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Tuesday - May 20, 2014


From the School

This Week's Query
What does Meeting for Worship mean to you?
Notes from Sally
Assembly: The Spring Concert of the 7/8 Choral and Instrumental groups. See note below.
Parents are warmly invited to join us for Meeting for Worship in the Meeting Room on Thursday morning from 8:10 – 8:40.
This week we will have the spring concert for 7/8. Performances will be held Wednesday night (5/21) at 7 PM and Friday afternoon (5/23) at 2 PM. Parents are welcome at either performance.
The Sidwell Friends Middle School Art Exhibit is up in the building and will run through the end of the school year. Please stop by to see our students' wonderful imagination, creativity, hard work, and self-expression as displayed in their art pieces! While you’re here, stop by the Lost and Found boxes on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
Just a reminder that we will have school next Monday, Memorial Day! The 5/6 talent show will be held that afternoon in the Drama Studio. Parents are welcome to attend.
8th graders are beginning to fill their time capsules, envelopes of letters and mementos that will be opened in the spring of their senior year. Parents - please consider writing a letter to be included in the time capsule. These can be sent to my attention in the Middle School office, or drop by when you are in school and deliver them.
All library materials need to be returned by this Friday, May 23. Patrons with outstanding items will not receive yearbooks or final report cards until all items are replaced or paid for. Summer reading lists are now posted on the SFS Middle School website under the Library section. Please note the required books for each grade level.
Parents of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders: Students will be turning in their laptops on Monday, June 2nd. Please ask your child about the laptop turn in checklist that they should have received via email. Please assist your child in completing this form. It must be turned in to their advisor/homeroom teacher along with their assigned laptop/charger/bag by June 2, as all laptops will be picked up by Tracie Yorke and Khalil Braswell on that date. Those who do not have all components issued to them at the beginning of the year will be billed for their replacement as noted in the agreement signed at the beginning of the year, and report cards will not be visible until items are returned or fees are paid. 5th grade laptops will also be collected from classrooms on that date.
We are asking all students to change their passwords before they leave for summer. Students should not use any part of their name (first or last) or the word “password” when creating their new log on credentials. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Tracie Yorke at yorket@sidwell.edu .
The Middle School collects and reuses all hard-bound textbooks to save money and resources. Please look around the house and send in those texts to be collected by the classroom teachers.
Summer Math Practice
It might be beneficial for your child to have some extra practice with math over the summer to keep his or her computational and problem solving skills sharp for the upcoming school year. If you are interested in learning about what resources would be best suited for your child’s needs, please email his or her math teacher, and he or she can direct you to the most appropriate workbooks and/or websites. Also, you shouldn’t feel obliged to purchase anything for this extra practice over the summer, as there are wonderful websites that provide an abundance of resources free of charge. Most notably, Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org) provides effective and self-guided support for skill review, and The Art of Problem Solving (www.aops.com) provides many opportunities for enrichment as students tackle mathematical challenges alongside other online users. If you feel that a summer tutoring arrangement would be helpful for your child in math, please email our learning specialist Anne Kennedy (kennedya@sidwell.edu) so that she can help you coordinate a tutoring setup. If you do decide to seeking summer tutoring for your child, it is vital that you connect the tutor with your child’s current math teacher ahead of time so that the tutor has a clear idea of what your child’s learning needs are.
Events for Student Scholarships
On behalf of co-chairs Raina Fishbane and Eleni Rossides ’85 many thanks to all those that supported the tennis event on Saturday afternoon. Nearly 100 people came out to play and watch the matches. We are pleased to announce more than $5,000 was raised in support of student financial aid. If you are interested in volunteering for the event in 2015, please contact Jessie Jacobson, Director of Special Events.
Photos of the event can be viewed online, the password is: Thomas1883Sidwell (case sensitive).
Send a Rabbit to Camp
Charlie needs a home for the month of July!
If you are interested in hosting Charlie at your home for the month of July (or the first or last 2 weeks), contact Alicia Hanson (hansona@sidwell.edu) in the library. We’ll draw a name or names from the list of interested families. We provide the food, forage, bedding & litter. You need only supply the love (and occasional fresh fruit & veggies.)
Hope you can include the photo but understand if the newsletter doesn’t accommodate images.


PA Announcements

Share Your Thoughts on PA Priorities
The last SFS All-School Parents Association meeting will be held Monday, May 12 from 7 to 9 PM in the RLS Meeting Room on the US campus. The purpose of the meeting is to better understand what parents would like the PA to focus on next year. It will be an open forum for parental input and a moderator will facilitate the discussion. Every Sidwell Friends parent is a member of the PA and your contributions are extremely important to us. Please review recent PA meeting minutes and bylaws, available here (http://www.sidwell.edu/parents/parents-association/index.aspx), for helpful context in advance of the discussion. If you are unable to attend please email comments to Gina Kim (ginaskim@yahoo.com) and Janet Whitmore (janetwhitmore@verizon.net)
Parents of Black Students and Parents of Latino Students Joint End-of-Year Celebration
It is with great pleasure that the Parents of Black Students (PBS) and the Parents of Latino Students (PLAS) invite you to our First Joint End of School Year Celebration on Tuesday, May 27 from 6:30-8:30 pm in the Upper School Dining Room. This gathering is a wonderful chance to meet and greet other parents in the Sidwell Friends School community. The agenda also includes an important opportunity to hear tips and strategies for helping your child be a more effective learner. A light dinner will be served, so the favor of a reply is kindly requested at:www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C094CA8AB2BA4FE3-parents2 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Suzann King, PBS Clerk, (sfspbsclerk@outlook.com) or Lisa Fuentes, PLAS Co-Clerk, (LisaFuentes@gmail.com). We look forward to seeing you!
All-Star "Wellness Panel" on Friday, May 30
The Middle School Quality of Community Life Committee is pleased to present a comprehensive Wellness Panel for all middle school parents on Friday, May 30th starting at 7:45 pm in the Middle School Drama room. The panel will feature prominent local speakers on topics that impact our kids' daily lives -- nutrition, physical fitness, and overall well-being. Each of the panelists will make a short introductory presentation, and the bulk of the time will be devoted to conversation and questions. This is your chance to talk with and ask the experts questions on sleep, eating, social anxiety, homework stress, exercise and more. All middle school parents are invited and encouraged to participate in what promises to be an informative and interactive program. The panelists are:
Casey Seidenberg - Local nutritionist and Washington Post writer specializing on nutrition as it impacts school children.
Joslyn Hills - Psychotherapist and educational consultant who develops curricula for teaching mindfulness, integrative health, and social skills in schools.
Alison Shulman - Consultant who runs groups on integrative health and mindfulness, and advises clients in her private practice which focuses on eating-related disorders.
Chase Bruggeman - A holistic strength and conditioning fitness expert who has coached professional athletes, as well as collegiate and high school teams.
Look for more information on the speakers and their topics in the coming days . . . for now, please mark our calendars for this special event. And, if you have specific questions related to wellness that you would like the panelists to address, please contact Dipa Mehta at dipamehta@comcast.net. This is your chance to shape the conversation!
Volunteers Needed for Middle School Newsletter
Please consider volunteering for next year's MS Tuesday newsletter. This is a volunteer assignment that can be done at the hours of your choosing and is an important service to the school community. Please contact Amy Swindell at ahswindell@aol.com if interested.
Parent Volunteers Needed to Join US Letter Editing Team
We are looking for rising 9th grade parents to serve on the Upper School newsletter editing team next year! This is a fun and easy way to quickly get involved in the US. Join the US newsletter editing team, and you will be able to support your school community from the convenience of your home, and be the first to read the latest news from the school! Contact US PA Clerks Laura Will (laura.will@me.com) or Gretchen Brevnov (gbrevnov@gmail.com) if you are interested.


Other News

Quaker Quote
"Grandchildren live where dreams and longing start. Their course which leads to far-off lands and scenes. As angels, fairies, ghosts, they play their part, as mothers, engineers, or kings or queens.
But as life lengthens fewer parts are played, until at last we take a single part: yet those sweet roles of childhood, though they fade, remain within us, hidden in the heart"
Howard and Anna Brinton, Christmas 1959 ?
MS NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
How to Submit an Article to Tuesday Letter: Please send submissions, in the body of the email, to PA.MSNewsletter@sidwell.edu by 2:00 p.m. on Monday. Please reference "Newsletter Submission" 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 scheduling@sidwell.edu.


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 PA.MSnewsletter@sidwell.edu.


Calendar


Tue, May 20th

MS 7/8 Chorus Rehearsal

AC Theater
2:30pm - 5:00pm


PA Transition Meeting

US Dining Rm
6:00pm - 9:00pm


Wed, May 21st

MS 7/8 Chorus Rehearsal

AC Theater
8:15am - 9:25am


MS 7/8 Orchestra Rehearsal

AC Theater
12:55pm - 1:50pm


MS 7/8 Chorus and Orchestra Concert

AC Theater
7:00pm - 9:00pm


Thu, May 22nd

US Playwriting Festival

MS Drama Room
4:30pm - 8:00pm


Tue, May 27th

US Exam Period - Review Day


PA PBS End of Year Celebration

US Dining Rm
6:30pm - 8:30pm


Wed, May 28th

US Exam Period - Reading Day


Knighting Ceremony

Robert L. Smith Meeting Rm, Meeting House Foyer
2:45pm - 3:30pm


Knighting Ceremony and Medieval Festival

Robert L. Smith Meeting Room
4:00pm - 5:30pm


Thu, May 29th

US Exam Period - English


MS 6th Grade Chorus and 5/6 Orchestra Concert

AC Theater
7:00pm - 9:00pm


Fri, May 30th

US Exam Period - Math


Jen Mitchell Celebration

Outside Athletic Center/MS Tower Doors
3:30pm - 4:30pm


MS 7/8 Dance

US Dining Room
7:30pm - 10:00pm


Middle School Wellness Panel for All Parents

MS Drama Studio
7:45pm - 9:30pm


Mon, Jun 2nd

US Exam Period - History


Tue, Jun 3rd

US Exam Period - Science


Wed, Jun 4th

US Exam Period - Language


Thu, Jun 5th

LS 4th Grade Closing Ceremony


MS & US Last Day


Lower School PK - 3 Last Day


9:00am - 12:00pm


MS Closing Assembly

Arts Center - Mary Ellen Caplin Theater
2:30pm - 3:30pm


MS 8th Grade Closing Ceremony

Arts Center, Caplin Theater, Dining Room
7:00pm - 9:00pm


Fri, Jun 6th

US Commencement


10:30am - 12:30pm


More


Athletics


Mon, May 19th

Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 B at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes


2:45pm


Softball - 7/8 A at National Cathedral School


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Boys 7/8 A at Bullis


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 A vs. St. Stephen's & St. Agnes


2:45pm


Baseball - 7/8 A vs. St. Stephen's & St. Agnes


2:45pm


Tue, May 20th

Baseball - Varsity - DCSAA vs. St. Albans


4:30pm


Wed, May 21st

Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 A at Flint Hill


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 B vs. Flint Hill


2:45pm


Softball - 7/8 A vs. Flint Hill


2:45pm


Softball - 7/8 B at Flint Hill


2:45pm


Baseball - 7/8 A at Flint Hill


2:45pm


Baseball - 7/8 B vs. Flint Hill


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Boys 7/8 A vs. Flint Hill


2:45pm


Tennis - Boys 7/8 - A Team Away vs. Flint Hill


2:45pm


Tennis - Boys 7/8 - B Team Home vs. Flint Hill


2:45pm


Thu, May 22nd

Track & Field - Boys Varsity - DCSAA at Spingarn HS


Track & Field - Girls Varsity - DCSAA at Spingarn HS


Lacrosse - Boys 7/8 A vs. Georgetown Day


2:30pm


Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 B at Georgetown Day


2:30pm


Tennis - Boys 7/8 vs. Georgetown Day


2:30pm


Track & Field - Boys 7/8 vs. MS Championships


2:45pm


Track & Field - Girls 7/8 vs. MS Championships


2:45pm


More


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