Photo: Lou enjoys a photo-op with Lower School students
after his Installation Ceremony on Nov. 20.
School Pictures
Picture
retake day for both campuses is on Wednesday,
Dec. 5. Students and staff who wish to have their pictures retaken must bring
in their current picture packet intact. Students who were absent on the
original picture day will also have pictures taken on Dec. 5. Dress
code is
mandatory.
Donuts with the Deans
The next Upper School
Donuts with the Deans is on Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 7:30 - 9:00 am at
the Upper School. Come prepared with questions, concerns or ideas that
you
would like to share with the Deans and with other parents.
Middle School Study Hall
Middle School Study Hall (after school) is canceled on Tuesday, Dec. 4
ONLY.
Photo: The Upper School enjoyed a Students vs. Staff football game on
the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Break. And the winner was.... staff!
Basketball Season Opener:
Don't
miss the season openers for Varsity and JV basketball on Tuesday,
December 4 as the Lions take on Covenant of Grace starting at 4:15 pm
(the Varsity game should begin at approx. 5:30).
More game day reminders:
The
Dec 5 game will be your last chance to purchase 50/50 raffle tickets
through the Athletic Booster Club. A winner will be drawn at the
varsity halftime. Also, be sure and purchase an athletics program
guide, featuring photos and player stats!
Basketball schedules
Season
schedules for all the basketball teams (Varsity, JV, Girls and Middle
School) have been posted on the Lawrence online calendar available here.
Lawrence Soccer in the News
An article about the Lawrence varsity soccer team ran in the Sun News
(Nordonia and Broadview Heights) earlier this month. Check out the article (minus photos) here.
International Banquet
Thank you to all the families who provided food for the Lower School
International Banquet. Also, thank you to our parent volunteers who helped with food preparation, service and clean-up.
Lower School Winter Parties
Winter Parties will be held at the Lower School on Thursday, Dec. 20 starting
at 1:30 pm. Room parents should contact their child's homeroom teacher to discuss plans for their parties.
Lower School Room Parent Needed
Miss Dodds' class is in need of a room parent. Please contact Mrs. Pat Feith
via e-mail or at x1124 if you are interested in helping with the Winter and
Friendship parties for her class.
Photo: Lou pictured with (from left) Honorary Board Member Bob
Garfield, Board President Susan Karas, and Old Trail School Head John Farber
Middle School Thank You!
Thank you to Mr. Robinson (Leonard's father) for coming in to talk with the
8th grade math class about his career as a mechanical engineer. He provided great insight as to how he uses math to problem-solve every day. The
students and teachers truly appreciated his time and his knowledge!
Upper School Pancake
Breakfasts
Don't
forget that Upper School students and parents are invited to breakfast
each Friday
morning before school in the Life Skills area. Student Council will be
selling pancakes for $1 each, including toppings. Buy two and get a
free
juice!
Save the Date
The third annual Night at the
Races, sponsored by the Athletic Booster Club,
is on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Upper School. For a
donation of
$25.00 per person, you can enjoy
dinner, beverages and all the excitement and suspense of a thrilling night at
the track! Details and info on how to purchase tickets coming soon.
Get in "The Loop"
If
you are reading this newsletter on a black and white piece of paper,
you are missing out! Did you know we can deliver a full-color version
of the Loop right to your in-box each week? To sign up, e-mail cbaker@lawrence.pvt.k12.oh.us with your
request. We will send to grandparents, relatives and friends, too!
Access the School Calendar
Online:
The Lawrence School calendar for
both Lower and Upper School is
available online here
(or you can access it directly from our home page).
The calendar contains dates of interest including: conferences,
vacations, athletics schedules, extracurricular schedules, events, and
grading period
information.
www.lawrencevip.org
The parent-run VIP (Very Involved Parent) website allows parents to communicate with each other about carpooling, school
uniforms, and other school activities and events. You must be a member
to view content and reply to messages. Signing up is easy; simply go to
the "Register" link and sign up using your first initial and last name.
As soon as your account is approved, you will be able to view all
content.
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November 30,
2007
AlertNow: On Monday, November 19 at 7 pm,
Lawrence conducted a test of its new AlertNow system. Through an
automated system, the primary home phone number for all students and
staff was dialed, and a message was played alerting parents and staff of the new AlertNow school notification system.
As a reminder, in the event of a school closing, your primary number will be
called with a message alerting you to the closing. In the event of a school emergency, all numbers on file for your household will be dialed,
including work and cell. If you did not
receive a call last Tuesday or had problems with your call, please contact Susan
Synek via e-mail or at 440-832-7836. Thank you!
School Closing TV Information: When
school is closed due to weather or other last-minute circumstances, you
will receive a phone call from our AlertNow system (see above). If
weather is
questionable, you are also encouraged to watch channels 3, 5, 19 and
43. Please note that Channel 8 has not been consistent with reporting
our
closings, so we recommend you tune to another channel for your school
closing information. You may also log on to a TV station's website for
updates. Please note that it may be possible for one school to be open while the other is closed, so be sure to look for "Upper" or "Lower" in
the school name.
Thank You, Lawrence Community: Many thanks to
the students, staff, parents, trustees and friends of Lawrence who attended the formal installation of Lou Salza as our Head of School, on Tuesday,
Nov. 20. Excerpts from Lou's remarks appear in his column this week. Also, a special thank-you to all the parents who
provided refreshments for the reception, including Laura Mitchell who made one of her beautiful sheet cakes for the occasion.
Lower School Dads and Donuts: Dads and Donuts
takes place at the Lower School on Friday, Dec. 15 from 7:30-8:30 am. Invitations were mailed home to all Lower School families. Please be sure to
RSVP to Mrs. Pat Feith via e-mail or at x1124 by Monday, Dec. 10. We
hope to see you there!
Middle School CCIS Social: The Cleveland Council
of Independent Schools is hosting a middle school social at Hathaway
Brown (click for directions) on Friday, Dec. 7 from 4:30-7 pm. Students must have their own transportation to and from the event, and should
bring
money for snacks. The cost is $5. Permission slips and $5 due to Mrs. Kaufmann during lunch hours next week.
Adult Technology Classes: The
next free Adult
Technology class is "A Guide to Internet Safety," on
Thursday, Dec. 13, from 4-5:30 in Room 412 at the Upper School. Learn some tricks on how to free up sluggish computers that have been bogged down by
too much internet traffic, and hear tips on ensuring that your child is practicing online safety.
RSVP to Miss Sally Garza via e-mail or x2140. For a complete schedule of remaining courses, click here.
Toys for Tots: Middle School students are collecting new and unwrapped toys for Toys for
Tots starting now
until Friday, December 14. Please bring any toy donations
to advisory teachers. The advisory that brings in the most toys will earn
a pizza party on Tuesday, Dec. 18!
Memories, Myths and Social Studies Methods: All 10th and 11th grade students will participate in a
field trip to the Western Reserve Historical Society on Thursday, Dec. 6. They will interactively tour the exhibit "WWII Up Front and Personal:
Northeast Ohioans Remember the War" by hearing oral histories, reading newspapers and looking at photographs.
Students will need to bring a sack lunch for the day.
Lower School Food Drive: The Lower School Food
Drive takes place through December 7.
Students will be collecting non-perishable foods to benefit local
families in need. Homerooms that reach
their goal of collected items will receive a free dress down day. The homeroom with the most items collected
will receive a free pizza lunch. Thank you for your contributions!
Market Day:
The December incentive for Market Day is Free Gas! Order $35 or
more
between now and Dec. 13 and you will be entered into a drawing to win a
$35 gas card. Orders are due by Thursday, Dec. 13 to the school, or
place
your order online at www.marketday.com (use school code #22070) by noon on
Dec. 14.
Thanks for helping us "rev up" our profits in December!
Dance for Diversity: The Cleveland Council of
Independent Schools (CCIS) is sponsoring a "Dance for Diversity" on Friday, Dec. 14 at 7 pm, at Andrews Osbourne Academy's Willoughby campus. Tickets are
$7 each which includes entertainment and food. Students are responsible for transportation to and from the event. This event was planned by the CCIS
Diversity in Action committee; both Miss Hedrick and Brandon F. serve as the Lawrence School representatives to this committee. High School students
interested in attending should see Miss Hedrick or Brandon for more information.
Root Candle Fundraiser Contest Winners:
The top sellers by grade for the Upper School Root candle sale are: Grayson P (7th), Tyler D. (8), Jim V. (9th), Katia D. (10th), Paul M. (11th) and
Devon
M (12th). Those students have each won $10. And congratulations to our overall top seller, Jim V., who won $50! Finally, Brandon K. was the
winner
of our "free lunch". He was randomly selected from all who sold ten or more candles.
The Right-Brained Future: University School is presenting a discussion with Patrick Bassett (President of the
National
Association of Independent Schools) on "The Right-Brained Future" at a video-conference on Monday, Dec. 10 from 4-5 pm at University School's Shaker
Campus Conway Hall Auditorium at 20701 Brantley Road in Shaker Heights. Based on Daniel Pink's book, "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule
the Future," this seminar will explore the six abilities that are essential for professional success and personal fulfillment: design, story,
sympathy, empathy, play and meaning. The event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, please call 216-831-1984 x7392.
HEAD NOTES
From Head of School, Lou Salza
My column this week reflects the speech I gave at the Installation last Tuesday, November 20. Several of you have asked
me for a copy of the words I spoke that day; unfortunately what I initially wrote and what I actually said is not an exact match! However, the
thoughts below best represent the main points of my talk. Many thanks to all of you who worked so hard to create such a special day for Lawrence
School, and for me.
At Lawrence School we celebrate learning and growth. In this place we form a community sustained by the faith others have shown in us and in the
faith we find in ourselves when we face our challenges, together with courage and commitment.
Seymour B. Sarason, a philosopher who inspired me early in my career, wrote that the most important activity in which we could participate was to
create the settings where people can improve and make themselves better and fulfill their potential as individuals. These settings can be as
small as a family and as large as a country. They can be a school, a club or a team; a class, a choir, or a cast in a play.
A school community like the one established here at Lawrence, to me, is a sacred place - a place of learning and growth where young children and
young adults come together to work with teachers and staff entrusted with their care and their learning.
It is a setting filled with hope and faith. In this setting, our aspiration - our great hope - is to equip students with the skills, tools and
knowledge for the rest of their journey through school and through life.
Yes, Lawrence is a transitional setting and our students will leave us one day. All students, no matter where they attend school, must
eventually move to other schools, and to colleges or to the workplace of business and industry.
Lawrence is transformational as well. At Lawrence, each of our students learns to appreciate themselves and one another. They are transformed
in the time they are with us by the way they are accepted here - and the way they grow into stronger students and more confident, courageous people.
I ask them to remember that education is something that, once obtained, can never be taken from them.
I urge our students to think about their responsibilities to our school community now, and to the larger community later in their lives. A person
with education has an obligation to share their gifts, talents, and knowledge with others.
The habits of learning that our programs have helped our students learn and practice are ones that will endure and ensure continued excellence in all
they do. Treasure them, practice them, become them... and you will succeed.
I urge us all to accept the responsibility that our membership in the Lawrence School community confers:
First, never take your education or anyone else's education for granted. Any one of us who have struggled to find our place in school can make a
difference by using our own experience to help others. Second, refuse to think or speak poorly of yourself or others in this community of learners.
Seek, find and follow the best in yourselves and in those around you.
I have faith in you, students, and in your future... just as those who came before us had faith in you when they built this school. It is the same
faith that Paul wrote about in his letter to the Hebrews:
"Faith," Paul wrote, "is the evidence of things unseen, and the substance of things hoped for."
Lawrence has given substance to your hopes even as it has expanded them. We see the evidence of your success even before you do! We have
confidence in your abilities to learn and grow, we share your pride in accomplishment, and we watch you grow with joy in our hearts. We continue to
have Paul's faith in your future - as yet unseen - and we know the substance of our hopes for you and for Lawrence:
At Lawrence School we celebrate learning and growth. In this place we form a community nourished by the faith others have in us and in the faith
we find in ourselves when we face our challenges together with courage and commitment.
Did this week's Head Notes column inspire you, puzzle you, or otherwise
stir a response you would like to share? Let Lou know how you feel! He welcomes all comments and correspondence via e-mail
or phone (440-526-0003 x2102).
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