Headlines                    February 22, 2013

Some notes from a cluttered mind. . . .

The heat is on!  Late this morning the work crew successfully operated on the boiler and replaced the leaking heat exchanger and corroded burner.  The refurbished boiler appears to be working fine and we look forward to being open for business on Monday.

We tried our new phone contact system this week to announce a delayed opening and today’s closing.  Overall, we were pleased with the results and most parents seemed happy to be notified via phone.  We did receive some feedback from grandparents who are listed as emergency contacts and were not thrilled to be awakened at 6:30 in the morning.  We apologize and will remove them from our snow call list.  If you know of other people or phone numbers that received a call for a snow related closing and shouldn’t, let us know.  We will be happy to take them off the contact list.  In addition to using the new call system to report closings and delays, we will continue to post weather related information on TV and radio stations and local web sites.

Our Basketball Clinics have been wonderful.  Every year Tr. Nick and I get such a lift from watching each student improve.  Some have moved from not knowing how to bounce a basketball to being able to perform a cross-over dribble.  Some could not reach the basket to and now are able to sink a lay-up.  As a group we have moved from general chaos in the first practice to organized scrimmages, it is truly amazing.  This Tuesday we will hold our Blue/White game and it will be great to see our young players strut their stuff on the court.  Everyone is invited.  4:00 PM, Tuesday, February 26 at the Mt. Nittany UM Church recreation room.  Watch out Kobe!

 If you haven’t done so already, please submit your family’s re-enrollment form.  This information makes it possible for us to plan for next year and open spaces for families who are currently seeking enrollment. 

Announcements

Conference Days – School will be closed on Thursday and Friday February 28^th and March 1st for parent - teacher conferences.  Please call the school or stop in at the front desk to make an appointment.  We will have child care on both days for families who need it.  Please call or email the school to claim your space.

African Library Project - The 2/3 classrooms and the Middle School are teaming up for a community service project, the African Library Project.  Our goal is to collect 1,000 gently used books (K-8^th grade level) as well as $500.00 to build a library in Ghana.  If you have any used books at home or spare change that you are willing to give, please bring them in.  In addition, the Middle School plans to host a Bake Sale February 27^th and all funds benefitting the African Library Project. Find out more about this incredible community service project at http://www.africanlibraryproject.org/.

March Open House – On  Friday, March 15^th Friends School will be hosting a K-8 Open House from 9:30 to 1:00 pm.  During this time, visitors will have the opportunity to tour the facility, ask questions and learn about Friends School.  As always, we would love to have a few parent volunteers to lead tours. 

Winter Play Day - On Saturday March 16^th we will be hosting our final Winter Play Day in the school’s community room.  This is an opportunity for families to join their children (3-7) for some indoor winter fun.   There will be supervised activities, crafts and games for the children.  Snacks and refreshments will also be served. 

Summer Day Camp – Registration has started for Friends School summer camps.  Our camps are very popular and fill up quickly.  A camp brochure was sent home in Friday folders a few weeks ago and information about the camps and enrollment is on our website:  www.scfriends.org Don’t miss out!