Headmaster’s Notes
30 November 2012
Dear Parents:
As you read this letter, we are now in the T-minus two weeks and counting stage for our long winter’s nap! Believe it or not, two weeks from today, the Upper School students will sit for their first semester exam in English! Upper School parents should consult www.dailycharger.com for the amended semester exam schedule. Please make arrangements for your Upper School student to be picked up after each exam beginning on Monday, 17 December. There is no luncheon served that week, nor is there supervision provided for Upper School students that week.
THANK YOU to everyone, and especially the co-chairs Angie Best, Mary Hope Crocker, and Pam Stewart who put together a wonderful Auction Fundraiser this year. We raised an amazing $78,000!!! This amount, when combined with our Charger Card sales and Target Red Card stipend sends us just over $100,000 fundraising goal for the year! Thank you! All monies for our three Fundraising activities (i.e, Charger Cards, Great American wrapping paper and gifts and the Auction tickets) are now well past due. If you have not turned in your monies yet, please do so immediately! We want to close out this year’s Fundraising and not have to worry about Fundraising until next year!
Congratulations to our students who have placed first in the grade for the David Williams Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution Essay Contest. Again this year, WCDS swept all but one of the grades 7-11 in the county-wide contest. Fifth grade: Hamish McKay; Sixth grade: Charlie Dees; Seventh grade: Paul Zbarcea; Ninth grade: Matthew Kierski; Tenth grade: Cameron Diprofio; Eleventh grade: Karis Hawkins.
Eighth grade students will sit for the EXPLORE test on Wednesday, 5 December during their first three periods. This test is a pre, pre-ACT test and will also provide some early inventory information regarding vocational interests. Seventh-grade students will sit for this test the following Wednesday, 12 December. We will contact our eighth and seventh grade parents with a meeting in January.
This Tuesday we will have a school-wide fundraising event for our Christmas Charities. The Early Years and Lower School has selected the Salvation Army Angel Tree and the Wayne County Department of Social Services- Foster Care as their beneficiaries and the Student Government has selected WOOFF (Welfare of Our Furry Friends) and the House of Fordham as the recipients of their efforts as we host a Hot Dog luncheon that day. We are asking each student to purchase a lunch. The hot dogs will be kosher-quality and each student will receive a side and a drink with their purchase. Extra hot dogs will be $5 each, as we try to reach our goal of raising $2,000 for our four charities that day. This luncheon will be CASH ONLY so even though you have a lunch account, we ask you to use cash only that day.
Friday, 7th December in the morning, our Parents Association will host our second annual “Holiday Shopping Spree.” You will receive a flyer in your child’s Friday Folder, or for Upper School students during lunch, students may peruse the items for sale in the Charger Café. All items are under $25 and must be paid at time of purchase.
Early Year and Lower School parents, please note. We WILL be offering After School care for your students, 3K through grade 6 on Thursday and Friday, 20-21 December from 12 noon until 5.30PM. Mrs. Barber will be in charge of both age groups, and she will be joined by Dominique Eason ’11 (who has been doing child care at the Y for a couple of years now during vacations) as well as seniors Morgan Rigsby, Zack Brewer-Kirby, Anne-Marie Davis and Hannah Pearson. The charge will be the same $5 per hours as always. We ask that you call the office and let us know if you will be using this service on Thursday or Friday or both days. We want to be properly staffed for those two days. Please ensure that if your child will stay on Thursday or Friday that he or she has a lunch, drink and snack for the afternoon. Thank you, Mrs. Barber, for going that extra mile for our families during this hectic time of the year!
The Senior Class will host our first “Winter Ball” on Thursday, 20 December from 8.00-11.00PM in our gymnasium. The event will be semi-formal and the price of admission is $10 per person. Only high school students (grades 9-12) may attend (no recent alumni or intermediate school students) and non-WCDS guests may come by advanced invitation only. Proceeds from this dance will go to the Capital Campaign fund for Phase Two, now in progress.
As we enter this Season of Miracles, I want to thank you all for your continued trust and confidence in us. The partnership that we form for the future of our children is very much appreciated and know how much we appreciate and value being a part of your family and your future.
My very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2013,
Todd