Dear Upper School Parents & Students, 

It’s been a wonderful first week of December in the Upper School. Students are working hard to finish the semester strong in their classes while also preparing for their semester exams. There’s plenty of holiday cheer to go around, too–yesterday’s inaugural K/12 tree trimming was a heartwarming event! Coupled with the decoration of the tree in our rotunda, a few high-energy basketball games, and a group of our Interact students working a night at the Pizza Inn, life in the Upper School is always exciting!

Semester exams will be here in one week. Just in case you you missed the schedule in the November 21 edition, the fall semester exam schedule is:

*Extended time ends at 12:00 PM for AM exams and 4:00 PM for PM exams. 
**Students should contact Ms. McGrath (amanda.mcgrath@sdsgriffin.org) 
to schedule conflict and/or make-up exams. 

The locations of individual exams can be found here. Be sure to click the different tabs on the bottom to access the various days. Ms. McGrath emailed individual information about conflict exams earlier today–be sure to reach out to her with any questions surrounding scheduling.

As a reminder, semester exams are worth 20% of the overall semester grade. Students are encouraged to create a study plan that allows them to study over time. This example spaced study calendar was distributed before Thanksgiving, and students were encouraged to complete this calendar template according to their individual scheduling needs. While teachers will be recommending study tactics for their individual courses, Learning Scientists provides excellent research based study strategies. These resources have been shared with the Upper Schoolers, and my hope is that they will help students make excellent use of study time. 

Looking forward, here is what’s on the horizon for the division:

• Saturday, December 6
  • Parents’ Community Polar Express Pancake Breakfast @ 9 AM in the Dining Commons
• Thursday, December 11
  • 6th-12th Winter Band Concert @ 6:30 PM
• Thursday, December 11 & Friday, December 12
  • Exam Review Days
• Friday, December 12
  • Tacky Sweater Day
• Monday, December 15 - Friday, December 19
  • Fall Semester Exams (See schedule above)
• Friday, December 19
  • End of Q2/Fall Semester
• Monday, December 22 - Monday, January 5
  • Winter Holiday
• Tuesday, January 6
  • Spring Semester Begins
• Friday, January 9
  • Q2/Fall Semester Grades viewable in Renweb
    **Grades will be released one business week after the end of the semester.**

Parents, please remember to email attendance@sdsgriffin.org if your student needs to leave early, will be arriving late, or will not be at school. As always, please check the athletic team calendars for the most up-to-date information on our winter sports. 

I hope to see you tomorrow at the Polar Express tomorrow! Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Warmly, 

Jenny Glenn
Head of Upper School