Term 2 report cards with comments are now available on the Veracross Parent Portal. Please review it with your child prior to conferences on March 9. See the March 6 email from Brian Johnston for more information.

Grandparents and special friends are invited to the Middle School for a special day with students on Thursday, April 13. Details and registration information will be shared by the school office soon. Register online. 

Each month the Parents’ Association sponsors a Bagel Day to provide bagels to all students and faculty. For each Bagel Day, eight distributors are needed. Volunteers are still needed for April and May dates. Sign up online to help distribute the bagels. Contact Melissa Awais, Jen Roadman or Hope Beukema with questions. 

The Parents' Association is continuing the tradition of showing Shady Side teachers how much we appreciate them by organizing Treat the Teachers (snacks during monthly faculty meetings) and Faculty Fridays (breakfast once per month on a Friday morning.) Sponsors are needed for Wednesday, April 19 and Thursday, May 4. Sign up online. Your account will be charged $25 per sign-up.

Registration for summer programs is open on the SSA Summer website! Day camps, sports camps, STEAM camps and summer school classes give middle schoolers the chance to hone individual interests and discover new talents. Looking to have your child learn and play this summer? With Stay & Play, students enroll in six weeks of Summer School, and when not in class they enjoy the rest of the day at Camp Ren! Camps are filling up fast, so register now!

All Middle School students will take the ERB/CTP test in school on April 25-27. More information will be sent to parents after Spring Break. Past ERB/CTP test reports can be found on the Files tab of your child’s Classes and Reports page in the Veracross Parent Portal.

Parents of eighth grade students may send in up to two photos of their child for the yearbook in place of the student's school portrait. One will be used for the student's portrait and the other will be used for the "ad" section. Download the letter from Randy Broker and the yearbook staff for submission details. Submissions are due by Friday, May 5. 

The Spring Instrumental Concert will be held Tuesday, May 16. The date has changed from Thursday, May 18. 

On March 16, SSA's partners at The Social Institute hosted the parent education webinar, How to Proactively Empower Your Children to Navigate Social Media and Technology in Healthy, High Character Ways. Access the webinar recording and resources below:

• The webinar recording and passcode are posted on the Parent Education Videos page of the Veracross Parent Portal.
• Use these instructions to create a free Parent Toolkit account on TheSocialInstitute.com using SSA's school code, 0ca88C4BB76167.
• In the Toolkit, access Playbooks to stay informed on trending apps and Family Huddles to help guide conversations about positive tech use at home.
• Build your own Family Social Standards Agreement around positive social media and tech use.
• Read TSI's latest research at 23 Insights 2023.

The Shady Side Academy Parents' Association Plants & Presents Sale is open for business! The sale offers a variety of fresh potted herbs and beautiful hanging baskets. New this year is a marble and wood Shady Side Academy cutting board. View product photos and descriptions here. Use the online order form to place your order by Wednesday, April 12. Questions? Contact Beth Brunins, Ree Reschini or Shannon Rohr. 

Parents, students and alumni are extended the extraordinary opportunity to celebrate the outstanding teaching and personal excellence of our faculty by providing nominations for the Posner Award for Meritorious Faculty Performance. The purpose of the Posner Award is "to recognize, inspire and reward faculty at SSA who, through their special "gift of teaching" and mentoring, have affected, in a highly special way, the learning, development and lives of one or more individual students. The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 31. See the Feb. 21 email for more information. 

The SSA Spirit Store is offering up to 30% off all items during the month of March. Stock up on your favorite fawner for spring sports, or grab a few dress code approved items for the school day. Shop online or in person in Rowe Hall at the Senior School. 

A blood drive will be held Thursday, April 27, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., in the Benedum Student Center in Rowe Hall at the Senior School. Students age 16 and up are eligible to donate. A reminder for 16 year-olds: bring a signed permission form to the blood drive and a photo ID with your date of birth. Adults, if you wish to donate elsewhere, please mention SSA and we will receive credit for your donation. Walk-ins are welcome, but it's easy to sign up online, and lets the staff know how many participants to expect. When registering online, scroll down to the bottom and enter Group Code HS010068 to search for our blood drive. Contact Lindsey Myers with questions. 

The preliminary 2023-2024 Academic Calendar is now available. Download the PDF. 

Updated (bivalent) COVID-19 boosters, approved for ages 6 months and up, are formulated to protect against more recent variants and are critical to providing ongoing protection as immunity wanes and the virus mutates. SSA strongly encourages families to follow CDC recommendations to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Please upload a copy of your child's updated COVID-19 vaccination card to Magnus Health whenever they receive an additional vaccine.  Learn about vaccine and booster recommendations here and visit vaccines.gov to find a provider.