Welcome Fall! 9.23.12

 We are so happy to welcome the fall weather in the Upper School. With fall comes Bear Night. The group above are our small but mighty Bear Night participants. Every Bear Night is a success--an opportunity for kids to be kids. I love it!

 Here you can see Jon with his Senior Study: Brain & Society class. I never did get to find out exactly what they were doing on the tether ball court, but Jon clearly has their attention.

 Amelia's advisees painted a great CFS sign...in addition to painting themselves. A perfect addition to our Fall Sports Day.

 During lunch on Sports Day, we had a mini pep rally where each team was announced. These are not official team pictures. Some of the athletes had gone off campus for lunch with their advisee groups. Here you can see the tennis team (undefeated!) with our emcee, Josh.

 The cross country team had just hosted a meet on campus the day before Sports Day.

 Here is a great mixture of JV and Varsity volleyball players.

 Above, you can see the soccer team. They were unable to attend Bear Night because they were busy beating Westchester, 4-2. (Congratulations!) Below, a happy Sports Day hug for 2 CFS fans.

Reminders for this week:
1. Our Jewish families will celebrate Yom Kippur, the most solemn religious holiday of the Jewish year, the last of the ten days of penitence that began with Rosh Hashanah.
2. Thursday, we will head to Washington, DC. We have asked students to arrive at school by 5:15am. The buses will depart at 5:30. Some families may want to share kids and rides. We will return by midnight. We encourage students to bring their cell phones so they can communicate with parents about an accurate pick-up time. The cost of transportation is $45. (Scholarships are available.) Students are welcome to bring a bag lunch or bring money to cover lunch and dinner. Lunch will be eaten with morning groups at the National Mall. We will meet for dinner at the food court in Union Station.
3. Friday, September 28, is a day off for our Fall Weekend. Enjoy!
4. Parents, please MARK YOUR CALENDARS for Back to School Night on Thursday, October 4, from 6:45-9:00. You are welcome to arrive at 6:15 for meet and greet social time. We will begin the formal program promptly at 6:45. During the evening, you will meet with your child's advisors and visit periods 1-6.

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." ~Emily Bronte

Week of September 10th...Our first full week of classes

 Annie Dwyer, our dance teacher, has often talked about the close connection between dance and sports. Our soccer team is experiencing firsthand this reality as they learn Hip Hop moves from Ronnie West. As a result of an idea of Annie's, they have worked with Ronnie for the past few Friday afternoons. "It's really hard to remember which move comes when," remarked one happy soccer player. I appreciate their willingness to step into what for most of them is uncharted territory.

 On a hot afternoon, Jonathan Henderson's Samba class could be found drumming at Millar's Bluff.

 In our freshman Biology classes, students have been studying the life cycle and characteristics of life. If you are on campus, I hope you will check out the display outside Frances Brindle's room. I learned a lot!

 Our Senior Service class is enjoying a giant take-apart project as they dismantle one of the bridges that crosses our stream. It will be their job this term to build a new bridge. Each year, our seniors choose a service project on campus. We look forward to watching their progress as these hard working seniors learn the intricacies of bridge building.

What's coming up this week? Our Fall Sports Day is this Friday. Friday will be a Spirit Day in the Upper School as we all wear our school colors: green and white. All of our teams will have home games Friday afternoon. Food trucks will be on hand. I hope you will be able to join us as we support our sports program and cheer for our teams.

Just a reminder about our DC trip on Thursday, September 27th. The cost is $45, which should be turned in to Willy Rotella. Willy is also collecting $15 from students who are signing up to take the PSAT, which will be held on Wednesday, October 17th. Scholarships are available for each of these events.

THE WEATHER IS COOLER. WE HAVE A FULL WEEK OF CLASSES AHEAD OF US. FALL SPORTS DAY IS FRIDAY. OUR THEME OF CAMPUS STEWARDSHIP IS GOING WELL. 

I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Looking ahead to Washington, DC

This is an old shot of Frances's advisee group 2 years ago in Washington, DC. We take the entire Upper School community to Washington, DC, every other year. This year, we will head to DC on Thursday, September 27th. We rent large, comfortable buses, leaving at 5:30am and returning by midnight. Upon arrival, we spend the morning at a variety of Smithsonian museums and the Capitol building. Students will have a choice of which museum they want to visit. We spend the afternoon in advisee groups. At 5:30pm, we walk to Union Station for dinner before heading for home at 7pm. We charge $45 for this trip, which helps to cover the cost of transportation. We have found this trip to DC to be educational, fun, and a great opportunity for advisee groups to spend time together.