I hope that your first week of 2012 went as well as ours at Camelot. The students and teachers were genuinely thrilled to see each other and everyone has gotten down to business with good attitudes, effort and results. The Kindergarten and MAPP students have been "knocking the socks" off of their teachers with their assessment results, the Middle Grades students have wrapped up some loose ends and been doing some additional placement work in vocabulary and writing and the Upper School students reviewed and started their semester exams. Everyone is looking forward to the excitement planned for Special Session next week.
Special Session, this Wednesday-Friday (January 11- 13) includes the following plans:
Kindergarten- Eighth grade spelling finalists will participate in the final round of the spelling bee to select one winner to move forward to the regional competition. Our classroom winners are:
Kindergarten - Andrew Sergison; Jr MAPP - Tully Daniel and Ephram Oliver; Sr MAPP - Olivia Goldsmith and Ryan Rusconi-Warner; Middle Grades - Evan MacDonald and Willa Holt; 7th/8th Grade - Ben Kirby and Sean MacNair. All of our students have learned valuable lessons about participating in this kind of "game" and we've been very proud of their sportsmanship and support of each other. Special thanks to Ms Denise for coordinating the participation of our school.
In addition to all of this spelling fun, some of the "specials teachers" have special activities planned next week for our youngest students.
Middle Grades students will have an outing to a yoga class on Wednesday to build on skills they learned in PE last semester. On Friday, they will have an all-day clinic on setting individual and group goals conducted by Stephen Mullaney, an outside facilitator with whom we have been coordinating to plan a meaningful day.
Upper School students will host a series of guest presenters on Wednesday morning to learn about civic engagement opportunities. They will then spend the next day and a half mostly off-campus working for some of these community causes. On Friday, they will have a morning of extracurriculars hosted by their teachers with choices in everything from cake decorating to a jazz improv session. On Friday afternoon they will travel to the NC Museum of Art to see the Rembrandt exhibit. We may need some parent service helpers to transport to the art museum on Friday. If you are available from 12-3:15 PM and have a vehicle that transports at least five passengers please let me know if you are interested.
One of the organizations our Upper School students will be helping on Wednesday is the Book Harvest (http://www.bookharvestnc.org/ ). As such, if you have any used children's books that you are willing to donate to this worthy cause please send them in no later than Wednesday morning. (No textbooks, please.)
On Tuesday - Upper School Students have an optional early dismissal following their morning exam. Students may leave at 12:30 PM or may stay for a movie.
Friday (January 13) is the Option One Re-enrollment Deadline for 2012-13. Please consult the paperwork you received last week (if your family did not choose the Early Re-Enrollment discount program).
The Yosemite trip is a GO! We can add a few more folks - but the absolute airline deadline is this Friday (January 13). If we can be helpful in putting together the logistics for your family, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Thanks to RL Parker for the great pictures of the Camelot holiday concert held at Southpoint Mall. Check them out here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/
Finally, congratulations to Senior Ryan Siebens on his acceptance to UNC-Asheville.
Next weekend is a three day weekend in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr holiday. When we return on Tuesday, January 17, Second Semester will begin!
Have a great week!
Best,
Thelma