Newsletter: January 15, 2010
January 15, 2010
Dear Pilgrim School families, First Church members, and Friends close and far,
“The Wizard of Oz,” auditions; the inauguration of Tasty Tuesdays; more than one-hundred visitors at our Open House; plans for the Fine Arts Center opening; Preschool yard renovations; top secret invitations for Diamonds Are Forever – Pilgrim School is busy!
Let me start at the top. Miss Farris reports that auditions went smoothly. She looks forward to sharing her cast list on Tuesday and beginning rehearsals very soon. If your student in Grades 6 and up wants some “behind-the-scenes” experience and fun, please contact Secondary Art Teacher Steven Kopp (skopp@pilgrim-school.org). Being on a tech crew involves a lot of fun teamwork and is a great learning opportunity.
Tasty Tuesdays is the newest program at Pilgrim School. Like Golden Week, it was an instant hit! Funded by TAPPS, the TT Team prepares locally grown fruit or vegetables to share with all of our students. The inaugural fruit was a pomelo, which I learned (along with our students!) is related to grapefruit; has a very thick skin; and are grown in California. Thank you to TT Team members Vera Borges, Angie Starn, Karyn Eck, Grace Lee, Francesca Windsor, and City Cuisine’s Janet Howe. The next Tasty Tuesday is on January 26. If you would like to participate (and it’s fun to see how the students react to new items!), please contact Mrs. Borges at vera.s.borges@gmail.com.
Our last Open House for the admissions season was held last Tuesday. Thank you for spreading the word of mouth about the value of a Pilgrim education. We had families with students in just about every grade we offer. A reminder: the application deadline is January 31.
The Fine Arts Center is nearing completion! The roof is on, and the interior ceiling has been installed. We have passed all city inspections to date. Cabinets were installed this week, and we began the stucco process today. Depending upon the weather, we anticipate that the Fine Arts Center will be complete within four to five weeks. To this end, we have many plans: first, for relocating our Preschool, and second, to celebrate the first new building on our campus in more than forty-five years!
Preschool families, a letter went home to you today with your student regarding the forthcoming move. I do hope that everyone has noticed the colorful new shade awning over the sandbox area. This generous donation was made in honor of the great-grandmother of Clyde and Desi Nelson, Joanna Despres, and in honor of Virginia Nelson, their grandmother. These two women were lovers of art and literature, and valued a lifelong love of learning. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Nelson and Despres family for their incredible generosity and thoughtfulness.
Please mark your calendars for the Fine Arts Center Grand Opening on Saturday, April 17, from 6 to 8 p.m. We will be exhibiting a special selection of artworks from a private collection that have never before been publicly exhibited. Live music will be part of the festivities. As you can imagine, I am very excited! Stay tuned for more details.
Please plan to join us for Diamonds Are Forever on Saturday, March 13, for an evening of casino gaming, international food, dancing to a jazz combo, and bidding on silent auction items. Games, bars (anyone for a sake-tini?), food stations and auction items will be spread throughout Barnum, Stuart Hall and Amanda Scott. Pilgrim Goes Vegas, baby!
The mission of Diamonds Are Forever is to raise money for Pilgrim’s new Science Center and enhance our music program. To R.s.v.p., e-mail information about the number of tickets you would like ($100), whether you would like to sponsor a teacher ($125, so teachers can ask a “plus-one”), or purchase an ad (rates begin at $50). Please send the information to rsvp@pilgrim-school.org, along with your credit card information (number, expiration date and billing zip code). This is a secure site. [Burn after reading!]
I want to congratulate First Grade student Sarah Kong who won an art prize from the Los Angeles Times. Her drawing of a favorite holiday scene was professionally framed, and she received a certificate as well. Sarah tells us she also likes science and math.
Looking ahead, Elementary Enrichment Classes begin next week. A flyer has been sent home, and the course brochure is available online (http://www.pilgrim-school.org/studentlife/enrichment). The first TAPPS parent meeting of the year will be held on Wednesday, January 20 at 8 a.m. in Barnum.
And of course, on Monday we honor Martin Luther King’s birthday (which is today), so there will be no school.
Division news follows. Have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Brooks
Head of School
DATES TO REMEMBER
Monday, January 18
Martin Luther King Holiday: No School (pre – 12)
Tuesday, January 19
Cedar Lake High School trip money due
Wednesday, January 20
8 a.m.: TAPPS Meeting
Thursday, January 21
6 pm: Trips Information Meeting for Grades 6 and 7
Friday, January 22
Financial Aid Applications due
Tuesday, January 26
Tasty Tuesday!
Wednesday, January 27
5 pm: Preschool closes
6 pm: College night (Grades 10 and 11)
Friday, January 29
Current Kindergarten Contracts due
Middle School Sleepover
Spirit Day
Sunday, January 31
New student admissions applications due
ATHLETICS SCHEDULE
Tuesday, January 19:
3 pm: Varsity Soccer at First Lutheran
4 pm: Girls Basketball vs. San Fernando Valley
5:30 pm: Boys Basketball vs. San Fernando Valley
Wednesday, January 20:
3:30 pm: Middle School Boys Basketball at Lycee Francais
7:30 pm: Boys Basketball at Milken Community
Thursday, January 21:
3:15: Varsity Soccer vs. Cornerstone Christian at Whittier Narrows Park
4 pm: Girls Basketball vs. First Lutheran, home game
5:30: Boys Basketball vs. First Lutheran, home game
Friday, January 22:
4 pm: Hollywood/Wilshire Elementary Basketball, home game
SECONDARY NEWS
Parents and students in Grades 6 and 7, please join Dr. Kidder on Thursday, January 21 at 6 p.m. in the Seaver 4th floor science rooms. Upcoming outdoor education programs will be discussed. Don’t miss this!
ELEMENTARY NEWS
Today the Fifth grade visited the Star Eco Station in Culver City as their prize for 100% annual fund participation. The children got to meet and greet snakes, lizards, a turtle, and a cockatoo. They also got to see various animals, such as bobcats and alligators, throughout the facility as well as learn more about ways to help save the environment for these animals.
In First Grade, instead of having a classroom gift exchange for our Christmas class party, the students bought presents for the children at Shriners Hospital. Mrs. Dever, Logan's mom, set us up with a representative from the hospital. The students loved the idea of giving gifts to these precious children.
ELEMENTARY ART NEWS
Next week will be a sweet one for Grade 1 when they visit the Pasadena Museum of California Art to view the work of artist Wayne Thiebaud. Thiebaud is most famous for his paintings of colorful desserts such as pies, cakes, fruits and bright gumball machines.
Ms. Alexy found a bakery that will allow her to bring the First Grade for an after-museum visit. Students will draw colorful cupcakes, and then eat them! A special thanks to the folks at My Sweet Cupcake in South Pasadena for allowing us to take over the store for a while. They asked Ms. Alexy to bring in photos of Thiebaud’s work, and they will try to match the rich colors and textures of his work on their cupcakes!
Ms. Alexy had the honor of meeting artist Nick Cave last weekend at the Fowler Museum. Art educators from Crossroads, the Center For Early Education, and Brentwood (to name a few) all met to get a sneak peek at his one-man show, which is at the Fowler until May.
Nick Cave creates wearable art that is not only visibly stunning, but an audio wonder as well. His "sound suits" are sculptures that, when worn, create a myriad of sounds in motion. The New York Times had this to write about Mr. Cave's work:
"Whether Nick Cave's efforts qualify as fashion, body art or sculpture, and almost regardless of what you ultimately think of them, they fall squarely under the heading of Must Be Seen to Be Believed."
Ms. Alexy went not only to meet the artist and discuss his work, but also to make sure she got a prime date for a FIELD TRIP! This show is truly inspiring and Ms. Alexy can't WAIT to make sound suits with her 4th graders! The 4th graders will be visiting the Fowler to see the show and then will create their own wearable art with the hopes of having a "sound suit parade" down the halls of Pilgrim.
This photo is Nick Cave and Ms. Alexy standing in front of his “Tree of Life: sound suit.
LIBRARY CORNER
Two new additions to our Secondary Library are Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma and Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman.
The first title tells of a 13-year old stuck in a town where nothing ever happens and where viewing noir movies becomes her escape. A mystery does occur at the theater and Dani sets out to solve it.
Climbing the Stairs is a historical novel set in British-occupied India during World War II. Our heroine longs to go to college and to have relationships of equality between the sexes, both of which are very unusual in traditional Indian families. Our protagonist, who ultimately must make a painful decision, experiences conflict.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
The secondary Community Service Club met to make posters and publicize a special fundraising drive to help support the relief effort in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake. Relief agencies are asking for monetary contributions, as material donations are nearly impossible to distribute because of the collapsed infrastructure. Student representatives are speaking to raise awareness of the great on-going need. Everyone's efforts are appreciated at the time of this tragedy.
