Upper School

Read on for information about our back to school plans for upper school families.

Back to School Dates and Events

August 12 - New to Wellington Family Orientation (grades 9-12)

August 16 - Deadline to complete School Policy Forms in Veracross

August 18 - Welcome (Back) to Wellington

  • 2-3 p.m. - New families can meet Head of School Eliza McLaren in Gard Gym followed by a meeting with Head of Upper School Rishi Raghunathan in the Upper School Commons. 
  • 3-4 p.m. - New and returning families are invited to gather in the Upper School Commons.
  • 3-3:15 p.m. - Students and families are invited to meet with advisors in the Upper School Commons from 3-3:15 p.m. 

August 19 - 9th Grade Orientation

August 19 Advisors will reach out individually to schedule intake conferences. 

August 21 - First day of school!

  • Modified A-Day Schedule

Daily Schedule

8-8:30 a.m. - Student arrival

8:30 a.m. - 1st or 5th period class begins

10-10:15 a.m. - Morning meeting

3:30 p.m. - Classes end, student pick-up in the back parking lot

LEAP: Learning, exploration, and projects

As the needs of the world evolve, schools must reach beyond traditional learning and develop strategies that promote autonomy, critical thinking, research, and creativity. LEAP Days have been designed to teach our students to thrive – not in yesterday’s world, but in our current and future one. The schedule combines coursework and advisory with opportunities to develop through constructive adversity. As students move through the upper school, they progressively gain autonomy to devote time toward their passions and build a unique and powerful story for college admissions. LEAP Days provide skills and confidence to ensure our students are successful beyond Wellington. 

LEAP Day Schedule

8:30-9:20 a.m. Period 1 - Advisory

9:30-10 a.m. Period 2 - Class Meetings/Town Halls

10:10-11:10 a.m. Period 3

  • 9th Grade: First Year Survey
  • 10th Grade: Wonderlab
  • 11th Grade: Global Engagement
  • 12th Grade: College Counseling

11:10-11:50 a.m. Period 4 - Flex Period

12-1 p.m. Period 5 - Study Block

1:10-2:10 p.m. Lunch

2:10-3:30 p.m. Period 6 - Collaborations, Yearbook, Concerts, Supervised Study, Office Hours

Important Information & Policies

The 2024-2025 Upper School Handbook can be found here.

Contact information for key faculty and staff can be found here.

Details about the upper school dress code can be found here.

Details about the upper school attendance policy can be found here (pages 8-9).

There is no set list of items required for the upper school. We recommend that students purchase items which they feel best fits their learning styles (e.g. folders vs binders, etc.). There are items your student may want to keep on hand throughout the year, such as pencils, pens, paper, markers, tape, glue, highlighters, loose-leaf paper, staplers, paper clips, etc. The upper school maintains general supplies for student use, but is the student's/family's responsibility to provide additional supplies, as needed. More specific information will be provided during the first few days of school, if applicable.

Each student must have a laptop they can bring to school daily for classroom use. Wellington will provide basic support for connecting the computer to our network and accessing shared resources such as printers and file servers. Wellington provides a license for Microsoft Office 365 while the student is enrolled at Wellington.

A laptop for use at Wellington must meet the following requirements:

  • 802.11n wireless networking

  • Have fully up-to-date antivirus software

  • Must run Windows or MacOS operating system (Note iPads and Chromebooks do not meet this requirement)

  • All students are required to have MS Office

Lockers are available for each upper school student’s use and should be clearly marked with a school-provided name plate. Locks are optional. 

Students are encouraged to bring their own water bottle to school each day. Water bottle filling stations will be available.

Parents and caregivers can meet on-campus or remotely via Microsoft Teams with their child’s advisor for conferences. Conferences are scheduled for 20-minute increments from 4-8 p.m. on November 25 and March 13, and from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. on November 26 and March 14. Please contact subject area teachers directly for questions or concerns. They are available to meet throughout the school year.

Athletics

All sports are open to students in grades 9-12.

Fall

  • Boys and girls soccer
  • Girls tennis
  • Boys and girls golf
  • Boys and girls cross country

Winter

  • Boys and girls basketball
  • Coed sideline cheer
  • Boys and girls swim & dive
  • Boys and girls bowling

Spring

  • Girls lacrosse
  • Girls softball
  • Boys baseball
  • Boys tennis
  • Boys and girls track & field

Sports Performance is offered all year for upper school students in grades 9-12.

For questions regarding Wellington Athletics please email athletics@wellington.org.

SportsYou is an all-in-one platform that simplifies athletic communications between coaches and their teams, athletes, and parents. SportsYou is the primary tool used by our athletic teams to share practice times and locations with our families. Before each season, parents and students are emailed an invitation to join their child’s team and download the SportsYou app. It is recommended to turn on notifications, as our coaches update pertinent information in real time.