Week of February 25, 2008

I almost put a picture of a palm tree on this week's blog as I am leaving for Florida this afternoon to visit my mother and step father. As I sit here, looking at the rain and knowing the temperature is hovering around 32 degrees, I can't wait to get on that plane. I haven't seen my mom in over a year, so I'm looking forward to a great visit. They will want to feed me, feed me, feed me. They are picking me up at the airport at 8pm tonight and taking me straight to a restaurant! I will return Monday evening and will be back at school on Tuesday, just in time for the onslaught of activities.

Tuesday night is our parent forum on Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll. We will begin at 7pm for 30 minutes of social time. At 7:30, we will have a presentation from school parent and psychiatrist, Mindy Oshrain, about drug use and the adolescent brain. This will be followed by plenty of time for questions and discussion. I know that drug use among teens is of great concern to our staff and parents. In the Upper School, we constantly grapple with the quest of finding the best, most successful drug education program. I hope to see you on Tuesday night.

Got dinner plans for Wednesday? FATHER TONY IS COMING! The photo that I am trying to get on this blog post was taken last year in Newton Grove. Father Tony has his hands held high in celebration following a rousing game of soccer between our students and the farmworkers. He will be at CFS on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. We have planned a potluck for US families on Wednesday at 6pm in the Meeting Hall. Freshman parents are especially encouraged to attend. You can meet Father Tony, hear about the Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry, and get a great idea of the work your children will be doing during our End-of-Year Program. Father Tony is one of those unique people that, if we are lucky, we meet once in our lives. All families are welcome to be a part of this potluck dinner and evening.

On Saturday, CFS students and community members will be walking through Chapel Hill and Carrboro to raise money for a school in sudan. Valentino Achek Deng was one of the thousands of Lost Boys who walked across Sudan in the mid-80's to escape Arab militias. Susan's Immigration students have read the account of his life (What is the What by Dave Eggers) and feel inspired by both the story of Valentino's immigration to the United States and his commitment to improving life in his native Sudan. We invite others to join us on Saturday and welcome this opportunity to raise awareness about the immigrant experience. Meet at Whole Foods in Chapel Hill at 10am Saturday. We'll be marching to Weaver Street Market.

CABARET!! SATURDAY NIGHT!! 7-9PM!! DON'T MISS IT!!
The US CABARET is our one community-wide fundraiser of the year. We will have a talent-filled evening showcasing students, staff members and parents. (Watch for a certain mother & son duet!) Proceeds from the Cabaret will directly support community service aspects of this year's End-of-Year Program: building materials for the village of La Isla, El Salvador; assistance to an AIDS orphanage in Trinidad; building materials for Habitat for Humanity in Trinidad; and supplies for an elementary school in Costa Rica. The CABARET is a family-friendly event, and all CFS families, friends, and alum families are welcome to attend. See you in the Center.

We have a lot going on in the life of the US, this week. I hope you will be able to join us for some...or all of it.

Week of February 18, 2008

This will be a very full week for Upper School staff members. They have been busy grading tests, reading papers, evaluating final projects, and writing End-of-Term reports. With a very short amount of time to accomplish this task, Jon Lepofsky provides the perfect photographic example. He sits with his computer in his lap, paper and grade book close by, and stacks of papers waiting to be read.

Our spring symposium is Monday, with the theme of Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll. The following staff members will be present: Carrie, Bob, Willy, Jon, Elise, Dylan, Sherri, and Liam. Former parent, Duke professor, and author of Buzzed, Cindy Kuhn, and her drug education students will make 2 presentations about the dangers of drug and alcohol use; one to the freshmen and sophomores, and one to the juniors and seniors. During our second hour, we will be divided by grade and by gender to discuss relationships. The boys will write questions for the girls, and visa versa. Each grade will then gather to share questions and answer them. Basically, this is a time for students to talk openly about relationships, expectations, confusions, and concerns. During our third hour of the morning, our tech director, Sharon Guillory, and MS teacher, Matthew Ross, will do a presentation on Internet Safety.

Following an information-filled morning, we will have a cookout lunch and enjoy entertainment provided by our US bands and the Quaker N'Oats. Hamburgers and veggie burgers are $1/each. For the afternoon, students have planned fun, community-building activities. We will begin with an all-US game of capture the flag, which will cover the entire campus. This game will be followed by an interesting rendition of Amoeba, which will be played in advisee groups. We will conclude the day with clean-up!

Tuesday is Advisee Day. During this day, advisors work with their advisees to help them plan for their student-led parent conferences. Students will receive and go over their End-of-Term reports. They will also write mid-year self-evaluations. Each group is planning this day differently, with some groups remaining on campus and others heading off campus for a variety of activities.

Wednesday is a very important staff workday. As you can imagine, staff members have their hands full with ending the term, writing reports, and participating in an advisee day. Wednesday's workday allows staff members to time to focus on their spring term classes, which will begin on Monday, February 25. On Thursday and Friday, we will welcome parents to the US for student-led conferences. Please stop by the old building (log cabin) to see a display of student projects.

Week of February 11, 2008

I included this picture of Chuck Davis with Susan and me to remind you all of our MLK Jr. Celebration. The MLK planning committee will have its final meeting of the year this week, during which we will evaluate our week-long celebration and make notes for next year. If you have any thoughts to share, please feel free to leave a comment on this Blog or email me directly. I will be happy to communicate your thoughts to the committee.

We have just completed our whirlwind visit with the Vestfyns Efterskole in Denmark. 34 Danish students and 6 staff members were hosted by 19 of our families. A big Thank You to Elley Schopler for organizing this event and to all of our host families. We hope you enjoyed this experience. We will be welcoming 20 French students in April. More to come about that...

THE SCHOOL STORE WILL BE CLOSED THIS WEEK. As a result of some students not taking the time to clean up after themselves, we are forced to close the school store for this week. Students will not be able to buy drinks, snacks, or frozen lunches, and won't have access to a microwave oven. We WILL have pizza on Wednesday.

Jon Lepofsky and 8 of our students are at Furman University in Greenville, SC, for the annual Inclusivity Conference. In honor of the last day of the winter term, the Upper School will have a Valentine's Day dance on Thursday, February 14, in the gym lobby, from 8:30-12:00. The cost is $5, and students must sign up before Thursday night.

End-of-Term Dates:

• Friday, February 15: Staff workday for report writing
• Monday, February 18: Spring Symposium (All students expected to be present. Our theme is Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll.)
• Tuesday, February 19: Advisee Day to prepare for student-led parent conferences. Specific plans will be communicated by each advisor.
• Wednesday, February 20: Staff workday to prepare for spring term
• Thurs/Fri, February 21/22: Student-led parent conferences

FATHER TONY IS COMING! Watch in next week's Blog for information about Father Tony's visit on February 27-28. You won't want to miss an opportunity to be in the presence of this amazing man.

Week of February 4, 2008

I am so excited about starting this Blog. My plan is to write once each week to let you know about what's ahead in the Upper School. On Tuesday, February 5, we will host our final home swim meet at the Sportsplex in Hillsborough at 4:00. Our basketball teams will play away games on Tuesday and Thursday. On Friday, we will host 34 students from Denmark. As they are due to arrive at noon, we plan to feed them lunch. They will then visit classes for the rest of the afternoon. Visiting students are being hosted by Upper School families. After playing Frisbee and soccer between 3:30-5:30, will all join together for a potluck dinner in the Meeting Hall. Danish visitors will stay with their families until Sunday morning.

Senior Seminar oral defenses begin this week. Each senior in this class has written and edited a paper on this year's theme, Fate and Free Will, based on their philosophical readings. They have each chosen two adults, in addition to Jamie and Elise, who will join their panel. They have one hour to defend their position and their paper, answering probing and challenging questions presented by their panel members. These oral defenses serve as the culminating and capstone experience for this 2-term class.

Congrats to the Improv class on their very entertaining show last weekend!

Looking ahead, six US students will attend the NCAIS Inclusivity Conference with Jon at Furman University on February 10-11.

If you want to see a picture of me learning how to make this Blog, here's one from Matthew's Blog. More to come as I learn how to make better and more effective use of this exciting tool.