Well, hello there, Wide World of Apogee!   Warm tidings of the New Year to you all — your humble Apogee directors hope that your 2012 is off to an outstanding start.   As it is early January, it’s resolution time — but I’ll leave you those to you.   Up here, early January means bidding adieu to Maine’s frosty, but disappointingly snowless, expanses as we get on the road to meet new families all across this fair land.   We’ll be looking forward to meeting folks from Ambler to Winnetka, from Brooklyn to Yarmouth, and all sorts of points in between.   Whether you are a new family just “kicking tires” or a five-year alumni family, I hope that you’ll join us — please check out our full schedule here.

And as it is time to think about getting those applications in, we’ve got a couple of little bennies to tell you about:  our sibling discount is firmly in place this year for new and returning families.   If two children from the same family participate in one of our programs in 2012 (and it doesn’t need to be the same program — one sibling can be hiking the AT on our Downeast Explorer while her brother is sipping a cappuccino in a village cafe before crushing the hills on our Tuscan Service Adventure), each sibling will receive a $100 tuition reduction.

As a special little thank you to our alumni families, if a new family says that you referred them to us, your 2012 tuition will be reduced by $100.   Thanks so much for sharing your Apogee experiences with your friends!

Last but not least, like our friends at NPR and their ubiquitous tote bags (but significantly cooler), any student who signs up by January 31 will receive a thank-you gift in the form of the best early sign-up t-shirt we’ve ever had.   Please see our two-year models Hannah, Josiah and Kadin rocking the navy blue with Apogee emblazoned on the front in day-glow yellow.   These are a very limited run — so please get us your application before the end of the month!