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Message from the Alumni Board
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Update from the Awards Committee
The North Cross Alumni Board’s Awards Committee works in conjunction with the Development Office to administer two important alumni awards. The Alumni Service Award, a tradition since 1999, is presented at commencement in late May. It was created to honor alumni who have made significant contributions to the North Cross School community. Last May the award was given to Elizabeth Fulgam Frankl ’82 to recognize her dedication to the CrossWalk program. Nominations may be made by downloading the 2016 Service Award Nomination form. The deadline for nominations is March 31, 2016.
Additionally, the Alumni Board wanted to create an award to honor an alumnus(a) who has made distinguished and outstanding contributions to his or her profession or field of interest, has benefited the community or humanity, and has brought honor to North Cross, while embodying the values and spirit of the school. The recipient must agree to attend the presentation of the award and interact with the school community in a manner of their choosing. Our first recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus(a) Award was Katherine Fulton ’73. This award was presented to Katherine during Founders’ Week in January of 2015, and she hosted a forum titled Education: 2025 that brought three area education leaders to the school for a discussion on the future of education. If you wish to make a nomination for the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus(a) Award, please click here for more information.
Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ (Boggs) Freund/SA ’72
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Eulogy Virtues
In my most recent “Education Matters†article in the South Roanoke Circle, I highlighted the difference between eulogy virtues and resume virtues, as explained in David Brooks' new book The Road to Character. The distinction between eulogy virtues and resume virtues is outlined in more detail in the article, particularly how they relate to community service.
As many of you know, our upper school students must participate in community service to fulfill a graduation requirement. Completing the minimum amount of hours in order to graduate is considered a resume virtue. We are fortunate to have a number of students who become highly involved with particular organizations and end their Willis Hall careers with hundreds of community service hours tutoring refugees, working at the local rescue squad, etc. These students become connected personally with an organization, and their work provides an excellent example of a eulogy virtue.
Read the full message on the Crossties Blog
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Understanding School Finances
To help parents and alumni understand how the finances of North Cross School work, three short videos have been added to the school website. The videos use the information shared by Dr. Proctor at his “Finance 101†parent meeting back in May. The videos are on a page titled “Finance 101†under the “Parents†tab on the school website.
Using figures from the 2014-15 budget, the videos provide an overview of the expenses and revenue of North Cross School and a demonstration of how a typical classroom is funded.
Visit the Finance 101 page on the school website.
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Save the Date: Winter Gala & Auction
Save the date for our annual Winter Gala and Auction on February 6 in the Carter Athletic Center. This black-tie optional event will feature dinner, drinks, live music, and an auction. We hope to see you there for "a top secret evening guaranteed to thrill."
Contact Jennifer Burtch at jburtch@northcross.org or (540) 989-6641, ext. 284 to purchase tickets.
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Honor Roll of Giving
The 2014-15 Annual Report and Honor Roll of Giving is now available for download. The publication includes an overview of school finances for the 2014-15 academic year, letters from Dr. Proctor and Russ Ellett, and the grateful acknowledgement of our many gracious donors.
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Show Your Support!
North Cross has earned the Platinum Award in The Roanoker for “Best Private School†four of the last five years, and we need your ballot to take the top spot again. Please take a few minutes to vote in the “Events, Faces & Places†section. Your ballots must include votes for at least 10 categories and only one ballot per email address is permitted. North Cross is eligible in the following categories:
Voting closes at midnight on January 31.
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Visiting Students From Argentina
Earlier this month we welcomed a group of Argentinian students in grades 8-11 who will be studying at North Cross for the next seven weeks. The students will take courses in history, science, English, and US current affairs while becoming more familiar with American culture.​ All of the students are from Corrientes, Argentina, the hometown of Spanish teacher Mariana Hermosilla, and are staying with several North Cross families.
Learn more about the visitation program on the Crossties Blog.
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Teacher Features and Staff Stories
Enjoy the following features of faculty and staff members.
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 Learning About Lewis and Clark
Sixth grade students took a field trip on Friday, December 4 to the new Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center in Charlottesville. The students learned about the keel boat used by the explorers, took a hike, and made maps.
View photos posted on the Crossties Blog
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 WildCam Gorongosa
Scientists are currently trying to restore the Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique with the help of citizens around the world. Through the WildCam Gorongosa project, Ms. Sandy Patterson's seventh grade students have been working to virtually identify animal populations and help document the park's recovery.
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 The Power of Perseverance
Last week, Guidance Counselor Leigh Ann Hamlin arranged for Yadav Sapkota, a 21-year-old political refugee of Nepal, to share his inspirational story of hard work, vision, and perseverance. He detailed his transition from growing up in a refugee camp where he never owned a pair of shoes to excelling as a student and leader at the University of Virginia.
Visit the Crossties Blog to read Yadav's full story.
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Holiday Choral Performance
On December 8 in Fishburn Auditorium, students from grades 4-12 performed under the direction of Choir Director Andrew Miller at the Holiday Choral Music Performance. Thanks to a grant from the Katherine Nelson Fishburn Foundation, we made upgrades to our sound system in Fishburn Auditorium last summer as part of a renovations project. This allowed us to record high-quality audio files straight onto a USB drive from the microphones and share the students' performance with the North Cross community.
Audio files from the event are available on the Crossties Blog. |
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All-District Band
Four upper school band students earned All-District recognition after auditioning last month at Franklin County High School. The auditions involve a significant amount of preparation and students are judged on major scales, chromatic scales, a prepared piece, and sight-reading. The following students will be representing North Cross School at the All District Weekend on February 5-6 at Blacksburg High School.
- Helen Schmedtje ’17 (right, flute)—5th chair All District Symphonic Band
- Caroline McGimsey ’17 (second from left, clarinet)—4th chair All District Concert Band
- Nolan Wages ’16 (left, trumpet)—12th chair All District Concert Band
- Kevin Bao ’18 (second from right, contra–alto clarinet)—1st chair All-District Concert Band
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Logan Gallery: "A Week in Maine"
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 VISAA All-State Football Teams
The Virginia Independent School Athletic Association (VISAA) announced its All-State football teams on Monday. Jordan Lowery ’16 (in photo by Laura Arnold) earned First Team honors as a wide receiver for the fourth consecutive year and was also recognized as a First Team defensive back for the second year in a row. Brett Jones ’16 and Davis Call ’17 were the Raiders’ other First Team honorees, as offensive lineman and linebacker, respectively.
Visit the Crossties Blog to see a full listing of First and Second Team players |
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 Bailey Scores 1500th Point
Peyton Bailey ’16 scored his 1,500th career point on Tuesday night against rival Roanoke Catholic. Bailey, in photo with coach Ed Green (left) and Dr. Proctor (right), received a commemorative ball, and he had 12 points for the night for North Cross. The Raiders won the game 53-52.
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Athletic Scores on Twitter
Athletic team results are now available on our Twitter account with the tag #NCSAthletics.
Following us on Twitter is the fastest way to get the latest scores and updates from the school. Scores will also be included in our regular Twitter feed on the right side of the home page and on the Athletics page of the school website.
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Class News & Notes
Please send your updates for Class Notes to Rebekah Bradley at rbradley@northcross.org. If you wish to include a photo, please attach it to your email.
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Bennett Holley '14 scored a career-high 13 points for the Appalachian State basketball team in a recent match-up against UL Monroe. Although the Mountaineers did not win, Bennett was a key player in the game.
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 Sidney Murray NGA ’14 recorded a Christmas song she wrote called "Christmas Carol," which is available for download on iTunes. She recorded four songs over fall break in Nashville that she plans to release over the next 6 months. Sidney is a freshman at Wake Forest University.
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