Week of March 17

We have just completed an amazing week in the Upper School! First of all, the photos above include Frances with students in her advanced biology class. On the right, you can see Annie Dwyer hanging out with students on the steps during lunch on a beautiful day. The picture I am not showing you is that of approximately 50-60 students jammed into Jon's room at noon on Friday...you may have guessed it...watching the UNC game.

As you know, last week was our student teach-in. Amazing! Does any other school in the country do this? Our students were in charge for the entire day. They taught all the classes, answered Willy's phone, sold pizza and played in the band on the patio during lunch, got to 5th period (after lunch) on time (!), led silent meeting, and took their jobs as teachers and students very seriously. As the staff members were off campus at an all-day staff retreat, we were like anxious parents having left their children without a babysitter for the first time. We needn't have worried. Sarah Yanuck has given me permission to let you see the email message she sent to me...

Dude, omg, student-teach day was SO GREAT. Like, SUPER GREAT. I mean, it rocked! (Actually, almost all of my classes were better than usual.) I just loved it...
I don't know what else to say. The teachers who I had were totally devoted and on-top of things and they were very open and approachable... they just did an absolutely fantastic job. We need more student teach days! (Hopefully that wouldn't take away its sparkle).

Here is another comment by Susan Kincaid:

Reactions to students about the Student Teaching day included exclamations of "Cool. Fun." One said, "It made me excited to come to school." Others were impressed with how professional the student teachers were and "really enthusiastic." Some felt that they learned more than on a regular day!
They wanted to pay attention so as to not disrespect their friends. "No one let me out early," a student noted. "We had pizza at lunch and we got to class on time," another commented.

In a recent posting in an online course I am
taking I wrote, "One of the best ways to teach students about leadership is to give them the opportunity to lead. Of course, these are teenagers. They are kids. They need our continuing support and help. They can be selfish and self-centered and very apathetic. So, too are many adults. We just have to keep setting the bar high, give them the opportunity to take charge, and be there to support their efforts."
The Upper School really set the bar high yesterday,
and students easily lived up to our high expectations!

This is a youtube video that Jasmine Berry showed during silent meeting on the student teach-in day. We wanted to mark the life of Eve Carson, UNC student who was brutally murdered last week. As the students were settling in to silence, Jasmine read a piece about Eve and the type of person she was...the type of person perhaps we all hope to be. She then showed this brief video.

OK, I have included lots of info about the teach-in. That's all about that for now. I want to remind all of you go please complete the brief parent survey that Nancy McGilvary sent to you in Friday's CFS News. It won't take long, and it will be very helpful to the school.

THIS WEEK: Freshman parents have a meeting with Susan and Tim on Tuesday at 7:00 in the Meeting Hall. Thursday is Grandparents Day, and we are expecting some grandparents to join us. Our visiting grandparents will attend classes Thursday morning with their grandchildren. At 11:30, they are invited to join Mike for lunch in the gym. Also on Thursday, we have a group of students attending an anti-war march in Raleigh. This rally is being organized by sophomore, Larkin Coffey.

***If you want to subscribe to this blog, please do so in the box at the top right of this page. Write your email address and click on "Subscribe." You will then receive notification by email each time I publish a new post. After this week, I will no longer send out reminders to parents.***

SPRING BREAK BEGINS AT NOON ON FRIDAY. WILLY AND I ARE HEADED TO MEXICO WITH MY FAMILY TO CELEBRATE MY 60th BIRTHDAY. HAVE A GREAT ONE!