Friends,

 

It's almost time to launch our 2017-18 Crossroads Fund appeal! Your Board and our faculty are determined to deliver the highest quality programs in both Core Knowledge and Core Virtues to our children , and we know you will -- as you always have -- get behind our efforts. When everyone contributes, we all benefit! Last year we launched our first-ever Leadership Circle for donors who were able to make gifts of $1 ,000 or more , and we are so grateful for their steadfast and generous support. In addition, for the last two years, 100% of our parents have made gifts, just adding to the important ways our parent community supports the school every day! We are confident we can match--or perhaps even exceed -- these wonderful milestones this year. Please watch for further details from our dedicated Crossroads Fund leaders, Dawn Averitt and Angela Orlando, about how to make your gift in the most comfortable way for you and your family. And thank you so much for being a part of the Crossroads family!   

 

Posie Taylor

Chair of the Crossroads Board of Trustees

December: Generosity and Service

 

Generosity is giving with an open hand and an open heart.

Service is helping others with a cheerful heart.

I have been very fortunate to work in a variety of school settings, both in the United States and abroad. One school I led implemented a Waldorf-inspired curriculum while another one offered the Reggio Emilia approach. The school I led before coming to Crossroads had a Montessori lower school. 

Sitting in on classes and studying pedagogy in various academic settings has been an incredible privilege in each school I have served as it has allowed me to better understand a variety of curricula philosophies and approaches. And as I have gained a better understanding of the Core Knowledge and Core Virtues Programs, I have been struck by certain commonalities as well as the unique differences in what we do at Crossroads.

One element I have particularly valued at Crossroads is our students' approach to learning new information, something that is so apparent during this time of year when students are fully immersed in our curriculum. Starting in kindergarten, our students are exposed to such a rich range of material and interesting knowledge. They learn to love new information and become intrinsically motivated to learn meaningful, multi-layered content at an early age. When teachers develop new curricula elements, they are aware that the curriculum needs to be content-rich and foster a deeper understanding of the world around us. This not only sets up students for engaging learning, I believe it also forms lifelong habits for curious minds that continue long after they graduate. 

   

Please help us gather important information with this Online Survey

As part of our ongoing goal to meet the needs of our school's community and to better understand the educational preferences of families in the Upper Valley, Crossroads Academy has partnered with Dartmouth's Center for Service and Crossroads parent Professor Kimberly Rose Clark to develop an online survey.  You are invited to participate in this survey:

https://survey.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0J4z5qflpaNOLk1.

 

All responses will be anonymous and  will help us better understand the educational preferences of current and prospective families. Crossroads parents who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card. Thank you for your help and participation.  

Thank you, Crossroads community, for your generous donations to the Food Drive! The Middle School Community Service Club appreciated the opportunity to contribute and deliver the collection to our neighbors at the Thetford Food Shelf!

Fourth grade -- Let Freedom Ring

Hi All,

 

THANK YOU and congratulations on such an outstanding BOOK BUZZ.  Every single book/series sold at least one copy!  

 

Seventy-two books were ordered for a total of approximately $702 in sales. This means, assuming everyone picks up the ordered books, that you all raised around $140 for Crossroads.

 

Thank you again for all the work you put into this evening.

 

Good luck with school - Lisa

 

PS - Look to the Book Jam for your reviews.

 

J.Lisa Christie

The Book Jam Blog

Third grade gingerbread house

    Construction of the outdoor classroom begins near Sticks and Stones

"From Pet to Primordial Beast" by Jhala Gregory

Emily Dickinson Clue, a game created by Eleanor Konings

FIRST LEGO League Results

 

One Crossroads team competed at the 2017 FIRST LEGO League Hydro Dynamics NH State Championships held at Windham High School on Sunday. Forty-nine teams from across New Hampshire earned the invitation to compete in this event based on their previous Qualifying Tournament results. Every team was scored and judged on:

Congratulations to team Fybre Fyghters (Noah Branchflower, Riley Chin, Kai Doron, Brynne Spaeth, Mikey Rieger, and Eli Rountree) won the FLL Style Award as a result of consistently high scores in the project, robot design, and core values components. This award "allow judges the freedom to recognize remarkable teams that stand out for reasons other than the Core Awards categories." Their best robot performance score was one 115 points. Their Hydro Dynamics project presentation was a device for removing microplastic fibers from laundry waste water.

 

The theme for next year's FLL season was announced as "INTO ORBIT."

Snack Friday Thank you

Thank you to the seventh grade parents for the delicious snacks last Friday. They were much appreciated!

From the Health Office (12/7)

Crossroads parents are invited to attend an informative session "Discussing Sexuality with your Children," on December 7, at 7:00 pm. It will be  presented by pediatrician Dr. Michael Lyons, an Upper Valley family physician for over twenty years, and Cindy Pierce, author of Sexploitation: Helping Kids Develop Healthy Sexuality in a Porn-Driven World. The presentation and discussion aim to guide what sexuality topics are developmentally appropriate for 11-14-year-olds and how parents and guardians can overcome the discomforts of talking about sex with their children. It will take place at Open Door Studio, 18 North Main Street, WRJ, VT.

 

Clara's Dream (12/7-12/10)

Enjoy the holiday season with performances featuring Crossroads Academy students. Appearing in City Center Ballet's " Clara's Dream ," a retelling of  Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, from December 7-10, are Ahadi Hall (7), Audrey Lewellen (7), Zosia Lewellen (5), and Claire Reder (5). For more information, visit  https://www.citycenterballet.org/claras_dream.html.

Live Feed of Holiday Performance (12/13)

 

For grandparents and other family and friends who wish they could attend the Holiday Performance but are unable to, we are pleased to provide a link that can be forwarded in advance to a live feed of this festive event . To access the live feed, grandparents and others can click on this link: http://thecube.com/e/762641 shortly before the Holiday Performance begins at 6:30 pm and then watch it take place in "real time." Please note: if the messages "Stream is yet to begin" after the scheduled start time or "The stream was interrupted" during the event appear, or if there are any other technical glitches, viewers can try refreshing their browsers periodically until the stream begins.

 

We hope those who can't join us in person at the Holiday Performance enjoy this live feed experience!

Thank You from the PA

 

Thank you to the seventh grade families for providing a wonderful array of food for the Crossroads faculty to enjoy on Friday! This is one of the ways we give thanks to our treasured faculty, and it is deeply appreciated.

 

Thank you to everyone that made the PA Wreath Sale a success, both by organizing the sale and by purchasing wreaths. Special thanks go to Diana Kimball-Anderson and Yina Huang for their contribution of many volunteer hours toward the Wreath Sale this year.   

PA Business Meeting (12/7)

 

Please join us in the Crossroads art room at 8:00 am on Thursday, December 7, for the fourth PA meeting of the year, which will be a business meeting. Every parent at Crossroads is a valued member of the PA and encouraged to attend and vote on petitions. Brad Choyt will share a Head of School update, and we will review and converse about PA goals, finances, bylaws, and submitted petitions in light of our PA goals of community building and educational enrichment.

 

Please feel free to contact Gwen Martin, PA President, with any questions.

 

Farm Sale, Care of Bliss Farm

 

Just in time for the holidays, there will be a farm sale to benefit the Crossroads PA! Bliss Farm, a Lyme farm and home of Anna and Maeve Hammond (third grade), is selling grass-fed lamb and winter squash this fall. All sales to Crossroads families will be matched with an equal donation to the Crossroads PA. All cuts of lamb are $10/lb. (legs, ground, roasts, rack, chops, and shanks); butternut, red kuri, and spaghetti squash are $1/lb., and delicata squash is $1.50/lb. For more information or to place an order, please contact 

Bruce Hammond.

Orders can be picked up at Crossroads or at the farm.