Campus Update

Carpool and Parking for Homecoming

Please note that carpool will operate as normal as possible today. Guests on campus for the football game this afternoon against St. Anne's Belfield will be directed to the rear entrance on campus for admission to the game. If you are a part of the North Cross School Community arriving on campus specifically for carpool (or the games) please use the main entrance.

Boosters would like to remind everyone that the first 300 spectators at the athletic contests today and tomorrow will receive a special giveaway. Also, Boosters would like to thank Maria and Rhett Ward of Save-A-Lot Grocery Stores for their generous donation of an entire case of hotdogs and a full palette of water bottles for Homecoming! Thank you!

Legacy Picnic

North Cross School alums and their children gathered on Tuesday for the annual Legacy Picnic in the New Slack courtyard. This spring Max Revercomb ’15 will be the eleventh member of the extended Revercomb family to graduate from North Cross. He spoke briefly about what his North Cross experience has meant to him. “North Cross has offered many opportunities to all of us, but the relationships I have made with my teachers, coaches, and my peers will last forever. All of us have made lifelong friends here. My oldest brother James met his wife here. North Cross has been a huge part of my life and I am lucky to have had this experience.”

Click here, or the image above, to view a slideshow from the event.

Fall Book Fair is Coming 

It's almost time for our fall book fair! This 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. This year, we are excited to be using Scholastic again for our fall book fair, and we are extending the event by a few days as well. We will begin our book fair on Wednesday, October 15, and continue it through the following Friday, October 24. Book fair will take place in Hancock Library and will be open for extended hours on several evenings. Be on the lookout for more information coming home.

We are also looking for volunteers to help with book fair. Your help is needed for book fair set-up, sales, assistance with wish lists for younger students, and for packing up the book fair when we are done. If you are able to help, please contact Amy Holley at aholley@northcross.org.

Fall Coat Drive

North Cross School is participating in this year's coat drive, Happy Coats-giving, to benefit the Rescue Mission. Please bring your new or gently used clean coats to your division assistant from now until December 7. If you do not have time to have your donation cleaned, you can drop the coats off at Wheeler's Cleaners and they will clean the coats and turn them in for you. For more information on Wheeler's Cleaners, you can visit their web site at www.wheelersfastservice.com. For more information on the coat drive, please contact Gay Pollock at curtis413@aol.com.

Teacher Feature: Sandy Patterson

How did you end up at North Cross?

I followed my daughters here. When I first moved to Roanoke with my family, I worked as a teacher in public schools but recognized North Cross as the best opportunity for a good education in the area and enrolled my daughters here when each of them were in Kindergarten.

I hear you are quite the world traveler; how did you become so interested in traveling?

Growing up I never really thought I would be much of a traveler. When I was 18 I went camping with my family in Canada and absolutely loved it. It had a beautiful landscape and rich history. I also I loved being outdoors. I took a few trips here and there, but my passion for traveling really started in the mid-90s and thanks, in large part, to North Cross.

Photo above: Sandy Patterson visits the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico last summer after winning the 2013 Lawrence Award for Faculty Enrichment. The trip was part of a biodiversity study of the rainforest area of Nuevo Durango on behalf of the Smithsonian and the UN Convention of Biodiversity.

Click here to read the full feature.

Staff Story: Eric Lawrence

How did you end up in Roanoke from Muskegon, Michigan?
I went to a Christian school in Muskegon and was very involved in athletics. I played soccer, basketball, and baseball in high school and was also on the track team. I wanted to go to college somewhere faith-based where I could continue playing sports. 

What does it take to be a successful Athletic Director?
You have to make sure you don’t lose perspective and remind yourself that we are here to provide positive athletic opportunities to train and compete in an environment that allows students to achieve at the level they are comfortable with, all while teaching students valuable life skills focused on developing a strong character. 

Photo: The Lawrence Family at daughter Emily’s graduation from Duke University in May 2014. From left: Margaret ’17, Eric, Emily, Wendy, and Sam ’12.

Click here to read the full feature.

Academic Update

Singapore Math and Word Study in Lower School

Kate Clark, third grade teacher and our Lower School Singapore Math Liaison, made a presentation to lower school parents about the Singapore Math program a few weeks ago. Her presentation slides have been posted to the school website for parents who were not able to attend or want more information about the program. Click here, or the image above, to download the PowerPoint file.

At the next Ellis Hall Director’s Coffee with Deborah Jessee on November 11, second grade teacher Audrey Osborne will make a presentation about the recently expanded Word Study program. Lower school parents are encouraged to attend the event at noon in Fishburn Auditorium to learn more about this program.

Chromatography

Art Update

Sketching for Success

Art students in Advanced Studio Design are required to keep a sketchbook for the entire school year. Each week, the students are required to find a piece of artwork that inspires them, collect information about the work and artist, sketch the work by hand, and write a brief commentary. The book is graded each week and is used to inspire projects throughout the year. In the accompanying photo, the top image shows a spread from the sketchbook of Jim Card ’16 and the bottom photo is the painting he completed using the inspiration from his sketchbook.

New Show in Logan Gallery

“When Shape Meets Form” is now on display in Logan Gallery. The show features the works of local artists Tracy Budd and Michael Farrar and will be on display in the gallery from October 1 to October 30, 2014. Tracy Budd describes her paintings as “a direct response to how I feel about the world around me.” Michael Farrar works in all media, both realistically and abstractly. His main media are oil, watercolor, and mixed media; and he creates paintings on both canvas and archival paper. (Photo above on left: “Weaving with Rust’ by Michael Farrar, on right “1 Kirk Avenue Graffiti” by Tracy Budd)

Athletic Update

Powderpuff Classic

In the 2014 Powderpuff game, the team of juniors and senior girls defeated the team of combined freshmen and sophomores by a score of 14-7. Forty-two girls practiced and participated in the annual spirit week event. Avery Sturm ’15 (in photo returning an interception) was stout on defense for the upperclassmen and came up with two interceptions on the afternoon.

Halftime Extravaganza

At halftime, Jack Fishwick ’16, Michael Fleming ’16, and Vincient Arnold ’16 battled underclassmen Everett Ward ’18, Bruce Farrell ’17, and Eli Swain ’18 in a dance off. Judge the winner for yourself by watching the video clip here. Fortunately, there were no wardrobe malfunctions during the spirited performance.

Raiders Defeat Chiefs

The Boys’ Varsity Soccer team defeated their rival Carlisle Chiefs squad 1-0 in overtime Thursday afternoon on Thomas Field. Christian Entleitner ’15 bent home the game winner (pictured by Robert Robillard) in overtime. Felipe Gracia ’18 earned the shutout in the nets for the Raiders.

Five Athletic Contests for Homecoming

Friday, October 3

Saturday, October 4

Raiders Scoreboard

Celebrating 70 Years

“Gimme an ‘N’...”

Soon after the school expanded the athletic offerings, cheerleading became part of the spirit on campus. The 1969 Cheerleading Squad, pictured from the 1969 yearbook, featured members (left to right in photo) Claiborne Gooch, Tricia Larson, Margaret Robinson, Janie Hopkins, Karen Waldron, Mary Watts, and Cindy Crockett.

While the school stopped offering a formal cheerleading squad in 2003, the lower school students spent time earlier this week practicing their cheers to bring a little more school spirit to the Friday pep rally in the CAC.