A Word From Debbie Rutherford
Do you remember your high school days and the beginning of school each fall?  For me, the end of summer meant spending Labor Day at Lake Tippecanoe in my home state of Indiana, playing cards with friends and family, boating on the pontoon, and anticipating the school year about to start.  For the past 30 years, I have spent Labor Day at Mercersburg greeting new students and families, participating in Inbound, putting the last touches on lesson plans or talks to the school.  I miss those final days of summer vacation on that Indiana lake, but I look forward to a new school year and being in this school community again.  It is new and refreshing each year but still familiar and challenging.

Even with the anticipation and all of the hopes and dreams for a great school year, transitions usually come with some amount of difficulty – both for students and parents.  As a parent, one minute I find myself ready to send my own children back to school  and then in the next minute wishing that the summer had not gone so quickly and that I could hold on to them a bit longer.  I find that most of the students are more than happy to get the school year started.  I hope that is what your children are feeling now.  Rest assured, we are here – advisers, teachers, coaches, staff, administrators, dormitory prefects – to help them through this transition whether they are jumping for joy to be dropped off or feeling a bit sad or afraid.

As you drop them off, I hope to see many of you and that you will be back to take part in school activities as often as possible this year.  Travel safely, and we will see you soon.

Convocation

Convocation is fun. Yes, it can be a very long day, especially for those of us who work at the Academy.  But it’s still fun.  The main events include taking student and faculty portraits for the directory (a.k.a. "the facebook")  and the convocation ceremony. After the convocation ceremony, the traditional all-school and class pictures are taken on the steps of Main Hall. Herding the entire student body (and the faculty) into position for these group shots takes a team of people, the photographer on a tall ladder (often braving the perils of the sun), and the essential bullhorn.

A highlight of the day is the actual convocation ceremony, which officially starts the new school year.  A procession that starts with a bagpiper, includes the Chorale, class flags and entire faculty in academic regalia, is an impressive site.  The faculty march in order of years of service, with the faculty who’ve been here the longest at the back.  So if you’re new, you start the processional. The ceremony also includes welcomes from Head of School Douglas Hale, Larry Jones, school minister, and the president of the student council; the giving of two academic awards, singing of Chorale music, and an address from a faculty member. The entire day can be a bit overwhelming and scary for the new juniors (as we call ninth graders), but it can also be bittersweet for the seniors who realize that this is their last convocation at Mercersburg.

Karl Reisner, a popular history teacher and coach who has participated in 36 Mercersburg convocations, will give this year's address. But the grandeur of the Chapel, the ceremony, and the excitement of a new year usually outweigh the sometimes sweltering heat (remember the faculty members who are in full academic regalia). The experience is wonderful whether you’re a parent, student, teacher, or part of the staff.  We invite all parents to share in our tradition.

The 115th Convocation ceremony is at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 4, 2007.

Welcome to FirstClass

We wanted a better way to reach you, and we've found it in FirstClass. FirstClass, the school's email and conference system, is the place to access forms and information throughout the school year.   We hope that families will find this to be a convenient, efficient, timely way to receive and access information.  The effort is also saving large quantities of paper (the trees will thank us) and postage costs.

FirstClass will replace our use of parents’ personal email accounts because spam and junk mail filters make the reliability of bulk mailings dubious—especially when attachments are part of the package. Through your FirstClass account,  you can read e-mail, view information and forms folders, and return completed online forms to the school. ou'll also, effective October, receive notice of this web-based newsletter via FirstClass. If you have trouble logging in or other questions about the system, please contact the Help Desk at 717-328-6232 or email  help@mercersburg.edu. You can always access FirstClass through the parents’ gateway of our website, where many other items of interest to parents can be found.

The majority of routine mailings will be delivered electronically to your FirstClass inbox unless you request paper copies. We welcome your feedback.

International Ed: Get Ready!

An emphasis on global perspective and citizenship emerged from the school's Accreditation for Growth process last year, and Mercersburg is offering 11 international travel programs during the 2007-08 school year as a small part of our commitment to meaningful international experience for all students.

In December, six students and three faculty members will travel to Oman and Israel  to lead the NAIS Challenge 20/20 A symposium on peacekeeping, conflict prevention, and combating terrorism with students from the American British Academy, Mercersburg's partner school in Muscat, Oman.  For spring break,  trips are planned to Costa Rica, Ecuador, England, France, Honduras, and South Africa/Swaziland; summer trips are planned for Chile, France, Germany, and Spain.

For more information, contact Will Willis, director of international programs.   Also note that financial aid is available to students who qualify; the running of the trips is contingent upon meeting minimum enrollment.

Patti Nitterhouse P'06, '08 Welcomes PILOTS


Summer greetings from Mercersburg.  Many thanks to last year’s PILOTS for your hard work. We hosted summer send-off events, participated in move-in day activities, helped plan and implement family weekends, and supported our students and their extracurricular activities. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to working with you during the 2007–2008 school year.

As we look forward to the upcoming school year, I would like to share with you an opportunity that links parents to the Mercersburg community.  Parents Linking Together in Support of Mercersburg (PILOTS) is an organization of parents that allows you to meet other Mercersburg parents, to learn more about the school, and to volunteer if you choose, all the while supporting your son or daughter.   Each year, the school provides gratifying opportunities for parent volunteers to make a difference by hosting events or raising money or other activities. We will begin this year’s planning process soon. If you would like to be a parent volunteer and can commit to actively participating in PILOTS and with Mercersburg throughout the year, we need your help with:

• Development Committee (fundraising)
• Events Committee (event planning)

If you are interested or if you have questions, please contact De-Enda Rotz, director of alumni & parent programs, at 717-328-6178.

---

How can this newsletter better serve Mercersburg parents? Please submit your suggestions and comments to Pat Myers P'99