LETTER FROM SHARON HOLSCLAW, HEAD OF SCHOOL
Thank you all who have registered for St. Martin’s-in-the-Field coming school year 2010-2011.We are happy that you have chosen to keep your children with us for another year. This year, we have some children coming back who have left for a year or two.
Our school’s excellent reputation is our best advertising. Please continue to tell your friends about the care and attention St. Martin’s-in-the-Field gives its students. Let your friends know about our “Early 3’s” 2-day nursery program. We will accept children with birthdates up to November 30 with the understanding that the child will be fully potty-trained and will enter the 3-day nursery the following year. This will ensure that these children will comply with Maryland’s mandate that they will be 5 years old by September 1 upon entering Kindergarten.
Open House on January 12 and School Forums Night on January 21 were well attended, especially at the Pre-School level. It was during our Open House on the 12th that we learned of the 7.0 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti—just hours before a group from our school and church was due to depart. We are so thankful for their safety and yet deeply grieved for the people of Haiti. On Saturday, January 30, at 4:00 p.m., we are having a musical benefit to support Episcopal Relief and Development. “Make a Joyful Noise FOR HAITI” will feature Celtic musicians from the internationally renowned Ensemble Galilei as well as St. Martin’s-in-the-Field’s own choir and musicians—Dr. Jim Walton, Tracy Alexander, and Sharon Winton. Please plan on coming and giving what you can.
Thank you also for your generous support of the Annual Fund this year. These monies are put to enhancing our academic program and improving our campus. This year we are paying special attention to campus safety. We are waiting on pricing for PA system that will help us with day-to-day coordination and crisis management.
We hope to see everyone at our annual spaghetti dinner on Friday, February 5. Serving time is 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. It’s a fun evening of fellowship for our school family. We look forward to “spooning”spaghetti together.
On Saturday, February 27th, at 5:00 p.m. we will once again listen to the Gospel singers from Mt. Calvary United Methodist Church at our annual Katie Fritz Memorial Concert. All students in nursery through 8th grade are invited to come forward and sing several songs with me to honor the memory of Katie Fritz, a young parishioner who died suddenly at the age of 16. Her mother, Carol, began a scholarship fund in her daughter’s name that has helped many St. Martin’s families throughout the years. Please join us for an evening of song and refreshments after the concert.
We are now planning for an Open House on April 21. Prospective families can tour our campus, meet teachers, and observe classes from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Evening hours are 5:00 to 7:00.
Thank you for all you continue to do for St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Day School. Happy Valentine’s Day to ALL!
Sharon Holsclaw
MUSICAL BENEFIT FOR HAITI (Cancelled due to inclement weather)
It may be snowing on Saturday afternoon, so come inside where it’s warm and where the music’s fabulous and where you can help Haiti! Our musical benefit will feature internationally known and locally based Celtic musicians Sue Richards (Celtic harp) Carolyn Surrick (viola da gamba), and Ginger Hildebrand (violin), three of the six-person Celtic music group, Ensemble Galilei, and several musicians and singers from the church and day school, including Dr. Jim Walton, Tracy Alexander, and Sharon Winton. Children are encouraged to attend—and this is an opportunity for kids to help victims of the earthquake and see their community come together in the face of disaster. We have a special connection to Haiti. Seven members of our church and parish were due to arrive in Port-au-Prince the day following the quake. They were scheduled to stay at the Hotel Montana, which was leveled. We are so grateful for their safety, yet heartbroken at the suffering in Haiti. Our relationship with our sister school, La Resurrection, in Gros Morne, 80 miles north of Port-au-Prince goes back 27 years. In the last two years, the church has hosted the Haitian children’s choir, Les Petits Chanteurs, affiliated with the Episcopal Trinity Cathedral of the Diocese of Haiti in Port-au-Prince, which was destroyed in the earthquake. Please join us to support comprehensive relief efforts following Haiti’s earthquake, the worst natural disaster to hit a single country in modern history. All donations will go to Episcopal Relief and Development for Haiti, which has long worked in Haiti and is on the ground now. To learn more about Episcopal Relief and Development, visit their website, www.er-d.org.
MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
Middle School Students Take TWO Future City Engineering Awards After many long weeks of researching, writing, designing, and building the “green” city of the future that has suffered a natural or financial disaster, the 7th and 8th grade classes brought home two awards from the Future City engineering competition held at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on Saturday, January 16th. Competing against ten other teams from Maryland, 7th grade team presenters Tommy Chafe, William Fung, and Paige Sachwitz and 8th grade presenters Alex Bannan, Miranda Durner, and Stephanie Kopas dazzled spectators with their engineering knowledge, expertly built models, and polished presentation skills.
“Best First Year School” was awarded to the 7th grade class, and “Excellence in Engineering” went to the 8th graders. A culminating party was thrown to celebrate the success of all classes, including the 6th grade, who was “in training” this year. The party was complete with cake and competition video and pictures. Many thanks go to the middle school teachers, Sue Pistillo, Tracy Alexander, and Ginny Ready and to visiting engineers, Wadie Williams,Wally Putkowski, Kevin Fitzgerald, and Seth Tibbitts, as well as middle school parents who supported the kids with encouragement and provided transportation to the after-school work sessions and the competition. Special thanks to Cristina Decker and Barbara Cooke who helped to arrange speakers and field trips. The “green” cities of the future and their awards are currently on display in the Parish Hall. This is especially noteworthy. Not every entry came home with an award. We won the most prestigious awards, and this was our first year of entry in this highly competitive and intense contest.
Poet-in-Residence Works with MS English Classes Through a grant written by Susan Pistillo, poet Natalie Lobe is again inspiring our middle school students. The creative side of the 7th and 8th graders is fed during five sessions of poetry writing where a variety of literary devices and topics are explored. During the sixth and final session a “Poetry Slam” is held to present these wonderfully written pieces to parents. Many of these poems are published in the Middle School Literary Magazine at the end of each year and become works of art to keep. This year’s Poetry Slam will be held for the poets’ parents on Friday, January 29th during the regular 7th and 8th grade English classes. In February, fifth graders will also work with Mrs. Lobe. Natalie Lobe is associated with Maryland Hall, where her classes are available to the general public. She is the author of several books of poetry.
Fifth-Grade Teacher Gretchen Glick will also be hosting Natalie Lobe in her 5th-Grade English class. Mrs. Lobe will work with the 5th grade February 16 through 23. Fifth-Grade parents are invited to a Poetry Slam on February 23, from 2:15 to 3:15. Fifth grade students are also preparing for a formal debate. They have been working in pairs and doing research on their debate topics.
Students Recite Shakespeare In 7th grade History, students were tasked with practicing reading the “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” soliloquy from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar for an oratorical contest in class. Students got into groups or two or more and recited the speech in a “voice” of their choice. The speech still had to make sense and they had to use correct pausing and phrasing, but they could use a southern accent or a skater dude voice or whatever their imaginations suggested to them. They had 15 minutes to practice – and they were MAGNIFICENT! We had different national accents (Italian, Mexican, British), and one student recited his part in Chinese! One girl spoke in a high-pitched soft voice and another chose a deep manly voice. One student read her part as if she was crying and ended up crying for real! One boy enacted a southern church persona and threw in a couple of “amen’s.” Another recited the speech as a typical teenager who threw in “like” here and there. What fun! Shakespeare was one of the most linguistically and theatrically creative minds ever. He would have enjoyed these imaginative interpretations of his writing.
Students Imagine Hajj--the Holy Pilgrimage to Mecca Students study the five great religions of the world—Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. In keeping with our core mission of educating students to be active citizens of a rapidly changing world, we want our middle schoolers to have a basic understanding of the peoples and cultures of the world. As we recognize the diversity of religions and cultures throughout the world, we see that fundamentally humans are alike in their need to find meaning and purpose in their lives and in their aspirations to goodness and virtue. Students took a test on Islam last week that posed a series of questions about Hajj—the holy pilgrimage to Mecca that each Muslim tries to make at least once in their lifetime. Sixth Grade Teacher Tracy Alexander, who is teaching a unit on Islam, wanted to share the students’ wonderful ideas thoughts here.
What is the purpose of Hajj? It’s a once in a lifetime trip… to get in touch with God and clear the devil out of their life…and to be forgiven for their sins. To get away from technology and work and just be with God A time for the Muslims to forget about all of the worries in their lives and just think about God To be come closer to Allah The purpose is for Muslims to come clean of all the bad stuff they did that year. The purpose of Hajj is so Muslims can see God or Allah in their heart. There is a high mountain on which people climb to get closer to the sky, which is getting closer God. While you are on Hajj you cannot hate or be mean. When they get back they are different people.
How people feel while on Hajj? On Hajj you are as close to God as you can be. The Muslims feel exhilarated at the fact that they are mimicking Abraham’s journey. They feel energized and excited. Muslims are very emotional at this time. The people feel holy. They feel so very happy and reborn from sin. People usually feel grateful and loved on this hard spiritual journey.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Teachers and staff attend a Maryland Green School presentation and learn that we’re doing a lot right.
What do teachers do on a Professional Development half-day? On January 15, more than 20 teachers, staff, and administrators attended a presentation about qualifying for a Green School award. We discovered that much of what we’re doing already, from pre-schoolers mucking around in a stream to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders designing cities for the future, attunes ourselves and our students to the needs of the environment.
Our thanks to St. Martin’s-in-the-Field parent Barbara Kelly for arranging this briefing and to Cristina Decker for her work on the Green School initiative. Melanie Parker, a resource teacher at Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center and a board member of the Maryland Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education, talked us through the process of documenting an application for a Maryland Green School designation. She assured us that environmental education is fun and exciting, and given the enthusiastic response of our educators, this is true.
In awarding a Green School seal, the MAEOE considers three major categories: (1) use of the school site and curricular instruction to encourage understanding of the environment; (2) best management practices used on the campus; and (3) building partnerships with others, such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Thanks to First Grade Teacher Anne Hodges, St. Martin’s has a relationship with CBF that goes back almost 10 years.
Environmentally aware curriculum and practices have been shown to increase reading and math achievement on state assessment, build teamwork throughout a school, and—most important—make learning fun and authentic. The environment provides a context for learning across the curriculum in subjects you might expect such as science, math, and reading, but also in subjects you might not initially expect, such as art, music, physical education, and languages. Last year, for example, when 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Graders went to Quiet Waters Park and created a mural of Monet’s Bridge, that field trip blended the disciplines of art, French, and outdoor education.
We are putting best practices into use on our campus. Our entire campus already has Bay-Wise certification. We’re investigating our environment, getting water barrels, paying attention to storm drainage, and conserving energy. We’re asking students to be aware of energy usage at home. Do they turn off lights when they leave a room?
We’ve made tremendous progress on recycling. Sixth Grade Teacher Tracy Alexander initiated a recycling program years ago at our school that has really taken off. We now print double-sided. We recycle ink cartridges. We’ve planned indoor and outdoor clean-up days. We have an arrangement for pick-up of recyclables. In fact, we’ve asked parents to drop off their recyclables during arrival and dismissal.
Ideas flew back and forth during the presentation. How can we handle transportation more responsibly on our campus? Could we encourage car pooling? Could we have a no-idling lane? Or a HOV lane?
We’re looking for partners to help us take better care of our environment. What about garden clubs, agencies, small businesses, master gardeners, sanctuaries? If parents have ideas and connections, we’d be happy to hear them. One question that came up was about compost managing techniques. Anybody know of a good source of ideas and resources?
Over the coming months, grades 1 through 5 will be doing field trips with the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The first graders are planting a blueberry patch as part of their learning about indigenous species. In April, we’ll have our third annual Earth Day celebration. We’re looking for ideas and participation to bring our festival to a whole new level.
For further information and inspiration, contact Cristina Decker at cristina.decker@comcast.net. Check out http://www.maeoe.org One of the reasons we’re passionate about becoming a Green School is that we realize these are lessons that carry forward. Knowledge about and sensitivity to environmental issues is critical for the future of our society. Preparing our students for the future is a core St. Martin’s value.
GREEN SCHOOL INITIATIVE
It’s true! The long-awaited second blue recycling dumpster is here! Thank you, St. Martin’s Church! This will allow all the hard work our school puts into recycling to go beyond the yellow containers and assuredly end up at a sorting facility for shipment to a manufacturing company that will integrate our recycled materials into the manufacturing process.
This is a crucial step in tightening the recycling loop from our school to the sorting facility to remanufacturing. Of course, our purchases at school and home should focus on buying products that have a high post-consumer recycled percentage. All in all, the dumpster is a crucial part of our Green School application.
The new dumpster will allow us to officially start our Green School initiative by establishing Green Team “captains” in each class who can monitor recycling during their lunch period. Cristina Decker will email teachers a list of students who have previously signed up to join the Green Team. Membership is still open!
Green Team Moms will distribute sign-up sheets to each class. We’d love to hear from Elementary School moms who would like to help in this effort and work with their kids and classmates to recycle. A meeting will be planned shortly to prepare our celebrations of Earth Day in April. Contact cristina.decker@comcast.net
YEARBOOK UPDATES AND REQUESTS
Sue Maloney and the Yearbook team want to put in a reminder for Yearbook candids. All grades, especially field trips, are needed ASAP.
Tim Hickey owner of Severna Park Photo sends these instructions about arranging for makeups and retakes: Please schedule an appointment at Severna Park Photo, Inc. We have the best equipment at the store and we’re located very near St. Martin’s-in-the-Field School, so we are convenient for parents.
Below is a link to our online appointment scheduling page. In the service area of that page is a selection for “St. Martin’s yearbook photo.” Click on that. Once that is selected, the calendar will come up to show the available times. We have to do this by appointment rather than on a walk-in basis since the studio is booked for other customers as well.
I would like to have all of the re-takes and make-ups completed by Friday, February 15th. Here’s the link: https://www.securedata-trans12.com/ap/severnaparkphotoinc/index.php?page=10
Alternatively, parents and students can go to www.severnaparkphoto.com and click on the “portrait studio” link at the top of the page and then click on the blue “schedule your appointment now” button at the top of the next page.
DEVELOPMENT NEWS—GALA AUCTION
In just a few weeks the 6th annual day school auction, “The Magic of Morocco,” will take place at Chartwell Country Club. Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 13. In the next two weeks all day school parents will receive information about tickets and ways to donate. We need everyone’s help to make this auction successful. To date the auction has raised over $170,000 for the school.
Advance ticket sales will take place at our spaghetti dinner on Friday, February 5, or you can contact Mary Henry at mhenry@stmartinsdayschool.org. Tickets are $75 a person or $700 for a table of ten. Get your friends together and buy a table! Have girl’s night and leave the husband at home to babysit! It‘s a really fun evening for a great cause—our kids!
PHYSICAL EDUCATION—HEART HEALTH
This month in PE the elementary and middle school classes will be learning about the heart and participating in a very special community service program to raise funds for the American Heart Association. We’re joining in the fight against our nation’s No.1 and No.3 killers—cardiovascular disease and stroke. Students will learn about risk factors associated with heart illnesses and how to prevent them, while also raising funds to support vital research and educational programs.
Our middle school will hold a Hoops for Heart event, and our elementary grades will hold a Jump Rope for Heart event on both February 11th and 12th. The money we raise will help people in our community learn how to avoid heart disease and stroke and live longer, healthier lives. The school will also qualify for gift certificates for physical education equipment based on the amount we raise.
Pledge forms will go home the end of January and will be due back to the school by February 17th. Please email Mrs. Wild with any questions at bwild@stmartinsdayschool.org
FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES
St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Day School is the first middle school in Anne Arundel County to join the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and establish what is known as a “huddle.” FCA is widely known in high school and college athletics. We have started it here at St. Martin’s as part of the ministry of teacher Andy Smith and parent Craig Decker. As the first middle school huddle in the county, our goal is to bring Christ and sports together. Here at St. Martin’s we want to give our young athletes the sense that sports, competition, and athleticism are ways of honoring God in our lives. The Red Lacrosse team offered this team prayer this past season: Lord, We ask for Your strength to do our best and for Your love and to show sportsmanship today. We pray the same for our opponents. We play for Your glory—not our own. Keep us safe in Your name, Jesus. Amen. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is the largest Christian campus ministry in the world. It is on more campuses than the next three largest campus ministries combined. In the past year, FCA reached more than 350,000 people on over 7,100 campuses and worked with more than 46,000 coaches and athletes at camps across the globe.
FCA’s purpose is to combine people’s passion for sports with their passion for Christ, and teach them that those two worlds don’t have to be separate. FCA wants to give meaning to the athletic nature that all of us are born with and use it for something that stretches beyond sports. For further information, visit www.FCA.org If parents or students have questions or want to join, they may email: craig.decker@rbc.com
COACHES’ CORNER—SPORTS
St. Martin’s has four middle school basketball teams that have been pounding up and down the court for weeks now. All teams have experienced close games, big wins and big losses. We are unique among the schools we play because we include our 5th graders on our interscholastic athletic teams. This can be great for our 5th graders because it gives them a chance to start early and get experience. But it can also be tough because they are competing against older and usually bigger players. This latter point has not diminished their enthusiasm and energy one bit.
The girls B team has been working the defensive press in their games, which has kept the pressure on their opponents. Great defensive steals and movement have come from Ginger Ellis, Olivia Williams and Madeleine Farnham. Every player on the team has been aggressive and taken shots when possible. Those making several baskets in a game include Yasmin Lockhart and Charlotte Kurtz. The girls B team is coached by Ian Duncan, son of Nursery and Super Day teacher, Kim Duncan.
The girls A team has seen Paige Bullock, Stephanie Kopas, Elana Humes, Erin Morsheimer, Lauren Shin and Alex Bannan come up big with offensive rebounds and putting the ball back up from underneath! Morgan Kranz, Katie Pawlikowski, Olivia Burchfield and Virginia Ritinski have exhibited excellent dribbling and defensive skills with multiple steals in games. While every player has been shooting, those scoring multiple baskets in a game include Erin Morsheimer, Stephanie Kopas, Morgan Kranz, Alex Bannan, Olivia Burchfield, Paige Bullock and Virginia Ritinski. Team Kranz (Donna and Dave) continue to lend their expertise and coach our girls A team.
The boys B team has been working very hard at learning the game and standing up tall to their older opponents. Point guard responsibility has been split among Cameron Fitzgerald, Garrett Odell and Lucas Wright. Players providing movement, grabbing rebounds, and shooting from underneath include Chris Summers, Hunter Sheely and Michael Pistillo. Brad Carson and Chris Heaton have both shown tenacious defense and come up with steals several times in a game. All players have been aggressive working the ball in and taking shots, and a couple have made multiple baskets in the same game: Garrett Odell and Lucas Wright. Brett Kirkland, a St. Martin’s-in-the-Field PE substitute, coaches our boys B team.
The boys A team has battled some tough competition and has come out on the winning side several times, including a 1-point win in the final minute against St. Martin’s Lutheran. Leading the way for the Mustangs on the scoreboard have been Jack Kunowsky, Nick Brown and Michael Altmann. William Fung and Aron Winton have been tall under the basket taking in rebounds and looking for shooting opportunities. Greg Kunowsky and Larry Altmann have stepped up to coach and encourage this team.
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
St. Martin’s-in-the-Field parent Silvia Campana, mother of 7th-grader Miranda Probeyahn, is offering Haircuts for Haiti at her Image Creators Salon & Spa. This is a terrific opportunity to come out looking fabulous—and feeling fabulous because you’ve joined in an international effort to speed relief to the earthquake-devastated country. Haircuts for Haiti is scheduled for Sunday, February 28th, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at Image Creators Salon & Spa in Severna Park Park Plaza, 586 Ritchie Hwy. Call 410-544-8852. Fifty percent of the day’s proceeds will go to disaster relief.
Free skin analysis is offered by Bio Elements. Raffle tickets will be sold for prizes from supporters, Redken and Eufora. This is open to men, women, and children ($40—haircuts; $20 manicures and seated massage).