Wednesday, January 29, 2014


HEADLINES ................................ January 24, 2014

I am not a person who cries much.  I am able to withstand the power of onions; I am usually the one who comforts in times of sorrow; and I think I have a pretty high tolerance for pain (it elicits swears rather than tears).  However, when it comes to King in Montgomery I cry.  Every year I say that I won’t weep and I devise strategies such as looking at the ceiling, thinking about clowns, or poking myself to stop the waterworks but to no avail.  Some years, I am able to get to the end when we all sing We Shall Overcome before I feel my eyes well up and I shed a few tears.  On other years, it can start even earlier.  This year, I blame Nina’s solo for setting a new record for me.  I would find this display of emotion extremely embarrassing if I was the only one but, as I looked around this week, I realized that I had lots of company.  It seems that the feeling of hope and unity generated by the kids is the trigger.  When you are in that room singing with everyone it hits you that these children are professing the values we wish to instill in them and that, if we could just hold on and continue to nurture this feeling, we/they can make our world a better place.  And isn’t that what it is all about?  Not only educating our students with a great academic program, but also helping them to develop the values and beliefs that encourage compassion, tolerance, and peace. 

Please enjoy your weekend.

Announcements and Reminders

Open Houses – We have set our dates for open houses during the winter months.  The upcoming dates are as follows:

K- 8  Saturday, February 8,  9:30 AM – 12:00 noon in tandem with a

Winter Play day

 

Pre-K Saturday, February 22,  9:30 AM – 12:00 noon

Free Winter Play Days This Saturday Jan 25th, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM, the Friends School is hosting a Winter Play Day for children from 3-7 years old.  The school’s community room will be open for supervised active and imaginative play.  This is a great opportunity to bring a friend to the school and enjoy a morning out of the cold.  Refreshments and snacks will be served.  All are welcome.  Please help us to spread the word.

Quintessential Quakerism- This is a series of workshops provided members of the State College Friends Meeting designed to introduce and inform participants about the Quaker faith and how the testimonies influence personal choices.  The first of three sessions begins this Saturday, January 18th from 2-4:00 pm.  To register or for more information please contact the Friends meeting at 237-7051 or office@statecollegefriends.org 

In-service Days— February in-service days will be Friday, February 14th and Monday, February 17th.  During in-service, teachers are hard at work sharing new research and learning about best practices in education.  There will be no school on both days.  Child care will be offered on both days.  Please call the school to reserve a spot for your child.

Summer Camps—It is not too early to be thinking about summer camps.  Many organizations along with our school will be on hand at the Summer Camp Fair on Saturday, February 1st at the Mt. Nittany Middle School.    The fair runs from     to    and will feature many local and specialty programs.  Of course our school will be represented .  This year our camps will be run by Teacher Emmalia Mathias who is an assistant in Tr. Nick’s classroom.  In addition , Tr. Renee Kredell will be leading our  theatre camps this year.  Several of our counselors will be returning this  year and we feel we may have our best year yet.  Look for a brochure in next week’s Friday Folder.

 

Friday, January 24, 2014


Headlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 15, 2014

Today was Bring a Friend to School Day and we welcomed over 30 students to our school.  It was exciting to see all the extra smiles this morning.  As I walked through the classrooms, I could tell by that all of our students were making sure our visitors were being included in the classroom and having fun at school (what a concept!).  Thank you to all the parents and teachers who helped to make this day a success.

Martin Luther King Day As always, our school’s celebration of the life and legacy of Dr King will be a very special day.  Our middle school students have been rehearsing all week and are ready to bring this year’s version of King in Montgomery to life.  I hope to see and hear everyone at a performance this Monday.

Did you know that our school’s celebration does not start and end with the play.  In the morning we will bus the entire school to the Friends Meeting House for silent worship and reflection.  Following Meeting, we will watch a few of Dr. King’s speeches together and sing before departing.  In the classrooms, older and younger students will work together to learn more about the civil rights movement and recreate protest signs for civil rights and other causes.  As always, parents are invited to join with us on this special day.

Announcements and Reminders

Open Houses – We have set our dates for open houses during the winter months.  The upcoming dates are as follows:

Pre-K Saturday, January 18,  9:30 AM – 12:00 noon

K- 8  Saturday, February 8,  9:30 AM – 12:00 noon in tandem with a

Winter Play day

 

Quintessential Quakerism- This is a series of workshops provided members of the State College Friends Meeting designed to introduce and inform participants about the Quaker faith and how the testimonies influence personal choices.  The first of three sessions begins on Saturday, January 18th from 2-4:00 pm.  To register or for more information please contact the Friends meeting at 237-7051 or office@statecollegefriends.org 

Free Winter Play Days On Saturdays Jan 25th, February 8th and March 1st, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM, the Friends School is hosting Winter Play Days for children from 3-7 years old.  The school’s community room and a K/1 classroom will be open for supervised active and imaginative play.  This is a great opportunity to bring a friend to the school and enjoy a morning out of the cold.  Refreshments and snacks will be served.  All are welcome.  Please help us to spread the word.

In-service Days— February in-service days will be Friday, February 14th and Monday, February 17th.  During in-service, teachers are hard at work sharing new research and learning about best practices in education.  There will be no school on both days.  Child care will be offered on both days.  Please call Diane tat the school to reserve a spot for your child.