Greetings!
I hope that you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was a special moment for me to look upon our gathering at the Academic Fair/Thanksgiving Feast…our Camelot Family certainly gives us much to be thankful for. Special thanks to teachers Jill Sugg and Erin Grady who oversaw the student research projects, Matt Wilhelm who handled the onsite logistics, Wendy Morris who coordinated the meal, Dan Hill who was our “sound man,” Glenn Mehrbach and Teresa Fischer who brought us the musical presentations and Judith Webster who helped students to create the beautiful centerpieces. Kudos to our parent volunteers, who set up, served and cleaned up after our feast under the direction ofNancy Hillsman. Most especially, thanks to everyone for turning out and partaking in the learning, sharing and celebrating that made the day such a success.
Congratulations to our Lego League students and their parent coaches Robyn Stephens and Chris Wilkes. The team did a great job in the regional qualifier held on November 19. Although they will not move on to the state level competition, we are very pleased and proud of their showing in this first time out for the students and our school.
We return tomorrow for a three-week period between our breaks. As you might expect, they will be a very full three weeks. We look forward to welcoming back teachers Jenny Feaster and Michelle Banal. Ms Jenny will ease into her classes very gradually over the next three weeks before returning full time in January. Ms Michelle will return part-time the week of December 5 and full time the week of December 12. We are excited to once again tap the talents of these extraordinary educators and we look forward to all that they will bring to the second semester.
Middle Grades students will take their semester exams before the holiday break. An exam schedule will be sent home this week as will review sheets and study guides. Upper School students sit exams upon our return in January. Kindergarten and MAPP students do not take formal exams but teacher assessments will be ongoing between now and the publication of first semester report cards in late January.
Senior Amber Rogers will once again be coordinating a collection for Toys for Tots. Please bring your contribution of a new, unwrapped toy before Friday, December 9. Amber will set up a collection bin in the Big Hall and see that all of our donations get delivered to the local chapter.
Finally, Mike is looking for more leaf raking help in December. Please contact him directly if you will be available on a Saturday: Mike@camelotacademy.org.
Have a great week.
Best,
Thelma
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Camelot Update 11/13/11
Greetings!
We have a great deal to celebrate this week!
First, congratulations to senior Ryn Wilkes who has earned the first college acceptance of the year – to Marymount Manhattan College.
Also, congrats to Module 3 Merit Award students Evan MacDonald and Ray Palma and to Module 3 Honor Roll students- Briana Benkin, Sophie Ko, Richard Carruthers, David Mc Shea, Danny Sutton, Elizabeth Provenzale, Sophie Reiter, Tessa Young, Alex Berro, Zack Milkereit, Jenna Smith, Byron Willot, Spencer Ahn, Olivia Arges, Elisabeth Parker, Brian Powell, Rachel Roush, Josh Stallings, Zachariah Claypole-White, Max Fried, Bri Oleson, Josh Pettway-Hinton, William Radcliffe, Megan Rusconi-Warner, Tate Arges, Sarah Chetty, Amber Rogers, Ryan Siebens and Eva Sutton.
Thank you to parent Gretchen Castorina for replanting our porch flowerpots! We would appreciate another parent volunteer to tend the pots on an as-needed basis. Please email me if you are interested.
Thank you to teacher Jill Sugg and to student Olivia Arges for coordinating a beautiful Veteran’s Day ceremony for our Upper School. Also thanks to students William Radcliffe, Zachariah Claypole White, Bri Oleson and Sarah Chetty for their important contributions.
An accidental omission last week from the list of student actors – Virginia Bruhn is in the cast of Into the Woods – final performance today – please check it out!
Thank you to student Josh Pettway-Hinton for the Fall Festival pictures. Also, check out the new DC whole group pictures sent to us by our tour guide.
On the subject of pictures, all students went home this week with proofs of their individual/sibling photos. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN THESE TO SCHOOL! If you wish to order pictures please log into the website listed on the proof with the individual code supplied there.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT LUNCH ORDERS- THIS Wednesday is the deadline for ordering lunches for the week of November 28. Due to our vacation week next week, all orders for the week of the 28th must be placed before we close.
Monday/Tuesday- Upper School crates will be out for parent review! Tuesday we have “drop in” time with the Upper School teachers from 8 to 8:30 AM.
Ms Beth (our after school supervisor) has asked me to share her email address so that any parents wishing to be in touch can do so. Please write her at:
As always, please cc me on anything of relevance!
Our Basketball Knights play their first game – a home game – this Wednesday at 4 PM. We will play Southern Wake Academy. Our home court is at the Levin Jewish Community Center (JCC) at 1937 W. Cornwallis Road, Durham 27705.
IPAD apps of the week – student endorsed – for math facts….Math Fact Drills and Beat the Computer. For elementary Language Arts skills the favorite of the week has been Sentence Builder.
Mr. Mike is in need of more leaf raking help on the weekends between now and the New Year. Please email him at Mike@camelotacademy.org to set up a time to help.
Finally, please remember that this Friday (November 18) all activities will be held at the Durham Armory (220 Foster St.). The Camelot building will not be open on this day.
Middle and Upper School students arrive between 8 and 8:15 AM
Kindergarten and MAPP students arrive between 10 and 10:15 AM
(accompanied by a parent, please)
Kindergarten, MAPP and all three performing groups will take the stage for musical numbers. Middle and Upper School students will present their research projects. We will be serving over 250 people Thanksgiving dinner at approximately 11:30 AM. All students should be picked up between 12:30 and 1:00 PM. This is one of my favorite events of the year – a wonderful time to celebrate our students’ accomplishments and to enjoy our parent community. Thanks for the efforts that everyone makes to be a part of this day.
Please note that school is closed for the entire week of November 21. Classes and our regular schedule resume on Monday, November 28.
We’re off to an open house this afternoon from 2- 4 PM. Last call – please send your friends – and thank you for doing so!
I look forward to seeing you this Friday. Have a great week.
Best,
Thelma
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Camelot Update 11/6/11
Greetings!
I hope that you enjoy the extra hour of your weekend!
Thanks to everyone for the great turnout at Fall Festival. Huge thanks to Ms Denise for the conceptualization and execution of such a wonderful afternoon and to all of the parent and teacher helpers who made it so much fun for our students.
Congratulations to our soccer team on a great season:
Spencer Ahn, Grace Balk, Alex Berro, Devan Chichester, Rachel Milkereit, Zack Milkereit, Sam Ofner, Elisabeth Parker, Brian Powell, William Radcliffe, Liz Reeder, Rachel Roush, Meg Rusconi-Warner (co-captain), Josh Stallings (co-captain).
Special note to the award winners:
MVP: William Radcliffe
Most Improved: Devan Chichester
Most Energetic: Zack Milkereit
Most Courageous: Liz Reeder
Thanks to Mr Scott for updating our web site with pictures of the Soccer Awards Dinner and of the DC trip. Also, special thanks toMs Amanda and Ms Krista for the beautiful and poignant photography. Check the pics out here:
Middle Grades and Upper School Mid-Semester grades were mailed home on Friday. Please note that these are simply a “snapshot” in time and only End of Semester grades are entered on the official report card. First Semester grades – with extensive teacher comments – are mailed home in January. In the meantime, all Mid-Semester Warnings should be signed and returned to school by Friday. There are tremendous gains and accomplishments being made by our students. They are juggling Academic Fair projects, AR requirements, math pace goals and the “heart” of the semester in their other classes. We are working together to help them prioritize, manage their time and strive for excellence. I am happy to work with any student individually to create a personalized time management plan – just let me know if you want me to initiate this with your student. The challenge of working to meet ambitious goals will be rewarded by the priceless sense of accomplishment to follow – and some much-deserved time off for all at holiday-time!
For the first time Kindergarten and MAPP students will also be getting mid-semester updates. Look for these in the mail this week.
Students are coming home tomorrow with detailed information about the Academic Fair and the Thanksgiving Feast to be held at the Durham Armory on Friday, November 18. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL ACTIVITIES THAT DAY ARE HELD AT THE ARMORY AND THAT WE HAVE SPECIAL HOURS BASED ON STUDENT GRADE LEVEL. In addition to the Middle and Upper School academic projects that will be on display, Kindergarten, MAPP and all three musical groups will perform at the fair. All of this excitement is followed by a Thanksgiving buffet luncheon that our Camelot Family shares together before adjourning for the week off. WE NEED AN RSVP FROM EVERY FAMILY BY WEDNESDAY as to who will joining us for this meal. Copies of the materials coming home with your student can be found on our web site here:
Parent Service Opportunities:
- Fall Flowers need to be shopped for and planted in our porch containers. I’d like this done no later than next Saturday. Please email me if you would like this assignment.
- Mike needs parent service help on Saturday for Open House preparation. Please contact him directly atMike@camelotacademy.org or call him on his cell 919-818-0047.
OPEN HOUSE – our final one for 2011 – will be held Sunday, November 13, from 2-4 PM. Please help us to spread the word!
IPAD apps – I’m working with students to find the apps that work for them. I’m proud to see the investment of energy that many are making to try different tools. For instance, in classroom note-taking there are many options in terms of notes by hand, by text, converting one to another and synching or not with recording. It takes a lot of invested time to find the tool that works for any individual and we are very much in the experimentation mode. Another area where I am still exploring is To-Do lists – I have tried many options and I continue to return to Post-It Notes and paper! Nevertheless, this week I’m excited to try out iNow. I’ve also been experimenting with recording time spent on different tasks and setting Time on Task goals on certain projects. I can see this having a real application for students who also need to be held accountable to putting daily time into tasks such as fact drills, nightly reading, Academic Fair, etc. Hours and Eternity Lite are the two Apps I’ve been experimenting with. Eternity Lite seems most adaptable. PLEASE share with me apps that you or your student are finding useful so that I can eventually create a “greatest hits” list for all to access.
Camelot Talent in the Community!
Senior Will Cunningham is currently featured in Durham Family Theatre’s production of As You Like It. The show runs through next weekend. Check out the web site:
Also, running next weekend only, is Into the Woods. This show features Lance Wilkes, Ryn Wilkes, Lennon Klinger Mehrbach and both of his parents – Deborah and Glenn!
Check here for more info:
Finally, Camelot basketball season launches this week. Look for a separate email with all of the details.
Have a great week and thanks for all that you do.
Best,
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