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2026-2027 Upper School Back-to-School Information

Key Fall Dates

Please mark these upcoming dates on your calendar as we launch the year together! I encourage you to review the 2026-2027 school calendar and check it periodically, as sometimes changes in dates and times become necessary.

  • Senior Portraits & Gate Picture: Monday, August 31, 2026
    • Senior Portraits: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
    • Senior Gate Picture: 5:00 pm
  • Upper School Orientation: Thursday, September 3, 2026, 9:00 -11:00 am
  • Senior Bonding Trip: Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 5:00 - 10:30 pm          

Note: This is for 9th grade students and families AND new 10th and 11th grade students and families    

  • 9th Grade Overnight Bonding Trip: Thursday, September 3 - Friday, September 4, 2026                             
  • First Day of School: Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 8:25 am - 3:25 pm   
  • Senior Retreat: Wednesday, September 9 - Thursday, September 10, 2026   
  • Sophomore Retreat: Wednesday, September 16 - Thursday, September 17, 2026 
  • Parents’ Association Blessing and Welcome Coffee: Friday, September 18, 2026, 8:15 - 8:45 am      
  • Senior Lunch with Mr. Baber: Monday, September 21, 2026                                    
  • Senior College Night: Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 6:30 - 7:30 pm 
  • Practice ACT: Saturday, September 26, 2026, 7:30 am - 12:00 pm 
  • Mass of the Holy Spirit: Thursday, September 24, 2026, 10:00 am   
  • Upper School Back to School Night: Thursday, October 1, 2026, 6:00 - 8:00 pm   
  • Upper School Photos (grades 9 - 11): Friday, October 2, 2026                                        

Upper School Key Contacts

To foster positive and productive family communication and relationships, you can find a list of key faculty members to contact for particular questions, concerns, or suggestions HERE.

Student Circle of Support

At Sacred Heart Greenwich, we support both the academic and social-emotional development of each student through individualized and programmatic resources.  You can find the Circle of Support document HERE.

Student and Parent Portals

As we prepare for the upcoming academic year, please take time to visit the Student and Parent Portals on the school website, where you will find essential information for the beginning of school. Please read everything carefully, including the updated Parent/Student Handbook, and make sure to update/sign all necessary forms, which were due by July 17, 2026, and August 1, 2026.

Parent/Student Handbook

The Sacred Heart Greenwich Student Handbook provides detailed information about important school policies and procedures for the entire school, with a specific section covering all aspects of life in the Upper School. Please read the entire handbook carefully and sign off on the acknowledgment form in the Parent Portal.

Upper School Schedule & Attendance

Daily Schedule: The daily schedule for the 2026-2027 school year is available HERE. 

Please note school hours in the Upper School:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:25 am–3:25 pm

Wednesday: 8:25 am–2:35 pm 

Individual Student Schedules

Individual student schedules will be available to students on the Student Portal in late-August. Look for an email from your Academic Dean with instructions when the schedules are posted. 

Attendance

Regular attendance and active participation are essential to student learning, as missed class time impacts not only individual academic progress, but also the collaborative learning experience of the classroom community. I encourage all families to carefully review the updated attendance section of the Parent-Student Handbook (shared on July 2), beginning on page 56, for a detailed outline of our attendance philosophy, reporting procedures, and intervention thresholds. Some key information is also included below:

All absences are recorded and reviewed as part of the school’s effort to support student learning and well-being. Attendance is taken at the beginning of every period, including Morning Meeting, and students are marked tardy if they are not present at the start of each period.  Sacred Heart Greenwich Upper School tracks attendance by course period rather than by total days missed. The total number of student absences by class will be noted on the report card. Families and students also have access to absence and tardiness information on the progress page of the Student and Parent portals.

Reporting Attendance

For the 2026–2027 academic year, Sacred Heart Greenwich Middle School and Upper School will be using an Attendance Tracker for parents to report absences, tardies, and early dismissals for their daughters directly into the Parent Portal by 10:00 am. You can find directions for how to enter your daughter’s attendance HERE. This system will be available for Upper School and Middle School families and will replace the Student Absence Tracker used in past years. Lower School families will use a system called School Dismissal Manager to report absences and will receive separate information on that process. Reporting an absence through the tracker is not only a procedural requirement but also helps us maintain accurate attendance records and supports student safety and well-being during the school day. Parents will be contacted if an absence is unreported.

  • If a student is absent due to illness, the parent must indicate the symptoms in the comments section.
    • If a student is absent for three or more consecutive days due to a single illness, a doctor’s note must be sent to the Upper School office.
    • If a student is diagnosed with a contagious illness (strep, COVID-19, flu, etc), the school nurse must be notified via email (tiedemannk@cshct.org) or phone (203-532-3586).
  • If a student arrives late or leaves early, she must sign in/out in the Upper School office. Failure to sign in or out may result in disciplinary consequences in accordance with Upper School behavioral expectations. The school must receive notice of an early dismissal through the portal before 10:00 am. Without documented permission, the student will not be permitted to leave campus.
  • If a student misses part of the day for a medical appointment, a doctor’s note must be provided to the Upper School Office.
  • The school reserves the right to request additional documentation when absences become frequent, patterned, or interfere significantly with learning.

Students who are absent are responsible for making up all missed assignments. Please see the “Missed Assessment” section of the Upper School handbook on page 61. 

Attendance Notification System 

Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, Attendance Notifications (AN) will be generated when students reach the thresholds outlined below, which reflect missed class periods within a single course over the duration of the course.

  • After 5 missed periods, an Attendance Notification (AN) is issued to notify the student and family of the absences. This notification is informational and intended to support proactive monitoring of missed instructional time.
  • After 10 missed periods, a second Attendance Notification (AN) is issued notifying the student and family that absences are approaching a level of concern. The Academic Dean, an appropriate administrator and/or School Psychologist, will review the student’s attendance pattern and, in collaboration with the teacher, determine whether additional support or intervention is appropriate, and will communicate the findings to the student and family.
  • After 15 missed periods, a parent meeting will be scheduled with the student, the relevant teacher, Academic Dean, and/or School Psychologist to develop a written plan that addresses missed learning and outlines a path toward successful course completion.

In order for a student to earn credit in a course, she must be present and complete the work necessary to demonstrate mastery of course learning objectives. 

Therefore, any absence will be documented so that missed learning and coursework can be addressed. While all missed instructional time is recorded and monitored, not all absences result in the same level of intervention or academic response. The school may consider the nature, frequency, and pattern of absences when determining appropriate support and next steps.

Summer Work

Upper School students have summer work to complete. They can find their assignments on the Sacred Heart Greenwich Upper School Summer Site and in the “Upper School Summer Site” link in both the Parent and Student Portals.

Ordering Textbooks
When you log in to the school website, the Upper School Summer Site is linked in both the Parent and Student Portals. It can also be accessed at the Sacred Heart Greenwich Upper School Summer Site. This site includes a textbook and reading list by course.

Parents: To determine which books to purchase, you can find your daughter’s courses for next year by logging in to the Parent Portal. 

  • Click your daughter’s name in the navigation bar, or choose it from the “Children” drop-down if you have more than one daughter at the school. 
  • Click “Course Requests.” Scheduled courses are listed as Enrolled under “Selected Requests” on the right side of the page. 
  • Please note that some non-core classes are being scheduled and may not yet be marked as Enrolled. This course list will be available for viewing from Friday, June 12 to Friday, August 14, 2026.    

Students: To help guide your textbook purchases and to see the courses you are enrolled in next year, log in to your Student Portal. 

  • Click on “My Day,” then click the link for “Course Requests.” Your courses for next year are listed on the right-hand side of the page under “My Requests.” 
  • Please note that some non-core classes are being scheduled and may not yet be marked as Enrolled. This course list will be available for viewing from Friday, June 12 to Friday, August 14, 2026.       

The scheduling team worked to build a schedule that accommodated most students’ first-choice requests; however, scheduling nuances may have required offering alternative options, which would be reflected in the student’s course list. 

Textbook Ordering Process

Most books are available for purchase through BNC K-12 (Validation Code SHG1177). If you choose to order from an alternate vendor, please use the listed ISBN number to ensure the proper book is ordered. 

A reminder that faculty ask families to purchase new copies of paperback literature and workbooks, as students will be encouraged to highlight and take notes in them. 

Supplies

When you log in to the school website, the Upper School Summer Site is linked in both the Parent and Student Portals. It can also be accessed at the Sacred Heart Greenwich Upper School Summer Site. This site includes a supply list by course.

Cell Phone and Smart Watch Policy

The Upper School is a student cellphone- and smartwatch-free zone during school hours (8:25 am–3:25 pm).

Students will turn in their cell phones and smartwatches upon arrival each day, and they will be redistributed at the end of each school day. If a senior signs out to leave campus, according to the senior privilege policy, she will receive her phone from the Upper School main office and must return it once she signs back in upon returning to campus. Should you wish to send a message to your daughter during the school day, we kindly ask that you either reach out to the Upper School office by phone (203) 532-3544 or email (angiolillob@cshct.org) and copy the Assistant Head of Upper School for Student Life (panarellak@cshct.org), or email your daughter directly. We will forward messages to students as needed. Please see the Parent/Student Handbook for more information.

Uniforms

Students are expected to follow dress code regulations from 8:25 am to 3:25 pm. See Upper School Uniform Requirements for more information. You can order Uniform items on the school website. Please review closely, and if you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Panarella, Assistant Head of Upper School for Student Life.

Upper School Advisory Program

Students will receive a message from their advisors prior to the first day of school. Every student in the Upper School has a faculty member who serves as her advisor for four years. The Advisor monitors each student’s well-being and serves as the student’s advocate. Advisory meets twice per cycle, and during these periods, students explore their own growth and develop respect for themselves and others while creating a community in which all feel welcome and respected. In addition, our Sacred Heart Greenwich Leadership Academy is embedded into Advisory to ensure that our girls build the skills to lead with courage and confidence—at Sacred Heart Greenwich and beyond.

Class Retreats

Retreats: A key element of a Sacred Heart Greenwich education is developing a personal, active faith in God.  For this reason, we are again aligning our first-semester retreat program to help our students foster this vital relationship throughout the year. Please note that students are required to participate in one retreat each academic year to fulfill graduation requirements.

  • Our Freshmen will participate in a retreat at school during the day on Friday, January 22, 2027
  • Our Sophomores will participate in an overnight retreat on Wednesday, September 16 - Thursday, September 17, 2026
  • Our Juniors will engage in their Kairos retreat Thursday, December 10 - Saturday, December 12, 2026 
  • Our Seniors will participate in an overnight retreat Wednesday, September 9 - Thursday, September 10, 2026