Dear 8th and 9th grade families,

As a post script to yesterday’s note, please do make sure to let me know where your child has been accepted, waitlisted, or rejected. If there is a wait list situation, it is important for me to know right away so that I may work to get your child off the list. From year to year, I keep data on the schools’ acceptance rate of BCD students, as well as other anecdotes, which all helps in future secondary school guidance.

Thank you,

Carmen

Thank you,

Carmen

I am happy to be back from my maternity leave this week and working hard on the last pieces of secondary school placement. Many admissions officers have called to ask for updated grades reports (Trimester 2) and teachers’ comments as well as to discuss students’ school preferences at this point. If there is any information I should know about your family’s discussions around “top choices” please let me know. It is important that I know to advocate for your child’s top pick when I speak to the schools.

Admittance decisions will be mailed on March 10th. Your children will be on their class trips at this time. I, and the trip chaperones, ask that you not share the news until your child returns home from his/her trip. This request comes from a genuine interest in not detracting from a positive class experience, as well as to help maintain focus on the present moment and the special time with their BCD peers and teachers. Allow them to share the joy of the decision with you first.

Sincerely,
Carmen

Dear Middle and Upper School families,

I will be on maternity leave from November 30, 2009 until the end of February, 2010. In my absence, your student’s advisor should remain your primary contact when you have a question or concern regarding your child’s academic or social experience at school. Paul Lindenmaier will also assume many of my responsibilities and will serve as a resource to you as well.

During my leave, I will continue to work on secondary school placement and will write letters of recommendation for all students applying out. Coree Reid, who serves as BCD’s registrar, will collate all applications to secondary schools, send out transcripts and letters of recommendation. She is the first person to contact with questions on the process.

If you or your child has not met with me to discuss  plans for the coming year, I strongly encourage you to set a time to meet with Paul Lindenmaier in the near future to discuss your family’s options.

With kind regards,

Carmen

Dear MS and US parents and students,
The first trimester officially ends this Friday, November 13th. However, with the increase in student absences today, I have asked faculty to close their first trimester grades as of last Friday, November 6th. The only exception to this is for a major project (such as in computer class) for which this week is still considered “part of term.”  

The faculty will abide by the following protocol during the week of Nov. 9th until the official end of the trimester on Friday, Nov. 13th:

1) For students who owe make-up work, retakes on quizzes, re-writes of
papers, etc. and are not here to turn them in this week, their subject grade for the trimester will be marked INC for “Incomplete.” The students will have until Monday, November 23rd  to make up this work.  At that time, the teacher will submit a grade to our registrar (Coree Reid) which will replace the INC on the student’s grade report.
2) Previously planned tests or other graded work due this week before Friday the 13th , will be graded and placed on NEXT trimester’s grading term.  These assignments will be the first of Trimester 2.

I proposed  this tactic to faculty since the percentage of ill students today is 20% in MS and 40% in US, coupled with the fact that Wednesday is a holiday and students will not be here to make up work or hand in work.

I do hope this will alleviate some fears and stress our absent students may have been feeling while missing school. In sum, they will receive “Incompletes ” in the courses they still owe work and will have until Monday, Nov. 23rd to submit that work. Upon receipt and satisfactory completion, the “Incomplete” will be replaced by a final grade in the subject.

Please contact your child’s advisor if you have any questions.

Regards,
Carmen

Dear Upper School students and parents,

I am writing a little note to remind you that there was a change in our dress code policy this year. While US parents and students have all have signed off that you read and understood the change in policy, I thought it might be good to send a reminder.

Any student with repeated infractions of the dress code (i.e: pants not at the waist, too much decoltage, hats in buildings) will be in danger of receiving an “N” (needs improvement) in conduct at the end of the term. Such a mark in conduct eliminates the possibility of making our Honor Roll. Faculty vote on conduct grades during our end-of-term grade level meetings. Please contact me or your child’s advisor if you have any questions.

Regards,

Carmen

Dear Upper School parents and students,

Please remember that all secondary school visits must be announced well in advance and cleared with Mrs. Dockery Perkins. These will be considered excused absences only if you have given me and your teachers ample time to collate assignments for you and/or to reschedule quizzes and tests you may miss. You really must speak to your teachers prior to scheduling such visits and this is the student’s responsibility to do.

Thank you for your attention to this important detail.

Mrs. D.P.

Dear Upper School Parents,

Our Wellness program was a tremendous success this week. The 7th grade participated in a two-day workshop entitled “Discussing Dating” and explored such issues as peer pressures, the difference between flirting and sexual harassment and what entails a healthy friendship.  Dara Johnson, a sexual education consultant BCD has hired for many years, was yet again a great success with our students.

Freedom from Chemical Dependency worked with our 8th and 9th graders for two days as well and provided our parents with an evening program on Thursday. Many topics were covered, including recognizing signs of addiction, how to help a friend you are concerned about, how to seek help if you feel you need help, the latest statistics on drug and alcohol use and popular drugs available to our children, to name a few.

A recurrent theme, both among our students and during the parent evening, was around the topic of parties and how to set limits, feel safe and how get out of difficult situations. The FCD counselors shared a helpful handout for our parents and I have extra copies in my office if you would like pick one up. Also, the following website was shared with me by a current parent and gives great guidance on how to protect yourselves as hosts, and your children as guests, when you host a party at your home. Please do take a look at the guidelines shared at: http://www2.watertown.k12.wi.us/site_uploads/news/newsfile1076_1.pdf
 

Sincerely,

Carmen Dockery Perkins

Associate Head of School

October 9, 2009

Dear Upper School Parents,

This coming week we will host BCD’s annually scheduled Wellness and Human Development programs for our Upper School students. BCD has worked with two consulting agencies since the early 1990s and found that their programs and educational philosophies have consistently matched ours. These two organizations are Freedom from Chemical Dependency and a sexuality educational consultant, Dara Johnson.

The adolescent years of children can be especially difficult to navigate. From hormonal changes, to rapid brain development, to social and academic pressures, this is quite a challenging time. As educators, we are aware that the age for sexual and drug and alcohol experimentation has started earlier among students across the country. We are not immune to this reality here in the Berkshires and have a responsibility to hold our students close, as we educate them and prepare them for an array of social situations they may face. As parents, balancing the roles of parent, educator and disciplinarian is a tough job indeed. As Dr. Michael J. Bradley writes in his book, Yes, Your Teen Is Crazy! Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind, “Parenting an adolescent in today’s world is much the same as flying a jet aircraft or performing brain surgery. Any training you received 30 years ago is not only useless, it can actually impair your ability to perform well. Neurosurgeons and pilots constantly upgrade their skills, replacing outmoded thinking with new training that reflects contemporary realities.”

Thus, this is the challenge we all face: how to ensure that we are educating our children in a timely, current, and appropriate manner. I invite you all to join “Freedom from Chemical Dependency” for a Parent Program on Thursday, October 15^th at 6pm in Furey Music Room. The consultants will present the most recent data on drug and alcohol use among our adolescent population as well as entertain any questions you may have. They will have spent the first of two days with the 8^th and 9^th graders in small group discussions on this very topic.

Meanwhile, Dara Johnson, a sexuality educational consultant, will work with Grade 7 on Wednesday, October 14^th and Thursday, October 15^th. The program she presents, Discussing Dating, focuses on respecting physical and emotional boundaries, recognizing different types of touch, and practicing effective communication. Topics covered include the differences between flirting and harassing behaviors, ways in which healthy friendships and dating relationships are similar, the power of sexual attraction and its potential influence on decision-making, and the benefits of abstinence from sexual intercourse, to name a few. Ms. Johnson creates an environment in which students can freely discuss the topics at hand, and also one that provides a comfortable environment for those students who have little or no interest in the topic.

Should you have any reservations about your child participating in either Dara Johnson or Freedom from Chemical Dependency’s programs, I am happy to provide a quiet study hall for your child if that is an option you would prefer. As always, I look forward to ongoing conversations with our parents about normal adolescent development and the realities our students face.

Sincerely,

Carmen Dockery Perkins

Associate Head of School

Dear Grade 8 and Grade 9 parents,

BCD is fortunate to have Dr. Robert Benner, OBGYN, visit with the 8th and 9th grade students this coming Wednesday, October 7th. Dr. Benner will work with the girls and boys separately. Each group will receive a double period of sexual education which will include covering topics of birth control, STDs and the HIV virus.

If you have any reservations about your child attending this class, I will be happy to accommodate the student with a quiet study hall during that time instead. Please contact me directly with questions or concerns.

Regards,

Carmen Dockery Perkins
Associate Head of School
Berkshire Country Day School
P.O. Box 867
Lenox, MA 01240
tel. 413-637-0755, Ext. 21

Dear Upper School Parents,

Please join us for BCD’s annual Secondary Schools Admissions Panel event this coming Tuesday, October 6th from 5:30-7 pm in Furey Music Room. Representatives from 10 different schools will be in attendance- our biggest turnout ever! The following is the agenda for the evening. Hope to see you there.

Carmen

Secondary Schools Admissions Panel

October 6, 2009

5:30 – 7:00 pm

Furey Music Room

Agenda:

I. Welcome and Introductions: Paul Lindenmaier, Head of School

Carmen Dockery Perkins, Associate Head of School

II. Public Schools: Program highlights and applying for School Choice

1. Lenox Memorial High School

2. Monument Regional High School

3. Pittsfield High School

III. Early College: Is it time?

1. Bard College at Simon’s Rock

IV. Independent Boarding Schools: Program highlights, day versus boarding options and application timeline

1. 1. Berkshire School
   2. Deerfield Academy
   3. Miss Hall’s School
   4. Millbrook School
   5. Darrow School
   6. Northfield Mt. Hermon School

V. Question and Answer