We are excited to kick off D-term on Monday, December 7! D-Term will run remotely from December 7 to 18. Each grade will have specific programming in addition to shared community-wide offerings and experiences. More information about the specifics of the programming is below.
As a reminder, D-term is a way to live out Deerfield’s mission statement to “prepare students for leadership in a rapidly changing world,” and was designed to reflect Deerfield’s six core values. While the virtual campus and the grade-specific offerings will provide opportunities for you to engage and connect in an online format, as most of the world is doing right now, we hope that all of you are able to take advantage of the gift of this time for self-reflection, independent inquiry, and engaged and active citizenship.
Think of D-term as an opportunity to explore ideas, topics, and interests that you generally don’t have time to do. We encourage you to: dive deep into the Library website and read the news each day; take a look at the Virtual Campus for inspiration to extend your learning; re-boot that club or activity you didn’t have time to launch this fall; reach out to that teacher that you really enjoyed working with in the past; apply for a CSGC Micro-Grant and make an impact in your community; and take the time to reflect deeply on your accomplishments at Deerfield to date and your goals for Deerfield and beyond. During D-term, we encourage you to practice being an engaged citizen in your family life, your local community, and in the Deerfield community.
More information about D-Term is below, and if you have any questions about D-Term, please don’t hesitate to contact csgc@deerfield.edu with any questions!
Required D-Term Experiences:
9th & 10th Graders – For Ninth and Tenth Graders the two-week remote learning experience will center on the theme of engaged citizenship as they participate in courses called “D-Term Journeys.” 9th & 10th Graders should have received their course invitation and required pre-course work, directly from Envoys. If you have yet to receive your course invitation, please reach out to csgc@deerfield.edu
Juniors – Working with their college advisor, Juniors will engage in structured self-discovery and reflection as they kick off the college application process. Juniors should have received specific directions directly from the College Advising Office. In addition to this programming, we are reimagining the sit down meal! Each Junior will receive an invitation to participate in one “Sit Down” with an alum to learn more about their pathways after Deerfield and beyond. These required conversations will take place Thursday, December 10 at 8pm EST or Friday December 11 at 12pm EST. Juniors will receive their Zoom invitation early next week.
Seniors – Seniors will primarily be completing their college applications as they work with the College Advising Office. In addition, they have been invited to the annual Pathways Program, which includes a Live Q&A Webinar on Thursday December 10, 7pm EST. Details of the Pathways Program have already been shared with seniors via email.
All-School Academy Event: Bryan Stevenson Addresses the Deerfield Community on December 17
In support of our community book, Just Mercy, author, activist, and attorney Bryan Stevenson will address the Deerfield Academy community on Thursday, December 17, at 7:00 pm EST. All students are required to attend this virtual event. Students can use this link to join the webinar and this link to submit questions for Bryan Stevenson by Tuesday, December 15, at 8:00am EST. Please take some time over D-Term to review Just Mercy and related resources so that you can get the most out of this unique opportunity.
Other Offerings:
The Virtual Campus
Looking for ways to stay engaged during D-term outside of your grade-specific programming? We are excited to launch Deerfield’s Virtual Campus where many departments across campus have suggested ways to dive deeper into your favorite course subjects, stay active through fitness classes or yoga, choose global adventures and more! We invite you to explore the Virtual Campus and take advantage of these offerings, which will be updated throughout D-Term.
Clubs & Alliance Meetings
Interested in holding an alliance or club meeting? Email your zoom link, date, time and meeting description to csgc@deerfield.edu to add your meeting to the Virtual Campus!
School Meeting
We will release asynchronous school meetings during D-term for students to watch at your leisure as a way to stay connected and learn together during D-term.
Sit Down Meals
Students will be invited to sign into a “sit-down meal” with various faculty members and other students throughout D-Term. Each sit down meal will have a theme, and all students are invited to drop in and get to know other students. We hope students take advantage of the opportunity to connect with people they may or may not already know on topics of interest to them. Also, you are welcome to bring food to the Zoom call, but the meal portion is optional.
D-Term Daily
Throughout D-Term, you will receive a “D-Term Daily” with suggested opportunities and reminders. Check your inbox and/or the Bulletin to stay up to date with the happenings of D-Term!
Advisor Letter
Please keep your eye out for an email from the Student Life Office for more information about the reflection letter that you will submit to your advisor by the end of D-Term. We encourage you to take the time to work on this letter throughout D-Term and make the most of this time to reflect, celebrate your successes, and set goals for the rest of the academic year.
D-Term Reflection and Feedback Form
At the end of D-Term, you will fill out a reflection and feedback form to share what you participated in, reflect on your learning, and give feedback on the programming.
Challenge Yourself
Throughout D-Term we encourage you to go beyond engaging with the offerings provided to you and create experiences of your own. We challenge you to make the most of your D-Term days and start the winter term full of stories of how you lived out Deerfield’s core values and realized the Academy’s mission as a D-Term pioneer.
We look forward to staying connected online with you this D-Term!