Upper School Blast Aug 15, 2025
Key Dates
Monday, Aug. 18 —Ninth Grade Orientation and Retreat, 8:30 a.m.-9:15 p.m. See below for details.
Wednesday, Aug. 20 — A5/B4. First Day of School
Thursday, Aug. 21 — A1
Friday, Aug. 22 — B1. Spirit Day
Monday, Aug. 25 — A2. Parent Night 6:30 – 9:30pm. Ninth grade Parents please arrive at 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 26 — B2
Wednesday, Aug. 27 — A3
Thursday, Aug. 28 — B3
Friday, Aug. 29 — A4
Monday, Sept. 1 — Labor Day. No School.
What to Know Now
Welcome Back!
We’re so excited to welcome you back to the Upper School! There is a lot of information below as well as in our summer mailing. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call the Upper School at 513.728.2460.
Ninth Grade Orientation — Aug 18, 8:30 a.m.-9:15 p.m.
All ninth graders — new to the Upper School or returning — will have a full day of orientation built around the three Bee Present themes for this year: try new things (Explore), work together (Engage), and fail forward (Evolve). Drop off is any time from 8:15 a.m. onward. New to Seven Hills students should be at the Upper School entrance no later than 8:30 a.m.; returning students no later than 8:45 a.m..
Students will spend half the day at school and half at Camp Ernst. For see the packing supplies list and the Camp Ernst permission form. Parents must fill out this form.
New 10-12th Grade Student Orientation — Aug. 19, 10-11:30 a.m.
All new non-ninth grade students should join us for an orientation on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 10-11:30 a.m. We’ll meet key people, get a tour of the places students go, receive a schedule, get a photo taken, and get to spend some time with a few returning older students who can answer questions and talk through the experience and Upper School expectations. Drop off and pick up at the front of the Upper School building. Students may drive themselves if they have a license.
First Day of School Schedule
Following some opening gatherings, students will go to all of their classes for a brief introduction. Since some classes don’t meet every day, students should follow their schedule as if it were an A2 and a B5 day. We will review this in advisory at the beginning of the day. Please note the change in dismissal time, we will now release students from their final block at 3:05 p.m.
7:30 a.m. — Building opens
8:10 a.m. — Advisory and phone check in
8:50 a.m. — All School Meeting in The Schiff Center
9:30 a.m. — Opening Assembly in Kalnow Gym
10:35 a.m. — A2, 1st
11 a.m. — Lunch
11:40 a.m. — A2, 2nd
12:10 p.m. — A2, 3rd
12:40 p.m. — A2, 4th
1:10 p.m. — B5, 1st
1:40 p.m. — B5, 2nd
2:10 p.m. — B5, 3rd
2:40 p.m. — B5, 4th
3:05 p.m. — Dismissal and phone checkout
Attendance
Please report all attendance changes on your Parent Portal in Veracross. If you need assistance, please contact the Upper office at upper.office@7hills.org.
Parking for Students
New Year, New Gear – Spirit Day Friday, Aug. 22!
The first week of school is always buzzing with excitement — and this year, we’re adding more spirit to the mix! During that week, every student will receive 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 on 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!
Bridging the Gap Survey
If you haven’t had a chance to share some insights on your child(ren), please take a moment to fill out this short questionnaire. Information will be shared with all of your student’s teachers.
Parent Association News
The Upper School Parent Committee is thrilled to welcome you to an exciting year at The Seven Hills School. We believe in the power of community and the opportunity to work in collaboration with families, students, faculty, and staff to enrich the learning experience of the students as well as positively impact our greater community. We have created a calendar of programming based directly on your interests and feedback. We hope you will keep communicating with us and come to the programs that you chose!
We will soon be communicating our full calendar of events, but we’ll kick off the year:
The Upper School Parent & Faculty Social — Sunday, Sept. 14, 4-7 p.m.
Please join us for an all Upper School social on Sunday, Sept. 14, 4-7 p.m. in The Barrel Room at MadTree Brewing, 3301 Madison Road. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet new faces, catch up with returning families, and engage with our dedicated faculty members. Whether you’ve been part of the Seven Hills community for years or are just joining, we are excited to share this evening with you. See you there! All Upper School parents and faculty are welcome. Please RSVP today via Evite. See you there!
Upper School Parent Committee Meetings
Please mark your calendars for the following Parent Community meetings, held in the Knust Conference room at the Upper School at 8:30 a.m.
- Sept. 17
- Nov. 12
- Jan. 7
- Feb. 11
Mark Your Calendar for Fueling Futures with Renee Mattson, Ph.D.
All Upper School parents and faculty are welcome to join us on Oct. 22, 6:30-8 p.m. Please RSVP and see more information on our Evite.
Parent Walking Group
Start your day by connecting with parents from across all divisions of the school. If you are interested in more information and for the schedule join the WhatsApp group.
Interested in Volunteering?
We would love to collaborate with you! Please join the fun! There is something for everyone. And all are welcome! See our Google Form for more information.
We are here, for a hello or to help find the answer to a question. Reach out any time!
Upper School Parent Community Committee:
Announcements
Important Links for Parents
- Parent Platform Guide
- Parent Communication Guide
- College Counseling Calendar
- Canvas Set-up Instructions
New Athletics Team
Our new athletics team of Interim Athletic Director Brandon Williams, Associate Athletic Director Mike Combs, and Administrative Assistant to the Athletic Director Erin Wierzba, along with our dedicated youth sports coordinators, Marty Gerhardt, Abbey Sir Louis, and Lindsey Steuer, have been hard at work preparing our programming for our families this year.
Over the summer, we completed the installation of our new lower field, providing a great space for our athletes to train and compete.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any of us:
Go Stingers!
Download the Seven Hills App!
Report your child’s attendance, check their schedule, read The Blast, and more — all from your phone. We are excited to share the new Seven Hills app, which is linked directly to Veracross. While this app cannot do everything Veracross does via desktop, it does make some key features of Veracross easier to access. And you don’t have to log in every time you open the app!