Week of November 30, 2009...and looking ahead

Often, when I am talking about the dance concert, I include photos of dancers. This year, I decided to highlight the real heroes of the dance concert--Annie Dwyer and the tech crew! Above, you can see Annie (our fearless director on her birthday!), Stephen Ellison (lighting designer), and Esther (stage manager) preparing for the lighting tech day on Saturday morning. Below, you can see our amazing tech crew: Eric, Alexander, Katie, Will, and Neal. These dedicated students have been at school almost every night this week, hanging and focusing lights. As I told them this morning, tech weekend is really my favorite part of the dance concert process because this is when the dances truly come to life. We are so appreciative of the dedication and commitment of these students. They care deeply about highlighting the dancers in a beautiful and memorable way. The Annual Dance Concert will be presented on Thursday and Friday at 8pm in the Center. There is an open dress rehearsal at 7:30 on Wednesday. If you don't want to fight the crowd, my suggestion would be to come on Wednesday. The theme this year is a collaboration inspired by the question: What sustains you in times of trouble?








Last Tuesday, December 1st, was World AIDS Day. Tim took some students to Charlottesville, VA, to see the AIDS quilt. Meanwhile, we celebrated in the Upper School by making a quilt of our own. Each advisee group decorated a square with messages about AIDS or favorite activities and ideas of their own.

Here, you can see Asante holding the completed quilt. Below, members of Frances and Gustavo's advisee groups work on their quilt squares.

French teacher, Ken, teaches a class in guitar making. Ken has worked with a luthier in the western part of North Carolina and has made his own guitars. What an amazing opportunity for our students! Below, you can see Spencer playing his recently completed guitar. We have learned that making one's own guitar is a long process. Spencer started his guitar during the spring term of last year. He and Ken continued to work through the summer and into the fall. Spencer now has his very own hand-made guitar!

Look for seniors Hannah Anderson-Baranger and Sarah Nydick Cheshire in print. They have co-written an article for a local bi-monthly newspaper entitled Health & Healing. The theme of this month's edition is Balance. The title of Hannah and Sarah's article is "Fostering the Muses: Two high school seniors discuss their strategies for enhancing creativity while maintaining sanity." Congratulations to these talented creative writers. Their article is delightful!

Our art teacher, Amelia, was most happy this week to welcome potter and US parent, David Gould, to her Clay and Sculpture classes. David demonstrated methods of making bowls, plates, and bubble pots. We appreciate David's generosity in sharing his deep knowledge of pottery making with our students. I look forward to seeing what they will create after spending time with David.

SCHOOL STARTS AT 8:30am

I want to remind parents and students that school starts at 8:30am. It is so important that students be on time for school! We start our day either in individual advisee groups or all together in group homeroom. 8:30-8:40 is a time to take attendance, share announcements, and check in with each other before students head to their 1st period classes. When students are late, they often miss important announcements and feel disconnected from their advisee group. Parents, we hope that you will help us by encouraging your child to get to school on time. We will have a group homeroom this Monday morning as we prepare for signing up for Winter Service Days and the End-of-Year program. Needless to say, it is distracting when students arrive late. We appreciate your support in this endeavor.

WE MIGHT HAVE SNOW FLURRIES TONIGHT. HAVE A GREAT WEEK!