Yearbook staff makes own memories

The yearbook staff attended a workshop held by publisher Walsworth June 19-22 at Myrtle Beach, SC, and brought home a first-place trophy for its hard work at the event.

Kelly Bolick (’08), Christina Wieand (’08), Sonja Thalheimer (’09), Liz Trent (’09) and Emily Bissett (’10) attended the workshop, along with 19 other staffs from around the Southeast. The girls attended classes from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 4 to 8:30 p.m. They had to create a 12-page mini-yearbook, using the new technology that they had learned, and then had to make a showcase display that advertised their “book.”

The CA staff received first place for the advanced design group, which included 11 schools. Judging was done by the technology instructors and designers from Walsworth headquarters. In May the staff received the Gallery of Excellence Award from Walsworth for its 2007 yearbook.

Summer Quest underway

Summer Quest 2007 is well underway with 183 camps being held this summer.

So far, the hard-working SQ staff has filled 2,118 spaces with approximately 1,130 campers.

About 60 instructors are lending their talents to run camps such as Juggling Magic & Balloons, Camp Kaboom, golf, tennis, All About Animals, chess, creative writing and Dinosaur Dig.

New diversity head at Cary Academy

Shani Barrax Moore, Cary Academy’s new director of diversity, will start work July 1.

Moore holds a master’s in business administration from Strayer University and a B.A. from UNC in journalism and mass communication.

Prior to coming to CA, Moore worked as an independent consultant and as the assessment counselor at Mount Olive College. At Mount Olive, she also served as an adjunct professor in the School of Business and as a writing tutor.

Overton fund still accepting donations

The Johnnetta Overton Memorial Scholarship Fund is still accepting donations. Johnnetta Overton, who would have been a senior next year, was killed in an automobile accident May 11.

The school recently started the fund and has received a $10,000 donation from the PTAA.

If you would like to donate to the Overton fund, checks may be made out to Cary Academy, and earmarked for the Johnnetta Overton Memorial Scholarship Fund either in the note on the check or in a separate cover letter. This is a tax deductible donation. Please direct your gifts to Lynne Fountain in the Advancement Office.

June 2007

Busy summer for IS

The school year might be over, but Information Services is staying busy this summer.

The IS staff is helping the Summer Quest staff keep its camps running smoothly and assisting with any technical problems. And IS is repairing all the tablets and readying them for the next crop of students. They are also installing updates and a new version of Microsoft Office to each tablet.

In addition to all this, the IS staff has started preliminary work on the school’s new Website.

Five- and 10-year employees get a shout out

At the annual Employee Service Luncheon held June 13 in the cafeteria, employees with five and 10 years of service to Cary Academy were honored.

The five-year employees are: landscape manager Jim Welch, math instructor Jeff Killmer, Head of the Upper School Mitch McGuigan, College Advising Director Susan Staggers, accompanist Linda Velto, and Spanish instructor Nuria Lopez Tardon.

Employees reaching the 10-year mark of service are: Director of Business Operations Debby Reichel, administrative assistant Cindy Laughlin, database and backup administrator Marita Gonsalves, IS senior consultant Kevin Rokuskie, IS Assistant Director Rick Harris, PE Department Chair Kim Cherre, Dean of Faculty Dr. Martina Greene, music/band instructor Eric Grush, English instructor Carole Hamilton, Arts Department Chair Michael Hayes, math instructor Pat Martin, athletic trainer David McAllister, English instructor Carol Morgan, Instructional Technology Director Sam Morris, Spanish instructor Vic Quesada, science instructor Barry Rochelle, chemistry instructor Gray Rushin, social studies instructor David Snively, visual arts teacher Meredith Steele, Chinese instructor Ming-An Lee, receptionist/clerk B.J. McLamb, Admissions administrative assistant Debbie McLaurin, Director of Advancement Lynne Fountain, and Constituency Coordinator Chris Gilmore.

Bienvenido! Foreign language trips back

All the foreign language trips have returned to the U.S. safely.

The Spanish trips to Orense and Oviedo in Spain returned June 8 and 9, respectively. The students who visited Ecuador returned June 10. The Chinese trip returned June 14, and the French trippers got back June 14.

Read all about each group’s exciting times in the student blogs at http://web1.caryacademy.org/academicinfo/exchangetrips.htm.

Students get summer internships

Many CA students are interning locally and internationally this summer.

Locally, Dara Brown (‘09) and Jonathan Jakubowski (‘09) have accepted positions at Lenovo. They will start July 20 and end about mid-August. Thirty-one students have accepted positions at SAS. They started work June 12.

Internationally, Ben Goldhaber (’08) and Julie Cooper (’08) are interning at NCR in Beijing June 14-July 2. Meanwhile, in Shanghai at Tekelec, Mark Easley (’08) and John Nelson (’08) will be interning from June 14 to July 1.

Quiz Bowl team grounded, but Tarleton wins in the end

Although the CA Quiz Bowl team did not make it to Detroit for the national championship tournament due to inclement weather, the team did receive good news about one of its members.

Nick Tarleton (’07), one of the senior members of the team, was named to the All-State Team by the North Carolina Academic Teams Association.
 
Tarleton would have received his medal at the tournament, but it will be mailed to him, instead.

Parents take in Museum Day

Proud parents filled the first floor of the Middle School June 6 as the sixth grade put on World Cultures Museum Day. The event and its displays recapped what the sixth grade had learned over the year in World Cultures and Language Arts classes.

“The turnout has been wonderful,” said instructor Matthew Ripley-Moffitt. “The parents have said they have learned a lot from the students. That was our goal: for the kids to become teachers of what they’ve learned through the year.”

Depending on the room visited, parents could learn about Chinese history, samurai swords, the economic system of ancient Ghana, the intricacies of Mayan culture, and trade routes of the old Middle East.

 

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Eighth grade now ready for Upper School

The 10th eighth grade celebration took place June 8 in the theater, and what a celebration it was.

Excellent vocal performances were interspersed between thoughtful speeches throughout the ceremony that annually sends off the eighth grade from the Middle School to the Upper School. An appreciative audience of friends and family applauded wildly during the entire program.

Afterward, the Class of 2011 gathered in the dining hall for a reception. Flashes popped and smiles and hugs erupted as students waded through the sea of well-wishers.

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Jiang, Lerch compete in separate tests of brain and body

Hard work paid off handsomely for Damien Jiang (’10) as he recently made the North Carolina A team of the American Regions Mathematics League (ARML). He earned a spot on the team by doing well on the AMC, AIME and USAMO, as well as various other math contests and the ARML practice sessions.
 
On June 2 he competed at the ARML meet at Penn State University and scored 7 out of 8, which put him in a tie for first place with about 60 to 70 other people. He received a "high scorer" plaque. In addition, the North Carolina A team came in fourth in Division A (the higher division).

Corey Lerch ('08) braved 57-degree waters, two-ton sea lions and 2,000 other athletes to successfully complete the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon June 3. The event begins with a one-and-a-half-mile swim from the infamous prison island in San Francisco Bay and continues through 18 miles of tortuous bike climbs through the hills of the city, before finishing in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge after an eight-mile run. One of only 15 19-and-unders from across the nation to take on the challenge, Lerch originally took up the sport to improve his conditioning for wrestling.

State senators drop in on CA

A group of North Carolina state senators visited Cary Academy June 7 to get a firsthand look at the school and learn a little about CA’s use of technology to enhance the educational experience.

Head of School Don Berger and Instructional Technology Director Sam Morris took the VIPs on a short tour of the campus and gave them a history of CA throughout.

The group saw presentations on the tablet PC program, and Dr. Joselyn Todd presented a piece on how she uses technology in her Middle School science classroom.

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U.S. Secretary of Education Enjoys Visit to Cary Academy

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings watches as Alex Cooper (’13) works on a project.

Margaret Spellings, the U.S. Secretary of Education, came to Cary Academy Friday, June 1, and spent some time with teachers and students while observing firsthand the school’s integration of technology in the classroom.

Spellings’ midmorning-to-noon visit started with a stop at the Middle School where she dropped in on the classes of Matthew Ripley-Moffit and Candice Johnson, Dawn Bates and Aaron Rothrock. Afterward, she was fascinated by a showcase involving Upper School English instructor Carole Hamilton. At the end of her visit, she enjoyed a roundtable Q-and-A discussion that included, among others, Head of School Don Berger, teachers, students and parents. At noon, the secretary fielded questions for 30 minutes from the media.

“The visit to Cary Academy by the secretary of education was a wonderful way to cap off our 10-year anniversary,” said Director of Advancement Lynne Fountain. “She was totally engaged in what our students were doing in the classroom and hearing from our teachers on how they are using technology in the classroom.“

For the best local coverage of the visit, read The News & Observer’s story (http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/588739.html) and the NEWS-14 story (http://news14.com/content/headlines/583216/u-s--education-secretary-visits-cary/Default.aspx).

US News: Rowsey to China; String Quartet Wows

Joshua Rowsey (’09) has been selected for a three-week Chinese summer camp in Beijing. The camp is a joint initiative with North Carolina State University and the Confucius Institute in Beijing. He will leave July 12.

The Cary Academy String Quartet performed to 47 people May 21 at a concert at Glenaire Retirement Community in Cary. The next day, May 22, the foursome played in front of 45 people at Brookdale Senior Living in Cary. Both concerts earned boffo reviews.

The quartet consists of students Rodrigo Haragutchi (first violin), Brice Barnett (second violin), Charlotte Morgan (viola) and Michelle Wang (cello).  The Cary Academy String Quartet is a recipient of the Cary Academy PTAA Student Activity Enhancement Grant.

MS Class Trips Visit NC Mountains, Civil War Center

On June 1 the seventh and eighth grade students and their chaperones returned from their respective class trips.

The seventh grade traveled to the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain for an educational retreat. In the rustic setting, students participated in environmental/cultural activities such as adventure hiking, tower climbing, Appalachian crafts and ropes courses.

The eighth grade trip was parts educational and celebratory. On the first day the group toured the Pamplin Center, a Civil War education center near Richmond, VA. The second day the class enjoyed the sights and sounds of Busch Gardens near Williamsburg.

Art Exhibit Definitely Advanced

Amanda Walker

The paintings and drawings drew onlookers in for close looks. Once they drew back from examining the fine strokes, each sported an astonished grin. The Advanced Art Exhibit for 2007 never failed to impress.

In case you missed the exhibit, there was some exceptional art on display from May 14-June 1 in the Fine Arts Gallery in the lower level of the Fine Arts Building. This exhibit served as a culmination of six students' work that had been composed over the past year. Each student displayed four to seven self-selected images.

The student artists were: Murphy Chang (’07), Sean Jo (’07), Kelsey Nix (’07), Kim Ray (’08), Amanda Walker (’08) and Dallas Williams (’07).

Sean Jo

Murphy Chang

May 2007

U.S. Secretary of Education to Visit Cary Academy

Margaret Spellings, the U.S. Secretary of Education, will pay a visit to Cary Academy Friday, June 1, to observe the school’s use of technology in the classroom that has gained it a national reputation. Spellings visits only about 100 schools a year.

After meeting with founder Dr. Jim Goodnight, Head of School Don Berger and N.C. Superintendent of Education June Atkinson in the morning, Spellings will then tour Middle and Upper School classrooms. Among other things, she will witness sixth-graders putting the finishing touches on their exhibits for Museum Day; watch Dawn Bates’ math students investigate the relationships between probabilities and real outcomes; experience guided Internet research with history teacher Bill Velto’s class; and watch English instructor Carole Hamilton’s students integrate their tablet PCs in a class assignment.

Following will be a roundtable discussion that will include, among others, Goodnight, Berger, teachers from both schools, students from both schools and parents.

At noon, the secretary will field questions for 30 minutes from the media.

Cary Academy Celebrates 10 Years with a Blast

The boom of fireworks echoed around the towering pines of Regency Park the night of May 19. The explosive display brought the curtain down on the 10-year anniversary celebration at the park’s Koka Booth Amphitheater, but it also capped the end of a yearlong celebration of Cary Academy and its first decade.

From babies to grandparents, all enjoyed the festive atmosphere at the amphitheater: People ate ice cream on the lawn, kids flung footballs, a juggler tossed pins, balloon artists did their thing, and everyone munched on the blue and yellow cupcakes provided by the school.

After speeches from the stage by founder Dr. Jim Goodnight, Head of School Don Berger, alums and faculty members, a 20-minute video was shown on the large dual screens on stage. The video, done as a spoof of Citizen Kane, contained video collages of students and staff.

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Tree Dedicated in Memory of Johnnetta Overton

“Johnnetta certainly was one of a kind,” said Head of School Don Berger in his opening remarks at the May 22 dedication of a Blaze Maple in honor of student Johnnetta Overton, who was killed in an automobile accident May 11. “She will be remembered as a vibrant member of our community.”

Halfway into the dedication, Overton’s friends Julia Niemi (‘08) and T’Sani Watson (‘08) presented the Overton family with armloads of personalized and signed handmade posters created by Cary Academy’s students, and Nicole Huber (’07), Danni Curran (‘08) and Aaron Harrington (‘10) honored the scholar and athlete in song.

“When this tree is 50 feet tall and blazing red in the fall, it will remind us of Johnnetta,” said Head of the Upper School Mitch McGuigan. The tree is planted in the SEA courtyard.

The school has started, with a $10,000 donation from the PTAA, the Johnnetta Overton Memorial Scholarship Fund. If you would like to donate to the Overton fund, checks may be made out to Cary Academy, and earmarked for the Johnnetta Overton Memorial Scholarship Fund either in the note on the check or in a separate cover letter. This is a tax deductible donation. Please direct your gifts to Lynne Fountain in the Advancement Office.

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Middle School News and Notes

• Richard He (’13) won first place in the Senior Division of the prestigious Peter Perret Talent Search (formerly the Winston-Salem Symphony Talent Search). Along with his prize, He will perform as a soloist with the Winston-Salem Symphony in its next season.

• Seventy-three Middle School chorus members traveled to Orlando to compete in the Festival Disney Choral Competition the weekend of May 11-12. On Friday, the chorus competed in three different choral groups. At the awards ceremony on Saturday night, Cary Academy won Best in Class for the Mixed and the Girls’ Choruses, which is equivalent to first place in their class. There were seven competing choirs at the middle school level and, ranking by averages, Cary Academy won first, second and third place among all seven. The 6th-8th Grade Cary Academy Girls’ Chorus won the Grand Champion Award, scoring the highest average for all the middle school choirs. Although CA was not competing against the high school choirs, the girls’ performance average was higher than all the middle and high school choral groups in attendance at the festival.

• The Middle School boys’ tennis team ended its season with a share of the TMSC regular season title. This is the first championship title won by any Middle School team.

• On May 23 Alexandre Pauwels (’13) acted as MS Head of School. He visited classes, met with a parent, handled a discipline issue with two students, ate a special lunch with friends, attended the leadership team meeting, ordered special desserts for lunch, and declared a dress down day for students.

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Girls Make Fast Tracks at State

The girls’ track team captured the 4x800 relay at the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association track and field championships at Charlotte Country Day May 19. The girls contended for the team title up to the final event of the tournament but finished fourth with 105 points. Charlotte Latin won with 113.

Rachel Park (‘08) won the 3,200-meter run and finished second in the 1,600.

Sarah Helfer (’07) won the 800 and anchored the 4x800 relay, and Tyler Ford (’08) leapt to the long jump title.

The Class of 2007 Takes its Leave From CA

A gorgeous blue sky greeted the Class of 2007 as it strode to the quad and flung its caps in the air following graduation ceremonies May 20 in the SEA. It should be clear skies for many years to come for each of the 97 graduates.

On the heels of class speeches by Kevin Cotter (’07) and Swapanthi Nagulpally (’07), Bill Nye (The Science Guy) delivered a humor-filled speech in which he advised the graduates to change the world by “coming up with new ways for many (of their) fellow earthlings to live.” He also urged each graduate to be skeptical, to vote and to “leave the world better than you found it.”

At the reception in the quad, the newly minted grads hugged, lined up for family pictures, signed yearbooks and took cell phone pictures of one another.

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Jiang Invited to Math Camp, Rochelle Honored for Essay

Damien Jiang (‘10) has been invited to the red group of the 2007 United States Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program to be held on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in Lincoln, NE, June 10-30. He received this honor by being one of the top 30 freshmen on the USAMO.

The program in Lincoln is a three-week residential summer camp with classes, activities and mathematical competitions organized around training for mathematical competitions.

Sam Rochelle (’10) received an honorable mention May 10 in an essay contest for NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The essay topic for all entrants was Air Transportation in 2057. Teens from across the United States and six foreign countries submitted 88 essays in four categories.

Record Amount Raised by 10th Anniversary Golf Classic

Scores were low and spirits high at the 10th Annual Scholar’s Golf Classic held at Prestonwood May 14. Sixty-eight teams tackled the course on a truly perfect day for a round of golf.

So far, $80,330 – a record amount – has been raised for the Scholarship Fund, which enables the school to extend the benefits of its education to an economically and socially diverse population.

Before play began, golfers who had played at all 10 tournaments were honored for their support. R.N. Rouse & Co. Inc. served as the grand sponsor of the tournament for the ninth year. A special thanks goes out to Tony Fisher of University Ford who provided the cars.
 

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DNA Bootcamp Awaits Downing

New biology instructor Alyson Downing has been accepted into the Amgen Leadership Symposium in Human and Genomic Biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island. The program, referred to as DNA Bootcamp, runs July 9-27. Acceptance was based on evidence of successful implementation of lab-based instruction in molecular genetics or biotechnology.

Participants will perform newly-developed experiments that stress the modern synthesis of in vitro experimentation with in silico bioinformatics. Participants will examine their own DNA polymorphisms and sequence variations to explore human origins and the molecular basis of taste and smell. Participants also will become adept with the Apollo genome annotator, allowing them to analyze new genes that have been predicted by computer algorithms but have yet to be carefully examined by a human.

Seminars will cover human oncogenes, genome sequencing, X-ray crystallography, microarrays, RNA interference, and the molecular basis of learning and memory. About 30 percent of time will be devoted to independent study and group projects.

Graduation, Year-end Celebration this Weekend

The Class of 2007 graduates May 20 during commencement exercises in the SEA. The day before, May 19, the school will host its 10-year anniversary celebration at Booth Amphitheater at Regency Park in Cary.

Graduation will run from 2-3:30 p.m. The speaker is Bill Nye of Bill Nye the Science Guy fame. Everyone is invited to come and hear Nye’s address.

The anniversary celebration starts at 7:00 p.m. A 20-minute video will be shown, and speakers from various graduating classes will say a few words. A fireworks display will cap off the night at 9 p.m.

Daniels Wins Park Scholly to NCSU

Caitlin Daniels (’07) has won a Park Scholarship to attend North Carolina State University (NCSU). This is a full scholarship.
Daniels joins 50 other recipients as Park Scholars for fall 2007. The scholarship winners were selected from among more than 1,000 applicants.

To read more about Daniels’ prestigious scholarship, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/park_scholarships/scholarship/index.html.

CA String Quartet to Perform Community Concerts

The Cary Academy String Quartet, under the direction of CA orchestra director Yiying Qiao, will perform two community concerts in May at Cary retirement homes.

On May 21 it will perform at Glenaire Retirement Community (4000 Glenaire Circle, Cary) at 7 p.m. The next day, May 22, the foursome will play at Brookdale Senior Living (111 McArthur Dr., Cary) at 2 p.m.

The quartet consists of students Rodrigo Haragutchi (first violin), Brice Barnett (second violin), Charlotte Morgan (viola) and Michelle Wang (cello).

Both programs will consist of: Eine Kline Nuchtmusik by Mozart, Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovski, Flop-Eared Mule by Dabczynski, Branderburg No.5 by Bach, Entrance of the Queen of Sheba by Handel, Allegro in D by Vivaldi, and Ronda Alla Turca by Mozart.

The concerts are funded through a Cary Academy PTAA grant.

Click here to see a video of the CA String Quartet in action: http://www.multimediamoments.com/castringquartet/

Seniors Pick Colleges; Merit Scholarships Announced

The seniors in the Class of 2007 have been busy for the past months making college decisions. The 98 graduating seniors received offers of admission from over 110 different colleges in 25 states, Washington D.C. and England.

The list of colleges with the number of matriculants included is here: http://web1.caryacademy.org/college/College%20Choices%202007.htm

In addition to the offers of admission, many seniors also were offered merit scholarships. For example, Brendan Kiu (’07) has received a National Merit Scholarship Award, one of 2,500 National Merit Scholarships offered in the country to National Merit finalists. The $2,500 scholarship, underwritten by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, can be used at any college or university. For more information about this and the other scholarship recipients, please visit:
http://web1.caryacademy.org/college/Scholarships.Classof2007.htm

MS Debaters Show Off Skills

On May 2-3, the seventh grade held its annual Great Debate where students pair off and debate one another in formal Lincoln-Douglas-style before a panel of judges.

Prior to the Great Debate, Upper School debate team members visited the Middle School to help the seventh-graders sharpen their arguments.

“I worked with about 10-ish students over two periods,” said Kelly Andrejko (‘10). “I worked on cross-examination questions with all of them, helping them come up with some questions pertaining to their case, and making sure they had an idea of how to prepare for the questions they could possibly receive. I also tried to give them advice on being confident. I was quite impressed with the quality of some of their arguments, as they were quite advanced and thought-out.”

Debate winners and losers weren’t announced; instead each student received a final score sheet including all judges’ notes and feedback.

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To Tie-dye For

There was no Grateful Dead playing on the radio and nary a Nehru jacket to be spied as the sixth grade science students took a trip to the ‘60s and ‘70s on May 2-4. To conclude its chemistry unit in science, the sixth grade students tie-dyed T-shirts those days.
 
Using white T-shirts made from natural fibers, the students folded and bound the shirts and then dyed them in an assortment of colors and let them sit overnight. They then rinsed the shirts to remove excess dye and took the shirts home in a plastic bag. The dyes used were fade-resistant, cold-water, fiber-reactive dyes that bonded to the shirts.

On Monday, May 7, the entire sixth grade class wore their psychedelic creations to school.
 

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Author to Speak to MS on Cultural Revolution

To enhance the sixth grade’s study of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Ji Li Jiang, author of Red Scarf Girl, will meet with both the sixth and seventh grades on May 9.
 
Red Scarf Girl is included in the sixth-grade curriculum because it coordinates with the World Cultures/Language Arts China unit. The novel is about Jiang’s childhood in which she experienced the Chinese Cultural Revolution firsthand.

During her presentation, Ji Li will present further information about her experiences during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and offer a brief question and answer session, followed by a book signing.

Relay for Life Team Raises More Than $5K

At the Relay for Life walk held at Cary High School April 28-29, the 90-member strong Cary Academy team raised $5,410. Connor Smithson (’09) raised the most by an individual on the CA team with $1,590. The total raised by all the teams during the Relay is $227,607.

The breakdown of the CA team: eight faculty and staff members, nine parents, one alum (Mark Hallen), 12 Middle School students, and 60 Upper School students.

“Our Upper School students volunteered to help the CAM Relay for Life Mission Delivery Committee,” said co-captain Robin Follet. “During the day on Saturday, they reminded all the walkers about the need for sunscreen while handing out sun visors. The CA team also emphasized the need for proper nutrition, giving out free fruit to the relayers. The Key Club and the Beta Club provided people, snacks and money. The CA Relay for Life team brought our community together, allowing all parts – Middle School, Upper School, faculty, staff, parents and alumni – to work toward an important goal. And we all had fun doing it.”

First International Café Pleases Palates

The first US International Cafe' opened for lunch April 30 on the front porch of the Fitness Center.

Students chowed down on samosas from India, good ol’ apple pie from the U.S. of A., grape leaves from Jordan, and Brazilian cheesy bread or paode queijo. But, by far, the most popular delicacy was the crepes cooked-while-you-wait at the impromptu French creperie.

Some of the other international cuisine, and world cultures, represented came from Germany, Hungary, Israel and China.

 

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April 2007

Science Olympiad Team Medals in Six Events 

Andrew Hillenius with his medals

At the Science Olympiad on April 21 at NCSU the Cary Academy team won medals in six events.

Andrew Hillenius (‘08) and Nick Tarleton (’07) grabbed first place in Circuit Lab. This medal included a $1,000 scholarship for each to NCSU. Hillenius also took first place in Robot Ramble and received another $1,000 scholarship. Angela Hayes (’08) and Tarleton were fourth place in Astronomy; Ashton Lai (’07) and Ryan Watson (’07) took fifth place in Designer Genes; Brendan Kiu (’07) and David Marron (’07) were fifth in Physics Lab; and Watson and Alex Rosen (’07) placed sixth in Chem Lab.

The team finished strong in other events: seventh place in Food Science by Yasmeen Mansour (’08) and Lai; eighth place in the Scrambler by Daniel Leef (’10); eighth place in Entomology by Kasey Sedova (’09) and Tarleton; and eighth place in Fermi Questions by Kiu and Marron. CA finished 14th overall out of 42 teams competing at states.

The CA Science Olympiad team.

Stained Glass Panels Adorn Fine Arts Building

Like a colorful capstone, two twinkling stained glass panels now stand atop the entrance doors to the Fine Arts Building.

The stained glass panels were made by the seventh- and eighth-grade art classes with the assistance of visiting artist Dan Hohl. The panels were installed the morning of April 24.

Both panels represent the arts at CA. One depicts the masks of comedy and drama, and, in the other, a graceful dancer is in full movement.

He Second in N.C. Symphony Competition

Orchestra student Richard He (’13) placed second in the junior division (ages 10-15) of the North Carolina Symphony Youth Concerto Competition on April 21 at Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh.

Forty-six talented instrumentalists from around the state competed in this difficult competition. As one of the five finalists, He performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.1, 1st movement for North Carolina Symphony Music Director Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry and General Manager Scott Freck.

For more information, visit http://www.ncsymphony.org/news/index.cfm?nid=229.

Seventeen Tapped Into NHS

During a ‘tapping-in’ ceremony at the amphitheater on the morning of April 27, 17 sophomores and juniors were inducted into the CA chapter of the National Honor Society.

The students are: Jacob Barish (‘09), Rame Coppedge (‘08), Angela Hayes (‘08), Firoz Jameel (‘09), Nick Kisley (‘09), Kirsten Kohagen (‘09), Cameron Lee (‘08), Marina Lee (‘08), Nihad Mansour (‘09), Therice Morris (‘09), John Peebles (‘09), Ksenia Sedova (‘09), Misha Sims (‘09), Natalie Smith (‘08), Elizabeth Trent (‘09), Bill Wagner (‘09), and Rachel Yip (‘08).

Horses Now on Campus; Tailgate Brings in the Fans

The Charger horses decorated by each class, as well as alumni and staff/faculty, have been permanently affixed in locations around campus. The next time you are on campus, take a moment to walk around and look at these works of arts.

The spring tailgate held April 20 brought fans, students and parents to campus to watch the Chargers take on Durham Academy in soccer, baseball, softball and lacrosse. Also, those present took time to admire the new Charger horses.

Check out the sports page to see how the teams did!

 

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Orchestra Takes Big Bite of Big Apple

Last weekend, the Cary Academy MS and US orchestra students participated in the Heritage 2007 Spring Music Festival in New York City, and they came home with a busload of trophies.
This year the festival had 17 schools and 53 performance groups that came from 15 states and provinces across the country from California to Virginia and from Canada to Florida. The Cary Academy orchestra competed in Division 1A.
The results from the competition:

• Cary Academy MS: 1st place and Silver Ranking

• Cary Academy US: 1st place and Gold Ranking

• The US honors orchestra’s three clarinet players (Vann Mitchell, Saige Clark, Damien Jiang) won Outstanding Soloist Trophy (total of three trophies from this festival)

• CA also took the Festival Outstanding Performance Group Trophy

• CA once again received the invitation certificate for next year’s National Band/Orchestra Gold Festival in Boston Symphony Hall (only six groups invited from the festival!)

These Seventh-Graders are TIP-Top

Seventy-five seventh-graders qualified, based on ERB results, to take the SAT or ACT through the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP).

Thirty-nine of those students took advantage of this opportunity. Twenty-two of the students who took the ACT or SAT scored well enough to receive state or grand recognition – that’s 22 percent of the class! Those students whose scores met the criteria for State Level will receive recognition at a ceremony at Campbell University on May 15. Students whose scores met the criteria for Grand Level will receive recognition at a ceremony on Duke's Campus on May 21.

Following is a list of those who will receive recognition:

Grand level recognition
 

Alex Coeytaux

Matthew Lee

State level recognition
 

Tara Aida	Catherine Newman
Christine Allison	Tyler Powell
Ivan Bobashev	Ben Ramger
Chase Brewster	Emily Schramm
Ryan Cinoman	Hannah Schwarz
Thomas Graham	Benjamin Shpurker
Rachel Holt	Jeff Thomas
Laura James	Shelley Warner
Quinn Jenkins	Zac Wilson
Abby Larus Kelsey Miller

Sports Roundup: Blackwell, Huber in the News

Playing for the winning West squad, Brittany Blackwell (’07) scored 27 points and plucked seven rebounds to share co-MVP honors at the 15th Annual Charlotte Pro-Am High School All-Star game on April 14.

Blackwell has signed with UNC-Wilmington.

Nicole Huber (’07) has decided to play volleyball for North Carolina State University next year. She signed March 21. Huber is a TISAC all-conference player and was the number one hitter in all of the conference this year.

Horses Unveiled; Spring Tailgate Coming

6th grade Sea Horse

At an assembly in the Fitness Center during the Charger Stampede April 12, the new Charger horses were revealed. The PTAA donated the money to purchase nine of the horses, and the boosters purchased the large black rearing horse.

“Wow! The student artists working on our 10th anniversary horses really exceeded my expectations,” said art teacher Margo Smith, who oversaw the horse project. Over the next weeks, the multi-colored and dazzlingly creative and unique horses will be placed around campus in permanent locations.

Following on the hooves of the Charger Stampede, is the Spring Sports Tailgate to be held April 20 from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Wear your blue and gold and come cheer the Chargers as they take on Durham Academy in soccer, baseball, softball and lacrosse. They’ll be food, too. See flyers (student free food offer, and tailgate schedule) for more information.

 

7th grade Day and Knight	8th grade Putting It All Together	9th grade Carousel
10th grade Apocalypse	11th grade Leaving Our Mark	12th grade Reflections
Alumni Bad to the Bone

Many Received Awards, Honors Recently

The past couple weeks have seen the awards come flying in fast and furious for many CA students:

• For the second year in a row the Quiz Bowl team has qualified for two national tournaments to be held in Chicago and Ann Arbor, MI. The team finished the year having vanquished every North Carolina team it met. This season, the only losses were to the James Island team from South Carolina. The Cary Academy team that took second at the N.C. State University-sponsored “Red and White Bowl” on March 24, and qualified for the national tournaments, consists of Swapanthi Nagulpally (’07), Tom Marty (’07), Nick Tarleton (‘07), Ryan Watson (’07), Hannah Ritter Paulin (’08) and Firoz Jameel (’09). Tarleton received individual recognition for his performance at the tournament.

• On April 5 Bryelle Smith (’07) was named ABC-11/McDonald’s Athlete of the Week.

• Lauren Moore (’12) and Jack Hannon (’10) are the 2007 recipients of the Charles M. Burdick Young Writers’ Fellowship. Both received a $1,000 grant, courtesy of the PTAA, to attend a summer creative writing program of their choice. Moore has decided to attend the Tennessee Young Writers’ Workshop; Hannon is still exploring his options.

• Ryan Watson (’07) and Corey Lerch (’08) qualified as finalists for the Chemistry Olympiad and will be going to NCSSM for the next round. The qualifying scores ranged from 40-56 and CA had 5 students in that range. Unfortunately it is capped at two qualifiers per school and a total of 15 for the state. The three other high scorers from CA were Ashton Lai (’07), Angela Hayes (’08) and Max Flescher (’08).

Jiang, Other Math Students Have Impressive Showings

Damien Jiang (’10) has qualified for the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad. Only 15 students from North Carolina qualified, and Jiang was the only ninth-grader, though there was an eighth-grader from Winston Salem.

At the Regional State Math Contest held at Wake Technical Community College on March 29, four CA students placed among the top 25 in Comprehensive, and CA placed fourth as a school. The students, with finishes: Damien Jiang (’07), 7th; Michelle Luo (’08), 12th; Robert Murphy (’09), 23rd; and Diana Woodall (’08), 24th. In Algebra II, three students made the top 15, and CA placed third as a school. The students, with finishes: Therice Morris (’09), 10th; Matt Makansi (’10), 14th; and John Peebles (’09), 15th. In Geometry three students placed among the top 25, and CA placed third. The students, with finishes: Jason Chow (’10), 3rd; Even Zayas (’11), 7th; and Jeffrey Dudek (’11), 9th.

Middle School Exhibits Art

The seventh and eighth grades held a reception for an art exhibit the afternoon of April 5 in the lower level g