So, the application deadline has come and gone and you are visiting
new visitor to our website … what should you do? Actually, you should go ahead
and apply! While we have already accepted a wonderful group of students for the
2013-2014 school year, Bullis is uniquely fortunate to have a high enrollment cap
(900) due to our facility size. There
may be some grades where there are no spaces available or limited availability,
but others may still have room, so I’d encourage you to be in touch if you’re
still interested in Bullis for the coming school year.
The application process at this time of year remains the
same as it was in the fall. However, at this point we don’t conduct student
interviews or Lower School testing until all other documentation is
received. So please get all your
paperwork in to us and then call to
set up an interview or schedule testing. Shadow dates are available on a
limited basis. All the information you need is still on the website under Admission
Process.
We are also still offering our informative group tours. Give
the Admission Office a call to see when the next one might be on the calendar. If
you have more questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at
301-983-5724. We hope to hear from you soon!
I can’t believe that we are nearing the end
of the year and that January will soon be here. The admission season seems to
go by so quickly. Once we return from break the January 15 admission deadline
will approach quite quickly.
We will continue to host general tours for
those of you who are still interested in seeing Bullis in action but have not yet
submitted an application. These tours are on select Monday mornings for Upper
School tours and Tuesday mornings for Lower and Middle School tours. Please
call if you would like to make an appointment to join us for one of these
mornings as they fill quickly!
All applicants are required to interview or
attend a group visit. Group visit dates are on the calendar, but interview spots
are going quickly. We will continue to interview past the January 15 deadline
and into the beginning of February. The sooner you get on the calendar, the
better.
Shadow dates for Middle and Upper School
applicants are also posted on our admission calendar. As a reminder, the shadow
is not a part of our admission process, but we welcome your child if they feel
that it is an important part of your family’s decision process. All shadow
dates are Thursdays with the exception of January 22, which is a Tuesday when
MCPS is closed. As always, slots go quickly so if you have a date in mind, call
us soon!
As the deadline nears, should you have any
questions or last minute worries, please don’t hesitate to call or email the
office. We’ll talk you through anything you are stuck on!
Our first “Open House” is this Sunday,
November 11 from 1-3. The Open House is different from a regular tour because
you do not have to make an appointment—just show up. It’s always a fun event!
Since this event takes place on a Sunday,
there will be no classes in session, but there will be plenty of opportunities
to see us at work. The entire teaching staff will be present. Teachers will be
in classrooms to chat with you. You will also be able to see students working
with their teachers on science labs, projects, playing instruments, creating
art and other surprises.
After you register in The Blair Family Center
for the Arts, you will be able to meet some of our athletic coaches, learn about
our transportation system, get information about our Global Studies program and
community service programs and see our summer program offerings. Once you have
finished in Blair, your family will have the opportunity to head off on a
division appropriate (lower, middle or upper school) group tour to explore the
campus with our student Ambassadors. The campus is beautiful in the fall and it
is predicted to be a crisp autumn day!
Visiting an Open House is a great way to get
a taste of Bullis, so come on out and join us! If you can’t make it or you
might have missed it by the time you are reading this blog, just give our
office a call and schedule a visit. We have two more Open Houses still to come!
Tuesday, December 4, for those families interested in Lower and Middle School
and Thursday, December 6, for those families interested in Upper School. Both
mornings will begin at 8:30 a.m. and school will be in session. These events
include panel discussions with current students, and we hear every year that
these discussions are quite helpful and influential for applicants.
We have so much to offer here at Bullis, and the
best way for you to learn about everything is to come and visit us! Hope to see
you soon.
I like to say that Bullis is not a “water
cooler” school. By that I mean that I like to get people here on campus to
learn more about us and not have people listen around the water cooler to
chatter that may or may not be correct information about our School. We are so
lucky that we have been able to grow and change over the years and most
especially over the last several years under our current head of school, Dr.
Boarman. So what are some of the exciting things that you will see when you
come and visit us in person?
This past summer we made some really wonderful
physical changes around campus, including in our own admission offices. We now
have a beautiful enlarged space to host everyone who comes to visit. In
addition, we built an amazing new patio right outside of the dining hall, which
has already become a central gathering space on campus. The students are eating
lunch out there, studying, meeting for advisory and even having classes. The
staff loves it, too—there have only been about four days that I haven’t eaten
lunch out there since school started because the weather has been so great! The
space was so well thought out that there are even charging ports built into the
wells around the giant trees that shade the patio.
Beyond the physical changes, there are
curriculum changes happening all the time. First, we made a big technology jump
this year when we went one-to-one. By that I mean that every student 6th grade
and above is required to carry a laptop computer with them throughout the day.
To accommodate this change we even added routers to many of our school busses! Why?
If computers are going to be a required tool, you have to make them accessible
all the time.
Along with the laptops we have added several
blended learning classes for our Upper School students. These classes allow for
the students to meet both in person with the teacher and virtually during study
hall or other times throughout the week. The flexibility of these classes has
been well received by our students who are taking them, and has allowed for
some interesting topics: Sports Medicine and Poverty & Equity in Montgomery
County are two of these new blended learning classes. In addition, our STEM and
Entrepreneurship programs are up and running in all three divisions!
These are just a few of the exciting things
that are currently happening. Have I piqued your interest? If you haven’t been
on campus, yet, make an appointment to come for a tour or join us for one of
our Open Houses. General tours only require an inquiry form and an appointment.
If you have already visited, check out our videos here on our website or our newly-launched
student newspaper. They are both great ways to get a
glimpse of everyday Bullis life! Or just give us a call in the Admission
Office. We are always happy to answer any question you may have and we are excited
to share what is new and happening here!
I can’t believe that we are off and running
again! My head is still spinning from a crazy summer chock full of preparing my
oldest child for college. I can’t believe that it was just three short months
ago that she walked across the stage in the Blair Family Center for the Arts
and graduated with the Bullis Class of 2012. What an amazing event. If you are
reading this blog, you may be hoping to experience the same outcome with your
child one day. Let me tell you, from personal experience: it is worth it! She
is now loving every moment as a full-fledged college student, and she was incredibly
prepared.
Not only was I busy, but here in the
Admission Office it has been a very busy summer. We have been under
construction all summer. If you have seen our offices before, you are not going
to believe the changes. If you haven’t, then you are still going to be amazed
at our new space! It is absolutely beautiful. We are so excited to begin
sharing it with prospective families.
We will begin general tours the week of
September 17. Monday, September 17, at 8:30 a.m. will kick-off our Upper School
tours and Tuesday, September 18, at 8:30 a.m. will kick-off our Lower and Middle
School tours. General Upper School tours run most Mondays and General
Lower/Middle School tours run every other Tuesday. We ask that you call to make
an appointment and that you fill out an online inquiry form before coming for a
tour. No application is needed to join these tours.
We will begin student interviews in October.
Students must be active applicants with applications on file to have an
interview. These appointments, if they include a tour, typically run about an
hour and a half and are required for all students applying to grades six
through twelve.
Lower school applicants do not come for interviews.
They come for group visits later in the year. All dates can be found here on
the website. However, parents of Lower School applicants are required to come for a parent interview. I know it may sound
confusing, but you can find all application requirements neatly laid out by
grade level under Admission Testing Information. If you can’t find what you are
looking for, then by all means, call the office and ask! We are always happy to
help.
We are looking forward to a great year and
are so excited about working with your family! Thanks for your interest in
Bullis.