Camelot Update 2014-11-30

Greetings!

I hope you have enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Week.  It was the perfect start to the season to enjoy the Academic Fair/Thanksgiving Feast with everyone.  Special thanks to Ms. Jill, Ms. Erin, Mr. Tom and Ms. Michelle for shepherding the students through their research projects, to Mr. Glenn and Ms. Teresa for the lovely musical performances, to Ms. Wendy for orchestrating the meal, to Mr. Dan for tech support, to Mr. Scott for outreach, to Ms. Jo Anne and Ms. Amy for the Scavenger Hunt, to Ms. Lori for coordination before and during the event, to Ms. Judith for the table decor, art display and poster-board consults, to Ms. Roni for the presentation help and to Mr. Matt for handling the logistics on site.  I also want to thank every other member of Team Camelot for their countless contributions to make the day a success in ways too numerous to list - it is without a doubt a shining example of our Camelot Family working together to witness such a lovely occasion on behalf of our children.

We are now entering the time period I call "Interlude" - between the two holiday breaks.  It is a deceptive three weeks as it seems a short, easy time between alarm clock rituals but - actually - there is much to be done...

- Middle Grades students will take Semester Exams

- Seniors will complete the majority of their college applications

- The performing groups have their first public performances

- Upper School students finish their classes for the semester

- The holidays - and all of their accompanying merriment - provide a backdrop!

We will navigate it all together and simply ask that everyone pay a little extra attention to the details of the Weekly Email and student planners/folders during this busy time.

Highlights of the Upcoming Week:

Monday-

- Semester Paperwork due to the Office

- Picture orders due to office (or online orders need to be placed)

- MG pink exam info letter needs to be signed and returned

Tuesday -

Mr. Oliver hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

Wednesday -

Mr. Dan hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

Friday -

9 AM - Jr MAPP field trip to The Nasher

I hope you have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-11-16

Greetings!

What an exciting week we had!  Many of the students completed their Academic Fair projects and you could feel the relief and satisfaction in the air by dismissal time on Friday afternoon.

We inadvertently left two students off the Module 2 Honor Roll last week.  Congratulations to Fiona Castorina and Chase Lewis!

Announcement from NHS:

At Academic Fair this Friday, NHS will be collecting cans and money to build a “Canstruction” sculpture next semester.  All the food from this sculpture will go to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.  Please cansider making a cantribution of either money or cans. There will be a large red bucket where cans can be put and and a Cantribution collection box at the Convention Center on Friday. Collections will cantinue through December and early January.  Any cantributions are greatly appreciated!

The Search Institute is providing a no-cost webinar on Nurturing Strong Family Relationships During the Teenage Years.  It will be onWednesday November 19 from 1-2pm.  Even if you can’t watch during that time, you will receive a link to listen to it later if you register. Webinar participants will gain new insights about nurturing relationships in families along with some practical ideas for what they can do in their own families or families they work with to be more intentional about nurturing family relationships.  For more information or to register, go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/300000000010762652;jsessionid=abcSgCd6Wo8U2dYR3h1Mu

Highlights of the Upcoming Week:

Tuesday -

Achieve Portal for viewing Middle and Upper School Mid-Semester grades closes

Mr. Oliver hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

Wednesday -

No Inventions Club this week

Mr. Dan hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

Thursday -

School closed at 3:30 PM

No clubs, study hall, etc.

Optional Care available by pre-registration

(contact Ms. Wendy at wendy@camelotacademy.org)

Friday -

Academic Fair and Thanksgiving Feast (a required parent event)**

(see copies of detailed arrival time and directional info here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/forms.php)

All activities are being held at the Downtown Marriott Convention Center

**This is the biggest event of the semester - a true celebration of our students, our school, our families and all we have to be thankful for.  We look forward to sharing our learning, our music and a good meal.

School closed the week of November 24 for Fall Break. 

Classes resume on Monday, December 1.

Mr. Mike is in need of Parent Service help with leaf raking.  Contact him at mike@camelotacademy.org to sign up for a Saturday time in December.

I look forward to seeing you on Friday.  I hope that you have a safe and restful Thanksgiving.

Camelot Update 2014-11-09

Greetings!

Welcome Mira Salemy to Jr MAPP!  We are thrilled to add a sibling to our Camelot Family.

Many thanks to our wonderful guest speakers this week - Michelle Lewis, Troy Livingstone and Trang and Peter Lance.

Congratulations to Module 2 Merit and Honor Roll Students:

Merit: Joaquin Dlott, Travis Fountain, Dominic Harding, Nate Hopkins, Ephram Oliver, Elizabeth Whetzel, Isabel Brown and Heather Hartman.

Honor:  Evan MacDonald, Sean Kowis, Ray Palma, Amzie Yurko, Hannah Bao, Willa Holt, Rachel Kowis, Chris Radcliffe, Abby Weber, Richard Carruthers, Simon Dong, David McShea, Marcus Nylander, Danny Sutton, Peter Zhao, Victoria Hill, ElizabethProvenzale and Zack Milkereit.

A huge pat on the back to all who participated in the Spring 2014 Crop Walk.  Our school won the Silver Award for raising the second highest amount of donations (in the "School" category).  Not to be outdone by our own history, this year's NHS has been on a campaign for students to turn in the service hours they have performed in the community so they can be added to our school-wide count.  Here's a message from our NHS:

If we reach our 500 hour goal, the National Honor Society will host a whole-school ice cream or hot chocolate party. If your child has participated in ANY service opportunities during the first semester,  please fill out the forms in the Big Hall underneath the Community Service Hours bulletin board or emailamy@camelotacademy.org with the info.

Kudos to Jill Pitino and my sister Donna De Carlo (our off-site IT person) who were a whirlwind of activity pulling together Mid-Semester grades and comments.  In a school in which there are almost as many unique schedules as there are students, it is no small undertaking to pin down all of the variables.

That whirlwind of activity will now continue as many of our students work to meet Academic Fair deadlines, our seniors work to meet college deadlines and the end of semester is suddenly just a few weeks away!  During this busy time, all students would benefit from extra support at home in the homework and time management process.  Please remember to check homework planners/folders each and every night!

Highlights of the Upcoming Week:

Monday -

-  RSVP due from ALL families for Academic Fair/Thanksgiving Feast

- Crates Out!  (This is Camelot-speak for an opportunity to view student work.

See below for details**)

Tuesday -

Crates Out!**

Mr. Oliver hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:40 PM- use Sign-Up Genius to reserve a seat

Wednesday -

- Mr. Dan hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM - use Sign-Up Genius to reserve a seat

- Upper School Academic Fair final papers are due

- Deadline to sign up for NYC/Boston trip (see email sent Saturday, November 1 to Middle and Upper School families for details)

- Deadline to return all signed Mid-Semester Warnings

Friday -

US graded Academic Fair presentations (poster boards and oral defense) due

** "Crates Out" means that during BEFORE and AFTER SCHOOL hours, parents may review student work in the following locations:

Sr MAPP, Middle Grades and Upper School -

-Crates are UPSTAIRS on the table

Jr MAPP -

- Workbooks are in/on student desks with note to parents posted by white board in the classroom.

KinderMAPP -

 - Purple Folders go home each Friday with weekly work.

-  Journals are in basket on radiator in the classroom for parents to review.

I hope you have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-11-02

Greetings!

The busy month of October came to a close with a full and eventful October 31.  Of course there was the fun of costumes and the fuel of candy, but there was also gardening, trips to bakeries, a trip to Old Salem, parties and guest speakers.  Many thanks to our wonderful guest speakersAngela Kirby, Victoria Kaprielian and Reginald Parker.  Our students are incredibly fortunate to be able to interact with people with such diverse and fascinating backgrounds.  Also, many thanks to Ms. Amy who coordinates the speakers and is an invaluable help in scheduling all of theFriday programming.

Congratulations to sophomore Chase Lewis for his invention "to solve a challenge of the world" that was selected as one of six winners in the national XPrize/Disney Big Hero 6 Challenge.  He looks forward to a trip to Los Angeles and a walk down the red carpet.  You can read more about it all here:

http://learning.xprize.org/press-release/xprize-recruits-real-life-big-hero-6

Speaking of inventions, we have another budding inventor in our Inventions Club in need of a consultation with an ELECTRICAL engineer.  If that might be you, please respond to this email and I'll forward your info.

We are excited to have some unique sign-up opportunities this week:

1)    Middle Grades and Upper School students (and their parents) may participate in the June trip to Boston and NYC.  The itinerary was sent via email yesterday and includes something for everyone.  The destinations were chosen based on your feedback in the Going ForwardSurvey.  Note the stops at Harvard and MIT!

2)    6th to12th grade young men AND WOMEN may join our Basketball CLUB (NOT a competitive team).  Details about this were also sent in an email yesterday. This club should allow us to grow the interest and young talent we have now into a league-ready team next year. 

3)    Middle and Upper School students in need of extra time for math instruction will receive email invitations on Monday to sign up for ateacher-sponsored math study hall.  Only eight spaces per day, so be ready to respond to the email!

Here's a peak at this week:

Monday -

- Upper School Academic Fair rough drafts are due!

- Email will be sent with Math Study Hall Invites (from Jill P)

Tuesday -

Election Day - Camelot students participate in Kids Voting

Mr. Oliver hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:40 PM

Wednesday -

- Smith College (MA) rep visits

- Mr. Dan hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

- Co-Ed Basketball Club sign-up deadline

- 3:30 PM Boston/NYC Middle/Upper School Trip sign-up event (for parents)

Thursday -

- All students participate in Love Lunch (multi-age discussion/activity groups)

Friday -

- Mid-Semester grades posted on Achieve Portal for Middle and Upper Grades students

- First Quarter Reports mailed for MAPP students

SERVICE OPPORTUNITY

On Saturday, November 22, Camelot Academy will host MEL's POP-UP SHOP, a sale of unusual things with a vintage all their own, along with a BOOK DRIVE to benefit Book Harvest, a Triangle nonprofit that collects new and gently used children’s books

to distribute to children in need. Since it kicked off in 2011, Book Harvest has given more than 240,000 donated books to low-income children throughout the Triangle.  We will have a donation box for books and a portion of the Pop-Up Shop proceeds

will be donated to Book Harvest.

Set-up is on Friday afternoon, November 21 (after the Academic Fair/Thanksgiving Feast), and the Shop is Saturday, November 22.  We could use help on Friday after 1 pm and on Saturday from 8 am-4 pm (the Shop is open to customers from 9 am-3 pm).  There are five slots available for Parent Service (two on Friday afternoon and three on Saturday) and opportunities for high school students to earn service hours at either time. If you or your student are available for a 3 hour shift to wrap purchases, take money or watch over various tables, please emailmelanie1952@gmail.com the date/times.

Enjoy your extra hour of the weekend!

Camelot Update 2014-10-26

Greetings!

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful stretch of fall weather!  The sunshine and comfortable temperatures helped to make Picture Day a success. A huge "thank you" to Ms. Wendy for all of the advance work, Ms. Jill P for handling the myriad of "day of" logistics and all of the teachers and staff who were flexible and cheerful in the midst of a long and complicated day. We are barreling towards Mid-Semester and the holidays faster than seems possible.  Fasten your seat belts for busy times!

This Friday the Lower School classes will have Fall Festival activities at the end of the day. Classroom teachers will communicate with you directly about any particular costume themes.   All costumes should adhere to our guidelines of nothing gory, no fake weapons, no witches, ghosts, devils or anything else that is not school-appropriate.

Friday is also Mid-Semester.  By the end of the following week, Middle and Upper School parents will receive an email with Mid-Semester grade info. MAPP parents will receive a report in the mail with a First Quarter update.

Is there a mechanical engineer in the parent body?  One of our students is working on an invention as part of the Science Inventions Club and is in need of a consultation.  If you can help, please let me know.  This is a Parent Service opportunity!

We have ongoing Parent Service work available for those interested in Saturday leaf raking over the next month.  Please contact Mr. Mike directly at mike@camelotacademy.org.

Here's a look at the upcoming week:

Wednesday -

- Hendrix College (AR) rep visits

Thursday -

- Earlham College (IN) rep visits

Friday -

Lower School Fall Festival activities

Mid-Semester

I hope you have a great week.

Camelot Update 2014-10-19

Greetings!

What a productive week we had - the activity spilled right into the weekend!  Yesterday, not only did we have a crew of high school students take the PSAT at school, but an equally-as-large crew showed up outside to help with the installation of the National Honor Society-inspired rain garden.  Thanks to the organizational efforts of Ms. Jenny and Ms. Amy as well as the invaluable work and input of parent Dave Milkereit, much progress was made.  NHS president senior Zax Milkereit had a great deal of additional help bringing his vision to reality  - many thanks for the wonderful parent and student turnout.

Congratulations to Senior Lance Wilkes who has been named a Commended Student by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.  His 2013 PSAT scores placed him in the top 5% of the 1.5 million juniors who took the test last year.

Our Module 1 Merit and Honor Roll students have been announced.  Please refer to the Family Handbook to review the academic, behavioral and attendance criteria for achieving each status.

Merit Award:  Ethan Salemy, Gabriella Taylor, Teresa Zimmerman, Ephram Oliver, Sofia Fonseca, Issie Brown, Heather Hartman and Mack Taylor.

Honor Roll Award:  Lance Wilkes, Zack Milkereit, Zander Hall, Ryan Felton, Fiona Castorina, Olivia Castorina, Elizabeth Provenzale,Yuqing Liu, Jeremy Lin, Cole Kurtzman, Ben Kirby, Victoria Hill, Peter Zhao, Danny Sutton, David McShea, Chase Lewis, Simon Dong, Abby Weber, Ben Sharp, Christopher Radcliffe, Chase Laster, Rachel Kowis, Willa Holt, Amzie Yurko, William Whetzel, Haley Pitino, Ray Palma, Sean Kowis, Kira Arges and Evan MacDonald.

Camelot Academy's International Program is offering Family Outreach Opportunities as a learning experience for both our International and US students. For those interested, we invite you to sign up to have one of our international students participate in a weekend activity with your family such as a dinner, a local festival, a sport's game, play, or any upcoming Halloween festivities or Thanksgiving Day traditions you are willing to share. This is a wonderful mutual exchange in which Camelot families can better get to know our international students as well as better expose them to the community in which they live.  This is also a Parent Service Opportunity!

If you would like to participate, please click on the following link: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0A44A5AD2DA6FC1-international

Please choose a general weekend that works best for you, and we will get in contact about the specifics.   Please contact Ms. Stephanie atstephanie@camelotacademy.org with any questions.

Basketball Season starts in early November.  We are in need of more players - our co-ed team is open to students in grades 6-12.  Please contact Ms. Krista for more info at krista@camelotacademy.org.  NHS has a sports scholarship available - contact Ms. Amy atamy@camelotacademy.org  for more information.

School pictures are being taken this Friday.  If you wish to order whole school or homeroom group pictures, they must be preordered with the forms that went home last week. The order deadline is this Wednesday, October 22.  Please be sure your student comes dressed appropriately on Friday - NO T-SHIRTS, please!

On Saturday October 25 from 10am - 12pm, Pfeiffer Institute Reach, located in Morrisville, is offering a FREE workshop designed to help parents learn skills that will improve their relationships with their children: opening channels of communication, parenting styles, managing inappropriate behaviors, and setting boundaries.  The workshop is open to parents and caregivers; those who attend will receive a voucher for one FREE therapy session.  Kids get something too! While their parents are in their workshop, there will be a FREE children’s workshop for ages 6-12 to improve skills such as communication and emotional self-regulation in a fun and creative way. More information can be found here: http://www.pfeifferreach.org/Workshops.en.html.

It's that time of year!  Mr. Mike is starting a list of parents willing to help with leaf raking over the coming weekends.  Please send him an email atmike@camelotacademy.org if you would like to help with this Parent Service job.

Coming up this week:

Monday -

- Centre College (KY) rep visits

Tuesday - 

- Tulane (LA), Eckerd (FL) and Vanderbilt University (TN)                                                                                                                 reps visit

Wednesday -

- Deadline to order group pictures!

Friday -

- School Picture Day!

Have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-10-12

Greetings!

We just completed one of the most important weeks of the school year and my heart is filled with gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful work done on behalf of our students.  In addition to the stated agenda of relaying academic information and establishing benchmarks, the outcome of strengthening family-teacher relationships is equally important and a beautiful thing to behold.  Thank you to everyone for making these meetings a priority, for bringing so much to the table and for providing us your all-important feedback.  Our work for the remainder of this year - and beyond - will benefit.

I came across an important article recapping what scientists know about how we learn best and the implications to how we study.  What perfect timing for a week filled with discussions about such things!  You can find the article here:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/better-ways-to-learn/?emc=eta1

Our conference meetings resulted in a lot of brainstorming and ideas.  Below are some resulting calls to action:

From Ms. Charlotte:

We would like to find opportunities for Camelot students to use the Spanish language in our community with native speakers. Ideally, the opportunities would occur during the school day or directly after school. Please contact Charlotte@camelotacademy.org  with any leads for such opportunities.

From National Honor Society:

National Honor Society has again promised an ice cream party for the whole school once our students collectively perform 500 hours of Community Service.  Any hours that have been performed since the first day of school can count.  Forms that a parent needs to sign to verify hours will be in the Big Hall, or you can email amy@camelotacademy.org.  In keeping with the theme of the year, "Building Bridges", there is a bridge in the Big Hall across which a knight will move as the students acquire hours.  The goal is to reach 500 hours each semester.  Last year we did slightly more than this over the course of the whole year, so this is an ambitious goal, but it is reachable.  Please encourage your students to perform service and to give to our community!  We will continue to promote various options at school, and you can find other opportunities atwww.handsontriangle.org. 

One of the first ways Upper School students can do service is by coming to a Rain Garden Workday on Saturday, October 18!  National Honor Society, with help from parent Dave Milkereit and Ms. Jenny, is building a rain garden between the main school building and the playground.  If you can come from 10AM - noon or from noon - 2 PM (after the PSAT), please consider signing up here:  www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0845A8AF22ABF49-upper.

From Ms. Amy:

Educational Enrichment Offering:  Duke University is now offering an educational initiative called Splash that allows middle school and high school students to participate in small, interactive seminars for one day each semester.  These seminars are taught and designed by passionate Duke students. The next Splash courses will be offered on Oct. 25 and registration is now open at https://dukesplash.learningu.org.  It is free of charge and lunch is provided.  The seminars offer a wide range of topics on everything from Astrophysics to Disney Movie Culture.

From Ms. Joyce:

The Upper School Computer Coding Class is recruiting speakers to talk to the class about the impact of computer science in their profession. Any parent who is interested in speaking or who can provide a bridge to such a speaker, please contact Joyce@camelotacademy.  This is a Parent Service Opportunity.

In other news, we have decided to move our Fall Festival this year back to a weekday afternoon.  We will plan some fun activities for the occasion on Friday, October 31.  Stay tuned for more details.

We have room for late joiners to the following after school clubs:

Wednesdays - Science Fair and Invention Club (Grades 6-12)

Thursdays - Science Extensions Club (KinderMapp and Jr MAPP)

Thursdays - Literary Magazine (Grades 7-12)

Please contact Ms. Wendy at wendy@camelotacademy.org  for pro-rated fee info.

Highlights of the upcoming week:

Wednesday:

- Virginia Commonwealth University rep visits

Thursday:

- Duke University rep visits

Friday:

- Final Home Game for our Soccer Knights at 4:30 PM (fans who wish to be transported send me an email by 5 PM Thursday.  Parents pick up at the field at 5:30 PM)

Saturday:

- 10th and 11th graders take the PSAT at Camelot - email with details will be sent Monday

Upcoming:

- Friday, October 24 -  School Picture Day

Basketball Season starts later this month.  We anticipate having a co-ed team.

If you have not already done so please contact Ms. Krista at krista@camelotacademy.org for sign up information.

IMPORTANT!  As we approach flu season, a reminder that students must be kept home if they have run a fever in the past 24 hours.  Also, students who have had stomach problems the night before or the morning of school should be kept home until several hours have passed and normal eating has resumed without incident. Not only will these steps help to keep our students and staff well, but they will prevent your child from the distress of awaiting pick-up in the midst of feeling miserable.  Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation.

Finally, please take extra care today to help your student collect and pack up all homework and other essentials needed when we return to classes tomorrow.  Students of all ages can benefit from this attention to a successful launch back into the routine following our break.

I hope you have a wonderful week.