May 2006

Bill Coulthart Retires [top]

After seven years of coaching the boys’ varsity soccer team, guiding the golf squad and teaching Middle and Upper School physical education classes, Bill Coulthart has retired.  The school honored him with a celebration May 23 in the Administration lobby.  Grateful parents, former and current students, and faculty and staff gathered to say a heartfelt goodbye.

Coulthart arrived at CA after working as an associate professor of physical education at Jacksonville University in Florida.  “Cary Academy students and staff have benefited form Bill’s extensive background,” Head of School Don Berger said.  “Bill was always truly interested in seeing all his students succeed … and he is a model to us all.”

 “I can think of no other place that I would have rather spent my last seven years teaching and coaching than at Cary Academy,” Coulthart said.  “I have come to enjoy the true feeling of family and community that seems to come from everyone here:  parents, students, staff, faculty and administration.”

Foreign Language Trips Underway [top]

Ninety-nine Cary Academy juniors are spending the next two weeks in China, Spain, France and Austria as part of the annual foreign language exchange trips.

For daily reports on their adventures abroad, you can visit the students’ websites and read their journals.  Just navigate to the top of the intranet homepage and scroll over the website you wish to visit.  Click, and poof, you are in the land of the Gauls, sitting in a Spanish plaza or visiting a cafehaus.

Four students on the China trip are blogging about the experience for The News and Observer.  To read that blog, go to the N&O’s homepage where a direct link to the blog may be found in the top left corner, titled blogs.newsobserver.com/china.

MS Gets New Leader; Artist Visits [top]

Katelyn M. (’11) gave Head of the Middle School Marti Jenkins a break for the day as she took over the reigns May 24.

She sat in on the leadership team meeting, declared a dress-down day of flip-flops and hats, and helped Assistant Head of the Middle School Vince Janney handle a “disciplinary” problem.  “I enjoyed getting to observe classes I don’t normally get to see, i.e. 6th/8th grade classes, and I learned some of the things involved in Mrs. Jenkins’s job I didn’t know,” Katelyn said.  “And the fact that I got a pizza and ice cream party with my friends at lunch was great, too.”

All during the week of May 22-26, local wire artist Jonathan Daniel visited the art classes of Lee Leal to teach the art he learned growing up in Zimbabwe.  He assisted the students in making colorful wire rings and butterflies.

Holocaust Survivor Enthralls Audience [top]

Lucy Carson spent World War II as a “hidden child,” moving from place to place in France to escape the Nazis.  She shared her experiences May 23 with the Modern World History class of Sheila White.  An audience of around 50 teachers, students, and visitors from other classes filled the room.

Carson shuttled between an orphanage, a Catholic convent and private homes during the war.  She lost both parents to the conflagration and was reunited with an aunt and her 5-year-old sister at the end of the war in Antwerp, Belgium.  She and her sister immigrated to the US in 1947.

Jared Carson (’08) had asked his grandmother if she would like to speak to the class, said White, and she readily agreed.

Cary Academy Graduates 87 in Seventh Commencement  [top]

To thunderous applause, whoops of joy and some tears, the 87 seniors of the Class of 2006 graduated May 21.

Anson Dorrance, women’s head soccer coach at the University of North Carolina, delivered the commencement address to a packed house in the SEA.  He drew on the 11 core values – like not whining, working hard and caring about each other – that his teams have employed on the way to numerous championships.

“Everything I have shared with you are choices you have,” he concluded.  “I hope all of you have a chance to live a life that exceeds your dreams.”

Before Dorrance spoke, senior speakers Lianne Gonsalves and Joelle Portzer presented heartfelt addresses to their classmates, families and all those in attendance.

Gonsalves urged her classmates to not get too caught up in the workaday world, but to “live, laugh and love.”  Drawing on artistic imagery, Portzer told her fellow ‘06ers that, “We stand here ready to add color, shape and texture to whatever part of the world we touch.”

Rob Smithson received the Founders’ Award from founder and board of director member John Sall.

Click here for more pictures from the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2006 and a copy of the opening remarks made by Head of School Don Berger.

Golf Brings in Over $70K [top]

Score the Ninth Annual Scholars Golf Classic a hole-in-one.  With money still coming in, the tournament has raised over $70,000 for need-based scholarships at Cary Academy.

With a shotgun start, 60 teams spread out over all three courses at Prestonwood Country Club May 15.  Despite dodging a few raindrops, the golfers enjoyed a day of warm temperatures and mostly sunshine.

Alums Charlie Winn (’05) and Ryan Cotter (’02) played, and 17 parents also participated.  For the eighth out of nine years, R.N. Rouse and Co. Inc. served as the grand sponsor of the event.  Cecilia Davis served as the parent chair.

Spring Athletes Garner Team, Conference Awards [top]

The Cary Academy spring teams did well this year, with boys’ tennis sharing the TISAC title with Durham Academy, and girls’ track winning the TISAC.  The teams also did well in placing many Chargers on all-conference and all-state teams.  Those teams were recently announced along with team honors.

In varsity girls’ soccer, team awards went to Alex Berger (’07) for the Charger Award and Liz Heller (’06) for Team Unity Recipient.  Berger, Amy Dement (’06), Dannye DiNizo (’06) and Rachel Kenney (’06) were named TISAC All-Conference.  Berger made NCISAA All-State.

In softball team awards, the Big Stick Award went to Bryelle Smith (’07), and Saige Clark (’07) won the Charger Award.  Smith and Clark were named all-conference.

In baseball, Adam Kramer (’06) got the Charger Award, and Barrett Roberts (’06) was named most Most Improved.  Kramer and Roberts were joined by Bret Knight (’07) on the all-conference team, and Kramer made the all-state nine.

In golf, Connor Leonard (’07) was named Medalist, and the Coaches Award went to Meg Hewitt (‘07).

In track, Most Outstanding Senior awards went to Mark Hallen (‘06) and Kelly Shipkowski (’06).  High point scorers were Glen Wright Colopy (’06) for the boys and Tenny Crawford (’07) for the girls.  All-conference honors went to Sarah Helfer (’07) in the 800; Rachel Park (’07) in the 1600, 3200; Crawford in the 100H, 300H; Blythe Friedman (’08), Dara Brown (’09), Shipkowski and Crawford in the 4x100; and Park, Catherine Jacobs (‘07), Lianne Gonsalves (’06) and Helfer in the 4x800.  At the state championships, Helfer won the 800m, thus earning All-State honors.

In boys’ tennis, the Sportsmanship Award went to Dennis Gugger (’08), and the Charger Award to Zach Sarnoff (’09).  Gugger, Mike Kohagen (‘10), Sarnoff and Taylor Meyer (‘08) were named all-conference, with Tyler Graybeal (‘06) receiving honorable mention.  Meyer placed on the all-state team.

In lacrosse, Andrew Leithe (‘06) took home the Charger Award, and Clark Cooper (‘06) the Sportsmanship Award.  Leithe, Cooper and Tyler Phillips (’08) were named all-conference.

PTAA Scholarships Awarded [top]

At the Upper School awards ceremony May 17, the PTAA awarded its annual scholarships.

The winners of the PTAA Merit Scholarships are rising seniors Lauren Kahn and Brendan Kiu.  Each will receive a scholarship in the amount of $2,000.

Three other rising seniors were awarded scholarships in the amount of $500.  Those three members of the Class of 2007 are Allison Yim, Murphy Chang and Caitlin Daniels.

Students to Blog on China Trip for N&O [top]

Four Cary Academy students from the exchange group traveling to China will supply an immediate recap of their experience through a blog that The News and Observer is starting May 21, the day before the students depart. 

Brittany Sterling (‘07) will be in charge of capturing her experience on film and then posting her pictures.  Diana Chiritescu (‘07) and Alanna Daley (‘07) will be alternating days with different diary-like entries of their time abroad.  Lauren Viehbacher (‘07) will be making her voyage to China two weeks later and will be spending her time as an intern for NCR and regularly writing about her tasks, and what it is like to work in China.  On May 22, the exchange group of two teachers and 12 students will board a plane to Shanghai.   

Three Seniors Excel in Competitions [top]

Mark Hallen (’06) is one of 20 students from around the nation who have made the National Chemistry Olympiad team.  He took the five-hour national exam April 21 at the N.C. School of Science & Math.  For making the team, Hallen has been invited to a study camp this summer at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. At the camp, students will receive intense training from both high school and college chemistry educators. At the conclusion of the camp, these educators will pick the top four students to travel to Korea to represent the U.S. in the International Chemistry Olympiad competition.

Shannon Mentock (‘06) participated in the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition in Washington, D.C. on April 21-24.  She was among the 60 high school juniors and seniors from across the nation who were named regional finalists for the competition.  The regional finalists presented in groups of 10, and the top two from each group were selected as national finalists. Unfortunately, Mentock was not one of the top two in her group, but she said the whole experience was incredible, featuring world renowned speakers, dinner at the National Academy of Sciences and other presentations.

After an inspiring tour of Duke University’s radiology center last year, Lianne Gonsalves (’06) decided to enter an essay contest sponsored by Duke.  It was a good idea.  Announced in early May as the winner of the contest, Gonsalves received a $1,000 prize.  To read her essay, click here.

Haitian Dance Performance Dazzles [top]

Performers from the Resurrection Dance Theatre (RDTH) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, performed for the school May 5.

The RDTH, founded in 1985, evolved from the creation of St. Joseph’s Home for Boys, which was also founded in 1985.  The mission of RDTH is to teach its members – former street children and mentally and physically disabled children – that they have a special gift to offer the world:  themselves.

Combining Haitian and African movements and featuring traditional Haitian drumming, RDTH shared the life stories of Haiti’s children in an unforgettable way that thrilled and impressed the CA students gathered.

Fun, Food and Good Times at Spring Sports Day [top]

The Spring Sports Day held Friday, May 5, and hosted by the Charger Club parent athletic boosters, provided an avenue for friends, families and supporters of CA to come together, mingle, eat and watch some good athletic contests.  The Chargers hosted Durham Academy for the day’s games.

A pep rally in the gym kicked off the event.  An ice cream social for the Middle School followed, and a tailgate party cookout by the stadium press box provided food throughout the evening. 

CA won the tennis matches 5-4.  In lacrosse action, CA lost 18-6, but the Chargers took the baseball game 6-1.  DA beat the softball team 16-1 and won a close soccer game 1-0. 

Click here for more pictures of Spring Sports Day 2006.
 

Smithson a Presidential Scholar; CA Students Receive Awards [top]

Senior Rob Smithson has been selected as a Presidential Scholar. One male and one female from each state is selected for this honor, with 13 at-large selections, as well.

In his application, Smithson was asked to write about a teacher who has influenced him, and he wrote about English teacher Carole Hamilton. Both Smithson and Hamilton will be invited to Washington, D.C. this summer for a series of events and a recognition ceremony at the White House.

In other great news, three Cary Academy seniors have been selected as National Merit Scholarship winners.  Each will receive a $2,500 scholarship.  The students are Sarah Basham, Mark Hallen and Smithson.

Econ Team Places Third [top]

The Cary Academy economics team placed third in the recent N.C. Economics Challenge held at the Federal Reserve Bank in Charlotte.  Schools from all over the state attended the competition. 

The CA team consisted of seniors Andrew Bryson, Clay Hane, Charles Hendren and Alexis Travars.  The competition consisted of three sets of tests:  one on microeconomics, one on macroeconomics, and one on “International Trade and Economic Current Events.” 

The team finished first on the microeconomics section of the competition.

What is Your Summer Quest? [top]

The Summer Quest staff has been busy planning a fantastic summer, and they are looking forward to your family being a part of it all!

There are many new offerings this time around, as well as some of the favorites from last year.  Some of the new camps include:  Digital Photography, Environmental Adventures, Real Fighting Robots, MultiMedia, Auto Design, Law, Fine Arts Portfolio, Introduction to Film Studies, Chocolate Dreams, Athletic Speed Camp, Draw Manga, Simple Silversmithing: The Friendship Ring, and Financial Savvy for Teens.

Spaces are filling quickly, so sign up today.  For more information and program registration status visit www.caryacademy.org/summer, or call the Auxiliary Programs Office at 677-7839.

April 2006

Rushin, Todd Win Teacher Awards [top]

Science instructors Gray Rushin and Joselyn Todd have been honored for their innovative teaching styles by the Sigma Xi chapter at North Carolina State University (NCSU).  Rushin has won the Outstanding Teacher Award for high school, and Todd has won the same award for middle school.

Sigma Xi seeks to honor middle and high school teachers in science and/or mathematics who instill in their students a love and appreciation for their subjects.  Each year, Sigma Xi recognizes one middle school and one high school teacher of science or mathematics from public or private schools in Wake, Johnston, Harnett, Franklin, Orange, Durham or Chatham counties.  The winners of these awards are recognized at the Sigma Xi Spring Banquet with the presentation of a check for $400. 

“I’m honored to be recognized by an international organization of distinguished scientists,” said Rushin.  “I hope to find some of my former students amongst the Sigma Xi membership in the coming years.”

“I know that such an award is only achieved with the support of special people who themselves have abilities that allow others to rise to their potential,” said Todd.  “With this in mind, I am very fortunate to work with such talented individuals in the Cary Academy community - students, parents, colleagues and administrators.”

Art on Display [top]

Cary Academy held FAME Fest April 19 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building.  This celebration collection of all the student arts focuses on visual arts as well as musical components. 

CA students were given the opportunity to set up booths and sell their own artwork and crafts, while visitors had the chance to purchase the pieces of art for reasonable prices.

FAME Fest is designed to support the blossoming youthful artists. 

Honors Galore [top]

Lianne Gonsalves (’06) has accepted the Park Scholarship to attend North Carolina State University.  She is also the winner of a $1,000 national Beta Club scholarship.

Danniella Hornby (’07) received an honorable mention in the Phi Beta Kappa Essay Contest.  She and her parents attended an award banquet April 25.

Diana Woodall (’08) and Mark Hallen (’06) finished in the top 15 at the 2006 Elon University Mathematics Contest held April 1, making them eligible for an academic scholarship at Elon University.

SADD Holds Events [top]

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) at Cary Academy took the initiative to remind students of Drunk Driving Awareness Week, April 17-21.

Alcohol is involved in 60 percent of all teen death car accidents, and SADD wanted to drive this point home.  The SADD chapter displayed an automobile, parked in front of the Upper School, that had been exhumed from a drunk driving accident. 

With the help of local law enforcement, the chapter set up a Gator course for students April 20 that simulated, using goggles, the effects of drinking, and provided a driving simulator tractor trailer on campus in the US parking lot.

Rooney Wins First Burdick Fellowship [top]

Michael Rooney (’09) is the inaugural recipient of the Charles M. Burdick Young Writers’ Fellowship, a $1,000 grant allowing one freshman to attend a summer creative writing program prior to the sophomore year.  The PTAA, in cooperation with the Middle and Upper School English Departments, came up with the fellowship.

Applicants were required to demonstrate their commitment to both the craft and promulgation of creative writing.  As a result, they completed an extensive application, submitted two pieces of creative writing for review, and interviewed with the selection committee.

Rooney impressed the interviewers, sharing an inventive short story, discussing how he would use the knowledge gained, and outlining several options that would encourage student participation in language projects.  With his award, Rooney has chosen to attend the residential Duke Young Writers’ Camp.

During the 2006-2007 school year, the PTAA will expand the CMB Young Writers’ Fellowship opportunities.  Freshmen will still be able to apply, while eighth-graders will gain the option of pursuing a second $1,000 grant.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions! [top]

The seniors in the Class of 2006 are making some tough decisions.  The 87 graduating seniors have received offers of admission from over 90 different colleges from 25 states in the United States, and from Washington, D.C. and England.  Many have spent the past several weeks trying to make their final choice. In most cases, students have until May 1, the national candidates’ reply date, to respond to their offers of admission.

The gamut of colleges to which seniors applied and have been admitted range (alphabetically speaking) from Alfred University to Yale University. Geographically, students are considering colleges across the country, from North Carolina to New York; from California to Connecticut; and from Massachusetts to Minnesota. They include liberal arts and sciences colleges such as Bard, Carleton, Claremont McKenna, Davidson, Hampshire, Oberlin, Swarthmore, and Wellesley; to midsize universities including College of Charleston, Duke, Furman, GWU, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Princeton, University of Richmond, Tufts, and Wake Forest; to larger state universities such as UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, NCSU, UVA, University of Georgia, Florida State University, and Virginia Tech.  Other options include technical institutes such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Olin College of Engineering.

In addition to the impressive offers of admission, many seniors were also offered merit scholarships. For more information about these, please click here.

National Honor Society Welcomes 17 [top]

With a bright sun shining down, the National Honor Society induced 17 new members into its ranks during a brief ceremony at the amphitheater the morning of April 18.

The new members are:  Stephanie Aanstoos (’07), Elizabeth Atkins (’08), Stephanie Bauman (’07), Kelly Bolick (’08), Ben Goldhaber (’08), Rodrigo, Haragutchi (’08), Kelly Hughes (’07), Jackie Lee (’08), Yasmeen Mansour (’08), Tom Marty (’07), Anna Morris (’08), John Nelson (’08), Rachel Park (’08), Brian, Pritchett, Kim Ray (’08), Vinny Tumminello (’07) and Nilesh Wani (’07).

Day of Silence Upcoming [top]

On April 26, Cary Academy Upper School students and faculty will again have the opportunity to participate voluntarily in the National Day of Silence, sponsored by the CA Gay-Straight Alliance.  

In sponsoring this day, the CA Gay-Straight Alliance wishes to help create a safe, accepting community at Cary Academy, not just for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) students, but for all students.  Participation in the National Day of Silence is completely optional. As in the past, teachers will be teaching, advising and supervising extra-curricular activities aloud during the day. While a student’s decision to participate has a personal impact, if a faculty member is silent for the day, their decision has an impact on all their students that day. Teachers may choose to remain silent during their free periods. 

Students are free to make their own choice regarding participation in this effort led by the GSA. Teachers and students will respect the choice of individuals who are participating in the Day of Silence and some teachers may structure their classes in a way that allows students who are participating to remain silent. However, for some classes this might not be reasonable. CA asks that students make wise choices when participating in the Day of Silence and not allow their classes to suffer as a result. For more information about the Day of Silence, and the institutions that sponsor it, please visit http://dayofsilence.org/about/history.php.

Watson gets Science Award [top]

Ryan Watson (’07) is one of the winners of the third annual Carolina Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science.  The award, part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Science Carolina initiative, is administered by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.

Science teachers statewide nominated candidates for the award. Eight winners from grades eight to 11 were selected based on a review of their transcripts and a short essay.  Science instructor Dan Yaverbaum nominated Watson.

To recognize his achievement, Watson, his parents and Yaverbaum attended a special luncheon at UNC on Thursday, April 6.  During the luncheon, Chancellor James Moeser presented Watson with a certificate and a gift.

Two Going to National Chemistry Competition [top]

Mark Hallen (’06) and Ryan Watson (’07) will be representing Cary Academy and North Carolina at the National Chemistry Olympiad Exam.

The two were chosen after the Chemistry Olympiad competition for North Carolina. Based on the results of the first round exam of this competition, the top 15 students from the state were selected.  Hallen and Watson will take the national exam April 21 at the N.C. School of Science & Math. This is a five-hour exam that includes a lab practical.

The top scorers on the national exam are selected to attend a summer camp at Air Force Academy in Colorado. During that camp, students are selected for the final team that will represent the U.S. in the 2006 International Chemistry Olympiad in South Korea.

Nationality Night, MS international Festival Entertain [top]

Food, dancing and fun all happened April 12 during the annual Nationality Night.  The event is a festival celebrating the different cultures around the world, but it also is a fundraiser for the Reedy Creek English as a Second Language (ESL) program.  All of the proceeds go to the Reedy Creek ESL program for the transportation expenses that allow Upper School students to tutor every Monday and Wednesday.

The Middle School held its annual International Festival April 12 for the seventh and eighth grades.   Workshops celebrating different cultures were set up in classrooms throughout the MS and campus.

This year's finale consisted of a capoeira performance by Deollo Johnson in the theater.  Capoeira is an African-Brazilian martial arts-dance that integrates strikes, sweeps, acrobatics, dance, music and theatrics into a seamless flow, a “conversation of bodies,” emphasizing improvisation and creativity, guile and grace.  Deollo Johnson has been practicing martial arts for over 20 years and capoeira for seven years.  

To the delight of the audience, Johnson brought some CA students up on stage to participate in a capoeira performance.  Enjoy these pictures of the International Festival.

Three Awarded Prestigious Scholarships; Two get Park [top]

Three seniors have been awarded eminent scholarships.

Aparna Chatterjee has been awarded the Morehead Scholarship from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and she and Lianne Gonsalves have both been awarded the Park Scholarship from North Carolina State University.  Rob Smithson has been awarded and accepted the Jefferson Scholarship at the University of Virginia.

In the next two weeks, a story with an extensive list of colleges to which seniors have applied and have been admitted will be posted here.  Also, a list of seniors who were offered merit scholarships will be available.

Middle School Students Recognized by TIP [top]

Based on ERB results, 72 Cary Academy seventh-graders recently qualified for the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) to take the SAT or ACT.  About 50 students took advantage of this opportunity.

Those who scored 510 or above on the math or verbal sections, or over 500 on both the math and verbal sections, of the SAT or 20 or above on the math or English sections, or 221 or above on the reading or science reasoning sections, of the ACT will receive state recognition at a ceremony at Campbell University on May 8.

Students who scored 650 or above on math or verbal or achieved a combined score of 1260 on the math and verbal (SAT) or 28 or above on math or English, 30 on reading, or 27 on science reasoning (ACT) will receive recognition at the grand ceremony on Duke's campus on May 22.

Twenty-nine of the students who took the ACT or SAT scored well enough to receive state or grand recognition—that’s almost 30 percent of the seventh-grade class!  Following is a list of who will receive recognition.  

Grand level recognition
Patrick Luo

Andrew Marron

Katelyn Mitchell

Evan Zayas

State level recognition

Orchestra Gala Includes Boston Violinist [top]

Xin Ding, a violinist from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performed at the Cary Academy Orchestra Spring Gala Concert held April 4 in the Fine Arts Building.  She played a solo and ensemble with the CA orchestra students. 

Local musician Audrey A. Low played the third movement from Mozart piano concerto no. 23 with the CA chamber orchestra.

Ding, a former faculty member of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, had an extraordinary career during her studies. She was the concertmaster of both the China Youth Symphony Orchestra and China Chamber Orchestra. After she received a bachelor of arts degree from the Central Conservatory of Music in 1995, she won the Gold Prize of the National String Quartet Competition in China. She has appeared as soloist and in chamber music throughout China, England, France and Japan. Since 1997, she has performed with the New Hampshire Symphony, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and other ensembles. Ding joined the Boston Symphony in January 1999.

School has New Science Teacher [top]

Aaron Rothrock is the new sixth-grade science teacher.

Rothrock received his doctoral degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina, where he worked as a teaching and research assistant.  Rothrock has just finished his first season at CA as the assistant coach of the JV boys’ basketball team.

As a science teacher at the sixth-grade level, Rothrock hopes to inspire his students to yearn for more knowledge about science.  “I am trying to pose questions, develop lab assignments and execute demonstrations so that the students are ‘wowed’ and want to discover both in class and on their own how something works the way it does,” said Rothrock.

Chargers Claim Baseball Tourney Title [top]

Using good pitching and hitting, the Cary Academy baseball team took the Chargers Invitational Baseball Tournament title April 1 by defeating South Davidson High School 7-6.

Right-hander Preston Bull (’07) threw a six-hitter and Bret Knight (’07) and Barrett Roberts (’06) homered in the win.  Mark Easley (‘08) and Bull went 2-3 at the plate, and Ian Wilson (‘08) did the same, with a triple as one of his hits.

In the third place game, Halifax Academy beat Cannon School 15-2 in six innings.  In the fifth place game Rocky Mount Academy took out Durham Academy 10-2.  In the seventh place game North Raleigh defeated the Cary Academy "B" team 12-2.

Making the All Tournament Team were: 

• Cary Academy:  Adam Kramer and Preston Bull

• South Davidson:  Nathan Barker and A.B. Crouse

• Rocky Mount Academy: Edmund Gravley

• Cannon School: Matt Keeler

• North Raleigh Christian Academy: Bryce Finger

• Durham Academy: Nick Livengood

• Halifax Academy: Taylor Caudle

Click on Image for a Larger View

Click on Image for a Larger View

March 2006

Reptile Club Hosts Exhibit at Museum [top]

The Cary Academy Reptile Club took part in the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ annual “Reptile & Amphibian Day” event, held Saturday, March 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Club members set up an exhibit on boa constrictors, which was located on the fourth floor of the museum.  They showed off the slithery creatures to interested viewers and even draped some of the snakes around a few very unsqueamish spectators.  Club advisor and chemistry instructor Gray Rushin supervised the exhibit.

In addition to Cary Academy’s boa constrictors, museum goers were able to get close-up looks at anacondas, pythons, poison dart frogs, chameleons and sea turtles.

Click on Image for a Larger View	Click on Image for a Larger View
Click on Image for a Larger View

Great Results for CA in Math Competitions [top]

Recently, about 180 Upper School students took part in the American Mathematics Competition (AMC).  In this rigorous and challenging event, each student has the chance to answer 25 questions in 90 minutes. From this test, approximately the top five percent from around the country were selected to participate in the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME).

Cary Academy had 17 students selected for the AIME or about 10 percent of those who took the test from the school.  “This test was substantially harder and more grueling with three hours to solve 15 problems,” said math instructor Jeff Killmer.  “To be invited to participate in this test is considered a huge honor.”

The national average is 2.8 correct answers on the AIME.  Mark Hallen (’07) got 10, Nick Tarleton (’08) got 5, and Alex Vig (’08), Clayton Casper (’08), Will Hussey (’06) and Jeff Stanton (’06) each got 3.  From this test, the top 1.5 percent are chosen to participate in the United States of America Mathematics Olympiad (USAMO).

For the first time in the history of Cary Academy, a student has qualified to take the USAMO, and that student is Mark Hallen.  Out of approximately half-a-million initial participants in the AMC, Hallen is one of only 250 students (and one out of 12 from N.C.) to qualify for the USAMO. This next test is nine hours over two days (April 18-19) to answer six questions. The winners of this will go on to compete in the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO).

Seventh-grade Shakespeare [top]

Seventh-graders took to the stage of the Fine Arts theater on the morning of March 3 to perform scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  In attendance were family members and their fellow Middle School classmates.

“This is the kids’ first encounter with Shakespeare at Cary Academy,” stated language arts instructor Briarly White, who along with English instructor Delia DeCourcy sponsored and directed the students.  “They read Romeo and Juliet in eighth grade, but this is where they first meet Shakespeare.”

White said the performances help the students lose that feeling of dread and insecurity that first comes over many students when they hear they are going to study Shakespeare for the first time. 

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New England-Area Alums Attend Dinner [top]

On March 3, alumni of Cary Academy who are now in the New England area, gathered for a dinner in Boston with visiting faculty and staff members, including Don Berger, Marti Jenkins, Eric Bondy, Palmer Seeley, Marcia Rogat and Martina Greene.

The alumni who attended the event at the Hard Rock Cafe were Michelle Cobley, Sara Hardin, Travis May, Holly Metter, Rachel Wall, Emily Mangone and Maria May.

The group caught up on each other’s lives, relived some tales from the past, and enjoyed a good meal paid for by CA.

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Click on Image for a Larger View

Debaters Make Their Points [top]

Eight students did extremely well at a debate held Feb. 17-19 on the campus of Harvard.  Out of 240 extempers, Ben Goldhaber (‘09) broke to elimination rounds (top 51), with Elizabeth Atkins (‘09) and John Nelson (‘09) very close to the break number. In Varsity LD, out of almost 300 debaters, Clay Hane (‘07) went 5-1 and broke, while all the rest of the LD debaters went a respectable 3-3. 

At a recent debate at Porter Ridge, where the LD and PF topics for states and districts were first debated, nine students performed well.  In varsity LD, Arjun Chandran (‘09) placed second and Robert Thorstad (‘09) fourth.  In congress, Ryan Watson (‘08) placed second in the varsity chamber, while Michelle Luo (‘09), in her fist outing in congress, took first in the novice chamber, and Anna Morris (09) placed fourth.

Also in novice, Michael Kahn (‘10) gave two speeches that earned a 5s (6 is perfect), and he got his first chance to serve as presiding officer of the chambers. Ryan Dunn (‘10), also making his debut in congress, performed well.

Bands Play at Campbell University [top]

On Feb. 24 all Upper School band and jazz band students traveled to Campbell University.

Dr. Dwayne Wilson, director of bands at Campbell and a CA parent, graciously offered to host the bands for not only a concert, but a day of rehearsals, workshops and clinics.  The Campbell University Music Department cancelled a number of classes so that it would have space for the school’s bands, and music faculty and students volunteered their time to work with the CA students. 

Some of the performance highlights included Devil Dance by Beginning Band, Tricycle by Middle School Band, Rock this Town by the Upper School Band, Round Midnight by the MS Jazz Band and Monkey Business by the US Jazz Band.

Tales for Tots a Success [top]

The Junior Class Community Service Committee recently collected 770 children’s and teenager-themed books during its Tales for Tots drive. 

This year’s drive was shorter than last year’s, but the drive collected about 100 more books.  The books will be donated to the Raleigh Girls and Boys Club.

“It is great that so many people from the Cary Academy community supported this drive,” said Emily Winslett (’07), Junior Class Community Service Committee co-chair.  “The committee is very happy about how engaged everyone was and how successful we were.  We know we made a big difference on helping children at the Raleigh Girls and Boys Club learn how to read.” 

PTAA Offering Merit Scholarships [top]

The Cary Academy Parent Teacher Administration Alliance (PTAA) is pleased to offer applications for merit scholarships to current Cary Academy juniors.  Each year the PTAA selects, through application and interview, one or more well-rounded 11^th-grade students who have personified the school’s values of respect and responsibility in his/her academic and extracurricular endeavors during the Upper School years.  The number and cash value of the scholarship awards may vary from year to year and will be determined by the success of the annual PTAA fundraiser (auction) and the amount of funds available.  In 2005, the PTAA awarded a maximum of two $2,000 “Honor” and three $500 “Honorable Mention” scholarships.  Awards will be applied as tuition credit for the 2006-07 12^th-grade Cary Academy academic year. 

Applications are available to interested, eligible students from the Upper School Dean of Students or on the Intranet (this is a secured area, a Cary Academy userid is needed).  Deadline for submission is 3:30 p.m., Friday, April 7.  In addition to completing the application and securing two letters of recommendation, each applicant will be invited to interview with the Scholarship Selection Panel during the week of April 24- May 5.  Decisions will be based on the award criteria presented in the Application Guidelines. 

Eligibility: 

• Program is open to currently enrolled 11^th Grade students who have completed at least one full year at Cary Academy.

• Applicant must have achieved Honor Roll (Scholar’s or Headmaster’s) status for at least two (2) Cary Academy Upper School trimesters.

• Application must be initiated by the student; parent or teacher nominations will not be accepted.

• Applicant must complete the application process without outside assistance.

• Deadline for submission must be met.  Completed application and written references must be submitted to the Upper School Dean of Students on or before 3:30 PM, Friday, April 7, 2006.

• The award of this scholarship will not affect eligibility or reduce the amount of financial aid received, except when the sum of financial aid and scholarship awards exceeds the total cost of tuition, student activity fee, and dining fee for the award year.  In such a case, the excess amount will be returned to the Cary Academy financial aid fund.

Questions or comments should be directed to the Upper School Dean of Students or via e-mail to Kevin Rowsey.  Your participation is invited. 

Click here for PTAA Merit Scholarship Application (Secured area and Cary Academy UserID required)

Scholarship Selection Panel (two faculty or staff members, two parents, one community representative):  to be announced soon

February 2006

Girls Basketball Team Comes up a Little Short in State Title Game [top]

The Lady Chargers lost to Providence Day 63-52 on Saturday in Greensboro in the title game of the NCISAA 3-A state championships.

Bryelle Smith (’07) led the team with 17 points.  Brittany Blackwell (’07) had 12, Tenny Crawford (’07) added 8, and Kelly Lewek (’09) chipped in with 7.  Adding to the Lady Chargers tally were Shani Evans (’07) with 6 points and Meg Hewitt (’07) with 2.

To get to the title game, CA fought hard and got past Durham Academy 54-53.  Evans gave the Chargers their first lead of the fourth quarter on a jumper, then stepped in front of an entry pass on Durham’s final possession of the game to seal the win.  In the first-round game on Feb. 23, CA defeated Charlotte Latin 71-41.  To read more about the Lady Chargers’ games at the state tournament, check out these links at The News and Observer: 

• http://www.newsobserver.com/821/story/411567.html

• http://www.newsobserver.com/821/story/411694.html

The team finished the season with a 27-5 record and the TISAC regular season and conference tournament titles.  Blackwell, the TISAC player of the year, made All-State.  Making TISAC All-Conference were Blackwell and Smith.  Crawford received an Honorable Mention.  Senior Will Hussey made the boys All-Conference squad.  Read more about Coach Randy Bennett and the girls team here: http://www.newsobserver.com/821/story/412670.html.

The Charger wrestling team also had another first for the state tournament when Alex Rosenthal (’10) made it to the championship final at the 103-pound weight class.  This earned him the distinction of being the first Charger to wrestle for a state title.  Even though he lost by a score of 8-2 to place second, this is the highest any Cary Academy wrestler has placed at a state wrestling tournament.

Miguel Alecio (’09) also had a great tournament.  He placed third at the 171-pound weight class, making him the third CA wrestler ever to get this honor.  He won his match with only 20 seconds left.  The score was 6-6 in the third period when he scored a reversal and almost pinned his opponent.

Five other Cary Academy wrestlers performed well in the consolation rounds.  Those wrestlers were:  Tyler Hartsfield (’09) - 119, Carson Bills (’09) - 140, Corey Lerch (’09) - 152, and Max Flescher (’08) - heavyweight.

On Feb. 20 in Charlotte, the swim teams earned enough points to finish sixth in the NCISAA state 3A tournament.  The CA relay squads performed admirably, positioning the individual swimmers to jockey for the points which would land the team its sixth-place finishes in the boys and girls divisions.  

The medal winners for the girls:

• 1st  200 IM: Bryttany Curran

• 1st  100 Breast: B. Curran

• 3rd  400 Free Relay: (Shannon Miller, Sarah Helfer, Katelyn Linker, B. Curran)

The medal winners for the boys: 

• 2nd  100 Fly: Rob Smithson

• 3rd  200 Free Relay: (R. Smithson, Tyler Graybeal, Richard Samulski, Daniel Uchiyama)

• 3rd  100 Back: R. Smithson

New Cary Academy Records – Boys:

• 100 Back: R. Smithson

• 200 Free Relay: (R. Smithson, T. Graybeal, R. Samulski, D. Uchiyama)

• 400 Free Relay: (T. Graybeal, R. Samulski, D. Uchiyama, R. Smithson)

CA Students Perform in Orchestra Festival [top]

Six students performed in the N.C. Eastern Regional Senior All State Orchestra Festival in Durham at the N.C. School of Science and Math, Feb. 17-19.  More than 200 students from 53 schools participated in this festival.

The string orchestra conductor was Tracey Rush, a professor at Northeast Iowa Community College, and the symphony orchestra conductor was Yoichi Udagawa, a professor at the Boston Conservatory of Music. This year’s program for the symphony orchestra was the most difficult one in the festival’s history, according to CA orchestra director Yiying Qiao, but he said all the musicians worked very hard and improved greatly in the three days.  The final concert went extremely well, he added.

 The students representing CA were:  Murphy Chang (’07) - flute/symphony; Andrew Bryson (’06) - cello/string; Jeffrey Stanton (’06) - viola/string; Rodrigo Haragutchi (’08) - 1^st violin/symphony; Charlotte Morgan (’08) - viola/string; and Nathaniel Ting (’09) - 1^st violin/symphony.  Two seniors, Abraham Chen and Aparna Chatterjee, were unable to make the trip.

Students Learn, Drink at Coffeehouse [top]

The German classroom on the second floor of the Administration Building took on the relaxed feel of a Viennese coffeehouse Feb. 17.  With music playing softly, the Middle School German students gathered at a table in the back and conversed over dessert and coffee.

Instructor Dawn Gartlehner supplied the coffee – decaf – and the students supplied the dessert, apfelstrudel they had baked the day before.  Students ate the dessert plain or with loads of whipped cream (schlagobers).

Prior to enjoying their joe, the students learned the history of the cafehaeuser through a lecture and video presentation by Gartlehner.

Second Part of International Computer Contest Completed [top]

Upper school students participating in an international computer programming contest hosted by the American Computer Science League (ACSL) have completed leg two of the contest, and both CA teams have made great strides.  

In this year-long programming contest, CA students have the following standing:  the senior division has moved from 20^th to 12^th place with Jeff Stanton (’06) in first place on his team.  The intermediate team has moved from 41^st to 24^th place with Robert Murphy (’09) in first place on his team and also tied for first place in the individual grouping internationally.

This contest is quite a challenge for these students.  Not only are the students required to write programs in Java, but they must solve a set of computer science problems.  These results are based on the first two legs of the contest; there are still two other parts followed by invitations to the All Star part of the contest.  The third part of the contest begins in March.  This is the first year Cary Academy has been a participant.

For score information, go to: http://acsl.org/team_scores.htm or http://acsl.org/ind_scores.htm.

Girls Win First Round Game in State Tourney; Wrestling, Swim Teams Place Sixth at State [top]

The girl’s basketball team beat Charlotte Latin 71 – 41 on Feb. 23 in the quarterfinal round of the NCISAA 3A state championships.  The team will now play Friday, Feb. 24, in the semi-final round at 7 p.m. at Greensboro Day School and will play either Durham Academy or Ashville School. 

The Lady Chargers reached the state tourney after defeating Durham Academy 56-38 on Saturday to claim their first Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference (TISAC) tournament championship.  They ended the season with an overall record of 25-4 and their second regular season title.

To meet Durham for the TISAC title, the Chargers defeated St. Mary’s by a convincing score of 80-35.  TISAC Player of the Year Brittany Blackwell (’07) led a host of CA scorers with 32 points.  Blackwell scored her 2,000th point in the win and was awarded the game ball.

The boys basketball team lost on Feb. 14 in the first round of the TISAC to the N.C. School of Science and Math.

Making TISAC All Conference were Blackwell and Bryelle Smith (’07).  Tenny Crawford (’07) received an Honorable Mention.  Senior Will Hussey made the boys squad.

The CA wrestling team placed sixth at the NCISAA state 3A championship meet held Feb. 17-18.  This is the highest team finish for the wrestling team at the state tournament.

The Charger wrestling team also had another first for the state tournament when Alex Rosenthal (’10) made it to the championship final at the 103-pound weight class.  This earned him the distinction of being the first Charger to wrestle for a state title.  Even though he lost by a score of 8-2 to place second, this is the highest any Cary Academy wrestler has placed at a state wrestling tournament.

Miguel Alecio (’09) also had a great tournament.  He placed third at the 171-pound weight class, making him the third CA wrestler ever to get this honor.  He won his match with only 20 seconds left.  The score was 6-6 in the third period when he scored a reversal and almost pinned his opponent.

Five other Cary Academy wrestlers performed well in the consolation rounds.  Those wrestlers were:  Tyler Hartsfield (’09) - 119, Carson Bills (’09) - 140, Corey Lerch (’09) - 152, and Max Flescher (’08) - heavyweight.

On Feb. 20 in Charlotte, the swim teams earned enough points to finish sixth in the NCISAA state 3A tournament.  The CA relay squads performed admirably, positioning the individual swimmers to jockey for the points which would land the team its sixth-place finishes in the boys and girls divisions.  

The medal winners for the girls:

• 1st  200 IM: Bryttany Curran

• 1st  100 Breast: B. Curran

• 3rd  400 Free Relay: (Shannon Miller, Sarah Helfer, Katelyn Linker, B. Curran)

The medal winners for the boys: 

• 2nd  100 Fly: Rob Smithson

• 3rd  200 Free Relay: (R. Smithson, Tyler Graybeal, Richard Samulski, Daniel Uchiyama)

• 3rd 100 Back: R. Smithson 

New Cary Academy Records – Boys:

• 100 Back: R. Smithson

• 200 Free Relay: (R. Smithson, T. Graybeal, R. Samulski, D. Uchiyama)

• 400 Free Relay: (T. Graybeal, R. Samulski, D. Uchiyama, R. Smithson)

Ten Seniors Finalists for National Merit Scholarships [top]

Ten Cary Academy seniors have been recognized as National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP) finalists.  Each has received a certificate of merit.

Finalists are being considered for a merit scholarship award by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) and will be notified in March if they are accepted.

Cary Academy’s National Merit finalists are Sarah Basham, Lila Battis, Andrew Bryson, Christine Ernst, Mark Hallen, Charles Hendren, Hannah Schmidt, Rob Smithson, Zoe Vulgaropulos and Abby Weathers.

Advertise to the Community in the CA Cookbook [top]

As part of the celebration of Cary Academy’s upcoming 10-year anniversary, the school is collecting and publishing recipes in 1500 North Harrison Bistro:  A Cary Academy Cookbook.

Ads and coupons are now being accepted.  This is an opportunity to advertise to the entire Cary Academy community and the Triangle.  The first edition of the cookbook calls for 3,000 copies.  Cookbooks will be sold at the Holiday Shoppe.

Parents, parent-owned businesses and other businesses that might be interested in appearing in the cookbook may take out an ad or coupon.  Ad prices are $75 for a quarter page, $125 for a half page and $200 for a full page.  Prices for coupons, double-sided, are $125 for a quarter page, $200 for a half page and $350 for a full page.  If you are interested please contact Lynne Fountain, director of Advancement, at lynne_fountain@caryacademy.org.

 
CA Hosts Mt. Vernon for Tour, Game [top]

For the fifth year in a row, Cary Academy hosted the Mt. Vernon Redirectional School basketball team on Feb. 14 for an intramural game against the Middle School’s Blue boys team. 

Bob Matthews, visiting program coordinator, and the students arrived on campus that morning and received a tour of the school.  After eating lunch with the Middle School, the team headed over to the gym for a brief practice before the actual game at 12:30. 

“The game was very exciting; the kids enjoyed the experience,” said Kim Cherre, co-athletic director.  “Some years they also have girls that play.  We used to just play the game with our PE class using both girls and boys, but we really wanted to give their boys more exposure and make it seem like a real game atmosphere.  So now our MS boys team plays, and we set up the gym like a real game.” 

Peter Pan Soars as School Musical [top]

With back-to-back sold-out performances Feb. 8 and 9, Peter Pan has proved it has wings.  The school musical will be performed twice more on Feb. 17 and 18.

“We have created two different worlds – the nursery based on reality and Neverland based on the imagination of the eternal boy,” said theater manager and overall production designer Shannon Clark. 

With great sets like The Jolly Roger pirate ship and the Lost Boys’ cave and colorful props such as the nursery’s doll house and the mermaid fireplace, the show is a treat for the eyes.  Actors such as Cole Boyer (’10) as Peter Pan, Kristin Killmer (’06) as Wendy and Ian Anson (’06) as Capt. Hook lend their voices to many memorable numbers.

Director Glen Matthews feels that this play, a production combining the talents of Upper and Middle School students, is one for the whole family.  “For although Peter Pan is a story about children, it is really for children of all ages,” he said.

Click on Image for a Larger View	Click on Image for a Larger View
Click on Image for a Larger View	Click on Image for a Larger View

Student Art Displayed [top]

As people filed in to watch Peter Pan on opening night Feb. 8, they had something else catch their eye.  The first annual Student Art Show filled the ground floor of the Fine Arts Building and provided a glimpse into the other artistic talents of CA students. 

The free event, hosted by Cary Academy's Community Outreach for the Visual Arts (COVA), lasted from 5:30 to 7 p.m.  Food and drinks followed a formal reception.

CA Places Sixth in Science Olympiad [top]

Competing in a regional tournament held at Wake Technical Community College on Feb. 4, the Cary Academy Upper School Science Olympiad team secured sixth place overall and qualified for the state tournament April 8.  In the process, they placed in the top eight for 15 of 24 events, including nine in the top four. 

All 14 members of the team won at least one medal.  Led by Mark Hallen (’06) and Jeff Stanton (’06), all of the students built and perfected their entries or studied the content for their competitions almost completely on their own.  Stanton and Lance Rappaport (’06) clinched first place in Circuits Lab and Aparna Chatterjee (’06) and Shannon Mentock (’06) took second in Chemistry Lab. 

Coach and parent Rusty Parks organized the team and several parents provided support.  The team now has two months to perfect their work for the state competition, hosted by NCSU.

The individual event results are as follows:

1st Place - Circuits Lab - Jeff Stanton and Lance Rappaport
2nd Place - Chemistry Lab - Aparna Chatterjee and Shannon Mentock
3rd Place - Break It On Down - Mark Hallen and Alex Su
3rd Place - Physics Lab - Jeff Stanton and Lance Rappaport
3rd Place - Rocks and Minerals - Ryan Watson and Angela Hayes
3rd Place - Disease Detectives - Tom Marty and Swapanthi Nagulpally
3rd Place - Don't Bug Me - Mark Hallen and Ashton Lai
4th Place - Flying Bird - Brendan Kiu and David Marron
4th Place - Food Science - Ashton Lai and Ryan Watson
6th Place - Robot Ramble - Jeff Stanton and Ryan Watson
6th Place - Mission Possible - Jeff Stanton and David Marron
6th Place - Designer Genes - Christine Ernst and Ryan Watson
7th Place - Forestry - Mark Hallen and Aparna Chatterjee
7th Place - Practical Problem Solving - Aparna Chatterjee and Tom Marty
8th Place - Tower Building - David Marron and Brendan Kiu

CA Hosts Debate Tourney [top]

Over 30 schools and over 350 students, representing institutions such as Myers Park, Durham Academy, Wakefield, Jack Britt, Massey Hill Classical and Pinecrest HS, competed in the Charger Classic Speech and Debate Tournament held Feb. 4 at CA.  The first place sweepstakes went to Myers Park.

Students bandied about topics such as whether the use of the state's power of eminent domain to promote private enterprise is unjust, and they sparred over whether the policy decisions of the current Israeli government toward the Palestinian state have improved prospects for peace in the Middle East. 

The Student Congress, which consisted of 125 students, discussed topics such as whether to end life tenure for Supreme Court justices and whether to call for a resolution demanding the dismantlement of the Iranian nuclear program.

Jake Hartsfield ((’07) and his band provided the entertainment.

Trip to ECU Caps Program on Robotic Heart Surgery [top]

Sixteen seventh- and eighth-graders recently completed a new program on robotic-assisted cardiology surgery developed by science instructor Dr. Joselyn Todd and Dr. Betsy Sigmon, owner and operator of Creature Comforts Animal Hospital in Cary. 

The program the two developed covered five seminars in five days and culminated in a trip to the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University Jan. 27 to watch a video of the da Vinci Surgical System in action.  This robotic system allows a surgeon to be remote from the actual surgical table where the surgery is conducted.  Small tools on the robot actually complete the surgery at the surgical table as the surgeon uses joystick-like devices in a 3-D setting at a remote location.  The students were allowed to manipulate the da Vinci Surgical System and watch it in action.

In addition, the students observed doctors performing telemedicine and got a look at the Leksell Gamma Knife, a gigantic device that uses gamma rays to treat problems of the brain without making an incision.

The students videotaped their time at ECU as well as each of the class sessions at Cary Academy.  One of the requirements of acceptance into the program was that each student had to participate in taping one of the five seminars. 

“We are creating a science documentary on robotic-assisted surgery,” said Todd, who added that video production instructor Bridget Harron is helping the students.  “The theme of our program is ‘robotic-assisted surgery is life-changing and life-saving.’  We hope to have it on the web by March.”

Two to Intern With SBI [top]

Marina Makligh (’06) and Kelly Shipkowski (’06) have been selected as inaugural participants in the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation High School Experience program.  

They are just two of 12 students selected from 35 public and private high schools in Wake County.  This is a mini-internship program that has been designed to attract the highest caliber of applicants to consider careers in forensics and law enforcement. 

They will learn about the operations of the SBI, working with special agents in the field, and will get a chance to visit crime labs and other facilities.

Mousetrap Cars Zoom in Gym [top]

They say if you build a better mousetrap the world will beat a path to your door.  How about a better mousetrap car?As the culmination of a month-long project, the eighth-grade science students took to the SEA Feb. 3 to try out their mousetrap cars for speed and distance.

“The idea of this project is to make a car; the process is what is important,” said instructor Barry Rochelle, who helped run the project along with Andrew Chiaraviglio.  “The students had to come up with a blueprint, and Andrew and I looked it over with them.  They then tweaked the design, built the car and wrote up an analysis of the process.  These races finalize the project and give the students a little fun.”

The basic idea of the mousetrap cars is to demonstrate how a device (mousetrap) can store potential energy and convert it to moving (kinetic) energy

Dance Students Awed by Philadanco [top]

On Feb. 2 the Middle School dance students traveled to N.C. State Center Stage to watch a performance by Philadanco, an internationally recognized modern dance company that is based in Philadelphia.

The company performed sections of several dances, including “Rosa,” which was choreographed to honor the story of Rosa Parks.

Instructor Betsy Ward-Hutchinson said the Cary Academy dance students were impressed by the technical strength of the performers.  “We were treated to a question-and-answer session where we got to know the dancers and how they became professional performers,” added Ward-Hutchinson.  “One student told me that it was inspiring to see dancers with so much strength and passion.”

January 2006

School to Switch to Tablet PCs for all Grades [top]

Based on the recommendations of the IS Department, the faculty, and the Leadership Team, Cary Academy has decided to move to Tablet PCs for all grades for the academic year 2006-07.  Don Berger announced the big news during his State-of-the-School Address, given Jan. 23 at the PTAA General Membership Meeting in the Fine Arts Lecture Hall.

Over the past two years Cary Academy has been investigating the possibility of moving from a desktop classroom environment to a student portable-computing environment offering a 1:1 ratio. Each student will be issued a PC from the school.

The IS Department and the PTAA Communications Committee provided a live, audio-only webcast of the meeting and Berger’s address.  Click here (secured site) to access a feed of the webcast and hear more about the Tablet PC decision and the meeting’s other news, including a question-and-answer session from the audience.

Chinese Exchange Students Arrive on Campus [top]

Fourteen Chinese students and their vice-principal arrived Jan. 27 to participate in Cary Academy’s student exchange program.  The students hail from the city of Zheng-Zhou in the province of He Nan.  The students will leave Jan. 31. 

During their stay they will live with CA host families, attend classes, and take trips to the tobacco museum in Durham, Duke University and the State Capital Building.  They also will tour downtown Raleigh and the North Carolina Museum of Art. 

The students were welcomed to campus with a party in SEA 127 on the afternoon of the 27^th and enjoyed an American teenage staple – pizza.  After the party, the group took in the girls’ basketball game.

CA exchange students will visit China May 30-June 3.

NHS Holds Lecture; ‘Taps’ New Members [top]

A lively exchange of ideas accompanied the National Honor Society’s lecture of Jan. 24.  Discussing the topic of “The Role of the U.S. Government in Regards to Domestic, Moral and Ethical Issues” were Jon Ham and Chad Adams of the John Locke Foundation and Donna Martinez, a columnist for “Carolina Journal.”

The panel addressed questions posed by NHS Lecture Series Committee members, including the ethical basis of capitalism, the extent to which personal beliefs should determine a judge’s competency for the Supreme Court, and the challenges facing public education.  The panel explored these topics for a short time, and then the floor was opened to the audience to pose questions to the panel.  The conservation lasted well into lunch.

On Jan. 26 the NHS ‘tapped’ its new members.  Before lunch, current NHS students entered classrooms with lighted candles to inform new members of their selection.  The newbies, all from the Class of 2007, were escorted to the lobby of the Administration Building for an induction ceremony in front of family and friends.

Congratulations to the new members:   Murphy Chang, Kevin Cotter, Robert Edmiston, Jake Hartsfield, Amelia Hoyle, Catherine Jacobs, Lauren Khan, Swapanthi Nagulpally, Lauren Phipps, Alex Su, Brendan Szulik and Lauren Viehbacher.

Click on Image for a Larger View

Students Make District, State Bands and Orchestras [top]

A number of students played their way onto all-district and all-state bands recently.

On Jan. 7, 20 students auditioned for the North Carolina Music Educators Association (NCMEA) Central District All-District Band.  The Central District consists of roughly 20 counties in central N.C. representing hundreds of public and private, middle and high schools and tens of thousands of band students.  The audition consisted of learning a very challenging solo piece, eight or nine major scales with arpeggios, and also sight-reading a piece of music students had never seen.  Click these links to see a list of the 20 students and how they fared.

On Jan. 21 eight Cary Academy orchestra students made the 2006 NCMEA All-State Orchestra.  Auditions lasted from 10:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and every contestant had to perform in front of nine judges in order to get their final score.  Over 400 players from eastern North Carolina participated in this competition.  The CA students who were selected are:  Symphony Orchestra –  Violin I:  Nathaniel Ting (’09), Rodrigo Haragutchi (’08); Violin II:  Aparna Chatterjee (’06), Abraham Chen (’06); Flute II:  Murphy Chang (’07).  String Orchestra – Viola:  Jeff Stanton (’06), Charlotte Morgan (’08); Cello:  Andrew Bryson (’06).

Scott Stanton (’08) auditioned for the NCMEA East Region All-State Jazz Band and placed fourth alternate among the top eight tenor saxophones (all grades).  The auditions consisted of learning a very challenging solo piece played with CD accompaniment, scales for the ii-V-I progression in the keys of B-flat and F, sight-reading two pieces of music the students had never seen, and improvising two solos in the keys of B-flat and F with CD accompaniment. Almost 100 students registered for the auditions and approximately 40 made one of the two high school jazz bands.  This is only the third year that the East Region Jazz Band has been in existence.  Since 2004, four Cary Academy students have been selected to one of the bands, more than any other independent school in the region.

Also, Peter McNeill (’09), fourth chair in the 9-12 Symphonic Band, and Vann Mitchell (’08), fifth chair in the 9-10 Wind Ensemble, just completed a weekend of rehearsals ending with a concert Jan. 28 in Memorial Hall at UNC.  The represented CA well.

Cookbook in Need of Recipes [top]

Do you have a recipe that always receives rave reviews?  Is there a dish or cookie your family begs you to make?  If so, we hope you will share your collage of culinary cravings and be part of our commemorative cookbook celebrating Cary Academy’s 10-year anniversary.  (Read that five times real fast!)

Next year marks our 10-year anniversary, and plans are well underway to make it a year of fun-filled memories.  Click here to learn how you can join in the fun and help us create a collection of recipes that will be used and cherished by our community for years to come.

Students Celebrate MLK Day [top]

To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Middle and Upper School students attended assemblies held Jan. 17 in the theater.  They watched a documentary about the “Children’s March” in Birmingham, Ala., on May 2, 1963, and afterward met in their advisories to discuss key ideas pertaining to the video.

The “Children’s March” documentary concerned the effort of Birmingham youths to participate in the Civil Rights Movement and their willingness to be arrested for the cause.

In other MLK-related news, Scott Stanton (’08) and Ben Vig (’10) played in the Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble as part of the Martin Luther King All-Star All-Youth Dream Concert held at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium Jan. 15.

Where There’s Smoke, There’s a Fire (Investigator) [top]

Bernard T. "Sandy" Kromenacker, a CFI/CFEI/CVFI senior analyst and director of investigations for Forensic Fire Consultants Inc. in Raleigh, delivered an introduction on forensic fire analysis to the forensic science class Jan.17. 

The class learned about fire patterns, accelerants, clues left behind by fires and arsonists, and what it takes to become a fire investigator.

Afterward, he showed the class his van loaded with equipment for use in investigations.  Kromenacker trains law enforcement and insurance personnel all along the East Coast.

Click on Image for a Larger View

Snowflake Ball Draws Over 100 [top]

The Key Club members of the junior class teamed with the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department to throw a dress-up dance for the area’s special needs population Jan. 6.  The Snowflake Ball attracted over 100 guests to the Cary Academy dining hall.  Caitlin Daniels (’07) and Michelle LeFort (’07) served as co-chairs.

The physical and mental developmental delays of the guests ranged from wheel chair confinement to Down syndrome and autism.  Some of the guests arrived in a limo, many wore tuxedos, and many were in formal dresses.  Over 60 Key Club members donated food and decorated the dining hall, and 25 members worked /socialized during the dance.

The Key Club wants to make this an annual event and get more involved with the special needs population at other events this year.

Click on Image for a Larger View

Click on Image for a Larger View

US Students Participating in International Computer Programming Contest [top]

Upper school students are participating in an international computer programming contest hosted by the American Computer Science League (ACSL).  

In this year-long programming contest CA students have the following standing:  the senior division is in 20^th place with Nick Tarleton (’07) in first place on his team and tied for second place in the contest.  The intermediate team is in 41^st place with Robert Murphy (’09) in first place on his team and also tied for first place in the individual grouping internationally.

Not only are the students required to write programs in Java, but they must solve a set of computer science problems.  These results are based on the first leg of the contest; there are three other parts followed by invitations to the All Star part of the contest.  The second part of the contest begins in February.  This is the first year with Cary Academy’s participation.

Terracotta Horse now Graces Library [top]

Prancing proudly in the back of the library is a 40-inch-tall terracotta charger horse, a replica of a horse displayed in the Terracotta Warriors Museum in Xi-An, China. 

The school purchased the horse in 2005 from the Terracotta Warriors Museum Factory during the school’s annual student exchange program visit to China.  Instructor Ming-An Lee helped secure the purchase.  Read more about the visit to the museum and factory here.

The library received delivery of the horse Jan. 12, and workmen placed it atop a newly built three-and-a-half foot base.

The horse is a replica from the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 207 BC).

Many Seniors Already Decided on College Choice [top]

The college search process has moved quickly for many of the 87 graduating seniors in the Class of 2006 at Cary Academy.

Fifty-eight percent of the class applied to a college or university with an early action or early decision (ED) deadline of Nov. 15 or earlier, and 20 percent have been admitted to a college through an ED program.  “We are very pleased that the students have been so through in their early investigation of these colleges, and we are extremely pleased with the response the students have received,” said Susan Staggers, college advising director.

The students admitted under the ED plan will attend the following colleges and universities next fall: Bucknell University, Carleton College, Davidson College, George Washington University, Gettysburg College, Meredith College, New York University (two students), Swarthmore College, University of Pennsylvania (three students), Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University (three students), and the College of William and Mary. 

The 58-percent figure does not include any of the University of North Carolina system colleges that offer early notification or rolling-decision plans.  With the UNC system colleges included, nearly 85 percent of the class applied to at least one college or university by Nov. 15.

With admission offers from other colleges with early (non-binding) or rolling plans included, half of the senior class has received an offer of admission from at least one college.  These offers of admissions include Elon University, Emerson College, Georgetown University, Florida State University, the University of Georgia, Notre Dame, Bard College, College of Charleston, and North Carolina State University.

UNC-Chapel Hill and many other colleges will not begin notifying students of admissions decisions until the end of January or later.  For most students, news from colleges will arrive into late March, and they will have until May 1 to make a final college choice.

Students put Poetry On-line [top]

The seventh-grade students of Briarly White and Delia DeCourcy spent the weeks prior to the holiday break studying a wide variety of poetry.  They also crafted small poetry collections of their own during this time. As a culminating project, each student created a website displaying his/her original work. 

Please click on this link to access the home page for the whole class project. To view individual artists’ poems, click on his/her name from the class list.

The entire collection is titled Our Voices in Verse: A Collection of Seventh Grade Poetry.

Chargers Triumphant at Home Tournament [top]

It was close, but the Lady Chargers protected their home turf, winning the girls championship of The Cary News Holiday Invitational Dec. 30 at the Sports and Fitness Center.  In a tight contest, the Chargers staged a comeback to beat Western Harnett High 68-64.  This is the third straight title for the girls in the Invitational’s four years.

The Chargers, now 12-2, were lead by Brittany Blackwell (’07), who pumped in 30 points.  Point guard Bryelle Smith scored 13.

With a 59-24 thumping of East Forsyth on Dec. 28, the Chargers got the tourney off to a good start.  The team followed that victory the next day by sending Fayetteville Pine Forest back down I-95 to the tune of 82-39.  That set up the championship with Western Harnett, which had beaten Fuquay-Varina 52-43.

On the boys side, the chargers gave great effort in every game but ended up losing the seventh-place game to Greenfield School, 60-40.

December 2005

Spirit Week, Homecoming Pump up CA [top]

Sprit Week and Homecoming, Dec. 16-21, turned out to be a rousing success.  Spirit Days and activities included Western or Hip-Hop Wear Day, Sports Team and Collegiate Apparel Day, 80’s Decade Day, CA Blue-n-Gold Day, Pajama Day, and a Wacky Olympics.  In addition, students donated items to a canned food drive for the N.C. Food Bank and to a Giving Tree for underprivileged families in Johnston County. 

The Class of 2009 proved to be the overall winner in the Spirit Week rankings.  The class won the food drive with a total of 11, 175 points and also walked away the winner of the Wacky Olympics.  The Class of 2006 showed the best spirit with a 69 percent participation rate.  Molly Trask (‘06) won the Homecoming T-shirt Design Contest.  The runners-up were Murphy Chang (’07) and Sarah Ashley King (’06).

Homecoming occurred Dec. 20.  On that day a pep rally was held and the Homecoming Dance took place after the night’s basketball games against Cresset Christian Academy.  The girls won their game, but the boys dropped a tough one, 48-33.  Faculty, staff, parents and fans filled the bleachers to capacity.  With the X-Factor in high motor, the atmosphere was downright raucous.

More alumni showed up than ever before for this year’s homecoming.  They used the occasion to catch up on old times with friends and faculty, taking in the games and munching some great food in the hospitality room.

Kathleen Markle, from the first graduating class in 2000, arrived that day from Chicago, where she attends law school at DePaul University.  “The best thing about tonight is just seeing what Cary Academy is now as compared to what it was when I was here,” said an impressed Markle while standing in a packed lobby.  “There were so few kids here when I was here; there are a lot more now.  And there’s so much school spirit; everyone’s getting into it.”

Click on Image for a Larger View	Click on Image for a Larger View
Click here for more Homecoming Pictures

Instructor Published in Renowned Journal [top]

Robert Coven, US history teacher, recently had an article on the use of computers in the classroom published in the International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society.  The article, Clio Goes Electronic, appears in the 2005, Volume I issue. 

In his article, Coven states:  “… the computer has become a vital element in education, as it has in so many other fields of endeavour.  Particularly through the Internet, all elements of teaching have been transformed.  As educators, we need to insure our students learn the proper use of the incredibly powerful tools and resources the computer has made available.  This paper, while focusing on the teaching of history, attempts to demonstrate the need—and provide suggested methods—to use this tool to its greatest advantage.”

The abstract of the article can be read here.

Press Box Now Installed [top]

A big, blue press box now stands watch over the track and soccer field.  It was installed over the weekend of Dec. 16-18.

After workers prepared the ground behind the bleachers, a crane was used to hoist and set the press box in place.  A formal dedication will follow.

The 8’ x 18’ press box is heated and air conditioned.  There is also a filming deck atop the structure.  A state-of-the-art sound system is scheduled to be installed.

Funds raised by the Chargers Club paid for the press box. 

Click on Image for a Larger View

Click on Image for a Larger View

Design a Tee for the 10-year Anniver-sa-ree [top]

Cary Academy will soon mark its 10-year anniversary.  The school opened its halls to 244 students Aug. 19, 1997, and has seen a steady increase in enrollment every year.  There are now 700 students matriculating at CA.

Every good anniversary needs a proper T-shirt to showcase it to the world.  CA’s 10-year anniversary is no exception.  Students are being asked to unleash their creative streaks and help CA by submitting designs for the T-shirt.

All students are welcome to submit as many designs as they would like.  The deadline is Feb. 1, 2006.  The winner(s) will receive a $100 gift certificate to the campus store, Charger Corner, or a $50 gift certificate to the store of their choice.

Design submissions may be brought to the Advancement Office, located in the Administration Building, care of Lynne Fountain, director of Advancement.  Submissions also may be submitted electronically to lynne_fountain@caryacademy.org.

Geography Bee Generates Good Buzz [top]

Quick -- on what continent, at a place called Vostok Station, was earth’s lowest recorded temperature recorded?  Give up?  Well, the answer is Antartica.  Did you know it?

Alison Parker (’10) did and answering that question won her the Middle School Geography Bee held Dec. 12 in the theater.  Harry Lambert (’11) finished second.  A full house of their fellow MS students applauded loudly and cheered approvingly for all the contestants as they were announced onstage at the close of the bee. 

The other contestants were:  eighth grade -- Austin Cooper and Daniel Leef; seventh grade -- Greyson Gardlik, Alex Evans, Zach Dresher and Charlotte Kelly; and sixth grade – Emily Schramm and Cameron Mankin.  All 10 finalists received a book certificate; Parker also received a medal and the chance to advance to the state-level competition.  She will take a written test to try to qualify for the state-level.  The top 100 scores in North Carolina will advance to that competition in the spring. 

Ben “Jazz Man” Vig provided live jazz music for the bee.

CA Sends Textbooks for Hurricane Relief [top]

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina lives on.  As the schools in Louisiana and Mississippi attempt to reopen, they have to replace everything, including buildings, desks, textbooks, paper and more.  Cary Academy is trying to make this process a little easier by donating over 1,000 textbooks and supplies to five schools in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Cheryl Cotter, community service coordinator, organized this donation.  The process of contacting the schools took about two months due to the lack of telephone landlines in the area.  She mostly talked to volunteers and displaced teachers on their cell phones and personal e-mail.  Finally, five schools were chosen:  three independent schools that are currently sharing temporary space in a church in New Orleans and two public schools in D’Iberville, MS.

The Upper School Student Council and Middle School Student Government raised the money to ship the books by holding sponsored dances, including the US “Bayou Bash.”  The students packed the supplies collected by the eighth grade and the books Dec. 10-12, and everything will be shipped Dec. 16.

Visiting Artist Helps Students Produce Online Collection of Poetry [top] 

Zelda Lockhart believes poetry can be found in everything, and she believes everyone can be a poet.  The Hillsborough writer delivered this simple but profound message to the seventh-graders of Cary Academy during a weeklong workshop, Dec. 5-9.

Lockhart kicked off the week by reading poetry to the students of English instructor Delia DeCourcy and language arts instructor Briarly White.  “I then sent them out to find poetry in different places,” said the author of Fifth Born and the forthcoming Cold Running Creek.  “Once you are aware of poetry you realize it’s in ads, songs, everywhere.”

After reading and studying the elements of poetry the students brought in, Lockhart set the students to work on their own poetry.

The collected poems, titled A Mountain of Poetry, can be found online by clicking here.

The PTAA sponsored Lockhart’s visit.

Public flocks to Holiday Shoppe; Over 100 Vendors Sell Wares [top]

The third annual Holiday Shoppe at Cary Academy drew in a steady flow of customers over its three-day run from Dec. 1-3, with profits going toward need-based scholarships and community outreach.

“This is a great event for the school,” said Head of School Don Berger.  “I’m very happy with the way it went.  I’m happy because it’s a great community-building event that brought 300-plus parent volunteers together to pull it off; I’m happy with the high numbers of the public who got to come to Cary Academy and see our wonderful campus; and I’m happy because this raised a significant amount of money for the school.”

Nancy Kenna, Holiday Shoppe chair, gave credit to all those who helped run the show.  “This Holiday Shoppe came together successfully because of the efforts of so many volunteer parents, staff and faculty,” she said.  “We had a tremendous response from the outside community, and it was a perfect opportunity for us to showcase our school.” 

Linda Blackley of Cary carved some time out of her schedule to pay her first-ever visit to the Holiday Shoppe, and was glad she did.  “I’d heard so many wonderful things about it, that I decided this year I could not miss it,” Blackley said.  “I really am impressed.  There is a wide variety of merchandise, and it’s spread out and well arranged.  Everybody is friendly, too.”  Holding up a plastic basket half-full of items, she added, “I’m just getting started (on shopping).”

Vendor Jimmy Reese of Apex has been handcrafting jewelry for six years and selling it through his business, Blind Coyote.  This was his first Holiday Shoppe. 

“I do this for a living, so I do quite a number of shows a year,” he said as he sat in a folding chair and put the finishing touches on a piece of jewelry.  Clamping a piece of wire with pliers, he continued, “We get treated a lot better here than at other shows.  It’s the extras like the café (run this year by Café Carolina), the hospitality room for the vendors, and the entertainment provided by the (Cary Academy student) choral groups.  This show has a lot going for it, a lot of pluses.  I hope to come back next year, and I’m going to try and get two tables.”

Click on image for a larger view.

Click on image for a larger view.

Debate Coach Receives National Recognition [top]

Richard Pellicciotta, a history and economics teacher and the coach of the speech and debate team, has earned a first diamond from the National Forensic League (NFL).

Pellicciotta attained a total of 1,513 points on Oct. 30.  Coaches receive 1/10^th of their students’ points.  Under Pellicciotta’s instructions his students earned over 15,130 credit points.

On attaining a total of 1,500 points coaches are entitled to wear a diamond-set NFL key or pin; additional diamonds accrue at 3,000, 6,000, 10,000 and each 3,000 points thereafter.  Minimum time for each diamond is five years as an NFL member coach.  

In June 2006 Pellicciotta will receive special recognition at the Lincoln Financial Group/NFL National Tournament.  This year’s tournament will be held in Grapevine/Colleyville, TX, June 18-23 and will draw 2,700 students and 1,500 coaches, school administrators and parents. 

The National Forensic League is a non-partisan, non-profit educational honor society founded in 1925.  Its purpose is to encourage and motivate high school students to participate in and become proficient in the forensic arts:  debate, public speaking and interpretation.  Over 93,000 high school students and over 3,500 high school teachers are active members.

Beta Club Starts Babysitting Service [top]

Finding a babysitter can be difficult.  However, it is now much easier for Cary Academy employees due to the Beta Club’s new babysitting service.  The club created this program to simultaneously fulfill their service requirement while giving CA employees free help at home.

The new babysitting program serves as a replacement for the babysitting nights held by the Beta Club in the past.  After brainstorming with Carol Winslett, librarian and Beta Club advisor, Lianne Gonsalves, Beta Club president, thought of this new-and-improved babysitting service.

“I hope it will become a permanent project that the Beta Club continues,” said Gonsalves.

Using the program is very similar to hiring a normal babysitter.  An employee chooses a student, contacts them and sets up a time for the service.  After the club member has babysat, the employee needs to contact Gonsalves with the name of the student and the hours he/she babysat.

There are 25 club members volunteering for the babysitting program who live in Cary, Chapel Hill, Fuquay-Varina and Raleigh.  All have babysat before, and many of these ninth- through 12^th-graders are even CPR-certified due to a certification day organized by Gonsalves.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm about this project because it is something that our members already love to do,” said Gonsalves.

The program, which began at the end of November, is already popular with employees.

Seven Perform with State Choruses [top]

Seven Cary Academy students performed with the N. C. Middle School Honors Chorus and the N.C. High School Honors Chorus during the Nov. 12-13 North Carolina Music Educators Association (NCMEA) Conference in Winston-Salem. 

This was the 20th annual performance of the middle school honors chorus.  A total of 177 young musicians from 76 schools from across the entire state made up the chorus.  Henry Leck, internationally recognized choral director and specialist in choral techniques, conducted the choir. 

Representing Cary Academy were Matt Lee ('12), Louis Vaught ('11), Alex Morgan ('11), Alison Parker ('10) and David Sierra ('10).  Vaught also participated in 2004.

Kaley Lunsford (‘06) and Allison Yim (‘07) represented the school in the high school honors chorus.  Mack Wilberg, who teaches at Brigham Young University and is also the assistant conductor to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, conducted. 

The 180 singers who made up the N.C. High School Honors Chorus were chosen from approximately 1,300 students who auditioned in the statewide audition process.  Lunsford and Yim participated in the Middle School Honors Chorus, and Lunsford was chosen to participate in the 2004 High School Honors Chorus. 

Students’ Design Picked as Winning T-Shirt [top]

Katelyn Mitchell (’11) and former student Courtney Anderson (’11), members of the All About Animals Club in the Middle School, won a T-shirt design contest last year for Hummingbird Farm, a non-profit organization in Pittsboro. 

The Middle School club came up with several designs for the non-profit, and Mitchell and Anderson’s design was picked by Hummingbird Farm as the winner.  The girls won gift certificates as well as a T-shirt.

Hummingbird Farm teaches about living in harmony with the earth and all creatures on the earth.  

Choruses put on Diverse Concert [top]

The Middle and Upper School choral groups put on a concert Dec. 1 that was well received by all in attendance.  The students performed works from countries from around the world.  

“I thought the students sang extremely well,” said Jacquie Holcombe, music and vocal instructor.  “I believe they were pleased with the concert, but they also know there are things we still need to work on.  The culturally diverse music we performed was challenging yet fun to learn.  We did not tire of the selections throughout the learning process.  The MS sang songs in Hebrew, Spanish and Latin while the US chorus sang in Spanish and an African dialect.  Many of the song selections were performed a cappella (with no accompaniment).   

“The audience was outstanding,” Holcombe continued.  “There were very few vacant seats, which was a great treat for the singers.  To perform for a full house that is supportive is what every performer dreams of.  We appreciate the wonderful support of family, faculty and friends.”

November 2005

Three CA Students Perform with State Honors Orchestra [top]

Three Cary Academy students performed with the N.C. Honors Orchestra Nov. 13 at the North Carolina Music Educators Association (NCMEA) Conference in Winston-Salem. 

This group is considered the highest level student orchestra in the state. A total of 119 young musicians from 52 schools from across the entire state made up the orchestra.  Dr. James Kjelland, an associate professor of music education at Northwestern University in Chicago, conducted the orchestra. 

Representing Cary Academy were Aparna Chatterjee (’06), Rodrigo Haragutchi (’08) and Rob Smithson (’06).  Abraham Chen (’06) and Joelle Portzer (’06) were selected for the orchestra earlier in the year but could not make the event.

Chatterjee won fourth chair out of 24 contestants in the first violin section, and Haragutchi won 17^th chair out of 24 contestants in the second violin section.  Smithson was the second chair out of four in the clarinet section.

Haragutchi won the full scholarship for the 2006 summer scholarship competition.  He will attend a five-week music camp at the N.C. School of the Arts during June and July, 2006.

Chem Students Entertain [top]

The senior Chemistry III class presented its annual Chemistry Show for the seventh grade Nov. 11.  The “show” involved a full 80-minutes of chemical demonstrations led entirely by the seniors. 

The demonstrations, in order, were:

• “The Flaming Vapor Ramp” – demonstrated gases that are both heavier and lighter than air as well as their shared flammability.

• “Burning Carbon” – demonstrated the role of oxygen in supporting flames, particularly using 100-percent pure oxygen.

• “Nitrocellulose” – demonstrated how an ordinary substance like cotton can be chemically altered to be much more reactive.

• “Dry Ice” – demonstrated a substance that must be very cold to be solid, sublimes at room conditions, and creates a dense gas.

• “Underwater Fireworks” – demonstrated a reaction that is so prone to occur that it will even take place underwater in fiery fashion.

• “Contact Explosives” – demonstrated a compound that is so unstable and energetic that it can be set off by the touch of a feather.           

• “Hydrogen Balloons” – demonstrated the lightest substance in our universe and its flammability, with a spectacular reaction whose product is merely water. Adding other compounds also demonstrated how other colors can be generated in commercial fireworks.

• “Methane Mamba” – demonstrated the production of columns of flammable bubbles using a low density gas.

• “Thermite Reaction” – demonstrated a reaction that produces enough heat energy to melt iron.

• “Sodium in a Trashcan” – demonstrated the unusual sight of a metal that reacts with water in violent fashion and can produce enough energy to propel the lid of a steel trashcan high into the air.

Click on picture for a larger view.

Click on picture for a larger view.

Mayan Museum Fills MS Halls [top]

Displays showcasing ancient Mayan culture lined the sixth-grade hall Nov. 12 as the Cary Academy community enjoyed Sixth Grade Mayan Museum Day.

The culmination of independent research projects by Cary Academy sixth graders, Mayan Museum Day showcased every aspect of Mayan culture from housing to medicine to art to food.  Each student researched a specific topic area and made posters, models and other displays to present to the guests who toured the “museum.”

Click on picture for a larger view.

Click on picture for a larger view.

MS Netters Scoop it Up [top]

The Middle School girl’s tennis team served as celebrity scoopers Nov. 10 at Maggie Moo’s in Cary at the Arboretum.  They served up plenty of treats to help raise money for the North Carolina Special Olympics. Ten percent of the money raised during the girls’ shift from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. will be donated to the Special Olympics.“  It was a great bonding experience,” said Chrissy Ettefagh, assistant team coach and MS science teacher.  “The girls had a blast and did something for a great cause.”  Josh Hartman, a MS language arts teacher, also coaches the team.

Click on picture for a larger view.	Click on picture for a larger view.
Click on picture for a larger view.

CA Breaks Records at Book Fair [top]

At its annual Barnes & Noble book fair Nov. 4-5, Cary Academy set a store record by going over the $10,000 mark, bumping the school up to the higher tier and making it eligible to receive 25 percent of the sales.  CA will use the money to purchase books and other materials for the library to strengthen its collection. 

In addition, people donated 43 books, totaling over $800, from CA’s wish list table.  On Friday evening customers were treated to a display of handcrafted teapots made by seventh- and eighth-graders of Margo Smith’s visual art classes.  Thanks go to Smith, Pam Ray, Jan Richards, and Kim Ray for setting up this beautiful display.

Diana Harris from the PTAA helped coordinate the book fair. 

Click on picture for a larger view.	Click on picture for a larger view.
Click on picture for a larger view.

Wide Range of Music Performed at Concert [top]

The Middle School and Upper School orchestra students presented their fall concert Nov. 10 from 7-8 p.m.  The program included folk music by the sixth grade:  “Mountain Climbing,” “Oh, Susanna,” and Dreidle.”  Multicultural selections covered Korean and Spanish folk songs.  Classical music included Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” and Gossec’s “Gavotte.” 

The US honors orchestra provided the highlight of the concert with Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.”  The theater tech class ran special lights for this music.  Aparna Chatterjee (’06) played Mendelssohn’s “E Minor Concerto,” considered one of the world’s 10 greatest violin concertos.  Also heard that night were Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Alborada,” “Ridin’ the Rail” and “The Lady.” 

The concert was free to the public.

Student Fundraisers Underway [top] 

Three holiday fundraisers are being held at CA now.  The Key Club is selling gift wrap to aid Habitat for Humanity, the Middle School Student Government is selling poinsettias to fund future projects, and the baseball team is selling Christmas trees to raise money for a spring training trip.

The Key Club is supporting a Habitat for Humanity home and the start-up furnishings / household needs of the recipient family.  Members have elected to ask for support through a silent fundraiser with the Sally Foster Company, a company that sells high quality gift wrap and gifts.

Please consider purchasing your gift wrap needs either through the on-line catalog or through the print catalog available for review in either the MS or US office.  Either way the Key Club Habitat project will receive 50 percent of the purchase.

To make an online purchase, visit the Sally Foster site www.sallyfoster.com.

When you are ready to ‘checkout’ you will be asked to choose an option: 

1. Choose the 2^nd option - ‘Seller/Group Credit’ option

2. Then choose the ‘I want to enter a group account number’  760137

3. Or you can select the ‘Search for a group’. Enter ‘Cary’ and the State and you will find Cary Academy in the drop-down menu.

4. Then ‘Continue Checkout’

The Middle School Student Government’s annual poinsettia sale has begun.  The plants come from a greenhouse in Hillsborough and are of superior quality.  The six-inch potted plants cost $6 and come in four colors:  pink, red, white and marble.  Also for sale is a 10-inch hanging basket with red, white, pink or marble flowers for $12.  Orders must be pre-paid by Wednesday, Dec. 7, with cash or a check made out to Cary Academy Middle School Student Government.  Plants may be picked up at Cary Academy’s Student Center on Thursday, Dec.15, from 3-5 p.m.  

You may order by contacting Vincent Janney or a member of the Middle School Student Government.  Click here for an order form.

Would you like a Christmas tree that costs 30-50 percent less than one from your average tree lot?  If so, click here for an order form (Adobe PDF File).  Make checks out to Cary Academy Baseball and deliver them to the Middle School or Upper School offices by Nov. 21.

You can pre-order a tree of any size or 24” wreath from now until Nov. 21.  The trees will be delivered to Cary Academy on Dec. 3, ready for pick up.

Money raised will help fund the semi-annual spring training trip to Florida in March, as well as perform a service to the community.  Their goal is to sell 500 trees to offset the cost of the trip, but if they sell 1,000 all members can go for free.

Record Attendance for Grandparents’ Day [top]

Over 300 people showed up on a brilliant Nov. 4 for Cary Academy’s largest-ever Grandparents’/Special Friends’ Day.  The guests attended classes with their student hosts, strolled the campus under a beaming sun, and enjoyed an hour of arts performances in the theater.

The morning began with a breakfast reception in the Dining Hall, where the guests were treated to two wonderful testimonial speeches by Joelle Portzer (‘06), president of the Upper School Student Council, and Ankit Agarwal (’06), senior class president.  After the arts performance, the guests attended classes with their student host, observing a Cary Academy education firsthand.  Optional campus tours were offered through the Advancement Office to any guests who wished to see and learn more about the campus.

“Grandparents’ Day is really cool,” said Mason Harris (’10), who had just finished eating breakfast with his grandparents, Charlie and Cary Owen.  “They get to see where we go and what we do.”

James Bennett (’10) enjoyed having his grandparents, Tate and Iris Bennett, in class.  “They get to hear about the material we’re learning,” he said, “and they get to meet our teachers.”

To view the day’s program, read the text of the two morning student speakers, and see a list of all those who made this great day possible, go here.

To view a video produced by Tech Video students and their teacher Bridget Harron, about Grandparents, click here (Windows Media Player File).

Click on picture for a larger view.	Click on picture for a larger view.
Click on picture for a larger view.	Click on picture for a larger view.

Sign Up for Sip-n-Shoppe [top]

A Sip-n-Shoppe preview party will kick off Holiday Shoppe 2005 Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m.  The cost of this event is $15.  Anyone interested in attending should call 919-228-4653.

At this year’s Holiday Shoppe, to be held Dec. 1-3, over 100 vendors will put their wares up for sale.  This free event is open to the public.  Those attending will have a multitude of potential gift purchases to choose from, including jewelry, home accessories, hostess items, children’s items, holiday ornaments, apparel, food, and a wide variety of handmade crafts.

The hours for the Holiday Shoppe are:   Thursday, Dec. 1, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Proceeds from Holiday Shoppe go to community outreach and need-based scholarships.

Busy Weeks for Middle School [top]

A lot has been happening with the Middle School over the past weeks.  The annual Charger Cup Challenge took place, a middle schooler reigned as Head of School for a day, and a touring band of professional jump ropers stopped by for a performance.

On Oct. 21 the Blue Team won the Charger Cup Challenge, beating the Gold Team by 61 points.  This was the closest Charger Cup ever.  During the field day, the entire Middle School participated - on blue and gold teams according to their advisory – in a multitude of games.  Students racked up points in soccer kick, dress-up derby, lucky limbo, sports throw, shoe toss, balloon-pop relay, H2O handoff, and Nerf ball toss.  Over 60 parent volunteers helped run the event. 

Sabrina Mason (’11) took over the school’s top position Oct. 26 by first declaring a “Dress Down Day” for faculty and staff.  Mason’s day as Head of School consisted of doing homework in Don Berger’s office, touring the administration offices, eating lunch catered by Moe’s with three of her friends in the boardroom, and attending an afternoon meeting with Berger.  Berger took Mason’s place in Joselyn Todd’s science class.

On Nov. 4 the Bouncing Bulldogs and other national and world champion jump ropers thrilled and amazed with their talent and athleticism during a performance in the Fitness Center gym. 

Special thanks goes to the PTAA for all its help with Charger Cup and for bringing the jump rope artists to campus.

Lecturers Speak on American Values Abroad [top]

The second event in the National Honor Society’s lecture series, “Why does it Matter?  The Role of Ethics and Morality in our Lives,” was held Nov. 1.

Dr. Jefferson Powell, a Duke University professor, and James Coley, president of the North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture, were the chosen speakers.  Lecturing on “American Values Abroad” the duo attempted to demonstrate how ethical decision-making is applied.  Each professor presented his ethical framework and contrasted it with the other. 

Joelle Portzer (’06), a lecture series committee member, coordinated this event.

October 2005

Girls Claim XC State Title, Boys Third;  Other Teams Fare Well in TISAC [top]

Following on the heels of a stellar season, the Cary Academy girls cross country team is now state champs.  On Oct. 28 in Hendersonville they ran away from favored Providence Day to take the 2005 NCISAA 3A State Championship.  The boys team placed third.  Results will be posted as soon as possible at www.ncisaa.org.

Scoring for Cary Academy were:  Danielle Curran – 2^nd place, Rachel Park – 7th place, Sarah Helfer – 10^th place, Rachel Blondy – 13^th place, and Amy Dement – 17^th place.

On Oct. 21 the girls and boys cross country teams claimed the TISAC championship, held at SAS Park.  In this meet, Glen Wright Colopy finished second overall for the boys with a time of 16:46.  David Dement placed fifth with a time of 17:42.  Mark Hallan and Alex Vig placed ninth and tenth respectively, with times of 17:49 and 17:56.  Rachel Park received the conference’s Most Outstanding Runner award for girls cross country. 

Cary Academy’s teams have done extremely well recently in the Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference (TISAC). 

The Cary Academy varsity volleyball team finished in second place in the conference for the regular season with an 8-2 conference record and a 12-4 season record.  The team also placed second in the tournament.  The team received an at-large bid to the NCISAA state tournament with a number five seed.  This is the second year they have been seeded in the state tournament.  On Oct. 25 they lost to Forsyth Country Day 3-2.  Players Tenny Crawford, Shannon Miller and Kelly Shipkowski were named All-Conference.

The Cary Academy varsity boys soccer team performed well in conference and received an at-large bid to the NCISAA state tournament.  They lost 6-2 to Charlotte Latin Oct. 25.

Kirsten Kohagen received the TISAC Player of the Year Award for girls tennis and was named all-conference and all-state this year as well as last year.  Emily Graybeal also made all-conference for a second year.

Click here for a list of team, TISAC conference and NCISAA State awards for the Fall 2005-2006 Cary Academy Athletic Teams.

And the Survey Says…. [top]

Results from the 2004-05 Community Survey are now available. For the eighth consecutive year the school has surveyed parents in key areas of school operation.

Last year’s survey took an abbreviated form for two reasons:  a recommendation by the SACS and SAIS Accrediting Team to only survey constituents every three years and a recommendation by the Strategic Planning Committee to hire a consultant to help us evaluate and redesign our survey.  As a result, a decision was made to use for the first time an on-line survey. The on-line version was similar to previous surveys in format except in the use of numbers rather than letters in the rating scale used to answer questions. Consequently, it is unclear if the results from last year’s on-line survey provide an appropriate comparison to previous years’ results.

The Leadership Team and faculty are close to completing their review of the survey results and within the next few weeks will decide on areas to focus their attention for improvement this year.  You may access the complete Community Survey here.

Book Fair at Barnes & Noble Nov. 4-5; Students’ Work to be on Display [top]

On Friday, Nov. 4, and Saturday, Nov. 5, support our school by buying books, music, software, magazines, and gifts at the Cary Barnes & Noble, 760 SE Maynard Road.  CA will receive 20 percent from sales of $2,000-$10,000 and 25 percent for sales over $10,000.  The store is open from 9 am to 11 pm both days.  All proceeds will go to enhancing our school library collection.

On Friday, Nov. 4, at 7 pm join us for an artists’ reception featuring the work of Margo Smith’s Middle School Visual Arts students.  Students’ teapots will be on display in the store, and cookies and tea will be served.  In addition that night, the Cary Barnes & Noble is having a raffle drawing for a new American Girl doll.

Also, please note that there will be a special Cary Academy wish list donation table located in the store if you would like to purchase a specific book from our wish list for donation to the CA Library.

Book fair vouchers are available in the library, Middle School office, Upper School office, and on-line from the CA home page.  If you forget your voucher don’t worry, vouchers also will be available at each Barnes & Noble cash register.

For more information, please contact Carol Winslett, CA Librarian, at 677-3873 ext.4547.

Please support our school by giving the gift of reading!

Library Wish List for Grandparent’s Day [top]

Grandparent’s Day is set for Friday, Nov. 4.  Cary Academy teachers have submitted wish lists of materials available for donation, and those lists have been sent to CA grandparents.

Many of these items will be on display on the morning of Grandparent’s Day in the vestibule of the dining hall for grandparents to purchase and donate to the library collection. All items will have personalized bookplates honoring a grandchild, teacher or event.

Grandparents can make a donation by selecting a title or titles from the list and buying the item while visiting campus or by sending a donation to the school, addressed to the librarians. They may request specific titles or give a donation to be used to purchase a wish list item.

New Head of School Gives a Dressing Down (Day) [top]

Cary Academy welcomed a new Head of School on Wednesday, Oct. 26.  Sabrina Mason (’11) took over the school’s top position by first declaring a “Dress Down Day” for faculty and staff.

Mason received this honor through last year’s PTAA auction, an annual event to raise money for the school.  Her day as Head of School consisted of doing homework in Don Berger’s office, touring the administration offices, eating lunch catered by Moe’s with three of her friends in the boardroom, and attending an afternoon meeting with Berger.  Berger took Mason’s place in Joselyn Todd’s science class.

When asked about being Cary Academy’s leader for a day, Mason succinctly exclaimed, “It’s fun!”

Blue Team not Sad About Win [top]

The Blue Team won the Charger Cup Challenge Oct. 21, beating the Gold Team by 61 points.  This was the closest Charger Cup ever.

During the field day, the entire Middle School participated - on blue and gold teams according to their advisory – in a multitude of games.  Students racked up points in soccer kick, dress-up derby, lucky limbo, sports throw, shoe toss, balloon-pop relay, H2O handoff, and Nerf ball toss. 

Over 60 parent volunteers helped run the event.  The actual trophy, with a blue ribbon tied to it, will be on display for the next year in the trophy case outside the Middle School Office.

Click on picture for a larger view.	Click on picture for a larger view.
Click on picture for a larger view.

Poet Imparts Tips, Encourages Students to Write [top]

Kay Stripling Byer, the poet laureate of North Carolina, visited the campus Oct. 18-19.  This is the first school she has visited other than colleges during her two-year term. 

She spoke to students from the eighth- and 11^th-grade English classes on how she approaches writing poetry, and she offered tips and read from her works.  She encouraged the students to pay attention to anything – a favorite word, a random thought, sights and sounds – that drew their attention and to write about these experiences. 

“I really enjoyed talking about poetry to the kids,” Byer said.  “The students have been terrific here and asked a lot of hard questions on the process of writing.” 

Click on picture for a larger view.

Click on picture for a larger view.

CA gets a Little Taste of the State Fair [top]

The State Fair may have finished in Raleigh, but for one day last week it came to Cary Academy.

State Fair Day, held Oct. 20, created – with a little help from an unusually warm October day – a festive atmosphere all along the quad.  Food Service personnel set up outside the cafeteria and dished up sausages, corn on the cob, green beans, baked chicken and beef kabobs to hungry faculty and students.  The cotton candy machine proved to be a big hit, especially with the Middle School kids, and the line was always long.

With live music playing and games going on the quad, and students strolling the grounds, happily placing strands of cotton candy in their mouths, one could envision the hectic midway only a few short miles away.

Jazz on the Quad Entertains [top]

About 30 of the school’s jazz students performed for the public Oct. 17 at the annual Jazz on the Quad.  Parents, faculty and their children lounged on the grass and sat in chairs spread over the quad.  Some even brought picnics and enjoyed their food as they listened to the tunes.    

The acts jamming were the MS Jazz Band, MS Jazz Combo, US Jazz Band, US Jazz Combo, and 2004 graduate Adam Pedersen and friends. 

Dr. Dwayne Wilson, a Cary Academy parent and director of bands at Campbell University, joined the US Jazz Combo on three tunes.  After the concert, employees, parents and alumni were invited to join in for a Blues Jam Session.

Cary Academy Winter Athletic Schedules [top]

The Cary Academy Athletic Department has released the winter schedules for the varsity, junior varsity and Middle School teams.  In all, the school will field 10 teams with more than 170 events scheduled to take place between mid-November and the end of February. 

While the Middle School and junior varsity teams play as independents, the varsity teams will face a slate of games against conference foes in the “new” Triangle Independent School Athletic Conference (TISAC).  With the loss of Cardinal Gibbons High School, the TISAC now includes Cary Academy, Durham Academy, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, North Raleigh Christian Academy, Ravenscroft School, and Saint Mary’s School.

Follow this link to read more about how our teams are expected to fare and for a complete sports schedule.

State’s Poet to Visit Cary Academy [top]

Kay Stripling Byer, North Carolina’s poet laureate, will visit Cary Academy Oct. 18-19. 

Byer will address the 11^th and 8^th grade English classes on the subject of finding one’s creative voice.  She will speak on how she found her own voice as a poet and how she has evolved as a writer through the years.  The Cary Academy PTAA is sponsoring the visit. 

Five Make State Honors Orchestra [top]

Five Cary Academy orchestra students have been selected to the 2005 N.C. State Honors Orchestra.  They are, with instrument:  Aparna Chatterjee, violin; Abraham Chen, violin; Rodrigo Haragutchi, violin; Rob Smithson, clarinet; and Joelle Portzer, trumpet.

Every year, about 1,500 young musicians compete for Western and Eastern Regional All State Orchestra. In September the NCMEA Orchestra picks the final 120 winners from both regional orchestras to form an N.C. State Honors Orchestra. 

The honors orchestra will perform for the NCMEA convention in Winston-Salem in November.

Beta Club Works Triathlon [top] 

Members of the Cary Academy Beta Club battled the rain and cold recently to aid the participants in the Blue Devil Triathlon.

The event, held Oct. 8 at Falls Lake and the surrounding area, raises money for cancer research.  It consists of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles.  The participants started at 7 a.m.

The Beta Club set up a water station on the bike course.  The students volunteered in two shifts, one from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and another from noon to 4 p.m.             

The club’s next event will be the Red Cross Blood Drive on Oct. 25.

School Bands to Play Public Concert [top]  

The annual Middle School/Upper School Band Concert is set for Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts auditorium.  Admission is free, and the performance is open to the public.

The groups appearing are:  Beginning Band (sixth grade), Middle School Band (seventh/eighth grade), and the Upper School Band (ninth -12^th grade).

About 80 Cary Academy students will participate in the night’s performance.  The band director is Eric Grush.

Strategic Plan Identifies Four Major Goals [top]

Board members, faculty, parents, staff and students began work on Cary Academy’s second Strategic Plan back in April 2004 with the help of  consultant John Littleford and identified four major goals for emphasis -- faculty retention, community building, life balance and student profile.  On May 17, 2005, the Strategic Plan was approved unanimously by the Cary Academy Board of Directors for implementation.

In the coming years, the leadership of the school plans to identify targeted areas of the plan for completion during each academic year. Involvement and input of all the school’s major constituencies - parents, faculty, staff, students and board - will ensure the attainment of the plan’s four goals.

Read the entire plan here.

Cary Academy Seniors Nominated for Scholarships [top]

Cary Academy seniors Joelle Portzer and Rob Smithson have been named as nominees for the Morehead Scholarship at the University or North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Aparna Chatterjee and Lianne Gonsalves have been nominated by the school for the Park Scholarship at North Carolina State University.

Ten seniors have been recognized as National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP) semifinalists, placing them among the top one percent of more than one million test takers on the 2004 PSAT/NMSQT.

These students continue on in the competition for some 8,000 Merit Scholarship awards worth $32 million. These scholarships will be awarded in the spring. Cary Academy’s National Merit semifinalists are seniors Sarah Basham, Lila Battis, Andrew Bryson, Christine Ernst, Mark Hallen, Charles Hendren, Hannah Schmidt, Rob Smithson, Zoe Vulgaropulos and Abigail Weathers.

Cary Academy also has 11 students named Commended Students in the 2005-2006 NSMP. These students do not compete for the Merit Scholarship awards, but they are recognized for their exceptional academic promise and for placing in the top five percent of the 1.3 million high school juniors who took the 2004 PSAT/NMSQT.  These seniors are Abraham Chen, Amy Dement, Lianne Gonsalves, Claiborne Hane, Daniel Jacobson, Shannon Mentock, Emily Pace, Lance Rappaport, Kelly Shipkowski, Jeffrey Stanton and Molly Trask.

In addition, Abby Weathers has been recognized by the National Achievement Scholarship Program, placing her among the top one percent of more than 120,000 black Americans who took the PSAT last October.  She will continue on in the competition for scholarship monies from colleges and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation through both the National Achievement and National Merit programs.

The NMSP and the National Achievement Scholarship Program have recognized 25 percent of Cary Academy’s Class of 2006 for outstanding results on the junior year PSAT/NMSQT.

Students put Math to use in the Kitchen [top]

On Oct. 2 the sixth-grade math students filled the Middle School with tasty treats.  The students, who have recently finished studying fractions, combined their math skills with their cooking skills for a hands-on application of fractions.

The students chose a recipe and adjusted the ingredients to feed a class of 18 and to feed the 100 sixth-grade students.  Each student then applied the numbers to cook enough for their class.

For many of the students, this was their first experience in the kitchen.  Most students chose to bake sweets, ranging from frosted pumpkin pie filled with ice cream to apple muffins to brownies topped with M&M’s®. 

Romans, Vikings, Moors Ply Wares at Bazaar [top]

The atmosphere was frenzied:  market-goers pressed shoulder-to-shoulder, Vikings brandishing swords, English peasants haggling with customers over silver bracelets, silk-robed Chinese merchants hawking candles, toga-wearing Roman doctors shouting promises of cures to smallpox and leprosy, all the while a spicy mixture of incense and cooked food wafting through the air.  Just another normal day in the marketplace, circa 1,000 A.D. 

The seventh grade’s Festival of the Year 1000 made its annual appearance Sept. 29 at “Constantinople” (the space between the MS and Fine Arts Building).  Dressed in Y1K costumes, the students displayed their goods at booths lining “city streets,” as parents and faculty, flush with the Y1K currency of huizis, purchased the wares.

The countries represented were Spain, Ghana, Russia, China and England, and the empires represented were the Byzantine, Khmer (Cambodia) and Holy Roman.  The Vikings and the Islamic world were also on hand.  The occupations represented were merchant, artisan, cartographer, shipbuilder, historian, physician and storyteller.

Click on picture for a larger view.

Click on picture for a larger view.

Two Make State Honors Chorus [top]

Kaley Lunsford (’06) and Allison Yim (’07) have been selected to the 2005 N.C. High School Honors Chorus.

The two US chorus students were picked by audition from a field of 987 students from across the state. 

They will prepare a program of choral music and perform it with the other 187 selected singers at the North Carolina Music Educators Conference in Winston-Salem on Nov. 13.

Essay Reflects Real-World Experience of Internship [top]

Since 1998, a select group of 12-15 Cary Academy students have interned at SAS for the summer.  The students get valuable experience and exposure to the working world. 

To apply for the program, students must have a recommendation from the Head of School or one of the two top administrators in the Upper School. They must then interview for the available positions. This year SAS received applications from 30 students for 17 positions. Almost all of the students applied for more than one position in departments including ISD, Research & Development, Corporate Services, Finance, and Human Resources.

Holly Metter (’05) worked as an intern in IT Business Operations this summer and is now a freshman at Harvard.  Metter brought her summer internship experience to a close by writing her reflections, which can be accessed here. 

September 2005

Fun Fest Lives up to Name [top]

Bristling with rides, games and food tents the field behind the Middle School took on the look and feel of a carnival midway Sept. 23 as the annual Fun Fest kicked off a new school year.  Approximately 1,100 people attended the event, jointly sponsored by the PTAA and the school. 

As parents chatted, kids lined up for temporary tattoos, joined in giant line dances to thumping pop music, waited patiently for a chance to swamp an instructor in the dunking booth, and whooped it up on a mechanical bull.  Big crowds congregated at the bungee jump, food tents, Bingo and the Titanic slide.

“My favorite was the rock climbing wall,” said Camden Hyatt (’10), whose slightly flushed face and damp hair told of his exertions and the warm weather.  “I got to the top of two sides.”

A seasoned veteran of previous Fun Fests, Camden added, “This has been the best one so far.”

Enjoy these pictures and more of Fun Fest 2005..

Click on picture for a larger view.	Click on picture for a larger view.
Click here for more Pictures

Students Perform in Romeo and Juliet [top]

Two Cary Academy students are appearing on stage in one of the most famous ballets in the world.

Lauren Kahn (’07) and Anna Plastina (’10) are performing in the Carolina Ballet production of Romeo and Juliet as ‘citizens of Verona.’  The show started Sept. 15 and runs to Oct. 2 at A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. 

Prior to the run of the play, the girls attended dress and tech rehearsals with the dancers and artistic director Robert Weiss, and thus received a behind-the-scenes view of how a ballet performance is staged.

NHS Speaker Addresses Morality [top]

Dr. Douglas MacLean, professor of philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and director of the Parr Ethics Center, kicked off the Fourth Annual National Honor Society lecture series at Cary Academy on Monday, Sept. 19, in the Fine Arts Theatre.

MacLean’s speech, titled What Do Philosophers Say about Morality?, consisted of defining moral philosophy for the students and giving the history behind it.

This year’s Upper School NHS lecture theme concerns the role of ethics and morality in our lives.

CA Holds Sixth-Grade Tour [top]

About 50 curious parents attended the first sixth-grade tour and information session of the school year held Sept. 22.  Three more sessions are scheduled.

Denise Goodman, director of admissions, said the sessions give prospective parents of CA sixth-graders a chance to “visit the school, see what we’re all about, and see us in action.”    

After an introduction from Head of Middle School Marti Jenkins and Head of School Don Berger, the parents split into groups and toured the campus.  The tour focused on the sixth-grade classes and curriculum.  Parents observed classes as they happened and asked questions of teachers.

At the end of the tour, parents were invited to attend an optional financial aid session in the Administration Building.

CA teams Do Well; Tailgate a Success [top]

The weather, the fans and the Cary Academy teams combined to make the Great Fall Tailgate a solid success.  The Chargers Club sponsored the event, held Sept. 16.

Parents, students and fans gathered on campus for food and games, and, of course, to watch CA’s best in volleyball, soccer, field hockey and tennis action.  All the volleyball teams and the JV field hockey squad racked up victories.  Check out the Athletic Scoreboard on the intranet for all the results.

Enjoy these pictures and more of the tailgate festivities.

Click here for more Pictures

CC Girls Number One in State [top]

In the first N.C. Cross Country Coaches poll of the season, the Cary Academy girls’ cross country team sits atop the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association rankings for girls.  The boys’ team is ranked fifth in the boys rankings.

As of Sept. 16, the overall record for the girls is 24-5.  The NCISAA record is a perfect 7-0, and the TISAC conference record is unblemished at 2-0.

The 10-member team continues to impress coaches Conrad Hall and Kim Jones, who hope the team can continue its momentum for the rest of the season.

Team members are Amy Davis (’06), Amy Dement (’06), Lianne Gonsalves (’06), Alexis Travars (’06), Sarah Helfer (’07), Nushimia Khan (’07), Francesca Boone (’08), Danielle Curran (’08), Blythe Friedman (’08), and Rachel Park (’08).

Student’s Artwork Makes N&O [top]           

It is an impressive painting:  a head-and-shoulders frontal view of a young man, eyes closed, head slightly tilted upward, shoulders sloped, a contented expression.  It makes one wonder, “What is he thinking?”

The acrylic work, created by Zoe Vulgaropulos (’06) for Meredith Steele’s advanced art class, was featured in the Sept. 14 The News and Observer in “In the Schools,” an education roundup that runs in the Life Style section.

If you haven’t seen the work, check it out in the library, where it is on display at the circulation desk.

German Exchange Students Finding a Home at CA [top]

Marcel Kastor, 17, and Noel van Horn, 16, have come a long way to study at Cary Academy and learn about American culture.

The two young men arrived in August from Germany as exchange students and are staying with CA host families in the Cary area.

Both are adjusting well, making friends at the school and settling in nicely with their American families.  Both said they became exchange students to improve their English, experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and, most of all, learn firsthand about the United States, its people and its way of life.

PTAA Starts New Year With Social, Meeting [top]

More than 100 people attended the Sept. 8 social and general membership meeting of the Cary Academy PTAA, held at the dining hall.

During the highly welcoming event, parents signed up at numerous tables for volunteer opportunities while enjoying dessert crepes and coffee.

PTAA President Tricia Tumminello started the meeting, which included the treasurer’s report, an update on the hurricane relief initiative, a discussion of Charger Bucks and an update on the new athletic boosters club.  At the end of the evening, Jim Aanstoos, director of information services, addressed the crowd about “Student Tree 101.”

Fun Fest, Tailgate Party Coming; Mark Your Calendars! [top]

Cary Academy will be hopping on consecutive Fridays this month with a tailgate party to heighten athletic spirit and the annual welcome-back, all-campus fiesta, Fun Fest.

On Friday, Sept. 16, the newly formed CA booster club will hold The Great Fall Tailgate at 4 p.m.  The Middle School and varsity soccer teams, the JV and varsity volleyball teams, and the JV field hockey squad all have home games that day.  Hamburgers, hot dogs and a variety of other food and drinks will be available for purchase.  Come on out and support the Chargers!

The following Friday, Sept. 23, Fun Fest, will take over the Middle School field from 3:15-7 p.m. with rides, food, activities, and – a dunk tank!  Amusements open immediately after school.  A buffet dinner will be served from 4:30-7.

Fun Fest is for CA students, families and employees.  The cost is $7 per person and free for children under 6. 

Scott Gives Students, Parents Straight Talk [top]

Doug Scott, North Carolina’s first nationally certified Drug Recognition Expert, spoke frankly to students and parents about today’s drugs and their effects during two different forums Sept. 7.  During the day he spoke with students, and that night he delivered an address to parents at the Fine Arts Theater.

Scott, who is a security expert with SAS, concentrated both forums on the drugs that are prevalent in today’s society like GHB and analogs, and MDMA and other psychedelic amphetamines.  He also touched on older but still much abused drugs like alcohol, marijuana, LSD, mushrooms, inhalants, heroin, and some commonly abused prescription medications.  

“He was really able to give a ‘what’s happening today on the streets’ update on the new kinds of drugs that are regrettably on the street today,” said Mitch McGuigan, head of Upper School.  “He also talked about the signs to look for if kids are involved in drugs, and he talked about the paraphernalia associated with drugs.” 

Prior to joining SAS in 2003 Scott served as a lieutenant with the Cary Police Department.  He spent 25 years specializing in substance abuse investigations and traffic-related violations.   

Beautiful Voices From Afar Visit [top]                                              

The Alternotives, an a cappella group from Oxford University in England, harmonized for, and vastly entertained, CA students and faculty Sept.6.

The 10-person group is touring the Eastern seaboard, stopping for concerts and training sessions at colleges and schools like CA.  The PTAA Cultural Committee sponsored their visit here.

After working with and imparting tips to the MS and US choral classes, the group wowed the MS with a concert in the Fine Arts Theater.  Will all voices blending beautifully, and some acting as the group’s own percussion, they performed hits such as “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Goodbye Earl.”

For the finale, they brought the MS choral classes on stage and performed “Like a Prayer,” the song they had rehearsed earlier with the classes.

Sunny Days at CA [top]

The wonderful weather of the past week has seen an increase in the bustle around campus.  Students and faculty have enjoyed these ray-dappled days at CA in various outdoor activities.  Enjoy the following pictures of learning and having fun in the great outdoors.

Club Fair Draws Attentive Crowd [top]

On a warm, breezy Aug. 31 in front of the Upper School building, young Democrats mingled with meditators, anime artists stood shoulder-to-shoulder with reptile lovers, and ultimate Frisbee players joked with European sports lovers. 

It was all part of the 2006 US Club Fair.  The annual event allows US students to learn about the 48 clubs offered at CA and gives them a chance to sign up, if they wish.

This year, new clubs such as the Meditation Club and the Philosophy Club joined old favorites like the Young Democrats, the Key Club and Student Ambassadors. 

Each club in the US has a student leader and a faculty advisor.  Most clubs have a minimum of 10 members and most meet once a week, either Monday, Wednesday or Friday.  A few clubs meet multiple times a week and even on weekends.

Shelton Shepherd, dean of students, organized the event, which took place over the lunch period.  “I was glad to see the cafeteria mostly empty,” he said.  “That meant the students were out learning about the clubs and having fun.”

Elympics Come to CA [top]

Ever heard of Bakertopia?  Its 13 inhabitants are loud, creative, energetic, and their country began with the “original 13 cookies.”  Bakertopia and the other exotic lands of Caripotamia convened Aug. 31 for the daylong Elympics, a bonding activity based on that other famous gathering of nations.

The students, designated by Enrichment groups, had been charged at the beginning of the year with creating their own country.  Each group named their country and fabricated a short history of their native land.  Some thought of a national anthem, some made up a language, and some designed costumes and flags.  Each group presented their country Aug. 31 at a morning assembly in the SEA, dubbed a “mingling.”

For the rest of the day, the students continued the bonding activity with events such as a quiz bowl, word puzzle contest, Frisbee golf tournament, “name that tune” tourney, scavenger hunt, Pictionary contest, basketball-shooting contest, balloon launch, and for the finale, an obstacle course.  The proud yet young state of Swivel Hipsters carried the day, winning the overall Elympics.

The other countries participating were:  Derkaderkastan, JJASSDERTIMBS, Maggie Mooey, Mikakadaframcan, Pagina Dos and Sticky Bunsistan.

The Elympics, created by social studies teacher David Snively, had been held in the past and was brought back this year. 

Parents Meet Faculty; Learn the Ropes of College Admissions [top]

Parents were on campus more than once this past week, Aug. 29-Sept. 2.  On different nights, they learned about the college admission process, met the instructors of the Middle School, and were introduced to the Upper School teachers.  

In an informative session at the Fine Arts building Aug. 29, seniors and their parents received a nuts and bolts presentation on how to apply to colleges at Senior Parent College Night.

“We covered topics such as requesting teacher recommendations, handling transcript request forms, tips on writing essays, information on visiting college campuses and college rep visits to CA, financial aid information, etc.,” said Laura Sellers, associate director of college counseling.  She and Susan Staggers, college advising director, organized the event.

On Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, parents attended Meet the Teacher sessions held, respectively, at the Upper School and Middle School.

During these nights, parents attended an abbreviated version of their child’s schedule and learned about their classes and their instructors.

CC Girls Win Big; Now No. 1 [top]

With only 10 runners, the CA girls’ cross country team piled up huge victories Aug. 31 against four larger public schools at a home meet at SAS Soccer Park.

The CA girls beat Apex, Durham Jordan, Durham Riverside and Knightdale, only losing to the day’s other participant, Green Hope.  Green Hope fields over 140 runners on its cross country teams.

Along with Green Hope, the Apex girls’ team is considered one of the strongest programs in the state for large public schools.

According to the website for the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association, the girls’ team is now ranked number one in the 3-A TISAC conference, and the boys’ team is ranked third.

Congratulations goes out to the team and coaches Conrad Hall and Kim Jones.

August 2005

Football Main Topic of Athletic Forum [top]

Like a swift and powerful linebacker, the topic of football dominated the athletic forum held the night of Aug. 22 in the Lecture Hall.

Fifty parents and faculty arrived to discuss their opinions and ask questions about the recently released Athletic Improvement Committee Report.  (Click here to read the report.)  Head of School Don Berger facilitated the 90-minute session.

When asked by a parent to comment on the status of the football proposal at CA, Berger said the board of directors has approved a committee to research the pros and cons of football, including the “financial aspect and community building.”

He added, “A rough timetable is that the committee will start work in four weeks and have its report ready for the board at its January (2006) meeting.  If that is too ambitious, then the report will be ready for the May meeting.  Then the board will make a decision.”

Berger said the major reason for looking at football is community building.  Responding affirmatively, a parent said, “People know football; it is a differentiator.”

After the topic of football went to the bench for a breather, opinions on other sports issues were aired in length, including coaches and pay, outside coaches, clinics, school spirit, and Middle School sports.

Toward the close of the forum, Berger had taken a moment to recognize that there is “certainly an impetus to strengthen our sports programs.”  But, he later added with emphasis, “Academics are always first at Cary Academy.”

Cary Academy Opens Year with Bubbles, Handshakes and a Record Enrollment [top]

Cary Academy started its ninth year Aug. 17 with a record 700 enrolled students.  So, that meant, theoretically, 700 handshakes for the faculty and staff at the annual handshake ceremony that kicks off the academic year.

That’s a lot of arm pumping, but it didn’t deter anyone.  As the line of students snaked through the Fitness Center, the faculty and staff welcomed each student with a friendly grip and many even gave out hugs.  Smiles and laughter abounded.

Eighth-grader Zack Green, 12, a three-year veteran of the event, gave thumbs-up to the 2005 handshake ceremony.  “This year was pretty good,” said Zack.  “The people were eager and even friendlier than in the past.”

Earlier in the day, Zack and the rest of the Middle School students gathered for their annual group photo.  After the shot, the instructors handed out bottles of soap bubbles to the kids so they could goof around a little before heading back to class.  The kids obliged, brightening up an otherwise overcast day as they lofted clouds of little iridescent bubbles into the air with shouts and giggles.

Cary Academy new-comers, sixth-graders Kelsey Miller and Sydney Branson, both 11, said they were excited about starting school.  Sydney said she likes to act and is itching to check out her drama class.  Kelsey also is interested in the arts.  “I’m looking forward to orchestra (class),” said Kelsey “I have fun playing the violin.”

Alex Rosenthal, 13, couldn’t wait to meet his eighth-grade teachers.  “I’ve heard a lot about them, and that made me excited (about this year),” he said.  “They’ve been here awhile and have great experience with Cary Academy, so I’m hoping to learn a lot.  I’ve also heard they’re funny.”

Shani Evans, 16, is looking a little ahead as she starts the 11^th grade.  “I’m one step closer to being a senior,” she said with a smile.  She does plan to make the most of her penultimate high school year, though.  “I’m looking forward to playing on the basketball team and going to the prom,” she said.  “I want to try to get straight A’s this year; that might be a little hard here at Cary Academy, but I’m going to try.”

The excitement over the start of the year is not just limited to the students.  Head of School Don Berger feels it, too.  “I’m really looking forward to a couple of things this year,” he said.  “One is following the accomplishments of our students, to track their new success in the arts, academics, and sports; I always look forward to that.  Another thing is enjoying the enthusiasm and creativity brought to our school by the new faculty.”

Click here to view more pictures from opening day.

MS Parents Mingle at Social [top]                                              

The Administration Lobby was the place to be Tuesday, Aug. 16, as excited parents with kids in tow crowded in for the Middle School Parents’ Social.

New parents with children starting their Cary Academy careers, as well as parents with returning children, mingled, munched provided goodies, loaded up on informative handouts about the school, and listened to brief comments from school administrators and PTAA personnel.  A convivial din filled the lobby throughout the 90-minute, mid-morning function.

When some of the parents were asked what they wanted their children to take away from the coming year, besides a great education at Cary Academy, the answers were illuminating.

Roger Schwarz of Chapel Hill is enrolling his daughter Hannah in the sixth grade.  “I’d like her to get a sense of community and learn from and with others who are different from her,” he replied.

Barb Hartsfield said that she hoped her daughter, Carrie, who is starting the sixth grade, would gain self-confidence and make lots of friends.  The Cary resident then added, with a laugh, “And I hope she still loves school.”  (Hartsfield also has two sons at CA.  Tyler is a ninth-grader, and Jake is in the 11^th grade.)

Karen Apperson of Chapel Hill has two children in the Middle School:  Bryan, an eighth-grader, and Emily, who will be starting the sixth grade.  “I would like both to learn time management skills and organizational skills,” she said.  “I’d also like them to learn about sportsmanship and make friendships.”

Faculty Learn New Student Management Software [top] 

During August, the faculty of Cary Academy received training on how to use the school’s new student management software.

The new software is part of The Education Edge™ package, which is made by Blackbaud, a leading producer of software and services for nonprofit organizations.

For years Cary Academy has been using Blackbaud software in its Admission, Business Office and Advancement departments, but faculty had been using a different system for student management.  This made it difficult at times for departments and faculty to share information, so school administrators recently added Blackbaud’s student management module. 

Now student information can be shared easily between faculty and all administrative departments.  This improves efficiency and allows any updates of a student’s information to immediately be shared.

All faculty, new and incoming, learned how to use the new software during the first two weeks of August.  Training sessions were facilitated by the school’s Information Services Department, using an on-site trainer from Blackbaud to train selected teachers in a “train-the-teacher” approach.

“By adding this new module, a student’s information is readily accessible to all faculty once Admissions enrolls that student in the system; it’s all shared in a common database,” said Dr. Jim Aanstoos, director of Information Services.  “And this software has a very good implementation of the gradebook, attendance-taking and scheduling functions, as well as web-based access to grades and schedule for parents.  The transition to any major new software is always challenging, but on balance this is very good for the faculty and the school.”

Website Gets New Look [top]

A new sleeker, easier-to-navigate Cary Academy external website is now patrolling the Internet.  The new look went up July 18, and if you haven’t seen it yet, go to www.caryacademy.org and check it out.

The new site has half the navigation buttons than the old site, and much of the information from the old site has been condensed under these new buttons. The new site has more pictures, color and contrast.  The result is a website that attains the goal of the school’s Internet/Intranet Redesign Committee:  to be clear, concise, uncluttered and more navigable.

Cary Academy webmaster Kevin Rokuskie is pleased with the results.  “I’m very happy,” he said.  “The site is a lot cleaner, and we’re putting up new pictures on the homepage all the time.  The mission statement that you see on the homepage is done in Macromedia Flash, and that gives it more pizzazz.

“The committee did an excellent job,” Rokuskie continued.  “I’m very happy with the students who served and the parents and faculty who made their suggestions throughout the whole process.”

Taylor Meyer takes state tennis title [top]

Rising tenth grader Taylor Meyer won seven straight matches to claim the Boy’s 16 division title at the North Carolina Junior State Closed tennis tournament, held July 29-Aug. 4 at the Cary Tennis Center.

Taylor, the fifth seed in his age group at the tournament, defeated top-seeded William Parker 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. 

To claim his trophy, Taylor had to overcome a sluggish start.  “I was rusty in the beginning,” he said.  “Every match was pretty close except for the first one.  I focused on staying in there the whole match and playing the best I could on the big points.  I learned you can still pull through even if you don’t have your ‘A’ game.”

Taylor plays on the varsity tennis team at CA and trains at Raleigh Racquet Club.

Latest “Parent News” Available Now [top]

Be on the lookout for the August 2005 edition of “Parent News.”  If it isn’t in your mailbox, it should be soon!  (The electronic version of the newsletter can be accessed here.) 

Information on the following is included in this month’s edition:

• Middle School Meet the Team Night

• the 2005-06 extended day program

•  the supply list for sixth through eighth grades

• the inaugural edition of the Cary Academy Performing Arts Program

Also, an article describing the new fundraising program for CA, Charger Bucks, appears in the newsletter.  Formerly know as “scrip,” Charger Bucks are prepaid cards and gift certificates from Cary Academy that can be used, same as cash, at hundreds of area retailers and restaurants.

July 2005

New Faculty, Staff Join Cary Academy [top] 

New Staff/Faculty Attend Orientation [top]

The newest employees of Cary Academy are learning the ins and outs of the institution during an orientation process that started July 27 and will run through Aug. 5.  

Orientation is designed to welcome new staff and faculty members but also to prepare them for their careers at Cary Academy.  Thus the process covers the basics such as benefit explanations and enrollment, building tours, and photocopy training, but it also includes diversity training and computer training.

The computer training includes tutorials for those faculty who will be using Toshiba Tablet PCs in their classrooms, and training sessions on how to navigate the school’s comprehensive database, Blackbaud.

Sessions are provided on the many uses of the school’s website, including the setting up of personal websites inside the school’s system.  Faculty may use their websites to post anything from homework to class projects to syllabi.

Immediately following the end of new staff/faculty orientation the school will provide an orientation/training period for all faculty from Aug. 8-16.  “Each year we devote eight or nine days to faculty training to give our faculty a chance to collaborate on curriculum, to learn about new technology and apply that to their teaching,” said Head of School Don Berger. 

“We also use the time to review school polices and procedures and practices so our faculty are absolutely ready to begin the year in the best possible position,” Berger added.

Asst. Upper School Head Awarded Fellowship for School Leaders [top]

Eric Bondy, assistant head of the Upper School at Cary Academy, has been selected by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) to receive an NAIS/ Edward E. Ford Fellowship for Aspiring Heads. The fellowship supports the professional development of independent school administrators who have shown significant leadership ability. Through intensive programming, mentoring, and specialized projects, NAIS/E.E. Ford Fellows develop their leadership capacities and learn about the major issues facing independent schools today. The program prepares these individuals to take on future leadership roles. Bondy is one of 68 Fellows for 2005-06. The 50 men and 18 women hail from NAIS member schools in 24 states.

Friday Fellowships Awarded [top]

Five Cary Academy teachers have been selected as this year’s recipients of the William C. Friday Summer Fellowships, which provide financial assistance for faculty to pursue professional development opportunities in the summer. Recipients are Andrew Chiaraviglio, Robin Follet, Todd Shy, Vince Janney, and Josh Hartman.  Descriptions of their proposed projects are:

Andrew Chiaraviglio, MS Science & Mathematics

            Andrew Chiaraviglio will spend three weeks strengthening his Geographic Information (GIS) software skills, producing a practical (GIS-based) electronic campus map, and preparing to give additional GIS training to interested Cary Academy colleagues.

Robin Follet, US English 

            Robin Follet will apply his Friday Fellowship to the completion of a young adult novel. Doing such will enable him to polish writing abilities that he can pass on to his students, to explore one of the keystone motifs of 9th-grade World Literature (the Hero’s Journey), and to teach writing by example.

Vince Janney, MS History, and Josh Hartman, MS Language Arts 

Vince Janney and Josh Hartman will travel for two weeks through Cambodia to gain perspective on that country’s history and culture so that they can give a voice to one of the smaller Southeast Asian nations. They will create a variety of curriculum components such as video lectures, PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and activity sheets for use in the sixth and seventh grade Humanities program.

Todd Shy, MS Language Arts/History

            Todd Shy will use his Friday Fellowship to attend Summer Literary Seminars in St. Petersburg, Russia, which offer a unique inter-cultural exchange of Russian and American writers. One of his goals is to expand the inclusion of Russian culture into the curriculum.

Cary Academy Sets Fall Athletic Schedule [top]

The Cary Academy Athletic Department has released the fall schedules for its varsity, junior varsity and middle school teams. In all, the school will field 15 teams with more than 250 events scheduled to take place between mid-August and the end of October. 

While the middle school and junior varsity teams play as independents, the varsity teams will face a slate of games against conference foes in the “new” Triangle Independent School Athletic Conference (TISAC). With the loss of Cardinal Gibbons High School, the TISAC now includes Cary Academy, Durham Academy, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, North Raleigh Christian Academy, Ravenscroft School, and Saint Mary’s School.