Greetings EF Families,

This letter officially kicks off our countdown to the end of the academic year. As I write these lines, our IB students are starting their final exams. Meanwhile, university acceptances continue to roll in, and our seniors are busy making their final choices by May 1st.

As is tradition, we will soon celebrate the acceptances and higher education decisions of the Class of 2025. Our students are heading to a wide range of universities, and we are proud that 98% of them are accepted to either their first or second choice institutions. Most importantly, they are choosing universities that are the best fit for them. I am confident this year will be no exception.

Speaking of higher education, to support our students in making these important decisions, we host a College and University Fair twice each year — once in the fall and once in the spring. At our most recent fair, we welcomed representatives from over 50 higher education institutions who came to share opportunities with our students.

April has brought true spring to campus along with many exciting events. Mr. Fleming led students and staff in a variety of Earth Day activities. The weather was beautiful, and it was wonderful to see everyone outdoors, actively contributing to the health of our planet.

The very next day, we held our Prom — this year, on a boat! We sailed down the East River towards the Statue of Liberty, with Manhattan’s skyline as our backdrop. It was a magical evening filled with food, dancing, and of course, many "Titanic-like" photos! I am always proud of our students, but it’s especially gratifying when others notice their excellence. The crew of the boat even commented that in all their years of hosting events, they had never seen a more respectful and delightful group of high school students. 

In my last letter, I mentioned the upcoming musical — and it was a smashing success! Huge thanks to Mrs. and Dr. Bill for their guidance, and congratulations to all the student performers and crew members who made it happen. I am already looking forward to next year’s production!

As if that wasn’t enough for one month, we also hosted our signature spring event: TEDx. Our speakers were phenomenal, delivering messages with such poise and passion that it was easy to forget that none of them were native English speakers. Their command of English was so strong that it was simply invisible. I am beyond proud of them! Congratulations to all the speakers and everyone who supported them.

Finally, I would like to pivot to a topic that is gaining momentum in education circles: the role of phones in schools. Currently, phones are not allowed during class time at our school. However, we are considering extending this policy to include breaks and lunchtime, meaning that phones would be off-limits from the start of the school day to the end. Many schools have already made this move and are seeing incredible results.

Here’s one article on the topic:
New York Schools That Banned Mobile Phones See Student Grades Rise (Bloomberg)

Additionally, two excellent books explore this topic in depth:

• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt — Learn more here

• Stolen Focus by Johann Hari — Learn more here

More to come on this important conversation. I simply wanted to put it on your radar as it becomes increasingly relevant.

Wishing you all the best,

And looking forward to speaking with you again soon,

Upcoming activities:

This month has been filled with fun activities and trips! Next month, plan to see:

• Graduation 🎓 

• Cooking classes and competitions

• New York City excursions 

• Shopping mall trips

• Video game tournaments

• Tennis matches

• Volleyball games

• ..and so much more! 

Upcoming Dates

End of Year Departures 

• Grade 12 students must depart after Graduation on May 24 after 2:00pm EST and should plan to leave campus by no later than 11:00pm EST on May 24.  

• Grade 9, Grade 10 and Grade 11 students may start departing from campus at 12:00pm EST on May 23rd. There will be no departures leaving from 12:00am – 2:00pm on May 24 (flights cannot depart until 7:00pm) to accommodate for our graduation ceremony. Departures will then continue with the latest departure time of 3:00pm on May 25.

For your convenience, you can find this year's academic calendar here.