Headlines
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October 4, 2013
The books were
selected in June, ordered in July and then the wait began. They were
purchased through the very limited state funding our school receives for
educational materials. It amounts to about $700.00 for a classroom.
In addition, there is a labyrinth of rules governing this money and it takes a
real master (i.e. Mary) to decipher the codes and place orders with only
selected suppliers. The rules are so convoluted that student textbooks
are OK for purchase but the teacher edition is not. Graphing calculators
need to be purchased at twice the price from an approved vendor rather than a
store in town. This year, due to staff cuts in Harrisburg, the process
was agonizingly slow. So it was a welcome surprise when the books finally
arrived on Wednesday, three months after they were ordered.
Mary was
excited to find the shipment as she has been fielding several inquiries about
their status. She decided to hand deliver the box full of books
herself. So she lifted the weighty box (she works out and would glare at
and refuse anyone who offered to help). When she entered Teacher
Christy’s classroom and announced her treasure, the classroom erupted in
applause. They had more reading material! I will say it again.
Middle school students applauded getting new books to read. We will also
finish installing our new Smartboards in the middle school classrooms this week
and, while we welcome the new technology, there was no clapping.
Announcements and Reminders - School Lunches, "Ask
Dan" Coffee, Blood Drive, Pumpkin Painting
School
Lunches are Back
- In addition to Pizza Fridays, Cafe Karla will be providing students with
healthy hot lunches every month. Please make sure you sign up as they
start next Thursday the 10th . (Friday the 11th for
5th-8th graders who will be at the Renassaince Faire on Thursday)
“Ask Dan”
- Parent Coffee -
On Thursday, October 10th from 8:30 – 9:30 am, all parents,
especially those new to our school, are invited to attend a Q&A session
with Head of School, Dan Hendey. Please join us for an hour of
conversation, fellowship and treats.
Red Cross Blood Drive - In conjunction with the Red Cross,
Friends School will be hosting a Blood Drive on Friday, October 11th
from 12 noon – 6:00 pm in our Community Room. Many students heard from a
Red Cross representative this week about the importance of blood drives and the
many ways in which donating blood can help the wider community. We hope our
parent community will consider helping. More information is coming to you via
Friday folders.
If you’d like to schedule a time to
donate, please complete and return the form you’ll find in Friday folders. Or,
you can go to www.redcrossblood.org
and enter FriendsSchool as the code.
Also, we’re looking for a couple of
parent volunteers who could help at the blood drive between the hours of 3:00 –
7:00 pm. This would involve serving as greeters during the drive and then
helping with packing up afterwards. If you’d consider this, please let Mary
know at mziegler@scfriends.org
Pumpkin
Decorating Party -
On Friday, October 25th, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, we will celebrate the
spirit of the season with a Pumpkin Decorating and Monster Mash Dance Party.
You are invited to join us for pumpkin decorating, pizza, and our own unique
Monster Mash dance led by Tr. Lori. We will provide lots of pumpkin decorating
materials and pizza. A supply of pumpkins will be on hand or you can bring your
own. There is no charge for this event or for After School on this day, but a small donation when you join or pick up your
child is appreciated.
Please enjoy
this summer(?) weekend.
Dan
