Upper School Newsletter

                                                January 2009

From the Dean's Office
Class deans:
     Freshman - Valerie Fenton
     Sophmore - Derek Hruska
     Junior - Tucker Hastings 
     Senior - Paul Withstandley 

We hope that all members of our community enjoyed a restful and rejuvenating holiday vacation with family and friends. As with any new year, much important work for 2009 will get going immediately upon our return to school on Monday, January 5th. One of the main reasons for this swift shift into high gear is due to the fact that our first day back leaves students with only ten school days prior to the end of the 2nd Quarter and the start of Mid-Term Exams. Those few days take on a heightened sense of import as they will be filled with some measure of new material as well as the review that will be critical to success on the upcoming exams.

Therefore, although we know we run the risk of seeming repetitive, allow us to once again dedicate the rest of this page to some important points (and, we hope, worthwhile reminders) regarding exams, why we give them, what they are and are not and, most important, how best to approach them from a student and parental viewpoint.

First:  Brunswick sees exams as an extremely valuable and time-honored method of assessing a given student’s ability to consolidate large amounts of material taught over an extended period of time.  Such a skill is both important for success in college as well as in life.  In the Upper School, exams encourage students to carefully review and re-analyze material so as to draw worthwhile comparisons/contrasts and conclusions.  Simply put, exams are an effective method of determining how much and how well a student has learned over the course of the first semester.

Second:  Exams (and exam week) should, as with all things, always be kept in perspective.  Much as it would be a mistake to assume that exams are unimportant, easy, or worthy of little effort, it would also be an error to conclude that exams are the most important event of your son’s entire school year.  We hesitate to provide a purely numerical evaluation of just how important we feel exams to be, yet it might be helpful to remind parents and students alike that exams count as 28% of the semester grades for students in all classes.

Third:  Exams are most successful when studying is approached thoughtfully and in a measured and orderly fashion.  To this end, we reserve much of the last week prior to exams for review.  Specific review sessions are offered before as well as during exam week and, as always, departmental offices are open to any student seeking help.  Parents remain, of course, a key ingredient to a successful exam experience by encouraging their sons to review in accordance with their teachers’ directions and by providing a quiet and supportive home environment for study and preparation.

Finally:  Be certain to familiarize yourself with the Upper School exam schedule (please note:  the afternoon exam on January 20th has been moved to 2pm).  Students with conflicts should speak immediately with both the teacher of those courses as well as with their appropriate Grade Dean to work out an accommodating schedule.  If necessary, exams can be administered on the afternoon of Friday, January 23rd, as regular classes will not resume until Tuesday, January 27th (due to Faculty Reading Day).  Finally, as is a tradition of long standing at Brunswick, students may dress casually (but neatly!) during exam week.

Dates to Remember in January:

1/5                        Classes Resume

1/15&16               Exam Review Days

1/16                      2nd Quarter Ends

1/19                      Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – NO SCHOOL

1/20-23                                Mid-Year Exams

1/26                      NO SCHOOL for Upper School Students

Faculty Reading Day

1/27                      Exam Return Day

                                Brunswick College Night                   7pm

                                Mandatory for all Juniors

1/28                      1st Day of Semester 2

1/31                      Brown and White formal dance

Brunswick College Night: Tuesday evening, January 27th, at 7:00pm (in Baker Theater).  We look forward to seeing all Juniors and their parents at College Night. The evening is traditionally an informative introduction to the college process. We would like to emphasize here that attendance at College Night is mandatory for all Juniors.

Brown and White Formal:  You will shortly receive a letter regarding the upcoming Brown and White dance that will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Old Greenwich on the evening of Saturday, January 31st from 8:00pm to 11:00pm. An annual event, we hope that your son will attend and, of course, encourage all parents to take the time to sit down with your son(s) to discuss appropriate behavior and overall expectations for such an event well in advance of the evening.


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