Doherty Blast Aug 28, 2026

Note for Pre-kindergarten/Kindergarten Families

This year, pre-kindergarten is in its own division, the Early School, and kindergarten is a part of the Lower School (kindergarten through grade 5).

Because many of our announcements are campus-based, you will continue to click on Doherty to find Early School information. Announcements are labeled as follows:

Announcement Labels:

ES – Pre-kindergarten families
LS – Kindergarten through fifth-grade families
ES/LS – Pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade families

ES/LS: 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 2026-27 year.

We hope they’ll wear their new Seven Hills shirt today, Friday, Aug. 28, 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!

LS: Girls Grades 4-7 Invited to STEM Event led by Upper School Student — Tomorrow, Aug. 29

Hi! My name is Lily Fraser. I am a senior at Seven Hills, and for my Challenge Experience, I created an organization called STEM ExploreHERs. We will host free, pop-up programs for girls in grades 4-7. The first one is this weekend, Aug. 29, from 2-3:30 p.m., and it is TAYLOR SWIFT THEMED! It is at Stephan Field Park in Indian Hill (meet at the pavilion).

If you can’t make it this weekend, no problem. Please sign up using the registration link, and I can email you about upcoming programs. We are working hard to empower girls to keep pursuing STEM.

You can also email us and follow our Instagram!

ES/LS: Parent Night — Thursday, Sept. 3

Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 6:30 p.m. for Parent Night. This will be an introduction to your child’s day-to-day classroom activities, rules, and expectations. Please review the Parent Night flyer for more information.

ES/LS: Car Line Reminders

We want to remind everyone that signs with your child’s last name must be clearly visible in your vehicle any time you are on campus — whether you’re in the car line, driving through, parking, or picking up in the mornings and afternoons. The signs should be placed on your dashboard or attached to the passenger-side visor with a rubber band so they can be easily flipped up and down without obstructing your view.

We ask that you treat this as a security measure. Visible signage helps us quickly identify vehicles and ensures we keep all students safe. Your cooperation is not only appreciated, but essential.

Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and efficient campus for everyone.

ES/LS: Introducing our LEAD Together Lineup for First Semester

We are excited to Learn, Educate, and Discuss (LEAD) Together with new programming for this year. Through these collaborative sessions, we hope to foster strong partnerships among families and educators to support student learning, belonging, and success.

As we get closer to each event, we will share more detailed information in the Blast. Please see this semester’s lineup on the flyer below, and RSVP for all events through this Google form.

Coming up soon is our very first event, “Beyond the ABCs: Is Your Child Truly School-Ready?” We are thrilled to share this wonderful learning opportunity for our families from Beginnings through first grade. For more details about this event, take a look at the flyer below.

ES/LS: Therapy Dog at Seven Hills

We are excited to welcome Cruz, our new school therapy dog, to the Seven Hills family! Cruz is a friendly, well-trained, double doodle mix — half Australian labradoodle and half goldendoodle. As he becomes familiar with his new surroundings and the school community, his time and activities on campus will gradually increase.

Participation in the therapy dog program is completely voluntary. If you prefer that your child not participate in activities involving Cruz, please complete our Therapy Dog Opt-Out Form. If you have questions about the program or the opt-out process, please reach out to Director of Safety & Security Jun Cho.

ES/LS: Calling All Parents

Are you interested in being interviewed as part of our schedule redesign process?

This year, we are redesigning our schedule across all divisions for the 2027-28 school year when we come together as a unified campus. As part of this process, we are shadowing students and interviewing faculty members, students, and parents. In these interviews, we are hoping to learn more about your experiences with how we use time at Seven Hills.

These 30-minute interviews are conducted one-on-one by a faculty member. If you’re interested in participating, please fill out a family interview interest form.

Questions? Reach out to Laura Leonard.

ES/LS: Email with Canvas Instructions Sent in Error

On Tuesday, Early and Lower School families received an email from Tony DePrato with the subject line, “Student Login Information and Canvas Parent Access.” Note that this email was sent in error. Early School and Lower School do not use Canvas. We apologize for any confusion.

ES/LS: Field House Lot Closed Remainder of School Year

As construction progresses on the new Lower School building, the Field House parking lot (Lot H) will be closed for the remainder of the school year. The drop-off and pick-up area and accessible parking spots are still available. A new parking lot recently opened off of Ellmarie Drive and is available for use while the Field House lot is closed.

ES: Picture Day — Thursday, Sept. 10

Picture day for pre-kindergarten is Thursday, Sept. 10. Be sure your student brings their best smile! View the Doherty picture day flyer for more information.

LS: Picture Day — Thursday, Sept. 10 & Friday, Sept. 11

Picture day for kindergarten is Thursday, Sept. 10. Picture day for grades 1-5 is Friday, Sept. 11. Be sure your student brings their best smile! View the Doherty picture day flyer for more information.

ES/LS: After the Bell

We are excited to welcome both new and returning families to our After the Bell (ATB) program! As detailed in our welcome back email, all After the Bell registration options are available in your Parent Portal under Parent Links.

ATB Annual Plan

• Available for pre-kindergarten for 2-year-olds through fifth grade
• Limited availability for pre-kindergarten for 2-year-olds

ATB Daily Plan

• Available for pre-kindergarten for 2-year-olds through fifth grade
• Limited availability for pre-kindergarten for 2-year-olds
• Daily registration closes each Monday at 9 a.m.

Music Lessons

Violin lessons are available for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

• Lessons are offered based on instructor availability.
• To inquire about lessons, please email Jill Romerill, and she will connect you with an instructor.

An update about piano lessons: we wanted to let you know that unfortunately, Anna Vinnitsky will not be able to continue as our piano instructor this school year. We are so grateful to Anna for her dedication, time, and commitment to our students. We truly appreciate all she has done to share her love of music with our students and wish her all the very best in her future endeavors!

Please be patient with us as we begin our search for a new piano instructor. We know how much our students enjoy their piano lessons, and we will work to find a wonderful instructor as quickly as possible. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. We will keep you updated as we have more information to share!

Enrichment Offerings

We offer four enrichment sessions throughout the school year. Fall I offerings will be announced soon!

Stinger Staycation Days

Formerly known as Holiday Care, Stinger Staycation provides care on select days when school is closed. Check out the 2026-27 Stinger Staycation dates.

We look forward to a wonderful school year and to seeing you and your children in After the Bell!

— Jill and Christina