In an effort to provide more opportunities for students to engage in interdisciplinary and immersive learning experiences beyond our campuses, the Senior School will be piloting two three-week immersive courses from June 12-30 at no cost to families. Both courses will earn students one general elective credit. Offerings include A River Runs Through Pitt, which explores the science, literature and practice of fly fishing, and Pittsburgh – A City of Champions, which investigates the economic and cultural impact of the city's three professional sports franchises. Spaces are limited, register today. See School Head Trixie Sabundayo's March 3 email for details. 

Grandparents and special friends are invited to the Senior School for a special day with students on Monday, April 10. Details and registration information will be shared by the school office soon. 

The Spring Fling dance will be Saturday, April 15, from 7-10 p.m. in Curry Gymnasium. Tickets are $15 each and can be purchased online. 

Registration for summer programs is now open on the SSA Summer website! SSA offers for-credit Summer School courses for students entering grades 9-12 in art, math and science. Senior School students may also apply to work at SSA Summer as a junior counselor or lifeguard. Explore programs and register now!

The Chill Project at SSA hosts monthly Parent Groups to discuss topics related to your child’s mental health and wellness. Parent Groups are held via Zoom, and the link will be emailed to parents a few days prior to each meeting. Upcoming Parent Groups will be held on Monday, March 27, April 24 and May TBA. Questions? Contact The Chill Project Wellness Educator Dani Bucci.

Each month the Parents' Association sponsors a Bagel Day to provide bagels to all students and faculty. For each Bagel Day, four sponsors at $45 each are needed. Senior class sponsors are still needed for Thursday, April 20 and Friday, May 12. Sign up online to sponsor a Bagel Day. All contributions will be charged to your student's account in Veracross. Contact June Navid with any questions.

SSA Athletics is bringing back the tradition of distributing actual letters to our varsity letterwinners! In addition, a new SSA varsity jacket is available for optional purchase. Athletics will host a jacket fitting and order day for students this spring. The date and time are TBD. Students and families may order varsity jackets during the fitting day or online. View the varsity jacket order form. Questions? Contact Erika Cooper in the Athletics Department.

The Parents' Association is seeking volunteers for various events throughout the year. Visit the PA webpage to learn more and contact Elizabeth Mendoza and Maria Villarreal if you are interested or have any questions about any of these opportunities.

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.