Mid-March Magic

Last week, I shared some pictures that a student had taken on my camera. These top two pix are also from that group of photos. Springtime at CFS is truly a beautiful event. Something new pops out each day!













Elise wanted to get her American Literature classes up and moving this week. They are reading The Scarlet Letter. Here are some of the group assignments...along with photos to illustrate...

In the manner of Dr. Seuss (or any rhyming poet… Frost?), tell the conversation that Hester and Dimmesdale have in the forest to plan their escape.

Act out the four interactions that Dimmesdale has at the beginning of Chapter 20 (XX) [before he goes home]… what if he said all of the things he thought? What would he say?

In a series of physical poses (statues), show the progression in character for (1) Hester, (2) Pearl, (3) Dimmesdale, and (4) Chillingworth through the novel to the point where we are now (Chapter XX) as a simultaneously posted set of pictures.

This was a fun activity!















S.A.L.T. & P.E.P.A.
(Students Advocating for Love and Tolerance: Protecting Equality and Protesting the Amendment) Sunday afternoon from 1-4 in the US Meeting Hall, Randall's Dinner Party Civics class will host a conference on Amendment One for students, teachers, parents, and friends. Information will be shared about the amendment, high school activism, and how to create a vision for activism in the Triangle. Following a variety of speakers, break-out sessions will be offered. We are excited about this afternoon conference, which is open to other high school students in the area. All are welcome to attend.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Highlights from last week and looking ahead to beautiful spring weather...

A student borrowed my camera this week to use in her digital photography class. She had an outside assignment to complete. These top 2 pictures are photos that she took on campus. I thought they were great...so I borrowed them for my blog. Below her 2 pictures are shots of some of the 25 people (parents, students, staff and board members) who showed up Saturday morning to work on the damaged soccer field. Thanks to all who worked to hard to fill the ruts! According to Alex, the girls should be able to play on this field in the next few weeks. We are very grateful for that.























The Cabaret featured a variety of musical and theatrical presentations. We had a lively and appreciative audience. I have included pictures of most, if not all, of the acts. Thanks to all the staff and students who participated. We sold lots of yummy baked goods and beautiful rugs made by women in a tiny Nicaraguan village. Special appreciation to senior Crispin Whittier who did such a great job emceeing. You can see him with his skinny friend below. The money raised will go to service projects in Nicaragua, Trinidad, and the Galapagos Islands. Gracias!












































































































FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE COLLEGE NIGHT
College Counselor Elise London will host an informational evening about our college process for freshman and sophomore parents on Thursday at 7pm in the Meeting Hall. She has invited seniors who can talk about the college process from their own firsthand experience. Even though the focus for this evening is freshman and sophomore parents, all are welcome to attend.

SENIOR FORUM TO NEW YORK CITY
Philip Gary's Senior Forum class will head to New York City later this week. In NYC, they will tour Wall Street and the Financial District, including organizers of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.This class focuses on entrepreneurship and will visit a number of financial institutions and small businesses. They will also make time to meet with CFS alumni and enjoy an evening at the theatre. Safe travels!

BEAUTIFUL WEATHER IS HEADING OUR WAY. ENJOY!

Week of March 6, 2012

The CFS Blood Drive was a huge success! Will and Andrew set a goal of 50 donations. 65 people showed up and 51 were able to donate blood. Congratulations to Andrew and Will (seen below) on their excellent organization and perseverance in seeing this job through to the very end. Below, you can also see Emily R. defending her Senior Seminar paper before a classroom full of readers and observers. Emily's defense was her final academic act before leaving for France, where she will spend her last term as a senior. Welcome back Jamie who teaches Senior Seminar with Elise.




























We celebrated Nick Lent (state champion swimmer in the 50-yard freestyle) and the girls varsity basketball team (runners up in the state final game). Congratulations to all of our fine athletes!

CABARET (CFS GOT TALENT!): This Saturday at 7:30pm in the Center. Our Dancing with the Stars judges will return to "judge" the acts in the Cabaret. We are limiting the number of talented acts so that the evening will not last too long. Our emcees promise to be very funny. Yummy baked goods will be on sale. The Cabaret is an annual fundraiser for our End-of-Year Program. Please join us for this family-friendly event. We promise to make you laugh!

Sports Update!

Believe it or not, I have tried to get the boys together for a team picture. Thus far, I have not been successful. Here you can see the girls varsity Conference Champs! Named on the all-conference team: Zoe, Jamilah, Anna, and Jolene. Named Conference Player of the Year: Zoe!! Congratulations to all...and on to the State Tournament. First round is tonight. The boys will play at Fayetteville Christian School in Fayetteville at 6:30pm. The girls play at home at 6pm. Let's all get out to a basketball game tonight!

The State Swim Meet was yesterday. All of our swimmers did well. Nick Lent finished 1st in the 50-yard freestyle and 3rd in the 100-yard freestyle. Congratulations to all of our swimmers!

Senior Forum Staff Dinner

What a delightful evening! Philip's Senior Forum class cooked, served, and cleaned up after a delicious dinner for the US staff. Annie G and Anna Lee baked the delectable flourless chocolate cake that we enjoyed for dessert. (See below) Danusha and Lucas came to school early in the day to rearrange the library as you can see. Nick, Emily, Xixi, Madeline, and Annie D cooked and served the dinner. Here, you can see them cleaning up in the staff room. Those of us in attendance had a wonderful time being waited on by our students. I was able to hire Philip's class for this special evening, as they are raising money for their trip to New York City in March. What a treat!

End of Winter Term!

Our swim team is one of our most endearing and unique CFS sports teams. We may not be the best in the state when it comes to shortest lap times, but I challenge any other team to top our team in the area of caring and supportive athletes who are trying their hardest to shave a few seconds off their time. They are one special group! Congratulations to senior Nick Lent who earned all-conference recognition by finishing first in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events in the conference championship meet. The swim team will travel to the state meet on Monday. Best of luck to our swimmers! (In case you are wondering about these pictures...Some of the players are throwing their coach into the pool.)








On the last day of winter term classes, I was able to join Philip's Urban Design class for their final project presentations. The students were challenged to identify a problem and find an architectural solution. For example, how do you design a school from the inside--out? How do you make the drive around town more interesting? How can you work with nature, rather than destroying nature? I have included here some photos of students making their presentations. Emma designed a kitchen. Alexa created waterways in Chapel Hill to replace the main roads. Asante shared a small village that was a "welcoming and inviting place." In designing her tree house, Jessie wanted to work "in partnership with nature." As you can see, Philip's students created a variety of amazing designs and examples of deep thought. Bravo!












SPRING SYMPOSIUM
The theme for Monday's symposium is Body Care: Adolescent Health and Wellness. We will be showing the film, Miss Representation. If you haven't seen it, check out the trailer on youtube. According to the DVD cover, "Miss Representation uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. The film explores how mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in influential positions in America and challenges the media's limiting and often disparaging portrayals of women, which make it difficult for the average girl to see herself as powerful." Our workshops during the morning sessions include Body Image, Teens and the Law, Planned Parenthood, Eating Disorders, The Realities of Drug Use, and The Four B's (birth control, birth, babies, and breastfeeding). Following a potluck lunch, all of our students will be involved in physical activities, including Capture the Flag, Yoga, massage, Dodgeball, and fun physical games.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK! STUDENT-LED PARENT CONFERENCES ARE COMING UP.

Lots going on this week!!

Tonight is Senior Night in basketball. Here, you can see the beautiful varsity girls basketball team who will play at 5:30pm. (One picture of just seniors and one of the entire team) The boys (Sorry, we couldn't gather them for a picture) will play at 7pm. The Senior Forum class will be selling Lasagna and Eggplant Parmesan at the concession stand.

Good luck figuring out which picture goes with which announcement. I don't seem to be able to match them up. The IMPROV SHOW (Players are pictured here.) will be presented at 5:30pm on Wednesday (so folks can make it to the Duke/UNC game) and 7:30pm on Thursday in the Meeting Hall.





























The Ethics Bowl team is pictured seated in Jamie's classroom. The Ethics Bowl competition will be held this Saturday at the PARR Center for Ethics on the UNC campus at 9am. All are welcome to attend.

Here are some great pictures of Annie's 1st period dancers learning some arial moves. Looks like they were having fun!