Preparing for Cardigan's 2019-2020 School Year

We are excited to begin the 2019-2020 academic year at Cardigan Mountain School! Soon we will welcome returning and new families to the community, and we look forward to partnering with you in the months ahead. At Cardigan, we believe that families are the foundation of a child's education, and we cannot succeed in teaching the Cardigan Way without you. If you model our Core Values of Compassion, Integrity, Respect, and Courage, and inspire your sons to do the same, together we can help your boys along their path to living responsible and meaningful lives.

While we are preparing for the new academic year to begin, we know you are busy getting your son ready to join us on campus. We ask you to read through each section of this page to help you prepare for his arrival.

Parent Planning Guide

The complete 2019-2020 Parent Planning Guide can be read and downloaded here.

Advisory Program

The advisory program at Cardigan is designed to ensure that each boy has a faculty member who will truly know him in all aspects of school life, and to develop a relationship with each advisee family through effective communication, collaboration, and support. Advisors go out of their way to understand the academic, athletic, and social well-being of their boys, and they are prepared to serve as the primary contact and mentor for your son to the best of their ability. With that said, we acknowledge that it takes time and effort to develop a strong connection between faculty, student, and family, and we encourage clear and open communication to succeed in meeting the needs of the whole Cardigan boy. Your son's advisor will contact you soon through email and will look forward to meeting you in person at the beginning of the school year.

Cell Phones, Tablets, Smartwatches, and Nintendo Switches

Our cell phone and technology policy is simple at Cardigan: all boys must turn in cell phones and other internet/cellular-enabled devices (such as tablets, smartwatches, Nintendo Switches, etc.) to their dorm parents or travel coordinator upon arrival to campus in September. Secretly keeping unsanctioned technology is a violation of our core values, and is considered a major school infraction.

There is increasing literature about the negative effects of excessive technology use, especially in regard to relationship building, interpersonal skills, and mental and emotional health. Because we care about the character and wellness of our community, we believe that limiting distracting technology enhances the student experience and fosters growth and development. Therefore, we ask for your full support to impress upon the boys the importance of respecting our technology policy during their short time at Cardigan. If a student is leaving campus for a weekend or over a school break, he may sign out his device but must return it to the travel coordinator or his dorm parent when he is back on campus.

Absence Policy

Cardigan takes attendance seriously and requires parents to provide information regarding absences, tardiness, and early departures. While we do not grant extended absence or early departure from school, we recognize that students will need to miss school days for illness, family emergency, or other pressing family commitments. Parents must email attendance@cardigan.org in advance and provide evidence of absence, tardiness, or early departure.

More information about our absence policy is available in the Parent Planning Guide.

What to Bring

To help you and your son pack for Cardigan, we have developed a detailed packing guide which outlines items that are required (e.g. personal items, bath linens, room furnishings), optional items to help him be more comfortable (e.g. bicycle, posters), and things that should not be brought to campus (e.g. computer, expensive items, refrigerators). More information is available in the Parent Planning Guide.

Health Services

Please be sure you have completed all your Magnus Health Information online. Check to be sure your information has been accepted and approved. 

Medications and over the counter supplements: Please have all medication registers uploaded ahead of time (prescription and over-the-counter medicine). Please be sure you have reviewed the prescription medication program information and have provided Family Pharmacy with your information.

Please bring all medications and supplements with you to registration as you must give them to one of the nurses. No medication/supplements, OTC's, protein beverages/powders or protein bars, etc. are allowed in the dorms. 

Nutrition: Our daily meals provide a great variety of choices. However, if you are providing dorm snacks for your student, please consider nutritious items. Consider water instead of soda, and granola and fruit bars instead of cup noodles or candy.

Contact Diane Hines at dhines@cardigan.org if you have any questions or issues related to Health Services. 

Summer Reading and Placement Tests

Students must complete their summer reading requirements before they arrive for Registration. Summer reading helps students stay engaged academically during the summer months. A selection of approved books can be found online.

Please make note that all students (returning and incoming) will be taking placement exams in World Languages or ESL (if applicable) and in Math when they arrive on campus to determine the appropriate placement of each boy. We do our best to make sure that boys are placed in the best classes to further their academic growth and to develop the skills necessary to be successful in the courses they take after Cardigan. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Jamie Welsh, dean of academics, by phone (603)-523-3527 or email to jwelsh@cardigan.org with questions regarding this. 

Registration Schedule

Friday, September 6, 2019
New Student Registration and Orientation

9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. New Student Registration (Wakely Center)

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.  Lunch

1:30 p.m. Welcome Remarks from Mr. Day, Head of School (Humann Theatre)

1:30 - 2:15 p.m. New Student Activity with Student Leaders (Meet on the Hill behind Clark-Morgan)

2:00 - 2:30 p.m. International Parent Meeting (Humann Theatre)

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Parent/Student/Advisor Meetings (Advisory Locations)

3:30 p.m. Parents Say Goodbye and Depart Campus

4:00 p.m. The Amazing Race (Meet on the Hill behind Clark-Morgan)

Saturday, September 7, 2019
Returning Student Registration and Orientation

9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Returning Student Registration (Wakely Center)

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch

12:45 p.m. Welcome Remarks (Humann Theatre)

1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Parent/Student/Advisor Meetings (Advisory Locations)

2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Returning Parents' Secondary School Placement Meeting (Humann Theatre)

3:00 - 3:30 p.m. All-School Activity (Meet on the Hill behind Clark-Morgan)

3:30 p.m. Parents Say Goodbye and Depart Campus

4:00 p.m. All-School Meeting for Students and Faculty (Humann Theatre)

6:15 - 6:45 p.m. Dinner

7:30 p.m. Opening Ceremony (Chapel)

Contact Us

Please don't hesitate to contact us during normal business hours Monday through Friday (EST) if you have questions.

Front Office/Receptionist: 603.523.4321 
Health: 603.523.3520 or healthcenter@cardigan.org 
Business: 603.523.3549 or skinne@cardigan.org
Travel: 603.523.4321 or travel@cardigan.org 
Athletics: 603.523.3524 or athletics@cardigan.org

A more extensive directory can be found on our website. If you need to contact the School outside normal business hours, as in case of an emergency, the AOD (Administrator-On-Duty) can be reached via mobile at 603.443.6252.

Cardigan has an exceptional group of educators dedicated to your boys, and we work hard to help your son achieve his best in our close-knit community.

We hope you enjoy the rest of your summer, and we look forward to seeing you soon at Cardigan!