Back to School Information -- UPPER SCHOOL

Upper School Families, please download and review the Handbook carefully and make sure your student has also read it. After you and your student(s) have reviewed the Handbook, both a parent/guardian AND the student must sign the Handbook Agreement Form (if you have more than one upper school student, we need a signed form for each student). Return signed forms to Allison Gill, Upper School Director by September 6, 2023.  

 

 

Questions? Contact Allison Gill, Upper School Director

 

 

 

 

 

Download and Sign the DV Permission Slip*

 

*NOTE: For the 12th grade trip there are THREE (3) permission slips/waivers to sign and return. 

 

 

Each student in middle school will read ONE book selected for their grade this summer - see the list linked below - and two books of their own choosing. All books are available on Learning Ally unless otherwise noted. Students are asked to take notes and/or sketches of the selected book as noted in the handout. When we return to school in September, English classes will begin the term with further literary analysis and projects related to the book selected for each grade. 

 

DOWNLOAD THE SUMMER READING LIST

 

DOWNLOAD UPPER SCHOOL SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT

Students, please come to school with a backpack, headphones, pens and pencils, and a reusable water bottle. Everything else is provided by DVFriends.

Upper School students receive an account to Learning Ally where they can access summer reading and other texts via audio. New students will receive an email from DVFriends with their Learning Ally account information from Tracy Seggern, Academic Systems Coordinator and Registrar, once they are enrolled and added to the system. Returning students, your login information is the same as last year. 

Questions about Learning Ally or your account access, please contact Scott Davis, Technology Director

DVFriends needs your student’s completed physical and immunizations form before they return to campus. Returning families can access Magnus through PowerSchool use their existing login to access and upload completed forms. New families, once you log into PowerSchool, you will be able to access Magnus Health. For your convenience, we have included a link to the physical and immunizations form below. Please upload to Magnus when completed or send by email to Chris Bedard, School Nurse. Please do not send paper forms to school. Health forms are due by August 18, 2023.

 

Download the Student Physical and Immunizations form 

 

Questions about student health information and Magnus forms, please contact Chris Bedard, School Nurse.

Please log in to the PowerSchool Student Information System Parent Portal and update the Student Demographics information located at the bottom left of the Navigation menu. Review and make any needed changes to your family's addresses, phone numbers (if you would like to receive text message alerts from DVFriends, you must list a cell phone number), email addresses, and emergency contacts. You must provide an emergency contact who is not a parent/guardian.  

 

New families, you will receive an email from Tracy Seggern with information about how to log into the PowerSchool Parent Portal once you have been entered by the school into the system. Guide to updating Demographic Information in PowerSchool 

 

Update Communication Preferences -- IMPORTANT for email and text alerts from the school. In addition to updating your demographic information in PowerSchool, you can choose your preferred methods and points of communication in Swift K12 -- our school communication system.  Swift is linked through PowerSchool. See the guide to updating Swift K12 preferences below. Guide to updating Communication Preferences in SwiftK12 

 

Questions? Please contact Tracy Seggern, Academic Systems Coordinator and Registrar

Follow the link below to a letter from Athletic Director Jalal Rhamirich about our Fall Sports, Pre-Season Practices (August 28 - September 1, 2023), and athletic forms needed for the 2023-24 seasons. DVFriends sports teams are open to anyone interested in participating in grades 6 - 12. We have a no-cut policy, three seasons, and girls, boys, and co-ed options in soccer, cross country, tennis, basketball, lacrosse, golf, ultimate frisbee, and volleyball. In order to participate in the fall season, all athletic forms are due by July 31.

 

LETTER FROM JALAL RHAMIRICH ABOUT THE 2023-24 SEASON

 

Fall Pre-Season Schedule: 8/28 - 9/1:

Soccer -- 10:00 am - 12:00 pm on the DVFriends Turf Field

Girls’ Tennis -- 11:00 am - 1:00 pm at East Goshen Park – East Goshen Park is located at 1661 Paoli Pike, West Chester, PA 19380. Transportation between DVFriends and East Goshen Park will be provided by the school. With written permission from a parent or guardian, students may meet the team and/or be picked up at the park.

 

Cross Country -- 11:00 am - 1:00 pm meet on the DVFriends Lower Field and the team will walk with coaches to Airdrie Forest Preserve Trail, Fennerton Rd, Paoli, PA 19301

 

Questions? Please contact Jalal Rhamirich, Athletic Director.

After conversations with our contractors, we have determined that we will not have the outdoor spaces and parking available on campus to host the originally planned All Community Barbecue on August 31. Therefore, we are moving the celebration to Tuesday, September 5 from 5:00 - 7:00 pm for just Middle and Upper School families. Lower School will have their own gathering separately. NOTE: Parking will be still tight on campus so please carpool or take the train if possible; bring chairs or blankets for seating.

 

Other Important notes:

• The format of the event will be the same: middle and upper school families will meet your student’s advisor at 5pm and then join the community on the turf field for food and fun.
• New students, 6th and 9th graders will be in school that Tuesday. We will have an option for students to stay on campus immediately following the end of the school day if it's too difficult for your child to go home and then come back. Please reach out to your division director if that is the case.
  • Middle School- Bill Monahan, [email protected]
  • Upper School- Allison Gill, [email protected]
• Spiritwear will be sold (cash, check, Venmo)

 

RSVP HERE

 

Questions? Please contact Kelly Knox, Alumni and Community Relations Coordinator.

DVFriends offers a community directory as a PDF file. Your student/family information will be included in this directory unless you opt-out by choosing the “opt-out” button when you update your contact information for communications in PowerSchool. The information published will include:

 

• Student(s) name(s) by grade
• Parent/Guardian(s) Name(s)
• Parent/Guardian(s) home email address(es)
• Parent/Guardian(s) cell phone number(s)

 

The deadline to update your contact information and to opt-out of publishing your family’s information in the Directory is September 8, 2023. The Directory will be published as a PDF file. It is not posted publicly.

 

Guide to Opting-Out of the School Directory 

 

Questions? Contact Tracy Seggern, Academic Systems Coordinator and Registrar.

DVFriends partners with Brock as our food service provider, offering a number of options for daily student lunches. Families can add funds to their account online or they will be able to send in cash with their student to be added to their account. (Note, Brock will not be able to make change, but they can add any change amount to a student’s online account.) New families will receive individual emails with instructions for establishing their student's account and the student ID and verification codes that they will need to complete this process. Returning families can access their payment account at https://dvfriends.revtrak.net. To encourage families to make use of the online payment option rather than sending cash or checks with students, there will be no processing fees for payment by credit card or ACH. 

 

Questions? Please contact Tracy Seggern, Academic Systems Coordinator and Registrar.

We like to include extended family members in certain school communications and invitations to events. Even if you have filled out this form before, please provide updated information about your students’ grandparents and special friends. 

 

COMPLETE THE FORM

 

Questions? Please contact Kelly Knox, Alumni and Community Relations Coordinator.

Upper school students who drive to school must apply for and receive a parking permit tag that they display facing outward from their rear-view mirror. Parking on campus is a privilege offered to students in good standing with the school. Please complete the form below and return it to Judy Sheridan, Assistant to the Head of School, to receive your hang-tag.

 

DOWNLOAD AND COMPLETE THE FORM

 

Questions? Please contact Judy Sheridan, Assistant to the Head of School.