Upper School Division News: Jan. 23, 2025

By Mr. Chris Ames, Upper School Division Head

Dear Winston Family,

Winter has truly arrived this semester - cold temps, ski jackets, woolen hats and those elusive snow days made an appearance, bringing with them the rarest of winter scenes - school closings.  All in the first half of January.  The quote below seemed appropriate for this “quieter” winter season:

“Winter brings a sense of stillness and reflection, offering both a time for rest and a reminder of nature's cycles. It’s a season that invites both coziness and awe, as the world slows down and waits for the promise of spring.” - W. Schulman

While that message is clearly entrenched in the present, our academic gears are already turning toward next year.  Our US students will be ranking their elective course options today (1/22/25) and will bring home a copy for your perusal and signature.  Please go through the classes with your student and return the signed form to Mr. Jennings or myself by 1/27/25.  Current 8th graders (incoming 9th graders for next year) will follow the same process on January 29.  

Re-enrollment season is also upon us.  I encourage you to pass along your intentions to the Admissions office as soon as possible.  US students will need to be enrolled for the 25-26 school year before we can begin crafting a schedule.  Once we have confirmation students can be placed into courses - many of these have class size limits so we recommend you enroll as soon as possible to ensure the best placement scenario.  

We will be posting information in the next few weeks relative to summer school classes and credit recovery options.  Please note that Winston students are not permitted to take core academic classes during the summer sessions.  These are primarily credit recovery courses, although we do offer Health and Speech classes for those wishing to complete the requirements outside of the regular academic calendar.

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions ([email protected]) and I look forward to seeing you on campus!

From the Upstairs,

Chris Ames