Headlines, March 19, 2010

Spices, Ticks, and Ketchup

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather. Dare I say that spring is here?

Most weeks, I usually write something about your students and the great things that they study or do. This week I want to write about another great part of our school --- you. Every week numerous volunteers give us their time and energy to make this school great. Tinka Berger is our go-to substitute, Laura White tutors in math and answers phones, Barbara Voight can be found each morning at the copier, and Toby Short provides math enrichment and solar car help for our upper school students. We have parents helping with field trips and special activities; the food crew serves hot lunches and pizza; PSU student volunteers gain valuable experience; and older volunteers enjoy reading to our students. If I had to name all the volunteers who work to enrich the educational experience here at Friends, this small tribute would run on for pages. Thank you all for making this a community of learners.

Flu and tick season? – Here at school there has been a slight resurgence of flu-like illnesses. I suspect it is the sharing of germs gathered from various spring break destinations and hope it will taper off soon. Additionally, I have performed two tick extractions so far this week. Besides being another indicator of spring, it also tells me that our students play outdoors. I encourage everyone to continue to play outdoors and conduct a nightly tick check.

Reminders

Spices – The annual SPICES Gala is next Friday, March 26 at 7pm at the Atherton Hotel. There is great food, refreshments, music by Andy Tolins, good conversation and the company of friends. This is wonderful event that supports the scholarship fund at the school. Please see Beth Giles to get your tickets.

Books Wanted – The upper school is hosting a gently used book sale later this month to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti. Please bring your new or gently used books to the school during the next week. Then come to the book sale on Friday March 26^th from 4-6 p.m. or Saturday, March 27^th from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. to purchase your treasures.

Curriculum Night – We have rescheduled Curriculum Night to April 8^th from 7 to 8 p.m. This year we will be focusing on our social studies/theme curriculum. Teachers have fun activities planned and all families are invited to visit as many classrooms as they wish during the evening. This is a great way to learn about the social studies/theme curriculum at Friends. Please come.

Ketchup - Recently in art class, students participated in the Heinz Ketchup Creativity Contest. Twelve finalists will be chosen from all submissions and featured on this website. If you or child is interested in viewing the winning artwork or submitting an online vote for your favorite, please visit the website (www.ketchupcreativity.com) between March 22-27.

Annual Meeting – The Board of Directors will be hosting the annual meeting for the school on Tuesday evening April 13^th at 7pm. This is your chance to meet the board and ask questions about the state of the school. This year’s meeting will focus on developing a vision and strategic plan for the school. Input from the community is vital to this process and all are invited to attend.

Open House – Our next Open house is Friday, April 23^rd from 9:30 to 12 noon. Please help spread the word.

Headlines, March 12, 2010

I hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break. What amazing weather we had for most of the break! Five days of 50+ and sunshine. Wow!

Reminders

Books Wanted – The upper school is hosting a gently used book sale later this month to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti. Please bring your new or gently used books to the school during the next few weeks. Then come to the sale at the end of the month and pick up enough books to restock your shelves and enrich your mind.

Seed sales – Seed orders are due on Monday, March 15^th for the K/1 seed sale. The money earned by Teacher Lisa’s class will be donated to Heifer International.

Curriculum Night – [Postponed] This year we will be focusing on our social studies/theme curriculum. Teachers are preparing fun activities in each classroom and all families are invited to visit as many classrooms as they wish during the evening. This is a fun way to learn about the social studies/theme curriculum at Friends. Please come.

Open House – Our next Open house is Friday March 19^th from 9 to 12 noon. We are asking all parents to help spread the word and are also seeking a few volunteers to help with the tours.

Community Offerings - Spring is coming, with opportunities for quilting, gardening and enjoying organic produce! Tr. Dorothy’s “Quilting Bee with Lunch and Good Company” has been rescheduled and there’s still time to sign up! And we have two Community Offerings, from kindergarten parent Sabine Carey of Full Circle Farms, which will make you realize spring is just around the corner: an organic garden kit that will get you set for your own tasty organic garden in your back yard; and a full CSA farmshare - vegetables, flower and herbs - for the 2010 season. For more information, visit our Community Offerings website and the Full Circle Farms website, or contact Beth Giles, bgiles@scfriends.org.

Spices - We hope to see you there (Friday, March 26 at 7pm). One of our school parents who attended last year had this to say: “I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere It was really great to see people I see regularly but without kids to have enjoyable conversations and get to know people better. It was a nice casual event with great food, yummy local beers and lots of fun people. It was a great mix of people, some friends school parents but many from outside the school too.”