Upper School Blast Oct 17, 2025

Ninth Grade Day of Service — Wednesday, Oct. 22

On Oct. 22, all ninth grade students will be off campus in the morning engaging in service opportunities. They’ll return to campus for a pizza lunch provided by the school, and an afternoon of fun community-building activities. Please make sure that waivers for the service organizations are completed as soon as possible. 

PSAT Test For All 10th and 11th Grade Students — Wednesday, Oct. 22

Tenth and 11th grade students should arrive at school no later than 8:15 a.m. and report directly to their testing room. Testing will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. Students arriving after 8:30 a.m. cannot take the PSAT. 

Students must remain in their testing room until the end of the standard time exam period. Most students will complete their testing by 12 p.m. and are then dismissed for the day. While students with extended time are encouraged to use the time that they are approved for, College Board does not require them to stay for their allotted time if they finish testing or are ready to move on sooner.

Founders Hall will be open to serve lunch, and students are welcome to remain on campus and work in the Young Family Library.

Approximate PSAT Test Lengths:

• Standard Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
• 50% Extended Time: 3 hours and 30 minutes
• 100% Extended Time: 4 hours and 30 minutes

Students may bring a snack to eat during their breaks, a pencil or pen to use on scratch paper that will be provided, and a calculator. The test also offers an embedded graphing calculator.

The PSAT is a digital exam taken on an iPad or laptop. Cellphones and Chromebooks are not allowed. Students are strongly encouraged to take the exam on their school-issued iPad. Please ensure that the device is fully charged on test day, and students are encouraged to bring a charging cable. We are doing our best to find power sources and extension cords in cases of emergency, but please know that at-school charging options will be limited on test day. 

For juniors, the PSAT serves as the qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship competition. Juniors were asked questions during test registration to determine eligibility for this program. Once exam scores are released, the college counselors will notify any juniors who missed these questions so they can participate in the National Merit program.

For more information regarding the PSAT, please review the 2025 PSAT/NMSQT Student Guide. Feel free to reach out to your college counselor if you have any questions.

Senior College Application Work Day — Wednesday, Oct. 22

Seniors are not required to report to school on Oct. 22, but we hope they will use this extra time to work on college applications. The Commons will be open during the school day and reserved for seniors who would like a quiet place to work. The college counselors will be available in the Commons to work with students from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Explore the Gorge May Term Trip

Pumpkins and Popsicles with S.H.A.R.E. — Saturday, Nov. 1, 2-4 p.m.

All are welcome to S.H.A.R.E.’s fun family event on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2-4 p.m. at the Pavilion on the Hillsdale Campus. Enjoy a fun-filled afternoon with family activities, including decorating pumpkins with words of kindness in honor of World Kindness Day. S.H.A.R.E. stands for Seven Hills Association of Rainbow Events. We are an affinity group for anyone with a family member or who is an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community. Let us know you are coming by emailing SHARE@7hills.org.

LEAD Together — “Setting Kids up for Success” Webinar

Thank you to all the parents, faculty and administrators who came to learn from Psychologist Lisa Damour about “Setting Kids up for Success.”  

A parent said “It was wonderful to learn about the value of stress and to notice how it strengthens both skills and our kid’s resilience. On the flipside, it was helpful to hear her focus on the importance of rest and recovery as we search for that balance.” 

An Upper faculty member said, “The idea of adaptability as one of the key attributes or long term transferable skills that we’re hoping to develop in our students was a powerful focus for me.”

If you weren’t able to make it, we highly encourage you to listen to the webinar (about 55 minutes). Please access the webinar. It will be available until Jan. 31.

Join us for Books for Lunch!

Purchase your tickets for the Seven Hills 39th Annual Books for Lunch on Feb. 6 at The Lightwell in Covington! Join us for an engaging afternoon featuring New York Times bestselling author Ariel Lawhon as our keynote speaker. The cash bar opens at 11 a.m., followed by a delightful luncheon and Lawhon’s talk at 12 p.m. Don’t forget to snag your copy of “The Frozen River,” a Good Morning America book club pick, for a special signing after the event. Hurry, tickets are selling fast. Secure your ticket and book now. Sponsorship opportunities are available, please consider supporting this important event. Questions? Email us at booksforlunch@7hills.org.

ParentSquare — New Communication App for Seven Hills Parents

We’re excited to introduce ParentSquare, a two-way communication platform that will allow Lower, Middle, and Upper School athletics coaches, as well as Parent Community board members, to connect with you directly. Last Wednesday, all parents received an email invitation to activate their ParentSquare account. For more info, including FAQs and community guidelines, please visit 7hills.org/parentsquare.

Note: You must set up an account to change your notification preferences. If you do not set up an account, you will automatically receive the daily digest from ParentSquare via email.