As we make note of the 100th day of school, many of us can remember moments when teachers encouraged us to collect 100 pennies or Cheerios. Yesterday, helping my youngest gather materials for his 100th-day vest, I reflected that the occasion not only celebrates a satisfyingly round number but also officially marks the passage of more than half of the school year.
Yet, the concept of “100 days” extends beyond the realm of schools as well. At times, people talk about their first 100 days on the job when, with 100% effort, they attempt to achieve an ambitious sets of goals. And mathematicians will tell you the number 100 holds other significance as well; it is the sum of the cubes of the first four integers as well as the sum of the first nine prime numbers. And non-Americans will remind you it is the basis for the Celsius scale where water freezes at 0 and boils at 100 degrees.
But for our kindergartners who marched through Klee announcing the 100th day of school to their older friends, it is a time to remember just how far we’ve come this school year while training our sights on all the exciting learning yet to come. So here’s to a great celebration of 100 in all its forms and to encountering many more wonders in numbers in the months ahead.
—Yours truly, Brad
Follow me on Twitter @CrossroadsHead
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* Head’s Note: 100 Days
* Board Chair Tuition Letter
* Admissions Office News: Discover the Difference (3/1)
* Virtues for This Month: Diligence and Perseverance
* School News
– Welcome to our New K-3 Spanish Teacher
– Welcome to our New Teacher’s Aide in Lower School (Gena Doyle)
– Pinewood Derby
– Young Writers Project
– Classroom Clips
– Summer Programs 2016
* Parent Association News
– Lunch Program
– Family Arts Night (2/26)
– NH Homebuilders Lego Build (3/19)
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* BOARD CHAIR TUITION LETTER
To the Crossroads Community,
The Crossroads Board of Trustees is dedicated to keeping an education at Crossroads as affordable as possible while maintaining the excellence of the education it provides. After months of careful and deliberate planning, the Board approved at its February 2016 meeting Crossroads Academy’s tuition for the 2016-2017 academic year: $17,250 for grades one through eight and $10,750 for kindergarten.
As a Board, we are committed to supporting Crossroads Academy’s unique Core Knowledge and Core Virtues Programs and to attracting and retaining the most dedicated and talented teachers possible. Even with careful budgeting, tuition revenue at Crossroads—consistent with most independent schools—doesn’t cover the full operating expenses of the school. The shortfall is covered by external grants and the generous donations of our community members, primarily to the Crossroads Annual Fund.
We thank all of you who support Crossroads in so many ways. The school wouldn’t be what it is without you.
Sean M. Gorman
President, Board of Trustees
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* ADMISSIONS OFFICE NEWS
Greetings from the Admissions Office! Our second Discover the Difference Open House is next Tuesday, March 1. Please invite your friends, neighbors, and colleagues who have young children to our lovely campus so that they may find out more about our incredible program and see our classrooms in action. The Open House will be held in the Lora Robins Library between 9:00 –11:00 am. Pre-registration would be appreciated. If you would like to help greet and chat with our prospective families on March 1, please let me know. Thank you for helping to get the word out about our special school!
On another note, we are happy to announce that three new students have joined us at Crossroads Academy! Izzy Choyt, our own Brad and Charlotte Choyt’s son, has joined the kindergarten class, and Madeira and Haddon Doyle have joined the first grade class. The Doyle twins are from Norwich, VT, and their parents are Gena and Ian Doyle. Please give a warm welcome to all of our new students!
Reminder…
Our next Crossroads Brown Bag Café will be Tuesday, March 8. Please bring along a friend and join us for coffee and conversation between 8:00–9:00 am in the multipurpose room in the Klee Building. I hope to see you there!
Have a wonderful week! —Warmly, Marilyn
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VIRTUES FOR THIS MONTH
February: DILIGENCE AND PERSEVERANCE
Diligence is doing what needs to be done with devotion, dedication, and determination.
Perseverance is pushing on despite difficulty and hardship.
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* SCHOOL NEWS
* WELCOME TO OUR NEW K-3 SPANISH TEACHER
¡Hola! My name is Silvia Holman and I am very excited to join Crossroads Academy as a Spanish teacher.
I was born in Lima, Peru, and spent my childhood between Lima and Iquitos, on the banks of the Amazon River. I received a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Universidad Femenina del Sagrado Corazón.
I have sixteen years of teaching experience in both Peru and the United States, focusing on elementary Spanish in both full immersion and bilingual settings. Most recently, I taught first and second graders as a Spanish reading specialist in the District of Columbia; prior to that, I taught full-day kindergarten Spanish immersion for non-native speakers in Montgomery County, Maryland. While teaching in Maryland, I also received a certificate in bilingual special education from George Washington University.
After almost ten years in the Washington, D.C. area, we moved to New Hampshire to be closer to family. It has been a big change of pace from the city, but I like being here, spending time outdoors and getting more time with my husband and young son and daughter. As with any other place, it is important here in the Upper Valley to connect children to the world around them, and I look forward to teaching students about my language and culture.
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* WELCOME TO OUR NEW TEACHER’S AIDE IN THE LOWER SCHOOL
Gena Doyle joins us after a recent family move to the Upper Valley from Northern Virginia. She has dedicated the last several years to raising her three children, all of whom are now students at Crossroads. After earning a BS degree in English education from Florida State University, Gena participated in graduate studies at the University of Virginia and the University of Mary Washington. She then taught middle school language arts for many years in the Virginia and Florida public school systems. She enjoyed her time working with the Northern Virginia Writing Project and focused on strengthening the student writing programs within her schools. A stint as a writer/editor with a large consulting firm and time spent with the National Institutes of Health provided valuable corporate experience, but this time reminded her that teaching pulsed strongly through her veins and she returned to the classroom. Gena is thrilled to become part of the fabric of Crossroads Academy, and she looks forward to carrying on the traditions that make our school a true place of excellence.
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* PINEWOOD DERBY
After four days of sanding, gluing, and painting, the Crossroads Pinewood Derby crew was ready for race day. After completing thirty-six runs in a double elimination tournament, we had a winner. Congratulations to Caroline Harrison (the reigning champ) for her first place finish and to Alex Zitzewitz for his second place win. We look forward to next year when the club will again be available for the second through fifth grade students.
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* YOUNG WRITERS PROJECT
On February 10, Young Writers Project sponsored Vermont Writes Day:
Seven Minutes, Seven Prompts. Fifty schools participated, 1,800 pieces were submitted, and twenty-five submissions were selected for publication in The Voice.
Three of the twenty-five pieces chosen were composed by Crossroads Academy students! Click here to read the work of Dylan Kotlowitz, Reilly Uiterwyk, and Shira Hoffer.
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* CLASSROOM CLIPS
Classroom Clips is a weekly space for students and teachers to share their writing with the Crossroads community. This is the second issue of CALM, the Crossroads Academy Literary Magazine. The CALM Club meets mostly on Mondays, for fifteen minutes during lunch. The editorial team includes Reilly Uiterwyk, Saia Patel, Marian Zens, Maya Allan, Constance Hammer, and Eden-Anne Bauer. Please click here to read more.
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* SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE…PLEASE JOIN US FOR A GREAT SUMMER AT CROSSROADS!
We are delighted to share course descriptions and registration information for the 2016 Crossroads Summer Programs. Taught by Crossroads faculty, other local teachers, or in collaboration with educational organizations in the Upper Valley, all of our programs are designed to be both engaging and fun. Most programs run from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm daily with a free extended-day option from 3:00-5:00 pm, but please see the program descriptions for the exact times. All programs are open to both Crossroads students and others in the area. Please click here to sign up.
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* PARENT ASSOCIATION NEWS
* LUNCH PROGRAM
This week follows the “Week A” menu. Please be sure you are following the correct week. In addition, please consider sending in a set of silverware for your child to keep in his/her cubby; we are trying to avoid the waste of disposable silverware.
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* FAMILY ARTS NIGHT (2/26)
Please join us this Friday, February 26, from 5:00–7:30 pm for a fun-filled evening of arts and crafts. There will be pizza, snacks, and live music by Crossroads students in all grades, accompanied by Dr. Freeberg and Mr. Glazer’s string band, “Out on a Limb.” In addition, there will be crafts, such as card-making, for guests of David’s House (which provides support and even a home-away-from-home for families with children receiving treatment through the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth). In addition to this and other crafts, there will be games such as Twister and cards. We hope to see you there! This event is being coordinated by the kindergarten and seventh grade families. Please contact Julie Leonard, Elisabeth Hammer, or Juliette Madan with any questions.
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* NH HOMEBUILDERS LEGO BUILD (3/19)
Would you like a fun opportunity to build houses with LEGOS? The NH Homebuilders Association, in association with FLL, is sponsoring a competition for 5-12 year olds. The event is Saturday, March 19, at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester; ages 5-8 participate 10:30 am-1:00 pm and ages 9-12 from 2:00-4:30 pm. All materials are provided, and first, second and third prizes will be awarded. For more information and a contest entry form, click here.
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KEY LINKS: http://www.crossroadsacademy.org/
