Upper School Newsletter - September 14, 2022

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Message From Division Director

Hello Huskies! Last year as part of the dress guidelines review, the Student Council Association (SCA) requested that Flint Hill designate certain school days as Business Dress Days. These days require students to dress in a more professional fashion than the daily dress guidelines.

The SCA chose the Flint Hill All-School Gathering on Wednesday, September 21, as the first Business Dress Day. However, we also have a tradition that members of the senior class wear a particular uniform on that day as well. Therefore, grades 9-11 will be in business dress, and the seniors will be in their ceremonial dress. I have copied the relevant sections from the Dress Guidelines and pasted them below.

Business Dress Days

There will be occasions during the school year where we will require students to dress more formally, or what is commonly known as “business dress.” These days will occur when the school has solemn ceremonies, guest speakers, or other various events that call for a deeper level of decorum.

On Business Dress days, the student must wear:

- A collared shirt that has buttons across the entirety of the front. (No polo shirts)
- Dress pants, khaki pants, or skirts. (No jeans, shorts, athletic pants, or sweat pants)
- Dress shoes. (No sneakers, Crocs, backless sandals)
- A belt, if the pants or skirt has visible belt loops.

Senior Ceremonial Dress Guidelines:

At certain events during the year (Founder's Day, All School Gathering, etc.) it is Flint Hill's tradition that the senior class wears white polo shirts with khaki pants. Advanced notice will be given for these special dress days, but members of the senior class should have a suitable outfit for these special occasions.

Don Paige
Director of the Upper School

Announcements

Head of School Freshman Dinner — Monday, September 19

Parents and students of the Class of 2026 are invited to campus on Monday, September 19, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., for a welcome dinner with Head of School Patrick McHonett. Freshman families will receive an email invitation today. For planning purposes, RSVP to Ana Yarbrough at 703.584.2301 or Ayarbrough@flinthill.org.

Important Campus Driving/Parking Reminders

In order to keep safety as our highest priority, please follow all traffic directions and signage including the following:

Flint Hill community members are never permitted to park in the local neighborhoods. If you arrive for an event and the campus lots are full, please check in with a traffic officer on duty for alternative parking options.
When driving to the Middle School parking lot, remember that the Oakton Road entrance may only be accessed from the right-hand turn lane on Oakton Road. Left-hand turns are not permitted from Oakton Road into the Peterson Middle School parking lot.

Senior Parents — Sign Up for Senior Breakfast

Senior parents, please sign up if you are interested in contributing food or helping to set up and serve breakfast on Friday, September 23. We appreciate your help with continuing this tradition and providing a special treat for our seniors!

Athletics — Order a Letterman Jacket

The time to order letterman jackets for the 2022-23 school year is here for all who are interested. Students may pick up an order form with options for personalization outside the athletic office. We will be partnering with the Neff Company again. For students who would like to be fitted for size, Neff representatives will be at Flint Hill on Tuesday, September 27, 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. You may also submit order forms and checks on that date as well. Neff now accepts only cash or checks for all jacket orders. If you have any questions, please plan to show up to the fitting on September 27 or contact Neff’s representative, John Morrow.

PSAT Day — Wednesday, October 12

Please note the following schedule for students on PSAT Day.

9th graders will attend an advisory day trip. They will have normal school hours that day (8:25 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.)
10th and 11th graders will take the PSAT on campus. They are dismissed from school after they complete the test. This is normally about 12:00 p.m. for the standard test administration and approximately 1:30 p.m. for students with the accommodated test administration.
- There will be lunch provided for 10th and 11th graders who wish to eat on campus.
- We will have places for students to work quietly after the test if they need to take the bus home or wait for athletic practices.
12th graders have a day off from classes to finish college applications or complete college visitation travel from the holiday weekend.

Student Absence: Classwork Policy

Informed by the experiences of the previous years working within the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the learning outcomes and impact on our students, faculty, and staff of hybrid and asynchronous learning during that time, the following represent guidelines for continued learning when a student is absent from school.

The goals of this policy are two-fold:

to support individual and community health and wellbeing, and
to maintain the integrity of a one-of-a-kind Flint Hill educational experience.

To that end, students and families should treat absences for illness as a necessary time to recuperate, and academic work is NOT an expectation during this time.

Read More

Early Admission Process for Siblings

As members of our Husky family, we are offering an early start to the admission process for siblings who do not currently attend Flint Hill and are interested in applying for the 2023-24 school year.

If you have a child who is not currently enrolled at Flint Hill and you are interested in the application process for the 2023-24 school year, please complete this interest form by Saturday, October 1. Alternatively, you can simply complete the admission application. You must complete the application by Tuesday, November 1 to receive an admission notification in mid-December. For more information, please schedule an appointment with the admission team member for your division of interest.

School Store — Temporary Closure for Improvements

The School Store will be closed from Wednesday, September 14, through Wednesday, September 28, to move to a new platform. During this time, the store will not be taking any orders online or in person. We are excited to provide an improved shopping experience for everyone when we relaunch on Thursday, September 29. Please get your returns in by Wednesday, September 21. To contact School Store Manager Kaleena Buckwalter, please call 703.584.2413 or email schoolstore@flinthill.org.

Upcoming Events

Head of School Freshman Family Dinner
Monday, September 19
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Senior Breakfast
Friday, September 23
7:45 - 8:20 a.m.

Parents' Association Pickleball Social
Thursday, September 29
Country Club of Fairfax, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Parents’ Association

Parents’ Association Pickleball Social — Waitlist Available

The Parents’ Association Pickleball Social registration filled up fast and is now full, but you can join the waitlist and we will let you know if space becomes available. Questions? Contact Advancement Officer Olivia Landrum ’11.

Calling All Concessions Volunteers!

Parent volunteers are needed to help sell concessions in both The Igloo and The Den during the day and after school. More opportunities will be added throughout the year for each athletic season. Please sign up for as many shifts as you'd like, and feel free to invite a friend to sign up with you too.