Summer Resources
Getting Ready for Fall
The first day of school is Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
Athletics preseason activities begin Monday, August 18 for Upper School students.
New and returning student orientations will be held Wednesday, August 27-Friday, August 29.
Content may be updated throughout the summer – we will note any updates below!
This printable "Getting Ready for School" checklist will help make sure you haven't missed anything!
All School Resources
- Save the Date! Back to School Events '25
- Accessing the Holton Calendar
- Bus Transportation
- Driving on Campus: Car Line and Reminders
- Health Forms
- Learning Support
- Technology Requirements
- Grandparent and Special Friends Contact Information
- Student Course Requests for Returning Families
Save the Date! Back to School Events '25
Please join us to learn about your student's classes and to meet their teachers.
Upper School: Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 6-8 p.m., In-Person
We look forward to welcoming all parent(s)/guardian(s) for Back to School Night on Wednesday, September 10! The schedule begins promptly at 6 p.m. A more detailed evening schedule will be emailed, and the Sunday Skim will be sent later in early September.
Middle School: Thursday, September 25, 2025
More details to come in the first Sunday Skim and via email in August.
Lower School: Friday, September 12, 2025
More details to come in the first Sunday Skim.
Accessing the Holton Calendar
For the 2025-2026 school year, parents/guardians will access school calendar events in the Parent Portal starting in July, 2025.
What's Included in the Portal Calendars?
By logging in to the Parent Portal, parents/guardians can access calendars and calendar feeds that are specific to their families.
Do I have to log in to view the School calendar?
Yes, please note the public Holton calendar is still available on the public website but does not carry the same level of detail as the portal calendars. Parent/Guardian-and student-specific events are only available in the Portal. Use this link if you forgot your password. New families will receive their Parent Portal login information in the summer.
From the Parent Portal, you have access to many different calendars. Below you will find an overview of what you can find on each calendar.
Will my old iCal feeds still work?
In short, no. You will need to re-subscribe to Holton calendars, see below.
Household
The household calendar is meant to bring together events for all members of a given household. It includes:
System Dates
- Grading Period Start and End Dates for your students
- Rotation Days (non-M-F) for your students
School Events
- Displays events in which School level(s) (or grade level) match the school level(s) of your students
Group Membership Events
- Displays events for groups of which you are a member.
- Displays events for groups of which one of your students is a member.
School
The following is an overview of what is displayed on the school calendar:
System Dates
- Grading Period Start Dates for all school levels
- Grading Period End Dates for all school levels
- Rotation Days (non-M-F) for all school levels
School Events
Excludes Games or Practices
Middle & Upper School Athletics
Athletics events are available on the Teams & Events section of the Holton website.
Subscribe to Holton Calendars
Log in to the Parent Portal and Click on "My Calendar Subscriptions" near the Top Right of your screen starting in July, 2025.
Next, you will see a view of calendar subscriptions related to your household. Click on the SUBSCRIBE button next to the calendar you want to download. You may get a warning from your browser that you are launching an application. Just click OK. (Please note student assignments are not posted here. They are posted in Canvas.)
If you use Google Calendars:
Check the "Subscribe Using Google Calendar" box at the top of the screen. Then click the subscribe button. A new window will open Google Calendar and you will be asked to confirm the addition of this calendar. Click "Yes, add this calendar."
If you use iCal:
iCal will open and ask you to confirm your subscription. Click Subscribe. Now Holton events should show up in iCal.
If you use Outlook:
Outlook will launch and you will be asked to confirm your subscription. Click Yes. Now Holton events should show up in Outlook.
Bus Transportation
Driving on Campus: Car Line and Reminders
- Follow directions from school representatives when entering and exiting campus for carpool. Please drive slowly; be aware of stop signs and crosswalks. The posted speed limit is 15 mph.
- Do not use your phone while driving on campus.
- Exhibit courtesy during drop-off/pick-up; do not block other vehicles and please yield to buses.
- Please remain in your car while in the car line. If weather permits, please turn off your engine while waiting.
- Students should exit vehicles in a safe manner with little delay; have materials ready for loading/unloading. Pull all the way forward to the “CARPOOL STOP HERE” sign or the car in front of you and be courteous to the other parents/guardians in line. Stopping short can severely affect morning drop-off. If the carline gets too long that it impedes traffic entering campus, staff may send cars down to the "Tennis Shed" (there is a large paw print on it) and loop traffic back around to the main circle. Please only drop off when adjacent to the sidewalk on the first circle. When you come to a complete stop next to the sidewalk please have your student exit the vehicle no matter how far from the front entrance you may be.
- If you have students in Lower School and another division, the older student(s) should go to the Lower School for dismissal. As it takes Middle School and Upper School students more time to pack up and travel to Lower School, we encourage families picking up students in multiple divisions to come toward the end of the car line period (3:45 p.m.).
- If your MS/US student has an early dismissal for an afternoon appointment, please contact the appropriate Division Assistant and CC security. Your vehicle will be allowed to bypass the carpool line to the front circle up until 3:20 p.m. as long as your student is ready and waiting.
- All sixth grade students are automatically enrolled in our traffic Safety Patrol Program, please obey posted traffic signs and all directions given by our security team and grade six patrols. This is a wonderful opportunity for real leadership and service. Please contact us if you have any questions.
- Students from MS/US should only be picked up around the front circle and should stand on the sidewalk. Students are not to be picked up from any location other than the front circle between 3-4 p.m. Walking in the grass and in the parking lots and roads slows down the pick-up and is dangerous. Traffic exiting campus from the alternating lanes during carpool is limited to exiting employees and student drivers only.
- Parents attending morning events that coincide with car line are asked not to drop off in car line but rather to park and walk in with their student, this allows a smoother traffic flow.
- Students learning to drive on a provisional license should only drive to School in the morning for drop-off. During afternoon carpool there should be no switching seats or provisional license driving to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.
- MS parents/guardians:
- The afternoon car line begins at 3:30 p.m. However, because Middle School PE/Sports ends at 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, arriving for car line 5-10 minutes later than dismissal time could minimize car line waiting times. Therefore, if you prefer to not wait in the carline, we recommend you arrive closer to 3:45 p.m.
- One area that often causes our students a bit of worry is if they are unsure of their dismissal plans. Please make sure your child knows whether they will go to carpool, the bus, or Extended Day. If your plans change during the day, update School Pass and contact the Middle School office by calling 301.365.6017 or emailing the Middle School Assistant, Megan Ray, and we will make sure your child and your child’s teacher/coach know the dismissal change.
- Information about student parking will be available in June.
- Please enter student's cellphone numbers into SchoolPass so that they may receive text alerts when you arrive on campus and be ready to exit the building expediently.
- Be sure to update any family vehicle information in SchoolPass. Any one other than the student's parents or guardian must be registered with the school prior to picking up. This is done by contacting the appropriate division admin by phone for verification purposes and then followed up by an email to the admin and Samantha Gilman-Reilly.
- We strongly encourage carpooling to minimize traffic and wait times for families. To find a possible carpool option, you can log in to the Parent Portal and click Directories > Households > “Nearby Student Households (<10).”
With cooperation and courtesy from all, we will get to our destinations safely and set good examples for our students. If there are any traffic concerns, please contact Nate Wilson, Facilities Manager for Campus Safety, 301-365-6462.
Drop-off & Pick-up Map:
Health Forms
For the 2025-2026 school year; forms will be due to the school by Friday, August 1.
All student medical paperwork should be submitted to the August Schools Health Portal. This is a web-based system that gives you continuous access to your child’s health record and the ability to make updates when needed. All of the necessary health forms can be found in the August Schools Health Portal. You can download the necessary forms there, and your progress is regularly saved so you do not need to finish all the forms at once.
Learning Support
To support your child's transition to Holton, all learning support documentation (e.g., educational evaluations, previous accommodation plans) should be submitted by Friday, August 1, 2025. Documentation should be uploaded using August Portal.
This timeline allows our Learning Support Team to thoroughly review materials, develop or update Individualized Learning Plans, and coordinate with teachers before the school year begins. Documentation received after Friday, August 1, will be carefully processed, but please understand that Individualized Learning Plans may not be finalized for the first day of classes. We appreciate your partnership as we work together to support your child's academic experience and continued success here at Holton.
For questions about documentation or the accommodations process, please contact your grade-level learning specialist.
The Learning Support Team
Kate Harris, Lower School Learning Specialist (3-6)
Melissa Robertson, Middle and Upper School Learning Specialist (7-9)
Jessica Grow, Upper School Learning Specialist (10-12)
Technology Requirements
Dear Holton families,
Divisional technology information for the 2025-2026 school year has been emailed to all families. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Mike Robertson
Director of Libraries and Information Services
301-365-6492
Grandparent and Special Friends Contact Information
Student Course Requests for Returning Families
Student Course Requests for the 2025-2026 School Year are now posted to the Parent and Student Portals for students in Grades 6-11 (Rising Grades 7-12)
To access these, follow the directions below.
Student Portal:
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Sign in to your Student Portal.
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Scroll down to below the big blue Vidigami square.
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Click on the “Course Requests” link.
Parent Portal:
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Sign in to your Parent Portal
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On the main page, click “Links” under Student Information
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Click “Course Requests”
If you have any questions about ELECTIVE course requests or would like to make changes, please reach out to your student’s advisors (grades 6-8) or your student’s class dean (grades 9-11)
If you have any questions about ACADEMIC course requests or would like to make changes, please reach out to your student’s teacher and/or the department chair.