By Dr. Sally Maxwell, Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning
In just two short weeks and despite weather impacts, our students produced a musical, conquered swimming, built birdhouses, balloon cars, and benches, wrote amazing stories, designed homes, solved crimes, created art and music, and so much more! If you were on our campus, you would have seen excitement and learning everywhere you turned! Winter Term supplements our academic program and multiplies students’ opportunities by letting them try new things with new people. It allows us to make progress toward our Strategic Plan’s charge to optimize the breadth of offerings and depth of learning opportunities we provide students.
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your child’s Winter Term experience. We were pleased to see that, as this new program continues to develop, a large majority of survey respondents gave the program positive reviews and provided helpful feedback to support its continued evolution. In this, our second year, we attended to the question, “Winter Term was a valuable experience for my child.” In 2024, 58% of Lower School parents agreed or strongly agreed, and in 2025, that number rose to 70%. In 2024, 62% of Middle School parents agreed or strongly agreed, and in 2025, that number rose to 68%. In 2024, 66% of Upper School parents agreed or strongly agreed, and in 2025, that number rose to 77%. Winter Term was praised as a valuable opportunity for students to “think outside the box” and “step away from the day-to-day curriculum.” We are looking into ways to enhance the program by incorporating some of your suggestions, such as offering more outdoor activities (weather permitting), more academically-focused electives in Middle and Upper School, and more communication about the programming. We believe that Winter Term is a valuable part of our school’s curriculum, and we are committed to making it the best it can be.
