SFS US Weekly E-Newsletter 1-4-15

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2015-01-04 14:00:30

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PROCESSED

Sunday - January 4, 2015

Principal's Letter

MESSAGE FROM MAMADOU

Announcements

REMINDER RE: WISCONSIN AVE. GARAGE GUIDELINES
MAKE YOUR AUCTION DONATION TODAY!
ADVERTISE IN THE 2015 AUCTION CATALOG

Events

SFS NIGHT AT THE WASHINGTON WIZARDS!

Other

(IN)FREQUENTLY ASKED QUAKER QUESTIONS

News Around the School

Principal's Letter

MESSAGE FROM MAMADOU
Friends,
It is a true privilege to write to you as the Upper School principal of Sidwell Friends! The support I have received from parents, students, alumni, and colleagues throughout this process has been overwhelming. I feel deeply honored and humbled to be given this opportunity to serve this wonderful School. Any success I enjoy as the principal will be a shared success with all the members of this community. I commit myself to working in partnership with all of you.
I hope this winter holiday has been a joyful one for you and your family. At the close of our holiday concert on our last day of school before break, I encouraged students to get as much rest and sleep as possible to get recharged and refreshed for the mid-year exams.
When school resumes on Monday, January 5, students will begin reviewing for the exams. The review days, which will follow a normal school-day schedule, will take place on January 5 and 6, followed by a reading day on January 7 when students can make arrangements to see a teacher. A second reading day will take place on January 13. Regular classes will not be held on reading days, so students are not required to be on campus. For students who wish to study on campus, however, the library will be open each day throughout the exam period, and lunch will be offered in the dining hall. Exams will begin at 8:30 a.m. on each exam day, and exam room locations will be sent to students via e-mail. The complete exam schedule is posted below. If you have any questions about the exam schedule, please e-mail Min Kim, interim academic dean, at kimm@sidwell.edu.
This year following each exam, the Upper School faculty, led by Josh Markey, is offering activities to help reduce stress. Students are invited to take part in one or all of these activities:
---A 5K “fun run” on Thursday, January 8, after the language exam, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Meet at Zartman Circle. Permission slips are required and will be sent via e-mail to all students.
---A kickball game on Friday, January 9, after the English exam, 12:00-1:30 p.m. Meet at the top of the turf field.
---A hike nearby on Monday, January 12, after the math exam, 12:00-1:30 p.m. Meet at Zartman Circle. Permission slips are required and will be sent via e-mail to all students.
---Yoga and/or a sing-along in the meeting house on Wednesday, January 14, after the history exam, 12:00-1:15 p.m. Meet in the Arts Center courtyard.
I wish you all a very happy new year!
With warm regards,
Mamadou Guèye
Principal
Upcoming Events:
January 7, 7:45-8:45 a.m.: Upper School Parent Conversation with Laurén Carter and Anne Renninger: “College Admissions for the Athlete,” Choral Room
Mid-year Exam Schedule:

JANUARY 2015

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1
WINTER

2
VACATION

3

4

5
Review Day
(no new material)

6
Review Day
(no new material)

7
Reading Day

8
Exam #1
Language

9
Exam #2
English

10

11

12
Exam #3
Math

13
Reading Day

14
Exam #4
History

15
Exam #5
Science

16
Exam Make-up Day

17

Announcements

REMINDER RE: WISCONSIN AVE. GARAGE GUIDELINES
Please model responsible driving behavior for our students and follow these guidelines for safety and efficiency:

Direct students to enter and exit vehicles on the curb side only.
Pull as far forward and to the right as you can when picking up or dropping off students to allow others to drop off or pick up behind you or pass you on the left.

In the afternoons, once the spaces along the curb fill up and the line starts backing up toward Wisconsin Avenue, drivers waiting for students for longer than 5 minutes may be asked to circle around the garage. If you do arrive early, please pull into a parking space and do not block parked cars while you wait for your student. Then circle around to the pickup lane when they are ready. Additional parking may be available on the lower level, and Zartman Circle is also available for drop-off and pick-up.
Remember: students are rarely ready to depart precisely when the school day ends.

There are two different traffic signals for cars exiting onto Wisconsin Avenue at the Post Office: The one on the left directs vehicles exiting and entering the Post Office. Proceed on green ONLY from the signal on the right.

There is absolutely no cell phone usage (hands-free or not) while driving on campus. When parked, students can be alerted as to the meeting point via cell phone.
Do not allow your car to idle. Please support the environment and the health of our community by parking in a space and turning off your car when waiting.
Do not block key intersections at Rodman Street, the Post Office, or in the garage. Security staff will direct you as needed to keep traffic flowing---please follow their directions.
Use caution when exiting by the Post Office. This drive is shared by the Post Office and student walkers who are often distracted or walking with headphones.

Parents picking up Lower School students who arrive by shuttle bus are encouraged to use lower level parking. The lower level provides easy access to the Lower School bus by the north stairwell, which is easy and safe to navigate with children.

Parents switching places with student drivers: please try to arrive or depart in non-peak hours, or do your switch in a parking spot or in Zartman Circle; the delay caused by walking around the car and adjusting mirrors is not suited to carpool peakperiods.

Please be respectful and patient. It is not always possible to get in and out of the garage quickly, especially at peak times. Plan your activities accordingly, and remember that safety comes first. Many thanks for doing your part to keep our community safe.

Questions or comments? Please contact Kathi Webb at webbk@sidwell.edu.

MAKE YOUR AUCTION DONATION TODAY!
This year's scholarship Auction, "Celebrate DC," will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2015, in the Athletic Center. You don't want to miss it! We hope you will support this important fundraiser by making a contribution by February 1, 2015. Not sure what to donate? View the list of donation ideas by clicking here. Donation contracts can be filled out online, or you may print off this contract and send to the School or fax to 202-537-8449. For questions regarding the Auction, please contact Jessie Jacobson, director of special events, at jacobsonj@sidwell.edu. Thank you for your support!

ADVERTISE IN THE 2015 AUCTION CATALOG
Interested in showcasing your business or organization in the Sidwell Friends Auction catalog? Advertisements help defer the costs of producing the Auction and will be seen by more than 8,000 alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of the School. To learn more about advertising opportunities, please view the Advertising Agreement. The deadline for ad copy is January 30, 2015. For questions, please contact Jessie Jacobson, director of special events, at jacobsonj@sidwell.edu or 202-537-8442. Thank you for your support!

Events

SFS NIGHT AT THE WASHINGTON WIZARDS!
Saturday, February 7, is SFS Community Night at the Washington Wizards game against the Brooklyn Nets. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. We’ve got a block of seats in sections 424 and 425 so we can cheer together. Tickets are $25 each. Assuming we sell our 100 tickets, we’re entitled to watch pre-game warm-ups from courtside; 50 of our youngest fans can high cheer in the tunnel as players run onto the court (6:25 p.m.). We’ll also get our own Wizards-SFS custom T-shirts.
Tickets can be purchased now in the Fox Den. There are a limited number of student tickets available for families on financial aid. We are offering one free ticket per family on a first come, first served basis. Please contact Valerie Foster at 202-537-2402 or fosterv@sidwell.edu. These are REAL TICKETS, not re-printable e-tickets---please don’t lose yours.
Questions? Contact PA Athletics Committee clerks Estee Portnoy (Estee.Portnoy@jumpdc.com) and Andrew Aurbach (andrew.aurbach@gmail.com) or Kathi Webb (webbk@sidwell.edu).

Other

(IN)FREQUENTLY ASKED QUAKER QUESTIONS
Introducing a new feature intended to share newsletter space with Quaker Quotes: from the Sidwell Friends Quaker Life Committees, pithy answers to
*** In-Frequently Asked Quaker Questions ***
Things you’ve wondered about Quaker history or practice or what-have-you, but weren’t sure whom to ask. This is the place to find out! Send your Quaker Questions to your QLC clerks for forwarding.
I don’t see anybody at Sidwell Friends who looks like the Quaker Oatmeal dude. Where are the Quakers?
The Quaker Oats guy is kind of the Aunt Jemima of Quaker stereotyping (turned into a brand symbol by the same marketing folks, actually). But he’s supposed to be identifiably Quaker because he’s wearing a form of Plain Dress, a traditional Quaker witness for simplicity. The 16th–18th centuries in Britain were a time of vast income and wealth disparity, and people signaled their status with things like handmade lace cuffs or solid gold buttons. Quakers believed, then as now, that all humans are equal. And they believed that wearing fancy clothes makes you feel superior to and different from others when really you aren’t, and that that gets in the way of appreciating That of God inside others. So Quakers as a group adopted Plain Dress—the blue jeans and T-shirts of the 16th century—as a way of witnessing against (i.e. protesting) status-conscious clothing. Traditional Plain Dress is radically anachronistic today, so expect to find most modern Quakers wearing today’s equivalent in unostentatious clothing.

Upper School Weekly E-Newsletter Submissions

How to Submit an Article to the E-Newsletter. Fill out the form at www.sidwell.edu/submit by 12:00 p.m. Thursday.

Note Concerning the School Calendar: The calendar entries that appear in the right column of each Newsletter are automatically generated by the official school calendar and are not subject to editing by the Newsletter Editors. All changes or additions to the school calendar must be made through the school scheduling office, reachable at: scheduling@sidwell.edu.

The Upper School Weekly E-Newsletter is a forum for communication among parents and is designed to provide announcements concerning school events or information. E-newsletter submissions should be filled out at www.sidwell.edu/submit.

Calendar

Mon, Jan 5th

School Reopens

US Exams - Review Day

Tue, Jan 6th

US Exams - Review Day

Wed, Jan 7th

US Exams - Reading Day

College Counseling - Athletics

Choral Music Rm
7:45am - 8:45am

Thu, Jan 8th

PA Executive Steering Committee Mtg

Rusch Team Rm
8:30am - 9:30am

US Exams - Language