| | Save the date:
Thursday, Dec. 1 - Boston Area Alumni Gathering Saturday, Dec. 3 – Alumni Madrigal Reunion on campus Sunday, Dec. 4 – Christmas Choral Concert Wednesday, Dec. 7 – Local Holiday Gathering Thursday, Dec. 15 – Middle-School Holiday Instrumental Concert Friday, Dec. 16 – Lower School Holiday Program and Tea Friday, Dec. 16 – Winter Recess begins Tuesday, Jan. 3 – Classes resume For more events, visit Sem's All-School Calendar... Coming to your mailbox:
Be on the lookout for the newly designed, full-color fall edition of the Wyoming Seminary Journal! 
|  | Stay connected: | | | | President's Newsletter to the Wyoming Seminary Board of Trustees for November Members of the Board, This is my first edition of a monthly newsletter to keep you informed of the many good things happening at our school and issues as they arise. Of course, I am always available to discuss rumors or items of interest you might hear about Sem. I also appreciate your positive stories about the school, our students, the faculty and the staff, I can use to help advance Sem. Click here to view my notes summarizing the Board Retreat. 
Kip Nygren, President Listed below are several of the events and projects in which we are involved. - I welcomed LS eighth grade students to the US campus on Friday, October 28. They were here to take a placement test for us and we took the opportunity to acquaint them with the US campus through the vehicle of a “scavenger hunt.” Prizes were awarded to the winning teams.
- On November 1, I opened a meeting on our plans for move ahead with learning technology for parents at LS with a short description of where I see education and Sem in particular heading in this area. The first five words of our mission say it all, “Within an exponentially changing world . . .” As the tools for learning continue to drastically change, we must lead our students through the new learning environment.
- On Friday, November 5, two US freshmen appeared before a disciplinary board in response to the discovery of their involvement in a harassment incident through social media. As a result, they were suspended from school for Monday and Tuesday of the following week and been assigned a series of other educational responses. In addition, they are on probation for the remainder of their careers at Wyoming Seminary.
- Current Eighth Grade parents were invited to a reception at my home on Nov 8 and then provided a tour of the campus with a focus on academics at Upper School. About half of the parents attended.
- An alum event was hosted in the Philadelphia area on November 10, which I attended along with the US Dean Jay Harvey and members of our development staff. The turnout was strong and several recent graduates attending school in that area attended.
- Bob Tarud and I met with a consultant on Nov 11, we asked to review our finances and the operations of our Business Office. Brown Brothers, Harriman recommend Mr. James Pope to us and on this visit he offered an overall financial perspective, particularly in regard to Germantown Friends, where he was the CFO for several years.
- Saturday, November 12 was a beautiful day to lead a tour of West Point for Mr. Switzer’s eighth grade social studies class. Since the eighth grade is studying the American Revolution, I showed why West Point was an important strategic location for Washington’s Army. We had almost 50 students, parents, including five Upper School students with interest in attending the Academy.
- I made a presentation at Swain School, a PS3 to 8 independent school in Allentown, PA on the 15th to the 7th and 8th graders. Designing a Roller Coaster and Robotics at Sem were the two topics is used to excite the students about STEM. There were many questions by the students and they were able to operate the robots that my class had designed, build, programmed and tested during the term. Here is a link to a video of the robots in action, 3 Sem Robots Created Fall 2011.
- A Conference for Veterans dealing with reintegration into the community was held at Gennetti’s on November 16, and I was one of several conference organizers. We brought an Army major from West Point to deliver the keynote concerning his return from deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
- On November 17, Ben Schall and I met with Ms. Linda Zaneski, the Chair of the King Edward Committee that is working to renovate Main Street in both Kingston and Edwardsville. They were looking for Sem to improve the Roundhouse property lot along Main Street, however we informed them our desire to sell the property. The committee showed some interest in purchasing the property as part of the proposed gateway and Rails to Trails entry point. After consultation with the property committee, Ben is going to provide them with our asking price.
- I would be greatly remiss if I did not mention the second consecutive Field Hockey State Championship our team earned with a very exciting 3-2 win over Villa Maria Academy on Saturday the 19th. It was an amazing season and an unexpected championship, which speaks to the quality of our coaches and the team spirit. Sem has now won the State PIAA Field Hockey Championship three of the last four years.
- After a conference call with the Executive Committee of the Board on Friday the 18th, the Board received an email from me concerning an alleged incident involving one of our faculty. As of November 25, there have been no further developments, and all information concerning the incident remains highly confidential.
- Our personnel restructuring is complete as of Tuesday evening, Nov 29.
- If you have not already, please look at the Wyoming Seminary Journal for Fall 2011 for more information on recent educational initiatives. If you do not have a copy, please contact me and we will send you one.
Winter Term begins on Monday the 28th of November, and we will break for Christmas beginning on December 17. School offices will remain open during much of the break, so please contact us if we can be of any assistance to you. |
