Update 10/28/07

Greetings!

Congratulations to our Soccer Knights (Michael Berro, Liz Reeder, Terran Daye, Channing Pascone, Xavier Klonowski, Zewek Klonowski, Amy Hillsman, Hayes Perry, Sydney Pons, Connor Killian, Tony Heeron, Cami Leeds, Brian Powell, Caroline Pless and Charlie Miller) on the successful conclusion of the soccer season. Although it has not been a winning season as scores go, the team has played well and shown tremendous growth not only in their individual skills but also in their ability to work together. Special thanks to Coach David Reeder, Assistant Coach Greg Glynn, Athletic Director Paige Passavant and all of the soccer parents who have also demonstrated great team work, flexibility and commitment to the cause! Stay tuned for an end of the season celebration for the players and their families.

Speaking of athletics - girl and boy basketball players will have scrimmages this Wednesday and Friday after school. Camelot will transport to and from Lyon Park. Pick up from Camelot at 5:30 PM. All players will come home this week with the official paperwork necessary to sign up for the teams which will begin a regular practice schedule next week - the week of November 5.

Academic Issues -
Honor Roll - our very motivated and dedicated students sometimes take it very hard if they receive a Make Up Notice that puts them off the Honor Roll for a given module. This week in Morning Meeting we talked about the fact that classes SHOULD provide a challenge and, as such, there may be times along the way where something requires additional time before it is mastered. I want our students to be prepared for the fact that as they move through life there are going to be challenges and they may not be successful at everything on the first try. Please support this perspective with your student at home and reinforce that many things worth having in life require persistence and overcoming setbacks.

Mid-Semester Grades/Warnings - along the same lines, we had a Morning Meeting discussion this week about the fact that at the end of this week Mid-Semester Reports will go home. For Kindergarten and MAPP students, Warnings are sent if your student is struggling to meet pace and/or mastery goals in any discipline. For Middle and Upper School students, numerical grades are sent home for each subject for all students and Warnings are sent home if a student needs to pick up the pace or mastery level to be assured of earning credit at the end of the semester. Once again, our dedicated
students are a bit over-concerned (and fear their parents might be the same!) about the possibility of a Mid-Semester Warning being sent home. Please be aware that the entire point of this communication is to AVERT any end of semester problems while there is still plenty of time to remedy the situation. Mid-Semester grades are not part of a student’s permanent record - they are for internal purposes only.

Academic Fair - Middle Grades students had their rough drafts due Friday and Upper School students have their rough drafts due tomorrow (Monday). All students will receive edits back from their advisor NO LATER THAN Monday, November 5 and will have their final drafts due by Monday, November 12. This week, while teachers are editing papers, students should be turning their attention to the visual and oral component of their presentations.

On Wednesday (Halloween), the Kindergarten and MAPP classes will have a Fall Festival. Please pay careful attention to teacher letters that will go home outlining any clothing/costume guidelines. Middle and Upper School students will not have any planned festivities and, as such, are asked to keep any costumes to a minimum so as not to be a disruption to classes. Under no circumstances may students of any grade level come to school with gory costumes, costumes with fake weapons (guns, knives, swords, axes, etc.) or costumes to which anyone would take religious exception - including those of witches, devils, ghosts, goblins, etc. Please respect these guidelines.

Upcoming parent service options:

- Cleaning and/or Touch-Up Painting on Saturday, November 3rd
- Leaf raking on Saturdays starting November 10th and running through December

Work times are generally midmorning until mid-afternoon.
Parents who are interested in signing up should e-mail or call Mike Glynn (818-0047) or mike@camelotacademy.org.

The Drama Club is looking for donations of clothing, wigs, etc to use for props and pretend. Anything donated that cannot be used will be given to charity. A collection box is being set up in the Big Hall.

Thanks and have a great week.

Thelma

Update 10/21/07

Greetings!

Congratulations to Module 2 Merit and Honor Roll recipients. I'll email the complete list of students tomorrow.

This week Upper School enjoyed a visit from Mary Anderson - a woman who grew up in our building when it was the Foushee home. We enjoyed a slide show of many family events that took place on our grounds including the wedding of her parents that was held in front of the mantle in the Junior MAPP room! We look forward to Mary's future visits with both Lower School and Upper School students.

Our soccer team will wrap up their season this week with practices on Monday and Wednesday and tournament games to be played Thursday, Friday and/or Saturday (two of the three days). Our game days and times will be scheduled and announced after all of the other league teams finish their games this week....stay tuned.

On Tuesday I will be traveling to Wilmington with a group of our high school students for a tour and information session at UNC-Wilmington. I hope to schedule a few more trips to NC colleges over the course of the year. I won't be checking email for most of the day so if a need arises please relay a message via Wendy.

It is hard to believe that Friday is mid-semester. Mid-semester Grades and Warnings will be mailed home the following week.

Academic Fair update - Upper School students have a final outline and one written section of their paper (other than the Introduction or Conclusion) due tomorrow (Monday). Good News - we have reserved the Lyon Park recreation center (right off of Lakewood Avenue) for the Academic Fair and Thanksgiving Feast. Due to limited kitchen facilities most of the meal will be catered...details to follow.

Please note that the whole school trip to the Flamenco ballet that had been scheduled for this week has been canceled by the performers.

Have a great week.

Thelma

Update 10/14/07

Greetings! Thanks to everyone for a very productive week of conferences. It was a pleasure to take the time to discuss each of our students and to spend time with their families. Progress Plans will be mailed home this week.

On Monday all Upper School students...
- need to bring in required Academic Fair items (see website for specifics)
- need to have finished AR before homeroom time at 8:30 AM
- need to bring in completed job shadow forms, if applicable
- need to bring in participation form for girls' basketball, if applicable

Soccer team - games on Monday and Friday - practice on Wednesday.

Girls' basketball - scrimmage Thursday after school.

College Track
Friday - Campbell University representative visits
Saturday - 10th and 11th graders take PSAT - arrive 7:45 AM

Other:
Thursday is Make-Up Picture Day.

Have a good week.

Thelma

Update 10/7/07

Greetings!

Welcome to our newest student - ninth grader Charlie Miller.

We look forward to seeing everyone in family conferences this week. As you are aware, Upper School is closed for conferences all week, Middle Grades is closed Wednesday-Friday and Kindergarten and MAPP classes are closed Thursday and Friday. Please spend some time preparing for your conference by making a list of questions you want to ask and feedback or information you want to share. We believe the time we dedicate to discuss each student is invaluable to the Camelot experience and we want you to derive maximum benefit from our time spent together in conference.

As you know, Middle and Upper School students are required to attend their conference. In addition, they have Academic Fair and other homework assigned over this break. Upper School students will find the timeline, directions and forms needed for Academic Fair on the website under the "Students" tab.

Many of our Upper School students have a job shadow lined up this week. Thanks to all of the parents who have opened their place of business up to our students for this experience. If your student is scheduled for one of these activities it is important that he/she call the parent contact the day before the appointment. To receive credit for the experience students are to complete the forms in the packet and return them, along with a thank you letter, to our office on Monday, October 15.

Reminder - because Upper School is closed there will be no lunch service this week. This is because we need to meet a certain order minimum for our vendors to deliver.

Students who were given eligibility materials for Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) are reminded to register now. More info can be found on the TIP website http://www.tip.duke.edu.

Sophomores are juniors are reminded that they will be taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) on Saturday, October 20. The test will be given at Camelot and students will need to arrive by 7:45 AM.

Finally, check out our website for updated photos in the Gallery and a link to the News and Observer article that appeared this week about the accomplishments of senior David Hillsman.

See you soon!

Thelma