Parents and Friends,

As much as it is possible, it feels like we have arrived at “normal” for now. With a few weeks of hybrid learning under our belt, teachers and students are hard at work together, whether on campus or remotely. It is a joy to see and hear our students on campus again. I have especially enjoyed walking down the halls and seeing students and teachers in the classroom together. Yes, some classes have fewer students physically present than others, but our teachers are adapting to the needs of their students. We are seeing the benefits of our flexible academic framework in action.

And now November is upon us, which means the end of the semester will be here before we know it! With that in mind, we felt it was an important time to provide some information about what the end of the term will look like, as well as an update on some standardized testing opportunities in the spring.

First, December 14-18, the week scheduled for repetitions and finals, will be an all-remote week. The first two days will be our standard schedule: Monday periods 1-4 will meet, and Tuesday periods 5-8. Then we will run a special schedule Wednesday through Friday, during which all periods will have one more allotted meeting time, either for final paper or project submission or for a final exam. Teachers have been given the choice of how to assess students at the end of the term, and departments are collaborating to determine the best assessment type for each specific class. More information about how students will be assessed (paper, project, or exam) will be shared by individual teachers by the end of this month, and the details of the special finals schedule will be sent home in a subsequent Staying Connected message.

On January 26, juniors will have the opportunity to take the PSAT. This is the standardized test usually administered on National Test Day in October. The PSAT is the Qualifying Test used for the National Merit Scholarship Program and is recommended as well for all students who plan on taking the SAT test later in the Spring or in the Fall of their senior year. Because the test is occurring on a Tuesday, we will use a special schedule that week so that no students will miss class. The plan will be to move the asynchronous day (usually Wednesday) to that Tuesday, switching it with Red Day 2. Information about registration will be sent directly to all junior parents next week.

Later in the spring (and in summer), Jesuit will host two ACT tests on Saturdays: April 17 and June 12. These tests will only be available to current Jesuit students. More information about registration will be available in the spring, but for now all interested students should pencil in these dates!

A big thank you to David Zielke, our Director of Scheduling and Testing, who orchestrated the October ACT and SAT tests and has continued working hard to lock in these other opportunities, and to organize them to fit within our plan for mitigation and safety on campus. Thanks also to Carol Rose, Director of the Academic Support Center, who does an incredible amount of behind-the-scenes work to ensure student test takers have any necessary accommodations. The two of them together have logged many hours to ensure our students have access to these tests, and are prepared to take them safely and successfully.

As we continue in the heart of the second quarter, I encourage students to maintain their good study habits and reach out for help if they are struggling, either by attending office hours on Wednesdays or our after school peer tutoring sessions. Whether our students are on campus for class or not, I hope they feel connected to and supported by their teachers. Let’s keep moving forward with confidence together! 

AMDG

Colin O’Connor ’04
Assistant Principal for Academics

Next Week’s Calendar At-A-Glance