Voice Newsletter
Updated January 6, 2010
Andrew S. ’11 works with Lower School children on teaching materials he will take on the Uganda Winterim trip.
News From Jordan Elliott
Welcome
back from what I hope was a restful and rejuvenating winter vacation
for you and your children. I think I can speak for the faculty
and staff that we are glad to be back at school and working with
students. It will be a busy month as we wrap up the First
Semester which ends Thursday, January 28, and move into Second
Semester that brings the promises of new classes, Winterim, Mount Hood
Climb Service Day and, of course, the commencement of the class of 2010.
Concurrent with the normal rhythm of school, the community has been engaged in a process of listening sessions that will lead to the creation of a vision statement and the beginning of our Head of School search. You should have received detailed information on this process in email communications but I want to take a moment here to encourage you to come to one of the listening session reports this Wednesday, January 6, and one of the vision statement sessions on Thursday, January 28. We most certainly want the voice of US parents represented!
I wanted to make special note here that we will not have school on Monday, January 18 to honor Martin Luther King Jr. An earlier version of the year-long calendar might have shown this as a school day so please make note of this change.
Calendar of Upcoming Events
- Jan. 6 - Listening Sessions 8:30-10:00 am; 1:30-3:00 pm; 6-8:00 pm
- Jan. 6 - Back-to-Campus Ice Cream Social, 3-4:00 pm, Great hall
- Jan. 6 - Dorm Family Dinner Night, 6-7:00 pm, Dining Hall
- Jan. 11 - 10th Grade PAL Meeting, 8-9:30 am
- Jan. 13 - China Design Now Parent Education & Social
- Jan. 13 - Dorm Family Dinner Night, 6-7:00 pm, Dining Hall
- Jan. 14 - Community Diversity Link Mtg, 8-9:30 am
- Jan. 14 - China Design Now Parent Education & Social
- Jan. 14 - MS & US Information Evening, 7-8:30 pm, Great Hall
- Jan. 15-17: OMEA Conference and All-State in Eugene
- Jan. 16 - Dancing with the Stars Semi-Formal, 8-11:00 pm
- Jan. 18 - No school. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Listening Sessions with Ian Symmonds (New)
Wednesday January 6
Ian Symmonds will share the results of the listening sessions he and his firm conducted in November with over 200 community members. Everyone interested in hearing how the community described OES's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges can attend any of three sessions throughout the day.
8:30 – 10:00 am in Middle School Commons
1:30 – 3:00 pm in Middle School Commons
6:00 – 8:00 pm in Middle School Commons
These sessions are also your chance to give Ian feedback on the results. Do they accurately characterize the OES you know?
Thursday January 28
Using listening session results as well as the feedback you offer on January 6, the Vision Steering Committee will create a vision statement for OES, and present it to you on January 28, at the following times:
8:30 – 10:00 am in Middle School Commons
1:30 – 3:00 pm in Middle School Commons
6:00 – 8:00 pm in Middle School Commons
This
vision statement will serve as the foundation for the development of
OES's new strategic plan, and the job description for our next Head of
School.
Please put these dates in your calendar. Your participation is important to the future of OES.
Winter Plays (New)
Mark your calenders now for the Winter One-Acts. Three short plays written by seniors, directed by the playwrights, and performed by students will be performed in the Great Hall February 24-27, 2010. Tickets will go on sale February 1st so watch for details in the Voice.
Semi-Formal Dance "Dancing with the Stars" (New)
The OES Semi-Formal Dance “Dancing with the Stars” will be held on Saturday the 16th of January at the Crown Ballroom. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $15 a person (cash or charge) or $18 at the door (cash or charge).
Dress: blazers and ties or semi-formal
dresses and SPARKLES! Students may invite one person from outside
OES if the date is registered by Wednesday 13 at 3:00pm.
Crown Ballroom (accessible from the MAX).
918 SW Yamhill, 5th floor (www.crownballroom.com),
Saturday, January 16,
8-11:00 pm
Questions? Contact
Katrina Perry
JOIN OES PARENTS AT CHINA DESIGN NOW ! (New)
SIGN UP ASAP, REGISTRATION CLOSES FRIDAY, JANUARY 8!
Wednesday, January 13 Daytime Program, 11:30am-1:45pm Tour, followed by lunch, or 12:45-3:00pm, lunch followed by Tour.
Thursday, January 14 Evening Program, 5:45pm-8:00pm. Tour Followed by Reception.
Support parent education and learn more about our diverse global community by joining fellow OES parents in exploring the Portland Art Museum’s CHINA DESIGN NOW exhibit. OES has arranged docent-led tours of the exhibit, a community lunch and a hors d’oeuvres reception. Each tour will be a small, personal experience. Guest speakers will be featured at both the lunch and the evening reception to enhance your learning and to answer any questions you have about the exhibit. Don't miss this fantastic opportunity sponsored by PAL and the Community Diversity Link. Cost: $9.00 per person.Questions? Contact . Register at www.mysignup.com/OESChinaDesignNow
Community Diversity Link Announcements (new)
CDL Mid-Year Planning Meeting
Thurs, Jan 14, 8-9:30am, Drinkward Center Volunteer Room
All interested parents are invited to participate in our mid-year meeting as we create new programs for second semester and look ahead at ideas for next year. Community Diversity Link sponsors book discussions, speakers, special events and other projects to raise parent awareness of diversity in our global, local and school communities. New ideas are most welcome. Please join us if you are interested in helping out or just learning more about our work.
Books and Breakfast
Friday, Feb 19, 8:00-9:30am, OES Dining Hall
Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
By Barack Obama
In
recognition of Black History Month, our February book discussion will
feature the autobiography of Barack Obama, our country’s first Black
President. In this highly-praised memoir written before his political
ascendance, Obama shares his emotional journey to understand his own
family heritage and racial identity as the son of an absent Black
African father and a white American mother. Obama is candid about
racism and poverty and the story resonates with universal themes of
love, obligation and loss while offering insights into the unusual life
and unique multicultural background of our current commander-in-chief.
Copies for sale in the Gallery Store for benefit of OES libraries.
Upcoming Books and Breakfast Discussion (date pending):
Half The Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity For Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Contacts: Co-Chairs
503.292.6609 and
Anne Nedrow
Winterim 2010 - Update (New)
All
students are now registered. Our first preparation meeting with
students will be during X period Thursday, January 14. Your
student should come home with more information on that afternoon. In a
new and wonderful initiative, we are hoping to cover most of the costs
for on-campus courses during Winterim 2010. That means some of
you will receive a Winterim charge with your child’s monthly
billing. Some of you will not. There will continue to be a charge
for all trips and all courses which leave campus. Because this is the
first year, and because we allow students to choose from a wide range
of courses, the budget process has been difficult and imprecise. In
some instances, even if your student does not leave campus, there may
be a fee. Rest assured that the fee will be a small fraction of
the full cost of the course. Feel free to contact me if you have
questions! Hope Stevens
Aardy’s Party 2010, The Age of Aquarius (New)
We hope you catch the groovy auction spirit this year! Exciting plans are underway and we invite you to get involved.
Next meeting Thursday, January 21, 1:00 p.m. in the Charlton Room.
Help
Wanted: Would you like a sneak peek at the auction items? Do you have
good computer skills and prefer to work behind the scenes? Do you have
a couple of hours a week to spare in January and March? If so, we could
use your help in Data Entry. In addition, we could use extra hands in
some other fun auction planning areas: Silent Auction, Catalog Writing,
and Auction Night Clean Up. Email Lacie
Notable Women Making a Difference in the World (New)
Oregon Episcopal School invites female students to participate in various panel discussions within the OES Notable Women Series. Through The Notable Women Series, OES hopes to expose OES female students to a diversity of leadership roles that can be used to help improve the world.
The panel discussion, Notable Women Making a Difference in the World, will take place on January 21, 2010 from 7:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. in the Upper School Pit. Light breakfast will be served. We look forward to sharing this wonderful opportunity with female upper school students at OES. Questions? Contact Bonnie Brennan or Hope Stevens for Notable Women Committee.
Financial Aid (New)
Families
interested in or pursuing financial aid: Please be aware that the first
deadline for the OES application is February 12th. Try to
complete your taxes as soon as possible – copies of the tax forms will
be expected in early March. If you think you might be interested
in pursuing financial aid for the coming year, contact Rob Orr
Admissions applications are now available for 2010-2011 (New)
2010-2011 Admissions applications are due by Monday, February 1st!
If you are considering OES for another child in your family, please stop by or contact
Admissions Office
If you have friends, neighbors, or business associates who are
interested in OES, please forward this information to them and
encourage them to contact us soon. Pre-K and Kindergarten sibling and faculty/staff applicants will have their assessment day on Saturday, January 30. If you are planning to apply, please contact
Emily Pritchard
Safety Concern (New)
The occasional snow and ice that we get here in Portland creates hazards for drivers, and lures us all out to play. What many of us don’t realize, though, is that frozen rivers, lakes, and ponds can be highly dangerous. In Portland we rarely have temperatures consistently cold enough to freeze more than the top couple inches of water, which means the ice can easily break if people try to walk on it. When the wetlands froze over in December, teachers and administrators had to ask several US students to come in off of the ice. As demonstrated in this recent tragic story, falling through the ice can easily be fatal.
Please help us remind students not to play on the wetlands or other frozen bodies of water when the temperatures drop.
Midwinter Madness (New)
WINTER FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT “RUN FOR CONGO WOMEN”
The Upper School’s annual winter fundraiser, Midwinter Madness, this year will again raise money for humanitarian aid to women and children in war-torn Congo through the organization “Run for Congo Women.” This cluster of fun, student-planned and student-run events will take place Jan. 28-Feb. 10. Parents are encouraged to attend and support the various Midwinter Madness events.
This year’s planned events include:
- CRUSH sales, in which students (and parents!) can send a bottle of CRUSH soda to someone they have a “crush” on.
- The annual Senior-Faculty Basketball Game, at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, in the OES gym. Admission: $3.
- PowderTuff Volleyball, in which teams of boys will compete in 6 v. 6 volleyball, at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at SPARC.
- The Mother of All Bake Sales, Tuesday-Friday, Feb 2-5 in the Great Hall, from 7:30 a.m. until baked goods run out each day.
- The Midwinter Madness Dance, 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6. Admission TBA.
- Powderpuff Football, in which teams of girls from each of the Upper School classes play flag football, at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, on the OES turf field. Admission: $5
Other events are still in the planning stages! Stay tuned.
Parents, please be aware that students will be allowed to charge Midwinter Madness purchases to their OES accounts. You may wish to discuss with your child some limitations on these charges. Midwinter Madness purchases may also be made with cash or with checks made out to OES (please indicate “Midwinter Madness/Run for Congo Women” in the memo space). Approximately 50-75 percent of all Midwinter Madness purchases are tax-deductible, depending on the event/item.
More information about “Run for Congo Women” is available at the organization’s website: http://www.runforcongowomen.org/
If you have questions about Midwinter Madness, please contact the faculty coordinator,
Chris Myers
US PAL invites you to 'Get Schooled'. (New)
Please join us on Friday, February 5 at 7:00 PM and take one of the following classes taught by our US faculty members:
- Islam: Foundations and Contemporary Issues
- Wild About Bees: The Natural History of Wild and Domesticated Bees
- Fiction: Contemporary Fiction: Asian themes
- Poetry!: Oh, Yes, You CAN Do Poetry
- The Social Web: Dive into online collaborating, communication and understand the impact on privacy
- Sing, Sing, Sing: Regardless of when you last sang, well learn a song together. And maybe premiere on campus
We'll meet afterward for dessert in the Great Hall. For more information and to sign up for a class go to: www.mysignup.com/getschooled. Please contact your PAL rep (9: Betsy Leonard 10: Sarah Grewe 11: Eileen Pilkenton 12: Will Ilcisin) if we can help answer any questions.
Class Notes
Freshman Class
9th Grade PAL. Next meeting dates are: February 1, April 5, and May 3. Questions? Contact Betsy Leonard, 503/954-1133.
Sophomore Class
10th Grade PAL. Next meeting dates are: January 11 (Guild Rm), February 8, April 12, and May 10. Contact Sarah Grewe, 503/292-9609.
Junior Class
11th Grade PAL.
Our January meeting will be on a Tuesday, January 19, 2010 due to the MLK Jr. holiday. This meeting will be held in the Guild Room.
Jeffrey Sprague will be joining us to talk about technology as it is
currently used at OES, as well as how it may be used in the future. If
you have any questions or topics you'd like to have covered this year,
please contact Eileen Pilkenton at 503.297.8548.
Senior Class
12th Grade PAL.
Next meeting dates are on Mondays: January 25, February 23 (Tuesday),
April 26, and May 24. Questions? Contact Will Ilcisin, 503/642-9751.
In February, the 12th Grade PAL will be discussing two books: The Launching Years: Strategies for Parenting fro Senior Year to College Life by Laura Kastner and Jennifer Wyatt, and Letting Go (Fifth Edition): A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger. Please join us!
Link to message regarding events leading up to Graduation 2010. Please note that the Senior Farewell on the attached link has been changed to 4:30 pm on June 16. The Family Dinner will begin at approximately 5:30 pm.
To submit information for the Voice, please email
Carlene Traverso