Life at Bement: Upper School Look Ahead

UPPER SCHOOL:

Dear Parents, 

Greetings. I hope you are having a wonderful summer. Our Bement camps are ending this week and we are preparing our campus and classrooms for the start of a new academic year.  I am excited to reconnect with all of our returning students and parents, and to welcome our new families as well.  In only a few short weeks, our hallways, classrooms, playing fields, and dorms will again be buzzing with activity once again.  

Dear Upper School Parents New to Bement, and Parents of All Sixth Graders,
 

You are cordially invited, along with your child, to meet the Upper School Faculty at a Reception and brief Orientation on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the Kittredge Upper School Building

2010-2011 School Calendar:  Please click here 

Very important information concerning morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up  can be found here. Please take notice of these guidelines in the best interest, and safety, of everyone is our community.

If you are interested in Carpooling with families from  your area, please print and fill out this questionnaire to help us determine possible arrangements.

Bement offers day students an opportunity to be served breakfast before the school day begins, on a term by term basis. You can sign up by using this form and submitting it to the Business Office.
 

ADMISSION:

BEMENT FAMILY DIRECTORY INFORMATION REQUEST In an effort to facilitate connections between Bement families, the Admission Office compiles an annual Family Directory. Given our formatting limitations, we ask each family to submit the exact information that they would like to appear in their Directory entry based on the attached guidelines in the link provided. Please follow the guidelines provided and email your information to Kirsten Kapteyn at kkapteyn@bement.org NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 1. Thank you very much. Please see the link here for instructions.

NEW STUDENT PHOTO REQUEST - Before our new students arrive in September, the Admission Office introduces them to our faculty with the help of photographs. We would be grateful if all parents of new students would send a recent photo (informal headshot) of their child by email, preferably, to Mrs. Kapteyn in the Admission Office at kkapteyn@bement.org or by snailmail to Bement Admissions, PO Box 8, 94 Old Main Street, Deerfield, MA 01342. Our 2010 new student photos will remain on display in Admissions for the whole year and are enjoyed as much by visitors to the school as by our own community.
 

 ATHLETICS:

Dear Students and Parents,

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer. This is setting up to be a great season of fall sports at Bement. I am excited to add golf to this line up as a non-competitive option. We will have to see how the numbers for golf shake out, but we had some student interest in the spring. Sports will include the following offerings:

Cross-country running (coed)

Boys' Varsity and Varsity Reserve Soccer

Girls' Varsity Soccer

Co-ed Junior Varsity Soccer

Girls' Field Hockey (most likely one team this year)

Tennis (coed, non-competitive)

Golf (coed, non-competitive)

Every student will get their first choice of sport with the possible exception of tennis. We are initially going to keep this offering for 7th - 9th graders only, and if there is space we will draw straws for 6th graders. This is due to high numbers in the past, and limited court space. I'm hoping that everybody will get their first choice.

Students provide their own shorts, shirts and sweats for practices. Please have those sweats handy in your locker as the weather at the North End fields can be windy and cold! Cross-country should bring running shoes; tennis players should bring a racket and proper tennis shoes; soccer players should have cleats and shin-guards; and field hockey players should bring cleats and a stick. (We have some extra sticks around if need be, and shin-guards are provided).

Please try to make your commitment to your Bement team ahead of outside activities. A schedule for the Fall 2010 can be seen by clicking here. If there are any games that a student cannot attend let the coaches know early in the season. Practices will begin on the second day of classes, Monday, September 13. Students will have three days to try different sports if they wish and will need to commit to one sport by Thursday, September 16. Note that games start as early as Wednesday and Thursday of the first week. These games will be considered scrimmages and will give coaches a chance to see players in action. Practices run Monday - Thursday, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. We love to have parents come and cheer our teams on! Always feel free to contact me with questions.

Thank you and see you soon!

Sincerely,

Alexander Bartlett

Athletic Director

PARENTS' ASSOCIATION:
 

The Bement Parents' Association has two big events to look forward to

at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year – first will be the Blazer Exchange, on Tuesday September 7th from 1-4pm at the entrance to the Kittredge building.  This is an opportunity to bring in your outgrown Monday Dress blazers & sweaters and trade them in for a larger size – please bring in only blazers and sweaters that are clean, in good condition, and meet Bement's dress code requirements.  Obviously, dress Monday clothing is a source of pride, and we want to offer everyone the best possible quality merchandise for exchange.  Bement patches will also be available for purchase, and the School Store will be open with merchandise for sale also.  This year, in conjunction with the Blazer Exchange we will also be holding our first Sports Equipment Exchange.  This is an opportunity to bring in your gently-used, never-used, or outgrown sports gear, and perhaps find that used sports gear you've been looking for!  We are hoping to have a wide variety of sporting equipment available – baseball, softball, tennis, lacrosse, skis, skates, snowshoes, bicycles, and more.  All the pertinent information can be found by clicking here. Only items in good, usable, and safe condition will be accepted for donation.  If you have any questions, have items to donate (blazers, sweaters or sporting goods) or are interested in helping on the 7th, please contact Meg Clark at 413-367-2780 or kegcomm@verizon.net.