FROM THE ARTS DEPARTMENT CHAIR

The Arts Department communicates with parents throughout the year using both traditional mail and email. Twice each year (fall and spring), the department mails a postcard to all parents. This postcard provides the dates and times of all scheduled arts events for the semester. Please note those dates on your personal and family calendars. In addition to this postcard, all arts events and performances are listed on the NA school calendar.

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Emails from the Arts Department

In the first week of each semester, the Arts Department Chair sends out a reminder to parents of the dates and times of arts performances that will take place during that semester. These emails come from the Arts Department Chair and are sent via the Upper School Principal or Middle School Principal (depending upon the grade level of your student).

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Performance Group Specific Emails

Each teacher/leader of NA performance groups creates an email contact group for all student participants and their parents and then sends information emails on a regular basis. These emails contain rehearsal schedules and reminders about the production. 

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Opportunities for Parent Volunteers

Parents of specific performance groups may receive email communications from NAPA’s Arts Liaison requesting volunteers to assist in supporting a particular event. 

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FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

Email is the primary channel through which the Department of Athletics communicates with parents. In addition, the Department strongly recommends that all parents of student-athletes sign-up for specific team notifications on MyNA. By signing up for team-specific notifications, parents will receive automatic updates about changes to the game and/or practice schedules of each team.

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Emails from the Athletic Department

The Athletic Department staff will email parents of student-athletes on the following topics:

• Dates of pre-season practices and/or trips

• Submission of required documents, including medical exams and other health-related forms

• Information that applies to all student-athletes such as concussion protocols

• Department-wide events to which parents are invited (e.g. Spirit Night)

• Announcements and information updates related to coaching personnel (e.g. openings, search processes, etc.)

• Recommended guidelines for parents of team captains

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Emails from the Coaches

Coaches of teams are expected to communicate to their student-athletes as a group, and the parents of those student-athletes via email on the following:

• Expectations and requirements for participation by the student-athlete

• Apparel ordering (may be delegated to the team captains)

• Schedules of off-season and pre-season workouts

• Detailed information regarding dates of any pre-season, off-campus trip (when applicable)

• In-season practice schedule

• Competition (game) schedule for the season (changes to the schedule are unavoidable and communicated via the Team Notification option that parents must “opt in” to on MyNA)

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Other Digital Communications

Newark Academy policy prohibits coaches from using text messages to communicate with individual student-athletes. Group text messaging to the entire team is permissible as long as it is directly related to team logistics (practice times, cancellations, schedules, etc.).

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Coaches and team captains are expected to use team group text messages and group email on issues that are only sport-related and all communications should include at least one parent or guardian copied on the message. Coaches are expected to monitor any team group text messages and ensure that all message content is consistant with Newark Academy’s Code of Conduct.

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A coach may respond via text message or email to a direct inquiry from a student-athlete via text message from a player regarding logistics of practice times, cancellations, schedules, etc. Further, coaches (whether paid or volunteer) and staff members are not permitted to connect personally (“friend” on Facebook; “follow” on Twitter, etc.) with student-athletes via social media channels.

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Meetings

In addition to email communications throughout the year, the Department of Athletics hosts or co-hosts several meetings that are open to parents. In all cases, the Department of Athletics will post these dates on the NA school calendar and issue at least one email reminder of the meeting. These include:

• Meet the Coaches Night – conducted annually in May for all incoming 9th graders who intend to participate in athletics

• Seasonal Parent Meetings – prior to the start of each sports season (fall, winter, spring) the Director of Athletics will host a meeting of all Upper School coaches, student-athletes and parents. This will also serve as the preseason trip information night which is required by ALL student-athletes and their parents who are participating in an off-campus sports trip.

• NCAA Information Night – co-hosted with NA’s Office of College Counseling, takes place annually in February and is recommended for student-athletes and their parents in grades 10 and 11.