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Aug. 17, 2022

Dear Upper School Families,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 2022-23 school year. I hope that you and your son have enjoyed the recreational and restorative opportunities that summer often affords us. Though the halls of the Upper School have certainly been quiet over the last few months, we at Haverford have been eagerly preparing for your son’s arrival in September. The intention of this letter is to share a few key community priorities that will ground our work together throughout the year and make sure that you have the relevant information so that your son is best positioned to hit the ground running in September.

We are looking forward to amplifying programming in the coming year in support of our broad objective of ensuring that each boy is actively engaged in and connected to the Haverford School community. It is refreshing that some of the necessary health restrictions that were in place over the last two years are not part of the equation as we map out programming for the coming school year. This has allowed us to plan some exciting communal experiences designed to strengthen the connective tissue of our community. Programs such as the Third Form Family Breakfast and Orientation, a Sixth Form dinner on the eve of the first day of school, a day set aside for form trips in September, and an in-person Back to School Night are some of the programs that we are looking forward to during the opening month of school that we hope will strengthen community connection for faculty and staff, students, and families.

Aligned with this objective of connection and engagement is an intentional focus on encouraging the boys to “opt in'' and participate in the various extracurricular opportunities that exist in our program - clubs, interscholastic sports, productions, school publications, musical ensembles and other student organizations. For some this might mean maintaining participation in an activity from last year and for others this might mean forging new connections through engagement with a new activity. Regardless, we firmly believe that active participation in the life of the school community complements the important work that is done in our classrooms and allows our boys to cultivate the relationships that support connection and a firm sense of belonging.

Coming off two plus years in which there has been varying levels of disruption to school life, we recognize that it is important to reestablish some important community norms and expectations that align with institutional values and support a healthy and productive school experience for the boys. We look forward to making sure that both community and academic expectations are clear so the boys are best positioned to align behavior with core values and develop a shared responsibility to actively consider their community footprint - the ways in which their words and actions impact others and align with school norms. In the hallways, on the stage, and on the fields this means promoting practices that encourage the boys to be fully present with one another and amplifying behaviors that make all community members feel safe, valued, and included. In the classrooms, this means making sure that each boy is pushed to meet the established learning goals through a combination of self-discipline, individual effort, collaboration, and support.

The Upper School office team composed of myself, Megan Dieckhaus, and Upper School Dean of Students Luqman Kolade have been hard at work building the requisite infrastructure for the upcoming year. Please read below for several back to school reminders and updates that merit special attention. You may also click HERE for a centralized location on our website that contains Upper School specific back to school information and resources. I appreciate you taking the time to read this note given the amount of information included. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Finally, thank you for your continued partnership as we work together on behalf of the boys to create a community of responsibility, engagement, and support. I feel fortunate to work each and every day with all of the people - faculty, staff, parents and students - who bring to life the School’s mission to develop young men of integrity, intellect, and compassion. Enjoy these last few days of summer and see you in September!

Take care,

Mark Fifer
Head of Upper School

Student Class Schedules

Individual student class schedules are currently available in MyBackPack by clicking on the “Student Schedule” link. As previously communicated we will move into a traditional semester-based, continuous learning framework for the 2022-23 academic year which will see students in year-long courses that meet continuously over the entire academic year, or semester-based electives that meet continuously for the full semester. The 2022-23 academic calendar is HERE.

You will also find your son’s advisor listed in the “Student” tab. For Fourth Form students every effort was made to make a placement with an individual on their preferred list. In some cases this was not possible based on the number of students in existing groups.

Finally, given the inherent challenges that come with building a schedule for more than 450 students and working diligently to meet as many student scheduling requests as possible, it is the School’s policy not to accept student or parent requests for particular teachers.

Daily Class Schedule

The daily class schedule can be accessed HERE. We will stage a variety of community programming (assemblies, clubs, form meetings, advisory, etc) during the designated community block. The built in academic support period assigned to each block is in place to ensure shared free time between teacher and student and provide flexible time that can be used to schedule meetings, allow for collaboration, and support individual work completion. We will communicate with students the expectations for how this block is to be used in the opening week of school.

Adding/Dropping Courses

For honors courses, unless extenuating circumstances arise, enrollment is an indication of a commitment to remain in the course for the full year. While there will be an add/drop period through the first two weeks of the first semester and first full week of the second semester, adding courses (particularly elective courses) during this period is not guaranteed and depends upon course availability and coordination with the student’s existing free period(s). Limitations on class size are in place in order to ensure a student to teacher ratio that allows learning objectives to be met.

Students who would like to drop a course will need to do so with the approval of their advisor, parent, college counselor (Sixth Form only), and Upper School Office. Students requesting to drop a visual or performing arts class must stay in the course for the first full week of the semester before the drop will be processed. The add/drop process will be managed via email; questions about adding or dropping a course can be directed to Karen Skidmore at kskidmore@haverford.org. Inquiries about placement level may go to the respective department chair.

New Faculty

Click HERE to access some biographical information about each new teacher in the Upper School this year.

Student and Parent Handbook & Policies of Note

Please access the Upper School Parent and Student Handbook HERE to learn more about the policies and procedures that will govern your son’s daily life in the Upper School. See below for a few policies of note:

Click HERE for the Haverford dress code policy
If a parent has a specific question or concern about their son’s work in an individual class their first contact should be the teacher of the class. Questions about class placement or curriculum may be first directed to the respective department chair. Broad questions about the overall Upper School program (academic and non-academic) may be directed to the Upper School Office
If a student does not have an obligation (class, club/organization meeting, study hall, meeting with a teacher, study/work session, etc) he is permitted to arrive no later than 9:30 a.m. If a student does not have an obligation or afterschool activity they are permitted to leave campus no earlier than 2 p.m. The Upper School Building is open to students from 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m and students are encouraged to plan their time outside of school scheduled programming in a way that supports their academic and community engagement.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Form students are not permitted off campus during the school day.
Sixth formers may leave campus so long as they remain in good academic and disciplinary standing. Sixth Form parents who would like to opt out of their son having off campus privilege should contact the Upper School Office.
Lockers will be available to students. Information on how to secure a locker will be made available in the opening week of school.

Activity Requirement & Student Life

Students will receive information during the opening weeks of school about how to get involved in various clubs, activities, and organizations that are signature elements of a Haverford experience. Please also note that students need to make a plan to fulfill the extracurricular activity requirement that is in place to support community engagement and foster connection. Additional information on this requirement is HERE.

Third Form Orientation and Family Breakfast : Tuesday, Sept. 6

A reminder to Third Form families that on Tuesday, Sept. 6 there is a family breakfast and student orientation program. Third Form students and parents are invited to join faculty and staff for breakfast in the Field House at 8:30 a.m. where there will be an opportunity to meet your son’s advisor and hear from a few key people important to your son’s transition to the Upper School. After the breakfast, the Third Form boys will remain until 1:30 p.m. during which they will proceed through an orientation program that will allow them to meet their teachers, advisors, and student leaders and learn more about the Upper School program. Please click HERE for additional information on this program.

Sixth Form Dinner: Tuesday, Sept 6 at 6:30 p.m.

Sixth Form students are invited to gather for a casual dinner on Tuesday, Sept 6. We are looking forward to bringing the entire Sixth Form together on the eve of the first day of school to consider how we can leverage their leadership to set the stage for a terrific year together.

Opening Day: Wednesday, Sept. 7

Click HERE to view the schedule for the first day of school on Wednesday, Sept 7.

Form Trips

Additional information will be provided in a forthcoming communication about the day set aside for grade level trips that have been organized for later in September.

Health Services

The Haverford School health requirements for the 2022-23 school year were due on August 1, 2022 to allow for participation in all school activities and are currently being reviewed. Please monitor our website HERE for all Wellness Policy updates as we return to campus.

The Haverford School uses Magnus Health for all health information collection and management. It offers continuous access to your son’s health record as well as the ability to make updates when needed. You can access the Magnus Health site HERE. Your login credentials for Magnus Health are the same as MyBackpack.

Our Health Services Department is available to address your specific questions or concerns and may be reached at healthservices@haverford.org.

Meal Plan

If you have not yet signed up for the Meal Plan, we have extended the sale through the end of August. Please complete the form HERE and send in your payment to the business office. For additional information on menus and meal plans visit this section of the school’s website HERE.

Books and Supplies

As in years’ past, the School will provide many, but not all, of the student’s books. Textbooks, both online and hardcopy, will be purchased by the School and provided to the boys by their teachers, with the expectation that the books will be returned in reasonable shape at the end of the course.

There are other books, primarily paperbacks and workbooks, which need to be purchased by families. A complete list of the books and supplies that families are responsible for purchasing is available HERE.

Students will once again be expected to bring a laptop computer with them to school each day for use in the classroom. Please click HERE for more information on our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program.

Please begin the process of securing all necessary supplies as soon as possible – some books or supplies may take some time to arrive. If purchasing supplies presents a hardship for your family, please contact Megan Dieckhaus at mdieckhaus@haverford.org.

Fords Store - Back to School Sale

The Fords Store is having a 15% off everything sale from Aug. 31-Sept. 7. The sale will be available in store and online. Use the promo code: Sep15 when you visit FordsStore.com to save online.

Email Lona at alamaj@haverford.org for any questions.

Opening week store hours:

Aug. 31 to Sept. 6 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

Sept. 7 (regular hours) 9-11 a.m. and from 2:30-5 p.m.

Summer Reading and Work

A reminder that there is an expectation to complete summer work in many courses. You can find this work broken down by form HERE. This work should be completed prior to the first day of classes on Sept. 7.

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