Welcome back to School!

September 2023

Dr. Vladimir D. Kuskovski

Head of School, EF Academy New York

Happy Friday and happy New Year from New York,

Indeed, it is a new Academic Year!

Sharing a heartfelt welcome to all our new students and families and a welcome back to all our returning folks. It is so great to see all our students back on campus.

As I am writing these lines, we are just finishing our breakfast and gearing up for a day of scavenger hunt in New York City, where we explore the city on foot in advisory groups. The weather looks very nice and what better way to get to know each other than to go on a quest together!

Almost all students are on campus, and we just finished orientation day for our families. Many thanks to everyone who was able to make it to campus, it was really a pleasure to get to know you a bit and chat with many of you informally.

In this letter, we will share all of the presentations and information that was presented to those who came on campus, so everyone else has access to it and hopefully makes use of it as this year rolls along. 

Speaking of communication, you will be receiving a lot more communication from many different folks here at the school: your child’s teachers, dorm parents, coaches, and more. It is our desire to keep you as informed as we can on what is going on here at campus and make you feel a part of our community. After all, as I often say, raising and educating a child is a three-way partnership between the family, the school and, of course, the student. 

I, too, am a parent of a teenager (he graduated this past May after four years at EF Academy). We have this experience in common, and along the lines of parenting, I would like to share: A Letter from a Teenager. It was written by a psychologist but it truly reflects the age and mindset we are working with now. I am certain you all can relate to parts of this.

Again, I am super excited to start yet another school year here at EFAcademy. Here is a picture of all of us who will be working with your children this year.

It is a tradition now for us as teachers and staff to start every school year with a charity project to benefit children. For the last two years, we have worked together with Lifting Up Westchester to help out underprivileged children. This year, we packed snack bags for those children and wrote personal notes in the hopes to make their day just a little bit brighter. Service learning is a big part of what we do here at the school with our students.

With that, I bid goodbye, as I have to catch the bus with our Grade 9 and 10 students to go to New York City for our day of adventures. 

As always, I am available and welcome any communication from you via any mode that is convenient to you.


Updates & Reminders

First Day of Classes

The first day of classes for all students is on Tuesday, September 5. We hope everyone enjoyed Welcome Days!

Winter Break
  • Students may begin departing campus at 12:00 pm EST on December 13 and must depart by no later than 3:00 pm EST on December 14. Flights should be arranged to accommodate these campus departure times.

  • Students should plan to return to campus on January 11. Flights should always be booked to arrive between 6:00 am and 8:00 pm EST.

Spring Break
  • Students may begin departing campus at 12:00 pm EST on March 6 and must depart by no later than 3:00 pm EST on March 7. Flights should be arranged to accommodate these campus departure times.

  • Students should plan to return to campus on March 26. Flights should always be booked to arrive between 6:00 am and 8:00 pm EST.

End of Year Departures
  • Grade 12 students must depart after Graduation on May 18 and should plan to leave campus by no later than 10:00 pm EST

  • Underclassmen may start departing from campus on May 25 and must depart by no later than 3:00 pm EST on May 26. Flights should be arranged to accommodate these campus departure times.

2023-2024 School Year Calendar

For your convenience, you can find this year's academic calendar: here. It can also be found on EF Academy New York's News and Info page.

PowerSchool

Welcome to our web-based student information portal. Parents/guardians will be able to use PowerSchool to view schedules, manage assignments, check grades and progress, and access term reports. 

All new parents/guardians have received an email with instructions on how to log into PowerSchool. Returning parents/guardians will have the same access as you did last year. If you are facing issues logging in, have not logged in yet, or need to add an additional student, please email [email protected] for support.

Student Gsuite Login

All new students have received an email on how to log into their school email address, which lives within Google's Gsuite. Your school email address will also give you access to Google Classroom, Google Chat, PowerSchool, Orah, and more. All returning students have the same access as previous years. If anyone is experiencing trouble logging in, please email [email protected] or support.


Activities

The school year may have just started, but we already have a bunch of fun activities planned! This month, plan to see:

  • Bonfires and s'mores in the Courtyard

  • Outdoor movies on South Quad

  • Sports on the turf field, including soccer and capture the flag

  • Cooking classes

  • New York City excursions 

  • Shopping mall trips

  • Baseball games 

  • Hiking trips to state parks

  • ...and so much more! 

Arrival and Welcome Days!

A successful week of arrivals and activities

Thank you to all our student helpers - Ambassadors, Mentors, and Student Council members - for all their dedication and support during our Arrival and Welcome Days.

Another big thank you to our Residential and Community Life Team for being there at all hours to help students move in and familiarize themselves with their home away from home.  

Student Life

Our Ambassadors, Mentors, and Student Council members came to campus early! Before the rest of our students arrived this week, our student leaders came a few days early to do some professional development and trainings. Some of the activities they participated in were CPR training, dorm sign making, team bonding activities, and tour guide training! We're so lucky to have such a strong group of individuals.

Our student leaders are always around to help the Residential Life team with Arrival Days! For two days, you could find the friendly faces of our House Parents, Ambassadors, Mentors and more welcoming students, showing families around campus, helping with move-in, and being an extra set of hands for anyone who might need support. 

After Arrival Days begins our Welcome Days. This time is all about getting acclimated to campus. Students received warm hellos from their teachers, played games and icebreakers, decorated their dorm rooms, and met up with their friends around campus! The days leading up to the first day of classes is meant for students to get used to their environment and ensure a successful start to the academic year.

Today, we are heading to New York City! Once everyone is in the city, we are going to do a scavenger hunt with teachers and advisors to familiarize students with different places within Manhattan. Being only 45 minutes away, it's important that students know how to navigate the busy streets of New York!

Presentations and Information

Important Information from our Faculty and Staff. In case you could not attend, or would like to see the information again, please find below the presentations given by our faculty and staff during our Parent Orientation and Welcome Days: 

EF Academy Nurse Office

EF Academy Counseling Department

EF Academy UAA Information