Photo: Students in Miss Budnick's class performed plays this week. Pictured above are cast members from The Pig Who Cried Wolf

In-Service Day

There is no school for students on Friday, April 25 due to an in-service day for faculty. 

Parents who are able to volunteer for today's CCIS middle school social (Fri. 4/18) are asked to meet in the front foyer as early as 3:30 pm. Middle School students attending the social are welcome to stay at the school until the event begins at 4:30 pm.

Online Auction - Final Day! Would your child enjoy bowling and lunch with Mrs. Kerber and Ms. Budnick? Or maybe a Tribe game with Mr. Deal and Mr. Messer? How about a brunch for your family at Mr. Salza's house? The items above - plus many more - are available for bidding! If you have not yet had a chance to place a bid on the great "teacher experience" items offered in the online auction, please visit the auction website here. This special online auction closes tomorrow, Saturday, April 19 at 10 am. You may also access the page from our homepage at www.lawrenceschool.org. Don't miss this chance for your child to spend time with their favorite Lawrence faculty or staff member!

Benefit Auction RSVPs: If you have not yet sent in your RSVP for the Annual Benefit Auction - Sonnets, Phonics & Pi - on Saturday, May 3, please reserve your spot today! You may RSVP online here (or go to www.lawrenceschool.org and click on the RSVP link) or mail in your RSVP form. We are hoping to get a final count very soon, so your promptness is appreciated!

Baseball Field Dedication & Lower School Day: Many thanks to those students, faculty and families that attended the dedication of Hadgis Field this week. The students are excited to finally have a home field for baseball, and we are very grateful to the Hadgis family for their generosity! Please see next week's Loop for photos from the event.

Scheduling for Current 8th Graders: 8th grade students are currently being scheduled for 9th grade classes for the 2008-09 school year. Schedules were sent home in last week's Friday Binders. Parents are asked to sign and return the forms ASAP. Thank you!

May Parent Tech Class: The next free technology course is "Fun With Photoshop Elements" on Thursday, May 1, from 4-5:30 pm in Room 412 of the Upper School. Learn how to use Photoshop Elements to correct, enhance, and manipulate pictures, and have fun with using filters to add WOW effects to your pictures and graphic images!  Parents, staff and friends of the school are invited to attend. For questions, contact Sally Garza via e-mail or at 440-832-7840. To see the complete list of free courses, click here.

Lower School Summer Programs: Lawrence is currently enrolling students for Summer School programs, from June 16 - July 11. The Lower School offers a morning academic program with remediation in reading, written expression, language arts and math. Its afternoon program will focus on creativity and fun with technology, art and physical education. For details, please click here or visit the Summer School link at www.lawrenceschool.org. Students do not need to be enrolled at Lawrence during the school year to register, so please help us spread the word!

Upper School Summer Programs: Upper School is enrolling students for Summer School programs, from June 16 - July 11. Courses include math, science, assistive technology, organization, music, drama, cooking, physical education, history, creative writing, keyboarding, forensics and more. High School students may take courses for credit. Students do not need to be enrolled at Lawrence during the school year to register, so please help us spread the word! For a complete listing of courses and details on enrollment, please click here or visit the Summer School link on www.lawrenceschool.org.

"Time Travelers" link: In last week's Head Notes column, Lou referenced an article called "Time Travelers" written by ASSETS School principal, Patti Jenks. Many of you had difficulty with the link provided. The direct link is here. After accessing the link, scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the article.

Chris Achkar is a student who has been with us since middle school.  He faces the challenges of ADHD daily and is an articulate reporter. I asked him to consider being a guest blogger in order to share some thoughts about ADHD and he graciously agreed.  I enjoyed talking to Chris about his experiences and was reminded about how much we learn when we take the time to listen to our students! Thanks to Chris for sharing his perspectives, to Courtney for being our editor, and to the faculty and staff at Lawrence, who put our mission on its feet every day on behalf of all our students!

Stay tuned for more on this topic next week.
Think Spring, and have a great weekend!

Lou 

****************

My Lawrence Experience 

By Chris Achkar, Class of 2008

My experience at Lawrence school has really changed my outlook on life. Before I came to Lawrence I was not as confident as I am now, and I did not have the same hopes and dreams that I do now.

For me, having Attention Deficit Disorder in everyday life wasn't too bad. I would just have trouble comprehending instructions given to me, and remembering those instructions as I worked my way through a task or problem. A lot of people think that those with ADD are unable to do more than scratch the surface of each task. Actually, the best way to describe having ADD is that it's easy to take a simple problem or idea and go way too far into it.

For example, if the teacher showed me a math equation on the board in red marker, I would try my best to think of the equation... and from that, I would think of how cool it would be to have a hot red sports car... then, I would think how great it would be to have a cute girl in that sports car... which reminds me I have to take my girlfriend out to dinner... which then reminds me I have can't afford it... then, I remember I should be concentrating on the math problem.

I then have no idea where I am in the equation.

Problems that take many steps to solve can be especially difficult for me, especially in topic that I find hard, like math. Not only do I have to keep my mind focused on a subject I would rather not think about, but I have to concentrate very hard to complete the multiple steps without losing my place.

The environment at Lawrence, especially the relationships I have developed with my teachers, has helped me to bring myself "back" to the task at hand. In a larger classroom, or in a situation where I am not confident about my relationship with a teacher, I would not feel OK about asking the teacher to stop and help me find my place. At Lawrence though, the teachers actually encourage us to speak up when we need help refocusing.

Learning how to refocus and ask for help when I need it makes me actually feel no different than anyone else my age, with or without ADD.  Sometimes it can work to my advantage, because when everybody else is tired I'm still full of energy and ready to go!

In addition to learning how to focus on what needs to get done, Lawrence has also helped me organize myself better. This has helped me not only at school but at work and in other extra-curricular activities. I don't know what I would do without my laptop! I am able to take notes in class and save them right to my notebook computer, which makes them hard to lose. Having everything in one place helps a lot with keeping track of things and staying organized. Go Binder is a software program that I plan to use in college to help me stay organized and responsible.

Simply put, Lawrence has helped me develop a habit of being focused. And I am excited to take the skills and strategies I've learned to college in the fall. I have been accepted to five schools and have not yet decided where I will go, but I do know that I am ready to be in a classroom with 100 other students. I know I can do it on my own, and that is a great feeling.

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 (440-832-7820).