Making Headlines: Welcome to the POND!

Welcome to the Middlesex POND – the Parent Online Newsletter.  The weekly POND is a resource to keep you updated on the happenings at the School.  It includes a brief look at the calendar ahead, important reminders and announcements, photos of school events, and school news.

Head of School David Beare and Director of Online Communications Eric Kester will also check in regularly with observations from campus. The POND will arrive in your email inbox every Thursday throughout the school year.

All parents are automatically subscribed; additional email addresses and subscribers can also be added from the POND section of our website.  Please click to subscribe.

Calendar Notes

• September 5: New students arrive and orientation begins
• September 6: Returning students arrive; Required all-school Chapel, 4:30pm
• September 7: Classes begin; Campus weekend; Class IV event, 7-8:15pm; Class III event, 7-8:15pm; Class II event, 7-8:15pm; Square Dance, 9-11pm
• September 8: Field Day
• September 10: Class III Connections begins, 7:30-8:30
• September 11: Club Fair, 5:45pm-6:45, Circle; Community Life house meetings (required) 7-8pm
• September 13: Class IV Chapel/Event (required), 6:30-7:30pm
• September 14: ACTs (Class I)

• View the 2019-20 Calendar at-a-glance

Announcements & Reminders

• The first Business Office Newsletter of the school year was emailed to parents last week. You can view it online by clicking here.

• Freshmen and sophomore parents: To help foster a healthy, focused work environment during evening study hours, all freshmen and sophomore boarding students will be asked to turn in their cell phones to dorm faculty from 7:30pm-9:30pm. We encourage all parents of day students to join us in adopting this study-time routine; a two-hour break from the myriad distractions of a phone can be powerfully beneficial to our entire freshmen class!

• Please be advised that Fall Long Weekend falls on Columbus Day weekend this year. There are no classes on Columbus Day, Monday, October 15th. Boarders check in is at 8:30 pm on Monday. Enjoy!

• My BackPack Emails – Spam/Junk Folder: Please be aware that many of our school’s important communications across departments to parents will be sent via Third Party Vendors such as My Back Pack, MailChimp, and others. As email providers continually revise and increase security for their accounts, it is important to frequently check junk/spam folders for Middlesex emails that may be incorrectly captured as spam – especially emails sent out in bulk to all our families. We will follow due diligence to ensure that our emails do not contain qualifiers that trip spam filters, as well as appreciate your help in assigning our domain (@mxschool.edu) as a safe address (if possible) and frequently checking your junk/spam folders. Thank you!

• The Alumni Office is hoping to see as many Middlesex parents as possible at their fall events!  

  Kingman Cup Golf and Tennis Tournament - September 23, Hyannisport Golf Club.  
  NYC Alumni and Parent Reception - October 2, The Yale Club of New York.  
  Parents' Weekend - October 25-26, Middlesex Campus
  Boston Alumni and Parent Reception - November 21, Boston Public Libray 
   
  For additional information, please email alumni@mxschool.edu

  
   

From the MPA

• Welcome to the Middlesex Parents’ Association! The MPA is a parent-run, all-volunteer organization. Getting involved with the MPA is a great way to meet other parents and support the school, whether you live far away or nearby! We encourage you to volunteer by completing the electronic Parent Volunteer Form found on the Parents Page on the Middlesex website or by clicking here.  All parents are automatically members of the MPA.
   
• During the school year, the MPA has four Saturday morning meetings that present key information for current parents. Parents are encouraged to attend in person or to view the electronic broadcast of each meeting. The meeting dates for the 2019-2020 year are as follows:
  
  September 21, 9:30am-11am
  November 23, 9:30am-11am
  January 25, 9:30am-11:00am
  April 18, 9:30am-11am

Grand Opening

The arrival of summer marked the end of our first full semester in the Bass Arts Pavilion and Danoff Center for the Visual Arts. Read on for an inside look at these spectacular new facilities!