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Wednesday - April 16, 2014


From the School

Message from Lee
Sidwell Friends School is very fortunate to have three exchange programs that bring students from our sister schools in Beijing, Shanghai, and Ramallah to live and study with us for the school year. The students stay with host families from the SFS community, without whom the exchanges would not be possible. We need families to host students beginning in August 2014: an 11th grade student from Beijing, an 11th grade student from Shanghai, and a 10th grade student from Ramallah Friends School. If you are interested in possibly hosting an exchange student for any portion of the school year, please contact me and I will provide you with more information.
Sidwell Friends Upper School Library celebrates National Library Week, April 14th through April 18th. There will be contests and prizes for students and senior bookmarks will be displayed. Highlight of the week is author Pamela Meyer, Sidwell alum (Class of 1976), who will speak at Collection today about liespotting.
There will be an Upper School Parent Conversation with Upper School Administration on Thursday, April 17 from 7:45 am to 8:45 am in the RLS Meeting Room. This will be an informal discussion of the Upper School experience looking back and looking forward. Please let me know if you have specific topics that you would like us to address.
AP Exam Guidelines
- 12th graders will attend their AP classes until the actual AP Exam is administered.
- Students taking a morning AP exam are expected to attend their afternoon classes.
- Students taking an afternoon AP exam will be excused from their morning classes.
- 11th grade classes will NOT meet on Thursday, May 8th (AP English Lit.) and Wednesday, May 14th (AP US History).
- No tests will be scheduled or major assignments due from Monday, May 5th through Monday, May 14th--this affects 11th graders only.
- Teachers are asked to keep homework assignments lighter from Monday, May 5th through Monday, May 14th--this affects 11th graders only.
- Teachers are encouraged to be flexible with individual students and their AP schedules.
- Students are responsible for consulting with their teachers about any special accommodations regarding testing schedules.
Week 1
Mon, 5/5: AM - Chemistry, Environ. Sci. | PM - None
Tue, 5/6: AM - Comp. Sci A; Spanish Lang. | PM - Art History
Wed, 5/7: AM - Calculus AB; Calculus BC | PM - Chinese Lang. & Culture
Thur, 5/8: AM - Eng. Literature & Comp. | PM - Latin: Vergil
Fri, 5/9: AM - Studio Art | PM - Statistics
Week 2
Mon, 5/12: AM - Biology, Music Theory | PM - Physics B & C
Tue, 5/13: AM - None | PM - French Lang. & Culture
Wed, 5/14: AM - US History | PM - None
Thur, 5/15: AM - None | PM - None
Fri, 5/16: AM - None | PM - None
US Math Team in ISMAW Mathematics Competition
The Upper School Math team competed in the ISMAW Mathematics Competition against other area independent schools. On level A (11th and 12th graders) SFS finished second overall by merely one point. On the B level (9th and 10th graders) Sidwell Friends also finished second. Additionally, SFS had four students qualify for the AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Exam) this year with very high scores on the AMC (American Mathematics Competition). Congratulations to our mathletes! The six ISMAW Math meets are held each year after school at SFS and other hosting schools. It is an opportunity for students interested in math competition to work interesting and challenging problems in a fun yet competitive setting.
"Let's Talk About Sex" Wrap-Up
Sex Resource Books (H.S.)Tips for Talking to Your TeenVideos and ArticlesThank you to those who attended the first talk with Irene Addlestone and Gaby Grebski on the sexual education of our children. There are hundreds of articles, books and videos out there on this topic and it can become overwhelming. Attached are resources that were either discussed or handed out at the event as a sample of some reading or viewing that parents can do. Please feel free to contact Gaby Grebski if you have any questions, comments or concerns. Gaby is always open to talking about this topic and any topic of concern parents may have in relation to their children.
Read MoreFrom the Director of Special Events
Tennis Event Registration Now Open
The SFS Tennis Event is back! This year’s event will build upon the excitement surrounding the growth of our new tennis program and gather SFS tennis enthusiasts of all ages and skill sets for a day of matches and fun. Please save the date for the SFS Tennis Event to take place on Saturday, May 17 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center. Register online today! For questions, please reach out to co-chairs Eleni Rossides ’85 or Raina Fishbane.
Auction Prize Pickup
All auction items may be picked up in the Office of Institutional Advancement, located on the lower level of Zartman House on the Wisconsin Avenue campus. Please bring your online auction winning bidder confirmation e-mail or auction statement. If you have any questions, please contact Jessie Jacobson, Director of Special Events, 202-537-8442.


PA Announcements

Faculty and Staff Appreciation Breakfast
The US Parents Association is sponsoring an Appreciation Breakfast for our dedicated faculty and staff on Friday, April 25. The teachers, coaches and administration welcome these special breakfast treats, and your USPA thanks you for your help in showing our appreciation to them.
We are looking for volunteers to donate baked goods or other breakfast goodies, fresh fruit, ground coffee, tea and juice as well as plates and utensils. Contributions should be dropped off at the Upper School Faculty Lounge no later than 7:45 am on the morning of Friday, April 25. If at all possible, please send your donation on an attractive platter or tray. Please also place your name on any non-disposable dishes and have your student pick them up by the end of the day in the Faculty Lounge. We are using SignUp Genius to track contributions.
Please follow this link to sign up today!
In addition to delicious treats, we also need three volunteers to help set up at 7:30 am, two volunteers to accept donations from drivers in the carpool lane from 7:30 to 8:00 am, and three volunteers to help clean up at 1:30 in the afternoon. If you can volunteer your time for any of these please also sign up in SignUp Genius.
If you have any questions, please email Joan or Ivy by clicking on our names below.
Joan Siegel and Ivy Howells, USPA At-Large Representatives


Other News

SFS Middle School Presents Dear Edwina!
Dear Edwina - Press ReleaseThe Sidwell Friends Middle School presents Dear Edwina! Performances will be in the Mary Ellen Caplin Theater of the Kogod Arts Center on Friday evening, April 25, at 7:30 pm and Saturday afternoon, April 26th, at 1:00 PM. The press release is attached. Hope to see you there!
Read MoreSpecial Guest Speaker: Michele Norris
Thursday, April 17, 2014 @ 6:30pm in the RLS QMH
Michele Norris, an award-winning journalist, is one of the most recognized voices in radio. She was host of NPR's longest-running national program All Things Considered until 2012, where she received many of journalism's highest honors, including a Peabody Award, duPont Award, and Overseas Press Club Award. She was named the 2009 Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists, solidifying her as an in-demand speaker on current events and American culture. In 2013, as a special correspondent for NPR, Norris traveled the country and developed two successful initiatives: The Race Card Project and NPR's Backseat Book Club. The Race Card Project defines “race card” literally, inviting listeners to share Six Word summations of their racial ideas and experiences that became the basis of compelling reports about race, pride, prejudice and identity.
Please join the MS PA Diversity Committee in welcoming Ms. Norris as she invites the Sidwell Friends community to participate in the Race Card Project. Parents and students are invited; refreshments will be served. For more information on The Race Card Project, click the link: www.theracecardproject.com.
Special Guest Speaker: Representative John Lewis
Tuesday, May 6, 2014, 7:30 pm in the RLS QMH
Representative John Lewis is the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th Congressional District, serving since 1987, and is the Dean of the Georgia Congressional Delegation. He is the only living "Big Six" leader of the American Civil Rights Movement. He was instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Congressman John Lewis chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), playing a key role in the struggle to end legalized racial discrimination and segregation. Please join the MS PA Diversity Committee in welcoming representative John Lewis to Sidwell Friends for his presentation about his life as a young activist, the importance of political engagement, and his conviction that today’s young people can transform a society. Students are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.
Quaker Quotes
"T'is the noon of the spring-time, yet never a bird
In the wind-shaken elm or the maple is heard;
For green meadow-grasses wide levels of snow,
And blowing of drifts where the crocus should blow;
Where wind-flower and violet, amber and white,
On south-sloping brooksides should smile in the light,
O'er the cold winter-beds of their late-waking roots
The frosty flake eddies, the ice-crystal shoots;
And, longing for light, under wind-driven heaps,
Round the boles of the pine-wood the ground-laurel creeps,
Unkissed of the sunshine, unbaptized of showers,
With buds scarcely swelled, which should burst into flowers
We wait for thy coming, sweet wind of the south!
For the touch of thy light wings, the kiss of thy mouth;
For the yearly evangel thou bearest from God,
Resurrection and life to the graves of the sod!
Up our long river-valley, for days, have not ceased
The wail and the shriek of the bitter northeast,
Raw and chill, as if winnowed through ices and snow,
All the way from the land of the wild Esquimau,
Until all our dreams of the land of the blest,
Like that red hunter's, turn to the sunny southwest.
O soul of the spring-time, its light and its breath,
Bring warmth to this coldness, bring life to this death;
Renew the great miracle; let us behold
The stone from the mouth of the sepulchre rolled,
And Nature, like Lazarus, rise, as of old!
Let our faith, which in darkness and coldness has lain,
Revive with the warmth and the brightness again,
And in blooming of flower and budding of tree
The symbols and types of our destiny see;
The life of the spring-time, the life of the whole,
And, as sun to the sleeping earth, love to the soul!"
John Greenleaf Whittier, 1852. Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and abolitionist who lived from 1807 to 1892.
US Wednesday Newsletter Submissions
How to Submit an Article to the Wednesday Letter. Send submissions to PA.USNewsletter@sidwell.edu by 2 pm Tuesday, and reference "Newsletter Submission" and the publish date(s) in the subject line (limited to 3 weeks). Items should be submitted as text in the body of the e-mail and should be succinct. If you have a form or flyer to include with your submission, please send it as a PDF attachment. The editor on duty will confirm receipt of all submissions -- if you do not receive a confirmation within a reasonable time period, your submission may not have been received. Lastly, if it becomes necessary to modify a submission previously sent or published, please send a redline or otherwise clearly indicate the change to be made.
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 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.
US newsletter submissions should be sent to PA.USnewsletter@sidwell.edu.


Calendar


Wed, Apr 16th

US Parents Association Steering Committee Meeting

Rusch Team Room
8:00am - 9:30am


US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater, Rosenberg Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


PA Athletics Speaker - Dr. Jarrod Spencer

Robert L. Smith Mtg Rm
7:30pm - 9:00pm


Thu, Apr 17th

All US Parent Conversation with US Admin.

Robert L. Smith Meeting Room
7:45am - 8:45am


PA Speaker Event - Michelle Norris

Robert L. Smith Mtg Rm
6:00pm - 9:00pm


US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater, Rosenberg Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


Sun, Apr 20th

US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater, Rosenberg Theater
1:00pm - 5:00pm


Mon, Apr 21st

US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater, Rosenberg Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


11th Grade Student/Parents - The Admissions Game

Robert L. Smith Mtg Rm
7:00pm - 9:00pm


Tue, Apr 22nd

Founders Day


US Arts Guild

Robert L. Smith Meeting Rm
1:00pm - 2:30pm


West VA Workcamp Mtg

Zartman Drawing Rm
6:00pm - 8:00pm


US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater, Rosenberg Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


Wed, Apr 23rd

US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater, Rosenberg Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


9th Gr. Parent Peer Group Mtg

Zartman Drawing Rm
7:00pm - 8:30pm


Thu, Apr 24th

Blood Drive

Wannan Gym
2:00pm - 5:00pm


US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater, Rosenberg Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


Fri, Apr 25th

MS Musical

AC Theater
7:30pm - 9:00pm


Sat, Apr 26th

MS Musical

AC Theater
1:00pm - 4:00pm


Sun, Apr 27th

11th gr. Parent gathering

TBD


US Play Rehearsal

AC Theater
1:00pm - 5:00pm


Mon, Apr 28th

US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


Tue, Apr 29th

US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


Wed, Apr 30th

US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


Thu, May 1st

PA Executive Committee Meeting

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


US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


Fri, May 2nd

US Choral Concert

Robert L. Smith Meeting Rm
7:30pm


Sat, May 3rd

Reunion Weekend Event

US Library
7:00am - 12:00pm


Reunion Weekend Event

Athletic Center
7:00am - 5:00pm


SFS Family Service Project #3


10:00am - 1:00pm


Sun, May 4th

US Instrumental Concert

AC Theater
2:30pm


Mon, May 5th

US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


Tue, May 6th

US Spring Rehearsal

AC Theater
6:00pm - 9:00pm


PA Speaker Event - Rep. John Lewis

Robert L. Smith Meeting Rm
7:00pm - 9:00pm


More


Athletics


Wed, Apr 16th

Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 A vs. Maret School


2:45pm


Softball - 7/8 A vs. Maret School


2:45pm


Softball - 7/8 B at Maret School


2:45pm


Tennis - Boys 7/8 - B Team Home vs. St. Stephen St. Agnes


2:45pm


Baseball - Varsity at Maret School


4:00pm


Lacrosse - Girls Varsity at Holton-Arms


4:15pm


Softball - Varsity vs. Georgetown Visitation


4:15pm


Softball - Junior Varsity at Georgetown Visitation


4:15pm


Lacrosse - Boys Varsity at Georgetown Day


4:30pm


Tennis - Boys Junior Varsity at Potomac School


4:30pm


Tennis - Boys Varsity vs. Potomac School


4:30pm


Lacrosse - Girls Junior Varsity at Holton-Arms


5:45pm


Thu, Apr 17th

Lacrosse - Boys 7/8 A at St. Andrew's School


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 A vs. St. Andrew's School


2:45pm


Softball - 7/8 A vs. St. Andrew's School


2:45pm


Baseball - 7/8 A at St. Andrew's School


2:45pm


Tennis - Boys 7/8 vs. St. Andrew's School


2:45pm


Track & Field - Boys 7/8 - SFS meet


2:45pm


Track & Field - Girls 7/8 - SFS meet


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls Varsity vs. St. Andrew's School


4:15pm


Softball - Varsity vs. Bullis


4:15pm


Softball - Junior Varsity at Bullis


4:15pm


Tennis - Boys Varsity at Georgetown Prep


4:15pm


Tennis - Boys Junior Varsity vs. Georgetown Prep


4:15pm


Baseball - Varsity at St. Andrew's School


4:30pm


Baseball - Junior Varsity at Baltimore Friends


4:30pm


Lacrosse - Boys Junior Varsity at St. James School


5:00pm


Mon, Apr 21st

Baseball - 7/8 B vs. St. Albans


2:30pm


Lacrosse - Boys 7/8 A at Bullis


2:45pm - 2:24pm


Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 A at Potomac School


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 B vs. Potomac School


2:45pm


Softball - 7/8 A at Potomac School


2:45pm


Softball - 7/8 B vs. Potomac School


2:45pm


Tennis - Boys Junior Varsity at Landon


4:15pm


Baseball - Varsity vs. St. Andrew's School


4:30pm


Tue, Apr 22nd

Tennis - Boys Varsity vs. Georgetown Day


4:00pm


Lacrosse - Girls Varsity at Episcopal High School


4:15pm


Softball - Varsity vs. St. Stephen's & St. Agnes


4:15pm


Softball - Junior Varsity at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes


4:15pm


Lacrosse - Boys Varsity vs. St. Andrew's School


4:30pm


Lacrosse - Girls Junior Varsity at Episcopal High School


5:30pm


Wed, Apr 23rd

Track & Field - Boys Varsity - SFS Invitational at Sidwell Friends School


Track & Field - Girls Varsity - SFS Invitational at Sidwell Friends School


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


2:45pm


Thu, Apr 24th

Track & Field - Boys Varsity vs. Penn Relays at The Univeristy of Pennsylvania


4/26/2014


Track & Field - Girls Varsity vs. Penn Relays at The University of Pennsylvania


4/26/2014


Lacrosse - Boys 7/8 A vs. Landon


2:30pm


Baseball - 7/8 A at Landon


2:30pm


Baseball - 7/8 B vs. Landon


2:30pm


Tennis - Boys 7/8 - A Team Home vs. Landon


2:30pm


Tennis - Boys 7/8 - B Team Away vs. Landon


2:30pm


Track & Field - Boys 7/8 at Potomac School


2:45pm


Track & Field - Girls 7/8 at Potomac School


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 B vs. Potomac School


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls Varsity vs. Sandy Spring


4:15pm


Softball - Varsity at National Cathedral School


4:15pm


Lacrosse - Boys Junior Varsity vs. Flint Hill


4:30pm


Baseball - Varsity vs. St. James School


4:30pm


Tennis - Boys Junior Varsity at Flint Hill


4:30pm


Tennis - Boys Varsity vs. Flint Hill


4:30pm


Baseball - Junior Varsity at St. James School


4:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls Junior Varsity vs. Foxcroft


5:30pm


Fri, Apr 25th

Baseball - Junior Varsity vs. Georgetown Day


5:00pm


Sat, Apr 26th

Crew - Girls vs. Charlie Butt Regatta


Tennis - Boys Varsity - NEMA Invitational


Track & Field - Boys Varsity vs. Viking Invitational at Walt Whitman HS


Track & Field - Girls Varsity vs. Viking Invitational at Walt Whitman HS


Lacrosse - Girls Junior Varsity at Madeira


9:30am


Lacrosse - Boys Varsity at Flint Hill


1:00pm


Softball - Varsity at St. James School


1:00pm


Softball - Varsity at St. James School


3:00pm


Sun, Apr 27th

Tennis - Boys Varsity - NEMA Invitational


Mon, Apr 28th

Baseball - 7/8 B vs. Georgetown Day


2:30pm


Tennis - Boys 7/8 at Potomac School


2:45pm


Softball - Junior Varsity vs. National Cathedral School


4:15pm


Softball - Varsity vs. Flint Hill


4:15pm


Lacrosse - Girls Junior Varsity at Bullis - NOTE: Moved from 4/17


4:15pm


Lacrosse - Boys Junior Varsity vs. Dematha


4:30pm


Lacrosse - Girls Varsity - BCC


4:30pm


Softball - Varsity - Falls Church


6:00pm


Tue, Apr 29th

Softball - Junior Varsity at Bullis


4:15pm


Baseball - Varsity at Potomac School


4:30pm


Baseball - Junior Varsity vs. Potomac School


4:30pm


Wed, Apr 30th

Lacrosse - Boys 7/8 A vs. Maret School


2:45pm


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


2:45pm


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


2:45pm


Baseball - 7/8 A vs. Maret School


2:45pm


Tennis - Boys 7/8 vs. Maret School


2:45pm


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


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls Junior Varsity vs. Georgetown Visitation


4:00pm


Softball - Varsity vs. Maret School


4:15pm


Tennis - Boys Varsity vs. Maret School


4:15pm


Lacrosse - Girls Varsity at Maret School


4:30pm


Lacrosse - Boys Varsity - BCC


6:00pm


Thu, May 1st

Lacrosse - Boys 7/8 A at Landon


2:30pm


Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 B vs. Bullis


2:45pm


Lacrosse - Girls 7/8 A at Holy Child


2:45pm


Softball - 7/8 A vs. Holy Child


2:45pm


Track & Field - Boys 7/8 - SFS Meet


2:45pm


Track & Field - Girls 7/8 - SFS Meet


2:45pm


Softball - Varsity vs. Holton-Arms


4:15pm


Softball - Junior Varsity at Holton-Arms


4:15pm


Fri, May 2nd

Track & Field - Boys Varsity vs. Draper at St. Stephen & St. Agnes


5/3/2014


Track & Field - Girls Varsity vs. Draper at St. Stephen & St. Agnes


5/3/2014


Baseball - Varsity vs. Georgetown Day


4:00pm


Lacrosse - Boys Varsity vs. Maret School


4:15pm


Lacrosse - Girls Varsity vs. Madeira


4:15pm


Tennis - Boys Junior Varsity vs. St. Stephen's & St. Agnes


4:15pm


Tennis - Boys Varsity at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes


4:15pm


Lacrosse - Girls Junior Varsity vs. Madeira


5:30pm


Sat, May 3rd

Crew - Girls vs. Ted Phoenix Regatta Freshman and Novice Boats Only


Lacrosse - Boys Varsity vs. Wilson H.S.


11:00am


Baseball - Junior Varsity vs. St. Albans


11:00am


Mon, May 5th

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


2:45pm


Softball - Junior Varsity vs. Madeira


4:00pm


Tue, May 6th

Lacrosse - Boys Varsity vs. MAC Championships


Tennis - Boys Varsity - MAC Tournament


Softball - Varsity at Madeira


4:00pm


Baseball - Varsity at Flint Hill


4:30pm


Baseball - Junior Varsity vs. Flint Hill


4:30pm


More


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