Senior Prank 2012

The seniors have done it again! This year's prank was a fun and creative surprise for the Upper School community. Their theme was Board Games. Each room was decorated as a life-sized board game, from Clue, to Monopoly, to Dominoes (Dave Worden's room). Gustavo's room was a casino. Above, you can see Madeline and Emma outside the Dungeons and Dragons cave. The giant chess set was in Jon's room. Elise's office was transformed into the Conservatory. Willy's office became Willy's Diner. The Candy Land path led us through the school. As you can see, they even treated us all to cotton candy. Lots of hard work. Very creative and fun!


































































































Dave Cesa loves his cat, so his room was covered with cats...and a giant cat puzzle.

PAUL LACEY AND CHRISTEN CLOUGHERTY VISIT CFS
Well-known Quaker, Paul Lacey, and CFS grad, Christen Clougherty, will visit CFS Monday and Tuesday. Paul Lacey taught English at Earlham College for over 40 years. He has been an active Quaker and author who has been involved with the American Friends Service Committee since the early 50's. Christen received her Ph.D. in Quaker History and loves coming back to CFS to share her knowledge with our students. Paul and Christen will visit classes in the Upper and Middle Schools. They will also help to lead our staff development afternoon on Tuesday. (Reminder that we will have a noon dismissal on Tuesday.)

STUDENT ARTS FESTIVAL
I hope you have marked your calendar for this exciting event Thursday night from 6:30-8:30 in the Upper School. The Senior Legacy Gallery will open the festival at 6:30 in the Art Studio. Music, theatre, and dance performances will begin on the patio at 7:00. Amelia and her Art Show class have been working all term to prepare for this night of sharing the creations of our talented students. Rising Middle School families have been invited to attend. We look forward to welcoming them to the Upper School. I hope you can take a moment Thursday night to help us honor our artists by enjoying and appreciating their work.

PROM!!!
Saturday, April 28th, from 9-12 at the old Murphey School. Tickets are on sale for $20. Dresses have been bought. Dinner reservations have been made. Perhaps corsages have been ordered. Need I say more? All US students are welcome. Parents may stop by and take a peak...and then leave the kids to their dancing. :-)

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

A Day in the Life of the Upper School 4.11.12

As the pictures are in reverse order, I will describe the day in reverse order...from evening to morning! Above, you can see next year's senior class--our juniors. Wednesday night was Junior Retreat. One of the activities involved building structures with marshmallows and spaghetti. Dinner was prepared by the Senior Forum class. Wednesday afternoon, 40 of our students participated in a training session for science activities that will be taught in Newton Grove, Nicaragua, and the Galapagos Islands. Earlier in the afternoon, we had our weekly silent meeting. The query for the day: Should CFS as an institution take a stand on certain issues even if we are not in 100% agreement...if it reflects our Quaker values? This query led to a very thoughtful silent meeting. During lunch, we had a formal signing for Jamilah in the gym as she joins the Queens University basketball program! Also during lunch, we had the Showdown for the Truth: a debate on Amendment One. Jamie and Randall argued for the amendment. Students Elana and Emma argued against the amendment. We had a big crowd of Upper and Middle School students. In between all of these activities, we taught classes! What a day!

























































PARENT FORUM
Wednesday night at 7:30pm in the Meeting Hall, we will hold a parent forum on Teen Parties. Dr. Cindy Kuhn, professor of Pharmacology at Duke, will make an informational presentation on teen use of alcohol and drugs with some of her Duke students. When we split into small groups for discussions, one of Cindy's students will join each group. This forum will offer a great educational opportunity for our parents as we look forward to Prom and Graduation parties. Cindy and her students will come to the US on Monday afternoon to make a presentation to students.

PROM
The Prom will be held on Saturday, April 28th, from 9-12 at the old Murphey School. The tickets are $20/person and must be purchased in advance. We must have a list of all attendees by the end of the day on Friday, April 27th. All students are encouraged to attend the Prom...either in groups, with a date, or alone. This is always a fun event for all grades. The rule for the evening is that once you arrive at the Prom, you stay until you are ready to leave for the night. Once you leave, you may not return. We will have a police officer on duty outside the old Murphey School for reasons of safety, although we don't expect any problems.

NOON DISMISSAL
We will have a noon dismissal on Tuesday, April 24th for staff development.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

March--Pollen is everywhere!

A walk around campus with my camera--so beautiful and captivating! The only thing that chased me back inside was the pollen. Everything is covered in yellow.















Elley Schopler and Willy are teaching their Life Skills class. This week, students learned how to sew on a button, tie and tie, and iron a shirt. Very important skills! They also wrote thank you notes to Sharon and Judith who taught them self-defense earlier this week. Josh and Will are deep in concentration as they sew their buttons.




































Alum and big brother Joseph returned to CFS to join sister Leah and fellow musician Kai in Jonathan's Jazz Improv class. They sounded great!

CONGRATS TO DAVI!
Davi Nydick-Cheshire was accepted to the Youth Leadership Program in Central Europe. This program "focuses on a combination of grassroots leadership development skills and cross-cultural opportunities for sharing and learning." During this summer experience, she will travel for two weeks with a focused stay in Belgrade and Budapest, meet with US NGO's and community centers, and have multiple opportunities to interact with youth of the area. Congratulations, Davi!

THE YOUNG ATHLETE: NUTRITION AND HYDRATION
Our Athletic Liaison Committee presents Joshua Jacob Alexander, MD, Director of Pediatric Rehabilitative Medicine and UNC School of Medicine, on Sunday afternoon, March 25th, from 4:00-5:30 in the US Meeting Hall. What should an athlete eat? Why is water so important to consume? Is Gatorade better than plain water? Can I play sports if I don't eat lunch? Bring your questions and come to this informative afternoon.

SPRING BREAK ON THE HORIZON
One quick week and spring break will be upon us. Will we make it? Are we counting the days...hours...minutes?! We are looking forward to welcoming grandparents this Friday morning for CFS Grandparents Day. Our visiting grandparents attend classes with their grandchildren. At noon on Friday, we will all head out for a well-deserved (and needed!) rest. Safe travels to those of you who are heading to the beach and beyond. See you in April!

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!