THANKSGIVING LETTER FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

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

I want to thank each and every one of you for all that you do to make Pilgrim School the amazing and vibrant educational institution.

Where to start?  Well, today was Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day.  How wonderful to have over 100 relatives and friends visit our school.  Teachers and students had special presentations, and Mrs. McDugald created a project for students and their visitors to make together.  Thanks are due to everyone who made this day special, from our facilities team to our parents for inviting guests.

We had a very special presentation by the Kanai family after the student performance in Stuart Hall.  The family has graciously donated fundsfor a cultural immersion program, to be held the first week of January.  Students from kindergarten through grade 12 will have the opportunity to study traditional and contemporary Japanese arts and culture.  Students will choose from courses ranging from taiko drumming to kabuki to sushi making to anime and manga, taking up to five different courses daily.  We are calling this Golden Week after a festival held in Japan.

We hope to study different cultures in this fashion yearly.  Thank you to grandparents Nancy and Noritoshi Kanai for this idea, which broadens our students’ understanding of the world around them.  I am grateful for all of our donors.  Without your generosity, we literally could not run the school.  Thanks to your generosity, we are building a Fine Arts Center, a new science center for elementary and middle school students (thank you, Dads Club!), and our plans are not yet over!  If you are a Pilgrim School donor, pat yourself on the back – you deserve it!

Let me tell you a little bit about the new science lab, for which our Dads Club has already raised about a third of the funds.  Our science teachers are creative and love what they do.  They came to me about a month ago with a proposal to teach science in a fully equipped lab beginning in kindergarten.  Miss Hatfield, Mr. Bullock and Ms. White will take on an extra course, teaching Elementary biology, physics and life science alongside the AP courses they teach.  I am not just thankful for their enthusiasm and dedication – I am overwhelmed by it!  Our Science faculty exemplifies the entire Pilgrim faculty – going above and exceeding expectations on a regular basis.  Thank you!

In fact, yesterday the science faculty got going with a “Preschool Science Extravaganza”!  More on that follows, but how wonderful it is that Pilgrim preschoolers had a science lesson taught by our Secondary science teachers!

I want to acknowledge our staff, those busy and industrious people who often work behind the scenes to make things run smoothly.  Our front office staff, Susan Swan and Mauren Burgoa, are front stage and center every day, answering questions, finding forms, helping students with medications and Band-Aids, stuffing envelopes, signing for deliveries … and that’s just in the first five minutes of the day.  Thank you for your patience and willingness to do whatever is needed.

Pilgrim School was founded by First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, and no Thanksgiving list would be complete without them!  Last Sunday we fed more than one hundred guests at the traditional Thanksgiving meal.  Many Pilgrim families attended, and the food was delicious.  Thank you to First Church, Senior Minister Scott Colglazier, and City Cuisine’s Janet Howe.

Ms. Howe has gone above and beyond this year, with the new urban garden, composting of kitchen waste, and the wonderful organic foods she has delivered fresh from the farm.  A new program called Tasty Tuesdays will begin in January.  A great group of volunteers will distribute tastes of local and seasonal produce to our students twice a month, along with a little information about what the food is.  On behalf of all Pilgrim volunteers, I thank you!  Without volunteers we would have no TAPPS, Read-a-Thon, silent auction, dinner dance, Scholastic Book Fair, and other programs that provide support for our students.  Our volunteers provide community, fun and resources.  Thank you!

Read-a-Thon pledge envelopes are due on Monday.  The grade with the highest level of participation will win a special field trip with me!  Development Director Toni DeVito is so thankful for every Secondary student who participates, she has a special gift for each of them.  I want to thank parent Kathryn Atwood for hanging up the wonderful Book Buddy portraits, and creating the Book Critics Award, which the students love.

I know the Secondary students are enormously thankful that finals and the first trimester are over!  Now for the grading!

I am thankful for having the best job in town – Head of School at Pilgrim School.  From our toddlers to our teens, I am so grateful to have a hand in shaping their education and their future.  I am so grateful for  my family, for the best faculty and staff in town, and for the support of the Governing Board.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

With gratitude,

Mark A. Brooks
Head of School

DATES TO REMEMBER

Wednesday, November 25 – Friday, November 27
Thanksgiving Recess

Monday, November 30
Read-a-Thon pledge envelopes due
Secondary trimester begins

Wednesday, December 2
8:30 a.m.:  Junior Kindergarten “Jump Up to Kindergarten” Day

Thursday, December 10
5 pm – 8 pm:  Secondary parent-teacher conferences

Friday, December 11
Deadline for gifts for Commonwealth Elementary School
12:30 – 4:30 pm:  Secondary parent-teacher conferences
5:30:  Join TAPPS for a light supper and beverages in the beautifully decorated First Church forecourt.
7 pm:  All-school Christmas Program, Sanctuary.

Friday, December 12
7 – 11 pm:  High School Christmas dance.

PRESCHOOL NEWS

This past Monday was quite eventful as the students enjoyed all kinds of fun science experiments at the “Preschool Science Extravaganza.” We took a trip to our school garden to look for signs of autumn and collected all sorts of colorful leaves. The walk alone was a great adventure for the students and upon arrival the creativity and imaginations soared. The Leaf Rubbing Station was a lot of fun. Each student gently placed his or her leaf on a hard surface with a ‘rough’ side facing up and placed the piece of white paper on top of the leaf. The students then rubbed the crayon over the leaf until they could see an image. The students also collected seedpods for further exploration in the classrooms.

The second station was with Miss Hatfield. The students learned all about animals and insects. She shared interesting facts about living creatures such as crabs, jellyfish, grasshoppers, sponges and stingrays. She encouraged the students to draw their favorite animals.

The students used a technique called chromatography at the third station with Miss White. The students were asked to do free drawings using crayola markers on a coffee filter. When they dipped the coffee filter in water, the dried pigments dissolved as the water travels up the paper. It carried the pigments along with it. The students were excited to observe how water slowly crawled up to the filter paper.

At the last station, the students discovered rainbows with Mr. Bullock. They held a discussion on light and rainbows and described the shape of a rainbow. Each student got a test tube with water in it and a white piece of paper to catch for his or her rainbow. Each student was amazed see the reflection of his or her colorful rainbow on the piece of white paper. When light was bent by water it broke into the colors of the rainbow. It appeared in the same order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue indigo, and violet. They also enjoyed making their own rainbows. A special thank to all the wonderful science teachers for making science fun.

COMMUNITY SERVICE NEWS

Pilgrim School and First Church have “adopted” the local Commonwealth Elementary School for our Christmas giving.  Three Christmas trees in the niche near the Admissions Office are decorated with “angel tags.”  The tags provide information about children who are in need of new clothes (especially jackets) and shoes. These children also need school supplies, books, and games.  Whatever you can provide will be most appreciated. The deadline for donations is Friday, December 11 as we will deliver the gifts to Commonwealth on Monday, December 14 at an assembly.  Thank you for your generosity to children who would otherwise do without.

READ-A-THON NEWS

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book Group initiated by fourth grader Louis Armstead had its inaugural meeting last Friday, with more than a dozen students sharing their thoughts about the book.

LIBRARY CORNER

Thank you to the family of Robert Beesley and Ryan Beesley for generously “adopting” dozens of books about science, art and music to the library in honor of their birthdays.

TAPPS NEWS

Admission to our Christmas program on December 11 is a can (or more!) of food.  As you may know, food banks are in record demand, and supplies are low.  Please help Hope-Net to have enough food items to distribute to the working poor and homeless.  Thank you.