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Voice Newsletter

Updated February 1, 2010

Old Girl/New Girl Tea

News From Jordan Elliott

Happy February!  The big event during the opening weeks of February is our student-parent-teacher conferences for sophomores and juniors.  All parents of students with conferences have received a customized email with your schedule.  We appreciate those of you who filled out the preference survey in advance; we are hopeful we have created a sound conference schedule.  I want to strongly encourage you, as parents, to bring your child to the conference.  Here at school, we give the same message through advisors.  Our experience is that conferences are a very powerful experience for students who attend.

Preparation for the Winter One-Acts, our student written and directed plays, are well under way.  We are all so proud of these productions and I encourage you to attend.  Tickets went on sale today!  This year, the One-Acts are a part of a fabulous “Arts Week” that includes the annual Matt Lyon Art Exhibit and bringing a myriad of artistic guests to campus.  Please check the webpage and look for posters around campus detailing all the events. 

Finally, I want to extend my thanks to all the parents, students, and teachers involved in making Midwinter Madness a wonderful fundraiser for the very worthy cause of Women for Women International.  I encourage you to participate in the parent-organized “Perambulation” on Thursday, February 4.  I also know that the faculty would very much appreciate your support at this Wednesday’s Senior - Faculty Basketball game.  We can use both monetary contributions to help us get a head start on the score board and vocal support at the event itself!

Calendar of Upcoming Event

• Feb. 1 - 9th Grade PAL Meeting, 8:00 am
• Feb. 1-9 - Midwinter Madness
• Feb. 3 - MM Senior-Faculty BB Game, 3:15
• Feb. 3 - Dorm Family Dinner Night, Dining Hall, 6:00 pm
• Feb. 3 - College Panel for Parents of Juniors, Great Hall, 7:00 pm
• Feb. 4 - MM Boys' Volleyball tournament, 3:15 pm
• Feb. 4 - Parent Perambulation, 7 am - 4 pm, OES Track
• Feb. 5 - "Get Schooled" Parent Class, GH, 7:00 pm
• Feb. 6 - MM Dance in MS Commons, 7:00 pm
• Feb. 8 - 10th Grade PAL Meeting, 8:00 am
• Feb. 8 - MM Powderpuff football, 3:15 pm
• Feb. 9 - AMC National Math Exam
• Feb. 9-12 - American Jr. Academy of Science
• Feb. 10 - US conferences begin at 1:00 pm
• Feb. 10 - Dorm Family Dinner Night, Dining Hall, 6:00 pm
• Feb. 10 - Uganda student movie and meeting night, 6:30 pm
• Feb. 10 - Finance Open Forum, Dining Hall, 7:00 pm
• Feb. 11-12 - No US:  Conferences
• Feb. 14 - Harp recital, 1:00 pm
• Feb. 15 - President's Day, no school
• Feb. 16 - Concert for Haiti/Mardi Gras, 5:00 pm

WINTER FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT “RUN FOR CONGO WOMEN”

Midwinter Madness, the Upper School’s annual festival of fun and fundraising for a good cause, is underway. We had a very fun kickoff assembly last Thursday, January 28, including auctioning off the first CRUSH of the season for $280! That’s a great start for this year’s fundraising for Run for Congo Women, an organization that provides humanitarian relief and development assistance to women and children in war-torn Congo.

In addition to the Parent Perambulation and Run/Walk/Cycle for Congo Women described in a separate item, a few details about upcoming events:

• The annual Senior-Faculty Basketball Game is at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, in the Gym. Admission is $3. The faculty/staff and the seniors engage in a pre-game fundraising competition, with each $10 collected counting for a point on the scoreboard before the game. Last year the score was 100-78 in favor of the seniors before the game even started! The game itself is always an entertaining match-up.
• The boys’ volleyball tournament, PowderTuff Volleyball, is at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at SPARC. Teams of Upper School boys will face off in 6 vs. 6 action. Admission is $5, or free with purchase of a $14 Midwinter Madness T-shirt.
• Open Mic Night, 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, in the Great Hall, has taken the place of the originally scheduled dance. Upper School musicians, monologuists, poets, and performers will share their talents. Admission is $5.
• PowderPuff Football is at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, on the OES turf field. Admission is $5, or free with purchase of a $14 Midwinter Madness T-shirt.  The games--flag football between teams of girls from each Upper School grade--will begin with the 9th graders playing the 10th graders at 3:30 p.m. The 11th graders will play the 12th graders in the second game at around 4 p.m.. Then the third place game will be held at around 4:45 p.m., with the championship game to follow at about 5:20 p.m.

Please join us for some of these fun events! If you need more information, please call or email , the Midwinter Madness faculty advisor, at 503-416-9352..

Thank you for your enthusiastic support of Midwinter Madness and Run for Congo Women!

College Counseling (New)

Gap Year Opportunities Fair—Monday, March 1, 2010 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Lincoln High School. We encourage interested upper school students and parents to attend. Various organizations offering gap year programs will be available to answer questions.  For more information: www.usagapyearfairs.org.  A description from the organizers of this fair is included below.  If you would like to read more about gap year options and how students can benefit from this experience, an excellent book is The Gap-Year Advantage: Helping Your Child Benefit from Time Off Before or During College by Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson.

Dynamy Internship Year and Thinking Beyond Borders, in collaboration with Lincoln High School, are spreading the word about the growing array of opportunities for personal growth through ex­periential edu­cation (travel, language immersion, directed study, outdoor adventure, commu­nity service, and internships).  More and more students are finding that post-secondary gap year programs enhance their traditional academic experience and lead them to a clearer direction and motivation for college studies and/or a career path. The program will include a presentation by Holly Bull, one of the leading figures on the American gap year scene for the past 20 years, which will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m.

SAT Prep Class Offered at OESThis seven-week course will teach students the critical reading, math and writing skills that are needed to perform well on the SAT. Students will gain hands-on experience through taking a practice SAT and will learn effective score-enhancing strategies that are specific to the SAT. In addition, we will cover the psychology of test-taking as well as proven methods for overcoming test anxiety. Each student will receive their own book, The Official SAT Study Guide 2.

This course is taught by Douglas Bloch, a teacher, author and counselor. He obtained his BA in math and psychology from New York University and his MA in counseling from the University of Oregon. He is the author of 12 books on personal development, including The Power of Positive Talk: Words to Help Every Child Succeed.

10th-11th Grade

March 3-April 28 (no class Mar. 17 or Mar. 24) Wednesday, 7:00-8:30 p.m. (7 classes), Location: DC 206, Cost: $200, includes book. Questions? Contact .

Community Diversity Link Announcements (New)

   Books and Breakfast

UPDATE: No Books and Breakfast Meeting on Friday, Feb 19, 8:00-9:30am

 OES LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION:  Sunday, February 21, 3-5pm.          Save the date and watch for upcoming announcements regarding the exciting programs planned for this year’s event. 

DREAMS FROM MY FATHER: A STORY OF RACE AND INHERITANCE

BY BARACK OBAMA

Books and Breakfast: Friday, April 23, 8-9:30am, OES Dining Hall (NEW DATE!)

 Our April 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.

START READING NOW FOR LAST BOOK DISCUSSION THIS YEAR:

HALF THE SKY:   TURNING OPPRESSION INTO OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN WORLDWIDE by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Books and Breakfast:  Friday, May 14 8:00-9:30am, OES Dining Hall

Contacts: Co-Chairs 503.292.6609 and 503.297.3593.

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The Lunar New Year in Asia signifies the return of Spring and the renewal of a new year. It is a celebratory time for families and friends to get together to share a special meal, to play games, to reminisce about times past, and to create new memories for the future.

The OES community would like to invite you to join in the annual Lunar New Year Celebration.

The festivities will begin in the Dining Hall with popular Asian crafts and games. Of course, no celebration is ever complete without tempting savories and sweets to satisfy the palate. Once again, we will be offering a community potluck. Families who wish to share a favorite dish are invited to contribute. Please include recipe’s name and remember the NO NUTS policy at OES.

At 4 o’clock, Lion Dancers will lead all attendants down to the Gym to officially welcome the arrival of the New Year and be entertained by the award-winning, nationally recognized Dragon Art Studio’s Chinese puppet theatre.

We look forward to your attendance. Please contact or regarding volunteering, suggestions or questions.

The Lunar New Year Celebration is a collaborative partnership between the OES Administration, Residential Life Program, Mandarin Language Program, and Community Diversity Link.

Winter One-Act Plays

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.

You can purchase tickets to the Winter One Acts here:

https://www.ticketturtle.com/index.php?show=11689

or in the Gallery Store.

US PAL invites you to 'Get Schooled'

Please OES parents (grades 8 -12) join us on Friday, February 5 at 7:00 PM and take one of the following classes taught by our US faculty members.  There are still spots available!            

•    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, we'll 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: February 8, April 12, and May 10. Contact Sarah Grewe, 503/292-9609.

Junior Class
11th Grade PAL.Our next PAL meeting is Monday, February 22, from 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. in the Volunteer Room of the Drinkward Center. 

Also -- Join us on Tuesday, February 16, from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. for coffee with college counselor, Paula Sutton, in the Volunteer Room of the Drinkward Center. Paula is unable to attend our February PAL meeting so she has kindly offered this coffee instead which will provide the opportunity for us to ask questions as we begin to look at the college application process with our students. 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 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 for 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.

Yearbook Information

BABY PICTURES: There will be a baby picture page in the Yearbook for all of the seniors, so we are asking the parents to send us a baby picture of your son/daughter.  This picture can be anything from newborn to preschool age.  We would prefer color.  We will be scanning these photos into the computer and you will receive them back right away. Or better yet, send them to me by email!  The deadline is March 12th, 2010. 

PARENT ADS: Many parents remember their individual graduates by sponsoring a Yearbook Parent Ad.  This is an opportunity to advertise your business, give personal congratulations to the class as a whole, or write a special dedication to either an individual or a group (sports teams, clubs, best friends, etc.)  The rates for the ads are as follows: 

$260 – full page; $140 – half page;

$75 – quarter page; $40 – eighth page.

You may submit the ad ready to print in a PhotoShop layout (please adjust the size of the slide to match the size of the ad and include high resolution photos – 300DPI), as a JPEG, or just send the pictures and the text and the yearbook staff will arrange the layout for you.  Please make the check out to “OES Yearbook.” The deadline for submission is March 12th, 2010.  Because space is limited, I would appreciate your letting me know if you are interested in reserving a space as soon as possible!  Questions? Contact , (416-9333)

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To submit information for the Voice, please email in the Upper School office when you have items to include.