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January 18, 2024
Dear Parents and Guardians,
In my community letter before Winter Break, I referenced our thoughts about weekends at Brooks. As you may recall, I indicated the challenge we are facing is that we have experienced a substantial increase in the number of boarding students taking Saturday overnights off-campus since emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, I am reaching out to introduce our new approach to Saturday night leaves for boarding students that will take effect upon our return from Winter Term next week. We are planning to try this approach for the second semester, assess how it goes, and then determine how we will approach weekends in 2024-2025 and beyond.
Starting the weekend of January 27 and until the end of the academic year, boarding students will be permitted to leave campus for a Saturday overnight on seven occasions. From our view, this will have a positive impact on the level of student engagement within the community, and will contribute to building the kinds of relationships that are foundational to the Brooks experience. Our belief is rooted in extensive experience, as providing limits on the number of Saturday overnights was our practice prior to the pandemic.
With this change, the previously planned Community Weekends are no longer required for boarding students. Students and families may choose the weekends they prefer to leave campus for a Saturday night. Please note that expectations for Graduation Weekend (Sunday, May 26 and Monday, May 27) will be communicated in more detail at a later date.
We remain committed to planning engaging, captivating weekend activities to enrich all students’ Brooks experience. We also intend to work with students to encourage their participation in planning activities.
During my time at Brooks, I have seen that a flourishing, vibrant campus life on weekends leads to better outcomes for students – they build deeper relationships with fellow students, they engage with faculty outside of the classroom, and they learn new things about themselves.
I am excited for this opportunity for students to more meaningfully immerse themselves at Brooks. Should you have questions specifically around REACH requests, please be in touch with Student Affairs. As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.
Best,
John R. Packard
Head of School
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