All Community Read Author Julie Carrick Dalton met with students and spoke to the school community on Monday about The Last Beekeeper, climate change and storytelling. See photos.

Schedule Alerts

• Nov. 21: Thanksgiving Break begins. Students may depart after their last commitment.
• Nov. 22: Dormitories close for the break at 12 p.m.
• Dec. 1: All boarders must return by 9 p.m.
• Dec. 7: Holiday concert in the Center for the Arts theater at 3 p.m.
• Dec. 13: Community Weekend
• Dec. 13-18: Exhibitions of Learning (EOLs)
• Dec. 18: Lessons & Carols festivities begin at 5 p.m., required
• Dec. 18: After Lessons & Carols, Winter Break begins and students may depart for vacation.
• Dec. 19: Dormitories close for the break at 12 p.m.
• Jan. 5: All boarders must return from Winter Break by 9 p.m.

Student Life

Thanksgiving Break Transportation

Brooks will offer shuttles to several locations at the start of each break. Families should plan their travel from these locations. You can find a comprehensive list of offerings, including dates and departures times, here. On that document, you can also access sign-up links in the left-hand column. You can directly access the Thanksgiving Break shuttle sign-up here. We hope to have all students signed up by Nov. 17. 

Please be in touch with Associate Director of Student Affairs Cora MacKenzie with any questions and review the travel calendar to help you make plans.

International students: Need plans for Thanksgiving break? Cogito World Education has an option for our international families.

Challenge Success Survey

Brooks School is planning to survey the student body on Nov. 11 using the Challenge Success Survey through REACH. We hope to gain data that will help inform us about how the student body is feeling and how we can best improve our programming on campus.

The Challenge Success team, a non-profit affiliated with the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, is a great partner for this work as they will help us make sense of our data and provide Brooks with suggestions for programmatic changes based on student responses. For more information please read the Research Information Sheet Regarding Survey Participation (provided in English, Mandarin and Spanish).

Weekend Activities

Students can watch, sing and jump this weekend: There will be several unique trips, as well as fun activities on campus. Saturday night, there will be an outing to go watch the Merrimack College vs. Boston University Men's ice hockey game (free for the first 12 students to sign up). There will also be a trip to a trampoline park (ticket required, waivers required), as well as snack runs to Chipotle/Five Guys. On campus, there will be a volleyball tournament and a lip sync battle in our Black Box theater. On Sunday, there will be a coffee loop, a Loop / Target trip, a Playa Bowls trip and a Patriots football watch party with food and drinks. See the full schedule.

Mark Lawrence Photos

There is still time to order your student’s photo from Mark Lawrence Photography.  Reach out directly to Krista Gallant at Mark Lawrence Photography and she can assist you.

Arts

Today the class of 2029 visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for the annual MFA Day. The class is visiting the Winslow Homer and Rachel Ruysch exhibits and how those exhibits connect to the James Prosek exhibit in the Lehman Art Center. In addition, the works selected connect to our departmental themes of identity and storytelling. English, History and Arts!

Athletics

NHL Pro Visit

We are excited to welcome Barry Smith, former NHL player and longtime coach, to campus on Nov. 12 to meet with students, ice hockey players and coaches. Students can meet with Coach Smith during lunch in the Keating Room. 

Winter Season Kickoff!

Winter Season athletics begin soon. First-team tryouts will begin on Nov. 13 and all winter season activities will meet starting on Nov. 17.

Playoffs and a Thank You

Thank you to parents and fans for your continued support, snacks, team dinners, and encouragement for athletes and coaches this fall season.

We hope some of our teams will be in postseason NEPSAC play. We will have this information on Nov. 9. Stay tuned for more information. 

Brooks is hosting the NEPSAC Boys Soccer Championships on Nov. 16. Game times will be available soon.

Family Programs

Check out our Family Weekend album:Hundreds of photos from Family Weekend have been added to our school’s online album. Enjoy!

Thank You, Families!

Thank you to all the families who treated the Brooks community with Halloween treats and raffle prizes last week during our annual Ghostly Goodies event! Our next parent-sponsored lunch event is Starbrooks — our version of Starbucks, featuring an expansive hot chocolate bar, decadent donuts, chocolate-covered pretzels and more. Keep your eyes out for more information about Starbrooks in future newsletters.

New York Reception is One Week Away

The greater Brooks community is invited to join us on Nov. 13 for our annual New York Reception. You can find all the event details and register on our New York Reception page. Thank you to Catharine and Alan Osborne P'26 for hosting.