Dear families, welcome to NMH! I am excited you are joining the NMH parent community, and I look forward to working with you in the coming year. This exceptional community makes the NMH experience transformational for students. While much of this takes place on campus, parents play a crucial role by supporting and encouraging their students. Inside this packet, you’ll find helpful material that will allow you to take full advantage of the experiences you share with other NMH parents. NMH Connect: Your online resource where you’ll find everything you need in one place. A training at the August 30 registration will show you how to optimize this new tool. Important NMH Contacts Family Days: Save the dates to visit your student and explore our campus. 2019–20 Calendar: Your guide to the academic year. NMH Traditions: We hope you can join us for some of these cherished events. NMH Parents Fund As the director of parent resources, I am here to provide you with the tools and resources you need and to help you foster your own NMH experience. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at jfarmer@nmhschool.org or 413-498-3685. Best regards,
Julia Farmer Stay connected.
SEDMQ
Coming this school year. . .
NMH Connect
The online resource where you’ll find everything you need as an NMH parent. More details coming in late August.
DIRECTORIES
CALENDARS
GRADES
NEWS ATHLETIC RESULTS STUDENT SCHEDULES ADVISOR COMMENTS
Important NMH Contacts 1. The first line of communication with questions regarding
your student should be your student’s advisor (new families receive advisor information at registration). Contact them via phone or email (first initial + last name@nmhschool.org).
2. If you have further questions and you are not sure who should
answer them, contact Julia Farmer, director of parent resources, and she will connect you with the correct resource.
Director of Parent Resources, Julia Farmer
413-498-3685
Health Center
413-498-3490
Dean of Students Office (8 am–5 pm) 413-498-3423 Duty Dean (after 5 pm and weekends) 413-498-DEAN -3326 Advancement Office
413-498-3600
Campus Safety
413-498-3544
Save the Dates Family Days Oct. 25–26, 2019* Feb. 14–15, 2020
*Parents of juniors attend a college-counseling session the evening of Oct. 24.
Come to campus and experience how the love of learning takes root. Visit classes. Meet one-on-one with teachers and advisors. Enjoy first-rate performances and athletic events. Invitation is by email only. Please watch your inbox for registration information. Questions? Contact Julia Farmer, director of parent resources, at 413-498-3685 or jfarmer@nmhschool.org.
NMH 2019–20
Calendar Fall Semester 2019 Aug. 28 Wed.
New international students arrive (1–2:30 pm); orientation begins
Aug. 30 Fri.
Registration for all new students and returning 10th-grade students
8:30–10:30 am: All new 9th- and 10th-grade boarding students arrive. 10–11 am:
All new 9th- and 10th-grade day students arrive.
All new 11th, 12th-grade, and PG students, and all new international students arrive.
Returning 10th-grade boarding students move into dorms; 10th-grade day students arrive in time for lunch. Further details will be sent in advance.
Aug. 31
Sat.
Orientation for all new students and returning 10th graders
Sept. 1
Sun.
Registration for returning juniors and seniors (8:30–10:30 am)
Sept. 2
Mon.
Orientation for all students
Sept. 3
Tues.
Opening Convocation; classes begin
Oct. 25–26 Fri.–Sat.
Fall Family Days (college-counseling session for families of juniors on the evening of Oct. 24)
Oct. 26–29 Sat.–Tues. Fall long weekend begins following Family Days activities Oct. 29
Tues.
Students return 2–7:30 pm
Nov. 22
Fri.
Thanksgiving break begins 3:15 pm
Nov. 23
Sat.
Charter buses depart at 9 am; dorms close at noon
Dec. 1
Sun.
Students return 2–7:30 pm
Dec. 8
Sun.
On-campus Vespers (3:30 and 7 pm; NYC Vespers Dec. 19)
Dec. 16
Mon.
Fall semester reading day
Dec. 17–19 Tues.–Thu. Exam days Dec. 19 Thu.
Fall semester ends at noon; Charter buses depart at 2 pm; dorms close at 5 pm
Spring Semester 2020 Jan. 6
Mon.
Feb. 14–15 Fri.–Sat.
Students return 2–7:30 pm Family Days
Feb. 15–18 Sat.–Tues. Winter long weekend begins following Family Days activities Feb. 18
Tues.
Students return 2–7:30 pm
Mar. 6
Fri.
Mid–semester; spring break begins at 3:15 pm
Mar. 7
Sat.
Charter buses depart at 9 am; dorms close at noon
Mar. 23
Mon.
Students return 2–7:30 pm
Mar. 24
Tues.
Classes resume
April 11–13 Sat.–Mon. Spring long weekend begins following school commitments April 13
Mon.
Students return 2–7:30 pm
May 17
Sun.
Baccalaureate
May 18
Mon.
Prize assembly for grades nine–11 (6:30 pm)
May 19
Tue.
Spring semester reading day
May 20–22 Wed.–Fri. Exam days May 22 Fri.
Spring semester ends at 1 pm. Charter bus to JFK airport departs 2 pm
May 23 Sat.
Class Day; departing students leave by noon; Commencement Eve Dinner, 6:30–8 pm
May 24
Commencement (11 am); students leave by 5 pm
Sun.
NMH Traditions
Good lives grow from strong roots. Matriculation Ceremony: Friday, Aug. 30, 2019 At a special ceremony held during their first days on campus, all new students sign “the book,” pledging to uphold Northfield Mount Hermon’s community standards. Students have inscribed their signatures in this tome since 1897. First Monday Morning Meeting: Monday, Sept. 9, 2019 Every Monday morning during the school year, the entire student body and faculty come together in Memorial Chapel for reflection, announcements, and sometimes short performances. Meetings often close with more than 700 voices filling the chapel with song. Bemis-Forslund Pie Race: Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019 America’s longest running footrace is named for Henry Bemis (Class of 1891) and for Gladys Hall Forslund ’26, wife of longtime Mount Hermon Athletics Director Axel Forslund. Gladys started the practice, which continues today, of awarding apple pies to any runner who completes the course in a specified time. Rope Pull: Fall 2019 The junior and senior classes line up on opposite ends of Shadow Lake and pull the rope with all their might. A tradition since 1884, Rope Pull has been held at Shadow Lake since 1926. (Spoiler alert: The seniors usually win.) Fall Family Days: Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25–26, 2019 Winter Family Days: Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14–15, 2020 Experience a day in the life of your NMH student, with classes, teacher conferences, and delicious dining hall meals. Take in student performances or cheer on student-athletes on the athletics fields. During Fall Family Days, parents of juniors attend a college counseling session on the evening of October 24: mark your calendars. Mountain Day: Fall 2019 Dating back to 1881, this is a surprise fall holiday, announced to the school community a day in advance. Classes are canceled, and students and faculty go hiking at the peak of foliage season. Seniors make the trek up New Hampshire’s 3,165-foot Mount Monadnock. Campus dining comes, too, packing a hearty picnic lunch!
On-campus Vespers: Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019 New York City Vespers: Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019 A celebration of the winter season and a showcase of NMH students’ musical skills, Vespers has combined choral and orchestral music, carols, and readings since the 1930s. Services are held on campus and in either New York City or Boston. Founder’s Day: Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020 In early February, NMH honors its founder, D.L. Moody, who was born on Feb. 5, 1837. Each year on Founder’s Day, he is remembered with a special school meeting and birthday dinner. Sacred Concert: Sunday, May 3, 2020 The first Concert of Sacred Music took place in May 1895, when the students of Northfield and Mount Hermon presented a concert of gospel hymns for school founder D.L. Moody. Sacred Concert is held each spring in the historic Northfield Auditorium. Moving-Up Assembly: Wednesday, May 20, 2020 During this informal celebration, students literally move up in the pews of Memorial Chapel, as the seniors move out of their place in the front rows. Beforehand, a giant onetined fork is passed from seniors to juniors. Why? It is reported that an early Commencement speaker stated that anyone could eat soup with a spoon, but it took a real [person] to eat soup with a one-tined fork. D.L. Moody was so taken with the concept that he declared, “Whatever else you forget, remember that forever.” And so, NMH students do. Chat: Friday, May 22, 2020 With the end of the school year comes the senior prom, known as Chat because it originally was held in the Chateau, a magnificent reproduction in Northfield of a French chateau.
Your NMH Parents Fund gift helps
transform lives. What is the NMH Parents Fund?
Every gift makes a difference.
In the course of NMH’s long history, parents have come to play an important role in supporting academic and cocurricular programs at the school. Innovative courses, faculty development, and even farm-fresh food are all paid for, in part, by the NMH Parents Fund, a part of the NMH Fund.
Whether you give $20 or $20,000, your annual gift will go to work immediately, helping to enhance your student’s experience at NMH, and long into the future. NMH is grateful for every gift.
Perhaps more significantly, your NMH Parents Fund gift allows our faculty to concentrate on the school’s mission: “engaging the intellect, compassion, and talents of our students, empowering them to act with humanity and purpose.”
If you’d like to be involved with parent fundraising events or to set up a confidential visit with an advancement officer, please contact NMH Fund Director Jocelyn Merrick at jmerrick@ nmhschool.org or 413-498-3200. nmhschool.org/parentsfund
“As an alumna and current parent, I feel uniquely privileged to be able to experience NMH all over again. Providing new experiences and building character, the school continues to afford an education in which the utmost value is placed on improving the lives of others—within the local community and in the world at large. We parents entrust the mental strength and intellectual curiosity of our children to NMH, and our children are impacted by teachers dedicated not only to academia but also to fostering purpose. “ — Anne Geddes ’89, P’20