US Summer & Back to School Info

Upper School Orientation and Back-to-School Events

• Tuesday-Sunday, August 20-25: Spring to Success Program for New International Students
• Friday, August 23: 9th Grade Pre-Trip Meeting, 5:00 pm, PAC-Studio B
• Tuesday-Friday, August 27-30: 9th Grade Trip
• Tuesday, September 3: Orientation Day - Required for New Families, Optional for Returning Families. More info to come soon!

Information about bus routes can be found online here (or see PDF of 2019-2020 Bus Routes here). Families can enroll in Bus Transportation and Before Care services via MyBackPack > Program Registration. SSFS continues to accept bus registrations until August 1, or until routes are at capacity. Please note that some routes will fill to capacity before August 1, so be sure to register to ride the bus as soon as possible. Directions for bus registration may be found online here. 

Family health and permission forms that you will need to fill out for your child are submitted using Magnus Health. Families are asked to submit all required health forms for the 2019-2020 academic year by July 15. View online instructions and FAQs.

Placement testing is needed for any student entering SSFS from another school. We conduct placement tests in math and foreign language to ensure students are placed in the current courses based on their skill level. For questions and placement scheduling information, please contact Meredith Shankle, Upper School Program Coordinator and Registrar. 

See the 2019-20 Upper School Course Curriculum Guide online here.

Our Upper School has a Bring Your Own Device ("BYOD") program. All students in the Upper School must have a device available on a daily basis for schoolwork. This device can be an iPad, Windows laptop, Mac laptop, Chromebook, Android tablet, or other similar device. Because of its keyboard and screen size, a mobile phone is not considered an adequate device for school. Click here to see minimum requirements for student devices.

Website login information for new families will be emailed approximately two weeks after you sign your enrollment contract. The website login gives families single-sign-on access to MyBackPack and online classrooms from the website, but you do not need a website login to access your MyBackPack account; you can simply login directly to MyBackPack.

A description of Technology Services at SSFS is available in this letter from the IT Staff. You can also find the New Family Technology Setup Checklist here. 

You can find more information for new and returning families on the Technology website. Technology questions may be directed to the Technology Office at tech@ssfs.org.

After enrolling, each family gets a dedicated MyBackPack account with a unique username and password. If you have submitted your enrollment contract and not yet received login information for (or need assistance accessing) your MyBackPack account, please contact the Technology department at tech@ssfs.org or 301-774-7455 x111. Your MyBackPack account will give you access to a number of services including:

• Billing and student accounts
• Student class schedules and grades/comments
• School directory
• Family contact information
• Enrollment contracts

Please ensure that your contact information in your MyBackPack account is accurate. See instructions for how to update your contact info here. As a part of our continuing efforts to act in environmentally sustainable ways, SSFS rarely sends information by paper mail. All communications about events, grades, billing account status, re-enrollment, and other information are sent electronically through My BackPack using the email addresses you have provided. An emergency notification service is also available via text message, so please also provide a cell phone number where you may reached.

The online bookstore via Follett opens Tuesday, July 16. Logging in to Follett after this date allows you to view the book list and access the online bookstore for your student via your My BackPack account. Click here to view an instruction page that will walk you through the process of viewing and ordering your child’s books. Please pay attention to the “Section Note” section of each course page, as there may be important details regarding a particular course’s books.

The 2019 Fall Sports and Training and Preseason schedule will be posted in June.

Forms for school photos for grades 6-11 will be available online in August, and hard copies will be available at the first day of school Orientation Day on Tuesday, September 3.

Seniors: Stone Photography will be on campus to take Class of 2020 senior portraits on Thursday, Sept. 5, and Friday, Sept. 6. More information and a SignUp Genius link will be emailed to all seniors in August so that they can schedule their portrait time.  

Please contact Kerry Foley, Upper School Administrative Assistant (ext. 109), or Meredith Shankle, Upper School Program Coordinator and Registrar (ext. 110) with any questions.