Week of October 27, 2008

Hi everybody!

Well, I am so frustrated with blogspot. I can't get any pictures to upload to my blog. After trying everything I could think of for an hour, I give up...for the time being. I had some great photos to share with you. Hopefully, I will be able to add them in at some point. (As you can see, I finally got one to work. These are some of the members of Quaker N'Oats.) In the meantime, I will shake off my frustration and share with you some of the many activities that are taking place in the Upper School. As we near the end of the fall term AND the political elections, the speed of life is picking up!

CIVIL RIGHTS TRIP TO SELMA

As I write this blog, Susan is on her way home with 11 students and Alicia. I managed to get ahold of Miles on his cell phone and asked him for an update. The high point for Miles was the re-enactment at the Slavery Museum. In the re-enactment, the members of our group were treated like slaves for an hour and a half. They started by yelling directions at them to line up against the wall with their eyes down. They experienced verbal abuse. At one point, they were placed in a completely dark room. They could hear people moaning and screaming. According to Miles, it was one of the scariest experiences of his life, and "very eye-opening." In addition to the Slavery museum, they also visited the Voter Rights Museum, walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and "had some great soul food!" I am so grateful to Susan and Alicia for taking the time, when they could have had a little break, to make this opportunity available to our students.

CAMPAIGN '08 DRAWS TO A CLOSE

As you can imagine, Bryce's Camapign '08 class is heating up during this final week of the campaign. They have planned an election watch party for Tuesday night, November 4th. All interested students and family members are invited to join us, beginning at 8pm in the Meeting Hall. We will have a potluck table for food and watch results on the big screen. For their final class activity, Bryce has divided his class into groups focusing on battleground states. They will report their findings to the rest of the class this week and make predictions of how they think these states will vote. Bryce is offering prizes for the most successful predictions.

FALL SYMPOSIUM

Our fall symposium will be held on Monday, November 17th. The (student-chosen) topic for the day is Current Affairs. As our community activity coordinator, Bob Druhan is helping to line up presenters and speakers for workshops, presentations, and group speakers. If you are interested in sharing your knowledge on one of the following topics, please contact Bob: alternative energy sources, challenges for the next presidential administration, space exploration, human genetics, globalization, natural disasters, human trafficking, media, genocide, religion and politics, military and civil service, the Middle East, and the current economic crisis.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

Our Clerks Committee is quite active this year. They have already tackled Amplified Music on campus and the Driving Policy. Presently, they are discussing environmental concerns on campus, most specifically in the Upper School. They are talking about developing a new composting program, possibly using worms. They are also planning a community lunch this week, when we will all eat together on the steps. After we finish eating what we have brought for ourselves, everyone will place their trash on the patio so we can physically see exactly how much trash we create in one lunch period. Members of Clerks will lead a discussion about how we might reduce the amount of trash we create. Very exciting ideas!

HALLOWEEN

Halloween is one of the biggest days of the year in the Upper School! We will have a pumpkin carving contest for advisee groups. Three prizes will be awarded: The most political pumpkin, the greatest staff look-alike, and the best all-around. We will also have a costume contest that will include prizes for individuals and groups. My Head Teacher Committee is in charge of the US celebration. Admittedly, it's a little hard to be serious on Halloween.

I hope you have a great week and a safe Halloween celebration as we bid adieu to October. Enjoy your extra hour next weekend!