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:
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/
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.
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.