October Newsletter 2012.pub (Read-Only)

Highland School
Middle School Hawknotes
Matt Ormiston,
Middle School Director
October 5 Issue 3
Baby James arrived on October 1st weighing
in at 7 lbs and 9 ounces. Congratulations to
Reynolds and Valerie Oare!
Thanks to everyone who made it out to Back to School Night. It was great to see so many parents and to touch base on how
the year is going. I have included what were originally intended to be my remarks on Back to School Night before time got
away from us and I delivered an abridged version.
As a part of our summer reading the MS faculty read an article about the adolescent brain and how it develops. In that article BJ Casey, a neuroscientist from Cornell, said the following.
“We are so used to seeing adolescence as a problem. But the more we learn about what really makes this
period unique, the more adolescence starts to seem like a highly functional, even adaptive period. It’s
exactly what you’d need to do the things you have to do then.”
On its surface it seems a little absurd. So being forgetful, argumentative, disorganized and at times incredibly social is
exactly what they need right now? However, the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was and am that the quote is
accurate. Middle School is the time when our kids begin to make that tough transition from cute, innocent children who
want nothing more than to be with their parents to independent young adults who seem to want nothing more than to be left
alone to hang out with their friends. It is not always an easy transition, nor a fun one, but it is a journey they must take and
part of what makes me so optimistic about this year is that we have a tremendous faculty ready to support them along the
way. Our faculty has worked incredibly hard to find the delicate balance between challenging our students and supporting
them. We need to challenge them to think for themselves, to take responsibility for their actions (or lack of action), and to
figure out who they are and how they fit into our community. We need to challenge them to do their best work, to acquire
the work ethic and perseverance we know they will need to be successful. We need to challenge them so that they grow
into self-sufficient, thoughtful young people who know how to solve problems and who are resilient. However, we also
realize that the changes and challenges they face at this point in their lives are immense. We understand how difficult it is
to balance friends and family and school and adolescence, all at a time when they really aren’t sure who they are and where
they fit in. We understand that they need to question, to argue, to debate, and at times to defy so that they can assert their
own independence and find their own voice. Like you, we don’t always enjoy these difficult conversations and moments,
but we recognize how central they are in our students’ journey through adolescence. We also understand that this delicate
balance of challenge and support isn’t possible without your help. One of our primary goals for the year is to make sure we
continue to improve our communication with all parents and we are confident that tonight will be a great first step in that
direction.
Sincerely,
Matt Ormiston
“I love the new library, it is really high tech!”
Hall Pritchard
“The coolest part of the Middle School renovations is
the awesome new library!” Max Morehouse
“The new touch screen computers are really cool!”
Sade Smith
“100,000 times better” Brandon Conlin
“It is definitely nicer and gives off a better
vibe. The library is bright and happy. So when
you walk in on Monday and see that room you
are like, WOW! Our school really did that?
They must really care about our education.”
Molly Petronzio
“Wow. Just wow. It is amazing! I feel like the
entire school moved into a whole new building.”
Jenna Devanney
“The coolest part of the renovation is the
Harkness room! It allows us to be open and to
speak our minds, like we do here at Highland.”
Carolyn Treuting
OCTOBER HAPPENINGS!
Friday, October 5—Professional Day. No School.
Monday, October 8—Columbus Day. No School.
Wednesday, October 10—Blue/Gold Pep Rally at
2:00 p.m. in the Upper School gym.
Saturday, October 13—Homecoming & All School
Picnic.
Monday, October 15—Friday, October 19
SPIRIT WEEK
Tuesday, October 9th
DIG PINK
Top: Pink shirt in support of
Breast Cancer Awareness
Bottom: regular dress code shorts/
pants (can be pink) or jeans
Footwear: dress down day footwear
Wednesday, October 10th
Blue/Gold Day
Top: Blue or gold shirt
*All new students should wear
a combination of blue and gold.
Bottom: regular dress code shorts/
pants or jeans
Footwear: tennis shoes
Thursday, October 11th
Favorite Team Day
Top: Pro, College, Local, or
International team shirt/jersey
Bottom: regular dress code shorts/
pants or jeans
Footwear: dress down day footwear
Friday, October 12th
Class Color Day
Top: Shirt in your class color
Grade 5 = purple
Grade 6 = gold
Grade 7 = green
Grade 8 = orange
Bottom: regular dress code shorts/
pants or jeans
Footwear: dress down day footwear
NO body paint, face paint, or hairspray
Coloring & regular dress code attire for nonparticipating students.
Explore the creative world of books at the Book Fair
in the Loeb library. Volunteers are needed!
Thursday, October 18—Grade 8 French Field Trip
to the Phillips Collection in D.C to view the French
Impressionist exhibit.
Thursday, October 18—Grade 5 Conservation Field
Day to Messick Farm to acquaint students with a
farm environment while teaching them conservation/
environmental practices.
Friday, October 19—5/6 Halloween Bash with
outside games, pizza and a movie.
Wednesday, October 24—”How to Help Your
Child Handle the Unique Challenges of Middle
School”, a parent outreach program at 8:15 a.m. in
the Middle School Media room. Refreshments will
be provided by the Parents Association.
Wednesday, October 24—School Photo Make Up
Day for PK-12. All students should have their photo
taken for the Yearbook.
Friday, October 26—7/8 Halloween Dance
Friday, October 26—4th Annual Ladies Night
Out!!! Please join us to kick off this year’s auction,
Disco Inferno at 7:00 p.m. in The Rice Theater.
Sunday, October 28—LEGO Expo from 3:00—
6:00 p.m. in the Upper School gym.
Monday, October 29—Faculty Work Day. No
School.
Thursday, November 1—Winter Dress Code begins!
Rachel Paradise and Maddie Rodgers qualified for the Pennsylvania National Horse Show as
well as The Washington International Horse Show. Each of these shows pick the top 30 in
the nation based on their competition points during their horse show year. Both shows have
a different horse show date range.
Box Tops 4 Education and Labels For
Education Programs
STUDENT OF THE MONTH AWARD
WINNERS FOR SEPTEMBER
Congratulations!
Highland is collecting Box Tops and Labels
For Education again this year. Please send in
all the Box Tops and Labels you have been
collecting this summer. We will be collecting
and counting them through Friday, October
26th to see who the winner for the first quarter
will be. Don’t wait, send your Box Tops and
Bonus For Education Labels in now!
The deadline for Bonus Program forms is also
Friday, October 26th. The form is attached to
the last page of this newsletter for your
convenience.
Left to Right: Luke Warfield, Anna Grace
Tomlinson, Angela Weber, Ellie Rogers, Carolyn
Treuting, Cameron Smith, Ryan Weber, and Kate
Willey.
Camp Friendship
The entire Middle School headed to Camp Friendship in Palmyra.
This field study provided an opportunity for everyone, students,
and faculty alike to get to know each other by engaging in team
building activities to start the year off on a positive note.