First week of school 8.30.10 Many Reminders!

Welcome back to the 2010-2011 school year at the Carolina Friends Upper School! Below, you can see the beautiful CFS staff members at the very end of our retreat on Emerald Isle. We had just come out of our final meeting for worship last Tuesday, said good-bye to the ocean, and were ready to head for home. In the Upper School, we had staff meetings during the mornings of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in preparation for welcoming students to the new school year.As I prepare to head over to the all-school picnic on Sunday afternoon, I want to welcome you back to my blog. I want to start with some important reminders about the first week of school.

SENIOR RETREAT
Seniors are meeting on campus at 8:15am Monday morning to depart for the Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Center in Reidsville. They will be together for their retreat on Monday and Tuesday with Bob, Ken, and Susan. (Elise, Annie, Jamie and I will join them as well.) Highlights of the retreat include service work, planning for the all-school retreat, sharing ideas for senior service, and enjoying the challenge of a high ropes course. STUDENTS MUST HAVE SIGNED EMERGENCY AND LIBILITY WAIVER AND CONSENT FORMS in order to participate in this retreat.

NEW STUDENT/PARENT ORIENTATION
All students and parents NEW to the Upper School (including risers) are invited to attend this orientation on Monday morning, from 9:00-10:30, in the Meeting Hall. Students will receive their schedules, have a tour of the classrooms, participate in library orientation, and meet some returning students and staff members. I invite all interested returning students to join us and help with tours and schedules.

UPPER SCHOOL OPENING DAY
All freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will be welcomed back to school on Tuesday, August 31 at 8:30am. We have a full schedule that includes receiving class schedules, having pictures taken, learning about student handbook rules and policies, playing some getting-to-know-you games, and preparing for the all-school retreat on Wednesday. Students will be dismissed at noon.

ALL UPPER SCHOOL RETREAT
The freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will depart the Upper School at 8:30 Wednesday morning for the all-school retreat at the Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Center. This entire retreat will be planned and run by our amazing senior class. IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
SIGNED EMERGENCY FORMS! Students may not depart CFS without a signed form. A hotdog/veggie dog lunch will be provided. STUDENTS ARE ASKED TO BRING A SNACK OR DESSERT TO SHARE WITH NO NUTS OR PEANUT BUTTER. Students should bring their own (labeled) water bottle. Lemonade, ice tea, and water will be provided. We will be outside all day. Wear comfortable clothing that might get wet. It will be a good idea to have a change of clothes, just in case...sun screen and a hat. We will return to campus at 5:00.

SUMMER READING HOMEWORK
I will be looking for creative Capture the Essence sheets in response to our summer reading. Be sure that names are clearly written on the back of each sheet. Summer Reading homework is due on Thursday, September 2nd. I am happy to accept early submissions and am looking forward to seeing what students come up with! Perhaps I can share responses on this blog.

As you can see, we are already off and running...and we haven't even started yet. I look forward to communicating with you about the many wonderful, exciting, crazy, academic, athletic, musical, theatrical, class-related, social and possibly mundane Upper School activities. See you soon!

June 30, 2010

What's happening at the Upper School? We are getting a new look...
Shades of gray...

Our HELLO FRIENDS sign is even more prominent...

Other changes? Dylan now has an actual room across from Willy's office--very nice! The downstairs hallway has been painted and the cubbies have been removed. Watch out for our beautiful new lockers. End-of-Year reports have been mailed and summer camp is in full swing. My vacation begins in moments. It's actually a little hard to drag myself away with the thought that I won't return for a whole month. I wish you all a wonderful and relaxing summer vacation. See you in August!

Internships and returning groups 6.6.10

We begin planning for End-of-Year experiences a year in advance. Next week, at our June staff meetings, we will start to plan for next year. Students make their choices in December, and groups work throughout the winter and spring in preparation for their amazing experiences. After we conclude the spring term, and staff and students depart for their individual and group adventures, it seems to me that 11 school days (the length of our EOY program) is a long time. The reality is that this time goes by so quickly, I barely have time to keep up with everything that is going on in France, Nicaragua, Trinidad, the Adirondacks, out West, Newton Grove, and Durham...even with high speed internet! As you can see by these photos, the Adirondacks group has already returned. With Dave at the wheel, the CFS bus with trailer in tow pulled into school late Friday afternoon. The group seemed hot, tired, dusty...and very happy. When they left, they were a bus full of individuals. They returned very much a group.
Benny and Max look happy to step off that bus and onto CFS land!

Nobody goes anywhere until all the food, equipment, and trash have been removed from the bus and trailer.

Welcome home!

Our Internship Program offers students the opportunity to explore an area of study or a career opportunity that interests them. This year, over 30 of our students are participating in internships. Here you can see Jessye interviewing the director of Clean Energy Durham for an article about the group's program to help people make their homes more energy efficient. Interning with the Durham Herald Sun, Jess had an article in Saturday's paper in which she wrote about DA's graduation ceremony. According to Nancy Wikle, the Herald Sun's Managing Editor, Jess and two other interns were "self-possessed, curious, and couageous in navigating a new field of interest and working with colleagues old enough to be their parents and grandparents." She recieved the Durham Grit Award for her work.

Here are Reut and Kate working at Arbor ridge Studios. They wanted to learn more about the music and recording industry.

Madeline chose to intern Vert & Vogue, a small clothing boutique at Brightleaf Square. She was most interested about the fact that everything in the store is completely sustainable and eco-friendly.

Tasha has spent her time at the Carrboro Arts Center where they have been most appreciative of her help. As Tasha said in her proposal, she has a passion for the arts and hopes to work in an arts-related job someday. This internship might give her a glimpse into some of the possibilities that are available.

More to come about other internships and returning trips...

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

The official last day of our End-of-Year Program is Wednesday. I say "official" because each group has its own travel schedule with some groups leaving and returning earlier than others. The last groups to return are France, Nicaragua and West on Tuesday. They will need Wednesday to rest and recover. THURSDAY is a full day of school. We have a full schedule of meetings throughout the day and will be distributing yearbooks. The ONLY BURGER TRUCK will be on hand at noon on Thursday to provide a unique lunch opportunity for our students. Students wanting to order burgers (including veggie), fries, and/or drinks from Only Burger should bring money to cover this cost. (Only Burger has a website. Cost ranges from $4.25-$6.75 for a burger, $1.50 for fries, $1.25 for drinks) FRIDAY is a very important halfday. We will meet in advisee groups for the last time, have class meetings and our own tradition of a final meeting for worship with attention to our graduating seniors.

SENIOR BANQUET AND SLIDE SHOW

Our annual banquet to honor our seniors is Wednesday at 6:30pm at the Meeting Hall. This dinner is for staff and seniors only. The Senior Slide Show will follow the banquet at 8pm and is open to the community. All are invited to come to the Center to celebrate our wonderful seniors at this family-friendly event.

GRADUATION SUNDAY, JUNE 13 at 10:30am in the CENTER See you there!

End-of-Year updates June 1, 2010

The End-of-Year Program is in full swing. As I told the freshmen when I visited them in Newton Grove, this program is not meant to be easy--and it isn't. This experience is hard work for all involved. We purposely take students out of their comfort zones and ask them to stretch, take risks, and learn. The freshman class, for example, will live together at the farmworker ministry in Newton Grove for 10 days--cooking and eating all meals together, providing important service work to others, figuring out what to do when their is nothing to do, and sleeping in less than optimal sleeping conditions. Tonight's dinner, for example, is a Spanish-speaking-only dinner. I thanked them on Sunday for taking a chance on this wonderful experiment, for without their enthusiastic participation, it would not work. Below, you can see the freshmen surrounded by the many farmworkers that they have met.
Here are the freshmen singing during the church service. You can see Father Tony on the right.

Here is the amazing, passionate, wise and wonderful Father Tony giving a sermon on Sunday.

Sydney, Audrey, and Celeste are ready for church.

Little Phoebe is learning to walk in Newton Grove!

Jamie and Nick provided the accompaniment to the group's song during church.

Here is the French trip group enjoying their day in Etretat. Ken says that it rained and the wind howled, but they made the best of it.

I couldn't resist this shot of Julia and Alison with this very serious seagull. Our beautiful students in France!

The group in Nicaragua is working with community members to build a community garden. Some of the students are giving swimming lessons to children in Las Salinas. The Trinidad group hiked to a pristine waterfall yesterday and observed sea turtles laying eggs on the beach last night. Today, they were back at work at the orphanage and with Habitat for Humanity. The West trip put in on the Green River today and will canoe in Labyrinth and Stillwater Canyons for 4 days. Our group in the Adirondacks is scheduled to kayak from Stoney Creek Pond to Raquette River today. Tomorrow, they have an overnight hike at Giant Mountain.

We hope that our End-of-Year Program offers potentially life-changing experiences for our students. We look forward to their safe return...and many wonderful stories of their adventures.

Bryce's Green Triangle group 5.28.10

This year, Bryce is leading a local group called Green Triangle. These students are visiting green businesses in the triangle. They have created a wiki at the following address: http://www.thegreentriangle.wikispaces.com . I hope you will check it out. So far, they have attended the green home tour in Carrboro, visited the solar energy program at NC State, and an all-natural printing press in Raleigh. Check out some of the links on their wiki to learn more.

End-of-Year updates 5.27.10

Just a quick update about some of our off campus groups...You can check the Trinidad activities by going to Toni's blog at this address: http://www.cfsintrinidad.blogspot.com . She has already included some beautiful pictures and exciting news. Below, you can see members of the freshman class in Newton Grove. They took off yesterday in a caravan of 1 CFS bus, 3 12-passanger vans, and 2 parent vehicles filled with food and donations. Today, they are already hard at work at two Head Start programs and the ministry.
Here are some freshman boys playing cards in Newton Grove.

The word from France is that Rouen is "beautiful!" Our students are presently staying in homes with their French "siblings" and attending a French high school. In the Adirondacks, the CFS bus broke down and had to be towed when they were a little over an hour from their destination. Dave reports that all are well and it was a wild adventure. By now, they should be happily canoeing on Tupper Lake. I have received no word yet from our hikers in Dominguez Canyon, Colorado, which comes as no surprise. No news is good news. The word from Nicaragua is that the food is great and they are having a wonderful time. That's all for now. Tomorrow, I will write about Bryce's local Green Triangle experience.

Last week of classes, exams, and mini-sessions

Are you in the mood for looking at some pictures? If not, you have come to the wrong place! It was the last week of classes, exams and mini-sessions...and the first off-campus End-of-Year group met at the airport at 4:45 this morning. There is just so much going on. Below, you can see a happy group of travelers about to take off for Trinidad. (Yes, I am very jealous!) Gustavo, MS teacher Toni, and CFS grad Hannah are the group leaders. We also welcome 2 mentors from NCCU. This group will stay at a monestary on top of a mountain. They will begin work tomorrow in two groups: Habitat for Humanity and the Cyril Ross Orphanage. I will share news as I receive it.
We had 2 full days of mini-sessions last week, which seemed to be a big hit with students. Here, you can see Susan's theatre group performing on the patio.

Kelsey is modeling the new apron she made.

Jessica and Clara made these beautiful pillows in Nancy's quilting mini-session.

Zoe and her new pillow.

Here is Willy with her basket weavers.

We had 2 student-led cooking groups. Here are Miles and Lenore leading their group in making a yummy orzo salad and strawberry cake. Mariah and Ella led the morning cooking group.

Elise taught public speaking. Here is Bekkah giving her final speech about the manner in which we welcome soldiers home from war.

Sherri and I led a yoga retreat. Very fun!

Here are some of the prom pictures from my camera. I have emailed the link to Amelia's photos to parents and students.

Tyson with his trusty advisor, Willy.

Rigsbee Hall was a great location...very fun to decorate.

On Tuesday the 25th, we will officially begin our End-of-Year program. This program is designed to be a minimum of 11 days in length. We have three different types of experiences for upper class students: off-campus, local or on-campus, and internships. The freshmen all go to Newton Grove to work with migrant farmworker families. The departure dates for this year's off-campus experiences are as follows:

Trinidad..............Sunday, May 23

Adirondacks.......Monday, May 24

Nicaragua, West, and France........Tuesday, May 25

Freshmen to Newton Grove.........Wednesday, May 26

Bryce's local experience, Green Triangle, will begin on Tuesday, May 25.

SENIOR BANQUET AND SLIDE SHOW

The final day of our EOY program is Wednesday, June 9th. On Wednesday evening at 6:30, we will hold our Senior Banquet for seniors and staff members. At 8pm Wednesday night, we will present the Senior Slide Show for the public. All friends and families are welcome to attend. This is a very family-friendly event.

LAST DAYS OF SCHOOL

Thursday, June 10, is a full day of school. The Only Burger truck will be on hand during lunch for students to purchase burgers of all kinds (including veggie!). Friday, June 11, is our final half day of school. (noon dismissal) The graduation ceremony is Sunday, June 13, at 10:30am in the gym. All are welcome to attend.