Week of January 11, 2010 MLK, Jr. Celebration Begins

Happy New Year and welcome back to the second half of this school year. As promised, we start of with a bang! We have begun our almost 2 full weeks of exciting and educational activities in preparation for our MLK Jr. Day Celebration next Monday, January 18th, at 10:30am. The members of the planning committee have attempted to plan something for everyone. We hope you will find time to participate. Below, you can see the indominatable Chuck Davis with Drumming Ensemble director, Jonathan Henderson, and two of his US drummers, Spencer and Joe. Jonathan, Spencer, and Joe are drumming for the Elder dancers.


Here you can see the first rehearsal of the elders. Chuck worked us hard for 3 hours!

The gospel choir began rehearsing last Thursday at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. Above, you can see some of the 40 singers with our director and CFS grad, Nia Patterson Downing. Below, pianist Roy Alston is working with some of the younger singers. Our next rehearsal is Sunday evening, January 10, from 5-7 at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church.

Beginning Monday and lasting throughout the week, students of all ages will be making masks with Carol Blackmore. According to Carol, "Masks can be both suppressive and empowering. An emotionally protective mask can be something we impose on ourselves in order to become more like a dominant culture, in order to feel safe when there is good reason to fear. This contrasts with how masks have been physically made and used for thousands of years as vehicles of personal power and transformation. The goal of this project is a sense of the mask as representing different ways of feeling and becoming..."

POETRY POTLUCK

On Tuesday night in the Middle School, all are welcome to participate in our Poetry Potluck, from 5:30-7:00. We will begin by sharing a potluck dinner and enjoying each other's company. After dinner, those present will gather for a sharing of poetry on issues of race, segregation, civil rights, and local history. Participants are welcome to share personal poetry or that of a favorite poet. All ages are welcome. Bring a dish and a poem to share!

COMMUNITY DRUMMING ENSEMBLE

The first rehearsal of the drumming ensemble will be held Wednesday night, from 5:00-7:00 in the Middle School. You do not need to sign up ahead of time. Please bring a drum if you have one. Drums will also be provided. All ages are welcome.

ANN ATWATER VISITS UPPER SCHOOL

We are honored to welcome Ann Atwater to the Upper School this Wednesday. Ann Atwater is a civil rights activist who was the subject of a 2002 film and book entitled An Unlikely Friendship, the story of a relationship between Atwater and C.P. Ellis, a former Ku Klux Klan leader. Ann will visit Susan's Civil Rights class and then share her story with a larger group of Middle and Upper School students.

HIDDEN VOICES

Former CFS parent Kathy Williams and her colleague Linden Harris will give a presentation to Upper School and 4th year Middle School students on Friday afternoon. They will talk about the African American community in Chapel Hill on how they turned their oral history project into a performance piece about the relationship between the community and the University. They will present readings and music from their play, Hidden Voices.

There are many opportunities to get involved in our MLK, Jr. Day celebration. Please find the time to participate. A reminder that we will be collecting children's books throughout the week for Read Seed. We are also sponsoring a food drive for the NC Food Bank on Monday, January 18th, at our all-school celebration.

PEACE AND BLESSINGS,

Carrie