The Upper School goes to DC 11.07.08

What a beautiful day in Washington, DC! As you can see, we made it to many monuments and museums. We did a lot of walking--many sore legs by the end of the day. The Holocaust Museum touched our hearts. The Museum of Natural History educated us, especially in the new Hall of Oceans. Tours of the Capital and Supreme Court were awesome and enlightening. Our students were responsible and wonderful about staying with their groups and reporting to check-in times at the appointed hour...or earlier. Dinner at Union Station was fun. Our bus drivers met us at 7pm sharp and we headed for home. Thanks again, parents, for supporting this full community event. We had a great time!

Election Night Watch Party 11.04.08

Just some photo remembrances from our election watch party. The Meeting Hall was full of students, parents, siblings, friends, and staff members. Even Renee Prillaman, Head of Middle School, helped out by mopping the floor! Samantha Strom had prepared a Political Jeopardy game to warm the crowd up before returns started coming in. Bryce's Campaign '08 class prepared a party feast for all of us. Final stragglers finally headed for home at 11:30pm. You can see how tired Tony and Mariah were as they waited for rides home. What a great night!

Week of November 3, 2008

We have a very big week ahead in the Upper School. As you can see, I have included pictures from our Halloween celebration on Friday: A Jewish Santa Claus, Sarah Palin (who made a wonderful speech), and a set of Dominos. I was also able to get some shots of today's dress rehearsal for Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour, which will be performed on Thursday and Saturday at 7:30pm in the Meeting Hall. This is a serious play, which tackles the topics of rumors, lies, bullying, and gay/lesbian issues. Our all-female cast is hard at work with Susan, their director, preparing for this thought-provoking performance. There will also be an open dress rehearsal on Wednesday night. This play is appropriate for older Middle School and all Upper School students. We hope to see you there.

No Umbrella

In preparation for Tuesday's elections, we will show an award-winning documentary on Monday: "No Umbrella - An Election Day in Cleveland at its best, and at its worst." This 26-minute documentary offers an "unblinking look at the 2004 Election Day failures in one of Ohio's poorest neighborhoods. In the most hotly contested state in the country, gridlock at inner city polls ignites tempers and sets off charges of conspiracy. 'No Umbrella' drops us squarely into the chaos." I look forward to sharing this documentary with our students and to the discussions that will ensue.

Election Day

Tuesday night, Bryce's Campaign '08 class will host an election watch party in the Meeting Hall beginning at 7pm. We will have network coverage on our big screen. Food will be provided by Bryce's class. Senior Samantha Strom has organized this event. All students and families are welcome to attend.

Washington, DC

The busses will depart sharply at 5:30am on Friday morning. Students should aim to arrive at 5:15. They are welcome to bring pillows and blankets, and are encouraged to bring a bag breakfast...and lunch, if they so desire. According to the weather channel, the temperature should be around 60 degrees, no rain in sight. Students have completed their museum/tour forms and have been placed in morning and afternoon supervised groups. 3-5pm is free time. During free time, students must be in groups and may visit any museum on the Mall. All staff members will be available to join with groups on a random basis. The only students who have permission to leave the Mall are those who have signed up ahead of time to go with Tim O'Hara to a rally against genocide that one of our students, Sarah Nydick Cheshire, has organized. During the day, we have 3 check-in times when we will all meet to count heads. Most of our staff members will have cell phones and all students will have a map of the Mall and staff cell phone numbers. At 5:00, we will walk to Union Station for dinner. We are scheduled to depart at 7:00. As we near home, students will call parents to let you know when we will arrive. We are expecting to arrive in Durham around 11:30-12:00. Please be ready to pick up your child at that time. Last year, some staff members waited an extra 45 minutes for students to be picked up. That was painful! We are looking forward to another great experience in Washington, DC. Thanks so much for your support.

Book Fair

The annual CFS Book Fair is November 7-9 at the Regulator Book Shop on 9th Street in Durham. The Upper School reading time is from 2-3 on Saturday afternoon. Old 86, and Upper School band, and the Quaker N'Oats will perform. We hope to have some readers as well. Hope to see you there!

Yes, it's looking like a very full week ahead. We hope to see you at one of these events. Have a great week. Get out and vote. Enjoy the fall colors.

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!

Week of October 20, 2008

It is a beautiful October afternoon, and I hope you have enjoyed a wonderful weekend with your family. Greg and I went out for hot chocolate and a trip to the park with all 4 grandchildren and their parents this morning. Even little 2-week-old Annabelle came along. What fun! As you can see by the photos above, we had a full week in the Upper School last week. Emma and Katie are getting ready for an experiment in Bob's Chemistry class. Ella wrote a fabulous "Geometry" song, which she and Tasha sang for me. (One verse: It's not that hard so don't fuss/It's pretty easy when you've got Gus/We are known as a student/When things are equal they are congruent) I also included a picture of Gus's wonderful Geometry class. You can see a photo of Elise and her two speakers for Junior Night, Greg from Elon and Vern from NC State. At the very top is a shot of our hard working students taking the PSAT.

A PLEA FROM STUDENT DRIVERS: Dear Parents, Please do no park in the parking lot by the dumpster because it takes away from our spaces. If you need to park, you might pull up towards the shop. Thank you very much.

From the School Life Committee: The SLC warmly invites you to a presentation about the CFS Afghan Sister Schools Project on Wednesday morning, October 29 from 8:30 - 9:15 AM, following the Community Meeting for Worship from 8:00 - 8:30 in the Green Room of the CFS gym. Members of the Afghan Sister Schools Committee will present a short PowerPoint overview, leaving time for discussion and questions. Refreshments will be served.

CONGRATULATIONS to Tristan Green who was named to the All-Conference soccer team. Way to go, Tristan! As the volleyball season drew to a close, their coach, Dave Donaldson, wrote a poem for the team in which he mentioned every player. I understand this poem was quite entertaining. We bid good-bye to soccer, volleyball, and tennis as basketball players begin to warm up for the long season ahead. We also have enthusiastic swimmers who look forward to their season, which will begin in November.

As you know, Parent Conferences will be held on Thursday and Friday of this week. We look forward to good conversations about your wonderful children. Your experience, insights, and support serve as a great assistance to us as we do our best to meet students where they are and help them to move forward. One staff member, however, will not be with us this week...and for good reason. Susan is taking students from her Civil Rights and Holocaust classes to Selma, Alabama. Alicia Lucasi, our Bolivian intern, will also go along. When Susan took a Civil Rights tour this summer, she was deeply touched by her experience in Selma, which was like "going back in time" and wants to share this experience with her students. Susan and her group will "lodge" at the Slavery Museum. They will have a special tour of Selma, "Journeys for the Soul." I hope to be able to share photos and stories after they return.

Advisors will be handing out Washington, DC Museum and Tour Selection Forms Monday morning. Students will be choosing a morning and an afternoon activity for the Washington, DC trip on Friday, November 7th. I have emailed permission slips to parents, and we will have extras available at parent conferences. I look forward to welcoming all of you to the Upper School later this week. Please bring any questions/concerns you may have about your child's experience so far this year. Until then, ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL FALL WEATHER!

Week of October 13, 2008

It seems like just yesterday that I was saying, "What happened to September?" Now I look at the calendar and we are almost halfway through October! Speaking of October, the 6th was a big day in our family--Annabelle Lucille was born at 5:55pm. You can see her here at 5 days old. Her 3 older siblings welcomed her home with hugs and kisses. Mom and Dad are doing well on very little sleep. On Saturday, I managed to get to the soccer game against Calvary Baptist with my 2 oldest grandchildren, Oliver and Eden. Above, you can see Jeron about to head the ball with Sam Schopler looking on. Above that,Tristan is heading down the field for a kick on goal. What a beautiful day for a soccer game! Hopefully, the top picture didn't get covered up by another. (something I don't seem able to control) It's a picture of the entire US community giving each other a good old Carolina Friends School hug!

On Wednesday night, from 7-9pm, all juniors and their parents will meet in the Meeting Hall for an introduction to the college process in the Upper School. Our college counselor Elise will be on hand to share information about how to begin the process of thinking about life after CFS. We will have 2 directors of admissions, one from a large state school and one from a private institution to talk about the admissions process from the college's point of view. Students and parents should come with questions, as there will be plenty of time for Q&A.

On Thursday of this week, Elise and I will hold a training session for the newly formed Staff/Student Discipline Committee. Students serve on this committee for a 2-year term. Five students are returning members, and we welcome 5 new students to the committee. These 10 students represent grades 9-12. On a given council, we have 3 staff members and 4 students. During the training session, we discuss confidentiality, possible consequences for a variety of situations, and the format of each SSDC hearing. We will split the group in two and hold practice hearings. This year, the members of this committee will revisit the by-laws, which were developed 10 years ago.

Another committee that will meet for the first time this week is the Head Teacher Committee, which is made up of representatives of grades 9-12. This committee helps me keep a pulse on the student body. They let me know when our community is beginning to droop and needs a little pick-me-up. As some kids call it, this is the "feel good" committee. We are in charge of the Halloween celebration, the annual talent show in December, and a Valentine's Day surprise. When needed, this is the group that surprises the community with donuts or popsickles.

As you know, parent conferences will be held on Thursday and Friday, October 23 and 24. By now, you should have heard from your advisor about scheduling your conference time. On Wednesdday, October 22, we have a staff workday. On this day, the US staff holds a round robin when each of us meets with every other staff member to talk about our advisees and how they are doing in their classes. With over 20 staff members in the US, this round robin makes for a long day AND the result is a lot of important information gets shared. We look forward to sharing this information with you.

Until then, enjoy this beautiful weather!

Week of October 6, 2008

What a beautiful fall weekend! Our little Annabelle (grandchild #4) has been due any minute for over a week now. Still no Annabelle! If she doesn't arrive Sunday, they plan to induce first thing Monday morning. Monday is also our son Sam's birthday, so we think October the 6th would be just fine. As for the photos above, you can see our intern Alicia with senior Jasmine. Alicia has just completed her first full month with us, and she's doing great. She plans to join Susan and her Civil Rights class on a trip to Selma, Alabama, later this month. You can see Frances and her Gardening class preparing the soil for bulb planting, and generally cleaning up an area that had become pretty run down. As is often the case in this blog, you can see a couple of students relaxing on the big US steps.

I included a picture of Bob Druhan teaching his 6th period Advanced Chemistry class. The picture of Bob's students was taken Friday afternoon, the last period of the day. Are they so happy because they are excited about Advanced Chemistry...or because their weekend is about to begin?? Bob also teaches an Astronomy class this fall. Last Thursday, following our Back to School Night, Bob led an Astronomy Night with his class. What a perfect night for star gazing--clear and cool. Bob's students have been studying the Milky Way, and Bob knew they would have a good view on Thursday night. The last time I had an Astronomy lesson with Bob, we were on the tiny island of Vieques, off of Puerto Rico, on an End of Year experience. On a beach on Vieques or on the CFS baseball field, Bob's Astronomy lessons are always engaging.

Our students have a short week ahead. We have a noon dismissal on Thursday for staff development: the Pu Pu Platter of Technology. Friday is a day off for our fall weekend, which I hope you will all enjoy. On Monday, representatives of the Clerks Committee (our form of student government) will be explaining a new addition to the US Driving Policy to our community at group collection. Members of Clerks have been discussing this new proposal for a couple of weeks, and a representative came to staff meeting last week to present it to the staff and answer any questions. Thanks to the mature, comprehensive, and thoughtful manner with which our students handled these discussions and to the professional presentation to staff by senior Josh Whitney, the staff approved this new proposal, which will only affect juniors and seniors. The new piece of the driving policy is as follows:

"Juniors and seniors who have their after-nine license may drive off campus during lunch or free periods, with a maximum of one passenger. Passengers must be a junior or senior as well, with parental permission. No exceptions for any 9th or 10th grader, or siblings. Parents have the option to specify drivers with whom their student can ride." To be clear, both the driver and the passenger must have parental permission. Students have created a new form for parents to complete and sign. Parents of juniors and seniors can be on the lookout for this new form.

On Tuesday, we welcome senior parents to a potluck dinner, from 6:00-7:30pm in the Meeting Hall. At this informal gathering, parents will be talking about many issues that relate to being the parent of a senior in high school. Elise will be on hand to answer college-related questions. Next week, October 15th, is Junior Night, for juniors and their parents. The PSAT will be given on the morning of the 15th. All juniors should be signed up to take the PSAT. ($20)

If you haven't already scheduled your parent-teacher conference, you should be hearing from your child's advisor soon. Until then, please continue to enjoy this beautiful fall weather. Next week, I hope to include a picture of our new little Annabelle!