“Honesty is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.” Throughout my career, I have often discussed with students what this important trait means, but this response is one I will always remember. This Lower School student not only acknowledged the importance of being sincere, she also touched on the intrinsic importance of integrity, the need to have internalized honesty even if a respected friend, teacher, or parent isn’t there to encourage a certain kind of behavior.
As we explore this Core Virtue during the raw and muddy month of March, students are given the chance to consider how honesty impacts their lives. And in doing so, the connection between honesty and integrity has the chance to deepen. In trying to grapple with these two virtues, integrity often emerges in honesty’s definition, and vice versa.
Opportunities to experience integrity and to practice honesty are everywhere at Crossroads. And when people in our community make mistakes, I hope that we support each other in telling the truth and taking responsibility for our actions. Our teachers model this kind of learning while we all strive to live our life with an integrity that honors our own commitments but respects those of other people, our school, and the wider world. In short, really facing life honestly requires remarkable flexibility and courage as well as a daily commitment to learning. We engage in this activity not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is a way to deepen our lives and create richer connections and meaning. Even when no one is looking.
—Yours truly, Brad
Follow me on Twitter @CrossroadsHead
************************************************
* Head’s Note: Honesty
* Crossroads Annual Fund Note
* Admissions Office News
* Virtue for This Month: Honesty
* School News
– Crossroads Places First in the NH Regional Math League Competition for Elementary and Middle Schools
– Fifth-Grade Spanish Art Book Projects!
– Hats Off
– The Verse Business with Gordon Clapp (3/22)
– Marine Lab Meeting (3/23)
– You Come Too, A Robert Frost Birthday Celebration (3/31)
– Summer Programs 2016
– Classroom Clips
* Parent Association News
– Lunch Program
– Faculty and Staff Appreciation Luncheon (3/24)
***************************************************
* NOTE FROM YOUR CROSSROADS ANNUAL FUND LEADERS!
We are making good progress and are incredibly grateful to all who have made their gift. Thank you! And for those who have not yet joined us, please do REMEMBER THE MATCH and click here to support Crossroads in this important way!
**************************
* ADMISSIONS OFFICE NEWS
Greetings from the Admissions Office! It’s hard to believe that we are two-thirds of the way through the school year. Where has the time gone?! It’s been a special year with many great things happening on campus; the strings program beginning in grades K-2, French and Spanish beginning in K-3, awards given to The Lego League team, math and science club students, many poems and stories published in local papers and literary magazines, six new students admitted mid-year, and the new Crossroads viewbook launched, among many other things. Our school might be modestly tucked into the hills and woods of Lyme, but the word is getting out…we have an incredible thing going on here! So, let’s keep spreading the word about our gem of a school. Please let me know if you would like to volunteer to take viewbooks to local businesses. And, of course, you are always welcome to stop by my office to pick up a few to pass on to your friends and neighbors. Thank you!
Reminder…
Our next Crossroads Brown Bag Café will be held on April 19, the Tuesday morning following spring vacation. 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. Maybe we can even take a nice spring walk around campus…wear your walking shoes! I hope you can join us.
Have a wonderful week! —Warmly, Marilyn
************************
VIRTUE FOR THIS MONTH
* March: HONESTY
Honesty is truthfulness: loving the truth, telling the truth, and living truthfully in word and deed.
*****************
* SCHOOL NEWS
* CROSSROADS PLACES FIRST IN THE NH REGIONAL MATH LEAGUE COMPETITION FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Congratulations to all of the Crossroads students in grades 3-8 who competed in the New Hampshire Regional Math League Competition hosted at Crossroads this weekend! Thank you to Alison Gorman, Wayne Chin (our parent volunteer), and Daryl DeFord (our Dartmouth graduate student volunteer) for working with our students every week.
Elementary School Competition Results
Students that placed at the individual grade level:
Third grade: Roxane Park (1st), David Viazmenski (2nd)
Fourth grade: Alex Zitzewitz (1st), Eli Hoffer (3rd)
Sixth grade: Maxine Park (1st), Zoe Zitzewitz (2nd), Zachary Zitzewitz (3rd)
The Crossroads team of sixth graders Matthew Adner, Liana Lansigan, Saia Patel, and Evan Yang placed 2nd overall. The Crossroads team of Maxine Park, Alex Zitzewitz, Zoe Zitzewitz, and Zachary Zitzewitz placed 1st overall, and currently holds the third highest team score in the country.
Congratulations to all of these students, and to Amica Lansigan, Riley Chin, Audrey Lewellen, and Ann Rightmire for all of their hard work!
Middle School Competition Results
Students that placed at the individual grade level:
Sixth grade: Maxine Park (1st), Zachary Zitzewitz (2nd), Zoe Zitzewitz (3rd)
Seventh grade: Andrew Huang (1st), Jonathan Li (3rd)
Eighth grade: Katherine Duan (1st; also the highest scoring student of the competition)
Jonathan Li placed 1st in the live, head-to-head countdown round among the top eight students.
The Crossroads Team of Miriam Viazmenski (seventh grade), Zoe Zitzewitz, and Zachary Zitzewitz placed third overall, even with only three team members! The Crossroads Team of Katherine Duan, Andrew Huang, Jonathan Li, and Maxine Park placed 1st overall.
Congratulations to all of these students, and to Matthew Adner, Liana Lansigan, Saia Patel, Reilly Uiterwyk, Evan Yang, and Marian Zens for all of their hard work!
——————————————————–
* FIFTH GRADE SPANISH ART BOOK PROJECTS!
Speaking of the muscle of imagination, in Señora Maria Clara’s Spanish class the fifth grade students worked on an illustrated art book project called “Tengo un monstruo enfermo” (“I have a sick monster”). They reviewed the vocabulary learned in class about parts of the human body and the verb “tener” (to have). The students read the short story “El Gigante Tiene una Depresion Nerviosa” (“The Giant Has a Nervous Breakdown”) from the book Monstruos Enfermos (Sick Monsters) by Emmanuelle Houdart. Students learned new words like “sintomas y tratamiento” (symptoms and treatment) and worked on creating their own short stories. They shaped the main character and used the grammar and vocabulary learned in class to narrate the story. The main characters were fascinating and graceful: germs with jet lags, germs with anger management issues, dragons with brain concussions, fairies with broken wings, unicorns with one eye and sixteen horns, and bacteria with growing pain. As Pablo Picasso used to say, “Everything you can imagine is real.” Muy bien por los estudiantes de 5to!
————————–
* HATS OFF…
Chopin International Piano Competition:
Last weekend, Maxine Park (sixth grade) received first prize in the Junior Division of the Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, CT, representing the second highest score from among forty young pianists.
Crossroads Skaters Raise Funds for CHaD:
This weekend, skaters from The Skating Club at Dartmouth joined with US National competitors and Olympic Speed Skaters in a Skating Spectacular to raise money for the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
The freestyle skaters were coached by Crossroads’ own Rose Grenier. Solos were performed by Mackenzie Chin (2nd grade), Micki Loud (seventh grade), and Cecy Sweeney (6th grade). Micki and Eden Anne Bauer (sixth grade) also performed in a group number, “Artistry in Motion,” that they helped to choreograph. Lyla Eve Bauer (first grade) and Ariel Fu (k) also performed in the show.
Good luck to Micki, Eden Anne, and Mackenzie at next weekend’s competition in Burlington, VT, and congratulations to all of the skaters for all of their hard work for such a great cause.
—————————————
* THIS VERSE BUSINESS (3/22)
On Tuesday, March 22, from 8:10-9:00 am in the Bancroft Campus Center actor Gordon Clapp will present an abridged version of This Verse Business, a one-man show about the life and poetry of Robert Frost.
NOTE: The length and content of the show make this performance appropriate for grades 4-8 and up.
Drawn directly from Robert Frost’s lectures, interviews, and letters, This Verse Business is both an illuminating portrait of the man and an entertaining distillation of one poet’s body of work and his writing methods. Gordon Clapp brings Frost to life in this captivating testament to the intrinsic value of poetry and the arts. Audiences will leave moved and inspired. Please click here for more information.
———————————–
Marine Lab Meeting (3/23)
On Wednesday, March 23, participants and their parents are encouraged to attend a 7:00 pm meeting in the Lora Robins Library.
——————————————————————————-
* YOU COME TOO, A ROBERT FROST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION (3/31)
On Thursday, March 31, from 6:30-7:45 pm, the Crossroads Academy seventh grade will host You Come Too, a Robert Frost birthday celebration at the Howe Library. Students will recite poems that they have memorized, translated, and composed. All are welcome to join us for this special event. Please bring a poem to read, or simply come to enjoy an evening of Frost and a kickoff to National Poetry Month. Please click here for more information.
————————————————————————————-
* 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.
—————————
* CLASSROOM CLIPS
Classroom Clips is a weekly space for students and teachers to share their writing with the Crossroads community. There are three entries today from sixth graders Eden Anne Bauer, Maxine Park, and Cecy Sweeney. All sixth grade students created posters diagraming the causes of the French Revolution. Please click here for Eden Anne’s poster, click here for Maxine’s poster, and click here for Cecy’s poster.
*********************************
* 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.
———————————————————————————–
* CROSSROADS FACULTY AND STAFF APPRECIATION LUNCHEON (3/24)
The Crossroads Faculty and Staff Appreciation Luncheon will take place on Thursday, March 24, from 11:30 am-12:30 pm. This is a very special event at Crossroads that honors our children’s wonderful teachers and school staff. We will need volunteers to assist with food, beverages, appreciation cards, setup and cleanup, and classroom coverage. If you haven’t done so already, please go to the Google Docand volunteer. Your support will help make this a successful event. Please contact Claudia Adami or Maggie Hanson with any questions. Thank you very much!
*******************************
KEY LINKS: http://www.crossroadsacademy.org/
