The MacDuffie School Newsletter, Volume 18, Issue 5, December 2011

Greetings from the Head of School

Hello, everyone, As winter is upon us, and students’ thoughts turn to exam preparation, let’s take a look back at what was a very busy November. This past month, we’ve (finally) been able to get lockers and coat racks, a mail room, laundry room, and study hall in place in the first floor of the north wing. Work on the tunnel will be complete in time for snowfall. The senior mural has been hung in the student lounge, and the victory bell sits proudly between the gym and our sports fields. We placed some extra exterior lighting in place in time for the theatre production of Our Town – and what a production it was! Congratulations to the cast, crew, producer, and director, as well as to all the parents and others who worked so hard to put on an exceptional show in The Little Theatre. Thanks to the families who supported our student-thespians during the always difficult run-up to the show.

Last Wednesday, our Varsity Girls’ and Boys’ basketball teams started their seasons, and on Sunday, we were finally able to get our intramural ball hockey program started on the tennis courts. It was great to see over 100 fans out to see our Boys’ Varsity team start the season with a dominant performance. As noted on the website, the School has been sponsored by Nike, and the first evidence of that sponsorship will be seen in new uniforms and shoes for the Boys’ Varsity team. For more dates and times of games, check the athletic calendar on our web site.

This past month, I’ve visited with about 25 parents for “Coffee with Steve”. I want to thank those parents who were able to attend. We were able to discuss more deeply the School’s commitment to enhancing the Athletics and World Languages programs, and the path to building an auditorium. Parents who attended were also able to be heard on a number of other issues. For me, the topic that impressed me most in our discussion was that of day-boarder interaction. I’m glad that our day families are concerned about the boarders’ experience, and to that end, I’m working with the Parents’ Association to ensure that we have more points of contact in the future. Speaking of points of contact, expect “Coffee with Steve” to make another appearance in the New Year.

Continued. . .

I also want to thank those of you who donated to the “Movember” cause. I’m now happily clean shaven, but I have some embarrassing photos on the website as permanent proof. As we move into December, the Key Club is running food, toy, and clothing drives, and any donations would be greatly appreciated.

Another great awareness-raising event that you will hear more about soon is “Stand Together”. Sirdeaner Walker, parent of MacDuffie 2010 graduate Dominique Walker, was featured on Extreme Home Makeover last Friday. Ms. Walker’s 11-year-old son died by suicide after experiencing bullying in his school, and she has dedicated her life to ending bullying of all kinds, including bullying based on race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or anything else that makes people different. Our school will take a stand against bullying, and you can, too, by visiting (http://www.standtogether.tv/). We’re also doing some thinking about communication here at MacDuffie, and the old model of a monthly newsletter seems destined to be replaced by a Head’s blog, and a constant stream of news on the website. We’ll keep you posted and, as always, feel free to contact me if you have questions or comments.

Best regards, and happy holidays, Steve

Steve Griffin Head of School

Welcome New Employees! Chris Devine joined the Intern/Residential Assistant program in November. He is a graduate of Western New England University, where he received his B.A. in Integrated Liberal Studies, with a concentration in psychology and management. His background includes substitute teaching, as well as mentoring teenagers at the Dunbar Community Center in Springfield. Chris’s future goal is to work as a guidance counselor, so his intern scope at MacDuffie includes working with several administrators in a variety of school counseling areas (Bill Morris, Wendy Weiss, Pat Boudreau, Mika Saarela and Tom Addicks). Hayley Norton moved to the area after spending the last two years at Cape Elizabeth High School in Maine as an Educational Technician and Paraprofessional. She now teaches History 7, Modern European History and American Culture at MacDuffie. She earned her B.A. in History at the University of Maine and also previously taught 7th and 8th grade Social Studies in Albuquerque NM public schools. Al Joslyn joined the Facilities Management team in October. He is able to apply his strong background in distributor and contractor industrial tool training to help Dean and Ken keep up with numerous projects around the campus.

News and Notes

Parents' Association

We are pleased to announce that we have 39 parents who have registered with our yahoo group. This simple way of providing a communication tool for parents seems to be working. Thank you to everyone who has joined us. At our meeting on Friday, December 2nd, names of all parents who had signed up for the MacDuffie Parents yahoo! group were entered into a drawing to win a MacDuffie sweatshirt. The winner of the sweatshirt raffle was Gordon Snyder (father of Eva, 11th grade). Gordon just joined the group on December 1st - so it goes to show you that it is never too late to join the group and the benefits from it!!! Much of our discussion at the last meeting was centered on how we can continue to develop our MacDuffie Community Building. There were numerous ideas tossed around about community building events. Some leg work needs to happen before any decisions can be made. Steve Griffin offered to do a cost comparison between renting the Granby High School cafetorium or using our gym and renting tables, chairs, etc. Some of the ideas are: a spaghetti dinner before an event that is currently on our calendar, showing a Patriot’s Game in the Student Lounge, a movie/pot luck night in the lounge, or joining a boarder for dinner. Please stay tuned for further details in the hopes of having something firmly in place by the spring. Lastly, the Parents' Association is responsible for fundraising. Each year, the funds we raise are earmarked for three major expenses. They are the 8th Grade Rite of Passage gifts, gifts for the graduating seniors, and something for the School as a whole. This year we would like to see the banners, which hung at the Springfield campus, here in Granby. The banners spell "CIRCLE", and the letters represent a piece of the MacDuffie mission: Community...Integrity…Respect…Creativity...Leadership...Excellence Once again, as parents, we welcome input and participation any way you are able to contribute. Thank you to everyone who attends our meetings, joins our yahoo group, supports our athletic and arts events, and more. Every little piece we do contributes to the MacDuffie Community!

Nina Metz Martha deHahn

Co-Chairs, MacDuffie Parents' Association

Winter Celebration of Music & Dance: December 10th Aimee Dewar, Dance Teacher

The Arts Department invites you to join us for our annual

Winter Celebration of Music & Dance on Saturday, December 10 at South Hadley High School. This year's

concert features performances by The MacDuffie Dancers, The MacDuffie Singers, Jazz Ensemble and an acting class.

We will also feature solos by Lucy Luo, Joe Lupa, Eva

Snyder, Moby Xu and Nikai Fondon.

The Winter Celebration of Music & Dance will be held on Saturday, December 10 at 7:00 pm. This year's show is being held at South Hadley High School, located at 153 Newton Street,

South Hadley, MA. Tickets are available at the door and cost $8. We hope to see you there!

Coach’s Corner Meirion George, Assistant Director of Athletics

With the Fall Sports season behind us, MacDuffie students are looking forward to the winter season. Since before Thanksgiving break, over 80 students have been working hard to prepare themselves for a busy few months on the basketball court. For more details on the schedule and updates, please go to the MacDuffie calendar on the web site. Boys Girls Head Coach Varsity Jerry McCullough Gil May Assistant Coach/JV Coach Chris Devine Bob Marvel

Fall Sports Awards Boys’ Varsity Soccer: Girls’ Varsity Soccer: Players’ Award – Vitor Campos Players’ Award – Maggie O’Shea Coach’s Award – Jeff Marvel Coach’s Award – Ali Masamitsu Most Improved – Jason Dai Most Improved – Soyeon Jung MVP – Sam Park MVP – Maddie Jung JV Soccer: Varsity Volleyball: Best Team Player – Darien Guy Players’ Award – Tasia Reid Coach’s Award – Natalie Pappas Coach’s Award – Mengqi Su MVP – Skyler Anderson-Coughlin Most Improved – Tiffany Liu MVP – Carina Gonzalez Cross Country: Players’ Award – Maryanne Magnier Coach’s Award – Andy Al-Dulaimy Most Improved – Harry Kiu MVP – Patrick Biernat Congratulations Boys’ Soccer Team – 2011 WNEPSSA Class D Cup Champions!

The boys are to be congratulated for their exceptional achievement this season, not just for their regular season record of 8-3-2, but also on being selected as the third ranked team in the Class D Division in New England! The Team lost to a very strong Lexington Christian Academy Team, putting us out of the playoffs at the quarter final stage. Also to be congratulated are Vitor Campos ’12 and Jeff Marvel ’13 (above right photo with Mr. George, Dean of Students and Assistant Athletic Director, who were selected out of a 33-man squad for the Class C/D All Select Team!

We are all very proud of you!

Nikai Fondon '13 Photo Published in Colgate University Publication

Colgate University Alumni Clubs around the nation--with current students, parents, and alumni--

hosted more than 40 traditional send-offs during the month of July to welcome members of the incoming class. Tom and Janine Denegall Fondon, Colgate Class of 1982, hosted the Springfield,

MA, send-off party for incoming students at the historic Springfield Museums at the Quadrangle.

The event was the first of its kind in Springfield, due to the increasing number of students coming from the area. Nikai Fondon was the photographer for the event, and her photo was published

recently by Colgate. The photo includes MacDuffie 2011 graduate Mabel Baez.

Shown (left to right) are MacDuffie alumna Mabel Baez ’15 and Colgate students Olivia Gamble,

Amanda Griffiths, and Neil Krulewitz at the Springfield summer send-off party.

(Photo by Nikai Fondon)

Here is the link (copy link into your browser for viewing) to the story:

http://www.colgateconnect.org/s/801/scene_inside_2col.aspx?sid=801&gid=1&pgid=3884

Correction The November issue of Around the Circle featured an article on MacDuffie students attending the Yes! Conference in Springfield, which was incorrectly listed as being submitted by Joan O’Brien, History Department Chair. The article was written by Wathone, a member of this year’s junior class. Our apologies to Wathone for the error!

The MacDuffie Community Donates

Mr. Vennell, with the help of several MacDuffie students, delivered 40

Thanksgiving turkeys to the Gray House in Springfield on behalf of the entire MacDuffie

community.

Because of your generosity, the cash equivalent of ten turkeys and three cases of food were also donated to the Granby Senior

Citizen Center by the Key Club and their advisor, Mr. Brown.

Steven Kearns ’13 delivers donated turkeys.

Donations of clothing and food will continue to be collected. Drop off boxes are located just inside the entrance to the School.

NEW UNWRAPPED TOYS are desperately needed for area families, which will be distributed by the Red Cross with the help of the Key Club. There is a

Red Cross drop off box also located at the entrance to the School. Donations are accepted through December 16th.

Thank you for your contributions which help others in need!

Andy Al-Dulaimy ’13 and James Nelson ’14 help fill the

Gray House freezer.

Shitong “Susie” Zeng '13 and Li Guan '13 Deliver Donations to the Granby Senior Center. Pictured with them is Director Ann Guenette, who sent the following note to students and staff:

““““Thank you for your very generous donation to the Community Thanksgiving Basket Fund. This year we were able to provide a complete holiday meal to 75 families and elders. The Thanksgiving Basket program has deep roots in the Granby community. The Senior Center has long partnered with the Granby churches and schools in collecting the food, assembling, and delivering the baskets to our residents. We look forward to working with

the MacDuffie family in the future. Thank you for being a good neighbor.”

Students Enjoy Special Assemblies

Meirion George, Dean of Students On Friday, November 11, the MacDuffie community gathered for a special assembly in honor of Veterans Day. Mr. Ted Lyman gave an informative presentation on the history of Veterans Day and a description of each of the U.S. military’s five active duty services and their respective Guard and Reserve units. Current MacDuffie students and staff, many of whom have Veteran family members in respective U.S. military branches, paraded the various flags of the military. The assembly was brought to a close by a PowerPoint® presentation of photographs and biographical information of Veterans connected directly with the MacDuffie community. Twenty-seven military personnel were honored in this presentation. We would like to thank Mr. Lyman yet again for his informative presentation and to all those who sent in pictures and information on their family Veterans. On Friday, November 18, our special assembly had two distinct parts. The first half of the assembly was led by the Theater Program. The MacDuffie community was presented with a teaser of this year’s fall theater production, Our Town. Students and staff watched as members of the cast performed sample scenes before their opening performance later that evening. The second half of the assembly was led by Mrs. Anderson (Biology teacher) and the after-school Photography Club. Over the past nine weeks, the Photography Club has been taking photographs of various scenes and locations. As a conclusion to their fall season, they put together a presentation to music of select photographs. The audience was taken on a journey: from the new MacDuffie campus in Granby to the old campus on Ames Hill Drive in Springfield; from the sports fields to the zoo (thanks to Lupa Zoo of Ludlow for taking great care of our Photography Club during their visit); and finally to a beautiful winter snow scene…..in October?! Thank you to Mrs. Anderson and the members of the Photography Club for a snap shot of what was a fun and exciting season. Photography Club Members: Grade 9 – Kunyun “Queenie” Wu, Haoyang “Victoria” Li Grade 10 – Yuqing “Livia” Ling, Rui “Rae” Liu, Ziying “Lisa” Xue, Xie “Esther” Zhou Grade 11 – Ling “Kelly” He, Fan “Helen” Zhou, Danhui “Max” Chen, Chi “Bob” Huang, Yanxi “Stefanie” Shen, Meijun “May” Liu.

Preparing for Semester Exams December 13, 15 & 16, 2011

Tom Addicks Assistant Head of School

Exams are rapidly approaching, and I would like to share a few words about exams and how you can help your student to prepare. Upper School exams are cumulative and scheduled for two hours. AP exams are three hour exams. Eighth graders take three one-hour exams; English, math and language. By preparing for and sitting for cumulative exams, your student learns to pull together the knowledge and skills covered during the course of the semester. We also hope that the experience will help students become accustomed to taking major exams. Prior to exam week, teachers will be distributing study guides and reviewing the material to be covered on the exams. Please encourage your student to begin studying early. This allows time for asking questions of the teacher on items with which he or she is not as confident. Starting early also prevents last-minute “cramming”, which is not as effective, creates stress and can even be counter-productive. The December calendar in First Class includes the exam dates, so you and your student can make a well-planned study schedule. In terms of study methods, the more active the better. Simply looking over notes, tests, quizzes and other exercises is not effective. Students should be writing as they review, quizzing themselves using questions from homework assignments, tests and quizzes to make sure they can answer them without looking. Students who have questions or need help in any subject should seek extra help from their teacher, during the normal extra sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. It is common to see a decline in some students’ performances on the later exams. This may be due to a combination of fatigue, poor planning, or leaving insufficient preparation time. I encourage you to help your child to plan early and make good decisions about the use of time before and during exam week. I personally wish each and every student the best of success on exams and other remaining projects. Please do not hesitate to call if you have any questions or concerns regarding exam week.

Middle School Exam Days:

December 13, 15 & 16, 2011

Exam week is a special time for all Middle School students. Sixth and seventh grade students do not take exams. Eighth graders take three exams: English, math and language (see below). There is no extra help on these days. The teachers have prepared an exciting and enriching program for each grade level. All Middle School exams take place in the Gymnasium. Eighth grade exams are scheduled to take one hour, but students may stay for an extra half hour if they so choose. Lunch every day is from 11:05 am to 12:30 pm.

Continued. . .

Because faculty members are busy with many things during these days, it is important that students not arrive before they are scheduled and that they leave at the dismissal time if possible. In case students are here outside of these times, they must stay in the Library, as there is no coverage outside this area. Bus Riders: There is no change to the regular pick-up time. The departure time from MacDuffie is 3:45 pm. Grade 6

• Tuesday, December 13: Field Trips to Smith Botanical Garden and Magic Wings with Mr. Vennell and Mr. Taylor from 8:00 am – 3:15 pm.

• Wednesday, December 14: NO SCHOOL.

• Thursday, December 15: “Tell Me a Story” day with Ms. Hastings and Mrs. Dewar from 8:00 am to 3:15 pm.

• Friday, December 16: Field Trip to Howe Caverns in New York with Ms. Rechtin, Mr. Griffin, Mr. Schrader from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Parents of bus riders must plan on picking up their student at 4:30 pm from school.

Grade 7 • Tuesday, December 13: Science project with Ms. Ryan and Ms. Rechtin in the morning

beginning at 8:00 am. Lunch from 11:05 am to 12:30 pm. Afternoon Field Trip, to the movie “Hugo” with Ms. Ryan and Ms. Norton (four students will be taking the math exam) until 3:15 pm.

• Wednesday, December 14: NO SCHOOL. • Thursday, December 15: Field Trip to the Eric Carle Museum with Ms. Lancaster and

Mr. Brown from 8:00 am to 11:00 am. Lunch in school from 11:05 am to 12:30 pm. In school movie “Ryan White” with Ms. Boutin and Mrs. Hill from 12:30 pm to 3:15 pm.

• Friday, December 16: Field Trip to Howe Caverns in New York with Ms. Rechtin, Mr. Griffin, Mr. Schrader from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Parents of bus riders must plan on picking up their student at 4:30 pm from school.

Grade 8 • Tuesday, December 13: The English exam will be held in the Gymnasium beginning at

8:15 am. A Field Trip after the exam, Indian lunch and film “Gandhi” with Ms. O’Brien until 3:15 pm.

• Wednesday, December 14: This is a READING Day - NO SCHOOL (unless there is a snow day during an exam then this will be used as the exam make up day).

• Thursday, December 15: Play practice with Ms. Boutin from 8:00 am to 11:00 am. Lunch 11:05 am to 12:30 pm. In the afternoon beginning at 12:45 pm to 2:15 pm, the language exams will be held in the Gymnasium. After exams, there will be a math review with Mr. Brown.

• Friday, December 16: Beginning at 8:15 am, the math exam will be held in Gymnasium; students should arrive at school by 8:00 am. Lunch from 11:05 am to 12:30 pm. During the afternoon beginning at 12:30 pm to 3:15 pm, there will be a science activity called “The Moon” with Mr. Vennell.

EXAM DATE/TIME

English Tuesday, December 13: 8:15 – 9:45 am

Language Thursday, December 15: 12:45 – 2:15 pm Math Friday, December 16: 8:15 – 9:45 am

Upper School Exam Schedule

December 13, 15 & 16, 2011 Date 8:15 – 10:45 am 12:45 – 3:15 pm Tuesday, December 13 English (incl. ESL) Specials Thursday, December 15 Science Languages (incl. Latin) Friday, December 16 Math History (incl. Am. Cult.)

• Upper School exams are generally over by 3:15 pm. Parents should make arrangements to pick up students at that time.

• Bus riders: There is no change to the regular pick-up time. Departure time from MacDuffie is 3:45 pm.

• Students are free to leave for the winter break when they have taken their last exam.

� Upper School students are not required to be in school unless they have an exam.

� The library will be open throughout exams from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

� Lunch will be served from 11:05 am to 12:30 pm on exam days.

� Wednesday, December 14 is a Reading Day/Snow Day – NO SCHOOL (unless

there is a snow day during an exam, then this will be used as the exam make up day).

Thanksgiving Home Stays Dina Lyman, Dean of Boarding & Alumni Relations

Several of our boarding students experienced an American Thanksgiving for the very first time. It was a special treat for them to spend time living with an American family and to celebrate this uniquely American holiday with them. In addition to the pleasure of being in a family setting and enjoying a Thanksgiving feast, there were other highlights as well…from the contrast of Northampton being quiet on Thanksgiving Day to a bustling Northampton on Friday, to trips to the Cape and watching the seals at play, to visiting Plymouth rock (it seemed very small!) and the ever popular trips to the mall! Baking cookies for the first time, visiting a glass blower and decorating a Christmas tree were just some of the simple pleasures the students experienced. All in all, a good time was had by all! Our heartfelt thanks go out to the Finn-Erbs, the Masamitsus, the Franklins, the Qin-Dongs, the Al-Dulaimys, and the Mix, Rodriguez and Pappas families for opening their homes to these students. They really enjoyed their time with each and every one of you. It is very likely that we will have need of a home stay for part of the December break (December 17th -23rd) for a 10th grade girl. Please be in touch with Dina Lyman at x228 or by e-mail, dlyman@macduffie.org, if you are interested in having a student during that time. All best wishes to everyone for a joyous holiday season.

The MacDuffie Student Council Needs Your Help! The Student Council is fundraising with the Stop & Shop® A+ School Rewards program. Money raised from shopping with your Stop & Shop card will go directly to support activities that will bring the School closer together as a family. Funds raised through the program will help us to continue our traditions such as run-down games, winter carnival and even creating more stages for students who want to perform their talents. A rich after-school program cannot happen without your support! It’s simple--just bring your card whenever you go to Stop & Shop and register with The MacDuffie

School ID #05150, or send your card number and the first three letters of the card holder’s last name to my e-mail, xchen2012@macduffie.org. We would be more than happy to help you! Support us today by registering and shopping with your card! Thank you.

Alex Chen President, Student Council

Reminder: Closings and Inclement Weather

When inclement weather requires a delayed opening or closing of the School, announcements to that effect are made on the following television stations and web sites:

WFSB TV CHANNEL 3 (Hartford)

WWLP TV CHANNEL 22

WGGB TV CHANNEL 40

WHSM TV CHANNEL 3 (Springfield)

WHYN 93 FM

www.macduffie.org

Please use your own judgment regarding conditions in your area, and call the School receptionist if you decide your child must stay at home due to inclement weather.

Classical Music Club Springfield Symphony Opening Night

October 1, 2011

The opening night for the Springfield Symphony with Maestro Rhodes featured a passionate all-Russian program with the superb violinist Axel Strauss. The concert consisted of Russian Easter Overture, Rimsky-Korsakov, Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, Tchaikovsky, Symphony No.5, Shostakovich.

MacDuffie Students at the Opening Night Concert of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra

On November 5th, a group of MacDuffie students attended a night of Rachmaninoff, Schuman and Barber, featuring pianist Joyce Yang. In past years, MacDuffie students have also attended “Music in Deerfield” concerts at Smith College, Boston Symphony Orchestra rehearsal concert for students in Boston and Springfield Symphony Orchestra concerts.

Massachusetts Western District Auditions On Saturday, November 12, the MacDuffie music program sent juniors Joe Lupa and Eva Snyder and senior Mengqi “Sue” Su to audition for the Massachusetts Western District ensembles held at Westfield State University in Westfield MA. All three turned in excellent performances before panels of judges and were invited to their respective ensembles. Joe, a tenor, and Sue, a soprano, will be singing in the District Chorus, and Eva Snyder will play in the violin section of the District Orchestra in January at UMass-Amherst. In addition, both Joe and Eva were recommended by their judges to audition for the All-State Festival, which will take place in March. Congratulations to our highly talented musicians!

Joe Lupa Eva Snyder Mengqi “Sue” Su

Environmental Science The Environmental Science class went to Hampshire College this fall to view the succession of growth in fields around the campus. To collect data, the students took advantage of the Science Department’s newly purchased handheld computer data acquisition systems and an array of physical and chemical sensors. This new equipment vastly increases the analytical capabilities of students working in the field.

The trip began by observing a recently plowed field where a crop of lettuce was growing. Among the lettuces were weeds (annuals) which were seeding vigorously. Next, the students explored a field that had been planted the previous year, but not this year. In it were grasses, small wild rose bushes and plants with long tap roots. Adjacent to this was an area which had been untouched for perhaps five years, which was covered with thick, woody brush and small saplings. The next area had larger trees, and it was apparent that the tree canopy was starting to starve the lower levels from sunlight and growth. Lastly, we viewed a mature forest (50-70 years old) where all the underbrush was gone; fertile soil remained from the decaying brush, except in areas where the light could penetrate.

Shelby Pace and Shengpei “Shine” Ren work with our new handheld computer data acquisition system.

At each “station”, students collected soil samples, soil temperatures, sunlight levels, etc. for interpretation back at school. We also stopped along a series of ponds on the way home and looked at the succession of plant growth in the ponds as weeds and brush slowly invaded it and then eventually dried up.

Greg Vennell, Science Teacher

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Don’t Forget to Mark Your Calendar. . . . .

Sunday, February 12, 2012, 3 to 5 pm The MacDuffie Arts Department Fund Raiser!

CHOCOLATE : A Family Event Focused on Chocolate & Valentine’s Day: Chocolate desserts, live music, gift basket raffles. If you would like to help the MacDuffie Arts Department, please e-mail Jo-Ann Hastings, Visual Art Teacher at MacDuffie (jhastings@macduffie.org).

College Counseling Bill Morris, College Counselor

College Application Deadlines: Guidelines and Suggestions

As the holiday season approaches, so do the majority of looming college application deadlines. This can be an incredibly stressful time for your student as he/she completes applications while also facing the normal workload of homework and studying for exams. As the winter break is fast approaching (December 19th), here are some guidelines for helping your son or daughter with college applications:

• Be aware of college application deadlines. All deadlines, unless specified differently, are postmark/online submission deadlines. Make sure your son or daughter has completed and submitted all applications within each individual deadline.

• Students need to have their finalized list of colleges in their Naviance accounts by the first week of December. This information is critical to ensuring that transcripts and school reports will be submitted on time.

• Your student should also make sure he/she has requested letters of recommendation from his/her teachers and supplied them with all necessary materials. Students should have requested these letters at least four weeks in advance, since teachers will be writing letters of recommendation for multiple students.

• It is very common for colleges to send an acknowledgment letter or e-mail to your student upon receiving his/her application. This letter tells the student that his/her application was received and that it will be reviewed once all of the other application materials have been received.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the high volume of mail, e-mails, and faxes that college admission offices receive, it can take several business days (or longer!) for materials such as transcripts and letters of recommendation to be entered into their databases. Whether the information was sent through online submissions, regular mail or express mail, or faxed, it still takes time to be properly updated. If you are concerned that your son or daughter’s application materials were not received by a college, you can call the college counseling office to double-check with Mr. Morris. However, in most cases, “missing” items are actually those that have already been sent and are waiting to be processed by the admissions office.

________________________________________________________________________

Judiciary Council

The MacDuffie School Judiciary Council may handle all major disciplinary offenses. These include, but are not limited to, infractions discussed in the Student Handbook. All members of the Judiciary Council sign a Confidentiality Pledge. The Council consists of:

• Two junior class members (Nikai Fondon and Jake Stern) • Two senior class members (Matthew McRobbie and Shelby Pace) • One boarding student representative (Mengqi Su) • Two faculty members (Mr. Taravella and Ms. Ryan) • The Interim Middle School Coordinators (Mr. Addicks & Mr. Saarela) or

Upper School Coordinator (Mr. Saarela), as appropriate.

Each year, elections take place in the spring to meet the full complement of student and faculty positions on the Council. Recently, the student body elected Mengqi “Sue” Su as the boarding student representative. Our congratulations to Sue! We would like to thank all of the candidates for their impressive speeches, and we look forward to seeing these candidates pursue other student leadership positions in the future.

History 6: Scenes from The Trojan War Dave Denno, History Teacher

For several weeks, my students in History 6 have been working with a version of The Trojan War story. About half-way through the book, I recognized a need for the kids to get out of their seats and be able to work on something in which they could invest their abundant physical energy as well as their creative talents. So, I asked them to pick a scene from the portion of the tale that we had worked with thus far, and to use it as their starting point.

Clytemnestra (Aniis Anderson) slays Agamemnon (Emelia Boyko) to avenge the sacrifice of their daughter.

Working in pairs, the students had to develop dialogue and plot that extended their chosen scene beyond what is shown in the text. For example, while the text tells us about Odysseus’ plot to frame Palamedes as a traitor, it does not show us any confrontational meeting between these characters, nor does it show us the details of Palamedes’ actual downfall. This is a great example of a scene that was ripe for development.

Odysseus (Johanna Saarela) prepares to bury Trojan gold in the tent of

a sleeping Palamedes (Jordan Skibel).

Once they had selected their scenes, the kids wrote scripts to use for a performance. I had them read a short description of Greek theater practices, including the use of masks by all of the actors. We looked at a wide variety of examples of these masks using the internet and our classroom’s projector. The students then created masks for each of their characters. Some of the kids made multiple masks, either because they were playing multiple roles in their scene, or because they wanted masks that showed a range of different emotions for their character.

Odysseus (Sam Szczur) prepares to ride past a Trojan guard (Attie Russell) who is about to be dispatched by Diomede (Yunjin “Eugene” Kim).

After the scripts and masks were finished, we spent one class period on the performances. As a teacher, this was the type of project that really made me proud of our MacDuffie students. The kids clearly were excited about everything they had put together for the project, and their enthusiasm

made for lively and fun displays of budding theatrical talents. The care they had put into creating their masks and making or obtaining props made for an even richer spectacle than I had anticipated. I think that this activity is one that they will remember fondly; I know that I certainly will.

Paris (Ashley Stebbins) and Helen (Varona Maysonet-Ayala) plot to betray Menelaus and run away together.

Iphigenia (Aniis Anderson) and Clytemnestra (Emelia Boyko) discuss Iphigenia’s upcoming wedding.

Grade 6 History Class with their teacher, Mr. Denno

The MacDuffie Mathletes Team

The Mathletes depart for their meet to Deerfield: Left to Right: Faculty Advisor Dr. Shelburne, Kehan Thomas Chen ’15, Chuying Lucy Luo ’12, Jiachang Harry Liu ’14, Xinyi Delasoul Lin ’13,

Shagzhe Jason Dai ’13, and Ling Kelly He ’13

Six MacDuffie students have competed thus far in two Western Massachusetts Mathematics League (WMML) meets. Some of the other local high school members include Amherst, Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Agawam, Minnechaug and Belchertown, as well as Deerfield Academy and Wilbraham & Monson Academy, among others. There are 15 to 20 schools present at each meet, but the exact schools who participate depend on a multitude of factors. At the end of the year, there is a state meet which pits the Massachusetts conferences against each other. Distinctions are made based on the size of the school, and while MacDuffie usually qualifies for the state meet, we have often been eliminated in the past by a few highly competitive Boston area private schools. Last year Lucy Luo was the highest junior scorer in the WMML, and we tied East Longmeadow for second place over all (behind Deerfield, ahead of Longmeadow). Currently we are in first place over all, followed closely behind by Longmeadow and East Longmeadow. The competition will be intense this year since Deerfield missed a meet and will probably not be able to catch up in the remaining three meets. At our last meet, we came in second place by one point, which is currently being contested. We look forward to our next meet on December 6th at Belchertown High School.