News

Is your Primary student (age 4 1/2 and older) ready for Painted Pottery, Soccer, Yoga or STEM lab?  How about Robotics, 3D Printing, Golf, Yoga, Cooking, Carpentry or Chess for your Elementary or Middle School student?  All these and more are now open for registration which is due March 13 at 4:00 p.m.  Look for registration links in the Announcements section of ParentsWeb and the RenWeb Home app.

Primary and Lower Elementary students and their parents are invited to sign-up for a night under the stars - fingers crossed for good weather! Rescheduled from the fall, this event will be held on campus Saturday, March 30. Grab your tent and a picnic dinner; Springmont will provide games, crafts, s'mores and more! Spaces are limited and filled on a first-come, first served basis. Families who registered for the fall date and have already accepted Michelle Wolfersberger's email invitation to re-reserve their spot do NOT need to register. If you would like to join the fun, click here for more information and to RSVP.

This month we welcome two new additions to the Springmont barnyard, Pepper and Pickles!  Often described as the puppies of the goat world, these two adorable Nigerian Dwarf goats came to us from a farm in South Georgia.  Pepper is a black and white, one-year-old female, and Pickles is a six-month-old, tan, blue-eyed female.  

Perhaps not surprisingly, these goats hail from West Africa! The reason for their presence in Europe and the Americas is a little macabre… they were brought over as food for carnivorous zoo animals, and many zoos maintained herds of them for that purpose. Luckily for us, someone recognized their sweet, docile nature and peppy personalities and began breeding them for farm life.

Nigerian Dwarf goats are perfectly proportioned miniature dairy goats. Reaching a maximum height of about 19”, they make excellent pets and have a lifespan of 10-14 years if well cared for. Their playful nature makes them most likely to be featured in goat yoga classes! They are quite intelligent and when bottle-fed as ours were, they become very bonded to humans. A recent article noted that bottle-raised baby goats tend to be extremely vocal to which anyone who was in the barnyard when Pickles first arrived can attest!

Our goats are cared for by our Upper Elementary students who make sure they have fresh hay and water daily.   Part of our Middle School students’ Outdoor Education this semester will be to design some playthings for them. These goats love to climb and play king of the mountain so keep an eye out for some fun structures in the pen! Welcome to Springmont Pepper and Pickles! See more photos on Facebook.
 

Springmont's Running Club, open to Upper Elementary and Middle School students, participated in Sunday's Hot Chocolate 5K road race.  Cole Kite-Powell came in 4th out of 211 boys ages 14 and under – and within 2/100 second of the 3rd place boy (it was a real sprint to the finish!!).  And, it was his first 5K!  All 12 student participants (including Evan, not pictured) did an amazing job, many of them running personal best times.  Several parents also participated. Overall it was a fabulously fun morning! 

Re-enrollment for the 2019-20 school year begins February 25 with contracts and deposits due March 11. Instructions for this online process will be emailed to parents, and the information below was also included in Head of School Jon Alden's January 30th email letter.

What is Continuous Enrollment?  
Following independent school best practices and local and national trends, Springmont has elected to adopt continuous enrollment, further simplifying the re-enrollment process for parents. This means that beginning with your upcoming 2019-20 re-enrollment, you will only need to sign one Enrollment Contract for the term of your child(ren)’s enrollment. Your child(ren) will be automatically re-enrolled each March for the upcoming school year unless you wish to “opt-out”.

Do I need Tuition Protection?
Tuition Protection absolves parents of any unused tuition obligation in the event of a student withdrawal or dismissal for any reason. 
•    Tuition Protection will be mandatory for those choosing to pay in installments and equals 2.5% of the total annual tuition. 
•    Tuition Protection is optional for families who choose to pay tuition in full prior to the start of the school year; families that choose this option will receive a refund of any unused portion of their annual tuition in the event of a student withdrawal or dismissal. 
•    Families that choose to pay in full but not to enroll in the Tuition Protection plan will not have any portion of their tuition or fees refunded in the event of a student withdrawal or dismissal.

How much is Tuition for 2019-20?
The Board of Trustees is always sensitive to the financial commitment you make when you entrust your children to us and is pleased to have approved the smallest tuition increase in the last eight years. Over the last eight years, tuition has increased an average of 4.2% annually, so the 1.3% base tuition increase approved for 2019-2020 is significantly lower.  Click here to view the 2019-20 Tuition Schedule.  

The 1.3% tuition increase combined with the Tuition Protection plan affects a total net increase of 3.3% or 3.8%, depending on the payment option you choose.  This is still a more modest net increase than our previous eight-year average and has the added benefits of affording families additional peace of mind and financial protection. 

Does Springmont still offer a Pre-payment Discount? 
In order to keep the 2019-20 tuition increase to just 1.3%, the 2% discount for paying tuition in full by June 1 has been eliminated.

Springmont is pleased to offer (7) one-week sessions for current Toddler and Primary students. Our Toddler Care and Primary Camp programs allow children to continue their familiar Springmont experience with added summer fun including special snacks, arts and crafts, visiting performers, water play and more! 

Spaces are limited and filled on a first-come, first served basis.  Each program also has a minimum number of participants per week.

Hours & Fees
•    Full Day: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - $295 per weekly session
•    Half Day: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - $185 per weekly session
•    Extended Day (Primary only): 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. - $10 per day (billed at the end of each month)

Click here to register. Registration and a $75 per week deposit are due by May 10. Balances, billed via FACTS, are due by May 24.

Questions? Contact Marquisha Carr.
 

International Night 2019 was absolutely fantastic!  As always, International Night was a strong testament to our school's commitment to our core value of Global Awareness. Kudos to Music Teacher Carissa Gibson and all the students for a beautiful musical program. Thank you to all the families who braved the traffic to attend, bringing such delicious food. And thank you to the volunteers whose many hands made light work of set-up and clean-up. Our school is only as good as our community - and it's obvious this is a great place!  Look for more pictures on Facebook.