Subject: SFS MS Tuesday Letter 10-21-14
From: "SFS MS Tuesday Letter" <[email-masked]>
To: "R. Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 07:00:16 -0400

Tuesday - October 21, 2014

		

		

		 

					

							
								Principal's Letter

NOTES FROM SALLY 

							
							
								Announcements

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS CHOIR FESTIVAL - TONIGHT 
GAMETIME!  GIRLS VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY & BOYS/GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY 
IT'S ACADEMIC TV TOURNAMENT - SATURDAY 10/25 
THE HIDDEN BRAIN - MONDAY, OCTOBER 27 
5TH GRADE PARENT PEER GROUP - MONDAY, NOV 3 
FALL BASKETBALL CLINICS 
SIDWELL FRIENDS IS GOING TO THE OPERA! 
LOWER SCHOOL BOOK FAIR - COMING SOON! 

							
							
								Other

AFTERCARE FOR EARLY DISMISSAL DAYS 
COMMUNITY SERVICE CORNER 
QUAKER QUOTE 
MS NEWSLETTER INFORMATION 

							

                            News Around the School

                            
                                
                                US NEWS

                                MS NEWS

                                LS NEWS

                            

								Principal's Letter

NOTES FROM SALLY
This week&rsquo;s query: How can you learn when or when not to tell someone the truth?

No all-school assembly this week.

5th grade parents &ndash; please note the change in date for Conversations with Michelle. Look for an email from the grade reps.

All 7/8 students are invited to the dance on Friday night in the dining room. The dance runs from 7:30 until 10 PM. The school dress code applies, and students must keep their shoes on, so they should be sure shoes are comfortable. Students may wear costumes, but those should also be appropriate for a school setting. The &ldquo;price&rdquo; of admission is change for our UNICEF collection.

During the time of the dance, students must stay in the dining room, the garden just outside, and the lounge area near the vending machines. Students may not go to the playground, to the plaza outside the arts center, to the upper field, or to any location where chaperones cannot see you. Students who are leaving the dance early should let Mrs. Selby know. Drop off and pick up is in the garage.

Now that the grade level QCL meetings have ended, peer groups are starting, beginning with 7th and 8th grade during the dance on Friday night. The peer group meetings provide a unique opportunity for parents to have meaningful discussions on many of these same subjects in a safe and confidential setting. These meetings are for parents only and, again, help us learn to communicate in open, honest and healthy ways on issues of mutual interest and concern. The peer group meetings are for discussing non-academic issues only and are facilitated by parents from each class. The Middle School years are the years when our children change the most &ndash; they enter as children and leave as young adults. With this comes a wide-range of changes (emotional, psychological, neurological, hormonal and intellectual) that are baffling for our children as well as for parents. Opening the lines of communications is the most important tool that we have to create a community that can best support our children.

Please look for an announcement elsewhere in the letter about an event next Monday, October 27, with Shankar Vedantam, author of The Hidden Brain. Also mark your calendars for a presentation on November 17th by Tony Wagner, author of Creating Innovators.

Parent Conference Days are Tuesday and Wednesday, October 28 and 29. Please note that Middle School dismisses early on Tuesday and is closed on Wednesday. Conference Days are a great time to check the Lost and Found boxes for stray belongings &ndash; they are located in the second floor lobby and the 3rd floor science wing.

A couple of clarifications about the schedule for Tuesday, October 28th:

Lunch will be served to all students before school is dismissed at 12 noon. Aftercare is in session &ndash; see information about special drop-ins elsewhere in the letter. All students must be picked up by 12:30 or they will be sent to Aftercare. The shuttle to Lower School will run. 5/6 Math Club will not meet. Students may not be unsupervised on campus after 12:30.

Notes as we look toward Halloween: Students who do choose to wear costumes should know that they may only wear costumes that do not interfere with normal functioning in the classroom. We ask that students remember these queries: Would I be embarrassed or ashamed if someone from the group I&rsquo;m portraying saw me wearing this? Does my costume reduce cultural differences to jokes or stereotypes? And of course, no weapons or violent themes, please.

We have UNICEF boxes in the office. UNICEF is one of the organizations working in Africa with the victims of the Ebola crisis. We hope that we will have a record collection for UNICEF this year.

Looking ahead: Join us Friday, November 7th from 5:15-6pm as we gather in The Fox Den to celebrate the launch of our sustainable clothing line. This event will honor the hard work of current 7th grade students who were in the Clarkson homeroom in 6th grade. In May, students presented The Fox Den manager and the school administration with proposals to encourage Sidwell Friends to carry clothing that more closely reflects the school&rsquo;s commitment to stewardship of the natural world. Light refreshments will be available, as well as items for purchase. Contact Kimberly Clarkson with questions.

							
								Announcements

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS CHOIR FESTIVAL - TONIGHT
Tuesday, October 21, 8:00 p.m. at Washington National Cathedral: Join families from other independent schools for a memorable night of upper school choral performances in a beautiful space - including choruses from Sidwell Friends, St. Albans, National Cathedral School, Georgetown Day School, Maret, Bullis, Holton Arms, Potomac and Landon.

GAMETIME!  GIRLS VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY & BOYS/GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
This week we have two featured teams --
- Field Hockey, Thursday October 23 against Madeira, game at 4:15, pre-game party at 3:45 in the court yard.
- Cross Country, Saturday October 25 at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood Maryland &ndash; 1pm start, bring a picnic and enjoy the scene. Check the athletics page for directions and a guide to first time cross country meet spectators but this is a great meet for spectators as there are multiple opportunities to view the runners as they traverse the 3.1 mile course. Look for the red SFS tent and Go Quakers banner and cookies, pretzels, apples and cider. Multiple races for boys and girls will be run starting at 1:00pm.

Get your Sidwell Swag on &mdash;Great new SFS gear at the Fox Den!

Spectators are encouraged to share their photos of the game by tagging @SidwellFriends with #GoQuakers or by email. Winning photographer gets a free baseball cap!

This concludes our fall GAMETIME! program. We thank all of you for coming out to cheer on the varsity teams and we look forward to seeing you again in the winter.

We welcome your feedback or suggestions about GAMETIME! Please send it to the PA Athletics Committee clerks Andrew Aurbach and Estee Portnoy or to Kathi Webb.

IT'S ACADEMIC TV TOURNAMENT - SATURDAY 10/25
Sidwell Friends Students, Families, Faculty, and Staff - would you enjoy being part of a live audience in a Jeopardy-style quiz bowl competition? Then please join us at the annual It&rsquo;s Academic TV Tournament this Saturday!
Where: NBC Studios at 4001 Nebraska Ave NW (right up the street and around the corner from SFS)
When: Saturday, October 25, at 10:15 AM (you need to arrive by this time in order to get a seat)

Representing Sidwell Friends this year will be Gigi Stark, David Hauge, and Rahul Gupta (with Alex Pierson as our alternate). We will be up against Robert E. Lee and South Lakes.

Feel free to bring a sign or dress in Sidwell Friends colors! Please come support our team!

THE HIDDEN BRAIN - MONDAY, OCTOBER 27
Please join us for a gathering with NPR Science Reporter Shankar Vedantam, author of The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars and Save Our Lives. 
Vedantam will address the Sidwell Friends School community and answer questions on Monday, October 27th from 7 to 9 pm in the Robert L. Smith Meeting Room.  Light refreshments will be available at 6:30pm. We are in the process of trying to arrange child care from the end of after care through this talk.  If you are interested in this option please email Kathi Webb.
The Hidden Brain explores how unconscious biases influence people. The fascinating topics that Mr. Vedantam studies and reports on touch many of the values and principles embraced by the students, parents and faculty in the Sidwell community, and he is an ideal person to lead a discussion on human behavior from a scientific point of view.
This event is sponsored by the Parents of Black Students and open to the entire Sidwell Community. Anyone wishing to submit questions to help shape the discussion to Mr. Vedantam should email them by Friday, October 24, 2014.

5TH GRADE PARENT PEER GROUP - MONDAY, NOV 3
Sidwell Friends has a longstanding unique tradition of offering parent peer groups for grades PK - 12th grade. These groups are for parents and facilitated by parents of each respective grade with the agenda collectively determined by those attending. The intention of the peer groups is to foster a confidential, comfortable forum for parents to share and discuss issues, concerns, and perspectives. On Monday, November 3, the 5th grade Parent Peer Group will be meeting in the MS Library from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.

FALL BASKETBALL CLINICS
Get ready for your winter basketball season! Coach Ivy is offering evening clinics at the LS for Girls (5-6th grade on Wednesdays and 7-8th on Thursdays) and Boys (5-6th grade on Mondays and 7-8th on Tuesdays). Sign up here . We are happy to pro-rate it for those only able to make a few sessions. Contact Auxiliary Programs or call 202-537-8133 with any questions.

SIDWELL FRIENDS IS GOING TO THE OPERA!
Join us at the Kennedy Center for a performance of La Boh&egrave;me, featuring Alyson Cambridge &rsquo;97. Alyson plays the part of Musetta on November 1, 4, 7, 9, 12, and 15. The Sidwell Friends community has a special opportunity to purchase discounted tickets to the Sunday, November 9 show. When booking tickets, use code 187278 for 10% off Orchestra, Tier 1, and Tier 2 seats.

LOWER SCHOOL BOOK FAIR - COMING SOON!
Start making your book lists! The Lower School Book Fair will take place on Saturday, November 8th and Sunday, November 9th at Politics &amp; Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW. All SFS families are invited to participate by buying books and more during these two days.

							
								Other

AFTERCARE FOR EARLY DISMISSAL DAYS
The Middle School has early dismissal on Tuesday, October 28. If you would like your child to stay in MS AS for the afternoon (special snack, movie, and activities), please sign up. There are two options: 12:15 &ndash; 2:00 pm ($15) and 12:15 - 6:00 pm ($40). Participants already enrolled in the MS AS Program do not need to sign up. Please sign up via the MS After School page or using this link and select SPARC. Sign up is also available for November (11/17) and December (12/5) early release days.

COMMUNITY SERVICE CORNER
Upcoming for October/November:
October 24th &ndash; 6th grade Hangout
October 31st &ndash; Trick or Treat for UNICEF
November 7th &ndash; 7th grade Hangout
Ongoing Toiletries Collection (to benefit A Wider Circle)   
Collection bins (labeled &ldquo;Toiletries&rdquo;) are located in the Middle School lobby near the front desk. Please bring travel size toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, shaving cream), toothbrushes, razors, etc.

Contact MS Community Service Co-clerks Eva Xanthos or Lisa Arrington or your Grade Reps for volunteer opportunities.

QUAKER QUOTE
&quot;True godliness does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.&quot; William Penn

MS NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
How to Submit an Article to Tuesday Letter: Please send submissions, in the body of the email, to [email-masked] by 2:00 p.m. on Monday. Please reference &quot;Newsletter Submission&quot; and the publish date(s) in the subject line. Do not include any formatting such as indents, bullets, boldface or all-caps and keep submissions succinct. If you have a form or flyer to include with your submission, send it as a PDF attachment. Receipt of your submissions will be confirmed as soon as possible. Submissions may not run for more than three weeks.
How to Modify an existing Submission: Please send a redline or otherwise clearly indicate the change to be made in a second email.
School Calendar: Calendar entries that appear in the right column of each Newsletter are automatically generated by the school, not by the Tuesday newsletter editors. Any changes to the school calendar are made through the school scheduling office at [email-masked].

                            
                                
                                US NewsBackpack, books, pencils.passport
For the ultimate off-campus learning experience, students can spend junior or senior year in a foreign country and not miss a beat with credits.
Read More

                                
                                MS NewsQuaker educator Arthur Larrabee joins the 7th grade Q&A class
Quaker educator Arthur Larrabee shared four key concepts when making a decision. What didn&rsquo;t make his list? Taking a vote!
Read MoreMiddle School welcomed Native American Indian, Joseph Stands With Many to campus.
Joseph follows traditional Cherokee ways, taking after his grandmother and great grandmother who were both storytellers; he also paints and works with wood.
Read More

                                
                                LS News¡1,2,3 con Andrés! A bilingual performance at the Lower School
Students mambo and samba through a fantastico show in Spanish.
Read More
							
						 The Parents Association newsletters are a forum for communication among parents and provide announcements concerning School or PA events or information related to a School or PA event. 
						MS newsletter submissions should be sent to [email-masked].

					

							
								
									 Calendar

									

												
												
	Wed, Oct 22nd 
		
				New to Quakerism Conference 
				
				RLS, Rusch, Rosenberg Theater, Caplin Theater
				12:00pm - 2:30pm

				

	Thu, Oct 23rd 
		
				Magnus Training Program 
				
				Rusch Team Room
				8:00am - 12:30pm

				

		
				GAMETIME! Girls Varsity Field Hockey 
				
				Upper Turf Field
				4:15pm - 6:15pm

				

	Fri, Oct 24th 
		
				6th Gr. Hangout 
				
				Wannan Gym and MS Courtyard
				3:30pm - 5:00pm

				

		
				MS 7/8 Dance 
				
				US Dining Rm
				7:30pm - 10:00pm

				

		
				7th Gr.Parent Peer Group Mtg 
				
				MS Library
				8:00pm - 9:30pm

				

		
				8th Gr. Parent Peer Group Mtg 
				
				Zartman Drawing Rm
				8:00pm - 9:30pm

				

	Sat, Oct 25th 
		
				GAMETIME! Girls/Boys Cross Country 

				12:00pm - 12:30pm

				

	Mon, Oct 27th 
		
				PA Event - Shankar Vedantam 
				
				Robert L. Smith Meeting Room
				6:30pm - 9:00pm

				

	Tue, Oct 28th 
		
				LS Parent Conferences - Half Day 

				

				

		
				MS Parent Conferences - Half Day 

				

				

	Wed, Oct 29th 
		
				LS Parent Conferences - Half Day 

				

				

		
				MS Parent Conferences - No School 

				

				

	Thu, Oct 30th 
		
				LS Parent Conferences - Half Day 

				

				

	Fri, Oct 31st 
		
				US Report Writing - No School 

				

				

	Sun, Nov 2nd 
		
				Apollo Orchestra - performance 
				
				Robert L. Smith Mtg Rm
				3:00pm - 4:30pm

				

	Mon, Nov 3rd 
		
				MS PA Steering Comm. Mtg 
				
				Rusch Team Rm
				8:00am - 9:00am

				

		
				5th Gr. Parent Peer Group Mtg 
				
				MS Library
				7:30pm - 8:30pm

				

	Tue, Nov 4th 
		
				Minimester Trips Parent Meeting 
				
				MS Drama Studio
				7:30pm - 9:30pm

				

	Thu, Nov 6th 
		
				PA Exec. Steering Committee Mtg 
				
				Rusch Team Rm
				8:30am - 9:30am

				

	Fri, Nov 7th 
		
				6th Grade Conversation with Michelle Parker 
				
				Rosenberg Theater
				8:00am - 9:15am

				

		
				7th Gr. Hangout 
				
				Wannan Gym and MS Courtyard
				3:30pm - 5:00pm

				

											More

									

									Athletics

									

                                                
												
	Tue, Oct 21st 
		
				Tennis - Girls Varsity vs. ISL Championships  

				3:30pm

				

		
				Field Hockey - Varsity vs. Bullis 

				4:00pm

				

		
				Volleyball - Varsity vs. National Cathedral School 

				4:00pm

				

		
				Volleyball - Junior Varsity vs. National Cathedral School 

				4:00pm

				

		
				Soccer - Boys Varsity vs. St. James School 

				4:30pm

				

	Wed, Oct 22nd 
		
				Soccer - Boys 7/8 A vs. Mater Dei 

				2:30pm

				

		
				Volleyball - 7/8 vs. Maret School 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Field Hockey - 7/8 at Stone Ridge School 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Tennis - Girls Varsity vs. ISL Championships  

				3:30pm

				

		
				Field Hockey - Junior Varsity vs. Bullis 

				4:30pm

				

	Thu, Oct 23rd 
		
				Volleyball - 7/8 vs. Georgetown Day 

				2:30pm

				

		
				Soccer - Boys 7/8 B at Georgetown Day 

				2:30pm

				

		
				Soccer - Girls 7/8 B vs. Georgetown Day 

				2:30pm

				

		
				Soccer - Boys 7/8 A vs. Georgetown Day 

				2:30pm

				

		
				Tennis - Girls 7/8 - A Team Home vs. GDS 

				2:30pm

				

		
				Tennis - Girls 7/8 - B Team vs. GDS 

				2:30pm

				

		
				Football - 7/8 Heavyweight vs. Potomac School 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Tennis - Girls Varsity vs. ISL Championships  

				3:30pm

				

		
				Soccer - Girls Varsity vs. National Cathedral School 

				4:15pm

				

		
				Soccer - Girls Junior Varsity at National Cathedral School 

				4:15pm

				

		
				Field Hockey - Varsity vs. Madeira 

				4:15pm

				

		
				Volleyball - Junior Varsity vs. St. Andrew's School 

				4:15pm

				

		
				Volleyball - Varsity at Episcopal High School 

				4:30pm

				

		
				Field Hockey - Junior Varsity vs. Madeira 

				5:30pm

				

	Fri, Oct 24th 
		
				Cross-Country - Boys 7/8 vs. IAC/ MAC/ ISL Championships 

				3:30pm

				

		
				Cross-Country - Girls 7/8 vs. IAC/ MAC/ ISL Championships  

				3:30pm

				

		
				Volleyball - Junior Varsity - J.V. Hopper 

				4:00pm

				

		
				Soccer - Boys Varsity at Georgetown Day 

				4:15pm

				

		
				Soccer - Boys Junior Varsity vs. Georgetown Day 

				4:15pm

				

	Sat, Oct 25th 
		
				Cross-Country - Girls Varsity vs. ISL Championships  

				

				

		
				Cross-Country - Boys Varsity vs. MAC Championships  

				

				

		
				Field Hockey - Junior Varsity - Play Day at Madeira 

				

				

		
				Volleyball - Junior Varsity - JV Hopper 

				9:30am

				

		
				Football - Varsity at St. James School 

				2:30pm

				

	Mon, Oct 27th 
		
				Volleyball - 7/8 at Flint Hill 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Tennis - Girls 7/8 at Flint Hill 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Football - 7/8 Heavyweight at Flint Hill 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Field Hockey - 7/8 vs. Brookewood 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Soccer - Girls 7/8 A vs. Flint Hill 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Soccer - Boys 7/8 A at Flint Hill 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Soccer - Boys 7/8 B vs. Flint Hill 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Tennis - Girls 7/8 vs. National Cathedral School 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Field Hockey - Varsity vs. Flint Hill 

				4:15pm

				

	Tue, Oct 28th 
		
				Soccer - Girls Varsity - ISL Championships  

				

				

		
				Soccer - Boys Varsity - MAC Championships 

				

				

	Wed, Oct 29th 
		
				Field Hockey - Varsity - ISL Championships  

				

				

	Thu, Oct 30th 
		
				Volleyball - Varsity - ISL Championships 

				

				

		
				Cross-Country - Girls 7/8 - Norwood Invitational  

				

				

		
				Tennis - Girls 7/8 vs. Stone Ridge School 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Football - 7/8 Heavyweight vs. St. Albans 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Soccer - Boys 7/8 A at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Soccer - Girls 7/8 B at Stone Ridge School 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Soccer - Boys 7/8 B vs. St. Stephen's & St. Agnes 

				2:45pm

				

		
				Cross-Country - Boys 7/8 - Norwood Invitational  

				2:45pm

				

		
				Volleyball - 7/8 - Stone Ridge  

				2:45pm

				

	Fri, Oct 31st 
		
				Volleyball - Varsity - ISL Championships 

				

				

	Sat, Nov 1st 
		
				Cross-Country - Boys Varsity - DCSAA Championships  

				

				

		
				Cross-Country - Girls Varsity - DCSAA Championships  

				

				

		
				Football - Varsity at Flint Hill 

				2:30pm

				

	Sun, Nov 2nd 
		
				Volleyball - Varsity - ISL Championships 

				

				

	Mon, Nov 3rd 
		
				Cross-Country - Boys 7/8 - DC Private School Championships  

				

				

		
				Cross-Country - Girls 7/8 - DC Private School Championships  

				

				

	Tue, Nov 4th 
		
				Soccer - Girls Varsity - DCSAA Championships  

				

				

		
				Soccer - Boys Varsity - DCSAA Championships 

				

				

		
				Volleyball - Varsity - DCSAA Championships  

				

				

	Sat, Nov 8th 
		
				Cross-Country - Boys Varsity vs. DC Private School Championships  

				

				

		
				Cross-Country - Girls Varsity vs. DC Private School Championships 

				

				

                                            More

									

							

				

		

		

					

					

					

					

					

					

				

		

		
			3825 Wisconsin Avenue NW   Washington, DC  20016   Tel: 202-537-8100   Fax: 202-537-8499