Thelma's Weekly Updates

Camelot Update 2014-11-30

2014-11-30T16:55:00.001-05:00

Greetings!

I hope you have enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Week. It was the perfect start to the season to enjoy the Academic Fair/Thanksgiving Feast with everyone. Special thanks to Ms. Jill, Ms. Erin, Mr. Tom and Ms. Michelle for shepherding the students through their research projects, to Mr. Glenn and Ms. Teresa for the lovely musical performances, to Ms. Wendy for orchestrating the meal, to Mr. Dan for tech support, to Mr. Scott for outreach, to Ms. Jo Anne and Ms. Amy for the Scavenger Hunt, to Ms. Lori for coordination before and during the event, to Ms. Judith for the table decor, art display and poster-board consults, to Ms. Roni for the presentation help and to Mr. Matt for handling the logistics on site. I also want to thank every other member of Team Camelot for their countless contributions to make the day a success in ways too numerous to list - it is without a doubt a shining example of our Camelot Family working together to witness such a lovely occasion on behalf of our children.

We are now entering the time period I call "Interlude" - between the two holiday breaks. It is a deceptive three weeks as it seems a short, easy time between alarm clock rituals but - actually - there is much to be done...

- Middle Grades students will take Semester Exams

- Seniors will complete the majority of their college applications

- The performing groups have their first public performances

- Upper School students finish their classes for the semester

- The holidays - and all of their accompanying merriment - provide a backdrop!

We will navigate it all together and simply ask that everyone pay a little extra attention to the details of the Weekly Email and student planners/folders during this busy time.

Highlights of the Upcoming Week:

Monday-

- Semester Paperwork due to the Office

- Picture orders due to office (or online orders need to be placed)

- MG pink exam info letter needs to be signed and returned

Tuesday -

Mr. Oliver hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

Wednesday -

Mr. Dan hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

Friday -

9 AM - Jr MAPP field trip to The Nasher

I hope you have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-11-16

2014-11-16T16:54:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

What an exciting week we had! Many of the students completed their Academic Fair projects and you could feel the relief and satisfaction in the air by dismissal time on Friday afternoon.

We inadvertently left two students off the Module 2 Honor Roll last week. Congratulations to Fiona Castorina and Chase Lewis!

Announcement from NHS:

At Academic Fair this Friday, NHS will be collecting cans and money to build a “Canstruction” sculpture next semester. All the food from this sculpture will go to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Please cansider making a cantribution of either money or cans. There will be a large red bucket where cans can be put and and a Cantribution collection box at the Convention Center on Friday. Collections will cantinue through December and early January. Any cantributions are greatly appreciated!

The Search Institute is providing a no-cost webinar on Nurturing Strong Family Relationships During the Teenage Years. It will be onWednesday November 19 from 1-2pm. Even if you can’t watch during that time, you will receive a link to listen to it later if you register. Webinar participants will gain new insights about nurturing relationships in families along with some practical ideas for what they can do in their own families or families they work with to be more intentional about nurturing family relationships. For more information or to register, go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/300000000010762652;jsessionid=abcSgCd6Wo8U2dYR3h1Mu

Highlights of the Upcoming Week:

Tuesday -

Achieve Portal for viewing Middle and Upper School Mid-Semester grades closes

Mr. Oliver hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

Wednesday -

No Inventions Club this week

Mr. Dan hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

Thursday -

School closed at 3:30 PM

No clubs, study hall, etc.

Optional Care available by pre-registration

(contact Ms. Wendy at wendy@camelotacademy.org)

Friday -

Academic Fair and Thanksgiving Feast (a required parent event)**

(see copies of detailed arrival time and directional info here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/forms.php)

All activities are being held at the Downtown Marriott Convention Center

**This is the biggest event of the semester - a true celebration of our students, our school, our families and all we have to be thankful for. We look forward to sharing our learning, our music and a good meal.

School closed the week of November 24 for Fall Break.

Classes resume on Monday, December 1.

Mr. Mike is in need of Parent Service help with leaf raking. Contact him at mike@camelotacademy.org to sign up for a Saturday time in December.

I look forward to seeing you on Friday. I hope that you have a safe and restful Thanksgiving.

Camelot Update 2014-11-09

2014-11-09T16:54:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

Welcome Mira Salemy to Jr MAPP! We are thrilled to add a sibling to our Camelot Family.

Many thanks to our wonderful guest speakers this week - Michelle Lewis, Troy Livingstone and Trang and Peter Lance.

Congratulations to Module 2 Merit and Honor Roll Students:

Merit: Joaquin Dlott, Travis Fountain, Dominic Harding, Nate Hopkins, Ephram Oliver, Elizabeth Whetzel, Isabel Brown and Heather Hartman.

Honor: Evan MacDonald, Sean Kowis, Ray Palma, Amzie Yurko, Hannah Bao, Willa Holt, Rachel Kowis, Chris Radcliffe, Abby Weber, Richard Carruthers, Simon Dong, David McShea, Marcus Nylander, Danny Sutton, Peter Zhao, Victoria Hill, ElizabethProvenzale and Zack Milkereit.

A huge pat on the back to all who participated in the Spring 2014 Crop Walk. Our school won the Silver Award for raising the second highest amount of donations (in the "School" category). Not to be outdone by our own history, this year's NHS has been on a campaign for students to turn in the service hours they have performed in the community so they can be added to our school-wide count. Here's a message from our NHS:

If we reach our 500 hour goal, the National Honor Society will host a whole-school ice cream or hot chocolate party. If your child has participated in ANY service opportunities during the first semester, please fill out the forms in the Big Hall underneath the Community Service Hours bulletin board or emailamy@camelotacademy.org with the info.

Kudos to Jill Pitino and my sister Donna De Carlo (our off-site IT person) who were a whirlwind of activity pulling together Mid-Semester grades and comments. In a school in which there are almost as many unique schedules as there are students, it is no small undertaking to pin down all of the variables.

That whirlwind of activity will now continue as many of our students work to meet Academic Fair deadlines, our seniors work to meet college deadlines and the end of semester is suddenly just a few weeks away! During this busy time, all students would benefit from extra support at home in the homework and time management process. Please remember to check homework planners/folders each and every night!

Highlights of the Upcoming Week:

Monday -

- RSVP due from ALL families for Academic Fair/Thanksgiving Feast

- Crates Out! (This is Camelot-speak for an opportunity to view student work.

See below for details**)

Tuesday -

Crates Out!**

Mr. Oliver hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:40 PM- use Sign-Up Genius to reserve a seat

Wednesday -

- Mr. Dan hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM - use Sign-Up Genius to reserve a seat

- Upper School Academic Fair final papers are due

- Deadline to sign up for NYC/Boston trip (see email sent Saturday, November 1 to Middle and Upper School families for details)

- Deadline to return all signed Mid-Semester Warnings

Friday -

US graded Academic Fair presentations (poster boards and oral defense) due

** "Crates Out" means that during BEFORE and AFTER SCHOOL hours, parents may review student work in the following locations:

Sr MAPP, Middle Grades and Upper School -

-Crates are UPSTAIRS on the table

Jr MAPP -

- Workbooks are in/on student desks with note to parents posted by white board in the classroom.

KinderMAPP -

- Purple Folders go home each Friday with weekly work.

- Journals are in basket on radiator in the classroom for parents to review.

I hope you have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-11-02

2014-11-02T09:24:00.002-05:00

Greetings!

The busy month of October came to a close with a full and eventful October 31. Of course there was the fun of costumes and the fuel of candy, but there was also gardening, trips to bakeries, a trip to Old Salem, parties and guest speakers. Many thanks to our wonderful guest speakersAngela Kirby, Victoria Kaprielian and Reginald Parker. Our students are incredibly fortunate to be able to interact with people with such diverse and fascinating backgrounds. Also, many thanks to Ms. Amy who coordinates the speakers and is an invaluable help in scheduling all of theFriday programming.

Congratulations to sophomore Chase Lewis for his invention "to solve a challenge of the world" that was selected as one of six winners in the national XPrize/Disney Big Hero 6 Challenge. He looks forward to a trip to Los Angeles and a walk down the red carpet. You can read more about it all here:

http://learning.xprize.org/press-release/xprize-recruits-real-life-big-hero-6

Speaking of inventions, we have another budding inventor in our Inventions Club in need of a consultation with an ELECTRICAL engineer. If that might be you, please respond to this email and I'll forward your info.

We are excited to have some unique sign-up opportunities this week:

1) Middle Grades and Upper School students (and their parents) may participate in the June trip to Boston and NYC. The itinerary was sent via email yesterday and includes something for everyone. The destinations were chosen based on your feedback in the Going ForwardSurvey. Note the stops at Harvard and MIT!

2) 6th to12th grade young men AND WOMEN may join our Basketball CLUB (NOT a competitive team). Details about this were also sent in an email yesterday. This club should allow us to grow the interest and young talent we have now into a league-ready team next year.

3) Middle and Upper School students in need of extra time for math instruction will receive email invitations on Monday to sign up for ateacher-sponsored math study hall. Only eight spaces per day, so be ready to respond to the email!

Here's a peak at this week:

Monday -

- Upper School Academic Fair rough drafts are due!

- Email will be sent with Math Study Hall Invites (from Jill P)

Tuesday -

Election Day - Camelot students participate in Kids Voting

Mr. Oliver hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:40 PM

Wednesday -

- Smith College (MA) rep visits

- Mr. Dan hosts Math Study Hall 3:30-4:30 PM

- Co-Ed Basketball Club sign-up deadline

- 3:30 PM Boston/NYC Middle/Upper School Trip sign-up event (for parents)

Thursday -

- All students participate in Love Lunch (multi-age discussion/activity groups)

Friday -

- Mid-Semester grades posted on Achieve Portal for Middle and Upper Grades students

- First Quarter Reports mailed for MAPP students

SERVICE OPPORTUNITY

On Saturday, November 22, Camelot Academy will host MEL's POP-UP SHOP, a sale of unusual things with a vintage all their own, along with a BOOK DRIVE to benefit Book Harvest, a Triangle nonprofit that collects new and gently used children’s books

to distribute to children in need. Since it kicked off in 2011, Book Harvest has given more than 240,000 donated books to low-income children throughout the Triangle. We will have a donation box for books and a portion of the Pop-Up Shop proceeds

will be donated to Book Harvest.

Set-up is on Friday afternoon, November 21 (after the Academic Fair/Thanksgiving Feast), and the Shop is Saturday, November 22. We could use help on Friday after 1 pm and on Saturday from 8 am-4 pm (the Shop is open to customers from 9 am-3 pm). There are five slots available for Parent Service (two on Friday afternoon and three on Saturday) and opportunities for high school students to earn service hours at either time. If you or your student are available for a 3 hour shift to wrap purchases, take money or watch over various tables, please emailmelanie1952@gmail.com the date/times.

Enjoy your extra hour of the weekend!

Camelot Update 2014-10-26

2014-10-26T11:30:00.001-04:00

Greetings!

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful stretch of fall weather! The sunshine and comfortable temperatures helped to make Picture Day a success. A huge "thank you" to Ms. Wendy for all of the advance work, Ms. Jill P for handling the myriad of "day of" logistics and all of the teachers and staff who were flexible and cheerful in the midst of a long and complicated day. We are barreling towards Mid-Semester and the holidays faster than seems possible. Fasten your seat belts for busy times!

This Friday the Lower School classes will have Fall Festival activities at the end of the day. Classroom teachers will communicate with you directly about any particular costume themes. All costumes should adhere to our guidelines of nothing gory, no fake weapons, no witches, ghosts, devils or anything else that is not school-appropriate.

Friday is also Mid-Semester. By the end of the following week, Middle and Upper School parents will receive an email with Mid-Semester grade info. MAPP parents will receive a report in the mail with a First Quarter update.

Is there a mechanical engineer in the parent body? One of our students is working on an invention as part of the Science Inventions Club and is in need of a consultation. If you can help, please let me know. This is a Parent Service opportunity!

We have ongoing Parent Service work available for those interested in Saturday leaf raking over the next month. Please contact Mr. Mike directly at mike@camelotacademy.org.

Here's a look at the upcoming week:

Wednesday -

- Hendrix College (AR) rep visits

Thursday -

- Earlham College (IN) rep visits

Friday -

Lower School Fall Festival activities

Mid-Semester

I hope you have a great week.

Camelot Update 2014-10-19

2014-10-19T09:16:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

What a productive week we had - the activity spilled right into the weekend! Yesterday, not only did we have a crew of high school students take the PSAT at school, but an equally-as-large crew showed up outside to help with the installation of the National Honor Society-inspired rain garden. Thanks to the organizational efforts of Ms. Jenny and Ms. Amy as well as the invaluable work and input of parent Dave Milkereit, much progress was made. NHS president senior Zax Milkereit had a great deal of additional help bringing his vision to reality - many thanks for the wonderful parent and student turnout.

Congratulations to Senior Lance Wilkes who has been named a Commended Student by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. His 2013 PSAT scores placed him in the top 5% of the 1.5 million juniors who took the test last year.

Our Module 1 Merit and Honor Roll students have been announced. Please refer to the Family Handbook to review the academic, behavioral and attendance criteria for achieving each status.

Merit Award: Ethan Salemy, Gabriella Taylor, Teresa Zimmerman, Ephram Oliver, Sofia Fonseca, Issie Brown, Heather Hartman and Mack Taylor.

Honor Roll Award: Lance Wilkes, Zack Milkereit, Zander Hall, Ryan Felton, Fiona Castorina, Olivia Castorina, Elizabeth Provenzale,Yuqing Liu, Jeremy Lin, Cole Kurtzman, Ben Kirby, Victoria Hill, Peter Zhao, Danny Sutton, David McShea, Chase Lewis, Simon Dong, Abby Weber, Ben Sharp, Christopher Radcliffe, Chase Laster, Rachel Kowis, Willa Holt, Amzie Yurko, William Whetzel, Haley Pitino, Ray Palma, Sean Kowis, Kira Arges and Evan MacDonald.

Camelot Academy's International Program is offering Family Outreach Opportunities as a learning experience for both our International and US students. For those interested, we invite you to sign up to have one of our international students participate in a weekend activity with your family such as a dinner, a local festival, a sport's game, play, or any upcoming Halloween festivities or Thanksgiving Day traditions you are willing to share. This is a wonderful mutual exchange in which Camelot families can better get to know our international students as well as better expose them to the community in which they live. This is also a Parent Service Opportunity!

If you would like to participate, please click on the following link: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0A44A5AD2DA6FC1-international

Please choose a general weekend that works best for you, and we will get in contact about the specifics. Please contact Ms. Stephanie atstephanie@camelotacademy.org with any questions.

Basketball Season starts in early November. We are in need of more players - our co-ed team is open to students in grades 6-12. Please contact Ms. Krista for more info at krista@camelotacademy.org. NHS has a sports scholarship available - contact Ms. Amy atamy@camelotacademy.org for more information.

School pictures are being taken this Friday. If you wish to order whole school or homeroom group pictures, they must be preordered with the forms that went home last week. The order deadline is this Wednesday, October 22. Please be sure your student comes dressed appropriately on Friday - NO T-SHIRTS, please!

On Saturday October 25 from 10am - 12pm, Pfeiffer Institute Reach, located in Morrisville, is offering a FREE workshop designed to help parents learn skills that will improve their relationships with their children: opening channels of communication, parenting styles, managing inappropriate behaviors, and setting boundaries. The workshop is open to parents and caregivers; those who attend will receive a voucher for one FREE therapy session. Kids get something too! While their parents are in their workshop, there will be a FREE children’s workshop for ages 6-12 to improve skills such as communication and emotional self-regulation in a fun and creative way. More information can be found here: http://www.pfeifferreach.org/Workshops.en.html.

It's that time of year! Mr. Mike is starting a list of parents willing to help with leaf raking over the coming weekends. Please send him an email atmike@camelotacademy.org if you would like to help with this Parent Service job.

Coming up this week:

Monday -

- Centre College (KY) rep visits

Tuesday -

- Tulane (LA), Eckerd (FL) and Vanderbilt University (TN) reps visit

Wednesday -

- Deadline to order group pictures!

Friday -

- School Picture Day!

Have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-10-12

2014-10-12T05:14:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

We just completed one of the most important weeks of the school year and my heart is filled with gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful work done on behalf of our students. In addition to the stated agenda of relaying academic information and establishing benchmarks, the outcome of strengthening family-teacher relationships is equally important and a beautiful thing to behold. Thank you to everyone for making these meetings a priority, for bringing so much to the table and for providing us your all-important feedback. Our work for the remainder of this year - and beyond - will benefit.

I came across an important article recapping what scientists know about how we learn best and the implications to how we study. What perfect timing for a week filled with discussions about such things! You can find the article here:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/better-ways-to-learn/?emc=eta1

Our conference meetings resulted in a lot of brainstorming and ideas. Below are some resulting calls to action:

From Ms. Charlotte:

We would like to find opportunities for Camelot students to use the Spanish language in our community with native speakers. Ideally, the opportunities would occur during the school day or directly after school. Please contact Charlotte@camelotacademy.org with any leads for such opportunities.

From National Honor Society:

National Honor Society has again promised an ice cream party for the whole school once our students collectively perform 500 hours of Community Service. Any hours that have been performed since the first day of school can count. Forms that a parent needs to sign to verify hours will be in the Big Hall, or you can email amy@camelotacademy.org. In keeping with the theme of the year, "Building Bridges", there is a bridge in the Big Hall across which a knight will move as the students acquire hours. The goal is to reach 500 hours each semester. Last year we did slightly more than this over the course of the whole year, so this is an ambitious goal, but it is reachable. Please encourage your students to perform service and to give to our community! We will continue to promote various options at school, and you can find other opportunities atwww.handsontriangle.org.

One of the first ways Upper School students can do service is by coming to a Rain Garden Workday on Saturday, October 18! National Honor Society, with help from parent Dave Milkereit and Ms. Jenny, is building a rain garden between the main school building and the playground. If you can come from 10AM - noon or from noon - 2 PM (after the PSAT), please consider signing up here: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0845A8AF22ABF49-upper.

From Ms. Amy:

Educational Enrichment Offering: Duke University is now offering an educational initiative called Splash that allows middle school and high school students to participate in small, interactive seminars for one day each semester. These seminars are taught and designed by passionate Duke students. The next Splash courses will be offered on Oct. 25 and registration is now open at https://dukesplash.learningu.org. It is free of charge and lunch is provided. The seminars offer a wide range of topics on everything from Astrophysics to Disney Movie Culture.

From Ms. Joyce:

The Upper School Computer Coding Class is recruiting speakers to talk to the class about the impact of computer science in their profession. Any parent who is interested in speaking or who can provide a bridge to such a speaker, please contact Joyce@camelotacademy. This is a Parent Service Opportunity.

In other news, we have decided to move our Fall Festival this year back to a weekday afternoon. We will plan some fun activities for the occasion on Friday, October 31. Stay tuned for more details.

We have room for late joiners to the following after school clubs:

Wednesdays - Science Fair and Invention Club (Grades 6-12)

Thursdays - Science Extensions Club (KinderMapp and Jr MAPP)

Thursdays - Literary Magazine (Grades 7-12)

Please contact Ms. Wendy at wendy@camelotacademy.org for pro-rated fee info.

Highlights of the upcoming week:

Wednesday:

- Virginia Commonwealth University rep visits

Thursday:

- Duke University rep visits

Friday:

- Final Home Game for our Soccer Knights at 4:30 PM (fans who wish to be transported send me an email by 5 PM Thursday. Parents pick up at the field at 5:30 PM)

Saturday:

- 10th and 11th graders take the PSAT at Camelot - email with details will be sent Monday

Upcoming:

- Friday, October 24 - School Picture Day

Basketball Season starts later this month. We anticipate having a co-ed team.

If you have not already done so please contact Ms. Krista at krista@camelotacademy.org for sign up information.

IMPORTANT! As we approach flu season, a reminder that students must be kept home if they have run a fever in the past 24 hours. Also, students who have had stomach problems the night before or the morning of school should be kept home until several hours have passed and normal eating has resumed without incident. Not only will these steps help to keep our students and staff well, but they will prevent your child from the distress of awaiting pick-up in the midst of feeling miserable. Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation.

Finally, please take extra care today to help your student collect and pack up all homework and other essentials needed when we return to classes tomorrow. Students of all ages can benefit from this attention to a successful launch back into the routine following our break.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Camelot Update 2014-10-05

2014-10-05T13:53:00.002-04:00

Greetings!

We have our first Open House of the year today from 2 - 4 PM. This event is for prospective families. Since word-of-mouth is by far our best means of recruitment, please be sure to reach out to any families you might know who would be interested in stopping by this afternoon.

Congratulations to Jeremy Lin, Sarah Fauver, Ben Kirby, Elizabeth Provenzale, and Johnny Qian on their recent acceptance to The National Honor Society. On Friday, we officially initiated all members who have been accepted during the past year. Upcoming NHS projects include building a rain garden, offering an incentive for community service hours performed by all students, building a “Can-struction” project of cans to donate to the Food Bank, and organizing the Third Annual Science Night.

Thank you to parent Laura Fish who was our Upper School Career Speaker this week. Our students have already had a bounty of exposure this semester to both colleges and professions. Many thanks to Ms. Amy for the coordination of our Friday guests, and the many NHS activities.

Huge thanks to Hannah Bao, Elizabeth Provenzale, Amzie Yurko, Willa Holt, Ryan Felton, Cameron Stell, Mike Glynn and Tom Mitchell for providing child care on Thursday during Back-to-School Night for Middle Grades and Lower School. Thanks to their efforts, we raised $140 towards canned food to start NHS’s “Can-struction” project

We look forward to welcoming you to Family Conferences this week. Many thanks to Jill Pitino for the countless hours spent juggling a myriad of variables to produce the masterpiece of a schedule we have for next week. Our appointment times are booked solid so please arrive a few minutes early to allow time to review student work before attending your meeting. We also encourage you to plan for your conference by organizing your comments and questions in advance.

This week:

Monday- Friday - No classes for Upper School

Monday and Tuesday - Lower and Middle Grades have regular hours, no clubs.

Wednesday - Friday - No classes for Lower or Middle Grades

(Optional Care by prior reservation)

Please note that students have homework assignments to complete this week! They have been coached in the creation of a study plan to use over the next several days. Upper School students have those planners with them now and Middle Grades students will go home with them on Tuesday.

If your high school student has a Job Shadow Visit set up this week, please check the details and follow them carefully. If any issues arise, please contact Ms. Amy at amy@camelotacademy.org.

I look forward to seeing you in conference!

Camelot Update 2014-09-28

2014-09-28T13:53:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

We had a very successful week. Many schedule tweaks were made in response to retreat feedback that have resulted in things humming along quite smoothly. Club Preview Week was a great hit and everything from science to sewing has been explored! The Upper School had its first of six Extended Opportunities Fridays that included chemistry labs, a trip to the Nasher Art Museum and career speakers. Many thanks to parents Mitzi Johnson,Jonathan Holt and Susannah Goldwater for their wonderful contributions. In addition, we held Back to School Night for the Upper School (thanks to Jim Arges, Becky and Chris Wilkes and Xiaojing Chen for serving as Parent Ambassadors). We look forward to hosting Lower and Middle Grades families on Thursday night.

You will be receiving a separate email to sign up for a Family Conference the week of October 6. During the conference, you will meet with your student's academic teachers to discuss pre-test results and plans for the year. Please note that classes are not held on these days, Optional Care is available for Lower and Middle Grades students - contact Ms. Wendy at wendy@camelotacademy to reserve space. Family Conferences are a required school event.

During conference week, Camelot Academy offers a unique experience for our high school (Grades 9-12) students. Several Camelot Academy parents have offered to host a “JOB SHADOW” in their place of business for our students to witness life in the professional world. A list of descriptions is on the Camelot website here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/admin/editor_assets/job_shadow-1415f.pdf

Parents are asked to please look over the list with your students and encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity. If your student is interested and available during the timeframes indicated, please return the interest form by Wednesday, October 1st or email amy@camelotacademy.org the necessary information. You will receive a confirmation of job shadow placement and details by Friday, Oct. 3. Please note the possible dates and times of the opportunities and make sure to have transportation to and from arranged. Also, be sure NOT to schedule your Family Conference at the same time! Our oldest students will be given priority in filling these opportunities, we will do our best to accommodate as many requests as possible.

Here is the Plan for the Upcoming Week:

Monday -

Final Deadline for Club Sign Up!

You can download a form here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/admin/editor_assets/club_signup-1415f.pdf

Boston College Rep

Colgate University Rep

Home Soccer Game at 4:30 PM

Wednesday -

Job Shadow Forms Due

Hofstra University Rep

Thursday -

Lower School Back to School Night 5:30 - 7:00 PM

This is a required parent event that provides class-specific info and expectations. Your attendance allows us to spend time at your family conference exchanging info that is just about YOUR student rather than reviewing general information.

The National Honor Society (NHS) is offering child care for Lower and Middle Grades students on Back to School Night. Service will begin at 5:20 PM. Please use the following link to sign up for the child care,http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0845a8af22abf49-childcare. A five dollar donation is suggested, which will be used to help the NHS buy canned food for the food bank.

Friday-

Elon University Rep

Upcoming:

Week of October 6:

Upper School -

- No classes all week - Family Conferences Monday-Friday

- Job Shadow Opportunities as noted above

Middle Grades and Lower School:

- No classes Wednesday- Friday - Family Conferences

- Optional Care as noted above

Have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-09-21

2014-09-21T21:15:00.002-04:00

Greetings!

Thank you for your Retreat Feedback - we had 100 percent family participation, which set a tone of effectiveness and collaboration that lasted all three days. We are deeply appreciative of the time and support our families extend us for this important work. We will be responding to all feedback via email, phone call, Back to School Night conversation or in your upcoming Family Conference. We are eager to embark on the next phase of the school year.

Congratulations to junior Cameron Stell who is being recognized with a Mayor's Award for his volunteer work over the summer. Way to go!

Congratulations to our Soccer Knights who had their first win of the season in the Wednesday game vs. Fletcher Academy!

Ms. Judith's Upper School art classes are currently working on Dale Chihuly-inspired recycled plastic sculptures. We are in need of empty water and soda bottles, milk and plastic juice jugs. If you have any of these in your recycling, please bring them with you to school.

This week is Club Preview Week. Students will be given Sign-Up Forms or you may download a form from our website (posted tomorrow). New clubs will run Tuesday through Friday. Throughout this week students may stay after school for any club on a trial basis. Regular after school fees apply. Official sign-up is due by Friday and regular club sessions start next week.

Back to School Nights! These are required parent events that provide class-specific information and expectations. Your attendance at this event allows us to spend time at your family conference exchanging info that is just about YOUR student rather than reviewing general information.

This Week:

Monday -

- Virginia Tech visit

Tuesday -

- Furman University visit

- Upper School Back to School Night for parents 5:30-7:00 PM

Wednesday -

- University of Vermont

Thursday -

- Davidson College

Friday -

- Stetson University

- Club Sign-Up Forms Due!

Coming Up:

Thursday, October 2 - Lower and Middle Grade Back to School Night - 5:30-7:00 PM

I look forward to seeing you at one of our evening events!

Camelot Update 2014-09-14

2014-09-14T09:10:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

We had a productive week and now find ourselves rapidly coming to the end of our pre-testing and assessment period. It was wonderful that The New York TImes recently ran an article about the value of this approach. We have already discussed this a bit in Morning Meeting and individual classes. Parents may want to read the article and join the dialogue! (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/magazine/why-flunking-exams-is-actually-a-good-thing.html?emc=edit_tnt_20140904&nlid=50116131&tntemail0=y&_r=1)

All students K-12 took home a Retreat Feedback Form on Friday. Please be sure to complete this form and RETURN IT BY MONDAY. This is the right time to comment on how things are going, ask a question, make a suggestion, etc. Even if you have no feedback at this time, we ask you to sign and return the form so that we know you were aware of the invitation to do so. You can download and print a copy of the form here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/forms.php

Also due on Monday is the paperwork sent home with Upper School music students for First Semester participation. Please contact Mr. Glenn with any questions at glenn@camelotacademy.org.

The students have a short week next week. The faculty has a long week as we gather to reflect and plan for each of our students - one by one! Please note that most students will have homework over the long weekend. When we return to classes on Monday, September 22 we will be deep into the semester and ready for Back to SchoolNIghts and family conferences.

Following are details of this week:

Monday -

- ALL STUDENTS return Retreat Feedback Forms

- Upper School Music students return sign-up forms

- Hollins University (VA) visit

Wednesday -

- Hampshire College (MA) visit

- Upper School (K-11) dismissed at NOON

- 12th graders dismissed at 12:30 PM

- Lower and Middle Grades dismissed at usual times, after school runs as usual

Thursday and Friday -

- NO CLASSES for all grades

- Optional Care for Lower and Middle Grades students (must sign up in advance - contact Ms. Wendy atwendy@camelotacademy.org)

Upcoming-

Week of September 22 - Club Preview Week - look for more info this week!

Back to School Nights! These are required parent events that provide class-specific info and expectations. Your attendance at this event allows us to spend time at your family conference exchanging info that is just about YOUR student rather than reviewing general information.

Tuesday, September 23 - Upper School Back To School Night - 5:30-7:00 PM

Thursday, October 2 - Lower and Middle Grade Back to School Night - 5:30-7:00 PM

Job Shadow Hosts and Speakers Needed:

Those of you who indicated on the Going Forward Survey a willingness to host students for Job Shadow experiences or to come to Camelot as a speaker have received an email from Ms. Amy with information about how to sign up to offer these opportunities. Others willing to invite students to come to your work place during Conference Week (Oct. 6-10) or willing to come speak to Upper School students (about your career, interests or other experiences) please fill out the Job Shadow and Speaker Sign-Up Form linked to the Camelot website or email amy@camelotacademy.org to get more information.

Have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-09-07

2014-09-07T09:09:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

Although we had a four-day week, we packed five days' worth of activity into it! It truly amazes me how many things we can figure out, tweak and improve in such a short time. It is a brisk pace for all, but you can sense a rhythm of things falling into place. Our students have been wonderful and our faculty is full of superstars who have worked long (and hot!) hours with excellence and enthusiasm.

This week will be our first five-day week - here is some of what is planned:

Monday -

- Deadline for Juniors and Seniors to sign up for on-campus SAT class

- Tufts University (MA) Visit

Tuesday -

- Rhodes College (TN) Visit

Wednesday -

- Deadline for lunch orders for next week

Thursday -

- Patriot Day

- Middlebury College (VT) Visit

Friday -

- Upper School students will do service activities in the afternoon - in observance of Patriot Day (Thursday, September 11). Parents - please watch your email on Monday for more info.

- Home Soccer Game at 4:30 PM. Middle and Upper School fans needing transport please email by 5 PM Thursday - Parents pick up at the field at 5:30 PM.

Upcoming:

Next weekend we will be asking parents to submit a form with their feedback for our Faculty Retreat.

School will be closed for Faculty Retreat as follows:

Wednesday, September 17-

- Upper School dismissed at Noon

- Lower and Middle Grades run full schedule

Thursday, September 18 and Friday, September 19-

- School closed for All

- Optional Care for K through Middle Grades by reservation, on space-available basis (contact Ms. Wendy -wendy@camelotacademy.org)

On the Going Forward Survey that we conducted this summer, many families expressed an interest in a running. We thought we would let you know that Bull City Running Co., a local running store, is hosting a 5-week run-focused training program for kids ages Pre-K through 8th Grade on Sunday evenings at 4pm at Northgate Park. The next program starts on September 28th. Information and Registration can be found here (http://www.bullcityrunning.com/events/kids-run-durham/).

I look forward to seeing you this week - and enjoying some fall-like weather!

Camelot Update 2014-08-31

2014-08-31T13:18:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

Thank you for a wonderful opening! Everyone pitched in to see that things ran smoothly from the parking lot to the high ropes course! Thanks to teachers Dan Hill and Amanda Fox for posting some pictures of the fun here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/camelotacademy/sets/

Special thanks to teacher Lori Hilliard who coordinated much of the Student Orientation and opening details. Also, kudos to administrative staff Scott Mitchell, Wendy Morris and Jill Pitino who have worn even more hats than usual for the past couple of weeks and have done so with excellence. We are eager and excited to start classes on Tuesday!

A few important reminders for the upcoming week:

Monday -

- School is closed in observance of Labor Day

Tuesday -

- Classes begin - as do our regular operating hours of 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM

-Lunch delivery service begins

- FLL meetings begin 3:30 - 5:00 PM

Wednesday -

- First Home Soccer Game - 4:30 PM Upper and Middle Grades fans who wish to attend will be transported via school bus IF I receive an email request from a parent by 5 PM Tuesday night. Parents pick up from the Piney Woods Field at 5:30 PM.

- Deadline for Praxi School lunch orders for NEXT week - order info here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/lunchOrders.php

Thursday -

- NOON - Meredith College visit- this is the first of many college reps who will visit our school this year. High School students may sign up to attend these small group meetings. These visits provide invaluable opportunities for our students to have "face time" with a person from a college admissions office - very often the person who will be reading applications. Please encourage your student to attend many of these sessions.

Friday -

- Noon - Dickinson College visit

- 4:30 PM Home game at Piney Woods (fans needing rides send me an email by 5 PM Thursday)

Saturday -

The new FTC Robotics Team will attend a season Kick-off at Cisco Systems in RTP. Any 9th through 12th grader who is interested in learning more about the team is welcome to attend. Contact Coach Bob Radcliffe, bob@roboknights.net, for more information

Ongoing:

Please drive through our lot SLOWLY and with extreme caution.

Parents who wish to park and accompany a youngster in the morning may find it most convenient to park on Shepherd Street, thus avoiding a wait to back out of a space when the traffic flow is heavy.

If you are looking for your student during after school hours, please consult the marker board at the front of the Big Hall for study hall and club locations.

Juniors and Seniors may sign up for the SAT course that starts next week. Contact instructor Frank Newman atFrank@camelotacademy.org.

Students who borrowed a math book over the summer need to return it on Tuesday, please!

I hope you and yours enjoy a wonderful holiday weekend. I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.

Camelot Update 2014-08-24

2014-08-24T13:17:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

We had a very busy first week back with the faculty! The teachers returned last Monday and have been hard at work in meetings, setting up classrooms and making exciting plans for the year. The seniors came in for interviews that left us all proud and pleased with the leadership they will bring to the activities of this school year. On Thursday afternoon the building transformed from a "work in progress" to a school ready to receive its families. Upper School Orientation went smoothly and we find ourselves poised for the return of our students on Wednesday.

Please note the UPDATED info below.

I. Lower and Middle Grade Parent Orientation is Monday night at 5:30 PM.

Some important UPDATES about this event:

A) A group of Upper School students have volunteered to provide childcare during Lower School and Middle Grades Parent Orientation on Monday evening. The suggested donation is $5 per child which will go towards helping the National Honor Society plant an educational rain garden on the Camelot campus. Our Upper School students will supervise youngsters on the playground during the meeting. Please remember that due to space limitations, we ask that children NOT accompany parents to the meetings. To sign up for childcare, please click the link below. Space is limited to 20 SCHOOL-AGED (5 or older) students.

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0845A8AF22ABF49-lower1

B) Regarding parking for this event, we have made arrangements for overflow parking at the Duke Physician Assistant lot accessible off of Proctor St (the paved part!) on the other side of Vickers. Please allow a few extra minutes for parking and the short walk to our building.

II. Soccer practice has started - we are still accepting team members. In order to join this co-ed team (grades 6-12) a student's completed paperwork must be on file with our office. You may access that info here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/forms.php

The athletic fee discount for sign-up for ALL of our team sports (soccer, basketball and ultimate frisbee) is this Friday, August 29.

Also available at the link above are School Supply Lists for each grade level.

III. Students return on Wednesday, August 27.

Please note the following UPDATE from the published school calendar - students will be dismissed at the regular division-level dismissal times:

Lower School: 3:00 PM

Middle Grades: 3:10 PM*

Upper School: 3:20 PM*

* We will transport soccer players to practice every school day, beginning Wednesday. Parents pick up from the field, please.

Optional Care for 1st Grade through Middle Grades students is available on Wednesday and Thursday by advance sign-up.

Contact Ms. Wendy at wendy@camelotacademy.org.

The school will provide a pizza lunch for all students this Friday.

Students should bring a lunch from home on Wednesday and Thursday.

Our lunch vendor delivery starts Tuesday, September 2nd.

We have a new online ordering system - the link is here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/lunchOrders.php

Students may continue to come in this week to take AR tests on their summer reading. The final deadline for these tests is this Friday, August 29.

Please note that school will be closed on Monday, September 1 for Labor Day. Our regular class schedule will begin on Tuesday, September 2nd.

I'm thrilled to begin the year with you and your children!

Camelot Update 2014-08-17

2014-08-17T13:16:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

I hope that you have had a great second-half of your summer.

Our faculty returns tomorrow and Year 32 will have its official launch. We have a full-returning staff and a wonderful addition - OliverKhamky has signed on to be one of our Upper School math teachers. Oliver is an MIT grad who taught at the Moses Brown School in Rhode Island. Please join me in welcoming him to our Camelot Family.

Our new international students (from China and Finland) have already started their orientation program and are off to a great start. We are excited about the perspective these students add to our learning environment. Our growing experience in international education quite literally opens the world to our students. Along these lines, we have formed a Sister School relationship with The Experimental School of the Shuangliu Middle School in Chengdu, China (http://www.szsy.com.cn/news_show.aspx?id=369). We hope this will be followed with alliances with other schools around the world.

I look forward to welcoming parents at one of the two upcoming Parent Orientation events:

Upper School - this Thursday, August 21 at 5:30 PM

Lower and Middle Grades - Monday, August 25 at 5:30 PM

Please plan to arrive early enough to find street parking! Due to limited space, this is a parent-only event. Please remember that this is a REQUIRED parent event.

Soccer practice starts this Tuesday. In order to join this co-ed team (grades 6-12), the office must have completed paperwork on file. You may access that info here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/forms.php

Also available at that link is School Supply Lists for each grade level.

Students return on Wednesday, August 27. Please note the school calendar for special hours. At Parent Orientation you will be given grade-specific information about activities planned for your student during Orientation.

Students may continue to come in this week to take AR tests on their summer reading. Please make this a priority!

We have many exciting plans to share with you at Parent Orientation. I look forward to seeing you then and to working together this year.

Camelot Update 2014-05-18

2014-05-18T13:15:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

Congratulations to the following students who were accepted into the National Honor Society this week: Elizabeth Provenzale, Tessa Young, and Johnny Qian. An induction ceremony for these three new members, as well as for Ryan Felton and Liv Castorina (who joined earlier this semester) will be held in the fall. Selection to NHS is based on students’ records of academic performance, leadership, character and service, so this is truly an honor. Also, congratulations to the NHS officials elected this week for 2014-15 positions: Zax Milkereit - President, Alex Berro - Vice President, Ryan Felton - Treasurer, and Liv Castorina - Secretary.

Ready or not, we have arrived at the last week of the school year! Middle Grades students have finished their classes and Upper School students are mid-way through their exams. The rituals of May are unfolding - senior speeches are ready to be rehearsed, Lower School students know their song, flowers and food have been ordered and yearbooks are awaiting their unveiling. We will all work together to navigate the details of our schedules this week to arrive at our unique school-wide Saturday awards ceremony and send-off of the Class of '14.

Please, once again, pay careful attention to the info that follows to ensure a great week!

Sunday (Today)

Graduation Skit Rehearsal 12:30-2:30, Main building - pizza will be served

Bands perform at Artsplosure 4:15-5:00 PM (Kids Stage near Marbles Museum)

Monday-

Middle Grades trip departs after Morning Meeting (travelers leave luggage on the porch, bring a bagged lunch and turn meds in to Ms. Amy).

Trip details here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J2jy6DXDll_YFavuiI7m1QfOrioPcGfYM7e3xIQyDjs/mobilebasic

Upper School exams continue

9:30 AM - Seniors meet at the Specials Building for speech rehearsal

Graduation Skit Rehearsal 3:30-5:30 PM

Lower School - regular schedule/hours

Tuesday-

Morning - Upper School Exams continue

12:30 ** Upper School students NOT assigned to graduation prep have the option of leaving (** this is an update to the school calendar)

1-4 PM - Graduation Skit Rehearsal

4:30 Middle Grades trip returns

Lower School - regular schedule/hours

Wednesday-

12:00 Noon - Upper School students dismissed (except those in graduation skit)

Lower and Middle School students have regular hours

Graduation Skit Rehearsal until 5:30 PM

Thursday-

Yearbook Day!

EARLY DISMISSAL FOR ALL*

12:30 - Lower School

12:45 - Middle Grades and Upper School

* 1-5:30 PM - Optional Care available by prior sign-up

Graduation Skit Rehearsal - until 5:30 PM

Friday-

(Details of the Friday/Saturday schedule were sent home earlier.

A copy can be found here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/admin/editor_assets/documents/2014-grad_sched_rsvp.pdf

8:00 - 8:20 AM All students (K-11) - DROP OFF AT CAROLINA THEATRE

11:00 Seniors arrives at Carolina Theatre

Pick up AT CAMELOT

12:30 - Lower School

12:45 - Middle Grades and Upper School

NO OPTIONAL CARE - NO AFTERNOON PROGRAMMING

Saturday - Graduation and Awards Ceremony!

8:45 AM - students arrive at Carolina Theatre - students K-11 will report to an upstairs theater for attendance-taking and line-up prior to joining processing in to the ceremony in the downstairs theater

Finally, with just ONE week until summer, now is the time to secure your spots in Edu-Camp or Summer School. In Edu-Camp, we are looking forward to some exciting new approaches to both academics and activities. What a great way to get Summer AR completed, keep math facts fresh and move ahead in reading, writing and math! Remember,our fun starts on June 2- before most other programs!

Info and forms are here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php

Camelot Update 2014-05-11

2014-05-11T15:45:00.002-04:00

Greetings!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing women in our school who are my heroines, inspiration and family. I hope that the day brings you an opportunity to celebrate all the good things that come from your nurturing and loving care.

Kudos to AJ Palomar on his acceptance to Hofstra University!

Congratulations to Module 9 Merit and Honor Roll Students:

Merit - Andrew Sergison, Ashley Hartman, Nate Hopkins, Gabriella Taylor, Gray King Baker, Ephram Oliver, Heather Hartman, Mack Taylor, Sean Kowis, Bobby Henninger and Chase Laster.

Honor Roll - Kathleen Stancil-Sutton, Amzie Yurko, Grace Balk, Virginia Bruhn, Rachel Kowis, Chris Radcliffe, Abby Weber, Richard Carruthers, David McShea, Rachel Milkereit, Danny Sutton, Peter Zhao, Jeffrey Zheng, Leah Flood, Victoria Hill, Cole Kurtzman, Elizabeth Provenzale, Johnny Qian, George Zhang, Jeremy Lin, Yuqing Liu, Alex Berro, Fiona Castorina, Liv Castorina, Ryan Felton, Zack Milkereit, Lance Wilkes, Olivia Arges, Grace He, Ke Lu, Carolyn MacNair, Brian Powell and Rachel Carson Roush.

We welcome Jill Pitino to our office team. Jill will start with us on Monday as Ms. Lynne continues to decrease her hours so that she can devote her time to studying to become a physician's assistant. I know you will join me in welcoming Jill and in showing your appreciation to Lynne for her care and excellent work over the past three years. Personally, I will miss Lynne greatly but I am very happy that she is seizing this opportunity to follow her passion.

We have just completed our last week of clubs. Although Ms. Judith hopes to return this week, she will not run make-up club sessions in order to keep from over-doing things while she continues to recover. Classics Club WILL meet for a make-up session this Monday, May 12, to account for a meeting missed due to a snow day.

We are down to the wire in terms of number of days left in the school year, but there is no shortage of activity yet to fit in! Please read this info carefully so as not to miss any of the important details.

Monday-

All students grades 2-11 return signed summer reading forms

Upper School students return signed exam review sheets (link here: http://www.camelotacademy.org/admin/editor_assets/documents/2014s-exam_sched.pdf)

Upper School crates are out

Upper School AR deadline

Middle Grades Exam Review Day

AP Music Theory Exam

Sr MAPP trip to Schoolhouse of Wonder

ALL - Last day to order school shirts! Click here to order!

http://www.customink.com/signup/711b6iy8

Tuesday

Upper School crates and out/Drop-in Advisor time

Middle Grades Exams begin/exam review day

Wednesday

Upper School Exam Review

Middle Grades Exams

3:30-5:30 Graduation Skit rehearsal

Thursday

Upper School Exam Review

Middle Grades Exams

AP World History Exam

Friday

Upper School AND Middle Grades Exams

Last day to return RSVP for graduation (link here: http://www.camelotacademy.org/admin/editor_assets/documents/2014-grad_sched_rsvp.pdf

4:30-6:30 Bands perform at the Tavern Restaurant (1900 West Markham Ave, Durham)

Saturday

The Knights of Pride are holding a yard sale fundraiser at 1714 Vista St., Durham from 8 am.- noon.*

Sunday

Graduation Skit Rehearsal

Bands perform at Artsplosure 4:15-5:00 PM

* They would love donations of items to sell! Please put items in the collection bin in the Big Hall. For larger items please contact Rachel Milkereit at rachel2rachel4@gmail.com. All profits from the sale will go to the Knights of Pride, and any unsold items will be donated to a variety of organizations.

Our Food Drive to support the Food Bank of North Carolina wraps up this week. There is a collection box in the Big Hall. Click here for a list of needed items:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/admin/editor_assets/documents/Food_Drive_Most_Needed_Items.pdf

Finally, with just TWO weeks until summer, now is the time to secure your spots in Edu-Camp or Summer School. In Edu-Camp, we are looking forward to some exciting new approaches to both academics and activities. What a great way to get Summer AR completed, keep math facts fresh and move ahead in reading, writing and math! Remember, our fun starts on June 2 - before most other programs!

Info and forms are here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php

I look forward to seeing you at one more of these activities. Meanwhile, I hope that you have a great day and week.

Camelot Update 2014-04-20

2014-04-20T13:33:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

Happy Easter and Happy Passover!

Congratulations to the following members of the Class of '14:

Grace He - accepted to University of British Columbia

Lyn Mattox - accepted to UNC Asheville

AJ Palomar - accepted to the SUPER Program at Randolph College (4 year pre-scientist mentorship program) with a full scholarship to the summer program

Speaking of summer, congrats to junior Alex Berro on his acceptance to Davidson College's July Experience with a $2000 scholarship.

Huge thanks to Ms. Lori for planning and executing a fabulous Spring Dance for our students. Also, thanks to all of the Upper School faculty, Ms. Krista and the many parents who assisted. The evening was full of fun and special moments and kicked off our procession through an event-filled final few weeks of the school year.

As you know, this week our 2nd-11th graders take the ERB standardized tests. (Note, second graders take these tests "unofficially" as national norms are not available for youngsters prior to third grade.)

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP YOUR YOUNGSTER PERFORM WELL ON THESE TESTS?

Please be sure your student has a healthy breakfast each morning and comes to school well rested. Please reaffirm with your student that these tests are important but are NOT the basis of promotion. We work hard to set an appropriate tone of care - but not concern. Please do NOT send sick students to school on these days. We will set up make-up testing times so that everyone is able to take these tests under optimal conditions.

Last Call!- Talent Show Sign up

In-school Talent Show (coming up the afternoon of Wednesday, April 23) - the sign-up sheet is posted in the Big Hall (feel free to go to Page 2). Students may sign up to present entertainment of their choice (song, instrument, acting, comedy, dancing and other special talents) at an afternoon assembly. Maximum running time is 2 minutes per act. Based on time constraints and the goal of showcasing as much variety as possible, a limited number of these acts will be presented to the parents at the Evening of the Arts (coming up May 2 - mark your calendars!).

This Week:

Tuesday - St Andrews College Rep (lunch meeting)

Wednesday - Friday, April 23-25 MORNINGS

Grades K/1- mornings at Specials House and on field trips

Grades 2-11 - Morning administration of nationally standardized tests (ERB)

Grade 12- (12:30 - 3 PM, only) - Wednesday and Thursday, OFF on Friday

Wednesday, April 23 AFTERNOON - In-School Talent Show

- 4PM - final home game for Ultimate Frisbee (Middle and Upper School fans email by Tuesday night for transportation. Parent pick up at the field at 5 PM)

Thursday, April 24 - AFTERNOON - Spring Festival

Parent Volunteers Needed for Parent Service Credit!

Please sign up here:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B49AFAB2CAAF58-camelot

Friday - School Closed Early

Kindergarten and MAPP 12:30

Middle and Upper School 12:45

Optional Care by prior reservation

- Middle/Upper School extra math session 1-3 PM *By prior sign up!

- Mr. Glenn's music groups will be recording in the afternoon. Camelot will provide transportation to the recording studio directly after dismissal. Students should bring a lunch. See specific directions from Mr. Glenn as to pick up time, location, etc.

Coming Up:

Sunday, April 27 - The final Coffee and Conversation of this school year will be from 1:30 to 3:00pm at Bean Trader's Coffee. Please bring games to share!

Friday, May 2 - Dinner and A Show! EVENING OF THE ARTS!

Dinner - Instead of the Camelot 5K this year, our athletic department will be hosting a pizza fundraiser before Evening of the Arts. There will be two seatings between 5:00PM and 6:45PM at the Hayti Heritage Center Community Room. When you sign up, please pick your time slot AND choose the quantity and type of pizza you would like (pepperoni or cheese). Each slice of pizza is $2.50 and includes a beverage. Payment will be at the door but we will not be able to take walk-in's as our supply will be based on the quantity pre-ordered. Please place your order here:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B49AFAB2CAAF58-pizza

Thanks, in advance, for your support of Camelot Athletics and Arts!

The Show - come enjoy a WONDERFUL evening showcasing awesome student talent. Our Kindergarten and Junior and Senior MAPP students will sing and dance, the drama classes will perform, and the bands will play! This variety show, hosted by the Class of '14, promises to provide great memories. I look forward to sharing my favorite school event with you next Friday night (May 2nd).

Five weeks until summer!

Camelot summer camp enrollment is ongoing. Our camps start June 2nd - before most other programs start! Info and forms are here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php

Have a great week!

Best,

Camelot Update 2014-04-13

2014-04-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

Congratulations to the Camelot Ultimate Frisbee Knights - the team won BOTH games this week!

Also, kudos to Module 8 Merit and Honor Roll Award Students:

Merit Award: Andrew Sergison, Ashley Hartman, Nate Hopkins, Gabriella Taylor, Gray King Baker, Ephram Oliver, Elizabeth Whetzel, Heather Hartman, Mack Taylor and Carson Wickman.

Honor Roll: Ray Palma, Kathleen Stancil-Sutton, William Whetzel, Amzie Yurko, Rachel Kowis, David McShea, Rachel Milkereit, Danny Sutton, Jeffrey Zheng, Victoria Hill, Elizabeth Provenzale, Johnny Qian, Alex Berro, Fiona Castorina, Zander Hall, Zack Milkereit, Grace He and Ke Lu.

Welcome to eighth grader Hanna Bao, our newest international student who arrived with her family from China this week.

Thank you to everyone for the great support of the CROP walk. Special thanks to NHS President Olivia Arges for all her weeks of coordination. Please remember to bring in all CROP Walk donations TOMORROW so that we can get the final count this week.

This Week:

Monday/Tuesday - Upper School crates are out!

Tuesday

Ultimate Frisbee home game - Middle and Upper School fans who desire school transportation to the game please email me by Monday night. Parent pick-up at Forest Hills Park at 5 PM.

Thursday - School Closed Early

- Kindergarten and MAPP 12:30

- Middle and Upper School 12:45

- Optional Care by prior reservation

- Upper School extra math session 1-3 PM *By prior sign up!

- Spring Semi- Formal Dance

7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Trotter Building, 410 West Geer Street

Camelot students grades 7-12 and pre-approved guests grades 7-12 only

Tickets are $15 per student/guest. Checks payable to Camelot Academy

Friday - School Closed

All Week - Talent Show Sign up

In-school Talent Show (coming up the afternoon of Wednesday, April 23) - the sign-up sheet will be posted in the Big Hall. Students may sign up to present entertainment of their choice (song, instrument, acting, comedy, dancing and other special talents) at an afternoon assembly. Maximum running time is 2 minutes per act. A limited number of these acts will be presented to the parents at the Evening of the Arts (coming up May 2 - mark your calendars!) - final selection will be based on time constraints and the goal of showcasing as much variety as possible that evening.

Upcoming Events:

Wednesday - Friday, April 23-25 MORNINGS

Grades K/1- Mornings at Specials House and on field trips

Grades 2-11 - Morning administration of nationally standardized tests (ERB)

Grade 12- Abbreviated hours - afternoons ONLY - Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday, April 23 AFTERNOON - In-School Talent Show

Thursday, April 24 - AFTERNOON - Spring Festival

Parent Volunteers Needed for Parent Service Credit!

More details and sign-up here:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B49AFAB2CAAF58-camelot

Friday, April 25

School CLOSED at 1 PM

Optional Care by prior reservation

Upper School Extra Math session *By prior sign up!

We will NOT be doing a 5K Fundraiser this year. Our Athletics program has a new fundraiser in the works....stay tuned.

Six weeks until summer!

Camelot summer camp enrollment is ongoing. Info and forms are here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php

Have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-04-06

2014-04-06T13:33:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

I hope that you and your family have enjoyed a great Spring Break.

The Crop Walk is today and we are hoping for a great turnout! Meet at DUKE CHAPEL at 2:15 PM wearing a Camelot T-Shirt. Please see the email sent yesterday for parking instructions.

Congratulations to the following members of the Class of 2014 for these college acceptances:

Devan Chichester - American University (88K merit scholarship), George Washington University (48K Presidential Award) and UNC Chapel Hill

Grace He - NC State University

Ke Lu - UC San Diego (my apologies for the incorrect listing of UC Berkeley in my last letter)

Lyn Mattox - UNC Chapel Hill

Brian Powell - ECU, Lehigh University and UNC Chapel Hill

Congratulations to Camelot SAT/Math Teacher Frank Newman and his wife Marisa on the birth of their son Abe, on March 24.

Camelot's Big Hall has had quite a face-lift over break thanks to Project Manager Greg Glynn and his multi-talented partner-in-renovationJosh Smith. Check it out and watch for more exciting projects to come.

Additional info about how to support the Crop Walk from NHS President Senior Olivia Arges:

Please bring in the money that you collected in your water bottles or any other cash donations by the end of this week. These donations need to be put in the box at the front of the Big Hall by Friday.

Also, please remember that starting Monday, middle and lower grades students are running a bake sale to raise money for The CROP Walk. Please sign up for a day to bring in baked goods this week Baked goods should be wrapped individually and can be dropped off in the kitchen upstairs in the morning. Items will be sold during lunch. Please note that any items containing nuts should be clearly labeled. Sign up to bring in baked goods here: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0845A8AF22ABF49-bake

EVERYONE - please remember to bring money to buy baked goods!

Thank you very much for your support! We are excited to be participating in such a great cause!

Semi-formal dance info from Ms. Lori:

The Camelot Academy Spring Semi-formal dance will be held on Thursday, April 17th from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Trotter Building, 410 West Geer Street in Durham.

The dance is open to all Camelot students grades 7-12 and their pre-approved non-Camelot guests, grades 7-12 only. Tickets to the dance will go on sale Monday, April 7th. Tickets are $15 per student/guest. Checks payable to Camelot Academy.

The theme of the dance this year is "One Night in the City" and students are reminded to dress in the appropriate semi-formal manner as set forth on the permission slip.

Students in grades 7-9 are encouraged to arrive at the Trotter Building at 6 PM to help set up and decorate as tribute to the upper classmen. Please contact me at Lori@camelotacademy.org if you have any questions.

This Week

Monday, April 7 - AP test fees due

Tuesday, April 8 - Jr Autobiographies AND Parent Responses due

Wednesday, April 9 - Second Upper School Rock climbing PE trip

Thursday, April 10 - Ultimate Frisbee home game at 4 PM (Middle and Upper School fans send an email requesting transport by end of day Wednesday. Parents pick up from the field at 5 PM)

Also this week:

- Students in Grades 2-11 start to practice timed test-taking skills in preparation for annual nationally-normed testing April 23-25 (be sure to email Ms. Lori at lori@camelotacademy.org to verify any applicable testing accommodations for your student)

- One-day student visits to "next divisions" begin in preparation for the 2014-15 school year (i.e. Middle Grades students slated for Upper School, Sr MAPP slated for Middle Grades, etc. spend one day visiting that division). This will be ongoing over the next several weeks.

Reminders:

School Closed at 1 PM on Thursday, April 17 and all day Friday, April 18.

Finally, Camelot Summer Camp Enrollment is ongoing. Info and forms are here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php

See you soon!

Camelot Update 2014-03-23

2014-03-23T13:35:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

Congratulations to the following members of the Class of 2014 for these college acceptances:

Spencer Ahn: UC San Diego and Purdue University

Olivia Arges - Elon University

Devan Chichester - UNC Asheville

Grace He - American University (with a 24 K Merit Scholarship) and University of Miami

Ke Lu - Case Western University, UC Davis and UC Berkeley

This Week:

TODAY - Coffee and Conversation (and board games- bring your favorite!)

Bean Traders on Hwy 54. 1:30-3 PM.

Chat with our international students and enjoy a beverage compliments of Camelot!

Monday/Tuesday - Upper School classes will embark on a geocaching trip to downtown Durham, weather permitting.

Tuesday - JR MAPP trip to Duke Gardens postponed until April (due to weather)

Wednesday - Lunch order deadline for the week AFTER Spring Break (April 7-11)

Friday - School closed at 3:30 PM for Spring Break (no clubs or study hall).

- Optional Care available by advance sign-up

Reminders:

The permission form is on the website (http://www.camelotacademy.org/admin/editor_assets/documents/1314-crop_walk_perm_form.pdf ). Please turn it in this week!

The bulletin board in the stairwell has info on summer programs near and far for students of all ages. Check it out!

Finally, Camelot Summer Camp enrollment is ongoing. Info and forms are here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php

Have a great Spring Break (March 31-April 4) and we'll see everyone on Monday, April 7th!

Camelot Update 2014-03-16

2014-03-16T13:36:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

Congratulations to the following members of the Class of 2014:

- Grace He- for her acceptance to Meredith College with a 72 K Academic Merit Scholarship

- Carolyn MacNair - for her acceptances to UNC Wilmington and to Hofstra University

- Nathaniel Fischer - for his acceptances to Randolph College and to Brandeis University and to

- Brian Powell on scholarships to Drexel University (58K A.J. Drexel Scholarship) and to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (55K Rensselaer Leadership Award).

Kudos to Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Charlotte for their fantastic work planning and organizing Foreign Language Immersion Day. Thanks to the support of all of the faculty, our students enjoyed one of the best versions of this event in our history.

The faculty and I moved on to a very productive Faculty Retreat on Friday. In addition to working through the details of the remainder of this school year, we were able to do some visioning about the future and some reflection on the practice of Mastery Learning. Many thanks to all of our families for allowing us such important time for professional development.

Here's a preview of things to come:

Monday - Upper School crates out for parent review of work

Tuesday - Upper School Drop-In Advisor Day - 8:00 AM. Crates still out!

Wednesday - First home game for the Ultimate Frisbee team - we'll transport Middle and Upper School spectators to the Forest Hills Park field. Please send an email request by Tuesday night. Pick up from the field at 5:00 PM.

Thursday - The First Day of Spring!!!!

Friday - Mid-Semester grades mailed home.

Saturday - Open House for prospective families (Mr. Mike can use Parent Service help that morning - contact him directly to make arrangements at mike@camelotacademy.org.

Sunday - Coffee and Conversation with our international students at Bean Traders on Hwy. 54, 1:30-3:00 PM. Come enjoy a beverage, compliments of the school.

Reminders:

- From NHS President Senior Olivia Arges:

Camelot Academy is walking in The CROP Walk! CROP Hunger Walk is an annual

event which raises money to fight hunger. Walkers can invite friends

to sponsor them and 100% of all donations help to fight hunger here in

Durham and all over the world. The CROP Hunger Walk (approx. 4.8 miles) will start at

Duke Chapel on Duke's West Campus and will take place on April 6th. All Lower and Middle Grades students must be accompanied by an adult. Upper School students can come unaccompanied. The permission form is on the website (http://www.camelotacademy.org/admin/editor_assets/documents/1314-crop_walk_perm_form.pdf ). Please turn it in as soon as possible!

- Parents - please fill out the Post Conference Online Survey you were sent by Ms. Lynne.

- Finally - Summer Camp enrollment is ongoing. Info and forms are here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php.

Have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-03-09

2014-03-09T13:36:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

Congratulations to the following members of the Camelot Academy Class of 2014:

Spencer Ahn - on his acceptance to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Olivia Arges - on her acceptance to UNC- Wilmington

Nathaniel Fisher - on his acceptance into the Honors Program at Manhattanville College (NY) with a Chairman Scholarship valued at 88K.

Brian Powell - on his acceptance to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Kudos to our high scorers on the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) tests:

AMC 12 - Yuqing Liu

AMC 10 - Johnny Qian

Congrats to eighth grader Willa Holt who represented our school yesterday at the Duke Regional Spelling Bee - and made it to the final 14 (of 58) students in the competition!

Module 7 Recognition:

Merit Award Students

Heather Hartman, Nate Hopkins, Gabriella Taylor, Gray King Baker, Ephram Oliver, Olivia Goldsmith, Ryan Rusconi-Warner, Elizabeth Whetzel, Heather Hartman, Sean Kowis, Ian Robinson and Bobby Henninger.

Honor Roll Students

Ray Palma, Kathleen Stancil-Sutton, Rachel Kowis, Chris Radcliffe, Ben Sharp, Abby Weber, Rachel Milkereit, Danny Sutton, Peter Zhao, Victoria Hill, Cole Kurtzman, Elizabeth Provenzale, Johnny Qian, Yuqing Liu, Alex Berro, Fiona Castorina, Liv Castorina, Zack Milkereit, Andrew Ofner, Olivia Arges, Grace He, Ke Lu, Brian Powell, and Rachel Carson Roush.

The upcoming week has much to note!

MONDAY -

Last Day of Early Bird Discount for Summer Programs

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php

TUESDAY -

- National College Fair (Raleigh Convention Center) 4:30-7:30 PM

(All 9th, 10th and 11th graders encouraged to attend)

https://www.gotomyncf.com/Registration/EventSelectForState?stateName=All

WEDNESDAY -

Mid-Semester (grades sent home by March 21)

THURSDAY -

Foreign Language Immersion Day

(Noon dismissal for Lower School, 12:15 dismissal for Middle and Upper School)

(Optional Care available by prior sign-up - wendy@camelotacademy.org)

Lots of fun activities are in store for K-12. Students should:

- Wear comfortable clothing that can get a little dirty.

- Weather permitting, Sr MAPP, Middle and Upper students will be playing with water during one of the activities, so they may want to bring a small towel and water shoes.

- Snacks are being planned for mid-morning. However, if your child has a food allergy, he or she may want to bring an alternative snack.

FRIDAY -

Faculty Retreat - No CLASSES

(Optional Care by prior sign-up wendy@camelotacademy.org)

Finally, Mr. Mike could use Parent Service help next week for "Spring Cleaning" and such. Contact him directly atmike@camelotacademy.org.

Have a great week.

Camelot Update 2014-03-02

2014-03-02T13:37:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

Congratulations to senior Brian Powell on his acceptance to Drexel University.

Thank you to Ms. Amy and all of the NHS members who provided a wonderful evening of fun and learning for our Lower School students at Science Night. Also, thanks to parents Robyn Stephens and Chris Wilkes for their assistance and to the parents of all of the youngsters who participated. Also, several NHS members plus some Camelot faculty, students and parents were up early on Saturday morning to support the Florence Forth race. We are very proud and appreciative of such a show of commitment to our school and to thelocal community.

Check out the great new pics in the Big Hall - 13-14 Whole School, Faculty and the Class of 2014!

Reminder- if you've had your Family Conference, please fill out the post-conference survey using the link sent to you in Ms. Lynne's email.

Webinar of Interest?

The Search Institute (http://www.search-institute.org/) offers the first of a five-part webinar series that examines the practical implications of its framework of Family Assets, or family strengths, based on the American Family Assets Study.

The no-cost webinar is on Wednesday, March 19th, 2014, 12PM - 1PM, CST

Description:

Every family faces challenges, large and small. A key strength in families is to find healthy ways to adapt to challenge and change--and even grow through difficult times. Drawing insights from the American Family Assets Study, this webinar will explore strengths in families that help navigate the ups and downs of life and highlight family practices that can make a difference. By participating in this webinar, you will learn:

The power of cultivating strengths to help your family when facing change and challenges, including insightful research on resilience factors in families dealing with high stress.

Everyday family practices that you can cultivate that will help you grow together--rather than grow apart--in the midst of the difficulties.

Concrete strategies that people who work with families can use to help them tap their strengths to help them through tough times.

Register Now: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/921628991

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, March 4 – Ultimate Frisbee team practice begins. This is a co-ed team for students in Grades 6-12. Let us know if you want to join!

Thursday, March 6 - 5:30 PM - College Planning Meeting (required for Juniors and their parents, optional for others) (Juniors working Empty Bowls are exempt from this meeting but their parents need to attend!)

Monday, March 10 - deadline for Summer Program Early Bird Registration.

Info and applications here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php

Tuesday, March 11 - 4:30-7:30 PM, Raleigh Convention Center

All 9th, 10th and 11th graders are strongly encouraged to attend. Register here:

https://www.gotomyncf.com/Registration/EventSelectForState?stateName=All

Wednesday, March 12 - Mid Semester

Thursday, March 13 - Foreign Language Immersion Day (School closed at 12:30 PM)

Optional Care Available by advance sign-up, contact wendy@camelotacademy.org

Friday, March 14 - School Closed - Faculty Retreat

Optional Care Available by advance sign-up, contact wendy@camelotacademy.org

I hope that you have a great week!

Camelot Update 2014-02-23

2014-02-23T13:38:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

Thanks to everyone for the great turnout at the Pie Supper on Thursday night. The sense of accomplishment among our students was palpable on Friday. I know I speak for all of us when I say how much we appreciate everyone making this time together a priority.

Ultimate Frisbee season starts soon! Our team is coed, grades 6-12. If your student is interested please download the forms here - "Team Sport Sign-Up:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/forms.php

Science Night, hosted by National Honor Society, will be Friday, February 28 from 5:30-8:30 PM. Parents of Kindergarten through 6th grade students can enjoy a night out while kids eat pizza and participate in hands-on science activities at the school. The suggested donation is $25 per student (which includes the pizza dinner) or $40 for two siblings. Sign up at this link or on the sheet outside the Junior MAPP room. Flyers were also sent home with sign-up slips that you can return to the school:

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C094DACA72FA13-science

As you might remember, National Honor Society is providing incentives for students to participate in community service. We already surpassed the original goal of 300 collective hours, so NHS has offered a new challenge of 500 hours. If we reach it, we will have an ice cream party in the spring!

Here are three upcoming service opportunities for students:

1. National Honor Society is running a water station at the Florence Forth 5K and 10K which raises money to research autoimmune encephalitis. If you are interested in running this Saturday, March 1, you can sign up here (until 2/25) and students can earn community service hours: http://florenceforth.org

2. The Crop Walk will be happening on April 6th. More information coming soon.

3. Several students have signed up to bus tables at the Urban Ministries Empty Bowls fundraiser on Thursday, March 6th. Mark your calendars if your student has signed up and plan to bring your student to the Convention Center (where we had the Thanksgiving Feast). We need one more person to sign up for the 5-6:30 PM shift.

Other Upcoming events:

Thursday, March 6 - 5:30 PM - College Planning Meeting (required for juniors and their parents, optional for others).

Monday, March 10 - deadline for Summer Program Early Bird Registration

info and applications here:

http://www.camelotacademy.org/summer-programs.php

I hope that you have a great week!

Best,