The Knightline
Welcome to The Knightline!
The Knightline is the Upper School's parents newsletter, featuring short items and images that offer useful information and lively images of community life at Sem. Published in the first few weeks of each term, the Knightline will offer a view of upcoming events, glimpses of life at Upper School and links to information you can use. And be sure to visit Sem's website on a regular basis to keep up with today's class schedule and the activities, arts and athletic events happening every day at Sem.
From the Dean's Desk
As you'll see from this issue of the Knightline, the Sem student experience goes well beyond the walls of our classrooms. We continue to work on deepening the caliber of the Sem student, and on strengthening our partnership with parents. Toward those ends, look for a forthcoming, detailed letter from me prior to the holiday break, that will include the following:
• An update on modifications to concomitants. Trust that those modifications are designed to, over time, increase choice and flexibility for our students.
• A reminder of the Parent-Dean's Chat on January 22. In keeping with our partnership with parents on fostering a healthy Sem community, this chat will feature mental health-specific programming.
• A preview of the April visit from Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD.org).
As always, I am grateful for your partnership and trust, and please do reach out to me if I can ever be of any assistance.
All the best,
Tom Morris
Dean of Upper School
Life at Upper School
For information and images about activities, accolades and events at Upper School, click on the links below...
National Merit Commended Students
Urbanski named National Merit Semifinalist
Sem students receive Alumni Service Awards
Students named to District 9 chorus
Students inducted into Cum Laude Society
Students participate in math competition
Athletes announce college decisions
New Board of Trustees members announced
Sign up for weather/emergency alerts and
calendar subscriptions!
Have you signed up yet for weather and emergency alerts? If not, it is an easy process! Simply log into your parent portal page on the Sem website and look for the blue box on the left side of the page. You will see a button titled "Weather/Emergency Alerts" there. Click on the button and you will go to a page with a link to the form to sign up. The alert system will ask you for your username and password, and you will find a form to fill out.
If you are interested in subscribing to Sem calendars or would like to receive event reminders, you can find those buttons on the Sem school calendar page.
To subscribe to a calendar, click the grey RSS sysmbol on the right side of the school calendar page, under the blue box at the top of the page. Hover over the ICAL icon for the athletic or calendar feed you are interested in and copy the URL into your own calendar.
To receive alerts, click on the orange bell button and you will go to a screen where you can choose from a list of calendars. If you want alerts for a specific sport(s), go to the athletics page and click on the sport, and then the sport's team schedule. You will see the orange bell at the top right side.
If you have questions, please email Gail Smallwood for assistance.
College Guidance Office News
Parents of Sophomores:
• Students have been assigned their counselor and received login information for Naviance Student and SCOIR, our online college process management and research sites. Counselors will provide an overview of Naviance Student and SCOIR in the sophomore English classes the week of December 9. Parents have also been invited to these platforms. Additionally, sophomores have been asked to send their counselors letters of introductions before the end of winter term (February 28, 2020). If you have any questions related to Naviance Student, SCOIR, or the college process, please contact our office.
Parents of Juniors:
• PSAT/NMSQT scores will be released via College Board the week of December 9. Juniors have been assigned a counselor and will begin meeting to discuss their testing strategies and an initial college lists after the winter break. We invite parents to make an appointment with counselors after their student's initial meeting with their counselor.
Parents of Seniors and Postgraduates:
* Regular decision submission deadlines are fast approaching from January 1 to January 15. Seniors and postgraduates must finalize their transcript request forms with counselors before winter break. They should also be meeting with counselors to get a final check on their essays and applications before submitting in advance of the holidays.
• Seniors and postgraduates should check that financial aid applications (FAFSA and CSS Profile, where applicable) have been submitted to colleges. Financial aid applications are due the same date as the college application deadline.
• A final reminder to send SAT, ACT, and/or TOEFL scores directly from test agencies to colleges.
• Encourage your child to report their college decisions to their counselors! Early action, early decision and rolling deadline decisions will be released over winter break. Students should check the status of their applications in the college specific portals.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
The College Guidance office will be closed from 3:00 p.m. on Friday, December 20 until 8:00 a.m. on Monday, January 6. Counselors can be reached through email over break. Please allow two business days for counselors to respond.
News you can use
The winter term agenda, including letter days, events and other useful information, is available for download on the Knight and Day.
The holiday recess will begin at the end of school on Thursday, Dec. 19. Classes will resume on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020.
This year's Dude.BeNice Week, organized by Student Government, will be held Jan. 6-10.
The annual International Dinner, organized by the International Club, will be held on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 6:00 p.m. in the Blue Gym. Note to parents: if your child is a member of the International Club, please consider discussing what recipes your child might want to use and what special ingredients might be needed. Your child will need to bring those recipes and ingredients back to Sem after the winter break.
The winter term Dean's Chat will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 22 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the Stettler Learning Resources Center.
The winter term's Long Weekend will be held Feb. 1-3. Classes will resume Tuesday, Feb. 4.
The Winter Semi-formal Dance will be held at the Westmoreland Club, 59 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre, on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 6:30-11:00 p.m.
The winter term will end on Thursday, Feb. 27, and winter term exams will be given on Friday, Feb. 28. Spring Break will begin on Feb. 28, and the spring term will begin on Monday, March 16.
The Arts at Sem
Coming in December, January and February:
Winter Concert
Sunday, December 8 at 2:00 p.m., KCCA. Featuring seasonal music performed by the Sem Chorale, Madrigal Singers, Orchestra, String Ensemble and Wind Ensemble.
Civic Orchestra Concert
Saturday, January 18 at 8:00 p.m., KCCA.
Winter Percussion and Jazz Concert
Sunday, January 19, KCCA.
Winter Drama Workshops
Wednesday-Saturday, February 5-8, 7:00 p.m., Sunday, February 9, 2:00 p.m., BPAC. Series of one acts and short scenes in a black-box setting.
The Scoop from STEM
The STEM Saturday Beyond the Hour of Code event will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2020 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the Lower School. In this free event, open to the public, children in grades kindergarten-8 will learn about the basics of coding, using games, toys and online resources. Upper School student volunteers attend the event to assist.
This event follows the Hour of Code Challenge, held around the world during Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 9-15. Sem students in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth also will participate in the Hour of Code.