5.12.17

Dear Parents:

This week has ended by showcasing some of the best of Good Hope Country Day School.

In the upper school, our seniors gave presentations on their senior theses, covering topics ranging from key principles of teamwork, to LGBTQ Inequality in America.   This is one of the projects that best prepares our students for the rigors of college and we look forward to enhancing the overall process next year.

Our seniors also delighted guests this morning in the library by recreating Paris in the 1920’s, a culminating activity in Josh Canning’s literature class which brings everything to life and unleashes student creativity. C’est fantastique!

Yesterday our 5^th and 6^th graders presented parts of their Oral History projects, with many of their distinguished interviewees in attendance! These culminating projects include interviews, timelines, research papers, poems, portraits, and more. We heard stories of self-made immigrants from Vietnam and stories of refugees from Nazi Germany. It highlighted the richness of our community – how much we can learn from each other – and just how meaningful and purposeful learning can be when it is structured well.

I am also pleased to report that despite the torrential rains we have not had flooding in the gym or in the library since December, thanks to our flood mitigation work. We still have much work to do to eliminate flooding entirely from the campus – we have run about 10 miles of a 26.2-mile marathon. But what we have done thus far we have done well and it has already had a positive impact on learning and productivity.

Happy Mother’s Day and have a wonderful prom weekend!

Kari

 

• Hot Topics in Education

• Quick Announcements

• ¡Gracias! Merci! Thank You!

• Around Campus

• Parents’ Association

• Key Dates

Hot Topics in Education

“Owning Your Own Future,” By Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, May 10, 2017. This is an important reality check for all of us and a reminder of the need for continuous learning and improvement, everywhere.

“How Schools Can Help Students Develop a Greater Sense of Purpose,” By Linda Flanagan, Kqed.org, May 2, 1017. I’d like to think the projects I mentioned above help accomplish this.

Quick Announcements

 

Please RSVP by end of day Saturday, 13th.  The song for the father daughter dance competition will be “Dance like yo’ daddy” by Meghan Trainor.

Around Campus

Fifth and Sixth Grade Oral History Tea

Every other year fifth and sixth graders are involved in an oral history project, interviewing relatives, researching important historical events connected with their subjects’ lives, organizing all of this information into well-crafted narratives, and weaving important images from the history into  poetry.  This year we began the unit with a visit by local historian, Karen Thurland, who spoke to the students about the importance of oral history especially in understanding the history of the Caribbean.  This Wednesday afternoon, after months of interviewing, researching, writing and revising, subjects of the oral histories were invited to a tea, when children recited  their poems and gifted their family members with their work.   It was a wonderful event with memories, smiles, tears and hugs…and of course delicious snacks. Thanks so very much to Ms. Sundaram and Ms. Fauquher for all their work with the students, and to parents and grandparents for being part of this important learning experience.

7th Grade Global Challenge Project

In the second semester this year seventh graders were involved in a World Challenge project connected with the Model United Nations program.  Each student chose to explore one of the following topics:  Hunger, Education Inequality, Gender Inequality, Global Health, Global Environmental Challenges, and Social Media.  The inquiry project encourages students to explore the local, national, and global applications of the problems, consider a wide range of perspectives in generating solutions to these complex problems, and present solutions in a meaningful way.   On Thursday the seventh graders shared their work with parents and visiting fifth/sixth graders.   Congratulations to Ms. Beach and her 7th graders for making the afternoon of sharing a success.  Thanks to all parents who attended the afternoon.

 

Congratulations to Mario Capriola, Faith Snow, and Bianca Patterson who were part of the Coral Reef Research Program since March.

Congressional Art Competition Winners!

Congratulations to Julian Bishop, who won first place in the Congressional Art Competition, a nationwide annual art competition initiated by members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, that allows high school students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories to showcase their artistic ability. Congratulations to Elise Stamper for winning third place.

 

Excelling in Martial Arts

Weekend before last, several GHCDS students attended a martial arts tournament at Central High School.  Competing in kata (a sequence of pre-organized punches & kicks), all of our students placed either 1st or 3^rd  out of a large field of contestants.

In addition, Kara Barton (left) traveled to another tournament in Puerto Rico this past weekend and took  1^st places in kumite (fighting) and kata.

SCYC 2017 Summer Sailing Program

Optimist, Sunfish and 420 classes taught by our Instructors and will be held at St. Croix Yacht Club for youth ages 8 to 18.  Sea Squirt classes will be held for youth ages 5 to 7.

Non-members are welcome.

Our program strives to create a fun and safe environment where kids can learn and come to love the sport of sailing. We emphasize the importance of teamwork, respect, and safety in daily lessons. Our number one goal is to pass on our passion for the sport to the next generation of St. Croix Sailors.

Schedule:   Mon-Fri 9:00am-3:00pm

• SESSION 1: June 5 – June 16, 2017
• SESSION 2: June 19- June 30, 2017
• SESSION 3: July 3 – July 14, 2017
• SESSION 4: July 17 – July 28, 2017
• SESSION 5: July 31 – August 11, 2017 – pending level of interest

Registration:
Please contact the SCYC office to register with credit card, or stop and pay by check.
340-773-9531

Downloadable Registration Form

www.stcroixyc.com/page-18084​

Key Dates

• May 15-19                                         ERB Testing – Grades 7-8
• May 16-19                                         St. John Trip – Grade 5
• Friday, May 13                                 Prom
• Friday, May 19                                 Middle & Upper School Choral, Band, and Steel Pan Concert
• Wednesday, May 24                        Lower School Concert – Grades 1-6
• Friday, May 26                                 Orange, White and Blue Day – Grades 7-12; Beach Day – Grades 1-6
• Monday, May 29                       No School: Memorial Day
• Wednesday, May 31                       Senior Awards Celebration
• Thursday, Jun. 1                              Field Day – Grades 1-6; 8^th Grade Celebration
• Friday, Jun. 2                                   Early dismissal 11:30am
• Friday, Jun. 2                                   12^th Grade Graduation

 

This Week in Sports

This Week In Sports

Hi Panther Families,

Congratulations to our Elementary Soccer Panthers on their Championship win last Friday! Congratulations to our JV Soccer Panthers on their Championship win on Wednesday! We are hopeful that our Varsity Soccer Panthers will continue the trend, with Playoffs beginning Monday versus Central at Central.

JV softball and baseball had some weather setbacks this week.  Playoffs are today (Friday) for JV baseball and softball, and we’ll be pulling for them! If they win, they’ll play again Monday for baseball, and Tuesday for JV softball, which changed from Monday to Tuesday.

The Elementary Volleyball Panthers will be rolling into Playoffs on Tuesday, as long as we make the top four.  We’ll let parents and athletes know the standings and game locations on Monday evening, as our final regular season match will be Monday.

We’ve had a successful year with uniform collections, but we’ll need to collect soccer, softball, baseball and volleyball by the end of next week, as Middle and Upper School athletes can’t participate in Orange and White and Blue day until all uniforms are returned. Please wash and return as soon as your athlete’s season is complete.

Thank you, and Go Panthers!

Coach Amy

 

Games This Week

Monday:

• Varsity Soccer Playoffs vs. Central @ Central-Taxi one way
• Possible JV Baseball Playoffs
• Elem Vball vs. AA @ Home 3:30-short practice after

 

Tuesday:

• Elementary Volleyball Playoffs
• JV Soccer All Star Match-up Game @ Home (a mixture of the top 4 teams will compete with and against each other) 4:00-It’s a Chili Dog Game Day!
• Possible JV Softball Champs-if/WHEN we win Friday

 

Wednesday:

• Varsity Soccer Finals if/WHEN we win Monday

 

Thursday:

• Elementary Volleyball Champs if/WHEN we win Tuesday @ Woodson

 

Friday: All Competitions for 2016-2017 should be finished! Hopefully weather cooperates!

 

Practices This Week:

• Elementary Volleyball: Monday-short practice after match.

 

 

Class Of 2017 College Acceptances

italicized bold denotes matriculation

Christopher Ashley: United States Naval Academy; Rochester Institute of Technology; Lehigh University; Stevens Institute of Technology

Mario Capriola: Drew University with scholarship; Ursinus College w/ scholarship; Loyola University, New Orleans; Clark University w/scholarship; Eckerd College w/scholarship; Loyola University, Maryland w/scholarship; Adelphi University

Hailey Coates: Fordham University with scholarship;American University; Drexel University; Loyola University, Chicago, with scholarship; Ursinus College, with scholarship

Thea D’Eramo: University of Notre Dame with scholarship;  Pepperdine University with the Regents Scholarship

Deandra Erysthee: New York Institute of Technology; Pace University; Barry University

J’had Ferris: University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas; Virginia Commonwealth University; Marymount Manhattan College with a Trustee’s scholarship; Florida A&M University; Temple University; Flagler College with a Presidential scholarship; University of Tampa w/scholarship; Columbia College, Chicago; Prairie View A&M University

Daniel Garriga-Cerni: Spanish Language Immersion Gap Year, Madrid, Spain; Manhattan College; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Kira Griffith: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chancellor’s Science Scholars Program; Harvard University; Yale University; Stanford University; University of Pennsylvania; Brown University; Duke University; University of Washington; Rice University; Williams College; Spelman College, Honors Program; University of Miami with the President’s Scholarship; Case Western Reserve University w/scholarship and as a  Finalist to their Pre-Professional Scholars Program; Emory University, College of Arts and Sciences and  Oxford College Scholar finalist

Shauni Lustig: Citizen Year Gap Program, Ecuador; Colorado State University; George Mason University; Colorado State University

Matthew Mays: Bryant University w/ Trustee Scholarship and athletic scholarship in swimming; Rider University with a Provost Scholarship and the President’s Leadership Award; George Washington University w/scholarship

Marshall McCormick: Texas Tech University; University of Houston; University of Texas, San Antonio; San Angelo State University

Sylvana Montealegre Hutchins: Drexel University w/scholarship; Savannah College of Art and Design; Columbia College, Chicago, Honors Program;

Chloe Phillips-Hayden: Gap Year, California; University of San Francisco, w/scholarship

Izhani Rosa: University of Tampa with scholarship; Florida Atlantic University; Flagler College; UVI, St. Thomas; Stetson University; Jacksonville University; Georgia Southern University; University of Central Florida

Faith Snow: United States Coast Guard Academy; University of San Diego; Stetson University; Florida Institute of Technology; Humboldt State University; Santa Clara University; Point Loma Nazarene University; Azuza Pacific University

Elise Stamper: Virginia Commonwealth University Honors College, Bio-medical Engineering Program; Carnegie Mellon University; Boston University, Honors College of Engineering; University of Maryland, College Park as a College Park Scholar; Drew University as a Baldwin Scholar w/scholarship; College of William and Mary

Aiden Stevens: Judson University with scholarship; University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Pratt Institute

Eva Taylor: Simmons College with scholarship; Drexel University w/scholarship; Loyola University, Chicago, with scholarship; Becker College w/scholarship; Sacred Heart University w/scholarship; Adelphi University; Wagner College

Jonathan Thomas: United States Air Force Academy; U.S. Military Academy, West Point; University of Utah, College of Engineering; Texas A&M, College of Engineering; Drew University w/Presidential Scholarship; Bryant University w/Archway Scholarship

Angel Tirado: Liberty University