2020-2021 Information

The online calendar will be updated through the summer. The 2020–2021 academic calendar gives information on the days we are in school and other basic information.

• Saturday, August 1: Sports Physical Clinic, 9:00 am–12:00 pm at the upper school campus
• August 10 & 11: Senior Boot Camp at San Pedro Center, Winter Park. See further down the page for more information.
• Tuesday, August 11: Lower School Meet-the-Teacher (K4–6th grade) with an informational expo in the gym, 9:30–11:00 am at the lower school campus
• Tuesday, August 11: New Upper School Student Gathering with Lunch, 12:00–1:30 pm at the upper school campus
• Tuesday, August 11: Upper School Meet-the-Teacher (7th–12th grade) with an informational expo in the daVinci room, 1:30–3:00 am at the upper school campus
• Wednesday, August 12: First day of school for all students, K4–12th grade
• Tuesday, August 18: Lower School Open House (K4–6th grade), 6:45–8:05 pm
• August 19–21: Rhetoric Retreat for students in grades 9–12.
• Thursday, August 27: New Moms Coffee. A gathering for new moms at the San Pedro Center. Come as you are after dropping off your children, 8:30–10:00 am
• August 29 & 30: 9th grade boys Gilchrist Trip
• Thursday, September 3: New Parents Dinner at Interlachen Country Club, 6:30 pm. A dinner for all the new families to TGS. Come and be encouraged, and meet the administration, some board members, and other new families.
• Thursday, September 10: Upper School Open House for all 7th–12th grade parents, 7:00–9:00 pm
• Saturday, September 12: TGS Auction (rescheduled from the spring), 5:00 pm at the upper school
• Saturday, September 26: Fall Senior Dinner, 5:00 pm at Interlachen Country Club
• Saturday, October 24: Annual TGS Fall Festival at the upper school campus
• Monday, November 23: Grandparents Day for 7th–12th grade at the upper school campus
• Tuesday, November 24: Grandparents Day for K4–6th grade at the lower school campus

Please check the calendar for other important dates through the year.

K4 & kindergarten students do not begin full days at school until August 24.

• K4: 8:20 am–12:30 pm prior to August 24. 8:20 am–1:30 pm for the remainder of the year.
• Kindergarten: 8:20 am–12:30 pm prior to August 24. 8:20 am–2:45 pm for the remainder of the year.

The Geneva School yearns to see good readers, and reading well requires direction, discipline, and diligence. For nearly ten months, our teachers strive toward teaching mechanics and comprehension, analysis and appreciation. They assign books to read, questions to answer, and ideas to ponder. Reading for understanding begins with the necessity of hard work, but the rewards pay dividends in growing the imagination and inspiring the mind.

Reading lists can be found on the SUMMER READING pages. The lists for K4–6th grade students are suggested reading lists. The 7th–12th grade reading lists outline required reading in addition to other suggested reading.

School supplies necessary for students in K4–6th grade are purchased and placed in classrooms ready for the first day of school. The cost of supplies is added to an activity fee divided between two payments billed to accounts in September and January. At each grade level, there are a few items that are not included in the activity fee billing.

Students in 7th–12th grade purchase their own supplies.

Further information can be found on the STUDENT SUPPLIES page. This page has not been updated for the 2020-2021 school. It should be done by the end of June.

All uniforms should be purchased from Lands’ End and Tommy Hilfiger. Information on how to order can be found on the Uniform Supplier page.

It is very helpful to be familiar with the uniform requirements before ordering. All the information about uniform requirements and can be found on the UNIFORM GUIDELINES page.

Used Uniforms: The school has a selection of used uniforms for sale at a significant reduction. Come by the lower school campus for K4–6th grade uniforms and the upper school for 7th–12th grade uniforms after June 1 during regular business hours if you are interested. If you would like to donate gently used (and clean) uniforms, they can be dropped off at the front desk at either campus.

Senior Boot Camp: August 10–11 at the San Pedro Center in Winter Park. Director of College Counseling Scott Thigpen and Director of Student Services Isabel O’Driscoll, will lead the students in preparing for their senior year. These items include but are not limited to house leadership, rhetoric retreat planning, career and personality assessments. There will also be scheduled time for worship, reading God’s word, and prayer. More info can be found here.

Rhetoric Retreat: All Geneva School rhetoric students, along with a team of rhetoric faculty and admin, will begin the 2020–2021 school year by spending a few days together at Southwind Younglife Camp in Ocklawaha, FL. The dates for the trip are August 19–21. More information can be found here.

Other trips planned are:

• Fifth Grade trip to Williamsburg: April 13–16, 2021 (tentative)
• Sixth Grade trip to Washington DC: April 20–23, 2021 (tentative)
• Seventh Grade North Florida Trip: October 26–30, 2020
• Eighth Grade trip to TBD: May 10–13, 2021 (tentative)
• Ninth Grade Boys trip to Gilchrist: August 29 & 30, 2020
• Ninth Grade Trip to the Florida Everglades: February 22–26, 2021
• Senior Trip: The week after graduation. Destination TBD

Check out the Athletics section of the website to see what is in store for your children in the way of athletics for next year. Please watch your email inboxes over the summer for announcements about schedules and tryouts for fall sports.

Grammar School Fall Sports

• Soccer for K4–6th grade boys and girls (competitive)
• Volleyball for 5th–6th grade girls (competitive)

Upper School Fall Sports

• Girls Volleyball (7/8, JV, varsity)
• Boys Golf (JV and varsity)
• Girls Golf (JV and varsity)
• Boys Cross Country (MS, JV & varsity)
• Girls Cross Country (MS, JV & varsity)
• Co-ed MS Soccer (6th–8th grade boys and girls)

Note for 6th grade athletes: Students in 6th grade may participate in 5/6 grade volleyball, JV golf, MS cross country, 5/6 grade soccer, or MS co-ed soccer.

Required FHSAA Forms for all 6th–12th Grade Athletes: All 6th–12th grade students participating in middle school, JV, or varsity athletics must have a number of forms on file in the athletic office before they are permitted to take part in practices or games. One of these forms is the FHSAA Pre-Participation Physical Examination form. This requires a physical exam by a doctor. See your regular doctor or plan on coming to the TGS clinic on Saturday, August 1, from 9:00 am–12:00 pm at the upper school campus. For more information about the required forms, please go to ATHLETIC FORMS.

Sports Physical Clinic for 6th–12th Grade Student Athletes

• Date: August 1, 9:00 am-12:00 pm at the upper school campus
• Dr. Jay Alilin (family practice physician and Geneva parent) and his brother Dr. Ben Alilin will do the exams.
• $25 Cash or check to Alilin Family Medicine, LLC
• All proceeds benefit TGS Athletics!
• No appointments, first come-first served
• FHSAA sport physical forms provided
• Questions? Contact Lou Jones, School Nurse

Please note – younger students do not need these FHSAA forms to participate in youth sports

If your student requires daily medication while at school, needs an inhaler for asthma, or is prescribed an EpiPen for severe allergies, please refer to the Medical Information pages for further information.

If you have a child entering K4, kindergarten, or 7th grade student, Florida state law has certain age-specific immunization requirements for children attending school that you need to be aware of:

• K4: 4 doses DTap (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis), 4 doses polio, 1 dose MMR (mumps, measles, rubella), 3 doses hepatitis B, 1 dose varicella (chicken pox)
• Kindergarten: Additional MMR booster, additional varicella booster
• 7th Grade: Tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis booster (Tdap or Adecal)

For new families to Geneva, please check the Information for New Families. This page has information important for the health and safety of your child from our school nurse Lou Jones.

Grammar school class assignments and dialectic and rhetoric class schedules are completed the first week of August and communicated to parents/students.