Week of September 5, 2011
From the Head of School
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. For those of us old enough to remember that day, the odds are good that we also remember exactly where we were and what we were doing the moment we got the news. Indeed, I remember hanging up in the middle of a phone conversation and rushing to my kids’ pre-school. I just had to see them…I had to know they were safe. Then Susan and I went back home and watched the rest of the awful events unfold on our basement television.
It’s amazing how vivid those memories are. After all, I couldn’t tell you where I was or what I did last Monday, but I can remember every detail of what I did on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001. On the other hand, our girls were only 4-years-old that day and they don’t remember much, if anything. In fact, I suspect that most of the girls currently at the Academy remember very little about the attacks. They weren’t very old when the first plane…and then the second plane…flew into the World Trade Center buildings...and then another one into the Pentagon…and then a final one into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. They were busy being kids.
Therefore, at the Academy we think it’s important to talk about what happened each year, which is why we’re planning to pause for some reflection during the Freshmen Retreat this Sunday and then again as a community during assembly on Monday. It’s important for a number of reasons, one of which I just recently discovered by chance.
A few days ago I was looking online for some information about the attacks, so I “Googled”…or actually “Bing-ed”… the phrase “9-11 facts." Two out of the first three websites that splashed up on my computer screen were sites dedicated to conspiracy theories about the events being an inside job by the U.S. Government. The third site was Wikipedia. News flash: not everything on the internet is true! It’s’ so important for our girls to get information from sources other than the internet, which is why we take time every year to focus on 9-11 at the Academy. But what does it matter in the first place, why worry about remembering at all?
Well, at the Academy we’re committed to remembering because the lessons of history demand that we study what happened…so it doesn’t get repeated. But most of all, we’re committed to remembering because celebrating the heroines and heroes that ran toward the danger that morning, or ministered to the sick and dying that afternoon, or comforted the brokenhearted that night and beyond, will always be an inspiration to those of us that watched from a distance. True heroism is something that’s always worth celebrating, and the events of 9-11, as horrifying as they were, made “ordinary” people do extraordinary things. We won’t let our girls forget that, because we never want them to lose sight of the fact that when darkness and light collide…light always wins!
God bless,
Karl SjolundHead of School
Announcements/Upcoming Events
- This Saturday and Sunday, September 10-11, Mike (along with Ms. Orr, Ms. Markham, Ms. Herring and Ms. Ratley) will be taking the freshmen on the annual Freshmen Retreat. The group will be going to Camp Merriwood in Clemmons. The bus will leave at 4:45pm on Saturday and will return Sunday at 1:45pm. All freshmen are required to attend. *Don't forget your bathing suits, sleeping bag or blankets, and a pillow! Bring only one bag and NO TEXTBOOKS!
- On Saturday, September 10th, the seniors will venture to the home of Mr. Allen for their annual Senior Retreat. This will be a time for fun and fellowship, as well as, a time to discuss plans for the upcoming senior day.
- Next week is our first Wednesday Week schedule. The Wednesday activity is Senior Day.
- Ring Banquet is Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m.
- Host a Student for Thanksgiving Break: We have several international students that may need a place to stay over Thanksgiving vacation. If anyone would be interested in hosting one of these students, please get in touch with Miss Thompson.
CAC Performs Moon Festival Skit
The Mid-Autumn festival, a popular harvest festival in Asia, falls on September 12th this year. The Cultural Awareness Club (CAC) presented a skit on the legends and the customs of the festival in the assembly on Thursday, September 8th. The performance drew laughter and warm applause from the audience. Students who performed in this skit were: Talia Cartall, J.J. Mao, Sara Barnett, Ivy Webb, Julia Allescher, Sally Cai and Nami Kuang.
DADs Group (Discussions Around Daughters)
On Saturday, September 17th at 9 am, Salem Academy DADs will sponsor a clean-up session in the city park we adopted right next to the campus. All Academy dads are encouraged to come by. After the very strenous work...uh hummm....we'll go eat pancakes at Cagney's Diner on Miller Street. After all, we can't send you home with an empty tank!
Salem Academy DADs is a group that gets together to compare notes and discuss the varying issues that come about when raising teenage daughters. It's always an informal conversation, and all Academy dads are welcome to attend!
Department of History and History Club Fall Break Trip
During fall break, the history department and history club will be taking a trip to colonial Williamsburg! The bus will leave school at 9am on Saturday, October 8th and will return on Tuesday, October 11th. The cost of the trip is $400 per person, which includes: hotel, transportation, admissions to attractions, three breakfasts, lunch at a historic tavern, Saturday night music even, Sunday night ghost walk, and shuttle transportation within historic district.
All money is due by September 30th to Mrs. Overton. Checks may be made payable to Salem Academy. For more question, please contact Mrs. Betsy Overton at betsy.overton@salem.edu.
Cick here for the trip itinerary and details!
Athletic Updates
Varsity Field Hockey
The varsity field hockey team traveled to Carolina Day in Asheville, NC for their first game of the 2011 season on September 2. This game was a good learning experience for the team as it was the first time ten of them have played varsity field hockey. Getting actual game experience will go a long way in helping them better understand the areas of the game the team needs to improve on the most. They look forward to starting work on these areas in practice next week.
Varsity Volleyball
The volleyball team has started off on the right foot this season. Salem Academy varsity volleyball to date is 3-1. The team started off with a hard fought win against Our Lady of Mercy going 3-2 in the match. They learned the defense and how to work together while concentrating on improving their serving. This win allowed the ladies to get the taste for winning while learning about what they need to improve on.
The team's second game was against Summit. They won 25-15 and 25-15, sweeping Summit in 2 straight sets. The serving greatly improved and the defense looked solid, but passing is still an area the ladies will be working on.
The next match was against Forsyth Home Educators and the starters showed why they have won their starting spots in practice by handing FHE a 25-3 loss, on the arm of #3 Berkley Sjolund's serve. She served 17 straight serves and recorded 12 aces in the process. Berkley was also named player of the week for Salem Academy by Maxpreps.com. The Sabers swiped FHE 2-0.
The latest contest on Tuesday, September 6th, brought the Lady Sabers a taste of defeat. The battle-hardened Elon team came in with an older and more experienced squad. They handed the Sabers a 25-10, 25-13, and 25-16 loss. The ladies improved each game and did not let the hard-hitting and strong team intimidate them. The bright spot came from the middle blocker crew lead by #12 Sydney Sommer, who recorded 9 blocks and 3 kills. All the blockers showed they can handle the assignment of shutting down powerful hitters. The serves of the Sabers have also improved, getting close to 90 percent on target.
The Sabers are hungry and on the prowl.
Cross Country
The cross country team traveled to Cedarock Park on Thursday, September 8. Since this race was somewhat centrally located for the other schools in our conference, every team showed up to check out the competition. One-third of the way into the race, the Salem girls quickly realized that Trinity School would provide some tough competition this year as they were leading the meet by 5 points over Salem Academy. The Salem girls never gave up, however, as they picked off enough Trinity girls in the last two miles to give them an 11 point victory. While Olive Wilbur helped get Salem out to a good steady pace, Chiedza Mushayamunda came up big at the end of the race with a 2nd place overall finish. The following Salem runners also finished in the top 10: Olive Wilbur (5th), Emma Wilbur (6th), Christa Combs (7th), and Lauren Hart (8th). The team score were:
1st: Salem Academy – 23 points
2nd: Trinity School – 34 points
3rd: Caldwell Academy – 84 points
4th: Carolina Friends School – 91 points
5th: Burlington Christian Academy – 126 points
6th: Westover Christian School – 175 points
Teams who also ran but did not field full teams of 5+ runners: American Hebrew Academy, Elon School, Salem Baptist, and Westchester Country Day
Student Flu Shots
Flu shots are being offered to all students on Wednesday, Oct. 19th. The cost of the shot is $22. To receive a shot, each student must have the flu immunization form signed by a parent. The link to the form and an information sheet are below. Please return the form to Miss Thompson at the Academy by either FAX, email, or the paper copy. Please call Miss Thompson if you have any questions.
1) Flu Shot Consent Form (please sign and return)
2) Flu Vaccine Information Sheet
College Counseling News
Standardized Testing Cheat Sheet:
This "Standardized Testing Cheat Sheet" was passed out to juniors on Thursday. It contains all the necessary info about registering for standardized test this year. Please don't hesitate to contact Kelen Walker with any questions! (Click here for a PDF version)
Upcoming College Admission Representative Visits:
These visits are informal meetings with the admissions representative, and are open to all students. Students must get permission from their teacher if missing a class.
Tuesday, September 13th:
10:00 Savannah College of Art and Design
10:30 Boston College
11:00 Catholic University of America
1:00 Davidson College
Wednesday, September 14th:
11:30 Washington and Lee University
1:00 Sewanee, The University of the South
Friday, September 16th:
8:15 University of Southern California
Salem College Courses for the Community Fall SAT Prep Course:
Math: Tuesdays, October 4 – November 29 5:00-8:00pm
Critical Reading and Writing: Thursdays, October 6 – December 1 5:00-8:00pm
$225 each or $400 for both
Contact Betty Telford, Courses for Community, betty.telford@salem.edu, (336)721- 2855.
Reminder: The SAT will be held at Salem Academy on Saturday, October 1st. Use the test center code 34-857 to register. The registration deadline is Friday, September 9th.
Jan Term Trip 2012 - Spain and Portugal
Are you or your daughter interested in joining the 2012 Jan Term trip to Spain and Portugal?
Time is running out to join the 2012 Jan Term trip to Spain and Portugal! If you haven't already, please contact Ms. Winkler or Ms. Rogers to reserve your spot. Explore our trip website (click here) and get ready to experience la vida loca in the new year!
Parents Weekend Coming Soon
Parents Weekend will be held September 23rd-24th. Please click here for a preliminary schedule for Parents Weekend. More details and any changes to the schedule will be emailed to you as soon as they become available.
Parents Association Auction 2011
After months of planning, the Salem Academy Parents’ Weekend Auction event is almost here, and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate the Academy with you! Below you will find a sampling of items to be auctioned off at the event so that you will become familiar with them for successful bidding! Our auction is a wonderful way of building community and a way in which to raise funds. We look forward to being together in Bryant Hall on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm. All funds raised from this evening will be contributed to Salem Academy’s Annual Fund.
Invitations to the auction were mailed in July and we hope you received yours. (click here to view the invitation) Thank you to those who have responded and who have let us know you will be coming. We have extended the deadline to register, so if you have not responded yet please do so! We truly hope you can join us for this wonderful evening! RSVP to auction@salem.edu or fill out the RSVP form (click here for RSVP form) and drop it off at school or fax it to 336-917-5340.
Here is our evening’s schedule, designed to help ensure that you enjoy yourselves and have time to meet other members of the Salem Academy community.
5:00 Guest arrival, buffet opens, and Silent Auction begins
6:45 Last call for Silent Auction bids
6:55 Silent Auction bidding is closed
7:00 Dessert available, live auction begins and check-out follows!
We recommend that your attire be dressy casual. Parking is available in front of the Academy or in front of the Fine Arts Center.
We are also raffling off an iPad 2, 32GB! Raffle tickets are $25 each. You need not be present on September 24th to win, but we hope you are! If you have not purchased your raffle tickets, it is not too late. You may still purchase them through the mail or the night of the event. Email Jim DeCristo at auction@salem.edu to purchase your raffle ticket.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact one of us at the email below or Laura Slawter, Director of Annual Giving at laura.slawter@salem.edu.
Thank you so much for your generous support. We look forward to seeing you on September 24th.
Sincerely,
Jill Monroe, Auction Committee Chairperson
Marianne DeCristo, Solicitations Committee Chairperson
auction@salem.edu
Just a sampling of auction items that await our guests…
vacation homes, jewelry, wine tasting, a restaurant dinner party, preferred seating at graduation, hotel stays, area business and restaurant gift certificates, a hand-made quilt, a crochet snuggie, paintings, Symphony tickets, Salem Sports Camp package, unique and beautiful items from China, Korea, and Hungary, baked goods, chocolate, and more!
Link Your Harris Teeter VIC Card and Support Salem
Beginning August 1, Salem Academy proudly continued in Harris Teeter's Together In Education program to help raise funds for our school. It's easy and it's FREE. Simply give the cashier our code, 5509, and your VIC card when you check out and your card will be linked for the entire school year. That's it! You only have to link your VIC card once each school year. Once your card is linked, Salem Academy will receive a percentage of your Harris Teeter brand (Harris Teeter, Premier Selection, H.T. Traders, Harris Teeter Naturals, Your Pet, Hunter Farms, Highland Crest and More Value) purchases credited back to our account. This program does not interfere with your VIC savings or cost you any money!
For those of you who participated last year, don't forget to re-link your VIC card to our account code next time you are shopping at Harris Teeter!
