected to be dropped off and picked up at the Railroad Avenue entrance to the school. Middle school students should be dropped off by the old bus stop prior to entering the circle by Centennial Hall. Please do your best to arrive at school between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. as to not interfere with our Lower School drop off.
In the afternoon, please pick up your son at the Railroad Avenue entrance to the school. Middle school boys are not to be picked up before 3:30 p.m. Please do not arrive to pick up your son before 3:30 p.m., as he will not be ready. This also puts great stress on the Lower School pickup. By 3:30 p.m. most of the lower school boys are gathered and the pickup area is free and clear. If you do not like waiting in traffic, do not pick up before 3:30 p.m. If you are picking up both a lower and middle school boy, please make sure the lower school knows your son will be waiting for his older brother.
PLEASE OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING PICK UP SYSTEM IF YOU MUST ARRIVE TO COLLECT YOUR SON BEFORE 3:30 p.m. MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
If you arrive from Railroad Avenue before 3:30 p.m., please make your first left into the Blue Lot. You may park in the lower school lot and wait for your son. If you proceed through the pick-up line, a member of our security team will send you to the parking lot to wait until 3:30 p.m. so you do not interfere with lower school pick-up. If you have to pick up your lower school son, please wait until 3:30 p.m. to collect both boys at the same time.
FOR THE RESPECT OF OUR BUSES AND FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR BOYS, PLEASE NEVER STOP IN THE CIRCLE TO PICK UP OR DROP OFF YOUR SON. UNLESS YOUR SON HAS A GAME OR ACTIVITY AFTER SCHOOL, ALL STUDENTS SHOULD BE PICKED UP BY 3:45 P.M. EVERYDAY.
Students who are on campus after 3:45 p.m. will be required to return to the middle school building. All students must be supervised at all times after 3:45 p.m. and must ask permission to watch games or play outside after school.
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Supplies
The first day of school can be a very nervous time. Please make sure your son has a pen, pencil, and notebook for the first day of school. A supply list for your son’s specific grade can be found on the School’s website. All of the items on the supply list can be purchased at almost any office supply store or online.
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Dress Code
The Middle School Dress Code requires a jacket (sports coat, blazer), an oxford style dress shirt (plain or striped), a necktie, “creasable” pants (please no cargos or painters pants), and school shoes (see below). No sneakers or boots please. The boys are permitted to wear dress shorts from Thursday, Sept. 5 – Oct. 31 and again after Spring Break. Please put your son’s name on the inside label of his clothes and please have your son in long pants for the first day of school.
School shoes must be appropriate for school use and not gym class or running in the halls. School shoes are not sneakers. There are a number of expensive brand name shoes that are on the market that we consider sneakers and not school shoes. They look nice and are expensive but they are not considered appropriate school shoes. Please refrain from slippers, sandals, Crocs, Uggs, Nike, Puma, Converse, Vans, Hey Dudes, and Reebok sneaker shoes.
Boys must wear a black or brown shoe to school. Dr. Rottura and I are all available for questions. Bucks, Sperry’s and Merrell’s are all appropriate and come in many sizes, and styles. They also come in brown or black. They are comfortable, can be inexpensive and do not require polishing.
For our student’s safety, we require all shoes to have a closed toe and closed back. No sandals, or flip flops please. Finally, there are also a number of suede, fur lined slippers that are also not school shoes. Please refrain from sending your son to school wearing anything but an appropriate school shoe. If you have any questions regarding our dress code, please contact Dr. Rottura or Dr. Greytok.
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Gym Clothes
The Physical Education classes require a uniform which may be purchased in the school store or through the School website; the uniform consists of gold or black shorts, and a maroon gym shirt.
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Lockers
We have lockers in our school building as well as in our gym for the boys. The boys will be assigned a specific locker in both spaces. All materials your son brings to school should be stored in his backpack and placed in his school locker. Unlike the gym lockers, the school lockers do not have a lock built into the door. Therefore, if you and your son plan to store irreplaceable items in his locker, please purchase a lock he will use. Boys are not required to use their gym locker unless they plan to leave items in the gym locker room overnight. Any loose items left in the gym locker room overnight will be removed and stored in the lost and found.
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Athletic Information
We offer a full sports program for the boys. Fall sports will include cross country, football, golf, soccer, water polo, and intramural volleyball. Boys will select their fall sport the first or second day of school. Sports practices will begin on Monday, Sept. 9 and will end in time for the boys to catch buses at 3:30 p.m. and make their way home in cars at the same time. Winter sports include basketball, ice hockey, squash, swimming and wrestling. We also offer three intramural sports which are basketball, general fitness and robotics. Boys select their winter sport at the end of November. Spring sports include baseball, lacrosse, rowing, tennis and track & field. Ultimate Frisbee is our spring intramural sport. The boys select their spring sport at the end of February. If you have any questions, please contact our Middle School Athletic Director, Mr. Jeff Potter at jpotter@haverford.org.
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Middle School Events
The Middle School Calendar is updated weekly with events. Please check it regularly throughout the year for updates, changes and additional information. Every Thursday, in our weekly newsletter, we will make sure the information for the remainder of the month is accurate.
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School Pictures
For the first day of school, we ask that all students wear long pants for the all-class photos which are taken before lunch and recess. Individual student photos will be taken on Tuesday, Sept. 10. In the next few weeks, you should receive an email from Active Image Media with your son’s personal link to order individual school photos. The link is specifically assigned to your individual son. Sometimes these links find their way into our Spam or Junk email folders. Please check for the link before calling Active Image Media. If you still cannot find the link, you can email Active Image at support@activeimagemedia.com. Please state The Haverford School and your son’s name in the email.
Please order images from this link and do not share it with anyone. You cannot order multiple children on one form and you must use the correct link assigned to your son to receive the correct pictures.
Finally, families are encouraged to place orders early to avoid shipping costs. All orders are automatically sent to the Active Image office. You do not need to print the receipt and bring it to school on Sept. 10. All students are required to have their picture taken on Picture Day. Families are not required to purchase their son’s picture.
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Online Directory and Grades
As we did last year, we are making parent directories and student grades available online through the My Backpack section of haverford.org. Instructions that include logins and passwords will be mailed and e-mailed out prior to the start of school; if you successfully went into My Backpack last year; your process is the same. If you have any questions, please contact our helpdesk here at school.
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Back to School Night
Our Back to School Night is Wednesday, Sept. 11. We start in Centennial Hall at 7:00 p.m. sharp. Please plan to arrive before 7:00 p.m. so we can stay on schedule.
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Final Thoughts
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and all the information. We will continue to send letters every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. starting on Aug. 29. If we missed something in this letter, please let us know and we will include it in the letter coming out in two weeks. We look forward to welcoming your son on Wednesday, Sept. 4 for the first day of school and are thrilled to have you and your family as a part of our community this year.
Sincerely,
Jay Greytok
Head of Middle School
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