General
News
December 17, 2004
Have
a wonderful and safe holiday! See you on January 3, 2005.
Amanda
A. Burton
LS
Technology &
Communications
Specialist
Health Room News
All the students in Grades Pre-K – 6 (second grade pending) have
received instructions on proper handwashing techniques. They have learned
when, why, and how to wash through songs, stories, and puzzles. They also
learned the importance of not sharing your germs with others by covering your
mouth. Continued reinforcement will be the key.
* There is antibacterial soap in dispensers on the wall in the
Cafeteria where the lines form. Please encourage the students to use
them. *
Reminders
- All students with
a positive strep test must be on antibiotics for 24 hours before
returning to school.
- Students must be
fever-free for 24 hours before attending school.
- Students with
pink eye/conjunctivitis must be on eye medication and have no further
drainage to participate in class.
No confirmed cases of flu have been identified in
school to this date.
Have a wonderful holiday season.
Janet O’Neil, R.N.
FCDS Events Available
on Video
Videos of many FCDS events are
now being made available on DVD and VHS format. Currently available are: The
Apple (MS play), the MS Orchestra and Band Holiday Program, and the MS
Choral Holiday Program. The US
play and the LS Grandparents’ Day Program are coming soon. All proceeds
from video sales support FCDS programs. Copies are $15 each. To order videos,
please visit the FCDS website (http://www.fcds.org/video/fcds/fcds_video.asp),print
the order form, and return it to FCDS with your check.
Is Your Child Ready for School?
What is the ideal cut-off date for school entrance?
How can parents know
when their child is ready?
Will waiting a year
to begin school damage a child’s self-esteem?
You are invited to hear Judith Kuhn, developmental placement specialist (and
our very own Assistant Lower School Director), answer these and other
questions. She has more than 25 years of experience as a developmental
examiner and kindergarten teacher. If interested, please make plans to attend
one of the following sessions:
Monday, January 10, 2005
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Brown Lecture Hall, Johnson Academic Center
Forsyth Country Day School, 5501 Shallowford Road, Lewisville, NC 27023
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Athletics
Frank Spencer National
Basketball Tournament
The FCDS Varsity Boys'
Basketball team has been invited to participate in the Frank Spencer National
Holiday Classic, a prestigious tournament featuring local and national teams.
The tournament will take place December 27-29 at the Lawrence Joel Veterans
Memorial Coliseum. Come out and support your Furies team! For tickets, please
call Peter Huestis, Athletic Director, at 945-3151 extension 395.
Hello Fury Fans!
I want to take a moment
and thank each of you for your continued support of the Forsyth Country
Day School athletic
department. Our 48 teams, more than 400 athletes, our dedicated group of
nearly 60 coaches, and the school administration appreciate all that you do!
I also want to thank you, our fans, for the good sportsmanship you have
shown, and will continue to exhibit, at Fury athletic events.
Sadly, this letter comes
on the heels of one of the ugliest incidents in sports history. On the
evening of November 19, the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers of the NBA
engaged in an ugly brawl involving players, coaches, and fans. While the
differences between a professional sporting event and our next FCDS athletic
event are clear, we must be proactive in helping to create and maintain a
culture of good sportsmanship within the FCDS athletic community.
Poor ethics in athletics
is not an issue we can ignore:
-
Fall 2004: the North Carolina
public school soccer championship game was marred by a fan (also a parent of
a player from the losing team) who dumped water on the referee following a
confrontation - charges are pending.
-
Good
referees are hard to find: 463 game officials were surveyed in
2002 by the National Federation of High Schools, all of whom had resigned as
active officials in their respective states.
Poor sportsmanship by participants was the reason 105 officials left
the “profession” and another 96 officials cited poor
sportsmanship by spectators as the last straw – totaling 43 percent who
no longer officiate due to poor sportsmanship
-
Athletic cultures must change: a 2004 Sportsmanship Survey conducted by the Josephson Institute of Ethics asked
4,200 high school athletes to respond to various questions:
o Forty-seven percent of males and 19 percent of females
admit to “trash talking” during competition
o Thirty percent of males feel it is acceptable to
throw at a batter following a home run
o Fifty-six percent of males and 43 percent of
females believe successful people do what they have to do to win even if others
consider it cheating
o Twenty-seven percent
of males and 13 percent of females disagree that a coach should be more
concerned with character building and teaching positive life skills than
winning
o Forty-six percent of all athletes believe it is
acceptable to take a point in tennis on a line call by an umpire even if that
player knew the call should go the other way
-
Saturday, November 20, 2004: ESPN
college football analyst Trev Alberts said during an ESPN telecast that "Sportsmanship
is at an all-time low in this country.”
At FCDS, we can and will
rise above all of this. The culture of Fury athletics encourages respect for
self, respect for others, and respect for the game. In order to maintain this culture, FCDS has a
zero-tolerance policy when it comes to poor sportsmanship exhibited by our
coaches, players, and fans. Negative or derogatory “cheering,” or
actions directed at opponents, coaches, officials, or other fans will not be
tolerated during FCDS athletic events.
Also, in order to preserve a safe and positive playing environment at
FCDS, areas behind and surrounding teams’ benches will be marked as
“off limits” to all but FCDS athletic/administrative
officials.
Please check our
schedule of athletic events at: http://www.furiesonline.com/schedule.asp.
I look forward to seeing you as we all join together to encourage good
sportsmanship by demonstrating positive support for all players, coaches, and
officials at every game and practice. We count on you, our fans, to make lots
of noise and be a factor in the success of all our athletes and teams...in a
positive way!
Happy holidays and GO
FURIES!
Peter B Huestis
Athletic Director
945-3151, ext. 395
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Fine
Arts
Fine Arts Council
Does your child like to sing, draw, play a musical instrument, act, paint, or
perform stand-up comedy? If so, the arts are important to your child.
The Fine Arts Council is a Parents' Association Committee that works with
Rick Gomez, Fine Arts Director, and the Arts Department faculty to support
the fine arts curriculum.
Please support the Fine Arts Council by becoming a Patron of the Arts. Please
mail your check for $50 made payable to the FCDS Parents' Association to
Jackie Yates, 236 Stanaford Road,
Winston-Salem, NC 27104.
Money raised through Fine Arts Council dues goes toward the purchase of arts
materials.
If you would like to volunteer your time by supporting the Fine Arts Council,
please e-mail the Parents' Association at parentsassociation@fcds.org.
The Community
School of Visual Arts
Presents:
Ring Making
Taught by Margaret Holt, Upper
School Visual Arts instructor
Thursdays, January 6 -27:
3:45-5:45 p.m.
Upper School
Art Room
Learn basic soldering techniques and
how to form different kinds of rings.
Open to students in grades 8-12.
Cost: $125.00
margaretholt@fcds.org
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Library/Technology
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Upper School
A message from Upper School Director Joel Cordray: This past Saturday, I
had the chance to attend the dedication of the Habitat for Humanity house built
by FCDS students (in cooperation with students from other local schools). Impressively,
students raised the money to fund all building costs, coordinated student
volunteers, and last Saturday gave the keys to a deserving young
family. It was truly an awesome experience to realize that a mother
would have a home in which to raise her young children, solely because of
student efforts.
Chloe Kontos and Taylor Williams, FCDS
student directors for Habitat for Humanity, along with all the student
volunteers, should be extremely proud of their accomplishments – we
certainly are of them. Their efforts have positively changed the lives
of a family and impacted the greater Winston-Salem
community. We are honored by your efforts!
On Saturday, December 11, the
Parent's Together Group from The Special Children's School hosted a "Breakfast with Santa" at St.
Leo's Catholic Church and many of our Upper School
students volunteered to lend a hand. When the families arrived, Stuart Joyce
greeted them and explained all the activities available at “Breakfast
with Santa.” Erin Glasgow, Kait Miles, Gaby
Scarritt, Stephen Pond, Wes Sterling, Luke Skelly,
Coty Lee, and Chris Logan helped the students decorate ornaments, write a
letter to Santa, operate a fishing booth, bowl, decorate a gift bag, and
paint faces. Additionally, Chris Logan helped an Elf take pictures of
families with Santa. Thanks to our Upper
School students who
volunteered and helped spread the holiday spirit!
Upcoming
Deadlines for SAT/ACT Testing are:
When registering, please always
include the ETS/College Board code for
FCDS: 344421
(This ensures your scores are sent to the school and included on your
transcripts.)
SAT Registration (Jan SATs are the “Old SAT”)
Registration
Deadlines
Scores
Available Scores
Test
Date
Regular
Late*
Online/By Phone Mailed
Jan
22 12/20 12/29
2/4 2/12
Mar 12** 2/7 2/16 3/28 4/8
May 7 3/25 4/6 5/23 6/3
June 4 4/29 5/11
6/20 7/1
*SAT late registration fee of additional $20
**Juniors: The “New SAT” will be given the
first time on March 12.
Registration for the test is now available online at www.collegeboard.com.
ACT Registration
Test
Date
Registration
Deadlines
Regular
Late*
Feb 12** 1/7
1/8-21
Apr 9 3/4 3/5-18
June 11 5/6
5/7-20
*ACT late registration fee of additional $17
**Optional writing portion available for the first time and on
all future ACT dates.
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Middle School
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Lower School
Pre-Kindergarten: Pre-K is full of holiday cheer! In addition to activities to review
letter people Ms. S and Ms. V, we’ve been busy making holiday
decorations and gifts, learning holiday songs and rhymes, and making class
books about some of our favorite people, our grandparents! We are glad to be
having grandparents and parents visit our school, and we certainly do love
singing the songs we’ve learned for the program. We would like to send
our thanks to all you wonderful parents for your kind gestures toward us, for
your help with our classes’ holiday parties, and for sending us your
most special gifts, your children. Happy Holidays!
Kindergarten: The holidays are a happy time to be around young
children. There is much excitement and anticipation. In the midst of the enthusiasm
of the season, we have also been teaching about the letter E. With the
addition of another vowel, we have discovered that we can sound out many new
words. The students have learned some new songs and played some new games
that the teachers heard about at a kindergarten conference. Our classes have
also decorated candy houses to use as centerpieces at the Grandparents’
Breakfast. We wish all of you a happy and peaceful holiday season. See you in
January.
First Grade: Happy Holidays to
everyone! First grade has been touched with the magic of the season and we
can hardly wait to perform on Grandparents’ Day for those we love. We
are also excited about a visit from Santa later this month. Have a wonderful
Holiday Season and we will see you in the New Year!
Second Grade: We had a great time making gingerbread houses in
second grade this week. We also made gifts for our wonderful parents,
who gave us a holiday party on Thursday. Thank you to all the parents who
helped! The games were fun and the crafts are beautiful. Enjoy the holidays,
and we look forward to seeing everyone again on January 3!
Third Grade: Third graders enjoyed Mr. Battle’s reading of The Best
Christmas Pageant Ever this
week. Having our school’s headmaster read this story to the third grade
has become an annual tradition and has gone on for at least 17 years! Thanks
to our grade-mothers for wonderful holiday parties, and we wish for you the
merriest of holidays! Stay safe and warm!
Fourth Grade: We have enjoyed many special
activities these past few weeks in addition to our regular studies. Fourth
graders have performed at Hanes Mall, practiced for Grandparents’ Day,
heard Hanukkah stories, and participated in holiday activities in homerooms.
We hope you have a very happy and relaxing holiday vacation!
Art: The kindergarten
students dreamed about their own “Starry Night” in art. They were
introduced to the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh and saw his interpretation
of a starry night. After seeing this incredible painting, the students used
their imagination to create their own master piece using tempera paint.
Science:
Pre-K: This week Mrs. Mahoney’s class came to
science. We briefly discussed the weather and how it changes this time of year.
We learned a little about the process of evaporation, cloud formation, and
precipitation. We even came up with some different examples of kinds of
precipitation. This led into a discussion about snow, which is a great thing
to learn about this time of the year! We looked at several photographs of
snowflakes and then created our own by using a special crystal solution and
placing pipe-cleaners in the solution over night. The “snowflake
crystals” turned out beautiful and even better than the real thing since
ours won’t ever melt!
Kindergarten: We
finished our Magnet Unit this week in kindergarten science, just in time for
the holiday break! We sure learned a lot about magnets and the properties of
magnetism! Children loved playing “Go Fishing” which served as a
fun assessment tool. Children were given a “fishing pole” and
they had to try and “catch a fish” by using the magnet tied to
the end of their pole and attracting it to the magnet on the paper fish. On
the back side of the paper fish was a trivia question about something they
learned about magnets. If they correctly answered the question, the fish got
to go into our bucket. If the question was answered incorrectly, the fish had
to be thrown back. Every child took a turn fishing…we had lots of fun!
First: We are beginning our study of the sense of
sight. Why do you blink? By
playing a game, the students in my class discovered the answer to this
question. We did several hands-on activities with our eyes to learn how we
see and what happens when light gets into our eyes. We will continue our
study of this important sense after the holidays. I wish for all of you a
peaceful and joyous holiday time with your family.
Second Grade: The children took home their “Planet Pocket
Guides” this week. They did a great job. Also, we loved learning about
day and night and what causes this change, and about the different phases of
the moon. This also led to an interesting discussion about lunar and solar
eclipse. Ask your second grader all about it!
Third Grade: Children loved constructing their “snowman
thermometers” this week in science. They turned out great. Make sure
you hang them in a good spot so they make accurate readings!
Fourth Grade: It was all about DENSITY this week in fourth grade science! We did a
fun demonstration in which we used our own bodies to represent molecules
inside a container. We saw how various liquids have high densities (the
“student molecules” very tightly packed) and others have lower
densities (the “student molecules” more spread out). We discussed
how this compared to the density of water. We also discovered that salt water
has a higher density than fresh water. Ask your fourth grader what happened
to the egg in the fresh water and then what happened to the egg in the salt water.
Children loved our “liquid layering” lab where they tried to
combine cooking oil, corn syrup, and water. We were amazed by the mixture and
saw that layers magically appeared in a different order from which we had
poured them in. We discovered that it didn’t matter which order you
poured them, because every time they separate into the same layers. It all
has to do with the density of that liquid. Ask your fourth grader to tell you
a liquid that has more density than water and to tell you about a liquid that
has less density than water.
Technology
Pre-K Technology: Brrrrr !! It certainly got cold in our computer lab this
Wednesday. We took a visit to the North Pole (Northpole.com that is!). The
children were able to listen to many stories told by the elves and also do
many activities such as decorating a snowman and a Christmas tree as well as
matching games and coloring pages. They may wish to visit this website at
home to explore more of the fun activities. Have a Wonderful Holiday and a Happy New Year!
Kindergarten:
We did not meet this week due to the Holiday
programs going on. In January, we will start using the Excel program to do
some fun computer activities. Have a Wonderful Holiday and a Happy New Year!
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