Tidbits from math and science

Frances's Environmental Research students were hard at work when I stopped by to visit. Each of them has designed a different experiment. Lucas is testing different types of water and their effect on the growth of radish seeds. Elana is propagating African Violets. You can see her cuttings in her petri dishes. Taylor is working with students from other schools as a part of the School of Ants Team. The ants that you see below are not long for this world. Taylor will be freezing them and sending them off to be tested.

Not pictured: Maria is testing the effects of different hormones on plants. Toby and Kai are studying bugs in grassy areas vs. non-grassy areas. Emma is working with an osmometer to see how fast pansies soak up water under a variety of conditions.











































I thought you might enjoy this shot of Dave Cesa teaching his Calculus II class outside on the deck. His students are learning Calculus AND enjoying our new patio furniture.

REMINDER: End-of-Year forms are due Wednesday. They must be signed by a parent/guardian in order to be valid.

Week of October 31, 2011--HALLOWEEN!!

Kiernan talks with his advanced actors above as they prepare for a run-through of Clifford Odets' Waiting for Lefty. This show will be performed Thursday and Saturday evenings at 7:30pm in the Meeting Hall, with an open dress rehearsal on Wednesday at 7:30pm. We hope you can find time this week to come out to the theatre to enjoy this series of vignettes that will be presented in a most creative format.

As the fall sports season draws to a close, I am happy to report the results of a very busy weekend. The cross-country team (5 boys and 5 girls) traveled to Charlotte to complete in the state meet. Coach Larry Bohs reported that every single CFS runner posted a personal best at the meet. Amazing! Meanwhile, the tennis team was in Wilmington. 6 girls played tennis for many cold hours on Friday while parents huddled in blankets. Below, you can see a shot of Kyle Gouchoe-Hanas playing in the finals on Saturday. She did us all very proud! The soccer boys finished 2nd in the state after playing exciting games on Friday and Saturday. Thanks so much to the many fans who made the trip (twice!) to Fayetteville. What a season!






















The Teacher Growth class surprised the staff this week with a party instead of staff meeting. They had prepared food and special gifts for each staff member. Above, you can see the staff watching a video that they created entitled "We Love Our Teachers!" This video presented many of our students talking about what they most appreciate about their teachers. What a lovely gift to the staff. (The members of this class can be seen smiling above.)

Junior Night was a huge success. Here you can see Elise with admissions directors from Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill. Elise put parents and students through an admissions committee activity that you can see above. Each group was given 3 actual college applications. They had to make quick decisions to accept, deny, or waitlist these applicants. Parents and students report that both the admissions activity and the presenters were most informative and helpful.

WE WILL CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN ON MONDAY WITH PUMPKIN CARVING AND COSTUME CONTESTS.

REMINDER: NOON DISMISSAL ON WEDNESDAY FOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT.

NEXT BLOG: Frances's Environmental Research students share their experiments.

Up-to-the-minute updates (10.24.11)

Thank you to Brian Whittier for these recent soccer shots. Here are the latest sports updates:
CROSS-COUNTRY: The team will be heading to Charlotte on Thursday after school in preparation for the state meet on Friday.
TENNIS: 6 girls will head to Wilmington on Thursday after school in preparation for the state championship event on Friday. This team finished 2nd in the conference--the highest of any CFS tennis team.
VOLLEYBALL: The varsity team was selected as the #7 seed in the state tournament and will host a match tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:00.
SOCCER: The team is hosting a quarterfinal match against Caldwell Academy at 4:00 tomorrow. It is supposed to be a beautiful day. Come on out and cheer for our teams!




ETHICS BOWL: Our Ethics Bowl team, supervised by Jamie Hysjulien, headed to Moorsetown Friends School in Moorsetown, NJ, this past weekend to participate in the Bioethics Bowl. They won their first two competitions and finished a close second in their final competition. Congratulations to Jamie and his great team of debaters!






HALLOWEEN CHANGES: Due to the disappearance of so many athletes this Friday, we have decided to alter our Halloween plans. We will hold our Pumpkin Carving contest on Friday, as planned. Our big Halloween celebration and costume contest have been moved to Monday. Students should wear costumes on Monday, the actual day of Halloween.

END-OF-YEAR PROGRAM SELECTION: We announced to students today that our off-campus End-of-Year experiences will be to the Galapagos Islands, Nicaragua, Trinidad, the Adirondacks, and out west to the Havasupai Reservation and the Grand Canyon. Locally, we will offer a local service experience and the Senior Banquet. Students also have the opportunity to plan their own internship experience. More to come about this process.







EXCERPTS FROM AMLIT
The students in Elise's American Literature class are reading Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Their most recent assignment, which was due today, was to write a description of CFS in Capote's style. What fun! I couldn't resist getting my hands on some of these pieces to share with you. I am not free, at this time, to let you know who wrote each of these Capote-like excerpts, which are designated by a change in font. Enjoy!

Friends School, pieced together by time and elbow grease is that of a summer shed, merely expanded to become that of a series of wooden based buildings. The simplistic, green; (but not in color) steps lead to the inviting, inimitable CFS sign. You have a name, she has a name, so does he, and respect has nothing to do with age. Friends have something to learn, something to teach, and something to merely express. The individual, comfortable walls that make each room its own, integrate with the couches, the paintings, the smell of freshly squeezed earth. Where food is sold, innocence is the currency. Where the music is made, soul is the key. Chairs, rocking chairs, couches, benches, stools, and ground. All places to reflect, all places to learn.

Twenty-one faux wooden steps lead to a quirkily-lovable log cabin that obviously would fail a fire code inspection. The steps are an awkward height: short enough to overstep and trip, but not sufficiently low to easily skip one. Whether as a well-traveled pathway, a lunch table, or a homework lounge, the steps are the center of the community. They have supported thousands of feet--bare feet, Ugg-snuggled feet, feet in Coverses, Keds, hiking boots, flip-flops, four-inch heels, cleats, basketball shoes, cowgirl boots, and even a few clad in duct tape.

Carolina Friends School is not for the faint-of-heart. When entering the grounds of the school, you are greeted by the strongly delicate trees whose leaves blossom a beautiful color some would call periwinkle-cream. Continuing past the trees, and the soccer field, usually shared by soccer players, Frisbee pros, and the birds and the bees, the middle school and elementary school of minuscule sizes loom on your left, and soon the traveler finally arrives at the "life of the party" the public knows as the upper school.

The old main building is an imposing structure, its large set of steep grey steps makes it seem far away, almost unreachable, to a newcomer. The regulars, however, are so used to these steps that they barely give them a glance before beginning to trudge up them at the beginning of the school day. Occasionally referred to as the "log cabin," the once natural colored, elderly building now has a coat of dull grey paint that only serves to age the building further. The grey gives the building an institutional, jail-like feel that is only off-set by the empathetic feelings brought out of the viewer by its slightly shriveled stature.

I wish I had time to share more, but I am off to Junior Night. Take a look at the moon. It's a tiny sliver. Beautiful!

Congratulations to our undefeated conference champs!! Our soccer team has been seeded #2 out of 16 teams for the state tournament. Amazing!! We will play our first game in the state tournament tomorrow (Friday) at 4:00 at CFS. WE WANT A BIG, BIG CROWD TO CHEER THIS TEAM TO VICTORY. If they win their game tomorrow, the next game will be Tuesday afternoon...also at CFS. Meanwhile, I am just about to head over to the gym for the volleyball conference quarterfinal match. As Donna King (mom of Volleyball player Anna and Soccer player Josh) and I were talking today, these sporting events are great (cheap!) entertainment. I hope you can make it to one of these exciting games. We are very proud of all of our athletes.

More news for this week...

SPORTS HAPPENINGS AT CFS!! Here are some shots of the girls tennis team (again!). It was senior night, and Kyle was being honored. While the tennis match was going on (which they won), we were receiving ongoing reports from the soccer conference final against Westchester. We went into halftime trailing 2-0. Happily, after catching up and going into a second overtime, we won 3-2. Needless to say, we are so proud of all of our undefeated conference champs! We are now awaiting news of the first round of the state tournament, which should be at CFS on Friday. I will get an announcement out as soon as I get the word. We want to get a BIG CROWD for this event.















Today, the US staff members are participating in a Round Robin. Each staff member meets with each advisor about every student. Advisors will have up-to-date information in preparation for their parent conferences, which begin tomorrow.





Here are some great shots of Matt and Hally who are repairing solar collectors as part of their Environmental Studies class project. They needed protection from the liquid tar. Hopefully, you can also see this tiny shot that was taken of the juniors at Monticello. (Not sure how it will turn out. I couldn't get it to enlarge.)

LOOKING AHEAD...
Junior Night is Monday, October 24, at 7pm. (5:30 for folks who are participating in the potluck admissions activity. If you want to participate and have not rsvp'd, please contact Jack McLeod asap!) This evening is for juniors and their parents.

Halloween: The Upper School will celebrate Halloween on Friday, October 28, with our annual pumpkin carving and costume contests.

I wish you could be sitting at my desk, looking out my office window. I am surrounded by the most beautiful fall colors. A cool, rainy, fall day...complete with an amazing lunch provided by Upper School parents. What could be better?

Week of October 17, 2011

Lots of pictures this week! I hope you can see all of them. The Senior Forum class on Entrepreneurship is working on creating a restaurant business. Last night, I was lucky enough to attend their first dinner, which was served to their parents: French onion soup, Caesar salad, Duck with mushrooms and potatoes (seen above), French bread, Ratatouille, Creme Brulee, home made ice cream, and flourless chocolate cake. It was delicious, and the entire evening was delightful. Here you can see the cooks in the kitchen, most of the servers (minus Danusha), and the greeters. Bravo to this hardworking group...and their equally hardworking teacher, Philip!



I have a feeling that these photos are getting all mixed up. Hopefully, you can find the senior volleyball players all dressed up for senior night. Then there are a group of photos of sophomores working at the Durham Food Bank on Friday.




























Last week, Mig and Philip welcomed two amazing speakers to their Social Issues and Documentary class. Christina Mumma heads up the Project Innocence program in North Carolina. She works tirelessly to get innocent prisoners out of prison. She brought with her Dwayne Allen Dail who served 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Many of our students were able to hear Dwayne share his shocking story. In this photo, you can see Christina talking, with Dwayne in the background. Mig and Philip are also in the picture.
PARENT CONFERENCES
We are looking forward to welcoming parents this week for their conferences with advisors. On Wednesday, the Upper School staff will participate in a Round Robin when advisors will meet with each of his/her advisees' teachers to get a progress report. All parents should have scheduled their conference by this time. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday or Friday. Until then...ENJOY THIS FALL WEATHER!

THE SOCCER TEAM IS PLAYING IN THE CONFERENCE FINAL THIS AFTERNOON AT CALDWELL ACADEMY. GO QUAKERS!! (It is also Senior Day for the tennis team--Congratulations to Kyle!)

Week of October 10, 2011

Last Wednesday, the US staff went to Hollow Rock en mass to cheer for our tennis team. When we took this picture of the team, Clara was busy playing a match (which she won!). You can also see Coach John McGovern discussing strategy with some of his players.















Here is Frances helping Xela with her pattern for sewing class. I also wanted you to see the new furniture in the library. Needless to say, the bean bags are a popular site for studying!













SOCCER TEAM UNDEFEATED!
Last Thursday, as reported by the Herald-Sun, the soccer team "capped an undefeated regular season" with a 5-0 win over Burlington Christian Academy. This Thursday, CFS will host our TAC Quarterfinals game at 4:30. We hope for a large and supportive crowd to cheer for this great team! In other sporting events this week, the tennis team will play at Hollow Rock on Monday at 3:30. The volleyball teams both have home games Tuesday afternoon.

PARENT FORUM
Please join us for an open and honest discussion about teen drinking, teen parties, and parent-to-parent communication at our Parent Forum on Wednesday at 7:30pm in the Meeting Hall.

ETHICS BOWL
We are very excited about our upcoming Bioethics Bowl competition at Moorestown Friends School in Moorestown, New Jersey hosted by the Penn Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. (http://www.highschoolbioethics.org/outreach/bioethicsbowl2011.asp) Jamie is taking 7 of his Ethics Bowl students to this event.

PSAT REVIEW
Rich Tapper will offer a FREE PSAT review session on Monday night from 6-8pm in the Upper School Meeting Hall. Last year this event drew upwards of 60 students who uniformly found it to be very helpful and informative. Rich is the LS parent who offers our SAT prep class in the winter for juniors. This is a nice way for students to experience Rich's teaching style and practice. The PSAT will be held in the Meeting Hall on Wednesday at 8am.

CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENT DAY
Our Curriculum Enhancement Day is this Friday. This is a reminder! Each class will be heading out for a curriculum-related experience. I look forward to reporting the results next week.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK! ENJOY THE BEAUTIFUL FALL WEATHER.

Week of October 3, 2011

Here is a photo of a tech training day with Stephen Ellison. Middle and Upper School students are being trained to run lights and sound for our dance and theatre productions. We are already so grateful for these students and for the time they will give to ensure that our productions look great and run smoothly. Bravo!

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT
Parents, we invite all of you to attend the US Back to School Night on Thursday, from 6:45-9:00. You are welcome to arrive between 6:15-6:45 for a social meet-and-greet time. You will have time to meet with your child's advisor and visit periods 1-6. Be sure to bring comfortable shoes. We will keep you moving from one class to another. Back to School Night is meant to be both informative and fun. We look forward to welcoming you!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
We will have a parent forum on Wednesday, October 12, from 7:30-9:00. Scenario: Your child has been invited to a party. Should you call the parent who is "hosting" a party? Will there be a parent supervising the party? Will there be drugs and alcohol? If you don't feel comfortable calling the party parent, is there someone you can call? What if a party or someone at a party gets out of control? These are all important questions. Please join us for an honest and open discussion about parent-to-parent communication.

PSAT
This is the last week to sign up for the PSAT. The cost is $15. Students should register with Willy. The PSAT will be given at 8am on Wednesday, October 12.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK. FALL IS HERE!