Doherty Blast Aug 22, 2025

New Year, New Gear – Spirit Day TODAY

During the week, every student received a new piece of Seven Hills spirit wear as a gift from the school to kick off the 2025-26 year. 

We hope they’ll wear their new Seven Hills shirt today, Friday, Aug. 22, for our first Spirit Day of the year. We can’t wait to see everyone’s Stinger Pride and to celebrate a great first week in style!

Changes in the Master Calendar

Changes to the Master Calendar: 

• Grandpersons’ Day is on Nov. 25. 
• On March 5, there will be an early dismissal for Grades 1-5 at 11:30 a.m.. Pre-kindergarten will dismiss at their regular time, so there will be classes on that day. More information on conference schedules will be coming at a later date.
• April 17 will be a full day of classes for students. There will be no professional development for Doherty teachers on this day.

Faculty and Staff Location Changes at Doherty

Along with the calendar changes, we have moved a few people to new places. Angie Bielecki, school counselor, has moved to room five across from Unit I. Emily Daugherty, Best Point counselor, has moved to Jones Hall into Angie Bielecki’s previous office, and Assistant Head of School Laura Leonard has moved into the administrative office in Haile Hall into Emily Daugherty’s previous office. 

Birthday Book Program

Celebrate your child’s special day with a lasting gift to our library!

Our Birthday Book program allows families to donate a book to one of our Lower School libraries in honor of their child’s birthday. Your student will personally select the book they’d like to give, and we’ll add a commemorative bookplate with their name and birthday.

Students choose their birthday book during their birthday month (summer birthdays included!). These books often become the first ones students check out when returning to school! Donation is $20 per book. To participate, please complete the Square form and submit payment. Your generous support helps our libraries continue to grow with books chosen by our students, for our students, and also supports our author visit fund.

Questions? Contact Lori Suffield, Lotspeich librarian, or Jo Schnirring, Doherty librarian.

Seven Hills String Ensemble

String Ensemble is open to third through fifth graders for violin, viola, or cello. No experience necessary! Instruments are not provided, but we highly recommend baroqueviolinshop.com (when ordering, ask for Strictly Strings, Book 1). String Ensemble is on Mondays and Wednesdays, 7:45-8:15 a.m. The location and start date is to be determined but will be in mid-September. Contact Michaela Hibbard with questions or to sign up. When emailing please provide child’s name, grade, and Lotspeich or Doherty Campus.

After the Bell

We are so excited to welcome new and returning faces for our after school program! As detailed in the welcome back email, all After the Bell registrations (including Encore, music lessons, Holiday Care, and enrichment) will be in your parent portal under parent links, which is located at the bottom of the homepage. We share info weekly in The Blast, so please check here for After the Bell needs.

Currently, only Daily Drop-In’s and Annual ATB registration are available. In late August, we will be sharing information about Holiday Care and enrichment programs right here in The Blast!

To Register

• Annual After the Bell Enrollment
• Daily After the Bell Registration
• If you are interested in music lessons (piano, violin, or voice) these are offered based on instructor availability. Your child must be in kindergarten in order to begin lessons. Email Jill Romerill and Christina O’Donnell, so they can connect you with an instructor.

Parent Communication and Platform Guides

If you are new to Seven Hills or just need a refresher about using Veracross, check out our parent guides: 

• Parent Platform Guide
• Parent Communications Guide