Dragon News Volume 11 Issue 10

DRAGON
NEWS
www.baltimorelabschool.org
Vol. 11
Issue 10
November 4, 2011
N+, T-./ W++0:
Parent-Teacher Conferences …..2 Heritage Walk ……………...….3
Message from PALS-B ... …….…..2 December Calendar ……..….4
Thanksgiving Food Drive ..….…..2 Upcoming Performance .….5
Thinking and Thanking
As the cold air presses against the windows of old Goucher Hall, I hear the quiet hum of mid-morning traffic passing
along St. Paul Street. Sitting in my office, entering my 5th month at Baltimore Lab School, I find myself with a new
sense of home. Long gone are the sweltering days of summer and the challenge of familiarizing myself with my new
role in a new school. While I still learn something new just about every day, and I'm still looking forward to meeting
some of you for the first time, I've now reached that point where entering the front doors each morning feels a bit
like meeting an old friend again.
November is traditionally associated with a time of thanks. Most cultures in the northern hemisphere celebrate the
annual harvest with a festival in acknowledgment of the food and resources available in times of bounty, scarcity, or
something in between. Here at the Baltimore Lab School, our students will learn more about some of these traditions this month, and have the opportunity to contribute to our national Thanksgiving holiday by giving to our local
Bea Gaddy Food Drive. These experiences are especially valuable in teaching children that we all have something to
offer, and that our community as whole gets just a little bit better when we take the time to be kind to those with the
most desperate needs.
You may find that this is a great time of year to discuss with your own children the things for which they are thankful. While children typically will begin by talking about material things, they often benefit from reminders of the value
of friends, family, and good times together. Helping them to be specific can make times of thanksgiving more meaningful, and perhaps might lead to some new traditions and an "attitude of gratitude" in their lives. As we press toward
the closing of 2011, I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude and personal thanks for the warm welcome
extended to me by the various members of our community, including the board, PALS-B, and somany parents, teachers, and colleagues. Baltimore Lab School remains a wonderful place for children to learn, and for this, we can all be
thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!
-David Lightfoot, Associate Head of School
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2220 St. Paul Street Baltimore, MD 21218 • Main: 410-261-5500 • Fax: 410-366-7680
Dragon News Editor: Annette Fallon, [email protected]
A MESSAGE FROM PALS
PALS--B:
On Thursday evening, October 27th,
the new Associate Head of Baltimore
Lab, David Lightfoot, discussed his
"Vision for the Future". Over 30 parents attended the event, which was
preceded by a PALS-B meeting and
reception for Mr. Lightfoot.
PALS-B gratefully acknowledges the
parents who contributed to the beautiful reception: Katie McAvoy, Elaine
Christ, Sarah Helmacy, Nicole Lubin,
Kelly McDowell, and Marsha Wise.
The next PALS-B Lecture will be on
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 7:00
p.m. Kathleen Nadeau, Director, Chesapeake ADHD Center of Maryland,
will present “Launching an ADD Friendly
Life: Helping Young Adults with AD Achieve
Successful Independence.” The next PALSB meeting is on Tuesday, November 29
from 8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
http://www.baltimorelabschool.org/
content/palslectureseries
I345 53 P67+38-T+69-+7 C534+7+39+/:
On Tuesday, November 29 and Thursday, December 1, 2011,
BalAmore Lab School will be holding Parent-Teacher Conferences. These meeAngs provide an opportunity for families to
receive 1st quarter progress updates from teachers and staff
regarding their child’s academic, social, and behavioral development. Conferences will last 30 minutes and will be scheduled during the hours of 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
to 5:30 p.m.
Lower School meeAngs will be scheduled according to your
child’s classroom teacher while Middle and High School
meeAngs will be scheduled according to your child’s English
Language Arts teacher. Please note that not all of your child’s
teachers and related staff providers may be able to aGend your
child's conference, given the number of conferences taking
place.
To schedule a conference, please contact Ann Marie O’Keiffe,
Assistant to the Division Heads, at 410-261-5500 ext. 1018 no
later than November 22, 2011. If you have any specific quesAons which you would like addressed during your conference,
please be sure to share them with Mrs. O’Keiffe.
-Steve Gangloff & John Morgal
Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive for the Bea Gaddy Family Center
11/7/11 to 11/17/11
BLS is running a Thanksgiving Food Drive in support of the Bea Gaddy Family
Center in Southeast Baltimore. The food drive kicked off with an assembly for
all Middle School students and staff on Tuesday. Bea Gaddy’s son, Mr. John
Fowler, spoke about his mother and her legacy of service to Baltimore (see
photo right). Middle School students prepared poignant and interesting questions for the guest speaker and at one point Mr. Fowler exclaimed, “Are you
sure this isn’t a journalism course?” During the two weeks of the food drive,
Middle School students will give a "morning fact" about hunger and/or homelessness over the PA system during the morning announcements.
Please send in donations of nonnon-perishable items or Safeway gift cards for fresh food. Boxes for donations will be labeled and placed on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The Drive will conclude on Thursday,
November 17th, when we will transfer the donations to the center.
Thank you in advance for your help!
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DRA GON NEWS
WWW.BA LTIMORELA BSCHOOL.ORG
TOUR BALTIMORE LAB SCHOOL’S FORMER HOME:
On Saturday, November 12, 2011, Baltimore Heritage presents a short walking tour led by Judy
Dobbs of the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landscapes, who will escort you along some
of the Olmsted paths through Roland Park. The tour will end where it begins, at the house
where the Odyssey and Baltimore Lab Schools got their start, 4906 Roland Avenue, for a tour by
current owner Ms. Elissa Strati.
Tour Details
Secret Paths of Roland Park & Odyssey/Lab School House
Saturday, November 5 | 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
$10/members, $15/non-members.
We will start and end the tour at 4906 Roland Avenue. Parking is available on the street. We
will go rain or shine.
RSVP for the tour today!
The Roland Park Company developed Roland Park in the late 1800s. Incorporated into its plans
was a series of 18 footpaths, designed to expedite foot traffic between sections of the neighborhood, especially those where the terrain made it difficult to build roads. Designed by the
firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., the paths were part of a hierarchical system of roads in
front of houses, service lanes in the rear, and footpaths that provided convenient ways to cross
through the neighborhood in a natural setting. Each path is named with a distinctly country
ring: Squirrel, Hilltop, Laurel, Tulip. Others are decidedly British: Audley End, Tintern, St. Margaret’s, Litchfield. In 1991, the paths were refurbished and cedar posts installed with handmade white oak replicas of the original breadboard signs to mark many of the trails.
The house at 4906 Roland Avenue that
we will tour has had many lives. Originally built c. 1900 as a single-family
home, it has spent much of its life as a
place of learning. By 1946 it had become the Homeland Academy, followed
in the 1970s by the School of Contemporary Education. In 1994, The Odyssey
School opened its doors for the first
time for children with language learning
differences. In 2000, The Odyssey
School moved to its current home in
Stevensonville. Baltimore Lab School,
an off-shoot of the Washington DC Lab
School, set down its first roots in this
house on Roland Avenue until moving to
the Old Goucher College building in Baltimore. In 2005, the house was purchased by Alfred and
Elissa Strata, who had the arduous task of converting the long-time school back into a singlefamily home. Ms. Strata will share her tales of discovery and woe in bringing this beautiful
turn-of-the-century home full circle to its original purpose.
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DRA GON NEWS
WWW.BA LTIMORELA BSCHOOL.ORG
November/December Calendar Please make note of the dates that apply to you! Updated:
November
11/3/11
Friday the 4th- Gustafer Yellowgold Concert for 1st-6th grade students @
10:45 a.m.
Monday the 7th- Start of Food and Safeway Gift Card Drive for Bea Gaddy Family
Center
Wednesday the 9th- LSW Gala in Washington, D.C. (see details at
www.labschool.org/gala)
Monday the 14th- BLS Swim Meet at LSW, 500 Yard Race @ 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday the 16th- BLS Rehearsal and Performance Ensemble present Six
Characters in Search of an Author at Load of Fun Theatre @ 7:30 p.m.
Friday the 18th- Science Class Field Trip to Ben Oaks on the Severn, 9:00 a.m.
to 1:30 p.m. // End of Food and Safeway Gift Card Drive for Bea Gaddy Family
Center // Report Cards Mailed Home
Wednesday the 23rd- Friday the 25th- School Closed for Thanksgiving Break
Tuesday the 29th- PALS-B Meeting, Lovely Lane Social hall, 8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
// Parent Teacher Conferences, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
December
Wednesday the 1st- Parent Teacher Conferences, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Monday the 5th- BLS Swim Meet at LSW, 100 IM Race @ 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday the 7th- BLS Open House, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Thursday the 8th- PALS-B Meeting in the BLS Library @ 6:00 PM // PALS-B
Lecture with Kathleen Nadeau, Director, Chesapeake ADHD Center of
Maryland on “Launching an ADD Friendly Life: Helping Young Adults with AD
Achieve Successful Independence” @ 7:00 p.m.
Saturday the 10th- ACT at BLS @ 8:00 a.m.
Thursday the 15th- BLS Holiday Extravaganza Performance in Lovely Lane
Fellowship Hall @ 1:00 p.m.
Friday the 16th- Half Day, dismissal at 12:15 p.m. // Start of Winter Break //
School resumes on January 3, 2012
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http://www.baltimorelabschool.org/content/schoolcalendar
DRA GON NEWS
WWW.BA LTIMORELA BSCHOOL.ORG
6 characters
in search of
an author
by luigi pirandello
wednesday november 16, 2011 7:30 pm
rehearsal & performance ensemble
lab @ lof/t
Load of Fun Theatre (lof/t) is at 120 W. North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201
http://loadoffun.net
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DRA GON NEWS
WWW.BA LTIMORELA BSCHOOL.ORG