Feb 25 - Impromtu Assembly

Headlines - February 25, 2011

Impromptu Assembly

I first heard the classical music in the mid morning. Initially, I thought it was a radio playing in a classroom but the sound was too rich and warm. I found the source in the community room. Four women, four instruments; two flutes, a harp, and an bassoon were playing a classical composition. I recognized our Spanish teacher, Cathy Herrera, playing one of the flutes. Cathy is an accomplished musician who plays with the Nittany Valley Symphony. She had asked Diane about using the community room during the day to rehearse for an upcoming performance and Diane thought it would be a wonderful idea.

Hearing the music, I thought it would nice to do some work while listening and headed out of the office with a small pile of reading. However, I was not alone. Both K/1 classrooms were already in the room listening intently to the soothing sounds and mimicking the harpist as she plucked the strings. I settled in on a bench to work. Every time I raised my head from reading, another class entered the room took seats on the floor and listened. In a very short time, the whole school had assembled in the community room for an impromptu assembly. The musicians, aware of the audience, gave background information about the music and composers. Their session went on for about 30 more minutes and classes filtered out on their own. I was left feeling refreshed from the music, grateful for the bit of culture and happy about our ability to have an impromptu assembly. Only at Friends.

Announcements

Science Fair - Our Annual Science Fair will be held on Monday, February 28th . Students are asked to come early to set up their displays. During the day, students will have the opportunity to tour the projects. Parents and friends are invited to see all the projects on display from 6-7 PM in the school’s community room. See Friday folders for more information.

Spanish Day – This Wednesday, March 2nd we will be having an all-school Spanish Day. At 2 pm, the whole school will gather the community room. Each class will provide a presentation of food, songs or skits for the rest of the school. Of course, most of the proceedings will be presented in Spanish. Parents are invited to see the show.

Conference Sign up – Parent/Teacher Conferences are next Thursday and Friday, March 3rd and 4th. Please make sure to call or stop in at the front desk to sign up for a conference time(s). Childcare will be available on both days and you can register at the same time.

Brown Bag Lunch Gathering - The Development Committee invites all interested parents to attend an informal lunch (March 15th) get-together to discuss development and marketing-related areas in need of support. Please check Friday folders for details or contact Pam Adams pjadams@yahoo.com
Focus on Strong Families Conference - This annual conference will take place this Saturday at the Mt. Nittany Middle School. There will be family-oriented sessions focusing on today’s challenges for families. More details and a link are on our website. (www.scfriends.org)

Open Houses – Our next Open House is for the K-8 program at the Friends School
Friday March 18th 9 -12 noon

Free Winter Play Day – On Saturday, March 19th, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM Friends School is host a Saturday Play Day for children from 3-7 years old. This is a great opportunity to bring a friend to the school and enjoy a morning of play. Refreshments and snacks will be served. All are welcome. Please contact the school at (814) 237-8386.

Enjoy your weekend
Dan