Dear Middle School Parents,
As you can see, May continues to be a busy month! See below to stay abreast of the many activities and events:
8th GRADE COURTYARD – The Courtyard Dance will take place this Friday, May 11 from 7:30-10:00 p.m. in the Fine and Performing Arts Center. This annual event has become a rite of passage for the girls as they culminate their Middle School careers. Tickets are on sale through Thursday of this week. Each girl has been allotted a limited number of tickets (6) for invited guests and themselves for $6.00 per ticket. Girls must submit the names and schools of their invited guests at the time of purchase, all of whom must be in the Eighth Grade or younger. The Eighth Grade girls will be dismissed at 2:00 pm on May 11th, after having completed a day of service in the Lower Division and Moncreiff. Students must be in school that day in order to attend the dance that evening. They may not be dismissed early. All of the Eighth Grade Advisors, Mr. Trinh, Mrs. Fleck, Mr. Darrell and I will attend as chaperones, as well as 10 parent chaperones. If you are donating hors d'oeuvres for the evening we would prefer you drop them off directly at the Fine and Performing Arts Center when you drop-off for Courtyard, however, if you are not driving your daughter to Courtyard you may drop the hors d'oeuvres in the Middle School front office Friday morning. The decorating will be handled by the Seventh Grade students, advisors, and Eighth Grade Class Parents. The clean-up after the dance is the Eighth Graders responsibility and the girls will not be dismissed until that is done. Thanks to all of you in advance for making this a great event for the girls!
SIXTH GRADE FIELD TRIP ON MAY 11 – The Sixth Grade will be going on a field trip to see the “MathAlive” exhibit in Washington, DC this Friday, May 11. Girls are out-of-uniform but should wear sneakers and appropriate clothing for school. This trip will take place rain or shine and in case of inclement weather the girls should dress appropriately. Please pack a lunch, snacks and water for your daughter. They will be back by regular 3:25 p.m. dismissal time. See previous e-mail from Tung Trinh for further details. If you have any questions you may contact your daughter’s advisor.
SEVENTH GRADE FIELD TRIP ON MAY 11 – The Seventh Grade will be going on a field trip to the Baltimore Museum of Industry this Friday, May 11. Girls are in uniform (kilts and polos please) and should pack a lunch, snacks, water and money for ice-cream. Girls will be back from the field trip at 2 p.m. in time to decorate the Recital Hall for the eighth grade Courtyard Dance that night, a long standing tradition. See previous e-mail from Dante Beretta and Doug Oppenheimer for further details. If you have any additional questions you may contact your daughter’s advisor.
EIGHTH GRADE SERVICE DAY ON MAY 11 – The Eighth Grade will be having a Day of Service in our Lower Division and Moncreiff this Friday, May 11. The girls will be in groups of 3-4 students and assigned to a classroom for the day. They will serve as teacher aides and positive role models to our youngest students. This will be an opportunity for the girls to give of themselves and help encourage, shape and teach the youngest generations at Garrison Forest. Girls are in uniform and will be dismissed at 2 p.m. that day to get ready for Courtyard. Girls must be at school that day in order to be admitted to the Courtyard Dance that evening.
6th GRADE FUNDRAISER AT MIA CAROLINA’S -- Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2IcTDQ7DBU&feature=player_profilepage here to watch the 6th Grade Public Service Announcement to promote their fundraiser at Mia Carolina's and furthering their goal of providing clean water. Every 6th Grader was involved in the creation of this video--it was truly a collaborative experience between all the girls. In Digital Thinking classes, the Sixth Grade has been learning about the lack of clean water and water wells available to people living in developing countries. After exploring the http://travelingteacherblog.com Traveling Teacher blog (created by Diana Gross), Sixth Graders have been researching information, investigating organizations, listening to guest speakers, and brainstorming ways they can help. The girls have decided to coordinate an event at Mia Carolina Restaurant (4844 Butler Road, Glyndon, MD 21071) which is only 6 miles from Garrison Forest. Jay Cohen, Caroline Cohen's father, is the restaurant owner and has graciously decided to donate 15% of all meal bills from Wednesday, May 9th to the Sixth Grade cause. Family and friends can come to the restaurant from 5:00-9:30PM with a coupon which will be distributed by Sixth Graders in order to participate. All you have to do is come out and enjoy some excellent Italian cuisine! We recommend making reservations by calling 410-526-5711.
SPRING ARTS GALA -- Please join us on Thursday, May 17 at 7 p.m. in Garland Theatre to see the work our girls have been doing in Art, Music, Dance and Drama. Call time for the girls is 6 p.m. in Garland Theatre in costume. Teachers will be telling the girls what to wear for the performance. If students wish to stay at school until the Gala, they may give $5 to Ms. Blackston for pizza and have dinner at school. Thursday will be a long day for our girls and it has therefore been designated a “No Homework Night.”
CHORUS HERSHEY PARK TRIP – Our Middle School Chorus will be going to compete at Hershey Park on Friday, May 18. Please refer to the e-mail from Ginny Flynn for more details.
JOY MOORE: A MOTHER’S STORY – Join Joy Moore, mother of best-selling author Wes Moore of The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, as she talks about the will and determination she discovered and lessons learned as a single-parent raising three children in Baltimore City. The event will take place this Friday, May 11 at 8:30 a.m. in the Middle School Auditorium. Register online at http://www.gfs.org/events.
DO YOU DIG SCIENCE? -- Next Thursday we will begin a four week science and math club called DIG (Discover Invent Grow). Once a week during the month of May, Sixth and Seventh Grade students are invited to for an afternoon of exciting science and math activities directed by the teachers in the Middle and Upper School. Space is limited so please have your daughter sign up with Mrs. Chrobo if she is interested. The dates when this club will meet are: 5/10, 5/14, 5/24, 5/31 from 3:45 – 5:00 p.m.
PLANTS READY FOR PICK-UP – If you ordered a plant from the Seventh Grade fundraising effort, your plants will be ready for pick-up this Thursday, May 10 at 3:25 p.m. in the Middle School drop-off loop. Please make sure you collect your plants on Thursday afternoon when you pick-up your daughter. Thank you for supporting this cause. Proceeds will go to help our Afghan sister school.
COFFEE FOR 8th GRADE PARENTS – On Thursday, May 24, Melinda Bihn, Head of Upper School, would like to invite you to a final coffee for parents of rising 9th graders. If you have not been able to attend one of these coffees earlier this year, we hope you are able to come to this one. The coffee will be at 4 p.m. in the Library Lecture Hall. Melinda will discuss the transition to the Upper School and answer any questions you may have as you head into the summer. Melinda looks forward to connecting with you as you and your daughters prepare for this exciting transition!
8th GRADE GATEWAY EVENT -- 8th graders will help out with a carnival of sorts with Gateway School, which is part of Hearing and Speech Agency (HASA). The event is scheduled for Friday, May 25th. We will be leaving GFS promptly at 8:00am and returning by around 1:00-1:30. Girls should be in kilts and polos on this day, as it helps the Gateway students to recognize our girls if they all have a standard uniform. Lunch and snacks will be provided. Thanks to the volunteers for this day!
LOANER & RENTAL COMPUTERS -- Loaner and Rental computers are due back to Technology Support by 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 7 at 1 p.m. If a student fails to return a school owned computer a hold will be placed on their Business Office accounts and they will not get their final grades/report cards until they turn it in and the hold is lifted. For students with a loaner because of a repair, it needs to be returned regardless of whether or not their computer is back from being repaired.
BASELINE TESTING FOR ATHLETES – Baseline testing will be required in the 2012-13 academic year for all girls participating in any of the following sports: soccer, field hockey, basketball, indoor soccer, lacrosse, softball, riding, and polo. If you think that there is a possibility of your daughter participating in one of the sports listed above next school year, please email Barbara Doy at barbaradoy@gfs.org to schedule your daughter for her baseline concussion test. See prior e-mail from Barbara Doy with the detailed schedule of testing dates.
PHYSICAL EXAMS FOR ATHLETES -- Garrison Forest Athletics, along with MedStar SportsHealth, will be offering Physical Examinations for those students who will be participating on an athletic team in the Middle School or Upper School during the 2012-13 school year. These physicals will take place at Garrison Forest School in the SAC Athletic Training Room on Tuesday, May 15 from 3:30-5:30 PM. The fee for the physical will be $35. You must pay in cash. TO SCHEDULE A PHYSICAL AT GFS: Please email Barbara Doy, GFS Athletic Trainer, at barbaradoy@gfs.org. IMPORTANT: If your daughter has an ongoing medical condition or is in need of immunizations, these physicals should not take the place of your daughter's annual physical with her pediatrician. You must bring to the physical a completed Health History form. It is very important that the Health History form is completed and signed by a parent/guardian for review by the physician during the examination. Forms will be sent to you once you have scheduled the physical.
Take care,
Jenny
Jennifer C. Rao
Middle School Head
Garrison Forest School