Camelot Update 10/27/13

Greetings!

Thank you for the wonderful turnout at the Fall Festival last week.  It was a joy to share the beautiful fall afternoon with everyone.  Again, many, many thanks to Ms. Denise for orchestrating the whole thing, and Ms. Stephanie for learning the ropes - and to their husbands Brian and David, respectively, who are deserving of much gratitude for many hours of help before, during and after the event.

This week the soccer season wrapped up with two tournament games.  The first game, a win vs. Fletcher Academy on Monday, was followed by a loss to Clover Garden on Tuesday in a game that by all reports featured much good play. We are deeply appreciative of the efforts of Coach Carlos and Athletic Director Krista Moll and congratulate the team members Spencer Ahn, Grace Balk, Alex Berro, Devan Chichester, Sarah Fauver, Jude Holt, Zach Ireland, Nick Johnson, Harry Jones, Rachel Milkereit, Brian Powell, Johnny Qian, Ian Robinson, Mack Taylor and William Whetzel.  The team will be honored, along with members of our other teams, at the all-sport athletic dinner in the May.

Boys' Basketball starts in a couple of weeks and there is still room for 6th-12 graders on the team.  Please let me know if you'd like more information.

This week has a few highlights of its own!

Last Friday was Mid-Semester (!) and teachers will be turning in Mid Semester grades to the office by end of day Monday.  By this Friday, November 1, Middle and Upper Grades families will have access to grades via the online Achieve portal.  An email will be sent to you when the portal is opened.  Kindergarten and MAPP students will have Mid-Semester info mailed home by Friday.

As you know, this Thursday is Halloween which we celebrate as a School Spirit Day!  Students may dress as theirfavorite book character.  Please note that costumes of witches, ghosts, devils or anything gory or involving weapons of any kind are NOT school-appropriate and should not be worn or brought to school.  Also, many thanks for limiting sugar consumption in school lunches and treats.

The Upper School PE biking unit started this past week.  Biking days this coming week are Wednesday (4th period choice activity) and Friday (Friday PE classes).

Kindergarten students will be running a small school store to gain experience with money skills.  They will be selling snack-size bags of chips (Doritos, Fritos, Cheetos, potato chips) and Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies atlunchtime on Mondays (only).  Each bag of chips or cookies will cost $.75. Thank you for your support!

Due to popular demand, we are going to place another order for the black New Camelot Logo shirts - offered as a LONG SLEEVE or as the short sleeve V-Neck (BE
SURE TO NOTE "V-Neck" in the comments box) order here BY THIS THURSDAY!  The cost is $20 per shirt payable upon receipt.

http://www.customink.com/signup/4i2c8ga1

Weekend Parent Service will be available soon for leaf rakers!  Please contact Mr. Mike to get on the list atmike@camelotacademy.org.

College Reps this week:

Monday - Elon University (NC) at 11:30 (lunch visit)
Wednesday- Davidson College (NC) at 11:30 (lunch visit)
Thursday - Earlham College (IN) at 11:40 (lunch visit)

Many thanks to alum Meg Rusconi-Warner ('13) for getting recent photos on our website.  Much more to come!

Check out pics from the Middle Grades trip here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/camelotacademy/sets/72157636917115166/

I hope that you have a great week.

Camelot Update 10/20/13

Greetings! 

I look forward to seeing everyone this afternoon at our Fall Festival being held at school from 2-4 PM.  There will be fun for students of all ages - including games, crafts, a magic show and a snake show.  Mellow Mushroom pizza will be sold by the slice. Please plan to participate in this fundraiser to support various student organizations within our school.  Many thanks to Ms. Denise -  and her assistant on this project, Ms. Stephanie - for pulling together this ever-more-exciting event for us.

At the end of each module for the duration of the school year we will announce the names of students who have achieved Merit Award or Honor Roll status.  Our first Honor Roll/Merit Awards were announced in Morning Meeting this week.  Camelot students have nine opportunities to receive this honor each year - once in Modules 2-10.  (As you will recall, a module is approximately 15 class days - module start and end dates are noted on your school calendar.)  Merit Awards are for students in SR MAPP and Middle Grades.  Honor Roll is for students in the Upper School.  To achieve this distinction, students must have a module free of Homework, Classwork, Make Up or Behavior Notices and must be in attendance for greater than 80% of the class days.  They must also be enrolled in four or more core classes on campus.  More details are provided in your Family Handbook.

Congratulations to Module 1/2 Honor Roll students:

Ke Lu, Grace He, Olivia Arges, Zack Milkereit, Fiona Castorina, Olivia Castorina,

Alex Berro, Yuqing Liu, Jeremy Lin, Cameron Stell, Johnny Qian, Elizabeth Provenzale,Cole Kurtzman, Leah Flood, Rachel Milkereit, David McShea, Collin Wilkes, Rachel Kowis, Willa Holt, Virginia Bruhn, Grace Balk and Amzie Yurko.

Huge Kudos to Mr. Matt and Ms. Michelle for coordinating the Upper School and Middle Grades overnight trips.  They were greatly supported by faculty chaperones Charlotte Frysinger, Tom Mitchell, Scott Mitchell and Amy Cummingsas well as parent chaperones Kathy Kowis, Greg Kowis, Albert Mirich, Lisa Warner and alum chaperone Meg Rusconi-Warner.  Please look for pictures from the trips on our website later this week.

Back at home, the Upper and Middle Grades students had a great mixture of productivity and recreation thanks to the orchestration provided by Ms. Lori.  Ms. Judith planned a great excursion to UNC CH School of Journalism and Ms Stephanie, Ms. Jill, Mr. Dan, Ms. Erin, Ms. Jenny, Ms. Amanda, Ms. Krista, Ms. Roni, Ms. Denise, Ms. Liz, Ms. Joyce, Ms. Teresa, Mr. Glenn and Mr. Mike were instrumental in seeing that the atypical days were a success for all.

Coaches Chris, Robyn and Amanda led our FLL members to Robostock yesterday in Concord, NC. The Robo Rainbow Unicorn team won second place and has brought back a trophy to present in Morning Meeting!  Way to go, Zach Ireland, Chase Laster, Harry Jones, Ian Robinson and Evan MacDonald!

Senior Feixiong Zhen is eager to make rapid gains in his spoken English.  As such, he and his family have given me permission to seek some homes of Camelot families that may be able to offer him short term stays (a few days or up to a week at a time) to allow him opportunities to practice his listening and speaking skills.  Ideally, families who participate will be able to provide Feixiong with a private bedroom during his visit.  If your family is interested in helping, please send me an email.  This is both a Parent Service Opportunity and a wonderful way to serve as a Cultural Ambassador.

Picture order forms (for group and whole school pictures) are due on Monday!  Your student was provided a special envelope for these orders last week. We were thrilled that we were able to take the whole school, homeroom and individual pictures in between the raindrops that fell last Monday.  Many thanks to Ms. Wendy and Ms. Lynne for their expertise in coordinating all of the activity.  Please be on the look-out for more info about ordering individual pictures and direct any questions to Ms. Wendy at wendy@camelotacademy.org

This week is the last week of the soccer season as our players engage in the CCAL tournament games.  On Monday they will play their last game on our home field at Piney Wood Park at 4 PM.  We will transport Middle Grades and Upper School fans for whom I have a parent email request by Monday at 9 AM.  FANS NEED TO BE PICKED UP AT 5 PMfrom Piney Wood Park.

College Reps this week:

Tuesday at 11:30 AM - Cultural International Exchange Program

Wednesday at 12:30 PM - High Point University (NC)

Wednesday at 2:30 PM - New York University (NY)

Thursday at 2:50 PM - Goucher College (MD)

Sign up for the June Costa Rica trip is underway.  Tour info/sign up is here:

http://www.explorica.com/sign-up.aspx

Code:  Frysinger-136

Contact Ms. Charlotte with any questions at charlotte@camelotacademy.org

Thank you to everyone for using your yellow carpool visor tags.  I think they are going to be helpful in keeping pick-up time running well. Please contact Ms. Wendy at wendy@camelotacademy.org if you would like additional tags.

I look forward to seeing you this afternoon at Fall Festival.

Camelot Update 10/13/13

Thank you to everyone for a very productive week of conferences.  Families came in very prepared and it established a great tone for setting things in place to get the most out of the semester and the year.  I am proud to work with this wonderful team of teachers who brought great dedication and care to each and every meeting.

Also, thank you to all of the parents who provided job shadow opportunities for our high school students last week. We heard several enthusiastic reports in our conferences.  Thank you to Ms. Amy for all of her great work to coordinate these experiences.

Message from Ms. Charlotte:

It was very exciting to hear so many families express interest in the Costa Rica trip during our conferences! Remember to enroll by October 16 (that's Wednesday!) to take advantage of over $200 in promotions. Log on towww.explorica.com/Frysinger-136 for details and contact Ms. Charlotte at charlotte@camelotacademy.org with any questions.

Families received a yellow car pool visor tag at their conference session.  Please be sure to display this on your PASSENGER side visor starting this Monday at pick-up.  We are eager to see how efficient we can make our dismissal.

Monday, October 14 is whole-school Picture Day!  Please note the email sent on Friday by Ms. Wendy including details for ordering group, homeroom and individual pictures.  Please send your student to school on Monday in clothes appropriate for these pictures and note that we request students NOT wear T-shirts for any of the group pictures.

Wednesday-Friday, October 16-18 is the Upper School trip to Williamsburg and the Middle Grades trip to the NC mountains.  All participants were sent an email from Ms. Lynne last Thursday with packing info and itinerary specifics. Please spend some time this weekend being sure that you are clear about all of the information.

Also on Wednesday, a representative from Meredith College will be visiting campus at 2:00 PM.  Upper School students are encouraged to sign up.

Ms. Michelle's science club is canceled this week as she will be on the Middle Grades trip.  A make-up session will be scheduled at the end of the semester.

There is a lot of activity planned for this upcoming weekend!

On Saturday morning, all of our 10th and 11th graders will come to campus for an administration of the PSAT. Families of these students should consult the email that was sent by Ms. Lynne last Monday with detailed information.

Also on Saturday, FLL members are traveling to Robostock in Concord, NC.  Please see Coach Robyn's email sent yesterday.

Exciting message from Ms. Denise:

Fall Festival is just one week away!! There will be games, activities, food, a magic show, and a snake exhibit!! Everyone is invited, so bring your family and friends for a fun-filled afternoon! If anybody wants to help, we still need volunteers to sell tickets, run booths, set up, clean up, etc.  We also need baked goods (individually wrapped) for the cake walk.  If you can help with any of these needs, please email me at denise@camelotacademy.org.  This is a fun Parent Service opportunity! Thanks!

Finally, please help your student have a good re-entry to school on Monday by assisting in reviewing the homework assigned over break and being sure it all makes it to school!  Many students had AR books to finish, Academic Fair outlines and other assignments - many of which were discussed in conference.  We can all get the most out of the time and energy spent in conferences by keeping our students feeling confident and successful.  After an extended break, a little extra care to take stock of everything will go a long way.  Thanks, in advance, for making this a part of your day today.

As you can tell, we are deep into the exciting part of the semester.  Please continue to carefully read the info we send you to be sure to maximize your student's experience.  On behalf of all of us, I want you to know that we deeply appreciate your commitment to your student's education and school experience.

I look forward to seeing you next Sunday at Fall Festival, if not before!

Camelot Update 10/6/13

Greetings!

Congratulations to senior Lyn Mattox who has been named a National Merit Scholarship Commended Student (one of just 34,000 students recognized for exceptional academic promise of the 1.5 million students who took the test).

We are looking forward to an amazing week of Family Conferences.  Many thanks to Ms. Lynne for the incredible job coordinating so many complicated schedules.

There are many important details for you to know about this week:

- Upper School is closed for classes all week – homework has been assigned.

- Lower School and Middle Grades are closed for classes on Wednesday-Friday – homework will be assigned.

- Optional Care is available on a space-available basis on Wednesday-Friday - contact Ms. Wendy atwendy@camelotacademy.org.

- No clubs next week EXCEPT FLL on Monday

- No lunch service next week

- Middle and Upper School students MUST attend their conference - younger students attend at teacher/parent discretion

How to Get the Most from Your Family Conference:

- Plan ahead - make a list of your questions, comments or topics you would like to discuss.

- Parents and students should review homework assigned over break and the 9-Day Planner (US) or 5-Day Planner (MG) students were given to organize their time.

- Arrive early to preview student work completed - conferences are scheduled every 45 minutes and we need every moment of that time to accomplish our agenda.

- Bring something to take notes.

What Should You Expect from Your Family Conference?

Expect to meet with all of your student's academic subject teachers together in one room with your family.

Expect to be presented with pretest info and with the resulting plan for the year.

Expect to dialogue about any fine-tuning that seems appropriate.

Expect the information that is shared to be mailed home at Mid Semester (late October).

In Other Business:

Sr MAPP students are reminded to bring their instruments to music class on Tuesday

There was a great turnout for the June Costa Rica trip information meeting on Thursday!   The aspect of the trip that has everyone talking is volunteering at each destination we visit. Other highlights will include relaxing in the hot springs of Arenal Volcano, a zip-line tour of Monteverde Cloud Forest, a horseback ride through the Santa Elena Biological Reserve, kayaking, and beautiful beaches! If you would like additional information, you can contact Ms. Charlotte atcharlotte@camelotacademy.org or visit the tour website at www.exploica.com/Frysinger-136. The tour company is running over $200 in promotions for participants who enroll by Oct. 16.

The National Honor Society is sponsoring a Community Service Challenge!  Our goal is to reach 300 hours of recorded community service hours performed by the student body by the end of the school year.  Service hour sheets are in a folder at the front of the Big Hall.  Service hours can be verified by parents or supervisors, and then turned in to the second folder in the Big Hall.  If you would like to find out more about service opportunities in Durham, please visit The Volunteer Center of Durham website at:   http://www.thevolunteercenter.org/tp42/Default.asp?ID=139710.

Thank you in advance for serving our community!

The Upper School rafting trip has been confirmed for Friday, March 14.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, October 14 is whole-school and individual Picture Day!

Wednesday-Friday, October 16-18 is the Upper School trip to Williamsburg and the Middle Grades trip to the NC mountains.

I look forward to seeing you in conference this week!  It is always an honor and a joy to spend the time with each and every Camelot family to shape the year.