U+May+2008

Attending: Mary, Martha, Hugh, Barbara, Mary Deborah, Charlie, Angela, Don, Susan, Leon, Dick, Kathy Mary shared a summary of topics, queries, and proposed actions from our meetings this year. // (I’ve rearranged these slightly to reflect the order in which we discussed them. KS) //
 * __ School Life Committee - minutes from 5/6/08 __**

Attendance has been low, but those present have welcomed the opportunity. Is our goal lots of people or “where two or three are gathered”? Changing the time would be a conflict for staff and possibly in building use. Units could invite parents to MFW (MS did this, with refreshments after). Feeling that we need at least another year to have this become part of the culture. Our last Community Meeting for Worship this school year will be May 28 from 8 – 8:30 in the US Meeting Hall. Next year’s schedule for CMFW would be: Sept.24, Oct. 29, Nov. 26, (Dec. 17??), Jan. 28, Feb. 25, Mar. 25, Apr. 29, and May 27
 * __Continue monthly MFW on last Wednesdays?__**

Charlie will be working on a presentation during FGC this summer. Would Meetings be interested in co-sponsoring Irene and Jack? Would PSA be interested in Quaker Education as a focus next year? Angela will ask. Plan Nov. 6 session with PSA? Possible book groups as an outgrowth?
 * __Session on Quaker Education on November 6th?__**
 * __Invite Irene McHenry to speak on Quaker Education? Jack Kirk on Quaker History? Funding?__**

Martha is speaking to PSA May 14. PSA is assessing the year, doing committee reassignments. Angela will not be on SLC next year.
 * __School history – Record Martha and Peter’s stories?__**

Specifically invite a member of the ASSC to be a liaison to SLC. Liaison invited to attend our meetings – especially first and last. News items from ASSC sent to us for our minutes. October 29 – short presentation after CMFW for folks new to CFS. Charlie will check on availability of US Meeting Hall. Help ASSC set up times to present their work to the Meetings.
 * __Liaison from ASSC participate in SL meetings?__**
 * __SL facilitate ASSC presentations to board, meetings, and school community?__**
 * __SL assist in crafting and article for the FCE newsletter about ASSC project?__**
 * __Proposed, October 29th after MFW, ASSC give a short presentation on the Tob Chi project for families new to the school?__**

Facilitate connections with the meetings
CHES and CH Mtg. sponsored a joint workday and pancake breakfast. Continue to send specific invitatipon to the Meetings for CMFW

Unit reports – Friday meeting was working on way to avoid duplication of effort
Friday Meeting still in process. What’s the focus of these reports? Who are they for? How does a list of unit activities help us to embrace the whole community? Agreement to drop written reports for next year; our responsibility to read unit news in Update. Members encouraged to bring concerns and celebrations to the committee. What about having a theme for our discussions – looking at various issues through the lens of Quaker life and each unit/ segment of the school? Topic ideas: Media impact – shows like Survivor and American Idol – emphasis on exclusion, ranking “War” games – laser tag, paint ball – appropriate as an advisee outing? Current events… in school and elsewhere

SL review literature handed to prospective and enrolling parents? Offer sessions for parents – other friends schools have a variety of offerings. Parenting workshops? Mike and Marcia Green, others? Parental fears, fears of parenting, students who are intentionally disrespectful of school rules and community values. Wiki?. How does the life of SL committee enrich CFS? Rotating venues?
 * __Other topics discussed during the year, but not tonight: __**

Thanks to all for a wonderful year – and for the delicious food tonight!

Our first meeting of the fall will be Tuesday, October 7, 2008. 6:30 – 8:30, Lower School, potluck supper The Dragonflies have been extremely busy...with a secret plan coming from the query of "how can we leave something for the children in our CHES community" when we move on to other places next year. With a focus on Stewardship - honoring our beautiful playground and our earth, we will be creating something natural, planting flowers and bushes and using other natural materials to enhance and beautify our playground. We are all looking forward to this wonderful surprise for our friends in the Butterfly class. Now that Spring is here, Barbara's group is moving more of their afternoon activities outdoors, soaking up opportunities to enhance a reverence for Nature. In addition to having picnic snacks with our home made popsicles, we are seeking more outdoor art options such as sidewalk chalk and painting with our feet. We have also been reading the stories of Laura Numeroff (If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, If You Give A Moose A Muffin, etc.) and duplicating those foods for our snack. Oddly enough, when we gave the kids a muffin they too asked for some jam!  The 3's and 4's in the Butterfly class have also been enjoying the changing season. We ventured out as a school and enjoyed a walk to The Sister's Garden which is just around the corner from our school. We were able to explore the garden, spend some time with the Pease Sisters who were so gracious and accommodating and we were truly inspired by the flowers. Back at school we have been exploring our own outdoor space as we have planted new flowers and herbs and have searched for the many critters (caterpillars galore!) that inhabit our playground. We’ve even had a few encounters with wildlife. A couple of weeks ago a tree was cut down behind the fence at the back of our playground. A fox must have had her habitat disturbed, because she made daily appearances giving the children a chance to closely yet safely watch her walk back and forth on the other side of the fence. We’ve also had visits from Sabrina the cat (OK, not so much a wildlife creature). Sabrina lives in the neighborhood off Gimghoul Rd. and seems to enjoy hanging out in our playground with the kids. And most exciting of all is the family of Carolina wrens who built a nest in an open backpack that is hanging on our porch. The children watched the eggs which have finally hatched, giving us a “birds-eye” view of both mama and papa bird who keep flying in and out of the backpack carrying worms and other goodies for the baby birds. As part of the staff self-study, CES has conducted a campus-wide trash investigation beginning with field-trips to the Orange County Landfill and Piedmont Biofarm (to learn about their vermicomposting operation). The Early Schoolers discovered that they generated about 5 pounds of trash as a daily average in February. Most of their trash (measured by weight) was from lunches, art activities, and paper towels from hand washing. Other actions carried out by the students included three trash walks around campus, collecting and sorting what they found on the grounds. As a result the children wrote an open letter to their Upper School and Middle School friends admonishing them for their messy grounds, as well as a letter to the Principal sharing with him the findings of their trash walk. An interesting result from their visits to all the units was the observation that the older the children were, the messier the environment was around their school. The children involved their families in the trash awareness project by creating a take-home trash survey. As a part of the parent education process, the teachers plan to change the wording in the parent handbook next year to reflect their goal for trash free lunches. They have established a worm bin to be used for vermicomposting of food waste, and have chosen to re-use materials from home and school as the primary resource for art work (rather than ordering new art materials). CES also gave away all their paper products and replaced them with washable, reusable items (cups, plates, and flatware). The Durham Early Schoolers have been exploring Duke Gardens in-depth this spring. Sara’s 3/4s group spent their first few visits just looking around and exploring, as Sara observed and documented their explorations to find out about the children’s deeper interests and intent. A magical moment under a weeping cherry provoked a fascination with budding trees; for the next visit, they brought a branch from a blooming cherry tree on our yard and searched for branches at Duke Gardens that “matched” our branch. The children sketched blooming trees and debated the difference between bud, flower, and blossom. They danced in falling petals and figured out that when the petals fall, the leaves begin to emerge. This interest in blooming and growth carried over into an interest in planting, and back at school they planted flower seeds in our school garden, whose growth they are eager to observe and document. While planting, they noticed a caterpillar…and decided they would like to learn about caterpillars next! One child mentioned she had seen lots of caterpillars at Duke Gardens, so off they went on the next visit, this time to search for caterpillars. The children are just beginning to discover the important connection between when the leaves emerge and when the caterpillars come out. We will continue to follow the children’s theories, ideas, and interests as this project continues throughout the spring. Carmen’s Kindergarten meeting group, who have visited the gardens countless times over their years at DES, are using all the deep sense understandings they’ve developed to move to a more analytical, reflective, and representational experience at the gardens. They are working on constructing ways to map their favorite part of the gardens: the “fairy garden,” also known as the Blomquist Garden. At first their mapping began with creating visual representations of objects found in the fairy garden. A mix of magic and reality intertwined as they drew the plants, ‘elf bridge,’ ‘troll area,’ and fairies. Next they worked on mapping where the objects were located. Now they are using the knowledge they have developed to move towards a three dimensional map of the fairy garden. This model of the fairy garden will be a gift to DES and the culminating project of a year long study on using observations to deepen learning. = = = = =** Lower School - May 2008 **= A look at the calendar for April and May shows that this is a very busy time of the year in Lower School. We’ve had a playground workday, held “Life Talks” for older students, brainstormed next year’s theme, sorted 8 months’ worth of lost and found, dealt with the opening of tick season, done service and crafts for Earth Day, hosted visiting candidates for our staff openings, written our orders for next year’s supplies, and begun drafting end of year reports…. to name a few. In the remaining weeks, design tech projects will be shared, classes will hold their “Overnights” and “Overdays”, young writers will declaim at Authors’ Teas, music will surround us at Springfest, various field trips will occur, prospective rising students will visit, and our “graduates” moving on to Middle School will be celebrated. The days are full, and the energy level is high. There’s a curious layering effect at this time of year. We are bringing closure to one year while simultaneously planning for next fall. The need to fill two staff positions has added an extra dimension to our days. Who will these new folk be? Are we missing a gem because a paper resume doesn’t convey the real person? Will restaffing necessitate some changes that we may not welcome? Our self-study work has caused us to question our schedule – the allocation of staff, space, and time. We’ve generated a lot of excitement, well-seasoned with nervousness. Can we sustain the passion for new ideas and embrace the opportunity for growth? I feel blessed to be part of a group where complacency is not part of the prevailing ethos. May came in 'a little trashy!' In response to a visit from CES (they brought us the garbage they had collected around MS one day and asked us--via song--to take better care of the earth) Middle School had a "Trash Less" day in which we experimented with bringing less potential trash to school (e.g. tupperware instead of disposables) and at day's end measured how much trash we actually generated (compared to previous day). As I write this, the results are not yet in. We'll see. . . .  A past event this month which was especially noteworthy for our 4th Years was the FEEN conference. Students interacted with 8th graders and upper schoolers from Friends schools in Northeast sharing ideas and experiences and carrying out environmental experiments. Another inter-unit sharing occurred on May 1 when selected Upper Schoolers were Live Read guests and read excerpts from "Perfect Angels" and "What's the Worst that Can Happen." We also had our second and final Advisee Outing (overnights for some/a really great time for all!). A number of staff were also involved in Riser's Night for Parents of incoming 1st Years. Upcoming events this month include a Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 6 (go figure!); Arts Evening on May 8; "Our Town" performance on May 10; (actors will also sing a song from "Our Town" at the U.S. final Meeting for Worship); Service Day on May 16 (teachers will begin writing their end of year advisee evaluations, trimester evaluations, elective evaluations, and end of year core class evaluations); end of regular classes and start of Exploratorium--hands-on, intensive study sessions focused on particular topics. And, finally, we're watching a baby blue bird hatching outside of Tommy's room.
 * __ Unit Musings for School Life Meeting 5/6/08 __**
 * CHES Report **
 * CES Report **
 * DES Report **
 * Minimal Musings from the Middle. . . **

Upper School: April/May Moments
The thing that stands out for me most in the Upper School this past month has been the many ways in which our upper classmen have taken leadership roles both within and outside of their comfort zones. For //Project Refugee//, two seniors and seven other students spent 24 hours as displaced people to bear witness to the 2.5 million refugees from Darfur. A senior led a barbecue class that often helped out at Upper School gatherings like the Art Show. A senior planned the Upper School Art Show and came up with the idea of having a silent auction to benefit our end-of-year program. Seniors led an all-girl overnight that addressed meaningful and challenging topics faced by young women today, in addition to creating a lively and fun atmosphere. One of our seniors planned a dance event to benefit the Heifer Project and raised over $1,300. Seniors were instrumental in Annie’s Wishes for the World dance project, which collaborated with three local schools. Seniors were also on hand to help turn our Meeting Hall into a magical masquerade for our annual prom. A senior co-directed the recent production of //Much Ado About Nothing//, which got better and better every night. Students are gearing up for our final exams next week and end-of-year trips which will take us as far away away as Trinidad, El Savador, Costa Rica, the western U.S. and Appalachia. Others will complete internships here in the triangle and across the country in San Francisco. The junior mentor for our Newton Grove clothing drive committee helped put together a packet of very professional information about our end-of-year program and donations that we are looking for. So far we have dropped a packet off at Home Depot, and will visit Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Target as well. The Costa Rica Trip and the El Salvador Trip are joining the freshmen in this effort. We have already received many bags of clothing that we are also sharing with the Afghan Sister School. Next year this student will continue to find ways for corporations to help sponsor our service projects in a special independent senior project. We have had visits from a UNC professor and expert on Africa, and a school parent just back from Iraq, providing us wonderful opportunities to learn directly from professionals deeply engaged in spreading democratic ideals abroad. We are anxious to have these men visit us again, especially during our capstone classes for our new sophomore Global Citizenship Curriculum. Students are also signing up for fall classes, so just at the moment when the year is winding down, we are also gearing up for another exciting year at CFS! All the best, Susan Kincaid

Thoughts on war games from SLC member Don Ulin
The subject I brought up with you after our last SLC meeting was this. I was just wondering if the CFS participation in war games (laser tag, paintball) was accompanied by any reflection among the students and staff involved. The responsibility that CFS gives to students, individually and collectively, to make real decisions is one of the school's greatest strengths, so I am not suggesting any peremptory prohibitions (which, to its great credit, is not the way CFS works, anyway). However, as a Quaker school, it seems to me that CFS should think very carefully about its official participation in any activities that might run counter to one of the most universal and deeply-rooted Quaker testimonies. Laser tag, as I understand it, was developed by the military as a means of desensitizing soldiers to the act of killing other human beings. The sole object of both games, as far as I understand them, is to "kill" your opponents. The issue rises to yet another level in the context of CFS's commitment to subsidizing advisee outings and other incidental expenses for families for whom those expenses present a hardship, because CFS is then in a position of using its own funds to pay for these activities. (The groups go to commercial paintball or laser tag sites where, for $30 or so per person, they are given equipment and a mock battlefield on which to use it.) Even aside from financial concerns, Quaker parents especially may feel uncomfortable allowing or paying for their children's participation in these activities, and I will use myself as an example. I allow Colin to play paintball and laser tag because we have had long discussions about the ethics of war games. I believe he really does understand and even appreciate my position, but he has to follow his own light. But he also understands that my conscience will not allow me to pay for them. If he had not had his own money to pay for those advisee outings, then either he would have had to ask the school for money or I would have had to act against my conscience by subsidizing something I do not believe in (or, a third possibility, he would have had to stay home on those days, which would only have embittered him toward the ideals I would like to instill in him). On principle, I find the ethics of war games quite simple: I am opposed to anything that makes sport of killing other people. But what really constitutes a war game (is chess a war game)? And what role should a Friends school play in defining or proscribing activities that it considers unethical? I don't have answers to these questions, let alone to the more specific question of how CFS should handle its involvement with paintball and laser tag. I would only hope for an ongoing conversation about the ethics of these games and their relationship to militarization, And I thought that, as the committee charged with considering the religious life of the school, School Life might be a place to begin (or continue) those discussions. I have shared my concerns with Dave Worden, Colin's advisor, and he seemed to share them, so perhaps these activities have already been the occasion of some good reflection.