Trips and Summer Programs

At Friday afternoon's Chat we talked about . . .

Summer Program registration is ongoing. Have you signed up? Take a look at the Summer Programs section of the web site for the remarkable array of offerings. And please spread the word. This is a wonderful way for friends and neighbors to experience a bit of WCFS.

The fourth grade returned from Echo Hill Friday afternoon, which prompted a discussion of the range of field trip opportunities from pre-k through fifth grade. Trips enhance the curriculum in ways that allow us to go beyond the "four walls" of our school. On overnight trips, like Echo Hill and the fifth grade trip to DC, students also learn from the experience of travel itself and of living together as a group.

Campaign Video

I am proud to present this video that provides a glimpse into the life of our school. It was created for the Campaign for Friends and premiered at the auction earlier this month.

Many thanks to board member Randy Lyons for his support of this project, and to Pascal Dieckmann for his gift of cinematography.

Curricular Integration Through the Arts

Those who attended either concert this week saw curricular integration in action. The selection of songs for several grades complemented units of study in other areas such as reading and social studies. The first grade sang songs related to the Civil Rights movement; the second grade performed "The Weary Blues" (Langston Hughes) and other extensions of their study of Jazz; the third grade sang songs from the Underground Railroad; and the fourth grade sang songs based on some of their biography report subjects. Even though many fifth graders were home with the flu, we had a brief preview of their year-end show: Your a Good Man Charlie Brown!

Here We GrOw !

"Libraries are not made; they grow." - Augustine Birrell

Groundbreaking was celebrated this morning as the children and teachers turned the soil, preparing the ground from which our new library building will grow. Teacher John Scardina led us in singing "The Library Song" - original lyrics by the Iacobucci girls set to the tune of "The Garden Song". Students also tied notes to the construction fence with good wishes for the workers who begin digging the basement tomorrow!

Auction Kudos and All-School Unit News

I received a lot of positive comments about the successful auction last night. Those in attendance enjoyed the new venue, delicious food, and - most importantly - good company. There was a happy buzz in the room and lots of active bidding. Heartfelt thanks to the many volunteers and to Leslie Rahling, Karen Iacobucci, and Kathy Davis for their hard work on another wonderful event.

A new video created for the capital campaign was premiered at the auction and was received with emotional enthusiasm. It will be posted on the web site soon. Stay tuned . . .

Next year's All-School Unit theme follows from this year's theme, in which we learned to take care of the environment. "The Environment of Ourselves: Healthy Mind, Body and Spirit" will be the theme for 2008-09.