Greetings from the Valley,
I trust that summer continues to move along at a familiar pace and that you are all enjoying the time with family and friends.
I have been in touch with many of you at some point over the summer and look forward to growing a strong partnership with everyone as the year progresses. I wanted to write with a couple of important points regarding secondary school placement and planning.
I have enjoyed some much needed time off this summer, and indeed, I am excited about the start of a new school year. Secondary schools are optimistic that they will continue with the traditional admissions process including in person interviews and visits, but they are comfortable pivoting if they need to. I trust that you will check with schools through the summer and early fall to stay up to speed on any updates if they have any.
I am hopeful to see as many of you as I can during the fall term either in person or if need be via Zoom. Enjoy the last month of August as days grow shorter, and we near the return to the Valley. We look very much forward to your children returning to campus this September!
Regards,
Clayton Ketchum P ‘14,‘17
Director of Secondary School Placement
SECONDARY SCHOOL INTERVIEWS
Secondary school admissions offices are anticipating that they will be able to host candidates on campus. Rumsey has reserved the entire week of October 17, 2022 for Seniors to visit and interview in person at secondary schools. If you find you are unable to travel due to restrictions, we can provide a quiet place for your child to interview virtually here on campus. Either way, however, it is best that you schedule interviews and visits during the week of October 17, 2022 so students do not miss valuable class time. Please be sure to communicate any virtual interview needs to Clayton or Julie.
TOEFL SCORES
If your child has taken the TOEFL during these last several months, please be sure to forward a copy of the scores to Clayton or Julie.
SSAT SCORES & DESIGNATING RUMSEY AS SCORE ADVISOR
If your child has taken the SSAT over the last several months, it is essential that you designate Rumsey Hall as your Score Advisor. While we will not send any of your child’s scores on to schools, this does give our Placement Office access to your child’s test results so we can continue to work on your child’s behalf. You can add a Score Advisor during or after registration for a test. Instructions are available under Resources/Links at the end of this Newsletter or contact Julie at jfred@chalakseir.com and she will send you the instructions.
SSAT PREPARATION
It seems that many schools will continue to remain test optional this upcoming admissions cycle, but we will still proceed with an on campus test on December 10th. While our area does not have the resources to provide support for test preparation and practice, parents and students can utilize online preparation platforms detailed below.
As I have said in the past, test preparation is only as effective as the prepper, but families have had great success with their children using the services and practice offered by Test Innovators, Summit Educational Group and the SSAT online practice tests in the ssat.org portal.
Test Innovators:
http://testinnovators.com/
Summit Educational Group
http://mytutor.com/
SSAT Prep Options:
http://www.ssat.org/prepare/practice
SSAT TESTING OPTIONS FOR THE FALL
As Rumsey’s Academic Calendar indicates. 2022-23 Academic Calendar the Class of 2023 will take the paper-based SSAT here at Rumsey on Saturday, December 10, 2022. The Placement Office will register your child for this test, so please do not do this on your own.
Unfortunately, the two (2) remaining fall National Test Dates for paper-based testing take place on Parents’ Day (October 15), and November 5 which is a busy athletics day with two tournaments (Varsity Boys Soccer and Varsity Volleyball) and an away game (Varsity Girls Soccer) scheduled. If you would like your child to take an additional SSAT test (aside from December 10), please try to avoid these two (2) dates and consider an At Home Online Test which is offered by SSAT on weekends Friday - Sunday every 3-4 weeks. Registration opens on August 1st. Note that an At Home Online Test cannot be administered here on Campus. SSAT At Home . International students, in most cases, remain limited to paper-based tests.
To Do List – based on the last few Newsletters:
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Schedule interviews at secondary schools the week of October 17, 2022. Keep in mind your child’s academic, athletic, and programming commitments during the fall term when choosing other dates and times.
- If English is not your child’s first language, register your child for a TOEFL or forward any recent scores to Julie.
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Designate Rumsey Hall as your child’s SSAT Score Advisor. Email Julie Fredlund if you need assistance with this.
LINKS
2022-23 Full Year Academic Calendar - subject to change
Class of 2023 Timetable
Class of 2022 Acceptances & Matriculation
SSAT - Designating Rumsey as Score Advisor
