July 13, 2020

Welcome back Highlanders!

I am excited to have officially arrived at The Gunnery and begin my new role as Dean of Students. On behalf of all of us in the DOS Office, we are looking forward to welcoming you back to campus this fall! I am writing today to share details with you about some important work that we have been doing in preparation for the start of the school year. We’d ask that you communicate with your parents and ask them to complete the following forms, all of which can be found in the Back-to-School Guide on our website.

Summer DOS Forms

Please take a moment to ask your parents to complete the required summer DOS forms. These forms (profile updates, media permission, travel acknowledgement, etc.) are required to be completed prior to August 21. If you have questions about these specific forms, please reach out to Lauren Lord, Assistant Dean of Students at dos@gunnery.org. Also remember to complete your MagnusHealth forms for the Health Center and academic forms and placement tests for the Academic Office. All forms are available in HighlanderNation.

Advising

If you would like to switch advisors and did not communicate with our office prior to the end of the academic year, please email Mrs. Lord as soon as possible. Please also be sure to check in with your current advisor and the advisor that you would like to switch to.

Residential Life

All boarding students will receive their room assignments on the day they register in September. Please make sure to complete the Student Life Survey to note important information we should take into consideration. We cannot guarantee that specific requests will be met (roommate preferences, single/double requests) but noting this type of information in the survey will help us when making rooming assignments. Day students should also complete this survey, as they will continue to have dedicated space on campus for storing their belongings, changing before co-curriculars, and studying between classes.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns or would like to share additional information with us about your housing assignment.

School Store Debit Account

Every student at The Gunnery has a debit account in the School Store, including day students. Parents are asked to deposit funds into the account at the start of each school year by sending a check payable to:

The Gunnery

99 Green Hill Rd.

Washington, CT, 06793

Attention: School Store

As another option, you may choose to send a wire transfer from your bank to fund your student’s account. Instructions for wire transfers can be found on the first page of your contract, which you can find on Highlander Nation (under Files & Forms). Please note that School Store Debit Accounts cannot be funded with a credit card. The School Store will allow students to withdraw up to $50 per week in cash from their account. You have the option of setting a higher limit on weekly cash withdrawals for your student, and this amount can be adjusted during the school year as needed. If you would like to stop cash withdrawals, please email doodyd@gunnery.org.

Online Bookstore

The Gunnery has partnered with an online bookstore this year to streamline the purchase of all textbooks and required reading. The bookstore will be accessible to students and families beginning August 1. Be sure to check the Back-to-School Guide on our website to order books for your student’s classes for the 2020-21 school year. Students will not receive textbooks through the School Store this year.

Health and Safety

The health and safety of our students is our top priority. Please continue to check your email for communications from Peter Becker, Head of School, who will be sharing additional details with you and your parents about our plans for the fall term as we continue to adapt in response to COVID-19.

As always, if you have any questions or need anything at all, please let us know. See you in September!

Best,

Ms. LeBlanc