<p>The SAS flickr page now has two “sets” for Echo Hill and the Square Dance; it is linked off of the school web site or can be searched. </p>
<p>The photos show kids who are learning how to be unified as St. Andreans: joy in sharing with one another, acquiring a sense of belonging to something greater, daring to attempt the new and uncomfortable. It’s hard to imagine anything better than the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday drill that is so streamlined at this point.</p>
<p>I am new to CC and just figuring my way around. We are looking at SAS for my son who is currently a senior. He is interested in PG year or repeat senior.</p>
<p>Is there a way I can reach you for some questions specific to my son? I could could not send you a message through CC because you need a minimum of 15 post before they allow that.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>SAS admits students applying for 9th, 10th and 11th grades. They do not have PGs and never (or rarely) admit new seniors.</p>
<p>My gut and recollection confirms Quenn’s post. </p>
<p>SAS is 100% residential, and the senior class takes a key leadership role in shaping the tenor of the student body. I think the school wants the seniors to be well versed in SAS expectations/culture…and hence does not take 1-year seniors.</p>
<p>I thought that they stated something to this effect in their materials but a quick scan this AM turned up nothing. I will check in with admissions and report back with a definitive answer.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Sevendad’s post roused my detective spirit and I did find a statement on the SAS site online, in the International Student FAQs, not the obvious place, imho.</p>
<p>Q Does St. Andrew’s offer Spring term admission, 12th grade transfer admission, or postgraduate study programs?</p>
<p>A No. We accept applications for 9th - 11th grade, Fall enrollment only.</p>
<p>Thank you for your prompt detective work. That is interesting because a consultant put it on my son’s look list. It really seems so right for us (of course sight unseen).</p>
<p>Heard back from SAS admissions and can confirm that there is no PG program at SAS — and only in VERY exceptional circumstances have they ever taken a one-year senior.</p>
<p>FWIW, in our visits/tours, the schools that struck us as most like SAS were Thacher and Groton. I don’t think either of those schools has a PG program, but may be more open to one-year seniors. If they did, I can imagine that it would still be a very limited number of slots.</p>
<p>Thacher does not admit seniors.</p>
<p>My S is currently a senior w/ okay grades, and good SAT (2100) w/ out any prep or tutor. Unfortunately most of his high school years were impacted by by other son’s severe medical illness and the chaos that it caused in our homelike. I had to travel for months at time for his treatment to another state; on its’ best day it was horrible.</p>
<p>I feel that my older son would benefit from another year of HS for a variety of reasons. A chance to improve his GPA, reclaim a year of HS for emotional reasons, nurturing etc before he heads off to college. </p>
<p>As a parent, I am looking for academic competiveness as well as a “finishing”, of sorts.</p>
<p>@dckdck: I would check out Peddie in NJ…either as repeat Senior or PG.</p>
<p>Some recent correspondence with prospective parents interested in SAS had me checking out old chapel talks.</p>
<p>This one, by SAS alum and current Communications Director, Will Robinson, is wonderful (but perhaps I’m biased because I too met my wife in high school):
<a href=“http://library.standrews-de.org/lists/ChapelTalks/CTFaculty/robinson_2011_09-21.pdf[/url]”>http://library.standrews-de.org/lists/ChapelTalks/CTFaculty/robinson_2011_09-21.pdf</a></p>
<p>One of the nicest things about being an SAS parent are these regular (weekly, I think?) email updates the school sends out. Called “Noxontown News”, the emails give a nice snapshot of what’s going on in Middletown on any given week and generally have a longer intro piece followed up by a series of blurbs about a wide variety of campus happenings.</p>
<p>The most recent Noxontown News had a really nice write up about the girls field hockey team and the effort they were putting into practicing before and after classes, the conclusion of which follows:</p>
<p>“Before I left, a girl asked why I’d be interested in an 0-4 team. I love winning, but there are few things more compelling to me than the pride, dedication, and will to succeed these girls collectively embody.”</p>
<p>I think the last sentence is very “St. Andrew’s”.</p>
<p>^^^ Yes, as the author is an employee and grad, he’s more than all in!</p>
<p>The weekly “Parent Emails” are archived on the Parents page of the web site, and can be found here:</p>
<p>[St</a>. Andrew’s School: Welcome Parents!](<a href=“Parents - St. Andrew's School”>Parents - St. Andrew's School)</p>
<p>Of course, most BS now have personnel and offices catering to “communications” or other liason efforts with parents. In the past, one might have said that SAS kept a pretty low profile compared to what other peer institutions felt was necessary. There is a bit more outreach this year that extends beyond these weekly emails. Perhaps this is a natural outgrowth of getting these younger savvy alums to return to Middletown.</p>
<p>“Dead Poets Society” was playing on my flight. It’s been ages since I’ve seen that film. What a GORGEOUS campus! </p>
<p>Yawp!!! :)</p>
<p>2013 Parent’s Weekend anyone?</p>
<p>We won’t be able to make the Friday night events this year but do plan to stay over Sat. for the first time ever so that we can go to chapel on Sunday and see the dance/choral performances scheduled for that morning.</p>
<p>FWIW, I consider Saturday’s 10:50 AM performance by the Pipe & Drum Corps as well as the 11:00 Tad Roach/Parents Meeting to be absolutely essential “must attend” events for new parents.</p>
<p>Also, if any new SAS parents from the forum want to connect “in real life”, just shoot me an PM.</p>
<p>Are we all reading teachers’ comments tonight, emailed to inboxes?!? The teachers do a terrific job with these; it’s worth remembering that they have to churn out a pretty high number in a short period of time. SAS discourages a fixation on the numbers, and parents may sometimes get frustrated by a lack of transparency, or the actual number outcomes. But most comments, we have found, are genuinely trying to assess strengths and weaknesses, while indicating steps for future progress. The caring for the child is evident, and that is also reassuring. </p>
<p>I suppose it’s too much to expect that we could figure out a time and place for a social gathering off campus. Though I’d suggest Cantwell’s for a nightcap after “Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Saturday!</p>
<p>Had a great time at Parents Weekend 2013. </p>
<p>For the first time, we stayed over Saturday night instead of Friday night…so while we missed the orchestra concert, we did get to see and do things we had not been able to do in the past.</p>
<p>On Sunday morning, after attending chapel and a few performing arts events, we walked back to Founders Hall for lunch. The buffet line, swollen with visiting families, was long. Literally out the door. To kill some time, I steered my clan to the side of the building facing Noxontown Pond. The detour was 10 minutes well spent, as the views from “The Front Lawn”…both across the water and facing Founders are truly inspiring. And there was still plenty of food to choose from by the time we got in line.</p>
<p>A few more reflections on the weekend:
<ul>
<li>During that session, I was once again struck with how different the emphasis seems to be at SAS vs. other schools with which we are familiar. Tad Roach occasionally refers to the school as being “counter-cultural”…which I think is accurate, but tough to understand for people not connected to the school.<br></li>
</ul>
<p>In an attempt to better define the vibe I’ve gotten as an SAS parent over the years, I would say that the school values kindness over status. Resilience over achievement. So, instead of talking about how many students got into Ivy League schools last year (and quite a few did), they talk about the importance of kindness — even citing George Saunder’s recent commencement address at Syracuse. This sort of thing is just one of the reasons why I love the school. </p>
<p>The achievement stuff?…I’m of the opinion that it’s going to happen anyway. After all, achievement-culture is all around us. Society’s concern (obsession?) with doing more, scoring higher, wearing the right clothes, getting into a certain type of college, earning more, having a bigger house, a better car, etc. is omnipresent.</p>
<p>I guess that’s what being “counter-cultural” means at SAS…that the school’s leaders try to foster an environment where that stuff is secondary, maybe even tertiary.</p>
<ul>
<li>A final thought: How nuts was the student who, after performing a solo during the dance presentation, knocked out an excellent rendition of a Bach Cello Suite to accompany a group number? I was simply astonished.</li>
</ul>
<p>…“This sort of thing is just one of the reasons why I love the school.” And so it should be. I love the fact that SAS thinks about the way it actively promotes those values. God knows we need a whole lot more kindness attached to competency in our society today.</p>
<p>What a fantastic parents weekend (our first). No parent can be anything but amazed and moved by the school. My favorite moments were the Orchestra performance on Friday evening… The final scene of Midsummer Night’s Dream on Friday evening… the finish line of the cross country race, which was full of parents and students cheering on the competitors. I absolutely loved how everyone also cheered the competitors from the other schools, and how everyone stepped up their cheering for those who struggled at the back of pack at the finish line. Winning is great but perseverance and endurance are the higher values. I also loved the Jazz Band performance on Saturday evening. This school has so much to be proud of… and the staff are all impressive. I am so glad that we choose Saint Andrew’s, and that St. Andrew’s choose us.</p>