Subject: SFS MS TUESDAY LETTER 10-28-14
From: "SFS MS Tuesday Letter" <[email-masked]>
To: "R. Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 15:30:13 -0400

Tuesday - October 28, 2014

		

		

		 

					

							
								Principal's Letter

NOTES FROM SALLY 

							
							
								Announcements

CONGRATULATIONS SFS MATHLETES 
SEPT/OCT MATH CHALLENGE - RESULTS 
5TH GRADE PARENT PEER GROUP - MONDAY, NOV 3 
APOLLO ORCHESTRA - SUNDAY NOV 2 
LOWER SCHOOL BOOK FAIR - COMING SOON! 
SIDWELL FRIENDS IS GOING TO THE OPERA! 
NEXT-TO-NEW SALES RESULTS 
GAMETIME! 
SIDWELL FRIENDS SNOW CLUB 
SAVE THE DATE: AUCTION BRAINSTORM PARTY 11/19 
"IT'S ACADEMIC" WINS FIRST ROUND 

							
							
								Other

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: As the school year goes on, is there anything you hope to accomplish?
Assembly: Step Afrika
There are lots of announcements today!
Reminder: School is dismissed for conferences at noon today, and there is no school tomorrow. All students will eat lunch before today&rsquo;s dismissal. Aftercare is open today, and the shuttle to Lower School will run. Students must be picked up or in a supervised activity no later than 12:30.
7/8 parents: When you come in for your conference, please stop by either the desk in the first floor lobby or the table on the 3rd floor in the Team Sea area to pick up a name tag. This will help our teachers during the drop-in times. Drop-in appointments are available at these times:
Tuesday: 1:20 -2:20pm
Wednesday: 8:00 &ndash; 9:00am, 10:00 &ndash; 11:00am, 1:00 &ndash; 2:00pm, 3:00 &ndash; 3:30pm
Sign up for 5-minute appointments on the clipboards outside teachers&rsquo; rooms. There will be lists of room numbers around the building to help you find everyone. We can only accommodate these drop-in appointments at the times listed above.
Also &ndash; when you are here for your conference, please check the Lost and Found bins on the second floor outside the kitchen and the third floor by the science rooms for your child&rsquo;s belongings!
Halloween is Friday! The fifth grade will have a modest morning celebration, and there are no other grade-wide events scheduled. 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. And of course, no weapons or violent themes, please. We have UNICEF boxes in the office. Please encourage your child to pick one up and collect donations for UNICEF. The 7/8 students gave us a good start by contributing more than $125 at the dance on Friday. Thanks! (note &ndash; we will take foreign currency in the donation boxes) We will also collect unwanted Halloween candy to donate to the Washington Home.
Between October 30 and November 7, seventeen members of our Middle School faculty will be participating in an exciting new professional development opportunity. To take advantage of the dynamic educators within our community, faculty will spend time observing in each others&rsquo; classrooms. These experiences will allow observers to witness innovative teaching practices in action, as well as to learn more about areas of the school outside of their grade or subject area of focus. Keep an eye out for highlights which will be shared later in November.
Attention, parents of 7/8 grade students: we will again offer trips as a part of this year&rsquo;s Minimester program. The trip booklet will be in students&rsquo; hands this week. There is a meeting for parents about the trips next Tuesday night, November 4, at 7:30 PM in the Middle School Drama Studio. This is not a required meeting, but it is a really important chance to hear more about the program. We have found in the past that parents who miss this meeting have a hard time understanding both the selection process and the financial assistance policies, so we do strongly encourage you to attend. Priority for travel will go to 8th graders, but we do anticipate having some spaces for 7th graders as well.
Winter sports begin next Monday. Swimming is an option for 7/8 and is one of the rotations for 5/6. Please help children remember to bring sweatpants and a sweatshirt if they will be outside and wear a hat over wet hair once the weather turns colder.
Congratulations to the girls&rsquo; and boys&rsquo; Cross-Country teams &ndash; both won their championships last Friday!
The Sidwell Friends Middle School hosted the first DC Urban Debate League tournament of the 2014-2015 school year on Saturday. There were over 160 debaters on 53 teams from 11 different schools present. The SFS middle school brought 47 debaters and 16 teams to the tournament, and the team fared very well, taking the first place trophy for total number of team wins as well as the first place trophy for winning percentage. More than half of the SFS debaters were first time tournament debaters. In team rankings, SFS had five undefeated teams who took the first five rankings in the tournament. In first place overall was the team of Rama Somborac, Nicholas Spasojevic and Sophie Horst, second was Lauren Adler, Oliver Bass and Mitchell Jubeir, third was the team of Chiara D&#39;Andrea, Toby Dorfman and Erica Wang, fourth was the team of Claire Choi, Ellie Ihegihu and Patrice McGloin, and in fifth place was the team of Olivia Choi, Rebecca Fried and Lilly Swaine-Moore. Individual debaters also took six of the top 20 spots in speaker point awards, with Sophie Horst taking first place overall! In fourth place was Oliver Bass, Nicholas Spasojevic took fifth place, in sixth place was Rama Somborac, in twelfth place was Alex Sundberg and in 19th place overall was Mitchell Jubeir. Congratulations to all of the debaters!
The KX and 6th Grade Artful Thinking Project: This Wednesday, Becky Farnum&rsquo;s 6th grade Homeroom began work on an exciting &ldquo;children as citizens&rdquo; project that we will continue to work on over the next three weeks. Our students are working in small learning groups with Denise Coffin&rsquo;s Kindergarten class to look and think deeply about the meaning of six pieces of surrealist art. One of our objectives for this project is to have the 6th graders and the kindergartners work together as peers. This week the 6th graders traveled to Lower School &ndash; we spent some time getting to know each other in our six learning groups. Each of the groups was assigned one of the pieces of artwork and began to look closely and to share their thinking about the things that each student could see in the work. They noted what they thought about either portions of or the whole piece, and began the process of generating as many as 12 questions that their painting raised for their group. We also shared a little bit of a rainy scramble and a snack before we said goodbye to the 6th graders. During the debriefing conversation, the teachers asked the whole group how they felt and what they thought about working in these groups on this project so far. The 6th graders noted that the kindergarteners &ldquo;just saw things and said them&rdquo; without thinking too much about whether the answer would be right or wrong and that was something they felt the groups really benefitted from. One of the Kxers noted that working with 6th graders was helpful because they &ldquo;knew that there was an assignment and they can tell time&rdquo; so that the 6th graders were able to keep the groups from getting too distracted! &ldquo;Children as citizens&rdquo; is an idea that is based in knowing that children (no matter the age group) are citizens of our community and not future citizens. By treating and teaching them accordingly, we make them metaphorically &ldquo;larger&rdquo; than they literally are and they in turn are able to dive deeper into their educational lives. Our added objectives for this project include having students work and share as citizens of their community, practice developing questions, and making sure students have opportunities to work on thinking artfully.
Please join Hearst Elementary in the Annual E-cycle and Swap Spot scheduled for Saturday, November 1 from 9am to 1pm. The E-cycle is a green healthy community event to recycle old electronics, batteries, computers, and the like.

							
								Announcements

CONGRATULATIONS SFS MATHLETES
Congratulations to all the 6th, 7th and 8th graders who participated in last Tuesday&rsquo;s math meet at St. Albans.  With the help of perfect or near-perfect scores from 8th graders Mitchell Jubeir, Nathan Shapiro, Arjun Sethi-Olowin, Oliver Bass and Stephen Forrester, and 7th graders Nate Aurbach and Etan Basser, the cohort from Sidwell Friends claimed first place over a dozen private schools from the DC area, edging out St. Albans and Georgetown Day School.  The next math meet will be on Wednesday, February 4th, at St. Patrick&rsquo;s.  Way to go, Sidwell Friends mathletes!

SEPT/OCT MATH CHALLENGE - RESULTS
Congratulations to 8th grade Nathan Shapiro, the only student to correctly solve the September/October Math Challenge of the month.  Nathan&rsquo;s solution can be viewed on the bulletin board outside of Mr. C&rsquo;s room (Room 306) and on the Math Bulletin Board in  the 5/6 Hallway  The next bimonthly challenge will be posted at the beginning of November. 

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.

APOLLO ORCHESTRA - SUNDAY NOV 2
Apollo Orchestra Performance with Sidwell Friends Chorus and Domingo Cafritz Young Artists
Sunday, Nov. 2, 3:00 p.m. in the Robert L. Smith Meeting Room
The Apollo Orchestra features young musicians from around the globe. Most are graduates of conservatories but haven&rsquo;t yet had the opportunity to join a major orchestra or opera company. Performing with the Apollo Orchestra is the Sidwell Friends School chorus and vocalists from Washington Opera&rsquo;s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists program. The program features Choral Works and Verissmo Opera including Puccini&rsquo;s La Rondine, Madame Butterfly and La boh&egrave;me, which is playing at the Kennedy Center this fall.
Speaking of La Boh&egrave;me&hellip; see announcement below about Sidwell Friends alumna Alyson Cambridge&rsquo;97 who is performing at the Kennedy Center this fall!

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. After you stock up on great books, enjoy some delicious pizza just down the street at Comet Pizza (Comet will donate a portion of purchases during the Book Fair to Sidwell Friends; just be sure to give them the coupon provided at the Book Fair).

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.

NEXT-TO-NEW SALES RESULTS
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year&rsquo;s Next-to-New Sale, which was a record-breaking success, raising more than $92,000 for student financial aid! This is $27,000 more than what was raised at last year&rsquo;s Sale.
In addition to net proceeds benefitting student scholarships, all items unfit for Sale were recycled and unsold items were donated to 15 local charities. Approximately half a ton of textiles were sent to local recycling centers and a metal recycling program was introduced, which will help bring in additional revenue to the Sale. Nearly one ton of clothing and more than 400 boxes of unsold items to 15 local charities.
We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the many donors, sponsors, volunteers, students, sponsors, local charities and shoppers for making this fundraiser a resounding success. Without your support, this event would not have been possible. 
To learn more about volunteering at next year&rsquo;s Sale, please contact Jessie Jacobson, Director of Special Events.
See you next year!
Melanie Jacobsen and Felice Roggen
2014-2015 Co-Chairs

GAMETIME!
Although we are finished with our special events for the fall season, most teams are in league tournaments and races over the next few weeks. Check the athletics calendar for remaining games, get your Sidwell Friends colors on, and go cheer.
If you have suggestions about GAMETIME! (timing of events, locations, ideas for involving MS and LS students), please send them to the PA Athletics Committee clerks Andrew Aurbach and Estee Portnoy or to Kathi Webb. Thanks to those of you who have already provided thoughtful feedback.

SIDWELL FRIENDS SNOW CLUB
Snow Club is the perfect way to counteract the end-of-the-week blahs. Sidwell Friends MS and US students (6th grade and up) jump on the Calleva Snow Bus and hit the slopes EVERY Friday night in January &amp; February.  The bus will pick up at 3:30p in the DC Campus bus area by the tennis courts and return to the garage between 11:30p and midnight.  Students can sign up for 4, 6 or all 8 Friday nights to ski under the lights at Whitetail!  Snow Club members receive a Night Club Card and Friday night transportation to the slopes. Whitetail is our home mountain, but the Night Club card is also good for the sister resorts--Liberty and Roundtop. Your Night Club card is a night skiing season pass -- good for any of these 3 resorts on any night of their season (beginning January 9). If you like to ride the slopes with your friends, want to avoid the daytime lift lines and are a night owl, this is a sweet program!  Info session will be held Tuesday, November 4th 6:30 &ndash; 7:30 in US 104/106.  For more information contact Quinn McClean.

SAVE THE DATE: AUCTION BRAINSTORM PARTY 11/19

We need your help brainstorming unique donation ideas for this year&rsquo;s scholarship auction. We want to hear your brilliant ideas! Bring your friends and creativity and we&rsquo;ll supply the wine, beer and appetizers. All auction enthusiasts are encouraged to attend - no need to be on the committee! The Auction Brainstorm Party will be held on Wednesday, November 19 from 7-9 p.m. at the home of Vanessa and Ned Johnson (3530 Tilden Street, NW). Please RSVP by November 12.

Interested in making a donation to this year&rsquo;s Auction &ldquo;Celebrate DC?&rdquo; We would be grateful for your support! Simply click here to make your donation today. The donation deadline is February 1, 2015.

"IT'S ACADEMIC" WINS FIRST ROUND
Congratulations to the SFS Upper School &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Academic&rdquo; team for winning its first round last Saturday.  This winning performance airs on Saturday November 29 at 10:30am on NBC4. The next round of TV taping is Saturday February 15 at 11:15am &ndash; mark your calendars now &ndash; fans are welcome to come in person and cheer on the team!

							
								Other

COMMUNITY SERVICE CORNER
October 31st &ndash; Trick or Treat for UNICEF - UNICEF boxes are available in the office. Please encourage your child to pick one up and take along with them while they are out trick or treating, and return it Monday, November 3rd.

Middle School Halloween Candy Collection
What do you do with that extra Halloween Candy? Donate it! There will be a candy collection box at the main entrance to the Middle School, and candy will be donated to our neighbors at The Washington Home. For more information about The Washington Home, please click here.

November 7th &ndash; 7th grade Hangout - Silverware Bundles for Martha&#39;s Table
November 21st &ndash; 8th grade Hangout - Veggie Cutting for Martha&#39;s Table
Ongoing Toiletries Collection Bins in MS lobby for A Wider Circle.
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
Quaker Quotes are intended to deepen the understanding and appreciation of Quakerism within the Sidwell Friends School community. Questions about Quakerism and its practice may be directed to Cynthia Richie Terrell.

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 NewsHomecoming! 
Check out pictures from Homecoming!
Read More

                                
                                MS NewsThere's no debating the Middle School team's performance!
On Saturday the Middle School hosted and competed in the first DC Urban Debate League tournament.
Read MoreArtful Thinking
The KX class and 6th grade get started on their Artful Thinking project
Read More

                                
                                LS NewsArtful Thinking
The KX class and 6th grade get started on their Artful Thinking project
Read MoreDo you want to be a model or an artist? In the 4th grade art class, students experience both!
Fourth grade student began the physical work to create personal masks, a project that spans two months.
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

									

												
												
	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

				

	Tue, Nov 11th 
		
				6th Gr. Parent Peer Groups 
				
				MS Library
				7:30pm - 8:30pm

				

	Wed, Nov 12th 
		
				5th Grade Conversation with Michelle Parker 
				
				Rosenberg Theater
				8:00am - 9:15am

				

	Thu, Nov 13th 
		
				PA Arts Committee Mtg 
				
				US Library Board Rm
				7:00pm - 9:00pm

				

	Fri, Nov 14th 
		
				7th Grade Conversation with Michelle Parker 
				
				Rosenberg Theater
				8:00am - 9:15am

				

		
				MS Fall Play 
				
				MS Drama Studio
				7:30pm - 9:30pm

				

	Sat, Nov 15th 
		
				MS Fall Play 
				
				MS Drama Studio
				2:00pm - 4:00pm

				

	Mon, Nov 17th 
		
				All School Professional Day - Half Day 

				

				

		
				Tony Wagner Lecture 
				
				Robert L. Smith Meeting Room, Meeting House Foyer
				6:30pm - 8:30pm

				

											More

									

									Athletics

									

                                                
												
	Tue, Oct 28th 
		
				Soccer - Boys Varsity vs. MAC Championships @ St. Andrew's 

				3:30pm

				

	Wed, Oct 29th 
		
				Field Hockey - Varsity vs. ISL Championships @ Bullis 

				

				

		
				Soccer - Girls Varsity vs. ISL Championships vs. Flint Hill  

				3:30pm

				

	Thu, Oct 30th 
		
				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

				

		
				Soccer - Boys Varsity - MAC Championships 

				3:30pm

				

	Fri, Oct 31st 
		
				Volleyball - Varsity - ISL Championships 

				4:30pm

				

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

				

				

		
				Cross-Country - Girls Varsity - DCSAA Championships  

				

				

		
				Football - Varsity at Flint Hill 

				2:00pm

				

	Sun, Nov 2nd 
		
				Volleyball - Varsity vs. 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 

				

				

	Fri, Nov 14th 
		
				Basketball - Girls Varsity - Scrimmage vs. Georgetown Visitation  

				4:15pm

				

                                            More

									

							

				

		

		

					

					

					

					

					

					

				

		

		
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