May  2008

Advanced art exhibit up through May
The Advanced Art Exhibit for 2008, a culmination of seven students’ work that has been composed over the past year, is on display in the Fine Arts gallery during the month of May. 
“The mediums and subject matter will vary, but you will find that all of the work is exciting and superb,” said art instructor Jason Franklin.  The exhibit includes a picture of instructor Margo Smith that Kim Ray (’08) did in the style of Chuck Close, a famous artist that is one of Smith’s favorites.
Students exhibiting are Ray, Amanda Walker (’08), Christina Wieand (’08), Jamie Berger (’09), Brian Lee (’09), Leah Korbin (’09) and Michelle Wainer (’09).

[Kim Ray and Margo Smith]

May Day! Seniors make college choices
Decisions, decisions. The seniors in the Class of 2008 have been busy making college choices for the May 1 decision deadline. The 99 graduating seniors received offers of admission from over 125 colleges and universities across the US and abroad.
Ultimately, the seniors selected 47 different colleges.  Approximately half will stay in the Tar Heel state. The others will head out of state to colleges across the US in Arizona, Indiana, California and Missouri as well as the United Kingdom.
In addition to the offers of admission, many seniors were offered merit scholarships. For more information, please see http://web1.caryacademy.org/college/College%20Choices%202008.htm.

Kalin to page, Kelley to dance
Upon the recommendation of state Sen. Richard Stevens, Sen. Marc Basnight has appointed Lauren Kalin (‘11) to serve as a Senate page June 30-July 3.  After her one-week stint in the Senate, Kalin will then page for another week in the House of Representatives.
Charlotte Kelley ('11) will be performing with Carolina Ballet in its upcoming Sleeping Beauty at Memorial Auditorium, May 15-18.
Kelley, a student in the Professional Division of the Raleigh School of Ballet, recently returned from the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association Festival where she participated in three days of master classes and performances with her performance company, Raleigh Dance Theatre. She also will attend a five-week Summer Intensive Program at Boston Ballet, June 28-Aug. 2.

Citizen wins Jamfest
Cary Academy's own rock and blues band, Citizen, captured first place at Jamfest, the town of Cary's annual rock competition, on Saturday, May 3.
Held at Bond Park's outdoor Sertoma Amphitheatre, Jamfest featured six area bands vying for a first prize that included $500 and a booking at Cary's upcoming Lazy Daze Festival in August.
Citizen features junior Seth Johnson and sophomores Alex Rosenthal, Austin Cooper, Aaron Harrington and Alex Nemetz.

Special Olympics held at Cary Academy

On April 30, Cary Academy hosted the Special Olympics at the stadium.  Sixty-three Upper School students Volunteered, helping out in such capacities as raking the long jump pit and measuring the shot put throws.
“It is heartwarming to see our students engaged in such a worthwhile event,” said Service Learning Coordinator Cheryl Cotter. 
“The event organizers and adult volunteers were very complimentary of all the CA students, their enthusiasm and their willingness to help where needed.  This kind of positive response to and by our students is reassuring and, best of all, our students gain as much as they give at events like this!”

Student news: Citizen to play, Jiang takes 11th, Van de Zande to page
·         Cary Academy's own rock and blues band, Citizen, will be one of six bands competing at Jamfest 2008 on Saturday, May 3, at the Sertoma Amphitheatre in Cary's Bond Park.  Citizen features junior Seth Johnson and sophomores Austin Cooper, Aaron Harrington, Alex Nemetz and Alex Rosenthal.  Citizen is expected to perform at Jamfest at 2:30 p.m.  The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free. 
·   Damian Jiang (‘10) placed 11^th at the N.C. State High School Mathematics Contest held April 25.

April 2008

US choruses hit all the right notes in best-ever performance
At the 2008 Heritage Choral Festival competition on May 18-19, the Upper School choruses blew the judges away and earned the best ratings and rankings they have ever earned at a festival/competition.  In addition to the school winning the Sweepstakes Award, each individual chorus earned superior ratings and received invitations to participate in the 2009 Heritage Festival of Gold.
Each CA choral group performed three choral selections that were adjudicated for comments, rating and ranking.  CA competed in the following categories and earned the following:   
   
      ·         Cary Academy Ensemble – 15 students all in 11^th and 12^th grades; Superior rating – 2^nd place

      ·         Cary Academy Singers – 43 students in 9^th – 12^th grades; Superior rating – 1^st place

      ·       Cary Academy Women – 28 students in 9^th – 12^th grades; Superior rating – 1^st place

      ·         Cary Academy Men – 20 students in 9^th – 12^th grades; Superior rating – no other men’s choirs

      ·         Sweepstakes Award – To win the Sweepstakes Award a school had to have two or more choirs
             participate in the festival and earn the highest average among all the choirs.

      ·         Cary Academy Men won the Adjudicators Award – To win the Adjudicators Award, the choir had to
             earn a score of at least 95 or higher from every judge.  The CA men were the only choir to win this award.

      ·         Cary Academy Men won the Outstanding Choir Award – To win the Outstanding Choir Award, the     
             choir had to earn the highest average among all the choirs who participated in the choral festival. 

·         Maestro Awards – These are individual awards that are offered to specific soloists IF the adjudicators feel the soloists are worthy of the award.  Two students earned Maestro awards for the solos they performed.  They are:  Joe Johnston (for solo in CA Singers selection Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit) and Seth Johnson (for solo in Men’s selection Auctioneer)

Author to talk on importance of children’s strengths
Jenifer Fox, head of the Purnell School in Pottersville, NJ, and author of the new book, Your Child’s Strengths, brings her national book tour to Saint Mary’s School in Raleigh on Thursday, April 24, at 7 p.m. in Smedes Hall. 
Faculty, parents and staff are invited to hear Fox discuss how to discover, develop and use children’s strengths.  Fox believes that we must focus on how children’s individual strengths create success and build on this foundation to help them thrive in school and in life.  In Your Child’s Strengths, Fox passionately shows parents and teachers how to identify children's strengths based on their actions, how to encourage those strengths once they’ve been identified, and how to help kids implement the strengths they reveal. 
Quail Ridge Books will be on hand to sell Fox’s book during the reception following her presentation.                            

Cary Academy mentioned in ForbesLife
In an article on page 46 of the April 2008 edition of ForbesLife, Cary Academy and founder Jim Goodnight are discussed.  The article addresses Goodnight’s desire to bring high-tech teaching to NC and his educational philosophies.  CA’s laptop environment is discussed, as well as how teachers incorporate laptops and technology into their teaching.
The lessons and projects of Middle School teachers Leslie Williams and Aaron Rothrock are referenced in the story.

Here’s a TIP – the seventh grade is one smart class
Twenty-two seventh-grade students have received recognition through DUKE TIP, the Duke Talent Identification Program.  Eighty-five Cary Academy seventh-graders qualified, based on May 2007 ERB results, to take the SAT or ACT through TIP, and 40 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, which comes out to  22 percent of the seventh-grade class!  Those students whose scores met the criteria for State Level will receive recognition at a ceremony at Campbell University on May 13. Students whose scores met the criteria for Grand Level will receive recognition at a ceremony on Duke's Campus on May 19.  Receiving Grand Level recognition are Kalee Calhoun, Joseph Cornett and Sarah Thalheimer.  Receiving State Level recognition are:  Adrienne Bell Koch, Elizabeth Carlton, Ethan Coeytaux, Cannon Duke, Richard He, Christina Katsuse, Joshua Kennedy, Nupur Khadilkar, David Maydew, Adit Namdev, Daniel Orol, Joseph Parrish, Alexandre Pauwels, Bailey Plymyer, Griffin Sanford, Elizabeth Strohbeck, Alexander Velto, Victor Walker and Jackson Williams.

Students excel in tennis, writing
At the recent Cary Spring Junior Open NC L3 tennis tournament at Cary Tennis Center, Zack Sarnoff (‘09) won the boy's 16 division, and Ricky Meir (‘12) won the boy's 14 division.  Aneesh Kodali (‘10) finished second in the boy's 18 division, and Haleigh Morgus (‘12) was a semifinalist in the girl's 16 division.  Ricky and Bradley Meir (‘12) won the boy's 14 doubles division, while Anastasia Morgus (‘14) finished second in the girls 12 doubles.  Haleigh Morgus finished second in the girls 14 doubles.
Two Cary Academy students are among six Wake County high school students who have earned recognition as exceptional writers in the annual Writing Contest sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa Association of Wake County.  This is the forty-first year of the contest, which is open to juniors and seniors in all Wake County high schools, public and private.  The contest focuses on literary analysis.  All submissions must be scholarly interpretations of literature prepared as part of the regular work of an English class. David Thorstad (‘08) won first place in the senior division for "Time, Consciousness and Identity in Mrs. Dalloway." His teacher is German Urioste. In the same division, Natalie Smith (‘08) took home honorable mention for "A Sliver Removed.”  She also is taught by Urioste.
All winners receive certificates from the Association.  First and second-place winners receive a book award, and first-place winners receive $100.  The Association will honor the winners, their teachers and their families at the Spring Banqueton April 22. 

New date for Fun Fest, but result still as good
Rain forced the postponement of Fun Fest from Sept. 14 of last year to April 11, but nothing else changed with this annual event.  Fun, and lots of it, was still the order of the day. Students enjoyed exciting activities like an obstacle course, a mechanical bull, line dancing and a football toss.  Fun Fest kicked off at the end of the school day and ended at 7 p.m. As in the past, Constituency Coordinator Chris Gilmore and a host of parent volunteers were integral to the success of Fun Fest.  Many parent volunteers helped with set-up, check-in, the tattoo booth, water distribution, the meal serving area, and with break-down and clean-up.

CA’s own Citizen to compete in Battle of Bands
Cary Academy's own rock band, Citizen, will be one of eight bands competing in the Next Stage Entertainment Battle of the Band Finals on Sunday, April 20, at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh.  Citizen features junior Seth Johnson and sophomores Austin Cooper, Aaron Harrington, Alex Nemetz and Alex Rosenthal.
Tickets are available from band members in advance or at the door:  The price is $8 in advance/$10 at door.  Doors open at 4:30 and the show begins at 5.
Citizen formed just after school started this year.  They first performed on the quad at lunch in early October. They have played Jazz on the Quad and the US Talent Show.  They were invited to perform at Lincoln Theatre in December for a charity benefit concert and then at the Statewide Debate Tournament hosted by CA in January. 

MS chorus earns perfection at recent festival
The Middle School chorus performed in the North Carolina Large Group Choral Festival in Fayetteville on April 4.  The seventh- and eighth-graders performed as a Men’s Chorus and as a Women’s Chorus.  All grades (6-8) performed as a Mixed Chorus. 
Each of the three groups performed two selections and also sight read.  The Mixed, Women and Men each scored superior ratings from the three performance judges as well as a superior rating from the sight-reading judge.  The Men scored two perfect scores from the performance judges, and the Mixed Chorus scored one perfect score in performance. “In all the years I have taught, I have never had a group score a 100 – maybe close, but never perfect,” exclaimed music instructor Jacquie Holcomb.

March 2008

Wang wins writing contest; Burdick awards announced
Michelle Wang (’10) has won an At-Large Award in the Raleigh Fine Arts Literary Contest for her short story The Great Escape.
She will be honored at The Young Writers' Workshop and Awards Reception and Ceremony on April 10 at the Fletcher Theater at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh.
The winners of the Charles M. Burdick Young Writers scholarships have been announced.  From the Upper School, Katelyn Mitchell (‘l1) received the scholarship.  She has applied to the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference.  KKatie Birmingham-Corbett (‘13) won from the Middle School.

International Festival is April 2
The International Festival is set for Wednesday, April 2.  There will be an outside dinner (on the quad) with international food booths provided by Cary Academy parents and Upper School students (Honor Society members) during Middle and Upper School lunches.  During dinner, Braima Moiwai, a drummer and storyteller, will present West African Komei: A Cultural Gathering and Sharing.
Chef Sam Monsour will serve international cuisine across the week, featuring cheeses from around the world, and Middle School students will compete in an international trivia contest each day. 
All Middle Schoolers will attend workshops April 2 during their seventh- and eighth-period classes and will attend a finale performance by Inis Cairde (Irish dancing) with live bagpipers from the Wake & District Public Safety Pipes and Drums.

Morris and Lerch to represent at Chemistry Olympiad
Cary Academy has again achieved maximum representation in the Chemistry Olympiad competition for the state of North Carolina.
Based on the results of the first round exam, the top 15 students from North Carolina are selected to take the National Chemistry Olympiad Exam (a maximum of two students are allowed from any one school). Therice Morris (‘09) and Corey Lerch (‘08) will carry the Bunsen burner for Cary Academy and North Carolina.
They will take the national exam on April 18 at the N.C. School of Science and Math. This is a five-hour exam that also includes a lab practical. The top scorers on the national exam are selected to attend a summer camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. During that camp, students are selected for the final team representing the United States in the international competition. The 2008 International Chemistry Olympiad competition will be held in Budapest, Hungary.

Help out with Kids Feeding Kids
The CA lacrosse team, led by  team members Mason (‘10) and Joe Harris (‘08), again is spearheading Kids Feeding Kids from March 28-April 4.
This second annual  food drive for the BackPack Buddies program, run by the Food Shuttle, sends students home with child-friendly, nutritious food over weekends and holidays. These children often rely solely on their school meals during the week. When school is out they go hungry.
Please watch for the CA lacrosse team  handing out the collection bags and flyers at the MS and US carpool areas.   Donations may be dropped off at either school in the lobby. 

Red Hat speaker to address US on creativity
David Burney of Red Hat will speak at an all-Upper School assembly March 26.  He will deliver a speech on creativity and innovation.
Burney is the vice president of brand communications and design.

Fun Fest coming April 11
Rains washed out Fun Fest last September, but the re-schedule date is just around the corner. Co-sponsored by the school and the PTAA, Fun Fest will offer an afternoon of fun for all on Friday, April 11, from  3:15-7 p.m. on the field behind the Middle School. 
Inflatable amusements will be provided by Orringer Lamm Events.  A buffet dinner from 4-6:30 will be catered provided by Danny’s Bar-B-Que (a vegetarian option is available). 
All students, families and CA staff are invited to attend.  The registration form/permission slip may be mailed to Advancement or returned to the MS or US offices.  A separate confirmation email will be sent to those who registered/paid in September.

·         Last Call, a group of a cappella singers from Cornell University, spent March 18 at CA.  They worked with the US Cary Academy singers and the seventh- and eighth-grade classes, and they performed during MS enrichment.  They taught all the classes they worked with a portion of their arrangement of Lean on Me.  The MS provided funding for the visit.

·         Cheryl Cotter, Candy Johnson and Nancy Gardner took seven members of the MS Book Club to Reedy Creek Elementary School recently to read to kindergartners.  They are planning four trips for this trimester.

·         Over the break, social studies instructor David Snively took a group of 22 students and five teachers on a tour of Civil War battlefields, including Manassas/Bull Run, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, and Appomattox Courthouse.

Senior wins dance contest
Amanda Walker ('08) competed in Encore's Regional Dance Competition held this past weekend in Raleigh at the Fletcher Theater in Progress Energy's Performing Arts Center.
Walker’s solo tap performance to Waiting for You by Seal won first place (platinum) in the Senior Competitive Solo Division.  She was awarded the Overall Top Soloist and the Overall Highest Scorer for the Senior Division.

Seeley to attend Klingenstein Institute
Upper School English instructor Palmer Seeley has been selected to attend the Joseph Klingenstein Summer Institute. The institute is affiliated with the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership at the Teachers College of Columbia University. The Institute begins June 18 and runs to July 2.  The Institute is held on the campus of the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ. 

CA inaugurates new softball field with win
 It was a historic game of firsts when visiting Franklin Academy took on Cary Academy March 5 at CA’s new softball field. After Head of School Don Berger threw out the first pitch with a strong underhand toss to catcher Whitney Strong (‘10), Brittany Miles (‘11) started the game, which CA won 16-2, by firing a strike across the plate.  She went on to record the game’s first out with a strikeout.  Miles also had the first hit of the game and the first RBI.  Hillary Doelling (‘09) had the first putout fielding a ground ball down the first base line and beating the batter to the bag.  Strong recorded the first in-the-park grand slam, and she cut down the first girl attempting to steal at second.  Alex Hammer (‘10) swiped the first stolen base.  

[Head of School Don Berger tosses out the first pitch. ]

Faculty, staff enjoy Professional Development Week
During the first week in March, the staff and faculty participated in Professional Development Week.
On March 4 and 6, 60 staff and faculty members, and parents as well, attended the Authentic Happiness: Human Flourishing workshop, sponsored by the PTAA.  Based on the most popular course ever taught at Harvard, the workshop helped participants learn how to help themselves and others become happier.   
On March 7, staff and faculty participated in a morning-long diversity training program with guest trainer Lalitha Shastri.  The program was divided into two training sessions and a Q-and-A session.

Friday Fellowships announced
The Friday Fellowships have been awarded for Summer 2008:
Dawn Bates, Middle School math teacher and assistant head of Middle School, received a grant to travel to the Yucatan peninsula to study Mayan civilization.  She will use the knowledge and materials acquired during her tour to produce a 15- to 20-page collection of lessons for sixth-grade students that brings together aspects of Mayan math along with the broader Mayan culture.
Andrew Chiaraviglio, Middle School science and math teacher, received a fellowship to develop three specific components of the eighth-grade science program.  He will research and design projects in which students will 1) build an ecosphere to observe the relationships between plants and small aquatic animals, 2) construct and fly small balsa-gliders to explore mathematics principles, and 3) collect stream samples to study invertebrates.  He will produce a small manual for interested colleagues describing how to implement each of these projects.
Carole Hamilton, Upper School English and debate teacher, received a grant in support of her efforts to earn a master’s of history and government from Ashland University.  She will use the knowledge and skills acquired from her studies to better connect American history to her American literature courses and to enhance her coaching of students in the speech and debate program.
Heidi Maloy, Upper School science teacher, and Sarah Ritter, Middle School language arts and social studies teacher, received a joint fellowship to research and develop a plan for a sustainable garden at Cary Academy.  They will design curricular units related to the garden for both 6th grade students and students taking Advanced Environmental Science in the Upper School.
Betsy Ward-Hutchinson, dance teacher, received a grant to participate in a video dance workshop with Victoria Marks at the Bates Dance Festival in Maine.  She will use the knowledge and skills acquired from this workshop to plan and teach a unit on video dance to her students in Spring 2009.

Alum honored on Senior Night at UNC Surry Wood (‘03), a senior walk-on for the number-one ranked University of North Carolina men’s basketball team, started UNC’s March 4 home game against Florida State University as part of the university’s Senior Night tradition.
Wood scored four points to lead his team back from an early 7-0 deficit.  “It was a great night for Surry, getting those two baskets early is something he will remember for the rest of his life,” said head coach Roy Williams in his postgame comments.
After the game, Wood received a thunderous round of applause when he spoke to the crowd.  His parents and former coach at CA, Jon Powell, were in attendance.  To read more about Wood’s night, visit The News and Observer’s story at:  http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/unc/story/982688.html.

Senior chairing mentor program she started 
This fall Diana Woodall (’08) established the Mentored-Research Committee composed of Cary Academy parents. With administrative assistance from Head of the Upper School Mitch McGuigan, Woodall developed all communications, set agendas and is running the meetings.  The committee received applications and interviewed perspective mentors before pairing them with students.
The mentees are:
Tiffany Petrisko (‘10) - Petrisko has been assigned to Dr. James Mahaffey of the NCSU genetics department.  Dr. Mahaffey agreed to mentor her on a project that will begin during the first week of March and may continue through the summer. 
Paul Helms (‘09) - Helms also will be working in the genetics department at NCSU with Dr. Pat Estes.
Yasmeen Mansour (‘08) - Mansour has been matched with Dr. David Miller at the NIEHS and will begin her project in the third trimester.
In addition, the committee is working to pair two other students with mentors.  Members hope to place Jack Newman (‘09) with a mentor from the philosophy department at UNC, and they hope to connect Jamie Berger (‘09) with a mentor from a local veterinary school and/or university.

To be squared, or not to be squared, that is the equation
Shakespeare and math came together Feb. 29 to form an amalgam of activity.  On this day, seventh-grade students showed off a trimester’s work of math and language arts projects to their parents. 
ShakeScenes (student performances of scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) were held in the theater.  Afterward, in the seventh-grade hallway, students presented their Transitional Math 3-D projects. 
Before taking in the morning’s performances, parents relished a breakfast of pastries and coffee/hot chocolate.

Webinars being presented by PTAA
The PTAA has recently contracted with Campus Outreach Services (COS) to provide Parent Connect Webinars for March-May.  Participants can join in discussions with nationally recognized speakers about topics such as eating disorders, bullying and harassment, and healthy relationships.
The upcoming session is Monday, March 3, from 8 to 9 p.m.   The topic will be Eating Disorders and Body Image.  Go to  http://campusoutreachservices.com/CaryAcademy/parent-connect/bodyimage.html  to register and download materials for the session.
The next sessions are Bullying and Harassment on April 7 and Healthy Relationships on May 5.

February 2008

Five play in all-state festival
Over the weekend of Feb. 22-24, five CA orchestra students participated in the East Regional All State Festival. On Friday the four string students took the chair audition, the highest level competition in the festival.  Tyler Hartsfield (‘09) did not participate since trumpeters don’t need a chair audition. In the symphony orchestra contest:  Michelle Wang (‘10) won third chair in the cello section, and Jeffie Chang (‘10) won sixth chair in the viola section.  In the string orchestra contest:  Joe Schlam (‘11) won ninth chair in the bass section, and Thomas Kweon (‘11) won eighth chair in the second violin section.   

Debate team posts best showing at Harvard event  
Thirteen debaters participated in a tournament at Harvard University on Feb. 16, and CA had its best-ever showing in this debate. 
Out of almost 200 Extempers, Ben Goldhaber (‘08) and Firoz Jameel (‘09) advanced to the top 25 percent, and Goldhaber went on to the quarters break (the top 10 percent).  John Nelson (‘08) missed the first break by a mere one point. In JV Lincoln-Douglas, Jack Newman (‘09) went 5-1 and advanced to Triple-Octofinals (top 64 of 300 debaters).  John Peebles (‘09) went 4-2 but missed advancing due to speaker points.  
In Varsity Lincoln-Douglas, three-year debater Arjun Chandran (’08) broke to double-octas (top 64 out of 330 debaters) and then lost in a 2-1 decision.

Students get religion on field trip
On Feb. 19 the sixth grade took its annual trip to three area houses of worship as part of its World Religions unit.  The students visited the Islamic Center of Raleigh, Temple Beth Or and St. Andrew Catholic Church. 
At each location a host described each faith and its religious practices.  Students took the opportunity to view the worship spaces of the three faiths. 
“This is an important curriculum extension in our increasingly diverse and inter-connected world,” said instructor Matthew Ripley-Moffitt.  “It is a great way to make the curriculum real and tangible.”

Science showcased in MS
The sixth-grade science students held a Science Showcase Feb. 15 in the first-floor rooms of the Middle School. The Science Showcase is similar to a typical Science Fair, but it is non-competitive.  All students proposed an experiment, had it approved, performed background research in their area of interest, designed and conducted an experiment, organized the data in a table or graph, drew conclusions, wrote a scientific paper about their experience, made a poster illustrating their research, and – whew –  spoke to parents and faculty about their research in an open-poster session.

Sports roundup: grapplers, ballers and swimmers compete in tourneys
Miguel Alecio (‘09) and Alex Rosenthal (‘10) both made school history over the weekend at the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association State Wrestling Tournament at Providence Day School in Charlotte.
Alecio became the school's first-ever back-to-back state champion of any sport by winning at the 189-pound weight class.  He now has medaled the last three seasons. Rosenthal grabbed his first state title at the 112-pound class.  The Chargers finished seventh in the tournament with the help of fourth-place finishers Corey Lerch (’08) at 152 pounds and Carson Bills (‘09) at 145.
Also over the weekend the boys’ basketball team played in the TISAC tournament.  The team advanced to the championship game where it took on Ravenscroft, ranked third in the state.  The Ravens won 59-51, but the young and much smaller Chargers competed with the Ravens up to the end of a hard fought, emotional game.  Leading CA were Chris Council (‘09) with 13 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots; Cameron Walton (‘11) with 11 points and three steals; Jimmy Joyner (‘11) with 10 points; Nick Debnam (‘08) with nine points, seven assists and three steals; and Stuart Gordon (‘08) with eight points and five rebounds.  CA finishes the regular season with a overall record of 14 -14 (5-3 in TISAC play).
At In other sports news, Ashleigh Crutcher (’11) competed over the past weekend with her volleyball team, 15 Black, in Washington, D.C.  15 Black competed in the 16's Division and managed a perfect 6-0 pool play record over two days.  In the gold medal round on day three, the team won its sweet 16 match but lost in the quarterfinals, finishing T5/66 overall in the 16's division.  Crutcher received the tournament's Best Blocker award in the 16's division. the state tournament on Feb. 18, the CA swim teams finished fifth.

PTAA auction needs you! Beach party set for Feb. 23
Did your child find his or her time with visiting artist Charles Joyner in December illuminating?  Did he or she rave about the visit by nationally known author Susan Fletcher in January?  Events and programs such as these are paid for by the PTAA, and the group needs your support at its upcoming annual benefit auction, the only fundraiser for the PTAA. The Spring Break Beach Party @ the SEA will be held Feb. 23.  The school community is encouraged to attend this affordable event.  Beach attire is encouraged.  There will be silent auction tables, tasty treats and a live auction.  Packages up for bid include getaways to beach cottages, dress-down passes, Head of School for a day, sports memorabilia, restaurant gift cards, and grade-level baskets.
This year the PTAA will sponsor over 100 programs, events, grants and scholarships with a budget of $120,000.  The auction is its only fundraiser.  The PTAA's ability to continue to offer these programs is directly dependent on the auction’s success.
Buy your tickets today online at  www.caryacademyptaa.org or mail your RSVP card along with your check.    If you would like to donate, please contact Alison Viehbacher at viehbacher_a@yahoocom or fill out the on-line donation page on the PTAA website. 

Senior news: early decisions, merit schollys, a Coca-Cola kid
Many seniors have already received good news from colleges with a few seniors even knowing where they will be next year.  Students have applied and been admitted under binding Early Decision plans to:  Carnegie Mellon University, Duke University (three seniors), Sewanee: The University of the South, and Washington University in St. Louis.  Other early acceptances have come from over 40 colleges and universities, including Agnes Scott College, Boston College, College of Charleston, Drexel University, Elon University, Georgetown University, Gordon College, Howard University, University of Notre Dame, NC State University, Stanford University, Tulane University, University of Chicago, University of Georgia, University of Michigan, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, Winthrop University and more.  Additional college news will arrive later this spring. Seniors will then have to May 1 to choose their college colors.

In other senior news:

·         Ten seniors have been named finalists in the 2008 competition for National Merit Scholarships.  They are:  Elizabeth Atkins, Benjamin Goldhaber, Andrea Green, Max Hamilton, Corey Lerch, Michelle Luo, Charlotte Morgan, David Thorstad, Robert Thorstad and Diana Woodall.

·         Diana Woodall (’08) has been named a Coca-Cola Scholar.  Only 250 scholars were selected out of over 80,000 applicants.  The minimum scholarship she can be awarded is $10,000, which can be applied to any college or university.

·         Elizabeth Atkins (’08) and Andrea Green (’08) have been named candidates in the 2008 United States Presidential Scholars Program. Approximately 20 females and 20 males from each state are selected as candidates based on their SAT or ACT scores.

Team earns medals at Science Olympiad
At the Regional Science Olympiad meet on Feb. 9  at Garner High School, Cary Academy, participating in the most difficult region in the state, placed 12^th out of 16 schools.  But team members did deliver several highlights, including:

·         A first in Forensics for Wynton Wong (‘11) and Rachel Park (’08).  Wong worked with instructors Kevin Jones and Katie Allen to prepare for the event, and Park joined in to help out. 

      Thomas Kweon (‘11) and Kasey Sedova (‘09) took second place in Junk Yard Challenge.  They had to build a device on site from a box of materials they brought that would set off four mousetraps located at N, S, E and W from a central location.  The device was started by dropping a golf ball.  They kept it simple and beat their rivals who had much more complicated devices that didn’t work as well. 

·     The other medals were a fifth in Wright Stuff (a rubber band-powered plane competition), a seventh in Food Science and a seventh in Rocks and Minerals. 

Class of '13 has two under(water) achievers
Elizabeth Strohbeck ('13) and Sarah Thalheimer ('13) became certified scuba divers on Jan. 20.
After completing the required pool work during November's trimester break, both travelled to Florida in January to complete their five open water dives. 
During the dives they dove in an underground spring and saw a manatee and several turtles.

Sports roundup: grapplers, ballers and swimmers compete in tourneys
Miguel Alecio (‘09) and Alex Rosenthal (‘10) both made school history over the weekend at the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association State Wrestling Tournament at Providence Day School in Charlotte.
Alecio became the school's first-ever back-to-back state champion of any sport by winning at the 189-pound weight class.  He now has medaled the last three seasons. Rosenthal grabbed his first state title at the 112-pound class.  The Chargers finished seventh in the tournament with the help of fourth-place finishers Corey Lerch (’08) at 152 pounds and Carson Bills (‘09) at 145.
Also over the weekend the boys’ basketball team played in the TISAC tournament.  The team advanced to the championship game where it took on Ravenscroft, ranked third in the state.  The Ravens won 59-51, but the young and much smaller Chargers competed with the Ravens up to the end of a hard fought, emotional game.  Leading CA were Chris Council (‘09) with 13 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots; Cameron Walton (‘11) with 11 points and three steals; Jimmy Joyner (‘11) with 10 points; Nick Debnam (‘08) with nine points, seven assists and three steals; and Stuart Gordon (‘08) with eight points and five rebounds.  CA finishes the regular season with a overall record of 14 -14 (5-3 in TISAC play).
At the state tournament on Feb. 18, the CA swim teams finished fifth.

Head of School produces first podcast
Head of School Don Berger has just put together his first-ever podcast, and it is now available. To listen to the first podcast, just follow this link:  http://web1.caryacademy.org/acultywebs/sam_morris/HOS_podcasts/HOS_1.mp3
To subscribe via iTunes for future podcasts, just follow this link:  iTunes

Park a Morehead-Cain finalist
Rachel Park (’08) has been selected as a finalist for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, a merit scholarship from the University of North Carolina.
Over the course of her career at CA, Park has received athletic and academic honors.  She has made All State in cross country and served as captain of the girls’ 2007 XC team.  She was the 2007 NCISAA 3A state champion in the 3200 and 4x8, and the state runner-up in the 1600. 
She is co-president of the Christian Fellowship Organization as well as co-president of the French Honor Society.  She is the senior class secretary/treasurer.  She has participated in Summer Ventures in Science and Math and won the Catalyst Award for her research paper.  Last year, she won the Harvard Book Award.  Park also serves as an ESL tutor and plays the flute.

PTAA auction needs you! Beach party set for Feb. 23
Did your child find his or her time with visiting artist Charles Joyner in December illuminating?  Did he or she rave about the visit by nationally known author Susan Fletcher in January?  Events and programs such as these are paid for by the PTAA, and the group needs your support at its upcoming annual benefit auction, the only fundraiser for the PTAA. The Spring Break Beach Party @ the SEA will be held Feb. 23.  The school community is encouraged to attend this affordable event.  Beach attire is encouraged.  There will be silent auction tables, tasty treats and a live auction.  Packages up for bid include getaways to beach cottages, dress-down passes, Head of School for a day, sports memorabilia, restaurant gift cards, and grade-level baskets.
This year the PTAA will sponsor over 100 programs, events, grants and scholarships with a budget of $120,000.  The auction is its only fundraiser.  The PTAA's ability to continue to offer these programs is directly dependent on the auction’s success.
Buy your tickets today online at  www.caryacademyptaa.org or mail your RSVP card along with your check.    If you would like to donate, please contact Alison Viehbacher at viehbacher_a@yahoocom or fill out the on-line donation page on the PTAA website. 

Dr. James Johnson to speak at graduation
Dr. James Johnson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at UNC, will deliver the keynote address at commencement on May 23.
Johnson is the director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center and is co-director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise.  His research interests include community and economic development, the effects of demographic changes on the U.S. workplace, interethnic minority conflict in advanced industrial societies, urban poverty and public policy in urban America, and workforce diversity issues. With support from the Russell Sage Foundation, he is researching the economic impact of Sept. 11 on U.S. metropolitan communities.
Dr. Johnson's research focuses on the causes and consequences of growing inequality in American society, particularly as it affects socially and economically disadvantaged youth.  He has published more than 100 scholarly research articles and three research monographs and has co-edited four theme issues of scholarly journals on these and related topics.  His latest book is Prismatic Metropolis:  Inequality in Los Angeles.

Seventh grade conferences go high-tech
For this year’s seventh grade parent conferences held Jan. 31-Feb. 1, the students changed things up a bit – they did the presenting.    The students developed Powerpoint presentations that showcased their work in all their classes.
The presentations highlighted such things as blogs from science classes, Y1K exhibits and poem Web sites.  

NHS inducts 15; Park a Morehead-Cain finalist
During a “tapping-in” ceremony on Feb. 1 in the lobby of the Administration Building, 15 new members of the National Honor Society were inducted. The new members are:  Bryan Abadie (‘09), Brice Barnett (‘08), Veronica Clark (‘09), Miriam Fuchs (‘09), Emily Graybeal (‘09), Michael Kahn (‘09), Thomas Kenna (‘09), Marissa Meir (‘09), Josh Orol (‘09), Kelsey Parker (‘09), Mikie Rooney (‘09), Lindsey Smith (‘08), Sarah Smith (‘09), Sonja Thalheimer (‘09) and Nathaniel Ting (’09). Rachel Park (’08) has been selected as a finalist for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, a merit scholarship from the University of North Carolina

Swim teams finish season strong, place second in conference
On Jan. 31 at the SAS Natatorium, the CA swim teams took on Ravenscroft in their last regular season match.  Both teams lost, but each had a terrific year.  The girls finished their regular season at 7-1, with a TISAC record of 3-1, while the boys finished at 4-3 overall and 2-1 in TISAC. The Ravenscroft match took place on Senior Night and, in a ceremony before the meet, the six senior members of the swim team were honored.  Those members of the Class of 2008 are:  Savannah Crockett, Melisa Hillmann, Ayla Koc, Marina Lee, Yasmeen Mansour and Dan Uchiyama. 
At the TISAC championships held Feb. 4, both CA teams finished second.  The boys’ 400 free relay shattered the old CA school record by four seconds to win the event.  Kelsey Parker (’09) won the 50 freestyle, and Dan Uchiyama (’08) won the 100 butterfly.
 

MS musical news: All-District Band, drum performance
Band Director Eric Grush and four Middle Schoolers are participating in the 2008 All-District Band concert on Feb. 2 at Asheboro High School.  The students are:  Jen Kenyon (‘13), Alex Ade ('13), Ryan Cinoman ('12) and Alex Coeytaux ('12). The sixth grade attended a Taiko drumming performance at the Durham School of Arts on Jan. 23.

January 2008

Hear/Read State of School presentation Head of School Don Berger presented his annual State of the School talk Jan. 22 at the PTAA meeting in the Fine Arts Lecture Hall. He announced the tuition increase for next year and explained how CA came to that amount.  He also provided data on how CA compares to its peers school around the state and shared his thoughts about where he envisions Cary Academy headed in its second decade. If you were unable to attend, you can view the presentation here or download the Powerpoint.

The Secret Garden a blooming success
                                                                               This year’s school play, The Secret Garden, premiered Thursday, Jan. 24,  and ran through Saturday, Jan.26, to enthusiastic crowds each night.
Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, this enchanting classic of children's literature laid out the tale of an 11-year-old girl, who, orphaned in India, returns to Yorkshire to live with an embittered, reclusive uncle and his invalid son.
The play incorporated flashbacks, dream sequences, a strolling chorus of ghosts and beautiful music as well as imaginative set pieces that included a magic locked garden.

News roundup: Richard He to perform Feb. 3;  Alum is CA intern
Richard He (’13) wiwill perform in the Feb. 3 Winston-Salem Symphony’s Side By Side concert.  He is performing as a winner of the 2007 Peter Perret Youth Talent Search competition.  If anyone would like to attend, read the flyer for more information.
Carolyn Gray, a 2005 alum of Cary Academy, has joined the staff of the Advancement Division as an intern for the rest of the school year.
Gray is a junior at UNC majoring in journalism.  She has experience writing for the UNC paper The Daily Tar Heel.  Gray will assist with writing stories for Access and the Web.

US news: global initiative starts; Murphy to rotary conference
The Upper School has started its second annual Global Awareness Initiative with the theme of Uganda’s Invisible Children and the strife in Kenya. 
Ken Okoth, of the Red Rose Nursery and Children's Center in Nairobi, will speak at an assembly Jan 30.  Other activities during the initiative will include daily facts, an after-school showing of the Invisible Children videos, and a T-shirt sale.   All funds of the sale will go to the Ugandan Invisible Children group.  The ninth grade will hold a bake sale and pin-on button sale in early February with all donations going to the Red Rose School.  This is the fourth year that ninth-graders have sponsored a Kenyan orphanage.
Robert Murphy (’09) has been selected to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Award Conference, which will be held April 18-20 at The Summit Conference Center in Browns Summit, just east of Greensboro.  He will interact with about 100 other juniors from more than 40 high schools in NC.

Students play in state orchestras
On Nov.  11, 2007, three orchestra students performed with the N.C. Honors Orchestra in Winston-Salem.  They are:  Vann Mitchell (‘08) on clarinet, Michelle Wang (‘10) on cello, and Jeffie Chang (‘10) on viola. On Jan. 12, 10 orchestra students competed in the N.C. Eastern Regional All State Orchestra at Fuquay-Varina Middle School.  Out of the 400 young musicians who auditioned for the event, six Cary Academy students won in their competitions:  Jeffie Chang (‘10), viola symphony orchestra; Rodrigo Haragutchi (‘08), first violin symphony orchestra; Tyler Hartsfield (‘09), trumpet symphony orchestra; Michelle Wang (‘10), cello symphony orchestra; Thomas Kweon (‘11), second violin string orchestra; and Joe Schlam (‘11), bass string orchestra.  These winners will participate in the N.C. Eastern Regional All State Orchestra Festival on Feb. 22-24.

School visited by author and an actor
Ian Finley, an actor, playwright and educator now connected with Burning