For 9th Graders

Welcome

Congratulations on your acceptance and your enrollment! We are very excited to welcome you to campus this fall. 

We hope you will use the summer as an interlude to rest and to pursue individual interests—balance is important! Spend time with friends and family. Get outside. Explore old passions or new curiosities. Embrace downtime.

We also want to give you as a class an opportunity to connect with one another, to help your class develop a strong sense of community, and to prepare you for life at Exeter, all through a summer Common Read. We are delighted with our selection of Kenneth Cadow’s Gather for our 9^th-grade Common Read. All incoming 9^th grade students are expected to read Gather before school begins in September. You are welcome to takes notes or to keep a journal, but it is not required. In Health class this fall, you will engage in activities that respond to topics from the book and use it as a discussion point through the term. Though you will not be quizzed on the material, reading Gather this summer will enhance and support those classroom experiences, give you something to discuss with your new classmates, and set the stage for a wonderful year.

The author, Kenneth Cadow, will visit campus in late October, when he will meet with the Class of 2029 and host a Q&A. His text will serve as common ground for discussion in your Health class—and beyond—as we work together to create an inclusive, safe, and supportive community.

---