Form III September 2022

Hello Third Form Parents,

Welcome to the Portsmouth Abbey Family!  We hope your third former has settled in and is enjoying their classes, houses and new friends.  Getting adjusted can be a bumpy path with ups and downs – and we’re confident that our daughters and sons will navigate the path and find their way.  We have heard from many people that the Third Form is a really special group of young adults and they are actively creating a supportive community amongst themselves and as part of the entire Abbey family.

It was wonderful to be on campus for orientation and new student weekend.  If you are new to Portsmouth Abbey, you may be trying to figure out how to get acclimated yourself.  We recommend spending time on the Parent Portal to learn about all that is happening at the school.  You can access the Parent Portal here. Three calendars are regularly updated which we find useful to stay connected to what is happening on campus.  We like to regularly check the weekly calendar and athletics calendar. 

Some important dates to mark on your calendar:

·        October 4 at 6:00 PM – Form III Zoom Meeting.  This will be a meet and greet for our Third Form Parents and an opportunity to ask any questions you might have.  You will receive more information via email.

·        October 27-29 – Parents’ Weekend.  Time to start planning!  If you are unfamiliar with the area, please do not hesitate to reach out.  The full schedule is located within the Parent Portal.

A few other tips that we recommend:

1)      Get to know your child’s advisor.  The advisors are super helpful and are great resources for questions about how your child is adjusting and/or in the classroom.  Since the advisors stay with the kids for the full 4 years, building a relationship early on is beneficial. 

2)      While each student has their schedule, we have found that the time between dinner and study hall is a good time to connect for a conversation with our oldest, Jack, who is in the Fifth Form.

While our children are just beginning their time at the Abbey, it will without a doubt go faster than we think it will.  Now is a great time to get involved!  We understand that in college there aren’t many opportunities to be a parent volunteer – and even if there were, we are certain that neither of our kids would be enthused about us participating. 😊 Truth be told, we have never been homeroom parents, baked a single thing for a school bake sale, or volunteered at a school carnival.  We were very quick to get to the sign-up list so we could be the lucky parents who got to send in forks and napkins for the class parties in elementary school – and not the parents on the set-up/clean-up crew or had the pleasure of bringing in the tray of cut fruit!  We are proof that there is still time!  You can get engaged as much as you would like.

If you would like to get more involved with the school (and we encourage you to do so!), within the Parents’ Association page, there is a link to a Volunteer Form where you can indicate what you might be interested in getting involved with as a parent volunteer.  Some examples include the Annual Fund Phonathon, hosting a reception in your local area, and volunteering at events at the school (Parents’ Weekend, Spring Family Day).  You can also contact Meghan Fonts directly to discuss volunteer opportunities.

We look forward to getting to know you.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, concerns, or ideas.  We wish you all a wonderful start to the school year!

All the best,