|
|
|
|
Message from the Head of School
|
|
Yesterday, I left an Executive Committee of the Board meeting to attend senior day for our girls varsity tennis team. I can’t make all the senior days but I try very hard to make as many as I can because I enjoy the feeling of teammates supporting and honoring each other. Every team does it slightly different, but at the core of each ceremony lies the realization that the team is bigger than the individual. In particular, I am always excited to see the team honor a senior manager who keeps statistics, helps with water, ice, or anything else the team needs.
It is often difficult for young people to focus on something larger than themselves and everyday I see the many things at North Cross that are designed to do just that. Athletics, in particular, are obvious mechanisms for teaching team over individual lessons. Less obvious are our dramatic and musical performances, perhaps the ultimate team sports. No character stands alone on a stage and there is always an army of stagehands, student directors, student choreographers, and supporting actors who make a successful show, successful. While it is always fun to see a student solo, it is the sound of the orchestra that makes the performance. Pink out days for breast cancer awareness, Bojangles days for flood victims in Louisiana, and volunteer tutoring in the public schools are all examples of how we integrate service to others as part of the North Cross experience.
|
|
Buddies on the Quad
The warm spell this week was the perfect setting for the fall Senior Buddy Picnic where ECP students had lunch not only with their big-kid friends, but their parents and their friends' parents as well! It was great to see the bustle of little hands grabbing an extra cookie or being chased by their longer-legged friends in a game of tag after lunch. Parents of the young and older had a chance to talk with each other about the now-and-laters of child rearing, too. Thanks to the Dining Hall staff for their work in making this such a pleasant get together.
|
|
What aaaaargh you reading?
Book Fair is Wednesday, October 19 thru Friday, October 28
 This year's pirate-themed fundraiser benefits our school library and offers a wide variety of books for all ages, as well as activity kits, gift items, and other fun products. Students have had the chance to create wish lists during their library time, and parents can stop by, too! In the Hancock Library, the fair will be open today until 4, and here are the hours for next week:
Monday and Tuesday: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Wednesday: 8:00am - 6:00pm
Thursday: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Friday: 8:00am - 4:00pm
A great chance for teacher holiday presents, too, as they've created wish-lists for their classrooms as well. Can't make it in? Visit our Book Fair page: http://www.scholastic.com/bf/northcrossschool
We are also looking for volunteers to help with the sales table during our fair, for assistance with wish lists for younger students, and for packing up the book fair when we are done. Please click https://volunteer.scholastic.com/#/signup/okN2E0XZq to sign up if you can help.
|
|
Next Friday 10/28: Wear Red for Dyslexia
Friday we ask all students to wear a red T-shirt and jeans to raise awareness for those struggling with dyslexia—a disorder characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities—during National Dyslexia Awareness month. Difficulties from dyslexia stem, not from a physical problem, but rather from the basic functioning of the brain. Psycho-educational tests are used to determine patterns of strength and weakness as compared to intellectual ability. Testing not only helps identify dyslexia, but helps determine the best kind of instruction for each learner. To find out more, including warning signs, visit The National Institute for Learning Development's website.
|
|
The writing on the wall ... er, sidewalk.
|
|
|
Lower School Spanish students practiced their verb conjugation in preparation for their first written exam next Friday by playing with them. Literally. The students created hopscotch and 4-square games where contestants had to conjugate as they played. Talk about learning in action …
|
|
Creative Interpretation
Something caught our eye while roaming the campus this week. On Thursday, a number of second grade students were out of dress code, but for good reason. They were wearing their homework! Each month, second graders have a book report due. This month's project: a scary fiction book. The children designed a T-shirt to represent their book. They shared their reports with the class this morning and showed off their creations to Director (and dad) Mr. Lamas, among others. Mrs. Daly's class wore their shirts for the day, which explains the well-earned lack of dress code. It was a lot of fun, and they did a great job.
|
|
Teacher Feature: Rebekah Sharkey
 Hometown: West Palm Beach, Fla.
Education: Emory & Henry College, BA in Mass Communications
Current Position: Yearbook Adviser, Newspaper Adviser, Graphic Design teacher
Year Appointed: 2014
Pictured right: Ms. Sharkey on a trip to Budapest this past summer.
Where did you grow up? Salem, Va.
What’s the one thing your students don’t know about you? I love going to hockey games.
What’s your teaching passion? What motivates you? Using yearbooks to tell people's stories and capture a school's life in one book is my passion. I created yearbooks in high school and college, and was not ready to give it up yet. Knowing we create something that people will look at in 25 years and be thrown back to a specific moment is what I enjoy most.
|
|
|
Correction: Last week's feature on Alex Hash had an incorrect link to his expanded story. You can read his full profile here. We apologize for the mixup.
|
|
How bright does your star shine?
It's going to be a Starry, Starry Night at the Coffeehouse on Nov. 4—on so many levels. This year FOTA introduces a new sponsorship level: Platinum Star. There are only two available but the rewards are many. For a donation of $1,000, sponsors at these levels will enjoy the following benefits:
- A special invitation for 4 guests to watch the final dress rehearsal of the Lower School Musical on Thursday, November 10th
- A guided backstage tour after the show on Thursday, November 10th
- Four front row seats on Friday or Saturday night of the performance (one sponsor will have Friday, the other Saturday)
- Family admission to the Coffeehouse, a gift bag of two FOTA coffee mugs and coffee, front row seating for 4 for the Coffeehouse, and acknowledgement in the program and during the performance
Other sponsorship levels are available on the website, just click the button below. The funds directly benefit the arts this year so you can see your dollars go creatively right to work.
 Also new this year: Get your tickets before October 31 and get a fast pass entry to the show, and be entered to win 4 front row seats! You can purchase your tickets online at: http://www.northcross.org/the-fota-coffeehouse.html.
* Due to a technical error this feature was not up last week in time for the Crossties release. We apologize for any inconvenience; the site is fully functional now.
We need bakers! Get out your aprons and mixing bowls to support the arts. If you have a knack for whipping up goodies, please consider donating some items to sell at the event. You can sign up and see what other people are bringing at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c094eabab28a4f94-coffee
|
|
Senior Days for Soccer, Volleyball and Tennis
Check out our galleries for senior days onCampus. They're located on the Featured Content pages and the individual team pages. You can even download the photos!
|
|
Winter Athletic Opportunities
The opportunities for middle and upper school students is online on the Athletics website. Deadline to register with a sports team is 11/4. Practices start Monday, 11/14.
Scoreboard and Stats
NOTE: Saturday's games will have admission fees:
$5/adult, $3/non-NCS students, NCS students are free
This week's stat updates from Eric Lawrence, Director of Athletics:
- GV Volleyball is the #1 seed in the BRC Tournament (3rd in State)
- BV Soccer is the #1 seed in the VIC Tournament (#1 in State)
- GV Tennis is the #1 seed in the BRC Tournament (#3 in State)
- GV Field Hockey is the #2 seed in the BRC Tournament (#6 in State)
- V Cross Country will be heading to the BRC/VIC Meet on 10/29.
- BV Football remains undefeated at 7-0 and ranked #1 in the state D2 poll!
- The middle school tennis and soccer teams are still both undefeated
- There are 3 weeks left of the fall athletic season! (4 wks for BVFB)
For the complete listing of this week's and past scores, visit the Scoreboard under the News section in onCampus.
|
|
Stay Connected on Social Media
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
