New Family FAQs

The Plan of the Week (or "POW" for short) is exactly what it sounds like–the daily schedule of all activities, both on and off-campus. It includes meals, the class schedule, all-school meetings, advisory, study halls, athletics, and more. The POW is important for all families and critical for students and day student families. You can see the the current POW here.

Each day, a different Cardigan Administrator is the Administrator on Duty (or "AOD"). The AOD is the proper contact for families with a truly urgent need to communicate with the school, such as a family emergency.

The AOD phone number is 603.443.6252 and email aod@cardigan.org.

The AOD is available 24 hours a day while school is in session.

Please do not call the AOD with issues or concerns that are not urgent, including tuition payments, student accounts, grades, athletics, etc.

Call the Administrator On Duty (AOD) at 603-443-6252 (please make note of this number).
The AOD will direct you to next steps as needed. This number is available for truly urgent matters 24 hours a day while school is in session. You can also email the AOD at aod@cardigan.org.

• The student's parent or guardian must email attendance@cardigan.org with as much notice as possible.
• Your email should include the exact date and time the student is expected to depart and return. Please also include the name of the person to pick up or drop off the student, including a phone number if this person is not a parent or guardian. 
• Important: Please call the AOD 603-443-6252 as you are about to depart campus with your student and when he returns to campus (please instruct anyone driving for you to do the same). 
• Your student is responsible for notifying his teachers, advisor, coaches and dorm parents of any pending absence.

• Your son is free to depart for an overnight stay on Saturday nights after completing his athletic commitment for the day. Your son is responsible for notifying the school of his planned weekend away by completing the weekend away form that is available on the student website. 
• If someone other than your student's immediate family or guardian will be picking him up, a parent or guardian must email attendance@cardigan.org to give permission for that person to pick him up. 
• Important: The first two weekends (including the weekend following registration) at the beginning of the school year, as well as the weekend before and weekend after the winter and spring breaks are closed weekends. All students must remain on campus. This is to encourage team and community building. The first open weekend of the 2026-27 school year is September 26.
• Always notify your student's coach at the time of departure if you depart with your student after a game. 

• Students are not allowed to use cell phones or web browsing devices on campus (other than Cardigan laptops), and very few exceptions apply.
• Students must turn in all devices capable of accessing the internet, including cell phones, during registration. 
• Student phones are safely stored in the Student Life Office. If a student is leaving campus he may receive permission to check out a phone or device. All students are responsible for returning their phones and devices to an adult immediately upon returning to campus. 
• Landline phones are accessible to boys in all dorm rooms. Phone cards for calling can be purchased in the school store. 
• Boys are allowed to sync cell phones with school laptops. This is done at the beginning of the school year. This allows students access to communication apps (such as WhatsApp). After registration, we will have one day a week when boys can resync their phones if necessary. The Student Life Office or AOD will handle emergency requests.

• For passport, i20, and visa questions during the academic year, please reach out to the Student Travel Coordinator and Principal Designated School Official (PDSO) Erzi Willems at ewillems@cardigan.org. 
• All student passports, i20s and other important travel documents are collected during registration (and after students return from each break) and kept safe in a locked and fireproof cabinet in the Student Travel Office. If your student is on an F1 visa, his documents must be at school with him.