Middle School eNewsletter

Issue V, April, 2006

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• •  Friday, April 14: Good Friday, NO SCHOOL
• •  Wednesday, April 19: 12:45 dismissal for MS and LS students – faculty workshops
• •  Thursday, April 20: 8 Blue to St. Elizabeth Home
• •  Friday, April 21: Visiting speaker to talk with students about copyright laws and downloading media off of the internet AND Kick-off of Arts Week; 4:30 – “Sights and Sounds of RHS" Art Show 7:00 p.m. “Sights and Sounds of RHS" Concert in the Gymnasium
• •  April 24 – 28: Rocky Hill School Arts Week
• •  May 1 – 5: Standardized testing for grades 6 and 7.
• •  Wednesday, May 3: 8th grade to take the SSATs
• •  Thursday, May 4: 8 White to St. Elizabeth Home
• •  Thursday, May 11: 6th grade and 5th grade field trip to PawSox

NEWS: 

Signs of spring: I heard the peepers outside this past weekend for the first time this year, something I wait for every year. They are like an alarm clock announcing the departure of winter. Look around and the signs of spring are everywhere at RHS. Robins searching for worms, the forsythia along the back parking is beginning to yellow, along with the hundreds of daffodils planted by Lower School students in years past. Baggy shorts are starting to replace the baggy pants of winter, and there are fewer winter coats to put in the lost and found at the end of the day. But to me, the true sign that spring has arrived at RHS is the sudden and overwhelming appearance of lacrosse sticks. This season, close to 75 sticks of a variety of colors and sizes have announced the arrival of warmer weather, and like wildflowers in a meadow, these sticks can be seen all over the place. Needless to say, we are all excited about the coming season. After a full winter that moved at full speed right through our Turkey Week and up to March Break the Middle School is rested, recharged, and ready to tackle the final trimester. This is a great time of year to be where we are.

7th GRADE:  Winter Ecology at W. Alton Jones - On February 9th, the seventh grade left campus for a two-day field trip to the W. Alton Jones campus in the woods of western Rhode Island . The focus of the field trip was winter ecology and it was perfectly timed. We were blessed with two cold winter days to remind the students what it must be like to live outside in a New England winter. Topics such as migration and hibernation were discussed and the students took part in activities that helped them commit the various concepts to memory. One of the highlights was the storytelling around the campfire, followed by star gazing on a clear, cold winter night. The students returned with smiles on their faces having had a wonderful time.

WINTER ATHLETICS: Chris Tashjian - Rocky Hill's Middle School Boys' and Girls' Basketball teams had a sensational season this winter. Our players made great strides in their skills and knowledge of basketball. Enthusiasm for and dedication to their teams was clearly evident. The seeds have been planted by our dedicated coaches for these young athletes to continue athletic participation at Rocky Hill in the future. In addition, parents and other community members were in regular attendance at the games and gave the athletes a boost of school spirit. On Friday, March 31st, the Middle School had its winter sports assembly to honor the students who participated on a basketball team. The winter coaches praised their teams for the effort, commitment, and sportsmanship they exhibited throughout the season.

Special recognition went to the following players:

Boys “A” Basketball:

Most Improved Player – Matt Nota (6)

Coach's Awards – Zach Pierce (7) and Richard Weiner (7)

Girls “A” Basketball:

Most Valuable Player – Anthea Weixel (8)

Most Improved Player – Erica Santos (7)

Coach's Awards – Bryce Feingold (7)

Boys “B” Basketball:

Most Valuable Player –Will Pontarelli (6)

Most Improved Player – Clayton Barker (6)

Coach's Awards – Joey DiBiase (6)

Girls “B” Basketball:

Most Valuable Player –Phoebe Batlett (7)

Most Improved Player – Nathalie Cotta (7)

Coach's Awards – Lucianna Faranoe-Coccia (7)

Not to be outdone, the Winter Outdoor Recreation ensemble remained undefeated and shut-out every opponet for yet another season. Receiving the annual GREEN BROOM award, one of the highest and most cherished of all MS awards, and in Mr. Greenwood's words perhaps the “Zen level of a Middle School athlete” was Alex Arnold (7). Congratulations to all of our winter athletes for a fine season!

ANYTHING GOES : Diane McNeil - Performing to standing-room-only crowds on both Friday and Saturday evenings, MS students representing grades 6-8 and faculty members Mike Jedrey and Matt Hill provided much of the entertainment that created the March production of Cole Porter's musical Anything Goes. Their acting, singing, and dancing abilities delighted the appreciative audience. The students included: Jamie Antignano, Liena Rose Armonies-Assalone, Mariah Asadorian, Tory Dumas, Madeline Geunes, Daniel Harnett, Christina Leahy, Olivia Pettoni, Robin Shore , Lindsay Stevens, and Emily Verardo-Goodrich! 6th grade student Dakota Bennett was a member of the tech crew and worked on the set. Bravo to all of our aspiring performers!

WORLD CULTURES WEEK: From the raising of the Turkish Flag on Monday afternoon to the lowering of it on Friday, the Middle School was immersed in all things Turkish during this year's World Cultures Week. The energy in the Middle School was incredibly high during the week as kids learned about the many aspects of Turkey that make it such a remarkable place. When middle school students are tossing around phrases like “seismically active,” “Five Pillars of Islam,” and “ Ottoman Empire ,” you know you have been able to teach them about some colorful and vital aspects of a culture so different from ours. “Why Turkey ,” a question we'd heard at the beginning of the week, was answered in spades.

The work that the students (and faculty) put in during the week was all on display at the Turkish Bazaar on Friday. We had exhibits from the Lower School as well as the Middle School, a wide array of performances including Lower School shadow puppets, Middle and Lower School enactments of folktales, and belly dancing. Students shared two slide shows: one about Turkey, and one about the week itself. We had stations for students to make mosaics or evil-eye jewelry, and games that the 7th graders had designed and created. One of the biggest hits was the tea room, decorated as a Turkish lounging area complete with rugs, pillows and incense. Middle Schoolers were also treated to a delicious lunch of Turkish food, provided in large part by International Pockets in Wakefield .

Faculty and students alike contributed to creating the bazaar. But without the tremendous support of a number of Middle School families, it would simply not have been possible for it to have been the enormous success that it was. We are especially grateful to Ande Frost, Suzanne Thoms, and Joan Verardo-Goodrich for all of their help in making this such a special week.

8th GRADE DANCES:  An Anthropological Study – Recently I had the opportunity to chaperone an 8th grade dance held at Providence Country Day School. Along with PCD and RHS, 8th grade students from Wheeler, Gordon, Lincoln, Moses Brown, and St. Andrew's gathered in the gymnasium for a night of entertainment.  As I sat off to the side watching the interactions of our students with others their own age, I felt like an anthropologist observing a ritual that few get a chance to see.  I did share my observations with my student council and they all nodded and felt they were accurate. Here are my field notes:

• •  All students travel in packs
• •  Small, sporadic dancing breaking out followed by longer periods of milling about and talking
• •  DJ needing to turn up the volume so the music (if you can call it that) can be heard over the din of 8th grade voices
• •  Boys appear to have a constant need to shove one another, to put each other in head-locks, and to steal each other's hats
• •  The girls are in fast-moving groups seemingly determined to get somewhere in a hurry
• •  Every now and then a song will start that elicits a sudden scream from the crowd and large scale dancing erupts and just as quickly dies out at the end of the song
• •  Classic rock song is played, probably for the benefit of the chaperones. OK, so I like Slow Ride by Foghat.
• •  Students trying out new dance moves with their friends
• •  Stiff-armed slow dancing (here my student council explained the proper technique for clasping one's hands around their partner's neck)
• •  Size differential between some of the dancing pairs, as I watch a 6'6” boy dancing with a girl barely 5 feet tall
• •  And it wouldn't be a MS dance without the mandatory Y.M.C.A. by the Village People

6th GRADE MATH-A-THON - The 6th grade class participated in the St. Jude's MATH-a-thon during our March Break to raise money for children's cancer research. To date they have raised nearly $1500 through their efforts. Thanks to everyone who has helped with this initiative and to Ms. Conroy for leading this challenge.

GEOGRAPHY BEE - Congratulations to Ian Sutcliffe who represented Rocky Hill School in the State Geography Bee recently. Out of nearly 90 students from across the state, Ian made it into the final round and ended up 8th overall.

EMAIL ADDRESSES: Please alert Barbara Streuli of your email address changes at bstreuli@rockyhill.org with a copy to Mike at mjedrey@rockyhill.org .