Friday, October 23, 2009

Dear Pilgrim School Families, First Church Members, and Friends Near and Far,

It’s Friday, but the week is not over at Pilgrim School!  Tonight at 9 p.m., all are invited to an innovative laser light show in the First Church sanctuary.  The light show will be part of an organ concert, in which Christoph Bull re-imagines the music of Bach, bringing the Baroque into the future.  I hear it is spectacular!

Tomorrow is our Homecoming Game at 4 pm.  It’s going to be a beautiful day, and I hope you will join us in an afternoon of fun and a show of support for our athletes.  (Directions to the field follow.)

That evening our high school students will enjoy their Homecoming Dance in the Mayfair Courtyard.  Thank you to all of the parents who are donating food, beverages and supplies for the event.  Ms. Takahashi will be setting up for the dance beginning at 5:30.  Please bring food at that time; non-perishables may be dropped off earlier.  The dance is from 7 to 10:30.

On Sunday, come find us at the Larchmont Fair.  We will occupy seven booths where we will serve delicious Korean barbecue for $8, have a special art project created by Ms. Alexy for children, and display information about Pilgrim School and First Church for potential families.  Volunteers, especially for the afternoon, are still welcomed.  We will begin setting up at 10 a.m., the Fair runs from noon to 5 p.m., and then we will be cleaning up.  Please visit us and help to spread the Pilgrim School news!  Children are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes.

Next week we are introducing our Pilgrim School Colonies.  Every Pilgrim student from kindergarten through high school belongs to one of 16 colonies.  Staff and faculty are also members.  Colonies will get together throughout the year to engage in special activities, beginning on Thursday for pumpkin decorating.  More information about the Colonies follows, in the form of a letter from Mrs. McDugald and Dr. Kidder.

We are preparing for a busy November.  Our Second Annual Read-a-Thon kick-off is Monday, November 2.  Part of this month-long celebration of all things written is our Gently Used Book Sale.  We are collecting books through next week, so please donate books your family has outgrown.  Thank you!

Get your golf clubs ready for another fabulous day at the links.  Golf Goddess Coco Fausone Wilson has organized our Second Annual Tournament, to be held at the beautiful Braemar Country Club in Tarzana.  Bring in a foursome for $750, or golf individually for $200.  The entry fee includes a special gift, lunch and dinner, and more fun than you can possibly imagine.  Please join us!  For more information, contact the Development Office at tdevito@pilgrim-school.org.  Fore!

Grandparents and Special Friends Day is scheduled for Tuesday, November 24.  We are planning many of nice surprises and programs for our guests.  We want to get our invitations in the mail next week, so please hand in the names and addresses of your loved ones at the front office.  If grandparents are too far away, please ask a family friend, aunt, uncle or even a colleague at work to step in.  It is so meaningful for our children to share their school with others.

Yesterday poet Douglas Kearney visited Ms. Innes’s Creative Writing class and impressed our students with his language and performance.  Next Wednesday, all are invited to hear and meet short story writer Aimee Bender, at 1:25 in the Amanda Scott Room.  Nationally known and published, her book of short stories, The Girl with the Flammable Skirt, was a New York Times “Notable Book.”  We are so fortunate to expose our students to these creative minds.

Thank you to TAPPS, who voted on Wednesday to provide funds for our Music Department to purchase much needed instruments.  Our band program is in its second year, and Mr. Turro has worked wonders with our students.  I want to remind everyone that if you have musical instruments collecting dust in a closet, we welcome all donations.  Thank you!

Our first Open House of the year was an enormous success.  Thank you to parents and students who volunteered, and to those who brought friends and recommended Pilgrim School.  The next Open Houses are on Saturday, November 14 at 9 a.m., and on Tuesday, November 17 at 6 p.m.

A new yoga class for parents has been added on Tuesday mornings at 8:30.  If you are interested, please contact Vladimir Jandov at rsvp@pilgrim-school.org.  The Wednesday afternoon class continues, at 4 p.m.  In order to continue to offer these classes, we need six people in each one.  Come and try it out – as the old ad used to say, “Try it, you’ll like it!”

Monday is make-up picture day and Senior portraits.  A group Senior photo will be taken that morning, so we ask that our Class of 2010 look extra-sharp in their formal dress!

Pilgrim is being turned into “Melrose Place” Monday, requiring that we go back to the “old style” morning drop-off in the Big Yard that day.  I am also putting out a call for “traffic attendant” volunteers in the morning to assist Miss Ashley.  We need volunteers for every morning except for Wednesday.  This is a fun way to meet our students and their parents, and to get your volunteer hours.  Please contact Miss Ashley or Cheryl Sarafian to sign up (aalves@pilgrim-school.org or csarafian@pilgrim-school.org).  Thank you!

The final week of our Annual Fund October Challenge is ahead.  Two grades (Junior Kindergarten and Grade 1) have reached 100% participation.  Students will directly benefit from parental gifts by having a special field trip or classroom visit.  Several grades are very close – please turn your donations in to the front desk or drop them in the mail so we can count you in!

I have a couple of new projects up my sleeve and will fill you in soon.  I guarantee that my fundraising in the community at large will be much more successful if we can increase school-wide participation from our current 66% participation rate.  Thank you for your continued generosity.

Have a great weekend.  I hope to see you at the football field and on Larchmont Boulevard!

With best wishes,

Mark A. Brooks
Head of School

PS: Directions to the game, which is at First Lutheran School, 13361 Glenoaks Blvd. Sylmar:  Take the 101 north to the 170, north to the 5, north to Roxford, east to Glenoaks Boulevard.  It’s about a 20-minute drive from Pilgrim.  Go Patriots!

DATES TO REMEMBER
Friday, October 23
9 pm:  Laser Light Show and Organ Concert at First Church

Saturday, October 24
4 pm:  Homecoming Game!  Mark your calendar to cheer on our Patriots.
7 pm:  Homecoming Dance.  Parents, food, beverages, plates, cups and utensils are needed.  Thank you!

Sunday, October 25
Noon:  Larchmont Fair.  Visit our booth!

Monday, October 26
Make-up photo day and senior portraits (individual and group)

Wednesday, October 28
6 pm:  High School Awareness Program for 8th Grade Families
5 pm:  Preschool dismissal

Thursday, October 29
6 pm:  Workshop for Secondary parents on helping students get organized for learning, led by Martin Bullock, in the Chemistry lab.

Friday, October 30
1:30:  Halloween Parade!

Monday, November 2
Read-a-Thon kick-off

Wednesday, November 4
Gently Used Book Sale – send quarters to school with your student!

Thursday, November 5
8:15:  5th Grade Jump-Up Day to 6th Grade
8:15:  5th Grade Coffee and Conversation
12:50:  Career Day for Secondary Students

Friday, November 6
Parent-Teacher Conferences for Preschool and Elementary
Pupil-Free Day for Preschool and Elementary (Club Pilgrim available)
Normal Secondary school day

Monday, November 9
Second Annual Golf a Go Go Tournament!

ATHLETICS NEWS AND DATES
Saturday, October 24           
4 pm:  Homecoming!  Boys Varsity Football vs. First Lutheran at First Lutheran

Monday, October 26:
3 pm:  Girls Varsity Volleyball @ Westmark               

Tuesday, October 27:
3:30:  Middle School Girls Volleyball @ Ivy Academy

Wednesday, October 28
12:15:  Neff Company in the gym office will take orders for Varsity Lettermen jackets.

Thursday, October 29:
3:45:  Middle School Girls volleyball @ First Lutheran (Venice)
4 pm:  Girls Varsity Volleyball @ AGBU

Saturday, October 31:
4 pm:  Boys Varsity Football vs. Cornerstone Christian @ First Lutheran

The middle school Boys Flag Football Team came home with a win against Westmark School on Tuesday, October 20th. Alec Palchikoff scored a touch down and Fernando Marks scored the extra point. Final score:  7-6. Go Patriots!

ANNUAL FUND UPDATE
ANNUAL FUND AS OF 10-23-09

Overall school participation:  66%

Preschool    :    58%
JK:            100%
K:            69%
GRADE 1:        100%
Grade 2:        68%
Grade 3:        70%
Grade 4:        77%
Grade 5:        53%

Grade 6:        75%
Grade 7:        77%
Grade 8:        56%
Grade 9:        71%
Grade 10:        75%
Grade 11:        50%
Grade 12:        31%

Many grades are VERY close to the 100% mark – let’s have some more winners next week!

COLONIES

Explained by Mrs. McDugald and Dr. Kidder:

Dear Pilgrim Families,
As October comes to a close I would like to fill you in on a couple of activities that will be happening next week.
I am sure a lot of you have heard the buzz around school about colonies.  This is not only a buzz but also a fabulous reality that has already begun.  We have divided our students, faculty and staff into sixteen colonies throughout the school.  This means each colony has students from almost all grades represented.  There will be a number of events throughout the school year for colonies to get together and participate in fun activities and get to know each other.  Students will stay in their colonies until they graduate.  As seniors graduate new students will be added. 
Thursday, October 29th will be our first colony meeting.  Our colonies will be getting to know each other, naming their colony and decorating pumpkins.  This is where we need your help.  We would like students to bring in recycled items from home to decorate their pumpkins.  In a storage or freezer size baggie, place items that could be used to decorate pumpkins for the following categories:
Dr. Brooks’ look alike
Scariest
Funniest
Most original/creative
School mascot
We are asking that you do not go out and buy items but use recycled materials from home, such as news or construction paper, string, feathers, yarn, make-up, permanent markers, aluminum foil, and then of course your random sequins because you can never have enough bling.
On Friday, October 30th, we will be coming together again for a pumpkin rolling competition.  These events are meant to bring a sense of community to our students and unite the elementary and secondary school.  Older Students will be role models for your younger students, and younger students will have mentors.
Friday is our Halloween Parade and we ask that you attend.  Participation in the colonies does not require parents to attend, as we want the students to have a chance to get acquainted with each other. 
Costumes may be brought to school for K-4th grade.  5th grade students may wear their costumes or bring them separately.  The parade is scheduled to begin at 1:30.  Parents interested in assisting students with costumes should contact their child’s homeroom teacher.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you next week.

Dr. Jon Kidder                            Teresa McDugald
Secondary Director                            Elementary Director

ELEMENTARY NEWS

Our kindergarten and first grade classes went on a field trip to Underwood Family Farm located in Moorpark.  We enjoyed seeing farm animals up close.  We also learned about how pumpkins are grown; took a tractor ride around the farm; and got to pick our very own pumpkins.  We had a fantastic time!

ELEMENTARY ART NEWS

The Second Graders went on a field trip this week in Ms. Alexy's art class to the Folk Tree in Pasadena. The Folk Tree is an art gallery/store that specializes in Mexican Folk Art, both traditional and nontraditional. Every year the Folk Tree hosts an annual Dia De Los Muertos art show in October. The Second Graders have been studying  Dia De Los Muertos in art class the last couple of weeks learning about this beautiful, festive holiday and the art associated with it. Our trip to the Folk Tree included viewing alters various artists made to commemorate family, loved ones, pets, and even great artists. The kids were very excited by the altar in memory of Michael Jackson! There were many traditional arts to look at including pottery, sculptures, metal works, paintings, and loads of bright and inspiring art for Day of the Dead.

Our students were so inspired, they couldn't wait to create traditional sugar skulls with guest artist Edith Abeyta. We all walked across the street after the gallery and learned about the tradition of making and decorating sugar skulls in Mexico.  Ms. Abeyta had prepared two skulls per student and they had a ball decorating the skulls with traditional bright icing, sequins, and feathers.  Special thanks to all the parents that came along and helped out and Edith Abeyta for an inspiring workshop.

Remember to come on down to the Larchmont Fair this Sunday for a fabulous Dia De Los Muertos craft! We'll be making brightly colored magnets for your fridge! Come and enjoy the afternoon and leave with some fun crafts!

SECONDARY NEWS

Secondary School Halloween Costume Contest, Friday, October 30, 2009
Categories:
•    Most creative
•    Funniest
•    Cutest
•    Scariest
Rules:
•    No cross dressing
•    No weapons
•    No revealing clothes
•    Need to be able to move around and sit in a chair
Not too scary for Elementary and Preschool students

COMMUNITY SERVICE NEWS

This week a very special thanks goes out to the many students that gave of their time over the weekend. On Saturday, Oct. 17th, the following students came and served as ambassadors of Pilgrim at the Open House. These students all had to be here early and in their chapel uniform. Thank you: Nikki Barnston, Amanda Hurtado-Harding, Patricia Lee, Lili Arakaki, Maddie Kanazawa, Camille Reyes-Gilpin, Clair Reyes-Gilpin, Grej Pesjaka, Jeffrey Bradshaw, Delina Yemane, Eric Seo and Chloe Taylor. We also appreciated the beautiful music by Mr. Turro, Chloe Chase, Hadyn Muir, Eric Seo and Chae Min Kim.

On Sunday morning more than a quarter of the high school student body met in the early hours to participate in the 25th AIDS Walk of Los Angeles. For some students it was their longest urban walk and it was hot and sunny! This is a big commitment because after the walk you are pretty much wiped out for the day! But there is also a sense of satisfaction! Thank you first to Nikki Barnston, Jeffrey Bradshaw, Amanda Hurtado-Harding, Maddie Kanazawa, Chae Min Kim and Delina Yemane who participated in both the Open House and the AIDS Walk – wow, double duty! A big thanks to the rest of the participants: Ming An, Gabe Andreen, Dustin Aspiras, Joe Casabar, David Cho, Erin Choi, Jay Choi, Justin Choi, Ki Lim Choi, Ana Cisneros, Mariah Davis, Gabe Garza, Chris Han, Eric Hwang, Yihong Jiang, Junghan Kim, Shai Kim, Vivian Lee, Kira Liu, Brandon Lio, Marco Lee, Allen Park, Dustin Park, Chris Park, Zack Perry, David Reyes, James Son, Ryan Williams and Angela Xu. Also I would like to thank Mrs. Turro for organizing the event and Sra. Arribas, her husband Jose and son David Arribas-Layton for joining the students and helping raise funds to fight this terrible disease.

COLLEGE VISITS
Tuesday, October 27
2:30 pm:  Boise State

PARENT EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

Martin Bullock, our Secondary Science teacher, has arranged for a parent workshop for Secondary parents on helping students get organized for learning.  It will be held in the Chemistry lab on Thursday, October 29.  RSVP to Mr. Bullock at mbullock@pilgrim-school.org.  Thank you!

LIBRARY CORNER

Our next book club book is Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.  The book fictionalizes the 1942 Paris round-ups and deportations of  thousands of Jewish families who were held and then transported to Auschwitz.  A writer learns that the apartment she is to move into in Paris was acquired as a result of the Jewish deportations and she goes about finding the history of that family.  The next book group meeting is Wednesday, November 11.

Thank you to the Andreen family for adopting a library book in honor of their son Gabriel’s birthday.  He requested a copy of Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, one of his favorite books.

STUDENT TRIPS

Last week students in Grade 8 went on a “great adventure” organized by Dr. Kidder.  He, Mr. Kopp and Ms. Takahashi were chaperones.  Declan Moles and Sofia Walton report:

The 8th Grade trip was a great adventure to Havasupai Falls near the Grand Canyon.  On our first day, we got up at 3:45 a.m. and then hiked ten miles through beautiful desert canyons and arrived at a Native American town that you can only get to by foot, horse, or helicopter.  We traveled by foot of course!

We then spent the next two days taking day hikes, playing in waterfalls, and eating yummy food. Twice over the trip we played on a far from precarious rope swing, and ended the day with laughter echoing around the camp. We ended the trip by hiking ten more miles back to our car and had a fantastic closing dinner of burgers and pizza.  Overall, the trip was very memorable.  We had daily councils, learned to cook food in the outdoors and set up tents, relished the opportunity to bond with each other, and get to know our classmates. Over the duration of the trip, relationships among class members grew and took an extremely positive turn.

We can't wait for our "secret 8th grade field trip" in the spring...but Dr. Kidder won't tell us where we're going until the day we leave!

Japan Trip 2010
For Grades 7-12 over spring break.  The regular registration ended on October 15 but students who missed that date can still register until the spaces are filled.  The late registration fee per student is $200.  For more information, contact Hiromi Takahashi at htakahashi@pilgrim-school.org.

PARENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Halloween Festivities, Friday, October 30, 2009
300 Halloween pencils
300 stickers
200 healthy fruit strips or fruit snacks
200 individual packs of animal crackers
200 individual packs of fish crackers
Candy

KITCHEN CORNER

Janet Howe of City Cuisine reports:
Last weekend Steven Kopp and I attended a Smart Gardening Workshop and learned all about composting. We purchased a large compost bin that we will house in Hoover Gardens and utilize all the “green” scraps from the kitchen and all the “brown” garden trimmings. The finished product will be used to nourish our Urban Garden(s.)
Ivan Rukavina, parent of Lucia Rukavina, second grade, has agreed to manage the Urban Garden. Ivan has been my partner in the Urban Garden planting and the new direction of our food service. My sincere thanks to a wonderful and knowledgeable chef that I am proud to call my friend!!

BRING IN YOUR LABELS!
Last year, the school earned $436.80 – which is free money for collecting labels and box tops from items already in your cupboards!

Campbell’s Labels for Education Program
For Campbell’s, please collect the UPC Symbols – this is a change from the program in the past, where the front label was needed.

General Mills Box Tops for Education Program
Save the official coupon from eligible products.

For more information please contact Elizabeth Dever (parent of Logan Dever in Ms. Evan’s 1st grade Class).

PRESCHOOL NEWS

Our annual Preschool and Elementary Halloween Parade begins at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, October 30th. The Preschool and Junior Kindergarten students will participate in the parade. The students may not wear their costumes to school, and they will change into their costumes around 12:45 p.m.  Following our Halloween parade, each Preschool and Junior Kindergarten class will have a small class party. Please sign up to help us for changing/dressing students into costumes and setting up/cleaning up the afternoon class party!
Toddler class will have its own fun Halloween Parade (Trick-or-Treating) at 10:00 a.m.  Our toddlers will go trick or treating from classroom to classroom and will get an opportunity to meet new school friends.  The first “Daddy & Mommy Club” luncheon is also scheduled on this day from 11:30-12:30 p.m.  Please join us for the first gathering luncheon in the toddler classroom. There is a potluck sign-up sheet on the classroom clipboard.
We would also like to thank our students’ parents for donating items from the teachers’ wish lists.  THANK YOU!  We really appreciate your continued help and support. If any parent is interested in providing projects or activities in the classrooms, please make an appointment to schedule the time and date with the homeroom classroom teacher.
JK WISH LIST ART
Art teacher Ms. Alma Limon requests gift cards to the following art stores:  The Home Depot, Pearl, Blick, Michael’s, and Graphaids Inc.  All will be greatly appreciated!